Multimedia Mania/abacus-multimedia-mania.iso/dp/0074/00745.txt

Text File | 1993-07-27 | 36KB | 604 lines

$Unique_ID{bob00745}
$Pretitle{}
$Title{History Of The Conquest Of Peru
Chapter VIII}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Prescott, William H.}
$Affiliation{}
$Subject{de
peru
pizarro
del
cap
lib
ms
viceroy
gonzalo
footnote}
$Date{1864}
$Log{}
Title:       History Of The Conquest Of Peru
Book:        Book IV: Civil Wars Of The Conquerors
Author:      Prescott, William H.
Date:        1864

Chapter VIII

The Viceroy Arrives At Lima. - Gonzalo Pizarro Marches From Cuzco. - Death
Of The Inca Manco. - Rash Conduct Of The Viceroy. - Seized And Deposed By The
Audience. - Gonzalo Proclaimed Governor Of Peru.

     1544

     While the events recorded in the preceding pages were in progress,
Blasco Nunez had been journeying towards Lima.  But the alienation which
his conduct had already caused in the minds of the colonists was shown in
the cold reception which he occasionally experienced on the route, and in
the scanty accommodations provided for him and his retinue.  In one place
where he took up his quarters, he found an ominous inscription over the
door: - "He that takes my property must expect to pay for it with his
life." ^1 Neither daunted, nor diverted from his purpose, the inflexible
viceroy held on his way towards the capital, where the inhabitants,
preceded by Vaca de Castro and the municipal authorities, came out to
receive him.  He entered in great state, under a canopy of crimson cloth,
embroidered with the arms of Spain, and supported by stout poles or staves
of solid silver, which were borne by the members of the municipality.  A
cavalier, holding a mace, the emblem of authority, rode before him; and
after the oaths of office were administered in the council-chamber, the
procession moved towards the cathedral, where Te Deum was sung, and Blasco
Nunez was installed in his new dignity of viceroy of Peru. ^2

[Footnote 1: "A quien me viniere a quitar mi hacienda, quitarle he la
vida." Herrera, Hist. General, dec. 7, lib. 7, cap. 18.]

[Footnote 2: "Entro en la cibdad de Lima a 17 de Mayo de 1544: saliole a
recibir todo el pueblo a pie y a caballo dos tiros de ballesta del pueblo,
y a la entrada de la cibdad estaba un arco triunfal de verde con las Armas
de Espana, y las de la misma cibdad; estaban le esperando el Regimiento y
Justicia, y oficiales del Rey con ropas largas, hasta en pies de carmesi,
y un palio del mesmo carmesi aforrado en lo mesmo, con ocho baras
guarnecidas de plata y tomaronle debajo todos a pie, cada Regidor y
justicia con una bara del palio, y el Virrey en su caballo con las mazas
delante tomaronle juramento en un libro misal, y juro de las guardar y
cumplir todas sus libertades y provisiones de S. M.; y luego fueron desta
manera hasta la iglesia, salieron los clerigos con la cruz a la puerta y
le metieron dentro cantando Te deum laudamus, y despues que obo dicho su
oracion, fue con el cabildo y toda la ciudad a su palacio donde fue
recebido y hizo un parlamento breve en que contento a toda la gente."
Relacion de los sucesos del Peru desde que entro el virrey Blasco Nunez
acaecidos en mar y tierra, Ms.]

     His first act was to proclaim his determination in respect to the
ordinances.  He had no warrant to suspend their execution.  He should
fulfil his commission; but he offered to join the colonists in a memorial
to the emperor, soliciting the repeal of a code which he now believed
would be for the interests neither of the country nor of the Crown. ^3 With
this avowed view of the subject, it may seem strange that Blasco Nunez
should not have taken the responsibility of suspending the law until his
sovereign could be assured of the inevitable consequences of enforcing it.
The pacha of a Turkish despot, who had allowed himself this latitude for
the interests of his master, might, indeed, have reckoned on the
bowstring.  But the example of Mendoza, the prudent viceroy of Mexico, who
adopted this course in a similar crisis, and precisely at the same period,
showed its propriety under existing circumstances.  The ordinances were
suspended by him till the Crown could be warned of the consequences of
enforcing them, - and Mexico was saved from revolution. ^4 But Blasco Nunez
had not the wisdom of Mendoza.

