Saul lost heart at the sight of the great number of Philistines, especially when he beheld their cavalry; the evil days which he had brought on himself had deprived him of his former courage. He felt himself deserted by God, since neither priest nor prophet gave an answer to his inquiry as to the result of the war. Having waited in vain for an inspiration to come to him in a dream, he finally, in despair, went to a ventriloquist in Endor, who had escaped persecution, and practised her witchcraft in secret. It was peculiar that Saul had to have recourse to the arts of jugglery, which formerly he had desired to banish from his dominions. Discouraged by the ominous predictions of the witch, Saul went into battle with a heavy heart, and as though his fears had infected his troops, the result proved disastrous. The Israelites, indeed, fought bravely, and the battle lasted the whole day, but they could not contend with the cavalry and war chariots on the plain. They fled to the mountains of Gilboa, but they were pursued, and routed by the Philistines. Saul's three sons, the amiable Jonathan, Abinadab and Malchishua, all fell, and the father found himself suddenly alone, attended only by his armour-bearer, whilst the Philistine bowmen pressed on him. He did not wish to flee, nor to be taken prisoner, and exposed to the scorn of the Philistines. He, therefore, entreated his servant to give him the death-blow, and when the latter refused to lay hands on the king, Saul had no alternative but to fall on his own sword, and die a death worthy of a king. The destruction was fearful. The flower of the Israelite troops lay strewn on Mount Gilboa and the plain of Jezreel. After resting during the night from their hard day's work, the Philistines revisited the battle-field, and stripped the slain of their clothing and ornaments. Here they found the corpses of Saul and his three sons. The king's head and his weapons they sent as trophies to Philistia; the skull they preserved in the temple of Dagon, and the weapons, in a temple of Astarte to commemorate the great victory over Israel. They then forced their way into the towns in the plain of Jezreel, and into those in the north-eastern territory near the Jordan and occupied them. The inhabitants, on hearing of the defeat at Gilboa, had fled to the opposite side of the Jordan. The Philistines, as an insult to the Israelites, hung the headless bodies of Saul and his son Jonathan on the walls of Bethshan. It appears that the Philistines, following up their victory, turned to the south of Mount Gilboa and Bethshan, and occupied every town of importance. Saul's capital, Gibeah-Saul, was filled with terror at the approach of the Philistines. The inhabitants fled to the mountains, and while attempting to save Jonathan's son, Mephibosheth, then five years old, his nurse dropped him, and he was lamed for life.