Asked if she had ever seen those treasures, the Coya asserted that her husband had shown them to her once, and she told fabulous stories of the riches hidden in the Temple of Death. * Naturally, nobody believed her.
* The anonymous author of the MS. “Antiy y monumentos del
Peru” says:—
“It Is widely known, and generally admitted, that there
exists in the ancient fortress of the Cuzco a secret room In
which is hidden a vast treasure, consisting chiefly of
golden statues of all the Incas. A lady who has been in this
room is still living. This is Doña Maria de Esquivel, wife
of the last Inca. I have heard her tell how she was taken
there.
“Don Carlos, husband of this lady, did not live in a manner
suited to his rank, and she often upbraided him, saying that
she had been cozened into marrying a poor Indian under the
pompous style of ‘Lord of the Incas.9 She said this so often
that Don Carlos grew angry, and one day retorted: ‘Madam, I
will show you whether I am rich or poor. Too will see that
no lord, no monarch on this earth, has a greater treasure
than I.’ Taking her to the ruined fortress, he bound her
eyes, and led her only a few steps before removing the
bandage again.
“She was in a great quadrangular hall, and ranged all about
it were the statues of the Incas, each about the size of a
twelve-year-old child, and all of massive gold. She saw also
many vases of gold and silver, the whole making one of the
most magnificent treasures in the world.”
Even so, none believed the soldiers of Pizarro when they said that in Peru their horses had been shod with silver!