Gasca Assembles His Forces--Defection Of Pizarro's Followers--
He Musters His Levies--Agitation In Lima--He Abandons The City--
Gasca Sails From Panama--Bloody Battle Of Huarina
1547
No sooner was Gasca placed in possession of Panama and the fleet, than
he entered on a more decisive course of policy than he had been hitherto
allowed to pursue. He raised levies of men, and drew together supplies
from all quarters. He took care to discharge the arrears already due to
the soldiers, and promised liberal pay for the future; for, though mindful
that his personal charges should cost little to the Crown, he did not stint
his expenditure when the public good required it. As the funds in the
treasury were exhausted, he obtained loans on the credit of the
government from the wealthy citizens of Panama, who, relying on his
good faith, readily made the necessary advances. He next sent letters to
the authorities of Guatemala and Mexico, requiring their assistance in
carrying on hostilities, if necessary, against the insurgents; and he
despatched a summons, in like manner, to Benalcazar, in the provinces
north of Peru, to meet him, on his landing in that country, with his whole
available force.
The greatest enthusiasm was shown by the people of Panama in getting
the little navy in order for his intended voyage; and prelates and
commanders did not disdain to prove their loyalty by taking part in the
good work, along with the soldiers and sailors.1 Before his own
departure, however, Gasca proposed to send a small squadron of four
ships under Aldana, to cruise off the port of Lima, with instructions to
give protection to those well affected to the royal cause, and receive
them, if need be, on board his vessels. He was also intrusted with
authenticated copies of the president's commission, to be delivered to
Gonzalo Pizarro, that the chief might feel, there was yet time to return
before the gates of mercy were closed against him.2
While these events were going on, Gasca's proclamations and letters
were doing their work in Peru. It required but little sagacity to perceive
that the nation at large, secured in the protection of person and property,
had nothing to gain by revolution. Interest and duty, fortunately, now lay
on the same side; and the ancient sentiment of loyalty, smothered for a
time, but not extinguished, revived in the breasts of the people. Still this
was not manifested, at once, by any overt act; for, under a strong military
rule, men dared hardly think for themselves, much less communicate
their thoughts to one another. But changes of public opinion, like
changes in the atmosphere that come on slowly and imperceptibly, make
themselves more and more widely felt, till, by a sort of silent sympathy,
they spread to the remotest corners of the land. Some intimations of
such a change of sentiment at length found their way to Lima, although
all accounts of the president's mission had been jealously excluded from
that capital. Gonzalo Pizarro himself became sensible of these
symptoms of disaffection, though almost too faint and feeble, as yet, for
the most experienced eye to descry in them the coming tempest.
Several of the president's proclamations had been forwarded to Gonzalo
by his faithful partisans; and Carbajal, who had been summoned from
Potosi, declared they were "more to be dreaded than the lances of
Castile." 3 Yet Pizarro did not, for a moment, lose his confidence in his
own strength; and with a navy like that now in Panama at his command,
he felt he might bid defiance to any enemy on his coasts. He had implicit
confidence in the fidelity of Hinojosa.
It was at this period that Paniagua arrived off the port with Gasca's
despatches to Pizarro, consisting of the emperor's letter and his own.
They were instantly submitted by that chieftain to his trusty counsellors,
Carbajal and Cepeda, and their opinions asked as to the course to be
pursued. It was the crisis of Pizarro's fate.
Carbajal, whose sagacious eye fully comprehended the position in which
they stood, was in favor of accepting the royal grace on the terms
proposed; and he intimated his sense of their importance by declaring,
that "he would pave the way for the bearer of them into the capital with
ingots of gold and silver." 4 Cepeda was of a different way of thinking.
He was a judge of the Royal Audience; and had been sent to Peru as the
immediate counsellor of Blasco Nunez. But he had turned against the
viceroy, had encountered him in battle, and his garments might be said to
be yet wet with his blood! What grace was there, then, for him?
Whatever respect might be shown to the letter of the royal provisions, in
point of fact, he must ever live under the Castilian rule a ruined man. He
accordingly, strongly urged the rejection of Gasca's offers. "They will
cost you your government," he said to Pizarro; "the smooth-tongued
priest is not so simple a person as you take him to be. He is deep and
politic.5 He knows well what promises to make; and, once master of the
country, he will know, too, how to keep them."
