My condition is like it was during the expeditions I took part in, when climbing great and rugged mountains so lofty that their summits were lost in the clouds and the scud that accompanied them. At times, when I saw myself in the midst of the ascent, I used to feel so fagged that it was very difficult for me to reach the top; and on turning to gaze beneath me it seemed as if the deep ravines must reach down into the inferno. So in my exhausted state I prayed to God to give me strength to pass onward. Looking back at what I have written since 1523 down to the present time, and realizing how voluminous the writing has been, as well as the much that remains to be finished, I am in still greater trouble than I was in the mountains. For were I to finish off here what is begun, the work would be incomplete; while, if I go on, my judgment is so weak, and my head so vacuous that I know not how I shall be able to do it. But reflecting, as the Philosopher says, that some men must attempt great deeds and worship lofty ideals, the commoner sort being open to all, I will go on, while praying to God to give me strength, and invoking the aid of His most holy Mother; and I will finish the work, or perish in the attempt. We have already said that the Governor Vaca de Castro appointed the captain Felipe Gutiérrez to be the leader of an exploring party to the region lying to the northward of the famous river of La Plata and the Strait of Magellan, and the captain Diego de Rojas to remain as Governor of the first city they might found; and that he named Nicolás de Heredia, jointly with these, as Camp-master. As, in this empire of the Indies, there had been great trouble, owing to the death of those in command, Vaca de Castro desired that his Majesty's interest should not suffer in such a contingency this time. So he provided that, if it should please God to take Felipe Gutiérrez, the command should vest in the two, and, if one of them died, the other should remain in charge. There were great reports of a river called _Arauco_, on the borders of Chile, and the intention was to explore in that direction. As soon as the captains received their commissions, they busied themselves in enlisting men, and soon got 130 Spaniards together, horse and foot. To provide for them, besides the help given by Vaca de Castro, they all three laid out as much money as they could provide. For Ensign-general they had Hurtado, for captain Pedro López de Ayala, for royal officer Rodrigo de Cantos. Among them, too, was the spirited youth Diego Alvarez, who was afterwards Ensign-general at the rout of Huarina. When all things were ready, Diego de Rojas set out for the valley of Chiquana[150] with sixty Spaniards, where he decided to wait for the General Felipe Gutiérrez, and the Camp-master Nicolás de Heredia. So Diego de Rojas departed, and marched until he reached that valley, where he learnt from the local Indians that there were