royed us from their terraces when we
endeavoured to swim over from the causeway to these detached houses.

In this manner we gained some ground every day, which we secured by
parapets and other defences, and preserved during the night. Every
evening at sunset, the company which was first for duty, was entrusted
with the advanced post, to which they sent forty men; the second company
sent an equal number at midnight, and the relieved guard did not quit
their post, but had to remain sleeping on the ground; the third company
did the same the same two hours before day-break, and the second now lay
down to sleep, so that we now had 120 men on guard. Sometimes our whole
detachment had to remain under arms the whole night, especially on the
following occasion: We learnt from some of our prisoners, that the
Mexicans intended to force our post by a great effort, which would have
frustrated the other two attacks. For this purpose, all the warriors of
nine towns around the lake, including those of Tacuba, Izcapuzalco, and
Tenajocan, were by a joint attack upon our rear to carry off our baggage
and destroy our bakery in Tacuba, while the Mexicans were to assail us in
front on the causeway. We immediately communicated this intelligence to
our cavalry and allies at headquarters, warning them to keep on the alert.
In pursuance of this plan, we were attacked both in front and rear for
several successive nights, from midnight to day-break. Sometimes the enemy
came on with a prodigious noise of shouting and military instruments, and
at other times stole upon us in profound silence; but their night attacks
were never made with so much resolution as those during the day. Yet we
were harassed to death with continual watching, fatigue, and wounds, and
constantly exposed to cold winds and almost incessant rain. Our post was
reduced to a mere splash of mud and water, and our only food was maize and
miserable herbs. When we complained, the only comfort given us by our
officers, was that such is the fortune of war. Yet all our efforts,
fatigues, and privations, were of little avail; as the parapets we
destroyed and the ditches we filled up during the day, were uniformly
replaced next night by the enemy.

The destruction of the aqueduct of Chapoltepec, from which so much had
been expected, by cutting off the water which supplied the city of Mexico,
was unavailing, neither could we starve them into a surrender, as they
were regularly supplied with