and the Ávalos provinces he regarded as legitimate fields of conquest, and he anticipated pleasure as well as profit in wresting these regions from Cortés.[1] The natives of Cuitzeo, however, were not at all inclined to receive the strangers with open arms, and their cacique sent answer "that he knew what sort of men the Spaniards were, and challenged them to enter bis country." Guzman is said to have hesitated as to what course he should pursue, but Cristóbal de Oñate soon solved his doubts by tauntingly observing that Cortés would never have achieved his glorious triumphs had he allowed himself to be regulated by formalities and requerimientos. He made his demands with foot in stirrup, and entered the very camp of the foe to hear the answer.[2] The march was accordingly directed toward Cuitzeo, and before long they came in sight of the enemy. When at a gunshot's distance, a native champion came forth to test in a personal combat the valor and weapons of the Spaniards. He was easily vanquished by Juan Michel, a Portuguese soldier, who obtained permission to exhibit his prowess, and the defeat so terrified the Indians that they hastened to seek shelter at the river. Here they recovered their courage, and, on attempting to cross the stream on rafts and by fording, Guzman's forces were attacked in the water and a desperate struggle ensued in the current, on the banks, and on the river island, where the foe had intrenched themselves.[3]
This continued for several days with severe losses on both sides, Guzman's being mostly confined to his native allies. A few horses were killed, but great care was used in disposing of the bodies so that the
- ↑ Mota Padilla, Cong. N. Gal., 27, here as well as in the rest of his account of Guzman's campaign, seeks tu defend the unscrupulous policy of the president.
- ↑ Cortés . . . con las armas en la mano y el pié en el estribo; remitia sus embajadas, mas las respuestas las oia en las mismas canales de las poblaciones,' Mota Padilla, Cong. N. Gal., 30.
- ↑ Captain Vasquez, armed with a sword and a buckler, was the first who leaped into the river, and, followed by some of his foot-soldiers, opened the attack upon the natives intrenched on the island. Sámano, Relacion, 268.
