d the summit, views
unparalleled in the Andes or any where else met our astonished vision
whithersoever we looked. Far away to the south stretched the two
Cordilleras, till they were lost in the mist which enshrouded Chimborazo
and Tunguragua. Turning to the north, we beheld the city of Quito at our
feet, and Pichincha and Antisana standing like gallant sentinels on
either side of the proud capital. Beautiful were the towering mountains,
and almost as delightful now are the memories of that hour. A broad,
well-traveled road, gentlemen on horseback clad in rich ponchos, droves
of Indians bowed under their heavy burdens, and long lines of laden
donkeys hurrying to and fro, indicate our approach to a great city.
Winding with the road through green pastures and fields of ripening
grain, and crossing the Machangara by an elegant bridge, we enter the
city of the Incas.

CHAPTER III.

Early History of Quito.--Its Splendor under the Incas.--Crushed by
Spain.--Dying now.--Situation.--Altitude.--Streets.--Buildings.

Quito is better known than Ecuador. Its primeval history, however, is
lost in obscurity. In the language of Prescott, "the mists of fable have
settled as darkly round its history as round that of any nation, ancient
or modern, in the Old World." Founded, nobody knows when, by the kings
of the Quitus, it was conquered about the year 1000 by a more civilized
race, the Cara nation, who added to it by conquest and alliance. The
fame of the region excited the cupidity of the Incas of Peru, and during
the reign of Cacha (1475), Huayna-Capac the Great moved his army from
Cuzco, and by the celebrated battle of Hatuntaqui, in which Cacha was
killed, Quito was added to the realm of the Incas. Huayna-Capac made
Quito his residence, and reigned there thirty-eight years--the most
brilliant epoch in the annals of the city. At his death his kingdom was
divided, one son, Atahuallpa,[18] reigning in Quito, and Huascar at
Cuzco. Civil war ensued, in which the latter was defeated, and
Atahuallpa was chosen Inca of the whole empire, 1532. During this war
Pizarro arrived at Tumbez. Every body knows what followed. Strangled at
Caxamarca, the body of Atahuallpa was carried to Quito, the city of his
birth, in compliance with his dying wish, and buried there with imposing
obsequies. Refounded by Benalcazar in 1534, Quito was created an
imperial city by Charles V. seven years later. It formed part of Peru
till 1710; then