y
speaking, a Mexican garrison in their township, which, however, had
returned home, upon the news that we had imprisoned the tax-gatherers;
they, therefore, begged of us not to proceed any further, and to be
merciful towards them.

When these representations were made known to Cortes through our
interpreters, he immediately ordered Alvarado and Christobal de Oli,
with us who were nearest to him, to march off to the Sempoallans and
command them not to advance any further. Though we used the utmost
expedition to fulfil these orders, yet we already found them plundering
the plantations. This made Cortes excessively angry; he ordered the
chiefs of the Sempoallans into his presence, and severely remonstrated
with them for such behaviour: he commanded them, with heavy threats, to
bring him all the plunder, and not to set a foot into the town. They had
trumped up a false story to us, he told them, merely to be enabled,
under our protection, to plunder their neighbours and then to sacrifice
them, whereby they had deserved death. Our emperor had not sent us to
this country to commit such crimes, and they had better mind not again
to fall into such guilt, as none of them would escape alive if it
happened again.

After this earnest reproof, the caziques and chiefs of Sempoalla
brought the prisoners and the turkey-fowls they had captured: the first,
Cortes ordered to be set at liberty, and the latter were restored to
their owners; upon which he commanded the Sempoallans, in a very angry
tone, to return to their camp and there remain for the night.

The caziques and papas of Tzinpantzinco, with other inhabitants of the
surrounding neighbourhood, having witnessed this act of justice, and
seeing altogether how friendly Cortes was disposed, and the good deeds
which he manifested, were the more susceptible of the things he told
them about our holy religion,--respecting the abolishment of their human
sacrifices and kidnapping, the discontinuation of other abominations and
obscenities, with other matters salutary to their well being. They
appeared so well inclined that they assembled the inhabitants of the
surrounding districts, and formally declared themselves vassals of the
emperor, our master. On this occasion, likewise, numerous complaints
were made against Motecusuma, which all terminated with instances of his
oppression similar to what we had heard from the Sempoallans and
Quiahuitzlans.

The next morning very early Cortes sen