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

Frustrated in his hopes of a peaceful accommodation, the young captain
now saw that nothing was left but the arbitrament of arms. Assembling
his troops, preparatory to his departure from the capital, he made them a
brief address. He protested that the step which he and his brave
companions were about to take was not an act of rebellion against the
Crown. It was forced on them by the conduct of the governor himself.
The commission of that officer gave him no authority over the territory
of New Toledo, settled on Almagro's father, and by his father bequeathed
to him. If Vaca de Castro, by exceeding the limits of his authority, drove
him to hostilities, the blood spill in the quarrel would lie on the head of
that commander, not on his. "In the assassination of Pizarro," he
continued, "we took that justice into our own hands which elsewhere was
denied us. It is the same now, in our contest with the royal governor.
We are as true-hearted and loyal subjects of the Crown as he is." And he
concluded by invoking his soldiers to stand by him heart and hand in the
approaching contest, in which they were all equally interested with
himself.

The appeal was not made to an insensible audience. There were few
among them who did not feel that their fortunes were indissolubly
connected with those of their commander; and while they had little to
expect from the austere character of the governor, they were warmly
attached to the person of their young chief, who, with all the popular
qualities of his father, excited additional sympathy from the
circumstances of his age and his forlorn condition. Laying their hands
on the cross, placed on an altar raised for the purpose, the officers and
soldiers severally swore to brave every peril with Almagro, and remain
true to him to the last.

In point of numbers, his forces had not greatly strengthened since his
departure from Lima. He mustered but little more than five hundred in
all; but among them were his father's veterans, well seasoned by many an
Indian campaign. He had about two hundred horse, many of them clad
in complete mail, a circumstance not too common in these wars, where a
stuffed doublet of cotton was often the only panoply of the warrior. His
infantry, formed of pikemen and arquebusiers, was excellently armed.
But his strength lay in his heavy ordnance, consisting of sixteen pieces,
eight large and eight smaller guns, or falconets, as they were called,
forming, says one who saw it, a beautiful park of artillery, that would
have made a brave show on the citadel of Burgos.10 The little army, in
short, though not imposing from its numbers, was under as good
discipline, and as well appointed, as any that ever fought on the fields of
Peru; much better than any which Almagro's own father or Pizarro ever
led into the field and won their conquests with. Putting himself at the
head of his gallant company, the chieftain sallied forth from the walls of
Cuzco about midsummer, in 1542, and directed his march towards the
coast in expectation of meeting the enemy.11

While the events detailed in the preceding pages were passing, Vaca de
Castro, whom we left at Quito in the preceding year, was advancing
slowly towards the south. His first act, after leaving that city, showed his
resolution to enter into no compromise with the assassins of Pizarro.
Benalcazar, the distinguished officer whom I have mentioned as having
early given in his adherence to him, had protected one of the principal
conspirators, his personal friend, who had come into his power, and had
facilitated his escape. The governor, indignant at the proceeding, would
listen to no explanation, but ordered the offending officer to return to his
own district of Popayan. It was a bold step, in the precarious state of his
own fortunes.

As the governor pursued his march, he was well received by the people
on the way; and when he entered the cities of San Miguel and of
Truxillo, he was welcomed with loyal enthusiasm by the inhabitants, who
readily acknowledged his authority, though they showed little alacrity to
take their chance with him in the coming struggle.

After lingering a long time in each of these places, he resumed his march
and reached the camp of Alonso de Alvarado at Huaura, early in 1542.
Holguin had established his quarters at some little distance from his
rival; for a jealousy had sprung up, as usual, between these two captains,
who both aspired to the supreme command of Captain General of the
army. The office of governor, conferred on Vaca de Castro, might seem
to include that of commander-in-chief of the forces. But De Castro was
a scholar, bred to the law;. and, whatever authority he might arrogate to
himself in civil matters, the two captains imagined that the military
department he would resign into the hands of others. They little knew
the character of the man.

