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HISTORY 


cr  THE 


CONQUEST  OF  MEXICO. 

VOL.  II. 


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HISTORY 


OF   THE 


CONUUEST  OF  MEXICO, 


WITH  A  PRELIMINARY  VIEW 


ANCIENT  MEXICAN  CIVILIZATION. 

AND   THE 
UFE  OF  THE  CONQUEROR, 

HERNANDO   CORTES. 


WILLIAM   H.   PRESCOTT, 

AXTTHOR  OF  THE   "  HISTORY  OF  FERDINAND  AND   ISABBIXA.' 


Victrices  aquilas  alium  laturus  in  orbem." 

LucAN,  Pharsalia,  lib.  v.,  v. 


IN   THREE   VOLUMES. 
VOLUME  II. 

EIGHTH      EDITION. 

NEW  YORK: 
HARPER  AND  BROTHERS,  82,  CLIFF  STREET 

M  DCCC  XLVIII. 


^^r^i 


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Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1843,  by 

William  H.  Prescott, 

in  ihc  Clerk's  office  of  the  District  Court  for  the  District  of  Massachusetts. 


0 
9 


CONTENTS 


VOLUME   SECOND 


BOOK   III. 

MARCH  TO  MEXICO.  — CONTINUED. 
CHAPTER  VI. 

i'ag9 

City  of  Cholula.  —  Great  Temple.  —  March  to  Cholula.  — 

Reception  OF  THE  Spaniards.  —  Conspiracy  Detected    .  3 

City  of  Cholula 3 

Its  History 4 

Religious  Traditions 5 

Its  ancient  Pyramid 6 

Temple^of  Quetzalcoatl 7 

Holy  City    .        . « 

Magnificent  Scenery 9 

Spaniards  leave  Tlascala .10 

Indian  Volunteers .  11 

Army  enters  Cholula 12 

Brilliant  Reception 13 

Envoys  from  Montezuma 14 

Suspicions  of  Conspiracy 15 

Fidelity  of  Marina        . 16 

Alarming  Situation  of  Cortes    .         .     •    .        .         ,         .  17 

Intrigues  with  the  Priests 18 

Interview  with  the  Caciques '19 

Night-watch  of  the  Spaniards 21 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Terrible  Massacre.  —  Tranquillity  Restored.  —  Reflec- 
tions ON  the  Massacre. — Further  Proceedings.  —  En- 
voys FROM  Montezuma 22 

Preparations  for  a  secret  Assault        ...  8S 


n 


CONTENTS. 


Natives  collect  in  the  Square 

The  Signal  given 

Terrible  Massacre 

Onset  of  the  Tlascalans    . 

Defence  of  the  Pyramid 

Division  of  the  Spoil 

Restoration  of  Order     . 

Reflections  on  the  Massacre 

Right  of  Conquest 

Missionary  Spirit 

Policy  of  Cortes   . 

His  perilous  Situation 

Cruelty  to  be  charged  on  him 

Terror  of  "  the  White  Gods." 

The  Cross  raised  in  Cholula 

Victims  liberated  from  the  Cages 

Christian  Temple  reared  on  the  Pyramid 

Embassy  from  Montezuma 

Departure  of  the  Cempoallans 


Page 
22 
23 
24 
25 
26 
27 
2S 
3() 
30 
31 
33 
34 
35 
36 
37 
38 
38 
39 
41 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

March  resumed.  —  Ascent  of  the  Great  Volcano.  —  Valley 
OF  Mexico.  —  Impression  on  the  Spaniards.  —  Conduct 

OF  Montezuma. — They  descend  into  the  Valley          .  42 

Spaniards  leave  Cholula 42 

Signs  of  Treachery 43 

The  Army  reaches  the  Mountains 44 

Wild  Traditions 45 

The  great  Volcano 45 

Spaniards  ascend  its  Sides     .         . 46 

Perils  of  the  Enterprise 47 

Subsequent  Ascent ,        .         .48 

Descent  into  the  Crater 4& 

The  Troops  suffer  from  the  Tempest      •        .         .        .         .50 

First  View  of  the  Valley           ......  51 

Its  Magnificence  and  Beauty 52 

Impression  on  the  Spaniards 53 

Disaffection  of  the  Natives  to  Montezuma       ....  54 

Embassy  from  the  Emperor 55 

His  gloomy  Apprehensions 50 

Silence  of  the  Oracles                                                   .        .  57 


CONTENTS.  vii 

Page 

Spaniards  advance 58 

Death  of  the  Spies 59 

Arrival  of  the  Tezcucan  Lord CO 

Floating  Gardens 62 

Crowds  assembled  on  the  Roads 63 

Army  reaches  Iztapalapan 64 

Its  celebrated  Gardens    * 65 

Striking  View  of  Mexico 67 


CHAPTER  IX. 


^ 


Environs  of  Mexico.  —  Interview  with  Montezuma.  —  En- 
trance INTO  THE  Capital.  —  Hospitable  Reception*  — 

Visit  to  the  Emperor 68 

Preparations  to  enter  the  Capital 68 

Army  enters  on  the  great  Causeway          ....  69 

Beautiful  Environs 70 

Brilliant  Procession  of  Chiefs 71 

Splendid  Retinue  of  Montezuma .72 

Dress  of  the  Emperor .  73 

His  Person 74 

His  Reception  of  Cortes    . 75 

Spaniards  enter  the  Capital 76 

Feelings  of  the  Aztecs 77 

Hospitable  Reception 79 

The  Spanish  Quarters        .....'..  80 

Precaution  of  the  General      ....                  .         .  81 

Visited  by  the  Emperor 82 

His  rich  Presents ,         .83 

Superstitious  Terrors 84 

.  Royal  Palace 85 

Description  of  its  Interior 80 

Cortes  visits  Montezuma         . 87 

Attempts  to  convertthe  Monarch       .        .        .         .        .  87 
Entire  Failure       ^"""T'"     7        .        .        .        .         .        .88 

His  religious  Views. 89 

Montezuma's  Eloquence 90 

His  courteous  Bearing       .......  91 

Reflections  of  Cortes 92 

Notice  of  Herrera 94 

Criticism  on  his  History 94 

Life  of  Toribio 90 


Till  CONTENTS. 

Peter  Martyr ©9 

His  Works 100 


BOOK   IV. 

RESIDENCE  IN  MEXICO. 
CHAPTER  I. 


Tkzcucan  Lake.  —  Description   of  the  Capital.  —  Palaces 
AND  Museums.  —  Royal  Household. — Montezuma's  Way 

OF  Life 105 

Lake  of  Tezcuco .  105 

Its  Diminution 100 

Floating  Islands 107 

The  ancient  Dikes ,        .  108 

Houses  of  ancient  Mexico  ......  109 

Its  Streets 110 

Its  Population  ..........  112 

Its  Aqueducts  and  Fountains 114 

The  imperial  Palace 115 

Adjoining  Edifices 116 

Magnificent  Aviary 117 

Extensive  Menagerie 117 

Collection  of  Dwarfs .  119 

Beautiful  Gardens 120 

Royal  Hill  of  Chapoltepec 121 

Wives  of  Montezuma ,        .        .  122 

His  Meals 123 

Luxurious  Dessert 125 

Custom  of  Smoking 126 

Ceremonies  at  Court      ........  127 

Economy  of  the  Palace 128 

Oriental  Civilization 129 

Reserve  of  Montezuma 130 

^yioptoms  of  Decline  of  Power 131 


CONTENTS.  m 

Pic* 

CHAPTER  II. 

Market  of  Mexico. — Great  Temple.  —  Interior  Sanctua 

RiEs.  —  Spanish  Quarters 132 

Mexican  Costume 133 

Great  Market  of  Mexico 134 

Quarter  of  the  Goldsmiths 135 

Booths  of  the  Armorers 136 

Provision^  for  the  Capital 138 

Throngs  in  the  Market 139 

Aztec  Money 140 

The  great  Temple 141 

Its  Structure 142 

Dimensions 144 

Instruments  of  Worship) 145 

Grand  View  from  the  Temple 14C 

Shrines  of  the  Idolg, 148 

Imprudence  of  Cortes 150 

Interior  Sanctuaries 151 

I    Mound  of  Skulls 152 

^   Aztec  Seminaries      ........  153 

Impression  on  the  Spaniards 154 

Hidden  Treasures 155 

performed  in  Mexico 156 


CHAPTER  III. 

Ahxiety  of  Cortes.  —  Seizure  of  Montezuma.  —  His  Treat- 
ment BY  the  Spaniards.  —  Execution  of  his  Officers. — 

Montezuma  IN  Irons.  —  Reflections       ....  167 

Anxiety  of  Cortes 157 

Council  of  War 158 

Opinions  of  the  Officers 159 

Bold  Project  of  Cortes 160 

Plausible  Pretext 101 

Interview  with  Montezuma 164 

Accusation  of  the  Emperor 165 

His  Seizure  by  the  Spaniards 167 

He  is  carried  to  their  Quarters  .         .         .         .         .         .  168 

Tumult  among  the  Aztecs 168 

Montezuma's  Treatment 169 

Vigilant  Patrol 170 


S  CONTENTS. 

Paga 

Trial  of  the  Aztec  Chiefs 171 

Montezuma  in  Irons       ........  173 

Chiefs  burnt  at  the  Stake           .......  173 

Emperor  allowed  to  return     .        ,        .        .        .        •        .  174 

Declines  this  Permission 174 

Reflections  on  these  Proceedings 175 

Views  of  the  Cop^ugijQrs           .        .        .        .        .        .  177 

CHAPTER  IV, 

Montezuma's  Deportment.  —  His  Life  in  the  Spanish  Quar- 
ters.—  Meditated  Insurrection. — Lord  of  Tezcuco  seiz- 
ed.—  Further  Measures  OF  Cortes         .         .        ,         .  179 

Troubles  at  Vera  Cruz      . 179 

Vessels  built  on  the  Lakfe .  180 

Montezuma's  Life  in  the  Spanish  Quarters         .        .        .  181 

His  Munificence    .         .        , 182 

Sensitive  to  Insult     .         .        .        .         ,        ,        .        ,  183 

Emperor's  Favorites 184 

Spaniards  attempt  his  Conversion       .        .        .        .         .  185 

Brigantines  on  the  Lake         ,         .         .         .         .         ,  186 

The  Royal  Chase 187 

Lord  of  Tezcuco .         ,  188 

Meditated  Insurrection       .        .        .        .        .         .        .  189 

Policy  of  Cortes 190 

Tezcucan  Lord  in  Chains 192 

Further  Measures  of  Cortes 193 

Surveys  the  Coast     .         . 194 

CHAPTER  V. 

Montezuma  swears  Allegiance  to  Spain. — Royal  Treasures. 
— their  Division.— Christian  Worship  in  the  Teocalli. 

—  Discontents  OF  THE  Aztecs         .         .         .         .         .  196 

Montezuma  convenes  his  Nobles        .         .        .         ,        .  196 

Swears  Allegiance  to  Spain 197 

Hi«  Distress 197 

Its  Efll'ct  on  the  Spaniards 198 

Imperial  Treasures 199 

Splendid  Ornaments 200 

The  Royal  Fifth 202 

Amount  of  the  Treasure 203 


CONTENTS. 


Division  of  Spoil 

Murmurs  of  the  Soldiery   '    . 

Cortes  calms  the  Storm     . 

Progress  in  Couversioa 

Cortes  demands  the  Teocalli 

Christian  Worship  in  the  Sanctuary 

National  Attachment  to  Religion 

Discontents  of  the  Aztecs 

Montezuma's  Warning 

Reply  of  Cortes    .... 

Insecurity  in  the  Castilian  Quarters 


XI 

Pago 
204 
205 
206 
208 
209 
210 
211 
212 
213 
214 
215 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Fate  of  Cortes'  Emissaries. — Proceedings  in  the  Castilian 
Court. — Preparations  of  Velasquez.  —  Narvaez  lands 
IN  Mexico.  —  Politic  Conduct  of  Cortes. — He  leaves 
THE  Capital 

Cortds'  Emissaries  arrive  in  Spain 

Their  Fate 

Proceedings  at  Court         .... 

The  Bishop  of  Burgos 

Emperor  postpones  his  Decision         .        • 

Velasquez  meditates  Kevenge        .        • 

Sends  Narvaez  against  Cortes   .         . 

The  Audience  interferes         .         .         . 

Narvaez  sails  for  Mexico  .... 

Vaunts  of  Narvaez        .         .         .        .        , 

He  anchors  off  San  Juan  de  Ulua 

Sandoval  prepares  for  Defence 

His  Treatment  of  the  Invaders  . 

Cortes  hears  of  Narvaez 

He  bribes  his  Emissaries   ...  • 

Sends  an  Envoy  to  his  Camp 

The  Friar's  Intrigues 

Embarrassment  of  Cortes      ... 

He  prepares  for  Departure  .         •         • 


.  217 

217 
.  218 

210 
.  220 

221 
.  222 

223 
.  224 

226 
.  227 

228 
.  229 

230 
.  231 

232 
.  233 

235 
.  230 

238 
He  leaves  the  Capital 240 


VOL    II. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  VII. 

VotLTts   DESCENDS   FROM    THE   TaBLE-LAND.  —  NEGOTIATES    WITH 

Narvaez.  —  Prepares  to  assault  him.  —  Quarters  of 
Narvaez.  —  Attack  by  Night.  —  Narvaez  defeated     . 

Cortes  crosses  the  Valley  . 

Reinforced  at  Cholula    . 

Falls  in  with  his  Envoy     . 

Unites  with  Sandoval    . 

He  reviews  his  Troops 

Embassy  from  Narvaez 

His  Letter  to  the  General 

Cortes'  Tenure  of  Authority 

Negotiates  with  Narvaez  . 

Spaniards  resume  their  March 

Prepare  for  the  Assault     . 

Cortes  harangues  the  Soldiers 

Their  Enthusiasm  in  his  Cause 

He  divides  his  Forces    . 

Quarters  of  Narvaez  at  Cempoalla 

Cortes  crosses  the  Rio  de  Canoas 

Surprises  Narvaez  by  Night 

Tumult  in  his  Camp 

Narvaez  wounded  and  taken 

The  Sanctuary  in  Flames 

The  Ganisons  surrender    . 

Cortes  gives  Audience  to  his  Captives 

Reflections  on  the  Enterprise 


241 

341 
342 
243 
244 
245 
346 
247 
248 
249 

mh 

251 
252 
253 
354 
255 
356 
257 
259 
260 
260 
863 
364 
265 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Discontent  of  the  Troops. — Insurrection  in  the  Capital. 

—  Return  of  Cortes.  —  General  Signs  of  HosTiLiTt. 

—  Massacre  by  Alvarado.  —  Rising  of  the  Aztecs       .    269 
Discontent  of  the  Troops  of  Narvaez  ....         269 

Policy  of  Cortes 270 

He  displeases  his  Veterans        ....         .         .271 

He  divides  his  Forces 272 

News  of  an  Insurrection  in  the  Capital       ....         273 
Cortes  prepares  to  return       .......     274 

Arrives  at  Tlascala  .         . 275 

fieautiful  Landscape 276 


CONTENTS.  xu 

Paga 

Disposition  of  the  Natives 277 

News  from  the  Spaniards  in  Mexico 278 

Cortes  marches  to  the  Capital 279 

Signs  of  Alienation  in  the  Aztecs 279 

Spaniards  reenter  the  Capital 260 

Cause  of  the  Insurrection 2&1 

Massacre  by  Alvarado 282 

His  Apology  for  the  Deed 284 

His  probable  Motives 286 

Rising  of  the  Aztecs 28C 

Assault  the  Garrison 287 

Cortes  reprimands  his  Officer 289 

His  Coldness  to  Montezuma 290 

Cort6s  releases  Montezuma's  Brother 291 

He  heads  the  Aztecs 892 

The  City  in  Arms 292 

Notice  of  Oviedo 293 

His  Life  and  Writings 294 

Camargo's  History 296 


BOOK  V. 

EXPULSION  FROM  MEXICO 
CHAPTER  L 


Desperate  Assault  on  the  Quarters.  —  Fury  of  the  Mexi- 
cans.—  Sally  of  the  Spaniards. — Montezuma  addresses 
THE  People.  —  Dangerously  wounded     ....    301 

Quarters  of  the  Spaniards 301 

Desperate  Assault  of  the  Aztecs 302 

Cannonade  of  the  Besieged 303 

Indians  fire  the  Outworks 305 

Fury  of  the  Mexicans 307 

AppearnncG  of  their  Forces 308 

Sally  of  the  Spaniards 309 

Aztecs  shower  Missiles  from  the  Azoteas        .         .         .         .311 

Their  Dwellings  in  Flames        .        .        .         .         .        .         8H 

Spaniards  sound  the  Retreat  .         .         .         .         .         .         .312 

Gallantry  of  Cortes •  3*3 

Resolute  Bearing  of  the  Aztecs 314 


xiv  CONTENTS. 

Pag* 

Cort&  requests  Montezuma  to  interpose              .         .         .  316 

He  ascends  the  Turret 317 

Addresses  his  Subjects •         •  317 

Is  dangerously  wounded 319 

His  Grief  and  Humiliation 320 


CHAPTER  II. 

Btor&iino  of  the  Great  Temple.  —  Spirit  of  the  Aztecs. — 
Distresses  of  the  Garrison.  —  Sharp  Combats  in  the 
City.  —  Death  of  Montezuma 323 

322 
,     323 

324 
,     325 

326 
,     327 

328 
,     329 

330 
.     331 

332 
.     333 

335 
.     337 

339 
.     340 

341 
.     343 

344 
.     345 

347 
.     351 

353 
.     353 


The  Aztecs  hold  the  Great  Temple 

It  is  stormed  by  the  Spaniards 

Spirited  Resistance  . 

Bloody  Combat  on  the  Area  . 

Heroism  of  Cortes    . 

Spaniards  victorious 

Conflagration  of  the  Temple 

Cortes  invites  a  Parley 

He  addresses  the  Aztecs  . 

Spirit  of  the  Aztecs 

The  Spaniards  dismayed  . 

Distresses  of  the  Garrison 

Military  Machine  of  Cortes 

Impeded  by  the  Canals 

Sharp  Combats  in  the  City 

Bold  Bearing  of  Cortes 

Apparition  of  St.  James    . 

Attempt  to  convert  Montezuma 

Its  Failure 

Last  Hours  of  Montezuma     . 

His  Character 

His  Posterity        .... 

Efliect  of  his  Death  on  the  Spaniards 

Interment  of  Montezuma 


CHAPTER  III. 

CSouNCiL  OF  War.  —  Spaniards  evacuate  the  City.  —  Noche 
Triste,  or  the  "  Melancholy  Night."  —  Terrible 
Slaughter.  —  Halt  for  the  Night.  —  Amount  of  Losses  355 

Council  of  War -.         355 

Predictions  of  the  Astrolocer         ....  .    356 


CONTENTS. 

Their  Effect  on  Cortes 
He  decides  to  abandon  the  Capital 
Arranges  his  Order  of  March     . 
Spaniards  leave  the  City 
Noche  Triste,  or  the  '*  Melancholy  Night 
The  Capital  is  roused    .... 
Spaniards  assailed  on  the  Causeway  . 
The  Bridge  wedged  in  the  Stones 
Despair  of  the  Spaniards  . 
Fearful  Carnage   .         .         .         . 
Wreck  of  Bodies  and  Treasure 
Spaniards  arrive  at  the  third  Breach 
The  Cavaliers  return  to  the  Rescue   . 
Condition  of  the  Rear    .... 
Alvarado's  Leap       .... 
Sad  Spectacle  of  the  Survivors 
Feelings  of  Cortes    .... 
Spaniards  defile  through  Tacuba    . 
Storm  the  Temple     .... 
Halt  for  the  Night         .... 
Reflections  of  the  General 
The  Loss  of  the  Spaniards     . 


CHAPTER  IV 

Retreat  op  the  Spaniards.  —  Distresses 
Pyramids  of  Teotihuacan.  —  Great  B 
Quiet  of  the  Mexicans 
The  Spaniards  resume  their  Retreat 
Distresses  of  the  Army 
Their  heroic  Fortitude 
Pyramids  of  Teotihuacan  . 
AjBCoiiht  of  them  .... 
Their  probable  Destination 
The  Micoatl  or  Path  of  the  Dead  . 
The  Races  who  reared  them 
Indian  Host  in  the  Valley  of  Otumba 
Sensations  of  the  Spaniards 
Instructions  of  Cortes  . 
He  leads  the  Attack 
Great  Battle  of  Otumba 
Gallantry  of  the  Spaniards 


XT 

Page 
357 
357 
359 
360 
361 
362 
363 
364 
364 
365 
366 
367 
367 
368 
369 
371 
372 
373 
374 
375 
375 
376 


OF  THE  Army. — 
ATTLE  OF  Otumba  381 

381 
.  382 

384 
.  386 

387 


390 
391 
392 
393 
394 
396 
396 
397 
397 


^l  CONTENTS. 

Page 

Their  Forces  in  Disorder 398 

Desperate  Effort  of  Cortes 399 

The  AzVec  Chief  is  slain 400 

The  Barbarians  put  to  Flight 400 

RkAi  SpoU  for  the  Victors 401 

Reflections  on  the  Battle 402 

CHAPTER  V. 

ARRivUi  IN  Tlascala.  —  Friendly  Reception.  —  Discontents 
OF  THE  Army.  — Jealousy  op  the  Tlascalans.  —  Embassy 

FROM  Mexico •  404 

Spaniards  Arrive  at  Tlascala 405 

Friendly  Reception 406 

Feelings  of  the  Tlascalans        .         .         .        .         .         .  407 

Spaniards  recruit  their  Strength     ......  408 

Their  further  Misfortunes 410 

Tiduigs  from  Villa  Rica 410 

Indomitable  Spirit  of  Cortes 411 

Discontents  of  the  Army 411 

Their  Remonstrance .  412 

The  General's  resolute  Reply 414 

Jealousy  of  the  Tlascalans 415 

Cortes  strives  to  allay  it 416 

Events  in  Mexico 417 

Preparations  for  Defence 4t8 

Aztec  Embassy  to  Tlascala       .....  419 

Stormy  Debate  in  the  Senate         ......  420 

Mexican  Alliance  rejected •  421 

CHAPTER  VI. 

War  with  the  surrounding  Tribes.  —  Successes  of  the 
Spaniards.  —  Death  of  Maxixca. — Arrival  of  Rein- 
forcements. —  Return  in  Triumph  to  Tlascala      .  423 

War  with  the  surrounding  Tribes 423 

Battle  with  the  Tepeacans 425 

They  are  branded  as  Slaves 425 

Hostilities  with  the  Aztecs  renewed 427 

Suspicions  of  the  Allies 428 

Cort^  heads  his  Forces             428 

Capture  of  Quauhquechollan 429 


CONTENTS.  XrU 

P»g» 

Mexicans  routed 430 

Spaniards  follow  up  the  Blow 431 

Cortes'  Treatment  of  his  Allies 432 

State  of  his  Resources 433 

Building  of  the  Brigantines 434 

Death  of  Maxixca 434 

The  Small-pox  in  Mexico 435 

The  disaffected  Soldiers  leave  the  Anny         ....  436 

Arrival  of  Reinforcements         .         .         .         .         .         .  437 

Further  Good-fortune  of  Cortes 439 

His  Letter  to  the  Emperor 440 

Memorial  of  the  Army 442 

The  Policy  of  Cortes 443 

Returns  in  Triumph  to  Tlascala 444 

Prepares  for  the  final  Campaign 446 


CHAPTER  VII. 

GuATEMOziN,  Emperor  of  the  Aztecs.  —  Preparations  for 
THE  March.  —  Military  Code.  —  Spaniards  cross  the 
Sierra. — Enter  Tezcuco. — Prince  Ixtlilxochitl  . 

The  Aztec  Monarch  dies 

The  Electors  appoint  another 


Prayer  of  the  High-priest 

Guatemozin  elected  Emperor 

Prepares  for  War 

Amount  of  the  Spanish  Force 

Cortis  reviews  his  Troops 

His  animated  Address 

Number  of  the  Indian  Allies 

Their  brilliant  Array 

Military  Code  of  Cortes 

Its  Purpose 

Its  salutary  Provisions 

The  Troops  begin  their  March 

Designs  of  Cortes 

He  selects  his  Route 

Crosses  the  Sierra 

Magnificent  View  of  the  Valley 

Energy  of  Cortes 

Affairs  in  Tezcuco    . 

Spaniards  arrive  there 467 


447 
447 
447 
448 
450 
451 
452 
452 
453 
453 
454 
455 
456 
457 
459 
460 
461 
463 
463 
465 
466 


xviii  CONTENTS. 

Page 

Overtures  of  the  Tezcucans 468 

Spanish  Quarters  in  Tezcuco 469 

The  Inhabitants  leave  the  Town 470 

Prince  Ixtlilxoehitl 471 

His  youthful  Excesses 472 

Disputes  the  Succession        .....                  ,  473 

Becomes  the  fast  Friend  of  the  Spaniards .                 .        .  474 

liife  and  Writings  of  Gomara        .         .         .        .        .         .  474 

Of  Bernal  Diaz         . 476 


» 


BOOK    THIRD 


MARCH  TO  MEXICO. 


i3|  (continued.) 


VOL.    II. 


CONQUEST  OF  MEXICO. 


BOOK  III. 

MARCH   TO   MEXICO. 
(continued.) 


CHAPTER    VI. 

City  OP  Cholula.  —  Great  Temple.  —  March  to  Cholula.  —  Re- 
ception OF  THE  Spaniards.  —  Conspiracy  Detected. 

1519. 

The  ancient  city  of  Cholula,  capital  of  the  repub- 
lic of  that  name,  lay  nearly  six  leagues  south  of 
Tlascala,  and  about  twenty  east,  or  rather  south-east, 
of  Mexico.  It  was  said  by  Cortes  to  contain  twenty 
thousand  houses  within  the  walls,  and  as  many  more 
in  the  environs ;  ^  though  now  dwindled  to  a  popula- 
tion of  less  than  sixteen  thousand  souls.^  Whatev- 
er was  its  real  number  of  inhabitants,  it  was  un- 
questionably, at  the  time  of  the  Conquest,  one  of 


1  Rel.  Seg.,  ap.  Lorenzana,  p.  67.  the  smaller  estimate,  is  a  priori  the 

According   to  Las  Casas,   the  most  credible ;  especially  —  a  rare 

place  contained  30,000  vecinos,  oi  occurrence  —  when  in  the   pagea 

about  150,000  inhabitants.     (Bre-  of  the  good  bishop  of  Chiapa. 

vissima  Relatione   della    Distrut-  2    Humboldt,    Essai    Politique, 

tione  dell'  Indie  Occidentale  (Ve-  tom.  HI.  p.  159. 
netia,  1643).)     This  latter,  being 


4  MARCH  TO  MEXICO.  [Book  III. 

the  most  populous   and  flourishing   cities   in   New 
Spain. 

It  was  of  great  antiquity,  and  was  founded  by 
the  primitive  races  who  overspread  the  land  before 
the  Aztecs.^  We  have  few  particulars  of  its  form 
of  government,  which  seems  to  have  been  cast  on 
a  republican  model  similar  to  that  of  Tlascala. 
This  answered  so  well,  that  the  state  maintained  its 
independence  down  to  a  very  late  period,  when,  if 
not  reduced  to  vassalage  by  the  Aztecs,  it  was  so  far 
under  their  control,  as  to  enjoy  few  of  the  benefits 
of  a  separate  political  existence.  Their  connexion 
wi^  Mexico  brought  the  Cholulans  into  frequent 
collision  with  their  neighbours  and  kindred,  the 
Tlascalans.  But,  although  far  superior  to  them  in 
refinement  and  the  various  arts  of  civilization,  they 
were  no  match  in  war  for  the  bold  mountaineers,  the 
Swiss  of  Anahuac.  The  Cholulan  capital  was  the 
great  commercial  emporium  of  the  plateau.  The 
inhabitants  excelled  in  various  mechanical  arts,  es- 
pecially that  of  working  in  metals,  the  manufacture 
of  cotton  and  agave  cloths,  and  of  a  delicate  kind 
of  pottery,  rivalling,  it  was  said,  that  of  Florence  in 
beauty.^  But  such  attention  to  the  arts  of  a  polished 
and  peaceful  community  naturally  indisposed  them. 


3  Veytia  carries  back  the  foun-  ord,  probably,  of  their  existence, 

dalJQn  of  the  city  to  the  Ulmecs,  it  will  be  hard  to  disprove  the  li- 

a,  people  who  preceded  the  Tol-  centiate's  assertion,  —  still  harder, 

tecs.     (Hist.  Antig.,  torn.  I.  cap.  to  prove  it. 
ta,  80.)    As  the  latter,  after  oc-        <  Herrera,  Hist.  General,  dec. 

cupying  the  land  several  centuries,  2,  lib.  7,  cap.  2. 
have  left  not  a  single  written  rec- 


Ch.  VI.]  CITY  OF  CHOLUtA.  6 

to  war,  and  disqualified  them  for  coping  with  those 
who  made  war  the  great  business  of  life.  The 
Chohilans  were  accused  of  effeminacy;  and  were 
less  distinguished  —  it  is  the  charge  of  their  rivals 

—  by  their  courage,  than  their  cunning.^ 

But  the  capital,  so  conspicuous  for  its  refinement 
and  its  great  antiquity,  was  even  more  venerable  for 
the  religious  traditions  which  invested  it.  It  was 
here  that  the  god  Quetzalcoatl  paused  in  his  passage 
to  the  coast,  and  passed  twenty  years  in  teaching 
the  Toltec  inhabitants  the  arts  of  civilization.  He 
made  them  acquainted  \vith  better  forms  of  govern- 
ment, and  a  more  spiritualized  religion,  in  which  the 
only  sacrifices  were  the  fruits  and  flowers  of  the 
season.^  It  is  not  easy  to  determine  what  he  taught, 
since  his  lessons  have  been  so  mingled  with  the  li- 
centious dogmas  of  his  own  priests,  and  the  mystic 
commentaries  of  the  Christian  missionary.'^  It  is 
probable  he  was  one  of  those  rare  and  gifted  beings, 
who,  dissipating  the  darkness  of  the  age  by  the  il- 
himination  of   their  own  genius,  are  deified  bv  a 

5  Camargo,  Hist,  de  Tlascala,  tion,  and  the  Trinity,  for  example. 
MS.  — Gomara,  Crdnica,  cap.  58.  In  the  teacher  himself,  they  recog- 

—  Torquemada,  Monarch.  Ind.,  nise  no  less  a  person  than  St. 
lib.  3,  cap.  19.  Thomas,  the  Apostle  !      See  the 

6  Veytia,  Hist.  Antig.,  torn.  I.  Dissertation  of  the  irrefragable  Dr. 
cap.  15,  et  seq.  — Sahagun,  Hist.  Mier,  with  an  edifying  commenta- 
de  Nueva  Espana,  lib.  1,  cap.  5;  ry  by  SeRor  Bustamante,  ap.  Sa- 
lib.  3.  hagun.     (Hist,  de  Nueva  Espafla, 

'  Later  divines   have  found  in  torn.  I.  Suplemento.)    The  reader 

these  teachings  of  the  Toltec  god,  will  find  further  particulars  of  this 

or  high-priest,  the  germs  of  some  matter  in  Appendix,  Part    1,   of 

of  tlie  great  mysteries  of  the  Chris-  this  History, 
tian  faith,  as  those  of  the  Incama- 


6  MARCH  TO  MEXICO.  [Book  III. 

grateful  posterity,  and  placed  among  the  lights  of 
heaven. 

It  was  in  honor  of  this  benevolent  deity,  that  the 
stupendous  mound  vi^as  erected,  on  which  the  trav- 
eller still  gazes  with  admiration  as  the  most  colossal 
fabric  in  New  Spain,  rivalling  in  dimensions,  and 
somewhat  resembling  in  form,  the  pyramidal  struc- 
tures of  ancient  Egypt.  The  date  of  its  erec- 
tion is  unknown ;  for  it  was  found  there  when  the 
Aztecs  entered  on  the  plateau.  It  had  the  form 
common  to  the  Mexican  teocallis,  that  of  a  trun- 
cated pyramid,  facing  with  its  four  sides  the  cardinal 
points,  and  divided  into  the  same  number  of  terraces. 
Its  original  outlines,  however,  have  been  effaced  by 
the  action  of  time  and  of  the  elements,  while  the 
exuberant  growth  of  shrubs  and  wild  flowers,  which 
have  mantled  over  its  surface,  give  it  the  appearance 
of  one  of  those  symmetrical  elevations  thrown  up  by 
the  caprice  of  nature,  rather  than  by  the  industry  of 
man.  It  is  doubtful,  indeed,  whether  the  interior  be 
not  a  natural  hill,  though  it  seems  not  improbable 
that  it  is  an  artificial  composition  of  stone  and  earth, 
deeply  incrusted,  as  is  certain,  in  every  part,  with 
alternate  strata  of  brick  and  clay.^ 

8  Such,  on  the  whole,  seems  to  since  across  the  tumulus,  laid  open 

be  the  judgment  of  M.  de  Hum-  a  large  section  of  it,  in  which  the 

boldt,  who  has  examined  this  in-  alternate  layers  of  brick  and  clay 

teresting  monument  with  his  usual  are  distinctly  visible.     (Ibid.,  loc. 

care.      (Vucs  des  Cordill^res,  p.  cit.)     The  present  appearance  of 

27,  et  seq.     Essai  Politique,  tom.  this  monument,  covered  over  with 

II.  p.  150,  et  seq.)     The  opinion  the  verdure  and  vegetable  mould  of 

derives  strong  confirmation  from  centuries,  excuses  the  skepticism 

the  fact,  that  a  road,  cut  some  years  of  the  more  superficial  traveller 


Oh.  VI.]  GREAT  TEMPLE.  7 

The  perpendicular  height  of  the  pyramid  is  one 
hundred  and  seventy-seven  feet.  Its  base  is  one 
thousand  four  hundred  and  twenty-three  feet  long, 
twice  as  long  as  that  of  the  great  pyramid  of  Che- 
ops. It  may  give  some  idea  of  its  dimensions  to 
state,  that  its  base,  which  is  square,  covers  about 
forty-four  acres,  and  the  platform  on  its  truncated 
summit  embraces  more  than  one.  It  reminds  us 
of  those  colossal  monuments  of  brick  work,  which 
are  still  seen  in  ruins  on  the  banks  of  the  Euphrates, 
and,  in  much  higher  preservation,  on  those  of  the 
Nile.^ 

On  the  summit  stood  a  sumptuous  temple,  in 
which  was  the  image  of  the  mystic  deity,  "  god  of 
the  air,"  with  ebon  features,  unlike  the  fair  complex- 
ion which  he  bore  upon  earth,  wearing  a  mitre  on 
his  head  waving  with  plumes  of  fire ^  with  a  resplen- 
dent collar  of  gold  round  his  neck,  pendants  of 
mosaic  turquoise  in  his  ears,  a  jewelled  sceptre  in 
one  hand,  and  a  shield  curiously  painted,  the  emblem 
of  his  rule  over  the  winds,  in  the  other.  ^°  The 
sanctity  of  the  place,  hallowed  by  hoary  tradition, 


9  Several  of  the  pyramids  of  the  place  Vendome,  and  of  twice 

Egypt,  and  the  ruins  of  Babylon,  the  height  of  the  Louvre.     Essai 

are,  as  is  well  known,  of  brick.  An  Politique,  torn.  IL  p.  152. 
inscription  on  one  of  the  former,         ^^  A  minute  account  of  the  cos- 

indeed,  celebrates  this  material  as  tume  and  insignia  of  Quetzalcoatl 

superior   to    stone.      (Herodotus,  is  given  by  father  Sahagun,  who 

Euterpe,   sec.    136.) — Humboldt  saw   the   Aztec   gods    before   the 

furnishes  an  apt  illustration  of  the  arm  of  the  Christian  convert  had 

size  ofthe  Mexican  ieoca//z,  by  com-  tumbled  them  from  "their  pride 

paring  it  to  a  mass  of  bricks  cover-  of  place."     See  Hist,  de  Nueva 

ing  a  square  four  times  as  large  as  Espafia,  lib.  1,  cap.  3. 


8  MARCH  TO   MEXICO.  [Book  III 

and  the  magnificence  of  the  temple  and  its  services, 
made  it  an  object  of  veneration  throughout  the  land, 
and  pilgrims  from  the  furthest  corners  of  Anahuac 
came  to  offer  up  their  devotions  at  the  shrine  of 
Quetzalcoatl.'^  The  number  of  these  was  so  great, 
as  to  give  an  air  of  mendicity  to  the  motley  popula- 
tion of  the  city;  and  Cortes,  struck  with  the  nov- 
elty, tells  us,  that  he  saw  multitudes  of  beggars, 
such  as  are  to  be  found  in  the  enlightened  capitals 
of  Europe  ;  ^^  —  a  whimsical  criterion  of  civilization, 
which  must  place  our  own  prosperous  land  somewhat 
low  in  the  scale. 

Cholula  was  not  the  resort  only  of  the  indigent 
devotee.  Many  of  the  kindred  races  had  temples 
of  their  own  in  the  city,  in  the  same  manner  as 
some  Christian  nations  have  in  Rome,  and  each 
temple  was  provided  with  its  own  peculiar  ministers 
for  the  service  of  the  deity  to  whom  it  was  conse- 
crated. In  no  city  was  there  seen  such  a  concourse 
of  priests,  so  many  processions,  such  pomp  of  cere- 
monial, sacrifice,  and  religious  festivals.  Cholula 
was,  in  short,  what  Mecca  is  among  Mahometans, 
or  Jerusalem  among  Christians ;  it  was  the  Holy 
City  of  Anahuac.^^ 


1^  They  came  from  the  distance  Espana,  y  en  otras  partes  que  hay 

of  two  hundred  leagues,  says  Tor-  Gente  de  razon.^^     Rel.  Seg.,  ap. 

quemada.  Monarch.  Ind.,  hb.  3,  Lorenzana,  pp.  67,  68. 

cap.  19.  13  Torquemada,  Monarch.  Ind., 

12  "  Hay  mucha  gente  pobre,  y  lib.  3,  cap.  19.  —  Gomara,  Crdni- 

que  piden  entre  los  Ricos  por  las  ca,  cap.  61.  — Camargo,  Hist,  de 

Calles,  y  por  las  Casas,  y  Merca-  Tlascala,  MS. 
dos,  como  hacen  los   Pobres  en 


Ch.  VI.l  GREAT  TEMPLE.  9 

The  religious  rites  were  not  performed,  however, 
in  the  pure  spirit  originally  prescribed  by  its  tutelary 
deity.  His  altars,  as  well  as  those  of  the  numerous 
Aztec  gods,  were  stained  with  human  blood  ;  and 
six  thousand  victims  are  said  to  have  been  annually 
offered  up  at  their  sanguinary  shrines !  ^^  The  great 
number  of  these  may  be  estimated  from  the  declara- 
tion of  Cortes,  that  he  counted  four  hundred  towers 
in  the  city ;  ^^  yet  no  temple  had  more  than  two, 
many  only  one.  High  above  the  rest  rose  the  great 
"  pyramid  of  Cholula,"  with  its  .undying  iires  fling- 
ing their  radiance  far  and  wide  over  the  capital,  and 
proclaiming  to  the  nations,  that  there  was  the  mystic 
worship — alas!  how  corrupted  by  cruelty  and  su- 
perstition!—  of  the  good  deity  who  was  one  day 
to  return  and  resume  his  empire  over  the  land. 

Nothing  could  be  more  grand  than  the  view 
which  met  the  eye  from  the  area  on  the  truncated 
summit  of  the  pyramid.  Toward  the  west  stretched 
that  bold  barrier  of  porphyritic  rock  which  nature 
has  reared  around  the  Valley  of  Mexico,  with  the 
huge  Popocatepetl  and  Iztaccihuatl  standing  like 
two  colossal  sentinels  to  guard  the  entrance  to  the 
enchanted  region.  Far  away  to  the  east  was  seen 
the  conical  head  of  Orizaba  soaring  high  into  the 
clouds,   and  nearer,  the   barren,  though  beautifully 

1^  Herrera,  Hist.  General,  dec.  quita  quatrocientas,  y  tantas  Tor 

C,  Ifo    7,  cap.  2.  —  Torquemada,  res  en  la  dicha  Ciudad,  y  todaa 

Monarch.  Ind.,  ubi  supra.  son   de   Mezquitas."     Rel.  Sag.. 

^^  "  E  certifico  a  Vuestra  Alte-  ap.  Lorenzana,  p.  67. 
la,  que  yo  conte  desde  ana  Mez- 

VOL.    II.  2 


10 


MARCH  TO  MEXICO. 


[Book  III 


shaped  Sierra  de  Malinche,  throwing  its  broad  shad- 
ows over  the  plains  of  Tlascala,  Three  of  these 
are  volcanoes  higher  than  the  highest  mountain  peak 
in  Europe,  and  shrouded  in  snows  which  never  melt 
under  the  fierce  sun  of  the  tropics.  At  the  foot  of 
the  spectator  lay  the  sacred  city  of  Cholula,  with  its 
bright  towers  and  pinnacles  sparkling  in  the  sun, 
reposing  amidst  gardens  and  verdant  groves,  whith 
then  thickly  studded  the  cultivated  environs  of  the 
capital.  Such  was  the  magnificent  prospect  which 
met  the  gaze  of  the  Conquerors,  and  may  still,  with 
slight  change,  meet  that  of  the  modem  traveller,  as 
from  the  platform  of  the  great  pyramid  his  eye 
wanders  over  the  fairest  portion  of  the  beautiful 
plateau  of  Puebla.^^ 

But  it  is  time  to  return  to  Tlascala.  On  the  ap- 
pointed morning,  the  Spanish  army  took  up  its  march 
to  Mexico  by  the  way  of  Cholula.     It  was  followed 


16  The  city  of  Puebla  de  los 
Angeles  was  founded  by  the  Span- 
iards soon  after  the  Conquest,  on 
the  site  of  an  insignificant  village 
in  the  territory  of  Cholula,  a  few 
miles  to  the  east  of  that  capital. 
It  is,  perhaps,  the  most  considera- 
ble city  in  New  Spain,  after  Mex- 
ico itself,  which  it  rivals  in  beauty. 
It  seems  to  have  inherited  the  re- 
ligious preeminence  of  the  ancient 
Cholula,  being  distinguished,  like 
her,  for  the  number  and  splendor 
of  its  churches,  the  multitude  of 
its  clergy,  and  the  magnificence  of 
its  ceremonies  and  festivals.  These 


are  fully  displayed  in  the  pages  of 
travellers,who  have  passed  through 
the  place  on  the  usual  route  from 
Vera  Cruz  to  the  capital.  (See, 
in  particular,  Bullock's  Mexico, 
vol.  I.  chap.  6.)  The  environs 
of  Cholula,  still  irrigated  as  in  the 
days  of  the  Aztecs,  are  equally 
remarkable  for  the  fruitfulness  of 
the  soil.  The  best  wheat  lands, 
according  to  a  very  respectable 
authority,  yield  in  the  proportion 
of  eighty  for  one.  Ward's  Mexico, 
vol.  II.  p.  270.  —  See,  also,  Hum- 
boldt, Essai  Politique,  tom.  11.  p. 
158 ;  tom.  IV.  p.  330. 


:P\ 


Ch.  VI.]  MARCH  TO  CHOLULA.  11 

by  crowds  of  the  citizens,  filled  with  admiration  at 
the  intrepidity  of  men  who,  so  few  in  number,  would 
venture  to  brave  the  great  Montezuma  in  his  capital. 
Yet  an  immense  body  of  warriors  offered  to  share 
the  dangers  of  the  expedition  ;  but  Cortes,  while  he 
showed  his  gratitude  for  their  good-will,  selected 
only  six  thousand  of  the  volunteers  to  bear  him  com- 
pany.^'^  He  was  unwilling  to  encumber  himself  with 
an  unwieldy  force  that  might  impede  his  movements ; 
and  probably  did  not  care  to  put  himself  so  far  in  the 
power  of  allies,  whose  attachment  was  too  recent  to 
afford  sufficient  guaranty  for  their  fidelity. 

After  crossing  some  rough  and  hilly  ground,  the 
army  entered  on  the  wide  plain  which  spreads  out 
for  miles  around  Cholula.  At  the  elevation  of  more 
than  six  thousand  feet  above  the  sea,  they  beheld 
the  rich  products  of  various  climes  growing  side  by 
side,  fields  of  towering  maize,  the  juicy  aloe,  the 
chilli  or  Aztec  pepper,  and  large  plantations  of  the 
cactus,  on  which  the  brilliant  cochineal  is  nourished. 
Not  a  rood  of  land   but   was  under  cultivation ;  ^^ 


17  According  to  Cortes,  a  hun-  mi  compania  hasta  cinco  6  seis  mil 

dred  thousand  men  offered  their  de  ellos."     (Rel.  Seg.,  ap.  Loren- 

services   on   this    occasion  !     "  E  zana,  p.  64.)     This,  which  must 

puesto  que  yo  ge  io  defendiesse,  y  have  been  nearly  the  whole  fight 

rogue  que  no  fuessen,  porque  no  ing  force  of  the  republic,  does  not 

habia  necesidad,  todaviame  siguie-  startle  Oviedo,  (Hist,  de  las  Ind.. 

ron  hasta  cien  mil  Hombres  muy  MS.,  cap.  4,)  nor  Gomara,  Cr6- 

bien  aderezados  de  Guerra,  y  lie-  nica,  cap.  58. 
garon  con  migo  hasta  dos  leguas        18  The  words  of  the  Conquista- 

de  la  Ciudad  :    y  desde  alii,  por  rfor  are  yet  stronger.  "Niunpa/mo 

mucha  importunidad  mia  se  bolvi-  de  tierra  hay,  que  no  est^  labrada." 

eron,  aunque  todavia  quedaron  en  Rel.  Seg.,  ap.  Lorenzana,  p.  CI. 


12  *  MARCH  TO   MEXICO.  [Book  111. 

and  the  soil  —  an  uncommon  thing  on  the  table- 
land—  was  irrigated  bj  numerous  streams  and  ca- 
nals, and  well  shaded  by  woods,  that  have  disap- 
peared before  the  rude  axe  of  the  Spaniards.  To- 
wards evening,  they  reached  a  small  stream,  on  the 
banks  of  which  Cortes  determined  to  take  up  his 
quarters  for  the  night,  being  unwilling  to  disturb  the 
tranquillity  of  the  city  by  introducing  so  large  a  force 
into  it  at  an  unseasonable  hour. 

Here  he  was  soon  joined  by  a  number  of  Cholulan 
caciques  and  their  attendants,  who  came  to  view 
and  welcome  the  strangers.  When  they  saw  their 
Tlascalan  enemies  in  the  camp,  however,  they  ex- 
hibited signs  of  displeasure,  and  intimated  an  ap- 
prehension that  their  presence  in  the  town  might 
occasion  disorder.  The  remonstrance  seemed  rea- 
sonable to  Cortes,  and  he  accordingly  commanded 
his  allies  to  remain  in  their  present  quarters,  and  tr 
join  him  as  he  left  the  city  on  the  way  to  Mexico. 

On  the  following  morning,  he  made  his  entrance 
at  the  head  of  his  army  into  Cholula,  attended  by 
no  other  Indians  than  those  from  Cempoalla,  and  a 
handful  of  Tlascalans,  to  take  charge  of  the  bag- 
'gage.  His  allies,  at  parting,  gave  him  many  cautions 
respecting  the  people  he  was  to  visit,  who,  while  they 
'  iaffected  to  despise  them  as  a  nation  of  traders,  em- 
ployed the  dangerous  arms  of  perfidy  and  cunning. 
As  the  troops  drew  near  the  city,  the  road  was  lined 
with  swarms  of  people  of  both  sexes  and  every  age, 
old  men  tottering  with  infirmity,  women  with  child- 
ren in  their  arms,  all  eager  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  the 


Ch.  VI.]  RECEPTION  OF  THE  SPANIARDS.  13 1 

Strangers,  whose  persons,  weapons,  and  horses  were . 
objects  of  intense  curiosity  to  eyes  which  had  not 
hitherto  ever  encountered  them  in  battle.  The 
Spaniards,  in  turn,  were  filled  with  admiration  at 
the  aspect  of  the  Cholulans,  much  superior  in  dress 
and  general  appearance  to  the  nations  they  had 
hitherto  seen.  They  were  particularly  struck  with 
the  costume  of  the  higher  classes,  who  wore  fine 
embroidered  mantles,  resembling  the  graceful  albqi- 
noz,  or  Moorish  cloak,  in  their  texture  and  fashion.'^ 
They  showed  the  same  delicate  taste  for  flowers  as 
the  other  tribes  of  the  plateau,  decorating  their 
persons  with  them,  and  tossing  garlands  and  bunches 
ajnong  the  soldiers.  An  immense  number  of  priests 
mingled  with  the  crowd,  swinging  their  aromatic 
censers,  while  music  from  various  kinds  of  instru- 
ments gave  a  lively  w^elcome  to  the  visiters,  and 
made  the  whole  scene  one  of  gay,  bewildering  en- 
chantment. If  it  did  not  have  the  air  of  a  triumphal 
procession  so  much  as  at  Tlascala,  where  the  melody 
of  instruments  was  drowned  by  the  shouts  of  the 
multitude,  it  gave  a  quiet  assurance  of  hospitality 
and  friendly  feeling  not  less  grateful. 

The  Spaniards  were  also  struck  with  the  clean- 
liness of  the  city,  the  width  and  great  regularity  of 
the  streets,  which  seemed  to  have  been  laid  out  on 
a  settled  plan,  with  the  solidity  of  thq  houses,  and 


'^  "  Los    honrados    ciudadanos  porque  tienen  maneras  ;    pero  en 

de   ella,  todos    trahen   dlbornoces^  la  hechura  y  tela  y  los  rapacejos 

encima  de   la   otra  ropa,  aunque  son  muy  semejables."     Rel.  Sag. 

son  diferenciados  de  los  de  Africa,  de  Cortes,  ap.  Lorenzana,  p.  67 


14  MARCH  TO  MEXICO.  [Book  III. 

the  number  and  size  of  the  pyramidal  temples.  In 
the  court  of  one  of  these,  and  its  surrounding  build- 
ings, they  were  quartered.^ 

They  were  soon  visited  by  the  principal  lords 
of  the  place,  who  seemed  solicitous  to  provide  them 
with  accommodations.  Their  table  was  plentifully 
supplied,  and,  in  short,  they  experienced  such  atten- 
tions as  were  calculated  to  dissipate  their  suspicions, 
and  made  them  impute  those  of  their  Tlascalan 
friends  to  prejudice  and  old  national  hostility. 

In  a  few  days  the  scene  changed.  Messengers 
arrived  from  Montezuma,  who,  after  a  short  and  un- 
pleasant intimation  to  Cortes  that  his  approach  oc- 
casioned much  disquietude  to  their  master,  conferred 
separately  with  the  Mexican  ambassadors  still  in  the 
Castilian  camp,  and  then  departed,  taking  one  of 


20  Ibid.,  p.  67.  —  Ixtlilxochitl,  los  Caslellanos,  en  el  asiento,  i 

Hist.    Chich.,  MS.,   cap.   84. —  perspectiva,  a  Valladolid,  sali6  la 

Oviedo,  Hist,  de  las  Ind.,  MS.,  demas  gents,  quedando  mui  espan- 

lib.   33,   cap.   4.  —  Bernal   Diaz,  tada  de  ver  las  figuras,  talles,  i 

Hist,  de  la  Conquista,  cap.  82.  armas  de  los  Castellanos.     Salie- 

The  Spaniards  compared  Cho-  ron  los  sacerdotes  con  vestiduras 

lula  to  the  beautiful  Valladolid,  blancas,  como  sobrepellices,  i  al- 

according  to  Herrera,  whose  de-  gunas    cerradas  por  delante,   los 

scription  of  the  entry  is  very  ani-  bra9os  defuera,  con  fluecos  de  al- 

raated.     "  Sali^ronle    otro    dia  a  godon  en  las  orillas.     Unos  lleva- 

recibir  mas  de  diez  mil  ciudadanos  ban  figuras  de  idolos  en  las  manos, 

en  diversas  tropas,  con  rosas,  flo-  otros  sahumerios ;    otros  tocaban 

res,  pan,  aves,  i  frutas,  i  mucha  cornetas,     atabalejos,    i    diversas 

musica.     Llegaba  vn  esquadron  a  musicas,  i  todos  iban  cantando,  i 

dar  la  bien  llegada  a  Hernando  Uegaban  a  encensar  a  los  Castella- 

Cort^s,  i  con  buena  6rden  se  iba  nos.     Con  esta  porapa  entr&ron  en 

apartando,  dando  lugar  k  que  otro  Chulula."    Hist.  General,  dec.  2, 

llegase En  Uegando  lib.  7,  cap.  I. 

k  la  ciudad,  que  parecio  mucho  k 


Ch.  VI.]  CONSPIRACY   DETECTED.  15 

the  latter  along  with  them.  From  this  time,  the 
deportment  of  their  Cholulan  hosts  underwent  a  vis- 
ible alteration.  They  did  not  visit  the  quarters  as 
before,  and,  when  invited  to  do  so,  excused  them- 
selves on  pretence  of  illness.  The  supply  of  pro- 
visions was  stinted,  on  the  ground  that  they  were 
short  of  maize.  These  symptoms  of  alienation,  in- 
dependently of  temporary  embarrassment,  caused 
serious  alarm  in  the  breast  of  Cortes,  for  the  future. 
His  apprehensions  were  not  allayed  by  the  reports 
of  the  Cempoallans,  who  told  him,  that  in  wandering 
round  the  city,  they  had  seen  several  streets  barri- 
cadoed,  the  azoteas,  or  flat  roofs  of  the  houses, 
loaded  with  huge  stones  and  other  missiles,  as  if 
preparatory  to  an  assault,  and  in  some  places  they 
had  found  holes  covered  over  with  branches,  and 
upright  stakes  planted  within,  as  if  to  embarrass 
the  movements  of  the  cavalry.^^  Some  Tlascalans 
coming  in,  also,  from  their  camp,  informed  the  gen- 
eral, that  a  great  sacrifice,  mostly  of  children,  had 
been  offered  up  in  a  distant  quarter  of  the  town,  to 
propitiate  the  favor  of  the  gods,  apparently  for  some 
intended  enterprise.  They  added,  that  they  had 
seen  numbers  of  the  citizens  leaving  the  city  with 


21  Cortes,  indeed,  noticed  these  camino  real  cerrado,  y  heeho  otro, 

same  alarming  appearances  on  his  y  algunos  hoyos  aunque  no  mu- 

entering  the  city,  thus  suggesting  chos,  y  algunas  calles  de  la  ciudad 

the  idea  of  a  premeditated  treach-  tapiadas,  y  muchas  piedras  en  todas 

ery.     "  Y  en  el  camino  topamos  las  Azoteas.     Y  con  esto  nos  hici- 

muchas  senales,    de   las   que   los  ^ron  estar  mas  sobre  aviso,  y  § 

Naturales  de  esta  Provincia  nos  mayor  recaudo."     Rel.  Seg.,  ap. 

habian  dicho  :  por  que  hall&mos  el  Lorenzana,  p.  64. 


16  MARCH  TO  MEXTCCr.  [Book  fit 

their  women  and  children,  as  if  to  remove  them  to 
a  place  of  safety.  These  tidings  confirmed  the  worst 
suspicions  of  Cortes,  who  had  no  doubt  that  some 
hostile  scheme  was  in  agitation.  If  he  had  felt  any, 
a  discovery  by  Marina,  the  good  angel  of  the  expe- 
dition, would  have  turned  these  doubts  into  certainty. 

The  amiable  manners  of  the  Indian  girl  had  won 
her  the  regard  of  the  wife  of  one  of  the  caciques, 
who  repeatedly  urged  Marina  to  visit  her  house, 
darkly  intimating  that  in  this  way  she  would  escape 
the  fate  that  awaited  the  Spaniards.  The  inter- 
preter, seeing  the  importance  of  obtaining  further 
intelligence  at  once,  pretended  to  be  pleased  with 
the  proposal,  and  affected,  at  the  same  time,  great 
discontent  wdth  the  white  men,  by  whom  she  was 
detamed  in  captivity.  Thus  throwing  the  credulous 
Cholulan  off  her  guard,  Marina  gradually  insinuated 
herself  into  her  confidence,  so  far  as  to  draw  from 
her  a  full  account  of  the  conspiracy. 

It  originated,  she  said,  with  the  Aztec  emperor, 
who  had  sent  rich  bribes  to  the  great  caciques,  and 
to  her  husband  among  others,  to  secure  them  in  his 
views.  The  Spaniards  were  to  be  assaulted  as  they 
marched  out  of  the  capital,  when  entangled  in  its 
streets,  in  which  numerous  impediments  had  been 
placed  to  throw  the  cavalry  into  disorder.  A  force 
of  twenty  thousand  Mexicans  was  already  quartered 
at  no  great  distance  from  the  city,  to  support  the 
Cholulans  in  the  assault.  It  was  confidently  expect- 
ed that  the  Spaniards,  thus  embarrassed  in  their 
movements,  would  fall  an  easy  prey  to  the  superior 


Ch.  VI.]  CONSPIRACY   DETECTED.  1/ 

Strength  of  their  enemy.  A  sufficient  number  of 
prisoners  was  to  be  reserved  to  grace  the  sacrificed 
of  Cholula ;  the  rest  were  to  be  led  in  fetters  to  the 
capital  of  Montezuma. 

While  this  conversation  was  going  on,  Marina  oc- 
cupied herself  with  putting  up  such  articles  of  value 
and  wearing  apparel  as  she  proposed  to  take  with 
her  in  the  evening,  when  she  could  escape  unnoticed 
from  the  Spanish  quarters  to  the  house  of  her  Cholu- 
Ian  friend,  who  assisted  her  in  the  operation.  Leav 
ing  her  visiter  thus  employed,  Marina  found  an  op- 
portunity to  steal  away  for  a  few  moments,  and,  go- 
ing to  the  general's  apartment,  disclosed  to  him  her 
discoveries.  He  immediately  caused  the  cacique's 
wife  to  be  seized,  and,  on  examination,  she  fully  con- 
firmed the  statement  of  his  Indian  mistress. 

The  •intelligence  thus  gathered  by  Cortes  filled 
him  with  the  deepest  alarm.  He  was  fairly  taken 
in  the  snare.  To  fight  or  to  fly  seemed  equally  dif- 
ficult. He  was  in  a  city  of  enemies,  where  every 
house  might  be  converted  into  a  fortress,  and  where 
such  embarrassments  were  thrown  in  the  way,  as 
might  render  the  manoeuvres  of  his  artillery  and  horse 
nearly  impracticable.  In  addition  to  the  wily  Cho- 
lulans,  he  must  cope,  under  all  these  disadvantages, 
with  the  redoubtable  warriors  of  Mexico.  He  was 
like  a  traveller  who  has  lost  his  way  in  the  darkness 
among  precipices,  where  any  step  may  dash  him  to 
pieces,  and  where  to  retreat  or  to  advance  is  equally 
perilous. 

He  was  desirous  to  obtain  still  further  confirma 

VOL.    II.  3 


18  MARCH  TO  MEXICO.  [Book  III 

tion  and  particulars  of  the  conspiracy.  He  accord- 
ingly induced  two  of  the  priests  in  the  neighbourhood, 
one  of  them  a  person  of  much  influence  in  the  place, 
to  visit  his  quarters.  By  courteous  treatment,  and 
liberal  largesses  of  the  rich  presents  he  had  received 
from  Montezuma,  —  thus  turning  his  ow^n  gifts 
against  the  giver,  —  he  drew  from  them  a  full  con- 
firmation of  the  previous  report.  The  emperor  had 
been  in  a  state  of  pitiable  vacillation  since  the  arri- 
val of  the  Spaniards.  His  first  orders  to  the  Cholu- 
lans  were,  to  receive  the  strangers  kindly.  He  had 
recently  consulted  his  oracles  anew,  and  obtained 
for  answer,  that  Cholula  would  be  the  grave  of 
his  enemies ;  for  the  gods  would  be  sure  to  support 
him  in  avenging  the  sacrilege  offered  to  the  Holy 
City.  So  confident  were  the  Aztecs  of  success, 
that  numerous  manacles,  or  poles  with  thongs  which 
served  as  such,  were  already  in  the  place  to  secure 
the  prisoners. 

Cortes,  now  feeling  himself  fully  possessed  of  the 
facts,  dismissed  the  priests,  with  injunctions  of  se- 
crecy, scarcely  necessary.  He  told  them  it  was  his 
purpose  to  leave  the  city  on  the  following  morning, 
and  requested  that  they  would  induce  some  of  the 
principal  caciques  to  grant  him  an  interview  in  his 
quarters.  He  then  summoned  a  council  of  his  offi- 
cers, though,  as  it  seems,  already  determined  as  to 
the  course  he  was  to  take. 

The  members  of  the  council  were  differently  af- 
fected by  the  startling  intelligence,  according  to  their 
different  characters.     The  more  timid,  disheartened 


Ch.  VI.] 


CONSPIRACY   DETECTED. 


19 


by  the  prospect  of  obstacles  which  seemed  to  multi- 
ply as  they  drew  nearer  the  Mexican  capital,  were 
for  retracing  their  steps,  and  seeking  shelter  in  the 
friendly  city  of  Tlascala.  Others,  more  persevering, 
but  prudent,  were  for  taking  the  more  northerly 
route,  originally  recommended  by  their  allies.  The 
greater  part  supported  the  general,  who  was  ever  of 
opinion  that  they  had  no  alternative  but  to  advance. 
Retreat  would  be  ruin.  Half-way  measures  were 
scarcely  better;  and  would  infer  a  timidity  which 
must  discredit  them  with  both  friend  and  foe.  Their 
true  policy  was  to  rely  on  themselves ;  to  strike  such 
a  blow,  as  should  intimidate  their  enemies,  and  show 
them  that  the  Spaniards  were  as  incapable  of  being 
circumvented  by  artifice,  as  of  being  crushed  by 
weight  of  numbers  and  courage  in  the  open  field. 

When  the  caciques,  persuaded  by  the  priests,  ap- 
peared before  Cortes,  he  contented  himself  with 
gently  rebuking  their  want  of  hospitality,  and  assured 
them  the  Spaniards  would  be  no  longer  a  burden  to 
their  city,  as  he  proposed  to  leave  it  early  on  the  fol- 
lowing morning.  He  requested,  moreover,  that  they 
would  furnish  a  reinforcement  of  two  thousand  men 
to  transport  his  artillery  and  baggage.  The  chiefs, 
after  some  consultation,  acquiesced  in  a  demand 
which  might  in  some  measure  favor  their  own  de- 
signs. 

On  their  departure,  the  general  summoned  the 
Aztec  ambassadors  before  him.  He  briefly  ac- 
quainted them  with  his  detection  of  the  treacherous 
plot  to  destroy  his  army,  the  contrivance  of  which. 


20  MARCH  TO  MEXICO.  [Book  IU. 

be  said,  was  imputed  to  their  master,  Montezuma. 
It  grieved  him  much,  he  added,  to  find  the  emperor 
implicated  in  so  nefarious  a  scheme,  and  that  the 
Spaniards  must  now  march  as  enemies  against  the 
prince,  whom  they  had  hoped  to  visit  as  a  friend. 

The  ambassadors,  with  earnest  protestations,  as- 
serted their  entire  ignorance  of  the  conspiracy ;  and 
their  belief  that  Montezuma  was  equally  innocent 
of  a  crime,  which  they  charged  wholly  on  the  Cho- 
iulans.  It  was  clearly  the  policy  of  Cortes  to  keep 
on  good  terms  with  the  Indian  monarch ;  to  profit 
as  long  as  possible  by  his  good  offices  ;  and  to  avail 
himself  of  his  fancied  security  —  such  feelings  of 
security  as  the  general  could  inspire  him  with  —  to 
cover  his  own  future  operations.  He  affected  to  give 
credit,  therefore,  to  the  assertion  of  the  envoys,  and 
declared  his  unwillingness  to  believe,  that  a  monarch, 
who  had  rendered  the  Spaniards  so  many  friendly 
offices,  would  now  consummate  the  whole  by  a  deed 
of  such  unparalleled  baseness.  The  discovery  of 
their  twofold  duplicity,  he  added,  sharpened  his  re- 
sentment against  the  Cholulans,  on  whom  he  would 
take  such  vengeance  as  should  amply  requite  the 
injuries  done  both  to  Montezuma  and  the  Spaniards. 
He  then  dismissed  the  ambassadors,  taking  care, 
notwithstanding  this  show  of  confidence,  to  place  a 
strong  guard  over  them,  to  prevent  communication 
with  the  citizens.^ 


22  Bernal  Diaz,  Hist,  de  la  Con-  ap.  Lorenzana,  p.  65. — Torque- 
quista,  cap.  83.  —  Gomara,  Cron-  mada,  Monarch.  Ind.,  lib.  4,  cap. 
ica,  cap.  69.-Rel.  Seg.  de  Cortes,    39.  —  Oviedo,  Hist,  de  las  Ind., 


Ch.  VI.]  CONSPIRACY   DETECTED.  21 

That  night  was  one  of  deep  anxiety  to  the  army 
The  ground  they  stood  on  seemed  loosening  be- 
neath their  feet,  and  any  moment  might  be  the  one 
marked  for  their  destruction.  Their  vigilant  general 
took  all  possible  precautions  for  their  safety,  increas- 
ing the  number  of  the  sentinels,  and  posting  his 
guns  in  such  a  manner  as  to  protect  the  approaches 
to  the  camp.  His  eyes,  it  may  well  be  believed,  did 
not  close  during  the  night.  Indeed,  every  Spaniard 
lay  down  in  his  arms,  and  every  horse  stood  saddled 
and  bridled,  ready  for  instant  service.  But  no  as- 
sault was  meditated  by  the  Indians,  and  the  stillness 
of  the  hour  was  undisturbed  except  by  the  occasional 
sounds  heard  in  a  populous  city,  even  when  buried 
in  slumber,  and  by  the  hoarse  cries  of  the  priests 
from  the  turrets  of  the  teocallis,  proclaiming  through 
their  trumpets  the  watches  of  the  night. 


23 


MS,,  lib.   83,  cap.  4. — Martyr,  ban  los  ministros  del  templo  que 

De  Orbe  Novo,  dec.  5,  cap.  2.  —  estaban   destinados  para  este  fin, 

Herrera,  Hist.  General,  dec.  2,  lib.  ciertos  instrumentos  como  vocinas, 

7,  cap.   1.  —  Argensola,   Anales,  con  que  hacian  conocer  al  pueblo 

lib.  1,  cap.  85.  el  tiempo."     Gama,  Descripcion* 

23  ♦<Las  boras  de  la  noche  las  Parte  1,  p.  14. 
re^ulaban  per  las  estrellaa,  y  toca- 


CHAPTER   VII. 

Terrible  Massacre. — Tranquillity  Restored.  —  Reflections  ok 
THE  Massacre. — Further  Proceedings. — Envoys  from  Mon- 
tezuma. 

1519. 

With  the  first  streak  of  morning  light,  Cortes 
was  seen  on  horseback,  directing  the  movements  of 
his  little  band.  The  strength  of  his  forces  he  drew 
up  in  the  great  square  or  court,  surrounded  partly  bj 
buildings,  as  before  noticed,  and  in  part  by  a  high 
wall.  There  were  three  gates  of  entrance,  at  each 
of  which  he  placed  a  strong  guard.  The  rest  of  his 
troops,  with  his  great  guns,  he  posted  without  the 
inclosure,  in  such  a  manner  as  to  command  the  ave- 
nues and  secure  those  within  from  interruption  in 
their  bloody  work.  Orders  had  been  sent  the  night 
before  to  the  Tlascalan  chiefs  to  hold  themselves 
ready,  at  a  concerted  signal,  to  march  into  the  city 
and  join  the  Spaniards. 

The  arrangements  were  hardly  completed,  before 
the  Cholulan  caciques  appeared,  leading  a  body  of 
levies,  tamanes^  even  more  numerous  than  had  been 
demanded.  They  were  marched,  at  once,  into  the 
square,  commanded,  as  we  have  seen,  by  the  Span 
ish  infantry  which  was  drawn  up  under  the  walls. 


Ch.  VII.]  TERRIBLE  MASSACRE.  23 

Cortes  then  took  some  of  the  caciques  aside.  With 
a  stern  air,  he  bluntly  charged  them  with  the  con- 
spiracy, showing  that  he  was  well  acquainted  with 
all  the  particulars.  He  had  visited  their  city,  he 
said,  at  the  invitation  of  their  emperor ;  had  come  as 
a  friend ;  had  respected  the  inhabitants  and  their 
property;  and,  to  avoid  all  cause  of  umbrage,  had 
left  a  great  part  of  his  forces  without  the  walls. 
They  had  received  him  with  a  show  of  kindness  and 
hospitality,  and,  reposing  on  this,  he  had  been  de- 
coyed into  the  snare,  and  found  this  kindness  only 
a  mask  to  cover  the  blackest  perfidy. 

The  Cholulans  were  thunderstruck  at  the  accusa- 
tion. An  undefined  awe  crept  over  them,  as  they 
gazed  on  the  mysterious  strangers,  and  felt  them- 
selves in  the  presence  of  beings  who  seemed  to  have 
the  power  of  reading  the  thoughts  scarcely  formed 
in  their  bosoms.  There  was  no  use  in  prevarication 
or  denial  before  such  judges.  They  confessed  the 
whole,  and  endeavoured  to  excuse  themselves  by 
throwing  the  blame  on  Montezuma.  Cortes,  assum- 
ing an  air  of  higher  indignation  at  this,  assured  them 
that  the  pretence  should  not  serve,  since,  even  if  well 
founded,  it  would  be  no  justification ;  and  he  would 
now  make  such  an  example  of  them  for  their  treach- 
ery, that  the  report  of  it  should  ring  throughout  the 
wide  borders  of  Anahuac ! 

The  fatal  signal,  the  discharge  of  an  arquebuse, 
was  then  given.  In  an  instant  every  musket  and 
crossbow  was  levelled  at  the  unfortunate  Cholulans 
in  the  court-yard,  and  a  frightful  volley  poured  into 


24  MARCH  TO  MEXICO.  [Book  IU. 

them  as  they  stood  crowded  together  like  a  herd  of 
deer  in  the  centre.  They  were  taken  by  surprise, 
for  they  had  not  heard  the  preceding  dialogue  with 
the  chiefs.  They  made  scarcely  any  resistance  to 
the  Spaniards,  who  followed  up  the  discharge  of 
their  pieces  by  rushing  on  them  with  their  swords ; 
and,  as  the  half-naked  bodies  of  the  natives  afforded 
no  protection,  they  hewed  them  down  with  as  much 
ease  as  the  reaper  mows  down  the  ripe  corn  in  har- 
vest time.  Some  endeavoured  to  scale  the  walls, 
but  only  afforded  a  surer  mark  to  the  arquebusiers 
and  archers.  Others  threw  themselves  into  the 
gateways,  but  were  received  on  the  long  pikes  of 
the  soldiers  who  guarded  them.  Some  few  had  bet- 
ter luck  in  hiding  themselves  under  the  heaps  of 
slain  with  which  the  ground  was  soon  loaded. 

While  this  work  of  death  was  going  on,  the  coun- 
trymen of  the  slaughtered  Indians,  drawn  together 
by  the  noise  of  the  massacre,  had  commenced  a  fu- 
rious assault  on  the  Spaniards  from  without.  But 
Cortes  had  placed  his  battery  of  heavy  guns  in  a  po- 
sition that  commanded  the  avenues,  and  swept  off  the 
files  of  the  assailants  as  they  rushed  on.  In  the  inter- 
vals between  the  discharges,  which,  in  the  imperfect 
state  of  the  science  in  that  day,  were  much  longer 
than  in  ours,  he  forced  back  the  press  by  charging 
with  the  horse  into  the  midst.  The  steeds,  the 
guns,  the  weapons  of  the  Spaniards  were  all  new  to 
the  Cholulans.  Notwithstanding  the  novelty  of 
the  terrific  spectacle,  the  flash  of  fire-arms  mingling 
with  the  deafening  roar  of  the  artillery  as  its  thun- 


I 


Ch.  VII.]  TERRIBLE  MASSACRE.  25 

ders  reverberated  among  the  buildings,  the  despair- 
ing Indians  pushed  on  to  take  the  places  of  their 
fallen  comrades. 

While  this  fierce  struggle  was  going  forward,  the 
Tlascalans,  hearing  the  concerted  signal,  had  ad- 
vanced with  quick  pace  into  the  citj.  They  had 
bound,  by  order  of  Cortes,  wreaths  of  sedge  round 
their  heads,  that  they  might  the  more  surely  be  dis- 
tinguished from  the  Cholulans.^  Coming  up  in  the 
very  heat  of  the  engagement,  they  fell  on  the  de- 
fenceless rear  of  the  townsmen,  who,  trampled  down 
under  the  heels  of  the  Castilian  cavalry  on  one  side, 
and  galled  by  their  vindictive  enemies  on  the  other, 
could  no  longer  maintain  their  ground.  They  gave 
way,  some  taking  refuge  in  the  nearest  buildings, 
which,  being  partly  of  wood,  were  speedily  set  on 
fire.  Others  fled  to  the  temples.  One  strong  party, 
with  a  number  of  priests  at  its  head,  got  possession 
of  the  great  ieocalli.  There  was  a  vulgar  tradition, 
already  alluded  to,  that,  on  removal  of  part  of  the 
walls,  the  god  would  send  forth  an  inundation  to 
overwhelm  his  enemies.  The  superstitious  Cholu- 
lans  with  great  difficulty  succeeded  in  wrenching 
away  some  of  the  stones  in  the  walls  of  the  edifice. 
But  dust,  not  water,  followed.  Their  false  god  de- 
serted them  in  the  hour  of  need.     In  despair  they 

^  "  UsaroTi  los  de  Tlaxcalla  de  y  ansi  se  pusi^ron  en  laa 

an  aviso  muy  bneno  y  les  did  Her-  cabezas  unas  guirnaldas  de  esparto 

nando  Cortes  porqiie  fueran  cono-  k  manera  de  torzales,  y  con  esto 

cidos  y  no  morir  entre  los  enemi-  eran  conocidos  los  de  nuestra  par- 

gos  por  yerro,  porqiie  sus  armas  y  cialidad  que  no  fue  pequeno  aviso.*' 

divisas  eran  casi  de  una  manera  ;  Camairgo,  Hist,  de  Tlascala,  MS. 
VOL.    II.                       4 


26  MARCH   TO  MEXICO.  [Book  III 

flung  themselves  into  the  wooden  turrets  that  crowned 
the  temple,  and  poured  down  stones,  javelins,  and 
burning  arrows  on  the  Spaniards,  as  they  climbed 
the  great  staircase,  which,  by  a  flight  of  one  hundred 
and  twenty  steps,  scaled  the  face  of  the  pyramid. 
But  the  fiery  shower  fell  harmless  on  the  steel  bon- 
nets of  the  Christians,  while  they  availed  themselves 
of  the  burning  shafts  to  set  fire  to  the  wooden  cita- 
adel,  which  was  speedily  wrapt  in  flames.  Still  the 
garrison  held  out,  and  though  quarter,  it  is  said, 
was  offered,  only  one  Cholulan  availed  himself  of  it. 
The  rest  threw  themselves  headlong  from  the  para- 
pet, or  perished  miserably  in  the  flames.^ 

All  was  now  confusion  and  uproar  in  the  fair  city 
which  had  so  lately  reposed  in  security  and  peace. 
The  groans  of  the  dying,  the  frantic  supplications 
of  the  vanquished  for  mercy,  were  mingled  with 
the  loud  battle-cries  of  the  Spaniards  as  they  rode 
down  their  enemy,  and  with  the  shrill  whistle  of  the 
Tlascalans,  who  gave  full  scope  to  the  long  cher- 
ished rancor  of  ancient  rivalry.  The  tumult  was 
still  further  swelled  by  the  incessant  rattle  of  mus- 
ketry, and  the  crash  of  falling  timbers,  which  sent 
up  a  volume  of  flame  that  outshone  the  ruddy  light 
of  morning,  making  all  together  a  hideous  confu- 
sion of  sights  and  sounds,  that  converted  the  Holy 
City  *nto  a  Pandemonium.     As  resistance  slackened, 


3  Camargo,  Hist,  de  Tlascala,  40.  — Ixllilxochitl,  Hist.   Chich., 

MS.  — Oviedo,  Hist,  do  las  Ind.,  MS.,  cap.  84.— Gomara,  Cronica, 

MS.,lib.33,cap.  4,45.  — Torque-  cap.  60. 
inada,  Monarch.  Ind.,  lib.  4,  cap. 


CH.  VII.]  TRANQUILLITY   RESTORED.  27 

the  victors  broke  into  the  houses  and  sacred  places> 
plundering  them  of  whatever  valuables  they  con- 
tained, plate,  jewels,  which  were  found  in  some 
quantity,  wearing  apparel  and  provisions,  the  two 
last  coveted  even  more  than  the  former  by  the  sim- 
ple Tlascalans,  thus  facilitating  a  division  of  the  spoil 
much  to  the  satisfaction  of  their  Christian  confed- 
erates. Amidst  this  universal  license,  it  is  worthy 
of  remark,  the  commands  of  Cortes  were  so  far 
respected  that  no  violence  was  offered  to  women  or 
children,  though  these,  as  well  as  numbers  of  the 
men,  were  made  prisoners  to  be  swept  into  slavery 
by  the  Tlascalans.^  These  scenes  of  violence  had 
lasted  some  hours,  when  Cortes,  moved  by  the  en- 
treaties of  some  Cholulan  chiefs,  who  had  been 
reserved  from  the  massacre,  backed  by  the  prayers 
of  the  Mexican  envoys,  consented,  out  of  regard, 
as  he  said,  to  the  latter,  the  representatives  of  Mon- 
tezuma, to  call  off  the  soldiers,  and  put  a  stop,  as 
well  as  he  could,  to  further  outrage.  Two  of  the 
caciques  were,  also,  permitted  to  go  to  their  coun- 
trymen with  assurances  of  pardon  and  protection  to 
all  who  would  return  to  their  obedience. 

These  measures  had  their  effect.  By  the  joint 
efforts  of  Cortes  and  the  cat  iques,  the  tumult  was 
with  much  difficulty  appeased.  The  assailants, 
Spaniards  and  Indians,  gathered  under  their  respec- 
tive banners,  and  the  Cholulans,  relying  on  the  as- 

'  "  Mat^ron  casi  seis  mil  per-    rera,  Hist.  Genertl,  dec.  2,  lib.  7, 
sonas  sin  tocar  a  niiios  ni  mugeres,     cap.  2. 
porque  asi  se  les  ordend."     Her- 


28  MARCH   TO  MEXICO.  [Book  III. 

surance  of  their  chiefs,  gradually  returned  to  their 
homes. 

The  first  act  of  Cortes  was,  to  prevail  on  the 
Tlascalan  chiefs  to  liberate  their  captives.^  Such 
was  their  deference  to  the  Spanish  commander  that 
they  acquiesced,  though  not  without  murmurs,  con- 
tenting themselves,  as  they  best  could,  with  the 
rich  spoil  rifled  from  the  Cholulans,  consisting  of 
various  luxuries  long  since  unknown  in  Tlascala. 
His  next  care  was  to  cleanse  the  city  from  its  loath- 
some impurities,  particularly  from  the  dead  bodies 
which  lay  festering  in  heaps  in  the  streets  and  great 
square.  The  general,  in  his  letter  to  Charles  the 
Fifth,  admits  three  thousand  slain,  most  accounts  say 
six,  and  some  swell  the  amount  yet  higher.  As  the 
eldest  and  principal  cacique  was  among  the  number, 
Cortes  assisted  the  Cholulans  in  installing  a  succes- 
sor in  his  place.^  By  these  pacific  measures  con- 
fidence was  gradually  restored.  The  people  in  the 
environs,  reassured,  flocked  into  the  capital  to  supply 
the  place  of  the  diminished  population.  The  mar- 
kets were  again  opened  ;  and  the  usual  avoccitions 
of  an  orderly,  industrious  community  were  resumed. 
Still,  the  long  piles  of  black  and  smouldering  ruins 
proclaimed  the  hurricane  which  had  so  lately  swept 
over  the  city,  and  the  walls  surrounding  the  scene 

<  Beraal  Diaz,  Hist,  de  la  Con-  pal  Cholulan  cacique  are  living  Bi 

quista,    cap     83.  —  Ixtlilxochitl,  this  day  in  Puebla,  according  to 

Hist.  Chich.,  MS.,  ubi  supra.  Bustamante.     See  Gomara,  Cr6- 

*  Bernal  Diaz,  Hist,  de  la  Con-  nica,  trad,  de  Chimalpain,  (Mexico, 

quista,  cap.  83.  1826,)  torn.  I.  p.  98,  nota. 

The  descendants  of  the  princi- 


Ch.  VII.]         REFLECTIONS  ON   THE  MASSACRE. 


2ft 


of  slaughter  in  the  great  square,  which  were  stand- 
ing more  than  fifty  years  after  the  event,  told  the 
sad  tale  of  the  Massacre  of  Cholula.^ 

This  passage  in  their  history  is  one  of  those  |:hat 
have  left  a  dark  stain  on  the  memory  of  the  Con- 
querors. Nor  can  we  contemplate  at  this  day, 
without  a  shudder,  the  condition  of  this  fair  and 
flourishing  capital  thus  invaded  in  its  privacy,  and 


s  Rel.  Seg.  de  Cortes,  ap.  Lo- 
renzana,  66. — Camargo,  Hist,  de 
Tlascala,  MS.— Ixtlilxochitl,  Hist. 
Chich.,  MS.,  cap.  84.  —  Oviedo, 
Hist,  de  las  Ind.,  MS.,  lib.  33. 
cap.  4,  45.  —  Bernal  Diaz,  Hist, 
de  la  Conquista,  cap.  83.  —  Go- 
mara,  Cr6nica,  cap.  60. — Saha- 
gun,  Hist,  de  Nueva  ^^Jspana,  MS., 
lib.  12,  cap.  11. 

Las  Casas,  in  his  printed  trea- 
tise on  the  Destruction  of  the  In- 
dies, garnishes  his  account  of 
these  transactions  with  some  ad- 
ditional and  rather  startling  par- 
ticulars. According  to  him,  Cortes 
caused  a  hundred  or  more  of  the 
caciques  to  be  impaled  or  roast- 
ed at  the  stake  !  He  adds  the  re- 
port, that,  while  the  massacre  in 
the  court-yard  was  going  on,  the 
Spanish  general  repeated  a  scrap 
of  an  old  romance^  describing  Nero 
as  rejoicing  over  the  burning  ruins 
of  Rome ; 

"  Mira  Nero  de  Tarpeya, 
A  Roma  cumo  se  ardia. 
Grit03  dan  ninos  y  viejos, 
Y  i\  de  nada  ee  dolia." 

(Brevisima  Relacion,  p.  46.) 

This  is  the  first  instance,  I  sus- 
pect, on  record,  of  any  person 
being  ambitious  of  finding  a  par- 


allel for  himself  in  that  emperor ! 
Bernal  Diaz,  who  had  seen  "  the 
interminable  narrative,"  as  he  calls 
it,  of  Las  Casas,  treats  it  with 
great  contempt.  His  own  version 
—  one  of  those  chiefly  followed  in 
the  text  —  was  corroborated  by 
the  report  of  the  missionaries,  who, 
after  the  Conquest,  visited  Cholu- 
la,  and  investigated  the  affair  with 
the  aid  of  the  priests  and  several 
old  survivors  who  had  witnessed 
it.  It  is  confirmed  in  its  substan- 
tial details  by  the  other  contem- 
porary accounts.  The  excellent 
bishop  of  Chiapa  wrote  with  the 
avowed  object  of  moving  the  sym- 
pathies of  his  countrymen  in  be- 
half of  the  oppressed  natives  ;  a 
generous  object,  certainly,  but  one 
that  has  too  often  warped  his  judg- 
ment from  the  strict  line  of  historic 
impartiality.  He  was  not  an  eye- 
witness of  the  transactions  in  Nexf 
Spain,  and  was  much  too  wiJhng 
to  receive  whatever  would  make 
for  his  case,  and  to  "over-red," 
if  I  may  so  say,  his  argument  with 
such  details  of  blood  and  slaugh 
ter,  as,  from  their  very  extrava 
gance,  carry  their  own  refutation 
with  them. 


30  MARCH  TO  MEXICO.  [Book  III. 

delivered  over  to  the  excesses  of  a  rude  and  ruth- 
less soldiery.  But,  to  judge  the  action  fairly,  we 
must  transport  ourselves  to  the  age  when  it  hap- 
pened. The  difficulty  that  meets  us  in  the  outset 
is,  to  find  a  justification  of  the  right  of  conquest,  at 
all  But  it  should  be  remembered,  that  religious 
infidelity,  at  this  period,  and  till  a  much  later,  was 
regarded  —  no  matter  whether  founded  on  ignorance 
or  education,  whether  hereditary  or  acquired,  heret- 
ical or  Pagan  —  as  a  sin  to  be  punished  with  fire 
and  faggot  in  this  world,  and  eternal  suffering  in  the 
next.  This  doctrine,  monstrous  as  it  is,  was  the 
creed  of  the  Romish,  in  other  words,  of  the  Chris- 
tian Church,  —  the  basis  of  the  Inquisition,  and  of 
those  other  species  of  religious  persecutions,  which 
have  stained  the  annals,  at  some  time  or  other,  of 
nearly  every  nation  in  Christendom.'^  Under  this 
code,  the  territory  of  the  heathen,  wherever  found, 
was  regarded  as  a  sort  of  religious  waif,  which,  in 

7  For  an  illustration  of  the  above  memorable  verses,  like  many  oth- 

remark  the  reader  is  referred  to  ers  of  the  immortal   bard,  are  a 

the  closing  pages  of  chap.  7,  Part  proof  at  once  of  the  strength  and 

n.,  of  the  "  History  of  Ferdinand  weakness   of   the    human   under- 

and  Isabella,"  where  I  have  taken  standing.     They  may  be  cited  as 

Bome    pains  to   show    how   deep  a  fair  exponent   of   the    popular 

settled  were  these  convictions  in  feeling   at  the   beginning   of  the 

Spain,  at  the  period  with  which  sixteenth  century. 

we  are  now  occupied.  The  world  ..  ch'  ei  non  peccaro,  e,  s'egli  hanno  mercedi, 
had  gained  little  in  liberality  since  Non  basta,  perch'  e'  non  eUber  battesmo, 

the  age  of  Dante,  who  could  cool-         ^^'  *  P^""^*  ^«"*  <"«^«  <=^«  ^"  "^''' 

,      ,.                 -    ,                ^         ,            ,  E,  se  furon  dinanzi  al  Crislianesmo, 

ly  dispose  of  the   great   and    good  Non  adorar  debltamenle  Dio ; 

of  Antiquity  in   one  of  the    circles  E  di  questi  cotai  son  io  medesmo. 

of    Hell,    because  —  no    fault    of  Per  lai  difetli,  e  non  per  altro  rio, 

^,     .               i   •   1          ^u        1.    J  Semo  perduti,  e  sol  di  tanlo  offesi 

theirs,  certainly — they  had  come         nu  •   a-  •  a 

'  -^  •'  Che  sanza  speme  vivemo  in  disio." 

into   the   world    too   soon.      The  Inferno,  canto  4. 


J 


Ch.  VII.]        REFLECTIONS  ON   THE  MASSACRE.  31 

default  of  a  legal  proprietor,  was  claimed  and  taken 
possession  of  by  the  Holy  See,  and  as  such  was 
freely  given  away  by  the  head  of  the  Church,  to 
any  temporal  potentate  whom  he  pleased,  that  would 
assume  the  burden  of  conquest.^  Thus,  Alexander 
the  Sixth  generously  granted  a  large  portion  of  the 
Western  hemisphere  to  the  Spaniards,  and  of  the 
Eastern  to  the  Portuguese.  These  lofty  pretensions 
of  the  successors  of  the  humble  fisherman  of  Galilee, 
far  from  being  nominal,  were  acknowledged  and 
appealed  to  as  conclusive  in  controversies  between 
nations.^ 

With  the  right  of  conquest,  thus  conferred,  came, 
also,  the  obligation,  on  which  it  may  be  said  to  have 
been  founded,  to  retrieve  the  nations  sitting  in  dark- 
ness from  eternal  perdition.  This  obligation  was  ac- 
knowledged by  the  best  and  the  bravest,  the  gowns- 
man in  his  closet,  the  missionary,  and  the  warrior  in 
the  crusade.     However  much  it  may  have  been  de- 

8  It  is  in  the  same  spirit  that  Maritimes,  par  J.  M.  Pardessus, 
the  laws  of  Oleron,  the  maritime  (ed.  Paris,  1828,)  tom.  I.  p.  351. 
code  of  so  high  authority  in  the  9  The  famous  bull  of  partition 
Middle  Ages,  abandon  the  proper-  became  the  basis  of  the  treaty  of 
ty  of  the  infidel,  in  common  with  Tordesillas,  by  which  the  Castilian 
that  of  pirates,  as  fair  spoil  to  the  and  Portuguese  governments  de- 
true  believer !  "  S'ilz  sont  pyrates,  termined  the  boundary  line  of  their 
pilleurs,  ou  escumeurs  de  mer,  ou  respective  discoveries ;  a  line  that 
Turcs,  et  autres  contraires  et  en-  secured  the  vast  empire  of  Brazil 
nemis  de  nostredictefoycatholicque,  to  the  latter,  which  from  priority 
chascun  pent  prendre  sur  telles  of  occupation  should  have  belonged 
manieres  de  gens,  comme  swr  cAien5,  to  their  rivals.  See  the  History 
et  pent  Von  les  desrohber  et  spolier  de  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  Part  I., 
leurs  biens  sans  pugnition.  C'est  chap.  18;  Part  II.,  chap.  9, — the 
.'e  jugement."  Jugemensd 'Oleron,  closing  pages  of  each. 
Art.  45,  ap.   Collection   de   Lois 


32 


MARCH  TO  MEXICO. 


[Book  III. 


based  by  temporal  motives  and  mixed  up  with 
worldly  considerations  of  ambition  and  avarice,  it 
Was  still  active  in  the  mind  of  the  Christian  con- 
queror. We  have  seen  how  far  paramount  it  was 
to  every  calculation  of  personal  interest  in  the  breast 
of  Cortes.  The  concession  of  the  Pope,  then, 
founded  on,  and  enforcing,  the  imperative  duty  of 
conversion,^^  was  the  assumed  basis  —  and,  in  the 
apprehension  of  that  age,  a  sound  one  —  of  the 
right  of  conquest. ^^ 


10  It  is  the  condition,  unequivo- 
cally expressed  and  reiterated,  on 
which  Alexander  YI. ,  in  his  famous 
bulls  of  May  3d  and  4th,  1493,  con- 
veys to  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  full 
and  absolute  right  over  all  such 
territories  in  the  Western  World, 
as  may  not  have  been  previously 
occupied  by  Christian  princes.  See 
these  precious  documents,  in  ex- 
tenso,  apud  Navarrete,  Colleccion 
de  los  Viages  y  Descubrimientos, 
(Madrid,  1825,)  torn.  XL  Nos.  17, 
18. 

11  The  ground  on  which  Pro- 
testant nations  assert  a  natural 
right  to  the  fruits  of  their  discov- 
eries in  the  New  World  is  very 
different.  They  consider  that  the 
earth  was  intended  for  cultivation ; 
and  that  Providence  never  designed 
that  hordes  of  wandering  savages 
ahould  hold  a  territory  far  more 
than  necessary  for  their  own  main- 
tenance, to  the  exclusion  of  civil- 
ized man.  Yet  it  may  be  thought, 
as  far  as  improvement  of  the  soil 
is  concerned,  that  this  argument 


would  afford  us  but  an  indifferent 
tenure  for  much  of  our  own  un- 
occupied and  uncultivated  territory, 
far  exceeding  what  is  demanded 
for  our  present  or  prospective  sup- 
port. As  to  a  right  founded  on 
difference  of  civilization,  this  is 
obviously  a  still  more  uncertain 
criterion.  It  is  to  the  credit  of  our 
Puritan  ancestors,  that  they  did 
not  avail  themselves  of  any  such 
interpretation  of  the  law  of  nature, 
and  still  less  rely  on  the  powers 
conceded  by  King  James'  patent, 
asserting  riglits  as  absolute,  nearly, 
as  those  claimed  by  the  Roman 
See.  On  the  contrary,  they  estab- 
lished their  title  to  the  soil  by  fair 
purchase  of  the  Aborigines  ;  thus 
forming  an  honorable  contrast  to 
the  policy  pursued  by  too  many  of 
the  settlers  on  the  American  con- 
tinents. It  should  be  remarked, 
that,  whatever  difference  of  opinion 
may  have  subsisted  between  the 
Roman  Catholic,  —  or  rather  the 
Spanish  and  Portuguese  nations, 
— and  the  rest  of  Europe,  in  re- 


Cn.  VII.]         REFLECTIONS  ON  THE  MASSACRE. 


3(5 


This  right  could  not,  indeed,  be  construed  to  au- 
thorize any  unnecessary  act  of  violence  to  the  na- 
tives. The  present  expedition,  up  to  the  period  of 
its  history  at  which  we  are  now  arrived,  had  proba- 
bly been  stained  with  fewer  of  such  acts  than  almost 
any  similar  enterprise  of  the  Spanish  discoverers  in 
the  New  World.  Throughout  the  campaign,  Cortes 
had  prohibited  all  wanton  injuries  to  the  natives,  in 
person  or  property,  and  had  punished  the  perpetra- 
tors of  them  with  exemplary  severity.  He  had  been 
faithful  to  his  friends,  and,  with  perhaps  a  single 
exception,  not  unmerciful  to  his  foes.  Whether  from 
policy  or  principle,  it  should  be  recorded  to  his  cred- 
it ;  though,  like  every  sagacious  mind,  he  may  have 
felt,  that  principle  and  policy  go  together. 

He  had  entered  Cholula  as  a  friend,  at  the  invita- 
tion of  the  Indian  emperor,  who  had  a  real,  if  not 
avowed,  control  over  the  state.     He  had  been  re- 


gard to  the  true  foundation  of  their 
titles  in  a  moral  view,  they  have 
always  been  content,  in  their  con- 
troversies with  one  another,  to  rest 
them  exclusively  qn  priority  of 
discovery.  For  a  brief  view  of  the 
discussion,  see  Vattel,  (Droit  des 
Gens,  sec.  209,)  and  especially 
Kent,  (Commentaries  on  American 
Law,  vol.  III.  lee.  51,)  where  it 
is  handled  with  much  perspicuity 
and  eloquence.  The  argument,  as 
founded  on  the  law  of  nations,  may 
be  found  in  the  celebrated  case  of 
Johnson  v,  Mcintosh.  (Wheaton, 
Reports  of  Cases  in  the  Supreme 
VOL.    II.  5 


Court  of  the  United  States,  vol. 
VIII.  p.  543,  et  seq.)  If  it  were 
not  treating  a  grave  discussion  too 
lightly,  I  should  crave  leave  to 
refer  the  reader  to  the  renowned 
Diedrich  Knickerbocker's  History 
of  New  York,  (book  1,  chap.  5,) 
for  a  luminous  disquisition  on  thia 
knotty  question.  At  all  events,  he 
will  find  there  the  popular  argu- 
ments subjected  to  tlie  test  of  rid- 
icule ;  a  test,  showing,  more  than 
any  reasoning  can,  how  much,  or 
rather  how  little,  they  are  really 
worth. 


34  MARCH  TO  MEXICO.  [Book  III. 

ceived  as  a  friend,  with  every  demonstration  of  good- 
will ;  when,  without  any  offence  of  his  own  or  his 
followers,  he  found  they  were  to  be  the  victims  of  an 
insidious  plot,  —  that  they  were  standing  on  a  mine 
which  might  be  sprung  at  any  moment,  and  bury 
them  all  in  its  ruins.  His  safety,  as  he  truly  consid- 
ered, left  no  alternative  but  to  anticipate  the  blow 
of  his  enemies.  Yet  who  can  doubt  that  the  pun- 
ishment thus  inflicted  was  excessive,  —  that  the 
same  end  might  have  been  attained  by  directing  the 
blow  against  the  guilty  chiefs,  instead  of  letting  it 
fall  on  the  ignorant  rabble,  who  but  obeyed  the  com- 
mands of  their  masters  ?  But  when  was  it  ever  seen, 
that  fear,  armed  with  power,  was  scrupulous  in  the 
exercise  of  it  ?  or  that  the  passions  of  a  fierce  sol- 
diery, inflamed  by  conscious  injuries,  could  be  regu- 
lated in  the  moment  of  explosion  ? 

We  shall,  perhaps,  pronounce  more  impartially  on 
the  conduct  of  the  Conquerors,  if  we  compare  it 
with  that  of  our  own  contemporaries  under  some- 
what similar  circumstances.  The  atrocities  at  Cho- 
lula  were  not  so  bad  as  those  inflicted  on  the 
descendants  of  these  very  Spaniards,  in  the  late  war 
of  the  Peninsula,  by  the  most  polished  nations  of  our 
time  ;  by  the  British  at  Badajoz,  for  example,  —  at 
Taragona,  and  a  hundred  other  places,  by  the  French. 
The  wanton  butchery,  the  ruin  of  property,  and, 
above  all,  those  outrages  worse  than  death,  from 
which  the  female  part  of  the  population  were  pro- 
tected at  Cholula,  show  a  catalogue  of  enormities 
quite  as  black  as  those  imputed  to  the  Spaniards, 


Ch.  VII.]         REFLECTIONS  ON   THE  MASSACRE.  35 

and  without  the  same  apology  for  resentment, — 
with  no  apology,  indeed,  but  that  afibrded  by  a  brave 
and  patriotic  resistance.  The  consideration  of  these 
events,  which,  from  their  familiarity,  make  little  im- 
pression on  our  senses,  should  render  us  more  lenient 
in  our  judgments  of  the  past,  showing,  as  they  do, 
that  man  in  a  state  of  excitement,  savage  or  civilized, 
is  much  the  same  in  every  age.  It  may  teach  us, — 
it  is  one  of  the  best  lessons  of  history,  —  that,  since 
such  are  the  inevitable  evils  of  war,  even  among  the 
most  polished  people,  those  who  hold  the  destinies 
of  nations  in  their  hands,  whether  rulers  or  legisla- 
tors, should  submit  to  every  sacrifice,  save  that  of 
honor,  before  authorizing  an  appeal  to  arms.  The 
extreme  solicitude  to  avoid  these  calamities,  by  the 
aid  of  peaceful  congresses  and  impartial  mediation, 
is,  on  the  whole,  the  strongest  evidence,  stronger 
than  that  afforded  by  the  progress  of  science  and  art, 
of  our  boasted  advance  in  civilization. 

It  is  far  from  my  intention  to  vindicate  the  cruel 
deeds  of  the  old  Conquerors.  Let  them  lie  heavy 
on  their  heads.  They  were  an  iron  race,  who  per- 
iled life  and  fortune  in  the  cause ;  and,  as  they  made 
little  account  of  danger  and  suffering  for  themselves, 
they  had  little  sympathy  to  spare  for  their  unfor- 
tunate enemies.  But,  to  judge  them  fairly,  we  must 
not  do  it  by  the  lights  of  our  own  age.  We  must 
carry  ourselves  back  to  theirs,  and  take  the  point  of 
view  afforded  by  the  civilization  of  their  time.  Thus 
only  can  we  arrive  at  impartial  criticism  in  review- 
ing the  generations  that  are  past.     We  must  extend 


36  MARCH  TO   MEXICO.  [Book  III. 

to  them  the  same  justice  which  we  shall  have  occa- 
sion to  ask  from  Posterity,  when,  by  the  light  of  a 
higher  civilization,  it  surveys  the  dark  or  doubtful 
passages  in  our  own  history,  which  hardly  arrest  the 
eye  of  the  contemporary. 

But,  whatever  be  thought  of  this  transaction  in  a 
moral  view,  as  a  stroke  of  policy,  it  was  unquestion- 
able. The  nations  of  Anahuac  had  beheld,  with 
admiration  mingled  with  awe,  the  little  band  of 
Christian  warriors  steadily  advancing  along  the 
plateau  in  face  of  every  obstacle,  overturning  army 
after  army  with  as  much  ease,  apparently,  as  the 
good  ship  throws  off  the  angry  billows  from  her 
bows,  or  rather  like  the  lava,  which,  rolling  from  their 
own  volcanoes,  holds  on  its  course  unchecked  by  ob- 
stacles, rock,  tree,  or  building,  bearing  them  along, 
or  crushing  and  consuming  them  in  its  fiery  path. 
The  prowess  of  the  Spaniards  —  "  the  white  gods," 
as  they  were  often  called  ^^  —  made  them  to  be 
thought  invincible.  But  it  was  not  till  their  arrival 
at  Cholula,  that  the  natives  learned  how  terrible  was 
their  vengeance,  —  and  they  trembled  ! 

None  trembled  more  than  the  Aztec  emperor  on 
his  throne  among  the  mountains.  He  read  in  these 
events  the  dark  characters  traced  by  the  finger  of 
Destiny.*^     He  felt  his  empire  melting  away  like  a 

12  Los  Dioses  Wanco*.  — Camar-  In  an  old  Aztec  liarangue,  made 
go,  Hist,  de  Tlascala,  MS. —  as  a  matter  of  form  on  ihe  accession 
Torquemada,  Monarch.  Ind.,  lib.  of  a  prince,  we  find  the  following 
4,  cap.  40.  remarkable  prediction.     "PerKaps 

13  Sahagun,  Hist,  de  Nueva  ye  are  dismayed  at  the  prospect 
Espafia,  MS.,  lib.  12,  cap.  11.  of  the  terrible  calamities  that  are 


ch.  vil]  further  proceedings.  37 

morning  mist.  He  might  well  feel  so.  Some  of 
the  most  important  cities  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Cholula,  intimidated  by  the  fate  of  that  capital,  now 
sent  their  envoys  to  the  Castilian  camp,  tendering 
their  allegiance,  and  propitiating  the  favor  of  the 
strangers  by  rich  presents  of  gold  and  slaves.^*  Mon- 
tezuma, alarmed  at  these  signs  of  defection,  took 
counsel  again  of  his  impotent  deities ;  but,  although 
the  altars  smoked  with  fresh  hecatombs  of  human 
victims,  he  obtained  no  cheering  response.  He  de- 
termined, therefore,  to  send  another  embassy  to  the 
Spaniards,  disavowing  any  participation  in  the  con- 
spiracy of  Cholula. 

Meanwhile  Cortes  was  passing  his  time  in  that 
capital.  He  thought  that  the  impression  produced 
by  the  late  scenes,  and  by  the  present  restoration  of 
tranquillity,  offered  a  fair  opportunity  for  the  good 
work  of  conversion.  He  accordingly  urged  the  cit- 
izens to  embrace  the  Cross,  and  abandon  the  false 
guardians  who  had  abandoned  them  in  their  extrem- 
ity. But  the  traditions  of  centuries  rested  on  the 
Holy  City,  shedding  a  halo  of  glory  around  it  as 
"  the  sanctuary  of  the  gods,"  the  religious  capital  of 


one  day  to  overwhelm  us,  calami-  be  condemned  to  the  lowest  and 

ties  foreseen  and  foretold,  though  most  degrading  offices !  "      (Ibid., 

not  felt,  by  our   fathers! lib.  6,  cap.  16.)  This  random  shot 

When  the  destruction  and  desola-  of  prophecy,  which  I  have  render- 
lion  of  the  empire  shall  come,  ed  literally,  shows  how  strong  and 
when  all  shall  be  plunged  in  dark-  settled  was  the  apprehension  of 
ness,  when  the  hour  shall  arrive  some  impending  revolution, 
in  which  they  shall  make  us  slaves  l"*  Herrera,  Hist.  General,  dec. 
throughout  the  land,  and  we  shall  2,  lib.  7,  cap.  3. 


38  MARCH  TO  MEXICO.  [Book  III 

Anahuac.  It  was  too  much  to  expect  that  the  peo- 
ple would  willingly  resign  this  preeminence,  and  de- 
scend to  the  level  of  an  ordinary  community.  Still 
Cortes  might  have  pressed  the  matter,  however  un- 
palatable, but  for  the  renewed  interposition  of  the 
wise  Olmedo,  who  persuaded  him  to  postpone  it  till 
after  the  reduction  of  the  whole  country.  ^^ 

The  Spanish  general,  however,  had  the  satisfaction 
to  break  open  the  cages  in  which  the  victims  for 
sacrifice  were  confined,  and  to  dismiss  the  trembling 
inmates  to  liberty  and  life.  He  also  seized  upon 
the  great  teocalli,  and  devoted  that  portion  of  the 
building,  which,  being  of  stone,  had  escaped  the  fury 
of  the  flames,  to  the  purposes  of  a  Christian  church  ; 
while  a  crucifix  of  stone  and  lime,  of  gigantic  di- 
mensions, spreading  out  its  arms  above  the  city, 
proclaimed  that  the  population  below  was  under  the 
protection  of  the  Cross.  On  the  same  spot  now 
stands  a  temple  overshadowed  by  dark  cypresses  of 
unknown  antiquity,  and  dedicated  to  Our  Lady  de 
los  Remedios,  An  image  of  the  Virgin  presides 
over  it,  said  to  have  been  left  by  the  Conqueror 
himself;  ^^  and  an  Indian  ecclesiastic,  a  descendant 
of  the  ancient  Cholulans,  performs  the  peaceful  ser- 
vices of  the  Roman  Catholic  communion,  on  the 
spot  where  his  ancestors  celebrated  the  sanguinary 
rites  of  the  mystic  Quetzalcoatl.*'^ 


15  Bernal  Diaz,  Hist,  de  la  Con-        17  Humboldt,  Vues  des  Cordil- 
quista,  cap.  83.  l^res,  p.  32. 

16  Veytia,  Hist.  Antig.,  torn. 
T.  cap.  13. 


Ch.  VII.]  ENVOYS  FROM   MONTEZUMA.  39 

During  the  occurrence  of  these  events,  envoys 
arrived  from  Mexico.  They  were  charged,  as  usual, 
with  a  rich  present  of  plate  and  ornaments  of  gold, 
among  others,  artificial  birds  in  imitation  of  turkeys, 
with  plumes  of  the  same  precious  metal.  To  thes(; 
were  added  fifteen  hundred  cotton  dresses  of  delicate 
fabric.  The  emperor  even  expressed  his  regret  at 
the  catastrophe  of  Cholula,  vindicated  himself  from 
any  share  in  the  conspiracy,  which  he  said  had 
brought  deserved  retribution  on  the  heads  of  its  au- 
thors, and  explained  the  existence  of  an  Aztec  force 
in  the  neighbourhood  by  the  necessity  of  repressing 
some  disorders  there. ^^ 

One  cannot  contemplate  this  pusillanimous  con- 
duct of  Montezuma  without  mingled  feelings  of  pity 
and  contempt.  It  is  not  easy  to  reconcile  his  as- 
sumed innocence  of  the  plot  with  many  circum- 
stances connected  with  it.  But  it  must  be  remem- 
bered here  and  always,  that  his  history  is  to  be 
collected  solely  from  Spanish  writers  and  such  of 
the  natives  as  flourished  after  the  Conquest,  when 
the  country  had  become  a  colony  of  Spain.  Not  an 
Aztec  record  of  the  primitive  age  survives,  ip  a  form 
capable  of  interpretation.^^     It  is  the  hard  fate  of 


^8  Rel.  Seg.  de  Cortes,  ap.  Lo-  ified,  considering  that  three  Az- 

renzana,   p.    69.  —  Gomara,  Cr6-  tec  codices  exist  with  interpreta- 

nica,  cap.  63.  —  Oviedo,  Hist,  de  tions.   (See  Ante,  Vol.  I.  pp   103, 

laslnd.,  MS.,  lib.  33,  cap.  5. —  104.)     But  they  contain  veiy  few 

Ixtlilxochitl,  Hist.   Chich.,  MS.,  and  general  allusions  to  Montezu- 

cap.  84.  ma,   and   these   strained   through 

^^   The  language   of   the   text  commentaries  of  Spanish  monks, 

may  appear  somewhat  too  unqual-  oftentimes  manifestly  irreconcilable 


40  MARCH  TO  MEXICO.  [Book  III 

this  unfortunate  monarch,  to  be  wholly  indebted  for 
his  portraiture  to  the  pencil  of  his  enemies. 

