Dismay In Gasca's Camp--His Winter Quarters--Resumes His March--
Crosses The Apurimac--Pizarro's Conduct In Cuzco--
He Encamps Near The City--Rout Of Xaquixaguana
1547--1548
While the events recorded in the preceding chapter were passing,
President Gasca had remained at Xauxa, awaiting further tidings from
Centeno, little doubting that they would inform him of the total
discomfiture of the rebels. Great was his dismay, therefore, on learning
the issue of the fatal conflict in Haurina,--that the royalists had been
scattered far and wide before the sword of Pizarro, while their
commander had vanished like an apparition,1 leaving the greatest
uncertainty as to his fate.
The intelligence spread general consternation among the soldiers,
proportioned to their former confidence; and they felt it was almost
hopeless to contend with a man who seemed protected by a charm that
made him invincible against the greatest odds. The president, however
sore his disappointment, was careful to conceal it, while he endeavored
to restore the spirits of his followers. "They had been too sanguine," he
said, "and it was in this way that Heaven rebuked their persumption. Yet
it was but in the usual course of events that Providence, when it designed
to humble the guilty, should allow him to reach as high an elevation as
possible, that his fall might be the greater!"
But while Gasca thus strove to reassure the superstitious and the timid,
he bent his mind, with his usual energy, to repair the injury which the
cause had sustained by the defeat at Huarina. He sent a detachment
under Alvarado to Lima, to collect such of the royalists as had fled
thither from the field of battle, and to dismantle the ships of their cannon,
and bring them to the camp. Another body was sent to Guamanga, about
sixty leagues from Cuzco, for the similar purpose of protecting the
fugitives, and also of preventing the Indian caciques from forwarding
supplies to the insurgent army in Cuzco. As his own forces now
amounted to considerably more than any his opponent could bring
against him, Gasca determined to break up his camp without further
delay, and march on the Inca capital.2
Quitting Xauxa, December 29, 1547, he passed through Guamanga, and
after a severe march, rendered particularly fatiguing by the inclement
state of the weather and the badness of the roads, he entered the province
of Andaguaylas. It was a fair and fruitful country, and since the road
beyond would take him into the depths of a gloomy sierra, scarcely
passable in the winter snows, Gasca resolved to remain in his present
quarters until the severity of the season was mitigated. As many of the
troops had already contracted diseases from exposure to the incessant
rains, he established a camp hospital; and the good president personally
visited the quarters of the sick, ministering to their wants, and winning
their hearts by his sympathy.3
Meanwhile, the royal camp was strengthened by the continual arrival of
reinforcements; for notwithstanding the shock that was caused
throughout the country by the first tidings of Pizarro's victory, a little
reflection convinced the people that the right was the strongest, and must
eventually prevail. There came, also, with these levies, several of the
most distinguished captains in the country. Centeno, burning to retrieve
his late disgrace, after recovering from his illness, joined the camp with
his followers from Lima. Benalcazar, the conqueror of Quito, who, as
the reader will remember, had shared in the defeat of Blasco Nunez in
the north, came with another detachment; and was soon after followed by
Valdivia, the famous conqueror of Chili, who, having returned to Peru to
gather recruits for his expedition, had learned the state of the country,
and had thrown himself, without hesitation, into the same scale with the
president, though it brought him into collision with his old friend and
comrade, Gonzalo Pizarro. The arrival of this last ally was greeted with
general rejoicing by the camp; for Valdivia, schooled in the Italian wars,
was esteemed the most accomplished soldier in Peru; and Gasca
complimented him by declaring "he would rather see him than a
reinforcement of eight hundred men!" 4
Besides these warlike auxiliaries, the president was attended by a train of
ecclesiastics and civilians, such as was rarely found in the martial fields
of Peru. Among them were the bishops of Quito, Cuzco, and Lima, the
four judges of the new Audience, and a considerable number of
churchmen and monkish missionaries.5 However little they might serve
to strengthen his arm in battle, their presence gave authority and
something of a sacred character to the cause, which had their effect on
the minds of the soldiers.
The wintry season now began to give way before the mild influence of
spring, which makes itself early felt in these tropical, but from their
elevation temperate, regions; and Gasca, after nearly three months
detention in Andaguaylas, mustered his levies for the final march upon
Cuzco.6 Their whole number fell little short of two thousand,--the
largest European force yet assembled in Peru. Nearly half were provided
with fire-arms; and infantry were more available than horse in the
mountain countries which they were to traverse. But his cavalry was also
numerous, and he carried with him a train of eleven heavy guns. The
equipment and discipline of the troops were good; they were well
provided with ammunition and military stores; and were led by officers
whose names were associated with the most memorable achievements in
the New World. All who had any real interest in the weal of the country
were to be found, in short, under the president's banner, making a
striking contrast to the wild and reckless adventurers who now swelled
the ranks of Pizarro.
