11 At the end of the plaza, looking towards the country, was a
fortress of stones with a stairway leading from the city, and a private
entrance from the adjoining suburbs. There was still another fortress on
the rising ground which commanded the town, built of hewn stone, and
encompassed by three circular walls,--or rather one and the same wall,
which wound up spirally around it. It was a place of great strength, and
the workmanship showed a better knowledge of masonry, and gave a
higher impression of the architectural science of the people, than
anything the Spaniards had yet seen.12
It was late in the afternoon of the fifteenth of November, 1532, when the
Conquerors entered the city of Caxamalca. The weather, which had been
fair during the day, now threatened a storm, and some rain mingled with
hail--for it was unusually cold--began to fall.13 Pizarro, however, was
so anxious to ascertain the dispositions of the Inca, that he determined to
send an embassy, at once, to his quarters. He selected for this, Hernando
de Soto with fifteen horse, and, after his departure, conceiving that the
number was too small, in case of any unfriendly demonstrations by the
Indians, he ordered his brother Hernando to follow with twenty
additional troopers. This captain and one other of his party have left us
an account of the excursion.
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