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$Title{History Of The Conquest Of Peru
Chapter I: Part II}
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$Author{Prescott, William H.}
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$Date{1864}
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Title:       History Of The Conquest Of Peru
Book:        Book III: Conquest Of Peru
Author:      Prescott, William H.
Date:        1864

Chapter I: Part II

     Without loss of time, therefore, Pizarro, afraid, if the facts were
known, that his enterprise might be nipped in the bud, slipped his cables,
and crossing the bar of San Lucar, in January, 1530, stood for the isle of
Gomera, - one of the Canaries, - where he ordered his brother Hernando, who
had charge of the remaining vessels, to meet him.

     Scarcely had he gone, before the officers arrived to institute the
search.  But when they objected the deficiency of men, they were easily -
perhaps willingly - deceived by the pretext that the remainder had gone
forward in the vessel with Pizarro.  At all events, no further obstacles were
thrown in Hernando's way, and he was permitted, with the rest of the
squadron, to join his brother, according to agreement, at Gomera.

     After a prosperous voyage, the adventurers reached the northern coast
of the great southern continent, and anchored off the port of Santa Marta.
Here they received such discouraging reports of the countries to which they
were bound, of forests teeming with insects and venomous serpents, of huge
alligators that swarmed on the banks of the streams, and of hardships and
perils such as their own fears had never painted, that several of Pizarro's
men deserted; and their leader, thinking it no longer safe to abide in such
treacherous quarters, set sail at once for Nombre de Dios.

     Soon after his arrival there, he was met by his two associates, Luque
and Almagro, who had crossed the mountains for the purpose of hearing from
his own lips the precise import of the capitulation with the Crown.  Great,
as might have been expected, was Almagro's discontent at learning the result
of what he regarded as the perfidious machinations of his associate.  "Is it
thus," he exclaimed, "that you have dealt with the friend who shared equally
with you in the trials, the dangers, and the cost of the enterprise; and
this, notwithstanding your solemn engagements on your departure to provide
for his interests as faithfully as your own?  How could you allow me to be
thus dishonored in the eyes of the world by so paltry a compensation, which
seems to estimate my services as nothing in comparison with your own?" ^10

[Footnote 10: Herrera, Hist. General, dec. 4, lib. 7, cap. 9. - Pedro Pizarro
Descub. y Conq., Ms.]

     Pizarro, in reply, assured his companion that he had faithfully urged
his suit, but that the government refused to confide powers which intrenched
so closely on one another to different hands.  He had no alternative, but to
accept all himself or to decline all; and he endeavoured to mitigate
Almagro's displeasure by representing that the country was large enough for
the ambition of both, and that the powers conferred on himself were, in fact,
conferred on Almagro, since all that he had would ever be at his friend's
disposal, as if it were his own.  But these honeyed words did not satisfy the
injured party; and the two captains soon after returned to Panama with
feelings of estrangement, if not hostility, towards one another, which did
not augur well for their enterprise.

     Still, Almagro was of a generous temper, and might have been appeased
by the politic concessions of his rival, but for the interference of Hernando
Pizarro, who, from the first hour of their meeting, showed little respect for
the veteran, which, indeed, the diminutive person of the latter was not
calculated to inspire, and who now regarded him with particular aversion as
an impediment to the career of his brother.

     Almagro's friends - and his frank and liberal manners had secured him
many - were no less disgusted than himself with the overbearing conduct of
this new ally.  They loudly complained that it was quite enough to suffer from
the perfidy of Pizarro, without being exposed to the insults of his family,
who had now come over with him to fatten on the spoils of conquest which
belonged to their leader.  The rupture soon proceeded to such a length, that
Almagro avowed his intention to prosecute the expedition without further
cooperation with his partner, and actually entered into negotiations for the
purchase of vessels for that object.  But Luque, and the Licentiate Espinosa,
who had fortunately come over at that time from St. Domingo, now interposed to
repair a breach which must end in the ruin of the enterprise, and the probable
destruction of those most interested in its success.  By their mediation, a
show of reconciliation was at length effected between the parties, on
Pizarro's assurance that he would relinquish the dignity of Adelantado in
favor of his rival, and petition the emperor to confirm him in the possession
of it; - an assurance, it may be remarked, not easy to reconcile with his
former assertion in respect to the avowed policy of the Crown in bestowing
this office.  He was, moreover, to apply for a distinct government for his
associate, so soon as he had become master of the country assigned to himself;
and was to solicit no office for either of his own brothers, until Almagro had
been first provided for.  Lastly, the former contract in regard to the
division of the spoil into three equal shares between the three original
associates was confirmed in the most explicit manner.  The reconciliation thus
effected among the parties answered the temporary purpose of enabling them to
go forward in concert in the expedition.  But it was only a thin scar that had
healed over the wound, which, deep and rankling within, waited only fresh
cause of irritation to break out with a virulence more fatal than ever. ^11

