On learning the defeat of his army and the invincible valour of the Promaucians, the Inca gave orders that the river Rapel should remain the southern boundary of his dominions, and all attempts to reduce the rest of Chili were laid aside. According to Garcilasso, the river Maule was established as the frontier of the Peruvian conquests: But this is by no means probable; as in this case the country of the conquerors would have been included within the territories of the vanquished. In fact, not far from the river Cachapoal, which with the Tinguiririca forms the Rapel, the remains of a Peruvian fortress are still to be seen on the top of a steep hill, which was undoubtedly built to protect that part of the frontier against the unconquered Promaucians. By this conquest of its four northern provinces, Chili became divided into two distinct portions; all to the south of the Rapel remaining free, while the districts to the north of that river were subjected to the dominion of the Incas. These four tribes, who had so readily submitted to the Inca Yupanqui, were subjected to an annual tribute in gold; but the conquerors never introduced their peculiar form of government into these provinces, the inhabitants of which remained subject to their own native _ulmens_, and preserved their original manners until the arrival of the Spaniards. When first known to the Spaniards, the Chilese were an agricultural people, dependent for their subsistence on the cultivation of such nutritious plants as accident or necessity had made them acquainted with. The plants chiefly cultivated by them for subsistence were maize, _magu, guegen, tuca, quinoa, pulse_ of various kinds, the potatoe, _oxalis tuberosa_, common and yellow pumpkin or gourd, guinea pepper, _madi_, and the great strawberry; of each of which it may be proper to give a short account[57]. [Footnote 57: The following account of the plants cultivated by the Chilese for food, is extracted from the natural history of Chili by Molina; but the enumeration from the text of his civil history will be found to differ materially from that given from the natural history of the same author.--E.]