Movements Of The Conspirators--Advance Of Vaca De Castro--
Proceedings Of Almagro--Progress Of The Governor-
The Forces Approach Each Other--Bloody Plains Of Chupas-
Conduct Of Vaca De Castro
1541--1543
The first step of the conspirators, after securing possession of the capital,
was to send to the different cities, proclaiming the revolution which had
taken place, and demanding the recognition of the young Almagro as
governor of Peru. Where the summons was accompanied by a military
force, as at Truxillo and Arequipa, it was obeyed without much cavil.
But in other cities a colder assent was given, and in some the requisition
was treated with contempt. In Cuzco, the place of most importance next
to Lima, a considerable number of the Almagro faction secured the
ascendency of their party; and such of the magistracy as resisted were
ejected from their offices to make room for others of a more
accommodating temper. But the loyal inhabitants of the city, dissatisfied
with this proceeding, privately sent to one of Pizarro's captains, named
Alvarez de Holguin, who lay with a considerable force in the
neighborhood; and that officer, entering the place, soon dispossessed the
new dignitaries of their honors, and restored the ancient capital to its
allegiance.
The conspirators experienced a still more determined opposition from
Alonso de Alvarado, one of the principal captains of Pizarro,-defeated,
as the reader will remember, by the elder Almagro at the bridge of
Abancay,--and now lying in the north with a corps of about two hundred
men, as good troops as any in the land. That officer, on receiving tidings
of his general's assassination, instantly wrote to the Licentiate Vaca de
Castro, advising him of the state of affairs in Peru, and urging him to
quicken his march towards the south.1
This functionary had been sent out by the Spanish Crown, as noticed in a
preceding chapter, to cooperate with Pizarro in restoring tranquillity to
the country, with authority to assume the government himself, in case of
that commander's death. After a long and tempestuous voyage, he had
landed, in the spring of 1541, at the port of Buena Ventura, and,
disgusted with the dangers of the sea, preferred to continue his
wearisome journey by land. But so enfeebled was he by the hardships he
had undergone, that it was full three months before he reached Popayan
where he received the astounding tidings of the death of Pizarro. This
was the contingency which had been provided for, with such judicious
forecast, in his instructions. Yet he was sorely perplexed by the
difficulties of his situation. He was a stranger in the land, with a very
imperfect knowledge of the country, without an armed force to support
him, without even the military science which might be supposed
necessary to avail himself of it. He knew nothing of the degree of
Almagro's influence, or of the extent to which the insurrection had
spread,--nothing, in short, of the dispositions of the people among whom
he was cast.
In such an emergency, a feebler spirit might have listened to the counsels
of those who advised to return to Panama, and stay there until he had
mustered a sufficient force to enable him to take the field against the
insurgents with advantage. But the courageous heart of Vaca de Castro
shrunk from a step which would proclaim his incompetency to the task
assigned him. He had confidence in his own resources, and in the virtue
of the commission under which he acted. He relied, too, on the habitual
loyalty of the Spaniards; and, after mature deliberation, he determined to
go forward, and trust to events for accomplishing the objects of his
mission.
He was confirmed in this purpose by the advices he now received from
Alvarado; and without longer delay, he continued his march towards
Quito. Here he was well received by Gonzalo Pizarro's lieutenant, who
had charge of the place during his commander's absence on his
expedition to the Amazon. The licentiate was also joined by Benalcazar,
the conqueror of Quito, who brought a small reinforcement, and offered
personally to assist him in the prosecution of his enterprise. He now
displayed the royal commission, empowering him, on Pizarro's death, to
assume the government. That contingency had arrived, and Vaca de
Castro declared his purpose to exercise the authority conferred on him.
At the same time, he sent emissaries to the principal cities, requiring
their obedience to him as the lawful representative of the Crown, --taking
care to employ discreet persons on the mission, whose character would
have weight with the citizens. He then continued his march slowly
towards the south.2
He was willing by his deliberate movements to give time for his
summons to take effect, and for the fermentation caused by the late
extraordinary events to subside. He reckoned confidently on the loyalty
which made the Spaniard unwilling, unless in cases of the last extremity,
to come into collision with the royal authority; and, however much this
popular sentiment might be disturbed by temporary gusts of passion, he
trusted to the habitual current of their feelings for giving the people a
right direction. In this he did not miscalculate; for so deeprooted was the
principle of loyalty in the ancient Spaniard, that ages of oppression and
misrule could alone have induced him to shake off his allegiance. Sad it
is, but not strange, that the length of time passed under a bad government
has not qualified him for devising a good one.
While these events were passing in the north, Almagro's faction at Lima
was daily receiving new accessions of strength. For, in addition to those
who, from the first, had been avowedly of his father's party, there were
many others who, from some cause or other, had conceived a disgust for
Pizarro, and who now willingly enlisted under the banner of the chief
that had overthrown him.
The first step of the young general, or rather of Rada, who directed his
movements, was to secure the necessary supplies for the troops, most of
whom, having long been in indigent circumstances, were wholly
unprepared for service. Funds to a considerable amount were raised, by
seizing on the moneys of the Crown in the hands of the treasurer.
Pizarro's secretary, Picado, was also drawn from his prison, and
interrogated as to the place where his master's treasures were deposited.
But, although put to the torture, he would not---or, as is probable, could
not --give information on the subject; and the conspirators, who had a
long arrear of injuries to settle with him, closed their proceedings by
publicly beheading him in the great square of Lima.3
Valverde, Bishop of Cuzco, as he himself assures us, vainly interposed in
his behalf. It is singular, that, the last time this fanatical prelate appears
on the stage, it should be in the benevolent character of a supplicant for
mercy.4 Soon afterwards, he was permitted, with the judge, Velasquez,
and some other adherents of Pizarro, to embark from the port of Lima.
