When Pizarro, with Almagro and De Luque, first established a colony at the mouth of the River Piura, in 1532, he had already acquired some knowledge of the unnatural contest in which the brothers had been engaged. He had been advancing gradually, for three or four years, from Panama, till he had gained the very heart of the empire, without the contending parties apparently being aware that the common enemy was on his march for their ruin. Huascar, having finally learned of this event, sent messengers to Pizarro to entreat his aid against his usurping brother. The wily Spaniard at once saw the advantage he might derive from the intestine divisions of the empire, and hastened forward without waiting for the reinforcements he was expecting from Panama. He began his march from his new colony, called St. Michael, where he left a garrison, with only sixty-two horsemen and one hundred and two foot soldiers, of whom twenty were armed with cross-bows, and three with muskets. He marched for Caxamalca, a small town at the distance of twelve days’ march from St. Michael. Here Atahualpa was encamped with a considerable number of troops. While Pizarro was on his way, a messenger met him from that prince, offering his alliance, and an assurance of his friendly reception at Caxamalca. Pizarro, seizing upon the occasion, returned answer that he came from a powerful monarch, with the design of offering his aid to Atahualpa to sustain him against those who disputed his right to the throne. The Peruvians were utterly at a loss how to account for the sudden appearance of the Spaniards. They viewed them as superior beings, but, as was the case with the inhabitants of Cholula, in respect to Cortés, they could not decide whether they were to be regarded as possessed of beneficent or cruel intentions. The conduct of the Spaniards did not apparently agree with their professions; for while they declared that their object was to enlighten the natives in the truth, and render them more happy, they were often guilty of flagrant outrage and cruelty. The Inca, however, satisfied by the message of Pizarro, was prepared to repose unbounded confidence in his expected visiter. The Spaniards were allowed to cross the desert, where they might have been easily checked on their march, and to pass in safety through the defiles of the mountains, which were so narrow and difficult of entrance, that a few men might have maintained their ground against a large force. They also took possession of a fortress erected there for the defence of the country, and then advanced to Caxamalca.