brought little satisfaction, however, for the captives gave information that the forces so far sent were but detachments of the armies destined for Xochimilco, which must be recovered, and the Spaniards driven forth, if it cost the lives of all the men in Mexico. The Spaniards might defeat force after force, but even victory must so weaken them that the Mexicans would finally triumph. This seemed to be confirmed by the movements of the fleet, which, though repulsed, was still hovering thereabout.
Cortés now gave orders to burn the city, as a warning to the wilful inhabitants and preparatory to its evacuation. The soldiers, who had been interrupted in their plundering the day before, obeyed with alacrity. Xochimilco was a wealthy city, and not a Spaniard or ally but obtained an abundance of robes, feathers, and other effects, and even some gold, which helped to cheer those whom ordinary merchandise and slaves did not satisfy. The enemy had been watchful, however, and in their canoes they flitted round the city to cut off stragglers. At one point quite a charge was made, wherein several Spaniards were wounded and four carried off alive. This event did more to cast a
gloom over the army than many defeats, for all knew the fate of prisoners.38
After a stay of three days, all fraught with hard fighting, the army filed out from Xochimilco, presenting the appearance of a dilapidated caravan rather than of a reconnoitring and fighting expedition, so much so that Cortés thought it necessary to remonstrate, but in vain. The enemy hovered about like vultures, to harass them in what they regarded as a retreat. The march was made in regular fighting order, with cavalry distributed in three sections, in van, rear, and on flank. In order to complete the reconnoissance, a north-westerly route was taken to Coyuhuacan, the centre of a series of inner towns which lay clustered within a radius of a league and a half, along the shores or upon islands in