Chapter 10

PIZARRO AND THE INCAS

When stout-hearted Balboa first reached the summit of the isthmus range and looked south over the Bay of Panama, he might have seen the "Silver Bell," which forms the summit of the mighty volcano Chimborazo. Still farther south in the same direction lay the "land of gold," of which he had heard.

Balboa was unjustly prevented from exploring that unknown country, but among the Spanish soldiers in Panama there were two who determined to carry out Balboa's scheme. The younger, Pizarro, was destined to rival Cortés as explorer and conqueror; Almagro, his companion in the expedition, was less crafty and cruel. Sailing from Panama, the Spanish first landed on the coast below Quito, and found the natives wearing gold and silver trinkets. On a second voyage, with more men, they explored the coast of Peru and visited Tumbez, a town with a lofty temple and a palace for the Incas.

They beheld a country fully peopled and cultivated; the natives were decently clothed, and possessed of ingenuity so far surpassing the other inhabitants of the New World as to have the use of tame domestic animals. But what chiefly attracted the notice of the visitors was such a show of gold and silver, not only in ornaments, but in several vessels and utensils for common use, formed of those precious metals as left no room to doubt that they abounded with profusion in the country.

After his return Pizarro visited Spain and secured the patronage of Charles V, who appointed him Governor and Captain-General of the newly discovered country. In the next voyage from Panama, Pizarro set sail with 180 soldiers in three small ships--"a contemptible force surely to invade the great empire of Peru."

Pizarro was very fortunate in the time of his arrival, because two brothers were fiercely contending in civil war to obtain the sovereignty. Their father, Huana Capac, the twelfth Inca in succession from Manco Capac, had recently died after annexing the kingdom of Quito, and thus doubling the power of the empire. Pizarro made friends with Atahualpa, who had become Inca by the defeat and death of his brother, and a friendly meeting was arranged between them. The Peruvians are thus described by a Spanish onlooker:

First of all there arrived 400 men in uniform; the Inca himself, on a couch adorned with plumes, and almost covered with plates of gold and silver, enriched with precious stones, was carried on the shoulders of his principal attendants. Several bands of singers and dancers accompanied the procession; and the whole plain was covered with troops, more than 30,000 men.

After engaging in a religious dispute with the Inca, who refused to acknowledge the authority of the Pope and threw the breviary on the ground, the Spanish chaplain exclaimed indignantly that the Word of God had been insulted by a heathen.

Pizarro instantly gave the signal of assault: the martial music struck up, the cannon and muskets began to fire, the horse rallied out fiercely to the charge, the infantry rushed on sword in hand. The Peruvians, astonished at the suddenness of the attack, dismayed with the effect of the firearms and the irresistible impression of the cavalry, fled with universal consternation on every side. Pizarro, at the head of his chosen band, soon penetrated to the royal seat, and seizing the Inca by the arm, carried him as a prisoner to the Spanish quarters.

For his ransom Atahualpa agreed to pay a weight of gold amounting to more than five millions sterling.

Instead of keeping faith with the Inca by restoring him to liberty, Pizarro basely allowed him to be tried on several false charges and condemned to be burned alive.

After hearing of the enormous ransom many Spaniards hurried from Guatemala, Panama, and Nicaragua to share in the newly discovered booty of Peru, the "land of gold." Pizarro, therefore, being now greatly reenforced with soldiers, forced his way to Cuzco, the capital. The riches found there exceeded in value what had been received as Atahualpa's ransom.

As Governor of Peru, Pizarro chose a new site for his capital, nearer the coast than Cuzco, and there founded Lima. It is now a great center of trade. Pizarro lived here in great state till the year 1542, when his fate reached him by means of a party of conspirators seeking to avenge the death of Almagro, his former rival, whom he had cruelly executed as a traitor. On Sunday, June 26th, at midday, while all Lima was quiet under the siesta, the conspirators passed unobserved through the two outer courts of the palace, and speedily despatched the soldier-adventurer, intrepidly defending himself with a sword and buckler. "A deadly thrust full in the throat," and the tale of daring Pizarro was told.

_Raro antecedentem scelestum_ _Deseruit pede Poena claudo._

When Did Doom, though lame, not bide its time, To clutch the nape of skulking Crime?

W. E. GLADSTONE.

GENERAL INDEX.

A.

Agathocles, 119.

Agassiz, 73.

Alfred, King, 19.

Almagro, Pizarro's rival, 186, 189.

Alvarado, 158, 159.

America, Discoveries of, 19-35, 38-45, 48-53.

America, origin of the name, 50.

American Archeology, 71-79 (_see_ also AZTEC, PERU, CIVILIZATION).

Amerigo (_Americus_), (_see_ VESPUCCI).

