History Of The Conquest Of Peru

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Not long after the arrival of the party from Pachacamac, in the latter part
of May, the three emissaries returned from Cuzco. They had been very
successful in their mission. Owing to the Inca's order, and the awe which
the white men now inspired throughout the country, the Spaniards had
everywhere met with a kind reception. They had been carried on the
shoulders of the natives in the hamacas, or sedans, of the country; and, as
they had travelled all the way to the capital on the great imperial road,
along which relays of Indian carriers were established at stated intervals,
they performed this journey of more than six hundred miles, not only
without inconvenience, but with the most luxurious ease. They passed
through many populous towns, and always found the simple natives
disposed to venerate them as beings of a superior nature. In Cuzco they
were received with public festivities, were sumptuously lodged, and had
every want anticipated by the obsequious devotion of the inhabitants.

Their accounts of the capital confirmed all that Pizarro had before heard
of the wealth and population of the city. Though they had remained
more than a week in this place, the emissaries had not seen the whole of
it. The great temple of the Sun they found literally covered with plates
of gold. They had entered the interior and beheld the royal mummies,
seated each in his gold-embossed chair, and in robes profusely covered
with ornaments. The Spaniards had the grace to respect these, as they
had been previously enjoined by the Inca; but they required that the
plates which garnished the walls should be all removed. The Peruvians
most reluctantly acquiesced in the commands of their sovereign to
desecrate the national temple, which every inhabitant of the city regarded
with peculiar pride and veneration. With less reluctance they assisted the
Conquerors in stripping the ornaments from some of the other edifices,
where the gold, however, being mixed with a large proportion of alloy,
was of much less value.18

The number of plates they tore from the temple of the Sun was seven
hundred; and though of no great thickness, probably, they are compared
in size to the lid of a chest, ten or twelve inches wide.19 A cornice of
pure gold encircled the edifice, but so strongly set in the stone, that it
fortunately defied the efforts of the spoilers. The Spaniards complained
of the want of alacrity shown by the Indians in the work of destruction,
and said that there were other parts of the city containing buildings rich
in gold and silver which they had not been allowed to see. In truth, their
mission, which, at best, was a most ungrateful one, had been rendered
doubly annoying by the manner in which they had executed it. The
emissaries were men of a very low stamp, and, puffed up by the honors
conceded to them by the natives, they looked on themselves as entitled to
these, and condemned the poor Indians as a race immeasurably beneath
the European. They not only showed the most disgusting rapacity, but
treated the highest nobles with wanton insolence. They even went so far,
it is said, as to violate the privacy of the convents, and to outrage the
religious sentiments of the Peruvians by their scandalous amours with the
Virgins of the Sun. The people of Cuzco were so exasperated, that they
would have laid violent hands on them, but for their habitual reverence
for the Inca, in whose name the Spaniards had come there. As it was, the
Indians collected as much gold as was necessary to satisfy their unworthy
visitors, and got rid of them as speedily as possible.20 It was a great
mistake in Pizarro to send such men. There were persons, even in his
company, who, as other occasions showed, had some sense of self-
respect, if not respect for the natives.

The messengers brought with them, besides silver, full two hundred
cargas or loads of gold.21 This was an important accession to the
contributions of Atahuallpa; and, although the treasure was still
considerably below the mark prescribed, the monarch saw with
satisfaction the time drawing nearer for the completion of his ransom.

Not long before this, an event had occurred which changed the condition
of the Spaniards, and had an unfavorable influence on the fortunes of the
Inca. This was the arrival of Almagro at Caxamalca, with a strong
reinforcement. That chief had succeeded, after great efforts, in
equipping three vessels, and assembling a body of one hundred and fifty
men, with which he sailed from Panama, the latter part of the preceding
year. On his voyage, he was joined by a small additional force from
Nicaragua, so that his whole strength amounted to one hundred and fifty
foot and fifty horse, well provided with the munitions of war. His
vessels were steered by the old pilot Ruiz; but after making the Bay of
St. Matthew, he crept slowly along the coast, baffled as usual by winds
and currents, and experiencing all the hardships incident to that
protracted navigation. From some cause or other, he was not so
fortunate as to obtain tidings of Pizarro; and so disheartened were his
followers, most of whom were raw adventurers, that, when arrived at
Puerto Viejo, they proposed to abandon the expedition, and return at
once to Panama. Fortunately, one of the little squadron which Almagro
had sent forward to Tumbez brought intelligence of Pizarro and of the
colony he had planted at San Miguel. Cheered by the tidings, the
cavalier resumed his voyage, and succeeded, at length, towards the close
of December, 1532, in bringing his whole party safe to the Spanish
settlement.

