“On the third of December they left Nangasaqui alone, and started for Unjen.  The two women rode in a litter, and the five religious on horseback, each one in the habit of his order, accompanied by many people as a guard; they were very joyful as they took leave of a multitude of people who came out to see this spectacle, in spite of the fact that the governor had rigorously prohibited it.  When they arrived at the point of Fimi, a league distant from there, their arms were tied, fetters were put upon their feet, and each one was put on board separately, being tied to the boat.  On this same afternoon they arrived at the point of Oharna, which is within the boundaries of Tacacu, and at the foot of the mountain Unjen.  The next day they ascended the mountain, where they immediately erected a number of huts; then they placed the seven prisoners therein, each in a separate one, without allowing them to see each other again so long as they were there, so that they might not encourage one another.  They kept them day and night with fetters on their feet, and manacles upon their hands, watched by guards.

“Besides the men of the governor of Nangasaqui, the governors of Tacacu sent theirs likewise to be present at this act, as well as to aid whenever necessary.  Beside these, there were a number of others as sentinels on all the roads through which this mountain could be approached, who let no person pass by without a written permission from the officials who were assigned to this duty.

“On the next day, the fourth of the same month, the torture commenced in the following manner:  They took each one of the seven by himself to the most furious pool there, and, showing him the boiling water, tried to persuade him to leave the faith of Christ before undergoing that most horrible torture, which certainly they would not be able to endure.  Father Antonio writes that, notwithstanding the severity of the cold that then prevailed, the water in the ponds did [not] cease boiling, with such fury that the sight of it alone would strike dismay to any one who was not greatly comforted by the grace of God; but they were comforted in such manner that all, with extraordinary courage, answered without delay that they would be tortured, for in no wise would they abandon the faith which they profess.  When this steadfast answer was heard, they were stripped naked and, tied hand and foot with four cords, were borne each by four men.  They took some of the water which was boiling most furiously, in a wooden dish which held about a half-arroba; this water they poured upon each one from the dish thrice filled—­not all at once, but little by little, opening a minute hole in the bottom so that it would last longer.  The constancy, courage, and valor with which the confessors of Christ suffered that most horrible torment was such that they never made the slightest movement of their bodies, to the great fright of those who saw and heard them.  Maria alone, as she was young and delicate, was dismayed