He
Gave Way, Therefore, To Our Wishes, And Arranged The Order Of Our March,
Placing The Baggage In The Centre, And Dividing The Cavalry And Crossbows
Between The Van And Rear Guards, As Our Musketry Was Now Useless For Want
Of Powder.
The enemy harassed us by continual assaults all the way from
Xochimilco to Cuyocan, or Cojohuacan, a city on
The borders of the lake,
near one of the causeways leading to Mexico, which we found abandoned, and
where we took up our quarters for two days, taking care of our wounds, and
making arrows for our crossbows. The enemy which had especially obstructed
us on this march, consisted of the inhabitants of Xochimilco, Cuyocan,
Huitzilopochco, Iztapalapa, Mizquic, and five other towns, all of
considerable size, and built on the edge of the lake, near one another,
and not far from Mexico. On the third morning we marched for Tlacopan or
Tacuba, harassed as usual by the enemy, but our cavalry soon forced them
to retire to their canals and ditches. During this march, Cortes attempted
to lay an ambush for the enemy, for which purpose he set out with ten
horsemen and four servants, but had nearly fallen into a snare himself.
Having encountered a party a Mexicans who fled before him, he pursued them
too far, and was suddenly surrounded by a large body of warriors, who
started out from an ambuscade, and wounded all the horses in the first
attack, carrying off two of the attendants of Cortes to be sacrificed at
Mexico, the rest of the party escaping with considerable difficulty. Our
main body reached Tacuba in safety, with all the baggage; but as Cortes
and his party did not appear, we began to entertain suspicions of some
misfortune having befallen him. On this account, Alvarado, De Oli, Tapia,
and I, with some others, went to look for him in the direction in which we
had last seen him. We soon met two of his servants, who informed us of
what had happened, and were shortly afterwards joined by Cortes, who
appeared extremely sad, and even shed tears.
When we arrived at our quarters in Tacuba, which were in some large
enclosed courts, it rained very heavily, and we were obliged to remain
exposed for about two hours. On the weather clearing up, the general and
his officers, with many of the men who were off duty, went up to the top
of the great temple of Tacuba, whence we had a most delightful prospect of
the lake, with all its numerous cities and towns, rising as it were out of
the water. Innumerable canoes were seen in all directions, some employed
in fishing, and others passing with provisions or merchandize of all kinds.
We all gave praise to God, who had been pleased to render us the
instruments for bringing the numerous inhabitants of so fine a country to
the knowledge of his holy name; yet the bloody scenes which we had already
experienced in Mexico, filled us with melancholy for the past, and even
with some apprehension for the future.
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