Beyond All The Rest, Andres Duero Was Heartily Sick Of His Junction With Cortes, Regretting The Gold He Had Been Forced To Leave In The Ditches Of Mexico.

These men, finding that words were of no avail to persuade Cortes to relinquish his plans of conquest, made a formal remonstrance in writing, stating the insufficiency of our force, and demanding leave to return to Cuba.

Cortes urged every reason he could think of to induce them to concur in his schemes; and we who were his own soldiers, requested him on no account to permit any one to depart, but that all should remain to serve the cause of God and the king. The malcontents were forced reluctantly to acquiesce, murmuring against Cortes and his expeditions, and us who supported him, who, they said, had nothing but our lives to lose[1]. We now, therefore, set out on an expedition to chastise these districts, without artillery or fire-arms of any kind, all of which had been left in the Mexican canals. Our force consisted of 16 cavalry, 424 of our own infantry, mostly armed with swords and targets, and about 4000 Tlascalans. We halted at about three leagues from Tepejacac, but the inhabitants had deserted their houses on our approach. Having got some prisoners during the march, Cortes sent them to the chiefs with a message, intimating that he came to demand justice for the murder of eighteen Spaniards in their territories, and for their admitting Mexican troops into their country; and threatening them with fire and sword if they did not immediately submit to his authority. By our messengers and two Mexicans, they sent back a message, ordering us to return immediately, or they would put us all to death, and feast upon our bodies. Upon this it was determined in a council of the officers, that a full statement of all that had passed, should be drawn up by a royal notary, denouncing slavery on the Mexicans or their allies who had killed any Spanish subjects, after having submitted to the authority of the king. When this was drawn up and authenticated, we sent once more to require their submission, giving notice of the inevitable consequences of their disobedience. But they returned an answer like the former. Both sides being prepared for battle, we came to action with them next day; and as the enemy were drawn up in open fields of maize, our cavalry soon put the enemy to flight with considerable loss, though they made an obstinate resistance. In this battle our Tlascalan allies fought bravely; and, in the pursuit, we took a good many prisoners, all of whom were made slaves of. After this victory, the natives sued for peace, and we marched to the town of Tepejacac to receive their submission; and finding it an eligible situation, being in a fertile district, and on the road to Villa Rica, Cortes founded a colony in the place, naming it _Segura de la Frontera._ Municipal officers were appointed, and a branding-iron for marking those natives who were taken and reduced to slavery.

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