Though possessed of no more military science than belonged to every
cavalier in that martial age, the governor knew that to avow his
ignorance, and to resign the management of affairs into the hands of
others, would greatly impair his authority, if not bring him into contempt
with the turbulent spirits among whom he was now thrown. He had both
sagacity and spirit, and trusted to be able to supply his own deficiencies
by the experience of others. His position placed the services of the
ablest men m the country at his disposal, and with the aid of their
counsels he felt quite competent to decide on his plan of operations, and
to enforce the execution of it. He knew, moreover, that the only way to
allay the jealousy of the two parties in the present crisis was to assume
himself the office which was the cause of their dissension.

Still he approached his ambitious officers with great caution; and the
representations, which he made through some judicious persons who had
the most intimate access to them, were so successful, that both were in a
short time prevailed on to relinquish their pretensions in his favor.
Holguin, the more unreasonable of the two, then waited on him in his
rival's quarters, where the governor had the further satisfaction to
reconcile him to Alonso de Alvarado. It required some address, as their
jealousy of each other had proceeded to such lengths that a challenge had
passed between them.

Harmony being thus restored, the licentiate passed over to Holguin's
camp, where he was greeted with salvoes of artillery, and loud
acclamations of "Viva el Rey" from the loyal soldiery. Ascending a
platform covered with velvet, he made an animated harangue to the
troops; his commission was read aloud by the secretary; and the little
army tendered their obedience to him as the representative of the Crown.

Vaca de Castro's next step was to send off the greater part of his force, in
the direction of Xauxa, while, at the head of a small corps, he directed
his march towards Lima. Here he was received with lively
demonstrations of joy by the citizens, who were generally attached to the
cause of Pizarro, the founder and constant patron of their capital.
Indeed, the citizens had lost no time after Almagro's departure in
expelling his creatures from the municipality, and reasserting their
allegiance. With these favorable dispositions towards himself, the
governor found no difficulty in obtaining a considerable loan of money
from the wealthier inhabitants, But he was less successful, at first, in his
application for horses and arms, since the harvest had been too faithfully
gleaned, already, by the men of Chili. As, however, he prolonged his
stay some time in the capital, he obtained important supplies, before he
left it, both of arms and ammunition, while he added to his force by a
considerable body of recruits.12

As he was thus employed, he received tidings that the enemy had left
Cuzco, and was on his march towards the coast. Quitting Los Reyes,
therefore, with his trusty followers, Vaca de Castro marched at once to
Xauxa, the appointed place of rendezvous. Here he mustered his forces,
and found that they amounted to about seven hundred men. The cavalry,
in which lay his strength, was superior in numbers to that of his
antagonist, but neither so well mounted or armed. It included many
cavaliers of birth, and well-tried soldiers, besides a number who, having
great interests at stake, as possessed of large estates in the country, had
left them at the call of government, to enlist under its banners.13 His
infantry, besides pikes, was indifferently well supplied with firearms; but
he had nothing to show in the way of artillery except three or four ill-
mounted falconets. Yet, notwithstanding these deficiencies, the royal
army, if so insignificant a force can deserve that name, was so far
superior in numbers to that of his rival, that the one might be thought, on
the whole, to be no unequal match for the other.14

The reader, familiar with the large masses employed in European
warfare, may smile at the paltry forces of the Spaniards. But in the New
World, where a countless host of natives went for little, five hundred
well-trained Europeans were regarded as a formidable body. No army,
up to the period before us, had ever risen to a thousand. Yet it is not
numbers, as I have already been led to remark, that give importance to a
conflict; but the consequences that depend on it,--the magnitude of the
stake, and the skill and courage of the players. The more limited the
means, even, the greater may be the science shown in the use of them;
until, forgetting the poverty of the materials, we fix our attention on the
conduct of the actors, and the greatness of the results.

