Page:The Incas of Peru.djvu/22

4 the second part he reviewed the system of government of the Incas, with the events of each reign. He spared no pains to obtain the best and most authentic information, and in 1550 he went to Cuzco to confer with one of the surviving Incas. His sympathy with the conquered people, and generous appreciation of their many good qualities, give a special charm to his narrative.

Cieza de Leon stands first in the first rank of authorities on Inca civilisation. Another soldier-author was Juan de Betanzos. We first hear of his book from Friar Gregorio de Garcia, who wrote his 'Origen de los Indios' in 1607. He announced that he possessed the manuscript of Betanzos, and he made great use of it, copying the first two chapters wholesale. The incomplete manuscript in the Escurial, of which Prescott had a copy, only contains the eighteen first chapters and part of another. It was edited