by Montezuma. They then addreffed him, lamenting the misfortunes of him, his children, and family, and alfo told him that they had raifed Coadlavaca Prince of Iztapalapa to the throne, adding, that the war was drawing to a conclufion, and that they had promifed to their gods never to defift but with the total deftruction of the Spaniards; that they every day offered up prayers for his perfonal fafety, and as foon as they had refcued him out of our hands, they would venerate him as before, and trufted that he would pardon them.

"As they concluded their addrefs, a fhower of arrows and stones fell about the fpot where Montezuma ftood, from which the Spaniards, interpofing their bucklers, protected the King; but expecting that while fpeaking to his people they would not make another attack, they unguarded him for an initant, and just then three ftones and an arrow, ftruck him in the head, arm, and leg.

The King when thus wounded refused all affiftance, and we were unexpectedly informed of his death. Cortes and our captains wept for him, and he was lamented by them and all the foldiers who had known him, as if he had been their father; nor is it to be wondered at, confidering how good he was. It was faid that he had reigned feventeen years, and that he was the beft King Mexico had ever been governed by. It was alfo faid that he had fought and conquered on three occafions that he had been defied to the field, in the progrefs of fubjugating different ftates to his dominion.

All the endeavours of our Reverend Father Fray Bartholome, could not prevail on the King to embrace our faith, when he was told that his wounds were mortal, nor could he be induced to have them attended to." P. 215.

The fury of the Mexicans increased after the death of Montezuma; and it became evident, that nothing but an immediate retreat, or more properly efcape, from the city, could fave the remainder of the Spanish army. This was inftantly attempted; and the account of its fuccefs forms one of the most interesting parts of this extraordinary history.

"By the time that all this was arranged night drew on. Cortes then ordered all the gold which was in his apartment to be brought to the great faloon, which being done, he defired the officers of his Ma jefty, A. de Avila and Gonzalo Mexia, to take his Majesty's due in their charge, affigning to them for the conveyance of it eight lame or wounded horfes, and upwards of eighty Tlafcalans. Upon these were loaded as much as they could carry of the gold which had been run into large bars, and much more remained heaped up in the faloon. Cortes then called to his fecretary Hernandez, and other royal notaries, and said, “ Bear witness that I can be no longer refponfible for this gold; here is to the value of above fix hundred thousand crowns, I can fecure no more, than what is already packed; let every foldier take what he will, better fo than it should remain for thofe dogs of Mexicans." As foon as he had faid this, many foldiers of those of Narvaez, and alfo fome of ours fell to work, and loaded themselves with treasure. I never was avaricious, and now thought more of fav

ing my life, which was in much danger; however, when the opportu nity thus offered, I did not omit feizing out of a cafket four calchihuis, thofe precious ftones fo highly esteemed amongst the Indians; and although Cortes ordered the casket and its contents to be taken care of by his major domo, I luckily fecured thefe jewels in tine, and afterwards found them of infinite advantage as a refource against famine. "A little before midnight, the detachment which took charge of the portable bridge fet out upon its march, and arriving at the first canal or aperture of water, it was thrown acrofs. The night was dark and mitty, and it began to rain. The bridge being fixed, the baggage, artillery, and fome of the cavalry paffed over it, as alfo the Tlafcalans with the gold. Sandoval and thofe with him paffed, alfo Cortes and his party after the firft, and many other foldiers. At this moment the trumpets and fhouts of the enemy were heard, and the alarm was given by them, crying out, "Taltelulco, Taltelulco, out with your canoes! the Teules are going, attack them at the bridges." In an inftant the enemy were upon us by land, and the lake and canals were covered with canoes. They immediately flew to the bridges, and fell on us there, fo that they intirely intercepted our line of march. As misfortunes do not come fingle, it alfo rained fo heavily that fome of the horfes were terrified, and growing reftive fell into the water, and the bridge was broken in at the fame time. The enemy attacked us here now with redoubled fury, and our foldiers making a ftout refiftance, the aperture of water was foon filled with the dead and dying men, and horfes, and those who were ftruggling to escape, all heaped together, with artillery, packs, and bales of baggage, and those who carried them. Many were drowned here, and many put into the canoes and carried off for facrifice. It was dreadful to hear the cries of the unfortunate fufferers, calling for affiftance and invoking the Holy Virgin or St. Jago, while others who efcaped by fwimming, or by clambering upon the chefts, bales of baggage, and dead bodies, earnestly begged for help to get up to the caufeway. Many who on reaching the ground thought themselves fafe, were there feized or knocked on the head with clubs.

