181 



themselves with burning the houses and demolish- 

 in g the walls. 



The capture of Angol, after that of Cañete and 

 Aran CO, appeared so easy to Antiguenu, that he gave 

 it in charge to one of his subalterns. That officer 

 meeting on the road with a body of Spaniards com- 

 manded by Zurita, defeated them, but was afterwards 

 routed in his turn near Mulchen by Diego Carranza, 

 whom the magistracy of that city had sent against 

 him. Antiguenu, solicitous of maintaining the re- 

 putation of his arms, repaired thither in person with 

 about two thousand men, in order to finish the enter- 

 prize, but before assaulting the place he encamped 

 at the confluence of the Bio-bio and Vcrgosa, wheré 

 he was attacked by the whole Spanish army, under 

 the command of Bernai. The Araucanians made 

 use with much skill of the muskets which they had 

 taken at the defeat of Mariguenu, and sustained the 

 assault for three hours in succession. Four hundred 

 of the auxiliaries and a number of Spaniards had 

 fallen, when their infantry began to give way and be- 

 take themselves to flig'ht;|g Bernai, perceiving no 

 other means of restraining them, commanded the 

 horse to slay the fugitives. This severe order was 

 carried into execution, and checked the confusion. 

 The infantry being thus compelled to fight, attacked 

 the enemy's intrenchments with such vigour, that 

 they finally forced them and penetratéd into the camp. 

 Antiguenu valiantly opposed the assailants in person, 

 but, forced along with a crowd of his soldiers vvho 

 fled, he fell from a high bank into the river and was 

 drowned. His death decided the battle. Great was 



