An Account of the Conquest of Peru Part 1

An Account of the Conquest of Peru.

by Pedro Sancho.

PREFACE

The work of Pedro Sancho is one of the most valuable accounts of the Spanish conquest of Peru that we possess. Nor is its value purely historical. The "Relacion" of Sancho gives much interesting ethnological information relative to the Inca dominion at the time of its demolition.

Errors Pedro Sancho has in plenty; but the editor has striven to counteract them by footnotes.

In every instance the translator has preserved Pedro Sancho's spelling of proper names, calling attention to the modern equivalent on the first occurrence of each name. In a few instances, where the text was unusually obscure, close translation has not been adhered to.

The virtues, as well as the shortcomings of this account, are so obvious that an extended reference to them here is superfluous. It must always be borne in mind that this doc.u.ment partook of the nature of an "_apologia pro vita sua_" and that it was directly inspired by Pizarro himself with the purpose of restoring himself to the Emperor's favor.

Its main purpose was to nullify whatever charges Pizarro's enemies may have been making to the sovereign. Consequently there are numerous violations of the truth, all of which are, for us, easy to recognize.

A word as to the previous editions of Pedro Sancho may not be out of place here. The original ma.n.u.script is lost. An Italian translation of it appears in the "Viaggi" of Giovanni Battista or Giambattista Ramusio, published in Venice about 1550. The numerous editions of Ramusio's great work do not need to be listed here. Occasionally the translator has referred to that of 1563, a copy of which is in his possession. The edition which has served as a text for the present translation is that issued and edited by Don Joaquin Garcia Icazbalceta, Mexico, 1849. This edition, like all of Icazbalceta's work, is painstaking. Professor Marshall Saville has been good enough to lend me his copy of this edition, which is very rare, in order that I might have it to work with.

Finally, a small portion of Pedro Sancho's narrative was issued by the Hakluyt Society of London. The editor, Sir Clements Markham, included it in the same volume with the reports of Xeres, Miguel de Estete, Hernando Pizarro. The volume, ent.i.tled "Reports on the Discovery of Peru," was issued by the Hakluyt Society in 1872.

PHILIP AINSWORTH MEANS BOSTON, Ma.s.sACHUSETTS October 9, 1916

RELATION

Of the events that took place during the conquest and pacification of these provinces of New Castile, and of the quality of the land, and of the manner in which the Captain Hernando Pizarro afterward departed to bear to His Majesty the account of the victory of Caxamalca[1] and of the capture of the Cacique Atabalipa.[2]

CHAPTER I

Concerning the great quant.i.ty of silver and gold which was brought from Cuzco, and of the portion thereof which was sent to H. M. the emperor as the royal fifth: How the imprisoned Cacique Atabalipa declared himself free of his promise which he had made to the Spaniards to fill a house with gold for ransom: And of the treason which the said Atabalipa meditated against the Spaniards, for which betrayal they made him die.

The Captain Hernando Pizarro had departed with the hundred thousand pesos of gold and the five thousand marks of silver which were sent to His Majesty as his royal fifth; after that event, some ten or twelve days, the two Spaniards who were bringing gold from Cuzco arrived, and part of the gold was melted at once because it was in very small pieces; it equalled the sum of[3] ... five hundred-odd plates of gold torn from some house-walls in Cuzco; and even the smallest plates weighed four or five pounds apiece; other, larger ones, weighed ten or twelve pounds, and with plates of this sort all the walls of that temple were covered.

They brought also a seat of very fine gold, worked into the form of a foot-stool, which weighed eighteen thousand _pesos_.[4] Likewise, they brought a fountain all of gold and very subtilely worked which was very fair to see as much for the skill of the work as for the shape which it had been given; and there were many other pieces such as vases, jars, and plates which they also brought. All this gold gave a quant.i.ty which came to two millions and a half [_pesos_], which, on being refined to pure gold, came to one million, three hundred and twenty-odd thousand pesos, from which was subtracted the fifth of His Majesty, or, two hundred and seventy-odd thousand pesos. Fifty thousand marks of silver were found, of which ten thousand were set aside for H. M. One hundred and seventy thousand pesos and five thousand marks were handed over to the treasurer of H. M. The remaining hundred thousand pesos and five marks were taken, as has been said, by Hernando Pizarro to help meet the expenses which His Caesarian Majesty was encountering in the war against the Turks, enemies of our Holy Faith, as they say. All that remained, beyond the royal fifth, was divided among the soldiers and companions of the Governor. He gave to each one what he conscientiously thought he justly merited, taking into consideration the trials each man had pa.s.sed through and the quality of his person, all of which he did with the greatest diligence and speed possible in order that they might set out from that place and go to the city of Xauxa.[5]

