al their arms among the bundles of grass, and to
maintain possession of the gate of the fortress until he could come to
their assistance with the rest of his army. The pretended foragers
conducted themselves with so much judgment that they were admitted into
the fortress without any suspicion on the part of the garrison, and
immediately seizing their arms, they attacked the guard at the gate,
killing all that came in their way. The alarm however soon spread, and
the rest of the garrison hastened in arms to the spot, under Francisco
Reynoso the commandant, and drove the Araucanians from the gate after an
obstinate contest, at the very moment when Caupolican came up with his
army, so that the Spaniards had just sufficient time to raise the
draw-bridge and hasten to defend their ramparts. Though disappointed in
his expectation of gaining admittance by the gate, Caupolican was still
in hope of profiting from the confusion of the garrison, and encouraged
his soldiers to assail the fortress on all sides, notwithstanding the
continual fire kept up by the Spaniards from two cannon and six small
field-pieces. After losing a great number of men in this unequal
contest, Caupolican drew off from the assault, and determined to attempt
the reduction of Arauco by a strict blockade, in hopes that the
Spaniards would be soon constrained by famine into a surrender.

[Footnote 67: Ovalle carries the number of the Araucanian array on this
occasion to the inconceivable amount of 67,000 combatants in the field,
besides a large body of reserve.--E.]

After the blockade had continued for some time, during which the
Spaniards made several unsuccesful sallies with considerable loss,
Reynoso determined to abandon the fort and to retire with his remaining
garrison to Puren, as provisions began to fail, and there was no
prospect of being relieved. Accordingly the whole garrison mounted their
horses at midnight, and rushing suddenly from the gate, made their
escape through the middle of their enemies. As the Araucanians supposed
this to have been one of the ordinary sallies, they took no measures to
obstruct their flight, and Reynoso got off with his men. Having
destroyed the fort of Arauco, Caupolican led his army to attack that of
Tucapel, which was commanded by Martin Erizar with a garrison of forty
men. Erizar defended himself gallantly for several days; but as
provisions began to fail, and his small force was continually
diminishing by the per