More  than  a  fortnight  had  elapsed  since  the  en- 
trance of  the  Spaniards  into  Cholula,  and  Cortes  now 
resolved  without  loss  of  time  to  resume  his  march 
towards  the  capital.  His  rigorous  reprisals  had  so 
far  intimidated  the  Cholulans,  that  he  felt  assured 
he  should  no  longer  leave  an  active  enemy  in  his 
rear,  to  annoy  him  in  case  of  retreat.  He  had  the 
satisfaction,  before  his  departure,  to  heal  the  feud  — 
in  outward  appearance,  at  least  —  that  had  so  long 
subsisted  between  the  Holy  City  and  Tlascala,  and 
which,  under  the  revolution  which  so  soon  changed 
the  destinies  of  the  country,  never  revived. 

It  w^as  with  some  disquietude  that  he  now  received 
an  application  from  his  Cempoallan  allies  to  be  al- 
lowed to  withdraw  from  the  expedition,  and  return 
to  their  own  homes.  They  had  incurred  too  deeply 
the  resentment  of  the  Aztec  emperor,  by  their  insults 
to  his  collectors,  and  by  their  cooperation  with  the 
Spaniards,  to  care  to  trust  themselves  in  his  capital. 


with  the  genuine  Aztec  notions,  hagun,  embodying  the  traditions 

Even  such  writers  as  Ixtlilxochitl  of  the  natives  soon  after  the  Con- 

and  Camargo,  from  whom,  consid-  quest.     This  portion  of  his  great 

ering   their    Indian    descent,    we  work  was  rewritten  by  its  author, 

might  expect  more  independence,  and    considerable    changes    were 

Beem  less  solicitous  to  show  this,  made  in  it,  at  a  later  period  of  his 

than  their  loyalty  to  the  new  faith  life.     Yet  it  may  be  doubted  if  the 

and    country    of   their    adoption,  reformed  version  reflects  the  tradi 

Perhaps   the   most  honest   Aztec  tions  of  the  country  as  faithfully 

record  of  the  period  is  to  be  obtain-  as  the  original,  which  is  still  in 

ed  from  the  volumes,  the  twelfth  manuscript,    and    which    I    have 

book,   particularly,   of  father  Sa-  chiefly  followed. 


Oh.  VII.] 


FURTHER   PROCEEDINGS. 


41 


It  was  in  vain  Cortes  endeavoured  to  reassure  them, 
by  promises  of  his  protection.  Their  habitual  distrust 
and  dread  of  "  the  great  Montezuma  "  were  not  to 
be  overcome.  The  general  learned  their  determina- 
tion with  regret,  for  they  had  been  of  infinite  service 
to  the  cause  by  their  stanch  fidelity  and  courage.  All 
this  made  it  the  more  difficult  for  him  to  resist  their 
reasonable  demand.  Liberally  recompensing  their 
services,  therefore,  from  the  rich  wardrobe  and  treas- 
ures of  the  emperor,  he  took  leave  of  his  faithful 
followers,  before  his  own  departure  from  Cholula. 
He  availed  himself  of  their  return  to  send  letters  to 
Juan  de  Escalante,  his  lieutenant  at  Vera  Cruz,  ac- 
quainting him  with  the  successful  progress  of  the  ex- 
pedition. He  enjoined  on  that  officer  to  strengthen 
the  fortifications  of  the  place,  so  as  the  better  to  re- 
sist any  hostile  interference  from  Cuba,  —  an  event 
for  which  Cortes  was  ever  on  the  watch,  —  and  to 
keep  down  revolt  among  the  natives.  He  especial- 
ly commended  the  Totonacs  to  his  protection,  as 
allies  whose  fidelity  to  the  Spaniards  exposed  them, 
in  no  slight  degree,  to  the  vengeance  of  the  Aztecs.^ 

20  Bernal  Diaz,  Hist,  de  la  Con-  Gomara,  Cronica,  cap.  60.  — Ovi- 
qnista,  cap.  84,  85. — Rel.  Seg.  edo.  Hist,  de  las  Ind.,  MS.,  lib 
de  Cortes,  ap.  Lorenzana,  p.  67.  —    33,  cap.  5. 


VOL.    II. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

March  resumed. — Ascent  of  the  Great  Volcano.  —  Valley  of 
Mexico. — Impression  on  the  Spaniards. — Conduct  of  Monte- 
zuma.—  They  descend  into  the  Valley. 

1519. 

Every  thiiig  being  now  restored  to  quiet  in  Cho- 
lula.  the  allied  army  of  Spaniards  and  Tlascalans  set 
forward  in  high  spirits,  and  resumed  the  march  on 
Mexico.  The  road  lay  through  the  beautiful  savan- 
nas and  luxuriant  plantations  that  spread  out  for 
several  leagues  in  every  direction.  On  the  march, 
they  were  met  occasionally  by  embassies  from  the  ^ 
neighbouring  places,  anxious  to  claim  the  protection 
of  the  white  men,  and  to  propitiate  them  by  gifts, 
especially  of  gold,  for  which  their  appetite  was  gen- 
erally known  throughout  the  country. 

Some  of  these  places  were  allies  of  the  Tlasca- 
lans, and  all  showed  much  discontent  with  the  op- 
pressive rule  of  Montezuma.  The  natives  cautioned 
the  Spaniards  against  putting  themselves  in  his  pow- 
er, by  entering  his  capital ;  and  they  stated,  as  ev- 
idence of  his  hostile  disposition,  that  he  had  caused 
the  direct  road  to  it  to  be  blocked  up,  that  the 
strangers  might  be  compelled  to  choose  another, 
which,  from  its  narrow  passes  and  strong  positions. 


Ch.  VIII.]  MARCH  RESUMED.  43 

would  enable  him  to  take  them  at  great  disad- 
vantage. 

The  information  was  not  lost  on  Cortes,  who  kept 
a  strict  eye  on  the  movements  of  the  Mexican  en- 
voys, and  redoubled  his  own  precautions  against 
surprise.^  Cheerful  and  active,  he  was  ever  where 
his  presence  was  needed,  sometimes  in  the  van,  at 
others  in  the  rear,  encouraging  the  weak,  stimulating 
the  sluggish,  and  striving  to  kindle  in  the  breasts 
of  others  the  same  courageous  spirit  which  glowed 
in  his  own.  At  night  he  never  omitted  to  go  the 
rounds,  to  see  that  every  man  was  at  his  post.  On 
one  occasion,  his  vigilance  had  well-nigh  proved 
fatal  to  him.  He  approached  so  near  a  sentinel, 
that  the  man,  unable  to  distinguish  his  person  in  the 
dark,  levelled  his  crossbow  at  him,  when  fortunately 
an  exclamation  of  the  general,  who  gave  the  watch- 
word of  the  night,  arrested  a  movement,  which 
might  else  have  brought  the  campaign  to  a  close, 
and  given  a  respite  for  some  time  longer  to  the  em- 
pire of  Montezuma. 

The  army  came  at  length  to  the  place  mentioned 
by  the  friendly  Indie  ns,  where  the  road  forked,  and 
one  arm  of  it  was  found,  as  they  had  foretolc!,  ob- 
structed with  large  trunks  of  treas,  and  huge  sti  u^.s 
which  had  been  strewn  across  it.  Cortes  inqu.r«^d 
the  meaning  of  this  from  the  Mexican  ambassadois. 
They  said  it  was  done  by  the  emperor's  orders,  to 

^  "  Andauamos,"  says  Diaz,  in    ombro."     Hist,  de  la  Conquista, 
the  homely,  but  expressive  Span-     cap.  86. 
ish  proverb,   "la   barba   sobre   el 


44  MARCH  TO  MEXICO.  [Book  III. 

prevent  their  taking  a  route  which,  after  some  dis- 
tance, they  would  find  nearly  impracticable  for  the 
cavalry.  They  acknowledged,  however,  that  it  was 
the  most  direct  road ;  and  Cortes,  declaring  that 
this  was  enough  to  decide  him  in  favor  of  it,  as 
the  Spaniards  made  no  account  of  obstacles,  com- 
manded the  rubbish  to  be  cleared  away.  Some  of 
the  timber  might  still  be  seen  by  the  road-side,  as 
Bernal  Diaz  tells  us,  many  years  after.  The  event 
left  little  doubt  in  the  general's  mind  of  the  med- 
itated treachery  of  the  Mexicans.  But  he  was  too 
politic  to  betray  his  suspicions.^ 

They  were  now  leaving  the  pleasant  champaign 
country,  as  the  road  wound  up  the  bold  sierra  which 
separates  the  great  plateaus  of  Mexico  and  Puebla. 
The  air,  as  they  ascended,  became  keen  and  pierc- 
ing ;  and  the  blasts,  sweeping  down  the  frozen  sides 
of  the  mountains,  made  the  soldiers  shiver  in  their 
thick  harness  of  cotton,  and  benumbed  the  limbs  of 
both  men  and  horses. 

They  were  passing  between  two  of  the  highest 
mountains  on  the  North  American  continent ;  Popo- 
catepetl, "the  hill  that  smokes,"  and  Iztaccihuatl, 
or  "white  woman," ^  —  a  name  suggested,  doubt- 
less, by  the  bright  robe  of  snow  spread  over  its 
broad  and  broken  surface.     A  puerile   superstition 


2  Ibid.,  ubi  supra.  —  Ilel.  Beg.  cat^petl,  y  &  la  sierra  nevada  Izt- 
de  Cort(?s,  ap.  Lorenzana,  p.  70.  accihuati,  que  quiere  decir  la  sier- 
—  Torquemada,  Monarch.  Ind.,  ra  que  humea,  y  la  blanca  mugger." 
lib.  4,  cap.  41.  Caraargo,  Hist,  de  Tlascala,  MS. 

3  "  Llamaban   al  volcan   Pope- 


Ch.  VIII.]       ASCENT  OF  THE  GREAT   VOLCANO. 


45 


of  the  Indians  regarded  these  celebrated  mountains 
as  gods,  and  Iztaccihuatl  as  the  wife  of  her  more 
formidable  neighbour.^  A  tradition  of  a  higher  char- 
acter described  the  northern  volcano,  as  the  abode 
of  the  departed  spirits  of  wicked  rulers,  whose  fiery 
agonies,  in  their  prison-house,  caused  the  fearful  bel- 
lowings  and  convulsions  in  times  of  eruption.  It 
was  the  classic  fable  of  Antiquity.^  These  super- 
stitious legends  had  invested  the  mountain  with  a 
mysterious  horror,  that  made  the  natives  shrink  from 
attempting  its  ascent,  which,  indeed,  was  from  nat- 
ural causes  a  work  of  incredible  difficulty. 

The  great  volcan,^  as  Popocatepetl  was  called, 
rose  to  the  enormous  height  of  17,852  feet  above 
the  level  of  the  sea ;  more  than  2000  feet  above  the 
"monarch  of  mountains,"  —  the  highest  elevation  in 
Europe.'^  During  the  present  century,  it  has  rarely 
given  evidence  of  its  volcanic  origin,  and  "  the  hill 


*  "  La  Sierra  nevada  y  el  volcan 
los  tenian  por  Dioses  ;  y  que  el 
volcan  y  la  Sierra  nevada  eran 
marido  y  muger."     Ibid.,  MS. 

5  Gomara,  Cronica,  cap.  62. 

"  ^tna  Giganleos  nunquam  tacitura  trium- 
phoa, 
Enceladi  bustum,  qui  sancia  terga  ravinc- 

tus 
Spiral  inexhaustum  flagranti  pectore  sul- 
phur." 
Cr.AUDiAN,  De  Rapt.  Pros.,  lib.  1,  v.  152. 

6  The  old  Spaniards  called  any 
lofty  mountain  by  that  name, 
though  never  having  given  signs 
of  combustion.  Thus,  Chimbora- 
80  was  called  a  volcan   de  nieuey 


or  "  snow  volcano  "  ;  (Humboldt, 
Essai  Politique,  tom.  I.  p.  162;) 
and  that  enterprising  traveller, 
Stephens,  notices  the  volcan  de 
agua,  "  water  volcano,"  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Antigua  Guate- 
mala. Incidents  of  Travel  in 
Chiapas,  Central  America,  and 
Yucatan,  (New  York,  1841,)  vol. 
I.  chap.  13. 

7  Mont  Blanc,  according  to  M. 
de  Saussure,  is  15,670  feet  high. 
For  the  estimate  of  Popocatepetl, 
see  an  elaborate  communication  in 
the  Revista  Mexicana,  tom.  IL 
No.  4. 


46  MARCH   TO  MEXICO.  [Book  III. 

that  smokes "  has  almost  forfeited  its  claim  to  the 
appellation.  But  at  the  time  of  the  Conquest  it 
was  frequently  in  a  state  of  activity,  and  raged  with 
uncommon  fury  while  the  Spaniards  were  at  Tlas- 
cala ;  an  evil  omen,  it  was  thought,  for  the  natives 
of  Anahuac.  Its  head,  gathered  into  a  regular  cone 
by  the  deposite  of  successive  eruptions,  wore  the 
usual  form  of  volcanic  mountains,  when  not  disturbed 
by  the  falling  in  of  the  crater.  Soaring  towards 
the  skies,  with  its  silver  sheet  of  everlasting  snow, 
it  was  seen  far  and  wide  over  the  broad  plains  of 
Mexico  and  Puebla,  the  first  object  which  the  morn- 
ing sun  greeted  in  his  rising,  the  last  where  his 
evening  rays  were  seen  to  linger,  shedding  a  glorious 
effulgence  over  its  head,  that  contrasted  strikingly 
with  the  ruinous  waste  of  sand  and  lava  immedi- 
ately below,  and  the  deep  fringe  of  funereal  pines 
that  shrouded  its  base. 

The  mysterious  terrors  which  hung  over  the  spot, 
and  the  wild  love  of  adventure,  made  some  of  the 
Spanish  cavaliers  desirous  to  attempt  the  ascent, 
which  the  natives  declared  no  man  could  accomplish 
and  live.  Cortes  encouraged  them  in  the  enterprise, 
willing  to  show  the  Indians  that  no  achievement  was 
above  the  dauntless  daring  of  his  followers.  One 
of  his  captains,  accordingly,  Diego  Ordaz,  with  nine 
Spaniards,  and  several  TIascalans,  encouraged  by 
their  example,  undertook  the  ascent.  It  was  at- 
tended with  more  difficulty  than  had  been  antici- 
pated. 

The  lower  region  was  clothed  with  a  dense  forest, 


Ca.  VIII.]      ASCENT  OF  THE  GREAT  VOLCANO.  47 

SO  thickly  matted,  that  in  some  places  it  was  scarcely 
possible  to  penetrate  it.  It  grew  thinner,  however,  as 
they  advanced,  dwindling,  by  degrees,  into  a  strag- 
gling, stunted  vegetation,  till,  at  the  height  of  some- 
what more  than  thirteen  thousand  feet,  it  faded  awav 
altogether.  The  Indians  who  had  held  on  thus  far, 
intimidated  by  the  strange  subterraneous  sounds  of 
the  volcano,  even  then  in  a  state  of  combustion,  now 
left  them.  The  track  opened  on  a  black  surface  of 
glazed  volcanic  sand  and  of  lava,  the  broken  frag- 
ments of  which,  arrested  in  its  boiling  progress  in  a 
thousand  fantastic  forms,  opposed  continual  impedi- 
ments to  their  advance.  Amidst  these,  one  huge  rock, 
the  Pico  del  Fraile,  a  conspicuous  object  from  below, 
rose  to  the  perpendicular  height  of  a  hundred  and 
fifty  feet,  compelling  them  to  take  a  wide  circuit. 
They  soon  came  to  the  limits  of  perpetual  snow, 
where  new  difficulties  presented  themselves,  as  the 
treacherous  ice  gave  an  imperfect  footing,  and  a  false 
step  might  precipitate  them  into  the  frozen  chasms 
that  yawned  around.  To  increase  their  distress, 
respiration  in  these  aerial  regions  became  so  difficult, 
that  every  effort  was  attended  with  sharp  pains  in 
the  head  and  limbs.  Still  they  pressed  on,  till, 
drawing  nearer  the  crater,  such  volumes  of  smoke, 
sparks,  and  cinders  were  belched  forth  from  its 
burning  entrails,  and  driven  down  the  sides  of  the 
mountain,  as  nearly  suffocated  and  blinded  them.  It 
was  too  much  even  for  their  hardy  frames  to  endure, 
and,  however  reluctantly,  they  were  compelled  to 
abandon  the  attempt  on  the  eve  of  its  completion 


4^  MARCH   TO  MEXICO.  [Book   III. 

They  brought  back  some  huge  icicles,  —  a  curious 
sight  in  these  tropical  regions,  —  as  a  trophy  of  their 
achievement,  which,  however  imperfect,  was  suffi- 
cient to  strike  the  minds  of  the  natives  with  wonder, 
by  showing  that  with  the  Spaniards  the  most  appall- 
ing and  mysterious  perils  were  only  as  pastimes. 
The  undertaking  was  eminently  characteristic  of 
the  bold  spirit  of  the  cavalier  of  that  day,  who, 
not  content  with  the  dangers  that  lay  in  his  path, 
seemed  to  court  them  from  the  mere  Quixotic  love 
if  adventure.  A  report  of  the  affair  was  transmitted 
to  the  Emperor  Charles  the  Fifth,  and  the  family  of 
Ordaz  was  allowed  to  commemorate  the  exploit  by 
assuming  a  burning  mountain  on  their  escutcheon.^ 

The  general  was  not  satisfied  with  the  result. 
Two  years  after,  he  sent  up  another  party,  under 
Francisco  Montano,  a  cavalier  of  determined  resolu- 
tion. The  object  was  to  obtain  sulphur  to  assist  in 
making  gunpowder  for  the  army.  The  mountain 
was  quiet  at  this  time,  and  the  expedition  was  at- 
tended with  better  success.  The  Spaniards,  five  in 
number,  climbed  to  the  very  edge  of  tlie  crater,  which 
presented  an  irregular  ellipse  at  its  mouth,  more  than 
a  league  in  circumference.     Its  depth  might  be  from 


•  Rel.  Seg.  de  Cortes,  ap.  Lo-  perfectly  successful.     The  gener- 

renzana,  p.  70.  —  Oviedo,  Hist,  de  al's  letter,  written  soon  after  the 

las  Ind.,  MS.,  lib.  33,  cap.  5.  —  event,  with  no  motive  for  misstate- 

Bernal  Diaz,  Hist,  de  la  Conquis-  ment,  is  the  better  authority.  See, 

ta,  cap.  78.  also,  Herrera,  Hist.  General,  dec. 

The  latter  writer  speaks  of  the  2,  lib.   6,   cap.    18.  —  Rel.   d'un 

ascent  as  made  when  the  army  lay  gent.,  ap.   Ramusio,  tom.  HI.  p. 

at  Tlascala,  and  of  the  attempt  as  308.  —  Gomara,  Cr6nica,  cap.  62 


Ch.  VIII.J       ASCENT  OF  THE  GREAT  VOLCANO. 


49 


eight  hundred  to  a  thousand  feet.  A  lurid  flame 
burned  gloomily  at  tlie  bottom,  sending  up  a  sulphu- 
reous steam,  which,  cooling  as  it  rose,  was  precipi- 
tated on  the  sides  of  the  cavity.  The  party  cast 
lots,  and  it  fell  on  Montano  himself,  to  descend  in  a 
basket  into  this  hideous  abyss,  into  which  he  was 
lowered  by  his  companions  to  the  depth  of  four  hun 
dred  feet !  This  was  repeated  several  times,  till  the 
adventurous  cavalier  had  collected  a  sufficient  quan- 
tity of  sulphur  for  the  wants  of  the  army.  This 
doughty  enterprise  excited  general  admiration  at  the 
time.  Cortes  concludes  his  report  of  it,  to  the  empe- 
ror, with  the  judicious  reflection,  that  it  would  be 
less  inconvenient,  on  the  whole,  to  import  their  pow- 
der from  Spain. ^ 

But  it  is  time  to  return  from  our  digression,  which 
may,  perhaps,  be  excused,  as  illustrating,  in  a  remark- 
able manner,  the   chimerical  spirit  of  enterprise,  — 


9  Rel.  Ter.  y  Quarta  de  Cor- 
tes, ap.  Lorenzana,  pp.  318,  380. 
—  Herrera,  Hist.  General,  dec.  3, 
lib.  3,  cap.  1. — Oviedo,  Hist,  de 
las  Lid.,  MS.,  lib.  33,  cap.  41. 

M.  de  Humboldt  doubts  the  fact 
of  Montano's  descent  into  the  cra- 
ter, thinking  it  more  probable  that 
he  obtained  the  sulphur  through 
some  lateral  crevice  in  the  moun- 
tain. (Essai  Politique,  torn.  I.  p. 
164.)  No  attempt  —  at  least,  no 
successful  one  —  has  been  made 
to  gain  the  summit  of  Popocate- 
petl, since  this  of  Montano,  till  the 
present  century.  In  1827  it  was 
VOL.    II.  7 


reached  in  two  expeditions,  and 
again  in  1833  and  1834.  A  ver>' 
full  account  of  the  last,  containing 
many  interesting  details  and  sci- 
entific observations,  was  written 
by  Federico  de  Gerolt,  one  of  the 
party,  and  published  in  the  period- 
ical already  referred  to.  (Revista 
Mexicana,  tom.  I.  pp.  461-482.) 
The  party  from  the  topmost  peak, 
which  commanded  a  full  view  of 
the  less  elevated  Iztaccihuatl,  saw 
no  vestige  of  a  crater  in  that  moun- 
tain, contrary  to  the  opinion  usual- 
ly received. 


50  MARCH  TO  MEXICO.  [Book  111. 

not  inferior  to  that  in  his  own  romances  of  chival- 
ry,—  which  glowed  in  the  breast  of  the  Spanish 
cavalier  in  the  sixteenth  century. 

The  army  held  on  its  march  through  the  intricate 
gorges  of  the  sierra.  The  route  was  nearly  the 
same  as  that  pursued  at  the  present  day  by  the 
courier  from  the  capital  to  Puebla,  by  the  way  of 
Mecameca.^^  It  was  not  that  usually  taken  by  trav- 
ellers from  Vera  Cruz,  who  follow  the  more  circuit- 
ous road  round  the  northern  base  of  Iztaccihuatl,  as 
less  fatiguing  than  the  other,  though  inferior  in  pic- 
turesque scenery  and  romantic  points  of  view.  The 
icy  winds,  that  now  swept  down  the  sides  of  the 
mountains,  brought  with  them  a  tempest  of  arrowy 
sleet  and  snow,  from  which  the  Christians  suffered 
even  more  than  the  Tlascalans,  reared  from  infancy 
among  the  wild  solitudes  of  their  own  native  hills. 
As  night  came  on,  their  sufferings  would  have  been 
intolerable,  but  they  luckily  found  a  shelter  in  the 
commodious  stone  buildings  which  the  Mexican  gov- 
ernment had  placed  at  stated  intervals  along  the 
roads  for  the  accommodation  of  the  traveller  and 
their  own  couriers.  It  little  dreamed  it  was  provid- 
ing a  protection  for  its  enemies. 

The  troops,  refreshed  by  a  night's  rest,  succeeded, 
early  on  the  following  day,  in  gaining  the  crest  of 
the  sierra  of  Ahualco,  which  stretches  like  a  curtain 
between  the  two  great  mountains  on  the  north  and 
south.     Their  progress  was  now  comparatively  easy, 

10  Humboldt,  Essai  Politique,  torn  IV.  p.  17 


Ch.  VIII]  valley  of  MEXICO.  51 

and   they  marched  forward  with  a  buoyant  step,  as 
they  felt  they  were  treading  the  soil  of  Montezuma. 
They   had    not   advanced  far,  when,   turning  an 
angle  of  the  sierra,  they  suddenly  came  on  a  view 
which  more  than  compensated  the  toils  of  the  pre- 
ceding day.     It  was  that  of  the  Valley  of  Mexico, 
or  Tenochtitlan,  as   more   commonly  called  by  the 
natives ;  which,  with  its  picturesque  assemblage  of 
water,  woodland,  and  cultivated  plains,   its  shining 
cities  and  shadowy  hills,  was  spread  out  like  some 
gay  and  gorgeous  panorama  before  them.     In  the 
highly  rarefied  atmosphere  of  these  upper  regions, 
even  remote  objects  have  a  brilliancy  of  coloring  and 
a  distinctness  of  outline  which  seem  to  annihilate 
distance. ^^     Stretching  far  away  at  their  feet,  were 
seen  noble  forests  of  oak,  sycamore,  and  cedar,  and 
bej^ond,  yellow  fields  of  maize  and  the  towering  ma- 
guey, intermingled  with  orchards  and  blooming  gar- 
dens ;  for  flowers,  in  such  demand  for  their  religious 
festivals,  were  even  more  abundant  in  this  populous 
valley  than  in  other  parts  of  Anahuac.     In  the  cen- 
tre of  the  great  basin  were  beheld  the  lakes,  occupy- 
ing then  a  much  larger  portion  of  its  surface  than  at 
present ;  their   borders  thickly  studded  with  towns 
and  hamlets,  and,  ijr  the  midst,  —  like  some   Indian 
empress  with  her  coronal  of  pearls,  —  the  fair  city  of 
Mexico,  with  her  white  towers  and  pyramidal  tem- 
ples, reposing,  as  it  were,  on  the  bosom  of  the  waters, 

"  The    lake    of   Tezcuco,   on     above  the  sea.     Humboldt,  Essai 
which  stood  the  capital  of  Mexico,     Politique,  torn.  IL  p.  45. 
is  2277  metres,  nearly  7500  feet, 


52  MARCH  TO  MEXICO.  [Book  III. 

—  the  far-famed  "  Venice  of  the  Aztecs."  High 
over  all  rose  the  royal  hill  of  Chapoltepec,  the  resi- 
dence of  the  Mexican  monarchs,  crowned  with  the 
same  grove  of  gigantic  cypresses,  which  at  this  day 
fling  their  broad  shadows  over  the  land.  In  the  dis- 
tance beyond  the  blue  waters  of  the  lake,  and  nearly 
screened  by  intervening  foliage,  was  seen  a  shining 
speck,  the  rival  capital  of  Tezcuco,  and,  still  further 
on,  the  dark  belt  of  porphyry,  girdling  the  Valley 
around,  like  a  rich  setting  which  Nature  had  devised 
for  the  fairest  of  her  jewels. 

Such  was  the  beautiful  vision  which  broke  on  the 
eyes  of  the  Conquerors.  And  even  now,  when  so 
sad  a  change  has  come  over  the  scene  ;  when  the 
stately  forests  have  been  laid  low,  and  the  soil,  un- 
sheltered from  the  fierce  radiance  of  a  tropical  sun, 
is  in  many  places  abandoned  to  sterility ;  when  the 
waters  have  retired,  leaving  a  broad  and  ghastly 
margin  white  with  the  incrustation  of  salts,  while 
the  cities  and  hamlets  on  their  borders  have  mould- 
ered into  ruins  ;  —  even  now  that  desolation  broods 
over  the  landscape,  so  indestructible  are  the  lines  of 
beauty  which  Nature  has  traced  on  its  features,  that 
no  traveller,  however  cold,  can  gaze  on  them  with 
any  other  emotions  than  those  of  astonishment  and 
rapture.  ^^ 

What,  then,  must  have  been  the  emotions  of  the 


12  It  is  unnecessary  to  refer  to  in   the    impressions   produced   on 

the  pages  of  modern  travellers,  them  by  the  sight  of  this  beautiful 

who,  however  they  may  differ  in  valley, 
taste,  talent,  or  feeling,  all  concur 


Ch.  VIII.]        IMPRESSION  ON  THE  SPANIARDS. 


53 


Spaniards,  when,  after  working  their  toilsome  way 
into  the  upper  air,  the  cloudy  tabernacle  parted  be- 
fore their  eyes,  and  they  beheld  these  fair  scenes  in 
all  their  pristine  magnificence  and  beauty !  It  was 
like  the  spectacle  which  greeted  the  eyes  of  Moses 
from  the  summit  of  Pisgah,  and,  in  the  warm  glow 
of  their  feelings,  they  cried  out,  "  It  is  the  promised 
land!"^^ 

But  these  feelings  of  admiration  were  soon  follow- 
ed by  others  of  a  very  different  complexion  ;  as  they 
saw  in  all  this  the  evidences  of  a  civilization  and 
power  far  superior  to  any  thing  they  had  yet  encoun- 
tered. The  more  timid,  disheartened  by  the  pros- 
pect, shrunk  from  a  contest  so  unequal,  and  demand- 
ed, as  they  had  done  oii  some  former  occasions,  to 
be  led  back  again  to  Vera  Cruz.  Such  was;  not  the 
effect  produced  on  the  sanguine  spirit  of  the  gener- 
al. His  avarice  was  sharpened  by  the  display  of 
the  dazzling  spoil  at  his  feet ;  and,  if  he  felt  a  natu- 
ral anxiety  at  the  formidable  odds,  his  confidence 
was  renewed,  as  he  gazed  on  the  lines  of  his  vete- 
rans, whose  weather-beaten  visages  and  battered 
armor  told  of  battles  won  and  difficulties  surmounted, 
while  his  bold  barbarians,  with  appetites  whetted  by 
the  view  of  their  enemies'  country,  seemed  like 
eagles  on  the  mountains,  ready  to  pounce  upon  their 


13  Torqueraada,  Monarch.  Ind.,  played  to  his  hun^y  barbarians, 

lib.  4,  cap.  41.  after  a  similar  march  through  the 

It  may  call  to  the  reader's  mind  wild  passes  of  the  Alps,  as  report- 
the  memorable  view  of  the  fair  ed  by  the  prince  of  historic  paint- 
plains  of  Italy  which  Hannibal  dis-  ers.     Livy,  Hist.,  lib.  21,  cap.  35. 


54  MARCH   TO    MEXICO.  [Book  III. 

prej.  By  argument,  entreaty,  and  menace,  he  en- 
deavoured to  restore  the  faltering  courage  of  the  sol- 
diers, urging  them  not  to  think  of  retreat,  now  that 
they  had  reached  the  goal  for  which  they  had  pant- 
ed, and  the  golden  gates  were  opened  to  receive 
them.  In  these  efforts,  he  was  well  seconded  by 
the  brave  cavaliers,  who  held  honor  as  dear  to  them 
as  fortune  ;  until  the  dullest  spirits  caught  somewhat 
of  the  enthusiasm  of  their  leaders,  and  the  general 
had  the  satisfaction  to  see  his  hesitating  columns, 
with  their  usual  buoyant  step,  once  more  on  their 
march  down  the  slopes  of  the  sierra. ^"^ 

With  every  step  of  their  progress,  the  woods  be- 
came thinner;  patches  of  cultivated  land  more  fre- 
quent ;  and  hamlets  were  seen  in  the  green  and 
sheltered  nooks,  the  inhabitants  of  which,  coming  out 
to  meet  them,  gave  the  troops  a  kind  reception. 
Everywhere  they  heard  complaints  of  Montezuma, 
especially  of  the  unfeeling  manner  in  which  he  car- 
ried off  their  young  men  to  recruit  his  armies,  and 
their  maidens  for  his  harem.  These  symptoms  of 
discontent  were  noticed  with  satisfaction  by  Cortes, 
who  saw  that  Montezuma's  "  mountain-throne,"  as 
it  was  called,  was,  indeed,  seated  on  a  volcano,  with 
the  elements  of  combustion  so  active  within,  that  it 
seemed  as  if  any  hour  might  witness  an  explosion. 
He  encouraged  the  disaffected  natives  to  rely  on  his 
protection,  as  he  had  come  to  redress  their  wrongs. 

1'*  Torquemada,  Monarch.  Ind.,  mara,  Crdnica,  cap.  64.  —  Oviedo, 
ubi  supra. '-Herrera,  Hist.  Gene-  Hist,  de  las  Ind.,  MS.,  lib.  33, 
ral,  dec.  2,  lib.  7,  cap.  3.  —  Go-    cap.  5. 


Cii.  VIII.] 


CONDUCT  OF  MONTEZUMA. 


56 


He  took  advantage,  moreover,  of  their  favorable  dis- 
positions, to  scatter  among  them  such  gleams  of 
spiritual  light  as  time  and  the  preaching  of  fa  the  i 
Olmedo  could  afford. 

He  advanced  by  easy  stages,  somewhat  retarded 
by  the  crowd  of  curious  inhabitants  gathered  on  the 
highways  to  see  the  strangers,  and  halting  at  every 
spot  of  interest  or  importance.  On  the  road,  he 
was  met  by  another  embassy  from  the  capital.  It 
consisted  of  several  Aztec  lords,  freighted,  as  usual, 
with  a  rich  largess  of  gold,  and  robes  of  delicate  furs 
and  feathers.  The  message  of  the  emperor  was 
couched  in  the  same  deprecatory  terms  as  before. 
He  even  condescended  to  bribe  the  return  of  the 
Spaniards,  by  promising,  in  that  event,  four  loads  of 
gold  to  the  general,  and  one  to  each  of  the  cap- 
tains,^^  with  a  yearly  tribute  to  their  sovereign.  So 
effectually  had  the  lofty  and  naturally  courageous 
spirit  of  the  barbarian  monarch  been  subdued  by  the 
influence  of  superstition ! 

But  the  man,  whom  the  hostile  array  of  armies 
could  not  daunt,  was  not  to  be  turned  from  his  pur- 
pose by  a  woman's  prayers.  He  received  the  em- 
bassy with  his  usual  courtesy,  declaring,  as  before, 
that  he  could  not  answer  it  to  his  own  sovereign,  if 
he  were  now  to  return  without  visiting  the  emperor 
in  his  capital.  It  would  be  much  easier  to  arrange 
matters  by  a  personal  interview  than  by  distant  ne- 
gotiation.     The    Spaniards   came   in  the  spirit  of 


1^  A  load  for  a  Mexican  tamane    hundred  ounces.    Clavigero,  Stor. 
was  about  fifty  pounds,  or  eight    del  Messico,  torn.  III.  p.  69,  nota. 


56  MARCH  TO   MEXICO.  [Book  III. 

peace.  Montezuma  would  so  find  it,  but,  should 
iheir  presence  prove  burdensome  to  him,  it  would  be 
easy  for  them  to  relieve  him  of  it.^^ 

The  Aztec  monarch,  meanwhile,  was  a  prey  to 
the  most  dismal  apprehensions.  It  was  intended 
that  the  embassy  above  noticed  should  reach  the 
Spaniards  before  they  crossed  the  mountains.  When 
he  learned  that  this  was  accomplished,  and  that  the 
dread  strangers  were  on  their  march  across  the  Val- 
ley, the  very  threshold  of  his  capital,  the  last  spark 
of  hope  died  away  in  his  bosom.  Like  one  who 
suddenly  finds  himself  on  the  brink  of  some  dark 
and  yawning  gulf,  he  was  too  much  bewildered  to  he 
able  to  rally  his  thoughts,  or  even  to  comprehend  his 
situation.  He  was  the  victim  of  an  absolute  des- 
tiny; against  which  no  foresight  or  precautions  could 
have  availed.  It  was  as  if  the  strange  beings,  who 
had  thus  invaded  his  shores,  had  dropped  from  some 
distant  planet,  so  different  were  they  from  all  he 
had  ever  seen,  in  appearance  and  manners ;  so  supe- 
rior —  though  a  mere  handful,  in  numbers  —  to  the 
banded  nations  of  Anahuac  in  strength  and  science, 
and  all  the  fearful  accompaniments  of  war !  They 
were  now  in  the  Valley.  The  huge  mountain  screen, 
which  nature  had  so  kindly  drawn  around  it,  for  its 
defence,  had  been  overleaped.  The  golden  visions 
of  security  and  repose,  in  which  he  had  so  long  in- 

16   Sahagun,   Hist,    de    Nueva  mara,  Crdnica,  cap.  64.  —  Oviedo, 

Espana,  MS.,  lib.  12,  cap.  12.—  Hist,  de  las  Ind.,  MS.,  lib.  33, 

Rel.  Seg.  de  Cortes,  ap.  Lorenza-  cap.  5. — Bernal  Diaz,  Hist,  de  la 

na,  p.  73.  —  Herrera,  Hist.  Gen-  Conquista,  cap.  87. 
eral,  dec.  2,  lib.  7,  cap.  3.-^  Go- 


Oh.  VIII.]  CONDUCT  OF  MONTEZUMA.  67 

dulged,  the  lordly  sway  descended  from  his  ances 
tors,  his  broad  imperial  domain,  were  all  to  pass 
away.     It  seemed  like  some  terrible  dream,  —  from 
which  he  was  now,  alas  !  to  awake  to  a  still  more 
terrible  reality. 

In  a  paroxysm  of  despair,  he  shut  himself  up  in 
his  palace,  refused  food,  and  sought  relief  in  prayer 
and  in  sacrifice.  But  the  oracles  were  dumb.  He 
then  adopted  the  more  sensible  expedient  of  calling 
a  council  of  his  principal  and  oldest  nobles.  Here 
was  the  same  division  of  opinion  which  had  before 
prevailed.  Cacama,  the  young  king  of  Tezcuco, 
his  nephew,  counselled  him  to  receive  the  Spaniards 
courteously,  as  ambassadors,  so  styled  by  themselves, 
of  a  foreign  prince.  Cuitlahua,  Montezuma's  more 
warlike  brother,  urged  him  to  muster  his  forces  on 
the  instant,  and  drive  back  the  invaders  from  his 
capital,  or  die  in  its  defence.  But  the  monarch 
found  it  difficult  to  rally  his  spirits  for  this  final 
struggle.  With  downcast  eye  and  dejected  mien, 
he  exclaimed,  "  Of  what  avail  is  resistance,  when 
the  gods  have  declared  themselves  against  us !  ^^ 
Yet  I  mourn  most  for  the  old  and  infirm,  the  women 
and  children,  too  feeble  to  fight  or  to  fly.  For  my- 
self and  the  brave  men  around  me,  we  must  bare 
our  breasts  to  the  storm,  and  meet  it  as  we  may! " 
Such  are  the  sorrowful  and  sympathetic  tones  in 
which  the  Aztec  emperor  is  said  to  have  uttered  the 
bitterness  of  his  grief.      He  would   have  acted  a 


1'  This  was  not  the  sentiment  of  the  Roman  hero. 
VOL.    II. 


"  Victrix  causa  Diis  placuit.  sed  victa  Catoni !  " 

LucAN,  lib.  I,  T.  128. 


58  MARCH  TO  MEXICO.  [Book   III. 

more  glorious  part,  had  he  put  his  capital  in  a  pos- 
ture of  defence,  and  prepared,  like  the  last  of  the 
Paloeologi,  to  bury  himself  under  its  ruins.^^ 

He  straightway  prepared  to  send  a  last  embassy 
to  the  Spaniards,  with  his  nephew,  the  lord  of  Tez- 
cuco,  at  its  head,  to  welcome  them  to  Mexico. 

The  Christian  army,  meanwhile,  had  advanced  as 
far  as  Amaquemecan,  a  well  built  town  of  several 
thousand  inhabitants.  They  were  kindly  received 
by  the  cacique,  lodged  in  large,  commodious,  stone 
buildings,  and  at  their  departure  presented,  among 
other  things,  with  gold  to  the  amount  of  three  thou- 
sand castellanos,^^  Having  halted  there  a  couple  of 
days,  they  descended  among  flourishing  plantations 
of  maize,  and  of  maguey,  the  latter  of  which  might 
be  called  the  Aztec  vineyards,  towards  the  lake 
of  Chalco.  Their  first  resting-place  was  Ajotzin- 
co,  a  town  of  considerable  size,  with  a  great  part 
of  it  then  standing  on  piles  in  the  water.  It  was 
the  first  specimen  which  the  Spaniards  had  seen 
of  this  maritime  architecture.  The  canals  which 
intersected  the  city,  instead  of  streets,  presented  an 
animated  scene,  from  the  number  of  barks  which 
glided  up  and  down  freighted  with  provisions  and 
other  articles  for  the  inhabitants.  The  Spaniards 
were  particularly  struck  with  the  style  and  commo- 
ns Sahagun,  Hist,  de  Nueva  esclavas,  y  tres  mil  castellanos ; 
Espafia,  MS.,  lib.  12,  cap.  13.  —  y  dos  dias  que  alii  estuve  nos  pro- 
Torquemada,  Monarch.  Ind.,  lib.  vey6  muy  cumplidainente  de  todo 
4,  cap.  44. — Gomara,  Crdnica,  lo  necesario  para  ni;estraeomida." 
cap.  63.  Rel.  Scg.  de  Cortes,  ap.  Lorenza- 

19  "El  sefior  de  esta  provincia    na,  p.  74. 
V  n^ipMo  TTie  di(5  h^sti   quaronln 


Ch.  Vlll.]    THEY   DESCEND  INTO  THE  VALLEY. 


69 


dious  structure  of  the  houses,  built  chiefly  of  stone, 
and  with  the  general  aspect  of  wealth  and  even  ele- 
gance which  prevailed  there. 

Though  received  with  the  greatest  show  of  hos- 
pitality, Cortes  found  some  occasion  for  distrust  in 
the  eagerness  manifested  by  the  people  to  see  and 
approach  the  Spaniards.^  Not  content  with  gazing 
at  them  in  the  roads,  some  even  made  their  way 
stealthily  into  their  quarters,  and  fifteen  or  twenty 
unhappy  Indians  were  shot  down  by  the  sentinels 
as  spies.  Yet  there  appears,  as  well  as  we  can 
judge,  at  this  distance  of  time,  to  have  been  no 
real  ground  for  such  suspicion.  The  undisguised 
jealousy  of  the  Court,  and  the  cautions  he  had  re- 
ceived from  his  allies,  while  they  very  properly  put 
the  general  on  his  guard,  seem  to  have  given  an  un- 
natural acuteness,  at  least  in  the  present  instance,  to 
his  perceptions  of  danger.^^ 

Early  on  the  following  morning,  as  the  army  was 
preparing  to  leave  the  place,  a  courier  came,  request- 
ing the  general  to  postpone  his  departure  till  after 
the  arrival  of  the  king  of  Tezcuco,  who  was  advanc- 


20  "  De  todas  partes  era  infinita 
la  gente  que  de  un  cabo  e  de  otro 
concurrian  a  mirar  a  los  Espanoles, 
6  maravillabanse  mucho  de  los  ver. 
Tenian  grande  espacio  e  atencion 
en  mirar  los  caballos ;  decian,  '  Es- 
tos  son  Teules,'  que  quiere  decir 
Demonios."  Oviedo,  Hist,  de  las 
Ind.,  MS.,  lib.  33,  cap.  45. 

21  Cortes  tells  the  affair  coolly 
enough  to  the  emperor.  "  E 
aquella   noche    tuve    tal    guarda, 


que  assi  de  espias,  que  venian  por 
el  agua  en  canoas,  como  de  otras, 
que  por  la  sierra  abajaban,  k  ver 
si  habia  aparejo  para  executar  su 
voluntad,  amaneci^ron  easi  quince. 
6  veinte,  que  las  nuestras  las  ha- 
bian  tomado,  y  muerto.  Por  raa- 
nera  que  pocas  bolvieron  a  dar  su 
respuesta  de  el  aviso  que  venian  k 
tomar."  Rel.  Seg.  de  Cort^,  ap. 
Lorenzana,  p.  74. 


bO  MARCH  TO  MEXICO.  [Book  III. 

ing  to  meet  him.  Tt  was  not  long  before  he  ap- 
peared, borne  in  a  palanquin  or  litter,  richly  dec- 
orated with  plates  of  gold  and  precious  stones,  having 
pillars  curiously  wrought,  supporting  a  canopy  of 
green  plumes,  a  favorite  color  with  the  Aztec  princes* 
He  was  accompanied  by  a  numerous  suite  of  nobles 
and  inferior  attendants.  As  he  came  into  the  pres- 
ence of  Cortes,  the  lord  of  Tezcuco  descended  from 
his  palanquin,  and  the  obsequious  officers  swept  the 
ground  before  him  as  he  advanced.  He  appeared  to 
be  a  young  man  of  about  twenty-five  years  of  age, 
with  a  comely  presence,  erect  and  stately  in  his  de- 
portment. He  made  the  Mexican  salutation  usually 
addressed  to  persons  of  high  rank,  touching  the  earth 
with  his  right  hand,  and  raising  it  to  his  head.  Cortes 
embraced  him  as  he  rose,  when  the  young  prince 
informed  mm  that  he  came  as  the  representative  of 
Montezuma,  to  bid  the  Spaniards  welcome  to  his 
capital.  He  then  presented  the  general  with  three 
pearls  of  uncommon  size  and  lustre.  Cortes,  in  re- 
turn, threw  over  Cacama's  neck  a  chain  of  cut  glass, 
which,  where  glass  was  as  rare  as  diamonds,  might 
be  admitted  to  have  a  value  as  real  as  the  latter. 
After  this  interchange  of  courtesies,  and  the  most 
friendly  and  respectful  assurances  on  the  part  of 
Cortes,  the  Indian  prince  withdrew,  leaving  the 
Spaniards  strongly  impressed  with  the  superiority  of 
his  state  and  bearing  over  any  thinoj  they  had  hith- 
erto seen  in  the  country.^ 

22  Rel.  Seg.  de  Cortes,  ap.  Lo-    ca,  cap.  64. — Ixtlilxochitl,  Hbt. 
renzana,  p.  75. — Gomara,  Croni-     Chich.,  MS.,  cap.  85. — Oviedo, 


ch.  vui.]  they  descend  into  the  valley.  61 

Resuming  its  march,  the  armj  kept  along  the 
southern  borders  of  the  lake  of  Chalco,  overshad- 
owed, at  that  time,  by  noble  woods,  and  by  orchards 
glowing  with  autumnal  fruits,  of  unknown  names, 
but  rich  and  tempting  hues.  More  frequently  it 
passed  through  cultivated  fields  waving  with  the 
yellow  harvest,  and  irrigated  by  canals  introduced 
from  the  neighbouring  lake ;  the  whole  showing  a 
careful  and  economical  husbandry,  essential  to  the 
maintenance  of  a  crowded  population. 

Leaving  the  main  land,  the  Spaniards  came  on 
the  great  dike  or  causeway,  which  stretches  some 
four  or  five  miles  in  length,  and  divides  lake  Chalco 
from  Xochicalco  on  the  west.  It  was  a  lance  in 
breadth  in  the  narrowest  part,  and  in  some  places 
wide  enough  for  eight  horsemen  to  ride  abreast.  It 
was  a  solid  structure  of  stone  and  lime,  running 
directly  through  the  lake,  and  struck  the  Spaniards 
as  one  of  the  most  remarkable  works  which  they 
had  seen  in  the  country. 

As  they  passed  along,  they  beheld  the  gay  specta- 
cle of  multitudes  of  Indians  darting  up  and  down  in 
their  light  pirogues,  eager  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  the 
strangers,  or  bearing  the  products  of  the  country  to 
the  neighbouring  cities.  They  were  amazed,  also, 
by  the  sight  of  the  chinampas,  or  floating  gardens, 

Hist,  de  las  Ind.,  MS.,  lib.  33,  gran  cosa :  y  platicamos  entre  nod- 

cap.  5.  otros,  que  quando  aquel  Cacique 

"  Llego   con    el  mayor  fausto,  traia  tanto   triunfo,  que   haria  eJ 

y  grandeza  que  ningun  sefior  de  gran  Monte§uina1  "    Bernal  Diaz, 

Ids  Mexicanos  auiamos  visto  traer.  Hist,  de  la  Conquista,  cap.  87 
.....  y  lo  tuuimos  por  muy 


62  MARCH  TO  MEXICO.  [Book  III. 

—  those  wandering  islands  of  verdure,  to  which  we 
shall  have  occasion  to  return  hereafter,  —  teeming 
with  flowers  and  vegetables,  and  moving  like  rafts 
over  tlie  waters.  All  round  the  margin,  and  occa- 
sionally far  in  the  lake,  they  beheld  little  towns  and 
villages,  which,  half  concealed  by  the  foliage,  and 
gathered  in  white  clusters  round  the  shore,  looked 
in  the  distance  like  companies  of  wild  swans  rid- 
ing quietly  on  the  waves.  A  scene  so  new  and 
wonderful  filled  their  rude  hearts  with  amazement. 
It  seemed  like  enchantment;  and  they  could  find 
nothing  to  compare  it  with,  but  the  magical  pictures 
in  the  "Amadis  de  Gaula."^^  Few  pictures,  indeed, 
in  that  or  any  other  legend  of  chivalry,  could  surpass 
the  realities  of  their  own  experience.  The  life  of 
the  adventurer  in  the  New  World  was  romance  put 
into  action.  What  wonder,  then,  if  the  Spaniard 
of  that  day,  feeding  his  imagination  with  dreams  of 
enchantment  at  home,  and  with  its  realities  abroad, 
should  have  displayed  a  Quixotic  enthusiasm,  —  a 
romantic  exaltation  of  character,  not  to  be  compre- 
hended by  the  colder  spirits  of  other  lands ! 

Midway  across  the  lake  the  army  halted  at  the 
town  of  Cuitlahuac,  a  place  of  moderate  size,  but 
distinguished  by  the  beauty  of  the  buildings,  —  the 

23  *'Nos  quedamos  admirados,"  dress    had   appeared    before    this 

exclaims  Diaz,  with   simple  won-  time,  as  the  prologue  to  the  second 

der,  '*  y  deziamos  que  parecia  k  las  edition  of  1521  speaks  of  a  former 

casas  de  encantamento,  que  cuen-  one  in  the  reign  of  the  "Catholic 

tan  en  el  librode  Amadis!  "  (Ibid.,  Sovereigns."  See  Cervantes,  Don 

loc.  cit.)     An  edition  of  this  celc-  Quixote,    ed.    Pellicer,    (Madrid 

bratcd    romance    in    its  Castilian  1797,)  tom.  I.,  Discurso  Prelim 


ch.  viii]  they  descend  into  the  valley.  63 

most  beautiful,  according  to  Cortes,  that  he  had  yet 
seen  in  the  country.^'*  After  taking  some  refresh- 
ment at  this  place,  they  continued  their  march  along 
the  dike.  Though  broader  in  this  northern  section, 
the  troops  found  themselves  much  embarrassed  by 
the  throng  of  Indians,  w^ho,  not  content  with  gazing 
on  them  from  the  boats,  climbed  up  the  causeway, 
and  lined  the  sides  of  the  road.  The  general,  afraid 
that  his  ranks  might  be  disordered,  and  that  too 
great  familiarity  might  diminish  a  salutary  awe  in 
the  natives,  was  obliged  to  resort  not  merely  to  com- 
mand, but  menace,  to  clear  a  passage.  He  now 
found,  as  he  advanced,  a  considerable  change  in  the 
feelings  shown  towards  the  government.  He  heard 
only  of  the  pomp  and  magnificence,  nothing  of  the 
oppressions,  of  Montezuma.  Contrary  to  the  usual 
fact,  it  seemed  that  the  respect  for  the  court  was 
greatest  in  its  immediate  neighbourhood. 

From  the  causeway,  the  army  descended  on  that 
narrow  point  of  land  which  divides  the  waters  of  the 
Chalco  from  the  Tezcucan  lake,  but  which  in  those 
days  was  overflowed  for  many  a  mile  now  laid 
bare.^     Traversing  this  peninsula,  they  entered  the 

3*  "  Una  ciudad,la  mas  hermosa,  or  little  Venice.    Toribio,  Hist,  de 

aunque  pequefia,  que  hasta  enton-  los  Indies,  MS.,  Parte  2,  cap.  4. 
ces  habiamos  visto,  assi  de  muy        25  ]yi^  (jg  Humboldt  has  dotted 

bien  obradas  Casas,  y  Torres,  como  the  conjectural  limits  of  the  ancient 

de  la  buena  orden,  que  en  el  fun-  lake  in  his  admirable  chart  of  the 

damento  de  ella  habia  por  ser  ar-  Mexican  Valley.     (Atlas  Geogra- 

mada  toda  sobre  Agua."     (Rel.  phique  et  Physique  de  la  Nouvelle 

Seg.  de  Cortes,  ap.  Lorenzana,  p.  Espagne,  (Paris,  1811,)  carte  3.) 

76.)     The    Spaniards    gave    this  Notwithstanding  his  great  care,  it 

aquatic  city  the  name  of  Venezuela,  is  not  easy  always  to  reconcile  his 


64  MARCH  TO  MEXICO.  [Book  III 

royal  residence  of  Iztapalapan,  a  place  containing 
twelve  or  fifteen  thousand  houses,  according  to  Cor- 
tes.^^  It  was  governed  by  Cuitlahua,  the  emperor's 
brother,  who,  to  do  greater  honor  to  the  general,  had 
invited  the  lords  of  some  neighbouring  cities,  of  the 
royal  house  of  Mexico,  like  himself,  to  be  present  at 
the  interview.  This  was  conducted  with  much  cer- 
emony, and,  after  the  usual  present  of  gold  and 
delicate  stuffs,^'^  a  collation  was  served  to  the  Span- 
iards in  one  of  the  great  halls  of  the  palace.  The 
excellence  of  the  architecture  here,  also,  excited  the 
admiration  of  the  general,  who  does  not  hesitate,  in 
the  glow  of  his  enthusiasm,  to  pronounce  some  of 
the  buildings  equal  to  the  best  in  Spain. ^^  They 
were  of  stone,  and  the  spacious  apartments  had 
roofs  of  odorous  cedar-wood,  while  the  walls  were 


topography  with  the  itineraries  of  authors   into    some    geographical 

the  Conquerors,  so  much  has  the  perplexities,  not  to  say  blunders 

face  of  the  country  been  changed  —  is  altogether  too  remarkable  to 

by   natural   and    artificial   causes,  have  been  passed  over  in  silence, 

It  is  still  less  possible  to  reconcile  in  the  minute  relation  of  Bernal 

their  narratives  with  the  maps  of  Diaz,  and  that  of  Cortes,  neither 

Clavigero,  Lopez,  Robertson,  and  of  whom  alludes  to  it. 
others,  defying  equally  topography        27  "  E  me  dieron,"says  Cortes 

and  history.  "  hasta  tres,  6  quatro  mil  Caste - 

26  Several  writers  notice  a  visit  llanos,  yalgunas  Esclavas,  y  Ropa, 

of  the  Spaniards  to  Tezcuco  on  6  me  hicieron  muy  buen  acogimi- 

the  way  to  the  capital.    (Torque-  ento."    Rel.  Seg.,  ap.  Lorenzaim, 

mada,  Monarch.  Ind.,  lib.  4,  cap.  p.  76. 

42.- — Soils,  Conquista,  lib.  3,  cap.        28  «'  Tiene  el  Seilor  de  ella  unas 

9.  —  Herrera,  Hist.  General,  dec.  Casas  nuevas,  que  aun  no  estan 

2,  lib.  7,  cap.  4.  —  Clavigero,  Stor.  acabadas,  que  son  tan  buenas  como 

del  Messico,  torn.  III.  p.  74.)  This  las  mejores  de  Espaiia,  digo  de 

improbable    episode  —  which,    it  grandes  y  bien  labradas."     Ibid., 

may  be  remarked,  has  led  these  p.  77. 


Cu.  VIII]    THEY    DESCEND  INTO  THE   VALLEY.  G5 

tapestried  with  fine  cottons  stained  with  brilliant 
colors. 

But  the  pride  of  Iztapalapan,  on  which  its  lord 
had  freely  lavished  his  care  and  his  revenues,  was 
its  celebrated  gardens.  They  covered  an  immense 
tract  of  land  ;  were  laid  out  in  regular  squares,  and 
the  paths  intersecting  them  were  bordered  with 
trellises,  supporting  creepers  and  aromatic  shrubs 
that  loaded  the  air  with  their  perfumes.  The  gar- 
dens were  stocked  with  fruit-trees,  imported  from 
distant  places,  and  with  the  gaudy  family  of  flowers 
which  belong  to  the  Mexican  Flora,  scientifically 
arranged,  and  growing  luxuriant  in  the  equable  tem- 
perature of  the  table-land.  The  natural  dryness 
of  the  atmosphere  was  counteracted  by  means  of 
aqueducts  and  canals  that  carried  water  into  all  parts 
of  the  grounds. 

In  one  quarter  was  an  aviary,  filled  with  numer- 
ous kinds  of  birds,  remarkable  in  this  region  both 
for  brilliancy  of  plumage  and  of  song.  The  gardens 
were  intersected  by  a  canal  communicating  with  the 
lake  of  Tezcuco,  and  of  sufficient  size  for  barges  to 
enter  from  the  latter.  But  the  most  elaborate  piece 
of  work  was  a  huge  reservoir  of  stone,  filled  to  a 
considerable  height  with  water  well  supplied  with 
different  sorts  of  fish.  This  basin  was  sixteen  hun- 
dred paces  in  circumference,  and  was  surrounded  by 
a  walk,  made  also  of  stone,  wide  enough  for  four 
persons  to  go  abreast.  The  sides  were  curiously 
sculptured,  and  a  flight  of  steps  led  to  the  water  be- 

VOL.    II.  9 


Q6  MARCH  TO  MEXICO.  [Book  III. 

low,  which  fed  the  aqueducts  above  noticed,  or,  col- 
lected into  fountains,  diffused  a  perpetual  moisture. 

Such  are  the  accounts  transmitted  of  these  cele- 
brated gardens,  at  a  period  when  similar  horticultural 
establishments  were  unknown  in  Europe  ,r^^  and  we 
might  well  doubt  their  existence  in  this  semi-civilized 
land,  were  it  not  a  matter  of  such  notoriety  at  the 
time,  and  so  explicitly  attested  by  the  invaders.  But 
a  generation  had  scarcely  passed  after  the  Conquest, 
before  a  sad  change  came  over  these  scenes  so  beau- 
tiful. The  town  itself  was  deserted,  and  the  shore 
of  the  lake  was  strewed  with  the  wreck  of  buildings 
which  once  were  its  ornament  and  its  glory.  The 
gardens  shared  the  fate  of  the  city.  The  retreating 
waters  withdrew  the  means  of  nourishment,  convert- 
ing the  flourishing  plains  into  a  foul  and  unsightly 
morass,  the  haunt  of  loathsome  reptiles ;  and  the 
water-fowl  built  her  nest  in  what  had  once  been  the 
palaces  of  princes  !  ^^ 

In  the  city  of  Iztapalapan,  Cortes  took  up  his 
quarters  for  the  night.  We  may  imagine  what  a 
crowd  of  ideas  must  have  pressed  on  the  mind  of  the 
Conqueror,  as,  surrounded  by  these  evidences  of  civ- 
ilization, he  prepared  with  his  handful  of  followers 
to  enter  the  capital  of  a  monarch,  who,  as  he  had 

29  The  earliest  instance  of  a  Gar-  2,  lib.  7,  cap.  44.  —  Sahagun, 
den  oi  Plants  in  Europe  is  said  Hist,  de  Nueva  Espana,  MS.,  lib. 
to  have  been  at  Padua,  in  1545.  12,  cap.  13. — Oviedo,  Hist,  de  las 
Carli,  Lettres  Am^ricaines,  torn.  Ind.,  MS.,  lib.  33,  cap.  6.  —  Ber- 
I.  let.  21.  nal  Diaz,  Hist,  de  la  Conquista 

30  Rcl.  Seg.  de  Cortes,  ubi  su-  cap.  87. 
pra.  — Herrera,  Hist.  General,  dec. 


Cii.  VIII.]     THEY   DESCEND   INTO  THE  VALLEY. 


67 


abundant  reason  to  know,  regarded  him  with  distrust 
and  aversion.  This  capital  was  now  but  a  few  miles 
distant,  distinctly  visible  from  Iztapalapan.  And  as 
its  long  lines  of  glittering  edifices,  struck  by  the  rays 
of  the  evening  sun,  trembled  on  the  dark-blue  waters 
of  the  lake,  it  looked  like  a  thing  of  fairy  creation, 
rather  than  the  work  of  mortal  hands.  Into  this  city 
of  enchantment  Cortes  prepared  to  make  his  entry 
on  the  following  morning.^^ 


31  "There  Aztlan  stood  upon  the  farther 

shore ; 
Amid  the  shade  of  trees  its  dwellings 

rose, 
Their  level  roofs  with  turrets  set  around, 
And  battlements  all  burnished  white, 

which  shone 
like  silver  in  the  sunshine.    I  beheld 


The  imperial  city,  her  far-circling  walls, 
Her  garden  groves  and  stately  palaces, 
Her  temples  mountain  size,  her  thou- 
sand roofs ; 
And  when  I  saw  her  might  and  majesty, 
My  mind  misgave  me  then." 

Southey's  Madoc,  Part  1,  cattt»  6. 


CHAPTER   IX. 

Environs  or  Mexico. — Interview  with  Montezuma.  —  Entranck 
INTO  THE  Capital.  —  Hospitable  Reception.  —  Visit  to  the 
Emperor. 

1519. 

With  the  first  faint  streak  of  dawn,  the  Spanish 
general  was  up,  mustering  his  followers.  They 
gathered,  with  beating  hearts,  under  their  respective 
banners,  as  the  trumpet  sent  forth  its  spirit-stirring 
sounds  across  water  and  woodland,  till  they  died 
away  in  distant  echoes  among  the  mountains.  The 
sacred  flames  on  the  altars  of  numberless  teocallis^ 
dimly  seen  through  the  grey  mists  of  morning,  indi- 
cated the  site  of  the  capital,  till  temple,  tower,  and 
palace  were  fully  revealed  in  the  glorious  illumination 
which  the  sun,  as  he  rose  above  the  eastern  barrier, 
poured  over  the  beautiful  Valley.  It  was  the  eighth 
of  November,  1519 ;  a  conspicuous  day  in  history,  as 
that  on  which  the  Europeans  first  set  foot  in  the  cap- 
ital of  the  Western  World. 

Cortes  with  his  little  body  of  horse  formed  a  sort 
of  advanced  guard  to  the  army.  Then  came  the 
Spanish  infantry,  who  in  a  summer's  campaign  had 
acquired  the  discipline,  and  the  weather-beaten  as- 
pect, of  veterans.     The  baggage  occupied  the  cen- 


Ch.  IX.]  ENVIRONS   OF   MEXICO.  69 

tre;  and  the  rear  was  closed  by  the  dark  files  of 
Tlascalan  warriors.  The  whole  number  must  have 
fallen  short  of  seven  thousand ;  of  which  less  than 
four  hundred  were  Spaniards.^ 

For  a  short  distance,  the  army  kept  along  the  nar- 
row tongue  of  land  that  divides  the  Tezcucan  from 
the  Chalcan  waters,  when  it  entered  on  the  great 
dike,  which,  with  the  exception  of  an  angle  near 
the  commencement,  stretches  in  a  perfectly  straight 
line  across  the  salt  floods  of  Tezcuco  to  the  gates  of 
the  capital.  It  was  the  same  causeway,  or  rather 
the  basis  of  that,  which  still  forms  the  great  southern 
avenue  of  Mexico.^  The  Spaniards  had  occasion 
more  than  ever  to  admire  the  mechanical  science  of 
the  Aztecs,  in  the  geometrical  precision  with  which 
the  work  was  executed,  as  well  as  the  solidity  of  its 
construction.  It  was  composed  of  huge  stones  well 
laid  in  cement;  and  wide  enough,  throughout  its 
whole  extent,  for  ten  horsemen  to  ride  abreast. 

They  saw,  as  they  passed  along,  several  large 
towns,  resting  on  piles,  and  reaching  far  into  the 
water,  —  a  kind  of  architecture  which  found  great 
favor  with  the  Aztecs,  being  in  imitation  of  that  of 


1  He  took  about  6000  warriors  number  since  the  beginning  of  the 

from  Tlascala;  and  some  few  of  campaign.     Ante,  Vol.  I.  p.  458. 

the  Cempoallan  and  other  Indian  ^  <«  l^  calzada  d'Iztapalapan  est 

allies  continued  with   him.     The  fondee  sur  cette  meme  digue  an- 

Spanish    force    on   leaving  Vera  cienne,  sur  laquelle  Cort^z  fit  dea 

Cruz  amounted  to  about  400  foot  prodiges  de  valeur  dans  ses  ren- 

and  15  horse.    In  the  remonstrance  contres  avec  les  assieg^s."    Hum- 

of  the  disaffected  soldiers,  after  the  boldt,  Essai  Politique,  torn.  II.  p. 

murderous  Tlascalan  combats,  they  57. 

speak  of  having  lost  fift}'  of  their  v 


70  MARCH    TO   MEXICO.  [Book  III. 

their  metropolis.^  The  busy  population  obtained  a 
good  subsistence  from  the  manufacture  of  salt,  which 
they  extracted  from  the  waters  of  the  great  lake. 
The  duties  on  the  traffic  in  this  article  were  a  con- 
siderable source  of  revenue  to  the  crown. 

Everywhere  the  Conquerors  beheld  the  evidence 
of  a  crowded  and  thriving  population,  exceeding  all 
they  had  yet  seen.  The  temples  and  principal  build- 
ings of  the  cities  were  covered  with  a  hard  white 
stucco,  which  glistened  like  enamel  in  the  level 
beams  of  the  morning.  The  margin  of  the  great 
basin  was  more  thickly  gemmed,  than  that  of  Chal- 
co,  with  towns  and  hamlets.^  The  water  was  dark- 
ened by  swarms  of  canoes  filled  with  Indians,^  who 
clambered  up  the  sides  of  the  causeway,  and  gazed 
with  curious  astonishment  on  the  strangers.  And 
here,  also,  they  beheld  those  fairy  islands  of  flowers, 
overshadowed  occasionally  by  trees  of  considerate 
size,  rising  and  falling  with  the  gentle  undulation  ol 
the  billows.     At  the  distance  of  half  a  league  from 

3  Among  these  towns  were  sev-  tos  pueblos  k  la  redonda  de  si  y 
era!  containing  from  three  to  five  tan  bien  asentados."  Hist,  de  los 
or  six  thousand  dwellings,  accord-    Indios,  MS.,  Parte  3,  cap.  7. 

ing  to  Cortes,  whose  barbarous  or-        5  It  is  not  necessary,  however, 

thography  in  proper  names  will  to    adopt    Herrera's    account    of 

not  easily  be  recognised  by  Mexi-  50,000    canoes,   which,  he  says, 

can  or  Spaniard.     Rel.  Seg.,  ap.  were  constantly  employed  in  sup- 

Lorenzana,  p.  78.  plying  the  capital  with  provisions  ! 

4  Father  Toribio  Benavente  does  (Hist.  General,  dec.  2,  lib.  7,  cap. 
not  stint  his  panegyric  in  speaking  14.)  The  poet-chtonicler  Saavedra 
of  the  neighbourhood  of  the  cap-  is  more  modest  in  his  estimate. 

ital,    which    he   saw   in  its   glory.         "  Doa  mil  y  mas  canoas  cada  dia 
**  Crco,  que  en  toda  nuestra  Euro-  Basiecen  el  gran  pueblo  Mexicano 

,  •    J    1  .  De  la  mas  y  la  mcnos  niueria 

pa  hay  pocas  cmdades  que  tengan  q^^  ^^  J^^^^^,^  ,,  ^,.^^^^^  ,^^„^  „ 

tai  asiento  y  tal  comarca,  con  tan-  El  Pbrborino  Indiano,  canto  11. 


Ch.  IX.]  ENVIRONS  OF  MEXICO.  71 

the  capital,  they  encountered  a  solid  work  or  curtain 
of  stone,  which  traversed  the  dike.  It  was  twelve 
feet  high,  was  strengthened  by  towers  at  the  extrem- 
ities, and  in  the  centre  was  a  battlemented  gate-way, 
which  opened  a  passage  to  the  troops.  It  was  called 
the  Fort  of  Xoloc,  and  became  memorable  in  after- 
times  as  the  position  occupied  by  Cortes  in  the  fa- 
mous siege  of  Mexico. 

Here  they  were  met  by  several  hundred  Aztec 
chiefs,  who  came  out  to  announce  the  approach  of 
Montezuma,  and  to  welcome  the  Spaniards  to  his 
capital.  They  were  dressed  in  the  fanciful  gala  cos- 
tume of  the  country,  with  the  maxtlatl,  or  cotton  sash, 
around  their  loins,  and  a  broad  mantle  of  the  same 
material,  or  of  the  brilliant  feather-embroidery,  flow- 
ing gracefully  down  their  shoulders.  On  their  necks 
and  arms  they  displayed  collars  and  bracelets  of  tur- 
quoise mosaic,  with  which  delicate  plumage  was  curi- 
ously mingled,^  while  their  ears,  under-Iips,  and  oc- 
casionally their  noses,  were  garnished  with  pendants 
formed  of  precious  stones,  or  crescents  of  fine  gold. 
As  each  cacique  made  the  usual  formal  salutation  of 
the  country  separately  to  the  general,  tlie  tedious 
ceremony  delayed  the  march  more  than  an  hour. 
After  this,  the  army  experienced  no  further  interrup- 
tion till  it  reached  a  bridge  near  the  gates  of  the  city 


6  <'  Ussban  unos  brazaletes  de  cas  y  con  oro,  y  unas  bandas  de 

musaico,  hechos  de  turquezas  con  oro,  que  subian  con  las  pliimas.' 

unas  plumas  ricas  que  salian  de  Sahag-un,  Hist,  de  Nueva  Espafia, 

ellos,  que  eran  mas  altas  que  la  lib.  8,  cap.  9. 
cabeza,  y  bordadas  con  plumas  ri- 


72 


MARCH  TO  MEXICO. 


[Book  III. 


It  was  built  of  wood,  since  replaced  by  one  of  stone, 
and  was  thrown  across  an  opening  of  the  dike,  which 
furnished  an  outlet  to  the  waters,  when  agitated  by 
the  winds,  or  swollen  by  a  sudden  influx  in  the  rainy 
season.  It  was  a  draw-bridge  ;  and  the  Spaniards, 
as  they  crossed  it,  felt  how  truly  they  were  commit- 
ting themselves  to  the  mercy  of  Montezuma,  who,  by 
thus  cutting:  off  their  communications  with  the  coun- 
try,  might  hold  them  prisoners  in  his  capital/ 

In  the  midst  of  these  unpleasant  reflections,  they 
beheld  the  glittering  retinue  of  the  emperor  emerg- 
ing from  the  great  street  which  led  then,  as  it  still 
does,  through  the  heart  of  the  city.^  Amidst  a 
crowd  of  Indian  nobles,  preceded  by  three  oflicers 
of  state,  bearing  golden  wands,^  they  saw  the  royal 
palanquin  blazing  with  burnished  gold.  It  was 
borne  on  the  shoulders  of  nobles,  and  over  it  a  can- 
opy of  gaudy  feather-work,  powdered  with  jewels, 
and  fringed  with  silver,  was  supported  by  four  atten- 
dants of  the  same  rank.  They  were  bare-footed,  and 
walked  with  a  slow,  measured  pace,  and  with  eyes 


'  Gonzalo  de  las  Casas,  Defen- 
Ba,  MS.,  Parte  1,  cap.  24.  — Go- 
mara,  Crdnica,  cap.  65.  —  Bernal 
Diaz,  Hist,  de  la  Conquista,  cap. 
88. — Oviedo,  Hist,  de  las  Ind., 
MS.,  lib.  33,  cap.  5.  — Rel.  Seg. 
de  Cortes,  ap.  Lorenzana,  pp.  78, 
79.— Ixtlilxochitl,  Hist.  Chich., 
MS.,  cap.  85. 

8  Cardinal  Lorenzana  says,  the 
street  intended,  probably,  was  that 
crossing  the  city  from  the  Hospital 


of  San.  Antonio.  (Rel.  Seg.  dc 
Cort6s,  p.  79,  nota.)  This  is  con- 
firmed by  Sahagun.  "  Y  asi  en 
aquel  trecho  aue  est&  desde  la 
Iglesia  de  San  Axitonio  (que  ellos 
llaman  Xuluco)  qu<»  va  por  cave 
las  casas  de  Alvaradb,  hacia  el 
Hospital  de  la  ConcepcV)n,  sali6 
Moctezuma  k  recibir  de  ptvz  §  J). 
Hernando  Cort6s. ' '  Hist,  de  Nue* 
va  Espaiia,  MS.,  lib.  12,  cap.  16 
9  Carta  del  Lie.  Zuazo,  MS 


Ch.  IX. ]  INTERVIEW   WITH   MONTEZUMA.  73 

bent  on  the  ground.  When  the  train  had  come 
within  a  convenient  distance,  it  halted,  and  Monte- 
zuma, descending  from  his  litter,  came  forward  lean- 
ing on  the  arms  of  the  lords  of  Tezcuco  and  Iztapa- 
lapan,  his  nephew  and  brother,  both  of  whom,  as 
we  have  seen,  had  already  been  made  known  to 
the  Spaniards.  As  the  monarch  advanced  under 
the  canopy,  the  obsequious  attendants  strewed  the 
ground  with  cotton  tapestry,  that  his  imperial  feet 
might  not  be  contaminated  by  the  rude  soil.  His 
subjects  of  high  and  low  degree,  who  lined  the  sides 
of  the  causeway,  bent  forward  with  their  eyes  fas- 
tened on  the  ground  as  he  passed,  and  some  of  the 
humbler  class  prostrated  themselves  before  him.*° 
Such  was  the  homage  paid  to  the  Indian  despot, 
showing  that  the  slavish  forms  of  Oriental  adulation 
were  to  be  found  among  the  rude  inhabitants  of  the 
Western  World. 

Montezuma  wore  the  girdle  and  ample  square 
cloak,  tilmatli,  of  his  nation.  It  was  made  of  the 
finest  cotton,  with  the  embroidered  ends  gathered  in 
a  knot  round  his  neck.  His  feet  were  defended  by 
sandals  having  soles  of  gold,  and  the  leathern  thongs 
which  bound  them  to  his  ankles  were  embossed 
with  the  same  metal.  Both  the  cloak  and  sandals 
were   sprinkled   with    pearls   and    precious   stones, 

^^  "Toda  la  gente  que  estaba  hasta  que  6\  era  pasado,  tan  inch- 
en  las  calles  se  le  humiliaban  y  nados  como  frayles  en   Gloria  Pa- 
hacian  profunda  reverencia  y  gran-  /n."     Toribio,  Hist,  de  los  Indies, 
de acatamiento sin  levjintar los  ojos  MS.,  Parte  3,  cap.  7. 
k  le  rairar,  sino  que  todos  estaban 
VOL.    II.                        10 


74 


MARCH  TO  MEXICO. 


[Book  III. 


among  which  the  emerald  and  the  chalchivitl  —  a 
green  stone  of  higher  estimation  than  any  other 
among  the  Aztecs  —  were  conspicuous.  On  his  head 
he  wore  no  other  ornament  than  a  panache  of  plumes 
of  the  royal  green  which  floated  down  his  back,  the 
badge  of  military,  rather  than  of  regal,  rank. 

He  was  at  this  time  about  forty  years  of  age. 
His  person  was  tall  and  thin,  but  not  ill-made.  His 
hair,  which  was  black  and  straight,  was  not  very 
long;  to  wear  it  short  was  considered  unbecoming 
persons  of  rank.  His  beard  was  thin ;  his  com- 
plexion somewhat  paler  than  is  often  found  in  his 
dusky,  or  rather  copper-colored  race.  His  fea- 
tures, though  serious  in  their  expression,  did  not 
wear  the  look  of  melancholy,  indeed,  of  dejection, 
which  characterizes  his  portrait,  and  which  may  well 
have  settled  on  them  at  a  later  period.  He  moved 
with  dignity,  and  his  whole  demeanour,  tempered 
by  an  expression  of  benignity  not  to  have  been 
anticipated  from  the  reports  circulated  of  his  char- 
acter, was  worthy  of  a  great  prince.  —  Such  is  the 
portrait  left  to  us  of  the  celebrated  Indian  emperor, 
in  this  his  first  interview  with  the  white  men.^^ 


11  For  the  preceding  account 
of  the  equipage  and  appearance 
of  Montezuma,  see  Bernal  Diaz, 
Hist,  de  la  Conquista,  cap.  88,  — 
Carta  de  Zuazo,  MS.,— Ixtlilxo- 
chitl.  Hist.  Chich.,  MS.,  cap.  85, 
—  Gomara,  Cronica,  cap.  65, — 
Oviedo,  Hist,  de  las  Ind.,  MS., 
ubi  supra,  et  cap.  45,  —  Acdsta, 


lib.  7,  cap.  22,  —  Sahagun,  Hist. 
de  Nueva  Espana,  MS.,  lib.  19, 
cap.  16, — Toribio,  Hist,  de  los 
Indies,  MS.,  Parte  3,  cap.  7. 

The  noble  Ca^tilian,  or  ratiier 
Mexican  bard,  Saavcdra,  who  be- 
longed to  the  generation  after  the 
Conquest,  has  introduced  most  of 
the    particulars    in    his    rhyming 


Ch.  IX]  INTERVIEW   WITH  MONTEZUMA.  75 

The  army  halted  as  he  drew  near.  Cortes,  dis- 
mounting, threw  his  reins  to  a  page,  and,  supported 
by  a  few  of  the  principal  cavaliers,  advanced  to 
meet  him.  The  interview  must  have  been  one  of 
uncommon  interest  to  both.  In  Montezuma,  Cortes 
beheld  the  lord  of  the  broad  realms  he  had  traversed, 
whose  magnificence  and  power  had  been  the  burden 
of  every  tongue.  In  the  Spaniard,  on  the  other 
hand,  the  Aztec  prince  saw  the  strange  being  whose 
history  seemed  to  be  so  mysteriously  connected  with 
his  own ;  the  predicted  one  of  his  oracles ;  whose 
achievements  proclaimed  him  something  more  than 
human.  But,  whatever  may  have  been  the  mon- 
arch's feelings,  he  so  far  suppressed  them  as  to  re- 
ceive his  guest  with  princely  courtesy,  and  to  express 
his  satisfaction  at  pei*sonally  seeing  him  in  his  capi- 
tal.^^  Cortes  responded  by  the  most  pofound  ex- 
pressions of  respect,  while  he  made  ample  acknowl- 
edgments for  the  substantial  proofs  which  the  em 
peror  had  given  the  Spaniards  of  his  munificence. 
He  then  hung  round  Montezuma's  neck  a  sparkling 
chain  of  colored  crystal,  accompanying  this  with  a 
movement  as  if  to  embrace  him,  when  he  was  re- 
strained  by  the  two  Aztec   lords,  shocked  at  the 

chronicle.       The   following    speci-        Zapatos  que  de  oro  son  las  suelaa 
men   wUl   probably  suffice  for  the        Asidoscon  muy  ricascorrehuelas." 
,  ^  El  Peregrino  Indiano,  canto  II. 

reader. 

,.v      ,        ^T  .  .    •  ,  ^  Satis  vultu  laeto,"  says  Mar- 

Yva  el  gran  Motequma  alauiatio  '  •' 

Do  mania  aqul  y  blanca  con  gran  falda,  tyr,  "  an  Stomacho  sedJltUS,  €t  an 

De  algodon  muy  sutil  y  deiicado,  hospites  per  vim  quis  unquam  li- 

lTZ:::::°:l^L:ZC-  benssusceperit,expcrulo,ua„lur." 

Y  una  tiara  A  modo  de  guirnalda,  Be  Orbe  Novo,  dec.  6,  cap.  3. 


76  MARCH  TO  MEXICO.  [Book  III. 

menaced  profanation  of  the  sacred  person  of  their 
master.'^  After  the  interchange  of  these  civilities, 
Montezuma  appointed  his  brother  to  conduct  the 
Spaniards  to  their  residence  in  the  capital,  and  again 
entering  his  litter  was  borne  off  amidst  prostrate 
crowds  in  the  same  state  in  which  he  had  come. 
The  Spaniards  quickly  followed,  and  with  colors 
fljing  and  music  playing  soon  made  their  entrance 
into  the  southern  quarter  of  Tenochtitlan.^^ 

Here,  again,  they  found  fresh  cause  for  admiration 
in  the  grandeur  of  the  city,  and  the  superior  style 
of  its  architecture.  The  dwellings  of  the  poorer 
class  were,  indeed,  chiefly  of  reeds  and  mud.  But 
the  great  avenue  through  which  they  were  now 
marching  was  lined  with  the  houses  of  the  nobles, 
who  were  encouraged  by  the  emperor  to  make  the 
capital  their  residence.  They  were  built  of  a  red 
porous  stone  drawn  from  quarries  in  the  neighbour- 
hood, and,  though  they  rarely  rose  to  a  second  story, 
often  covered  a  large  space  of  ground.  The  flat 
roofs,  azoteas,  were  protected  by  stone  parapets,  so 
that  every  house  was  a  fortress.  Sometimes  these 
roofs  resembled  parterres  of  flowers,  so  thickly  were 
they  covered  with  them,  but  more  frequently  these 
were  cultivated  in  broad  terraced  gardens,  laid  out 
between  the  edifices.  ^^     Occasionally  a  great  square 

^  Rel.  Seg.  de  Cortes,  ap.  Lo-  de  Nueva  Espana,  MS.,  lib.  12, 

renzana,  p.  79.  cap.  15. 

i<  "Entraron   en  la  ciudad  do  ^^  *<  Et  giardini  alti  et  bas8i,che 

Mejico  &  punto  de  guerra,  tocando  era  cosa  maravigliosa  da  vedere.'* 

los  atambores,  y  con  banderas  des-  Rel.  d' un  gent.,  ap.  Ramusio,  torn 

plegadas,"  &c.      Sahagun,  Hist.  III.  fol.  309. 


I 


Ch.  IX]  ENTRANCE  INTO  THE  CAPITAL.  77 

or  market-place  intervened,  surrounded  bj  its  porti- 
cos of  stone  and  stucco;  or  a  pyramidal  temple 
reared  its  colossal  bulk,  crowned  with  its  tapering 
sanctuaries,  and  altars  blazing  with  inextinguishable 
fires.  The  great  street  facing  the  southern  cause- 
way, unlike  most  others  in  the  place,  was  wide,  and 
extended  some  miles  in  nearly  a  straight  line,  as 
before  noticed,  through  the  centre  of  the  city.  A 
spectator  standing  at  one  end  of  it,  as  his  eye  ranged 
along  the  deep  vista  of  temples,  terraces,  and  gar- 
dens, might  clearly  discern  the  other,  with  the  blue 
mountains  in  the  distance,  which,  in  the  transparent 
atmosphere  of  the  table-land,  seemed  almost  in  con- 
tact with  the  buildings. 

But  what  most  impressed  the  Spaniards  was  the 
throngs  of  people  who  swarmed  through  the  streets 
and  on  the  canals,  filling  every  door-way  and  win- 
dow, and  clustering  on  the  roofs  of  the  buildings. 
"I  well  remember  the  spectacle,"  exclaims  Bernal 
Diaz;  "it  seems  now,  after  so  many  years,  as  pres- 
ent to  my  mind,  as  if  it  were  but  yesterday."  ^^  But 
what  must  have  been  the  sensations  of  the  Aztecs 
themselves,  as  they  looked  on  the  portentous  pa- 
geant !  as  they  heard,  now  for  the  first  time,  the  well- 
cemented  pavement  ring  under  the  iron  tramp  of  the 
horses, — the  strange  animals  which  fear  had  clothed 

w  <«^Quienpodr^,"  exclaims  the  cosa  de  notar,  que  agora  que  lo 

old  soldier,  *'  dezir  la  multitud  de  estoy  escriuiendo,  se  me  representa 

hombres,  y  mugeres,  ymuchaehos,  todo  delante  de  mis  ojos,  como  si 

que  estauan  en  las  calles,  6  a5ute-  ayer  fuera  quando    esto   pass6." 

as,  y  en  Canoas  en  aquellas  ace-  Hist,  de  la  Conquista,  cap.  88 
quias,  que  nos  salian  k  mirar?  Era 


78  MARCH  TO  MEXICO.  [Book  III. 

in  such  supernatural  terrors ;  as  they  gazed  on  the 
children  of  the  East,  reveahng  their  celestial  origin 
in  their  fair  complexions ;  saw  the  bright  falchions 
and  bonnets  of  steel,  a  metal  to  them  unknown, 
glancing  like  meteors  in  the  sun,  while  sounds  of 
unearthly  music  —  at  least,  such  as  their  rude  in- 
struments had  never  wakened — floated  in  the  air! 
But  every  other  emotion  was  lost  in  that  of  dead- 
ly hatred,  when  they  beheld  their  detested  enemy, 
the  Tlascalan,  stalking,  in  defiance,  as  it  were, 
through  their  streets,  and  staring  around  with  looks 
of  ferocity  and  wonder,  like  some  wild  animal  of 
the  forest,  who  had  strayed  by  chance  from  his  na- 
tive fastnesses  into  the  haunts  of  civilization.^'' 

As  they  passed  down  the  spacious  street,  the 
troops  repeatedly  traversed  bridges  suspended  above 
canals,  along  which  they  saw  the  Indian  barks  glid- 
ing swiftly  with  their  little  cargoes  of  fruits  and 
vegetables  for  the  markets  of  Tenochtitlan.^^  At 
length,  they  halted  before  a  broad  area  near  the 
centre  of  the  city,  where  rose  the  huge  pyramidal 

^"^  "Ad  spectaculum,"  says  the  Tenochtitlan  is  commonly  derived 

penetrating  Martyr,  "  tandem  His-  from  Aztec  words  signifying-  "  the 

pajiis  placidum,  quia  diu  optatum,  tuna,  or  cactus,  on  a  rock,"  the  ap- 

Tenustiatanis  prudentibus  forte  al-  pearance  of  which,  as  the  reader 

iter,  quia  verentur  fore,  vt  hi  hos-  may  remember,  was  to  determine 

pites  quietem  suam  Elysiam  veni-  the  site  of  the  future  capital.  (To- 

ant  perturbaturi ;  de  populo  secus,  ribio,  Hist,  de  los  Indies,  Parte  3, 

qui  nil   sentit    seque    delectabile,  cap.  7. — Esplic.  de  la  Colec :  de 

qukm  res  novas  ante  oculos  in  pre-  Mendoza,  ap.  Antiq.  of  Mexico, 

sentiarum  habere,  de  futuro  nihil  vol.  IV.)    Another  etymology  de- 

anxius."     De  Orbe  Novo,  dec.  5,  rives  the  word  from  Tcnoch,  the 

cap.  3.  name  of  one  of  the  founders  of 

IS   The    euphonious    name    of  the  monarchy. 


Ch.  IX. ]  HOSPITABLE  RECEPTION.  79 

pile  dedicated  to  the  patron  war-god  of  the  Aztecs, 
second  only,  in  size,  as  well  as  sanctity,  to  the  tem- 
ple of  Cholula,  and  covering  the  same  ground  now 
in  part  occupied  by  the  great  cathedral  of  Mexico. 

Facing  the  western  gate, of  the  inclosure  of  the 
temple,  stood  a  low  range  of  stone  buildings,  spread- 
ing over  a  wide  extent  of  ground,  the  palace  of 
Axayacatl,  Montezuma's  father,  built  by  that  mon- 
arch about  fifty  years  before. ^^  It  was  appropri- 
ated as  the  barracks  of  the  Spaniards.  The  emperor 
himself  was  in  the  court-yard,  waiting  to  receive 
them.  Approaching  Cortes,  he  took  from  a  vase  oi 
flowers,  borne  by  one  of  his  slaves,  a  massy  collar, 
in  which  the  shell  of  a  species  of  craw-fish,  much 
prized  by  the  Indians,  was  set  in  gold,  and  con 
nected  by  heavy  links  of  the  same  metal.  From 
this  chain  depended  eight  ornaments,  also  of  gold, 
made  in  resemblance  of  the  same  shell-fish,  a  span 
in  length  each,  and  of  delicate  workmanship  ;^°  for 
the  Aztec  goldsmiths  were  confessed  to  have  shown 
skill  in  their  craft,  not  inferior  to  their  brethren  of 
Europe.^^     Montezuma,  as  he    hung   the    gorgeous 


19  Clavig-ero,  Stor.  del  Messico,  21  Boturini  says,  greater,  by  the 

torn.  III.  p.  78.  acknowledgment  of  the  goldsmiths 

Tt   occupied    what  is  now   the  themselves.      "Los    plateros    de 

corner  of  the  streets,  "Del  Indio  Madrid,  viendo  algunas  Piezas,  y 

Tristc  "  and  "Tacuba."      Hum-  Brazaletes  de  oro,  con  que  se  ar- 

boldt,  Vu6s  des  Cordilleres,  p.  7,  maban   en   guerra    los   Reyes,   y 

et  seq.  Capitanes    Indianos,   confessaron, 

^  Rel.  Seg.  de  Cortes,  ap.  Lo-  que  eran  inimitables  en  Europa." 
renzana,  p.  88. — Gonzalo  de  las  (Idea,  p.  78.)  And  Oviedo,  speak 
Casas,  Defensa,  MS.,  Parte  1,  ing  of  their  work  in  jewelry,  re- 
cap. 24.  marks,  "  lo  vi  algunas  piqdras  ja** 


80  MARCH   TO  MEXICO.  [Book  III. 

collar  round  the  general's  neck,  said,  "  This  palace 
belongs  to  you,  Malinche,"  ^^  (the  epithet  by  which 
he  always  addressed  him,)  "  and  your  brethren. 
Rest  after  your  fatigues,  for  you  have  much  need 
to  do  so,  and  in  a  little  while  I  will  visit  you 
again."  So  saying,  he  withdrew  with  his  attend- 
ants, evincing,  in  this  act,  a  delicate  consideration 
not  to  have  been  expected  in  a  barbarian. 

Cortes'  first  care  was  to  inspect  his  new  quarters. 
The  building,  though  spacious,  was  low,  consisting 
of  one  floor,  except,  indeed,  in  the  centre,  where  it 
rose  to  an  additional  story.  The  apartments  were 
of  great  size,  and  afforded  accommodations,  accord- 
ing to  the  testimony  of  the  Conquerors  themselves, 
for  the  whole  army !  ^^  The  hardy  mountaineers  of 
Tlascala  were,  probably,  not  very  fastidious,  and 
might  easily  find  a  shelter  in  the  out-buildings,  or 
under  temporary  awnings  in  the  ample  court-yards. 
The  best  apartments  were  hung  with  gay  cotton 
draperies,  the  floors  covered  with  mats  or  rushes. 
There  were,  also,  low  stools  made  of  single  pieces 
of  wood  elaborately  carved,  and  in  most  of  the 
apartments  beds  made  of  the  palm-leaf,  woven  into 
a  thick  mat,  with  coverlets,  and  sometimes  can- 
opies of  cotton.     These  mats  were   the  only  beds 


pes,calcidonias,jacintos,corniolas,  cion."     Hist,  de  las  Ind.,  MS., 

6  plasmas  de  esmeraldas,  6  otras  lib.  33,  cap.  11. 

de  otras  especies  labradas  6  fechas,  22  Ante,  Vol.  I.  p.  483. 

cabezas  de  Aves,  6  otras  hechas  ^3  Bernal  Diaz,  Hist,  de  la  (iJon- 

aniraales  6  otras  figuras,  que  dudo  quista,   cap.    88.  —  Rel.    Seg-.  de 

haber  en  Espaiia  ni  en  Italia  quien  Cortes,  ap.  Lorenzana,  p.  80. 
las  supiera  hacer  con  tanta  perfi- 


Ch.  IX. ]  HOSPITABLE  RECEPTION.  8l 

used  by  the  natives,  whether  of  high  or  low  de- 
gree.^^ 

After  a  rapid  survey  of  this  gigantic  pile,  the  gen- 
eral assigned  his  troops  their  respective  quarters,  and 
took  as  vigilant  precautions  for  security,  as  if  he  had 
anticipated  a  siege,  instead  of  a  friendly  entertain- 
ment. The  place  was  encompassed  by  a  stone  wall 
of  considerable  thickness,  with  towers  or  heavy  but- 
tresses at  intervals,  affording  a  good  means  of  de- 
fence. He  planted  his  cannon  so  as  to  command 
the  approaches,  stationed  his  sentinels  along  the 
works,  and,  in  short,  enforced  in  every  respect  as 
strict  military  discipline  as  had  been  observed  in  any 
part  of  the  march.  He  well  knew  the  importance 
to  his  little  band,  at  least  for  the  present,  of  concili- 
ating the  good- will  of  the  citizens  ;  and,  to  avoid  all 
possibility  of  collision,  he  prohibited  any  soldier  from 
leaving  his  quarters  without  orders,  under  pain  of 
death.  Hanng  taken  these  precautions,  he  allowed 
his  men  to  partake  of  the  bountiful  collation  which 
had  been  prepared  for  them. 

They  had  been  long  enough  in  the  country  to  be- 
come reconciled  to,  if  not  to  relish,  the  peculiar 
cooking  of  the  Aztecs.  The  appetite  of  the  soldier 
is  not  often  dainty,  and  on  the  present  occasion  it 
cannot  be  doubted  that  the  Spaniards  did  full  justice 
to  the  savory  productions  of  the  royal  kitchen.  Dur- 
ing the  meal  they  were  served  by  numerous  Mexican 

24  Bernal  Diaz,  Ibid.,  loc.  cit. —    Nueva  Espaiia,  MS.,  lib.  12,  cao. 
Oviedo,  Hist.de  las  Ind.,  MS.,  lib.     16. 
33,  cap.  5.  —  Sahagun,  Hist.de 
VOL.    II.  11 


82  MARCH   TO  MEXICO.  [Book  III. 

slaves,  who  were,  indeed,  distributed  through  the 
palace,  anxious  to  do  the  bidding  of  the  strangers. 
After  the  repast  was  concluded,  and  they  had  taken 
their  siesta,  not  less  important  to  a  Spaniard  than 
food  itself,  the  presence  of  the  emperor  was  again 
announced. 

Montezuma  was  attended  by  a  few  of  his  principal 
nobles.  He  was  received  with  much  deference  by 
Cortes ;  and,  after  the  parties  had  taken  their  seats, 
a  conversation  commenced  between  them,  through 
the  aid  of  Dona  Marina,  while  the  cavaliers  and 
Aztec  chieftains  stood  around  in  respectful  silence. 

Montezuma  made  many  inquiries  concerning  the 
country  of  the  Spaniards,  their  sovereign,  the  nature 
of  his  government,  and  especially  their  own  motives 
in  visiting  Anahuac.  Cortes  explained  these  motives 
by  the  desire  to  see  so  distinguished  a  monarch,  and 
to  declare  to  him  the  true  Faith  professed  by  the 
Christians.  With  rare  discretion,  he  contented  him- 
self with  dropping  this  hint,  for  the  present,  allow- 
ing it  to  ripen  in  the  mind  of  the  emperor,  till  a  future 
conference.  The  latter  asked,  whether  those  white 
men,  who  in  the  preceding  year  had  landed  on  the 
eastern  shores  of  his  empire,  were  their  countrymen. 
He  showed  himself  well  informed  of  the  proceedings 
of  the  Spaniards  from  their  arrival  in  Tabasco  to  the 
piesent  time,  information  of  which  had  been  regular- 
ly transmitted  in  the  hieroglyphical  paintings.  He 
was  curious,  also,  in  regard  to  the  rank  of  his  visit- 
ers in  their  own  country  ;  inquiring,  if  they  were  the 
kinsmen  of  the  sovereign.    Cortes  replied,  they  were 


Ch.  IX.]  HOSPITABLE  RECEPTION.  83 

kinsmen  of  one  another,  and  subjects  ol  their  great 
monarch,  who  held  them  all  in  peculiar  estimation. 
Before  his  departure,  Montezuma  made  himself  ac- 
quainted with  the  names  of  the  principal  cavaliers, 
and  the  position  they  occupied  in  the  armj. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  interview,  the  Aztec 
prince  commanded  his  attendants  to  bring  forward 
the  presents  prepared  for  his  guests.  They  consist- 
ed of  cotton  dresses,  enough  to  supply  every  man,  it 
is  said,  including  the  allies,  with  a  suit !  ^^  And  he 
did  not  fail  to  add  the  usual  accompaniment  of  gold 
chains  and  other  ornaments,  which  he  distributed  in 
profusion  among  the  Spaniards.  He  then  withdrew 
with  the  same  ceremony  with  whicli  he  had  entered, 
leaving  every  one  deeply  impressed  with  his  mu- 
nificence, and  his  affability  so  unlike  what  they  had 
been  taught  to  expect,  by,  what  they  now  consid- 
ered, an  invention  of  the  enemy.^'^ 

That  evening,  the   Spaniards  celebrated  their  ar- 


25  "  Muchas  y  diversas  Joyas  de  y  entre  todos  los  soldados  tambien 

Oro,  y  Plata,  y  Plumajes,  y  con  nos  dio  a  cada  vno  §  dos  cargae 

iasta  cinco  6  seis  mil  Piezas  de  de  mantas,  con  alegria,  y  en  todo 

Ropa  de  Algodon  muy  ricas,  y  de  parecia  gran  senor."    (Hist,  de  la 

diversas  maneras  texida,  y  labra-  Conquista,  cap.  89.)    "  Sex  millia 

da."    (Rel.    Seg.    de  Cortes,  ap.  vestium,    aiunt  qui   eas  vidcre." 

Lorenzana,  p.  80.)  Even  this  falls  Martyr,  De  Orbe  Novo,  dec.  5, 

short  of  truth,  according  to  Diaz.  cap.  3. 

'*  Tenia  apercebido  el  gran  Monte-  26  Jxtlilxochitl,    Hist.    Chich., 

5uma  muy  ricas  joyas  de  oro,  y  de  MS.,  cap.  85.  — Gomara,  Crdnica, 

muchas  hechuras,  que   dio  k  nu-  cap.  66. — Herrera,  Hist.  Gener 

estro  Capitan,  6  assi  mismo  k  ca-  al,  dec.  2,  lib.  7,  cap.  6. — Bernal 

da  vno  de  nuestros  Capitanes  di6  Diaz,  Ibid.,  ubi  supra.  —  Oviedo, 

cositaa  de  oro,  y  tres  cargas  de  Hist,   de  las  Ind.,  MS.,  lib.  33, 

mantas  de  labores  ricas  de  pluma,  cap.  5. 


84  MARCH  TO   MEXICO.  [Book  HI 

rival  in  the  Mexican  capital  by  a  general  discharge 
of  artillery.  The  thunders  of  the  ordnance  rever- 
bfjrating  among  the  buildings  and  shaking  them  to 
their  foundations,  the  stench  of  the  sulphureous  va- 
por that  rolled  in  volumes  above  the  w^alls  of  the 
encampment,  reminding  the  inhabitants  of  the  ex- 
plosions of  the  great  volcan,  filled  the  hearts  of  the 
superstitious  Aztecs  with  dismay.  It  proclaimed  to 
them,  that  their  city  held  in  its  bosom  those  dread 
beings  whose  path  had  been  marked  with  desolation, 
and  who  could  call  down  the  thunderbolts  to  con- 
sume their  enemies  !  It  was  doubtless  the  policy  of 
Cortes  to  strengthen  this  superstitious  feeling  as  far 
as  possible,  and  to  impress  the  natives,  at  the  outset, 
with  a  salutary  awe  of  the  supernatural  powers  of 
the  Spaniards.^'^ 

On  the  following  morning,  the  general  requested 
permission  to  return  the  emperor's  visit,  by  waiting 
on  him  in  his  palace.  This  was  readily  granted, 
and  Montezuma  sent  his  officers  to  conduct  the 
Spaniards  to  his  presence.  Cortes  dressed  himself 
in  his  richest  habit,  and  left  the  quarters  attended  by 
Alvarado,  Sandoval,  Velasquez,  and  Ordaz,  together 
with  five  or  six  of  the  common  file. 

The  royal  habitation  was  at  no  great  distance. 
It  stood  on  the  ground,  to  the  south-west  of  the 


^     La  noche  siguiente  jug&ron  mal  edor  de  la  pdlvora,  recibi6ton 

la  artilleria  por  la  solemnidad  de  grande  alteracion   y    miedo   toda 

haber  llegado  sin  daiio  k  donde  aquella  noche."     Sahagun,  Hist, 

deseaban;  pero  los  Indies  como  no  de  Nueva  Espafia,  MS.,  lib.  12. 

usados  a  los  tmenos  de  la  artilleria,  cap.  17. 


IX.] 


VISIT  TO  THE  EMPEROR. 


85 


cathedral,  since  covered  in  part  bj  the  Casa  del 
Estado,  the  palace  of  the  dukes  of  Monteleone,  the 
descendants  of  Cortes.^^  It  was  a  vast,  irregular  pile 
of  low  stone  buildings,  like  that  garrisoned  by  the 
Spaniards.  So  spacious  was  it,  indeed,  that,  as  one 
of  the  Conquerors  assures  us,  although  he  had  visited 
it  more  than  once,  for  the  express  purpose,  he  had 
been  too  much  fatigued  each  time  by  wandering 
through  the  apartments  ever  to  see  the  whole  of  it.^^ 
It  was  built  of  the  red  porous  stone  of  the  country, 
tetzontli,  was  ornamented  with  marble,  and  on  the 
facade  over  the  principal  entrance  were  sculptured 
the  arms  or  device  of  Montezuma,  an  eagle  bearing 
an  ocelot  in  his  talons.^ 

In  the  courts  through  which  the  Spaniards  passed, 
fountains  of  crystal  water  were  playing,  fed  from 
the  copious  reservoir  on  the  distant  hill  of  Chapol te- 
pee, and  supplying  in  their  turn  more  than  a  hun- 
dred baths  in  the  interior  of  the  palace.     Crowds  of 


^  "  C'est  la  que  la  famille  con- 
struisit  le  bel  Edifice  dans  lequel  se 
trouvent  les  archives  del  Estado, 
et  qui  est  passe  avec  tout  I'heritage 
au  due  Napolitain  de  Monteleone." 
(Humboldt,  Essai  Politique,  torn. 
II.  p.  72.)  The  inhabitants  of 
modern  Mexico  have  large  obliga- 
tions to  this  inquisitive  traveller, 
for  the  care  he  has  taken  to  identi- 
fy the  memorable  localities  of  their 
capital.  It  is  not  often  that  a  phi- 
losophical treatise  is,  also,  a  good 
manuel  du  voyageur. 

29"  Et  io  entrai  piii  di  quattro 
volte  in  una  casa  del  gran  Signor 


non  per  altro  effetto  che  per  veder- 
la,  et  ogni  volta  vi  camminaua  tan- 
to  che  mi  stancauo,  et  mai  la  fini 
di  vedere  tutta."  Rel.  d'un  gent., 
ap.  Ramusio,  tom.  III.  fol.  309. 

30  Gomara,  Cr6nica,  cap.  71.  — 
Herrera,  Hist.  General,  dec.  2, 
lib.  7,  cap.  9. 

The  authorities  call  it  "  tiger," 
an  animal  not  known  in  America. 
I  have  ventured  to  substitute  the 
"  ocelotl,"  tlalocelotl  of  Mexico,  a 
native  animal,  which,  being  of  th-e 
same  family,  might  easily  be  con- 
founded by  the  Spaniards  with  the 
tiger  of  the  Old  Continent. 


86  MARCH  TO  MEXICO.  [Book  III. 

Aztec  nobles  were  sauntering  up  and  dow  n  in  these 
squares,  and  in  the  outer  halls,  loitering  awaj  their 
hours  in  attendance  on  the  court.  The  apartments 
were  of  immense  size,  though  not  loftj.  The  ceil- 
ings were  of  various  sorts  of  odoriferous  wood  ingen- 
iously carved ;  the  floors  covered  with  mats  of  the 
palm-leaf.  The  walls  were  hung  with  cotton  richly 
stained,  with  the  skins  of  wild  animals,  or  gorgeous 
draperies  of  feather-work  wrought  in  imitation  of 
birds,  insects,  and  flowers,  with  the  nice  art  and 
glowing  radiance  of  colors  that  might  compare  with 
the  tapestries  of  Flanders.  Clouds  of  incense  rolled 
up  from  censers,  and  diffused  intoxicating  odors 
through  the  apartments.  The  Spaniards  might  well 
have  fancied  themselves  in  the  voluptuous  precincts 
of  an  Eastern  harem,  instead  of  treading  the  halls  of 
a  wild  barbaric  chief  in  the  Western  World.^^ 

On  reaching  the  hall  of  audience,  the  Mexican 
officers  took  off*  their  sandals,  and  covered  their  gay 
attire  with  a  mantle  of  nequen,  a  coarse  stuff'  made 
of  the  fibres  of  the  maguey,  worn  only  by  the  poor- 
est classes.  This  act  of  humiliation  was  imposed 
on  all,  except  the  members  of  his  own  family,  who 
approached  the  sovereign.^     Thus  bare -footed,  with 

31  Toribio,  Hist,  de  los  Indies,  32  «'  Para  entrar  en  su  palacic, 

MS.,  Parte  3,  cap.  7.  —  Herrera,  a  que  el  los  llaman  Tecpa,  todos  s« 

Hist.  General,  dec.  2,  lib.  7,  cap.  descalzaban,  y  los  que  entraban  a 

9.  —  Gomara,  Crdnica,  cap.  71. —  negociar  con  el  habian  de  llevar 

Bernal  Diaz,  Hist,  de  laConquista,  mantas  groseras  encima  de  si,  y  si 

cap.   91. — Oviedo,   Hist,    de  las  eran  grandes  senores  6  en  tiempo 

Ind.,  MS.,  lib.  33,  cap.  5,  46.  —  de  frio,  sobre  las  mantas  buenas 

Rel.  Seg.  de  Cortes,  ap.  Lorenza-  que  llevaban  vestidas,  ponian  una 

na,  pp.  111-114.  manta  grosera  y   pobre ;    y  para 


Ch.  IX.]  VISIT  TO  THE  EMPEROR.  87 

down-cast  eyes,  and  formal  obeisance,  they  ushered 
the  Spaniards  into  the  royal  presence. 

