294 



vernment, but that produced by a violent earth- 

 quake^ whichj on the 8th of May, 1647, de- 

 stroyed part of the city of Santiago. The for- 

 tune of his successor, Don Antonio Acugna, was 

 very different. During his government the war 

 was excited anew between the Spaniards and 

 Araucanians, but contemporary writers have left 

 us no account of the causes that produced it. 



Clentaru, the hereditary Toqui of Lauque- 

 mapu, being in 1655 unanimously elected ge- 

 neral, signalized his first campaign by the total 

 defeat of the Spanish army, commanded by the 

 sergeant-major, who fell in the action, together 

 with all his men. This victory was followed by 

 the capture of the fortresses of Arauco, Colcura, 

 St. Pedro, Talcamavida, and St. Rosendo. The 

 next year the Araucanian general crossed the 

 Bio-bio, completely defeated Acugna, the go- 

 vernor, in the plains of Yumbel, destroyed the 

 forts of St. Christopher, and of the Estancia del 

 Rey, and burned the city of Chilian. 



I regret much the want of materials for this 

 part of my work, as all the memoirs of which I 

 have hitherto availed myself terminate at this 

 period ; even the successes of Clentaru being 

 only mentioned incidentally. All that we know 

 is, generally, that this war was continued with 

 great violence for a period of ten years, under 

 the government of Don Pedro Portcl Casanate, 

 and Don Francisco Meneses. The last, who 