Gasca, who did not affect a greater knowledge of military affairs than he
really possessed, had given the charge of his forces to Hinojosa, naming
the Marshal Alvarado as second in command. Valdivia, who came after
these dispositions had been made, accepted a colonel's commission, with
the understanding that he was to be consulted and employed in all
matters of moment.7--Having completed his arrangements, the president
broke up his camp in March, 1548, and moved upon Cuzco.
The first obstacle of his progress was the river Abancay, the bridge over
which had been broken down by the enemy. But as there was no force to
annoy them on the opposite bank, the army was not long in preparing a
new bridge, and throwing it across the stream, which in this place had
nothing formidable in its character. The road now struck into the heart
of a mountain region, where woods, precipices, and ravines were
mingled together in a sort of chaotic confusion, with here and there a
green and sheltered valley, glittering like an island of verdure amidst the
wild breakers of a troubled ocean! The bold peaks of the Andes, rising
far above the clouds, were enveloped in snow, which, descending far
down their sides, gave a piercing coldness to the winds that swept over
their surface, until men and horses were benumbed and stiffened under
their influence. The roads, in these regions, were in some places so
narrow and broken, as to be nearly impracticable for cavalry. The
cavaliers were compelled to dismount; and the president, with the rest,
performed the journey on foot, so hazardous, that, even in later times, it
has been no uncommon thing for the sure-footed mule to be precipitated,
with its cargo of silver, thousands of feet down the sheer sides of a
precipice.8
By these impediments of the ground, the march was so retarded, that the
troops seldom accomplished more than two leagues a day.9 Fortunately,
the distance was not great; and the president looked with more
apprehension to the passage of the Apurimac, which he was now
approaching. This river, one of the most formidable tributaries of the
Amazon, rolls its broad waters through the gorges of the Cordilleras, that
rise up like an immense rampart of rock on either side, presenting a
natural barrier which it would be easy for an enemy to make good
against a force much superior to his own. The bridges over this river, as
Gasca learned before his departure from Andaguaylas, had been all
destroyed by Pizarro. The president, accordingly, had sent to explore the
banks of the stream, and determine the most eligible spot for
reestablishing communications with the opposite side.
The place selected was near the Indian village of Cotapampa, about nine
leagues from Cuzco; for the river, though rapid and turbulent from being
compressed within more narrow limits, was here less than two hundred
paces in width; a distance, however, not inconsiderable. Directions had
been given to collect materials in large quantities in the neighborhood of
this spot as soon as possible; and at the same time, in order to perplex the
enemy and compel him to divide his forces, should he be disposed to
resist, materials in smaller quantities were assembled on three other
points of the river. The officer stationed in the neighborhood of
Cotapampa was instructed not to begin to lay the bridge, till the arrival
of a sufficient force should accelerate the work, and insure its success.
The structure in question, it should be remembered, was one of those
suspension bridges formerly employed by the Incas, and still used in
crossing the deep and turbulent rivers of South America. They are made
of osier withes, twisted into enormous cables, which, when stretched
across the water, are attached to heavy blocks of masonry, or, where it
will serve, to the natural rock. Planks are laid transversely across these
cables, and a passage is thus secured, which, notwithstanding the light
and fragile appearance of the bridge, as it swings at an elevation
sometimes of several hundred feet above the abyss, affords a tolerably
safe means of conveyance for men, and even for such heavy burdens as
artillery.10
Notwithstanding the peremptory commands of Gasca, the officer
intrusted with collecting the materials for the bridge was so anxious to
have the honor of completing the work himself, that he commenced it at
once. The president, greatly displeased at learning this, quickened his
march, in order to cover the work with his whole force. But, while
toiling through the mountain labyrinth, tidings were brought him that a
party of the enemy had demolished the small portion of the bridge
already made, by cutting the cables on the opposite bank. Valdivia,
accordingly, hastened forward at the head of two hundred arquebusiers,
while the main body of the army followed with as much speed as
practicable.