And because there were among those soldiers some who were old and more fit for rest than for fatigues, and who in that war had fought and served much, he gave them leave to return to Spain. He procured their good will so that, on returning, these men would give fairer accounts of the greatness and wealth of that land so that a sufficient number of people would come thither to populate and advance it. For, in truth, the land being very large and very full of natives, the Spaniards who were in it then were all too few for conquering it, holding it and settling it, and, although they had already done great things in conquering it, it was owing more to the aid of G.o.d who, in every place and occasion, gave them the victory, than to any strength and means which they had for succeeding, with that further aid they were confident He would sustain them in the future.

That melting of the metals completed, the Governor commanded the notary to draw up a doc.u.ment in which it said that the cacique Atabalipa was free and absolved from the promise and word which he had given to the Spaniards, who were to take the house full of gold in ransom for himself. This doc.u.ment the Governor caused to be proclaimed publicly and to the sound of trumpets in the plaza of that city of Caxamalca, making it known, at the same time, to the said Atabalipa by means of an interpreter, and also he [the Governor] declared in the same proclamation, that, because it suited the service of H. M. and the security of the land, he wished to maintain the cacique as a prisoner with good guard, until more Spaniards should arrive who should give added security; for, the cacique being free, he being so great a lord and having so many soldiers who feared and obeyed him, prisoner though he was, and three hundred leagues [from his capital], he could not well do less in order to free himself from all suspicion; all the more so because many times it had been thought almost certain that he had given orders for warriors to a.s.semble to attack the Spaniards. This, as a matter of fact, had been ordered by him, and the men were all in readiness with their captains, and the cacique only delayed the attack because of the lack of freedom in his own person and in that of his general Chilichuchima,[6] who was also a prisoner. After some days had pa.s.sed, and when the Spaniards were on the point of embarking in order to return to Spain, and the Governor was making the rest ready for setting out for Xauxa, G.o.d Our Lord, who with his infinite goodness was guiding affairs toward all that was best for his service, as will be [seen], having already in this land Spaniards who were to inhabit it and bring to the knowledge of _the true G.o.d_ the natives of the said land so that Our Lord might always be praised and known by these barbarians and so that his Holy Faith might be extolled, permitted the discovery and chastis.e.m.e.nt of the evil plans which this proud tyrant had in mind as a return for the many good works and kind treatment which he had always received from the governor and from each one of the Spaniards of his company; which recompense, according to his intention, was to have been of the sort he was wont to give to the caciques and lords of the land, ordering [his men] to kill without let or cause whatever. For it chanced that our discharged soldiers [were] returning to Spain, he, seeing that they were taking with them the gold that had been got from his land, and mindful of the fact that but a short while ago he had been so great a lord that he held all those provinces with their riches without dispute or question, and without considering the just causes for which they had despoiled him of them, had given orders that certain troops who, by his command, had been a.s.sembled in the land of Quito, should come, on a certain night at an hour agreed upon, to attack the Spaniards who were at Caxamalca, a.s.saulting them from five directions as they were in their quarters, and setting fire wherever possible. Thirty or more Spanish soldiers were marching outside of Caxamalca, having been to the city of San Miguel in order to place the gold for H. M. on board s.h.i.+p, and [the Inca] believed that as they were so few he would be able easily to kill them before they could join forces with those in Caxamalca[7]

... of which there was much information from many caciques and from their chiefs themselves, that all, without fear of torments or menaces, voluntarily confessed this plot: [telling] how fifty thousand men of Quito and many Caribes[8] came to the land, and that all the confines contained armed men in great numbers; that, not finding supplies for them all thus united, he had divided them into three or four divisions, and that, though scattered in this fas.h.i.+on, there were still so many that not finding enough to sustain themselves, they had cut down the still green maize and dried it so that they might not lack for food. All this having been learned, and being now a public matter to all, and as it was clear that they were saying in his [the Inca's] army that they were coming to kill all the Christians, and the governor seeing in how much peril the government and all the Spaniards were, in order to furnish a remedy, although it grieved him much, nevertheless, after seeing the information and process drawn up, a.s.sembled the officials of H. M. and the captains of his company and a Doctor who was then in this army, and the padre Fray Vicente de Valverde, a religious of the order of Santo Domingo sent by the Emperor our Lord for the conversion and instruction of the people of these realms; after there had been much debate and discussion over the harm and the profit that might follow upon the continued life or the death of Atabalipa, it was resolved that justice should be done upon him. And because the officials of H. M.