They  found  Montezuma  seated  at  the  further  end 
of  a  spacious  saloon,  and  surrounded  by  a  few  of  his 
favorite  chiefs.  He  received  them  kindly,  and  very 
soon  Cortes,  without  much  ceremony,  entered  on 
the  subject  which  was  uppermost  in  his  thoughts. 
He  was  fully  aware  of  the  importance  of  gaining 
the  royal  convert,  whose  example  would  have  such 
an  influence  on  the  conversion  of  his  people.  The 
general,  therefore,  prepared  to  display  the  whole 
store  of  his  theological  science,  with  the  most  win- 
ning arts  of  rhetoric  he  could  command,  while  the 
interpretation  was  conveyed  through  the  silver  tones 
of  Marina,  as  inseparable  from  him,  on  these  occa- 
sions, as  his  shadow. 

He  set  forth,  as  clearly  as  he  could,  the  ideas  en- 
tertained by  the  Church  in  regard  to  the  holy  myste- 
ries of  the  Trinity,  the  Incarnation,  and  the  Atone- 
ment. From  this  he  ascended  to  the  origin  of  things, 
the  creation  of  the  world,  the  first  pair,  paradise,  and 
the  fall  of  man.  He  assured  Montezuma,  that  the 
idols  he  worshipped  were  Satan  under  different 
forms.  A  sufficient  proof  of  it  was  the  bloody  sac- 
rifices they  imposed,  which  he  contrasted  with  the 
pure  and  simple  rite  of  the  mass.  Their  worship 
would  sink  him  in  perdition.     It  was  to  snatch  his 


hablarle,  estaban  muy  humiliados  thority  than  this  worthy  missionary, 

ysinlevantarlosojos."    (Toribio,  for  the  usages  of  the  ancient  A»- 

Hist.  de  los  Indies,  MS.,  Parte  3,  tecs,  of  which  he  had  such  large 

«ap.  7.)     There  is  no  better  au-  personal  knowledge. 


88  MARCH  TO  MEXICO.  [Book  IH 

soul,  and  the  souls  of  his  people,  from  the  flames  of 
eternal  fire  by  opening  to  them  a  purer  faith,  that 
the  Christians  had  come  to  his  land.  And  he  earn- 
estly besought  him  not  to  neglect  the  occasion,  but 
to  secure  his  salvation  by  embracing  the  Cross,  the 
great  sign  of  human  redemption. 

The  eloquence  of  the  preacher  was  wasted  on  the 
msensible  heart  of  his  royal  auditor.  It,  doubtless, 
lost  somewhat  of  its  efficacy,  strained  through  the 
imperfect  interpretation  of  so  recent  a  neophyte  as 
the  Indian  damsel.  But  the  doctrines  were  too 
abstruse  in  themselves  to  be  comprehended  at  a 
glance  by  the  rude  intellect  of  a  barbarian.  And 
Montezuma  may  have,  perhaps,  thought  it  was  not 
more  monstrous  to  feed  on  the  flesh  of  a  fellow- 
creature,  than  on  that  of  the  Creator  himself.^^  He 
was,  besides,  steeped  in  the  superstitions  of  his 
country  from  his  cradle.  He  had  been  educated  in 
the  straitest  sect  of  her  religion ;  had  been  him- 
self a  priest  before  his  election  to  the  throne ;  and 
was  now  the  head  both  of  the  religion  and  the  state. 
Little  probability  was  there  that  such  a  man  would 
be  open  to  argument  or  persuasion,  even  from  the 
lips  of  a  more  practised  polemic  than  the  Spanish 
commander.  How  could  he  abjure  the  faith  that 
was  intertwined  with  the  dearest  affections  of  his 
heart,  and  the  very  elements  of  his  being  ?     How 


33  The  ludicrous  effect — if  the  stantiation  in  the  mother  country, 

subject  be  not  too  grave  to  justify  even  at  this  day,  is  well  illustrated 

the  expression  —  of  a  literal  be-  by  Blanco  White,   Letters  from 

lief  in  the  doctrine  of  Transub-  Spain,  (London,  1822,)  let.  1. 


Ch.  IX.]  VISIT  TO  THE  EMPEROR.  89 

could  he  be  false  to  the  gods  who  had  raised  him  to 
such  prosperity  and  honors,  and  whose  shrines  were 
intrusted  to  his  especial  keeping  ? 

He  listened,  however,  with  silent  attention,  until 
the  general  had  concluded  his  homily.  He  then  re- 
plied, that  he  knew  the  Spaniards  had  held  this  dis- 
course wherever  they  had  been.  He  doubted  not  their 
God  was,  as  they  said,  a  good  being.  His  gods, 
also,  were  good  to  him.  Yet  what  his  visiter  said 
of  the  creation  of  the  world  was  like  what  he  had 
been  taught  to  believe.'^  It  was  not  worth  while  to 
discourse  further  of  the  matter.  His  ancestors,  he 
said,  were  not  the  original  proprietors  of  the  land 
They  had  occupied  it  but  a  few  ages,  and  had  been 
led  there  by  a  great  Being,  who,  after  giving  them 
laws  and  ruling  over  the  nation  for  a  time,  had  with- 
drawn to  the  regions  where  the  sun  rises.  He  had 
declared,  on  his  departure,  that  he  or  his  descendants 
would  again  visit  them  and  resume  his  empire.*^ 
The  wonderful  deeds  of  the  Spaniards,  their  fair 
complexions,  and  the  quarter  whence  they  came,  all 
showed  they  were  his  descendants.  If  Montezuma 
had  resisted  their  visit  to  his  capital,  it  was  because 
he  had  heard  such  accounts  of  their  cruelties,  —  that 

34  "Y  en  esso  de  la  creacion  35  "  j^  siempre  hemos  tenido, 

del  mundo  assi  lo  tenemos  nosotros  que  de  los  que  de  el  descendiessen 

creido  muchos  tiempos  passados."  habian   de  venir  a  sojuzgar  esta 

(Bernal  Diaz,  Hist,  de  la  Conquis-  tierra,  y  k  nosotros   como  a  sua 

ta,  cap.  90.)     For  some  points  of  Vasallos."     Rel.  Seg.  de  Cort^, 

resemblaneo    between    the   Aztec  ap.  Lorenzana,  p.  81. 
and  Hebrew  traditions,  see  Book 
1,  Ch.  3,  and  Appendix,  Part  1, 
of  this  History. 

VOL.    II.  12 


90  MARCH  TO  MEXICO.  [Book  III. 

they  sent  the  lightning  to  consume  his  people,  or 
crushed  them  to  pieces  under  the  hard  feet  of  the 
ferocious  animals  on  which  they  rode.  He  was  now 
convinced  that  these  were  idle  tales  ;  that  the  Span- 
iards were  kind  and  generous  in  their  natures ;  they 
were  mortals,  of  a  different  race,  indeed,  from  the 
Aztecs,  wiser,  and  more  valiant,  —  and  for  this  he 
honored  them. 

"  You,  too,"  he  added,  with  a  smile,  "  have  been 
told,  perhaps,  tJiat  I  am  a  god,  and  dwell  in  palaces 
of  gold  and  silver.^^  But  you  see  it  is  false.  My 
houses,  though  large,  are  of  stone  and  wood  like 
those  of  others ;  and  as  to  my  body,"  he  said,  baring 
his  tawny  arm,  "you  see  it  is  flesh  and  bone  like 
yours.  It  is  true,  I  have  a  great  empire  inherited 
from  my  ancestors ;  lands,  and  gold,  and  silver. 
But  your  sovereign  beyond  the  waters  is,  I  know, 
the  rightful  lord  of  all.  I  rule  in  his  name.  You, 
Malinche,  are  his  ambassador ;  you  and  your  breth- 
ren shall  share  these  things  with  me.  Rest  now 
from  your  labors.  You  are  here  in  your  own  dwel- 
lings, and  every  thing  shall  be  provided  for  your  sub- 
sistence. I  will  see  that  your  wishes  shall  be 
obeyed  in  the  same  way  as  my  own."^^     As  the 


*  "  Y  luego  el  Monteguma  dixo  do  ore,  e  plata,  y  piedras  ricas." 

riendo,  porque  en  todo  era  muy  Bernal  Diaz,  Ibid.,  ubi  supra, 

regozijado  en  su  hablarde  gran  se-  37  <<  g  por  tan  to  Vos  sed  cierto, 

fior:  Malinche,  bien  s6  que  te  ban  que  os  obedeceremos,  y  tern^mos 

dicho  essos  de  Tlascala,  con  quien  por  senor  en  lugar  de  esse  gran 

tanta  amistad  aueis  tornado,  que  seuor,  que  decis,  y  que  en  ello  no 

yo  que  soy  como  Dios,  6  Teule,  habia  falta,  ni  engafio  alguno  ;  e 

que  quanto  ay  en  mis  casas  es  to-  bien  podeis  en  toda  la  tierra,  digo, 


r 


Ch.  IX.]  VISIT  TO  THE  EMPEROR.  91 

monarch  concluded  these  words,  a  few  natural  tears 
suffused  his  ejes,  while  the  image  of  ancient  inde- 
pendence, perhaps,  flitted  across  his  mind.^^ 

Cortes,  while  he  encouraged  the  idea  that  his 
own  sovereign  was  the  great  Being  indicated  by 
Montezuma,  endeavoured  to  comfort  the  monarch  by 
the  assurance  that  his  master  had  no  desire  to  inter- 
fere with  his  authority,  otherwise  than,  out  of  pure 
concern  for  his  welfare,  to  effect  his  conversion  and 
that  of  his  people  to  Christianity.  Before  the  em- 
peror dismissed  his  visiters  he  consulted  his  munifi- 
cent spirit,  as  usual,  by  distributing  rich  stuffs  and 
trinkets  of  gold  among  them,  so  that  the  poorest 
soldier,  says  Bernal  Diaz,  one  of  the  party,  received 
at  least  two  heavy  collars  of  the  precious  metal  for 
his  share.  The  iron  hearts  of  the  Spaniards  were 
touched  with  the  emotion  displayed  by  Montezuma, 
as  well  as  by  his  princely  spirit  of  liberality.  As 
they  passed  him,  the  cavaliers,  with  bonnet  in  hand, 
made  him  the  most  profound  obeisance,  and  "  on  the 
way  home,"  continues   the   same   chronicler,   "  we 

que  en  la  que  yo  en  mi  Senorio  Cortes,  in  his  brief  notes  of  this 

poseo,  mandar  k  vuestra  voluntad,  proceeding,   speaks    only   of   the 

porque  sera  obedecido  y  fecho,  y  interview  with  Montezuma  in  the 

todo  lo  que  nosotros  teneraos  es  Spanish  quarters,  which  he  makes 

para  lo  que  Vos  de  ello  quisieredes  the   scene   of  the  preceding  dia- 

disponer."     Rel.  Seg.  de  Cortes,  logue. — Bernal  Diaz  transfers  this 

ubi  supra.  to  the  subsequent  meeting  in  the 

38  Martyr,  De  Orbe  Novo,  dec.  palace.     In  the  only  fact  of  im- 

5,   cap.    3.  —  Gomara,    Cronica,  portance,  the  dialogue  itself,  both 

cap.   06. — Oviedo,  Hist,   de   las  substantially  agree. 
Ind.,  MS.,  lib.  33,  cap.  5.— Gon- 
zalo  de  las  Casas,   MS.,  Parte  1, 
cap.  24. 


92  MARCH  TO  MEXICO.  [Book  III. 

could  discourse  of  nothing  but  the  gentle  breeding 
and  courtesy  of  the  Indian  monarch,  and  of  the  re- 
spect we  entertained  for  him."^^ 

Speculations  of  a  graver  complexion  must  have 
pressed  on  the  mind  of  the  general,  as  he  saw  around 
him  the  evidences  of  a  civilization,  and  consequently 
power,  for  which  even  the  exaggerated  reports  of 
the  natives  —  discredited  from  their  apparent  exag- 
geration —  had  not  prepared  him.  In  the  pomp 
and  burdensome  ceremonial  of  the  court,  he  saw 
that  nice  system  of  subordination  and  profound  rev- 
erence for  the  monarch  which  characterize  the  semi- 
civilized  empires  of  Asia.  In  the  appearance  of  the 
capital,  its  massy,  yet  elegant  architecture,  its  luxu- 
rious social  accommodations,  its  activity  in  trade,  he 
recognised  the  proofs  of  the  intellectual  progress, 
mechanical  skill,  and  enlarged  resources  of  an  old 
and  opulent  community ;  while  the  swarms  in  the 
streets  attested  the  existence  of  a  population  capable 
of  turning  these  resources  to  the  best  account. 

In  the  Aztec  he  beheld  a  being  unlfke  either  the 
rude  republican  Tlascalan,  or  the  effeminate  Cholu- 
lan ;  but  combining  the  courage  of  the  one  with  the 
cultivation  of  the  other.  He  was  in  the  heart  of  a 
great  capital,  which  seemed  like  an  extensive  forti- 
fication, with  its  dikes  and  its  draw-bridges,  where 

38  "  Assi    nos   despedimos   con  mucho  acato,  ^  con  las  gorras  de 

grandes  cortesias  d^l,  y  nos  fuymos  armas  colchadas  quitadas,  quando 

a    nuestros    aposentos,   6  ibamos  delante  d^l  passassemos."    Bernal 

platicando  de  la  buena  manera  6  Diaz,  Hist,  de  la  Conquista,  cap. 

crian^a  que  en  todo  tenia,  e  que  90. 
nosotros  en  todo  le   tuuiessemos 


I 


r 


Ch.  IX.]  VISIT  TO  THE  EMPEROR.  93 

every  house  might  be  easily  converted  into  a  castle. 
Its  insular  position  removed  it  from  the  continent, 
from  which,  at  the  mere  nod  of  the  sovereign,  all 
communication  might  be  cut  off,  and  the  whole 
warlike  population  be  at  once  precipitated  on  him 
and  his  handful  of  followers.  What  could  superior 
science  avail  against  such  odds  ?  ^^ 

As  to  the  subversion  of  Montezuma's  empire,  now 
that  he  had  seen  him  in  his  capital,  it  must  have 
seemed  a  more  doubtful  enterprise  than  ever.  The 
recognition  which  the  Aztec  prince  had  made  of  the 
feudal  supremacy,  if  I  may  so  say,  of  the  Spanish 
sovereign,  was  not  to  be  taken  too  literally.  What- 
ever show  of  deference  he  might  be  disposed  to  pay 
the  latter,  under  the  influence  of  his  present  — 
perhaps  temporary  —  delusion,  it  was  not  to  be  sup- 
posed that  he  would  so  easily  relinquish  his  actual 
power  and  possessions,  or  that  his  people  would 
consent  to  it.  Indeed,  his  sensitive  apprehensions 
in  regard  to  this  very  subject,  on  the  coming  of  the 
Spaniards,  were  sufficient  proof  of  the  tenacity  with 
which  he  clung  to  his  authority.  It  is  true  that 
Cortes  had  a  strong  lever  for  future  operations  in  the 
superstitious  reverence  felt  for  himself  both  by  prince 
and  people.  It  was  undoubtedly  his  policy  to  main- 
tain this  sentiment  unimpaired  in  both,  as  far  as 

*'  "Y  assi,"  says  Toribio  de  la  tierra,  y  el  Sefior  de  ella  (Mo- 

Benavente,  "estaba  tan  faerte  esta  teczuma)  gloriabase  en  su  silla  y 

eiudad,  que  parecia  no  bastar  poder  en  la  fortaleza  de  su  ciudad,  y  en 

humano  para  ganarla ;  porque  ade-  la  muchedumbre  de  sus  vassallos." 

mas  de  su  fuerza  y  municion  que  Hist,  de  los  Indies,  MS.,  Parte  3, 

tenia,  era  cabeza  y  Senoria  de  toda  cap.  8. 


94  HERRERA.  [Book  III 

possible.^'  But,  before  settling  any  plan  of  opera- 
tions, it  was  necessary  to  make  himself  personally 
acquainted  with  the  topography  and  local  advantages 
of  the  capital,  the  character  of  its  population,  and 
the  real  nature  and  amount  of  its  resources.  With 
this  view,  he  asked  the  emperor's  permission  to  visit 
the  principal  public  edifices. 


41  "  Many  are  of  opinion,"  says  posed  of  Montezuma  and  his  king- 

Father  Acosta,  "  that,  if  the  Span-  dom,  and  introduced  the  law  of 

iards  had  continued  the  course  they  Christ,  without  much  bloodshed." 

began,  they  might  easily  have  dis-  Lib.  7,  cap.  25. 


Antonio  de  Herrera,  the  celebrated  chronicler  of  the  Indies,  was 
bom  of  a  respectable  family  at  Cuella  in  Old  Spain,  in  1549.  After 
passing  through  the  usual  course  of  academic  discipline  in  his  own 
country,  he  went  to  Italy,  to  which  land  of  art  and  letters  the  Spanisli 
youth  of  that  time  frequently  resorted  to  complete  their  education. 
He  there  became  acquainted  with  Vespasian  Gonzaga,  brother  of  the 
duke  of  Mantua,  and  entered  into  his  service.  He  continued  with  this 
prince  after  he  was  made  viceroy  of  Navarre,  and  was  so  highly  re- 
garded by  him,  that,  on  his  death-bed,  Gonzaga  earnestly  commended 
him  to  the  protection  of  Philip  the  Second.  This  penetrating  monarch 
soon  discerned  the  excellent  qualities  of  Herrera,  and  raised  him  to  the 
post  of  Historiographer  of  the  Indies,  —  an  office  for  which  Spain  is 
indebted  to  Philip.  Thus  provided  with  a  liberal  salary,  and  with  every 
facility  for  pursuing  the  historical  researches  to  which  his  inclination  led 
him,  Herrera's  days  glided  peacefully  away  in  the  steady,  but  silent, 
occupations  of  a  man  of  letters.  He  continued  to  hold  the  office  of 
historian  of  the  colonies  through  Philip  the  Second's  reign,  and  under 
his  successors,  Philip  the  Third,  and  the  Fourth  ;  till  in  1625  he  died  at 
tie  advanced  age  of  seventy-six,  leaving  behind  him  a  high  character 
for  intellectual  and  moral  worth. 

Herrera  wrote  several  works,  chiefly  historical.  The  most  important, 
that  on  which  his  reputation  rests,  is  his  Historia  Genera!  de  las  Indias 
Ocddentaks.  It  extends  from  the  year  1492,  the  time  of  the  discovery 
of  America,  to  1554,  nnd  is  divided  into  eight  decades.     Four  of  them 


Ca.  IX.]  HERRERA.  95 

were  published  in  1601,  and  the  remaining'  four  in  1615,  making  in  all 
five  volumes  in  folio.  The  work  was  subsequently  republished  in  1730, 
and  has  been  translated  into  most  of  the  languages  of  Europe.  The 
English  translator,  Stevens,  has  taken  great  liberties  with  his  original, 
in  the  way  of  abridgment  and  omission,  but  the  execution  of  his  work 
is  on  the  whole  superior  to  that  of  most  of  the  old  English  versions  of 
the  Castilian  chroniclers. 

Herrera's  vast  subject  embraces  the  whole  colonial  empire  of  Spain 
in  the  New  World.  The  work  is  thrown  into  the  form  of  annals,  and 
the  multifarious  occurrences  in  the  distant  regions  of  which  he  treats 
are  all  marshalled  with  exclusive  reference  to  their  chronology,  and 
made  to  move  together  pari  passu.  By  means  of  this  tasteless  arrange- 
ment the  thread  of  interest  is  perpetually  snapped,  the  reader  is  hurried 
from  one  scene  to  another,  without  the  opportunity  of  completing  his 
survey  of  any.  His  patience  is  exhausted  and  his  mind  perplexed  with 
partial  and  scattered  glimpses,  instead  of  gathering  new  light  as  he  ad- 
vances from  the  skilful  development  of  a  continuous  and  well  digested 
narrative.  This  is  the  great  defect  of  a  plan  founded  on  a  slavish 
adherence  to  chronology.  The  defect  becomes  more  serious,  when 
the  work,  as  in  the  present  instance,  is  of  vast  compass  and  embraces 
a  great  variety  of  details,  having  little  relation  to  each  other.  In  such 
a  work  we  feel  the  superiority  of  a  plan  like  that  which  Robertson  has 
pursued  in  his  "  History  of  America,"  where  every  subject  is  allowed 
to  occupy  its  own  independent  place,  proportioned  to  its  importance, 
and  thus  to  make  a  distinct  and  individual  impression  on  the  reader. 

Herrera's  position  gave  him  access  to  the  official  returns  from  the 
colonies,  state-papers,  and  whatever  documents  existed  in  the  public 
offices  for  the  illustration  of  the  colonial  history.  Among  these  sources 
of  information  were  some  manuscripts,  with  which  it  is  not  now  easy 
to  meet ;  as,  for  example,  the  memorial  of  Alonso  de  Ojeda,  one  of  the 
followers  of  Cortes,  which  has  eluded  my  researches  both  in  Spain  and 
Mexico.  Other  writings,  as  those  of  father  Sahagun,  of  much  impor- 
tance in  the  history  of  Indian  civilization,  were  unknown  to  the  histori- 
an. Of  such  manuscripts  as  fell  into  his  hands,  Herrera  made  the 
freest  use.  From  the  writings  of  Las  Casas,  in  particular,  he  borrowed 
without  ceremony.  The  bishop  had  left  orders  that  his  "  History  of 
the  Indies"  should  not  be  published  till  at  least  forty  years  after  his 
death.  Before  that  period  had  elapsed,  Herrera  had  entered  on  his 
labors,  and,  as  he  had  access  to  the  papers  of  Las  Casas,  he  availed  him- 
self of  it  to  transfer  whole  pages,  nay,  chapters,  of  his  narrative  in  the 
most  unscrupulous  manner  to  his  own  work.  In  doing  this,  he  made  a 
decided  improvement  on  the  manner  of  his  original,  reduced  his  cuna- 
brous  and  entangled  sentences  to  pure  Castilian,  omitted  his  turgid 


96  TORIBIO.  [Book  III. 

declamation  and  his  unreasonable  invectives.  But,  at  the  same  time, 
he  also  excluded  the  passages  that  bore  hardest  on  the  conduct  of  his 
countrymen,  and  those  bursts  of  indignant  eloquence,  which  showed  a 
moral  sensibility  in  the  bishop  of  Chiapa  that  raised  him  so  far  above 
his  age.  By  this  sort  of  metempsychosis,  if  one  may  so  speak,  by 
which  the  letter  and  not  the  spirit  of  the  good  missionary  was  transfer- 
red to  Herrera's  pages,  he  rendered  the  publication  of  Las  Casas'  his- 
tory, in  some  measure,  superfluous ;  and  this  circumstance  has,  no  doubt, 
been  one  reason  for  its  having  been  so  long  detained  in  manuscript. 

Yet,  with  every  allowance  for  the  errors  incident  to  rapid  composition, 
and  to  the  pedantic  chronological  system  pursued  by  Herrera,  his  work 
must  be  admitted  to  have  extraordinary  merit.  It  displays  to  the  read- 
er the  whole  progress  of  Spanish  conquest  and  colonization  in  the  New 
World,  for  the  first  sixty  years  after  the  discovery.  The  individual 
actions  of  his  complicated  story,  though  unskilfully  grouped  together, 
are  unfolded  in  a  pure  and  simple  style,  well  suited  to  the  gravity  of 
his  subject.  If  at  first  sight  he  may  seem  rather  too  willing  to  magni- 
fy the  merits  of  the  early  discoverers,  and  to  throw  a  veil  over  their 
excesses,  it  may  be  pardoned,  as  flowing,  not  from  moral  insensibility, 
but  from  the  patriotic  sentiment  which  made  him  desirous,  as  far  as 
might  be,  to  wipe  away  every  stain  from  the  escutcheon  of  his  nation, 
in  the  proud  period  of  her  renown.  It  is  natural  that  the  Spaniard, 
who  dwells  on  this  period,  should  be  too  much  dazzled  by  the  display 
of  her  gigantic  efl^orts,  scrupulously  to  weigh  their  moral  character,  or 
the  merits  of  the  cause  in  which  they  were  made.  Yet  Herrera's  na- 
tional partiality  never  makes  him  the  apologist  of  crime  ;  and,  with  the 
allowances  fairly  to  be  conceded,  he  may  be  entitled  to  the  praise  so 
often  given  him  of  integrity  and  candor. 

It  must  not  be  forgotten,  that,  in  addition  to  the  narrative  of  the  early 
discoveries  of  the  Spaniards,  Herrera  has  brought  together  a  vast 
quantity  of  information  in  respect  to  the  institutions  and  usages  of  the 
Indian  nations,  collected  from  the  most  authentic  sources.  This  gives 
his  work  a  completeness,  beyond  what  is  to  be  found  in  any  other  on 
the  same  subject.  It  is,  indeed,  a  noble  monument  of  sagacity  and 
erudition  ;  and  the  student  of  history,  and  still  more  the  historical  com- 
piler, will  find  himself  unable  to  advance  a  single  step  among  the  early 
colonial  settlements  of  the  New  World  without  reference  to  the  pages 
of  Herrera. 

Another  writer  on  Mexico,  frequently  consulted  in  the  course  of  the 
present  narrative,  is  Toribio  de  Benavente,  or  Motolinia,  as  he  is  still 
more  frequently  called,  from  his  Indian  cognomen.  He  was  one  of  the 
twelve  Franciscan  missionaries,  who,  at  the  request  of  Cortes,  were 
sent  out  to  New  Spain  immediately  after  the  Conquest,  in  1523.     To- 


Ch.  IX.]  TORIBIO.  97 

ribio's  humble  attire,  naked  feet,  and,  in  short,  the  poverty-stricken 
aspect  which  belongs  to  his  order,  frequently  drew  from  the  natives 
the  exclamation  of  Motolinia,  or  "  poor  man."  It  was  the  first  Aztec 
word,  the  signification  of  which  the  missionary  learned,  and  he  was  so 
much  pleased  with  it,  as  intimating  his  own  condition,  that  he  hence- 
forth assumed  it  as  his  name.  Toribio  employed  himself  zealously 
with  his  brethren  in  the  great  object  of  their  mission.  He  travelled  on 
foot  over  various  parts  of  Mexico,  Guatemala,  and  Nicaragua.  Wher- 
ever he  went,  he  spared  no  pains  to  wean  the  natives  from  their  dark 
idolatry,  and  to  pour  into  their  minds  the  light  of  revelation.  He 
showed  even  a  tender  regard  for  their  temporal  as  well  as  spiritual 
wants,  and  Bernal  Diaz  testifies  that  he  has  known  him  to  give  away 
his  own  robe  to  clothe  a  destitute  and  suffering  Indian.  Yet  this  char 
itable  friar,  so  meek  and  conscientious  in  the  discharge  of  his  Christian 
duties,  was  one  of  the  fiercest  opponents  of  Las  Casas,  and  sent  home 
a  remonstrance  against  the  bishop  of  Chiapa,  couched  in  terms  the 
most  opprobrious  and  sarcastic.  It  has  led  the  bishop's  biographer, 
Quintana,  to  suggest  that  the  friar's  threadbare  robe  may  have  covered 
somewhat  of  worldly  pride  and  envy.  It  may  be  so.  Yet  it  may  also 
lead  us  to  distrust  the  discretion  of  Las  Casas  himself,  who  could  caiTy 
measures  with  so  rude  a  hand  as  to  provoke  such  unsparing  animad- 
versions from  his  fellow-laborers  in  the  vineyard. 

Toribio  was  made  guardian  of  a  Franciscan  convent  at  Tezcuco.  In 
this  situation  he  continued  active  in  good  works,  and,  at  this  place,  and 
in  his  diflferent  pilgrimages,  is  stated  to  have  baptized  more  than  four 
hundred  thousand  natives.  His  efficacious  piety  was  attested  by  vari- 
ous miracles.  One  of  the  most  remarkable  was,  when  the  Indians  were 
suffering  from  great  drought,  which  threatened  to  annihilate  the  ap- 
proaching harvests.  The  good  father  recommended  a  solemn  procession 
of  the  natives  to  the  church  of  Santa  Cruz,  with  prayers  and  a  vigorous 
flagellation.  The  effect  was  soon  visible  in  such  copious  rains  as 
entirely  relieved  the  people  from  their  apprehensions,  and  in  the  end 
made  the  season  uncommonly  fruitful.  The  counterpart  to  this  prod- 
igy was  afforded  a  few  years  later,  while  the  country  was  laboring 
under  excessive  rains;  when,  by  a  similar  remedy,  the  evil  was 
checked,  and  a  like  propitious  influence  exerted  on  the  season  as  before. 
The  exhibition  of  such  miracles  greatly  edified  the  people,  says  hii 
biographer,  and  established  them  firmly  in  the  Faith.  Probably  Tori- 
bio's  exemplary  life  and  conversation,  so  beautifully  illustrating  the 
principles  which  he  taught,  did  quite  as  much  for  the  good  cause  as 
his  miracles. 

Thus  passing  his  days  in  the  peaceful  and  pious  avocations  of  the 
Christian  missionary,  the  worthy  ecclesiastic  was  at  length  called  from 
VOL.    II.  13 


98  TORIBIO.  [Book  III 

the  scene  of  his  eartlily  pilgrimage,  in  what  year  is  uncertain,  but  at 
an  advanced  age,  for  he  survived  all  the  little  band  of  missionaries 
who  had  accompanied  him  to  New  Spain.  He  died  in  the  convent  of 
San  Francisco  at  Mexico,  and  his  panegyric  is  thus  emphatically  pro- 
nounced by  Torquemada,  a  brother  of  his  own  order  :  "  He  was  a 
truly  apostolic  man,  a  great  teacher  of  Christianity,  beautiful  in  the 
ornament  of  every  virtue,  jealous  of  the  glory  of  God,  a  friend  of 
evangelical  poverty,  most  true  to  the  observance  of  his  monastic  rule, 
and  zealous  in  the  conversion  of  the  heathen."  , 

Father  Toribio's  long  personal  intercourse  with  the  Mexicans,  and 
the  knowledge  of  their  language,  which  he  was  at  much  pains  to  ac- 
quire, opened  to  him  all  the  sources  of  information  respecting  them  and 
their  institutions,  which  existed  at  the  time  of  the  Conquest.  The 
results  he  carefully  digested  in  the  work  so  often  cited  in  these  pages, 
the  Historia  de  los  Indios  de  Nueva  Espana,  making  a  volume  of  man- 
uscript in  folio.  It  is  divided  into  three  parts.  1.  The  religion,  rites, 
and  sacrifices  of  the  Aztecs.  2.  Their  conversion  to  Christianity,  and 
their  manner  of  celebrating  the  festivals  of  the  Church.  3.  The  genius 
and  character  of  the  nation,  their  chronology  and  astrology,  together 
with  notices  of  the  principal  cities  and  the  staple  productions  of  the 
country.  Notwithstanding  the  methodical  arrangement  of  the  w^ork, 
it  is  written  in  the  rambling,  unconnected  manner  of  a  common-place 
book,  into  which  the  author  has  thrown  at  random  his  notices  of  such 
matters  as  most  interested  him  in  his  survey  of  the  country.  His  own 
mission  is  ever  before  his  eyes,  and  the  immediate  topic  of  discussion, 
of  whatever  nature  it  may  be,  is  at  once  abandoned  to  exhibit  an  event 
or  an .  anecdote  that  can  illustrate  his  ecclesiastical  labors.  The  most 
startling  occurrences  are  recorded  with  all  the  credulous  gravity  which 
is  so  likely  to  win  credit  from  the  vulgar ;  and  a  stock  of  miracles  is 
duly  attested  by  the  historian,  of  more  than  sufficient  magnitude  to 
supply  the  wants  of  the  infant  religious  communities  of  New  Spain. 

Yet,  amidst  this  mass  of  pious  incredibilia,  the  inquirer  into  the  Az- 
tec antiquities  will  find  much  curious  and  substantial  information.  To- 
ribio's long  and  intimate  relations  with  the  natives  put  him  in  posses- 
sion of  their  whole  stock  of  theology  and  science  ;  and  as  his  manner, 
though  somewhat  discursive,  is  plain  and  unaffected,  there  is  no  ob- 
scurity in  the  communication  of  his  ideas.  His  inferences,  colored  by 
the  superstitions  of  the  age,  and  the  peculiar  nature  of  his  profession, 
may  be  often  received  with  oistrust.  But,  as  his  integrity  and  his 
means  of  information  were  unquestionable,  his  work  becomes  of  the 
first  authority  in  relation  to  the  antiquities  of  the  country,  and  its  con 
dition  at  the  period  of  the  Conquest.  As  an  educated  man,  he  wa* 
enabled  to  penetrate  deeper  than  the  illiterate  soldiers  of  Cortes,  men 


cir    IX.]  MARTYR  99 

given  to  action  rather  than  to  speculation.  —  Yet  Torihio's  manuscript, 
valuable  as  it  is  to  the  historian,  has  never  been  printed,  and  has  too 
little  in  it  of  popular  interest,  probably,  ever  to  be  printed.  Much  that 
it  contains  has  found  its  way,  in  various  forms,  into  subsequent  compi- 
lations. The  work  itself  is  very  rarely  to  be  found.  Dr.  Robertson 
had  a  copy,  as  it  seems  from  the  catalogue  of  MSS.  published  with 
his  "  History  of  America"  ;  though  the  author's  name  is  not  prefixed 
to  it.  There  is  no  copy,  I  believe,  in  the  library  of  the  Academy  of 
History  at  Madrid  ;  and  for  that  in  my  possession  I  am  indebted  to  the 
kindness  of  that  curious  bibliographer,  Mr.  O.  Rich,  now  consul  for 
the  United  States  at  Minorca. 

Pietro  Martire  de  Angleria,  or  Peter  Martyr,  as  he  is  called  by 
English  writers,  belonged  to  an  ancient  and  highly  respectable  family 
of  Arena  in  the  north  of  Italy.  In  1487  he  was  induced  by  the  count 
of  Tendilla,  the  Spanish  ambassador  at  Rome,  to  return  with  him  to 
Castile.  He  was  graciously  received  by  Queen  Isabella,  always  de- 
sirous to  draw  around  her  enlightened  foreigners,  who  might  exercise 
a  salutary  influence  on  the  rough  and  warlike  nobility  of  Castile » 
Martyr,  who  had  been  educated  for  the  Church,  was  persuaded  by  the 
queen  to  undertake  the  instruction  of  the  young  nobles  at  the  court. 
In  this  way  he  formed  an  intimacy  with  some  of  the  most  illustrious 
men  of  the  nation,  who  seem  to  have  cherished  a  warm  personal 
regard  for  him  through  the  remainder  of  his  life.  He  was  employed 
by  the  Catholic  sovereigns  in  various  concerns  of  public  interest,  was 
sent  on  a  mission  to  Egypt,  and  was  subsequently  raised  to  a  distin- 
guished post  in  the  cathedral  of  Granada.  But  he  continued  to  pass 
much  of  his  time  at  court,  where -he  enjoyed  the  confidence  of  Ferdi- 
nand and  Isabella,  and  of  their  successor,  Charles  the  Fifth,  till  in  1525 
lie  died,  at  the  age  of  seventy. 

Martyr's  character  combined  qualities  not  often  found  in  the  same 
individual,  —  an  ardent  love  of  letters,  with  a  practical  sagacity  that 
can  only  result  from  familiarity  with  men  and  affairs.  Though  passing 
his  days  in  the  gay  and  dazzling  society  of  the  capital,  he  preserved 
the  simple  tastes  and  dignified  temper  of  a  philosopher.  His  corres- 
pondence, as  well  as  his  more  elaborate  writings,  if  the  term  elaborate 
can  be  applied  to  any  of  his  writings,  manifests  an  enlightened  and 
oftentimes  independent  spirit;  though  one  would  have  been  better 
pleased,  had  he  been  sufficiently  independent  to  condemn  the  religious 
intolerance  of  the  government.  But  Martyr,  though  a  philosopher, 
was  enough  of  a  courtier  to  look  with  a  lenient  eye  on  the  errors  of 
princes.  Though  deeply  imbued  with  the  learning  of  Antiquity,  and 
a  scholar  at  heart,  he  had  none  of  the  feelings  of  the  recluse,  but  took 
the  most  lively  interest  in  the  events  that  were  passing  around  him. 


100  MARTYR.  [Book  III. 

His  various  writings,  including  his  copious  correspondence,  are  for  this 
reason  the  very  best  mirror  of  the  age  in  which  he  lived. 

His  inquisitive  mind  was  particularly  interested  by  the  discoveries 
that  were  going  on  in  the  New  World.  He  was  allowed  to  be  present 
at  the  sittings  of  the  Council  of  the  Indies,  when  any  communication 
of  importance  was  made  to  it ;  and  he  was  subsequently  appointed 
a  member  of  that  body.  All  that  related  to  the  colonies  paesed 
through  his  hands.  The  correspondence  of  Columbus,  Cortes,  and 
the  other  discoverers,  with  the  Court  of  Castile  was  submitted  to  his 
perusal.  He  became  personally  acquainted  with  these  illustrious  per- 
sons, on  their  return  home,  and  frequently,  as  we  find  from  his  own 
letters,  entertained  them  at  his  own  table.  With  these  advantages, 
his  testimony  becomes  but  one  degree  removed  from  that  of  the  actors 
themselves  in  the  great  drama.  In  one  respect  it  is  of  a  higher  kind, 
since  it  is  free  from  the  prejudice  and  passion,  which  a  personal  interest 
in  events  is  apt  to  beget.  The  testimony  of  Martyr  is  that  of  a  phi- 
losopher, taking  a  clear  and  comprehensive  survey  of  the  ground,  with 
such  lights  of  previous  knowledge  to  guide  him,  as  none  of  the  actual 
discoverers  and  conquerors  could  pretend  to.  It  is  true,  this  does  not 
prevent  his  occasionally  falling  into  errors ;  the  errors  of  credulity,  — 
not,  however,  of  the  credulity  founded  on  superstition,  but  that  which 
arises  ucm  the  uncertain  nature  of  the  subject,  where  phenomena,  so 
unlike  any  thing  with  which  he  had  been  familiar,  were  now  first  dis- 
closed by  the  revelation  of  an  unknown  world. 

He  may  be  more  fairly  charged  with  inaccuracies  of  another  de- 
scription, growing  out  of  haste  and  inadvertence  of  composition.  But 
even  here  we  should  be  charitable.  .For  he  confesses  his  sins  with  a 
candor  that  disarms  criticism.  In  truth,  he  wrote  rapidly,  and  on  the 
spur  of  the  moment,  as  occasion  served.  He  shrunk  from  the  publica- 
tion of  his  writings,  when  it  was  urged  on  him,  and  his  Decades  De 
Orbe  Novo,  in  which  he  embodied  the  results  of  his  researches  in 
respect  to  the  American  discoveries,  were  not  published  entire  till  after 
his  death.  The  most  valuable  and  complete  edition  of  this  work  — 
the  one  referred  to  in  the  present  pages  —  is  the  edition  of  Hakluyt, 
published  at  Paris,  in  1587. 

Martyr's  works  are  all  in  Latin,  and  that  not  the  purest ;  a  circum- 
stance rather  singular,  considering  his  familiarity  with  the  classic 
models  of  Antiquity.  Yet  he  evidently  handled  the  dead  languages 
with  the  same  facility  as  the  living.  Whatever  defects  may  be  charged 
on  his  manner,  in  the  selection  and  management  of  his  topics  he  shows 
the  superiority  of  his  genius.  He  passes  over  the  trivial  details,  which 
80  often  encumber  the  literal  narratives  of  the  Spanish  voyagers,  and 
fixes  his  attention  on  the  great  results  of  their  discoveries,  —  the  pro- 


Ch.  IX.] 


MARTYR. 


101 


ducts  of  the  country,  the  history  and  institutions  of  the  races,  their 
character  and  advance  in  civilization.  In  one  respect  his  writings  are 
of  peculiar  value.  They  show  the  state  of  feeling  which  existed  at 
the  Castilian  court  during  the  progress  of  discovery.  They  furnish, 
in  short,  the  reverse  side  of  the  picture ;  and,  when  we  have  followed 
the  Spanish  conquerors  in  their  wonderful  career  of  adventure  in  the 
New  World,  we  have  only  to  turn  to  the  pages  of  Martyr  to  find  the 
impression  produced  by  them  on  the  enlightened  minds  of  the  Old. 
Such  a  view  is  necessary  to  the  completeness  of  the  historical  picture. 
If  the  reader  is  curious  to  learn  more  of  this  estimable  scholar,  he 
will  find  the  particulars  given  in  "The  History  of  Ferdinand  and  Isa- 
bella," (Part  I.  chap.  14,  Postscript,  and  chap.  19,)  for  the  illustration 
of  whose  reign,  his  voluminous  correspondence  furnishes  the  moa 
authentic  materials. 


BOOK   FOURTH. 


RESIDENCE  IN  MEXICO. 


'i-^ 


'm 


M, 


I 


BOOK  IV. 

RESIDENCE  IN  MEXICO. 


CHAPTER   I. 

Tezcucan   Lake.  —  Description  of  the  Capital.  —  Palaces  and 
Museums. — Royal  Household.  —  Montezuma's  Way  of  Life 

1519. 

The  ancient  city  of  Mexico  covered  the  same 
spot  occupied  by  the  modern  capital.  The  great 
causeways  touched  it  in  the  same  points;  the  streets 
ran  in  much  the  same  direction,  nearly  from  north 
to  south  and  from  east  to  west ;  the  cathedral  in  the 
plaza  mayor  stands  on  the  same  ground  that  was 
covered  by  the  temple  of  the  Aztec  war-god ;  and  the 
four  principal  quarters  of  the  town  are  still  known 
among  the  Indians  by  their  ancient  names.  Yet  an 
Aztec  of  the  days  of  Montezuma,  could  he  behold  the 
modern  metropolis,  which  has  risen  with  such  phoe- 
nix-like splendor  from  the  ashes  of  the  old,  would 
not  recognise  its  site  as  that  of  his  own  Tenochtit- 
lan.  For  the  latter  was  encompassed  by  the  salt 
floods  of  Tezcuco,  which  flowed  in  ample  canals 

VOL.    II.  14 


106  ^       RESIDENCE  IN   MEXICO.  [Bodk  IV. 

through  every  part  of  the  city ;  while  the  Mexico  of 
our  day  stands  high  and  dry  on  the  main  land,  near- 
ly a  league  distant,  at  its  centre,  from  the  water. 
The  cause  of  this  apparent  change  in  its  position  is 
the  diminution  of  the  lake,  which,  from  the  rapidity 
of  evaporation  in  these  elevated  regions,  had  become 
perceptible  before  the  Conquest,  but  which  has  since 
been  greatly  accelerated  by  artificial  causes.^ 

The  average  level  of  the  Tezcucan  lake,  at  the 
present  day,  is  but  four  feet  lower  than  the  great 
square  of  Mexico.^  It  is  considerably  lower  than 
the  other  great  basins  of  water  which  are  found  in 
the  Valley.  In  the  heavy  swell  sometimes  caused 
by  long  and  excessive  rains,  these  latter  reservoirs 
anciently  overflowed  into  the  Tezcuco,  which,  ris- 
ing with  the  accumulated  volume  of  waters,  burst 
through  the  dikes,  and,  pouring  into  the  streets  of  the 
capital,  buried  the  lower  part  of  the  buildings  under 
a  deluge.  This  was  comparatively  a  light  evil,  when 
the  houses  stood  on  piles  so  elevated  that  boats 
might  pass  under  them  ;  when  the  streets  were 
e.anals,  and  the  ordinary  mode  of  communication  was 


1  The  lake,  it  seems,  had  peroep-  sorely  puzzles  the  learned  Martyr ; 

tibly  shrunk  before  the  Conquest,  (De  Orbe  Novo,  dec.  5,  cap.  3  ;) 

from  the  testimony  of  Motilinia,  as  it  has  more  than  one  philosopher 

who  entered  the  country  soon  after,  since,  whom  it  has  led  to  speculate 

Toribio,  Hist,  de  los  Indiog,  MS.,  on  a  subterraneous  communication 

Parte  3,  cap.  6.  with  the  ocean  !    What  the  gener- 

9  Humboldt,     Essai    Politique,  al  called  "tides"   was  probably 

tom.  n.  p.  95.  the  periodical  swells  caused  by 

Cortes  supposed  there  were  reg-  the  prevalence  of  certain  regular 

ular  tides  in  this  lake.  (Rel.  Seg.,  winds. 
ap.   Lorenzana,    p.    101.)      This 


Ch,  I.]  TEZCUCAN   LAKE.  107 

by  water.     But  it  became  more  disastrous,  as  these 
canals,  filled  up  with  the  rubbish  of  the  ruined  Indi- 
an city,  were  supplanted  by  streets  of  solid  earth, 
and  the  foundations  of  the  capital  were  gradually 
reclaimed  from  the  watery  element.     To  obviate  this 
alarming  evil,  the  famous  drain  of  Huehuetoca  was 
opened,  at  an  enormous  cost,  in  the  beginning  of  the 
seventeenth  century,  and  Mexico,  after  repeated  in- 
undations, has  been  at  length  placed  above  the  reach 
of  the  flood.^     But  what  was  gained  to  the  useful, 
in  this  case,  as  in  some  others,  has  been  purchased 
at  the  expense  of  the  beautiful.     By  this  shrinking 
of  the  waters,  the  bright  towns  and  hamlets  once 
washed  by  them  have  been  removed  some  miles  into 
the  interior,  while  a  barren  strip  of  land,    ghastly 
from  the  incrustation  of  salts  formed  on  the  surface, 
has  taken   place  of  the   glowing  vegetation  which 
once  enamelled  the  borders  of  the  lake,  and  of  the 
dark   groves  of   oak,   cedar,   and    sycamore   which 
threw  their  broad  shadows  over  its  bosom. 

The  chinampas,  that  archipelago  of  wandering 
islands,  to  which  our  attention  was  drawn  in  the  last 
chapter,  have,  also,  nearly  disappeared.  These  had 
their  origin  in  the  detached  masses  of  earth,  which, 
loosening  from  the  shores,  were  still  held  together  by 
the  fibrous  roots  with  which  they  were  penetrated. 
The   primitive   Aztecs,   in   their    poverty   of   land* 

^  Humboldt  has  given  a  minute  in  its  present  form,  does  not  date 

account  of  this  tunnel,  which  he  earlier  than  the  latter  part  of  the 

pronounces  one  of  the  most  stu-  last  century.     See  his  Essai  Poli- 

pendous  hydraulic  works  in  exist-  tique,  torn.  II.  p.  105,  et  seq. 
ence,  and  the  completion  of  which. 


108  RESIDENCE  IN   MEXICO.  [Book  IV. 

availed  themselves  of  the  hint  thus  afforded  by  na- 
ture. They  constructed  rafts  of  reeds,  rushes,  and 
other  fibrous  materials,  which,  tightly  knit  together, 
formed  a  sufficient  basis  for  the  sediment  that  they 
drew  up  from  the  bottom  of  the  lake.  Gradually 
islands  were  formed,  two  or  three  hundred  feet  in 
length,  and  three  or  four  feet  in  depth,  with  a  rich 
stimulated  soil,  on  which  the  economical  Indian 
raised  his  vegetables  and  flowers  for  the  markets  of 
Tenochtitlan.  Some  of  these  chinampas  were  even 
firm  enough  to  allow  the  growth  of  small  trees,  and 
to  sustain  a  hut  for  the  residence  of  the  person  that 
had  charge  of  it,  who  with  a  long  pole,  resting  on 
the  sides  or  the  bottom  of  the  shallow  basin,  could 
change  the  position  of  liis  little  territory  at  pleasure, 
which  with  its  rich  freight  of  vegetable  stores  was 
seen  moving  like  some  enchanted  island  ovrr  the 
water.^ 

The  ancient  dikes  were  three  in  number.  That 
of  Iztapalapan,  by  which  the  Spaniards  entered,  ap- 
proaching the  city  from  the  south.  That  of  Tepe- 
jacac,  on  the  north,  which,  continuing  the  piinci- 
pal  street,  might  be  regarded,  also,  as  a  contin- 
uation of  the  first  causeway.  Lastly,  the  dike  of 
Tlacopan,  connecting  the  island-city  with  the  conti- 
nent on  the  west.  This  last  causeway,  memorable 
for  the  disastrous  retreat  of  the  Spaniards,  was  about 
two  miles  in  length.  They  were  all  built  in  the 
same  substantial  manner,  of  lime  and  stone,  were 

4  Ibid.,  torn.  II.  p.  87,  et  seq.  —  Clavigero,  Stor.  del  Messico,  torn 
H.  p.  153. 


Ch.  I.]  DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  CAPITAL.  109 

defended  by  draw- bridges,  and  were  wide  enough 
for  ten  or  twelve  horsemen  to  ride  abreast.^ 

The  rude  founders  of  Tenochtitlan  built  their  frail 
tenements  of  reeds  and  rushes  on  the  group  of  small 
islands  in  the  western  part  of  the  lake.  In  process 
of  time,  these  were  supplanted  by  more  substantial 
buildings.  A  quarry  in  the  neighbourhood,  of  a  red 
porous  amygdaloid,  tetzontli,  was  opened,  and  a  light, 
brittle  stone  drawn  from  it  and  wrought  with  little 
difficulty.  Of  this  their  edifices  were  constructed, 
with  some  reference  to  architectural  solidity,  if  not 
elegance.  Mexico,  as  already  noticed,  was  the  resi- 
dence of  the  great  chiefs,  whom  the  sovereign  en- 
couraged, or  rather  compelled,  from  obvious  motives 
of  policy,  to  spend  part  of  the  year  in  the  capital. 
It  was  also  the  temporary  abode  of  the  great  lords 
of  Tezcuco  and  Tlacopan,  who  shared,  nominally, 
at  least,  the  sovereignty  of  the  empire.®  The  man- 
sions of  these  dignitaries,  and  of  the  principal  nobles, 
were  on  a  scale  of  rude  magnificence  corresponding 
with  their  state.  They  were  low,  indeed ;  seldom 
of  more  than  one  floor,  never  exceeding  two.  But 
they  spread  over  a  wide  extent  of  ground ;  were 
aiTanged  in  a  quadrangular  form,  with  a  court  in  the 
centre,  and  were  surrounded  by  porticos  embellished 
with  porphyry  and  jasper,  easily  found  in  the  neigh- 


5  Toribio,  Hist,  de  los  Indies,  oned  an  arm  of  the  southern  one 

MS.,  Parte  3,  cap.  8.  leading  to  Cojohuacan,  or  possibly 

Cortes,  indeed,  speaks  of  four  the  great  aqueduct  of  Chapol tepee 

causeways.  (Rel.  Seg.,  ap.  Loren-  6  Ante,  Vol.  I.  p.  18 
zana,  p.  102.)  He  may  have  reck- 


110  RESIDENCE  IN   MEXICO.  [Book  IV. 

bourhood,  while  not  unfrequently  a  fountain  of  crystal 
water  in  the  centre  shed  a  grateful  coolness  over  the 
atmosphere.  The  dwellings  of  the  common  people 
were  also  placed  on  foundations  of  stone,  which  rose 
to  the  height  of  c  few  feet,  and  were  then  succeeded 
by  courses  of  unbaked  bricks,  crossed  occasionally  by 
wooden  raftersJ  Most  of  the  streets  were  mean 
and  narrow.  Some  few,  however,  were  wide  and 
of  great  length.  The  principal  street,  conducting 
from  the  great  southern  causeAVay,  penetrated  in  a 
straight  line  the  whole  length  of  the  city,  and  af- 
forded a  noble  vista,  in  which  the  long  lines  of  low 
stone  edifices  were  broken  occasionally  by  interven- 
ing gardens,  rising  on  terraces,  and  displaying  all 
the  pomp  of  Aztec  horticulture. 

The  great  streets,  which  were  coated  with  a  hard 
cement,  were  intersected  by  numerous  canals.  Some 
of  these  were  flanked  by  a  solid  way,  which  served 
as  a  foot- walk  for  passengers,  and  as  a  landing-place 
where  boats  might  discharge  their  cargoes.  Small 
buildings  were  erected  at  intervals,  as  stations  for 
the  revenue  officers  who  collected  the  duties  on  dif- 


"^  Martyr  gives  a  particular  ac-  liquam    molem    construunt ;    uno 

count  df  these  dwellings,  which  sunt  communes  domus   contentae 

shows  that  even  the  poorer  classes  tabulate.     In  solo  parum  hospitan- 

were  comfortably  lodged.     "  Pop-  tur  propter  humiditatem,  tecta  non 

ulares  vero   domus   cingulo   virili  tegulis  sed  bitumine  quodam  ter- 

tcnus  lapideae  sunt  et  ipsag,  ob  la-  reo  vestiunt ;  ad  solem  captandum 

cunse  incrementum  per  fluxum  aut  commodior  est  ille  modus,  breviore 

fluviorum  in  ea  labentium  alluvies.  tempore  consumi  debere  credendum 

Super  fundamentis    illis   magnis,  est."      De  Orbe   Novo,   dec.    6, 

lateribus  tum  coctis,  turn  aestivo  cap.  10. 
sole  siccatis,  immixtis  trabibus  re- 


Ch    I]  DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  CAPITAL.  Hj 

ferent  articles  of  merchandise.  The  canals  were 
traversed  by  numerous  bridges,  many  of  which  could 
be  raised,  affording  the  means  of  cutting  off  commu- 
nication between  different  parts  of  the  city.^ 

From  the  accounts  of  the  ancient  capital,  one  is 
reminded  of  those  aquatic  cities  in  the  Old  World, 
the  positions  of  which  have  been  selected  from  simi- 
lar motives  of  economy  and  defence ;  above  all,  of 
Venice,^  —  if  it  be  not  rash  to  compare  the  rude 
architecture  of  the  American  Indian  with  the  mar- 
ble palaces  and  temples  —  alas,  how  shorn  of  their 
splendor !  —  which  crowned  the  once  proud  mistress 
of  the  Adriatic. ^°  The  example  of  the  metropolis 
was  soon  followed  by  the  other  towns  in  the  vicin- 
ity. Instead  of  resting  their  foundations  on  terra 
firma,  they  were  seen  advancing  far  into  the  lake, 
the  shallow  waters  of  which  in  some  parts  do  not 
exceed  four  feet  in  depth."     Thus  an  easy  means 


8  Toribio,  Hist,  de  los  Indies,  sonnet,  contrasting  the  origin  of 
MS.,  Parte  3,  cap.  8.  —  Rel.  Seg.  Venice  with  its  meridian  glory  1 

de  Cortes,  ap.    Lorenzana,  p.  108.  "  Quest i  Palazzi  e  queste  logge  or  colle 

—  Oviedo,  Hist,  de  las  Ind.,  MS.,  ^°-"t'^°'  ^'  ""^'""^  «  ^'  fi="'"«  ei^ite, 

,..      nn               l/^     i»          T>   1      J?  FuF  pochc  6  bossB  case  insiemc  accoUe, 

lib.   3.3,  cap.    10,    11.  — Rel.   d'un  Ceserti  lidi  e  povere  Isolette. 

gent.,   ap.  Ramusio,  torn.  HI.   fol.  Magenti  ardited'ogni  viziosciolte 

3Q9  Premeano  il  mar  con  picciole  barchelte, 

Q  , ,     ^                     .        ^         -.1     .1  Che  qui  non  per  domar  provincie  moUe, 

9  Martyr  was  struck  with  the  ^^  ^^^^.^  J^.^^  ^.  J^  ^.^^^^^^^ 

resemblance.      "  Uti  de  illustrissi-  Non  era  ambizion  ne'  petti  loro ; 

ma  civitate  Venetiarum  legitur,  ad  Ma  'l  mentlre  abborrian  pia clie  la  morta, 

tumulum  in  ea  sinus  Adriatici  parte  J^,^l'  ''f^''\  ingorda  fame  d'  oro. 

'^  Se  '1  Ciel  v'  ha  dalo  piu  beala  sorle, 

Visum,  fuisse  COnstructam. ' '     Mar-  Non  sien  quelle  virtu  Che  tanto  onoro. 

tyr,  De  Orbe  Novo,  dec.  5,  cap.  10.  Dalle  nuove  ricchezze  oppresse  emorte." 

^'^  May  we  not  apply,  without  ii  "Lelac  de  Tezcuco  n'a  g6' 

much  violence,  to  the  Aztec  capi-  n^ralement  que  trois  k  cinq  metres 

tal,  Giovanni  della  Casa's  spirited  de    profondeur.      Dans    quelquea 


112 


RESIDENCE  IN   MEXICO. 


[Book   IV. 


of  intercommunication  was  opened,  and  the  snrface 
of  this  inland  "  sea,"  as  Cortes  styles  it,  was  dark- 
ened by  thousands  of  canoes  ^^ — an  Indian  term  — 
industriously  engaged  in  the  traffic  between  these 
little  communities.  How  gay  and  picturesque  must 
have  been  the  aspect  of  the  lake  in  those  days,  with 
its  shining  cities,  and  flowering  islets  rocking,  as  it 
were,  at  anchor  on  the  fair  bosom  of  its  waters  ! 

The  population  of  Tenochtitlan,  at  the  time  of 
the  Conquest,  is  variously  stated.  No  contemporary 
writer  estimates  it  at  less  than  sixty  thousand  houses, 
which,  by  the  ordinary  rules  of  reckoning,  would 
give  three  hundred  thousand  souls.^^     If  a  dwelling 


endroits  le  fond  se  trouve  raeme 
d^j^  a  moins  d'un  metre."  Hum- 
boldt, Essai  Politique,  tom.  II. 
p.  49. 

12  <'Y  cada  dia  entran  gran 
multitud  de  Indies  cargados  de 
bastimentos  y  tributes,  asi  por  tier- 
ra  come  por  agua,  en  acales  6  bar- 
cas,  que  en  lengua  de  las  Islas 
llaman  Canoas.^^  Toribio,  Hist, 
de  los  Indies,  MS.,  Parte  3,  cap.  6. 

13  *'  Esta  la  cibdad  de  Mejico  6 
Teneztutan,  que  sera  de  sesenta 
mil  vecinos."  (Carta  de  Lie.  Zu- 
azo,  MS.)  "  Tenustitanam  ipsam 
inquiunt  sexaginta  circiter  esse 
millium  domorum."  (Martyr,  De 
Orbe  Novo,  dec.  5,  cap.  3.)  "  Era 
M6jico,  quando  Cortes  entr6,  pue- 
blo de  sesenta  mil  casas."  (Go- 
mara,  Crdnica,  cap.  78.)  Toribio 
says,  vaguely,  *'  Los  moradores  y 
gente  era  innumerable."  (Hist, 
de  los  Indies,  MS.,  Parte  3,  cap. 


8.)  The  Italian  translation  of  the 
"  Anonymous  Conqueror,"  who 
survives  only  in  translation,  says, 
indeed,  "  meglio  di  sessanta  mila 
habitatori''^ ;  (Rel.  d'un  gent.,  ap. 
Ramusio,  tom.  III.  fol.  309 ;)  ow- 
ing, probably,  to  a  blunder  in  ren- 
dering the  word  vecinos,  the  ordi- 
nary term  in  Spanish  statistics, 
which,  signifying  householder's,  cor 
responds  with  the  Italian  fuochi. 
See,  also,  Clavigero.  (Stor.  del 
Messico,  tom.  III.  p.  86,  nota.) 
Robertson  rests  exclusively  on  this 
Italian  translation  for  his  estimate. 
(History  of  America,  vol.  II.  p. 
281.)  He  cites,  indeed,  two  other 
authorities  in  the  same  connexion ; 
Cortes,  who  says  nothing  of  the 
population,  and  Herrera,  who  con 
firms  the  popular  statement  of 
"sesenta  mil  casas."  (Hist.  Gen- 
eral, dec.  2,  lib.  7,  cap.  13.)  The 
fact  is  of  some  importance. 


Cn.  I.]  DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  CAPITAL.  113 

often  contained,  as  is  asserted,  several  families,  it 
would  swell  the  amount  considerably  higher. ^^  Noth- 
ing is  more  uncertain  than  estimates  of  numbers 
among  barbarous  communities,  who  necessarily  live 
in  a  more  confused  and  promiscuous  manner  than 
civilized,  and  among  whom  no  regular  system  is 
adopted  for  ascertaining  the  population.  The  con- 
current testimony  of  the  Conquerors  ;  the  extent  of 
the  city,  which  was  said  to  be  nearly  three  leagues 
in  circumference ;  ^^  the  immense  size  of  its  great 
market-place ;  the  long  lines  of  edifices,  vestiges  of 
whose  ruins  may  still  be  found  in  the  suburbs,  miles 
from  the  modern  city ;  ^^  the  fame  of  the  metropolis 
throughout  Anahuac,  which,  however,  could  boast 
many  large  and  populous  places;  lastly,  the  econom- 
ical husbandry  and  the  ingenious  contrivances  to  ex- 
tract aliment  from  the  most  unpromising  sources,^^— - 
all  attest  a  numerous  population,  far  beyond  that  of 
tlie  present  capital.'^ 

^4  "En  las  casas,  por  pequenas  dernier  des  Montezuma.   L'enorme 

que  eran,  poeas  veces  dexaban  de  ..grandeur  du  marche de* Tlatelolco, 

morar  dos,  quatro,  y  seis  vecinos."  dont  on  reconnait  encore  les  limites, 

Herrera,  Hist.  General,  dec.  2,  lib.  prouve  combien  la  population  de 

7,  cap.  13.  I'ancienne  ville  doit  avoir  ete  con- 

^5  Rel.  d'un  gent.,  ap.  Ramusio,  siderable."     Humboldt,  Essai  Po 

torn.  HI.  fol.  309.  litique,  torn.  H.  p.  43. 

16   "  C'est    sur   le   chemin   qui  17  A  common  food  vith  the  low- 

mene  a  Tanepantla  et  aux  Ahua-  er  classes  was  a  glutinous  scum 

huetes  que  Ton  peut  marcher  plus  found   iii   the   lakes,  which   they 

d'une  heure  entre   les   ruines   de  made  into  a  sort  of  cake,  having  a 

I'ancienne  ville.     On  y  reconnait,  savor  not  unlike  cheese.     (BernaJ 

ainsi  que  sur  la  route  de  Tacuba  Diaz,  Hist,  de  la  Conquista,  cap 

et  d'Iztapalapan,  combien  Mexico,  92.) 

rebati  par  Cortez,  est  plus   petit  18    One    is    confirmed    in    this 

que   I'etait  Tenochtitlan   sous  le  inference  by  comparing  the  two 
VOL.    II.                       15 


114  RESIDENCE  IN   MEXICO.  f  Book  IV. 

A  careful  police  provided  for  the  health  and  clean- 
liness of  the  city.  A  thousand  persons  are  said  to 
have  been  daily  employed  in  watering  and  sweeping 
the  streets/^  so  that  a  man — to  borrow  the  language 
of  an  old  Spaniard  —  "  could  walk  through  them 
with  as  little  danger  of  soiling  his  feet  as  his 
hands."  ^^  The  water,  in  a  city  washed  on  all  sides 
by  the  salt  floods,  was  extremely  brackish.  A  hb- 
eral  supply  of  the  pure  element,  however,  was 
brought  from  Chapoltepec,  "the  grasshopper's  hill," 
less  than  a  league  distant.  It  was  brought  through 
an  earthen  pipe,  along  a  dike  constructed  for  the 
purpose.  That  there  might  be  no  failure  in  so  es- 
sential an  article,  when  repairs  were  going  on, 
a  double  course  of  pipes  was  laid.  In  this  way  a 
column  of  water  of  the  size  of  a  man's  body  was 
conducted  into  the  heart  of  the  capital,  where  it  fed 
the  fountains  and  reservoirs  of  the  principal  man- 
sions. Openings  were  made  in  the  aqueduct  as  it 
crossed  the  bridges,  and  thus  a  supply  was  furnished 
to  the  canoes  below,  by  means  of  which  it  was 
transported  to  all  parts  of  city.^^ 


inap^at  the  end  of  the  first  edition  tan  asentado  y  liso,  que  aunque  la 
of  Bullock's  "  Mexico  "  ;  one  of  planta  del  pie  fuera  tan  delicada 
the  modern  City,  the  other  of  the  cdmo  la  de  la  mano  no  recibiera  el 
ancient,  taken  from  Boturini's  mu-  pie  detrimento  ninguno  en  andar 
seiim,  and  showing  its  regular  ar-  descalzo."  Toribio,  Hist,  de  los 
rangement  of  streets  and  canals;  Indies,  MS.,  Parte  3,  cap.  7. 
as  regular,  indeed,  as  the  squares  21  Rel.  Seg.  de  Cortes,  ap.  Lo- 
on a  chessboard.  renzana,  p.  108. —Carta  del  Lie. 
19  Clavigero,  Stor.  del  Messico,  Zuazo,  MS.  —  Rel.  d'un  gent., 
torn.  I.  p.  274.  ap.  Ramusio,  torn.  III.  fol.  309 
*    ^  "Era  tan  barrido  y  el  suelo 


Ch.  I.]  PALACES  AND  MUSEUMS.  115 

While  Montezuma  encouraged  a  taste  for  archi- 
tectural magnificence  in  his  nobles,  he  contributed 
his  own  share  towards  the  embellishment  of  the 
city.  It  was  in  his  reign  that  the  famous  calendar- 
stone,  weighing,  probably,  in  its  primitive  state, 
nearly  fifty  tons,  was  transported  from  its  native 
quarry,  many  leagues  distant,  to  the  capital,  where 
it  still  forms  one  of  the  most  curious  monuments  of 
Aztec  science.  Indeed,  when  we  reflect  on  the 
difficulty  of  hewinj^;  such  a  stupendous  mass  from 
its  hard  basaltic  bed  without  the  aid  of  iron  tools, 
and  that  of  transporting  it  such  a  distance  across 
land  and  water  without  the  help  of  animals,  we 
may  well  feel  admiration  at  the  mechanical  ingenuity 
and  enterprise  of  the  people  who  accomplished  it.^ 

Not  content  with  the  spacious  residence  of  his 
father,  Montezuma  erected  another  on  a  yet  more 
magnificent  scale.  It  occupied,  as  before  mentioned, 
the  ground  partly  covered  by  the  private  dwellings 
on  one  side  of  the  plaza  mayor  of  the  modern  city. 
This  building,  or,  as  it  might  more  correctly  be 
styled,  pile  of  buildings,  spread  over  an  extent  of 
ground  so  vast,  that,  as  one  of  the  Conquerors  as- 
sures us,  its  terraced  roof  might  have  afforded  ample 
room  for  thirty  knights  to  run  their  courses  in  a 
regular  tourney.^*^     I  have  already  noticed  its  interior 

^  These  immense  masses,  ac-  10.)     It  was  the  manner  in  which 

cording  to  Martyr,  who  gathered  the  Egyptians  removed  their  enor- 

his  information  from  eyewitnesses,  mous  blocks  of  granite,  as  appears 

were  transported  by  means  of  long  from  numerous  reliefs  sculptured 

files  of  men,  who  dragged  them  on  their  buildings, 

with  ropes  over  huge  wooden  roll-  23  Rgj,  d'un  gent.,  ap.  Ramu 

ers.    (De  Orbe  Novo,  dec.  5,  cap.  sio,  tom.  III.  fol.  309 


116  RESIDENCE  IN   MEXICO.  [Book  I V^. 

decorations,  its  fanciful  draperies,  its  roofs  inlaid 
with  cedar  and  other  odoriferous  woods,  held  togeth- 
er without  a  nail,  and,  probably,  without  a  knowl- 
edge of  the  arch,^"^  its  numerous  and  spacious  apart- 
ments, which  Cortes,  with  enthusiastic  hyperbole, 
does  not  hesitate  to  declare  superior  to  any  thing  of 
the  kind  in  Spain.^^ 

Adjoining  the  principal  edifice  were  others  de- 
voted to  various  objects.  One  was  an  armory,  filled 
with  the  weapons  and  military  dresses  worn  by  the 
Aztecs,  all  kept  in  the  most  perfect  order,  ready  for 
instant  use.  The  emperor  was  himself  very  expert 
in  the  management  of  the  maquahuitl,  or  Indian 
sword,  and  took  great  delight  in  witnessing  athletic 
exercises,  and  the  mimic  representation  of  war  by 
Ms  young  nobility.  Another  building  was  used  as 
a  granary,  and  others  as  warehouses  for  the  different 
articles  of  food  and  apparel  contributed  by  the  dis- 
tricts charged  with  the  maintenance  of  the  royal 
household. 

There  were,  also,  edifices  appropriated  to  objects 
of  quite  another  kind.  One  of  these  was  an  im- 
mense aviary,  in  which  birds  of  splendid  plumage 

2*  "Rices  edificios,"  says  the  25  "Tenia  dentro  de  la  ciudad 

Licentiate  Zuazo,  speaking  of  the  sus  Casas  de  Aposentamiento,  tales, 

buildings  in   Anahuac   generally,  y  tan  maravillosas,  que  me  pare- 

*'ecepto  que  no  se  halla  alguno  ceria  casi  imposible  poder  deeir  la 

con  hor>eda.''    (Carta,  MS.)    The  bondad  y  grandeza  de  ellas.     E 

writer  made  large  and  careful  ob-  por  tanto,  no  me  porn6  en  expresar 

servation,  the  year  after  the  Con-  cosa  de  eWas,  mas  de  que  en  Es- 

quest.     His  assertion,  if  it  be  re-  pafia  no  hay  su  semejable."    Rel. 

ceived,  will  settle  a  question  much  Seg.,  ap.  Lorenzana,  p.  Ill 
mooted  among  antiquaries. 


ch.  l]  palaces  and  museums.  117 

were  assembled  from  all  parts  of  the  empire.  Here 
was  the  scarlet  cardinal,  the  golden  pheasant,  the 
endless  parrot-tribe  with  their  rainbow  hues,  (the 
royal  green  predominant,)  and  that  miniature  miracle 
of  nature,  the  humming-bird,  which  delights  to  revel 
among  the  honeysuckle  bowers  of  Mexico.^^  Three 
hundred  attendants  had  charge  of  this  aviary,  who 
made  themselves  acquainted  with  the  appropriate 
food  of  its  inmates,  oftentimes  procured  at  great  cost, 
and  in  the  moulting  season  were  careful  to  collect 
the  beautiful  plumage,  which,  with  its  many-colored 
tints,  furnished  the  materials  for  the  Aztec  painter. 

A  separate  building  was  reserved  for  the  fierce 
birds  of  prey ;  the  voracious  vulture-tribes  and  eagles 
of  enormous  size,  whose  home  was  in  the  snowy 
solitudes  of  the  Andes.  No  less  than  five  hundred 
turkeys,  the  cheapest  meat  in  Mexico,  were  allowed 
for  the  daily  consumption  of  these  tyrants  of  th** 
feathered  race. 

Adjoining  this  aviary  was  a  menagerie  of  wild 
animals,  gathered  from  the  mountain  forests,  and 
even  from  the  remote  swamps  of  the  tieira  caiiente 

^  Herrera's  account  of  these  the  bees,  they  bve  on  flowers,  and 

feathered  insects,  if  one  may  so  the  dew  which  settles  on  them  ; 

style    them,    shows    the   fanciful  and  when  the  rainy  season  is  over, 

errors  into   which   even  men  of  and  the  dry  weather  sets  in,  they 

science  were  led  in  regard  to  the  fasten  themselves  to  the  trees  by 

new  tribes  of  animals  discovered  in  their  beaks  and  soon  die.     But  in 

America.     "  There  are  some  birds  the  following  year,  when  the  new 

in  the  country  of  the  size  of  but-  rains    come,    they  come    to    life 

lerflies,  with  long  beaks,  brilliant  again"!     Hist.  General,  dec.  2, 

plumage,  much  esteemed  for  the  lib.  10,  cap.  21. 
curious  works  made  of  them.  Like 


118  RESIDENCE   IN    MEXICO.  [Bonir  IV 

The  resemblance  of  the  different  species  to  those  in 
the  Old  World,  with  which  no  one  of  them,  how- 
ever, was  identical,  led  to  a  perpetual  confusion  in 
the  nomenclature  of  the  Spaniards,  as  it  has  since 
done  in  that  of  better  instructed  naturalists.  The 
collection  was  still  further  swelled  bj  a  great  number 
of  reptiles  and  serpents  remarkable  for  their  size 
and  venomous  qualities,  among  which  the  Spaniards 
beheld  the  fiery  little  animal  "  with  the  castanets  in 
his  tail,"  the  terror  of  the  American  wilderness.^'^ 
The  serpents  were  confined  in  long  cages  lined  with 
down  or  feathers,  or  in  troughs  of  mud  and  water. 
The  beasts  and  birds  of  prey  were  provided  with 
apartments  large  enough  to  allow  of  their  moving 
about,  and  secured  by  a  strong  lattice-work,  through 
which  light  and  air  were  freely  admitted.  The 
whole  was  placed  under  the  charge  of  numerous 
keepers,  who  acquainted  themselves  with  the  habits 
of  their  prisoners,  and  provided  for  their  comfort 
and  cleanliness.  With  what  deep  interest  would 
the  enlightened  naturalist  of  that  day  — an  Oviedo, 
or  a  Martyr,  for  example  —  have  surveyed  this  mag 
nificent  collection,  in  which  the  various  tribes  which 
roamed  over  the  Western  wilderness,  the  unknown 
races  of  an  unknown  world,  were  brought  into  one 
view!  How  would  they  have  delighted  to  study 
the    peculiarities  of  these   new   species,   compared 


37  **  Pues  mas  tenian,"  says  the  en  las  colas  vnos  que  suenan  couio 

honest  Captain  Diaz,  "  en  aquella  cascabeles  ;    estas  son  las  peores 

maldita  casa  muehas  Viboras,  y  Viboras  de   todas."     Hist,  de  la 

Culebras  empon^ofiadas,  que  traen  Conquista,  cap.  91. 


Ca.  I.] 


PALACES   AND   MUSEUMS. 


119 


with  those  of  their  own  hemisphere,  and  thus  have 
risen  to  some  comprehension  of  the  general  laws  by 
which  Nature  acts  in  all  her  works  !  The  rude  fol- 
lowers of  Cortes  did  not  trouble  themselves  with 
such  refined  speculations.  They  gazed  on  the  spec- 
tacle with  a  vague  curiosity  not  unmixed  with  awe  ; 
and,  as  they  listened  to  the  wild  cries  of  the  fero- 
cious animals  and  the  hissings  of  the  serpents,  they 
almost  fancied  themselves  in  the  infernal  regions.^^ 

I  must  not  omit  to  notice  a  strange  collection  of 
human  monsters,  dwarfs,  and  other  unfortunate  per- 
sons, in  whose  organization  Nature  had  capricious- 
ly deviated  from  her  regular  laws.  Such  hideous 
anomalies  were  regarded  by  the  Aztecs  as  a  suitable 
appendage  of  state.  It  is  even  said,  they  were  in 
some  cases  the  result  of  artificial  means,  employed 
by  unnatural  parents  desirous  to  secure  a  provision 
for  their  offspring  by  thus  qualifying  them  for  a  place 
in  the  royal  museum !  ^'^ 

Extensive  gardens  were  spread  out  around  these 
buildings,  filled  with  fragrant  shrubs  and  flowers, 
and  especially  with  medicinal  plants.^     No  country 


28  "Digamos  aora,"  exclaims 
Captain  Diaz,  "las  cosas  infernales 
que  hazian,  quando  bramauan  los 
Tigres  y  Leones,  y  aullauan  los 
Adiues  y  Zorros,  y  silbauan  las 
Sierpes,  era  grima  oirlo,  y  parecia 
infierno."     Ibid.,  loc.  cit. 

29  Ibid.,  ubi  supra.  —  Rel.  Seg. 
de  Cortes,  ap.  Lorenzana,  pp.  Ill 
-113. — Carta  del  Lie.  Zuazo, 
MS. — Toribio,  Hist,  de  los  Indios, 
MS.,  Parte  3,  cap.  7.  —  Oviedo, 


Hist,  de  las  Ind.,  MS.,  lib.  33, 
cap.  11,  46. 

30  Montezuma,  according  to  Go- 
mara,  would  allow  no  fruit-trees, 
considering  them  as  unsuitable  to 
pleasure-grounds.  (Cronica,  cap. 
75.)  Toribio  says,  to  the  same 
effect,  "  Los  Indios  Senores  no 
procuran  arboles  de  fruta,  porque 
se  la  traen  sus  vasallos,  sino  4rbolea 
de  floresta,  de  donde  cojan  rosas, 
y  adonde  se  crian  aves,  asi  par* 


120  RESIDENCE  IN    MEXICO.  [Boo»  IV. 

has  afforded  more  numerous  species  of  these  last, 
iten  New  Spain ;  and  their  virtues  were  perfectly 
understood  by  the  Aztecs,  with  whom  medical  bot- 
any may  be  said  to  have  been  studied  as  a  science. 
Amidst  this  labyrinth  of  sweet-scented  groves  and 
shrubberies,  fountains  of  pure  water  might  be  seen 
throwing  up  their  sparkling  jets,  and  scattering  re- 
freshing dews  over  the  blossoms.  Ten  large  tanks, 
well  stocked  wdth  fish,  afforded  a  retreat  on  their 
margins  to  various  tribes  of  water-fowl,  whose  habits 
were  so  carefully  consulted,  that  some  of  these  ponds 
were  of  salt  water,  as  that  which  they  most  loved 
to  frequent.  A  tessellated  pavement  of  marble  in- 
closed the  ample  basins,  which  were  overhung  by 
light  and  fanciful  pavilions,  that  admitted  the  per- 
fumed breezes  of  the  gardens,  and  offered  a  grateful 
shelter  to  the  monarch  and  his  mistresses  in  the 
sultry  heats  of  summer.^* 

But  the  most  luxurious  residence  of  the  Aztec 
monarch,  at  that  season,  was  the  royal  hill  of  Gha- 
poltepec,  a  spot  consecrated,  moreover,  by  the  ashes 
of  his  ancestors.  It  stood  in  a  westerly  direction 
from  the  capital,  and  its  base  was,  in  his  day,  washed 
by  the  waters  of  the  Tezcuco.  On  its  lofty  crest  of 
porphyiitic  rock,  there  now  stands  the  magnificent, 
though  desolate,  castle  erected  by  the  young  viceroy 
Galvez,  at   the   close  of  the   seventeenth   century. 


gozar  del  canto,   como    para  las  »i  Ibid.,  loc.   cit. — Rel.    Seg. 

tirar  con  Cerbatana,  de  la  cual  son  de   Cortes,    ubi   supra.  —  Oviedo, 

grandes  tiradores."     Hist,  de  loa  Hist,  de  las  Ind.,  MS.,  lib.  33, 

Tndios.  MS.,  Parte  3,  cap.  6.  cap.  11. 


Ch.  I.]  ROYAL   HOUSEHOLD.  121 

The  view  from  its  windows  is  one  of  the  finest  in 
the  environs  of  Mexico.  The  landscape  is  not  dis- 
figured here,  as  in  many  other  quarters,  by  the  white 
and  barren  patches,  so  offensive  to  the  sight ;  but 
the  eye  wanders  over  an  unbroken  expanse  of  mead- 
ows and  cultivated  fields,  waving  with  rich  harvests 
of  European  grain.  Montezuma's  gardens  stretched 
for  miles  around  the  base  of  the  hill.  Two  statues 
of  that  monarch  and  his  father,  cut  in  bas  relief  in 
the  porphyry,  were  spared  till  the  middle  of  the  last 
century ;  ^^  and  the  grounds  are  still  shaded  by  gigan- 
tic cypresses,  more  than  fifty  feet  in  circumference, 
which  were  centuries  old  at  the  time  of  the  Con- 
quest. The  place  is  now  a  tangled  wilderness  of 
wild  shrubs,  where  the  myrtle  mingles  its  dark, 
glossy  leaves  with  the  red  berries  and  delicate  foliage 
of  the  pepper-tree.  Surely,  there  is  no  spot  better 
suited  to  awaken  meditation  on  the  past;  none, 
where  the  traveller,  as  he  sits  under  those  stately 
cypresses  grey  with  the  moss  of  ages,  can  so  fitly 
ponder  on  the  sad  destinies  of  the  Indian  races  and 
the  monarch  who  once  held  his  courtly  revels  under 
the  shadow  of  their  branches. 

The  domestic  establishment  of  Montezuma  was 
on  the  same  scale  of  barbaric  splendor  as  every  thing 
else  about  him.  He  could  boast  as  many  wives  as 
are  found  in  the  harem  of  an  Eastern  sultan.^  They 


38Gama,  a  competent  critic,  who  ma,  Descripcion,  Parte  2,  pp.  81  - 

saw  them  just  before  their  destruc-  83.  —  Also,  Ante,  Vol.  I.  p.  142. 

tion,  praises  their  execution.     Ga-  33  j>fo  less  than   one   thousand, 
VOL.    II.                        16 


122  RESIDENCE   IN    MEXICO.  [Book  IV. 

were  lodged  in  their  own  apartments,  and  provided 
witli  every  accommodation,  according  to  their  ideas, 
for  personal  comfort  and  cleanliness.  They  passed 
their  hours  in  the  usual  feminine  employments  of 
weaving  and  embroidery,  especially  in  the  graceful 
feather- work,  for  which  such  rich  materials  were 
furnished  by  the  royal  aviaries.  They  conducted 
themselves  with  strict  decorum,  under  the  supervis- 
ion of  certain  aged  females,  who  acted  in  the  respec- 
table capacity  of  duennas,  in  the  same  manner  as  in 
the  religious  houses  attached  to  the  teocallis.  The 
palace  was  supplied  with  numerous  baths,  and  Mon- 
tezuma set  the  example,  in  his  own  person,  of  fre- 
quent ablutions.  He  bathed  at  least  once,  and 
changed  his  dress  four  times,  it  is  said,  every  day.*^ 
He  never  put  on  the  same  apparel  a  second  time, 
but  gave  it  away  to  his  attendants.  Queen  Eliza- 
beth, with  a  similar  taste  for  costume,  showed  a  less 
princely  spirit  in  hoarding  her  discarded  suits.  Her 
wardrobe  was,  probably,  somewhat  more  costly  than 
that  of  the  Indian  emperor. 

Besides  his  numerous  female  retinue,  the  halls  and 
antechambers  were  filled  with  nobles  in  constant 
attendance  on  his  person,  who  served  also  as  a  sort 
of  body-guard.  It  had  been  usual  for  plebeians  of 
merit  to  fill  certain  offices  in  the  palace.     But  the 


if  we  believe  Gomara ;  who  adds  tro  raaneras  de  vestiduras  todas  nu- 

the   edifying    intelligence,    "  que  evas,  y  nunca  mas  se  las  vestiti 

huvo  vez,  que  tuvo  ciento  i  cincu-  otra  vez."     Rel.  Seg.  de  Cort^g, 

enta  prenadas  a  un  ticmpo  !  "  ap.  Lorenzana,  p.  114. 
3*  "  Vestiase  todos  los  dias  qua- 


Ca.  I.]  ROY  AT.    HOTISEHOin.  12.S 

haughty  Montezuma  refused  to  be  waited  upon  hy 
any  but  men  of  noble  birth.  They  were  not  unfre- 
quently  the  sons  of  the  great  chiefs,  and  remained 
as  hostages  in  the  absence  of  their  fathers ;  thus 
serving  the  double  purpose  of  security  and  state. ^ 

His  meals  the  emperor  took  alone.  The  well- 
matted  floor  of  a  large  saloon  was  covered  with  hun- 
dreds of  dishes.^  Sometimes  Montezuma  himself, 
but  more  frequently  his  steward,  indicated  those 
which  he  preferred,  and  which  were  kept  hot  by 
means  of  chafing-dishes.^'^  The  royal  bill  of  fare 
comprehended,  besides  domestic  animals,  game  from 
the  distant  forests,  and  fish  which,  the  day  before, 
was  swimming  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  !  They  were 
dressed  in  manifold  ways,  for  the  Aztec  artistes, 
as   we   have  already   had  occasion   to   notice,  had 

^  Bernal  Diaz,  Hist,  de  la  Con-  de  ^uerra  en  esta  guarda  cotediana 

quista,  cap.  91.  —  Gomara,  Cr6ni-  del  palacio."     (Oviedo,  Hist,  de 

ca,  cap.  67,  71,  76.  — Rel.  Seg.  las  Ind.,  MS.,  lib.  33,  cap.  46.) 

de  Cortes,  ap.  Lorenzana,  pp.  113,  A  very  curious  and  full  account  of 

114.     Toribio,  Hist,  de  los  Indies,  Montezuma's  household  is  given 

MS.,  Parte  3,  cap.  7.  by  this  author,  as  he  gathered  it 

"  A  la  puerta  de  la  sala  estaba  from  the  Spaniards  who  saw  it  in 

vn  patio  mui  grande  en  que  habia  its  splendor.     As  Oviedo's  history 

cien   aposentos  de  25  6  30  pies  de  still  remains  in  manuscript,  I  have 

largo  cada  vno  sobre  si  en  torno  de  transferred  the  chap+rr  in  the  ori- 

dicho  patio,  e  alii  estaban  los  Se-  ginal  Castilian  to  Appendix,  Part 

fiores  principales  aposentados  como  2,  No.  10. 

guardas  del  palacio  ordinarias,  y  36  Bernal  Diaz,  Ibid.,  loc.  cit. — 

estos  tales  aposentos  se  llaman  gal-  Rel.  Seg.  de  Cortes,  ubi  supra, 

pones,  los  quales  a  la  contina  oc-  37  <<  y  porque  la  Tierraes  fria, 

upan   mas  de   600   hombres,  que  trahian  debaxo  de  cada  plato  y  e»- 

jamas  se  quitaban  de  alii,  e  cada  cudilla  de  manjar  un  braserico  con 

vno  de  aquellos  tenian  mas  de  30  brasa,    porque   no   se   enfriasse.'* 

servidores,  de  maneraque  a  lo  me-  Rel.  Seg.  de  Cortes,  ap.  Lorenza- 

nos  nunca  faltaban  3000  hombres  na,  p.  113. 


124  RFSinENCE   IN    MEXICO.  [Book  Ilf 

penetrated  deep  into  the  mysteries  of  culinary  sci- 
ence.^ 

The  meats  were  served  by  the  attendant  nobles, 
who  then  resigned  the  office  of  waiting  on  the  mon- 
arch to  maidens  selected  for  their  personal  grace  and 
beauty.  A  screen  of  richly  gilt  and  carved  wood 
was  drawn  around  him,  so  as  to  conceal  him  from 
vulgar  eyes  during  the  repast.  He  was  seated  on  a 
cushion,  and  the  dinner  was  served  on  a  low  table 
covered  with  a  delicate  cotton  cloth.  The  dishes 
were  of  the  finest  ware  of  Cholula.  He  had  a  ser- 
vice of  gold,  which  was  reserved  for  religious  cele- 
brations. Indeed,  it  would  scarcely  have  comported 
with  even  his  princely  revenues  to  have  used  it  on 
ordinary  occasions,  when  his  table  equipage  was  not 
allowed  to  appear  a  second  time,  but  was  given 
away  to  his  attendants.  The  saloon  was  lighted  by 
torches  made  of  a  resinous  wood,  which  sent  forth 
a  sweet  odor  and,  probably,  not  a  little  smoke,  as 
they  burned.  At  his  meal,  he  was  attended  by  five 
or  six  of  his  ancient  counsellors,  who  stood  at  a 
respectful  distance,  answering  his  questions,  and 
occasionally  rejoiced  by  some  of  the  viands  with 
which  he  '"omplimented  them  from  his  table. 

This  course  of  solid  dishes  was  succeeded  by 
another  of  sweetmeats  and  pastry,  for  which  the 
Aztec  cooks,  provided  with  the  important  requisites 
of  maize-flour,  eggs,  and  the  rich  sugar  of  the  aloe, 

**  Bernal  Diaz  has  given  us  a  children!  ^^  carries  de  muchachos 
few  items  of  the  royal  carte.  The  dc  poca  edad/^  He  admits,  how- 
first  cover  is  rather  a  startling  one,  ever,  that  this  is  somewhat  apoc- 
being  a  fricassee  or  stew  of  little  ryphal.     Ibid.,  ubi  supra. 


Ch.  I.] 


ROYAL  HOUSEHOLD. 


125 


were  famous.  Two  girls  were  occupied  at  the  fur- 
ther end  of  the  apartment,  during  dinner,  in  prepar- 
ing fine  rolls  and  wafers,  with  which  they  garnished 
the  board  from  time  to  time.  The  emperor  took  no 
other  beverage  than  the  cfiocolatl,  a  potation  of 
chocolate,  flavored  with  vanilla  and  other  spices,  and 
so  prepared  as  to  be  reduced  to  a  froth  of  the  con- 
sistency of  honey,  which  gradually  dissolved  in  the 
mouth.  This  beverage,  if  so  it  could  be  called,  was 
served  in  golden  goblets,  with  spoons  of  the  same 
metal  or  of  tortoise-shell  finely  wrought.  The  em- 
peror was  exceedingly  fond  of  it,  to  judge  from  the 
quantity,  —  no  less  than  fifty  jars  or  pitchers  being 
prepared  for  his  own  daily  consumption !  ^^  Two 
thousand  more  were  allowed  for  that  of  his  house 
hold.4« 

The  general  arrangement  of  the  meal  seems  to 
have  been  not  very  unlike  that  of  Europeans.  But 
no  prince  in  Europe  could  boast  a  dessert  which 
could  compare  with  that  of  the  Aztec  emperor. 
For  it  was  gathered  fresh  from  the  most  opposite 
climes  ;  and  his  board  displayed  the  products  of  his 
own  temperate  region,  and  the  luscious  fruits  of  the 
tropics,  plucked,  the  day  previous,  from  the  green 
groves  of  the  tierra  caliente,  and  transmitted  with  the 
speed  of  steam,  by  means  of  couriers,  to  the  capital. 


39  "  Lo  que  yo  vi,"  says  Diaz, 
speaking  from  his  own  observation, 
•'  que  traian  sobre  cincuenla  jarros 
grandes  hechos  de  buen  cacao  con 
8U  es-puma,  y  de  lo  que  bebia." 
Ibid.,  cap.  91. 


40Jbid.,  ubi  supra. — Rel.  Seg. 
de  Cortes,  ap.  Lorenzana,  pp.  113, 
114.  —  Oviedo,  Hist,  de  las  Ind., 
MS.,  lib.  33,  cap.  11,  46.— Go- 
mara,  Crdnica,  cap.  67. 


126  RESIDENCE  IN   MEXICO.  [Book  IV. 

It  was  as  if  some  kind  fairy  should  crown  our  ban- 
quets with  the  spicy  products  that  but  yesterday  were 
growing  in  a  sunny  isle  of  the  far-off  Indian  seas ! 

After  the  royal  appetite  was  appeased,  water  was 
handed  to  him  by  the  female  attendants  in  a  silver 
basin,  in  the  same  manner  as  had  been  done  before 
commencing  his  meal ;  for  the  Aztecs  were  as  con- 
stant in  their  ablutions,  at  these  times,  as  any  nation 
of  the  East.  Pipes  were  then  brought,  made  of  a 
varnished  and  richly  gilt  wood,  from  which  he  inhal- 
ed, sometimes  through  the  nose,  at  others  through 
the  mouth,  the  fumes  of  an  intoxicating  weed,  "  called 
^o6«cco,"^^  mingled  with  liquid-amber.  While  this 
soothing  process  of  fumigation  was  going  on,  the 
emperor  enjoyed  the  exhibitions  of  his  mountebanks 
and  jugglers,  of  whom  a  regular  corps  was  attached 
to  the  palace.  No  people,  not  even  those  of  China 
or  Hindostan,  surpassed  the  Aztecs  in  feats  of  agili- 
ty and  legerdemain.^^ 

Sometimes  he  amused  himself  with  his  jester ;  for 
the  Indian  monarch  had  his  jesters,  as  well  as  his 
more  refined  brethren  of  Europe,  at  that  day.  In- 
deed, he  used  to  say,  that  more  instruction  was  to 
be  gathered  from  them  than  from  wiser  men,  for 


<l  "  Tambien  le  ponian  en  la  me-  the  Grand  Khan  of  China,  as  Sir 

sa  tres  Canutes  muy  pintados,  y  do-  John  Maundeville  informs  us.  (Voi- 

rados,  y  dentro  traian  liquidambar,  age  and  Travaille,  chap.  22.)  The 

rebuelto  con  vnas  yervas  que  se  di-  Aztec  mountebanks  had  such  re- 

ze  tabaco.^''    Bernal  Diaz,  Hist,  de  pute,  that  Cortes  sent  two  of  them 

la  Conquista,  cap.  91.  to  Rome  to  amuse  his  Holiness, 

^  The  feats  of  jugglers  and  tum-  Clement  VII.   Clavigero,  Stor.  del 

biers  were  a  favorite  diversion  with  Messico,  tom.  II.  p.  186. 


Ch.  1.3  MONTEZUMA'S  WAY  OF  LIFE.  127 

thej  dared  to  tell  the  truth.  At  other  times,  he 
witnessed  the  graceful  dances  of  his  women,  or  took 
delight  in  listening  to  music, — if  the  rude  minstrelsy 
of  the  Mexicans  deserve  that  name,  —  accompanied 
by  a  chant,  in  slow  and  solemn  cadence,  celebrating 
the  heroic  deeds  of  great  Aztec  warriors,  or  of  his 
own  princely  line. 

When  he  had  sufficiently  refreshed  his  spirits  with 
these  diversions,  he  composed  himself  to  sleep,  for 
in  his  siesta  he  was  as  regular  as  a  Spaniard.  On 
awaking,  he  gave  audience  to  ambassadors  from  for- 
eign states,  or  his  own  tributary  cities,  or  to  such 
caciques  as  had  suits  to  prefer  to  him.  They  were 
introduced  by  the  young  nobles  in  attendance,  and, 
whatever  might  be  their  rank,  unless  of  the  blood 
royal,  they  were  obliged  to  submit  to  the  humilia- 
tion of  shrouding  their  rich  dresses  under  the  coarse 
mantle  of  nequen,  and  entering  barefooted,  with 
downcast  eyes,  into  the  presence.  The  emperor  ad- 
dressed few  and  brief  remarks  to  the  suitors,  answer- 
ing them  generally  by  his  secretaries  ;  and  the  par- 
ties retired  with  the  same  reverential  obeisance, 
taking  care  to  keep  their  faces  turned  towards  the 
monarch.  Well  might  Cortes  exclaim,  that  no  court, 
whether  of  the  Grand  Seignior  or  any  other  infidel, 
ever  displayed  so  pompous  and  elaborate  a  cer 
emonial !  ^^ 


^  "  Ninguno  de  los  Soldanes,  monias  en  servicio  tengan."     Rei 

ni  otro  ningun  senor  infiel,  de  los  Seg.   de   Cortes,  ap.   Lorenzana 

que  hasta  agora  se  tiene  noticia,  p.  115. 
no  creo,  que  tantas,  ni  tales  cere- 


128  RESIDENCE  IN   MEXICO.  [Book  IV. 

Besides  the  crowd  of  retainers  already  noticed, 
the  royal  household  was  not  complete  without  a  host 
of  artisans  constantly  employed  in  the  erection  or 
repair  of  buildings,  besides  a  great  number  of  jew- 
ellers and  persons  skilled  in  working  metals,  who 
found  abundant  demand  for  their  trinkets  among  the 
dark-eyed  beauties  of  the  harem.  The  imperial 
mummers  and  jugglers  were  also  very  numerous, 
and  the  dancers  belonging  to  the  palace  occupied  a 
particular  district  of  the  city,  appropriated  exclu- 
sively to  them. 

The  maintenance  of  this  little  host,  amounting  to 
some  thousands  of  individuals,  involved  a  heavy  ex- 
penditure, requiring  accounts  of  a  complicated,  and, 
to  a  simple  people,  it  might  well  be,  embarrassing 
nature.  Every  thing,  however,  was  conducted  vnth 
perfect  order ;  and  all  the  various  receipts  and  dis- 
bursements were  set  down  in  the  picture-writing 
of  the  country.  The  arithmetical  characters  were 
of  a  more  refined  and  conventional  sort  than  those 
for  narrative  purposes;  and  a  separate  apartment 
was  nlled  with  hieroglyphical  legers,  exhibiting  a 
complete  view  of  the  economy  of  the  palace.  The 
care  of  all  this  was  intrusted  to  a  treasurer,  who 
acted  as  a  sort  of  major-domo  in  the  household,  hav- 
ing a  general  superintendence  over  all  its  concerns. 
This  responsible  office,  on  the  arrival  of  the  Span- 
iards, was  in  the  hands  of  a  trusty  cacique  named 
Tapia.^'* 

^  Bernal  Diaz,  Hist,  de  la-Gon-    Zuazo,   MS. — Oviedo,   Hist,   de 
quista,  cap.  91.  —  Carta  del  Lie.    las  Ind.,  MS.,  ubi  supra. — Tori- 


Ch.  I.]  MONTEZUMA  S   WAY  OF  LIFE.  ]29 

Such  is  the  picture  of  Montezuma's  domestic  es- 
tablishment and  way  of  living,  as  delineated  by  the 
Conquerors  and  their  immediate  followers,  who  had 
the  best  means  of  information;'*^  too  highly  colored, 
it  may  be,  by  the  proneness  to  exaggerate,  which  was 
natural  to  those  who  first  witnessed  a  spectacle  so 
striking  to  the  imagination,  so  new  and  unexpected. 
I  have  thought  it  best  to  present  the  full  details,  trivial 
though  they  may  seem  to  the  reader,  as  affording  a 
curious  picture  of  manners,  so  superior  in  point  of 
refinement  to  those  of  the  other  Aboriginal  tribes  on 
the  North  American  continent.  Nor  are  they,  in  fact, 
so  trivial,  when  we  reflect,  that,  in  these  details  of 
private  life,  we  possess  a  surer  measure  of  civiliza- 
tion, than  in  those  of  a  public  nature. 

In  surveying  them  we  are  strongly  reminded  of 
the  civilization  of  the  East ;  not  of  that  higher,  in- 
tellectual kind  which  belonged  to  the  more  polished 
Arabs  and  the  Persians,  but  that  semi-civilization 
which  has  distinguished,  for  example,  the  Tartar 
races,  among  whom  art,  and  even  science,  have 
made,  indeed,  some  progress  in  their  adaptation  to 
material  wants  and  sensual  gratification,  but  little  in 
reference  to  the  higher  and  more  ennobling  interests 
of  humanity.  It  is  characteristic  of  such  a  people, 
to  find  a  puerile  pleasure  in  a  dazzling  and  osten ta- 
bic, Hist,  de  los  Indies,  MS,,  but  a  generation  later  for  his  au- 
Parte  3,  cap.  7. — Rel.  Seg.  de  thorities,  he  may  find  materials  for 
Cort6s,  ap.  Lorcnzana,  pp.  110-  as  good  a  chapter  as  any  in  Sir 
115.  —  Rel.  d'un  gent.,  ap.  Ra-  John  Maundeville  or  the  Arabiuu 
rausio,  torn.  III.  fol.  306.  Nights. 

45  If  the  historian  will  descend 

VOL.    IT.  17 


130  RESIDENCE   IN   MEXICO.  [Book  IV. 

tious  pageantry ;  to  mistake  show  for  substance ; 
vain  pomp  for  power;  to  hedge  round  the  throne 
itself  with  a  barren  and  burdensome  ceremonial,  the 
counterfeit  of  real  majesty. 

Even  this,  however,  was  an  advance  in  refine- 
ment, compared  with  the  rude  manners  of  the  earlier 
Aztecs.  The  change  may,  doubtless,  be  referred  in 
some  degree  to  the  personal  influence  of  Monte- 
zuma. In  his  younger  days,  he  had  tempered  the 
fierce  habits  of  the  soldier  with  the  milder  profession 
of  religion.  In  later  life,  he  had  withdrawn  himself 
still  more  from  the  brutalizing  occupations  of  war 
and  his  manners  acquired  a  refinement  tinctured,  it 
may  be  added,  with  an  effeminacy,  unknown  to  his 
martial  predecessors. 

The  condition  of  the  empire,  too,  under  his  reign, 
was  favorable  to  this  change.  The  dismemberment 
of  the  Tezcucan  kingdom,  on  the  death  of  the  great 
Nezahualpilli,  had  left  the  Aztec  monarchy  without  a 
rival ;  and  it  soon  spread  its  colossal  arms  over  the 
furthest  limits  of  Anahuac.  The  aspiring  mind  of 
Montezuma  rose  with  the  acquisition  of  wealth  and 
power ;  and  he  displayed  the  consciousness  of  new 
importance  by  the  assumption  of  unprecedented  state. 
He  affected  a  reserve  unknown  to  his  predecessors ; 
withdrew  his  person  from  the  vulgar  eye,  and  fenced 
himself  round  with  an  elaborate  and  courtly  eti 
quette.  When  he  went  abroad,  it  was  in  state,  or\ 
some  public  occasion,  usually  to  the  great  temple,  to 
take  part  in  the  religious  services ;  and,  as  he  passed 
along,  he  exacted  from  his  people,  as  we  have  seen, 


Oh.  I.]  MONTEZUMA'S   WAY   OF   LIFE.  131 

the  homage  of  an  adulation  worthy  of  an  Oriental 
despot.^^  His  haughty  demeanour  touched  the  pride 
of  his  more  potent  vassals,  particularly  those  who,  at 
a  distance,  felt  themselves  nearly  independent  of  his 
authority.  His  exactions,  demanded  by  the  profuse 
expenditure  of  his  palace,  scattered  broad-cast  the 
seeds  of  discontent ;  and,  while  the  empire  seemed 
towering  in  its  most  palmy  and  prosperous  state,  the 
canker  h^id  eaten  deepest  into  its  heart. 

^  **  Referre  in  tanto  rege  piget  historian  in  reference  to  Alexan- 

superbam   mutationem    vestis,   et  der,  after  he  was  infected  by  the 

desideratas  hurai  jacentiura  adula-  manners  of  Persia,  fit  equally  well 

tiones."     (Livy,  Hist.,  lib.  9,  cap.  the  Aztec  emperor. 
18.)     The  remarks  of  the  Roman 


CHAPTER   II. 

Market  of  Mexico.  —  Great  Temple. — Interior  Sanctuawbs.— 
Spanish  Quarters. 

1519. 

Four  days  had  elapsed  since  the  Spaniards  made 
their  entry  into  Mexico.  Whatever  schemes  their 
commander  may  have  revolved  in  his  mind,  he  felt 
that  he  could  determine  on  no  plan  of  operations  till 
he  had  seen  more  of  the  capital,  and  ascertained  by 
his  ovv^n  inspection  the  nature  of  its  resources.  He 
accordingly,  as  w^as  observed  at  the  close  of  the  last 
Book,  sent  to  Montezuma,  asking  permission  to  visit 
the  great  teocalli,  and  some  other  places  in  the  city. 

The  friendly  monarch  consented  without  difficulty. 
He  even  prepared  to  go  in  person  to  the  great  tem- 
ple to  receive  his  guests  there,  —  it  may  be,  to  shield 
the  shrine  of  his  tutelar  deity  from  any  attempted 
profanation.  He  was  acquainted,  as  we  have  al- 
ready seen,  with  the  proceedings  of  the  Spaniards 
on  similar  occasions  in  the  course  of  their  march.  — 
Cortes  put  himself  at  the  head  of  his  little  corps  of 
cavalry,  and  nearly  all  the  Spanish  foot,  as  usual, 
and  followed  the  caciques  sent  by  Montezuma  to 
guide  him.     They  proposed  first  to  conduct  him  to 


Ch.  II.] 


MARKET  OF   MEXICO. 


Itf9 


the  great  market  of  Tlatelolco  in  the  western  part 
of  the  city. 

On  the  way,  the  Spaniards  were  struck,  in  the 
same  manner  as  they  had  been  on  entering  the 
capital,  with  the  appearance  of  the  inhabitants,  and 
their  great  superiority  in  the  style  and  quality  of  their 
dress,  over  the  people  of  the  lower  countries.^  The 
tilmatli  or  cloak  thrown  over  the  shoulders  and  tied 
round  the  neck,  made  of  cotton  of  different  degrees 
of  fineness,  according  to  the  condition  of  the  wearer, 
and  the  ample  sash  around  the  loins,  were  often 
wrought  in  rich  and  elegant  figures,  and  edged 
with  a  deep  fringe  or  tassel.  As  the  weather  was 
now  growing  cool,  mantles  of  fur  or  of  the  gorgeous 
feather-work  were  sometimes  substituted.  The  lat- 
ter combined  the  advantage  of  great  warmth  with 
beauty.'^  The  Mexicans  had  also  the  art  of  spin- 
ning a  fine  thread  of  the  hair  of  the  rabbit  and  other 
animals,  which  they  wove  into  a  delicate  web  that 
took  a  permanent  dye. 

The  women,  as  in  other   parts  of  the  country, 


i  "  La  Gente  dc  esta  Ciudad  es 
do  mas  manera  y  primor  en  su 
vestido,  y  servicio,  que  no  la  otra 
de  estas  otras  Provincias,  y  Ciu- 
dades :  porque  como  alii  estaba 
siempre  este  Seiior  Muteczuma,  y 
todos  los  Seiiores  sus  Vasallos 
ocurrian  siempre  k  la  Ciudad,  ha- 
bia  en  ella  mas  manera,  y  policia 
en  todas  las  cosas."  Rel.  Seg., 
ap.  Lorenzana,  p.  109. 

2  Zuazo,  speaking  of  the  beauty 
and  warmth  of  this  national  fabric, 


says,  "Vi  rauchas  mantas  de  a 
dos  haces  labradas  de  plumas  de 
papos  de  aves  tan  suaves,  que 
trayendo  la  mano  por  eneima  a 
pelo  y  k  pospelo,  no  era  mas  que 
vna  manta  zebellina  mui  bien  ado- 
bada :  hice  pesar  vna  dellas  no 
peso  mas  de  seis  onzas.  Dicen 
que  en  el  tiempo  del  Ynbicrno  una 
abasta  para  eneima  de  la  camisa 
sin  otro  cobertor  ni  mas  ropa  enei- 
ma de  la  cama."    Carta,  MS. 


