with the intention of continuing onwards at daylight. Day had scarcely shown signs of dawning when the Spaniards were again on the march. The heat was so intense that it is almost absurd to believe it. They truly affirm that neither the heats of the Libyan deserts, nor of Egypt, nor of the sandy desert of the coast near Piura were greater, for at that time the sun reigned in the south. As the heat was so great the water they had brought was soon consumed; and the more they drank the more they were harassed by thirst. Many of the servants, who came with the Spaniards, died of the heat and want of water. The horses were very tired. The Spaniards, seeing the pass to which they had come, and knowing that if all the servants died the expedition must be a failure, some of those who had horses pushed on with what speed they could to bring water in the calabashes and skins and succour the foot soldiers and native servants, and enable them to advance. With no little trouble, the horses being much fatigued, they returned with the vessels full of water, and thus saved many lives. They passed the night as best they could. As the dawn approached our Lord God, who at such times reveals his marvels, ordained that the clouds, by the thunder that rolled amongst them, should show signs of approaching rain; and the people, cheered by the sound, threw themselves down with their backs on the ground, open mouthed, that the drops might fall into them should the rain come. It was not long before a heavy shower came down and Spaniards and Indians made big pits to receive it. Soon the pits were full, and the people were able to drink at their pleasure. The barbarians of the province whither they were going, when they heard of the coming of the Spaniards, deserted the country, from the fear in which they held them; and when the Spaniards arrived there no Indians were to be found. Whilst they were looking about to see which direction they could have gone off in they came upon some spies and scouts who had been left behind [by the Indians] to carry word of the Spaniards' arrival. These fellows wounded two horses with their arrows and then made off to give notice to the Indians and inform them how few in number the Christians were. When the Indians heard this, many of them readily assembled to make war, and while the native servants and some friendly Indians were gathering herbage for the horses, the enemy came in a troupe of as many as six hundred Indians, and killed some of them. The alarm being given, the Spaniards came out on their horses and joined in the fight. Notwithstanding that a few of these were wounded, more than two hundred natives were slain on the field and many more were wounded, so with no little outcry they turned their backs in terror, astonished at the valour of the Spaniards, and unable to believe but that their enemies had some deity among them. The captains regained the village where they had encamped. FOOTNOTES: