Desperate Plan Of Pizarro--Atahuallpa Visits The Spaniards--
Horrible Massacre--The Inca A Prisoner--Conduct Of The Conquerors--
Splendid Promises Of The Inca--Death Of Huascar
1532
The clouds of the evening had passed away, and the sun rose bright on
the following morning, the most memorable epoch in the annals of Peru.
It was Saturday, the sixteenth of November, 1532. The loud cry of the
trumpet called the Spaniards to arms with the first streak of dawn; and
Pizarro, briefly acquainting them with the plan of the assault, made the
necessary dispositions.
The plaza, as mentioned in the preceding chapter, was defended on its
three sides by low ranges of buildings, consisting of spacious halls with
wide doors or vomitories opening into the square. In these halls he
stationed his cavalry in two divisions, one under his brother Hernando,
the other under De Soto. The infantry he placed in another of the
buildings, reserving twenty chosen men to act with himself as occasion
might require. Pedro de Candia, with a few soldiers and the artillery,--
comprehending under this imposing name two small pieces of ordnance,
called falconers,---he established in the fortress. All received orders to
wait at their posts till the arrival of the Inca. After his entrance into the
great square, they were still to remain under cover, withdrawn from
observation, till the signal was given by the discharge of a gun, when
they were to cry their war-cries, to rush out in a body from their covert,
and, putting the Peruvians to the sword, bear off the person of the Inca.
The arrangement of the immense halls, opening on a level with the plaza,
seemed to be contrived on purpose for a coup de theatre. Pizarro
particularly inculcated order and implicit obedience, that in the hurry of
the moment there should be no confusion. Everything depended on their
acting with concert, coolness, and celerity.1
The chief next saw that their arms were in good order; and that the
breastplates of their horses were garnished with bells, to add by their
noise to the consternation of the Indians. Refreshments were, also,
liberally provided, that the troops should be in condition for the conflict.
These arrangements being completed, mass was performed with great
solemnity by the ecclesiastics who attended the expedition; the God of
battles was invoked to spread his shield over the soldiers who were
fighting to extend the empire of the Cross; and all joined with enthusiasm
in the chant, "Exsurge, Domine," "Rise, O Lord! and judge thine own
cause."2 One might have supposed them a company of martyrs, about to
lay down their lives in defence of their faith, instead of a licentious band
of adventurers, meditating one of the most atrocious acts of perfidy on
the record of history! Yet, whatever were the vices of the Castilian
cavalier, hypocrisy was not among the number. He felt that he was
battling for the Cross, and under this conviction, exalted as it was at such
a moment as this into the predominant impulse, he was blind to the baser
motives which mingled with the enterprise. With feelings thus kindled to
a flame of religious ardor, the soldiers of Pizarro looked forward with
renovated spirits to the coming conflict; and the chieftain saw with
satisfaction, that in the hour of trial his men would be true to their leader
and themselves.
It was late in the day before any movement was visible in the Peruvian
camp, where much preparation was making to approach the Christian
quarters with due state and ceremony. A message was received from
Atahuallpa, informing the Spanish commander that he should come with
his warriors fully armed, in the same manner as the Spaniards had come
to his quarters the night preceding. This was not an agreeable intimation
to Pizarro, though he had no reason, probably, to expect the contrary.
But to object might imply distrust, or, perhaps, disclose, in some
measure, his own designs. He expressed his satisfaction, therefore, at the
intelligence, assuring the Inca, that, come as he would, he would be
received by him as a friend and brother.3
It was noon before the Indian procession was on its march, when it was
seen occupying the great causeway for a long extent. In front came a
large body of attendants, whose office seemed to be to sweep away every
particle of rubbish from the road. High above the crowd appeared the
Inca, borne on the shoulders of his principal nobles, while others of the
same rank marched by the sides of his litter, displaying such a dazzling
show of ornaments on their persons, that, in the language of one of the
Conquerors, "they blazed like the sun." 4 But the greater part of the
Inca's forces mustered along the fields that lined the road, and were
spread over the broad meadows as far as the eye could reach.5
When the royal procession had arrived within half a mile of the city, it
came to a halt; and Pizarro saw with surprise that Atahuallpa was
preparing to pitch his tents, as if to encamp there. A messenger soon
after arrived, informing the Spaniards that the Inca would occupy his
present station the ensuing night, and enter the city on the following
morning.
