angue, excited the spirit of his followers to the highest pitch of enthusiasm.

An ominous incident threw its shadow over the commencement of the campaign. Xicotencatl, the bravest and fiercest chief of Tlascala, suddenly left the camp, and journeyed homeward. It seems uncertain whether he was prompted by the allurement of an amour, by some offence received from the Spaniards, or by a desire to seize the lands and treasures of his rival, Chichemecatl. He returned a haughty answer to the summons of Cortes, and was soon after seized by a party of cavalry, dispatched for his arrest. Conducted to Tezcuco, the unfortunate chief was instantly hanged, by order of Cortes, upon a high gallows, erected in the great square. His wealth was confiscated to the crown. This act of violence, which the Spanish general justified on the ground of desertion, and which was prompted by his knowledge of the secret enmity of his victim, does not appear to have produced any serious disaffection among the Tlascalan levies.

On the 10th of May, Alvarado and Olid set out, and soon took up their quarters in the deserted city of Tacuba. Hence they made a sally, and, after sharp fighting, succeeded in destroying a portion of the beautiful aqueduct which conducted the streams of Chapoltepec to the capital. This copious sup ply of water was thus cut off from the beleaguered city.

The next day they marched boldly upon the disastrous causeway, the scene of their former misfortunes. But the event of the "Noche Triste" was well nigh renewed. The warriors on the dike, which was strongly fortified, made a gallant resistance; a multitude of canoes, on either side, assailed the advancing columns with a perfect storm of missiles; and, after a long and obstinate conflict, the Spaniards and their allies, with much loss and disgrace, were compelled to fall back upon their quarters. Olid and his force, the following day, took up their appointed post at Cojohuacan.

Sandoval, after an obstinate battle, had gained possession of a part of Iztapalapan, and Cortes, with the fleet, set sail to

assist him. The latter, on his way, passed under a steep cliff, (since called from him, "The Rock of the Marquess,") from which a body of Indians poured on him a shower of arrows. Landing, with an hundred and fifty men, he took the place by storm, and put the garrison to the sword. As he again set sail, a fleet of many hundred canoes ("four thousand!" says one) shot out from Mexico to intercept him, "which Multitude, with the Motion of their Feathers and Arms, afforded a Sight both beautiful and terrible, and seemed to cover the Lake." At this critical moment, a sudden breeze sprang up, and the brigantines, dashing under full sail among the light barks of their enemies, beat them to pieces, and whelmed their occupants in the waves. "We broke an immense number of Canoes," writes the general, "and destroyed many of the enemy, in a style worthy of admiration. * *It was," he continues, "the most gratifying spectacle, as well as the most desirable one in the world." The cannon and musketry also did great execution, and the remnant of the defeated flotilla fled for shelter to the canals of Tenochtitlan. The victor then "sail'd about the City, firing some shot into it, rather by way of Triumph, than for any Damage he did the Enemy; nor was he displeased to behold the Multitude of People that covered the Towers and House-tops, to see the Event of the Engagement; on the contrary, he was so glad to have them Spectators of their own Loss, that tho' in reality they were too many, considered as Enemies, he thought them too few as Witnesses of his Exploit."* After this decisive advantage, Cortes sailed to Xoloc, the point of intersection between the great southern causeway and that of Cojohuacan. From this place, though well fortified, he drove the Aztec garrison, and resolved to make it his own head-quarters. For five or six days, however, and even during the nights, the Indians, (especially from the basins which excluded the brigantines) kept up a constant system of annoyance, and discharged such showers of arrows that the ground of the camp was covered with them. At times, says Cortes, "the * De Solis.

multitude was so great, that neither by land or water could we see any thing but human beings, who uttered such dreadful howls and outcries that it seemed as if the world would come to an end." They suffered much, however, by repeated discharges of artillery.

แ

Considering that the inhabitants of this city were rebels," says the same narrator, with his customary coolness, "and that they discovered so strong a determination to defend themselves or perish, I inferred two things; first, that we should recover little or none of the wealth of which they had deprived us (!); and second, that they had given us occasion and compelled us utterly to exterminate them."

