The herald., 1895-03-03

marched out on the plain where Francis
I co de Lugo had the battle, towards the
town of Cintla. This plain and town were
so called and belonged to Tobasco. Cortes
had to make long detour because of some
swamps, and as we approached the town OF
Clntla the Indians came upon us with
their whole force. They were coming to
attack us in our camp.
They carried large banners and had
drums and trumpets, and had their faces
painted black and white, and they were
armed with large bows and long arrows
and carried shields and n sort of two
handed swords, and were armed with
sings from which they threw rocks and
balls OF burnt earth, and each one wore
armor of quilted cotton. Their squadrons
covered the plains and they came upon
us like mad dogs and surrounded us on all
sides and poured upon us such a shower
OF rocks and arrows that the first dis
charge wounded over seventy of us and
one soldier was killed by an arrow in the
ear. They fought with us foot to foot
with their lances and did us much injury.
We replied with our crossbows and arque-
buses, but presently as they felt the
sharp edge of our swords they drew off
and then Mesa used our artillery and did
them much damage; but with all We
could not break their ranks.
then said to Captain de Ordas that it
appeared to me that we ought to charge
them, because we did fearful execution
on them with our swords. Ordas re-
piled that it would not do because there
were three hundred Indians for each one
| of us and that it would be rash to at
tack such odds.
Afterward we fought them at close quar-
tiers, as had suggested to Ordas, and they
retired little toward swamp. And all
this time we were wishing for Cortes and
the horses and we began to fear that some
| disaster had happened to him. I remem-
bered that whenever we discharged our
firearms the Indians threw dust in the
air that we might not see the effects and
then beat their drums and shouted s'ala
| lala.'
While we were thus, we saw the horse ap-
proach and the Indians being busily en-
gagged with us did not see them until they
were at their backs, and the ground being
level and the horses fast and with good
riders, they lanced the Indians as they
the horse in the rear, we charged them
in front SO that they soon broke and fed.
| Those Indians had never seen horses
before and they believed the horse and
| rider to be one; so that they were stricken
| with fear and most of them fled to
| neighboring mountain, the rest taking
refuge in the swamps.
| We then rested under some large trees
and Cortes told us he had been so long in
coming up partly because of the swamp,
but chiefly because he had encountered
another squadron of Indians whom he had
defeated, but he had six of his men and
eight horses wounded. We now gave
thanks to God for this complete victory,
and as it was the day of Nuestra Sonora
de Mario, we called the town which we
afterwards founded Santa Maria de la
| Victoria.
This was the first battle we had under
| Cortes in New Spain. We bound up our
own wounds and those ofsthe horses after
dressing them with the fat of an Indian,
whom we opened for that purpose. We had
been engaged in this battle over one hour
| before the horses arrived. We took five
prisoners, two being Captains. We then
buried two of our men who had been killed
in the action.
1t is in this battle that the chronicler
Gomara says that Francisco de Morla
| fought with us on a roam horse before
Cortes arrived, and that we were assist
ed by the Apostles San Pedro and Santi-
ago. l say that all of our victories were
won by the hand of our Lord Jesus Christ,
for there were so many Indians against
us that they might have covered us with
hands full of earth if it had not been that
the great mercy of God protected us; yet
it might have been, as the chronicler
Gomara says, that it was done by the glo-
rious Apostles Saint Peter or Santiago
and that l, as an unworthy sinner, was
not considered worthy to see them.
What did see was Francisco de Morla
on chestnut horse and he came up with
Cortes, and am now telling of the battle
as my sinful eyes saw it, as l, an I'M
worthy sinner, was not permitted to see
any of the glorious Apostles. There was
there in our company over four hundred
soldiers and Cortes and many other gen.
tlemen whom take for my witnesses,
and if church had been built when the
town was founded it would have been
called La Villa de Santiago or La Villa
de San Pedro de la Victoria, as it was
called Santa Maria de la Victoria; and
if it had been as Gomara says, full I'M
worthy Christians would we have been not
to acknowledge the great mercy OF God
in sending his holy Apostles to our as
sistance. But among all the Conquista-
dores who were there, nou one ever heard
of such thing until he had read the chron-
| icles of Gomara.