Pizarro's Reception At Court--His Capitulation With The Crown -
He Visits His Birthplace--Returns To The New World-
Difficulties With Almagro--His Third Expedition-
Adventures On The Coast--Battles In The Isle Of Puna
1528--1531
Pizarro and his officer, having crossed the Isthmus, embarked at Nombre
de Dios for the old country, and, after a good passage, reached Seville
early in the summer of 1528. There happened to be at that time in port a
person well known in the history of Spanish adventure as the Bachelor
Enciso. He had taken an active part in the colonization of Tierra Firme,
and had a pecuniary claim against the early colonists of Darien, of whom
Pizarro was one. Immediately on the landing of the latter, he was seized
by Enciso's orders, and held in custody for the debt. Pizarro, who had
fled from his native land as a forlorn and houseless adventurer, after an
absence of more than twenty years, passed, most of them, in
unprecedented toil and suffering, now found himself on his return the
inmate of a prison. Such was the commencement of those brilliant
fortunes which, as he had trusted, awaited him at home. The
circumstance excited general indignation; and no sooner was the Court
advised of his arrival in the country, and the great purpose of his
mission, than orders were sent for his release, with permission to proceed
at once on his journey.
Pizarro found the emperor at Toledo, which he was soon to quit, in order
to embark for Italy. Spain was not the favorite residence of Charles the
Fifth, in the earlier part of his reign. He was now at that period of it
when he was enjoying the full flush of his triumphs over his gallant rival
of France, whom he had defeated and taken prisoner at the great battle of
Pavia; and the victor was at this moment preparing to pass into Italy to
receive the imperial crown from the hands of the Roman Pontiff. Elated
by his successes and his elevation to the German throne, Charles made
little account of his hereditary kingdom, as his ambition found so
splendid a career thrown open to it on the wide field of European
politics.
He had hitherto received too inconsiderable returns from his transatlantic
possessions to give them the attention they deserved. But, as the recent
acquisition of Mexico and the brilliant anticipations in respect to the
southern continent were pressed upon his notice, he felt their importance
as likely to afford him the means of prosecuting his ambitious and most
expensive enterprises.
Pizarro, therefore, who had now come to satisfy the royal eyes, by visible
proofs, of the truth of the golden rumors which, from time to time, had
reached Castile, was graciously received by the emperor. Charles
examined the various objects which his officer exhibited to him with
great attention. He was particularly interested by the appearance of the
llama, so remarkable as the only beast of burden yet known on the new
continent; and the fine fabrics of woollen cloth, which were made from
its shaggy sides, gave it a much higher value, in the eyes of the sagacious
monarch, than what it possessed as an animal for domestic labor. But
the specimens of gold and silver manufacture, and the wonderful tale
which Pizarro had to tell of the abundance of the precious metals, must
have satisfied even the cravings of royal cupidity.
Pizarro, far from being embarrassed by the novelty of his situation,
maintained his usual self-possession, and showed that decorum and even
dignity in his address which belong to the Castilian. He spoke in a
simple and respectful style, but with the earnestness and natural
eloquence of one who had been an actor in the scenes he described, and
who was conscious that the impression he made on his audience was to
decide his future destiny. All listened with eagerness to the account of
his strange adventures by sea and land, his wanderings in the forests, or
in the dismal and pestilent swamps on the sea-coast, without food, almost
without raiment, with feet torn and bleeding at every step, with his few
companions becoming still fewer by disease and death, and yet pressing
on with unconquerable spirit to extend the empire of Castile, and the
name and power of her sovereign; but when he painted his lonely
condition on the desolate island, abandoned by the government at home,
deserted by all but a handful of devoted followers, his royal auditor,
though not easily moved, was affected to tears. On his departure from
Toledo, Charles commended the affairs of his vassal in the most
favorable terms to the consideration of the Council of the Indies.1
There was at this time another man at court, who had come there on a
similar errand from the New World, but whose splendid achievements
had already won for him a name that threw the rising reputation of
Pizarro comparatively into the shade. This man was Hernando Cortes,
the Conqueror of Mexico. He had come home to lay an empire at the
feet of his sovereign, and to demand in return the redress of his wrongs,
and the recompense of his great services. He was at the close of his
career, as Pizarro was at the commencement of his; the Conqueror of the
North and of the South; the two men appointed by Providence to
overturn the most potent of the Indian dynasties, and to open the golden
gates by which the treasures of the New World were to pass into the
coffers of Spain.
