Considering the light esteem in which women were held I was surprised that the Pachatupecs consented to be ruled by one of the sex.  But Gondocori told me that Mamcuna came of a long line of princes who were supposed to be descended from the Incas, and when her father died, leaving no male issue, a majority of the caciques chose her as his successor, in part out of reverence for the race, in part out of jealousy of each other, and because they thought she would let them do pretty much as they liked.  So far from that, however, she made them do as she liked, and when some of the caciques raised a rebellion she took the field in person, beat them in a pitched battle, and put all the leaders and many of their followers to death.  Since that time there had been no serious attempt to dispute her authority, which, so far as I could gather, she used, on the whole, to good purpose.  Though cruel and vindictive, she was also shrewd and resolute, and semi-civilized races are not ruled with rose-water.  She could only maintain order by making herself feared, and even civilized governments often act on the principle that the end justifies the means.

Mamcuna had never married because, as she said, there was no man in the country fit to mate with a daughter of the Incas; but as Gondocori and some others thought, the man did not exist with whom she would consent to share her power.

The Pachatupec braves were fine horsemen and expert with the lasso and the spear and very fine archers.  They were bold mountaineers, too, and occasionally made long forays as far as the pampas, where, I presume, they had brought the progenitors of the nandus, of which there were a considerable number in the country, both wild and tame.  The latter were sometimes ridden, but rather as a feat than a pleasure.  The largest flock belonged to the queen.

By the time I had so far mastered the language as to be able to converse without much difficulty, the queen had fully regained her health.  This result—­which was of course entirely due to temperate living and regular exercise—­she ascribed to my skill, and I was in high favor.  She made me a cacique and court medicine-man; I had quarters in her house, and horses and servants were always at my disposal.  Had her Majesty’s gratitude gone no further than this I should have had nothing to complain of; but she never let me alone, and I had no peace.  I was continually being summoned to her presence; she kept me talking for hours at a time, and never went out for a ride or a walk without making me bear her company.  Her attentions became so marked, in fact, that I began to have an awful fear that she had fallen in love with me.  As to this she did not leave me long in doubt.

One day when I had been entertaining her with an account of my travels, she startled me by inquiring, a propos to nothing in particular, if I knew why she had not married.

“Because you are a daughter of the Incas, and there is no man in Pachatupec of equal rank with yourself.”