they were
there, so that they might not encourage one another. They kept them day
and night with fetters on their feet, and manacles upon their hands,
watched by guards.

"Besides the men of the governor of Nangasaqui, the governors of
Tacacu sent theirs likewise to be present at this act, as well as to
aid whenever necessary. Beside these, there were a number of others
as sentinels on all the roads through which this mountain could be
approached, who let no person pass by without a written permission
from the officials who were assigned to this duty.

"On the next day, the fourth of the same month, the torture commenced
in the following manner: They took each one of the seven by himself
to the most furious pool there, and, showing him the boiling water,
tried to persuade him to leave the faith of Christ before undergoing
that most horrible torture, which certainly they would not be able
to endure. Father Antonio writes that, notwithstanding the severity
of the cold that then prevailed, the water in the ponds did [not]
cease boiling, with such fury that the sight of it alone would strike
dismay to any one who was not greatly comforted by the grace of God;
but they were comforted in such manner that all, with extraordinary
courage, answered without delay that they would be tortured, for in
no wise would they abandon the faith which they profess. When this
steadfast answer was heard, they were stripped naked and, tied hand
and foot with four cords, were borne each by four men. They took
some of the water which was boiling most furiously, in a wooden dish
which held about a half-arroba; this water they poured upon each one
from the dish thrice filled--not all at once, but little by little,
opening a minute hole in the bottom so that it would last longer. The
constancy, courage, and valor with which the confessors of Christ
suffered that most horrible torment was such that they never made
the slightest movement of their bodies, to the great fright of those
who saw and heard them. Maria alone, as she was young and delicate,
was dismayed by the severity of the torture, and fell to the ground
and the torturers, who only desired some pretext whereby they could
say that she had recanted, and misrepresenting this fall, cried out,
saying, 'She has yielded, she has yielded!' Thereupon they took her
back to her hut, and the next day to Nangasaqui--although she opposed
them violently and protested that she had not given up the fai