Notwithstanding the emperor's recommendation, the business of Pizarro
went forward at the tardy pace with which affairs are usually conducted
in the court of Castile. He found his limited means gradually sinking
under the expenses incurred by his present situation, and he represented,
that, unless some measures were speedily taken in reference to his suit,
however favorable they might be in the end, he should be in no condition
to profit by them. The queen, accordingly, who had charge of the
business, on her husband's departure, expedited the affair, and on the
twenty sixth of July, 1529, she executed the memorable Capitulation,
which defined the powers and privileges of Pizarro.
The instrument secured to that chief the right of discovery and conquest
in the province of Peru, or New Castile,--as the country was then
called, in the same manner as Mexico had received the name of New
Spain,--for the distance of two hundred leagues south of Santiago. He
was to receive the titles and rank of Governor and Captain-General of
the province, together with those of Adelantado, and Alguacil Mayor, for
life; and he was to have a salary of seven hundred and twenty-five
thousand maravedis, with the obligation of maintaining certain officers
and military retainers, corresponding with the dignity of his station. He
was to have the right to erect certain fortresses, with the absolute
government of them; to assign encomiendas of Indians, under the
limitations prescribed by law; and, in fine, to exercise nearly all the
prerogatives incident to the authority of a viceroy.
His associate, Almagro, was declared commander of the fortress of
Tumbez, with an annual rent of three hundred thousand maravedis, and
with the further rank and privileges of an hidalgo. The reverend Father
Luque received the reward of his services in the Bishopric of Tumbez,
and he was also declared Protector of the Indians of Peru. He was to
enjoy the yearly stipend of a thousand ducats,--to be derived, like the
other salaries and gratuities in this instrument, from the revenues of the
conquered territory.
Nor were the subordinate actors in the expedition forgotten. Ruiz
received the title of Grand Pilot of the Southern Ocean, with a liberal
provision; Candia was placed at the head of the artillery; and the
remaining eleven companions on the desolate island were created
hidalgos and cavalleros, and raised to certain municipal dignities,--in
prospect.
Several provisions of a liberal tenor were also made, to encourage
emigration to the country. The new settlers were to be exempted from
some of the most onerous, but customary taxes, as the alcabala, or to be
subject to them only in a mitigated form. The tax on the precious metals
drawn from mines was to be reduced, at first, to one tenth, instead of the
fifth imposed on the same metals when obtained by barter or by rapine.
It was expressly enjoined on Pizarro to observe the existing regulations
for the good government and protection of the natives; and he was
required to carry out with him a specified number of ecclesiastics, with
whom he was to take counsel in the conquest of the country, and whose
efforts were to be dedicated to the service and conversion of the Indians;
while lawyers and attorneys, on the other hand, whose presence was
considered as boding ill to the harmony of the new settlements, were
strictly prohibited from setting foot in them.
Pizarro, on his part, was bound, in six months from the date of the
instrument, to raise a force, well equipped for the service, of two
hundred and fifty men, of whom one hundred might be drawn from the
colonies; and the government engaged to furnish some trifling assistance
in the purchase of artillery and military stores. Finally, he was to be
prepared, in six months after his return to Panama, to leave that port and
embark on his expedition.2
Such are some of the principal provisions of this Capitulation, by which
the Castilian government, with the sagacious policy which it usually
pursued on the like occasions, stimulated the ambitious hopes of the
adventurer by high-sounding titles, and liberal promises of reward
contingent on his success, but took care to stake nothing itself on the
issue of the enterprise. It was careful to reap the fruits of his toil, but not
to pay the cost of them.
A circumstance, that could not fail to be remarked in these provisions,
was the manner in which the high and lucrative posts were accumulated
on Pizarro, to the exclusion of Almagro, who, if he had not taken as
conspicuous a part in personal toil and exposure, had, at least, divided
with him the original burden of the enterprise, and, by his labors in
another direction, had contributed quite as essentially to its success.