This intelligence greatly disturbed Pizarro, who had shared in the general
impatience of his men at the tardy movements of the Peruvians. The
troops had been under arms since daylight, the cavalry mounted, and the
infantry at their post, waiting in silence the coming of the Inca. A
profound stillness reigned throughout the town, broken only at intervals by
the cry of the sentinel from the summit of the fortress, as he proclaimed
the movements of the Indian army. Nothing, Pizarro well knew, was so
trying to the soldier as prolonged suspense, in a critical situation like the
present; and he feared lest his ardor might evaporate, and be succeeded
by that nervous feeling natural to the bravest soul at such a crisis, and
which, if not fear, is near akin to it.6 He returned an answer, therefore,
to Atahuallpa, deprecating his change of purpose; and adding that he had
provided everything for his entertainment, and expected him that night to
sup with him.7
This message turned the Inca from his purpose; and, striking his tents
again, he resumed his march, first advising the general that he should
leave the greater part of his warriors behind, and enter the place with
only a few of them, and without arms,8 as he preferred to pass the night
at Caxamalca. At the same time he ordered accommodations to be
provided for himself, and his retinue in one of the large stone buildings,
called, from a serpent sculptured on the walls, "the House of the
Serpent."9 --No tidings could have been more grateful to the Spaniards.
It seemed as if the Indian monarch was eager to rush into the snare that
had been spread for him! The fanatical cavalier could not fail to discern
in it the immediate finger of Providence.
It is difficult to account for this wavering conduct of Atahuallpa, so
different from the bold and decided character which history ascribes to
him. There is no doubt that he made his visit to the white men in perfect
good faith; though Pizarro was probably right in conjecturing that this
amiable disposition stood on a very precarious footing. There is as little
reason to suppose that he distrusted the sincerity of the strangers; or he
would not thus unnecessarily have proposed to visit them unarmed. His
original purpose of coming with all his force was doubtless to display his
royal state, and perhaps, also, to show greater respect for the Spaniards;
but when he consented to accept their hospitality, and pass the night in
their quarters, he was willing to dispense with a great part of his armed
soldiery, and visit them in a manner that implied entire confidence in
their good faith. He was too absolute in his own empire easily to
suspect; and he probably could not comprehend the audacity with which
a few men, like those now assembled in Caxamalca, meditated an assault
on a powerful monarch in the midst of his victorious army. He did not
know the character of the Spaniard.
It was not long before sunset, when the van of the royal procession
entered the gates of the city. First came some hundreds of the menials,
employed to clear the path from every obstacle, and singing songs of
triumph as they came, "which, in our ears," says one of the Conquerors,
"sounded like the songs of hell!" 10 Then followed other bodies of
different ranks, and dressed in different liveries. Some wore a showy
stuff, checkered white and red, like the squares of a chess-board.11
Others were clad in pure white, bearing hammers or maces of silver or
copper; 12 and the guards, together with those in immediate attendance
on the prince, were distinguished by a rich azure livery, and a profusion
of gay ornaments, while the large pendants attached to the ears indicated
the Peruvian noble.
Elevated high above his vassals came the Inca Atahuallpa, borne on a
sedan or open litter, on which was a sort of throne made of massive gold
of inestimable value.13 The palanquin was lined with the richly colored
plumes of tropical birds, and studded with shining plates of gold and
silver.14 The monarch's attire was much richer than on the preceding
evening. Round his neck was suspended a collar of emeralds of
uncommon size and brilliancy.15 His short hair was decorated with
golden ornaments, and the imperial borla encircled his temples. The
bearing of the Inca was sedate and dignified; and from his lofty station
he looked down on the multitudes below with an air of composure, like
one accustomed to command.
