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Royal
Commentaries.
BooK
IV.
CH
AP.
XXIX.
rvaj
I
continues his purfuit after
Diego Centeno.
A
flrange piece of
Cr11elty
comn1itted
by
hint
upon a
Soulrlier
and
a
tric~
which
a11other plaid upon
hi111.
,
S
O foon as
it
was
day
Carvajal
pur~ued
the Enemy with his Foot drawn up in
. form of Bartel,
~he
Horfe
advancing
before to fall on them in the Rere : but
D_i~go
Centeno
~nade
htS
re~reac
good,
a~d
the night following, and for three or four
nights
follm mg he connnually alarm d
Ca-roa}'tl,
in
expeltation that fome parries
\\'Ould fall off from the Enemy and revolt unto him ; but finding his hopes decei–
ved in th c
point,
he got his Forces into
fafl:
places, and atted on the
defenfive
pare;
and at length began
to
march
a
way
with
all fpeed, rn elve, rhirreen and
fometirnes fifieen leagues
a~day:
and as fome Authours report, he fem away
his
Baggage before,
and
what elfe was cumberfome, whilfi he wich a fr.Jett number
of men
weJl
armed marched in the Rere. Howfoever the Enemy purfued fo
clofe
after chem,__ that non ithflanding the long marche which
Die_~o
Centeno
took,
they
fcarce lofl: hght of chem ; for about cwo dozen of Pikes
V\
hich marched always in
the Front, did
concinualJy gall
chem, unrill at length
chey
were ucrerly defiroyed;
whenfoever
Diego
Centeno
came
to
any
narrow
PaG, he then made a fiop and
faced
the Enemy, and maintained
it
for
three or
four day ,
untill the
Baggage
ai:id
what–
foe\ er
V\' as
cumb rfome had advanced twenty leagues before, and chen
he
would
follow wich
all hafie
co overrake them, and \.\hen
he
was come up
to
his
Compa–
nion , they\~
ould all
fay,
We willi
to
God
chat
he "ould give a fiop ro the pro–
ceedings.ofchis Tyrant, chat we might take a little repofe for two or three da) s.
chat in chemean
time
we might advance twenty leagues before him: but
fo
hot
a
purfuit did they make afcer them (as
I
have heard from feveral of
Diego Cenreno>s
OV\
n people,) that they
had
fcarce taken five or fix hours of repofe and refi, be–
fore they
efpied
a
fiand of Pikes fiill follo
ing
wich fuch diligence as
if
not men
but the Devil had driven them; upon appearance of which they infiamly put
themfelves upon the
march,
whilfr
Diego
Centeno
himfelf faced the Enemy and co–
vered
the
Rere.
It
happened one day that
Diego Centeno
and his Companions
maintained a narrow Pafs, which was fomething rocky, for the [pace of
above
half a day together, untill
Cuch
time as night caufed both parties co recire
:
during
which time
one of chat Company,
who was mounted
on a
Mare, whofe
name
I
have forgotten, alighted
from
his Beall, and with his Gun went to a Rock, on
the fide of which raking a flay for the better affurance of his {hot,
he fired at
rhe
Enemy, and did the execution to kill a Horfe by the fide of
Carvajal;
\-11
hich be–
ing
done, the poor man returned co cake
his
Mare, rrulHng co
her
Leggs, chat with
her fwifrnefs he <hould both efcape the Enemy and overtake his own
Party;
but
when he came to feek his Mare where he had ryed her, !he had broke her Bridle
and was gone, having been affiighred with the report of
che
Gun and che noife
of the Horfes which paffed by her,
fo
that che poor man falling
into
the hand
of
Carva}ats
Souldiers, they took him
and
prefented him to their Commander, who
being
wearied
with the purfuir, and angry ar the relillence which was made, and
more incenfed at the particular aetion of this Souldier; he refolved
to
put him to
a lingring dearh, and in order thereunto he firipped him naked, and cied his Arms
and Feet and chrew him into a hollow Pit to die with cold; for the col s in cl1ac
Countrey are
fo
extreme, that the
Indians
take care
to
carry their Pots and
J
arrs
under covert and within the Walls of cheir Houfes by nighc, for othenw.
1
ife chey
would crack and burll wich the intenfenelS of the Frolts. To this miferable
tor~
ture was this poor Wretch expofed, crying out all night, lamenting and faying,
is there no good Chrillian who hath
fo
much mercy and compaffion for me a co
kill me,· and rid me out of this miferable world, which will be fuch a piece
of
char
icy
as
will
be recompenfed by bleffings from God.
Having palfed the whole
o_ig~t
with chefe fad
la~entations~
fo
foon. as ir
~~:a
day,
he wa
cold,
that
l.'11rvapil
intended him that mghts lodgmg for
his
pumth·
menr1