cupa.

As soon as we received this information, we sent notice of it to the
Tlascallans and our cavalry, who were stationed at Tlacupa, and ordered
them to be particularly upon their guard, and to keep a sharp look out
all day and night. Nor was it long before the enemy put their scheme
into operation; for one midnight an immense body of Mexicans came
storming up against us; a couple of hours after another such a body; and
with daylight a third came pouring forth. At one time they moved up with
the utmost silence; at another they came fiercely along with hideous
yells; and it was terrible to behold the innumerable quantities of
lances, stones, and arrows they showered upon us. Though they wounded
many of our men, we valiantly maintained our ground, and drove them back
with great loss. The Mexicans had at the same time attacked the cavalry
and Tlascallans on the mainland at Tlacupa; the latter suffered
severely, as they were never much upon their guard during night-time.

In this way, amidst rain, wind, frost, up to our ancles in mud, and
covered with wounds, we patiently bore our fatigues, with a morsel of
maise cake, a few herbs and figs to stay our hunger, which was the more
gnawing from the incessant exertions of our bodily strength. Yet,
however bravely we might fight, we advanced but slowly, and the little
advantages we gained cost us a number of killed and wounded. The bridges
we forced were as often retaken by the enemy, and if we filled up an
opening in the causeway new gaps were made, and this continued day after
day, until the Mexicans altered their plan of operations, as will
shortly be seen.

After thus enumerating these continued scenes of bloodshed and slaughter
which took place at our station, and those of Cortes and Sandoval, the
reader will ask, what advantage we had derived in destroying the
aqueduct of Chapultepec? I must confess, very little; for the enemy
received, during the night-time, a plentiful supply of water as well as
of provisions from the towns surrounding Mexico, by means of their light
canoes.

In order to cut off these supplies, Cortes determined that two
brigantines should cruise about the lake during the whole of the night
to capture these canoes, and it was agreed that the provisions found in
them should be equally distributed among the three divisions. Although
we sensibly felt the absence of our brigantines during the attacks which
the enemy made upon us in the night-time, yet