Juan Pantiel de Salinas: I know and it is the truth that at the time of Manco Inca’s rising and siege of the city of Cuzco Mansio Serra and the rest of its citizens served in its defence, and I saw him serve on foot and on horseback as a fine soldier and man of honour in all that was necessary, by day and by night; and he was one of those who went with the Captain Juan Pizarro in the assault of the fortress: an act of great risk and importance, and this I know for I took part in this, and the fighting was very intense until the Indians abandoned their siege.
Bernabé Picón: I know and witnessed in the months of March or April, in the year 1536, Manco Inca, the sovereign lord of these realms, besiege the city of Cuzco with a great number of his warriors; and among the few Spaniards who had remained there was Mansio Serra, with his arms and horse, and who served as a good soldier, hidalgo and person of honour, by day and by night, in all that was required of him; and he was one of those who went at great risk to assault the fortress with the Captain Juan Pizarro, which was garrisoned by a great number of Indians who had caused us great injury; and during which the Indians killed the Captain Juan Pizarro and some other Spaniards and many were wounded, among them Mansio Serra; though it is something I can no longer remember even though I was one of those who stormed the fortress; however, I did see that Mansio Serra was one of the eight or nine soldiers who first gained entry one night in a breach of the walls of the fortress: and to which was due the capture of the fortress, and was of prime importance.
Lucas Martínez Vegazo: Manco Inca Yupanqui, Atahualpa’s brother, who the Indians of this land had begged the Marqués Don Francisco Pizarro to recognize as lord of these realms, saying he was descended from God, as was his sovereignty; and after rewarding him, and seeing himself obeyed by the natives of the land, he attempted to rise up against the Spaniards and kill them: and this he put into effect by his siege of the city of Cuzco with some two hundred thousand Indian warriors, a number recorded by both Indians and Spaniards; and they put the Spaniards who were in the city under great pressure, for they burnt the houses they captured and put barricades across the streets and fought us from the roof tops, and took control of the city in great order, killing some Spaniards and horses and wounding them; and as the city was on the verge of being lost, and with it the whole of the realm, some men were selected to capture the fortress, and it was won at night for in the day on a number of occasions it was impossible to enter because of the great number of warriors in its defence; and through a gap in its walls, in a remote part of the fortress and away from where the Spaniards were laying siege, some twelve or fifteen Spaniards entered, killing and wounding the natives and shouting ‘Spain! Spain!’ and ‘Victory!’ And from the other sides of the fortress the rest of the Spaniards made their entry and also took part in the killing, during which the Captain Juan Pizarro was killed from a deep wound in his head from a stone, and also a certain Gallego was killed and other Spaniards were wounded; and in all this Mansio Serra took part and it is evident he fought well, being a good soldier and fine young man; though I took part in this I do not remember whether or not it was Mansio Serra who was the first to enter the fortress and cry victory.
Luis Sánchez: At the time Manco Inca with all his chiefs rose in rebellion against God, Our Lord, and His Majesty, and attacked the city of Cuzco with great force of warriors, and who was said to have been some three hundred thousand in number, putting the city to the torch and shedding its blood, in which the majority of the city was burnt; and so much peril was experienced by its few defenders that only six Spaniards remained protecting the square of the city beside its strongholds, fighting day and night until the Captain Juan Pizarro put his life at risk before all others and volunteered to attack the fortress which overlooks the city, and which was held by some fifty thousand Indian warriors, and from where they did us great harm because of its position and being on a hill; and the Captain Juan Pizarro, taking with him half of the men, among them Mansio Serra, went there, and I remained with the rest of the people in the stronghold in the city’s square. And the Captain Juan Pizarro, Mansio Serra and the rest of the men who went to the fortress took part in a great battle there as they tried to capture the fortress, but which they were not able to do because of the strength of the Indians and the fortress’ defences; and after a great deal of fighting Our Lord was served for after three days the fortress was taken and captured, in which Juan Pizarro and some other soldiers were killed, and the rest exhausted by their labour; and soon afterwards Hernando Pizarro went to their relief and helped them in taking possession of the fortress; yet after which a great deal of fighting resumed, for the siege was to last some fourteen months, in which Mansio Serra served with all honour with his arms and horses, doing all that was commanded of him as a fine soldier, hidalgo and person of great valour, putting his life each day in danger and peril.
