The Spaniardes vvhich vvere sacrificed in Tezcuco.

TOC

Dayly increased Cortes in strength and reputation, and many townes as wel of the partes of Culhua as others came vnto his friendship and obedience. Within two days that Don Hernando was made king, came certayne gentlemen of Huaxuta and Quahutichan, to certify vnto him, how al the power of the Mexicans was comming towardes them, and to knowe if it were his pleasure, that they should carry their wiues, children, and other goods into the Mountaines, or els to bring them where he was, theyr feare was so great. Cortes made vnto thē this answere, saying: be ye of good courage, and feare ye not. Also I pray you to cōmaunde your wiues & families to make no alteratiō, but rather quietly to abide in your houses. And cōcerning the enimies, I am glad of their comming, for ye shal sée how I will deale with them. But the enimies wente not to Huaxuta, as it was thought: neuerthelesse Cortes hauing intelligence where they were, wente out to encounter them, with two pieces of Ordinaunce, twelue horsemen and two hundred Spaniardes, with many Indians of Tlaxcallā. He fought with the enemie, and slew but few, for they fledde to the water. He burnt certaine townes where the Mexicans were wonte to succour themselues. The next day came the chiefest men of thrée townes to craue pardon, and to beséech him not to destroy thē, promising neuer to harbour nor succour, any of Culhua.

The Mexicans hearing what these townes men pretended, with greate yre made a foule correction among them, as dyd appeare by many of them, which came vnto Cortes with broken heads, desiring reuengement.

The inhabitaunts of Chalco sent also vnto him for succour, declaring that the Mexicans made greate spoyle among them. But Cortes being ready to send for his Vergantines, could not relieue them all, and especially wyth Spaniardes: wherefore he remitted them to the helpe of the Tlaxcaltecas, and vnto thē of Huexocinco, Chololla, Huacacholla and other friends, promising that shortly he would come himselfe. But this answere pleased him not, yet for the present néede they required his letters to be written vnto those townes. And being in this communication, there came messengers from Tlaxcallan, with news, that the Vergantines were ready, and to knowe if he stoode in néede of any succour, for of late, (quoth they) we haue séene many beacons, and fiers, which are greater tokens of warre, than heretofore hath bene séene.

There came at that time, a Spaniard also from Vera Crux, with certaine newes, that there had arriued a ship, whiche had brought thirtie Souldiers besides the mariners of the shippe, with eight horses, great store of pouder, shotte, crossebowes, and Harquebushes. The plesent newes reioyced much our men, wherevpon Cortes sente forthwith to Tlaxcallan for the Vergantines, Gonzalo de Sandoual, with two hundered Spaniards, and fiftéene horsemen, and commaunded that in their way they shold burne and destroy the towne where the fourty fiue Spaniardes, and thrée hundered Tlaxcaltecas were slayn, with fiue horses moe, when Mexico was last besieged: and y^t village is in y^e iurisdiction of Tezcuco, and bordereth vpon the territorie of Tlaxcallan, yea, and for that purpose hée would gladly haue corrected and punished the dwellers of Tezcuco, but time then permitted not y^e same, although they had deserued more punishment than the others. For why? in their town they were sacrifised and eaten, yea & the walles painted with their bloud, shewing moreouer perfit tokens, how it was spaniards bloud. They pluckt off also the horses skinnes & tanned thē in the heare, and afterwards hung them vppe, with the horseshoes in their great temple, & next vnto them, the spaniards garmētes, for a perpetual memory.

Sandoual went vnto that place with determinate entēt to follow his cōmission, & also before he came to y^e place, he found writtē in a house w^t a cole, these words: here in this house was a prisoner y^e vnfortunate Iohn Iust, who was a gentleman, and one of the fiue horsemen that wer taken. But the people of that towne, being many, fledde when they saw the Spaniardes approch neare vnto thē. But Sandoual followed them, and slewe many of them: he toke also prisoners, manye women and children, who yelded themselues vnto his mercie, and their bodies for slaues. He séeing so little resistance, and beholding the pitiful mone of the wiues for their husbandes, and the children for their fathers, had compassiō on them, and wold not destroye their towne, but rather caused the dwellers to come again, and pardoned them, with othe, that hereafter they shoulde serue them truely, and be vnto them loyal friends. In this sorte was the death of the Christians reuenged, yet Sandoual asked them howe they slewe so manye Christians without resistaunce, marye (quoth they) we made an ambush in an euil and narrow way, ascending vp a hill, and there as they went vppe by one and one we spoyled them, for there, neyther horses nor other weapon could defend or help thē, so y^t we tooke them prisoners and sente them to Tezcuco, where, as is before declared, they were sacrificed in the reuengement of the imprisonment of Calama.