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y speaking, a Mexican garrison in their township, which, however, had returned home, upon the news that we had imprisoned the tax-gatherers; they, therefore, begged of us not to proceed any further, and to be merciful towards them. When these representations were made known to Cortes through our interpreters, he immediately ordered Alvarado and Christobal de Oli, with us who were nearest to him, to march off to the Sempoallans and command them not to advance any further. Though we used the utmost expedition to fulfil these orders, yet we already found them plundering the plantations. This made Cortes excessively angry; he ordered the chiefs of the Sempoallans into his presence, and severely remonstrated with them for such behaviour: he commanded them, with heavy threats, to bring him all the plunder, and not to set a foot into the town. They had trumped up a false story to us, he told them, merely to be enabled, under our protection, to plunder their neighbours and then to sacrifice them, whereby they had deserved death. Our emperor had not sent us to this country to commit such crimes, and they had better mind not again to fall into such guilt, as none of them would escape alive if it happened again. After this earnest reproof, the caziques and chiefs of Sempoalla brought the prisoners and the turkey-fowls they had captured: the first, Cortes ordered to be set at liberty, and the latter were restored to their owners; upon which he commanded the Sempoallans, in a very angry tone, to return to their camp and there remain for the night. The caziques and papas of Tzinpantzinco, with other inhabitants of the surrounding neighbourhood, having witnessed this act of justice, and seeing altogether how friendly Cortes was disposed, and the good deeds which he manifested, were the more susceptible of the things he told them about our holy religion,--respecting the abolishment of their human sacrifices and kidnapping, the discontinuation of other abominations and obscenities, with other matters salutary to their well being. They appeared so well inclined that they assembled the inhabitants of the surrounding districts, and formally declared themselves vassals of the emperor, our master. On this occasion, likewise, numerous complaints were made against Motecusuma, which all terminated with instances of his oppression similar to what we had heard from the Sempoallans and Quiahuitzlans. The next morning very early Cortes sen
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