On our side we lost four killed, and had several wounded; the fat cazique himself being of this number; who, when he heard that we were in the vicinity of Sempoalla, had fled to Narvaez's quarters, and was wounded there. Cortes ordered his wound to be dressed, then sent him home, and desired that no one should molest him.
Cervantes and Escalona, who had deserted to Narvaez, derived very little benefit from their treachery; the latter had been dangerously wounded, and the other Cortes ordered to be well whipped.
Here I must also not forget the braggadocio Salvatierra, whose cowardice his own men declared was beyond all belief. They all swore never in the course of their lives to have witnessed such extreme fear as he evinced when he first heard the clashing of our arms at a distance; and when he heard the cry of Victory! Victory! Narvaez is fallen! he became quite ill, and threw down his arms.
Diego Velasquez had almost escaped my memory! He was also wounded, and, as had been previously settled, was taken prisoner by Leon, with whom he had quarrelled at Narvaez's dinner table. The victor, however, acted magnanimously; he took him to his own quarters, had his wounds dressed, and treated him with great respect.
Such is the history of our battle with Narvaez, and now we must see what further took place.
CHAPTER CXXIII.
How the 2000 Indians of Chinantla, whom Cortes had demanded of the caziques there, arrived at Sempoalla after Narvaez's defeat.
Late in the evening of the same day on which we had gained the victory over Narvaez, the 2000 Indian troops arrived which Cortes had requested the caziques of Chinantla to send us. They came under the command of their caziques, and one of our soldiers named Barrientos, and marched into Sempoalla in the best military order possible, two abreast. They were all tall and powerful men, armed with their immense-sized lances and huge shields; every lancer was followed by a bowman. In this manner, under the sound of drums and trumpets, they marched in, with their feathers waving on their head and their colours flying, and continually cried out, "Long live the emperor! long live Cortes!" They made such a grand show, that though they were only 2000 in number, one would have thought at first sight there had been 3000. Narvaez's men were not a little astonished when they beheld these men, and remarked to each other that they would have fared worse if they had had to encounter these people, or if they had joined us in the attack.
Cortes received the Chinantlan chiefs most kindly, thanked them for the trouble they had put themselves to, and desired them to return to their homes, after presenting them with various things of Spanish manufacture. Barrientos likewise returned with them, and Cortes particularly admonished him not to allow these Indians to commit any depredations in the townships they passed through.