History Of The Conquest Of Peru

W >> William Hickling Prescott >> History Of The Conquest Of Peru

Pages:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 48 | 49 | 50 | 51

Pizarro did not neglect the opportunity afforded him of communicating
the truths of revelation to his prisoner, and both he and his chaplain,
Father Valverde, labored in the same good work. Atahuallpa listened
with composure and apparent attention. But nothing seemed to move
him so much as the argument with which the military polemic closed his
discourse,--that it could not be the true God whom Atahuallpa
worshipped, since he had suffered him to fall into the hands of his
enemies. The unhappy monarch assented to the force of this,
acknowledging that his Deity had indeed deserted him in his utmost
need.44

Yet his conduct towards his brother Huascar, at this time, too clearly
proves, that, whatever respect he may have shown for the teachers, the
doctrines of Christianity had made little impression on his heart. No
sooner had Huascar been informed of the capture of his rival, and of the
large ransom he had offered for his deliverance, than, as the latter had
foreseen, he made every effort to regain his liberty, and sent, or
attempted to send, a message to the Spanish commander, that he would
pay a much larger ransom than that promised by Atahuallpa, who, never
having dwelt in Cuzco, was ignorant of the quantity of treasure there, and
where it was deposited.

Intelligence of all this was secretly communicated to Atahuallpa by the
persons who had his brother in charge; and his jealousy, thus roused, was
further heightened by Pizarro's declaration, that he intended to have
Hauscar brought to Caxamalca, where he would himself examine into the
controversy, and determine which of the two had best title to the sceptre
of the Incas. Pizarro perceived, from the first, the advantages of a
competition which would enable him, by throwing his sword into the
scale he preferred, to give it a preponderance. The party who held the
sceptre by his nomination would henceforth be a tool in his hands, with
which to work his pleasure more effectually than he could well do in his
own name. It was the game, as every reader knows, played by Edward
the First in the affairs of Scotland, and by many a monarch, both before
and since,--and though their examples may not have been familiar to the
unlettered soldier, Pizarro was too quick in his perceptions to require, in
this matter, at least, the teachings of history.

Atahuallpa was much alarmed by the Spanish commander's
determination to have the suit between the rival candidates brought
before him; for he feared, that, independently of the merits of the case,
the decision would be likely to go in favor of Huascar, whose mild and
ductile temper would make him a convenient instrument in the hands of
his conquerors. Without further hesitation, he determined to remove this
cause of jealousy for ever, by the death of his brother.

His orders were immediately executed, and the unhappy prince was
drowned, as was commonly reported, in the river of Andamarca,
declaring with his dying breath that the white men would avenge his
murder, and that his rival would not long survive him.45--Thus perished
the unfortunate Huascar, the legitimate heir of the throne of the Incas, in
the very morning of life, and the commencement of his reign; a reign,
however, which had been long enough to call forth the display of many
excellent and amiable qualities, though his nature was too gentle to cope
with the bold and fiercer temper of his brother. Such is the portrait we
have of him from the Indian and Castilian chroniclers, though the former,
it should be added, were the kinsmen of Huascar, and the latter certainly
bore no good-will to Atahuallpa.46

That prince received the tidings of Huascar's death with every mark of
surprise and indignation. He immediately sent for Pizarro, and
communicated the event to him with expressions of the deepest sorrow.
The Spanish commander refused, at first, to credit the unwelcome news,
and bluntly told the Inca, that his brother could not be dead, and that he
should be answerable for his life.47 To this Atahuallpa replied by
renewed assurances of the fact, adding that the deed had been
perpetrated, without his privity, by Huascar's keepers, fearful that he
might take advantage of the troubles of the country to make his escape.
Pizarro, on making further inquiries, found that the report of his death
was but too true. That it should have been brought about by Atahuallpa's
officers, without his express command, would only show, that, by so
doing, they had probably anticipated their master's wishes. The crime,
which assumes in our eyes a deeper dye from the relation of the parties,
had not the same estimation among the Incas, in whose multitudinous
families the bonds of brotherhood must have sat loosely,--much too
loosely to restrain the arm of the despot from sweeping away any
obstacle that lay in his path.

