The History Of The Conquest Of Peru

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Almagro's emissaries were well received by the Inca, who alleged
his grounds of complaint against the Pizarros, and named the vale
of Yucay as the place where he would confer with the marshal.
The Spanish commander accordingly resumed his march, and, taking
one half of his force, whose whole number fell somewhat short of
five hundred men, he repaired in person to the place of
rendezvous; while the remainder of his army established their
quarters at Urcos, about six leagues from the capital. *7
[Footnote 7: Pedro Pizarro, Descub. y Conq., Ms. - Conq. i Pob.
del Piru, Ms. - Oviedo, Hist. de las Indias, Ms., Parte 3, lib.
9, cap. 6]
The Spaniards in Cuzco, startled by the appearance of this fresh
body of troops in their neighbourhood, doubted, when they learned
the quarter whence they came, whether it betided them good or
evil. Hernando Pizarro marched out of the city with a small
force, and, drawing near to Urcos, heard with no little
uneasiness of Almagro's purpose to insist on his pretensions to
Cuzco. Though much inferior in strength to his rival, he
determined to resist him.

Meanwhile, the Peruvians, who had witnessed the conference
between the soldiers of the opposite camps, suspected some secret
understanding between the parties, which would compromise the
safety of the Inca. They communicated their distrust to Manco,
and the latter, adopting the same sentiments, or perhaps, from
the first, meditating a surprise of the Spaniards, suddenly fell
upon the latter in the valley of Yucay with a body of fifteen
thousand men. But the veterans of Chili were too familiar with
Indian tactics to be taken by surprise. And though a sharp
engagement ensued, which lasted more than an hour, in which
Orgonez had a horse killed under him, the natives were finally
driven back with great slaughter, and the Inca was so far
crippled by the blow, that he was not likely for the present to
give further molestation. *8
[Footnote 8: Zarate, Conq. del Peru, lib. 3, cap. 4. - Conq. i
Pob. del Piru, Ms., Parte 3, lib. 8, cap. 21.]

Almagro, now joining the division left at Urcos, saw no further
impediment to his operations on Cuzco. He sent, at once, an
embassy to the municipality of the place, requiring the
recognition of him as its lawful governor, and presenting at the
same time a copy of his credentials from the Crown. But the
question of jurisdiction was not one easy to be settled,
depending, as it did, on a knowledge of the true parallels of
latitude, not very likely to be possessed by the rude followers
of Pizarro. The royal grant had placed under his jurisdiction
all the country extending two hundred and seventy leagues south
of the river of Santiago, situated one degree and twenty minutes
north of the equator. Two hundred and seventy leagues on the
meridian, by our measurement, would fall more than a degree short
of Cuzco, and, indeed, would barely include the city of Lima
itself. But the Spanish leagues, of only seventeen and a half to
a degree, *9 would remove the southern boundary to nearly half a
degree beyond the capital of the Incas, which would thus fall
within the jurisdiction of Pizarro. *10 Yet the division-line ran
so close to the disputed ground, that the true result might
reasonably be doubted, where no careful scientific observations
had been made to obtain it; and each party was prompt to assert,
as they always are in such cases, that its own claim was clear
and unquestionable. *11

[Footnote 9: "Contando diez i siete leg as i media por grado."
Herrera Hist. General, dec. 6, lib. 3, cap. 5.]

[Footnote 10: The government had endeavoured early to provide
against any dispute in regard to the limits of the respective
jurisdictions. The language of the original grants gave room to
some misunderstanding; and, as early as 1536, Fray Jomas de
Berlanga, Bishop of Tierra Firme, had been sent to Lima with full
powers to determine the question of boundary, by fixing the
latitude of the river of Santiago, and measuring two hundred and
seventy leagues south on the meridian. But Pizarro, having
engaged Almagro in his Chili expedition, did not care to revive
the question, and the Bishop returned, re infecta, to his
diocese, with strong feelings of disgust towards the governor.
Ibid., dec. 6, lib. 3, cap. 1.]
[Footnote 11: "All say," says Oviedo, in a letter to the emperor,
"that Cuzco falls within the territory of Almagro." Oviedo was,
probably, the best-informed man in the colonies. Yet this was an
error. Carta desde Sto. Domingo, Ms., 25 de Oct. 1539.]