asked for it and the doctor regarded the information as sufficient, he was finally taken from the prison in which he was, and, to the sound of a trumpet, his treason and perfidy were published, and he was borne to the middle of the plaza of the city and tied to a stake, while the religious was consoling him and teaching him, by means of an interpreter, the things of our christian faith, telling him that G.o.d wished him to die for the sins which he had committed in the world, and that he must repent of them, and that G.o.d would pardon him if he did so and was baptised at once. He, [the Inca] moved by this discourse, asked for baptism. It was at once given to him by that reverend padre who aided him so much with his exhortation that although he was sentenced to be burned alive, he was given a twist of rope around his neck, by means of which he was throttled instead[9] but when he saw that they were preparing for his death, he said that he recommended to the governor his little sons, so that he might take them with him, and with these last words, and while the Spaniards who stood around him said the creed for his soul, he was quickly throttled. May G.o.d take him to his holy glory, for he died repentant of his sins with the true faith of a Christian.

After he was thus hung, in fulfilment of the sentence, fire was cast upon him so that a part of his clothes and flesh was burnt. That night [because he had died in the late afternoon] his body remained in the plaza in order that all might learn of his death, and on the next day the Governor ordered that all the Spaniards should be present at his interment, and, with the cross and other religious paraphernalia, he was borne to the church and buried with as much solemnity as if he had been the chief Spaniard of our camp. Because of this all the princ.i.p.al lords and caciques who served him received great pleasure, considering as great the honour which was done them, and knowing that, because he was a christian, he was not burned alive, and he was interred in church as if he were a Spaniard.

CHAPTER II

They choose as lord of the state of Atabalipa his brother Atabalipa[10] in whose coronation they observed ceremonies in accordance with the usage of the caciques of those provinces. Of the va.s.salage and obedience which Atabalipa and many other caciques offered to the Emperor.

