ation on the mountain of Mariguenu. The
successful issue of this enterprise excited Caupolican to resume the
sieges or blockades of Imperial and Valdivia, during which Lautaro
undertook to make a diversion of the Spanish forces, by marching against
St Jago, by which he expected to prevent them from sending
reinforcements into the south, and he even conceived that it might be
possible to gain possession of that capital of the Spanish dominions in
Chili, notwithstanding its great distance; as the successes he had
already obtained so filled his mind with confidence that no difficulty
appeared too great to be overcome. In order to execute this hazardous
enterprise, which appears to have been concerted with Caupolican, he
only required five hundred men to be selected by himself from the
Araucanian army; but so many pressed to serve under his victorious
standard, that he was obliged to admit an additional hundred. With this
determined band of six hundred warriors, he traversed all the provinces
between the rivers Biobio and Maule, without doing any injury to the
natives, who hailed him as their deliverer from the Spanish tyranny. But
on crossing the latter river, he immediately proceeded to lay waste the
lands of the Promaucians, who were detested by the Araucanians for
acting as auxiliaries to the Spaniards. Had he treated them with
kindness, he might in all probability have detached them from the
Spanish interest and united them in alliance with his own nation. But
impelled by eagerness for revenge, he did not appreciate the good
effects which might have flowed from a reconciliation with that numerous
and warlike nation, whom he considered as traitors to the common cause.
Having satiated his revenge, he fortified himself in an advantageous
post in their territory on the banks of the Rio-claro, probably on
purpose to gain more correct information respecting the state of the
city he intended to attack.

This ill-judged delay was of great importance to the inhabitants of St
Jago, by giving them time to prepare for their defence. They could not
at first believe it possible that Lautaro would have the audacity to
undertake a march of three hundred miles beyond the Araucanian frontiers
to attack their city; but undeceived by the refugees from Conception,
and the daily reports of the ravages of the enemy in the territories of
the Promaucians, they dispatched Juan Godinez with an escort of
twenty-five horse into the Promaucian coun