No efforts of theirs could break the iron strength of these
white devils, armed as they were with strange and terrible weapons. Day
by day disaster overtook the arms of the Aztecs. What wisdom had they
now that the protecting gods were shattered in their very shrines, when
the altars ran red with the blood of their ministering priests, when the
oracles were dumb or answered only in the accents of despair?
Then one by one princes and generals arose and gave counsel according
to their lights. At length all had spoken, and Cuitlahua said, looking
towards me:
'We have a new counsellor among us, who is skilled in the warfare and
customs of the white men, who till an hour ago was himself a white man.
Has he no word of comfort for us?'
'Speak, my brother?' said Guatemoc.
Then I spoke. 'Most noble Cuitlahua, and you lords and princes. You
honour me by asking my counsel, and it is this in few words and brief.
You waste your strength by hurling your armies continually against stone
walls and the weapons of the Teules. So you shall not prevail against
them. Your devices must be changed if you would win victory. The
Spaniards are like other men; they are no gods as the ignorant imagine,
and the creatures on which they ride are not demons but beasts of
burden, such as are used for many purposes in the land where I was born.
Pages:
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332