- 120 



The Spanish commander, having passed the river 

 with his troops, founded upon the southern shore 

 the sixth city, which he called Valdivia, being the 

 first of the American conquerors who sought in this 

 manner to perpetuate his family name. This settle- 

 ment, of which at present only the fortress remains, 

 in a few years attained a considerable degree of 

 prosperity, not only from the superior fineness of the 

 gold dug in its mines, which has obtained it the 

 privilege of a mint, but from the excellence of its 

 harbour, one of the most secure and pleasant in the 

 South Sea. The river is very broad, and so deep 

 that ships of the line may anchor within a few feet of 

 the shore ; it also forms several other harbours in 

 the vicinity. 



Valdivia, satisfied with the conquests or rather in- 

 cursions that he iiad made, turned back, and in re- 

 passing the provinces of Puren, Tucapel and Arau- 

 co, built in each of them, in 1553, a fortress, to se- 

 cure the possession of the others, as he well knew 

 that from these pro\'inces alone he had to apprehend 

 any attempt that might prove fatal to his settlements. 

 Ercilla says that, in this expedition, the Spaniards 

 liad to sustain m^any battles with the natives, which 

 is highly probable, as the continuance of Lincoyan 

 in the command can upon no other principle be ac- 

 counted for. But these actions, ill conducted through 

 the cowardly caution of the general, were very far 

 from checking the torrent that inundated the pro- 

 \ inces. 



^\'ithout reflecting upon the imprudence of oc- 

 cupying so large an extent of country with so 



