From the hill to these two villages may be a journey of about two leguas and a half; the road is very bad, and of the sort that has been described, [passing through] marshes and rough places; and, with the darkness of a moonlight night, to go among trees, thickets, and tangled briers was intolerable and full of difficulty. Not less wearisome was the road which they still must take to reach the people and village of Paran, and even more difficult: but neither the one nor the other could weaken or diminish the tenacity, spirit, and valor which not only the captain but his soldiers displayed. They traveled all night in this way until a little before daybreak, when they mistook the road, and took another, which did not lead to the village where they meant to go; but God chose that the people of that very village should serve as guides [to the Spaniards], by furnishing them light--for on account of quieting some infants who were crying, they kindled lights in the houses. The sargento-mayor ordered them to march toward that place, where they arrived at daybreak; and there they remained about half an hour, waiting for the dawn to brighten so that they might break the countersign [87] and make the daylight attack [dar el albasso] on the said village, which they did. For when it became light, and the day was brightening, they broke the watchword, which was "St. Ignatius;" and the division to which that belonged made the first attack on the houses, jointly with the vanguard, which went ahead to reconnoiter. All the forces united to make this assault on the houses, and to break through the defenses of the village and enter, all in order, with lighted matches and to sound of drums, as they did. In their houses this occasioned a great tumult; some were slain by musket-balls, some by lance-thrusts; others escaped naked, fleeing without thought of their kindred or their possessions, abandoning their weapons and whatever they had; others, finally, were burned to death in their houses, to which our men set fire--the natives remaining in them either through fear, or that they might not fall into our hands and be slain by our lances. They hid themselves, therefore, for the greater protection--only to have their houses, and their granaries of rice, and their bodies burned [here], and finally their souls in hell. Besides this, their cultivated fields were laid waste, set out with all the plants that they rear--bananas, sugar-cane, and other plants which furnish them with food; and our men did the same with these, destroying and burning everything. This done they looked about, scanning the country in all directions, and saw an impregnable height; and when the commander understood that this was (as it proved to be) the citadel of the enemies, he gave the order to march thither. They proceeded by a path or trail so narrow that they were obliged to ascend in single file; and when they reached the top of the said hill