He there received the account of Pizarro's march across the mountains,
his seizure of the Inca, and, soon afterwards, of the enormous ransom
offered for his liberation. Almagro and his companions listened with
undisguised amazement to this account of his associate, and of a change
in his fortunes so rapid and wonderful that it seemed little less than
magic. At the same time, he received a caution from some of the
colonists not to trust himself in the power of Pizarro, who was known to
bear him no good-will.

Not long after Almagro's arrival at San Miguel, advices were sent of it to
Caxamalca, and a private note from his secretary Perez informed Pizarro
that his associate had come with no purpose of cooperating with him, but
with the intention to establish an independent government. Both of the
Spanish captains seem to have been surrounded by mean and turbulent
spirits, who sought to embroil them with each other, trusting, doubtless,
to find their own account in the rupture. For once, however, their
malicious machinations failed.

Pizarro was overjoyed at the arrival of so considerable a reinforcement,
which would enable him to push his fortunes as he had desired, and go
forward with the conquest of the country. He laid little stress on the
secretary's communication, since, whatever might have been Almagro's
original purpose, Pizarro knew that the richness of the vein he had now
opened in the land would be certain to secure his cooperation in working
it. He had the magnanimity, therefore,--for there is something
magnanimous in being able to stifle the suggestions of a petty rivalry in
obedience to sound policy,--to send at once to his ancient comrade, and
invite him, with many assurances of friendship, to Caxamalca. Almagro,
who was of a frank and careless nature, received the communication in
the spirit in which it was made, and, after some necessary delay, directed
his march into the interior. But before leaving San Miguel, having
become acquainted with the treacherous conduct of his secretary, he
recompensed his treason by hanging him on the spot.22

Almagro reached Caxamalca about the middle of February, 1533. The
soldiers of Pizarro came out to welcome their countrymen, and the two
captains embraced each other with every mark of cordial satisfaction.
All past differences were buried in oblivion, and they seemed only
prepared to aid one another in following up the brilliant career now
opened to them in the conquest of an empire.

There was one person in Caxamalca on whom this arrival of the
Spaniards produced a very different impression from that made on their
own countrymen. This was the Inca Atahuallpa. He saw in the new-
comers only a new swarm of locusts to devour his unhappy country; and
he felt, that, with his enemies thus multiplying around him, the chances
were diminished of recovering his freedom, or of maintaining it, if
recovered. A little circumstance, insignificant in itself, but magnified by
superstition into something formidable, occurred at this time to cast an
additional gloom over his situation.

A remarkable appearance, somewhat of the nature of a meteor, or it may
have been a comet, was seen in the heavens by some soldiers and pointed
out to Atahuallpa. He gazed on it with fixed attention for some minutes,
and then exclaimed, with a dejected air, that "a similar sign had been
seen in the skies a short time before the death of his father Huayna
Capac." 23 From this day a sadness seemed to take possession of him,
as he looked with doubt and undefined dread to the future. Thus it is,
that, in seasons of danger, the mind, like the senses, becomes morbidly
acute in its perceptions; and the least departure from the regular course
of nature, that would have passed unheeded in ordinary times, to the
superstitious eye seems pregnant with meaning, as in some way or other
connected with the destiny of the individual.