Carbajal was not shaken by the arguments or the sneers of his
companions; and as the discussion waxed warm, Cepeda taxed his
opponent with giving counsel suggested by fears for his own safety,--a
foolish taunt, sufficiently disproved by the whole life of the doughty old
warrior, Carbajal did not insist further on his own views, however, as he
found them unwelcome to Pizarro, and contented himself with coolly
remarking, that "he had, indeed, no relish for rebellion; but he had as
long a neck for a halter, he believed, as any of his companions; and as he
could hardly expect to live much longer, at any rate, it was, after all, of
little moment to him." 6
Pizarro, spurred on by a fiery ambition that overleaped every obstacle,7
did not condescend to count the desperate chances of a contest with the
Crown. He threw his own weight into the scale with Cepeda. The offer
of grace was rejected; and he thus cast away the last tie which held him
to his country, and, by the act, proclaimed himself a rebel.8
It was not long after the departure of Paniagua, that Pizarro received
tidings of the defection of Aldana and Hinojosa, and of the surrender of
the fleet, on which he had expended an immense sum, as the chief
bulwark of his power. This unwelcome intelligence was followed by
accounts of the further defection of some of the principal towns in the
north, and of the assassination of Puelles, the faithful lieutenant to whom
he had confided the government of Quito. It was not very long, also,
before he found his authority assailed in the opposite quarter at Cuzco;
for Centeno, the loyal chieftain who, as the reader may remember, had
been driven by Carbajal to take refuge in a cave near Arequipa, had
issued from his concealment after remaining there a year, and, on
learning the arrival of Gasca, had again raised the royal standard. Then
collecting a small body of followers, and falling on Cuzco by night, he
made himself master of that capital, defeated the garrison who held it,
and secured it for the Crown. Marching soon after into the province of
Charcas, the bold chief allied himself with the officer who commanded
for Pizarro in La Plata; and their combined forces, to the number of a
thousand, took up a position on the borders of Lake Titicaca, where the
two cavaliers coolly waited an opportunity to take the field against their
ancient commander.
Gonzalo Pizarro, touched to the heart by the desertion of those in whom
he most confided, was stunned by the dismal tidings of his losses coming
so thick upon him. Yet he did not waste his time in idle crimination or
complaint; but immediately set about making preparations to meet the
storm with all his characteristic energy. He wrote, at once to such of his
captains as he believed still faithful, commanding them to be ready with
their troops to march to his assistance at the shortest notice. He
reminded them of their obligations to him, and that their interests were
identical with his own. The president's commission, he added, had been
made out before the news had reached Spain of the battle of Ariaquito,
and could never cover a pardon to those concerned in the death of the
viceroy.9
Pizarro was equally active in enforcing his levies in the capital, and in
putting them in the best fighting order. He soon saw himself at the head
of a thousand men, beautifully equipped, and complete in all their
appointments; "as gallant an array," says an old writer, "though so small
in number, as ever trod the plains of Italy,"--displaying in the excellence
of their arms, their gorgeous uniforms, and the caparisons of their horses,
a magnificence that could be furnished only by the silver of Peru.10
Each company was provided with a new stand of colors, emblazoned
with its peculiar device. Some bore the initials and arms of Pizarro, and
one or two of these were audaciously surmounted by a crown, as if to
intimate the rank to which their commander might aspire.11
Among the leaders most conspicuous on this occasion was Cepeda,
"who," in the words of a writer of his time, "had exchanged the robe of
the licentiate for the plumed casque and mailed harness of the warrior."
12 But the cavalier to whom Pizarro confided the chief care of
organizing his battalions was the veteran Carbajal, who had studied the
art of war under the best captains of Europe, and whose life of adventure
had been a practical commentary on their early lessons. It was on his
arm that Gonzalo most leaned in the hour of danger; and well had it been
for him, if he had profited by his counsels at an earlier period.
It gives one some idea of the luxurious accommodations of Pizarro's
forces, that he endeavored to provide each of his musketeers with a
horse. The expenses incurred by him were enormous. The immediate
cost of his preparations, we are told, was not less than half a million of
pesos de oro; and his pay to the cavaliers, and, indeed, to the common
soldiers, in his little army, was on an extravagant scale, nowhere to be
met with but on the silver soil of Peru.13
When his own funds were exhausted, he supplied the deficiency by fines
imposed on the rich citizens of Lima as the price of exemption from
service, by forced loans, and various other schemes of military
exaction.14 From this time, it is said, the chieftain's temper underwent a
visible change.15 He became more violent in his passions, more
impatient of control, and indulged more freely in acts of cruelty and
license. The desperate cause in which he was involved made him
reckless of consequences. Though naturally frank and confiding, the
frequent defection of his followers filled him with suspicion. He knew
not in whom to confide. Every one who showed himself indifferent to
his cause, or was suspected of being so, was dealt with as an open
enemy. The greatest distrust prevailed in Lima. No man dared confide
in his neighbor. Some concealed their effects; others contrived to elude
the vigilance of the sentinels, and hid themselves in the neighboring
woods and mountains.16 No one was allowed to enter or leave the city
without a license. All commerce, all intercourse, with other places was
cut off. It was long since the fifth belonging to the Crown had been
remitted to Castile; as Pizarro had appropriated them for his own use.
