They had transferred
this to the Spaniards, on their first march into the country,
intimidated by the bloody defeats of their Tlascalan neighbours.
But, since the troubles in the capital, they had again submitted to
the Aztec sceptre. Their capital, now a petty village, was a
flourishing city at the time of the Conquest, situated in the fruitful
plains that stretch far away towards the base of Orizaba. The province
contained, moreover, several towns of considerable size, filled with a
bold and warlike population.
As these Indians had once acknowledged the authority of Castile,
Cortes and his officers regarded their present conduct in the light of
rebellion, and, in a council of war, it was decided that those engaged
in the late massacre had fairly incurred the doom of slavery. Before
proceeding against them, however, the general sent a summons requiring
their submission, and offering full pardon for the past, but, in
case of refusal, menacing them with the severest retribution. To
this the Indians, now in arms, returned a contemptuous answer,
challenging the Spaniards to meet them in fight, as they were in
want of victims for their sacrifices.
Cortes, without further delay, put himself at the head of his
small corps of Spaniards, and a large reinforcement of Tlascalan
warriors. They were led by the young Xicotencatl, who now appeared
willing to bury his recent animosity, and desirous to take a lesson in
war under the chief who had so often foiled him in the field.
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