History Of The Conquest Of Peru

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Pizarro, meanwhile, forming his little corps into three divisions, now
moved forward, at a more measured pace, and in order of battle, down
the slopes that led towards the Indian city. As he drew near, no one
came out to welcome him; and he rode through the streets without
meeting with a living thing, or hearing a sound, except the echoes, sent
back from the deserted dwellings, of the tramp of the soldiery.

It was a place of considerable size, containing about ten thousand
inhabitants, somewhat more, probably, than the population assembled at
this day within the walls of the modern city of Caxamalca.10 The
houses, for the most part, were built of clay, hardened in the sun; the
roofs thatched, or of timber. Some of the more ambitious dwellings were
of hewn stone; and there was a convent in the place, occupied by the
Virgins of the Sun, and a temple dedicated to the same tutelar deity,
which last was hidden in the deep embowering shades of a grove on the
skirts of the city. On the quarter towards the Indian camp was a square--
if square it might be called, which was almost triangular in form---of an
immense size, surrounded by low buildings. These consisted of
capacious halls, with wide doors or openings communicating with the
square. They were probably intended as a sort of barracks for the Inca's
soldiers.11 At the end of the plaza, looking towards the country, was a
fortress of stones with a stairway leading from the city, and a private
entrance from the adjoining suburbs. There was still another fortress on
the rising ground which commanded the town, built of hewn stone, and
encompassed by three circular walls,--or rather one and the same wall,
which wound up spirally around it. It was a place of great strength, and
the workmanship showed a better knowledge of masonry, and gave a
higher impression of the architectural science of the people, than
anything the Spaniards had yet seen.12

It was late in the afternoon of the fifteenth of November, 1532, when the
Conquerors entered the city of Caxamalca. The weather, which had been
fair during the day, now threatened a storm, and some rain mingled with
hail--for it was unusually cold--began to fall.13 Pizarro, however, was
so anxious to ascertain the dispositions of the Inca, that he determined to
send an embassy, at once, to his quarters. He selected for this, Hernando
de Soto with fifteen horse, and, after his departure, conceiving that the
number was too small, in case of any unfriendly demonstrations by the
Indians, he ordered his brother Hernando to follow with twenty
additional troopers. This captain and one other of his party have left us
an account of the excursion.14

Between the city and the imperial camp was a causeway, built in a
substantial manner across the meadow land that intervened. Over this
the cavalry galloped at a rapid pace, and, before they had gone a league,
they came in front of the Peruvian encampment, where it spread along
the gentle slope of the mountains. The lances of the warriors were fixed
in the ground before their tents, and the Indian soldiers were loitering
without, gazing with silent astonishment at the Christian cavalcade, as
with clangor of arms and shrill blast of trumpet it swept by, like some
fearful apparition, on the wings of the wind.

The party soon came to a broad but shallow stream, which, winding
through the meadow, formed a defence for the Inca's position. Across it
was a wooden bridge; but the cavaliers, distrusting its strength, preferred
to dash through the waters, and without difficulty gained the opposite
bank. At battalion of Indian warriors was drawn up under arms on the
farther side of the bridge, but they offered no molestation to the
Spaniards; and these latter had strict orders from Pizarro--scarcely
necessary in their present circumstances--to treat the natives with
courtesy. One of the Indians pointed out the quarter occupied by the
Inca.15

It was an open court-yard, with a light building or pleasure-house in the
centre, having galleries running around it, and opening in the rear on a
garden. The walls were covered with a shining plaster, both white and
colored, and in the area before the edifice was seen a spacious tank or
reservoir of stone, fed by aqueducts that supplied it with both warm and
cold water.16 A basin of hewn stone--it may be of a more recent
construction--still bears, on the spot, the name of the "Inca's bath." 17
The court was filled with Indian nobles, dressed in gayly ornamented
attire, in attendance on the monarch, and with women of the royal
household. Amidst this assembly it was not difficult to distinguish the
person of Atahuallpa, though his dress was simpler than that of his
attendants. But he wore on his head the crimson borla or fringe, which,
surrounding the forehead, hung down as low as the eyebrow. This was
the well-known badge of Peruvian sovereignty, and had been assumed by
the monarch only since the defeat of his brother Huascar. He was seated
on a low stool or cushion, somewhat after the Morisco or Turkish
fashion, and his nobles and principal officers stood around him, with
great ceremony, holding the stations suited to their rank.18

