Page:History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella the Catholic Vol. I.djvu/512

366 366 WAR OF GRANADA. I'ART The dismay occasioned by these scenes, occur- '- — ring amidst the darkness of night, and heightened They re- solve to by the shrill war-cries of the Moors, which rose lorce a •' passage. arouttd them on every quarter, seems to have completely bewildered the Spaniards, even their leaders. It was the misfortune of the expedition, that there was but little concert between the sev- eral commanders, or, at least, that there was no one so preeminent above the rest as to assume authority at this awful moment. So far, it would seem, from attempting escape, they continued in their perilous position, uncertain what course to take, until midnight ; when at length, after having seen their best and bravest followers fall thick around them, they determined at all hazards to force a passage across the sierra in the face of the enemy. " Better lose our lives," said the grand master of St. James, addressing his men, " in cut- ting a way through the foe, than be butchered with- out resistance, like cattle in the shambles." ^^ The marquis of Cadiz, guided by a trusty ad- alid, and accompanied by sixty or seventy lances, was fortunate enough to gain a circuitous route less vigilantly guarded by the enemy, whose attention was drawn to the movements of the main body of the Castilian army. By means of this path, the marquis with his little band succeeded, after a pain- ful march, in which his good steed sunk under him oppressed with wounds and fatigue, in reaching a ^ Pulgar, Reyes Cat61icos, p. 206. — Rades y Andrada, Las Trea Ordenes, fol. 71, 72.