CHAPTER XLVIII

    Of what else was done by the General Pero Alvarez Holguin, and how he departed from Cuzco.

IN previous chapters we related how Pero Alvarez Holguin was received in the city of Cuzco as General, and how Don Alonso de Montemayor had arrived there with despatches from Don Diego. Although he had written word of his coming, and that he had been sent by Don Diego, confidence was not felt in Don Alonso. The Adelantado Almagro had always thought highly of him, and he went with the Adelantado to Chile; moreover, he was on his side at the battle of Las Salinas, so it was feared that he might try to gain men over to Don Diego's party. He tried, indeed, to slip away from Cuzco, because he was told, before Pedro Anzures arrived, that some men who were not on very good terms with himself, were coming from the town of Plata in that leader's company, and he feared, in those troublous times, they might seek to kill him. Hence he tried to escape. But Pero Alvarez presently took measures to keep him in hand, and ordered his arrest, treating him liberally as his position deserved.

Pedro Anzures having arrived, and the captains having been appointed, it was found that the force numbered 300 men—including mounted pikemen, arquebusiers, and musketeers. News had come that his Majesty¹ had appointed[164] the licentiate Vaca de Castro to be Judge, and that he had actually arrived at Buenaventura, and must by now be at Quito. So leaving a sufficient force behind to uphold Justice in the King's name, it was decided² to set out from Cuzco with the intention of giving battle to Almagro and his followers³ if they should cross their path; while, if not, they would march on until they could join Vaca de Castro wherever they might meet him. They began the march to Guamanga in good order, always throwing out scouts⁴ to reconnoitre in case there should be signs of an enemy's approach.

Were one ordered to enumerate⁵ the great evils, injuries, robberies, oppression and ill-treatment inflicted⁶ on the natives during these operations, without exaggeration, there would never be an end of it, for they took no more thought about killing⁷ Indians than as if they were useless beasts, nor stopped to consider that Christ, our God, was placed on the Cross for them as well as for us. If the captains wished to place some check on such great evils they were powerless to do so; for in past disturbances⁸ and civil wars soldiers have always held to robbery and profit. If a remedy was attempted they mutinied, and passed over from one camp to the other; or they stayed away in the villages, if they were not allowed to follow their own devices. In very truth we may in some measure acquit⁹ them of blame, for the country is so rough and so devoid¹⁰ of beasts of burden that many must travel afoot, through having nothing to ride. There are also uninhabited wilds where it is necessary, owing to the great cold, to carry tents and means of subsistence, so that where it is done with moderation, I would not condemn¹¹ the employment of Indian carriers. But since my readers know what I can vouch¹² for, I do not wish to say more on this subject than that if a man had need of one pig he killed twenty, if four Indians were wanted he took a dozen. To speak quite plainly, there[165] were many who made the poor Indians carry their public women in hammocks borne on their shoulders.

After leaving Cuzco the General Pero Alvarez Holguin travelled until he reached Guamanga, where Don Diego's deputy was one Vasco de Guevara. He, fearing that he might receive some ill-treatment, absented himself from the city, and concealed¹³ himself among the mountains. But some soldiers sent out by Pero Alvarez to search for him, found him, and brought him back. Then Pero Alvarez got himself accepted as General in Guamanga, and after he had established order and settled the city in the service of His Majesty he departed, accompanied by some citizens and others who were soldiers from that city. General Pero Alvarez followed the royal road of the Incas, marching always with scouts in advance, until he arrived within half a league of Parcos. He then desired all the captains, cavaliers, gentlemen, and soldiers gathered under his banner to acknowledge him afresh as their General and swear him in as such. This public solemnity was there celebrated¹⁴. They then discussed what should next be done. Some said that they should go and give battle to Don Diego, who had already left Lima, as we shall presently tell. Others disagreed, saying that it would be better to continue their march to Caxamarca, where they would obtain news of the Judge, and, in conjunction with his men, they would be strong enough to resist the enemy, who had been busying themselves only with increasing their forces, and renewing their arms. Finally they agreed to continue their journey, and join forces with Vaca de Castro and with the captain Alonso de Alvarado.

Alonso de Toro, the citizen of Cuzco, pretending that he was going back in search of some Indian girls, left the camp. They say that the citizens of Cuzco were dissatisfied with the nomination¹⁵ of Holguin as their General, and that this person had some quarrels here with Don Pedro Puerto[166]carrero; and things came to such a pass that Holguin took his horses and arms away and would have turned him out of the camp. The other captains intervening, however, peace was restored; and Alonso de Toro came back into camp, and they continued their journey. We will now leave them, and speak of the departure of Don Diego from Lima.

1 majesty   

n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权

参考例句：

• The king had unspeakable majesty.国王有无法形容的威严。
• Your Majesty must make up your mind quickly!尊贵的陛下，您必须赶快做出决定！

2 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

3 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

4 scouts   

侦察员[机，舰]( scout的名词复数 )； 童子军； 搜索； 童子军成员

参考例句：

• to join the Scouts 参加童子军
• The scouts paired off and began to patrol the area. 巡逻人员两个一组，然后开始巡逻这个地区。

5 enumerate   

v.列举，计算，枚举，数

参考例句：

• The heroic deeds of the people's soldiers are too numerous to enumerate.人民子弟兵的英雄事迹举不胜举。
• Its applications are too varied to enumerate.它的用途不胜枚举。

6 inflicted   

把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They inflicted a humiliating defeat on the home team. 他们使主队吃了一场很没面子的败仗。
• Zoya heroically bore the torture that the Fascists inflicted upon her. 卓娅英勇地承受法西斯匪徒加在她身上的酷刑。

7 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

8 disturbances   

n.骚乱( disturbance的名词复数 )；打扰；困扰；障碍

参考例句：

• The government has set up a commission of inquiry into the disturbances at the prison. 政府成立了一个委员会来调查监狱骚乱事件。
• Extra police were called in to quell the disturbances. 已调集了增援警力来平定骚乱。

9 acquit   

vt.宣判无罪；(oneself)使(自己)表现出

参考例句：

• That fact decided the judge to acquit him.那个事实使法官判他无罪。
• They always acquit themselves of their duty very well.他们总是很好地履行自己的职责。

10 devoid   

adj.全无的，缺乏的

参考例句：

• He is completely devoid of humour.他十分缺乏幽默。
• The house is totally devoid of furniture.这所房子里什么家具都没有。

11 condemn   

vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑

参考例句：

• Some praise him,whereas others condemn him.有些人赞扬他，而有些人谴责他。
• We mustn't condemn him on mere suppositions.我们不可全凭臆测来指责他。

12 vouch   

v.担保；断定；n.被担保者

参考例句：

• They asked whether I was prepared to vouch for him.他们问我是否愿意为他作担保。
• I can vouch for the fact that he is a good worker.我保证他是好员工。

13 concealed   

a.隐藏的，隐蔽的

参考例句：

• The paintings were concealed beneath a thick layer of plaster. 那些画被隐藏在厚厚的灰泥层下面。
• I think he had a gun concealed about his person. 我认为他当时身上藏有一支枪。

14 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

15 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。