That officer, on reaching the spot, found that the interruption had been
caused by a small party of Pizarro's followers, not exceeding twenty in
number, assisted by a stronger body of Indians. He at once caused
balsas, broad and clumsy barks, or rather rafts, of the country, to be
provided, and by this means passed his men over, without opposition, to
the other side of the river. The enemy, disconcerted by the arrival of
such a force, retreated and made the best of their way to report the affair
to their commander at Cuzco. Meanwhile, Valdivia, who saw the
Importance of every moment in the present crisis, pushed forward the
work with the greatest vigor. Through all that night his weary troops
continued the labor, which was already well advanced, when the
president and his battalions, emerging from the passes of the Cordilleras,
presented themselves at sunrise on the opposite bank.
Little time was given for repose, as all felt assured that the success of
their enterprise hung on the short respite now given them by the
improvident enemy. The president, with his principal officers, took part
in the labor with the common soldiers;11 and before ten o'clock in the
evening, Gasca had the satisfaction to see the bridge so well secured, that
the leading files of the army, unencumbered by their baggage, might
venture to cross it. A short time sufficed to place several hundred men
on the other bank. But here a new difficulty, not less formidable than
that of the river, presented itself to the troops. The ground rose up with
an abrupt, almost precipitous, swell from the river-side, till, in the
highest peaks, it reached an elevation of several thousand feet. This
steep ascent, though not to its full height, indeed, was now to be
surmounted. The difficulties of the ground, broken up into fearful
chasms and water-courses, and tangled with thickets, were greatly
increased by the darkness of the night; and the soldiers, as they toiled
slowly upward, were filled with apprehension, akin to fear, from the
uncertainty whether each successive step might not bring them into an
ambuscade, for which the ground was so favorable. More than once, the
Spaniards were thrown into a panic by false reports that the enemy were
upon them. But Hinojosa and Valdivia were at hand to rally their men,
and cheer them on, until, at length, before dawn broke, the bold cavaliers
and their followers placed themselves on the highest point traversed by
the road, where they waited the arrival of the president. This was not
long delayed; and in the course of the following morning, the royalists
were already in sufficient strength to bid defiance to their enemy.
The passage of the river had been effected with less loss than might have
been expected, considering the darkness of the night, and the numbers
that crowded over the aerial causeway. Some few, indeed, fell into the
water, and were drowned; and more than sixty horses, in the attempt to
swim them across the river, were hurried down the current, and dashed
against the rocks below.12 It still required time to bring up the heavy
train of ordnance and the military wagons; and the president encamped
on the strong ground which he now occupied, to await their arrival, and
to breathe his troops after their extraordinary efforts. In these quarters
we must leave him, to acquaint the reader with the state of things in the
insurgent army, and with the cause of its strange remissness in guarding
the passes of the Apurimac.13
From the time of Pizarro's occupation of Cuzco, he had lived in careless
luxury in the midst of his followers, like a soldier of fortune in the hour
of prosperity; enjoying the present, with as little concern for the future as
if the crown of Peru were already fixed irrevocably upon his head. It
was otherwise with Carbajal. He looked on the victory at Huarina as the
commencement, not the close, of the struggle for empire; and he was
indefatigable in placing his troops in the best condition for maintaining
their present advantage. At the first streak of dawn, the veteran might be
seen mounted on his mule, with the garb and air of a common soldier,
riding about in the different quarters of the capital, sometimes
superintending the manufacture of arms, or providing military stores, and
sometimes drilling his men, for he was most careful always to maintain
the strictest discipline.14 His restless spirit seemed to find no pleasure
but in incessant action; living, as he had always done, in the turmoil of
military adventure, he had no relish for any thing unconnected with war,
and in the city saw only the materials for a well organized camp.
With these feelings, he was much dissatisfied at the course taken by his
younger leader, who now professed his intention to abide where he was,
and, when the enemy advanced, to give him battle. Carbajal advised a
very different policy. He had not that full confidence, it would seem, in
the loyalty of Pizarro's partisans, at least, not of those who had once
followed the banner of Centeno. These men, some three hundred in
number, had been in a manner compelled to take service under Pizarro.
They showed no heartiness in the cause, and the veteran strongly urged
his commander to disband them at once; since it was far better to go to
battle with a few faithful followers than with a host of the false and faint-
hearted.
