456 NARRATIVE OF THE SPANIARDS.

often drive a whole little army before them with those halberds
and sharpened sticks put into the muzzles of their muskets. But
that for all this, they were sometimes surrounded with multitudes,
and in great danger from their arrows, till at last they found the
way to make themselves large targets of wood, which they covered
with skins of wild beasts, whose names they knew not; and these
covered them from the arrows of the savages: that, notwithstand-
ing these, they were sometimes in great danger, and were once
five of them knocked down together with the clubs of the savages ;
which was the time when one of them was taken prisoner—that is
to say, the Spaniard whom I had relieved, that at first they
thought had been killed. But when afterwards they heard he
was taken prisoner, they were under the greatest grief imaginable,
and would willingly have ventured their lives to have rescued
him. ;

They told me that when they were so knocked down, the rest
of their company rescued them, and stood over them, fighting till
they were come to themselves, all but him whom they thought had
been dead; and then they made their way with their halberds and
pieces, standing close together in a line, through a body of above
a thousand savages, beating down all that came in their way, got
the victory over their enemies, but to their great sorrow, because
it was with the loss of their friend; whom the other party, finding
him alive, carried off with some others, as I gave an account in
my former.

They described most affectionately how they were surprised
with joy at the return of their friend and companion in misery,
whom they thought had been devoured by wild beasts of the worst
kind, namely, by wild men; and yet how more and more they
were surprised with the account he gave them of his errand, and
that there was a Christian in any place near, much more one
that was able, and had humanity enough to contribute to their
deliverance.

They described how they were astonished at the sight of the
relief I sent them, and at the appearance of loaves of bread—things
they had not seen since their coming to that miserable place; how
often they crossed it and blessed it, as bread sent from Heaven;