CHAPTER LXXI

    How Don Diego de Almagro and his followers quitted the valley of Xaquixaguana and set out for the Apurimac bridge, and how they thought of withdrawing to the Collao.

AFTER the execution of the three Spaniards, it was thought that all was secure, and that no more of those who followed the banners of Chile would desert or forsake them. Don Diego ordered that all should saddle[242] up and be ready to start. The tents were struck, the soldiers and commissariat men were collected, and everything was done with such regularity that no camp that had ever been pitched in that Realm was better managed. The daily stages were not very long. The various troops were halted in their order, and when the camp was formed it looked like a town, but an open space for fighting was always left, where the soldiers could form up in case of a sudden attack by the enemy. No one had meals in his tent. The tables spread around bore rations common to all, and terms of brotherhood and close companionship prevailed throughout. But the course and frailty of events soon overwhelmed them all with a calamity so great that the hills of Chupas will give testimony of it for all time. Wherever they halted there were no idlers. The men-at-arms exercised their bodies, or engaged in trials of skill with their pikes, while the mounted troopers did the same, and the arquebusiers practised their skirmishing. They made reconnaissances, and counter reconnaissances, and posted look-outs and sentries, all with such marvellous order and care that it was something to see. The Indians, who followed them constantly, set up their markets, or tiánguez, where necessaries could be bought. Nevertheless, and although order was kept such as I have said, and there were few common people among them, but particularly spirited captains, knights of great bravery, most gallant soldiers, excellent artillery—yet, it would seem that they were too few to resist such numerous enemies as had assembled against them. And therefore, seeing plainly that they held no more land in their possession than that on which they stood, Don Diego and the captains in whom he placed most trust consulted together over what would be the wisest course for them to adopt.

They knew from the Indians and from the Inca himself that Vaca de Castro was in the province of Jauja, and had[243] augmented the force which had been collected by the captains who were at Guaraz. And further, that the whole Realm was turning against them and was paying no heed to anything but their destruction. They felt, too, that it would be a great piece of temerity if they presumed to tempt God, or trust to their luck, so far as to believe that they could overcome the forces marshalled against them, who were all Spaniards, when they themselves were so few. Considering what were best to be done in this business to prevent their enemies, Pero Alvarez Holguin and Gómez de Tordoya, from triumphing over them, it was concluded that it would be a profitable thing to advance as far as the Apurimac bridge, so that information of their going should reach the enemy who, thinking that of a surety they had gone in search of him, would stay where he was: whilst they, after crossing the bridge, could make good their retreat by a track that winds away towards the right into the country of the Quichuas and thence past the Charcas by a devious route, and thus evade their many enemies until time should make clear to them how they must act. But, though these were the plans discussed at this council, and though they intended to put them into practice, yet it did not please God that they should carry them through. For there were persons among them who had committed many murders, and had been the authors of numerous evil deeds, and they could not be allowed to escape punishment. So they marched by stages until they arrived at the bridge over the Apurimac, where they spent some days in repairing it, as it had been much knocked about and was in a ruinous state. When the captains and soldiers had passed over to the other side of the river, with the intention already explained, there put up at the rest-house of Curahuasi, where Almagro and his captains were already installed, a priest named Márquez, who, coming from Lima over the uninhabited wilds, chanced to reach this spot and[244] was freely welcomed by Don Diego and his people. He told Almagro and his captains privately that they need not be afraid of giving battle to Vaca de Castro, because the men who had joined him were not so numerous as had been stated, nor were they so well provided with arms and other things needful in war. They took heart from the conversations and remarks of this priest, and Martín de Bilbao and other captains said that they should march against Vaca de Castro and give him battle, because he had joined their enemies and adopted them as his defenders. Don Diego, too, agreed with him.

Some captains held to the earlier decision, and gave sound reasons for not pushing forward; but, after discussion, it was finally decided to go and take up a position at Guamanga and thence search for Vaca de Castro. They called upon Father Márquez to declare to all the soldiers the smallness of the force that Vaca de Castro was bringing, and that it was not fit to oppose the strength and efficiency they themselves possessed. The priest did this. Afterwards he said mass before all the Spaniards, and when it was over he affirmed, by that true body of God which had been in the chalice, that what he had told the captains and soldiers was fact. On hearing this oath they all rejoiced. They quitted that place the next day and, keeping the same order, marched towards Andahuaylas, where the Chief, named Guasco, had carried off all the provisions to a place of hiding. For being in the encomienda of the wealthy Diego Maldonado who, he knew, was with Vaca de Castro, this Chief was unwilling to befriend the opposite party. Moreover he had a writ from Vaca de Castro empowering him to kill any Spaniard of the men of Chile's party who should countermand the Governor's requisitions. When the Spaniards saw that the Indians were not peaceably disposed, they were enraged with them; but this was no time to busy themselves with punishing[245] Indians, so they made their own preparations for getting onward as best they could, having first despatched the licentiate de La Gama with an embassy to the camp of Vaca de Castro to discuss peace. Vaca de Castro ordered him and those who came with him to lodge at Guaylas, which is on the other side of the river. He listened to the message of the embassy, and remarked that there were many in the camp of Don Diego who desired to quit the error of their ways, but had not been able to contrive to do so. The upshot of this embassy was, that Vaca de Castro directed that Juan Balsa and another leader from among the principal men should come, and he would discuss terms of peace with them.

