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Show BOOK X. ~ .. / H I s T 0 R y 0 F M E X I C 0. •• , ' .·' h · hty thoufand in number. Cortes marched along his road, with. t an etg h b · · b h1. s n umerous.-army well tnadhal\ed and flanked by. ·t e nganttnes; . ut had advanced only a {hort way when they met wtth a br?ad deep dttch and intrenchment more than ten feet high. The Mextcan.s courageoully oppofed their paffagc, but b:ing beat. back by the arttllcry from the brigantines, the Spaniards pafied, purfumg the enemy as fa~ as ~he city, where they found another great ditch and a ll:rong and htgh mtrenchment. The force of the water in this ditch, the monfirous {warms of the enemy who affemblcd to defend it, their dreadful and, menacil'!g airs and the unceafing !bower of a:rows, darts, a.nd fl:ones, which they difchargcd, fi:aggered for fomc ttme the refoluti~n - of the Spaniards; but having .at length, with the fire of all the artillery and other arms, driven thofe from the intrenchments who defended them, the army paffed and advanced, taking other ditches and intrenchments, unto the principal fquare of the city, which was full of people. In tpitc of the havoc they f~w made on the multitude by a large cannon planted in the entrance ot'" the fquare, the paniards dare.d _not to. e~1tet· there, until the general himfelf, reproaching them for thetr 1gnomm1ous fear and charging intrepidly upon the enemy, infufed new courage into ' his foldiers. The Mexicans, intimidated by fuch great intrepidity, fled for lhelter within the inclofure of the greater temple, and finding thcmfelves attacked there alfo, they took refuge in the upper area of the temple, whither they were fiill purfued; but all on a fudden the Spaniards found themfelves attacked behind by other Mexican troops, and reduced to fuch difficulty, that not being able to withfi:and the fury of the enemy neither within the inclofure nor without in the fquare, they were obliged to retire to the road by which they had entered the city, leaving the piece of artillery in pofiC!flion of the eneq1y .• A little time after, three or four horfes came fea!onably into the fquare, and the enemy being perfuaded that the whole cavalry was corning againft them, went into confufion from the fear they had of thofe large and fiery animals, and ignominioufly abandoned the temple and the fquare, which were imm~diately occupied by the Spaniards. Ten or twelve . Mexican nobles were fortified in the upper area of the great temple; but, in fpite of their obfiinate refifl:ance, they were vanqui(hed and killed by thofe who attacked them. The Spani{h army in its retreat fet "H I S .T 0 R Y 0 F M E X I C 0. fet fire to the largefi and moft beautiful hollfes on the road of Iztapalapan, though not without the utmofi dange·r, on account of the im- • petuofity with which the Mexicans attacked the rear, and the annoyance they fuffered from the terrace~. Alvarado and Sandoval made great havoc of the Mexicans with their troops, and the allie~ received on this day great encomiums from the Spanilh general. The forces of the Spaniards were daily fo much increafed with frefh fupplies, and with the alliance of new cities and whole provinces; that although there were not in their three camps at fir.fi: more than ninety thoufand men, in the fpace of a few days they amounted to two hundred and forty thoufand. The new king of Tezcuco, in order to manife(t his gratitude to Cortes, endeavoured to gain the whole nobility of his kingdom to his party, and equipped an army of fifty thoufand men, which he fent to the afilfiance of the Spaniards, under the command of a prince, 'his brother; a youth, of whofe bravery all ancient hifiorians give tefiimony, and, amongfi others, Cortes himfelf.., who boafis of the fealonablenefs and importance of his aid. That prince. remained with thirty thoufand men in the camp of Cortes, and the other twenty thoufand were dill:ributed in the camps of Sandoval and Alvarado. This fupply of the king of Tezcuro was quickly followed by the confederacy of the Xochimilcas and the Otomies, the mountaineers, with the Spaniards, which new troops added twenty thoufand men to th~ army of Cortes. The~e w:ls nothing wanting to this general for the completion of the liege, but the prevention of the fupplies which were introduced by water into the city. Retaining feven of the brigantines, he therefore fent the other fix towards that part of the lake which was between Tlacopal} a9d Tepejacac, that there they might be ready to affift the camps of Sandoval and Alvarado, when thofe commanders il1ould require it; but while not employed by them, they were to cruize two by two, and endeavour to intercept all the veffels which were tranfporting either men or provifions to the city. Cortes, finding he had now a fuHicient number of allied troops, determined, in the courfe of three day~ to make an entry into the city. He gave the nccefiary orders for this purpofc, and on the d,1y appointed he marched with the greater p;1rt of his cavalry, with thre::t! hundred infantry, 167 BOOK X. ~ SecT. XIX, Augmentation of the auxiliary troops. |