Page:The Incas of Peru.djvu/220

184 conquest of the island of Puna, in the Gulf of Guayaquil, assisted by the chiefs of the Chonos, who had become his allies. Many canoes were got ready, and good pilots were engaged. Here seamanlike skill was needed rather than reliance upon numbers. But nothing could resist Tupac's superior strategy, and the island was conquered. Most generous terms were granted, and a cordial friendship, cemented by a marriage, was established between the Inca and the Puna chiefs. The coast provinces of Manta and Esmeraldas, to the north, sent in their submission, and the port of Tumbez, to the south of the Gulf of Guayaquil, was fixed upon as a military station.

While the Tupac Inca Yupanqui was at Tumbez, he received information that, far out in the ocean, there were islands called and, the outer and the fire islands. The Inca was a man of lofty ideals, and, as Sarmiento says, 'he resolved to challenge a happy fortune, and try if it would favour him by sea.' This was a wonderful expedition, but Sarmiento's account is corroborated by Balboa, and I have come to the conclusion that the story of the voyage is historically true.

The Incas caused an immense number of balsas to be constructed, consisting of inflated seal-skins fastened together, and some rafts. He then embarked with a large detachment of his army, leaving the main body to await his return at Tumbez.