At this time, Don Diego had arrived at the royal residence of Vilcas, where he made himself secure, and pitched his camp among those ruined [Inca] edifices, under the superintendence of his Sergeant-major Suárez, a trusty fellow well versed in affairs of war. Here Don Diego and his captains determined to send messengers afresh to Vaca de Castro, in order to treat for peace; and they deemed that it would be of great help in justifying their claims if two letters were written, one by Don Diego and the other by his captains. I possess the originals of those letters, which I here set down word for word, as it is my habit to do with many others that I put in and will put in. The messenger who carried them was Lope de Idiáquez. The letter from Don Diego ran thus:

    Letter from Don Diego de Almagro to the Governor Vaca de Castro

    Very magnificent Sir,

    News that I have heard has disquieted me to such an extent that, were it not affirmed by eye-witnesses,[246] I could not have imagined that your Worship, coming as his Majesty's minister to establish peace and justice in this his land, is favouring the very people who have disturbed it: a thing unheard of and truly unworthy to be believed of such a person, and one so qualified, who, combining great tact with abilities that many others have lacked—according to what has been publicly stated hereabouts—was selected for the Presidency of [the Audience of] Panamá and for the redress of grievances.

    It seems to me that your Worship is adding point to the injuries done to my father by the Pizarros; for, whilst their followers are the men who sowed the trouble in these parts, your Worship comes not to root them out, that the evil seed may be lost, but conspires with those who have hitherto helped to maintain it against me and against those who are striving with me to defend so just a cause, together with the well-merited favour of the territory and government of New Toledo, which his Majesty granted to my father for his very signal services.

    On account of those services it was his pleasure that I, as a grateful and dutiful Prince, should enjoy the position after his day, as your Worship will have learnt from the licentiate Antonio de La Gama and the assessor Gonzalo Hernández who, I make no doubt, have been with you now some days. Besides the credentials I gave them, they carried certain instructions and drafts to discuss with your Worship; but as I am not certain whether those about your Worship's person will have taken steps to prevent my pleas from being heard, or my messengers from stating them to your Worship on my behalf, I am now sending, charged with the same, Lope de Idiáquez who, actuated solely by zeal for his Majesty's service, and free from all bias, as those who know him are aware, has resolved to undertake this mission, without my being[247] able to deter him from it, in spite of its dangerous nature at the present time, owing to the native Indians waging war and not sparing the life of any Christian; which natives say and declare that what they do is by your order, communicated to them by Maldonado, on the part of your Worship, through his servant named Juan de Pinos, who is now in their villages, and that Palomino and other dwellers in Guamanga are spurring them on to act up to it. This has been the cause of ten Christians being killed, some of whom were on their way home to Spain with what they possessed; and, in addition to that, the Indians have seized their holdings. Notwithstanding all these alarms he [Idiáquez] has been ready to risk his safety in this praiseworthy effort. He sympathizes with the Indians for the vast toil and loss of life suffered by them, and recognizes the great evils that would fall upon this country if your Worship persist in the aims which I am assured you have in view. He knows well what has happened in these parts since they were discovered, what faults the Pizarros have committed, and what was done against my father and those who followed him. He knows my intention, for I have declared it; he knows my right [of possession], and will state my justifications for me as one who understands how proper and equitable I hold them to be, that that right may be preserved to me.

