those who chiefly supported the courage of the
Araucanians, having perished, with the flower of their soldiers, so that
he believed the nation would henceforwards be entirely submissive to the
will of the conquerors. Impressed with these hopes, he now devoted his
whole attention to repair the losses occasioned by the war, rebuilding
the fortifications which had been destroyed, particularly Arauco, Angol,
and Villarica, all of which he repeopled and provided with competent
garrisons. He caused all the mines which had been abandoned to be
reopened, and others to be explored: And obtained the establishment of a
bishopric in the capital of Chili, to which place he went in person to
receive the first bishop, Fernando Barrionuevo, a Franciscan monk.
Having a considerable number of veteran troops under his command, for
most of whom he believed there was no longer occasion in Chili, he sent
off a part of them under Pedro Castillo to complete the conquest of
Cujo, formerly commenced by Francisco de Aguirre. Castillo subjected the
Guarpes, the ancient inhabitants of that province, to the Spanish
dominion, and founded two cities on the eastern skirts of the Andes,
which he named San Juan and Mendoza, the latter in compliment to the
family name of the governor Don Garcia. The extensive and fertile
province of Cujo remained for a considerable time dependent on the
government of Chili, but has been since transferred to the vice-royalty
of Buenos Ayres, to which it seems more properly to appertain from its
situation and natural boundaries.

While Don Garcia thus took advantage of the apparent calm which
prevailed in Chili, he received information that Francisco Villagran had
arrived from Spain at Buenos Ayres, appointed to succeed him in the
government of Chili, and that the king had promoted himself to the
viceroyalty of Peru in reward for his services in his present
government. In consequence of this information, he confided the interim
government of Chili to the care of Rodrigo de Quiroga, and withdrew into
Peru, to take possession of the exalted situation of viceroy which his
father had formerly occupied.

Villagran, who had been governor of Chid previous to Don Garcia, had
gone to Europe when deprived of that government, and had procured his
reinstatement from the court of Spain. Believing, from the information
of Don Garcia and Quiroga, that the Araucanians were in no condition to
give any future trouble, Villagran turned his