583 / 1060
BooK
II.
Royal
Commentaries.
CH AP.
XXVJii.
What
Number
of
Spaniards
the
Indians
ndght
kill
~n
the
ways
;
and 111hat fucceeded at the Siege
ef
the City
of
los
Reyes.
S.
O
(con
as
MarquIS
Pif1trro
perceived
that
the
ufual
correfponcfence and
inter–
courfe of Letters betweeg
him
and his Brothers ceafed, he immediately
fuf–
peCl:ed
fome
mifchief
in
the way; and co.prove and
try
the
~th
thereof,
h7
em–
ployed feveral
Indians,
who were Dome{hck Servants to
Spaniards,
to enqwre
of
their
Kindred and Relations, and inform themfelves of
the
News of
Couo,
and
of all
the Tranfactions of that Kingdom ;
for
it was not
witho~t
juft fufpicion of
mifchief that the Ways and Avenues were all flopped. The
TanacH1uu
(for
fo
they
call
the
JndiAn
Servant$) enquiring
into
the
matter,
underfiood that the
In'"
bad made an InfurrecHon, and with a {hong
Army
was Mafier of
Co~ce
;
but as to
the Particulars thereof, they gave no other account to the Marquis, but onely
in
a
confufed manner, without nead or tail; howfoever, he
t~ought
fir
with all
diHL
gence to write unto
Panama, Nicaragua, Mexico,
and
Santo Domingo,
defiring rhat
Succours iliould
be
fent
with all
fpeed.
Upon which
paffage
Ca-rAte
hath thefe
Words:
·
,
" !he Marquis feeing the Number of
Indi11n1
to
increafe,
and Multitudes
of
'' them ready
to Affiult the City
of
los
Reyes,
he
gave it
for
granted that
HtrnanJo
''
Pifarro,
and all thofe of
Couo,
were
perHhed ,
and that
this
Infurreetion had
'' been fo
general
over all
Chili,
that
Almagro
and all
his
Souldiers were
defeated~
"
an~
defiroyed: Howfoever, to undeceive the
JnJian1
in
rheif
belief,
that the
'' Ships were detained
on
purpofe
to make an efcape, and that the
Spaniards
alfo
" tnighc defpair of orher fafety than in their
Arms~
he difpatched away the Ships
"" for
Pant1ma
with Letters to the Vice·king of New
Spllin
and
co·all the
Gover–
" nours
of the
Jndie.1,
acquainting them with the dangers and
difficultie-~
in which
" they were engaged, and
defired
Succours
and
Relief
from
chem in that
difirefs,
Thus far
Carate.
But
befides
thefe
Dif
patches, he wrote alfo
by
conveyance of
the
faithfolt
r
nna•
£HntU,
to
.Alo11fo
de
Alv~rado,
who was
then
employed
in
the
Conquefi
of the
Ch1t–
chapHya1,
and to
Seba
ian
de
Belalcayar,
who was then in
Peru,~.
the Affairs of both
which
fucceeded
roufly. He wrote
alfo co
Garfilaj{o det/11
Pega,
whofe Af-
(airs on the othe.
were not
fo
happy in the Conquell: o that Countrey or
Province, which
by
contraries they called the
Buena
P'ent1tra,
or the Coumrey of
Good
Fortune,
where
th~
five
Rivers called
&,uix imies
empty themfelves into the
Sea, and are
plentifull
an~
rapid
fireams.
In thefe parts matters did n0t fucceed
ill
with
him~
br
reafon that he found little refifience from the Inhabitants
for
there were few or none in afl that Countrey; onely the Mountains'' ere
fo
high
barren and cragged, that
it
was fcarce inhabitable:
of which,
and of
the
difficu l~
ties he fufiaioed in
this
Expedition, we iliall difcourfe more at large hereafter. He
wrote
alfo to
{ohn Poree!,
who was employed in the Conquefi of the
PacamHrf#
mqantly
~onjuring
thern with all [peed
t"
come unto the
City
of
los Reyes,
tha~·
, bemg united .together they PJight make
!he
.
bet~er
refifience
againfi
the
l ndianf .
In
the mean nme, not knowing
to
what clifirefs his Brothers might be reduced he
with al+ diligence difpatched away feventy
Horfe
under the Command of his
Kinf–
man
Captain
Diego
Pifarrp,
which
was
all
the force that he was able to fpare with
an
Additio.n of thirty Foot-Souldiers, as
Carate
reports.
'
The
J?d1an.r
1
wh?fe
d~ftgn
was. to deftroy the
Marquis,
and all
his
peop!e, un..
derfiandmg by their Spies ,
that
he was fending Succours to relieve his Brothers,
Bbbb
~n~d
5)3