along with him all the principal curacas or native chiefs, to prevent De Toro from being able to avail himself of the assistance of the Indians.  In this manner Centeno continued to retreat across a desert and uninhabited country of forty leagues extent, till he arrived at a place named Casabindo, through which Diego de Roias had formerly descended from the elevated region of Peru into the eastern plain of the Rio de la Plata.  Alfonso de Toro continued the pursuit as far as the city of La Plata, which is an hundred and eighty leagues to the south of Cuzca.  Finding that place abandoned and entirely stript of every thing which might contribute to the subsistence of his troops, and being unable to procure provisions on account of the absence of all the curacas or caciques, he was under the necessity to discontinue his pursuit of Centeno, and even found himself compelled to return towards Cuzco.  In this retreat, De Toro took the command of the advanced guard of fifty men, ordering the main body to march at leisure, and left a rear-guard of thirty of his best mounted cavalry under Alfonso de Mendoza, with orders to use every possible means of procuring intelligence of the motions of Centeno; that, in case of his following, the troops might be collected together in good order to rejoin the van.

The departure of De Toro from La-Plata on his return to Cuzco was soon communicated to Centeno by means of the Indians.  He was astonished at this sudden alteration of affairs; and, as he understood that De Toro marched in great hast, without keeping his troops in close array, he supposed that circumstance to have been occasioned by De Toro entertaining suspicions of the fidelity of his followers, and that he had found them ill-disposed towards the party of the Pizarrians.  On these considerations, Centeno resolved to pursue in his turn, in hope of drawing some advantage to the cause in which he was engaged from this measure, and even expecting that several of the followers of Toro might come over to his side.  He sent off therefore the captain Lope de Mendoza with fifty light armed cavalry in pursuit of the enemy.  Mendoza got in a short time to Collao; and, although de Toro and most of his troops had already passed beyond that place, he made prisoners of about fifty who remained behind, whom at first he deprived of their horses and arms.  Soon afterwards, however, he returned these to his prisoners, and even distributed some money among them, receiving their engagements upon oath to join him when required; but he hanged a few of them who were suspected of being particulary attached to De Toro.  After this successful exploit, Lope returned in great haste to La Plata, in hope of being able to cut off Alfonzo de Mendoza and his small party, who still occupied that place.  But Alfonzo had received intelligence of what had happened at Collao, and had already quitted La Plata in great haste, taking a different road from that pursued by Lope, by which means he got safe to Cuzco.