As the leading files of the procession entered the great square, larger,
says an old chronicler, than any square in Spain, they opened to the right
and left for the royal retinue to pass. Everything was conducted with
admirable order. The monarch was permitted to traverse the plaza in
silence, and not a Spaniard was to be seen. When some five or six
thousand of his people had entered the place, Atahuallpa halted, and,
turning round with an inquiring look, demanded, "Where are the
strangers?"
At this moment Fray Vicente de Valverde, a Dominican friar, Pizarro's
chaplain, and afterward Bishop of Cuzco, came forward with his
brevidry, or, as other accounts say, a Bible, in one hand, and a crucifix in
the other, and, approaching the Inca, told him, that he came by order of
his commander to expound to him the doctrines of the true faith, for
which purpose the Spaniards had come from a great distance to his
country. The friar then explained, as clearly as he could, the mysterious
doctrine of the Trinity, and, ascending high in his account, began with
the creation of man, thence passed to his fall, to his subsequent
redemption by Jesus Christ, to the crucifixion, and the ascension, when
the Saviour left the Apostle Peter as his Vicegerent upon earth. This
power had been transmitted to the successors of the Apostle, good and
wise men, who, under the title of Popes, held authority over all powers
and potentates on earth. One of the last of these Popes had
commissioned the Spanish emperor, the most mighty monarch in the
world, to conquer and convert the natives in this western hemisphere;
and his general, Francisco Pizarro, had now come to execute this
important mission. The friar concluded with beseeching the Peruvian
monarch to receive him kindly; to abjure the errors of his own faith, and
embrace that of the Christians now proffered to him, the only one by
which he could hope for salvation; and, furthermore, to acknowledge
himself a tributary of the Emperor Charles the Fifth, who, in that event,
would aid and protect him as his loyal vassal.16
Whether Atahuallpa possessed himself of every link in the curious chain
of argument by which the monk connected Pizarro with St. Peter, may be
doubted. It is certain, however, that he must have had very incorrect
notions of the Trinity, if, as Garcilasso states, the interpreter Felipillo
explained it by saying, that "the Christians believed in three Gods and
one God, and that made four." 17 But there is no doubt he perfectly
comprehended that the drift of the discourse was to persuade him to
resign his sceptre and acknowledge the supremacy of another.
The eyes of the Indian monarch flashed fire, and his dark brow grew
darker as he replied,--"I will be no man's tributary. I am greater than any
prince upon earth. Your emperor may be a great prince; I do not doubt
it, when I see that he has sent his subjects so far across the waters; and I
am willing to hold him as a brother. As for the Pope of whom you
speak, he must be crazy to talk of giving away countries which do not
belong to him. For my faith," he continued, "I will not change it. Your
own God, as you say, was put to death by the very men whom he created.
But mine," he concluded, pointing to his Deity,--then, alas! sinking in
glory behind the mountains,--"my God still lives in the heavens, and
looks down on his children." 18
He then demanded of Valverde by what authority he had said these
things. The friar pointed to the book which he held, as his authority.
Atahuallpa, taking it, turned over the pages a moment, then, as the insuit
he had received probably flashed across his mind, he threw it down with
vehemence, and exclaimed,--"Tell your comrades that they shall give me
an account of their doings in my land. I will not go from here, till they
have made me full satisfaction for all the wrongs they have committed."
