the same who was the usurper at Copiapo — and twenty other natives.
From this time the aspect of affairs with the natives grew ominous. As they advanced further into the country of the Promaucians, the Spaniards were opposed with much intrepidity. On the banks of a foaming mountain river an engagement took place. Almagro put forward his Peruvians under Paullu, but they were soon routed. The Spanish cavalry advanced and a furious battle raged until nightfall. The Promaucians were not defeated, though they had been severely punished; the following morning they were ready to renew the fight. But the Spaniards, though not defeated, thought it not worth their while to fight with no booty in sight. They retreated, and Almagro, still urged by some of his followers and more and more impressed by the letters he had received from his friends in Cuzco, determined to return to Peru, as we have already stated.
The subsequent career of this intrepid Spaniard does not concern us in a history of Chile, so that we will give it in a few words. Upon his return he took possession of Cuzco, and, after several futile efforts to negotiate a settlement with Pizarro, fought the battle of Las Salinas in 1538 with Pizarro's brother, though too infirm to sit upon his horse at the time. His forces were defeated, but he himself made his escape to Cuzco. He was captured, thrown into irons, tried, condemned on a pretended charge of levying war against the crown and conspiring with the Inca, and executed as a public disturber by the Pizarros. By the terms of the royal grant he was authorized to name his successor; this he did, naming his minor son, Diego. Diego, as we have seen, did nothing to further the Spanish interests in Chile. Almagro's old
