"
Herrera, Hist. General, dec. 6, lib. 10, cap. 2.]
[Footnote 29: Carta de Carvajal al Emperador, Ms. - Montesinos,
Annales, Ms., anos 1539 et 1541. - Pedro Pizarro, Descub. y
Conq., Ms. - Herrera, Hist. General, dec. 6 lib. 7, cap. 1. -
Cieza de Leon, Cronica, cap. 76 et alibi.]
Pizarro, strengthened by the arrival of fresh adventurers, now
turned his attention to the remoter quarters of the country.
Pedro de Valdivia was sent on his memorable expedition to Chili;
and to his own brother Gonzalo the governor assigned the
territory of Quito, with instructions to explore the unknown
country towards the east, where, as report said, grew the
cinnamon. As this chief, who had hitherto acted but a
subordinate part in the Conquest, is henceforth to take the most
conspicuous, it may be well to give some account of him.
Little is known of his early life, for he sprang from the same
obscure origin with Francisco, and seems to have been as little
indebted as his elder brother to the fostering care of his
parents. He entered early on the career of a soldier; a career
to which every man in that iron age, whether cavalier or
vagabond, seems, if left to himself, to have most readily
inclined. Here he soon distinguished himself by his skill in
martial exercises, was an excellent horseman, and, when he came
to the New World, was esteemed the best lance in Peru. *30
[Footnote 30: The cavalier Pizarro y Orellana has given
biographical notices of each of the brothers.
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