He now took possession of the mints, broke up the royal stamps, and
issued a debased coin, emblazoned with his own cipher.17 It was the
most decisive act of sovereignty.
At this gloomy period, the lawyer Cepeda contrived a solemn farce, the
intent of which was to give a sort of legal sanction to the rebel cause in
the eyes of the populace. He caused a process to be prepared against
Gasca, Hinojosa, and Aldana, in which they were accused of treason
against the existing government of Peru, were convicted, and condemned
to death. This instrument he submitted to a number of jurists in the
capital, requiring their signatures. But they had no mind thus inevitably
to implicate themselves, by affixing their names to such a paper; and
they evaded it by representing, that it would only serve to cut off all
chance, should any of the accused be so disposed, of their again
embracing the cause they had deserted. Cepeda was the only man who
signed the document. Carbajal treated the whole thing with ridicule.
"What is the object of your process?" said he to Cepeda. "Its object,"
replied the latter, "is to prevent delay, that, if taken at any time, the guilty
party may be at once led to execution." "I cry you mercy," retorted
Carbajal; "I thought there must be some virtue in the instrument, that
would have killed them outright. Let but one of these same traitors fall
into my hands, and I will march him off to execution, without waiting for
the sentence of a court, I promise you!" 18
While this paper war was going on, news was brought that Aldana's
squadron was off the port of Callao. That commander had sailed from
Panama, the middle of February, 1547. On his passage down the coast
he had landed at Truxillo, where the citizens welcomed him with
enthusiasm, and eagerly proclaimed their submission to the royal
authority. He received, at the same time, messages from several of
Pizarro's officers in the interior, intimating their return to their duty, and
their readiness to support the president. Aldana named Caxamalca as a
place of rendezvous, where they should concentrate their forces, and wait
the landing of Gasca. He then continued his voyage towards Lima.
No sooner was Pizarro informed of his approach, than, fearful lest it
might have a disastrous effect in seducing his followers from their
fidelity, he marched them about a league out of the city, and there
encamped. He was two leagues from the coast, and he posted a guard on
the shore to intercept all communication with the vessels. Before leaving
the capital, Cepeda resorted to an expedient for securing the inhabitants
more firmly, as he conceived, in Pizarro's interests. He caused the
citizens to be assembled, and made them a studied harangue, in which he
expatiated on the services of their governor, and the security which the
country had enjoyed under his rule. He then told them that every man
was at liberty to choose for himself; to remain under the protection of
their present ruler, or, if they preferred, to transfer their allegiance to his
enemy. He invited them to speak their minds, but required every one
who would still continue under Pizarro to take an oath of fidelity to his
cause, with the assurance, that, if any should be so false hereafter as to
violate this pledge, he should pay for it with his life.19 There was no
one found bold enough--with his head thus in the lion's mouth--to swerve
from his obedience to Pizarro; and every man took the oath prescribed,
which was administered in the most solemn and imposing form by the
licentiate. Carbajal, as usual, made a jest of the whole proceeding.
"How long," he asked his companion, "do you think these same oaths
will stand? The first wind that blows off the coast after we are gone will
scatter them in air!" His prediction was soon verified.
Meantime, Aldana anchored off the port, where there was no vessel of
the insurgents to molest him. By Cepeda's advice, some four or five had
been burnt a short time before, during the absence of Carbajal, in order
to cut off all means by which the inhabitants could leave the place. This
was deeply deplored by the veteran soldier on his return. "It was
destroying," he said, "the guardian angels of Lima." 20 And certainly,
under such a commander, they might now have stood Pizarro in good
stead; but his star was on the wane.
The first act of Aldana was to cause the copy of Gasca's powers, with
which he had been intrusted, to be conveyed to his ancient commander,
by whom it was indignantly torn in pieces. Aldana next contrived, by
means of his agents, to circulate among the citizens, and even the
soldiers of the camp, the president's manifestoes. They were not long in
producing their effect. Few had been at all aware of the real purport of
Gasca's mission, of the extent of his powers, or of the generous terms
offered by government. They shrunk from the desperate course into
which they had been thus unwarily seduced, and they sought only in what
way they could, with least danger, extricate themselves from their
present position, and return to their allegiance. Some escaped by night
from the camp, eluded the vigilance of the sentinels, and effected their
retreat on board the vessels. Some were taken, and found no quarter at
the hands of Carbajal and his merciless ministers. But, where the spirit
of disaffection was abroad, means of escape were not wanting.
