quarters to receive the caziques of Chalco. He paid them every respect,
and, according to their request, acknowledged them as vassals of our
emperor, and then installed the two sons of the late cazique into their
government. After the caziques had fulfilled their commission, they
handed over their presents, which may have been worth about 200 pesos.

With the assistance of Dona Marina and Aguilar, Cortes had perfectly
comprehended what these caziques had said. He showed them every possible
kindness, and gave the government of Chalco to the elder prince, with
several towns which were subject to it, and to the younger the township
of Tlalmanalco, Chimalhuacan, Ayotzinco, and of other small towns, so
that the elder came in for a little more than half of his father's
dominions.

After Cortes had instilled many useful things into the hearts of these
men and the young caziques, he dismissed them; and they offered, in
return, to render us every service that lay in their power, assuring
him, at the same time, that they had been peaceably inclined from the
beginning, and that they had been prevented sooner taking the oath of
allegiance to our emperor from fear of the Mexican garrison. They
likewise informed Cortes that, previous to our retreat from Mexico, they
had concealed from the Mexicans two Spaniards who had been sent by him
to demand of them tribute in maise, and had conveyed them safely during
night-time to our friends of Huexotzinco, thereby saving their lives.
This we knew to be perfectly true, for we had been duly informed of it
by one of those two Spaniards who had escaped to Tlascalla.

Cortes returned these excellent men many hearty thanks for their kind
feeling, and invited them to stay a couple of days longer with us, lest
they should fall into the hands of the Mexicans, as he intended to
despatch one of his officers to Tlascalla to fetch the woodwork of which
our brigantines were to be made, they should then be safely conducted to
their homes.

After this interview with the caziques, Cortes determined to send the
eight Mexicans whom Sandoval had taken prisoners, to Mexico, and
commissioned them to make the following disclosures, in his name, to the
new monarch Quauhtemoctzin: "He, Cortes, was very anxious to preserve
the monarch of Mexico and his great city from destruction, and hoped,
therefore, he would send messengers of peace to us, in which case every
injury we had received at the hands of the Mexicans w