[31] Chapters lxxvii to xci.
[32] Chapters xcii and xciii.
[33] Chaptes xciv and xcv.
[34] The following is Mr. Prescott’s notice of Cieza de Leon, given in the second volume of the Conquest of Peru, p. 297:—
“Cieza de Leon is an author worthy of particular note. His Crónica del Peru should more properly be styled an itinerary, or rather geography of Peru. It gives a minute topographical view of the country at the time of the conquest; of its provinces and towns, both Indian and Spanish; its flourishing sea coasts; its forests, valleys, and interminable ranges of mountains in the interior, with many interesting particulars of the existing population—their dress, manners, architectural remains, and public works,—while scattered here and there may be found notices of their early history and social polity. It is, in short, a lively picture of the country in its physical and moral relations, as it met the eye at the time of the conquest, and in that transition period when it was first subjected to European influences. The conception of a work, at so early a period, on this philosophical plan, reminding us of that of Malte-Brun in our own time—parva componere magnis—was, of itself, indicative of great comprehensiveness of mind in its author. It was a task of no little difficulty, where there was yet no pathway opened by the labours of the antiquarian, no hint from the sketch-book of the traveller, or the measurements of the scientific explorer. Yet the distances from place to place are all carefully jotted down by the industrious compiler, and the bearings of the different places and their peculiar features are exhibited with sufficient precision, considering the nature of the obstacles he had to encounter. The literary execution of the work, moreover, is highly respectable, sometimes even rich and picturesque; and the author describes the grand and beautiful scenery of the Cordilleras with a sensibility of its charms not often found in the tasteless topographer, still less often in the rude conqueror.
“The loss of the other parts of his work is much to be regretted, considering the talent of the writer, and his opportunities for personal observation. But he has done enough to render us grateful for his labours. By the vivid delineation of scenes and scenery, as they were presented fresh to his own eyes, he has furnished us with a background to the historic picture—the landscape, as it were, in which the personages of the time might be more fitly pourtrayed. It would have been impossible to exhibit the ancient topography of the land so faithfully at a subsequent period, when old things had passed away, and the conqueror, breaking down the landmarks of ancient civilisation, had effaced many of the features even of the physical aspect of the country as it existed under the elaborated culture of the Yncas.”
[35] Mr. Rich, of Red Lion Square, got possession of a manuscript of Cieza de Leon, which is described in one of his catalogues as being an account of the civil wars of Peru. He sold it to Mr. Lenox of New York.
[36] See chapter cxii, and note at page [397].
[37] See note at p. 143.
[38] Oxalis tuberosa. See note at p. 361.