University of Virginia Library

CHAPTER XXIX.

The great effect of the battering ordnance,
in demolishing the Moorish fortresses,
in the preceding year, induced
King Ferdinand to procure a powerful
train for the campaign of 1485; in the
course of which he resolved to assault
some of the most formidable holds of
the enemy. An army of nine thousand
cavalry and twenty thousand infantry assembled
at Cordova early in the spring;
and the king took the field on the 5th of
April. It had been determined, in secret
council, to attack the city of Malaga, that
ancient and important seaport, on which
Granada depended for foreign aid and
supplies. It was thought proper previously,
however, to get possession of
various towns and fortresses in the
valleys of Santa Maria and Cartama,
through which pass the roads to Malaga.

The first place assailed was the town
of Benamaquex. It had submitted to the
catholic sovereigns in the preceding year,
but had since renounced its allegiance.
King Ferdinand was enraged at the rebellion
of the inhabitants. "I will make
their punishment," said he, "a terror to
others: they shall be loyal through force,
if not through faith." The place was
carried by storm; one hundred and eight
of the principal inhabitants were either
put to the sword or hanged on the battlements.
The rest were carried into captivity.[41]

The towns of Coin and Cartama were
besieged on the same day; the first by a

division of the army led on by the Marquis
of Cadiz; the second by another
division, commanded by Don Alonso de
Aguilar, and Luis Fernandez Puerto
Carrero, the brave senior of Palma. The
king, with the rest of the army, remained
posted between the two places, to render
assistance to either division. The batteries
opened upon both places at the
same time; and the thunder of the lombards
was mutually heard from one camp
to the other. The Moors made frequent
sallies, and a valiant defence; but they
were confounded by the tremendous uproar
of the batteries, and the destruction
of their walls. In the mean time, the
alarm-fires gathered together the Moorish
mountaineers of the Serrania, who assembled
in great numbers in the city of
Monda, about a league from Coin.

They made several attempts to enter
the besieged town, but in vain; they
were each time intercepted and driven
back by the Christians, and were reduced
to gaze at a distance, in despair, on the
destruction of the place. While thus
situated, there rode one day into Monda
a fierce and haughty Moorish chieftain,
at the head of a band of swarthy African
horsemen. It was Hamet el Zegri, the
fiery-spirited alcayde of Ronda, at the
head of his band of Gomeres. He had
not yet recovered from the rage and mortification
of his defeat on the banks of
the Lopera, in the disastrous foray of old
Bexir, when he had been obliged to steal
back to his mountains, with the loss of
his bravest followers. He had ever since
panted for revenge. He now rode among
the host of warriors assembled at Monda.
"Who among you," cried he, "feels
pity for the women and children of Coin,
exposed to captivity and death? Whoever
he is, let him follow me, who am
ready to die as a Moslem for the relief
of Moslems!" So saying, he seized a
white banner, and, waving it over his
head, rode forth from the town, followed
by the Gomeres. Many of the warriors,
roused by his words and his example,
spurred resolutely after his banner. The
people of Coin, being prepared for this
attempt, sallied forth as they saw the
white banner, and made an attack upon
the Christian camp; and, in the confusion
of the moment, Hamet and his followers
galloped into the gates. This
reinforcement animated the besieged, and
Hamet exhorted them to hold out obstinately
in defence of life and the town.
As the Gomeres were veteran warriors,
the more they were attacked, the harder
they fought.

At length, a great breach was made
in the walls; and Ferdinand, who was
impatient of the resistance of the place,
ordered the Duke of Naxera and the
Count of Benavente to enter with their
troops; and, as their forces were not
sufficient, he sent word to Luis de Cerda,
Duke of Medina Celi, to send a part of
his people to their assistance.

The feudal pride of the duke was
roused at this demand. "Tell my lord
the king," said the haughty grandee,
"that I have come to succour him with
my household troops. If my people are
ordered to any place, I am to go with
them; but if I am to remain in the camp,
they must remain with me: for troops
cannot serve without their commander,
nor their commander without his troops."

