wer and inclination to reward his
followers. It is necessary to quit Carvajal and his expedition for the
present, that we may relate the events which took place at Quito.

We have already mentioned that Gonzalo Pizarro pursued the viceroy from
San Miguel to Quito, a distance of 150 leagues or 600 miles, with much
perseverance and rapidity, insomuch that almost every day the light
armed men belonging to the two armies had opportunities of speaking with
each other. During the whole of that long march, neither party had an
opportunity to unsaddle their horses. Those belonging to the viceroy,
owing to the necessity they were under of escaping from a force so much
superior, were even more alert than their pursuers. When at any time
they stopped to take a short rest during the night, they slept on the
ground in their clothes, holding their horses by the halters, without
wasting time in fixing up piquets, or making any of the usual
preparations for accommodating themselves and horses during the night.
It is true that piquets are seldom used in the sands of Peru for the
horses, as it would be necessary to drive these very deep to take
sufficient hold; and as there are no trees to be met with in many parts
of that country for making piquets, necessity has introduced a
substitute in some measure equivalent: For this purpose each horseman
has a small bag, which he fills with sand and burries in a hole of
sufficient depth, having one end of the halter fixed to the bag, the
hole being afterwards filled up and pressed well down to prevent the bag
from being drawn up by the efforts of the horse. But on this urgent
occasion, the troops of the viceroy did not take time for this measure,
but held the halters in their hands, that they might be ready to mount
and set out the moment it was necessary by the approach of their
pursuers.

In this long march, both the pursuers and the pursued suffered
exceedingly from want of provisions; more especially the Pizarrians, as
the viceroy used the precaution of removing the curacas and Indians from
all the country through which he passed, that his enemy might find every
part of the country deserted and unprovided with any means of
subsistence. During this precipitate retreat, the viceroy carried along
with him eight or ten of the best horses he had been able to procure,
which were led by Indians for his own particular use; and when any of
these became so tired as to be unable to proceed, he ordered