Two of the causeways were now closed up; and Cortes ordered Sandoval to occupy the entrance of the remaining one, that of Tepejacac, which formed an outlet on the north. The city, in its land approaches, was thus completely blockaded by three large armies. Unsatisfied with this advantage, Cortes, with indefatigable spirit, determined to harass the enemy with continual attacks; and accordingly ordered a general assault at the same hour on each of the causeways. After a solemn Mass, the cavaliers, led by the general himself on foot, and followed by a great force, advanced toward the city. Their progress was soon arrested by a breach in the dike, beyond which was a rampart, stoutly defended by the Mexicans. It was impossible to dislodge them until the brigantines, sailing on either side, fired on them and landed troops beyond the rampart. Cortes and his soldiers then followed by swimming, and the Indian allies filled up the gap by flinging down the rampart and throwing in other materials. Breach after breach was carried and filled up in this manner, the Aztecs fighting val iantly, and only retreating before the invincible discharge of fire-arms.

The Spaniards had now entered on the great street which had witnessed, two years before, their first triumphant entry of the capital of Anahuac. Every roof was crowded with warriors, and a perfect storm of missiles hailed down upon their

heads. But building after building was levelled to the ground, as the assailants slowly forced their way-a singular rehearsal of the scene in our own day, when the Anglo Saxons of the North fought their way through these very streets, against the descendants of both besiegers and besieged. For two hours the Aztecs defended a stone barricade, which finally was broken down by the heavy artillery. The Spaniards then pursued their enemies into the great square of the teocalli, the scene of such hardihood and suffering the year before. At the entrance they halted, overcome by remembrance of those terrible scenes; but their undaunted leader, waving his sword, and shouting "St. Jago!" led them fiercely against the enemy. With a few intrepid followers he rushed to the summit of the temple, and with his own hand tore the mask of gold and jewels from the hideous idol again set up in his blood-stained dwelling. After hurling the priests from the summit, the Spaniards hastened to rejoin their companions.

The Aztecs, infuriated at this outrage, now attacked them with such ferocity, that, with their allies, they were driven in confusion down the great avenue. Total defeat would have ensued, but for a timely charge of the cavalry, which gave them the opportunity to rally and to retreat in some order to their quarters. Sandoval and Alvarado, on the opposite side, had been unable to penetrate the city.

CHAPTER XV.

THE SIEGE OF MEXICO CONTINUED-CONSTANT FIGHTING—ATTEMPT TO STORM THE CITY-GREAT LOSS OF THE SPANIARDS-TERRIBLE SACRIFICE OF THE PRISONERS ON THE GREAT TEMPLE.

REINFORCED by an army of fifty thousand Tezcucans, led by the fierce Ixtlilxochitl, (which he distributed in the three camps,) Cortes resolved on a fresh simultaneous attack. The breaches, which the enemy had reopened, were again slowly

filled up, and he once more led his forces into the great square. Here the Spaniards fired the palace of Axayacatl, their former stronghold, all the combustible portion of which was soon consumed, and the magnificent "House of Birds," the pride of the Aztec emperors. "The fanciful structure was soon wrapped in flames, that sent their baleful splendors, far and wide, over city and lake. Its feathered inhabitants either perished in the fire, or those of stronger wing, bursting the burning lattice-work of the aviary, soared high into the air, and, fluttering for a while over the devoted city, fled with loud screams to their native forests beyond the mountains."*

"Although it grieved me much," says the Conqueror, "yet, as it grieved the enemy more, I determined to burn these palaces, whereupon they manifested great sorrow, as well as their allies from the cities on the lake, because none of them had supposed we should be able to penetrate so far into the city. This filled them with terrible dismay"—a dismay not a little increased, he remarks, when his allies "displayed to the inhabitants of the city the bodies of their countrymen cut into pieces, exclaiming at the same time that they would have them for sup per that night and for breakfast the next day, as was in fact the case."

In this battle the young prince of Tezcuco, marching by the side of Cortes, amid the yells and reproaches of his countrymen, took a distinguished part, slaying with his own hand the leader of the Aztec squadron. A retreat was finally sounded, but the Mexicans hung on the rear of the Spaniards, fighting with such recklessness and desperation, that few of the latter reached their camp unwounded. Day after day, these terrible and exhausting assaults were kept up by the Spanish leader, who bears witness to the valor and constancy of his enemies. "Their conduct," he writes, "was certainly worthy of admiration, for however great the evils and losses to which they were exposed in harassing our march, they did not relax their pursuit till they saw us out of the city."

* Prescott's Conquest of Mexico.