Cajamarca, Inca Empire. Excerpts from the detailed diary of six of Francisco Pizarro’s (The Governor) companions in arms, including the brothers Hernando and Pedro: “…We were all very frightened at having gone so far into unknown and hostile territory, with no possibility of supplies or reinforcements. The governor calls us to explain what we will do the next day. Few of us slept that night… The governor’s brother estimates the number of Indians at 40,000, but I think he was kind to us so as not to frighten us; I think there were at least double that number… The governor gives us the signal and rifles begin to fire, then with trumpets the infantry and cavalry gallop towards the encamped Indian soldiers. The Spanish battle cry “Santiago!” is heard. The Indians panic…. The governor bravely grabs Atahuallpa’s left arm and shouts “Santiago!”… Atahuallpa is captured… The sight was impressive: for 15 or 20 miles the valley was full of Indians. Night had already fallen, and our cavalry continued to slaughter the Indians until the trumpets put an end to the slaughter. … Six or seven thousand Indians lie dead. Atahuallpa himself admits that there are seven thousand…” Pizarro had only 62 cavalry and 106 infantry, while Atahuallpa had 80,000 soldiers. Spanish losses were zero. The difference was steel swords, steel armor, rifles (a dozen in all, in fact), and horses.
