758 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 102 



them up, others would come on in their stead. Accordingly although 

 the Governor and his men had fought and kept fighting valiantly, 

 killing many Indians and putting them to rout, all the squadrons 

 which had attacked them still remained whole, for those who kept 

 dropping out of the battle went off and reinforced and renewed other 

 squadrons. Thus they fought from dawn to eve with slight loss or 

 fatigue on the part of the Indians, thanks to the new system and 

 method of fighting they had adopted, under which they kept renewing 

 their forces while the Spaniards lost theirs. 



2004. But the Christians, who had been fighting all day, were 

 now exhausted, as well as their horses. And when Gov. Pedro de 

 Valdivia realized the Indians' trick and their new system of fighting, 

 and that their squadrons remained entire because they kept renewing 

 them, he saw that he was lost ; late as it was and tired and exhausted 

 as they were, after the loss of many of their force, he went and 

 retreated as far as Coton. On the retreat he notified them to pass 

 the word along that they should keep together and retreat to the 

 Lebu Pass ; there they could make a stand, for two men alone could 

 defend it against the savages while the others rested. But this word 

 was not so secret but that Lautaro, a civilized (Ladino) Indian who 

 had been with the Governor since he was little, heard it ; he shouted 

 out the Christians' intention to the savages, and with a war whoop 

 he seized a lance and started fighting as sturdily as a mastiff against 

 the Spaniards. Caupolican and his old counselor, on learning of 

 the plan adopted by the Governor and his force, dispatched two 

 Indian squadrons at full speed to go and take the Lebu Pass, so 

 that the Christians should not get away from them, so eager were 

 they to finish by massacring them. 



The Spaniards, who had fought all day without ceasing, arrived at 

 sundown, the 14 of them who had remained alive, badly wounded 

 and worn out, at the pass where they hoped to escape with their 

 lives. Thereupon the squadrons which had been sent ahead to guard 

 the pass, rushed out on them, and they were caught between them 

 and the main bulk of the savages' army following them. The Chris- 

 tians, who now saw Death eye to eye, without spirit or strength to 

 fight, like good Christians recommended their souls to God and were 

 killed and hacked to pieces with great fury and barbarous cruelty 

 by the savages ; the only ones taken alive were Gov. Pedro de Valdivia 

 and a chaplain of his, whom they tied to two stakes while they made 

 ready for their fate and the celebration of their victory. 