The Spaniards gazed with much interest on the prince, of whose cruelty
and cunning they had heard so much, and whose valor had secured to
him the possession of the empire. But his countenance exhibited
neither the fierce passions nor the sagacity which had been ascribed to
him; and, though in his bearing he showed a gravity and a calm
consciousness of authority well becoming a king, he seemed to discharge
all expression from his features, and to discover only the apathy so
characteristic of the American races. On the present occasion, this must
have been in part, at least, assumed. For it is impossible that the Indian
prince should not have contemplated with curious interest a spectacle so
strange, and, in some respects, appalling, as that of these mysterious
strangers, for which no previous description could have prepared him.

Hernando Pizarro and Soto, with two or three only of their followers,
slowly rode up in front of the Inca; and the former, making a respectful
obeisance, but without dismounting, informed Atahuallpa that he came
as an ambassador from his brother, the commander of the white men, to
acquaint the monarch with their arrival in his city of Caxamalca. They
were the subjects of a mighty prince across the waters, and had come, he
said, drawn thither by the report of his great victories, to offer their
services, and to impart to him the doctrines of the true faith which they
professed; and he brought an invitation from the general to Atahuallpa
that the latter would be pleased to visit the Spaniards in their present
quarters.

To all this the Inca answered not a word; nor did he make even a sign of
acknowledgment that he comprehended it; though it was translated for
him by Felipillo, one of the interpreters already noticed. He remained
silent, with his eyes fastened on the ground; but one of his nobles,
standing by his side, answered, "It is well." 19 This was an embarrassing
situation for the Spaniards, who seemed to be as wide from ascertaining
the real disposition of the Peruvian monarch towards themselves, as
when the mountains were between them.

In a courteous and respectful manner, Hernando Pizarro again broke the
silence by requesting the Inca to speak to them himself, and to inform
them what was his pleasure.20 To this Atahuallpa condescended to
reply, while a faint smile passed over his features,--"Tell your captain
that I am keeping a fast, which will end tomorrow morning. I will then
visit him, with my chieftains. In the meantime, let him occupy the public
buildings on the square, and no other, till I come, when I will order what
shall be done." 21

Soto, one of the party present at this interview, as before noticed, was the
best mounted and perhaps the best rider in Pizarro's troop. Observing
that Atahuallpa looked with some interest on the fiery steed that stood
before him, champing the bit and pawing the ground with the natural
impatience of a war-horse, the Spaniard gave him the rein, and, striking
his iron heel into his side, dashed furiously over the plain; then, wheeling
him round and round, displayed all the beautiful movements of his
charger, and his own excellent horsemanship. Suddenly checking him in
full career, he brought the animal almost on his haunches, so near the
person of the Inca, that some of the foam that flecked his horse's sides
was thrown on the royal garments. But Atahuallpa maintained the same
marble composure as before, though several of his soldiers, whom De
Soto passed in the course, were so much disconcerted by it, that they
drew back in manifest terror; an act of timidity for which they paid
dearly, if, as the Spaniards assert, Atahuallpa caused them to be put to
death that same evening for betraying such unworthy weakness to the
strangers.22

Refreshments were now offered by the royal attendants to the Spaniards,
which they declined, being unwilling to dismount. They did not refuse,
however, to quaff the sparkling chicha from golden vases of
extraordinary size, presented to them by the dark-eyed beauties of the
harem.23 Taking then a respectful leave of the Inca, the cavaliers rode
back to Caxamalca, with many moody speculations on what they had
seen; on the state and opulence of the Indian monarch; on the strength of
his military array, their excellent appointments, and the apparent
discipline in their ranks,--all arguing a much higher degree of
civilization, and consequently of power, than anything they had
witnessed in the lower regions of the country. As they contrasted all
this with their own diminutive force, too far advanced, as they now were,
for succour to reach them, they felt they had done rashly in throwing
themselves into the midst of so formidable an empire, and were filled
with gloomy forebodings of the result.24 Their comrades in the camp
soon caught the infectious spirit of despondency, which was not lessened
as night came on, and they beheld the watch-fires of the Peruvians
lighting up the sides of the mountains, and glittering in the darkness, "as
thick," says one who saw them, "as the stars of heaven." 25

