_The Atrocities of Pizarro._
Fears of Pizarro.--Honorable Conduct of the Inca.--The March
to Caxamarca.--Hospitable Reception.--Perfidious Attack upon
the Inca.--His Capture and Imprisonment.--The Honor of De
Soto.--The Offered Ransom.--Treachery and Extortion of
Pizarro.
The report which De Soto brought back was in many respects quite
alarming to the Pizarros. Though they were delighted to hear of the
wealth which had been discovered, and the golden ornaments decorating
houses, temples and shrines, they were not a little alarmed in the
contemplation of the large population over which the Inca reigned, and
of the power of his government. The spectacle of the gallows also at
Guancabama, caused very uncomfortable sensations.
Both of these men were aware that they and their troops had committed
crimes which would doom them to the scaffold, should the Inca be able
to punish them according to their deserts. Indeed it subsequently
appeared, that the Inca had heard of their outrages. But with humanity
and a sense of justice which reflects lustre upon his name, he had
resolved not to punish them unheard in their own defence. He knew not
but that false representations had been made of the facts. He knew not
but that the Spaniards had been goaded to acts of retaliation by
outrages on the part of the Peruvians.
He therefore invited the Spanish adventurers to meet him at Caxamarca,
assuring them of a safe passage to that place. With fear and trembling
Pizarro consented, with his little band of two hundred and fifty men,
to visit the Peruvian camp, where fifty thousand soldiers might be
arrayed against him. The path they were to traverse led through
defiles of the mountains, where a few hundred men could arrest the
march of an army. The Spaniards afterwards could not but admit, that
had the Inca cherished any perfidious design, he might with the utmost
ease have utterly exterminated them. Not a man could have escaped.
The march of these trembling men was not with the triumphant tramp of
conquerors. They did not enter the Peruvian camp with flourish of
trumpets and bugle blasts, but as peaceful ambassadors, with a showy
retinue, who had been permitted to traverse the country unharmed. The
sun was just sinking behind the rugged peaks of the mountains on the
fifteenth of November, 1532, when Pizarro's band rode into the streets
of Caxamarca. In the centre of the town there was a large public
square. On one side of that square was a spacious stone edifice, which
the Inca had caused to be prepared for the accommodation of his
guests. This building was a part of a strong fortress, within whose
massive walls, a small party of well armed men might easily defend
themselves against a host.
The fact that Attahuallapa assigned to them such quarters, proves
conclusively that he had no intention to treat them otherwise than in
the most friendly manner. The Inca, with the troops immediately under
his command, was encamped at a distance of about three miles from the
town. The treacherous Pizarro was ever apprehensive of treachery on
the part of others. He was an entire stranger to that calm and
peaceful courage which seemed always to reign in the bosom of De Soto.
Immediately after he reached Caxamarca he dispatched De Soto to inform
the Inca of his arrival. The Peruvian camp covered several acres of
ground, with substantial and commodious tents. In the centre there was
truly a magnificent pavilion, gorgeous in its decorations, which was
appropriated to the Inca. Attahuallapa was informed of the approach of
the Spanish cavaliers. He came from his tent and took his seat upon a
splendid throne prepared for the occasion. The Peruvian soldiers gazed
with amazement upon the spectacle of these horsemen as they were led
into the presence of their sovereign.
De Soto, with the native grace which attended all his actions,
alighted from his horse, bowed respectfully to the monarch, and said
in words which were interpreted by Filipillo.
"I am sent by my commander, Don Francisco Pizarro, who desires to be
admitted to your presence, to give you an account of the causes which
have brought him to this country, and other matters which it may
behoove your majesty to know. He humbly entreats you to allow him an
interview this night or to-morrow, as he wishes to make you an offer
of his services, and to deliver the message which has been committed
to him by his sovereign, the king of Spain."
Attahuallapa replied with much dignity and some apparent reserve, that
he cordially accepted the friendly offers of Pizarro, and would grant
him the desired interview the following morning. The Inca was a young
man about thirty years of age. He was tall, admirably formed, and with
a very handsome countenance. But there was an expression of sadness
overspreading his features, and a pensive tone in his address,
indicating that he was a man who had seen affliction.
The splendid steed from which De Soto had alighted was restlessly
pawing the ground at a short distance from the tent of the Inca,
attracting the particular attention and admiration of the sovereign.
