4l6 . SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. I02 



hand at the Captain of the Guard and although he was wearing a 

 coat of mail, it penetrated, and immediately Lope de Aguirre came 

 up and with a cruel sword thrust cut off his arm. And when Don 

 Fernando de Guzman saw his Captain of the Guard dead, he said : 

 "Militia Captain, why have you killed my Captain of the Guard with- 

 out having given me any reason why you did it?" Lope de Aguirre 

 answered him : "Lord and master, since I have killed Lorenzo de 

 Salduendo, who was my own blood relation and son and what I loved 

 best in this life. Your Excellency should understand that it was 

 suitable that he should die and that all shall die who harbor a similar 

 ambition, of killing Your Excellency." Don Fernando de Guzman 

 replied to him that that was no reason ; that it would have been proper 

 that as Militia Captain he should have given him, his General, infor- 

 mation of the crime that his Captain of the Guard proposed to commit, 

 and that he would give him over to him as Militia Captain if he 

 deserved punishment for it, so that the soldiers should understand 

 that this captain deserved to die and not come the way he did, 

 agitating the army ; that might lead to a barbarous death for everyone. 

 Lope de Aguirre replied that it was clear that His Excellency had 

 had little experience in such matters, and that since he had killed 

 Lorenzo de Salduendo, who was like his own son. His Excellency 

 should understand that he deserved the death he had given him, for 

 this Lorenzo de Salduendo had told Doiia Ines de Atiensa about 

 it when he was in bed with her. And so at the time this poor Doiia 

 Jnes came to see Don Fernando de Guzman, this rebel Lope de 

 Aguirre summoned a certain depraved and infamous Antonio 

 Llamoso, for him to go at once and murder this Doiia Ines, which 

 the criminal soldier did, giving this poor blameless lady several dagger 

 thrusts, to cover up his arbitrary crimes and treacheries. 



1209. Don Fernando de Guzman wanted to kill Lope de Aguirre, 

 for he knew of his treacheries and cruelties, against which nobody 

 was secure ; but he did not dare to and could not bring himself to 

 order it done ; and a few days later, when they were on the brigan- 

 tines, which Lope de Aguirre had charge of. Lope de Aguirre began 

 scheming again, making friends and forming a bodyguard of 20 

 harquebussiers ; and when Don Fernando de Guzman learned of it, 

 he sent to have him called, and said to him : "Militia Captain, they 

 tell me that you have made yourself a bodyguard of harquebussiers." 

 The traitor answered him "They have told Your Excellency the 

 truth, for if I do not guard myself in order to guard Your Excellency, 

 who will guard him, since Lorenzo de Salduendo wanted to kill both 

 Your Excellency and me? " And with this reply he left him and re- 