We have a letter from him, dated at Tumbez, in November, 1541; almost
immediately after which he fell into the hands of the Indians, and with
his companions was massacred at Puna. A violent death not
unfrequently closed the stormy career of the American adventurer.
Valverde was a Dominican friar, and, like Father Olmedo in the suite of
Cortes, had been by his commander's side throughout the whole of his
expedition. But he did not always, like the good Olmedo, use his
influence to stay the uplifted hand of the warrior. At least, this was not
the mild aspect in which he presented himself at the terrible massacre of
Caxamalca. Yet some contemporary accounts represent him, after he
had been installed in his episcopal office, as unwearied in his labors to
convert the natives, and to ameliorate their condition; and his own
correspondence with the government, after that period, shows great
solicitude for these praiseworthy objects. Trained in the severest school
of monastic discipline, which too often closes the heart against the
common charities of life, he could not, like the benevolent Las Casas,
rise so far above its fanatical tenets as to regard the heathen as his
brother, while in the state of infidelity; and, in the true spirit of that
school, he doubtless conceived that the sanctity of the end justified the
means, however revolting in themselves. Yet the same man, who thus
freely shed the blood of the poor native to secure the triumph of his faith,
would doubtless have as freely poured out his own in its defence. The
character was no uncommon one in the sixteenth century.5
Almagro's followers, having supplied themselves with funds, made as
little scruple to appropriate to their own use such horses and arms, of
every description, as they could find in the city. And this they did with
the less reluctance, as the inhabitants for the most part testified no good-
will to their cause. While thus employed, Almagro received intelligence
that Holguin had left Cuzco with a force of near three hundred men, with
which he was preparing to effect a junction with Alvarado in the north.
It was important to Almagro's success that he should defeat this junction.
If to procrastinate was the policy of Vaca de Castro, it was clearly that of
Almagro to quicken operations, and to bring matters to as speedy an
issue as possible; to march at once against Holguin, whom he might
expect easily to overcome with his superior numbers; then to follow up
the stroke by the still easier defeat of Alvarado, when the new governor
would be, in a manner, at his mercy. It would be easy to beat these
several bodies in detail, which, once united, would present formidable
odds. Almagro and his party had already arrayed themselves against the
government by a proceeding too atrocious, and which struck too directly
at the royal authority, for its perpetrators to flatter themselves with the
hopes of pardon. Their only chance was boldly to follow up the blow,
and, by success, to place them, selves in so formidable an attitude as to
excite the apprehensions of government. The dread of its too potent
vassal might extort terms that would never be conceded to his prayers.
But Almagro and his followers shrunk from this open collision with the
Crown. They had taken up rebellion because it lay in their path, not
because they had wished it. They had meant only to avenge their
personal wrongs on Pizarro, and not to defy the royal authority. When,
therefore, some of the more resolute, who followed things fearlessly to
their consequences, proposed to march at once against Vaca de Castro,
and, by striking at the head, settle the contest by a blow, it was almost
universally rejected; and it was not till after long debate that it was
finally determined to move against Holguin, and cut off his
communication with Alonso de Alvarado.
Scarcely had Almagro commenced his march on Xauxa, where he
proposed to give battle to his enemy, than he met with a severe
misfortune in the death of Juan de Rada. He was a man somewhat
advanced in years; and the late exciting scenes, in which he had taken the
principal part, had been too much for a frame greatly shattered by a life
of extraordinary hardship. He was thrown into a fever, of which he soon
after died. By his death, Almagro sustained an inestimable loss; for,
besides his devoted attachment to his young leader, he was, by his large
experience, and his cautious though courageous character, better
qualified than any other cavalier in the army to conduct him safely
through the stormy sea on which he had led him to embark.
Among the cavaliers of highest consideration after Rada's death, the two
most aspiring were Christoval de Sotelo, and Garcia de Alvarado; both
possessed of considerable military talent, but the latter marked by a bold,
presumptuous manner, which might remind one of his illustrious
namesake, who achieved much higher renown under the banner of
Cortes. Unhappily, a jealousy grew up between these two officers; that
jealousy, so common among the Spaniards, that it may seem a national
characteristic; an impatience of equality, founded on a false principle of
honor, which has ever been the fruitful source of faction among them,
whether under a monarchy or a republic.
This was peculiarly unfortunate for Almagro, whose inexperience led
him to lean for support on others, and who, in the present distracted state
of his council, knew scarcely where to turn for it. In the delay
occasioned by these dissensions, his little army did not reach the valley
of Xauxa till after the enemy had passed it. Almagro followed close,
leaving behind his baggage and artillery that he might move the lighter.
But the golden opportunity was lost. The rivers, swollen by autumnal
rains, impeded his pursuit; and, though his light troops came up with a
few stragglers of the rear-guard, Holguin succeeded in conducting his
forces through the dangerous passes of the mountains, and in effecting a
junction with Alonso de Alvarado, near the northern seaport of Huaura.
Disappointed in his object, Almagro prepared to march on Cuzco,-the
capital, as he regarded it, of his own jurisdiction,--to get possession of
that city, and there make preparations to meet his adversary in the field.
Sotelo was sent forward with a small corps in advance. He experienced
no opposition from the now defenceless citizens; the government of the
place was again restored to the hands of the men of Chili, and their
young leader soon appeared at the head of his battalions, and established
his winter-quarters in the Inca capital.
