hat from some real or fancied resemblance Ucita saw in the
lad to the cruel wretch, Pamphilo de Narvaez, he supposed him to be a
relative; and therefore intended him to suffer some even more
agonizing death than than just meted out to his fellows. For that
purpose some of them now busied themselves in making a wooden frame.
They laid parallel to each other two stout pieces of wood--six or
seven feet long and three feet apart, then laid a number of others
across them so as to form a sort of grate or hurdle to which they then
bound Ortiz with leathern thongs. They then placed it on four stakes
driven into the ground, and kindled a fire underneath, using for it
such things as would burn slowly, scarcely making a blaze!

"Oh, mamma! were they going to burn him to death?" exclaimed Elsie,
aghast with horror.

"Yes," replied her mother; "and he was soon suffering terribly. But
one of the Indian women who was present felt sorry for him and
hastened away to the house of Ucita and told his daughter Ulelah what
was going on. She was a girl of eighteen and not so hard as the men.
She was sorry for the poor young man and made haste to run to the
scene of his sufferings, where he was shrieking with pain and begging
for mercy.

"Hearing those sounds before she reached the spot she ran faster and
got there panting for breath. At once she threw herself at her
father's feet and begged him to stop the execution for a few minutes.
He did so, ordering some of his men to lift the frame to which Ortiz
was fastened, and lay it on the ground. Ulelah then begged her father
to remember that Ortiz had never offended him, and that it would be
more humane--more to his honor--to keep him as a prisoner, than to put
him to death without any reason or justification.

"The chief sternly replied that he had sentenced the Spaniard to death
and no consideration should prevent him from executing him. Then
Ulelah begged him to put it off for a day that was annually celebrated
as a religious festival, at which time he might be offered as a
sacrifice to their gods.

"To that at length Ucita consented. Ortiz was unbound and the princess
placed him under the care of the best physician of their tribe.

"As soon as Ortiz began to recover every care was taken that he should
not escape. He was made to busy himself in the most laborious and
slavish occupations. Sometimes he was compelled to run incessantly,
from the rising of the sun to its setting, in the pub