Page:Letters of Cortes to Emperor Charles V - Vol 2.djvu/269

 and arrived that day at the small town of Tatahuitalpan, and found it burned and deserted. I reached there before the canoes, which were coming up the river  Departure from Iztapan and were delayed by the strong currents and many windings. After their arrival, I sent some people to cross in them to the other bank in search of the natives of the town, in order to reassure them. About half a league on the other side of the river, they found some twenty men in one of the temples of their idols, which they had decorated profusely; these they brought to me, telling me that all the people had abandoned the place through fear, but they had preferred to remain on the spot and die with their gods. While engaged in this talk with them, some of our Indians passed, carrying some things taken from those idols, seeing which, the natives cried out that their gods had been killed; I replied to this, telling them to observe what a vain and foolish belief was theirs, for they believed that gods who could not even protect themselves could give them benefits, and to behold how easily they were destroyed: they answered me that their fathers had held that creed, and until they knew of a better one that they would hold it. I was unable, on account of the brevity of the time, to explain this subject more fully than I had already done to the people at Iztapan, but two Franciscan friars, who were with me, also told them many things about these matters. I besought them to send and call the chief and people of the town and to reassure them, and the chief whom I had brought from Iztapan also told them of the kindness they had received from me in his town, upon which they pointed out one of themselves, saying that he was their chief; so he sent two of them to call the people to return, but they never appeared.

Seeing that they did not come, I besought the one who I was told was the chief to show me the road to