Page:Letters of Cortes to Emperor Charles V - Vol 2.djvu/283

whom, on account of his turbulent nature, I hold a prisoner since the capture of this city (always carrying him, as well as the other chiefs and lords whom I considered the cause of revolt in the country with me) was conspiring against me. Besides Guatemucin there was Guanacaxin, the King of Texcuco, and Tetepanguçal, the King of Tacuba, and a certain Tacatelz who had lived formerly in Mexico in the quarter of Tatelulco, who all had many times conversed among themselves and told this Mexicalcingo how they had been dispossessed of their land and authority and were ruled over by the Spaniards, and that it would be well to seek some remedy so that they might recover their authority and possessions; and, in speaking thus, during this expedition, they had thought the best way would be to kill me and my people, and afterwards to call on the natives of these provinces to rise and kill Cristobal de Olid and all his people. After that they would send their messengers to Temixtitan to incite the people to kill all the Spaniards, which thing they thought could easily be done as many were newly arrived and untrained to warfare. After that, they would raise the whole country, and kill all the Spaniards wherever they might be found, putting strong garrisons of natives in all the seaports so that none might escape, nor any vessel coming from Castile take back the news. By these means, they would rule again as before, and they had already distributed the different provinces amongst themselves, giving one to this same Mexicalcingo. I gave many thanks to our Lord for having revealed this treachery to me, and, at daybreak, I imprisoned all those lords, each one by himself, and then inquired of them one by one about the plot; and to each I said that the others had told it to me (for they could not speak with one another). Thus they were all constrained to confess that it was true that Guatemucin and Tetepangueçal had invented the plot, and that,