CHAPTER XIII.
Of the description of the province of Popayan, and the reason why the natives of it are so wild, and those of Peru so gentle.
AS the captains from Peru discovered and settled in this province of Popayan, they speak of it as a part of, and one with, that land of Peru; but I cannot consider it in that light, because the people, the land, and all other things in it are different.
This province was called Popayan from the city of Popayan, which is in it. It is 200 leagues long, little more or less, and thirty or forty broad, in some parts more, and in others, less. On one side it has the coast of the South Sea, and some very high rugged mountains to the westward. On the other side are the main Cordilleras of the Andes; and between these mountains rise many rivers, some of them, being very large, forming broad valleys. One of these, which is the largest in all this land, is the great river of Santa Martha. The towns of Pasto, Popayan, and Timana are included in this government, and the city of Cali, near the port of Buenaventura; besides the towns of Anzerma, Cartago, Arma, Antioquia, and others which were founded after I left the country. In this province some parts are cold and others hot, some healthy and others pestilential. In some parts it rains much, in others little. In some parts the Indians are cannibals, in others not. On one side it borders on the new kingdom of New Granada, on the other, on the kingdom of Peru. To the west, it is bounded by the government of the river of San Juan; to the north, by that of Carthagena.
Many have wondered how it is that these Indians, having their dwellings in positions exposed to invasion, and, except in Pasto, the country being neither too hot nor too cold, but in all things convenient for conquest, should be so untameable and obstinate; while those in Peru, with their forest-covered valleys, snowy mountains, and greater numbers, are so gentle and submissive. To this I would answer that the Indians of the government of Popayan are, and always have been, in a state of confusion, and they have never been ruled by a chief whom they feared. They are lazy and idle, and, above all, they detest being under subjection to any one, which is a sufficient cause for resisting the yoke of strangers. Another reason is to be found in the fertility of the soil, while in some parts there are dense forests, cane brakes, and other fastnesses; so that when the Spaniards press on these Indians, they burn their houses, which are of wood and straw, and retreat for a league or two, making other dwellings within three or four days, and sowing as much maize as they require, which they reap within four months. If they are still pursued, they once more abandon their homes, and retreat; for wherever they go they find a fertile land ready to supply them with its fruits, so that war or peace are in their own hands; and they never want for food. The Peruvians, on the contrary, are docile because they have more understanding, and because they were subject to the Kings Yncas, to whom they paid tribute, and whom they always served. In this condition they were born; and if any did not wish to obey, they were constrained to do so, for the land of Peru is full of mountainous tracts and snowy plains. If, therefore, they were to fly from their homes to these wilds, they could not live, for the land does not yield fruit, so that they must serve in order to live, which is quite sufficient reason to resolve the doubt.
I now propose to pass on, giving a particular account of the provinces of this government, and of the Spanish cities which have been founded in it, and stating who were the founders. From the city of Antioquia there are two roads, one to go to the town of Anzerma, and the other to go to the city of Cartago; and before I relate what is worthy of notice on the road to Cartago and Arma, I will give an account of the town of Anzerma, and then return to do the same by the other route.
CHAPTER XIV.
Containing an account of the road between the city of Antioquia and the town of Anzerma, and of the region which lies on either side of it.
STARTING from the city of Antioquia and travelling towards the town of Anzerma, one sees the rich and famous hill of Buritica, whence such a vast quantity of gold has been taken in times past. The distance from Antioquia to Anzerma is seventy leagues, and the road is very rough, with naked hills and few trees. The greater part is inhabited by Indians, but their houses are a long way from the road. After leaving Antioquia one comes to a small hill called Corome, which is in a little valley where there used to be a populous village of Indians; but since the Spaniards came as conquerors, the Indians have greatly diminished in numbers. This village had many rich gold mines, and also streams whence they could obtain gold. There are few fruit trees, and the maize yields small crops. The Indians are the same as those we had already met with, in language and customs. Further on there is a settlement on the top of a great hill, where there used to be a village of large houses inhabited by miners, who became very rich by collecting gold. The neighbouring caciques had their houses here also, and their servants obtained a great quantity of gold. From this hill came the greater part of the riches which were found at Cenu in the burial places, and I saw very fine gold in abundance taken from them, before we went to the discovery of Urute with the Captain Alonzo de Caceres.
When we discovered this village, with the Licentiate Juan de Vadillo, I remember that a priest who accompanied the expedition, named Francisco de Frias, found a Totuma, which is a sort of large glazed earthen jug, full of earth, and he sorted very large grains of gold out of it. We also saw here the sources whence they extract the gold, and the tools with which they work. When the Captain Jorge de Robledo founded the city of Antioquia, he went to see these gold washings, and they washed a lump of earth, extracting a quantity of very fine grains which one of the miners affirmed to be gold, but another said it was not gold, but what we call marcasite. As we were on a journey we could not stop to examine further. When the Spaniards entered this village the Indians burnt it, and they have shown no desire to settle there again. I recollect that a soldier named Toribio, going to seek for food, found a stone in a river as big as a man’s head, covered with veins of gold which penetrated from one side of the stone to the other: and when he saw it, he put it on his shoulders to carry it to the camp. As he was going up a hill, he met a small Indian dog, and when he saw it he turned to kill it for food, dropping the stone which rolled back again into the river. Toribio killed the dog, thinking it worth more than gold, such was his hunger, and thus the stone remained in the river where it was before. In another river I saw a negro, belonging to the Captain Jorge Robledo, wash large grains of gold out of a lump of earth. In fine, if the people were more docile and better conditioned, and not such eaters of human food: and if our governors and captains were more pious and had not ill-treated them, this province would be very rich.