Book 3

Chapter 6

Gold Arrives For The Ransom--Visit To Pachacamac--
Demolition Of The Idol-- The Inca's Favorite General--
The Inca's Life In Confinement--Envoys' Conduct In Cuzco--
Arrival Of Almagro

1533

Several weeks had now passed since Atahuallpa's emissaries had been
despatched for the gold and silver that were to furnish his ransom to the
Spaniards. But the distances were great, and the returns came in slowly.
They consisted, for the most part, of massive pieces of plate, some of
which weighed two or three arrobas,--a Spanish weight of twenty-five
pounds. On some days, articles of the value of thirty or forty thousand
pesos de oro were brought in, and, occasionally, of the value of fifty or
even sixty thousand pesos. The greedy eyes of the Conquerors gloated
on the shining heaps of treasure, which were transported on the shoulders
of the Indian porters, and, after being carefully registered, were placed in
safe deposit under a strong guard. They now began to believe that the
magnificent promises of the Inca would be fulfilled. But, as their avarice
was sharpened by the ravishing display of wealth, such as they had
hardly dared to imagine, they became more craving and impatient. They
made no allowance for the distance and the difficulties of the way, and
loudly inveighed against the tardiness with which the royal commands
were executed. They even suspected Atahuallpa of devising this scheme
only to gain a pretext for communicating with his subjects in distant
places, and of proceeding as dilatorily as possible, in order to secure
time for the execution of his plans. Rumors of a rising among the
Peruvians were circulated, and the Spaniards were in apprehension of
some general and sudden assault on their quarters. Their new
acquisitions gave them additional cause for solicitude; like a miser, they
trembled in the midst of their treasures.1

Pizarro reported to his captive the rumors that were in circulation among
the soldiers, naming, as one of the places pointed out for the rendezvous
of the Indians, the neighboring city of Guamachucho. Atahuallpa
listened with undisguised astonishment, and indignantly repelled the
charge, as false from beginning to end. "No one of my subjects," said
he, "would dare to appear in arms, or to raise his finger, without my
orders. You have me," he continued, "in your power. Is not my life at
your disposal? And what better security can you have for my fidelity?"
He then represented to the Spanish commander that the distances of
many of the places were very great; that to Cuzco, the capital, although a
message might be sent by post, through a succession of couriers, in five
days from Caxamalca, it would require weeks for a porter to travel over
the same ground, with a heavy load on his back. "But that you may be
satisfied I am proceeding in good faith," he added, "I desire you will
send some of your own people to Cuzco. I will give them a safe-
conduct, and, when there, they can superintend the execution of the
commission, and see with their own eyes that no hostile movements are
intended." It was a fair offer, and Pizarro, anxious to get more precise
and authentic information of the state of the country, gladly availed
himself of it.2

Before the departure of these emissaries, the general had despatched his
brother Hernando with about twenty horse and a small body of infantry
to the neighboring town of Guamachucho, in order to reconnoitre the
country, and ascertain if there was any truth in the report of an armed
force having assembled there. Hernando found every thing quiet, and
met with a kind reception from the natives. But before leaving the place,
he received further orders from his brother to continue his march to
Pachacamac, a town situated on the coast, at least a hundred leagues
distant from Caxamalca. It was consecrated at the seat of the great
temple of the deity of that name, whom the Peruvians worshipped as the
Creator of the world. It is said that they found there altars raised to this
god, on their first occupation of the country; and, such was the
veneration in which he was held by the natives, that the Incas, instead of
attempting to abolish his worship, deemed it more prudent to sanction it
conjointly with that of their own deity, the Sun. Side by side, the two
temples rose on the heights that overlooked the city of Pachacamac, and
prospered in the offerings of their respective votaries. "It was a cunning
arrangement," says an ancient writer, "by which the great enemy of man
secured to himself a double harvest of souls." 3

But the temple of Pachacamac continued to maintain its ascendency; and
the oracles, delivered from its dark and mysterious shrine, were held in
no less repute among the natives of Tavantinsuyu, (or "the four quarters
of the world," as Peru under the Incas was called,) than the oracles of
Delphi obtained among the Greeks. Pilgrimages were made to the
hallowed spot from the most distant regions, and the city of Pachacamac
became among the Peruvians what Mecca was among the Mahometans,
or Cholula with the people of Anahuac. The shrine of the deity, enriched
by the tributes of the pilgrims, gradually became one of the most opulent
in the land; and Atahuallpa, anxious to collect his ransom as speedily as
possible, urged Pizarro to send a detachment in that direction, to secure
the treasures before they could be secreted by the priests of the temple.

