Page:A history of Chile.djvu/108

 96 A HISTORY OF CHILE under the command of an officer named Juan Rodulfo Lisperguer. No sooner had Ramon retreated with his main army than the toqui, Huenecura, proceeded against the new fort. Falling in with a detachment of one hundred and sixty men commanded by Lisperguer in person, he almost destroyed the whole party, Lisperguer him- self being among the killed. Next the Indian commander attacked the fort, but it was so valiantly defended by the garrison under Ne- grete, who had succeeded to the command, that the Araucanians were obliged to suspend their attacks and to begin a siege. Hearing of this, the captain-general withdrew the garrison. Then the old story of fort building and fort destroying, attacks and repulses, was repeated, and in the end, Ramon's army was destroyed. He had sent his troops in two divisions, commanded respectively by Alvaro Pineda and Don Diego Saravia, to lay waste the enemy's country. Huenecura fell upon the divisions and destroyed each in turn so completely that it is said not a single man escaped death or captivity. These disasters caused the new king, Philip HI., to establish an army of two thousand troops on the fron- tiers, for the support of which an appropriation of nearly ^300,000 was annually made; and also, in the following year, September 8th, i6og, to re-establish the Royal Audience court in Chile. This court, form- erly held at Concepcion, now began its sittings at Santiago, Garcia Ramon receiving by this change the titles of president of the Royal Audience, and captain- general of Chile. This court was composed of one regent (rejente), one senior (deca?to), three judges {oidores'), and one fiscal, and was presided over by the governor. Its functions