Anahuac, 56, 58, 63.

Archeology, 71-88 (see under AZTEC, MEXICO, PERU, and CIVILIZATION, EXTINCT).

Aristotle, shape of the earth, 10.

Arthur, King, 19.

Atahualpa, Inca, 187, 188.

Atlantic, ridge, 15.

Atlantis, island or continent, 14, 15.

Avalon, 17.

Aztecs, their traditions, 54, 56, 57, 62, 63.

Aztecs, antiquities, 55.

Aztecs, kingdom, 58; empire founded, 76.

Aztecs, letters, etc., 58, 79-82.

Aztecs, astronomy, 64, 65, 68, 83.

Aztecs, human sacrifices, 59, 60, 62, 102, 106; how explained by comparison with Jews, Greeks, Druids, etc., 100-106.

Aztecs, priesthood, 65, 67.

Aztecs, religion, 92, 93; laws, 90.

Aztecs, natural piety, 66-68.

Aztecs, secular festival, 68-70.

Aztecs, soldiery, 91, 92.

Aztecs, agriculture, 94.

Aztecs, markets, 97, 147.

Aztecs, banquets, social amusements, 97, 99.

Aztlan, 56.

B.

Bacon, Roger, 18.

Bahamas, 41.

Balboa, 9, 50, 52, 164, 168.

Balboa scheme--adopted by Pizarro, 186.

Balboa hears of the Land of Gold, 165.

Balboa crosses the isthmus, 166, 167.

Balboa unjustly treated, 167, 168.

Barcelona, Columbus honored at Court, 45.

Basque Discovery, 32.

Boston in Vinland, 26, 182.

Brandan, St. discoverer, 32.

Brito, ship-canal, 172.

Buccaneers, origin, etc., 169, 170.

Buffon, 15.

Burgos, Bishop of, 157, 168.

C.

Cabot, 38, 48, 49.

Cabrera reaches Brazil, 49.

Cakama, prince of Tezcuco, 154.

Calendar Stone, 83, 84.

Calicut reached by Gama, 49.

Canaanites, etc., sun-worship, 102, 103.

Cannibalism, 102, 103.

Capac, Inca, 182, 187.

Carthage, 17, 102.

Cathay, 39, 43, 45.

Cazique, 43, 117, etc.

Celtic discoveries, 19, 30-32.

Chalco, Lake, 136, 137.

Charles V. and Cortés, 164.

Chiapas, 77.

Chibchas, 85.

Cholula, 84, 94, 130, 133.

Civilization, Extinct, chaps, iii, ix.

Civilization, Celtic, 19.

Civilization, Norse, 19-25, 27-31.

Civilization, Aztec, etc., 54-70, 82, 83.

Civilization, Peru, 172-185.

Colon (_see_ COLUMBUS); also an Atlantic port on the isthmus of Darien, 172.

Columbia, 76, 85.

Columbus, 17-18, 37, 38-46, 157.

Columbus, early failures, 39.

Columbus, voyage to Iceland, 39.

Columbus, variation of the compass, 41, 42, 49.

Columbus, discovers Bahamas, Cuba, Hayti, 42-44.

Columbus, discovers Trinidad and Orinoco, 45.

Columbus, map by (found in 1894), 42.

Columbus, autograph (cut) and epitaph, 46.

Columbus, Ferdinand, 18; Bartholomew, 43.

Columbus, Diego, 47, 157.

Continent, supposed southern (cut), 12.

Continent, Western, 13 (_see_ ATLANTIS, HESPERIDES).

Condor, emblem of prehistoric Inca, 173, 175 (cuts).

Copan, 79-81.

Cordova lands on Yucatan, 53.

Cortés appointed leader, 53, 64, 77, 80.

Cortés at Cuba and Hayti, 117.

Cortés at Yucatan, 109.

Cortés and Teuhtile, in, 112.

Cortés, generalship, 119, 124, 126, 159.

Cortés, resource, 127, 128, 158.

Cortés, cruelty, 129, 132, 153.

Cortés at Popocatepetl, 133.

Cortés and Montezuma, 141, 143-143.

Cortés, lack of delicacy, 152.

Cortés, arrest of Montezuma, 152-157.

Cortés, personal courage, 162.

Cortés, retreat, "Night of Sorrows," 163.

Cortés, Mexico retaken and its emperor hanged, 164.

Cortés and Charles V., 164.

Cliff-houses, 86.

Cotton, Az. tec., preparation of, 84, 96.

Cromwell, his influence, 170.

Cruz, Vera, 110, 114, 120, 156, 157, 163.

Cuba, 43-45, 51-53, 84.

Culhua, 110.

Cuzco, 174, 176, 181, 183, 188.

Cuzco, Cyclopean remains, 181, 183.

