Here were found two dead horses,[48] from which it was suspected that some misfortune had befallen the captain. But, having entered the village, they learned, from a letter that arrived before they retired for the night, that the captain had here encountered some warriors, and that, in order to gain the mountain, he had gone up a slope where he had found assembled a great quantity of stone, a sign which showed that they [the Indians] wished to guard [the pass], and that they were gone in search of [other] Indians because they had warning that [the Spaniards] were not far off and that the two horses had died of so many changes from heat to cold. He [the captain] wrote nothing of the aid which the Governor had sent to him, because of which it was thought that it had not yet arrived. The next day the Governor set out from there, and slept [the next night] by a river whose bridge had been burned by the enemy, so that it was necessary to ford it, with great fatigue on account of the fact that the current was very swift and the bottom very stony. On the next day, they encamped at a town in the houses of which was found much silver in large slabs twenty feet long, one broad, and one or two fingers thick. And the Indians who were there related that those slabs belonged to a great cacique and that one of the lords of Cuzco had won them and had carried them off thus in plates, together with those of which the conquered cacique had built a house.[49] The next day, the Governor set out in order to cross the last bridge, which was almost three leagues from there. Before he arrived at that river, a messenger came with a letter from the captain in which he informed him that he had arrived at the last bridge with great speed in order that the enemy should not have opportunity to burn it; but that, at the time of his arrival there, they had finished burning it, and as it was already late, he did not wish to cross the river that same day, but had gone to camp in a village which was nearby. The next day, he [the captain] had passed through the water, which came to the breasts of the horses, and had proceeded straight along the road to Cuzco which was twelve leagues from there; and as, on the way, he was informed that, on a neighbouring mountain [where] forts had been built, all the enemies were hoping that the next day Quizquiz would come to their aid with reËnforcements from the troops which he had in Cuzco, for this reason he [the captain] had spurred ahead with all speed together with fifty horsemen,[50] for ten had been left guarding the baggage and certain gold which had been found in the rout of Bilcas. And one Saturday, at noon, they had begun to go up on horseback a slope which lasted well over a league, and, being wearied by the sharp ascent and by the mid-day heat, which was very great, they stopped awhile and gave to the horses some maize which they had because the natives of a village nearby had brought it to them. Then, proceeding on their journey, the captain, who rode a cross-bow shot ahead, saw the enemy on the summit of the mountain, which they entirely covered, and [he saw] that three or four thousand were coming down in order to pass the point where they [the Spaniards] were. Because of this, although he called to the Spaniards to put themselves in battle-array, he could not hope to join them, because the Indians were already very near and were coming with great rapidity. But with those who were in readiness, he advanced to give battle [to the Indians], and the Spaniards who kept coming up mounted the slope of the mountain, some on one hand, others on the other. They dashed among those of the enemy who were foremost without waiting for the beginning of the fight, save for defending themselves against the stones which were hurled upon them, until they mounted to the summit of the mountain, in which deed they thought they saw a certain victory to be accomplished. The horses were so tired that they could not get breath in order to attack with impetuosity such a multitude of enemies, nor did the latter cease to inconvenience and harass them continually with the lances stones and arrows which they hurled at them, so they fatigued all to such an extent that the riders could hardly keep their horses at the trot or even at the pace. The Indians, perceiving the weariness of the horses, began to charge with greater fury, and five Christians, whose horses could not go up to the summit of the slope, were charged so furiously by so many of the throng that to two of them it was impossible to alight, and they were killed upon their horses. The others fought on foot very valorously, but at length, not being seen by any companions who could bring them aid, they remained prisoners, and only one was killed without being able to lay hand upon his sword or to defend himself, the cause of which was that a good soldier was left dead beside him, the tail of his horse having been seized which prevented his going ahead with the rest. They [the Indians] opened the heads of all by means of their battle-axes and clubs; they wounded eighteen horses and six Christians; but none of the wounds were dangerous save those of one horse which died of them. It pleased God Our Lord that the Spaniards should gain a plain which was near that mountain, and the Indians collected on a hill nearby. The captain commanded half of his men to take the bridles off their horses and let them drink in a rivulet that ran there, and then to do the same for the other half, which was done without being hindered by the enemies. Then, the captain said to all: "Gentlemen, let us withdraw from here step by step down this declivity in such a way that the enemy may think that we are fleeing from them, in order that they may come in search of us below, for, if we can attract them to this plain, we will attack them all of a sudden in such a manner that I hope not one of them will escape from our hands. Our horses are already somewhat tired, and if we put the enemy to flight, we shall end by gaining the summit of the mountain." And thus it was that some of the Indians, thinking that the Spaniards were retreating, came down below, throwing stones at them, with their slings, and shooting arrows.[51] When this was seen by the Christians, [they knew] that now was their time, [and] they turned their horses' heads, and before the Indians could gather together on the mountain where they were before, some twenty of them were killed. When this was seen by the others, and when they perceived that there was little safety in the place where they were, they left that mountain and retired to another one which was higher. The captain, with his men, finished climbing the mountain, and there, because it was already night, he camped with his soldiers. The Indians also camped two cross-bow shots away, in such a manner that in either camp could be heard the voices in the other. The captain caused the wounds to be cared for and posted patrols and sentinels for the night, and he ordered that all the horses were to remain saddled and bridled until the following day, on which he was to fight with the Indians. And he tried to cheer his men up and renew their valor, saying: "that by all means it was necessary to attack the enemy the following morning without delaying an instant, because he had news that the captain Quizquiz was coming with great reËnforcements, and by no means should they wait until he joined forces with them." All showed as much spirits and confidence as if they already had the victory in their hands, and again the captain comforted them, saying: "he held the day just passed through to be more perilous than that which awaited them on the morrow, and that God Our Lord who had delivered them from danger in the past would grant them victory in the future, and that they should look to it whether, on the day before, when their horses were so weary, they had attacked their enemies with disadvantage and had routed them and driven them from their fortresses, even though their own number did not exceed fifty, and that of the enemy eight thousand; ought they not, then, to hope for victory when they were fresh and rested?" With these and other spirited conversations, that night was passed, and the Indians were in their own camp, uttering cries and saying: "Wait, Christians, until dawn, when you are all to die, and we shall take away from you just as many horses as you have!"[52] and they added insulting words in their language having determined to enter into combat with the Christians as soon as it should dawn, believing them and their horses to be weary on account of the toil of the day before and because they saw them to be so few in numbers and because they knew that many of the horses were wounded. In this manner the same thought prevailed on the one side and on the other, but the Indians firmly believed that the Christians would not escape from them.[53]