[Footnote 3: "Porque llanamente el confesaba, que asi para su Magestad
como para aquellos Reinos, eran perjudiciales." Zarate, Conq. de Peru lib.
5, cap. 5.]

[Footnote 4: Fernandez, Hist. del Peru, Parte 1, lib. 1, cap. 2-5.]

     The public apprehension was now far from being allayed.  Secret
cabals were formed in Lima, and communications held with the different
towns.  No distrust, however, was raised in the breast of the viceroy,
and, when informed of the preparations of Gonzalo Pizarro, he took no
other step than to send a message to his camp, announcing the
extraordinary powers with which he was himself invested, and requiring
that chief to disband his forces.  He seemed to think that a mere word
from him would be sufficient to dissipate rebellion.  But it required more
than a breath to scatter the iron soldiery of Peru.

     Gonzalo Pizarro, meanwhile, was busily occupied in mustering his
army.  His first step was to order from Guamanga sixteen pieces of
artillery sent there by Vaca de Castro, who, in the present state of
excitement, was unwilling to trust the volatile people of Cuzco with these
implements of destruction.  Gonzalo, who had no scruples as to Indian
labor, appropriated six thousand of the natives to the service of
transporting this train of ordnance across the mountains. ^5

[Footnote 5: Zarate, Conq. del Peru, lib. 5, cap. 8.]

     By his exertions and those of his friends, the active chief soon
mustered a force of nearly four hundred men, which, if not very imposing
in the outset, he conceived would be swelled, in his descent to the coast,
by tributary levies from the towns and villages on the way.  All his own
funds were expended in equipping his men and providing for the march; and,
to supply deficiencies, he made no scruple - since, to use his words, it
was for the public interest - to appropriate the moneys in the royal
treasury.  With this seasonable aid, his troops, well mounted and
thoroughly equipped, were put in excellent fighting order; and, after
making them a brief harangue, in which he was careful to insist on the
pacific character of his enterprise, somewhat at variance with its
military preparations, Gonzalo Pizarro sallied forth from the gates of the
capital.

     Before leaving it, he received an important accession of strength in
the person of Francisco de Carbajal, the veteran who performed so
conspicuous a part in the battle of Chupas.  He was at Charcas when the
news of the ordinances reached Peru and he instantly resolved to quit the
country and return to Spain, convinced that the New World would be no
longer the land for him, - no longer the golden Indies.  Turning his
effects into money, he prepared to embark them on board the first ship
that offered.  But no opportunity occurred, and he could have little
expectation now of escaping the vigilant eye of the viceroy.  Yet, though
solicited by Pizarro to take command under him in the present expedition,
the veteran declined, saying, he was eighty years old, and had no wish but
to return home, and spend his few remaining days in quiet. ^6 Well had it
been for him, had he persisted in his refusal.  But he yielded to the
importunities of his friend; and the short space that yet remained to him
of life proved long enough to brand his memory with perpetual infamy.

[Footnote 6: Herrera, Hist. General, dec. 7, lib. 7, cap. 22.]

     Soon after quitting Cuzco, Pizarro learned the death of the Inca
Manco.  He was massacred by a party of Spaniards, of the faction of
Almagro, who, on the defeat of their young leader, had taken refuge in the
Indian camp.  They, in turn, were all slain by the Peruvians.  It is
impossible to determine on whom the blame of the quarrel should rest,
since no one present at the time has recorded it. ^7

[Footnote 7: Pedro Pizarro, Descub. y Conq., Ms. - Garcilasso Com Real.,
Parte 2, lib. 4, cap. 7]

