Diego took a second look. He observed that half of the warriors were indeed Taino. “And Cuba?” he asked.
“Cortez governs in my absence.”
“Cortez?” Diego was furious. “You’ll be hung for this.”
El Toro gave Diego a slight smile, “Perhaps. But first, I’d like you to meet someone.” He turned his head and nodded and from the gap, another man walked forward.
This man was naked and covered in blood. His hair stood in spikes stiff from red mud, crowned with white dust. His eyes were the wild eyes of the Spanish bear.
Diego didn’t know whether to laugh or take offense as the man began to howl and jump up and down on one foot. Around his neck he wore a necklace of human finger bones that rattled against each other as he jumped.
The other warriors and Taino watched reverently. Finally, he stopped and urinated on the ground. Then, he stood motionless for several minutes.
Diego started to speak but El Toro shook his head. He watched as the man howled once more and then dropped to his hands and knees. He drew a large circle in the dirt before standing with his head lowered.
From the same gap that El Toro and the wild man had come, a third man now came. His body was absent the blood adornment featured on the others; instead he was covered in white dust and naked except for a cloth made of human skin around his waist. He had a red circle painted on his forehead and he wore a necklace of boar tusks.
He approached Diego and offered his hand. “Hola.”
Diego started. “You speak Spanish?”
“Yes, I do and very well. As do many of our men. I am Carlos. I am the High Chief of the Calusa.”
“Calusa?” Diego asked.
“You have heard of us?”
“I have heard the Taino speak of fierce Calusa warriors to the north.”
Carlos nodded. “In our tongue, we are the fierce people. We are at your service Diego Columbus.”
Diego looked at El Toro and El Toro smiled.
Diego surveyed the land that they must cross. Before them was a green ocean of long grass and the wind blew waves across the emerald sea. Diego was wary of an ambush. Once he was satisfied, he ordered the final march to the village and saw that Juan was waiting for him.
Juan stood in front of his men and would lead them in the onslaught. His men were hungry for battle.
Christopher stood to the left of Juan. He saw his son but could not gain his son’s attention. To Juan’s other side stood Abuelo and behind the three men, Juan’s soldiers and the Men of Nod were fixed. Antonio and Pedro were among their numbers.
The Calusa High Priest came forward and began his Dance of Death and the Calusa warriors began beating their spears rhythmically against the earth. He fell to the soil, writhing as if in pain before rising and urinating a circle on the ground. Satisfied, he walked back to the front line.
Juan sensed the attack was imminent.
They had spent the last several days preparing, building defenses. Trenches were dug around the village and filled with a mixture of petroleum and lantern oil. Across the river was perimeter of gunpowder and barrels of fire were lit inside of the village within bow reach.
A vast earthen wall surrounded the village and was packed with buried spikes. These spikes were angled downward and placed a foot apart from each other in all directions across the sheer wall.
Juan was a seasoned warrior and knew their best defense was not on open ground. They pulled back inside the village and piled logs in front of the single earthen entrance way to the village. The logs created a barricade eight foot high and six feet deep and it was a symbol that Juan and his men would not leave the village until the battle was over; either they would be victorious or they would die there.
Juan waited until the sentry signaled that Diego’s warriors were on the southern bank of the river before commanding the release of the fire arrows. Soon, the sky was ablaze.
Arrows slammed into the enemy lines and men died scorched and screaming as they fell to the ground. Several of the arrows reached the intended gunpowder. Explosions ensued, conveying bodies across the plain. Severed arms and legs burned on the dawning field of battle.
The arrows were unrelenting and warriors continued to die. Many men were pushed from behind into the river by other warriors escaping the death that fell from the sky. Those men drowned, detained face down by marching feet in the shallow areas of the river.
Despite the mayhem, Diego’s men were seasoned fighters and continued forward. They had brought rafts with them in anticipation and they were now being rowed towards the village. A shield wall protected the inhabitants across the front and top of the raft.
Ropes were brought across and secured and the subsequent rafts used these ropes as tow lines to pull themselves across. Soon the river was breached and the first group of warriors reached the outer trench.
Flaming arrows were shot into the trenches and the oil ignited. Men were roasted alive. They could not pull back from the trench because the warriors behind them pushed ever forward.
Many of the flaming warriors ran up the embankment and were impaled on the buried spikes. The bodies began to pile up at the base of the wall and those bodies, accompanied with the flames and the river made the approach difficult.
Warriors crossed the river up and down stream and approached the village from all sides. The arrows continued and the open plains on both
