he Indians kept up their harrying assaults, and the
outlook was very black. Francisco Pizarro was besieged in Lima; Xauxa
was also blockaded; and the Spaniards in the smaller colonies had been
overpowered and slain. Their ghastly heads were hurled into Cuzco, and
rolled at the feet of their despairing countrymen. The case seemed so
hopeless that many were for trying to cut through the Indians and escape
to the coast; but Hernando and Juan would not hear of it.

Upon the hill overlooking Cuzco was--and is to this day--the remarkable
Inca fortress of the Sacsahuaman. It is a cyclopean work. On the side
toward the city, the almost impregnable bluff was made fully impregnable
by a huge wall twelve hundred feet long and of great thickness. On the
other side of the hill the gentler slope was guarded by two walls, one
above the other, and each twelve hundred feet long. The stones in these
walls were fitted together with surprising skill; and some single stones
were thirty-eight feet long, eighteen feet wide, and six feet thick!
And, most wonderful of all, they had been quarried at least twelve miles
away, and then transported by the Indians to their present site! The top
of the hill was further defended by great stone towers.

This remarkable aboriginal fortress was in the hands of the Indians, and
enabled them to harass the beleaguered Spaniards much more effectively.
It was plain that they must be dislodged. As a preliminary to this
forlorn hope, the Spaniards sallied out in three detachments, commanded
by Gonzalo Pizarro, Gabriel de Rojas, and Hernando Ponce de Leon, to
beat off the Indians. The fighting was thoroughly desperate. The Indians
tried to crush their enemies to the earth by the mad rush of numbers;
but at last the Spaniards forced the stubborn foe to give ground, and
fell back to the city.

For the task of storming the Sacsahuaman Juan Pizarro was chosen, and
the forlorn hope could not have been intrusted to a braver cavalier.
Marching out of Cuzco about sunset with his little force, Juan went off
as if to forage; but as soon as it was dark he turned, made a detour,
and hurried to the Sacsahuaman. The great Indian fort was dark and
still. Its gateway had been closed with great stones, built up like the
solid masonry; and these the Spaniards had much difficulty in removing
without noise. When at last they passed through and were between the two
giant walls, a host of Indians fell upon them. Juan left half his fo