History of the World/History of the World (Bureau Development, Inc.)(1992).BIN/dp/0217/02175.txt

Text File | 1992-10-12 | 29.4 KB | 489 lines

$Unique_ID{how02175}
$Pretitle{}
$Title{History Of The Conquest Of Peru
Chapter VII: Part I}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Prescott, William H.}
$Affiliation{}
$Subject{de
footnote
pizarro
gold
value
hundred
que
thousand
peru
del}
$Date{1864}
$Log{}
Title:       History Of The Conquest Of Peru
Book:        Book III: Conquest Of Peru
Author:      Prescott, William H.
Date:        1864

Chapter VII: Part I

Immense Amount Of Treasure. - Its Division Among The Troops - Rumors Of A
Rising. - Trial Of The Inca. - His Execution - Reflections.

     1533.

     The arrival of Almagro produced a considerable change in Pizarro's
prospects, since it enabled him to resume active operations, and push forward
his conquests in the interior.  The only obstacle in his way was the Inca's
ransom, and the Spaniards had patiently waited, till the return of the
emissaries from Cuzco swelled the treasure to a large amount, though still
below the stipulated limit.  But now their avarice got the better of their
forbearance, and they called loudly for the immediate division of the gold. To
wait longer would only be to invite the assault of their enemies, allured by a
bait so attractive.  While the treasure remained uncounted, no man knew its
value, nor what was to be his own portion.  It was better to distribute it at
once, and let every one possess and defend his own.  Several, moreover, were
now disposed to return home, and take their share of the gold with them, where
they could place it in safety But these were few, while much the larger part
were only anxious to leave their present quarters, and march at once to Cuzco.
More gold, they thought, awaited them in that capital, than they could get
here by prolonging their stay; while every hour was precious, to prevent the
inhabitants from secreting their treasures, of which design they had already
given indication.

     Pizarro was especially moved by the last consideration; and he felt,
that, without the capital, he could not hope to become master of the empire.
Without further delay, the division of the treasure was agreed upon.

     Yet, before making this, it was necessary to reduce the whole to ingots
of a uniform standard, for the spoil was composed of an infinite variety of
articles, in which the gold was of very different degrees of purity.  These
articles consisted of goblets, ewers, salvers, vases of every shape and size,
ornaments and utensils for the temples and the royal palaces, tiles and plates
for the decoration of the public edifices, curious imitations of different
plants and animals.  Among the plants, the most beautiful was the Indian corn,
in which the golden ear was sheathed in its broad leaves of silver, from which
hung a rich tassel of threads of the same precious metal. A fountain was also
much admired, which sent up a sparkling jet of gold, while birds and animals
of the same material played in the waters at its base.  The delicacy of the
workmanship of some of these, and the beauty and ingenuity of the design,
attracted the admiration of better judges than the rude Conquerors of Peru. ^1

[Footnote 1: Relatione de Pedro Sancho, ap. Ramusio, Viaggi, tom. III. fol.
399. - Xerez, Conq. del Peru, ap. Barcia, tom. III. p. 233. - Zarate, Conq.
del Peru, lib. 2, cap. 7.

     Oviedo saw at St. Domingo the articles which Ferdinand Pizarro was
bearing to Castile; and he expatiates on several beautifully wrought vases,
richly chased, of very fine gold, and measuring twelve inches in height and
thirty round.  Hist. de las Indias, Ms., Parte 3, lib. 8, cap. 16.]

     Before breaking up these specimens of Indian art, it was determined to
send a quantity, which should be deducted from the royal fifth, to the
Emperor.  It would serve as a sample of the ingenuity of the natives, and
would show him the value of his conquests.  A number of the most beautiful
articles was selected, to the amount of a hundred thousand ducats, and
Hernando Pizarro was appointed to be the bearer of them to Spain.  He was to
obtain an audience of Charles, and, at the same time that he laid the
treasures before him, he was to give an account of the proceedings of the
Conquerors, and to seek a further augmentation of their powers and dignities.

     No man in the army was better qualified for this mission, by his address
and knowledge of affairs, than Hernando Pizarro; no one would be so likely to
urge his suit with effect at the haughty Castilian court.  But other reasons
influenced the selection of him at the present juncture.