46

Away went whatever regularity had been in the march at firft; for Cortes and the captains and foldiers who were mounted clapt fpurs to their horfes and galloped off, along the caufeway; nor can I blame them, for the cavalry could do nothing against the enemy, of any ef fect; for when they attacked them, the latter threw themselves into the water on each fide the causeway, and others from the houfes with arrows, or on the ground with large lances, killed the horses. It is evident we could make no battle with them in the water, and without powder, and in the night, what clfe could we do than what we did? which. was, to join in bodies of thirty or forty foldiers, and when the Indians clofed upon us, to drive them off with a few cuts and thrufts of our fword, and then hurry on, to get over the caufeway as foon as we could. As to waiting for one another, that would have loft us all; and had it happened in the day time, things would have been even worfe with us. The efcape of fuch as were fortunate enough to effect it, was owing to God's mercy, who gave us force to do fo; for the very fight of the number of the enemy who furrounded us, and car

ried off our companions in their canoes to facrifice, was terrible."

P. 218.

"To revert to Cortes and his companions, when they learned from Alvarado that they were not to expect to fee any inore of our foldiers, the tears ran from their eyes, for Alvarado had with him in the rearguard Velasquez de Leon, with above twenty more of the cavalry, and upwards of one hundred infantry. On enquiry, Cortes was told that they were all dead, to the number of one hundred and fifty and more. Alvarado also told them, that after the horses had been killed, about eighty affembled in a body, and paffed the firft aperture, upon the dead bodies and heaps of luggage; I do not perfectly recollect if he faid, that he paffed upon the dead bodies, for we were more attentive to what he related to Cortes of the deaths of J. Velafquez and above two hundred more companions, thofe of Narvaez included, who were with him, and who were killed at that canal. He alfo faid, that at the other bridge God's mercy faved them, and that the whole of the causeway was full of the enemy." P. 221.

Num

Poor

"Our wounds, having taken cold, and being only bound with rags, were now in a miferable fituation, and very painful; we had alfo to deplore the lofs of many valiant companions. As for thofe of Narvaez, most of them perifhed in the water, loaded with gold. bers of Tlafcalans alfo loft their lives in the fame manner. Botello too! the aftrologer! his ftars bore an evil afpect, for he was killed with the reft. The fons of Montezuma, Cacamatzin, and all the other prifoners, amongst whom were fome princes, loft their lives on this fatal night. All our artillery was loft, we had very few crofsbows, only twenty-three horses, and our future profpect was very melancholy, from our uncertainty as to the reception we might meet in Tlafcala, which was our only refource." P. 223.

"I will now give an account of all our countrymen who loft their lives in Mexico, at the caufeway, in battle, and on the road. In five days were killed and facrificed upwards of eight hundred and seventy foldiers, including feventy-two of those of Narvaez, put to death to gether with five Caftillian women, in a place named Tuftepeque. One thousand two hundred and upwards of our allies of Tlafcala were alfo killed. Juan de Alcantara and two more, who came for the fhare of the gold affigned to them, were robbed and murdered, and if we examine throughout we shall find, that all who were concerned with the treasure came to ill-fortune. Thus it was with the foldiers of Narvaez, who perished in a much greater proportion than our's did, on account of their having followed the dictates of their avarice.'

P. 227:

It was natural to suppose, that fo fatal an event would have fecured Mexico from any future attempts on the part of Cortes, But the days of that unfortunate empire were numbered. The Tlafcalans, who had loft a number of men, as we have seen, in the retreat, were highly exafperated; and offered to affilt the General, if he would once more march against the Mexi

cans,

cans, with an army of 50,000 of their best troops.

Befides this, the news of the firft fucceffes in Mexico, and of the riches of that extenfive empire, had reached every part of the Spanish fettlements in the Weft-Indies, and even Spain; and volunteers, in confequence of it, daily flocked to the General, who, in a few months, faw himself at the head of a more formidable army than any the new world had yet beheld. Thus encouraged and reinforced, he fet out for the final fubjugation of the city on the 28th of December, 1520.