Thus summoned by Almagro, the authorities of Cuzco, unwilling to
give umbrage to either of the contending chiefs, decided that
they must wait until they could take counsel - which they
promised to do at once - with certain pilots better instructed
than themselves in the position of the Santiago. Meanwhile, a
truce was arranged between the parties, each solemnly engaging to
abstain from hostile measures, and to remain quiet in their
present quarters.

The weather now set in cold and rainy. Almagro's soldiers,
greatly discontented with their position, flooded as it was by
the waters, were quick to discover that Hernando Pizarro was
busily employed in strengthening himself in the city, contrary to
agreement. They also learned with dismay, that a large body of
men, sent by the governor from Lima, under command of Alonso de
Alvarado, was on the march to relieve Cuzco. They exclaimed that
they were betrayed, and that the truce had been only an artifice
to secure their inactivity until the arrival of the expected
succours. In this state of excitement, it was not very difficult
to persuade their commander - too ready to surrender his own
judgment to the rash advisers around him - to violate the treaty,
and take possession of the capital. *12

[Footnote 12: According to Zarate, Almagro, on entering the
capital, found no appearance of the designs imputed to Hernando,
and exclaimed that "he had been deceived." (Conq. del Peru, lib.
3, cap. 4.) He was probably easy of faith in the matter.]

Under cover of a dark and stormy night (April 8th, 1537), he
entered the place without opposition, made himself master of the
principal church, established strong parties of cavalry at the
head of the great avenues to prevent surprise, and detached
Orgonez with a body of infantry to force the dwelling of Hernando
Pizarro. That captain was lodged with his brother Gonzalo in one
of the large halls built by the Incas for public diversions, with
immense doors of entrance that opened on the plaza. It was
garrisoned by about twenty soldiers, who, as the gates were burst
open, stood stoutly to the defence of their leader. A smart
struggle ensued, in which some lives were lost, till at length
Orgonez, provoked by the obstinate resistance, set fire to the
combustible roof of the building. It was speedily in flames, and
the burning rafters falling on the heads of the inmates, they
forced their reluctant leader to an unconditional surrender.
Scarcely had the Spaniards left the building, when the whole roof
fell in with a tremendous crash. *13

[Footnote 13: Carta de Espinall, Tesorero de N. Toledo, 15 de
Junio, 1539. - Conq. i Pob. del Piru, Ms. - Pedro Pizarro,
Descub. y Conq., Ms. - Oviedo, Hist. de las Indias, Ms., Parte 3,
lib. 8, cap. 21.]
Almagro was now master of Cuzco. He ordered the Pizarros, with
fifteen or twenty of the principal cavaliers, to be secured and
placed in confinement. Except so far as required for securing
his authority, he does not seem to have been guilty of acts of
violence to the inhabitants, *14 and he installed one of
Pizarro's most able officers, Gabriel de Rojas, in the government
of the city. The municipality, whose eyes were now open to the
validity of Almagro's pretensions, made no further scruple to
recognize his title to Cuzco.

[Footnote 14: So it would appear from the general testimony; yet
Pedro Pizarro, one of the opposite faction, and among those
imprisoned by Almagro, complains that that chief plundered them
of their horses and other property. Descub. y Conq., Ms.]

