Nor did Almagro's
services, this time, go unrequited. He was empowered to discover
and occupy the country for the distance of two hundred leagues,
beginning at the southern limit of Pizarro's territory. *24
Charles, in proof, still further, of his satisfaction, was
graciously pleased to address a letter to the two commanders, in
which he complimented them on their prowess, and thanked them for
their services. This act of justice to Almagro would have been
highly honorable to Hernando Pizarro, considering the unfriendly
relations in which they stood to each other, had it not been made
necessary by the presence of the marshal's own agents at court,
who, as already noticed, stood ready to supply any deficiency in
the statements of the emissary.
[Footnote 24: The country to be occupied received the name of New
Toledo, in the royal grant, as the conquests of Pizarro had been
designated by that of New Castile. But the present attempt to
change the Indian name was as ineffectual as the former, and the
ancient title of Chili still designates that narrow strip of
fruitful land between the Andes and the ocean, which stretches to
the south of the great continent.]
In this display of the royal bounty, the envoy, as will readily
be believed, did not go without his reward. He was lodged as an
attendant of the Court; was made a knight of Santiago, the most
prized of the chivalric orders in Spain; was empowered to equip
an armament, and to take command of it; and the royal officers at
Seville were required to aid him in his views and facilitate his
embarkation for the Indies.
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