All The Regularity Which Had Hitherto Guided Our March Was Now
Utterly Lost And Abandoned.
Cortes and all the mounted officers and
soldiers galloped off along the causeway, providing for their own
immediate safety, and leaving all the rest to save ourselves as we best
might:
Nor can I blame them for this procedure, as the cavalry could do
nothing against the enemy, who threw themselves into the water on both
sides of the causeway when attacked, while others, by continual flights of
arrows from the houses, or with long lances from the canoes on each side,
killed and wounded the men and horses. Our powder was all expended, so
that we were unable to do any injury to the Mexicans in the canoes. In
this situation of utter confusion and derout, the only thing we could do
was by uniting together in bands of thirty or forty, to endeavour to force
our way to the land: When the Indians closed upon us, we exerted our
utmost efforts to drive them off with our swords, and then hurried our
march to get over the causeway as soon as possible. Had we waited for each
other, or had our retreat been in the day, we had all been inevitably
destroyed. The escape of such as made their way to land, was due to the
mercy of God who gave us strength to force our way; for the multitudes
that surrounded us, and the melancholy sight of our companions hurried
away in the canoes to instant sacrifice, was horrible in the extreme.
About fifty of us, mostly soldiers of Cortes, with a few of those who came
with Narvaez, stuck together in a body, and made our way along the
causeway through infinite difficulty and danger. Every now and then strong
parties of Indians assailed us, calling us _luilones_, their severest term
of reproach, and using their utmost endeavours to seize us. As soon as we
thought them within reach, we faced about and repelled them with a few
thrusts of our swords, and then resumed our march. We thus proceeded,
until at last we reached the firm ground near Tacuba, where Cortes,
Sandoval, De Oli, Salcedo, Dominguez, Lares, and others of the cavalry,
and such of the infantry as had got across the bridge before it was broken
down, had already arrived[6].
On our approach, we heard the voices of Sandoval, De Oli, and Morla,
calling on Cortes to return to the assistance of those who were still on
the causeway, who loudly complained of being abandoned. Cortes replied,
that it was a miracle any should have escaped, and that all who returned
to the bridges would assuredly be slain: Yet he actually did return with
ten or twelve of the cavalry and such of the infantry as had escaped
unhurt, and proceeded along the causeway to attempt the succour of such as
might be still engaged. He had not gone far when he met Alvarado badly
wounded, accompanied by three of our soldiers, four of those belonging to
Narvaez, and eight Tlascalans, all severely wounded and covered with blood.
These Alvarado assured him were all that remained of the rear-guard,
Velasquez de Leon and about twenty of the cavalry, and above an hundred of
the infantry, who had belonged to his division, being all slain, or made
prisoners and carried away to be sacrificed.
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