Page:Young Folks History Of Mexico.pdf/213

 Rh had not come to their relief, and Cortez and his little squadron come charging down upon the Indians. It was the first time these Indians had ever seen a horse, and when those great animals, larger than any that roamed their forests, came thundering down upon them, they gave one great shout of terror and amazement and fled in wild disorder. They believed, as they afterwards stated, that horse and rider were one animal, and sent by the avenging deities to complete their destruction.

What wonder that they fled! Fancy ourselves in their position, battling at fearful odds against an army encased in mail and armed with the powers of thunder and lightning; while every nerve is strained, and every energy called into play against this strong enemy, suddenly another appears, a strange beast, a centaur, clad in steel and breathing death upon all within its reach! Think you we should not use great expedition in getting beyond its reach? Eight hundred of the Indian army lay dead upon the field, and a still greater number dragged their mutilated bodies away to perish in the seclusion of the forest! In this manner did Cortez punish these wicked people for resisting the embassadors of a king they did not know, and for refusing a religion they did not understand! They came in humbly, the chiefs with their followers, and craved pardon for their temerity in having tried to defend their homes from assassins and thieves, their wives from dishonor, their children from slavery! They begged permission to bury their dead, so that the wild beasts should not devour them, and bringing abundance of provisions, promised to become obedient vassals of the new king.

Cortez, says one of the historians of that time, "assumed a grave countenance, told them they deserved death for their neglect of our former offers of peace, but that our great monarch, Don Carlos, had enjoined us to favor