Severe Passage Of The Andes. - Embassies From Atahuallpa. - The
Spaniards Reach Caxamalca. - Embassy To The Inca. - Interview
With The Inca. - Despondency Of The Spaniards
1532.
That night Pizarro held a council of his principal officers, and
it was determined that he should lead the advance, consisting of
forty horse and sixty foot, and reconnoitre the ground; while the
rest of the company, under his brother Hernando, should occupy
their present position till they received further orders.
At early dawn the Spanish general and his detachment were under
arms, and prepared to breast the difficulties of the sierra.
These proved even greater than had been foreseen. The path had
been conducted in the most judicious manner round the rugged and
precipitous sides of the mountains, so as best to avoid the
natural impediments presented by the ground. But it was
necessarily so steep, in many places, that the cavalry were
obliged to dismount, and, scrambling up as they could, to lead
their horses by the bridle. In many places too, where some huge
crag or eminence overhung the road, this was driven to the very
verge of the precipice; and the traveller was compelled to wind
along the narrow ledge of rock, scarcely wide enough for his
single steed, where a misstep would precipitate him hundreds,
nay, thousands, of feet into the dreadful abyss! The wild passes
of the sierra, practicable for the half-naked Indian, and even
for the sure and circumspect mule, - an animal that seems to have
been created for the roads of the Cordilleras, - were formidable
to the man-at-arms encumbered with his panoply of mail. The
tremendous fissures or quebradas, so frightful in this mountain
chain, yawned open, as if the Andes had been split asunder by
some terrible convulsion, showing a broad expanse of the
primitive rock on their sides, partially mantled over with the
spontaneous vegetation of ages; while their obscure depths
furnished a channel for the torrents, that, rising in the heart
of the sierra, worked their way gradually into light, and spread
over the savannas and green valleys of the tierra caliente on
their way to the great ocean.
Many of these passes afforded obvious points of defence; and the
Spaniards, as they entered the rocky defiles, looked with
apprehension lest they might rouse some foe from his ambush.
This apprehension was heightened, as, at the summit of a steep
and narrow gorge, in which they were engaged, they beheld a
strong work, rising like a fortress, and frowning, as it were, in
gloomy defiance on the invaders. As they drew near this building
which was of solid stone, commanding an angle of the road, they
almost expected to see the dusky forms of the warriors rise over
the battlements, and to receive their tempest of missiles on
their bucklers; for it was in so strong a position, that a few
resolute men might easily have held there an army at bay. But
they had the satisfaction to find the place untenanted, and their
spirits were greatly raised by the conviction that the Indian
monarch did not intend to dispute their passage, when it would
have been easy to do so with success.
Pizarro now sent orders to his brother to follow without delay;
and, after refreshing his men, continued his toilsome ascent, and
before nightfall reached an eminence crowned by another fortress,
of even greater strength than the preceding. It was built of
solid masonry, the lower part excavated from the living rock, and
the whole work executed with skill not inferior to that of the
European architect. *1
[Footnote 1: "Tan ancha la Cerca como qualquier Fortaleca de
Espana, con sus Puertas: que si en esta Tierra oviese los
Maestros, i Herramientas de Espana, no pudiera ser mejor labrada
la Cerca." Xerez, Conq. del Peru, ap. Barcia, tom. III. p. 192.]
Here Pizarro took up his quarters for the night. Without waiting
for the arrival of the rear, on the following morning he resumed
his march, leading still deeper into the intricate gorges of the
sierra. The climate had gradually changed, and the men and
horses, especially the latter, suffered severely from the cold,
so long accustomed as they had been to the sultry climate of the
tropics. *2 The vegetation also had changed its character; and
the magnificent timber which covered the lower level of the
country had gradually given way to the funereal forest of pine,
and, as they rose still higher, to the stunted growth of
numberless Alpine plants, whose hardy natures found a congenial
temperature in the icy atmosphere of the more elevated regions.
These dreary solitudes seemed to be nearly abandoned by the brute
creation as well as by man. The light-footed vicuna, roaming in
its native state, might be sometimes seen looking down from some
airy cliff, where the foot of the hunter dared not venture. But
instead of the feathered tribes whose gay plumage sparkled in the
deep glooms of the tropical forests, the adventurers now beheld
only the great bird of the Andes, the loathsome condor, who,
sailing high above the clouds, followed with doleful cries in the
track of the army, as if guided by instinct in the path of blood
and carnage.
[Footnote 2: "Es tanto el frio que hace en esta Sierra, que como
los Caballos venian hechos al calor, que en los Valles hacia,
algunos de ellos se resfriaron." Ibid., p. 191.]
