The period prescribed by the somewhat rash
prophecy of the Aztec priests and their infernal oracle having passed
without anything remarkable having taken place, the Tlascalan and
Texcocan allies, upbraided and warned by the Spaniards' messengers, now
sneaked back to resume the attack against the city. The Aztecs had
sought to cause disaffection in outlying places by sending round the
bloody heads of decapitated Spaniards and horses, but with little
effect. Cortes then prepared for a final effort. The plan adopted was
to be slower but surer than the former one of simple slaughter. It was
determined to raze the city to the ground; to destroy the buildings
step by step, fill up the canals, and so lay waste the whole area from
the outside, so that unobstructed advance might be maintained.

The execution of this plan was begun. The city ends of the causeways
were captured and held; street after street was demolished, and canal
after canal filled up amid scenes of incessant fighting and slaughter.
Day after day the Spaniards returned to their work; day after day with
admirable tenacity the inhabitants of Tenochtitlan disputed the ground
inch by inch, watered with the blood of themselves, their women and
their children. Their supplies cut off, famine and pestilence wrought
more terrible havoc among them--crowded as they gradually became into
one quarter of the city--than the arms of the Spaniards and the
Tlascalans. At the termination of each day's work the Spanish prepared
an ambuscade for the enemy, drawing them on by seeming to retire, and
massacring them with the artillery and gun-fire and lances, to say
nothing of the weapons of their savage allies. On one of these
occasions "the enemy rushed out yelling as if they had gained the
greatest victory in the world," Cortes wrote in his despatches, and
"more than five hundred, all of the bravest and principal men, were
killed in this ambush." He added, and it was a common occurrence, "our
allies"--the Indians--"supped well that night, cutting up and eating
their captives!" During the days of this terrible siege the famous
catapult was made, an extraordinary engine to discharge great stones
upon the enemy. This was to enable the Spaniards to husband their
powder, which was getting low, and the Aztecs watched the construction
of this machine with certain fear. It was completed and set to work,
but the builder, a Spanish soldier of inventive faculty, nearly played
the part of the