The marshal's first step was to send a message to Alonso de
Alvarado's camp, advising that officer of his occupation of the
city, and requiring his obedience to him, as its legitimate
master. Alvarado was lying, with a body of five hundred men,
horse and foot, at Xauxa, about thirteen leagues from the
capital. He had been detached several months previously for the
relief of Cuzco; but had, most unaccountably, and, as it proved,
most unfortunately for the Peruvian capital, remained at Xauxa
with the alleged motive of protecting that settlement and the
surrounding country against the insurgents. *15 He now showed
himself loyal to his commander; and, when Almagro's ambassadors
reached his camp, he put them in irons, and sent advice of what
had been done to the governor at Lima.
[Footnote 15: Pizarro's secretary Picado had an encomienda in
that neighbourhood, and Alvarado, who was under personal
obligations to him, remained there, it is said, at his
instigation. (Herrera, Hist. General, dec. 5, lib. 8, cap. 7.)
Alvarado was a good officer, and largely trusted, both before and
after, by the Pizarros; and we may presume there was some
explanation of his conduct, of which we are not possessed.]
Almagro, offended by the detention of his emissaries, prepared at
once to march against Alonso de Alvarado, and take more effectual
means to bring him to submission. His lieutenant, Orgonez,
strongly urged him before his departure to strike off the heads
of the Pizarros, alleging, "that, while they lived, his
commander's life would never be safe"; and concluding with the
Spanish proverb, "Dead men never bite." *16 But the marshal,
though he detested Hernando in his heart, shrunk from so violent
a measure; and, independently of other considerations, he had
still an attachment for his old associate, Francis Pizarro, and
was unwilling to sever the ties between them for ever.
Contenting himself, therefore, with placing his prisoners under
strong guard in one of the stone buildings belonging to the House
of the Sun, he put himself at the head of his forces, and left
the capital in quest of Alvarado.

[Footnote 16: "El muerto no mordia." Ibid., dec. 6, lib. 2, cap.
8.]
That officer had now taken up a position on the farther side of
the Rio de Abancay, where he lay, with the strength of his little
army, in front of a bridge, by which its rapid waters are
traversed, while a strong detachment occupied a spot commanding a
ford lower down the river. But in this detachment was a cavalier
of much consideration in the army, Pedro de Lerma, who, from some
pique against his commander, had entered into treasonable
correspondence with the opposite party. By his advice, Almagro,
on reaching the border of the river, established himself against
the bridge in face of Alvarado, as if prepared to force a
passage, thus concentrating his adversary's attention on that
point. But, when darkness had set in, he detached a large body
under Orgonez to pass the ford, and operate in concert with
Lerma. Orgonez executed this commission with his usual
promptness. The ford was crossed, though the current ran so
swiftly, that several of his men were swept away by it, and
perished in the waters. Their leader received a severe wound
himself in the mouth, as he was gaining the opposite bank, but,
nothing daunted, he cheered on his men, and fell with fury on the
enemy. He was speedily joined by Lerma, and such of the soldiers
as he had gained over, and, unable to distinguish friend from
foe, the enemy's confusion was complete.

Meanwhile, Alvarado, roused by the noise of the attack on this
quarter, hastened to the support of his officer, when Almagro,
seizing the occasion, pushed across the bridge, dispersed the
small body left to defend it, and, falling on Alvarado's rear,
that general saw himself hemmed in on all sides. The struggle
did not last long; and the unfortunate chief, uncertain on whom
he could rely, surrendered with all his force, - those only
excepted who had already deserted to the enemy. Such was the
battle of Abancay, as it was called, from the river on whose
banks it was fought, on the twelfth of July, 1537. Never was a
victory more complete, or achieved with less cost of life; and
Almagro marched back, with an array of prisoners scarcely
inferior to his own army in number, in triumph to Cuzco. *17

[Footnote 17: Carta de Francisco Pizarro al Obispo de Tierra
Firme, Ms., 28 de Agosto, 1539. - Pedro Pizarro, Descub. y Conq.,
Ms. - Oviedo, Hist. de las Indias, Ms., ubi supra. - Conq. i Pob.
del Piru, Ms. - Carta de Espinall, Ms.]