But Carbajal thought, also, that his leader was not sufficiently strong in
numbers to encounter his opponent, supported as he was by the best
captains of Peru. He advised, accordingly, that he should abandon
Cuzco, carrying off all the treasure, provisions, and stores of every kind
from the city, which might, in any way, serve the necessities of the
royalists. The latter, on their arrival, disappointed by the poverty of a
place where they had expected to find so much booty, would become
disgusted with the service. Pizarro, meanwhile, might take refuge with
his men in the neighboring fastnesses, where, familiar with the ground, it
would be easy to elude the enemy; and if the latter persevered in the
pursuit, with numbers diminished by desertion, it would not be difficult
in the mountain passes to find an opportunity for assailing him at
advantage.--Such was the wary counsel of the old warrior. But it was not
to the taste of his fiery commander, who preferred to risk the chances of
a battle, rather than turn his back on a foe.
Neither did Pizarro show more favor to a proposition, said to have been
made by the Licentiate Cepeda,--that he should avail himself of his late
success to enter into negotiations with Gasca. Such advice, from the
man who had so recently resisted all overtures of the president, could
only have proceeded from a conviction, that the late victory placed
Pizarro on a vantage-ground for demanding terms far better than would
have been before conceded to him. It may be that subsequent experience
had also led him to distrust the fidelity of Gonzalo's followers, or,
possibly, the capacity of their chief to conduct them through the present
crisis. Whatever may have been the motives of the slippery counsellor,
Pizarro gave little heed to the suggestion, and even showed some
resentment, as the matter was pressed on him. In every contest, with
Indian or European, whatever had been the odds, he had come off
victorious. He was not now for the first time to despond; and he
resolved to remain in Cuzco, and hazard all on the chances of a battle.
There was something in the hazard itself captivating to his bold and
chivalrous temper. In this, too, he was confirmed by some of the
cavaliers who had followed him through all his fortunes; reckless young
adventurers, who, like himself, would rather risk all on a single throw of
the dice, than adopt the cautious, and, as it seemed to them, timid, policy
of graver counsellors. It was by such advisers, then, that Pizarro's future
course was to be shaped.15
Such was the state of affairs in Cuzco, when Pizarro's soldiers returned
with the tidings, that a detachment of the enemy had crossed the
Apurimac, and were busy in reestablishing the bridge. Carbajal saw at
once the absolute necessity of maintaining this pass. "It is my affair," he
said; "I claim to be employed on this service. Give me but a hundred
picked men, and I will engage to defend the pass against an army, and
bring back the chaplain--the name by which the president was known in
the rebel camp---a prisoner to Cuzco." 16 "I cannot spare you, father,"
said Gonzalo, addressing him by this affectionate epithet, which he
usually applied to his aged follower,17 "I cannot spare you so far from
my own person"; and he gave the commission to Juan de Acosta, a
young cavalier warmly attached to his commander, and who had given
undoubted evidence of his valor on more than one occasion, but who, as
the event proved, was signally deficient in the qualities demanded for
so critical an undertaking as the present. Acosta, accordingly, was
placed at the head of two hundred mounted musketeers, and, after much
wholesome counsel from Carbajal, set out on his expedition.
But he soon forgot the veteran's advice, and moved at so dull a pace over
the difficult roads, that, although the distance was not more than nine
leagues, he found, on his arrival, the bridge completed, and so large a
body of the enemy already crossed, that he was in no strength to attack
them. Acosta did, indeed, meditate an ambuscade by night; but the
design was betrayed by a deserter, and he contented himself with
retreating to a safe distance, and sending for a further reinforcement from
Cuzco. Three hundred men were promptly detached to his support; but
when they arrived, the enemy was already planted in full force on the
crest of the eminence. The golden opportunity was irrecoverably lost;
and the disconsolate cavalier rode back in all haste to report the failure
of his enterprise to his commander in Cuzco.18
The only question now to be decided was as to the spot where Gonzalo
'Pizarro should give battle to his enemies. He determined at once to
abandon the capital, and wait for his opponents in the neighboring valley
of Xaquixaguana. It was about five leagues distant, and the reader may
remember it as the place where Francis Pizarro burned the Peruvian
general Challcuchima, on his first occupation of Cuzco. The valley,
fenced round by the lofty rampart of the Andes, was, for the most part,
green and luxuriant, affording many picturesque points of view; and,
from the genial temperature of the climate, had been a favorite summer
residence of the Indian nobles, many of whose pleasure-houses still
dotted the sides of the mountains. A river, or rather stream, of no great
volume, flowed through one end of this inclosure, and the neighboring
soil was so wet and miry as to have the character of a morass.
