CHAPTER XCVI

    How the Indians who escaped front the hands of the Spaniards returned to take counsel, and resolved, with much boldness, to go forth¹ again and fight them, and of the death of Diego de Rojas.

IN a former chapter we related how the Indians of a village where the captains Diego de Rojas and Felipe Gutiérrez were encamped, had come and fought with them; and that although more than two hundred were killed, and as many more wounded, yet they sent messages to all the districts announcing how few the Spaniards were, and ordering the natives to assemble and to attack them vigorously, as it would be easy to kill them all and their horses. The Indians were told to anoint the points of their arrows with a very poisonous herb they have, for it was known by experience that no one who was wounded by it ever escaped death, and that for the liberty of their country and that they[332] might not be under greater subjection than their forefathers², they ought not to fly from death if it should face them. Moreover, should any of them be captured by the Spaniards, they were on no account to reveal the antidote³ [to the arrow poison], for if that secret were made known neither they nor any number of people who might join them could prevail against the valour of the Spaniards or the fierceness of the horses. As all desired to see the foreigners who had invaded their provinces driven out again they assembled as large a force as they could and after they had offered their accustomed sacrifices and invoked⁴ the devil to their aid, marched in the direction where the Spaniards were encamped.

Diego de Rojas and the other captains had decided⁵ to stay there a few days, until they could receive information about the country ahead of them. When the Indians approached them, the Spaniards saddled their horses and rode towards them to give battle. As it is our Lord God's will and pleasure that those unknown countries, so distant from Spain, shall be opened up and His glorious standard of the Cross be known there, He almost miraculously⁶ protects the Christians⁷; that they may find a way before them until they reach the extremity⁸ of the land, where there is little left before seeing the sun complete its course around the world. So it was that, though these Indians came armed with arrows tipped with the poison we have mentioned, God watched over His Christians. But no special favour was needful on that day, as a single volley sufficed for the Indians' dispersal, and after a number of them had fallen the conflict ceased. Diego de Rojas then sent Pedro López de Ayala with forty horsemen to explore the country ahead. The Indians, undismayed by their losses, fought on continuously during the next two days, and Diego de Rojas doing his duty as a famous captain in the midst of the fray⁹, was wounded in the leg by an arrow. After having[333] chased and overtaken the Indians who had wounded him, they retired¹⁰ to the camp. Diego de Rojas thought little of his wound, as it was so small. But, since the herb was so poisonous, it began to work. Diego de Rojas felt ill, and there being a woman in the camp, who served Felipe Gutiérrez, she came to nurse him. After she had given him certain things to eat, Diego de Rojas became worse, and some of his servants said that he had been poisoned by order of Felipe Gutiérrez. Believing this to be true Diego de Rojas drank a great quantity of oil.

The captain Felipe Gutiérrez, when informed of this suspicion, declared his innocence¹¹. He assured Diego de Rojas, and all who might disbelieve him, that he never had any such evil thought, and that no one would regret the loss of his companion so much as himself. When the poison arrived near the heart, Diego de Rojas, seeing himself so near death, requested Felipe Gutiérrez to appoint in his place Francisco de Mendoza, whom he loved as if he were his son. Felipe Gutiérrez answered that although, under the authority they held from Vaca de Castro, this could not be done, the command should, after Rojas' death, remain vested in the two, and that he was delighted to please him.

After this, Diego de Rojas died during a violent fit of retching. He was a native of the city of Burgos: a valiant¹² man, liberal, anxious always to do what was right. In war he was always cautious, at all times watching and patrolling like any other soldier. It is believed that if he had lived these regions would have been completely explored. His death was due to the poison in the herb, for which a plant of such virtue¹³ as an antidote was afterwards discovered, that the poison lost its strength, and the wounded were cured by means of it.

1 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

2 forefathers   

n.祖先，先人；祖先，祖宗( forefather的名词复数 )；列祖列宗；前人

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left. 它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All of us bristled at the lawyer's speech insulting our forefathers. 听到那个律师在讲演中污蔑我们的祖先，大家都气得怒发冲冠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 antidote   

n.解毒药，解毒剂

参考例句：

• There is no known antidote for this poison.这种毒药没有解药。
• Chinese physicians used it as an antidote for snake poison.中医师用它来解蛇毒。

4 invoked   

v.援引( invoke的过去式和过去分词 )；行使（权利等）；祈求救助；恳求

参考例句：

• It is unlikely that libel laws will be invoked. 不大可能诉诸诽谤法。
• She had invoked the law in her own defence. 她援引法律为自己辩护。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 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。

6 miraculously   

ad.奇迹般地

参考例句：

• He had been miraculously saved from almost certain death. 他奇迹般地从死亡线上获救。
• A schoolboy miraculously survived a 25 000-volt electric shock. 一名男学生在遭受2.5 万伏的电击后奇迹般地活了下来。

7 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。

8 extremity   

n.末端，尽头；尽力；终极；极度

参考例句：

• I hope you will help them in their extremity.我希望你能帮助在穷途末路的他们。
• What shall we do in this extremity?在这种极其困难的情况下我们该怎么办呢？

9 fray   

v.争吵；打斗；磨损，磨破；n.吵架；打斗

参考例句：

• Why should you get involved in their fray?你为什么要介入他们的争吵呢？
• Tempers began to fray in the hot weather.大热天脾气烦燥。

10 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。

11 innocence   

n.无罪；天真；无害

参考例句：

• There was a touching air of innocence about the boy.这个男孩有一种令人感动的天真神情。
• The accused man proved his innocence of the crime.被告人经证实无罪。

12 valiant   

adj.勇敢的，英勇的；n.勇士，勇敢的人

参考例句：

• He had the fame of being very valiant.他的勇敢是出名的。
• Despite valiant efforts by the finance minister,inflation rose to 36%.尽管财政部部长采取了一系列果决措施，通货膨胀率还是涨到了36%。

13 virtue   

n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力

参考例句：

• He was considered to be a paragon of virtue.他被认为是品德尽善尽美的典范。
• You need to decorate your mind with virtue.你应该用德行美化心灵。