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The young men who enlisted from time to time into the national army, went to that place to be instructed in the use of their arms, and the Araucanians still considered themselves free since they had a toqui who did not despair of vindicating the independence of their country.
Provoked at this daring enterprise, Robolledo, the commandant of Yumbel, sent seventy horse to take possession of the pass and cut off the retreat of the toqui; but they were received with such bravery by the Araucanian detachment, that they were compelled to retire for security to a neighbouring hill, after losing their captain and eighteen of their number.
Gamboa continued three years in the command, continually occupied in opposing the Araucanians in the south under their toqui Paynenancu, and in defending the kingdom on the east against the Pehuenches and Chiquillanians, who now began to molest the Spaniards at the instigation of the Araucanians.
In the year 1586, the toqui Cayancura began the siege of Arauco, which he surrounded with strong lines, so as not only to intercept all succours, but to prevent the retreat of the garrison . Perceiving from these preparations, that they must finally be compelled to surrender or perish by famine, the garrison thought it better to die at once with arms in their hands than to be reduced to such extremity.
A daring and able man, the new toqui soon taught the Spaniards a lesson. He began with an attack on their forts. At one of these, named Arauco, the invaders had eighty Indians employed in bringing them forage for their horses. The wily Caupolican replaced these laborers by eighty of his own warriors, who hid their arms in the bundles of hay they carried.
The toqui of the Araucanians, on hearing of his arrival, sent an intelligent and sagacious officer named Antipillan to compliment him, but charged at the same time to obtain information of his character and designs.
It may be concluded, however, that, owing to the caution, or cowardice rather of the Araucanian toqui, these actions were so ill conducted and so inconclusive, as to give very little interruption to Valdivia in his triumphant progress through these provinces, between the Biobio and Callacalla, or from Conception to Valdivia.
The right wing is confided to the vice-toqui, and the left to an experienced officer next in rank; while the toqui is present wherever occasion requires, and exhorts his soldiers to fight valiantly for the liberties of the nation.
If his predecessor Paillataru had the fault of being too cautious in conducting the operations of the war, the new toqui was on the contrary so rash and daring, to avoid that imputation, that he constantly attacked the Spaniards with far inferior numbers, whence all his enterprises were unfortunate as might naturally have been expected.
Among these, he founded a city not far from the ruins of Angol, to which he gave the name of San Francisco de la Vega, and left in it a garrison of four troops of horse and two companies of foot. But it was taken and destroyed in the same year in which it was built by the toqui Curimilla.
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