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I
•
Royal
Cornmentafies.
BOOK
Vil. .
CH
AP~
XXIII.
The
Royal Army
paffes the Rivers of
Amancay,
and
Apuri–
mac,
with 11;ore
faci~ity
and
eafe than
was
expected.
The
Scouts
andVan of the
Artnl
conze to
Cozco.
"tTTHen the Kings
Army
marched out of
Huamanca
in.purfuit of
Francifco
VV
Hernandez..,
of whom they had received intellige.nce., that he had taken
t:he way towards
Coz..oo;
they proceeded with alJ care and due circumfpection,
having their
Scouts~ili
Spies before
them :
When
they
came to the River
A–
mancay,
they
forde~t
over where
it
was moft fhallow; but for their Footmen,
who were laden, and fuch as carried the Artillery, they made a Bridge at a
place (with much eafe) where the River is very narrow: At this
place
an un–
lucky
accident fell ou t, which was
thi~,
Captain
Antonio Luxan
having wiffed
'the River, ftooped down on the fide of the Bank to drink, and taking-up the
Water with his Hands, as he was riling up, both· his Feet Oid from under him
<>n the Rock whereon fie ftood, and
fo
be fell backwards into the Water, and
funk down, and never appeared .more, though all po11ible care and dili–
gence was ufed to recover him; only about two years afi:erwards the Indians
brought his
Coat of
Mail unto
Coz..co,
at the time ·when
my
F~ther
was Chief
Juftice of the
City.
The Command of his Foot Company was afterwards
conferred on
'John Ral(Jon,
though he had
lately loft
his former
Company in
Chuquinca.
The
Army
being1
come
tG>
the
River
of
Ap1-trimac
received the news of this
unhappy accident:,
and alto
was informed, That one of the Scouts named
Fran–
cifco
Menacho
with
about
forty
more of his Companions had paffed
~he
River,
and that he like a brave and refolute Souldier had
fhewed
and ltd them rhe
way
· which never any had attempted before ; and that he had boldly caft
himfelf
in
at the place which is now called the
Ford.,
and that he had palfed
dnd
repair d
it
feveral times whileft the
Camp
was marching thither, the which
ra lh
and
precipitate aCl:ion in
him
gave boldnefs to the whole Army
co
follow
hi
Ex–
-ample., and
to
pafs over without lofs of time, which would have caufed great
· -delay,
had
they
attended there until a Bridge could have been erected : And
for
the better fecurity of their Footmen with their Burdens, and for the
hr–
-0.ians., who ccrrried the
Artillery ;
the Horfe were ordered to flank them on
the· fide to
break
the force of the Currant,
by
which mean all the Footmen
and
Indians
who were laden, came
fafely
to the other
fide
without
any
lofs
oF
.dang r; as
Palenrino
confirms,
Ch11p.
50.
And herein the Providence of God
is much to be
admired,
for thoogh an Army paffed then without
~nger,
yet
11nce that time no fingle p erJ-On hath adventured upon
it,
nor dufft any Man
attempt to wade or ford it over. And now being got to the oth r fide, they
-entered on a Mountainous and
Rocky
V.1
ay, foll of labour and
difficulty,
and
the fecond Day afterwcfrds
they
came to
Arimacramptt,
feven
Le':l gues
diftanc
from the Gity: And from thence- they proceeded farther the
very
Night they
'Came thither_, though the Officers were much difquieted and troubled to fee
· the Orders ghren
by
o ne Party, to be again prefently Countermanded
by
others of a different FaCl:ion; which was the caufe that the Scouts and Van of
the Kings
Army.,
and of
Hernandez..
his Forces, marched always in view each of
the other ; for the Rebels feemed not to
fly,
but to
proceed
on
their
way
in an
ord
rly
manner, as
if
they apprehended no danger from their
~nemy
in the
Rear: Thus at length they camt; to
Sacfahuana
four L eagues from .the
City,
from whence thofe who were Citizens of
Coz..co,
were detirous to be ord red
abroad upon the Scout, with which ocqfion they made- a vifit to their Wives
and Children at heme, . where
they
came about Noon, and the Jame
Qay
in the
Morning
Alvarado
the
Lieutenant
G eneral of the Rebels
had
departed thence.
That ig ht the Citizen would not lie in their own Houfes, left the Enemy
fhould
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