The wretched victim bore the execution of the sentence
with surprising fortitude. She did not beg for mercy, where none was to
be found. Not a complaint, scarcely a groan, escaped her under the
infliction of these terrible torments. The iron Conquerors were amazed
at this power of endurance in a delicate woman, and they expressed their
admiration, while they condemned the cruelty of their commander,--in
their hearts.26 Yet constancy under the most excruciating tortures that
human cruelty can inflict is almost the universal characteristic of the
American Indian.
Pizarro now prepared, as the most effectual means of checking these
disorders among the natives, to establish settlements in the heart of the
disaffected country. These settlements, which received the dignified
name of cities, might be regarded in the light of military colonies. The
houses were usually built of stone, to which were added the various
public offices, and sometimes a fortress. A municipal corporation was
organized. Settlers were invited by the distribution of large tracts of land
in the neighborhood, with a stipulated number of Indian vassals to each.
The soldiers then gathered there, sometimes accompanied by their wives
and families; for the women of Castile seem to have disdained the
impediments of sex, in the ardor of conjugal attachment, or, it may be, of
romantic adventure.
Pages:
609
610
611
612
613
614
615
616
617
618
619
620
621
622
623
624
625
626
627
628
629
630
631
632
633