Many now bidding defiance to the vicegerent took up arms and urged Gonzalo Pizarro, the sole surviving brother of the conqueror, to place himself at their head. Nothing loath, Gonzalo proceeded at once to Cuzco, and having good store of wealth accumulated by mining and pillage soon mustered a numerous band.[XV‑11] The royal banner of Castile was planted before his quarters, and he loudly affirmed that he was a true and lawful subject of the king, that the viceroy had exceeded his instructions, and that he only aimed to hold in check his iniquitous purposes until the will of the emperor could be ascertained. Vasco Nuñez at length drew upon himself the indignation of his own partisans, who at the instigation of the bachiller Cepeda, a member of the audiencia, mutinied and decided to place the viceroy upon a vessel to be conveyed back to Spain.
Meanwhile the colonists flocked to the standard of Gonzalo from every direction, until he soon found himself at the head of twelve hundred brave and disciplined troops. On the 28th of October 1544, amidst the acclamations of the populace, he entered Lima[XV‑12] at the head of his army, and the royal audiencia was dissolved. Scarcely had the ship which was to carry Vasco Nuñez to Panamá set sail from Lima, when Álvarez, the official in charge, not daring to appear in Spain with a viceroy as a prisoner, threw himself at his feet, begged forgiveness, and placed the ship and all on board under his command. Being thus unexpectedly released, he disembarked at Tumbez, raised a small force, and marching northward as far as Quito, called upon all loyal subjects to rally for the protection of the king's authority. He then marched at the head of about five hundred men to San Miguel.[XV‑13]
Gonzalo Pizarro, who had been narrowly watching the movements of the viceroy, now determined to bring matters to an issue. On the 4th of March 1545, he departed from Lima and marched against his opponent. Vasco Nuñez, fearful of the result, abandoned the town and fled to Añaquito, whither he was followed by the revolutionists, and on the 18th of January 1536 a hotly contested battle was fought, resulting in the defeat and death of the viceroy.[XV‑14]
Even before this event Gonzalo Pizarro had assumed the dictatorship of Peru and resolved to make himself master of Panamá, his dreams of conquest extending even to the provinces north of Tierra Firme.[XV‑15] Enlisting in his service one Hernando Bachicao,[XV‑16] he placed him in command of six hundred men and a fleet of twenty-seven ships.[XV‑17] Arriving at Tumbez, Bachicao landed a hundred troops, whereupon Vasco Nuñez, though in command of two hundred well trained veterans, fled to Añaquito, a portion of his forces deserting him and joining the standard of the revolutionists. Proceeding thence to Puerto Viejo and elsewhere, he seized several vessels and enlisted a hundred and fifty recruits. Calling at the Pearl Islands he was met by two messengers from Panamá, sent to request that he would forbear to land an armed force in Tierra Firme. Bachicao replied that he intended but to land his passengers and revictual his fleet.
DISRUPTION AND DEATH.
The people of Panamá had been repeatedly warned by Vaca de Castro and others that their city was in danger of falling into the hands of Gonzalo Pizarro and had levied a force of seven hundred men, though ill-equipped and without experience or discipline. Thrown off their guard however by Bachicao's answer they allowed him to enter the harbor without opposition. He landed a portion of his forces and almost without resistance seized all the arms and ammunition in the arsenal and delivered up the city to pillage. The ship-masters in port were ordered to join his fleet, and those who refused were hanged at the yard-arm. A captain named Pedro Gallego was also executed for disobeying his order to shorten sail and cry Viva Pizarro![XV‑18]
All law and order were for the time at an end. Men were put to death without the formality of a trial, and it is even said that Bachicao beheaded some of his own officers on the merest suspicion of their disaffection or even for pastime.[XV‑19]
On receiving news of his lieutenant's misconduct accompanied with letters of remonstrance from the citizens of Panamá, Gonzalo at once deposed him from the command.[XV‑20] He was resolved, however, to gain control of the Isthmus, and despatched for this purpose Pedro de Hinojosa, at the head of two hundred and fifty men, with instructions to seize and hold both Panamá and Nombre de Dios. Hinojosa, who had first landed in Peru in 1534, and had done good service under Francisco and Hernando Pizarro, was a man of no mean abilities. Endowed by nature with a clear intelligence, honest of purpose and faithful to his trusts, with a judgment sharpened by long intercourse with the stirring scenes of the New World, he was eminently fitted for command, and enjoyed in no small degree the confidence of his soldiers.
The expedition sailed northward as far as Puerto Viejo, whence a vessel was sent in charge of Rodrigo de Carbajal with letters from Gonzalo to the principal residents of Panamá begging their favor and coöperation, disclaiming all connection with Bachicao's outrages, and stating that Hinojosa was now on his way with means sufficient to indemnify all who had suffered loss. If the force by which he was accompanied appeared to them somewhat large for the purpose, it should be remembered that Gonzalo's enemies were on the alert, and that it would be unsafe to navigate the ocean with a smaller fleet.
Accompanied by fifteen men, Carbajal landed at Ancon, a small cove two leagues from Panamá. There he was informed by some planters residing in the vicinity that two captains of the viceroy, Juan de Guzman and Juan de Illanes, were in the city enlisting troops under a commission from their chief, who awaited their coming at Quito. They had thus far succeeded in raising a company of one hundred men and in collecting a considerable quantity of arms, including six pieces of field artillery. "But," continued his informers, "although they have been ready to sail for many days, they appear to be in no haste to depart, and it is now believed that it is their intention to remain and defend the city against the insurgents." Under the circumstances, Carbajal did not think it prudent to land. He therefore despatched an emissary secretly by night with the letters from Pizarro.