Page:A history of Chile.djvu/70

 58 A HISTORY OF CHILE Caupolican was in the meantime slowly besieging Imperial and Valdivia. Villagran sent forward rein- forcements, whereupon the Araucanian general raised the siege and joined his forces with those of Lau- taro. He afterward remained for some time in his encampment, in fact until the time when Villagran, obeying a behest of the court of the Royal Audience of Lima, undertook to rebuild Concepcion, and had proceeded thither with eighty-five families for that purpose. The- surrounding tribes again called upon the Araucanians for assistance and Caupolican sent forward two thousand men under Lautaro, who met the Spaniards drawn up in battle array on an open plain, defeated them, drove them back into Concep- cion and followed them precipitately into the fortress through the open gates. The inhabitants fled to the woods and to the ships in the harbor, and escaping, made their way back to Santiago. The Indians again burned the city and carried off much booty. About this time, perhaps a little while before, small- pox broke out among the Indians and nearly depop- ulated several districts. Since that time the Araucan- ians have used the utmost vigilance in protecting themselves against this dread disease, by rigorous methods of quarantining and by stamping out the plague upon its first appearance. About this time, too, Francisco Aguirre came over the mountains with sixty of his followers, determined to place himself at the head of the government. He and Villagran agreed to submit their claims to the Royal Audience of Lima, with the final result that Villagran was directed to take charge of the govern- ment until further orders, and to rebuild Concepcion; the latter he attempted with such result as we have already described.