As the fugitives were cut off from Lima and the neighboring coast, they
secreted themselves in the forests and mountains, and watched their
opportunity for making their way to Truxilla and other ports at a
distance; and so contagious was the example, that it not unfrequently
happened that the very soldiers sent in pursuit of the deserters joined
with them. Among those that fled was the Licentiate Carbajal, who must
not be confounded with his military namesake. He was the same cavalier
whose brother had been put to death in Lima by Blasco Nunez, and who
revenged himself, as we have seen, by imbruing his own hands in the
blood of the viceroy. That a person thus implicated should trust to the
royal pardon showed that no one need despair of it; and the example
proved most disastrous to Pizarro.21
Carbajal, who made a jest of every thing, even of the misfortunes which
pinched him the sharpest, when told of the desertion of his comrades,
amused himself by humming the words of a popular ditty:--
"The wind blows the hairs off my head, mother; Two at a time, it blows
them away!" 22
But the defection of his followers made a deeper impression on Pizarro,
and he was sorely distressed as he beheld the gallant array, to which he
had so confidently looked for gaining his battles, thus melting away like
a morning mist. Bewildered by the treachery of those in whom he had
most trusted, he knew not where to turn, nor what course to take. It was
evident that he must leave his present dangerous quarters without loss of
time. But whither should he direct his steps? In the north, the great
towns had abandoned his cause, and the president was already marching
against him; while Centeno held the passes of the south, with a force
double his own. In this emergency, he at length resolved to occupy
Arequipa, a seaport still true to him, where he might remain till he had
decided on some future course of operations.
After a painful but rapid march, Gonzalo arrived at this place, where he
was speedily joined by a reinforcement that he had detached for the
recovery of Cuzco. But so frequent had been the desertions from both
companies,--though in Pizarro's corps these had greatly lessened since
the departure from the neighborhood of Lima,--that his whole number
did not exceed five hundred men, less than half of the force which he had
so recently mustered in the capital. To such humble circumstances was
the man now reduced, who had so lately lorded it over the land with
unlimited sway! Still the chief did not despond. He had gathered new
spirit from the excitement of his march and his distance from Lima; and
he seemed to recover his former confidence, as he exclaimed,--"It is
misfortune that teaches us who are our friends. If but ten only remain
true to me, fear not but I will again be master of Peru!" 23
No sooner had the rebel forces withdrawn from the neighborhood of
Lima, than the inhabitants of that city, little troubled, as Carbajal had
predicted, by their compulsory oaths of allegiance to Pizarro, threw open
their gates to Aldana, who took possession of this important place in the
name of the president. That commander, meanwhile, had sailed with his
whole fleet from Panama, on the tenth of April, 1547. The first part of
his voyage was prosperous; but he was soon perplexed by contrary
currents, and the weather became rough and tempestuous. The violence
of the storm continuing day after day, the sea was lashed into fury, and
the fleet was tossed about on the billows, which ran mountain high, as if
emulating the wild character of the region they bounded. The rain
descended in torrents, and the lightning was so incessant, that the
vessels, to quote the lively language of the chronicler, "seemed to be
driving through seas of flame!" 24 The hearts of the stoutest mariners
were filled with dismay. They considered it hopeless to struggle against
the elements, and they loudly demanded to return to the continent, and
postpone the voyage till a more favorable season of the year.
But the president saw in this the ruin of his cause, as well as of the loyal
vassals who had engaged, on his landing, to support it. "I am willing to
die," he said, "but not to return"; and, regardless of the remonstrances of
his more timid followers, he insisted on carrying as much sail as the
ships could possibly bear, at every interval of the storm.25 Meanwhile,
to divert the minds of the seamen from their present danger, Gasca
amused them by explaining some of the strange phenomena exhibited by
the ocean in the tempest, which had filled their superstitious minds with
mysterious dread.26
Signals had been given for the ships to make the best of their way, each
for itself, to the island of Gorgona. Here they arrived, one after another,
with but a single exception, though all more or less shattered by the
weather. The president waited only for the fury of the elements to spend
itself, when he again embarked, and, on smoother waters, crossed over to
Manta. From this place he soon after continued his voyage to Tumbez,
and landed at that port on the thirteenth of June. He was everywhere
received with enthusiasm, and all seemed anxious to efface the
remembrance of the past by professions of future fidelity to the Crown.
Gasca received, also, numerous letters of congratulation from cavaliers
in the interior, most of whom had formerly taken service under Pizarro.
