There happened to come over in the army of Narvaez, a negro who was ill of the small-pox, a most unfortunate circumstance for the people of New Spain, as the disease spread with astonishing rapidity through the country, and destroyed the natives by thousands, as they used to throw themselves into cold water in the height of the disease, with the nature of which they were utterly unacquainted.  Thus multitudes of unfortunate souls were hurried into eternity, without an opportunity of being received into the bosom of the holy Catholic church.  At this time, such of our soldiers as had been in distant garrisons, applied to Cortes to receive their shares of the gold which had been got in Mexico.  As far as I can remember, he referred them to a place in Tlascala, desiring that two persons might be sent to receive it at that place; and I shall have occasion to mention the result hereafter.

[1] The date is supplied in the text from attentive consideration of dates
    mentioned by Diaz in the sequel, and in this date Clavigero, II. 97,
    agrees.  Diaz gives no account of the strength of Cortes on the present
    occasion, but afterwards mentions 206 soldiers, with five horsemen and
    two gunners, independent of 70 more who joined under Sandoval from the
    garrison of Villa Rica.  This would make the whole force 285 soldiers,
    against 1400 who were under the command of Narvaez.—­E.

[2] No such place is to be found in the map of Clavigero, nor in that
    recently published by Humbolt.—­E.

[3] These numbers, as arranged for the attack on Narvaez, only amount to
    230 men.  At the occupation of Mexico the Spanish army is said to have
    been about 450, besides the garrison of Villa Rica.  Eighty-three men
    are stated to have been left in Mexico under the command of Alvarado,
    which would still leave 367 to march under Cortes for Chempoalla, to
    which 70 being added from Villa Rica under Sandoval, would raise the
    amount of the army now under Cortes to about 437 men, so that about
    207 are unaccounted for in the arrangement for the attack, besides
    Ordas, and other eminent captains are not now mentioned in the text. 
    We may, therefore, reasonably conclude, that these captains and the
    unaccounted for remaining force of Cortes, were left at the ford of
    the river, about a league from Chempoalla, as a rear guard, on which
    to retreat in case of a defeat, or may have formed a main body for the
    assault.—­E.

[4] This victory of Cortes over Narvaez took place on the 26th May
    1520.—­E.

SECTION X.

Occurrences, from the Defeat of Narvaez, 26th May 1520, to the Expulsion of the Spaniards from Mexico, on the 1st, and the Battle of Otumba on the 4th of July of the same Year.