arrangements for the flight by night.16 His had been the greatest conquest yet undertaken in the New World, and his the greatest disaster. The men of Narvaez had suffered most, partly, it is said, because they were most eager to burden themselves with gold, but rather because they were inexperienced, and assigned chiefly to the rear. It was the gaps in the ranks of his veterans that touched Cortés most. Gone was the dear dandy Francisco de Salcedo, whom slovenly comrades should no more trouble! The cavalry, so sadly depleted, missed among its number the dashing Láres17 and the brave Morla. Neither could Botello be injured by the curses freely given him for his false reading of the stars.18 The death which most deeply moved Cortés, however, was that of the true-hearted and brave Velazquez, whose standing and influence, as a relative of the Cuban governor and as a man of high birth, had so greatly assisted the general in carrying out his schemes. Cortés had in return conferred on him some of the most important commissions, ever regarding him as among the truest of his friends. With him had died his native wife, Elvira, the daughter of the Tlascaltec lord Maxixcatzin, and nearly every prisoner.19
With so many losses to deplore, it proved a solace for Cortés to find present his favorite captains, Sandoval, Alvarado, and Olid. His interpreters were also here, and foremost the loving Marina, whose life, together with that of Luisa, Xicotencatl’s daughter, was due to the zealous care of the latter’s brothers. Martin Lopez, the ship-builder, also survived, and the sight of him assisted to give the thoughts of the general a hopeful bent, rousing in his enterprising spirit projects for vengeance and recuperation. Remnants though they were, his forces were still larger than those with which he had overcome Narvaez, and which he had till then regarded as sufficient for the conquest of the empire. The experience gained and a knowledge of the country were in themselves an army; and, thank fortune, he had some gold, and better still, allies. Tlascala was now his hope. Everything, indeed, depended on the little republic, and