It was a journey of considerable difficulty. Two thirds of the route lay
along the table-land of the Cordilleras, intersected occasionally by crests
of the mountain range, that imposed no slight impediment to their
progress. Fortunately, much of the way, they had the benefit of the great
road to Cuzco, and "nothing in Christendom," exclaims Hernando
Pizarro, "equals the magnificence of this road across the sierra."4 In
some places, the rocky ridges were so precipitous, that steps were cut in
them for the travellers; and though the sides were protected by heavy
stone balustrades or parapets, it was with the greatest difficulty that the
horses were enabled to scale them. The road was frequently crossed by
streams, over which bridges of wood and sometimes of stone were
thrown; though occasionally, along the declivities of the mountains, the
waters swept down in such furious torrents, that the only method of
passing them was by the swinging bridges of osier, of which, till now, the
Spaniards had had little experience. They were secured on either bank to
heavy buttresses of stone. But as they were originally designed for
nothing heavier than the foot-passenger and the llama, and, as they had
something exceedingly fragile in their appearance, the Spaniards
hesitated to venture on them with their horses. Experience, however,
soon showed they were capable of bearing a much greater weight; and
though the traveller, made giddy by the vibration of the long avenue,
looked with a reeling brain into the torrent that was tumbling at the depth
of a hundred feet or more below him, the whole of the cavalry effected
their passage without an accident. At these bridges, it may be remarked,
they found persons stationed whose business it was to collect toll for the
government from all travellers.5

The Spaniards were amazed by the number as well as magnitude of the
flocks of llamas which they saw browsing on the stunted herbage that
grows in the elevated regions of the Andes. Sometimes they were
gathered in inclosures, but more usually were roaming at large under the
conduct of their Indian shepherds; and the Conquerors now learned, for
the first time, that these animals were tended with as much care, and their
migrations as nicely regulated, as those of the vast flocks of merinos in
their own country.6

The table-land and its declivities were thickly sprinkled with hamlets and
towns, some of them of considerable size; and the country in every
direction bore the marks of a thrifty husbandry. Fields of Indian corn
were to be seen in all its different stages, from the green and tender ear
to the yellow ripeness of harvest time. As they descended into the
valleys and deep ravines that divided the crests of the Cordilleras, they
were surrounded by the vegetation of a warmer climate, which delighted
the eye with the gay livery of a thousand bright colors, and intoxicated
the senses with its perfumes. Everywhere the natural capacities of the
soil were stimulated by a minute system of irrigation, which drew the
fertilizing moisture from every stream and rivulet that rolled down the
declivities of the Andes; while the terraced sides of the mountains were
clothed with gardens and orchards that teemed with fruits of various
latitudes. The Spaniards could not sufficiently admire the industry with
which the natives had availed themselves of the bounty of Nature, or had
supplied the deficiency where she had dealt with a more parsimonious
hand.

Whether from the commands of the Inca, or from the awe which their
achievements had spread throughout the land, the Conquerors were
received, in every place through which they passed, with hospitable
kindness. Lodgings were provided for them, with ample refreshments
from the well-stored magazines, distributed at intervals along the route.
In many of the towns the inhabitants came out to welcome them with
singing and dancing; and, when they resumed their march, a number of
ablebodied porters were furnished to carry forward their baggage.7

At length, after some weeks of travel, severe even with all these
appliances, Hernando Pizarro arrived before the city of Pachacamac. It
was a place of considerable population, and the edifices were, many of
them, substantially built. The temple of the tutelar deity consisted of a
vast stone building, or rather pile of buildings, which, clustering around a
conical hill, had the air of a fortress rather than a religious establishment.
But, though the walls were of stone, the roof was composed of a light
thatch, as usual in countries where rain seldom or never falls, and where
defence, consequently, is wanted chiefly against the rays of the sun.

