Page:The Mastering of Mexico.djvu/327

Rh of our soldiers mounted to the top of the temple and looked over towards the city of Mexico—when they saw more than two thousand canoes, filled with warriors, making towards us as fast as paddles could bring them. The great cacique was likewise sending ten thousand men against us by land.

I should weary the reader by detailing our terrible and obstinate conflicts of the next three days. I am myself tired of writing about our encounters. When Guatemoc sent his warriors by canoe and by land, he commanded that they were not to permit us to leave Xochimilco alive, and it was with the utmost exertion that we were at last able to cut our way through the Mexican hosts to a great plaza a little way from the town where they usually held their markets. Here we halted to arrange our order of march, and here Cortes told us of our perilous fortunes—how the forces of Mexico were lying in wait for us in passes of the road we were about to travel. It would be a good thing, he said, if we were to leave behind as much of our baggage as we could spare, for it would only cumber us when we had to fight. To this we one and all answered that we could not be so cowardly and, please God, we were men enough to defend our baggage, ourselves and him, too.

All along the road to Tacuba warriors never ceased making sudden attacks on us from positions