198 Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. 



those who had saved themselves by swimming, did not touch me nor 

 even come near me, seeing me, as I have said, with both legs and 

 hands, as well as my linen drawers, covered with blood. Thus, I 

 crept away little by little, making such way as I could, coming up 

 with many Spaniards stripped naked, without a particle of covering 

 and shivering with cold, which at the moment was very keen. In this. 

 state I passed the night in the open, and had no other resource than 

 to throw myself on some rushes in a field, suflering much from pain. 



" Soon afterwards there joined me a gentleman, a handsome young 

 fellow, naked, and in such a state of fright, that he could not speak, 

 nor even say who he was. It was then about 9 o'clock in the night, 

 the wind had lulled down, and the sea was becoming calm ; I waa 

 feeling quite drenched with wet, and half dead with pain and hunger, 

 when there drew near two men, the one armed, the other holding in 

 his hands a great iron axe ; and as they approached I and my com- 

 panion held our peace, and remained as still as if we had nothing wrong 

 with us. They appeared grieved to see us, and without saying a 

 word proceeded to cut a quantity of rushes and hay with which they 

 covered us up entirely. They then marched off to the shore to rip 

 open and break into the boxes and effects that they met with, in 

 which work they were helped by some 2000 natives (salvajes) and 

 English, who formed the garrison of a neighbouring fortress. Striving 

 to get some rest I commenced to sleep, and when at the soundest of 

 it, somewhat about 1 o'clock of the night I was awoke by a great 

 noise of horsemen, some 200 of them, making their way to the 

 wrecking and the looting of the ships. I turned round to my com- 

 panion to see if he were sleeping, and found him dead, to my very 

 great sorrow and grief. I learned, subsequently, that he was a 

 personage of importance ; there he lay in the open field with more 

 than 800 other corpses, which the sea had thrown up on the 

 shore, and the ravens and wolves fed on them, without there being 

 any one to give them burial, not even to poor D. Diego Eniiquez. 

 When the day broke' I commenced moving, little by little, in search 

 of a monastery of friars situated near by where I hoped to be able to 

 get such relief as were possible, and I reached it with much trouble 

 and pain. I found it, however, to be forsaken, the church and images 

 of saints burnt and totally destroyed, and within the church twelve 

 Spaniards hung by the English Lutherans who were prowKng about 

 in quest of us, in order to finish with all who had escaped from the 



1 See note 1, p. 178. 



