Page:Letters of Cortes to Emperor Charles V - Vol 2.djvu/33

 our road towards the city of Tesaico [Texcoco], which is one of the greatest and finest to be found in all these parts, and, as the people on foot were somewhat tired, and it was getting late, we slept in a town called Coatepeque (which we found deserted) which is subject to the city of Tesaico and three leagues distant from it.

That night we bore in mind that, as this city and its provinces, called Aculuacan, is very great, and contains many people, possibly more than a hundred and fifty thousand men were ready at the time to attack us, so I, with ten of the horsemen, took the watch and guard of the first quarter, and ordered the people to be well on the alert. The next day, which was Monday, the last of December, we followed our road in the usual order, and at a quarter of a league from the town of Coatepeque, while we were all advancing amidst perplexity, discussing with each other as to whether the Tesaicans would be hostile or friendly, rather believing that it would be the former, four principal Indians met us on the road bearing a banner of gold on a pole, which weighed about four marks of gold, giving us to understand by this sign that they came peaceably; God only knows how much we desired peace, and how much we stood in need of it, being as we were so few and so cut off from help in the midst of the forces of our enemies. When I saw the four Indians, one of whom was known to me, I halted our people and met them. After we had greeted one another, they said they came on the part of the chief of that city and province, who is called Guanacacin. They