This exceeded my hopes: the Basques of my party did not fail to give a very literal translation of this notice to their comrades, who longed for an opportunity of taking vengeance on our inhuman enemies. But it was not with the motive of keeping alive the inextinguishable hate that already existed between the guerrillas and the French that I had got up this melo-drama; but rather to deter the remaining Catalans of my band from depending on themselves, should our interests jar on any future occasion, and they be inclined to throw off their allegiance. They were now made sensible how completely their want of acquaintance with the country rendered them dependent upon me. On my own countrymen I knew reliance might be placed, and I generally entrusted them with the out-post duty.
I affected, nevertheless, to be much enraged at the treatment the Pobrecitos, so lately our companions in arms, had experienced, and, a chapel being at hand, readily acquiesced—for I liked to encourage superstitious habits in my followers—in the proposal of offering up masses for their souls; concluding our pious work with a vow not to spare any Frenchman, woman, or child, that should fall into our hands for the next six months.
“Al hierro caliente
machacar de repente,”[203]
as the saying is. Having satisfied myself, from information collected from the peasantry, that all the disposable French cavalry at Granada had been laid upon the false scent I had furnished the governor, I thought the opportunity favourable for enabling my men to keep their pious vow, and, at the same time, fill their fajas[204] with onzas. Descending, therefore, boldly into the fertile Vega of Granada, we made a dash at Santa Fé, reaching the little walled town at the very moment a party of French soldiers were busily occupied in loading some bullock carts with contributions raised in the surrounding district. So scared were they by our sudden appearance, that, instead of shutting the gates in our faces, and haciendo la higa,[205] as they might have done, they took themselves off à bride abattue, and never stopped until they had placed the Genil between us. So sudden, indeed, was our arrival, and so precipitate their departure, that we caught two luckless French commissaries, who, being busily engaged in taking an account of barrels of flour stored in one of the churches at the further end of the town, had not heard the alarm.
My troopers were anxious to dar quito[206] for their comrades hanged at Alhendin; and I was far from being disposed to baulk their fancy, but thought we would do it with éclat. Having, therefore, first plunged the two caitiffs “patos arriba”[207] in one of their flour casks, we took them to the city gate facing Granada; which, being old, and hanging loosely upon its hinges, we were enabled, by cutting two small notches in the side posts, to force their heads through, and so throttle them by closing the gate upon its centre, leaving their heads sticking out, like the mock-guns of a smuggler’s xebeque.[208]
This done, I wrote with some chalk the following notice on the outside of the gate.
“The undersigned, Principal Ratcatcher to his Catholic Majesty Fernando Septimo, charged by an act of the Junta of government now established at Cadiz with the duty of clearing the province of Andalusia of the rats and other vermin with which it is at this moment overrun, to the destruction and undermining of the glorious fabric of our independence, hereby gives notice, that any persons who may henceforth feed, harbour, or encourage the same, will themselves be considered equally as detrimental to the country as the aforesaid rats, and will, on conviction, meet with the same condign summary punishment.
“In witness whereof, I have this day throttled the two weasels hereunto made fast.
“Blas Maldonado.”