Here the rebel commander arrived, after a tedious march over roads not
easily traversed by his train of heavy wagons and artillery. His forces
amounted in all to about nine hundred men, with some half-dozen pieces
of ordnance. It was a well-appointed body, and under excellent
discipline, for it had been schooled by the strictest martinet in the
Peruvian service. But it was the misfortune of Pizarro that his army was
composed, in part, at least, of men on whose attachment to his cause he
could not confidently rely. This was a deficiency which no courage nor
skill in the leader could supply.
On entering the valley, Pizarro selected the eastern quarter of it, towards
Cuzco, as the most favorable spot for his encampment. It was crossed by
the stream above mentioned, and he stationed his army in such a manner,
that, while one extremity of the camp rested on a natural barrier formed
by the mountain cliffs that here rose up almost perpendicularly, the other
was protected by the river. While it was scarcely possible, therefore, to
assail his flanks, the approaches in front were so extremely narrowed by
these obstacles, that it would not be easy to overpower him by numbers
in that direction. In the rear, his communications remained open with
Cuzco, furnishing a ready means for obtaining supplies. Having secured
this strong position, he resolved patiently to wait the assault of the
enemy.19
Meanwhile, the royal army had been toiling up the steep sides of the
Cordilleras, until, at the close of the third day, the president had the
satisfaction to find himself surrounded by his whole force, with their
guns and military stores. Having now sufficiently refreshed his men, he
resumed his march, and all went forward with the buoyant confidence of
bringing their quarrel with the tyrant, as Pizarro was called, to a speedy
issue.
Their advance was slow, as in the previous part of the march, for the
ground was equally embarrassing. It was not long, however, before the
president learned that his antagonist had pitched his camp in the
neighboring valley of Xaquixaguana. Soon afterward, two friars, sent by
Gonzalo himself, appeared in the army, for the ostensible purpose of
demanding a sight of the powers with which Gasca was intrusted. But as
their conduct gave reason to suspect they were spies, the president
caused the holy men to be seized, and refused to allowed them to return
to Pizarro. By an emissary of his own, whom he despatched to the rebel
chief, he renewed the assurance of pardon already given him, in case he
would lay down his arms and submit. Such an act of generosity, at this
late hour, must be allowed to be highly creditable to Gasca, believing, as
he probably did, that the game was in his own hands.--It is a pity that the
anecdote does not rest on the best authority.20
After a march of a couple of days, the advanced guard of the royalists
came suddenly on the outposts of the insurgents, from whom they had
been concealed by a thick mist, and a slight skirmish took place between
them. At length, on the morning of the eighth of April, the royal army,
turning the crest of the lofty range that belts round the lovely valley of
Xaquixaguana, beheld far below on the opposite side the glittering lines
of the enemy, with their white pavilions, looking like clusters of wild
fowl nestling among the cliffs of the mountains. And still further off
might be descried a host of Indian warriors, showing gaudily in their
variegated costumes; for the natives, in this part of the country, with little
perception of their true interests, manifested great zeal in the cause of
Pizarro.
Quickening their step, the royal army now hastily descended the steep
sides of the sierra; and notwithstanding every effort of their officers, they
moved in so little order, each man picking his way as he could, that the
straggling column presented many a vulnerable point to the enemy; and
the descent would not have been accomplished without considerable
loss, had Pizarro's cannon been planted on any of the favorable positions
which the ground afforded. But that commander, far from attempting to
check the president's approach, remained doggedly in the strong position
he had occupied, with the full confidence that his adversaries would not
hesitate to assail it, strong as it was, in the same manner as they had done
at Huarina.21
Yet he did not omit to detach a corps of arquebusiers to secure a
neighboring eminence or spur of the Cordilleras, which in the hands of
the enemy might cause some annoyance to his own camp, while it
commanded still more effectually the ground soon to be occupied by the
assailants. But his manoeuvre was noticed by Hinojosa; and he defeated
it by sending a stronger detachment of the royal musketeers, who
repulsed the rebels, and, after a short skirmish, got possession of the
heights. Gasca's general profited by this success to plant a small battery
of cannon on the eminence, from which, although the distance was too
great for him to do much execution, he threw some shot into the hostile
camp. One ball, indeed, struck down two men, one of them Pizarro's
page, killing a horse, at the same time, which he held by the bridle; and
the chief instantly ordered the tents to be struck, considering that they
afforded too obvious a mark for the artillery.22
Meanwhile, the president's forces had descended into the valley, and as
they came on the plain were formed into line by their officers. The
ground occupied by the army was somewhat lower than that of their
enemy, whose shot, as discharged, from time to time, from his batteries,
passed over their heads. Information was now brought by a deserter, one
of Centeno's old followers, that Pizarro was getting ready for a night
attack. The president, in consequence, commanded his whole force to be
drawn up in battle array, prepared, at any instant, to repulse the assault.