The Mexicans were now governed by Guatimotzin, the nephew of their late Emperor; a Prince, worthy of a better fate, if activity, fkill, courage, intrepidity, and a generous refolution of perithing in the defence of his people, could influence the courfe of events. His people too merited all his care: they continued faithful to the laft; and their exertions in the defperate and hopeless fiege, against a people more numerous than themselves (for it is mere folly to talk of the Spaniards alone) feem almok fupernatural. For ninety-three days together," fays Diaz, "were we employed in the fiege of this great city, and every day and every night engaged with the enemy." Exafperated at the flow advances of his army, Cortes determined to make a grand attack with the whole of the combined forces. This is most admirably described.

he

"On the next morning therefore, having heard mafs, and recommending ourselves to God, our three detachments marched against the enemy's pofts in their front. Thofe commanded by Cortes and Sandoyal met with lefs violent oppofition than that which fell to the lot of the divifion of Alvarado, o which I belonged. In our attack upon the first dike, most of the Spaniards received wounds, one was killed, and above one thoufand of our allies killed or wounded. Cortes at firft bore down all before him, and having driven the enemy from a poft where the water was very deep and the causeway very narrow, was induced to purfue them in their retreat to the city, his Indian allies crouding clofe after the Spaniards. The enemy induced him by frequent halts and feigned attacks to continue the purfuit, and the causeway had been narrowed, to answer their defign. It was the will of our Lord that Cortes and his captains had been fo negligent as to omit filling the ditch, which they had paffed. The caufeway was alfo in fome parts covered with water, and deep in mud. When the enemy faw our Cortes thus run into the trap which they had laid, multitudes in canoes fallied out against him and took him on his flanks and rear, his own veffels not being able to approach on account of the pallifadoes. It became now neceffary for the troops to retreat, which they did at firft with great regularity, but when they came to the narrow pafs I have before mentioned, the difficulty of the ground, with the fury of the attack, from a retreat turned it into a race, our people fiving before the enemy without attempting to defend themfelves. Our Cortes ufed every exertion to rally them but in vain; he received a wound in the

leg

leg from the enemy on board the canoes at the pafs, where they killed fix of our horfes, and carried off feventy-two Spaniards alive. Six chiefs feized upon Cortes, but it was the will of God that he should efcape, for that valiant foldier Chriftoval de Olea, feeing his general's danger, flew to his affiftance, as did another brave man named Lema. Olea with his own hand killed four of the fix Mexican chiefs, gallantly lofing his own life in defence of his general, and Lerma efcaped with the greateft difficulty. Other foldiers now arrived to the affiftance of our Cortes; amongst the number was Quinones captain of his guards. They took him out of the water in their arms, and placing him on a horse, hurried him off from the crowd of enemies, and fhortly after, his major domo named Chriftoval de Guzman brought one of his own horfes for him. The enemy followed up their attack with ardour, and the unfortunate Guzman being feized by them was carried alive to Mexico. Cortes and the shattered remains of his troops, pursued to the laft, arrived with great difficulty at their quarters, where I will leave them for the prefent, to relate what happened in the divifion commanded by Alvarado.

"After our first attack, wherein we defeated the enemy, as we were advancing, we were met by fresh troops in great parade, bearing plumes of feathers, and devices on their ftandards. When we came near them they threw down before us five bleeding heads, crying out to us that they were thofe of Cortes and his officers, and that we fhould meet the fame fate with our companions; they then marched up, and fighting us foot to foot, compelled us to retreat. We as ufual called to our allies to clear the way for us, but in the present cafe there was no occafion; the fight of the bloody heads had done it effectually, nor did one of them remain in the causeway to impede our retreat, Before we arrived at our quarters, and while the enemy were purfuing us, we heard their fhrill timbals, and the difinal found of the rear drum, from the top of the principal temple of the god of war, which overlooked the whole city. Its mournful noife was such as may be imagined the mufic of the infernal gods, and it might be heard at the diftance of almott three leagues. They were then facriticing the hearts of ten of our companions to their idols. Shortly after this the king of Mexico's horn was blown, giving notice to his captains that they were then to take their enemies prifoners, or die in the attempt. It is impoffible to defcribe the fury with which they clofed upon us when they heard this fignal. Though all is as per ect to my recollection as it paffing before my eyes, it is utterly beyond my power to defcribe; all I can is, it was God's will that we should efcape from their hands, and get back in fafery to our poft. Praifed be his for his mercies, now, and at all other times!" P. 295.

This attempt, which coft the Spaniards near an hundred men, and the allies many thousands, was the laft of an active kind, Most of the Tlascalans retired in difguft, and Cortes must have raifed the fiege, had not an Indian, fatally for his country, advised him to turn it into a blockade; which he was well enabled to do by his brigantines, which commanded the lake. In

con