     The death of Manco Inca, as he was commonly called, is an event not
to be silently passed over in Peruvian history; for he was the last of his
race that may be said to have been animated by the heroic spirit of the
ancient Incas.  Though placed on the throne by Pizarro, far from remaining
a mere puppet in his hands, Manco soon showed that his lot was not to be
cast with that of his conquerors.  With the ancient institutions of his
country lying a wreck around him, he yet struggled bravely, like
Guatemozin, the last of the Aztecs, to uphold her tottering fortunes, or
to bury his oppressors under her ruins.  By the assault on his own capital
of Cuzco, in which so large a portion of it was demolished, he gave a
check to the arms of Pizarro, and, for a season, the fate of the
Conquerors trembled in the balance.  Though foiled, in the end, by the
superior science of his adversary, the young barbarian still showed the
same unconquerable spirit as before.  He withdrew into the fastnesses of
his native mountains, whence sallying forth as occasion offered, he fell
on the caravan of the traveller, or on some scattered party of the
military; and, in the event of a civil war, was sure to throw his own
weight into the weaker scale, thus prolonging the contest of his enemies,
and feeding his revenge by the sight of their calamities.  Moving lightly
from spot to spot, he eluded pursuit amidst the wilds of the Cordilleras;
and, hovering in the neighbourhood of the towns, or lying in ambush on the
great thoroughfares of the country, the Inca Manco made his name a terror
to the Spaniards.  Often did they hold out to him terms of accommodation;
and every succeeding ruler down to Blasco Nunez, bore instructions from
the Crown to employ every art to conciliate the formidable warrior.  But
Manco did not trust the promises of the white man; and he chose rather to
maintain his savage independence in the mountains with the few brave
spirits around him, than to live a slave in the land which had once owned
the sway of his ancestors.

     The death of the Inca removed one of the great pretexts for Gonzalo
Pizarro's military preparations, but it had little influence on him, as
may be readily imagined.  He was much more sensible to the desertion of
some of his followers, which took place early on the march.  Several of
the cavaliers of Cuzco, startled by his unceremonious appropriation of the
public moneys, and by the belligerent aspect of affairs, now for the first
time seemed to realize that they were in the path of rebellion.  A number
of these, including some principal men of the city, secretly withdrew from
the army, and, hastening to Lima, offered their services to the viceroy.
The troops were disheartened by this desertion, and even Pizarro for a
moment faltered in his purpose, and thought of retiring with some fifty
followers to Charcas, and there making his composition with government.
But a little reflection, aided by the remonstrances of the courageous
Carbajal, who never turned his back on an enterprise which he had once
assumed, convinced him that he had gone too far to recede, - that his only
safety was to advance.

     He was reassured by more decided manifestations, which he soon after
received, of the public opinion.  An officer named Puelles, who commanded
at Guanuco, joined him, with a body of horse with which he had been
intrusted by the viceroy.  This defection was followed by that of others,
and Gonzalo, as he descended the sides of the table-land, found his
numbers gradually swelled to nearly double the amount with which he had
left the Indian capital.

     As he traversed with a freer step the bloody field of Chupas,
Carbajal pointed out the various localities of the battle-ground, and
Pizarro might have found food for anxious reflection, as he meditated on
the fortunes of a rebel.  At Guamanga he was received with open arms by
the inhabitants, many of whom eagerly enlisted under his banner; for they
trembled for their property, as they heard from all quarters of the
inflexible temper of the viceroy. ^8

[Footnote 8: Fernandez, Hist. del Peru, Parte 1, lib. 1, cap. 14, 16. -
Zarate, Conq. del Peru, lib. 5, cap. 9, 10. - Herrera, Hist. General, dec.
7, lib. 8, cap. 5-9. - Carta de Gonzalo Pizarro a Valdivia, Ms. - Relacion
de los Sucesos del Peru, Ms]

     That functionary began now to be convinced that he was in a critical
position.  Before Puelles's treachery, above noticed, had been
consummated, the viceroy had received some vague intimation of his
purpose.  Though scarcely crediting it, he detached one of his company,
named Diaz, with a force to intercept him.  But, although that cavalier
undertook the mission with alacrity, he was soon after prevailed on to
follow the example of his comrade, and, with the greater part of the men
under his command, went over to the enemy.  In the civil feuds of this
unhappy land, parties changed sides so lightly, that treachery to a
commander had almost ceased to be a stain on the honor of a cavalier.  Yet
all, on whichever side they cast their fortunes, loudly proclaimed their
loyalty to the Crown.

