The royal commentaries of Peru : in two parts / written originally in spanish by the Inca Garcilasso de la Vega; rendred into english by sir Paul Rycaut.

BooK III. Royal. Commentaries. CH A P. XIV. Don Diego de Almagro marches forth tb meet the Go~ ve"rnour; and Gonzalo Pi<farro, afrer having pa/fed moff incmlible Di/ficulti~s, finds his way out of the e innamon e ountre¡. S. O~ne days after that rnattérs were qnieted, which had heen put into a fermen~ tation and diíl:urbance by the Death of Alvaradq_. Almagro refolved to p,ro- ceed with his Army againíl: the Governour Vaca de Caftro, who, as he had recei- ved intelligence, was deparred from rhe Ciry of Los Reyes, to ·meec and .fight hirn: On whicli occJ.fion Almagro .refolved· ro give hirn to underíl:and, ·thát he did not fear his Force, eíl:eeming himfelf rhe more formidable of the rwo; for rhat his Soulqiers, being feven hundred Spaniards in number-,_ were all brave and ftou~ fellows; ambngíl: which two hundred wei;,~ Harquebuhers, rwo hundred and fifty Pikeq'len, and of them many armed with Halberqs, the reft confül:ed ofrwo hun- dred and fifty Horfemen, ali armed with CoatS'of Mail, and Back and Breaíl: of Iron, many of which were made by rhemf~Jves; and, as Gofrwá faich in Cliap- ter 149. were better Men, and berter armed than any of thofe belonging .to tfie Armies.eirher of his Farher, or of Pifar~!I.· Moreover, be had a great Train of Arrillery, to which he truíl:ed very rtmch, befides. 11 number of Indians, &c. Thefe are rhe Words of Gomara, to which he farther adds, That {ohn Ba/fa was tiis General, and Peter d'onare his Lieurenant-Gen,eraJ. . , , · Wirh thefe Souldiers, and with thefe Provifions and E:quipage Almagro rnarched to meet and give Battel to the Governour, Vaca de Caftro, and having proceeded füry Leagues, he entred imo rhe l~rovince of Pillea, where he received informa- tion, that rJ:i.@.Xing's Arrny was thirty Leag~es diíl:ant from thence. _ But let us for a while make a digreílion from both rhefe Parties, and return to Gonz,a/o p ·f ~rro,' whom with his Companions we left engolfed in che moíl: inextri~ cable DiftJcu!ties and Nece!liries, which humane Nature was capable ro fufiain; for chey were w comend wirh deep and rapid Rivers, wirli Bogs and mooriíh Grouhds, , which were unpaífable; and were' to travel over Mountains of -incredi· . ble height, on which grewTrees of an immenfe magnitude, as Gomara in rhe end- 6f hls eigh'th Chapter reports, upon rhe authoriry of Picente Yanez, Pinfon, who. \.Vas one of the Difcoverers, and whp haviog related what had befaln him in rhofe- parcs,. concludes ~c . le~grh with the ~range Prodigies of tha~ Countrey, of whicR he g1ves a Narrat1ve _m t~efe followmg Words. • ' l : " The Difcoverers bróught with rhem rhe bark ofCerrain Trees,-which feemed " to be Cinnamon, and the Skin of a Beaíl: which puc irs young ones into ics " Brea íl: ; and they related for a ílrange Srory, that rhey had fe~n Trees which " lixreen Men could not fathome, or encompafs wirh their Armes, &c. But befides rhe many,Difficulties with which Gonz,aÍo Pi farro and hi~ Compa-- nions were ro íl:ruggle, the rnoíl: irrefiífible of ali was Hunger, rhat grievous and cruel Enemy of Mai;i and Beafr, which hath been (o fatal to both in rhat uninha- bired Coumrey. We have íaid before that Gonz,a/oPicarro refolved to remrn un• to Peru, and therefcí1é Jeaving the River, he took 'his v.JayNorrhward, and paffed throughLandsand Mountainsno Jers difficult than the former, being forced r9 open a vay and parh with Bilis ai]d Harchers, and to feed upon Herbs and Roots, and wild Fruiq whlch were fo [~arce, that when any plemy chereof happened, they elleemed themfelves fomtnare in that Days jóurney ;, when rhey carne to Lakes and mooriíh.Grounds, they carr ied their fick ánd infirm people on their Shoul- ders; iri w4ith work none took more pains tha'n Gor. z,a/o Pifarro, and his Capráins, "A-ho