While at Xauxa, Vaca de Castro received an embassy from Gonzalo
Pizarro, returned from his expedition from the "Land of Cinnamon," in
which that chief made an offer of his services in the approaching contest.
The governor's answer showed that he was not wholly averse to an
accommodation with Almagro, provided it could be effected without
compromising the royal authority. He was willing, perhaps, to avoid the
final trial by battle, when he considered, that, from the equality of the
contending forces, the issue must be extremely doubtful. He knew that
the presence of Pizarro in the camp, the detested enemy of the
Almagrians, would excite distrust in their bosoms that would probably
baffle every effort at accommodation. Nor is it likely that the governor
cared to have so restless a spirit introduced into his own councils. He
accordingly sent to Gonzalo, thanking him for the promptness of his
support, but courteously declined it, while he advised him to remain in
his province, and repose after the fatigues of his wearisome expedition.
At the same time, he assured him that he would not fail to call for his
services when occasion required it.--The haughty cavalier was greatly
disgusted by the repulse.15

The governor now received such an account of Almagro's movements.
as led him to suppose that he was preparing to occupy Gaumanga, a
fortified place of considerable strength, about thirty leagues from
Xauxa.16 Anxious to secure this post, he broke up his encampment, and
by forced marches, conducted in so irregular a manner as must have
placed him in great danger if his enemy had been near to profit by it, he
succeeded in anticipating Almagro, and threw himself into the place
while his antagonist was at Bilcas, some ten leagues distant.

At Guamanga, Vaca de Castro received another embassy from Almagro,
of similar import with the former. The young chief again deprecated the
existence of hostilities between brethren of the same family, and
proposed an accommodation of the quarrel on the same basis as before.
To these proposals the governor now condescended to reply. It might be
thought, from his answer, that he felt some compassion for the youth and
inexperience of Almagro, and that he was willing to distinguish between
him and the principal conspirators, provided he could detach him from
their interests. But it is more probable that he intended only to amuse his
enemy by a show of negotiation, while he gained time for tampering with
the fidelity of his troops.

He insisted that Almagro should deliver up to him all those immediately
implicated in the death of Pizarro, and should then disband his forces.
On these conditions the government would pass over his treasonable
practices, and he should be reinstated in the royal favor. Together with
this mission, Vaca de Castro, it is reported, sent a Spaniard, disguised as
an Indian, who was instructed to communicate with certain officers in
Almagro's camp, and prevail on them, if possible, to abandon his cause
and return to their allegiance. Unfortunately, the disguise of the
emissary was detected. He was seized, put to the torture, and, having
confessed the whole of the transaction, was hanged as a spy.

Almagro laid the proceeding before his captains. The terms proffered by
the governor were such as no man with a particle of honor in his nature
could entertain for a moment; and Almagro's indignation, as well as that
of his companions, was heightened by the duplicity of their enemy, who
could practise such insidious arts, while ostensibly engaged in a fair and
open negotiation. Fearful, perhaps, lest the tempting offers of their
antagonist might yet prevail over the constancy of some of the weaker
spirits among them, they demanded that all negotiation should be broken
off, and that they should be led at once against the enemy.17

The governor, meanwhile, finding the broken country around Guamanga
unfavorable for his cavalry, on which he mainly relied, drew off his
forces to the neighboring lowlands, known as the Plains of Chupas. It
was the tempestuous season of the year, and for several days the storm
raged wildly among the hills, and, sweeping along their sides into the
valley, poured down rain, sleet, and snow on the miserable bivouacs of
the soldiers, till they were drenched to the skin and nearly stiffened by
the cold.18 At length, on the sixteenth of September, 1542, the scouts
brought in tidings that Almagro's troops were advancing, with the
intention, apparently, of occupying the highlands around Chupas. The
war of the elements had at last subsided, and was succeeded by one of
those brilliant days which are found only in the tropics. The royal camp
was early in motion, as Vaca de Castro, desirous to secure the heights
that commanded the valley, detached a body of arquebusiers on that
service, supported by a corps of cavalry, which he soon followed with
the rest of the forces. On reaching the eminence, news was brought that
the enemy had come to a halt, and established himself in a strong
position at less than a league's distance.

It was now late in the afternoon, and the sun was not more than two
hours above the horizon. The governor hesitated to begin the action
when they must so soon be overtaken by night. But Alonso de Alvarado
assured him that "now was the time; for the spirits of his men were hot
for fight, and it was better to take the benefit of it than to damp their
ardor by delay." The governor acquiesced, exclaiming at the same time, -
-"O for the might of Joshua, to stay the sun in his course!" 19 He then
drew up his little army in order of battle, and made his dispositions for
the attack.

