He informed the general that the road
was free from enemies, and that an embassy from the Inca was on
its way to the Castilian camp. Pizarro now sent back to quicken
the march of the rear, as he was unwilling that the Peruvian
envoy should find him with his present diminished numbers. The
rest of the army were not far distant, and not long after reached
the encampment.
In a short time the Indian embassy also arrived, which consisted
of one of the Inca nobles and several attendants, bringing a
welcome present of llamas to the Spanish commander. The Peruvian
bore, also, the greetings of his master, who wished to know when
the Spaniards would arrive at Caxamalca, that he might provide
suitable refreshments for them. Pizarro learned that the Inca
had left Guamachucho, and was now lying with a small force in the
neighbourhood of Caxamalca, at a place celebrated for its natural
springs of warm water. The Peruvian was an intelligent person,
and the Spanish commander gathered from him many particulars
respecting the late contests which had distracted the empire.
As the envoy vaunted in lofty terms the military prowess and
resources of his sovereign, Pizarro thought it politic to show
that it had no power to overawe him. He expressed his
satisfaction at the triumphs of Atahuallpa, who, he acknowledged,
had raised himself high in the rank of Indian warriors. But he
was as inferior, he added with more policy than politeness, to
the monarch who ruled over the white men, as the petty curacas of
the country were inferior to him.
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