[Footnote 11: Pedro Pizarro, Descub. y Conq., Ms. - Naharro, Relacion Sumaria,
Ms. - Montesinos, Annales, Ms., ano 1529. - Relacion del Primer. Descub., Ms.
- Zarate, Conq. del Peru, lib. 1, cap. 3. - Oviedo, Hist. de las Indias, Ms.,
Parte 3, lib. 8, cap. 1.

     There seems to have been little good-will, at bottom, between any of the
confederates; for Father Luque wrote to Oviedo that both of his partners had
repaid his services with ingratitude. - "Padre Luque, companero de estos
Capitanes, con cuya hacienda hicieron ellos sus hechos, puesto que el uno e el
otro se lo pagaron con ingratitud segun a mi me lo escribio el mismo electo de
su mano." Ibid., loc. cit.]

     No time was now lost in preparing for the voyage.  It found little
encouragement, however, among the colonists of Panama, who were too familiar
with the sufferings on the former expeditions to care to undertake another,
even with the rich bribe that was held out to allure them.  A few of the old
company were content to follow out the adventure to its close; and some
additional stragglers were collected from the province of Nicaragua, - a
shoot, it may be remarked, from the colony of Panama.  But Pizarro made
slender additions to the force brought over with him from Spain, though this
body was in better condition, and, in respect to arms, ammunition, and
equipment generally, was on a much better footing than his former levies.
The whole number did not exceed one hundred and eighty men, with twenty-seven
horses for the cavalry.  He had provided himself with three vessels, two of
them of a good size, to take the place of those which he had been compelled
to leave on the opposite side of the Isthmus at Nombre de Dios; an armament
small for the conquest of an empire, and far short of that prescribed by the
capitulation with the Crown.  With this the intrepid chief proposed to
commence operations, trusting to his own successes, and the exertions of
Almagro, who was to remain behind, for the present, to muster
reinforcements. ^12

[Footnote 12: The numerical estimates differ, as usual.  I conform to the
statement of Pizarro's secretary, Xerez, Conq. del Peru, ap. Barcia, tom.
III. p. 182.]

     On St. John the Evangelist's day, the banners of the company and the
royal standard were consecrated in the cathedral church of Panama; a sermon
was preached before the little army by Fray Juan de Vargas, one of the
Dominicans selected by the government for the Peruvian mission; and mass was
performed, and the sacrament administered to every soldier previous to his
engaging in the crusade against the infidel. ^13 Having thus solemnly invoked
the blessing of Heaven on the enterprise, Pizarro and his followers went on
board their vessels, which rode at anchor in the Bay of Panama, and early in
January, 1531, sallied forth on his third and last expedition for the
conquest of Peru.

[Footnote 13: "El qual haviendo hecho bendecir en la Iglesia mayor las
banderas i estandarte real dia de San Juan Evangelista de dicho ano de 1530,
i que todos los soldados confesasen i comulgasen en el convento de Nuestra
Senora de la Merced, dia de los Inocentes en la misa cantada que se celebro
con toda solemnidad i sermon que predico el P. Presentdo Fr. Juan de Vargas,
uno de los 5 religiosos que en cumplimiento de la obediencia de sus prelados
i orden del Emperador pasaban a la conquista." Naharro, Relacion Sumaria,
Ms.]

     It was his intention to steer direct for Tumbez, which held out so
magnificent a show of treasure on his former voyage.  But head winds and
currents, as usual, baffled his purpose, and after a run of thirteen days,
much shorter than the period formerly required for the same distance, his
little squadron came to anchor in the Bay of St. Matthew, about one degree
north; and Pizarro, after consulting with his officers, resolved to disembark
his forces and advance along the coast, while the vessels held their course
at a convenient distance from the shore.

