M E X 1 C O. 
293 
conduced in.regular .faar, Sb might appear no lets im¬ 
proper than lingular to perfons unacquainted with his 
lituation. Each morning his troops aflaulted the barri¬ 
cades which the enemy had erefted on the caufeways, 
forced their way over the trenches which they had dug, 
and through the canals where the bridges were broken 
down, and endeavoured to penetrate into the heart of 
the city, in hopes of obtaining fome deciiive advantage, 
which might force the enemy to furrender, and termi¬ 
nate the war at once ; but, when the obltinate valour of 
the Mexicans rendered the efforts of the day ineffeftual, 
the Spaniards retired in the evening to their former quar¬ 
ters. Thus their toil and danger were, in fome meafure, 
continually renewed ; the Mexicans repairing in the night 
what the Spaniards had deltroyed through the day, and 
recovering the polls from which they had driven them. 
But necelfity prefcribed this flow and untoward mode of 
operation. The number of his troops was fo fmall, that 
Cortes durll not, with a handful of men, attempt to make 
a lodgement in a city where he might be furrounded and 
annoyed by fuch a multitude of enemies. The remem¬ 
brance of what he had already buffered by the ill-judged 
confidence with which he had ventured into fuch a dan¬ 
gerous lituation, was Hill frelli in his mind. The Spa¬ 
niards, exhaulted with fatigue, were unable to guard the 
various polls which they daily gained ; and, though their 
camp was filled with Indian auxiliaries, they durll not 
devolve this charge upon them, becaufe they were fo little 
accullomed to difcipline, that no confidence could be 
placed in their vigilance. Befides this, Cortes was ex¬ 
tremely felicitous to preferve the city as much as polfible 
from being deltroyed, both as he dellined it to be the ca¬ 
pital of his conquelts, and wilhed that it might remain as 
a monument of his glory. From all thefe confiderations, 
he adhered obltinately, for a month after the liege was 
opened, to the fyllem which he had adopted. The Mexi¬ 
cans, in their own defence, difplayed valour which was 
hardly inferior to that with which the Spaniards attacked 
them. On land, on water, by night and by day, one 
furious conflict fucceeded to another. Several Spaniards 
were killed, more wounded, and all were ready to fink 
tinder the toils of unintermitting fervice, which were 
rendered more intolerable by the injuries of the feafon, 
the periodical rains being now let in with their ufual 
violence. 
Aftonillied and difconcerted with the length and diffi¬ 
culties of the fiege, Cortes determined to make one great 
effort to get poffeffion of the city before he relinquilhed 
the plan which he had hitherto followed, and had recourfe 
to any other mode of attack. With this view he lent 
inltruftions to Alvarado and Sandoval to advance with 
their divifions to a general affault, and took the com¬ 
mand in perfon of that polled on the caufeway of Cuyocan. 
Animated by his prefence, and the expectation of fome 
decifive event, the Spaniards pulhed forward with irre- 
filtible impetuofity. They broke through one barricade 
after another, forced their way over the ditches and ca¬ 
nals, and, having entered the city, gained ground incel- 
fantly, in fpite of the multitude and ferocity of their op¬ 
ponents. Cortes, though delighted with the rapidity of 
his progrefs, did not forget that he might Hill find it ne- 
ceffary to retreat; and, in order to fecure it, appointed 
Julian de Alderete, a captain of chief note in the troops 
which he had received from Hifpaniola, to fill up the ca¬ 
nals and gaps in the caufeway as the main body advanced. 
That officer, deeming it inglorious to be thus employed 
while his companions were in the heat of aCtion and the 
career of victory, neglefted the important charge com¬ 
mitted to him, and hurried on inconfiderately to mingle 
with the combatants. The Mexicans, whole military at¬ 
tention and (kill were daily improving, no fooner obferved 
this, than they carried an account of it to their monarch. 
