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.
Pages:
503
504
505
506
507
508
509
510
511
512
513
514
515
516
517
518
519
520
521
522
523
524
525
526
527