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A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Vol. 5 by Robert Kerr

R >> Robert Kerr >> A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Vol. 5




Centeno continued always to retreat, and Carvajal to pursue close in his
rear, both parties using the utmost possible diligence, insomuch that
they every day marched twelve or fifteen long leagues, almost always
within sight of each other. After some days, Centeno made a countermarch
upon Paria by taking a different road, and even directed his march,
towards the Collao, always followed by Carvajal. At Hayohayo[22]
Carvajal came up with twelve soldiers belonging to Centeno, who had
fallen behind, all of whom he ordered to be hanged. In consequence of
these continued rapid marches, several of the soldiers of both sides
used daily to lag behind from excessive fatigue, all of whom endeavoured
to hide themselves as well as they could to avoid being made prisoners.
Finding his force daily diminishing, Centeno complained loudly of his
officers and followers for having prevented him from fighting; and as he
found the whole country through which he now marched attached to the
enemy, he determined to direct his march towards the coast intending to
escape if possible by sea. For this purpose he took the direction of
Arequipa, and sent off one of his officers named Ribadeneyra to
endeavour to procure a ship somewhere on the coast, which he was to
bring to Arequipa, that it might be in readiness to embark the whole
remnant of the retreating party immediately on their arrival[23].
Ribadeneyra fell in with a ship on the coast which was ready to sail for
Chili, of which he easily took possession, and found it well adapted for
his purpose.

[Footnote 22: The Callao is a district at the north end of the great
lake of Titicaca. Paria and Hayohayo are two towns on the east side of
the Rio Desaguadero, which flows from the south into the lake of
Titicaca.--E.]

[Footnote 23: Arequipa is not less than twenty-five miles from the
nearest coast, at which place there is a bay or port named La
Guata.--E.]

"In the course of this pursuit, it happened, one day that Centeno had to
pass a deep dell or narrow valley between two mountains, as often
happens in that country, the descent to which was about a league from
the top to a stream of water in the bottom, yet the hills were so
precipitous and close together that their tops hardly exceeded a musquet
shot. As Carvajal was well acquainted with this pass, he was confident
of catching his enemy at this place as in a trap; believing that while
Centeno was descending to the bottom, he should be able to gain the top
of the hill, whence he might greatly annoy Centeno and his men while
clambering up the opposite hill. Centeno was however fully aware of his
danger, and was accordingly very careful to provide against the mischief
which he foresaw might occur. He therefore placed six of his best
mounted cavalry in ambush near the top of the first mountain, with
directions to assail the rear of Carvajal's troops after the van and
main body were past, so as to make a diversion and oblige Carvajal to
return to succour his people, by which he and his men would be enabled,
to get beyond the pass in safety. The ambush accordingly remained
concealed until Carvajal and the best part of his troops were gone past;
after which they sallied forth, and fell with great resolution on the
rear which was marching on in disorder, consisting of a mixed multitude
of Indians, Negroes, and straggling Spaniards, with horses mules and
other beasts of burden, all in confusion and disorder, among whom they
did great execution. Although he heard the noise occasioned by this
unexpected assault, Carvajal continued his march for some time,
believing it only a false alarm. The six horsemen therefore continued
their assault almost unopposed, carrying all before them, and doing
incredible mischief. Among the rest they overthrew a loaded mule which
carried several quintals of gun-powder, which they blew up with so
violent a noise that Carvajal was convinced of the serious nature of the
assault, and found it necessary to desist from the pursuit of Centeno,
and to return for the protection of his rear. When the six horsemen
belonging to Centeno observed the approach of the troops of Carvajal,
they immediately fled by cross ways and bye paths, under the guidance of
some friendly Indians, and rejoined Centeno six or seven days
afterwards. By this successful stratagem Centeno was enabled to escape
across the dangerous pass, and even gained considerably in the retreat,
as Carvajal was obliged to remain on the top of the first mountain all
the rest of that day and the following night. Carvajal was much
displeased at being thus foiled by one so much less experienced than he
in the art of war, and observed to his officers, that during forty years
service in the wars of Italy, where he had seen many fine retreats,
accomplished by the king of France, by Antonio de Leyva, Count Pedro de
Navarro, Mark Antony Colona, and other famous captains, he had never
seen one so excellently contrived as this by Centeno[24]."

[Footnote 24: This paragraph, marked by inverted commas, is inserted
from Garcilasso de la Vega in the text, as too long for a note.--E.]