Almagro had willingly conceded the post of honor to his confederate; but
it had been stipulated, on Pizarro's departure for Spain, that, while he
solicited the office of Governor and Captain-General for himself, he
should secure that of Adelantado for his companion. In like manner, he
had engaged to apply for the see of Tumbez for the vicar of Panama, and
the office of Alguacil Mayor for the pilot Ruiz. The bishopric took the
direction that was concerted, for the soldier could scarcely claim the
mitre of the prelate; but the other offices, instead of their appropriate
distribution, were all concentred in himself. Yet it was in reference to
his application for his friends, that Pizarro had promised on his departure
to deal fairly and honorably by them all.3
It is stated by the military chronicler, Pedro Pizarro, that his kinsman did,
in fact, urge the suit strongly in behalf of Almagro; but that he was
refused by the government, on the ground that offices of such paramount
importance could not be committed to different individuals. The ill
effects of such an arrangement had been long since felt in more than one
of the Indian colonies, where it had led to rivalry and fatal collision.4
Pizarro, therefore, finding his remonstrances unheeded, had no
alternative but to combine the offices in his own person, or to see the
expedition fall to the ground. This explanation of the affair has not
received the sanction of other contemporary historians. The
apprehensions expressed by Luque, at the time of Pizarro's assuming the
mission, of some such result as actually occurred, founded, doubtless, on
a knowledge of his associate's character, may warrant us in distrusting
the alleged vindication of his conduct, and our distrust will not be
diminished by familiarity with his subsequent career. Pizarro's virtue
was not of a kind to withstand temptation,--though of a much weaker sort
than that now thrown in his path.
The fortunate cavalier was also honored with the habit of St. Jago;5 and
he was authorized to make an important innovation in his family
escutcheon,--for by the father's side he might claim his armorial bearings.
The black eagle and the two pillars emblazoned on the royal arms were
incorporated with those of the Pizarros; and an Indian city, with a vessel
in the distance on the waters, and the llama of Peru, revealed the theatre
and the character of his exploits; while the legend announced, that
"under the auspices of Charles, and by the industry, the genius, and the
resources of Pizarro, the country had been discovered and reduced to
tranquillity,"---thus modestly intimating both the past and prospective
services of the Conqueror.6
These arrangements having been thus completed to Pizarro's satisfaction,
he left Toledo for Truxillo, his native place, in Estremadura, where he
thought he should be most likely to meet with adherents for his new
enterprise, and where it doubtless gratified his vanity to display himself
in the palmy, or at least promising, state of his present circumstances. If
vanity be ever pardonable, it is certainly in a man who, born in an
obscure station in life, without family, interest, or friends to back him,
has carved out his own fortunes in the world, and, by his own resources,
triumphed over all the obstacles which nature and accident had thrown in
his way. Such was the condition of Pizarro, as he now revisited the place
of his nativity, where he had hitherto been known only as a poor outcast,
without a home to shelter, a father to own him, or a friend to lean upon.
But he now found both friends and followers, and some who were eager
to claim kindred with him, and take part in his future fortunes. Among
these were four brothers. Three of them, like himself, were illegitimate;
one of whom, named Francisco Martin de Alcantara, was related to him
by the mother's side; the other two, named Gonzalo and Juan Pizarro,
were descended from the father. "They were all poor, and proud as they
were poor," says Oviedo, who had seen them; "and their eagerness for
gain was in proportion to their poverty." 7
The remaining and eldest brother, named Hernando, was a legitimate
son,--'legitimate," continues the same caustic authority, "by his pride, as
well as by his birth." His features were plain, even disagreeably so; but
his figure was good. He was large of stature, and, like his brother
Francis, had on the whole an imposing presence.8 In his character, he
combined some of the worst defects incident to the Castilian. He was
jealous in the extreme; impatient not merely of affront, but of the least
slight, and implacable in his resentment. He was decisive in his
measures, and unscrupulous in their execution. No touch of pity had
power to arrest his arm. His arrogance was such, that he was constantly
wounding the self-love of those with whom he acted; thus begetting an
ill-will which unnecessarily multiplied obstacles in his path. In this he
differed from his brother Francis, whose plausible manners smoothed
away difficulties, and conciliated confidence and cooperation in his
enterprises. Unfortunately, the evil counsels of Hernando exercised an
influence over his brother which more than compensated the advantages
derived from his singular capacity for business.