     His former jealousy of Almagro still rankled in his bosom, and he had
beheld that chief's arrival at the camp with feelings of disgust, which he did
not care to conceal.  He looked on him as coming to share the spoils of
victory, and defraud his brother of his legitimate honors. Instead of
exchanging the cordial greeting proffered by Almagro at their first interview,
the arrogant cavalier held back in sullen silence.  His brother Francis was
greatly displeased at a conduct which threatened to renew their ancient feud,
and he induced Hernando to accompany him to Almagro's quarters, and make some
acknowledgment for his uncourteous behaviour. ^2 But, notwithstanding this
show of reconciliation, the general thought the present a favorable
opportunity to remove his brother from the scene of operations, where his
factious spirit more than counterbalanced his eminent services. ^3

[Footnote 2: Herrera, Hist. General, dec. 5, lib. 2, cap. 3.]

[Footnote 3: According to Oviedo it was agreed that Hernando should have a
share, much larger than he was entitled to, of the Inca's ransom, in the hope
that he would feel so rich as never to desire to return again to Peru.
"Trabajaron de le embiar rico por quitarle de entre ellos, y porque yendo muy
rico como fue no tubiese voluntad de tornar a aquellas partes." Hist. de las
Indias, Ms., Parte 3, lib. 8 cap. 16.]

     The business of melting down the plate was intrusted to the Indian
goldsmiths, who were thus required to undo the work of their own hands.  They
toiled day and night, but such was the quantity to be recast, that it
consumed a full month.  When the whole was reduced to bars of a uniform
standard, they were nicely weighed, under the superintendence of the royal
inspectors.  The total amount of the gold was found to be one million, three
hundred and twenty-six thousand, five hundred and thirty-nine pesos de oro,
which, allowing for the greater value of money in the sixteenth century,
would be equivalent, probably, at the present time, to near three millions
and a half of pounds sterling, or somewhat less than fifteen millions and a
half of dollars. ^4 The quantity of silver was estimated at fifty-one thousand
six hundred and ten marks.  History affords no parallel of such a booty - and
that, too, in the most convertible form, in ready money, as it were - having
fallen to the lot of a little band of military adventurers, like the
Conquerors of Peru.  The great object of the Spanish expeditions in the New
World was gold.  It is remarkable that their success should have been so
complete.  Had they taken the track of the English, the French, or the Dutch,
on the shores of the northern continent, how different would have been the
result!  It is equally worthy of remark, that the wealth thus suddenly
acquired, by diverting them from the slow but surer and more permanent
sources of national prosperity, has in the end glided from their grasp, and
left them among the poorest of the nations of Christendom.

[Footnote 4: Acta de Reparticion del Rescate de Atahuallpa, Ms - Xerez, Conq.
del Peru, ap. Barcia, tom. III. p. 232.

     In reducing the sums mentioned in this work, I have availed myself -as
I before did, in the History of the Conquest of Mexico - of the labors of
Senor Clemencin, formerly Secretary of the Royal Academy of History at
Madrid.  This eminent scholar, in the sixth volume of the Memoirs of the
Academy, prepared wholly by himself, has introduced an elaborate essay on the
value of the currency in the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella.  Although this
period - the close of the fifteenth century - was somewhat earlier than that
of the Conquest of Peru, yet his calculations are sufficiently near the truth
for our purpose, since the Spanish currency had not as yet been much affected
by that disturbing cause, - the influx of the precious metals from the New
World.

     In inquiries into the currency of a remote age, we may consider, in the
first place, the specific value of the coin, - that is, the value which it
derives from the weight, purity, &c., of the metal, circumstances easily
determined.  In the second place, we may inquire into the commercial or
comparative worth of the money, - that is, the value founded on a comparison
of the differences between the amount of commodities which the same sum would
purchase formerly, and at the present time.  The last inquiry is attended
with great embarrassment, from the difficulty of finding any one article
which may be taken as the true standard of value.  Wheat, from its general
cultivation and use, has usually been selected by political economists as
this standard; and Clemencin has adopted it in his calculations.  Assuming
wheat as the standard, he has endeavoured to ascertain the value of the
principal coins in circulation, at the time of the "Catholic Kings." He makes
no mention in his treatise of the peso de oro, by which denomination the sums
in the early part of the sixteenth century were more frequently expressed
than by any other.  But he ascertains both the specific and the commercial
value of the castellano, which several of the old writers, as Oviedo,
Herrera, and Xerez, concur in stating as precisely equivalent to the peso de
oro.  From the results of his calculations, it appears that the specific
value of the castellano, as stated by him in reals, is equal to three dollars
and seven cents of our own currency, while the commercial value is nearly
four times as great, or eleven dollars sixty-seven cents, equal to two pounds
twelve shillings and sixpence sterling.  By adopting this as the approximate
value of the peso de oro, in the early part of the sixteenth century, the
reader may easily compute for himself the value, at that period, of the sums
mentioned in these pages; most of which are expressed in that denomination.