At length they reached the crest of the Cordillera, where it
spreads out into a bold and bleak expanse, with scarce the
vestige of vegetation, except what is afforded by the pajonal, a
dried yellow grass, which, as it is seen from below, encircling
the base of the snow-covered peaks, looks, with its brilliant
straw-color lighted up in the rays of an ardent sun, like a
setting of gold round pinnacles of burnished silver. The land
was sterile, as usual in mining districts, and they were drawing
near the once famous gold quarries on the way to Caxamalca;
"Rocks rich in gems, and mountains big with mines,
That on the high equator ridgy rise."
Here Pizarro halted for the coming up of the rear. The air was
sharp and frosty; and the soldiers, spreading their tents,
lighted fires, and, huddling round them, endeavoured to find some
repose after their laborious march. *3
[Footnote 3: "E aposentaronse los Espanoles en sus toldos o
pabellones de algodon de la tierra que llevaban, e haciendo
fuegos para defenderse del mucho frio que en aquella Sierra
hacen, porque sin ellos no se pudieron valer sin padecer mucho
trabajo; y segun a los cristianos les parecio, y aun como era lo
cierto, no podia haber mas frio en parte de Espana en invierno.
Oviedo, Hist. de las Indias, Ms., Parte 3, lib. 8, cap. 4.]
They had not been long in these quarters, when a messenger
arrived, one of those who had accompanied the Indian envoy sent
by Pizarro to Atahuallpa. He informed the general that the road
was free from enemies, and that an embassy from the Inca was on
its way to the Castilian camp. Pizarro now sent back to quicken
the march of the rear, as he was unwilling that the Peruvian
envoy should find him with his present diminished numbers. The
rest of the army were not far distant, and not long after reached
the encampment.
In a short time the Indian embassy also arrived, which consisted
of one of the Inca nobles and several attendants, bringing a
welcome present of llamas to the Spanish commander. The Peruvian
bore, also, the greetings of his master, who wished to know when
the Spaniards would arrive at Caxamalca, that he might provide
suitable refreshments for them. Pizarro learned that the Inca
had left Guamachucho, and was now lying with a small force in the
neighbourhood of Caxamalca, at a place celebrated for its natural
springs of warm water. The Peruvian was an intelligent person,
and the Spanish commander gathered from him many particulars
respecting the late contests which had distracted the empire.
As the envoy vaunted in lofty terms the military prowess and
resources of his sovereign, Pizarro thought it politic to show
that it had no power to overawe him. He expressed his
satisfaction at the triumphs of Atahuallpa, who, he acknowledged,
had raised himself high in the rank of Indian warriors. But he
was as inferior, he added with more policy than politeness, to
the monarch who ruled over the white men, as the petty curacas of
the country were inferior to him. This was evident from the ease
with which a few Spaniards had overrun this great continent,
subduing one nation after another, that had offered resistance to
their arms. He had been led by the fame of Atahuallpa to visit
his dominions, and to offer him his services in his wars; and, if
he were received by the Inca in the same friendly spirit with
which he came, he was willing, for the aid he could render him,
to postpone awhile his passage across the country to the opposite
seas. The Indian, according to the Castilian accounts, listened
with awe to this strain of glorification from the Spanish
commander. Yet it is possible that the envoy was a better
diplomatist than they imagined; and that he understood it was
only the game of brag at which he was playing with his more
civilized antagonist. *4
[Footnote 4: Xerez, Conq. del Peru, ap. Barcia, tom. III. p. 193.
- Oviedo, Hist. de las Indias, Ms., Parte 3, lib. 8, cap. 5.]
On the succeeding morning, at an early hour, the troops were
again on their march, and for two days were occupied in threading
the airy defiles of the Cordilleras. Soon after beginning their
descent on the eastern side, another emissary arrived from the
Inca, bearing a message of similar import to the preceding, and a
present, in like manner, of Peruvian sheep. This was the same
noble that had visited Pizarro in the valley. He now came in
more state, quaffing chicha - the fermented juice of the maize -
from golden goblets borne by his attendants, which sparkled in
the eyes of the rapacious adventurers. *5
[Footnote 5: "Este Embajardor traia servicio de Senor, i cinco, o
seis Vasos de Oro fino, con que bebia, i con ellos daba a beber a
los Espanoles de la Chicha que traia." Xerez, Conq. del Peru, ap.
Barcia, tom III. p 193. - Oviedo, Hist. de las Indias, Ms., ubi
supra.
The latter author, in this part of his work, has done little more
than make a transcript of that of Xerez. His indorsement of
Pizarro's secretary, however, is of value, from the fact that,
with less temptation to misstate or overstate, he enjoyed
excellent opportunities for information.]
