They suspect that the cacique wishes to rebel. It turns out to be
unfounded. Many Spaniards go with him and twenty thousand Indians
against Quizquiz, and of what happens to them they give news in a
letter to the Governor.
And when the Spanish captain with the Indians and the cacique were about
to depart within two days in order to go against the enemy ...[76] the
Governor was informed by some Spaniards, some Indian friends and some
allied natives of the country that among some of the cacique's chief
men, it was being talked of that they should join with the warriors of
Quito, and they [the informers] accused him of other things. Because of
this, there arose some suspicion, and, in order to make sure as to
whether the friendship of the cacique for the Christians who loved him
so was faithful and true, wishing to know truth of the matter, [the
Governor] caused the cacique and some of his chief men to be called, on
the next day, to his room. And he told them what was being said about
them; after investigation had been made and torture had been given to
some Indians, it came out that the cacique and the chiefs were without
any blame, and it was certified that, neither by word nor deed, had they
done anything to the hurt of the Spaniards, but that two chiefs had said
that because their ancestors had never been subject to anyone neither
they nor the cacique ought to submit themselves [to the Spaniards]. But
notwithstanding this, by what was known then and afterwards, it was
believed that the Indians always loved the Spaniards and that their
friendship with them was not feigned.[77] The troops did not set out on
their journey because the rigor of winter [was at its height] and it
rained a great deal every day, so it was determined to allow the height
of the rainy season go by, principally because of the fact that many
bridges had been ill-treated and broken, to mend which was essential.
When the season in which the rains ceased arrived, the Governor had the
fifty cavalrymen, the cacique the men he had and make ready. All of
these, with the captain whom he gave them, put themselves on the march
for Xauxa by way of the city of Bilcas,[78] where, it was understood,
the enemy were because the roads were cut up by the many winter rains
and the rivers were swollen; although there was no bridge over many of
them, the Spaniards crossed on their horses with great trouble, and one
of them was drowned. Arrived by [long] marches at the river which is
four leagues from Bilcas, it was learned that the enemy had gone on to
Xauxa. And the river being swollen and furious, and the bridge burned,
it was necessary for them to stop and build it anew, for, without it, it
would have been impossible to cross the river, either in those boats
which are called _balsas_ or by swimming or in any other way. Twenty
days the camp was here in order to mend the bridge, for the officers
[maestros] had much to do, because the water was high and kept breaking
down the osier ropes which were put in place. And if the cacique had not
had so great a number of men to build the bridge and to cross over by it
and pull over the ropes of osiers, it would not have been possible to
build it. But having twenty-four thousand warriors, and by crossing [the
stream] again and again to attempt [to set in place the ropes] making
use of cords and _balsas_, at last they succeeded in placing the osier
ropes and when they had been passed across [the river], the bridge was
built in a very short space of time. [It was] so good and well built
that another like it is not to be found in that land, for it is three
hundred and seventy-odd feet long, and broad enough to allow two horses
to cross at once without any risk. Then, having crossed that bridge and
having arrived at Bilcas, the Spaniards found quarters in the city, from
which they sent to the Governor a report on how affairs were
progressing. Here the camp stopped for some days, resting, in order
that they might have news of the place in which the enemy were, of which
they learned no more than that they had set out for Xauxa, and that they
were thinking of attacking the Spaniards who had remained there as
garrison. When he learned this, the captain at once set out with the
Spaniards to aid [the garrison], taking with him a brother of the
cacique and four thousand warriors. The cacique returned to Cuzco, and
the captain sent the governor a letter which his lieutenant wrote from
Xauxa in great haste, and which was of the following tenor: "When your
excellency drove the enemy from Cuzco, they rallied and came to Xauxa,
and before they arrived, it was learned by our men that they were coming
in great force, because, from all the places of the region, they were
drawing as many men as they could, as much for warriors as to carry the
supplies and baggage; when this was learned by the treasurer Alfonso [in
Xauxa], he sent four light horsemen to a bridge which is twelve leagues
from the city of Xauxa where the enemy were on the other side, in a very
important province. When they had returned, the treasurer used his best
efforts, as much in guarding the city and in treating well the caciques
who were there with him as in informing himself stealthily of all the
doings of the enemy. And the greatest suspicions which he had were of
the Indians who were in the town and in the region and who were very
numerous, because almost all were in agreement with the enemy to come
and attack the Spaniards on four sides. With this agreement, the Indians
of Quito crossed [the bridge before mentioned] with the intention that a
captain with five hundred of their men should come from the direction of
a [certain] mountain and cross a river which is a quarter of a league
from the city and place himself on the highest part of the mountain
[near Xauxa] in order to assault the city on the day agreed upon between
them. The captain Quizquiz and Incurabaliba,[79] who were their chief
leaders, were to come by the plains with a greater force of warriors.