     I have been the more particular in this statement, since, in my former
work, I confined myself to the commercial value of the money, which, being
much greater than the specific value, founded on the quality and weight of
the metal, was thought by an ingenious correspondent to give the reader an
exaggerated estimate of the sums mentioned in the history.  But it seems to
me that it is only this comparative or commercial value with which the reader
has any concern, indicating what amount of commodities any given sum
represents, that he may thus know the real worth of that sum; - thus adopting
the principle, though conversely stated, of the old Hudibrastic maxim, -

     "What is worth in anything,
     But so much money as 't will bring."]

     A new difficulty now arose in respect to the division of the treasure.
Almagro's followers claimed to be admitted to a share of it; which, as they
equalled, and, indeed, somewhat exceeded in number Pizarro's company, would
reduce the gains of these last very materially.  "We were not here, it is
true," said Almagro's soldiers to their comrades, "at the seizure of the Inca,
but we have taken our turn in mounting guard over him since his capture, have
helped you to defend your treasures, and now give you the means of going
forward and securing your conquests.  It is a common cause," they urged, "in
which all are equally embarked, and the gains should be shared equally between
us."

     But this way of viewing the matter was not at all palatable to Pizarro's
company, who alleged that Atahuallpa's contract had been made exclusively with
them; that they had seized the Inca, had secured the ransom, had incurred, in
short, all the risk of the enterprise, and were not now disposed to share the
fruits of it with every one who came after them. - There was much force, it
could not be denied, in this reasoning, and it was finally settled between the
leaders, that Almagro's followers should resign their pretensions for a
stipulated sum of no great amount, and look to the career now opened to them
for carving out their fortunes for themselves.

     This delicate affair being this harmoniously adjusted, Pizarro prepared,
with all solemnity, for a division of the imperial spoil.  The troops were
called together in the great square, and the Spanish commander, "with the fear
of God before his eyes," says the record, "invoked the assistance of Heaven to
do the work before him conscientiously and justly." ^5 The appeal may seem
somewhat out of place at the distribution of spoil so unrighteously acquired;
yet, in truth, considering the magnitude of the treasure, and the power
assumed by Pizarro to distribute it according to the respective deserts of the
individuals, there were few acts of his life involving a heavier
responsibility.  On his present decision might be said to hang the future
fortunes of each one of his followers, - poverty or independence during the
remainder of his days.

[Footnote 5: "Segun Dios Nuestro Senor a diere a entender teniendo su
conciencia y para lo mejor hazer pedia el ayuda de Dios Nuestro Senor, e
imboco el auxilio divino." Acta de Reparticion del Rescate, Ms.]

     The royal fifth was first deducted, including the remittance already sent
to Spain.  The share appropriated by Pizarro amounted to fifty-seven thousand
two hundred and twenty-two pesos of gold, and two thousand three hundred and
fifty marks of silver.  He had besides this the great chair or throne of the
Inca, of solid gold, and valued at twenty-five thousand pesos de oro.  To his
brother Hernando were paid thirty-one thousand and eighty pesos of gold, and
two thousand three hundred and fifty marks of silver.  De Soto received
seventeen thousand seven hundred and forty pesos of gold, and seven hundred
and twenty-four marks of silver Most of the remaining cavalry, sixty in
number, received each eight thousand eight hundred and eighty pesos of gold,
and three hundred and sixty-two marks of silver, though some had more, and a
few considerably less.  The infantry mustered in all one hundred and five men.
Almost one fifth of them were allowed, each, four thousand four hundred and
forty pesos of gold, and one hundred and eighty marks of silver, half of the
compensation of the troopers.  The remainder received one fourth part less;
though here again there were exceptions, and some were obliged to content
themselves with a much smaller share of the spoil. ^6

[Footnote 6: The particulars of the distribution are given in the Acta de
Reparticion del Rescate, an instrument drawn up and signed by the royal
notary.  The document, which as therefore of unquestionable authority, is
among the Mss. selected for me from the collection of Munoz.]