Notwithstanding the general interest which Pizarro's adventures excited
in his country, that chief did not find it easy to comply with the
provisions of the Capitulation in respect to the amount of his levies.
Those who were most astonished by his narrative were not always most
inclined to take part in his fortunes. They shrunk from the unparalleled
hardships which lay in the path of the adventurer in that direction; and
they listened with visible distrust to the gorgeous pictures of the golden
temples and gardens of Tumbez, which they looked upon as indebted in
some degree, at least, to the coloring of his fancy, with the obvious
purpose of attracting followers to his banner. It is even said that Pizarro
would have found it difficult to raise the necessary funds, but for the
seasonable aid of Cortes, a native of Estremadura like himself, his
companion in arms in early days, and, according to report, his kinsman.9
No one was in a better condition to hold out a helping hand to a brother
adventurer, and, probably, no one felt greater sympathy in Pizarro's
fortunes, or greater confidence in his eventual success, than the man who
had so lately trod the same career with renown.
The six months allowed by the Capitulation had elapsed, and Pizarro had
assembled somewhat less than his stipulated complement of men, with
which he was preparing to embark in a little squadron of three vessels at
Seville; but, before they were wholly ready, he received intelligence that
the officers of the Council of the Indies proposed to inquire into the
condition of the vessels, and ascertain how far the requisitions had been
complied with.
Without loss of time therefore, Pizarro afraid, if the facts were known,
that his enterprise might be nipped in the bud, slipped his cables, and
crossing the bar of San Lucar, in January, 1530, stood for the isle of
Gomera,--one of the Canaries,--where he ordered his brother Hernando,
who had charge of the remaining vessels, to meet him.
Scarcely had he gone, before the officers arrived to institute the search.
But when they objected the deficiency of men, they were easily--perhaps
willingly--deceived by the pretext that the remainder had gone forward in
the vessel with Pizarro. At all events, no further obstacles were thrown
in Hernando's way, and he was permitted, with the rest of the squadron,
to join his brother, according to agreement, at Gomera.
After a prosperous voyage, the adventurers reached the northern coast of
the great southern continent, and anchored off the port of Santa Marta.
Here they received such discouraging reports of the countries to which
they were bound, of forests teeming with insects and venomous serpents,
of huge alligators that swarmed on the banks of the streams, and of
hardships and perils such as their own fears had never painted, that
several of Pizarro's men deserted; and their leader, thinking it no longer
safe to abide in such treacherous quarters, set sail at once for Nombre de
Dios.
Soon after his arrival there, he was met by his two associates, Luque and
Almagro, who had crossed the mountains for the purpose of hearing
from his own lips the precise import of the capitulation with the Crown.
Great, as might have been expected, was Almagro's discontent at
learning the result of what he regarded as the perfidious machinations of
his associate. "Is it thus," he exclaimed, "that you have dealt with the
friend who shared equally with you in the trials, the dangers, and the cost
of the enterprise; and this, notwithstanding your solemn engagements on
your departure to provide for his interests as faithfully as your own?
How could you allow me to be thus dishonored in the eyes of the world
by so paltry a compensation, which seems to estimate my services as
nothing in comparison with your own?" 10
Pizarro, in reply, assured his companion that he had faithfully urged his
suit, but that the government refused to confide powers which intrenched
so closely on one another to different hands. He had no alternative, but
to accept all himself or to decline all; and he endeavored to mitigate
Almagro's displeasure by representing that the country was large enough
for the ambition of both, and that the powers conferred on himself were,
in fact, conferred on Almagro, since all that he had would ever be at his
friend's disposal, as if it were his own. But these honeyed words did not
satisfy the injured party; and the two captains soon after returned to
Panama with feelings of estrangement, if not hostility, towards one
another, which did not augur well for their enterprise.