Centeno arrived soon afterwards at Arequipa, and in less than two days
Carvajal arrived there in pursuit. As the vessel procured by Ribadeneyra
was not come to that part of the coast, and Centeno had not even
received notice of its capture, he determined to dismiss his followers,
now reduced to eighty men, that they might endeavour to escape
separately, being utterly unable to make head against the enemy who was
fast approaching. Centeno, accompanied only by two friends, withdrew,
into the mountains, where he remained concealed in a cave till the
arrival of the licentiate Gasca, being all the time supplied with
provisions by a friendly cacique. On arriving at the coast of Arequipa,
Carvajal was informed that Centeno and his people were dispersed; and
hearing that Lope de Mendoza was at no great distance with eight or ten
of the royalists, he detached one of his officers with twenty mounted
musqueteers in pursuit. Mendoza however fled with so much diligence,
that although followed for more than eighty leagues, his pursuers were
unable to overtake him, and were at last obliged to return. Mendoza
continued his retreat beyond the ridge of the Andes, into the eastern
plain of the Rio Plata, where we must leave him for the present to
continue the narrative of events in Peru.

Soon after the arrival of Carvajal in Arequipa, the ship which, had been
seized by Ribadeneyra appeared on the coast, and Carvajal was informed
by some of the soldiers of Centeno who remained at Arequipa of the
intention of this vessel, and of the signal which had been agreed, upon
between Centeno and Ribadeneyra. Wishing to gain possession of the
vessel, Carvajal concealed twenty musqueteers near the coast, and made
the appointed signal. Ribadeneyra at first believed that the signal was
made by order of Centeno and sent the boat on shore; but having some
suspicions of the actual state of affairs, he directed the people in the
boat to be extremely cautious against surprize before venturing on
shore. They accordingly, refused to land, unless Centeno himself made
his appearance; and as this of course could not be complied with, they
returned to the ship, with which Ribadeneyra immediately set sail for
Nicaragua. As no part of the late force under Centeno remained in the
field, Carvajal resolved to take up his residence for some time in the
city of La Plata, as he was informed that Centeno and his friends had
concealed a large quantity of treasure at that place, and that he might
both endeavour to discover that deposit, and might draw as large a sum
as possible from the rich mines in that neighbourhood. Carvajal was
willing to communicate to Gonzalo a portion of the wealth he expected to
acquire in that district, for defraying the expences of the war; but he
proposed especially to enrich himself on this occasion, being
exceedingly covetous, as has been already remarked. He accordingly went
to La Plata, which submitted without resistance, and remained there for
a considerable time amassing wealth, till obliged to take the field
against Mendoza.

Lope de Mendoza, as already mentioned, made his escape from Arequipa
with a small number of followers, and was pursued for a long way. He for
some time followed the line of the coast, and after he had eluded the
pursuit of the party sent after him by Carvajal, he and his companions
resolved so endeavour to penetrate into the government of Diego de Roias
on the Rio Plata, as all the country of Peru had universally submitted
to the domination of Gonzalo. For this purpose Mendoza followed the same
route which Centeno had formerly taken when retreating from Alfonso de
Toro; both because he thought his enemies would not pursue him by that
road and because the Indians belonging to Centeno and himself dwelt in
that part of the country, and he expected to procure provisions and
other assistance from them. While travelling across these deserts,
Mendoza met with Gabriel Bermudez, who had accompanied Diego de Roias on
his expedition into the country on the Rio Plata. From this person
Mendoza was informed of the events which had occurred to the expedition
under De Roias, of which the following is an abstract:

Diego de Roias, Philip Gutierrez and Pedro de Heredia, who went upon
this expedition, had to fight their way among hostile Indians, in the
course of which De Roias was slain. After his death, violent disputes
arose between Francisco de Mendoza who succeeded in the command and the
other officers engaged in the expedition, in the course of which
Gutierrez was cashiered and banished. They continued after this to
prosecute their discoveries all the way to the Rio Plata, receiving
information that great riches were to be found in some districts in the
neighbourhood, in which there were certain Spaniards who had penetrated
into the country by ascending the Rio Plata from the Atlantic, and had
formed establishments in the interior. In prosecuting the exploration,
of that great river, they had fallen in with some forts which were built
by Sebastian Gabota; and reported many other surprizing and wonderful
things which they had seen in that country. In the course of their
proceedings, Francisco de Mendoza was assassinated by Pedro Heredia,
owing to which violent disputes had taken place among them, by which and
the smallness of their force they had been rendered unable to proceed in
conquering the country, so that at length they had come to the
resolution of returning into Peru, that his majesty or the viceroy of
that kingdom might nominate a new commander. They were likewise
persuaded, when the riches of the country in which they had been came to
be known, that they would be able to procure a considerable accession of
new adventurers, so as to enable them to atchieve the conquest.