While he was in the camp, the Indian messenger, originally sent
by Pizarro to the Inca, returned, and no sooner did he behold the
Peruvian, and the honorable reception which he met with from the
Spaniards, than he was filled with wrath, which would have vented
itself in personal violence, but for the interposition of the
by-standers. It was hard, he said, that this Peruvian dog should
be thus courteously treated, when he himself had nearly lost his
life on a similar mission among his countrymen. On reaching the
Inca's camp, he had been refused admission to his presence, on
the ground that he was keeping a fast and could not be seen.
They had paid no respect to his assertion that he came as an
envoy from the white men, and would, probably, not have suffered
him to escape with life, if he had not assured them that any
violence offered to him would be retaliated in full measure on
the persons of the Peruvian envoys, now in the Spanish quarters.
There was no doubt, he continued, of the hostile intentions of
Atahuallpa; for he was surrounded with a powerful army, strongly
encamped about a league from Caxamalca, while that city was
entirely evacuated by its inhabitants.
To all this the Inca's envoy coolly replied, that Pizarro's
messenger might have reckoned on such a reception as he had
found, since he seemed to have taken with him no credentials of
his mission. As to the Inca's fast, that was true; and, although
he would doubtless have seen the messenger, had he known there
was one from the strangers, yet it was not safe to disturb him at
these solemn seasons, when engaged in his religious duties. The
troops by whom he was surrounded were not numerous, considering
that the Inca was at that time carrying on an important war; and
as to Caxamalca, it was abandoned by the inhabitants in order to
make room for the white men, who were so soon to occupy it. *6
[Footnote 6: Xerez, Conq. del Peru, ap. Barcia, tom. III. p. 194.
- Oviedo Hist. de las Indias, Ms., ubi supra.]
This explanation, however plausible, did not altogether satisfy
the general; for he had too deep a conviction of the cunning of
Atahuallpa, whose intentions towards the Spaniards he had long
greatly distrusted. As he proposed, however, to keep on friendly
relations with the monarch for the present, it was obviously not
his cue to manifest suspicion. Affecting, therefore, to give
full credit to the explanation of the envoy, he dismissed him
with reiterated assurances of speedily presenting himself before
the Inca.
The descent of the sierra, though the Andes are less precipitous
on their eastern side than towards the west, was attended with
difficulties almost equal to those of the upward march; and the
Spaniards felt no little satisfaction, when, on the seventh day,
they arrived in view of the valley of Caxamalca, which, enamelled
with all the beauties of cultivation, lay unrolled like a rich
and variegated carpet of verdure, in strong contrast with the
dark forms of the Andes, that rose up everywhere around it. The
valley is of an oval shape, extending about five leagues in
length by three in breadth. It was inhabited by a population of
a superior character to any which the Spaniards had met on the
other side of the mountains, as was argued by the superior style
of their attire, and the greater cleanliness and comfort visible
both in their persons and dwellings. *7 As far as the eye could
reach, the level tract exhibited the show of a diligent and
thrifty husbandry. A broad river rolled through the meadows,
supplying facilities for copious irrigation by means of the usual
canals and subterraneous aqueducts. The land, intersected by
verdant hedge-rows, was checkered with patches of various
cultivation; for the soil was rich, and the climate, if less
stimulating than that of the sultry regions of the coast, was
more favorable to the hardy products of the temperate latitudes.
Below the adventurers, with its white houses glittering in the
sun, lay the little city of Caxamalca, like a sparkling gem on
the dark skirts of the sierra. At the distance of about a league
farther, across the valley, might be seen columns of vapor rising
up towards the heavens, indicating the place of the famous hot
baths, much frequented by the Peruvian princes. And here, too,
was a spectacle less grateful to the eyes of the Spaniards; for
along the slope of the hills a white cloud of pavilions was seen
covering the ground, as thick as snow-flakes, for the space,
apparently, of several miles. "It filled us all with amazement,"
exclaims one of the Conquerors, "to behold the Indians occupying
so proud a position! So many tents, so well appointed, as were
never seen in the Indies till now The spectacle caused something
like confusion and even fear in the stoutest bosom. But it was
too late to turn back, or to betray the least sign of weakness,
since the natives in our own company would, in such case, have
been the first to rise upon us. So, with as bold a countenance
as we could, after coolly surveying the ground, we prepared for
our entrance into Caxamalca." *8
[Footnote 7: Xerez, Conq. del Peru, ap. Barcia, tom. III. p.
195.]
