Pedrarias, the governor of Castilla del Oro, not long after the execution of his rival, had transferred his capital from Darien, on the Atlantic coast, to a site on the Pacific, called Panama, some distance eastward from the present city of that name. Vague but continued reports of the existence of a wealthy empire on the southern sea were continually reaching the new settlement; and in 1521, an expedition was dispatched to the southward. But the illness of the commander prevented him from penetrating any farther than Balboa had already done; and for some years no further movement was made in that direction. At this time, reports of the astonishing successes of Cortes began to inflame the minds of his countrymen throughout the numerous colonies already founded in the islands or on the mainland; and in the rising city of Panama, especially, we are told, "were diuers which affected golden discoueries." Of all this host of active adventurers, the name most splendid for courage, fortitude, and sagacity, and most infamous for cruelty, oppression, and perfidy, is that of Francisco Pizarro. He was the illegitimate son of Gonzalo Pizarro, an officer of Cordova, ("The Great Captain,") and was born at Truxillo, in Estramadura, about the year 1471. His introduction to the world was of no very auspicious character, for (we are informed) he was "exposed at the Church dore, and none being found that would giue him the breast, hee was nourished by sucking a Sow for certaine daies." By a very natural sequence to this piggish nurture, he was brought up to the ignoble calling of a swineherd, and never learned even to read or write. The forlorn and neglected condition of his youth must not be overlooked, in forming a charitable estimate of his subsequent career. Little is known of his early life; but that he was of a bold and self-reliant nature is evident from the fact that he deserted his swinish charge, and ran away to Seville, where he embarked to seek his fortune in the New World. In 1510,, he sailed from Hispaniola with Ojeda, on his disastrous expedi tion to Uraba, on the mainland, and was left by that cavalier in charge of the perishing colony. It has been already narrated that he was a companion of Balboa, in his memorable march to the South Sea, and that, at the command of the malignant Pedrarias, he brought that illustrious discoverer in chains to Acla for execution. He had also accompanied Morales on the expedition of 1515, distinguished by such ferocious cruelty and deserved suffering; and, crossing to the Pearl islands, had stood by that commander, when, from the summit of a tower, their vanquished host, the cacique of the island, had pointed out the long line of coast stretching to the golden realms of the Incas. The brilliant and profitable exploits of Cortes, who had just completed the Conquest of Mexico, borne to the capital of the isthmus, excited the emulation of a few daring men, and especially of Pizarro, who, after a life passed in constant contention with fortune, now found himself, at the age of fifty, possessed of only a small estate in the neighborhood of Panama. Diego de Almagro, like himself, a foundling, and a battered soldier of fortune, entered-warmly into his plans for fresh discovery and conquest; and Hernando de Luque, a priest of great enterprise, and ambitious of ecclesiastical preferment, joined them in the resolve to attempt some signal enterprise. The latter was to furnish the chief share of the necessary funds, (acting as agent for a wealthy colonist, named Espinosa,) and Pizarro was to have chief command of the expedition. Thus did three obscure individuals, in a village just rescued from the wilderness, undertake the conquest of distant and unknown realms of whose very existence their only authority was the vague report that, far to the southward, was a mighty kingdom, abounding in gold. Two small vessels were procured, and one of them (built by Balboa) was soon in readiness for sea; and from the needy crew of desperate adventurers which haunted the new capital, an hundred were readily enlisted for the enterprise. With these, in the middle of November, 1524, Pizarro set sail, leav ing Almagro to follow in the second vessel, as soon as it could be fitted out. Crossing the Gulf of St. Michel, he steered southward, and, rounding the Puerto de Pinas, entered the river Biru. After an unsuccessful and harassing attempt to explore the marshy region through which it flows, the voyagers again weighed anchor and stood southward. It was the rainy season, and they soon encountered a series of tempests and thunder-storms, from which they barely escaped with life, exhausted and half famished. Returning to the shore, they found it to consist of vast swamps and intricate forests, through which they vainly sought a passage to the interior. Utterly disheartened, the majority clamored loudly for return. But Pizarro could