They Now
Retreated To Some Uneven Ground, Where The Whole Army Of The State Of
Tlascala, 40,000 In Number, Were Posted Under Cover, Commanded By
_Xicotencatl_, The General In Chief Of The Republic.
As the cavalry could
not act in this uneven ground, we were forced to fight our way through as
well as we were able in a compact column, assailed on every side by the
enemy, who were exceedingly expert archers.
They were all clothed in white
and red, with devices of the same colours, being the uniform of their
general. Besides the multitudes who discharged continual flights of arrows,
many of them who were armed with lances closed upon us while we were
embarrassed by the inequality of the ground; but as soon as we got again
into the plain, we made a good use of our cavalry and artillery. Yet they
fought incessantly against us with astonishing intrepidity, closing upon
us all around, so that we were in the utmost danger at every step, but God
supported and assisted us. While closely environed in this manner, a
number of their strongest warriors, armed with tremendous two-handed
swords, made a combined attack on Pedro de Moron, an expert horseman, who
was charging through them accompanied by other three of our cavalry. They
seized his lance and wounded himself dangerously, and one of them cut
through the neck of his horse with a blow of a two-handed sword, so that
he fell down dead. We rescued Moron from the enemy with the utmost
difficulty, even cutting the girths and bringing off his saddle, but ten
of our number were wounded in the attempt, and believe we then slew ten of
their chiefs, while fighting hand to hand.
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