CHAPTER CII

    Of other things done by Francisco dc Mendoza, and how he sent to arrest Nicolás de Heredia and sent Felipe Gutiérrez away.

AFTER Francisco de Mendoza had gained the people over, and been received as captain, and sworn to as such, he ordered one Juan García to go with twenty-six men and turn Felipe Gutiérrez out of the province; that with six mounted men, he might find his way back to Peru. García was also to arrest Nicolás de Heredia, the Camp-master, and to take away his arms and those of the men who were with him, fearing lest, Felipe Gutiérrez being absent, he might seek for means to take command by virtue¹ of the commission he held from Vaca de Castro. Nicolás[366] de Heredia had remained behind with some Spaniards who were sick, and the captains having gone far ahead, he had not been able to join them; while, the Indians having made fierce war upon him, he and his companions had shown much spirit in defending themselves against them.

After taking charge of Felipe Gutiérrez and the six who were to go with him, Juan García started off and marched until he came to where Nicolás de Heredia was encamped, whom, suspecting nothing, he arrested. Then, having taken Felipe Gutiérrez and his six companions as far as the outskirts² of the mountain country, he left them. With great risk to themselves and their horses, and with much difficulty, they reached Cuzco at a time when Vaca de Castro had already left the city and Gonzalo Pizarro was wishing to set out for Lima.

Juan García returned to Francisco de Mendoza, taking Nicolás de Heredia with him and, before they arrived at the camp, Mendoza ordered Gabriel Hernández to go and tell Heredia, from him, that he was there as captain, that all had sworn to him as such, and that Heredia must do the same, or else go the same road as Felipe Gutiérrez. Gabriel Hernández, having arrived at the place where Heredia was, warned him that it would not do to act otherwise, and Nicolás de Heredia took the oath to Francisco de Mendoza as his captain, as the rest had done. To make it more binding³ they divided the Host between them. Thence they set out in search of food, always hearing some yelling of the Indians, who were so numerous that they could not be fairly reckoned.

Francisco de Mendoza next ordered Juan García to go with thirty Spaniards and explore towards the uplands of Popayán,[169] and he was away for three months, finding several native settlements, and hearing news of very prosperous[367] ones farther on. In many of the pueblos⁴ they saw they found no other bread than algarroba,[170] and the natives were barbarous and of low type. There were many ewes. Being in want of horse shoes, they [Juan García's party] returned to where Francisco de Mendoza remained, who, in view of their long absence, was about to send and find out what had become of them. Before this, leaving Nicolás de Heredia in charge of the camp, Mendoza had set out to see if he could find some profitable country, but came upon nothing good, so he resolved to go and explore in the direction Felipe Gutiérrez had taken; and this he did, after the return of Juan García and his companions. But, coming to swamps and morasses⁵, they were unable to pass them; so sending some of his party back to the camp with Pedro López de Ayala, Mendoza with the remainder ascended⁶ a cordillera or chain of hills which traverses those plains and came to some settlements, and to many streams which rise in the uplands. After exploring for a distance of eighty leagues and seeing the country was well supplied, where the camp could be maintained, and having information of other provinces farther on, he went back in order to return there with the whole of his people. Coming to a village on the track, they camped near it for the night, but when the barbarians⁷ found out that they had come there, thinking they would sleep in the houses, they got fire ready so as to burn them when they should be inside. In the second watch of the night numbers of Indians came with a great rush and set fire to the village, which was burnt. Had the Christians⁸ been within doors they would have been in danger, for the fire was widespread and very sudden. And, though they themselves were not sleeping in the houses, they had put all their stores inside them and these were consumed in the fire. Some[368] horses and mules⁹ were also burnt, and many of the servants. The Christians, with great commotion¹⁰, got up in astonishment¹¹ at what was happening, for they had not seen a single Indian; and thenceforward they continued their march very cautiously, lest any such disaster as this should occur again.

On reaching the camp Francisco de Mendoza remained there for several days, waiting for the maize¹² to ripen¹³, as at that time it was only in leaf. Afterwards he set out from that place with all his men, intending to proceed in the direction of sunrise, because the cordillera he had discovered lay on that bearing. After eight days' march Mendoza judged it wise to go forward himself and explore the route in advance, and selecting sixty Spaniards, he prepared to do so, leaving Nicolás de Heredia in charge of the camp with orders to follow after him; where we will let him be for the present.

1 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。

2 outskirts   

n.郊外，郊区

参考例句：

• Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
• They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。

3 binding   

有约束力的，有效的，应遵守的

参考例句：

• The contract was not signed and has no binding force. 合同没有签署因而没有约束力。
• Both sides have agreed that the arbitration will be binding. 双方都赞同仲裁具有约束力。

4 pueblos   

n.印第安人村庄( pueblo的名词复数 )

参考例句：

5 morasses   

n.缠作一团( morass的名词复数 )；困境；沼泽；陷阱

参考例句：

6 ascended   

v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He has ascended into heaven. 他已经升入了天堂。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The climbers slowly ascended the mountain. 爬山运动员慢慢地登上了这座山。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 barbarians   

n.野蛮人( barbarian的名词复数 )；外国人；粗野的人；无教养的人

参考例句：

• The ancient city of Rome fell under the iron hooves of the barbarians. 古罗马城在蛮族的铁蹄下沦陷了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It conquered its conquerors, the barbarians. 它战胜了征服者——蛮族。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史

8 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。

9 mules   

骡( mule的名词复数 )； 拖鞋； 顽固的人； 越境运毒者

参考例句：

• The cart was pulled by two mules. 两匹骡子拉这辆大车。
• She wore tight trousers and high-heeled mules. 她穿紧身裤和拖鞋式高跟鞋。

10 commotion   

n.骚动，动乱

参考例句：

• They made a commotion by yelling at each other in the theatre.他们在剧院里相互争吵，引起了一阵骚乱。
• Suddenly the whole street was in commotion.突然间，整条街道变得一片混乱。

11 astonishment   

n.惊奇，惊异

参考例句：

• They heard him give a loud shout of astonishment.他们听见他惊奇地大叫一声。
• I was filled with astonishment at her strange action.我对她的奇怪举动不胜惊异。

12 maize   

n.玉米

参考例句：

• There's a field planted with maize behind the house.房子后面有一块玉米地。
• We can grow sorghum or maize on this plot.这块地可以种高粱或玉米。

13 ripen   

vt.使成熟；vi.成熟

参考例句：

• I'm waiting for the apples to ripen.我正在等待苹果成熟。
• You can ripen the tomatoes on a sunny windowsill.把西红柿放在有阳光的窗台上可以让它们成熟。