In this march, Gonzalo did not think proper to carry along with his army
any of the soldiers belonging to the viceroy whom he had taken during
the pursuit, both because he could not confide in them, because he had
already a sufficient force in proportion to the enemy, and because
provisions were very difficult to be procured, as the viceroy had
stripped every place through which he passed as much as possible. For
this reason, Gonzalo Pizarro sent back all his prisoners to Truxillo,
Lima, or such other places as they thought proper, having in the first
place put to death such of their chiefs as he considered most strongly
attached to the viceroy. As these soldiers were dispersed over several
parts of the country, they began to declaim in favour of the viceroy and
against the tyrannical conduct of Gonzalo, and found many persons
abundantly disposed to listen to their harangues; both because what they
alleged was true in itself, and because most of the Spanish inhabitants
of Peru were much inclined to revolution and change of party, especially
the soldiery and those who were lazy and unoccupied. The real settlers
and principal inhabitants of the cities were quite of an opposite
description, being friends of peace and order, as most conducive to
their interest and happiness, and necessary to the preservation of their
properties, and being more exposed in time of civil war than even the
soldiers to be harassed and tormented in many ways, as the ruling party
was apt on the slightest pretexts to put them to death on purpose to
seize their effects, with which to gratify and reward the partizans of
their tyranny and injustice. These seditious discourses were so openly
indulged in, that they reached the knowledge of the lieutenants of
Gonzalo; who, each in his peculiar jurisdiction, punished the authors as
they deemed right. At Lima, to which most of these prisoners had gone,
Pedro Martin de Cecilia the provost marshal was a violent partizan of
Gonzalo, and caused several of these malecontents to be hanged. Lorenzo
de Aldana, who had been left by Gonzalo as lieutenant-governor of Lima,
was a prudent man, and conducted himself in a quite different manner,
being disinclined from acting with such violence as might occasion
displeasure to either party in the sequel; for which reason he used all
his influence to prevent putting any one to death, or from injuring any
person in any manner. Although he held his office from Gonzalo, he never