Cuzco, temple, 183.

Cyclopean ruins in Peru, 173, 178, 181-183.

Cyclopean ruins in Peru (cuts), 173, 175.

D.

Dalrymple, Sir John, 169, 170.

Dampier, buccaneer, 170.

Darien, taken by Balboa, 169.

Darien, Scottish Expedition, 169.

Darien, causes of failure, 169, 170.

Darien, crossed by Morgan, 170, 171.

Darien, crossed by Dampier, 171.

Diaz, navigator, rounds the Cape of Good Hope and names it the "Stormy Cape," 49.

Diaz, historian, quoted, 148, 151, 158, 160.

Dighton Stone, 28 (cuts, 27, 28).

Diodorus Siculus, 16.

Druid Sacrifices, 106.

"Druidic," 74, 177, 178.

E.

Edward VI and Cabot, 48.

Elysian Fields, 13, 14, 16.

Erik the Red, 20.

Escobar, 162.

Euripides, quoted, 14.

F.

Feather-work, 84, 96.

Ferdinand and Isabella, 40, 41.

Feudalism ended, 36.

G.

Gama, De, 38, 58.

Gardens, 138, 139.

Glazier, Theory, 73-74.

Gladstone quoted, 189.

Gosnold's Expedition, 25, 26.

Greenland, 19-25, 30, 31.

Grijalva and Yucatan, 10, 53.

Guatemala, 58, 76, 79.

Guatimozin, 163.

Gunnbiorn, 20.

H.

Hannibal on the Alps, 134, 135.

Harold Fair-hair, 20.

Hatuey, 51, 52.

Hayti, 43, 98.

Helluland (Newfoundland), 22.

Henry VII., 48, 49.

Hercules' Pillars, 13, 17.

Herodotus, 10, 11.

Hesiod, quoted, 13.

Hesperides, Isles of the Blest, 14.

Homer, quoted, 10, 13.

Honduras, 76, 79.

Huitzilopochtli, god of battles, 93, 94, 150, 151 (_see_ MEXITL.)

Humboldt, 35, 50, 65, 73, 83, 94.

I.

Iceland, 19, 20.

Incas, 172, 182 (_see_ PERU).

"Indian," as a term applied to the New World by mistake, a blunder still perpetuated, 42 (_cf_. 98.)

Indians, "Red-skins," 72-74, 80, 90.

Ingolf, 19.

Iphigenia, 104.

Ireland, Mickle, 20, 31, 32.

Italian Discovery, 34-36.

Itztli (obsidian), used as a sharp flint, 95.

Iztapalapan, 138.

J.

Jamaica, 170.

Jewish "Discovery," 33.

Juan, S., ship-canal, 172.

K.

Katortuk (Greenland), 21, 22 (cut, 21).

Kingsborough, Lord, 34, 69, 82.

L.

Leif Erikson, 21-23.

Lesseps de, 171-173.

Loadstone, 41, 42.

Longfellow, quoted, 29.

Lucian, quoted, 17.

M.

Madoc, 32, 33, 70.

Magellan reaches the Pacific Ocean and names it, 49; killed at Matan, 50.

Magnetic Pole, 41.

Maguey plant, its singular value, 94.

Major, Mr., on Pre-Columbian discoveries of America, and site of the Greenland colonies, 35, 36.

Malte-Brun, 35.

Marina, "slave-interpreter," 109, 115, 128, 131.

Markham, Sir C., quoted, 30, 174, 179, 183.

Markland (Nova Scotia), 22.

Marvels, Age of, 38, 39.

Maya, Mayapan, 76, 79.

Maya, MS., 81, 82.

Maya, trade, 84.

_Mayflower_ lands in Vinland, 26.

Medea, 18, 104.

Merida, 78.

Mexico, Mexicans (_see also_ AZTECS).

Mexico, archeology, 72-86.

Mexico, geography, 89, 90, 133-135.

Mexico, valley, 134, 135.

Mexico, town, 139, 142, 145-151.

Mexico, wealth, 155.

Mexico, siege, 160-164.

Mexico, ferocity in war, 160-164.

Mexitl, the god of battles, another name for Huitzilopochtli, 93.

Monolith (cuts), 173, 175.

Montezuma I., 57.

Montezuma, 110-113.

Montezuma, meaning of name, 113.

Montezuma, power, 120, 121, 135, 141.

Montezuma, affability, 144.

Montezuma, dress, etc., 161.

Montezuma, death, 162.

Montgomery, James, 20, 22, 23.

Morgan, buccaneer, 170.

Mound builders, 31, 71, 85.

Müller, Max, quoted, 56.

N.

Narvaez, 158, 159.

Nicaragua, ship-canal, 58, 172.

