bitants, and took four of the principal personages, and numbers of
women and children, prisoners. These people he treated very kindly, and
inquired of them how they had managed to defeat so many Spaniards in a
body? They replied, that great numbers of Mexicans and Tezcucans had
fallen upon them while passing through a very narrow defile in the
mountains, where the Spaniards could only march one abreast; some had
been killed, and the rest were taken prisoners. These were conveyed to
Tezcuco, where they were divided between the Mexicans and Tezcucans.
They themselves had certainly joined in that attack, but they had merely
followed the commands of their superiors. All this the Tezcucans had
done, they said, to revenge the death of Cacamatzin their king, whom
Cortes had taken prisoner, but who perished on the night of our
disastrous retreat from Mexico.

The blood of our unfortunate countrymen was even then sticking to the
walls of the temple in this township. Here were likewise found on an
altar the entire skins of the faces of two Spaniards, with the beards
still hanging to them. The skins had been dressed in the same way as the
leather we use for making gloves. In the same manner they had prepared
the skins of four horses. Great care had been taken of the hair and
horseshoes, which were suspended in the chief temple as tokens of
victory. Further were discovered numerous articles of Spanish dress
which had been brought as an offering to the idols; on one of the walls
of a house were found written in charcoal the following words: "Here the
unfortunate Juan Yuste, with several of his comrades, was imprisoned by
the enemy." This Juan Yuste was a cavalier who had served under Narvaez,
and was one of the most distinguished personages among his troops.

Sandoval and his men were sorely grieved at the sight of all this, but
what could they do better than show mercy in return? The whole of the
inhabitants had fled away, and those women they had captured were
sobbing for their husbands and fathers. Sandoval, therefore, set the
four distinguished prisoners with all the women at liberty, and
despatched them to bring back the inhabitants who had fled to the
mountains. These soon made their appearance, begged forgiveness for the
past, and declared themselves vassals of our emperor, with the promise
henceforth to be faithful to us and in every way to oppose the Mexicans.
In answer to the queries respecting the gold of which they had p