_How the Governor, Vaca de Castro, parcelled out the lands, and
how the Captain Gonzalo Pizarro arrived at the city of Lima and
talked openly about affairs._
Having made the arrangements just described, Vaca de Castro, by
virtue of the commission he brought as Governor, ordered a general
_repartimiento_ to be made of all the _encomiendas_ that were vacant,
taking care not to forget himself nor those he took to be his friends,
for to himself and them he allotted the best and greater portion.
Either to justify the course he took, or to become acquainted
with everything down to the roots, he ordered four of the old
_conquistadores_ to inform him, under a solemn oath, of the services
rendered by every one who had been in the Realm from the beginning.
This being done, he allotted all the natives of the provinces among
them, and issued titles to the _encomenderos_; requiring them,
however, in the name of our lord the King, to use them fairly, and
to instruct the bondsmen in the affairs of our sacred religion; and
he gave orders that all the villages and towns in the Realm should
be visited. As many captains might be leaving Peru, to undertake
conquests, Vaca de Castro ordered that they might take just a moderate
number of Indians for their service; for it would not be a fair thing
to still further deplete provinces which were nearly depopulated owing
to the calamities of the late wars. If any soldier tried to deviate
from this order he was to be punished. This order of Vaca de Castro
was certainly very beneficial, for there had been great irregularities
in the past.
We have already mentioned how Gonzalo Pizarro came out of the Canela
country very worn out, both himself and the others who escaped from
that adventure. When he heard of the murder of his brother the
Marquis, and that Vaca de Castro had been acknowledged as Governor,
Gonzalo was much annoyed, for it seemed to him not just that he should
be deprived of that charge, seeing that by virtue of a royal provision
and the nomination of the Marquis, he, Gonzalo, was Governor of Quito.
He spoke about it in this wise quite openly, saying that _he_ ought
to govern the Realm, no matter whom it might displease, and that
the ingratitude of his Majesty was great, with other disrespectful
words. When, on the road, he heard of the victory of Vaca de Castro,
he rejoiced in so far that the murderers of his brother had received
their deserts, and he would have been glad to be present in that
battle with the rest, in order to fully revenge himself on them. But
when his journeying brought him to Lima he talked still more freely,
as we have said, and between him and his friends a conspiracy was
hatched against Vaca de Castro. As nothing is hidden from those who
govern, the news of all this soon reached the Governor, and when
he heard it he sent the bachelor Juan Vélez de Guevara to Lima as
his lieutenant, with orders not to permit any disturbance, nor any
disrespect to his authority. With these instructions Guevara set out
for Lima, Vaca de Castro first having written letters to Gonzalo
Pizarro, directing him to come to Cuzco. Gonzalo, therefore, on
seeing this command departed from Lima for the city of Cuzco, and as
soon as Vaca de Castro knew of his approach he ordered that there
should be men at hand ready for anything that might crop up, and that
his captain of the guard, Gaspar Rodríguez de Camporedondo, should
exercise special care in watching the Governor's person.