134  RESIDENCE  IN   MEXICO.  [Book  IV. 

seemed  to  go  about  as  freely  as  the  men.  They 
wore  several  skhts  or  petticoats  of  different  lengths, 
with  highly  ornamented  borders,  and  sometimes  over 
them  loose  flowing  robes,  which  reached  to  the 
ankles.  These,  also,  were  made  of  cotton,  for  the 
wealthier  classes,  of  a  fine  texture,  prettily  embroid- 
ered.^ No  veils  were  worn  here,  as  in  some  other 
parts  of  Anahuac,  where  they  were  made  of  the  aloe 
thread,  or  of  the  light  web  of  hair,  above  noticed. 
The  Aztec  women  had  their  faces  exposed ;  and 
their  dark,  raven  tresses  floated  luxuriantly  over  their 
shoulders,  reveahng  features,  which,  although  of  a 
dusky  or  rather  cinnamon  hue,  were  not  unfre- 
quently  pleasing,  while  touched  with  the  serious,  even 
sad  expression  characteristic  of  the  national  physiog- 
nomy.^ 

On  drawing  near  to  the  tianguez,  or  great  market, 
the  Spaniards  were  astonished  at  the  throng  of  peo- 
ple pressing  towards  it,  and,  on  entering  the  place, 
their  surprise  was  still  further  heightened  by  the 
sight  of  the  multitudes  assembled  there,  and  the 
dimensions  of  the  inclosure,  thrice  as  large  as  the 
celebrated  square  of  Salamanca.^  Here  were  met 
together  traders  from  all  parts,  with  the  products  and 
manufactures  peculiar  to  their  countries ;  the  gold- 
smiths of  Azcapozalco ;  the  potters  and  jewellers  of 


3  "Sono  lunghe  &  large,  lau-  d'un  gent.,ap.  Ramusio,  torn.  HI. 

orate  di  bellisimi,  &  niolto  gentili  fol.  305. 

lauori  sparsi  per  esse,  co  le  loro  <  Ibid.,  fol.  305. 

frangie,  6  orletti  ben  lauorati  che  5  Ibid.,  fol.  309. 
compariscono    benissimo."      Rel. 


ch.  u.j  market  of  MEXICO.  135 

Cholula,  the  painters  of  Tezcuco,  the  stone-cutters 
of  Tenajocan,  the  hunters  of  Xilotepec,  the  fishermen 
of  Cuitlahuac,  the  fruiterers  of  the  warm  countries, 
the  mat  and  chair-makers  of  Quauhtitlan,  and  the 
florists  of  Xochimilco,  —  all  busily  engaged  in  re- 
commending their  respective  wares,  and  in  chaffer- 
ing with  purchasers.^ 

The  market-place  was  surrounded  by  deep  porti- 
cos, and  the  several  articles  had  each  its  own  quarter 
allotted  to  it.  Here  might  be  seen  cotton  piled  up 
in  bales,  or  manufactured  into  dresses  and  articles 
of  domestic  use,  as  tapestry,  curtains,  coverlets,  and 
the  like.  The  richly  stained  and  nice  fabrics  re- 
minded Cortes  of  the  alcayceria,  or  silk-market  of 
Granada.  There  was  the  quarter  assigned  to  the 
goldsmiths,  where  the  purchaser  might  find  various 
articles  of  ornament  or  use  formed  of  the  precious 
metals,  or  curious  toys,  such  as  we  have  already  had 
occasion  to  notice,  made  in  imitation  of  birds  and 
fishes,  with  scales  and  feathers  alternately  of  gold 
and  silver,  and  with  movable  heads  and  bodies. 
These  fantastic  little  trinkets  were  often  garnished 
with  precious  stones,  and  showed  a  patient,  puerile 
ingenuity  in  the   manufacture,  like  that  of  the  Chi- 


'  "  Quivi  concorrevano  i  Pento-  stuoje,  e  di  scranne  di  Quauhtitlan 

ai,  ed  i  Giojellieri  di  Cholulla,  gli  ed  i  coltivatori  de'  fiori  di  Xochi- 

Ovofici  d'  Azcapozaleo,  i  Pittori  di  milco."   Clavigero,  Stor.  del  Mes- 

Tezcuco,  gli  Scarpollini  di  Tenajo-  sico,  torn.  II.  p.  165. 

can,  i  Cacciatori   di   Xilotepec,  i  7  "  Qro  y  plata,  piedras  de  valor, 

Pescatori  di  Cuitlahuac,  i  fruttaju-  con   otros   plumajes  e  argenterias 

oli  de'  paesi  caldi,  gli  artefici  di  maravillosas,  y  con  tan  to  primer 


136 


RESIDENCE  IN   MEXICO. 


[Book   IV. 


In  an  adjoining  quarter  were  collected  specimens 
of  pottery  coarse  and  fine,  vases  of  wood  elaborately 
carved,  varnished  or  gilt,  of  curious  and  sometimes 
graceful  forms.  There  were  also  hatchets  made 
of  copper  alloyed  with  tin,  the  substitute,  and,  as  it 
proved,  not  a  bad  one,  for  iron*  The  soldier  found 
here  all  the  implements  of  his  trade.  The  casque 
fashioned  into  the  head  of  some  wild  animal,  with  its 
grinning  defences  of  teeth,  and  bristling  crest  dyed 
with  the  rich  tint  of  the  cochineal ;  ^  the  escaupil,  or 
quilted  doublet  of  cotton,  the  rich  surcoat  of  feather- 
mail,  and  weapons  of  all  sorts,  copper-headed  lances 
and  arrows,  and  the  broad  maquahuiil,  the  Mexican 
sword,  with  its  sharp  blades  of  itztli.     Here  were 


fabricadas  que  excede  todo  ingenio 
huraano  para  comprenderlas  y  al- 
canzarlas."  (Carta  del  Lie.  Zu- 
azo,  MS.)  The  licentiate  then 
enumerates  several  of  these  ele- 
{^ant  pieces  of  mechanism.  Cortes 
is  not  less  emphatic  in  his  admira- 
tion ;  "  Contrahechas  de  oro,  y 
plata,  y  piedras  y  plumas,  tan  al 
natural  lo  de  Oro,  y  Plata,  que  no 
liay  Platero  en  el  Mundo  que  me- 
jor  lo  hiciesse,  y  lo  de  las  Piedras, 
que  no  baste  juicio  comprehend er 
con  que  Insirumentos  se  hiciesse 
tan  perfecto,  y  lo  de  Pluma,  que 
ni  de  Cera,ni  en  ningun  broslado  se 
podria  hacer  tan  maravillosamen- 
te."  (Rel.  Seg.,  ap.  Lorenzana, 
p.  110.)  Peter  Martyr,  a  less  pre- 
judiced critic  than  Cort6s,  and  who 
saw  and  examined  many  of  these 
golden  trinkets  afterwards  in  Cas- 


tile, bears  the  same  testimony  to 
the  exquisite  character  of  the  work- 
manship, which,  he  says,  far  sur- 
passed the  value  of  the  material. 
De  Orbe  Novo,  dec.  5,  cap.  10. 

8  Herrera  makes  the  unauthor- 
ized assertion,  repeated  by  Solis, 
that  the  Mexicans  were  unac- 
quainted with  the  value  of  the 
cochineal,  till  it  was  taught  them 
by  the  Spaniards.  (Herrera,  Hist. 
General,  dec.  4,  lib.  8,  cap.  11.) 
The  natives,  on  the  contrary,  took 
infinite  pains  to  rear  the  insect  on 
plantations  of  the  cactus,  and  it 
formed  one  of  the  staple  tributes 
to  the  crown  from  certain  districts. 
See  the  tribute-rolls,  ap.  Lorenza- 
na, Nos.  23,  24.  —  Hernandez, 
Hist.  Plantarum,  lib.  6,  cap.  116. 
—  A-lso,  Clavigero,  Stor.  del  Mes- 
sico,  torn.  I.  p.  114,  nota. 


CH.  II.]  MARKET  OF   MEXICO.  1S7 

razors  and  mirrors  of  this  same  hard  and  polished 
mineral  which  served  so  many  of  the  purposes  of  steel 
with  the  Aztecs.^  In  the  square  were  also  to  be 
found  booths  occupied  by  barbers,  who  used  these 
same  razors  in  their  vocation.  For  the  Mexicans, 
contrary  to  the  popular  and  erroneous  notions  re- 
specting the  Aborigines  of  the  New  World,  had 
beards,  though  scanty  ones.  Other  shops  or  booths 
were  tenanted  by  apothecaries,  well  provided  with 
drugs,  roots,  and  different  medicinal  preparations.  In 
other  places,  again,  blank  books  or  maps  for  the 
hieroglyphical  picture-writing  were  to  be  seen,  folded 
together  like  fans,  and  made  of  cotton,  skins,  or 
more  commonly  the  fibres  of  the  agave,  the  Aztec 
papyrus. 

Under  some  of  the  porticos  they  saw  hides  raw 
and  dressed,  and  various  articles  for  domestic  or  per- 
sonal use  made  of  the  leather.  Animals,  both  wild 
and  tame,  were  offered  for  sale,  and  near  them, 
perhaps,  a  gang  of  slaves,  with  collars  round  their 
necks,  intimating  they  were  likewise  on  sale,  —  a 
spectacle  unhappily  not  confined  to  the  barbarian 
markets  of  Mexico,  though  the  evils  of  their  condi- 
tion were  aggravated  there  by  the  consciousness  that 
a  life  of  degradation  might  be  consummated  at  any 
moment  by  the  dreadful  doom  of  sacrifice. 

The  heavier  materials  for  building,  as  stone,  lime, 
timber,  were  considered  too  bulky  to  be  allowed  a 
place  in  the  square,  and  were  deposited  in  the  adja- 

9  Ante,  Vol.  I.  p.  140. 
VOL.    II.  18 


138  RESIDENCE  IN   MEXICO.  [Book  IV. 

cent  streets  on  the  borders  of  the  canals.  It  would 
be  tedious  to  enumerate  all  the  various  articles, 
whether  for  luxury  or  daily  use,  which  were  collected 
from  all  quarters  in  this  vast  bazaar.  I  must  not 
omit  to  mention,  however,  the  display  of  provisions, 
one  of  the  most  attractive  features  of  the  tianguez  ; 
meats  of  all  kinds,  domestic  poultry,  game  from  the 
neighbouring  mountains,  fish  from  the  lakes  and 
streams,  fruits  in  all  the  delicious  abundance  of  these 
temperate  regions,  green  vegetables,  and  the  unfail- 
ing maize.  There  was  many  a  viand,  too,  ready 
dressed,  which  sent  up  its  savory  steams  provoking  the 
appetite  of  the  idle  passenger ;  pastry,  bread  of  the 
Indian  corn,  cakes,  and  confectionary. ^°  Along  with 
these  were  to  be  seen  cooling  or  stimulating  beverages, 
the  spicy  foaming  chocolatl,  with  its  delicate  aroma 
of  vanilla,  and  the  inebriating  pulque,  the  fermented 
juice  of  the  aloe.  All  these  commodities,  and  every 
stall  and  portico,  were  set  out,  or  rather  smothered, 
with  flowers,  showing,  on  a  much  greater  scale,  in- 
deed, a  taste  similar  to  that  displayed  in  the  markets 
of  modern  Mexico.  Flowers  seem  to  be  the  spon- 
taneous growth  of  this  luxuriant  soil ;  which,  instead 
of  noxious  weeds,  as  in  other  regions,  is  ever  ready, 
without  the  aid  of  man,  to  cover  up  its  nakedness 
with  this  rich  and  variegated  livery  of  Nature. ^^ 

10  Zuazo,   who  seems  to  have  sar,  con  otras  cazuelas  y  parteles, 

been  nice  in  these  matters,  con-  que  en  el  mal  cocinado  de  Medina, 

eludes    a    paragraph    of   dainties  ni  en  otros  lugares  de  Tlamencos 

with  the  following  tribute  to  the  dicen  que  hai  ni  se  pueden  hallar 

Aztec  aiisine.    "  Vendensehuebos  tales  trujamanes."     Carta,  MS. 
asados,  crudos,  en  tortilla, e  diversi-        li  Ample  details  —  many  more 

dad  de  guisados  que  se  suelen  gui-  than  I  have  thought  it  necessary 


Ch.  II.]  MARKET  OF  MEXICO.  1^ 

I  will  spare  the  reader  the  repetition  of  all  the 
particulars  enumerated  by  the  bewildered  Spaniards, 
which  are  of  some  interest  as  evincing  the  various 
mechanical  skill  and  the  polished  wants,  resembling 
those  of  a  refined  community,  rather  than  of  a  na- 
tion of  savages.  It  was  the  material  civilization, 
which  belongs  neither  to  the  one  nor  the  other. 
The  Aztec  had  plainly  reached  that  middle  station, 
as  far  above  the  rude  races  of  the  New  World  as  it 
was  below  the  cultivated  communities  of  the  Old. 

As  to  the  numbers  assembled  in  the  market,  the 
estimates  differ,  as  usual.  The  Spaniards  often  vis- 
ited the  place,  and  no  one  states  the  amount  at  less 
than  forty  thousand !  Some  carry  it  much  higher.  ^^ 
Without  relying  too  much  on  the  arithmetic  of  the 
Conquerors,  it  is  certain  that  on  this  occasion, 
which  occurred  every  fifth  day,  the  city  swarmed 
with  a  motley  crowd  of  strangers,  not  only  from 
the  vicinity,  but  from   many  leagues   around ;    the 

to  give  —  of  the  Aztec  market  of  "Anonymous    Conqueror,"   who 

Tlatelolco    may   be  found  in  the  saysfrora  40,000  to  50,000.  "Etil 

writings  of  all  the  old  Spaniards  giornodel  mercato,  che  si  fa  di  cin- 

who  visited  the  capital.     Among  que  in  cinque  giorni,visono  da  qua. 

others,  see  Rel.  Seg.  de  Cortes,  ranta  6  cinquanta  mila  persone  " , 

ap.   Lorenzana,  pp.    103-105. —  (Rel.    d'un    gent.,   ap.    Ramusio, 

Toribio,  Hist,  de  los  Indies,  MS.,  torn.  III.  fol.  309  ;)  a  confirmation. 

Parte  3,  cap.  7.  —  Carta  del  Lie.  by  the  by,  of  the  supposition  that 

Zuazo,  MS.  —  Rel.   d'un  gent.,  the   estimated  population   of  the 

ap.  Ramusio,  tom.  III.  fol.  309. —  capital,  found  in  the  Italian  version 

Bernal  Diaz,  Hist,  de  la  Conquis-  of  this  author,  is  a  misprint.    (See 

ta,  cap.  92.  the  preceding  chapter,  note   13.) 

12   Zuazo  raises  it  to   80,000 !  He  would  hardly  have  crowded  an 

(Carta,  MS.)     Cortes  to  60,000.  amount  equal  to  the  whole  of  it  into 

(Rel.  Seg.,  ubi supra.)    The  most  the  market, 
modest  computation  is  that  of  tho 


140  RESIDEx\CE  IN   MEXICO.  [Book  IV. 

causeways  were  thronged,  and  the  lake  was  dark- 
ened by  canoes  filled  with  traders  flocking  to  the 
great  tianguez.  It  resembled,  indeed,  the  periodical 
fairs  in  Europe,  not  as  they  exist  now,  but  as  they 
existed  in  the  Middle  Ages,  when,  from  the  difficulties 
of  intercommunication,  they  served  as  the  great 
central  marts  for  commercial  intercourse,  exercising 
a  most  important  and  salutary  influence  on  the  com- 
munity. 

The  exchanges  were  conducted  partly  hy  barter, 
but  more  usually  in  the  currency  of  the  country. 
This  consisted  of  bits  of  tin  stamped  with  a  charac- 
ter like  a  T,  bags  of  cacao,  the  value  of  which  was 
regulated  by  their  size,  and  lastly  quills  filled  with 
gold  dust.  Gold  was  part  of  the  regular  currency, 
it  seems,  in  both  hemispheres.  In  their  dealings  it 
is  singular  that  they  should  have  had  no  knowledge 
of  scales  and  weights.  The  quantity  was  deter- 
mined by  measure  and  number.  ^^ 

The  most  perfect  order  reigned  throughout  this 
vast  assembly.  Officers  patrolled  the  square,  whose 
business  it  was  to  keep  the  peace,  to  collect  the 
duties  imposed  on  the  different  articles  of  merchan- 
dise, to  see  that  no  false  measures  or  fraud  of  any 
kind  were  used,  and  to  bring  offenders  at  once  to 
justice.  A  court  of  twelve  judges  sat  in  one  part  of 
the  tianguez^  clothed  with  those  ample  and  summary 
powers,  which,  in  despotic  countries,  are  often  dele- 
gated even  to  petty  tribunals.     The  extreme  sever- 

13  Ante,  VoJU  I.  p.  146. 


Ch.  II.]  GREAT  TEMPLE.  14] 

ity  with  which  they  exercised  these  powers,  in  more 
than  one  instance,  proves  that  they  were  not  a  dead 
letter.^^ 

The  tiangiiez  of  Mexico  was  naturally  an  object 
of  great  interest,  as  well  as  wonder,  to  the  Spaniards. 
For  in  it  they  saw  converged  into  one  focus,  as  it 
were,  all  the  rays  of  civilization  scattered  through- 
out the  land.  Here  they  beheld  the  various  evi- 
dences of  mechanical  skill,  of  domestic  industry,  the 
multiplied  resources,  of  whatever  kind,  within  the 
compass  of  the  natives.  It  could  not  fail  to  impress 
thiem  with  high  ideas  of  the  magnitude  of  these  re- 
sources, as  well  as  of  the  commercial  activity  and 
social  subordination  by  which  the  whole  community 
was  knit  together ;  and  their  admiration  is  fully 
evinced  by  the  minuteness  and  energy  of  their  de- 
scriptions.^^ 

From  this  bustling  scene,  the  Spaniards  took  their 
way  to  the  great  teocalli,  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
their  own  quarters.  It  covered,  with  the  subordinate 
edifices,  as  the  reader  has  already  seen,  the  large  tract 
of  ground  now  occupied  by  the  cathedral,  part  of  the 
market-place,  and  some  of  the  adjoining  streets.^^    It 


14  Toribio,  Hist,  de  los  Indies,  Constantinopla,  y  en  toda  Italia, 

MS.,  Parte  3,  cap.  7.— Rel.  Seg.,  y  Roma,  y  dix6ron,  que  plaga  tan 

ap.  Lorenzana,  p.  104.  —  Oviedo,  bien  compassada,  y  con  tanto  con- 

Hist.  de  las  Ind.,  MS.,  lib.  33,  cierto,  y  tamafia,  y  Uena  de  tanta 

cap.  10.  —  Bernal  Diaz,  Hist,  de  gente,  no  la  auian  visto."     Ibid., 

la  Conquista,  loc.  cit.  ubi  supra. 

^  "  Entre  nosotros,"  says  Diaz,        16  Clavigero,  Stor.  del  Messico, 

"  huuo  soldados  que  auian  estado  torn.  II.  p.  27. 
en  muclias  partes  del  mundo,  y  en 


142  RESIDENCE  IN   MEXICO.  [Book  IV 

was  the  spot  which  had  been  consecrated  to  the 
same  object,  probably,  ever  since  the  foundation  of 
the  city.  The  present  building,  however,  was  of  no 
great  antiquity,  having  been  constructed  by  Ahuit- 
zotl,  who  celebrated  its  dedication  in  1486,  by  that 
hecatomb  of  victims,  of  which  such  incredible  reports 
are  to  be  found  in  the  chronicles. ^'^ 

It  stood  in  the  midst  of  a  vast  area,  encompassed 
by  a  wall  of  stone  and  lime,  about  eight  feet  high, 
ornamented  on  the  outer  side  by  figures  of  serpents, 
raised  in  relief,  which  gave  it  the  name  of  the  co- 
atepantli,  or  "  wall  of  serpents."  This  emblem  was 
a  common  one  in  the  sacred  sculpture  of  Anahuac, 
as  well  as  of  Egypt.  The  wall,  which  was  quadran- 
gular, was  pierced  by  huge  battlemented  gateways, 
opening  on  the  four  principal  streets  of  the  capital. 
Over  each  of  the  gates  was  a  kind  of  arsenal,  filled 
witn  arms  and  warlike  gear ;  and,  if  we  may  credit 
the  report  of  the  Conquerors,  there  were  barracks 
adjoining,  garrisoned  by  ten  thousand  soldiers,  who 
served  as  a  sort  of  military  police  for  the  capital, 
supplying  the  emperor  with  a  strong  arm  in  case  of 
tumult  or  sedition.^^ 

The  teocalli  itself  was  a  solid  pyramidal  structure 
of  earth  and  pebbles,  coated  on  the  outside  with 
hewn    stones    probably   of   the   light,  porous    kind 

l"'  Ante,  Vol.  I.  p.  80.  quando  si  facea  qualche  rumore  6 

18  "  Et  di  pill  v' hauea  vna  guar-  ribellione  nella  citta  6  nel  paese 

nigione  di  dieci  mila  huomini  di  circumuicino,   andauano  questi,  6 

guerra,  tutti  eletti  per  huomini  val-  parte  d'essi  per  Capilani."     Rel. 

enti,  &  questi  accompagnauano  &  d'un  gent.,  ap.  Ramusio,  torn.  III. 

guardauano    la    sua    persona,   &  fol.  309. 


Ch.  II.]  GREAT  TEMPLE.  J43 

employed  in  the  buildings  of  the  city,^^  It  was 
probably  square,  with  its  sides  facing  the  cardinal 
points.^  It  was  divided  into  five  bodies  or  stories, 
each  one  receding  so  as  to  be  of  smaller  dimensions 
than  that  immediately  below  it ;  the  usual  form  of 
the  Aztec  teocallis,  as  already  described,  and  bear- 
ing obvious  resemblance  to  some  of  the  primitive 
pyramidal  structures  in  the  Old  World.^^  The  ascent 
was  by  a  flight  of  steps  on  the  outside,  which 
reached  to  the  narrow  terrace  or  platform  at  the  base 
of  the  second  story,  passing  quite  round  the  build- 
ing, when  a  second  stairway  conducted  to  a  similar 
landing  at  the  base  of  the  third.  The  breadth  of 
this  walk  was  just  so  much  space  as  was  left  by  the 
retreating  story  next  above  it.  From  this  construc- 
tion the  visiter  was  obliged  to  pass  round  the  whole 
edifice  four  times,  in  order  to  reach  the  top.  This 
had  a  most  imposing  effect  in  the  religious  ceremoni- 
als, when  the  pompous  procession  of  priests  with 
their  wild  minstrelsy  came  sweeping  round  the  huge 
sides  of  the  pyramid,  as  they  rose  higher  and  higher, 

'9  Humboldt,  Essai  Politique,  shape,  and  his  contemptible  wood- 
torn.  II.  p.  40.  cut  is  too  plainly  destitute  of  all 

On  paving  the  square,  not  long  proportion,  to  furnish  an  inference 

ago,  round  the  modern  cathedral,  of  any  kind.  (Comp.Rel.d'un  gent., 

there  were  found  large  blocks  of  ap.  Ramusio,  tom.  III.  fol.  307.) 

sculptured   stone  buried   between  Torquemada  and  Gomara  both  say, 

thirty  and   forty  feet  deep  in  the  it  was  square  ;     (Monarch.   Tnd., 

ground.     Ibid.,  loc.  cit.  lib.  8, cap.  11 ; — Cronica, cap.  80 ;) 

20  Clavigero  calls  it  oblong,  on  the  and  Toribio  de  Benavente,  speak- 

alleged  authority  of  the  "  Anony-  ing  generally  of  the  Mexican  tem- 

mous  Conqueror."  (Stor.  del  Mes-  pies,  says,  they  had  that  form.  Hist, 

sico,  tom.  II.  p.  27,  nota.)     But  de  los.  Ind.,  MS.,Parte  1,  cap.  12. 

the  latter  says  not  a  word  of  the  2i  ^qq  Appendix,  Part  1. 


144 


RESIDENCE   IN   MEXICO. 


[Book  I\. 


in  the  presence  of  gazing  multitudes,  towards  the 
summit. 

The  dimensions  of  the  temple  cannot  be  given 
with  any  certainty.  The  Conquerors  judged  by 
the  eye,  rarely  troubling  themselves  with  any  thing 
like  an  accurate  measurement.  It  was,  probably, 
not  much  less  than  three  hundred  feet  square  at  the 
base;^^  and,  as  the  Spaniards  counted  a  hundred  and 
fourteen  steps,  was,  probably,  less  than  one  hundred 
feet  in  height.^^ 

When  Cortes  arrived  before  the  teocalli,  he  found 
two  priests  and  several  caciques  commissioned  by 
Montezuma  to  save  him  the  fatigue  of  the  ascent  by 


29  Clavigero,  calling  it  oblong, 
adopts  Torquemada's  estimate,  — 
not  Sahagun's,  as  he  pretends, 
which  he  never  saw,  and  who  gives 
no  measurement  of  the  building,  — 
for  the  length,  and  Gomara's  esti- 
mate, which  is  somewhat  less,  for 
the  breadth.  (Stor.  del.  Messico, 
torn.  II.  p.  28,  nota.)  As  both 
his  authorities  make  the  building 
square,  this  spirit  of  accommoda- 
tion is  whimsical  enough.  Tori- 
bio,  who  did  measure  a  teocalli  of 
the  usual  construction  in  the  town 
of  Tenayuca,  found  it  to  be  forty 
brazas,  or  two  hundred  and  forty 
feet  square.  (Hist.delosInd.,MS., 
Parte  1,  cap.  12.)  The  great  tem- 
ple of  Mexico  was  undoubtedly 
larger,  and,  in  the  want  of  better 
authorities,  one  may  accept  Tor- 
quemada,  who  makes  it  a  little  more 
than  three  hundred  and  sixty  To- 
ledan,  equal  to  three  hundred  and 


eight  French  feet,  square.  (Mon- 
arch. Ind.,  lib.  8,  cap.  11.)  How 
can  M.  de  Humboldt  speak  of  the 
'*  great  concurrence  of  testimony  " 
in  regard  to  the  dimensions  of  the 
temple  1  (Essai  Politique,  tom.  II. 
p.  41.)  No  two  authorities  agree. 
23  Bernal  Diaz  says  he  counted 
one  hundred  and  fourteen  steps. 
(Hist,  de  la  Conquista,  cap.  92.) 
Toribio  says  that  more  than  one 
person  who  had  numbered  them 
told  him  they  exceeded  a  hundred. 
(Plist.  de  los  Indies,  MS.,  Parte  1, 
cap.  12.)  The  steps  could  hardly 
have  been  less  than  eight  or  ten 
inches  high,  each  ;  Clavigero  as- 
sumes that  they  were  a  foot,  and 
that  the  building,  therefore,  was  a 
hundred  and  fourteen  feet  high, 
precisely.  (Stor.  del  Messico,  tom. 
II.  pp.  28,  29.)  It  is  seldom  safe 
to  use  any  thing  stronger  than 
probably  in  history. 


Ch.  II.]  GREAT  TEMPLE.  145 

bearing  him  on  their  shoulders,  in  the  same  manner 
as  had  been  done  to  the  emperor.  But  the  general 
declined  the  compliment,  preferring  to  march  up  at 
the  head  of  his  men.  On  reaching  the  summit, 
they  found  it  a  vast  area,  paved  w^ith  broad  flat 
stones.  The  first  object  that  met  their  view  w^as  a 
large  block  of  jasper,  the  peculiar  shape  of  w^hich 
showed  it  was  the  stone  on  which  the  bodies  of  the 
unhappy  victims  were  stretched  for  sacrifice.  Its  con- 
vex surface,  by  raising  the  breast,  enabled  the  priest 
to  perform  his  diabolical  task  more  easily,  of  remov- 
ing the  heart.  At  the  other  end  of  the  area  were 
two  towers  or  sanctuaries,  consisting  of  three  stories, 
the  lower  one  of  stone  and  stucco,  the  two  upper 
of  wood  elaborately  carved.  In  the  lower  division 
stood  the  images  of  their  gods ;  the  apartments  aboVe 
were  filled  with  utensils  for  their  religious  services, 
and  with  the  ashes  of  some  of  their  Aztec  princes, 
who  had  fancied  this  airy  sepulchre.  Before  each 
sanctuary  stood  an  altar  with  that  undying  fire  upon 
it,  the  extinction  of  which  boded  as  much  evil  to  the 
empire,  as  that  of  the  Vestal  flame  would  have  done 
in  ancient  Rome.  Here,  also,  was  the  huge  cylin- 
drical drum  made  of  serpents'  skins,  and  struck  only 
on  extraordinary  occasions,  when  it  sent  forth  a 
melancholy  sound  that  might  be  heard  for  miles,  — 
a  sound  of  woe  in  after- times  to  the  Spaniards. 

Montezuma,  attended  by  the  high-priest,  came 
forward  to  receive  Cortes  as  he  mounted  the  area. 
"  You  are  weary,  Malinche,"  said  he  to  him,  "  with 
climbing  up  our  great  temple."     But  Cortes,  with  a 

VOL.    II.  19 


146  RESIDENCE   IN   MEXICO.  [Book  IV. 

politic  vaunt,  assured  him  "the  Spaniards  were  nev- 
er vi^eary " !  Then,  taking  him  by  the  hand,  the 
emperor  pointed  out  the  localities  of  the  neighbour- 
hood. The  temple  on  which  they  stood,  rising  high 
above  all  other  edifices  in  the  capital,  afforded  the 
most  elevated  as  well  as  central  point  of  view.  Be- 
low them,  the  city  lay  spread  out  like  a  map,  with  its 
streets  and  canals  intersecting  each  other  at  right 
angles,  its  terraced  roofs  blooming  like  so  many  par- 
terres of  flowers.  Every  place  seemed  alive  with 
business  and  bustle  ;  canoes  were  glancing  up  and 
down  the  canals,  the  istreets  were  crowded  with 
people  in  their  gay,  picturesque  costume,  while  from 
the  market-place,  they  had  so  lately  left,  a  confus- 
ed hum  of  many  sounds  and  voices  rose  upon  the 
air.^^  They  could  distinctly  trace  the  symmetrical 
plan  of  the  city,  with  its  principal  avenues  issuing, 
as  it  were,  from  the  four  gates  of  the  coatepantli ; 
and  connecting  themselves  with  the  causeways, 
which  formed  the  grand  entrances  to  the  capital. 
This  regular  and  beautiful  arrangement  was  imitated 
in  many  of  the  inferior  towns,  where  the  great  roads 
converged  towards  the  chief  teocalli,  or  cathedral,  as 
to  a  common  focus. ^^     They  could  discern  the  insu- 


^  "  Torn5.mos  k  ver  la  gran  pla-  25  <«  y  por  honrar  mas  sus  tero- 
ca,  y  la  multitud  de  gente  que  en  plos  saeaban  los  caminos  muy  ae- 
ella  aula,  vnos  comprado,  y  otros  rechos  por  cordel  de  una  y  de  dos 
vendiendo,  que  solamente  el  rumor,  leguas  que  era  cosa  harto  de  ver, 
y  zumbido  de  las  vozes,  y  palabras  desde  lo  Alto  del  principal  templo, 
que  alii  auia,  sonaua  mas  que  de  como  venian  de  todos  los  pueblos 
vnalegua!  "  Bernal  Diaz,  Hist,  menores  y  barrios;  salian  los  ca- 
de la  Conquista,  cap.  92.  minos  muy  derechos  y  iban  a  dar 


:m- 


Vv 


Ch.  II.]  GREAT  TEMPLE.  147 

lar  position  of  the  metropolis,  bathed  on  all  sides  by 
the  salt  floods  of  the  Tezcuco,  and  in  the  distance 
the  clear  fresh  waters  of  the  Chalco ;  far  beyond 
stretched  a  wide  prospect  of  fields  and  waving 
woods,  with  the  burnished  walls  of  many  a  lofty 
temple  rising  high  above  the  trees,  and  crowning  the 
distant  hill-tops.^  The  view  reached  in  an  unbro- 
ken line  to  the  very  base  of  the  circular  range  of 
mountains,  whose  frosty  peaks  glittered  as  if  touched 
with  fire  in  tlie  morning  ray ;  while  long,  dark 
wreaths  of  vapor,  rolling  up  from  the  hoary  head 
of  Popocatepetl,  told  that  the  destroying  element 
was,  indeed,  at  work  in  the  bosom  of  the  beautiful 
Valley. 

Cortes  was  filled  with  admiration  at  this  grand 
and  glorious  spectacle,  and  gave  utterance  to  his  feel- 
ings in  animated  language  to  the  emperor,  the  lord 
of  these  flourishing  domains.  His  thoughts,  how- 
ever, soon  took  another  direction ;  and,  turning  to  fa- 
ther Olmedo,  who  stood  by  his  side,  he  suggested  that 
the  area  would  afford  a  most  conspicuous  position  for 
the  Christian  Cross,  if  Montezuma  would  but  allow 


al  patio  de  los  teocallis. ' '  Toribio,  y  por  los  caminos  y  entre  los  Maiza- 

Hist.  de  los  Indios,  MS.,  Parte  1,  les,habiaotrosmuchospequefios,y 

cap.  12.  todos  estaban  blancos  y  encalados, 

26  "  No  86  contentaba  el  Demo-  que  parecian  y  abultaban  mucho, 

nio  con  los  [Teucales]  ya  dichos,  que  en  la  tierra  bien  poblada  pa- 

sino  que  en  cada  pueblo,  en  cada  recia  que  todo  estaba  lleno  de  ca- 

barrio,  y  d  cuarto  de  legua,  tenian  sas,  en  especial  de  los  patios  del 

otros  patios  pequefios  adonde  habia  Demonio,  que  eran  muy  de  ver." 

tres  6  cuatro  teocallis,  yen  algunos  Toribio,  Hist,  de  los  Indios,  MS., 

mas,  en  otras  partes  solo  uno,  y  en  ubi  supra. 
cada  Mogote  6  Cerrejoa  uno  6  dos, 


# 


148  RESIDENCE  IN   MEXICO.  [Book  IV 

it  to  be  planted  there.  But  the  discreet  ecclesiastic, 
with  the  good  sense  which  on  these  occasions  seems 
to  have  been  so  lamentably  deficient  in  his  comman- 
der, reminded  him,  that  such  a  request,  at  present, 
would  be  exceedingly  ill-timed,  as  the  Indian  mon- 
arch had  shown  no  dispositions  as  yet  favorable  to 
Christianity.^'^ 

Cortes  then  requested  Montezuma  to  allow  him 
to  enter  the  sanctuaries,  and  behold  the  shrines  of 
his  gods.  To  this  the  latter,  after  a  short  conference 
with  the  priests,  assented,  and  conducted  the  Span- 
iards into  the  building.  They  found  themselves  in  a 
spacious  apartment  incrusted  on  the  sides  with  stuc- 
co, on  which  various  figures  were  sculptured,  repre- 
senting the  Mexican  calendar,  perhaps,  or  the  priest- 
ly ritual.  At  one  end  of  the  saloon  was  a  recess  with 
a  roof  of  timber  richly  carved  and  gilt.  Before  the 
altar  in  this  sanctuary,  stood  the  colossal  image  of 
Huitzilopotchli,  the  tutelary  deity  and  war- god  of 
the  Aztecs.  His  countenance  was  distorted  into 
hideous  lineaments  of  symbolical  import.  In  his 
right  hand  he  wielded  a  bow,  and  in  his  left  a  bunch 
of  golden  arrows,  which  a  mystic  legend  had  con- 
nected with  the  victories  of  his  people.  The  huge 
folds  of  a  serpent,  consisting  of  pearls  and  precious 
stones,  were  coiled  round  his  waist,  and  the  same 
rich  materials  were  profusely  sprinkled  over  his  per- 
son. On  his  left  foot  were  the  dehcate  feathers  of 
the  humming-bird,  which,  singularly  enough,  gave  its 

27  Bernal  Diaz,  Hist,  de  la  Conquista,  ubi  supra. 


Ch.  II.]  INTERIOR  SANCTUARIES.  M^ 

name  to  the  dread  deity .^"^  The  most  conspicuous 
ornament  was  a  chain  of  gold  and  silver  hearts 
alternate,  suspended  round  his  neck,  emblematical 
of  the  sacrifice  in  which  he  most  delighted.  A  more 
unequivocal  evidence  of  this  was  afforded  by  three 
human  hearts  smoking  and  almost  palpitating,  as  if 
recendy  torn  from  the  victims,  and  now  lying  on 
the  altar  before  him ! 

The  adjoining  sanctuary  was  dedicated  to  a  milder 
deity.  This  was  Tezcadipoca,  next  in  honor  to 
that  invisible  Being, .  the  Supreme  God,  who  was 
represented  by  no  image,  and  confined  by  no  temple. 
It  was  Tezcadipoca  who  created  the  world,  and 
watched  over  it  with  a  providential  care.  He  was 
represented  as  a  young  man,  and  his  image,  of 
polished  black  stone,  was  richly  garnished  with  gold 
plates  and  ornaments ;  among  which  a  shield,  bur- 
nished like  a  mirror,  was  the  most  characteristic 
emblem,  as  in  it  he  saw  reflected  all  the  doings  of 
the  world.  But  the  homage  to  this  god  was  not 
always  of  a  more  refined  or  merciful  character  than 
that  paid  to  his  carnivorous  brother ;  for  five  bleed- 
ing hearts  were  also  seen  in  a  golden  platter  on 
his  altar. 

The  walls  of  both  these  chapels  were  stained 
with  human  gore.  "  The  stench  was  more  intoler- 
able," exclaims  Diaz,  "than  that  of  the  slaughter- 
houses in  Castile  !  "  And  the  frantic  forms  of  the 
priests,  with  their  dark  robes  clotted  with  blood,  as 

«  Ante,  Vol.   I.  p.  58. 


'-^V 


^50  RESIDENCE  IN  MEXICO.  [BdOK  IT. 

they  flitted  to  and  fro,  seemed  to  the  Spaniards  to 
be  those  of  the  very  ministers  of  Satan !  ^ 

From  this  foul  abode  they  gladly  escaped  into  the 
open  air ;  when  Cortes,  turning  to  Montezuma, 
said,  with  a  smile,  "  I  do  not  comprehend  how  a 
great  and  wise  prince,  like  you,  can  put  faith  in  such 
evil  spirits  as  these  idols,  the  representatives  of  the 
Devil !  If  you  will  but  permit  us  to  erect  here  the 
true  Cross,  and  place  the  images  of  the  blessed 
Virgin  and  her  Son  in  your  sanctuaries,  you  will 
soon  see  how  your  false  gods  will  shrink  before 
them ! " 

Montezuma  was  greatly  shocked  at  this  sacrile- 
gious address.  '*  These  are  the  gods,"  he  answered, 
"  who  have  led  the  Aztecs  on  to  victory  since  they 
were  a  nation,  and  who  send  the  seed-time  and 
harvest  in  their  seasons.  Had  I  thought  you  would 
have  offered  them  this  outrage,  I  would  not  have 
admitted  you  into  their  presence." 

Cortes,  after  some  expressions  of  concern  at  hav- 
iiig  wounded  the  feelings  of  the  emperor,*  took  his 
leave.  Montezuma  remained,  saying  that  he  must 
expiate,  if  possible,  the  crime  of  exposing  the 
shrines  of  the  divinities  to  such  profanation  by  the 
strangers.^ 


29  "  Y  tenia  en  las  parades  tan-  106.  —  Carta  del  Lie.  Zuazo,  MS. 

tas  costras  de  sangre,  y  el  suelo  —  See,  also,  for  notices  of  these 

todb  baiiado  dello,  que  en  los  ma-  deities,  Sahagun,  lib.  3,  cap.  I,  at 

t'aderos  de  Castilla  no  auia  tanto  seq.,— Torquemad a,  Monarch.  Ind., 

hedor."     Bernal  Diaz,  Hist,  de  la  lib.  6,  cap.  20,  21, — Acosta,  lib. 

Conquista,  ubi  supra.  —  Rel.  Seg.  5,  cap.  9. 
de  Cortes,  ap.  Lorenzana,  pp.  105,        ^  Bernal  Diaz,  Ibid.,  ubi  supra. 


Ca.  II.]  INTERIOR  SANCTUARIES.  151 

On  descending  to  the  court,  the  Spaniards  took 
a  leisurely  survey  of  the  other  edifices  in  the  inclo- 
sure.  The  area  was  protected  by  a  smooth  stone 
pavement,  so  polished,  indeed,  that  it  was  with 
difficulty  the  horses  could  keep  their  legs.  There 
were  several  other  teocallis,  built  generally  on  the 
model  of  the  great  one,  though  of  much  inferior 
size,  dedicated  to  the  diflferent  Aztec  deities.^^  On 
their  summits  were  the  altars  crowned  with  perpet- 
ual flames,  which,  with  those  on  the  numerous  tem- 
ples in  other  quarters  of  the  capital,  shed  a  brilliant 
illumination  over  its  streets,  through  the  long  nights.^ 

Among  the  teocallis  in  the  inclosure  was  one  con- 
secrated to  Quetzalcoatl,  circular  in  its  form,  and 
having  an  entrance  in  imitation  of  a  dragon's  mouth, 
bristling  with  sharp  fangs,  and  dropping  with  blood. 
As  the  Spaniards  cast  a  furtive  glance  into  the  throat 
of  this  horrible  monster,  they  saw  collected  there 
implements  of  sacrifice  and  other  abominations  of 
fearful  import.     Their  bold  hearts  shuddered  at  the 


Whoever  examines  Cortes'  great  to  find  them  attended  to  in  the 

letter  to  Charles  V.  will  be  surpris-  long-winded,  gossiping,  — linestim- 

ed  to  find  it  stated,  that,  instead  of  able  chronicle  of  Diaz, 

any  acknowledgment  to  Montezu-  31  "  Quarenta  torrea  muy  altas 

ma,  he  threw  down  his  idols  and  y  bien  obradas."     Rel.  Seg.  de 

erected  the  Christian  emblems  in  Cortes,  ap.  Lorenzana,  p.  105. 

their  stead.     (Rel.  Seg.,  ap.  Lo-  32  '<Delante  de  todos  estos  al- 

renzana,  p.  106.)     This  was  an  tares  habia  bra9eros  que  toda  la 

event  of  much  later  date.     The  noche  hardian,  y  en  las  salas  tam- 

Conquistador  wrote  his  despatches  bien  tenian  sus  fuegos."     Toribio, 

loo  rapidly  and  concisely  to  give  Hist,  de  los  Indios,  MS.,  Parte  1, 

lieed  always  to  exact  time  and  cir-  cap.  12. 
cumstance.    We  are  quite  as  likely 


152  RESIDENCE    IN    MEXICO.  [Book  IV. 

spectacle,  and  they  designated  the  place  not  inaptly 
as  the  "Hell." 3=^ 

One  other  structure  may  be  noticed  as  character- 
istic of  the  brutish  nature  of  their  religion.  This 
was  a  pyramidal  mound  or  tumulus,  having  a  com- 
plicated frame-work  of  timber  on  its  broad  summit. 
On  this  was  strung  an  immense  number  of  human 
skulls,  which  belonged  to  the  victims,  mostly  prisoners 
of  war,  who  had  perished  on  the  accursed  stone  of 
sacrifice.  One  of  the  soldiers  had  the  patience  to 
count  the  number  of  these  ghastly  trophies,  and  re- 
ported it  to  be  one  hundred  and  thirty-six  thou- 
sand !  ^  Belief  might  well  be  staggered,  did  not  the 
Old  World  present  a  worthy  counterpart  in  the  py- 
ramidal Golgothas  which  commemorated  the  tri- 
umphs of  Tamerlane.^^ 

There  were  long  ranges  of  buildings  in  the  inclo- 
sure,  appropriated  as  the  residence  of  the  priests 
and  others  engaged  in  the  offices  of  religion.     The 

33  Bernal  Diaz,  Ibid.,  ubi  supra.         "  Andres  de  Tapia,  qy£  me  to 
Toribio,  also,  notices  this  temple     dijo,  i  Gon^alo  de  Umbria,  las  con- 

with  the  same  complimentary  epi-  t^ron  vn  Dia,  i  hallaron  ciento  i 

thet.  treinta  i  seis  mil  Calaberas,  en  las 

'I  La  boca  hecha  como  de  infier-  Vigas,  i  Gradas."     Gomara,  Cr6- 

no  y  en  ella  pintada  la  l)oca  de  nica,  cap.  82. 
una  temerosa  Sierpe  con  terribles        35  Three  collections,  thus  fanci- 

colmillos  y  dientes,  y  en  algunas  fully  disposed,  of  these   grinning 

de  estas  los  colmillos  eran  de  bul-  horrors  —  in  all  230,000  —  are  no- 

to,  que  verlo  y  entrar  dentro  ponia  ticed   by   Gibbon !     (Decline   and 

gran  temor  y  grima,  en  especial  el  Fall,  ed.  Milman,  vol.  I.  p.  52  ; 

infierno  que  estaba  en  Mexico,  que  vol.    XII.    p.  45.)      A  European 

parecia  traslado  del  verdadero  in-  scholar  commends  "  the  conquer- 

fierno."  Hist,  de  los  Indies,  MS.,  or's  piety,  his  moderation,  and  his 

Parte  1,  cap.  4.  justice"  !     Howe's  Dedication  of 

34  Bernal  Diaz,  ubi  supra.  "  Tamerlane." 


Ch.  II.]  INTERIOR  SANCTUARIES.  153 

whole  number  of  them  was  said  to  amount  to  sever- 
al thousand.  Here  were,  also,  the  principal  semina- 
ries for  the  instruction  of  youth  of  both  sexes,  drawn 
chiefly  from  the  higher  and  wealthier  classes.  The 
girls  were  taught  by  elderly  women  who  officiated 
as  priestesses  in  the  temples,  a  custom  familiar,  also, 
to  Egypt.  The  Spaniards  admit  that  the  greatest 
care  for  morals,  and  the  most  blameless  deportment, 
were  maintained  in  these  institutions.  The  time  of 
the  pupils  was  chiefly  occupied,  as  in  most  monastic 
establishments,  with  the  minute  and  burdensome 
ceremonial  of  their  religion.  The  boys  were  likewise 
taught  such  elements  of  science  as  were  known  to 
their  teachers,  and  the  girls  initiated  in  the  mysteries 
of  embroidery  and  weaving,  which  they  employed  in 
decorating  the  temples.  At  a  suitable  age  they  gene- 
rally went  forth  into  the  world  to  assume  the  occupa- 
tions fitted  to  their  condition,  though  some  remained 
permanently  devoted  to  the  services  of  religion.^ 

The  spot  was  also  covered  by  edifices  of  a  still 
diiferent  character.  There  were  granaries  filled  with 
the  rich  produce  of  the  church-lands,  and  with  the 
first-fruits  and  other  offerings  of  the  faithful.  One 
large  mansion  was  reserved  for  strangers  of  emi- 
nence, who  were  on  a  pilgrimage  to  the  great  teo- 
calli.     The  inclosure  was  ornamented  with  gardens. 


*  Ante,  Vol.  I.  pp.  69,  70.  iards,  has  led  me  in  this  and  the 
The   desire   of   presenting  the  preceding-  chapter  into  a  few  repe- 
reader  with  a  complete  view  of  the  titions  of  remarks  on  the  Aztec  in- 
actual  stale  of  the  capital,  at  the  stitutions  in  the  Introductory  Book 
limo  of  its  occupation  hy  the  Span-  of  this  History. 
VOL.    II.                      20 


ISA  RESIDENCE  IN   MEXICO.  [Book:  IV 

shaded  by  ancient  trees  and  watered  hy  fountains 
and  reservoirs  from  the  copious  streams  of  Chapolte- 
pec.  The  little  community  was  thus  provided  with 
almost  every  thing  requisite  for  its  own  maintenance, 
and  the  services  of  the  temple.^'^ 

It  was  a  microcosm  of  itself,  a  city  within  a  city ; 
and,  according  to  the  assertion  of  Cortes,  embraced 
a  tract  of  ground  large  enough  for  five  hundred 
houses.^  It  presented  in  this  brief  compass  the 
extremes  of  barbarism,  blended  vrith  a  certain  civili- 
zation, altogether  characteristic  of  the  Aztecs.  The 
rude  Conquerors  saw  only  the  evidence  of  the  for- 
mer. In  the  fantastic  and  symbolical  features  of  the 
deities,  they  beheld  the  literal  lineaments  of  Satan ; 
in  the  rites  and  frivolous  ceremonial,  his  own  es- 
pecial code  of  damnation  ;  and  in  the  modest  de- 
portment and  careful  nurture  of  the  inmates  of  the 
seminaries,  the  snares  by  which  he  was  to  beguile 
his  deluded  victims  !  ^^  Before  a  century  had  elapsed, 
the  descendants  of  these  same  Spaniards  discerned 
in  the  mysteries  of  the  Aztec  religion  the  features, 
obscured  and  defaced,  indeed,  of  the  Jewish  and 
Christian   revelations !  ^     Such   were   the   opposite 

37  Toribio,  Hist,  de  los  Indies,  39  u  ^pQ^as  estas  mugeres,"  says 
MS.,  Parte  I,  cap.  12.  —  Gomara;  father  Toribio,  "  estaban  aqui  sir- 
Cr6nica,  cap.  80. — Rel.  d'un  gent.,  viendo  al  demonio  por  sus  propios 
ap.  Ramusio,  torn.  IIL  fol.  309.  intereses  ;  las  unas  porque  el  De- 

38  *'  Es  tan  grande  que  dentro  monio  las  hiciese  modestas,"  &c. 
del  circuito  de  ella,  que  es  todo  Hist,  de  los  Indios,  MS.,  Parte 
cercado  de  Muro  muy  alto,  se  po-  1,  cap.  9. 

dia  muy  bien  facer  una  Villa  de        ^o  See  Appendix,  Part  1. 
quinientos  Vecinos."     Rel,  Seg., 
ap.  Lorenzana,  p.  105. 


Ch.  II.J  SPANISH   QUARTERS  155 

conclusions  of  the  unlettered  soldier  and  of  the 
scholar.  A  philosopher,  untouched  by  superstition, 
might  well  doubt  which  of  the  two  was  the  most 
extraordinary. 

The  sight  of  the  Indian  abominations  seems  to 
have  kindled  in  the  Spaniards  a  livelier  feeling  for 
their  own  religion  ;  since,  on  the  following  day,  they 
asked  leave  of  Montezuma  to  convert  one  of  the 
halls  in  their  residence  into  a  chapel,  that  they  might 
celebrate  the  services  of  the  Church  there.  The 
monarch,  in  whose  bosom  the  feelings  of  resentment 
seem  to  have  soon  subsided,  easily  granted  their  re- 
quest, and  sent  some  of  his  own  artisans  to  aid  them 
in  the  work. 

While  it  was  in  progress,  some  of  the  Spaniards 
observed  what  appeared  to  be  a  door  recently  plas- 
tered over.  It  was  a  common  rumor  that  Monte- 
zuma still  kept  the  treasures  of  his  father.  King 
Axayacatl,  in  this  ancient  palace.  The  Spaniards, 
acquainted  with  this  fact,  felt  no  scruple  in  gratifying^ 
their  curiosity  by  removing  the  plaster.  As  was 
anticipated,  it  concealed  a  door.  On  forcing  this, 
they  found  the  rumor  was  no  exaggeration.  They 
beheld  a  large  hall  filled  with  rich  and  beautiful 
stuffs,  articles  of  curious  workmanship  of  various 
kinds,  gold  and  silver  in  bars  and  in  the  ore,  and 
many  jewels  of  value.  It  was  the  private  hoard  of 
Montezuma,  the  contributions,  it  may  be,  of  trib- 
utary cities,  and  once  the  property  of  his  father. 
"  I  was  a  young  man,"  says  Diaz,  who  was  one  of 
those  that  obtained  a  sight  of  it,  "  and  it  seemed  to 


166  RESIDENCE  IN   MEXICO.  [Book   IV 

me  as  if  all  the  riches  of  the  world  were  in  that 
room  !  "  ^^  The  Spaniards,  notwithstanding  their 
elation  at  the  discovery  of  this  precious  deposit,  seem 
to  have  felt  some  commendable  scruples  as  to  appro- 
priating it  to  their  own  use,  —  at  least  for  the  pres- 
ent. And  Cortes,  after  closing  up  the  wall  as  it  was 
before,  gave  strict  injunctions  that  nothing  should 
be  said  of  the  matter,  unwilling  that  the  knowledge 
of  its  existence  by  his  guests  should  reach  the  ears 
of  Montezuma. 

Three  days  sufficed  to  complete  the  chapel ;  and 
the  Christians  had  the  satisfaction  to  see  them- 
selves in  possession  of  a  temple  where  they  might 
worship  God  in  their,  own  way,  under  the  protection 
of  the  Cross,  and  the  blessed  Virgin.  Mass  was 
regularly  performed  by  the  fathers  Olmedo  and  Diaz, 
in  the  presence  of  the  assembled  army,  who  were 
most  earnest  and  exemplary  in  their  devotions,  part- 
ly, says  the  chronicler  above  quoted,  from  the  propri- 
ety of  the  thing,  and  partly  for  its  edifying  influence 
on  the  benighted  heathen.*^ 

*i  "  Y  luego  lo  supimos  entre  to  en  mi  vida  riquezas  como  aquel- 

todos  los  demas  Capitanes,  y  sol-  las,   tuue   por  cierto,   que  en  el 

dados,  y  lo  entramos  a  ver  muy  se-  mundo  no  deuiera  auer  otras  tan- 

cretamente,  y  como  yo  lo  vi,  digo  tas!"      Hist,   de    la    Conquista, 

que  me  admire,  e  como  en  aquel  cap.  93. 
tiempo  era  mancebo,  y  no  auia  vis-        ^  Ibid.,  loc.  cit. 


CHAPTER  III. 

Anxiety  of  Cortss.  —  Seizure  of  Montezuma.  —  His  Treatment 
BY  the  Spaniards. — Execution  of  his  Officers.  —  Montezuma 
IN  Irons.  —  Reflections. 

1519. 

The  Spaniards  had  been  now  a  week  in  Mexico. 
During  this  time,  thej  had  experienced  the  most 
friendly  treatment  from  the  emperor.  But  the  mind 
of  Cortes  was  far  from  easy.  He  felt  that  it  was 
quite  uncertain  how  long  this  amiable  temper  would 
last.  A  hundred  circumstances  might  occur  to  change 
it.  He  might  very  naturally  feel  the  maintenance 
of  so  large  a  body  too  burdensome  on  his  treasury. 
The  people  of  the  capital  might  become  dissatisfied  M 

at  the  presence  of  so  numerous  an  armed  force  with- 
in  their  walls.  Many  causes  of  disgust  might  arise 
betwixt  the  soldiers  and  the  citizens.  Indeed,  it 
was  scarcely  possible  that  a  rude,  licentious  soldiery, 
like  the  Spaniards,  could  be  long  kept  in  subjection 
without  active  employment.^  The  danger  was  even 
greater  with  the  Tlascalans,  a  fierce  race  'now 
brought  into  daily  contact  with  the  nation  who  held 

1  "Los Espauoles,"  says  Cortes    tunos."     Rel.  Seg.,  ap.  Lorenza- 
frankly,  of  his  countrymen,  "so-     na,  p.  84. 
raos  algo  incomportables,  e  impor- 


158 


RESIDENCE  IN   MEXICO. 


[Book  IV. 


them  in  loathing  and  detestation.  Rumors  were 
already  rife  among  the  allies,  whether  well-founded 
or  not,  of  murmurs  among  the  Mexicans,  accom- 
panied by  menaces  of  raising  the  bridges.^ 

Even  should  the  Spaniards  be  allowed  to  occupy 
their  present  quarters  unmolested,  it  was  not  ad- 
vancing the  great  object  of  the  expedition.  Cortes 
was  not  a  whit  nearer  gaining  the  capital,  so  essen- 
tial to  his  meditated  subjugation  of  the  country ;  and 
any  day  he  might  receive  tidings  that  the  Crown,  or, 
what  he  most  feared,  the  governor  of  Cuba,  had  sent 
a  force  of  superior  strength  to  wrest  from  him  a 
conquest  but  half  achieved.  Disturbed  by  these 
anxious  reflections,  he  resolved  to  extricate  himself 
from  his  embarrassment  by  one  bold  stroke.  But  he 
first  submitted  the  affair  to  a  council  of  the  officers  in 
whom  he  most  confided,  desirous  to  divide  with  them 
the  responsibility  of  the  act,  and,  no  doubt,  to  inter- 
est them  more  heartily  in  its  execution,  by  making  it 
in  some  measure  the  result  of  their  combined  judg- 
ments. 

When  the  general  had  briefly  stated  the  embar- 
rassments of  their  position,  the  council  was  divided 


2  Gomara,  Crdnica,  cap.  83. 

There  is  reason  to  doubt  the 
truth  of  these  stories.  *' Segun 
una  carta  original  que  tengo  en  mi 
poder  firmada  de  las  tres  cabezas 
de  la  Nueva  Espana  en  donde  es- 
criben  a  la  Magestad  del  Empera- 
dor  Nuestro  Senor  (que  Dios  tenga 
en  su  Santo  Reyno)  disculpan  en 
ella  k  Motecuhzoma  y  &  los  Mexi- 


canos  de  esto,  y  de  lo  demas  que 
se  les  argulld,  que  lo  cierto  era 
que  fue  invencion  de  los  Tlascalte- 
cas,  y  de  algunos  de  los  Espaiioles 
que  veian  la  hora  de  salirse  de 
miedo  de  la  Ciudad,  y  poner  en 
cobro  innumerables  riquezas  que 
habian  venido  a  sus  manos."  Ix- 
tlilxochitl,  Hist.  Chich.,  MS., 
cap.  85. 


Ch.  m:]  ANXIETY  OF  CORTES.  159 

in  opinion.  All  admitted  the  necessity  of  some  in- 
stant action.  One  party  were  for  retiring  secredy 
from  the  city,  and  getting  beyond  the  causeways 
before  their  march  could  be  intercepted.  Another 
advised  that  it  should  be  done  openly,  with  the 
knowledge  of  the  emperor,  of  whose  good-will  they 
had  had  so  many  proofs.  But  both  these  measures 
seemed  alike  impolitic.  A  retreat  under  these  cir- 
cumstances, and  so  abruptly  made,  would  have  the 
air  of  a  flight.  It  would  be  construed  into  distrust  of 
themselves ;  and  any  thing  like  timidity  on  their  part 
would  be  sure  not  only  to  bring  on  them  the  Mexi- 
cans, but  the  contempt  of  their  allies,  who  would, 
doubtless,  join  in  the  general  cry. 

As  to  Montezuma,  what  reliance  could  they  place 
on  the  protection  of  a  prince  so  recently  their  enemy, 
and  who,  in  his  altered  bearing,  must  have  taken 
counsel  of  his  fears,  rather  than  his  inclinations  ? 

Even  should  they  succeed  in  reaching  the  coast, 
their  situation  would  be  little  better.  It  would  be 
proclaiming  to  the  world,  that,  after  all  their  lofty 
vaunts,  they  were  unequal  to  the  enterprise.  Their 
only  hopes  of  their  sovereign's  favor,  and  of  pardon  for 
their  irregular  proceedings,  were  founded  on  success. 
Hitherto,  they  had  only  made  the  discovery  of  Mex- 
ico ;  to  retreat  would  be  to  leave  conquest  and  the 
fruits  of  it  to  another.  —  In  short,  to  stay  and  to  re- 
treat seemed  equally  disastrous. 

In  this  perplexity,  Cortes  proposed  an  expedient, 
which  none  but  the  most  daring  spirit,  in  the  most 
desperate  extremity,  would  have  conceived.     This 


160 


RESIDENCE  IN   MEXICO. 


[Book  IV. 


was,  to  march  to  the  rojal  palace,  and  bring  Monte- 
zuma to  the  Spanish  quarters,  bj  fair  means  if  they 
could  persuade  him,  by  force  if  necessary,  —  at  all 
events,  to  get  possession  of  his  person.  With  such 
a  pledge,  the  Spaniards  would  be  secure  from  the 
assault  of  the  Mexicans,  afraid  by  acts  of  violence  to 
compromise  the  safety  of  their  prince.  If  he  came 
by  his  own  consent,  they  would  be  deprived  of  all 
apology  for  doing  so.  As  long  as  the  emperor  re- 
mained among  the  Spaniards,  it  would  be  easy,  by 
allowing  him  a  show  of  sovereignty,  to  rule  in  his 
name,  until  they  had  taken  measures  for  securing 
their  safety,  and  the  success  of  their  enterprise. 
The  idea  of  employing  a  sovereign  as  a  tool  for  the 
government  of  his  own  kingdom,  if  a  new  one  in 
the  age  of  Cortes,  is  certainly  not  so  in  ours.^ 


3  Rel.  Seg.  de  Cortes,  ap.  Lo- 
renzana,  p.  84.— Ixtlilxochitl,  Hist. 
Chich.,  MS.,  cap.  85.— P.  Mar- 
tyr, De  Orbe  Novo,  dec.  5,  cap.  3. 
—  Oviedo,  Hist,  de  las  Ind.,  MS., 
lib.  33,  cap.  6. 

Bernal  Diaz  gives *a  very  differ- 
ent report  of  this  matter.  Accord- 
ing to  him,  a  number  of  officers  and 
soldiers,  of  whom  he  was  one,  sug- 
gested the  capture  of  Montezuma 
to  the  general,  who  came  into  the 
plan  with  hesitation.  (Hist,  de  la 
Conquista,  cap.  93.)  This  is  con- 
trary to  the  character  of  Cortes, 
who  was  a  man  to  lead,  not  to  be 
led,  on  such  occasions.  It  is  con- 
trary to  the  general  report  of  his- 
torians, though  these,  it  must  be 
confessed,  are  mainly  built  on  the 


general's  narrative.  It  is  contrary 
to  anterior  probability  ;  since,  if 
the  conception  seems  almost  too 
desperate  to  have  seriously  entered 
into  the  head  of  any  one  man,  how- 
much  more  improbable  is  it,  that 
it  should  have  originated  with  a 
number !  Lastly,  it  is  contrary  to 
the  positive  written  statement  of 
Cortes  to  the  Emperor,  publicly 
known  and  circulated,  confirmed 
in  print  by  his  chaplain,  Gomara, 
and  all  this  when  the  thing  was 
fresh,  and  when  the  parties  inter- 
ested were  alive  to  contradict  it. 
We  cannot  but  think  that  the 
captain  here,  as  in  the  case  of  the 
burning  of  the  ships,  assumes  ra- 
ther more  for  himself  and  his  com- 
rades, than  the  facts  will  strictly 


Th.  III.]  SEIZURE  OF   MONTEZUMA.  161 

A  plausible  pretext  for  the  seizure  of  the  hospita- 
ble monarch  —  for  the  most  barefaced  action  seeks 
to  veil  itself  under  some  show  of  decency  —  was 
afforded  by  a  circumstance  of  which  Cortes  had  re- 
ceived intelligence  at  Cholula.^  He  had  left,  as  we 
have  seen,  a  faithful  officer,  Juan  de  Escalante,  with 
a  hundred  and  fifty  men  in  garrison  at  Vera  Cruz,  on 
his  departure  for  the  capital.  He  had  not  been  long 
absent,  when  his  lieutenant  received  a  message  from 
an  Aztec  chief  named  Quauhpopoca,  governor  of  a 
district  to  the  north  of  the  Spanish  settlement,  de- 
claring his  desire  to  come  in  person  and  tender  his 
allegiance  to  the  Spanish  authorities  at  Vera  Cruz. 
He  requested  that  four  of  the  white  men  might  be 
sent  to  protect  him  against  certain  unfriendly  txibes 
through  which  his  road  lay.  This  was  not  an  un- 
common request,  and  excited  no  suspicion  in  Esca- 
lante. The  four  soldiers  were  sent;  and  on  their 
arrival  two  of  them  were  murdered  by  the  false 
Aztec.  The  other  two  made  their  way  back  to  the 
garrison.^ 

warrant ;  an  oversight,  for  which  Escalante,  interfering  to  protect  his 

the  lapse  of  half  a  century  —  to  allies,  now  subjects  of  Spain,  was 

say  nothing  of  his  avowed  anxiety  slain  in  an  action  with  the  enemy, 

to  show  up  the  claims  of  the  latter  (Hist,  de  la  Conquista,  cap.  93.) 

—  may  furnish  some  apology.  Cortes  had    the    best    means   of 

^  Even  Gomara  has  the  candor  knowing  the  facts,  and  wrote  at 

to  style  it  a  "  pretext  " — achaque.  the  time.      He  does  not  usually 

Crdnica,  cap.  83.  shrink  from   avowing   his  policy, 

^  Bernal  Diaz  states  the  .affair,  however  severe,  towards  the  na- 

also,  differently.  According  to  him,  tives  ;  and  I  have  thought  it  fair 

the  Aztec  governor  was  enforcing  to  give  him  the  benefit  of  his  own 

the    payment    of   the    customary  version  of  the  story, 
tribute  from  the  Totonacs,  when 
VOL.    II.                       21 


>^. 


1(32  RESIDENCE  IN  MEXICO.  [Book  IV. 

The  commander  marched  at  once,  with  fifty  of  his 
men,  and  several  thousand  Indian  allies,  to  take 
vengeance  on  the  cacique.  A  pitched  battle  fol- 
lowed. The  allies  fled  from  the  redoubted  Mex- 
icans. The  few  Spaniards  stood  firm,  and  with  the 
aid  of  their  fire-arms  and  the  blessed  Virgin,  who 
was  distinctly  seen  hovering  over  their  ranks  in  the 
van,  they  made  good  the  field  against  the  enemy. 
It  cost  them  dear,  however;  since  seven  or  eight 
Christians  were  slain,  and  among  them  the  gallant 
Escalante  himself,  who  died  of  his  injuries  soon 
after  his  return  to  the  fort.  The  Indian  prisoners 
captured  in  the  battle  spoke  of  the  whole  proceed- 
ing as  having  taken  place  at  the  instigation  of 
Montezuma.® 

One  of  the  Spaniards  fell  into  the  hands  of  the 
natives,  but  soon  after  perished  of  his  wounds.  His 
head  was  cut  off  and  sent  to  the  Aztec  emperor.  It 
w^as  uncommonly  large  and  covered  with  hair  ;  and, 
as  Montezuma  gazed  on  the  ferocious  features,  ren- 
dered more  horrible  by  death,  he  seemed  to  read  in 
them  the  dark  lineaments  of  the  destined  destroyers 
of  his  house.  He  turned  from  it  with  a  shudder, 
and  commanded  that  it  should  be  taken  from  the 

6  Oviedo,  Hist,  de  las  Ind., MS. ,  stagger  the  Spaniards.     "  Y  cier- 

lib.   33,  cap.  5.  —  Rel.   Seg.   de  tamente,   todos  los  soldados  que 

Cortes,  ap.  Lorenzana,  pp.  83,  84.  passamos  con  Cortes  tenemos  muy 

The  apparition  of  the  Virgin  creido,   e  assi  es  verdad,  que  la 

was  seen  only  by  the  Aztecs,  who,  misericordia  diuina,  y  Nuestra  Se- 

it  is  true,  had  to  make  out  the  best  nora  la  Virgen  Maria  siempre  era 

case  for  their  defeat  they  could  to  con  nosotros."  Bernal  Diaz,  Hist. 

Montezuma;  a  suspicious  circum-  de  la  Conquista,  cap.  94. 
stance,  which,  however,  did  not 


Ch.  Ill] 


SEIZURE  OF  MONTEZUMA. 


163 


city,  and  not  offered  at  the  shrine  of  any  of  his 
gods. 

Although  Cortes  had  received  intelligence  of  this 
disaster  at  Cholula,  he  had  concealed  it  within  his 
own  breast,  or  communicated  it  to  very  few  only  of 
his  most  trusty  officers,  from  apprehension  of  the  ill 
effect  it  might  have  on  the  spirits  of  the  common 
soldiers. 

The  cavaliers  whom  Cortes  now  summoned  to 
the  council  were  men  of  the  same  mettle  with  their 
leader.  Their  bold,  chivalrous  spirits  seemed  to 
court  danger  for  its  own  sake.  If  one  or  two,  less 
adventurous,  were  startled  by  the  proposal  he  made, 
they  were  soon  overruled  by  the  others,  who,  no 
doubt,  considered  that  a  desperate  disease  required 
as  desperate  a  remedy. 

That  night,  Cortes  was  heard  pacing  his  apart- 
ment to  and  fro,  like  a  man  oppressed  by  thought, 
or  agitated  by  strong  emotion.  He  may  have  been 
ripening  in  his  mind  the  daring  scheme  for  the  mor- 
row.'^  In  the  morning  the  soldiers  heard  mass  as 
usual,  and  father  Olmedo  invoked  the  blessing  of 
Heaven  on  their  hazardous  enterprise.  Whatever 
might  be  the  cause  in  which  he  was  embarked,  the 
heart  of  the  Spaniard  was  cheered  with  the  convic- 
tion that  the  Saints  were  on  his  side  !  ^ 


7  "Pascdse  vn  gran  rato  solo,  all  night.  "  Toda  la  noche  estu- 
i  cuidadoso  de  aquel  gran  hecho,  uimos  en  oracion  con  el  Padre  de 
que  emprendia,  i  que  aun  k  6\  la  Merced,  rogando  a  Dios  que 
mesmo  le  parecia  temerario,  pero  fuesse  de  tal  modo,  que  redundasse 
necesario  para  su  intento,  andan-  para  su  santo  servicio."  Hist,  de 
do."     Gomar^.  Cr6nica,  cap.  83.  la  Conquista,  cap.  95. 

8  Diaz  says,  they  were  at  prayer 


164  RESIDENCE   IN   MEXICO.  [Book   IV 

Having  asked  an  audience  from  Montezuma, 
which  was  readily  granted,  the  general  made  the 
necessary  arrangements  for  his  enterprise.  The 
principal  part  of  his  force  was  drawn  up  in  the 
court-yard,  and  he  stationed  a  considerable  detach- 
ment in  the  avenues  leading  to  the  palace,  to  check 
any  attempt  at  rescue  by  the  populace.  He  ordered 
twenty-five  or  thirty  of  the  soldiers  to  drop  in  at  the 
palace,  as  if  by  accident,  in  groups  of  three  or  four 
at  a  time,  while  the  conference  was  going  on  with 
Montezuma.  He  selected  five  cavaliers,  in  whose 
courage  and  coolness  he  placed  most  trust,  to  bear 
him  company ;  Pedro  de  Alvarado,  Gonzalo  de  San- 
doval, Francisco  de  Lujo,  Velasquez  de  Leon,  and 
Alonso  de  Avila,  —  brilliant  names  in  the  annals  of 
the  Conquest.  All  were  clad,  as  well  as  the  com- 
mon soldiers,  in  complete  armor,  a  circumstance  of 
too  familiar  occurrence  to  excite  suspicion. 

The  little  party  were  graciously  received  by  the 
emperor,  who  soon,  with  the  aid  of  the  interpreters, 
became  interested  in  a  sportive  conversation  with 
the  Spaniards,  while  he  indulged  his  natural  munifi- 
cence by  giving  them  presents  of  gold  and  jewels. 
He  paid  the  Spanish  general  the  particular  compli- 
ment of  offering  him  one  of  his  daughters  as  his 
wife  ;  an  honor  which  the  latter  respectfully  declined, 
on  the  ground  that  he  was  already  accommodated 
with  one  in  Cuba,  and  that  his  religion  forbade  a 
plurality. 

When  Cortes  perceived  that  a  sufficient  number 
of  his  soldiers  were  assembled,  he  changed  his  playful 


CH.  III.]  SEIZURE  OF  MONTEZUMA.  |t)5 

manner,  and  with  a  serious  tone  briefly  acquainted 
Montezuma  with  the  treacherous  proceedings  in 
the  tierra  cahente,  and  the  accusation  of  him  as 
their  author.  The  emperor  listened  to  the  charge 
with  surprise  ;  and  disavowed  the  act,  which  he  said 
could  only  have  been  imputed  to  him  by  his  enemies. 
Cortes  expressed  his  belief  in  his  declaration,  but 
added,  that,  to  prove  it  true,  it  would  be  necessary 
to  send  for  Quauhpopoca  and  his  accomplices,  that 
they  might  be  examined  and  dealt  with  according  to 
their  deserts.  To  this  Montezuma  made  no  ob- 
jection. Taking  from  his  wrist,  to  which  it  was 
attached,  a  precious  stone,  the  royal  signet,  on 
which  was  cut  the  figure  of  the  War-god,^  he  gave 
it  to  one  of  his  nobles,  with  orders  to  show  it  to  the 
Aztec  governor,  and  require  his  instant  presence  in 
the  capital,  together  with  all  those  who  had  been 
accessory  to  the  murder  of  the  Spaniards.  If  he 
resisted,  the  officer  was  empowered  to  call  in  the 
aid  of  the  neighbouring  towns,  to  enforce  the  man- 
date. 

When  the  messenger  had  gone,  Cortes  assured 
the  monarch  that  this  prompt  compliance  with  his 
request  convinced  him  of  his  innocence.  But  it 
was  important  that  his  own  sovereign  should  be 
equally  convinced  of  it.  Nothing  would  promote 
this  so  much  as  for  Montezuma  to  transfer  his  resi- 
dence to  the  palace  occupied  by  the  Spaniards,  till 

9  According  to  Ixtlilxochill,  it  esta  esculpido  su  rostro  (que  era  lo 
was  his  own  portrait.  "  Se  quito  raismo  que  un  sello  Real)."  Hist. 
del  brazo  una  rica  piedra,  donde     Chich.,  MS.,  cap.  85. 


166  RESIDENCE  IN   MEXICO.  [Book  IV. 

on  the  arrival  of  Quauhpopoca  the  affair  could  be 
fully  investigated.  Such  an  act  of  condescension 
would,  of  itself,  show  a  personal  regard  for  the 
Spaniards,  incompatible  with  the  base  conduct  al- 
leged against  him,  and  would  fully  absolve  him  from 
all  suspicion !  ^" 

Montezuma  listened  to  this  proposal,  and  the 
flimsy  reasoning  with  which  it  was  covered,  with 
looks  of  profound  amazement.  He  became  pale  as 
death ;  but  in  a  moment,  his  face  flushed  with  re- 
sentment, as,  with  the  pride  of  offended  dignity,  he 
exclaimed,  "  When  was  it  ever  heard  that  a  great 
prince,  like  myself,  voluntarily  left  his  own  palace  to 
become  a  prisoner  in  the  hands  of  strangers !  ''^ 

Cortes  assured  him  he  would  not  go  as  a  prisoner. 
He  would  experience  nothing  but  respectful  treat- 
ment from  the  Spaniards ;  would  be  surrounded  by 
his  own  household,  and  hold  intercourse  with  his 
people  as  usual.  In  short,  it  would  be  but  a  change 
of  residence,  from  one  of  his  palaces  to  another,  a 
circumstance  of  frequent  occurrence  with  him.  —  It 
was  in  vain.  "  If  I  should  consent  to  such  a  degra- 
dation," he  answered,  "  my  subjects  never  would !  "*' 
When  further  pressed,  he  offered  to  give  up  one  of 
his  sons  and  of  his  daughters  to  remain  as  hostages 
with  the  Spaniards,  so  that  he  might  be  spared  this 
disgrace. 

Two  hours  passed  in  this  fruitless  discussion,  till  a 

^^  Rel.  Seg.  de  Cortes,  ap.  Lo-    los  mios  no  pasarian  por  ello."   Ix- 
renzana,  p.  86.  tlilxochitl,  Hist.  Chich.,  MS.,  cap. 

11  « Quando   lo  lo  consintiera,     85. 


Ch.  III.]  SEIZURE  OF  MONTEZUMA.  tg? 

high-mettled  cavalier,  Velasquez  de  Leon,  impatie  at 
of  the  long  delaj,  and  seeing  that  the  attempt,  if 
not  the  deed,  must  ruin  them,  cried  out,  "  Why  do 
we  waste  words  on  this  barbarian  ?  We  have  gone 
too  far  to  recede  now.  Let  us  seize  him,  and,  if  he 
resists,  plunge  our  swords  into  his  body !  "  ^^  The 
fierce  tone  and*  menacing  gestures,  with  which  this 
was  uttered,  alarmed  the  monarch,  who  inquired  of 
Marina  what  the  angry  Spaniard  said.  The  inter- 
preter explained  it  in  as  gentle  a  manner  as  she 
could,  beseeching  him  "to  accompany  the  white  men 
to  their  quarters,  where  he  would  be  treated  with  all 
respect  and  kindness,  while  to  refuse  them  would 
but  expose  himself  to  violence,  perhaps  to  death." 
Marina,  doubtless,  spoke  to  her  sovereign  as  she 
thought,  and  no  one  had  better  opportunity  of 
knowing  the  truth  than  herself. 

This  last  appeal  shook  the  resolution  of  Montezu- 
ma. It  was  in  vain  that  the  unhappy  prince  looked 
around  for  sympathy  or  support.  As  his  eyes  wan- 
dered over  the  stern  visages  and  iron  forms  of  the 
Spaniards,  he  felt  that  his  hour  was  indeed  come  ; 
and,  with  a  voice  scarcely  audible  from  emotion,  he 
consented  to  accompany  the  strangers,  —  to  quit  the 
palace,  whither  he  was  never  more  to  return.  Had 
he  possessed  the  spirit  of  the  first  Montezuma,  he 


^2  "  j^  Que  haze  v.  m.  ya  con  tan-  porque  mas  vale  que  desta  vez  as- 

taspalabras?  O  le  lleuemos  preso,  seguremos   nuestras  vidas,  6   laa 

6  le  daremos  de  estocadas,por  esso  perdamos."      Bernal   Diaz,  Hiat 

tornadle  k  dezir,  que  si  da  vozes,  de  la  Conquista,  cap.  95. 
6  haze  alboroto,  que  le  raatar^is, 


]g8  RESIDENCE  IN   MEXICO.  [Book  IV 

would  have  called  his  guards  around  him,  and  left  his 
life-blood  on  the  threshold,  sooner  than  have  been 
dragged  a  dishonored  captive  across  it.  But  his 
courage  sunk  under  circumstances.  He  felt  he  was 
the  instrument  of  an  irresistible  Fate  !  ^^ 

No  sooner  had  the  Spaniards  got  his  consent,  than 
orders  were  given  for  the  royal  litter.  The  nobles, 
who  bore  and  attended  it,  could  scarcely  believe 
their  senses,  when  they  learned  their  master's  pur- 
pose. But  pride  now  came  to  Montezuma's  aid, 
and,  since  he  must  go,  he  preferred  that  it  should 
appear  to  be  with  his  own  free  will.  As  the  royal 
retinue,  escorted  by  the  Spaniards,  marched  through 
the  street  with  downcast  eyes  and  dejected  mien, 
the  people  assembled  in  crowds,  and  a  rumor  ran 
among  them,  that  the  emperor  was  carried  off  by 
force  to  the  quarters  of  the  white  men.  A  tumult 
would  have  soon  arisen  but  for  the  intervention  of 
Montezuma  himself,  who  called  out  to  the  people 
to  disperse,  as  he  was  visiting  his  friends  of  his  own 
accord  ;  thus  sealing  his  ignominy  by  a  declaration 


13  Oviedo  has  §ome  doubts  wheth-  however,  in  favor  of  pusillanimity. 
er  Montezuma's  conduct  is  to  be  "  Un  Principe  tan  grande  como 
viewed  as  pusillanimous  or  as  pru-  Montezuma  no  se  habia  de  dexar 
dent.  **  Alcoronista  le  parece,  se-  incurrir  en  tales  terminos,  ni  con- 
gun  lo  que  se  puede  colegir  de  esta  sentir  ser  detenido  de  tan  poco  nu- 
materia,  que  Montezuma  era,  6  mui  mero  de  Espandes,  ni  de  otra  gen^ 
falto  de  4nimo,  6  pusil^nimo,  6  mui  eracion  alguna ;  mas  como  Dios 
pnidente,  aunqueenmuchascosas,  tiene  ordenado  lo  que  hade  ser, 
los  que  le  vi^ron  lo  loan  de  mui  ninguno  puede  huir  de  su  juicio.'' 
Bofior  y  mui  liberal;  y  en  sus  ra-  Hist,  de  las  Ind.,  MS.,  lib.  3.^ 
zonamientoB  mostraba  ser  de  buen  cap.  6. 
juicio."     He  strikes  the  balance, 


Ch.  III.]     HIS  TREATMENT  BY  THE  SPANIARDS.  169 

which  deprived  his  subjects  of  the  only  excuse  for 
resistance.  On  reaching  the  quarters,  he  sent  out 
his  nobles  with  similar  assurances  to  the  mob,  and 
renewed  orders  to  return  to  their  homes.^* 

He  was  received  with  ostentatious  respect  by 
the  Spaniards,  and  selected  the  suite  of  apartments 
which  best  pleased  him.  They  were  soon  furnished 
with  fine  cotton  tapestries,  feather-work,  and  all  the 
elegancies  of  Indian  upholstery.  He  was  attended 
by  such  of  his  household  as  he  chose,  his  wives  and 
his  pages,  and  was  served  with  his  usual  pomp  and 
luxury  at  his  meals.  He  gave  audience,  as  in  his 
own  palace,  to  his  subjects,  who  were  admitted  to  his 
presence,  few,  indeed,  at  a  time,  under  the  pretext 
of  greater  order  and  decorum.  From  the  Spaniards 
themselves  he  met  with  a  formal  deference.  No  one, 
not  even  the  general  himself,  approached  him  with- 
out doffing  his  casque,  and  rendering  the  obeisance 
due  to  his  rank.  Nor  did  they  ever  sit  in  his  pres- 
ence, without  being  invited  by  him  to  do  so.^^ 

With  all  this  studied  ceremony  and  show  of  hom- 


1"*  The  story  of  the  seizure  of  ^^  u  Siempre  que  ante  el  passau- 

Montezuma  may  be   found,    with  amos,  y  aunque  fuesse  Cortes,  le 

the  usual  discrepancies  in  the  de-  quitauamos  los  bonetes  de  armas  6 

tails,  in  Rel.   Seg.  de  Cortes,  ap.  cascos,  que  siempre  estauamos  ar- 

Lorenzana,  pp.  84  -  86,  —  Bernal  mados,  y  el  nos  hazia  gran  mesura, 

Diaz,  Hist,  de  la  Conquista,  cap.     y  honra  a  todos Digo  que 

95, — Ixtlilxochitl,  Hist.  Chich.,  no  se  sentauan  Cortes,  ni   ningun 

MS.,  cap.  85,— Oviedo,  Hist,   de  Capitan,  hasta  que  el  Montezuma 

las  Ind.,  MS.,  lib.  33,  cap.  6, —  les  mandaua  dar  sus  assentaderos 

Gomara,  Cronica,  cap.  83,  —  Her-  ricos,  y   les   mandaua  assentar." 

rera.  Hist.  General,  dec.  2,  lib.  8,  Bernal  Diaz,  Hist,    de  la  Conquia- 

cap.  2,  3,  —  Martyr,  De  Orbe  No-  ta,  cap.  95,  100. 
vo,  dec.  5,  cap.  3. 

VOL.    II.  22 


170 


RESIDENCE  IN   MEXICO. 


[Book  IV. 


age,  there  was  one  circumstance  which  too  clearly 
proclaimed  to  his  people  that  their  sovereign  was  a 
prisoner.  In  tlie  front  of  the  palace  a  patrol  of 
sixty  men  was  established,  and  the  same  number  in 
the  rear.  Twenty  of  each  corps  mounted  guard  at 
once,  maintaining  a  careful  watch,  day  and  night.^^ 
Another  body,  under  command  of  Velasquez  de  Le- 
on, was  stationed  in  the  royal  antechamber.  Cortes 
punished  any  departure  from  duty,  or  relaxation  of 
vigilance,  in  these  sentinels,  with  the  utmost  sever- 
ity. ^'^  He  felt,  as,  indeed,  every  Spaniard  must  have 
felt,  that  the  escape  of  the  emperor  now  would  be 
their  ruin.  Yet  the  task  of  this  unintermitting 
watch  sorely  added  to  their  fatigues.  "Better  this 
dog  of  a  king  should  die,"  cried  a  soldier  one  day, 
"than  that  we  should  wear  out  our  lives  in  this 
manner."  The  words  were  uttered  in  the  hearing 
of  Montezuma,  who  gathered  something  of  their 
import,  and  the  offender  was  severely  chastised  by 
order  of  the  general. ^^  Such  instances  of  disre- 
spect, however,  were  very  rare.  Indeed,  the  amia- 
ble deportment  of  the  monarch,  who  seemed  to  take 
pleasure  in  the  society  of  his  jailers,  and  who  never 
allowed  a  favor  or  attention  from  the  meanest  soldier 
to  go  unrequited,  inspired  the  Spaniards  with  as 
much  attachment  as  they  were  capable  of  feeling  — 
for  a  barbarian. 


16  Herrera,  Hist.  General,  dec.  gantlet, —a  punishment  little  short 
2,  lib.  8,  cap.  3.  of  death.    Ibid.,  ubi  supra. 

17  On  one  occasion,  three  sol-  18  Bernal  Diaz,  Hist,  de  la  Con- 
diers,  who  left  their  post  without  quista,  cap.  97. 

orders,  were  sentenced  to  run  the 


Ch.  III.]  EXECUTION  OF  HIS  OFFICERS.  171 

Things  were  in  this  posture,  when  the  arrival  of 
Quauhpopoca  from  the  coast  was  announced.  He 
was  accompanied  bj  his  son  and  fifteen  Aztec  chiefs. 
He  had  travelled  all  the  way,  borne,  as  became  his 
high  rank,  in  a  litter.  On  entering  Montezuma's 
presence,  he  threw  over  his  dress  the  coarse  robe 
of  nequen,  and  made  the  usual  humiliating  acts  of 
obeisance.  The  poor  parade  of  courtly  ceremony 
was  the  more  striking,  when  placed  in  contrast  with 
the  actual  condition  of  the  parties. 

The  Aztec  governor  was  coldly  received  by  his 
master,  who  referred  the  affair  (had  he  the  power 
to  do  otherwise  ? )  to  the  examination  of  Cortes. 
It  was,  doubtless,  conducted  in  a  sufficiently  sum- 
mary manner.  To  the  general's  query,  whether  the 
cacique  was  the  subject  of  Montezuma,  he  replied, 
'•  And  what  other  sovereign  could  I  serve  ?  "  imply- 
ing that  his  sway  was  universal.'^  He  did  not  deny 
his  share  in  the  transaction,  nor  did  he  seek  to  shel- 
ter himself  under  the  royal  authority,  till  sentence  of 
death  was  passed  on  him  and  his  followers,  when  they 
all  laid  the  blame  of  their  proceedings  on  Monte- 
zuma.^    They  were  condemned  to  be  burnt  alive  in 

19  *'  Y  despues  que  confesaron  si  lo  que  alii  se  habia  hecho  si  ha- 

haber  muerto  los  Espaiioles,  les  bia  sido  por  su  mandado?  y  dije- 

hice  interrogar  si  ellos  eran  Vasa-  ron  que  no,  aunque  despues,  al  ti- 

Uos  de  Muteczuma?    Y  el  dicho  empo  que  en  ellos  se  executd  la 

Qualpopoca  respondi6,  que  si  ha-  sentencia,  que  fuessen  quemados, 

bia  otro  Seiior,  de  quien  pudiesse  todos  k  una  voz  dijeron,  que  era 

serlol  casi  diciendo,  que  no  habia  verdad  que  el  dicho  Muteczuma  se 

otro,  y  que  si  eran."  Rel.  Seg.  de  lo  habia  embiado  a  mandar,  y  que 

Cortes,  ap.  Lorenzana,  p.  87.  por  su  mandado  lo  habian  hecho." 

**  "  E  assimisrao  les  pregunte.  Ibid.,  loc.  cit. 


172  RESIDENCE  IN  MEXICO.  [Book  IV 

the  area  before  the  palace.  The  funeral  piles  were 
made  of  heaps  of  arrows,  javelins,  and  other  weap- 
ons, drawn  by  the  emperor's  permission  from  the 
arsenals  round  the  great  teocalli,  where  they  had 
been  stored  to  supply  means  of  defence  in  times  of 
civic  tumult  or  insurrection.  By  this  politic  precau- 
tion, Cortes  proposed  to  remove  a  ready  means  of 
annoyance  in  case  of  hostilities  with  the  citizens. 

To  crown  the  whole  of  these  extraordinary  pro- 
ceedings, Cortes,  while  preparations  for  the  execu- 
tion were  going  on,  entered  the  emperor's  apartment, 
attended  by  a  soldier  bearing  fetters  in  his  hands. 
With  a  severe  aspect,  he  charged  the  monarch  with 
being  the  original  contriver  of  the  violence  offered 
to  the  Spaniards,  as  was  now  proved  by  the  declara- 
tion of  his  own  instruments.  Such  a  crime,  which 
merited  death  in  a  subject,  could  not  be  atoned  for, 
even  by  a  sovereign,  without  some  punishment.  So 
saying,  he  ordered  the  soldier  to  fasten  the  fetters  on 
Montezuma's  ankles.  He  coolly  waited  till  it  was 
done ;  then,  turning  his  back  on  the  monarch,  quitted 
the  room. 

Montezuma  was  speechless  under  the  infliction  of 
this  last  insult.  He  was  like  one  struck  down  by  a 
heavy  blow,  that  deprives  him  of  all  his  faculties. 
He  offered  no  resistance.  But,  though  he  spoke  not 
a  word,  low,  ill-suppressed  moans,  from  time  to  time, 
intimated  the  anguish  of  his  spirit.  His  attendants, 
bathed  in  tears,  offered  him  their  consolations.  They 
tenderly  held  his  feet  in  their  arms,  and  endeavoured, 
by  inserting  their  shawls  and  mantles,  to  relieve  them 


Ch.  III.]  MONTEZUMA   IN   IRONS.  173 

from  the  pressure  of  the  iron.  But  they  could  not 
reach  the  iron  which  had  penetrated  into  his  soul. 
He  felt  that  he  was  no  more  a  king. 

Meanwhile,  the  execution  of  the  dreadful  doom 
was  going  forward  in  the  court-yard.  The  whole 
Spanish  force  was  under  arms,  to  check  any  inter- 
ruption that  might  be  offered  by  the  Mexicans. 
But  none  was  attempted.  The  populace  gazed  in 
silent  wonder,  regarding  it  as  the  sentence  of  the 
emperor.  The  manner  of  the  execution,  too,  ex- 
cited less  surprise,  from  their  familiarity  with  similar 
spectacles,  aggravated,  indeed,  by  additional  horrors, 
in  their  own  diabolical  sacrifices.  The  Aztec  lord 
and  his  companions,  bound  hand  and  foot  to  the  blaz- 
ing piles,  submitted  without  a  cry  or  a  complaint  to 
their  terrible  fate.  Passive  fortitude  is  the  virtue  of 
the  Indian  warrior ;  and  it  was  the  glory  of  the  Az 
tec,  as  of  the  other  races  on  the  North  American 
continent,  to  show  how  the  spirit  of  the  brave  man 
may  triumph  over  torture  and  the  agonies  of  death. 

When  the  dismal  tragedy  was  ended,  Cortes  re- 
entered Montezuma's  apartment.  Kneeling  down, 
he  unclasped  his  shackles  with  his  own  hand,  ex- 
pressing at  the  same  time  his  regret  that  so  disa- 
greeable a  duty  as  that  of  subjecting  him  to  such  a 
punishment  had  been  imposed  on  him.  This  last 
indignity  had  entirely  crushed  the  spirit  of  Montezu- 
ma ;  and  the  monarch,  whose  frown,  but  a  week 
since,  would  have  made  the  nations  of  Anahuac 
tremble  to  their  remotest  borders,  was  now  craven 


174  RESIDENCE  IN   MEXICO.  [Book  IV. 

enough  to  thank  his  deliverer  for  his  freedom,  as  for 
a  great  and  unmerited  boon !  ^^ 

Not  long  after,  the  Spanish  general,  conceiving 
that  his  royal  captive  was  sufficiently  humbled,  ex- 
pressed his  willingness  that  he  should  return,  if  he 
inclined,  to  his  own  palace.  Montezuma  declined 
it ;  alleging,  it  is  said,  that  his  nobles  had  more  than 
once  importuned  him  to  resent  his  injuries  by  taking 
arms  against  the  Spaniards ;  and  that,  were  he  in  the 
midst  of  them,  it  would  be  difficult  to  avoid  it,  or  to 
save  his  capital  from  bloodshed  and  anarchy .^^  The 
reason  did  honor  to  his  heart,  if  it  was  the  one 
which  influenced  him.  It  is  probable  that  he  did 
not  care  to  trust  his  safety  to  those  haughty  and 
ferocious  chieftains,  who  had  witnessed  the  degrada- 
tion of  their  master,  and  must  despise  his  pusillanim*- 
ity,  as  a  thing  unprecedented  in  an  Aztec  monarch. 
It  is  also  said,  that,  when  Marina  conveyed  to  him  the 
permission  of  Cortes,  the  other  interpreter,  Aguilar, 
gave  him  to  understand  the  Spanish  officers  never 
would  consent  that  he  should  avail  himself  of  it.^^ 

Whatever  were  his  reasons,  it  is  certain  that  he 


^  Gomara,  Cr6nica,  cap.  89.  —  rare.     Ille  vero  posnam  se  meruis- 

Oviedo,  Hist,  de  las  Ind.,  MS.,  se  fassus  est,  vti  agnus  mitis.     JE- 

lib.    33,   cap.   6. — Bernal  Diaz,  quo  animo  pati  videtur  has  regulas 

Hist,  de  la  Conquista,  cap.  95.  grammaticalibus  duriores,  imberbi- 

One  may  doubt  whether  pity  or  bus  pueris  dictatas,  omnia  placide 

contempt  predominates  in  Martyr's  fert,  ne  seditio  ciuium  et  procerum 

notice  of   this    event.      "  Infelix  oriatur."     De  Orbe  Novo,  dec.  5, 

tunc  Muteczuma  re  adeo  noua  per-  cap.  3. 

culsus,  formidine  repletur,  decidit  22  Rel.  Seg.  de  Cortes,  ap  Lo- 

animo,   neque  iam  crigere  caput  renzana,  p.  88. 

audet,  aut  suorum  auxilia  implo-  23  Bernal  Diaz,  Ibid.,  ubi  supra. 


Ch.  III.]  REFLECTIONS.  175 

declined  the  offer;  and  the  general,  in  a  well- 
feigned,  or  real  ecstasy,  embraced  him,  declaring, 
"that  he  loved  him  as  a  brother,  and  that  every 
Spaniard  w^ould  be  zealously  devoted  to  his  interests, 
since  he  had  shown  himself  so  mindful  of  theirs !  " 
Honeyed  words,  "  which,"  says  the  shrewd  old 
chronicler  who  was  present,  "  Montezuma  was 
wise  enough  to  know  the  worth  of" 

The  events  recorded  in  this  chapter  are  certainly 
some  of  the  most  extraordinary  on  the  page  of  his- 
tory. That  a  small  body  of  men,  like  the  Spaniards, 
should  have  entered  the  palace  of  a  mighty  prince, 
have  seized  his  person  in  the  midst  of  his  vassals, 
have  borne  him  off  a  captive  to  their  quarters, — 
that  they  should  have  put  to  an  ignominious  death 
before  his  face  his  high  officers,  for  executing,  proba- 
bly, his  own  commands,  and  have  crowned  the  whole 
by  putting  the  monarch  in  irons  like  a  common  male- 
factor, —  that  this  should  have  been  done,  not  to  a 
drivelling  dotard  in  the  decay  of  his  fortunes,  but  to 
a  proud  monarch  in  the  plenitude  of  his  power,  in 
the  very  heart  of  his  capital,  surrounded  by  thou- 
sands and  tens  of  thousands,  who  trembled  at  his 
nod,  and  would  have  poured  out  their  blood  like 
water  in  his  defence,  —  that  all  this  should  have 
been  done  by  a  mere  handful  of  adventurers,  is  a 
thing  too  extravagant,  altogether  too  improbable,  for 
the  pages  of  romance !  It  is,  nevertheless,  literally 
true.  Yet  we  shall  not  be  prepared  to  acquiesce  in 
the  judgments  of  contemporaries  who  regarded  these 
acts  with  admiration.     We  may  well  distrust  any 


176  RESIDENCE  IN   MEXICO.  [Book  IV 

grounds  on  which  it  is  attempted  to  justify  the  kid- 
napping of  a  friendly  sovereign,  —  by  those  very  per 
sons,  too,  who  were  reaping  the  full  benefit  of  his 
favors. 

To  view  the  matter  differently,  we  must  take  the 
position  of  the  Conquerors,  and  assume  with  them 
the  original  right  of  conquest.  Regarded  from  this 
point  of  view,  many  difficulties  vanish.  If  conquest 
were  a  duty,  whatever  was  necessary  to  effect  it 
was  right  also.  Right  and  expedient  become  con- 
vertible terms.  And  it  can  hardly  be  denied,  that 
the  capture  of  the  monarch  was  expedient,  if  the 
Spaniards  would  maintain  their  hold  on  the  empire.^^ 

The  execution  of  the  Aztec  governor  suggests 
other  considerations.  If  he  were  really  guilty  of  the 
perfidious  act  imputed  to  him  by  Cortes,  and  if 
Montezuma  disavowed  it,  the  governor  deserved 
death,  and  the  general  was  justified  by  the  law  of 
nations  in  inflicting  it.^^  It  is  by  no  means  so  clear, 
however,  why  he  should  have  involved  so  many  in 
this  sentence ;  most,  perhaps  all,  of  whom  must  have 
acted  under  his  authority.  The  cruel  manner  of  the 
death  will  less  startle  those  who  are  familiar  with 


24    Archbishop    Lorenzana,    as  se  aseguraba  a  si  mismo,  pues  los 

late  as  the  close  of  the  last  centu-  Espaiioles  no  se  confian  ligeramen- 

ry,  finds  good  Scripture  warrant  te :    Jonathas  fue  muerto,  y  sor- 

for  the  proceeding  of  the  Span-  prendido  por  haberse  confiado  de 

iards.      *'  Fu6  grande  prudencia,  Triphon."     Rel.  Seg.  de  Cortes, 

y  Arte  militar  haber  asegurado  a  p.  84,  nota. 

el  Emperador,  porque  sino  que-        25  gee  Puffendorf,  De  Jure  Na- 

daban  expuestos  Hernan  Cortes,  y  turae  et  Gentium,  lib.  8,  cap.   6, 

BUS  8oldados&  perecer  (k  traycion,  sec.  10. — Vattel,  Law  of  Nations, 

y  teniendo  seguro  k  el  Emperador  book  3,  chap.  8,  sec.  141. 


Ch.  III.]  REFLECTIONS.  177 

the  established  penal  codes  in  most  civilized  nations 
in  the  sixteenth  century. 

But,  if  the  governor  deserved  death,  what  pretence 
was  there  for  the  outrage  on  the  person  of  Monte- 
zuma? If  the  former  was  guilty,  the  latter  surely 
was  not.  But,  if  the  cacique  only  acted  in  obe- 
dience to  orders,  the  responsibility  was  transferred 
to  the  sovereign  who  gave  the  orders.  They  could 
not  both  stand  in  the  same  category. 

It  is  vain,  however,  to  reason  on  the  matter,  on 
any  abstract  principles  of  right  and  wrong,  or  to 
suppose  that  the  Conquerors  troubled  themselves 
with  the  refinements  of  casuistry.  Their  standard 
of  right  and  wrong,  in  reference  to  the  natives,  was 
a  very  simple  one.  Despising  them  as  an  outlawed 
race,  without  God  in  the  world,  they,  in  common 
with  their  age,  held  it  to  be  their  "  mission "  (to 
borrow  the  cant  phrase  of  our  own  day)  to  conquer 
and  to  convert.  The  measures  they  adopted  cer- 
tainly facilitated  the  first  great  work  of  conquest. 
By  the  execution  of  the  caciques,  they  struck  ter- 
ror not  only  into  the  capital,  but  throughout  the 
country.  It  proclaimed  that  not  a  hair  of  a  Spaniard 
was  to  be  touched  with  impunity  !  By  rendering 
Montezuma  contemptible  in  his  own  eyes  and  those 
of  his  subjects,  Cortes  deprived  him  of  the  support 
of  his  people,  and  forced  him  to  lean  on  the  arm  of 
the  stranger.  It  was  a  politic  proceeding, — to 
which  few  men  could  have  been  equal,  who  had  a 
touch  of  humanity  in  their  natures. 

A  good  criterion  of  the  moral  sense  of  the  actors 

VOL.    II.  23 


178  RESIDENCE  IN   MEXICO.  [Book  IV 

in  these  events  is  afforded  by  the  reflections  of  Ber- 
nal  Diaz,  made  some  fifty  years,  it  will  be  remem- 
bered, after  the  events  themselves,  when  the  fire  of 
youth  had  become  extinct,  and  the  eye,  glancing  back 
through  the  vista  of  half  a  century,  might  be  ^p- 
]K)sed  to  be  unclouded  by  the  passions  and  prejudices 
which  throw  their  mist  over  the  present.     "Now 
that  I  am  an  old  man,"  says  the  veteran,  "  I  often 
entertain  myself  with  calling  to  mind  the  heroical 
deeds  of  early  daj^,  till  they  are  as  fresh  as  the 
events  of  yesterday.     I  think  of  the  seizure  of  the 
Indian  monarch,  his  confinement  in  irons,  and  the 
execution  of  his  officers,  till  all  these  things  seem 
actually  passing  before  me.     And,  as  I  ponder  on 
our  exploits,  I  feel  that  it  was  not  of  ourselves  that 
we  performed  them,  but  that  it  was  the  providence 
of  God  which  guided  us.     Much  food  is  there  here 
for  meditation !  "  ^^     There  is  so,  indeed,  and  for  a 
meditation  not  unpleasing,  as  we  reflect  on  the  ad- 
vance, in  speculative  morality,  at  least,  which  the 
nineteenth   century  has   made  over   the   sixteenth. 
But  should  not  the  consciousness  of  this  teach  us 
charity  ?     Should  it  not  make  us  the  more  distrust- 
ful of  applying  the  standard  of  the  present  to  meas- 
ure the  actions  of  the  past  ? 


36  "Osarquemar  SU8  Capitanes  presentes :    Y  digo  que  nueslios 

delante  de  bus  Palacios,  y  echalle  hechos,  que  no  los  haziamos  noso- 

«»rillos  entre  tanto  que  se  hazia  la  tros,  sine  que  venian  todos  encami- 

Justicia,  quemuchasvezesaoraque  nados  per  Dies.  .....  Porque»y 

soy  viejo  me  paro  a  considerar  las  mucho    que   ponderar    en    ello." 

(rosas  heroicas  que  en  aquel  tiempo  Hist,  de  la  Conquista,  cap.  95. 
passiraos,  que  me  parece  las  veo 


chapti:b  IV. 

Montezuma's  Deportment. — ^is  Life  in  the  Spanish  Quarters. 
—  Meditated  Insurrection.  —  Lord  of  Tezgugo  seized.  — 
Further  Measures  of  Cortes. 

1520. 

The  settlement  of  La  Villa  Rica  de  Vera  Cruz 
was  of  the  last  importance  to  the  Spaniards.  It 
was  the  port  by  which  they  were  to  communicate 
with  Spain ;  the  strong  post  on  which  they  were  to 
retreat  in  case  of  disaster,  and  which  was  to  bridle 
their  enemies  and  give  security  to  their  allies ;  the 
point  d^appui  for  all  their  operations  in  the  country. 
It  was  of  great  moment,  therefore,  that  the  care  of  it 
should  be  intrusted  to  proper  hands. 

A  cavalier,  named  Alonso  de  Grado,  had  been 
sent  by  Cortes  to  take  the  place  made  vacant  by  the 
death  of  Escalante.  He  was  a  person  of  greater 
repute  in  civil  than  military  matters,  and  would  be 
more  likely,  it  was  thought,  to  maintain  peaceful 
relations  with  the  natives,  than  a  person  of  more 
belligerent  spirit.  Cortes  made  —  what  was  rare 
with  him  —  a  bad  choice.  He  soon  received  such 
accounts  of  troubles  in  the  settlement  from  the  ex- 
actions and  negligence  of  the  new  governor,  that  he 
resolved  to  supersede  him. 


180  RESIDENCE  IN   MEXICO.  [Book  IV 

He  now  gave  the  command  to  Gonzalo  de  San- 
doval, a  young  cavalier,  who  had  displayed,  through 
the  whole  campaign,  singular  intrepidity  united  with 
sagacity  and  discretion  ;  while  the  good-humor  with 
which  he  bore  every  privation,  and  his  affable  man- 
ners, made  him  a  favorite  with  all,  privates,  as 
well  as  officers.  Sandoval  accordingly  left  the  camp 
for  the  coast.  Cortes  did  not  mistake  his  man  a 
second  time. 

Notwithstanding  the  actual  control  exercised  by 
the  Spaniards  through  their  royal  captive,  Cortes 
felt  some  uneasiness,  when  he  reflected  that  it  was 
in  the  power  of  the  Indians,  at  any  time,  to  cut  off 
his  communications  with  the  surrounding  country, 
and  hold  him  a  prisoner  in  the  capital.  He  pro- 
posed, therefore,  to  build  two  vessels  of  sufficient  size 
to  transport  his  forces  across  the  lake,  and  thus  to 
lender  himself  independent  of  the  causeways.  Mon- 
tezuma was  pleased  with  the  idea  of  seeing  those 
wonderful  "  water-houses,"  of  which  he  had  heard 
so  much,  and  readily  gave  permission  to  have  the 
timber  in  the  royal  forests  felled  for  the  purpose. 
The  work  was  placed  under  the  direction  of  Martin 
Lopez,  an  experienced  ship-builder.  Orders  were 
also  given  to  Sandoval  to  send  up  from  the  coast  a 
supply  of  cordage,  sails,  iron,  and  other  necessary 
materials,  which  had  been  judiciously  saved  on  the 
destruction  of  the  fleet.^ 

The  Aztec  emperor,  meanwhile,  was  passing  his 

1  Bernal  Diaz,  Hist,  de  la  Conquisla,  cap.  96. 


Ch.  IV.]     HIS  LIFE  IN   THE  SPANISH  QUARTERS.  181 

days  in  the  Spanish  quarters  in  no  very  different 
manner  from  what  he  had  been  accustomed  to  in 
his  own  palace.  His  keepers  were  too  well  aware 
of  the  value  of  their  prize,  not  to  do  every  thing 
which  could  make  his  captivity  comfortable,  and  dis- 
guise it  from  himself.  But  the  chain  will  gall,  though 
wreathed  with  roses.  After  Montezuma's  breakfast, 
which  was  a  light  meal  of  fruits  or  vegetables,  Cor- 
tes or  some  of  his  officers  usually  waited  on  him,  to 
learn  if  he  had  any  commands  for  them.  He  then 
devoted  some  time  to  business.  He  gave  audience 
to  those  of  his  subjects  who  had  petitions  to  prefer, 
or  suits  to  settle.  The  statement  of  the  party 
was  drawn  up  on  the  hieroglyphic  scrolls,  which 
were  submitted  to  a  number  of  counsellors  or  judges, 
who  assisted  him  with  their  advice  on  these  occa- 
sions. Envoys  from  foreign  states  or  his  own  re- 
mote provinces  and  cities  were  also  admitted,  and 
the  Spaniards  were  careful  that  the  same  precise 
and  punctilious  etiquette  should  be  maintained  to- 
wards the  royal  puppet,  as  when  in  the  plenitude 
of  his  authority. 

