Page:Letters of Cortes to Emperor Charles V - Vol 2.djvu/192

 and that they deserved no blame for it. But they never would come to me, but ill-treated the messengers, and even killed some of them. They also stationed themselves on the other side of the river, at the spring where we got our fresh water, and attacked those who went to fetch it. This continued for more than fifteen days while I waited always hoping to win them by kindness, and that, on seeing how well treated those were who had submitted, they would do likewise; but they had such confidence in the strength of their position among these lakes that they never would yield. And seeing that gentle means availed nothing with them, I sought a means to bring matters to a finish. I already had some canoes and managed to procure some others, so that one night I transported my men and horses across the lake without the enemy suspecting anything, and by morning I had assembled a strong troop of foot soldiers and horsemen, leaving at the same time a good garrison in my quarters. When they saw us on their side they fell upon us in great numbers so fiercely that never since I have been in this country have I been so vigorously attacked; and they killed two horses and wounded ten others so badly that they were disabled. In the course of the day — thanks to God — the enemy was defeated, and we pursued them for more than a league and killed numbers of them. With the thirty horsemen remaining and one hundred foot soldiers, I continued my march, and slept that night in a town three leagues from the camp which was found deserted. In the mosques of this town we found many articles belonging to those Spaniards who had been sent by Francisco de Garay, and who had been killed.

The next day, I set out along the shore of the lake, searching for a passage to the other side where we had seen people and towns, but I marched all day without finding it, nor any place to cross; and towards the hour