[Footnote 8: "Y eran tantas las tiendas que parecian, que cierto
nos puso harto espanto, porque no pensabamos que Indios pudiesen
tener tan soberbia estancia, ni tantas tiendas, ni tan a punto,
lo cual hasta alli en las Indias nunca se vio, que nos causo a
todos los Espanoles harta confusion y temor; aunque no convenia
mostrarse, ni menos volver atras, porque si alguna flaqueza en
nosotros sintieran, los mismos Indios que llevabamos nos mataran,
y ansi con animoso semblante, despues de haber muy bien atalayado
el pueblo y tiendas que he dicho, abajamos por el valle abajo, y
entramos en el pueblo de Cajamalca." Relacion del Primer.
Descub., Ms.]
What were the feelings of the Peruvian monarch we are not
informed, when he gazed on the martial cavalcade of the
Christians, as, with banners streaming, and bright panoplies
glistening in the rays of the evening sun, it emerged from the
dark depths of the sierra, and advanced in hostile array over the
fair domain, which, to this period, had never been trodden by
other foot than that of the red man. It might be, as several of
the reports had stated, that the Inca had purposely decoyed the
adventurers into the heart of his populous empire, that he might
envelope them with his legions, and the more easily become master
of their property and persons. *9 Or was it from a natural
feeling of curiosity, and relying on their professions of
friendship, that he had thus allowed them, without any attempt at
resistance, to come into his presence? At all events, he could
hardly have felt such confidence in himself, as not to look with
apprehension, mingled with awe, on the mysterious strangers, who,
coming from an unknown world, and possessed of such wonderful
gifts, had made their way across mountain and valley, in spite of
every obstacle which man and nature had opposed to them.
[Footnote 9: This was evidently the opinion of the old Conqueror,
whose imperfect manuscript forms one of the best authorities for
this portion of our narrative. "Teniendonos en muy poco, y no
haciendo cuenta que 190 hombres le habian de ofender. dio lugar
y consintio que pasasemos por aquel paso y por otros muchos tan
malos como el, porque realmente, a lo que despues se supo y
averiguo, su intencion era vernos y preguntarnos, de donde
veniamos? y quien nos habia hechado alli? y que queriamos?
Porque era muy sabio y discreto, y aunque sin luz ni escriptura,
amigo de saber y de sotil entendimiento; y despues de holgadose
con nosotros, tomarnos los caballos y las cosas que a el mas le
aplacian, y sacrificar a los demas." Relacion del Primer.
Descub., Ms.]
Pizarro, meanwhile, forming his little corps into three
divisions, now moved forward, at a more measured pace, and in
order of battle, down the slopes that led towards the Indian
city. As he drew near, no one came out to welcome him; and he
rode through the streets without meeting with a living thing, or
hearing a sound, except the echoes, sent back from the deserted
dwellings, of the tramp of the soldiery.
It was a place of considerable size, containing about ten
thousand inhabitants, somewhat more, probably, than the
population assembled at this day within the walls of the modern
city of Caxamalca. *10 The houses, for the most part, were built
of clay, hardened in the sun; the roofs thatched, or of timber.
Some of the more ambitious dwellings were of hewn stone; and
there was a convent in the place, occupied by the Virgins of the
Sun, and a temple dedicated to the same tutelar deity, which last
was hidden in the deep embowering shades of a grove on the skirts
of the city. On the quarter towards the Indian camp was a square
- if square it might be called, which was almost triangular in
form - of an immense size, surrounded by low buildings. These
consisted of capacious halls, with wide doors or opening
communicating with the square. They were probably intended as a
sort of barracks for the Inca's soldiers. *11 At the end of the
plaza, looking towards the country, was a fortress of stone, with
a stairway leading from the city, and a private entrance from the
adjoining suburbs. There was still another fortress on the
rising ground which commanded the town, built of hewn stone, and
encompassed by three circular walls, - or rather one and the same
wall, which wound up spirally around it. It was a place of great
strength, and the workmanship showed a better knowledge of
masonry, and gave a higher impression of the architectural
science of the people, than any thing the Spaniards had yet seen.
*12
[Footnote 10: According to Stevenson, this population, which is
of a very mixed character, amounts, or did amount some thirty
years ago, to about seven thousand. That sagacious traveller
gives an animated description of the city, in which he resided
some time, and which he seems to have regarded with peculiar
predilection. Yet it does not hold probably the relative rank at
the present day, that it did in that of the Incas. Residence in
South America, vol. II. p. 131.]
[Footnote 11: Carta de Hern. Pizarro, ap. Oviedo, Hist. de las
Indias, Ms. Parte 3, lib. 8, cap. 15. - Xerez Conq. del Peru, ap.
Barcia, tom III. p. 195.]
