Page:A history of Chile.djvu/178

 1 62 A HISTORY OF CHILE himself Protector of Peru. He was not without secret personal ambition, but still he was a patriot and an able general. Before beginning his march, San Martin resorted to a ruse for diverting Marco del Ponte's attention, as the Spanish captain-general was watching him on the other side of the mountains. He went first to San Carlos and held a conference with the Pehuenche Indians, asking of them permission to pass through their territory by way of Planchon. His intention, however, was to cross the Andes by way of the Uspallata pass — the passes of Pu' taendo and Cuevas — ^deemed almost impassable, emerg- ing at Aconcagua, north of Santiago. This ruse caused Marco to concentrate a large body of his troops in Talca, opposite Planchon, and in Rancagua. To assure the success of his strategy, he sent Colonel Rodriguez with a force of cavalry, consisting principally of the Chileans, to the neigborhood of San Fernando. This band had for some time kept the Spaniards engaged in this vicinity, while San Martin was getting ready his expedition. They had several times captured towns, which they declared independent, led off royalists' horses, and defied the whole Spanish force. Rodriguez was a brave young soldier, allied to leading families of Santiago, and a favorite with the Carrera party. As the operations of the patriot forces were all in this quarter, the Spanish general was doubtless the more easily de- ceived as to San Martin's real objective point, so that only corps of defense were posted in the valley of Acon- cagua above Santiago. Then, too, General Freire commandant of Concepcion, and the guerrilla chief Neirie, kept the captain-general busy in the south. General San Martin led forward his cavalry by way of Putaendo, January 17th, 1817, taking command of the force himself. The infantry and artillery advanced