     Thus betrayed by his own men, by those apparently most devoted to his
service, Blasco Nunez became suspicious fell on some who were most
deserving of his confidence.  Among these was his predecessor, Vaca de
Castro.  That officer had conducted himself, in the delicate situation in
which he had been placed, with his usual discretion, and with perfect
integrity and honor.  He had frankly communicated with the viceroy, and
well had it been for Blasco Nunez, if he had known how to profit by it.
But he was too much puffed up by the arrogance of office, and by the
conceit of his own superior wisdom, to defer much to the counsels of his
experienced predecessor.  The latter was now suspected by the viceroy of
maintaining a secret correspondence with his enemies at Cuzco, - a
suspicion which seems to have had no better foundation than the personal
friendship which Vaca de Castro was known to entertain for these
individuals.  But, with Blasco Nunez, to suspect was to be convinced; and
he ordered De Castro to be placed under arrest, and confined on board of a
vessel lying in the harbour.  This high-handed measure was followed by the
arrest and imprisonment of several other cavaliers, probably on grounds
equally frivolous. ^9

[Footnote 9: Zarate, Conq. del Peru, lib. 5, cap. 3. - Pedro Pizarro,
Descub. y Conq., Ms. - Fernandez, Hist. del Peru, Parte 1, lib. 1, cap.
10.]

     He now turned his attention towards the enemy.  Notwithstanding his
former failure, he still did not altogether despair of effecting something
by negotiation, and he sent another embassy, having the bishop of Lima at
its head, to Gonzalo Pizarro's camp, with promises of a general amnesty,
and some proposals of a more tempting character to the commander.  But
this step, while it proclaimed his own weakness, had no better success
than the preceding. ^10

[Footnote 10: Loaysa, the bishop, was robbed of his despatches, and not
even allowed to enter the camp, lest his presence should shake the
constancy of the soldiers.  (See Relacion de los Sucesos del Peru, Ms.)
The account occupies more space than it deserves in most of the
authorities.]

     The viceroy now vigorously prepared for war.  His first care was to
put the capital in a posture of defence, by strengthening its
fortifications, and throwing barricades across the streets.  He ordered a
general enrolment of the citizens, and called in levies from the
neighbouring towns, - a call not very promptly answered.  A squadron of
eight or ten vessels was got ready in the port to act in concert with the
land forces.  The bells were taken from the churches, and used in the
manufacture of muskets; ^11 and funds were procured from the fifths which
had accumulated in the royal treasury.  The most extravagant bounty was
offered to the soldiers, and prices were paid for mules and horses, which
showed that gold, or rather silver, was the commodity of least value in
Peru. ^12 By these efforts, the active commander soon assembled a force
considerably larger than that of his adversary.  But how could he confide
in it?

[Footnote 11: "Hico hacer gran Copia de Arcabuces, asi de Hierro, como de
Fundicion, de ciertas Campanas de la Iglesia Maior, que para ello quito."
Zarate, Conq. del Peru, lib. 5, cap. 6.]

[Footnote 12: Blasco Nunez paid, according to Zarate, who had the means of
knowing, twelve thousand ducats for thirty-five mules. - "El Visorrei les
mando comprar, de la Hacienda Real, treinta i cinco Machos, en que
hiciesen la Jornada, que costaron mas de doce mil ducados." (Zarate, Conq.
del Peru, lib. 5, cap. 10.) The South-American of our day might well be
surprised at such prices for animals since so abundant in his country.]

