But very different were the
reflections of the two hosts. The Indians, exulting in their
temporary triumph, looked with confidence to the morrow to
complete it. The Spaniards, on the other hand, were
proportionably discouraged. They were not prepared for this
spirit of resistance in an enemy hitherto so tame. Several
cavaliers had fallen; one of them by a blow from a Peruvian
battle-axe, which clove his head to the chin, attesting the power
of the weapon, and of the arm that used it. *13 Several horses,
too, had been killed; and the loss of these was almost as
severely felt as that of their riders, considering the great cost
and difficulty of transporting them to these distant regions.
Few either of the men or horses escaped without wounds, and the
Indian allies suffered still more severely.
[Footnote 13: Ibid., loc cit.]
It seemed probable, from the pertinacity and a certain order
maintained in the assault, that it was directed by some leader of
military experience; perhaps the Indian commander Quizquiz, who
was said to be hanging round the environs of Cuzco with a
considerable force.
Notwithstanding the reasonable cause of apprehension for the
morrow, De Soto, like a stout-hearted cavalier, as he was, strove
to keep up the spirits of his followers. If they had beaten off
the enemy when their horses were jaded, and their own strength
nearly exhausted, how much easier it would be to come off
victorious when both were restored by a night's rest; and he told
them to "trust in the Almighty, who would never desert his
faithful followers in their extremity.
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