After  business  was  despatched,  Montezuma  often 
amused  himself  with  seeing  the  Castilian  troops  go 
through  their  military  exercises.  He,  too,  had  been  a 
soldier,  and  in  his  prouder  days  had  led  armies  in  the 
field.  It  was  very  natural  he  should  take  an  interest 
in  the  novel  display  of  European  tactics  and  disci- 
pline. At  other  times,  he  would  challenge  Cortes  or 
his  officers  to  play  at  some  of  the  national  games.  A 
favorite  one  was  called  totoloque,  played  with  golden 


[82  RESIDENCE  IN   MEXICO.  [Book  IV 

balls  aimed  at  a  target  or  mark  of  the  same  metal. 
Montezuma  usually  staked  something  of  value, — 
precious  stones  or  ingots  of  gold.  He  lost  with 
good-humor;  indeed,  it  was  of  little  consequence 
whether  he  won  or  lost,  since  he  generally  gave 
away  his  winnings  to  his  attendants.^  He  had,  in 
truth,  a  most  munificent  spirit.  His  enemies  accused 
him  of  avarice.  But,  if  he  were  avaricious,  it  could 
have  been  only  that  he  might  have  the  more  to  give 
away. 

Each  of  the  Spaniards  had  several  Mexicans, 
male  and  female,  who  attended  to  his  cooking  and 
various  other  personal  offices.  Cortes,  considering 
that  the  maintenance  of  this  host  of  menials  was 
a  heavy  tax  on  the  royal  exchequer,  ordered  them 
to  be  dismissed,  excepting  one  to  be  retained  for 
each  soldier.  Montezuma,  on  learning  this,  pleas- 
antly remonstrated  with  the  general  on  his  careful 
economy,  as  unbecoming  a  royal  establishment,  and, 
countermanding  the  order,  caused  additional  accom- 
modations to  be  provided  for  the  attendants,  and 
their  pay  to  be  doubled. 

On  another  occasion,  a  soldier  purloined  some 
trinkets  of  gold  from  the  treasure  kept  in  the  cham- 
ber, which,  since  Montezuma's  arrival  in  the  Spanish 
quarters,  had  been  reopened.  Cortes  would  have 
punished  the  man  for  the  theft,  but  the  emperor  in- 
terfering said  to  him,  "Your  countrymen  are  welcome 
to  the  gold  and  other  articles,  if  you  will  but  spare 

a  Ibid.,  cap.  ^1, 


Ch.  I  v.]     his  life  in   the  SPANISH  QUARTERS.  IQ3 

those  belonging  to  the  gods."  Some  of  the  soldiers, 
making  the  most  of  liis  permission,  carried  ofi*  sev- 
eral hundred  loads  of  fine  cotton  to  their  quarters. 
When  this  was  represented  to  Montezuma,  he  only 
replied,  "  What  1  have  once  given,  I  never  take  back 
again."  ^ 

While  thus  indifferent  to  his  treasures,  he  was 
keenly  sensitive  to  personal  slight  or  insult.  When  a 
common  soldier  once  spoke  to  him  angrily,  the  tears 
came  into  the  monarch's  eyes,  as  it  made  him  feel  the 
true  character  of  his  impotent  condition.  Cortes,  on 
becoming  acquainted  with  it,  was  so  much  incensed, 
that  he  ordered  the  soldier  to  be  hanged ;  but,  on 
Montezuma's  intercession,  commuted  this  severe 
sentence  for  a  flogging.  The  general  was  not  wil- 
ling that  any  one  but  himself  should  treat  his  royal 
captive  with  indignity.  Montezuma  was  desired 
to  procure  a  further  mitigation  of  the  punishment. 
But  he  refused,  saying,  "  that,  if  a  similar  insult  had 
been  offered  by  any  one  of  his  subjects  to  Malinche, 
he  would  have  resented  it  in  like  manner."^ 

Such  instances  of  disrespect  were  very  rare. 
Montezuma's  amiable  and  inoffensive  manners,  to- 
gether with  his  liberality,  the  most  popular  of  virtues 
with  the  vulgar,  made  him  generally  beloved  by  the 
Spaniards."^  The  arrogance,  for  which  he  had  been  so 


3  Gomara,  Cr6nica,  cap.  84. —  que  todos  le  queriamos  con  gran 

Herrera,   Hist.    General,   dec.   2,  amor,  porque  verdaderaraente  era 

lib.  8,  cap.  4.  gran  seiior  en  todas  las  cosas  que 

*  Ibid.,  dec.  2,  lib.  8,  cap.  5.  le  viamos  hazer."     Bernal  Diax, 

*  "  En  esto  era  tan  bien  mirado.  Hist,  de  la  Conquista,  cap.  100. 


184  RESIDENCE  IN   MEXICO.  [Book  IV. 

distinguished  in  his  prosperous  days,  deserted  him  in 
his  fallen  fortunes.  His  character  in  captivity  seems 
to  have  undergone  something  of  that  change  which 
takes  place  in  the  wild  animals  of  the  forest,  when 
caged  within  the  walls  of  the  menagerie. 

The  Indian  monarch  knew  the  name  of  every 
man  in  the  army,  and  was  careful  to  discriminate 
his  proper  rank.^  For  some  he  showed  a  strong 
partiality.  He  obtained  from  the  general  a  favorite 
page,  named  Orteguilla,  who,  being  in  constant 
attendance  on  his  person,  soon  learned  enough  of 
the  Mexican  language  to  be  of  use  to  his  country- 
men. Montezuma  took  great  pleasure,  also,  in  the 
society  of  Velasquez  de  Leon,  the  captain  of  his 
guard,  and  Pedro  de  Alvarado,  Tonatiuh,  or  "  the 
Sun,"  as  he  was  called  by  the  Aztecs,  from  his  yel- 
low hair  and  sunny  countenance.  The  sunshine,  as 
events  afterwards  showed,  could  sometimes  be  the 
prelude  to  a  terrible  tempest. 

Notwithstanding  the  care  taken  to  cheat  him  ot 
the  tedium  of  captivity,  the  royal  prisoner  cast  a 
wistful  glance,  now  and  then,  beyond  the  walls  of 
his  residence  to  the  ancient  haunts  of  business  or 
pleasure.  He  intimated  a  desire  to  offer  up  his 
devotions  at  the  great  temple,  where  he  was  once  so 
constant  in  his  worship.  The  suggestion  startled 
Cortes.     It  was  too  reasonable,  however,  for  him  to 


•  "  Y  61  bien  conocia  k  todos,  y  todos  nos  daua  joyas,  a  otros  man- 
sabia  nuestros  nombres,  y  a\in  cal-  las  6  Indias  hermosas."  Ibid., 
idades,   y  era   tan   bueno,   que  k    cap.  97. 


Ch.  IV.]     HIS  LIFE  IN  THE  SPANISH  QUARTERS.  185 

object  to  it,  without  wholly  discarding  the  appear- 
ances which  he  was  desirous  to  maintain.  But  he 
secured  Montezuma's  return  by  sending  an  escort 
with  him  of  a  hundred  and  fifty  soldiers  under  the 
same  resolute  cavaliers  who  had  aided  in  his  seizure. 
He  told  him,  also,  that,  in  case  of  any  attempt  to 
escape,  his  life  would  instantly  pay  the  forfeit. 
Thus  guarded,  the  Indian  prince  visited  the  teocalli, 
where  he  was  received  with  the  usual  state,  and, 
after  performing  his  devotions,  he  returned  again  to 
his  quarters. 

It  may  well  be  believed  that  the  Spaniards  did 
not  neglect  the  opportunity  afforded  by  his  residence 
with  them,  of  instilling  into  him  some  notions  of  the 
Christian  doctrine.  Fathers  Diaz  and  Olmedo  ex- 
hausted all  ^their  battery  of  logic  and  persuasion,  to 
shake  his  faith  in  his  idols,  but  in  vain.  He,  in- 
deed, paid  a  most  edifying  attention,  which  gave 
promise  of  better  things.  But  the  conferences  al- 
ways closed  with  the  declaration,  that  "  the  God  of 
the  Christians  was  good,  but  the  gods  of  his  own 
country  were  the  true  gods  for  him."^  It  is  said, 
however,  they  extorted  a  promise  from  him,  that 
he  would  take  part  in  no  more  human  sacrifices. 
Yet  such  sacrifices  were  of  daily  occurrence  in  the 
great  temples  of  the  capital ;  and  the  people  wen; 


'  Ibid.,  cap.  98.  this  evil   counsellor  actually  sp- 
8  According  to  Solis,  the  Devil  peared  and  conversed  with  Monte- 
closed  his  heart  against  these  good  zuma,    after    the    Spaniards    had 
men  ;   though,  in   the   historian's  displayed    the   Cross  in    Mexico, 
opinion,  there  is  no  evidence  that  Conquista,  lib.  3,  cap.  20 
VOL.    II.                     24 


p 


186  RESIDENCE  IN  MEXICO.  [Book  IV 

too  blindly  attached  to  their  bloody  abominations,  for 
the  Spaniards  to  deem  it  safe,  for  the  present  at 
least,  openly  to  interfere. 

Montezuma  showed,  also,  an  inclination  to  en- 
gage in  the  pleasures  of  the  chase,  of  which  he 
once  was  immoderately  fond.  He  had  large  forests 
reserved  for  the  purpose  on  the  other  side  of  the 
lake.  As  the  Spanish  brigantines  were  now  com- 
pleted, Cortes  proposed  to  transport  him  and  his 
suite  across  the  water  in  them.  They  were  of  a 
good  size,  strongly  built.  The  largest  was  mounted 
with  four  falconets,  or  small  guns.  It  was  protected 
by  a  gayly-colored  awning  stretched  over  the  deck, 
and  the  royal  ensign  of  Castile  floated  proudly  from 
the  mast.  On  board  of  this  vessel,  Montezuma,  de- 
lighted with  the  opportunity  of  witnessyig  the  nau- 
tical skill  of  the  white  men,  embarked  with  a  train 
of  Aztec  nobles  and  a  numerous  guard  of  Spaniards. 
A  fresh  breeze  played  on  the  waters,  and  the  vessel 
soon  left  behind  it  the  swarms  of  light  pirogues 
which  darkened  their  surface.  She  seemed  like  o 
thing  of  life  in  the  eyes  of  the  astonished  natives, 
who  saw  her,  as  if  disdaining  human  agency,  sweep- 
ing by  with  snowy  pinions  as  if  on  the  wings  of  the 
wind,  while  the  thunders  from  her  sides,  now  for  the 
first  time  breaking  on  the  silence  of  this  "  inland 
sea,"  showed  that  the  beautiful  phantom  was  clothed 
m  terror.® 


»  Bernal  Diaz,  Hist,  de  la  Conquista,  cap.  99.  —  Rel.  Seg.  dh  Cor 
les,  ap.  Lorenzana,  p.  88. 


en.  IV.J  MEDITATED  INSURRECTION.  187 

The  royal  chase  was  well  stocked  with  game: 
some  of  which  the  emperor  shot  with  arrows,  and 
others  were  driven  by  the  numerous  attendants  into 
nets.^^  In  these  woodland  exercises,  while  he 
ranged  over  his  wild  domain,  Montezuma  seemed  to 
enjoy  again  the  sweets  of  liberty.  It  was  but  the 
shadow  of  liberty,  however ;  as  in  his  quarters,  at 
home,  he  enjoyed  but  the  shadow  of  royalty.  At 
home  or  abroad,  the  eye  of  the  Spaniard  was  always 
upon  him. 

But,  while  he  resigned  himself  without  a  struggle 
to  his  inglorious  fate,  there  were  others  who  looked 
on  it  with  very  different  emotions.  Among  them 
was  his  nephew  Cacama,  lord  of  Tezcuco,  a  young 
man  not  more  than  twenty-five  years  of  age,  but 
who  enjoyed  great  consideration  from  his  high  per- 
sonal qualities,  especially  his  intrepidity  of  character. 
He  was  the  same  prince  who  had  been  sent  by 
Montezuma  to  welcome  the  Spaniards  on  their  en- 
trance into  the  Valley ;  and,  when  the  question  of 
their  reception  was  first  debated  in  the  council,  he 
had  advised  to  admit  them  honorably  as  ambassadors 
of  a  foreign  prince,  and,  if  they  should  prove  different 
from  what  they  pretended,  it  would  be  time  enough 
then  to  take  up  arms  against  them.  That  time,  he 
thought,  had  now  come. 


1®  H«  sometimes  killed  his  game  na,  era  a  tirar  k  P&jaros,  i  k  Co- 

with   a  tube,   a  sort  of  air-gun,  nejos,  con  Cebratana,  de  la  qual 

through  which  he  blew  little  balls  era  diestro."    Herrera,  Hist.  Gen- 

at  birds  and  rabbits.     "  La  Ca<ja  eral,  dec.  2,  lib.  8,  cap.  4. 
k  que  Mote^uma  iba  per  la  Lagu- 


188  RESIDENCE  IN  MEXICO.  f  Book  IV. 

In  a  former  part  of  this  work,  the  reader  has  been 
made  acquainted  with  the  ancient  history  of  the 
Acolhuan  or  Tezcucan  monarchy,  once  the  proud 
rival  of  the  Aztec  in  power,  and  greatly  its  superior 
in  civilization.*^  Under  its  last  sovereign,  Nezahual- 
pilli,  its  territory  is  said  to  have  been  grievously 
clipped  by  the  insidious  practices  of  Montezuma, 
who  fomented  dissensions  and  insubordination  among 
his  subjects.  On  the  death  of  the  Tezcucan  prince, 
the  succession  was  contested,  and  a  bloody  war 
ensued  between  his  eldest  son,  Cacama,  and  an  am- 
bitious younger  brotherj  Ixtlilxochitl.  This  was  fol- 
lowed by  a  partition  of  the  kingdom,  in  which  the 
latter  chieftain  held  the  mountain  districts  north  of 
the  capital,  leaving  the  residue  to  Cacama.  Though 
shorn  of  a  large  part  of  his  hereditary  domain,  the 
city  was  itself  so  important,  that  the  lord  of  Tezcuco 
still  held  a  high  rank  among  the  petty  princes  of  the 
Valley.  His  capital,  at  the  time  of  the  Conquest, 
contained,  according  to  Cortes,  a  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  inhabitants.*^  It  was  embellished  with 
noble  buildings,  rivalling  those  of  Mexico  itself,  and 
the  ruins  still  to  be  met  with  on  its  ancient  site 
attest  that  it  was  once  the  abode  of  princes.*^ 

11  Ante,  Book  I.  Chap.  6.  speaks  of  it  as  covering-  a  league 

^  "  E  Mmase  esta  Ciudad  Tez-  oneway  by  six  another!     (Hist, 

cuco,  y  sera  de  hasta  treinta  mil  de  los  Indios,  MS.,  Parte  3,  cap. 

Veinos."      (Rel.  Seg.,  ap.  Lo-  7.)     This  must  include  the  envi- 

renzana,  p.  94.)   According  to  the  rons  to  a  considerable  extent.  The 

licentiate  Zuazo,  double  that  num-  language  of  the  old  chroniclers  is 

ber,  —  sesenta  mil  Vecinos.     (Car-  not  the  most  precise, 

la,  MS.)      Scarcely  probable,  as  13  A  description  of  the  capital  in 

Mexico    had   no  more.      Toribio  its  glory  is  thus  given  by  an  eye- 


Ch.  IV] 


MEDITATED  INSURRECTION. 


189 


The  joung  Tezcucan  chief  beheld,  with  indigna- 
tion, and  no  slight  contempt,  the  abject  condiiioa  Oi 
his  uncle.  He  endeavoured  to  rouse  him  to  manly 
exertion,  but  in  vain.  He  then  set  about  forming  a 
league  with  several  of  the  neighbouring  caciques  to 
rescue  his  kinsman,  and  to  break  the  detested  yoke 
of  the  strangers.  He  called  on  the  lord  of  Iztapala- 
pan,  Montezuma's  brother,  the  lord  of  Tlacopan,  and 
some  others  of  most  authority,  all  of  whom  entered 
heartily  into  his  views.  He  then  urged  the  Aztec 
nobles  to  join  them,  but  they  expressed  an  unwil- 
lingness to  take  any  step  not  first  sanctioned  by  the 
emperor.'*     They  entertained,  undoubtedly,  a  pro- 


witness.  *'  Esta  Ciudad  era  la  se- 
gunda  cosa  principal  de  la  tierra, 
y  asi  habia  en  Tezcuco  muy  grandes 
edificios  de  templos  del  Demonio, 
y  muy  gentiles  casas  y  aposentos 
de  Sefiores,  entre  los  cuales,  fue 
muy  cosa  de  ver  la  casa  del  Senor 
principal,  asi  la  vieja  con  su  huer- 
ta  cercada  de  mas  de  mil  cedros 
muy  grandes  y  muy  hermosos,  de 
los  cuales  hoy  dia  estan  los  mas  en 
pie,  aunque  la  casa  esta  asolada, 
otra  casa  tenia  que  se  podia  aposen- 
lar  en  ella  un  egeicito,  con  muchos 
jardines,  y  unmuy  grandeestanque, 
que  por  debajo  de  tierra  solian  en- 
trar  a  el  con  barcas."  (Toribio, 
Hist,  deloslndios,  MS.,  Parte  3, 
cap.  7.)  The  last  relics  of  this 
palace  were  employed  in  the  for- 
tifications of  the  city  in  the  revo- 
lutionary war  of  1810.  (Ixtlilxo- 
chitl,  Venida  de  los  Esp.,  p.  78. 
nota.)     Tezcuco  is  now  an  insig- 


nificant little  place,  with  a  popula- 
tion of  a  few  thousand  inhabitants. 
Its  architectural  remains,  as  still  to 
be  discerned,  seem  to  have  made  a 
stronger  impression  on  Mr.  Bul- 
lock than  on  most  travellers.  Six 
Months  in  Mexico,  chap.  27. 

14  "  Cacama  reprehendio  aspe- 
ramente  a  la  Nobleza  Mexicana 
porque  consentia  hacer  semejanles 
desacatos  k  quatro  Estrangeros  y 
que  no  les  mataban,  se  escusaban 
con  decirles  les  iban  a  la  mano  y 
no  les  consentian  tomar  las  Armas 
para  libertarlo,  y  tomar  si  una  tan 
gran  deshonra  como  era  la  que 
los  Estrangeros  les  habian  hecho 
en  prender  k  su  senor,  y  quemar  k 
Quauhpopocatzin,  los  demas  sus 
Hijos  y  Deudos  sin  culpa,  con  las 
Armas  y  Municion  que  tenian  para 
la  dfcfenza  y  guarda  de  la  ciudad, 
y  de  su  autoridad  tomar  para  si  loa 
tesoros  del  Rey,  y  de  los  Dioses, 


r 


190  RESIDENCE  IN   MEXICO.  [Book  IV. 

found  reverence  for  their  master ;  but  it  seems  prob- 
able that  jealousy  of  the  personal  views  of  Cacama 
had  its  influence  on  their  determination.  Whatever 
were  their  motives,  it  is  certain,  that,  by  this  refusal, 
they  relinquished  the  best  opportunity  ever  presented 
for  retrieving  their  sovereign's  independence,  and 
their  own. 

These  intrigues  could  not  be  conducted  so  secret- 
ly as  not  to  reach  the  ears  of  Cortes,  who,  with  his 
characteristic  promptness,  would  have  marched  at 
once  on  Tezcuco,  and  trodden  out  the  spark  of  "  re- 
bellion,"^^ before  it  had  time  to  burst  into  a  flame. 
But  from  this  he  was  dissuaded  by  Montezuma, 
who  represented  that  Cacama  was  a  man  of  resolu- 
tion, backed  by  a  powerful  force,  and  not  to  be  put 
down  without  a  desperate  struggle.  He  consented, 
therefore,  to  negotiate,  and  sent  a  message  of  amica- 
ble expostulation  to  the  cacique.  He  received  a 
haughty  answer  in  return.  Cortes  rejoined  in  a 
more  menacing  tone,  asserting  the  supremacy  of  his 
own  sovereign,  the  emperor  of  Castile.      To  this 


y  otras  libertades  y  desvergOenzas  tfa  el  dicho   Muteczuma."     Rel. 

que  cada  dia  pasaban,  y  aunque  Seg.,  ap.  Lorenzana,  p.  95.  —  VoJ- 

todo  esto  vehian  lo  xiisimulaban  take,  with  his  quick  eye  for  the 

por  no  enojar  a  Motecuhzoma  que  ridiculous,  notices  this  arrogance 

tan   araigo   y  casado  estaba  con  in  his  tragedy  of  Alzire. 

ellos. ' '    Ixtlilxochitl ,  Hist.  Chich. ,  "  Tu  '^o's  ^^  c^  tyrans  la  fureur  despotique : 
MS      can    86  "^  pensent  qte  pour  eux  le  Ciel  fit  I'A- 

*'      /'        ■  m^rique, 

1*  It  is  the  language  of  Cortes.  Qu'ila  en  sont  n6s  les  Roia ;  et  ZaniQW  4 

**  Y  esta  sefior  se  rebel6,  aasi  coi»tra  ^«""  y«"^' 

,  •  •      J      ir       .        A 1  r  Tout  Bouverain  qu'il  fut,  n'est  qu'un  s«di> 

«l  servicio  de  Vuestra  Alteaa,  a  ^^^„ 

quien  se  habia  ofrecido,  como  con-  Mzimt,  Act  4,  sc.  3. 


Ch.  IV.]  LORD  OF  TEZCUCO  SEIZED  191 

Cacama  replied,  **  He  acknowledged  no  such  author- 
ity ;  he  knew  nothing  of  the  Spanish  sovereign  noi 
his  people,  nor  did  he  wish  to  know  any  thing  of 
them."  ^^  Montezuma  was  not  more  successful  in 
his  application  to  Cacama  to  come  to  Mexico,  and 
allow  him  to  mediate  his  differences  with  the  Span- 
iards, with  whom  he  assured  the  prince  he  was  resid- 
ing as  a  friend.  But  the  young  lord  of  Tezcuco 
was  not  to  be  so  duped.  He  understood  the  position 
of  his  uncle,  and  replied,  "  that,  when  he  did  visit 
his  capital  it  would  be  to  rescue  it,  as  \^'ell  as  the 
emperor  himself,  and  their  common  gods,  from  bond- 
age. He  should  come,  not  with  his  hand  in  his 
bosom,  but  on  his  sword,  —  to  drive  out  the  detested 
strangers  who  had  brought  such  dishonor  on  their 
country ! "  ^^ 

Cortes,  incensed  at  this  tone  of  defiance,  would 
again  have  put  himself  in  motion  to  punish  it,  but 
Montezuma  interposed  with  his  more  politic  arts. 
He  had  several  of  the  Tezcucan  nobles,  he  said,  in 
his  pay;^^  and  it  would  be  easy,  through  their 
means,  to  secure  Cacama's  person,  and  thus  break 
up  the  confederacy,  at  once,  without  bloodshed. 
The  maintaining  of  a  corps  of  stipendiaries  in  the 

16  Goraara,  Cronica,  cap.  91.  la    Nacion  de   Culhua."      IWd., 

1"'  "  1  que  para  reparar  la  Re-  cap.  91. 
ligion,  i  restituir  los  Dioses,  guar-        ^  **  Pero  que  €1  tenia  en  su  'Rer- 

dar  el  Reino,  cobrar  la  fama,  i  lib-  ra  de  el  dicho  Cacamazin  rauchas 

ertad  &  ^1,  i  a  Mexico,  iria  de  mui  Personas   Principales,  que   viyian 

buena  gana,  mas  no  las  manos  en  con  ^1,  y   les   daba  su   salario." 

el  seno,  sine  en  la  Espada,  para  Rel.  Seg.  de  Cortes,  ap.  Loreniar 

matar  los    Espafioles,   que   tanta  na,  p.  95. 
mengua,  i  afrenta  havian  hecho  a 


192  RESIDENCE  IN   MEXICO.  [Book  IV. 

courts  of  neighbouring  princes  was  a  refinement 
which  showed  that  the  Western  barbarian  under- 
stood the  science  of  political  intrigue,  as  well  as 
some  of  his  royal  brethren  on  the  other  side  of  the 
water. 

By  the  contrivance  of  these  faithless  nobles,  Ca- 
cama  was  induced  to  hold  a  conference,  relative  to 
the  proposed  invasion,  in  a  villa  which  overhung  the 
Tezcucan  lake,  not  far  from  his  capital.  Like  most 
of  the  principal  edifices,  it  was  raised  so  as  to  admit 
the  entrance  of  boats  beneath  it.  In  the  midst  of 
the  conference,  Cacama  was  seized  by  the  conspira- 
tors, hurried  on  board  a  bark  in  readiness  for  the 
purpose,  and  transported  to  Mexico.  When  brought 
into  Montezuma's  presence,  the  high-spirited  chief 
abated  nothing  of  his  proud  and  lofty  bearing.  He 
taxed  his  uncle  with  his  perfidy,  and  a  pusillanimity 
so  unworthy  of  his  former  character,  and  of  the  royal 
house  from  which  he  was  descended.  By  the  em 
peror  he  was  referred  to  Cortes,  who,  holding  royalty 
but  cheap  in  an  Indian  prince,  put  him  in  fetters.^^ 

There  was  at  this  time  in  Mexico  a  brother  ot 
Cacama,  a  stripling  much  younger  than  himself.  At 
the  instigation  of  Cortes,  Montezuma,  pretending 
that  his  nephew  had  forfeited  the  sovereignty  by  his 
late  rebellion,  declared  him  to  be  deposed,  and  ap- 
pointed Cuicuitzca  in  his  place.     The  Aztec  sover- 

19  Ibid.,  pp.  95,  96.  —  Oviedo,  capture  of  Cacama  with  the  com- 

Hial.  de  las  Ind.,  MS.,  lib.  33,  fortable  reflection,  ''that  it  saved 

cap.8.— IxtlilxochitljHist.  Chich.,  the   Spaniards    much    embarrass- 

MS.,  cap.  86.  ment,  and  greatly  facilitated  the 

The  latter  author  dismisses  the  introduction  of  the  Catholic  faith." 


¥ 


Ch.  IV.]  FURTHER  MEASURES  OF  CORTES.  193 

eigns  had  always  been  allowed  a  paramount  author- 
ity in  questions  relating  to  the  succession.  But  this 
was  a  most  unwarrantable  exercise  of  it.  The  Tez- 
cucans  acquiesced,  however,  with  a  ready  ductility, 
which  showed  their  allegiance  hung  but  lightly  on 
them,  or,  what  is  more  probable,  that  they  were 
greatly  in  awe  of  the  Spaniards ;  and  the  new  prince 
was  welcomed  with  acclamations  to  his  capital.-" 

Cortes  still  wanted  to  get  into  his  hands  the  other 
chiefs  who  had  entered  into  the  confederacy  with 
Cacama.  This  was  no  difficult  matter.  Montezu- 
ma's authority  was  absolute,  everywhere  but  in  his 
own  palace.  By  his  command,  the  caciques  were 
seized,  each  in  his  own  city,  and  brought  in  chains 
to  Mexico,  where  Cortes  placed  them  in  strict  con- 
finement with  their  leaden^^ 

He  had  now  triumphed  over  all  his  enemies.  He 
had  set  his  foot  on  the  necks  of  princes ;  and  the 
great  chief  of  the  Aztec  empire  was  but  a  conven- 

20  Cortes  calls  the  name  of  this  the  royal  roll  of  Tezcuco.     Hist, 

prince  Cucuzca.     (Rel.  Seg.  ap.  de  Nueva  Espafia,  lib.  8,  cap.  3. 
Lorenzana,  p.  96.)    In  the  orthog-        21  The  exceeding  lenity  of  the 

raphy  of  Aztec  words,  the  general  Spanish  commander,  on  this  occa- 

was  governed  by  his  ear ;  and  was  sion,  excited  general   admiratior 

wrong  nine  times  out  of  ten.  —  if  we  are  to  credit  Solis,  througli 

Bustamante,  in  his  catalogue  of  out  the  Aztec  empire  !     "  Tuvo 

Tezcucan    monarchs,    omits    him  notable  aplauso  en  todo  el  imperio 

altogether.     He  probably  regards  este  g^nero  de  castigo  sin  sangre, 

him  as  an  intruder,  who  had  no  que  se  atribuyd  al  superior  juicio 

claim  to  be  ranked  among  the  right-  de  los  Espanoles,  porque  no  espe- 

ful  sovereigns  of  the  land.  (Galeria  raban    de     Motezuma    semejante 

de  Antiguos   Principes,    (Puebla,  moderacion."      Conquista,  lib.  4 

1821,)  p.  21.)     Sahagun   has,  in  cap.  2. 
like  manner,  struck  his  name  from 
VOL.    II.                        05 


194  RESIDENCE  IN    MEXICO.  [Book  IV. 

lent  tool  in  his  hands,  for  accomplishing  his  purposes. 
His  first  use  of  this  power  was,  to  ascertain  the 
actual  resources  of  the  monarchy.  He  sent  several 
parties  of  Spaniards,  guided  by  the  natives,  to  ex- 
plore the  regions  where  gold  was  obtained.  It  was 
gleaned  mostly  from  the  beds  of  rivers,  several  hun- 
dred miles  from  the  capital. 

His  next  object  was,  to  learn  if  there  existed  any 
good  natural  harbour  for  shipping  on  the  Atlantic 
coast,  as  the  road  of  Vera  Cruz  left  no  protection 
against  the  tempests  that  at  certain  seasons  swept 
over  these  seas.  Montezuma  showed  him  a  chart 
on  which  the  shores  of  the  Mexican  Gulf  were  laid 
down  with  tolerable  accuracy.^  Cortes,  after  care- 
fully inspecting  it,  sent  a  commission,  consisting  of 
ten  Spaniards,  several  of  them  pilots,  and  some 
Aztecs,  w^ho  descended  to  Vera  Cruz,  and  made  a 
careful  survey  of  the  coast  for  nearly  sixty  leagues 
south  of  that  settlement,  as  far  as  the  great  river 
Coatzacualco,  which  seemed  to  offer  the  best,  in- 
deed, the  only,  accommodations  for  a  safe  and  suit- 
able harbour.  A  spot  was  selected  as  the  site  of  a 
fortified  post,  and  the  general  sent  a  detachment  of 
a  hundred  and  fifty  men  under  Velasquez  de  Leon 
to  plant  a  colony  there. 

He  also  obtained  a  grant  of  an  extensive  tract  of 
land,  in  the  fruitful  province  of  Oaxaca,  where  he 
proposed  to  lay  out  a  plantation  for  the  Crown.  Ho 
stocked  it  with  the  different  kinds  of  domesticated 

S3  Rel.  Seg.  de  Cortes,  ap.  Lorenzana,  p.  91. 


Ch.  IV.]  FURTHER  MEASURES  OF  CORTES.  195 

animals  peculiar  to  the  country,  and  with  such  indi- 
genous grains  and  plants  as  would  afford  the  best 
articles  for  export.  He  soon  had  the  estate  under 
such  cultivation,  that  he  assured  his  master,  the  em- 
peror, Charles  the  Fifth,  it  was  worth  twenty  thou- 
sand ounces  of  gold.'^^ 

23    ''Daraus  quae   dant,"   says  ince  of  Oaxaca.     (Rel.  Seg.,  ap. 

Martyr,  briefly,  in  reference  to  this  Lorenzana,  p.  89.)  It  is  here,  also, 

valuation.     (De  Orbe  Novo,  dec.  that  some  of  the  most  elaborate 

5,  cap.  3.)     Cortes  notices  the  re-  specimens  of   Indian  architecture 

ports  made  by  his  people,  of  large  are  still  to  be  seen,  in  the  ruins  of 

and  beautiful  edifices  in  the  prov-  Mitla. 


CHAPTER   V. 

Montezuma  swears  Allegiance  to  Spain.  —  Royal  Treasurm. 

Their  Division.  —  Christian  Worship   in  the  Teocalli. — 

Discontents  of  the  Aztecs. 

1520. 

Cortes  now  felt  his  authority  sufficiently  assured 
to  demand  from  Montezuma  a  formal  recognition  of 
the  supremacy  of  the  Spanish  emperor.  The  Indian 
monarch  had  intimated  his  willingness  to  acquiesce 
in  this,  on  their  very  first  interview.  He  did  not 
object,  therefore,  to  call  together  his  principal  ca- 
ciques for  the  purpose.  When  they  were  assembled, 
he  made  them  an  address,  briefly  stating  the  object 
of  the  meeting.  They  were  all  acquainted,  he  said, 
with  the  ancient  tradition,  that  the  great  Being,  who 
had  once  ruled  over  the  land,  had  declared,  on  his 
departure,  that  he  should  return  at  some  future  time 
and  resume  his  sway.  That  time  had  now  arrived. 
The  white  men  had  come  from  the  quarter  where 
the  sun  rises,  beyond  the  ocean,  to  which  the  good 
deity  had  withdrawn.  They  were  sent  by  their 
master  to  reclaim  the  obedience  of  his  ancient  sub- 
jects. For  himself  he  was  ready  to  acknowledge 
his  authority.  "  You  have  been  faithful  vassals  of 
mine,"  continued  Montezuma,  "during   the   many 


Ch.  v.]         MONTEZUMA  SWEARS  ALLEGIANCE.  1^ 

years  that  I  have  sat  on  the  throne  of  my  fathets. 
I  now  expect  that  you  will  show  me  this  last  act  of 
obedience  by  acknowledging  the  great  king  beyond 
the  waters  to  be  your  lord,  also,  and  that  you  will 
pay  him  tribute  in  the  same  manner  as  you  have 
hitherto  done  to  me."^  As  he  concluded,  his  voice 
was  nearly  stifled  by  his  emotion,  and  the  tears  fell 
fast  down  his  cheeks. 

His  nobles,  many  of  whom,  coming  from  a  dis- 
tance, had  not  kept  pace  with  the  changes  which 
had  been  going  on  in  the  capital,  were  filled  with 
astonishment,  as  they  listened  to  his  words,  and 
beheld  the  voluntary  abasement  of  their  master, 
whom  they  had  hitherto  reverenced  as  the  omnipo- 
tent lord  of  Anahuac.  They  were  the  more  affected, 
therefore,  by  the  sight  of  his  distress.^  His  will, 
they  told  him,  had  always  been  their  law.  It  should 
be  so  now ;  and,  if  he  thought  the  sovereign  of  the 
strangers  was  the  ancient  lord  of  their  country,  they 
were  willing  to  acknowledge  him  as  such  still.  The 
oaths  of  allegiance  were  then  administered  with  all 
due  solemnity,  attested  by  the  Spaniards   present. 


^  "  Y  raucho  OS  ruego,  pues  a  tribuir,  y  servir  con  todo  lo  que  me 

todos  OS  es  notorio  todo  esto,  que  mandare."     Rel.  Seg.  de  Cortes, 

assi  como  hasta  aqui  a  mi  me  ha-  ap.  Lorenzana,  p.  97. 
beis  tenido,  y  obedecido  por  Senor        2  <'Lo  qual  todo  les  dijo  lloran- 

vuestro,  de  aqui  adelante  tengais,  do,  con  las  mayores  lagrimas,  y 

y  obedescais  a  este  Gran    Rey,  suspiros,  que   un    hombre    podia 

pues  6\  es  vuestro  natural  Senor,  manifestar ;     6    assimismo     todos 

y  en  su  lugar  tengais  k  este  su  aquellos  Seiiores,  que  le  estabao 

Capitan  :  y  todos  los  Tributes,  y  oiendo,  lloraban  tanto,  que  en  gran 

Servicios,  que  fasta  aqui  k  mi  me  rato  no  le   pudi^ron   responder  " 

haciades,  los  haced,  y  dad  k  61,  Ibid.,  loc.  cit. 
porque  yo  assimismo  tengo  de  con- 


198 


RESIDENCE  IN  MEXICO. 


[Book  IV. 


and  a  full  record  of  the  proceedings  was  drawn  up 
by  the  royal  notary,  to  be  sent  to  Spain. ^  There  was 
something  deeply  touching  in  the  ceremony  by  which 
an  independent  and  absolute  monarch,  in  obedience 
less  to  the  dictates  of  fear  than  of  conscience,  thus 
relinquished  his  hereditary  rights  in  favor  of  an  un- 
known and  mysterious  power.  It  even  moved  those 
hard  men  who  were  thus  unscrupulously  availing 
themselves  of  the  confiding  ignorance  of  the  natives ; 
and,  though  "  it  was  in  the  regular  way  of  their  own 
business,"  says  an  old  chronicler,  "  there  was  not  a 
Spaniard  who  could  look  on  the  spectacle  with  a  dry 


eve 


?J|  4 


S'Solis  regards   this  ceremony 
as  supplying  what  was  before  de- 
fective in  the  title  of  the  Spaniards 
to  the  country.     The  remarks  are 
curious,    even    from   a  professed 
casuist.     "  Y  siendo  una  como  in- 
sinuacion  misteriosa  del  titulo  que 
86  debi6  despues  al  derecho  de  las 
armas,   sob  re    justa    provocacion, 
como  lo  ver^mos  en  su  lugar  :  cir- 
cunstancia  particular,  que  concur- 
ti6  en  la  conquista  de  Mejico  para 
mayor  justificacion  de   aquel  do- 
minie,   sobre   las   demas    consid- 
eraciones  genetales  que  no  solo 
hici^ron  licita  la  guerra  en  otras 
partes,  sino  legitima  y  razonable 
siempre  que  se  puso  en  t^rmihos 
de  medio  necesario  para  la  intro-^ 
duccion  del  Evangelic."  Conquis- 
ta, lib.  4,  cap.  3. 

4  Bernal  Diaz,  Hist,  de  la  Con- 
quista, cap.lOl.— Soils, Conquista, 
loc.  cit.  — Herrera,  Hist.  General, 


dec.  2,  lib.  9,  cap.  4. — Ixtlilxo- 
chitl,  Hist.  Chich.,  MS.,  cap.  87. 
Oviedo  considers  the  grief  of 
Montezuma  as  sufficient  proof  that 
his  homage,  far  from  being  volun- 
tary, was  extorted  by  necessity. 
The  historian  appears  to  have  seen 
the  drift  of  events  more  clearly 
than  some  of  the  actors  in  them. 
"  Y  en  la  verdad  si  como  Cortes  lo 
dice,  6  escrivio,  paso  en  efecto, 
mui  gran  cosa  me  parece  la  con- 
ciencia  y  liberalidad  de  Montezu- 
ma en  esta  su  restitucion  6  obe- 
diencia  al  Rey  de  Castilla,  por  la 
simple  6  cautelosa  informacion  de 
Cortes,  que  le  podia  hacer  para 
ello ;  Mas  aquellas  lagrimas  con 
que  dice,  que  Montezuma  hizo  su 
oracion,  6  amonestamiento,  despo- 
j^ndose  de  su  sefiorio,  6  las  de 
aquellos  con  que  les  respondieron 
aceptando  lo  que  les  mandaba,  y 
exortaba,  y  k  mi  parecer  su  Uanto 


Cn    v.]  ROYAL  TREASURES.  199 

The  rumor  of  these  strange  proceedings  was  soon 
circulated  through  the  capital  and  the  country.  Men 
read  in  them  the  fmger  of  Providence.  The  ancient 
tradition  of  Quetzalcoatl  was  familiar  to  all ;  and 
where  it  had  slept  scarcely  noticed  in  the  memory, 
it  was  now  revived  with  many  exaggerated  circum- 
stances. It  was  said  to  be  part  of  the  tradition, 
that  the  royal  line  of  the  Aztecs  was  to  end  with 
Montezuma ;  and  his  name,  the  literal  signijfication 
of  which  is  "  sad  "  or  "  angry  lord,"  was  construed 
into  an  omen  of  his  evil  destiny.^ 

Having  thus  secured  this  great  feudatory  to  the 
crown  of  Castile,  Cortes  suggested  that  it  would  be 
well  for  the  Aztec  chiefs  to  send  his  sovereign  such 
a  gratuity  as  would  conciliate  his  good-will  by  con- 
vincing him  of  the  loyalty  of  his  new  vassals.*' 
Montezuma  consented  that  his  collectors  should  visit 
the  principal  cities  and  provinces,  attended  by  a 
number  of  Spaniards,  to  receive  the  customary  trib- 
utes, in  the  name  of  the  Castilian  sovereign.  In  a 
few  weeks  most  of  them  returned,  bringing  back 
large  quantities  of  gold  and  silver  plate,  rich  stuffs, 


queria  decir,  6  ensenar  otra  cosa  robo."     Hist,  de  las  Ind.,  MS., 

de  lo  que  61,  y  ellos  dixeron ;  por-  lib.  33,  cap.  9. 

que  las  obediencias  que  se  suelen  ^  Gomara,  Cronica,  cap.  92.  — 

dar  a  los  Principes  con  riza,  6  con  Clavigero,  Stor.  del  Messico,  torn. 

camaras ;  6  diversidad  de  Musica,  II.  p.  256. 

6  leticia,  ensefiales  de  placer,  se  ^  "Pareceria  que  ellos  comen- 

suele   hacer ;    e  no   con   lucto  ni  zaban  ^  servir,  y  Vuestra  Alteza 

lagrimas,   6  sollozos,    ni    estando  tendria  mas  concepto  de  las  vol- 

preso  quien  obedece  ;  porque  como  untades,  que  k  su  servicio  mostra- 

dice  Marco  Varron  :   Lo  que  por  ban."     Rel.  Seg.  de  Cortes,  ap. 

fneraa  se  da  no  es  servicio  sino  Lorenzana,  p.  98. 


200  RESIDENCE  IN   MEXICO.  [Book  IV. 

and    the    various   commodities  in   which    the   taxes 
were  usually  paid. 

To  this  store  Montezuma  added,  on  his  own  ac- 
count, the  treasure  of  Axayacatl,  previously  noticed, 
some  part  of  which  had  been  already  given  to  the 
Spaniards.  It  was  the  fruit  of  long  and  careful 
hoarding,  —  of  extortion,  it  may  be,  —  by  a  prince 
who  little  dreamed  of  its  final  destination.  When 
brought  into  the  quarters,  the  gold  alone  was  suffi- 
cient to  make  three  great  heaps.  It  consisted  partly 
of  native  grains ;  part  had  been  melted  into  bars ; 
but  the  greatest  portion  was  in  utensils,  and  various 
kinds  of  ornaments  and  curious  toys,  together  with 
imitations  of  birds,  insects,  or  flowers,  executed  with 
uncommon  truth  and  delicacy.  There  were,  also, 
quantities  of  collars,  bracelets,  wands,  fans,  and 
other  trinkets,  in  which  the  gold  and  feather-work 
were  richly  powdered  with  pearls  and  precious 
stones.  Many  of  the  articles  were  even  more  ad- 
mirable for  the  workmanship  than  for  the  value  of 
the  materials  ;'^  such,  indeed, — if  we  may  take  the 
report  of  Cortes  to  one  who  would  himself  have 
soon  an  opportunity  to  judge  of  its  veracity,  and 
whom  it  would  not  be  safe  to  trifle  with,  —  as  no 
monarch  in  Europe  could  boast  in  his  dominions  !  ^ 

'  Peter  Martyr,  distrusting  some  se  multa  praetermittere,  ne  tanta 

extravagance  in  this  statement  of  recensendo    sit    molestus.      Idem 

Cortes,  found  it  fully  confirmed  by  affirmant  qui  ad  nos  inde  regredi- 

the  testimony  of  others.     "  Refe-  untur.^^     De  Orbe  Novo,  dec.  5. 

runt  non  credenda.     Credenda  ta-  cap.  3. 

men,  quando  vir  talis  ad  Caesarem         8  ««  Las    quales,    demas   de   su 

et  nostri  coUegii  Indici  senatores  valor,  eran  tales,  y  tan  maravillo- 

audeat  exscribere.    Addes  insuper  sas,  que  consideradas  por  su  nove- 


ch.  v.]  royal  treasures,  20 1 

Magnificent  as  it  was,  Montezuma  expressed  his 
regret  that  the  treasure  was  no  larger.  But  he  had 
diminished  it,  he  said,  by  his  former  gifts  to  the 
white  men.  "  Take  it,"  he  added,  "  Malinche,  and 
let  it  be  recorded  in  vour  annals,  that  Montezuma 
sent  this  present  to  your  master."^ 

The  Spaniards  gazed  with  greedy  eyes  on  the  dis- 
play of  riches,^^  now  their  own,  which  far  exceeded 
all  hitherto  seen  in  the  New  World,  and  fell  nothing 
short  of  the  El  Dorado  which  their  glowing  imagi- 
nations had  depicted.  It  may  be,  that  they  felt 
somewhat  rebuked  by  the  contrast  which  their  own 
avarice  presented  to  the  princely  munificence  of  the 
barbarian  chief.  At  least,  they  seemed  to  testify 
their  sense  of  his  superiority  by  the  respectful  hom- 
age which  they  rendered  him,  as  they  poured  forth 
the  fulness  of  their  gratitude.^^  They  were  not  so 
scrupulous,  however,  as  to  manifest  any  delicacy  in 
appropriating  to  themselves  the  donative,  a  small 
part  of  which  was  to  find  its  way  into  the  royal 

dad,  y  estrafieza,  no  tenian  precio,       lO  "  Fluctibus  auri 

ni  es  de  creer,  que  alguno  de  todos  ^P'^"  *^^°'  ^"«  "^f  u'  ,  ,.^  , 

,  1  ,    ,r       .      1  Claudian,  InRuf,  Ijb.  1. 

los  rrmcipes  del  Mundo  de  quien 

86  tiene  noticia,  las  pudiesse  tener        ^^    "  Y  quado   aquello  le  oy6 

tales,  y  de  tal  calidad."  Rel.  Seg.  Cortds,  y  todos  nosotros,  estuvimos 

de  Cortes,  ap.  Lorenzana,  p.  99.  —  espantados  de  la  gran  bondad,  y 

See,  also,   Oviedo,   Hist,   de  las  liberalidad  del   gran  Monteguma, 

Ind.,  MS.,  lib.  33,  cap.  9, — Ber-  y  con  mucho   acato  le  quitamos 

nal  Diaz,  Hist,  de  la  Conquista,  todos  las  gorras  de   armas,  y  le 

cap.  104.  diximos,   que   se   lo   teniamos  en 

^  "  Dezilde  en  vuestros  anales  y  merced,  y  con  palabras  de  mucho 

cartas :  Esto  os  erabia  vuestro  buen  amor,"  &c      Bernal  Diaz,  ubi  su- 

vassallo  Monteguma."   Bernal  Di-  pra. 

az,  ubi  supra. 

VOL.    II.  26 


202  RESIDENCE  IN   MEXICO.  [Book  IV. 

coffers.  They  clamored  loudly  for  an  immediate 
division  of  the  spoil,  which  the  general  would  have 
postponed  till  the  tributes  from  the  remoter  provinces 
had  been  gathered  in.  The  goldsmiths  of  Azcapo- 
zalco  were  sent  for  to  take  in  pieces  the  larger 
and  coarser  ornaments,  leaving  untouched  those  of 
more  delicate  workmanship.  Three  days  were  con- 
sumed in  this  labor,  when  the  heaps  of  gold  were 
cast  into  ingots,  and  stamped  with  the  royal  arms. 

Some  difficulty  occurred  in  the  division  of  the 
treasure,  from  the  want  of  weights,  which,  strange 
as  it  appears,  considering  their  advancement  in  the 
arts,  were,  as  already  observed,  unknown  to  the  Az- 
tecs. The  deficiency  was  soon  supplied  by  the 
Spaniards,  however,  with  scales  and  weights  of  their 
own  manufacture,  probably  not  the  most  exact. 
With  the  aid  of  these  they  ascertained  the  value  of 
the  royal  fifth  to  be  thirty-two  thousand  and  four 
hundred  pesos  de  oro}^  Diaz  swells  it  to  nearly 
four  times  that  amount.^^  But  their  desire  of  securing 
the  emperor's  favor  makes  it  improbable  that  the 
Spaniards  should  have  defrauded  the  exchequer  of 


^  Rel.  Seg.  de  Cortfe,  ap.  Lo-  Diaz,  —  the  last,  it  may  be  added, 

renzana,  p.  99.  not  too  friendly  to  the  general. 

This  estimate  of  the  royal  fifth  The  instrument,  which  is  without 

is  confirmed  (with  the  exception  date,  is  in  the  collection  of  Vargas 

of  the  four  hundred   ounces)  by  Ponge.     Probanza  fecha  a  pedira- 

the  affidavits  of  a  number  of  wit-  ento  de  Juan  de  Lexalde,  MS. 

nesses  cited  on  behalf  of  Cortes,  13  "  Eran  tres  montones  de  oro, 

to  show  the  amount  of  the  treas-  y  pesado  huvo  en  ellos  sobre  seis- 

ure.     Among  these  witnesses  we  cientos  mil  pesos,  como   adelante 

find  some  of  the  most  respectable  dir6,  sin  la  plata,  e  otras  muchaa 

names  in  the  army,  as  Olid,  Ordaz,  riquezas."     Hist,  de  la  Conquista, 

A  Vila,   ihe    prieste   Olmedo    and  can.  104. 


ch.  v.]  their  division.  203 

any  part  of  its  due  ;  while,  as  Cortes  was  respon- 
sible for  the  sum  admitted  in  his  letter,  he  would  be 
still  less  likely  to  overstate  it.  His  estimate  may  be 
received  as  the  true  one. 

The  whole  amounted,  therefore,  to  one  hundred 
and  sixty-two  thousand  pesos  de  oro,  independently 
of  the  fine  ornaments  and  jewelry,  the  value  of 
which  Cortes  computes  at  five  hundred  thousand 
ducats  more.  There  were,  besides,  five  hundred 
marks  of  silver,  chiefly  in  plate,  drinking-cups,  and 
other  articles  of  luxury.  The  inconsiderable  quan- 
tity of  the  silver,  as  compared  with  the  gold,  forms  a 
singular  contrast  to  the  relative  proportions  of  the  two 
metals  since  the  occupation  of  the  country  by  the 
Europeans.^"*  The  whole  amount  of  the  treasure, 
reduced  to  our  own  currency,  and  making  allowance 
for  the  change  in  the  value  of  gold  since  the  begin- 
ning of  the  sixteenth  century,  was  about  six  million 
three  hundred  thousand  dollars,  or  one  million  four 
hundred  and  seventeen  thousand  pounds  sterling ;  a 
sum  large  enough  to  show  the  incorrectness  of  the 
popular  notion,  that  little  or  no  wealth  was  found  in 
Mexico.^^     It  was,  indeed,  small  in  comparison  with 

^^  The  quantity  of  silver  taken  Real   Acad,   de   Hist.,   torn.  VI. 

from  the  American  mines  has  ex-  Ilust.  20.)     This   does   not   vary 

ceeded  that  of  gold  in  the  ratio  of  materially  from  Smith's  estimate 

forty-six  to  one.   (Humboldt,  Essai  made  after  the  middle  of  the  last 

Politique,  tom.  HI.  p.  401.)     The  century.       (Wealth    of   Nations, 

value   of   the    latter   metal,   says  book    1,    chap.    11.)     The  differ- 

Clcmencin,  which,  on  the  discov-  ence  would  have  been  much  more 

ery  of  the  New  World,  was  only  considerable,  but  for  the  greater 

eleven  times  greater  than  that  of  demand  for  silver  for  objects  of  or- 

the  former,  has  now  come  to  be  nament  and  use. 

sixteen  times      (Memorias  de   la  15  Dr.  Robertson,  preferring  the 


204 


RESIDENCE   IN    MEXICO. 


[BcoK  IV. 


that  obtained  bj  the  conquerors  of  Peru.  But  few 
European  monarchs  of  that  day  could  boast  a  larger 
treasure  in  their  coffers. ^^ 

The  division  of  the  spoil  was  a  work  of  some 
difficulty.  A  perfectly  equal  division  of  it  among 
the  Conquerors  would  have  given  them  more  than 
three  thousand  pounds  sterling,  apiece  ;  a  magnificent 
booty !  But  one  fifth  was  to  be  deducted  for  the 
Crown.  An  equal  portion  was  reserved  for  the 
general,  pursuant  to  the  tenor  of  his  commission. 
A  large  sum  was  then  allowed  to  indemnify  him 
and  the  governor  of  Cuba,  for  the  charges  of  the 
expedition  and  the  loss  of  the  fleet.  The  garrison 
of  Vera  Cruz  was  also  to  be  provided  for.  Ample 
compensation  was  made  to  the  principal  cavaliers. 
The  cavalry,  arquebusiers,  and  crossbow-men,  each 


authority,  it  seems,  of  Diaz,  speaks 
of  the  value  of  the  treasure  as 
600 ,000  pesos .  ( History  of  Amer- 
ica, vol.  II.  pp.  296,  298.)  The 
value  of  the  peso  is  an  ounce  of 
silver,  or  dollar,  which,  making  al- 
lowance for  the  depreciation  of  sil- 
ver, represented,  in  the  time  of 
Cortds,  nearly  four  times  its  value 
at  the  present  day.  But  that  of  the 
peso  de  oro  was  nearly  three  times 
that  sum,  or  eleven  dollars,  sixty- 
seven  cents.  (See  Ante,  Book 
II.  chap.  6,  note  18.)  Robertson 
makes  his  own  estimate,  so  much 
reduced  below  that  of  his  original, 
an  argument  for  doubting  the  ex- 
istence, in  any  great  quantity,  of 
either  gold  or  silver  in  the  country. 
In  accounting  for  the  scarcity  of 
the  former  metal  in  this  argument, 


he  falls  into  an  error  in  stating 
that  gold  was  not  one  of  the  stand- 
ards by  which  the  value  of  other 
commodities  in  Mexico  was  esti- 
mated. Comp.  Ante,  Vol.  I. 
p.  145. 

16  Many  of  them,  indeed,  could 
boast  little  or  nothing  in  their  cof- 
fers. Maximilian  of  Germany,  and 
the  more  prudent  Ferdinand  of 
Spain,  left  scarcely  enough  to  de- 
fray their  funeral  expenses.  Even 
as  late  as  the  beginning  of  the 
next  century,  we  find  Henry  IV 
of  France  embracing  his  minister, 
Sully,  with  rapture,  when  he  in- 
formed him,  that,  by  dint  of  great 
economy,  he  had  36,000,000  livres, 
about  1,500,000  pounds  sterling, 
in  his  treasury .  See  Memoires  du 
Due  de  Sully,  tom.  III.  liv.  2^ 


Cu.  v.]  THEIR  DIVISION.  206 

received  double  pay.  So  that,  vi^hen  the  turn  of  the 
common  soldiei's  came,  there  remained  not  more 
than  a  hundred  pesos  de  oro  for  each ;  a  sum  so  in- 
significant, in  comparison  with  their  expectations, 
that  several  refused  to  accept  it.^'^ 

Loud  murmurs  now  rose  among  the  men.  "Was 
it  for  this,"  they  said,  "  that  we  left  our  homes  and 
families,  perilled  our  lives,  submitted  to  fatigue  and 
famine,  and  all  for  so  contemptible  a  pittance !  Bet- 
ter to  have  stayed  in  Cuba,  and  contented  ourselves 
with  the  gains  of  a  safe  and  easy  traffic.  When  we 
gave  up  our  share  of  the  gold  at  Vera  Cruz,  it  was 
on  the  assurance  that  we  should  be  amply  requited 
in  Mexico.  We  have,  indeed,  found  the  riches  we 
expected ;  but  no  sooner  seen,  than  they  are  snatched 
from  us  by  the  very  men  who  pledged  us  their 
faith  !  "  The  malecontents  even  went  so  far  as  to 
accuse  their  leaders  of  appropriating  to  themselves 
several  of  the  richest  ornaments,  before  the  partition 
had  been  made ;  an  accusation  that  receives  some 
countenance  from  a  dispute  which  arose  between 
Mexia,  the  treasurer  for  the  Crown,  and  Velasquez 
de  Leon,  a  relation  of  the  governor,  and  a  favorite 
of  Cortes.  The  treasurer  accused  this  cavalier  of 
purloining  certain  pieces  of  plate  before  they  were 
submitted  to  the  royal  stamp.  From  words  the  par- 
ties came  to  blows.  They  were  good  swordsmen ; 
several  wounds  were  given  on  both  sides,  and  the 
affair  might  have  ended  fatally,  but  for  the  interfer- 
ence of  Cortes,  who  placed  both  under  arrest. 

17  "Por  ser  tan  poco,  muchos    recebir."     Bemal  Diaz,  Hiat.  de 
soldados  huuo  que  no  lo  ouisieron     la  Conquista,  cap.  105. 


206  RESIDENCE  IN   MEXICO.  [Book  IV. 

He  then  used  all  his  authority  and  insinuating 
eloquence  to  calm  the  passions  of  his  men.  It  was 
a  delicate  crisis.  He  was  sorry,  he  said,  to  see  them 
so  unmindful  of  the  duty  of  loyal  soldiers,  and  cava- 
liers of  the  Cross,  as  to  brawl  like  common  banditti 
over  their  booty.  The  division,  he  assured  them, 
had  been  made  on  perfectly  fair  and  equitable  prin- 
ciples. As  to  his  own  share,  it  was  no  more  than 
was  warranted  by  his  commission.  Yet,  if  they 
thought  it  too  much,  he  was  willing  to  forego  his 
just  claims,  and  divide  with  the  poorest  soldier. 
Gold,  however  welcome,  was  not  the  chief  object  of 
his  ambition.  If  it  were  theirs,  they  should  still 
reflect,  that  the  present  treasure  was  little  in  com- 
parison with  what  awaited  them  hereafter ;  for  had 
they  not  the  whole  country  and  its  mines  at  their 
disposal  .f^  It  was  only  necessary  that  they  should 
not  give  an  opening  to  the  enemy,  by  their  discord, 
to  circumvent  and  to  crush  them.  —  With  these  hon- 
eyed words,  of  which  he  had  good  store  for  all  fitting 
occasions,  says  an  old  soldier, ^^  for  whose  benefit,  in 
part,  they  were  intended,  he  succeeded  in  calming 
the  storm  for  the  present ;  while  in  private  he  took 
more  effectual  means,  by  presents  judiciously  admin- 
istered, to  mitigate  the  discontents  of  the  importu- 
nate and  refractory.  And,  although  there  were  a 
few  of  more  tenacious  temper,  who  treasured  this  in 
their  memories  against  a  future  day,  the  troops  soon 
returned   to  their  usual   subordination.      This  was 

18  "  Palabras    miiy    melifluas ;     que    las    sabia    bien    proponer  " 
razones  mui  bien  dichas,     Ibid.,  ubi  supra. 


Ch.  v.] 


THEIR   DIVISION. 


207 


one  of  those  critical  conjunctures  which  taxed  all 
the  address  and  personal  authority  of  Cortes.  He 
never  shrunk  from  them,  but  on  such  occasions  was 
true  to  himself.  At  Vera  Cruz  he  had  persuaded 
his  followers  to  give  up  what  was  but  the  earnest  of 
future  gains.  Here  he  persuaded  them  to  relinquish 
these  gains  themselves.  It  was  snatching  the  prey 
from  the  very  jaws  of  the  lion.  Why  did  he  not 
turn  and  rend  him  ? 

To  many  of  the  soldiers,  indeed,  it  mattered  little 
whether  their  share  of  the  booty  were  more  or  less. 
Gaming  is  a  deep-rooted  passion  in  the  Spaniard, 
and  the  sudden  acquisition  of  riches  furnished  both 
the  means  and  the  motive  for  its  indulgence.  Cards 
were  easily  made  out  of  old  parchment  drum-heads, 
and  in  a  few  days  most  of  the  prize-money,  obtained 
with  so  much  toil  and  suffering,  had  changed  hands, 
and  many  of  the  improvident  soldiers  closed  the 
campaign  as  poor  as  they  had  commenced  it.  Oth- 
ers, it  is  true,  more  prudent,  followed  the  example 
of  their  officers,  who,  with  the  aid  of  the  royal  jew- 
ellers, converted  their  gold  into  chains,  services  of 
plate,  and  other  portable  articles  of  ornament  or 
use.'^ 

Cortes  seemed  now  to  have  accomplished  the 
great  objects  of  the  expedition.  The  Indian  mon- 
arch had  declared  himself  the  feudatory  of  the  Span- 
ish. His  authority,  his  revenues,  were  at  the  dispo- 
sal of  the  general.     The  conquest  of  Mexico  seemed 

19  Ibid.,  cap.   105,   106.— Go-    ra,  Hist.  General,  dec.  2,  lib.  8, 
mara,  Cronica,  cap.  93. — Herre-     cap.  5. 


208  RESIDENCE  IN  MEXICO  [BookI\. 

to  be  achieved,  and  that  without  a  blow.  But  it 
was  far  from  being  achieved.  One  important  step 
yet  remained  to  be  taken,  towards  which  the  Span- 
iaids  had  hitherto  made  little  progress,  —  the  con- 
version of  the  natives.  With  all  the  exertions  of 
father  Olmedo,  backed  by  the  polemic  talents  of  the 
general,^  neither  Montezuma  nor  his  subjects  show- 
ed any  disposition  to  abjure  the  faith  of  their  fa- 
thers.'^^  The  bloody  exercises  of  their  religion,  on 
the  contrary,  were  celebrated  with  all  the  usual  cir- 
cumstance and  pomp  of  sacrifice  before  the  eyes  of 
the  Spaniards. 

Unable  further  to  endure  these  abominations,  Cor- 
tes, attended  by  several  of  his  cavaliers,  waited  on 
Montezuma.  He  told  the  emperor  that  the  Chris- 
tians could  no  longer  consent  to  have  the  services  of 
their  religion  shut  up  within  the  narrow  walls  of 
the  garrison.     They  wished  to  spread  its  light  far 

20  '*  Ex  jureconsulto  Cortesius  Naturales,  diciendoles,  que  pues 
theologus  effectus,"  says  Martyr,  eran  vasallos  del  Rey  de  EspaBa 
in  his  pithy  manner.  De  Orbe  que  se  tornasen  Cristianos  como  el 
Novo,  dec.  5,  cap.  4.  lo  era,  y  asi  se  comenzaron  a  Bau- 

21  According  to  Ixtlilxochitl,  tizar  algunos  aunque  fueron  muy 
Montezuma  got  as  far  on  the  road  pocos,  y  Motecuhzoma  aunque  pi- 
to  conversion,  as  the  Credo  and  did  el  Bautismo,  y  sabia  algunas 
the  Ave  Maria,  both  of  which  he  de  las  oraciones  como  eran  el  Ave 
could  repeat ;  but  his  baptism  w^as  Maria,  y  el  Credo,  se  dilato  por  la 
postponed,  and  he  died  before  re-  Pasqua  siguiente,  que  era  la  de 
ceiving  it.  That  he  ever  consent-  Resurreccion,  y  fu^  tan  desdicha- 
ed  to  receive  it  is  highly  improba-  do  que  nunca  alcanzo  tanto  1  iei 
ble.  I  quote  the  historian's  vs^ords,  y  los  Nuestros  con  la  dilaci  r.  7 
in  which  he  further  notices  the  gen-  aprieto  en  que  se  vieron,  se  des- 
eral's  unsuccessful  labors  among  cuidaron,  de  que  peso  a  todos  mu- 
the  Indiana.  "  Cortes  comenzo  a  cho  rnuriese  sin  Bautismo."  Hist, 
dardrden  de  la  conversion  de  los  Chich.,  MS.,  cap.  87. 


Cu.  v.]     CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP  IN  THE  TEOCALLI.         209 

abroad,  and  to  open  to  the  people  a  full  participation 
in  the  blessings  of  Christianity.  For  this  purpose, 
they  requested  that  the  great  teocalli  should  be  de- 
livered up,  as  a  fit  place  where  their  worship  might 
be  conducted  in  the  presence  of  the  whole  city. 

Montezuma  listened  to  the  proposal  with  visible 
consternation.  Amidst  all  his  troubles  he  had  leaned 
for  support  on  his  own  faith,  and,  indeed,  it  was  in 
obedience  to  it,  that  he  had  shown  such  deference  to 
the  Spaniards  as  the  mysterious  messengers  predict- 
ed by  the  oracles.  "  Why,"  said  he,  "  Malin- 
che,  why  will  you  urge  matters  to  an  extremity, 
that  must  surely  bring  down  the  vengeance  of  our 
gods,  and  stir  up  an  insurrection  among  my  people, 
who  will  never  endure  this  profanation  of  their  tem- 
ples ?  " ''' 

Cortes,  seeing  how  greatly  he  was  moved,  made  a 
sign  to  his  officers  to  \^athdraw.  When  left  alone 
with  the  interpreters,  he  told  the  emperor  that  he 
would  use  his  in^uence  to  moderate  the  zeal  of  his 
followers,  and  persuade  them  to  be  contented  with 
one  of  the  sanctuaries  of  the  teocalli.  If  that  were 
not  granted,  they  should  be  obliged  to  take  it  by 
force,  and  to  roll  down  the  images  of  his  false  deities 
in  the  face  of  the  city.  "  We  fear  not  for  our  lives," 
he  added,  "for,  though  our  numbers  are  few,  the 
arm  of  the  true  God  is  over  us."     Montezuma,  much 

22  "  0  Malinche,   y   como  nos     tros,  y  aun  vuestras  vidas  no  s^  en 
quereis  echar  a  perder  a  toda  esta    que  pararan."    Bernal  Diaz,  Hiat. 
ciudad,  porque  estaran  mui  enoja-     de  la  Conquista,  cap.  107. 
dos  nueslros  Dioses  contra  noso- 
VOL.    II.  27 


210  RESIDENCE  IN  MEXICO.  [Book  IV. 

agitated,  told  him  that  he  would  confer  with  the 
priests. 

The  result  of  the  conference  was  favorable  to  the 
Spaniards,  who  were  allowed  to  occupy  one  of  the 
sanctuaries  as  a  place  of  worship.  The  tidings 
spread  great  joy  throughout  the  camp.  They  might 
now  go  forth  in  open  day  and  publish  their  religion 
to  the  assembled  capital.  No  time  was  lost  in  avail- 
ing themselves  of  the  permission.  The  sanctuary 
was  cleansed  of  its  disgusting  impurities.  An  altar 
was  raised,  surmounted  by  a  crucifix  and  the  image 
of  the  Virgin.  Instead  of  the  gold  and  jewels 
which  blazed  on  the  neighbouring  Pagan  shrine,  its 
walls  were  decorated  wi\h  fresh  garlands  of  flowers  ; 
and  an  old  soldier  was  stationed  to  watch  over  the 
chapel,  and  guard  it  from  intrusion. 

When  these  arrangements  were  completed,  the 
whole  army  moved  in  solemn  procession  up  the 
winding  ascent  of  the  pyramid.  Entering  the  sanc- 
tuary, and  clustering  round  its  portals,  they  listened 
reverentially  to  the  service  of  the  mass,  as  it  was 
performed  by  the  fathers  Olmedo  and  Biaz.  And,  as 
the  beautiful  Te  Deum  rose  towards  heaven,  Cortes 
and  his  soldiers,  kneeling  on  the  ground,  with  tears 
streaming  from  their  eyes,  poured  forth  their  grati- 
tude to  the  Almighty  for  this  glorious  triumpli^  of 
the  Cross.^ 


23  This  transaction  is  told  with  ed  the  temple,  and  turned  out  the 

more  discrepancy  than  usual  by  false  gods  by  force,  in  spite  of  the 

the  different  writers.     Cortes  as-  menaces  of  the  Mexicans.     (Rel 

surcs  the  Emperor  that  he  occupi-  Seg.,    ap.    Lorenzana,    p.    106.) 


ch.  v.]    christian  worship  in  the  teocalli.      21 1 

It  was  a  striking  spectacle,  —  that  of  these  rude 
warriors  lifting  up  their  orisons  on  the  summit  of 
this  mountain  temple,  in  the  very  capital  of  Hea- 
thendom, on  the  spot  especially  dedicated  to  its  un^ 
hallowed  mysteries.  Side  by  side,  the  Spaniard  and 
the  Aztec  knelt  down  in  prayer ;  and  the  Christian 
hymn  mingled  its  sweet  tones  of  love  and  mercy 
with  the  wild  chant  raised  by  the  Indian  priest  in 
honor  of  the  war- god  of  Anahuac !  It  was  an  un- 
natural union,  and  could  not  long  abide. 

A  nation  will  endure  any  outrage  sooner  than  that 
on  its  religion.     This  is  an  outrage  both  on  its  prin- 
ciples and  its  prejudices ;  on  the  ideas  instilled  into 
it  from  childhood,  which  have  strengthened  with  its   : 
growth,  until  they  become  a  part  of  its  nature,  —  j 
which  have  to  do  with  its  highest  interests  here,  and  f 
with  the  dread  hereafter.     Any  violence  to  the  reli- 
gious sentiment  touches  all  alike,  the  old  and  the  j 
young,  the  rich  and  the  poor,  the  noble  and  the  pie-  * 
beian.      Above   all,   it   touches   the    priests,  whose 
personal  consideration  rests  on  that  of  their  religion  ; 
and  who,  in  a  semi-civilized  state  of  society,  usually 
hold  an  unbounded  authority.     Thus  it  was  with  the 
Brahmins  of  India,  the  Magi  of  Persia,  the  Roman 


The  improbability  of  this  Quixotic  The  statements  of  Diaz,  and  of 

feat  startles  Oviedo,  who  neverthe-  other  chroniclers,  conformably  to 

less  reports  it.    (Hist,  de  las  Ind.,  that  in  the  text,  seem  far  the  most 

MS.,  lib.  33,  cap.  10.)     It  looks,  probable.    Comp.  Diaz,  Hist,  de  la 

indeed,  very  much  as  if  the  gen-  Conquista,  ubi  supra.  —  Herrera, 

eral  was  somewhat  too  eager  to  Hist.  General,  dec.  2,  lib.  8,  cap. 

set  off  his  militant  zeal  to  advan-  6.  —  Argensola,   Anales,  lib.   1 

tage  in  the  eyes  of  his  master,  cap.  88. 


212 


RESIDENCE   IN   MEXICO. 


[Book  IV. 


Catholic  clergy  in  the  Dark  Ages,  the  priests  of  an- 
cient Egypt  and  Mexico. 

The  people  had  borne  with  patience  all  the  inju- 
ries and  affronts  hitherto  put  on  them  by  the  Span- 
iards. They  had  seen  their  sovereign  dragged  as  a 
captive  from  his  own  palace ;  his  ministers  butchered 
before  his  eyes;  his  treasure  seized  and  appropri- 
ated ;  himself  in  a  manner  deposed  from  his  royal 
supremacy.  All  this  they  had  seen  without  a  struggle 
to  prevent  it.  But  the  profanation  of  their  temples 
touched  a  deeper  feeling,  of  which  the  priesthood 
were  not  slow  to  take  advantage.^ 

The  first  intimation  of  this  change  of  feeling  was 
gathered  from  Montezuma  himself.  Instead  of  his 
usual  cheerfulness,  he  appeared  grave  and  abstracted, 
and  instead  of  seeking,  as  he  Wcis  wont,  the  society 
of  the  Spaniards,  seemed  rather  to  shun  it.  It  was 
noticed,  too,  that  conferences  were  more  frequent 
between  him  and  the  nobles,  and  especially  the 
priests.  His  little  page,  Orteguilla,  who  had  now 
picked  up  a  tolerable  acquaintance  with  the  Aztec, 
contrary  to  Montezuma's   usual   practice,  was  not 


^  **  Para  mi  yo  tengo  por  ma- 
rabilla,  €  grande,  la  mucha  pa- 
ciencia  de  Montezuma,  y  de  los 
Indios  principalea,  que  assi  vieron 
tratar  sus  Temples,  e  Idolos  :  Mas 
8U  disimulacion  adelante  se  mos- 
tr6  ser  otra  cosa  viendo,  que  vna 
Gente  Extrangera,  e  de  tan  poco 
-ndmerojles  prendio  su  Setior  e  por- 
que  formas  los  hacia  tributaries,  6 
86  castigaban  i  quemaban  los  prin- 


cipales,  e  se  aniquilaban  y  disipa- 
ban  sus  temples,  e  hasta  en  aquel- 
les  y  sus  antecesores  estabau.  Re- 
cia  cosa  me  parece  soportarla  con 
tanta  quietud ;  pero  adelante,  co- 
mo  lo  dira  la  Histeria,  mostro  el 
tiempo  lo  que  en  el  pecho  estaba 
oculto  en  todos  los  Indios  general- 
mente."  Hist,  de  las  Ind.,  MS., 
lib.  33,  cap.  10. 


Ch.  v.]  discontents  of  the  AZTECS.  «      213 

allowed  to  attend  him  at  these  meetings.  These 
circumstances  could  not  fail  to  awaken  most  uncom- 
fortable apprehensions  in  the  Spaniards. 

Not  many  days  elapsed,  however,  before  Cortes 
received  an  invitation,  or  rather  a  summons,  from  the 
emperor,  to  attend  him  in  his  apartment.  The 
general  went  with  some  feelings  of  anxiety  and 
distrust,  taking  with  him  Olid,  captain  of  the  guard, 
and  two  or  three  other  trusty  cavaliers.  Montezuma 
received  them  with  cold  civility,  and,  turning  to  the 
general,  told  him  that  ali  his  predictions  had  come 
to  pass.  The  gods  of  his  country  had  been  offended 
by  the  violation  of  their  temples.  They  had  threat- 
ened the  priests,  that  they  would  forsake  the  city, 
if  the  sacrilegious  strangers  were  not  driven  from  it, 
or  rather  sacrificed  on  the  altars,  in  expiation  of  their 
crimes.^  The  monarch  assured  the  Christians,  it 
was  from  regard  to  their  safety,  that  he  communi- 
cated this ;  and,  "  if  you  have  any  regard  for  it  your- 
selves," he  concluded,  "you  will  leave  the  country 
without  delay.     I  have  only  to  raise  my  finger,  and 

25  According  to  Herrera,  it  was  Misa  y  Evangelio,  que  predicaban 

the  Devil  himself  who  communi-  y  decian  los  christianos,  le[al  Dia- 

cated  this  to  Montezuma,  and  he  bio]  daban  gran  tormento ;  y  d^bese 

reports  the  substance  of  the  dia-  pensar,  si  verdad  es,  que  esas  gen- 

logue  between  the  parties.    (Hist,  tes    tienen  tanta    conversacion   y 

General,  dec.  2,  lib.  9,  cap.  6.)  comunicacion  con  nuestro  adversa- 

Indeed,  the  apparition  of  Satan  in  rio,  como  se  ticne  for  cierto  en  estas 

his  own  bodily  presence,  on  this  Indias,  que  no  le  podia  k  nuestro 

occasion,  is  stoutly  maintained  by  enemigo  placer  con  los  misterios  y 

most  historians  of  the  lime.    Ovie-  sacramentos  de  la  sagrada  religion 

do,  a  man  of  enlarged  ideas  on  most  Christiana."      Hist,    de   las   Ind., 

subjects,  speaks  with  a  little  more  MS.,  lib.  33,  cap.  47. 
nualification  on  this.     "  Porque  la 


214  RESIDENCE  IN   MEXICO.  [Book  IV 

every  Aztec  in  the  land  vi'ill  rise  in  arms  against 
you."  There  was  no  reason  to  doubt  his  sincerity 
For  Montezuma,  w^hatever  evils  had  been  brought 
on  him  by  the  white  men,  held  them  in  reverence 
as  a  race  more  highly  gifted  than  his  own,  while  for 
several,  as  we  have  seen,  he  had  conceived  an  at 
tachment,  flowing,  no  doubt,  from  their  personal  at 
tentions  and  deference  to  himself. 

Cortes  was  too  much  master  of  his  feelings,  to 
show  how  far  he  was  startled  by  this  intelligence. 
He  replied  with  admirable  coolness,  that  he  should 
regret  much  to  leave  the  capital  so  precipitately, 
when  he  had  no  vessels  to  take  him  from  the  coun 
try.  If  it  were  not  for  this,  there  could  be  no  ob 
stacle  to  his  leaving  it  at  once.  He  should  also 
regret  another  step  to  which  he  should  be  driven,  if 
he  quitted  it  under  these  circumstances,  —  that  of 
taking  the  emperor  along  with  him. 

Montezuma  was  evidently  troubled  by  this  last 
suggestion.  He  inquired  how  long  it  would  take 
to  build  the  vessels,  and  finally  consented  to  send  a 
sufficient  number  of  workmen  to  the  coast,  to  act 
under  the  orders  of  the  Spaniards  ;  meanwhile,  he 
would  use  his  authority  to  restrain  the  impatience 
of  the  people,  under  the  assurance  that  the  white 
men  would  leave  the  land,  when  the  means  for  it 
were  provided.  He  kept  his  word.  A  large  body 
of  Aztec  artisans  left  the  capital  with  the  most 
experienced  Castilian  ship-builders,  and,  descending 
to  Vera  Cruz,  began  at  once  to  fell  the  timber  and 
build  a  sufficient  number  of  snips  to  transport  the 


Ch.  v.]  discontents  of  the  AZTECS.  216 

Spaniards  back  to  their  own  country.  The  work 
went  forward  with  apparent  alacrity.  But  those 
who  had  the  direction  of  it,  it  is  said,  received  pri- 
vate instructions  from  the  general,  to  interpose  as 
many  delays  as  possible,  in  hopes  of  receiving  in  the 
mean  time  such  reinforcements  from  Europe,  as 
would  enable  him  to  maintain  his  ground. ^^ 

The  whole  aspect  of  things  was  now  changed  in 
the  Castilian  quarters.  Instead  of  the  security  and 
repose  in  which  the  troops  had  of  late  indulged, 
they  felt  a  gloomy  apprehension  of  danger,  not  the 
less  oppressive  to  the  spirits,  that  it  was  scarcely 
visible  to  the  eye; — like  the  faint  speck  just  descried 
above  the  horizon  by  the  voyager  in  the  tropics,  to 
the  common  gaze  seeming  only  a  summer  cloud,  but 
which  to  the  experienced  mariner  bodes  the  coming 
of  the  hurricane.  Every  precaution  that  prudence 
could  devise  was  taken  to  meet  it.  The  soldier,  as 
he  threw  himself  on  his  mats  for  repose,  kept  on  his 
armor.     He   ate,  drank,  slept,  with  his  weapons  by 

26  "E  Cortes  proveio  de  maes-  avisad  que  tales  est&is  en  la  Mon- 

tros  6  personas  que  entendiesen  en  tana,  e  que  no  sientan  los  Indios 

la  labor  de  los  Navios,  e  dixo  des-  nuestra  disimulacion.      E  asi  se 

pues  6.  los  Espafioles  desta  manera :  puso  por  obra."     (Oviedo,  Hist. 

Senores  y  hermanos,  este  Senor  de  las  Ind.,  MS.,  lib.  33,  cap.  47.) 

Montezuma  quiere  que  nos  vamos  So,  also,  Gomara.    (Crdnica,  cap. 

de  la  tierra,  y  conviene  que  se  95.)  Diaz  denies  any  such  secret 

hagan  Navios.   Id  con  estos  Indios  orders,  alleging  that  Martin  Lopez, 

6  c6rtese  la  madera  ;  6  entretanto  the  principal  builder,  assured  him 

Dios  nos   proveher^  de  gente  6  they  made  all  the  expedition  pos- 

socorro  ;  por  tan  to,  poned  tal  dila-  sible  in  getting  three  ships  on  the 

cion  que  parezca  que  haceis  algo  stocks.      Hist,    de    la  Conquista, 

y  se  haga  con  ella  lo  que  nos  con-  cap.  108. 
viene;    6  siempre  me  escrivid  6 


-216  BESIDENCE   IN  MEXICO.  [Book  IV 

his  side.  His  horse  stood  ready  caparisoned,  day  and 
night,  with  the  bridle  hanging  at  the  saddle-bow. 
The  guns  were  carefully  planted  so  as  to  command 
the  great  avenues.  The  sentinels  were  doubled,  and 
every  man,  of  whatever  rank,  took  his  turn  in  mount- 
ing guard.  The  garrison  was  in  a  state  of  siege.^^ 
Such  was  the  uncomfortable  position  of  the  army, 
when,  in  the  beginning  of  May,  1520,  ^ix  months 
after  their  airival  in  the  capital,  tidings  came  from 
the  coast,  which  gave  greater  alarm  to  Cortes,  than 
even  the  menaced  insurrection  of  the  Aztecs. 


s^  **I  may  say  without  vaunt-  clothes  on.     Another  thing  I  must 

ing,"  observes  our  stout-hearted  add,  that  I  cannot  sleep  long  in 

old  chronicler,  Bernal  Diaz,  "  that  the   night  without  getting  up  to 

I  was  so  accustomed  to  this  way  look  at  the  heavens  and  the  stars, 

of  life,  that  since  the  conquest  ot  and  stay  a  while  in  the  open  air, 

the  country  I  have  never  been  able  and  this  without  a  bonnet  or  cov- 

to  lie  down  undressed,  or  in  a  bed;  ering  of  any  sort  on   my  head, 

yet  I  sleep  as  sound  as  if  I  were  And,  thanks  to  God,  I  have  receiv- 

on  the  softest  down.     Even  when  ed  no  harm  from  it.     I  mention 

I  make  the  rounds  of  my  encomi-  these  things,  that  the  world  may 

enda,  I  never  take  a  bed  with  me  *.  understand  of  what  stuff  we,  the 

unless,  indeed,  I  go  in  the  company  true  Conquerors,  were  made,  an<^ 

of  other  cavaliers,  who  might  im-  how  v^'eii  drilled  we  were  to  arm* 

pute  this  to  parsimony.     But  evei  anrl  watching."    Hist,  de  la  Con 

then  I  throw  myself  on  it  with  m\  quista,  cap.   108. 


i 


i 


■^.. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Fate  of  Cortes'  Emissaries.  —  Proceedings  in  the  Castiliaii 
Court.  —  Preparations  of  Velasquez.— Narvaez  lands  in  Mex- 
ico.—  Poutic  Conduct  op  Cortes.  — He  leaves  the  Capital. 

1520. 

Before  explaining  the  nature  of  the  tidings  al- 
luded to  in  the  preceding  chapter,  it  will  be  neces- 
sary to  cast  a  glance  over  some  of  the  transactions 
of  an  earlier  period.  The  vessel,  which,  as  the 
reader  may  remember,  bore  the  envoys  Puertocarrero 
and  Montejo  with  the  despatches  from  Vera  Cruz, 
after  touching,  contrary  to  orders,  at  the  northern 
coast  of  Cuba,  and  spreading  the  news  of  the  late 
discoveries,  held  on  its  way  uninterrupted  towards 
Spain,  and  early  in  October,  1519,  reached  the  little 
port  of  San  Lucar.  Great  was  the  sensation  caused 
by  her  arrival  and  the  tidings  which  she  brought ;  a 
sensation  scarcely  inferior  to  that  created  by  the 
original  discovery  of  Columbus.  For  novs^,  for  the 
first  time,  all  the  magnificent  anticipations  formed  of 
the  New  World  seemed  destined  to  be  realized. 

Unfortunately,  there  was  a  person  in  Seville,  at 
this  time,  named  Benito  Martin,  chaplain  of  Velas- 
quez, the  governor  of  Cuba.  No  sooner  did  this 
man  learn  the  arrival  of  the  envoys,  and  the  partic- 

VOL.    II.  28 


218  RESIDENCE  IN  MEXICO.  [Book  IV. 

ulars  of  their  story,  than  he  lodged  a  complaint  with 
the  Casa  de  Contratacion^ — the  Royal  India  House, 
—  charging  those  on  board  the  vessel  with  mutiny 
and  rebellion  against  the  authorities  of  Cuba,  as 
well  as  with  treason  to  the  Crown.^  In  consequence 
of  his  representations,  the  ship  was  taken  possession 
of  by  the  public  officers,  and  those  on  board  were 
prohibited  from  removing  their  own  effects,  or  any 
thing  else  from  her.  The  envoys  were  not  even  al- 
lowed the  funds  necessary  for  the  expenses  of  the 
voyage,  nor  a  considerable  sum  remitted  by  Cortes  to 
his  father,  Don  Martin.  In  this  embarrassment  they 
had  no  alternative  but  to  present  themselves,  as 
speedily  as  possible,  before  the  emperor,  deliver  the 
letters  with  which  they  had  been  charged  by  the 
colony,  and  seek  redress  for  their  own  grievances. 
They  first  sought  out  Martin  Cortes,  residing  at 
Medellin,  and  with  him  made  the  best  of  their  way 
to  court. 

Charles  the  Fifth  was  then  on  his  first  visit  to 
Spain  after  his  accession.  It  was  not  a  long  one  ; 
long  enough,  however,  to  disgust  his  subjects,  and,  in 
a  great  degree,  to  alienate  their  affections.  He  had 
lately  received  intelligence  of  his  election  to  the 
imperial  crown  of  Germany.  From  that  hour,  his 
eyes  were  turned  to  that  quarter.     His  stay  in  the 

^  In    the  collection  of  MSS.,  Velasquez,  and  the  ingratitude  and 

made  by  Don  Vargas  Pon§e,  for-  revolt  of  Cortes  and  his  followers, 

mer  President  of  the  Academy  of  The  paper  is  without  date ;  written 

History,   is  a  Memorial    of   this  after  the  arrival  of  the   envoys, 

same  Benito  Martin  to  the  Empe-  probably  at  the  close  of  1519,  or  the 

ror,  setting  forth  the  services  of  beginning  of  the  following  year. 


CH.  VI.]     PROCEEDINGS   IN   THE  CASTILIAN    COURT.     219 

Peninsula  was  prolonged  only  that  he  might  raise 
supplies  for  appearing  with  splendor  on  the  great 
theatre  of  Europe.  Every  act  showed  too  plainly 
that  the  diadem  of  his  ancestors  was  held  lightly  in 
comparison  with  the  imperial  bauble  in  which  neither 
his  countrymen  nor  his  own  posterity  could  have  the 
slightest  interest.  The  interest  was  wholly  personal. 
Contrary  to  established  usage,  he  had  summoned 
the  Castilian  cortes  to  meet  at  Compostella,  a  re- 
mote town  in  the  North,  which  presented  no  other 
advantage  than  that  of  being  near  his  place  of  em- 
barkation.^ On  his  way  thither  he  stopped  some 
time  at  Tordesillas,  the  residence  of  his  unhappy 
mother,  Joanna  "  the  Mad."  It  was  here  that  the 
envoys  from  Vera  Cruz  presented  themselves  before 
him,  in  March,  1520.  At  nearly  the  same  time,  the 
treasures  brought  over  by  them  reached  the  court, 
where  they  excited  unbounded  admiration.^  Hith- 
erto, the  returns  from  the  New  World  had  been 
chiefly  in  vegetable  products,  which,  if  the  surest, 
are,  also,  the  slowest  sources  of  wealth.  Of  gold 
they  had  as  yet  seen  but  little,  and  that  in  its  natu- 
ral state  or  wrought  into  the  rudest  trinkets.  The 
courtiers    gazed    with    astonishment  on   the    large 

2  Sandoval,  indeed,  gives  a  sin-  3  See  the  letter  of  Peter  Martyr 

gular  reason, — that  of  being  near  to  his  noble  friend  and  pupil,  the 

the  coast,  so  as  to  enable  Chidvres,  Marquis  de  Mondejar,  written  two 

and  the  other  Flemish  blood-suck-  months   after  the   arrival   of   the 

ers,  to  escape  suddenly,  if  need  vessel  from    Vera    Cruz.      Opus 

were,  with  their  ill-gotten  treas-  Epist.,  ep.  650. 
ures,  from  the  country.     Hist,  de 
Carlos  Quinto,  torn.  I.  p.  203,  ed. 
Pamplona,  1634. 


220  RESIDENCE  IN   MEXICa  [Book   IV. 

masses  of  the  precious  metal,  and  the  delicate 
manufacture  of  the  various  articles,  especially  of 
the  richly  tinted  feather-work.  And,  as  they  listened 
to  the  accounts,  written  and  oral,  of  the  great  Aztec 
empire,  they  felt  assured  that  the  Castilian  ships  had, 
at  length,  reached  the  golden  Indies,  which  hitherto 
had  seemed  to  recede  before  them. 

In  this  favorable  mood  there  is  little  doubt  the 
monarch  would  have  granted  the  petition  of  the 
envoys,  and  confirmed  the  irregular  proceedings  of 
the  Conquerors,  but  for  the  opposition  of  a  person 
who  held  the  highest  office  in  the  Indian  department. 
This  was  Juan  Rodriguez  de  Fonseca,  formerly  dean 
of  Seville,  now  bishop  of  Burgos.  He  was  a  man 
of  noble  family,  and  had  been  intrusted  with  the 
direction  of  the  colonial  concerns,  on  the  discovery 
of  the  New  World.  On  the  establishment  of  the 
Royal  Council  of  the  Indies  by  Ferdinand  the  Cath- 
olic, he  had  been  made  its  president,  and  had  occu- 
pied that  post  ever  since.  His  long  continuance  in 
a  position  of  great  importance  and  difficulty  is  evi- 
dence of  capacity  for  business.  It  was  no  uncom- 
mon thing  in  that  age  to  find  ecclesiastics  in  high 
civil,  and  even  military  employments.  Fonseca  ap- 
pears to  have  been  an  active,  efficient  person,  better 
suited  to  a  secular  than  to  a  religious  vocation.  He 
had,  indeed,  little  that  was  religious  in  his  temper; 
quick  to  take  offence  and  slow  to  forgive.  His  re- 
sentments seem  to  have  been  nourished  and  perpet- 
uated like  a  part  of  his  own  nature.  Unfortunately 
his  peculiar  position  enabled  him  to  display  them 


Ch.  VI.]    PROCEEDINGS  IN   THE  CASTILIAN  COURT.      221 

towards  some  of  the  most  illustrious  men  of  his  time. 
From  pique  at  some  real  or  fancied  slight  from 
Columbus,  he  had  constantly  thwarted  the  plans  of 
the  great  navigator.  He  had  shown  the  same  un- 
friendly feeling  towards  the  Admiral's  son,  Diego, 
the  heir  of  his  honors ;  and  he  now,  and  from  this 
time  forward,  showed  a  similar  spirit  towards  the 
Conqueror  of  Mexico.  The  immediate  cause  of 
this  was  his  own  personal  relations  with  Velasquez, 
to  whom  a  near  relative  was  betrothed.^ 

Through  this  prelate's  representations,  Charles, 
mstead  of  a  favorable  answer  to  the  envoys,  post- 
poned his  decision  till  he  should  arrive  at  Coruna, 
the  place  of  embarkation.^  But  here  he  was  much 
pressed  by  the  troubles  which  his  impolitic  con- 
duct had  raised,  as  well  as  by  preparations  for  his 
voyage.  The  transaction  of  the  colonial  business, 
which,  long  postponed,  had  greatly  accumulated  on 
his  hands,  was  reserved  for  the  last  week  in  Spain. 
But  the  affairs  of  the  "  young  admiral "  consumed 
so  large  a  portion  of  this,  that  he  had  no  time  to 
give  to  those  of  Cortes ;  except,  indeed,  to  instruct 
the  board  at  Seville  to  remit  to  the  envoys  so  much 
of  their  funds  as  was  required  to  defray  the  charges 
of  the  voyage.  On  the  16th  of  May,  1520,  the 
impatient  monarch  bade  adieu  to  his  distracted  king- 

*  Zuniga,  Anales  Eclesiasticos  sent  home  an  account  of  the  doinga 

y    Secularea    de    Sevilla,    (Mad-  of  Cortes  and  of  the  vessel  which 

rid,    1677,)    fol.   414.  —  Herrera,  touched  with  the  treasures  at  Cuba, 

Hist.  General,  dec.  2,  lib.  5,  cap.  as  early  as  October,  1519.     Carta 

14  ;  lib.  9,  cap.  17,  et  alibi.  de   Velasquez  al    Lie.   Figueroa, 

«    Velasquez,  it    appears,   had  MS.,  Nov.  17,  1519. 


222  RESIDENCE  IN   MEXICO.  [Book  IV. 

dom,  without  one  attempt  to  settle  the  dispute  be- 
tween his  belligerent  vassals  in  the  New  World,  and 
without  an  effort  to  promote  the  magnificent  enter- 
prise which  was  to  secure  to  him  the  possession  of 
an  empire.  What  a  contrast  to  the  policy  of  his 
illustrious  predecessors,  Ferdinand  and  Isabella !  ^ 

The  governor  of  Cuba,  meanwhile,  without  wait- 
ing for  support  from  home,  took  measures  for  redress 
into  his  own  hands.  We  have  seen,  in  a  preceding 
chapter,  how  deeply  he  was  moved  by  the  reports  of 
the  proceedings  of  Cortes,  and  of  the  treasures 
which  his  vessel  was  bearing  to  Spain.  Rage,  mor- 
tification, disappointed  avarice,  distracted  his  mind. 
He  could  not  forgive  himself  for  trusting  the  affair  to 
such  hands.  On  the  very  week  in  which  Cortes 
had  parted  from  him  to  take  charge  of  the  fleet,  a 
capitulation  had  been  signed  by  Charles  the  Fifth, 
conferring  on  Velasquez  the  title  of  adelantado,  with 
great  augmentation  of  his  original  powers.'^  The 
governor  resolved,  without  loss  of  time,  to  send  such 
a  force  to  the  Aztec  coast,  as  should  enable  him  to 
assert  his  new  authority  to  its  full  extent,  and  to 
take  vengeance  on  his  rebellious  officer.  He  began 
his  preparations  as  early  as  October.^     At  first,  he 

*    "  Con    gran  musica,"    says  Barcelona,  Nov.  13,  1518.    Cortes 

Sandoval,  bitterly,  "  de  todos  los  left  St.  Jago  the  18th  of  the  same 

ministriles  y  clarines,  recogiendo  month.     Herrera,  Hist.  Gene:aJ, 

las  ^ncoras,  di^ron  vela  al  viento  dec.  2,  lib.  3,  cap.  11. 

con  gran  regozijo,  dexando  k  la,  8  Gomara   (Crdnica,   cap.    96) 

triste  Espana  cargada  de  duelos,  and  Robertson  (History  of  Amer- 

y  desventuras."     Hist,  de  Carlos  ica,  vol.  H.  pp.  304,  466)  consider 

Quinto,  torn.  I.  p.  219.  that  the  new  dignity  of  adelantado 

"^  The  instrument  w^as  dated  at  stimulated  the  governor  to  this  en- 


Lii.  VI.]      PREPARATIONS  OF  VELASQUEZ.        223 

proposed  to  assume  the  command  in  person.  But 
his  unwieldy  size,  which  disqualified  him  for  the 
fatigues  incident  to  such  an  expedition,  or,  according 
to  his  own  account,  tenderness  for  his  Indian  sub- 
jects, then  wasted  by  an  epidemic,  induced  him  to 
devolve  the  command  on  another.^ 

The  person  whom  he  selected  was  a  Castilian 
hidalgo,  named  Panfilo  de  Narvaez.  He  had  assist- 
ed Velasquez  in  the  reduction  of  Cuba,  where  his 
conduct  cannot  be  wholly  vindicated  from  the  charge 
of  inhumanity,  which  too  often  attaches  to  the  early 
Spanish  adventurers.  From  that  time  he  continued 
to  hold  important  posts  under  the  government,  and 
was  a  decided  favorite  with  Velasquez.  He  was  a 
man  of  some  military  capacity,  though  negligent  and 
lax  in  his  discipline.  He  possessed  undoubted  cour- 
age, but  it  was  mingled  with  an  arrogance,  or  rather 
overweening  confidence  in  his  own  powers,  which 
made  him  deaf  to  the  suggestions  of  others  more 
sagacious  than  himself.  He  was  altogether  deficient 
in  that  prudence  and  calculating  foresight  demanded 
in  a  leader  who  was  to  cope  with  an  antagonist  like 
Cortes.i° 

terprise.     By  a  letter  of  his  own  i®  The  person   of   Narvaez  is 

writing  in  the  Munoz  collection,  it  thus  whimsically  described  by  Di- 

appears  he  had  begun  operations  az.     "  He  was  tall,  stout  limbed, 

some  months  previous  to  his  re-  with  a  large  head  and  red  beard,  an 

ceiving  notice  of  his  appointment,  agreeable  presence,  a  voice  deep 

Carta  de  Velasquez  al   senor  de  and  sonorous,  as  if  it  rose  from  a 

Xevres,   Isla    Fernandina,    MS.,  cavern.     He  was  a  good  horseman 

Octubre  12,  1519.  and  valiant."     Hist,  de  la  Con- 

9  Carta  de   Velasquez   al   Lie.  quista,  cap.  205. 
Figueroa,  MS.,  Nov.  17,  1519. 


(24  RESIDENCE  IK  MEXICO.  [Book  IT. 

The  governor  and  his  lieutenant  were  unwearied 
in  their  efforts  to  assemble  an  army.  They  visited 
every  considerable  town  in  the  island,  fitting  out 
vessels,  laying  in  stores  and  ammunition,  and  en- 
couraging volunteers  to  enlist  by  liberal  promises. 
But  the  most  effectual  bounty  was  the  assurance  of 
the  rich  treasures  that  awaited  them  in  the  golden 
regions  of  Mexico.  So  confident  were  they  in  this 
expectation,  that  all  classes  and  ages  vied  with  one 
another  in  eagerness  to  embark  in  the  expedition, 
until  it  seemed  as  if  the  whole  white  population 
would  desert  the  island,  and  leave  it  to  its  primitive 
occupants." 

The  report  of  these  proceedings  soon  spread 
through  the  Islands,  and  drew  the  attention  of  the 
Royal  Audience  of  St.  Domingo.  This  body  was 
intrusted,  at  that  time,  not  only  with  the  highest 
judicial  authority  in  the  colonies,  but  with  a  civil 
jurisdiction,  which,  as  "  the  Admiral "  complained, 
encroached  on  his  own  rights.  The  tribunal  saw 
with  alarm  the  proposed  expedition  of  Velasquez, 
which,  whatever  might  be  its  issue  in  regard  to  the 
parties,  could  not  fail  to  compromise  the  interests  of 
the  Crown.  They  chose  accordingly  one  of  their 
number,  the  licentiate  Ayllon,  a  man  of  prudence  and 
resolution,  and  despatched  him  to  Cuba,  with  in- 
structions to  interpose  his  authority,  and  stay,  if  pos- 
sible, the  proceedings  of  Velasquez.^^ 

11  The  danger  of  such  a  result    Carta  al  Emperador,  Guaniguani- 
ifl  particularly  urged  in  a  memo-    co,  Marzo  4,  1520,  MS. 
randum  of  the  licentiate  Ayllon.        12  pjocesso  y  Pesquiza  hecha  por 


Ch.  VI.] 


PREPARATIONS  OF  VELASQUEZ. 


225 


On  his  arrival,  he  found  the  governor  in  the  west- 
ern part  of  the  island,  busily  occupied  in  getting  the 
fleet  ready  for  sea.  The  licentiate  explained  to  him 
the  purport  of  his  mission,  and  the  views  entertained 
of  the  proposed  enterprise  by  the  Royal  Audience. 
The  conquest  of  a  powerful  country  like  Mexico  re- 
quired the  whole  force  of  the  Spaniards,  and,  if  one 
half  were  employed  against  the  other,  nothing  but 
ruin  could  come  of  it.  It  was  the  governor's  duty, 
as  a  good  subject,  to  forego  all  private  animosities, 
and  to  sustain  those  now  engaged  in  the  great  work 
by  sending  them  the  necessary  supplies.  He  might, 
indeed,  proclaim  his  own  powers,  and  demand  obe- 
dience to  them.  But,  if  this  were  refused,  he  should 
leave  the  determination  of  his  dispute  to  the  author- 
ized tribunals,  and  employ  his  resources  in  prosecuting 
discovery  in  another  direction,  instead  of  hazarding 
all  by  hostilities  with  his  rival. 

This  admonition,  however  sensible  and  salutary, 
was  not  at  all  to  the  taste  of  the  governor.  He 
professed,  indeed,  to  have  no  intention  of  coming  to 
hostilities  with  Cortes.  He  designed  only  to  assert 
his  lawful  jurisdiction  over  territories  discovered  un- 
der his  own  auspices.  At  the  same  time,  he  denied 
the  right  of  Ayllon  or  of  the  Royal  Audience  to  in- 
terfere in  the  matter.  Narvaez  was  still  more  refrac- 
tory ;  and,  as  the  fleet  was  now  ready,  proclaimed  his 
intention  to  sail  in  a  few  hours.  In  this  state  of 
things,  the  licentiate,  baffled  in  his  first  purpose  of 


la  Real  Audiencia  de  la  Espanola,  Santo  Domingo,  Diciembre  84, 
1519,  MS. 

VOL.    II.  29 


226  RESIDENCE  IN  MEXICO.  [Book  IV. 

sta)?ing  the  expedition,  determined  to  accompany  it 
in  person,  that  he  might  prevent,  if  possible,  by  bis 
presence,  an  open  rupture  between  the  parties.^^ 

The  squadron  consisted  of  eighteen  vessels,  arge 
and  small.  It  carried  nine  hundred  men,  eighty  of 
whom  were  cavalry,  eighty  more  arquebusiers,  one 
hundred  and  fifty  crossbow-men,  with  a  number  of 
heavy  guns,  and  a  large  supply  of  ammunition  and 
military  stores.  There  were,  besides,  a  thousand  In- 
dians, natives  of  the  island,  who  went  probably  in  a 
menial  capacity. ^"^  So  gallant  an  armada  —  with 
one  exception^^ — never  before  rode  in  the  Indian 
seas.  None  to  compare  with  it  had  ever  been  fitted 
out  in  the  Western  World. 

Leaving  Cuba  early  in  March,  1520^  Narvaez 
held  nearly  the  same  course  as  Cortes,  and  running 
down  what  was  then  caUed  the  "island  of  Yuca- 
tan, "^^  after  a  heavy  tempest,  in  which  some  of  his 
smaller  vessels  foundered,  anchored,  April  23,  off 
San  Juan  de  Ulua.  It  Wcis  the  place  where  Cortes, 
also,  had  first  landed ;  the  sandy  waste  covered  by 
the  present  city  of  Vera  Cruz. 

Here  the  commander  met  with  a  Spaniard,  one 

i^Parecer  del  Lie.  Ayllon    al        15  The  great  fleet  under  Ovan- 

adelantado  Diego  Velasquez,  Isla  do,  1501,  in  which  Cortes  had  in- 

Fernandina,  1520,  MS.  tended   to  embark  for  the   New 

14  Relacion  del  Lie.  Ayllon,  San-  World.     Herrera,  Hist.  General, 

to  Domingo,  30  de  Agosto,  1520,  dec.  1,  lib.  4,  cap.  11. 
MS. — Processo  y  Pesquiza  por        16  «*  De  alii  seguimos  el  viage 

la  R.  Audiencia,  MS.  por  toda  la  costa  de  la  Isla  de  Yu- 

According  to  Diaz,  the  ordnance  catan. ' '    Relacion  del  Lie.  Ayllon , 

amounted  to  twenty  cannon.  Hist.  MS. 
de  la  Conquista,  cap.  109. 


Cu.  VI.]  MARVAEZ  LANDS   IN   MEXICO.  227 

of  those  sent  by  the  general  from  Mexico,  to  ascer- 
tain the  resources  of  the  country,  especially  its  min- 
eral products.  This  man  came  on  board  the  fleet, 
and  from  him  the  Spaniards  gathered  the  particulars 
of  all  that  had  occurred  since  the  departure  of  the 
envoys  from  Vera  Cruz,  —  the  march  into  the  inte- 
rior, the  bloody  battles  with  the  Tlascalans,  the 
occupation  of  Mexico^  the  rich  treasures  found  in  it, 
and  the  seizure  of  the  monarch,  by  means  of  which, 
concluded  the  soldier,  "  Cortes  rules  over  the  land 
like  its  own  sovereign,  so  that  a  Spaniard  may  travel 
unarmed  from  one  end  of  the  country  to  the  other, 
without  insult  or  injury."  ^^  His  audience  listened 
to  this  marvellous  report  with  speechless  amazement, 
and  the  loyal  indignation  of  NarvaezJ  waxed  stronger 
and  stronger,  as  he  learned  the  value  of  the  prize 
which  had  been  snatched  from  his  employer. 

He  now  openly  proclaimed  his  intention  to  march 
against  Cortes,  and  punish  him  for  his  rebellion. 
He  made  this  vaunt  so  loudly,  that  the  natives,  who 
had  flocked  in  numbers  to  the  camp,  which  was 
soon  formed  on  shore,  clearly  comprehended  that  the 
new  comers  were  not  friends,  but  enemies,  of  the 
preceding.     Narvaez  determined,  also,  —  though  in 


17  "  La  cual  tierra    sabe  6  ha  iior  de  lo  mas  de  la  tierra,  k  lo  que 

visto  este  testigo,  que  el  dicho  Her-  este  testigo  alcanza,  al  cual  los  Inr 

nando  Cortes  lien e  pacifica,  6  le  sir-  dios  obedecen,  ^  facen  lo  que  lee 

Ten  ^  obedecen  todos  los  Indies ;  6  manda,  e  los  Cristianos  andan  per 

que  cree  este  testigo  que  lo  hacen  toda  esta  tierra  seguros,  6  un  solo 

por  cabsa  que  el  dicho  Hernando  Cristiano  la  ha  atravesado  toda  ao 

Cortes  tiene  preso  a  un  Cacique  temor."     Processo  y  Pesquiza  pot 

que  dicen  Montesuma,  que  es  Se-  la  R.  Audiencia,  MS. 


228  RESIDENCE  IN  MEXICO.  [Book  IV. 

opposition  to  the  counsel  of  the  Spaniard,  who  quo- 
ted the  example  of  Cortes,  —  to  establish  a  settle- 
ment on  this  unpromising  spot ;  and  he  made  the 
necessary  arrangements  to  organize  a  municipality. 
He  was  informed  by  the  soldier  of  the  existence  of 
the  neighbouring  colony  at  Villa  Rica,  commanded 
by  Sandoval,  and  consisting  of  a  few  invalids,  who, 
he  was  assured,  would  surrender  on  the  first  sum- 
mons. Instead  of  marching  against  the  place,  how- 
ever, he  determined  to  send  a  peaceful  embassy  to 
display  his  powers,  and  demand  the  submission  of 
the  garrison.^® 

These  successive  steps  gave  serious  displeasure  to 
Ayllon,  who  saw  they  must  lead  to  inevitable  col- 
lision with  Cortes.  But  it  was  in  vain  he  remon- 
strated, and  threatened  to  lay  the  proceedings  of 
Narvaez  before  the  government.  The  latter,  chafed 
by  his  continued  opposition  and  sour  rebuke,  deter- 
mined to  rid  himself  of  a  companion  who  acted  as  a 
spy  on  his  movements.  He  caused  him  to  be  seized 
and  sent  back  to  Cuba.  The  licentiate  had  the  ad- 
dress to  persuade  the  captain  of  the  vessel  to  change 
her  destination  for  St,  Domingo  ;  and,  when  he  ar- 
rived there,  a  formal  report  of  his  proceedings,  ex- 
hibiting in  strong  colors  the  disloyal  conduct  of  the 
governor  and  his  lieutenant,  was  prepared,  and  de- 
spatched by  the  Royal  Audience  to  Spain. *^ 


WRelacion  del  Lie.  Ayllon,  MS.  among  the  MSS.  of  Vargas  Pon^e, 

— Demanda  de  Zavallos  en  nom-  in  the  archives  of  the  Royal  Acad- 

ne  de  Narvaez,  MS.  emy  of  History.     It  embraces  a 

19  This  report  is  to  be  found  hundred  and  ten  folio  pages,  and 


Ch.  VI.]  NARVAEZ   LANDS   IN   MEXICO.  229 

Sandoval  meanwhile  had  not  been  inattentive  to 
the  movements  of  Narvaez.  From  the  time  of  his 
first  appearance  on  the  coast,  that  vigilant  officer, 
distrusting  the  object  of  the  armament,  had  kept  his 
eje  on  him.  No  sooner  was  he  apprized  of  the 
landing  of  the  Spaniards,  than  the  commander  of 
Villa  Rica  sent  off  his  few  disabled  soldiers  to  a 
place  of  safety  in  the  neighbourhood.  He  then  put 
his  works  in  the  best  posture  of  defence  that  he 
could,  and  prepared  to  maintain  the  place  to  the  last 
extremity.  His  men  promised  to  stand  by  him,  and, 
the  more  effectually  to  fortify  the  resolution  of  any 
who  might  falter,  he  ordered  a  gallows  to  be  set  up 
in  a  conspicuous  part  of  the  town !  The  constancy 
of  his  men  was  not  put  to  the  trial. 

