Cortes treated these ambassadors with his usual politeness, and retaining three of them to serve as guides on our march to Mexico, he sent on the others to inform Montezuma that we were on our way to his capital. When the Tlascalan chiefs understood our determination to proceed, they renewed their former warnings to beware of treachery from the Mexicans, and again offered to send 10,000 of their warriors along with us. But Cortes, after thanking them for their friendly solicitude and proffered aid, remarked, as he had done before, that so large a body of troops was incompatible with an amicable visit, but requested they would furnish 1000 men for our baggage and artillery, which they immediately provided. Our faithful Chempoalan allies, being afraid of the resentment of the Mexicans for their revolt, begged permission to return to their district, and Cortes dismissed them with a handsome present, sending letters by them to Escalente at Villa Rica, containing an account of our proceedings. We marched from Cholula in our usual compact order, prepared for whatsoever might befal, sending out patroles of our cavalry by threes in front, supported by a detachment of light infantry as an advanced guard. On our arrival at a small village called Izcalpan, in the district of Huexotzinco, about four leagues from Cholula, we were met by the chiefs bearing provisions, and a small present of gold. They requested our general to consider only the good will of the givers, not the worthlessness of the gift, as they were very poor; and, while they endeavoured to dissuade him from attempting to proceed to Mexico, they also informed him, that, on ascending the next mountain, he would find two roads, the one of which leading by Chalco was broad and open, while the other leading by Tlalmanalco, though originally equally convenient, had been recently stopped up and obstructed by means of trees felled across it to render it difficult, though it was in reality shorter and more secure than that of Chalco, on which road the Mexicans had placed a large party of troops in ambush among some rocks, for the purpose of attacking us by surprise on the march. They advised us therefore, if we were determined to persevere, to choose the obstructed road, and offered to send a number of their people to clear it for us. Cortes thanked them for their good advice, of which he would avail himself by the blessing of GOD. Having halted for the night at Izcalpan, we resumed our march early the next morning, and reached the summit of a mountainous ridge about noon, where we found the two roads exactly as they had been described to us. We halted here in order to deliberate on our procedure, when Cortes called the Mexican ambassadors to explain the meaning of the felled trees. Pretending ignorance on this subject, they advised him to take the road of Chalco, where they said he would be well received. Cortes chose however to take