19
The friar, greatly scandalized by the indignity offered to the sacred
volume, stayed only to pick it up, and, hastening to Pizarro, informed
him of what had been done, exclaiming, at the same time,--"Do you not
see, that, while we stand here wasting our breath in talking with this dog,
full of pride as he is, the fields are filling with Indians? Set on, at once; I
absolve you." 20 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, each in his own dark column, and threw
themselves into the midst of the Indian crowd. The latter, taken by
surprise, stunned by the report of artillery and muskets, 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
make it. 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 part of 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 fallen rubbish, hung on the rear of the fugitives, striking them
down in all directions.21
Meanwhile the fight, or rather massacre, continued hot around the Inca,
whose person was the great object of the assault. His faithful nobles,
rallying about him, threw themselves in the way of the assailants, and
strove, by tearing them from their saddles, or, at least, by offering their
own bosoms as a mark for their vengeance, to shield their beloved
master. It is said by some authorities, that they carried weapons
concealed under their clothes. If so, it availed them little, as it is not
pretended that they used them. But the most timid animal will defend
itself when at bay. That they did not so in the present instance is proof
that they had no weapons to use.22 Yet they still continued to force back
the cavaliers, clinging to their horses with dying grasp, and, as one was
cut down, another taking the place of his fallen comrade with a loyalty
truly affecting.
The Indian monarch, stunned and bewildered, saw his faithful subjects
falling round him without fully comprehending his situation. The litter
on which he rode heaved to and fro, as the mighty press swayed
backwards and forwards; and he gazed on the overwhelming ruin, like
some forlorn mariner, who, tossed about in his bark by the furious
elements, sees the lightning's flash and hears the thunder bursting around
him with the consciousness that he can do nothing to avert his fate. At
length, weary with the work of destruction, the Spaniards, as the shades
of evening grew deeper, felt afraid that the royal prize might, after all,
elude them; and some of the cavaliers made a desperate attempt to end
the affray at once by taking Atahuallpa's life. But Pizarro, who was
nearest his person, called out with stentorian voice, "Let no one, who
values his life, strike at the Inca"; 23 and, stretching out his arm to shield
him, received a wound on the hand from one of his own men,--the only
wound received by a Spaniard in the action.24
The struggle now became fiercer than ever round the royal litter. It
reeled more and more, and at length, several of the nobles who supported
it having been slain, it was overturned, and the Indian prince would have
come with violence to the ground, had not his fall been broken by the
efforts of Pizarro and some other of the cavaliers, who caught him in
their arms. The imperial borla was instantly snatched from his temples
by a soldier named Estete,25 and the unhappy monarch, strongly
secured, was removed to a neighboring building, where he was carefully
guarded.
All attempt at resistance now ceased. The fate of the Inca soon spread
over town and country. The charm which might have held the Peruvians
together was dissolved. Every man thought only of his own safety. Even
the soldiery encamped on the adjacent fields took the alarm, and,
learning the fatal tidings, were seen flying in every direction before their
pursuers, who in the heat of triumph showed no touch of mercy. At
length night, more pitiful than man, threw her friendly mantle over the
fugitives, and the scattered troops of Pizarro rallied once more at the
sound of the trumpet in the bloody square of Caxamalca.
The number of slain is reported, as usual, with great discrepancy.
Pizarro's secretary says two thousand natives fell.26 A descendant of the
Incas--a safer authority than Garcilasso---swells the number to ten
thousand.27 Truth is generally found somewhere between the extremes.
The slaughter was incessant, for there was nothing to check it. That
there should have been no resistance will not appear strange, when we
consider the fact, that the wretched victims were without arms, and that
their senses must have been completely overwhelmed by the strange and
appalling spectacle which burst on them so unexpectedly. "What wonder
was it," said an ancient Inca to a Spaniard, who repeats it, "what wonder
that our countrymen lost their wits, seeing blood run like water, and the
Inca, whose person we all of us adore, seized and carried off by a
handful of men?" 28 Yet though the massacre was incessant, it was short
in duration. The whole time consumed by it, the brief twilight of the
tropics, did not much exceed half an hour; a short period, indeed,---yet
long enough to decide the fate of Peru, and to subvert the dynasty of the
Incas.