Conquistador: (24) I was among those who accompanied Hernando Pizarro to Ollantaytambo where Manco Inca had retreated with many of his men in a fortress beside a river, and where we engaged his warriors who killed six Spaniards and wounded many others, and because of which we were forced to return to Cuzco in great danger of our lives.
Diego Camacho: In the company of Mansio Serra this witness and seventy horsemen went to the said province and fortress, which we attacked on the day of our arrival. The Indian warriors, having ventured out of the fortress, a great battle took place until that night, in which many Spaniards were killed and wounded; and abandoning our encampment and tents we were forced to flee to Cuzco that very night, losing everything we had taken with us; for had we remained until morning not one of us would have returned alive because of the great number of warriors and the ruggedness of the land.
Conquistador: (25) I was also among the men who accompanied the Captain Heredia to the Cuntisuyo for its pacification, in which expedition I served some seven or eight months as caudillo* with forty of my soldiers, and who through our labour and in great danger destroyed the fortress encampments of the Indians, placing them under the royal dominion.
Francisco Hernández de los Palacios: I know that Mansio Serra accompanied the Captain Heredia in the pacification of the provinces of Cuntisuyo, serving there, with his arms and horses as a fine soldier and man of honour, in the fighting we faced until the provinces were conquered; in which we all experienced great hardship and danger as the land was of dense forest and the mountain passes were of barren and rough ground, and this is known to me as I was present on the expedition with the said Captain Heredia, and it is what I saw.
Rodrigo López Bernal: What I know is that some Spaniards had been killed in the province of the Cuntisuyo which had risen against His Majesty, and this witness accompanied the Captain Nicolás de Heredia and I saw Mansio Serra serving there as captain and caudillo with his horses and arms, both day and night, in all that was expected of him; and much was risked for there were few of us Spaniards in comparison to the great number of Indians who attacked us and surrounded us in very barren terrain, making it impossible for us to reach the river [Cotahuasi] for the water we needed to drink; and that night in the tambo fortress of Alca, Mansio Serra and the Indians in his service left our encampment in order to break the siege, entering the fortress from the high ground of a slope, passing their sentries and putting them to the sword so that they could not warn their warriors; and in this manner in the middle of the night they climbed to the upper villages where the great multitude of warriors were camped, and catching them asleep they killed many of them, and then gave the Spaniards who had remained below the signal to climb up and follow them. In these and other acts I wish to inform Your Majesty that Mansio Serra was one of those who served with the greatest diligence and valour, and with the lustre of a soldier and hidalgo, at his own cost and mission; which expedition I recall lasted eight or ten months.
Francisco de Illescas: Many of my friends went on the expedition, and when they returned they told me on a number of occasions that Mansio Serra had been one of the most hard
working among them, as was always the case with him, being as he was such an agile man and so fine a soldier; and in which conquest, of great risk and hardship, I heard he lost a horse.
Conquistador: (26–7) Together with the Captain Gonzalo Pizarro I went in pursuit of Manco Inca into the Andes [Vilcabamba] where he was encamped; and I was one of the first of the squadron in the subsequent battle in helping to capture the Inca’s woman and his warrior chief who was called Cusi Rimache; and I assisted in the pacification of the province where I served for eight months, suffering hardship and hunger and the expenditure of a large sum of pesos of gold: for I went there well armed, with my horses and servants, and served there as a caudillo until all the land was at peace. And in the campaign I captured a bridge that is close to Vilcabamba,* and which is the first fortress the Inca possessed there, and I captured many of their scouts, and served Your Majesty greatly.
Bernabé Picón: I know that in the year Fifteen Hundred and Thirty Nine I saw Gonzalo Pizarro go to the province of Vilcabamba where Manco Inca had fortified himself and I witnessed his defeat, and that also Mansio Serra went there serving as a person of honour and a good soldier with his arms and horse.
