by their artillery and swivel-guns. However they did not lose any of
their spirit. They grappled the Dutch vessel, and stayed there fighting
more than three hours; and amid balls, pikes, and broad-swords, they
boarded the hostile vessel, with such courage and valor, that the Dutch
themselves were amazed to see them placing themselves in so manifest
danger without shelter. There was one who, when his companions tried
to make him retire by force, because he had received a ball in his
body, and a nail from a swivel-gun in his throat, tore himself from
those who were carrying him, and returned to the fight, with the fury
with which a wounded boar turns to avenge itself. Our men continued
to decimate the enemy so thoroughly that they had scarcely five men
on deck alive or unwounded. The commander was one of the first to
be killed. The enemy, seeing themselves without any power to resist,
tried to burn the ship. And they would have done it, to the evident
loss of our men, but that was prevented by the master of the vessel,
who, as he declared later, had always been a Catholic. He advised the
Dutch not to do such a thing, for, although they had already lost
their substance, they should not lose their souls. At this advice
they surrendered with fair conditions. Of the Spanish captives [aboard
the enemy's ship], only the Augustinian religious Fray Pedro Montejo
[31] was killed, by a ball from our vessel. The others were safe and
sound. Francisco Aguirre lost a leg in the battle, and being condemned
to be shot as a traitor one day after the victory, he died that same
night. The same that I have related of our flagship occurred in our
almiranta. It grappled with another good vessel, and defeated it after
having fought with it with the same valor. The infantry captains,
Don Pedro de Almazan and Don Juan de la Vega, [32] distinguished
themselves greatly in the battle, showing great courage and valor,
although they were very young. The others can also be praised with
good reason, for they proved themselves valiant captains. Such were