X. MULTIPLICATION OF PLOTS
JUNE-JULY, 1519.
CORTÉS, DIPLOMATE AND GENERAL—THE MUNICIPALITY OF VILLA RICA LOCATED—EXCITEMENT THROUGHOUT ANÁHUAC—MONTEZUMA DEMORALIZED—ARRIVAL OF THE RELEASED COLLECTORS AT THE MEXICAN CAPITAL—THE ORDER FOR TROOPS COUNTERMANDED—MONTEZUMA SENDS AN EMBASSY TO CORTÉS—CHICOMACATL ASKS AID AGAINST A MEXICAN GARRISON—A PIECE OF PLEASANTRY—THE VELAZQUEZ MEN REFUSE TO ACCOMPANY THE EXPEDITION—OPPORTUNITY OFFERED THEM TO RETURN TO CUBA, WHICH THEY DECLINE THROUGH SHAME—THE TOTONACS REBUKED—THE CEMPOALA BRIDES—DESTRUCTION OF THE IDOLS—ARRIVAL AT VILLA RICA OF SALCEDO—EFFORTS OF VELAZQUEZ WITH THE EMPEROR—CORTÉS SENDS MESSENGERS TO SPAIN—VELAZQUEZ ORDERS THEM PURSUED—THE LETTERS OF CORTÉS—AUDIENCIA OF THE EMPEROR AT TORDESILLAS.
Palamedes invented the game of chess while watching before the gates of Troy; a tame business, truly, beside the achievements of the heaven-born Achilles, the hero of the war. Yet chess remains, while Achilles and his heaven have melted with the mists. Who shall say, then, which was the greater, Cortés the soldier, or Cortés the diplomate? But these were barbarians, one says, with whom the shrewd Spaniards had to deal; they had neither horses, nor iron, nor gunpowder, to aid them in their wars. Furthermore, they regarded the strangers fully as demi-gods, probably as some of their own wandering deities returned. True; but he makes a great mistake who rates the Mexicans so far beneath Europeans in natural ability and cunning. Montezuma lacked some of the murderous enginery that Cortés had, and his inner life was of different dye; that was about all. If any would place Cortés, his genius, and his exploits, below those of the world’s greatest generals, because he warred on enemies weaker than their enemies, we have only to consider the means at his command, how much less was his force than theirs. What could the Scipios or the Cæsars have done with half a thousand men; or Washington, or Wellington, with five hundred against five hundred thousand? Napoleon’s tactics were always to have at hand more forces than the enemy. In this the Corsican displayed his astuteness. But a keener astuteness was required by Cortés to conquer thousands with hundreds and with tens. Perhaps Moltke, who, with a stronger force, could wage successful war on France, perhaps he, and a handful of his veterans, could land on the deadly shores of the Mexican Gulf, and with Montezuma there, and all the interior as dark to them as Erebus, by strategy and force of arms possess themselves of the country. I doubt it exceedingly. I doubt if one in ten of the greatest generals who ever lived would have achieved what the base bastard Pizarro did in Peru. The very qualities which made them great would have deterred them from anything which, viewed in the light of experience and reason, was so wildly chimerical. Then give these birds of prey their petting, I say; they deserve it. And be fame or infamy immortal ever theirs! Lastly, if any still suspect the genius of Cortés unable to cope with others than Indians, let them observe how he handles his brother Spaniards.
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It was about time the municipality should find anchorage; too much travelling by a town of such immaculate conception, of so much more than ordinary signification, were not seemly. Velazquez would deride it; the emperor Charles would wonder at it: therefore half a league below Quiahuiztlan, in the dimpled plain which stretches from its base to the harbor of Bernal at present protecting the ships, where bright waters commingling with soft round hills and rugged promontories were lifted into ethereal heights by the misted sunshine, the whole scene falling on the senses like a vision, and not like tame reality, there they chose a site for the Villa Rica,[219] and drew a plan of the town, distributed lots, laid the foundations for forts and batteries, granary, church, town-hall, and other buildings, which were constructed chiefly of adobe, the whole being inclosed by a strong stockade. To encourage alike men and officers to push the work, Cortés himself set the example in preparing for the structures, and in carrying earth and stones. The natives also lent their aid, and in a few weeks the town stood ready, furnishing a good shipping depot, a fortress for the control of the interior, a starting-point for operations, an asylum for the sick and wounded, and a refuge for the army in case of need.
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Great was the excitement in Anáhuac and the regions round about over the revolt of the Totonacs and the attitude assumed by the Spaniards; and while hope swelled the breast of subjected peoples, the Aztec nobles, seeing revolution in the signs of the times, began to look to the safety of their families and estates.[220] To Montezuma the seizure of his collectors was an outrage on the sacredness of his majesty, and a slur on his power, which the council declared must be punished in the most prompt and effective manner, lest other provinces should follow the example. And yet the monarch had no stomach for the business. Ofttimes since these accursed strangers touched his shores would he willingly have resigned that which he above all feared to lose, his sceptre and his life; then again, as appetite returned and existence was loaded with affluent pleasure, he sighed to taste the sweets of power a little longer. He was becoming sadly pusillanimous, an object of contempt before his gods, his nobles, and himself. It seemed to him as if the heavens had fallen on him and held him inexorably to earth. There was no escape. There were none to pity. He was alone. His very gods were recreant, cowering before the approach of other gods. Repressing his misgivings as best he might, he issued orders for an immediate descent of the army on the offenders. Let the mettle of these beings be proven, and let them live or die with their Totonac allies. To this end let levies be made of men and money on a long-suffering people, whose murmurs shall be drowned in the groans of fresh victims on the sacrificial altar of the war god.[221]
See now how powerfully had wagged that little forked tongue of Cortés! See how those gentle whisperings that night at Quiahuiztlan, those soft dissemblings breathed into the ears of two poor captives—see how they shot forth like winged swords to stop an army on the point of marching to its slaughters! Here, as in scores of other instances, Cortés’ shrewdness saved him from disaster.
For in the midst of the warlike preparations arrived the two released collectors, and their presentation of the magnanimity of the white chief, of his friendly conduct and warm assurances, materially changed the aspect of affairs. There was no alliance; there was no rebellion; the Totonacs dared not rebel without foreign support; with them Montezuma would settle presently. And with no little alacrity did he countermand the order for troops, and send an embassy to Cortés. Thus through the vacillating policy which now possessed the Mexican monarch was lost the opportunity to strike the enemy perhaps a fatal blow; and thus by that far off impalpable breath was fought and won another battle, this time vanquishing the king of kings himself, with his hundred thousand men.
The embassy sent comprised two of Montezuma’s nephews,[222] accompanied by four old and honorable caciques. They were to express the monarch’s thanks to the Spaniards, and to remonstrate against the revolt encouraged by their presence. He had become assured that they were of the race predicted by his forefathers, and consequently of his own lineage; out of regard for them, as guests of the revolted people, he would withhold present chastisement. A gift of robes and feather-work, and gold worth two thousand castellanos, accompanied the message.[223]
We cannot blame Cortés if his heart danced to its own music as he assured the envoys that he and all his people continued devoted to their master; in proof of which he straightway produced the other three collectors, safe, sound, and arrayed in their new attire.[224] Nevertheless, he could but express displeasure at the abrupt departure of the Mexicans from the former camp. This act had forced him to seek hospitality at the hand of the Totonacs, and for their kind reception of him they deserved to be forgiven. Further than this, they had rendered the Spaniards great benefits, and should not be expected to serve two masters, or to pay double tribute; for the rest, Cortés himself would soon come to Mexico and arrange everything. The envoys replied that their sovereign was too engrossed in serious affairs to be able as yet to appoint an interview. “Adieu,” they concluded, “and beware of the Totonacs, for they are a treacherous race.” Not to create needless alarm, nor leave on the minds of the envoys at their departure unpleasant impressions concerning his projects, Cortés entertained them hospitably, astonished them with cavalry and other exhibitions, and gratified them with presents. The effect of this visit was to raise still higher the Spaniards in the estimation not only of the Aztecs, but of the Totonacs, who with amazement saw come from the dread Montezuma, instead of a scourging army, this high embassy of peace. “It must be so,” they said among themselves, “that the Mexican monarch stands in awe of the strangers.”
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Not long after, Chicomacatl came to Cortés asking aid against a Mexican garrison, said to be committing ravages at Tizapantzinco,[225] some eight leagues from Cempoala. Cortés was in a merry mood at the moment; he could see the important progress he was making toward the consummation of his desires, though the men of Velazquez could not—at least they would admit of nothing honorable or beneficial to Cortés, and they continued to make much trouble. Here was an opportunity to test the credulity of these heathen, how far they might be brought to believe in the supernatural power of the Spaniards. Among the musketeers was an old Biscayan from the Italian wars, Heredia by name, the ugliest man in the army, uglier than Thersites, who could not find his fellow among all the Greeks that came to Troy. Lame in one foot, blind in one eye, bow-legged, with a slashed face, bushy-bearded as a lion, this musketeer had also the heart of a lion, and would march straight into the mouth of Popocatepetl, without a question, at the order of his general. Calling the man to him, Cortés said: “The Greeks worshipped beauty, as thou knowest, good Heredia, but these Americans seem to deify deformity, which in thee reaches its uttermost. Thou art hideous enough at once to awe and enravish the Aztecs, whose Pantheon cannot produce thine equal. Go to them, Heredia; bend fiercely on them thine only eye, walk bravely before them, flash thy sword, and thunder a little with thy gun, and thou shalt at once command a hundred sacrifices.” Then to the Totonac chief: “This brother of mine is all sufficient to aid thee in thy purpose. Go, and behold the Culhuas will vanish at thy presence.” And they went; an obedience significant of the estimation in which Cortés was then held, both by his own men and by the natives.
They had not proceeded far when Cortés sent and recalled them, saying that he desired to examine the country, and would accompany them. Tlamamas would be required to carry the guns and baggage, and they would set out the next day. At the last moment seven of the Velazquez faction refused to go, on the ground of ill health. Then others of their number spoke, condemning the rashness of the present proceeding, and desiring to return to Cuba. Cortés told them they could go, and after chiding them for neglect of duty he ordered prepared a vessel, which should be placed at their service. As they were about to embark, a deputation appeared to protest against permitting any to depart, as a proceeding prejudicial to the service of God, and of the king. “Men who at such a moment, and under such circumstances, desert their flag deserve death.” These were the words of Cortés put into the mouth of the speaker. Of course the order concerning the vessel was recalled, and the men of Velazquez were losers by the affair.[226]
The expedition, composed of four hundred soldiers, with fourteen horses, and the necessary carriers, then set off for Cempoala, where they were joined by four companies of two thousand warriors. Two days’ march brought them close to Tizapantzinco, and the following morning they entered the plain at the foot of the fortress, which was strongly situated on a high rock bordered by a stream. Here stood the people prepared to receive them; but scarcely had the cavalry come in sight when they turned to seek refuge within the fort. The horsemen cut off their retreat in that direction, however, and leaving them, began the ascent. Eight chiefs and priests thereupon came forth wailing, and informed the Spaniards that the Mexican garrison had left at the first uprising of the Totonacs, and that the Cempoalans were taking advantage of this and of the Spanish alliance to enforce the settlement of a long-standing boundary dispute. They begged that the army would not advance. Cortés at once gave orders to restrain the Cempoalans, who were already plundering. Their captains were severely reprimanded for want of candor as to the real object of the expedition, and were ordered to restore the effects and captives taken. This strictness was by no means confined to them, for a soldier named Mora, caught by the general in the act of stealing two fowls, was ordered hanged. Alvarado, however, cut him down in time to save his life, probably at the secret intimation of Cortés, who, while securing the benefit of example, would not unnecessarily sacrifice a soldier.[227]
Charmed by this display of justice on the part of the Spaniards, and impressed as well by their ever increasing prestige, the chiefs of the district came in and tendered allegiance. A lasting friendship was established between them and the Cempoalans;[228] after which the army returned to Cempoala by a new route,[229] and was received with demonstrations of joy by the populace. With a view of binding more closely such powerful allies, Chicomacatl proposed intermarriages. And as a beginning he presented eight young women,[230] richly dressed, with necklaces and ear-rings of gold, and each attended by servants. “Take them,” said he to Cortés. “They are all daughters of caciques. Seven are for your captains, and this, my niece, is for yourself, for she is the ruler of towns.”
Matters were becoming interesting. Cortés and some of his captains had wives in Cuba, and nearly all of them had mistresses here. The damsels of Cempoala were not famed for their beauty; the one offered Cortés was particularly ill-favored. With regard to captives and slaves, of course no marriage vow was necessary, but with princesses the case was different. But even here there was little difficulty. The aboriginal form of marriage, while it satisfied the natives, rested lightly on the Spaniards. Indeed, with them it was no marriage at all; and so it has been throughout the New World; in their marital relations with foreigners the natives have felt themselves bound, while the Europeans have not. To the ceremony in this instance no objection was offered.
At this happy consummation, though the rite is not yet performed, serious meditation takes possession of the mind of Cortés, who bethinks himself that he is doing little of late for his God, who is doing so much for him. Success everywhere attends his strategies. And these female slaves and princesses! While trying to quiet his conscience for accepting this princess, he was exceedingly careful in regard to taking unto himself real wives, as we have seen in Cuba. But here marriage after the New World fashion would surely advance his purposes. And so they are compelled to submit to the stronger, who by the right of might proceeds to rob them of their gold and to desolate their homes; and now assumes the higher prerogative of requiring them to relinquish the faith of their fathers and embrace the religion of their enemies. It would please God to have these Cempoala people worship him; Cortés can make them do so. True, they love their gods as much as Cortés loves his. Their gods likewise help them to good things, among others to the Spaniards themselves, who in return now determine their overthrow. And shall they consent! Alas, they are weak, and their gods are weak!
Heathenism, with its idolatry, and bloody sacrifices, and cannibalism, is horrible, I grant you. “For daily they sacrificed three or five Indians,” says Bernal Diaz, “offering the heart to idols, smearing the blood upon the walls, and cutting off the limbs to be eaten. I even believe they sold the flesh in the market.”[231] But equally horrible, and far more unfair, are the doings of the superior race, which with the advance of the centuries, and the increase of knowledge and refinement, are often guilty of deeds as bloodthirsty and cruel as these. With the most powerful of microscopic aids to vision, I can see no difference between the innate goodness and badness of men now and two or five thousand years ago; the difference lies merely in a change of morality fashions, and in the apparent refining and draping of what conventionally we choose to call wickedness. What is the serving of dainty dishes to the gods in the form of human sacrifices, of carving before them a few thousand fattened captives, to the extirpation of a continent of helpless human beings; and that by such extremes of treachery and cruelty as the cannibals never dreamed of, entrapping by fair words only to cut, and mangle, and kill by steel, saltpetre, and blood-hounds; stealing at the same time their lands and goods, and adding still more to their infamy by doing all this in the name of Christ; when in reality they violate every principle of religion and disregard every injunction of the church; just as men to-day lie and cheat and praise and pray, and out of their swindlings hope to buy favor of the Almighty!
And now these poor people must give up their poor gods, for their masters so decree. The chiefs and native priests protest. The Spaniards are benefactors and friends, but the gods are superior to men. To them they owe health, prosperity, existence; and sacrifices are but the necessary slight returns for so great blessings. The sacrificed are by no means injured, say the Aztecs, but are sent to heaven and enfolded at once in the bosom of their god. Verily there are curious articles of faith among the heathen worshipers as well as among our own, but if we look for all the good in ours we shall be mistaken. In vain the men of Cempoala beg to retain the religion of their forefathers and the sacred emblems of their faith. Carried away by the fierce zeal which more than once in these annals overcomes his prudence and brings him to the brink of ruin, Cortés cries: “Christians and soldiers, shall these things be—these idolatries and sacrifices, and other impious doings? No! First down with the images, then to arguments, and the granting of entreaties. Our lives on work rewarded with eternal glory!” Shouts of earnest approval was the response, and on they marched toward the temple. Priests and people rushed to the defence of their deities. With a scornful gesture the ruler was waived aside, as he interposed with the warning that to lay hands on the idols was to bring destruction alike on all. “You are not my friends,” exclaimed Cortés, “if you do not as I wish! Choose ye; and I will leave you your gods to save you from the threatened vengeance of Montezuma.” This was by far too practical an application of their piety. The fact is, their gods had not done exactly right by them in the matter of the Aztec imposition. These white strangers, after all, seemed to be better gods than their idols. “Well, work your will,” at length said Chicomacatl, “but do not ask our aid in such detestable doings.” So the thing was accomplished, as before this had been determined. In a moment fifty soldiers were on the temple summit, and down came the worshipful wooden things, shattered and clattering along the steps, while with bleeding hearts their makers stood by, their faces covered to exclude the sacrilegious sight. Ah, how they wailed, how they lamented, calling on the misshapen blocks to pity their inability to stop the deed![232]
Not such dastards were these people, however, that not one among them would strike a blow for their faith. For presently the court-yard was filled with armed men, headed by infuriated priests in long hooded robes of dark material, with slashed ears and faces clotted with blood, determined, if not to prevent, at least to avenge the outrage. What was sworn allegiance, or even life, beside the momentous question of religion? Seeing the danger, Cortés with characteristic promptness seized the lord, together with several leading men, and declared if a single Spaniard was so much as scratched they should immediately die. Chicomacatl accordingly spoke to the people and made them retire. Nor was wholly lost on them the mute argument of the shattered idols lying powerless at their feet. Hence when the images were burned, the natives looked on with comparative calmness. “Surely these beings are superior to our gods, whom they have thus vanquished,” they said one to another. Sweetly and serenely Cortés now smiled on them, called them brethren, and preached the European doctrines. The pagan temple was cleansed, the blood-smeared walls were whitewashed, and in their place was erected a Christian altar, decorated with flowers and surmounted with a cross. Here, before the assembled natives, Olmedo preached the Christian faith, and celebrated mass. The contrast between the simple beauty of this impressive ceremony and their own bloody worship made a deep impression on the minds of the natives, and at the conclusion those who desired were baptized. Among them were the eight brides, the ill-favored ruler of towns who had been given to Cortés being called Catalina, probably in honor of his wife in Cuba, whose place she was to occupy for a time. Lucky Puertocarrero’s second pretty prize, the daughter of Cacique Cuesco, was named Francisca.[233]
Accompanied by the brides and a large escort the army now returned to Villa Rica. There they found just arrived from Cuba a vessel commanded by Francisco de Salcedo, nicknamed ‘the dandy,’ who with Luis Marin, an able officer, and ten soldiers, all well provided with arms, and with two horses, had come in quest of fortune under Cortés.[234] Salcedo reported that Velazquez had received the appointment of adelantado over all lands discovered by him or at his cost, with one fifteenth of all royal revenues thence arising.[235]
Benito Martin, the chaplain, who had been sent to obtain the commission, was rewarded with the benefice of the new discovery at Ulua, which really comprised all Mexico, while the lately appointed bishop of Cuba, the Dominican Julian Garcés, confessor to the bishop of Búrgos, the patron of Velazquez, was promoted to the insignificant see of Cozumel. These preferments, based on an insufficient knowledge of the country, were corrected at a later time, when Garcés was made bishop of Tlascala, while Martin received other compensation.[236] Before the issue of these grants it appears that Yucatan at least had a narrow escape from slipping entirely out of Spanish hands. At the first news of Córdoba’s discoveries the admiral of Flanders was induced to ask for the land in grant, in order to settle it with Flemings, and also to petition for the governorship of Cuba as a means to promote the colony. This was supported by Xèvres, the chief adviser in such matters, who knew little of the Indies and the vast tracts referred to, and so the promise was given. Las Casas was in Spain at the time, and being consulted by the admiral as to the means for colonizing, became indignant at the rash concession of Cuba, which he considered as belonging to Columbus. He remonstrated, and warned those interested to do the same. The result was the withdrawal of the grant, greatly to the disappointment of the admiral, for whose account several vessels had already reached San Lúcar, laden with Flemish settlers.[237]
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Cortés was fully aware that Velazquez, possessed of a commission, would not long delay in asserting his claim with all the power at his command upon the islands, and with all his influence at court; this spurred on the captain-general to lose no time in bringing forward his own pretensions, and in seeking to obtain royal approval of his acts. Therefore at this juncture he determined to gain authority for effectually supplanting the Cuban governor in the field wherein he had already openly ignored him, and to despatch messengers to the king. The men of Cortés needed no prompting to see how necessary to their interest it was to procure his confirmation as general to the exclusion of Velazquez, and to support Cortés by writing reports in corroboration of his own statements. Yet, in view of the flowing in of exaggerated accounts concerning new discoveries, little would avail descriptions of conquests and resources, however glowing, and recommendations however warm, unless made real by specimens of the treasures which were the main attraction alike to king and subject. For gifts can move gods, says Hesiod. To the crown was due one fifth of the wealth so far obtained, but fearing that this would hardly produce the effect desired, Cortés proposed to surrender the one fifth due himself, and prevailed on his friends, and with their aid on all members of the expedition, to give up their share in the finer pieces of wrought gold and silver, and in all choice articles, so that a gift worthy of themselves and the country might be presented to the king.[238]
The flag-ship was prepared for the voyage, and the navigation intrusted to Alaminos and another pilot called Bautista, with fifteen sailors and the necessary outfit. Four Indians, rescued from the sacrificial cage at Cempoala, where they had been kept to fatten, were also sent on board, together with native curiosities, including specimens of picture-writing. The difficult task of out-manœuvring Velazquez and securing the aims of their party was intrusted to the alcaldes Puertocarrero and Montejo, the former being selected chiefly because of his high connections, which might serve him at court, the latter for his business talent. Three thousand castellanos were given them from the treasury for expenses, together with the necessary power and instructions, and three letters in duplicate for the king. One of these was the first of the celebrated letters of Cortés on the conquest. He related at length all that had occurred since he left Santiago; the difficulties with Velazquez, the hardships of the voyage, and the progress of conquest for God and the king. He dwelt on the vast extent and wealth of the country, and expressed the hope of speedily subjecting it to the crown, and of seizing the person of the great Montezuma. And he trusted that in return for his services and loyal devotion he would be remembered in the cédulas to be issued for this new addition to the empire.[239]
The second letter was by the ayuntamiento of Villa Rica, dated July 10, 1519,[240] covering not only the same ground, but giving an account of the voyages of discovery by Córdoba and Grijalva, the reasons for founding a colony, and for Cortés’ appointment. The features of the country, its resources and inhabitants, were touched upon, and the belief expressed that of gold, silver, and precious stones “there is in the land as much as in that where it is said Solomon took the gold for the temple.” Velazquez was exposed as a cruel, dishonest, and incompetent governor, and as such most dangerous to be intrusted with the control of these vast and rich territories. They asked for an investigation to prove the charges, as well as the propriety of their own acts; and concluded by recommending that Cortés, whose character and conduct stamped him a loyal subject and an able leader, be confirmed in his offices, till the conquest of the country, at least, should have been achieved.[241]
The third letter, even longer than this, though of similar tenor, was signed by the representative men in the army,[242] and concluded by praying that their services and hardships be rewarded with grants, and that Cortés be confirmed in the government till the king might be pleased to appoint an infante or a grandee of the highest class, for so large and rich a country ought to be ruled by none else. Should the designing bishop of Búrgos of his accord “send us a governor or captain, before we obey him we shall inform your royal person.” This sentence, which Las Casas characterizes as a “great though sweetened piece of impudence,” and several others not in harmony with Cortés’ own calculated report, were probably the cause for the disappearance of the letter before it reached the emperor.[243]
The messengers or procuradores left the port July 16,[244] and although ordered not to touch Cuba, lest Velazquez should learn of the mission, Montejo could not resist the temptation of taking a peep at his estates at Mariel de Cuba, a port close to Habana. Here they entered August 23, and took supplies and water. This could not of course be done in secret, and swelling with rumor the report reached Velazquez that his flag-ship had come ballasted with gold, to the value of two hundred and seventy thousand pesos. No less alarmed than furious at this proof of the perfidy he had so long feared, he despatched a fast sailing vessel with a strong force under Gonzalo de Guzman, the royal treasurer, to capture her; but she had stayed only three days at Mariel, and then passed safely through the Bahamas Channel, the first to make that passage.[245]
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The arrival of the messengers at Seville, in October, created no small stir, and aided by their treasures and reports they became the heroes of the hour. But their triumph was of short duration; for Benito Martin, the chaplain of Velazquez, happened to be at the port. This man at once laid claim to the vessel for his master, denounced the persons on board as traitors, and prevailed upon the Casa de Contratacion to seize the ship, together with the private funds of the commission, as well as certain money sent by Cortés for his father. A still stronger opponent appeared in the person of Fonseca, bishop of Búrgos, whose interest in Velazquez, fostered by a long interchange of favors, was strengthened by a projected marriage of the governor with his niece.[246] Detaining the messengers and their papers by deferred promises and other measures,[247] he filled the royal ear with the most damaging charges against them and their party in behalf of his protégé.