In the course of their expedition they asserted that they had penetrated
six hundred leagues to the eastwards of La Plata, through a champaign
country of very easy access, and tolerably abounding in provisions and
water. Bermudez added, that within a very few days they had learnt, from
some Indians who occasionally traded into the province of Las Charcas,
of the revolt which had taken place in Peru, but had been unable to
procure information respecting the causes of this insurrection or as to
who were chiefly engaged in it; for which reason he had been sent on
before to inquire into these circumstances, and had received orders from
the captains and other principal persons in the expedition, to offer
their services to the party that acted for the royal interests, in which
cause they might be of material importance, as they had a considerable
number of excellent horses and plenty of arms. After the conclusion of
this narrative, Mendoza gave Bermudez an account of all the late events
in Peru; on which, in, virtue of the commission with which he had been
entrusted, Bermudez promised in the name of all his companions to march
against the lieutenant-general.

Lope Mendoza and Bermudez went after this to meet the troops which were
returning from the Rio Plata, which were at no great distance. When they
were informed of the situation of affairs in Peru, they received Lope
with every demonstration of respect, and confirmed the offers of
assistance which Bermudez had already made in their name, declaring
their resolution to devote themselves heartily to the service of the
king. Lope de Mendoza gave them hearty commendations for their loyalty,
and represented to them how honourable and praiseworthy it was to exert
their utmost endeavours in the cause of their lawful sovereign; assuring
them that they might all depend upon being amply provided for, when the
country was restored to obedience. Lope de Mendoza was unanimously
received as their chief, and conducted them to the village of Pocona,
about forty leagues to the north-east of La Plata; whence he sent some
confidential persons to certain secret places where he and Centeno had
hidden above a thousand marks of silver under ground. On recovering this
treasure, he proposed to divide it among those persons who had so nobly
offered to follow his orders; but most of them refused his preferred
bounty, either because they were already sufficiently rich, or because
hitherto the soldiers who had been engaged in the wars of Peru had been
unused to any regular pay, and only accepted money to answer their
immediate wants, and to provide themselves with horses and arms. Even
the lowest soldier, in those days expected, when the enterprizes of
their leaders succeeded, to be rewarded for his services in repartitions
or advantageous establishments in the country, by which they flattered
themselves to acquire riches, so great was the reputation of the
richness of Peru. By means of these men from the Rio Plata, Lope Mendoza
found himself unexpectedly at the head of an hundred and fifty well
mounted cavalry; all excellently armed and equipped for service. It was
a great misfortune to the royal cause, that Centeno was now concealed,
instead of having retreated into the interior along with Mendoza as he
had done formerly; as if he had now been at the head of the royalists,
with this important reinforcement, affairs might have taken a better
turn than they actually did.

While Carvajal was on his way from Arequipa for the city of La Plata, he
received intelligence of the success of Gonzalo Pizarro at Quito, and
that all Peru was entirely reduced under his command. He resolved
therefore to repair to La Plata, as formerly mentioned, intending to
regulate the affairs of the province of Las Charcas, and to collect
treasure. On his arrival however at Paria on his way to La Plata he
received intelligence of the arrival of the troops from the Rio Plata
and of their junction with Lope Mendoza. Being informed at the same time
that these unexpected opponents were by no means united among
themselves, and that they marched very carelessly in separate and
unconnected detachments, most of which refused to acknowledge any one as
their commander, he determined to set out against them with the utmost
diligence, that he might fall upon them in their present divided state.
Being rejoined by the detachment which had pursued Lope Mendoza, and
having put his men in order for a fresh expedition, Carvajal set out
from La Plata and marched towards the enemy with the utmost possible
speed, encouraging his troops by the assurance of an easy and bloodless
victory, even asserting that he had received letters from the principal
officers among the enemy in which they offered their services to him, so
that they would only have the trouble of marching, without any danger of
fighting.

