brother, had married the daughter of that judge; and although that marriage had been effected contrary to the wish of Ortiz, it was considered as some tie upon his conduct.  For greater security, however, Gonzalo used the precaution of carrying the royal seal along with him.  Gonzalo Pizarro chose to go by sea; and on leaving Lima, he appointed Lorenzo de Aldana as lieutenant-governor of that city, with a garrison of eighty soldiers, to preserve tranquillity during his absence.  This small number was considered sufficient to prevent any attempt towards a revolutionary movement, as most of the inhabitants of Lima accompanied the expedition.  Gonzalo embarked in March 1545, and landed at the port of Santa, fifteen leagues south from Truxillo, at which city he arrived on Palm Sunday.  He remained at this place for some time, waiting the junction of his troops, sending messages in various directions to expedite their march.  After some time, he marched from Truxillo into the province of Collique, where the whole of his army assembled.  At this place he reviewed his army, which amounted to above six hundred horse and foot.  The troops under the viceroy were nearly as numerous; but those under Gonzalo were much better armed, and better supplied with every thing requisite for war, as well as being all veteran soldiers, accustomed to war and discipline, and well acquainted with all the difficult passes of the country.  The troops of the viceroy on the contrary, had for the most part come recently from Spain, were quite unaccustomed to war, and ill armed; besides which their powder was bad in quality.

Gonzalo used every effort to collect provisions and all kinds of necessaries for his army, more especially as he had to pass through a desert country which intervened between the province of Motupe[15] and the city of San Miguel, a distance of twenty-two leagues without any inhabitants, and entirely destitute of water or other means of refreshment, consisting every where of burning sands without shelter from the heat of the sun and almost under the equinoctial line.  As this march was necessarily attended with much inconvenience and difficulty, Gonzalo used every proper precaution that his troops might be supplied abundantly with water and other necessaries.  For this purpose all the neighbouring Indians were ordered to bring a prodigious quantity of jars and other vessels calculated to contain water.  The soldiers were ordered to leave at Motupe all their clothes and baggage of which they were not in immediate want, which were to be brought forward by the Indians.  Above all things, it was taken care that a sufficiency of water should accompany the army, both for the troops, and for the horses and other animals.  Every thing being in readiness, Gonzalo sent forwards a party of twenty-five horsemen by the ordinary road through the desert, that they might be observed by the scouts belonging to the viceroy, and that he might be led to believe the army