Of what happened in the city of Lima, and how Pedro Alvarez Holguin left the city of Cuzco on an expedition of discovery.

THE coming of Vaca de Castro as Judge was publicly known in Lima through letters that had arrived from Spain; and the men of Chile anxiously awaited the hour of his arrival, when they would seek for justice respecting the putting to death of Don Diego de Almagro. They were in very great need, and the Marquis did nothing to alleviate their condition. There was an estate with some Indians which, it was said, Domingo de la Presa had given or sold to Don Diego.[45] It happened that Domingo de la Presa died at this time, and Francisco Martín de Alcántara, brother of the Marquis, asked for the estate. There were even some words about it, for the Bishop, as was said, also had pretensions. Finally the Marquis took it away from Don Diego and gave it to Francisco Martín. This was assuredly a great injustice, and not in conformity with the position and claims of Don Diego, having regard to his father\'s services to the King. As maize and other supplies for Don Diego\'s house, where all the men of Chile boarded, were obtained from this estate, they felt the want so much that it was pitiful to hear what the lad Don Diego said,[83] and how he complained of the harshness with which the Marquis treated him. Juan de Herrada, who had formerly been his father\'s servant, sought by every means for food to sustain Don Diego and his followers, who had become very poor. It is true that the Marquis, in order to make friends with some of them, sent word to the captains Juan de Sayavedra, Cristóbal de Sotelo, and Francisco de Chaves that he would give them Indian bondsmen whereby they might live in comfort: but they scoffed at a promise of that sort, saying that they would rather die of hunger than receive food at the hands of the Marquis.

In view of the current news of the coming of Vaca de Castro, the men of Chile determined to send Alonso de Montemayor and Juan de Baeza, dressed in mourning, to welcome the Judge at Piura, or wherever they could overtake him, and when they reached him they were to petition for restitution of what they had lost, and punishment of their enemies for the treason of having killed the Adelantado. Some there were who said that Juan de Herrada and young Almagro conspired together to find out the intentions of Vaca de Castro, and, if these were not in agreement with what they expected and believed, to kill him and seize all the arms he might have with him. This is the story told by the Pachacama party, but at that time no such plot to murder Vaca de Castro was in being or even discussed among them, nor did they send the deputies for any other purpose than to acquain............