During this march Carvajal was joined by thirty men in addition to his
former force, so that he was now at the head of two hundred and fifty
men. At length he came in sight of Pocona, which is eighty leagues from
Paria, about four o'clock of an afternoon, and made his appearance in
good order, on the top of a rising ground within view of Lope de
Mendoza, who was then making a distribution of money among such of his
new companions as were willing to accept his bounty: Mendoza had already
got some intimation of the approach of Carvajal; and as his own force
consisted entirely of cavalry, most of whom were persons of some
consideration, remarkably well mounted and armed, he drew up his men in
good order in a plain at some distance from the village, in which he
left the baggage and his money; saying, that he trusted through their
bravery to be soon able to recover both, and even to increase their
store by that belonging to their enemies. Carvajal immediately descended
from the hill he had first taken possession of, and took post in the
place which Mendoza had just quitted, which was an inclosare of
considerable extent surrounded with walls, in which there were openings
in several places. Carvajal chose this as a convenient post for the
night, in which the enemy would not be able to attack with their
cavalry. On learning that Lope de Mendoza and his men had left their
baggage in the town of Pocona, the troops of Carvajal immediately
quitted their ranks to go in search of plunder, insomuch that Carvajal
was left in his camp with hardly eight men. If Mendoza had availed
himself of this opportunity to attack Carvajal, he might have gained an
easy victory, and might have boasted of having left his baggage exposed
to plunder as a stratagem of war, which on similar occasions had often
been the cause of signal victories. On purpose to recall his troops to
their duty, Carvajal ordered a false alarm to be sounded, which
occasioned the return of the greater part of his men; but so strong was
their avidity for spoil that most part of the night was spent before
they all returned to the camp.

At this time there was a secret conspiracy entered into by many of
Carvajal's followers, with the intention of putting him to death out of
revenge for his harsh and tyrannical conduct towards them, and one Pedro
de Avendano, his secretary, in whom he reposed entire confidence was the
principal ringleader of the conspirators. To facilitate the execution of
this enterprize, Avendano, sent a message by a clever fellow of an
Indian to give Mendoza notice of the intentions of the conspirators, and
to request he would make an attack upon Carvajal's camp in the course of
the night, in the confusion attendant upon which he and the other
conspirators might have an opportunity of executing their intended plot.
Mendoza had previously determined upon withdrawing about four or five
leagues from Pocona, to a level plain in which his cavalry would be able
to act with much advantage. But on receiving the message of Avendano, he
ordered his men to hold themselves in readiness to attack the camp of
Carvajal at the going down of the moon, preferring the obscurity of
night in order to avoid the danger of the more numerous firearms of the
enemy. At that time he advanced in good order towards the enemy, sending
some scouts in advance, who made prisoner of one of Carvajal's soldiers.
After interrogating this man, they advanced to the openings of the wall
which surrounded the camp, which they found guarded by some musqueteers
and pikemen. Mendoza made a brisk attack, but was bravely resisted by
the enemy, and so great was the confusion and noise that it was
impossible to enter upon any parley, as no one could be heard by reason
of the continual firing and the shouts of the combatants.

Immediately on the alarm, Carvajal used his utmost efforts to get his
troops into order and to animate and encourage them to exert themselves
against the enemy. At this period, Avendano pointed out Carvajal to a
musqueteer who was one of the conspirators, and encouraged him to take a
steady aim at the lieutenant-general; but owing to the darkness, the
shot missed of its intended effect; and only wounded him in one of his
thighs. Finding himself wounded, and being satisfied it had been done by
one of his own people, Carvajal deemed it prudent to conceal the
circumstance for the present; and retired along with Avendano, of whose
fidelity he had no suspicion, on purpose to disguise himself in an old
brown coat-and a shabby hat, that he might not be conspicuous, after
which he returned to animate his men to defend the camp. Avendano again
pointed him out to another conspirator, who fired a second time at
Carvajal, but entirely missed his aim. In the meantime the assailants
frequently called out to know if Carvajal were dead; but receiving no
answer, and finding that all the avenues to the camp were bravely
defended, Lope de Mendoza drew off his men. In this night engagement
about fourteen were slain on both sides, and several wounded. Carvajal
got his wound secretly dressed, so that none of his people knew that
such a thing had happened.

