( 406 ) 



ficknefs, and fatigue, that they did not appear even to think about the 

 matter. At night we arrived at a village which was abandoned by the""^ 

 inhabitants, but on fearching we found eight priefts who readily attend- 

 ed us to Cortes. He defired them to call back their neighbours, and 

 that they fliould receive no injury. This the priefts readily promifed, 

 requeuing at the fame time, that their idols which were in a temple ad- ^ 

 joining the building wherein were the quarters of Cortes, (liould not be 

 touched; which the general agreed to, but took the opportunity of ex- 

 poflulating with them upon the abfurdity of venerating what was in 

 reality no more than clay and timber. The priefts feemed very willing 

 to embrace the true dodrine, and brought us twenty loads of fowls and 

 maiz. To the queftion put to them by Cortes, how many days jour- 

 ney, or funs, it was, to the place where were the men with beards on 

 their faces and who rode horfes they replied, feven; that the place was 

 named Nito, and they offered to be our guides thither. 



Cortes caufed a crofs to be fixed in a large ceiba tree clofe to their 

 temple, which as I have before mentioned joined to the building where- 

 in he had taken his quarters. He was at this time very ill tempered, 

 and fad. He was vexed by the difficulties and misfortunes which had 

 attended his march, and his confcience upbraided him with the death 

 of the unfortunate Guatimotzin. He was fo diflradted by thefe thoughts 

 that he could not reft in his bed at night, and getting up in the dark to 

 walk about, as a relief from his anxieties, he went into a large apart- 

 ment where fome of the idols were worftiipped. Here, he miffed his 

 way, and fell from the height of twelve feet, to the ground, receiving 

 a defperate wound and contufions in his head. This circumftance he 

 tried to conceal, keeping his fufferings to himfelf, and getting his hurts 

 cured as well as he could. 



Quitting this place we arrived in two days at a diftrid: the people 

 of which are called the Mazotecas, and found a newly built town, for- 

 tified and barricaded, with very ftrong pallifadoes in two circles, one 

 of v/hich was like a barbican, with loop holes, and trenches funk 



before 