[Footnote 12: "Fuercas son, que entre Indios no se han visto
tales." Xerez, Conq. del Peru, ap. Barcia, tom. III. p. 195. -
Relacion del Primer. Descub., Ms.]
It was late in the afternoon of the fifteenth of November, 1532,
when the Conquerors entered the city of Caxamalca. The weather,
which had been fair during the day, now threatened a storm, and
some rain mingled with hail - for it was unusually cold - began
to fall. *13 Pizarro, however, was so anxious to ascertain the
dispositions of the Inca, that he determined to send an embassy,
at once, to his quarters. He selected for this, Hernando de Soto
with fifteen horse, and, after his departure, conceiving that the
number was too small, in case of any unfriendly demonstrations by
the Indians, he ordered his brother Hernando to follow with
twenty additional troopers. This captain and one other of his
party have left us an account of the excursion. *14
[Footnote 13: "Desde a poco rato comenco a llover, i caer
granico." (Xerez, Conq. del Peru, ap. Barcia, tom. III. p. 195.)
Caxamalca, in the Indian tongue, signifies "place of frost"; for
the temperature, though usually bland and genial, is sometimes
affected by frosty winds from the east, very pernicious to
vegetation. Stervenson, Residence in South America, vol. II. p.
129.]
[Footnote 14: Carta de Hern. Pizarro, Ms. The Letter of Hernando
Pizarro, addressed to the Royal Audience of St. Domingo, gives a
full account of the extraordinary events recorded in this and the
ensuing chapter, in which that cavalier took a prominent part.
Allowing for the partialities incident to a chief actor in the
scenes he describes, no authority can rank higher. The
indefatigable Oviedo, who resided in St. Domingo, saw its
importance, and fortunately incorporated the document in his
great work, Hist. de las Indias, Ms., Parte 3, lib. 8, cap. 15. -
The anonymous author of the Relacion del Primer. Descub., Ms.,
was also detached on this service.]
Between the city and the imperial camp was a causeway, built in a
substantial manner across the meadow land that intervened. Over
this the cavalry galloped at a rapid pace, and, before they had
gone a league, they came in front of the Peruvian encampment,
where it spread along the gentle slope of the mountains. The
lances of the warriors were fixed in the ground before their
tents, and the Indian soldiers were loitering without, gazing
with silent astonishment at the Christians cavalcade, as with
clangor of arms and shrill blast of trumpet it swept by, like
some fearful apparition, on the wings of the wind.
The party soon came to a broad but shallow stream, which, winding
through the meadow, formed a defence for the Inca's position.
Across it was a wooden bridge; but the cavaliers, distrusting its
strength, preferred to dash through the waters, and without
difficulty gained the opposite bank. A battalion of Indian
warriors was drawn up under arms on the farther side of the
bridge, but they offered no molestation to the Spaniards; and
these latter had strict orders from Pizarro - scarcely necessary
in their present circumstances - to treat the natives with
courtesy. One of the Indians pointed out the quarter occupied by
the Inca. *15
[Footnote 15: Pedro Pizarro, Descub. y Conq., Ms. - Carta de Hern
Pizarro, Ms.]
It was an open court-yard, with a light building or
pleasure-house in the centre, having galleries running around it,
and opening in the rear on a garden. The walls were covered with
a shining plaster, both white and colored, and in the area before
the edifice was seen a spacious tank or reservoir of stone, fed
by aqueducts that supplied it with both warm and cold water. *16
A basin of hewn stone - it may be of a more recent construction -
still bears, on the spot, the name of the "Inca's bath." *17 The
court was filled with Indian nobles, dressed in gayly ornamented
attire, in attendance on the monarch, and with women of the royal
household. Amidst this assembly it was not difficult to
distinguish the person of Atahuallpa, though his dress was
simpler than that of his attendants. But he wore on his head the
crimson borla or fringe, which, surrounding the forehead, hung
down as low as the eyebrow. This was the well-known badge of
Peruvian sovereignty, and had been assumed by the monarch only
since the defeat of his brother Huascar. He was seated on a low
stool or cushion, somewhat after the Morisco or Turkish fashion,
and his nobles and principal officers stood around him, with
great ceremony, holding the stations suited to their rank. *18
[Footnote 16: Xerez, Conq. del Peru, ap. Barcia. tom. III. p.
202.
"Y al estanque venian dos canos de agua, uno caliente y otro
frio, y alli se templava la una con la otra, para quando el Senor
se queria banar o sus mugeres que otra persona no osava entrar en
el so pena de la vida." Pedro Pizarro, Descub. y. Conq., Ms.]
[Footnote 17: Stevenson, Residence in South America, vol. II. p.
164.]
[Footnote 18: Xerez, Conq. del Peru, ap. Barcia, tom. III. p.
