814 / 1060
790
Royal
Commentaries. -
BooK
V.
CH
AP~
XVI.
The Captains and Souldiers
fly
fro111
John
de
Acofl:CL
Gon–
~alo Pi~arro
co111es to
Huarina,
from
whence he
fends
a
Me/fage to
Diego Centeno ;
'Q'ith
his Anf
wer
thereunto.
W
HEN
'f
ohn
de
Acoffa
came near to
Couo,
they received intelJigence of the
unforrunate fuccefs of
Gonfalo Pif1trrtJ,
and of the general revolt of his
People from him ; to conceal and
f
mother which
all
endeavours
were ufed but
all
in
vain,
for many of the Letters which were diti1erfed abroad fell into the
hands of Officers and Souldiers, which made a full difcovery of all matters;
and
though none durft to confide in each other fo far as
to
difcourfe
and
communicace
the news ;
yet
by fome
accident or ocher the Advices became the publick
talk:
and
then the Major-General
Pae~
de Sotomayor
and
Captain
Mttnin de
OlmoJ
(
wirh
whom I was
acquainted)
refolved to kill
[ohn
de
Acofta,
\~hi
h
defign was
fo
fe..
credy
carried, char one
did
not know the intention of the ocher,
but
onely
by
cer–
tain
conjettures
and
circumfiantes;
and
in
like manner at a dill:ance
treaced with
forne Souldiers in whom they thought they could bell confide : but the Plot was
not contrived fo fecretly but chat ic came co the ears
of
Acofta,
who became thete–
by
more watchfull, and doubled the Guards about his
Perfon
with
thofe
of whofe
faichfulnelS
he was bell
affured.
The two
General
Officers growing jealous hereupon, and knowing ch
t
'lohn
de
.Acofta
was one day retired within his Tent, and in fecret conference wirh Captain
MArtin
de
Almendrtl{,
and another intimate Friend of his, called
Diego Gumiel,
and
fearing chat they were plotting to
kill
chem, they refolved to revolt, fince
they
were difappointed in their defign of killing
Acofta:
and accordingly p ffing their
word
in fecrec one co rhe other, without fart ,er delay they moented on
H-0rfe–
back with
chirry
men following them "irh their Arms, and
in fight
of
the Camp
marched boldly away cowards
Los
Reyes.
The principal perfons hereof were
P11~
de
Sotomayor, M.irtin
~
OlmoI, Martin de Alttrfon
chief Standard.bearer,
Gttrci Gu–
tierez
de Efeobar, Alonfo &ngel, Hernando de Alvarado,
Manin
Mr;nge,
Antonio de
Avila
and
Gafpar de Tokdo.
[ohn
de
Acofta
made
purfui~
afcer chein, aed overtook rltree
or four of them and put them co death; but
findit1g
it
i
vain to profecute chem
farther, he defified and followed his
way
cowards
Cozco,
whe1e he rook away
rne
white Staves from the Sheriffi of the
Town,
who were appointed
by
Diego
Cmmr_o,
and placed others in cheir !lead.
'
And here he found Orders from
Gonfalo
Pifarro
to come
with
all hafte
poffi~e
to
Arequepa,
and
to joyn
his Forces wuh him
there.
Accordin'gly
{ohn de
Acofl~
marched out of
Cozco,
but before he was rwelve leagues
advan~ed
on his
war,·
Martin
Alm1ndr1U
(who wa che perfon in ' horn he m·ofi confided) fled
fromz.
him carrying thirty of his beft men with him) and recurning again
t-0
Couo
hero~
the
white Sraves
away from the Sheriffi,
whom
[ohn de
Acofta
had
contHcured, .
a5
if
the fucce{S of great matters had depended thereupon ; and fo
he
went
td
Loi
Reye.s,
to the great admiration of
Acofta,
who wondered much that a man
fo
rtmeh
efreemed and obliged
by
Gont_alo Pifarro,
fhould
defert
him who had
a-eared
him
like a Son, out of refpeet co the memory of
his
Uncle
Franciflo
de
AlrmndrM,
"he
was killed by
Diego Centeno.
.,
•
[ohn
de
Acofta
durfr not adventure ro purfue
Martin
de
AlmendrM,
left _all his
Soul–
diers
fhould follow the like example, and therefore he cook
me
dtrett
war,
co
Arequepa
by long marches, but
fiill
his nun bers decreafed
by
two
gnd
three
1h
a
company,
fo
that by the time he came
co
Areq11ep4
to joyn with
Gonptlo
Pir_if'Yro
he
brought not above a hundred men \
ich
him, as is confirmed
by
Palentino
<;:hctpter
fixcy
eight of
che
fecond
Book, and by
Carate,
the' fixth Book,
C~aprer
e1g_hteeCL
And
now having lofi their H. onours by being ourlaW€d and
proclaimed
Tra1ro~rs,
and their Efiates, which remained
in
the power of the Ene
y,
chere \' as nochmg
more co fave but their
lives
onely,
and
how
that
fiake might be conferved was
their
onely confultation.
In.