Page:Letters of Cortes to Emperor Charles V - Vol 2.djvu/110

 that I might capture the market place before they did, and as they were nearer to it than we, they held it as a point of honour to take it first. For this reason the said Pedro de Alvarado was much importuned, and the same happened to me in our camp, for all the Spaniards eagerly besought me to enter by one of the three streets leading to the market-place, for we found little resistance, and that once captured we would have less hardship. I alleged every possible reason for not doing it, although I concealed the real cause, which was the inconvenience and dangers which presented themselves to me; for in order to reach the market-place, there were infinite roofs and bridges and broken causeways, so that each house by which we had to pass, was converted into an island surrounded by water.

When I learned, that afternoon upon reaching the camp, of Pedro de Alvarado's disaster, I determined to go to his camp the next morning, to rebuke him for what had happened, and to see what had been accomplished, and where he had moved his camp, and to advise him as to his security, and for the attack on the enemy. I was undoubtedly astonished, when I reached his camp, to see how far towards the middle of the city it was, and the bad places and bridges he had taken, so that I no longer blamed him so much as he had seemed to deserve; having talked with him, therefore, about what he should do, I returned that day to our camp.

This finished, I effected several entries into the city at the usual points, and the brigantines and canoes fought  Impatience of Cortes's Division in two places, and I in four others within the city, and we always obtained the victory, and many of the adversaries were killed because numberless people daily returned in our favour. I hesitated to penetrate farther into the city, on the one hand that our enemies might reconsider their determination and stubbornness, and on the other because