not bear to relinquish the scheme in which he had embarked his all, and which, to his sagacious eye, promised such splendid results. He determined to remain on shore, with a portion of his command, and to dispatch the vessel home for supplies. After her departure, the condition of the little company left in this desolate region was forlorn in the extreme. Famine and exposure soon put an end to nearly half their number; but the indefatigable commander, with the remainder, forced his way into the country, where the distant glimmering of a light afforded a proof of habitation. An Indian village was discovered, and the scanty supply of maize, here obtained, gave them a further respite from starvation. The inhabitants wore ornaments of gold, and confirmed the accounts of a great and wealthy empire lying in the south. At length the vessel, after a voyage distinguished by great suffering and privation, made her return with supplies-but the crew were hardly able to recognize the remnant of their companions in the famine-wasted wretches that hastened to the shore. They reembarked, and joyfully leaving this "Port of Famine," held on their intended course. On landing again, Pizarro, with a small party, explored the interior, where he found an Indian village, deserted by the alarmed inhabitants, with a supply of food and considerable gold. Human flesh was cooking before the fires, and the Spaniards, overcome with horror and disgust, retreated to their ship. At a point which he named Punta Quemada, Pizarro again went on shore, and took possession of a fortified Indian village, from which the inhabitants had fled. Here he determined, for the present, to take up his quarters, and to dispatch the vessel to Panama for repairs. Before she sailed, however, the insecurity of his position became manifest; the Indians, assembling from all sides, attacked the intruders with great fury; five of the Spaniards were killed and a great number were wounded; and it was evidently impracticable, with a diminished force, to retain the desired post. All, therefore, embarked, and the vessel was headed northward. She made a favorable run toward Panama, and Pizarro, with most of his company, disembarking at Chicama a little before they reached it, awaited with anxiety the result of an application to Pedrarias. Almagro, whose departure had been grievously delayed, had finally set sail, with sixty or seventy companions, and pursuing the same track as Pizarro, had successively touched upon various points where the notching of trees indicated the visits of his consort. At Quemada, he had, like the latter, a sharp engagement with the savages, and lost an eye in the encounter. Undaunted by this misfortune, he pushed on, and, touching at various places, and plundering considerable gold, reached the mouth of the river San Juan, about 4° north latitude. Here the construction of the villages and the extent of cultivation gave strong indications of approach to civilization. At every step, fresh accounts reached him of the southern empire; but finding nothing of his consort, he bore northward, and finally rejoined him at his quarters in Chicama. Both, elated by their prospects, and unterrified by their misfortunes, pledged themselves to each other to die rather than to relinquish their undertaking. CHAPTER II. MEANNESS OF PEDRARIAS-CONTRACT OF PIZARRO, ALMAGRO, AND OF TACAMEZ-FIGHT WITH THE INDIANS-RETURN OF LUTION OF PIZARRO AND TWELVE COMPANIONS. BUT Almagro, on repairing to Panama, found the governor obstinately opposed to any further persistance in an enterprise attended with such loss and disaster. Though Pedrarias had lost nothing himself, he would neither assist the project, nor relinquish his own claims upon its possible profits without a handsome bribe, wrung from the exhausted coffers of the confederates. A curious scene of altercation, detailed at much length by one who was present, ensued. "What more will you give me?" demanded the avaricious governor, unsatisfied with a release from large indebtedness. "Almagro, much chagrined, said, 'I will give three hundred pesos, though I swear by God I have not so much money in the world; but I must borrow it to be rid of such an incubus.' "You must give me two thousand.' "Five hundred is the most I will offer.' "You must pay me more than a thousand.' "A thousand pesos then,' cried the captain, in a rage, 'I will give you, though I do not own them; but I will find sufficient security for their future payment."" For such a paltry consideration ($12,000) did the mean-spirited governor relinquish his share of the wealth of Peru; while Almagro, keener-sighted, doubtless rejoiced in having got rid of him so easily. He was appointed as equal in command to Pizarro in the projected voyage-a circumstance which secretly preyed upon the jealous heart of that commander. "And this slight discontent, men say, Cost blood upon another day." |