in
a body, and from all sides at once, not one of us could escape. Not till
then were the great sacrifices to be instituted, as well in honour of
the warrior-god Huitzilopochtli, who had given the oracle, as in that of
the god of hell, Tetzcatlipuca. Our legs, thighs, and arms were to be
eaten at their feast, and our entrails, with the remaining part of our
bodies, were to be thrown to the serpents and tigers, which they kept
confined in wooden cages, as will be mentioned in the proper place.

It may well be imagined that the chastisement we gave the inhabitants of
Cholulla spread like wildfire through the whole of New Spain. If,
previously, the battles of Potonchan, Tabasco, Cingapacinga, and
Tlascalla, had spread the fame of our invincible courage, and obtained
for us the name of teules or gods of a fearful nature, we were now
looked upon as divinities of a superior order, from whom nothing could
be kept a secret, and the greatest veneration was consequently paid to
us.

The kind reader has now, no doubt, heard enough of this occurrence at
Cholulla, and I myself would gladly break off here, but must add a word
or two about the wooden cages we saw in this town. These were
constructed of heavy timber, and filled with grown-up men and little
boys, who were fattening there for the sacrifices and feasts. These
diabolical cages Cortes ordered to be pulled down, and sent the
prisoners each to their several homes. He likewise made the chiefs and
papas promise him, under severe threats, never again to fasten up human
beings in that way, and totally to abstain from eating human flesh. But
what was the use of promises which they never intended to keep?

These are, among others, those abominable monstrosities which the bishop
of Chiapa, Las Casas, can find no end in enumerating. But he is wrong
when he asserts that we gave the Cholullans the above-mentioned
chastisement without any provocation, and merely for pastime. I can,
however, produce as witnesses to the contrary the pious Franciscan
friars who were the first monks our emperor despatched thither after the
conquest of New Spain. These venerable men were purposely sent to
Cholulla to make the minutest investigation into this affair. They
gained all their information from the elders and papas of the town
itself, and they were fully convinced that everything had really taken
place as I have related above: and, indeed, if we had not made an
example here, we should have live