At all events, the union of these latter with the Aztecs
would have settled the fate of the expedition; since, in the poverty
of his own resources, it was only by adroitly playing off one part
of the Indian population against the other, that Cortes could
ultimately hope for success.
Chapter VI [1520]
WAR WITH THE SURROUNDING TRIBES- SUCCESSES OF THE SPANIARDS-
DEATH OF MAXIXCA- ARRIVAL OF REINFORCEMENTS-
RETURN IN TRIUMPH TO TLASCALA
THE Spanish commander, reassured by the result of the
deliberations in the Tlascalan senate, now resolved on active
operations, as the best means of dissipating the spirit of faction and
discontent inevitably fostered by a life of idleness. He proposed to
exercise his troops, at first, against some of the neighbouring tribes
who had laid violent hands on such of the Spaniards as, confiding in
their friendly spirit, had passed through their territories. Among
these were the Tepeacans, a people often engaged in hostility with the
Tlascalans, and who, as mentioned in a preceding chapter, had lately
massacred twelve Spaniards in their march to the capital. An
expedition against them would receive the ready support of his allies,
and would assert the dignity of the Spanish name, much dimmed in the
estimation of the natives by the late disasters.
The Tepeacans were a powerful tribe of the same primitive stock as
the Aztecs, to whom they acknowledged allegiance.
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