He made courteous acknowledgments for their offers of assistance, and
commanded them to repair to Caxamalca, the general place of
rendezvous.
To this same spot he sent Hinojosa, so soon as that officer had
disembarked with the land forces from the fleet, ordering him to take
command of the levies assembled there, and then join him at Xauxa.
Here he determined to establish his headquarters. It lay in a rich and
abundant territory, and by its central position afforded a point for acting
with greatest advantage against the enemy.
He then moved forward, at the head of a small detachment of cavalry,
along the level road on the coast towards Truxillo. After halting for a
short time in that loyal city, he traversed the mountain range on the
southeast, and soon entered the fruitful valley of Xauxa. There he was
presently joined by reinforcements from the north, as well as from the
principal places on the coast; and, not long after his arrival, received a
message from Centeno, informing him that he held the passes by which
Gonzalo Pizarro was preparing to make his escape from the country, and
that the insurgent chief must soon fall into his hands.
The royal camp was greatly elated by these tidings. The war, then, was
at length terminated, and that without the president having been called
upon so much as to lift his sword against a Spaniard. Several of his
counsellors now advised him to disband the greater part of his forces, as
burdensome and no longer necessary. But the president was too wise to
weaken his strength before he had secured the victory. He consented,
however, to countermand the requisition for levies from Mexico and the
adjoining colonies, as now feeling sufficiently strong in the general
loyalty of the country. But, concentrating his forces at Xauxa, he
established his quarters in that town, as he had first intended, resolved to
await there tidings of the operations in the south. The result was
different from what he had expected.27
Pizarro, meanwhile, whom we left at Arequipa, had decided, after much
deliberation, to evacuate Peru, and pass into Chili. In this territory,
beyond the president's jurisdiction, he might find a safe retreat, The
fickle people, he thought, would soon weary of their new ruler; and he
would then rally in sufficient strength to resume active operations for the
recovery of his domain. Such were the calculations of the rebel
chieftain. But how was he to effect his object, while the passes among
the mountains, where his route lay, were held by Centeno with a force
more than double his own? He resolved to try negotiation; for that
captain had once served under him, and had, indeed, been most active in
persuading Pizarro to take on himself the office of procurator.
Advancing, accordingly, in the direction of Lake Titicaca, in the
neighborhood of which Centeno had pitched his camp, Gonzalo
despatched an emissary to his quarters to open a negotiation. He called
to his adversary's recollection the friendly relations that had once
subsisted between them; and reminded him of one occasion in particular,
in which he had spared his life, when convicted of a conspiracy against
himself. He harbored no sentiments of unkindness, he said, for
Centeno's recent conduct, and had not now come to seek a quarrel with
him. His purpose was to abandon Peru; and the only favor he had to
request of his former associate was to leave him a free passage across the
mountains.
To this communication Centeno made answer in terms as courtly as
those of Pizarro himself, that he was not unmindful of their ancient
friendship. He was now ready to serve his former commander in any
way not inconsistent with honor, or obedience to his sovereign. But he
was there in arms for the royal cause, and he could not swerve from his
duty. If Pizarro would but rely on his faith and surrender himself up, he
pledged his knightly word to use all his interest with the government, to
secure as favorable terms for him and his followers as had been granted
to the rest of their countrymen.--Gonzalo listened to the smooth promises
of his ancient comrade with bitter scorn depicted in his countenance,
and, snatching the letter from his secretary, cast it away from him with
indignation. There was nothing left but an appeal to arms.28
He at once broke up his encampment, and directed his march on the
borders of Lake Titicaca, near which lay his rival. He resorted, however,
to stratagem, that he might still, if possible, avoid an encounter. He sent
forward his scouts in a different direction from that which he intended to
take, and then quickened his march on Huarina. This was a small town
situated on the southeastern extremity of Lake Titicaca, the shores of
which, the seat of the primitive civilization of the Incas, were soon to
resound with the murderous strife of their more civilized conquerors!
But Pizarro's movements had been secretly communicated to Centeno,
and that commander, accordingly, changing his ground, took up a
position not far from Huarina, on the same day on which Gonzalo
reached this place. The videttes of the two camps came in sight of each
other that evening, and the rival forces, lying on their arms, prepared for
action on the following morning.
It was the twenty-sixth of October, 1547, when the two commanders,
having formed their troops in order of battle, advanced to the encounter
on the plains of Huarina. The ground, defended on one side by a bold
spur of the Andes, and not far removed on the other from the waters of
Titicaca, was an open and level plain, well suited to military
manoeuvres. It seemed as if prepared by Nature as the lists for an
encounter.
