Page:Letters of Cortes to Emperor Charles V - Vol 2.djvu/90

 Iztapalapa, some two leagues distant, where the alguacil mayor was, to bring all the powder he had.

Although, at the beginning, it was my intention on embarking in the brigantines to go to Cuyoacan and plan to do as much damage as possible, as soon as I had landed on the causeway that day and had captured those two towers, I determined to establish my headquarters there, and to keep the brigantines near the towers. I also ordered the force at Cuyoacan and some fifty of the alguacil mayor's soldiers to come there next day. Having determined these measures, we passed the night with caution, for we were in much danger, as all the people of the city gathered there on the causeway and on the water. At midnight a great multitude of people arrived in canoes and began to attack our camp by the causeway: certainly they threw us into great fear and alarm, especially as it was at night and they never attack at such an hour nor had they ever been seen to fight at night except when they were very sure of victory. As we were well prepared, we fought with them, using the small field pieces from the brigantines, each of which carried one, and the archers and musketeers did their part. Thus they dared not advance further, nor did they arrive near enough to do us any injury; so they left off attacking us for the remainder of the night.

Next morning at daybreak, there arrived at my camp on the causeway, fifteen archers and musketeers, fifty men armed with swords and shields, and seven or eight horsemen from the garrison at Cuyoacan. When they got there, those of the city were fighting with us from canoes and on the causeway, and the multitude was such that on land and water we could see nothing but people, who shouted and yelled so that it seemed the world was sinking. We fought with them, advancing on the causeway and capturing a bridge which they had removed, and a barricade they had made at its entrance. We did them such