Yet there was one bosom in that little host which was not touched with
the feeling either of fear or dejection. That was Pizarro's, who secretly
rejoiced that he had now brought matters to the issue for which he had so
long panted. He saw the necessity of kindling a similar feeling in his
followers, or all would be lost. Without unfolding his plans, he went
round among his men, beseeching them not to show faint hearts at this
crisis, when they stood face to face with the foe whom they had been so
long seeking. "They were to rely on themselves, and on that Providence
which had carried them safe through so many fearful trials. It would not
now desert them; and if numbers, however great, were on the side of
their enemy, it mattered little when the arm of Heaven was on theirs." 26
The Spanish cavalier acted under the combined influence of chivalrous
adventure and religious zeal. The latter was the most effective in the
hour of peril; and Pizarro, who understood well the characters he had to
deal with, by presenting the enterprise as a crusade, kindled the dying
embers of enthusiasm in the bosoms of his followers, and restored their
faltering courage.

He then summoned a council of his officers, to consider the plan of
operations, or rather to propose to them the extraordinary plan on which
he had himself decided. This was to lay an ambuscade for the Inca, and
take him prisoner in the face of his whole army! It was a project full of
peril,--bordering, as it might well seem, on desperation. But the
circumstances of the Spaniards were desperate. Whichever way they
turned, they were menaced by the most appalling dangers; and better was
it bravely to confront the danger, than weakly to shrink from it, when
there was no avenue for escape.

To fly was now too late. Whither could they fly? At the first signal of
retreat, the whole army of the Inca would be upon them. Their
movements would be anticipated by a foe far better acquainted with the
intricacies of the sierra than themselves; the passes would be occupied,
and they would be hemmed in on all sides; while the mere fact of this
retrograde movement would diminish the confidence and with it the
effective strength of his own men, while it doubled that of his enemy.

Yet to remain long inactive in his present position seemed almost equally
perilous. Even supposing that Atahuallpa should entertain friendly
feelings towards the Christians, they could not confide in the continuance
of such feelings. Familiarity with the white men would soon destroy the
idea of anything supernatural, or even superior, in their natures. He
would feel contempt for their diminutive numbers. Their horses, their
arms and showy appointments, would be an attractive bait in the eye of
the barbaric monarch, and when conscious that he had the power to crush
their possessors, he would not be slow in finding a pretext for it. A
sufficient one had already occurred in the high-handed measures of the
Conquerors, on their march through his dominions.

But what reason had they to flatter themselves that the Inca cherished
such a disposition towards them? He was a crafty and unscrupulous
prince, and, if the accounts they had repeatedly received on their march
were true, had ever regarded the coming of the Spaniards with an evil
eye. It was scarcely possible he should do otherwise. His soft messages
had only been intended to decoy them across the mountains, where, with
the aid of his warriors, he might readily overpower them. They were
entangled in the toils which the cunning monarch had spread for them.

Their only remedy, then, was to turn the Inca's arts against himself; to
take him, if possible, in his own snare. There was no time to be lost; for
any day might bring back the victorious legions who had recently won
his battles at the south, and thus make the odds against the Spaniards far
greater than now.

Yet to encounter Atahuallpa in the open field would be attended with
great hazard; and even if victorious, there would be little probability that
the person of the Inca, of so much importance, would fall into the hands
of the victors. The invitation he had so unsuspiciously accepted to visit
them in their quarters afforded the best means for securing this desirable
prize. Nor was the enterprise so desperate, considering the great
advantages afforded by the character and weapons of the invaders, and
the unexpectedness of the assault. The mere circumstance of acting on a
concerted plan would alone make a small number more than a match for
a much larger one. But it was not necessary to admit the whole of the
Indian force into the city before the attack; and the person of the Inca
once secured, his followers, astounded by so strange an event, were they
few or many, would have no heart for further resistance;--and with the
Inca once in his power, Pizarro might dictate laws to the empire.

