Note 48 — Chapter II

Perez de Hita (Historia de los Vandos) recounts that the city of Santa Fe sprang from a marvellous edifice which four grandees caused to be constructed in a single night. It consisted of four buildings of wood covered with painted canvas to imitate stone, and surrounded by a battlemented wall of a similar construction. Roadways in the form of a cross divided the four blocks with a gate at each of the four extremities. The Moors, on seeing what they thought was a strong fortress raised so rapidly, thought that witchcraft had been at work, and were utterly cast down.