taken a number of temples, houses, bridges, and canals, which
latter we instantly filled up with the ruins of the buildings we pulled
down, and every foot of ground we gained from the enemy was instantly
secured by our troops; yet, with all our exertions and watchfulness, the
enemy still succeeded in making fresh apertures in the causeway, behind
which they threw up new entrenchments.

As the three companies of which our division was composed considered it
a dishonour that one company should constantly be employed in filling up
the canals, while the others were fighting, Alvarado, to put an end to
all feelings of jealousy, arranged that the three companies should
perform the same duties alternately.

By pursuing this mode of operation, in which we were ably assisted by
the Tlascallans, we by degrees pulled down everything before us, so that
at last the town lay open to our view. It was only in the evening, when
we returned to our encampment, that the whole of the three companies
were again under arms, as at that time we had most to fear from the
enemy.

Cortes and Sandoval had likewise similar toils to go through day and
night. On the land side they were incessantly attacked by immense bodies
of the enemy, and from the lake by innumerable armed canoes. Cortes on
one occasion marched with his division along the causeway, to force a
very broad and deep opening, which the Mexicans had strengthened by
means of a palisade and mound, defended by a large body of troops.
Cortes finding it was impossible to pass across this opening but by
swimming, ordered his men to make the attempt; but they were so
vigorously assailed by the enemy from the entrenchments, and those
stationed on the house-tops, who literally showered down stones upon
them, while the canoes attacked them from each side of the opening, that
a great number of his men were wounded, and a few killed. Here the
brigantines were rendered totally useless, by the large stakes which had
been driven into the water. Cortes and the whole of his troops were
often on the brink of destruction; as it was, he had four men killed,
and above thirty wounded. At length, by dint of hard fighting, he
succeeded in forcing this formidable point; but the day was already so
far advanced, that there was no time left to fill up the wide aperture,
and he therefore sounded a retreat, in which he had again to fight his
way through dense crowds of the enemy, who wounded the whole of his men,