De Soto, perceiving the admiration which his steed elicited,
remounted, and touching the spirited animal with the spur, went
bounding with almost the speed of the wind over the level plain,
causing his horse now to rear, and now to plunge, wheeling him around,
and thus exhibiting his excellent qualities. He then came down at full
speed to the spot where the Inca stood, until within a few feet of the
monarch, when he checked his horse so suddenly as to throw him back
upon his haunches. Some of the attendants of the Inca were evidently
alarmed; but the Inca himself stood proudly immovable. He reproved his
attendants for their timidity; and Mr. Prescott, who represents
Attahuallapa as a very cruel man, intimates that he put some of them
to death that evening for betraying such weakness before the
strangers. Refreshments were offered to De Soto and his party, and a
sort of wine was presented to them in golden cups, of extraordinary
size.
As De Soto, having fulfilled his mission, was about to leave the royal
presence and return to Caxamarca, Attahuallapa said:
"Tell your companions, that as I am keeping a fast, I cannot to-day
accept their invitation. I will come to them to-morrow. I may be
attended by a large and armed retinue. But let not that give you any
uneasiness. I wish to cultivate your friendship and that of your king.
I have already given ample proof that no harm is intended you, though
your captain, I am told, mistrusts me. If you think it will please him
better, I will come with few attendants and those unarmed."
De Soto warmly assured the Inca that no man could doubt his sincerity,
and begged him to consult his own taste entirely in reference to the
manner in which he would approach the Spaniards.
Upon the return of the cavalier to Pizarro, with an account of the
interview, that perfidious chieftain proposed to his men, that they
should seize the Inca and hold him in captivity as a hostage. Mr.
Prescott, in his account of this infamous procedure, speaks of it in
the following apologetic terms:
"Pizarro 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 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 the enemy."
The next morning was Saturday, the 16th of November, 1532. The sun
rose in a cloudless sky, and great preparations were made by the Inca
to display his grandeur and his power to his not very welcome guests.
A large retinue preceded and followed the monarch, while a courier was
sent forward to inform Pizarro of his approach. The Inca, habited in a
dress which was glittering with gems and gold, was seated in a
gorgeous open palanquin, borne upon the shoulders of many of his
nobles.
It was five o'clock in the afternoon, when the Inca, accompanied by a
small but unarmed retinue, entered the public square of the city. The
tents of his troops left outside, spread far and wide over the
meadows, indicating the presence of an immense host. The Inca was
clothed in a flowing robe of scarlet, woven of the finest wool, and
almost entirely covered with golden stars and the most precious gems.
His head was covered with a turban of variegated colors, to which
there was suspended a scarlet fringe, the badge of royalty. The
palanquin, or throne, on which he was seated, was apparently of pure
gold; and the cushion upon which he sat was covered with the most
costly gems. His nobles were also dressed in the highest possible
style of Peruvian wealth and art. It was estimated that the number of
the nobles and officers of the court who accompanied the king into the
square, was about two thousand. A large company of priests was also in
attendance, who chanted the Peruvian National Hymn.
It is very difficult for an honest mind to form any just conception of
such a religious fanatic, and such an irreligious wretch as this
Francisco Pizarro. Just before the Peruvians arrived he had attended a
solemn mass, in which the aid of the God of the Christians was
fervently implored in behalf of their enterprise. The mass was closed
with chanting one of the psalms of David, in which God is called upon
to arise and come to judgment. Friar Vincent, who was Pizarro's
spiritual adviser, and grand chaplain of the so-called Christian army,
was then sent forward with the Bible in one hand and a crucifix in the
other, to expound to the Inca the doctrines of the Christian faith,
stating that it was for that purpose, and for that only, that the
Spaniards had come into the country.
So far as we can judge from the uncertain records which have reached
us, the views he presented were what are called evangelical, though
highly imbued with the claims of the Papal Church. He described the
creation of man, his fall, the atonement by the crucifixion of the Son
of God, his ascension, leaving Peter and his successors, as his
vicegerents upon earth. Invested with this divine power, one of his
successors, the present Pope, had commissioned Pizarro to visit Peru,
to conquer and convert the natives to the true faith.
