swamoM EARLY HISTORY OF THE CREEK INDIANS 303 
to look inside [the palisade], and that there were a great many people; that the 
inclosure was very big and spacious, the extent of each wall being over three hun- 
dred paces. They said the Ohiscas were not sleeping; on the contrary there was 
much noise and they kept up big fires within and without. When we had all reached 
the place we s;it down to watch the palisades and the great fires, and we entered into 
consultation whether it would be advisable to surround the inclosure, but as it was 
so big and we had few men, we did not dare do that, hut determined to attack along 
one wall, and that this attack would be at three o'clock in the morning. Two cap- 
tains and the Maese <!«■ Campo, Matheo Chuba, were to attack in the center, carrying 
the banner with the crucifix on one side and on the other Our Lady of the Rosary; 
the captain Don Bernardo on the east side with his drum and life; Captain Juan 
Mendoza on the west side. About the time we got up to make the attack we saw a 
great light of the size of a man (lame up behind us and then consume itself. In its 
center it had a blue spot. We saw about thirty persons, 1 and at this instant a Chacato 
who was on sentinel duty cried out that we were there. 
We all attacked at once, giving them a whole charge of harquebus and archery and 
pulling out the sticks [from the palisade], and through the openings the captains 
threw themselves in upon the enemy with their harquebusiers, killing our enemies. 
Within the palisades there were three big houses with their embrasures, where so 
many of the Ohiscas retired and shotso many arrows at us from their shelter that it 
looked like a dense smoke. As we carried with us small levers, we destroyed, helped 
by our firearms, many boards, and we killed and wounded so many that the wounded 
began fleeing and threw themselves into the river to drown themselves. Our car- 
tridges set fire to the houses. They killed five of our men and wounded forty. There 
was a tree which had caught fire from our firearms and its burning leaves set fire to 
many houses, and the fact that although it was green it should have caught fire and 
should burn like tinder greatly excited our attention. When the Chiscas saw that 
wonder they threw themselves into the river which is in a ravine there, as well men 
as women with their small babies clasped to their bosoms. Although we wished to 
Have them and keep them alive, they were almost dead and drowned. We found 
others alive under the corn cribs ( barhacoas), and we pulled them out, separating the 
dead from the burned (or wounded) ones, and in so doing covered ourselves with 
blood from head to foot. Putting out the fire of the several houses that were burning, 
we found eighteen men and one boy dead. We did not count the women and chil- 
dren, for as they had hidden in sentry boxes and behind or under boarding many of 
them were consumed by the fire. All this lasted from three o'clock in the morning 
until sunrise, when we saw that the Chiscas had all fled and had crossed the river 
swimming. 
We cured our wounded and reinforced our position with the sticks of the palisade 
which had remained, building a small inclosure to guard ourselves against those of 
our enemies still alive, whose loud shrieking on the other side of the river we heard. 
Although within the palisades we had found provisions, they were but scarce, and 
in our chiefs' council we decided to send out thirty men to search the plains for food 
and also to search the forests, for throughout that day we had been shot upon with 
arrows from the river bank, and as the river was but narrow they reached us. But 
weilid not allow our men to cross the river, because so many of our men were wounded. 
Thus, our men were to remain on land on this side. As we were sallying forth in a 
little troop, one of the Chiscas shot an arrow from a sentry box and wounded one of 
our men after he had got some provisions. One of our men said he wanted to go back 
to the palisade, and, although he was admonished againstit, he did not listen, and, 
traversing the forest, he found some Chiscas in ambush, who killed him. The rest 
1 There is evidently something lacking or the published version is poorly copied from the original. 