Here, the jealousy of the rival captains broke out into an open feud. It
was ended by the death of Sotelo, treacherously assassinated in his own
apartment by Garcia de Alvarado. Almagro, greatly outraged by this
atrocity, was the more indignant, as he felt himself too weak to punish
the offender. He smothered his resentment for the present, affecting to
treat the dangerous officer with more distinguished favor. But Alvarado
was not the dupe of this specious behaviour. He felt that he had forfeited
the confidence of his commander. In revenge, he laid a plot to betray
him; and Almagro, driven to the necessity of self-defence, imitated the
example of his officer, by entering his house with a party of armed men,
who, laying violent hands on the insurgent, slew him on the spot.6
This irregular proceeding was followed by the best consequences. The
seditious schemes of Alvarado perished with him. The seeds of
insubordination were eradicated, and from that moment Almagro
experienced only implicit obedience and the most loyal support from his
followers. From that hour, too, his own character seemed to be changed;
he relied far less on others than on himself, and developed resources not
to have been anticipated in one of his years; for he had hardly reached
the age of twenty-two.7 From this time he displayed an energy and
forecast, which proved him, in despite of his youth, not unequal to the
trying emergencies of the situation in which it was his unhappy lot to be
placed.
He instantly set about providing for the wants of his men, and strained
every nerve to get them in good fighting order for the approaching
campaign. He replenished his treasury with a large amount of silver
which he drew from the mines of La Plata. Saltpetre, obtained in
abundance in the neighborhood of Cuzco, furnished the material for
gunpowder. He caused cannon, some of large dimensions, to be cast
under the superintendence of Pedro de Candia, the Greek, who, it may be
remembered, had first come into the country with Pizarro, and who, with
a number of his countrymen,--Levantines, as they were called,-was well
acquainted with this manufacture. Under their care, fire-arms were
made, together with cuirasses and helmets, in which silver was mingled
with copper,8 and of so excellent a quality, that they might vie, says an
old soldier of the time, with those from the workshops of Milan.9
Almagro received a seasonable supply, moreover, from a source scarcely
to have been expected. This was from Manco, the wandering Inca, who
detesting the memory of Pizarro, transferred to the young Almagro the
same friendly feelings which he had formerly borne to his father;
heightened, it may be, by the consideration that Indian blood flowed in
the veins of the young commander. From this quarter Almagro obtained
a liberal supply of swords, spears, shields, and arms and armour of every
description, chiefly taken by the Inca at the memorable siege of Cuzco.
He also received the gratifying assurance, that the latter would support
him with a detachment of native troops when he opened the campaign.
Before making a final appeal to arms, however, Almagro resolved to try
the effect of negotiation with the new governor. In the spring, or early in
the summer, of 1542, he sent an embassy to the latter, then at Lima, in
which he deprecated the necessity of taking arms against an officer of the
Crown. His only desire, he said, was to vindicate his own rights; to
secure the possession of New Toledo, the province bequeathed to him by
his father, and from which he had been most unjustly excluded by
Pizarro. He did not dispute the governor's authority over New Castile, as
the country was designated which had been assigned to the marquess;
and he concluded by proposing that each party should remain within his
respective territory until the determination of the Court of Castile could
be made known to them. To this application, couched in respectful
terms, Almagro received no answer.
Frustrated in his hopes of a peaceful accommodation, the young captain
now saw that nothing was left but the arbitrament of arms. Assembling
his troops, preparatory to his departure from the capital, he made them a
brief address. He protested that the step which he and his brave
companions were about to take was not an act of rebellion against the
Crown. It was forced on them by the conduct of the governor himself.
The commission of that officer gave him no authority over the territory
of New Toledo, settled on Almagro's father, and by his father bequeathed
to him. If Vaca de Castro, by exceeding the limits of his authority, drove
him to hostilities, the blood spill in the quarrel would lie on the head of
that commander, not on his. "In the assassination of Pizarro," he
continued, "we took that justice into our own hands which elsewhere was
denied us. It is the same now, in our contest with the royal governor.
We are as true-hearted and loyal subjects of the Crown as he is." And he
concluded by invoking his soldiers to stand by him heart and hand in the
approaching contest, in which they were all equally interested with
himself.
The appeal was not made to an insensible audience. There were few
among them who did not feel that their fortunes were indissolubly
connected with those of their commander; and while they had little to
expect from the austere character of the governor, they were warmly
attached to the person of their young chief, who, with all the popular
qualities of his father, excited additional sympathy from the
circumstances of his age and his forlorn condition. Laying their hands
on the cross, placed on an altar raised for the purpose, the officers and
soldiers severally swore to brave every peril with Almagro, and remain
true to him to the last.
In point of numbers, his forces had not greatly strengthened since his
departure from Lima. He mustered but little more than five hundred in
all; but among them were his father's veterans, well seasoned by many an
Indian campaign. He had about two hundred horse, many of them clad
in complete mail, a circumstance not too common in these wars, where a
stuffed doublet of cotton was often the only panoply of the warrior. His
infantry, formed of pikemen and arquebusiers, was excellently armed.
But his strength lay in his heavy ordnance, consisting of sixteen pieces,
eight large and eight smaller guns, or falconets, as they were called,
forming, says one who saw it, a beautiful park of artillery, that would
have made a brave show on the citadel of Burgos.10 The little army, in
short, though not imposing from its numbers, was under as good
discipline, and as well appointed, as any that ever fought on the fields of
Peru; much better than any which Almagro's own father or Pizarro ever
led into the field and won their conquests with. Putting himself at the
head of his gallant company, the chieftain sallied forth from the walls of
Cuzco about midsummer, in 1542, and directed his march towards the
coast in expectation of meeting the enemy.11
While the events detailed in the preceding pages were passing, Vaca de
Castro, whom we left at Quito in the preceding year, was advancing
slowly towards the south. His first act, after leaving that city, showed his
resolution to enter into no compromise with the assassins of Pizarro.