This done, the governor commanded the immediate a.s.sembling in the chief plaza of that city of all the caciques and princ.i.p.al lords who were then living there in company with the dead lord; they were many, and from distant lands, and his intention was to give them another lord who should govern them in the name of H. M., for, as they were accustomed to give always their obedience and tribute to a sole lord, great confusion would result if it were not thus, for each of them would rise up with his own lords.h.i.+p, and it would cost much toil to bring them into friends.h.i.+p with the Spaniards and into the service of H. M. For this and many other reasons the Governor made them a.s.semble, and finding among them a son of Gucunacaba[11] called Atabalipa, a brother of Atabalipa to whom by law the realm belonged, he said to all that now that they saw how Atabalipa was dead because of the treason he had plotted against him [the Governor], and because they were all left without a lord who should govern them and whom they should obey, he wished to give them a lord who would please them all, and that he [the lord] was Atabalipa who was there present, to whom that kingdom legitimately belonged as he was the son of that Gucunacaba whom they had loved so much. He [Atabalipa] was a young man who would treat them with much love and who had enough prudence to govern that land. He [the Governor] urged them, nevertheless, to look well to it that they wished him for a lord, for if not, they were to name another, and if he were capable, the governor would give him to them as lord. They replied that since Atabalipa was dead, they would obey Atabalipa or whomever else he should give them, and so it was arranged that they should yield obedience another day according to the accustomed manner. When the next day had come, once more they all a.s.sembled before the door of the governor where was placed the cacique in his chair and near him all the other lords and chiefs, each in his proper position. And due ceremonies having been held, each one came to offer him a white plume as a sign of va.s.salage and tribute, which is an ancient custom dating from the time that this land was conquered by these Cuzcos.[12] This done, they sang and danced, making a great festivity, in which the new king neither arrayed himself in clothes of price nor placed the fringe upon the forehead in the manner in which the dead lord was wont to wear it. And when the governor asked him why he did so, he replied that it was the custom of his ancestors when they took possession of the realm to mourn the dead cacique and to pa.s.s three days in fasting, shut up within their house, after which they used to come forth with much pomp and solemnity and hold great festivities, for which reason he, too, would like to spend two days in fasting. The Governor replied that since it was an ancient custom he might keep it, and that soon he would give him many things which the Emperor our Lord sent to him, which he would give to him and to all the lords of those provinces. And at once the cacique was placed for his fast in a place apart from the a.s.sembly of the others, which was a house that they had built for this purpose since the day that notice was given by the Governor; it was near the Governor's lodging; on account of it the said Governor and the other Spaniards were greatly astonished, seeing how, in so short a time, so large and fine a house had been built. In it he was shut up and retired without anyone's seeing him or entering that place save the servants who waited on him and brought him food, or the Governor when he wished to send him something. When the fast was over, he came forth richly clad and accompanied by many troops, caciques and chiefs who guarded him, and all the places where he was to sit were adorned with costly cus.h.i.+ons, and beneath his feet were placed fine cloths. Seated near him was Calichuchima, the great general of Atabalipa who conquered this land, as was told in the account of the affairs at Caxamalca, and near him was also the captain Tice, one of the chiefs, and on the other side were certain brothers of the lord, while on both hands were other caciques and captains and governors of provinces and other lords of great lands, and, in short, no one sat there who was not of quality. They all ate together on the ground, for they use no other table, and when they had eaten, the cacique said that he wished to give his obedience in the name of H. M., as his chiefs had given it. The Governor told him to do it in the way that seemed best, and soon he [the cacique] offered him [the governor] a white plume which had been given to him by his caciques, saying that it was given as a token of obedience. The Governor embraced him with much love and received it, saying that he wished to tell him the things which he was to tell in the name of the Emperor, and it was agreed between the two that they should meet again for this purpose the following day. When it had arrived, the Governor presented himself in the a.s.sembly dressed as well as possible in silken clothes and accompanied by the officials of H. M. and by some n.o.blemen of his company who a.s.sisted well-dressed for the greater solemnity of this ceremony of friends.h.i.+p and peace, and by his side he stationed the ensign with the royal standard. Then the Governor began asking each [cacique] in turn his name and that of the land of which he was the lord, and he ordered that it be taken down by his secretary and scrivener, and there were as many as fifty caciques and chiefs. Then, facing all those people, he told them that D. Carlos our lord of whom they were servants and va.s.sals who were in his company, had sent him to that land in order to give them understanding and to preach to them of how a sole Lord Creator of the sky and of the earth, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, three distinct persons in one sole true G.o.d, had created them and given them life and being, and had brought to bear the fruits of the land whereby they were sustained, and that to this end he would teach them what they were to do and observe in order to be saved. And he told them how, by the command of the all-powerful G.o.d, and of his vicars upon earth, because he had gone to heaven where he now dwells and will be eternally glorified, those lands were given to the Emperor in order that he might have charge of them, who had sent him [Pizarro] to instruct them in the christian faith and place them under his obedience. He added that it was all in writing and that they should listen to it and fulfil that which he had read to them, by means of an interpreter, word for word. Then he asked them if they had understood, and they replied that they had, and that since he had given them Atabalipa for a lord, they would do all that he commanded them to do in the name of H. M., holding as supreme lord the Emperor, then the Governor, then Atabalipa, in order to do as much as he commanded in his [H. M.'s] name. Then the Governor took in his hands the royal standard which he raised on high three times, and he told them that, as va.s.sals of the Caesarian Majesty, they ought to do likewise, and the cacique took it, and afterwards the captains and the other chiefs, and each one raised it aloft twice; then they went to embrace the Governor who received them with great joy through seeing their good will, and with how much contentment they had heard the affairs of G.o.d and of our religion. The Governor wished that all this be drawn up as testimony in writing, and when it was over, the caciques and chiefs held great festivities, so much so that every day there were rejoicings such as games and feasts, usually held in the house of the Governor.

CHAPTER III

While leading a new colony of Spaniards to settle in Xauxa, they receive news of the death of Guaritico,[13] brother of Atahualpa.

Afterwards they pa.s.sed through the land of Guamachucho,[14]

Adalmach,[15] Guaiglia,[16] Puerto Nevado, and Capo Tombo,[17] and they hear that in Tarma many Indian warriors are waiting to attack them, on account of which they take Calichuchima prisoner, and then proceed intrepidly on their journey to Cachamarca,[18] where they find much gold.

At this time he [the Governor] had just finished distributing the gold and silver which were in that house among the Spaniards of his company, and Atabalipa gave the gold belonging to the royal fifths to the treasurer of H. M. who took charge of it in order to carry it to the city of Xauxa where he [the Governor] intended to found a colony of Spaniards on account of the reports he had of the good surrounding provinces and of the many cities which there were about it. To this end, he had the Spaniards arranged in order and provided with arms and other things for the journey, and when the time for departure came, he gave them Indians to carry their gold and burdens. Before setting out, having heard how few soldiers there were in San Miguel[19] for the purpose of holding it, he took, from among those Spaniards whom he was to take with him, ten cavalrymen and a captain, a person of great cautiousness, whom he ordered to go to that city where he was to maintain himself until s.h.i.+ps should arrive with troops who might guard it, after which he was to go to Xauxa where he himself was about to found a village of Spaniards and melt the gold which he bore, promising that he would give them all the gold that was due them with as much punctuality as if they were actually present, because his [the captain's] return [to San Miguel] was very necessary, that being the first city to be settled and colonized for the Caesarian Majesty as well as the chief one because in it they would have to wait there to receive the s.h.i.+ps which should come from Spain, to that land.[20]

