CHAPTER LXX

    How Don Diego de Almagro, after the death of García de Alvarado, determined¹ to prepare for departure from Cuzco; how he sent one Juan de Aguirre with ten other mounted men to reconnoitre, and how they were taken and killed.

AFTER the captain García de Alvarado had been killed in Cuzco, as we have written in earlier chapters, some who had been his friends expressed discontent on account of his death; and it pleased God that there should be so much disagreement amongst them that the civil war they were engaged in should come to an end; and that the youth Don Diego, constrained² by necessity, would either put himself separately into the hands of Vaca de Castro, or retire, with the few who would follow him, into the regions lying beyond [the] Maule. Pondering over the discontent which was showing itself among some of his party, Don Diego secretly called for Martín Carrillo and Baltasar de Castilla, and the other leaders, and said to them that inasmuch as he, and not García de Alvarado, was the person who must provide rewards and distribute the various tracts³ of the Realm amongst them, he asked them all to be faithful friends and such loyal companions, that they would all count on his constancy. They well knew, he said, the important reason there was for killing⁴ García de Alvarado, and the little cause that captain had, after Sotelo's death, to mix in conspiracies⁵ against himself and his friends. These and[239] other things said Don Diego to those who came, and they were content to follow him, and all of one mind to pursue the course they had entered on. Though the Indians reported that Vaca de Castro had arrived at Lima, there was no certainty of his actual position, so it was agreed to send a Biscayan named Aguirre, with ten other mounted scouts⁶, in the direction of Guamanga, to see if he could capture anyone from whom to gain information of what was afoot thereabouts, as it was very important for them to be posted in what was happening in the lower provinces.

Presently Aguirre and his ten followers⁷ started to carry out the order of Don Diego. By this time all the provinces had information that Vaca de Castro was at Jauja with a force larger than that of Don Diego. It therefore seemed to the inhabitants wholesome⁸ advice to be on the winning side, and not to help Don Diego. The party who left Cuzco with the object I have stated proceeded on their way. In a valley called Uripa the Indians killed Aguirre, who had gone on ahead from another village where his companions had tarried. The Indians then attacked the others and so harassed⁹ them that they could not get back to Cuzco. They withdrew towards Guamanga, where Diego de Rojas was, but the Indians warned him and they were all captured and judicially¹⁰ executed. Don Diego heard of this disaster through the Indians, and grieved at the fate of his scouts, though without letting others know it. He reflected very seriously and felt that his followers must hasten their preparations, and look well to their lances, for the whole power of Peru was uniting against him. He had suspicions of Martín Carrillo and of a citizen of Cuzco, so he had them arrested, and wrote letters to Arequipa, to one Idiáquez, in whom he trusted as a friend, asking for his advice as to what he had better do with these prisoners, whether to leave them at Cuzco or take them with him. Idiáquez answered that his advice was neither[240] to take them nor to leave them. Although Don Diego understood the letter perfectly¹¹, he did not care to resort to such cruelty, and, after a short detention¹², he released them. He left Juan Rodríguez Barragán as his lieutenant¹³ at Cuzco. The artillery¹⁴ was in good order, the cannons¹⁵ clean, with the necessary powder. Carts were brought up for its transport, and Pedro de Candía was the captain in charge of it.

As it seemed to them now that it was time to leave Cuzco, Don Diego ordered the captains to lead out their companies, the General in command being Juan Balsa, a a man of little resource. Having quitted the city they proceeded to pitch their camp in the valley of Xaquixaguana. Don Diego followed shortly; but Juan Balsa remained in the city to see that any soldiers loitering there were hustled¹⁶ away. After he was outside Cuzco, Don Diego was apprised¹⁷ that there were some in the camp who wanted to make off and go over to the enemy. These were Pedro Picón. Alonso Díaz, and Juan Monta?és, all brave and capable soldiers.[116] For it seemed to them a bad business that they were engaged in; they wanted to desert their captain and pass over to him who came in the name of the king and with power, forsooth, to pardon them. But although they intended to leave the camp very secretly, Don Diego got wind of it, and they were promptly¹⁸ arrested, sentenced to death, and executed by strangulation with a cord, as a warning to others.

