VASQUEZ DE CORONADO a.d. 



1540. 



the citie, and I compassed it about : and because the 



famine which wee sustained suffered no delay, my selfe 



with certaine of these gentlemen and souldiers put our 



selves on foote, and commaunded that the crossebowes 



and harquebusiers shoulde give the assault, and shoulde 



beate the enemies from the walles, that they might not 



hurt us, and I assaulted the walles on one side, where 



they tolde me there was a scaling ladder set up, and that 



there was one gate : but the crossebowmen suddenly 



brake the strings of their bowes, and the harquebusiers 



did nothing at all : for they came thither so weake and 



feeble, that scarcely they coulde stand on their feete : and ^^O' defend 



by this meanes the people that were aloft on the wals to ^'^^ ^^.i ^^'f"^ 

 //.,, ^ ^ 1-iir 1- Stones like those 



derend the towne were no way nmaered rrom doing us ofHocheks-a. 



all the mischiefe they could : so that twise they stroke 



mee to the ground with infinite number of great stones, 



which they cast downe : and if I had not beene defended 



with an excellent good headpiece which I ware, I thinke 



it had gone hardly with mee : neverthelesse my companie 



tooke mee up with two small wounds in the face, and an 



arrowe sticking in my foote, and many blowes with stones 



on my armes and legges, and thus I went out of the 



battell very weake. I thinke that if Don Garcias Lopez 



de Cardenas the second time that they strooke mee to the 



ground had not succoured mee with striding over mee 



like a good knight, I had beene in farre greater danger 



then I was. But it pleased God that the Indians yeelded 



themselves unto us, and that this citie was taken : and 



such store of Maiz was found therein, as our necessitie [III. 377.] 



required. The Master of the fielde, and Don Pedro de 



Tovar, and Fernando de Alvarado, and Paul de Melgosa 



Captaines of the footemen escaped with certaine knocks 



with stones : though none of them were wounded with 



arrowes, yet Agoniez Quarez was wounded in one arme 



with the shot of an arrowe, and one Torres a townesman 



of Panuco was shot into the face with another, and two 



footemen more had two small woundes with arrowes. 



And because my armour was gilded and glittering, they 



153 



