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
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.
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, endeavored to find some repose after their laborious
march.3
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 neighborhood 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
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
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
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
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.
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 openings 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 stones 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
anything the Spaniards had yet seen.12
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
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 Christian 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
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
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.
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.
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 tomorrow morning. I will then
visit him, with my chieftains. In the meantime, let him occupy the public
buildings on the square, and no other, till I come, when I will order what
shall be done." 21
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
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 anything 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
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.
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 anything 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!