The Inca Manco, hating the Pizarros as he did, on hearing what was afoot, and that Vaca de Castro was in Jauja, with some of his men at Guamanga, and that Don Diego had quitted Cuzco, sent his messengers to Don Diego to tell him that he had retired¹⁹ to Víticos, owing to his evil[241] treatment by Pizarro and the quantity of gold he demanded of him. For these reasons he made war on the Christians²⁰ until Don Diego's father returned from Chile. Owing to the friendship he felt for his father, if Don Diego would go to Guamanga he would there meet him in peace. He further informed Don Diego that Vaca de Castro was in Jauja with a powerful army, and that he had some men at Guamanga. When Don Diego heard this, he gave orders for Juan Balsa to come away from Cuzco with the remnant of the soldiers who were there, with all possible speed; and at the same time he sent word to his lieutenant, Juan Rodriguez Barragán to hold the city with every precaution and care. Juan Balsa came accordingly with the rear-guard and such portion of the baggage as had been left there. In Xaquixaguana the order of the march was given out, which was that all were to travel on horseback, none on foot. No soldiers were to leave the camp to forage²¹ for provisions, for they travelled with an ample number of menials specially²² provided for that duty. A captain was to accompany the baggage day by day in turns. The people who were thus gathered together, if they had not lost Herrada or Sotelo, might certainly have accomplished²³ some great deed, though it would have been very difficult.

1 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

2 constrained   

adj.束缚的,节制的

参考例句：

• The evidence was so compelling that he felt constrained to accept it. 证据是那样的令人折服，他觉得不得不接受。
• I feel constrained to write and ask for your forgiveness. 我不得不写信请你原谅。

3 tracts   

大片土地( tract的名词复数 )； 地带； （体内的）道； （尤指宣扬宗教、伦理或政治的）短文

参考例句：

• vast tracts of forest 大片大片的森林
• There are tracts of desert in Australia. 澳大利亚有大片沙漠。

4 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。

5 conspiracies   

n.阴谋，密谋( conspiracy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He was still alive and hatching his conspiracies. 他还活着，策划着阴谋诡计。 来自辞典例句
• It appeared that they had engaged in fresh conspiracies from the very moment of their release. 看上去他们刚给释放，立刻开始新一轮的阴谋活动。 来自英汉文学

6 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。

7 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。

8 wholesome   

adj.适合；卫生的；有益健康的；显示身心健康的

参考例句：

• In actual fact the things I like doing are mostly wholesome.实际上我喜欢做的事大都是有助于增进身体健康的。
• It is not wholesome to eat without washing your hands.不洗手吃饭是不卫生的。

9 harassed   

adj. 疲倦的，厌烦的 动词harass的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He has complained of being harassed by the police. 他投诉受到警方侵扰。
• harassed mothers with their children 带着孩子的疲惫不堪的母亲们

10 judicially   

依法判决地，公平地

参考例句：

• Geoffrey approached the line of horses and glanced judicially down the row. 杰弗里走进那栏马，用审视的目的目光一匹接一匹地望去。
• Not all judicially created laws are based on statutory or constitutional interpretation. 并不是所有的司法机关创制的法都以是以成文法或宪法的解释为基础的。

11 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

12 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

13 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

14 artillery   

n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队)

参考例句：

• This is a heavy artillery piece.这是一门重炮。
• The artillery has more firepower than the infantry.炮兵火力比步兵大。

15 cannons   

n.加农炮，大炮，火炮( cannon的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Cannons bombarded enemy lines. 大炮轰击了敌军阵地。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• One company had been furnished with six cannons. 某连队装备了六门大炮。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 hustled   

催促（hustle的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He grabbed her arm and hustled her out of the room. 他抓住她的胳膊把她推出房间。
• The secret service agents hustled the speaker out of the amphitheater. 特务机关的代理人把演讲者驱逐出竞技场。

17 apprised   

v.告知，通知( apprise的过去式和过去分词 )；评价

参考例句：

• We were fully apprised of the situation. 我们完全获悉当时的情况。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I have apprised him of your arrival. 我已经告诉他你要来。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

18 promptly   

adv.及时地，敏捷地

参考例句：

• He paid the money back promptly.他立即还了钱。
• She promptly seized the opportunity his absence gave her.她立即抓住了因他不在场给她创造的机会。

19 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

20 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

21 forage   

n.(牛马的)饲料，粮草；v.搜寻，翻寻

参考例句：

• They were forced to forage for clothing and fuel.他们不得不去寻找衣服和燃料。
• Now the nutritive value of the forage is reduced.此时牧草的营养价值也下降了。

22 specially   

adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地

参考例句：

• They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
• The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。

23 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。