[171] There is some difficulty in adjusting the precise date of their departure, as, indeed, of most events in the Conquest; attention to chronology being deemed somewhat superfluous by the old chroniclers. Ixtlilxochitl, Gomara, and others fix the date at July 10th. But this is wholly contrary to the letter of Cortés, which states that the army reached Tlascala on the eighth of July, not the tenth, as Clavigero misquotes him (Stor. del Messico, tom. iii. pp. 135, 136, nota); and from the general’s accurate account of their progress each day, it appears that they left the capital on the last night of June, or rather the morning of July 1st. It was the night, he also adds, following the affair of the bridges in the city. Comp. Rel. Seg., ap. Lorenzana, pp. 142-149. [172] [This second breach, says Ramirez, “the scene of the rout and slaughter of the Spaniards, was in front of _San Hipolito_, where a chapel was built, to commemorate the event, and dedicated to the _Martyrs_,--though assuredly none of those who had fallen there had any claim to the crown of martyrdom.” Notas y Esclarecimientos, p. 104.] [173] Rel. Seg. de Cortés, ap. Lorenzana, p. 143.--Camargo, Hist. de Tlascala, MS.--Bernal Diaz, Hist. de la Conquista, cap. 128.--Oviedo, Hist. de las Ind., MS., lib. 33, cap. 13, 47.--Sahagun, Hist. de Nueva-España, MS., lib. 12, cap. 24.--Martyr, De Orbe Novo, dec. 5, cap. 6.--Herrera, Hist. general, dec. 2, lib. 10, cap. 4.--Probanza en la Villa Segura, MS. [174] “Pues la grita, y lloros, y lástimas [~q] deziā demādando socorro: Ayudadme, [~q] me ahogo, otros: Socorredme, [~q] me matā, otros demādando ayuda á N. Señora Santa María, y á Señor Santiago.” Bernal Diaz, Hist. de la Conquista, cap. 128. [175] “In this combat Maria de Estrada, oblivious of her sex, showed herself most valorous, and armed with sword and shield did marvellous deeds, rushing into the midst of the enemy with a courage and spirit equal to that of the bravest of men.... This lady became the wife of Pedro Sanchez Farfan, and the village of Tetela was granted to them _en encomienda_.” Torquemada, Monarch. Ind., lib. 4, cap. 72. [176] Camargo, Hist. de Tlascala, MS.--Bernal Diaz, Hist. de la Conquista, cap. 128.--“Por la gran priesa que daban de ambas partes de el camino, comenzáron á caer en aquel foso, y cayéron juntos, que de Españoles, que de Indios y de caballos, y de cargas, el foso se hinchó hasta arriba, cayendo los unos sobre los otros, y los otros sobre los otros, de manera que todos los del bagage quedáron allí ahogados, y los de la retaguardia pasáron sobre los muertos.” Sahagun, Hist. de Nueva-España, MS., lib. 12, cap. 24.