which formed the boundary of the Plaza. It fell, leaving an
opening of more than a hundred paces, through which
multitudes now found their way into the country, still hotly
pursued by the cavalry, who, leaping the piles of rubbish,
hung on the rear of the fugitives, striking them down in all
directions.

"There were two great objects in view in this massacre. One
was to strike terror into the heart of the Peruvians; the
other was to obtain possession of the person of the Inca. It
seems that the nobles regarded their sovereign with almost
idolatrous homage. They rallied thickly around him, placed
their own bodies between him and the sabres of their
assailants, and made frantic endeavors to tear the cavaliers
from their saddles. Unfortunately they were unarmed, and had
neither arrows, javelins nor war clubs. The Inca sat helpless
in his palanquin, quite bewildered by the awful storm of war
which had thus suddenly burst around him. In the swaying of
the mighty mass, the litter heaved to and fro, like a ship in
a storm."

At length several of the nobles who supported it being slain, the
palanquin was overthrown, and the Inca, as he was falling to the
ground, was caught by the Spaniards. In the confusion of the affray,
Pizarro was slightly wounded in the hand by one of his own men. This
was the only hurt received by any Spaniard during the bloody affray.

The Inca being captured, the conflict in the square ceased. But there
was another object in view, as has been stated, and that was to strike
terror into the hearts of the Peruvians. Consequently the steel-clad
cavaliers pursued the fugitives in all directions, cutting them down
without mercy. Night, which followed the short twilight of the
tropics, put an end to the carnage, and the trumpets of Pizarro
recalled the soldiers, wiping their dripping sabres, to their
fortress. The number slain is variously estimated. The secretary of
Pizarro says that two thousand fell. A Peruvian annalist swells the
number of victims to ten thousand.

Attahuallapa, the monarch of the great kingdom of Peru, thus suddenly
found himself a prisoner in one of his own fortresses; surrounded by a
band of stern warriors, who had penetrated the heart of his empire
from a distance of more than two thousand leagues. Pizarro treated the
unhappy king with respect, and testifies to the dignity with which he
met his awful reverse