ne horse, and great
numbers of our men were wounded. By degrees, however, the enemy became
less furious in their attacks, and we were thus enabled to retreat to
Tezcuco, not a little annoyed at the defeat we had sustained. If we did
not reap much honour for ourselves in this last battle, it must be
remembered we had lost all our powder. We had, however, taught our
enemies to respect us a little, for they remained perfectly quiet after
our retreat to Tezcuco, and occupied their time in dressing their
wounds, burying the dead, and repairing the houses which had been
damaged. I must now return to Tezcuco, where in the meantime ambassadors
had arrived from other townships to sue for peace.

CHAPTER CXXXIX.

_How ambassadors arrive in Tezcuco from three neighbouring
townships, to sue for peace, and to beg forgiveness for the murder
of several Spaniards who had fallen into their hands; and how
Sandoval marched to Chalco and Tlalmanalco, to assist the
inhabitants there against the Mexicans._

The second day after our return to Tezcuco, three of the neighbouring
townships sent to Cortes, to sue for peace, and beg forgiveness, for
having put some Spaniards to death; they strove to exonerate themselves
from all guilt, by stating that they had been compelled to march against
us by command of Cuitlahuatzin, who had ascended the Mexican throne
after Motecusuma's death; they had merely done, they said, what they
could not avoid, and had sent the Spaniards they had captured, with
their horses, and everything else belonging to them, to Mexico. These
townships, which thus came to sue for peace, were Tepetezcuco and
Otumpan; the name of the third I have forgotten. This was the same
Otumpan where the memorable battle took place which we fought against
the flower of the Mexican army.

The inhabitants of these townships were terrified when they heard of our
march against Iztapalapan, and concluded they might now also expect a
visit from us; and though they would have been pleased to hear that we
had perished in the water, or had been worsted in the last battle, yet
they considered it more advisable, by seeking peace of us, to avert the
castigation they feared.

Cortes, seeing he could not do better under the present circumstances,
granted them a pardon for the past, but made them give a solemn promise
to remain faithful to our emperor in future, to obey us in everything,
and never again to enter into an all