It may then be readily allowed that the intentions of the Spanish Government towards the Indians were humane and just; that their legislation was invariably marked by tenderness and concern for the subject race; and that their policy, had it been carried into effect, was far more wise and generous than that by which modern nations have generally been influenced in dealing with the aborigines of their colonies. But I think I have clearly shown that, through the unworthiness of their subordinates, this policy was only very partially enforced; that the cruelty and oppression of the colonial officials at length became insufferable; and that no cause could be more just than that in which Tupac Amaru, the last of the Incas, at length drew his sword. CHAPTER IX. NARRATIVE OF THE INSURRECTION OF JOSÉ GABRIEL TUPAC AMARU, THE LAST OF THE INCAS. THE basin of lake Titicaca is bounded on the north by the mountains of Vilcañota, which unite the maritime cordillera with the Eastern Andes, and the river of Vilcamayu rises in these mountains, and flows north through a fertile and well-peopled valley, which is covered with fields of Indian corn. The road from Puno to Cuzco, after crossing the Vilcañota range by the pass of Santa Rosa, descends the valley of the Vilcamayu, passing through the towns of Marangani, Sicuani, Cacha, Tinta, Checacupe, Quiquijana, and Urcos; and then leaves the river near Oropesa, and ascends a valley for three leagues to the city of Cuzco. On either side of the ravine of Vilcamayu are lofty table-lands, which only yield potatoes and quinoa; the wild hills are covered with coarse grass, often weighed down with snow; and in several places there are large Alpine lakes. Uninviting as this bleak region appears, it still contains several Indian villages, ruled in 1780 by native caciques, who were subject to the corregidor of Tinta, in the valley. The principal villages under the jurisdiction of Tinta in this cold and lofty district are Sangarara, Lanqui, Pampamarca, Surimani, Yanaoca, and Tungasuca--the latter of which was the home of Tupac Amaru. It is a small village, with a few patches of potatoes and quinoa round it, near the banks of a wild-looking lake, with rocky mountains rising abruptly from the water. [Illustration: FAMILY OF THE INCAS OF PERU. Arms of the Incas, granted by Charles V., A.D. 1544. _Tierce in fess: on a chief azure, a Sun with glory or: on a fess vert, an eagle displayed between a rainbow and two serpents proper: and on a base gules, a castle proper._ _To face page 134._] José Gabriel Condorcanqui or Tupac Amaru,[198] the son of the Cacique Miguel Tupac Amaru by his wife Rosa Noguera, was born at Tinta in the year 1742, and baptized at Tungasuca, the birthplace of his father.[199] He claimed to be the representative of the family of the Incas, as fifth in lineal descent from Tupac Amaru, the son of the Inca Manco, who was judicially murdered by the Viceroy Toledo in 1571.