196. - Carta de Hern. Pizarro, Ms.
The appearance of the Peruvian monarch is described in simple but
animated style by the Conqueror so often quoted, one of the
party. "Llegados al patio de la dicha casa que tenia delante
della, vimos estar en medio de gran muchedumbre de Indios
asentado aquel gran Senor Atabalica (de quien tanta noticia, y
tantas cosas nos habian dicho) con una corona en la cabeza, y una
borla que le salia della, y le cubria toda la frente, la cual era
la insinia real, sentado en una sillecita muy baja del suelo,
como los turcos y moros acostumbran sentarse, el cual estaba con
tanta magestad y aparato cual nunca se ha visto jamas, porque
estaba cercado de mas de seiscientos Senores de su tierra."
Relacion del Primer. Descub., Ms.]
The Spaniards gazed with much interest on the prince, of whose
cruelty and cunning they had heard so much, and whose valor had
secured to him the possession of the empire. But his countenance
exhibited neither the fierce passions nor the sagacity which had
been ascribed to him; and, though in his bearing he showed a
gravity and a calm consciousness of authority well becoming a
king, he seemed to discharge all expression from his features,
and to discover only the apathy so characteristic of the American
races. On the present occasion, this must have been in part, at
least, assumed. For it is impossible that the Indian prince
should not have contemplated with curious interest a spectacle so
strange, and, in some respects, appalling, as that of these
mysterious strangers, for which no previous description could
have prepared him.
Hernando Pizarro and Soto, with two or three only of their
followers, slowly rode up in front of the Inca; and the former,
making a respectful obeisance, but without dismounting, informed
Atahuallpa that he came as an ambassador from his brother, the
commander of the white men, to acquaint the monarch with their
arrival in his city of Caxamalca. They were the subjects of a
mighty prince across the waters, and had come, he said, drawn
thither by the report of his great victories, to offer their
services, and to impart to him the doctrines of the true faith
which they professed; and he brought an invitation from the
general to Atahuallpa that the latter would be pleased to visit
the Spaniards in their present quarters. quarter.
To all this the Inca answered not a word; nor did he make even a
sign of acknowledgment that he comprehended it; though it was
translated for him by Felipillo, one of the interpreters already
noticed. He remained silent, with his eyes fastened on the
ground; but one of his nobles, standing by his side, answered,
"It is well." *19 This was an embarrassing situation for the
Spaniards, who seemed to be as wide from ascertaining the real
disposition of the Peruvian monarch towards themselves, as when
the mountains were between them.
[Footnote 19: "Las cuales por el oidas, con ser su inclinacion
pereguntarnos y saber de donde veniamos, y que queriamos, y ver
nuestras personas y caballos, tubo tanta serenidad en el rostro,
y tanta gravedad en su persona, que no quiso responder palabra a
lo que se le decia, salvo que un Senor de aquellos que estaban
par de el respondia: bien esta." Relacion del Primer. Descub.,
Ms.]
In a courteous and respectful manner, Hernando Pizarro again
broke the silence by requesting the Inca to speak to them
himself, and to inform them what was his pleasure. *20 To this
Atahuallpa condescended to reply, while a faint smile passed over
his features, - "Tell your captain that I am keeping a fast,
which will end to-morrow morning. I will then visit him, with my
chieftains. In the mean time, let him occupy the public
buildings on the square, and no other, till I come, when I will
order what shall be done." *21
[Footnote 20: "Visto por el dicho Hernando Pizarro que el no
hablaba y que aquella tercera persona respondia de suyo, torno le
a suplicar, que el hablase por su boca, y le respondiese lo que
quisiese." Ibid., Ms., ubi supra.]
[Footnote 21: "El cual a esto volvio la cabeza a mirarle
sonriendose y le dijo: Decid a ese Capitan que os embia aca; que
yo estoy en ayuno, y le acabo manana por la manana, que en
bebiendo una vez, yo ire con algunos destos principales mios a
verme con el, que en tanto el se aposente en esas casas que estan
en la plaza que son comunes a todos, y que no entren en otra
ninguna hasta que Yo vaya, que Yo mandare lo que se ha de hacer."
Ibid., Ms., ubi supra.
In this singular interview I have followed the account of the
cavalier who accompanied Hernando Pizarro, in preference to the
latter, who represents himself as talking in a lordly key, that
savours too much of the vaunt of the hidalgo.]
Soto, one of the party present at this interview, as before
noticed, was the best mounted and perhaps the best rider in
Pizarro's troop. Observing that Atahuallpa looked with some
interest on the fiery steed that stood before him, champing the
bit and pawing the ground with the natural impatience of a
war-horse, the Spaniard gave him the rein, and, striking his iron
heel into his side, dashed furiously over the plain; then,
wheeling him round and round, displayed all the beautiful
movements of his charger, and his own excellent horsemanship.