Benalcazar, the distinguished officer whom I have mentioned as having
early given in his adherence to him, had protected one of the principal
conspirators, his personal friend, who had come into his power, and had
facilitated his escape. The governor, indignant at the proceeding, would
listen to no explanation, but ordered the offending officer to return to his
own district of Popayan. It was a bold step, in the precarious state of his
own fortunes.
As the governor pursued his march, he was well received by the people
on the way; and when he entered the cities of San Miguel and of
Truxillo, he was welcomed with loyal enthusiasm by the inhabitants, who
readily acknowledged his authority, though they showed little alacrity to
take their chance with him in the coming struggle.
After lingering a long time in each of these places, he resumed his march
and reached the camp of Alonso de Alvarado at Huaura, early in 1542.
Holguin had established his quarters at some little distance from his
rival; for a jealousy had sprung up, as usual, between these two captains,
who both aspired to the supreme command of Captain General of the
army. The office of governor, conferred on Vaca de Castro, might seem
to include that of commander-in-chief of the forces. But De Castro was
a scholar, bred to the law;. and, whatever authority he might arrogate to
himself in civil matters, the two captains imagined that the military
department he would resign into the hands of others. They little knew
the character of the man.
Though possessed of no more military science than belonged to every
cavalier in that martial age, the governor knew that to avow his
ignorance, and to resign the management of affairs into the hands of
others, would greatly impair his authority, if not bring him into contempt
with the turbulent spirits among whom he was now thrown. He had both
sagacity and spirit, and trusted to be able to supply his own deficiencies
by the experience of others. His position placed the services of the
ablest men m the country at his disposal, and with the aid of their
counsels he felt quite competent to decide on his plan of operations, and
to enforce the execution of it. He knew, moreover, that the only way to
allay the jealousy of the two parties in the present crisis was to assume
himself the office which was the cause of their dissension.
Still he approached his ambitious officers with great caution; and the
representations, which he made through some judicious persons who had
the most intimate access to them, were so successful, that both were in a
short time prevailed on to relinquish their pretensions in his favor.
Holguin, the more unreasonable of the two, then waited on him in his
rival's quarters, where the governor had the further satisfaction to
reconcile him to Alonso de Alvarado. It required some address, as their
jealousy of each other had proceeded to such lengths that a challenge had
passed between them.
Harmony being thus restored, the licentiate passed over to Holguin's
camp, where he was greeted with salvoes of artillery, and loud
acclamations of "Viva el Rey" from the loyal soldiery. Ascending a
platform covered with velvet, he made an animated harangue to the
troops; his commission was read aloud by the secretary; and the little
army tendered their obedience to him as the representative of the Crown.
Vaca de Castro's next step was to send off the greater part of his force, in
the direction of Xauxa, while, at the head of a small corps, he directed
his march towards Lima. Here he was received with lively
demonstrations of joy by the citizens, who were generally attached to the
cause of Pizarro, the founder and constant patron of their capital.
Indeed, the citizens had lost no time after Almagro's departure in
expelling his creatures from the municipality, and reasserting their
allegiance. With these favorable dispositions towards himself, the
governor found no difficulty in obtaining a considerable loan of money
from the wealthier inhabitants, But he was less successful, at first, in his
application for horses and arms, since the harvest had been too faithfully
gleaned, already, by the men of Chili. As, however, he prolonged his
stay some time in the capital, he obtained important supplies, before he
left it, both of arms and ammunition, while he added to his force by a
considerable body of recruits.12
As he was thus employed, he received tidings that the enemy had left
Cuzco, and was on his march towards the coast. Quitting Los Reyes,
therefore, with his trusty followers, Vaca de Castro marched at once to
Xauxa, the appointed place of rendezvous. Here he mustered his forces,
and found that they amounted to about seven hundred men. The cavalry,
in which lay his strength, was superior in numbers to that of his
antagonist, but neither so well mounted or armed. It included many
cavaliers of birth, and well-tried soldiers, besides a number who, having
great interests at stake, as possessed of large estates in the country, had
left them at the call of government, to enlist under its banners.13 His
infantry, besides pikes, was indifferently well supplied with firearms; but
he had nothing to show in the way of artillery except three or four ill-
mounted falconets. Yet, notwithstanding these deficiencies, the royal
army, if so insignificant a force can deserve that name, was so far
superior in numbers to that of his rival, that the one might be thought, on
the whole, to be no unequal match for the other.14
The reader, familiar with the large masses employed in European
warfare, may smile at the paltry forces of the Spaniards. But in the New
World, where a countless host of natives went for little, five hundred
well-trained Europeans were regarded as a formidable body. No army,
up to the period before us, had ever risen to a thousand. Yet it is not
numbers, as I have already been led to remark, that give importance to a
conflict; but the consequences that depend on it,--the magnitude of the
stake, and the skill and courage of the players. The more limited the
means, even, the greater may be the science shown in the use of them;
until, forgetting the poverty of the materials, we fix our attention on the
conduct of the actors, and the greatness of the results.
While at Xauxa, Vaca de Castro received an embassy from Gonzalo
Pizarro, returned from his expedition from the "Land of Cinnamon," in
which that chief made an offer of his services in the approaching contest.
The governor's answer showed that he was not wholly averse to an
accommodation with Almagro, provided it could be effected without
compromising the royal authority. He was willing, perhaps, to avoid the
final trial by battle, when he considered, that, from the equality of the
contending forces, the issue must be extremely doubtful. He knew that
the presence of Pizarro in the camp, the detested enemy of the
Almagrians, would excite distrust in their bosoms that would probably
baffle every effort at accommodation. Nor is it likely that the governor
cared to have so restless a spirit introduced into his own councils. He
accordingly sent to Gonzalo, thanking him for the promptness of his
support, but courteously declined it, while he advised him to remain in
his province, and repose after the fatigues of his wearisome expedition.
