CHAPTER V.
Peru discovered by Francisco Pizarro.—He invites the Inca to visit him.—Description of the Inca.—Rejects the Bible.—Treacherously seized by Pizarro.—The Inca proposes to ransom himself.—The ransom brought.—Pizarro seizes the gold, then murders the Inca.—Conquers Peru.
When the Spaniards first discovered the Pacific, Peru was a mighty empire. It extended from north to south more than 2000 miles. Cuzco, the capital city, was filled with great buildings, palaces, and temples, which last were ornamented, or covered, rather, with pure gold. The improvements of civilized life were far advanced; agriculture was the employment of the quiet villagers; in the cities manufactures flourished; and science and literature were in a course of improvement which would, doubtless, have resulted in the discovery of letters.
Their government was a regular hereditary monarchy; but the despotism of the emperor was restricted by known codes of law. They had splendid public roads. That from Cuzco to Quito extended a distance of 1500 miles or more. It passed over mountains, through marshes, across deserts. Along this route, at intervals, were large stone buildings, like the caravanseras of the East, large enough to contain thousands of people. In some instances these caravanseras were furnished with the means of repairing the equipments and arms of the troops or travellers.
Such was the ancient empire of Peru, when Francisco Pizarro, an obscure Spanish adventurer, with an army of only sixty-two horsemen and a hundred or two foot-soldiers, determined to invade it. He, like all the other Spaniards who went out to South America, was thirsting to obtain gold. These men, miscalled Christians, gave up their hearts and souls to the worship of mammon, and they committed every horrible crime to obtain riches. But the Christian who now cheats his neighbor in a quiet way-of-trade manner, to obtain wealth—is he better than those Spaniards? I fear not. Had he the temptation and the opportunity, he would do as they did.
At the time Pizarro invaded Peru, there was a civil war raging between Atahualpa, the reigning monarch, or Inca, as he was called, and his brother Huascar. These brothers were so engaged in their strife, that Pizarro had marched into the country without being opposed, and entered the city of Caxamala on the 15th of November, 1532. Here the army of the Inca met the Spaniards. Pizarro was sensible he could not contend with such a multitude, all well armed and disciplined, so he determined by craft to get possession of the person of the Inca.
He sent to invite the Inca to sup with him in the city of Caxamala, and promised then to give an account of his reasons for coming to Peru. The simple-hearted Inca believed the Spaniards were children of the sun. Now the Inca worshiped the sun, and thought he himself had descended from that bright luminary. He was very anxious, therefore, to see the Spaniards, and could not believe they meant to injure him; so he consented to visit Pizarro.
Atahualpa took with him twenty thousand warriors, and these were attended by a multitude of women as bearers of the luggage, when he set out to visit the Spaniards. The person of the sovereign was one blaze of jewels. He was borne on a litter plated with gold, overshadowed with plumes, and carried on the shoulders of his chief nobles. On his forehead he had the sacred tuft of scarlet, which he wore as the descendant of the sun. The whole moved to the sound of music, with the solemnity of a religious procession.
The Inca putting the Bible to his ear.