Page:Letters of Cortes to Emperor Charles V - Vol 2.djvu/124

 104 Letters of Cortes many warriors who, having just finished burning another town, retreated when they saw him. On the road, were found many loads of maize and roasted children which they had brought as provisions and which they left behind them when they discovered the Spaniards coming. After crossing a river a little ahead of them in the plain, the enemy began to recover, and the alguacil mayor charged on them with the horsemen and put them to confusion; and they fled on the road straight towards their town of Matalcingo, about three leagues from there, the pursuit lasting until the horsemen had shut them all up in the town. There they awaited the Spaniards and our allies who were killing those who had been stopped and left behind by the horsemen. More than two thousand of the enemy perished in this pursuit. When those on foot and our friends, who were more than sixty thousand, overtook the horsemen, they began to rush towards the town where the enemy made a stand, while the women and children, goods, and chattels, were safe in a fort situated on a very elevated hill near that place. But as our force fell on them suddenly, they forced the warriors also to retire to the fort on that elevation, which was very steep and strong. They burned and sacked the town in a very short time, but the alguacil mayor did not attack the fort, as it was late and also because his men were very tired for they had fought during the entire day. The enemy spent that night in yelling and in making an uproar with their kettle-drums and trumpets.

The next day, in the early morning, the alguacil mayor led all the people to scale the enemy's fort, though fearful of finding himself in difficulties from their resistance. On arriving, however, they found none of the adversaries, and certain of our Indian friends, descending from the elevation, said that there was nobody there and that all the enemy had left at daybreak. In the midst of this, they discovered on all the surrounding plains, a great