While the events related in the preceding pages were passing,
Francisco Pizarro had remained at Lima, anxiously awaiting the
arrival of the reinforcements which he had requested, to enable
him to march to the relief of the beleaguered capital of the
Incas. His appeal had not been unanswered. Among the rest was a
corps of two hundred and fifty men, led by the Licentiate Gaspar
de Espinosa, one of the three original associates, it may be
remembered, who engaged in the conquest of Peru. He had now left
his own residence at Panama, and came in person, for the first
time, it would seem, to revive the drooping fortunes of his
confederates. Pizarro received also a vessel laden with
provisions, military stores, and other necessary supplies,
besides a rich wardrobe for himself, from Cortes, the Conqueror
of Mexico, who generously stretched forth his hand to aid his
kinsman in the hour of need. *18
[Footnote 18: "Fernando Cortes embio con Rodrigo de Grijalva en
vn proprio Navio suio, desde la Nueva Espana, muchas Armas,
Tiros, Jaeces, Aderecos, Vestidos de Seda, i vna Ropa de Martas."
Gomara, Hist de las Ind., cap. 136.]

With a force amounting to four hundred and fifty men, half of
them cavalry, the governor quitted Lima, and began his march on
the Inca capital. He had not advanced far, when he received
tidings of the return of Almagro, the seizure of Cuzco, and the
imprisonment of his brothers; and, before he had time to recover
from this astounding intelligence, he learned the total defeat
and capture of Alvarado. Filled with consternation at these
rapid successes of his rival, he now returned in all haste to
Lima, which he put in the best posture of defence, to secure it
against the hostile movements, not unlikely, as he thought, to be
directed against that capital itself. Meanwhile, far from
indulging in impotent sallies of resentment, or in complaints of
his ancient comrade, he only lamented that Almagro should have
resorted to these violent measures for the settlement of their
dispute, and this less - if we may take his word for it - from
personal considerations than from the prejudice it might do to
the interests of the Crown. *19

[Footnote 19: Herrera, Hist. General, dec. 6, lib. 2, cap. 7]
But, while busily occupied with warlike preparations, he did not
omit to try the effect of negotiation. He sent an embassy to
Cuzco, consisting of several persons in whose discretion he
placed the greatest confidence, with Espinosa at their head, as
the party most interested in an amicable arrangement.

The licentiate, on his arrival, did not find Almagro in as
favorable a mood for an accommodation as he could have wished.
Elated by his recent successes, he now aspired not only to the
possession of Cuzco, but of Lima itself, as falling within the
limits of his jurisdiction. It was in vain that Espinosa urged
the propriety, by every argument which prudence could suggest, of
moderating his demands. His claims upon Cuzco, at least, were
not to be shaken, and he declared himself ready to peril his life
in maintaining them. The licentiate coolly replied by quoting
the pithy Castilian proverb, El vencido vencido, y el vencidor
perdido; "The vanquished vanquished, and the victor undone."

What influence the temperate arguments of the licentiate might
eventually have had on the heated imagination of the soldier is
doubtful; but unfortunately for the negotiation, it was abruptly
terminated by the death of Espinosa himself, which took place
most unexpectedly, though, strange to say, in those times,
without the imputation of poison. *20 He was a great loss to the
parties in the existing fermentation of their minds; for he had
the weight of character which belongs to wise and moderate
counsels, and a deeper interest than any other man in
recommending them.

[Footnote 20: Carta de Pizarro al Obispo de Tierra Firme, Ms. -
Herrera, Hist. General, dec. 6, lib. 2, cap. 13. - Carta de
Espinall, Ms.]
The name of Espinosa is memorable in history from his early
connection with the expedition to Peru, which, but for the
seasonable, though secret, application of his funds, could not
then have been compassed. He had long been a resident in the
Spanish colonies of Tierra Firme and Panama, where he had served
in various capacities, sometimes as a legal functionary presiding
in the courts of justice, *21 and not unfrequently as an
efficient leader in the early expeditions of conquest and
discovery. In these manifold vocations he acquired high
reputation for probity, intelligence, and courage, and his death
at the present crisis was undoubtedly the most unfortunate event
that could befall the country.