Still, Almagro was of a generous temper, and might have been appeased
by the politic concessions of his rival, but for the interference of
Hernando Pizarro, who, from the first hour of their meeting, showed
little respect for the veteran, which, indeed, the diminutive person of the
latter was not calculated to inspire, and who now regarded him with
particular aversion as an impediment to the career of his brother.
Almagro's friends--and his frank and liberal manners had secured him
many--were no less disgusted than himself with the overbearing conduct
of this new ally. They loudly complained that it was quite enough to
suffer from the perfidy of Pizarro, without being exposed to the insults of
his family, who had now come over with him to fatten on the spoils of
conquest which belonged to their leader. The rupture soon proceeded to
such a length, that Almagro avowed his intention to prosecute the
expedition without further cooperation with his partner, and actually
entered into negotiations for the purchase of vessels for that object. But
Luque, and the Licentiate Espinosa, who had fortunately come over at
that time from St. Domingo, now interposed to repair a breach which
must end in the ruin of the enterprise, and the probable destruction of
those most interested in its success. By their mediation, a show of
reconciliation was at length effected between the parties, on Pizarro's
assurance that he would relinquish the dignity of Adelantado in favor of
his rival, and petition the emperor to confirm him in the possession of it;-
-an assurance, it may be remarked, not easy to reconcile with his former
assertion in respect to the avowed policy of the Crown in bestowing this
office. He was, moreover, to apply for a distinct government for his
associate, so soon as he had become master of the country assigned to
himself; and was to solicit no office for either of his own brothers, until
Almagro had been first provided for. Lastly, the former contract in
regard to the division of the spoil into three equal shares between the
three original associates was confirmed in the most explicit manner. The
reconciliation thus effected among the parties answered the temporary
purpose of enabling them to go forward in concert in the expedition. But
it was only a thin scar that had healed ever the wound, which, deep and
rankling within, waited only fresh cause of irritation to break out with a
virulence more fatal than ever.11
No time was now lost in preparing for the voyage. It found little
encouragement, however, among the colonists of Panama, who were too
familiar with the sufferings on the former expeditions to care to
undertake another, even with the rich bribe that was held out to allure
them. A few of the old company were content to follow out the
adventure to its close; and some additional stragglers were collected
from the province of Nicaragua,--a shoot, it may be remarked, from the
colony of Panama. But Pizarro made slender additions to the force
brought over with him from Spain, though this body was in better
condition, and, in respect to arms, ammunition, and equipment generally,
was on a much better footing than his former levies. The whole number
did not exceed one hundred and eighty men, with twenty-seven horses
for the cavalry. He had provided himself with three vessels, two of them
of a good size, to take the place of those which he had been compelled to
leave on the opposite side of the isthmus at Nombre de Dios; an
armament small for the conquest of an empire, and far short of that
prescribed by the capitulation with the Crown. With this the intrepid
chief proposed to commence operations, trusting to his own successes,
and the exertions of Almagro, who was to remain behind, for the present,
to muster reinforcements.12
On St. John the Evangelist's day, the banners of the company and the
royal standard were consecrated in the cathedral church of Panama; a
sermon was preached before the little army by Fray Juan de Vargas, one
of the Dominicans selected by the government for the Peruvian mission;
and mass was performed, and the sacrament administered to every
soldier previous to his engaging in the crusade against the infidel.13
Having thus solemnly invoked the blessing of Heaven on the enterprise,
Pizarro and his followers went on board their vessels, which rode at
anchor in the Bay of Panama, and early in January, 1531, sallied forth on
his third and last expedition for the conquest of Peru.
It was his intention to steer direct for Tumbez, which held out so
magnificent a show of treasure on his former voyage. But head winds
and currents, as usual, baffled his purpose, and after a run of thirteen
days, much shorter than the period formerly required for the same
distance, his little squadron came to anchor in the Bay of St. Matthew,
about one degree north; and Pizarro, after consulting with his officers,
resolved to disembark his forces and advance along the coast, while the
vessels, held their course at a convenient distance from the shore.
