me;

of Venezuela! O my prophet Antonio, truly have you prophecied unto and if I had believed you, these Maranones would not have fled from me now!" This he said, because he had a boy named Antonio, of whom he was very fond, and who had often told him not to rely upon his Maranones, for they would desert him in his hour of need, and leave him alone. At this his admiral, Juan Gomez, came up. "Body of God, Sir General," said he, "your honour has been playing the fool! if instead of three the other day, they had been thirty, your camp would have been in perfection, and out of all fear of enemies; but by God's life here are plenty of good trees at hand!" At other times Aguirre wanted none to instigate him to murder, but now he seems to have been struck with fear, and alive to nothing but his own perilous situation, so that the hint was given him in vain.*

On the third day after their departure from Valencia, they came to some hovels by the gold mines, from which every thing had been removed except a quantity of maize; this proved a seasonable supply, but Aguirre would have been better pleased had the negro miners joined him he had with him about twenty, under a captain of their own, and he had calculated that their fellows would flock to his standard, when they saw that he made no distinction of colour. The next day a heavy rain fell as they were toiling up the mountain: the mules slipt at every step, and could not get on; the impatient tyrant broke out into fresh blasphemies ;"Does God think," he exclaimed, "that because it rains I shall not go on to Peru, and destroy the world? I shall deceive him then!" When his

* P. Simon, 6, 4. 1. 3. 4.

passion had abated, he made his men dig steps up the hill, in which the beasts might secure their feet; and thus, with infinite labour, they at length gained the summit. The van of the army, not having considered the difficulties which the baggage would occasion to the rear, was out of sight; Aguirre hastened in some alarm to overtake it, and coming up with his mayordomo and especial friend, Juan de Aguirre, and the cap. tain of his guard, Roberto de Susaya, "I prophecy, sirs," said he, "that if in this government forty or fifty soldiers do not join us, my Maranones are in such mood that we shall never reach the Nuevo Reyno !" Then pushing on to the van, he reproved them for their want of caution, and made them turn back to the foot of the mountain, where they halted that night. Proceeding from hence, they entered the Valle de las Damas, where they found a granary of maize upon the banks of the Aracui, and halted there a day. And here Aguirre called together those friends in whom he had the greatest confidence, and proposed to them, as a measure of security, that they should kill their sick, and all of whom they had any suspicion; in all forty persons. But they replied, that such a measure would lessen their security, inasmuch as those who were spared would fear lest they also should incur suspicion, and that fear would drive them to desertion. The reason was in itself valid; but it is probable that they who gave it were now beginning to think of deserting themselves. †

All Aguirre's movements were known at Baraquicimeto. Pedro Galeas was with the troops there; Faxardo had dispatched him immedi. ately in a canoe to Burburata, and he

† P. Simon, 6. 45. 1. 3.

having spread the alarm along the coast, arrived at this place just after Gutierre de la Pena. At first he was regarded with suspicion; but this wore away when his manners were perceived, and the real horror which he expressed at those transactions of which he had been an unwilling spectator. He assured the general, that Aguirre had not above fifty men who voluntarily followed him; all the rest acted under compulsion, and would desert him as soon as any force appeared to which they could look for protection; and he advised that no attack should be made upon him, saying nothing more was needful than to keep in sight of him; the victory might be gained without risking the loss of a single man. This intelligence gave no little comfort to the general and his handful of half. armed men. It must here be observed, that trifling as Aguirre's force may appear to us in these times, it might at that time and in that country have been sufficient for its purpose, had his own conduct been less atrocious, and his soldiers more faithful. Great efforts had been made to collect forces against him; there were however as yet no more than seventy-five men as sembled, and these so miserably equip ped that half a dozen veterans would have thought it sport to attack a regiment of them. It is true they were all mounted, but on horses never trained to war, and with the most wretched harness; they themselves, says Pedro Simon, were rather horseloads than horsemen. There were but two harquebusses among them all: the one was without a pan, and there was scarcely powder enough for the other. They had no other weapons than rusty spear-heads, fix. ed upon shafts of their own making; and instead of helmets, they wore a ridiculous hat then in fashion in that

part of the conquests, the crown of which was of four different colours, sewn on in quarters, and the brim of as many more: it was made of cloth, and trimmed with cotton fringes. With about fifteen of these soldiers, Paredes, the camp-master, who was himself a good officer, set out to reconnoitre the Maranones. Passing through a wood in the valley, where the path was so narrow that two horsemen could not ride abreast, they came unexpectedly in sight of the enemy. Neither party was prepared for this rencounter; Aguirre's men halted to take their arms and light their matches; the camp-master's made so speedy a retreat, that some dropt their clumsy lances, and when the boughs struck off their fantastic hats, did not dare stop to pick them up. Such weapons and such helmets furnished the Maranones with matter for sport, while they halted beside a watercourse, from night-fall, three or four hours, till the moon rose.