     While these preparations were going forward, the judges of the
Audience arrived at Lima.  They had shown, throughout their progress, no
great respect either for the ordinances, or the will of the viceroy; for
they had taxed the poor natives as freely and unscrupulously as any of the
Conquerors.  We have seen the entire want of cordiality subsisting between
them and their principal in Panama.  It became more apparent, on their
landing at Lima.  They disapproved of his proceedings in every particular;
of his refusal to suspend the ordinances, - although, in fact, he had
found no opportunity, of late, to enforce them; of his preparations for
defence, declaring that he ought rather trust to the effect of
negotiation; and, finally, of his imprisonment of so many loyal cavaliers,
which they pronounced an arbitrary act, altogether beyond the bounds of
his authority; and they did not scruple to visit the prison in person, and
discharge the captives from their confinement. ^13

[Footnote 13: Fernandez, Hist. del Peru, Parte 1, lib. 1, cap. 10. -
Herrera, Hist. General, dec. 7, lib. 8, cap. 2, 10. - Carta de Gonzalo
Pizarro a Valdivia, Ms.]

     This bold proceeding, while it conciliated the good-will of the
people, severed, at once, all relations with the viceroy.  There was in
the Audience a lawyer, named Cepeda, a cunning, ambitious man, with
considerable knowledge in the way of his profession, and with still
greater talent for intrigue.  He did not disdain the low arts of a
demagogue to gain the favor of the populace, and trusted to find his own
account in fomenting a misunderstanding with Blasco Nunez.  The latter, it
must be confessed, did all in his power to aid his counsellor in this
laudable design.

     A certain cavalier in the place, named Suarez de Carbajal, who had
long held an office under government, fell under the viceroy's
displeasure, on suspicion of conniving at the secession of some of his
kinsmen, who had lately taken part with the malecontents.  The viceroy
summoned Carbajal to attend him at his palace, late at night; and when
conducted to his presence, he bluntly charged him with treason.  The
latter stoutly denied the accusation, in tones as haughty as those of his
accuser.  The altercation grew warm, until, in the heat of passion, Blasco
Nunez struck him with his poniard.  In an instant, the attendants, taking
this as a signal, plunged their swords into the body of the unfortunate
man, who fell lifeless on the floor. ^14

[Footnote 14: "He struck him in the bosom with his dagger, as some say,
but the viceroy denies it." - So says Zarate, in the printed copy of his
history.  (Lib. 5, cap. 11.) In the original manuscript of this work,
still extant at Simancas, he states the fact without any qualification at
all.  "Luego el dicho Virrei echo mano a una daga, i arremetio con el, i
le dio una punalada, i a grandes voces mando que le matasen." (Zarate,
Ms.) This was doubtless his honest conviction, when on the pot soon after
the event occurred.  The politic historian thought it prudent to qualify
his remark before publication. - "They say," says another contemporary,
familiar with these events and friendly to the viceroy, "that he gave him
several wounds with his dagger." And he makes no attempt to refute the
charge.  (Relacion de los Sucesos del Peru, Ms.) Indeed, this version of
the story seems to have been generally received at the time by those who
had the best means of knowing the truth.]

     Greatly alarmed for the consequences of his rash act, - for Carbajal
was much beloved in Lima, - Blasco Nunez ordered the corpse of the
murdered man to be removed by a private stairway from the house, and
carried to the cathedral, where, rolled in his bloody cloak, it was laid
in a grave hastily dug to receive it.  So tragic a proceeding, known to so
many witnesses, could not long be kept secret.  Vague rumors of the fact
explained the mysterious disappearance of Carbajal.  The grave was opened,
and the mangled remains of the slaughtered cavalier established the guilt
of the viceroy. ^15

[Footnote 15: Zarate, Conq. del Peru, ubi supra.]

     From this hour Blasco Nunez was held in universal abhorrence; and his
crime, in this instance, assumed the deeper dye of ingratitude, since the
deceased was known to have had the greatest influence in reconciling the
citizens early to his government.  No one knew where the blow would fall
next, or how soon he might himself become the victim of the ungovernable
passions of the viceroy.  In this state of things, some looked to the
Audience, and yet more to Gonzalo Pizarro, to protect them.

     That chief was slowly advancing towards Lima, from which, indeed, he
was removed but a few days' march.  Greatly perplexed, Blasco Nunez now
felt the loneliness of his condition.  Standing aloof, as it were, from
his own followers, thwarted by the Audience, betrayed by his soldiers, he
might well feel the consequences of his misconduct.  Yet there seemed no
other course for him, but either to march out and meet the enemy, or to
remain in Lima and defend it.  He had placed the town in a posture of
defence, which argued this last to have been his original purpose.  But he
felt he could no longer rely on his troops, and he decided on a third
course, most unexpected.

