This miracle was ascribed to the
Blessed Virgin, who was distinctly seen by several of the
Christian combatants, hovering over the spot on which was to be
raised the temple dedicated to her worship. *11
[Footnote 11: The temple was dedicated to Our Blessed Lady of the
Assumption. The apparition of the Virgin was manifest not only to
Christian but to Indian warriors, many of whom reported it to
Garcilasso de la Vega, in whose hands the marvellous rarely loses
any of its gloss. (Com. Real., Parte 2, lib. 2, cap. 25.) It is
further attested by Father Acosta, who came into the country
forty years after the event. (lib. 7, cap. 27.) Both writers
testify to the seasonable aid rendered by St. James, who with his
buckler, displaying the device of his Military Order, and armed
with his flaming sword, rode his white charger into the thick of
the enemy. The patron Saint of Spain might always be relied on
when his presence was needed dignus vindice nodus.]
Fortunately, the open space around Hernando's little company
separated them from the immediate scene of conflagration. It
afforded a means of preservation similar to that employed by the
American hunter, who endeavours to surround himself with a belt
of wasted land, when overtaken by a conflagration in the
prairies. All day the fire continued to rage, and at night the
effect was even more appalling; for by the lurid flames the
unfortunate Spaniards could read the consternation depicted in
each others' ghastly countenances, while in the suburbs, along
the slopes of the surrounding hills, might be seen the throng of
besiegers, gazing with fiendish exultation on the work of
destruction.
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