[Footnote 21: He incurred some odium as presiding officer in the
trial and condemnation of the unfortunate Vasco Nunez de Balboa.
But it must be allowed, that he made great efforts to resist the
tyrannical proceedings of Pedrarias, and he earnestly recommended
the prisoner to mercy. See Herrera, Hist. General, dec. 2, lib.
2, cap. 21, 22.]

All attempt at negotiation was now abandoned; and Almagro
announced his purpose to descend to the sea-coast, where he could
plant a colony and establish a port for himself. This would
secure him the means, so essential, of communication with the
mother-country, and here he would resume negotiations for the
settlement of his dispute with Pizarro. Before quitting Cuzco, he
sent Orgonez with a strong force against the Inca, not caring to
leave the capital exposed in his absence to further annoyance
from that quarter.

But the Inca, discouraged by his late discomfiture, and unable,
perhaps, to rally in sufficient strength for resistance,
abandoned his strong-hold at Tambo, and retreated across the
mountains. He was hotly pursued by Orgonez over hill and valley,
till, deserted by his followers, and with only one of his wives
to bear him company, the royal fugitive took shelter in the
remote fastnesses of the Andes. *22

[Footnote 22: Pedro Pizarro, Descub. y Conq., Ms. - Conq. i Pob.
de Piru Ms.]

Before leaving the capital, Orgonez again urged his commander to
strike off the heads of the Pizarros, and then march at once upon
Lima. By this decisive step he would bring the war to an issue,
and for ever secure himself from the insidious machinations of
his enemies. But, in the mean time, a new friend had risen up to
the captive brothers. This was Diego de Alvarado, brother of
that Pedro, who, as mentioned in a preceding chapter, had
conducted the unfortunate expedition to Quito. After his
brother's departure, Diego had attached himself to the fortunes
of Almagro, had accompanied him to Chili, and, as he was a
cavalier of birth, and possessed of some truly noble qualities,
he had gained deserved ascendency over his commander. Alvarado
had frequently visited Hernando Pizarro in his confinement,
where, to beguile the tediousness of captivity, he amused himself
with gaming, - the passion of the Spaniard. They played deep, and
Alvarado lost the enormous sum of eighty thousand gold
castellanos. He was prompt in paying the debt, but Hernando
Pizarro peremptorily declined to receive the money. By this
politic generosity, he secured an important advocate in the
council of Almagro. It stood him now in good stead. Alvarado
represented to the marshal, that such a measure as that urged by
Orgonez would not only outrage the feelings of his followers, but
would ruin his fortunes by the indignation it must excite at
court. When Almagro acquiesced in these views, as in truth most
grateful to his own nature, Orgonez, chagrined at his
determination, declared that the day would come when he would
repent this mistaken lenity. "A Pizarro," he said, "was never
known to forget an injury; and that which they had already
received from Almagro was too deep for them to forgive."
Prophetic words!

On leaving Cuzco, the marshal gave orders that Gonzalo Pizarro
and the other prisoners should be detained in strict custody.
Hernando he took with him, closely guarded, on his march.
Descending rapidly towards the coast, he reached the pleasant
vale of Chincha in the latter part of August. Here he occupied
himself with laying the foundations of a town bearing his own
name, which might serve as a counterpart to the City of the
Kings, - thus bidding defiance, as it were, to his rival on his
own borders. While occupied in this manner, he received the
unwelcome tidings, that Gonzalo Pizarro, Alonso de Alvarado, and
the other prisoners, having tampered with their guards, had
effected their escape from Cuzco, and he soon after heard of
their safe arrival in the camp of Pizarro.

Chafed by this intelligence, the marshal was not soothed by the
insinuations of Orgonez, that it was owing to his ill-advised
lenity; and it might have gone hard with Hernando, but that
Almagro's attention was diverted by the negotiation which
Francisco Pizarro now proposed to resume.

