Page:Vol 2 History of Mexico by H H Bancroft.djvu/381

Rh befell Guzman. About the 20th of September, when the rainy season was nearly over and the patience of the inhabitants quite exhausted, a sudden rise in the river at midnight, preceded by a tempest, and, as some say, by the appearance of a comet, submerged the whole region of the camp for about two leagues in circumference, and made it literally aztalan, place of waters — now known as Etzatlan. The slight shelter of the soldiers — for the army was not encamped in the town — was blown or washed away; hogs, cattle, and large numbers of sick allies were drowned; and it is even said that the towns near the river were flooded; the waters subsided rapidly, but left the army in a critical situation.

The rich stores of food which the natives had been forced to supply were now spoiled, and as the people had for the most part fled to the mountains, there were no means of replenishing the store. A pestilence attacked the auxiliary troops, carrying them off by thousands; the survivors were threatened with starvation. Notwithstanding this, Guzman persisted in his plans of further exploration northward, and it was in vain the Aztec and Tlascaltec leaders implored permission to leave that vale of death and remove to some healthier locality. In vain they offered all their booty, jewels, gold, and silver. The leader's inflexibility could not however prevent attempts to escape. A number of Indians ran away; others were killed in the attempt; and not a few recaptured were hanged, while others anticipated such a fate by committing suicide. Even the