side of the Biobio.  The young vice-toqui, exasperated at what he called the obstinacy of the Spaniards in rebuilding the city which he had destroyed, immediately passed the Biobio, and the Spaniards imprudently awaited him in the open plain, confiding in their own valour and arms, despising the superior numbers of the barbarians.  The Spaniards, however, were panic struck at the furious energy of the first encounter, and fled with precipitation to take shelter behind their ramparts; but were so closely pursued by Lautaro and his valiant followers, that they were unable to close the gate.  The Araucanians entered the city along with the fugitives, many of whom were slain; and the small remnant made a precipitate retreat, part of them by embarking in a ship then in the port, and others by taking refuge in the woods, whence they returned through bye-paths to St Jago.

Lautaro immediately plundered and burnt the city, and returned loaded with spoils to his usual station on the mountain of Mariguenu.  The successful issue of this enterprise excited Caupolican to resume the sieges or blockades of Imperial and Valdivia, during which Lautaro undertook to make a diversion of the Spanish forces, by marching against St Jago, by which he expected to prevent them from sending reinforcements into the south, and he even conceived that it might be possible to gain possession of that capital of the Spanish dominions in Chili, notwithstanding its great distance; as the successes he had already obtained so filled his mind with confidence that no difficulty appeared too great to be overcome.  In order to execute this hazardous enterprise, which appears to have been concerted with Caupolican, he only required five hundred men to be selected by himself from the Araucanian army; but so many pressed to serve under his victorious standard, that he was obliged to admit an additional hundred.  With this determined band of six hundred warriors, he traversed all the provinces between the rivers Biobio and Maule, without doing any injury to the natives, who hailed him as their deliverer from the Spanish tyranny.  But on crossing the latter river, he immediately proceeded to lay waste the lands of the Promaucians, who were detested by the Araucanians for acting as auxiliaries to the Spaniards.  Had he treated them with kindness, he might in all probability have detached them from the Spanish interest and united them in alliance with his own nation.  But impelled by eagerness for revenge, he did not appreciate the good effects which might have flowed from a reconciliation with that numerous and warlike nation, whom he considered as traitors to the common cause.  Having satiated his revenge, he fortified himself in an advantageous post in their territory on the banks of the Rio-claro, probably on purpose to gain more correct information respecting the state of the city he intended to attack.