_How the Licentiate Vaca de Castro arrived at the port of
Buenaventura, and went from thence, with much difficulty, to the
city of Cali, where the Adelantado Don Sebastián de Belalcázar,
Governor for his Majesty, was staying; and of what he did there._
It is necessary that we should now talk a little about the licentiate
Vaca de Castro, for hitherto the narrative has not given him his
proper place. Leaving for the time the story of events which took
place in the cities of Lima and Cuzco we will observe that Vaca
de Castro had found out where the port of Buenaventura lay, and
ascertained that the road to the city of Cali, where the Adelantado
Sebastián de Belalcázar then tarried was very difficult.[82] And
having sent Merlo forward to announce his coming and the duty he was
charged with in the Realm of Peru by his Majesty, he also requested
that Pascual de Andagoya might be set at liberty. So Vaca de Castro
arrived at that port of Buenaventura, where he only found four or five
men, employed by the merchants who came from Tierra Firme. Everyone
believed that Vaca de Castro brought powers with him which would be
quite sufficient for any business that might present itself anywhere
he might wish to pass, and so he himself said and announced.
Merlo, bearing the letter and authority of Vaca de Castro that we
have mentioned, made the journey to Cali, where he gave the news to
the Adelantado, who was on the point of starting for the new city of
Cartago. He said the licentiate Vaca de Castro, President of the Royal
Audience of Panamá, and Judge of Peru, had been driven by a storm
into the port of Buenaventura; and that from thence he sent an order,
in compliance with the petition of Don Juan de Andagoya, son of the
Adelantado Don Pascual de Andagoya, that the latter was to be brought
from Popayán, where he was kept under arrest, to Cali, where the Judge
would soon arrive. He, Vaca de Castro, would hear the statements of
both Governors, and deliver judgment. Merlo made known this order to
the Adelantado Belalcázar who wrote to Francisco García de Tovar, his
lieutenant at Popayán, to bring Andagoya to Cali. Then Belalcázar,
knowing that Vaca de Castro was at the port of Buenaventura, and that
he was in want of provisions, arranged to send along the necessary
food and Indians, to enable him to travel. Belalcázar was about
starting for the city of Cartago, to visit the regions discovered and
conquered by the captain Jorge Robledo, but it appeared to him most
proper to wait at Cali until Vaca de Castro should arrive, and his
Majesty's commands be made known.
Vaca de Castro, with much help from the captain Cristóbal de Peña,
started from the port, suffering from serious illness and, as there
was no physician or surgeon in his company, he might have died. At
the end of thirty-three days he arrived at the city of Cali, two
Spaniards having been killed by tigers on the road, and seven others
having died of hunger and fatigue. The Governor and all the citizens
of Cali gave Vaca de Castro a very good reception, provided lodgings
for himself and his followers, and supplied them freely with all they
needed. Vaca de Castro was at Cali for three months, very ill; and
both the Governors Belalcázar and Andagoya being at Cali together, to
prevent any scandal arising between them, Vaca de Castro notified them
by order that they must have no dispute on any subject, otherwise his
Majesty would be ill served. As Vaca de Castro came with a keenness
for money he bargained with Belalcázar to take over certain things he
had brought, which were of little value, and pay for them at prices
which could not be called cheap. Vaca de Castro sent his messengers to
Quito, that his arrival might be known throughout Peru, his Majesty
having appointed him Judge to investigate the past troubles between
the Marquis Don Francisco Pizarro and the [late] Adelantado Don Diego
de Almagro. It was now three months since he had arrived at the city
of Cali; and having ruled that the Adelantado Don Pascual de Andagoya
should present himself before his Majesty and his Privy Council,[83]
he now determined to go to Popayán, to pick up the direct route from
thence to the Realm of Peru.
FOOTNOTES:
[82] Sebastián de Belalcázar, after exploring Popayán and Cali, and
founding the cities, had gone to Spain to obtain a grant as Governor.
Pascual de Andagoya, an original citizen of Panamá, was in Spain in
1538, and received a grant on the Pacific coast from the Gulf of San
Miguel to the river San Juan, with the title of Adelantado. He landed
at Buenaventura and marched to Cali and Popayán. These cities were
not in his jurisdiction, but he was justified in going there, in the
absence of Belalcázar, owing to the disturbed state of the country.
Meanwhile Belalcázar had obtained the governorship he sought, with the
title of Adelantado. On finding Andagoya at Popayán, he had thrown him
into prison.
[83] Belalcázar at last allowed Andagoya to proceed to Buenaventura,
with his brother-in-law Alonso de Peña, where they embarked for
Panamá. Andagoya proceeded to Spain, having lost his government
and 70,000 _castellanos de Oro_ (over £140,000 of our money). In
1546 he again went out with Pedro de la Gasca, was at the battle of
Sacsahuana, and died at Cuzco in 1548. See the _Narrative of Pascual
de Andagoya_ (_Hakluyt Society's vol. 34 for 1865_).