246 



During the government of this Toqui, the Dutch 

 attempted a second time to form an alhance with the 

 Araucanians, in order to obtain possession of Chili ; 

 but this expedition was not moie fortunate than the 

 first. 



The squadron, which consisted of four ships, was 

 dispersed by a storm on its arrival on the coast in 

 1638. A boat, well manned and armed, being after- 

 wards dispatched to the island of Mocha, belonging 

 to the Araucanians, the inhabitants, supposing that 

 they came to attack them, fell upon the crew, put the 

 whole to death, and took possession of the boat, 

 Another experienced a similar misfortune in the lit- 

 tle island of Talca, or Santa Maria. The Arauca-- 

 nians, as has been already observed, were equally 

 jealous, and not, as may be readily imagined, with- 

 out reaeon, of all the European nations, Notwith^ 

 standing the ill success of the Dutch, Sir John 

 Narborough, an English naval commander, under- 

 took some years after a similar enterprise, ^by order 

 of his sovereign Charles the Second; but in passing 

 the streights of Magellan, he lost his whole fleet, 

 which was much better equipped than that of the 

 Dutch. 



In the mean time the governor, taking advantage 

 of the imprudence of the Araucanian commanders, 

 continued constantly to lay waste their provinces. By 

 a proclamation he had at first directed that every pri* 

 soner taken in these incursions, capable of bearing 

 arms, should be putto death; but afterwards, actuated 

 by more humane sentiments, he ordered that they 

 *thould be sent to Peru. This sentence was, howe^ 



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