Guatimozin inllantly difeerned the confequences of the 
error which the Spaniards had committed, and, with ad¬ 
mirable prefence of mind, prepared to take advantage of 
VOh. XY. Mo. *043. 
it. He commanded the troops polled in the front to 
ilacken their efforts, in order to allure the Spaniards to 
puffi forward, while he difpatched a large body of chofera 
warriors through different llreets, fome by land, and 
others by water, towards the great breach in the caufe¬ 
way, which had been left open. On a fignal which he 
gave, the priells in the great temple llruck the terrific 
drum confecrated to the god of war. No fooner did the 
Mexicans hear its doleful folemn found, calculated to 
infpire them with contempt of death, and with enthu- 
fialtic ardour, than they rulhed upon the enemy with 
frantic rage. The Spaniards, unable to refill men urged 
011 no lefs by religious fury than hope of luccefs, began 
to retire, at rirll leifurely, and with a good countenance ; 
but, as the enemy prelfed on, and their own impatience 
to efcape increafed, the terror and confufion became fo 
general, that, when they arrived at the gap in the caufe¬ 
way, Spaniards and Tlafcalans, horfemen and infantry, 
plunged in promifcuoully, while the Mexicans rulhed 
upon them fiercely from every fide, their light canoes 
carrying them through lhoals which the brigantines could 
not approach. I11 vain did Cortes attempt to Hop and 
rally his flying troops; fear rendered them regardlefs of 
his entreaties or commands. Finding all his endeavours 
to renew the combat fruitlefs, his next care was to lave 
fome of thofe who had thrown themfelves into the water ; 
but, while thus employed, with more attention to their 
fituation than to his own, fix Mexican captains fuddeniy 
laid hold of him, and were hurrying him off in triumph; 
and, though two of his officers refeued him at the expenle 
of their own lives, he received feveral dangerous wounds 
before he could break loofe. Above fixty Spaniards pq- 
rilhed in the rout; and what rendered the diialter more 
afflicting, forty of thefe fell alive into the hands of an 
enemy from whom mercy could hardly be expeCted. 
The approach of night, though it delivered the dejeCled 
Spaniards from the attacks of the enemy, uffiered in, what 
was hardly.lefs grievous, the noile of their barbarous tri¬ 
umph, and of the horrid fellival with which they cele¬ 
brated their victory. Every quarter of the city was illu¬ 
minated ; the great temple llione with fuch peculiar Iplen- 
dour, that the Spaniards could plainly fee the people in 
motion, and the priells bufy in haltening the preparations 
for the death of the Chrillian prifoners. Through the 
gloom they fancied that they difeerned their companions 
by the whitenefs of their Ikins, as they were llripped na¬ 
ked and compelled to dance before the image of the god 
to whom they were to be offered. They heard the /bricks 
of thofe who were facrificeu, and thought they could dif- 
tinguilh each unhappy victim by the found of his voice. 
Imagination added to what they really faw or heard, and 
augmented its horror. The moll unfeeling melted into 
tears of compaffion, and the lloutell heart trembled at the' 
dreadful l'peCtacle which they beheld. Cortes, who, be- 
fides all that he felt in common with his foldiers, was 
oppreffed with the additional load of anxious reflections 
natural to a general on fuch an unexpected calamity, 
could not like them relieve his mind by giving vent to’ 
its anguilh. He was obliged to affume an air of tranquil¬ 
lity in order to revive the fpirits and hopes of his fol¬ 
lowers. The juncture, indeed, required an extraordinary 
exertion of fortitude. The Mexicans, dated with their 
victory, fallied out next morning to attack him in his 
quarters. But they did not rely on the efforts of their 
own arms alone: they fent the heads of the Spaniards 
whom they had Ihcrificed to the'lcading men in the adja¬ 
cent provinces, and afi’ured them that the god of war, 
appealed by the blood of their invaders, which had been 
lhed fo plentifully on his altars, had declared with an au¬ 
dible voice, that in eight days time thofe hated enemies 
Ihouid be finally deltroyed, and peace and profperity re- 
ellablilhed in the empire. 
A prediction, uttered with fuch confidence, and in 
terms fo void of ambiguity, gained univerfal credit among 
a people prone to fuperllition. The zeal of the provinces 
4 - F which 
