" Conq. del Peru, lib. 4, cap. 1.]
Well had it been for Almagro, if he had remained firm on the post
which gave him such advantage. But from a false point of honor,
he thought it derogatory to a brave knight passively to await the
assault, and, ordering his own men to charge, the hostile
squadrons, rapidly advancing against each other, met midway on
the plain. The shock was terrible. Horse and rider reeled under
the force of it. The spears flew into shivers; *24 and the
cavaliers, drawing their swords, or wielding their maces and
battle-axes, - though some of the royal troopers were armed only
with a common axe, - dealt their blows with all the fury of civil
hate. It was a fearful struggle, not merely of man against man,
but, to use the words of an eyewitness, of brother against
brother, and friend against friend. *25 No quarter was asked; for
the wrench that had been strong enough to tear asunder the
dearest ties of kindred left no hold for humanity. The excellent
arms of the Almagrians counterbalanced the odds of numbers; but
the royal partisans gained some advantage by striking at the
horses instead of the mailed bodies of their antagonists.
[Footnote 24: "Se encontraron de suerte, que casi todas las
lancas quebraron, quedando muchos muertos, i caidos de ambas
partes." (Ibid., ubi supra.) Zarate writes on this occasion with
the spirit and strength of Thucydides. He was not present, but
came into the country the following year, when he gleaned the
particulars of the battle from the best informed persons there,
to whom his position gave him ready access.
Pages:
796
797
798
799
800
801
802
803
804
805
806
807
808
809
810
811
812
813
814
815
816
817
818
819
820