their custody to shoot them off;
but our post was protected by the excellent management of the two guns by
Morena, and we every day advanced, gaining possession of a bridge or a
parapet. Our brigantines also were of infinite service, as they were
continually intercepting the canoes which carried water and provisions to
the enemy, and those which were employed in procuring a certain nutritive
substance from the bottom of the lake, which, when dry, resembles cheese.
Twelve or thirteen days had now elapsed after the time when the Mexican
priest had predicted we had only eight days to live. Our allies, therefore,
recovered their courage when they saw the fallacy of the prediction, and
at the requisition of our steady friend Suchel, two thousand warriors of
Tezcuco returned to our quarters, with whom came Pedro Farfan and Antonio
Villareal, who had been left by Cortes at that city. About the same time,
many bodies of warriors returned to us from Tlascala and other places in
our alliance. After their return, Cortes called the chiefs together, to
whom he made a speech; partly reprimanding them for having abandoned us,
and partly encouraging their future fidelity by confident hopes of victory,
and promises of reward, and concluded by earnestly admonishing them not to
put any of their Mexican prisoners to death, as he wished to negociate
peace with Guatimotzin.

Though the heavy rains which fell at this season were both incommodious
and distressing to us, they operated in our favour, as the enemy always
relaxed their efforts against us during their continuance. By slow but
steady perseverance, we had now considerably advanced into the city at all
the three attacks, and had even reached the wells of brackish water which
the enemy had dug, and which we now destroyed. Our cavalry could now act
freely through the whole space which we had gained, as we had carefully
levelled the causeway behind us, destroying all the houses on each side
from which we could be annoyed, and carefully fortified our several fronts.
Cortes deemed the present conjuncture favourable for offering peace to the
Mexicans, and proposed to three of our principal prisoners to carry a
message to Guatimotzin to that effect; but they declined the commission,
alleging that he would put them to death. They were at length prevailed
upon to comply, and were instructed to represent to Guatimotzin in the
name of Cortes: "That from respect to the family of the great Montezum