Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume II.djvu/62

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50 ATAHUALLPA Chili, including the portion of the desert of Atacama lying S. of the preceding de- partment, the separating line being the par- allel of lat. 24 S., according to the treaty of 1866, and bounded E. by the Argentine Con- federation, S. by the province of Coquimbo, and W. by the Pacific; area, about 38,000 sq. m. ; pop. in 1868, 81,615. The province is divided into the departments of Caldera, Co- piapo, Freirina, and Vallemar. It abounds in mineral wealth, including perhaps the richest silver and copper mines in the world. Of the former it has 247 and of the latter 994 which are now worked. The silver mines were discovered as lately as 1832, by a shep- herd, Juan Godoy, and they have yielded since then ores to the value of over $100,000,000, fully one third of which amount has been derived from the mines of Chattarcillo. A village of over 1,500 inhabitants, which contains a free school, a church, a hospital, and a post office, now marks the spot of the discovery, and is named Juan Godoy. It is situated on the Chafiarcillo hills, 51 m. S. E. of Copiapo, the capital of the department, with which city it is connected by railroad. Within a circuit of 25 leagues from Copiapo are 19 silver-mining districts, of which those of Chafiarcillo, Tres Puntas, and Agua Amarga are the most im- portant. The metal is found in a variety of combinations, of which sulphurets, chlorides, and chloro-bromides are the most important. A railway 101 m. long, the first ever built in South America (1850), connects the port of Caldera, one of the best on the whole coast of Chili, with Copiapo and with the mining dis- tricts further east. ATAHUALLPA, or Atabalipa, inca of Peru at the time of the invasion of the Spaniards, died Aug. 29, 1533. He was the son of Huayna Capac. The laws of Peru required that the principal wives of the incas should be blood relations, and that no children of other parent- age should be legitimate. Atahuallpa's mother had been a princess of Quito ; nevertheless, at the request of his father, the heir to the throne, Huascar, consented to divide the kingdom with Atahuallpa, on condition only that he should render homage to him, and not make conquests beyond his own dominions. This liberal con- duct was infamously requited by Atahuallpa, who, having secretly got together a large army, attacked Huascar in Cuzco, took him prisoner, loaded him with chains, and exterminated all his adherents, putting his family and immedi- ate dependants to death in the most atrocious tortures. Such is the story told by Spanish annalists, whose testimony is doubtful, seeing that the murder of Huascar, their pseudo-ally, and the tyranny of Atahuallpa were among the causes of his own execution. Pizarro and his followers were now in Peru, and Atahuallpa opened negotiations with them. His proposals were received in a friendly manner by Pizarro, and an interview was arranged (1532), which Atahuallpa attended, followed by a very large ATAULPHUS number of unarmed subjects. Father Vicente de Valverde explained to him, through an in- terpreter, the mysteries of religion, and that on account of their heathenism the pope had granted his kingdom to the Spaniards. Ata- huallpa professed not to understand the tenor of this discourse, and would not resign his kingdom ; whereupon a massacre of the assem- bled crowd was at once commenced by the Spanish soldiers, who seized Atahuallpa and threw him into prison. On the arrival of Al- magro the cupidity of the adventurers was ex- cited by the magnificent proposals that Ata- huallpa made for his ransom, and with a de- sire of seizing the whole it was determined to put him to death. During his imprisonment Atahuallpa gave orders for the execution of Huascar, which were obeyed. This was one of the charges against him on the court martial by which he was tried, and being found guilty, he was sentenced to be burned, a penalty com- muted for strangulation by the garrote on his accepting baptism at the hands of the priests accompanying the invaders. See Prescott's " Conquest of Peru," vol. i. ATALANTA, a mythical personage, a native of Arcadia, or according to a less generally adopted legend, which gives her story with some variations, of Bceotia. She was the daughter of Jasus, who, having prayed to the gods for a son, was displeased at her birth, and as a mark of his displeasure exposed her on the Parthenian mount. Here she was nurtured by a she bear, and grew up' to womanhood, retain- ing her virginity, and becoming the most swift- footed of mortals. She vanquished the Cen- taurs, who sought to capture her, participated in the Calydonian boar hunt, and engaged in the Pelian games. In course of time her father was reconciled to her ; but when he urged her to choose a husband, she insisted that every suitor who aspired to win her should first con- tend with her in running. If he vanquished her, he was to receive her hand ; if vanquished, he was to be put to death. Milanion overcame her by artifice : as he ran he dropped three golden apples, the gift of Venus, which Ata- lanta delayed to pick up. ATASCOSA, a S. county of Texas, watered by the San Miguel river and Atascosa creek, branches of the Nueces; area, 1,262 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 2,915. It is a stock-raising county, and about three fourths of the surface is prairie. The soil is sandy and easy of cultivation ; and the climate is particularly healthy. In 1870 the county produced 36,371 bushels of corn, 11,839 of sweet potatoes, and 22,877 Ibs. of wool. There were 97,622 cattle, 6,370 horses, 8,187 sheep, and 13,590 hogs. Capital, Pleas- onton. ATAUAI, Hawaiian Islands. See KAUAI. ATACLPHl'S, or AtanJf (ADOLPHUS), king of the Visigoths, as successor to Alaric (410), to whom his sister was given in marriage, died in 415. He joined Alaric in Italy with an army of Goths and Huns, and aided him in the siege