But if such were meditated by the insurgent chief, he abandoned it,--and,
as it is said, from a distrust of the fidelity of some of the troops, who,
under cover of the darkness, he feared, would go over to the opposite
side. If this be true, he must have felt the full force of Carbajal's
admonition, when too late to profit by it. The unfortunate commander
was in the situation of some bold, high-mettled cavalier, rushing to battle
on a war-horse whose tottering joints threaten to give way under him at
every step, and leave his rider to the mercy of his enemies!
The president's troops stood to their arms the greater part of the night,
although the air from the mountains was so keen, that it was with
difficulty they could hold their lances in their hands.23 But before the
rising sun had kindled into a glow the highest peaks of the sierra, both
camps were in motion, and busily engaged in preparations for the
combat. The royal army was formed into two battalions of infantry, one
to attack the enemy in front, and the other, if possible, to operate on his
flank. These battalions were protected by squadrons of horse on the
wings and in the rear, while reserves both of horse and arquebusiers were
stationed to act as occasion might require. The dispositions were made
in so masterly a manner, as to draw forth a hearty eulogium from old
Carbajal, who exclaimed, "Surely the Devil or Valdivia must be among
them!" an undeniable compliment to the latter, since the speaker was
ignorant of that commander's presence in the camp.24
Gasca, leaving the conduct of the battle to his officers, withdrew to the
rear with his train of clergy and licentiates, the last of whom did not
share in the ambition of their rebel brother, Cepeda, to break a lance in
the field.
Gonzalo Pizarro formed his squadron in the same manner as he had done
on the plains of Huarina; except that the increased number of his horse
now enabled him to cover both flanks of his infantry. It was still on his
fire-arms, however, that he chiefly relied. As the ranks were formed, he
rode among them, encouraging his men to do their duty like brave
cavaliers, and true soldiers of the Conquest. Pizarro was superbly
armed, as usual, and wore a complete suit of mail, of the finest
manufacture, which, as well as his helmet, was richly inlaid with gold.25
He rode a chestnut horse of great strength and spirit, and as he galloped
along the line, brandishing his lance, and displaying his easy
horsemanship. he might be thought to form no bad personification of the
Genius of Chivalry. To complete his dispositions he ordered Cepeda to
lead up the infantry for the licentiate seems to have had a larger share in
the conduct of his affairs of late, or at least in the present military
arrangements, than Carbajal. The latter, indeed, whether from disgust at
the course taken by his leader, or from a distrust, which, it is said, he did
not affect to conceal, of the success of the present operations, disclaimed
all responsibility for them, and chose to serve rather as a private cavalier
than as a commander.26 Yet Cepeda, as the event showed, was no less
shrewd in detecting the coming ruin.
When he had received his orders from Pizarro he rode forward as if to
select the ground for his troops to occupy; and in doing so disappeared
for a few moments behind a projecting cliff. He soon reappeared,
however, and was seen galloping at full speed across the plain. His men
looked with astonishment, yet not distrusting his motives, till, as he
continued his course direct towards the enemy's lines, his treachery
became apparent. Several pushed forward to overtake him, and among
them a cavalier, better mounted than Cepeda. The latter rode a horse of
no great strength or speed, quite unfit for this critical manoeuvre of his
master. The animal, was, moreover, encumbered by the weight of the
caparisons with which his ambitious rider had loaded him, so that, on
reaching a piece of miry ground that lay between the armies, his pace
was greatly retarded.27 Cepeda's pursuers rapidly gained on him, and
the cavalier above noticed came, at length, so near as to throw a lance at
the fugitive, which, wounding him in the thigh, pierced his horse's flank,
and they both came headlong to the ground. It would have fared ill with
the licentiate, in this emergency, but fortunately a small party of troopers
on the other side, who had watched the chase, now galloped briskly
forward to the rescue, and, beating off his pursuers, they recovered
Cepeda from the mire, and bore him to the president's quarters.
