sed themselves about the town for the sake of plunder, and taking
prisoners; nor were we able to prevent them. The following day more
troops arrived from Tlascalla, who committed worse depredations, so
deeply rooted was their hatred against Cholulla. At length our
compassion was aroused, and we ordered the Tlascallans to stay all
further hostilities, and Cortes commanded all the chiefs into his
presence, when he addressed them at some length, and requested them to
return to their camp, which they accordingly complied with, the
Sempoallans alone remaining within the town.[35]

While all this was going on, several caziques and papas arrived from
other quarters of the town, who were said to have taken no part in this
treacherous movement; which may, indeed, have been the case, as in this
large town every quarter had its own regiment and peculiar regulations.
These people begged Cortes and all of us to pardon them, as the real
traitors had now received their deserved punishment. In this prayer they
were joined by our friends, the two papas, who had first discovered the
plot to us, and the old wife of the Indian chief, who was to have been
Dona Marina's mother-in-law.

Cortes at first appeared very little disposed to listen to their
prayers; but at length he sent for the two ambassadors of Motecusuma,
whom we had kept in close confinement. He began by telling them, that
though the whole town, with all its inhabitants, had merited total
destruction, he would, nevertheless, substitute mercy for justice in
consideration of their monarch Motecusuma, whose subjects they were; but
he expected they would in future show a better disposition towards us,
and give us no further cause to renew such a scene as had just taken
place, otherwise they would undoubtedly forfeit their lives. He next
sent for the caziques of the Tlascallan camp, and ordered them to
liberate the prisoners they had taken, as they had now sufficiently
revenged themselves. It was with difficulty we could persuade the
Tlascallans to comply with this, for they maintained that the Cholullans
had deserved a good deal more at their hands for the many times they had
suffered from them; however, as it was Cortes' wish, they liberated a
great number of their captives; but carried off a great deal of booty,
consisting in gold, cloaks, cotton, salt, and other matters.

Cortes then brought about a reconciliation between these two tribes, and
as far as I know, the good unders