Pizarro, meanwhile, forming his little corps into three divisions, now
moved forward, at a more measured pace, and in order of battle, down
the slopes that led towards the Indian city. As he drew near, no one
came out to welcome him; and he rode through the streets without
meeting with a living thing, or hearing a sound, except the echoes, sent
back from the deserted dwellings, of the tramp of the soldiery.
It was a place of considerable size, containing about ten thousand
inhabitants, somewhat more, probably, than the population assembled at
this day within the walls of the modern city of Caxamalca.10 The
houses, for the most part, were built of clay, hardened in the sun; the
roofs thatched, or of timber. Some of the more ambitious dwellings were
of hewn stone; and there was a convent in the place, occupied by the
Virgins of the Sun, and a temple dedicated to the same tutelar deity,
which last was hidden in the deep embowering shades of a grove on the
skirts of the city. On the quarter towards the Indian camp was a square--
if square it might be called, which was almost triangular in form---of an
immense size, surrounded by low buildings. These consisted of
capacious halls, with wide doors or openings communicating with the
square. They were probably intended as a sort of barracks for the Inca's
soldiers.
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