Turning Therefore To Them, He Desired Them To
Tell Their Master, That He Must Immediately Order Markets To Be Held,
And
provisions to be supplied for his troops, or to beware of the consequences.
These lords understood the general import
Of the injurious expressions
which Cortes had used against Montezuma, and made a faithful report to him
of all that passed. Whether it may have proceeded from rage on account of
these opprobrious expressions against their sovereign, or from a plan
previously concerted to fall upon us, I know not, but within a quarter of
an hour, a soldier dangerously wounded came running into our quarters, and
reported that the whole people were in arms against us. This man had been
sent by Cortes to bring over to our quarters the daughter of Montezuma and
other Indian ladies, who had been left under the charge of the cacique of
Tacuba, when we marched against Narvaez. He was returning with these
ladies, when the people attacked him in great numbers on the causeway of
Tacuba, where they had broken down one of the bridges, and had once seized
him, and were forcing him into a canoe to carry him off to be sacrificed;
but he extricated himself by a violent effort, and got away with two
dangerous wounds.
Cortes immediately ordered out a detachment of 400 men under Ordas, to see
what was the matter, and to endeavour to pacify the people; but he had
hardly proceeded the length of a street, when he was assailed by immense
numbers of the natives, some in the street, and others from the terraced
tops of the houses, who killed eight of his men on the first discharge of
missiles, and wounded mostly the whole of his men, himself in three places.
Finding it impossible to proceed, Ordas retreated slowly towards our
quarters, and soon after lost another soldier, who did astonishing feats
of valour with a two-handed sword.
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