means of retreat for the
garrison was by the same path, so that the attack became for the latter
a matter of life and death, since, in case of defeat, there was no mode
of escape, as at Valdivia.

In spite of these odds, and the spectacle of two fanatical friars on the
ramparts, with lance in one hand, and crucifix in the other, urging on
the garrison to resist to the death the handful of aggressors--the
indomitable courage of Miller did not allow him to remain in the forts
he had already taken till nightfall, when he would have been
comparatively safe by attacking in the dark. Choosing out of his small
band a forlorn hope of sixty men, he perilled his own safety, upon which
so much depended, by leading them in person; every gun and musket of the
enemy being concentrated on a particular angle of the path which he must
needs pass. As the detachment reached the spot, a shower of grape and
musketry mowed down the whole, twenty out of the sixty being killed
outright, whilst nearly all the rest were mortally wounded. Seeing their
gallant Commander fall, the marines, who were waiting to follow, dashed
through the fire, and brought him off, with a grape-shot through his
thigh, and the bones of his right foot crushed by a round shot. Another
dash by the force which remained brought off the whole of the wounded,
though adding fearfully to their numbers. This having been accomplished,
Captain Erescano, who succeeded to the command, ordered a retreat; the
Spaniards, animated by success, and urged on by the friars, following
just within musket-shot, and making three separate attacks, which were
on each occasion repelled, though from the killed and wounded, the
pursuers were now fully six times their number. Nevertheless one-half of
the diminished band kept the enemy at bay, whilst the other half spiked
the guns, broke up the gun-carriages, and destroyed the military stores
in the forts captured in the morning, when they resumed their march to
the beach, followed by the Spaniards as before.

The marines who, with affectionate fidelity, had borne off Major Miller,
had been careful to protect him from fire, though two out of the three
who carried him were wounded in the act; and when, on arriving at the
beach, they were invited by him to enter the boat, one of them, a
gallant fellow named Roxas, of whom I had spoken highly in my despatches
from Valdivia, on account of his distinguished bravery, refused, saying,
"No, Sir, I was the f