Norse Discovery, 19-32.

Norse towns in Greenland, 20.

Norumbega, 25.

O.

Ocean, Western, 12, 16, 17.

Ocean, Southern, first name for the Atlantic (q.v.)

Oceanus, river, 10.

Ogygia, 16.

Ollantay, Peru, 174, 176.

Orinoco, discovered, 45.

Orizaba, 120.

Overland Route, 37.

P.

Pacific, first seen, 166.

Pacific, first sailed upon, 50.

Palenque, 77, 79, 81.

Palos, 41, 45.

Panama, 166, 171, 172.

Panama, modern, 171.

Paper (prehistoric) of Mexico, 82.

Pedrarias, 167, 168.

Peru and Incas, chaps. ix., x.

Peru agriculture, 182, 185.

Peru aqueducts, roads, etc., 177.

Peru archeology, 172-182.

Peru architecture, 87, 172-178.

Peru calendar, 184, 185.

Peru chulpas, 87 (cut).

Peru quipu, 180 (cut).

Peru sculpture and pottery, 178.

Peru history and religion, 182.

Phenicians, 11, 17.

Pictograph, 80, 112.

Pindar, quoted, 13.

Pizarro, 164, 167.

Pizarro and Atahualpha, 187, 188.

Pizarro and Peru, 186-189.

Pizarro, first and second voyages, 186, 187.

Pizarro imitated Balboa, 165, 186.

Pizarro invades Peru, 187.

Pizarro, his treachery and cruelty, 188, 189.

Pizarro at Cusco, 188.

Pizarro founds Lima, 188.

Pizarro, "Doom" at last, 189.

Plato, 14, 15.

Plutarch, 16.

Polo, Marco, 39, 43.

Polyxena, 104.

Popocatepetl, 133, 134.

Ptolemy, 11, 39.

Pythagorean theory, 10.

Q.

Quetzalcoatl, 84, 93, 94, 111, 113, 130, 152.

Quipu, 180, 181 (cut, 180).

R.

Rafn, 28, 29, 31.

Raymi, Peruvian festival, 184, 185.

Renascence, 9, 36, 37.

Renascence influence on travel and exploration, 38.

Renascence assisted the Reformation, 37.

Runes in Greenland, 27, 28.

S.

Sebastian, Magellan's Basque lieutenant, 33, 50.

Seneca, 18, 19 (title-page).

"Scraelings," Vinland, 23.

"Skeleton in Armor," 29.

Spain, how consolidated, 37, 106.

Spain, close of its colonial history, 52.

Squier, quoted, 176, 181.

T.

Tambos, Peru, 185.

Tehuantepec, isthmus, 171.

Tenochtitlan, Mexico, 57.

Teocalli, 106, 117, 148-151, 156 (cut, 105).

Tezcatlipoca, god of youth, 61.

Tezcuco, eastern capital, Mexico, 56.

Tezcuco, 56, 57, 136.

Tezcuco, king of, 100.

Tezcuco, lake, 139-140.

Thorfinn, 23.

Thorwaldsen, 23.

Titicaca, lake, 71, 182.

Titicaca (_see_ CYCLOPEAN RUINS), 174, 175.

Tlaloc, god of rain, 63.

Tlascala, 113, 121-127, 130, 153, 159, 163.

Tlascala, people, and siege, 130, 133.

Toltecs, 56, 71.

Totonacs, 115.

Trinidad, 45.

Tula, 56.

Tumbez, Peru, 186.

Turks, causing civilization, 36, 38.

U.

Utatla, 79.

Uxmal, 55, 76 (frontispiece).

V.

Valladolid, 46.

Velasquez, 51-53, 107, 108, 158.

Vesper, 14 (_see_ HESPERIDES).

Vespucci, 49, 51, 52.

Vinland (New England), 23, 25.

Vinland, map of, 24.

Voltaire, story of Cortés, 164.

W.

Waldseemüller, 50.

Watling's Island, 42.

Welsh Discovery, 32, 33.

William III. and Darien Scheme, 168-169.

Wilson, "Prehistoric Man," 26, 81.

World, shape of, 9-11.

X.

Xalapa, 120.

Xicotencatl, Tlascalan, 124, 126, 127-130.

Xicotencatl appearance, 129.

Y.

Yochicalco, 86.

Yucatan, 53, 54, 75-77.

Z.

Zempoalla, "conversion of," 116.

Zempoalla, 119, 158, 159.

Zeni, Italian brothers, 34-35.

Zeno map, 34, 35.

Zipango (Japan), 39, 45.

Zodiac, comparative, 55.

Zodiac (cut) from a tomb at Cusco, 182.

* * * * *

Transcriber's note:

The many spelling and hyphenation discrepancies in this text are as in the original.