     The march of the troops was severe and painful in the extreme; for the
road was constantly intersected by streams, which, swollen by the winter
rains, widened at their mouths into spacious estuaries.  Pizarro, who had
some previous knowledge of the country, acted as guide as well as commander
of the expedition.  He was ever ready to give aid where it was needed,
encouraging his followers to ford or swim the torrents as they best could,
and cheering the desponding by his own buoyant and courageous spirit.

     At length they reached a thick-settled hamlet, or rather town, in the
province of Coaque.  The Spaniards rushed on the place, and the inhabitants,
without offering resistance, fled in terror to the neighbouring forests,
leaving their effects - of much greater value than had been anticipated - in
the hands of the invaders.  "We fell on them, sword in hand," says one of the
Conquerors, with some naivete; "for, if we had advised the Indians of our
approach, we should never have found there such store of gold and precious
stones." ^14 The natives, however, according to another authority, stayed
voluntarily; "for, as they had done no harm to the white men, they flattered
themselves none would be offered to them, but that there would be only an
interchange of good offices with the strangers," ^15 - an expectation founded,
it may be, on the good character which the Spaniards had established for
themselves on their preceding visit, but in which the simple people now found
themselves most unpleasantly deceived.

[Footnote 14: "Pues llegados a este pueblo de Coaque dieron de supito sin
savello la gente del porque si estuvieran avisados.  No se tomara la cantidad
de oro y esmeraldas que en el se tomaron." Pedro Pizarre, Descub. y Conq.,
Ms]

[Footnote 15: Herrera, Hist. General, dec. 4, lib. 7, cap. 9.]

     Rushing into the deserted dwellings, the invaders found there, besides
stuffs of various kinds, and food most welcome in their famished condition,
a large quantity of gold and silver wrought into clumsy ornaments, together
with many precious stones; for this was the region of the esmeraldas, or
emeralds, where that valuable gem was most abundant.  One of these jewels
that fell into the hands of Pizarro, in this neighbourhood, was as large as
a pigeon's egg.  Unluckily, his rude followers did not know the value of
their prize; and they broke many of them in pieces by pounding them with
hammers. ^16 They were led to this extraordinary proceeding, it is said, by
one of the Dominican missionaries, Fray Reginaldo de Pedraza, who assured
them that this was the way to prove the true emerald, which could not be
broken.  It was observed that the good father did not subject his own jewels
to this wise experiment; but, as the stones, in consequence of it, fell in
value, being regarded merely as colored glass, he carried back a consider
able store of them to Panama. ^17

[Footnote 16: Relacion del Primer. Descub., Ms. - Zarate, Conq. del Peru,
lib. 1, cap. 4.

     "A lo que se ha entendido en las esmeraldas ovo gran hierro y torpedad
en algunas Personas por no conoscellas.  Aunque quieren decir que algunos que
las conoscieron las guardaron.  Pero ffinalmente muchos vbieron esmeraldas
de mucho valor; vnos las provavan en yunques, dandolas con martillos,
diziendo que si hera esmeralda no se quebraria; otros las despreciaban,
diziendo que era vidrio." Pedro Pizarro, Descub. y Conq., Ms.]

[Footnote 17: Pedro Pizarro, Descub. y Conq., Ms. - Herrera, Hist. General,
dec. 4, lib. 7, cap. 9.]

     The gold and silver ornaments rifled from the dwellings were brought
together and deposited in a common heap; when a fifth was deducted for the
Crown, and Pizarro distributed the remainder in due proportions among the
officers and privates of his company.  This was the usage invariably observed
on the like occasions throughout the Conquest.  The invaders had embarked in
a common adventure.  Their interest was common, and to have allowed every one
to plunder on his own account would only have led to insubordination and
perpetual broils.  All were required, therefore, on pain of death, to
contribute whatever they obtained, whether by bargain or by rapine, to the
general stock; and all were too much interested in the execution of the
penalty to allow the unhappy culprit, who violated the law, any chance of
escape. ^18

[Footnote 18: "Los Espanoles las rrecoxeron y juntaron el oro y la plata,
porque asi estava mandado y hordenado sopena de la vida el que otra cossa
hiziese, porque todos lo avian de traet a monton para que de alli el
governador lo rrepartiese, dando a cada uno confforme a su persona y meritos
de servicios; y esta horden se guardo en toda esta tierra en la conquista
della, y al que se le hallara oro o plata escondido muriera por ello, y deste
medio nadie oso escondello." Pedro Pizarro, Descub y Conq., Ms.]