Presenting himself at the lower entrance of the temple, Hernando Pizarro
was refused admittance by the guardians of the portal. But, exclaiming
that "he had come too far to be stayed by the arm of an Indian priest," he
forced his way into the passage, and, followed by his men, wound up the
gallery which led to an area on the summit of the mount, at one end of
which stood a sort of chapel. This was the sanctuary of the dread deity.
The door was garnished with ornaments of crystal, and with turquoises
and bits of coral.8 Here again the Indians would have dissuaded Pizarro
from violating the consecrated precincts, when, at that moment, the
shock of an earthquake, that made the ancient walls tremble to their
foundation, so alarmed the natives, both those of Pizarro's own company
and the people of the place, that they fled in dismay, nothing doubting
that their incensed deity would bury the invaders under the ruins, or
consume them with his lightnings. But no such terror found its way into
the breast of the Conquerors, who felt that here, at least, they were
fighting the good fight of the Faith.

Tearing open the door, Pizarro and his party entered. But instead of a
hall blazing, as they had fondly imagined, with gold and precious stones,
offerings of the worshippers of Pachacamac, they found themselves in a
small and obscure apartment, or rather den, from the floor and sides of
which steamed up the most offensive odors,--like those of a
slaughterhouse. It was the place of sacrifice. A few pieces of gold and
some emeralds were discovered on the ground, and, as their eyes became
accommodated to the darkness, they discerned in the most retired corner
of the room the figure of the deity. It was an uncouth monster, made of
wood, with the head resembling that of a man. This was the god,
through whose lips Satan had breathed forth the far-famed oracles which
had deluded his Indian votaries! 9

Tearing the idol from its recess, the indignant Spaniards dragged it into
the open air, and there broke it into a hundred fragments. The place was
then purified, and a large cross, made of stone and plaster, was erected
on the spot. In a few years the walls of the temple were pulled down by
the Spanish settlers, who found there a convenient quarry for their own
edifices. But the cross still remained spreading its broad arms over the
ruins. It stood where it was planted in the very heart of the stronghold of
Heathendom; and, while all was in ruins around it, it proclaimed the
permanent triumphs of the Faith.

The simple natives, finding that Heaven had no bolts in store for the
Conquerors, and that their god had no power to prevent the profanation
of his shrine, came in gradually and tendered their homage to the
strangers, whom they now regarded with feelings of superstitious awe.
Pizarro profiled by this temper to wean them, if possible, from their
idolatry; and though no preacher himself, as he tells us, he delivered a
discourse as edifying, doubtless, as could be expected from the mouth of
a soldier;10 and, in conclusion, he taught them the sign of the cross, as
an inestimable talisman to secure them against the future machinations of
the Devil.11

But the Spanish commander was not so absorbed in his spiritual labors
as not to have an eye to those temporal concerns for which he came into
this quarter. He now found, to his chagrin, that he had come somewhat
too late; and that the priests of Pachacamac, being advised of his
mission, had secured much the greater part of the gold, and decamped
with it before his arrival. A quantity was afterwards discovered buried in
the grounds adjoining.12 Still the amount obtained was considerable,
falling little short of eighty thousand castellanos, a sum which once
would have been deemed a compensation for greater fatigues than they
had encountered. But the Spaniards had become familiar with gold; and
their imaginations, kindled by the romantic adventures in which they had
of late been engaged, indulged in visions which all the gold of Peru
would scarcely have realized.

One prize, however, Hernando obtained by his expedition, which went
far to console him for the loss of his treasure. While at Pachacamac, he
learned that the Indian commander Challcuchima lay with a large force
in the neighborhood of Xauxa, a town of some strength at a considerable
distance among the mountains. This man, who was nearly related to
Atahuallpa, was his most experienced general, and together with
Quizquiz, now at Cuzco, had achieved those victories at the south which
placed the Inca on the throne. From his birth, his talents, and his large
experience, he was accounted second to no subject in the kingdom.
Pizarro was aware of the importance of securing his person. Finding that
the Indian noble declined to meet him on his return, he determined to
march at once on Xauxa and take the chief in his own quarters. Such a
scheme, considering the enormous disparity of numbers, might seem
desperate even for Spaniards. But success had given them such
confidence, that they hardly condescended to calculate chances.