That night Pizarro kept his engagement with the Inca, since he had
Atahuallpa to sup with him. The banquet was served in one of the halls
facing the great square, which a few hours before had been the scene of
slaughter, and the pavement of which was still encumbered with the dead
bodies of the Inca's subjects. The captive monarch was placed next his
conqueror. He seemed like one who did not yet fully comprehend the
extent of his calamity. If he did, he showed an amazing fortitude. "It is
the fortune of war," he said; 29 and, if we may credit the Spaniards, he
expressed his admiration of the adroitness with which they had contrived
to entrap him in the midst of his own troops.30 He added, that he had
been made acquainted with the progress of the white men from the hour
of their landing; but that he had been led to undervalue their strength
from the insignificance of their numbers. He had no doubt he should be
easily able to overpower them, on their arrival at Caxamalca, by his
superior strength; and, as he wished to see for himself what manner of
men they were, he had suffered them to cross the mountains, meaning to
select such as he chose for his own service, and, getting possession of
their wonderful arms and horses, put the rest to death.31
That such may have been Atahuallpa's purpose is not improbable. It
explains his conduct in not occupying the mountain passes, which
afforded such strong points of defence against invasion. But that a
prince so astute, as by the general testimony of the Conquerors he is
represented to have been, should have made so impolitic a disclosure of
his hidden motives is not so probable. The intercourse with the Inca was
carried on chiefly by means of the interpreter Felipillo, or little Philip, as
he was called, from his assumed Christian name,---a malicious youth, as
it appears, who bore no good-will to Atahuallpa, and whose
interpretations were readily admitted by the Conquerors, eager to find
some pretext for their bloody reprisals.
Atahuallpa, as elsewhere noticed, was, at this time, about thirty years of
age. He was well made, and more robust than usual with his
countrymen. His head was large, and his countenance might have been
called handsome, but that his eyes, which were bloodshot, gave a fierce
expression to his features. He was deliberate in speech, grave in manner,
and towards his own people stern even to severity; though with the
Spaniards he showed himself affable, sometimes even indulging in
sallies of mirth.32
Pizarro paid every attention to his royal captive, and endeavored to
lighten, if he could not dispel, the gloom which, in spite of his assumed
equanimity, hung over the monarch's brow. He besought him not to be
cast down by his reverses, for his lot had only been that of every prince
who had resisted the white men. They had come into the country to
proclaim the gospel, the religion of Jesus Christ; and it was no wonder
they had prevailed, when his shield was over them. Heaven had
permitted that Atahuallpa's pride should be humbled, because of his
hostile intentions towards the Spaniards, and the insults he had offered to
the sacred volume. But he bade the Inca take courage and confide in
him, for the Spaniards were a generous race, warring only against those
who made war on them, and showing grace to all who submitted! 33--
Atahuallpa may have thought the massacre of that day an indifferent
commentary on this vaunted lenity.
Before retiring for the night, Pizarro briefly addressed his troops on their
present situation. When he had ascertained that not a man was wounded,
he bade them offer up thanksgivings to Providence for so great a miracle;
without its care, they could never have prevailed so easily over the host
of their enemies; and he trusted their lives had been reserved for still
greater things. But if they would succeed, they had much to do for
themselves. They were in the heart of a powerful kingdom,
encompassed by foes deeply attached to their own sovereign. They must
be ever on their guard, therefore, and be prepared at any hour to be
roused from their slumbers by the call of the trumpet.34--Having then
posted his sentinels, placed a strong guard over the apartment of
Atahuallpa, and taken all the precautions of a careful commander,
Pizarro withdrew to repose; and, if he could really feel, that, in the
bloody scenes of the past day, he had been fighting only the good fight of
the Cross, he doubtless slept sounder than on the night preceding the
seizure of the Inca.
