Page:Letters of Cortes to Emperor Charles V - Vol 2.djvu/25

 with people during the war, and to treat well the Spaniards who would be coming and going through their country, which as friends they were obliged to do. They promised to do this, and having stayed two or three days in their city, I left for Tascaltecal, a distance of six leagues, and, on my arrival there, all the Spaniards and those of the city met me with great rejoicing at my coming. The next day all the chiefs of the city and provinces came to speak to me, and told me how Magiscatcin, who was the principal lord of all of them, had died of that illness, the small-pox, and that they knew I would be much grieved by it as he was my great friend. His son, about twelve or thirteen years old, survived, to whom all the lordship of his father now belonged, and they prayed me to recognise him as his heir. And I in the name of Your Majesty did this, at which all of them remained very satisfied.

When I arrived in this city, I found that the master workmen and carpenters had used great diligence with the joining and planking of the brigantines, and that they had accomplished a very reasonable amount of work. I immediately arranged to send to Vera Cruz for all the iron and nails they had there, together with the sails and tackle and other needful things for them; and, as we had no pitch, I ordered certain Spaniards to make it in a neighbouring forest. All provisions for the brigantines were thus ordered to be ready in time, so that, please God, I might, on arriving in the province of Mexico and Temixtitan, send for them from there, a distance of sixteen leagues from the city of Tascaltecal. During the fifteen days I remained there, I did nothing but urge on the master workmen, and the preparation of arms for our march.

Two days before Christmas, the captain, who had gone to the provinces of Cecatami and Xalazingo, arrived with the people on foot and horseback, and I learned