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 canoes. It was heart-rending to behold this
scene of misery, and to hear the moans and pitiful cries for assistance.
"Help! help! I am drowning," cried one here: "help me, they are killing
me!" cried another there. Here one called upon the name of the Virgin
Mary for assistance; and there another upon Santiago de Compostella!
Here another, who had managed to get to the water's edge, implored us to
lift him out; yonder, again, was another clambering over the dead
bodies. Many, when they had reached the high road, imagined themselves
safe, but here they only met with denser crowds of the foe. Does any
believe that there was a man amongst us who still observed the order of
retreat as it was first regulated? That man would, indeed, have been a
fool who had thought of anything else but of his own safety! Cortes,
with the officers and soldiers who were with him, acted similarly, and
dashed away, unmindful of the men, at full gallop, over the bridge, and
strove to gain the main land: besides which, it must be acknowledged
that our cavalry was quite useless here. Exposed on every side to the
enemy's arrows and lances, pelted with stones from the housetops, they
had also to encounter a forest of our own swords, which the enemy had
captured and fixed to their long lances, so that it was a wonder each
time a horse with its rider escaped. Neither could we defend ourselves
in the water, as the wet had rendered our muskets and crossbows totally
useless, while the darkness of the night made every movement uncertain.
All our attempts to keep together were fruitless. What did it avail us
if, at times, thirty or forty of us managed to make a stand, and boldly
faced about? By this means we certainly advanced forward a little, yet
none of us would have escaped alive, if, in the end, every one had not
strove to save his own life. Thus sadly did we fare in that night, and
had it been day we should have fared much worse. Indeed, if the Almighty
had not lent us extraordinary powers, every man of us would have been
killed! It was really terrific to see the immense crowds which fell upon
us from all sides, and the number of canoes which were merely waiting
for the moment to carry off the prisoners, all of whom were destined to
be sacrificed to their gods! It was a fearful sight indeed!

I shall never forget how at one time about fifty of us had got together,
and the Mexicans, while they fell upon us, constantly cried out, "O, O,
Luilones!" meaning thereby, You wish to live, do you, you varlets? It
was only by dint of heavy blows and hard fighting we were able to cut
our way through.

At last, as we were approaching the main land near Tlacupa, where the
vanguard, under Sandoval, with a large body of the cavalry and of our
foot had arrived, we recognized the voices of Oli, Morla, and Sandoval,
who were thus addressing Cortes: "Only consider for a moment, general,
we are here indeed on safe ground, but there are still such numbers of
our men in the streets behind the bridges, who will be inevitably lost
unless we hurry back to their assistance. Up to this moment but few have
been able to cut their way through, and these are all covered with
wounds."

To which Cortes gave the sorrowful answer, "That it was a real wonder
every time one of us escaped; if, however, they turned back to the
bridges, they would certainly be lost with horses and all."

Nevertheless Cortes, Oli, Avila, Sandoval, Morla, and Dominiguez, turned
back and took with them six or seven of the cavalry and a few of the
foot who had escaped without a wound. They had not advanced far before
they came up with Alvarado. He had lost his brown mare and was coming on
limping with one foot, heavily wounded, with lance in hand, having only
seven of his Spanish soldiers and eight Tlascallans left, all dripping
with blood.

Cortes and those who had accompanied him now returned, and we took up a
position close to Tlacupa. But even here the Mexicans had by this time
arrived, and were stirring up the inhabitants of this town, of
Escapuzalco, and of Tenayuacan against us.

Here again the Mexicans, who had fastened on our swords to their long
pikes, set hard upon us, and we had enough to do to maintain our ground.

When Cortes came up with Alvarado and his few followers, and learnt the
fate of those left behind, tears flowed from his eyes; for Alvarado and
Leon had had above twenty horse and more than one hundred foot with them
in the rear-guard. All these, with nearly the whole of the cavalry, and
above one hundred and fifty other men of the old and new troops, had
perished with Leon. Alvarado related, that after he and his men had all
lost their horses, he managed to get together about eighty men, and with
these he succeeded in passing over the first opening by clambering over
the baggage, dead men and horses. Although I am not sure whether he said
that he passed the opening by stepping over the dead bodies, I know that
at this bridge more than 200 men, with Leon at their head, were cut to
pieces by the enemy, notwithstanding all their courageous fighting. At
the second bridge again, it was merely through God's mercy that Alvarado
had saved himself, as all the canals and streets were crowded by the
enemy.

It was also at this bridge of sorrows that the well-known leap of
Alvarado was said to have taken place. At that time, indeed, none of us
took notice whether he leaped well or not; for every one had enough to
do to escape from the hands of the merciless enemy. I am, however,
inclined to believe that this leap was nothing more than what Alvarado
told Cortes himself, how he had made his bridge over the canal by
clambering over the baggage, dead bodies, and drowned horses; for the
water was too deep in that place for him to have swung across the
opening by means of his lance, and the width of the canal too great,
however nimble Alvarado may have been, for him to have leaped across. It
would have been an impossibility I am sure to have crossed it by means
of his lance or by leaping. I myself can speak from eyewitness; for the
following year when we marched against Mexico, and surrounded the town
on all sides, I often came in contact with the enemy at that bridge
which now bears the name of Alvarado's leap. At that time the Mexicans
had blocked up the passage with palisade and breastwork, and I very
frequently spoke with my fellow-soldiers about the circumstance, but
none of them ever thought such a leap possible. What people thought of
it at the time itself the reader will see from the following anecdote.

Among Garay's troops there was a certain Ocampo who came to Mexico: this
man possessed much wit and was always writing pasquils, or libelling
some one or other. Among other things he wrote a good deal of scandal
and falsehood respecting our officers, and accused Alvarado, that he had
left Leon with upwards of 200 men and the whole of our cavalry which
composed the rear-guard, in the lurch, and that in order to save his own
life he had taken the

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