     The new church of San Francisco, the first Christian temple in Peru, was
endowed with two thousand two hundred and twenty pesos of gold.  The amount
assigned to Almagro's company was not excessive, if it was not more than
twenty thousand pesos; ^7 and that reserved for the colonists of San Miguel,
which amounted only to fifteen thousand pesos, was unaccountably small. ^8
There were among them certain soldiers, who at an early period of the
expedition, as the reader may remember abandoned the march, and returned to
San Miguel.  These, certainly, had little claim to be remembered in the
division of booty.  But the greater part of the colony consisted of invalids,
men whose health had been broken by their previous hardships, but who still,
with a stout and willing heart, did good service in their military post on the
sea-coast.  On what grounds they had forfeited their claims to a more ample
remuneration, it is not easy to explain.

[Footnote 7: "Se diese a la gente que vino con el Capital Diego de Almagro
para ayuda a pagar sus deudas y fletes y suplir algunas necesidades que
traian veinte mil pesos." (Acta de Reparticion del Rescate, Ms.) Herrera says
that 100,000 pesos were paid to Almagro's men.  (Hist. General, dec. 5, lib.
2, cap. 3.) But it is not so set down in the instrument.]

[Footnote 8: "En treinta personas que quedaron en la ciudad de san Miguel de
Piura dolientes y otros que no vinieron ni se hallaron en la prision de
Atagualpa y toma del oro porque algunos son pobres y otros tienen necesidad
senalaba 15,000 ps de oro para los repartir S. Senoria entre las dichas
personas." Ibid., Ms.]

     Nothing is said, in the partition, of Almagro himself, who, by the terms
of the original contract, might claim an equal share of the spoil with his
associate.  As little notice is taken of Luque, the remaining partner.  Luque
himself, was, indeed, no longer to be benefited by worldly treasure.  He had
died a short time before Almagro's departure from Panama; ^9 too soon to learn
the full success of the enterprise, which, but for his exertions, must have
failed; too soon to become acquainted with the achievements and the crimes
of Pizarro.  But the Licentiate Espinosa, whom he represented, and who, it
appears, had advanced the funds for the expedition, was still living at St.
Domingo, and Luque's pretensions were explicitly transferred to him.  Yet it
is unsafe to pronounce, at this distance of time, on the authority of mere
negative testimony; and it must be admitted to form a strong presumption in
favor of Pizarro's general equity in the distribution, that no complaint of
it has reached us from any of the parties present, nor from contemporary
chroniclers. ^10

[Footnote 9: Montesinos, Annales, Ms. ano 1533.]

[Footnote 10: The "Spanish Captain," several times cited, who tells us he was
one of the men appointed to guard the treasure, does indeed complain that a
large quantity of gold vases and other articles remained undivided, a
palpable injustice, he thinks, to the honest Conquerors, who had earned all
by their hardships.  (Rel. d'un Capitano Spagn., ap. Ramusio, tom. III. fol.
378, 379.) The writer, throughout his Relation, shows a full measure of the
coarse and covetous spirit which marked the adventurers of Peru.]

     The division of the ransom being completed by the Spaniards, there seemed
to be no further obstacle to their resuming active operations, and commencing
the march to Cuzco.  But what was to be done with Atahuallpa?  In the
determination of this question, whatever was expedient was just. ^11 To
liberate him would be to set at large the very man who might prove their most
dangerous enemy; one whose birth and royal station would rally round him the
whole nation, place all the machinery of government at his control, and all
its resources, - one, in short, whose bare word might concentrate all the
energies of his people against the Spaniards, and thus delay for a long
period, if not wholly defeat, the conquest of the country.  Yet to hold him in
captivity was attended with scarcely less difficulty; since to guard so
important a prize would require such a division of their force as must greatly
cripple its strength, and how could they expect, by any vigilance, to secure
their prisoner against rescue in the perilous passes of the mountains?

[Footnote 11: 'Y esto tenia por justo, pues era provechoso." It is the
sentiment imputed to Pizarro by Herrera, Hist. General, dec. 5, lib 3, cap.
4.]

     The Inca himself now loudly demanded his freedom.  The proposed amount of
the ransom had, indeed, not been fully paid.  It may be doubted whether it
ever would have been, considering the embarrassments thrown in the way by the
guardians of the temples, who seemed disposed to secrete the treasures, rather
than despoil these sacred depositories to satisfy the cupidity of the
strangers.  It was unlucky, too, for the Indian monarch, that much of the
gold, and that of the best quality, consisted of flat plates or tiles, which,
however valuable, lay in a compact form that did little towards swelling the
heap.  But an immense amount had been already realized, and it would have been
a still greater one, the Inca might allege, but for the impatience of the
Spaniards.  At all events, it was a magnificent ransom, such as was never paid
by prince or potentate before.

