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

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…
As we were thus retreating, we continually heard the large drumbeating from the summit of
the chief temple of the city. Its tone was mournful indeed, and sounded like the very
instrument of Satan.This drum was so vast in its dimensions that it could be heard from
eight to twelve miles distance. Every time we heard its doleful sound,the Mexicans, as we
subsequently learnt, offered to their idols the bleeding hearts of our unfortunate
countrymen. But we had not nearaccomplished our retreat; for the enemy attacked us from
the house-tops,from out their canoes, and from the mainland at the same time,while fresh
troops were constantly pouring in. At this momentQuauhtemoctzin commanded the large
horn to be sounded, which wasalways a signal to his troops that he allowed them no choice
but deathor victory. With this at the same time was mingled the melancholysound of the
drum from the temple top, which filled the Mexicans with terrific fury, and they ran
headlong against our swords. It wasreally a horrible sight, which I am unable to describe,
though even atthis moment it comes vividly to my mind. If the Almighty had notlent us
additional strength, we must all have perished, as the whole ofus were wounded. To Him
alone we are indebted for our preservation,and without His aid we should never again have
reached our quarters.Indeed, I cannot sufficiently praise God, who this time again, as on so
many other occasions, rescued me out of the hands of the Mexicans.When we had reached
our encampment, a brisk charge of our cavalryupon the enemy made somewhat open space
for us; but we were mostlyindebted to our two brass cannon mounted in front of our camp,
whichwere continually fired among the dense crowds of the enemy on thecauseway, each
shot mowing numbers of them down. But the Mexicans, confident of victory, kept
continually advancing to the attack, andpoured showers of stones and lances into our very
quarters. No onerendered more effectual service on this day than a cavalier named Pedro
Moreno, who is still living in Puebla: for, at this moment of imminentdanger, he himself
served our cannon, as our artillerymen were alleither killed or unable to serve from their
wounds. This Pedro Moreno had indeed, on all occasions, proved himself an excellent
warrior, yetit was particularly on this day that we were so much indebted to hisassistance.
The severity of our numerous wounds, and the distress wewere in, was all rendered more
terrible from the uncertainty we were in respecting the fate of Cortes' and Sandoval's
divisions, as the distance between us was full two miles. The words the Mexicans had
utteredwhen they threw the five bleeding heads at our feet, that Malinche andSandoval,
with all their teules, had been cut to pieces, still rung in ourears, and we suffered intense
anxiety. Though we had firmly closedour ranks, and were able to defend ourselves against
the furious attacksof the enemy, yet we thought we should be obliged to succumb in the
end.
While we were thus assailed by the enemy by land, numerous canoes attacked the
brigantines, from one of which the enemy succeeded incarrying off one man alive, besides
killing three others, and wounding thecaptain, with all the men on board. This brigantine
would certainlyhave fared much worse if the one under the command of Juan Xaramillo
had not come up to its assistance.
One of these brigantines, under Juan de Limpias Carvajal, had gotso jammed in between
the stakes that it was with difficulty she wasgot afloat again. It was on this occasion that
Carvajal lost his hearing, by over exertion of his strength. He now lives at Puebla, and
foughton that day so courageously, and knew so well how to spur on the menat the oars,
that he succeeded in breaking through the stakes and rescuingthe brigantine from falling
into the enemy's hands. This was the first of our brigantines which had succeeded in
breaking throughthe stakes.
By this time, Cortes, with his division, had also reached his encampment; but here the
enemy fell upon him anew, threw three of ourcountrymen's heads among his troops, crying
out, at the same time,that these were some of the heads of Sandoval's and Alvarado's men,
whom they had put to death, with all their teules!
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