After some correspondence between the parties, it was agreed to
submit the arbitration of the dispute to a single individual,
Fray Francisco de Bovadilla, a Brother of the Order of Mercy.
Though living in Lima, and, as might be supposed, under the
influence of Pizarro, he had a reputation for integrity that
disposed Almagro to confide the settlement of the question
exclusively to him. In this implicit confidence in the friar's
impartiality, Orgonez, of a less sanguine temper than his chief,
did not participate. *23

[Footnote 23: Carta de Gutierrez al Emperador, Ms., 10 de Feb.
1539. - Carta de Espinall, Ms. - Oviedo, Hist. de las Ind., Ms.,
ubi supra. - Herrera, Hist. General, dec. 6 lib. 2, cap. 8-14. -
Pedro Pizarro, Descub. y. Conq., Ms. - Zarate, Conq. del Peru,
lib. 3, cap. 8. - Naharro, Relacion Sumaria, Ms.]

An interview was arranged between the rival chiefs. It took
place at Mala, November 13th, 1537; but very different was the
deportment of the two commanders towards each other from that
which they had exhibited at their former meetings. Almagro,
indeed, doffing his bonnet, advanced in his usual open manner to
salute his ancient comrade; but Pizarro, hardly condescending to
return the salute, haughtily demanded why the marshal had seized
upon his city of Cuzco, and imprisoned his brothers. This led to
a recrimination on the part of his associate. The discussion
assumed the tone of an angry altercation, till Almagro, taking a
hint - or what he conceived to be such - from an attendant, that
some treachery was intended, abruptly quitted the apartment,
mounted his horse, and galloped back to his quarters at Chincha.
*24 The conference closed, as might have been anticipated from
the heated temper of their minds when they began it, by widening
the breach it was intended to heal. The friar, now left wholly
to himself, after some deliberation, gave his award. He decided
that a vessel, with a skilful pilot on board, should be sent to
determine the exact latitude of the river of Santiago, the
northern boundary of Pizarro's territory, by which all the
measurements were to be regulated. In the mean time, Cuzco was to
be delivered up by Almagro, and Hernando Pizarro to be set at
liberty, on condition of his leaving the country in six weeks for
Spain. Both parties were to retire within their undisputed
territories, and to abandon all further hostilities. *25

[Footnote 24: It was said that Gonzalo Pizarro lay in ambush with
a strong force in the neighbourhood to intercept the marshal, and
that the latter was warned of his danger by an honorable cavalier
of the opposite party, who repeated a distich of an old ballad,

"Tiempo es el Caballero
Tiempo es de andar de aqui."

(Herrera, Hist. General, dec. 6, lib. 3, cap. 4.) Pedro Pizarro
admits the truth of the design imputed to Gonzalo, which he was
prevented from putting into execution by the commands of the
governor, who, the chronicler, with edifying simplicity, or
assurance, informs us, was a man that scrupulously kept his word.
"Porque el marquez don Francisco Picarro hera hombre que guardava
mucho su palabra." Descub. y Conq., Ms.]

[Footnote 25: Pedro Pizarro, Descub. y Conq., Ms. - Carta de
Espinall, Ms.]
This award, as may be supposed, highly satisfactory to Pizarro,
was received by Almagro's men with indignation and scorn. They
had been sold, they cried, by their general, broken, as he was,
by age and infirmities. Their enemies were to occupy Cuzco and
its pleasant places, while they were to be turned over to the
barren wilderness of Charcas. Little did they dream that under
this poor exterior were hidden the rich treasures of Potosi.
They denounced the umpire as a hireling of the governor, and
murmurs were heard among the troops, stimulated by Orgonez,
demanding the head of Hernando. Never was that cavalier in
greater danger. But his good genius in the form of Alvarado
again interposed to protect him. His life in captivity was a
succession of reprieves. *26