Chap. III. ' for the ReduBion 
Carrafco now releafed faid. It was a fit time to fall upon 
Cortes‘s Men, becaufe thofe who had taken an Oath to 
him were difarmed, and his own Soldiers difperfed, 
plundering. Tho* the Advice was not difliked, thofe 
Men having no Head, and many afpiring to be fo, they 
ftaid till it was Day; when Chrijlopher de Olid came to 
offer them a good Reception, from Cortes. Moft of them 
cried, Godblefs the King and ]2imtsYt\2S(pdtz. When the 
Shout was over. Olid told them, they v/ould be compelled 
by Force to what they refufed to do voluntarily. Whilft 
he went to acquaint Cortes., Carrafco advifed them to fall 
upon Cortes^ Baggage, and they fhould be all rich ; and 
might then embark, and carry James Velafquez Trea- 
fure enough to fit out another Fleet. Though they 
liked the Propofal they could not agree, fo that Carrafco 
went alone, and finding no Guard but Marina and John 
de Oreoga^ Page to Cortes^ he took a Horfe and a Spear, 
returned to thofe Men who were ftill together, and 
fhewed them what an Opportunity they had loft. Cortes 
then ordered his Artillery to advance againft thofe that 
would not fubmit, and commanded the Gunner to fire 
one Piece in the Air ; He did fo. Olid fpoke to them 
again, and they again anfwered, God hlefs the King and 
James Velafquez. One Gun being then fired upon them 
killed two Men, and the next one. Whereupon fome of 
them went over to Cortes., and the reft held out till want- 
ing Ammunition they furrendered. 
All had taken the Oath to Cortes except Carrafco., and 
he appearing on the Horfe he had ftolen, Cortes faid to 
him : Friend, that Horfe is mine ; alight. He faid he 
would not unlefs his own was reftored. Cortes replied, 
he ftiould quit him immediately, and Orders fhould be 
given for returning his. As to the Oath, he refufed it ; 
for which he had a Clog faftened to one of his Feet, 
'which continued three Days, and then he took the Oath. 
He was not hanged, to avoid exafperating thofe People. 
8. V/hen all had been fworn, he muftered his own 
Men, to fee how many here miffing; and Narvaez^ 
Party feeing they were only two hundred and fixty without 
the great Army of the Tlafcalans, that had been reported, 
and tliat they had but thofe few Pikes without Armour 
or Horfes, and fome Coats of Mail, Spears, and Crofs- 
bows, and their Swords in bad Condition, they were 
much afliamed, that they, with their little Pannels, as 
they called the Cotton Armour, fiiould have defeated fo 
many Men of Note, and, blufhing, curfed Narvaez for 
his ill Conduct ; which much troubled Cortes., till by 
Degrees he gained their Affedtions : Two only of his Men 
were killed and one wounded ; and eleven of Narvaez’s 
Party fiain. 
Then came the Cazique of Zempoalla with has Indians, 
bringing Garlands of Rofes, and fetting them on the 
Heads of Cortes and the other Commanders, congratulated 
their Vidtory, and defired them to go to his. Houfe ; and in 
return Cortes gave him fome Spanijh Baubles ; and having 
ordered all that had happened to be painted, Narvaez taken 
and put into Irons, hisMen fubmitting, andC(?r^^Jvi6borious, 
the Cazique fent it to Motezuma by the Advice of Cortes, 
who alfo fent a Spaniard to inform Alverado. When firft 
Cortes came to Zempoalla, the Lord prefented him with a 
beautiful Woman of Quality, who took the Name of 
Catherina, and now he took up his Quarters in the Wo- 
man’s Houfe, becaufe it was ftrong. She treated hini 
very kindly ; but he was uneafy in his Mind, feeing thofe 
conquered People, indifpofed. Whilft he was thinking 
how to get over this Difficulty, Capt. Bariantos came to 
him with the Chinantlans v/ell armed after their Manner, 
which was a sreat Satisfadfion to him, that Narvaez’s 
Men might fee how he was obeyed in New Spain. 
