The Florida agriculturist. [volume] (DeLand, Fla.) 1878-1911, 1895-01-23


! break the hearts of sinful men to witness.
Presently 1 raised my eyes and spoke to
Otomie, who was at my side, asking her if
she would not send our son away with the
others, passing him off as the child of COM
mon people, Nay, husband" she an
swered, lit is better for him to die with us
than to live as slave of the Spaniards F"
At length it was over, and the gates had
shut behind the last Of thom. Soon we
heard the distant challenge of the Spanish
sentries as they perceived them, and the
sounds of some shots, followed by cries.
''Doubtless the Tlascalans are massa
cring them," said.
But it was not so. When a few had
been killed, the leaders of the Spaniards
found that they waged war upon an un-
armed mob, made up for the most part of
aged people, women and children, and
their commander, Bernal DiaZ, a merci
full man if a rough one, ordered that tho
onslaught should cease Indeed he did
more, for when all the ablebodied men, to-
gether with such children as were suffi-
GENTLY strong to bear the fatigues of travel,
had been sorted out to be sold as slaves he
suffered the rest of that melancholy COM
pany to depart whittier they would. And
so they went, though what became of them
do not know.
That night we spent in the courtyard of
the teocalli, but before it was light I
caused the women and children who re-
manned with us, perhaps some 600 in all,
for very few of the former who were un-
married, or, who, being married, were
still young and comely, had chosen to de-
sert our refuge, to ascend the pyramid.
guessing that the Spaniards would attack
us at dawn. [ staid, however, with the
300 fighting men that were left to me-, a
hundred or moro having thrown them
selves upon the mercy of the Spaniards,
with the refugees, to await the Spanish
onset under shelter of the walls of the
courtyard. At dawn it began, and by mid
day, do what we could to stay it, the wall
was stormed, and leaving nearly hun
dred dead and wounded behind me I was
driven to the winding way that led to the
summit of the pyramid. Here they as
saulted us again, but the road was steep
and narrow and their numbers gave them
no great advantage ON it, so that the end
of it was that we beat them back with loss,
and there was no more fighting that day
The night which followed we spent
upon the summit Of the pyramid, and for
my part l was so weary that after I had
L
morning the struggle began anew, and
this time with better success to the Span
iards. Inch by inch, under cover of the
heavy fire from their arquebuses and
pieces, they forced us upward and back
ward. All day long the fight continued
upon the narrow road that wound from
stage to stage of the pyramid At length,
as the sun sank, a company Of our foes,
their advance guard, with shouts of vic
tory, emerged upon the flat summit and
rushed toward the temple in its center.
All this while the women had been watch.
ing with a loud voice;
"SeiZe them. They arc but few"
Then, with fearful scream Of rage, the
| mob of women cast themselves upon the
weary Spaniards and Tlascalans, bearing:
them down by the weight of their MUM
bers. Many of them were slain indeed,
| but in the end the women conquered, aye,
and made their victims captive, fas, ening
them with cords to the rings of copper
Chat were set into the stones of the pave
ment, to which in former days those
doomed to sacrifice had been secured when
their numbers were so great that the
priests feared lest they should escape. l
and the soldiers with me watched this
sight, wondering; then cried out:
"What, men of the Otomie, shall it be
said that our women outdid us in oour-
ege" and without further ado, followed