After the cessation of the engagement, one Placentia deserted from
Carvajal's camp, and informed Mendoza that all the baggage belonging to
Carvajal and his troops had been left at a place which he described
about five or six leagues from Pocona, among which was a large quantity
of gold and silver, several horses, and some musquets and powder. On
this information, Meodoza set off immediately with his troops for that
place, guided by the deserter; and marching diligently all the remainder
of the night, he arrived quite unexpectedly at the place where Carvajal
had secured his baggage; but as the night was exceedingly dark, above
seventy of his men lost their way and fell behind. Yet, with such of his
people as had kept up with him, Mendoza took possession of the whole
without any resistance. After this, being sensible that he was not in
sufficient force to cope with Carvajal, Mendoza resolved to retreat by
way of the desert in which Centeno had formerly taken shelter, which he
did accordingly with about fifty men, all the rest of his troops having
fallen behind during the night, as already mentioned. In the prosecution
of this plan of retreat, Mendoza and his people reached a certain river
about two leagues and a half from Pocona, where they halted to take some
rest and refreshment after the excessive fatigues of the past night.
Carvajal was soon apprised of the capture of his baggage and the route
which Mendoza had taken, and immediately set off in pursuit with about
fifty of his best mounted troops; and, using every possible diligence,
he came to the place where Mendoza had halted, about noon of the next
day, and immediately attacked the royalists, some of whom were asleep,
while others were taking food. Thus unexpectedly assailed, and believing
that Carvajal was followed by his whole force, the royalists made a
feeble resistance, and very soon took to flight, dispersing themselves
in every direction. Lope de Mendoza and Pedro de Heredia, with a good
many others, were made prisoners and Carvajal immediately ordered these
two chiefs, and six or seven other principal persons among the royalists
to be beheaded.

On this occasion Carvajal recovered the whole of his own baggage, and
got possession of all that had belonged to the enemy, with all of which
and the prisoners he had made, he returned to Pocona, engaging to do no
injury to those who had escaped from the soldiers in the late attack,
and even restored their horses arms and baggage to his prisoners, most
of whom he sent off to join Gonzalo Pizarro. On leaving Pocona, he took
Alfonso de Camargo and Luis Pardamo along with him, who had formerly
fled along with Mendoza, and whose lives he now spared, as they gave him
information respecting a considerable treasure which Centeno had
concealed under ground near Paria, and where in fact he discovered above
50,000 crowns. After this, he went with his troops to the city of La
Plata, where he proposed to reside for some time. At this place he
appointed persons in whom he could confide to the offices of judges and
magistrates, and dispatched intelligence of the success of his arms over
the whole kingdom of Peru. He remained for some time at La Plata, where
he collected treasure from all the surrounding country, under pretence
of supplying Gonzalo Pizarro, but in reality he retained much the larger
share for himself.

Having thus succeeded, in all his enterprizes and established his
authority in the south of Peru on such firm foundations that no
opposition remained in the whole country, fortune seemed to determine to
exalt him to the summit of his desires by the discovery of the richest
mines which had ever been known. Some Indians who belonged to Juan de
Villareal, an inhabitant of La Plata, happening to pass over a very high
isolated mountain in the middle of a plain, about eighteen leagues from
that city, named Potosi, noticed by some indications that it contained
mines of silver. They accordingly took away some specimens of the ore
for trial, from which they found that the mineral was exceedingly rich
in pure silver; insomuch that the poorest of the ore produced eighty
marks of pure silver from the quintal of native mineral[25], being a
more abundant production than any that ever had been heard of before.
When this discovery became known in the city of La Plata, the
magistrates went to the mountain of Potosi, which they divided among the
inhabitants of their city, setting up boundary marks to distinguish the
allotments or each person in those places which appeared eligible for
workings. So great was the resort to these new mines, that in a short
time there were above seven thousand _Yanaconas_, or Indian labourers,
established in the neighbourhood, who were employed by their Christian
masters in the various operations of these mines. These men laboured
with so much industry, that each Indian, by agreement, furnished two
marks or sixteen ounces of silver weekly to their respective masters;
and so rich was the mine, that they were able to do this and to retain
an equal quantity to themselves[26]. Such is the nature of the ore
extracted from the mineral veins of this mountain, that it cannot be
reduced in the ordinary manner by means of bellows, as is customary in
other places. It is here smelted in certain small furnaces, called
_guairas_ by the Indians, which are supplied with a mixed fuel of
charcoal and sheeps dung, and are blown up by the wind only, without the
use of any mechanical contrivance.

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