From This Place We Were Rejoiced At Seeing The
Mountains Of Tlascala, Being Anxious To Ascertain The Fidelity Of These
Allies, And To Hear News From Our Friends At Villa Rica.
Cortes warned us
to be exceedingly cautious of giving any offence to the Tlascalans, and
particularly enforced this advice on the soldiers of Narvaez, who were
less accustomed to discipline.
He said that he hoped to find our allies
steady in their attachment; but if they should have changed in consequence
of our misfortunes, although we were now only 440 strong, all wounded and
ill armed, we still possessed vigorous bodies and firm minds to carry us
through, if necessary, to the coast. We now arrived at a fountain on the
side of a hill, where we came to a rampart built in ancient times as a
boundary between the state of Tlascala and the dominions of Mexico. We
halted here, and then proceeded to a town called Gualiopar, or Huejotlipan,
where we halted one day, and procured some food for which we were obliged
to pay. Immediately on our arrival being announced at Tlascala, our
friends Maxicatzin, Xicotencatl, Chichimecatl, the chief of Huexatcinco,
and others, came to wait upon Cortes, whom they embraced, yet kindly
blamed him for having neglected their advice to distrust the treachery of
the Mexicans. They wept for the losses we had sustained, yet rejoiced at
our escape, and praised our valiant actions; assuring us that they were
assembling 30,000 of their warriors to have joined us at Obtumba.
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