Page:The Mastering of Mexico.djvu/141

Rh approach, and he led us to lodgings. He also gave us food; but with bad grace.

As soon as we had eaten, Cortes, through our interpreters, asked the cacique all manner of questions about their monarch Montezuma, and we learned much of his strength in warriors stationed in his conquered provinces, and of other armies posted on frontiers. The cacique told also of the strong city of Mexico, how it lay in the midst of waters and one could only pass from house to house by means of bridges or canoes; how all houses had flat roofs and could be turned into fortresses; how the city was entered by three causeways, each with four or five openings spanned by as many bridges, and when any one of these bridges was raised it was impossible to enter the city. Then the cacique told of the stores of silver and gold, the precious stones and great riches of Montezuma.

Cortes and all of us marvelled at hearing how great a lord Montezuma was, but the more the cacique told of the fortress and bridges the more earnestly we longed to try our strength against them. Of such stuff are Spanish soldiers made. Facts later proved Mexico strongly fortified, stronger, indeed, than this cacique told us—you had to see it yourself to form an idea of it, a description can not tell its strength. Our informant added that Montezuma was so powerful he put anything he chose under his power, and