side him, he pointed
eagerly to the chief, exclaiming, "There is our mark! Follow me!" Then,
shouting his war-cry, he spurred his steed into the thick of the foe.
Sandoval, Alvarado, and others spurred furiously after him, while the
enemy fell back before this sudden and fierce assault.

On swept the cavaliers, rending through the solid ranks, strewing their
path with the dead and dying, bearing down all who opposed them. A few
minutes of this furious onset carried them to the elevated spot on which
were the Aztec chief and his body-guard. Thrusting and cutting with
tiger-like strength and ferocity, Cortez rent a way through the group of
young nobles and struck a furious blow at the Indian commander, piercing
him with his lance and hurling him to the ground. A young cavalier beside
him, Juan de Salamanca, sprang from his horse and despatched the fallen
chief. Then he tore away the banner and handed it to Cortez.

All this was the work almost of a moment. Its effect was remarkable. The
guard, overwhelmed by the sudden onset, fled in a panic, which was quickly
communicated to their comrades. The tidings spread rapidly. The banner of
the chief had disappeared. He had been slain. The blindness of panic
suddenly infected the whole host, which broke and fled in wild terror and
confusion. The Spaniards and Tlascalans were not slow in taking advantage
of this new aspect of affairs. Forgetting their wounds and fatigue, they
dashed in revengeful fury on the flying foe, cutting them down by hundreds
as they fled. Not until they had amply repaid their losses on the bloody
causeway did they return to gather up the booty which strewed the field.
It was great, for, in accordance with Cortez's instructions, they had
struck especially at the chiefs, and many of these were richly ornamented
with gold and jewels.

Thus ended the famous battle of Otumba, the most remarkable victory, in
view of the great disparity of forces, ever won in the New World. Chance
gave the Spaniards victory, but it was a chance made useful only by the
genius of a great commander. The following day the fugitive army reached
the soil of Tlascala and were safe among their friends. History has not a
more heroic story to tell than that of their escape from the Aztec
capital, nor a more striking one than that of their subsequent return and
conquest.

PIZARRO AND THE INCA'S GOLDEN RANSOM.

The great expedition to the land of gold, which Vasco Nunez de Balb