    And having sent those whom I did send with what I have to say, but having as yet received no reply from your Worship nor from them, I am earnestly hoping to learn what moves your Worship to side with my enemies in this regard. Since therefore, the bearer will fully and always truthfully explain matters, I will not dally with the subject, but commit myself entirely to his statement, which is, that—being aware that your Worship comes against me with an armed force for my detriment, in[248] association with my enemies, or it were better to say his Majesty's enemies—being myself likewise in arms, not against your Worship but to support you against any who will not obey your Presidential decrees, as I will do if it should be necessary—and fearing that your Worship is deceived by those who appear to me so bent, I quitted Cuzco to go and seek for you; and on my arrival here I learnt what I have stated, which scandalized me not a little. So, however, let your Worship understand that I possess letters patent from his Majesty in which he constituted this Government in favour of my father, with a provision that it should devolve upon whomsoever he should leave it to; and he left it to me, his son, as set forth in the clause of his will, which, if you have thought proper, you will by now have seen, for the Licentiate and the Assessor conveyed it to you with every precaution.

    I say that my followers and myself are servants and subjects of His Majesty, and, as such, we carry the imperial standard and fight under it in defence of this constitution, until His Majesty—being informed of the shameful death inflicted on my father and many of his followers, of the great wrongs done him and them, and of how the Pizarros killed him to rob him of what was his, that they might bribe whom they thought fit and become sharers of his property in despite of his heir [and such abominable outrages should never reach his Majesty's ears]—shall send to order whatever action will best conduce to his service. And if I should learn that the issue of his pleasure is that I am not to hold this Government in his name, I will resign it, together with the arms; and I and those about me will go, without any delay, to justify ourselves on bended knee before his imperial presence.

    In case your Worship should not have joined with, or should sever yourself from, my enemies, you will receive my obedience accordingly; but I declare to your Worship[249] that, in the contrary event, my followers and myself will defend the boundaries of this Government, and oppose ourselves against all who would usurp them. Frankly, therefore, see the evils that may arise, and weigh well the situation, and the great disservice to God and to his Majesty. Consent not that the clouds which have gathered shall pour forth, and plunge the subjects of his Majesty, and the natives of this hapless land, in wretchedness yet greater than they have suffered in the past, which is not a little. Do not bring upon them the miseries of war; but, laying arms aside, let your Worship rest with the government of New Castille, and leave me with this which his Majesty has conferred upon me, where I shall see that the roads are opened up, and the Indians live in peace, and his Majesty's good pleasure is known, for that will I obey. And this I commend to your Worship not once, but twice, and thrice over, and as many times as of right I may and ought, in God's behalf and that of his Majesty; and as to the injuries and loss of life that must result in the land and among the natives of the soil, which are very pitiful to behold, and also the losses of royal fifths, so long as your Worship and those of your party remain obdurate, be they upon your Worship's head and upon the heads of your followers, and not upon mine and my companions'! For your Worship comes not wanting peace—though you were sent to promote that, and not to foment war—but with sword in hand and the favour of my enemies, to slay me and mine for defending his Majesty's territory, which he has conferred upon me by commission. And therefore, being unwilling to gloss over these scandals, I say that the cause of them will be laid to your Worship's account. If you do not seek me out I will endeavour to delay this affair for so long a time as I may be able to, and while not constrained to strike[250] in my own defence; pending a knowledge of what course his Majesty may be pleased to direct to be taken in reference to the despatch which Jerónimo de Surbano carries from me, and who is by now surely in yonder country [Spain] with it. But if your Worship acts to the contrary I shall not quit the field until one or the other side lies vanquished.

    And I pray to God to hear me, now as in the past, that I may inspire the whole country with devotion to his Majesty, and restore his royal fifths and estates which have been so plundered in the past, and daily look to be yet more so, by the disturbers of the peace who have come from Cuzco. Furthermore, I would bring the Inca, the natural lord of these parts, to his allegiance, for it is my enemies who have been the cause of his not submitting through my intervention before; and I hope to see this very soon, for though he is an Indian he recognizes the treasons and misdeeds of the Pizarros and their adherents, as such, and the justice and right that are on my side, and upholds me. Thus the Inca leads the way for me in making war upon those false servants of his Majesty; and against your Worship likewise (unless you change your front) for having linked yourself with them. Yet I hold it for sure that your Worship can have no desire to injure me, if it be, or has been, in your power to do so. Farewell.

    Vilcas, the fourth of September of [the year] one thousand five hundred and forty-two."

    Diego de Almagro.

