850 / 1060
Royal
Commentaries.
BooK
V.
\
that· fuch
'1:
year you. fhall run
2
gr~at
hazard to lofe it, but
in
cafe you then efca
you
(ball
hve long
10
great
hap
mefs and profperity. The year whkh
chre
pe
l
·rc
d.
h .
r.
.
1
a
.
d
arens
your
1
e accor mg co t eir pre1ages
IS
a moa exprre ; for not
many
month
weeks remain before that time determines,
which
I would therefore advife
y~
or
fJrotraet by
a
handfo~e
retreat from the Enemy : this
I
fay, that you may
neiili~
have caufe
co
complam of your own rafunelS, nor your Friends and
well-w"!hers
to
lament your
wane of
confideration in making too llighc an account of
fuch pre
dittions :
for
though there be no certainty in judicial Afuology,
yec at leall:
it
will
be good to fpend out the time,
if
poffible, to fee whether
fuch prefages
prove
true or falfe.
I
am
well affured that
c~e
Enemy cannot force you to fight
j
and
per–
haps there may be
ma.nyreafons which may perfuade you
to
avoid
ir, untill fame
greater advamage
offers than at prefent appears. Why fhould we adventure that
which we may eafily avoid, in cafe we intend to travel from one Countrey to
another with pleafure and eafe, whilfi the Enemy in parfuit of us endure
all
the
inconveniences of_a
lo~g
march and
hardfhi~s
which fai:1ine and wam mu(l: bring
upon them ; and
m
this manner we may
f
pm
out the time um
ill
the bad
influen–
ces are pail: which threaten yoo, and till the day
return which the Afirologers af–
fore you
will be
more propitious.
Pift-trl'o
anfwered
in
few words, chat he
was
refolved not
co
make
a
retreat either far or near, it not being confiftenc with
his
honour and reputation ;
bur
to follow his fortune, and expeCl: the
Enemy ar
Sac–
fahuana,
and be
his
defiiny what it would, he determined
to
give the Enemy
Bar–
rel at that place, without regard either
to
the Moon or Stars. Herewich
the
di{:
cour[e
ended, at \\'hich
Carvajal
was
greatly rroubled and complained amongfi
his
friends and familiar acquaintance, that his Lord the Governour refolved upon
a
moll pernicious courfe, efpecially m this critical time of his life, which was more
dangerous than any other: in this opinion all others did concm, and were much
afflieted co fee him thus refoluce and wirhout regard to his fafery or condition to
deliver up himfelf (as it were) into the hands of his Enemies: there was no doubt
but he was
a
man of great underfianding; and therefore we may attribute this
violent rranfport
co
the influence of the Scars, which caiTied
him
beyond his rea–
fon,
and caufed him (as it were) to offer the Knife
co
his own
Throat, and re–
jeet the
reafonable couofel of his Major-General.
But
we mufi return again to the Prefident, and ofi:en change our hands
from
one
parry
co
the orher. . The paffage being now made free and
open
by
che re–
treat
of
{ohn
de Acofta,
the Royal Army had liberty to march without fear or
dan–
ger ofan Enemy ; but by reafon
of
the great incumbrances ofCannon, Ammuni–
tion
and Provifions, four days were fpent before they could clear themfelves out
of chat uneafie paifage, of which three days were required
to
march from the
River
co
rhe rop of the Mountain, where
the
Army was drawn up
:
from which
place the Prefident gave command to march the Army with great order; howfo–
ever the ways were
fo
narrow and rugged, and tbe Baggage
fo
great that the
Officers
could nor obferve that rule they defired; and notwithftanding all
their
endeavours,
the longefi march they could make in
a
day was not above t o leagues, and
fome–
times but one, and then perhaps they were forced to
fl:
y
a day or two unrill the
Rere could come up.
In
the meantime
Gonfafo Pip:irro
haflned his Men out of
Co:tco,
and
co march
unto
Sacfahua.na,where
ne
de6gned
to
expeet
the Enemy and give them
BatteJ.
His
Captains were all
yoong
and fiout, and fuch as depended mofi upon their own
bravery and courage, in confidence of which they chearfally hafrned out of
Couo,
co
anricii}t1te the day
hich
fhould make them Lords and Mafiers of
all
Peru.
But
Carvajal
and thofe of his opinion, who
wer~
the
mo~
fober and confiderare,
were very unwilling
to
meet the Enemy, not havmg men
m
"horn they could put
any confidence ; for amongfi their
O\~· o
Party were three hundred of chofe Soul–
diers
\~
hich belonged
to
Diego
Centeno,
who had been lately .overcome, and
many
of them as yet nor cured of their "ounds
:
and therefore_ m reafoo ought co be
efieemed for fuch who defired their overthrow and delhuCtion ; ?r at
lea~
would
run away
in
the day ofBattel, and difcourage chafe who were fiuthfull Fneads ro
Pifarro.
d'
·
b' h
Thefe confideracions acfminillred
jufi
cau[e of fear and danger;
to
n~erc
w
IC
C
11
rvajal
often turned
to
dllfuade
Pifarro
from that fatal Counfel,
whK~
would
inevitably betray
him
to
a
lofs of nis life, efiate, honour and every
chrng
r.bat
was dear unco him. But fo God
ordained
it
(as thofe
of
the
contrary party faid )
chac