Velazquez had meanwhile been taking testimony against Cortés, and had sent treasurer Guzman to Spain with documents and instructions to join Martin in pressing his suit before the bishop.[248]
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Charles V. had been elected emperor, and was busy in Spain raising supplies and making preparations on a vast scale for presenting an appearance in Germany befitting so high a dignity. Previous to embarking for Flanders he was to meet the cortes at Compostela. The messengers from New Spain could afford to lose no more time, and so with the aid of Puertocarrero’s friends and the men opposed to Fonseca, among them the Licenciado Nuñez, relator of the royal council and related to Cortés, they slipped away, and in company with Alaminos and Martin Cortés, managed to be presented to the monarch at Tordesillas, in the beginning of March.[249] The king was not a little pleased with the reports, gilded as they were with the richest presents that had as yet reached him from his American possessions,[250] but he was unfortunately too absorbed with the imperial crown and the preparations for departure to give more than a passing attention to the subject, and still less would he enter into the merits of the claims presented. Finding, however, that Fonseca had not been impartial in the matter, he was prevailed on to refer it to Cardinal Adrian, and the junta of prelates and ministers governing the kingdom during the royal absence, before whom the Council of the Indies had also to lay its reports. The messengers were meanwhile allowed under bond to receive from the seized funds what was needed for their support.[251] The powerful Fonseca managed, however, by misrepresentation and other means, to delay the case, and for about two years it dragged its weary length. And yet, where a man is strong enough to carve out his own fortune, particularly where the administration of strict justice might send his neck to the halter, the law’s delay and its susceptibility to perversion may be most fortunate.
FOOTNOTES
[219] Villa Rica is the name appearing in the first royal charter of 1523, but with later foundations Vera Cruz became the title. Panes, Extension Veracruz, MS., 1 et seq. The municipal council, however, distinctly calls it la Rica Villa de la Veracruz and ought to be the proper authority for the form of name first applied. Carta del Ayunt., in Cortés, Cartas, 1 et seq. ‘Y luego ordenamos de hazer, y fundar, è poblar vna Villa, que se nombró la Villa Rica de la Vera-Cruz; porque llegamos Jueves de la Cena, y desembarcamos en Uiernes Santo de la Cruz, é rica por aquel Cauallero que ... dixo que mirasse las tierras ricas.’ Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 29. ‘Llamola Villa Rica a la nueua poblaciõ, y de la Veracruz, por auer desembarcado el Viernes Sãto, y Rica, por la riqueza que se auia descubierto.’ Herrera, dec. ii. lib. v. cap. vii. Although nominally founded adjacent to San Juan de Ulua, there was no intention to build the town on that unhealthy and dreary spot. The first actual foundation took place at the harbor of Bernal. Nearly five years later the town rose anew on the present Rio de la Antigua, where it became known alone as Vera Cruz. In 1599 the actual or new Vera Cruz found itself finally planted on the very site of the first nominal foundation. The chief reason for this change was probably the need for the better protection against filibusters afforded by the island of San Juan de Ulua, whose batteries commanded the harbor. See Albornoz, Carta al Emperador, Dec., 1525, in Icazbalceta, Col. Doc., i. 495. The charter for la Nueva Ciudad de la Vera-Cruz was granted July 19, 1615. Calle, Mem. y Not., 68; Clavigero, Storia Mess., iii. 30; Rivera, Hist. Jalapa, i. 27; Humboldt, Essai Pol., i. 276-7. Alegre, Hist. Comp. de Jesus, i. 149-50, has some excellent remarks hereon. Few authors, however, are free from blunders with regard to the different sites, even Lorenzana committing more than one. Cortés, Hist. N. España, 381.
[220] ‘Los Hombres mas Poderosos entendian en buscar Lugares en los Montes, y partes mas remotas, para conservar sus Mugeres, Hijos, y Hacienda.’ Torquemada, i. 403.
[221] Inconsolable at the prospect of the strangers acquiring a footing in the country, Montezuma, after vainly searching for admission into the Hades of Cicalco, retired to the abode occupied by him ere he became emperor. Sahagun, Hist. Conq., i. 15-16. One reason for this is said to have been the result of the embassy to the oracle at Achiuhtla, in Miztecapan, which brought back the announcement that the Aztec empire must yield to strangers. Burgoa, Geog. Descrip. Oajaca, pt. ii. 129.
[222] ‘Figliuoli porse del suo fratello Cuitlahuatzin.’ Clavigero, Storia Mess., iii. 30.
[223] ‘Ciertas pieças de oro y plata bien labradas, y vn casquete de oro menudo.... Peso todo esto dos mil, y nouenta Castellanos.’ Gomara, Hist. Mex., 58.
[224] Before the embassy came, says Herrera, ‘Diò orden con voluntad del señor de Chianhuitzlan, que los tres Mexicanos pressos fuessen sueltos,’ dec. ii. lib. v. cap. xi.
[225] Ixtlilxochitl, Hist. Chich., 290. Other authorities differ in the spelling.
[226] One of them who had bartered a fine light-colored horse for some property in Cuba was unable to annul the trade, and thus lost his animal. Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 34. Gomara, Hist. Mex., 64, refers merely to murmurs in favor of Velazquez, which Cortés quiets by placing a few in chains for a time.
[227] ‘Muriò este soldado en vna guerra en la Prouincia de Guatimala sobre vn Peñol.’ Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 35. He places the incident on the return march.
[228] According to Gomara the Aztec garrison does ravage the country when the Totonac revolt occurs, and their forces meet the Spaniards on the field, only to flee at the sight of the horsemen. Cortés and four others dismount, and mingling with the fleeing, reach the fort gates, which they hold till their troops come up. Surrendering the place to the allies, Cortés tells them to respect the people and to let the garrison depart without arms or banner. This victory gained great influence for the Spaniards, and remembering the feat of Cortés, the Indians declared that one Spaniard was enough to aid them in achieving victory. Hist. Mex., 59. Ixtlilxochitl, who follows Gomara, fights the Aztec garrison as far as the city, and then captures it. Hist. Chich., 290. Solis assumes that a few Spaniards cut off the retreat of the townsmen, and rushing forward with some Cempoalans, are already inside when the leaders come to plead for mercy. Hist. Mex., i. 197-8. The foremost credit is however due to Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 34-5, who, being present, declares Gomara’s account wholly wrong, that no garrison existed here, and that no resistance was made. The latter sentence is modified by Tapia, also a member of the expedition, who states that the town did resist and was punished. Relacion, in Icazbalceta, Col. Doc., ii. 566. Hence it may be assumed that Diaz, as a foot soldier, was not present to see the probably bloodless rout of the Indians by the cavalry. The townsmen are not likely to have allowed the Cempoalans to approach without offering resistance, or, in case they knew of the Spanish advance, without sending a deputation before the pillage began.
[229] Passing through two towns, the soldiers suffering greatly from heat and fatigue. Near Cempoala the lord awaited them in some temporary huts with bountiful cheer, though apprehensive of Cortés’ anger at his deception. The following day they entered the city. Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 35; Herrera, dec. ii. lib. v. cap. xiii.
[230] ‘Veinte Doncellas (aunque Gomara dice, que fueron ocho),’ says Torquemada, i. 399, without giving his reasons.
[231] ‘Tambien auian de ser limpios de sodomias, porque tenian muchachos vestidos en habito de mugeres, que andauan â ganar en aquel maldito oficio.’ This they promised. Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 35. Solis assumes that Cortés was aroused to this crusade by the heavy sacrifices at a great festival. Hist. Mex., i. 204-5.
[232] Gomara makes the natives tear down the idols and the sepulchres of caciques worshipped as gods. ‘Acabo con los de la ciudad que derribassen los idolos y sepulcros de los caciques, q̄ tambien reuerẽciauan como a dioses.’ Hist. Mex., 67.
[233] Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 36; Herrera, dec. ii. lib. v. cap. ix. xiv. Gomara places the presentation of the women at the first visit of the Spaniards to the city, and herein he is followed by Herrera, Torquemada, and Ixtlilxochitl. Hist. Chich., 289.
[234] These proved the more valuable since Cortés’ horse had died shortly before. He obtained, by gift or purchase, the fine Arriero, a dark chestnut belonging to Ortiz, the musician, and to García, the miner. Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 33. Gomara assumes that Salcedo brought a caravel, with sixty Spaniards and nine horses, the vessel having been detained in Cuba for repairs. Hist. Mex., 59; yet he includes Salcedo as present at the final review there. Id., 14. He is evidently confused.
[235] For himself and one heir. Further, after conquering and settling four islands, he might select one from which to receive perpetually for himself and heirs one twentieth part of all the revenue accruing therefrom for the king. No duty would be charged during his life on any clothing, arms, and provisions imported by him into those lands. As an aid toward the expenses of the conquest, a royal estate at Habana was granted him, and a salary in those lands of 300,000 maravedís. The other clauses of the commission related to mines, clergy, taxes, and settlers. It was dated at Saragossa, November 13, 1518, ‘five days previous to the usurpation of the fleet by Cortés,’ observes Las Casas, Hist. Ind., v. 3-5. Dated at Barcelona, says Herrera, dec. ii. lib. iii. cap. xi. Several are led to suppose that Velazquez did not receive the notice of his appointment for over a year after its date, which is unlikely. Mex., ii. 222-3.
[236] Which he failed to enjoy, since he died at sea while en route to New Spain to take possession. Las Casas, Hist. Ind., iv. 465-6; Herrera, dec. ii. lib. iii. cap. xi.; Cogolludo, Hist. Yucathan, 16-17.
[237] Many of these died from hardship, and the rest returned impoverished to their country. Las Casas, Hist. Ind., iv. 374-6; Herrera, dec. ii. lib. ii. cap. xix.; Cogolludo, Hist. Yucathan, 8.
[238] It has been generally assumed, from a loose acceptance of chroniclers’ text, that all the treasures were surrendered for the object in view, but this could not have been the case. The pile of gold dust and nuggets, accumulated by constant barter along the coast, and increased by the contents of two helmets sent by Montezuma, formed a respectable amount, of which only a small portion was sent to the king, as specimens of mining products. Three thousand castellanos were set aside for the expenses of the messengers to Spain, and an equal sum for Cortés’ father, ‘Otros 3000 que Cortés enviaba para su padre.’ Las Casas, Hist. Ind., iv. 498. ‘A su padre Martin Cortes y a su madre ciertos Castellanos.’ Gomara, Hist. Mex., 62. The disposal of the dust alone indicates an apportionment. Further, the list of treasure sent to Spain, as appended to the Carta del Ayuntamiento, and as given by Gomara, shows that much of the wrought metal received from Montezuma, not counting that acquired by barter, was retained by the expedition. Gomara writes that the first step of Cortés was to order a division of treasures by Ávila and Mejía, acting respectively for the crown and the army. All the effects being displayed in the plaza, the gold and silver amounting to 27,000 ducats, the cabildo observed that what remained after deducting the royal fifth would belong to the general in payment for the vessels, arms, and supplies surrendered by him to the company. Cortés said there was time enough to pay him; he would now take only his share as captain-general, and leave others wherewith to settle their small debts. He also proposed that instead of sending merely the one fifth to the king, the finest specimens should be given, which was agreed to. His list is given in Hist. Mex., 60-2. Ordaz and Montejo were sent round with a list to be signed by all who wished to surrender their share in the gold. ‘Y desta manera todos lo firmaron â vna.’ Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 36. The Carta del Ayunt. refers to four of Velazquez’ men as objecting to the presents being sent elsewhere than to their leader. Cortés, Cartas, 26-7; Tapia, Relacion, in Icazbalceta, Col. Doc., ii. 563; Herrera, dec. ii. lib. v. cap. xiv.; Torquemada, i. 407; Vetancvrt, Teatro Mex., pt. iii. 118.
[239] No generous allusion appears to have been made to the discoverers who opened the way for him. Gomara alone gives a brief outline of the letter, but the original or copy has never been found, notwithstanding the close search made. Since Charles V. received it on the eve of his departure for Germany, it occurred to Robertson that the Vienna archives might throw on it some light, and the consequent search led to the discovery of an authenticated copy of the companion letter from the municipality of Villa Rica, but nothing relating to Cortés’ report. Hist. Am., preface, x.-xi. Panes insists that the letter must have existed in the Vienna Court Library at one time. Doc. Domin. Esp., MS., 59-60. Barcia suggests several ways in which it might have been lost; one being its production before the royal council at the instance of Pánfilo de Narvaez. Bibl. Occid., tit. iv. ii. 598. Fortunately the companion letter and other narratives cover its essential points.
[240] ‘El Cabildo escriuiò juntamente con diez soldados ... ê iva yo firmado en ella.’ Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 36.
[241] Written by Cortés’ most devoted friends, and undoubtedly under his supervision, we cannot expect to find it other than a labored effort to promote his views. Robertson, whose suggestion led to its discovery in the Vienna Imperial Library, offers a mere synopsis of the contents. Hist. Am., preface, p. xi. ii. 521-2. It is given at length in the Cortés, Cartas, by Gayangos, Paris, 1866, 1-34, with notes, and with the list of presents appended; and in Col. Doc. Inéd., i. 417-72, and in Alaman, Disert., i. 2d app., 41-104, preceded by an introductory sketch of the expedition by the collector of the papers, and containing the list of presents as checked by Muñoz in 1784 from the Manual del Tesorero de la Casa de la Contratacion de Sevilla.
[242] ‘Todos los Capitanes, y soldados juntamente escriuimos otra carta.’ Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 36. ‘El cabildo ... escriuio ... dos letras. Vna ... no firmaron sino alcaldes y regidores. La otra fue acordada y firmada del cabildo y de todos los mas principales.’ Gomara, Hist. Mex., 63.
[243] Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 37, gives a long detail of its contents, particularly of the conclusion, wherein the bishop of Búrgos is pointed out as favoring his friends and relations in the distribution of Indian governments. Velazquez enjoyed his special favor in return for the large presents in gold and towns he had made, to the prejudice of the crown. Cortés, on reading the letter, was highly pleased with the eulogy bestowed upon himself, and promised to remember it when rewards came to be distributed, but he objected to the prominence given to the discoveries of Córdoba and Grijalva, ‘sino á èl solo se atribuia el descubrimiento, y la honra, ê honor de todo,’ and wished to suppress the statement that one fifth of the profits were to be given to him. The men declined to hide anything from the king, and so Cortés no doubt made the messengers hide the letter. Tapia gives a brief synopsis of it, mentioning the objections raised against the bishop of Búrgos, and the resolution not to obey any orders contrary to their report till the king had replied to it—‘é para que otra cosa en contrario de lo que le escrebiamos no se hiciese, que S. M. sin saber de qué hacia mercedes, no las hiciese, estábamos prestos de morir é tener la tierra en su real nombre fasta ver respuesta de esta carta.’ Relacion, in Icazbalceta, Col. Doc., ii. 566. ‘Esta carta no vido el Emperador, porque, si la viera, no les sucederia ni á Cortés ni á sus consortes el negocio tan favorable como abajo se parecerá.’ Las Casas, Hist. Ind., iv. 498.
[244] ‘En una nao que ... despaché á 16 de julio del año de 1519, envié a V. A. muy larga y particular relacion.’ Cortés, Cartas, 51; Oviedo, iii. 261. ‘En veinte y seis dias del mes de Julio ... partieron de San Juan de Ulua.’ Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 37. On the next page he says July 6th. The naming of Ulua as the port of departure shows also a carelessness of facts; yet Gomara says:‘Partieron ... de Aquiahuiztlã ... a veinte y seis.’ Hist. Mex., 6. Still Cortés’ letter, written so soon after, ought to be correct. Prescott accepts the 26th.
[245] ‘Esta fuga fue ocasion de descubrir el derrotero de la Canal de Bahama, para la buelta de España, hasta entonces no nauegada, y desde aquella ocasion siempre seguida.’ Cogolludo, Hist. Yucathan, 41. ‘Alaminos ... fue el primero que nauegò por aquella canal.’ Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 36-39. Prejudiced against Montejo, as shown by previous expressions, this author accuses him of sending letters to Velazquez by a sailor, who spread the news of the mission along his route. Some of the letters were from adherents in Cortés’ army. ‘Pareciò, de otras personas principales que estauan en nuestro Real, fueron aconsejados que fuessen á aquella estancia ... y aun escriuieron para que el Diego Velazquez tuuiesse tiempo de auellos á las manos.’ Velazquez accordingly sends two small vessels under Gabriel de Rojas and Guzman to pursue the ship, but their cruise between Habana and the Bahamas Channel is in vain. Montejo’s conduct before and after this indicates nothing that can justify the accusations, and Velazquez, in his letter to Figueroa, juez de residencia in Española, inveighs against one ‘Montejo’ and his companion for taking not only provisions and forty butts of water, but a number of Indians from Mariel, and then leaving ‘without informing any magistrate or other person,’ taking a dangerous and hitherto unknown route. In Icazbalceta, Col. Doc., i. 401. During the investigation held on the subject by the governor, it appeared that Juan de Rojas of Habana reported the secret visit of Montejo, who, knowing that Rojas had become aware of his presence, wrote him at the moment of leaving that he was going to visit Velazquez. From Perez, a servant of Rojas and in charge at Mariel, it seems, he exacted an oath not to reveal what he had learned of the rich cargo and destination of the vessel. Rojas nevertheless obtained the facts from him. Testimonio, in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xii. 151-204. In a letter to the bishop of Búrgos, October 12, 1519, Velazquez states that a man at Mariel, Perez probably, was at the last moment shown the treasures. Guzman was sent with a vessel in pursuit. In Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xii. 248-50. Gomara also says, ‘embiando tras ella vna carauela de armada.’ Hist. Mex., 64; Torquemada, i. 407.
[246] ‘Doña Mayor de Fonseca. El obispo de Búrgos ... por la muerte del Gran Chanciller ... tornó á alear y á ser principal.’ Las Casas, Hist. Ind., v. 2; Herrera, dec. ii. lib. iii. cap. xi.; Zúñiga, Anales Ecles. Sevilla, 414.
[247] The bishop of Búrgos, then at Valladolid, spoke so harshly to Puertocarrero that the latter ventured to remonstrate, and demand that their messages be forwarded to the king. A charge was now raked up against Puertocarrero of having three years before carried off a woman from Medellin to the Indies, and for this he was cast into prison. Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 38; Vetancvrt, Teatro Mex., pt. iii. 119.
