swammnI EARL'S HISTORY OF THE CREEK INDIANS 153 
the governor went out, and two soldiers of his guard with him, and after him came 
more than seventy Indians who \\ ere held back for fear of Rodrigo Ranjel's horse, and 
the governor, desiring to charge them, a negro brought up his horse; and he told Rod- 
rigo Ranjel to give aid to the captain of the guard, who was left behind, for he had come 
out quite used up, and a soldier of the guard with him; and he with a horse faced the 
enemy until he got out of danger, and Rodrigo Ranjel returned to the governor and 
had him draw out more than twenty arrows, which he bore fastened to his armour, 
which was a loose coat quilted with coarse cotton. And he ordered Ranjel to watch 
for Solifl, to rescue him from the enemy, that they should not carry him inside. And 
the governor went to col loci the soldiers. There was great valour and shame that day 
among all those that found themsel ves in I his first attack and beginning of this unhappy 
day; for they fought to admiration and each Christian did his duty as a most valiant 
soldier. Luis de Moscoso and Baltasar de Gallegos came out with the rest of the 
soldiers by another gate. 
As a result the Indians were left with the village and all the property of the Chris- 
tians, and with the horses that were left tied inside, which they killed immediately. 
The governor collected all of the forty horse that were there and advanced to a large 
open place before the principal gate of Mabila. There the Indians rushed out without 
venturing very Ear Erom the stockade, and to draw them on the horsemen made a 
feint of taking flight at a gallop, withdrawing far from the walls. And the Indians 
believing it to be real, came away from the village and the stockade in pursuit, greedy 
to make use of their arrows. And when it was time the horsemen wheeled about 
on the enemy, and before they could recover themselves, killed many with their 
lances. Don < 'arlos wanted to go with his horse as far as the gate, and they gave the 
horse an arrow shot in the breast. And not being able to turn, he dismounted to 
draw out the arrow, and then another came which hit him in the neck above the 
shoulder, at which, seeking confession, he fell dead. The Indians no longer dared 
to withdraw from the stockade. Then the Commander invested them on every side 
until the whole force had come up; and they went up on three sides to set fire to it, 
first cutting the stockade with axes. And the fire in its course burned the two hundred 
odd pounds of pearls that they had, and all their clothes and ornaments, and the 
sacramental cups, and the moulds for making the wafers, and the wine for saying 
the mass; and they were left like Arabs, completely stripped, after all their hard 
toil. They had left in a cabin the Christian women, which were some slaves belonging 
to the governor; and some pages, a friar, a priest, a cook, and some soldiers defended 
themselves very well against the Indians, who were not able to force an entrance 
before the Christians came with the lire and rescued them. And all the Spaniards 
fought like men of great courage, and twenty-two died, and one hundred and forty- 
eight others received six hundred and eighty-eight arrow wounds, and seven horses 
were killed and twenty-nine others wounded. Women and even boys of four years 
of age fought with the Christians; and Indian boys hanged themselves not to fall into 
their hands, and others jumped into the fire of their own accord. See with what 
good will those carriers acted. The arrow shots were tremendous, and sent with 
such a will and force that the lance of one gentleman named Nuno de Tovar, made 
of two pieces of ash and very good, was pierced by an arrow in the middle, as by an 
auger, without being split, and the arrow made a cross with the lance. 
On that day there died Don Carlos, and Francis de Soto, the nephew of the Governor, 
and Johan de Gamez de Jaen, and Men Rodriguez, a fine Portugues gentleman, and 
Espinosa, a fine gentleman, and another named Velez, and one I'laseo de Barcarrota, 
and many other honoured soldiers; and the wounded comprised all the men of most 
worth and honour in the army. They killed three thousand of the vagabonds without 
counting many others who were wounded and whom they afterwards found dead in 
