Page:Letters of Cortes to Emperor Charles V - Vol 2.djvu/76

 Santiago and we fell upon them furiously. Before they could reach the canals near there, we killed more than a hundred splendid chiefs; after which they did not care to follow us any further. This day we slept two leagues beyond, in the city of Coatinchan, tired out and wet, as it had rained a great deal that afternoon; and we found it deserted. We set out the next day, using our lances from time to time on some Indians who came to yell at us, and we slept at a town, called Gilotepeque, finding it also deserted. The next day, we went at twelve o'clock to a city, called Aculman, belonging to the lordship of the city of Tesaico, where we slept that night and were well received by the Spaniards, who rejoiced at our coming as if it were their salvation; because after I had left them they had heard nothing of me till the day we arrived. They had suffered various alarms in the city, and the inhabitants had been daily saying to them that the men of Mexico and Temixtitan would fall on them while I was absent. Thus, with God's help, this expedition was concluded, and it was a very great enterprise in which Your Majesty received great service, for many reasons, as I shall hereafter state.

When I came for the first time to the city of Temixtitan, Very Powerful and Invincible Lord, I ordered, as I made  Events in Chinantla known to Your Majesty in my other relation, that certain plantations should be established for Your Majesty in two or three of the most desirable provinces. I sent two Spaniards to one of them, called Chinantla, which is not subject to the Culuans; in the others, which were, the Culuans killed those who were at the plantations when they made