Book 3

Chapter 7

Immense Amount Of Treasure--Its Division Among The Troops--
Rumors Of A Rising--Trial Of The Inca--His Execution--Reflections

1533

The arrival of Almagro produced a considerable change in Pizarro's
prospects, since it enabled him to resume active operations, and push
forward his conquests in the interior. The only obstacle in his way was
the Inca's ransom, and the Spaniards had patiently waited, till the return
of the emissaries from Cuzco swelled the treasure to a large amount,
though still below the stipulated limit. But now their avarice got the
better of their forbearance, and they called loudly for the immediate
division of the gold. To wait longer would only be to invite the assault
of their enemies, allured by a bait so attractive. While the treasure
remained uncounted, no man knew its value, nor what was to be his own
portion. It was better to distribute it at once, and let every one possess
and defend his own. Several, moreover, were now disposed to return
home, and take their share of the gold with them, where they could place
it in safety. But these were few, while much the larger part were only
anxious to leave their present quarters, and march at once to Cuzco.
More gold, they thought, awaited them in that capital, than they could get
here by prolonging their stay; while every hour was precious, to prevent
the inhabitants from secreting their treasures, of which design they had
already given indication.

Pizarro was especially moved by the last consideration; and he felt, that,
without the capital, he could not hope to become master of the empire.
Without further delay, the division of the treasure was agreed upon.

Yet, before making this, it was necessary to reduce the whole to ingots of
a uniform standard, for the spoil was composed of an infinite variety of
articles, in which the gold was of very different degrees of purity. These
articles consisted of goblets, ewers, salvers, vases of every shape and
size, ornaments and utensils for the temples and the royal palaces, tiles
and plates for the decoration of the public edifices, curious imitations of
different plants and animals. Among the plants, the most beautiful was
the Indian corn, in which the golden ear was sheathed in its broad leaves
of silver, from which hung a rich tassel of threads of the same precious
metal. A fountain was also much admired, which sent up a sparkling jet
of gold, while birds and animals of the same material played in the
waters at its base. The delicacy of the workmanship of some of these,
and the beauty and ingenuity of the design, attracted the admiration of
better judges than the rude Conquerors of Peru.1

Before breaking up these specimens of Indian art, it was determined to
send a quantity, which should be deducted from the royal fifth, to the
Emperor. It would serve as a sample of the ingenuity of the natives, and
would show him the value of his conquests. A number of the most
beautiful articles was selected, to the amount of a hundred thousand
ducats, and Hernando Pizarro was appointed to be the bearer of them to
Spain. He was to obtain an audience of Charles, and, at the same time
that he laid the treasures before him, he was to give an account of the
proceedings of the Conquerors, and to seek a further augmentation of
their powers and dignities.

No man in the army was better qualified for this mission, by his address
and knowledge of affairs, than Hernando Pizarro; no one would be so
likely to urge his suit with effect at the haughty Castilian court. But
other reasons influenced the selection of him at the present juncture.

His former jealousy of Almagro still rankled in his bosom, and he had
beheld that chief's arrival at the camp with feelings of disgust, which he
did not care to conceal. He looked on him as coming to share the spoils
of victory, and defraud his brother of his legitimate honors. Instead of
exchanging the cordial greeting proffered by Almagro at their first
interview, the arrogant cavalier held back in sullen silence. His brother
Francis was greatly displeased at a conduct which threatened to renew
their ancient feud, and he induced Hernando to accompany him to
Almagro's quarters, and make some acknowledgment for his uncourteous
behavior.2 But, notwithstanding this show of reconciliation, the general
thought the present a favorable opportunity to remove his brother from
the scene of operations, where his factious spirit more than
counterbalanced his eminent services.3

The business of melting down the plate was intrusted to the Indian
goldsmiths, who were thus required to undo the work of their own hands,
They toiled day and night, but such was the quantity to be recast, that it
consumed a full month. When the whole was reduced to bars of a
uniform standard, they were nicely weighed, under the superintendence
of the royal inspectors. The total amount of the gold was found to be
one million, three hundred and twenty-six thousand, five hundred and
thirty nine pesos de oro, which, allowing for the greater value of money
in the sixteenth century, would be equivalent, probably, at the present
time, to near three millions and a half of pounds sterling, or somewhat
less than fifteen millions and a half of dollars.4 The quantity of silver
was estimated at fifty-one thousand six hundred and ten marks. History
affords no parallel of such a booty--and that, too, in the most convertible
form, in ready money, as it were--having fallen to the lot of a little band
of military adventurers, like the Conquerors of Peru. The great object of
the Spanish expeditions in the New World was gold. It is remarkable
that. their success should have been so complete. Had they taken the
track of the English, the French, or the Dutch, on the shores of the
northern continent, how different would have been the result! It is
equally worthy of remark, that the wealth thus suddenly acquired, by
diverting them from the slow but surer and more permanent sources of
national prosperity, has in the end glided from their grasp, and left them
among the poorest of the nations of Christendom.