Paredes meantime having got out of the wood, and entered the savannah, thought at its skirts to lay an ambush; but Aguirre having waited for moonlight frustrated this device, and the camp-master therefore retreated with all speed to Baraquicimeto. It was then determined to abandon the town, where their horses could not be used to advantage, and the enemy's harquebusseers might securely annoy them by taking possession of the hou ses. The general dispatched intelligence to Collado, the governor of Tocuyo, and left behind him papers sign ed by Collado, in which he invited the Maranones to return to their allegiance, pledging himself that they should receive full pardon for all the offences which they had hitherto committed. This measure had been suc cessfully practised by the President Gasca against Gonzalo Pizarro in

Peru. A longer letter was addressed to Aguirre himself; pardon could not so peremptorily be promised him, but the governor protested that if he would no longer persist in rebellion, no injury should be done him in that land, but that he would send him over to the merciful feet of his majesty, with whom he would be a faithful mediator in his behalf. If these persuasions should fail to move him, Collado besought him to spare, the lives which would else be lost in the contest, and decide the victory by single combat with him. Having left this letter in a place where it must necessarily be seen, and scattered pardons among all the houses, the ge. neral retired about half a league, and took his station by a brook side in the open savannah. *

Aguirre meantime continued his march till noon, then halted about a league and a half from the town, load ed and planted his artillery in case of attack, and sent an Indian forward with a letter to the inhabitants of Baraquicimeto; in this he bade them not to be alarmed, nor desert their habitations, for all he required was, that they should supply him with food and horses at a fair price. If any soldiers were disposed to join him and proceed to Peru, he would give them honourable employments; but if the place should be forsaken on his approach, he would set fire to it, destroy all their cattle and plantations, and put to death in torments every one who fell into his hands. To this no answer was returned, and on the following morning he advanced towards the town, giving order that if any soldier went three steps out of his place, the next man should shoot him. As they drew near, Gutierre

* P. Simon, 6. 46. 23.

de la Pena came up with his eighty horsemen, and took post near the town, just out of musket shot, in a hollow. Aguirre fired upon them, rather to frighten them than with any hope that the shot could take effect, then marched with colours flying into the town. A few of the king's soldiers entered at the same time by the other end, and hesitated for a moment whether to attack the rebels; but they perceived the wisdom of their former determination, and again retreated. Paredes, however, made asweep round with eight horsemen, and cut off four of the sumpter beasts, who were partly laden with powder.†

In the highest part of the town was a house surrounded with a mud wall, which had battlements all round; a sufficient fortress against the Indians, and an advantageous post for better troops. Here Aguirre took up his lodging, and here he kept his men ready for battle, till night came on, and he saw that Gutierre, leaving centinels to observe him, retreated to his former position; then he permitted them to ransack the town. They found nothing except the pardons, and the letter for their chief, which they brought to him. Upon this he assembled them and said, "Sirs, you have seen papers in which the governor persuades you to desert to him, and promises pardon for all your crimes. I am a man who have had some experience in these things, and this I can affirm, that the havoc which you have made has been such, that neither in Spain nor in the Indies here, nor in any other part of the world, has it ever been heard that men have committed the like; and if the king in person were disposed to pardon you, I know not

† P. Simon, 6. 46. 3. 4. 6. 47. 1,

Deeply as Aguirre felt this desertion, he had the prudence to dissemble, and tell his men that Tirado was acting by his instructions. "Is it possible, Maranones," he exclaimed, "that a set of herdsmen, with frocks of sheepskin and shields of cowhide, should face me in the field, and that you should not bring them to the ground!" But he perceived that this proceeded not so much from an erring hand, as from faint hearts and wavering will, and therefore retired into the fort.

