The Memoirs of the Conquistador Bernal Diaz del Castillo Vol. 2

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1/25/22, 8:50 PM The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Memoirs of the Conquistador Bernal Diaz del Castillo written by himself, containing a true an… pirogues andcanoes with the utmost velocity, and bored several of them into theground. Now the other brigantine also came up which had shammed flight, so that many of the canoes were captured, and numbers of theenemy killed and wounded. From this moment the Mexicans neveragain attempted similar stratagems on the lake, nor durst they venture so close in our neighbourhood with their convoys of provisions. When the inhabitants of those towns which lay in the lake foundthat we were daily gaining fresh victories both by land and water, andthat our allies of Chalco, Tezcuco, Tlascalla, and other districts, becamemore and more closely united to us, they began to consider the great losses they continually sustained, and the numbers of prisoners we took.The chiefs of these towns, therefore, held a conference among themselves, which ended in their sending an embassy to Cortes to sue forpeace, and humbly to beg forgiveness for the past; adding, that theyhad been obliged to obey the commands of Quauhtemoctzin. [Pg 78] Cortes was uncommonly rejoiced to find these people were comingto their senses, and we others belonging to the divisions of Alvarado and Sandoval likewise congratulated ourselves on this circumstance. Our general received the ambassadors kindly, and told them their towns had certainly deserved severe punishment, but he would, nevertheless, pardon them. The towns which sued for peace on this occasionwere Iztapalapan, Huitzilopuzco, Cojohuacan, Mizquic, and all theother towns lying in that part of the lake which contained sweet water. On this occasion Cortes declared that he would not alter his presentposition until Mexico itself had sued for peace, or that the town wasconquered by force of arms. The above-mentioned towns were now ordered to assist us with alltheir canoes and troops in the siege of the metropolis, and to furnish uswith provisions. They promised faithfully to obey these commands,joined us with all their armed men, but were very sparing with their supplies of provisions. In our division, under Alvarado, there was no room to quarter any of these new troops, which those who have visited this country during themonths of June, July, and August, can easily imagine, as the wholesurrounding neighbourhood is covered with water. The fighting onthe causeways in the meantime continued without intermission, and bydegrees we had taken a number of temples, houses, bridges, and canals,which latter we instantly filled up with the ruins of the buildings wepulled down, and every foot of ground we gained from the enemy wasinstantly secured by our troops; yet, with all our exertions and watchfulness, the enemy still succeeded in making fresh apertures in the causeway, behind which they threw up new entrenchments. As the three companies of which our division was composed consideredit a dishonour that one company should constantly be employedin filling up the canals, while the others were fighting, Alvarado, to put an end to all feelings of jealousy, arranged that the three companiesshould perform the same duties alternately. By pursuing this mode of operation, in which we were ably assistedby the Tlascallans, we by degrees pulled down everything before us, sothat at last the town lay open to our view. It was only in the evening,when we returned to our encampment, that the whole of the three companies were again under arms, as at that time we had most tofear from the enemy. [Pg 79] Cortes and Sandoval had likewise similar toils to go through dayand night. On the land side they were incessantly attacked by immense bodies of the enemy, and from the lake by innumerable armed canoes. Cortes on one occasion marched with his division along the causeway, to force a very broad and deep opening, whichthe Mexicans had strengthened by means of a palisade and mound,defended by a large body of troops. Cortes finding it was impossible to pass across this opening but by swimming, ordered his men to make the https://www.gutenberg.org/files/32475/32475-h/32475-h.htm 58/282
1/25/22, 8:50 PM The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Memoirs of the Conquistador Bernal Diaz del Castillo written by himself, containing a true an… attempt; but they were so vigorously assailed by theenemy from the entrenchments, and those stationed on the house-tops,who literally showered down stones upon them, while the canoes attackedthem from each side of the opening, that a great number of hismen were wounded, and a few killed. Here the brigantines were renderedtotally useless, by the large stakes which had been driven intothe water. Cortes and the whole of his troops were often on thebrink of destruction; as it was, he had four men killed, and abovethirty wounded. At length, by dint of hard fighting, he succeeded inforcing this formidable point; but the day was already so far advanced,that there was no time left to fill up the wide aperture, and he thereforesounded a retreat, in which he had again to fight his way through densecrowds of the enemy, who wounded the whole of his men, and thegreater part of the Tlascallans. Quauhtemoctzin now determined to adopt a new plan of operation,and this he commenced on St. John's day, in the summer month, the very day we made our second entry into Mexico, after the defeat ofNarvaez. This day, it seems, the monarch had purposely fixed uponto attack the three divisions at the same moment with the whole of hisarmed force, both by land and water. It was his firm resolve to destroy us all at once, and his idols encouraged him to make the attempt. The attack was to commence before break of day, when it was yet dark, andthe Mexicans had provided against the possibility of our obtaining anyassistance from the brigantines, by driving numbers of additional stakesinto the water. They now fell upon us with such fierceness and determination, that they would certainly have stormed our camp itself, ifthe one hundred and twenty men who had the watch had not beenveterans in service. We were certainly very nigh our destruction, andhad fifteen men wounded, of whom two died within the space of eightdays. The two following nights the enemy sallied out in a similar manner, but we each time repulsed them with considerable loss.Cortes and Sandoval were likewise attacked in the same way. Quauhtemoctzin, with his generals and papas, finding that no advantagewas to be gained over us in this way, determined to attack ourposition at Tlacupa with his united forces. This was accordingly putinto practice as soon as day began to dawn, and they fell upon us from all sides with great intrepidity, and threw our line into disorder; but at this moment it pleased the Almighty to refresh our strength; ourtroops rallied again, and in their turn fell courageously upon the infuriated foe. Our brigantines too lent us what assistance they could,and the cavalry, with lances fixed, spurred their horses on, while ourcrossbow-men and musketeers, strove to do their utmost; we others, armed with swords, thrusting and cutting in among the enemy mostvaliantly, so that at last we drove them back. This was a more terrible battle than any we had fought on the causeways. Alvarado himself was wounded in the head, and eight of our men were killed. If the Tlascallans had likewise encamped this night on the causeway,we should no doubt have suffered more severely, as their numbers would have embarrassed our movements; but experience had taught us prudence,and each night we ordered them to draw off to Tlacupa, and weonly considered ourselves safe when assured they had left the causeway. [Pg 80] In this engagement we slew a great number of the enemy, and amongthe many men we took prisoners there were four personages of highrank. By this time the reader will certainly be wearied of reading of battleswhich were every day renewed; but I have not exaggerated them, forduring the ninety-three days we lay before this great and strong city,we were compelled to fight both day and night almost without intermission; and certainly, of all these numerous engagements, I am at least bound to mention the most striking occurrences. If I were desirousof relating every circumstance I should never finish, and my book would resemble 'Amadis de Gaule,' and other such romances, whose authorscan find no end to their pretty stories. I will, however, be as brief aspossible in my further account of this siege, and hasten on to St.Hippolytus' day, when we subdued this vast city, and tookQuauhtemoctzin, with all his generals, prisoners. But, before we were so far successful, we suffered great hardships, and the whole of us were https://www.gutenberg.org/files/32475/32475-h/32475-h.htm 59/282
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The Memoirs of the Conquistador Bernal Diaz del Castillo Vol. 2

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