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.
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