On the following morning, the first commands of the Spanish chief were
to have the city cleansed of its impurities; and the prisoners, of whom
there were many in the camp, were employed to remove the dead, and
give them decent burial. His next care was to despatch a body of about
thirty horse to the quarters lately occupied by Atahuallpa at the baths, to
take possession of the spoil, and disperse the remnant of the Peruvian
forces which still hung about the place.
Before noon, the party which he had detached on this service returned
with a large troop of Indians, men and women, among the latter of whom
were many of the wives and attendants of the Inca. The Spaniards had
met with no resistance; since the Peruvian warriors, though so superior in
number, excellent in appointments, and consisting mostly of ablebodied
young men,--for the greater part of the veteran forces were with the
Inca's generals at the south,--lost all heart from the moment of their
sovereign's captivity. There was no leader to take his place; for they
recognized no authority but that of the Child of the Sun, and they seemed
to be held by a sort of invisible charm near the place of his confinement;
while they gazed with superstitious awe on the white men, who could
achieve so audacious an enterprise.35
The number of Indian prisoners was so great, that some of the
Conquerors were for putting them all to death, or, at least, cutting off
their hands, to disable them from acts of violence, and to strike terror
into their countrymen.36 The proposition, doubtless, came from the
lowest and most ferocious of the soldiery. But that it should have been
made at all shows what materials entered into the composition of
Pizarro's company. The chief rejected it at once, as no less impolitic
than inhuman, and dismissed the Indians to their several homes, with the
assurance that none should be harmed who did not offer resistance to the
white men. A sufficient number, however, were retained to wait on the
Conquerors who were so well provided, in this respect, that the most
common soldier was attended by a retinue of menials that would have
better suited the establishment of a noble.37
The Spaniards had found immense droves of llamas under the care of
their shepherds in the neighborhood of the baths, destined for the
consumption of the Court. Many of them were now suffered to roam
abroad among their native mountains; though Pizarro caused a
considerable number to be reserved for the use of the army. And this
was no small quantity, if, as one of the Conquerors says, a hundred and
fifty of the Peruvian sheep were frequently slaughtered in a day.38
Indeed, the Spaniards were so improvident in their destruction of these
animals, that, in a few years, the superb flocks, nurtured with so much
care by the Peruvian government, had almost disappeared from the
land.39
The party sent to pillage the Inca's pleasure-house brought back a rich
booty in gold and silver, consisting chiefly of plate for the royal table,
which greatly astonished the Spaniards by their size and weight. These,
as well as some large emeralds obtained there, together with the precious
spoils found on the bodies of the Indian nobles who had perished in the
massacre, were placed in safe custody, to be hereafter divided. In the
city of Caxamalca, the troops also found magazines stored with goods,
both cotton and woollen, far superior to any they had seen, for fineness
of texture, and the skill with which the various colors were blended.
They were piled from the floors to the very roofs of the buildings, and in
such quantity, that, after every soldier had provided himself with what he
desired, it made no sensible diminution of the whole amount.40
Pizarro would now gladly have directed his march on the Peruvian
capital. But the distance was great, and his force was small. This must
have been still further crippled by the guard required for the Inca, and
the chief feared to involve himself deeper in a hostile empire so
populous and powerful, with a prize so precious in his keeping. With
much anxiety, therefore, he looked for reinforcements from the colonies;
and he despatched a courier to San Miguel, to inform the Spaniards there
of his recent successes, and to ascertain if there had been any arrival
from Panama. Meanwhile he employed his men in making Caxamalca a
more suitable residence for a Christian host, by erecting a church, or,
perhaps, appropriating some Indian edifice to this use, in which mass
was regularly performed by the Dominican fathers, with great solemnity.
The dilapidated walls of the city were also restored in a more substantial
manner than before, and every vestige was soon effaced of the hurricane
that had so recently swept over it.
