"Wretches," Said Cortes, "This Falsehood Is An Aggravation Of Your Offence, And Such Complicated Crimes Can Never Be Permitted To Pass Unpunished." He Then Ordered A Musket To Be Fired, As A Signal To Commence The Slaughter, For Which We All Stood Prepared.

We immediately fell furiously on the multitudes who were inclosed within the walls of our quarters, and executed their merited punishment in such a manner as will be long remembered by the remaining natives of Cholula.

A vast number of them were put to death on the spot, and many of them were afterwards burned alive. In less than two hours, our Tlascalan allies arrived in the city, having been previously instructed in our plan, and made a terrible slaughter in the streets of the city; and when the Cholulans ceased to make resistance, they ravaged the city, plundering it of every thing valuable they could lay hold of, and making slaves of all the inhabitants who fell in their way. On the day following, when intelligence reached Tlascala of the transactions at Cholula, great numbers crowded to the devoted city, which they plundered without mercy. It now became necessary to restrain the fury of the Tlascalans, and Cortes gave orders to their chiefs to withdraw their troops from the city, with which they immediately complied.

Quiet being in some measure restored, some chiefs and priests who presided over a distant quarter of the city, which they pretended had not been engaged in the conspiracy, waited in an humble manner on Cortes, and prayed a remission of the punishment which had already fallen so heavily on their townsmen.

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