[248] Guzman appears to have started in October from Cuba, when Narvaez’ expedition against Cortés had already begun to be fitted out. Carta de Velazquez, Oct. 12, 1519, in Col. Doc. Inéd., i. 472-5; Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xii. 246-51; Carta al Figueroa, in Icazbalceta, Col. Doc., i. 402; Las Casas, Hist. Ind., v. 2. His appeal to the Jeronimite Fathers, says Bernal Diaz, met only with rebuff. They considered that Cortés had done well to send so rich a present to the king. ‘Le embiaron al Diego Velazquez â Cuba â vn Licenciado que se dezia Zuazo para que le tomasse residencia ... Uelazquez, se congoxó mucho mas, y como de antes era muy gordo, se paró flaco en aquellos dias.’ Hist. Verdad., 38. Martin petitioned the bishop for the repair and return of the messengers’ vessel to Velazquez, together with another vessel, both to carry reinforcements to the Indies. This was needed, partly to prevent the possible conflict between Cortés’ party and the expedition fitting out under Velazquez to support the men he had already sent under Cortés as his lieutenant. Memorial, in Col. Doc. Inéd., i. 407-9.
[249] Sandoval, Hist. Carlos V., i. 203. ‘Viniéronse con la corte hasta llegar á la Coruña, y en este camino los cognoscí yo.’ Las Casas, Hist. Ind., iv. 499; Herrera, dec. ii. lib. ix. cap. vii.
[250] In the Manual de la Casa de Contratacion de la Indias is noted that the Cempoala natives were presented to the king, at Tordesillas, in February, or March, 1520, and the presents at Valladolid in April. The Indians were sent to Cuba at the close of March, 1521, except one who had died. Cortés, Cartas, 34; Alaman, Disert., i. 91-104.
[251] According to Bernal Diaz the bishop of Búrgos retained not only the original letters of the king, but a portion of the presents, which produced a sharp letter from Charles. The duplicate letters reached him, however. Hist. Verdad., 38-9. This author is not well informed about the movements of the procuradores. He lets the king reach Flanders before they arrive, and there receive only the reports.
XI. THE SINKING OF THE FLEET
JULY-AUGUST, 1519.
DIEGO VELAZQUEZ ONCE MORE—HIS SUPPORTERS IN THE CAMP OF CORTÉS—THEY ATTEMPT ESCAPE—ARE DISCOVERED—THE LEADERS ARE SEIZED AND EXECUTED—CORTÉS’ RIDE TO CEMPOALA, AND WHAT CAME OF IT—HE DETERMINES ON THE DESTRUCTION OF THE FLEET—PRELIMINARY STRATAGEMS—SEVERAL OF THE SHIPS PRONOUNCED UNSEAWORTHY—THE MATTER BEFORE THE SOLDIERS—THE FLEET SUNK—INDIGNATION OF THE VELAZQUEZ FACTION—ONE VESSEL REMAINING—IT IS OFFERED TO ANY WISHING TO DESERT—IT IS FINALLY SUNK—FRANCISCO DE GARAY’S PRETENSIONS—SEIZURE OF SOME OF HIS MEN.
To the top of a fir-tree, which he curbed and then let spring, Theseus fastened the robber Sinis, who had been accustomed himself to kill travellers in that way. In a hollow brazen bull, which he had made for the Sicilian tyrant to roast his victims in, Perillus the inventor was roasted. A famous detective was hanged at last for house-breaking. Matthew Hopkins, the witch-finder, who about the middle of the seventeenth century travelled the country over to discover and bring witches to punishment, was finally, with pronounced effect, subjected to one of his own tests. Witches, he had said, would not sink in water. This was a safe proposition for the prosecution; for if they sank they were drowned, and if they did not sink they were burned. Being at length himself charged with witchcraft, the people seized and threw him into a river; and as he floated, by his own law he was declared a witch, and put to death accordingly. In more ways than one, he who invents a guillotine is often the first to suffer by it. It is not wise to sow dragons’ teeth, and expect therefrom a happy harvest.
Now Diego Velazquez had all his life been sowing dragons’ teeth, and hunting witches, and building guillotines, and brazen bulls. Starting from Spain in the guise of a noble old soldier, as he advertised himself, though some said of him that his sword was bloodless and his bravery bravado, he served the usual apprenticeship in the New World, chasing, and mutilating, and murdering, and enslaving natives, working to death on his plantations those saved for this most cruel fate. For this and similar service Diego Colon, then ruling the Indies at Española, sent him to Cuba to play governor there over those inoffensive and thrice unlucky savages. Fraud being native to his character, no sooner was he fairly seated than he repudiated his late master and benefactor, and reported directly to the king, even as his own captain of the Mexican expedition was now doing. Another of his guillotines was the vile treatment of Grijalva for not disobeying orders, on which score he could not complain against Grijalva’s successor. Yet, as head and heart frosted with time the Cuban governor was not happy: misdeeds never bring true or lasting happiness. His bitterness, however, was but in the bloom; the full fruit of his folly would come only after the consummation of events upon the continent, grand as yet beyond conception. Ordinarily it is much easier to kill a man than to create one; in this instance it was extremely difficult to kill the man that he had made.
If among the New World cavaliers such a thing as poltroon or coward could be, Diego Velazquez was that thing, notwithstanding he had participated in so much fighting. Yet I do not call him coward, for my pen refuses to couple such a term with that of sixteenth-century Spaniard. Certain it is, however, that few men in those days preferred conquering new lands by deputy to winning glory in person, and if this soldier and governor was not a coward, there was little of the manly or chivalrous in his bravery. He was cautious, yet frequently his cupidity overcame his caution; and when he adventured his gold—for he seldom risked his life, either for fame which he dearly loved, or for gold which he loved still dearer—it was under restrictions ruinous to almost any enterprise. In his ordinary mood he played fairly enough the statesman and hero, but in truth his statesmanship was superficial, and his heroism theatrical. Las Casas calls him a terrible fellow for those who served him, and Gomara says he had little stomach for expenditures. This much allowance, however, should be made in any statements of historians respecting the governor of Cuba: in their drama of the conquest Diego Velazquez plays the part of chief villain to the hero Hernan Cortés, when as a matter of fact Cortés was the greater villain of the two, principally because he was the stronger.
Even the priests praise Cortés, though many of his acts were treacherous; and timidity in a leader was accounted the most heinous of crimes. On the whole, I agree with Torquemada that the governor should have gone against Montezuma in person, if it was necessary he should go on such dastardly work at all; but we may be sure that Velazquez would not himself venture upon this sea of high exploit, though Æolus with a silver cord had tied up the winds in an ox-hide, as he did for Ulysses. And now from this time forth, and indeed from the moment the unrestrainable Estremaduran embarked defying him, the sulphurous fire of hatred and revenge burned constant in the old man’s breast.
* * * * *
Never was villainy so great that if united with high station or ability it could not find supporters; for most men are rascals at heart in one direction or another. The pretty pair, Velazquez the governor, and Cortés the adventurer—so well pitted that the difference between them consists chiefly in setting off the position of one against the native strength of the other, the manners and pusillanimity of the one against the fate-defying chivalry of the other—had each his active workers not only in Spain, but in America, those of Velazquez being some of them in the very camp of Cortés. Since the royal grant of superior powers to Velazquez, this faction has lifted its head. And now its brain works.
The messengers for Spain had scarcely left the port before these malcontents form a plot, this time not with the sole desire to return to a more comfortable and secure life, but with a view to advise Velazquez of the treasure ship so close at hand. Amongst them are to be found the priest Juan Diaz; Juan Escudero, the alguacil of Baracoa, who beguiled and surrendered Cortés into the hands of the authorities; Diego Cermeño and Gonzalo de Umbría, pilots; Bernardino de Coria, and Alonso Peñate, beside several leading men who merely countenanced the plot.[252] They have already secured a small vessel with the necessary supplies, and the night of embarkment is at hand, when Coria repents and betrays his companions.
Cortés is profoundly moved. It is not so much the hot indignation that stirs his breast against the traitors as the light from afar that seems to float in upon his mind like an inspiration, showing him more vividly than he had ever seen it before, his situation. So lately a lax and frivolous youth, apparently of inept nature, wrought to stiffer consistency by some years of New World kneading, by a stroke of the rarest fortune he suddenly finds himself a commander of men, in a virgin field of enterprise fascinating beyond expression, and offering to the soldier possibilities excelled by nothing within the century. As the mind enlarges to take in these possibilities, the whole being seems to enlarge with it, the unstable adventurer is a thing of the past, and behold a mighty rock fills the place. Against it heads shall beat unprofitably. The momentous question of to be or not to be is forever determined; it is an affair simply of life now. Life and the power of which he finds himself possessed shall rise or fall together; and if his life, then the lives of others. No life shall be more precious to him than his own; no life shall be accounted precious at all that stands in the way of his plans. To a lady who complained of the burning of the Palatinate by Turenne, Napoleon answered: “And why not, madame, if it was necessary to his designs?” The Palatinate! ay, and a hundred million souls flung into the same fire, ere the one omnipotent soul shall suffer the least abridgment. It was a small matter, and he would do it; all the islands of the Western Inde he would uproot and fling into the face of the Cuban governor before he would yield one jot of his stolen advantage. Each for himself were Velazquez, Columbus, and Charles, and the rest of this world’s great and little ones, and Cortés would be for himself. Henceforth, like Themistocles, though he would die for his country he would not trust her. Return to Cuba he well knew for him was death, or ignominy worse than death. His only way was toward Mexico. As well first as last. All the past life of Cortés, all his purposes for the future, concentred in these resolves to make them the pivot of his destiny. Cortés, master of kings, arbiter of men’s lives! As for these traitors, they shall die; and if other impediments appear, as presently we shall see them appear, be they in the form of eye or right hand, they shall be removed. Tyrant, he might be branded; ay, as well that as another name, for so are great ends often brought to pass by small means. Unpleasant as it may be, the survivors may as well bear in mind that it will be less difficult another time.
So the conspirators are promptly seized and sentenced, Escudero and Cermeño to be hanged, Umbría to lose his feet, and others to receive each two hundred lashes.[253] Under cover of his cloth Padre Diaz, the ringleader and most guilty of them all, escapes with a reprimand. As for the rest, though among them were some equally guilty, they were treated with such dissembling courtesy and prudence as either to render them harmless or to convert them into friends. “Happy the man who cannot write, if it save him from such business as this!” exclaimed the commander, as he affixed his name to the death-warrants. For notwithstanding his inexorable resolve he was troubled, and would not see his comrades die though they would have sacrificed him. On the morning of the day of execution he set off at breakneck speed for Cempoala, after ordering two hundred soldiers to follow with the horses and join a similar force which had left three days before under Alvarado.[254]
Cortés’ brain was in a whirl during that ride. It was a horrible thing, this hanging of Spaniards, cutting off feet, and flogging. Viewed in one light it was but a common piece of military discipline; from another stand-point it was the act of an outlaw. The greater part of the little army was with the commander; to this full extent the men believed in him, that on his valor and discretion they would adventure their lives. With most men beliefs are but prejudices, and opinions tastes. These Spaniards not only believed in their general, but they held to a most impetuous belief in themselves. They could do not only anything that any one else ever had done or could do, but they could command the supernatural, and fight with or against phantoms and devils. They were a host in themselves; besides which the hosts of Jehovah were on their side. And Cortés measured his men and their capabilities, not as Xerxes measured his army, by filling successively a pen capable of holding just ten thousand; he measured them rather by his ambition, which was as bright and as limitless as the firmament. Already they were heroes, whose story presently should vie in thrilling interest with the most romantic tales of chivalry and knight-errantry, and in whom the strongest human passions were so blended as to lift them for a time out of the hand of fate and make their fortunes their own. The thirst for wealth, the enthusiasm of religion, the love of glory, united with reckless daring and excessive loyalty, formed the most powerful incentives to action. Life to them without the attainment of their object was valueless; they would do or die; for to die in doing was life, whereas to live failing was worse than death. Cortés felt all this, though it scarcely lay on his mind in threads of tangible thought. There was enough however that was tangible in his thinkings, and exceedingly troubling. Unfortunately the mind and heart of all his people were not of the complexion he would have them. And those ships. And the disaffected men lying so near them, looking wistfully at them every morning, and plotting, and plotting all the day long. Like the Palatinate to Turenne, like anything that seduced from the stern purposes of Cortés, it were better they were not.
This thought once flashed into his mind fastened itself there. And it grew. And Cortés grew with it, until the man and the idea filled all that country, and became the wonder and admiration of the world. Destroy the ships! Cut off all escape, should such be needed in case of failure! Burn the bridge that spans time, and bring to his desperate desire the aid of the eternities! The thought of it alone was daring; more fearfully fascinating it became as Cortés dashed along toward Cempoala, and by the time he had reached his destination the thing was determined, and he might with Cæsar at the Rubicon exclaim, Jacta est alea! But what would his soldiers say? They must be made to feel as he feels, to see with his eyes, and to swell with his ambition.
The confession of the conspirators opened the eyes of Cortés to a fact which surely he had seen often enough before, though by reason of his generous nature which forgot an injury immediately it was forgiven, it had not been much in his mind of late, namely, that too many of his companions were lukewarm, if not openly disaffected. They could not forget that Cortés was a common man like themselves, their superior in name only, and placed over them for the accomplishment of this single purpose. They felt they had a right to say whether they would remain and take the desperate chance their leader seemed determined on, and to act on that right with or without his consent. And their position assuredly was sound; whether it was sensible depended greatly on their ability to sustain themselves in it. Cortés was exercising the arbitrary power of a majority to drive the minority as it appeared to their death. They had a perfect right to rebel; they had not entered the service under any such compact. Cortés himself was a rebel; hence the rebellion of the Velazquez men, being a rebelling against a rebel, was in truth an adherence to loyalty. Here as everywhere it was might that made right; and, indeed, with the right of these matters the narrator has little to do.
Success, shame, fear, bright prospects, had all lent their aid to hold the discontented in check, but in these several regards feeling and opinion were subject to daily fluctuations. Let serious danger or reverses come, and they would flee in a moment if they could. And the fleet lying so near was a constant temptation. Cut that off, and the nerves of every man there would be freshly strung. The meanest would suddenly become charged with a kind of nobility; they would at once become inspired with the courage that comes from desperation. Often those least inclined to fight when forced to it are the most indifferent to death. Other dormant elements would be brought out by the disappearance of those ships; union, fraternity, complete community, not only of interest but of life. Their leader with multiplied power would become their god. On him they would be dependent for all things; for food and raiment, for riches, glory, and every success; for life itself. Cortés saw all this, pondered it well, and thought it would be very pretty to play the god awhile. He would much prefer it to confinement in old Velazquez’ plaza-pen, or even in a Seville prison. Cortés was now certain in his own mind that if his band remained unbroken either by internal dissension or by white men yet to arrive, he would tread the streets of the Mexican capital before he entered the gates of the celestial city. If Montezuma would not admit him peaceably, he would gather such a force of the emperor’s enemies as would pull the kingdom down about his ears. It would be necessary on going inland to leave a garrison at Villa Rica; but it would be madness to leave also vessels in which they could sail away to Cuba or elsewhere. And finally, if the ships were destroyed, the sailors, who otherwise would be required to care for them, might be added to the army. Such were the arguments which the commander would use to win the consent of his people to one of the most desperate and daring acts ever conceived by a strategist of any age or nation.
Not that such consent was necessary. He might destroy the ships and settle with the soldiers afterward. The deed accomplished, with or without their consent, there would be but one course open to them. Nevertheless he preferred they should think themselves the authors of it rather than feel that they had been tricked, or in any way unfairly dealt with. And with the moral he would shift the pecuniary responsibility to their shoulders. So he went to work as usual, with instruments apparently independent, but whose every step and word were of his directing. One day quickly thereafter it came to pass that the masters of several of the largest ships appeared before the captain-general with lengthened faces well put on, with the sad intelligence that their respective craft were unseaworthy; indeed one of them had sunk already. They did not say they had secretly bored holes in them according to instructions. Cortés was surprised, nay he was painfully affected; Roscius himself could not have performed the part better; “for well he could dissemble when it served his purpose,” chimes in Las Casas. With Christian fortitude he said: “Well, the will of God be done; but look you sharply to the other ships.” Barnacles were then freely discussed, and teredos. And so well obeyed the mariners their instructions that soon they were able to swear that all the vessels save three were unsafe, and even these required costly repairs before they would be seaworthy.[255] Thus as by the hand of providence, to the minds of the men as they were able to bear it, the deed unfolded. Soon quite apparent became the expediency of abandoning such vessels as were leaking badly; there was trouble and no profit in attempting to maintain them, for they would surely have to be abandoned in the end. “And indeed, fellow-soldiers,” continued Cortés, “I am not sure but it were best to doom to destruction also the others, and so secure the coöperation of the sailors in the coming campaign, instead of leaving them in idleness to hatch fresh treachery.” This intimation was successful, as had been foreordained by the ruler of these events it should be. It was forthwith resolved to scuttle all the ships but one, the one brought by Salcedo. Accordingly Escalante, the alguacil mayor, a brave and able officer wholly devoted to Cortés, was sent down to Villa Rica to carry out the order, with the aid of the picked soldiers there stationed. Sails, anchors, cables, and everything that could be utilized were removed, and a few hours later some small boats were all that remained of the Cuban fleet.[256]
It was then the community first realized its situation. The followers of Cortés, with unbounded faith in their leader, did not so much care, but the partisans of Velazquez, few of whom knew that the affair had been coolly predetermined, were somewhat agitated. And when on closer inquiry they were enlightened by certain of the mariners, the cry arose that they were betrayed; they were lambs led to the slaughter. Cortés promptly faced the now furious crowd. What did they want? Were their lives more precious than those of the rest? “For shame! Be men!” he cried, in conclusion. “You should know ere this how vain are the attempts to thwart my purpose. Look on this magnificent land with its vast treasures, and narrow not your vision to your insignificant selves. Think of your glorious reward, present and to come, and trust in God, who, if it so please him, can conquer this empire with a single arm. Yet if there be one here still so craven as to wish to turn his back on the glories and advantages thus offered; if there be one here so base, so recreant to heaven, to his king, to his comrades, as to slink from such honorable duty, in God’s name let him go. There is one ship left, which I will equip at my own charge to give that man the immortal infamy he deserves.” This he said and much more, and to the desired effect. The speaker knew well how to play upon his men, as on an instrument, so that they would respond in any tune he pleased. Cheers rent the air as he concluded, in which the opposition were forced to join through very shame. Seeing which Cortés gently intimated, “Would it not be well to destroy the remaining vessel, and so make a safe, clean thing of it?” In the enthusiasm of the moment the act was consummated with hearty approval.[257]
“To Mexico!” was now the cry, and preparations for the march were at once made. Escalante, whose character and services had endeared him to Cortés, was placed in command of Villa Rica. The native chiefs were directed to regard him as the representative of the general, and to supply him with every requirement.[258]
Some nine days after the sinking of the fleet a messenger arrived from Escalante, announcing that four vessels[259] had passed by the harbor, refusing to enter, and had anchored three leagues off, at the mouth of a river. Fearing the descent upon him of Velazquez, Cortés hurried off with four horsemen, after selecting fifty soldiers to follow. Alvarado and Sandoval were left jointly in charge of the army, to the exclusion of Ávila, who manifested no little jealousy of the latter. Cortés halted at the town merely to learn particulars, declining Escalante’s hospitality with the proverb, “A lame goat has no rest.” On the way to the vessels they met a notary with two witnesses,[260] commissioned to arrange a boundary on behalf of Francisco de Garay, who claimed the coast to the north as first discoverer, and desired to form a settlement a little beyond Nautla. It appeared that Garay, who had come out with Diego Colon, and had risen from procurador of Española to become governor of Jamaica, had resolved to devote his great wealth to extending his fame as explorer and colonizer. On learning from Alaminos and his fellow voyagers of the coasts discovered in this direction, he resolved to revive the famed projects of Ponce de Leon, and with this view despatched a small fleet in 1518, under Diego de Camargo.[261] Driven back by the Floridans with great slaughter, says Gomara, the expedition sailed down to Pánuco River, again to be repulsed, with the loss of some men, who were flayed and eaten. Torralba, steward of Garay, was then sent to Spain, and there, with the aid of Garay’s friends, obtained for him a commission as adelantado and governor of the territories that he might discover north of Rio San Pedro y San Pablo.[262] Meanwhile a new expedition was despatched to Pánuco, under Alonso Álvarez Pineda, to form a settlement and to barter for gold. After obtaining some three thousand pesos, Pineda sailed southward to take possession and to select a site for the colony.[263]
And now while the notary is endeavoring to arrange matters with Cortés, Pineda waits for him a little distance from the shore. At that moment Cortés cared little for Garays or boundaries; but he would by no means object to a few more Spaniards to take the place of those he had hanged, and of others whom he might yet be obliged to hang. To this end he converted perforce to his cause the notary and his attendants. Then learning from them that Pineda could on no account be prevailed on to land for a conference, Cortés signalled to the vessels with the hope that more men would come on shore. This failing, he bethought himself of letting three of his men exchange clothes with the new-comers and approach the landing, while he marched back with the rest in full view of the vessels. As soon as it grew dark, the whole force returned to hide near the spot. It was not till late the following morning that the suspicious Pineda responded to the signals from shore, and sent off a boat with armed men. The trio now withdrew behind some bushes, as if for shade. Four Spaniards and one Indian landed, armed with two firelocks and two cross-bows, and on reaching the shrubbery they were pounced upon by the hidden force, while the boat pushed off to join the vessels all ready to sail.[264]
FOOTNOTES
[252] The names vary somewhat in different authorities, Bernal Diaz including instead of Peñate, a number of the Gibraltar sailors known as Peñates, who were lashed at Cozumel for theft. The plot was hatched ‘Desde â quatro dias que partieron nuestros Procuradores.’ Hist. Verdad., 39. Cortés mentions only four ‘determinado de tomar un bergantin ... y matar al maestre dél, y irse á la isla Fernandina.’ Cartas, 53-4. Gomara assumes them to be the same who last revolted on setting out for Tizapantzinco. Hist. Mex., 64. ‘Pusieron ... por obra de hurtar un navío pequeño, é salir á robar lo que llevaban para el rey.’ Tapia, Relacion, in Icazbalceta, Col. Doc., ii. 563. Peter Martyr jumbles the names, dec. v. cap. i.
