s. What part De Soto took in the outrages just
described, cannot now be known. He had unquestionably in good faith,
and as an honorable man, invited the Inca to visit Caxamarca, by which
invitation he had been enticed into the power of the Spaniards.

There is evidence that De Soto had no idea of the treachery which was
intended, for it was not until after he had left on his visit to the
Peruvian camp that the plot was formed for the seizure of the Inca.
Pizarro had two bodies of horsemen. One was commanded by his brother
Hernando, and the other by De Soto. There were thirty dragoons in each
band. Unquestionably, Hernando was a very eager participant in the
horrors of this day. It may be that De Soto, from the roof of the
fortress, was an inactive spectator of the scene. It does not seem
possible that with the character he had heretofore developed, he
could have lent his own strong arm and those of his horsemen to the
perpetration of a crime so atrocious. Still military discipline is a
terrible power. It sears the conscience and hardens the heart. The
fact that De Soto was present and that there are no evidences of
remonstrances on his part, has left a stigma upon his character which
time cannot efface.

The next morning these Spaniards, so zealous for the propagation of
the Christian faith, unmindful of their professed Christian mission,
betook themselves, with all alacrity, to the work of pillage. The
golden throne, and the royal wardrobe, were of very great value. The
nobles were clad in their richest garments of state, and the ground
was strewn with bodies of the dead, glittering in robes of gold and
gems. Having stripped the dead, they then entered the houses and
temples of Caxamarca and loaded themselves down with golden vases, and
other booty of great value. As one suggestive item, which reveals the
conduct of these brutal men, the good Las Casas states, that a Spanish
soldier seized a young Peruvian girl. When the mother rushed to rescue
her child, he cut off her arm with his sword, and then in his rage
hewed the maiden to pieces.

Pizarro now assumed the proud title of "The Conqueror of Peru." With
the sovereign as his prisoner, and elated by his great victory, he
felt that there was no resistance that he had to fear. It seems that
Attahuallapa had penetration enough to discern that De Soto was a very
different man in character from the Pizarros. He soon became quite
cordial and unreserved in his intercourse