Fie refolved to fend thofe Indians back, and to divide 
the Spaniards ; and accordingly ordered James Ordaz to 
march with Three hundred Men to fubdue the Province 
Gnacacoalcc, and John Velafquez v/ith another Detach- 
ment to the River of Garray ; thus to employ them, 
and fecure himfelf, v/hich at the fame time was acceptable 
to them. ‘Cortes next commanded Beter d.e Malvenda^ 
Stev/ard to Velafquez, to pick up what belonged to his 
Mailer and Narvaez, and fecure it. A Black belonging to 
Narvaez, having the Small-Pox, infeded the whole Town 
V" N E W S P A 1 N. I®7 
of Zempoalla, and the Indians frequently wafiiing them- 
felves. Numbers of them died, and lying unburied occafion- 
ed a peftilential Diftemper which fpread through all New 
Spam, and there enfued a very great Mortality. Others 
affirm, that this Diftemper was not brought over by the 
Black, but that they had it at certain Times in xht JVejN 
Indies, and this feems the more likely, becaufe it affeded 
none of the Spaniards. 
Whilft Cortes was endeavouring to fettle his Affairs at 
Vera Cruz, wherein he met with fome Difficulty, and 
James Ordaz was gone upon the aforefaid Commiffions, 
the Spaniard he had fent to Mexico with die News of his 
Vidory returned, and faid the Mexicans were in Arms, 
and fiiewed fome W ounds they had given him ; faying he 
had efcaped miraculoufiy. He preffed Cortes to march 
to the Relief of Alverado, telling him, that the Indians 
had burnt the four Brigantines he had built at Mexico, 
thrown down a Wall at the Spanifo Quarters, which had 
been repaired with much Difficulty, undermined another, 
fet Fire to the Ammunition, taken up the Draw-bridges, 
cut off the Provifions, killed Pena, Motezuma’ s Favour- 
ite ; that the Spaniards had defended themfelves bravely, 
killing many Indians ; and that, if Motezuma had not 
fometimes commanded his People to give over the Attacks 
for fear Alverado might kill him, the Spaniards had been 
deftroyed. Hereupon he fettled the Government at Villa 
Rica, leaving Narvaez and his Men Prifoners there % 
commanded thofe he had fent abroad to halt till further 
Orders ; made a Speech to the Men, , faying. That thofe 
who were willing to follow him fhould have Arms given 
them ; and the Occafion being urgent, all unanimoufly 
offered their Service. 
9. It now plainly appeared that Cortes was become 
entirely Mafter of all the Spaniards under his Com- 
mand, the new obeying as well as the old Soldiers, and 
fhewing as much Zeal for his Service. He had already 
given the neceffary Orders for fecuring the Fleet, and for 
putting a good Garrifon into Vera Cruz ; fo that it was 
more in his Power to execute the Defign he had formed, 
and which indeed the Circumftances of Affairs required, 
marching diredly to Mexico, and forcing aPaffage through 
the Rebels, to the Relief of his Countrymen. He 
direfled his Rout accordingly from Zempoalla towards 
Tlafcala, having with him One thoufand Foot, and One 
hundred Horfe ; but they were foon obliged to take different 
Roads for the fake of Subfiftence, which, notwithftanding all 
the Care and Circumfpedtion Cortes could ufe, they found it 
fometimes difficult to procure ; infomuch that in the Courfe 
of this Journey, they found themfelves more than once 
expofed even to the higheft Extremities of Hunger and , 
Thirft, and, which is very ftrange, the new Troops that 
had fhewn themfelves fo uneafy, and fo impatient, under 
much lighter and lefs grievous Hardlhips, behaved upon 
this Occafion with all the Firmnefs and Conftancy that 
could be defired, either from the great Hopes they had 
formed to themfelves of being made rich and happy by 
this Expedition, or becaufe they were defirous of Ihewing 
their new General, that whatever Opinion he might have 
formed of them from what was pafted, he' fhould find 
them, in every Refpedt, as brave, as hardy, and as ca- 
pable of enduring Fatigue as thofe he had trained up 
hinifelf. 
In this March, but efpecially at Tlafcala, Cortes found 
Means to gain a very clear and diftindt Account of the 
Caufes of that Sedition which had happened in his Ab- 
fence, and of which it is neceffary likewife that we fhould 
fay fomewhat, that the fubfequent Part of this Sediion 
may be the more perfedtly underftood. A very fliort 
time after the Departure of Cortes from Mexico, Peter 
Alverado began to perceive vifible Marks, not only of Cold- 
nefs and Diflike, but of Hatred and Difaffedlion in the 
People of Mexico ; neither were his Conjedlures unfup- 
ported by Proof, fince he was quickly informed, that, at 
the Perfuafion of their Priefts, the Mexicans were provid- 
ing Arms, and whatever elfe was requifite, in order to 
attack the SpanifoA'xoop'ii. He was certainly very much 
to be commended for being conftantly on his Guard, and 
negledling nothing that might contribute to the defeating 
of their Defign, In this, however, he was much to 
blame’ 