Centeno's army amounted to about a thousand men. His cavalry
consisted of near two hundred and fifty, well equipped and mounted.
Among them were several gentlemen of family, some of whom had once
followed the banners of Pizarro; the whole forming an efficient corps, in
which rode some of the best lances of Peru. His arquebusiers were less
numerous, not exceeding a hundred and fifty, indifferently provided with
ammunition. The remainder, and much the larger part of Centeno's
army, consisted of spearmen, irregular levies hastily drawn together, and
possessed of little discipline.29
This corps of infantry formed the centre of his line, flanked by the
arquebusiers in two nearly equal divisions, while his cavalry were also
disposed in two bodies on the right and left wings. Unfortunately,
Centeno had been for the past week ill of a pleurisy,--so ill, indeed, that
on the preceding day he had been bled several times. He was now too
feeble to keep his saddle, but was carried in a litter, and when he had
seen his men formed in order, he withdrew to a distance from the field,
unable to take part in the action. But Solano, the militant bishop of
Cuzco, who, with several of his followers, took part in the engagement,--
a circumstance, indeed, of no strange occurrence,--rode along the ranks
with the crucifix in his hand, bestowing his benediction on the soldiers,
and exhorting each man to do his duty.
Pizarro's forces were less than half of his rival's, not amounting to more
than four hundred and eighty men. The horse did not muster above
eighty-five in all, and he posted them in a single body on the right of his
battalion. The strength of his army lay in his arquebusiers, about three
hundred and fifty in number. It was an admirable corps, commanded by
Carbajal, by whom it had been carefully drilled. Considering the
excellence of its arms, and its thorough discipline, this little body of
infantry might be considered as the flower of the Peruvian soldiery, and
on it Pizarro mainly relied for the success of the day.30 The remainder
of his force, consisting of pikemen, not formidable for their numbers,
though, like the rest of the infantry, under excellent discipline, he
distributed on the left of his musketeers, so as to repel the enemy's horse.
Pizarro himself had charge of the cavalry, taking his place, as usual, in
the foremost rank. He was superbly accoutred. Over his shining mail he
wore a sobre-vest of slashed velvet of a rich crimson color; and he rode a
high-mettled charger, whose gaudy caparisons, with the showy livery of
his rider, made the fearless commander the most conspicuous object in
the field.
His lieutenant, Carbajal, was equipped in a very different style. He wore
armor of proof of the most homely appearance, but strong and
serviceable; and his steel bonnet, with its closely barred visor of the
same material, protected his head from more than one desperate blow on
that day. Over his arms he wore a surcoat of a greenish color, and he
rode an active, strong-boned jennet, which, though capable of enduring
fatigue, possessed neither grace nor beauty. It would not have been easy
to distinguish the veteran from the most ordinary cavalier.
The two hosts arrived within six hundred paces of each other, when they
both halted. Carbajal preferred to receive the attack of the enemy, rather
than advance further; for the ground he now occupied afforded a free
range for his musketry, unobstructed by the trees or bushes that were
sprinkled over some other parts of the field. There was a singular
motive, in addition, for retaining his present position. The soldiers were
encumbered, some with two, some with three, arquebuses each, being the
arms left by those who, from time to time, had deserted the camp. This
uncommon supply of muskets, however serious an impediment on a
march, might afford great advantage to troops waiting an assault; since,
from the imperfect knowledge as well as construction of fire-arms at that
day, much time was wasted in loading them.31
Preferring, therefore, that the enemy should begin the attack, Carbajal
came to a halt, while the opposite squadron, after a short respite,
continued their advance a hundred paces farther. Seeing that they then
remained immovable. Carbajal detached a small party of skirmishers to
the front, in order to provoke them; but it was soon encountered by a
similar party of the enemy, and some shots were exchanged, though with
little damage to either side. Finding this manoeuvre fail, the veteran
ordered his men to advance a few paces, still hoping to provoke his
antagonist to the charge. This succeeded. "We lose honor," exclaimed
Centeno's soldiers; who, with a bastard sort of chivalry, belonging to
undisciplined troops, felt it a disgrace to await an assault. In vain their
officers called out to them to remain at their post. Their commander was
absent, and they were urged on by the cries of a frantic friar, named
Damingo Ruiz, who, believing the Philistines were delivered into their
hands, called out,-- "Now is the time! Onward, onward, fall on the
enemy!" 32 There needed nothing further, and the men rushed forward
in tumultuous haste, the pikemen carrying their levelled weapons so
heedlessly as to interfere with one another, and in some instances to
wound their comrades. The musketeers, at the same time, kept up a
disorderly fire as they advanced, which, from their rapid motion and the
distance, did no execution.
