Finding that we were unable any longer to resist the multitude of enemies
who assailed us perpetually from the water, and almost with entire
impunity, we determined to retreat to our quarters in Tacuba, having eight
of our men slain and above fifty wounded, and were closely followed up and
much harassed by the enemy during our retreat. De Oli laid the blame of
the disaster of this day on the rashness of Alvarado.

Next day[1], though we were all extremely solicitous for the two captains
to remain together, De Oli proceeded with his division to take possession
of Cojohuacan, according to the orders he had received from Cortes; but
this separation was assuredly extremely ill judged; as, if the enemy had
known the smallness of our numbers at the two stations, they might have
fallen upon and destroyed us separately, during the four or five days that
we remained divided before the arrival of Cortes with the brigantines. In
all that time we never ventured to make any more attempts against the
Mexican causeways, but the enemy frequently sent bodies of their troops to
the main land to make attacks on our quarters, on which occasions we
always drove them away.

Sandoval with his division did not leave Tezcuco until the fourth day
after the feast of Corpus Christi[2], when he marched through a friendly
country by the south side of the lake, and arrived without interruption in
front of Iztapalapa. Immediately on his arrival, he commenced an attack on
the enemy, and burnt many of the houses in that part of the town which
stood on the firm land; but fresh bodies of Mexican warriors came over in
canoes and by the causeway of Iztapalapa to relieve their friends in the
town, and made a determined resistance against Sandoval. While the
engagement was going on, a smoke was observed to arise from a hill above
the town, which was answered by similar signals at many other points
around the lake, which were afterwards found to have been made to apprize
the enemy of the appearance of our flotilla on the lake. On this, the
efforts of the enemy against Sandoval were much relaxed, as their canoes
and warriors were recalled to oppose our naval force; and Sandoval was
thus enabled to take up his quarters in a part of the town of Iztapalapa;
between which and Cojohuacan the only means of communication was by a
causeway or mound dividing the lake of Chalco from that of Mexico or
Tezcuco, which passage was at that time impracticable in the face of th