In this manner they set out with the instructions which the Governor gave them as to what they were to do in the pacification of the people of that region. The Governor set out one Monday morning, and on that day travelled three leagues, sleeping by the sh.o.r.e of a river where the news reached him that a brother of Atabalipa called Guaritico had been killed by some captains of Atabalipa at his command. This Guaritico was a very important person and a friend of the Spaniards, and he had been sent by the Governor from Caxamalca to repair the bridges and bad spots in the road. The cacique pretended to feel great heaviness because of his death, and the Governor himself regretted it because he liked him, and because he was very useful to the Christians. The next day the Governor set out from that place, and, by his marches, arrived in the land of Guamachucho, eighteen leagues from Caxamalca. Having rested there two days, he set out for Caxamalca[21] nine leagues ahead, and arrived there in three days, and rested four in order that his troops might have repose and opportunity to collect supplies for the march to Guaiglia, twenty leagues from there. Having left this village, he came in three days to the Puerto de Nevado, and a morning's march brought him within a day's journey of Guaiglia; and the governor commanded a captain of his, who was the Marshal D. Diego de Almagro, to go with troops and take a bridge two leagues from Guaiglia, which bridge was built in a manner that will soon be related. This captain captured the bridge, which is near a strong mountain that dominated that land. The Governor did not delay in arriving at the bridge with the rest of his men, and having crossed it, he went on, in another morning, which was Sunday, to Guaiglia. Arrived there, they soon heard ma.s.s and afterwards entered certain good rooms; having rested there eight days, he set forth with the soldiers, and the next day crossed another bridge of osiers,[22]

which was above the said river which here pa.s.ses through a very delectable valley. They journeyed thirty leagues to the point where captain Hernando Pizarro came when he went to Pachacamac,[23] as will be seen in the long account which was sent to H. M. of all that was done on that journey to Pachacamac, from there to the city of Xauxa and back to Caxamalca, on the occasion on which he took with him the captain Chilichuchima and other matters which do not concern us here. The Governor changed his route, and, by forced marches, arrived at the land of Caxatambo.[24] From there he went on without doing more than to ask for some Indians who should carry the gold of H. M. and of the soldiers, and always using great vigilance in learning of the affairs which took place in the land, and always having both a vanguard and a rear-guard as had been done up to that time for fear that the captain Chilichuchima whom he had with him, would hatch some treasonable plot, all the more so on account of the suspicion he felt owing to the fact that neither in Caxatambo nor in the eighteen leagues after it had he met with any warriors, nor were his fears lessened during a halt in a village five leagues beyond because all the people had fled without leaving a living soul. When he had arrived there, a Spaniard's Indian servant, who was from that land of Pambo[25] distant from here some ten leagues, and twenty from Xauxa, came to him saying that he had heard that troops had been a.s.sembled in Xauxa to kill the Christians who were coming, and that they had as captains Incorabaliba, Iguaparro, Mortay[26] and another captain, all four being important men who had many troops with them, and the servant added that they had placed a part of this force in a village called Tarma five leagues from Xauxa in order to guard a bad pa.s.s that there was in a mountain and to cut and break it up in such a way that the Spaniards could not pa.s.s by. Informed of this, the governor gave orders that Chilichuchima should be made a prisoner, because it was held to be certain that that force had been made ready by his advice and command, he thinking to flee the Christians and to go to join it. Of these matters the cacique Atabalipa was unaware, and on this account, these [Spanish] troops did not permit any Indian to pa.s.s by in the direction of the cacique who might give notice of these affairs. The reason why these Indians had rebelled and were seeking war with the Christians was that they saw the land being conquered by the Spaniards, and they themselves wished to govern it.