This was speedily learned from an Indian to whom torture was given. The
captain who was to cross the river and attack the city from the mountain
travelled rapidly and arrived a day before the rest of the warriors. And
one morning at dawn news came to the city of how many enemies had
crossed the bridge, from which was born a great disaffection among the
natives of Xauxa who [formerly] served the Christians loyally, from
which it was supposed that the whole land had risen in arms, as has been
said. First of all, the treasurer arranged that all the gold of H. M.
and of the men which was in the city should be placed in a large house,
and he set a guard of the feeblest and sickest Spaniards, ordering that
the rest should be prepared to fight; and he ordered ten light horsemen
to go out to see how large a number of the enemy had crossed the river
in order to take the mountain, and he himself, with the rest of the
soldiers, waited on the plaza in case the greater number of the enemy
should come by way of the plain. The Spanish scouts attacked the Indians
who had crossed the bridge; they retired, and the Spaniards had to cross
the bridge after them some peon cross-bowmen whom the treasurer had sent
them, so that the Indians turned and fled with great loss. The great
blow of the others, who came by the plain, did not take place at the
time agreed upon with the others for assaulting the city, and in waiting
for it, they lost time. That night and the [following] day the city was
vigilant, and the soldiers were always armed and their horses saddled,
all being together in the plaza, thinking that on the following night
the Indians would come to attack the city and burn it, as it was said
that they intended to do. When [the first] two quarters of the night
were passed, seeing that the enemy did not appear, the treasurer took
with him a light-armed horseman and went to see in what place the enemy
had camped and how many of them had approached the city, [for the
Indians who gave news of all this did not know where they were, and
likewise because the enemy took roads of which no one could give
information], with the result that at daybreak the treasurer found
himself four leagues from the city, and, having seen the place where the
Indians were and the nature of the site, he returned to the city at
which he arrived a little after noon. When it was seen by the hostile
Indians that the Spaniards had discovered them, they were in great fear,
and got up from that site and went towards the city, and in the night
they came and took up a position a quarter of a league from the city
beside a small river which entered the large one. When this was known by
the Spaniards, they spent that night with the greatest caution, and on
the following day, after hearing mass, the treasurer took twenty light
horse and twenty peons with two thousand friendly Indians, leaving as
many more Spanish cavalry and some foot soldiers in the city with the
understanding that they were to give a signal whenever the enemy should
attack them so that the other [Spaniards] might come to aid them. Having
gone out from the city with the lieutenant, the Spaniards saw that the
Indians of Quito had crossed the little river with their squadrons in
which there might be some six thousand of them, and, seeing the
Spaniards, they turned and crossed to the other bank. Then, the
treasurer and the Spaniards perceiving that if they did not attack the
Indians that day, the following night the latter would come to sack and
set fire to the city, so that there would be greater trouble if night
was awaited, he [the treasurer] determined to cross the river and fight
with the enemy. A sharp skirmish was held [on the other side], as much
with cross-bows and arrows as with stones, and the treasurer, who was
going in advance of the rest down the stream, received a stone on the
crown of his head which threw him from his horse into the midst of the
river, and, stunned, he was borne along quite a distance, so that he
would have been drowned had not some Spanish cross-bowmen who were
there helped him and pulled him from the water with much trouble. [The
Indians] also gave his horse [a blow] in the leg which broke it, and he
died soon. From this the Spaniards drew great animosity, and they
hastened to cross the river. Seeing their determination the Indians
withdrew, fleeing to a mountain where some hundred of them died. The
horsemen followed them through the mountains more than a league and a
half, and [finally], because they withdrew to the strongest position of
the mountain, where the horses could not go up, [the Spaniards] went
back to the city. And, soon perceiving that the Indians did not venture
forth from that fortress [the Spaniards] determined to return once more
against them, and twenty Spaniards with more than three thousand Indian
friends attacked them on that mountain where they were fortified and
killed many, driving them from that fortress and pursuing them more than
three leagues, killing many neighboring caciques who were in their
favor. With this victory the Indian friends were as much pleased as if
they alone had won it. The Indians of Quito re-assembled once more in a
place called Tarma five leagues from Xauxa, whence, likewise, they were
driven because they did much harm in the neighboring lands."