A new difficulty now arose in respect to the division of the treasure.
Almagro's followers claimed to be admitted to a share of it; which, as
they equalled, and indeed, somewhat exceeded in number Pizarro's
company, would reduce the gains of these last very materially. "We
were not here, it is true," said Almagro's soldiers to their comrades, "at
the seizure of the Inca, but we have taken our turn in mounting guard
over him since his capture, have helped you to defend your treasures, and
now give you the means of going forward and securing your conquests.
It is a common cause," they urged, "in which all are equally embarked,
and the gains should be shared equally between us."

But this way of viewing the matter was not at all palatable to Pizarro's
company, who alleged that Atahuallpa's contract had been made
exclusively with them; that they had seized the Inca, had secured the
ransom, had incurred, in short, all the risk of the enterprise, and were not
now disposed to share the fruits of it with every one who came after
them. There was much force, it could not be denied, in this reasoning,
and it was finally settled between the leaders, that Almagro's followers
should resign their pretensions for a stipulated sum of no great amount,
and look to the career now opened to them for carving out their fortunes
for themselves.

This delicate affair being thus harmoniously adjusted, Pizarro prepared,
with all solemnity, for a division of the imperial spoil. The troops were
called together in the great square, and the Spanish commander, "with
the fear of God before his eyes," says the record, "invoked the assistance
of Heaven to do the work before him conscientiously and justly."5 The
appeal may seem somewhat out of place at the distribution of spoil so
unrighteously acquired; yet, in truth, considering the magnitude of the
treasure, and the power assumed by Pizarro to distribute it according to
the respective deserts of the individuals, there were few acts of his life
involving a heavier responsibility. On his present decision might be said
to hang the future fortunes of each one of his followers,--poverty or
independence during the remainder of his days.

The royal fifth was first deducted, including the remittance already sent
to Spain. The share appropriated by Pizarro amounted to fifty-seven
thousand two hundred and twenty-two pesos of gold, and two thousand
three hundred and fifty marks of silver. He had besides this the great
chair or throne of the Inca, of solid gold, and valued at twenty-five
thousand pesos de oro. To his brother Hernando were paid thirty-one
thousand and eighty pesos of gold, and two thousand three hundred and
fifty marks of silver. De Soto received seventeen thousand seven
hundred and forty pesos of gold, and seven hundred and twenty-four
marks of silver. Most of the remaining cavalry, sixty in number,
received each eight thousand eight hundred and eighty pesos of gold, and
three hundred and sixty-two marks of silver, though some had more, and
a few considerably less. The infantry mustered in all one hundred and
five men. Almost one fifth of them were allowed, each, four thousand
four hundred and forty pesos of gold, and one hundred and eighty marks
of silver, half of the compensation of the troopers. The remainder
received one fourth part less; though here again there were exceptions,
and some were obliged to content themselves with a much smaller share
of the spoil.6

The new church of San Francisco, the first Christian temple in Peru, was
endowed with two thousand two hundred and twenty pesos of gold. The
amount assigned to Almagro's company was not excessive, if it was not
more than twenty thousand pesos; 7 and that reserved for the colonists of
San Miguel, which amounted only to fifteen thousand pesos, was
unaccountably small.8 There were among them certain soldiers, who at
an early period of the expedition, as the reader may remember,
abandoned the march, and returned to San Miguel. These, certainly, had
little claim to be remembered in the division of booty. But the greater
part of the colony consisted of invalids, men whose health had been
broken by their previous hardships, but who still, with a stout and willing
heart, did good service in their military post on the sea-coast. On what
grounds they had forfeited their claims to a more ample remuneration, it
is not easy to explain.