At the same time, he assured him that he would not fail to call for his
services when occasion required it.--The haughty cavalier was greatly
disgusted by the repulse.15
The governor now received such an account of Almagro's movements
as led him to suppose that he was preparing to occupy Gaumanga, a
fortified place of considerable strength, about thirty leagues from
Xauxa.16 Anxious to secure this post, he broke up his encampment, and
by forced marches, conducted in so irregular a manner as must have
placed him in great danger if his enemy had been near to profit by it, he
succeeded in anticipating Almagro, and threw himself into the place
while his antagonist was at Bilcas, some ten leagues distant.
At Guamanga, Vaca de Castro received another embassy from Almagro,
of similar import with the former. The young chief again deprecated the
existence of hostilities between brethren of the same family, and
proposed an accommodation of the quarrel on the same basis as before.
To these proposals the governor now condescended to reply. It might be
thought, from his answer, that he felt some compassion for the youth and
inexperience of Almagro, and that he was willing to distinguish between
him and the principal conspirators, provided he could detach him from
their interests. But it is more probable that he intended only to amuse his
enemy by a show of negotiation, while he gained time for tampering with
the fidelity of his troops.
He insisted that Almagro should deliver up to him all those immediately
implicated in the death of Pizarro, and should then disband his forces.
On these conditions the government would pass over his treasonable
practices, and he should be reinstated in the royal favor. Together with
this mission, Vaca de Castro, it is reported, sent a Spaniard, disguised as
an Indian, who was instructed to communicate with certain officers in
Almagro's camp, and prevail on them, if possible, to abandon his cause
and return to their allegiance. Unfortunately, the disguise of the
emissary was detected. He was seized, put to the torture, and, having
confessed the whole of the transaction, was hanged as a spy.
Almagro laid the proceeding before his captains. The terms proffered by
the governor were such as no man with a particle of honor in his nature
could entertain for a moment; and Almagro's indignation, as well as that
of his companions, was heightened by the duplicity of their enemy, who
could practise such insidious arts, while ostensibly engaged in a fair and
open negotiation. Fearful, perhaps, lest the tempting offers of their
antagonist might yet prevail over the constancy of some of the weaker
spirits among them, they demanded that all negotiation should be broken
off, and that they should be led at once against the enemy.17
The governor, meanwhile, finding the broken country around Guamanga
unfavorable for his cavalry, on which he mainly relied, drew off his
forces to the neighboring lowlands, known as the Plains of Chupas. It
was the tempestuous season of the year, and for several days the storm
raged wildly among the hills, and, sweeping along their sides into the
valley, poured down rain, sleet, and snow on the miserable bivouacs of
the soldiers, till they were drenched to the skin and nearly stiffened by
the cold.18 At length, on the sixteenth of September, 1542, the scouts
brought in tidings that Almagro's troops were advancing, with the
intention, apparently, of occupying the highlands around Chupas. The
war of the elements had at last subsided, and was succeeded by one of
those brilliant days which are found only in the tropics. The royal camp
was early in motion, as Vaca de Castro, desirous to secure the heights
that commanded the valley, detached a body of arquebusiers on that
service, supported by a corps of cavalry, which he soon followed with
the rest of the forces. On reaching the eminence, news was brought that
the enemy had come to a halt, and established himself in a strong
position at less than a league's distance.
It was now late in the afternoon, and the sun was not more than two
hours above the horizon. The governor hesitated to begin the action
when they must so soon be overtaken by night. But Alonso de Alvarado
assured him that "now was the time; for the spirits of his men were hot
for fight, and it was better to take the benefit of it than to damp their
ardor by delay." The governor acquiesced, exclaiming at the same time, -
-"O for the might of Joshua, to stay the sun in his course!" 19 He then
drew up his little army in order of battle, and made his dispositions for
the attack.
In the centre he placed his infantry, consisting of arquebusiers and
pikemen, constituting the battle, as it was called. On the flanks, he
established his cavalry, placing the right wing, together with the royal
standard, under charge of Alonso de Alvarado, and the left under
Holguin, supported by a gallant body of cavaliers. His artillery, too
insignificant to be of much account, was also in the centre. He proposed
himself to lead the van, and to break the first lance with the enemy; but
from this chivalrous display he was dissuaded by his officers, who
reminded him that too much depended on his life to have it thus
wantonly exposed. The governor contented himself, therefore, with
heading a body of reserve, consisting of forty horse, to act on any quarter
as occasion might require. This corps, comprising the flower of his
chivalry, was chiefly drawn from Alvarado's troop, greatly to the
discontent of that captain. The governor himself rode a coal-black
charger, and wore a rich surcoat of brocade over his mail, through which
the habit and emblems of the knightly order of St. James, conferred on
him just before his departure from Castile, were conspicuous.20 It was a
point of honor with the chivalry of the period to court danger by
displaying their rank in the splendor of their military attire and the
caparisons of their horses.
Before commencing the assault, Vaca de Castro addressed a few remarks
to his soldiers, in order to remove any hesitation that some might yet
feel, who recollected the displeasure shown by the emperor to the victors
as well as the vanquished after the battle of Salinas. He told them that
their enemies were rebels. They were in arms against him. the
representative of the Crown, and it was his duty to quell this rebellion
and punish the authors of it. He then caused the law to be read aloud,
proclaiming the doom of traitors. By this law, Almagro and his
followers had forfeited their lives and property, and the governor
promised to distribute the latter among such of his men as showed the
best claim to it by their conduct in the battle. This last politic promise
vanquished the scruples of the most fastidious; and, having completed
his dispositions in the most judicious and soldier-like manner, Vaca de
Castro gave the order to advance.21
As the forces turned a spur of the hills, which had hitherto screened them
from their enemies, they came in sight of the latter, formed along the
crest of a gentle eminence, with their snow-white banners, the
distinguishing color of the Almagrians, floating above their heads, and
their bright arms flinging back the broad rays of the evening sun.
