520 / 1060
Royal
Commentaries.
Boo~n.
Of the difficulties aml dangers which
·non
Pedro de
A1va..
. rado
and hi6 companions fuflained
in
their vo,age.
T
His
brave General
Don Ptdro
de
AWaradD
was accompanied wlili
many
other
wortliy
Gentlemen
of
Qyalicy, in
which
number
was
Garfilajfo de
la
Yega,
my Lqrd .and Father, whom
Ciefa de
Leon
calls Captain
Gm"filajfo;
and
in
the
42d
Chapter of his Book
ufes
thefe words:
" General
Don
Pedro
de
Alvarado
was
"' accompanied with
Diego,'G<»ne~,
and
Alonfo
de
Alvarado,
whkh latter
is
now Ma–
" refchal
in
Peru,
as alfo
with
Captain
Garyilaf{o
de la Pega, 't_ohn
de
Saavedra,
Go–
cc
me~
de Alvarado,
and other Perfons of Q!!ality, and
arrivea
at a place near
to
" the Q!Jarters
of
Diego
de
Almagr6;
upon
which
fuch contefts
and quarrels
arofe
" between
the two
Parties,
that
it
was
feared, that matters would have
brbken
'' out
into
an open defiance,
&c.
Thus far are the Words of
Ciefa
;
where
it
is obfervable, tnat be one1y calls
Garfilaf{o de la
Pegit
Captain, and the others
Genclem~
i
with all whom I had a perfonal acqbaintance, unlefS
it
were with
Pedro,
and
D~e_go
de
AlvarMlo.
In
their
paffage by
Sea from
Nicaragua
to
PHtrto
Yiejo,
they
fuflerecf
much for
want
ofWater, and other Provifions; for npon a
belief or fuppofition,
that
the Voyage would not be long,
and
being in great
hafie
to depart,
they omitted
to
take
Aboard all thofe
things
which were necefia–
ry
for
their
Voyage. The like want both of Vi&lals and Water, they fuffered
after they were
Landed, as
will
appear
by the
Relations of the Accountant
Allgu–
ftin
de
Carate,
and the Prieft
Lope:t
de
Gomani,
both which agree
in
the fame Nar–
rative, onely with this difference about the
value
or price of the Horfes which
they were forced to kill
in
the Journey, wherewith to give
food
to their Men.
Wherefore I
have
thought
fit
to fee down the Words of
Gomar11
in the 127th
01~ter
of his
Book ;
wherein he briefly
touches
on all the
particular
Labours and
Difficulties which
?Jon Pedro
and
bis Companions endured
in
this
Expedition ;
part of
which
are as followeth:
'' T6e Riches of
Peru
being
publHhed
in
all
pares,
Pedro
de
.Alvarado
obtained
a
" Commiffion from the
Emp~rour
to difcover
and
plant Colonies
in
thofe Coun–
" tnes,
which were not as
yet
inhabited by any
Spaniards :
And
in
the
firll:
place
«
he dif
patched
G
arci
Holguin
with
two V
etfels
to
difcover
the
Countrey,
and
" bring intelligence of
what
had lately
paffed
in 1hofe parts.
Holguin
foon after
" returned
with
great
commendations of the Countrey, and
with
mighty admi–
cc
ration of
the
vafi Riches which were taken and
feized
by
the Imprifonrnent of
' '
Atabaliba,
reporting
alfo
that
Co:uo
and
~itu,
a
Countrey
not far
from
Pmo
W–
''
ejo,
were extremely rich. Upon this
advice
they
refolved
to
fail
thither · and
' ' accordingly in the
year
1
s-
3
>,
they
armed
out five Ships, and
embarked
there–
,, upon four hundred
Spaniardt,
and many Horfes. With thefe
Alvarado
Landed
'' in
Puerto Piejo,
and
marched
towards
~itu,
enquiring
always for the
ay, un–
,, till they came to
certain
great Plains, encompailed ' ith very lof
cy
Mountain ;
"
here they
bad
all
perifhed
for want ofWater, had they not by chance lighted
' upon
a fort of
Canes,
which
were filled
with Water; and to
fatisfie their hun–
,, ger, they ate the Fle!h of their Horfes, \ hich they
·ere forced co kill, thoagh
" they
were
worth
above a thoufand Ducats a Horfe; though
Car11re
faith,
ch
t
" every Horfe
as wrorth about four or five
thoufand
ieces of Eight
Sp~nifh
Mo–
" ney; and
truly
I
think,
that this was the moll: probable value, becaufe I heard
''
[o
much in
P
ru.
The
Polcano
of
f2.t!iru
( \
hich ·
a burning Mountain) threv.
" up
fuch quantities of Afhes
by
a terrible irru tion which c ntinued
fc
r
many
" day
that
all
the
Earth
~:a
co ·ered
with
them~
r abo e
eig
c
Leagu
round;
'
nd when
it
bums\\ ith ics ercene ,
fu
h
fl
m afcend from
it,
that they may
" be
feen
at a hundred Leagues diftanr, and
make
fuch
noife, that
chey afionilh
" more than
Thunder
and Lighming : The we
e
forced a
t
e 1the \
ood
-
t