He entered early on the
career of a soldier; a career to which every man in that iron age, whether
cavalier or vagabond, seems, if left to himself, to have most readily
inclined. Here he soon distinguished himself by his skill in martial
exercises, was an excellent horseman, and, when he came to the New
World, was esteemed the best lance in Peru.30
In talent and in expansion of views, he was inferior to his brothers.
Neither did he discover the same cool and crafty policy; but he was
equally courageous, and in the execution of his measures quite as
unscrupulous. He lied a handsome person, with open, engaging features,
a free, soldier-like address, and a confiding temper, which endeared him
to his followers. His spirit was high and adventurous, and, what was
equally important, he could inspire others with the same spirit, and thus
do much to insure the success of his enterprises. He was an excellent
captain in guerilla warfare, an admirable leader in doubtful and difficult
expeditions; but he had not the enlarged capacity for a great military
chief, still less for a civil ruler. It was his misfortune to be called to fill
both situations.
Book 4
Chapter 4
Gonzalo Pizarro's Expedition--Passage Across The Mountains--
Discovers The Napo--Incredible Sufferings-
Orellana Sails Down The Amazon--Despair Of The Spaniards-
The Survivors Return To Quito
1540--1542
Gonzalo Pizarro received the news of his appointment to the government
of Quito with undisguised pleasure; not so much for the possession that it
gave him of this ancient Indian province, as for the field that it opened
for discovery towards the east,--the fabled land of Oriental spices, which
had long captivated the imagination of the Conquerors.
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