     Pizarro, with his usual policy, sent back to Panama a large quantity of
the gold, no less than twenty thousand castellanos in value, in the belief
that the sight of so much treasure, thus speedily acquired, would settle the
doubts of the wavering, and decide them on joining his banner. ^19 He judged
right.  As one of the Conquerors piously expresses it, "It pleased the Lord
that we should fall in with the town of Coaque, that the riches of the land
might find credit with the people, and that they should flock to it." ^20

[Footnote 19: The booty was great, indeed, if, as Pedro Pizarro, one of the
Conquerors present, says, it amounted in value to 200,000 gold castellanos.
"Aqui se hallo mucha chaquira de oro y de plata, muchas coronas hechas de oro
a manera de imperiales, y otras muchas piezas en que se avaleo montar mas de
dozientos mill castellanos." (Descub. y Conq., Ms.) Naharro, Montesinos, and
Herrera content themselves with stating that he sent back 20,000 castellanos
in the vessels to Panama.]

[Footnote 20: "Fueron a dar en vn pueblo que se dezia Coaque que fue nuestro
Senor servido tapasen con el, porque con lo que en el se hallo se acredito
la tierra y vino gente a ella." Pedro Pizarro, Descub y Conq., Ms.]

     Pizarro, having refreshed his men, continued his march along the coast,
but no longer accompanied by the vessels, which had returned for recruits to
Panama.  The road, as he advanced, was checkered with strips of sandy waste,
which, drifted about by the winds, blinded the soldiers, and afforded only
treacherous footing for man and beast.  The glare was intense; and the rays of
a vertical sun beat fiercely on the iron mail and the thick quilted doublets
of cotton, till the fainting troops were almost suffocated with the heat.  To
add to their distresses, a strange epidemic broke out in the little army.  It
took the form of ulcers, or rather hideous warts of great size, which covered
the body, and when lanced, as was the case with some, discharged such a
quantity of blood as proved fatal to the sufferer.  Several died of this
frightful disorder, which was so sudden in its attack, and attended with such
prostration of strength, that those who lay down well at night were unable to
lift their hands to their heads in the morning. ^21 The epidemic, which made
its first appearance during this invasion, and which did not long survive it,
spread over the country, sparing neither native nor white man. ^22 It was one
of those plagues from the vial of wrath, which the destroying angel, who
follows in the path of the conqueror, pours out on the devoted nations.

[Footnote 21: Naharro, Relacion Sumaria, Ms. - Pedro Pizarro, Descub. y Conq.,
Ms. - Montesinos, Annales, Ms., ano 1530.]

[Footnote 22: Garcilasso, Com. Real., Parte 2, lib. 1, cap. 15.]

     The Spaniards rarely experienced on their march either resistance or
annoyance from the inhabitants, who, instructed by the example of Coaque, fled
with their effects into the woods and neighbouring mountains.  No one came out
to welcome the strangers and offer the rites of hospitality, as on their last
visit to the land.  For the white men were no longer regarded as good beings
that had come from heaven, but as ruthless destroyers, who, invulnerable to
the assaults of the Indians, were borne along on the backs of fierce animals,
swifter than the wind, with weapons in their hands, that scattered fire and
desolation as they went.  Such were the stories now circulated of the
invaders, which, preceding them everywhere on their march, closed the hearts,
if not the doors, of the natives against them.  Exhausted by the fatigue of
travel and by disease, and grievously disappointed at the poverty of the land,
which now offered no compensation for their toils, the soldiers of Pizarro
cursed the hour in which they had enlisted under his standard, and the men of
Nicaragua, in particular, says the old chronicler, calling to mind their
pleasant quarters in their luxurious land, sighed only to return to their
Mahometan paradise. ^23

[Footnote 23: Aunque ellos no ninguno por aver venido, porque como avian
dexado el paraiso de mahoma que hera Nicaragua y hallaron la isla alzada y
falta de comidas y la mayor parte de la gente enfferma y no oro ni plata como
atras avian hallado, algunos y todos se holgaran de volver de adonde avian
venido." Pedro Pizarro, Descub. y Conq., Ms.]