In this daring project of the Spanish chief, it was easy to see that he had
the brilliant exploit of Cortes in his mind, when he carried off the Aztec
monarch in his capital. But that was not by violence,--at least not by
open violence,--and it received the sanction, compulsory though it were,
of the monarch himself. It was also true that the results in that case did
not altogether justify a repetition of the experiment; since the people rose
in a body to sacrifice both the prince and his kidnappers. Yet this was
owing, in part, at least, to the indiscretion of the latter. The experiment
in the outset was perfectly successful; and, could Pizarro once become
master of the person of Atahuallpa, he trusted to his own discretion for
the rest. It would, at least, extricate him from his present critical
position, by placing in his power an inestimable guaranty for his safety;
and if he could not make his own terms with the Inca at once, the arrival
of reinforcements from home would, in all probability, soon enable him
to do so.

Pizarro having concerted his plans for the following day, the council
broke up, and the chief occupied himself with providing for the security
of the camp during the night. The approaches to the town were
defended; sentinels were posted at different points, especially on the
summit of the fortress, where they were to observe the position of the
enemy, and to report any movement that menaced the tranquillity of the
night. After these precautions, the Spanish commander and his followers
withdrew to their appointed quarters,--but not to sleep. At least, sleep
must have come late to those who were aware of the decisive plan for the
morrow; that morrow which was to be the crisis of their fate,--to crown
their ambitious schemes with full success, or consign them to
irretrievable ruin!

Book 3

Chapter 5

Desperate Plan Of Pizarro--Atahuallpa Visits The Spaniards--
Horrible Massacre--The Inca A Prisoner--Conduct Of The Conquerors--
Splendid Promises Of The Inca--Death Of Huascar

1532

The clouds of the evening had passed away, and the sun rose bright on
the following morning, the most memorable epoch in the annals of Peru.
It was Saturday, the sixteenth of November, 1532. The loud cry of the
trumpet called the Spaniards to arms with the first streak of dawn; and
Pizarro, briefly acquainting them with the plan of the assault, made the
necessary dispositions.

The plaza, as mentioned in the preceding chapter, was defended on its
three sides by low ranges of buildings, consisting of spacious halls with
wide doors or vomitories opening into the square. In these halls he
stationed his cavalry in two divisions, one under his brother Hernando,
the other under De Soto. The infantry he placed in another of the
buildings, reserving twenty chosen men to act with himself as occasion
might require. Pedro de Candia, with a few soldiers and the artillery,--
comprehending under this imposing name two small pieces of ordnance,
called falconers,---he established in the fortress. All received orders to
wait at their posts till the arrival of the Inca. After his entrance into the
great square, they were still to remain under cover, withdrawn from
observation, till the signal was given by the discharge of a gun, when
they were to cry their war-cries, to rush out in a body from their covert,
and, putting the Peruvians to the sword, bear off the person of the Inca.
The arrangement of the immense hails, opening on a level with the plaza,
seemed to be contrived on purpose for a coup de theatre. Pizarro
particularly inculcated order and implicit obedience, that in the hurry of
the moment there should be no confusion. Everything depended on their
acting with concert, coolness, and celerity.1

The chief next saw that their arms were in good order; and that the
breastplates of their horses were garnished with bells, to add by their
noise to the consternation of the Indians. Refreshments were, also,
liberally provided, that the troops should be in condition for the conflict.
These arrangements being completed, mass was performed with great
solemnity by the ecclesiastics who attended the expedition; the God of
battles was invoked to spread his shield over the soldiers who were
fighting to extend the empire of the Cross; and all joined with enthusiasm
in the chant, "Exsurge, Domine," "Rise, O Lord! and judge thine own
cause."2 One might have supposed them a company of martyrs, about to
lay down their lives in defence of their faith, instead of a licentious band
of adventurers, meditating one of the most atrocious acts of perfidy on
the record of history! Yet, whatever were the vices of the Castilian
cavalier, hypocrisy was not among the number. He felt that he was
battling for the Cross, and under this conviction, exalted as it was at such
a moment as this into the predominant impulse, he was blind to the baser
motives which mingled with the enterprise. With feelings thus kindled to
a flame of religious ardor, the soldiers of Pizarro looked forward with
renovated spirits to the coming conflict; and the chieftain saw with
satisfaction, that in the hour of trial his men would be true to their leader
and themselves.

