"
In general, Mr. Wilson contents himself with the barest, though
broadest, denial of the statements of his authorities, or with silently
substituting his own version of the facts in place of theirs. But he
sometimes condescends to argue the point. His logic is ingenious, but
singularly monotonous. His arguments are all drawn from one source,
namely, his own personal experience. The Tlascalan wall, described by
Cortes and Diaz, can never have been in existence, for Mr. Wilson has
been on the very spot and found no remains of a wall. Other travellers,
it may be remarked, have been more fortunate. Cortes states, that, in
a march across the mountains, some of his Indian allies perished of
thirst. This Mr. Wilson pronounces "impossible," because he himself
travelled over the same route, and did _not_ perish of thirst, as
neither did his horse, though the "sufferings of both," from that or
some other cause, were great. One of the most remarkable acts in the
career of Cortes was his voluntary destruction of the vessels which had
brought his little army to the Mexican coast, in order, as he avers,
that his men might stand committed to follow the fortunes of their
leader, whatever might be the dangers of the enterprise.
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