     This was to abandon the capital, and withdraw to Truxillo, about
eighty leagues distant.  The women would embark on board the squadron,
and, with the effects of the citizens, be transported by water.  The
troops, with the rest of the inhabitants, would march by land, laying
waste the country as they proceeded.  Gonzalo Pizarro, when he arrived at
Lima, would find it without supplies for his army, and thus straitened, he
would not care to take a long march across a desert in search of his
enemy. ^16

[Footnote 16: Ibid., lib. 5, cap. 12. - Fernandez, Parte 1, lib. 1, cap.
18.]

     What the viceroy proposed to effect by this movement is not clear,
unless it were to gain time; and yet the more time he had gained, thus
far, the worse it had proved for him.  But he was destined to encounter a
decided opposition from the judges.  They contended that he had no warrant
for such an act, and that the Audience could not lawfully hold its
sessions out of the capital.  Blasco Nunez persisted in his determination,
menacing that body with force, if necessary.  The judges appealed to the
citizens to support them in resisting such an arbitrary measure.  They
mustered a force for their own protection, and that same day passed a
decree that the viceroy should be arrested.

     Late at night, Blasco Nunez was informed of the hostile preparations
of the judges.  He instantly summoned his followers, to the number of more
than two hundred, put on his armour, and prepared to march out at the head
of his troops against the Audience.  This was the true course; for in a
crisis like that in which he was placed, requiring promptness and
decision, the presence of the leader is essential to insure success.  But,
unluckily, he yielded to the remonstrances of his brother and other
friends, who dissuaded him from rashly exposing his life in such a
venture.

     What Blasco Nunez neglected to do was done by the judges.  They
sallied forth at the head of their followers, whose number, though small
at first, they felt confident would be swelled by volunteers as they
advanced.  Rushing forward, they cried out, - "Liberty!  Liberty!  Long
live the king and the Audience!" It was early dawn, and the inhabitants,
startled from their slumbers, ran to the windows and balconies, and,
learning the object of the movement, some snatched up their arms and
joined in it, while the women, waving their scarfs and kerchiefs, cheered
on the assault.

     When the mob arrived before the viceroy's palace, they halted for a
moment, uncertain what to do Orders were given to fire on them from the
windows, and a volley passed over their heads.  No one was injured; and
the greater part of the viceroy's men, with most of the officers, -
including some of those who had been so anxious for his personal safety, -
now openly joined the populace.  The palace was then entered, and
abandoned to pillage.  Blasco Nunez, deserted by all but a few faithful
adherents, made no resistance.  He surrendered to the assailants, was led
before the judges, and by them was placed in strict confinement.  The
citizens, delighted with the result, provided a collation for the
soldiers; and the affair ended without the loss of a single life.  Never
was there so bloodless a revolution. ^17

[Footnote 17: Relacion de los Sucesos del Ms. - Pedro Pizarro, Descub. y
Peru, Ms. - Relacion Anonima, Conq., Ms. - Fernandez, Hist del Peru, Parte
1, lib. 1, cap. 19. - Zarate, Conq. del Peru, lib. 5, cap. 11. - Carta de
Gonzalo Pizarro a Valvidia, Ms.

     Gonzalo Pizarro devoutly draws a conclusion from this, that the
revolution was clearly brought about by the hand of God for the good of
the land.  "E hizose sin que muriese un hombre, ni fuese herido, somo obra
que Dios la guiava para el bien desta tierra." Carta, Ms., ubi supra.]

