The cavaliers set the example to their followers by plunging into the water.

The rest followed as best they could.

Many were drowned by the weight of the gold they carried.

Others got across by clinging to the tails and manes of the horses.
Cortez, with Sandoval and other cavaliers, led the retreat until they reached the end of the causeway.

The din of battle was now far behind, but those who came up brought the news that the rear guard were so sorely pressed, that they would be destroyed unless aid reached them.
Cortez and his companions did not hesitate.