Page:Letters of Cortes to Emperor Charles V - Vol 2.djvu/143

 in any way annoyed, and I besought them to speak again to him, and to urge his coming because it was for his advantage. They answered me that they would do so, and bring me the answer the next day; and thus they left and we also withdrew to our camp.

The next day, those chiefs came to our camp very early in the morning and asked me to come to the square of the market of the city, because their sovereign wished to speak to me. Believing it was true, I mounted my horse and awaited him where it had been agreed, for more than three or four hours, but he never chose to appear before me. As I saw the mockery, and it had already become late, and that neither the other messengers nor the lord came, I sent for the Indians, our friends, who had been left at the entrance of the city almost a league from where we were, whom I had ordered not to advance beyond there because the people of the city had asked me that, whilst treating for peace none of them should be inside it. Neither they nor those of Pedro de Alvarado's camp delayed in coming, and, when they arrived, we attacked some of the barricades and water streets which they held, no other strong force being left them, and we charged amongst them ourselves, as well as our friends, according as we pleased. Before leaving the camp, I had ordered that Gonzalo de Sandoval should proceed with the brigantines to the place where the Indians had fortified themselves in the houses, thus holding them surrounded, but not attacking them until he should observe that we began to fight; in such manner that, holding them thus surrounded, they had no place to go except amongst the dead, and on the roofs which were left them. For this cause, they neither had, nor procured, arrows, nor darts, nor stones, with which to hurt us. Our friends accompanied us, armed with swords and shields, and such was the slaughter done that day on water and on land, that with prisoners taken