Francisco de Illescas: I know that Mansio Serra went with the Captain Gonzalo Pizarro in pursuit of Manco Inca who had retreated to the province of the Andes, for I served on that expedition with the captain, though because of illness I had to return. And Mansio Serra, going on ahead, I know served throughout the expedition; and it is commonly known that a great deal of work was carried out and at great risk as the land was rugged and of dense forest, and where the natives ambushed them along the mountain passes of the roads, and in that journey they captured Cusi Rimache, brother of the Inca, and the Inca’s woman and a great number of warriors; and I know for certain that Mansio Serra did all that he records, and I saw him well armed and on horseback, in the service of Your Majesty.
Conquistador: (28–31) At the time of the rebellion of Don Diego de Almagro, the younger, and the death of the Marqués Don Francisco Pizarro, I left Cuzco for the coast in order to take a caravel in search of the licentiate Vaca de Castro, accompanied by eight friends, all well armed, mounted and provisioned; and because Almagro the younger had been informed that I had gone in search of the licentiate, he took from me my house in Cuzco and my Indians; and I and my friends were captured by García de Alvarado, his captain, who dispossessed us of our arms, horses and Negro slaves, all of which were worth some eight thousand pesos of gold, and having robbed us and hung one of our companions he brought us to Cuzco as his prisoners.
Luis Sánchez: What I know of this is that after the death of the Marqués Don Francisco Pizarro, Don Diego de Almagro the younger was informed by his captain Gregorio de Soto who had gone to Cuzco that Mansio Serra was in the province of Cuntisuyo in his encomienda, together with some friends of his, and he ordered they be taken prisoner; and hearing of this they fled towards the coast where they were captured by García de Alvarado, Don Diego’s captain, who brought them prisoner to Cuzco. And I later saw Don Diego award Mansio Serra’s encomienda to Martín de Bilbao, another captain of his, and he also took from him his house.
Diego Camacho: I witnessed Don Diego de Almagro take the Indians of a number of citizens of Cuzco for not following his rebellion and leaving to join Vaca de Castro; and he did as such with Mansio Serra, for he was one who fled and who was later brought back prisoner.
Francisco de Illescas: After Don Diego de Almagro killed the Marqués Don Francisco Pizarro, being as I was in the city of Cuzco at the same time as Don Diego, I heard it said that Mansio Serra and Mazuelas and Montenegro and others had gone to the coast in search of the Governor Vaca de Castro;* after which I saw García de Alvarado, Don Diego’s captain, enter the city with prisoners, among them Mansio Serra and other soldiers; and I heard it also said that García de Alvarado had hung one of them, Montenegro, and robbed them of all their goods and arms. And as Mansio Serra was his prisoner, Don Diego de Almagro took from him his Indians and awarded them to Martín de Bilbao, his captain, who acquired their tribute, and who I saw bring him tribute; and during the time Mansio Serra was a prisoner he suffered ill treatment and torture because he had stood against them.
Conquistador: (32) Because of my refusal to follow Gonzalo Pizarro when he came to Cuzco and was declared Procurator-General, accompanied as he was by many armed men, he ordered I be tortured and caused me much injury, and he seized from me my Indians and my house, which he gave to his ally and vassal Guerrero; and he kept me prisoner and threatened to have my head cut off, which he would have done had it not been for his fear of people’s reaction.
Hernando de Cespedes: For not following Gonzalo Pizarro’s cause in his rebellion, and because of which he was held to be his enemy, he took from Mansio Serra his Indians he had in the city of Cuzco and gave them to a certain Guerrero, his ally; and who this witness saw enjoying their tribute and also inhabiting Mansio Serra’s house; and I heard him publicly say that Gonzalo Pizarro had given him Mansio Serra’s Indians and house; and Mansio Serra suffered much ill treatment and torture for his stance, and for not wishing to go with Gonzalo to the Battle of Huarina; and this is known to me for I had been taken prisoner at the battle and brought to Cuzco by Gonzalo Pizarro when he had come there carrying the royal standard of the captain Diego de Centeno.
Luis Sánchez: At the time I was in the city of Cuzco and witnessed Alonso de Toro, Lieutenant-Governor of Gonzalo Pizarro, take Mansio Serra prisoner and do him much injury, and it was believed that he would kill him for being his enemy, and that is what I remember.
