On reviewing his troops, after the vessels were on the lake, he found that he had eighty-six horsemen, one hundred and eighteen fusiliers, and upward of seven hundred infantry, armed with swords and bucklers, three large iron field-pieces, and fifteen small ones of bronze, with ten quintals of powder. He does not give the number of Indians then with him, but on the following day he despatched messengers to Tlascala and other provinces, to inform these people that he was ready to proceed against Tenochtitlan. In consequence of this advice, the captains of Tlascala arrived with their forces, well appointed and well armed; and, according to their report, they amounted to upward of fifty thousand. He divided his forces into three corps: one, consisting of thirty horsemen, eighteen fusiliers, and one hundred and fifty infantry, armed with sword and buckler, and twenty-five thousand Tlascalans, was commanded by Pedro de Alvarado, and was to occupy Tacuba. Another, commanded by Christoval Olid, consisted of thirty-three horsemen, eighteen fusiliers, and one hundred and seventy infantry, armed with sword and buckler, together with upward of twenty thousand Indians, was to take possession of Cuyoacan. The third division was intrusted to Gonzalo de Sandoval; it amounted to twenty-four horsemen, fifteen fusiliers, and one hundred and fifty infantry, armed with sword and buckler, with thirty thousand Indians. This division was to march upon Iztapalapan, destroy that town, and then, under cover of the vessels, form a junction with that of Olid. Cortez himself commanded the fleet. As soon as they reached their several destinations, Alvarado and Olid destroyed the aqueducts, and cut off the supply of water from the city. After a siege of seventy-five days, during which both parties displayed the most obstinate courage, the besieged, reduced to the last extremity by disease and famine, made an attempt to evacuate the city by water. They were pursued by the light squadron of the Spaniards; and the canoe which carried the person of the emperor was captured by Garcia Holguin. This capture put an end to the war. When Gautimotzin, who had succeeded to the throne on the death of his uncle, was brought before Cortez, on the terrace where he was standing, and which overlooked the lake—he advanced, says Cortez, toward me, and said that he had done everything which his duty required, to defend himself and his subjects, until he was reduced to this state, and that I might now do with him what I thought proper; and put his hand on a dagger that I wore, telling me to stab him. The siege was commenced on the 30th of May, 1521, and terminated on the 13th of August; and Cortez says, that during these seventy-five days, not one passed without some combat between the besieged and the Spaniards.