970 / 1060
944
Royal
Commentdries.
BooK
VII.
When the Council
~as
rifen, feveral of the Inhabitants of
Co~o
and of the
CharcM,
being men of Efl:ates, to the number of about thirty, returned again co
the Marnia], amongll: which were
Lorenfo de
Aldana,
[ohn
de
Saavedra,
Diego M1t
_
donado, Gomez. Alvarado, Peto He-mandez:.,
Pani~J!.lt1t,
Polo
the Lawyer,
(ohn
Ortis
de
Carate, Afonfa de
Loayfa,
'lohn de
SaltU
the Ag1tant,
Martin de Mene[es, Garcia de
Melo, (ohn
de
Berrio, Anton
Rtl.JZde
Guevara, Gon falo
de
Soto,
Diego lie
TrHxillo
all of
them Adventurers in the c
onquefi: of
Pern;
wno
taking che Marfhal afide did
earnefHy entreat
him
to recraet his determination concerning the Batte! ;
th~c
hB
would confider
of
the
fimation
of the place wherein the enemy
"as
polled,
which
was ery
{hong;
and that bis
own
was equal
to
it, and as advantageouOy feared
as theirs: that he
niould
obferve and remember what
Rodrigo
de
Pineda
alfured him
of the fcarcity and want of all ProvHions in the Camp of
Hernandez,,
by reafon of
which they would be forced
to
quit their quarters there in the fpace of three
days.·
that
he fhould expect untill the
end
of chat time and fee the iffue, after v hich
h~
might confider farrhet, and take fuch rneafures as fhould then feem mofi advanta–
geous .apd convenient : and in the mean time the enemy remained there before
them, and could not take a flight through the air, but on the land one]y;
on
which
they might be intercepted and obflrueted
in
their paffage
by
orders and inilrueti–
ons fent to the
Indian.r,
whenas on the contrary, it
could
not
buc prove defiruc–
ri
ve
to
attack the Enemy in
fo
difficult a fiation ;
it
was well knm\ n that the
event ofWar hath been always doubtfull ; and chat co play foch a defperate game
was
to
deliver
up their
Souldiers
to
flaughter, and to fiand
frill
umillthey
\\jere
all killed
by
the
fhot of the
Enemy ; That
he fuould
confider
rhe
fia.teof his
o"
0
Fotces,
which
were
in
a much more happy condition than the E
nemy; for
chey
neither wanted
Provifions,
nor the attendance of
Indiam,
nor
other
neceffiries co
conferve
them
in the Camp. That the onely game they had now to play was co
frand fiill, and that then a
Vicrory
would follow of courfe, without lofs or ha–
zard of his men ; and that
it
was not good
to
adventure,
without fome cogent rea–
fons, the lofs of what
they
had already gained. The Madhal, noc reAeCling, or
calling
to mind ,
that on the fame River a Battel of the nature of this was
loft (as before related) aofi:Vered with fome choler, that he had. well confidered
all thefe particulars; but that
it
correfponded not with his duty, nor wa
it
reafo~
nable or futable to their reputation,
to
fuffer fuch a company of pirifull Rebels to
march
away
with foch
boldnefS
and infolence, and every night
to
alarm him in
his Camp; which not being able to fupport any longer, he was refolved to fight
them that very day,
not
doubting but that before Suo-fetting,
he
n10uld kill and
cut in pieces three hundred of their men: wherefore he conjured them
to
talk no
more of declining the Battel, but that every one iliould repair
to
his charge and
command,
and acquit himfelf of
his
duty, upon penalty of being proceeded
againfl: as Traicours and difobedient to che command of their Gener
l.
There
was
now no farther pJace
for
Anfwers
and Replies, rhe
Die was
call: and
the refolucion fixed, which caufed many of the principal men
to
depart wirh a
heavy heart, and ro di(comfe amongft rhemfelves,
that
the
Mar01al
\vas prodigal
of
che
lives of his Souldiers ; for
if
he looked upon them as his
riend , his Kin–
dred, or
ns, he would
not
e~pofe
them
in
that marmer
to
be dellroyed and
fl.aughrered
by
the Enemy. But what could be faid more, it wa cheir
misfort1me
and unhappinefs
to
be fubjelted to the command of a paffionate and an inaexible
General, who "ould not
be
perfoaded
to
accept of a
ietory
'''hich was offered
to
him, but rather yield it to his Enemy at the expence of their lives and fortunes:
this and mu h more was expreifed, lamenting
their
condition, and prefaging as
it
were that
ruioe
which enfued \
1
ithin the fpace of fix hours afrerwards. Thus
in defpair, the Captains, and moil: confiderate of the Souldiers, prepared chem–
felves
:
though
there were fome, who taking their meafures from
ehe
numbers,
and looking upon themfelves as twelve hundred to four hundred or three hundred
and
fifty,
were fo certain of
fuccefs
as
if
che
Enemy had been already.
in
cheir
hands: but chefe did not confider the difficulties of the way; or thac they had a
deep and rapid River
to
pafs, nor the turnings and windings, and narrow paf–
fages
before they could
come
at the Enemy, whereby their
Horfe
would becorre
ufelefs ; and that
nothing
but their Fire-arms could ferve, of \vhich rhe Rebels
were ''ell provided, and their ouldiers foch e cellent Marks-men that they could
kill a [mall Bird \ ith a fingle Bullet; amongll:
\\hi
h there were fome ofmongrel
race,
bet veen
Spaniards
and
I11dim11,
and parti
ularly
one
C"
lled
Granado
of
che
Councrey