Carbajal was well pleased to see his enemies thus wasting their
ammunition, Though he allowed a few muskets to be discharged, in
order to stimulate his opponents the more, he commanded the great body
of his infantry to reserve their fire till every shot could take effect. As he
knew the tendency of marksmen to shoot above the mark, he directed his
men to aim at the girdle, or even a little below it; adding, that a shot that
fell short might still do damage, while one that passed a hair's breadth
above the head was wasted.33
The veteran's company stood calm and unmoved, as Centeno's rapidly
advanced; but when the latter had arrived within a hundred paces of their
antagonists, Carbajal gave the word to fire. An instantaneous volley ran
along the line, and a tempest of balls was poured into the ranks of the
assailants, with such unerring aim, that more than a hundred fell, dead on
the field, while a still greater number were wounded. Before they could
recover from their disorder, Carbajal's men, snatching up their remaining
pieces, discharged them with the like dreadful effect into the thick of the
enemy. The confusion of the latter was now complete, Unable to sustain
the incessant shower of balls which fell on them from the scattering fire
kept up by the arquebusiers, they were seized with a panic, and fled,
scarcely making a show of further fight, from the field.
But very different was the fortune of the day in the cavalry combat.
Gonzalo Pizarro had drawn up his troop somewhat in the rear of
Carbajal's right, in order to give the latter a freer range for the play of his
musketry. When the enemy's horse on the left galloped briskly against
him, Pizarro, still favoring Carbajal,--whose fire, moreover, inflicted
some loss on the assailants,--advanced but a few rods to receive the
charge. Centeno's squadron, accordingly, came thundering on in full
career, and, notwithstanding the mischief sustained from their enemy's
musketry, fell with such fury on their adversaries as to overturn them,
man and horse, in the dust; "riding over their prostrate bodies," says the
historian, "as if they had been a flock of sheep!" 34 The latter, with
great difficulty recovering from the first shock, attempted to rally and
sustain the fight on more equal terms.
Yet the chief could not regain the ground he had lost. His men were
driven back at all points. Many were slain, many more wounded, on
both sides, and the ground was covered with the dead bodies of men and
horses. But the loss fell much the most heavily on Pizarro's troop; and
the greater part of those who escaped with life were obliged to surrender
as prisoners. Cepeda, who fought with the fury of despair, received a
severe cut from a sabre across the face, which disabled him and forced
him to yield.35 Pizarro, after seeing his best and bravest fall round him,
was set upon by three or four cavaliers at once. Disentangling himself
from the melee, he put spurs to his horse, and the noble animal, bleeding
from a severe wound across the back, outstripped all his pursuers except
one, who stayed him by seizing the bridle. It would have gone hard with
Gonzalo, but, grasping a light battle-axe, which hung by his side, he
dealt such a blow on the head of his enemy's horse that he plunged
violently, and compelled his rider to release his hold. A number of
arquebusiers, in the mean time, seeing Pizarro's distress, sprang forward
to his rescue, slew two of his assailants who had now come up with him,
and forced the others to fly in their turn.36
The rout of the cavalry was complete; and Pizarro considered the day as
lost, as he heard the enemy's trumpet sending forth the note of victory.
But the sounds had scarcely died away, when they were taken up by the
opposite side. Centeno's infantry had been discomfited, as we have seen,
and driven off the ground. But his cavalry on the right had charged
Carbajal's left, consisting of spearmen mingled with arquebusiers. The
horse rode straight against this formidable phalanx. But they were
unable to break through the dense array of pikes, held by the steady
hands of troops who stood firm and fearless on their post; while, at the
same time, the assailants were greatly annoyed by the galling fire of the
arquebusiers in the rear of the spearmen. Finding it impracticable to
make a breach, the horsemen rode round the flanks in much disorder, and
finally joined themselves with the victorious squadron of Centeno's
cavalry in the rear. Both parties now attempted another charge on
Carbajal's battalion. But his men facing about with the promptness and
discipline of well-trained soldiers, the rear was converted into the front.
The same forest of spears was presented to the attack; while an incessant
discharge of balls punished the audacity of the cavaliers, who, broken
and completely dispirited by their ineffectual attempt, at length imitated
the example of the panic-struck foot, and abandoned the field.
Pizarro and a few of his comrades still fit for action followed up the
pursuit for a short distance only, as, indeed, they were in no condition
themselves, nor sufficiently strong in numbers, long to continue it. The
victory was complete, and the insurgent chief took possession of the
deserted tents of the enemy, where an immense booty was obtained in
silver;37 and where he also found the tables spread for the refreshment
of Centeno's soldiers after their return from the field. So confident were
they of success! The repast now served the necessities of their
conquerors. Such is the fortune of war! It was, indeed, a most decisive
action; and Gonzalo Pizarro, as he rode over the field strewed with the
corpses of his enemies, was observed several times to cross himself and
exclaim,--"Jesu! What a victory!"
