Part 44 (2/2)
On the day appointed, Rada and his companions met in Almagro's house, and waited with anxiety for the hour when the governor should issue from the church. But great was their consternation, when they learned that he was not there, but was detained at home, as currently reported, by illness. Little doubting that their design was discovered, they felt their own ruin to be the inevitable consequence, and that, too, without enjoying the melancholy consolation of having struck the blow for which they had incurred it. Greatly perplexed, some were for disbanding, in the hope that Pizarro might, after all, be ignorant of their design. But most were for carrying it into execution at once, by a.s.saulting him in his own house. The question was summarily decided by one of the party, who felt that in this latter course lay their only chance of safety. Throwing open the doors, he rushed out, calling on his comrades ”to follow him, or he would proclaim the purpose for which they had met.” There was no longer hesitation, and the cavaliers issued forth, with Rada at their head, shouting, as they went, ”Long live the king! Death to the tyrant!” *13 [Footnote 13: Herrera, Hist. General, dec. 6, lib. 10, cap. 6. - Pedro Pizarro, Descub. y Conq., Ms. - Zarate, Conq. del Peru, lib. 4, cap. 8. - Naharro, Rel. Sumaria, Ms. - Carta del Maestro, Martin de Arauco, Ms., 15 de Julio, 1541.]
It was the hour of dinner, which, in this primitive age of the Spanish colonies, was at noon. Yet numbers, roused by the cries of the a.s.sailants, came out into the square to inquire the cause.
”They are going to kill the marquess,” some said very coolly; others replied, ”It is Picado.” No one stirred in their defence.
The power of Pizarro was not seated in the hearts of his people.
As the conspirators traversed the plaza, one of the party made a circuit to avoid a little pool of water that lay in their path.
”What!” exclaimed Rada, ”afraid of wetting your feet, when you are to wade up to your knees in blood!” And he ordered the man to give up the enterprise and go home to his quarters. The anecdote is characteristic. *14 [Footnote 14: ”Gomez Perez por haver alli agua derramada de una acequia, rodeo algun tanto por no moja.r.s.e; reparo en ello Juan de Rada, y entrandose atrevido por e agua le dijo: i Bamos a banarnos en sangre humana, y rehusais mojaros los pies en agua?
Ea volveos. hizolo volver y no asistio al hecho.' Montesinos, Annales, Ms., ano 1541.]
The governor's palace stood on the opposite side of the square.
It was approached by two courtyards. The entrance to the outer one was protected by a ma.s.sive gate, capable of being made good against a hundred men or more. But it was left open, and the a.s.sailants, hurrying through to the inner court, still shouting their fearful battle-cry, were met by two domestics loitering in the yard. One of these they struck down. The other, flying in all haste towards the house, called out, ”Help, help! the men of Chili are all coming to murder the marquess!”
Pizarro at this time was at dinner, or, more probably, had just dined. He was surrounded by a party of friends, who had dropped in, it seems, after ma.s.s, to inquire after the state of his health, some of whom had remained to partake of his repast.
Among these was Don Martinez de Alcantara, Pizarro's half-brother by the mother's side, the judge Velasquez, the bishop elect of Quito, and several of the princ.i.p.al cavaliers in the place, to the number of fifteen or twenty. Some of them, alarmed by the uproar in the court-yard, left the saloon, and, running down to the first landing on the stairway, inquired into the cause of the disturbance. No sooner were they informed of it by the cries of the servant, than they retreated with precipitation into the house; and, as they had no mind to abide the storm unarmed, or at best imperfectly armed, as most of them were, they made their way to the a corridor that overlooked the gardens, into which they easily let themselves down without injury. Velasquez, the judge, the better to have the use of his hands in the descent, held his rod of office in his mouth, thus taking care, says a caustic old chronicler, not to falsify his a.s.surance, that ”no harm should come to Pizarro while the rod of justice was in his hands”! *15 [Footnote 15: ”En lo qual no paresce haver quebrantado su palabra, porque despues huiendo (como adelante se dira) al tiempo, que quisieron matar al Marques, se hecho de vna Ventana abajo, a la Huerta, llevando la Vara en la boca.” Zarate, Conq.
del Peru, lib. 4, cap. 7.
Pedro Pizarro, Descub. y Conq., Ms. - Naharro, Relacion Sumaria, Ms. - Carta del Maestro, Martin de Arauco, Ms. - Carta de Fray Vicente de Valverde a la Audiencia de Panama, Ms., desde Tumbez, 15 Nov. 1541. - Gomara, Hist. de las Ind., cap. 145.]