     The first business of the judges was to dispose of the prisoner.  He
was sent, under a strong guard, to a neighbouring island, till some
measures could be taken respecting him.  He was declared to be deposed
from his office; a provisional government was established, consisting of
their own body, with Cepeda at its head, as president; and its first act
was to pronounce the detested ordinances suspended, till instructions
could be received from Court.  It was also decided to send Blasco Nunez
back to Spain with one of their own body, who should explain to the
emperor the nature of the late disturbances, and vindicate the measures of
the Audience.  This was soon put in execution.  The Licentiate Alvarez was
the person selected to bear the viceroy company; and the unfortunate
commander, after passing several days on the desolate island, with
scarcely any food, and exposed to all the inclemencies of the weather,
took his departure for Panama. ^18

[Footnote 18: Carta de Gonzalo Pizarro a Valdivia, Ms. - Relacion de los
Sucesos del Peru, Ms.

     The story of the seizure of the viceroy is well told by the writer of
the last Ms., who seems here, at least, not unduly biased in favor of
Blasco Nunez, though a partisan.]

     A more formidable adversary yet remained in Gonzalo Pizarro, who had
now advanced to Xauxa, about ninety miles from Lima.  Here he halted,
while numbers of the citizens prepared to join his banner, choosing rather
to take service under him than to remain under the self-constituted
authority of the Audience.  The judges, meanwhile, who had tasted the
sweets of office too short a time to be content to resign them, after
considerable delay, sent an embassy to the Procurator.  They announced to
him the revolution that had taken place, and the suspension of the
ordinances.  The great object of his mission had been thus accomplished;
and, as a new government was now organized, they called on him to show his
obedience to it, by disbanding his forces, and withdrawing to the
unmolested enjoyment of his estates.  It was a bold demand, - though
couched in the most courteous and complimentary phrase, - to make of one
in Pizarro's position.  It was attempting to scare away the eagle just
ready to stoop on his prey.  If the chief had faltered, however, he would
have been reassured by his lion-hearted lieutenant.  "Never show faint
heart," exclaimed the latter, "when you are so near the goal.  Success has
followed every step of your path.  You have now only to stretch forth your
hand, and seize the government.  Every thing else will follow." - The
envoy who brought the message from the judges was sent back with the
answer, that "the people had called Gonzalo Pizarro to the government of
the country, and, if the Audience did not at once invest him with it, the
city should be delivered up to pillage." ^19

[Footnote 19: Zarate, Conq. del Peru, lib. 5, cap. 13.

     It required some courage to carry the message of the Audience to
Gonzalo and his desperate followers.  The historian Zarate, the royal
comptroller, was the envoy; not much, as it appears, to his own
satisfaction.  He escaped, however, unharmed, and has made a full report
of the affair in his chronicle.]

     The bewildered magistrates were thrown into dismay by this decisive
answer.  Yet loth to resign, they took counsel in their perplexity of Vaca
de Castro, still detained on board of one of the vessels.  But that
commander had received too little favor at the hands of his successors to
think it necessary to peril his life on their account by thwarting the
plans of Pizarro.  He maintained a discreet silence, therefore, and left
the matter to the wisdom of the Audience.

     Meanwhile, Carbajal was sent into the city to quicken their
deliberations.  He came at night, attended only by a small party of
soldiers, intimating his contempt of the power of the judges.  His first
act was to seize a number of cavaliers, whom he dragged from their beds,
and placed under arrest.  They were men of Cuzco, the same already noticed
as having left Pizarro's ranks soon after his departure from that capital.
While the Audience still hesitated as to the course they should pursue,
Carbajal caused three of his prisoners, persons of consideration and
property, to be placed on the backs of mules, and escorted out of town to
the suburbs, where, with brief space allowed for confession, he hung them
all on the branches of a tree.  He superintended the execution himself,
and tauntingly complimented one of his victims, by telling him, that, "in
consideration of his higher rank, he should have the privilege of
selecting the bough on which to be hanged!" ^20 The ferocious officer would
have proceeded still further in his executions, it is said, had it not
been for orders received from his leader.  But enough was done to quicken
the perceptions of the Audience as to their course, for they felt their
own lives suspended by a thread in such unscrupulous hands.  Without
further delay, therefore, they sent to invite Gonzalo Pizarro to enter the
city, declaring that the security of the country and the general good
required the government to be placed in his hands. ^21

[Footnote 20: "Le queria dar su muerte con una preeminencia senalada, que
escogiese en qual de las Ramas de aquel Arbol queria que le colgasen."
Zarate, Conq. del Peru, lib. 5, cap. 13. - See also Relacion Anonima, Ms.
- Fernandez, Parte 1, lib. 1, cap. 25.]