He was received by Gasca with the greatest satisfaction,--so great, that,
according to one chronicler, he did not disdain to show it by saluting the
licentiate on the cheek.28 The anecdote is scarcely reconcilable with the
characters and relations of the parties, or with the president's subsequent
conduct. Gasca, however, recognized the full value of his prize, and the
effect which his desertion at such a time must have on the spirits of the
rebels. Cepeda's movement, so unexpected by his own party, was the
result of previous deliberation, as he had secretly given assurance, it is
said, to the prior of Arequipa, then in the royal camp, that, if Gonzalo
Pizarro could not be induced to accept the pardon offered him, he would
renounce his cause.29 The time selected by the crafty counsellor for
doing so was that most fatal to the interests of his commander.
The example of Cepeda was contagious. Garcilasso de la Vega, father of
the historian, a cavalier of old family, and probably of higher
consideration than any other in Pizarro's party, put spurs to his horse, at
the same time with the licentiate, and rode over to the enemy. Ten or a
dozen of the arquebusiers followed in the same direction, and succeeded
in placing themselves under the protection of the advanced guard of the
royalists.
Pizarro stood aghast at this desertion, in so critical a juncture, of those in
whom he had most trusted. He was, for a moment, bewildered. The very
ground on which he stood seemed to be crumbling beneath him. With
this state of feeling among his soldiers, he saw that every minute of delay
was fatal. He dared not wait for the assault, as he had intended, in his
strong position, but instantly gave the word to advance. Gasca's general,
Hinojosa, seeing the enemy in motion, gave similar orders to his own
troops. Instantly the skirmishers and arquebusiers on the flanks moved
rapidly forward, the artillery prepared to open their fire, and "the whole
army," says the president in his own account of the affair, "advanced
with steady step and perfect determination." 30
But before a shot was fired, a column of arquebusiers, composed chiefly
of Centeno's followers, abandoned their post, and marched directly over
to the enemy. A squadron of horse, sent in pursuit of them, followed
their example. The president instantly commanded his men to halt,
unwilling to spill blood unnecessarily, as the rebel host was like to fall to
pieces of itself.
Pizarro's faithful adherents were seized with a panic, as they saw
themselves and their leader thus betrayed into the enemy's hands.
Further resistance was useless. Some threw down their arms and fled in
the direction of Cuzco. Others sought to escape to the mountains; and
some crossed to the opposite side, and surrendered themselves prisoners,
hoping it was not too late to profit by the promises of grace. The Indian
allies, on seeing the Spaniards falter, had been the first to go off the
ground.31
Pizarro, amidst the general wreck, found himself left with only a few
cavaliers who disdained to fly. Stunned by the unexpected reverse of
fortune, the unhappy chief could hardly comprehend his situation.
"What remains for us?" said he to Acosta, one of those who still adhered
to him. "Fall on the enemy, since nothing else is left," answered the non-
hearted soldier, "and die like Romans!" "Better to die like Christians,"
replied his commander; and, slowly turning his horse, he rode off in the
direction of the royal army.32
He had not proceeded far, when he was met by an officer, to whom, after
ascertaining his name and rank, Pizarro delivered up his sword, and
yielded himself prisoner. The officer, overjoyed at his prize, conducted
him, at once, to the president's quarters. Gasca was on horseback,
surrounded by his captains, some of whom, when they recognized the
person of the captive, had the grace to withdraw, that they might not
witness his humiliation.33 Even the best of them, with a sense of right
on their side, may have felt some touch of compunction at the thought
that their desertion had brought their benefactor to this condition.
Pizarro kept his seat in his saddle, but, as he approached, made a
respectful obeisance to the president, which the latter acknowledged by a
cold salute. Then, addressing his prisoner in a tone of severity, Gasca
abruptly inquired,--"Why he had thrown the country into such confusion;
--raising the banner of revolt; killing the viceroy; usurping the
government; and obstinately refusing the offers of grace that had been
repeatedly made him?"
Gonzalo attempted to justify himself by referring the fate of the viceroy
to his misconduct, and his own usurpation, as it was styled, to the free
election of the people, as well as that of the Royal Audience. "It was my
family," he said, "who conquered the country; and, as their
representative here, I felt I had a right to the government." To this Gasca
replied, in a still severer tone, "Your brother did, indeed, conquer the
land; and for this the emperor was pleased to raise both him and you
from the dust. He lived and died a true and loyal subject; and it only
makes your ingratitude to your sovereign the more heinous." Then,
seeing his prisoner about to reply, the president cut short the conference,
ordering him into close confinement. He was committed to the charge of
Centeno, who had sought the office, not from any unworthy desire to
gratify his revenge,--for he seems to have had a generous nature,--but for
the honorable purpose of ministering to the comfort of the captive.