Meanwhile, the marquess, learning the nature of the tumult, called out to Francisco de Chaves, an officer high in his confidence, and who was in the outer apartment opening on the staircase, to secure the door, while he and his brother Alcantara buckled on their armour. Had this order, coolly given, been as coolly obeyed, it would have saved them all, since the entrance could easily have been maintained against a much larger force, till the report of the cavaliers who had fled had brought support to Pizarro. But unfortunately, Chaves, disobeying his commander, half opened the door, and attempted to enter into a parley with the conspirators. The latter had now reached the head of the stairs, and cut short the debate by running Chaves through the body, and tumbling his corpse down into the area below. For a moment they were kept at bay by the attendants of the slaughtered cavalier, but these too, were quickly despatched; and Rada and his companions, entering the apartment, hurried across it, shouting out, ”Where is the marquess? Death to the tyrant!”
Martinez de Alcantara, who in the adjoining room was a.s.sisting his brother to buckle on his mail, no sooner saw that the entrance to the antechamber had been gained, than he sprang to the doorway of the apartment, and, a.s.sisted by two young men, pages of Pizarro, and by one or two cavaliers in attendance, endeavoured to resist the approach of the a.s.sailants. A desperate struggle now ensued. Blows were given on both sides, some of which proved fatal, and two of the conspirators were slain, while Alcantara and his brave companions were repeatedly wounded.
At length, Pizarro, unable, in the hurry of the moment, to adjust the fastenings of his cuira.s.s threw it away, and enveloping one arm in his cloak, with the other seized his sword, and sprang to his brother's a.s.sistance. It was too late; for Alcantara was already staggering under the loss of blood, and soon fell to the ground. Pizarro threw himself on his invaders, like a lion roused in his lair, and dealt his blows with as much rapidity and force, as if age had no power to stiffen his limbs. ”What ho!” he cried, ”traitors! have you come to kill me in my own house?” The conspirators drew back for a moment, as two of their body fell under Pizarro's sword; but they quickly rallied, and, from their superior numbers, fought at great advantage by relieving one another in the a.s.sault. Still the pa.s.sage was narrow, and the struggle lasted for some minutes, till both of Pizarro's pages were stretched by his side, when Rada, impatient of the delay, called out, ”Why are we so long about it? Down with the tyrant!”
and taking one of his companions, Narvaez, in his arms, he thrust him against the marquess. Pizarro, instantly grappling with his opponent, ran him through with his sword. But at that moment he received a wound in the throat, and reeling, he sank on the floor, while the swords of Rada and several of the conspirators were plunged into his body. ”Jesu!” exclaimed the dying man and, tracing a cross with his finger on the b.l.o.o.d.y floor, he bent down his head to kiss it, when a stroke, more friendly than the rest, put an end to his existence. *16 [See a.s.sa.s.sination Of Pizarro: He traced a cross with his finger on the b.l.o.o.d.y floor and bent his head down to kiss it, when a stroke, more friendly than the rest, put an end to his existence.]
[Footnote 16: Zarate, Conq. del Peru, lib. 4, cap. 8. - Naharro, Relacion Sumaria, Ms. - Pedro Pizarro, Descub. y Conq., Ms. - Herrera, Hist. General, dec. 6, lib. 10, cap. 6. - Carta de la Justicia y Regimiento de la Ciudad de los Reyes, Ms., 15 de Julio, 1541. - Carta del Maestro, Martin de Arauco, Ms. - Carta de Fray Vicente Valverde, desde Tumbez, Ms. - Gomara, Hist. de las Ind., ubi supra. - Montesinos, Annales, Ms., ano 1541.
Pizarro y Orellana seems to have no doubt that his slaughtered kinsman died in the odor of sanct.i.ty. - ”Alli le acabaron los traidores enemigos, dandole cruelissimas heridas, con que acabo el Julio Cesar Espanol, estando tan en si que pidiendo confession con gran acto de contricion, haziendo la senal de la Cruz con su misma sangre, y besandola murio.” Varones Il.u.s.tres, p. 186.
According to one authority, the mortal blow was given by a soldier named Borregan, who, when Pizarro was down, struck him on the back of the head with a water-jar, which he had s.n.a.t.c.hed from the table. (Herrera, Hist. General, dec. 6, lib. 10, cap. 6.) Considering the hurry and confusion of the scene, the different narratives of the catastrophe, though necessarily differing in minute details have a remarkable agreement with one another.]
The conspirators, having accomplished their b.l.o.o.d.y deed, rushed into the street, and, brandis.h.i.+ng their dripping weapons, shouted out, ”The tyrant is dead! The laws are restored! Long live our master the emperor, and his governor, Almagro!” The men of Chili, roused by the cheering cry, now flocked in from every side to join the banner of Rada, who soon found himself at the head of nearly three hundred followers, all armed and prepared to support his authority. A guard was placed over the houses of the princ.i.p.al partisans of the late governor, and their persons were taken into custody. Pizarro's house, and that of his secretary Picado, were delivered up to pillage, and a large booty in gold and silver was found in the former. Picado himself took refuge in the dwelling of Riquelme, the treasurer; but his hiding-place was detected, - betrayed, according to some accounts, by the looks, though not the words, of the treasurer himself, - and he was dragged forth and committed to a secure prison. *17 The whole city was thrown into consternation, as armed bodies hurried to and fro on their several errands, and all who were not in the faction of Almagro trembled lest they should be involved in the proscription of their enemies. So great was the disorder, that the Brothers of Mercy, turning out in a body, paraded the streets in solemn procession, with the host elevated in the air, in hopes by the presence of the sacred symbol to calm the pa.s.sions of the mult.i.tude.
