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the country, without opposition, for the space of a 

 year, from whence they took a great number of wo- 

 men and children, whom they made slaves. In the 

 mean time the Spanish general attempted repeatedly, 

 to ño purpose, to persuade the Araucanians to com- 

 mence négociations for peace. Preferring all pos> 

 sible evils to the loss of liberty, they constantly re- 

 fused to lend an ear to his proposals. 



As peace, so necessary to the welfare of the co- 

 lony, appeared to be daily more remote, notwith- 

 standing no means were spared to obtain it, the ' 

 military government of the Royal Audience was 

 thought inadequate to the purpose of its establish- 

 ment; and it was deemed more expedient to place it, 

 as before, in the hands of a single chief, distinguish- 

 ed by the new titles of president, governor and 

 captain- general of Chili, from his being president of 

 the Royal Audience, the head of the civil depart- 

 ment, and commander of the armies. Don Melchor 

 de Bravo was, in 1568, invested with this triple 

 character ; a man well qualified to fill the two first 

 offices, but utterly incompetent to sustain the latter. 



He was nevertheless very desirous of engaging the 

 enemy, and signalizing the commencement of his 

 government by a splendid victory. Having learned 

 that Paillataru, who had collected a new army, had oc- 

 cupjied the fatal height of Mariguenu, which the Spa- 

 niards, for what reason I know not, had never thought 

 of fortifying, he immediately marched against him at 

 the head of three hundred European soldiers, and a 

 large number of auxiliaries. Paillataru, like several of 

 his predecessors, had the glory of rendering this moun- 



