4^ 



they easily escaped pursuit^ and taking* t!ieii*\^i^ 

 through the desarts of Peru^ arrived at Guzco, 

 the residence at that time of Vasca de Castro, 

 who had succeeded to the government upon the 

 death of Pizarro, cruelly assassinated by the 

 partizans of Almagro. 



On being informed of the critical situation of 

 Chili, Castro immediately dispatched a consider- 

 able number of recruits by land under the com- 

 mand of Monroy, who had the good fortune to 

 conceal his march from the Copiapins ; and at 

 the same time gave directions to Juan Batista 

 Pastene, a nobFe Genoese, to proceed thither by 

 sea with a still greater number. Valdivia, on 

 resceiving these two reinforcements, which ar- 

 rived nearly at the same time, began to carry 

 his great designs into execution. As he had 

 been solicitous from the first to have a complete 

 knowledge of the sea-coast, he ordered Pastene 

 to explore it, and note the situation of the most 

 important parts and places, as far as the straits 

 of Magellan. On his return from this expe- 

 dition, he sent him back to Peru for new recruits^ 

 as, since the affair of Copiapo, the natives became 

 daily more bold and enterprising. 



Among others, the Quillotancs had, a little 

 <ime before, massacred all the soldiers employed 

 in the mines. For this purpose they employed 

 the following stratagem : one of the neighbour- 

 ing^ Indians brought to the commander, Gonzalo 

 4. 



