Every Morning We Prepared Ourselves To Resist The Attacks Of The Enemy, Who Continued Every Day To Sacrifice Some Of Our Miserable Companions.

During their daily and incessant attacks, they reviled us, saying, that their gods had promised to permit them to destroy us all within eight days; yet that our flesh was too bitter to be eaten:

And truly I believe that this was miraculously the case. The threats of the Mexicans, and their declaration that their gods had promised to deliver us into their hands in eight days, had such an effect upon our allies, combined with the bad appearance of our affairs, that they almost entirely deserted from us about this time. The only one who remained with Cortes, was Suchel, otherwise called Don Carlos, brother to our ally the prince of Tezcuco, with about forty followers. The chief of Huexotzinco remained in the camp of Sandoval with about fifty of his warriors; and the brave Chichimecatl, with the two sons of Don Lorenzo de Vargas of Tlascala, and about eighty Tlascalans, continued with us in the quarters of Alvarado. When they were asked the reason of the desertion of their countrymen, they said, that the Mexican gods had predicted our destruction, and the younger Xicotencatl had foretold from the first we should all be put to death; they saw that many of us were killed and all wounded, and they had already had above twelve hundred of their own number slain; And, considering us all devoted to inevitable ruin, they had fled to avoid sharing our fate. Though Cortes secretly thought there was too much reason in what they alleged, he yet assumed a cheerful appearance of perfect security as to the ultimate result of the enterprize, and used his utmost endeavours to reassure our remaining friends, turning the hopes and predictions of the Mexicans and the promises of their false gods into ridicule, and had the good fortune to persuade our few remaining friends to abide with us. The Indian Don Carlos, or Suchel of Tezcuco, who was a brave warrior and a wise man, strongly represented to our general that he had hitherto acted on a most erroneous plan, especially considering the relative situations of us and the enemy. "If you cut off their means of procuring water and provisions," he observed, "how is it possible that the many _xiquipils_[8] of warriors can subsist? Their provisions must be at last expended: The water of their wells is salt and unwholesome, and their only resource is from the present rainy season. Combat them, therefore, by means of hunger and thirst, and do not throw away your own force by unnecessary violence." Cortes embraced Suchel, thanking him for his salutary advice; which indeed had already more than once occurred to ourselves, but we were too impatient to act with so much prudence. Our general began therefore to act upon this new system, so judiciously recommended by our friend of Tezcuco, and sent orders to all the detachments to confine themselves entirely to the defensive for the next three days.

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