defeated the Christian armies," they said, "and deprived them of all
desire for combat. Therefore let us into your cities, and welcome
gratefully those who go to such lengths to protect you." Then they
entered the cities, stripped the churches of their ornaments, carried
off the wealth of public buildings, and set about carrying off gold
and silver, various kinds of animals, and whatever else might be of
use to them. For this purpose, they abducted the sons of Christians
as slaves, and consigned to the flames other things that were less
useful, constantly in fear of our coming up behind them. Afterward,
in searching for the infidels through pathless solitudes, our men
entered a deserted, pathless, waterless land, from which the pitiful
men emerged scarcely alive. They suffered from hunger and thirst;
nothing edible could be found, but the cruel deprivation seemed
sometimes to be relieved by rubbing their hands with the spikes.[137]
Certainly many noble knights died there, and the desert, to which
they were unaccustomed, took the lives of many horses. The feeble
succumbed to the relentless hardship. The great lack of horses and
carts compelled them to use cattle, goats, rams, and what is more
amazing, dogs, to carry whatever supplies were appropriate to their
size. From there they moved on to a province rich in what they
needed, and they reached the city of Iconia,[138]famous for its
tolerance of Paul and his writings. Meanwhile, the inhabitants of
this province urged our men to provide themselves with supplies, and
to bring water in bags with them, because they would not be able to
find any water on the entire next day's journey. They did so, and
moved on until they reached the bank of a river, where they rested
for two days. And so those who made up the vanguard reached Trachias,
[139] where a large Turkish phalanx had assembled for the sole
purpose of finding a way to trouble the army of Christ. When our men
came upon them, they attacked them with their usual boldness. The