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 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 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.

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.

[CHAPTER LXXII]

How the Governor Vaca de Castro quitted the province of Jauja for the city of Guamanga, where the captain Diego de Rojas then was.

AFTER the Governor, Vaca de Castro, had adroitly restored friendship between the captains Alonso de Alvarado and Pero Alvarez Holguin, and had distributed among the soldiers all the arms that were there, he addressed them, urging them to prove themselves strong men, and so firm that, by chastising the insurgents, the country might be free from oppression and his Majesty absolute lord of the land. For the despatch of business he brought with him as his secretary Pero López, a native of Llerena, as we have already said, and he ordered him to keep the letters which the licentiate de La Gama and the assessor Gonzalo Hernández had brought. And as the infantry had already begun to march out, an order was given to the cavalry to do the same, and the Guancas were requested, in friendly words, to provide Indians for carrying the munitions and camp baggage, which they did. When all was in order, the Governor set out, with the royal standard of the eagle carried by Rodrigo de Campo. They marched in good order until they reached the village of Picoy, where they had a short rest, being anxious to get on to Guamanga, where Diego de Rojas had taken up a position and prudently built a fortress for his garrison to remain entrenched in if he should be attacked by the enemy. As it was thought certain throughout the Realm that there would be a battle between the factions of Pachacama and Chile,[119] public prayers were offered up, especially in the city of Lima, where they made great sacrifices to our God, the monks of all the orders going forth in processions, and praying for Divine aid, and that the victory might be given to Vaca de Castro, because he was waging war in the name of the king. The Spanish women, on their part, did the same, and fearing lest victory might fall to the Chile party, they put their goods and chattels on board the ships, intending, if the news should prove bad, to embark also themselves.

Diego de Rojas received word that Don Diego was at Vilcas, and sent messengers to Vaca de Castro, urging him to come to Guamanga with all possible speed, to forestall the enemy's approach. When this news reached the Governor at Parcos it caused great excitement, as if the enemy were already charging lance in hand, and the alarm was given at once. The Governor, in a state of perturbation, went from place to place, ordering his troops to march off in haste and occupy Guamanga. He ordered Captain Pedro Anzures to rush back and call up Alonso de Alvarado, who had dropped behind with his company of lancers, as well as the rest of the people who were still on the road. Pedro Anzures went back and gave the news to Alonso de Alvarado, who presently arrived at Parcos. The Governor then advanced, going down by the way where Juan Chico was killed, when the ill-fated de Morgobejo retired to die on the heights of Lunahuana. From there Vaca de Castro ordered Lope Martín to push forward on horseback to Guamanga and find out whether Diego de Rojas had any further news. He came back with the same news they had before. As some of the companies of foot had gone far ahead, the Governor gave orders for them to be halted until the whole force was together. At Vinaque he pitched the camp with them all united. From the scouts sent out by Diego de Rojas, the news came that Don Diego was marching down from Vilcas to occupy Guamanga. This report caused more excitement than the former one, and Vaca de Castro held a consultation with his captains, whereat it was decided to push briskly forwards so as to reach Guamanga before Don Diego could enter it. They began their march in great disorder, so that, if the enemy had been near, they would easily have been routed. On arriving at Guamanga, the various sections entered the plaza, and mounted the culverins they had brought with them, at the ingress to the streets. They remained there that night, and next day the truth was learned, which was that Don Diego was still at Vilcas, and had not started nor moved his men the distance of an arquebus shot. The Governor passed out from the city on the side towards Vilcas, the tents were pitched, and the captain Pedro Anzures arrived with the laggers behind and the baggage train, so that all were united.