Page:Letters of Cortes to Emperor Charles V - Vol 2.djvu/39

 were deserted, and all the people took refuge with their property in the houses on the lake, and those who fled also retreated to them, fighting us very stoutly. But Our Lord was pleased to so strengthen His own that we pursued them until we drove them into the water, sometimes breast high, and at other times swimming; and we captured many of the houses in the water. More than six thousand souls, men, women, and children of the inhabitants, perished, for our Indian allies, seeing the victory which God gave us, had the sole idea to kill right and left.

As night came on, I collected my people, and set fire to some of the houses; and, while they were burning, it seemed that Our Lord inspired me, and recalled to my mind the dyke I had seen on the road, and I figured to myself what a great danger it was. I determined to leave the city, it being already far into the night and quite dark. When I reached the water, which may have been about nine o'clock at night, it was so deep, and flowed with such impetus, that we passed it running full tilt, but some of our friendly Indians were drowned, and all the plunder that had been taken in the city was lost. I assure Your Majesty that, if we had not passed the water that night, or had waited three hours more, none of us would have escaped, because we should have been surrounded by water, without having an outlet anywhere. When day broke, we saw that the water of the one lake had filled that of the other and was running no more, and that all the salt lake was covered with canoes filled with warriors, expecting to take us there. I returned that day to Tesaico, fighting sometimes with those on the lake, though we could do them little harm, as they would immediately retreat in their canoes.

On arriving at Tesaico, I found the people I had left there all safe, and without having had any encounter;