Pizarro felt the pressing necessity of giving active employment to his soldiers, but at the same time he dreaded to advance further into the interior without complete information. He took a middle course. Leaving behind part of his men, he himself with the remainder reconnoitered the interior. In May a detachment under his own command kept advancing on the more level region, whilst a smaller body skirted the slopes of the _Andes_ under Hernando de Soto, a cavalier afterwards renowned as the discoverer of the Mississippi, and whose portrait is to be seen in the Rotunda of the Capitol at Washington. The Spanish leader, being awakened to the necessity of not unnecessarily provoking the hostility of the natives, maintained strict discipline, and enjoined his men to abstain from all acts of violence. By lenient conduct he soon effaced the previous unfavourable impressions respecting him, and he was welcomed in the villages beneath the _Cordilleras_. Proclaiming everywhere that he came in the name of the Pope and of the king of Spain, the simple natives involuntarily saw themselves become subjects of the latter, as a preliminary to being members of the faith of which the former was the head.
After a month spent in exploration, Pizarro fixed on the valley of _Tangarala_ as the site of his new settlement. This rich locality, traversed by streams navigable from the sea, was distant thirty leagues from _Tumbez_, and thither he ordered the men he had left there to repair. No sooner had they arrived than preparations were made for building the settlement. Timber and stone abounded, and ere long _San Miguel_ could boast a church, a magazine, a hall of justice, and a fort. A municipal government was organized; the neighbouring lands were divided amongst the residents; and each colonist had a number of natives assigned to him as labourers,--this last measure being held to tend to their initiation in the true faith. Luque, “the protector of the Indians,” had been left behind at _Panamá_.
This important operation having been effected, Pizarro caused the gold and silver which he had robbed to be melted down. After a fifth had been deducted for the crown, the soldiers were persuaded to relinquish their share for the present, and it was sent back to _Panamá_ to pay the shipowners and the outfitters of the expedition. The chief had meanwhile gained important information respecting the empire of _Peru_. That unhappy land had recently been the subject of contest between two brothers, and the victor and his forces were now encamped at a distance of ten days’ march from _San Miguel_. Pizarro judged that on the whole it was better to lead his men on active service rather than to allow their ardour to be damped whilst waiting for further reinforcements. This force was indeed a small one with which to attempt the conquest of a powerful empire. It consisted of about a hundred and seventy men, after deducting fifty for the defence of his settlement. But no one can accuse Pizarro of irresolution. He determined to strike directly at the _Inca_, and in September quitted _San Miguel_ at the head of his available men.