£09 OVALLE*S HISTORICAL RELATION OF CHILE. 



he, to expe£t our enemies in our own homes, than to go to feek them at theirs, where 

 all men fight with more valour ; let them come to feek us in our mountains and bogs, 

 where we are fure of a fafe retreat : let us give our enemies a free accefs to us, who 

 have our fituation to befriend us j and, in the meantime, our horfes and foldiers may 

 refrefh themfelves : and if they out of fear (which I believe they will not) do forbear to 

 feek us out, we may attack them when we will. Having fpoke thus, he took Lautaro 

 by the hand, and having publicly commended him, by attributing to him the vidlory 

 and the liberty of his country, he, by confent of all, made him his lieutenant-general, 

 and gave him leave to chufe out the men he would have to ferve under him, to go and 

 pitch upon a fit poft to expedt the Spaniards in. Lautaro was no very tall man, but 

 well fet, and ftrong, induftrious, cautious, of good counfel, gentle, and ^well-propor- 

 tioned, very brave, as we have feen, and fhall lee hereafter. 



To celebrate this victory, the* Indians folemnized public games of wreftling, running, 

 leaping, and other proofs of their ftrength and dexterity : they made alfo great feafting 

 with dancings, and for feveral days did nothing but rejoice and be merry ; but ftill with- 

 out forgetting to be upon their guard, as men that expedted their enemies whom they 

 prefumed defirous of revenge. 



Francifco de Villagran was lieutenant-general to Valdivia when he was killed ; who 

 remaining chief in command, alfembled all he could to go and take vengeance of the 

 enemy for this defeat. Setting out, he came as hf as Arauco ; and being come to a 

 high mountain in the way, he found I.autaro on the top of it, with ten thoufand men, 

 without having fent out any to difturb the Spaniards' march ; for he had left all the 

 pafles eafy, to oblige them to come to that place : it was not far from the fea, which 

 waftied the foot of the mountain on one fide ; the coming up on the other fide was eafy ; 

 all the reft was precipice j but the top was a plain fit to draw up in, and very proper 

 for his defign. 



The Spanifh general being in prefence, the armies began to draw up on both fides ; 

 and, not to make the Indians too prefumptuous, he ordered three troops of horfe to 

 begin the charge, in hopes to draw the Indians from their poft, but in vain ; for though 

 they made three attacks, yet Lautaro would not ftir, but received them with fhowers of 

 arrows, ftones, and darts, which made them retire fafter than they came on. Our 

 people, who could not break this battalion, with the evident danger of falling into pre- 

 cipices, did what they could, but with little efFecl, only tiring their horfes ; for the 

 enemy kept his poft, not a man of them ftirring out of his rank ; only Lautaro would 

 permit fome of the braveft to go out, and defy the Spaniards body to body. There 

 tame forth, among the reft, a brave youth, called Curioman, who taking a long career, 

 would throw his lance with that dexterity, that he wounded many of the Spaniards : 

 he did this feven times, and, at the eighth, Villagran, being vexed at his importunate 

 boldnefs, commanded a famous foldier, called Diego Lano, to chaftife the Indian's in- 

 folence, which he did ; and it was all his high courage and ftrength could perform. 

 The Spaniards feeing themfelves tired, and that all the movement of their horfe figni- 

 fied little, and that the Indians were taking the pafles behind them, began to ufe their 

 fmall ftiot, which at firft made a great flaughter among the Indians. Lautaro, to remedy 

 this inconvenience, commanded Leucaton, one of his captains, to attack the Spaniards 

 on the flank, and not to ftop till he came up clofe with their mufqueteers, that by this 

 means mingling with them, they might avoid their fmall fhot, which, in that cafe, could 

 not be of any ufe to the Spaniards, without wounding their own men too. This he 

 obferved, and they ever fince have pradtifed the fame with good fuccefs ; and without 

 this boldnefs, in which they always lofe fome men, they would be much inferior to the 



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