Nothing is said, in the partition, of Almagro himself, who, by the terms
of the original contract, might claim an equal share of the spoil with his
associate. As little notice is taken of Luque, the remaining partner.
Luque himself, was, indeed, no longer to be benefited by worldly
treasure. He had died a short time before Almagro's departure from
Panama;9 too soon to learn the full success of the enterprise, which, but
for his exertions, must have failed; too soon to become acquainted with
the achievements and the crimes of Pizarro. But the Licentiate Espinosa,
whom he represented, and who, it appears, had advanced the funds for
the expedition, was still living at St. Domingo, and Luque's pretensions
were explicitly transferred to him. Yet it is unsafe to pronounce, at this
distance of time, on the authority of mere negative testimony; and it must
be admitted to form a strong presumption in favor of Pizarro's general
equity in the distribution, that no complaint of it has reached us from any
of the parties present, nor from contemporary chroniclers.10

The division of the ransom being completed by the Spaniards, there
seemed to be no further obstacle to their resuming active operations, and
commencing the march to Cuzco. But what was to be done with
Atahuallpa? In the determination of this question, whatever was
expedient was just.11 To liberate him would be to set at large the very
man who might prove their most dangerous enemy; one whose birth and
royal station would rally round him the whole nation, place all the
machinery of government at his control, and all its resources,--one, in
short, whose bare word might concentrate all the energies of his people
against the Spaniards, and thus delay for a long period, if not wholly
defeat, the conquest of the country. Yet to hold him in captivity was
attended with scarcely less difficulty; since to guard so important a prize
would require such a division of their force as must greatly cripple its
strength, and how could they expect, by any vigilance, to secure their
prisoner against rescue in the perilous passes of the mountains?

The Inca himself now loudly demanded his freedom. The proposed
amount of the ransom had, indeed, not been fully paid. It may be
doubted whether it ever would have been, considering the
embarrassments thrown in the way by the guardians of the temples, who
seemed disposed to secrete the treasures, rather than despoil these sacred
depositories to satisfy the cupidity of the strangers. It was unlucky, too,
for the Indian monarch, that much of the gold, and that of the best
quality, consisted of flat plates or tiles, which, however valuable, lay in a
compact form that did little towards swelling the heap. But an immense
amount had been already realized, and it would have been a still greater
one, the Inca might allege, but for the impatience of the Spaniards. At
all events, it was a magnificent ransom, such as was never paid by prince
or potentate before.

These considerations Atahuallpa urged on several of the cavaliers, and
especially on Hernando de Soto, who was on terms of more familiarity
with him than Pizarro. De Soto reported Atahuallpa's demands to his
leader; but the latter evaded a direct reply. He did not disclose the dark
purposes over which his mind was brooding.12 Not long afterward he
caused the notary to prepare an instrument, in which he fully acquitted
the Inca of further obligation in respect to the ransom. This he
commanded to be publicly proclaimed in the camp, while at the same
time he openly declared that the safety of the Spaniards required, that the
Inca should be detained in confinement until they were strengthened by
additional reinforcements.13

Meanwhile the old rumors of a meditated attack by the natives began to
be current among the soldiers. They were repeated from one to another,
gaining something by every repetition. An immense army, it was
reported, was mustering at Quito, the land of Atahuallpa's birth, and
thirty thousand Caribs were on their way to support it.14 The Caribs
were distributed by the early Spaniards rather indiscriminately over the
different parts of America, being invested with peculiar horrors as a race
of cannibals.

It was not easy to trace the origin of these rumors. There was in the
camp a considerable number of Indians, who belonged to the party of
Huascar, and who were, of course, hostile to Atahuallpa. But his worst
enemy was Felipillo, the interpreter from Tumbez, already mentioned in
these pages. This youth had conceived a passion, or, as some say, had
been detected in an intrigue with, one of the royal concubines.15 The
circumstance had reached the ears of Atahuallpa, who felt himself deeply
outraged by it. "That such an insult should have been offered by so base
a person was an indignity," he said, "more difficult to bear than his
imprisonment";16 and he told Pizarro, "that, by the Peruvian law, it
could be expiated, not by the criminal's own death alone, but by that of
his whole family and kindred." 17 But Felipillo was too important to the
Spaniards to be dealt with so summarily; nor did they probably attach
such consequence to an offence which, if report be true, they had
countenanced by their own example.18 Felipillo, however, soon learned
the state of the Inca's feelings towards himself, and from that moment he
regarded him with deadly hatred. Unfortunately, his malignant temper
found ready means for its indulgence.