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Show !88 BOOK X. '-"""r--1 ~ eo -r. XXX Ill. Lall affault, and tnking of the city and king. H I 5 T 0 R y 0 F M E X I C O~. h · ·ther arms to rcncl the multitude and fury of their zens avmg now ncl r h h enemies, ftrength to defend themfclves, nor fpac: to fig t upon J t e ground of the city was covered with ·dead bodieS~ and the water of every ditch and canal purpled with blood. Nothm? was to be feen but fiaughter and ruin, and nothing was heard but piteous ~oans and cries of defperation. The allies grew tEll more cruel agamft th~t miferable people, and gave .the Spaniards more ~rouble to. check thetr fiercenefs and inhuman rage, than to combat w1th the ene~y. The· havoc made of the Mexicans that day was fo great, ~hat, accordtng to theaccount of Cortes himfelf, the number of viCtims exceeded forty thoufand .. The intolerable ftench arifing from fo many unburied dea~ carcafes~ obliged the befiegers at this time to withdraw from the city.: but the day after, being the thirteenth of Augu~, they rctur~ed, ~?give the ~aft aifault to that diftriCl: of Tlatelolco whtch yet remamed 111 the pofieffton of the Mexicans. Cortes carried three pieces of artillery with ~im, afiigned to each captain the place where he was to make the afiault, a~d commanded them to make every exertion to force the befieged to throw thcmfelves upon the water towards that place where he expected Sandoval with the brigantines, whic~ was·a fort of harbour entirely furrounded with houfes, where the vefiels of the merchants ufed to come 00 !bore when they came to the market of '!latelolco ; and,. above all, to endeav~ur to feize the king ~uhtemotzin, as that was fufficient to render them mafters of the city, and to put an end to the war: but, before he proceeded to this decifive blow, ~e made-new \ attempts to bring about an accommodation. He was induced to this, not only from compaffion on fo many wretched people,. but likewife from the defire of making himfelf mafter of the royal treafures and thofe of the ·nobility; for if this laft part of the city was taken by affault,. the Mexicans, when bereft of every hope of faving their riches, might throw them into the lake, that the viCtors might not enjoy them; and< in cafe that was not done, they would be feized by the allies, who,. from being innumerable and more acquainted with the houfes,. would; leave little or nothing to the Spaniards in the diforder and confuiion.of the affault. He, for this purpofe, went to an eminence to fpea~ with fome refpeCtable MexiGans who were well known to him, reprefented to them their extreme dangeu, and requefted them to make new·appli-cati~ '• l'~ I S T 0 R Y 0 F 1'4 E X I C 0. cations to the king, to confent ..to that conference which he fo much defired for the good of the kingdom, himfelf, and al1 his fubjcch ; for that, if he per.fified in his purpofe of defending h'imfelf, he was determined not to leave a Mexican aljve that day among them. Two of thofc nobles took upon them to pcrfuade the king, but they were no Cooner gone than they returned, accompanying the Cihuacoat!, or fu.c: ren).e magiftrate of the court. He was received by Cortes with maqy toket)s of cordinlity and refpecr; but, with an air of fovereignty, by vyhich it 'appeared he de.figned to fl").ew his mind fuperior to all calamities, he faid to Cortes, " Spare me, 0 general ! the trouble ?f foliciting a confer" cnc~ for you with my king and lord ~auhtemotzin .: he is refolvc;d cc to die rather tl~ an appeflr befo re you: I cannot exprefs to you how" pt~inful his refolution is to me; but there is no remedy: you, how" ever, will follow the couofel you think proper, and aCt agreeable " to your dc.figns." Cortes told him to .go and prepare the cit,i~ens for the death which they would foon fuffer. In the mean time, ~umc ous bodies pf ~~men and childre~ and low people came to furrcnder themfelves to the . Spaniards, haftening to extricate themfelves fro(n the i~pending danger; fome of them, however, periilied, in attempting to fwim acrofs the ditches, for want of firength. Cortes prdered no injury to be offered to thofe who furrendered, and fiatioi1ed fome Spaniards in different places, to check by their authority the barparous cruelty of ~he allies· but in iipite of his orders I ' , more than fifteen thoufand men, women, and children, peri!bed in the 'hands ,of thofe furious and inhuman troops. The nobles and warriors who remained obil:inate in their refolution 'to def~nd themfclves to the lafi moment, occupied the terraces of the houfes and lome of their paved roads. Cortes obfcrving that it w:as late, and that they did not chufe to furrender, made fome !hots of ar ... tillery be fired upon them; but that not being fu ffi cient, he difcharged an arquebufe as a ftgnal for the affault. All the befiegers made the atta~ k at once, and pre1fed fo hard upon the feeble and harraffed citi .. 2ens, that finding no place within the city to fly to, 'to defe 1d them.- . felves from the fury of fo numerous ap enemy, many threw themfelves into the water, and others came to furrender themfd ves to the conquerors. The' Mexicans had prepared veifels~ to fave t~emfelves by ; ) .flight |