They Pointed Out A Youth Named Ixtlilxochitl As The Rightful Heir Of Acolhuacan, Who Was Brought Immediately To Cortes, And

Installed without delay in the government. Cortes prevailed upon him to become a Christian, and had him baptised with great

Solemnity, standing godfather on the occasion, and giving him his own name, Don Hernando Cortes Ixtlilxochitl; and to retain him in the Spanish interest and in our holy faith, he appointed three Spaniards to attend upon him, Escobar, who was made captain or governor of Tezcuco, Anthonio de Villa Real, and Pedro Sanches Farfan. In the next place, Cortes required the new prince of Tezcuco to supply him with a number of labourers to open up the canals leading to the lake, on purpose to admit our vessels which were to be put together at Tezcuco. He also informed him of our intentions to besiege Mexico, for which operation the young prince engaged to give all the assistance in his power. The work on the canals was conducted with all expedition, as we never had less than seven or eight thousand Indians employed[2]. As Guatimotzin, the reigning monarch of Mexico, frequently sent out large bodies of troops in canoes on the lake, apparently with the hope of attacking us unprepared, Cortes used every military precaution to guard against any sudden attack, by assigning proper posts to our several captains, with orders to be always on the alert. The people in Huexotla, a town and district only a few miles from Tezcuco, who had been guilty of murdering some of our countrymen on a former occasion, petitioned Cortes for pardon, and were taken into favour on promise of future fidelity.

Before his elevation to the throne of Mexico, Guatimotzin had been prince or cacique of Iztapalapa, the people of which place were determined enemies to us and our allies[3]. We had been now twelve days in Tezcuco, where the presence of so large a force occasioned some scarcity of provisions, and even our allies began to grow somewhat impatient of our inactivity. From all these considerations, Cortes determined upon an expedition to Iztapalapa, against which place he marched at the head of 13 cavalry 220 infantry, and the whole of our Tlascalan allies. The inhabitants had received a reinforcement of 8000 Mexican warriors, yet they fell back into the town on our approach, and even fled into their canoes and the houses which stood in the water, allowing us to occupy that part of the town which stood on the firm land. As it was now night, we took up our quarters for the night and posted our guards, unaware of a stratagem which had been planned for our destruction. On a sudden there came so great a body of water into the streets and houses, that we had been all infallibly drowned if our friends from Tezcuco had not given us instant notice of our danger. The enemy had cut the banks of the canals, and a causeway also, by which means the place was laid almost instantly under water.

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