     At this juncture the army was gladdened by the sight of a vessel from
Panama, which brought some supplies, together with the royal treasurer, the
veedor or inspector, the comptroller, and other high officers appointed by the
Crown to attend the expedition.  They had been left in Spain by Pizarro, in
consequence of his abrupt departure from the country; and the Council of the
Indies, on learning the circumstance, had sent instructions to Panama to
prevent the sailing of his squadron from that port.  But the Spanish
government, with more wisdom, countermanded the order, only requiring the
functionaries to quicken their own departure, and take their place without
loss of time in the expedition.

     The Spaniards in their march along the coast had now advanced as far as
Puerto Viejo.  Here they were soon after joined by another small reinforcement
of about thirty men, under an officer named Belalcazar, who subsequently rose
to high distinction in this service.  Many of the followers of Pizarro would
now have halted at this spot and established a colony there. But that chief
thought more of conquering than of colonizing, at least for the present; and
he proposed, as his first step, to get possession of Tumbez, which he regarded
as the gate of the Peruvian empire.  Continuing his march, therefore, to the
shores of what is now called the Gulf of Guayaquil, he arrived off the little
island of Puna, lying at no great distance from the Bay of Tumbez.  This
island, he thought, would afford him a convenient place to encamp until he was
prepared to make his descent on the Indian city.

     The dispositions of the islanders seemed to favor his purpose.  He had
not been long in their neighbourhood, before a deputation of the natives, with
their cacique at their head, crossed over in their balsas to the main land to
welcome the Spaniards to their residence.  But the Indian interpreters of
Tumbez, who had returned with Pizarro from Spain, and continued with the camp,
put their master on his guard against the meditated treachery of the
islanders, whom they accused of designing to destroy the Spaniards by cutting
the ropes that held together the floats, and leaving those upon them to perish
in the waters.  Yet the cacique, when charged by Pizarro with this perfidious
scheme, denied it with such an air of conscious innocence, that the Spanish
commander trusted himself and his followers, without further hesitation, to
his conveyance, and was transported in safety to the shores of Puna.

     Here he was received in a hospitable manner, and his troops were
provided with comfortable quarters.  Well satisfied with his present
position, Pizarro resolved to occupy it until the violence of the rainy
season was passed, when the arrival of the reinforcements he expected would
put him in better condition for marching into the country of the Inca.

     The island, which lies in the mouth of the river of Guayaquil, and is
about eight leagues in length by four in breadth, at the widest part, was at
that time partially covered with a noble growth of timber.  But a large
portion of it was subjected to cultivation, and bloomed with plantations of
cacao, of the sweet potato, and the different products of a tropical clime,
evincing agricultural knowledge as well as industry in the population.  They
were a warlike race; but had received from their Peruvian foes the appellation
of "perfidious." It was the brand fastened by the Roman historians on their
Carthaginian enemies, - with perhaps no better reason. The bold and
independent islanders opposed a stubborn resistance to the arms of the Incas;
and, though they had finally yielded, they had been ever since at feud, and
often in deadly hostility, with their neighbours of Tumbez.

     The latter no sooner heard of Pizarro's arrival on the island, than,
trusting, probably, to their former friendly relations with him, they came
over in some number to the Spanish quarters.  The presence of their detested
rivals was by no means grateful to the jealous inhabitants of Puna, and the
prolonged residence of the white men on their island could not be otherwise
than burdensome.  In their outward demeanour they still maintained the same
show of amity; but Pizarro's interpreters again put him on his guard against
the proverbial perfidy of their hosts.  With his suspicions thus roused, the
Spanish commander was informed that a number of the chiefs had met together to
deliberate on a plan of insurrection.  Not caring to wait for the springing of
the mine, he surrounded the place of meeting with his soldiers and made
prisoners of the suspected chieftains.  According to one authority, they
confessed their guilt. ^24 This is by no means certain.  Nor is it certain
that they meditated an insurrection.  Yet the fact is not improbable in
itself; though it derives little additional probability from the assertion of
the hostile interpreters.  It is certain, however, that Pizarro was satisfied
of the existence of a conspiracy; and, without further hesitation, he
abandoned his wretched prisoners, ten or twelve in number, to the tender
mercies of their rivals of Tumbez, who instantly massacred them before his
eyes. ^25

[Footnote 24: Xeres, Conq. del Peru, ap. Barcia, tom. III. p. 183.]