[253] Thus Cortés had his revenge on the alguacil. ‘Y no le valiò el ser su Compadre,’ says Vetancvrt, with a hasty assumption which is not uncommon with him. Teatro Mex., pt. iii. 119. Gomara mentions no mutilation. ‘Parece claro ser aquestas obras, ... propias de averiguado tirano,’ says Las Casas, Hist. Ind., iv. 496, which may be regarded as a singularly mild expression for the bishop. Herrera dwells upon Cermeño’s extraordinary skill with the leaping-pole; he could also smell land fifteen leagues off the coast, dec. ii. lib. v. cap. xiv. ‘Coria, vezino que fue despues de Chiapa.’ Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 39.
[254] ‘Embiado ... por los pueblos de la sierra, porque tuuiessen que comer; porque en nuestra Villa passauamos mucha necessidad de bastimentos.’ Id. This seems unlikely, since the Totonacs were not only willing, but bound, to provide supplies.
[255] Testimonio de Montejo y Puertocarrero, in Col. Doc. Inéd., i. 489, 494. ‘Viniesen á él, cuando estuviese mucha gente con él junta, y le denunciasen como no podian vencer el agua de los navíos.’ Las Casas, Hist. Ind., iv. 497. ‘Tuuo forma para que los soldados mas aficionados que tenia se lo pidiessen.... Los soldados se lo pidieron, y dello se recibio auto por ante escriuano.’ Herrera, dec. ii. lib. v. cap. xiv. ‘Le aconsejamos los que eramos sus amigos, que no dexasse Nauio en el Puerto.’ Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 39.
[256] ‘Los Pilotos, ê Maestres viejos, y marineros, que no erã buenos para ir â la guerra, que se quedassen en la Villa, y cõ dos chinchorros que tuuiessen cargo de pescar ... y luego se vino (Escalante) â Cempoal con vna Capitania de hombres de la mar, que fuessen los que sacaron de los Nauios, y salieron algunos dellos muy buenos soldados.’ Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 40.
[257] It is generally admitted that Cortés suggested the idea of destroying the fleet, for even Bernal Diaz, who at first gives the credit to the men by saying, ‘le aconsejamos los que eramos sus amigos,’ confesses on the following page that ‘el mismo Cortès lo tenia ya concertado.’ Hist. Verdad., 39-40. The preponderating testimony also shows that the masters made their report in public, with the evident object, as the best authorities clearly indicate, of obtaining the consent of the responsible majority for the scuttling. During the partition of treasures at Mexico, large shares were set aside for Cortés and Velazquez to cover the cost of the fleet and the outfit, ‘que dimos al traues con ellos, pues todos fuimos en ellos,’ Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 84, which is proof, in addition to the reliable assertion that the deed was agreed upon by the majority. Cortés’ expression, ‘los eché á la costa,’ Cartas, 54, is merely that of a leader of that party or majority, who besides really gives credit to others. Hence the conclusion of Prescott and others, that the scuttling was done on his own responsibility, is not well founded. Cortés was clever enough always to have those present who were ready to take any responsibility for him that he might wish. The phrase, ‘his was the greatest sacrifice, for they (the vessels) were his property,’ Prescott’s Mex., i. 374, is also wrong, for he was compensated by the army. And it is an exaggeration to say that the execution of the measure ‘in the face of an incensed and desperate soldiery, was an act of resolution that has few parallels in history,’ Id., 376, since his party supported him. According to Gomara the pilots bore holes in the vessels, and bring their report, whereupon five vessels are first sunk; shortly afterward the remainder except one are scuttled. The offer of this vessel to those who wished to return was made with a view to learn who were the cowards and malcontents. Many indeed did ask for leave, but half of them were sailors. Others kept quiet out of shame. Hist. Mex., 65. It was never Cortés’ policy to mark the disaffected, however. This author is followed by Torquemada, ‘porque asi se ha platicado siempre entre las Gentes, que mas supieron de esta Jornada,’ i. 409, and on the strength of this the latter argues that Herrera’s version, dec. ii. lib. v. cap. xiv., which adheres chiefly to Bernal Diaz’, must be wrong. Tapia, Relacion, in Icazbalceta, Col. Doc., ii. 563, conforms chiefly to Gomara. Robertson, after following Bernal Diaz, takes the trouble of having the ships ‘drawn ashore and ... broke in pieces.’ Hist. Am., ii. 33-4; Clavigero, Storia Mess., iii. 35-6; Oviedo, Hist. Gen., iii. 262; Sandoval, Hist. Carlos V., i. 171; Peter Martyr, dec. v. cap. i. Peralta has them burned by secret agents of Cortés. Nat. Hist., 76. Solis, ever zealous for his hero, objects to Bernal Diaz’ attempt to pluck any of the glory, and scouts the idea that fears of pecuniary liability could have influenced Cortés to gain the approval of others for his act. ‘Tuvo á destreza de historiador el penetrar lo interior de las acciones,’ is the complacent tribute to his own skill in penetrating the question. Hist. Mex., i. 214-15. The view of the foundering fleet, appended to some editions of his work, has been extensively copied. One is given in the Antwerp edition of 1704, 141. A still finer view, with the men busy on shore, and the sinking vessels in the distance, is to be found in the Madrid issue of 1783, i. 213. The destruction of the fleet has been lauded in extravagant terms by almost every authority, from Gomara and Solis to Robertson and Prescott, as an unparalleled deed. Of previous examples there are enough, however, even though the motives and the means differ. We may go back to Æneas, to whose fleet the wives of the party applied the torch, tired of roaming; or we may point to Agathocles, who first fired his soldiers with a resolution to conquer or to die, and then compelled them to keep their word by firing the vessels. Julian offered a tamer instance during his campaign on the Tigris; but the deed of the terrible Barbarossa in the Mediterranean, only a few years before the Mexican campaign, was marked by reckless determination. Still examples little affect the greatness of an act; motives, means, and results afford the criteria. ‘Pocos exemplos destos ay, y aquellos son de grandes hombres.’ Gomara, Hist. Mex., 65. ‘Una de las acciones en que mas se reconoce la grandeza de su ánimo.... Y no sabemos si de su género se hallará mayor alguna en todo el campo de las Historias.’ Solis, Hist. Mex., i. 213. ‘An effort of magnanimity, to which there is nothing parallel in history.’ Robertson, Hist. Am., ii. 34. ‘Un’impresa, che da per se sola basterebbe a far conoscere la sua magnanimità, e ad immortalare il suo nome.’ Clavigero, Storia Mess., iii. 35; Prescott, Mex., i. 375-6, is equally carried away, and he finds more words for his admiration. He is wrong in supposing that one of the vessels in the harbor was left intact; the exempt ship referred to by a chronicler was the one carrying the messengers to Spain.
* * * * *
Antonio de Solis y Ribadeneyra is remarkable as the first Spanish historian of the conquest. It appears to us strange that an episode so glorious to the fame of Castilians should have been allowed to lie so long neglected in the musty pages of their chroniclers. True, these were worthy, zealous men, who conscientiously narrated every occurrence of any note, but their standard for historic truth and dignity caused them to clothe facts, however striking, in a garb of dreary gravity, dryness of detail, and ambiguous confusion, which discouraged even the student. It required the dramatic eye of the composer and the imagination of the poet to appreciate the picturesque sketches of a strange people now fading into oblivion, the grandeur of a semi-savage pageantry, the romantic exploits that recalled the achievements of the Cid. This faculty was innate in Solis, developed besides by a long and successful career in letters. He had profited also by the advantages opened to him as the secretary of Conde de Oropesa, Viceroy of Navarre and of Valencia, who Mæcenas-like fostered the talents and aided in the promotion of the promising savant, for as such he already ranked. Cradled in the famous college town of Alcalá de Henares, he had given early evidence of talent, and at Salamanca university he had signalized himself in his seventeenth year by producing a comedy of considerable merit. While pursuing with energy the study of law and moral philosophy, he cultivated with hardly less ardor the muses, to which end he was no doubt impelled also by his intimacy with the illustrious Calderon. Several of his dramas were received with acclamation, and one was translated into French, while his miscellaneous poems, reprinted in our days, are marked by a vivid imagination and an elegance which also adorns his letters. Talents so conspicuous did not wait long for recognition, and with the aid of his patron he advanced to the dignities of royal secretary and chief chronicler of the Indies. When 56 years old his mind underwent a change, and entering the church he abandoned forever the drama and light literature. The pen changed only its sphere, however, for it served the historiographer zealously, achieving for him the greatest fame; and fame alone, for at his death, in April, 1686, at the age of 76, deep poverty was his companion. When he entered on this office the Indies had lapsed into the dormant quietude imposed by a strict and secluding colonial régime. There were no stirring incidents to reward the efforts of the historian, save those connected with free-booter raids, which offered little that could flatter Spanish pride. To achieve fame he must take up some old theme, and present it in a form likely to rouse attention by its contrast. Thus it was that he selected the thrilling episode of the conquest of Mexico, with the determination to rescue it from the unskilful arrangement and repetitions, the want of harmony and consistency, the dryness and faulty coloring, to which it had hitherto been subjected, and to expend upon it the effects of elegant style and vast erudition. When the work appeared at Madrid, in 1684, its superior merits were instantly recognized, and although the sale at first was not large, editions have multiplied till our day, the finest and costliest being the illustrated issue of 1783-4, in two volumes, which I quote, while consulting also the notes of several others. So grand and finely elaborated a subject, and that from a Spanish historian who was supposed to have exhausted all the available resources of the Iberian archives, could not fail to rouse general attention throughout Europe, and translations were made into different languages. Robertson, among others, while not failing to point out certain blemishes, has paid the high compliment of accepting Solis for almost sole guide on the conquest, and this with a blindness which at times leads him into most amusing errors. Even Prescott warms to his theme in a review of six closely printed pages, wherein eulogy, though not unmingled with censure, is stronger than a clearer comprehension of the theme would seem to warrant. But in this he is impelled to a great extent by his oft displayed tendency to hero worship.
Solis deserves acknowledgment for bringing order out of chaos, for presenting in a connected form the narrative of the conquest, and for adorning it with an elegant style. But he has fulfilled only a part of the promises made in his preface, and above all has he neglected to obtain information on his topic beyond that presented in a few of the generally accessible works, even their evidence being not very closely examined. He has also taken great liberties with the text, subordinating facts to style and fancy, seizing every possible opportunity to manufacture speeches for both native and Spanish heroes, and this with an amusing disregard for the consistency of language with the person and the time. His religious tendencies seriously interfere with calm judgment, and impel him to rave with bigoted zeal against the natives. The hero worship of the dramatist introduces itself to such an extent as frequently to overshadow everything else, and to misrepresent. ‘Sembra più un panegirico, che una istoria,’ says Clavigero, very aptly. Storia Mess., i. 16. His arguments and deductions are at times most childish, while his estimation of himself as a historian and thinker is aired in more than one place with a ridiculous gravity. With regard to style, Solis had Livy for a model, and belonged to the elder school of historians; he was its last good representative, in fact. His language is expressive and elegant, greatly imbued with a poetic spirit not unsuited to the subject, and sustained in eloquence, while its pure idiom aids to maintain the work as classic among Castilians. ‘Ingenio Conceptuoso, Floridisimo, i Eloquente,’ is the observation in the work of his historiographic predecessor, Pinelo, Epitome, ii. 607. But it lacks in boldness and dignity; the rhapsodies are often misplaced, and the verboseness is tiresome. Some of the faults are of course due to the time, but not the many, and it also becomes only too apparent that Solis is so conceitedly infatuated with his affected grandiloquence as to sacrifice facts wherever they interfere with its free scope. It is said that he intended to continue the history of Mexico after the conquest, and that death alone prevented the consummation of the project. But this is mere conjecture, and it appears just as likely that the dramatist recognized the effect of closing a great work at so appropriate a point as the fall of Mexico. The work was taken up, however, by Salazar y Olarte, who published in 1743 the second part of the Conquest, till the death of Cortés, abounding in all the faults of the superficial and florid composition of Solis.
[258] ‘Luego le zahumaron [the chiefs] al Juan de Escalante con sus inciensos.’ Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 40. ‘Dejé en la villa de la Veracruz ciento y cincuenta hombres con doze de caballo.’ Cortés, Cartas, 52-3. One hundred and fifty Spaniards, with two horses and two fire-arms, were left here under Pedro de Ircio, Gomara, Hist. Mex., 65-6, but Bernal Diaz corrects him. ‘Al Pedro de Ircio no le auian dado cargo ninguno, ni aun de cuadrillero.’ ubi sup.; Ixtlilxochitl, Hist. Chich., 291. The force seems to be altogether too large. Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 51, says 60 old and suffering soldiers were left as garrison.
[259] Bernal Diaz says one vessel; but Cortés and other authorities mention four.
[260] Bernal Diaz, who appears to have been with the party, names them as Guillen de la Loa, notary; Andrés Nuñez, shipwright; Pedro de la Arpa, a Valencian, and a fourth man. Hist. Verdad., 40.
[261] ‘Armo Francisco de Garay tres carauelas en Iamaica, el año de mil quiniẽtos y deziocho, y fue a tentar la Florida.’ Gomara, Hist. Ind., 55. ‘Determinó de enviar á un hidalgo, llamado Diego de Camargo, á descubrir é continuar el descubrimiento que Grijalva habia hecho, con uno ó con dos navios; el cual descubrió la provincia de Panuco, ó, por mejor decir, comenzó de allí donde Grijalva se habia tornado, que fué desde Panuco, y anduvo navegando por la costa cien leguas hácia la Florida.’ Las Casas, Hist. Ind., iv. 466; Herrera, dec. ii. lib. iii. cap. xi.; Galvano’s Discov., 133-4.
[262] See Hist. Mex., i. 29, this series. ‘El Rey se las concedió el año de 819, estando en Barcelona.’ Las Casas, loc. cit. ‘Torralua ... truxo prouisiones para que fuesse Adelantado, y Gouernador desde el rio de San Pedro, y San Pablo, y todo lo que descubriesse: y por aquellas prouisiones embiò luego tres Nauios con hasta dozientos y setenta soldados.’ Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 41.
[263] Bernal Diaz intimates that Pineda had remained at Rio Pánuco to colonize, while one vessel was sent down to take possession where Cortés met the men. After giving an account of two expeditions in 1518 and 1519, Gomara says: ‘Otros dizen, que no fue mas de vna vez. Sino que como estuuo mucho alla cuẽtan por dos.’ Hist. Ind., 55. But Las Casas mentions distinctly that it was on the strength of Camargo’s discoveries, in 1518, that the grant was made to Garay in the following year, ubi sup. ‘Garai auia corrido mucha costa en demãda de la Florida, y tocado en vn rio y tierra, cuyo rey se llamaua Panuco, donde vieron oro, aun que poco. Y que sin salir de las naues auiã rescatado hasta tres mil pesos de oro.’ Gomara, Hist. Mex., 67; Cortés, Cartas, 56-7; Oviedo, iii. 262-3; Herrera, dec. ii. lib. vi. cap. i.
[264] ‘El uno(of the captured ones) era maestre de la una nao, é puso fuego á la escopeta, é matara al capitan de la Veracruz, sino que á la mecha le faltó el fuego.’ Oviedo, iii. 263. Bernal Diaz, in a less intelligent account of the capture, states that only two men landed. ‘Por manera que se huuieron de aquel Nauio seis soldados.... Y esto es lo que se hizo, y no lo que escriue el Coronista Gomara.’ Hist. Verdad., 41. But Cortés’ version must surely be the best, since it was related shortly after the occurrence, and by an immediate participator in the events.
XII. MARCH TOWARD MEXICO
AUGUST-SEPTEMBER, 1519.
ENTHUSIASM OF THE ARMY—THE FORCE—THE TOTONACS ADVISE THE TLASCALAN ROUTE—ARRIVAL AT JALAPA—A LOOK BACKWARD—THE ANÁHUAC PLATEAU—MEETING WITH OLINTETL—ARRIVAL IN THE COUNTRY OF THE TLASCALTECS—THE SENATE CONVENES AND RECEIVES THE ENVOYS OF CORTÉS—AN ENCOUNTER—A MORE SERIOUS BATTLE—XICOTENCATL RESOLVES TO TRY THE PROWESS OF THE INVADERS, AND IS DEFEATED.
The Garay affair having thus been disposed of, it was announced to the Spaniards that they would now go in quest of the great Montezuma. For as the conciliating sea smooths the sand which but lately it ground in its determinate purpose from the rocks, so had Cortés quieted the ruffled temper of the malcontents, till they were committed as one man to the will of the leader. And he smiled somewhat grimly as he concluded his harangue: “To success or total destruction now we march; for there is open to us no retreat. In Christ we trust, and on our arms rely. And though few in number, our hearts are strong.” The soldiers shouted their approval, and again signified their desire to press onward to Mexico.[265]
The force for the expedition consisted of about four hundred and fifty Spaniards, with fifteen horses, and six or seven light guns, attended by a considerable number of Indian warriors and carriers, including Cubans. The Totonac force comprised also forty chiefs, taken really as hostages, among whom are named Mamexi, Tamalli, and Teuch, the latter proving a most able and trusty guide and counsellor.[266]
The advice of the Totonacs is to take the route through Tlascala, as a state friendly to them and bitterly opposed to the Mexicans, and on the 16th of August the army leaves Cempoala for the interior. Soon begins the gentle ascent which lifts them from oppressive heat and overpowering vegetation to cooler regions, and at the close of the second day is reached the beautiful Jalapa,[267] a halting-place between the border of the sea and the upper plateau.
There they turn with one accord and look back. How charming! how inexpressibly refreshing are these approaching highlands to the Spaniards, so lately from the malarious Isthmus and the jungle-covered isles, and whose ancestors not long since had held all tropics to be uninhabitable; on the border, too, of Montezuma’s kingdom, wrapped in the soft folds of perpetual spring. Before the invaders are the ardent waters of the gulf, instant in their humane pilgrimage to otherwise frozen and uninhabitable lands; before them the low, infectious tierra caliente that skirts the lofty interior threateningly, like the poisoned garment of Hercules, with vegetation bloated by the noxious air and by nourishment sucked from the putrid remains of nature’s opulence, while over all, filled with the remembrance of streams stained sanguine from sacrificial altars, passes with sullen sighs the low-voiced winds. But a change comes gradually as the steep ascent is made that walls the healthful table-land of Anáhuac. On the templada terrace new foliage is observed, though still glistening with sun-painted birds and enlivened by parliaments of monkeys. Insects and flowers bathe in waves of burning light until they display a variety of colors as wonderful as they are brilliant, while from cool cañons rise metallic mists overspreading the warm hills. Blue and purple are the summits in the distance, and dim glowing hazy the imperial heights beyond that daily baffle the departing sun. And on the broad plateau, whose rich earth with copious yield of gold and grain allures to cultivation, all the realm are out of doors keeping company with the sun. From afar comes the music-laden breeze whispering its secrets to graceful palms, aloft against the sky, and which bend to meet the confidence, while the little shrubs stand motionless with awe. Each cluster of trees repeats the story, and sings in turn its own matin to which the rest are listeners. At night, how glittering bright with stars the heavens, which otherwise were a shroud of impenetrable blackness. In this land of wild Arcadian beauty the beasts are free, and man keeps constant holiday. And how the hearts of these marauders burned within them as they thought, nothing doubting, how soon these glories should be Spain’s and theirs.
The boundary of the Totonac territory was crossed, and on the fourth day the army entered a province called by Cortés Sienchimalen, wherein the sway of Montezuma was still maintained. This made no difference to the Spaniards, however, for the late imperial envoys had left orders with the coast governors to treat the strangers with every consideration. Of this they had a pleasing experience at Xicochimalco,[268] a strong fortress situated on the slope of a steep mountain, to which access could be had only by a stairway easily defended. It overlooked a sloping plain strewn with villages and farms, mustering in all nearly six thousand warriors.[269] With replenished stores the expedition began to ascend the cordillera in reality, and to approach the pine forests which mark the border of the tierra fria. Marching through a hard pass named Nombre de Dios,[270] they entered another province defended by a fortress, named Teoxihuacan,[271] in no wise inferior to the first for strength or hospitality. They now finished the ascent of the cordillera, passed through Tejotla, and for three days continued their way through the alkaline wastes skirting the ancient volcano of Nauhcampatepetl,[272] exposed to chilling winds and hailstorms, which the Spaniards with their quilted armor managed to endure, but which caused to succumb many of the less protected and less hardy Cubans. The brackish water also brought sickness. On the fourth day the pass of Puerto de Leña,[273] so called from the wood piled near some temples, admitted them to the Anáhuac plateau, over seven thousand feet above the sea. With a less balmy climate and a flora less redundant than that of the Antillean stamping-ground, it offered on the other hand the attraction of being not unlike their native Spain. A smiling valley opened before them, doubly alluring to the pinched wanderers, with its broad fields of corn, dotted with houses, and displaying not far off the gleaming walls and thirteen towering temples of Xocotlan, the capital of the district. Some Portuguese soldiers declaring it the very picture of their cherished Castilblanco, this name was applied to it.[274]
Cacique Olintetl, nicknamed the temblador from the shaking of his fat body, came forth with a suite and escorted them through the plaza to the quarters assigned them, past pyramids of grinning human skulls, estimated by Bernal Diaz at over one hundred thousand. There were also piles of bones, and skulls suspended from beams, all of which produced far from pleasant impressions. This horror was aggravated by the evident coldness of their reception, and by the scanty fare offered.[275] Olintetl occupied what Cortés describes as the “largest and most finely constructed houses he had yet seen in this country,” wherein two thousand servants attended to the wants of himself and his thirty wives.