It was not long before Atahuallpa discovered, amidst all the show of
religious zeal in his Conquerors, a lurking appetite more potent in most
of their bosoms than either religion or ambition. This was the love of
gold. He determined to avail himself of it to procure his own freedom.
The critical posture of his affairs made it important that this should not
be long delayed. His brother, Huascar, ever since his defeat, had been
detained as a prisoner, subject to the victor's orders. He was now at
Andamarca, at no great distance from Caxamalca; and Atahuallpa feared,
with good reason, that, when his own imprisonment was known, Huascar
would find it easy to corrupt his guards, make his escape, and put himself
at the head of the contested empire, without a rival to dispute it.
In the hope, therefore, to effect his purpose by appealing to the avarice
of his keepers, he one day told Pizarro, that, if he would set him free, he
would engage to cover the floor of the apartment on which they stood
with gold. Those present listened with an incredulous smile; and, as the
Inca received no answer, he said, with some emphasis, that "he would
not merely cover the floor, but would fill the room with gold as high as
he could reach"; and, standing on tiptoe, he stretched out his hand
against the wall. All stared with amazement; while they regarded it as
the insane boast of a man too eager to procure his liberty to weigh the
meaning of his words. Yet Pizarro was sorely perplexed. As he had
advanced into the country, much that he had seen, and all that he had
heard, had confirmed the dazzling reports first received of the riches of
Peru. Atahuallpa himself had given him the most glowing picture of the
wealth of the capital, where the roofs of the temples were plated with
gold, while the walls were hung with tapestry and the floors inlaid with
tiles of the same precious metal. There must be some foundation for all
this. At all events, it was safe to accede to the Inca's proposition; since,
by so doing, he could collect, at once, all the gold at his disposal, and
thus prevent its being purloined or secreted by the natives. He therefore
acquiesced in Atahuallpa's offer, and, drawing a red line along the wall at
the height which the Inca had indicated, he caused the terms of the
proposal to be duly recorded by the notary. The apartment was about
seventeen feet broad, by twenty-two feet long, and the line round the
walls was nine feet from the floor.41 This space was to be filled with
gold; but it was understood that the gold was not to be melted down into
ingots, but to retain the original form of the articles into which it was
manufactured, that the Inca might have the benefit of the space which
they occupied. He further agreed to fill an adjoining room of smaller
dimensions twice full with silver, in like manner; and he demanded two
months to accomplish all this.42
No sooner was this arrangement made, than the Inca despatched couriers
to Cuzco and the other principal places in the kingdom, with orders that
the gold ornaments and utensils should be removed from the royal
palaces, and from the temples and other public buildings, and transported
without loss of time to Caxamalca. Meanwhile he continued to live in
the Spanish quarters, treated with the respect due to his rank, and
enjoying all the freedom that was compatible with the security of his
person. Though not permitted to go abroad, his limbs were unshackled,
and he had the range of his own apartments under the jealous
surveillance of a guard, who knew too well the value of the royal captive
to be remiss. He was allowed the society of his favorite wives, and
Pizarro took care that his domestic privacy should not be violated. His
subjects had free access to their sovereign, and every day he received
visits from the Indian nobles, who came to bring presents, and offer
condolence to their unfortunate master. On such occasions, the most
potent of these great vassals never ventured into his presence, without
first stripping off their sandals, and bearing a load on their backs in token
of reverence. The Spaniards gazed with curious eyes on these acts of
homage, or rather of slavish submission, on the one side, and on the air
of perfect indifference with which they were received, as a matter of
course, on the other; and they conceived high ideas of the character of a
prince who, even in his present helpless condition, could inspire such
feelings of awe in his subjects. The royal levee was so well attended,
and such devotion was shown by his vassals to the captive monarch, as
did not fail, in the end, to excite some feelings of distrust in his
keepers.43
Pizarro did not neglect the opportunity afforded him of communicating
the truths of revelation to his prisoner, and both he and his chaplain,
Father Valverde, labored in the same good work. Atahuallpa listened
with composure and apparent attention. But nothing seemed to move
him so much as the argument with which the military polemic closed his
discourse,--that it could not be the true God whom Atahuallpa
worshipped, since he had suffered him to fall into the hands of his
enemies. The unhappy monarch assented to the force of this,
acknowledging that his Deity had indeed deserted him in his utmost
need.44
Yet his conduct towards his brother Huascar, at this time, too clearly
proves, that, whatever respect he may have shown for the teachers, the
doctrines of Christianity had made little impression on his heart. No
sooner had Huascar been informed of the capture of his rival, and of the
large ransom he had offered for his deliverance, than, as the latter had
foreseen, he made every effort to regain his liberty, and sent, or
attempted to send, a message to the Spanish commander, that he would
pay a much larger ransom than that promised by Atahuallpa, who, never
having dwelt in Cuzco, was ignorant of the quantity of treasure there, and
where it was deposited.