The  only  invaders  of  the  place  were  a  priest,  a 
notary,  and  four  other  Spaniards,  selected  for  the 
mission,  already  noticed,  by  Narvaez.  The  ecclesi- 
astic's name  was  Guevara.  On  coming  before  San- 
doval, he  made  him  a  formal  address,  in  which  he 
pompously  enumerated  the  services  and  claims  of 
Velasquez,  taxed  Cortes  and  his  adherents  with 
rebellion,  and  demanded  of  Sandoval  to  tender  his 
submission,  as  a  loyal  subject,  to  the  newly  consti- 
tuted authority  of  Narvaez. 

The  commander  of  La  Villa  Rica  was  so  much 
incensed  at  this  unceremonious  mention  of  his  com- 
panions in  arms,  that  he  assured  the  reverend  envoy, 

is  entitled,  *•  El  Processo  y  Pes-    mente  descubierta.     Para  el  Con* 
quiza  hecha  por  la  Real  Audien-    sejo  de  su  Majeslad." 
cia  de  la  Espatiola  6  tierra  nueva- 


230  RESIDENCE  IN  MEXICO.  [Book  IV. 

that  nothing  but  respect  for  his  cloth  saved  him  from 
the  chastisement  he  merited.  Guevara  now  waxed 
wroth  in  his  turn,  and  called  on  the  notary  to  rea^ 
the  proclamation.  But  Sandoval  interposed,  prom- 
ising that  functionary,  that,  if  he  attempted  to  do  so, 
without  first  producing  a  warrant  of  his  authority 
from  the  <^town,  he  should  be  soundly  flogged. 
Guevara  lost  all  command  of  himself  at  this,  and 
stamping  on  the  ground  repeated  his  orders  in  a 
more  peremptory  tone  than  before.  Sandoval  was 
not  a  man  of  many  words.  He  simply  remarked, 
that  the  instrument  should  be  read  to  the  general 
himself  in  Mexico.  At  the  same  time,  he  ordered 
his  men  to  procure  a  number  of  sturdy  tamanes,  or 
Indian  porters,  on  whose  backs  the  unfortunate 
priest  and  his  companions  were  bound  like  so  many 
bales  of  goods.  They  were  then  placed  under  a 
guard  of  twenty  Spaniards,  and  the  whole  caravan 
took  its  march  for  the  capital.  Day  and  night  they 
travelled,  stopping  only  to  obtain  fresh  relays  df 
carriers ;  and  as  they  passed  through  populous  towns, 
forests,  and  cultivated  fields,  vanishing  as  soon  as 
seen,  the  Spaniards,  bewildered  by  the  strangeness 
of  th^  scene,  as  well  as  of  their  novel  mode  of  con- 
veyance, hardly  knew  whether  they  were  awake  or 
in  a  dream.  In  this  way,  at  the  end  of  the  fourth 
day,  they  reached  the  Tezcucan  lake  in  view  of  the 
Aztec  capital.^^ 

*^  "E  iban  espantados  de  que  vnos  Ids  dexavan,  y  otros  los  to 
veian  talas  ciudades  y  pueblos  mavan,  y  andar  per  su  camino. 
grandesjque  Ics  traian  de  coiner,  y     Dize  que  iban  pensando  si  era  en- 


Cm.  VI.l  POLITIC  CONDUCT  0¥  OORTjfcs.  231 

Its  inhabitants  had  already  beon  «iade  acquainted 
with  the  fresh  arrival  of  white  men  on  the  coast. 
Indeed,  directly  on  their  landing,  intelligence  had 
been  communicated  to  Montezuma,  who  is  said  (it 
does  not  seem  probable)  to  have  concealed  it  some 
days  from  Cortes.^^  At  length,  inviting  him  to  an 
interview,  he  told  him  there  was  no  longer  any 
obstacle  to  his  leaving  the  country,  as  a  fleet  Was 
ready  for  him.  To  the  inquiries  of  the  astonished 
general,  Montezuma  replied  by  pointing  to  a  hiero- 
glyphical  map  sent  him  from  the  coast,  on  which  the 
ships,  the  Spaniards  themselves,  and  their  whole 
equipment,  were  minutely  delineated.  Cortes,  sup- 
pressing all  emotions  but  those  of  pleasure,  exclaim- 
ed, "Blessed  be  the  Redeemer  for  his  mercies!" 
On  returning  to  his  quarters,  the  tidings  were  re- 
ceived by  the  troops  with  loud  shouts,  the  firing  of 
cannon,  and  other  demonstrations  of  joy.  They 
hailed  the  new  comers  as  a  reinforcement  from  Spain. 
Not  so  their  commander.  From  the  first,  he  sus- 
pected them  to  be  sent  by  his  enemy,  the  governor 
of  Cuba.  He  communicated  his  suspicions  to  his 
officers,  through  whom  they  gradually  found  their 
way  among  the  men.  The  tide  of  joy  was  instantly 
checked.  Alarming  apprehensions  succeeded,  as  they 
dwelt  on  the  probability  of  this  suggestion,  and  on 
the  strength  of  the  invaders.     Yet  their  constancy 

cantamiento,  6  sueno."      Bernal  sabia  el  Montezuma,  y  Cortes  no 

Diaz,  Hist.de  la  Conquista,  cap.  sabia  cosa  ninguna."  Bernal  Dias, 

111.— "Demandade  Zavallos,  MS.  Hist,  de  la  Conquista,  cap.  110. 
*  "Ya  auia  tres  dias  que   lo 


232         ,  RESIDENCE  IN  MEXICO.  [Book  IV. 

did  not  desert  them;  and  they  pledged  themselves  to 
remain  true  to  their  cause,  and,  come  what  might,  to 
stand  by  their  leader.  It  was  one  of  those  occasions 
that  proved  the  entire  influence  which  Cortes  held 
over  these  wild  adventurers.  All  doubts  were  soon 
dispelled  by  the  arrival  of  the  prisoners  from  Villa 
Rica. 

One  of  the  convoy,  leaving  the  party  in  the  sub- 
urbs, entered  the  city,  and  delivered  a  letter  to  the 
general  from  Sandoval,  acquainting  him  with  all  the 
particulars.  Cortes  instantly  sent  to  the  prisoners, 
ordered  them  to  be  released,  and  furnished  them 
with  horses  to  make  their  entrance  into  the  capital, 
—  a  more  creditable  conveyance  than  the  backs  of 
tamanes.  On  their  arrival,  he  received  them  with 
marked  courtesy,  apologized  for  the  rude  conduct  of 
his  officers,  and  seemed  desirous  by  the  most  assid- 
uous attentions  to  soothe  the  irritation  of  their  minds. 
He  showed  his  good-will  still  further  by  lavishing 
presents  on  Guevara  and  his  associates,  until  he 
gradually  wrought  such  a  change  in  their  disposi- 
tions, that,  from  enemies,  he  converted  them  into 
friends,  and  drew  forth  many  important  particulars 
respecting  not  merely  the  designs  of  their  leader, 
but  the  feelings  of  his  army.  The  soldiers,  in  gen- 
eral, they  said,  far  from  desiring  a  rupture  with 
those  of  Cortes,  would  willingly  cooperate  with 
them,  were  it  not  for  their  commander.  They  had 
no  feelings  of  resentment  to  gratify.  Their  object 
was  gold.  The  personal  influence  of  Narvaez  was 
not  great,  and   his  arrogance  and   penurious  tem- 


\ 


Ch.  VI.]  POLITIC   CONDUCT  OF  CORTjfes.  233 

per  had  already  gone  far  to  alienate  from  him  the 
affections  of  his  followers.  These  hints  were  not 
lost  on  the  general. 

He  addressed  a  letter  to  his  rival  in  the  most  con- 
ciliatory terms.  He  besought  him  not  to  proclaim 
their  animosity  to  the  world,  and,  by  kindling  a  spirit 
of  insubordination  in  the  natives,  unsettle  all  that 
had  been  so  far  secured.  A  violent  collision  must 
be  prejudicial  even  to  the  victor,  and  might  be 
fatal  to  both.  It  was  only  in  union  that  they  could 
look  for  success.  He  was  ready  to  greet  Narvaez  as 
a  brother  in  arms,  to  share  with  him  the  fruits  of 
conquest,  and,  if  he  could  produce  a  royal  commis- 
sion, to  submit  to  his  authority.  —  Cortes  well  knew 
he  had  no  such  commission  to  show.'^ 

Soon  after  the  departure  of  Guevara  and  his  com- 
radesj^  the  general  determined  to  send  a  special 
envoy  of  his  own.  The  person  selected  for  this 
delicate  office  was  father  Olmedo,  who,  through  the 
campaign,  had  shown  a  practical  good  sense,  and  a 
talent  for  affairs,  not  always  to  be  found  in  persons 
of  his  spiritual  calling.  He  was  intrusted  with  an- 
other epistle  to  Narvaez,  of  similar  import  with  the 
preceding.  Cortes  wrote,  also,  to  the  licentiate  Ayl- 
Ion,  with  whose  departure  he  was  not  acquainted, 


22  Oviedo,  Hist,  de  las  Ind.,  "DisiZ,  ^^  a.nd  anointed  their  fingers 
MS.,  lib.  33,  cap.  47.  —  Rel.  Seg.  so  plentifully  with  gold, that,though 
de  Cortes,  ap.  Lorenzana,  pp.  117  they  came  like  roaring  lions,  they 
-  120.  went  home  perfectly  tame !  "  Ilist 

23  "Our  commander    said    so  de  la  Conquista,  cap.  111. 
many  kind  things  to  them,"  says 

VOL.    II.  30 


^2^  RESIDENCE  tN  MEXICO.  [Book  IV. 

and  to  Andres  de  Duero,  former  secretary  of  Velas- 
quez, and  his  own  friend,  who  had  come  over  in  the 
present  fleet.  Olmedo  was  instructed  to  converse 
with  these  persons  in  private,  as  well  as  with  the 
principal  officers  and  soldiers,  and,  as  far  as  possible, 
to  infuse  into  them  a  spiiit  of  accommodation.  To 
give  greater  weight  to  his  arguments,  he  was  fur- 
nished with  a  liberal  supply  of  gold. 

During  this  time,  Narvaez  had  abandoned  his 
original  design  of  planting  a  colony  on  the  sea-coast, 
and  had  crossed  the  country  to  Cempoalla,  where  he 
had  taken  up  his  quarters.  He  was  here,  when  Gue- 
vara re  turned,  and  presented  the  letter  of  Cortes. 

Narvaez  glanced  over  it  with  a  look  of  contempt, 
which  was  changed  into  one  of  stern  displeasure,  as 
his  envoy  enlarged  on  the  resources  and  formidable 
character  of  his  rival,  counselling  him,  by  all  means, 
to  accept  his  proffers  of  amity.  A  different  effect 
was  produced  on  the  troops,  who  listened  wiA 
greedy  ears  to  the  accounts  given  of  Cortes,  his 
frank  and  liberal  inannets,  which  they  involuntarily 
contrasted  with  those  of  their  own  commander,  the 
wealth  in  his  camp,  where  the  humblest  private 
could  stake  his  ingot  and  chain  of  gold  at  play, 
where  all  revelled  in  plenty,  and  the  life  of  the  sol- 
dier seemed  to  be  one  long  holyday.  Guevara  had 
been  admitted  only  to  the  sunny  side  of  the  picture. 

The  impression  made  by  these  accounts  was  con- 
firmed by  the  presence  of  Olmedo.  The  ecclesias- 
tic delivered  his  missives,  in  like  manner,  to  Narvaez, 
who  ran  through  their  contents  with  feelings  of  an- 


Ch.  VI]  politic  conduct  of  CORTES.  23.^ 

ger  which  found  vent  in  the  most  opprobrious  invec- 
tives against  his  rival ;  while  one  of  his  captains, 
named  Salvatierra,  openly  avowed  his  intention  to 
cut  off  the  rebel's  ears,  and  broil  them  for  his  break- 
fast I*^  Such  impotent  sallies  did  not  alarm  the 
stout-hearted  friar,  who  soon  entered  into  communi- 
cation with  many  of  the  officers  and  soldiers,  whom 
he  found  better  inclined  to  an  accommodation.  His 
insinuating  eloquence,  backed  by  bis  liberal  lar- 
gesses, gradually  opened  a  way  into  their  hearts, 
and  a  party  was  formed,  under  the  very  eye  of 
their  chief,  better  affected  to  his  rival's  interests 
than  to  his  own.  The  intrigue  could  not  be  con- 
ducted so  secretly  as  wholly  to  elude  the  suspicions 
of  Narvaez,  who  would  have  arrested  Olmedo  and 
placed  him  under  confinement,  but  for  the  interposi- 
tion of  Duero.  He  put  a  stop  to  his  further  machi- 
nations by  sending  him  back  again  to  his  master. 
But  the  poison  was  left  to  do  its  work. 

Narvaez  made  the  same  vaunt,  as  at  his  landing, 
of  his  design  to  march  against  Cortes  and  appre- 
hend him  as  a  traitor.  The  Cempoallans  learned 
with  astonishment  that  their  new  guests,  though  the 
countrymen,  were  enemies  of  their  former.  Narva- 
ez, also,  proclaimed  his  intention  to  release  Monte- 
zuma from  captivity,  and  restore  him  to  his  throne. 
It  is  said,  he  received  a  rich  present  from  the  Aztec 
emperor,  who  entered  into  a  correspondence  with 
him.'^     That  Montezuma  should  have  treated  him 

8*  Ibid.,  cap.  118.  Oviedo   says    that    Montezuma 

25  Tbid.,  cap.  111.  called   a  council   of  his  nobles, 


236  RESIDENCE  IN   MEXICO.  [Book  IV 

with  his  usual  munificence,  supposing  him  to  be  the 
friend  of  Cortes,  is  very  probable.  But  that  he 
should  have  entered  into  a  secret  communication, 
hostile  to  the  general's  interests,  is  too  repugnant 
to  the  whole  tenor  of  his  conduct,  to  be  lightly  ad- 
mitted. 

These  proceedings  did  not  escape  the  watchful 
eye  of  Sandoval.  He  gathered  the  particulars  part- 
ly from  deserters,  who  fled  to  Villa  Rica,  and  partly 
from  his  own  agents,  who  in  the  disguise  of  natives 
mingled  in  the  enemy's  camp.  He  sent  a  full 
account  of  them  to  Cortes,  acquainted  him  with  the 
growing  defection  of  the  Indians,  and  urged  him  to 
take  speedy  measures  for  the  defence  of  Villa  Rica, 
if  he  would  not  see  it  fall  into  the  enemy's  hands. 
The  general  felt  that  it  was  time  to  act. 

Yet  the  selection  of  the  course  to  be  pursued  was 
embarrassing  in  the  extreme.  If  he  remained  in 
Mexico  and  awaited  there  the  attack  of  his  rival,  it 
would  give  the  latter  time  to  gather  round  him  the 
whole  forces  of  the  empire,  including  those  of  the 
capital  itself,  all  willing,  no  doubt,  to  serve  under 
the  banners  of  a  chief  who  proposed  the  liberation 
of  their  master.  The  odds  were  too  great  to  be 
hazarded. 

If  he  marched  against  Narvaez,  he  must  either 

in  which  it  waa  decided  to  let  the  latter  alone  were  held  by  the  Mex- 

troops  of  Narvaez  into  the  capital,  icans,  a  more  improbable  tale  could 

and    then   to  crush  them  at  one  not  be  devised.    But  nothing  is  too 

blow,  with  those  of  Cortes !  (Hist,  improbable  for  history,  —  though, 

de  las  Ind,  MS.,  lib.  33,  cap.  47.)  according  to  Boileau's  maxim,  it 

Considering  the  awe  in  which  the  may  be  for  fiction. 


Ch.  VI.]  POLITIC   CONDUCT  OF   CORT^IS.  237 

abandon  the  city  and  the  emperor,  the  fruit  of  all 
his  toils  and  triumphs,  or,  by  leaving  a  garrison  to 
hold  them  in  awe,  must  cripple  his  strength  already 
far  too  weak  to  cope  with  that  of  his  adversary. 
Yet  on  this  latter  course  he  decided.  He  trusted 
less,  perhaps,  to  an  open  encounter  of  arms,  than  to 
the  influence  of  his  personal  address  and  previous 
intrigues,  to  bring  about  an  amicable  arrangement. 
But  he  prepared  himself  for  either  result. 

In  the  preceding  chapter,  it  was  mentioned  that 
Velasquez  de  Leon  was  sent  with  a  hundred  and 
fifty  men  to  plant  a  colony  on  one  of  the  great  rivers 
emptying  into  the  Mexican  Gulf.  Cortes,  on  learn- 
ing the  arrival  of  Narvaez,  had  despatched  a  mes- 
senger to  his  officer,  to  acquaint  him  with  the  fact, 
and  to  arrest  his  further  progress.  But  Velasquez 
had  already  received  notice  of  it  from  Narvaez  him- 
self, who,  in  a  letter  written  soon  after  his  landing, 
had  adjured  him  in  the  name  of  his  kinsman,  the 
governor  of  Cuba,  to  quit  the  banners  of  Cortes, 
and  come  over  to  him.  That  officer,  however, 
had  long  since  buried  the  feelings  of  resentment 
which  he  had  once  nourished  against  his  general,  to 
whom  he  was  now  devotedly  attached,  and  who  had 
honored  him  throughout  the  campaign  with  particu- 
lar regard.  Cortes  had  early  seen  the  importance  of 
securing  this  cavalier  to  his  interests.  Without  wait- 
ing for  orders,  Velasquez  abandoned  his  expedition, 
and  commenced  a  countermarch  on  the  capital, 
when  he  received  the  general's  commands  to  wait 
him  in  Cholula. 


238  RESIDENCE  IN   MEXICO.  [Book  IV 

Cortes  had  also  sent  to  the  distant  province  of 
Chinantla,  situated  far  to  the  south-east  of  Cholula, 
for  a  reinforcement  of  two  thousand  natives.  They 
were  a  bold  race,  hostile  to  the  Mexicans,  and  had 
offered  their  services  to  him  since  his  residence  in 
the  metropolis.  They  used  a  long  spear  in  battle, 
longer,  indeed,  than  that  borne  by  the  Spanish  or 
German  infantry.  Cortes  ordered  three  hundred  of 
their  double-headed  lances  to  be  made  for  him,  and 
to  be  tipped  with  copper  instead  of  itztli.  With 
this  formidable  weapon  he  proposed  to  foil  the  cav- 
alry of  his  enemy. 

The  command  of  the  garrison,  in  his  absence,  he 
intrusted  to  Pedro  de  Alvarado,  —  the  Tonaiiuh  of 
the  Mexicans,  —  a  man  possessed  of  many  com- 
manding qualities,  of  an  intrepid,  though  somewhat 
arrogant  spirit,  and  his  warm  personal  friend.  He 
inculcated  on  him  moderation  and  forbearance.  He 
was  to  keep  a  close  watch  on  Montezuma,  for  on 
the  possession  of  the  royal  person  rested  all  their 
authority  in  the  land.  He  was  to  show  him  the 
deference  alike  due  to  his  high  station,  and  demand- 
ed by  policy.  He  was  to  pay  uniform  respect  to  the 
usages  and  the  prejudices  of  the  people  ;  remember- 
ing that  though  his  small  force  would  be  large 
enough  to  overawe  them  in  time^  of  quiet,  yet, 
should  they  be  once  roused,  it  would  be  swept  away 
like  chaff  before  the  whirlwind. 

From  Montezuma  he  exacted  a  promise  to  main- 
tain the  same  friendly  relations  with  his  lieutenant 
which   he    had  preserved   towards   himself.      This, 


Ch.  VI] 


HE  LEAVES  THE  CAPITAL. 


239 


said  Cortes,  would  be  most  grateful  to  his  own  mas- 
ter, the  Spanish  sovereign.  Should  the  Aztec  prince 
do  otherwise,  and  lend  himself  to  any  hostile  move- 
ment, he  must  be  convinced  that  he  would  fall  the 
first  victim  of  it. 

The  emperor  assured  him  of  his  continued  good- 
will. He  was  much  perplexed,  however,  bj  the 
recent  events.  Were  the  Spaniards  at  his  court,  or 
those  just  landed,  the  true  representatives  of  their 
sovereign  ?  Cortes,  who  had  hitherto  maintained  a 
reserve  on  the  subject,  now  told  him  that  the  latter 
were  indeed  his  countrymen,  but  traitors  to  his 
master.  As  such,  it  was  his  painful  duty  to  march 
against  them,  and,  when  he  had  chastised  their  re- 
bellion, he  should  return,  before  his  departure  from 
the  land,  in  triumph  to  the  capital.  Montezuma 
offered  to  support  him  with  five  thousand  Aztec  war- 
riors; but  the  general  declined  it,  not  choosing  to 
encumber  himself  with  a  body  of  doubtful,  perhaps 
disaffected,  auxiliaries. 

He  left  in  garrison,  under  Alvarado,  one  hundred 
and  forty  men,  two  thirds  of  his  whole  force.^    With 


36  In  the  Mexican  edition  of  the 
letters  of  Cortes,  it  is  called  five 
hundred  men.  (Rel.  Seg.,  ap.  Lo- 
renzana,  p.  122.)  But  this  was 
more  than  his  whole  Spanish  force. 
In  Ramusio's  version  of  the  same 
letter,  printed  as  early  as  1565,  the 
number  is  stated  as  in  the  text. 
(Navigationi  et  Viaggi,  fol.  244.) 
In  an  instrument  without  date,  con- 
taining  the    affidavits    of   certain 


witnesses  as  to  the  management  of 
the  royal  fifth  by  Cortes,  it  is  said, 
there  were  one  hundred  and  fifty 
soldiers  left  in  the  capital  under 
Alvarado.  (Probanza  fecha  en  la 
nueva  Espafia  del  mar  oc^ano  k 
pedimento  de  Juan  Ochoa  de  Lex- 
aide,  en  nombre  de  Hernando  Cor 
t^s,  MS.)  The  account  in  the 
Mexican  edition  is  unquestionably 
an  error. 


240  RESIDENCE  IN   MEXICO.  [Book  IV. 

these  remained  all  the  artillery,  the  greater  part  of 
the  little  body  of  horse,  and  most  of  the  arquebus- 
iers.  He  took  with  him  only  seventy  soldiers,  but 
they  were  men  of  the  most  mettle  in  the  army  and 
his  stanch  adherents.  They  were  lightly  armed 
and  encumbered  with  as  little  baggage  as  possible. 
Every  thing  depended  on  celerity  of  movement. 

Montezuma,  in  his  royal  litter  borne  on  the  shoul- 
ders of  his  nobles,  and  escorted  by  the  whole  Span- 
ish infantry,  accompanied  the  general  to  the  cause- 
way. There,  embracing  him  in  the  most  cordial 
manner,  they  parted,  with  all  the  external  marks  of 
mutual  regard.  —  It  was  about  the  middle  of  May, 
1520,  more  than  six  months  since  the  entrance  of 
the  Spaniards  into  Mexico.  During  this  time  they 
had  lorded  it  over  the  land  with  absolute  sway. 
They  were  now  leaving  the  city  in  hostile  array,  not 
against  an  Indian  foe,  but  their  own  countrymen. 
It  was  the  beginning  of  a  long  career  of  calamity,  — 
chequered,  indeed,  by  occasional  triumphs,  —  which 
was  yet  to  be  run  before  the  Conquest  could  be  com- 
pleted.2^ 


27  Carta  de  Villa  de  Vera  Cruz  9,  cap.  1,  21 ;  lib.   10,  cap.   1,  — 

k  el  Emperador,  MS.     This  letter  Rel.  Seg.  de  Cortes,  ap.  Lorenza- 

without  date  was  probably  written  na,  pp.  119,  120,  —  Bernal  Diaz, 

in  1520.— -See,  also,  for  the  pre-  Hist,  de  la  Conquista,  cap.  112- 

ceding  pages,    Probanza  fecha  k  115, —Oviedo,  Hist,  de  las  Ind., 

IKKlimento  de  Juan  Ochoa,  MS.,—  MS.,  lib.  33,  cap.  47. 
Herrera,  Hist.  General,  dec.  2,  lib. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Cortes  descends  from  the  Table-land.  —  Negotiates  with  Nar- 
VAEz. — Prepares  to  assault  him.^ — Quarters  of  Narvakz  ~ 

A.TTACKED    BY    NlGHT. NaRVAEZ   DEFEATED. 

1520. 

Traversing  the  southern  causeway,  by  which 
they  had  entered  the  capital,  the  little  party  were 
soon  on  their  march  across  the  beautiful  Valley. 
They  climbed  the  mountain  screen  which  Nature 
has  so  ineffectually  drawn  around  it ;  passed  between 
the  huge  volcanoes  that,  like  faithless  watch-dogs  on 
their  posts,  have  long  since  been  buried  in  slumber ; 
threaded  the  intricate  defiles  where  they  had  before 
experienced  such  bleak  and  tempestuous  weather; 
and,  emerging  on  the  other  side,  descended  the 
western  slope  which  opens  on  the  wide  expanse  of 
the  fruitful  plateau  of  Cholula. 

They  heeded  little  of  what  they  saw  on  their 
rapid  march,  nor  whether  it  was  cold  or  hot.  The 
anxiety  of  their  minds  made  them  indifferent  to 
outward  annoyances ;  and  they  had  fortunately  none 
to  encounter  from  the  natives,  for  the  name  of  Span- 
iard was  in  itself  a  charm,  —  a  better  guard  than 
helm  or  buckler  to  the  bearer. 

In  Cholula,  Cortes  had  the  inexpressible  satisfac- 

VOL.    II.  31 


242  RESIDENCE   IN   MEXICO.  [Booa  IV 

tion  of  meeting  Velasquez  de  Leon,  with  the  hun- 
dred and  twenty  soldiers  intrusted  to  his  command 
for  the  formation  of  a  colony.  That  faithful  officer 
had  been  some  time  at  Cholula,  waiting  for  the  gen- 
eral's approach.  Had  he  failed,  the  enterprise  of 
Cortes  must  have  failed,  also.^  The  idea  of  re- 
sistance, with  his  own  handful  of  followers,  would 
have  been  chimerical.  As  it  was,  his  little  band 
was  now  trebled,  and  acquired  a  confidence  in  pro- 
portion. 

Cordially  embracing  their  companions  in  arms,  now 
knit  together  more  closely  than  ever  by  the  sense 
of  a  great  and  common  danger,  the  combined  troops 
traversed  with  quick  step  the  streets  of  the  sacred 
city,  where  many  a  dark  pile  of  ruins  told  of  their 
disastrous  visit  on  the  preceding  autumn.  They  kept 
the  high  road  lo  Tlascala  ;  and,  at  not  many  leagues' 
distance  from  that  capital,  fell  in  with  father  Olmedo 
and  his  companions  on  their  return  from  the  camp 
of  Narvaez,  to  which,  it  will  be  remembered,  they 
had  been  sent  as  envoys.  The  ecclesiastic  bore  a 
letter  from  that  commander,  in  which  he  summoned 
Cortes  and  his  followers  to  submit  to  his  authority 
as  captain-general  of  the  country,  menacing  them 
with  condign  punishment,  in  case  of  refusal  or  delay. 
Olmedo  gave  many  curious  particulars  of  the  state 


1  So  says  Oviedo  —  and  with  que  havia  llevado  (i  Gnagaflalco,  a 

troth ;  **  Si  aquel  capitan  Juan  Ve-  la  parte  de  Panfilo  de  Narvaez  su 

laaquez  de  Leon  no  cstubiera  mal  cunado,  acabado  oviera  Cort^a  su  1 

con  su  pariente  Diego  Velasquez,  oficio."     Hist,  de  las  Ind.,  MS., 

^  86  pasara  con  los  150  Hombres,  lib.  33,  cap.  12. 


I 


CH.  VII]    HE   DESCENDS  FROM  THE  TABLE-LAND.        243 

ot  the  enemy's  camp.  Narvaez  he  described  as 
puffed  up  by  authority,  and  negligent  of  precau- 
tions against  a  foe  whom  he  held  in  contempt.  He 
was  surrounded  by  a  number  of  pompous,  conceited 
officers,  who  ministered  to  his  vanity,  and  whose 
braggart  tones,  the  good  father,  who  had  an  eye  for 
the  ridiculous,  imitated,  to  the  no  small  diversion  of 
Cortes  and  the  soldiers.  Many  of  the  troops,  he 
said,  showed  no  great  partiality  for  their  commander, 
and  were  strongly  disinclined  to  a  rupture  with  their 
countrymen ;  a  state  of  feeling  much  promoted  by 
the  accounts  they  had  received  of  Cortes,  by  his 
own  arguments  and  promises,  and  by  the  liberal 
distribution  of  the  gold  with  which  he  had  been 
provided.  In  addition  to  these  matters,  Cortes  gath- 
ered much  important  intelligence  respecting  the 
position  of  the  enemy's  force,  and  his  general  plan 
of  operations. 

At  Tlascala,  the  Spaniards  were  received  with  a 
frank  and  friendly  hospitality.  It  is  not  said,  whether 
any  of  the  Tlascalan  allies  had  accompanied  them 
from  Mexico.  If  they  did,  they  went  no  further 
than  their  native  city.  Cortes  requested  a  reinforce- 
ment of  six  hundred  fresh  troops  to  attend  him  on 
his  present  expedition.  It  was  readily  granted ; 
but,  before  the  army  had  proceeded  many  miles 
on  its  route,  the  Indian  auxiliaries  fell  off,  one  after 
another,  and  returned  to  their  city.  They  had  no 
personal  feeling  of  animosity  to  gratify  in  the  present 
instance,  as  in  a  war  against  Mexico.  It  may  be, 
too,  that,  although  intrepid  in  a  contest  with  the 


244  RESIDENCE  IN  MEXICO.  [Book  IV 

bravest  of  the  Indian  races,  they  had  had  too  fatal 
experience  of  the  prowess  of  the  white  men,  to  care 
to  measure  swords  with  them  again.  At  any  rate, 
they  deserted  in  such  numbers,  that  Cortes  dismissed 
the  remainder  at  once,  saying,  good-humoredly,  "  He 
had  rather  part  with  them  then,  than  in  the  houi 
of  trial." 

'  The  troops  soon  entered  on  that  wild  district  m 
the  neighbourhood  of  Perote,  strewed  with  the 
wreck  of  volcanic  matter,  wbich  forms  so  singulai 
a  contrast  to  the  general  character  of  beauty  with 
which  the  scenery  is  stamped.  It  was  not  long  be- 
fore their  eyes  were  gladdened  by  the  approach  of 
Sandoval  and  about  sixty  soldiers  from  the  garrison 
of  Vera  Cruz,  including  several  deserters  from  the 
enemy.  It  was  a  most  important  reinforcement,  not 
more  on  account  of  the  numbers  of  the  men  than  of 
the  character  of  the  commander,  in  every  respect 
one  of  the  ablest  captains  in  the  service.  He  had 
been  compelled  to  fetch  a  circuit,  in  order  to  avoid 
falling  in  with  the  enemy,  and  had  forced  his  way 
through  thick  forests  and  wild  mountain-passes,  till 
he  had  fortunately,  without  accident,  reached  the  ap- 
pointed place  of  rendezvous,  and  stationed  himself 
once  more  under  the  banner  of  his  chieftain.^ 

At  the  same  place,  also,  Cortes  was  met  by  To- 
billos,  a  Spaniard  whom  he  had  sent  to  procure  the 
lances  from  Chinantla.     They  were  perfectly  well 

«  Rel.  Seg.  de  Cort6s,  ap.  Lo-     115-117.  — Oviedo,  Hist,  de  las 
renzana,  pp.   123,  124.  — Bernal    Ind.,  MS.,  lib.  33,  cap.  12. 
Diaz,  Hist,  de  la  Conquista,  cap. 


Ch.  VII.]     HE  DESCENDS  FROM  THE  TABLE-LAND.        24i) 

made,  after  the  pattern  which  had  been  given ; 
double-headed  spears,  tipped  with  copper,  and  of 
great  length.  Tobillos  drilled  the  men  in  the  exer- 
cise of  this  weapon,  the  formidable  uses  of  which, 
especially  against  horse,  had  been  fully  demonstrated, 
towards  the  close  of  the  last  century,  by  the  Swiss 
battalions,  in  their  encounters  with  the  Burgundian 
chivalry,  the  best  in  Europe.^ 

Cortes  now  took  a  review  of  his  army,  —  if  so 
paltry  a  force  may  be  called  an  army,  —  and  found 
their  numbers  were  two  hundred  and  sixty-six,  only 
five  of  whom  were  mounted.  A  few  muskets  and 
crossbows  were  sprinkled  among  them.  In  defen- 
sive armor  they  were  sadly  deficient.  They  were 
for  the  most  part  cased  in  the  quilted  doublet  of  the 
country,  thickly  stuffed  with  cotton,  the  escaupily 
recommended  by  its  superior  lightness,  but  which, 
though  competent  to  turn  the  arrow  of  the  Indian, 
was  ineffectual  against  a  musket-ball.  Most  of  this 
cotton  mail  was  exceedingly  out  of  repair,  giving 
evidence,  in  its  unsightly  gaps,  of  much  rude  service, 
and  hard  blows.  Few,  in  this  emergency,  but  would 
have  given  almost  any  price  —  the  best  of  the  gold 
chains  which  they  wore  in  tawdry  display  over  their 
poor  habiliments  —  for  a  steel  morion  or  cuirass,  to 


3But,  although  irresistible  against  Machiavelli  makes  some  excellent 
cavalry,  the  long  pike  of  the  Ger-  reflections  on  the  comparative  mer- 
man proved  no  match  for  the  short  it  of  these  arms.  Arte  della  Guer- 
sword  and  buckler  of  the  Span-  ra,  lib.  2,  ap.  Opere,  torn.  TV. 
iard,  in  the  great  battle  of  Ravenna,  p.  67. 
fought  a  few  years  before  this,  1512. 


246  RESIDENGK  IN  MEXICO.  [Book   IV 

take  the  place  of  their  own  hacked  and  battered  ar- 
mor.^ 

Under  this  coarse  covering,  however,  they  bore 
hearts  stout  and  courageous  as  ever  beat  in  human 
lK)soms.  For  thej  were  the  heroes,  still  invincible, 
of  many  a  hard-fought  field,  where  the  odds  had 
been  incalculably  against  them.  They  had  large 
experience  of  the  country  and  of  the  natives ;  knew 
well  the  character  of  their  own  commander,  under 
whose  eye  they  had  been  trained,  till  every  move- 
ment was  in  obedience  to  him.  The  whole  body 
seemed  to  constitute  but  a  single  individual,  in  re- 
spect of  unity  of  design  and  of  action.  Thus  its 
real  effective  force  was  incredibly  augmented  ;  and, 
what  was  no  less  important,  the  humblest  soldier  felt 
it  to  be  so. 

The  troops  now  resumed  their  march  across  the 
table-land,  until,  reaching  the  eastern  slope,  their 
labors  were  lightened,  as  they  descended  towards 
the  broad  plains  of  the  tierra  caliente,  spread  out 
like  a  boundless  ocean  of  verdure  below  them.  At 
some  fifteen  leagues'  distance  from  Cempoalla,  where 
Narvaez,  as  has  been  noticed,  had  established  his 
quarters,  they  were  met  by  another  embassy  from 
that  commander.  It  consisted  of  the  priest,  Gue- 
vara, Andres  de  Duero,  and  two  or  three  others. 


*  Bernal  Diaz,  Hist,  da  la  Con-  casco,  6  babera  de  hierro,  diera- 

quista,  cap.  118.  mos  aquella  noche  quato  nos  pidi- 

**  Tarabien  quiero  dezir  la  gran  era  por  ello,  y  todo  quato  auiamos 

necessidad  que  teniamos  de  armas,  ganado."     Cap.  122. 
que  por  vn  peto,  6  capacete,  6 


Ch.  VII.]  NEGOTIATES   WITH   NARVAEZ.  247 

Duero,  the  fast  friend  of  Cortes,  had  been  the  per- 
son most  instrumental,  originally,  in  obtaining  him 
his  commission  from  Velasquez.  They  now  greeted 
each  other  with  a  warm  embrace,  and  it  was  not 
till  after  much  preliminary  conversation  on  private 
matters,  that  the  secretary  disclosed  the  object  of 
his  visit. 

He  bore  a  letter  from  Narvaez,  couched  in  terms 
somewhat  different  from  the  preceding.  That  officer 
required,  indeed,  the  acknowledgment  of  his  para- 
mount authority  in  the  land,  but  offered  his  vessels 
to  transport  all,  who  desired  it,  from  the  country, 
together  with  their  treasures  and  effects,  without 
molestation  or  inquiry.  The  more  liberal  tenor  of 
these  terms  was,  doubtless,  to  be  ascribed  to  the 
influence  of  Duero.  The  secretary  strongly  urged 
Cortes  to  comply  with  them,  as  the  most  favorable 
that  could  be  obtained,  and  as  the  only  alternative 
affording  him  a  chance  of  safety  in  his  desperate 
condition.  "  For,  however  valiant  your  men  may 
be,  how  can  they  expect,"  he  asked,  "to  face  a 
force  so  much  superior  in  numbers  and  equipment  as 
that  of  their  antagonist  ?  "  But  Cortes  had  set  his 
fortunes  on  the  cast,  and  he  was  not  the  man  to 
shrink  from  it.  "  If  Narvaez  bears  a  royal  commis- 
sion," he  returned,  "  I  will  readily  submit  to  him. 
But  he  has  produced  none.  He  is  a  deputy  of  my 
rival,  Velasquez.  For  myself,  I  am  a  servant  of  the 
king;  I  have  conquered  the  country  for  him;  and 
for  him,  I  and  my  brave  followers  will  defend  it,  be 
assured,  to  the  last  drop  of  our  blood.     If  we  fall. 


248 


RESIDENCE   IN    MEXICO. 


[Book    IV 


it  will  be  glory  enough  to  have  perished  in  the  dis- 
charge of  our  duty."  ^ 

His  friend  might  have  been  somew^hat  puzzled  to 
comprehend  how  the  authority  of  Cortes  rested  on  a 
different  ground  from  that  of  Narvaez ;  and  if  they 
both  held  of  the  same  superior,  the  governor  of  Cu- 
ba, why  that  dignitary  should  not  be  empowered  to 
supersede  his  own  officer  in  case  of  dissatisfaction, 
and  appoint  a  substitute.^  But  Cortes  here  reaped 
the  full  benefit  of  that  legal  fiction,  if  it  may  be  so 
termed,  by  which  his  commission,  resigned  to  the 
self-constituted  municipality  of  Vera  Cruz,  was 
again  derived  through  that  body  from  the  Crown. 
The  device,  indeed,  was  too  palpable  to  impose  on 


5  "  Yo  les  respond! ,  que  no  via 
provision  de  Vuestra  Alteza,  por 
donde  le  debiesse  entregar  la  Tier- 
ra ;  6  que  si  alguna  trahia,  que  la 
presentasse  ante  mi,  y  ante  el  Ca- 
bildo  de  la  Vera  Cruz,  segun  6r- 
den,  y  costumbre  de  Espana,  y 
que  yo  estaba  presto.de  la  obedecer, 
y  curaplir  ;  y  que  hasta  tanto,  por 
ningun  interese,  ni  partido  haria  lo 
que  ^1  decia ;  &ntes  yo,  y  los  que 
conmigo  estaban,  moririamos  en 
defensa  de  la  Tierra,  pues  la  ha- 
biamos  ganado,  y  tenido  por  Vues- 
tra Magcstad  pacifica,  y  segura,  y 
por  no  ser  Traydores  y  desleales  k 

nuestro  Rey Considerando, 

que  morir  en  servicio  de  mi  Rey, 
y  por  defender,  y  amparar  sus  Ti- 
erras,  y  no  las  dejar  usurpar,  a  mi, 
y  k  los  de  mi  Compania  se  nos  se- 


guia  farta  gloria."  Rel.  Seg.  de 
Cortes,  ap.  Lorenzana,  pp.  125 
-127. 

6  Such  are  the  natural  reflec- 
tions of  Oviedo,  speculating  on  the 
matter  some  years  later.  "E 
tambien  que  me  parece  don  aire,  6 
no  bastante  la  escusa  que  Cortes 
da  para  fundar  e  justificar  su  ne- 
gocio,  que  es  decir,  que  el  Narvaez 
presentase  las  provisiones  que  lle- 
vaba  de  S.  M.  Como  si  el  dicho 
Cortes  oviera  ido  a  aquella  tierra 
por  mandado  de  S.  M.  6  con  mas, 
ni  tanta  autoridad  como  llebaba 
Narvaez  ;  pues  que  es  claro  e  no 
torio,  que  el  Adelantado  Diego 
Velasquez,  que  embid  k  Cortes, 
era  parte,  segun  derecho,  para  lo 
embiar  a  remover,  y  el  Cortds  ob- 
ligado  k  le  obedecer.     No  quiero 


Ch.  VII.]  NEGOTIATES   WITH   NARVAEZ.  249 

any  but  those  who  chose  to  be  blinded.  Most  of 
the  army  were  of  this  number.  To  them  it  seemed 
to  give  additional  confidence,  in  the  same  manner 
as  a  strip  of  painted  canvass,  when  substituted,  as 
it  has  sometimes  been,  for  a  real  parapet  of  stone, 
has  been  found  not  merely  to  impose  on  the  enemy, 
but  to  give  a  sort  of  artificial  courage  to  the  defend- 
ers concealed  behind  it.'^ 

Duero  had  arranged  with  his  friend  in  Cuba,  when 
he  took  command  of  the  expedition,  that  he  himself 
was  to  have  a  liberal  share  of  the  profits.  It  is  said 
that  Cortes  confirmed  this  arrangement  at  the  pres- 
ent juncture,  and  made  it  clearly  for  the  other's 
interest  that  he  should  prevail  in  the  struggle  with 
Narvaez.  This  was  an  important  point,  considering 
the  position  of  the  secretary.^  From  this  authentic 
source  the  general  derived  much  information  re- 
specting the  designs  of  Narvaez,  which  had  escaped 
the  knowledge  of  Olmedo.  On  the  departure  of 
the  envoys,  Cortes  intrusted  them  with  a  letter  for 
his  rival,  a  counterpart  of  that  which  he  had  received 
from  him.  This  show  of  negotiation  intimated  a 
desire  on  his  part  to  postpone,  if  not  avoid  hostilities, 
which  might  the  better  put  Narvaez  off  his  guard. 
In  the  letter  he  summoned  that  commander  and  his 
followers  to  present  themselves  before  him  without 


decir  mas  en  esto  por  no  ser  odioso  in   Spanish    history,   though    thq 

^  ninguna  de  las  partes."     Hist,  precise  passages  have  escaped  my 

de  las  Ind.,  MS.,  lib.  33,  cap.  12.  memory. 

7   More   than   one   example  of         8  Bernal  Diaz,  Hist,  de  la  Cod- 

this  ruse  is  mentioned  by  Mariana  quista,  cap.  119. 
VOL.    II.                      32 


260  RESIDENCE  IN   MEXICO.  [Book  IV 

delay,  and  to  acknowledge  his  authority  as  the  rep- 
resentative of  his  sovereign.  He  should  otherw^ise 
be  compelled  to  proceed  against  them  as  rebels  to 
the  Crown  !  ^  With  this  missive,  the  vaunting  tone 
of  which  was  intended  quite  as  much  for  his  own 
troops  as  the  enemy,  Cortes  dismissed  the  envoys. 
They  returned  to  disseminate  among  their  comrades 
their  admiration  of  the  general,  and  of  his  unbounded 
liberality,  of  which  he  took  care  they  should  experi- 
ence full  measure,  and  they  dilated  on  the  riches  of 
his  adherents,  who,  over  their  wretched  attire,  dis- 
played, with  ostentatious  profusion,  jewels,  orna- 
ments of  gold,  collars,  and  massive  chains  winding 
several  times  round  their  necks  and  bodies,  the  rich 
spoil  of  the  treasury  of  Montezuma. 

The  army  now  took  its  way  across  the  level 
plains  of  the  tierra  caliente,  on  which  Nature  has 
exhausted  all  the  w^onders  of  creation ;  it  was  cov- 
ered more  thickly  then,  than  at  the  present  day, 
with  noble  forests,  where  the  towering  cotton-wood 
tree,  the  growth  of  ages,  stood  side  by  side  with 
the  Hght  bamboo,  or  banana,  the  product  of  a  season, 
«ach  in  its  way  attesting  the  marvellous  fecundity  of 

*  "  E    assimismo    mandaba,    y  hacer  en  servicio  de  Vuestra  Alte- 

mand6  per  el  dicho  Mandamiento  za :  con  protestacion,  que  lo  con- 

a  todas  las  Personas,  que  con  el  trario  haciendo,  procederia  contra 

dicho    Narvaez    estaban,  que  no  ellos,  como  contra  Traydores,  y 

tubiessen,  ni  obedeciessen  al  dicho  aleves,  y  malos  Vasallos,  que  ee 

Narvaez  por  tal  Capitan,  ni  Justi-  rebelaban  contra  su  Rey,  y  quieren 

cia;  &ntes,  denlro  de  cierto  t6rmi-  usurpar  sus  Tierras,  y  Sefiorios." 

no,  que  en  el  dicho  Mandamiento  Rel.  Seg.  de  Cortes,  ap.  Lorenza- 

sefial^,  pareciessen  ante  mi,  para  na,  p.  127. 
que  yo  les  dijesse,  lo  que  debian 


Ch.  VII.]  PREPARES  TO  ASSAULT  HIM.  251 

the  soil,  while  innumerable  creeping  flowers,  muffling 
up  the  giant  branches  of  the  trees,  waved  in  bright 
festoons  above  their  heads,  loading  the  air  with 
odors.  But  the  senses  of  the  Spaniards  were  not 
open  to  the  delicious  influences  of  nature.  Their 
minds  were  occupied  by  one  idea. 

Coming  upon  an  open  reach  of  meadow,  of  some 
extent,  they  were,  at  length,  stopped  by  a  river,  or 
rather  stream,  called  Bio  de  Canoas,  "  the  River  of 
Canoes,"  of  no  great  volume  ordinarily,  but  swollen 
at  this  time  by  excessive  rains.  It  had  rained  hard 
that  day,  although  at  intervals  the  sun  had  broken 
forth  with  intolerable  fervor,  affording  a  good  speci- 
men of  those  alternations  of  heat  and  moisture, 
which  give  such  activity  to  vegetation  in  the  tropics, 
where  the  process  of  forcing  seems  to  be  always 
going  on. 

The  river  was  about  a  league  distant  from  the 
camp  of  Narvaez.  Before  seeking  out  a  practicable 
ford,  by  which  to  cross  it,  Cortes  allowed  his  men  to 
recruit  their  exhausted  strength  by  stretching  them- 
selves on  the  ground.  The  shades  of  evening  had 
gathered  round ;  and  the  rising  moon,  wading  through 
dark  masses  of  cloud,  shone  with  a  doubtful  and 
interrupted  light.  It  was  evident  that  the  storm 
had  not  yet  spent  its  fury.^^  Cortes  did  not  regret 
this.  He  had  made  up  his  mind  to  an  assault  that 
very  night,  and  in  the  darkness  and  uproar  of  the 

i*^ '*Yaun  llouia derate  en  rato,  y  llouia,  y  tambien  la  escuridad 
y  entonces  salia  la  Luna,  que  qua-  ayud6."  Hist,  de  la  Conquista, 
do  alii  llegamos  hazia  muy  escuro,     cap.  122. 


262  RESIDENCE  IN   MEXICO.  [Book   IV 

tempest  his  movements  would  be  most  effectually 
concealed. 

Before  disclosing  his  design,  he  addressed  his  men 
in  one  of  those  stirring,  soldierly  harangues,  to 
which  he  had  recourse  in  emergencies  of  great  mo- 
ment, as  if  to  sound  the  depths  of  their  hearts,  and, 
where  any  faltered,  to  reanimate  them  with  his 
own  heroic  spirit.  He  briefly  recapitulated  the 
great  events  of  the  campaign,  the  dangers  they  had 
surmounted,  the  victories  they  had  achieved  over  the 
most  appalling  odds,  the  glorious  spoil  they  had  won. 
But  of  this  they  were  now  to  be  defrauded ;  not  by 
men  holding  a  legal  warrant  from  the  Crown,  but  by 
adventurers,  with  no  better  title  than  that  of  superior 
force.  They  had  established  a  claim  on  the  grati- 
tude of  their  country  and  their  sovereign.  This 
claim  was  now  to  be  dishonored,  their  very  services 
were  converted  into  crimes,  and  their  names  branded 
with  infamy  as  those  of  traitors.  But  the  time  had 
at  last  come  for  vengeance.  God  would  not  desert  the 
soldier  of  the  Cross.  Those,  whom  he  had  carried 
victorious  through  greater  dangers,  would  not  be  left 
to  fail  now.  And,  if  they  should  fail,  better  to  die 
like  brave  men  on  the  field  of  battle,  than,  with  fame 
and  fortune  cast  away,  to  perish  ignominiously  like 
slaves  on  the  gibbet.  — This  last  point  he  urged 
home  upon  his  hearers;  well  knowing  there  was  not 
one  among  them  so  dull  as  not  to  be  touched  by  it. 

They  responded  with  hearty  acclamations,  and 
Velasquez  de  Leon,  and  de  Lugo,  in  the  name  of 
the  rest,  assured  their  commander,  if  they  failed,  it 


Ch.  VII.]  PREPARES  TO  ASSAULT  HIM.  253 

should  be  his  fault,  not  theirs.  They  would  follow 
wherever  he  led.  —  The  general  was  fully  satisfied 
with  the  temper  of  his  soldiers,  as  he  felt  that  his  dif- 
ficulty lay  not  in  awakening  their  enthusiasm,  but  in 
giving  it  a  right  direction.  One  thing  is  remarkable. 
lie  made  no  allusion  to  the  defection  which  he  knew 
existed  in  the  enemy's  camp.  He  would  have  his 
soldiers,  in  this  last  pinch,  rely  on  nothing  but  them- 
selves. 

He  announced  his  purpose  to  attack  the  enemy 
that  very  night,  when  he  should  be  buried  in  slum- 
ber, and  the  friendly  darkness  might  throw  a  veil 
over  their  own  movements,  and  conceal  the  poverty 
of  their  numbers.  To  this  the  troops,  jaded  though 
they  were  by  incessant  marching,  and  half  fam 
ished,  joyfully  assented.  In  their  situation,  sus- 
pense was  the  worst  of  evils.  He  next  distributed 
the  commands  among  his  captains.  To  Gonzalo 
de  Sandoval  he  assigned  the  important  office  of 
taking  Narvaez.  He  was  commanded,  as  alguacil 
mayor ^  to  seize  the  person  of  that  officer  as  a  rebel 
to  his  sovereign,  and,  if  he  made  resistance,  to  kill 
him  on  the  spot.^^  He  was  provided  with  sixty 
picked  men  to  aid  him  in  this  difficult  task,  sup- 

11  The  Attorney  of  Narvaez,  in  provisiones  R.%  no  mirando  ni  asat- 

his  complaint  before  the  Crown,  tando  la  lealtad  q*  debia  a  V.  M., 

expatiates  on  the  diabolical  enor-  el  dho  Cortt^s  did  un  Mandamientto 

mity  of  these  instructions.     "El  al  dho  Gonzalo  de  Sandobal  para 

dho  Fernando  Corttes  como  traidor  que  prendiese  al  dho   Panfilo  de 

aleboso,  sin   apercibir  al  dho   mi  Narvaez,  €  si  se  defendiese  q*  lo 

partte,  con  un  diabolico  pensam'"  6  raattase."     Demanda  de  Zavallos 

Infernal    osadia,  en   contemtto   €  en  nombre  de  Narvaez,  MS. 
menosprecio  de  V.  M.  6  de  sus 


264  RESIDENCE  IN  MEXICO.  [Book  IV. 

ported  by  several  of  the  ablest  captains,  among 
whom  were  two  of  the  Alvarados,  de  Avila,  and 
Ordaz.  The  largest  division  of  the  force  was  placed 
under  Christdval  de  Olid,  or,  according  to  some  au- 
thorities, of  Pizarro,  one  of  that  family  so  renowned 
in  the  subsequent  conquest  of  Peru.  He  was  to  get 
possession  of  the  artillery,  and  to  cover  the  assault 
of  Sandoval  by  keeping  those  of  the  enemy  at  bay, 
who  would  interfere  with  it.  Cortes  reserved  only 
a  body  of  twenty  men  for  himself,  to  act  on  any 
point  that  occasion  might  require.  The  watch-word 
was  Espiritu  Santo,  it  being  the  evening  of  Whit- 
sunday. Having  made  these  arrangements,  he  pre- 
pared to  cross  the  river.^^ 

•  During  the  interval  thus  occupied  by  Cortes,  JNar- 
vaez  had  remained  at  Cempoalla,  passing  his  days  in 
idle  and  frivolous  amusement.  From  this  he  was  at 
length  roused,  after  the  return  of  Duero,  by  the 
remonstrances  of  the  old  cacique  of  the  city.  "Why 
are  you  so  heedless  ? "  exclaimed  the  latter ;  "  do 
you  think  Malinche  is  so  ?  Depend  on  it,  he  knows 
your  situation  exactly,  and,  when  you  least  dream  of 
it,  he  will  be  upon  you."  ^^ 

Alarmed  at  these  suggestions  and   those  of  his 
friends,  Narvaez  at  length  put  himself  at  the  head 

^  Oviedo,  Hist,  de  las  Ind.,  MS.,  y  los  Teules  que  trae  cosigo,  que 

lib.  33,  cap.  12,47. — Bernal  Diaz,  son  assi  como  vosotros?    Pues  yo 

Hist,  de  la  Conquista,  cap.  122.  —  os  digo,  que  quado  no  os  cataredes, 

Herrera,   Hist.   General,   dec.  2,  ser^  aqui,  y  os  matara."     Bernal 

lib.  10,  cap.  1.  Diaz,  Hist,  de  la  Conquista,  cap. 

J3  "Que  hazeis,  que  estais  mui  121. 
descuidadol  pensais  que  Malinche, 


Ch.  VII.]  QUARTERS  OF  NARVAEZ.  266 

of  his  troops,  and,  on  the  very  day  on  which  Cor- 
tes arrived  at  the  River  of  Canoes,  sallied  out  to 
meet  him.  But,  when  he  had  reached  this  barrier, 
Narvaez  saw  no  sign  of  an  enemy.  The  rain, 
which  fell  in  torrents,  soon  drenched  the  soldiers  to 
the  skin.  Made  somewhat  effeminate  by  their  long 
and  luxurious  residence  at  Cempoalla,  they  mur- 
mured at  their  uncomfortable  situation.  "  Of  what 
use  was  it  to  remain  there  fighting  with  the  ele- 
ments? There  was  no  sign  of  an  enemy,  and  lit- 
tle reason  to  apprehend  his  approach  in  such  tem- 
pestuous weather.  It  would  be  wiser  to  return  to 
Cempoalla,  and  in  the  morning  they  should  be  all 
fresh  for  action,  should  Cortes  make  his  appearance." 

Narvaez  took  counsel  of  these  advisers,  or  rather 
of  his  own  inclinations.  Before  retracing  his  steps, 
he  provided  against  surprise,  by  stationing  a  couple 
of  sentinels  at  no  great  distance  from  the  river,  to 
give  notice  of  the  approach  of  Cortes.  He  also 
detached  a  body  of  forty  horse  in  another  direction, 
by  which  he  thought  it  not  improbable  the  enemy 
might  advance  on  Cempoalla.  Having  taken  these 
precautions,  he  fell  back  again  before  night  on  his 
own  quarters. 

He  there  occupied  the  principal  teocallL  It  con- 
sisted of  a  stone  building  on  the  usual  pyramidal 
basis ;  and  the  ascent  was  by  a  flight  of  steep  steps 
on  one  of  the  faces  of  the  pyramid.  In  the  edifice 
or  sanctuary  above  he  stationed  himself  with  a  strong 
party  of  arquebusiers  and  crossbow-men.  Two  other 
ieocallis  in  the  same  area  were  garrisoned  by  large 


256  RESIDENCE  IN   MEXICO.  [Book  IV 

detachments  of  infantry.  His  artillery,  consisting  of 
seventeen  or  eighteen  small  guns,  he  posted  in  the 
area  below,  and  protected  it  by  the  remainder  of  his 
cavalry.  When  he  had  thus  distributed  his  forces, 
he  returned  to  his  own  quarters,  and  soon  after  to 
repose,  with  as  much  indifference  as  if  his  rival  had 
been  on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic,  instead  of 
a  neighbouring  stream. 

That  stream  was  now  converted  by  the  deluge  of 
waters  into  a  furious  torrent.  It  was  with  difficulty 
that  a  practicable  ford  could  be  found.  The  slip- 
pery stones,  rolling  beneath  the  feet,  gave  away  at 
every  step.  The  difficulty  of  the  passage  was  much 
increased  by  the  darkness  and  driving  tempest. 
Still,  with  their  long  pikes,  the  Spaniards  contrived 
to  make  good  their  footing,  at  least,  all  but  two, 
who  were  swept  down  by  the  fury  of  the  current. 
When  they  had  reached  the  opposite  side,  they  had 
new  impediments  to  encounter,  in  traversing  a  road, 
never  good,  now  made  doubly  difficult  by  the  deep 
mire,  and  the  tangled  brushwood  with  which  it  was 
overrun. 

Here  they  met  with  a  cross,  which  had  been 
raised  by  them  on  their  former  march  into  the  inte- 
rior. They  hailed  it  as  a  good  omen ;  and  Cortes, 
kneeling  before  the  blessed  sign,  confessed  his  sins, 
and  declared  his  great  object  to  be  the  triumph  of 
the  holy  Catholic  faith.  The  army  followed  his  ex- 
ample, and,  having  made  a  general  confession,  re- 
ceived absolution  from  father  Olmedo,  who  invoked 
the  blessing  of  Heaven  on  the  warriors  who  had 


Ch.  VII.] 


ATTACKED   BY   NIGHT. 


257 


consecrated  their  swords  to  the  glory  of  the  Cross. 
Then  rising  up  and  embracing  one  another,  as  com- 
panions in  the  good  cause,  they  found  themselves 
wonderfully  invigorated  and  refreshed  The  inci- 
dent is  curious,  and  well  illustrates  the  character  of 
the  time,  —  in  which  war,  religion,  and  rapine  were 
so  intimately  blended  together.  Adjoining  the  road 
was  a  little  coppice ;  and  Cortes,  and  the  few  who 
had  horses,  dismounting,  fastened  the  animals  to  the 
trees,  where  they  might  find  some  shelter  from  the 
storm.  They  deposited  there,  too,  their  baggage, 
and  such  superfluous  articles  as  would  encumber 
their  movements.  The  general  then  gave  them  a 
few  last  words  of  advice.  "  Every  thing,"  said  he, 
"depends  on  obedience.  Let.no  man,  from  desire 
of  distinguishing  himself,  break  his  ranks.  On  si- 
lence, despatch,  and,  above  all,  obedience  to  your 
officers,  the  success  of  our  enterprise  depends." 

Silently  and  stealthily  they  held  on  their  way 
without  beat  of  drum,  or  sound  of  trumpet,  when 
they  suddenly  came  on  the  two  sentinels  who  had 
been  stationed  by  Narvaez  to  give  notice  of  their 
approach.  This  had  been  so  noiseless,  that  the  vi- 
dettes  were  both  of  them  surprised  on  the>  post, 
and  one  only,  with  difficulty,  effected  his  escape. 
The  other  was  brought  before  Cortes.  Every  effort 
was  made  to  draw  from  him  some  account  of  the 
piesent  position  of  Narvaez.  But  the  man  remaincv^ 
obstinately  silent ;  and,  though  threatened  with  the 
gibbet,  and  having  a  noose  actually  drawn  round  Iiis 
neck,  his  Spartan  heroism  was  not  to  be  vanquished. 

VOL.    II.  33 


■    4' 
258  RESIDENCE  IN   MEXICO.  [Boot  IV. 

Fortunately  no  change  had  taken  place  in  the  ar- 
rangements of  Narraez  since  the  intelligence  pre- 
viously derived  from  Duero. 

The  other  sentinel,  who  had  escaped,  carried  the 
news  of  the  enemy's  approach  to  the  camp.  But 
his  report  was  not  credited  by  the  lazy  soldiers, 
whose  slumbers  he  had  disturbed.  "  He  had  been 
deceived  by  his  fears,"  they  said,  "  and  mistaken  the 
noise  of  the  storm  and  the  waving  of  the  bushes,  for 
the  enemy.  Cortes  and  his  men  were  far  enough 
on  the  other  side  of  the  river,  which  they  vv^ould  be 
slow  to  cross  in  such  a  night."  Narvaez  himself 
shared  in  the  same  blind  infatuation,  and  the  dis- 
credited sentinel  slunk  abashed  to  his  own  quarters, 
vainly  menacing  them  with  the  consequences  of 
their  incredulity.^* 

Cortes,  not  doubting  that  the  sentinel's  report 
must  alarm  the  enemy's  camp,  quickened  his  pace. 
As  he  drew  near,  he  discerned  a  light  in  one  of 
the  lofty  tow^ers  of  the  city.  "It  is  the  quarters 
of  Narvaez,"  he  exclaimed  to  Sandoval,  "  and  that 
light  must  be  your  beacon."  On  entering  the  sub- 
urbs, the  Spaniards  were  surprised  to  find  no  one 
stirring,  and  no  symptom  of  alarm.  Not  a  sound 
was  to  be  heard,  except  the  measured  tread  of  their 
own  footsteps,  half-drowned  in  the  howling  of  the 
tempest.  Still  they  could  not  move  so  stealthily  as 
Altogether  to  elude  notice,  as  they  defiled  through 

^*  Rel.  Seg.  de  Cortes,  ap.  Lo-     —  Herrera,  Hist.  General,  dec.  2, 
renzana,  p.  128.  — Oviedo,   Hist.     lib.  10,  cap.  2,  3. 
de  lae  Ind.,  MS.,  lib.  33,  cap.  47. 


Ch.  VII.J  attacked   by   NIGHT.  259 

the  streets  of  this  populous  city.  The  tidings  were 
quickly  conveyed  to  the  enemy's  quarters,  where, 
in  an  instant,  all  was  bustle  and  confusion.  The 
trumpets  sounded  to  arms.  The  dragoons  sprang 
to  their  steeds,  the  artillery-men  to  their  guns.  Nar- 
vaez  hastily  buckled  on  his  armor,  called  his  men 
around  him,  and  summoned  those  in  the  neighbour- 
ing teocaUis  to  join  him  in  the  area.  He  gave  his 
orders  with  coolness ;  for,  however  wanting  in  pru- 
dence, he  was  not  deficient  in  presence  of  mind,  or 
courage. 

All  this  was  the  work  of  a  few  minutes.  But  in 
those  minutes  the  Spaniards  had  reached  the  avenue 
leading  to  the  camp.  Cortes  ordered  his  men  to 
keep  close  to  the  walls  of  the  buildings,  that  the 
cannon-shot  might  have  a  free  range. '^  No  sooner 
had  they  presented  themselves  before  the  inclos- 
ure,  than  the  artillery  of  Narvaez  opened  a  gen- 
eral fire.  Fortunately  the  pieces  were  pointed  so 
high  that  most  of  the  balls  passed  over  their  heads, 
and  three  men  only  were  struck  down.  They  did 
not  give  the  enemy  time  to  reload.  Cortes  shout- 
ing the  watch- word  of  the  night,  "  Espiritu  Santo  * 
Espiritu  Santo!  Upon  them!"  in  a  moment  Olid 
and  his  division  rushed  on  the  artillery-men,  whom 
they  pierced,  or  knocked  down  with  their  pikes,  and 


^5  "Ya    que    se    acercaban   al  dos  aceras  de  la  Calle,  para  que 

Aposento  de  Narvaez,  Cortes,  que  las  balas  del  Artilleria  pasen  pot 

andaba  reconociendo,  i  ordenando  medio,  sin  hacer  dafio.'*     Ibid., 

k  todas  partes,  dixo  k  la  Tropa  de  dec.  2,  lib.  10,  cap.  3. 
Sandoval :  Seuores,  arrimaos  k  las 


260  RESIDENCE   IN   MEXICO.  [Book  IV. 

got  possession  of  their  guns.  Another  division  en- 
gaged the  cavalry,  and  made  a  diversion  in  favor  of 
Sandoval,  who  with  his  gallant  little  band  sprang  up 
the  great  stairway  of  the  temple.  They  were  re- 
ceived with  a  shower  of  missiles,  —  arrows,  and  mus- 
ket-balls, which,  in  the  hurried  aim,  and  the  dark- 
ness of  the  night,  did  little  mischief.  The  next 
minute  the  assailants  were  on  the  platform,  engaged 
hand  to  hand  with  their  foes.  Narvaez  fought 
bravely  in  the  midst,  encouraging  his  followers.  His 
standard-bearer  fell  by  his  side,  run  through  the 
body.  He  himself  received  several  wounds  ;  for  his 
short  sword  was  no  match  for  the  long  pikes  of  the 
assailants.  At  length,  he  received  a  blow  from  a 
spear,  which  struck  out  his  left  eye.  "  Santa  Maria!" 
exclaimed  the  unhappy  man,  "I  am  slain!"  The 
cry  was  instantly  taken  up  by  the  followers  of  Cor- 
tes, who  shouted,  "  Victory ! " 

Disabled,  and  half  mad  with  agony  from  his 
wound,  Narvaez  was  withdrawn  by  his  men  into  the 
sanctuary.  The  assailants  endeavoured  to  force  an 
entrance,  but  it  was  stoutly  defended.  At  length  a 
soldier,  getting  possession  of  a  torch,  or  firebrand, 
flung  it  on  the  thatched  roof,  and  in  a  few  moments 
the  combustible  materials  of  which  it  was  composed 
were  in  a  blaze.  Those  within  were  driven  out  by 
the  suffocating  heat  and  smoke.  A  soldier  named 
Farfan  grappled  with  the  wounded  commander,  and 
easily  brought  him  to  the  ground;  when  he  was 
speedily  dragged  down  the  steps,  and  secured  with 


Ch.  VII.]  ATTACKED  BY   NIGHT.  261 

fetters.     His  followers,  seeing  the  fate  of  their  chief, 
made  no  further  resistance.'^ 

During  this  time,  Cortes  and  the  troops  of  Olid 
had  been  engaged  with  the  cavalry,  and  had  dis- 
comfited them,  after  some  ineffectual  attempts  on 
the  part  of  the  latter  to  break  through  the  dense 
array  of  pikes,  by  which  several  of  their  number 
were  unhorsed  and  some  of  them  slain.  The  gen- 
eral then  prepared  to  assault  the  other  teocallis,  first 
summoning  the  garrisons  to  surrender.  As  they  re- 
fused, he  brought  up  the  heavy  guns  to  bear  on 
them,  thus  turning  the  artillery  against  its  own 
masters.  He  accompanied  this  menacing  movement 
with  offers  of  the  most  liberal  import ;  an  amnesty 
of  the  past,  and  a  full  participation  in  all  the  advan- 
tages of  the  Conquest.  One  of  the  garrisons  was 
under  the  command  of  Salvatierra,  the  same  officer 
w^ho  talked  of  cutting  off  the  ears  of  Cortes.  From 
the  moment  he  had  learned  the  fate  of  his  own  gen- 
eral, the  hero  was  seized  with  a  violent  fit  of  illness 
which  disabled  him  from  further  action.  The  gar- 
rison waited  only  for  one  discharge  of  the  ordnance, 
when  they  accepted  the  terms  of  capitulation. 
Cortes,  it  is  said,  received,  on  this  occasion,  a  sup- 
port from  an  unexpected  auxiliary.  The  air  was 
filled  with  the  cocuyos, — a  species  of  large  beetle 
which  emits  an  intense  phosphoric  light  from  its 
body,  strong  enough  to  enable  one  to  read  by  it. 


16  Demanda de  Zavallos  en  nom-     Hist,  de  las  Ind.,  MS.,  lib.  33, 
bre  de   Narvaez,   MS.  —  Oviedo,     cap.  47. 


262  RESIDENCE  IN   MEXICO.  [Book  JV. 

These  wandering  fires,  seen  in  the  darkness  of  the 
night,  were  converted,  by  the  excited  imaginations 
of  the  besieged,  into  an  army  with  matchlocks! 
Such  is  the  report  of  an  eyewitness. ^^  But  the 
facility  with  which  the  enemy  surrendered  may  quite 
as  probably  be  referred  to  the  cowardice  of  the 
commander,  and  the  disaffection  of  the  soldiers,  not 
unwilling  to  come  under  the  banners  of  Cortes. 

The  body  of  cavalry,  posted,  it  will  be  remem- 
bered, by  Narvaez  on  one  of  the  roads  to  Cempoalla, 
to  intercept  his  rival,  having  learned  what  had  been 
passing,  were  not  long  in  tendering  their  submission. 
Each  of  the  soldiers  in  the  conquered  army  was  re- 
quired, in  token  of  his  obedience,  to  deposit  his  arms 
in  the  hands  of  the  alguacils,  and  to  take  the  oaths 
to  Cortes  as  Chief  Justice  and  Captain- General 
of  the  colony. 

The  number  of  the  slain  is  variously  reported.  It 
seems  probable  that  not  more  than  twelve  perished 
on  the  side  of  the  vanquished,  and  of  the  victors  half 
that  number.  The  small  amount  may  be  explained 
by  the  short  duration  of  the  action,  and  the  random 
aim  of  the  missiles  in  the  darkness.  The  number  of 
the  wounded  was  much  more  considerable.*^ 


^'  "  Como  hazia  tan  escuro  aula  ney,  swells  the  amount  of  slain  on 

muchos  cocayos  (ansi  los  Uaman  his  own  side  much  higher.     Bui 

en    Cuba)    que    relumbrauan    de  it  was  his  cue  to  magnify  the  mis- 

noche,  i  los  de  Narvaez  creyeron  chief  sustained  by  his  employer, 

que  era  muchas  de  las  escopetas."  The  collation  of  this  account  with 

Bernal  Diaz,  Hist,  de  la  Conquista,  those  of  Cortes  and  his  followers 

cap.  122.  affords  the  best  means  of  approx- 

18  Narvaez,  or  rather  his  attor-  imation  to  truth.     "  E  alii  le  mat- 


C».  VILJ  NARVAEZ  DEFEATED.  263 

The  field  was  now  completely  won.  A  few  brief 
hours  had  sufficed  to  change  the  condition  of  Cortes 
from  that  of  a  wandering  outlaw  at  the  head  of  a 
handful  of  needy  adventurers,  a  rebel  with  a  price 
upon  his  head,  to  that  of  an  independent  chief,  with 
a  force  at  his  disposal  strong  enough  not  only  to  se- 
cure his  present  conquests,  but  to  open  a  career  for 
still  loftier  ambition.  While  the  air  rung  with  the 
acclamations  of  the  soldiery,  the  victorious  general, 
assuming  a  deportment  corresponding  with  his  change 
of  fortune,  took  his  seat  in  a  chaii*  of  state,  and,  with 
a  rich,  embroidered  mantle  thrown  over  his  shoulders, 
received,  one  by  one,  the  officers  and  soldiers,  as 
they  came  to  tender  their  congratulations.  The 
privates  were  graciously  permitted  to  kiss  his  hand. 
The  officers  he  noticed  with  words  of  compliment  or 
courtesy ;  and,  when  Duero,  Bermudez,  the  treasurer, 
and  some  others  of  the  vanquished  party,  his  old 
friends,  presented  themselves,  he  cordially  embraced 
them.^-' 

taron  quince  hombres  q*  murieron  y  assi  como  venia,  ivan  a  besar  las 

de  las  feridas  q*  les  di^ron  6  les  manos  a  Cortes,  q  estaua  sentado 

quemaron  seis   hombres  del  dho  en  vna  silla  de  caderas,  con  vna 

Incendio  q^  despues  parecieron  las  ropa  larga  de  color  como  narajada, 

cabezas  de  ellos  quemadas,  e  pusi-  c5  sus  armas   debaxo,  acopafiado 

eron  a  sacomano  todo  quantto  tte-  de  nosotros.     Pues  ver  la  gracia 

nian  los  que  benian  con  el  dho  mi  con  que  les  hablaua,  y  abra5aua, 

partte  como  si  fueran  Moros  y  al  y  las  palabras  de  tatos  cumplimie- 

dho  mi  partte  robaron  6  saque^ron  tos  que  les  dezia,  era  cosa  de  ver 

todos  sus  vienes,  oro,  €  Platta  6  que  alegre  estaua  :  y  tenia  mucha 

Joyaa."    Demanda  de  Zavallos  en  razon  de  verse  en  aquel  puto  tan 

iiombre  de  Narvaez,  MS.  seiior,  y  pujate :    y  assi  como  le 

19  "Entre   ellos  venia   Andres  besaua  la  mano,  se  fu^ro  cada  vno 

de  Duero,  y  Agustin  Bermudez,  y  a  su  posada."    Bernal  Diaz,  Hist. 

ODuchos  amigos  de  nuestro  Capita,  de  la  Conquista,  cap.  122. 


<264  RESIDENCE  IN   MEXICO.  [Book  IV. 

Narvaez,  Salvatierra,  and  two  or  three  of  the  hos- 
tile leaders  were  led  before  him  in  chains.  It  was 
a  moment  of  deep  humiliation  for  the  former  com- 
mander, in  which  the  anguish  of  the  body,  however 
keen,  must  have  been  forgotten  in  that  of  the  spirit. 
"  You  have  great  reason,  Senor  Cortes,"  said  the 
discomfited  warrior,  "  to  thank  Fortune  for  having 
given  you  the  day  so  easily,  and  put  me  in  your 
power."  "  I  have  much  to  be  thankful  for,"  replied 
the  general ;  "  but  for  my  victory  over  you,  I  esteem 
it  as  one  of  the  least  of  my  achievements  since  my 
coming  into  the  country  !  "  ^°  He  then  ordered  the 
wounds  of  the  prisoners  to  be  cared  for,  and  sent 
them  under  a  strong  guard  to  Vera  Cruz. 

Notwithstanding  the  proud  humility  of  his  reply, 
Cortes  could  scarcely  have  failed  to  regard  his  victo- 
ry over  Narvaez  as  one  of  the  most  brilliant  achieve- 
ments in  his  career.  With  a  few  scores  of  followers, 
badly  clothed,  worse  fed,  wasted  by  forced  marches, 
under  every  personal  disadvantage,  deficient  in  wea- 
pons and  military  stores,  he  had  attacked  in  their 
own  quarters,  routed,  and  captured  the  entire  force 
of  the  enemy,  thrice  his  superior  in  numbers,  well 
provided  with  cavalry  and  artillery,  admirably  equip- 


^  Ibid.,  loc.  cit.  pondio,  6  dixo  :    Lo  menos  que  yo 

"  Dixose  que  como  Narvaez  vi-  he  hecho  en  esta  tierra  donde  es- 

do  &  Cortes  estando  asi  preso  le  tais,  es  haberos  prendido  ;  6  luego 

dixo  :     Sefior    Cortes,   tened    en  le  hizo  poner  a  buen  recaudo  6  le 

jnucho  la  ventura  que  habeis  teni-  tubo  mucho  tiempo  preso."    Ovie- 

do,  e  lo  mucho  que  habeis  hecho  do,  Hist,  de  las  Ind.,  MS.,  lib.  33, 

en  tener  mi  persona,  6  en  tomar  cap.  47. 
mi  persona.     E  que  Cortes  le  res- 


Ch.  VII.]  NARVAEZ  DEFEATED.  266 

ped,  and  complete  in  all  the  munitions  of  war  !  The 
amount  of  troops  engaged  on  cither  side  was,  in- 
deed, inconsiderable.  But  the  proportions  are  not 
affected  by  this  ;  and  the  relative  strength  of  the 
parties  made  a  result  so  decisive  one  of  the  most 
remarkable  events  in  the  annals  of  war. 

It  is  true  there  were  some  contingencies  on  which 
the  fortunes  of  the  day  depended,  that  could  not  be 
said  to  be  entirely  within  his  control.  Something 
was  the  work  of  chance.  If  Velasquez  de  Leon, 
for  example,  had  proved  false,  the  expedition  must 
have  failed. ^^  If  the  weather,  on  the  night  of  the 
attack,  had  been  fair,  the  enemy  would  have  had 
certain  notice  of  his  approach,  and  been  prepared 
for  it.  But  these  are  the  chances  that  enter  more 
or  less  into  every  enterprise.  He  is  the  skilful 
general,  who  knows  how  to  turn  them  to  account; 
to  win  the  smiles  of  Fortune,  and  make  even  the 
elements  fight  on  his  side. 

21  Oviedo    says,    that    military  bien  la  question,  en  que  si  Juan 

men  discussed  whether  Velasquez  Velasquez  tubo  conducta  de  cap- 

de  Leon  should  have  obeyed  the  itan  para  que  con  aquella  Gente 

commands  of  Cortes  rather  than  que  ^1  le  did  6  toviese  en  aquella 

those  of  his  kinsman,  the  governor  tierra  como  capitan   particular  le 

of  Cuba.     They  decided  in  favor  acudiese  a  ^1 6  a  quien  le  mandase. 

of  the  former,  on  the  ground  of  his  Juan  Velasquez  faltd  a  lo  que  era  ^' 

holding    his  commission  immedi-  obligado  en  no  pasar  k  Panfilo  de 

ately  from  him.     *'  Visto  he  plati-  Narvaez  siendo  requerido  de  Diego 

car  sobre  esto  k  caballeros  d  per-  Velasquez,  mas  si  le  hizo  capitan 

Bonas  militares  sobre  si  este  Juan  Hernando  Cortes,  6  le  did  61  la 

Velasquez   de   Leon  hizo   lo   que  Gente,  k  6\  havia  de  acudir,  como 

debia,  en  acudir  d  no  ^  Diego  Ve-  acudid,  excepto  si   viera  carta,  4 

lasquez,  d  al  Panfilo  en  su  nom-  mandamiento  expreso  del  Rey  en 

bre ;  E  combienen    los   vetoranos  contrario."      Hist,   de   las    Ind., 

milites,  d  a  mi  parecer  determinan  MS.,  lib.  33,  cap.  12. 
VOL.    II.                       34 


Jgfi  RESIDENCE  IN   MEXICO.  [Book  1>. 

If  Velasquez  de  Leon  was,  as  it  proved,  the  very 
officer  whom  the  general  should  have  trusted  with 
the  command,  it  was  his  sagacity  which  originally 
discerned  this,  and  selected  him  for  it.  It  was  his 
address  that  converted  this  dangerous  foe  into  a 
friend ;  and  one  so  fast  that  in  the  hour  of  need  he 
chose  rather  to  attach  himself  to  his  desperate  for- 
tunes than  to  those  of  the  governor  of  Cuba,  power- 
ful as  the  latter  was,  and  his  near  kinsman.  It  was 
the  same  address  which  gained  Cortes  such  an  as- 
cendency over  his  soldiers,  and  knit  them  to  him  so 
closely,  that,  in  the  darkest  moment,  not  a  man 
offered  to  desert  him.^^  If  the  success  of  the  assault 
may  be  ascribed  mainly  to  the  dark  and  stormy 
weather  which  covered  it,  it  was  owing  to  him  that 
he  was  in  a  condition  to  avail  himself  of  this.  The 
shortest  possible  time  intervened  between  the  con- 
ception of  his  plan  and  its  execution.  In  a  very 
few  days,  he  descended  by  extraordinary  marches 
from  the  capital  to  the  sea-coast.  He  came  like  a 
torrent  from  the  mountains,  pouring  on  the  enemy's 
camp,  and  sweeping  every  thing  away,  before  a  bar- 
rier could  be  raised  to  arrest  it.  This  celerity  of 
movement,    the    result   of  a  clear  head  and  deter^ 


88  This  ascendency  the  thought-  partido  e  gratificador  de  los  que  le 

ful  Oviedo  refers  to  his  dazzling  vinieron,  fu^  mucha  causa  junta- 

and  liberal  manners,   so  strongly  mente  con  ser  mal  quisto  Diego 

cuntrasted  with  those  of  the  gov-  Velasquez,  para  que  Cortes  se  sa- 

ernor  of  Cuba.     "En  lo  demas  liese  con  lo  que  emprendio,  i  89 

valerosa  persona  ha  seido,  6  para  quedase  en  el  oficio,  ^  governa- 

mucho  ;  y  este  deseo  de  mandar  cion."    Ibid.,  MS.,  lib.  33,  cap. 

juntamente  con  que  fa^  mui  bien  12. 


Ch.  VII.]  NARVAEZ   DEFEATED.  267 

mined  will,  has  entered  into  the  strategy  of  the 
greatest  captains,  and  forms  a  prominent  feature  in 
their  most  brilliant  military  exploits.  It  was  un- 
doubtedly in  the  present  instance  a  great  cause  of 
success. 

But  it  would  be  taking  a  limited  view  of  the  sub- 
ject, to  consider  the  battle  which  decided  the  fate 
of  Narvaez,  as  wholly  fought  at  Cempoalla.  It  was 
begun  in  Mexico.  With  that  singular  power  which 
he  exercised  over  all  who  came  near  him,  Cortes 
converted  the  very  emissaries  of  Narvaez  into  his 
own  friends  and  agents.  The  reports  of  Guevara 
and  his  companions,  the  intrigues  of  father  Olmedo, 
and  the  general's  gold,  were  all  busily  at  work  to 
shake  the  loyalty  of  the  soldiers,  and  the  battle  was 
half  won  before  a  blow  had  been  struck.  It  was 
fought  quite  as  much  with  gold  as  with  steel.  Cor- 
tes understood  this  so  well,  that  he  made  it  his  great 
object  to  seize  the  person  of  Narvaez.  In  such  an 
event,  he  had  full  confidence  that  indifference  to 
their  own  cause  and  partiality  to  himself  would 
speedily  bring  the  rest  of  the  army  under  his  ban- 
ner. He  was  not  deceived.  Narvaez  said  truly 
enough,  therefore,  some  years  after  this  event,  that 
"he  had  been  beaten  by  his  own  troops,  not  by 
those  of  his  rival ;  that  his  followers  had  been  bribed 
to  betray  him."  ^  This  affords  the  only  explanation 
of  their  brief  and  ineffectual  resistance. 


23  It  was  in  a  conversation  with  with  much  bitterness,  as  was  luit 
Oviedo  himself,  at  Toledo,  in  ural,  on  his  rival's  conduct.  The 
1525,  in  which  Narvaez  descanted    gossip,  which  has  never  appeared 


268 


RESIDENCE   IN    MEXICO. 


[Book  IV. 


in  print,  may  have  some  interest 
for  the  Spanish  reader.  "  Que  el 
ano  de  1525,  estando  Cesar  en  la 
cibdad  de  Toledo,  vi  alii  al  dicho 
Narvaez,  6  publicamente  decia, 
que  Cortes  era  vn  traidor  :  E  que 
d&ndole  S.  M.  licencia  se  lo  haria 
conocer  de  su  persona  k  la  suya,  i 
que  era  hombre  sin  verdad,  e  otras 
muchas  6  feas  palabras  llamandcle 
alevoso  6  tirano,  e  ingrato  a  su 
Seiior,  e  a  quien  le  havia  embiado 
4  la  Nueva  Espana,  que  era  el 
Adelantado  Diego  Velasquez  a  su 
propia  costa,  e  se  le  havia  alzado 
ooQ  la  tierra,  6  con  la  Gente  6 


Hacienda,  6  otras  muchas  cosas 
que  mal  sonaban.  Y  en  la  manera 
de  su  prision  la  contaba  mui  al 
reves  de  lo  que  esta  dicho.  Lo 
que  yo  noto  de  esto  es,  que  con 
todo  lo  que  oi  k  Narvaez,  (como 
yo  se  lo  dixe)  no  puedo  hallarle 
desculpa  para  su  descuido,  porque 
ninguna  necesidad  tenia  de  andar 
con  Cortes  en  platicas,  sino  estar 
en  vela  mejor  que  la  que  hizo.  E 
a  esto  decia  el  que  le  havian  ven- 
dido  aquellos  de  quien  se  fiaba, 
que  Cort6s  le  havia  sobornado.'* 
Ibid.,  lib.  33,  cap.  12. 


t 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Discontent  of  the  Troops. — Insurrection  in  the  Capital.— 
Return  of  Cortes.  —  General  Signs  of  Hostility. — Massa- 
cre BY  Alvarado.  —  Rising  of  the  Aztecs. 

1620. 

The  tempest,  that  had  raged  so  wildly  during  the 
night,  passed  away  with  the  morning,  which  rose 
bright  and  unclouded  on  the  field  of  battle.  As  the 
light  advanced,  it  revealed  more  strikingly  the  dis- 
parity of  the  two  forces  so  lately  opposed  to  each 
other.  Those  of  Narvaez  could  not  conceal  their 
chagrin  ;  and  murmurs  of  displeasure  became  audi- 
ble, as  they  contrasted  their  own  superior  numbers 
and  perfect  appointments  with  the  way-worn  visages 
and  rude  attire  of  their  handful  of  enemies  !  It  was 
with  some  satisfaction,  therefore,  that  the  general 
beheld  his  dusky  allies  from  Chinantla,  two  thousand 
in  number,  arrive  upon  the  field.  They  were  a  fine, 
athletic  set  of  men  ;  and,  as  they  advanced  in  a 
sort  of  promiscuous  order,  so  to  speak,  with  their 
gay  banners  of  feather-work,  and  their  long  lances 
tipped  with  itztli  and  copper,  glistening  in  the  morn- 
ing sun,  they  had  something  of  an  air  of  military 
discipline.     They  came  too  late  for  the  action,  in-  "^3^^ 

deed,  but  Cortes  was  not  sorry  to  exhibit  to  his  new  .^^Wt- 

followers  the  extent  of  his  resources  in  the  country. 


270  RESIDENCE  IN   MEXICO.  [Book  IV. 

As  he  had  now  no  occasion  for  his  Indian  allies,  af- 
ter a  courteous  reception  and  a  liberal  recompense, 
he  dismissed  them  to  their  homes.^ 

He  then  used  his  utmost  endeavours  to  allay  the 
discontent  of  the  troops.  He  addressed  them  in 
his  most  soft  and  insinuating  tones,  and  was  by  no 
means  frugal  of  his  promises.^  He  suited  the  action 
to  the  word.  There  were  few  of  them  but  had  lost 
their  accoutrements,  or  their  baggage,  or  horses  ta- 
ken and  appropriated  by  the  victors.  This  last  arti- 
cle was  in  great  request  among  the  latter,  and  many 
a  soldier,  weary  with  the  long  marches,  hitherto  made 
on  foot,  had  provided  himself,  as  he  imagined,  with 
a  much  more  comfortable  as  well  as  creditable  con- 
veyance for  the  rest  of  the  campaign.  The  general 
now  commanded  everything  to  be  restored.*^  "  They 
were  embarked  in  the  same  cause,"  he  said,  "  and 
should  share  with  one  another  equally."  He  went 
still  further ;  and  distributed  among  the  soldiers  of 
Narvaez  a  quantity  of  gold  and  other  precious  com- 
modities gathered  from  the  neighbouring  tribes,  or 
found  in  his  rival's  quarters.* 

1  Herrera,  Hist.  General,  dec.  3  Captain  Diaz  had  secured  for 

S,  lib.  10,  cap.  6.  —  Oviedo,  Hist,  his  share  of  the  spoil  of  the  Phil- 

de  las  Ind.,  MS.,  lib.  33,  cap.  47.  istines,  as  he  tells  us,  a  very  good 

—  Bernal  Diaz,  Hist,  de  la  Con-  horse  with  all  his  accoutrements, 

quista,  cap.  123.  a  brace  of  swords,  three  daggers, 

•  Diaz,  who  had  often  hstened  and  a  buckler,  —  a  very  beautiful 

id  it,  thus  notices  his  eloquence,  outfit    for    the    campaign.      The 

"  Comenz6  vn  parlamento  por  tan  general's  orders  were,   naturally 

nndo  estilo,  y  platica,  tabic  dichas  enough,  not  at  all  to  his  taste, 

cierto  otras  palabras  mas  sabrosas.  Ibid.,  cap.  124. 

y   llenas   de   ofertas,   q    yo   aqui  4   Narvaez  alleges  that  Cort^ 

00  sabr^  escriuir."    Ibid.,  cap.  122.  plundered  him  of  property  to  the 


Cn.  Vin.]  DISCONTENT  OF  THE  TROOPS.  271 

These  proceedings,  however  polilic  in  reference  to 
his  new  followers,  gave  great  disgust  to  his  old. 
"  Our  commander,"  they  cried,  "  has  forsaken  his 
friends  for  his  foes.  We  stood  by  him  in  his  hour  of 
distress,  and  are  rewarded  with  blows  and  wounds, 
while  the  spoil  goes  to  our  enemies  !  "  The  indig- 
nant soldiery  commissioned  the  priest  Olmedo  and 
Alonso  de  Avila  to  lay  their  complaints  before  Cor- 
tes. The  ambassadors  stated  them  without  reserve, 
comparing  their  commander's  conduct  to  the  un-- 
grateful  proceeding  of  Alexander,  who,  when  he 
gained  a  victory,  usually  gave  away  more  to  his  ene- 
mies than  to  the  troops  who  enabled  him  to  beat 
them.  Cortes  was  greatly  perplexed.  Victorious 
or  defeated,  his  path  seemed  equally  beset  with 
difficulties  ! 

He  endeavoured  to  soothe  their  irritation  by  plead- 
ing the  necessity  of  the  case.  "  Our  new  comrades," 
he  said,  "  are  formidable  from  their  numbers,  so  much 
so,  that  we  are  even  now  much  more  in  their  power 
than  they  are  in  ours.  Our  only  security  is  to  make 
them  not  merely  confederates,  but  friends.  On  any 
cause  of  disgust,  we  shall  have  the  whole  battle  to 
fight  over  again,  and,  if  they  are  united,  under  a 
much  greater  disadvantage  than  before.  I  have 
considered  your  interests,"  he  added,  "  as  much  as 
my  own.  All  that  I  have  is  yours.  But  why  should 
there  be  any  ground  for  discontent,  when  the  whole 

value  of  100,000  castellanos  of  the  pillage  of  the  leader  may  have 
gold  !  (Demanda  de  Zavallos  en  supplied  the  means  of  iiberaUtj  to 
nombre  de  Narvacz,  MS.)     If  so,     the  privates. 


272  RESIDENCE  IN   MEXICO.  [Book  IV. 

country,  with  its  riches,  is  before  us  ?  And  our 
augmented  strength  must  henceforth  secure  the  un- 
disturbed control  of  it !  " 

But  Cortes  did  not  rely  wholly  on  argument  for 
the  restoration  of  tranquillity.  He  knew  this  to  be 
incompatible  wdth  inaction,  and  he  made  arrange- 
ments to  divide  his  forces,  at  once,  and  to  employ 
them  on  distant  services.  He  selected  a  detachment 
of  two  hundred  men,  under  Diego  de  Ordaz,  whom 
he  ordered  to  form  the  settlement  before  meditated 
on  the  Coatzacualco.  A  like  number  was  sent  with 
Velasquez  de  Leon,  to  secure  the  province  of  Panu- 
co,  some  three  degrees  to  the  north,  on  the  Mexican 
Gulf.  Twenty  in  each  detachment  were  drafted 
from  his  own  veterans. 

Two  hundred  men  he  despatched  to  Vera  Cruz, 
with  orders  to  have  the  rigging,  iron,  and  every  thing 
portable  on  board  of  the  fleet  of  Narvaez,  brought 
on  shore,  and  the  vessels  completely  dismantled. 
He  appointed  a  person  named  Cavallero  superin- 
tendent of  the  marine,  with  instructions,  that,  if  any 
ships,  hereafter,  should  enter  the  port,  they  should 
be  dismantled  in  like  manner,  and  their  officers  im- 
prisoned on  shore. ^ 

5  Demanda  de  Zavallos  en  nom-  choly  traces  among  the   natives, 

bra  de    Narvaez,  MS.  —  Bernal  that  made    it    long  remembf;red. 

Diaz,  Hist,  de  la  Conquista,  cap.  A  Negro  in  his  suite  brought  with 

1^4.  — Oviedo,  Hist,  de  las  Ind.,  him  the  small-pox.     The  disease 

MS.,  lib.  33,  cap.  47.  —  Rel.  Seg.  spread  rapidly  in  that  quarter  of 

de  Cortes,  ap.  Lorenzana,  p.  130.  the  country,  and  great  numbers  of 

—  Camargo,   Hist,    de  Tlascala,  the  Indian  population  soon  fell  vie- 

MS.  tims  to  it.     Herrera,  Hist.  Gene- 

The  visit  of  Narvaez  left  melan-  ral,  dec.  2,  lib.  10,  cap.  6 


Cu.  VIII.]        INSURRECTION   IN    THE  CAPITAL.  273 

But,  while  he  was  thus  occupied  with  new  schemes 
of  discovery  and  conquest,  he  received  such  astound- 
ing intelligence  from  Mexico,  as  compelled  him  to 
concentrate  all  his  faculties  and  his  forces  on  that 
one  point.  The  city  was  in  a  state  of  insurrec- 
tion. No  sooner  had  the  struggle  with  his  rival  been 
decided,  than  Cortes  despatched  a  courier  with  the 
tidings  to  the  capital.  In  less  than  a  fortnight,  the 
same  messenger  returned  with  letters  from  Alvarado, 
conveying  the  alarming  information,  that  the  Mexi- 
cans were  in  arms,  and  had  vigorously  assaulted  the 
Spaniards  in  their  own  quarters.  The  enemy,  he 
added,  had  burned  the  brigantines,  by  which  Cortes 
had  secured  the  means  of  retreat  in  case  of  the  de- 
struction of  the  bridges.  They  had  attempted  to 
force  the  defences,  and  had  succeeded  in  partially 
undermining  them,  and  they  had  overwhelmed  the 
garrison  with  a  tempest  of  missiles,  which  had  killed 
several,  and  wounded  a  great  number.  The  letter 
concluded  with  beseeching  his  commander  to  hasten 
to  their  relief,  if  he  would  save  them,  or  keep  his 
hold  on  the  capital. 

These  tidings  were  a  heavy  blow  to  the  general, 
—  the  heavier,  it  seemed,  coming,  as  they  did,  in 
the  hour  of  triumph,  when  he  had  thought  to  have 
all  his  enemies  at  his  feet.  There  was  no  room  for 
hesitation.  To  lose  their  footing  in  the  capital,  the 
noblest  city  in  the  Western  World,  would  be  to  lose 
the  country  itself,  which  looked  up  to  it  as  its  head.^ 

8  *'  Se  perdia  la  mejor,  y  mas  Noble  Ciudad  de  todo  \o  naeva- 
VOL.   II.  35 


274  RESIDENCE  IN   MEXICO.  [Book   I\. 

He  opened  the  matter  fully  to  his  soldiers,  calling 
on  all  who  would  save  their  countrymen  to  follow 
him.  All  declared  their  readiness  to  go  ;  showing 
an  alacrity,  says  Diaz,  which  some  would  have  been 
slow  to  manifest,  had  they  foreseen  the  future. 

Cortes  now  made  preparations  for  instant  depar- 
ture. He  countermanded  the  orders  previously  given 
to  Velasquez  and  Ordaz,  and  directed  them  to  join 
him  with  their  forces  at  Tlascala.  He  recalled  the 
troops  from  Vera  Cruz,  leaving  only  a  hundred  men 
in  garrison  there,  under  command  of  one  Rodrigo 
Rangre ;  for  he  could  not  spare  the  services  of  San- 
doval at  this  crisis.  He  left  his  sick  and  wounded 
at  Cempoalla,  under  charge  of  a  small  detachment, 
directing  that  they  should  follow  as  soon  as  they 
were  in  marching  order.  Having  completed  these 
arrangements,  he  set  out  from  Cempoalla,  well  sup- 
plied with  provisions  by  its  hospitable  cacique,  who 
attended  him  some  leagues  on  his  way.  The  Toto- 
nac  chief  seems  to  have  had  an  amiable  facility  of 
accommodating  himself  to  the  powers  that  were  in 
the  ascendant. 

Nothing  worthy  of  notice  occurred  during  the 
first  part  of  the  march.  The  troops  everywhere 
met  with  a  friendly  reception  from  the  peasantry, 
who  readily  supplied  their  wants.  Some  time  before 
reaching  Tlascala,  the  route  lay  through  a  country 
thinly  settled ;  and  the  army  experienced  consider- 

mente  descubierto  del  Mundo  ;  y  beza  de  todo,  y  k  quien  todos  obe- 
ella  perdida,  se  perdia  todo  lo  decian."  Rel.  Seg.  de  Cortes, 
'ue  estaba  ganado,  per  ser  la  Ca-     ap.  JLorenzana,  p.  131. 


ch.  viii]  return  of  cortks.  275 

able  suffering  from  want  of  food,  and  still  more  from 
that  of  water.  Their  distress  increased  to  an  alarm- 
ing degree,  as,  in  the  hurry  of  their  forced  march, 
they  travelled  with  the  meridian  sun  beating  fiercely 
on  their  heads.  Several  faltered  by  the  way,  and, 
throwing  themselves  down  by  the  road-side,  seemed 
incapable  of  further  effort,  and  almost  indifferent  to 
life. 

In  this  extremity,  Cortes  sent  forward  a  small 
detachment  of  horse  to  procure  provisions  in  Tlas- 
cala,  and  speedily  followed  in  person.  On  arriving, 
he  found  abundant  supplies  already  prepared  by  the 
hospitable  natives.  They  were  sent  back  to  the 
troops ;  the  stragglers  were  collected  one  by  one  ; 
refreshments  were  administered ;  and  the  army,  re- 
stored in  strength  and  spirits,  entered  the  republican 
capital. 

Here  they  gathered  little  additional  news  respect- 
ing the  events  in  Mexico,  which  a  popular  rumor 
attributed  to  the  secret  encouragement  and  machin- 
ations of  Montezuma.  Cortes  was  commodiously 
lodged  in  the  quarters  of  Maxixca,  one  of  the  four 
chiefs  of  the  republic.  They  readily  furnished  him 
with  two  thousand  troops.  There  was  no  want  of 
heartiness,  when  the  war  was  with  their  ancient 
enemy,  the  Aztec.^ 

The  Spanish  commander,  on  reviewing  his  forces. 

■^  Ibid.,    ubi    supra.  —  Oviedo,  —Peter  Martyr,  De  Orbe  Novo, 

Hist,  de  las  Ind.,  MS.,  lib.  33,  dec.  5,  cap.  5,  —  Camargo,  Hitt 

cap.  13,  14.  — Bemal  Diaz,  Hist,  de  Tlascala,  MS. 
de  la  Conquista,  cap.    124,   125. 


276  RESIDENCE  IN    MEXICO.  [Book  IV. 

after  the  junction  with  his  two  captains,  found  that 
they  amounted  to  about  a  thousand  foot,  and  one 
hundred  horse,  besides  the  Tlascalan  levies.^  In 
the  infantry  were  nearly  a  hundred  arquebusiers, 
with  as  many  crossbow-men ;  and  the  part  of  the 
army  brought  over  by  Narvaee  was  admirably 
equipped.  It  was  inferior,  however,  to  his  own 
veterans  in  what  is  better  than  any  outward  appoint- 
ments,—  military  training,  and  familiarity  with  the 
peculiar  service  in  which  they  were  engaged. 

Leaving  these  friendly  quarters,  the  Spaniards 
took  a  more  northerly  route,  as  more  direct  than 
that  by  which  they  had  before  penetrated  into  the 
Valley.  It  was  the  road  to  Tezcuco.  It  still  com- 
pelled them  to  climb  the  same  bold  range  of  the 
Cordilleras,  which  attains  its  greatest  elevation  in 
the  two  mighty  volcans  at  whose  base  they  had 
before  travelled.  The  sides  of  the  sierra  were 
clothed  with  dark  forests  of  pine,  cypress,  and 
cedar,^  through  which  glimpses  now  and  then  opened 

8  Gomara,  Cr6nica,  cap.  103.  —  9  "  Las  sierras  altas  de  Tetzcu- 

Herrera,  Hist.   General,  dec.  2,  co   a  que   le   mostrasen  desde  la 

lib.  10,  cap.  7.  mas  alta  cumbre  de  aquellas  mon- 

Bemal  Diaz  raises  the  amount  tanas  y  sierras  de  Tetzcuco,  quo 

to  1300  foot  and  96  horse.    (Ibid.,  son  las  sierras  de  Tlallocan  altisi- 

cap.  125.)    Cortes  diminishes  it  to  mas  y  humbrosas,  en  las  cuales  he 

less  than  half  that  number.     (Rel.  estado  y  visto  y  puedo  decir  que 

Sag.,  ubi  supra.)     The  estimate  son  bastante  para  descubrir  el  un 

cited  in  the  text  from   the  two  emisferio  y  otro,  porque  son  los 

preceding  authorities  corresponds  mayores  puertos  y  mas  altos  de 

nearly  enough  with  that  already  esta  Nueva  Espana,  de  &rboles  y 

given  from  official  documents  of  montes  de  grandisima  altura,  de  ce- 

the  forces  of  Cortes  and  Narvaez  dras,  cipreses  y  pinares."      Ca- 

before  the  junction.  marge,  Hist,  de  Tlascala,  MS. 


Ch.  VIII.]  GENERAL   SIGNS  OF   HOSTILITY.  277 

into  fathomless  dells  and  valleys,  whose  depths,  far 
down  in  the  sultry  climate  of  the  tropics,  were  lost 
in  a  glowing  wilderness  of  vegetation.  From  the 
crest  of  the  mountain  range  the  eye  travelled  over 
the  broad  expanse  of  country,  which  they  had  lately 
crossed,  far  away  to  the  green  plains  of  Cholula. 
Towards  the  west,  they  looked  down  on  the  Mexi- 
can Valley,  from  a  point  of  view  wholly  different 
from  that  which  they  had  before  occupied,  but  still 
offering  the  same  beautiful  spectacle,  with  its  lakes 
trembling  in  the  light,  its  gay  cities  and  villas  float- 
ing on  their  bosom,  its  burnished  teocallis  touched 
with  fire,  its  cultivated  slopes  and  dark  hills  of  por- 
phyry stretching  away  in  dim  perspective  to  the 
verge  of  the  horizon.  At  their  feet  lay  the  city  of 
Tezcuco,  which,  modestly  retiring  behind  her  deep 
groves  of  cypress,  formed  a  contrast  to  her  more 
ambitious  rival  on  the  other  side  of  the  lake,  who 
seemed  to  glory  in  the  unveiled  splendors  of  her 
charms,  as  Mistress  of  the  Valley. 

As  they  descended  into  the  populous  plains,  their 
reception  by  the  natives  was  very  different  from  that 
which  they  had  experienced  on  the  preceding  visit. 
There  were  no  groups  of  curious  peasantry  to  be 
seen  gazing  at  them  as  they  passed,  and  offering 
their  simple  hospitality.  The  supplies  they  asked 
were  not  refused,  but  granted  with  an  ungracious 
air,  that  showed  the  blessing  of  the  giver  did  not 
accompany  them.  This  air  of  reserve  became  still 
more  marked  as  the  army  entered  the  suburbs  of  the 
ancient  capital  of  the   Acolhuans.     No  one  came 


278  RESIDENCE  IN  MEXICO.  [Book  IV. 

forth  to  greet  them,  and  the  population  seemed  to 
have  dwindled  away,  —  so  many  of  them  were 
withdrawn  to  the  neighbouring  scene  of  hostilities 
at  Mexico. ^°  Their  cold  reception  was  a  sensible 
mortification  to  the  veterans  of  Cortes,  who,  judging 
from  the  past,  had  boasted  to  their  new  comrades 
of  the  sensation  their  presence  would  excite  among 
the  natives.  The  cacique  of  the  place,  who,  as  it  may 
be  remembered,  had  been  created  through  the  influ- 
ence of  Cortes,  was  himself  absent.  The  general 
drew  an  ill  omen  from  all  these  circumstances,  which 
even  raised  an  uncomfortable  apprehension  in  his 
mind  respecting  the  fate  of  the  garrison  in  Mexico.^ ^ 
But  his  doubts  were  soon  dispelled  by  the  arrival 
of  a  messenger  in  a  canoe  from  that  city,  whence 
he  had  escaped  through  the  remissness  of  the  ene- 
my, or,  perhaps,  with  their  connivance.  He  brought 
despatches  from  Alvarado,  informing  his  commander 
that  the  Mexicans  had  for  the  last  fortnight  desisted 
from  active  hostilities,  and  converted  their  operations 
into  a  blockade.  The  garrison  had  suffered  greatly, 
but  Alvarado  expressed  his  conviction  that  the  siege 
would  be  raised,  and  tranquillity  restored,  on  the 

^^  The  historian  partly  explains  de  el  dicho  Muteczuma,  como  kn- 

the  reason.     "En  la  misma  Ciu-  tes  lo  solian  facer;  y  toda  la  Tier> 

dad  do  Tescueo  habia  algunos  apa-  ra  estaba  aiborotada,  y  casi  despo- 

sionados  de  los  deudos  y  araigos  blada  :  de  que  eoncebi  mala  sospe- 

de  los  que  matkron  Pedro  de  Alva-  cha,  creyendo  que  los  Espanolea 

rado  y  sus  compaFieros  en  M^x-  que   en   la    dicha   Ciudad   habiar. 

ico."     IxtlUxochitl,  Hist.  Chich.,  quedado,    eran    muertos."      Rel 

MS.,  cap.  88.  Seg.  de  Cortes,   ap.   Lorenzam. 

11  "En  todo  el  camino   nunca  p.  132. 
me  salid  k  recibir  ninguna  Persona 


ch.  viil]       general  signs  of  hostility.  279 

approach  of  his  countrymen.  Montezuma  sent  a 
messenger,  also,  to  the  same  effect.  At  the  same 
time,  he  exculpated  himself  from  any  part  in  the 
late  hostilities,  which  he  said  had  not  only  been 
conducted  without  his  privity,  but  contrary  to  his 
inclination  and  efforts. 