Impressed by the magnificence of his surroundings, Cortés inquired whether he was a subject or ally of Montezuma. “Who is not his slave?” was the reply. He himself ruled twenty thousand subjects,[276] yet was but a lowly vassal of the emperor, at whose command thirty chiefs at least could place each one hundred thousand warriors in the field. He proceeded to extol the imperial wealth and power, and the grandeur of the capital, wherein twenty thousand human victims were annually given to the idols. This was probably intended to awe the little band; “But we,” says Bernal Diaz,[277] “with the qualities of Spanish soldiers, wished we were there striving for fortunes, despite the dangers described.” Cortés calmly assured the cacique that great as Montezuma was, there were vassals of his own king still mightier, with more to the same effect; and he concluded by demanding the submission of the cacique, together with a present of gold, and the abandonment of sacrifices and cannibalism. Olintetl’s only reply was that he could do nothing without authority from the capital. “Your Montezuma,” replied the audacious Spaniard, with suppressed anger, “shall speedily send you orders to surrender to me gold or any other desired effects in your possession.”
More generous were the caciques of two towns at the other end of the valley, who brought a few golden trifles and eight female slaves.[278] The revelations of the Cempoalans and of Marina concerning the wonderful power of the Spaniards, and the honors paid them by Montezuma’s envoys, had the effect of making Olintetl also more liberal with provisions at least. Being asked about the road to Mexico he recommended that through Cholula, but the Cempoalans representing the Cholultecs as highly treacherous, and devoted to the Aztecs, the Tlascalan route was chosen, and four Totonac chiefs were despatched to ask permission of the republican rulers to pass through their lands. A letter served as mystic credentials, and a red bushy Flemish hat for a present.[279]
After a stay of four days the army proceeded up the valley, without leaving the customary cross, it seems, with which they had marked their route hitherto; the reason for this was the objection of Padre Olmedo to expose the emblem to desecration in a place not wholly friendly to them.[280] The road lay for two leagues through a densely settled district to Iztacmixtitlan, the seat of Tenamaxcuicuitl, a town which Cortés describes as situated upon a lofty height, with very good houses, a population of from five to six thousand families, and possessing comforts superior to those of Xocotlan. “It has a better fortress,” he writes, “than there is in half Spain, defended by a wall, barbican, and moats.” The cacique who had invited the visit made amends for the cold reception of the previous chief, and the Spaniards remained for three days waiting in vain for the return of the messengers sent to Tlascala. They then passed onward, reinforced by about three hundred warriors from the town.[281] Two leagues’ march brought them to the boundary of Tlascala, conspicuous by a wall of stone and mortar nine feet in height and twenty in breadth, which stretched for six miles across a valley, from mountain to mountain, and was provided with breastworks and ditches.[282]
Between latitude 19° and 20° ranges of hills cut the plain of Anáhuac into four unequal parts. In the centre of the one eastward stood the capital of Tlascala. The state so carefully protected was about the same small territory which we now see on the map,[283] with twenty-eight towns, and one hundred and fifty thousand families, according to the rough census taken by Cortés.[284] A branch of the Teo-Chichimec nation, the Tlascaltecs had, according to tradition, entered upon the plateau shortly before the cognate Aztecs, and, after occupying for a time a tract on the western shore of Tezcuco Lake, they had tired of the constant disputes with neighboring tribes and proceeded eastward, in three divisions, the largest of which had, late in the thirteenth century, taken possession of Tlascala, ‘Place of Bread.’ The soil was rich, as implied by the name, but owing to the continued wars with former enemies, reinforced by the Aztecs, they found little opportunity to make available their wealth by means of industries and trade, and of late years a blockade had been maintained which deprived them of many necessaries, among others salt. But the greater attention given in consequence to agriculture, had fostered temperate habits and a sinewy constitution, combined with a deep love for the soil as the source of all their prosperity. Compelled also to devote more time and practice to warfare for the preservation of their liberty than to the higher branches of culture, they presented the characteristics of an isolated community, in being somewhat behind their neighbors in refinement, as well as in the variety of their resources.
In government the state formed an aristocracy, ruled by a senate of the nobility, presided over by four supreme hereditary lords, each independent in his own section of the territory. This division extended also to the capital, which consisted of four towns, or districts, Tizatlan, Ocotelulco, Quiahuiztlan, and Tepeticpac, ruled respectively by Xicotencatl, Maxixcatzin, Teohuayacatzin, and Tlehuexolotl.[285]
It was before this senate that the messengers of Cortés appeared, informing them in the name of the Cempoalan lord of the arrival of powerful gods from the east, who having liberated the Totonacs from Montezuma’s sway, now desired to visit Tlascala in passing through to Mexico, and to offer their friendship and alliance. The messengers recommended an acceptance of the offer, for although few in number the strangers were more than equal to a host. They thereupon depicted their appearance, their swift steeds, their savage dogs, their caged lightning, as well as their gentle faith and manners. The messengers having retired, the senate proceeded to discussion. Prudent Maxixcatzin, lord of the larger and richer industrial district, called attention to the omens and signs which pointed to these visitors, who from all accounts must be more than mortal, and, if so, it would be best to admit them, since resistance must be vain. Xicotencatl, the eldest lord, replied to this that the interpretation of the signs could not be relied on. To him these beings seemed monsters rejected by the sea-foam, greedy of gold and luxuries, whose steeds devoured the very ground. To admit them would be ruinous. Besides, should the invincible Tlascaltecs submit to a mere handful? The gods forbid! It was further argued that the amicable relations of the strangers with Montezuma and his vassals did not accord with their protestations of friendship. This might be one of the many Aztec plots to obtain a footing in the country. Nor did the destruction of idols at Cempoala increase the confidence of a people so jealous of its institutions. The discussion waxing warmer, senator Temilotecatl suggested the middle course of letting the Otomí frontier settlers, who were thoroughly devoted to their Tlascaltec patrons, make an attack on the invaders, aided by their own general Axayacatzin Xicotencatl, son of the old lord, and known by the same name. If successful, they could claim the glory; if not, they might grant the victors the permission they had desired, while casting the blame for the attack on the Otomís. This was agreed to.[286]
As the Spaniards halted before the great wall, speculating on the strength of the people who had erected it, and upon the possible traps it might hide, their late hosts again besought them to take the Cholula route, but Cempoalan counsel prevailed. Waving aloft his banner, Cortés exclaimed: “Behold the cross! Señores, follow it!” And with this he led the way through the semicircular laps of the entrance. The wall was not provided with sentinels, and the army met with no obstacles.[287] Attended by ten horsemen, the general advanced to reconnoitre. After proceeding about four leagues he caught sight of fifteen armed Indians, who were pursued and overtaken. A fight ensued, in which the natives, nerved by despair, fought so fiercely that two horses were killed, and three horses and two riders wounded.[288] Meanwhile a force of Indians came up, estimated at from three to five thousand, and a horseman was at once sent back to hurry forward the infantry, while the rest boldly charged the enemy, riding through their ranks, and killing right and left without being injured themselves. On the approach of the foot-soldiers, and the discharge of a volley, the natives retired with about sixty of their number slain.[289] Shortly afterward two of the Cempoalan messengers returned with some Tlascaltecs, who expressed their sorrow at the attack made by a tribe not belonging to their nation. They offered to pay for the horses killed, and invited the Spaniards in the name of the lords to proceed. The army advanced for a league into more open country, and camped among some abandoned farms, where dogs proved to be the only food left. Thus ended the first day in Tlascalan territory, the first of September, according to Bernal Diaz.
In the morning the Spaniards met the two other messengers returning from their mission to Tlascala, who told a harrowing story of their seizure for the sacrificial stone, and of their escape by night. It is probable that their detention by the Tlascaltecs for messenger purposes had frightened them into believing that they were destined to be sacrificed, for envoys enjoyed the greatest respect among the Nahuas.[290] Shortly after a body of over one thousand warriors[291] appeared, to whom Cortés, in presence of the notary Godoy, sent three prisoners, with a formal assurance of his friendly intentions. The only reply being showers of arrows, darts, and stones, Cortés gave the “Santiago, and at them!” and charged. The enemy retreated with the face to their pursuers, enticing them toward some broken ground intersected by a creek, where they found themselves surrounded by a large force, some bearing the red and white devices of Xicotencatl. Missiles were showered, while double-pointed spears, swords, and clubs pressed closely upon them, wielded by bolder warriors than those whom the Spaniards had hitherto subdued. Many were the hearts that quaked, and many expected that their last moment had come; “for we certainly were in greater peril than ever before,” says Bernal Diaz. “None of us will escape!” exclaimed Teuch, the Cempoalan chief, but Marina who stood by replied with fearless confidence: “The mighty God of the Christians, who loves them well, will let no harm befall them.”[292] The commander rode back and forth cheering the men, and giving orders to press onward, and to keep well together. Fortunately the pass was not long, and soon the Spaniards emerged into an open field, where the greater part of the enemy awaited them, estimated in all, by different authorities, at from thirty thousand to one hundred thousand.[293]
How long was this to continue, each new armed host being tenfold greater than the last? Yet once again the Spaniards whet their swords, and prepare for instant attack, as determined to fight it out to the death, as Leonidas and his brave Spartans at the pass of Thermopylæ. The cavalry charged with loose reins, and lances fixed on a range with the heads of the enemy, opening a way through the dense columns and spreading a confusion which served the infantry well. Bernal Diaz relates how a body of natives, determined to obtain possession of a horse, surrounded an excellent rider named Pedro de Moron, who was mounted upon Sedeño’s fine racing mare, dragged him from the saddle, and thrust their swords and spears through the animal in all directions. Moron would have been carried off but for the infantry coming to his rescue. In the struggle which ensued ten Spaniards were wounded, while four chiefs bit the dust. Moron was saved only to die on the second day, but the mare was secured by the natives and cut into pieces, which were sent all over the state to afford opportunity for triumphal celebrations. The loss was greatly regretted, since it would divest the horses of their terrifying character. Those previously killed had been secretly buried. The battle continued until late in the afternoon, without enabling the Indians to make any further impression on the Spanish ranks than inflicting a few wounds, while their own were rapidly thinning under the charges of the cavalry and the volleys of artillery and firelocks. The slaughter had been particularly heavy among the chiefs, and this was the main reason for the retreat which the enemy now began, in good order.[294] Their actual loss could not be ascertained, for with humane devotion the wounded and dead were carried off the moment they were stricken; and in this constant self-sacrificing effort the Tlascaltecs lost many lives and advantages. Robertson regards with suspicion the accounts of the great battles fought during the conquest, wherein Indians fell by the score while the Spaniards stood almost unscathed, and Wilson ridicules the whole campaign, reducing the Tlascalan population, for instance, to about ten thousand, with a fighting force of less than one thousand men. Such remarks certainly show a want of familiarity with the subject.[295] We have often seen, in the New World wars, a thousand naked Americans put to flight by ten steel-clad Europeans, and I have clearly given the reasons. When we look at the Indians, with their comparatively poor weapons, their unprotected bodies, their inefficient discipline and tactics, whereby only a small portion of their force could be made available, the other portion serving rather as an obstruction, their custom of carrying off the dead, and other weak points, and when we contrast them with the well armored Spaniards, with their superior swords and lances, their well calculated movements, and their concerted action carried out under strict and practised officers, and above all their terror-inspiring and ravaging fire-arms and horses—how can we doubt that the latter must have readily been able to overcome vast numbers of native warriors? It was soon so understood in Europe. For once when Cortés was in Spain he scoffed at certain of his countrymen for having fled before a superior force of Moors, whereupon one remarked: “This fellow regards our opponents like his, of whom ten horsemen can put to flight twenty-five thousand.” In the retreat of the Ten Thousand, who under Cyrus had invaded Persia, we have an example of the inadequacy of numbers against discipline. Though for every Greek the Persians could bring a hundred men, yet the effeminate Asiatic absolutely refused to meet the hardy European in open conflict. Æschylus was inspired by personal experience in his play of the Persians when he makes the gods intimate to the wondering Atossa, the queen-mother, that free Athenians, unwhipped to battle, could cope successfully with the myriads of despotic Xerxes. The poor Americans had yet to learn their own weakness, and to pay dearly for the knowledge.
“It well seems that God was he who fought for us to enable us to get free from such a multitude,” says Cortés. He attempted no pursuit, but hastened to take possession of Tecohuatzinco, a small town on the hill of Tzompachtepetl,[296] where they fortified themselves upon the temple pyramid, and proceeded to celebrate the victory with songs and dances, a performance wherein the allies took the leading part. The following day[297] Cortés sallied forth with the horses, one hundred infantry, and seven hundred allies, partly to forage before the enemy appeared, but also to inflict some damage, and to show that they were as fresh as ever. “I burned five or six small villages,” he says, “each of about one hundred families, and returned with four hundred prisoners.”[298] After being consoled with food and beads, the captives, including fifteen taken during the late battle, were despatched to the camp of Xicotencatl, two leagues off, with a letter to serve as credentials, and a message assuring him of the friendly intentions of the Spaniards, although they had been obliged to resort to severe measures. By no means impressed either with his defeat or with the assurances, Xicotencatl replied that peace would be celebrated at his father’s town with a feast on the Spaniards’ flesh, while their hearts and blood were delighting the gods. They would receive a more decisive answer on the morrow. With this defiant message came the report that the Tlascalan army, largely reinforced, was preparing to march on and overwhelm them. “When we learned this,” says Bernal Diaz, “being men, we feared death, many of us; and all made confession to the Merced father, and the clergyman Juan Diaz, who all night remained present to listen to the penitent; and we commended ourselves to God, praying that we might not be conquered.” Cortés applied himself energetically to supervise preparations and give the enemy a welcome. A fresh supply of arrows, and of Indian shields of plaited cane and cotton, were made, and the arms and accoutrements inspected. He impressed upon the soldiers the necessity of keeping close together, round the banner to be carried well aloft by Alférez Corral, in order that they might not be cut off. As for the cavalry they were to make repeated charges, without losing time in delivering thrusts.
Early in the morning of September 5th the Indian army could be seen extending far over the field, terrible in war-paint, plumed helmets, and gaudy shields, with their double-edged flint swords and many-pointed lances gleaming in the sun, while the air resounded with shrill yells, mingling with the melancholy tones of their drums and the doleful blasts of conchs and trumpets.[299] It was the largest and finest army yet seen by the Spaniards, numbering, according to Gomara, one hundred and fifty thousand men, but according to Bernal Diaz only fifty thousand,[300] in four divisions, representing Tizatlan, Ocotelulco, Quiahuiztlan, and Tepeticpac, each distinguished by its own banner and colors, the latter noticeable also in the war-paint of the common soldier and in the quilted armor of the officers. Far in the rear, indicative of hostile sentiment, rose the standard of the state, bearing a bird with wings extended.[301] Gomara relates that, confident of success, the Tlascaltecs sent messengers to the camp with three hundred turkey-cocks and two hundred baskets of tamales, each of one hundred arrobas, so that they might not be taunted with having fought starved men, or having offered such to the idols.
But this story, adopted by Herrera, Clavigero, Robertson, and nearly every other writer, implies a generosity altogether too impolitic for an enemy who had already suffered two severe defeats. It is probable, however, that Xicotencatl may have sent small presents of food in order to obtain an opportunity for his spies to examine the camp.[302]
The Indians advanced in several columns up the sides of the hill, and, despite the resistance offered, pressed onward into the very camp, but were soon obliged to yield before murderous bullets and cutting blades. Cortés allowed the Indians to become tired and discouraged with repeated charges, and then with a ringing “Santiago!” the Spaniards, followed by the allies, sallied forth,[303] driving them in confusion to the plain, where the cavalry followed up the advantage, leaving bloody paths in all directions. Checked and reinforced by the reserve, the enemy turned with fresh courage on their pursuers. The shock was overwhelming. The tired Castilians yielded; their ranks were broken, and all seemed lost. Even Cortés was seized with a terrible misgiving, but it was only for a moment. Leading the cavalry to the rescue, he raised his voice above the din of battle, and called on all to rally. Nerved by his words and deeds, the men plied lustily their swords, and, driving back the enemy, formed anew. “So ably and valiantly fought the horsemen,” writes Bernal Diaz, “that next to God who protected us, they proved our strength.” Following up their advantage, the Spaniards hewed down the enemy in great numbers.
Victory might yet have turned against them but for a quarrel between Xicotencatl and another captain,[304] one accusing the other of mismanaging the late battle. The latter not only challenged the other, it seems, but withdrew his troops, and induced another division to follow him.[305] Thus left with only half his army, and that shattered and discouraged, Xicotencatl retired before the handful on whom his every effort seemed to have made no impression. He retreated in good order, carrying off most of the dead, for the opponents were too exhausted to pursue. Indeed, all the horses were wounded, and fully sixty men, of whom it appears several must have died soon after, though Cortés admits of no dead, and Bernal Diaz of only one.[306]
FOOTNOTES
[265] ‘Y todos â vna le respondimos, que hariamos lo que ordenasse, que echada estaua la suerte de la buena ò mala ventura.’ Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 40.
[266] Bernal Diaz states, 65, that on reaching Mexico City ‘no llegauamos á 450 soldados,’ intimating that they must have amounted to fully this figure on leaving Villa Rica. This would allow fully 120 men to Escalante, which appears a large garrison, even after making allowances for the old and infirm. Gomara places the force at 400 Spaniards, with 15 horses, 6 guns, and 1300 Indians, including Cubans and carriers. Conq. Mex., 67; Herrera, dec. ii. lib. vi. cap. i.; Torquemada, i. 411, 517. Ixtlilxochitl increases this to 7 guns, 1300 warriors, and 1000 carriers. ‘Con quince de caballo y trescientos peones.’ Cortés, Cartas, 52. Cortés refers later on to 400 Cempoalans. He mentions merely 200 carriers. Clavigero has 415 Spaniards, a figure resulting from a misreading of his original. Storia Mess., iii. 36. Solis, Hist. Mex., i. 216-17, followed of course by Robertson, changes the figures to 500 men, 200 carriers, and 400 Indian troops. A page, twelve years old, was left with the lord of Cempoala to learn the language. ‘Tomaron un indio principal que llamaban Tlacochalcatl para que los mostrase el camino,’ taken from the country by Grijalva, and brought back by Cortés. Sahagun, Conq. Mex., 16. Shortly before beginning the march, says Duran, a messenger arrived from Mexico in the person of Motelchiuh, sent by Montezuma to serve as guide, and to provide for the proper service and hospitality on the way. Being told that no guide was needed, he returned, leaving orders with the caciques en route to tender good reception to the strangers. Duran, Hist. Ind., MS., ii. 405-10.
[267] Meaning ‘Spring in the Sand.’ Rivera, Hist. Jalapa, i. app. 7. ‘Y la primera jornado fuimos â vn pueblo, que se dize Xalapa.’ Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 41. But the road was too long for one day’s march. I may here observe that Bernal Diaz is remarkably faulty in his account of this march and of the campaign into Tlascala, and this is admitted by several writers, who nevertheless follow him pretty closely. The place is known the world over for its fairs and productions, particularly for the drug bearing its name, and is famous in the neighboring districts for its eternal spring and beautiful surroundings.
[268] Identified with Naulinco. Lorenzana, Viage, p. ii.
[269] Cortés refers to a friendly chat with the governor, who mentioned the orders he had received to offer the Spaniards all necessities. Cartas, 57.
[270] ‘Por ser el primero que en estas tierras habíamos pasado. El cual es tan agro y alto, que no lo hay en España otro.’ Cortés, Cartas, 57. ‘Hoy se llama el Paso del Obispo.’ Lorenzana, ubi sup. ‘Ay en ella muchas parras con vuas, y arboles cõ miel.’ Gomara, Hist. Mex., 68.
[271] ‘Hoy se nombra Ixhuacán de los Reyes.’ Lorenzana, Viage.
[272] ‘De Nauhcampa, quatre parties, et tepetl, montagne.’ Humboldt, Vues, ii. 191. Equivalent to the Spanish name of Cofre de Perote.
[273] Lorenzana believes it to be the later Sierra de la Agua. A map with profile of the route is given in _Carbajal Espinosa_, Hist. Mex., ii. 201; and a still better map by Orozco y Berra, Itinerario, in Noticias Mex., 233.