Intelligence of all this was secretly communicated to Atahuallpa by the
persons who had his brother in charge; and his jealousy, thus roused, was
further heightened by Pizarro's declaration, that he intended to have
Huascar brought to Caxamalca, where he would himself examine into the
controversy, and determine which of the two had best title to the sceptre
of the Incas. Pizarro perceived, from the first, the advantages of a
competition which would enable him, by throwing his sword into the
scale he preferred, to give it a preponderance. The party who held the
sceptre by his nomination would henceforth be a tool in his hands, with
which to work his pleasure more effectually than he could well do in his
own name. It was the game, as every reader knows, played by Edward
the First in the affairs of Scotland, and by many a monarch, both before
and since,--and though their examples may not have been familiar to the
unlettered soldier, Pizarro was too quick in his perceptions to require, in
this matter, at least, the teachings of history.
Atahuallpa was much alarmed by the Spanish commander's
determination to have the suit between the rival candidates brought
before him; for he feared, that, independently of the merits of the case,
the decision would be likely to go in favor of Huascar, whose mild and
ductile temper would make him a convenient instrument in the hands of
his conquerors. Without further hesitation, he determined to remove this
cause of jealousy for ever, by the death of his brother.
His orders were immediately executed, and the unhappy prince was
drowned, as was commonly reported, in the river of Andamarca,
declaring with his dying breath that the white men would avenge his
murder, and that his rival would not long survive him.45--Thus perished
the unfortunate Huascar, the legitimate heir of the throne of the Incas, in
the very morning of life, and the commencement of his reign; a reign,
however, which had been long enough to call forth the display of many
excellent and amiable qualities, though his nature was too gentle to cope
with the bold and fiercer temper of his brother. Such is the portrait we
have of him from the Indian and Castilian chroniclers, though the former,
it should be added, were the kinsmen of Huascar, and the latter certainly
bore no good-will to Atahuallpa.46
That prince received the tidings of Huascar's death with every mark of
surprise and indignation. He immediately sent for Pizarro, and
communicated the event to him with expressions of the deepest sorrow.
The Spanish commander refused, at first, to credit the unwelcome news,
and bluntly told the Inca, that his brother could not be dead, and that he
should be answerable for his life.47 To this Atahuallpa replied by
renewed assurances of the fact, adding that the deed had been
perpetrated, without his privity, by Huascar's keepers, fearful that he
might take advantage of the troubles of the country to make his escape.
Pizarro, on making further inquiries, found that the report of his death
was but too true. That it should have been brought about by Atahuallpa's
officers, without his express command, would only show, that, by so
doing, they had probably anticipated their master's wishes. The crime,
which assumes in our eyes a deeper dye from the relation of the parties,
had not the same estimation among the Incas, in whose multitudinous
families the bonds of brotherhood must have sat loosely,--much too
loosely to restrain the arm of the despot from sweeping away any
obstacle that lay in his path.