Suddenly checking him in full career, he brought the animal
almost on his haunches, so near the person of the Inca, that some
of the foam that flecked his horse's sides was thrown on the
royal garments. But Atahuallpa maintained the same marble
composure as before, though several of his soldiers, whom De Soto
passed in the course, were so much disconcerted by it, that they
drew back in manifest terror, an act of timidity for which they
paid dearly, if, as the Spaniards assert, Atahuallpa caused them
to be put to death that same evening for betraying such unworthy
weakness to the strangers. *22
[Footnote 22: Pedro Pizarro, Descub. y Conq., Ms. - Relacion del
Primer. Descub., Ms.
"I algunos Indios, con miedo, se desviaron de la Carrera, por lo
qual Atabalipa los hico luego matar." (Zarate, Conq. del Peru,
lib. 2, cap. 4.) - Xerez states that Atahuallpa confessed this
himself, in conversation with the Spaniards after he was taken
prisoner. - Soto's charger might well have made the Indians
start, if, as Balboa says, he took twenty feet at a leap, and
this with a knight in armour on his back! Hist. du Perou, chap.
22.]
Refreshments were now offered by the royal attendants to the
Spaniards, which they declined, being unwilling to dismount.
They did not refuse, however, to quaff the sparkling chicha from
golden vases of extraordinary size, presented to them by the
dark-eyed beauties of the harem. *23 Taking then a respectful
leave of the Inca, the cavaliers rode back to Caxamalca, with
many moody speculations on what they had seen; on the state and
opulence of the Indian monarch; on the strength of his military
array, their excellent appointments, and the apparent discipline
in their ranks, - all arguing a much higher degree of
civilization, and consequently of power, than any thing they had
witnessed in the lower regions of the country. As they
contrasted all this with their own diminutive force, too far
advanced, as they now were, for succour to reach them, they felt
they had done rashly in throwing themselves into the midst of so
formidable an empire, and were filled with gloomy forebodings of
the result. *24 Their comrades in the camp soon caught the
infectious spirit of despondency, which was not lessened as night
came on, and they beheld the watch-fires of the Peruvians
lighting up the sides of the mountains, and glittering in the
darkness, "as thick," says one who saw them, "as the stars of
heaven." *25
[Footnote 23: Relacion del Primer. Descub., Ms. - Xerez, Conq.
del Peru, ap. Barcia, tom. III. p. 196.]
[Footnote 24: "Hecho esto y visto y atalayado la grandeza del
ejercito, y las tiendas que era bien de ver, nos bolvimos a donde
el dicho capitan nos estaba esperando, harto espantados de lo que
habiamos visto, habiendo y tomando entre nosotros muchos acuerdos
y opiniones de lo que se debia hacer, estando todos con mucho
temor por ser tan pocos, y estar tan metidos en la tierra donde
no podiamos ser socorridos." (Relacion del Primer. Descub., Ms.)
Pedro Pizarro is honest enough to confirm this account of the
consternation of the Spaniards. (Descub. y Conq., Ms.) Fear was
a strange sensation for the Castilian cavalier. But if he did
not feel some touch of it on that occasion, he must have been
akin to that doughty knight who, as Charles V. pronounced, "never
could have snuffed a candle with his fingers."]
[Footnote 25: "Hecimos la guardia en la plaza, de donde se vian
los fuegos del ejercito de los Indios, lo cual era cosa
espantable, que como estaban en una ladera la mayor parte, y tan
juntos unos de otros, no pa recia sino un cielo muy estrellado."
Relacion del Primer. Descub., Ms]
Yet there was one bosom in that little host which was not touched
with the feeling either of fear or dejection. That was
Pizarro's, who secretly rejoiced that he had now brought matters
to the issue for which he had so long panted. He saw the
necessity of kindling a similar feeling in his followers, or all
would be lost. Without unfolding his plans, he went round among
his men, beseeching them not to show faint hearts at this crisis,
when they stood face to face with the foe whom they had been so
long seeking. "They were to rely on themselves, and on that
Providence which had carried them safe through so many fearful
trials. It would not now desert them; and if numbers, however
great, were on the side of their enemy, it mattered little when
the arm of Heaven was on theirs." *26 The Spanish cavalier acted
under the combined influence of chivalrous adventure and
religious zeal. The latter was the most effective in the hour of
peril; and Pizarro, who understood well the characters he had to
deal with, by presenting the enterprise as a crusade, kindled the
dying embers of enthusiasm in the bosoms of his followers, and
restored their faltering courage.