In the centre he placed his infantry, consisting of arquebusiers and
pikemen, constituting the battle, as it was called. On the flanks, he
established his cavalry, placing the right wing, together with the royal
standard, under charge of Alonso de Alvarado, and the left under
Holguin, supported by a gallant body of cavaliers. His artillery, too
insignificant to be of much account, was also in the centre. He proposed
himself to lead the van, and to break the first lance with the enemy; but
from this chivalrous display he was dissuaded by his officers, who
reminded him that too much depended on his life to have it thus
wantonly exposed. The governor contented himself, therefore, with
heading a body of reserve, consisting of forty horse, to act on any quarter
as occasion might require. This corps, comprising the flower of his
chivalry, was chiefly drawn from Alvarado's troop, greatly to the
discontent of that captain. The governor himself rode a coal-black
charger, and wore a rich surcoat of brocade over his mail, through which
the habit and emblems of the knightly order of St. James, conferred on
him just before his departure from Castile, were conspicuous.20 It was a
point of honor with the chivalry of the period to court danger by
displaying their rank in the splendor of their military attire and the
caparisons of their horses.

Before commencing the assault, Vaca de Castro addressed a few remarks
to his soldiers, in order to remove any hesitation that some might yet
feel, who recollected the displeasure shown by the emperor to the victors
as well as the vanquished after the battle of Salinas. He told them that
their enemies were rebels. They were in arms against him. the
representative of the Crown, and it was his duty to quell this rebellion
and punish the authors of it. He then caused the law to be read aloud,
proclaiming the doom of traitors. By this law, Almagro and his
followers had forfeited their lives and property, and the governor
promised to distribute the latter among such of his men as showed the
best claim to it by their conduct in the battle. This last politic promise
vanquished the scruples of the most fastidious; and, having completed
his dispositions in the most judicious and soldier-like manner, Vaca de
Castro gave the order to advance.21

As the forces turned a spur of the hills, which had hitherto screened them
from their enemies, they came in sight of the latter, formed along the
crest of a gentle eminence, with their snow-white banners, the
distinguishing color of the Almagrians, floating above their heads, and
their bright arms flinging back the broad rays of the evening sun.
Almagro's disposition of his troops was not unlike that of his adversary.
In the centre was his excellent artillery, covered by his arquebusiers and
spearmen; while his cavalry rode on the flanks. The troops on the left he
proposed to lead in person. He had chosen his position with judgment,
as the character of the ground gave full play to his guns, which opened
an effective fire on the assailants as they drew near. Shaken by the storm
of shot, Vaca de Castro saw the difficulty of advancing in open view of
the hostile battery. He took the counsel, therefore, of Francisco de
Carbajal, who undertook to lead the forces by a circuitous, but safer,
route. This is the first occasion on which the name of this veteran
appears in these American wars, where it was afterwards to acquire a
melancholy notoriety. He had come to the country after the campaigns
of forty years in Europe, where he had studied the art of war under the
Great Captain, Gonsalvo de Cordova. Though now far advanced in age,
he possessed all the courage and indomitable energy of youth, and well
exemplified the lessons he had studied under his great commander.

Taking advantage of a winding route that sloped round the declivity of
the hills, he conducted the troops in such a manner, that, until they
approached quite near the enemy, they were protected by the intervening
ground. While thus advancing, they were assailed on the left flank by
the Indian battalions under Paullo, the Inca Manco's brother; but a corps
of musketeers, directing a scattering fire among them, soon rid the
Spaniards of this annoyance. When, at length, the royal troops, rising
above the hill, again came into view of Almagro's lines, the artillery
opened on them with fatal effect. It was but for a moment, however, as,
from some unaccountable cause, the guns were pointed as such an angle,
that, although presenting an obvious mark, by far the greater part of the
shot passed over their heads. Whether this was the result of treachery, or
merely of awkwardness, is uncertain. The artillery was under charge of
the engineer, Pedro de Candia. This man, who, it" may be remembered,
was one of the thirteen that so gallantly stood by Pizarro in the island of
Gallo, had fought side by side with his leader through the whole of the
Conquest. He had lately, however, conceived some disgust with him,
and had taken part with the faction of Almagro. The death of his old
commander, he may perhaps have thought, had settled all their
differences, and he was now willing to return to his former allegiance.
At least, it is said, that, at this very time, he was in correspondence with
Vaca de Castro. Almagro himself seems to have had no doubt of his
treachery. For, after remonstrating in vain with him on his present
conduct, he ran him through the body, and the unfortunate cavalier fell
lifeless on the field. Then, throwing himself on one of the guns,
Almagro gave it a new direction, and that so successfully, that, when it
was discharged, it struck down several of the cavalry.22

