aging early in the morning of the day following their arrival, observed several suspicious circumstances, among others broken bridges, which in one place obliged them to fill up a canal before crossing it. Here and there they saw large collections of slings and other weapons, and presently they came on a priest with dishevelled hair shouting with wild gesticulations to a crowd of armed men. They hurried back to inform the general, guided through intricate cross-streets by a Tlascaltec. Antonio del Rio, who had been despatched for Villa Rica the same morning, returned at a gallop in less than half an hour, excited and bleeding. The streets, he said, were full of warriors, who had raised the bridges and were apparently prepared to attack. Had it not been for his trusty sword and swift horse he would have been slain. At this moment the sentinels in the towers announced the approach of a vast multitude from different directions, with gleaming iztli weapons, and speedily the neighborhood was alive with warriors, whose yells rose high above the shrill shell and doleful drum.[1] Even if they did not inspire the full measure of dread intended they presented a striking picture in their painted bodies, grotesque with patterns and brilliant colors, with no covering among the rank and file save the raw cotton on the head and the universal maxtli round the loins. They were protected in part by the chimalli, or shield, a slight bamboo frame covered with gaudily colored skin or reed-grass, chiefly oval and round, and often large enough to cover the whole body. Secured to the arm it left the hand free to hold the bow or stone, while the right managed the arrow or the sling. The
- ↑ Cortés describes first a brief attack, then a sally, succeeded by a fresh assault on the fort, while Bernal Diaz and Herrera let a force advance against the Indians before they reach the palace. I follow Cortés as the chief guide, because his account of all this period was written while quite fresh in his mind, and appears the most sensible and correct, while the other versions depend more or less on faint recollection and hearsay. Cortés as a rule did not wait till the enemy approached, but he may not have been prepared for the sudden attack. Yet it is probable that he wished in his report to lay the responsibility of the attack upon the enemy. I do not think Cortés inclined to misrepresent in general or without an object.