Francisco Cavallero had attempted to follow Tirado, but his horse became restive, and could not be forced to pass something which had frightened him, and therefore he was fain to return, hoping his intention had not been discovered. Gaspar Diaz, a Portugueze, who still remained faithful to the tyrant, had observed this, and now as he was entering the gate struck at him with his dagger and wounded him, exclaiming, Kill the traitor. Other weapons were raised against him, but Aguirre, either doubting that it had been Cavallero's purpose to desert, or secretly confessing that such a wish was now too natural to deserve punishment, forbade them to do him any further injury, and gave order that his wound should be drest. He reproached his men for a set of womanly wretches, asking them if they were making war upon Heaven instead of the king, for they had fired at the stars instead of their enemies; and warning them that if he was overthrown they would be the sufferers. Their excuse was, that the powder was bad. He now, almost desperate, withdrew and made out a list of the sick, whom he regarded as

mere encumbrances, and of all whom he thought faint-hearted in his service, amounting to more than fifty; and he showed this to his friends, proposing to have them all strangled. From this resolution he was a second time dis suaded; they told him, he might per haps kill some of his firmest adhe rents, for the example of Tirado might teach him that they who made the fairest professions were not always the most to be relied on. He resolved, however, to disarm them, and ordered his friends to watch them well, and put them to death the mo ment they discovered any intention to desert.t

All dreams of conquest were now over with Aguirre ; no adventurers had joined his standard, his veteran ruffians had been stopped in their progress by a handful of half-armed men, and to proceed to Peru was now manifestly impracticable. He deter. mined to march back to the coast, seize shipping wherever he could find it, and follow some new course of life. Meantime he kept strict watch with in the fort, that none of his people might escape, not daring to let them go in search of provisions; they kil led the dogs and horses for food, and this rigour made even some of his guards desert him. On the fifth morning, having taken their arms from most of the soldiers, and loaded them upon the beasts that remained, he prepared to set out: this last act of suspicion completed his ruin, the men asked if he was leading them to slaughter, that they were thus to go forth unarmed. Their pride also was wounded; it was disgraceful, they said, to turn back, as if they wanted courage to proceed. These thingswere

† P. Simon, 6. 50. 1—3.

3

said so loudly, and discontent was so nearly ripening into open mutiny, that the falling tyrant delivered them their arms again, craving pardon for what he had done, and saying this was a fault, but it was the only one which he had committed in the whole course of the expedition. There were some who sullenly refused to receive their arms, till Aguirre condescended personally to entreat them.*

At this time Paredes and Bravo again came up to the fort, having been informed of his intended retreat by the deserters; they called out to the soldiers, warning them not to be deceived longer by the traitor, but come over at once to the king's standard, while a free pardon was yet to be obtained. There were more Indians again washing in the river, and Paredes, thinking to make a second spoil, rode towards them with a small detachment, ordering those whom he left to make a signal, by holding up a drawn sword, if any of Aguirre's people should sally out against him. His movement was observed from the fort, and Juan Geronymo de Espindola was sent with fifteen harquebusseers to protect the Indians. The signal was made,-Paredes however only spurred on to perform his work the sooner; but coming in sight of Espindola, and perceiving that his own men could not withstand the superior arms of the rebels, he retreated. Espindola and his party quickened their pace, and when they came near cried out, Long live the King! Cavaliers, long live the King! Paredes immediately halted; his men took these deserters up behind them, and rode up the hill to their comrades, and Espindola then advised that they should advance at once to the fort.

*P. Simon, 6. 50. 4.

VOL. HI. PART II.

The main body of Aguirre's people were without the walls, looking to see what would be the success of this detachment; but seeing the revolt, they thought all hope was over, and that not a moment was to be lost in securing their own pardon; with this intent they all advanced. Aguirre thought they were going to attack the enemy, but he saw them mingle in the ranks, and heard them shout out, The King for ever!+

Juan de Aguirre still remained in the fort, and intended to complete his crimes by killing the tyrant, whose ready instrument he had been in so many murders; but not finding him at hand, and thinking all delay dangerous, he hastened to join Paredes ; and while Aguirre was outside of the fort, all the others, who were now only those whom he suspected and kept under watch, got out by a door which had been closed up, but which they broke through. One alone, of all the Maranones, remained by Aguirre's side; it was Llamoso: none of these wretches had exceeded him in guilt, but he was faithful to the last to the tyrant whom he had sworn to serve. Aguirre asked him why he also did not go to enjoy the king's pardon; he replied, he had been his friend in life and would be so in death. A. guirre made him no answer, but went into a chamber where his daughter was sitting in company with a young woman called La Torralva, who had come with her from Peru. "Say thy prayers, child," said he, " for I must kill thee."-" Why, sir?" she exclaimed. He replied, "That thou mayest never live to be reviled, and called the daughter of a traitor." La Torralva had courage enough to rise and take his harquebuss from

† P. Simon, 6. 5. 1. 2.

d