The road across the mountains presented greater difficulties than those
on the former march. To add to the troubles of the cavalry, the shoes of
their horses were used up, and their hoofs suffered severely on the rough
and stony ground. There was no iron at hand, nothing but gold and
silver. In the present emergency they turned even these to account; and
Pizarro caused the horses of the whole troop to be shod with silver The
work was done by the Indian smiths, and it answered so well, that in this
precious material they found a substitute for iron during the remainder of
the march.13

Xauxa was a large and populous place; though we shall hardly credit the
assertion of the Conquerors, that a hundred thousand persons assembled
habitually in the great square of the city.14 The Peruvian commander
was encamped, it was said, with an army of five-and-thirty thousand men
at only a few miles' distance from the town. With some difficulty he was
persuaded to an interview with Pizarro. The latter addressed him
courteously, and urged his return with him to the Castilian quarters in
Caxamalca, representing it as the command of the Inca. Ever since the
capture of his master, Challcuchima had remained uncertain what course
to take. The capture of the Inca in this sudden and mysterious manner by
a race of beings who seemed to have dropped from the clouds, and that
too in the very hour of his triumph, had entirely bewildered the Peruvian
chief. He had concerted no plan for the rescue of Atahuallpa, nor,
indeed, did he know whether any such movement would be acceptable to
him. He now acquiesced in his commands, and was willing, at all events,
to have a personal interview with his sovereign. Pizarro gained his end
without being obliged to strike a single blow to effect it. The barbarian,
when brought into contact with the white man, would seem to have been
rebuked by his superior genius, in the same manner as the wild animal of
the forest is said to quail before the steady glance of the hunter.

Challcuchima came attended by a numerous retinue. He was borne in his
sedan on the shoulders of his vassals; and, as he accompanied the
Spaniards on their return through the country, received everywhere from
the inhabitants the homage paid only to the favorite of a monarch. Yet
all this pomp vanished on his entering the presence of the Inca, whom he
approached with his feet bare, while a light burden, which he had taken
from one of the attendants, was laid on his back. As he drew near, the
old warrior, raising his hands to heaven, exclaimed,--"Would that I had
been here!--this would not then have happened"; then, kneeling down, he
kissed the hands and feet of his royal master, and bathed them with his
tears. Atahuallpa, on his part, betrayed not the least emotion, and
showed no other sign of satisfaction at the presence of his favorite
counsellor than by simply bidding him welcome. The cold demeanor of
the monarch contrasted strangely with the loyal sensibility of the
subject.15

The rank of the Inca placed him at an immeasurable distance above the
proudest of his vassals; and the Spaniards had repeated occasion to
admire the ascendency which, even in his present fallen fortunes, he
maintained over his people, and the awe with which they approached
him. Pedro Pizarro records an interview, at which he was present,
between Atahuallpa and one of his great nobles, who had obtained leave
to visit some remote part of the country on condition of returning by a
certain day. He was detained somewhat beyond the appointed time, and,
on entering the presence with a small propitiatory gift for his sovereign,
his knees shook so violently, that it seemed, says the chronicler, as if he
would have fallen to the ground. His master, however, received him
kindly, and dismissed him without a word of rebuke.16

Atahuallpa in his confinement continued to receive the same respectful
treatment from the Spaniards as hitherto. They taught him to play with
dice, and the more intricate game of chess, in which the royal captive
became expert, and loved to beguile with it the tedious hours of his
imprisonment. Towards his own people he maintained as far as possible
his wonted state and ceremonial. He was attended by his wives and the
girls of his harem, who, as was customary, waited on him at table and
discharged the other menial offices about his person. A body of Indian
nobles were stationed in the antechamber, but never entered the presence
unbidden; and when they did enter it, they submitted to the same
humiliating ceremonies imposed on the greatest of his subjects. The
service of his table was gold and silver plate. His dress, which he often
changed, was composed of the wool of the vicuna wrought into mantles,
so fine that it had the appearance of silk. He sometimes exchanged these
for a robe made of the skins of bats, as soft and sleek as velvet. Round
his head he wore the llautu, a woollen turban or shawl of the most,
delicate texture, wreathed in folds of various bright colors; and he still
continued to encircle his temples with the borla, the crimson threads of
which, mingled with gold, descended so as partly to conceal his eyes.
The image of royalty had charms for him, when its substance had
departed. No garment or utensil that had once belonged to the Peruvian
sovereign could ever be used by another. When he laid it aside, it was
carefully deposited in a chest, kept for the purpose, and afterwards
burned. It would have been sacrilege to apply to vulgar uses that which
had been consecrated by the touch of the Inca.17