The Inca listened attentively to the arguments of the priest, but was
apparently unmoved by them. He calmly replied:
"I acknowledge that there is but one God, the maker of all things. As
for the Pope, I know him not. He must be insane to give away that
which does not belong to him. The king of Spain is doubtless a great
monarch, and I wish to make him my friend, but I cannot become his
vassal."
A few more words were interchanged, when the priest returned into the
stone fortress, where Pizarro stood surrounded by his soldiers. The
priest reported the conversation which had taken place; declared that
the Inca, in the pride of his heart, had rejected Christianity. He
therefore announced to Pizarro that he was authorized by the divine
law, to make war upon the Inca and his people.
"Go set on them at once," said he; "spare them not; kill these dogs
which so stubbornly despise the law of God. I absolve you."
The extraordinary scene which then ensued cannot perhaps be better
described than in the language of Mr. Prescott:
"Pizarro saw that the hour had come. He waved a white scarf
in the air, the appointed signal. The fatal gun was fired
from the fortress. Then springing into the square, the
Spanish captain and his followers shouted the old war cry of
'St. Jago, and at them!' It was answered by the battle cry of
every Spaniard in the city, as rushing from the avenues of
the great halls in which they were concealed, they poured
into the Plaza, horse and foot, and threw themselves into the
midst of the Indian crowd.
"The latter, taken by surprise, stunned by the reports of
artillery and musketry, the echoes of which reverberated like
thunder from the surrounding buildings, and blinded by the
smoke which rolled in sulphurous volumes along the square,
were seized with a panic. They knew not whither to fly for
refuge from the coming ruin. Nobles and commoners all were
trampled down under the fierce charge of the cavalry, who
dealt their blows right and left, without sparing; while
their swords, flashing through the thick gloom, carried
dismay into the hearts of the wretched natives, who now, for
the first time, saw the horse and his rider in all their
terrors. They made no resistance, as indeed they had no
weapons with which to resist.
"Every avenue to escape was closed, for the entrance to the
square was choked up with the dead bodies of men who had
perished in vain efforts to fly. And such was the agony of
the survivors, under the terrible pressure of their
assailants, that a large body of Indians, by their convulsive
struggles, burst through the wall of stone and dried clay,
which formed the boundary of the Plaza. It fell, leaving an
opening of more than a hundred paces, through which
multitudes now found their way into the country, still hotly
pursued by the cavalry, who, leaping the piles of rubbish,
hung on the rear of the fugitives, striking them down in all
directions.
"There were two great objects in view in this massacre. One
was to strike terror into the heart of the Peruvians; the
other was to obtain possession of the person of the Inca. It
seems that the nobles regarded their sovereign with almost
idolatrous homage. They rallied thickly around him, placed
their own bodies between him and the sabres of their
assailants, and made frantic endeavors to tear the cavaliers
from their saddles. Unfortunately they were unarmed, and had
neither arrows, javelins nor war clubs. The Inca sat helpless
in his palanquin, quite bewildered by the awful storm of war
which had thus suddenly burst around him. In the swaying of
the mighty mass, the litter heaved to and fro, like a ship in
a storm."
At length several of the nobles who supported it being slain, the
palanquin was overthrown, and the Inca, as he was falling to the
ground, was caught by the Spaniards. In the confusion of the affray,
Pizarro was slightly wounded in the hand by one of his own men. This
was the only hurt received by any Spaniard during the bloody affray.
The Inca being captured, the conflict in the square ceased. But there
was another object in view, as has been stated, and that was to strike
terror into the hearts of the Peruvians. Consequently the steel-clad
cavaliers pursued the fugitives in all directions, cutting them down
without mercy. Night, which followed the short twilight of the
tropics, put an end to the carnage, and the trumpets of Pizarro
recalled the soldiers, wiping their dripping sabres, to their
fortress. The number slain is variously estimated. The secretary of
Pizarro says that two thousand fell. A Peruvian annalist swells the
number of victims to ten thousand.
Attahuallapa, the monarch of the great kingdom of Peru, thus suddenly
found himself a prisoner in one of his own fortresses; surrounded by a
band of stern warriors, who had penetrated the heart of his empire
from a distance of more than two thousand leagues. Pizarro treated the
unhappy king with respect, and testifies to the dignity with which he
met his awful reverses. What part De Soto took in the outrages just
described, cannot now be known. He had unquestionably in good faith,
and as an honorable man, invited the Inca to visit Caxamarca, by which
invitation he had been enticed into the power of the Spaniards.