The Governor, before setting out from that place, sent a captain with troops to take a snowy pa.s.s three leagues ahead and then to pa.s.s the night in some fields near Pombo,[27] all of which the captain did, and he pa.s.sed the pa.s.s with much snow, but without encountering any obstacle. And the Governor crossed it likewise, without any opposition save for the inconvenience caused by the snow falling upon them. They all spent the night in that waste without a single hut, and they lacked for wood and victuals. Having arrived in the land of Pombo, the Governor provided and commanded that the soldiers should be lodged with the best order and caution possible, because he had news that the enemy were increasing every moment, and it was held to be certain that he would come here to a.s.sail the Spaniards, and because of this, the Governor caused the patrols and sentinels to be increased, always spying upon the progress of the enemy. After he had waited there another day for certain envoys whom the cacique Atabalipa had sent to learn what was going on in Xauxa, one came who told how the warriors were five leagues from Xauxa on the road from Cuzco and were coming to burn the town so that the Christians should not find shelter, and that they intended afterward to return to Cuzco to combine under a captain named Quizquiz who was there with many troops who had come from Quito by command of Atabalipa for the security of the land. When this was learned by the Governor, he caused to be made ready seventy-five light horse, and with twenty peones who guarded Chilichuchima, and without the impediment of baggage, he set out for Xauxa, leaving behind the treasurer with the other troops who were guarding the camp baggage and the gold of H. M., and of the company. The day on which he set out from Pombo, he travelled some seven leagues, and he halted in a village called Cacamarca,[28] and here they found seventy thousand pesos of gold in large pieces, to guard which the Governor left two Christians from the cavalry in order that when the rear-guard should arrive, it might be conducted well guarded. Then, in the morning, he set forth with his men in good array, for he had word that three leagues from there were four thousand men. And on the march three or four light hors.e.m.e.n went ahead so that, if they should meet a spy of the enemy's, they might take him prisoner to prevent his giving warning of their coming. At the hour of noon, they arrived at that bad pa.s.s of Tarma where warriors were said to be waiting to defend it. The pa.s.s seemed to be so full of difficulties that it would be impossible to go up it, because there was a bad road of stone down into the gully where all the riders had to dismount, after which it was necessary to go up the heights by a slope about a league long, the greater part of which was steep and difficult forest, all of which was crossed without any Indians who were said to be armed making an appearance. And in the afternoon, after the hour of vespers, the Governor and his men arrived at that village of Tarma where, because it was a bad site and because he had news that Indians were coming to it to surprise the Christians, he did not wish to linger longer than was necessary for feeding the horses and allaying their own hunger and fatigue so as to enable them to go forth prepared from that place which had no other level spot than the plaza as it was on a small slope surrounded by mountains for the s.p.a.ce of a league. As it was already night, he made his camp here, being always on the alert and having the horses saddled. And the men were without [proper] food and even without any comfort because there was neither fire-wood nor water, nor had they brought their tents with them to shelter them, because of which they all nearly died of cold on account of the fact that it rained much early in the night and then snowed so that the arms and clothes were drenched. But each one sought the best remedy he could, and so that evil and troublous night pa.s.sed to the dawn when he commanded that all mount their horses so as to arrive early at Xauxa which was four leagues from there. When two had been crossed over, the Governor divided the seventy-five soldiers between three captains, giving fifteen to each, and taking with him the remaining twenty and the twenty peones who were guarding Chilichuchima.

In this order they journeyed to Porsi a league from Xauxa, having given each captain orders as to what he was to do, and they all halted in a small village which they encountered. Then they all marched on in complete accord, and gave a look at the city. They all halted again on a slope within a quarter of a league of it.

CHAPTER IV

They arrive at the city of Xauxa; they leave some soldiers there to guard that place, and others go against the army of the enemy with which they fight. They win a victory, and return to Xauxa.

The natives all came out along the road in order to look at the Christians, celebrating much their coming because they thought that, through it, they would issue forth from the slavery in which that foreign army [the Incas] held them. [The Spaniards] wished to await a later hour in the day at this place, but, seeing that no warriors appeared, they began their journey so as to enter the city. On going down that little slope, they saw running toward them at great speed an Indian with a lance erect, and when he came up to them it was found that he was a servant of the Christians who said that his master had sent him to inform them that they must hold themselves in readiness because their enemies were in the city, and that two Christians from the cavalry had been sent ahead of the rest, and that they had entered the city to see the buildings there, and while they were inspecting it, they saw some twenty Indians who came out of certain houses with their lances and other arms, calling to others to come forth and join with them. The two Christians, seeing them thus a.s.semble, without heeding their cries and clamour, attacked them, killed several, and put the others to flight; the latter soon joined with others who came to their aid, and they formed a ma.s.s of some two hundred which the Spaniards again attacked, in a narrow street, and broke, forcing them to retreat to the bank of a great river which pa.s.ses by that city, and then one of these Spaniards sent the Indian as I have said, with raised lance as a sign that there were armed enemies in the city. This having been heard, the Spaniards set spur to their horses, and, without delay, arrived at the city and entered it; and when they joined their companions, the latter told them what had occurred with those Indians. The captains, running in the direction in which the enemy had retreated, arrived at length at the bank of the river, which was then very full, and on the other sh.o.r.e, at a distance of a quarter of a league, they descried the squadrons of their enemies. Then, having pa.s.sed the river with no little toil and danger, they gave chase to them. The Governor remained guarding the city because it was said that there were enemies hidden within it, as well.