The  Spanish  general,  having  halted  long  enough 
to  refresh  his  wearied  troops,  took  up  his  march 
along  the  southern  margin  of  the  lake,  which  led 
him  over  the  same  causeway  by  which  he  had  be- 
fore entered  the  capital.  It  was  the  day  consecrated 
to  St.  John  the  Baptist,  the  24th  of  June,  1520. 
But  how  different  was  the  scene  from  that  presented 
on  his  former  entrance  !  ^^  No  crowds  now  lined  the 
roads,  no  boats  swarmed  on  the  lake,  filled  with  ad- 
miring spectators.  A  single  jwrogue  might  now  and 
then  be  seen  in  the  distance,  like  a  spy  stealthily 
watching  their  movements,  and  darting  away  th(i 
moment  it  had  attracted  notice.  A  deathlike  still 
ness  brooded  over  the  scene,  —  a  stillness  that  spok(» 
louder  to  the  heart,  than  the  acclamations  of  mul 
titudes. 

Cortes  rode  on  moodily  at  the  head  of  his  battal- 
ions, finding  abundant  food  for  meditation,  doubdess, 
in  this  change  of  circumstances.     As  if  to  dispel 


^3  *'Y  como  asomo  a  la  vista  ni  de  los  enemigos;   y  fu6  e«to 

de  la  Ciudad  de  Mexico,  pareciole  seilal  de  indignacion  y  enemistad 

que  estaba  toda  yerma,  y  que  no  por  lo  que  habia  pasado."     Saha- 

parecia  persona  por  todos  los  ca-  gun,Hist.  de  NuevaEspafia,  MS., 

minos,  ni  casas,  ni  plazas,  ni  nadie  lib.  12,  cap.  19. 
le  salid  k  recibir,  ni  de  los  suyos, 


280  RESIDENCE  IN   MEXICO.  [Book  IV. 

these  gloomy  reflections,  he  ordered  his  trumpets  to 
sound,  and  their  clear,  shrill  notes,  borne  across  the 
waters,  told  the  inhabitants  of  the  beleaguered  for- 
tress, that  their  friends  were  at  hand.  They  were 
answered  by  a  joyous  peal  of  artillery,  which  seemed 
to  give  a  momentary  exhilaration  to  the  troops,  as 
they  quickened  their  pace,  traversed  the  great  draw- 
bridges, and  once  more  found  themselves  within  the 
walls  of  the  imperial  city. 

The  appearance  of  things  here  was  not  such  as  to 
allay  their  apprehensions.  In  some  places  they  be- 
held the  smaller  bridges  removed,  intimating  too 
plainly,  now  that  their  brigantines  were  destroyed, 
how  easy  it  would  be  to  cut  off  their  retreat.^^  The 
town  seemed  even  more  deserted  than  Tezcuco. 
Its  once  busy  and  crowded  population  had  myste- 
riously vanished.  And,  as  the  Spaniards  defiled 
through  the  empty  streets,  the  tramp  of  their  horses' 
feet  upon  the  pavement  was  answered  by  dull  and 
melancholy  echoes  that  fell  heavily  on  their  hearts. 
With  saddened  feelings  they  reached  the  great  gates 
of  the  palace  of  Axayacatl.  The  gates  were  thrown 
open,  and  Cortes  and  his  veterans,  rushing  in,  were 
cordially  embraced  by  their  companions  in  arms, 
while  both  parties  soon  forgot  the  present  in  the 
interesting  recapitulation  of  the  past.^^ 

13  "Pontes  ligneos  qui  tractim  Juan    de    Lexalde,  MS.,  — Rel. 

lapideos  intersecant,   sublatos,  ac  Seg.  de   Cort6s,   ap.   Lorenzana, 

vias  aggeribus  munitas  reperit."  p.  133. 

P.  Martyr,  De  Orbe  Novo,  dec.  5,        *'  Esto  causo  gran   admiracion 

cJip-  5.  en  todos  los  que  venian,  pero  no 

1*    Probanza    k   pedimento    de  dej&ron  de  marchar,  basta  entrar 


Ch.  VIII.]  MASSACRE  BY  ALVARADO.  281 

The  first  inquiries  of  the  general  were  respecting 
the  origin  of  the  tumult.  The  accounts  were  va- 
rious. Some  imputed  it  to  the  desire  of  the  Mexi- 
cans to  release  their  sovereign  from  confinement; 
others  to  the  design  of  cutting  off  the  garrison  while 
crippled  by  the  absence  of  Cortes  and  their  country- 
men. All  agreed,  however,  in  tracing  the  imme- 
diate cause  to  the  violence  of  Alvarado.  It  was 
common  for  the  Aztecs  to  celebrate  an  annual  festi- 
val in  May,  in  honor  of  their  patron  war-god.  It 
was  called  the  "incensing  of  Huitzilopotchli,"  and 
was  commemorated  by  sacrifice,  religious  songs,  and 
dances,  in  which  most  of  the  nobles  engaged,  for  it 
was  one  of  the  great  festivals  which  displayed  the 
pomp  of  the  Aztec  ritual.  As  it  was  held  in  the 
court  of  the  teocalli,  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood 
of  the  Spanish  quarters,  and  as  a  part  of  the  temple 
itself  was  reserved  for  a  Christian  chapel,  the  ca- 
ciques asked  permission  of  Alvarado  to  perform  their 
rites  there.  They  requested  also,  it  is  said,  to  be 
allowed  the  presence  of  Montezuma.  This  latter 
petition  Alvarado  declined,  in  obedience  to  the  in- 
junctions of  Cortes;  but  acquiesced  in  the  former, 
on  condition  that  the  Aztecs  should  celebrate  no  hu- 
man sacrifices,  and  should  come  without  weapons. 
They  assembled  accordingly  on  the  day  appointed, 

donde  estaban  los  Espanoles  acor-  solacion  y  esfuerzo  y  recibi^ronlop 

ralados.     Venian  todos  muy  casa-  con  la  artilleria  que  tenian,  sala- 

dos  y  muy  fatigados  y  con  mucho  dSindolos,  y  dandolos  el  parabien 

deseo  de  llegar  a  donde  estaban  sus  de  su  venida."     Sahagun,   Hist. 

hermanos;   los  de  dentro  cuando  de  Nueva  Espana,  MS.,  lib.   12, 

los  vieron,  recibieron  singular  con-  cap.  22. 
VOL.    II.                       36 


282 


RESIDENCE  IN   MEXICO. 


[Book  IV. 


to  the  number  of  six  hundred,  at  the  smallest  com- 
putation.^^ They  were  dressed  in  their  most  mag- 
nificent gala  costumes,  with  their  graceful  mantles 
of  feather-work,  sprinkled  with  precious  stones,  and 
their  necks,  arms,  and  legs  ornamented  with  collars 
and  bracelets  of  gold.  They  had  that  love  of  gaudy 
splendor  which  belongs  to  semi-civilized  nations, 
and  on  these  occasions  displayed  all  the  pomp  and 
profusion  of  their  barbaric  wardrobes. 

Alvarado  and  his  soldiers  attended  as  spectators, 
some  of  them  taking  their  station  at  the  gates,  as  if 
by  chance,  and  others  mingling  in  the  crowd.  They 
vv^ere  all  armed,  a  circumstance,  which,  as  it  was 
usual,  excited  no  attention.  The  Aztecs  were  soon 
engrossed  by  the  exciting  movement  of  the  dance, 
accompanied  by  their  religious  chant  and  wild,  dis- 
cordant minstrelsy.  While  thus  occupied,  Alvarado 
and  his  men,  at  a  concerted  signal,  rushed  with 
drawn  swords  on  their  victims.  Unprotected  by  ar- 
mor or  weapons  of  any  kind,  they  were  hewn  down 
without  resistance  by  their  assailants,  who,  in  their 
bloody  work,  says  a  contemporary,  showed  no  touch 
of  pity  or  compunction.^^     Some  fled  to  the  gates, 


15  *'  i  asi  los  Indies,  todos  Se- 
nores,  mas  de  600  desnudos  e  con 
muchas  joyas  de  ore  e  hermosos 
penachos,  e  muchas  piedras  preci- 
osas,  €  como  mas  aderezados  6  gen- 
tiles hombres  se  pudieron  e  supieron 
aderezar,  6  sin  arma  alguna  defen- 
siva  ni  ofensiva  bailaban  6  cantaban 
6  hacian  su  areito  6  fiesta  segun  su 
costumbre."    (Oviedo,  Hist,  de  las 


Ind.jMS.jlib.  33,  cap.  54.)  Some 
writers  carry  the  number  as  high 
as  eight  hundred  or  even  one  thou- 
sand. Las  Casas,  with  a  more 
modest  exaggeration  than  usual, 
swells  it  only  to  two  thousand. 
Brevissima  Relatione,  p.  48. 

16  "  Sin  duelo  ni  piedad  Chris- 
tiana los  acuchillo,  i  mato."  Go- 
mara,  Cronica,  cap.  104. 


Cm.  VIII.]  MASSACRE  B\    ALVARADO.  283 

but  were  caught  on  the  long  pikes  of  the  soldiers. 
Others,  who  attempted  to  scale  the  Coatepantli,  or 
Wall  of  Serpents,  as  it  was  called,  which  surrounded 
the  area,  shared  the  like  fate,  or  were  cut  to  pieces, 
or  shot  by  the  ruthless  soldiery.  The  pavement, 
says  a  writer  of  the  age,  ran  with  streams  of  blood, 
like  water  in  a  heavy  shower.^'^  Not  an  Aztec,  of 
all  that  gay  company,  was  left  alive  !  It  was  repeat- 
ing the  dreadful  scene  of  Cholula,  with  the  disgrace- 
ful addition,  that  the  Spaniards,  not  content  with 
slaughtering  their  victims,  rifled  them  of  the  precious 
ornaments  on  their  persons  !  On  this  sad  day  fell 
the  flower  of  the  Aztec  nobility.  Not  a  family  of 
note,  but  had  mourning  and  desolation  brought  with- 
in its  walls.  And  many  a  doleful  ballad,  rehearsing 
the  tragic  incidents  of  the  story,  and  adapted  to  the 
plaintive  national  airs,  continued  to  be  chanted  by 
the  natives  long  after  the  subjugation  of  the  coun- 

try.^' 

Various  explanations  have  been  given  of  this  atro- 
cious deed.  But  few  historians  have  been  content 
to  admit  that  of  Alvarado  himself.  According  to  this, 
intelligence  had  been  obtained  through  his  spies  — 
some  of  them  Mexicans — of  an  intended  rising  of 


^■^  '*Fue  tan  grande  elderrama-  no  dexar&n  de  lamentar,  y  cantar 

miento   de    Sang^e,   que    corrian  en  sus  areytos,  y  bayles,  como  en 

arroyos  de  ella  por  el  Patio,  como  romances,  que  aca  dezimos,  aquella 

agua  cuando  mucho  llueve."    Sa-  calamidad,  y  perdida  de  la  suces- 

hagun.  Hist,  de  Nueva  Espafia,  sion  de  toda  su  nobleza,  do  que  se 

MS.,  lib.  12,  cap.  20.  preciauan  de  tantos  anos  atras." 

1^  "  Y  de  aqui  k  que  se  acabe  el  Las  Casas,  Brevissima  Relatione, 

mundo,  6  ellos  del  todo  se  acaben,  p.  49 


284  RESIDENCE   IN   MEXICO.  [Book  IV. 

the  Indians.  The  celebration  of  this  festival  was 
fixed  on,  as  the  period  for  its  execution,  M^hen  the 
caciques  would  be  met  together,  and  would  easily 
rouse  the  people  to  support  them.  Alvarado,  advised 
of  all  this,  had  forbidden  them  to  wear  arms  at  their 
meeting.  While  affecting  to  comply,  they  had  se- 
creted their  weapons  in  the  neighbouring  arsenals, 
whence  they  could  readily  withdraw  them.  But  his 
own  blow,  by  anticipating  theirs,  defeated  the  de- 
sign, and,  as  he  confidently  hoped,  would  deter  the 
Aztecs  from  a  similar  attempt  in  future. ^^ 

Such  is  the  account  of  the  matter  given  by  Alva- 
rado. But,  if  true,  why  did  he  not  verify  his  asser- 
tion by  exposing  the  arms  thus  secreted  ?  Why  did 
he  not  vindicate  his  conduct  in  the  eyes  of  the  Mex- 
icans generally,  by  publicly  avowing  the  treason  of 
the  nobles,  as  was  done  by  Cortes  at  Cholula  ?  The 
whole  looks  much  like  an  apology  devised  after  the 
commission  of  the  deed,  to  cover  up  its  atrocity. 

Some  contemporaries  assign  a  very  different  mo- 
tive for  the  massacre,  which,  according  to  them, 
originated  in  the  cupidity  of  the  Conquerors,  as 
shown  by  their  plundering  the  bodies  of  their  vic- 
tims.^    Bernal  Diaz,  who,  though  not  present,  had 


^9  See  Alvarado's  reply  to  que-  who  all  seem  content  to  endorse 

ries  of  Cortes,  as  reported  by  Diaz,  Alvarado's  version  of  the  matter. 

(Hist,  de  la  Conquista,  cap.  125,)  I  find  no  other  authority,  of  any 

with  some  additional  particulars  in  weight,   in    the    same    charitable 

Torquemada,  (Monarch.  Ind.,  lib.  vein. 

4,  cap.  66,)  Soils,  (Conquista,  lib.        20  Qviedo  mentions  a  conversa- 

4,  cap.  12,)  and  Herrera,  (Hist,  tion  which  he  had  some  years  after 

General,  dec.  2,  lib.  10,  cap.  8,)  this  tragedy  with  a  noble  Spaniard, 


La.  VIII] 


MASSACRE  BY  ALVARADO. 


285 


conversed  familiarly  with  those  who  were,  vindicates 
them  from  the  charge  of  this  unworthy  motive. 
According  to  him,  Alvarado  struck  the  blow  in  order 
to  intimidate  the  Aztecs  from  any  insurrectionary 
movement.^'  But  whether  he  had  reason  to  appre- 
hend such,  or  even  affected  to  do  so  before  the  mas- 
sacre, the  old  chronicler  does  not  inform  us. 

On  reflection,  it  seems  scarcely  possible  that  so 
foul  a  deed,  and  one  involving  so  much  hazard  to 
the  Spaniards  themselves,  should  have  been  perpe- 
trated from  the  mere  desire  of  getting  possession  of 
the  bawbles  worn  on  the  persons  of  the  natives.  It 
is  more  likely  this  was  an  afterthought,  suggested 
to  the  rapacious  soldiery  by  the  display  of  the  spoil 
before  them.  It  is  not  improbable  that  Alvarado 
may  have  gathered  rumors  of  a  conspiracy  among 
the  nobles,  —  rumors,  perhaps,  derived  through  the 
Tlascalans,  their  inveterate  foes,  and  for  that  reason 
very  little  deserving  of  credit.^^     He  proposed  to 


Don  Thoan  Cano,  who  came  over 
in  the  train  of  Narvaez,  and  was 
present  at  all  the  subsequent  oper- 
ations of  the  army.  He  married 
a  daughter  of  Montezuma,  and 
settled  in  Mexico  after  the  Con- 
quest. Oviedo  describes  him  as  a 
man  of  sense  and  integrity.  In 
answer  to  the  historian's  queries 
respecting  the  cause  of  the  rising, 
he  said,  that  Alvarado  had  wan- 
tonly perpetrated  the  massacre  from 
pure  avarice  ;  and  the  Aztecs,  en- 
raged at  such  unprovoked  and  un- 
merited cruelty,  rose,  as  they  well 
might,  to  avenge  it.    (Hist,  de  las 


Ind.,  MS.,  lib.  33,  cap.  54.)  See 
the  original  dialogue  in  Appendix, 
Part  2,  No.  11. 

21  "  Verdaderamente  did  en  el- 
los  por  metelles  temor."  Hist,  de 
la  Conquista,  cap.  125. 

22  Such,  indeed,  is  the  state- 
ment of  Ixtlilxochitl,  derived,  as 
he  says,  from  the  native  Tezcucan 
annalists.  According  to  them,  the 
Tlascalans,  urged  by  their  hatred 
of  the  Aztecs  and  their  thirst  for 
plunder,  persuaded  Alvarado,  noth- 
ing loth,  that  the  nobles  meditated 
a  rising  on  the  occasion  of  these 
festivities.     The  testimony  is  im- 


286 


RESIDENCE  IN   MEXICO. 


[Book  IV. 


defeat  it  by  imitating  the  example  of  his  commander 
at  Cholula.  But  he  omitted  to  imitate  his  leader  in 
taking  precautions  against  the  subsequent  rising  of 
the  populace.  And  he  grievously  miscalculated, 
when  he  confounded  the  bold  and  warlike  Aztec 
with  the  effeminate  Cholulan. 

No  sooner  was  the  butchery  accomplished,  than 
the  tidings  spread  like  wildfire  through  the  capital. 
Men  could  scarcely  credit  their  senses.  All  they 
had  hitherto  suffered,  the  desecration  of  their  tem- 
ples, the  imprisonment  of  their  sovereign,  the  insults 
heaped  on  his  person,  all  were  forgotten  in  this  one 
act.^     Every  feeling  of  long  smothered  hostility  and 


portant,  and  I  give  it  in  the  author's 
words.  "  Fue  que  ciertos  Tlas- 
caltecas  (seg-un  las  Historias  de 
Tescuco  que  son  las  que  lo  sigo  y 
la  carta  que  otras  veces  he  referido) 
por  embidia  lo  uno  acordandose 
que  en  semejante  fiesta  los  Mex- 
icanos  solian  sacrificar  gran  suma 
de  cautivos  de  los  de  la  Nacion 
Tlascalteca,  y  lo  otro  que  era  la 
raejor  ocasion  que  ellos  podian  te- 
net para  poder  hinchir  las  manos 
de  despojos  y  hartar  su  codicia,  y 
vengarse  de  sus  Enemigos,  (porque 
hasta  entonces  no  habian  tenido 
lugar,  ni  Cort6s  se  les  diera,  ni 
admitiera  sus  dichos,  porque  sieiii- 
pre  hacia  las  cosas  con  mucho 
acuerdo)  fudron  con  esta  invencion 
al  capitan  Pedro  do  Albarado,  que 
estaba  en  lugar  de  Cortes,  el  qual 
no  f\i6  menester  mucho  para  darles 
cr6dito  porque  tan  buenos  filos,  y 
pensamientos   tenia  como  ellos,  y 


mas  viendo  que  alii  en  aquella 
fiesta  habian  acudido  todos  los 
Senores  y  Cabezas  del  Imperio  y 
que  muertos  no  tenian  mucho  tra- 
bajo  en  sojuzgarles."  Hist.  Chich., 
MS.,  cap.  88. 

23  Martyr  well  recapitulates 
these  grievances,  showing  that 
they  seemed  such  in  the  eyes  of 
the  Spaniards  themselves, —  of 
those,  at  least, whose  judgment  was 
not  warped  by  a  share  in  the  trans- 
actions. "  Emori  statuerunt  malle, 
quam  diutius  ferre  tales  hospites 
qui  regem  suum  sub  tutoris  vitse 
specie  detineant,  civitatem  occu- 
pent,  antiques  hostes  Tascalteca- 
nos  et  alios  praeterea  in  contume- 
liam  ante  illorum  oculos  ipsorum 

impensa  conseruent ; qui 

demum  simulachra  deorum  confre- 
gerint,  et  ritus  veteres  ac  ceremo- 
nias  antiquas  illis  abstulerint." 
De  Orbe  Npvo,  dec.  6,  cap.  5. 


Cii.  Vill.J  RISING  OF  THE  AZTECS.  287 

rancor  now  burst  forth  in  the  cry  for  vengeance. 
Every  former  sentiment  of  superstitious  dread  was 
merged  in  that  of  inextinguishable  hatred.  It  re- 
quired no  effort  of  the  priests  —  though  this  was  not 
wanting  —  to  fan  these  passions  into  a  blaze.  The 
city  rose  in  arms  to  a  man ;  and  pn  the  following 
dawn,  almost  before  the  Spaniards  could  secure 
themselves  in  their  defences,  they  were  assaulted 
with  desperate  fury.  Some  of  the  assailants  at- 
tempted to  scale  the  walls;  others  succeeded  in 
partially  undermining  and  in  setting  fire  to  the 
works.  Whether  they  would  have  succeeded  in  car- 
rying the  place  by  storm  is  doubtful.  But,  at  the 
prayers  of  the  garrison,  Montezuma  himself  inter- 
fered, and  mounting  the  batdements  addressed  the 
populace,  whose  fury  he  endeavoured  to  mitigate  by 
urging  considerations  for  his  own  safety.  They  re- 
spected their  monarch  so  far  as  to  desist  from  further 
attempts  to  storm  the  fortress,  but  changed  their 
operations  into  a  regular  blockade.  They  threw  up 
works  around  the  palace  to  prevent  the  egress  of  the 
Spaniards.  They  suspended  the  tianguez,  or  mar- 
ket, to  preclude  the  possibility  of  their  enemy's  ob- 
taining supplies ;  and  they  then  quietly  sat  down, 
with  feelings  of  sullen  desperation,  waiting  for  the 
hour  when  famine  should  throw  their  victims  into 
their  hands. 

The  condition  of  the  besieged,  meanwhile,  was 
sufficiently  distressing.  Their  magazines  of  provis- 
ions, it  is  true,  were  not  exhausted  ;  but  they  suf- 
fered greatly  from  want  of  water,  which,  within  the 


288  RESIDENCE  IN   MEXICO.  [Book  IV. 

inclosure,  was  exceedingly  brackish,  for  the  soil  was 
saturated  with  the  salt  of  the  surrounding  element. 
In  this  extremity,  thev  discovered,  it  is  said,  a  spring 
of  fresh  water  in  the  area.  Such  springs  were 
known  in  some  other  parts  of  the  city ;  but,  dis- 
covered first  under  these  circumstances,  it  w^as  ac- 
counted as  nothing  less  than  a  miracle.  Still  they 
suffered  much  from  their  past  encounters.  Seven 
Spaniards,  and  many  Tlascalans,  had  fallen,  and 
there  was  scarcely  one  of  either  nation  who  had  not 
received  several  wounds.  In  this  situation,  far  from 
their  own  countrymen,  without  expectation  of  suc- 
cour from  abroad,  they  seemed  to  have  no  alterna- 
tive before  them,  but  a  lingering  death  by  famine,  or 
one  more  dreadful  on  the  altar  of  sacrifice.  From 
this  gloomy  state  they  were  relieved  by  the  com- 
ing of  their  comrades.^ 

Cortes  calmly  listened  to  the  explanation  made  by 
Alvarado.  But,  before  it  was  ended,  the  conviction 
must  have  forced  itself  on  his  mind,  that  he  had 
made  a  wrong  selection  for  this  important  post.  Yet 
the  mistake  was  natural.  Alvarado  was  a  cavalier 
of  high  family,  gallant  and  chivalrous,  and  his  warm 
personal  friend.  He  had  talents  for  action,  was 
possessed  of  firmness  and  intrepidity,  while  his 
frank  and  dazzling  manners  made  the  Tonatiuh  an 
especial  favorite  with  the  Mexicans.  But,  under- 
neath this  showy  exterior,  the  future  conqueror  of 
Guatemala  concealed  a  heart  rash,  rapacious,  and 

2*  Camargo,  Hist,  de  Tlaacala,    MS.,  lib.  33,  cap.  13,  47.  — Go 
MS.  —  Oviedo,  Hist,  de  las  Ind.,    mara,  Cr6nica,  cap.  105. 


Ch.  VIII.]  RISING  OF  THE  AZTECS.  289 

/^ruel.  He  was  altogether  destitute  of  that  modera- 
tion, which,  in  the  delicate  position  he  occupied,  was 
a  quality  of  more  worth  than  all  the  lest. 

When  Alvarado  had  concluded  his  answer^  to  the 
several  interrogatories  of  Cortes,  the  brow  of  the 
latter  darkened,  as  he  said  to  his  lieutenant,  "  You 
have  done  badly.  You  have  been  false  to  your  trust. 
Your  conduct  has  been  that  of  a  madman  !  "  And, 
turning  abruptly  on  Ms  heel,  he  left  him  in  undis- 
guised displeasure. 

Yet  this  was  not  a  time  to  break  with  one  so  pop- 
ular, and,  in  many  respects,  so  important  to  him,  as 
this  captain,  much  l*^s  to  inflict  on  him  the  punish- 
ment he  merited,  fhe  Spaniards  were  like  mariners 
laboriiig  in  a  ^leavy  tempest,  whose  bark  nothing 
buc  the  dexterity  of  the  pilot,  and  the  hearty  cooper- 
ation o^  the  crew,  can  save  from  foundering.  Dis- 
sensions at  such  a  moment  must  be  fatal.  Cortes, 
k  is  true,  felt  strong  in  his  present  resources.  He 
now  found  himself  at  the  head  of  a  force  which 
could  scarcely  amount  to  less  than  twelve  hundred 
and  fifty  Spaniards,  and  eight  thousand  native  war- 
riors, principally  Tlascalans.^  But,  though  relying 
on  this  to  overawe  resistance,  the  very  augmenta- 
tion of  numbers  increased  the  difficulty  of  subsis- 
tence.    Discontented  with  himself,  disgusted  with 

^  He  left  in  garrison,  on  his  have  perished  in  battle  and  other- 
departure  from  Mexico,  140  Span-  wise,  it  would  still  leave  a  number, 
iards  and  about  6500  Tlascalans,  which,  with  the  reinforcement  now 
including  a  few  Cempoallan  war-  brought,  would  raise  the  amount 
riors.  Supposing  five  hundred  of  to  that  stated  in  the  text. 
these  —  a  liberal  allowance  —  to 
VOL.    II.                       37 


290  RESIDENCE  IN  MEXICO.  [Book  IV. 

his  officer,  and  embarrassed  bj  the  disastrous  conse- 
quences in  which  Alvarado's  intemperance  had  in- 
volved him,  he  became  irritable,  and  indulged  in  a 
petulance  by  no  means  common  ;  for,  though  a  man 
of  lively  passions,  by  nature,  he  held  them  habitually 
under  control.^ 

On  the  day  that  Cortes  arrived,  Montezuma  had 
left  his  own  quarters  to  welcome  him.  But  the 
Spanish  commander,  distrusting,  as  it  would  seem, 
however  unreasonaWy,  his  good  fc^ith,  received  him 
so  coldly  that  the  Indian  monarch  withdrew,  dis- 
pleased and  dejected,  to  his  apartment.  As  the 
Mexican  populace  made  no  sh^w  of  submission,  and 
brought  no  supplies  to  the  armj  the  geiveraPs  ill- 
humor  with  the  emperor  continued.  When,  there- 
fore, Montezuma  sent  some  of  the  nobic.s  to  ask  an 
interview  with  Cortes,  the  latter,  turning  to  His  own 
officers,  haughtily  exclaimed,  "What  have  I  i^  do 
with  this  dog  of  a  king  who  suffers  us  to  starve  be- 
fore his  eyes  ?  " 

His  captains,  among  whom  were  Olid,  de  Avila, 
and  Velasquez  de  Leon,  endeavoured  to  mitigate  his 
anger,  reminding  him,  in  respectful  terms,  that,  had 
it  not  been  for  the  emperor,  the  garrison  might  even 
now  have  been  overwhelmed  by  the  enemy.  This 
remonstrance  only  chafed  him  the  more.  "  Did  not 
the  dog,"  he  asked,  repeating  the  opprobrious  epi- 

*  "Yviendo  que  todo  estaua  la  mucha  g^te  de  Espanoles  qne 

muy  al  contrario  de  sus  pensami-  tr9,ia,  y  muy  triste,  y  mohino.'' 

entos,  q  au  de  comer  no  nos  dauan,  Bernal  Diaz,  Hist,  de  la  Conquista, 

estaua  muy  airado,  y  sobervio  c6  cap.  126. 


I 


Ch.  VIII.]  RISING  OF  THE  AZTECS.  291 

thet,  "  betray  us  in  his  communications  with  Nar- 
vaez  ?  And  does  he  not  now  suffer  his  markets  to 
be  closed,  and  leave  us  to  die  of  famine  ?  "  Then 
turning  fiercely  to  the  Mexicans,  he  said,  "  Go  tell 
your  master  and  his  people  to  open  the  markets,  or 
we  will  do  it  for  them,  at  their  cost !  "  The  chiefs, 
who  had  gathered  the  import  of  his  previous  taunt 
on  their  sovereign,  from  his  tone  and  gesture,  or  per- 
haps from  some  comprehension  of  his  language,  left 
his  presence  swelling  with  resentment ;  and,  in  com- 
municating his  message,  took  care  it  should  lose 
none  of  its  effect.^ 

Shortly  after,  Cortes,  at  the  suggestion,  it  is  said, 
of  Montezuma,  released  his  brother  Cuitlahua,  lord 
of  Iztapalapan,  who,  it  wdll  be  remembered,  had 
been  seized  on  suspicion  of  cooperating  with  the 
chief  of  Tezcuco  in  his  meditated  revolt.  It  was 
thought  he  might  be  of  service  in  allaying  the  pres- 
ent tumult,  and  bringing  the  populace  to  a  better 
state  of  feeling.  But  he  returned  no  more  to  the 
fortress.^^  He  was  a  bold,  ambitious  prince,  and 
the  injuries  he  had  received  from  the  Spaniards 
rankled  deep  in  his  bosom.  He  was  presumptive 
heir  to  the  crown,  which,  by  the  Aztec  laws  of  suc- 
cession, descended  much  more  frequently  in  a  col- 
lateral than  in  a  direct  line.     The  people  welcomed 

^  The    scene    is    reported   by  an  eyewitness,  in  his  conversation 

Diaz,  who  was  present.     (Ibid.,  with  Oviedo.     See  Appendix,  Part 

cap.  126.)     See,  also,  the  Chron-  2,  No.  11. 

icle  of  Gomara,  the  chaplain  of        28  Herrera,  Hist.  General,  dec 

Cortes.  (Cap.  106.)     It  is  further  2,  lib.  10,  cap.  8. 
confirmed  by  Don  Thoan  Cano, 


292 


RESIDENCE  IN   MEXICO. 


[Book  IV. 


him  as  the  representative  of  their  sovereign,  and 
chose  him  to  supply  the  place  of  Montezuma  during 
his  captivity.  Cuitlahua  willingly  accepted  the  post 
of  honor  and  of  danger.  He  was  an  experienced 
warrior,  and  exerted  himself  to  reorganize  the  dis- 
orderly levies,  and  to  arrange  a  more  efficient  plan 
of  operations.     The  effect  was  soon  visible. 

Cortes  meanwhile  had  so  little  doubt  of  his  ability 
to  overawe  the  insurgents,  that  he  wrote  to  that 
effect  to  the  garrison  of  Villa  Rica,  by  the  same  de- 
spatches in  which  he  informed  them  of  his  safe  ar- 
rival in  the  capital.  But  scarcely  had  his  messenger 
been  gone  half  an  hour,  when  he  returned  breathless 
with  terror,  and  covered  with  wounds.  "  The  city," 
he  said,  "  was  all  in  arms !  The  draw-bridges  were 
raised,  and  the  enemy  would  soon  be  upon  them !  " 
He  spoke  truth.  It  was  not  long  before  a  hoarse, 
sullen  sound  became  audible,  like  that  of  the  roaring 
of  distant  waters.  It  grew  louder  and  louder ;  till, 
from  the  parapet  surrounding  the  inclosure,  the  great 
avenues  which  led  to  it  might  be  seen  dark  with  the 
masses  of  warriors,  who  came  rolling  on  in  a  con- 
fused tide  towards  the  fortress.  At  the  same  time, 
the  terraces  and  azoteas  or  flat  roofs,  in  the  neigh- 
hourhood,  were  thronged  with  combatants  brandish- 
ing their  missiles,  who  seemed  to  have  risen  up  as  if 
by  magic !  ^     It  was  a  spectacle  to  appall  the  stout 


®  "El  qual  Mensajero  bolvi6  nian  de  Guerra  y  que  tenian  todas 

dende  &  media  hora  todo  descala-  las  Puentes  alzadas  ;  6  junto  tras 

brado,  y  herido,  dando  voces,  que  ^1  da  sobre  nosotros  tanta  multitud 

todos  los  Indies  de  la  Ciudad  ve-  d?  Gente  por  todas  partes,  que  ni 


Ch.  VIII.]  OVIEDO.  293 

est.  —  But  the  dark  storm  to  which  it  was  the 
prelude,  and  which  gathered  deeper  and  deeper 
round  the  Spaniards  during  the  remainder  of  their 
residence  in  the  capital,  must  form  the  subject  of  a 
separate  Book. 

las  calles  ni  Azoteas  se  parecian  puede    pensar."      Rel.    Scg.   de 

con  Gente ;  la  qual  venia  con  los  Cortes,  ap.  Lorenzana,  p.  134.  — 

raayores  alaridos,  y  grita  mas  es-  Oviedo,  Hist,  de  las  Ind.,  MS 

pantable,   que    en    el    Mundo  se  lib.  33,  cap.  13. 


Gonzalo  Fernandez  de  Oviedo  y  Vald^s  was  born  in  1478.  He 
belonged  to  an  ancient  family  of  the  Asturias.  Every  family,  indeed, 
claims  to  be  ancient  in  this  last  retreat  of  the  intrepid  Goths.  He  was 
early  introduced  at  court,  and  was  appointed  page  to  Prince  Juan,  the 
only  son  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  on  whom  their  hopes,  and  those  of 
the  nation,  deservedly  rested.  Oviedo  accompanied  the  camp  in  the  lat- 
ter campaigns  of  the  Moorish  war,  and  was  present  at  the  memorable 
siege  of  Granada.  On  the  untimely  death  of  his  royal  master  in  1496, 
he  passed  over  to  Italy  and  entered  the  service  of  King  Frederick  of 
Naples.  At  the  death  of  that  prince  he  returned  to  his  own  country, 
and  in  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century  we  find  him  again  estab- 
lished in  Castile,  where  he  occupied  the  place  of  keeper  of  the  crown 
jewels.  In  1513,  he  was  named  by  Ferdinand  the  Catholic  veedor^  or 
inspector  of  the  gold  founderies  in  the  American  colonies.  Oviedo, 
accordingly,  transported  himself  to  the  New  World,  where  he  soon 
took  a  commission  under  Pedrarias,  governor  of  Darien  ;  and  shared 
in  the  disastrous  fortunes  of  that  colony.  He  obtained  some  valuable 
privileges  from  the  Crown,  built  a  fortress  on  Tierra  Firme  and  entered 
into  traffic  witt  the  natives.  In  this  we  may  presume  he  was  pros- 
perous, since  we  find  him  at  length  established  with  a  wife  and  family 
at  Hispaniola,  or  Fernandina,  as  it  was  then  called.  Although  he 
continued  to  make  his  principal  residence  in  the  New  World,  he  made 
occasional  visits  to  Spain  ;  and  in  1526,  published  at  Madrid  his 
Sumario.  It  is  dedicated  to  the  Emperor  Charles  the  Fifth,  and 
contains  an  account  of  the  West  Indies,  their  geography,  climate, 
the  races  who  inhabited  them,  together  with  their  animals  and  vegeta- 
ble productions.  The  subject  was  of  great  interest  to  the  inquisitive 
minds  of  Europe,  and  one  of  which  they  had  previously  gleaned  but 


294  OVIEDO.  [Book  IV. 

scanty  information.  In  1535,  in  a  subsequent  visit  to  Spain,  Oviedo 
gave  to  the  world  the  first  volume  of  his  great  work,  which  he  had 
been  many  years  in  compiling,  —  the  "Historia  de  las  Indias  Occiden- 
tales."  In  the  same  year,  he  was  appointed  by  Charles  the  Fifth 
alcayde  of  the  fortress  of  Hispaniola.  He  continued  in  the  island  the 
ten  following  years,  actively  engaged  in  the  prosecution  of  his  historical 
researches,  and  then  returned  for  the  last  time  to  his  native  land.  The 
veteran  scholar  was  well  received  at  court,  and  obtained  the  honorable 
appointment  of  Chronicler  of  the  Indies.  He  occupied  this  post  until 
the  period  of  his  death,  which  took  place  at  Valladolid  in  1557,  in  the 
seventy-ninth  year  of  his  age,  at  the  very  time  when  he  was  employed 
ii  preparing  the  residue  of  his  history  for  the  press. 

Considering  the  intimate  footing  on  which  Oviedo  lived  with  the 
eminent  persons  of  his  time,  it  is  singular  that  so  little  is  preserved  of 
his  personal  history  and  his  character.  Nic.  Antonio  speaks  of  him 
as  a  *'  man  of  large  experience,  courteous  in  his  manners,  and  of  great 
probity."  His  long  and  active  life  is  a  sufficient  voucher  for  his  expe- 
rience, and  one  will  hardly  doubt  his  good  breeding,  when  we  know 
the  high  society  in  which  he  moved.  He  left  a  large  mass  of  manu- 
scripts, embracing  a  vast  range  both  of  civil  and  natural  history.  By 
far  the  most  important  is  his  Historia  General  de  las  Indias.  It  is 
divided  into  three  parts,  containing  fifty  books.  The  first  part,  con- 
sisting of  nineteen  books,  is  the  one  already  noticed  as  having  been 
published  during  his  lifetime.  It  gives  in  a  more  extended  form  the 
details  of  geographical  and  natural  history  embodied  in  his  Sumario, 
with  a  narrative,  moreover,  of  the  discoveries  and  conquests  of  the 
Islands.  A  translation  of  this  portion  of  the  work  was  made  by  the 
learned  Ramusio,  with  whom  Oviedo  was  in  correspondence,  and  is 
published  in  the  third  volume  of  his  inestimable  collection.  The  two 
remaining  parts  relate  to  the  conquests  of  Mexico,  of  Peru,  and  other 
countries  of  South  America.  It  is  that  portion  of  the  work  consulted  for 
these  pages.  The  manuscript  was  deposited,  at  his  death,  in  the  Casa 
de  la  Contratacion,  at  Seville.  It  afterwards  came  into  the  possession  of 
the  Dominican  monastery  of  Monserrat.  In  process  of  time,  mutilated 
copies  found  their  way  into  several  private  collections  ;  when,  in  1775, 
Don  Francisco  Cerda  y  Rico,  an  officer  in  the  Indian  department,  as- 
certained the  place  in  which  the  original  was  preserved,  and,  prompted 
by  his  literary  zeal,  obtained  an  order  from  the  government  for  its 
publication.  Under  his  supervision  the  work  was  put  in  order  for  the 
press,  and  Oviedo's  biographer,  Alvarez  y  Baena,  assures  us  that  a 
complete  edition  of  it,  prepared  with  the  greatest  care,  would  soon  be 
given  to  the  world.  (Hijos  de  Madrid,  (Madrid,  1790,)  tom.  II.  pp. 
854-361.)     It  still  remains  in  manuscript. 


CHi  VIIL]  OVIEDO.  295 

No  country  has  been  more  fruitful  in  the  field  of  historical  composi- 
tion than  Spain.  Her  ballads  are  chronicles  done  into  verse.  The 
chronicles  themselves  date  from  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth  centuries. 
Every  city,  every  small  town,  every  great  family,  and  many  a  petty 
one,  has  its  chronicler.  These  were  often  mere  monkish  chroniclers, 
who  in  the  seclusion  of  the  convent  found  leisure  for  literary  occupa- 
tion. Or,  not  unfrequently,  they  were  men  who  had  taken  part  in  the 
affairs  they  described,  more  expert  with  the  sword  than  with  the  pen. 
The  compositions  of  this  latter  class  have  a  general  character  of  that 
indifference  to  fine  writing,  which  shows  a  mind  intent  on  the  facts 
with  which  it  is  occupied,  much  more  than  on  forms  of  expression. 
The  monkish  chroniclers,  on  the  other  hand,  often  make  a  pedantic 
display  of  obsolete  erudition,  which  contrasts  rather  whimsically  with 
the  homely  texture  of  the  narrative.  The  chronicles  of  both  the  one  and 
the  other  class  of  writers  may  frequently  claim  the  merit  of  pictu- 
resque and  animated  detail,  showing  that  the  subject  was  one  of  living 
interest,  and  that  the  writer's  heart  was  in  his  subject. 

Many  of  the  characteristic  blemishes,  of  which  I  have  been  speak- 
ing, may  be  charged  on  Oviedo.  His  style  is  cast  in  no  classic  mould. 
His  thoughts  find  themselves  a  vent  in  tedious,  interminable  sentences, 
that  may  fill  the  reader  with  despair ;  and  the  thread  of  the  narrative 
is  broken  by  impertinent  episodes  that  lead  to  nothing.  His  scholar- 
ship was  said  to  be  somewhat  scanty.  One  will  hardly  be  led  to  doubt 
it,  from  the  tawdry  display  of  Latin  quotations  with  which  he  garnishes 
his  pages,  like  a  poor  gallant,  who  would  make  the  most  of  his  Uttle 
store  of  finery.  He  affected  to  take  the  elder  Pliny  as  his  model,  as 
appears  from  the  preface  to  his  Swrnano.  But  his  own  work  fell  far 
short  of  the  model  of  erudition  and  eloquence  which  that  great  writer 
of  natural  history  has  bequeathed  to  us. 

Yet,  with  his  obvious  defects,  Oviedo  showed  an  enlightened  curios- 
ity, and  a  shrewd  spirit  of  observation,  which  place  him  far  above  the 
ordinary  range  of  chroniclers.  He  may  even  be  said  to  display  a 
philosophic  tone  in  his  reflections,  though  his  philosophy  must  be 
regarded  as  cold  and  unscrupulous,  wherever  the  rights  of  the  Aborigi- 
nes are  in  question.  He  was  indefatigable  in  amassing  materials  for 
his  narratives,  and  for  this  purpose  maintained  a  correspondence  with 
the  most  eminent  men  of  his  time,  who  had  taken  part  in  the  transac- 
tions which  he  commemorates.  He  even  condescended  to  collect 
information  from  more  humble  sources,  from  popular  tradition  and  the 
reports  of  the  common  soldiers.  Hence  his  work  often  presents  a 
medley  of  inconsistent  and  contradictory  details,  which  perplex  the 
judgment,  making  it  exceedingly  difficult,  at  this  distance  of  time,  to 
disentangle  the  truth.      It  was,  perhaps,  for  this  reason,  that  Lm 


296  CAMARGO.  [Book  IV. 

Oasas  complimented  the  author  by  declaring,  that  "  his  works  were  a 
wholesale  fabrication,  as  full  of  lies  as  of  pages !  "  Yet  another  ex- 
planation of  this  severe  judgment  may  be  found  in  the  different  char- 
acters of  the  two  men.  Oviedo  shared  in  the  worldly  feelings  common 
to  the  Spanish  Conquerors  ;  and,  while  he  was  ever  ready  to  magnify 
the  exploits  of  his  countrymen,  held  lightly  the  claims  and  the  suffer- 
ings of  the  unfortunate  Aborigines.  He  was  incapable  of  appreciating 
the  generous  philanthropy  of  Las  Casas,  or  of  rising  to  his  lofty  views, 
which  he  doubtless  derided  as  those  of  a  benevolent,  it  might  be, 
but  visionary,  fanatic.  Las  Casas,  on  the  other  hand,  whose  voice 
had  been  constantly  uplifted  against  the  abuses  of  the  Conquerors,  was 
filled  with  abhorrence  at  the  sentiments  avowed  by  Oviedo,  and  it  was 
natural  that  his  aversion  to  the  principles  should  be  extended  to  the 
person  who  professed  them.  Probably  no  two  men  could  have  been 
found  less  competent  to  form  a  right  estimate  of  each  other. 

Oviedo  showed  the  same  activity  in  gathering  materials  for  natural 
history,  as  he  had  done  for  the  illustration  of  civil.  He  collected  the 
different  plants  of  the  Islands  in  his  garden,  and  domesticated  many  of 
the  animals,  or  kept  them  in  confinement  under  his  eye,  where  he 
could  study  their  peculiar  habits.  By  this  course,  if  he  did  not  him- 
self rival  Pliny  and  Hernandez  in  science,  he  was,  at  least,  enabled  to 
furnish  the  man  of  science  with  facts  of  the  highest  interest  and  im- 
portance. 

Besides  these  historical  writings,  Oviedo  left  a  work  in  six  volumes, 
called  by  the  whimsical  title  of  Quincuagenas.  It  consists  of  imaginary 
dialogues  between  the  most  eminent  Spaniards  of  the  time,  in  respect 
to  their  personal  history,  their  families,  and  genealogy.  It  is  a  work 
of  inestimable  value  to  the  historian  of  the  times  of  Ferdinand  and  Is- 
abella, and  of  Charles  the  Fifth.  But  it  has  attracted  little  attention  in 
Spain,  where  it  still  remains  in  manuscript.  A  complete  copy  of 
Oviedo's  History  of  the  Indies  is  in  the  archives  of  the  Royal  Academy 
of  History  in  Madrid,  and  it  is  understood  that  this  body  has  now  an 
edition  prepared  for  the  press.  Such  parts  as  are  literally  transcribed 
from  preceding  narratives,  like  the  Letters  of  Cortes,  which  Oviedo 
transferred  without  scruple  entire  and  unmutilated  into  his  own  pages, 
though  enlivened,  it  is  true,  by  occasional  criticism  of  his  own,  might 
as  well  be  omitted.  But  the  remainder  of  the  great  work  affords  a 
mass  of  multifarious  information  which  would  make  an  important  con- 
tribution to  the  colonial  history  of  Spain. 

An  authority  of  frequent  reference  in  these  pages  is  Diego  Mufios 
Camargo.  He  was  a  noble  Tlascalan  mcstee,  and  lived  in  the  latter 
half  of  the  sixteenth  century.  He  was  educated  in  the  Christian  faith, 
and  early  instructed  in  Castilian,  in  which  tongue  he  composed  his 


Cii.  VIII.] 


CAMARGO. 


297 


Historia  de  Tlascala.  In  this  work  he  introduces  the  reader  to  the 
different  me^nbers  of  the  great  Nahuatlac  family,  who  came  saccessive- 
Jy  up  the  Mexican  plateau.  Born  and  bred  among  the  Aborigines  of 
the  country,  when  the  practices  of  the  Pagan  age  had  not  wholly  be- 
come obsolete,  Camargo  was  in  a  position  perfectly  to  comprehend  the 
condition  of  the  ancient  inhabitants ;  and  his  work  supplies  much  cu- 
rious and  authentic  information  respecting  the  social  and  religious  insti- 
tutions of  the  land  at  the  time  of  the  Conquest.  His  patriotism  warms, 
as  he  recounts  the  old  hostilities  of  his  countrymen  with  the  Aztecs, 
and  it  is  singular  to  observe  how  the  detestation  of  the  rival  nations 
survived  their  common  subjection  under  the  Castilian  yoke. 

Camargo  embraces  in  his  narrative  an  account  of  this  great  event, 
and  of  the  subsequent  settlement  of  the  country.  As  one  of  the  In- 
dian family,  we  might  expect  to  see  his  chronicle  reflect  the  prejudices, 
or,  at  least,  partialities,  of  the  Indian.  But  the  Christian  convert  yield- 
ed up  his  sympathies  as  freely  to  the  Conquerors  as  to  his  own  country- 
men. The  desire  to  magnify  the  exploits  of  the  latter,  and  at  the 
same  time  to  do  full  justice  to  the  prowess  of  the  white  men,  produces 
occasionally  a  most  whimsical  contrast  in  his  pages,  giving  the  story  a 
strong  air  of  inconsistency.  In  point  of  literary  execution  the  work 
has  little  merit ;  as  great,  however,  as  could  be  expected  from  a  native 
Indian,  indebted  for  his  knowledge  of  the  tongue  to  such  imperfect  in- 
struction as  he  could  obtain  from  the  missionaries.  Yet  in  style  of 
composition  it  may  compare  not  unfavorably  with  the  writings  of  some 
of  the  missionaries  themselves. 

The  original  manuscript  was  long  preserved  in  the  convent  of  San 
Felipe  Neri  in  Mexico,  where  Torquemada,  as  appears  from  occasional 
references,  had  access  to  it.  It  has  escaped  the  attention  of  other  his- 
torians, but  was  embraced  by  Munoz  in  his  magnificent  collection,  and 
deposited  in  the  archives  of  the  Royal  Academy  of  History  at  Madrid ; 
from  which  source  the  copy  in  my  possession  was  obtained.  It  bears 
the  title  of  Pedazo  de  Historia  Verdadera^  and  is  without  the  author's 
name,  and  without  division  into  books  or  chapters. 


VOL.    II. 


BOOK   FIFTH 


EXPULSION  FROM  MEXICO. 


BOOK  V. 

EXPULSION   FROM   MEXICO. 


CHAPTER   I. 

Desperate  Assault  on  the  Quarters.  —  Fory  of  the  Mexicans. 
—  Sally  of  the  Spaniards. — Montezuma  addresses  the  Peo- 
ple. — Dangerously  wounded. 

1520. 

The  palace  of  Axayacatl,  in  which  the  Spaniards 
were  quartered,  was,  as  the  reader  may  remember, 
a  vast,  irregular  pile  of  stone  buildings,  having  but 
one  floor,  except  in  the  centre,  where  another  story 
was  added,  consisting  of  a  suite  of  apartments 
which  rose  like  turrets  on  the  main  building  of  the 
edifice.  A  vast  area  stretched  around,  encompassed 
by  a  stone  wall  of  no  great  height.  This  was  sup- 
ported by  towers  or  bulwarks  at  certain  intervals, 
which  gave  it  some  degree  of  strength,  not,  indeed, 
as  compared  with  European  fortifications,  but  iSuflS- 
cient  to  resist  the  rude  battering  enginery  of  the  In- 
dians. The  parapet  had  been  pierced  here  and  there 
with  embrasures  for  the  artillery,  which  consisted  of 
thirteen  guns ;  and  smaller  apertures  were  made  in 


302  EXPULSION   FROM   MEXICO.  [Book  V 

Other  parts  for  the  convenience  of  the  arquebusiers. 
The  Spanish  forces  found  accommodations  within 
the  great  building ;  but  the  numerous  body  of  Tlas- 
calan  auxiliaries  could  have  had  no  other  shelter 
than  what  was  afforded  by  barracks  or  sheds  hastily 
constructed  for  the  purpose  in  the  spacious  court- 
yard. Most  of  them,  probably,  bivouacked  under 
the  open  sky,  in  a  climate  milder  than  that  to  which 
they  were  accustomed  among  the  rude  hills  of  their 
native  land.  Thus  crowded  into  a  small  and  com- 
pact compass,  the  whole  army  could  be  assembled 
at  a  moment's  notice ;  and,  as  the  Spanish  com- 
mander was  careful  to  enforce  the  strictest  discipline 
and  vigilance,  it  was  scarcely  possible  that  he  could 
be  taken  by  surprise.  No  sooner,  therefore,  did  the 
trumpet  call  to  arms,  as  the  approach  of  the  enemy 
was  announced,  than  every  soldier  was  at  his  post, 
the  cavalry  mounted,  the  artillery-men  at  their  guns, 
and  the  archers  and  arquebusiers  stationed  so  as  to 
give  the  assailants  a  warm  reception. 

On  they  came,  with  the  companies,  or  irregular 
masses,  into  which  the  multitude  was  divided,  rush- 
ing forward  each  in  its  own  dense  column,  with 
many  a  gay  banner  displayed,  and  many  a  bright 
gleam  of  light  reflected  from  helmet,  arrow,  and 
spear-head,  as  they  were  tossed  about  in  their  disor- 
derly array.  As  they  drew  near  the  inclosure,  the 
Aztecs  set  up  a  hideous  yell,  or  rather  that  shrill 
whistle  used  in  fight  by  the  nations  of  Anahuac, 
which  rose  far  above  the  sound  of  shell  and  atabal, 
and  their  other  rude  instruments  of  warlike  melody. 


Cii.  I.]      DESPERATE  ASSAULT  ON  THE  QUARTERS.         SOS 

They  followed  this  by  a  tempest  of  missiles,  — 
stones,  darts,  and  arrows,  —  which  fell  thick  as  rain 
on  the  besieged,  while  volleys  of  the  same  kind  de- 
scended from  the  crowded  terraces  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood.^ 

The  Spaniards  waited  until  the  foremost  column 
Jiad  arrived  within  the  best  distance  for  giving  effect 
to  their  fire,  when  a  general  discharge  of  artillery 
and  arquebuses  swept  the  ranks  of  the  assailants, 
and  mowed  them  down  by  hundreds.^  The  Mex- 
icans were  familiar  with  the  report  of  these  formida- 
ble engines,  as  they  had  been  harmlessly  discharged 
on  some  holyday  festival ;  but  never  till  now  had 
they  witnessed  their  murderous  power.  They  stood 
aghast  for  a  moment,  as  with  bewildered  looks  they 
staggered   under  the  fury  of  the  fire ;  ^    but,  soon 

1  "Eran  tantas  las  Piedras,  que  salido  debajo  de  tierra  todos  jun- 

nos  echaban  con  Hondas  dentro  en  tos,  y  comenzaron  luego  a  dar  gri- 

la  Fortaleza,  que  no  parecia  sino  ta  y  pelear,  y  los  Espanoles  lea 

que  el  Cielo  las  llovia ;  e  las  Fie-  comenzaron  k  responder  de  dentro 

chas,  y  Tiraderas  eran  tantas,  que  con  toda  la  artilleria  que  de  nuebo 

todas  las  paredes  y  Patios  estaban  habian  traido,  y  con  toda  la  gente 

llenos,  que  casi  no  podiamos  andar  que  de  nuevo  habia  venido,  y  los 

conellas."     (Rel.  Seg.  de  Cortes,  Espanoles  hici^ron  gran  destrozo 

ap.  Lorenzana,  p.  134.)     No  won-  en  los  Indies,  con  la  artilleria,  ar- 

der  that  they  should  have  found  cabuzes,  y  ballestas  y  todo  el  otro 

s^^e  difficulty  in  wading  through  artiiicio  de  pelear."      (Sahagun, 

the  a.-Qws^  if  Herrera's  account  Hist,    de  Nueva    Espana,    MS., 

be  correc.  that /or/y  can-loads  o(  lib.  12,  cap.  22.)     The  good  fa- 

tbem  were  gathered  up  and  burnt  ther  waxes  eloquent  in  his  descrip- 

by  the  besieged  .very  day  !     Hist,  tion  of  the  battle  scene. 

General,  dec.  2,  lib  iq,  cap.  9.  3  The  enemy  presented  so  ea«y 

2  "Lufcgo  sin  tardb^za  se  jun-  a  mark,   says  Gomara,  that  the 

t&ron  los  Mexicanos,  en  ^an  co-  gunners    loaded    and    fired    with 

pia,  puestos  k  punto  de  Gu^^^^  hardly  the  trouble  of  pointing  their 

que  no  parecia,  sino   que  habia,  pieces.     "  Tan  recio,  que  los  ar- 


304  EXPULSION   FROM   MEXICO.  [Book  > 

rallying,  the  bold  barbarians  uttered  a  piercing  crj, 
and  rushed  forward  over  the  prostrate  bodies  of  their 
comrades.  A  second  and  a  third  volley  checked 
their  career,  and  threw^  them  into  disorder,  but  still 
they  pressed  on,  letting  off  clouds  of  arrows ;  while 
their  comrades  on  the  roofs  of  the  houses  took  more 
deliberate  aim  at  the  combatants  in  the  court-yard. 
The  Mexicans  were  particularly  expert  in  the  use  of 
the  sling ;  ^  and  the  stones  which  they  hurled  from 
their  elevated  positions  on  the  heads  of  their  ene- 
mies did  even  greater  execution  than  the  arrows. 
They  glanced,  indeed,  from  the  mail- covered  bodies 
of  the  cavaliers,  and  from  those  who  were  sheltered 
under  the  cotton  panoply,  or  escaupiL  But  some 
of  the  soldiers,  especially  the  veterans  of  Cortes, 
and  many  of  their  Indian  allies,  had  but  slight 
defences,  and  suffered  greatly  under  this  stony  tem- 
pest. 

The  Aztecs,  meanwhile,  had  advanced  close  under 
the  walls  of  the  intrenchment ;  their  ranks  broken 
and  disordered,  and  their  limbs  mangled  by  the  un- 
intermitting  fire  of  the  Christians.  But  they  still 
pressed  on,  under  the  very  muzzle  of  the  guns. 
They  endeavoured  to  scale  the  parapet,  which,  from 
its  moderate  height,  was  in  itself  a  work  of  no  g»*^t 
difficulty.  But  the  moment  they  showed  theF  heads 
above  the  rampart,  they  were  shot  down  ^f  the  un- 
erring marksmen  within,  or  stretched/^^  the  ground 

tilleros  sin  asestar  jugaban  con  los    fuerte  ^^^  ^^  P^lea  que  los  Meji 
tiros."     Crdnica,  cap.  106.  can^  Fenian."     Caraargo,  Hist 

*   "  Hondas,  que  eran  la  mas    ^^  Tlascala,  MS. 


Ch.  I]      DESPERATE  ASSAULT  ON  THE  QUARTERS.         305 

by  a  blow  of  a  Tlascalan  maquahuilL  Nothing 
daunted,  others  soon  appeared  to  take  the  place  of 
the  fallen,  and  strove,  by  raising  themselves  on  the 
writhing  bodies  of  their  dying  comrades,  or  by  fixing 
their  spears  in  the  crevices  of  the  wall,  to  surmount 
*he  barrier.  But  the  attempt  proved  equally  vain. 
Defeated  here,  they  tried  to  effect  a  breach  in  the 
parapet  by  battering  it  with  heavy  pieces  of  timber. 
The  works  were  not  constructed  on  those  scientific 
principles  by  which  one  part  is  made  to  overlook  and 
protect  another.  The  besiegers,  therefore,  might 
operate  at  their  pleasure,  with  but  little  molestation 
from  the  garrison  within,  whose  guns  could  not  be 
brought  into  a  position  to  bear  on  them,  and  who 
could  mount  no  part  of  their  own  works  for  their 
defence,  without  exposing  their  persons  to  the  mis- 
siles of  the  whole  besieging  army.  The  parapet, 
however,  proved  too  strong  for  the  efforts  of  the 
assailants.  In  their  despair,  they  endeavoured  to 
set  the  Christian  quarters  on  fire,  shooting  burning 
arrows  into  them,  and  climbing  up  so  as  to  dart  their 
firebrands  through  the  embrasures.  The  principal 
edifice  was  of  stone.  But  the  temporary  defences 
of  the  Indian  allies,  and  other  parts  of  the  exterior 
works,  were  of  wood.  Several  of  these  took  fire,  and 
the  flame  spread  rapidly  among  the  light,  combustible 
materials.  This  was  a  disaster  for  which  the  be- 
sieged were  wholly  unprepared.  They  had  little 
water,  scarcely  enough  for  their  own  consumption. 
They  endeavoured  to  extinguish  the  flames  by  heap- 
ing on  earth.     But  in  vain.     Fortunately  the  great 

VOL.    II.  39 


806  EXPULSION  FROM  MEXICO.  [Book  V. 

building  was  of  materials  which  defied  the  destroy- 
ing element.  But  the  fire  raged  in  some  of  the 
outworks,  connected  with  the  parapet,  with  a  fury 
which  could  only  be  checked  by  throwing  down  a 
part  of  the  wall  itself,  thus  laying  open  a  formidable 
breach.  This,  by  the  general's  order,  was  speedily- 
protected  by  a  battery  of  heavy  guns,  and  a  file  of 
arquebusiers,  who  kept  up  an  incessant  volley  through 
the  opening  on  the  assailants.^ 

The  fight  now  raged  with  fury  on  both  sides. 
The  walls  around  the  palace  belched  forth  an  unin- 
termitting  sheet  of  flame  and  smoke.  The  groans 
of  the  wounded  and  dying  were  lost  in  the  fiercer 
battle-cries  of  the  combatants,  the  roar  of  the  artil- 
lery, the  sharper  rattle  of  the  musketry,  and  the  his- 
sing sound  of  Indian  missiles.  It  was  the  conflict 
of  the  European  with  the  American ;  of  civilized 
man  with  the  barbarian ;  of  the  science  of  the  one 
with  the  rude  weapons  and  warfare  of  the  other. 
And  as  the  ancient  walls  of  Tenochtitlan  shook  un- 
der the  thunders  of  the  artillery, — it  announced  that 
the  white  man,  the  destroyer,  had  set  his  foot  vnthin 
her  precincts.^ 

^  "En  la  Fortaleza  daban  tan  escala  vista,  sin  los  poderresistir." 

recio    combate,   que  por  muchas  Rel.  Seg.  de  Cortes,  ap.  Lorenza- 

partes  nos  pusi^ron  fuego,  y  por  na,  p.  134. 

la  una  se  quemd  mucha  parte  de        6  Ibid.,   ubi  supra.  —  Gomara, 

tlla,  sin  la  poder  remediar,  hasta  Cronica,  cap.  106. — Oviedo,  Hist, 

que  la  alaj&mos,  cortando  las  pa-  de  las  Ind.,  MS.,  lib.  33,  cap.  13. 

redes,  y  derrocando  un  pedazo  que  — Sahagun,  Hist,  de  Nueva  Es- 

mat6  el  fuego.     E  si  no  faera  por  paila,  MS.,  lib.  12,  cap.  22.— Gon- 

la  mucha  Guarda,  que  alii  puse  de  zalo  de  las  Casas,  Defensa,  MS., 

Escopeteros,  y  Ballesteros,  y  otros  Parte  1,  cap.  26.  —  Bernal  Diaz, 

tiros  de  pdlvora,  nos  entraran  a  Hist,  de  la  Conquista,  cap.  126. 


Ch.  I.l  FURY   OF  THE  MEXICANS.  307 

Night  at  length  came,  and  drew  her  friendly  man- 
tle over  the  contest.  The  Aztec  seldom  fought  b^ 
night.  It  brought  little  repose,  however,  to  the 
Spaniards,  in  hourly  expectation  of  an  assault ;  and 
they  found  abundant  occupation  in  restoring  the 
breaches  in  their  defences,  and  in  repairing  their 
battered  armor.  The  beleaguering  host  lay  on 
their  arms  through  the  night,  giving  token  of  theii 
presence,  now  and  then,  by  sending  a  stone  or 
shaft  over  the  battlements,  or  by  a  solitary  cry  of 
defiance  from  some  warrior  more  determined  than 
the  rest,  till  all  other  sounds  were  lost  in  the  vague, 
indistinct  murmurs  which  float  upon  the  air  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  a  vast  assembly. 

The  ferocity  shown  by  the  Mexicans  seems  to 
have  been  a  thing  for  which  Cortes  was  wholly  un- 
prepared. His  past  experience,  his  uninterrupted 
career  of  victory  with  a  much  feebler  force  at  his 
command,  had  led  him  to  underrate  the  military 
efficiency,  if  not  the  valor,  of  the  Indians.  The 
apparent  facility,  with  which  the  Mexicans  had  ac- 
quiesced in  the  outrages  on  their  sovereign  and 
themselves,  had  led  him  to  hold  their  courage,  in 
particular,  too  lightly.  He  could  not  believe  the 
present  assault  to  be  any  thing  more  than  a  tempo- 
rary ebullition  of  the  populace,  which  would  sx)n 
waste  itself  by  its  own  fury.  And  he  proposer^  ou 
the  following  day,  to  sally  out  and  inflict  such  ( ha  > 
tisement  on  his  foes  as  should  bring  them  to  iher 
senses,  and  show  who  was  master  in  the  capital. 


308  EXPULSION   FROM   MEXICO.  [Book   V. 

With  early  dawn,  the  Spaniards  were  up  and 
under  arms  ;  but  not  before  their  enemies  had  given 
evidence  of  their  hostility  by  the  random  missiles, 
which,  from  time  to  time,  were  sent  into  the  inclos- 
ure.  As  the  grey  light  of  morning  advanced,  it 
showed  the  besieging  army  far  from  being  diminished 
in  numbers,  filling  up  the  great  square  and  neigh- 
bouring avenues  in  more  dense  array  than  on  the 
preceding  evening.  Instead  of  a  confused,  disor- 
derly rabble,  it  had  the  appearance  of  something 
like  a  regular  force,  with  its  battalions  distributed 
under  their  respective  banners,  the  devices  of  which 
showed  a  contribution  from  the  principal  cities  and 
districts  in  the  Valley.  High  above  the  rest  was 
conspicuous  the  ancient  standard  of  Mexico,  with 
its  well  known  cognizance,  an  eagle  pouncing  on  an 
ocelot,  emblazoned  on  a  rich  mantle  of  feather-work. 
Here  and  there  priests  might  be  seen  mingling  in 
the  ranks  of  the  besiegers,  and,  with  frantic  ges- 
tures, animating  them  to  avenge  their  insulted  deities. 

The  greater  part  of  the  enemy  had  little  clothing 
save  the  maxtlatl,  or  sash  round  the  loins.  They 
were  variously  armed,  with  long  spears  tipped  with 
copper,  or  flint,  or  sometimes  merely  pointed  and 
hardened  in  the  fire.  Some  were  provided  with 
slings,  and  others  with  darts  having  two  or  three 
points,  with  long  strings  attached  to  them,  by  which, 
when  discharged,  they  could  be  torn  away  again 
from  the  body  of  the  wounded.  This  was  a  formida- 
ble weapon,  much  dreaded  by  the  Spaniards.  Those 
of  a  higher  order  wielded  the  terrible  maquahuitL 


Ch.  1.]  SALLY   OF  THE  SPANIARDS.  309 

with  its  sharp  and  brittle  blades  of  obsidian.  Amidst 
the  motley  bands  of  warriors,  were  seen  many  whose 
showy  dress  and  air  of  authority  intimated  persons 
of  high  military  consequence.  Their  breasts  were 
protected  by  plates  of  metal,  over  which  was  thrown 
the  gay  surcoat  of  feather- work.  They  wore 
casques  resembling,  in  their  form,  the  head  of  some 
wild  and  ferocious  animal,  crested  with  bristly  hair, 
or  overshadowed  by  tall  and  graceful  plumes  of  many 
a  brilliant  color.  Some  few  were  decorated  with 
the  red  fillet  bound  round  the  hair,  having  tufts  of 
cotton  attached  to  it,  which  denoted  by  their  num- 
ber that  of  the  victories  they  had  won,  and  their 
own  preeminent  rank  among  the  warriors  of  the 
nation.  The  motley  assembly  plainly  showed  that 
priest,  warrior,  and  citizen  had  all  united  to  swell 
the  tumult. 

Before  the  sun  had  shot  his  beams  into  the  Cas- 
lilian  quarters,  the  enemy  were  in  motion,  evidently 
preparing  to  renew  the  assault  of  the  preceding  day. 
The  Spanish  commander  determined  to  anticipate 
them  by  a  vigorous  sortie,  for  which  he  had  already 
made  the  necessary  dispositions.  A  general  dis- 
charge of  ordnance  and  musketry  sent  death  far 
and  wide  into  the  enemy's  ranks,  and,  before  they 
had  time  to  recover  from  their  confusion,  the  gates 
were  thrown  open,  and  Cortes,  sallying  out  at  the 
head  of  his  cavalry,  supported  by  a  large  body  of 
infantry  and  several  thousand  Tlascalans,  rode  at 
full  gallop  against  them.  Taken  thus  by  surprise, 
it  was  scarcely  poi?sible  to   offer  much  resistance 


310  EXPULSION  FROM  MEXICO.  [Book   V. 

Those  who  did  were  trampled  down  under  the 
horses'  feet,  cut  to  pieces  with  the  broadswords,  or 
pierced  with  the  lances  of  the  riders.  The  infantry 
followed  up  the  blow,  and  the  rout  for  the  moment 
was  general. 

But  the  Aztecs  fled  only  to  take  refuge  behind  a 
barricade,  or  strong  work  of  timber  and  earth,  which 
had  been  thrown  across  the  great  street  through 
which  thej  were  pursued.  Rallying  on  the  other 
side,  they  made  a  gallant  stand,  and  poured  in  turn 
a  volley  of  their  light  weapons  on  the  Spaniards, 
who,  saluted  with  a  storm  of  missiles  at  the  same 
time,  from  the  terraces  of  the  houses,  were  checked 
in  their  career,  and  thrown  into  some  disorder.'^ 

Cortes,  thus  impeded,  ordered  up  a  few  pieces  of 
heavy  ordnance,  which  soon  swept  away  the  barri- 
cades, and  cleared  a  passage  for  the  army.  But  it 
had  lost  the  momentum  acquired  in  its  rapid  ad- 
vance. The  enemy  had  time  to  rally  and  to  meet 
the  Spaniards  on  more  equal  terms.  They  were 
attacked  in  flank,  too,  as  they  advanced,  by  fresh 
battalions,  who  swarmed  in  from  the  adjoining 
streets  and  lanes.  The  canals  were  alive  with 
boats  filled  with  warriors,  who,  wdth  their  formidable 
darts  searched  every  crevice  or  weak  place  in  the 
armor  of  proof,  and  made  havoc  on  the  unprotected 
bodies  of  the  Tlascalans.  By  repeated  and  vigorous 
charges,  the  Spaniards  succeeded  in  driving  the 
Indians   before  them ;    though   many,  with   a   des- 

7  Carta  del  Ex^rcito,  MS. 


'•J 


SALLY  OF  THE  SPANIARDS.  -^tf 


peration  which  showed  they  loved  vengeance  better 
than  life,  sought  to  embarrass  the  movements  of 
their  horses  by  clinging  to  their  legs,  or,  more  suc- 
cessftdly,  strove  to  pull  the  riders  from  their  saddles. 
And  woe  to  the  unfortunate  cavalier  who  was  thus 
dismounted,  —  to  be  despatched  by  the  brutal  ma- 
qualiuitl,  or  to  be  dragged  on  board  a  canoe  to  the 
bloody  altar  of  sacrifice  !      ^ 

But  the  greatest  annoyance  which  the  Spaniards 
endured  was  from  the  missiles  from  the  azoteas, 
consisting  often  of  large  stones,  hurled  with  a  force 
that  would  tumble  the  stoutest  rider  from  his  saddle. 
Galled  in  the  extreme  by  these  discharges,  against 
which  even  their  shields  afforded  no  adequate  pro- 
tection, Cortes  ordered  fire  to  be  set  to  the  build- 
ings. This  was  no  very  difficult  matter,  since,  al- 
though chiefly  of  stone,  they  were  filled  with  mats, 
cane-work,  and  other  combustible  materials,  which 
were  soon  in  a  blaze.  But  the  buildings  stood 
separated  from  one  another  by  canals  and  draw- 
bridges, so  that  the  flames  did  not  easily  communi- 
cate to  the  neighbouring  edifices.  Hence,  the  labor 
of  the  Spaniards  was  incalculably  increased,  and 
their  progress  in  the  work  of  destruction  —  for- 
tunately  for   the   city  —  was    comparatively   slow.® 

8  "  Estdn  todas  en  el  agua,  y  vna  casa  e  se  queraar  vn  dia  ente- 

de  casa  a  cisa  vna  puente  leuadiza,  ro,  y  no  se  podia  pegar  fuego  de 

passalla  a  nado,  era  cosa  muy  pel-  vna  casa  k  otra ;  lo  vno,  per  estar 

igrosa ;  porque  desde  las  a§uteas  apartadas  la  vna  de  otra  el  agua 

tirauan  tanta  piedra,  y  cantos,  que  en  medio ;    y  lo  otro,  por  ser  de 

era  cosa  pprdida  i>onernos  en  ello.  a^uteas."     Bernal  Diaz,  Hist,  da 

Y  demas  desto,  en  algunas  casas  la  Conquista,  cap.  126. 
''ue   les  poniamos  fuego,  tardaua 


312  EXPULSION   FROM   MEXICO.  [Book  V 

The  J  did  not  relax  their  efforts,  however,  till  several 
hundred  houses  had  been  consumed,  and  the  mis- 
eries of  a  conflagration,  in  which  the  wretched 
inmates  perished  equally  with  the  defenders,  were 
added  to  the  other  horrors  of  the  scene. 

The  day  was  now  far  spent.     The  Spaniards  had 
been  everywhere  victorious.    But  the  enemy,  though 
driven    back   on   every  ''point,   still   kept    the    field. 
When  broken  by  the  furious  charges  of  the  cavalry, 
he  soon  rallied  behind  the  temporary  defences,  which, 
at  different  intervals,  had  been  thrown  across  the 
streets,  and,  facing  about,  renewed  the  fight  with 
undiminished  courage,  till  the  sweeping  away  of  the 
barriers  by  the  cannon  of  the  assailants  left  a  free 
passage  for  the  movements  of  their  horse.    Thus  the 
action  was  a  succession  of  rallying  and  retreating,  in 
which  both  parties  suffered  much,  although  the  loss 
inflicted  on  the  Indians  was  probably  tenfold  greater 
than  that  of  the  Spaniards.     But  the  Aztecs  could 
better  afford  the  loss  of  a  hundred  lives  than  their 
antagonists  that  of  one.     And,  while  the  Spaniards 
showed  an  array  broken,  and  obviously  thinned  in 
numbers,  the  Mexican  army,  swelled  by  the  tributary 
levies  which  flowed  in  upon  it  from  the  neighbouring 
streets,   exhibited,  with  all  its   losses,  no   sign  of 
diminution.      At   length,   sated   with   carnage,  and 
exhausted  by  toil   and  hunger,   the    Spanish  com- 
mander drew  off  his  men,  and  sounded  a  retreat.^ 

*  •*The  Mexicans  fought  with  that  day  of  ten  thousand  Hectors, 
such  ferocity,"  says  Diaz,  *'  that,"  and  as  many  Orlandos,  we  should 
if  we  had   had  the  assistance  on     have  made  no  impression  on  them ! 


CH.  I]  SALLY  OF  THE  SPANIARDS.  313 

On  his  way  back  to  his  quarters,  he  beheld  his 
friend,  the  secretary  Duero,  in  a  street  adjoining, 
unhorsed,  and  hotly  engaged  with  a  body  of  Mex- 
icans, against  whom  he  was  desperately  defending 
himself  with  his  poniard.  Cortes,  roused  at  the 
sight,  shouted  his  war-cry,  and,  dashing  into  the 
midst  of  the  enemy,  scattered  them  like  chaff  by 
the  fury  of  his  onset ;  then,  recovering  his  friend's 
horse,  he  enabled  him  to  remount,  and  the  two  cav- 
aliers, striking  their  spurs  into  their  steeds,  burst 
through  their  opponents  and  joined  the  main  body 
of  the  army.^°  Such  displays  of  generous  gallantry 
were  not  uncommon  in  these  engagements,  which 
called  forth  more  feats  of  personal  adventure  than 
battles  with  antagonists  better  skilled  in  the  science 
of  war.  The  chivalrous  bearing  of  the  general  was 
emulated  in  full  measure  by  Sandoval,  De  Leon, 
Olid,  Alvarado,  Ordaz,  and  his  other  brave  compan- 
ions, who  won  such  glory  under  the  eye  of  their 
leader,  as  prepared  the  way  for  the  independent 
commands  which  afterwards  placed  provinces  and 
kingdoms  at  their  disposal. 

The  undaunted  Aztecs  hung  on  the  rear  of  their 


There  were  several  of  our  troops,"  zana,  p.  135,  — Ixtlilxochitl,  Re- 
ne adds,  "who  had  served  in  the  laciones,  MS., — Probanza  k  pedi- 
Italian  wars,  but  neither  there  nor  mento  de  Juan  de  Lexalde,  MS., 
in  the  battles  with  the  Turk  had  — Oviedo,  Hist,  de  las  Ind.,  MS., 
they  ever  seen  any  thing  like  the  lib.  33,  cap.  13, — Gomara,  Cro- 
desperation  shown  by  these  In-  nica,  cap.  196. 
dians."  Hist,  de  la  Conquista,  lO  Herrera,  Hist.  General,  dec 
cap.  126.  2,  lib.  10,  cap.  9. — Torquemad*, 

See,  also,  for  the  last  pages^  Monarch.  Ind.,  lib.  4,  cap.  69. 
ReL  Seg.  de  Cortes,  ap.  Loren- 
VOL.    IT.                       40 


314  EXPULSION  FROM   MEXICO.  [Book  V. 

retreating  foes,  annoying  them  at  every  step  bj  fresh 
flights  of  stones  and  arrows ;  and,  when  the  Span- 
iards had  reentered  their  fortress,  the  Indian  host 
encamped  around  it,  showing  the  same  dogged  reso 
lution  as  on  the  preceding  evening.  Though  true 
to  their  ancient  habits  of  inaction  during  the  night, 
they  broke  the  stillness  of  the  hour  by  insulting 
cries  and  menaces,  which  reached  the  ears  of  the 
besieged.  "  The  gods  have  delivered  you,  at  last, 
into  our  hands,"  they  said;  " Huitzilopotchli  has  long 
cried  for  his  victims.  The  stone  of  sacrifice  is  ready. 
The  knives  are  sharpened.  The  wild  beasts  in  the 
palace  are  roaring  for  their  offal.  And  the  cages," 
they  added,  taunting  the  Tlascalans  with  their  lean- 
ness, "are  waiting  for  the  false  sons  of  Anahuac, 
who  are  to  be  fattened  for  the  festival ! "  These 
dismal  menaces,  which  sounded  fearfully  in  the  ears 
of  the  besieged,  w^ho  understood  too  well  their  im- 
port, were  mingled  with  piteous  lamentations  for 
their  sovereign,  whom  they  called  on  the  Spaniards 
to  deliver  up  to  them. 

Cortes  suffered  much  from  a  severe  wound  which 
he  had  received  in  the  hand  in  the  late  action.  But 
the  anguish  of  his  mind  must  have  been  still  greater, 
as  he  brooded  over  the  dark  prospect  before  him. 
He  had  mistaken  the  character  of  the  Mexicans. 
Their  long  and  patient  endurance  had  been  a  vio- 
lence to  their  natural  temper,  which,  as  their  whole 
history  proves,  was  arrogant  and  ferocious  beyond 
that  of  most  of  the  races  of  Anahuac.  The  re- 
itraint,  which,  in  deference  to  their  monarch,  more 


Ch.  I]  FURY  OF  THE  MEXICANS.  315 

than  to  tlieir  own  fears,  they  had  so  long  put  on 
their  natures,  being  once  removed,  their  passions 
burst  forth  with  accumulated  violence.  The  Span- 
iards had  encountered  in  the  Tlascalan  an  open 
enemy,  who  had  no  grievance  to  complain  of,  no 
wrong  to  redress.  He  fought  under  the  vague  ap- 
prehension only  of  some  coming  evil  to  his  country. 
But  the  Aztec,  hitherto  tlie  proud  lord  of  the  land, 
was  goaded  by  insult  and  injury,  till  he  had  reached 
that  pitch  of  self-devotion,  which  made  life  cheap, 
in  comparison  with  revenge.  Armed  thus  with  the 
energy  of  despair,  the  savage  is  almost  a  match 
for  the  civilized  man ;  and  a  whole  nation,  moved 
to  its  depths  by  a  common  feeling,  which  swallows 
up  all  selfish  considerations  of  personal  interest  and 
safety,  becomes,  whatever  be  its  resources,  like  the 
earthquake  and  the  tornado,  the  most  formidable 
among  the  agencies  of  nature. 

Considerations  of  this  kind  may  have  passed 
through  the  mind  of  Cortes,  as  he  reflected  on  his 
own  impotence  to  restrain  the  fury  of  the  Mexicans, 
and  resolved,  in  despite  of  his  late  supercilious  treat- 
ment of  Montezuma,  to  employ  his  authority  to  allay 
the  tumult,  —  an  authority  so  successfully  exerted  in 
behalf  of  Alvarado,  at  an  earlier  stage  of  the  insur- 
rection. He  was  the  more  confirmed  in  his  purpose, 
on  the  following  morning,  when  the  assailants,  re- 
doubling their  efforts,  succeeded  in  scaling  the  worLs 
in  one  quarter,  and  effecting  an  entrance  into  the  in- 
closure.  It  is  true,  they  were  met  with  so  resolute 
a  spirit,  that  not  a  man,  of  those  who  entered,  was 


sm 


EXPULSION  FROM  MEXICO. 


[Book    ♦. 


left  alive.  But,  in  the  impetuosity  of  the  assault,  it 
seemed,  for  a  few  moments,  as  if  the  place  was  to  be 
carried  by  storm. ^^ 

Cortes  now  sent  to  the  Aztec  emperor  to  request 
his  interposition  with  his  subjects  in  behalf  of  the 
Spaniards.  But  Montezuma  was  not  in  the  humor 
to  comply.  He  had  remained  moodily  in  his  quar- 
ters ever  since  the  general's  return.  Disgusted  with 
the  treatment  he  had  received,  he  had  still  further 
cause  for  mortification  in  finding  himself  the  ally  of 
those  who  were  the  open  enemies  of  his  nation. 
From  his  apartment  he  had  beheld  the  tragical 
scenes  in  his  capital,  and  seen  another,  the  presump- 
tive heir  to  his  throne,  taking  the  place  which  he 
should  have  occupied  at  the  head  of  his  warriors, 
and  fighting  the  battles  of  his  country. ^^  Distressed 
by  his  position,  indignant  at  those  who  had  placed 
him  in  it,  he  coldly  answered,  "  What  have  I  to  do 
with  Malinche  ?  I  do  not  wish  to  hear  from  him. 
I  desire  only  to  die.  To  what  a  state  has  my  wil- 
lingness to  serve  him  reduced  me!"^^  When  urged 
still  further  to  comply  by  Olid  and  father  Olmedo, 


11  Bernal  Diaz,  Hist,  de  la  Con- 
quista,  cap.  126. — Oviedo,  Hist, 
de  las  Ind.,  MS.,  lib.  33,  cap.  13. 
—  Gomara,  Cr6nica,  cap.  107. 

12  Cortes  sent  Marina  to  ascer- 
tain from  Montezuma  the  name  of 
the  gallant  chief,  who  could  be 
easily  seen  from  the  walls  animat- 
ing and  directing  his  countrymen. 
The  emperor  informed  him  that  it 
was  his    brother  Ouitlahua,  the 


presumptive  heir  to  his  crown,  and 
the  same  chief  whom  the  Spanish 
commander  had  released  a  few 
days  previous.  Herrera,  Hist 
General,  dec.  2,  lib.  10,  cap.  10. 

13  "  j  Que  quiere  de  mi  ya  Malin- 
che, que  yo  no  deseo  viuir  ni  oil- 
le  1  pues  en  tal  estado  por  su 
causa  mi  ventura  me  ha  traido." 
Bernal  Diaz,  Hist,  de  la  C  inquista, 
cap.  126. 


CH.  I]         MONTEZUMA   ADDRESSES  THE   PEOPLE.  317 

he  added,  "  It  is  of  no  use.  They  will  neither  be- 
lieve me,  nor  the  false  words  and  promises  of  Malin- 
che.  You  will  never  leave  these  walls  alive."  On 
being  assured,  however,  that  the  Spaniards  would 
willingly  depart,  if  a  way  were  opened  to  them  by 
tlieir  enemies,  he  at  length  —  moved,  probably, 
more  by  the  desire  to  spare  the  blood  of  his  sub- 
jects, than  of  the  Christians  —  consented  to  expos- 
tulate with  his  people. ^^ 

In  order  to  give  the  greater  effect  to  his  presence, 
he  put  on  his  imperial  robes.  The  tilmatli,  his 
mantle  of  white  and  blue,  flowed  over  his  shoulders, 
held  together  by  its  rich  clasp  of  the  green  chalchi- 
vitl.  The  same  precious  gem,  with  emeralds  of  un- 
common size,  set  in  gold,  profusely  ornamented 
other  parts  of  his  dress.  His  feet  were  shod  with 
the  golden  sandals,  and  his  brows  covered  by  the 
copilli,  or  Mexican  diadem,  resembling  in  form  the 
pontifical  tiara.  Thus  attired,  and  surrounded  by  a 
guard  of  Spaniards  and  several  Aztec  nobles,  and 
preceded  by  the  golden  wand,  the  symbol  of  sove- 
reignty, the  Indian  monarch  ascended  the  central 
turret  of  the  palace.  His  presence  was  instantly 
recognised  by  the  people,  and,  as  the  royal  retinue 
advanced  along  the  battlements,  a  change,  as  if  by 
magic,  came  over  the  scene.  The  clang  of  instru- 
ments, the  fierce  cries  of  the  assailants,  were  hushed, 
and  a  deathlike  stillness  pervaded  the  whole  assem- 
bly, so  fiercely  agitated,  but  a  few  moments  before, 

M  Ibid.,  ubi  supra.  —  Ixtlilxochitl,  Hist.  Chich.,  MS.,  cap.  88. 


SI 8  EXPULSION  FROM   MEXICO.  [Book  V 

by  the  wild  tumult  of  war  !  Many  prostrated  them- 
selves on  the  ground  ;  others  bent  the  knee ;  and 
all  turned  with  eager  expectation  towards  the  mon- 
arch, whom  they  had  been  taught  to  reverence  with 
slavish  awe,  and  from  whose  countenance  they  had 
been  wont  to  turn  away  as  from  the  intolerable 
splendors  of  divinity !  Montezuma  saw  his  advan- 
tage ;  and,  while  he  stood  thus  confronted  with  his 
awe-struck  people,  he  seemed  to  recover  all  his 
former  authority  and  confidence,  as  he  felt  himself  to 
be  still  a  king.  With  a  calm  voice,  easily  heard 
over  the  silent  assembly,  he  is  said  by  the  Castilian 
writers  to  have  thus  addressed  them. 

"  Why  do  I  see  my  people  here  in  arms  against 
the  palace  of  my  fathers  ?  Is  it  that  you  think  your 
sovereign  a  prisoner,  and  wish  to  release  him  ?  If 
so,  you  have  acted  rightly.  But  you  are  mistaken. 
I  am  no  prisoner.  The  strangers  are  my  guests.  I 
remain  with  them  only  from  choice,  and  can  leave 
them  when  I  list.  Have  you  come  to  drive  them 
from  the  city  ?  That  is  unnecessary.  They  will 
depart  of  their  own  accord,  if  you  will  open  a  way 
for  them.  Return  to  your  homes,  then.  Lay  down 
your  arms.  Show  your  obedience  to  me  who  have 
a  right  to  it.  The  white  men  shall  go  back  to  their 
own  land ;  and  all  shall  be  well  again  within  the 
walls  of  Tenochtitlan." 

As  Montezuma  announced  himself  the  friend  of 
the  detested  strangers,  a  murmur  ran  through  the 
multitude ;  a  murmur  of  contempt  for  the  pusillani- 
mous prince  who  could  show  himself  so  insensible  to 


(^    I.]  HE  IS  DANGEROUSLY   WOUNDED.  319 

the  insults  and  injuries  for  which  the  nation  was  in 
arms!  The  swollen  tide  of  their  passions  swept 
away  all  the  barriers  of  ancient  reverence,  and,  tak- 
ing a  new  direction,  descended  on  the  head  of  the 
unfortunate  monarch,  so  far  degenerated  from  his 
warlike  ancestors.  "  Base  Aztec,"  they  exclaimed, 
"woman,  coward,  the  white  men  have  made  you 
a  woman,  —  fit  only  to  wfeave  and  spin  ! "  These 
bitter  taunts  were  soon  followed  by  still  more  hostile 
demonstrations.  A  chief,  it  is  said,  of  high  rank, 
bent  a  bow  or  brandished  a  javelin  with  an  air  of 
defiance  against  the  emperor,^^  when,  in  an  instant, 
a  cloud  of  stones  and  arrows  descended  on  the  spot 
where  the  royal  train  was  gathered.  The  Spaniards 
appointed  to  protect  his  person  had  been  thrown  off 
their  guard  by  the  respectful  deportment  of  the  peo- 
ple during  their  lord's  address.  They  now  hastily 
interposed  their  bucklers.  But  it  was  too  late.  Mon- 
tezuma was  wounded  by  three  of  the  missiles,  one 
of  which,  a  stone,  fell  with  such  violence  on  his 
head,  near  the  temple,  as  brought  him  senseless  to 
the  ground.  The  Mexicans,  shocked  at  their  own 
sacrilegious  act,  experienced  a  sudden  revulsion  of 
feeling,  and,  setting  up  a  dismal  cry,  dispersed  panic- 
struck,  in  different  directions.  Not  one  of  the  mul- 
titudinous array  remained  in  the  great  square  before 
the  palace  ! 

The  unhappy  prince,  meanwhile,  was  borne  by  his 

15  Acosta  reports  a  tradition,  succeeded  to  the  throne,  WM  the 
that  Guatemozin,  Montezuma's  man  that  shot  the  first  arrow.  lib 
nenhew,  who  himself  afterwards     7,  cap.  26. 


320  EXPULSION  FROM  MEXICO.  [Book  V. 

attendants  to  his  apartments  below.  On  recover- 
ing from  the  insensibility  caused  by  the  blow,  the 
wretchedness  of  his  condition  broke  upon  him.  He 
had  tasted  the  last  bitterness  of  degradation.  He 
had  been  reviled,  rejected,  by  his  people.  The 
meanest  of  the  rabble  had  raised  their  hands  against 
him.  He  had  nothing  more  to  live  for.  It  was  in 
vain  that  Cortes  and  his  officers  endeavoured  to 
soothe  the  anguish  of  his  spirit  and  fill  him  with 
better  thoughts.  He  spoke  not  a  word  in  answer. 
His  wound,  though  dangerous,  might  still,  with  skil- 
ful treatment,  not  prove  mortal.  But  Montezuma 
refused  all  the  remedies  prescribed  for  it.  He  tore 
off  the  bandages  as  often  as  they  were  applied, 
maintaining,  all  the  while,  the  most  determined  si- 
lence. He  sat  with  eyes  dejected,  brooding  over  his 
fallen  fortunes,  over  the  image  of  ancient  majesty, 
and  present  humiliation.  He  had  survived  his  hon- 
or. But  a  spark  of  his  ancient  spirit  seemed  to 
kindle  in  his  bosom,  as  it  was  clear  he  did  not  mean 
to  survive  his  disgrace.  —  From  this  painful  scene 
the  Spanish  general  and  his  followers  were  soon 
called  away  by  the  new  dangers  which  menaced 
the  garrison. 


16 


18  I  have  reported  this  tragical  126. — Oviedo,  Hist,  de  las  Ind., 

event,  and  the  circumstances  at-  MS.,  lib.  33,  cap.  47. — Rel.  Seg. 

tending  it,  as  they  are  given,  in  de  Cortes,  ap.  Lorenzana,  p.  136. — 

more   or  less  detail,  but  substan-  Camargo,  Hist,  de  Tlascala,  MS. 

tially  in   the  same  way,  by  the  —  Ixtlilxochitl,  Hist.  Chich.,  MS., 

most  accredited  vvrriters  of  that  and  cap.  88.  — Herrera,  Hist.  General, 

the  following  age,  —  several    of  dec.  2,  lib.  10,  cap.  10.  —  Torque- 

them  eyewitnesses.     (See  Bernal  mada,  Monarch.  Ind.,  lib.  4,  cap. 

Diaz,  Hist,  de  la  Conquisla,  cap.  70. — Acosta,   ubi  supra.  —  Mar- 


Ch.  I.] 


HE  IS  DANGEROUSLY   WOUNDED. 


321 


tyr,  De  Orbe  Novo,  dec.  5,  cap. 
5.)  It  is  also  confirmed  by  Cortes 
in  tiie  instrument  granting  to  Mon- 
tezuma's favorite  daughter  certain 
estates  by  way  of  dowry.  (See 
Appendix,  Part  2,  No.  12.)  Don 
Thoan  Cano,  indeed,  who  married 
this  princess,  assured  Oviedo  that 
the  Mexicans  respected  the  person 
of  the  monarch  so  long  as  they 
saw  him,  and  were  not  aware, 
when  they  discharged  their  mis- 
siles, that  he  was  present,  being 
hid  from  sight  by  the  shields  of 
the  Spaniards.  (See  Appendix, 
Part  2,  No.  11.)  This  improba- 
ble statement  is  repeated  by  the 
chaplain  Gomara.  (Crdnica,  cap. 
107.)  It  is  rejected  by  Oviedo, 
however,  who  says,  that  Alvarado, 
himself  present  at  the  scene,  in  a 
conversation  with  him  afterwards, 
explicitly  confirmed  the  narrative 
given  in  the  text.  (Hist,  de  las 
Ind.,  MS.,  lib.  33,  cap.  47.)  The 
Mexicans  gave  a  very  different  ac- 
count of  the  transaction.  Accord- 
ing to  them,  Montezuma,  together 
with  the  lords  of  Tezcuco  and  Tla- 
telolco,  then  detained  as  prisoners 
in  the  fortress  by  the  Spaniards, 
were  all  strangled  by  means  of  the 
garrote,  and  their  dead  bodies 
thrown  over  the  walls  to  their 
countrymen.  I  quote  the  original 
of  father  Sahagun,  who  gathered 
the  story  from  the  Aztecs  them- 
selves. 

*'De  esta  manera  se  determin- 
kton  los  EispaRoles  k  morir  6  veneer 
varonilmente  ;  y  asi  hablaron  k 
todos  los  amigos  Indios,  y  todos 
ellos  estuvi^ron  firmes  en  esta 
deterrainacion  :    y  lo  primero  que 

VOL.  n.  41 


hicidron  fu6  que  di^ron  garrote  k 
todos  los  Seiiores  que  tenian  pre- 
sos,  y  los  ech&ron  muertos  fuera 
del  fuerte  :  y  antes  que  esto  hicie- 
sen  les  dij^ron  muchas  cosas,  y 
les  hici^ron  saber  su  deterraina- 
cion, y  que  de  ellos  habia  de  co- 
menzar  esta  obra,  y  luego  todos 
los  demas  habian  de  set  muertos 
a  sus  manos,  dijeronles,  no  es  po- 
siblc  que  vuestros  Idolos  os  libren 
de  nuestras  manos.  Y  desque  les 
hubi^ron  dado  Garrote,  y  vi^ron 
que  estaban  muertos,  mand&ronlos 
echar  por  las  azoteas,  fuera  de  la 
casa,  en  un  lugar  que  se  llama 
Tortuga  de  Piedra,  porque  alli 
estaba  una  piedra  labrada  k  manera 
de  Tortuga.  Y  desque  supi^ron 
y  vieron  los  de  k  fuera,  que  aquel- 
los  Seiiores  tan  principales  habian 
sido  muertos  por  las  manos  de  los 
Espanoles,  luego  tomaron  los  cu- 
erpos,  y  les  hicieron  sus  exequias, 
al  modo  de  su  Idolatria,  y  quem&- 
ron  sus  cuerpos,  y  tomaron  sus 
senizas,  y  las  pusieron  en  lugares 
apropiadas  a  sus  dignidades  y  va- 
lor." Hist,  de  Nueva  Espafia. 
MS.,  lib.  12,  cap.  23. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  com- 
ment on  the  absurdity  of  this  mon- 
strous imputation,  which,  however, 
has  found  favor  with  some  later 
writers.  Independently  of  all  oth- 
er considerations,  the  Spaniards 
would  have  been  slow  to  compass 
the  Indian  monarch's  death,  since, 
as  the  Tezcucan  Ixtlilxochitl  truly 
observes,  it  was  the  most  fatal 
blow  which  could  befall  them,  by 
dissolving  the  last  tie  which  held 
them  to  the  Mexicans.  Hist. 
Chich.,  MS.,  ubi  supra. 


CHAPTER   II. 

Storming  op  the  Great  Temple.  —  Spirit  of  the  Aztecs.  —  Dis- 
tresses OF  THE  Garrison.  —  Sharp  Combats  in  the  City. — 
Death  of  Montezuma. 

1520. 

Opposite  to  the  Spanish  quarters,  at  only  a  few 
rods'  distance,  stood  the  great  teocalli  of  Huitzilo- 
potchli.  This  pyramidal  mound,  with  the  sanctua- 
ries that  crowned  it,  rising  altogether  to  the  height 
of  near  a  hundred  and  fifty  feet,  afforded  an  elevated 
position  that  completely  commanded  the  palace  of 
Axayacatl,  occupied  by  the  Christians.  A  body  of 
five  or  six  hundred  Mexicans,  many  of  them  nobles 
and  warriors  of  the  highest  rank,  had  got  possession  of 
the  teocalli^  whence  they  discharged  such  a  tempest 
of  arrows  on  the  garrison,  that  no  one  could  leave  his 
defences  for  a  moment  without  imminent  danger; 
while  the  Mexicans,  under  shelter  of  the  sanctuaries, 
were  entirely  covered  from  the  fire  of  the  besieged. 
It  was  obviously  necessary  to  dislodge  the  enemy,  if 
the  Spaniards  would  remain  longer  in  their  quarters. 

Cortes  assigned  this  service  to  his  chamberlain, 
Escobar,  giving  him  a  hundred  men  for  the  purpose, 
with  orders  to  storm  the  teocalli^  and  set  fire  to  the 
sanctuaries.     But  that  officer  was  thrice  repulsed  in 


Ch.  II.]  STORMING  OF  THE  GREAT  TEMPLE.  32^^ 

the  attempt,  and,  after  the  most  desperate  efforts, 
was  obliged  to  return  with  considerable  loss,  and 
without  accomplishing  his  object. 

Cortes,  who  saw  the  immediate  necessity  of  car- 
rying the  place,  determined  to  lead  the  storming 
party  himself.  He  was  then  suffering  much  from 
the  wound  in  his  left  hand,  which  had  disabled  it 
for  the  present.  He  made  the  arm  serviceaUe, 
however,  by  fastening  his  buckler  to  it,^  and,  thus 
crippled,  sallied  out  at  the  head  of  three  hundred 
chosen  cavaliers,  and  several  thousand  of  his  aux- 
iliaries. 

In  the  court-yard  of  the  temple  he  found  a  nu- 
merous body  of  Indians  prepared  to  dispute  his  pas- 
sage. He  briskly  charged  them,  but  the  flat,  smooth 
stones  of  the  pavement  were  so  slippery,  that  the 
horses  lost  their  footing,  and  many  of  them  fell. 
Hastily  dismounting,  they  sent  back  the  animals  to 
their  quarters,  and,  renewing  the  assault,  the  Span- 
iards succeeded  without  much  difficulty  in  dispersing 
the  Indian  warriors,  and  opening  a  free  passage  for 
th(jmselves  to  the  teocalli.  This  building,  as  the 
reader  may  remember,  was  a  huge  pyramidal  struc- 
ture, about  three  hundred  feet  square  at  the  base. 
A  flight  of  stone  steps  on  the  outside,  at  one  of  the 
angles  of  the  mound,  led  to  a  plattbrm,  or  terraced 
walk,  wliich  passed  round  the  building  until  it  reached 


1  *'Sali  fuera  de  la  Fortaleza,  rodela  en  el  brazo  fuy  4  la  Torre 

annque  manco  de  la  mano  izquier-  con  algunos   Espanoles,  que  me 

da  de  una  herida  que  el  primer  si^uieron."     Rel.  Seg.  de  Ck)rt^, 

dia  me  habian  dado  :   y  liada  la  ap.  Lorenzana,  p.  138. 


324  EXPULSION  FROM  MEXICO.  [Book  T. 

a  similar  flight  of  stairs  directly  over  the  preceding, 
that  conducted  to  another  landing  as  before.  As 
there  were  five  bodies  or  divisions  of  the  teocalli,  it 
became  necessary  to  pass  round  its  vs^hole  extent 
four  times,  or  nearly  a  mile,  in  order  to  reach  the 
summit,  which,  it  may  be  recollected,  was  an  open 
area,  crowned  only  by  the  two  sanctuaries  dedicated 
to  the  Aztec  deities.^ 

Cortes,  having  cleared  a  way  for  the  assault, 
sprang  up  the  lower  stairway,  followed  by  Alvarado, 
Sandoval,  Ordaz,  and  the  other  gallant  cavaliers  of 
his  little  band,  leaving  a  file  of  arquebusiers  and  a 
strong  corps  of  Indian  allies  to  hold  the  enemy  in 
check  at  the  foot  of  the  monument.  On  the  first 
landing,  as  well  as  on  the  several  galleries  above, 
and  on  the  summit,  the  Aztec  warriors  were  drawn 
up  to  dispute  his  passage.  From  their  elevated  po- 
sition they  showered  down  volleys  of  lighter  missiles, 
together  with  heavy  stones,  beams,  and  burning 
rafters,  which,  thundering  along  the  stairway,  over- 
turned the  ascending  Spaniards,  and  carried  desola- 
tion through  their  ranks.  The  more  fortunate,  elud- 
ing or  springing  over  these  obstacles,  succeeded  in 
gaining  the  first  terrace ;  where,  throwing  themselves 
on  their  enemies,  they  compelled  them,  after  a  short 
resistance,  to  fall  back.  The  assailants  pressed  on, 
effectually  supported  by  a  brisk  fire  of  the  musketeers 

«  See  Ante,  pp.  142-145.  may  perhaps  not  turn  to  the  pre- 

I  have  ventured  to  repeat  the  ceding  pages,  should  have  a  dis- 

description  of  the  temple  here,  as  tinct  image  of  it  in  his  own  mind, 

it  is  important  that  the  reader,  who  before  beginning  the  combat. 


ch.  ii]       storming  of  the  great  temple.  325 

from  below,  which  so  much  galled  the  Mexicans  in 
their  exposed  situation,  that  they  were  glad  to  take 
shelter  on  the  broad  summit  of  the  teocalli, 

Cortes  and  his  comrades  were  close  upon  their 
rear,  and  the  two  parties  soon  found  themselves  face 
to  face  on  this  aerial  battle-field,  engaged  in  mortal 
combat  in  presence  of  the  whole  city,  as  well  as  of 
the  troops  in  the  court-yard,  who  paused,  as  if  by 
mutual  consent,  from  their  own  hostilities,  gazing  in 
silent  expectation  on  the  issue  of  those  above.  The 
area,  though  somewhat  smaller  than  the  base  of  the 
teocalli,  was  large  enough  to  aflford  a  fair  field  of 
fight  for  a  thousand  combatants.  It  was  paved  with 
broad,  flat  stones.  No  impediment  occurred  over  its 
surface,  except  the  huge  sacrificial  block,  and  the 
temples  of  stone  which  rose  to  the  height  of  forty 
feet,  at  the  further  extremity  of  the  arena.  One  of 
these  had  been  consecrated  to  the  Cross.  The  other 
was  still  occupied  by  the  Mexican  war-god.  The 
Christian  and  the  Aztec  contended  for  their  religions 
under  the  very  shadow  of  their  respective  shrines ; 
while  the  Indian  priests,  running  to  and  fro,  with 
their  hair  wildly  streaming  over  their  sable  mantles, 
seemed  hovering  in  mid  air,  like  so  many  demons  of 
darkness  urging  on  the  work  of  slaughter ! 

The  parties  closed  with  the  desperate  fury  of  men 
who  had  no  hope  but  in  victory.  Quarter  was 
neither  asked  nor  given ;  and  to  fly  was  impossible. 
The  edge  of  the  area  was  unprotected  by  parapet 
or  battlement.  The  least  slip  would  be  fatal ;  and 
the  combatants,  as  they  struggled  in  mortal  agony, 


326  EXPULSION  FROM  MEXICO.  [Book  V. 

were  sometimes  seen  to  roll  over  the  sheer  sides  of 
the  precipice  together.^  Cortes  himself  is  said  to 
have  had  a  narrow  escape  from  this  dreadful  fate. 
Two  warriors,  of  strong,  muscular  frames,  seized  on 
him,  and  were  dragging  him  violently  towards  the 
brink  of  the  pyramid.  Aware  of  their  intention, 
he  struggled  with  all  his  force,  and,  before  they 
could  accomplish  their  purpose,  succeeded  in  tearing 
himself  from  their  grasp,  and  hurling  one  of  them 
over  the  walls  with  his  own  arm !  The  story  is  not 
improbable  in  itself,  for  Cortes  was  a  man  of  uncom- 
mon agility  and  strength.  It  has  been  often  repeat 
ed ;  but  not  by  contemporary  history.^ 

The  battle  lasted  with  unintermitting  fury  for 
three  hours.  The  number  of  the  enemy  was  double 
that  of  the  Christians ;  and  it  seemed  as  if  it  were 


3  Many  of  the  Aztecs,  according  icanos,   murieron  mala  muerte." 

to  Sahagun,  seeing  the  fate  of  such  Sahagun,  Hist,  de  Nueva  Espana, 

of  their  comrades  as  fell  into  the  MS.,  lib.  18,  cap.  22. 
hands  of  the   Spaniards,  on  the        *  Among  others,  see  Herrera, 

narrow  terraces  below,  voluntarily  Hist.  General,  dec.  2,  lib.  10,  cap. 

threw  themselves  headlong  from  9,  —  Torquemada,  Monarch.  Ind., 

the  lofty  summit  and  were  dashed  lib.  4,  cap.  69,  — and  Solis,  very 

in  pieces  on  the  pavement.     "Y  circumstantially,  as  usual,  Conquis- 

los  de  arriba  viendo  a  los  de  abajo  ta,  lib.  4,  cap.  16. 
muertos,  y  a  los  de  arriba  que  los        The  first  of  these  authors  had  ac- 

iban  matando  los  que  habian  subido,  cess  to  some  contemporary  sources, 

comenzaron  k  arrojarse  del  cu  aba-  the  chronicle  of  the  old  soldier, 

jo,  desde  lo  alto,  los  cuales  todos  Ojeda,  for  example,  not  now  to  be 

raorian  despeilados,  quebrados  bra-  met  with.     It  is  strange,  that  so 

zos  y  piernas,  y  hechos  pedazos,  valiant  an  exploit  should  not  have 

porque  el  cu  era  muy  alto  ;  y  otros  been  communicated  by  Cortes  him- 

loBmesmosEspaiioleslosarrojaban  self,  who  cannot  be  accused   oJ 

de  lo  alto  del  cu,  y  asi  todos  cuan-  diffidence  in  such  matters 
t08  all&  habian  subido  de  los  Mex- 


ch.  jl]       storming  of  the  gbeat  tkmple.  327 

a  contest  which  must  be  determined  by  numbers 
and  brute  force,  rather  than  by  superior  science. 
But  it  was  not  so.  The  invulnerable  armor  of  the 
Spaniard,  his  sword  of  matchless  temper,  and  his 
skill  in  the  use  of  it,  gave  him  advantages  which 
far  outweighed  the  odds  of  physical  strength  and 
immbers.  After  doing  all  that  the  courage  of  despair 
could  enable  men  to  do,  resistance  grew  fainter  and 
fainter  on  the  side  of  the  Aztecs.  One  after  another 
they  had  fallen.  Two  or  three  priests  only  survived 
to  be  led  away  in  triumph  by  the  victors.  Every 
other  combatant  was  stretched  a  corpse  on  the 
bloody  arena,  or  had  been  hurled  from  the  giddy 
heights.  Yet  the  loss  of  the  Spaniards  was  not  in- 
considerable. It  amounted  to  forty-five  of  their  best 
men,  and  nearly  all  the  remainder  were  more  or  less 
injured  in  the  desperate  conflict.'^ 

The  victorious  cavaliers  now  rushed  towards  the 
sanctuaries.  The  lower  story  was  of  stone ;  the 
two  upper  were  of  wood.  Penetrating  into  their 
recesses,  they  had  the  mortification  to  find  the  imagf* 

5   Captain    Diaz,  a  little    loth  the  display  of  this  brilliant  exploit : 

sometimes,  is  emphatic  in  his  en-  — "colla  penna  e  colla  spada,*' 

comiums  on  the  valor  shown  by  equally  fortunate.     See  Rel.  Seg. 

his  commander  on  this  occasion,  de  Cortes,  ap.  Lorenzana,  p.  138. 

