" Ped. Sancho, Rel., ap.
Ramusio, tom. III. fol. 399. Xerez, Conq. del Peru, ap. Barcia,
tom. III. p. 234. - Pedro Pizarro, Descub. y Conq., Ms. -
Naharro, Relacion Sumaria, Ms. - Conq. i Pob. del Piru, Ms. -
Relacion del Primer. Descub., Ms - Zarate, Conq. del Peru, lib.
2, cap. 7.]
The death of Atahuallpa has many points of resemblance with that
of Caupolican, the great Araucanian chief, as described in the
historical epic of Ercilla. Both embraced the religion of their
conquerors at the stake, though Caupolican was so far less
fortunate than the Peruvian monarch, that his conversion did not
save him from the tortures of a most agonizing death. He was
impaled and shot with arrows. The spirited verses reflect so
faithfully the character of these early adventurers, in which the
fanaticism of the Crusader was mingled with the cruelty of the
conqueror, and they are so germane to the present subject, that I
would willingly quote the passage were it not too long. See La
Araucana, Parte 2, canto 24.]
I have already spoken of the person and the qualities of
Atahuallpa. He had a handsome countenance, though with an
expression somewhat too fierce to be pleasing. His frame was
muscular and well-proportioned; his air commanding; and his
deportment in the Spanish quarters had a degree of refinement,
the more interesting that it was touched with melancholy. He is
accused of having been cruel in his wars, and bloody in his
revenge. *33 It may be true, but the pencil of an enemy would be
likely to overcharge the shadows of the portrait.
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