, Parte 1 lib. 3, cap. 20]
The effect of such a surfeit of the precious metals was instantly
felt on prices. The most ordinary articles were only to be had
for exorbitant sums. A quire of paper sold for ten pesos de oro;
a bottle of wine, for sixty; a sword, for forty or fifty; a
cloak, for a hundred, - sometimes more; a pair of shoes cost
thirty or forty pesos de oro, and a good horse could not be had
for less than twenty-five hundred. *47 Some brought a still
higher price. Every article rose in value, as gold and silver,
the representatives of all, declined. Gold and silver, in short,
seemed to be the only things in Cuzco that were not wealth. Yet
there were some few wise enough to return contented with their
present gains to their native country. Here their riches brought
them consideration and competence, and, while they excited the
envy of their countrymen, stimulated them to seek their own
fortunes in the like path of adventure.
[Footnote 47: Xerez, Conq. del Peru, ap. Barcia, tom. III. p.
233.]
Chapter IX
New Inca Crowned. - Municipal Regulations. - Terrible March Of
Alvarado. - Interview With Pizarro. - Foundation Of Lima. -
Hernando Pizarro Reaches Spain. - Sensation At Court. - Feuds Of
Almagro And The Pizarros.
1534-1535.
The first care of the Spanish general, after the division of the
booty, was to place Manco on the throne, and to obtain for him
the recognition of his countrymen. He, accordingly, presented
the young prince to them as their future sovereign, the
legitimate son of Huayna Capac, and the true heir of the Peruvian
sceptre.
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