The review held on Remedios Hill revealed the full extent of the blow suffered, “one which Spaniards alone could have endured,” says Peter Martyr. At the beginning of the siege the army mustered twelve hundred and fifty Spaniards and six thousand allies, with arms and ammunition in abundance, and now
little more than five hundred soldiers and less than two thousand allies remained.13 The baggage, artillery and ammunition, intrusted to the trains of carriers, had all been lost, and a great portion of the arms carried by the men, so that only twelve battered cross-bows and seven firelocks could be counted. What better commentary could we have on the night’s disaster! The side arms were fortunately better preserved, and there were twenty-four horses left, now the only formidable element of the army.14 Of the treasure none could tell what had been saved, the holders keeping the fact secret. It was whispered, however, that Cortés had taken good care of the portion appropriated by him, Bernal Diaz, among others, insisting that with the first party conducted by the general to Tlacopan went a number of carriers with gold bars and jewels. Among these is said to have been some of the royal treasure, but the officers declared that it had all been lost, including the mare with the fifth proper, and the account books and records. The loss of the papers, however unfortunate for history, must have been
rather convenient to Cortés, at least, who had a fancy for adjusting facts and figures to suit his schemes.15
Deeply stricken was Cortés, and bitterly did he repent of the mistakes which had contributed to this sad result: of having left Alvarado in charge to follow his rash bent; of having treated Montezuma and his chiefs so inconsiderately on his arrival; and, above all, the faulty