     These considerations Atahuallpa urged on several of the cavaliers, and
especially on Hernando de Soto, who was on terms of more familiarity with him
than Pizarro.  De Soto reported Atahuallpa's demands to his leader; but the
latter evaded a direct reply.  He did not disclose the dark purposes over
which his mind was brooding. ^12 Not long afterward he caused the notary to
prepare an instrument, in which he fully acquitted the Inca of further
obligation in respect to the ransom.  This he commanded to be publicly
proclaimed in the camp, while at the same time he openly declared that the
safety of the Spaniards required, that the Inca should be detained in
confinement until they were strengthened by additional reinforcements. ^13

[Footnote 12: "I como no ahondaban los designios que tenia le replicaban;
pero el respondia, que iba mirando en ello." Herrera, Hist. General, dec. 5,
lib. 3, cap. 4.]

[Footnote 13: "Fatta quella fusione, il Governatore fece vn atto innanzi al
notaro nel quale liberaua il Cacique Atabalipa et l'absolueua della promessa
et parola che haueua oata a gli Spagnuoli che lo presero della casa d'oro
c'haueua lor cocessa, il quale fece publicar publicamete a suon di trombe
nella piazza di quella citta di Caxamalca." (Pedro Sancho, Rel., ap. Ramusio,
tom. III. fol. 399.) The authority is unimpeachable, - for any fact, at least,
that makes against the Conquerors, - since the Relatione was by one of
Pizarro's own secretaries, and was authorized under the hands of the general
and his great officers.]

     Meanwhile the old rumors of a meditated attack by the natives began to
be current among the soldiers.  They were repeated from one to another,
gaining something by every repetition.  An immense army, it was reported, was
mustering at Quito, the land of Atahuallpa's birth, and thirty thousand
Caribs were on their way to support it. ^14 The Caribs were distributed by the
early Spaniards rather indiscriminately over the different parts of America,
being invested with peculiar horrors as a race of cannibals.
[Footnote 14: "De la Gente Natural de Quito vienen docientos mil Hombres de
Guerra, i treinta mil Caribes, que comen Carne Humana." Xerez, Conq. del
Peru, ap. Barcia, tom. III. p. 233. - See also Pedro Sancho, Rel., ap.
Ramusio, ubi supra.]

     It was not easy to trace the origin of these rumors.  There was in the
camp a considerable number of Indians, who belonged to the party of Huascar,
and who were, of course, hostile to Atahuallpa.  But his worst enemy was
Felipillo, the interpreter from Tumbez, already mentioned in these pages.
This youth had conceived a passion, or, as some say, had been detected in an
intrigue with, one of the royal concubines. ^15 The circumstance had reached
the ears of Atahuallpa, who felt himself deeply outraged by it.  "That such
an insult should have been offered by so base a person was an indignity," he
said, "more difficult to bear than his imprisonment"; ^16 and he told Pizarro,
"that, by the Peruvian law, it could be expiated, not by the criminal's own
death alone, but by that of his whole family and kindred." ^17 But Felipillo
was too important to the Spaniards to be dealt with so summarily; nor did
they probably attach such consequence to an offence which, if report be true,
they had countenanced by their own example. ^18 Felipillo, however, soon
learned the state of the Inca's feelings towards himself, and from that
moment he regarded him with deadly hatred.  Unfortunately, his malignant
temper found ready means for its indulgence.

[Footnote 15: "Pues estando asi atravesose in demonio de una lengua que se
dezia ffelipillo uno de los muchachos que el marquez avia llevado a Espana
que al presente hera lengua y andava enamorado de una muger de Atabalipa."
Pedro Pizarro, Descub. y Conq., Ms.

     The amour and the malice of Felipillo, which, Quintana seems to think,
rest chiefly on Garcilasso's authority, (see Espanoles Celebres, tom. II. p.
210, nota,) are stated very explicitly by Zarate, Naharro, Gomara, Balboa,
all contemporaneous, though not, like Pedro Pizarro, personally present in
the army.]

[Footnote 16: "Diciendo que sentia mas aquel desacato, que su prision."
Zarate, Conq. del Peru, lib. 2, cap. 7.]

[Footnote 17: Ibid., loc. cit.]

