_How Don Diego de Almagro wrote to Captain Alonso de Alvarado,
without knowing that he had raised the banner, and how he sent
him an appointment as Lieutenant; and of the death of Orihuela._
We have already related that Don Diego, by the advice of Juan de
Herrada and Cristóbal de Sotelo, determined to write to the captain
Alonso de Alvarado at the city of La Frontera,[78] where he was
lieutenant for the Marquis. He wrote a very polite letter, apprising
him of the death of the Marquis and of how the municipality of the
city of Lima had acknowledged him, Don Diego, as Governor, and that
all the other cities and towns in the Realm had done the same. He
appealed to Don Alonso, as a knight who would understand the motive
for avenging the death of his father, not to side against him. He
asked him to show friendship and to retain from him the appointment
he had held from the Marquis, which he now sent, desiring to increase
his honour and estate. With this letter he sent him a commission as
captain and Governor's lieutenant in that city. And to make sure
that Don Alonso should accept the commission without wavering they
compelled the secretary Antonio Picado, who was their prisoner, and
whom they knew to be a fast friend of Alvarado's, to write him a
letter in his own style explaining that Don Diego had acquiesced in
the murder of the Marquis because of the ingratitude he had shown
towards Almagro his father, and the cruelty with which he had treated
his partisans; adding that, since all the lieutenants and captains of
the Marquis had obeyed and complied with the demands of Don Diego,
Alvarado should do the same. By refusing he would be doing great
disservice to God and to his Majesty, and injury to the natives. With
these letters Juan de Herrada wrote another saying almost the same
thing. These letters were sent to the city of La Frontera, but when
Alonso de Alvarado saw them he became very angry, and replied in terms
relating to the crime they had committed, and not to the soft words
they had written.
In Lima there began to be troubles among the men of Chile themselves.
They took the Doctor Juan Blázquez, who had withdrawn to the convent
of Santo Domingo, and kept him a prisoner in the house of Antonio
Picado, where he was for several days. The Bishop Friar Vicente de
Valverde came from Cuzco very depressed on hearing of the death of the
Marquis and finding that his brother the doctor was a prisoner, for he
feared that those of Chile would kill him. There was a little vessel
lying in the port, and, pretending he was going out hunting, he got
on board with his brother Dr. Blázquez, and some other persons, and
put to sea with the intention of going to seek for the President Vaca
de Castro. But at the island of Puna the natives came out and killed
the bishop, the doctor, and sixteen other Spaniards. Twenty Spaniards
also left the coast to go trading to Quito, with much merchandise; and
a Cacique named Chaparra attacked them in the region of Carrochamba,
killed them all without leaving one, and took all the merchandise.
To return to García de Alvarado. He left the city of Truxillo to go
to San Miguel. In the valley of Jayanca he left all his party except
twenty horsemen, and with these he went on to San Miguel. There he
established the government for Almagro, seized the gold of deceased
persons and all the horses and arms that were to be had, and arrested
the licentiate León because he suspected him. Several days had passed
since Alonso de Alvarado had raised the banner for the King, and it
had become known throughout the Realm. Great was the perturbation
among the men of Chile, for, as Alvarado's authority was widespread,
they deplored his being against them. García de Alvarado had made
prisoners of Cabrera, Villegas, Vozmediano, and others, who had been
raising opposition by means of letters to all parts. So, in order to
put fear into the rest, or for some other reason, Juan de Herrada
wrote to García de Alvarado, ordering him to kill these men at once.
As soon as García de Alvarado had seen the letter he sent to Payta
for the prisoners, and cut off their heads at San Miguel, as the
crier proclaimed, "for being mutineers." Orihuela, the same who had
arrived from Spain with despatches for the Marquis, not taking heed
that it was no time for plain speaking, went to the residence of Don
Diego, and used some strong language which the men of that party did
not like. So Juan de Herrada went to Orihuela's lodging and arrested
him, and next morning they took him to the gibbet and cut off his head
as a mutineer. Before he died he declared that he was not under Don
Diego's jurisdiction. Why, then, did they put him to death, if it was
not for a letter he wrote some days before to the chamberlain Alonso
de Cabrera, saying that he was an envoy from Spain and that he would
bear himself as a courageous man in seeing the death of the Marquis
avenged? When they were about to kill him he cried with a loud voice
that they should mind that he was employed by the Crown, thinking that
on that account peradventure they might spare his life.
After this was done Don Diego and Juan de Herrada brought all their
ingenuity to bear to find out where the treasure was which the
Marquis had possessed. Sometimes they asked Antonio Picado, with
blandishments, to tell them; and when that was of no use, they put
him into a great fright by threatening to compel him by applying the
torture.
FOOTNOTE:
[78] In the Chachapoyas province.