_ 326 _ When they arrived, he fired his artillery at them, which dismasted most of them, but as the galleon remained stationary and the galleys moved about wherever they wanted, they reduced it to such a condition that there was not a single sound part left, because all the upper works were smashed into a myriad splinters, many were battered and the mizen-sail torn to shreds. Both the masts were split in many places and the spars and sails were drifting in the water. But not even this was sufficient to depress the spirits of the courageous soldiers to a single degree, nor did the continuous explosions of the artillery disable the galleon, which did so much damage to the enemy they never dared to board with grappling irons, even though they were surrounding it. From their positions they were unleashing an infinite number of musket shots against it and thick clouds of arrows, as well as a great number of cannon balls. Everyone was wounded by these, and the master and the pilot were killed while meticulously carrying out their duties, without paying any heed to the danger. Captain Goncalo Pereira showed here the great quality of his natural valor. He was always to be seen in the most
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTg0NzAy