[Footnote 25: "Y el marques don Francisco Picarro, por tenellos por amigos y
estuviesen de paz quando alla passasen, les dio algunos principales los quales
ellos matavan en presencia de los espanoles, cortandoles las cavezas por el
cogote." Pedro Pizarro, Descub. y Conq., Ms.]

     Maddened by this outrage, the people of Puna sprang to arms, and threw
themselves at once, with fearful yells and the wildest menaces of despair, on
the Spanish camp.  The odds of numbers were greatly in their favor, for they
mustered several thousand warriors.  But the more decisive odds of arms and
discipline were on the side of their antagonists; and, as the Indians rushed
forward in a confused mass to the assault, the Castilians coolly received them
on their long pikes, or swept them down by the volleys of their musketry.
Their ill-protected bodies were easily cut to pieces by the sharp sword of the
Spaniard; and Hernando Pizarro, putting himself at the head of the cavalry,
charged boldly into the midst, and scattered them far and wide over the field,
until, panic-struck by the terrible array of steel-clad horsemen, and the
stunning reports and the flash of fire-arms, the fugitives sought shelter in
the depths of their forests.  Yet the victory was owing, in some degree, at
least, - if we may credit the Conquerors, - to the interposition of Heaven;
for St. Michael and his legions were seen high in the air above the
combatants, contending with the arch-enemy of man, and cheering on the
Christians by their example! ^26

[Footnote 26: The city of San Miguel was so named by Pizarro to commemorate
the event, - and the existence of such a city may be considered by some as
establishing the truth of the miracle. - "En la batalla de Puna vieron muchos,
ya de los Indios, ya de los nuestros, que habia en el aire otros dos campos,
uno acaudillado por el Arcangel Sn Miguel con espada y rodela, y otro por
Luzbel y sus secuaces; mas apenas cantaron los Castellanos la victoria huyeron
los diablos, y formando un gran torvellino de viento se oyeron en el aire unas
terribles voces que decian, Vencistenos!  Miguel vencistenos!  De aqui torno
Dn Francisco Pizarro tanta devocion al sto Arcangel, que prometio llamar la
primera ciudad que fundase de su nombre; cumpliolo asi como veremos adelante."
Montesinos, Annales, Ms., ano 1530.]

     Not more than three or four Spaniards fell in the fight; but many were
wounded, and among them Hernando Pizarro, who received a severe injury in the
leg from a javelin.  Nor did the war end here; for the implacable islanders,
taking advantage of the cover of night, or of any remissness on the part of
the invaders, were ever ready to steal out of their fastnesses and spring on
their enemy's camp, while, by cutting off his straggling parties, and
destroying his provisions, they kept him in perpetual alarm.

     In this uncomfortable situation, the Spanish commander was gladdened by
the appearance of two vessels off the island.  They brought a reinforcement
consisting of a hundred volunteers besides horses for the cavalry.  It was
commanded by Hernando de Soto, a captain afterwards famous as the discoverer
of the Mississippi, which still rolls its majestic current over the place of
his burial, - a fitting monument for his remains, as it is of his renown. ^27

[See Fernando de Soto: A Captain famous as the discoverer of Mississippi.]

[Footnote 27: The transactions in Puna are given at more or less length by
Naharro, Relacion Sumaria, Ms. - Conq. i Pob. del Peru, Ms. - Pedro Pizarro,
Descub. y Conq., Ms. - Montesinos, Annales, Ms., ubi supra. - Relacion del
Primer.  Descub., Ms. - Xerez, Conq. del Peru, ap. Barcia, tom. III. pp. 182,
183.]

     This reinforcement was most welcome to Pizarro, who had been long
discontented with his position on an island, where he found nothing to
compensate the life of unintermitting hostility which he was compelled to
lead.  With these recruits, he felt himself in sufficient strength to cross
over to the continent, and resume military operations on the proper theatre
for discovery and conquest.  From the Indians of Tumbez he learned that the
country had been for some time distracted by a civil war between two sons of
the late monarch, competitors for the throne.  This intelligence he regarded
as of the utmost importance, for he remembered the use which Cortes had made
of similar dissensions among the tribes of Anahuac.  Indeed, Pizarro seems to
have had the example of his great predecessor before his eyes on more
occasions than this.  But he fell far short of his model; for, notwithstanding
the restraint he sometimes put upon himself, his coarser nature and more
ferocious temper often betrayed him into acts most repugnant to sound policy,
which would never have been countenanced by the Conqueror of Mexico.