house upwards of seven hundred thousand dollars; but this rich plunder served only to sharpen their avarice the more. To crown the miseries of this devoted town, the Indians of other provinces, amounting to twenty thousand in number, now flocked into it, and for ten days Oruro wore the aspect of a city taken by storm. 'Not a commercial house in the place,' says Funes, but was pillaged, and its owner slain, except a few who happily saved their lives by flight. Wherever you cast your eyes, they would light on monuments of the ravages caused by men, who left no interval between menace and execution. Churches sacrilegiously profaned, houses demolished, the female population driven into the convents for an asylum; dead bodies scattered over the public squares; such was the disastrous spectacle, which the rich city of Oruro exhibited.' Intoxicated with their success, the insurgents broke loose from all restraint. Refusing to leave the town, they would have reduced it to ashes, but for the interposition of a noble Indian, Don Lope Chungara, who united with the inhabitants to rescue it from complete destruction, and thus diverted the fury of the Indians into a different channel.*

Similar excesses were committed elsewhere, particularly in Sicasica and Cochabamba. The Indians of this latter district, inflamed with ill digested ideas of independence, conspired to cut off every Spaniard, whether European or American. Assembling at various places, particularly at Tapacari, they put to death about four hundred Spaniards, under circumstances of great barbarity. They pursued this war of extermination for some time unresisted, sparing neither age, sex, nor condition, and celebrating the discovery of every new victim with extravagant rejoicings. The proclamations of Tupac Amaru had here fallen among men, whose native ferocity, hardened by oppression and confirmed by ignorance, displayed itself in acts of savage violence, at which humanity shudders. But their courage was not equal to their cruelty. They were repeatedly routed by a small Spanish force under Don Jose Ayarza, and compelled to fly to the fastnesses of the mountains, there to recruit their strength, and prepare for another struggle.

The rapid progress of the insurrection, as we have represented its course, soon made it necessary for the Viceroy of

* See Pazos' Letters, p. 161.

imposing the rites of his new legislation, and commanding the instant execution of the proscribed Spaniards.' p. 290.

The tumultuary voices of the concourse signified prompt obedience. They ran to the temple, where the Spaniards had sought refuge, forced them out by firing it, and killed 'them all without mercy. From thence they proceeded to the sanctuary of Copacabana, and repeated the same scene, killing all but the priests. These atrocities portended the storm, which was speedily to break upon La Paz.

The protection of this important post had been committed to Don Sebastian de Segurola, an officer of great military talents. Segurola attempted to dislodge a small party of eighty Indians, who annoyed him with their slings from a neighboring height. Thrice did the Spaniards gain the summit, each succeeding time with fresh assailants, and thrice were they driven back with loss, before they could overpower this handful of brave men. Discomfiture, under such circumstances, was more useful to the Indians than victory. It taught them their strength. Accordingly, in his next enterprise, Segurola sustained a signal defeat. Ascertaining that some auxiliaries, sent from Sorata, had fallen into the hands of the Indians, who were masters of the heights of La Paz, he resolved to attack them on three sides. But the incessant flight of stones from the slings of the Indians, and the huge masses of rock, which they rolled down the sides of the mountain, drove the Spaniards from the field. Segurola made another attempt with four field pieces, and a larger force than before. The Spaniards succeeded in ascending about half way up the eminence, but were again repulsed by the Indians, who fought with enthusiastic energy, routed the Spaniards, precipitated themselves down the mountain with the rapidity of lightning, pursued their flying enemies to the very gates of La Paz, and laid close siege to the city.

Before giving an account of this memorable siege, it is necessary to recur to another seat of the war, where the Indians were less fortunate. Valle, at the head of sixteen thousand men, had marched in quest of Tupac Amaru, and, although meeting with constant resistance, at last penetrated to Tungasuca. Sound policy would have dictated to Tupac Amaru the plan of avoiding pitched battles in the open plain,

and especially not to venture his fortune upon a single hazard. In this latter mode of warfare, the Spaniards had every advantage by the superiority of their arms, their discipline, and the skill of their leaders. But if the Indians had confined themselves chiefly to the highlands, of which they had the entire command, they might, by repeated short incursions into the plains, have prolonged the war at pleasure. Instead of this, the Indians risked all their strength in a general engagement, and were defeated, leaving the field of battle covered with the dead. Tupac Amaru himself narrowly escaped by flight, and was not long afterwards taken prisoner, with his wife Micaela Bastidas, and his sons Ipolito and Fernando.

