into his hands; but he deferred the siege till the following year, when his attempt was rendered unsuccessful by the valiant defence of Ximenes who then had the command.  On his repulse however, he assaulted and took a fort named Neculgueno, the garrison of which was put to the sword, and all the auxiliaries who dwelt in that neighbourhood were made prisoners.  Lientur followed up these successful exploits with others equally fortunate, which are not particularized by contemporary writers, who have given him the title of the darling of fortune.

Ulloa the-governor, more a prey to anxiety and mortification than disease, died on the 20th of November 1620, and was succeeded in the government of Chili by Christoval de la Cerda, a native of Mexico, the eldest oydor, according to the established rule on such occasions.  For the more effectual defence of the frontiers on the Biobio, he caused an additional fortress to be constructed, named San Christoval, which still remains.  This oydor continued only a year in the government, during which he was continually occupied in defending the Spanish settlements against the enterprises of Lientur, with whom he had many encounters.  His successor, Pedro Suarez de Ulloa, continued the war in a similar manner, contenting himself with acting principally on the defensive, till his death on the 11th of December 1624; when he was succeeded by Francisco Alava, his brother-in-law, who retained the office only for six months, being succeeded by Don Luis de Cordova, in March 1625.

Lientar being advanced in years and worn out by continual exertions, resigned his office in 1625, and was succeeded as toqui by Putapichion, a young man whose courage and conduct much resembled his predecessor in office.  The new governor of Chili was a commander of extraordinary skill and courage, and being nephew to the viceroy of Peru, was abundantly supplied with troops and warlike stores, being likewise directed by his instructions not to confine himself to defensive operations, but to carry the war into the Araucanian territory.  His first care on his arrival at Conception, was to restore the military discipline, and to discharge all arrears that were due to the troops.  He at the same time preferred a number of Creoles to the vacant offices, by which he acquired the esteem of all the inhabitants, and gratified many of the descendants of the original conquerors who had been hitherto much neglected.  Having established good order in the government, he directed Alonzo de Cordova, whom he had appointed quarter-master, to make an incursion with six hundred men into the provinces of Arauco and Tucapel.  In this expedition only an hundred and fifteen prisoners were taken and a small number of cattle, as most of the inhabitants took refuge in the mountains with their families and effects.