[Footnote 18: "E le habian tomado sus mugeres e repartidolas en su presencia
e usaban de ellas de sus adulterios." Oviedo, Hist. de las Indias, Ms., Parte
3, lib. 8, cap. 22.]

     The rumors of a rising among the natives pointed to Atahuallpa as the
author of it.  Challcuchima was examined on the subject, but avowed his
entire ignorance of any such design, which he pronounced a malicious slander.
Pizarro next laid the matter before the Inca himself, repeating to him the
stories in circulation, with the air of one who believed them.  "What treason
is this," said the general, "that you have meditated against me, - me, who
have ever treated you with honor, confiding in your words, as in those of a
brother?" "You jest," replied the Inca, who, perhaps, did not feel the weight
of this confidence; "you are always jesting with me.  How could I or my
people think of conspiring against men so valiant as the Spaniards?  Do not
jest with me thus, I beseech you." ^19 "This," continues Pizarro's secretary,
"he said in the most composed and natural manner, smiling all the while to
dissemble his falsehood, so that we were all amazed to find such cunning in
a barbarian." ^20

[Footnote 19: "Burlaste conmigo?  siempre me hablas cosas de burlas?  Que
parte somos Yo, i toda mi Gente, para enojar a tan valientes Hombres como
vosotros?  No me digas esas burlas." Xerez, Conq. del Peru, ap. Barcia, tom.
III. p. 234.]

[Footnote 20: "De que los Espanoles que se las han oido, estan espantados de
ver en vn Hombre Barbaro tanta prudencia." Ibid., loc. cit.]

     But it was not with cunning, but with the consciousness of innocence, as
the event afterwards proved, that Atahuallpa thus spoke to Pizarro.  He
readily discerned, however, the causes, perhaps the consequences, of the
accusation.  He saw a dark gulf opening beneath his feet; and he was
surrounded by strangers, on none of whom he could lean for counsel or
protection.  The life of the captive monarch is usually short; and Atahuallpa
might have learned the truth of this, when he thought of Huascar Bitterly did
he now lament the absence of Hernando Pizarro, for, strange as it may seem,
the haughty spirit of this cavalier had been touched by the condition of the
royal prisoner, and he had treated him with a deference which won for him the
peculiar regard and confidence of the Indian.  Yet the latter lost no time in
endeavouring to efface the general's suspicions, and to establish his own
innocence.  "Am I not," said he to Pizarro, "a poor captive in your hands? How
could I harbour the designs you impute to me, when I should be the first
victim of the outbreak?  And you little know my people, if you think that such
a movement would be made without my orders; when the very birds in my
dominions," said he, with somewhat of an hyper bole, "would scarcely venture
to fly contrary to my will." ^21

[Footnote 21: "Pues si Yo no lo quiero, ni las Aves bolaran en mi Tierra.'
Zarate, Conq. del Peru, lib. 2 cap. 7.]

     But these protestations of innocence had little effect on the troops;
among whom the story of a general rising of the natives continued to gain
credit every hour.  A large force, it was said, was already gathered at
Guamachucho, not a hundred miles from the camp, and their assault might be
hourly expected.  The treasure which the Spaniards had acquired afforded a
tempting prize, and their own alarm was increased by the apprehension of
losing it.  The patroles were doubled.  The horses were kept saddled and
bridled.  The soldiers slept on their arms; Pizarro went the rounds regularly
to see that every sentinel was on his post.  The little army, in short, was in
a state of preparation for instant attack.

     Men suffering from fear are not likely to be too scrupulous as to the
means of removing the cause of it.  Murmurs, mingled with gloomy menaces, were
now heard against the Inca, the author of these machinations.  Many began to
demand his life as necessary to the safety of the army.  Among these, the most
vehement were Almagro and his followers.  They had not witnessed the seizure
of Atahuallpa.  They had no sympathy with him in his fallen state.  They
regarded him only as an incumbrance, and their desire now was to push their
fortunes in the country, since they had got so little of the gold of
Caxamalca.  They were supported by Riquelme, the treasurer, and by the rest of
the royal officers.  These men had been left at San Miguel by Pizarro, who did
not care to have such officia spies on his movements.  But they had come to
the camp with Almagro, and they loudly demanded the Inca's death, as
indispensable to the tranquillity of the country, and the interests of the
Crown. ^22

[Footnote 22: Pedro Pizarro, Descub. y Conq., Ms. - Relacion del Primer.
Descub., Ms. - Ped. Sancho, Rel., ap. Ramusio, tom. III. fol. 100.

     These cavaliers were all present in the camp.]