Almagro's disposition of his troops was not unlike that of his adversary.
In the centre was his excellent artillery, covered by his arquebusiers and
spearmen; while his cavalry rode on the flanks. The troops on the left he
proposed to lead in person. He had chosen his position with judgment,
as the character of the ground gave full play to his guns, which opened
an effective fire on the assailants as they drew near. Shaken by the storm
of shot, Vaca de Castro saw the difficulty of advancing in open view of
the hostile battery. He took the counsel, therefore, of Francisco de
Carbajal, who undertook to lead the forces by a circuitous, but safer,
route. This is the first occasion on which the name of this veteran
appears in these American wars, where it was afterwards to acquire a
melancholy notoriety. He had come to the country after the campaigns
of forty years in Europe, where he had studied the art of war under the
Great Captain, Gonsalvo de Cordova. Though now far advanced in age,
he possessed all the courage and indomitable energy of youth, and well
exemplified the lessons he had studied under his great commander.
Taking advantage of a winding route that sloped round the declivity of
the hills, he conducted the troops in such a manner, that, until they
approached quite near the enemy, they were protected by the intervening
ground. While thus advancing, they were assailed on the left flank by
the Indian battalions under Paullo, the Inca Manco's brother; but a corps
of musketeers, directing a scattering fire among them, soon rid the
Spaniards of this annoyance. When, at length, the royal troops, rising
above the hill, again came into view of Almagro's lines, the artillery
opened on them with fatal effect. It was but for a moment, however, as,
from some unaccountable cause, the guns were pointed as such an angle,
that, although presenting an obvious mark, by far the greater part of the
shot passed over their heads. Whether this was the result of treachery, or
merely of awkwardness, is uncertain. The artillery was under charge of
the engineer, Pedro de Candia. This man, who, it" may be remembered,
was one of the thirteen that so gallantly stood by Pizarro in the island of
Gallo, had fought side by side with his leader through the whole of the
Conquest. He had lately, however, conceived some disgust with him,
and had taken part with the faction of Almagro. The death of his old
commander, he may perhaps have thought, had settled all their
differences, and he was now willing to return to his former allegiance.
At least, it is said, that, at this very time, he was in correspondence with
Vaca de Castro. Almagro himself seems to have had no doubt of his
treachery. For, after remonstrating in vain with him on his present
conduct, he ran him through the body, and the unfortunate cavalier fell
lifeless on the field. Then, throwing himself on one of the guns,
Almagro gave it a new direction, and that so successfully, that, when it
was discharged, it struck down several of the cavalry.22
The firing now took better effect, and by one volley a whole file of the
royal infantry was swept off, and though others quickly stepped in to fill
up the ranks, the men, impatient of their sufferings, loudly called on the
troopers, who had halted for a moment, to quicken their advance.23
This delay had been caused by Carbajal's desire to bring his own guns to
bear on the opposite columns. But the design was quickly abandoned;
the clumsy ordnance was left on the field, and orders were given to the
cavalry to charge; the trumpets sounded, and, crying their war-cries, the
bold cavaliers struck their spurs into their steeds, and rode at full speed
against the enemy.
Well had it been for Almagro, if he had remained firm on the post which
gave him such advantage. But from a false point of honor, he thought it
derogatory to a brave knight passively to await the assault, and, ordering
his own men to charge, the hostile squadrons, rapidly advancing against
each other, met midway on the plain. The shock was terrible. Horse and
rider reeled under the force of it. The spears flew into shivers;24 and the
cavaliers, drawing their swords, or wielding their maces and battle-axes,-
-though some of the royal troopers were armed only with a common
axe,--dealt their blows with all the fury of civil hate. It was a fearful
struggle, not merely of man against man, but, to use the words of an
eyewitness, of brother against brother, and friend against friend.25 No
quarter was asked; for the wrench that had been strong enough to tear
asunder the dearest ties of kindred left no hold for humanity. The
excellent arms of the Almagrians counterbalanced the odds of numbers;
but the royal partisans gained some advantage by striking at the horses
instead of the mailed bodies of their antagonists.
The infantry, meanwhile, on both sides, kept up a sharp cross-fire from
their arquebuses, which did execution on the ranks of the cavaliers, as
well as on one another. But Almagro's battery of heavy guns, now well
directed, mowed down the advancing columns of foot. The latter,
staggering, began to fall back from the terrible fire, when Francisco de
Carbajal, throwing himself before them, cried out, "Shame on you, my
men! Do you give way now? I am twice as good a mark for the enemy
as any of you!" He was a very large man; and, throwing off his steel
helmet and cuirass, that he might have no advantage over his followers,
he remained lightly attired in his cotton doublet, when, swinging his
partisan over his head, he sprang boldly forward through blinding
volumes of smoke and a tempest of musket-balls, and, supported by the
bravest of his troops, overpowered the gunners, and made himself master
of their pieces.
The shades of night had now, for some time been coming thicker and
thicker over the field. But still the deadly struggle went on in the
darkness, as the red and white badges intimated the respective parties,
and their war-cries rose above the din,--"Vaca de Castro y el Rey,"--
"Almagro y el Rey,"--while both invoked the aid of their military apostle
St. James. Holguin, who commanded the royalists on the left, pierced
through by two musket-balls, had been slain early in the action. He had
made himself conspicuous by a rich sobre-vest of white velvet over his
armour. Still a gallant band of cavaliers maintained the fight so valiantly
on that quarter, that the Almagrians found it difficult to keep their
ground.26
It fared differently on the right, where Alonso de Alvarado commanded.
