The herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1893-1900, 1895-04-21

ment; for Cortes and the Captains and
soldiers who went at the head of our col
umn on horseback fastened over the
bridges and along the Calzadas to save
their own lives and did not wait for each
other. In this they were not wrong,
because horsemen could not fight to any
advantage on the Calzadas. for when they
charged the Meyicans the latter threw
themselves into the water and on the
one side of the Calzada there being
water and on the other roof tops, from
which they poured arrows and stones on
us, and from the water attacked us with
long lances, which they had made like
partizans out of the swords they had
captured from us, and with these they
Killed many horses and If any horseman
stopped to kill an Indian his horse was
almost sure to be killed in return.
Our arms and discipline availed us
nothing, and each one fought to save his
own life. Fol- it is clear that we could
not fight in the water, and being without
crossbows or arquebuses and in the dark
ness of the night, what could we do hut
what we did do, which was to form in
bodies of thirty or forty and with our
swords drive off the Indians who sought
to lay hands on us, and so fight our way
forward along the Calzada, for if we had
waited one for another not one would
have escaped alive; and if it had been
daylight it would have been worse still,
for it was only by the mercy of God that
we had strength to fight our way out, and
could we have seen the multitudes of war
riors who surrounded us, or the canoes
which were carrying off those of us who
had been taken alive to be sacrificed that
night, it would have been more horrible
still, and it would have disheartened
those of Narvaez.
/ was with party of fifty some of the
soldiers of Narvaez and others of Cortcs,
and as we went along the Calzada every
other moment a squadron of Mexicans
would charge upon us, attempting to kill
or seize us alive. And thus, lighting our
way forward, we finally reached the end of
the causeway at town called Tacuba
where already had arrived Gonzalo de
.Sandoval and Clistobal de Oil and Fran
cisco de Salcedo. surnamed the dandy,
and Gonzalo Dominguez Lares and many
others of the horsemen and foot soldiers
who had passed over before the bridge
broke down in the manner | have de-
scribed.
And as we approached them we could
hear Cristobal de Oil and Francisco de
Sandoval ell Pulido and Gonzalo Domin-
front of all, Wait, Seror Captain, for
these soldiers say we are flying and leav-
ing to die all those w'.o are behind. Let
us return to assist and rescue. for there
are coming many wounded soldiers. and
they say that all the rest are dead and
that of the rear guard none will come out
alive" TO which Cortes replied that it
was miracle that any of us had fought
our way over the Calzada, and that if
they should now return to the bridges
none would escape and the horses woul
be lost also; but at the same time that he
said this Cortes himself and Cristobal
de Oil and Alonzo de Avila and Gonzalo
de Sandoval and Francisco de Morla and
Gonzalo Domingo and some seven or
eight other horsemen and some foot sol
diers turned back. But they did not
60 very far when they met Pedro de Alva-
RADIO, badly wounded and armed with q
lance and on foot, for his sorrel mare had
been killed, and with him some seven
soldiers and eight Tlascalans, all wound
ed and bleeding.
To the eager question of Cortes Alva-
RADIO replied that no more soldiers were
coming; that all the rest were dead. And
when Cortes and his companions heard
this the tears burst from their ewes. be-
cause Pedro de Alvarado and Juan Velas-
quez de Leon, with some other horsemen
and 100 foot soldiers had composed the
rear guard. And when Cortes asked where
the men of the rear guard were, Alvarado
replied that they were all dead, and with
them Juan Velasquez de Leon and the
rest of the horsemen.
Alvarsdo then said that when all of
the horses had been killed there had
formed in a body about eighty soldiers,
and by the assistance of the baggage and
dead horses and dead soldiers, they had
managed to cross over the first bridge.
In this am not sure that he said over
the dead bodies, and we could not hear
what else he said to Cortes about it, but
Z only that at that bridge there persisted
Juan Velasquez de Leon and over two
hundred comrades, as nearly as could be
estimated.
When Cortes learned that no more SOL
diers were coming behind and that no
more remained alive of the rear guard,
he and his party returned to where we
were and we all entered the town of Ia
cuba, where we took possession of some
patius. Now Tacuba being close to Mex
leo the Mexicans had already sent the
people of the town orders to attack us
and also those of the Escapuzalco and
'Tenayca, and presently we had some
sharp encounters with them. | say that as
to that sad bridge, which is now called the
Salto de Alvarado, no soldier stopped on
that night to see whether he leaped little
or much, as each one was intent on say
ing his own life; that when Pedro de
Alvarado arrived at the bridge. as he
himself told Cortes, he passed over the
baggage and dead bodies. and even if he
had tried to sustain himself on his lance
In order to spring across. the water was
deep and his lance would not have reached
the bottom, and besides this the aperture
was very wide so that he could not have
jumped 1T, no matter how active he
might have been.
jumped it with a lance or with anything
else, Tor after about a year, when we re-
turned and laid siege to Mexico, have
been many times fighting near that same
bridge with Mexican warriors, for they
had erected barricades at this place,
which is now called La Puente del -Salto
de Alvarado, the bridge of Alvarado's
leap. have often talked over the mat
ter with other soldiers and we could find
no reason in it. and considered 1t impos-
sible. l state this because there are per-
sons who insist that Pedro de Alvarado
did leap the aperture that night. l say
again that it was impossible and in order
to prove it the bridge is there to this day
in Mexico where anyone can see the
depth of the opening in the Calzada. And
furthermore for the benefit of my readers
will relate how there was in Mexico aft
erward a soldier named Ocampo, who was
one of those who came with Garay, a
great talker and very much given to writ
ing a sort # pasquinades. and in some
Z of those he rejected very much on many of
our Captains and said things which are
not to be related. not being true, but
among the rest he referred to Pedro de
Alvarado saying that he had left his
companions, Juan Velasquez de Leon and
over two hundred soldiers and some
borsemen Of the rear guard to die, while
he saved himself by giving that great
leap, as the saying is: HE jumped and