[274] The name must not be confounded with Zacatlan, as Ixtlilxochitl calls it, for this lies north of Tlascala. ‘Este valle y poblacion se llama Caltanmi.’ ‘Tenia las mayores y mas bien labradas casas que hasta entonces ... habiamos visto.’ Cortés, Cartas, 58. Lorenzana says, ‘the present Tlatlanquitepec,’ in the lower lying portion of which stood the palace of Caltanni, ‘house below;’ and there stands the big tree to which the natives say that Cortés tied his horse. Viage, pp. iii.-iv. ‘Llamase ... Zaclotan aquel lugar, y el valle Zacatami.’ Gomara, Hist. Mex., 68; Oviedo, iii. 260. Cocotlan. Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 41.
[275] Gomara intimates that the Spaniards were well received, and had 50 men sacrificed in their honor. Hist. Mex., 68. The native records state that bread sprinkled with the blood of fresh victims was offered to them, as to idols, but this being rejected with abhorrence, pure food was brought. Before this sorcerers had been sent to use their arts against them, by spreading diseases, casting spells to prevent their advance, and otherwise opposing them. But everything failed before the magic influence shed perhaps by the banner of the cross. Duran, Hist. Ind., MS., ii. 401-8; Sahagun, Hist. Conq., 14; Acosta, Hist. Ind., 518; Torquemada, i. 417-8.
[276] ‘Tenia Montezuma en este pueblo, y su comarca, cinco mil soldados de guarnicion.’ Herrera, dec. ii. lib. vi. cap. ii.
[277] Conq. Mex., 42. ‘A muchos valientes por ventura desmayara,’ says to the contrary Gomara, Hist. Mex., 69.
[278] Cortés, Cartas, 59. Bernal Diaz assumes that Olintetl was persuaded by the Cempoalans to conciliate Cortés with four slaves, a few paltry pieces of jewelry, and a load of cloth.
[279] Camargo sends the letter from Cempoala, together with a sword, a crossbow, and a red silk cap. Hist. Tlax., 145. But it is not probable that Cortés would deprive himself of such needful articles, not overabundant with him, even if he had no objection to let Indians examine them. Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 42-3, despatches two Cempoalans from a later station, and this on hearing that the Tlascaltecs had risen to oppose them.
[280] Still Gomara, in his sweeping way, declares that Cortés ‘puso muchas cruzes en los templos, derrocãdo los idolos como lo hazia en cada lugar.’ Hist. Mex., 70; Tapia, Relacion, in Icazbalceta, Col. Doc., ii. 567. Twenty leading warriors were taken from here, says Bernal Diaz.
[281] Clavigero calls them ‘un competente numero di truppe Messicane del presidio di Xocotla,’ Storia Mess., iii. 41, which is unlikely.
[282] See Native Races, ii. 568, et seq.
[283] Fifteen leagues from west to east, ten from north to south, says Torquemada, i. 276. Herrera extends it to 30 leagues in width.
[284] ‘Hay en esta provincia, por visitacion que yo en ella mandé hacer, ciento cincuenta mil vecinos.’ Cortés, Cartas, 69. In the older edition of these letters by Lorenzana, it reads, 500,000 families, a figure which in itself indicates an exaggeration, but has nevertheless been widely copied. Gomara, Hist. Mex., 87.
[285] For further information about Tlascala, see _Native Races_, ii. and v. Torquemada gives a detailed history of the state in i. 259-78. See also Prescott’s Mex., 411-19; Soria, Istoria y Fundacion de la Ciudad de Tlaxcala, MS. in Aztec, sm. 4º of 48 leaves.
[286] Herrera, dec. ii. lib. vi. cap. iii., confounds the two Xicotencatls, and Torquemada, in seeking to correct him, applies the title of general to Maxixcatzin, i. 416, supposing besides, with Clavigero, that Temilotecatl may be another name for Tlehuexolotl. Storia Mess., iii. 40; Brasseur de Bourbourg, Hist. Nat. Civ., iv. 133. Jealous of the honor of his countrymen, and eager to vindicate them against the charge of duplicity or enmity toward the Spaniards, Camargo lets the messengers go back with a friendly invitation. After they had started on this mission the idols were consulted, but remained mute; the temples were overthrown by earthquakes, and comets appeared, creating a general panic. Hist. Tlax., 144-6. The account of the conquest by this author is particularly interesting since Diego Muñoz Camargo was a native of the valiant little republic of Tlascala, a mestizo, says Veytia, Hist. Ant. Méj., ii. 91, who calls him Domingo, while Clavigero gives him nobility. Storia Mess., i. 10. Born shortly after these events, and in contact with the very men who figured therein, his stories are reproduced from their lips, though colored with the spirit of a convert and patriot who, like nearly all of his countrymen, was only too eager to curry favor with the dominant race. This is apparent in nearly every line of his text, wherein the terms of praise bestowed on the conquerors become not unfrequently absurd from the contradictions implied by other passages. Nor does he neglect to hold forth on his own people for their bravery and exploits in fighting the detested Aztecs, and their unswerving devotion to the Spaniards. In the pursuit of this pleasing theme he scruples not to sacrifice truth when it proves a stumbling-block. He leaves the impression, for instance, that the Tlascaltecs never raised sword against Cortés. Many of the misstatements are due to a non-critical acceptance of tales, for Camargo was as simple and superstitious as any of his contemporaries. Although acting as interpreter in the province, Torquemada, i. 523, he exhibits a not very thorough acquaintance with Spanish, which is the cause of errors and repetitions. The conquest forms but a portion of his narrative, which treats chiefly of aboriginal history and customs, and touches lightly the events that passed before his eyes. It was written in 1585, and lay for some time in the Felipe Neri convent archives, where it was consulted by Torquemada. Taken afterward by Panes to Spain, it was deposited by Muñoz with the Royal Academy of History at Madrid, from which source copies were obtained, among others one by Ternaux-Compans, and a faulty translation was published in the Nouvelles Annales des Voyages, xcviii.-ix.
[287] A short distance further they passed through a pine grove, wherein threads and papers were fixed and scattered across the path, the work of Tlascaltec sorcerers, who thus sought to cast a spell upon the invaders. Herrera, dec. ii. lib. vi. cap. iv.
[288] ‘Segun algunos que lo vieron, cortaron cercen de vn golpe cada pescueço con riendas y todo.’ Gomara, Hist. Mex., 71. ‘Io viddi che cõbattẽdosi vn dì, diede vn Indiano vna cortellata a vn cauallo ... nel petto, che glielo aperse fin alle ĩteriora, et cadde icõtanẽte morto, & ... che vn’ altro Indiano diede vn’ altra cortellata a vn’ altro cauallo su il collo che se lo gettò morto.’ Relatione per vn gentil’huomo, in Ramusio, Viaggi, iii. 305. According to Duran two warriors stepped forth from a vast Tlascalan army before the regular battle, and issued a challenge, which was accepted by two horsemen. After a short combat the Indians, by deft movements, killed both horses, cutting off the neck of one, and wounding the other in the pasterns. Hist. Ind., MS., ii. 411-20; Tezozomoc, Hist. Mex., ii. 255-6. This attack is the only resistance admitted by Camargo. The assailants were all Otomís, who killed one Spaniard and two horses. Hist. Tlax., 146.
[289] ‘Hirieron á quatro de los nuestros, y pareceme que desde alli á pocos dias muriò el vno de las heridas ... quedaron muertos hasta diez y siete dellos.’ Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 43; Cortés, Cartas, 61; Lorenzana calls the scene of this battle the plain of Quimichoccan. Viage, p. viii.
[290] See Native Races, ii. 413; Solis, Hist. Mex., i. 230. According to Bernal Diaz the messengers are met before the Tlascalan border is reached, and they deliver the announcement that the Tlascaltecs will kill the Spaniards and eat their flesh, in order to test their reputed strength. The Cempoalans shall suffer the same fate, since they are assumed to be plotting in behalf of the Aztecs, loc. cit. Sahagun supposes that the Cempoalan guide had treacherously led the Spaniards against the Otomís. Conq. Mex. (ed. 1840), 40; Clavigero, Storia Mess., iii. 42-3.
[291] Bernal Diaz says 6000.
[292] Herrera, dec. ii. lib. vi. cap. v. A pious conquistador who was present, says Duran, told me that many wept, wishing they had never been born, and cursing the marquis for having led them into such danger. Hist. Ind., MS., ii. 417.
[293] Tapia gives the higher and Herrera the lower figure, while Ixtlilxochitl makes it 80,000.
[294] During the battle one of the late Cempoalan envoys recognized the captain who had bound him for sacrifice, and with Cortés’ permission he sent him a challenge. The duel was held in front of the armies, and after a tough struggle the Cempoalan, with a feint, threw his opponent off guard, and secured his head, which served as a centre-piece during the Cempoalan victory celebration. Herrera, dec. ii. lib. vi. cap. vi. This author also relates that one of the final acts of the battle was the capture by Ordaz, with 60 men, of a pass. ‘Les matamos muchos Indios, y entre ellos ocho Capitanes muy principales, hijos de los viejos Caciques.’ Five horses were wounded and fifteen soldiers, of whom one died. The other chronicles admit of no dead. Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 44.
[295] Robertson, Hist. Am., ii. 38-9; Wilson’s Conq. Mex., 360-70; Benzoni, Hist. Mondo Nvovo, 51. It is seldom that I encounter a book which I am forced to regard as beneath censure. He who prints and pays the printer generally has something to say, and generally believes something of what he says to be true. An idiot may have honest convictions, and a knave may have talents, but where a book carries to the mind of the reader that its author is both fool and knave, that is, that he writes only foolishness and does not himself believe what he says, I have not the time to waste in condemning such a work. And yet here is a volume purporting to be A New History of the Conquest of Mexico, written by Robert Anderson Wilson, and bearing date Philadelphia, 1859, which one would think a writer on the same subject should at least mention. The many and magnificent monuments which to the present day attest the great number and high culture of the Nahua race, and the testimony to this effect offered by witnesses on all sides, are ignored by him with a contempt that becomes amusing as the pages reveal his lack of investigation and culture. Indeed, the reader need go no further than the introduction to be convinced on the latter point. Another amusing feature is that the work pretends to vindicate the assertions of Las Casas, who, in truth, extols more than other Spanish author the vast number and advanced culture of the natives. In addition to this mistaken assumption, which takes away his main support, he states that Prescott worked in ignorance of his subject and his authorities, and to prove the assertion he produces wrongly applied or distorted quotations from different authors, or assumes meanings that were never intended, and draws erroneous conclusions. Thus it is he proves to his own satisfaction that Mexico City was but a village occupied by savages of the Iroquois stamp, and that Cortés was the boastful victor over little bands of naked red men. As for the ruins, they were founded by Phœnician colonists in remote ages. Another tissue of superficial observations, shaped by bigotry and credulous ignorance, was issued by the same author under the title of Mexico and its Religion, New York, 1855, most enterprisingly reprinted in the disguise of Mexico: its Peasants and its Priests, New York, 1856. In common with Mr Morgan, and others of that stamp, Mr Wilson seems to have deemed it incumbent on him to traduce Mr Prescott and his work, apparently with the view of thereby attracting attention to himself. Such men are not worthy to touch the hem of Mr Prescott’s garment; they are not worthy of mention in the same category with him.
[296] Lorenzana, Viage, ix., wherein the appearance of the hill is described as the bishop saw it. Ixtlilxochitl, Hist. Chich., 292; Camargo, Hist. Tlax., 146. Other authors differ. ‘Teoatzinco, cioè il luogo dell’acqua divina.’ Clavigero, Storia Mess., iii. 44. Duran assumes that the battle was for the possession of this place, which he calls Tecoac. Hist. Ind., MS., ii. 418, 422; Tezozomoc, Hist. Mex., ii. 256. ‘Aldea de pocas casas, que tenia vna torrezilla y tẽplo.’ Gomara, Hist. Mex., 74.
[297] So Cortés distinctly says. Bernal Diaz writes, however, that this day was devoted to rest. Still, a later observation indicates that Cortés is right.
[298] Id. Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 44, admits only twenty captives, and blames the allies for firing the villages; but Cortés is frank enough about it.
[299] Prescott, Mex., 438-42, gives a pretty description of the army, but is so carried away that he dons it with helmets glittering with gold and precious stones, etc.; and this in spite of the efforts of the chroniclers to exhibit the Tlascaltecs as very poor in anything but rude comforts.
[300] Under five captains, to whom he applies the names of the four lords, as he understands them, and of the ruler of Huexotzinco. Hist. Verdad., 45; Gomara, Hist. Mex., 75. 149,000 men, says Cortés, in his second letter, 62, but this exactness is probably due to a printer’s mistake.
[301] For colors and banners, and how carried, see _Native Races_, ii. 411-12, and Torquemada, i. 436.
[302] He was detected in this trick afterward. ‘Lo qual fue gran refrigerio y socorro para la necesidad que tenian.’ Gomara, Hist. Mex., 76. Oviedo increases the gift to 700 baskets. iii. 495. Gomara proceeds to relate that in sign of contempt for the small number of the enemy, whom it could be no honor for his large army to overcome, Xicotencatl detached 2000 warriors—200 says Oviedo—to seize and bring him the strangers bound. They attacked, and were routed with an almost total destruction of their number. ‘No escapo hombre dellos, sino los q̄ acertaron el passo de la barranca.’ loc. cit. 76.
[303] Bernal Diaz states that they did not wait for the enemy to attack, but marched forth and met them one eighth of a league from camp. Hist. Verdad., 45. But Cortés says distinctly, ‘Otro dia en amaneciendo dan sobre nuestro real mas de ciento y cuarenta y nueve mil hombres.’ Cartas, 62. Gomara and Herrera also allow Indians to attack the camp first. Cortés is too fond of announcing when he takes the initiative to have failed to say so had he done it in this case.
[304] ‘Son of Chichimeclatecle,’ says Bernal Diaz, a name which should read Chichimeca-tecuhtli.
[305] That of Guaxolcingo—meaning Huexotzinco. Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 45. That of Tlehuexolotzin. Clavigero, Storia Mess., iii. 46. Solis exaggerates this into an actual battle between the leaders and their followers. Hist. Mex., i. 255-8. Herrera intimates that a secret arrangement had been formed between Cortés and the seceding captain, the latter appearing with his officers at the camp, the evening after the previous battle, and, declaring himself convinced that the Spaniards were invincible, offered not only to remain neutral, but to aid them in entering Tlascala. Cortés agreed. When the captain returned to Xicotencatl’s camp he was so badly beaten that he came back to Cortés for medical treatment. Certain signs were to be worn, so that the Spaniards might respect the neutral troops. dec. ii. lib. vi. cap. vi. He also relates that one Tlascaltec maintained himself so long and bravely against two Spanish soldiers that Láres, the smith, rushed up, cried shame upon the twain, and lanced the warrior. Id., cap. vii.
[306] This soldier himself received two wounds, which did not prevent him from fighting, however. ‘Nos mataron vn soldado,’ he says, and a few lines further down, ‘y enterramos los muertos ... porque no viessen los Indios que eramos mortales.’ Hist. Verdad., 45. Thus even the ‘True Historian’ reveals the common weakness. Hazart, Kirchen-Geschichte, ii. 512-14; West-Indische Spieghel, 224-35; Franck, Weltbuch, ccxxix.
XIII. ENTRY INTO TLASCALA
SEPTEMBER, 1519.
NATIVE CHIEFS SENT AS ENVOYS TO THE TLASCALAN CAPITAL—THEIR FAVORABLE RECEPTION—XICOTENCATL PLANS RESISTANCE TO CORTÉS—SENDS OUT SPIES—CORTÉS SENDS THEM BACK MUTILATED—THE SPANIARDS ATTACK AND DEFEAT XICOTENCATL—NIGHT ENCOUNTERS—GENERAL DISSATISFACTION AND A DESIRE TO RETURN TO VILLA RICA—ENVOYS ARRIVE FROM MONTEZUMA—CORTÉS RECEIVES XICOTENCATL AND THE TLASCALAN LORDS—PEACE CONCLUDED—TLASCALA—FESTIVITIES AND REJOICINGS—MASS CELEBRATED—CORTÉS INCLINED TO EXTREME RELIGIOUS ZEAL—BRIDES PRESENTED TO THE SPANIARDS—APPROPRIATE CEREMONIES—PREPARING TO LEAVE TLASCALA FOR CHOLULA—COMMUNICATIONS WITH THE CHOLULTECS.
In the late battle three chiefs had been captured, and they together with two others were sent, this time to the Tlascalan capital direct, to carry an offer of peace, and to explain that the Spaniards would not have harmed their warriors had they not been obliged to do so. If peace was still declined they would come and destroy them all. Meanwhile Cortés set out on another foraging and raiding expedition, and “burned more than ten towns, one exceeding three thousand houses,” retiring by the early afternoon, when the Indians began to gather in aid of the raided neighbors.[307]
Tired of the fruitless fighting, attended with loss of life and property only to themselves as it appeared, the peace party in Tlascala had been gaining the ascendancy, with the efforts of Maxixcatzin, supported as he now was by the powerful factions which had quarrelled with the general. When the peace messengers of Cortés arrived they were therefore received with favor. His previous friendly offers were considered, also his kind treatment of captives, so unusual with the natives, and the oracles and signs of a coming race of rulers. Whether gods or men, they were evidently invincible, and the friendship and alliance held out by them must be desirable, and ought to be secured before the strangers, embittered by further resistance, should pass on to join their enemies. An embassy, headed by Costomatl and Tolinpanecatl,[308] was accordingly despatched with provisions and some other trifling gifts to open negotiations for peace. Humbly these men appeared before Cortés, expressing the sorrow of the lords for the hostility shown, and their desire for peace. With a grave reproval for their obstinacy, Cortés said that he would admit their apology, and the envoys departed, after leaving beside the other gifts a number of male and female slaves.[309]
Smarting under the disgrace of his defeats, Xicotencatl had meanwhile been laying plans to retrieve himself. Among other counsellors he had summoned diviners to his aid, and they, calling to mind the assumption that the Spaniards were children of the sun, declared that as such the new-comers were invincible only when animated by its beams, and at night, when deprived of this invigorating power, they became mortals, who must bow to superior force. Knowing the strength of the party opposed to him in the Tlascalan capital, he does not appear to have submitted his projects there, but to have ventured upon detaining the envoys as they were returning from the Spanish camp until the result of his plans should have been ascertained; and this in face of the command to desist from hostility.[310] In order to make everything as sure as possible for the intended blow, Xicotencatl sent fifty Indians to the camp, with instructions to gather information concerning the approaches, the condition of the soldiers, and other points. They appeared before Cortés with the usual demonstrations of respect, and, placing before him five female slaves, a quantity of food, and other presents, they said: “Lord, behold these slaves! If you are fierce gods, eat their flesh and blood, and more shall be brought; if gentle gods, take these feathers and incense; if men, here are fowl, bread, and fruit.” Cortés answered that they required no sacrifices of men. Had they desired such they could have taken by force all the victims needed. He rebuked their obstinacy and advised submission.[311] They were then taken aside to receive the hospitalities of the camp, after which they dispersed to satisfy their curiosity, and to question the allies. This aroused the suspicions of Teuch, the Cempoalan chief, who warned the general. Seizing the men he examined them singly, and soon ascertained that their object was not only to spy, but to fire the huts, and otherwise to aid the attack which would be made upon the camp that very night. Finding that his friendly advances had been scorned, Cortés resolved to inflict a lesson that would be understood by a people so deeply intent upon war and sacrifices. This was to cut off the hands of the leading spies, and the thumbs of others, and to send them back with the message that this would be the punishment of spies, and that the Spaniards were prepared, night or day, to face their enemies.[312]
Fearing the confusion and danger of a night attack, when the artillery and other means would be less effective, Cortés resolved to anticipate the enemy by a counter charge, wherein the cavalry might render particular service. Learning that Xicotencatl was hidden with ten thousand or twenty thousand men behind a hill not far off, Cortés did not despatch the mutilated spies till after dusk, in order to let him approach nearer to camp.[313] When his messengers returned to Xicotencatl and displayed their bleeding stumps, the general was troubled, and throughout his army there was consternation, and numbers of warriors declared openly that it was useless to fight men who not only appeared to be invincible, but who could read their very intentions. While in this state of demoralization they were startled by the jingling of bells and the tramp of the dreaded horses, magnified by their fears and by the weird moonlight into a host. The next moment the Spaniards announced their presence by a ringing “Santiago!” and, undeterred by the few stray and feeble volleys of stones and arrows sent against them, they rode into the crowds of natives already in full flight, slashing and riding down in all directions.[314]
After this lesson Xicotencatl appears to have made no further attempts to molest the Spaniards, although small skirmishing parties, chiefly Otomís, continued to hover round the camp and give the soldiers opportunities for sallies. Gomara magnifies these skirmishes into daily attacks on the camp by the army, whose divisions take turns so as not to embarrass one another. This caused them to fight better, partly from a spirit of rivalry to surpass the preceding record. The ambition of the natives was to kill one Spaniard at least, but the object was never attained, so far as they knew. This continued for a fortnight, and daily came also messengers with food to sustain the strangers.[315]
In order to farther impress upon the Indians that fighting by night was quite congenial to the Spaniards, Cortés set out one midnight to raid and forage in the direction of a large town called Tzompantzinco, which could be distinguished beyond a range of hills, toward the capital.[316] The soldiers had not gone far before one horse after another began to tremble and fall, including the general’s. This was regarded a bad omen, and the men urged a return, but Cortés laughed it off, sent back five horses, and proceeded with the rest, declaring that God, in whose cause they were engaged, was superior to nature.[317] Two small villages were surprised, with some slaughter, and shortly before dawn the Spaniards fell upon the large town, containing twenty thousand houses, it is said. Frightened out of their senses by the noise, the people rushed from the dwellings to join in the crowd which sought to elude the pursuers. Finding that no resistance was attempted, Cortés speedily stopped the attack, and collecting his men in the plaza he forbade any attempt on life or property. The chiefs and priests presently appeared with gifts of food and two female slaves, pleading that the proximity of Xicotencatl’s army had prevented them from sending in their submission. They would henceforth prove their gratitude for his leniency by sending supplies to the camp. Cortés accepted their excuses, and told them to proceed to Tlascala to urge upon the lords the necessity for accepting peace. Before returning, Cortés ascended a hill, and thence saw the capital, with its surrounding villages. “Behold,” he said to those who had objected to his leniency with the towns, “what boots it to have killed these people, when so many enemies exist over there?”[318]
Although left in comparative peace for some days, the end of the campaign seemed to the Spaniards as remote as ever. The harass and hardship of their life, the vigils, the cold nights, the scanty supplies, the absence of salt, medicine, and many other necessaries, all this was severely felt, particularly since so large a number were either sick or wounded, including Cortés and Padre Olmedo.[319] The ailments and wounds were as a rule slight, yet they helped to magnify dangers, and to dim every cheerful aspect. The very cessation of regular hostile demonstrations seemed to cover a plot for a new Tlascalan combination. If this people could exhibit such armies and such valor, what must be expected from the far more numerous and equally warlike Aztecs? These views owed not a little of their acceptance to the fears and exaggeration of the Indian allies, and through their medium the prospect of reaching the impregnable Mexico began to appear preposterous. Cortés was aware that this feeling existed among a large number, for in making his customary tour of the camp one evening he had overheard a party of soldiers express themselves pretty strongly about the madness of his enterprise. It would happen to him as to Pedro Carbonero, who ventured with his force among the Moors and was never heard of again. The general should be left to go alone.
