sacre; there was no certain proof that such was intended against the Spaniards. Even had the Cholulans neglected to supply the army with provisions, they were certainly entitled to excuse on the ground that Cortez had forced himself upon them, and had marched to their city with their deadliest enemies, whom they had every reason to hate. Viewed from any standpoint, this massacre was unjustifiable; yet when the wretched inhabitants—such as had been saved from the fury of the Tlascallans, and the equally savage Spaniards—came creeping back to the smoldering ruins of their homes, Cortez made as though he were the aggrieved one and these miserable women and children the real offenders!
Some of the nobles had been spared, and these begged of him to allow the women and children to return to the city after the massacre was over, for they were wandering in terror and dismay in the mountains. What heartrending scenes might then have been witnessed, as these helpless innocents groped through the ruins of their once beautiful city in search of fathers, sons, and brothers, greeted by the groans of the dying and the insulting taunts of the victors! The soldiers took a great quantity of booty, gems, gold and silver, while the Tlascallans seized the cotton, feathers, and salt; they also made many slaves.
Nothing more is heard of the army of twenty thousand men that was said to have been sent by Montezuma, and it is thought by many to have existed solely in the imagination of the Spaniards. After passing fourteen days in and about Cholula, Cortez prepared to continue his march to Mexico. He had sent a full account of proceedings to Montezuma, giving his own story, but affecting to believe that the Mexican monarch had nothing to do with it, and the king had sent him another large present, congratulating him on his victory. Whether there was treachery on the
