ad here been
proclaimed a king in 718, and here was the beginning of that kingdom of
Asturias and Leon which was later to become a mighty one in Spain. The
Moors soon tried to crush this growing power, which was a menace to
their own security. They sent an army under a chief named Al Kama, who
was to win over the recalcitrants by the offer of fair terms, if
possible; and if not, he was to storm their rude citadel and destroy
them utterly. The proposal for a shameful peace was indignantly
refused, and the Moors, confident of victory, and outnumbering the
Christian warriors many times, swept up the broad slope of the long and
winding valley to the cavern's mouth. The summits of the rocky walls on
either side were filled with people, many of them women, who were
waiting for the signal from Pelayo and his brave handful of followers.
When the foreguard of the Moors was near the entrance to the cave, the
king and his men, mounted, led the attack in front, and all along the
line the carnage began. Now let the Spanish ballad speak again:

"'In the name
Of God! For Spain or vengeance!' And forthwith
On either side along the whole defile,
The Asturians shouting: 'In the name of God!'
Set the whole ruin loose: huge trunks, and stones,
And loosened crags, down, down they rolled with rush
And bound and thundering force."

The mountain torrent which had its course along the valley was dyed red
with the pagan blood, and so great was the humiliation of the Moors that
the Arab chroniclers observe a discreet silence with regard to the
details of this defeat. But for the brave and valiant assistance of the
Spanish women this defeat might not have been possible.

Another instance of the bravery of the Spanish women, which at this
distance seems somewhat tinged with the air of comic opera, is connected
with the heroic defence of Orihuela. It was at the time of the Moorish
invasion, when the Gothic leaders, after their pitiful failure at
Guadalete, were seeking cover and scurrying off to places of safety,
closely pursued by the ardent sons of the Prophet. Duke Theodomir, hard
pressed in the mountains of Murcia, was obliged to ride for his life;
and with but few attendants, he finally succeeded in making his way,
after many adventures, to the walled town of Orihuela, with the enemy
close upon his heels. To prevent an immediate attack, gain time, and
circumvent the Moors in as man