Cortes made the following arrangement of our land army for the investment of Mexico, distributing our forces in three separate divisions, under the respective commands of Alvarado, De Oli, and Sandoval, reserving to himself to act where his presence might be most necessary, and taking in the mean time the command of the fleet.  Pedro de Alvarado, under whom I served, had 150 infantry, 30 cavalry, 18 musketeers and crossbow-men, and 8000 Tlascalans, and was ordered to take post at Tacuba, having three captains under his command, his brother Jorge de Alvarado, Pedro Guttierrez, and Andres de Monjara, having each a company of 50 infantry, with a third of the musketeers and crossbow-men, the cavalry being commanded by Alvarado in person.—­Christoval de Oli commanded the second division, having under him Andres de Tapia, Francisco Verdugo, and Francisco de Lugo, with 175 infantry, 30 cavalry, 20 musketeers and crossbows, and 8000 of our Indian allies.  This division was ordered to take post at Cuyoacan or Cojohuacan.—­The third division, under the command of Gonzalo de Sandoval, who had under him captains Luis Marin and Pedro de Ircio, consisted of 150 infantry, 24 cavalry, 14 musketeers and crossbows, and above 8000 Indian warriors, was to take post at Iztapalapa.  The division of Alvarado and De Oli were ordered to march from Tezcuco by the right, going round the northern side of the lake, and the third, under Sandoval, by the left, to the south end of the lake; and his march being much shorter, he was ordered to remain in Tezcuco until Cortes should sail out with the fleet[13].

Before setting out on their march, Alvarado and De Oli directed our Indian allies to go on a day before us, that we might not be interrupted by their numbers, and ordered them to wait for us when they reached the Mexican territory.  While on their march, Chichimecatl remarked that Xicotencatl, the commander in chief of the Tlascalans was absent; and it was found that he had secretly gone off from Tezcuco for Tlascala on the preceding night, in order to take possession of the territory and property of Chichimecatl, thinking this a good opportunity during the absence of that chief and his warriors, and being in no apprehension of any opposition, now that Maxicatzin was dead.  Chichimecatl returned immediately to Tezcuco, to inform Cortes of what had taken place; and our general sent five chiefs of Tezcuco and two Tlascalan chiefs, to request Xicotencatl to return.  He answered, that if his old father and Maxicatzin had listened to him, they would not have been now domineered over by Cortes and the Spaniards, and absolutely refused to go back.  On this haughty answer being reported to Cortes, he immediately sent off an alguazil with four horsemen and five Tezcucan chiefs, ordering them to seize and hang Xicotencatl wherever they could find him.  Alvarado interceded strongly for his pardon, but ineffectually; for though Cortes seemed to relent, the party who arrested