United States or Afghanistan ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !


The adjoining provinces of Puren, Ilicura, and Tucapel would have experienced a similar fate, if the inhabitants had not ensured their personal safety by flight, after setting their houses and crops on fire, and destroying every thing they could not carry off. Only three prisoners were taken in these provinces, who were impaled.

Guenucalquin, his successor, after making some successful inroads into the Spanish provinces, lost his life in an engagement with six hundred Spaniards in the province of Ilicura. Curanteo, who was created toqui in the heat of this action, had the glory of terminating it by the rout of the enemy; but was killed soon afterwards in another conflict.

At this time the almost extinguished hopes of peace were revived for a time by an unexpected incident. Utiflame, the apo-ulmen of Ilicura near Imperial, had always been among the most inveterate enemies of the Spaniards, and to avoid all intercourse with them, had constantly refused to ransom his sons or relations who happened to be made prisoners.

He accordingly departed from Arauco for Ilicura, accompanied by three missionaries, one of whom was Horatio Vecchio, the cousin of Pope Alexander VII. The exasperated toqui no sooner learnt the arrival of the missionaries at Ilicura, than he hastened to that place with two hundred horse, and slew them all with their defender Utiflame.