Page:Notes of the Mexican war 1846-47-48.djvu/562

556 that on June 27, 1520, he made an assault on the city of Mexico, and made King Montezuma a prisoner in his own castle. This kind of treatment and betrayal to their king much enraged the Mexicans, and caused constant fighting with the Spaniards.

During the imprisonment and death of King Montezuma his brother, Quetlavana, or Cutlahua, was elected king, and his cousin, or King Montezuma's son-in-law, Guatamzin, was appointed chief of the army. They were both great and fearless warriors, and were bitter against the Spaniards and all their followers. He went to work cautiously and raised a large army. During all this time the fighting in the streets and elsewhere got more fierce.

Montezuma was called upon to go to a small window for the purpose of speaking to his subjects to pacify them; but the noise, confusion, and cry of death to all Spaniards and traitors and clamor was so great that he could not be heard. He then went to a larger window; and, as he was looking out and about to address his people to cease fighting and retreat to their homes, he was unfortunately shot with an arrow, and soon afterwards hit with a stone on the temple. He refused all food and medical attendance to his wounds, and died in three days after he was wounded, which was on the 30th day of June, 1520, and was forty-four years of age.

This shows that King Montezuma must have ruled Mexico eighteen years instead of fourteen, as some writers have it.

The death of Montezuma fully aroused the spirit of all classes of Mexicans; even the weak-kneed Mexicans (so-called) who favored the Spaniards all along rallied to the standard of King Cutlahua and Chief Guatamzin, and swore by their god, Viztlipuctli, to avenge the death of King Montezuma, and passed resolutions of determination of vengeance, and crush out all the Spaniards and their sympathizers in Mexico. The Mexicans had recruited a large army, well armed with bows and arrows, and mounted lancers attacked the Spaniards at all quarters with yells and cry, "death to all Spaniards and traitors."