No less than three hundred and fifty of Centeno's followers were killed,
and the number of wounded was even greater. More than a hundred of
these are computed to have perished from exposure during the following
night; for, although the climate in this elevated region is temperate, yet
the night winds blowing over the mountains are sharp and piercing, and
many a wounded wretch, who might have been restored by careful
treatment, was chilled by the damps, and found a stiffened corpse at
sunrise. The victory was not purchased without a heavy loss on the part
of the conquerors, a hundred or more of whom were left on the field.
Their bodies lay thick on that part of the ground occupied by Pizarro's
cavalry, where the fight raged hottest. In this narrow space were found,
also, the bodies of more than a hundred horses, the greater part of which,
as well as those of their riders, usually slain with them, belonged to the
victorious army. It was the most fatal battle that had yet been fought on
the blood-stained soil of Peru.38
The glory of the day--the melancholy glory--must be referred almost
wholly to Carbajal and his valiant squadron. The judicious arrangements
of the old warrior, with the thorough discipline and unflinching courage
of his followers, retrieved the fortunes of the fight, when it was nearly
lost by the cavalry, and secured the victory.
Carbajal, proof against all fatigue, followed up the pursuit with those of
his men that were in condition to join him. Such of the unhappy
fugitives as fell into his hands--most of whom had been traitors to the
cause of Pizarro--were sent to instant execution. The laurels he had won
in the field against brave men in arms, like himself, were tarnished by
cruelty towards his defenceless captives. Their commander, Centeno,
more fortunate, made his escape. Finding the battle lost, he quitted his
litter, threw himself upon his horse, and, notwithstanding his illness,
urged on by the dreadful doom that awaited him, if taken, he succeeded
in making his way into the neighboring sierra. Here he vanished from
his pursuers, and, like a wounded stag, with the chase close upon his
track, he still contrived to elude it, by plunging into the depths of the
forests, till, by a circuitous route, he miraculously succeeded in effecting
his escape to Lima. The bishop of Cuzco, who went off in a different
direction, was no less fortunate. Happy for him that he did not fall into
the hands of the ruthless Carbajal, who, as the bishop had once been a
partisan of Pizarro, would, to judge from the little respect he usually
showed those of his cloth, have felt as little compunction in sentencing
him to the gibbet as if he had been the meanest of the common file.39
On the day following the action, Gonzalo Pizarro caused the bodies of
the soldiers, still lying side by side on the field where they had been so
lately engaged together in mortal strife, to be deposited in a common
sepulchre. Those of higher rank--for distinctions of rank were not to be
forgotten in the grave--were removed to the church of the village of
Huarina, which gave its name to the battle. There they were interred
with all fitting solemnity. But in later times they were transported to the
cathedral church of La Paz, "The City of Peace," and laid under a
mausoleum erected by general subscription in that quarter. For few there
were who had not to mourn the loss of some friend or relative on that
fatal day.
The victor now profited by his success to send detachments to Arequipa,
La Plata, and other cities in that part of the country, to raise funds and
reinforcements for the war. His own losses were more than compensated
by the number of the vanquished party who were content to take service
under his banner. Mustering his forces, he directed his march to Cuzco,
which capital, though occasionally seduced into a display of loyalty to
the Crown, had early manifested an attachment to his cause.
Here the inhabitants were prepared to receive him in triumph, under
arches thrown across the streets, with bands of music, and minstrelsy
commemorating his successes. But Pizarro, with more discretion,
declined the honors of an ovation while the country remained in the
hands of his enemies. Sending forward the main body of his troops, he
followed on foot, attended by a slender retinue of friends and citizens,
and proceeded at once to the cathedral, where thanksgivings were
offered up, and Te Deum was chanted in honor of his victory. He then
withdrew to his residence, announcing his purpose to establish his
quarters, for the present, in the venerable capital of the Incas.40
All thoughts of a retreat into Chili were abandoned; for his recent
success had kindled new hopes in his bosom, and revived his ancient
confidence. He trusted that it would have a similar effect on the
vacillating temper of those whose fidelity had been shaken by fears for
their own safety, and their distrust of his ability to cope with the
president. They would now see that his star was still in the ascendant.
Without further apprehensions for the event, he resolved to remain in
Cuzco, and there quietly await the hour when a last appeal to arms
should decide which of the two was to remain master of Peru.