830 / 1060
806
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J
Roya!
Commentarie1.
BooK
V.
-
fiune; and thar they had heard what
Diego
Fernande~
relates how that
he 1·
h
ted , and lent
Pi1arro
his Horfe , and helped him co get up.' And ro
und
a
1
~
-
the World
in
rnis·particular:, my Father (after the Batte1 of
Sacfahuana
/ceive
information before the
J
u!l:ice by an Officer of the Exchequer and
with
thegte
fiimony oft\ eruy tV\'OWitne!Ies, all of
Centeno's
Party, who
d~clared
that at
t{
time "hen
Pif arro
defired my Father's horfe, there was not one man' of
c
t
.
~
Army
\~ithin
half a. league of
him
5
and tha.t the Wound which
Piftirro'se-h~~r~
• had received was
fo
1ncoofiderable, that notw1thfianding the fame he
might
hav
fought that wh?le d,aY upon .him
if
occafion had been.
I
have heard it
alfo re:
porce~., t~at
Pt f arro
s
horfe \'\.as cut over the
huckfon~
or hamfiringed,
as
Franci-
fto
de
Vlloa
s horfe was; but 1t was a falfe report and information;
as
it
was
aJfo
that the horfe recovered, and. yet dyed
m
enty two leagues dillant from
t~
place
of
Battel; but che
tru~h
1S,
the horfe dyed for want of diet
and
good
go–
vernment: .for though the Farrier.
~ho
took Gare of
Pip1rro
fiables, called
Me-
flua,
a
Native of
Guadalaxara
(with whom
I
was
acquain~ed
) did
ufe
give
chat horfe wacer a little warmed, and therein flower of
Mayz:.
.-
yet the
Groom
forgot
to
give that in charge to the
India;;
who led the horfe
''ell
covered
and
warmly clothed again!l: the exceffive colds of that Countrey: and the
Indi1w
not
knowing the rules which the Farrier had given, fuffered the horfe to drink,
~she
was paffing
a
brook, as much water as he pleafed, with which being prefemfy
taken with
a
chilnefs, he
fell
into
a
01ivering, and dyed
four
leagues from that
waten
Thus
the Hill:orians had
fom~
grounds
to
write what they did concerning
my
Father, and I had eafon co give a truer information ; not to excafe
my
Farher in
hopes of favour or reward , but out of affeltion to
truth
it
felf. As
ro
the
Of–
fence
\X.
hich is objected againfi .my Lord
G
arf ilajfo,
I
have been punifhed
and
done penance for it, though
I
committed not the C rime.
For when
I
came
ro
petition his Majefiy for fame reward
for
the Cervices of my Father; and chat
in
conlideration thereof the Efiate which came by my Mother might be
refiored
to
us, which by the extinguHhment of two Lives was efcheared to the King: which
when
I
had prefemed before the Royal Council of the
Indies,
and
made
it
appear
how great the fervices of my Father had been : and that thofe Lords were con–
vinced ofche clearnefs ofmy pretenfions; yet
Licenciado
Lope
Gt1.rcia de
Cafaro
(who
was afterward made Prelident of
Peru)
being
then in the Chair, asked me,
what
reward
I
could expe& the King fuould give me
?
confidering that the fervices
my
Father had done
for
Pifarro
at
the Bacrel of
Huarina
were
fuch as
had given
him
the Vittory. And wheo
I
re~lyed,
chat the information was abfolarely
falfe;
How, faid he,
can
you deny that which all Writers of thefe matters do
affirm?
And therewith they excluded me from
all
precenfions , not onely on account of
my Father's fervices, but of my
own.
And though
I
had many merits on my
own fcore to alledge, yet
I
could not procure to be heard :
for
I
could have re–
lated, how
I
had ferved under
Don Alonfo
Fernande~
de Cordof!a
and
Figueroa,
under
Marquis de Priego,
Chief of the family of
Aguilar,
under
Don
Francifco de
Cordtma
(who is now
in
Heaven) and fecond
Son
to that Great
Don M artin
de
Cordoua,
Count of
Alcaudete,
Lord of
Monte-mayor,
and Captain General of
Oran.
I
have
alfo ferved his Majefiy in qualicy of Captain of four fevera1 Companies ; two of
which were in the time of
Philip
the fecon of glorious memory ; and the other
two under his brother
Don
{ohn
of
Auftria,
now
alfo
in Heaven, who were plea–
fed as fignals of their favours
ro
gratifie me therewith;' not that
I
pretend to
have merited them from that Prince; but onely his Highnefs obferving
in
me a
readinefs of mind and affettion
to
ferve him , accepted my endea ·ours and
was
pleafed to recommend me
co
his Brother.
~d
yet
no~witofumding
fo
prevalent
were the prejudices
I
lay under, that
I
durfi neither revive my old pretenfions nor
alledge my later fervices : for which reafons? being cailiiered the
Army,_ I
was fo
poor and naked in cloches, and fo indebted, that
I
durft not return a.gam
to
the
Court
but retired my felf
into an
obfcure corner of folitude and poverty, where
(as
I
de~lared.
io my Preamble to theHillory
cf
Floridtt)
I
paffed a quiet and a
~~te
able life,
as a
man loofe and difengaged from the World , and
the
~arability
,
without hopes or great
expe~tions
: and indeed
I
have no reafon
fo~
1t,
be~aufe
the belt part of my life
is
paffed already , and for the future God w
111
pr~:w1de
,
as
l)e
hath hitherto done.
Pardon me
this
impertinent digreffion, to ·which
my
troubles
and
oppreffions have anfporced me; for
it
may
well be
allowed co mhe,
w
0