127 



who appear to have had a presentiment of what was 

 to happen. 



The Spanish historians of tliat period, as they felt 

 a greater or less desire of diminishing the loss of 

 their countrymen, vary greatly in their accounts of 

 the number of Spanish and Indian auxiliaries, wha 

 accompanied him in this unfortunate expedition. 

 According to some, he had only two hundred of the 

 first, and five thousand of the latter. Others reduce 

 even this to only half the number. The same un- 

 certainty is to be found in their accounts of the 

 number of the enemy, some making it amount to 

 nine, and others to more than ten thousand. If both 

 the hostile parties possessed historical documents, 

 we might, from comparing their different accounts, 

 probably obtain a tolerable accurate calculation, but 

 the means of information we are obliged to have re- 

 course to are all derived from the same source. 

 Nevertheless, on considering the important conse- 

 quences of this battle, we are induced to believe 

 that the loss was much greater than is pretended. 



On approaching within a short distance of the 

 «nemy's encampment, Valdivia sent Diego del Oro 

 forward to reconnoitre them with ten horse. This 

 detachment, however, falling in with an advanced 

 party of the Araucanians, were all slain by them, 

 and their heads cut off and suspended to trees 

 upon the road. The Spanish soldiers, on arriving 

 at this spot, were filled with horror at the sight of 

 such an unexpected spectacle, and notwithstanding 

 their accustomed intrepidity, were solicitous to re- 

 turn. Valdivia himself began to regret his having 



