“At first the captive monarch could hardly believe a calamity, which he so little expected, to be real. But he soon felt all the misery of his fate, and the dejection into which he sank was in proportion to the height of grandeur from which he had fallen. Pizarro, afraid of losing all the advantages which he hoped to derive from the possession of such a prisoner, laboured to console him with professions of kindness and respect, that corresponded ill with his actions.
“By residing among the Spaniards, the Inca quickly discovered their ruling passion, which, indeed, they were nowise solicitous to conceal, and, by applying to that, made an attempt to recover his liberty. He offered as a ransom what astonished the Spaniards, even after all they now knew concerning the opulence of his kingdom. The apartment in which he was confined was twenty-two feet in length and sixteen in breadth; he undertook to fill it with vessels of gold as high as he could reach.
“Pizarro closed eagerly with the tempting proposal, and a line was drawn upon the walls of the chamber, to mark the stipulated height to which the treasure was to rise. Atahualpa, transported with having obtained some prospect of liberty, took measures instantly for fulfilling his part of the agreement, by sending messengers to Cuzco, Quito, and other places, where gold had been amassed in largest quantities, either for adorning the temples, or the houses of the Inca, to bring what was necessary for completing his ransom directly to Caxamalca. Though Atahualpa was now in the custody of his enemies, yet so much were the Peruvians accustomed to respect every mandate issued by their sovereign, that his orders were executed with the greatest alacrity.
“Soothed with hopes of recovering his liberty by this means, the subjects of the Inca were afraid of endangering his life by forming any other scheme for his relief; and though the force of the empire was still entire, no preparations were made and no army assembled to avenge their own wrongs or those of their monarch. The Spaniards remained in Caxamalca tranquil and unmolested. Small detachments of their number marched into remote provinces of the empire, and instead of meeting with any opposition, were everywhere received with marks of the most submissive respect.
“The Indians daily arrived at Caxamalca from different parts of the kingdom, loaded with treasure. A great part of the stipulated quantity was now amassed, and Atahualpa assured the Spaniards that the only thing which prevented the whole from being brought in was the remoteness of the provinces where it was deposited.
“But such vast piles of gold presented continually to the view of needy soldiers, had so inflamed their avarice, that it was impossible any longer to restrain their impatience to obtain possession of this rich booty. Orders were given for melting down the whole, except some pieces of curious fabric, reserved as a present for the Emperor. After setting apart the fifth due to the crown, and a hundred thousand pesos as a donation to the soldiers which arrived with Almagro, there remained one million five hundred and twenty-eight thousand five hundred pesos to Pizarro and his followers.
“The festival of St. James, the patron saint of Spain, was the day (July 25, A.D. 1533) chosen for the partition of this enormous sum, and the manner of conducting it strongly marks the strange alliance of fanaticism and avarice, which I have more than once had occasion to point out as a striking feature in the character of the conquerors of the New World. Though assembled to divide the spoils of an innocent people, procured by deceit, extortion, and cruelty, the transaction began with a solemn invocation of the name of God, as if they could have expected the guidance of Heaven in distributing those wages of iniquity.
“In this division above eight thousand pesos, at that time not inferior in effective value to as many pounds sterling in the present century, fell to the share of each horseman, and half that sum to each foot-soldier. Pizarro himself, and his officers, received dividends in proportion to the dignity of their rank.
“The Spaniards having divided among them the treasure amassed for the Inca’s ransom, he insisted with them to fulfil their promise of setting him at liberty. But nothing was further from Pizarro’s thoughts. During his long service in the New World, he had imbibed those ideas and maxims of his fellow soldiers, which led them to consider its inhabitants as an inferior race, neither worthy of the name nor entitled to the rights of men. In his compact with Atahualpa, he had no other object than to amuse his captive with such a prospect of recovering his liberty as might induce him to lend all the aid of his authority towards collecting the wealth of his kingdom. Having now accomplished this, he no longer regarded his plighted faith; and at the very time when the credulous prince hoped to be replaced on his throne, he had secretly resolved to bereave him of life.
“Many circumstances seemed to have concurred in prompting him to this action, the most criminal and atrocious that stains the Spanish name, amidst all the deeds of violence committed in carrying on the conquest of the New World. Though Pizarro had seized the Inca, in imitation of Cortes’s conduct towards the Mexican monarch, he did not possess talents for carrying on the same artful plan of policy. Destitute of the temper and address requisite for gaining the confidence of his prisoner, he never reaped all the advantages which might have been derived from being master of his person and authority.