Children's Stories in American History

by Henrietta Christian Wright

He did this because he intended to go at once to the capital of Peru, and he thought in case any disaster happened to his army it would be well to have the chief of Tumbez friendly to him. The chief was very glad to gather his people together again, and promised eternal friendship to Pizarro; and so one bright day the Spanish army marched out of Tumbez and took its way toward Cuzco.

Before leaving the coast, Pizarro had been joined by Hernando de Soto, the same bold cavalier who afterward spent so many weary years in trying to find on the shores of the Mississippi an empire as rich as Mexico or Peru, and as he had brought with him soldiers and horses, he promised to be of great use to Pizarro. Their way now led through pleasant valleys and thriving villages, and everywhere Pizarro found himself warmly greeted by the natives; often in the larger towns the governors entertained him with splendid banquets, and many times he lodged in the very palaces that were prepared for the Inca's visits. Pizarro made friends with all the Indians they met, as he thought it best to leave no enemy between him and the coast, and so they marched comfortably day after day, until they had nearly reached the lofty ranges of the Cordilleras. While stopping at one of the largest towns that they had yet seen, Pizarro heard that, some distance ahead, a large Peruvian army was collected. Fearing that he might be attacked if he went further, he sent De Soto on ahead to find out if the Inca meant to receive him as a friend. After many days De Soto returned to the camp accompanied by a Peruvian noble, a brother of the Inca, who came with a greeting from the emperor and some presents of fruits, corn, emeralds, and vases of gold and silver. The noble bearing of the messenger and his splendid costume and heavy ornaments of gold made a deep impression upon the mind of Pizarro, and he saw at once that in all his dealing with the Inca he would have to treat him with the respect due to his great rank and power; so he received the messenger very courteously, and expressed great pleasure at seeing a brother of the great Inca. The messenger said that the Inca had sent him to Pizarro to say that he welcomed the Spaniards to his land and invited them to visit him at his camp. Pizarro replied that he would surely visit the Inca, and after receiving a present of a red cap and some glass beads, the nobleman went away. But Pizarro felt sure that the Inca had only sent him to find out how large the Spanish army was, and he listened a little nervously to De Soto's account of the cities he had seen, all well fortified, and able to hold out a long time against a besieging army. And then De Soto told of the riches and greatness of Cuzco, the capital, and said that an Indian noble had described to him its magnificent palaces and temples, whose walls were covered with gold and silver and precious stones; and at this Pizarro determined there was no time to be lost, and set out immediately for Caxamalca, where the Inca held his camp.

Caxamalca was built near a beautiful river that flowed through the valley below, and its great stone fortresses and lofty temples, its palaces and towers, its beautiful gardens and wide, well-paved streets, and its large public square with its fountains and flowers, all showed Pizarro, on his arrival there, that he had come into a land whose people knew well how to be comfortable in peace as well as to defend themselves in war. He at once marched his soldiers into the great square, where he pitched his tents as if resolved to stay. The Inca's army lay upon the slopes of the mountains three miles from Caxamalca, and there was great excitement and wonder among the troops, as Indians from the town came into camp describing the appearance of the Spanish soldiers. The Peruvians had indeed looked with surprise and awe upon these invaders, whose white faces and long, brown hair, and glittering armor, were so different from anything they had ever seen before. And the greatest wonder of all was the fact that many of these strangers rode upon curious animals that were eager to rush into battle, and that the riders guided often with a word or motion, showing that the creatures understood human speech. These were the horses that Pizarro had brought, and they were well calculated to inspire the Peruvians with terror, for as the cavalry charged fiercely in battle, the innocent natives thought that the horse and man all formed one animal; and once, when a man fell from his horse, the Indians ran screaming away, saying that the strange animal had broken all to pieces. Even when they had grown more accustomed to seeing them their fear did not lessen, for the intelligence of the horse and his power to understand his master's speech always seemed like something half-human to the Peruvians, who had never seen horses before. The arms of the Spaniards seemed very terrible too; the flash and smoke and noise of the guns seemed to them like something supernatural, like the lightning or thunder, and frightened them so that at the first sound they were ready to throw down their weapons and fly.

