The fight now raged fiercely. Many of the
Indians were armed with lances headed with copper tempered almost
to the hardness of steel, and with huge maces and battle-axes of
the same metal. Their defensive armour, also, was in many
respects excellent, consisting of stout doublets of quilted
cotton, shields covered with skins, and casques richly ornamented
with gold and jewels, or sometimes made like those of the
Mexicans, in the fantastic shape of the heads of wild animals,
garnished with rows of teeth that grinned horribly above the
visage of the warrior. *4 The whole army wore an aspect of
martial ferocity, under the control of much higher military
discipline than the Spaniards had before seen in the country.
[Footnote 4: "Es gente," says Oviedo, "muy belicosa e muy
diestra; sus armas son picas, e ondas, porras e Alabardas de
Plata e oro e cobre." (Hist. de las Indias, Ms., Parte 3, lib. 8,
cap. 17.) Xerez has made a good enumeration of the native
Peruvian arms. (Conq. del Peru, ap. Barcia, tom. III. p. 200.)
Father Velasco has added considerably to this catalogue.
According to him they used copper swords, poniards, and other
European weapons. (Hist. de Quito, tom. I. pp 178-180.) He does
not insist on their knowledge of fire-arms before the Conquest!]
The little band of cavaliers, shaken by the fury of the Indian
assault, were thrown at first into some disorder, but at length,
cheering on one another with the old war-cry of "St.
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