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Garcilasso de la Vega, Part I. Book vii.  Chap. xxi. gives the following account of the battle in which Valdivia was defeated by the Araucanians.

“In many skirmishes Valdivia always defeated the Araucanians and put them to flight, as they were in such dread of the Spanish horse that they never dared to adventure into the open plains, where ten Spaniards were able to beat a thousand Indians, for which reason they always kept lurking in the woods and mountains, where the Spanish cavalry could not get at them; whence they often sallied out, doing all the injury they were able against the Spaniards.  The war continued in this manner for a long time; till at length an old captain of the Araucanians, who had been long famous in their wars, began to consider the reason why so small a number as only 150 Spaniards should be able to subdue and enslave twelve or thirteen thousand Araucanian warriors.  After mature deliberation, he divided the Araucanian force into thirteen battalions each of a thousand men, which he drew up in successive lines at some distance, so as to act as a series of reserves one after the other, and marched in this new order of battle against the Spaniards one morning at day-break, ordering them to give louder shouts than usual, and to make a great noise with their drums and trumpets.  Alarmed by the noise and shouts of the Indians, the Spaniards sallied forth to battle, and seeing the many divisions of the enemy, they imagined it would be much easier to break through and defeat these smaller battalions than if united in one body.”

“So soon as the Araucanian captain saw the Spaniards advancing, he exhorted the foremost battalion of his army to do their best; ’not, said he, that I expect you to overcome them; but you must do your utmost in defence of your country, and when you are worsted, then betake yourselves to flight, taking care not to break into and disorder the other battalions; and when you get into the rear of all, you must there rally and renew your ranks.’  He gave similar orders to all the successive battalions, and appointed another officer to remain in the rear to restore the order of those who should retreat, and to make them eat and refresh themselves while the others continued the fight successively.  Accordingly the foremost battalion fought for some time against the Spaniards, and when no longer able to withstand the impetuosity of their charge, they retired as ordered into the rear.  The second, third, fourth, and fifth battalions did the same in succession, and were all successively defeated by the Spaniards, all retiring according to orders when their array was broken; yet in these reiterated combats the Spaniards sustained some loss both in men and horses.  The Spaniards, having already defeated and put to flight five successive bodies of the enemy, and having fought three long hours, were astonished still to observe ten or twelve similar successive battalions before them in firm array, yet