While Pizarro continued to reside in Caxamarca, he sent out his brother Ferdinand with a party of cavalry to discover the country, who went as far as Pachacamac, about a hundred leagues from Caxamarca.  In the district of Huamachucos, Ferdinand met with Hlescas, one of the brothers of Atahualpa, who was escorting a prodigious quantity of gold to Caxamarca, part of the ransom of the captive inca, to the value of two or three millions at the least, without counting an immense quantity of silver[17].  He continued his journey from Huamachucos to Pachacamac, not far to the south of where Lima now stands, through several difficult and dangerous passes; when he learnt that one of the generals of Atahualpa, named Cilicuchima was stationed with a large army at a place about forty leagues from thence.  Ferdinand Pizarro sent a message to the Peruvian general to request that he would come to speak with him; and as Cilicuchima refused, Ferdinand took the resolution to wait upon him in person.  This was considered by many as extremely rash and imprudent, to trust himself in the hands of a barbarous and powerful enemy.  He was successful however in the attempt, as by various representations and promises, he prevailed on the Peruvian general to dismiss his army, and to go along with him to Caxamarca to wait upon his sovereign Atahualpa.  To shorten their journey, they took a very difficult route through mountains covered with snow, where they were in danger of perishing with cold.

On arriving at Caxamarca, before entering into the presence of Atahualpa, Cilicuchima bared his feet and carried a present to his sovereign after the custom of the country, and said to him weeping, that if he had been along with him, the Spaniards should not have been allowed to make him a prisoner.  Atahualpa answered, that his captivity was a punishment from the gods, whom he had not honoured and respected as he ought to have done; but that his defeat and capture were chiefly owing to the cowardice and flight of Ruminagui with his 5000 men, who ought to have succoured him when attacked by the Spaniards.

While Don Francisco Pizarro was in the province of Poecho between Tumbez and Payta, before he marched to Caxamarca, he received a letter without any signature, which it was afterwards learnt had been sent to him by the secretary of Don Diego de Almagro.  He was informed by this letter, that Almagro had fitted out a large ship and several smaller vessels with a considerable number of soldiers, in which he proposed to sail beyond the country of which Pizarro had taken possession, and to reduce the best portion of Peru under his own authority, as beyond the government which had been granted to Pizarro by his majesty, which only extended 200 leagues to the south of the equator[18].  The governor had never shewn his patents to any person[19]; yet it was currently reported that Almagro actually left Panama with the intention of carrying that design into execution; but on arriving at Puertoviejo, and