The murmurs in camp grew particularly strong during the raid on Tzompantzinco, promoted of course by Velazquez’ men; and when Cortés returned, a deputation of seven, whom Bernal Diaz forbears to name, appeared before him to recommend that, in view of the suffering, the danger, and the dark prospects, they should return to Villa Rica, build a vessel, and send to Cuba for reinforcements. They were only tempting providence by their foolhardy course. Finding that arguments would be lost on these men, Cortés had caused his adherents to rally, and turning to them he recalled the determination formed at Villa Rica to advance on Mexico, and extolled their valorous deeds, which dimmed even the Greek and Roman records. He was suffering equally with them, yet he wavered not. Should they, the brave Spaniards, belie their character and country, and desert their duty to their king, to their God, who had protected them hitherto? To retreat now would be to abandon the treasures to be found only a few leagues off, the reward for which they had striven during a whole year, and to draw upon themselves the contempt not only of their countrymen, who at present looked on them as the bravest of the brave, but that of the natives, who regarded them as gods. The Tlascaltecs had already sued for peace, but let the Spaniards take one step in retreat, and the enemy would turn with renewed ardor on them, joined by the Mexicans, so far held in check by their fame and deeds. Even the allies would for their own safety join to crush them. To retire was impossible, because it would be fatal. In any case, death was preferable to dishonor. The usual marks of approval which followed the speech silenced the deputation, and nothing more was heard about retreat.[320]
* * * * *
Great was the sensation in Mexico at the successive reports of easy Spanish victories over the stanch armies of Tlascala—victories by an insignificant band over armies which had successfully resisted the vast forces of the Anáhuac allies. Since it was only too evident that force could not keep the strangers from reaching the capital, Montezuma again called his council to consider the situation. Cuitlahuatzin proposed that they should be bought off with presents, while Cacama represented that their mission was probably harmless, and that they should be frankly invited to the city, there to be awed with the grandeur of the monarch. Others favored this course, but with the idea of laying traps for the strangers. The fear of their being warned and aided by Ixtlilxochitl, the rebellious brother of Cacama, caused Montezuma to incline to the advice of Cuitlahuatzin; and six prominent lords, headed by Atempanecatl,[321] were accordingly despatched to the Spanish camp to congratulate the white chieftain on his victories, and to offer annual tribute in gold, silver, jewels, cloth—in fact, to do almost anything that his king might desire, on the condition that he should not proceed to Mexico. The envoys entered the presence of Cortés followed by two hundred attendants, and laying before him a present of twenty bales of embroidered cloth and feathers, and about one thousand castellanos in gold-dust, they delivered their message.[322] They explained that their monarch would gladly see him in Mexico, but feared to expose the Spaniards to the hardships of the rough and sterile country wherein Mexico was situated. Cortés expressed his thanks, and said that he would consider the proposal.[323]
While entertaining the Mexican envoys the camp was stirred by the announcement of the Tlascalan plenipotentiaries, consisting of fifty leading men, headed by Axayacatzin Xicotencatl himself.[324] The soldiers crowded forward to gaze at the dreaded general, who appeared to be a man of about thirty-five years, tall and broad-shouldered, well formed and robust, with broad, rough face, grave in manner and commanding in presence, though he came a suppliant. He had used every means as a noble patriot to save his country from the enslavement which he seemed with prophetic spirit to have foreseen; and as a brave soldier he had struggled to uphold the honor of the army. With pride subdued he had sought pardon of the lords for disobeying their orders,[325] and offered the best amends in his power by personally humbling himself before the chief who had torn the wreath from his brow. He approached Cortés with the customary profound salute, while his attendants swung the copal censer, and announced that he had come in the name of his father and the other lords to ask his friendship, and to offer their submission to the mightiest of men, so gentle yet so valiant. Accepting a seat by Cortés’ side, he entered into explanations, and frankly took upon himself the blame for the resistance offered, but pleaded the Tlascalan love for liberty, threatened, as they imagined, by an ally of Montezuma, for were not Mexican allies in the Spanish train? and had not the Aztec monarch exchanged friendly intercourse with them? While delighted with the manner of the chief, and particularly with the object of his visit, Cortés thought it necessary to administer a slight rebuke for the obstinate refusal of his friendly offers; yet since his people had already suffered enough for this, he freely pardoned them in the name of his king, and received them as vassals.[326] He hoped the peace would be permanent; if not, he would be obliged to destroy the capital and massacre the inhabitants. Xicotencatl assured him that the Tlascaltecs would henceforth be as faithful as they had hitherto been unfriendly. In proof of their sincerity the chiefs would remain with him as hostages. He begged Cortés to come to the city, where the lords and nobles were awaiting him, and regretted not being able to offer a present worthy of his acceptance, but they were poor in treasures, even in cloth and salt, and what they once possessed had been surrendered to the Mexicans.[327]
Mass was said by Padre Diaz to celebrate the concluded peace, and in honor of the occasion Tecohuatzinco received the name of Victoria.[328] Both Spaniards and allies concluded the day with feasting and appropriate demonstrations of their delight. At Tlascala, where it was soon understood that the Spaniards were in some way to liberate the state from the tyranny of Montezuma, floral decorations and sacrifices gave eclat to the festivities, and twenty thousand leading men are said to have taken part in the mitote dance, singing to the prospective overthrow of the Mexicans and to the glory of the Spaniards.
The Mexican envoys felt not a little chagrined at a peace which could bode no good to their nation. Before Cortés, however, they sought to ridicule the whole proceeding as a farce on the part of the Tlascaltecs. The latter were too treacherous to be trusted. When the Spaniards were once in their city they would fall on them, and avenge the defeats and losses which till then must rankle in their hearts. Cortés told them that the Spaniards could not be overcome in town or field, by day or night. He intended going to Tlascala, and if the inhabitants proved treacherous they would be destroyed. Xicotencatl had been no less abusive of the Mexicans during his late interview, and Cortés, as he declares, enjoyed their dissension, sympathizing alternately with either party, in order to promote his own ends.[329] Finding the general so determined, the envoys begged that he would remain at the camp for a few days while they communicated with the emperor. This was granted, partly because Cortés wished to await developments, not being at all sure of the Tlascaltecs, and partly because he and others needed a respite to recover from their wounds and fevers.[330]
* * * * *
The only result of the message to Mexico appears to have been an instruction to the envoys to use every effort to prevent the Spaniards from going either to Tlascala or to Mexico; and to make their representations more weighty a present was sent, consisting of ten pieces of wrought gold, worth over three thousand castellanos, says Bernal Diaz, and of several hundred pieces of cotton fabrics, richly embroidered.[331] It served but as another magnet to aid in attracting the invaders. Cortés accepted the presents, but held out no hopes of changing his determination.
The Tlascaltecs had meanwhile kept the camp liberally supplied with provisions, for which they would accept no recompense, and were daily urging Cortés to depart for Tlascala. Alarmed at his delay, the lords thought it best to go in person, accompanied by the leading nobles, to entreat him.[332] The last envoy from Montezuma had just delivered his presents when they were announced. Descending from their litters they advanced toward Cortés with the customary salute,[333] the lead being taken by Xicotencatl, ruler of Tizatlan, so blind and old that he had to be supported by attendants, and by Maxixcatzin, of Ocotelulco, the youngest and wisest of the lords.[334]
Xicotencatl expressed his sorrow for their resistance, but reminded the Spanish chief that, this being forgiven, they had now come to invite him to their city, and to offer their possessions and services. He must not believe the slanderous insinuations which they feared the Mexicans had uttered. Cortés could not resist the evident sincerity of this appeal from so prominent a body, and he hastened to assure them that preparations for the departure and other affairs had alone detained him.[335]
The lords accordingly returned to prepare for the reception, and to send five hundred carriers to assist in the march, which began the following morning. The Mexican envoys were invited to accompany the Spaniards, in order that they might witness the honors paid to them. The road to Tlascala, some six leagues in length, passed through a hilly yet well cultivated country, skirted on the east by the snow-crowned peak which was soon to bear the revered name of Malinche. In every direction were verdure-clad slopes spotted with huge oaks, while above and beyond the vista was closed by a dark green fringe of the hardier fir, which seemed to rise like shielding bulwarks round the settlements in the valleys. The leading towns on the route were Tzompantzinco and Atlihuetzin, where the population turned out en masse to receive the Spaniards.
A quarter of a league from the capital they were met by the lords and nobles, accompanied by a great retinue, attired in the colors of the different districts. Women of rank came forward with flowers in garlands and bouquets; and a long line of priests in flowing white robes, with cowls, and flowing hair clotted with blood from freshly slashed ears, marched along swinging their copal censers, while in the rear and around surged a crowd estimated at one hundred thousand persons.
Before them rose the capital, prominently located upon four hills, “so great and so admirable,” quoth Cortés, “that although I say but little of it, that little will appear incredible, for it is much larger than Granada and much stronger, with as good edifices and with much more people than Granada had at the time it was captured; also much better supplied with the things of the earth.”[336] There were four distinct quarters, separated by high stone walls and traversed by narrow streets. In each stood a lordly palace for the ruler, and here and there rose temples and masonry buildings for the nobles, but the greater part of the dwellings were one-story adobe and mud huts. The highest quarter in situation was Tepeticpac, the first settled, separated from Ocotelulco by the river Zahuatl.[337] The latter was not only the largest and most populous, but the richest, and held a daily market attended by thirty thousand people, it is claimed.[338] Quiahuiztlan lay below on the river, and above it Tizatlan, the residence of the blind chief.[339]
It was here that the Spaniards entered on September 23d,[340] henceforth a feast-day to its people. Through streets adorned with festoons and arches, and past houses covered with cheering multitudes, they proceeded to the palace of Xicotencatl, who came forward to tender the customary banquet. Cortés saluted him with the respect due to his age,[341] and was conducted to the banquet-hall, after which quarters were pointed out in the courts and buildings surrounding the temple.[342] Neat beds of matting and nequen cloth were spread for the troops. Close by were the quarters of the allies and the Mexican envoys.
A round of invitations and festivities was tendered the guests in the several quarters; yet Cortés allowed no relaxation in the usual discipline and watches, greatly to the grief of the lords, who finally remonstrated against this apparent want of confidence. The Mexicans must have poisoned the mind of Malinche against them, they said. Malinche was becoming a recognized name for Cortés among the Indians. It seems strange that they should have fixed upon no higher sounding title for so great a leader than ‘master of Marina,’ as it implied, while the inferior Alvarado was dubbed Tonatiuh, ‘the sun.’ The Tlascaltecs had, however, another name for the general in Chalchiuitl, the term for their favorite precious stones, and also a title of Quetzalcoatl, ‘the white god.’[343] Cortés was quite touched by the fervor of the lords in their newly formed friendship. Untutored in some respects, they appeared to rush like children from one extreme to another—from obstinate enmity to profound devotion, now worshipping the doughty little band who had overcome their vast number, and admiring their every trait and act, willing to yield life itself for the heroic leader. He hastened to assure them of his confidence, and declined the hostages they offered, asserting that strict discipline was part of the military system which he was in duty bound to maintain. This seemed to convince the lords, and they even sought to introduce among their own troops some of the regulations which they learned to admire.
The second day of their sojourn Padre Diaz said mass in the presence of the two leading lords, who thereupon presented Cortés with half a dozen fishes made of gold, several curious stones, and some nequen cloth, altogether worth about twenty pesos, says Bernal Diaz.[344] Insignificant as was the gift, they expressed a hope that in view of their poverty he would accept it as a token of friendship. Cortés assured them that “he received it from their hand with greater pleasure than he would a house filled with gold dust from others.”[345] In return he gave them some of the robes and other useful articles obtained from Montezuma, beside beads and trinkets. They now proposed, as a further proof of their good-will, to bestow on the captains their daughters, in order to have for relatives men so good and brave. Cortés expressed himself pleased, but explained that this could not be admitted till the Tlascaltecs renounced idolatry and its attendant evils.[346] He thereupon proceeded to expound to them the doctrines of his faith and contrast them with the impure, cruel, and bloody rites practised by them. This was ably interpreted by Marina and Aguilar, who were by this time expert in preaching, and the cross and virgin image were produced to illustrate the discourse. The lords answered that they believed the Christian’s God must be good and powerful, since he was worshipped by such men, and they were willing to accord him a place by the side of their idols;[347] but they could not renounce their own time-honored and benevolent deities. To do so would be to create an uprising among the people, and bring war and pestilence from the outraged gods. Cortés produced further arguments, only to be told that in time they would better understand the new doctrines, and might then yield, but at present their people would choose death rather than submit to such sacrilege.
Finding that the religious zeal of Cortés threatened to overcome his prudence, Padre Olmedo hastened to interpose his counsel, representing the danger of losing all that their valor and perseverance had gained if they pressed so delicate a subject with a superstitious and warlike people as yet only half gained over. He had never approved of forcible conversion, and could see no advantage in removing idols from one temple when they would be sure to rise in another. Indeed, persecution could only tend to root idolatry more deeply in the heart. It were better to let the true faith work its way into the appreciation of the people, as it would be sure to do if the natives were given an opportunity to contrast their bloody rites with the religion of Christ, provided the Spaniards would themselves follow the precepts of love and gentleness they were commending to the Indians. The success of the conquest owes much to Olmedo, whose heart, like Las Casas’, warmed for the benighted Indians, to him wayward children who must be won by moderation. Like a guardian angel he rose in defence of his flock, saving at the same time the Spaniards from their own passions.[348] Alvarado, Velazquez de Leon, and others, who had no desire to witness a repetition of the Cempoalan iconoclasm, supported the father in his counsel, and Cortés agreed to content himself for the present with having an appropriate place set aside in the temple for an altar and a cross.[349] And upon this cross, say the credulous chroniclers, a white radiant cloud, in form of a whirling pillar, descended at night from the sky, impressing the natives with the sacredness of the symbol, and guarding it till the conquest had established the faith in the land.[350] The Spaniards succeeded further in abolishing human sacrifices, and the fattening-cages being torn down, a large number of intended victims sought refuge in their camp, lauding their doctrines and aiding not a little to pave the way for conversion.[351]
The inaugural mass for the new altar was followed by the baptism of the brides, the daughters and nieces of the lords being the first to undergo the ceremony. Cortés pleading that he was already married, Tecuilhuatzin, the daughter of Xicotencatl, destined for him, was at his request given to Alvarado, his brother and captain as he proclaimed him, and blessed with the name of Luisa, while her sister Tolquequetzaltzin, baptized as Lucía, was conferred on the brother, Jorge de Alvarado. Maxixcatzin’s niece Zicuetzin, a pretty girl, was named Elvira and given to Velazquez de Leon, it appears. Olid, Sandoval, Ávila, and others also received distinguished brides with dowries. Cortés found it necessary, however, to decline accepting wives for the whole company, as the lords proposed.[352] Indeed, they urged him to settle among them, offering to give lands and to build houses for the whole party.[353]
Finding him determined to proceed to Mexico, they offered their coöperation, and gave an account of the wealth, power, and condition of the lake states, dwelling in particular on the magnificence of Montezuma. They did not omit a tirade against his tyranny, and stated that whenever he proposed to attack Tlascala no less than one hundred thousand men were placed in the field. It was because they were forewarned that their resistance was so successful, and because the Aztec troops, gathered as they were to a great extent from subject provinces, fought with less spirit.[354]
Cortés had now a further motive for going to Mexico, which was the alliance proposed to him by Ixtlilxochitl, the rebellious brother of Cacama, and ruler of northern Acolhuacan, who hoped with Spanish aid to overthrow the hated Montezuma, and raise himself to the throne of Tezcuco, at least, and to the head of the allied states. To this pleasing proposal Cortés replied in a manner which could not fail to promote his own interests by keeping alive the spirit of dissension among his prey.[355] Huexotzinco, the ally of Tlascala, sent in her formal adhesion about the same time.
Finding that the Spaniards could not be kept away from Mexico, Montezuma thought it best at any rate to hasten their departure from Tlascala. An urgent invitation to visit him in his capital was accordingly sent through four prominent caciques, attended by followers bearing as usual a costly present, consisting of ten bales of embroidered robes and a number of gold articles, worth fully ten thousand pesos.[356] A council was held to consider the departure and the route to be taken. The lords of Tlascala did not relish the idea of a friendly visit to Mexico by their new allies, to be won over perhaps by the arts of the enemy. They sought to impress upon Cortés that Montezuma was the incarnation of treachery, awaiting only an opportunity to get them into his power and to crush them. They were ready to join in an armed descent upon the tyrant, proposing to spare neither young nor old; the former, because they might grow up to be avengers, the latter because of their dangerous counsel. Cortés suggested that he might yet establish friendly relations between them and the Mexicans, and reopen the trade in salt, cotton, and other articles; but this aroused only an incredulous smile. With regard to the route, they favored either the Calpulalpan road, proposed by Ixtlilxochitl, or that leading through Huexotzinco, friendly to them, declaring that it would be preposterous to pass by the way of Cholula, as urged by the Mexican envoys, since this was the very hatching-place for Montezuma’s plots. The road to it, and every house there, were full of snares and pitfalls; the great Quetzalcoatl temple-pyramid, for instance, being known to contain a mighty stream which could at any moment be let loose upon invaders, and Montezuma having a large army hidden near the saintly city.[357]
The extraordinary accounts of Cholula served to arouse Cortés’ curiosity, and the representation of dangers made him the more resolved to encounter them, chiefly because he did not wish to appear intimidated. This route was beside easier, and passed through a rich country. He accordingly decided in favor of it, and when reminded of the suspicious absence of any deputation from that city, he sent a message to the rulers that they might remedy the omission.[358]
The Cholultec council was divided on the answer to be sent, three of the members being in favor of compliance, and the other three, supported by the generalissimo, opposing any concession.[359] Finally a compromise was effected by sending three or four persons of no standing, and without presents, to say that the governors of the city were sick and could not come. The Tlascaltecs pointed out the disrespect in sending such men and such a message, and Cortés at once despatched four messengers to signify his displeasure, and to announce that unless the Cholultecs within three days sent persons of authority to offer allegiance to the Spanish king, he would march forth and destroy them, proceeding against them as against rebels.[360]
Finding that it would not do to trifle with the powerful strangers, some of the highest nobles in the city were despatched to the Spanish camp, with a suitable retinue, to tender excuses, pleading that they had dreaded to enter Tlascala, a state hostile to them.
They invited Cortés to their city, where amends would be made by rendering the obedience and tribute which was considered due from them as vassals of his king.[361]
FOOTNOTES
[307] Cortés, Cartas, 62-3. According to Gomara the Indians pursued to the very camp, where they were defeated with great slaughter, after five hours’ fighting. Hist. Mex., 76-7.
[308] Camargo, Hist. Tlax., 146. Duran gives a short speech, delivered in the council-chamber. Hist. Ind., MS., ii. 422-3.
[309] Cortés places the arrival of this embassy on the day following the raiding of the ten towns, Cartas, 63; but Bernal Diaz at a later date. He makes the envoys four in number, and allows them, in returning, to instruct the neighboring settlements to furnish supplies to the Spaniards, all of which Xicotencatl prevents. Hist. Verdad., 47-8, 50, 55.
[310] Bernal Diaz assumes that the lords consult the diviners, and allow a night attack to be made; but then he describes two night attacks, while Cortés and others distinctly allow only one, and he forgets his former admission that, in addition to the peace party, half the army had actually abandoned Xicotencatl. It is after this first night attack, ignored by other writers, that the senate send in their submission, and order Xicotencatl to desist from hostilities. He refuses to obey, and detains the envoys on their way to the Spaniards, whereupon his officers are ordered to desert him. Finally he repents and is forgiven. Hist. Verdad., 46-7. The detention of the envoys must be placed on their return from the Spanish camp, for Cortés distinctly states that the peace proposals from the lords arrived before the night attack.
