CHAPTER XVII
How we retreated from Mexico; our night of sorrows; the days following the sorrowful night; our punitive expeditions, and how various towns begged Cortes to stop Mexican violence; why we laughed at Olid's expedition and how arrival of ships increased our forces.
With direst threats and yells sounding in our ears, our food and water beginning to fail, our powder fast diminishing, the bridges on the causeways raised—in short with death staring us in the face, we agreed in our council of war to leave the city at night when the Mexicans were most off their guard. To mislead them as to our time, we sent, that very afternoon, one of our prisoners, a papa, to say that they should let us in peace march out of the city within eight days.
First and most important of preparations for our retreat was a movable bridge of strong beams that we could carry and use where the former bridges had been broken. Four hundred Tlaxcalans and one hundred and fifty of our men were to have charge of this bridge and fix it in position when the need came. Two hundred and fifty Tlaxcalans and fifty of our men were told off for the heavy guns. San-
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