Page:The Mastering of Mexico.djvu/343

Rh the camp of Alvarado, and to those with Sandoval. The question was whether or no it seemed good to us to fall on the city with a sudden rush and force our way to the great market place, there to pitch our three camps and from our vantage point attack our enemy in their streets—thus escaping the heavy advance and retreat every day, and not having to toil everlastingly in filling in openings and canals.

Opinions differed—as always happens in such cases. Some thought we should not enclose ourselves so completely in the heart of a hostile city, that we should fight as we were then doing—pulling down the houses as we advanced and filling in the openings. If we fortified ourselves in the market place, we thought the Mexicans would reopen the hollows we had filled up and would repossess the causeways. In the great square they would assail us day and night, and our sloops could not come to our aid because of the stakes they would drive, or had driven, in the lake. In short, if we made such a station, the enemy would then be masters of the town, the country and the waters. This opinion we took care to draw up in writing. Cortes heard our objections. Nevertheless it followed that on the next day we were ordered to push on from all three camps till we reached the great market place, and the Tlaxcalans, the Texcocans and our new allies of the towns of the lake were to aid us with their canoes.