CHAPTER LXXXVI

    How the Governor, Vaca de Castro, parcelled out the lands, and how the Captain Gonzalo Pizarro arrived at the city of Lima and talked openly about affairs.

HAVING made the arrangements just described, Vaca de Castro, by virtue of the commission he brought as Governor, ordered a general repartimiento to be made of all the encomiendas that were vacant, taking care not to forget himself nor those he took to be his friends, for to himself and them he allotted the best and greater portion. Either to justify the course he took, or to become acquainted with everything down to the roots, he ordered four of the old conquistadores to inform him, under a solemn oath, of the services rendered by every one who had been in the Realm from the beginning. This being done, he allotted all the natives of the provinces among them, and issued titles to the encomenderos; requiring them, however, in the name of our lord the King, to use them fairly, and to instruct the bondsmen in the affairs of our sacred religion; and he gave orders that all the villages and towns in the Realm should be visited. As many captains might be leaving Peru, to undertake conquests, Vaca de Castro ordered that they might take just a moderate number of Indians for their service; for it would not be a fair thing to still further deplete provinces which were nearly depopulated owing to the calamities of the late wars. If any soldier tried to deviate from this order he was to be punished. This order of Vaca de Castro was certainly very beneficial, for there had been great irregularities in the past.

We have already mentioned how Gonzalo Pizarro came[307] out of the Canela country very worn out, both himself and the others who escaped from that adventure. When he heard of the murder of his brother the Marquis, and that Vaca de Castro had been acknowledged as Governor, Gonzalo was much annoyed, for it seemed to him not just that he should be deprived of that charge, seeing that by virtue of a royal provision and the nomination of the Marquis, he, Gonzalo, was Governor of Quito. He spoke about it in this wise quite openly, saying that he ought to govern the Realm, no matter whom it might displease, and that the ingratitude of his Majesty was great, with other disrespectful words. When, on the road, he heard of the victory of Vaca de Castro, he rejoiced in so far that the murderers of his brother had received their deserts, and he would have been glad to be present in that battle with the rest, in order to fully revenge himself on them. But when his journeying brought him to Lima he talked still more freely, as we have said, and between him and his friends a conspiracy was hatched against Vaca de Castro. As nothing is hidden from those who govern, the news of all this soon reached the Governor, and when he heard it he sent the bachelor Juan Vélez de Guevara to Lima as his lieutenant, with orders not to permit any disturbance, nor any disrespect to his authority. With these instructions Guevara set out for Lima, Vaca de Castro first having written letters to Gonzalo Pizarro, directing him to come to Cuzco. Gonzalo, therefore, on seeing this command departed from Lima for the city of Cuzco, and as soon as Vaca de Castro knew of his approach he ordered that there should be men at hand ready for anything that might crop up, and that his captain of the guard, Gaspar Rodríguez de Camporedondo, should exercise special care in watching the Governor's person.