Francisco de Illescas: I was in Cuzco [at the outbreak of the rebellion] and witnessed Gonzalo Pizarro take Mansio Serra’s Indians in the city for refusing to be one of his followers, and he gave them to a certain Guerrero who was a native of his land, who I saw make use of their service and of their tribute, of gold, silver, crops and clothing, sending his factor for their collection; and I also witnessed that when Gonzalo Pizarro came to Cuzco he wanted Mansio Serra and his woman thrown out of his house, and because of people’s reaction he did not do so, and allowed Mansio Serra to retain a section of it, the rest he gave to his ally Guerrero, to whom he had given his Indians; and other than this I believe they took from him many other things in his house, also his cattle and farms he had in his villages; and this I heard, and also that he lost a great quantity of gold and that he had been unable to join us. And he was unable to leave Cuzco, being in virtual custody until Gonzalo Pizarro himself left the city: for no one fled without being brought back a prisoner and hung; and only after Gonzalo Pizarro and his men had left Cuzco was he able to make his escape from his confinement and flee the city on horseback. After which I saw him [years later] in the encampment of the President [Gasca] in the battle against Gonzalo Pizarro’s army, in which he served as a hidalgo and vassal of His Majesty should serve, and taking part in the imprisonment of Gonzalo Pizarro.
Hernando de Cespedes: (44) I know that Mansio Serra has always been opposed to the opinion of the rebels and I do not know, nor have I heard it said he was involved with them against His Majesty’s service, only that he served in what was offered him; and I have witnessed him treated with great honour, and as a hidalgo maintaining a house and a family and supporting many soldiers and servants of Your Majesty; and I was especially witness to this when many prisoners were taken to Cuzco after the Battle of Huarina and who Gonzalo Pizarro sold.
Conquistador: (33) I served in His Majesty’s army of the President Gasca and did all that was commanded of me as a gentleman and person of honour until the battle [of Jaquijahuana] in which I fought with my arms and horses until Gonzalo Pizarro and his allies were made prisoner.
Diego Camacho: Having joined the royal camp of the President Gasca in the province of Huaylas I saw Mansio Serra later join us and fight under the royal standard at the Battle of Jaquijahuana until Gonzalo Pizarro and his followers were taken prisoner; and I witnessed him serve in the battle, going
there in good order with his horses, arms, slaves and servants, like an encomendero and man of great standing.
Rodrigo López Bernal: I saw Mansio Serra fight at the Battle of Jaquijahuana under the royal standard until Gonzalo Pizarro and his captains were taken prisoner and sentenced, for I took part in the battle and the same squadron in which Mansio Serra served as a principal commander, with his arms, horses and servants.
Pedro Súarez de Illanes: I was in the valley of Jauja with the President Gasca among His Majesty’s troops he took with him for the castigation of Gonzalo Pizarro and his followers, and there I saw and met Mansio Serra, who was well armed, with horses, and in good order, as a fine soldier and hidalgo; and I witnessed his service until the Battle of Jaquijahuana when Gonzalo Pizarro was taken prisoner.
Conquistador: (34–5) I was to serve His Majesty on the orders of the licentiate Gasca in the capture of a number of Gonzalo Pizarro’s partisans who had fled to the provinces of Cuntisuyo and of Charcas, among them the Captain Diego Guillen and the priest Vizcaino. And seeing how zealous I was in the service of His Majesty the licentiate confided in me various commissions of great importance.
Pedro Súarez de Illanes: After the battle the Captain Guillen and other followers of Gonzalo Pizarro fled to the provinces of Callao and Cuntisuyo, and I heard it publicly said that the President Gasca had commissioned Mansio Serra to find them and capture them, and that this he did.
Francisco de Illescas: This witness saw that Mansio Serra, being a person in the licentiate’s confidence, was entrusted to bring from Cuzco to this city of the Kings and from Huamanga certain prisoners who had been followers of Gonzalo Pizarro and who had been sentenced to serve their punishment, and that he left with them.
The Last Conquistador Page 22
