They built a small fort, and, together with an
equal number of Mindanao soldiers, shut themselves up in it. This
news aroused General Ronquillo to dislodge them. He went down to
accomplish it with the galleys and other vessels, and one hundred
and forty well-armed men. He landed with one hundred and sixteen
men, together with Captains Ruy Gomez Arellano, Garcia Guerrero,
Christoval Villagra, and Alonso de Palma. He met the enemy at a
distance of eighty paces on the bank of the river. The Ternatans
and Mindanaos had carefully cleared the front of their fort, but
had designedly left a thicket at one side of it, where three hundred
Ternatans were ambushed, while the rest were inside the fortress. As
both parties saw how few of our men were attacking them, they grew
ashamed of their fortress and ambush. Threatening our men insolently,
they showed themselves and advanced upon the Spaniards. They found
so great opposition from our men that without using any stratagem,
or for no other reason beyond natural strength, at the first shock of
battle nearly all the Ternatans were killed, and the rest fled.
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