The march of the troops was severe and painful in the extreme; for the
road was constantly intersected by streams, which, swollen by the winter
rains, widened at their mouths into spacious estuaries. Pizarro, who had
some previous knowledge of the country, acted as guide as well as
commander of the expedition. He was ever ready to give aid where it
was needed, encouraging his followers to ford or swim the torrents as
they best could, and cheering the desponding by his own buoyant and
courageous spirit.
At length they reached a thick-settled hamlet, or rather town, in the
province of Coaque. The Spaniards rushed on the place, and the
inhabitants, without offering resistance, fled in terror to the neighboring
forests, leaving their effects--of much greater value than had been
anticipated--in the hands of the invaders. "We fell on them, sword in
hand," says one of the Conquerors, with some naivete; "for, if we had
advised the Indians of our approach, we should never have found there
such store of gold and precious stones." 14 The natives, however,
according to another authority, stayed voluntarily; "for, as they had done
no harm to the white men, they flattered themselves none would be
offered to them, but that there would be only an interchange of good
offices with the strangers," 15---an expectation founded, it may be, on
the good character which the Spaniards had established for themselves
on their preceding visit, but in which the simple people now found
themselves most unpleasantly deceived.
Rushing into the deserted dwellings, the invaders found there, besides
stuffs of various kinds, and food most welcome in their famished
condition, a large quantity of gold and silver wrought into clumsy
ornaments, together with many precious stones; for this was the region of
the esmeraldas, or emeralds, where that valuable gem was most
abundant. One of these jewels that fell into the hands of Pizarro, in this
neighborhood, was as large as a pigeon's egg. Unluckily, his rude
followers did not know the value of their prize; and they broke many of
them in pieces by pounding them with hammers.16 They were led to this
extraordinary proceeding, it is said, by one of the Dominican
missionaries, Fray Reginaldo de Pedraza, who assured them that this was
the way to prove the true emerald, which could not be broken. It was
observed that the good father did not subject his own jewels to this wise
experiment; but, as the stones, in consequence of it, fell in value, being
regarded merely as colored glass, he carried back a considerable store of
them to Panama.17
The gold and silver ornaments rifled from the dwellings were brought
together and deposited in a common heap; when a fifth was deducted for
the Crown, and Pizarro distributed the remainder in due proportions
among the officers and privates of his company. This was the usage
invariably observed on the like occasions throughout the Conquest. The
invaders had embarked in a common adventure. Their interest was
common, and to have allowed every one to plunder on his own account
would only have led to insubordination and perpetual broils. All were
required, therefore, on pain of death, to contribute whatever they
obtained, whether by bargain or by rapine, to the general stock; and all
were too much interested in the execution of the penalty to allow the
unhappy culprit, who violated the law, any chance of escape.18
Pizarro, with his usual policy, sent back to Panama a large quantity of
the gold, no less than twenty thousand castellanos in value, in the belief
that the sight of so much treasure, thus speedily acquired, would settle
the doubt of the wavering, and decide them on joining his banner.19 He
judged right. As one of the Conquerors piously expresses it, "It pleased
the Lord that we should fall in with the town of Coaque, that the riches of
the land might find credit with the people, and that they should flock to
it." 20
Pizarro, having refreshed his men, continued his march along the coast,
but no longer accompanied by the vessels, which had returned for
recruits to Panama. The road, as he advanced, was checkered with strips
of sandy waste, which, drifted about by the winds, blinded the soldiers,
and afforded only treacherous footing for man and beast. The glare was
intense; and the rays of a vertical sun beat fiercely on the iron mail and
the thick quilted doublets of cotton, till the fainting troops were almost
suffocated with the heat. To add to their distresses, a strange epidemic
broke out in the little army. It took the form of ulcers, or rather hideous
warts of great size, which covered the body, and when lanced, as was the
case with some, discharged such a quantity of blood as proved fatal to
the sufferer. Several died of this frightful disorder, which was so sudden
in its attack, and attended with such prostration of strength, that those
who lay down well at night were unable to lift their hands to their heads
in the morning.21 The epidemic, which made its first appearance during
this invasion, and which did not long survive it, spread over the country,
sparing neither native nor white man.22 It was one of those plagues
from the vial of wrath, which the destroying angel, who follows in the
path of the conqueror, pours out on the devoted nations.
