hich lay about half a league from the shore of the
lake, was probably the best position Cortes could have chosen for the
headquarters of the army. His first care was to strengthen the defences
of the palace in which they were lodged, and next to employ eight
thousand Indian labourers in widening a stream, which ran towards the
lake, so that when the ships arrived they might be put together in
Tezcuco, and floated safely down to be launched upon it. Meanwhile many
of the places in the neighbourhood sent in their submission to Cortes,
and several noble Aztecs fell into his hands. These men he employed to
bear a message to Guatemozin, in which he deprecated the necessity of
the present hostilities, and declared himself willing to forget the
past, inviting the Mexicans by a timely submission to save their capital
from the horrors of a siege. But every man in Mexico was determined to
defend it to the uttermost, and this appeal produced no effect. The
general now turned his attention to securing all the strong places upon
the lake. Iztapalapan was the first; the attacking party, after a sharp
struggle, succeeded in entering the town; many of the inhabitants fled
in their canoes, but those who remained were massacred by the Tlascalans
in spite of all Cortes could do to restrain them. Darkness set in while
the soldiers were eagerly loading themselves with plunder; some of the
houses had been set on fire, and the flames lighted up the scene of ruin
and desolation. Suddenly a sound was heard as of the rush of the
incoming tide--and Cortes with great alarm realised that the Indians had
broken down the dykes, and that before long the low-lying ground upon
which the town stood would be under water. He hastily called off his men
and retreated, the soldiers, heavily laden, wading with difficulty
through the flood which gained fast upon them. As they left the burning
city behind them they could no longer find their way, and sometimes
plunged into deep water where many of the allies, unable to swim, were
carried away and drowned. When morning dawned they were harassed by the
enemy, who hovered round and discharged volleys of arrows and stones, so
that it was with no small satisfaction that they presently found
themselves once more within the walls of Tezcuco. Cortes was greatly
disappointed at this disastrous end of an expedition which had begun so
well, but after all the fate of Iztapalapan produced a good effect, and
many more towns sen