The Indians perceiving that the Christians had crossed the river, they began to retreat, drawn up in two squadrons. One of the Spanish captains, with his fifteen light hors.e.m.e.n, spurred ahead toward the slope of the hill for which they [the Indians] were making so that they could not retreat thither and fortify themselves. The other two captains kept right up with them, overtaking them in a field of maize near the river. There they put them in disorder and routed them, capturing as many as possible, so that of six hundred [Indians] not more than twenty or thirty, who took to the mountains before the other captain with his fifteen men could arrive, saved themselves. Most of the Indians made for the water, thinking to save themselves in it, but the light hors.e.m.e.n crossed the river almost by swimming after them, and they did not leave one alive save some few who had hidden themselves in their flight after their army was broken in pieces. Then the Spaniards ran through the country as far as a league below without finding a single Indian. Then, having returned, they rested themselves and their horses, which were in great need of it; both because of the long journey of the day before and on account of their having run those two leagues, they were rather crippled. When the truth was learned as to what troops those were [with whom the Spaniards had fought], it was found that the four captains and the main body were encamped six leagues down the river from Xauxa, and that, on that very day, they had sent those six hundred men to complete the burning of the city of Xauxa, having already burned the other half of it seven or eight days before, and that they had then burned a great edifice which was in the plaza, as well as many other things before the eyes of the people of that city, together with many clothes and much maize, so that the Spaniards should not avail themselves of them. The citizens were left so hostile to those other Indians that if one of the latter hid, they showed him to the Christians so that they would kill him, and they themselves aided in killing them, and they would even have done so with their own hands if the Christians had permitted it. The Spanish captains, having studied the place where these enemies were found as well as the road, along a part of which they journeyed, they determined not to shut themselves up in Xauxa, but to pa.s.s onward and attack the main body of the army which was four leagues off before it should receive news of their coming. With this intention, they commanded the soldiers to make ready, but their proposal did not come to pa.s.s because they found the horses so weary that they held it to be better council to retire, which they did. Arrived in Xauxa, they recounted to the Governor all that had happened, with which he was well pleased, and he received them cheerfully, thanking them all for having borne themselves so valorously. And he told them that by all means he intended to attack the camp of the enemy because, although they were advised of the victory, it was certain that they would be waiting. At once he ordered his master of the camp to lodge the men and let them rest during what remained of the day and through the night until moon-rise, and that then they should make ready to go and attack their enemies. At that hour fifty light hors.e.m.e.n were in readiness, and at the sound of the trumpet they presented themselves, armed and with their horses, at the lodging of the Governor who despatched them very soon upon their road. Fifteen hors.e.m.e.n remained with him in the city together with the twenty peones who made the guard all of each night with the horses saddled, until the captain of that sally returned, which was in five days. He related to the governor all that had happened from the time of his departure, telling how, on the night he left Xauxa, he journeyed some four leagues before dawn, with much eagerness to attack the enemy's camp before they were warned of his coming; and being now near [the enemy] at dawn, they saw a great ma.s.s of smoke in the place of their encampment, which seemed to be two leagues further on. And so he spurred on with his men at a great pace, thinking that the enemy, warned of his approach, had fled and that the buildings that there were in a village were burning. And so it was, because they had fled, after having set fire to that wretched hamlet. Arrived at that place, the Spaniards followed the footsteps of the warriors through a very broad valley. And as they overtook them they collided with the enemy who were going more slowly with many women and children in their rear-guard, and the Spaniards, leaving these behind them in order to catch up with the men, ran more than four leagues, and caught up with some of their squadrons.

As some of them [the Indians] saw the Castilians from some distance, they had time to take shelter on a mountain and save themselves; others, who were few, were killed, leaving in the power of the Spaniards (who, because their horses were tired, did not wish to go up the mountain) many spoils and women and children. And as it was already night, they returned to sleep in a village which they had left behind. And the following day these Spaniards determined to follow them as they fled back to Cuzco so as to take from them certain bridges of net-work and to prevent their crossing. But, because of lack of pasturage for their horses, they found themselves obliged to fall back, to the dissatisfaction of the Governor because they had not at least followed and taken those bridges so as to prevent the Indians from returning to Cuzco; it was feared that, being strange people, they would do great harm to the citizens of those places.