Pizarro knew all this very well, and the next morning after his arrival at Caxamalca, when he sent to the Inca's camp to ask if the Spaniards were welcome to Peru, the men he chose were De Soto, and his brother Hernando, and they both rode on powerful milk-white horses, and had with them an escort of forty horsemen, all clad in glittering armor and with brilliant trappings on their steeds. The party rode rapidly along, and as they came to the river that separated them from the Inca's camp, dashed boldly into the stream and came swiftly up to the line of Peruvian warriors that stood waiting to receive them and conduct them to the presence of the emperor. They found the monarch seated on a golden throne, surrounded by richly attired nobles, and attended by the most beautiful women in the court. All the courtiers and attendants stood with bowed heads, for no one might raise his eyes in the presence of the Inca.

The Spaniards stood for some moments in silence, and then Hernando Pizarro told the Inca, through an interpreter, that he and his countrymen were the subjects of a mighty monarch across the sea, who had sent them to ask the Inca to be his friend. The Inca did not reply to this speech in person, but one of his nobles came forward and said that the emperor bade them welcome, and the next day would visit the Spanish chief at Caxamalca. The Spaniards had to be content with this, as it soon became evident that the Peruvians had no intention of saying any more. De Soto now thought he would show the Inca some of the good qualities of his horse, for he well knew that the splendid animal had attracted his attention, so he wheeled his horse round and round and put him through many difficult exercises, the horse responding intelligently to all his commands, and finally brought him down close to the Inca's throne. The Peruvians were much impressed by these exercises, as was likewise the Inca, but no one showed it by word or manner; when De Soto had finished, the party of Spaniards were invited to a banquet, where they were served by beautiful women, who brought them fruits on golden dishes and drink in golden goblets studded with emeralds.

And then they went back to Caxamalca to report the result of their visit, and when the soldiers heard of the thousands and thousands of Peruvians who lay camping out on the mountain slopes, ready to defend the Inca and their country with their lives, and when they remembered that all over the great empire were other thousands willing to take the places of those who should fall, then, indeed, the conquest of Peru began to look like a very serious matter, and many a Spanish soldier wished himself back in Panama.

The next day the camp was astir at an early hour with preparations for the Inca's visit, for Pizarro had formed a very bold plan in the night, and all his soldiers knew it, and had pledged themselves to help him carry it out. He knew that there would be very little use in fighting pitched battles with the Peruvians, as there were thousands of them to every soldier he had, so he decided to overcome the enemy by the same trick that Cortez had used in conquering Mexico.

The Peruvians, like the Mexicans, held the person of their emperor sacred, and Pizarro knew that if he could get possession of the Inca, the Indians would be afraid of attacking him for fear of injuring their monarch. He would be safe as long as he held the Inca captive, for the Peruvians would understand that any harm done to him would be visited upon the Inca.

There was another reason, too, why this seemed a good plan. The Inca had a brother who was left part of the kingdom by his father's will, but Atahualpa, the present Inca, had dethroned his brother, Huascar, and now unlawfully held his dominions, and Pizarro knew that the imprisonment of Atahualpa would be the means of making Huascar his friend, and as Huascar was really the lawful king of a large part of Peru, and had many faithful and loving subjects among its people, it would be a good thing for the Spaniards to be able to count him among their friends.

It was on Saturday, November 16, 1532, that this bold deed was to be done. Pizarro concealed his soldiers in different places and kept only his officers around him, in order to deceive Atahualpa the better, and when all was ready, and the watchword, "Santiago," was agreed upon as a signal, he waited impatiently for the appearance of the Inca. It almost seemed as if something warned the emperor to keep away from Caxamalca, for he kept putting off his visit from hour to hour, and even at one time sent word that he would not come till the next day; but Pizarro replied that he would not take his supper until his visitor came, and whether from fear of offending the Spaniards, or because he thought there was no use in putting off the visit, Atahualpa finally gave the order for the camp to move, and was soon on his way to the town.