Page:Vol 1 History of Mexico by H H Bancroft.djvu/205

Rh not far from the capital of the Nonohualcas, a large town of adobe and stone buildings on the opposite mainland, protected by a heavy stockade.

In answer to a demand for water, the natives thereabout pointed to the river; as for food, they would bring some on the morrow. Cortés did not like the appearance of things; and when, during the night, they began to remove their women and children from the town, he saw that his work must begin here. More men and arms were landed on the island, and Ávila was ordered to proceed to the mainland with one hundred men, gain the rear of the town, and attack at a given signal. In the morning a few canoes arrived at the island with scanty provisions, all that could be obtained, the natives said; and further than this, the Spaniards must leave: if they attempted to penetrate the interior, they would be cut off to a man. Cortés answered that his duty to the great king he served required him to examine the country and barter for supplies. Entering the vessels, he ordered them to advance toward the town; and in the presence of the royal notary, Diego de Godoy, he made a final appeal for peace, as required by Spanish law, casting upon the natives the blame for the consequences of their refusal. The reply came in