round the pyramid four
times, or nearly two miles, exposed to the missiles of those upon
the summit.

Leaving a strong body of Spaniards and Tlascalans at the bottom, to
prevent the natives ascending and attacking him in the rear, Cortez
led the way up the staircase, followed closely by his principal
officers. In spite of the heavy stones and beams of wood which,
with a storm of arrows, were hurled down upon them, the Spaniards
won their way from terrace to terrace, supported by the fire of
their musketeers below, until at last they reached the great
platform on the summit of the pyramid.

Here a terrible conflict commenced. The Aztecs, brought to bay, and
fighting not only for life, but in the presence of their country's
gods, displayed a valor at least equal to that of the Spaniards.
Numbers were slightly in their favor, but this was far more than
counter-balanced by the superior arms of the Spaniards; and by the
armor, which rendered them almost invulnerable to the comparatively
puny weapons of the Mexicans. And yet, for three hours the fight
continued. At the end of that time, all the Mexicans, save two or
three priests, were killed; while forty-five of the Spaniards had
fallen, and almost all the others were wounded.

While this fight had been raging the combat had ceased, elsewhere;
the combatants on both sides being absorbed in the struggle taking
place at the summit of the temple. They could not, of course, judge
how it was going; though they caught sight of the combatants as
they neared the edges of the platform, which was unprotected by
wall or fence; and many in the course of the struggle fell, or were
hurled, over it.

The moment the struggle was over, the Spaniards rushed with
exulting shouts into the sanctuary of the Mexican god, reeking with
the blood of fresh-killed victims; cast the image from its
pedestal; rolled it across the platform to the head of the steps;
and then, amid shouts that were echoed by their comrades below,
sent it bounding down, while a cry of anguish and dismay rose from
the Mexicans.

The image dethroned, fire was applied to the sanctuary; and the
smoke and flames, rising up, must have told countless thousands,
watching the capital from the housetops of the neighboring cities,
that the white men had triumphed over the gods of Mexico; and that,
as at Cholula so at the capital, these had proved impotent to
protect their votaries from the dread invaders. So dismayed were
the M