13S 



witíistanding his late losses, failed not to send them 

 with all possible speed, a sufficient number of troops 

 fortheir defence. The Araucanian general, believing 

 it difficult under such circumstances to possess him- 

 self of those places, raised the siege, and went to 

 join Lautaro, to attempt with their combined for- 

 ces some other enterprise of greater importance. 



Villagran, availing himself of the absence of the 

 enemy, ravaged all the country in the vicinity of 

 Imperial, burned the houses and the crops, and 

 transported to the city all the provisions that were 

 not destroyed. Such rigorous measures he vindi- 

 cated by the pretended rights of war, but they 

 usually produce no other effect than that of distress- 

 ing the weak and the helpless. In other respects he, 

 was humane, and averse to violence, and his gene- 

 rosity was acknowledged even by his enemies. 

 During his government, no one was ill treated or 

 put to death except in the field of battle. 



To the terrible calamities that usually follow in 

 the train of war, was added that of the pestilence. 

 Some of the Spanish soldiers, who were either in- 

 fected at the time, or had but recently recovered 

 from the small-pox, in the above incursions made- 

 by Villagran, communicated for the first time that 

 ffital disease to the Araucanian provinces, which 

 made there the greater ravages, as they were entirely 

 unacquainted with it. Of the several districts 

 of the country there was one whose population 

 amounted to twelve thousand persons, of which 

 number not more than one hundred escaped with 



