CHAPTER XXXVI

    How Don Diego de Almagro wrote to Captain Alonso de Alvarado, without knowing that he had raised the banner, and how he sent him an appointment as Lieutenant; and of the death of Orihuela.

WE have already related that Don Diego, by the advice of Juan de Herrada and Cristóbal de Sotelo, determined to write to the captain Alonso de Alvarado at the city of La Frontera,[78] where he was lieutenant for the Marquis. He wrote a very polite letter, apprising him of the death of the Marquis and of how the municipality of the city of Lima had acknowledged him, Don Diego, as Governor, and that all the other cities and towns in the Realm had done the same. He appealed to Don Alonso, as a knight who would understand the motive for avenging the death of his father, not to side against him. He asked him to show friendship and to retain from him the[124] appointment he had held from the Marquis, which he now sent, desiring to increase his honour and estate. With this letter he sent him a commission as captain and Governor's lieutenant in that city. And to make sure that Don Alonso should accept the commission without wavering they compelled the secretary Antonio Picado, who was their prisoner, and whom they knew to be a fast friend of Alvarado's, to write him a letter in his own style explaining that Don Diego had acquiesced in the murder of the Marquis because of the ingratitude he had shown towards Almagro his father, and the cruelty with which he had treated his partisans; adding that, since all the lieutenants and captains of the Marquis had obeyed and complied with the demands of Don Diego, Alvarado should do the same. By refusing he would be doing great disservice to God and to his Majesty, and injury to the natives. With these letters Juan de Herrada wrote another saying almost the same thing. These letters were sent to the city of La Frontera, but when Alonso de Alvarado saw them he became very angry, and replied in terms relating to the crime they had committed, and not to the soft words they had written.

In Lima there began to be troubles among the men of Chile themselves. They took the Doctor Juan Blázquez, who had withdrawn to the convent of Santo Domingo, and kept him a prisoner in the house of Antonio Picado, where he was for several days. The Bishop Friar Vicente de Valverde came from Cuzco very depressed on hearing of the death of the Marquis and finding that his brother the doctor was a prisoner, for he feared that those of Chile would kill him. There was a little vessel lying in the port, and, pretending he was going out hunting, he got on board with his brother Dr. Blázquez, and some other persons, and put to sea with the intention of going to seek for the President Vaca de Castro. But at the island of Puna the natives[125] came out and killed the bishop, the doctor, and sixteen other Spaniards. Twenty Spaniards also left the coast to go trading to Quito, with much merchandise; and a Cacique named Chaparra attacked them in the region of Carrochamba, killed them all without leaving one, and took all the merchandise. To return to García de Alvarado. He left the city of Truxillo to go to San Miguel. In the valley of Jayanca he left all his party except twenty horsemen, and with these he went on to San Miguel. There he established the government for Almagro, seized the gold of deceased persons and all the horses and arms that were to be had, and arrested the licentiate León because he suspected him. Several days had passed since Alonso de Alvarado had raised the banner for the King, and it had become known throughout the Realm. Great was the perturbation among the men of Chile, for, as Alvarado's authority was widespread, they deplored his being against them. García de Alvarado had made prisoners of Cabrera, Villegas, Vozmediano, and others, who had been raising opposition by means of letters to all parts. So, in order to put fear into the rest, or for some other reason, Juan de Herrada wrote to García de Alvarado, ordering him to kill these men at once. As soon as García de Alvarado had seen the letter he sent to Payta for the prisoners, and cut off their heads at San Miguel, as the crier proclaimed, "for being mutineers." Orihuela, the same who had arrived from Spain with despatches for the Marquis, not taking heed that it was no time for plain speaking, went to the residence of Don Diego, and used some strong language which the men of that party did not like. So Juan de Herrada went to Orihuela's lodging and arrested him, and next morning they took him to the gibbet and cut off his head as a mutineer. Before he died he declared that he was not under Don Diego's jurisdiction. Why, then, did they put him to death, if it was not for a letter he wrote[126] some days before to the chamberlain Alonso de Cabrera, saying that he was an envoy from Spain and that he would bear himself as a courageous man in seeing the death of the Marquis avenged? When they were about to kill him he cried with a loud voice that they should mind that he was employed by the Crown, thinking that on that account peradventure they might spare his life.

After this was done Don Diego and Juan de Herrada brought all their ingenuity to bear to find out where the treasure was which the Marquis had possessed. Sometimes they asked Antonio Picado, with blandishments, to tell them; and when that was of no use, they put him into a great fright by threatening to compel him by applying the torture.