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Show BOOK VJII. ~ H I S T 0 R y 0 F M E X I C 0. . f: t fixteen horfe two hundred 'I'Iamama, or men of ~urden, to :~a~~~ ~~ ]~is ban-gage 'and artillery, and fome troop~ of ~otot:acas , P . 0 amongft whtch were cro t . ty no blc·s , whom C. ortes carnl!d wtth hun as . 1. . · wa•· ., 11d ho{hges of that natton. aUXl 1anes 111 •' a ' . h ' ff d He travelled through Xalapan and Tc.xotb, and a[ter avtn~ cro ~ c . with infinite fatigue f<m1e dctart mountams, of a fever~ tempetatur~fio~ air he arrived at Xoc.:otla (t), a large city, confi{bng of beautt .u bU~t ld.m gs, among w 111 . c 1 fe thirteen temples and the palace of tts 1 aro ' . b . lord which was built of fl:one and lime, and compofed of a .num er of e~cellent halls and chambers, being the moO: compkt~ fabnck th~y 1la d as yet 1r. ecn m· tl''c New World · The .k ing of Mex1co owneffdi 111, 1 this place, an1 the hamlets contiguo.us to t~, ~wenty .thouf.t~d· va as,. and had five thouf..1.nd Mexicans garnfoned 111 tt. 0/mt,•t!, v. htcl~ was the name of the lord of Xocotla, came out to meet the Spanwrds, and lodged them commodioufiy in that cit_Y; but .with refpeC: to ~rovifions, there appeared at firft fame [caret ty, un.tt~ from the. m formation of the T otonacas they received a high opmton of thetr bravery and the power of their arms, (\nd their horfes. In the ,conference which he had with the Spaniili general, ea h boafied to the other of the grandeur and power of their refpeCl:ive Sovere~gns. Cortes inco~ fiderately demanded of him to acknowledge obedtence to tl:e Catholtc king, and to pay homage to his Sovereign~y in fome quanttty of .gal~. " I have enough of gold," anfwered 0/mtetl, " but cannot g1ve 1t " without the exprels order of my king." "I will foon," fc1id Cortes, make him order you to give it, and all that you have. If he {hall command me, returned O!intetl, I will not only render up my gold, and all my efiate, but even my perfon. But th•lt which Cortes CC?uld not obtain by threats from this chief, he got through pure liberality from two other refpeCl:able perfons of that valley, who having come on purpofe to vifit him, prefented him [orne necklaces of gold, and feven or eight fiaves. Cortes found himfelf in fome perplexity here with regard to the route he iliould purfue to Mexico. The lord of Xocotla and the commander of the Mexican garrifon advifed him to proceed through Cholula; but he judge.d the advice more fincere which the (1) Bernal Din and Solis cnll this city zqrqt/a,, which could enllly occn!ion nn error, ns it would be cnfy to confound it with Zarntlm1, fituntcd nt the difiunce of thirty miles from Tlnf-cala, towards the north. ' Toto- H I S T 0 R Y 0 F . M E X I C 0 . Totonacas gave him, to pafs through Tlafcala. And in faCt it will appear, that if he had gone ftraight to Cqolula, he and h is whole force muft have been deftroyed. In order to obtain pcrmiffion f rom the Tlafcalans to pafs through their country, he fcnt four of the Chempoalefe, whom he carried with him, as meffcngers to their fenate; but they, as appears hereafter, did not deliver their emb.lffay in the name of the Spaniards, but of the Totonacas, either becaufe they had been fo ordered by the Spani01 general, or becaufe they themfelves confidered it mofi proper to do fo. From Xocotla the SpaniOl army proceeded to l ztacmaxtitlan, the population of which extended for ten or twelve miles in two unintc:!rrupted lines of houfes' upon the two oppofite banks of a fmall river, which runs through the bottom of tlut long and narrow valley; but the proper city of I ztacmaxtitlan, compofed of good buildings, and inh abited by fix thoufand people, occupied the top of a lofty fl:eep mountain, the Lord of which was one of thof:l two perfons who vifited and made prefents to Cortes in Xocotla. ' · the natnrally difficult accefs of the pla e were added ftout wall , with barbacans and ditches (u); for, on account of its being on the frontic:1S of the Tlafcalans, it was more expofed to their invafions. There the Spaniards were well received and en tertained. In the mean while the requeft of their embafly was difcuffing in the fenate of Tlafcala. All that great city w.1s in alarm at the intelligence of fuch ftrangers, and particularly at the account of which the Chempoallefe gave of their afpeCl:, their bravery, the fize of their veffels, the agility and ftrength of their horfcs, and the dreadful thunder and deftruCl: ive violence of their artillery. Xicotencatl Maxicat2in, General 0f the army of the republic, Tlckul, Xolotzin, and Citlalpocatzin, were the four lords or chiefs who at that time governed the republic. The Chempoallefemeffcngers (x) weregraciouf1y received, :u_1dlodged in the houfe appropriated for ambaffitdors; and after they had rcpofed and dined were introduced into the fenate to explain their embnfly . There, (u) Cortes, in his fecond letter, compares the fortrefs of htrrcmrrA'Iitlrrll to the bcfi in Spain. (x) Bernal Diaz fays, that the metfcn gers were only two in number, and that as foon as they arrived at Tlafn da they were put in prifon; but Cortes himfelf, who fi·nt them, nllinns, . that they were fout· in num ber; und from the context of his letter, it appears that Dcrnal Diaz was ill informed ot wlt ~ t p lfled in Tlafcala. The nccotlnt given by thi~ writer being contrary to that of other ancient hifiorians, buth Spnniih and Indian, has h.:d many nuthors, and Robenfon among the rcl~, into errors. after DOOK VIII. ~ SiicT.XVIII. Dcliheration of the {cnatc of the 'flafcalans upon the uffairn of the .Spaniards. • • |