Though held in strict custody by this officer, therefore, Pizarro was
treated with the deference due to his rank, and allowed every indulgence
by his keeper, except his freedom.34
In this general wreck of their fortunes, Francisco de Carbajal fared no
better than his chief. As he saw the soldiers deserting their posts and
going over to the enemy, one after another, he coolly hummed the words
of his favorite old ballad,--
"The wind blows the hairs off my head, mother!"
But when he found the field nearly empty, and his stout-hearted
followers vanished like a wreath of smoke, he felt it was time to provide
for his own safety. He knew there could be no favor for him; and,
putting spurs to his horse, he betook himself to flight with all the speed
he could make. He crossed the stream that flowed, as already
mentioned, by the camp, but, in scaling the opposite bank, which was
steep and stony, his horse, somewhat old, and oppressed by the weight of
his rider, who was large and corpulent, lost his footing and fell with him
into the water. Before he could extricate himself, Carbajal was seized by
some of his own followers, who hoped, by such a prize, to make their
peace with the victor, and hurried off towards the president's quarters.
The convoy was soon swelled by a number of the common file from the
royal army, some of whom had long arrears to settle with the prisoner;
and, not content with heaping reproaches and imprecations on his head,
they now threatened to proceed to acts of personal violence, which
Carbajal, far from deprecating, seemed rather to court, as the speediest
way of ridding himself of life.35 When he approached the president's
quarters, Centeno, who was near, rebuked the disorderly rabble, and
compelled them to give way. Carbajal, on seeing this, with a respectful
air demanded to whom he was indebted for this courteous protection. To
which his ancient comrade replied, "Do you not know me? Diego
Centeno!" "I crave your pardon," said the veteran, sarcastically alluding
to his long flight in the Charcas, and his recent defeat at Huarina; "it is so
long since I have seen any thing but your back, that I had forgotten your
face!" 36
Among the president's suite was the martial bishop of Cuzco, who, it will
be remembered, had shared with Centeno in the disgrace of his defeat.
His brother had been taken by Carbajal, in his flight from the field, and
instantly hung up by that fierce chief, who, as we have had more than
one occasion to see, was no respecter of persons. The bishop now
reproached him with his brother's murder, and, incensed by his cool
replies, was ungenerous enough to strike the prisoner on the face.
Carbajal made no attempt at resistance. Nor would he return a word to
the queries put to him by Gasca; but, looking haughtily round on the
circle, maintained a contemptuous silence. The president, seeing that
nothing further was to be gained from his captive, ordered him, together
with Acosta, and the other cavaliers who had surrendered, into strict
custody, until their fate should be decided.37
Gasca's next concern was to send an officer to Cuzco, to restrain his
partisans from committing excesses in consequence of the late victory, if
victory that could be called, where not a blow had been struck. Every
thing belonging to the vanquished, their tents, arms, ammunition, and
military stores, became the property of the victors. Their camp was well
victualled, furnishing a seasonable supply to the royalists, who had
nearly expended their own stock of provisions. There was, moreover,
considerable booty in the way of plate and money; for Pizarro's men, as
was not uncommon in those turbulent times, went, many of them, to the
war with the whole of their worldly wealth, not knowing of any safe
place in which to bestow it. An anecdote is told of one of Gasca's
soldiers, who, seeing a mule running over the field, with a large pack on
his back, seized the animal, and mounted him, having first thrown away
the burden, supposing it to contain armour, or something of little worth.
Another soldier, more shrewd, picked up the parcel, as his share of the
spoil, and found it contained several thousand gold ducats! It was the
fortune of war.38
Thus terminated the battle, or rather rout, of Xaquixaguana. The number
of killed and wounded--for some few perished in the pursuit-was not
great; according to most accounts, not exceeding fifteen killed on the
rebel side, and one only on that of the royalists! and that one by the
carelessness of a comrade.39 Never was there a cheaper victory; so
bloodless a termination of a fierce and bloody rebellion! It was gained
not so much by the strength of the victors as by the weakness of the
vanquished. They fell to pieces of their own accord, because they had no
sure ground to stand on. The arm, not nerved by the sense of right,
became powerless in the hour of battle. It was better that they should
thus be overcome by moral force than by a brutal appeal to arms. Such a
victory was more in harmony with the beneficent character of the
conqueror and of his cause. It was the triumph of order; the best homage
to law and justice.