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 rents at a distance offshore, dared to sail far from land and thus made Chile in thirty days. The extraordinary nature of his feat is appreciated when we learn that he was promptly apprehended as a sorcerer and cast into prison until the natural basis of his skill became understood! The road of the desert then provided the essential connection between Peru and the new province of Chile, As the Lima-Buenos Aires road created the settlement of Salta (see Chapter LX), so the desert road to Chile led to the foundation of a number of Chilean settlements chief among which were Serena and Copiapó. Juan Bohon, one of Valdivia’s followers, erected a fort in the Copiapó val- ley, the first important valley beyond the great desert stretch, and, as an intermediate station between this point and San- tiago, established Serena in 1544. But he enjoyed his extensive grant for a short period only. Five years later the Indians rose, sacked Serena, killed Bohon and his dependents, and de- stroyed the fort in the Copiapó valley. Bohon’s encomiendas were conceded to Francisco de Aguirre.

Aguirre promptly rebuilt Serena and established himself in the Copiapó valley on the site of the present town. Here ata convenient distance from his rivals to the south he set to work planting vineyards and introducing various Spanish products to which the climate was admirably adapted. Later Valdivia appointed him Governor of Tucuman; for the limits of Chile, as originally defined in utter ignorance of the geography of the region, extended over the Andes onto the eastern plains. The simultaneous exploration of vast territories from different starting points led to innumerable clashes among the early colonists. Aguirre’s new appointment provided one, Nuiiez de Prado, acting under the orders of La Gasca in Peru, had already founded the settlement of Barco in Tucumaén. His venture proved unsuccessful; the city had in a short space of time been moved three times; and its unhappy citizens welcomed his de- posal at the hands of Aguirre, who arrived in 1552 with re- sources from the Copiapó valley. The next year Aguirre trans- ferred the city to the site it now occupies, changing its name to Santiago del Estero del Nuevo Maestrazgo. Thus an Aguirre has the distinction of having founded the first and oldest city