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302 the houses an alarm was given that the streets were under water and the water of the lake rapidly pouring in upon them. Being situated between the two great lakes and intersected by canals it was only necessary in order to flood the city to cut the dikes, and this the self-sacrificing inhabitants had done, preferring the destruction of their homes to their occupation by the hated invaders. They would all have been drowned had it not been for the timely warning by the Tlascallan sentinels, and as it was, some were cut off, all their booty was lost, and the army returned to Tezcoco in very bad humor. The city of Chalco, on the eastern border of a lake of the same name, was next delivered from the Mexican troops which occupied it by an army under the gallant Sandoval, and renewed its allegiance to the Spanish king. This was one of the most important cities about the lakes, being a great resort of the merchants. It had been often in rebellion against the Aztec power, and gladly seized the opportunity of freeing itself from their dominion.

Information now coming down from the mountains that the timber for the brigantines was hewn and ready for transportation, Cortez sent Sandoval with two hundred men to guard its transportation to the lake. It was a long distance from the mountain forests of Tlascala to the borders of Lake Tezcoco, but the hardy natives, inured to fatigue, cheerfully carried the weight of this material, which was to contribute so much to the defeat of their enemies. Eight thousand Tlascallans carried on their backs the timber, ready shaped, for every part of the thirteen vessels. Two thousand were laden with provisions, and eight thousand more acted as a guard of defence. They were led by their valiant chieftain, Chichimecatl, until Tezcoco was approached, when Sandoval placed his men in the vanguard, and assigned the Indian chief the rear. This