The reply of the high-spirited grandee
perplexed the cautious Ferdinand, who
knew the jealous pride of his powerful
nobles. In the mean time, the people
of the camp, having made all preparations
for the assault, were impatient to be
led forward. Upon this Pero Ruyz de
Alarcon put himself at their head, and,
seizing their mantas, or portable bulwarks,
and their other defences, they
made a gallant assault, and fought their
way in at the breach. The Moors were
so overcome by the fury of their assault,
that they retreated fighting to the square
of the town. Pero Ruyz de Alarcon
thought the place was carried, when suddenly
Hamet and his Gomeres came
scouring through the streets with wild
war-cries, and fell furiously upon the
Christians. The latter were, in their
turn, beaten back; and, while attacked
in front by the Gomeres, were assailed
by the inhabitants with all kinds of missiles,
from their roofs and windows.
They at length gave way, and retreated
through the breach. Pero Ruyz de
Alarcon still maintained his ground in
one of the principal streets. The few
cavaliers that stood by him urged him to
fly: "No," said he, "I came here to

fight, and not to fly!" He was presently
surrounded by the Gomeres. His companions
fled for their lives. Before they
fled, they saw him covered with wounds,
but still fighting desperately for the fame
of a good cavalier.[42]

The resistance of the inhabitants,
though aided by the valour of the Gomeres,
was of no avail. The battering
artillery of the Christians demolished
their walls; combustibles were thrown
into their town, which set it on fire in
various places, and they were at length
compelled to capitulate. They were permitted
to depart with their effects, and
the Gomeres with their arms. Hamet el
Zegri and his African band sallied forth,
and rode proudly through the Christian
camp; nor could the Spanish cavaliers
refrain from regarding with admiration
that haughty warrior and his devoted
and dauntless adherents.

The capture of Coin was accompanied
by that of Cartama. The fortifications
of the latter were repaired and garrisoned;
but Coin being too extensive to be
defended by a moderate force, its walls
were demolished. The siege of these
places struck such terror into the surrounding
country, that the Moors of
many of the neighbouring towns abandoned
their homes, and fled, with such
of their effects as they could carry away:
upon which the king gave orders to demolish
their walls and towers.

King Ferdinand now left his camp and
his heavy artillery near Cartama, and
proceeded with his lighter troops to reconnoitre
Malaga. By this time the
secret plan of attack, arranged in the
council of war at Cordova, was known
to all the world. The vigilant warrior,
El Zagal, had thrown himself into the
place. He had put all the fortifications,
which were of vast strength, into a state
of defence, and had sent orders to the
alcaydes of the mountain towns to hasten
with their forces to his assistance.

The very day that King Ferdinand
appeared before the place, El Zagal sallied
forth to receive him at the head of a
thousand cavalry, the choicest warriors
of Granada. A hot skirmish took place
among the gardens and olive trees near
the city. Many were killed on both
sides, and this gave the Christians a
sharp foretaste of what they might expect,
if they attempted to besiege the
place.

When the skirmish was over, the
Marquis of Cadiz had a private conference
with the king. He represented the
difficulty of besieging Malaga with their
present force, especially as their plans
had been discovered and anticipated, and
the whole country was marching over
the mountains to oppose them. The
marquis, who had secret intelligence
from all quarters, had received a letter
from Juceph Xerife, a Moor of Ronda, of
Christian lineage, apprising him of the
situation of that important place and its
garrison, which at that moment laid it
open to attack; and the marquis was
urgent with the king to seize upon this
critical moment, and secure a place,
which was one of the most powerful
Moorish fortresses on the frontiers, and,
in the hands of Hamet el Zegri, had
been the scourge of Andalusia. The
good marquis had another motive for his
advice, becoming a true and loyal knight.
In the deep dungeons of Ronda languished
several of his companions in arms,
who had been captured in the defeat in
the Axarquia. To break their chains,
and restore them to liberty and light, he
felt to be his peculiar duty, as one of
those who had most promoted that disastrous
enterprise.

King Ferdinand listened to the advice
of the marquis. He knew the importance
of Ronda, which was considered one of
the keys of the kingdom of Granada;
and he was disposed to punish the inhabitants,
for the aid they had rendered to
the garrison at Coin. The siege of Malaga,
therefore, was abandoned for the
present, and preparations made for a
rapid and secret move against the city
of Ronda.