red Spaniards who lurked near us think that we had
not left the camp. If we were successful we would send back messengers
with the good news, but if, an hour after the firing ended, none of us
returned, they were to escape how they could.
All being arranged, we prayed in a low voice, not to be heard by the
Spaniards, and set out by the moonlight, two hundred men of us, through
this country of rocks, woods, and frightful precipices, where we went
leaping and climbing, our feet seeming to be much less use to us than
our hands and knees.
On the 14th, at the break of day, when we had already gained a great
height, and were climbing on in profound silence, with the Spanish
intrenchments to our left, we saw a sentry party, which, thanks to the
fog--always thick in this country till ten o'clock in the morning--did
not discover us. When it had passed we went straight to the place where
we had seen it, and we found that there was really a road there. This,
when we had halted half an hour to take breath, we followed, guided by
the voices of the Spaniards, who were at matins. But we had only gone a
few steps when we found two sentinels, very far advanced, on whom we
were forced to fire, which warned the Spaniards, who dreamed of nothing
less than our coming upon them from above, since they only expected us
from below. So those who guarded the intrenchment--about five hundred
men--being taken at a disadvantage when they thought they had all the
advantage on their side, were so terribly frightened that, when we fell
upon them all at once, they vanished from the place in an instant, and
escaped into the thick fog.
This unexpected assault so utterly upset their plans that the men in the
second intrenchment all passed into the lowest one, where they prepared
to defend themselves. We fought them a whole hour, under cover of the
first intrenchment, which we had taken, and which commanded them, being
higher up the mountain side. But as they would not yield we fancied our
shots must have missed, since the fog hindered us from seeing our foes
distinctly, so, resolved to waste no more powder, we went down, and fell
right on the spot whence they had been firing. Then we assailed them
furiously, and at sight of our weapons close upon them--which hitherto
the fog had concealed--they left everything, and fled into the road
below the intrenchments. Here they fell into their own trap; for,
thinking it was the only road we could possibly come
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