Page:Letters of Cortes to Emperor Charles V - Vol 1.djvu/318

294 and honour were at stake, and that street led to the only sound causeway extending to the mainland (though, before reaching it, we had to pass by eight very large and deep bridges, and in all the street there were many quite high terraces and towers) we set our determination and spirit in it, so that, God helping us, we gained four of them that day, and burned all the terraces, and houses, and towers, to the last of the bridges. They had, however, during the night before, made a number of very strong barricades of adobes and clay at all the bridges, so that the discharges of arrows from the crossbows could do them no harm. We filled in the bridges with the adobes and earth from the enclosures, and with a quantity of stones and wood from the houses we had burned, although this work was not done without danger, and many Spaniards were wounded. That night I took many precautions to guard those bridges so that they might not return and retake them.

The next morning I again sallied forth, and God gave us likewise such good fortune and victory, although innumerable people defended the bridges, and many strong barricades which they had made during the night before, yet we captured them all, and filled them up. At the same time certain horsemen followed victoriously in pursuit of the fugitives as far as the mainland. While I was engaged in repairing the bridges, and in having them filled up, I was called in great haste, being told that the Indians who attacked the fort were suing for peace, and that certain chiefs and captains of them were awaiting me. Leaving my people and certain fieldpieces there, I, with two or three horsemen, went to see what the chiefs wanted. They said, that, if I would assure them that they would not be punished for what had occurred, they would raise the siege, re-establish the bridges, restore the causeways, and serve Your Majesty as they had before. They besought me to have brought