CHAPTER LXXVI

    How the messengers arrived at the camp of Vaca de Castro, how it was learnt that Don Diego had left Vilcas, how Pedro Anzures went to reconnoitre; and how the opposing forces approached to give battle, each leader animating his men and exhorting them to fight.

THE time was now approaching when the hills of Chupas would be sprinkled with the blood of men who were born in Spain, to bear witness in future times that the herbs and stunted bushes growing on them are seedlings sprung from Spanish elements. And you! ghosts of Tabogan captains, if one may call you such, there in the place where your deeds have laid you, gaze upon the[266] fabric you have woven, and watch how your ever-binding oath is accomplished to the utmost! Ay, remember the famous Incas, with their Huayna Capac, and consider the dire vengeance being exacted for the ruin brought about in the Yupanqui lineage, and whether other weapons were not called for rather than those by whose means rash men brought about and wreaked that havoc. And you Romans! who so exalt the events that occurred in your Rome during the civil wars, see how there arose another mad struggle, near the equator, so long-drawn that eleven years sped by before it ended, wherein there were not wanting its Curios, its Scaevolas, its Centalios, nor its Brutuses! For in this war, while hearts were transfixed by lance, and bullets tore by their impetuosity the entrails and the caul, as if to cast the soul out by the mouth, some gave the battle cry "Almagro!" and others "Pizarro!" but all shouted for "the King!" I know not how I shall set about relating such a horror, nor which side I can lock upon as in the right, but, after all, tyranny is a fearsome and hateful thing before the divine throne. And since I must not leave unfinished the task I have begun—though many times I have stayed my hand, and thrust the paper on one side that we might escape the sooner from such pangs—it will be necessary to relate what Lope de Idiáquez and the factor Mercado did when they left the camp which was about to become a sacrifice to its own folly. They were not a little glad to find themselves clear of it, and at once made for Guamanga.

The Governor, Vaca de Castro, having sent the messengers, and with them, as their text, the law of the Partida, which, according to the lawyers, declares those who deny obedience to the king to be traitors, he held a consultation with the principal leaders in his camp. Learning from the Indian Chiefs that Don Diego had departed from Vilcas, and suspecting that he might be going by the route of[267] Guaytara to Lima, where he would do even more harm than when he killed the Marquis, Vaca de Castro moved his forces from where they had halted, and marched that day, which was a Friday, until they took up a position on the level ground of CHUPAS. This was done on the advice of them all.

That night there was a storm so violent that nothing short of torrents of water fell from the clouds and thickness, accompanied by loud peals of thunder, insomuch that the very elements appeared to be enemies. They passed a very troublous night, for many soldiers had no protection from the rain for the arms they would have to fight with on the following day; and if the armies should meet it seemed likely that the artillery and arquebuses could do little harm. If this battle were being joined in Spain, or if one host encountered another in Italy, there would be no cause for wonder, and nothing need be stated beyond the fact that two thousand men met to kill each other. But it is a striking and remarkable thing that, after making such protracted voyages as those by way of the Southern Ocean, and arriving in driblets a few at a time, so many of our people should join together, and that, though in the aggregate their numbers are not large, they should cause all the nations and regions from the Strait to the uttermost parts of the land to tremble, without the barbarians daring to oppose them. I know well that two thousand Spaniards outside my country, wherever they may be, are feared, and that they can carry on civil war with terrible savagery, as will presently be shown by the case of a soldier who filled the post of Sergeant-major in the force of Vaca de Castro.[123] Never was a Marius, or Sylla, a Dionisius, or Falaris, his equal in cruelty; for in[268] every phase of cruelty he showed himself a past master of the class I have mentioned and the trees[124] from Quito to the hill-crest of Potosí bear witness to it.

And now when the night was far spent and the falling snow had scattered many of its flakes over the face of the country, and the weather seemed clear enough to go forth, the Governor Vaca de Castro ordered a reconnaissance to be made. Presently a very laughable thing happened, which was that Don Pedro Puertocarrero, and one Juan de Mora, straying apart from the rest of the scouts, came to where there were some crags and great rocks. In the twilight Don Pedro thought they were the enemy's patrols and that he could dash through them to give notice to his captain, so he put his lance to the rest and charged the rocks in such fashion that the lance was shivered to pieces, and his horse and himself nearly broke their necks. Those who went out to reconnoitre that morning did get sight of the enemy scouts, and reported it to Vaca de Castro. Little time elapsed before the factor Mercado and Lope Idiáquez arrived where the Governor was, and reported what had occurred, and how the men of Chile had been minded to kill them; and finally that war was certain, and peace quite out of reach, for the enemy would brook none but what they might win at the point of their lances. They said that there were five hundred Spaniards at Vilcas, well armed and mounted, and some experienced fighting men amongst them, all firmly resolved to conquer or die. On hearing this the Governor ordered his secretary Pero López to enter it in the records together with the letters from Almagro and his captains. He then called a meeting of all his captains and combatant officers, and said to them: "You are aware of the correspondence I have had with Don Diego and his followers who are accomplices[269] with him in the tyranny they have set up. To avoid bloodshed and for the service his father rendered to his Majesty I was anxious that this boy should not be lost, but he has refused to repent and enjoy the clemency and the pardon his Majesty would have granted him. On the contrary, he was on the point of murdering the ambassadors, and, not to mention the crafty and insincere letters he has written to me, now comes against us to give us battle with tyrannical fury, and an insatiable greed to usurp and rule over the Realm: a thing to which we cannot consent, nor allow such a great calamity to befall. That our men may take heart, and that punishment proportionate to so great a crime may be dealt, my decision is that he and his defenders are traitors, and that whatever may be found in his camp is lawful plunder."

The captains Alonso de Alvarado, Pero Alvarez Holguin, Garcilaso de la Vega, Diego de Rojas, Pedro de Castro and the Sergeant-major Francisco de Caravajal, and the rest who were present, replied that Vaca de Castro was Governor on behalf of the King, and very learned in letters, and that therefore they, as his executive, would support him in all things he might feel it right to be done. When the meeting broke up, the drums were sounded, the soldiers stood to their arms and, in a loud voice that all might hear, Don Diego and his confederates were proclaimed as traitors, unless they should surrender within six days from the date of summons. The soldiers of the King were given free leave, also, to loot the enemy's camp. Vaca de Castro did not hold a commission to proclaim this on his own authority, nor had his Majesty given him powers to that effect; but in such times war must be conducted in a way to instil fear. Having done this, Vaca de Castro retired into his tent, lifted up his hands before a crucifix, and besought God for aid, for he knew how strong His desire was for peace and how He deprecated war.

[270]

At this time the men of Chile were about a league from the Pachacama forces. Don Diego held a consultation with his officers to decide what should be done. There was some difference of opinion. Some thought that they should give battle to their enemies, which could easily be done. Others said that victory would be easier to gain by going out to the spur of Chupas, wheeling to the right, and marching into Guamanga. Having occupied that city the enemy would run short of provisions, and soon be in such straits that he would have to seek for them, whilst themselves, having by then chosen a position and formed a camp, would have the artillery so planted that the enemy would be broken up by it. This seemed a good plan to all present, and they set to work to carry it into effect; it being agreed that if the enemy should come against them on the way they must give them battle without waiting for anything else. Presently they started off accordingly, sending out scouts in all directions.