756 / 1060
730
I
Royal
Commentaries.
BooK
IV.
faken by their men, privately embarked
with
fourteen
or
fifceen men
and
ra·
~ed
away.
In the mean time
Hinojofa
paffed verypeaceably, without
int~rmedJ·
t–
m
the Government or matters of Ju!Hce, or fuftering
his
People ro comm·r
ilig
leatl:
offence , or give occafion of complaint to the People : with thefe
m~
he
fent
"J?on P:dro
de Cabrera,
and
Herna~do'Mexia ~ Gu~man
his Son-in-law to
N!hr~
de
DsoI,
with Orders t? keep
that
Port, and mtercept
all
Advices
which
fuould
come
as
well from
Spam
as
from other
parts.
.
.
CH AP.
XX
XII.
Of
the
Af;fions
of
Melchior Verdugo
in
TruxiJlo, Nica–
.
ragua
and in
Nombre de Dios,
and
how he was forced
to
leave that
City.
A
Bout the fame time there happened an odd Accident in the City of
TrnxiOo
.
which gave great offence, and raifed the enmity and hatred of the People
a:
gamfi
the perfon who occafioned the fame, whofe name
was
Melchior Yerdugo,
to
whom the Province of
Caffemarca
was appointed
by lor,
a place famous
for
the
imprifonment of the King
AtahHalpa
and other remarkable Succeffes which
have
been mentioned before.
This perfon having been born
in
the City of
Avila
,
and
Countrey-man
to
rhe
ice-king,
was
defirous to fignalize himfeJf in doing fomething remarkable
for
his
fervice; the
ice-king, before
his
imprifonment knowing
of
his
Intenfioos,
gave him
a
large Commiffion
to
doe
many
things of high importance, and
parri–
cularly· to defiroy or difpeople the Cicy of
Los Reyes
,
for
which reafon
Melohior
Yerd11go,
and his adherents fell under the hatred and difpleafure of
Gonfalo Pifan-o,
and
of
fuch
as were of
his
Party.
Verdugo,
being informed hereof, refolved to
efcape out of the Kingdom, fearing
to
fall
into the hands of
Pifarro.
Howfoever,
being defirous to perform fome
Aa
extraordinary, he engaged fame Soukiiers to
him,
bought
Arms
fecretly, and made Mufquec-fhot, Mannades and Chains
in
his
own houfe, and
fo
bold
he was
in
his
matters_, that
his
Neighbours and Com–
panions were greatly offended thereat: but fotrune favoured his defign,
for at
that time ,
a
Ship arriving in the Port of
Truxillo
from
LoI
Reyes,
he
fenc
for
the
Maller and the Mate of the Veffel , pretending that he had
a
pared-
of
MAy~
and
other Goods to {hip upon him
for
Panama,
which he defued them to come
and
fee ;
fo
foon as the Mafier and the Mace were within 11is houfe, he put them in–
to a
1m
cellar or dungeon, which he had made:
then he pretended to
be
lame
of the Gout; and fitting in that manner at
his
Window, he efpyed one of the
Governours with his Clerk paffing by ; and
calling
co them, he defired them
co
come, co draw forne autbentick 'Nritin , which he had occafion for; and deli..
red their excufe
for
not coming to the
y
reafon
of
the
Indifpofition which
was
upon him: when they were come in, he
fairly
led them to the place where the
Mafrer and Pilot were lodged , ·and there he took
aw~y
their
hire Staves, and
clapt them
in
Chains, fetting
a
guard of fix Mufquetiers upon them. And
re–
turning again to his Window, he efpied another Citizen paffing
by,
to
whom he
called in che fame manner as before, pretending fome bulinefs with him ; and
him alfo he put into his prifon, and in this manner he decoyed
in
at leall:
twenty
perfons of the principal Citizens, which were
all that
remain_ed
at
home, the
others being gone in ervice of
Pi9_arro.
Then he fallied
out
mto rhe
1
Marker..
place with cwency Souldiers whom
he
jt;tdged to
be
faithfull to him;
he
fummo-–
ned
all
people in the King's-name to come
in,
and
fcized on thofe \ ho did
not
readily obey , and then
in
hearing of all his prifoners, he told
chem
plainly , that
his
bufinefs
was
to carry men and arms
c:o
the Vice-king;
for
which
fervice he
ha4
an occafion
for
money, which they rnufi fpeedily
pay
him,
in
ca1f:
they
e~pett_e~
their
liberty ·
and that every one iliould pay his proportion accordmg
co
h1s
abili–
ty ;
and
if
n~t
he
was
refolved
to
carry them
a
way
with him
to the
Vice-king.
'
'The