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In this time, the Amity received 32 great shots in her hull, masts, and sails, besides at least 500 iron muskets and arquebuses, which were counted after the fight. The editor of Astleys collection gives no notice of the source whence he procured this narrative. The Spanish ships with quicksilver are usually called azogue or assogue ships; the word assogue signifying quicksilver.
They now opened a galling fire from their battlements and towers, approaching the breaches so as to discharge their crossbows and arquebuses into the advanced guard of the encampment. The marques was singled out: the shot fell thick about him, and one passed through his buckler and struck upon his cuirass, but without doing him any injury.
Do you apply such a term to the fortunes of war? What more could our governor have done? Had we not the ways filled with poisoned caltrops, guarded by Indian archers, barred with butts full of earth, raked with culverins and arquebuses? What familiar spirit had we, sir, to tell us that these villains would come along the sea-beach, and not by the high-road, like Christian men?"
Keeping their feet with the utmost difficulty upon the slippery ice, they were astonished at the rapid approach of the Dutchmen. Breaking up as they approached, their assailants came dashing along at a rapid pace, discharged their arquebuses into the close mass of the Spaniards, and then wheeled away at the top of their speed, reloaded and again swept down to fire.
Seeing that in this case cajolery could not suffice, we withdrew in order not to disturb them; but as we departed, they began to shower sticks and stones after us, and I was obliged to order the soldiers to fire their arquebuses at them; and they never appeared again. This town has a population of twenty or thirty Indians.
On landing, the crew hastened to the fortress. It was a ruin. The palisades were beaten down, and the whole presented the appearance of having been sacked, burnt, and destroyed. Columbus, on visiting the ruins the next morning, discovered no dead bodies, but broken utensils and torn vestments were found scattered here and there among the grass. In vain cannon and arquebuses were fired.
Old John Grant plied the assailants with his inextinguishable fire. Constantine, in seeming always cheerful, never shirking, visited the walls; at night, he seconded Justiniani in hastening needful repairs. Finally the steady drain upon the stores in magazine began to tell. Provisions became scarce, and the diminution of powder threatened to silence the culverins and arquebuses.
The tortures Torstenson suffered found an outlet in giving orders for a general assault on the works of the city, especially on the Peter Gate. The firing of the double and single arquebuses began again, the mortars joined in with their short, sharp roar, and soon the earth shook and the air vibrated with the frightful din. Conrad had taken refuge in a corner of the hospital wall.
He believed that he was sure of his communications with the interior of the town; but when the detachment of the advance-guard got a footing on the draw-bridge the ropes that held it were cut, and "the soldiers fell into a ditch, where they were shot down with arquebuses, at the same time that musketry played upon them from without."
My sagacious patron had long seen the course events were taking. I may state now that, for some years past, he had been busily employed in purchasing gunpowder, arquebuses, cannon, and all sorts of munitions of war, as well as cordage, and all naval stores required for fitting out ships.
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