[Footnote 21: According to Gonzalo Pizarro, the Audience gave this
invitation in obedience to the demands of the representatives of the
cities. - "Y a esta sazon llegue yo a Lima, i todos los procuradores de
las cibdades destos reynos suplicaron al Audiencia me hiciesen Governador
para resistir los robos e fuerzas que Blasco Nunez andava faciendo, i para
tener la tierra en justicia hasta que S. M. proveyese lo que mas a su real
servicio convenia.  Los Oydores visto que asi convenia al servicio de Dios
i al de S. M. i al bien destos reynos," &c.  (Carta de Gonzalo Pizarro a
Valdivia, Ms.) But Gonzalo's account of himself must be received with more
than the usual grain of allowance.  His letter, which is addressed to
Valdivia, the celebrated conqueror of Chili, contains a full account of
the rise and progress of his rebellion.  It is the best vindication,
therefore, to be found of himself, and, as a counterpoise to the
narratives of his enemies, is of inestimable value to the historian.]

     That chief had now advanced within half a league of the capital,
which soon after, on the twenty-eighth of October, 1544, he entered in
battle-array.  His whole force was little short of twelve hundred
Spaniards, besides several thousand Indians, who dragged his heavy guns in
the advance. ^22 Then came the files of spearmen and arquebusiers, making a
formidable corps of infantry for a colonial army; and lastly, the cavalry,
at the head of which rode Pizarro himself, on a powerful charger, gayly
caparisoned.  The rider was in complete mail, over which floated a richly
embroidered surcoat, and his head was protected by a crimson cap, highly
ornamented, - his showy livery setting off his handsome, soldierlike
person to advantage. ^23 Before him was borne the royal standard of
Castile; for every one, royalist or rebel, was careful to fight under that
sign.  This emblem of loyalty was supported on the right by a banner,
emblazoned with the arms of Cuzco, and by another on the left, displaying
the armorial bearings granted by the Crown to the Pizarros.  As the
martial pageant swept through the streets of Lima, the air was rent with
acclamations from the populace, and from the spectators in the balconies.
The cannon sounded at intervals, and the bells of the city - those that
the viceroy had spared - rang out a joyous peal, as if in honor of a
victory!

[Footnote 22: He employed twelve thousand Indians on this service, says
the writer of the Relacion Anonima, Ms.  But this author, although living
in the colonies at the time, talks too much at random to gain our implicit
confidence.]

[Footnote 23: "Y el armado y con una capa de grana cubierta con muchas
guarniciones de oro e con sayo de brocado sobre las armas." Relacion de
los Sucesos del Peru, Ms. - Also Zarate, Conq. del Peru, lib. 5, cap. 13.]

     The oaths of office were duly administered by the judges of the Royal
Audience, and Gonzalo Pizarro was proclaimed Governor and Captain-General
of Peru, till his Majesty's pleasure could be known in respect to the
government.  The new ruler then took up his quarters in the palace of his
brother, - where the stains of that brother's blood were not yet effaced.
Fetes, bull-fights, and tournaments graced the ceremony of inauguration,
and were prolonged for several days, while the giddy populace of the
capital abandoned themselves to jubilee, as if a new and more auspicious
order of things had commenced for Peru! ^24

[Footnote 24: For the preceding pages relating to Gonzalo Pizarro, see
Relacion Anonima, Ms. - Fernandez, Hist. del Peru, Parte 1, lib. 1, cap.
25. - Pedro Pizarro, Descub y Conq., Ms. - Carta de Gonzalo Pizarro a
Valdivia, Ms. - Zarate, loc. cit. - Herrera, Hist General, dec. 7, lib. 8,
cap. 16-19. - Relacion de los Sucesos del Peru, Ms. - Montesinos, Annales,
Ms., ano 1544.]