The firing now took better effect, and by one volley a whole file of the
royal infantry was swept off, and though others quickly stepped in to fill
up the ranks, the men, impatient of their sufferings, loudly called on the
troopers, who had halted for a moment, to quicken their advance.23
This delay had been caused by Carbajal's desire to bring his own guns to
bear on the opposite columns. But the design was quickly abandoned;
the clumsy ordnance was left on the field, and orders were given to the
cavalry to charge; the trumpets sounded, and, crying their war-cries, the
bold cavaliers struck their spurs into their steeds, and rode at full speed
against the enemy.

Well had it been for Almagro, if he had remained firm on the post which
gave him such advantage. But from a false point of honor, he thought it
derogatory to a brave knight passively to await the assault, and, ordering
his own men to charge, the hostile squadrons, rapidly advancing against
each other, met midway on the plain. The shock was terrible. Horse and
rider reeled under the force of it. The spears flew into shivers;24 and the
cavaliers, drawing their swords, or wielding their maces and battle-axes,-
-though some of the royal troopers were armed only with a common
axe,--dealt their blows with all the fury of civil hate. It was a fearful
struggle, not merely of man against man, but, to use the words of an
eyewitness, of brother against brother, and friend against friend.25 No
quarter was asked; for the wrench that had been strong enough to tear
asunder the dearest ties of kindred left no hold for humanity. The
excellent arms of the Almagrians counterbalanced the odds of numbers;
but the royal partisans gained some advantage by striking at the horses
instead of the mailed bodies of their antagonists.

The infantry, meanwhile, on both sides, kept up a sharp cross-fire from
their arquebuses, which did execution on the ranks of the cavaliers, as
well as on one another. But Almagro's battery of heavy guns, now well
directed, mowed down the advancing columns of foot. The latter,
staggering, began to fall back from the terrible fire, when Francisco de
Carbajal, throwing himself before them, cried out, "Shame on you, my
men! Do you give way now? I am twice as good a mark for the enemy
as any of you!" He was a very large man; and, throwing off his steel
helmet and cuirass, that he might have no advantage over his followers,
he remained lightly attired in his cotton doublet, when, swinging his
partisan over his head, he sprang boldly forward through blinding
volumes of smoke and a tempest of musket-balls, and, supported by the
bravest of his troops, overpowered the gunners, and made himself master
of their pieces.

The shades of night had now, for some time been coming thicker and
thicker over the field. But still the deadly struggle went on in the
darkness, as the red and white badges intimated the respective parties,
and their war-cries rose above the din,--"Vaca de Castro y el Rey,"--
"Almagro y el Rey,"--while both invoked the aid of their military apostle
St. James. Holguin, who commanded the royalists on the left, pierced
through by two musket-balls, had been slain early in the action. He had
made himself conspicuous by a rich sobre-vest of white velvet over his
armour. Still a gallant band of cavaliers maintained the fight so valiantly
on that quarter, that the Almagrians found it difficult to keep their
ground.26

It fared differently on the right, where Alonso de Alvarado commanded.
He was there encountered by Almagro in person, who fought worthy of
his name. By repeated charges on his opponent, he endeavored to bear
down his squadrons, so much worse mounted and worse armed than his
own. Alvarado resisted with undiminished courage; but his numbers had
been thinned, as we have seen, before the battle, to supply the governor's
reserve, and, fairly overpowered by the superior strength of his
adversary, who had already won two of the royal banners, he was slowly
giving ground. "Take, but kill not!" shouted the generous young chief,
who felt himself sure of victory.27