Page:History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella the Catholic Vol. I.djvu/487

341 ROUT IN THE AXARQUIA. 34] of a skilful and experienced warrior, named Ali chapter Atar. ^ — - — In the mean while, the efforts of the Spanish castinan ■•■ forces. sovereigns to procure supplies adequate to the undertaking against Loja, had not been crowned with success. The cities and districts, of which the requisitions had been made, had discovered the tardiness usual in such unwieldy bodies, and their interest, moreover, was considerably impaired by their distance from the theatre of action. Ferdi- nand on mustering his army, towards the latter part of June, found that it did not exceed four thousand horse and twelve thousand, or indeed, according to some accounts, eight thousand foot ; most of them raw militia, who, poorly provided with military stores and artillery, formed a force obviously inadequate to the magnitude of his en terprise. Some of his counsellors would have per- suaded him, from these considerations, to turn his arms against some weaker and more assailable point than Loja. But Ferdinand burned with a desire for distinction in the new war, and suffered his ardor for once to get the better of his pru- dence. The distrust felt by the leaders seems to have infected the lower ranks, who drew the most unfavorable prognostics from the dejected mien of those who bore the royal standard to the cathedral of Cordova, in order to receive the benediction of the church before entering on the expedition. ^ 1 Estrada, Poblacion de Espafia, donne, Hist. d'Afrique et d'Es- tom. ii. pp. 242,243. — Zurita, pagne, torn. iii. p. 261. Anales, torn. iv. fol. 317. — Car- ^ Bernaldez, Reyes Catolicos,