712 / 1060
686
Royal Co1nmentaries.
BooK
IV.
But whilfl: thefe Matters were in agitation
Pedro de
PueU.es(as the Aathours
port ) arrived very opportunely ; for, bad his coming been delayed
buc:
ch~e
days longer;
it
is the general opinion , that all the Army of
Gonp:do
Pipm
h
ed
of chemfelves been difper_fed an_d disbanded. Howfoever, thefe new
recr~~ d~d
nor_ alrer and remove
th~
mt€ntlons of
G
afpa_r
Rodr~~ue~
and his Companions from
their forn:er
p~rpofe
; m purfuance of_ whICh they communicated their delign
co a cerram Pnefi: , a Native of
Madnd,
called
Ba!tafar
de Loayfa
with who
after
I \
as acquainted
in
Madrid,
in the year
15'6
3.
I
cannot
fay
that
I
kne~
him before, being very young; though he knew me very well when
I
was
a
child, being a friend of my father's, and one
~ho
had a general acquaintance
\Yith all the noble families of that Empire.
Gajpar de
Rodrigue~
and his friends treated
with
chis Priefl: (
who
was more
fit
for a Souldier than a
Pri~ll:
)
and perfuaded him
t_?
take a journey in their behalf
co
Los Reyes,
and
to
obtam
a
Pardon for them, "'
1
tth
a
Letter of Licence for rheir
Security; and with that occafion, that he fhould give an account· of the number
of thofe who\\ ere
~ome
lately
to
jo~n
\J\
ith
1:ifarro
and
of
thofe who were gooe
off;
and to a!fure him, that the Affairs of
Ptfarro
fiood on that uncertain founda–
tion, that
fo
foon as he and
hi5
accomplices were gone off, that all the other For–
ces of
Gonfalo Pif arro
would fpeedily disband.
\i\Tich
chis
Meffiige
Baltt:1far de Loayfa
privately departed from the Camp. of
which fo foon as
Pift:trro
had notice, he immediately feot after him to fetch
him
back; but having taken a
by-~
ay out of the common road, they miffed of hirn
1
and he got fafe
to
Rimac
where the good news he brought , made him wekome
to the Vice-king; for the intention of
Gafpar
Rotfrigue~
and his Companions was
of
great importance
to
him:
the joy whereof the Vice-king not being able to
fup–
prefs ·, and efreeming
it
neceffiry
to
be divulged for the encouragement
of
his
people ; the fecret took air and was made pnblick;
which
being
v.
irh alJ expedi–
tion
'\-HOte
back
to
Gonfalo Pif':trro, Ga/par
Rodrigue~
was feized wich
his
Campa·
nions, and "ere all afterwards put to death. Howfoever, before chat was known
Ba!tafar de Lo11Jfa
was difpatched wich the Pardon and Letters of fafe-condutt
,
which he defired ; which was no Cooner done,
hue
ic was divulged over all the
City (as
Garate
reports, whofe authority we rather follow in thefe paffages, than
any
other, becaufe he was prefent at rhefe tranfael:ions ) and thereupon the Ci·
tizens , and other perfons who
v.
ere inclined and fecretly well-affected co the
Caufe of
Gonfalo Pifarro
and his
Party,
did really imagine that
in
cafe he were de–
ferted by
Gajpar Rodrigue:t
and his Accomplices,
it
would {hike
fo
great a damp
to
Gonfalo Pifarro
and his Souldiers as would .caufe them
to
difperfe and break up
their
Camp,
as defpairing of their defign ; and then the Vice-king would remain
triumphant, to execute
hi5
new Laws without any contradittion or refirainr upon
him: co prevent
\1\
hich fome of the Citizens and Souldiers refolved amongfi them–
felves to fend a party of light Horfe after him ; hoping fpeedily to overtake
him.
It
\iVas
in the month of
September
1544,
when
Loayfa
with one perfon onely·in
his company called
Hernando de Ca:vallos
left the Town; and the next night af–
terwards was purfued by twenty five light Horfemen, the principal of which were
Doi1
Baitafar de CafliUa,
the Son of Count
Gomera, Lorenfo Mexia, Rodrigo de Sa–
/auir,
well knovi. n for his a·
ouch-back, and was the perfon famous for taking
Don Die._go de A/magro
Junior in
Coz.co;
there were alfo with chem
Diego de Carvajal,
furnamed
the
Gallant,
and
Francifco de Efcobedo, Francifco de CArvacal, Pedro Mar–
rin de Cidlia
alias
Pedro Martin de Don Benito,
with others
to
the number of twen–
ty five, all which company together travailed with
fo
much expedition and dili–
gence, that in lefS than fourty Leagues difiance from
Los Re_;·ei
they overtook
Lo–
ayfa,
and took all his papers and difpatches from him; and fem them away by a
Souldier, who croffiog the Coumrey came by a 111orter cut than the common
road to the Camp of
Pifarro
, .
and acqua.inted him \:'ith the whole matter , wh_o
at
fuft
focretly communicated
it
to
Francifco de
Carva1aL,
who vvas lately made
his
Major General in the
pla~e
of
,4/onfo de Poro,
wh<? was fallen fick: then. he
im–
parted
it
to other Captains and Perfons of quality, who were not pnvy nor
concerned in the Confederacy; and having confidered of the matter amongfr
themfelves, they all generally agreed, fome from a principle of parcicular enmi–
ty
others from envy , others from covecoufnefs, fearing ro lofe their
Indianf
and
th~ir
Poffeffions; that
ic:
was neceffary fox: example unto others, and
to
deter
them from the like perfidioufnefS, co punifh thi . aet of Treachery with the grea-
cefi