PIZARRO 



PLAGUE 



In 1530, with a band of followers, including four 

 brothers, he reached Panama, leaving there in 

 January, 1531, for Peru, and landing at Tumbez. 

 Finding the country weakened by the struggle 

 between Atahualpa, the reigning Inca, and Hu- 

 ascar, his brother, the legitimate monarch, Pi- 

 zarro seized his opportunity and, under pretense 

 ipporting the usurper, was allowed to enter 

 the country. Realizing the danger of advancing 

 far with only 100 men, Pizarro attacked the 



FRANCISCO PIZARRO 

 Drawn from an old painting, now in Madrid. 



I and captured Atahualpa; and though 



the Inca furnished a large ransom, he was killed 



pretense of being discovered \\\ a con- 



lic visitors. Meanwhile. Alma- 



i to his assistance with 150 more fol- 



coimtry Wa- thru colHjU" led, and 



Cuxco l.y the Spanish. Lima, tin- 



first town coloni/ /.arro, was found-. 1 in 



I ">35. 



king bestowed on the adventurer the 



title of marquis, and gave Almagro a grant of 



land. Pi/ arro began to develop the resources 



'if in l.V.'. , attempted 



to expel the Spaniards, and while defending 

 Cuzco, Juan Pizarro was killed. Then Almagro 

 claimed Cuzco as part of his territory, and 

 seized as prisoners Pizzaro's brothers Hernando 

 and Gonsalvo. The latter escaped, and Pizarro 

 offered to give up Cuzco if his brother Her- 

 nando were liberated. This was agreed to, but 

 Pizarro immediately declared war on Almagro, 

 defeated and captured him; soon the latter 

 discovered in an attempt to bribe the guards. 

 so he was put to death. Again Pizarro returned 

 to Cuzco, and proceeded to introduce improve- 

 ments. But the followers of Almagro, support- 

 ing the claims of his half-caste son, Almagro the 

 Lad, surprised and mortally wounded Pizarro 

 on June 26, 1541. Making a cross with his 

 blood, he died kissing the emblem. E.D.F. 



Consult Prescott's History of the Conquest of 

 Peru; Ober's Pizarro, and the Conquest of Peru. 



Related Subject*. The reader is referred in 

 this connection to the following articles in these 

 volumes : 



Atahualpa Inca 



Balboa, Vasco Nunez de Peru, subhead History 



PLAGUE, playg, a malignant infectious dis- 

 ease, wlu'ch has caused the death of thousand - 

 every year in various parts of the world, for 

 centuries past. It is characterized by eruptions 

 like small carbuncles, following sudden attacks 

 of high fever, chills, headache, lassitude, vertigo 

 and enlargement of the glands in the neck. In 

 many cases the patient dies before the eruptions 

 appear. Often an attack proves fatal in a few 

 hours, but it may continue about ten day-. 

 when the patient is liable to succumb through 

 heart failure or exhaustion. In epidemics, the 

 majority of the patients die; when they do sur- 

 vive, recovery is tedious. The cause is a 

 cific microbe, which also infects nits, lice, fleas 

 and other animals, all of which may help sj 

 th'- disease. In the city of Madras, in India, 

 the plague never has gained a foothold, with 

 the exception of a single epidemic in 1905- 

 1906, although the city has a population of 

 half a million, and the disease has been com- 

 mon in India for centuries. This fact i- 

 tril) the continuous nuid campaign 



against rodents. 



The disease has no specific remedy, but medi- 

 experts have often found the injection of 

 scrums and prophylactic fluids effective. In 

 mild cases, calomel, antipyrene and stirnul 



j precaution- in regard 



to drainage. d< -truct ion of rats, and cleanliness 

 m dwellings and streets are the best safe- 

 guards, and formaldehyde gas is probably tin 



