4000003871

BooK

III.

Royal_ Commentaries.

CH A P.

XIV.

Don Diego de Almagro

marches forth

meét the Go:

ve~nour; and

Gonzalo Pi~arro,

afrer

having

pa/fed

moff incmlible Di/ficulti;s, finds his

way

out of

the

( i11namon ( ountrey.

O;ne days afrer that rnattérs were quieted, which had heen put into a fermen~

tation and diíl:urbance by the Death of

A/varado. Almagro

refolved to P.r~

ceed with his Arrny againíl: the Governour

Vaca de Caftro,

who, as he had recei–

ved intelligence, was departed from the City of

Los

Reyes,

to meec and.fight him:

whicli

occ:i.Gon

Almagro

.refolved· to give him to underíl:and, ,thát he did not

fear his Force, eíl:eeming himfelf the more formidable of the two; for that his

Soulqiers, being feven hundred

Spaniard.r

in number ,. were ali brave and ftouc

fellows; amongíl: which cwo hundred wei;,e Harquebuhers, cwo hundred and fifty

Pik~itien, and of them many armed with H-alberqs, the reíl: confül:ed oftwo hun–

dréd arid fifty Horfemen, all armed v.-ith Coacs·of

Mail,

and Back and Breaíl: of

Iron, many of which were made by themfelves; and; as

Goi/1ará

faich in Cliap–

ter

149.

were becter Men, and berter armed than any of thofe belonging

,to

the

Armies.either of his Father, or of

Pifarr~-

Moreover, be had a great Train of

Arcillery, to which he trufted very rtmch, befides

-a

number of

Indian.r,

&c.

Thefe are the Words of

Gomara,

to which he farcher adds, That

'fohn Ea/fa

was

nis General, and

Peter

d'o,.,ate

his Lieutenanc-Gen~al.- .

, ;

With thefe Souldiers, and with thefe ProviGons and E:quipage

Almagro

marched

to 1neet and give Battel to the Governour,

Vaca de Caftro,

and having proceeded

f.fry Leagues, he emred into the l~rovince of

Vt!lca,

where he received informa–

tion, that rh.e King's Arrny was thirty Leagqes diíl:ant from thence. ,

Bue lec us for a while make a digreffion from borh thefe Parties; and return to

GoYJ:,;,a/o p·F,-ró,'

whom with

h.is

Companions we left engolfed in the moíl: inextri~

cable DiftJculties and Neceffities, v,·hich humane Nature was capable to fufiain;

for they were to contend with deep and rapid Rivers, with Bogs and mooriíh

Grouhds,, which were unpaífable; and were·to travel over Moumains of,incredi,

.ble height, on ~h_ich gr~w Trees of an immenfe magnitude>, as

Gomara

in the end.

cif hls eighth Chapter reports, upon

che

auchority of

Vicente Yane:,;, Pinfon,

who.

.,vas one of the Difcoverers, and whp haviog related what had befaln him in chofe

pares_, conclucles ~c_le~gth .wich the ~range Prodigies of cha~ Countrey, of whicfí

he g1ves

Narrat1ve _m t~efe followmg Words.

•

" The bifcoverers bróught with chem the bark ofcerrain Trees,which feemed

" to be Cinnamon, and che Skin of a Beaíl which puc its young enes into its

" Breaíl:; and rhey related for a flrange Story, that they had fe~n Trees which

" fixceen Men could not fathome, or encompa[s with their Armes,

&c.

But beÍtdes che many, Difficulties with which

Gon:,;,aÍo Piyttrro

and

hi~ Compa-·

nions were to flruggle, the rnoíl: irrefütihle of ali was Hunger, that grievous and

cruel Enemy of Ma1,1 and Beafr, which hath been (o fatal to both in rhac uninha–

bited Coumrey.

have faid before that

Gon:,;,a/o Picarro

refolved to return un•

Peru,

and therefcíré leaving che River, he cook'his \,;ayNorthward, and paífed

through Lands and Mountains no Jers difficult than che former, being forced r9 open

a vay and path with Bilis ai}d Harchets, and to feed upon Herbs and Roocs, and

wild Fruit

·h

which were

[~ar~e,

_chat when_ ~ny plemy thereof happened, chey

elleemed e emíelves fomfnare

that Days ¡ourney ;, when chey carne to Lakes–

ai1d moorifh Grounds, they carried their íick ánd infirm people on their Shoul–

ders; iri whith work none took moí-e pains tha'n

Gon:,;,a/o Pifarro,

and his Capt:íins;

'\-\, h Q