4000003870

770 / 1060

744
•
Royal Co1nmentaries. BooK l\L
Thu ~id Carvajal av.ail himfelf of the opinion whic~ M_endo 2 a falily conceived
of the d1[coment ?f his men, and of their ufage which mclined them to revolt
\Vhen an oppormmry fhould offer. So foon as Mendoca had read the Lette h
ga e full. credence. r~ it, though. it had no ~an~ or. iirm thereunto, beca~fe i~
ag_reed \ !th the op1~mn he ~once1ved of the ~nchnauons of Carvaja!s men ; and
\V1th thefe expe~anons havm~ draw~ out hlS men, he attached d~e Enemy in
~wo places according to the advice~ which ""'er~ giv~n him; but he \\as beaten off
~n both, becaufe they w~re provi~ed to receive him ; and finding that no man
JOyned or came over to his fide, V\ Hh much difcouragement he drew off having
Jofl: feven or ejght of his men killed, and as many wounded. And havi1{g under–
fiood _from the Jndian1 that ab.out fix or f~ven leag~es from tha place Francifeo de
Carva;fll had lodged all the RIChes belonging to -h1mfelf and ro his ouldiers he
refolved to play him the fame g~me, ~nd to .Pay .hirri·in the fame coin; according·
ly matters fucceede.d, for .marching thuher ~e fe1fed on all rhe Spoils \Yhich Car–
vaptl had made, with which he revrnrded his men to their great fati faetion · for
befide clothing of all forts, they feifed quantities ofGold, Arms and Powde;.
The three Hifrorians report that Carvajal was wounded that night by a Musket–
fhot in his Thigh ; howfoever he would not o , being privat }y drelfed
he \Yent abroad and ga\ e fuch Orders as were neceffi.ry ; but if that were, fr wa'
but 4 flight wound, c nfidering that he \,Vent Rounds, and \ as on the Gu3-rd
and Watch all that night, and the next day purfuing them to their Quarters, eat
them up, and fell upon them in the night; and they being weary, and tired, and
afleep, were totally routed and defeated; many of them were taken, but fuch of
rhem as efcaped by the darknefs of che night, ( amongfi which Lope de Mendof'i
wa one) v:ere difperfed into dive1s parts. So foon as it was day, Carvajal per–
cei ed that Mendofa was gone, but ho foever he followed him upon the rrack;
and then it was tnat he firfi underfrood in w hac manner he and his Companions
had been plundred of their Riches and Spoils by Mendofa. Upon which nev\ s,
turning to his Souldiers, Lope de Mendofa, faid he, hath oeen ill-advifed to carry
'"ith him the inO:rument of his death· whereb~ he would g~ve them to under–
fiand that he would parfue them to the lafi extremity, and untill fuch time as
they had retrieved their eftates. And according to this faying, he hotly purfued
Lope de Mendofa, who having travelled about eight or nine leagues, imagined that
Carvajal had fo much to doe that it was impoffible for him to make purfoit after
him either that day, or the day following; and in confidence hereof: he pa!fed a
River, and laid himfelf down to repofe, and refre(h himfelf after the watchings of
feveral nights: but whilfi fame were fl.eeping, and others eating, Carvajal unex–
pectedly appeared defcending from the top of a Mountain directly to the River;
upon which an alarm being given, every-one t'hifted for himfelf, and though Car–
vajal had no more than fixty Horfe \~ ith him, of the choicefi of his Troops,
which he foppofed fufficient to purfue a flying Enemy, yet they believed him to
come with all his Force. In this place Carvajal took many Prifoners, and amongfl:
them two or three Files of Souldiers who were playing for the pieces of Gold
' ' hich they had robbed : upon which occafion Carvajal uttered fome very remar–
kable Sayings, which Diego Hernande:1:. mentions. And at t~is place taking o~e
<lays refl: for his neceffary refrefhment, Lope de Mendofa, wHh five or fix of his
Comrades, had the opporrunity of flight, and to difperfe themfelves into divers
places, not knowing '''here to go, or where to take refuge and onely to fly from
the face of the Enemy. ·
Carva1al having recovered the greatefi part of vvhat he had loft, though not afl,
follO\'~ ed the purfoit of his game, and it ''as his fortune to cake the track which
was made by Mcndofa, not that he had any certainty thereof, but onely feeing the
way to be larger and wider than the others, he followe that track fo clofely thac:
though the Enemy was gone five or fix hours before ·them, yet after the fecond
night, by break of day, he arrived at the very place where lklendof a. was lodged,
in a little Indilln Village, having in lefs than thirty hours, from the tm:ie \\hen he
\\as lafl: difl:urbed in his Qiarters, marched cwenry C\\ o leagues ; and mdeed had
e not been forced thereunto for want of fieep and repo[e, he had} er proceeded far–
ther; but he and his people V\ ere fo overcome with long joo~·nie , and faint for
want of food ~d. fufienance t~at t?ey ~aid themfelves to fleep like fo m.any logg
of wood and '\v1thout fenfe hke ma·nunace Creamres. In the mean time came
Carvaj11J to the Village with eight men onely, leaving the refi behind, tha~ he
might