He was there encountered by Almagro in person, who fought worthy of
his name. By repeated charges on his opponent, he endeavored to bear
down his squadrons, so much worse mounted and worse armed than his
own. Alvarado resisted with undiminished courage; but his numbers had
been thinned, as we have seen, before the battle, to supply the governor's
reserve, and, fairly overpowered by the superior strength of his
adversary, who had already won two of the royal banners, he was slowly
giving ground. "Take, but kill not!" shouted the generous young chief,
who felt himself sure of victory.27
But at this crisis, Vaca de Castro, who, with his reserve, had occupied a
rising ground that commanded the field of action, was fully aware that
the time had now come for him to take part in the struggle. He had long
strained his eyes through the gloom to watch the movements of the
combatants, and received constant tidings how the fight was going. He
no longer hesitated, but, calling on his men to follow, led off boldly into
the thickest of the melee to the support of his stout-hearted officer. The
arrival of a new corps on the field, all fresh for action, gave another turn
to the tide.28 Alvarado's men took heart and rallied. Almagro's, though
driven back by the fury of the assault, quickly returned against their
assailants. Thirteen of Vaca de Castro's cavaliers fell dead from their
saddles. But it was the last effort of the Almagrians. Their strength,
though not their spirit, failed them. They gave way in all directions, and,
mingling together in the darkness, horse, foot, and artillery, they
trampled one another down, as they made the best of their way from the
press of their pursuers. Almagro used every effort to stay them. He
performed miracles of valor, says one who witnessed them; but he was
borne along by the tide, and, though he seemed to court death, by the
freedom with which he exposed his person to danger, yet he escaped
without a wound.
Others there were of his company, and among them a young cavalier
named Geronimo de Alvarado, who obstinately refused to quit the field;
and shouting out,--"We slew Pizarro! we killed the tyrant!" they threw
themselves on the lances of their conquerors, preferring death on the
battle-field to the ignominious doom of the gibbet.29
It was nine o'clock when the battle ceased, though the firing was heard at
intervals over the field at a much later hour, as some straggling party of
fugitives were overtaken by their pursuers. Yet many succeeded in
escaping in the obscurity of night, while some, it is said, contrived to
elude pursuit in a more singular way; tearing off the badges from the
corpses of their enemies, they assumed them for themselves, and,
mingling in the ranks as followers of Vaca de Castro, joined in the
pursuit.
That commander, at length, fearing some untoward accident, and that the
fugitives, should they rally again under cover of the darkness, might
inflict some loss on their pursuers, caused his trumpets to sound, and
recalled his scattered forces under their banners. All night they remained
under arms on the field, which, so lately the scene of noisy strife, was
now hushed in silence, broken only by the groans of the wounded and the
dying. The natives, who had hung, during the fight, like a dark cloud,
round the skirts of the mountains, contemplating with gloomy
satisfaction the destruction of their enemies, now availed themselves of
the obscurity to descend, like a pack of famished wolves, upon the
plains, where they stripped the bodies of the slain, and even of the living,
but disabled wretches, who had in vain dragged themselves into the
bushes for concealment. The following morning, Vaca de Castro gave
orders that the wounded--those who had not perished in the cold damps
of the night--should be committed to the care of the surgeons, while the
priests were occupied with administering confession and absolution to
the dying. Four large graves or pits were dug, in which the bodies of the
slain--the conquerors and the conquered--were heaped indiscriminately
together. But the remains of Alvarez de Holguin and several other
cavaliers of distinction were transported to Guamanga, where they were
buried with the solemnities suited to their rank; and the tattered banners
won from their vanquished countrymen waved over their monuments, the
melancholy trophies of their victory.
The number of killed is variously reported,--from three hundred to five
hundred on both sides.30 The mortality was greatest among the
conquerors, who suffered more from the cannon of the enemy before the
action, than the latter suffered in the rout that followed it. The number of
wounded was still greater; and full half of the survivors of Almagro's
party were made prisoners. Many, indeed, escaped from the field to the
neighboring town of Guamanga, where they took refuge in the churches
and monasteries. But their asylum was not respected, and they were
dragged forth and thrown into prison. Their brave young commander
fled with a few followers only to Cuzco, where he was instantly arrested
by the magistrates whom he had himself placed over the city.31
At Guamanga, Vaca de Castro appointed a commission, with the
Licentiate de la Gama at its head, for the trial of the prisoners; and
justice was not satisfied, till forty had been condemned to death, and
thirty others--some of them with the loss of one or more of their
members-sent into banishment.32 Such severe reprisals have been too
common with the Spaniards in their civil feuds. Strange that they should
so blindly plunge into these, with this dreadful doom for the vanquished!
From the scene of this bloody tragedy, the governor proceeded to Cuzco,
which he entered at the head of his victorious battalions, with all the
pomp and military display of a conqueror. He maintained a
corresponding state in his way of living, at the expense of a sneer from
some, who sarcastically contrasted this ostentatious profusion with the
economical reforms he subsequently introduced into the finances.33 But
Vaca de Castro was sensible of the effect of this outward show on the
people generally, and disdained no means of giving authority to his
office. His first act was to determine the fate of his prisoner, Almagro.
A council of war was held. Some were for sparing the unfortunate chief,
in consideration of his youth, and the strong cause of provocation he had
received. But the majority were of opinion that such mercy could not be
extended to the leader of the rebels, and that his death was indispensable
to the permanent tranquillity of the country.
