465 / 1060
BooK
I.
Royal
Commentaries.
CH AP.
XVIII.
The Govetnour fends an Amht1/fadour
to
King
Atahualpa.·
·T
H E
day following the Governour held a confultation with his Brethren
and
·
·
Captains, touching an Embaffy to be feot to the King
Atahualpa,
whereby
to inform him of his intentions to make him a vifit, chat
fo
he ®ghti communi–
cate to him the matters encharged to him by the Emperour, and by the PoEf ; for
that to be ftlent, and make no returns, would favour ofingratitude, and little fenfe
of the prefents and kind treatment they had received. Wherefore they agreed,
that fince the
Inca
had fent his Brother on this Ernbaffy, that they lhould corre–
fpond
in
the like manner by the Brother of the Governour, qualified with the
fame charaeter of Ambaffadour : Accordingly
Hernando Pifarro,
and
Hemando de
Soto
were fent to the Court of the
Inca,
not far diftant from
Caj{amarca,
where he
had a Royal Palace, and commodious Baths, and where was at that time a nume–
rous concourfe of the Nobility and Souldiery, which flocked from all parts to
celebrate certain Feftivals agreeable to their Religion, and with that occalion to
ref9fm feveral corruptions and abufes, which by the licentioufnefs of the Wars
were crept in arnongft them ; and for the better fecurity and confervation of
his
own Perfon, and advancement of
bis
own Tyrannical Power and Authority, he
enatted and efiabllihed other Laws and Statutes, pretending that they were tranf–
initted to him by revelation from the Sun : For the truth
is,
though
Atahualpa
had Murthered as many perfons of the Bloud-Royal, as he was able, yet he was
fiill
jealous, and fearfull of thofe few which furvived, left any Pretender fhould on
the pretext of Religion advance one of the right line
to
be the true and legitimate
Heir ; to which ena he formed new Laws, pretending that they were derived from
the Sun, to equalize and balance againft the ancient Canons and Statures of Reli–
gion. Thefe two Arnbaffadours were
in
this manner difpatched with their
In–
terpreter
Philip,
who though he was a Native of the Ifie of
Puna,
and
ill
verfed
in one or the other Language, yet he was a neceifary infirument ; and fuch,
as
for want of a better, was very ufefull. With thefe two
Spaniard..r
the
Curaca
of
Caf[amarca
fent two hundred
Indians
to
attend and conduce iliem with greater flare
and pomp to the prefence of their King, encharging them upon tneir lives to
perform whatfoever they iliould command. So foon as thefe Ambaifadours had
paffed
Cajfamarca,
they fent an
Indian
of QQality out of thofe who attended them
to
the King
Anihualpa,
to acqu4int him of their coming, and to clemarid his licence,
that they might appear in die prefence of his Highnefs : To which Mefiage the
Inca
made anfwer, that they iliould be extremely welcome, for chat their Arrival
had been long defired and expetted ; and prefently commanded one of his Major–
Generals with a great number of his Men co go forth and meet thofe Defcendants
from the Sun, and perform towards them all chat W oriliip and Veneration which
appertained to them. This kind Anfwer of the
Inca
eafed the
Spaniards
of
all
the
fear and
fuf
picion they had conceived upon the rumour, that the
Inca
was encom–
pa~d
with a Guard of thirty thoufand Men; and
fo
with great confidence taking
their way towards the Royal Baths and Palaces, they met about the middle of
their Journey in an open Plain with chofe Companies of Souldiers which were
f~nt
out to receive them; which
fo
foon as
Hermmdo
de
Soto
efpied, he fee Spurs to
hlS
Horfe, and boldly rid up to them with a full cariere , giving them
to
under–
fiand, chat
if
they had been Enemies, as they were Friends, he alone had been
(ufficient to encounter with them ; and then turning and carveting with his Horfe,
he came an? fiop.t near the Commander in .chief. And here the
Spanifh
Hifiori–
ans recountmg tliis paffiige , tell us, that thIS Commander in Chief was
Atahualp_a
himfelf, and that
Soto
came up to his very Chair pranGng with his Horfe; at which
though
Atahualpa
feemed not to be difmayed, or altered, yet feveral of his people,
who ran away and fled
to
avoid his Horfe, he caufed to be put
to
death
:
But
this
· Authour was rnif-in(orrned in the Relation he made, for neither was
At1fhualpa
L 1 1
1.
there
44~