Page:History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella the Catholic Vol. II.djvu/466

440 440. RISING IN THE ALPUXARRAS. PART rear-guard, and encamped on a rising ground in the '- — neighbourhood. Under favor of this strong posi- tion, the latter commander and his brave Sevil- lians, all fresh for action, were enabled to cover the shattered remains of the Spaniards, and beat off the assaults of their enemies till the break of morn, when they vanished like so many foul birds of night into the recesses of the mountains. The rising day, which dispersed their foes, now revealed to the Christians the dreadful extent of their own losses. Few were to be seen of all that proud array, which had marched up the heights so confidently under the banners of their ill-fated chiefs the preceding evening. The bloody roll of slaughter, besides the common file, was graced with the names of the best and bravest of the Christian knighthood. Among the number was Francisco Ramirez de Madrid, the distinguished engineer, who had contributed so essentially to the success of the Granadine war. ^^ Dismay of Xhc sad tidings of the defeat soon spread through- the nation. o i O out the country, occasioning a sensation such as had not been felt since the tragic affair of the Axar- quia. Men could scarcely credit, that so much mischief could be inflicted by an outcast race, who, whatever terror they once inspired, had long since been regarded with indifference or contempt. Every Spaniard seemed to consider himself in some ~ Zuiliga, Annales de Sevilla, nas, MS., bat. 1, quinc. 1, dial. 36. auolSOl. — Carbajal, Anales, MS. For a more particular notice of ailo 1501. — Bleda, Coronica, lib. Ramirez, see Part 1. Chapter 13, 5, cap. 26. — Oviedo, Quincuage- of this History.