When led to execution in the great square of Cuzco,--the same spot
where his father had suffered but a few years before,---Almagro
exhibited the most perfect composure, though, as the herald proclaimed
aloud the doom of the traitor, he indignantly denied that he was one. He
made no appeal for mercy to his judges, but simply requested that his
bones might be laid by the side of his father's. He objected to having his
eyes bandaged, as was customary on such occasions, and, after
confession, he devoutly embraced the cross, and submitted his neck to
the stroke of the executioner. His remains, agreeably to his request, were
transported to the monastery of La Merced, where they were deposited
side by side with those of his unfortunate parent.34
There have been few names, indeed, in the page of history, more
unfortunate than that of Almagro. Yet the fate of the son excites a
deeper sympathy than that of the father; and this, not merely on account
of his youth, and the peculiar circumstances of his situation. He
possessed many of the good qualities of the elder Almagro, with a frank
and manly nature, in which the bearing of the soldier was somewhat
softened by the refinement of a better education than is to be found in the
license of a camp. His career, though short, gave promise of
considerable talent, which required only a fair field for its development.
But he was the child of misfortune, and his morning of life was overcast
by clouds and tempests. If his character, naturally benignant, sometimes
showed the fiery sparkles of the vindictive Indian temper, some apology
may be found, not merely in his blood, but in the circumstances of his
situation. He was more sinned against than sinning; and, if conspiracy
could ever find a justification, it must be in a case like his, where, borne
down by injuries heaped on his parent and himself, he could obtain no
redress from the only quarter whence he had a right to look for it. With
him, the name of Almagro became extinct, and the faction of Chili, so
long the terror of the land, passed away for ever.
While these events were occurring in Cuzco, the governor learned that
Gonzalo Pizarro had arrived at Lima, where he showed himself greatly
discontented with the state of things in Peru. He loudly complained that
the government of the country, after his brother's death, had not been
placed in his hands; and, as reported by some, he was now meditating
schemes for getting possession of it. Vaca de Castro well knew that
there would be no lack of evil counsellors to urge Gonzalo to this
desperate step; and, anxious to extinguish the spark of insurrection
before it had been fanned by these turbulent spirits into a flame, he
detached a strong body to Lima to secure that capital. At the same time
he commanded the presence of Gonzalo Pizarro in Cuzco.
That chief did not think it prudent to disregard the summons; and shortly
after entered the Inca capital, at the head of a well-armed body of
cavaliers. He was at once admitted into the governor's presence, when
the latter dismissed his guard, remarking that he had nothing to fear from
a brave and loyal knight like Pizarro. He then questioned him as to his
late adventures in Canelas, and showed great sympathy for his
extraordinary sufferings. He took care not to alarm his jealousy by any
allusion to his ambitious schemes, and concluded by recommending him,
now that the tranquillity of the country was reestablished, to retire and
seek the repose he so much needed, on his valuable estates at Charcas.
Gonzalo Pizarro, finding no ground opened for a quarrel with the cool
and politic governor, and probably feeling that he was, at least not now,
in sufficient strength to warrant it, thought it prudent to take the advice,
and withdrew to La Plata, where he busied himself in working those rich
mines of silver that soon put him in condition for more momentous
enterprise than any he had yet attempted.35
Thus rid of his formidable competitor, Vaca de Castro occupied himself
with measures for the settlement of the country. He began with his army,
a part of which he had disbanded. But many cavaliers still remained,
pressing their demands for a suitable recompense for their services.
These they were not disposed to undervalue, and the governor was happy
to rid himself of their importunities by employing them on distant
expeditions, among which was the exploration of the country watered by
the great Rio de la Plata. The boiling spirits of the highmettled cavaliers,
without some such vent, would soon have thrown the whole country
again into a state of fermentation.
His next concern was to provide laws for the better government of the
colony. He gave especial care to the state of the Indian population; and
established schools for teaching them Christianity. By various
provisions, he endeavored to secure them from the exactions of their
conquerors, and he encouraged the poor natives to transfer their own
residence to the communities of the white men. He commanded the
caciques to provide supplies for the tambos, or houses for the
accommodation of travellers, which lay in their neighborhood, by which
regulation he took away from the Spaniards a plausible apology for
rapine, and greatly promoted facility of intercourse. He was watchful
over the finances, much dilapidated in the late troubles, and in several
instances retrenched what he deemed excessive repartimientos among the
Conquerors. This last act exposed him to much odium from the objects
of it. But his measures were so just and impartial, that he was supported
by public opinion.36
Indeed, Vaca de Castro's conduct, from the hour of his arrival in the
country, had been such as to command respect, and prove him competent
to the difficult post for which he had been selected. Without funds,
without troops, he had found the country, on his landing, in a state of
anarchy; yet, by courage and address, he had gradually acquired
sufficient strength to quell the insurrection. Though no soldier, he had
shown undaunted spirit and presence of mind in the hour of action, and
made his military preparations with a forecast and discretion that excited
the admiration of the most experienced veteran.
If he may be thought to have abused the advantages of victory by cruelty
towards the conquered, it must be allowed that he was not influenced by
any motives of a personal nature. He was a lawyer, bred in high notions
of royal prerogative. Rebellion he looked upon as an unpardonable
crime; and, if his austere nature was unrelenting in the exaction of
justice, he lived in an iron age, when justice was rarely tempered by
mercy.
In his subsequent regulations for the settlement of the country, he
showed equal impartiality and wisdom. The colonists were deeply
sensible of the benefits of his administration, and afforded the best
commentary on his services by petitioning the Court of Castile to
continue him in the government of Peru.37 Unfortunately, such was not
the policy of the Crown.