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Royal
Com111entaries.
BOOK
VIII.
of t he Kingdom of
Chile,
which was become vacant
by
the Death of
Geronmms
de Alderete.,
who
died
oo
his
way
thither
of
grief, to
think that
8 0 0
Perfon
perifued in the Galeon
by
his fault, a nd the fault of his Sifter-in.Law · for he
k new
w
U, that if
it
had
not
been
in confidera tion of him., the Mafter
of
tfie
Ship
would not have given Licenfe
to that
Relig ious Woman
to k
ep
a
Candle in
her Cabin
by
nigbt, which was the d eftrullion
of
the Veffel, and of all thofe
therein. The advancemen t of
Don
Garcia
de Mendofa,
to that Charge and
Truft., was pleafing to alJ thofe of
_Fem
;
fo
that
many
Squldiers, and Perfons
of Eftates,
off~red
themfelves
freely
to accompany him in t hat Expedition
knowing that
it
would b
e a Service
acceptable to his Majefty, and to the Vice:
1\ing.Santillian
th_e Chief
Jod.geof
the
C~anc~ry.,was
appointed Deputy Gover–
nour to
Don
Garcea.,
and
t
odtreet
and
gmde
h101 ;
and he was earn ftly
intr
ated
to
ClCCept
of this Office. Great preparations were made over all th Kingdom
for
this Journey, of Armes, Horfes, Cloaths, and other Ornaments
which
coft very dear
in this
Country, where
all
the Gommodities
of
Spain
ar~
1
aifed
to a v·aft price.
The
Vice-Kin.g alfo app?in.ted three ot her Gentlemen ofQua–
lity
for t hree feveral parts,
wh1
h were wtthm tha t Conquefl: ;
namely,
Gomez.
Arias,
'john de
Sa~inas., an~ A~ton
de
Az..nttyo,
~very
one of which
was
very fl:udi–
o us
to
difcharge
hi s
Du ty
in
his
Officerefpechvely.
Don Garcia de Mena'of,;1,
being
go.neto.his Government,
atte~ded,
a·s we
h~w
fa id, with a great number of Choice
and
Selett Perfons: So foon as he was
in the
po!feffion
rhereof.,
be
fpeedily defigned
the
Conqueft
of
the
l ndittn .Arau–
co.r,
who were oecome very
info~en t
and proud
by
thofo
Victories which they had
gained over the
Spaniards
:
The fidl; was 'that over
Don
Pe8.rode
V aldivia,
hich
was
followed
by
fome
others afterwards,
which
are written
in Verfe
by the
Poets
of
thofe time s.,
which had been much more properly delivered in
Profe, for then we might have given
Credit
thereunto~
more than we can to
the Fictions
of
Poetry.
The Governour having in a fhort time provided bimfelf with all things
ne–
celfary for the War., entered into the rebelled Provinces with a number of
brave Men, Arms,
A
munition
and Provifions, for the
Enemy
had carried
away
every thi ng, leaving the Gountry naked, and without
any
Suftenance for an
Army.
They had·not entered very far into thefe parts, but the
lndialu
had
fit–
t ed an Ambofh for them., and had com.pofed
a
Vanguard
of
5000
l ndrans,
with
orders not to fight, nor come wi thin any danger of being forced
by
the
Enemy
to an en gagement.
The
Spaniards.,
being informed by their Scouts and
Spyes
fe nt abr oad ,that the
Indians
fled
befor
e them~
without
any
ftop or
fray in
a fetled
p lace;
gave
order to purfne them wi.th all con.venient fpeed, and. yet with
fl.KbCaution,
as not to be entrapped
by
their
Arnbuthes,
or Surprifals ;
or
the
Governour, at the time he fir
ft
enter d into that Country, had been
fo r e- warned
by
thofe who
had been
acquainted
with
the
Stratagems
which
thofe People ufe in the War,
by
skirmifhing ,
and
flying,
to be always
drcum–
f
pect, and
doub~ful
of therIL Howfoever
fo
eager was the Governour to pur–
foe t he
E·nemy,
in
hopes totally to deftroy them,
and
by a bloody !laughter of
th m to difcourage t he reft from making farth er oppofition, ·that he made
li ttle ufe of t he Caution which was given
h'iro ;
for leaving
his
Camp, and
T
n
ts, he
foll owed
the Enemy a whole day, and a night ; and being remo–
ved at
~
good diftance from
thenc~,
but came
~he
Indians
from theit holes
and places., where they had been h19den, and fe1zed on the Camp without any
oppolition., and plundered a?d
earned
away all the Baggag , and Neceffaries
belonging to the
Army.
W uh the N ews hereof the
Governour
was forced to
give over his chafe,and fee:to r ecover what he
~nemy
had plundered from him;
bu
it
was
t oo late., for they were returned to
their
fecret Holds,and to the places
where they had concealed their booty paft all
recovery.
The news
of
this fuccefs
came toPem ,almoft a foon as tha t of t heGovernours arri val in the feat of bisGo–
vernmen t fo that all the \V or]d wondered at this fudden accident, and how in fe
:fhcrt a
t i~e
the
Indi ans
fhould be fuch Gainers, and the
Sp1mi:rrds
fu ch Lofers, for
th
y
had loft all th eirBaggage,ev n to their v
ry
Shirt5',and wearingCloaths. To
r epair th is difa fter,
th
Vice. King fent away with all fpeed•new R ecruits ofall
thing
t hat
were n ceffar y.,in which he expended out of the King's Treafury va ft
ft
n
ofG old
andSilver ;at whichP cpl much
murmured,a~Pa/emmo
fa ith,meaning
th
fir
ft
expencc
"'hi
h was made, when
D1JtJ
Gtcirci a·went
to his Government of
Chili,
•