The Spaniards rarely experienced on their march either resistance or
annoyance from the inhabitants, who, instructed by the example of
Coaque, fled with their effects into the woods and neighboring
mountains. No one came out to welcome the strangers and offer the rites
of hospitality, as on their last visit to the land. For the white men were
no longer regarded as good beings that had come from heaven, but as
ruthless destroyers, who, invulnerable to the assaults of the Indians, were
borne along on the backs of fierce animals, swifter than the wind, with
weapons in their hands, that scattered fire and desolation as they went.
Such were the stories now circulated of the invaders, which, preceding
them everywhere on their march, closed the hearts, if not the doors, of
the natives against them. Exhausted by the fatigue of travel and by
disease, and grievously disappointed at the poverty of the land, which
now offered no compensation for their toils, the soldiers of Pizarro
cursed the hour in which they had enlisted under his standard, and the
men of Nicaragua, in particular, says the old chronicler, calling to mind
their pleasant quarters in their luxurious land, sighed only to return to
their Mahometan paradise.23
At this juncture the army was gladdened by the sight of a vessel from
Panama, which brought some supplies, together with the royal treasurer,
the veedor or inspector, the comptroller, and other high officers
appointed by the Crown to attend the expedition. They had been left in
Spain by Pizarro, in consequence of his abrupt departure from the
country; and the Council of the Indies, on learning the circumstance, had
sent instructions to Panama to prevent the sailing of his squadron from
that port. But the Spanish government, with more wisdom,
countermanded the order, only requiring the functionaries to quicken
their own departure, and take their place without loss of time in the
expedition.
The Spaniards in their march along the coast had now advanced as far as
Puerto Viejo. Here they were soon after joined by another small
reinforcement of about thirty men, under an officer named Belalcazar,
who subsequently rose to high distinction in this service. Many of the
followers of Pizarro would now have halted at this spot and established a
colony there. But that chief thought more of conquering than of
colonizing, at least for the present; and he proposed, as his first step, to
get possession of Tumbez, which he regarded as the gate of the Peruvian
empire. Continuing his march, therefore, to the shores of what is now
called the Gulf of Guayaquil, he arrived off the little island of Puna,
lying at no great distance from the Bay of Tumbez. This island, he
thought, would afford him a convenient place to encamp until he was
prepared to make his descent on the Indian city.
The dispositions of the islanders seemed to favor his purpose. He had
not been long in their neighborhood, before a deputation of the natives,
with their cacique at their head, crossed over in their balsas to the main
land to welcome the Spaniards to their residence. But the Indian
interpreters of Tumbez, who had returned with Pizarro from Spain, and
continued with the camp, put their master on his guard against the
meditated treachery of the islanders, whom they accused of designing to
destroy the Spaniards by cutting the ropes that held together the floats,
and leaving those upon them to perish in the waters. Yet the cacique,
when charged by Pizarro with this perfidious scheme, denied it with such
an air of conscious innocence, that the Spanish commander trusted
himself and his followers, without further hesitation, to his conveyance,
and was transported in safety to the shores of Puna.
Here he was received in a hospitable manner, and his troops were
provided with comfortable quarters. Well satisfied with his present
position, Pizarro resolved to occupy it until the violence of the rainy
season was passed, when the arrival of the reinforcements he expected
would put him in better condition for marching into the country of the
Inca.
The island, which lies in the mouth of the river of Guayaquil, and is
about eight leagues in length by four in breadth, at the widest part, was at
that time partially covered with a noble growth of timber. But a large
portion of it was subjected to cultivation, and bloomed with plantations
of cacao, of the sweet potato, and the different products of a tropical
climes evincing agricultural knowledge as well as industry in the
population. They were a warlike race; but had received from their
Peruvian foes the appellation of "perfidious." It was the brand fastened
by the Roman historians on their Carthaginian enemies,--with perhaps no
better reason. The bold and independent islanders opposed a stubborn
resistance to the arms of the Incas; and, though they had finally yielded,
they had been ever since at feud, and often in deadly hostility, with their
neighbors of Tumbez.
