Cortes Found That
Very Little Satisfaction Could Be Got From Them For The Past, Yet Wishing
If Possible To Make
Them now our friends, he earnestly entreated the
Tlascalan chiefs to prohibit their warriors from pillaging the country,
and his
Wishes were strictly complied with, except in regard to provisions.
After this conference was ended, we proceeded to a village named
Guatinchan or Huexotla, at a small distance from Tezcuco, where we halted
for the night.
Next morning, being the 31st December 1520, we marched into Tezcuco, where
neither women or children were to be seen, and even the men had a
suspicious appearance, indicating that some mischief was intended against
us. We took up our quarters in some buildings which consisted of large
halls and inclosed courts, and orders were issued that none of the
soldiers were to go out of their quarters, and that all were to be on the
alert to guard against surprize. On the soldiers being dismissed to their
respective quarters, the Captains Alvarado and De Oli, with some soldiers,
among whom I was, went up to the top of a lofty temple, from which we had
a commanding view, to observe what was going on in the neighbourhood. We
could see all the people everywhere in motion, carrying off their children
and effects to the woods and the reedy borders of the lake, and to great
numbers of canoes. Cortes wished to have secured Coanacotzin, who had sent
us the friendly embassy, which now appeared to have been merely a pretext
to gain time; but it was found that he and many of the principal persons
of Tezcuco had fled to Mexico. We posted strong guards, therefore, in
every direction, and kept ourselves in constant readiness for action.
Cortes soon learnt that factions existed in Tezcuco, and that many of the
chiefs were adverse to their present prince, and remained in their houses,
while those of the opposite faction had withdrawn. Cortes sent for those
chiefs next morning, from whom he learnt, that they considered their
present prince, Coanacotzin, as an usurper, he having murdered his elder
brother, Cuicutzcatzin, who had been placed on the throne by Montezuma and
Cortes, and that Coanacotzin owed his elevation to the favour of
Guatimotzin, the present sovereign of Mexico. They pointed out a youth
named Ixtlilxochitl as the rightful heir of Acolhuacan, who was brought
immediately to Cortes, and installed without delay in the government.
Cortes prevailed upon him to become a Christian, and had him baptised with
great solemnity, standing godfather on the occasion, and giving him his
own name, Don Hernando Cortes Ixtlilxochitl; and to retain him in the
Spanish interest and in our holy faith, he appointed three Spaniards to
attend upon him, Escobar, who was made captain or governor of Tezcuco,
Anthonio de Villa Real, and Pedro Sanches Farfan. In the next place,
Cortes required the new prince of Tezcuco to supply him with a number of
labourers to open up the canals leading to the lake, on purpose to admit
our vessels which were to be put together at Tezcuco. He also informed him
of our intentions to besiege Mexico, for which operation the young prince
engaged to give all the assistance in his power. The work on the canals
was conducted with all expedition, as we never had less than seven or
eight thousand Indians employed[2]. As Guatimotzin, the reigning monarch
of Mexico, frequently sent out large bodies of troops in canoes on the
lake, apparently with the hope of attacking us unprepared, Cortes used
every military precaution to guard against any sudden attack, by assigning
proper posts to our several captains, with orders to be always on the
alert. The people in Huexotla, a town and district only a few miles from
Tezcuco, who had been guilty of murdering some of our countrymen on a
former occasion, petitioned Cortes for pardon, and were taken into favour
on promise of future fidelity.
Before his elevation to the throne of Mexico, Guatimotzin had been prince
or cacique of Iztapalapa, the people of which place were determined
enemies to us and our allies[3]. We had been now twelve days in Tezcuco,
where the presence of so large a force occasioned some scarcity of
provisions, and even our allies began to grow somewhat impatient of our
inactivity. From all these considerations, Cortes determined upon an
expedition to Iztapalapa, against which place he marched at the head of 13
cavalry 220 infantry, and the whole of our Tlascalan allies. The
inhabitants had received a reinforcement of 8000 Mexican warriors, yet
they fell back into the town on our approach, and even fled into their
canoes and the houses which stood in the water, allowing us to occupy that
part of the town which stood on the firm land. As it was now night, we
took up our quarters for the night and posted our guards, unaware of a
stratagem which had been planned for our destruction. On a sudden there
came so great a body of water into the streets and houses, that we had
been all infallibly drowned if our friends from Tezcuco had not given us
instant notice of our danger. The enemy had cut the banks of the canals,
and a causeway also, by which means the place was laid almost instantly
under water. We escaped with some difficulty, two only of our allies being
drowned; but all our powder was destroyed, and we passed a very
uncomfortable night, without food, and all wet and very cold; and were
very much provoked at the laughter and taunts of the Mexicans from the
lake. At daybreak, large bodies of Indians crossed over from Mexico and
attacked us with such violence, that they killed two of our soldiers and
one horse, and wounded many of us, and were repelled with much difficulty.
Our allies also suffered considerable loss on this occasion; but the enemy
were at last repulsed, and we returned to Tezcuco very little satisfied
with the fame or profit of this fruitless expedition.
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