[Footnote 26: Xerez, Conq. del Peru, ap. Barcia, tom. III. p.
197. - Nanarro Relacion Sumaria, Ms]
He then summoned a council of his officers, to consider the plan
of operations, or rather to propose to them the extraordinary
plan on which he had himself decided. This was to lay an
ambuscade for the Inca, and take him prisoner in the face of his
whole army! It was a project full of peril, - bordering, as it
might well seem, on desperation. But the circumstances of the
Spaniards were desperate. Whichever way they turned, they were
menaced by the most appalling dangers; and better was it bravely
to confront the danger, than weakly to shrink from it, when there
was no avenue for escape.
To fly was now too late. Whither could they fly? At the first
signal of retreat, the whole army of the Inca would be upon them.
Their movements would be anticipated by a foe far better
acquainted with the intricacies of the sierra than themselves;
the passes would be occupied, and they would be hemmed in on all
sides; while the mere fact of this retrograde movement would
diminish the confidence and with it the effective strength of his
own men, while it doubled that of his enemy.
Yet to remain long inactive in his present position seemed almost
equally perilous. Even supposing that Atahuallpa should
entertain friendly feelings towards the Christians, they could
not confide in the continuance of such feelings. Familiarity
with the white men would soon destroy the idea of any thing
supernatural, or even superior, in their natures. He would feel
contempt for their diminutive numbers. Their horses, their arms
and showy appointments, would be an attractive bait in the eye of
the barbaric monarch, and when conscious that he had the power to
crush their possessors, he would not be slow in finding a pretext
for it. A sufficient one had already occurred in the high-handed
measures of the Conquerors, on their march through his dominions.
But what reason had they to flatter themselves that the Inca
cherished such a disposition towards them? He was a crafty and
unscrupulous prince, and, if the accounts they had repeatedly
received on their march were true, had ever regarded the coming
of the Spaniards with an evil eye. It was scarcely possible he
should do otherwise. His soft messages had only been intended to
decoy them across the mountains, where, with the aid of his
warriors, he might readily overpower them. They were entangled
in the toils which the cunning monarch had spread for them.
Their only remedy, then, was to turn the Inca's arts against
himself; to take him, if possible, in his own snare. There was
no time to be lost; for any day might bring back the victorious
legions who had recently won his battles at the south, and thus
make the odds against the Spaniards far greater than now.
Yet to encounter Atahuallpa in the open field would be attended
with great hazard; and even if victorious, there would be little
probability that the person of the Inca, of so much importance,
would fall into the hands of the victors. The invitation he had
so unsuspiciously accepted to visit them in their quarters
afforded the best means for securing this desirable prize. Nor
was the enterprise so desperate, considering the great advantages
afforded by the character and weapons of the invaders, and the
unexpectedness of the assault. The mere circumstance of acting
on a concerted plan would alone make a small number more than a
match for a much larger one. But it was not necessary to admit
the whole of the Indian force into the city before the attack;
and the person of the Inca once secured, his followers, astounded
by so strange an event, were they few or many, would have no
heart for further resistance; - and with the Inca once in his
power, Pizarro might dictate laws to the empire.
In this daring project of the Spanish chief, it was easy to see
that he had the brilliant exploit of Cortes in his mind, when he
carried off the Aztec monarch in his capital. But that was not
by violence, at least not by open violence, - and it received the
sanction, compulsory though it were, of the monarch himself. It
was also true that the results in that case did not altogether
justify a repetition of the experiment; since the people rose in
a body to sacrifice both the prince and his kidnappers. Yet this
was owing, in part, at least, to the indiscretion of the latter.
The experiment in the outset was perfectly successful; and, could
Pizarro once become master of the person of Atahuallpa, he
trusted to his own discretion for the rest. It would, at least,
extricate him from his present critical position, by placing in
his power an inestimable guaranty for his safety; and if he could
not make his own terms with the Inca at once, the arrival of
reinforcements from home would, in all probability, soon enable
him to do so.
Pizarro having concerted his plans for the following day, the
council broke up, and the chief occupied himself with providing
for the security of the camp during the night. The approaches to
the town were defended; sentinels were posted at different
points, especially on the summit of the fortress, where they were
to observe the position of the enemy, and to report any movement
that menaced the tranquillity of the night. After these
precautions, the Spanish commander and his followers withdrew to
their appointed quarters, - but not to sleep. At least, sleep
must have come late to those who were aware of the decisive plan
for the morrow; that morrow which was to be the crisis of their
fate, - to crown their ambitious schemes with full success, or
consign them to irretrievable ruin!