fatigues of the battle, occupying ourselves in repairing our cross-bows,
and making arrows. Next day Cortes sent out seven of our cavalry with two
hundred infantry and all our allies, to scour the country, which is very
flat and well adapted for the movements of cavalry, and this detachment
brought in twenty prisoners, some of whom were women, without meeting with
any injury from the enemy, neither did the Spaniards do any mischief; but
our allies, being very cruel, made great havoc, and came back loaded with
dogs and fowls. Immediately on our return, Cortes released all the
prisoners, after giving them food and kind treatment, desiring them to
expostulate with their companions on the madness of resisting our arms. He
likewise released the two chiefs who had been taken in the preceding
battle, with a letter in token of credence, desiring them to inform their
countrymen that he only asked to pass through their country in his way to
Mexico. These chiefs waited accordingly on _Xicotencatl_, whose army was
posted about two leagues from our quarters, at a place called
_Tehuacinpacingo_, and delivered the message of Cortes. To this the
Tlascalan general replied, "Tell them to go to Tlascala, where we shall
give them peace by offering their hearts and blood to our gods, and by
feasting on their bodies." After what we had already experienced of the
number and valour of the enemy, this horrible answer did not afford us
much consolation; but Cortes concealed his fears, and treated the
messengers more kindly than ever, to induce them to carry a fresh message.
By inquiry from them he got the following account of the number of the
enemy and of the nature of the command enjoyed by its general. The army
now opposed to us consisted of the troops or quotas of five great chiefs,
each consisting of 10,000 men. These chiefs were _Xicotencatl_ the elder,
father to the general, _Maxicotzin_, _Chichimecatecle, _Tecapaneca_
cacique of _Topeyanco_, and a cacique named _Guaxocinga_[4]. Thus 50,000
men were now collected against us under the banner of Xicotencatl, which
was a white bird like an ostrich with its wings spread out[5]. The other