[Footnote 17: ”No se olvidaron de buscar a Antonio Picado, i iendo en casa del Tesorero Alonso Riquelme, el mismo iba diciendo: No se adonde esta el Senor Picado, i con los ojos le mostraba, i le hallaron debaxo de la cama.” Herrera, Hist.
General, dec. 6, lib. 10, cap. 7.
We find Riquelme's name, soon after this, enrolled among the munic.i.p.ality of Lima, showing that he found it convenient to give in his temporary adhesion, at least, to Almagro. Carta de la Justicia y Regimiento de la Ciudad de los Reyes, Ms.]
But no other violence was offered by Rada and his followers than to apprehend a few suspected persons, and to seize upon horses and arms wherever they were to be found. The munic.i.p.ality was then summoned to recognize the authority of Almagro; the refractory were ejected without ceremony from their offices, and others of the Chili faction were subst.i.tuted. The claims of the new aspirant were fully recognized; and young Almagro, parading the streets on horseback, and escorted by a well-armed body of cavaliers, was proclaimed by sound of trumpet governor and captain-general of Peru.
Meanwhile, the mangled bodies of Pizarro and his faithful adherents were left weltering in their blood. Some were for dragging forth the governor's corpse to the market-place, and fixing his head upon a gibbet. But Almagro was secretly prevailed on to grant the entreaties of Pizarro's friends, and allow his interment. This was stealthily and hastily performed, in the fear of momentary interruption. A faithful attendant and his wife, with a few black domestics, wrapped the body in a cotton cloth and removed it to the cathedral. A grave was hastily dug in an obscure corner, the services were hurried through, and, in secrecy, and in darkness dispelled only by the feeble glimmering of a few tapers furnished by these humble menials, the remains of Pizarro, rolled in their b.l.o.o.d.y shroud, were consigned to their kindred dust. Such was the miserable end of the Conqueror of Peru, - of the man who but a few hours before had lorded it over the land with as absolute a sway as was possessed by its hereditary Incas. Cut off in the broad light of day, in the heart of his own capital, in the very midst of those who had been his companions in arms and shared with him his triumphs and his spoils, he perished like a wretched outcast. ”There was none even,” in the expressive language of the chronicler ”to say, G.o.d forgive him!” *18
[Footnote 18: ”Murio pidiendo confesion, i haciendo la Cruz, sin que nadie lijese, Dios te perdone.” Gomara, Hist de las Ind., cap. 144.
Ms. de Caravantes. - Zarate, Conq. del Peru, lib. 4, cap. 8. - Carta del Maestro, Martin de Arauco, Ms. - Carta de Fray Vicente Valverde, desde Tumbez, Ms.]
A few years later, when tranquillity was restored to the country, Pizarro's remains were placed in a sumptuous coffin and deposited under a monument in a conspicuous part of the cathedral. And in 1607, when time had thrown its friendly mantle over the past, and the memory of his errors and his crimes was merged in the consideration of the great services he had rendered to the Crown by the extension of her colonial empire, his bones were removed to the new cathedral, and allowed to repose side by side with those of Mendoza, the wise and good viceroy of Peru. *19 [Footnote 19: ”Sus huesos encerrados en una caxa guarnecida de terciopelo morado con pa.s.samanos de oro que yo he visto.” Ms. de Caravantes.]
Pizarro was, probably, not far from sixty-five years of age at the time of his death; though this, it must be added, is but loose conjecture, since there exists no authentic record of the date of his birth. *20 He was never married; but by an Indian princess of the Inca blood, daughter of Atahuallpa and granddaughter of the great Huayna Capac, he had two children, a son and a daughter. Both survived him; but the son did not live to manhood. Their mother, after Pizarro's death, wedded a Spanish cavalier, named Ampuero, and removed with him to Spain.
Her daughter Francisca accompanied her, and was there subsequently married to her uncle Hernando Pizarro, then a prisoner in the Mota del Medina. Neither the t.i.tle nor estates of the Marquess Francisco descended to his illegitimate offspring. But in the third generation, in the reign of Philip the Fourth, the t.i.tle was revived in favor of Don Juan Hernando Pizarro, who, out of grat.i.tude for the services of his ancestor, was created Marquess of the Conquest, Marques de la Conquista, with a liberal pension from government. His descendants, bearing the same t.i.tle of n.o.bility, are still to be found, it is said, at Truxillo, in the ancient province of Estremadura, the original birthplace of the Pizarros. *21
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