4000003870

Royal Cotnmentarie1.

BooKlt

velled

Day againll: the advice and perfuafion of the

Indians

who affured them

that

it was a

matter

'moll: I?ernitious

their

hea~ch

_to

rravel

~ver

thofe fandy

De:

far.cs

~Y Da~;

for chat wh1lfl: the Sun refletl:ed m !ts

full

violence on them, the

Heat

s were mfupp?rtable; and that unlefs they earned Watei; with them the peo–

pl~

would dye wuh thirfi. But tfus advice given by the

Indian1

to :narch by

Night, was not regJrded by the

Spaniards,

who imagined that they gave that coun–

fel out

of go

will

and favour .to their

lnctU;

and therefore threamed to

kill.them

cafe

th.ey

did not .hafien

the~

Journey. The poor

Indian1,

who were humble

a_nd ob

edien

t, fubm1tted_

their pleafure

and having travelled

whole day, un–

r1p an hour after Sun· femng, both they and

t~e

Spaniards

found themfelves

great

d1fl:refs for want of Water; and more efpec1ally the

Jndi'am,

who having carried

Burthens

all

the day,

~bove

five

h~ndred

of them perHhed with heat and rhirft.

The.

Spanifh

Foot had .mcurred the.like fate, but that the Horfe underfianding

that

a River was not far difiant, ran trucher, and brought Water, which refrefhed chem

in their great extremity: the which report

Auguftine

Garate

confirms

the

fixth

Chapter of his third Book,

may appear in tnefe Words following :

Alonfo

Alvarado

paffing on

s Journ

ey to

Couo,

over a

fandy

Defart

fu–

fiained Cuch want

Water, (bat

abo.ve

'five hundred of

his

lndian1,

who' car–

,, ried Burthens,

wer~

choaked

wi~

h~ thir.ft

; anc:i had not the Horfe

ran

hafie

River, and brought thence in

certain

Veffels fome Water for refrefhmenc

" of

the

Spanijh

Foot, it

believed that they had

all

perHhed. Thus

far

are the

Words of

Carate-;

For

want of thofe

Indians

who died with thirft, they

were

forced to

flay

fome

Days,

uncill

they were fupplied wich others

carry their Burthens.

And

no~

incur again the like neceffiry, they left the

way

of che Defart, and cook up

the

Mountains, where

they ·

joyned with-other two hundred Men, fevency of

which

were Horfe, and

the

refl Foot,

which

the Marquis had fent under Command

Gomez. de Tordoya de

VnrgM,

a near Kinfrnan to

Garfilajfo

la Vega.,

.to reauit the

Forces under

Alonfo

Alvarado,

which confified of five hundrea

Spaniards:

All

which,

they marthed through thofe mountainous

and fafi

Countries, had

many

SkirmHhes

every pafs with the

lndia111

;

but being well advifed

frequent

misfortunes

of this nature, they marched warily, and with due care to avoid the

like fnares, and unhappy fucce!fes. At length they came

the Bridge

called

Rumicacha,

which is

much

fay

the Stone-bridge;

which

being

difficult

paG,

the

Indians

did

all

they were able to give a fiop to the Enemy at

that place,

and many other Avenues they guarded with Souldiers ; to gain which, the

Spani–

ard1

made

Decach{Dent of about forty or

fifty

Mufquetiers, with a great

num–

ber

of chofe

Indian1,

whom they had taken up

for

Servants, and which were

guide the

Spaniard1,

whil<l the Mufquetiers guarded

the

rere,

untill the

whole Body

had efcaped the danger of chofe dofe and difficult paffage .

the Bridge

in·

numerable Cornp:rny of

Indians

crouded on the

Spaniard1,

and fought valiantly;

the Battel

continued feveral hours, but at lafi the

lndiam

were forced

give

way

wich great {bughcer, for the Mufquetiers of which there were one hundred, gallea

chem

very much, and were thofe onely who gained the Vietory,

for

thofe in–

clofures the Horfe were able to doe no fervice ; howfoever, the

S9aniard1

loll:

twency eight

Men,

and

nine

Horfes, befides many of their

Indian

Servants.

Gomara

the

38 th Chapter relates

thefe Words:

Alvarado

marched without any interruption with his five bundred

Spaniard1.,

" uncill he came to

LH.michaca,

where is a Stone· bridge; but there he met with

great numbers of

lndian1,

who

tho~ght

to.

cut off

all

the Chrifiians, or

leaft

difi~rfe

them: Bur

Alvarado

and his Sould1ers, though encompaffed on all fides

\~: ith

Enemies, fought with that Valour and Condutt,

thac

they over-threw

'' them with

great flaughter: but this Vietory cofr the lives of many

Spaniard!,

'' and of many

Jndian1,

who were friends, and came

ferve

and affifr them,

&c.

· From

Rumichaca Alonfo de Alvarado

proceeded forwards, skirmifhing with the

ln–

dian1

at every

cum,

where the

Pafies

were narrow and difficult; ;md though they

conceived litcle hopes to overcome them, howfoever

was fome fatisfaClion to

chem co diflurb

chem

their March ; and though the

Indians

being

now

beaten

out