The foregoing letter was given by Don Diego de Almagro out of his own hand to Lope de Idiáquez; and also this other, from the Captains, which, taken from the original without altering a sentence or anything else, ran word for word thus:—

[251]

    Letter from the Captains of Don Diego to the Governor Vaca de Castro

    Illustrious Sir,

    We have not yet heard the thunder of justice which your Lordship comes to establish in these parts, nor seen the flash of the justice you wish to afford us, for we have been blind these many days. Your Lordship was right in holding us to be servants and vassals of his Majesty; but we could not persuade ourselves that we are so if we let pass in silence what we hear, and did not announce to your Lordship what the service of God and of his Majesty appears to us to be. Of this we are confident, that, if your Lordship takes the opinion of our enemies, in nothing will you advance the cause of peace in preference to war. God loves peace, and in his name Don Diego de Almagro loves it out of respect for God and his Majesty's interests. We also desire it as being his right, and because we see him inclined towards every good purpose. And as a messenger offers who will give your Lordship a full account of our wishes, we refer you to him. Further we say, that his Majesty's interests cannot be served by a war and the deaths of so many people; and since, coming as your Lordship does in company with our enemies, this cannot be avoided, we beseech your Lordship to part from them, and, placing yourself between us as mediator, strive to bring about some sort of agreement until his Majesty, on being made aware of what has occurred, and of the justice of Don Diego's cause, shall decide according to his royal will. For we, who have hitherto helped, and will continue to help until death, to maintain the privilege which his Majesty granted to Don Diego's father, and to Don Diego himself in his name, of this government of New Toledo, do declare to your Lordship that, if you persist[252] in opposing it by force of arms, you will find us on its frontier defending it against all the world until his Majesty may otherwise command: and unless we know that, of his imperial pleasure, he has issued a command to us to the contrary, we fight until those of one party are vanquished.

    Now that our rights and our minds are known to your Lordship, also our equipment of artillery, munitions, friends, and arms and the rest, as well as very stout wills to attack against odds, we supplicate you, again and again, for some fair arrangement for peace. Being all in agreement, we unanimously ask this from your Lordship in the name of God and his Majesty, with all the respect we owe and are under obligation to observe. If it be refused, we protest that all the harm, shortages, deaths of men, losses of land and of its natives, deterioration of royal fifths and estates, will lie at the doors of your Lordship and of those who are banded with you, as persons who on account of their private interests do not desire peace, but neglect the service of our King for the sake of profit, and do not support the Governor and Ministers. So then we approach you betimes and peacefully, and, finding your Lordship, as we are informed, thus committed to war against subjects of his Majesty among whom you were sent here to preserve harmony, we ask for that which it is your bounden duty to promote.

    And why is it that Pero Alvarez and Tordoya, and the passionate men who went from here in their company, and have now been received into yours, are now urging you to come against Don Diego and us who follow him, giving you to understand that of the people who favour him, some, on hearing the King's name, will go over to your Lordship, and others will make off to Chile, so that you would be able to become a great lord and acquire land without risking anything? To this we[253] reply that Don Diego, and we who are with him, have the will of his Majesty, and the good of his service more at heart than our own lives and properties. We, therefore, support his royal decrees; and since you have sheltered yourself under the protection of our enemies and come against us in such ruthless fashion, seeking to destroy us and put to death those of us whom they list, we now assure your Lordship that, in the hour when we hear that your Lordship is moving against Don Diego, we shall march to do battle with minds galled by the ill treatment we have received and expect to receive, from your Lordship, if we do not defend ourselves. It seems to us that in this course we fulfil a duty we owe to God and to our King, so that we at no time fail to be deemed his true subjects and vassals, and jealous guardians of his honour like faithful servants. And wishing to be the same towards your Lordship we cannot exaggerate the boon we should feel it if your Lordship would ponder this deeply and become a mediator, and not remain partial on the side of the most unjust cause in the world. But if peradventure you will not reconsider it, we trust that God will make his justice manifest, as in the past. Feeling sure that your Lordship will see that what we ask is the best, we will not prolong our argument any further. From Vilcas, September fourth one thousand five hundred and forty-two.

        Juan Balsa (killed in flight)[118]
        Diego de Hoces (hanged)[117]
        Diego Mendez (killed for the murder of the Inca Manco)[117]
        Martin de Bilbao (killed in battle at Chupas)[117]
        Cardenas (hanged)[118]
        Pedro de Candia (killed by Don Diego at Chupas)
        Martin Cote (hanged)[117]
        Juan Gutierrez Malaver[118]
        Pedro de O?ate (hanged)[118]
        Juan Perez (hanged)."[118]

[254]

When this letter had been written it was entrusted to Lope de Idiáquez for him to deliver to Vaca de Castro, and he was to do his best to avoid any breach, adhering to the saying of Cicero that he had "never known a peace so bad but it was not better than a good war." Although Don Diego and his captains could easily have enjoyed peace if they had been so minded, yet people desirous of laying violent hands on what does not belong to them are not wont to keep or appreciate that blessing. Idiáquez intended to conduct the negotiations in such a way that they should have a good ending.