heir coming. At the hour of noon, they arrived at that bad
pass of Tarma where warriors were said to be waiting to defend it. The
pass seemed to be so full of difficulties that it would be impossible to
go up it, because there was a bad road of stone down into the gully
where all the riders had to dismount, after which it was necessary to go
up the heights by a slope about a league long, the greater part of which
was steep and difficult forest, all of which was crossed without any
Indians who were said to be armed making an appearance. And in the
afternoon, after the hour of vespers, the Governor and his men arrived
at that village of Tarma where, because it was a bad site and because he
had news that Indians were coming to it to surprise the Christians, he
did not wish to linger longer than was necessary for feeding the horses
and allaying their own hunger and fatigue so as to enable them to go
forth prepared from that place which had no other level spot than the
plaza as it was on a small slope surrounded by mountains for the space
of a league. As it was already night, he made his camp here, being
always on the alert and having the horses saddled. And the men were
without [proper] food and even without any comfort because there was
neither fire-wood nor water, nor had they brought their tents with them
to shelter them, because of which they all nearly died of cold on
account of the fact that it rained much early in the night and then
snowed so that the arms and clothes were drenched. But each one sought
the best remedy he could, and so that evil and troublous night passed to
the dawn when he commanded that all mount their horses so as to arrive
early at Xauxa which was four leagues from there. When two had been
crossed over, the Governor divided the seventy-five soldiers between
three captains, giving fifteen to each, and taking with him the
remaining twenty and the twenty peones who were guarding Chilichuchima.
In this order they journeyed to Porsi a league from Xauxa, having given
each captain orders as to what he was to do, and they all halted in a
small village which they encountered. Then they all marched on in
complete accord, and gave a look at the city. They all halted again on a
slope within a quarter of a league of it.

CHAPTER IV

They arrive at the city of Xauxa; they leave some soldiers there to
guard that place, and others go against the army of the enemy with
which they fight. They wi