[311] According to Gomara, Cortés announces that his men are mortal like themselves, which is not very likely. Hist. Mex., 77. Bernal Diaz calls the slaves four old hags, and allows the Indians to act in rather an insulting manner, and without tendering the usual courtesies, which is also unlikely, when we consider that they had an object to gain. Hist. Verdad., 49.
[312] ‘Los mandé tomar á todos cincuenta y cortarles las manos,’ says Cortés, Cartas, 63; but the phrase may be loose, for Bernal Diaz specifies only seventeen as sent back with hands or thumbs cut off. Hist. Verdad., 49. ‘El marques les hizo á algunos de ellos contar (sic pro cortar) las manos.’ Tapia, Rel., in Icazbalceta, Col. Doc., ii. 570. ‘Mandò cortar las manos a siete dellos, y a algunos los dedos pulgares muy contra su voluntad.’ Herrera, dec. ii. lib. vi. cap. viii. Gomara places this occurrence on the 6th of September, but it is most likely later, and makes the spies a different party from those bringing the slaves and feathers, who arrive on the preceding day. Hist. Mex., 77-8. Bernal Diaz accounts for this difference by stating that the party had been in camp since the previous day. Robertson reverses the order by assuming that mutilation of the spies so perplexes the Indians that they send the men with the slaves and feathers to ask whether they are fierce or gentle gods, or men. He does not understand why so many as 50 spies should have been sent, but had he read Cortés’ letter more closely, he would have divined the reason, that they intended to fire the camp, and otherwise aid in the attack. He stigmatizes as barbarous the mutilation, Hist. Am., ii. 42, 451, but forgets, in doing so, that the Spanish conquerors belonged to an age when such deeds were little thought of. Spies even now suffer death, and the above punishment may therefore be regarded as comparatively lenient, particularly by a people who daily tore out the heart from living victims. The mutinous pilot of Villa Rica had his life spared, but lost his feet. Cortés, as the captain of a small band, was obliged to conform to his age and surroundings in the measures taken for its safety.
[313] ‘En yendose las espias, vieron de nuestro real como atrauessaua por vn cerro grandissima muchedumbre de gente, y era la que traya Xicotencatl.’ Gomara, Hist. Mex., 79.
[314] Cortés, Cartas, 63-4; Gomara, Hist. Mex., 78-9; Tapia, Rel., in Icazbalceta, Col. Doc., ii. 569; Herrera, dec. ii. lib. vi. cap. viii. Bernal Diaz describes a night attack with 10,000 warriors, made a few days before, in which the Spaniards drive back the Indians and pursue them, capturing four, while the morning revealed twenty corpses still upon the plain. Two of the diviners appear to have been sacrificed for their bad advice. He now reappears with 20,000 men, but on meeting the mutilated spies he becomes disheartened, and turns back without attempting a blow. Hist. Verdad., 46, 49-50. He is the only authority for two night expeditions. Having already been defeated in one night attack, Xicotencatl would be less likely to attempt a second, particularly since nocturnal movements were contrary to Indian modes of warfare. Cortés distinctly intimates that the present occasion was the first attempt at a night raid. Ixtlilxochitl, Hist. Chich., 291.
[315] He begins to suspect that their object may also have been to spy. Cortés was suffering from fever at this time, and one night he took pills, a course which among the Spaniards involved the strictest care and seclusion from affairs. Early in the morning three large bodies of Indians appeared, and regardless of his pills Cortés headed the troops, fighting all day. The following morning, strange to say, the medicine operated as if no second day had intervened. ‘No lo cuẽto por milagro, sino por dezir lo que passo, y que Cortés era muy sufridor de trabajos y males.’ Gomara, Hist. Mex., 80. But Sandoval assumes ‘que sin duda fue milagro.’ Hist. Carlos V., i. 173. Solis applies this story to the night attack, which seems plausible, and smiles philosophically at Sandoval’s conclusion. Hist. Mex., i. 271; Ixtlilxochitl, Hist. Chich., 291; Clavigero, Storia Mess., iii. 47-8. ‘Tenia calenturas, ò tercianas.’ Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 47. Some place the story with the later capture of Tzompantzinco, where it is entirely out of place, if indeed worth recording at all, for this expedition was a voluntary project, calling for no sick men to venture out. Duran relates that, tired of being besieged, Cortés one night made a sally in different directions. One party surprised all the native leaders together and asleep, and brought them to camp. In the morning they were sent back to the army, which had awakened to find them missing. In recognition of their kind treatment the chiefs raised the siege. This is told on the authority of an eye-witness, who evidently reserved his choicest stories for Padre Duran. Hist. Ind., MS., ii. 419-20.
[316] Bernal Diaz places it one league from the camp, and Tapia four leagues. Ixtlilxochitl calls it Tzimpantzinco; others vary.
[317] Gomara, Hist. Mex., 80. Tapia allows the horses to overcome their attack and proceed. It appears to have been due to the cold night winds.
[318] Gomara, Hist. Mex., 80-1. According to Herrera, Alcalde Mayor Grado counselled Cortés, on seeing this populous country, to return to Villa Rica and send to Velazquez for aid. Deeply grieved at such advice, the general remarked that the very stones would rise against them if they retreated, dec. ii. lib. vi. cap. viii.; Cortés, Cartas, 64-5. Bernal Diaz places this raid before the final night attack. Hist. Verdad., 47; Tapia, Rel., in Icazbalceta, Col. Doc., ii. 568-9.
[319] ‘Nos vimos todos heridos â dos, y â tres heridos, y muy cansados, y otros dolientes ... y faltauan ya sobre cincuenta y cinco soldados que se auian muerto en las batallas, y dolencias, y frios, y estauan dolientes otros doze.’ Bernal Diaz, 46. Prescott, i. 458, is careless enough to accept this verbally, but the run of the text here and elsewhere indicates that the sentence is rather figurative. The last four words, ‘twelve others were on the sick-bed,’ indicate that only three per cent. were laid low, and that the general health and condition must therefore have been tolerably good. This also indicates that the 55 missing soldiers could not have died since they left Vera Cruz, as certain writers assume. The only obstacles under which the soldiers could have succumbed in any number were the several battles with the Tlascaltecs, wherein the total number of the wounded nowhere foots up to more than 100. Of these 50 per cent. could not have died, to judge from the warfare engaged in, and from the very few, a couple at the most, it is said, who fell on the field. Nor could diseases have killed many during a month’s march through a fine and fertile country, for the passage of the Cofre de Perote did not affect the Spaniards seriously. Hence it must be assumed that the 55 dead include the 35 who fell out of the ranks ere the army reached Villa Rica. This leaves, say, fifteen casualties for the present expedition since it left Villa Rica, and that appears to be a fair proportion. The only one who rightly interprets Bernal Diaz on this point appears to be Torquemada, who says, ‘desde que salieron de Cuba, se avian muerto cinquenta y cinco Castellanos.’ i. 428. The old soldier confirms the interpretation by stating in more than one place that the Spaniards numbered 450, or nearly so, on entering Mexico City. ubi sup., 65, 109.
[320] Gomara gives a long speech, and intimates that it was delivered before a regular meeting. Hist. Mex., 81-3; Cortés, Cartas, 65; Herrera, dec. ii. lib. vi. cap. ix.; Torquemada, i. 428-9; Tapia, Rel., in Icazbalceta, Col. Doc., ii. 571. Bernal Diaz addresses the speech to the committee, and states that Cortés, on finding them still unconvinced, abandoned the gentle tone he had used, and exclaimed with some asperity that it was better to die like brave men than to live dishonored. The men being appealed to upheld him, and declared that they would listen to no contrary talk. Hist. Verdad., 48-9; Solis, Hist. Mex., i. 259-63.
[321] Surnamed Tlachpanquizqin, it seems. Ixtlilxochitl, Hist. Chich., 292; Veytia, Hist. Ant. Méj., iii. 380. Bernal Diaz calls them five leading men.
[322] Nearly every writer states that Montezuma acknowledged himself the vassal of the Spanish king, but it is doubtful whether he stooped so low before a distant enemy. Gomara, Hist. Mex., 79, calls the present 1000 ropas and 1000 castellanos de oro, and Cortés says pesos de oro, which doubtless means dust; but Bernal Diaz terms the latter gold jewels worth that amount. Prescott confounds these presents with a later gift, and assumes without good authority that they came after Xicotencatl had brought in his submission. Gomara on the other hand places their arrival on September 6, which must be altogether too early.
[323] ‘No les quiso dar luego la respuesta, porque estaua purgado del dia antes,’ says Bernal Diaz, in explanation of the delay. Hist. Verdad., 51. Brasseur de Bourbourg, however, lets Cortés declare that the orders of his king oblige him to disregard the wishes of the emperor. But the general was too prudent to give an open rebuff ere he saw how affairs would develop. According to Gomara he wished to detain them to witness his prowess against the Tlascaltecs. Hist. Mex., 79; Herrera, dec. ii. lib. vi. cap. x.
[324] Ixtlilxochitl alone differs by stating that they were headed by Tolinpanecatl Tlacatecuhtli the younger brother of Xicotencatl; but he appears confused.
[325] Solis causes him to be dismissed from the office of captain-general. Hist. Mex., i. 272-3. In Carbajal Espinosa, Hist. Mex., ii. 154, is a portrait of him, corresponding fairly to the description.
[326] It is generally accepted that the Tlascaltecs submitted as vassals. Yet it is just as likely that they merely offered their friendship and alliance, a relation which after the conquest was changed into vassalage.
[327] According to Bernal Diaz the Tlascaltecs gave but one present, and that at the capital, but some authors prefer to bring it in here. ‘Le presentó cantidad de alpargatas para el camino.’ Ixtlilxochitl, Hist. Chich., 292; Herrera, dec. ii. lib. vi. cap. x.; Gomara, Hist. Mex., 84-5; Cortés, Cartas, 66-7.
[328] Herrera, loc. cit.
[329] ‘Aun acordéme de una autoridad evangélica que dice: Omne regnum in seipsum divisum desolabitur; y con los unos y con los otros maneaba.’ Cortés, Cartas, 70. According to Ixtlilxochitl quite a quarrel sprang up between the Mexican and Tlascalan representatives in the presence of Cortés, attended by an exchange of epithets. Hist. Chich., 292.
[330] Cortés gives only his suspicions of the Tlascaltecs as a reason for the delay, without referring to any communication being sent to Mexico. Cartas, 67. Meanwhile he wrote to Escalante at Villa Rica, informing him of occurrences, and asking for a supply of holy wafers and two bottles of wine, which speedily came. Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 51.
[331] After an absence of six days, six leading men came from Mexico, who brought, beside the ten pieces of jewelry, 200 pieces of cloth. Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 52. The envoys who had been sent to Mexico came back on the sixth day with ten beautifully wrought jewels of gold and 1500 pieces of cloth, far richer than the former. Gomara, Hist. Mex., 85-6.
[332] ‘Todos los señores me vinieron á rogar.’ Cortés, Cartas, 67. ‘Vinieron assi mismo todas las cabeçeras y señores de Tlaxcallan a rogarle.’ Gomara, Hist. Mex., 86. Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 52, names five lords, but the names are very confused, except Xicotencatl and Maxixcatzin, which approach nearer to the usual form. Ixtlilxochitl states that Cortés made it a condition that the lords should come and ask him, whereupon they each select two high representatives to proceed to the camp and escort him to Tlascala. They were guided by the envoys Tolinpanecatl and Costomatl, and brought a few jewels as presents. Hist. Chich., 292-3. Nor does Camargo allow the lords to go to the camp, but Costomatl and Tolinpanecatl are sent. Hist. Tlax., 146.
[333] ‘Tocarõ las manos en el suelo, y besaron la tierra.’ Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 52.
[334] Camargo, Hist. Tlax., 155. Maxixcatzin is put forward by the Spanish writers as the principal lord, chiefly perhaps because he was the most devoted to the conquerors, but also because his quarter of Ocotelulco was the largest and richest. Camargo and Ixtlilxochitl place Xicotencatl first, and he certainly takes the lead in speaking and in receiving the Spaniards at his palace. His age, which Camargo raises into the hundred, may have had something to do with this, however.
[335] Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 52, states that he pleaded the want of carriers, which was not very plausible, unless intended as a hint at Tlascaltec hospitality.
[336] Cortés, Cartas, 67.
[337] Now Atoyac.
[338] Cortés proceeds to give an account of articles sold here, which is on a par with his Granada comparison, and accords little with the declared simplicity or poverty of the people. In the temple over 800 persons had been sacrificed during some years. Peter Martyr, dec. v. cap. ii.
[339] Gomara, Hist. Mex., 87-8; Herrera, dec. ii. lib. vi. caps. v. xii. xiii.; Carbajal Espinosa, Hist. Mex., ii. 162; Las Casas, Hist. Apolog., MS., 13-14.
[340] Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 52. Gomara, followed by Herrera, says the 18th.
[341] ‘Se quitó la gorra y les hizo una muy grande y humilde reverencia, y luego abrazó á Xicotencatl,’ says Ixtlilxochitl, with an exactness which is doubtless intended to impress the ruder Spanish population of his day. Hist. Chich., 293. Camargo also describes ceremonies with some detail, Hist. Tlax., 147, and Duran, Hist. Ind., MS., ii. 425-7.
[342] Gomara, Hist. Mex., 86. Camargo and Ixtlilxochitl quarter the Spaniards in the palace. ‘Á las casas reales.’ Sahagun, Hist. Conq., 17.
[343] Camargo, Hist. Tlax., 150; Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 52.
[344] Camargo calls it a rich present.
[345] Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 53.
[346] According to the somewhat mixed account of Bernal Diaz, Xicotencatl offers his daughter at once to Cortés, who accepts, and thereupon urges Padre Olmedo to begin a raid against idolatry. The latter tells him to wait till the daughters are brought. They are introduced on the following day, five in number, and Xicotencatl joins the hands of the general with the one intended for him. He accepts her, but declares that she and her companions must remain with their parents till conversion is consummated. Finally the daughter is transferred to Alvarado.
[347] A not uncommon practice in Mexico, carried out in the same manner as among the Romans. See Native Races, iii., passim.
[348] Portrait in Carbajal Espinosa, Hist. Mex., ii. 165, and Zamacois, Hist. Méj., ii. 514.
[349] ‘En aquel templo adonde estaua aposentado, se hiziesse vn capilla.’ Herrera, dec. ii. lib. vi. cap. xv. A new temple near by was set aside for this. Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 54. ‘Hizo la sala principal de Xicotencatl Oratorio.’ Ixtlilxochitl, Hist. Chich., 294. ‘Hizo una iglesia en una casa de un ídolo principal.’ Tapia, Rel., in Icazbalceta, Col. Doc., ii. 572-3. This author does not intimate that Cortés sought to force conversion, Bernal Diaz alone being responsible for the statement, though Herrera adopts it. Eager to remove the reproach of infidelity from his people, Camargo relates that Cortés insisted on the renunciation of idolatry, and that the chiefs finally yielded, while placing upon him the responsibility of removing the images. When the iconoclasm began, the people hastened to hide their cherished idols, which they long worshipped in secret, although accepting baptism. Hist. Tlax., 150-8. In a hieroglyphic painting still possessed by the cabildo, says Ixtlilxochitl, it is shown that the lords were at this time baptized. He gives their new names. Hist. Chich., 294.
[350] ‘Durò tres, ó quatro años.’ Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 304; Dávila, Teatro Ecles., i. 78; Camargo, Hist. Tlax., 140; Herrera, dec. ii. lib. vi. cap. xv. Solis dwells upon the spiritual effect of the miracle, which occurred immediately after the departure from Tlascala. Hist. Mex., i. 324-5. Torquemada devotes a whole chapter to it, and states that the first cross was raised by unseen hands the night after the arrival of the Spaniards in the city. The high-priest placed over it a guard, who was surprised by a celestial light which appeared at midnight and drove out the demon from the temple, iii. 200-3.
[351] ‘Lo primero que mandaua nuestro Capitan era quebralles las tales carceles, y echar fuera los prisioneros.’ Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 55.
[352] In order to obtain by them a race of heroes. Most writers, following Bernal Diaz and the less explicit chroniclers, allow Xicotencatl to give only one daughter, but Ixtlilxochitl names two, Hist. Chich., 294. and Juarros, in his biography of the Alvarados, enumerates their different wives, and among them the two sisters, with their full names and their descendants. Pedro de Alvarado’s only surviving issue, he says, was a daughter Leonor, by Luisa, who married first Pedro Puertocarrero and afterward Francisco de la Cueva, nephew of the Duke of Alburquerque. The other sister also left a daughter. Hist. Guat., 347-8. Bernal Diaz mentions also a son, Pedro, by Luisa. Hist. Verdad., 54; Clavigero, Storia Mess., iii. 54. According to Camargo, 300 young and pretty slave girls, destined for the sacrifices, were the first women offered. They were at first declined, but finally accepted for the suite of Marina. Finding that they were well treated, the lords offered their own daughters in marriage. Hist. Tlax., 148-50. A number of women were added to the suite of Marina and of the new wives, from the first families in the state, another authority intimates. Gomara, Hist. Mex., 86; Herrera, dec. ii. lib. vi. cap. xi.
[353] Camargo, Hist. Tlax., 150-1. They opened a road to Cempoala, and brought effects from Villa Rica, including presents for the lords. Ixtlilxochitl, Hist. Chich., 294.
[354] Tapia writes, ‘Yo que esto escribo pregunté á Muteczuma y á otros sus capitanes,’ and was told that the Mexicans could readily have subdued little Tlascala, but they preferred to use her as a means, close at hand, for exercising their youth and armies in warfare, and for supplying war captives for the sacrifices! Tapia, Rel., in Icazbalceta, Col. Doc., ii. 572. ‘Juntaua dozientos y trezientos mil hombres para vna batalla.’ Gomara, Hist. Mex., 89. The Tlascaltecs spoke of their descent from giants, and produced gigantic bones in evidence thereof. Some of these were sent to Spain by Cortés, together with the report. Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 55.
[355] Torquemada places the arrival of this embassy immediately after Cortés’ entry into Tlascala, Monarq. Ind., i. 433, while Clavigero dates it at Tecohuatzinco. Storia Mess., iii. 51-2. Brasseur de Bourbourg calls it the second embassy, Hist. Nat. Civ., iv. 165, for he accepts the statement of Ixtlilxochitl, Hist. Chich., 288, that the first envoys saw Cortés at his camp by San Juan de Ulua. For Ixtlilxochitl’s career, see Native Races, v. 474-7.
[356] Bernal Diaz relates that Cortés detained these men as hostages, while he sent Alvarado and Bernardino Vazquez de Tapia to Mexico to communicate with Montezuma, and to examine the route and approaches to the city. They had hardly left before the company began to censure the rashness of sending two valuable men on so risky a mission, and Cortés accordingly sent to recall them. Tapia having fallen sick on the road, they gladly returned, but left the guides to proceed to Mexico.
[357] ‘Me dijeron ... que para ello habia enviado Muteczuma de su tierra ... cincuenta mil hombres, y que los tenia en guarnicion á dos leguas de la dicha ciudad ... é que tenian cerrado el camino real por donde solian ir, y hecho otro nuevo de muchos hoyos, y palos agudos hincados y encubiertos para que los caballos cayesen y se mancasen, y que tenian muchas de las calles tapiadas, y por las azoteas de las casas muchas piedras.’ Cortés, Cartas, 70. The stream within the temple was a myth, which the Cholultecs sought to maintain in order to frighten their enemies. Oviedo and Gomara relate that Xicotencatl junior was concerned in these plots, and that, warned by his sister, the wife of Alvarado, Cortés had him quietly seized and choked to death, iii. 497; Hist. Mex., 90. Whoever may have been throttled, it certainly was not the general, for he met his fate at a later date. According to Bernal Diaz the whole army was consulted as to whether all were prepared to start for Mexico. Many of those owning estates in Cuba raised objections, but Cortés firmly declared that there was no other way open than the one to Mexico, and so they yielded. Hist. Verdad., 56.
[358] ‘Y dar la obediencia â nuestro Rey, y Señor, sino que los ternia por de malas intenciones.’ Bernal Diaz, Hist Verdad., 56. According to Camargo, Patlahuatzin of Tlascala was sent with the message. The Cholultecs seized and flayed his face and arms, cutting off the hands, so that they were left dangling by the skin from the neck. In this guise they sent him back with the reply that thus would they receive the white gods whose prowess he had extolled. The Tlascaltecs demanded that Cortés should avenge the cruelty and the insult, and he did so in the massacre of Cholula. This, continues the narrator, is commemorated in Tlascalan song, but the account is evidently mixed, and probably refers chiefly to some earlier occurrence. Hist. Tlax., 161-2. Brasseur de Bourbourg assumes that Patlahuatzin is merely insulted and ill-treated. The two peoples had once been friends and allies, but during the last battle which they fought against their common enemy, the Aztecs, the Cholultecs had suddenly changed sides and fallen on the rear of their unsuspecting allies, inflicting great slaughter. Herrera, dec. ii. lib. vi. cap. xviii.
[359] Three of the members are imprisoned for favoring an alliance with the Spaniards, but they escape and come to Cortés, says Herrera, Id.
[360] Cortés, Cartas, 71, says that he sent this message by the Cholultec messengers.
[361] ‘É así lo asentó un escribano.’ Id., 72. ‘Otro dia vinieron muchos señores y capitanes de Chololla.’ Gomara, Hist. Mex., 91. According to Brasseur de Bourbourg, Cortés is already en route for Cholula when the friendly council members appear to bring excuses and invitations. Hist. Nat. Civ., iv. 169-70. Bernal Diaz, indeed, appears to say that the Cholultecs sent to excuse themselves from appearing before Cortés so long as he remained in hostile territory. Hist. Verdad., 57.