Manco, the Peruvian Chief / Or, An Englishman's Adventures in the Country of the Incas

by William Henry Giles Kingston

Meantime the assault on the front of the house was going on vigorously. An attempt was made to bring the battering-ram into play; but so many of the people working it were shot, that it was allowed to drop close to the wall. It served, however, as a sort of platform, from whence some of the Indians could throw their spears into the crevices of the windows, while others attempted to force them open with their clubs, and those armed with muskets continued a hot fire from the walls, and from every spot where they could find shelter. From the groans I heard from below, it was evident that many of the shots had pierced the shutters and wounded the defenders of the house.

While the scenes I have described were going on in my immediate vicinity, I observed that in the distance the main body of the Indians were engaged in a hot engagement with the troops who had marched towards the pass. The light artillery of the former, though of no use for distant firing, had been judiciously placed in commanding positions, and masked with breastworks of stone and earth hastily thrown up. Their fire was reserved till the Spaniards got close to them; then from each battery the iron shower went forth, sweeping through the ranks of the Spanish troops. I could see them waver and attempt to turn back; but urged on by their officers, they again advanced. A portion attempted to storm the heights on which the cannon were posted; but thousands of Indians were behind the batteries, and they were driven back with great slaughter. Still the rest marched on. Sometimes they were concealed from my sight, and I could only judge by the movements of the Indians on the higher ground that the fight was continuing; then again a turn of the path brought them once more in view. Their numbers were fast diminishing; but pride, and contempt for a race they had for so long been taught to despise, urged them forward. They fancied probably that they must prove victorious as soon as they could come into actual contact with their foes. They were now also fighting for life as well as honour; for if driven back, few would expect to escape after the reception they had already met with. Every instant, however, fresh bodies of Indians sprung up above and around them. On every height warriors were posted, every rock concealed an enemy.

My attention was now drawn off from the more distant scene by what was going on below me. The Indians having penetrated through the gardens, now entirely surrounded the house; and it required all the vigilance of those within to repel them. I could hear those below rushing about to each assailable point as their presence was most required; the officers shouted their orders, bullets rattled through the house, and the heavy blows of clubs and axes sounded on every side, while the whole house was filled with the smoke of the firearms. When, however, after some time, the Indian? found that they could not gain an entrance in this manner without great loss, they retired behind the outer walls of the garden, and a comparative silence succeeded to the previous din of warfare. It was but preparatory to another more desperate attempt. From the mountain side I saw a fresh body of men advancing, who bore among them ladders roughly formed out of young fir-trees. It was evident that they intended to climb to the roof for the purpose of making an entrance through it, and dropping down upon the garrison. I foresaw that if they did so, the sacrifice of life must be very great, though they would ultimately succeed; for the Spaniards could scarcely defend themselves if attacked from above as well as on every side.

I now began to repent of my folly in having remained behind; but as I had hitherto been unhurt by the bullets, which were striking the roof and walls on every side of me, I fancied that I should yet escape. I tried to consider what I had best do, and came to the conclusion that it would be wiser to remain where I was. If I should be recognised by any of the Indians, I had no fear of their injuring me; but in the confusion and heat of the fight I could scarcely expect to be so, and I felt that I must run all the risks of the assault if they should succeed in their object. I almost hoped that they would give up the attempt, and allow the Spaniards to escape. The success, however, of the main body of their army encouraged them to persevere.

As far as I could judge at that distance, the troops were completely hemmed in, and were fighting for their lives, not to advance, but to return down the mountain. Should the house be taken, all hopes of their so doing would be lost, as it would leave the besiegers at liberty to descend by the path leading to it, and to cut off all those who might escape.

I was not left long in doubt. By making a circuit to the left, the ladders were brought to a gable end of the house where there were no windows. The Spaniards must have seen the ladders, but they had no means of attacking those destined to mount them unless by making a sortie; and this, with their diminished numbers, they were probably afraid of attempting. The tramp of some men on the steps leading to the roof, showed me that they were aware of what was about to take place, but they were too late. The Indians had already begun to tear off the tiles, and the soldiers who appeared were received with the discharge of a dozen muskets close to their faces. Many fell; the rest attempted to retreat, and were precipitated to the floor below. The Indians swarmed up in numbers, and filled the whole upper story. I stood concealed in a small closet which had not been entered. Just then I perceived, besides the smoke of gunpowder, a cloud of greater density ascending through the floor, and a strong smell of burning wood.

“Merciful heaven!” I exclaimed, “the house is on fire!”

The Indians discovered what was the case at the same time, and rushed down the steps. I followed the last of them. I thought if I attempted to escape by the ladders, I might be mistaken for a Spaniard, and shot. The scene of fighting, bloodshed, and confusion, which met my sight below, passes all description. The combat was carried on by both sides with desperation, the chief aim of the Indians being to open the gates to their friends without, and that of the Spaniards to prevent them. In the confined space of the passages, the Indians had somewhat the advantage with their daggers or short swords, and their axes; and they continued fighting for a minute or more, but had, notwithstanding, made little progress, when, from the secret passage I have so often described, a band of half-naked warriors burst into the house, and uttering loud yells, set upon the Spaniards with the utmost fury. Several of the officers had been killed or severely wounded. Terror-stricken at these new opponents, the men gave way; some attempted to gain the roof, others to burst their way through the doors, though they must then have fallen into the hands of their enemies; but they had a new foe to contend with, as relentless as the former.

The fire, which had been smouldering in one of the rooms, burst forth as the doors were thrown open, and, fanned by the breeze, the fierce flames crept across the walls and along the rafters and ceiling. As the impending danger was perceived, many of the combatants ceased their strife, and victors and vanquished endeavoured to preserve their lives by flight; but some, worked up to fury, fought desperately on till the flames actually caught them in their toils, and claimed them for their victims. Others, with their clothes on fire, Spaniards and Indians mingled together, were seen rushing forth and calling on their friends for aid—on their foes for mercy. Mercy the Indians had never received, nor were they in a temper to grant it. As each Spaniard appeared he was cut down, or was else driven back into the flames, till, as I afterwards heard, not one remained alive of all those who had lately garrisoned the house.

In the meantime I had been watching an opportunity to escape. The fighting was still continuing with the greatest fury, the combatants passing before me, as alternately the Spaniards forced their way forward, or were again driven back by the Indians who poured into the building, while the raging flames gained possession of it; when, as the heat became so intense that I could no longer hold my post, and a space for an instant appearing clear before me, I darted forward amid the fire, the whistling bullets and the weapons of the combatants. I ran on in the hopes of reaching one of the doors at the west side of the house; but I was so blinded and stifled by the smoke, that I could scarcely see my way, or know what I was about. I fancied that I perceived before me a number of Indians. They were driving at the point of their spears several soldiers back into the fire that had reached that part of the house. With fierce gestures some of them advanced towards me. I tried to cry out and explain who I was, when, before the words were spoken, I was sensible of a sharp blow, it seemed on my side. The next instant I saw axes and swords glittering above my head. I sunk to the ground, and all consciousness passed from me.