Nor can we fairly omit to notice, in extenuation of his errors,
the circumstances of his early life; for, like Almagro, he was
the son of sin and sorrow, early cast upon the world to seek his
fortunes as he might. In his young and tender age he was to take
the impression of those into whose society he was thrown. And
when was it the lot of the needy outcast to fall into that of the
wise and the virtuous? His lot was cast among the licentious
inmates of a camp, the school of rapine, whose only law was the
sword, and who looked on the wretched Indian and his heritage as
their rightful spoil.
Who does not shudder at the thought of what his own fate might
have been, trained in such a school? The amount of crime does
not necessarily show the criminality of the agent. History,
indeed, is concerned with the former, that it may be recorded as
a warning to mankind; but it is He alone who knoweth the heart,
the strength of the temptation, and the means of resisting it,
that can determine the measure of the guilt
Chapter VI
Movements Of The Conspirators. - Advance Of Vaca De Castro -
Proceedings Of Almagro. - Progress Of The Governor. - The Forces
Approach Each Other. - Bloody Plains Of Chupas. - Conduct Of
Vaca De Castro.
1541-1543.
The first step of the conspirators, after securing possession of
the capital, was to send to the different cities, proclaiming the
revolution which had taken place, and demanding the recognition
of the young Almagro as governor of Peru.
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