Thus we made a swift march, and thought ourselves pretty secure; but our work was not done yet, for on a sudden we saw ourselves under a necessity of fighting our way through a great body of Manchester’s horse, who came galloping upon us over the moor.  They had, as we suppose, been pursuing some of our broken troops which were fled before, and seeing us, they gave us a home charge.  We received them as well as we could, but pushed to get through them, which at last we did with a considerable loss to them.  However, we lost so many men, either killed or separated from us (for all could not follow the same way), that of our three regiments we could not be above 400 horse together when we got quite clear, and these were mixed men, some of one troop and regiment, some of another.  Not that I believe many of us were killed in the last attack, for we had plainly the better of the enemy, but our design being to get off, some shifted for themselves one way and some another, in the best manner they could, and as their several fortunes guided them.  Four hundred more of this body, as I afterwards understood, having broke through the enemy’s body another way, kept together, and got into Pontefract Castle, and 300 more made northward and to Skipton, where the prince afterwards fetched them off.

These few of us that were left together, with whom I was, being now pretty clear of pursuit, halted, and began to inquire who and who we were, and what we should do; and on a short debate, I proposed we should make to the first garrison of the king’s that we could recover, and that we should keep together, lest the country people should insult us upon the roads.  With this resolution we pushed on westward for Lancashire, but our misfortunes were not yet at an end.  We travelled very hard, and got to a village upon the river Wharfe, near Wetherby.  At Wetherby there was a bridge, but we understood that a party from Leeds had secured the town and the post, in order to stop the flying Cavaliers, and that ’twould be very hard to get through there, though, as we understood afterwards, there were no soldiers there but a guard of the townsmen.  In this pickle we consulted what course to take.  To stay where we were till morning, we all concluded, would not be safe.  Some advised to take the stream with our horses, but the river, which is deep, and the current strong, seemed to bid us have a care what we did of that kind, especially in the night.  We resolved therefore to refresh ourselves and our horses, which indeed is more than we did, and go on till we might come to a ford or bridge, where we might get over.  Some guides we had, but they either were foolish or false, for after we had rode eight or nine miles, they plunged us into a river at a place they called a ford, but ’twas a very ill one, for most of our horses swam, and seven or eight were lost, but we saved the men.  However, we got all over.