CHAPTER V

They name new officials in the city of Xauxa in order to establish a settlement of Spaniards, and, having had news of the death of Atabalipa, with great prudence and much craftiness in order to keep themselves in the good graces of the Indians, they discuss the appointment of a new lord.

And for this reason, as soon as the baggage and the rear-guard, which he had left at Pombo, had arrived, he [the Governor] published an edict to the effect that whereas he was determined to found a settlement of Spaniards in the name of H. M., all those who wished to settle there might do so. But there was not one Spaniard who wished to remain, and they said that so long as there were warriors all about in that land with arms in their hands the natives of that province would not be at the service and disposal of the Spaniards and in obedience to H. M. When this was observed by the Governor, he determined not to lose time then in that matter, but to go against the enemy in the direction of Cuzco in order to drive them from that province and rout them from all of it. In the meanwhile, in order to put in order the affairs of that city, he founded the village in the name of H. M., and created officials of justice for it [and for its citizens] who were eighty in number, of whom forty were light hors.e.m.e.n whom he left there as a garrison, and, [leaving also] the treasurer, who was to guard the gold of H. M. and to act in all matters as head and chief in command of the government.[29]

While these things were being done, the cacique Atabalipa came to die, of his illness; because of this, the Governor and all the other Spaniards felt great sorrow, because it was certain that he was very prudent and had much love for the Spaniards. It was given out publicly that the captain Calichuchima had caused his death because he desired that the land should remain with the people of Quito and not with either those of Cuzco or with the Spaniards, and if that cacique ["Atabalipa"]

had lived, he [Calichuchima] would not have been able to succeed in what he desired to do. At once, the Governor had Calichuchima and Tizas[30]

and a brother of the cacique and other leading chiefs and caciques who had come from Caxamalca summoned to him; to them he said that they must know very well that he had given them Atabalipa as a lord and that, now that he was dead, they ought to think of whom they would like as lord in order that he might give him to them. There was a great difference of opinion between them on this subject because Calichuchima wished the son of Atabalipa and brother of the dead cacique Aticoc[31] as lord, and others, who were not of the land of Quito, wished the lord to be a native of Cuzco and proposed a brother of Atabalipa (as lord). The Governor said to those who wished as lord the brother of Atabalipa that they should send and have him summoned and that after he had come, if he found him to be a man of worth, he would appoint him. And with this reply that meeting came to an end. And the Governor, having called aside the captain Calichuchima, spoke to him in these words: "You already know that I loved greatly your lord Atabalipa and that I have always wished him to leave a son after he died, and that this son should be lord, and that you, who are already a prudent man, should be his captain until he had reached the age of governing his dominions, and for this reason I greatly desire that he should be called soon, because, for love of his father, I love him much, and you likewise. But at the same time, since all these caciques who are here are your friends and since you have much influence with the soldiers of their nation, it would be well that you send them word by messengers to come in peace, because I do not wish to be enraged against them and to kill them, as you see I am doing, when I wish that the affairs of these provinces should be quiet and peaceful."

This captain had a great desire, as has been said, that the son of Atabalipa should be lord, and knowing this, the Governor slyly spoke these words to him and gave him this hope, not because he had any intention of carrying it out,[32] but in order that, in the meanwhile, that son of Atabalipa might come for this purpose (and) might cause those caciques who had taken up arms [also] to come to him in peace. It was likewise agreed that he should say to Aticoc and to the other lords of the province of Cuzco that he [the Governor] would give them as lord him whom they wished, because it was necessary that those things which were for the good of all should thus be governed in the state. He tried to give to Calichuchima words that [would enable him] to cause the people who were in Cuzco with arms to lay them down in order that they might do no harm to the people of the country, and those of Cuzco, because they were true friends of the Christians, gave them notice of all that the enemy were trying to do and of all that was going on in the country, and for this reason and others the Governor said this with great prudence. Chilichuchima, to whom he told it, showed as much pleasure at these words as if he had been made lord of the whole world, and he replied that he would do as he was ordered and that it would cause him much pleasure if the caciques and soldiers were to come in peace[33] and that he would despatch messengers to Quito in order that the son of Atabalipa might come. But he feared that two great captains who were with him would prevent it, and would not let him come.