While Pizarro continued to reside in Caxamarca, he sent out his brother Ferdinand with a party of cavalry to discover the country, who went as far as Pachacamac, about a hundred leagues from Caxamarca. In the district of Huamachucos, Ferdinand met with Hlescas, one of the brothers of Atahualpa, who was escorting a prodigious quantity of gold to Caxamarca, part of the ransom of the captive inca, to the value of two or three millions at the least, without counting an immense quantity of silver[17]. He continued his journey from Huamachucos to Pachacamac, not far to the south of where Lima now stands, through several difficult and dangerous passes; when he learnt that one of the generals of Atahualpa, named Cilicuchima was stationed with a large army at a place about forty leagues from thence. Ferdinand Pizarro sent a message to the Peruvian general to request that he would come to speak with him; and as Cilicuchima refused, Ferdinand took the resolution to wait upon him in person. This was considered by many as extremely rash and imprudent, to trust himself in the hands of a barbarous and powerful enemy. He was successful however in the attempt, as by various representations and promises, he prevailed on the Peruvian general to dismiss his army, and to go along with him to Caxamarca to wait upon his sovereign Atahualpa. To shorten their journey, they took a very difficult route through mountains covered with snow, where they were in danger of perishing with cold.
[17] The sum in the text is quite vaguely expressed; perhaps pieces of eight reals, or dollars.--E.
On arriving at Caxamarca, before entering into the presence of Atahualpa, Cilicuchima bared his feet and carried a present to his sovereign after the custom of the country, and said to him weeping, that if he had been along with him, the Spaniards should not have been allowed to make him a prisoner. Atahualpa answered, that his captivity was a punishment from the gods, whom he had not honoured and respected as he ought to have done; but that his defeat and capture were chiefly owing to the cowardice and flight of Ruminagui with his 5000 men, who ought to have succoured him when attacked by the Spaniards.
While Don Francisco Pizarro was in the province of Poecho between Tumbez and Payta, before he marched to Caxamarca, he received a letter without any signature, which it was afterwards learnt had been sent to him by the secretary of Don Diego de Almagro. He was informed by this letter, that Almagro had fitted out a large ship and several smaller vessels with a considerable number of soldiers, in which he proposed to sail beyond the country of which Pizarro had taken possession, and to reduce the best portion of Peru under his own authority, as beyond the government which had been granted to Pizarro by his majesty, which only extended 200 leagues to the south of the equator[18]. The governor had never shewn his patents to any person[19]; yet it was currently reported that Almagro actually left Panama with the intention of carrying that design into execution; but on arriving at Puertoviejo, and learning the amazing successes of Pizarro, and the prodigious quantities of gold and silver he had already acquired, the half of which he considered as belonging to him, he changed his purpose, and marched with all his people to Caxamarca to join Pizarro. On his arrival there, the greater part of the ransom of Atahualpa was already brought, and Almagro and his followers were filled with astonishment and admiration at the sight of the prodigious masses of gold and silver which were there collected, more than they thought could have been in any part of the world.
[18] At 17-1/2 leagues to the degree, this government accorded to Pizarro, would have reached from about Tacames to the lat. of 11° 25' S. whereas the kingdom of Peru extends to lat. 21° 35' S. and its most valuable and richest provinces would have fallen to the share of Almagro.--E.
[19] This expression is entirely vague, and does not even say which governor is meant. We shall see afterwards that this project of Almagro to appropriate the southern part of Peru took place at a subsequent period, and involved the recent conquest in long and destructive civil wars.--E.
When all this gold and silver was melted down, weighed and essayed, it was found to amount to the amazing sum of six hundred millions of maravedies, or more than 4,500,000 livres. It is true that the proof or essay of this gold was made hurriedly, and only by means of the touchstone, as they had no aqua fortis to conduct the process in a more exact manner. It afterwards appeared that this gold had been estimated two or three carats below its real value; so that the whole amount ought to have been reckoned at seven millions of maravedies, or 5,250,000 livres. The quantity of silver was so large, that the royal fifth amounted to 30,000 marks of fine silver, most of which was afterwards found to contain two or three carats of gold. The royal fifth of the gold amounted to 120 millions of maravedies, or 900,000 livres. Each horseman received for his share in gold, without counting the silver 240 marks or 12,000 pesos, equal to 80,000 francs. The shares of the horsemen were a quarter part larger than those of the foot soldiers. Yet all these sums did not amount to a fifth part of what Atahualpa had engaged to pay for his ransom. Those who had come along with Almagro, though considerable both from their rank and number, certainly had no just title to demand any share in the treasure which Atahualpa paid for his ransom, as they had no share in his capture; yet the general assigned each of them 20 marks, or 1000 pesos, as a donative to keep them in good humour.
Pizarro thought it now incumbent upon him to send intelligence to his majesty of the success of his enterprize, for which purpose he sent over his brother Ferdinand to Spain; and as when he departed, the precious metals had not been melted or proved, so that it was impossible to ascertain what was the exact share belonging to the king, two thousand marks of gold and twenty thousand marks of silver, were set apart for this purpose[20]. In making the selection of articles to be sent to Spain, the largest and finest pieces were chosen, that they might have a grander appearance: Among these were several large vessels of various kinds and for different uses, together with figures of men and women and various animals. When Atahualpa learnt that Ferdinand Pizarro was to embark for Spain he was much afflicted, having a great affection for that gentleman, in whom he reposed implicit confidence; and when Ferdinand came to take leave, he said to him, "I am sore afflicted at your departure, for I am much afraid the big-belly and the blinkard will put me to death in your absence." By the former he meant Requelme the treasurer, who was very fat, and by the latter Almagro, who had lost an eye, whom he had observed frequently to mutter against him, for certain reasons, which will appear in the sequel.
[20] Reckoning the mark at eight ounces, the gold at L.4, and the silver at 5s 6d. per oz. this royal fifth would come to L.108,000, and the whole treasure to five times that sum, or L.540,000. But as the precious metals were then worth at least six times as much as now, or would purchase six times the amount of labour or necessaries, this first fruit of the conquest of Peru exceeded the value of three millions sterling.--E.
As Atahualpa suspected, Ferdinand Pizarro had not been long gone, when the death of the unfortunate prince began to be talked of among the Spaniards. This was brought about by the suggestions of an Indian named Philippillo, who had accompanied the general into Spain, and now served him as an interpreter with the Peruvians. He pretended that Atahualpa had secretly laid a plan for destroying all the Spaniards; for which purpose he had a great number of armed men concealed in various places, meaning to employ them when a favourable opportunity occurred. The proofs and examination of facts and circumstances respecting this alleged plot, had all to come through Philippillo, as the only one who knew both languages; and he gave such a turn to every thing as best suited his own views and purposes. Accordingly the Spaniards were never able perfectly to discover the truth, or to penetrate entirely into his motives for this procedure. It has been alleged by some persons, that Philippillo had become amorous of one of the wives of Atahualpa, with whom he even had a criminal intercourse, and expected to secure the quiet possession of his mistress by the death of that unfortunate prince. It was even reported that Atahualpa had come to the knowledge of that amour, and had complained to Pizarro of the criminal and even treasonable conduct of the paramours; which, by the laws of Peru, could only be expiated by burning the guilty persons, putting to death all their near relations, destroying all their cattle and substance, laying waste the place of their birth, and sowing salt on the place, so as to render the memory of the crime infamous for ever.