LXVII.
THE CRUELTIES THAT ATAHUALPA ORDERED TO BE PERPETRATED ON THE PRISONERS AND CONQUERED OF HUASCAR'S PARTY.
When Atahualpa knew what had happened, from the messengers of Chalco Chima and Quiz-quiz, he ordered one of his relations named Cusi Yupanqui to go to Cuzco, and not to leave a relation or friend of Huascar alive. This Cusi Yupanqui arrived at Cuzco, and Chalco Chima and Quiz-quiz delivered the prisoners to him. He made inquiries touching all that Atahualpa had ordered. He then caused poles to be fixed on both sides of the road, extending not more than a quarter of a league along the way to Xaquixahuana. Next he brought out of the prison all the wives of Huascar, including those pregnant or lately delivered. He ordered them to be hung to these poles with their children, and he ordered the pregnant to be cut open, and the stillborn to be hung with them. Then he caused the sons of Huascar to be brought out and hung to the poles.
Among the sons of Huayna Ccapac who were prisoners there was one named Paullu Tupac. When they were going to kill him, he protested saying, it was unreasonable that he should be killed, because he had previously been imprisoned by Huascar; and on this ground he was released and escaped death. Yet the reason that he was imprisoned by Huascar was because he had been found with one of the Inca's wives. He was only given very little to eat, the intention being that he should die in prison. The woman with whom he was taken was buried alive. The wars coming on he escaped, and what has been related took place.
After this the lords and ladies of Cuzco who were found to have been friends of Huascar were seized and hanged on the poles. Then there was an examination of all the houses of deceased Incas, to see which had been on the side of Huascar, and against Atahualpa. They found that the house of Tupac Inca Yupanqui had sided with Huascar. Cusi Yupanqui committed the punishment of the house to Chalco Chima and Quiz-quiz. They seized the steward of the house, and the mummy of Tupac Inca, and those of his family and hung them all, and they burnt the body of Tupac Inca outside the town and reduced it to ashes. And to destroy the house completely, they killed many mama cunas and servants, so that none were left of that house except a few of no account. Besides this they ordered all the Chachapoyas and Cañaris to be killed, and their Curaca named Ulco Colla, who they said had rebelled against the two brothers.
All these murders and cruelties were perpetrated in the presence of Huascar to torment him. They murdered over 80 sons and daughters of Huascar, and what he felt most cruelly was the murder, before his eyes, of one of his sisters named Coya Miro, who had a son of Huascar in her arms, and another in her womb; and another very beautiful sister named Chimbo Cisa. Breaking his heart at the sight of such cruelty and grief which he was powerless to prevent, he cried, with a sigh, "Oh Pachayachachi Viracocha, thou who showed favour to me for so short a time, and honoured me and gave me life, dost thou see that I am treated in this way, and seest thou in thy presence what I, in mine, have seen and see."
Some of the concubines of Huascar escaped from this cruelty and calamity, because they had neither borne a child nor were pregnant, and because they were beautiful. They say that they were kept to be taken to Atahualpa. Among those who escaped were Doña Elvira Chonay, daughter of Cañar Ccapac, Doña Beatriz Carnamaruay, daughter of the Curaca of Chinchay-cocha, Doña Juana Tocto, Doña Catalina Usica, wife, that was, of Don Paullu Tupac, and mother of Don Carlos, who are living now. In this way the line and lineage of the unfortunate tyrant Huascar, the last of the Incas, was completely annihilated.