It was late in the day before any movement was visible in the Peruvian
camp, where much preparation was making to approach the Christian
quarters with due state and ceremony. A message was received from
Atahuallpa, informing the Spanish commander that he should come with
his warriors fully armed, in the same manner as the Spaniards had come
to his quarters the night preceding. This was not an agreeable intimation
to Pizarro, though he had no reason, probably, to expect the contrary.
But to object might imply distrust, or, perhaps, disclose, in some
measure, his own designs. He expressed his satisfaction, therefore, at the
intelligence, assuring the Inca, that, come as he would, he would be
received by him as a friend and brother.3

It was noon before the Indian procession was on its march, when it was
seen occupying the great causeway for a long extent. In front came a
large body of attendants, whose office seemed to be to sweep away every
particle of rubbish from the road. High above the crowd appeared the
Inca, borne on the shoulders of his principal nobles, while others of the
same rank marched by the sides of his litter, displaying such a dazzling
show of ornaments on their persons, that, in the language of one of the
Conquerors, "they blazed like the sun." 4 But the greater part of the
Inca's forces mustered along the fields that lined the road, and were
spread over the broad meadows as far as the eye could reach.5

When the royal procession had arrived within half a mile of the city, it
came to a halt; and Pizarro saw with surprise that Atahuallpa was
preparing to pitch his tents, as if to encamp there. A messenger soon
after arrived, informing the Spaniards that the Inca would occupy his
present station the ensuing night, and enter the city on the following
morning.

This intelligence greatly disturbed Pizarro, who had shared in the general
impatience of his men at the tardy movements of the Peruvians. The
troops had been under arms since daylight, the cavalry mounted, and the
infantry at their post, waiting in silence the coming of the Inca. A
profound stillness reigned throughout the town, broken only at intervals by
the cry of the sentinel from the summit of the fortress, as he proclaimed
the movements of the Indian army. Nothing, Pizarro well knew, was so
trying to the soldier as prolonged suspense, in a critical situation like the
present; and he feared lest his ardor might evaporate, and be succeeded
by that nervous feeling natural to the bravest soul at such a crisis, and
which, if not fear, is near akin to it.6 He returned an answer, therefore,
to Atahuallpa, deprecating his change of purpose; and adding that he had
provided everything for his entertainment, and expected him that night to
sup with him.7

This message turned the Inca from his purpose; and, striking his tents
again, he resumed his march, first advising the general that he should
leave the greater part of his warriors behind, and enter the place with
only a few of them, and without arms,8 as he preferred to pass the night
at Caxamalca. At the same time he ordered accommodations to be
provided for himself, and his retinue in one of the large stone buildings,
called, from a serpent sculptured on the walls, "the House of the
Serpent."9 --No tidings could have been more grateful to the Spaniards.
It seemed as if the Indian monarch was eager to rush into the snare that
had beer spread for him! The fanatical cavalier could not fail to discern
in it the immediate finger of Providence.

It is difficult to account for this wavering conduct of Atahuallpa, so
different from the bold and decided character which history ascribes to
him. There is no doubt that he made his visit to the white men in perfect
good faith; though Pizarro was probably right in conjecturing that this
amiable disposition stood on a very precarious footing. There is as little
reason to suppose that he distrusted the sincerity of the strangers; or he
would not thus unnecessarily have proposed to visit them unarmed. His
original purpose of coming with all his force was doubtless to display his
royal state, and perhaps, also, to show greater respect for the Spaniards;
but when he consented to accept their hospitality, and pass the night in
their quarters, he was willing to dispense with a great part of his armed
soldiery, and visit them in a manner that implied entire confidence in
their good faith. He was too absolute in his own empire easily to
suspect; and he probably could not comprehend the audacity with which
a few men, like those now assembled in Caxamalca, meditated an assault
on a powerful monarch in the midst of his victorious army. He did not
know the character of the Spaniard.