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ell-trained horse, and exchanged it
most profitably with Juan Ruano for some valuable property the latter
had at Cuba.

When these men were about to set sail, the rest of our troops, headed by
the alcaldes and regidors of the town of Vera Cruz, repaired to Cortes
and begged of him to issue an order that no one should leave the
country, an order which both the service of God and his majesty
required, declaring that they considered every one merited death who
could think of such a thing, surrounded as we were by such numerous
enemies, nor could we look upon them in any other light than men who
wished to desert their commander and his standard in the midst of battle
and in the moment of the greatest danger. Cortes, nevertheless, did as
if he was desirous of discharging the malcontents, but soon after
countermanded this order. All they got for their pains was contempt and
disgrace, while Moron in the bargain was done out of his horse, which
Juan Ruano had no wish to return him. Upon this Cortes gave orders for
our march, and we arrived without any accident in Tzinpantzinco.

CHAPTER LI.

 _What happened to us at Tzinpantzinco, and how, on our return to
 Sempoalla, we destroyed all the idols; likewise of other matters._

The first day we marched twenty miles, and arrived at Sempoalla, where
we passed the night: here 2000 Indian warriors, divided into four
troops, stood ready to join us. The second day, towards nightfall, we
arrived at the plantations in front of Tzinpantzinco, and took the road
leading into that fortress, which wound up between large and steep
rocks. The inhabitants were most likely apprized of our approach; for
immediately eight Indians of distinction and several papas came out to
us, making signs of peace, and asked Cortes, with tears in their eyes,
why we were going to kill them, as they had done nothing against us? We
bore the character of doing good only wherever we might come, and of
putting a stop to the oppression of nations, and for that reason had
even imprisoned the tax-gatherers of Motecusuma: between the warriors of
Sempoalla, who accompanied us, and themselves there existed an inimical
feeling, already of ancient date, respecting a dispute of territory and
boundaries, and these people had no other object in view than to plunder
and destroy them, under our protection: there was, indeed, generally
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 sent for the chiefs and caziques of
the Sempoallans. In fear and anxiety had they passed the while, in
consequence of his anger for having attempted to deceive us with a pack
of lies. He brought about a reconciliation and good understanding
between them and the inhabitants of Tzinpantzinco, which was never
afterwards interrupted. Upon this we again put ourselves in motion, and
marched back to Sempoalla, but took a different route over two townships
friendly with the Tzinpantzincans, where we rested ourselves, as we were
greatly fatigued, and the sun was excessively hot. In one of these
townships, a certain Mora, of Ciudad-Rodrigo, took some fowls out of an
Indian hut, which so greatly incensed Cortes that he ordered a rope to
be tied around the fellow's neck, and would have had him hung up if
Alvarado, who was standing next to Cortes, had not cut the rope in two
with his sword, and thus released the poor devil, who had the fear of
death before his eyes.

I have merely mentioned this trait to convince the curious reader how
exemplary Cortes acted, and of the necessity of being strict under
similar circumstances. Mora subsequently lost his life in a battle we
fought on a mountain in the province of Guatimala. After we had left
these two townships in peace, we found the fat cazique with the chiefs
of Sempoalla in some huts which they had constructed for us, where they
were waiting our arrival with various kinds of provisions which they had
brought with them. Although Indians, they readily perceived what a good
and holy thing is justice, and that Cortes' declaration of our having
come into these countries to put an end to all oppression, perfectly
agreed with his conduct on our entry into Tzinpantzinco; they,
therefore, became the more united to us. We passed the night in these
huts, and returned next morning, in company of our Indian friends, to
Sempoalla. Indeed, the only wish of the Sempoallans was now, that we
should never leave their country again, fearing Motecusuma would send an
army about their ears; they, therefore, proposed to Cortes, since such a
close and friendly alliance now subsisted between us, and we could look
upon each other as bro

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