The latter no sooner heard of Pizarro's arrival on the island than, trusting,
probably, to their former friendly relations with him, they came over in
some number to the Spanish quarters. The presence of their detested
rivals was by no means grateful to the jealous inhabitants of Puna, and
the prolonged residence of the white men on their island could not be
otherwise than burdensome. In their outward demeanor they still
maintained the same show of amity; but Pizarro's interpreters again put
him on his guard against the proverbial perfidy of their hosts. With his
suspicions thus roused, the Spanish commander was informed that a
number of the chiefs had met together to deliberate on a plan of
insurrection. Not caring to wait for the springing of the mine, he
surrounded the place of meeting with his soldiers and made prisoners of
the suspected chieftains. According to one authority, they confessed
their guilt.24 This is by no means certain. Nor is it certain that they
meditated an insurrection. Yet the fact is not improbable, in itself;
though it derives little additional probability from the assertion of the
hostile interpreters. It is certain, however, that Pizarro was satisfied of
the existence of a conspiracy; and, without further hesitation, he
abandoned his wretched prisoners, ten or twelve in number, to the tender
mercies of their rivals of Tumbez, who instantly massacred them before
his eyes.25
Maddened by this outrage, the people of Puna sprang to arms, and threw
themselves at once, with fearful yells and the wildest menaces of despair,
on the Spanish camp. The odds of numbers were greatly in their favor,
for they mustered several thousand warriors. But the more decisive odds
of arms and discipline were on the side of their antagonists; and, as the
Indians rushed forward in a confused mass to the assault, the Castilians
coolly received them on their long pikes, or swept them down by the
volleys of their musketry. Their ill-protected bodies were easily cut to
pieces by the sharp sword of the Spaniard; and Hernando Pizarro, putting
himself at the head of the cavalry, charged boldly into the midst, and
scattered them far and wide over the field, until, panic-struck by the
terrible array of steel-clad horsemen, and the stunning reports and the
flash of fire-arms, the fugitives sought shelter in the depths of their
forests. Yet the victory was owing, in some degree, at least,--if we may
credit the Conquerors,--to the interposition of Heaven; for St. Michael
and his legions were seen high in the air above the combatants,
contending with the arch-enemy of man, and cheering on the Christians
by their example! 26
Not more than three or four Spaniards fell in the fight; but many were
wounded, and among them Hernando Pizarro, who received a severe
injury in the leg from a javelin. Nor did the war end here; for the
implacable islanders, taking advantage of the cover of night, or of any
remissness on the part of the invaders, were ever ready to steal out of
their fastnesses and spring on their enemy's camp, while, by cutting off
his straggling parties, and destroying his provisions, they kept him in
perpetual alarm.
In this uncomfortable situation, the Spanish commander was gladdened
by the appearance of two vessels off the island. They brought a
reinforcement consisting of a hundred volunteers besides horses for the
cavalry. It was commanded by Hernando de Soto, a captain afterwards
famous as the discoverer of the Mississippi, which still rolls its majestic
current over the place of his burial,--a fitting monument for his remains,
as it is of his renown.27
The reinforcement was most welcome to Pizarro, who had been long
discontented with his position on an island, where he found nothing to
compensate the life of unintermitting hostility which he was compelled to
lead. With these recruits, he felt himself in sufficient strength to cross
over to the continent, and resume military operations in the proper
theatre for discovery and conquest. From the Indians of Tumbez he
learned that the country had been for some time distracted by a civil war
between two sons of the late monarch, competitors for the throne. This
intelligence he regarded as of the utmost importance, for he remembered
the use which Cortes had made of similar dissensions among the tribes of
Anahuac. Indeed, Pizarro seems to have had the example of his great
predecessor before his eyes on more occasions than this. But he fell far
short of his model; for, notwithstanding the restraint he sometimes put
upon himself, his coarser nature and more ferocious temper often
betrayed him into acts most repugnant to sound policy, which would
never have been countenanced by the Conqueror of Mexico.