The Horses Of Our Cavalry
Were All Wounded, And When At Any Time They Made A Charge Upon The Enemy,
They Were Almost Immediately Stopt By Barriers And Parapets Which The
Enemy Had Drawn Across The Causeway For The Purpose, And From Whence They
Defended Themselves With Long Lances.
Likewise, when the infantry advanced
along the causeway, instead of abiding our attack, the enemy threw
themselves into the water and escaped by swimming or into their canoes,
returning incessantly to the attack.
We were thus engaged for more than an
hour to no useful purpose, the enemy continually increasing in number, by
reinforcements from every part of the lake; and our allies, instead of
being serviceable, only encumbered the causeway and hindered our movements.
Finding that we were unable any longer to resist the multitude of enemies
who assailed us perpetually from the water, and almost with entire
impunity, we determined to retreat to our quarters in Tacuba, having eight
of our men slain and above fifty wounded, and were closely followed up and
much harassed by the enemy during our retreat. De Oli laid the blame of
the disaster of this day on the rashness of Alvarado.
Next day[1], though we were all extremely solicitous for the two captains
to remain together, De Oli proceeded with his division to take possession
of Cojohuacan, according to the orders he had received from Cortes; but
this separation was assuredly extremely ill judged; as, if the enemy had
known the smallness of our numbers at the two stations, they might have
fallen upon and destroyed us separately, during the four or five days that
we remained divided before the arrival of Cortes with the brigantines.
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