It was imagined, that the capture of the Inca would put an end to the insurrection; but the Indians rallied again under his half brother Diego Cristobal Tupac Amaru, who resided at Asangaro, north of lake Titicaca, and continued to prosecute the war with unabated vigor. The Indians, as we have seen before, were extremely anxious to reduce the town of Puno, from which they had been once repulsed by Orellana. Diego Cristobal renewed the attempt with greater obstinacy, and with talents, which, in more propitious circumstances, must have ensured success. He invested the town on all sides, occupying the heights which commanded it, and after several skirmishes at the outposts, made a simultaneous assault at several different points. The divisions of his troops, all acting in concert, drove the besieged up the streets to the very heart of the town; but here the Spaniards made a desperate stand; and at length, at the close of the day, forced the Indians to retire. Four days in succession were these animated assaults repeated with the most obstinate courage, before Diego abandoned the enterprise in despair, and retreated into Carabaya.

While these events were passing, Valle was endeavoring to relieve Puno. In his progress thither, he was repeatedly engaged with the Indians, who resolutely disputed every inch of the way, and who, although repeatedly vanquished, yet yielded most dear bought victories to the Spaniards. On one occasion, a small body of eighty Indians, when attacked, chose a voluntary death by throwing themselves over a high precipice, rather than ignominiously surrender to the Spaniards.

In consequence of these delays, before Valle reached Puno, it was again invested by Tupa Catari with a host of ten thousand Indians. The Indians prepared for battle; and Valle had the fairest prospect of success; but fearful of losing the fruit of his late victories, he imprudently ordered Puno to be evacuated by the reluctant and indignant Orellana, and fell back upon Cuzco.

Nothing could have been more ill judged than this movement. The Indians were enriched by the pillage of Puno and its dependent villages, where they found a hundred thousand head of cattle, together with other rich spoil. Shortly afterwards they completely routed a large body of Spaniards in Sicasica. Elated by success, Tupa Catari now concentrated all his forces, and bent his whole strength to the reduction of La Paz.

Here it was, that this extraordinary adventurer held his court. His actions were indicative of mad caprice, which sudden elevation from the lowest condition to the highest, and the exercise of unlimited power, usually engender in the buman breast. Surrounded with all the pomp of an Asiatic despot, he ruled the submissive Indians with an Asiatic despot's prodigality of life. To secure obedience to his mandates by the influence of terror, he established twentyfour places of execution in the circumference of the blockading lines. Never was the gallows unemployed. Indians who deserted from the city, those of his own soldiers and captains, who betrayed the least sign of cowardice, nay, of despondency, all who in any way thwarted his humor, were condemned to the gallows, and their execution precipitated, to take away the chance of repentance. No ties of religion or decency controlled his mind, and the Indians were at length shocked by his sacrilege and impiety. Their murmurs induced him, therefore, to assume a devout exterior. He caused a temporary chapel to be erected, in which, sitting beneath a canopy at the side of his queen, surrounded by ambassadors and by his principal officers, he celebrated mass with the most splendid and sumptuous ceremonials.

Nevertheless, the Indians still yielded him implicit obedience, and prosecuted the siege of La Paz under his orders, with a contempt of death, an assiduity, a patience of fatigue, never surpassed. Segurola had contracted his entrenchments

within the narrowest limits, leaving out all the suburbs of the city, on account of the smallness of the garrison. His only hope was in holding out until Don Ignacio Flores, who was collecting troops for that purpose in the province of Tucuman, should come to his relief. The Indians laid close siege to the place for one hundred and nine days, and scarce a day passed without a vigorous assault on their part, or a desperate sally of the Spaniards. The besiegers had six pieces of artillery, which caused the city great damage; but, impatient of delay, and enraged at the determined resistance they met with, they attempted to set fire to the city, resolving to burn it to the ground, if they could not obtain possession of it otherwise. When all other expedients failed the Indians, and they saw that the assaults and sallies only produced mutual carnage, without bringing the siege any nearer to a close, they promised themselves final success from the all conquering power of famine. The besieged were now reduced to the utmost extremity of distress, and must speedily have surrendered themselves and the smoking ruins of the city, had not Flores providentially arrived, at this very conjuncture, and saved La Paz from total destruction.

We will not stop to describe the march of Flores and his troops from Tucuman. Suffice it to say, that the name and the influence of Tupac Amaru had extended to the ridges of Salta and Jujui, and the whole Indian population was in arms for the Inca. The route to La Paz was a continued succession of battles. Even after passing the city of Chuquisaca, five sanguinary engagements took place, in one of which Tupa Catari himself commanded, and was routed with great slaughter. Finally, Flores arrived at La Paz and forced the Indians to raise the siege, but the relief, which he afforded the city, was of very short duration.

A considerable body of Indians encamped on a hill near the city. Flores and Segurola resented this, as an insult, and resolved to dislodge them. The Spaniards marched to the assault in three columns, commanded by their best officers; but were repulsed in such confusion, that scarcely a single man escaped uninjured. Flores, therefore, retreated to a post about four leagues from the city, and the vigilant Indians instantly resumed their old stations on the heights of La Paz. A portion of the Spanish force, also, the troops