appearance. He had been wounded in the leg by a poisoned arrow. Soon
afterward, the other _praus_ and vessels which had sailed in his
company arrived. They reported to the master-of-camp that they
had entered a narrow arm of the sea, which the land inward forms
into a medium-sized lake, around which seemed to be many people and
much cultivated land. The country seemed thickly populated and well
tilled. Captain Juan de Salcedo advanced farther up those waters, in
search of a fortified place of which information had been received on
the way thither--situated on both sides of the water, and thus very
high and rugged, and suitable for laying ambuscades. This proved to
be true; for suddenly, and without them being able to see any one,
many arrows came flying through the air, one of which wounded Captain
Juan de Salcedo in the leg; and many more would have been wounded had
not the _prau_ been supplied with canvas guards. The arquebusiers
immediately hastened to their posts with their medicine, [28] and
prevented the Moros from discharging another volley of arrows, which
ceased at their coming. The captain secured an antidotal herb for his
wound; and, seeing that the approach to the fort was too dangerous and
that it was impossible to effect a landing, he went back to collect
his _praus_, and to look for a shore where he could easily disembark. A
landing-place was found near the town; the men disembarked, and set out
on foot in search of the Moros. The latter appeared in a broad plain,
covered with grass about a hand-span high. The men were divided into
two troops, in order to attack the Moros, who were shooting arrows as
rapidly as they could, and wildly shouting. The Moros waited until
the Spaniards began to hit their flanks with arquebuse bullets; and
then, seeing the rage of their opponents, they took to flight. Our
men pursued them to the very gate of their town, where more than
forty Moros fell under the fire from the arquebuses.