There is evidence that De Soto had no idea of the treachery which was
intended, for it was not until after he had left on his visit to the
Peruvian camp that the plot was formed for the seizure of the Inca.
Pizarro had two bodies of horsemen. One was commanded by his brother
Hernando, and the other by De Soto. There were thirty dragoons in each
band. Unquestionably, Hernando was a very eager participant in the
horrors of this day. It may be that De Soto, from the roof of the
fortress, was an inactive spectator of the scene. It does not seem
possible that with the character he had heretofore developed, he
could have lent his own strong arm and those of his horsemen to the
perpetration of a crime so atrocious. Still military discipline is a
terrible power. It sears the conscience and hardens the heart. The
fact that De Soto was present and that there are no evidences of
remonstrances on his part, has left a stigma upon his character which
time cannot efface.
The next morning these Spaniards, so zealous for the propagation of
the Christian faith, unmindful of their professed Christian mission,
betook themselves, with all alacrity, to the work of pillage. The
golden throne, and the royal wardrobe, were of very great value. The
nobles were clad in their richest garments of state, and the ground
was strewn with bodies of the dead, glittering in robes of gold and
gems. Having stripped the dead, they then entered the houses and
temples of Caxamarca and loaded themselves down with golden vases, and
other booty of great value. As one suggestive item, which reveals the
conduct of these brutal men, the good Las Casas states, that a Spanish
soldier seized a young Peruvian girl. When the mother rushed to rescue
her child, he cut off her arm with his sword, and then in his rage
hewed the maiden to pieces.
Pizarro now assumed the proud title of "The Conqueror of Peru." With
the sovereign as his prisoner, and elated by his great victory, he
felt that there was no resistance that he had to fear. It seems that
Attahuallapa had penetration enough to discern that De Soto was a very
different man in character from the Pizarros. He soon became quite
cordial and unreserved in his intercourse with him. And there is no
evidence that De Soto ever, in the slightest degree, betrayed his
confidence. One day the Inca inquired of De Soto for what amount of
ransom Pizarro would be willing to release him. De Soto was well aware
of the timidity and avarice of the captain. The love of the Peruvians
for their sovereign was such, that Pizarro was confident that so long
as Attahuallapa was in his power, they would not make war upon him. De
Soto felt therefore that there was no prospect that Pizarro would
release his captive for any ransom whatever, and sadly advised him to
resign all such hope. The Inca was greatly distressed. After a few
moments of silence, he said:
"My friend, do not deprive me of the only hope that can make life
supportable. I must be free, or I must die. Your commander loves gold
above all things. Surely I can purchase my liberty from him at some
price, and however unreasonable it may be, I am willing to satisfy his
demand. Tell me, I entreat of you, what sum you think will be
sufficient?"
For a moment De Soto made no reply. They were sitting in a room,
according to the statement of Pizarro's secretary, twenty-two feet
long and seventeen feet broad. Then turning to the Inca, and wishing
to impress his mind with the conviction that there was not any ransom
which could effect his release, he said:
"If you could fill this room with gold as high as I can reach with my
sword, Pizarro might perhaps accept it as your ransom."
"It shall be done," the Inca eagerly replied. "And I beg you to let
Pizarro know, that within a month from this day, my part of the
contract shall be fulfilled."
De Soto was troubled, for he had not intended that as an offer, but
rather as a statement of an impossibility. He however felt bound to
report the proposition to Pizarro. Much to his surprise the avaricious
captain readily accepted it. The contract was drawn up, and Pizarro
gave his solemn pledge that upon the delivery of the gold the prison
doors of the captive should be thrown open. But after the terms had
all been settled, the perfidious Spaniard craved a still higher
ransom, and declared that he would not release his victim unless
another room of equal size was equally filled with silver.
Attahuallapa could fully appreciate such dishonorable conduct; for in
all moral qualities he seems to have been decidedly superior to his
Spanish antagonist. But without any undignified murmurs, he submitted
to this extortion also. Matters being thus arranged, De Soto, with his
characteristic plain dealing, said to Pizarro:
"I hope you will remember, Don Francisco, that my honor is pledged for
the strict fulfilment of the contract on the part of the Spaniards.
Observe, therefore, that as soon as the gold and the silver are
produced, Attahuallapa must have his liberty."