Codex Florentine, Plate 2. The Conquistadors on the March. (American Museum of Natural History)
After Cortes left Cempoala and headed for Tlaxcala to try to rally more Indians to him. As he approached Tlaxcala he was attacked by a large group of Indians. These Indians turned out to be Tlaxcalans and they also turned out to have Cortes desperately out numbered. Cortes and his men, however, managed to make it to high ground. According to Aguilar, the translator, they were stuck there for about two weeks, being attacked sporadically, day and night (de Fuentes, 1963). Miraculously, Cortes did not lose a single man during this time, although many were wounded. At one point, about fifty Indians approached the camp unarmed and entered. They appeared to be simply checking the Spaniards out, but soon it became apparent that they were in fact spying. They were trying to see how best to attack Cortes and which tents would be best to set on fire. Cortes quietly captured one of these spies and interrogated him until he finally admitted to what he and his fellow Indians were really doing, according to Aguilar, who was there interpreting (de Fuentes, 1963). After learning this, Cortes ordered that all the Tlaxcalan spies be rounded up and have their hands chopped off. After this, they were sent from the camp (de Fuentes, 1963). Towards the end of this Cortes noticed that the Indians were weakening. So one night, according to Aguilar, he and about 100 men set out from camp and quietly walked into the Tlaxcalan village. They surrounded themselves around the chiefs home and Cortes entered (de Fuentes, 1963). The Chief awoke and saw Cortes standing there. Cortes assured him that no Tlaxcalan had been hurt and that nothing was out of place in his village. After the king saw this he apologized to Cortes for the constant attacks and told him that he had nothing to do with it. Instead, he blaimed it on the Otomis, another tribe. The Tlaxcalan king then offered 50,000 men to help Cortes get to Mexico (Fuentes, 1963).
Cortes and his men left Tlaxcala and made their way again towards Mexico. The first town they stopped in was called Cholula. The Cholulans were a friend to Moctezuma and upon entering, the Spanish and Tlaxcala forces were met with many priests swinging incense (de Fuentes, 1963). The Tlaxcalans said that this was a bad sign, the ceremony meant that they intended to do them harm. Cortes, however, meant them no harm and decided to stay peacefully in their town. But, unlike previously, his soldiers were given nothing but water. As his army began to starve he told them to wait a little longer and kept asking the Cholulan Indians who were bringing them water for food. But after a few days he gave up and ordered the water bringers killed. They left Cholula and were met shortly afterwards by more ambassadors from Moctezuma who said that they would lead them to Mexico. Moctezuma's men attempted to lead the Spanish and Tlaxcalans along a way that was very rocky. The Tlaxcalans warned Cortes of this and told him that they thought the Mexicans would try to ambush them along the difficult path. They also said they knew of an easier way to go. Cortes sent a few men to investigate both paths. The first group that came back was the group that had gone to see the trail suggested by the Mexicans. They reported that the Tlaxcalans were right and that the trail was very treacherous and it would have been impossible to get the horses across it. The second group, led by Diego de Ordaz, came back and reported that the trail suggested by the Tlaxcalans was much better. He also had much more exciting news. The trail had provided him a glimpse of the lake cities of the basin. According to Aguilar, Ordaz said he had seen another world of large cites and towers, and a sea, and in the sea a very large city (de Fuentes, 1963). This very large city, of course, was Tenochtitlan, or Mexico. Cortes and his men took the easy trail and stayed the night in Ixtapalapa, a town that was one league away from Mexico.