. Young folks' history of Mexico. , and thinking perhaps that it would bebetter to receive them as friends than to allow them toleague themselves with his enemies, the Tlascallans. Hesent to them, saying that he wondered at their stayingamongst a people so poor and base as the Tlascallans, whowere robbers, and unfit even for slaves, and then invitedto his capital. When the Tlascallans saw that Cortez would go to Mex-ico, and through the district of Cholula, they raised an 248 Mexico. army of fifty thousand men, foreseeing, no doubt, an oppor-tunity for revenge upon the Chokilans for past offen
. Young folks' history of Mexico. , and thinking perhaps that it would bebetter to receive them as friends than to allow them toleague themselves with his enemies, the Tlascallans. Hesent to them, saying that he wondered at their stayingamongst a people so poor and base as the Tlascallans, whowere robbers, and unfit even for slaves, and then invitedto his capital. When the Tlascallans saw that Cortez would go to Mex-ico, and through the district of Cholula, they raised an 248 Mexico. army of fifty thousand men, foreseeing, no doubt, an oppor-tunity for revenge upon the Chokilans for past would accept of only six thousand, and even these,when he approached the city of Cholula, were obliged toencamp outside upon the plain. The holy city of the priests was eighteen miles distantfrom Tlascala, and about sixty from Mexico, situated (asnow) in the centre Of a beautiful and highly-cultivated was very populous, containing, according to Cortezhimself, who described it in one of his letters, above forty. CHOI-ULA. thousand houses. It was celebrated for its commerce andits manufactures of cotton and potter}^ Famous above all,was it, as the site of the holy pyramid of Qnctzalcoatl,which towered above the plain and supported the sanctuaryof that divinity, who (it will be seen, by referring to ), dwelt here many years prior to his final departurefrom Anahuac. The city was full of temples and priests,and the latter came out to meet them, fumigated them withincense, and welcomed them to their houses, except theirenemies, the Tlascallans, whom they insisted should camp The Massacre at Chohila. 249 outside. Cortez could not object to this, and his alHeswere hutted on the plain, while he and his soldiers wereprovided with lodgings in the city. These people gave intheir allegiance to Cortez without hesitation, but refused toabandon their ancient religion, which was the oldest in thecountry — that of the Toltecs themselves — and had not therepulsive
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Keywords: ., bookauthoroberfred, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, bookyear1883
