rough 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
they found a plateau, more spacious than that of our hill of Jolo,
on which were houses, some fortified and some small ones. The former
were full of provisions and contained some Guimbanos. These, seeing
our men and recognizing them as enemies, immediately abandoned the
houses and took to flight, throwing themselves headlong from the
heights. Our men entered the place, and burned the houses with the
rice and other things contained in them; and they laid waste the
fields and destroyed what had been planted in them, as they had done
in the villages before ascending the hill. Our men were occasioned
no little anxiety by their failure, after this exploit, to find the
road by which to leave the hill; for, as it had in every direction
precipices and rugged heights, they had great difficulty and hardship
in getting away from the hill, on account of not being able to strike
the path by which they had entered. But finally the Blessed Virgin
who hitherto had been our Lady of Success, chose to show also that
she was our Lady of Good Success--which she did by enabling our men
to depart in safety from the hill. For the alferez, going to make a
hasty reconnoissance with four arquebusiers, and some servants armed
with pikes and shields, saw [traces of men's] work among the trees that
covered the hill; and, upon reaching the place, ascertained that there
was a path by which he could descend. Notifying the troops of this,
they went down the hill by this path, and thus returned to the houses
that they had burned, all marching in regular order. They approached
the seashore through