They contested every single foot of ground; at night, they sometimes managed to re-excavate canals that had been filled in. Famous warriors performed death-defying deeds and occasionally managed to topple a horse and bring down the rider. Twice they were able to isolate and bring down large groups of the Spaniards (once fifteen of them, once perhaps fifty-three). They sacrificed the prisoners atop the tallest pyramid in full view of their ashen compatriots, then strung their heads in a grisly necklace and left it hanging in the air. The courage of individual warriors sometimes stunned the
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