744 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. I02 



he was fearless ; they stood in awe of him and respected him, to 

 such a degree that the mere mention of his name was often enough 

 to intimidate the Indians and put their squadrons to flight ; the 

 Spaniards on several occasions, seeing themselves hard put to it, 

 gave out that Capt. Juan Beltran was coming with them, and thus 

 gained the victory; such authority did he have with them, and such 

 respect and fear did they show him, 



1969. Accordingly for his sterling character and his bravery, Gov. 

 Martin Garcia de Loyola, in His Majesty's name, presented him with 

 500 Indians and gave him the title of Infantry Captain. He was 

 a valiant governor and captain for them ; with his 500 Indians he 

 built his fort 2 leagues from Villarica ; they were very obedient to 

 him. He made himself respected and feared in all the neighboring 

 provinces ; he made long malocas or raids into them, bringing back 

 great prizes. So long as he lived, Villarica was well defended and 

 could rely on his aid and protection, until they finally killed him. 

 His loss was the end of the Spaniards, and they perished at the hands 

 of the Indians. Merely to write his victories and heroic deeds against 

 the savages in His Majesty's service and in defense of the Spaniards, 

 would require an entire volume. 



Chapter XI 



Continuing the Description of the Country, and of the City of 

 Valdivia. 



1970. From Villarica to the city of Valdivia was 16 leagues. This 

 was founded and colonized by Gov. Pedro de Valdivia at the end of 

 the year 1551 ; he finished colonizing it in 1562. It had a marvelous 

 site on a flat-topped hill between two rivers, one a large one known 

 as the Rio de Valdivia; it was at 40° S., and 2 leagues inland from 

 the sea. This large river has a medium-sized island at its mouth, 

 forming two channels emptying into the sea ; the northern one is the 

 deeper, and ships sailed up it as far as the city, for it was deep, 

 clear, safe, and free from currents ; they even anchored by the 

 shore, between the Franciscan and Dominican convents, with bow 

 or side next the bank; they put out short planks and the men and 

 women of the city would visit the ships, which they much enjoyed 

 doing. 



1971. The whole Cantaranas ward lay on the bank of this great 

 river. On the other side of the city ran a small stream called the 

 Rio Carmenga, which was a favorite resort for pleasant excursions 

 for the citizens ; they had gristmills there and gardens and orchards 



