derstand that if, in these
parts they have a tradition of the great flood, this great mass of the
floating islands which they afterwards called the Atlanticas, and now
the Indies of Castille or America must have begun to receive a
population immediately after the flood, although, by their account, the
details are different from those which the true Scriptures teach us.
This must have been done by divine Providence, through the first people
coming over the land of the Atlantic Island, which was joined to this,
as has been already said. For as the natives, though barbarous, give
reasons for their very ancient settlement, by recording the flood, there
is no necessity for setting aside the Scriptures by quoting authorities
to establish this origin. We now come to those who relate the events of
the second age after the flood, which is the subject of the next
chapter.

VII.

FABLE OF THE SECOND AGE, AND CREATION OF THE BARBAROUS INDIANS ACCORDING
TO THEIR ACCOUNT.

It is related that everything was destroyed in the flood called _unu
pachacuti_[28]. It must now be known that Viracocha Pachayachachi, when
he destroyed that land as has been already recounted, preserved three
men, one of them named Taguapaca, that they might serve and help him in
the creation of new people who had to be made in the second age after
the deluge, which was done in this manner. The flood being passed and
the land dry, Viracocha determined to people it a second time, and, to
make it more perfect, he decided upon creating luminaries to give it
light. With this object he went, with his servants, to a great lake in
the Collao, in which there is an island called Titicaca, the meaning
being "the rock of lead," of which we shall treat in the first part.
Viracocha went to this island, and presently ordered that the sun, moon,
and stars should come forth, and be set in the heavens to give light to
the world, and it was so. They say that the moon was created brighter
than the sun, which made the sun jealous at the time when they rose into
the sky. So the sun threw over the moon's face a handful of ashes, which
gave it the shaded colour it now presents. This frontier lake of
Chucuito, in the territory of the Collao, is 57 leagues to the south of
Cuzco. Viracocha gave various orders to his servants, but Taguapaca
disobeyed the commands of Viracocha. So Viracocha was enraged against
Taguapaca, and ordered the other two servants to take him, tie him han