'' Aqui  se  mostro  Cortes  muivaro,  — Gomara,  Crdnica,  cap.  106. — 

como  siepre  lo  fue.    O  que  pelear,  Sahagun,  Hist,  de  Nueva  Espafia, 

yfuerte  batallaq  aqui  tuuimoslera  MS.,  lib.  12,  cap.  22.  —  Herrera, 

cosa  de  notar  vernos  a  todos  cor-  Hist.  General,  dec.  2,  lib.  10,  cap. 

riendo  sangre,  y  llenos  de  heridas,  9. — Oviedo,   Hist,   de    las  Ind., 

e  mas  de  quarenta  soldados  muer-  MS.,  lib.  33,  cap.   13. — Torque- 

tos."    (Hist,  de  la  Conquista,  cap.  mada,  Monarch.  Ind.,  lib.  4,  c»p. 

126.)    The  pens  of  the  old  chroni-  69. 
clers  keep  pace  with  their  swords  in 


328  EXPULSION   FROM  MEXICO.  [Book  V. 

of  the  Virgin  and  the  Cross  removed.^  But  in  the 
Other  edifice  they  still  beheld  the  grim  figure  of 
Huitzilopotchli,  with  his  censer  of  smoking  hearts, 
and  the  walls  of  his  oratory  reeking  with  gore, — 
not  improbably  of  their  own  countrymen!  With 
shouts  of  triumph  the  Christians  tore  the  uncouth 
monster  from  his  niche,  and  tumbled  him,  in  the 
presence  of  the  horror-struck  Aztecs,  down  the  steps 
of  the  teocalli.  They  then  set  fire  to  the  accursed 
building.  The  flames  speedily  ran  up  the  slender 
towers,  sending  forth  an  ominous  light  over  city, 
lake,  and  valley,  to  the  remotest  hut  among  the 
mountains.  It  w^as  the  funeral  pyre  of  Paganism, 
and  proclaimed  the  fall  of  that  sanguinary  religion 
which  had  so  long  hung  like  a  dark  cloud  over  the 
fair  regions  of  Anahuac  !  "^ 

Having  accomplished  this  good  work,  the  Span- 
iards descended  the  winding  slopes  of  the  teocalli 
with  more  free  and  buoyant  step,  as  if  conscious 


0  Archbishop  Lorenzana  is  of  great  temple,  in  which  the  white 
opinion  that  this  image  of  the  Vir-  men  seemed  to  bid  defiance  equal- 
gin  is  the  same  now  seen  in  the  ly  to  the  powers  of  God  and  man. 
church  of  Nuestra  Senora  de  los  Hieroglyphical  paintings  minutely 
Remedios!  (Rel.  Seg.  de  Cortes,  commemorating  it  were  to  be  fre- 
ap.  Lorenzana,  p.  138,  nota.)  In  quently  found  among  the  natives 
what  way  the  Virgin  survived  the  after  the  Conquest.  The  sensitive 
sack  of  the  city,  and  was  brought  Captain  Diaz  intimates  that  those 
to  light  again,  he  does  not  inform  which  he  saw  made  full  as  much 
us.  But  the  more  difficult  to  ex-  account  of  the  wounds  and  losses 
plain,  the  more  undoubted  the  mir-  of  the  Christians  as  the  facts 
acle.  would  warrant.  (Ibid.,  ubi  supra.) 

^  No  achievement  in  the  war  It  was  the  only  way  in  which  the 
struck  more  awe  into  the  Mexi-  conquered  could  take  their  re- 
cans,  than  this  storming  of  the  venge. 


Cn.  II.]  SPIRIT  OF  THE  AZTECS.  329 

that  the  blessing  of  Heaven  now  rested  on  their 
arms.  They  passed  through  the  dusky  files  of  In- 
dian warriors  in  the  court-yard,  too  much  dismayed 
by  the  appalling  scenes  they  had  witnessed  to  of- 
fer resistance  ;  and  reached  their  own  quarters  in 
safety.  That  very  night  they  followed  up  the  blow 
by  a  sortie  on  the  sleeping  town,  and  burned  three 
hundred  houses,  the  horrors  of  conflagration  being 
made  still  more  impressive  by  occurring  at  the  hour 
when  the  Aztecs,  from  their  own  system  of  warfare, 
were  least  prepared  for  them.^ 

Hoping  to  find  the  temper  of  the  natives  some- 
what subdued  by  these  reverses,  Cortes  now  deter- 
mined, with  his  usual  policy,  to  make  them  a  vantage- 
ground  for  proposing  terms  of  accommodation.  He 
accordingly  invited  the  enemy  to  a  parley,  and,  as 
the  principal  chiefs,  attended  by  their  followers,  as- 
sembled in  the  great  square,  he  mounted  the  turret 
before  occupied  by  Montezuma,  and  made  signs  that 
he  would  address  them.  Marina,  as  usual,  took  her 
place  by  his  side,  as  his  interpreter.  The  multitude 
gazed  with  earnest  curiosity  on  the  Indian  girl, 
whose  influence  with  the  Spaniards  was  well  known. 


8  "  Sequent!  nocte,  nostri  erum-  the  number  of  actions  and  their 

pentes  in  vna  viarum  arci  vicina,  general  result,  namely,  the  victo- 

domos  combussere  tercentum  :  in  ries,  barren  victories,  of  the  Chris- 

altera  plerasque  e  quibus  arci  mo-  tians,  all  writers  are  agreed.     But 

Icstia  ficbat.     Ita  nunc  trucidando,  as  to  time,  place,  circumstance,  or 

nunc  diruendo,  et  interdum  vulnera  order,  no  two  hold  together.  How 

recipiendo,  in  pontibus  et  in  viis,  shall  the  historian  of  the  present 

diebus  noctibusquo  multis  labora-  day  make  a  harmonious  tissue  out 

turn  est  utrinque."     (Martyr,  De  of  these  motley  and  many-colored 

Orbe  Novo,  dec.  5,  cap.  6.)     In  threads? 
VOL.    II.                       42 


sso 


EXPULSION  FKOM  MEXICO. 


[Book  V. 


and  whose  connexion  with  the  general,  in  particular, 
had  led  the  Aztecs  to  designate  him  bj  her  Mexican 
name  of  Malinche.^  Cortes,  speaking  through  the 
soft,  musical  tones  of  his  mistress,  told  his  audience 
they  must  now  be  convinced,  that  they  had  nothing 
further  to  hope  from  opposition  to  the  Spaniards. 
They  had  seen  their  gods  trampled  in  the  dust,  their 
altars  broken,  their  dwellings  burned,  their  warriors 
falhng  on  all  sides.  "All  this,"  continued  he,  "you 
have  brought  on  yourselves  by  your  rebellion.  Yet 
for  the  affection  the  sovereign,  whom  you  have  so 
unworthily  treated,  still  bears  you,  I  would  willingly 
stay  my  hand,  if  you  will  lay  down  your  arms,  and 
return  once  more  to  your  obedience.  But,  if  you  do 
not,"  he  concluded,  "I  will  make  your  city  a  heap 
of  ruins,  and  leave  not  a  soul  alive  to  mourn  over 
it!" 

But  the  Spanish  commander  did  not  yet  compre- 
hend the  character  of  the  Aztecs,  if  he  thought  to 
intimidate  them  by  menaces.  Calm  in  their  exteriov 
and  slow  to  move,  they  were  the  more  difficult  to 
pacify  when  roused  ;  and  now  that  they  had  been 
stirred  to  their  inmost  depths,  it  was  no  human  voice 
that  could  still  the  tempest.  It  may  be,  however, 
that  Cortes  did  not  so  much  misconceive  the  char- 
acter of  the  people.      He  may  have  felt  that  an 


•  It  is  the  name  by  which  she 
is  still  celebrated  in  the  popular 
minstrelsy  of  Mexico.  Was  the 
famous  Tlascalan  mountain,  sierra 
de  Malinchey  —  anciently  "  Mattal- 


cueye,"-^^  named  in  compliment  to 
the  Indian  damsel  1  At  all  events, 
it  was  an  honor  well  merited  from 
her  adopted  countrymen. 


LH.  II.j  SPIRIT  OF  THE  AZTECS.  331 

authoritative  tone  was  the  only  one  he  could  assume 
with  any  chance  of  effect,  in  his  present  position,  in 
which  milder  and  more  conciliatory  language  would, 
by  intimating  a  consciousness  of  inferiority,  have  too 
certainly  defeated  its  own  object. 

It  was  true,  they  answered,  he  had  destroyed  their 
temples,  broken  in  pieces  their  gods,  massacred  their 
countrymen.  Many  more,  doubtless,  were  yet  to 
fall  under  their  terrible  swords.  But  they  were  con- 
tent so  long  as  for  every  thousand  Mexicans  they 
could  shed  the  blood  of  a  single  white  man!^°  "  Look 
out,"  they  continued,  "  on  our  terraces  and  streets, 
see  them  still  thronged  with  warriors  as  far  as  your 
eyes  can  reach.  Our  numbers  are  scarcely  dimin- 
ished by  our  losses.  Yours,  on  the  contrary,  are 
lessening  every  hour.  You  are  perishing  from  hun- 
ger and  sickness.  Your  provisions  and  water  are 
failing.  You  must  soon  fall  into  our  hands.  The 
bridges  are  broken  down,  and  you  cannot  escape !^^ 
There  will  be  too  few  of  you  left  to  glut  the  ven- 
geance of  our  Gods ! "  As  they  concluded,  they 
sent  a  volley  of  arrows  over  the  battlements,  which 
compelled  the  Spaniards  to  descend  and  take  refuge 
in  their  defences. 

The  fierce  and  indomitable  spirit  of  the  Aztecs 

^  According^   to  Cort6s,  they  ii  *'  Que  todas  las  calzadas  ie 

boasted,  in  somewhat  loftier  strain,  las  entradas  do  la  ciudad  eran  des- 

they  could  spare  twenty-five  thou-  hechas,  como  de  hecho  passaba." 

sand  for  one,  "&  morir  veinte  y  Ibid.,  loc.  eit. — Oviedo,  Hist,  de 

cinco  mil  de  ellos,  y  uno  de  los  las  Ind.,  MS.,  lib.  33,  cap.  13. 
nuestros."     Rel.  Seg.  de  Cortes, 
ap.  Lorenzana,  p.  139. 


332  EXPULSION  FROM   MEXICO.  [Book  V 

filled  the  besieged  with  dismay.  All,  then,  that  they 
had  done  and  suffered,  their  battles  by  day,  their 
vigils  by  night,  the  perils  they  had  braved,  even  the 
victories  they  had  won,  were  of  no  avail.  It  was 
too  evident  that  they  had  no  longer  the  spring  of 
ancient  superstition  to  work  upon,  in  the  breasts  of 
the  natives,  who,  like  some  wild  beast  that  has  burst 
the  bonds  of  his  keeper,  seemed  now  to  swell  and 
exult  in  the  full  consciousness  of  their  strength. 
The  annunciation  respecting  the  bridges  fell  like  a 
knell  on  the  ears  of  the  Christians.  All  that  they 
had  heard  was  too  true,  —  and  they  gazed  on  one 
another  with  looks  of  anxiety  and  dismay. 

The  same  consequences  followed,  which  some 
times  take  place  among  the  crew  of  a  shipwrecked 
vessel.  Subordination  was  lost  in  the  dreadful  sense 
of  danger.  A  spirit  of  mutiny  broke  out,  especially 
among  the  recent  levies  drawn  from  the  army  of 
Narvaez.  They  had  come  into  the  country  from  no 
motive  of  ambition,  but  attracted  simply  by  the 
glowing  reports  of  its  opulence,  and  they  had  fondly 
hoped  to  return  in  a  few  months  with  their  pockets 
well  hned  with  the  gold  of  the  Aztec  monarch.  But 
how  different  had  been  their  lot !  From  the  first 
hour  of  their  landing,  they  had  experienced  only 
trouble  and  disaster,  privations  of  every  description, 
sufferings  unexampled,  and  they  now  beheld  in  per- 
spective a  fate  yet  more  appalling.  Bitterly  did 
they  lament  the  hour  when  they  left  the  sunny  fields 
of  Cuba  for  these  cannibal  regions !  And  heartily 
did  they  curse  their  own  folly  in  listening  to  the  call 


Ch.  II.]  DISTRESSES  OF  THE  GARRISON.  SS3 

of  Velasquez,  and  still  more,  in  embarking  under 
the  banner  of  Cortes  !  *^ 

They  now  demanded  with  noisy  vehemence  to  be 
led  instantly  from  the  city,  and  refused  to  serve 
longer  in  defence  of  a  place  where  they  were  cooped 
up  like  sheep  in  the  shambles,  waiting  only  to  be 
dragged  to  slaughter.  In  all  this  they  were  rebuked 
by  the  more  orderly,  soldierlike  conduct  of  the  vet- 
erans of  Cortes.  These  latter  had  shared  with  their 
general  the  day  of  his  prosperity,  and  they  were  not 
disposed  to  desert  him  in  the  tempest.  It  was,  in- 
deed, obvious,  on  a  little  reflection,  that  the  only 
chance  of  safety,  in  the  existing  crisis,  rested  on  sub- 
ordination and  union ;  and  that  even  this  chance 
must  be  greatly  diminished  under  any  other  leader 
than  their  present  one. 

Thus  pressed  by  enemies  without  and  by  factions 
within,  that  leader  was  found,  as  usual,  true  to  him- 
self. Circumstances  so  appalling,  as  would  have  par- 
alyzed a  common  mind,  only  stimulated  his  to  higher 
action,  and  drew  forth  all  its  resources.  He  com- 
bined what  is  most  rare,  singular  coolness  and  con- 
stancy of  purpose,  with  a  spirit  of  enterprise  that 
might  well  be  called  romantic.  His  presence  of 
mind  did  not  now  desert  him.  He  calmly  surveyed 
his   condition,   and   weighed   the    difficulties  which 

12  "  Paes  tambien  quiero  dezir  bien  pacificos  estauan  en  sus  casas 

la«  maldiciones  que  los  de  Narvaez  en  la  Isla  de  Cuba,  y  estavan  em- 

cchanan  k  Cortes,  y  las  palabras  belesados,  y  sin  sentido."    Bernal 

que  dezian,  que  renegauan  d^l,  y  Diaz,  Hist,  de  la  Conquista,  ubi 

de  la  tierra,  y  aun  de  Diego  Ve-  supra, 
lasquez,  que  aca  les   embi6,  que 


334  EXPULSION   FROM  MEXICO.  [Book  V. 

surrounded  him,  before  coming  to  a  decision.  Inde- 
pendently of  the  hazard  of  a  retreat  in  the  face  of  a 
watchful  and  desperate  foe,  it  was  a  deep  mortijfica- 
tion  to  surrender  up  the  city,  where  he  had  so  long 
lorded  it  as  a  master  ;  to  abandon  the  rich  treasures 
which  he  had  secured  to  himself  and  his  followers  ; 
to  forego  the  very  means  by  which  he  had  hoped  to 
propitiate  the  favor  of  his  sovereign,  and  secure  an 
amnesty  for  his  irregular  proceedings.  This,  he 
well  knew,  must,  after  all,  be  dependent  on  success. 
To  fly  now  was  to  acknowledge  himself  further  re- 
moved from  the  conquest  than  ever.  What  a  close 
was  this  to  a  career  so  auspiciously  begun  !  What 
a  contrast  to  his  magnificent  vaunts  !  What  a  tri- 
umph would  it  afford  to  his  enemies !  The  gover 
nor  of  Cuba  would  be  amply  revenged. 

But,  if  such  humiliating  reflections  crowded  on  his 
mind,  the  alternative  of  remaining,  in  his  present 
crippled  condition,  seemed  yet  more  desperate. ^^ 
With  his  men  daily  diminishing  in  strength  and 
numbers,  their  provisions  reduced  so  low  that  a  small 
daily  ration  of  bread  was  all  the  sustenance  afforded 
to  the  soldier  under  his  extraordinary  fatigues,^^ 
with  the  breaches  every  day  widening  in  his  feeble 

13  Notwithstanding  this,  in  the        ^^  "  La  hambre  era  tanta,  que  4 

petition  or  letter  from  Vera  Cruz,  los  Indies  no  se  daba  mas  de  v?ia 

addressed  by  the  army  to  the  Em-  Tortilla  de  radon ^  i  a  los  Castella- 

peror  Charles  V.,  after  the  Con-  nos  cinquenta  granos  de  Maiz.^^ 

quest,  the  importunity  of  tHe  sol-  Herrera,  Hist.  General,  dec.   2, 

diers  is  expressly  stated  as  the  lib.  10,  cap.  9. 
principal  motive  that  finally  induc- 
ed their  general  to  abandon  the 
city.     Carta  del  Exdrcito,  MS. 


Cii.  II.J  DISTRESSES  OF  THE  GARRISON.  3So 

fortifications,  with  his  ammunition,  in  fine,  nearly 
expended,  it  would  be  impossible  to  maintain  the 
place  much  longer  —  and  none  but  men  of  iron 
constitutions  and  tempers,  like  the  Spaniards,  could 
have  held  it  out  so  long  —  against  the  enemy.  The 
chief  embarrassment  was  as  to  the  time  and  manner 
in  which  it  would  be  expedient  to  evacuate  the  city. 
The  best  route  seemed  to  be  that  of  Tlacopan  (Ta- 
cuba).  For  the  causeway,  the  most  dangerous  part 
of  the  road,  was  but  two  miles  long  in  that  direc- 
tion, and  would,  therefore,  place  the  fugitives,  much 
sooner  than  either  of  the  other  great  avenues,  on  terra 
firma.  Before  his  final  departure,  however,  he  pro- 
posed to  make  another  sally  in  that  direction,  in  or- 
der to  reconnoitre  the  ground,  and,  at  the  same  time, 
divert  the  enemy's  attention  from  his  real  purpose 
by  a  show  of  active  operations. 

For  some  days,  his  workmen  had  been  employed 
in  constructing  a  military  machine  of  his  own  inven- 
tion. It  was  called  a  manta,  and  was  contrived 
somewhat  on  the  principle  of  the  mantelets  used  in 
the  wars  of  the  Middle  Ages.  It  was,  however, 
more  complicated,  consisting  of  a  tower  made  of 
light  beams  and  planks,  having  two  chambers,  one 
over  the  other.  These  were  to  be  filled  ^vith  mus- 
keteers, and  the  sides  were  provided  with  loop-holes, 
through  which  a  fire  could  be  kept  up  on  the  enemy. 
The  great  advantage  proposed  by  this  contrivance 
was,  to  afford  a  defence  to  the  troops  against  the 
missiles  hurled  from  the  terraces.  These  machines, 
three  of  which  were  made,  rested  on  rollers,  and 


336 


EXPULSION   FROM  MEXICO. 


[Book  V. 


were  provided  with  strong  ropes,  by  which  they  were 
to  be  dragged  along  the  streets  by  the  Tlascalan 
auxiliaries.^^ 

The  Mexicans  gazed  with  astonishment  on  this 
warlike  machinery,  and,  as  the  rolling  fortresses  ad- 
vanced, belching  forth  fire  and  smoke  from  their  en- 
trails, the  enemy,  incapable  of  making  an  impression 
on  those  within,  fell  back  in  dismay.  By  bringing 
the  manias  under  the  walls  of  the  houses,  the  Span- 
iards were  enabled  to  fire  with  effect  on  the  mis- 
chievous tenants  of  the  azoteas,  and  when  this  did 
not  silence  them,  by  letting  a  ladder,  or  light  draw- 
bridge, fall  on  the  roof  from  the  top  of  the  mania, 
they  opened  a  passage  to  the  terrace,  and  closed 
vidth  the  combatants  hand  to  hand.  They  could 
not,  however,  thus  approach  the  higher  buildings, 
from  which  the  Indian  warriors  threw  down  such 
heavy  masses  of  stone  and  timber  as  dislodged  the 
planks  that  covered  the  machines,  or,  thundering 
against  their  sides,  shook  the  frail  edifices  to  their 


^  Rel.  Seg.  de  Cortfe,  ap.  Lo- 
reozana,  p.  135.  —  Gomara,  Crd- 
nica,  cap.  106. 

Dr.  Biid,  in  his  picturesque  ro- 
mance of  "  Calavar,"  has  made  good 
use  of  these  manias,  better,  indeed, 
than  can  be  permitted  to  the  his- 
torian. He  claims  the  privilege 
of  the  romancer ;  though  it  must 
be  owned  he  does  not  abuse  this 
privilege,  for  he  has  studied  with 
great  care  the  costume,  manners, 
*nd  military  usages  of  the  natives. 
He  has  done  for  them  what  Coop- 
•r  has  done  for  the  wild  tribes  of 


the  North,  —  touched  their  rude 
features  with  the  bright  coloring 
of  a  poetic  fancy.  He  has  been 
equally  fortunate  in  his  delinea- 
tion of  the  picturesque  scenery  of 
the  land.  If  he  has  been  less  so 
in  attempting  to  revive  the  antique 
dialogue  of  the  Spanish  cavalier, 
we  must  not  be  surprised.  No- 
thing is  more  difficult  than  the 
skilful  execution  of  a  modern  an- 
tique. It  requires  all  the  genius 
and  learning  of  Scott  to  execute 
it  so  that  the  connoisseur  shall  not 
detect  the  counterfeit. 


ch.  ii.]  sharp  combats  in  the  city.  337 

foundations,  threatening  all  within  with  indiscrimi- 
nate ruin.  Indeed,  the  success  of  the  experiment 
was  doubtful,  when  the  intervention  of  a  canal  put  a 
stop  to  their  further  progress. 

The  Spaniards  now  found  the  assertion  of  their 
enemies  too  well  confirmed.  The  bridge  which 
traversed  the  opening  had  been  demolished;  and, 
although  the  canals  which  intersected  the  city  were, 
in  general,  of  no  great  width  or  depth,  the  removal 
of  the  bridges  not  only  impeded  the  movements  of 
the  general's  clumsy  machines,  but  effectually  dis- 
concerted those  of  his  cavalry.  Resolving  to  aban- 
don the  manias,  he  gave  orders  to  fill  up  the  chasm 
with  stone,  timber,  and  other  rubbish  drawn  from  the 
ruined  buildings,  and  to  make  a  new  passage-way 
for  the  army.  While  this  labor  was  going  on,  the 
Aztec  slingers  and  archers  on  the  other  side  of  the 
opening  kept  up  a  galling  discharge  on  the  Chris- 
tians, the  more  defenceless  from  the  natiire  of  their 
occupation.  When  the  work  was  completed,  and  a 
safe  passage  secured,  the  Spanish  cavaliers  rode 
briskly  against  the  enemy,  who,  unable  to  resist  the 
shock  of  the  steel-clad  column,  fell  back  with  precip- 
itation to  where  another  canal  afforded  a  similar 
strong  position  for  defence. ^"^ 

There  were  no  less  than  seven  of  these  canals, 
intersecting  the  great  street  of  Tlacopan,'"  and  at 

18  Carta  del  Ex6rcito,   MS.  —  n  Clavigero  is  mistaken  in  call- 

Rel.  Seg.  de  Cortes,  ap.  Loren^  ing  this  the  street  of  Iztapalapan. 

zana,  p.  140.  —  Gomara,  Crdnica,  (Stor.  del  Messico,  torn.  III.,  p. 

cap.  109.  129.)     It  was  not  the  street  by 

VOL.    II.  43 


338  EXPULSION  FROM   MEXICO.  [Book  V. 

everyone  the  same  scene  was  renewed,  the  Mexi- 
cans making  a  gallant  stand,  and  inflicting  some 
loss,  at  each,  on  their  persevering  antagonists.  These 
operations  consumed  two  days,  when,  after  incredible 
toil,  the  Spanish  general  had  the  satisfaction  to  find 
the  line  of  communication  completely  reestablished 
through  the  whole  length  of  the  avenue,  and  the 
principal  bridges  placed  under  strong  detachments 
of  infantry.  At  this  juncture,  when  he  had  driven 
the  foe  before  him  to  the  furthest  extremity  of  the 
street,  where  it  touches  on  the  causeway,  he  was 
informed,  that  the  Mexicans,  disheartened  by  their 
reverses,  desired  to  open  a  parley  with  him  respect- 
ing the  terms  of  an  accommodation,  and  that  their 
chiefs  awaited  his  return  for  that  purpose  at  the 
fortress.  Oveijoyed  at  the  intelligence,  he  instantly 
rode  back,  attended  by  Alvarado,  Sandoval,  and 
about  sixty  of  the  cavaliers,  to  his  quarters. 

The  Mexicans  proposed  that  he  should  release  the 
two  priests  captured  in  the  temple,  who  might  be 
the  bearers  of  his  terms,  and  serve  as  agents  for 
conducting  the  negotiation.  They  were  accordingly 
sent  with  the  requisite  instructions  to  their  country- 
men. But  they  did  not  return.  The  whole  was  an 
artifice  of  the  enemy,  anxious  to  procure  the  libera- 
tion of  their  religious  leaders,  one  of  whom  was  their 
teoteuctli,  or  high- priest,  whose  presence  was  indis- 
pensable in  the  probable  event  of  a  new  coronation. 

which  the  Spaniards  entered,  but  or  rather,  Tacuba,  into  which  the 

by  which  they  finally  left  the  city,  Spaniards    corrupted    the    name, 

and  is  correctly  indicated  by  Lo-  See  p.  140,  note. 
renzana,  as  that  of  Tlacopan,  — 


ch.  ii]  sharp  combats  in  the  city.  33y 

Cortes,  meanwhile,  relying  on  the   prospects  of 
a  speedy  arrangement,  was  hastily  taking  some  re- 
freshment with  his  officers,  after  the  fatigues  of  the 
day ;  when  he  received  the  alarming  tidings,  that 
the  enemy  were  in  arms  again,  with  more  fury  than 
ever ;  that  they  had  overpowered  the  detachments 
posted  under  Alvarado  at  three  of  the  bridges,  and 
were  busily  occupied  in  demolishing  them.     Stung 
with  shame  at  the  facility  witli  which  he  had  been 
duped  by  his  wily  foe,  or  rather  by  his  own  san- 
guine hopes,  Cortes  threw  himself  into  the  saddle, 
and,  followed  by  his  brave  companions,  galloped  back 
at  full  speed  to  the  scene  of  action.     The  Mexicans 
recoiled  before  the  impetuous  charge  of  the  Span- 
iards.   The  bridges  were  again  restored;  and  Cortes 
and  his  chivalry  rode  down  the  whole  extent  of  the 
great  street,  driving  the  enemy,  like  frightened  deer, 
at  the  points  of  their  lances.     But,  before  he  could 
return  on  his  steps,  he  had  the   mortification  to  find 
that  the  indefatigable  foe,  gathering  from  the  ad- 
joining lanes  and  streets,  had  again  closed  on  his 
infantry,  who,  worn  down  by  fatigue,  were  unable 
to  maintain  their  position  at  one  of  the  principal 
bridges.     New  swarms  of  warriors  now  poured  in 
on  all  sides,  overwhelming  the  little  band  of  Chris- 
tian cavaliers   with  a  storm  of  stones,  darts,  and 
arrows,  which  rattled  like  hail  on  their  armor  and 
on  that  of  their  well-barbed  horses.     Most  of  the 
missiles,  indeed,  glanced   harmless  from   the   good 
panoplies  of  steel,  or  thick  quilted  cotton,  but,  now 


340 


EXPULSION   FROM  MEXICO. 


[Book  V 


and  then,  one  better  aimed  penetrated  the  joints  of 
the  harness,  and  stretched  the  rider  on  the  ground. 

The  confusion  became  greater  around  the  broken 
biWge.  Some  of  the  horsemen  were  thrown  into 
the  canal,  and  their  steeds  floundered  wildly  about 
without  a  rider.  Cortes  himself,  at  this  crisis,  did 
more  than  any  other  to  cover  the  retreat  of  his 
followers.  While  the  bridge  was  repairing,  he 
plunged  boldly  into  the  midst  of  the  barbarians, 
striking  down  an  enemy  at  every  vault  of  his  charg- 
er, cheering  on  his  own  men,  and  spreading  terror 
through  the  ranks  of  his  opponents  by  the  well- 
known  sound  of  his  battle-cry.  Never  did  he  display 
greater  hardihood,  or  more  freely  expose  his  person, 
emulating,  says  an  old  chronicler,  the  feats  of  the 
Roman  Cocles.^^  In  this  way  he  stayed  the  tide  of 
assailants,  till  the  last  man  had  crossed  the  bridge, 
when,  some  of  the  planks  having  given  way,  he  was 
compelled  to  leap  a  chasm  of  full  six  feet  in  width, 
amidst  a  cloud  of  missiles,  before  he  could  place 
himself  in  safety.'^     A  report  ran  through  the  army 


18  It  is  Oviedo  who  finds  a  par- 
allel for  his  hero  in  the  Roman 
warrior ;  the  same,  to  quote  the 
spirit-stirring  legend  of  Macaulay, 

"who  kepi  the  bridge  so  well 
lu  the  brave  days  of  old." 

*'  Mui  digno  es  Cortes  que  se  com- 
pare este  fecho  suyo  desta  Jornada 
al  de  Oracio  Codes,  que  se  toc6 
de  8US0,  porque  con  su  esfuerzo, 
6  lanza  sola  di6  tanto  lugar,  que 
los  caballos  pudieran  pasar,  6  hizo 
desembarazar  la  puente  6  pasd, 


a  pesar  de  los  Enemigos,  aunque 
con  harto  trabajo."  Hist,  de  las 
Ind.,  MS.,  lib.  33,  cap.  13. 

19  It  was  a  fair  leap,  for  a  knight 
and  horse  in  armor.  But  the  gen- 
eral's own  assertion  to  the  Empe- 
ror (Rel.  Seg.,  ap.  Lorenzana,  p. 
142)  is  fully  confirmed  by  Oviedo, 
who  tells  us  he  had  it  from  several 
who  were  present.  "  Y  segun 
lo  que  yo  he  entendido  de  algunos 
que  presentes  se  hallaron,  demas 
de  la  resistencia  de  aquellos  havia 


ch.  ii]  sharp  combats  in  the  city.  341 

that  the  general  was  slain.  It  soon  spread  through 
the  city,  to  the  great  joy  of  the  Mexicans,  and 
reached  the  fortress,  where  the  besieged  were 
thrown  into  no  less  consternation.  But,  happily  for 
them,  it  was  false.  He,  indeed,  received  two  severe 
contusions  on  the  knee,  but  in  other  respects  re- 
mained uninjured.  At  no  time,  however,  had  he 
been  in  such  extreme  danger ;  and  his  escape,  and 
that  of  his  companions,  were  esteemed  little  less 
than  a  miracle.  More  than  one  grave  historian 
refers  the  preservation  of  the  Spaniards  to  the 
watchful  care  of  their  patron  Apostle,  St.  James, 
who,  in  these  desperate  conflicts,  was  beheld  career- 
ing on  his  milk-white  steed  at  the  head  of  the 
Christian  squadrons,  with  his  sword  flashing  light- 
ning, while  a  lady  robed  in  white — ^supposed  to  be 
the  Virgin  —  was  distinctly  seen  by  his  side,  throw- 
ing dust  in  the  eyes  of  the  infidel !  The  fact  is 
attested  both  by  Spaniards  and  Mexicans, — by  the 
latter  after  their  conversion  to  Christianity.  Surely, 
never  was  there  a  time^when  the  interposition  of 
their  tutelar  saint  was  more  strongly  demanded.^ 


de  la  vna  parte  a  la  otra  casi  vn  celestial   chivalry  on   these  occa- 

estado  de  saltar  con  el  caballo  sin  sions  is  testified  in  the  most  un- 

le  faltar  nuchas  pedradas  de  di-  qualified  manner  by  many  respect- 

versas  partes,  e  manos,  i  por  ir  ^1,  able  authorities.     It  is  edifying  to 

e  8U  caballo  bien  armados  no  los  observe  the  combat  going  on  in 

hiri^ron ;  pero  no  dex6  de  quedar  Oviedo's   mind   between   the  dic- 

atormentado  de  los  golpes  que  le  tates  of  strong  sense  and  superior 

dieron."     Hist,  de  las  Ind.,  MS.,  learning,  and  those  of  the  super- 

ubi  supra.  stition  of  the  age.     It  was  an  un- 

^  Tnily,   "dignus  vindice  no-  equal   combat,    with   odds  sorely 

dus"!     The  intnrventiou  of  the  against  the  former,  in  the  sixteenth 


342 


EXPULSION  FROM  MEXICO. 


[Book  V 


The  coming  of  night  dispersed  the  Indian  battal- 
ions, which,  vanishing  Hke  birds  of  ill  omen  from 
the  field,  left  the  well-contested  pass  in  possession 
of  the  Spaniards.  They  returned,  however,  with 
none  of  the  joyous  feelings  of  conquerors  to  their 
citadel,  but  with  slow  step  and  dispirited,  with 
weapons  hacked,  armor  battered,  and  fainting  un- 
der the  loss  of  blood,  fasting,  and  fatigue.  In  this 
condition  they  had  yet  to  learn  the  tidings  of  a  fresh 
misfortune  in  the  death  of  Montezuma. ^^ 

The  Indian  monarch  had  rapidly  declined,  since 


century.  I  quote  the  passage  as 
characteristic  of  the  times.  ' '  Afir- 
raan  que  se  vido  el  Apostol  San- 
tiago k  caballo  peleando  sobre  vn 
caballo  bianco  en  favor  de  los 
Christian  OS  ;  6  decian  los  Indios 
que  el  caballo  con  los  pies  y  manos 
e  con  la  boca  mataba  muchos  del- 
los,  de  forma,  que  en  poco  discur- 
80  de  tiempo  no  parecio  Indio,  e 
reposaron  los  Christianos  lo  restan- 
te  de  aquel  dia.  Ya  se  que  los 
incredulos  6  poco  devotes  diran, 
que  mi  ocupacion  en  esto  destos 
miraglos,  pues  no  los  vi,  es  super- 
flua,  6  perder  tiempo  novelando, 
y  yo  hablo,  que  esto  6  mas  se  pue- 
de  creer ;  pues  que  los  gentiles  6 
sin  {6,  e  Idolatras  escriben,  que 
ovo  grandes  misterios  e  miraglos 
en  8U8  tiempos,  6  aquellos  sabe- 
mo8  que  eran  causados  e  fechos 
per  el  Diablo,  pues  mas  facil  cosa 
es  k  Dios  6  &  la  inmaculata  Vir- 
gen  Nuestra  Senora  6  al  glorioso 
Apdstol  Santiago,  6  k  los  santos 
^  amigos  de  Jesu  Christo  hacer 


esos  miraglos,  que  de  suso  estan 
dichos,  e  otros  maiores."  Hist. 
de  las  Ind.,  MS.,  lib.  33,  cap.  47. 
21  ''  Multi  restiterunt  lapidibus 
et  iaculis  confossi,  fuit  et  Cortesi- 
us  grauiter  percussus,  pauci  eva 
serunt  incolumes,  et  hi  adeo  lan- 
guidi,  vt  neque  lacertos  erigere 
quirent.  Postquara  vero  se  in  ar- 
cem  receperunt,  non  commod^  sa- 
tis conditas  dapes,  quibus  refice- 
rentur,  inuenerunt,  nee  fortd  aspe- 
ri  maiicii  panis  bucellas,  aut  aquam 
potabilem,  de  vino  aut  carnibus 
sublata  erat  cura."  (Martyr,  De 
Orbe  Novo,  dec.  5,  cap.  6.)  See 
also,  for  the  hard  fighting  in  the 
last  pages,  Oviedo,  Hist,  de  las 
Ind.,  MS.,  lib.  33,  cap.  13,— 
Rel.  Seg.  de  Cortes,  ap.  Lorenza- 
na,  pp.  140  -  142,  —  Carta  del 
Exercito,  MS.,  — Gonzalo  de  las 
Casas,  Defensa,  MS.,  Parte  1. 
cap.  26,  —  Herrera,  Hist.  Gene- 
ral, dec.  2,  lib.  10,  cap.  9,  10,  — 
Gomara,  Cr6nica,  cap.  107. 


m 


Ch.  II.]  DEATH  OF  MONTEZUMA.  343 

he  had  received  his  injury,  sinking,  however,  quite  as 
much  under  the  anguish  of  a  wounded  spirit,  as  un- 
der disease.  He  continued  in  the  same  moody  state 
of  insensibility  as  that  already  described;  holding 
little  communication  with  those  around  him,  deaf  to 
consolation,  obstinately  rejecting  all  medical  remedies 
as  well  as  nourishment.  Perceiving  his  end  ap- 
proach, some  of  the  cavaliers  present  in  the  fortress, 
whom  the  kindness  of  his  manners  had  personally 
attached  to  him,  were  anxious  to  save  the  soul  of 
the  dying  prince  from  the  sad  doom  of  those  who 
perish  in  the  darkness  of  unbelief.  They  accord- 
ingly waited  on  him,  with  father  Olmedo  at  their 
head,  and  in  the  most  earnest  manner  implored  him 
to  open  his  eyes  to  the  error  of  his  creed,  and  con- 
sent to  be  baptized.  But  Montezuma — whatever 
may  have  been  suggested  to  the  contrary — seems 
never  to  have  faltered  in  his  hereditary  faith,  or  to 
have  contemplated  becoming  an  apostate ;  for  surely 
he  merits  that  name  in  its  most  odious  application, 
who,  whether  Christian  or  Pagan,  renounces  his 
rehgion  without  conviction  of  its  falsehood.^  Indeed, 
it  was  a  too  implicit  reliance  on  its  oracles,  which  had 
led  him  to  give  such  easy  confidence  to  the  Span- 
iards. His  intercourse  with  them  had,  doubtless, 
not  sharpened  his  desire  to  embrace  their  commun- 
is The   sentiment   is   expressed     C'eat  irahir  &  la  fois,  sous  un  masque  hypo- 

with  singular  energy  in  the  verses    -.. ,  "'.'^®'     ,        .«     ^,  .  ^,.„  _,.  •.«« 
°  ^•'  Et  le  dieu  qa'on  prfftre,  et  le  dieu  qua  i  on 

of  Voltaire;  qu.ue: 

"  Mais  renoncer  aux  dieux  que  I'on  emit     C'esl  mentir  au  Clel  mftme,  4  I'unlrei.,  4 

dans  son  coeur,  "°'-"  .  «.«-.« 

C  est  le  crime  d'un  liiche,  el  non  pas  una 

erreur : 


544 


EXPULSION   FROM   MEXICX). 


[Book  V 


ion;  and  the  calamities  of  his  country  he  might 
consider  as  sent  by  his  gods  to  punish  him  for  his 
hospitality  to  those  who  had  desecrated  and  destroy- 
ed their  shrines.^ 

When  father  Olmedo,  therefore,  kneeling  at  his 
side,  with  the  uplifted  crucifix,  affectionately  be- 
sought him  to  embrace  the  sign  of  man's  redemption, 
he  coldly  repulsed  the  priest,  exclaiming,  "  I  have 
but  a  few  moments  to  live  ;  and  will  not  at  this  hour 
desert  the  faith  of  my  fathers."  ^     One  thing,  how- 


23  Caraargo,  the  Tlascalan  con- 
vert, says,  he  was  told  by  several 
of  the  Conquerors,  that  Montezu- 
ma was  baptized  at  his  own  de- 
sire in  his  last  moments,  and  that 
Cortes  and  Alvarado  stood  spon- 
sors on  the  occasion.  "  Muchos 
afirman  de  los  conquistadores  que 
yo  conoci,  que  estando  en  el  artic- 
ulo  de  la  muerte,  pidio  agua  de 
batismo  e  que  fue  batizado  y  mu- 
ri6  Cristiano,  aunque  en  esto  hay 
grandes  dudas  y  diferentes  pares- 
ceres ;  mas  como  digo  que  de  per- 
sonas  fidedignas  conquistadores  de 
los  primeros  desta  tierra  de  quien 
fuimos  informados,  supimos  que 
murio  batizado  y  Cristiano,  6  que 
fu(Sron  BUS  padrinos  del  batismo* 
Fernando  Cortes  y  Don  Pedro  de 
Aharado."  (Hist,  de  Tlascala, 
MS.)  According  to  Gomara,  the 
Mexican  monarch  desired  to  be 
baptized  before  the  arrival  of  Nar- 
vaez.  The  ceremony  was  defer- 
red till  Easter,  that  it  might  be 
performed  with  greater  effect.  But 
in  the  harry  and  bustle  of  the  sub- 


sequent scenes  it  was  forgotten, 
and  he  died  without  the  stain  of 
infidelity  having  been  washed  away 
from  him.  (Cronica,  cap.  107.) 
Torquemada,  not  often  a  Pyrrho- 
nist  where  the  honor  of  the  faith 
is  concerned,  rejects  these  tales  as 
irreconcilable  with  the  subsequent 
silence  of  Cortes  himself,  as  well 
as  of  Alvarado,  who  would  have 
been  loud  to  proclaim  an  event 
so  long  in  vain  desired  by  them. 
(Monarch.  Ind.,  lib.  4,  cap.  70.) 
The  criticism  of  the  father  is 
strongly  supported  by  the  fact, 
that  neither  of  the  preceding  ac- 
counts is  corroborated  by  writers 
of  any  weight,  while  they  are 
contradicted  by  several,  by  popu- 
lar tradition,  and,  it  may  be  added, 
by  one  another. 

24  "Respondid,  Que  por  la  media 
hora  que  le  quedaba  de  vida,  no 
se  queria  apartar  de  la  religion 
de  sus  Padres."  (Herrera,  Hist. 
General,  dec.  2,  lib.  10,  cap.  10.) 
"  Ya  he  dicho,"  says  Diaz,  '*  la 
tristeza  que  todos  nosolros  huvi- 


K.B.  ii.J  DEATH    OF   MONTEZUMA.  346 

ever,  seemed  to  press  heavily  on  Montezuma's  mind. 
This  was  the  fate  of  his  children,  especially  of  three 
daughters,  whom  he  had  by  his  two  wives  ;  for  there 
were  certain  rites  of  marriage,  which  distinguished 
the  lawful  wife  from  the  concubine.  Calling  Cortes 
to  his  bedside,  he  earnestly  commended  these  chil- 
dren to  his  care,  as  "  the  most  precious  jewels  that 
he  could  leave  him."  He  besought  the  general  to 
interest  his  master,  the  emperor,  in  their  behalf,  and 
to  see  that  they  should  not  be  left  destitute,  but  be 
allowed  some  portion  of  their  rigl  ful  inheritance. 
"  Your  lord  will  do  this,  "  he  concluv.ad,  "if  it  were 
only  for  the  friendly  offices  I  have  rendered  the 
Spaniards,  and  for  the  love  I  have  shown  them, — 
though  it  has  brought  me  to  this  condition !  But 
for  this  I  bear  them  no  ill-will."  ~^  Such,  according 
to  Cortes  himself,  were  the  words  of  the  dying 
monarch*  Not  long  after,  on  the  30th  of  June, 
1620,^'°  he  expired  in  the  arms  of  some  of  his  own 

mos  por  ello,  y  aun  al  Frayle  de  la  himself,  in  the  remarkable  docu* 

Merced,  que  siempre  estaua  con  ment  (Appendix,  Part  2,  No.  12). 

el,  y  no  le  pudo  atraer  &  que  se  —  The  general  adds,  that  he  faith- 

bolviesse  Christiano."  Hist,  de  la  fully  complied  with  Monter.uma's 

Conquista,  cap.  127.  request,  receiving  his  daughters, 

^Aunque  no  le  pcsaba  dello  ;  lit-  after  the  Conquest,  into  his  own 

erally,  "  although  he  did  not  re-  family,  where,  agreeably  to  their 

pent  of  it."     But  this  would  be  royal  father'' s  desire,  they  xoere  bap^ 

rather  too  much  for  human  nature  tized,  and  inetructed  in  the  doc- 

to  assert ;  and  it  is  probable  the  trincp  and  usages  of  the  Chwsuan 

language  of  the  Indian  prince  ui»-  faith.    They  were  aftprwards  mar- 

derwent  some  little  change,  as  it  ried    to    Castiliati    hidalgos,   and 

was  sifted  through   the   intcrpre-  handsome  dowries  were  assigned 

tation  of  Marina.     The   Spanish  them   by   the   government.      See 

reader  will  find  the  original  c.oa-  note  36  of  this  Chapter, 

versation,   as  reported  by  Cort&  96  I  adopt  Clavigero's  chronolo* 

VOL.    II.  44 


346  EXPULSION  FROM  MEXICO.  [Book  V. 

nobles,  who  still  remained  faithful  in  their  attend- 
ance on  his  person.  "Thus,"  exclaims  a  native 
historian,  one  of  his  enemies,  a  Tlascalan,  "thus 
died  the  unfortunate  Montezuma,  who  had  swayed 
the  sceptre  with  such  consummate  policy  and  wis- 
dom ;  and  who  was  held  in  greater  reverence  and 
awe  than  any  other  prince  of  his  lineage,  or  any, 
indeed,  that  ever  sat  on  a  throne  in  this  Western 
World.  With  him  may  be  said  to  have  terminated 
the  royal  line  of  the  Aztecs,  and  the  glory  to  have 
passed  away  from  the  empire,  which  under  him  had 
reached  the  zenith  of  its  prosperity."  ^'^  "  The  ti- 
dings of  his  death,"  says  the  old  Castilian  chronicler, 
Diaz,  "  were  received  with  real  grief  by  every  cava- 
lier and  soldier  in  the  army  who  had  had  access  to  his 
person  ;  for  we  all  loved  him  as  a  father, —  and  no 
wonder,  seeing  how  good  he  was."  ^^  This  simple, 
but  emphatic,  testimony  to  his  desert,  at  such  a  time, 


gy,  which  cannot  be  far  from  truth,  muerte  de  tan  gran  Seiior  se  aca- 

(Stor.  del  Messico,  torn.  III.  p.  b&^ron  los  Reyes  Culhuaques  Meji- 

131.)     And  yet  there  are  reasons  canos,  y  todo  su  poder  y  mando, 

for  supposing  he  must  have  died  estando  en  la  mayor  felicidad  de  su 

at  least  a  day  sooner.  raonarquia  ;  y  ansi  no  hay  de  que 

^'^  "  De  suerte  que  le  tiraron  una  fiar  en  las  cosas  desta  vida  sino  en 

pedrada  con  una  honda  y  le  dieron  solo  Dios."      Hist,  de  Tlascala, 

en  la  cabeza  de  que  vino  a  morir  el  MS. 

dondichado  Rey,  habiendo  gober-  28  "  Y  Cortes  lloro  por  6\,  y  to- 

njuio  este  nuevo  Mundo  con  la  dosnuestros  Capitanes,  y  soldados. 

mayor  prudencia  y  gobierno  que  e   hombres     huvo   entre   nosotros 

88  pucde  itnaginar,  siendo  el  mas  do  los  que  le  conociamos,  y  tratau- 

tenido   y  revereneiado  y  adorado  amos,  que  tan  llorado  fue,  como  si 

Senor  que  en  el  mundo  ha  habido,  fuera  nuestrp  padre,  y  no  nos  he- 

y  en  su  Imaje,  como  es  cosa  publi-  mos  do  maravillar  dello,  viendo  que 

ra  y  notoria  en  toda  la  maquina  Un  bueno  era."    IliDt.  de  la  Cou- 

deste  Nuevo  Mundo,  donde  con  la  quista,  cap.  126. 


UH.    II.] 


DEATH  OF  MONTEZUMA. 


347 


is  in  itself  the  best  refutation  of  the  suspicions  occa 
sionally  entertaiited  of  his  fidelity  to  the  Christians.^ 
It  is  not  easy  to  depict  the  portrait  of  Montezuma 
in  its  true  colors,  since  it  has  been  exhibited  to  us 
under  two  aspects,  of  the  most  opposite  and  contra- 
dictory character.  In  the  accounts  gathered  of  him 
by  the  Spaniards,  on  coming  into  the  country,  he 
was  uniformly  represented  as  bold  and  warlike,  un- 
scrupulous as  to  the  means  of  gratifying  his  ambi- 


29  "He  loved  the  Christians," 
says  Herrera,  "as  well  as  could 
be  judged  from  appearances." 
(Hist.  General,  dec.  2,  lib.  10, 
cap.  10.)  "  They  say,"  remarks 
the  general's  chaplain,  "  that 
Montezuma,  though  often  urged  to 
it,  never  consented  to  the  death  of 
a  Spaniard,  nor  to  the  injury  of 
Cortes,  whom  he  loved  exceeding- 
ly. But  there  are  those  who  dis- 
pute this."  (Gomara,  Cronica, 
cap.  107.)  Don  Thoan  Cano  as- 
sured Oviedo,  that7 during  all  the 
troubles  of  the  Spaniards  with 
the  Mexicans,  both  in  the  absence 
of  Cortes,  and  after  his  return, 
the  emperor  did  his  best  to  supply 
the  camp  with  provisions.  (See 
Appendix,  Part  2,  No.  11.) 
And  finally,  Cortes  himself,  in  an 
instrument  already  referred  to, 
dated  six  years  after  Montezuma's 
death,  bears  emphatic  testimony 
to  the  good-will  he  had  shown  to 
Spaniards,  and  particularly  acquits 
him  of  any  share  in  the  late  rising 
which,  says  the  Conqueror,  "  I 
had   trusted   to  suppress  through 


his  assistance."      See  AppenduCf 
Part  2,  No.  12. 

The  Spanish  historians,  in  gen- 
eral, —  notwithstanding  an  occa- 
sional intimation  of  a  doubt  as  to 
his  good  faith  towards  their  coun- 
trymen, —  make  honorable  men- 
tion of  the  many  excellent  quali- 
ties of  the  Indian  prince.  Soils, 
however,  the  most  eminent  of  all, 
dismisses  the  account  of  his  death 
with  the  remark,  that  "  his  last 
liours  were  spent  in  breathing 
vengeance  and  maledictions  against 
his  people  ;  until  he  sutrondered 
up  to  Satan  —  with  whom  ho  had 
frequent  communication  in  his  life- 
time—  the  eternal  possession  of 
his  soul !  "  (Conquista  de  M6x- 
jco,  lib.  4,  cap.  15.)  Fortunately, 
the  historiographer  of  the  Indiana 
could  know  as  little  of  Montezu- 
ma's fate  in  the  next  world,  as  he 
appears  to  have  known  of  it  in 
this.  Was  it  bigotry,  or  a  desire 
to  set  his  own  hero's  character  in  a 
brighter  light,  which  led  him  tliu» 
unworthily  to  darken  that  of  hit 
Indian  rival  ? 


348  EXPULSION   FROM  MEXICO.  [Book  V. 

tion,  hollow  and  perfidious,  the  terror  of  his  foes, 
with  a  haughty  bearing  which  made  him  feared  even 
by  his  own  people.  They  found  him,  on  the  con- 
trary, not  merely  affable  and  gracious,  but  disposed 
to  waive  all  the  advantages  of  his  own  position,  and 
to  place  them  on  a  footing  with  himself ;  making 
their  wishes  his  law ;  gentle  even  to  effeminacy  in 
his  deportment,  and  constant  in  his  friendship,  while 
his  whole  nation  was  in  arms  against  them.  —  Yet 
these  traits,  so  contradictory,  were  truly  enough 
drawn.  They  are  to  be  explained  by  the  extraordi- 
nary circumstances  of  his  position. 

When  Montezuma  ascended  the  throne,  he  was 
scarcely  twenty-three  years  of  age.  Young,  and 
ambitious  of  extending  his  empire,  he  was  continu- 
ally engaged  in  war,  and  is  said  to  have  been  present 
himself  in  nine  pitched  battles.^  He  was  greatly 
renowned  for  his  martial  prowess,  for  he  belonged  to 
the  Quachictin,  the  highest  military  order  of  liis 
nation,  and  one  into  which  but  few  even  of  its  sove- 
reigns had  been  admitted.^^  In  later  life,  he  pre- 
ferred intrigue  to  violence,  as  more  consonant  to  his 
character  and  priestly  education.  In  this  he  was  as 
great  an  adept  as  any  prince  of  his  time,  and,  by 
arts  not  very  honorable  to  himself,  succeeded  in 
filching  away  much  of  the  territory  of  his  royal  kins- 


»  *♦  Dicen  que  venci6  nueve  Ba-  cessors,  Tizoc,  is  shown  by  the 

tallaB,  i  otros  nueve  Campos,  en  Aztec  Paintings  to  have  belonged 

desafio    vno  k    vno."      Gomara,  to  this  knightly  order,  according 

Crdnica,  cap.  107.  to  Clavigero.     Stor.  del  Messico, 

^  One  other  only  of  his  prede-  torn.  II.  p.  140. 


I 


Ch.  II.l  DEATH  OF  MONTEZUMA.  S4S 

man  of  Tezcuco.  Severe  in  the  administration  of 
justice,  he  made  important  reforms  in  the  arrange- 
ment of  the  tribunals.  He  introduced  other  innova- 
tions in  the  royal  household,  creating  new  offices, 
introducing  a  lavish  magnificence  and  forms  of 
courtly  etiquette  unknown  to  his  ruder  predecessors. 
He  was,  in  short,  most  attentive  to  all  that  concerned 
the  exterior  and  pomp  of  royalty.^^  Stately  and 
decorous,  he  was  careful  of  his  own  dignity,  and 
might  be  said  to  be  as  great  an  "  actor  of  majesty  " 
among  the  barbarian  potentates  of  the  New  World, 
as  Louis  the  Fourteenth  was  among  the  polished 
princes  of  Europe. 

He  was  deeply  tinctured,  moreover,  with  that 
spirit  of  bigotry,  which  threw  such  a  shade  over  the 
latter  days  of  the  French  monarch.  He  received 
the  Spaniards  as  the  beings  predicted  by  his  oracles. 
The  anxious  dread,  with  which  he  had  evaded  their 
proffered  visit,  was  founded  on  the  same  feelings 
which  led  him  so  blindly  to  resign  himself  to  them 
on  their  approach.  He  felt  himself  rebuked  by  their 
superior  genius.  He  at  once  conceded  all  that  they 
demanded,  —  his  treasures,  his  power,  even  his  per- 
son. For  their  sake,  he  forsook  his  wonted  occupa- 
tions, his  pleasures,  his  most  familiar  habits.  He 
might  be  said  to  forego  his  nature  ;  and,  as  his  sub- 


®  *•  Era  mas  cauteloso,  y  ardi-  nidad  y  Majestad  Real  de  condi- 

doso,  que  valeroso.  En  las  Armas,  cion  muy  severe,  aunque  cuerdo 

y  modo  de  su  govierno,  fu6  muy  y  gracioso."     Ixtlilxochitl,  Hist 

justiciero  ;  en  las  cosas  tocantes  k  Chich.,  MS.,  cap.  88. 
ser  estimado  y  tenido  en  su  Dig- 


350  EXPULSION   FROM   MEXICO.  [Book  V. 

jects  asserted,  to  change  his  sex  and  become  a 
woman.  If  we  cannot  refuse  our  contempt  for  the 
pusillanimity  of  the  Aztec  monarch,  it  should  be 
mitigated  by  the  consideration,  that  his  pusillanimity 
sprung  from  his  superstition,  and  that  superstition  in 
the  savage  is  the  substitute  for  religious  principle  in 
the  civilized  man. 

It  is  not  easy  to  contemplate  the  fate  of  Monte 
zuma  without  feelings  of  the  strongest  compassion ; 
—  to  see  him  thus  borne  along  the  tide  of  events  be- 
yond his  power  to  avert  or  control ;  to  see  him,  like 
some  stately  tree,  the  pride  of  his  own  Indian  for- 
ests, towering  aloft  in  the  pomp  and  majesty  of  its 
branches,  by  its  very  eminence  a  mark  for  the  thun- 
derbolt, the  first  victim  of  the  tempest  which  was  to 
sweep  over  its  native  hills !  When  the  wise  king 
of  Tezcuco  addressed  his  royal  relative  at  his  coro- 
nation, he  exclaimed,  "  Happy  the  empire,  which  is 
now  in  the  meridian  of  its  prosperity,  for  the  scep- 
tre is  given  to  one  whom  the  Almighty  has  in  his 
keeping ;  and  the  nations  shall  hold  him  in  rever- 
ence !  "  ^^  Alas !  the  subject  of  this  auspicious  invo- 
cation lived  to  see  his  empire  melt  away  like  the 
winter's  wreath ;  to  see  a  strange  race  drop,  as  it 
were,  from  the  clouds  on  his  land  ;  to  find  himself  a 
prisoner  in  the  palace  of  his  fathers,  the  companion 
of  those  who  were  the  enemies  of  his  gods  and  his 
people  ;  to  be  insulted,  reviled,  trodden  in  the  dust, 
by  the  meanest  of  his  subjects,  by  those  who,  a  few 

33  Tho  whole  address  is  given  by  Torqueraada,  Monarch.  Ind.,  lib. 
4,  cap.  08. 


Ch.  II.]  DEATH  OF  MONTEZUMA.  351 

months  previous,  had  trembled  at  his  glance ;  draw- 
ing his  last  breath  in  the  halls  of  the  stranger,  —  a 
lonely  outcast  in  the  heart  of  his  own  capital !  He 
was  the  sad  victim  of  destiny,  —  a  destiny  as  dark 
and  irresistible  in  its  march,  as  that  which  broods 
over  the  mythic  legends  of  Antiquity !  ^ 

Montezuma,  at  the  time  of  his  death,  was  about 
forty-one  years  old,  of  which  he  reigned  eighteen. 
His  person  and  manners  have  been  already  described. 
He  left  a  numerous  progeny  by  his  various  wives, 
most  of  whom,  having  lost  their  consideration  after 
the  Conquest,  fell  into  obscurity,  as  they  mingled 
with  the  mass  of  the  Indian  population.^  Two  of 
them,  however,  a  son  and  a  daughter,  who  embraced 
Christianity,  became  the  founders  of  noble  houses  in 
Spain.^     The  government,  willing  to  show  its  grat- 

^  "Tix^n  V  aiayxms  atr^invri^ei  (Att-  Montezuma  had  two  lawful  wives. 

*^'  By  the  first  of  these,  named  Te- 

T/f  ««»  ayay«wf  IfrrJji  elciKorT^o(pes  $  ^alco,  he  had  a  SOD,  who  perished 

MoT^ai  rnifio^(poi,  fcv^fie/ts  r'  'E-  in  the  flight  from  Mexico ;  and  a 

Zi**vts.  daughter  named  Teeuichpo,  who 

TovTtuy  a^'  0  Zivs  'imi  af^tutTt-  embraced  Christianity,  and  received 

e»«i  the  name  of  Isabella.      She  was 

0jf»«t»  ar  ix^uyot  y%  rn*  rtr^mfU.  married,  when  very  young,  to  her 

'"••  cousin  Guatemozin ;  and  lived  long 

iEscnYL.,  Prometh.,  v.  514-518.  enough  after  his  death  to  give  her 

35  Seiior  de  Calderon,  the  late  hand  to  three  Castilians,   all  of 

Spanish  minister  at  Mexico,  in-  honorable  family.     From  two  of 

forms  me,  that  he  has  more  than  these,   Don    Pedro    Gallejo,    and 

once  passed  by  an  Indian  dwelling,  Don  Thoan  Cano,  descended  the 

where  the  Indians  in  his  suite  made  illustrious  families  of  the  Andrada 

a  reverence,  saying  it  was  occupied  and  Cano  Montezuma. 

by  a  descendant  of  Montezuma.  Montezuma,  by  his  second  wife, 

*    This  son,   baptized   by  the  the    princess    Acatlan,    lefk    two 

name    of   Pedro,   was   descended  daughters,  named,  after  their  con- 

from  one  of  the  royal  concubines,  version,  Maria  and  Leonor.     The 


352 


EXPULSION   FROM   MEXICO. 


[Book  V 


itude  for  the  iarge  extent  of  empire  derived  from 
their  ancestor,  conferred  on  them  ample  estates,  and 
important  hereditary  honors;  and  the  Counts  of 
Montezuma  and  Tula,  intermarrying  with  the  best 
blood  of  Castile,  intimated  by  their  names  and  titles 
their  illustrious  descent  from  the  royal  dynasty  of 
Mexico.^^ 

Montezuma's  death  was  a  misfortune  to  the  Span- 


former  died  without  issue.  Doiia 
Leonor  married  with  a  Spanish 
cavaHer,  Cristoval  de  Valderrama, 
from  whom  descended  the  family 
of  the  Sotelos  de  Montezuma.  To 
which  of  these  branches  belonged 
the  counts  of  Miravalle,  noticed 
by  Humboldt,  (Essai  Politique, 
tom.  II.  p.  73,  note,)  I  am  igno- 
rant. 

The  royal  genealogy  is  minutely 
exhibited  in  a  Memorial,  getting 
forth  the  claims  of  Montezuma's 
grandsons  to  certain  property  in 
right  of  their  respective  mothers. 
The  document,  which  is  without 
date,  is  among  the  MSS.  of  Munoz. 

37  It  is  interesting  to  know  that 
a  descendant  of  the  Aztec  empe- 
ror, Don  Joseph  Sarmiento  Valla- 
dares,  Count  of  Montezuma,  ruled 
as  viceroy,  from  1697  to  1701,  over 
the  dominions  of  his  barbaric  an- 
cestors. (Humboldt,  Essai  Poli- 
tique, tom.  II.  p.  93,  note.)  Solis 
speaks  of  this  noble  house,  gran- 
dees of  Spain,  who  intermingled 
their  blood  with  that  of  the  Guz- 
mans  and  the  Mendozas.  Clavi- 
gero  has  traced  their  descent  from 
the  emperor's  son  lohualicahua, 


or  Don  Pedro  Montezuma,  as  he 
was  called  after  his  baptism,  down 
to  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury. (See  Solis,  Conquista,  lib. 
4,  cap.  15.  —  Clavigero,  Stor.  del 
Messico,  tom.  I.  p.  302,  tom.  HI. 
p.  132.)  The  last  of  the  line,  of 
whom  I  have  been  able  to  obtain 
any  intelligence,  died  not  long 
since  in  this  country.  He  was 
very  wealthy,  having  large  estates 
in  Spain,  — but  was  not,  as  it  ap- 
pears, very  wise.  When  seventy 
years  old  or  more,  he  passed  over 
to  Mexico,  in  the  vain  hope,  that 
the  nation,  in  deference  to  his  de- 
scent, might  place  him  on  the  throne 
of  his  Indian  ancestors,  so  recent- 
ly occupied  by  the  presumptuous 
Iturbide.  But  the  modern  Mexi- 
cans, with  all  their  detestation  of 
the  old  Spaniards,  showed  no  re- 
spect for  the  royal  blood  of  the 
Aztecs.  The  unfortunate  noble- 
man retired  to  New  Orleans,  where 
he  soon  after  put  an  end  to  his 
existence  by  blowing  out  his  brains, 
—  not  for  ambition,  however,  if 
report  be  true,  but  disappointed 
love! 


Ch.  II.]  DEATH  OF  MONTEZUMA.  353 

iards.  Whi^e  he  lived,  they  had  a  precious  pledge 
in  their  hands,  which,  in  extremity,  they  might  pos- 
sibly have  turned  to  account.  Now  the  last  link 
was  snapped  which  connected  them  with  the  natives 
of  the  country.  But  independently  of  interested 
feelings,  Cortes  and  his  officers  were  much  affected 
by  his  death  from  personal  considerations,  and,  when 
they  gazed  on  the  cold  remains  of  the  ill-starred 
monarch,  they  may  have  felt  a  natural  compunction, 
as  they  contrasted  his  late  flourishing  condition  with 
that  to  which  his  friendship  for  them  had  now  re- 
duced him. 

The  Spanish  commander  showed  all  respect  for 
his  memory.  His  body,  arrayed  in  its  royal  robes, 
was  laid  decently  on  a  bier,  and  borne  on  the 
shoulders  of  his  nobles  to  his  subjects  in  the  city. 
What  honors,  if  any,  indeed,  were  paid  to  his  re- 
mains, is  uncertain.  A  sound  of  wailing,  distincdy 
heard  in  the  western  quarters  of  the  capital,  was  in- 
terpreted by  the  Spaniards  into  the  moans  of  a  fune- 
ral procession,  as  it  bore  the  body  to  be  laid  among 
those  of  his  ancestors,  under  the  princely  shades  of 
Chapoltepec.^^  Others  state,  that  it  was  removed  to 
a  burial-place  in  the  city  named  Copalco,  and  there 
burnt  with  the  usual  solemnities  and  signs  of  lamen- 
tation by  his  chiefs,  but  not  without  some  unworthy 
insults  from  the  Mexican  populace.^^  Whatever  be 
the  fact,  the  people,  occupied  with  the  stirring  scenes 

38  Gomara,  Cr6nica,  cap.  107.        39  Torquemada,  Monarch.  Ind., 
—  Hcrrera,  Hist.  General,  dec.  2,    lib.  4,  cap.  7. 
lib.  10,  cap.  10. 

VOL.    II.  45 


354  EXPULSIOr<    FROM    MEXICO-  [Book  V. 

in  which  they  were  engaged,  were  probably  not 
long  mindfiil  of  the  monarch,  who  had  taken  no 
share  in  their  late  patriotic  movements.  Nor  is  it 
strange  that  the  very  memory  of  his  sepulchre  should 
be  effaced  in  the  terrible  catastrophe  which  after- 
wards overwhelmed  the  capital,  and  swept  away 
every  landmark  from  its  surface. 


CHAPTER    in. 

Council  of  War.—  Spaniards  etacuatk  thf  City.  -Noche  Tristb, 
OR  "  The  Melancholy  Night."  — Tekrible  Slaughter.  — Halt 
for  the  Night.  —  Amount  of  Losses. 

1520. 

There  was  no  longer  any  question  as  to  the  ex- 
pediency of  evacuating  the  capital.  The  onlj  doubt 
was  as  to  the  time  of  doing  so,  and  the  route.  The 
Spanish  commander  called  a  council  of  officers  to 
deliberate  on  these  matters.  It  was  his  purpose  to 
retreat  on  Tlascala,  and  in  that  capital  to  decide  ac- 
cording to  circumstances  on  his  future  operations. 
After  some  discussion,  they  agreed  on  the  causeway 
of  Tlacopan  as  the  avenue  by  which  to  leave  the 
city.  It  would,  indeed,  take  them  back  by  a  cir- 
cuitous route,  considerably  longer  than  either  of 
those  by  which  they  had  approached  the  capital. 
But,  for  that  reason,  it  would  be  less  likely  to  be 
guarded,  as  least  suspected;  and  the  causeway  it- 
self, being  shorter  than  either  of  the  other  entrances, 
would  sooner  place  the  army  in  comparative  security 
on  the  main  land. 

There  was  some  difference  of  opinion  in  respeci 
to  the  hour  of  departure.  The  day-time,  it  was 
argued  bv  some,  would  be  preferable,  since  it  would 


* 


366  EXPULSION  FROM  MEXICO.  [Book  V. 

enable  them  to  see  the  nature  and  extent  of  their 
danger,  and  to  provide  against  it.  Darkness  would 
l)e  much  more  likely  to  embarrass  their  own  move- 
•ments  than  those  of  the  enemy,  who  were  familiar 
with  the  ground,  A  thousand  impediments  would 
occur  in  the  night,  which  might  prevent  their  acting 
in  concert,  or  obeying,  or  even  ascertaining,  the  or- 
ders of  the  commander.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  it 
was  urged,  that  the  night  presented  many  obvious 
advantages  in  dealing  with  a  foe  who  rarely  carried 
his  hostilities  beyond  the  day.  The  late  active  oper- 
ations of  the  Spaniards  had  thrown  the  Mexicans 
off  their  guard,  and  it  was  improbable  they  would 
anticipate  so  speedy  a  departure  of  their  enemies. 
With  celerity  and  caution,  they  might  succeed, 
therefore,  in  making  their  escape  from  the  town,  pos- 
sibly over  the  causeway,  before  their  retreat  should 
be  discovered;  and,  could  they  once  get  beyond 
that  pass  of  peril,  they  felt  little  apprehension  for 
the  rest. 

These  views  were  fortified,  it  is  said,  by  the 
counsels  of  a  soldier  named  Botello,  who  professed 
the  mysterious  science  of  judicial  astrology.  He  had 
gained  credit  with  the  army  by  some  predictions 
which  had  been  verified  by  the  events ;  those  lucky 
hits  which  make  chance  pass  for  calculation  with  the 
credulous  multitude.^   This  man  recommended  to  his 


1  Oviedo,  Hiat.  de  las  Ind.,  MS.,  greatest  extremity  of  distress,  and 

lib.  33,  cap.  47.  afterwards  come  to   great  honor 

The  astrologer  predicted    that  and  fortune.     (Bernal  Diaz,  Hist. 

Cortes  would  be  reduced  to  the  de  la  Conquista,  cap.   128.)     He 


Ch.  lU.J  COUNCIL  OF   WAR.  357 

countrymen  by  all  means  to  evacuate  the  place  in 
the  night,  as  the  hour  most  propitious  to  them,  al- 
though he  should  perish  in  it.  The  event  proved 
the  astrologer  better  acquainted  with  his  own  horo- 
scope than  with  that  of  others.'^ 

It  is  possible  Botello's  predictions  had  some  weight 
m  determining  the  opinion  of  Cortes.  Superstition 
was  the  feature  of  the  age,  and  the  Spanish  general, 
as  we  have  seen,  had  a  full  measure  of  its  bigotry. 
Seasons  of  gloom,  moreover,  dispose  the  mind  to  a 
ready  acquiescence  in  the  marvellous.  It  is,  how- 
ever, quite  as  probable  that  he  made  use  of  the 
astrologer's  opinion,  finding  it  coincided  with  his 
own,  to  influence  that  of  his  men,  and  inspire  them 
with  higher  confidence.  At  all  events,  it  was  de- 
cided to  abandon  the  city  that  very  night. 

The  general's  first  care  was  to  provide  for  the 
safe  transportation  of  the  treasure.  Many  of  the 
common  soldiers  had  converted  their  share  of  the 
prize,  as  we  have  seen,  into  gold  chains,  collars,  or 
other  ornaments,  which  they  easily  carried  about 
their  persons.  But  the  royal  fifth,  together  with 
that  of  Cortes  himself,  and  much  of  the  rich  booty 
of  the  principal  cavaliers,  had  been  converted  into 
bars  and  wedges  of  solid  gold,  and  deposited  in  one 
of  the  strong  apartments  of  the  palace.  Cortes  de- 
livered the  share  belonging  to  the  Crown  to  the  roysd 


showed  himself  as  cunning  in  his        2  "  Pues  al  astwJlogo  Botello, 

art,  as  the  West  Indian  syhil  who  no  le  aprouech6  su  astrologia,  que 

foretold  the  destiny  of  the  unfor-  tambien  alii  muri6."      Ibid.,  ubi 

tunate  Josephine.  supra. 


558 


EXPULSION  FROM  MEXICO. 


[Book  V 


officers,  assigning  them  one  of  the  strongest  horses, 
and  a  guard  of  Castilian  soldiers,  to  transport  it.^ 
Still,  much  of  the  treasure,  belonging  both  to  the 
Crown  and  to  individuals,  was  necessarily  abandoned, 
from  the  want  of  adequate  means  of  conveyance. 
The  metal  lay  scattered  in  shining  heaps  along  the 
floor,  exciting  the  cupidity  of  the  soldiers.  "  Take 
what  you  will  of  it,"  said  Cortes  to  his  men.  "Bet- 
ter you  should  have  it,  than  these  Mexican  hounds.^ 
But  be  careful  not  to  overload  yourselves.  He  trav- 
els safest  in  the  dark  night  who  travels  lightest." 
His  own  more  wary  followers  took  heed  to  his  coun- 
sel, helping  themselves  to  a  few  articles  of  least 
bulk,  though,  it  might  be,  of  greatest  value.^  But  the 


3  The  disposition  of  thfi  treasure 
has  been  stated  with  some  discre- 
pancy, though  all  agree  as  to  its 
ultimate  fate.  The  general  him- 
self did  not  escape  the  imputation 
of  negligence,  and  even  pecula- 
tion, most  unfounded,  from  his  en- 
emies. The  account  in  the  text 
is  substantiated  by  the  evidence, 
under  oath,  of  the  most  respecta- 
ble names  in  the  expedition,  as 
given  in  the  instrument  already 
more  than  once  referred  to.  "  Hi- 
to  sacar  el  oro  6  joy  as  de  sus  Al- 
tezas  6  le  di6  6  entrego  a  los  otros 
oficiales  Alcaldes  6  Regidores,  e 
les  dixo  k  la  rason  que  asi  se  lo 
entregd,  que  lodos  vicsen  el  mejor 
modo  6  manera  que  habia  para  lo 
poder  salvar,  que  61  alii  estaba  pa- 
ra por  8u  parte  hacer  lo  que  fuese 
posible  6  poner  su  persona  k  qual- 
quier  trance  6  ricsgo  que  sobre  lo 


salvar  le  viniese El  qua! 

les  did  para  ello  una  muy  buena 
yegua,  e  quatro  6  cinco  Espanoles 
de  much  a  confianza,  a  quien  se  en- 
cargo  la  dha  yegua  cargado  con  el 
otro  oro."  Probanza  a  pedimento 
de  Juan  de  Lexalde. 

4  "Desde  aqui  se  lo  doi,  como 
se  ha  de  quedar  aqui  perdido  entre 
estos  perros."  Bernal  Diaz,  Hist, 
de  la  Conquista,  cap.  128.  — 
Oviedo,  Hist,  de  las  Ind.,  MS., 
lib.  33,  cap.  47. 

5  Captain  Diaz  tells  us,  that  he 
contented  himself  w^ith  four  chal- 
chivitl,  —  the  green  stone  so  much 
prized  by  the  natives,  —  which  he 
cunningly  picked  out  of  the  royal 
coffers  before  Cortes'  majordomo 
had  time  to  secure  them.  The 
prize  proved  of  great  service, 
by  supplying  him  the  means  of 
obtaining  food  and  medicine,  when 


Ch.  III.]    THE  SPANIARDS  EVACUATE  THE  CITY.         359 

troops  of  Narvaez,  pining  for  riches,  of  which  they 
had  heard  so  much,  and  hitherto  seen  so  little, 
showed  no  such  discretion.  To  them  it  seemed  as 
if  the  very  mines  of  Mexico  were  turned  up  before 
them,  and,  rushing  on  the  treacherous  spoil,  they 
greedily  loaded  themselves  with  as  much  of  it,  not 
merely  as  they  could  accommodate  about  tlieir  per- 
sons, but  as  they  could  stow  away  in  wallets,  boxes, 
or  any  other  mode  of  conveyance  at  their  disposal.^ 

Cortes  next  arranged  the  order  of  march.  The 
van,  composed  of  two  hundred  Spanish  foot,  he 
placed  under  the  command  of  the  valiant  Gonzalo 
de  Sandoval,  supported  by  Diego  de  Ordaz,  Fran- 
cisco de  Lujo,  and  about  twenty  other  cavaliers. 
The  rear-guard,  constituting  the  strength  of  the  in- 
fantry, was  intrusted  to  Pedro  de  Alvarado,  and 
Velasquez  de  Leon.  The  general  himself  took 
charge  of  the  "battle,"  or  centre,  in  which  went 
the  baggage,  some  of  the  heavy  guns,  most  of 
which,  however,  remained  in  the  rear,  the  treasure, 
and  the  prisoners.  These  consisted  of  a  son  and 
two  daughters  of  Montezuma,  Cacama,  the  deposed 
lord  of  Tezcuco,  and  several  other  nobles,  whom 
Cortes  retained  as  important  pledges  in  his  future 
negotiations  with  the  enemy.  The  Tlascalans  were 
distributed  pretty  equally  among  the  three  divis- 
ions ;  and  Cortes  had  under  his  immediate  command 
a  hundred  picked  soldiers,  his  own  veterans  most 

ia    great    extremity,    afterwards,        6  Oviedo,  Hist,  delas  Ind.,BIS., 
from  the  people  of  the  country,     ubi  supra. 
Ibid.,  loc.  cit. 


360  EXPULSION   FROM   MEXICO.  [Book  V. 

attached  to  his  service,  who,  with  Christoval  de  Olid, 
Francisco  de  Morla,  Alonso  de  Avila,  and  two  or 
three  other  cavaliers,  formed  a  select  corps,  to  act 
wherever  occasion  might  require. 

The  general  had  already  superintended  the  con- 
struction of  a  portable  bridge  to  be  laid  over  the 
open  canals  in  the  causeway.  This  was  given  in 
charge  to  an  officer  named  Magarino,  with  forty 
soldiers  under  his  orders,  all  pledged  to  defend  the 
passage  to  the  last  extremity.  The  bridge  was  to 
be  taken  up  when  the  entire  army  had  crossed  one 
of  the  breaches,  and  transported  to  the  next.  There 
were  three  of  these  openings  in  the  causeway,  and 
most  fortunate  would  it  have  been  for  the  expedition, 
if  the  foresight  of  the  commander  had  provided  the 
same  number  of  bridges.  But  the  labor  would  have 
been  great,  and  time  was  short.'^ 

At  midnight  the  troops  were  under  arms,  in  read- 
iness for  the  march.  Mass  was  performed  by  father 
Olmedo,  who  invoked  the  protection  of  the  Almighty 
through  the  awful  perils  of  the  night.  The  gates 
were  thrown  open,  and,  on  the  first  of  July,  1520, 
the  Spaniards  for  the  last  time  sallied  forth  from  the 
walls  of  the  ancient  fortress,  the  scene  of  so  much 
suffering  and  such  indomitable  courage.^ 

7  Gomara,  Crdnica,  cap.  109.—  events  in  the  Conquest ;  attention 
Rel.  Seg.  de  Cortes,  ap.  Lorenza-  to  chronology  being  deemed  some- 
n^,  p.  143.  —  Oviedo,  Hist,  de  las  what  superfluous  by  the  old  chron- 
Ind.,  MS.,  lib.  33,  cap.  13,  47.  iclers.     Ixtlilxochitl,  Gomara,  and 

8  There  is  some  difficulty  in  ad-  others  fix  the  date  at  July  10th. 
justing  the  precise  date  of  their  But  this  is  wholly  contrary  to  the 
departure,    as,    indeed,    of   most  letter  of  Cortfe,  which  states,  that 


f 


Ch.  III.]  THE  MELANCHOLY   NIGHT.  361 

The  night  was  cloudy,  and  a  drizzling  rain,  which 
fell  without  intermission,  added  to  the  obscurity. 
The  great  square  before  the  palace  was  deserted, 
as,  indeed,  it  had  been  since  the  fall  of  Montezuma, 
Steadily,  and  as  noiselessly  as  possible,  the  Span- 
iards held  their  way  along  the  great  street  of  Tlaco- 
pan,  which  so  lately  had  resounded  to  the  tumult  of 
battle.  All  was  now  hushed  in  silence ;  and  they 
were  only  reminded  of  the  past  by  the  occasional 
presence  of  some  solitary  corpse,  or  a  dark  heap  of 
the  slain,  which  too  plainly  told  where  the  strife  had 
been  hottest.  As  they  passed  along  the  lanes  and 
alleys  which  opened  into  the  great  street,  or  looked 
down  the  canals,  whose  polished  surface  gleamed 
with  a  sort  of  ebon  lustre  through  the  obscurity  of 
night,  they  easily  fancied  that  they  discerned  the 
shadowy  forms  of  their  foe  lurking  in  ambush,  and 
ready  to  spring  on  them.  But  it  was  only  fancy; 
and  the  city  slept  undisturbed  even  by  the  prolonged 
echoes  of  the  tramp  of  the  horses,  and  the  hoarse 
rumbling  of  the  artillery  and  baggage  trains.  At 
length,  a  lighter  space  beyond  the  dusky  line  of 
buildings  showed  the  van  of  the  army  that  it  was 
emerging  on  the  open  causeway.  They  might 
well  have  congratulated  themselves  on  having  thus 

the  army  reached  Tlascala  on  the  the  capital  on  the  last  night  of 

eighth  of  July,  not  the  tenth,  as  June,  or  rather  the   morning  of 

Clavigero  misquotes  him  ;   (Stor.  July  1st.  It  was  the  night,  he  also 

del  Messico,  tom.  III.  pp.  135, 136,  adds,  following  the   affair  of  the 

nota;)  and  from  the  general's  ac-  bridges  in  the  city.     Comp.  Rel. 

curate  account  of  their  progress  Seg.,    ap.    Lorenzana,   pp.    142- 

each  day,  it  appears  that  they  left  149. 

VOL.    II.  46 


•562  EXPULSION    rKOM  MEXICO.  [Book  V. 

escaped  the  dangers  of  an  assault  in  the  city  itself, 
and  that  a  brief  time  would  place  them  in  compara- 
tive safety  on  the  opposite  shore.  —  But  the  Mexi- 
cans were  not  all  asleep. 

As  the  Spaniards  drew  near  the  spot  where  the 
street  opened  on  the  causeway,  and  were  preparing 
to  lay  the  portable  bridge  across  the  uncovered 
breach,  which  now  met  their  eyes,  several  Indian 
sentinels,  who  had  been  stationed  at  this,  as  at  the 
other  approaches  to  the  city,  took  the  alarm,  and 
fled,  rousing  their  countrymen  by  their  cries.  The 
priests,  keeping  their  night  watch  on  the  summit  of 
the  teocallis,  instantly  caught  the  tidings  and  sound- 
ed their  shells,  while  the  huge  drum  in  the  desolate 
temple  of  the  war-god  sent  forth  those  solemn 
tones,  which,  heard  only  in  seasons  of  calamity, 
vibrated  through  every  corner  of  the  capital.  The 
Spaniards  saw  that  no  time  was  to  be  lost.  The 
bridge  was  brought  forward  and  fitted  with  all  pos- 
sible expedition.  Sandoval  was  the  first  to  try  its 
strength,  and,  riding  across,  was  followed  by  his  little 
body  of  chivalry,  his  infantry,  and  Tlascalan  allies, 
who  formed  the  first  division  of  the  army.  Then 
came  Cortes  and  his  squadrons,  with  the  baggage, 
ammunition  wagons,  and  a  part  of  the  artillery.  But 
before  they  had  time  to  defile  across  the  narrow 
passage,  a  gathering  sound  was  heard,  like  that  of 
a  mighty  forest  agitated  by  the  winds.  It  grew 
louder  and  louder,  while  on  the  dark  waters  of  the 
lake  was  heard  a  plashing  noise,  as  of  many  oars. 
Then  came  a  few   stones   and   arrows  striking  at 


Ch.  III.]  THE  MELANCHOLY   NIGhT  363 

random  among  the  hurrying  troops.  They  fell  every 
moment  faster  and  more  furious,  till  they  thickened 
into  a  terrible  tempest,  while  the  very  heavens  were 
rent  with  the  yells  and  war-cries  of  myriads  of  com- 
batants, who  seemed  all  at  once  to  be  swarming 
over  land  and  lake  ! 

The  Spaniards  pushed  steadily  on  through  this 
arrowy  sleet,  though  the  barbarians,  dashing  their 
canoes  against  the  sides  of  the  causeway,  clambered 
up  and  broke  in  upon  their  ranks.  But  the  Chris- 
tians, anxious  only  to  make  their  escape,  declined  all 
combat  except  for  self-preservation.  The  cavaliers, 
spurring  forward  their  steeds,  shook  off  their  assail- 
ants, and  rode  over  their  prostrate  bodies,  while  the 
men  on  foot  with  their  good  swords  or  the  butts  of 
their  pieces  drove  them  headlong  again  down  the 
sides  of  the  dike. 

But  the  advance  of  several  thousand  men,  march- 
ing, probably,  on  a  front  of  not  more  than  fifteen  or 
twenty  abreast,  necessarily  required  much  time,  and 
the  leading  files  had  already  reached  the  second 
breach  in  the  causeway  before  those  in  the  rear  had 
entirely  traversed  the  first.  Here  they  halted;  as 
they  had  no  means  of  effecting  a  passage,  smarting 
all  the  while  under  unintermitting  volleys  from  the 
enemy,  who  were  clustered  thick  on  the  waters 
around  this  second  opening.  Sorely  distressed,  the 
van-guard  sent  repeated  messages  to  the  rear  to 
demand  the  portable  bridge.  At  length  the  last  of 
the  army  had  crossed,  and  Magarino  and  his  sturdy 
followers  endeavoured  to  raise  the  ponderous  frame- 


364  EXPULSION  FROM   MEXICO.  [Book  V. 

work.  But  it  stuck  fast  in  the  sides  of  the  dike. 
In  vain  they  strained  every  nerve.  The  w^eight  of 
so  many  men  and  horses,  and  above  all  of  the  heavy 
artillery,  had  wedged  the  timbers  so  firmly  in  the 
stones  and  earth,  that  it  vras  beyond  their  power  to 
dislodge  them.  Still  they  labored  amidst  a  torrent 
of  missiles,  until,  many  of  them  slain,  and  all  wound- 
ed, they  were  obliged  to  abandon  the  attempt. 

The  tidings  soon  spread  from  man  to  man,  and 
no  sooner  was  their  dreadful  import  comprehended, 
than  a  cry  of  despair  arose,  which  for  a  moment 
drowned  all  the  noise  of  conflict.     All  means  of  re- 
treat were  cut  off.     Scarcely  hope  was  left.     The 
only  hope  was  in  such  desperate  exertions  as  each 
could  make  for  himself.     Order  and  subordination 
were  at  an  end.     Intense  danger  produced  intense 
selfishness.     Each   thought  only   of   his   own   life. 
Pressing  forward,  he  trampled  down  the  weak  and 
the  wounded,  heedless  whether  it  were  friend  or  foe. 
The  leading  files,  urged  on  by  the  rear,  were  crowd- 
ed on  the  brink  of  the  gulf.     Sandoval,  Ordaz,  and 
the  other  cavaliers  dashed  into  the  water.     Some 
succeeded  in  swimming  their  horses  across.     Others 
failed,  and  some,  who  reached  the  opposite  bank, 
being  overturned  in  the  ascent,  rolled  headlong  with 
their  steeds  into  the  lake.     The  infantry  followed 
pellmell,  heaped  promiscuously  on  one  another,  fre 
quently  pierced  by  the  shafts,  or  struck  down  by  the 
war-clubs  of  the  Aztecs ;  while  many  an  unfortunate 
victim  was  dragged  half-stunned  on  board  their  ca- 


Ch.  III.]  TERRIBLE  SLAUGHTER.  366 

noes,  to  be  reserved  for  a  protracted,  but  more  dread- 
ful death.^ 

The  carnage  raged  fearfully  along  the  length  of 
the  causeway.  Its  shadowy  bulk  presented  a  mark 
of  sufficient  distinctness  for  the  enemy's  missiles, 
which  often  prostrated  their  own  countrymen  in  the 
blind  fury  of  the  tempest.  Those  nearest  the  dike, 
running  their  canoes  alongside,  with  a  force  that 
shattered  them  to  pieces,  leaped  on  the  land,  and 
grappled  with  the  Christians,  until  both  came  rolling 
down  the  side  of  the  causeway  together.  But  the 
Aztec  fell  among  his  friends,  while  his  antagonist 
was  borne  away  in  triumph  to  the  sacrifice.  The 
struggle  was  long  and  deadly.  The  Mexicans  were 
recognised  by  their  white  cotton  tunics,  which  show- 
ed faint  through  the  darkness.  Above  the  combat- 
ants rose  a  wild  and  discordant  clamor,  in  which 
horrid  shouts  of  vengeance  were  mingled  with  groans 
of  agony,  with  invocations  of  the  saints  and  the 
blessed  Virgin,  and  with  the  screams  of  women  ;  ^° 
for  there  were  several  women,  both  natives  and 
Spaniards,  who  had  accompanied  the  Christian  camp. 
Among  these,  one  named  Maria  de  Estrada  is  par- 
ticularly noticed  for  the  courage  she  displayed,  bat- 

9Ibid.,p.  143.-Camargo,Hi«t.  —  Probanza  en  la  Villa  Segura, 

(le  Tlascala,  MS.     Bernal  Diaz,  MS. 

Hist,  de  la  Coi.ciuista,  cap.  128.  -  lo  u  pues  la  grita,  y  Uoros,  y  lfi«- 
Oviedo,  Hist,  de  las  Ind. ,  MS.,  lib.  tiraas  q  dezia  demadando  socorro : 
33,  cap.  13,  47.  — Sahagun,  Hist.  Ayudadiiv?,  q  me  ahogo,  otros  : 
de  Nueva  Espafia,  MS.,  lib.  12,  Socorredme,  \  me  mata,  otros  de- 
cap.  24.  —  Martyr,  De  Orbe  Novo,  madando  ayuda  a  N.  Sefiora  Santa 
dec.  5,  cap.  6.  — Herrera,  Hist.  Maria,  y  &  Sef!or  Santiago  "  Ber- 
GeneraJ,  dec.  2,  lib.  10,  cap.  4.  nal  Diaz,  Ibid.,  cap.  128. 


;566  EXPULSION  FROM  MEXICO.  [Boar  Y. 

ding  with  broadsword  and   target  like  the  stanch- 
est  of  the  warriors." 

The  opening  in  the  causeway,  meanwhile,  was 
f31ed  up  with  the  wreck  of  matter  which  had  been 
forced  into  it,  ammunition-wagons,  heavy  guns, 
bales  of  rich  stuffs  scattered  over  the  waters,  chests 
of  solid  ingots,  and  bodies  of  men  and  horses,  till 
over  this  dismal  ruin  a  passage  was  gradually 
formed,  by  which  those  in  the  rear  were  enabled  to 
clamber  to  the  other  side.^^  Cortes,  it  is  said,  found 
a  place  that  was  fordable,  where,  halting,  with  the 
water  up  to  his  saddle-girths,  he  endeavoured  to 
check  the  confusion,  and  lead  his  followers  by  a 
safer  path  to  the  opposite  bank.  But  his  voice  was 
lost  in  the  wild  uproar,  and  finally,  hurrying  on  with 
the  tide,  he  pressed  forwards  with  a  few  trusty  cav- 
aliers, who  remained  near  his  person,  to  the  van  ; 
but  not  before  he  had  seen  his  favorite  page,  Juan 


^^"Yasimismo  se  mostr6  mui  MS.  —  Bernal  Diaz,  Hist,   de  la 

Talerosa  en  este  aprieto,  y  conflic-  Conquista,  cap.  128. 
to  Maria  de  Estrada,  la  qual  con        '*  Por  la  gran  priesa  que  daban 

vna  Espada,  y  vna  Rodela  en  las  de  ambas  partes  de  el  camino,  co- 

Manos,  hi^o  hecbos  maravillosos,  menz&ron  k  caer  en  aquel  /bso,  y 

y   se  entraba  por  los  Enemigos  cayeron  juntos,  que  de  Espanoles, 

con  tanto  corage,  y  &nimo,  corao  que  de  Ipdios  y  de  caballos,  y  de 

si  fuera  vno  de  los  mas  valientes  cargas,  el  foso  se  hincho  hasta  ar- 

Hombres  de  el  Mundo,  olvidada  de  riba,  cayendo  los  unos  sobre  los 

que  era  Muger Cas6  esta  otros,  y  los  otros  sobre  los  otros, 

Sefiora  con  Pedro  Sancbez  Far-  de  manera  que  todos  los  del  bar- 
fan,  y  di^ronle  en  Encomienda  el  g-age  quedaron  alii  ahogados,  y 
Pueblo  de  Tetela."  Torquema-  los  de  la  retaguardia  pasaron  sobre 
da.  Monarch.  Ind.,  lib.  4,  <Jap.  los  muertos.*'  Sahagun,  Hist,  de 
72.  NuevaEspafla,  MS.,  lib.  12,  cap. 

■•  Camargo,  Hist,  de  Tlascala,  24 


Ch.  III.]  TERRIBLE  SLAUGHTER.  567 

de  Salazar,  struck  down,  a  corpse,  by  his  side. 
Here  he  found  Sandoval  and  his  companions,  halting 
before  the  third  and  last  breach,  endeavouring  to 
cheer  on  their  followers  to  surmount  it.  But  their 
resolution  faltered.  It  was  wide  and  deep ;  though 
the  passage  was  not  so  closely  beset  by  the  enemy 
as  the  preceding  ones.  The  cavaliers  again  set  the 
example  by  plunging  into  the  water.  Horse  and 
foot  followed  as  they  could,  some  swimming,  others 
with  dying  grasp  clinging  to  the  manes  and  tails  of 
the  struggling  animals.  Those  fared  best,  as  the 
general  had  predicted,  who  travelled  lightest;  and 
many  were  the  unfortunate  wretches,  who,  weighed 
down  by  the  fatal  gold  which  they  loved  so  well, 
were  buried  with  it  in  the  salt  floods  of  the  lake.'^ 
Cortes,  with  his  gallant  comrades.  Olid,  Morla,  San- 
doval, and  some  few  others,  still  kept  in  the  advance, 
leading  his  broken  remnant  off  the  fatal  causeway. 
The  din  of  battle  lessened  in  the  distance  ;  when 
the  rumor  reached  them,  that  the  rear-guard  would 
be  wholly  overwhelmed  without  speedy  relief.  It 
seemed  almost  an  act  of  desperation ;  but  the  gen- 
erous hearts  of  the  Spanish  cavaliers  did  not  stop  to 
calculate  danger,  when  the  cry  for  succour  reached 
them.  Turning  their  horses'  bridles,  they  galloped 
back  to  the  theatre  of  action,  worked  their  way 

^  **  E  los  que  habian  ido   con  maban  vivos  cargados ;  6  k  otroi 

Narvaez  arroj&ronse  en  la  sala,  6  Uevaban  arrastrando,  €  k  otros  m»- 

carg&ronse  de  aquel  oro  6  plata  taban  alii ;  ]6  asi  no  se  salv&ron 

quanto  pudidron  ;  pero  los  menos  sino  los  desocupados  6  que  iban  en 

lo  goz&ron,  porque  la  carga  no  los  la  delantera."     Oviedo,  Hist.  69 

dexaba  pelear,  6  los  Indios  los  to-  las  Ind.,  MS.,  lib.  33,  cap.  47. 


,368 


EXPULSION   FROM  MEXICO. 


[Book  V. 


tlirough  the  press,  swam  the  canal,  and  placed  them- 
selves in   the  thick  of  the  melee  on  the  opposite 

bankJ* 

The  fiist  grej  of  the  morning  was  now  coming 
over  the  waters.  It  showed  the  hideous  confusion 
of  the  scene  which  had  been  shrouded  in  the  ob- 
scurity of  night.  The  dark  masses  of  combatants, 
stretching  along  the  dike,  were  seen  struggling  for 
mastery,  until  the  very  causeway  on  which  they 
stood  appeared  to  tremble,  and  reel  to  and  fro,  as  if 
shaken  by  an  earthquake ;  while  the  bosom  of  the 
lake,  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  was  darkened  by 
canoes  crowded  with  warriors,  whose  spears  and 
bludgeons,  armed  with  blades  of  "  volcanic  glass," 
gleamed  in  the' morning  light. 

The  cavaliers  found  Alvarado  unhorsed,  and  de- 
fending himself  with  a  poor  handful  of  followers 
against  an  overwhelming  tide  of  the  enemy.  His 
good  steed,  which  had  borne  him  through  many  a 
hard  fight,  had  fallen  under  him.^^  He  was  himself 
wounded  in  several  places,  and  was  striving  in  vain 
to  rally  his  scattered  column,  which  was  driven  to 
the  verge  of  the  canal  by  the  fury  of  the  enemy, 
then  in  possession  of  the  whole  rear  of  the  cause- 
way, where  they  were  reinforced  every  hour  by  fresh 
combatants  from  the  city.     The  artillery  in  the  ear- 

1*  Herrera,  Hist.  General,  dec.  dro  de  Alvarado  bien  herido  con 

9,  lib.  10,  cap.  11.  —  Oviedo,  Hist,  vna  langa  en  la  mano  k  pie,  que  la 

delas  Ind.,  MS.,  lib.  33,  cap.  13.  yegua  alagana  ya  se  la  auian  mu- 

—  Bernal  Diaz,  Hist,  de  la  Con-  erto."     Bernal  Diaz,  Hist,  de  la 

quista,  cap.  128.  Conquista,  cap.  128. 

**  "  Luego  encontr&ron  con  Pe- 


Ch.  III.]  TERRIBLE  SLAUGHTER.  369 

lier  part  of  the  engagement  had  not  been  idle,  and 
its  iron  shower,  sweeping  along  the  dike,  had  mowed 
down  the  assailants  by  hundreds.  But  nothing  could 
resist  their  impetuosity.  The  front  ranks,  pushed  on 
by  those  behind,  were  at  length  forced  up  to  tht^ 
pieces,  and,  pouring  over  them  like  a  torrent,  over- 
threw men  and  guns  in  one  general  ruin.  The  re- 
solute charge  of  the  Spanish  cavaliers,  who  had  now 
arrived,  created  a  temporary  check,  and  gave  time  for 
their  countrymen  to  make  a  feeble  rally.  But  they 
were  speedily  borne  down  by  the  returning  flood. 
Cortes  and  his  companions  were  compelled  to  plunge 
again  into  the  lake,  —  though  all  did  not  escape. 
Alvarado  stood  on  the  brink  for  a  moment,  hesitating 
what  to  do.  Unhorsed  as  he  was,  to  throw  himself 
into  the  water,  in  the  face  of  the  hostile  canoes  that 
now  swarmed  around  the  opening,  afibrded  but  a 
desperate  chance  of  safety.  He  had  but  a  second 
for  thought.  He  was  a  man  of  powerful  frame,  and 
despair  gave  him  unnatural  energy.  Setting  his 
long  lance  firmly  on  the  wreck  which  strewed  the 
bottom  of  the  lake,  he  sprung  forward  with  all  his 
might,  and  cleared  the  wide  gap  at  a  leap  !  Aztecs 
and  Tlascalans  gazed  in  stupid  amazement,  exclaim- 
ing, as  they  beheld  the  incredible  feat,  "  This  is  truly 
the   Tonatiuh,  — the  chHd  of  the  Sun  !"^^  — The 


!•  *'  Y  los  amigos  vista  tan  gran  co,  espan table  y  raro,  que  ellos  no 

hazaHa  quedaron  niaravillados,  y  habian  visto  hacer  k  ningun  hom- 

al  instante  que  esto  vieron  se  ar-  bre,  yansi  adoraronalSol,  coraien- 

rojaron  por  el  suelo  postrados  por  do  pufiados  de  tierra,  arrancando 

tierra  en  sefial  de  hecho  tan  heroi-  yervas  del  campo,  diciendo  a  gruH 
VOL.    II.                      47 


370 


EXPULSION   FROM   MEXICO. 


[Book  \ 


breadth  of  the  opening  is  not  given.  But  it  was  st 
great,  that  the  valorous  captain  Diaz,  who  well  re 
membered  the  place,  says  the  leap  was  impossible 
to  any  man.^^  Other  contemporaries,  however,  do 
not  discredit  the  story.^^  It  was,  beyond  doubt, 
matter  of  popular  belief  at  the  time  ;  it  is  to  this 
day  familiarly  known  to  every  inhabitant  of  the  cap- 
ital ;  and  the  name  of  the  Salto  de  Alvarado,  "  Al- 
varado's  Leap,"  given  to  the  spot,  still  commemo- 
rates an  exploit  which  rivalled  those  of  the  demi- 
gods of  Grecian  fable. ^^ 


des  voces,  verdaderamente  que  este 
hombre  es  hijo  del  <So/."  (Camar- 
go,  Hist,  de  Tlascala,  MS.)  This 
writer  consulted  the  process  insti- 
tuted by  Alvarado's  heirs,  in  which 
they  set  forth  the  merits  of  their 
ancestor,  as  attested  by  the  most 
valorous  captains  of  the  Tlascalan 
nation,  present  at  the  Conquest.  It 
!naj/  be  that  the  famous  leap  was 
among  these  "  merits,"  of  which 
the  historian  speaks.  M.  de  Hum- 
boldt, citing  Camargo,  so  consid- 
ers it.  (Essai  Politique,  torn.  H. 
p.  75.)  This  would  do  more  than 
any  thing  else  to  establish  tVe  fact. 
But  Camargo's  language  does  not 
seem  to  me  necessarily  to  warrant 
the  inference. 

17  "  Se  llama  aora  la  puente  del 
salto  de  Alvarado  :  y  platicauamos 
muchos  soldados  sobre  ello,  y  no 
hallavamos  razon,  ni  soltara  de  vn 
hombre  que  tal  saltasse."  Hist, 
de  la  Conquista,  cap.  128. 

1*  Gomara,  Crdnica,  cap.  109.— 
Camargo,  Ibid.,  ubi  supra. — Ovie- 


do,  Hist,  de  las  Ind.,  MS.,  lib.  33, 
cap.  47.  —  Which  last  author,  how- 
ever, frankly  says,  that  many,  who 
had  seen  the  place,  declared  it 
seemed  to  them  impossible.  "  Fue 
tan  estremado  de  grande  el  salto, 
que  a  muchos  hombres  que  ban 
visto  aquello,  he  oido  decir  que 
parece  cosa  imposible  haberlo  po- 
dido  saltar  ninguno  hombre  huma- 
ne. En  fin  el  lo  salto  e  gano  por 
ello  la  vida,  e  perdieronla  muchos 
que  atras  quedaban." 

19  The  spot  is  pointed  out  to  ev- 
ery traveller.  It  is  where  a  ditch, 
of  no  great  width,  is  traversed  by 
a  small  bridge  not  far  from  the 
western  extremity  of  the  Alameda. 
A«  the  place  received  its  name  in 
Alvarado's  time,  the  story  could 
scarcely  have  been  discountenan- 
ced b^  him.  But,  since  the  length 
of  the  leap,  strange  to  say,  is  no- 
where given,  the  reader  can  have 
no  means  of  passing  his  own  judg- 
ment on  its  probability. 


Ch.  III.]  TERRIBLE  SLAUGHTER.  37) 

Cortes  and  his  companions  now  rode  forward  to 
the  front,  where  the  troops,  in  a  loose,  disorderly 
manner,  were  marching  off  the  fatal  causeway.  A 
few  only  of  the  enemy  hung  on  their  rear,  or  an- 
noyed them  by  occasional  flights  of  arrows  from  the 
lake.  The  attention  of  the  Aztecs  was  diverted  by 
the  rich  spoil  that  strewed  the  battle-ground ;  fortu- 
nately for  the  Spaniards,  who,  had  their  enemy 
pursued  with  the  same  ferocity  with  which  he  had 
fought,  would,  in  their  crippled  condition,  have  bee* 
cut  off,  probably,  to  a  man.  But  little  molested, 
therefore,  they  were  allowed  to  defile  through  the 
adjacent  village,  or  suburbs,  it  might  be  called,  of 
Popotla.^ 

The  Spanish  commander  there  dismounted  from 
liis  jaded  steed,  and,  sitting  down  on  the  steps  of  an 
Indian  temple,  gazed  mournfully  on  the  broken  files 
as  they  passed  before  him.  What  a  spercacle  did 
they  present!  The  cavalry,  most  of  them  dis 
mounted,  were  mingled  with  the  infantry,  who  drag- 
ged their  feeble  limbs  along  with  difficulty;  their 
shattered  mail  and  tatten3d  garments  dripping  with 
the  salt  ooze,  showing  through  their  rents  many  a 
bruise  and  ghastly  Tvound  :  their  bright  arms  soiled, 
their  proud  crests  and  banners  gone,  the  baggage, 

^  *'  Fno  Pios  servido  de  que  esto  no  sigui^ron  el  alcanze,  y  loe 

los  Mejicatios  se  ocupasen  en  re-  Espanoles  pudi^ron  ir  poco  a  poco 

cojer  los  despojos  de  los  muertos,  por  su   camino   sin   tener  mucha 

y  laf  riquezas  de  oro  y  piedras  que  molestia  de  enemigos."    Sahaguo, 

Ilcvaba  el  bagage,  y  de  sacar  los  Hist,  de  Nueva  Espafia,  MS.,  lib. 

muertos  de  aquel  acequia,  y  k  los  12,  cap.  25. 
caballos  y  otros  bestias.     Y  por 


372  EXPULSION  FROM  MEXICO.  [Book  V. 

artillery,  all,  in  short,  that  constitutes  the  pride  and 
panoply  of  glorious  war,  for  ever  lost.  Cortes,  as  he 
looked  wistfully  on  their  thinned  and  disordered 
ranks,  sought  in  vain  for  many  a  familiar  face,  and 
missed  more  than  one  dear  companion  who  had 
stood  side  by  side  with  him  through  all  the  perils  of 
the  Conquest.  Though  accustomed  to  control  his 
emotions,  or,  at  least,  to  conceal  them,  the  sight  was 
too  much  for  him.  He  covered  his  face  with  his 
hands,  and  the  tears,  which  trickled  down,  revealed 
too  plainly  the  anguish  of  his  soul.^^ 

He  found  some  consolation,  however,  in  the  sight 
of  several  of  the  cavaliers  on  whom  he  most  relied. 
Alvarado,  Sandoval,  Olid,   Ordaz,  Avila,  were  yet 
safe.     He  had  the  inexpressible  satisfaction,  also,  of 
learning  the  safety  of  the  Indian  interpreter,  Marina, 
so  dear  to  him,  and  so  important  to  the  army.     She 
had  beeii  committed,  with  a  daughter  of  a  Tlascalan 
chief,  to  several  of  that  nation.     She  was  fortunately 
placed  in  the  ^an,  and  her  faithful  escort  had  carried 
her  securely  thi^ugh  aU  the  dangers  of  the  night. 
Aguilar,   the   othei   interpreter,   had   also   escaped. 
And  it  was  with  no  less  satisfaction,  that  Cortes 
learned  the  safety  of  tW.  ship-%ilder,  Martin  Lo- 
pez.^    The  general's  solicitude  for  the  fate  of  this 
man,  so  indispensable,  as  he  proved,  to  the  success 
of  his  subsequent  operations,  showed,  that,  amidst 


«  Oviedo,  HiBt.de  las  Ind.,        92  Herrera,  Hist.  General,  dec. 
MS.,  lib.  33,  cap.  47.— Ixtlilxo-    2,  lib.  10,  cap.  12. 
chill,  Hist.  Chich.,  MS.,  cap.  89. 
-«  Gomara,  Crdnica,  cap.  109. 


Ch.  III.]  HALT  FOR   THE   NIGHT.  373 

aii  his  affliction,  his  indomitable  spirit  was  looking 
forward  to  the  hour  of  vengeance. 

Meanwhile,  the  advancing  column  had  reached 
the  neighbouring  city  of  Tlacopan,  (Tacuba,)  once 
the  capital  of  an  independent  principality.  There 
it  halted  in  the  great  street,  as  if  bewildered  and 
altogether  uncertain  what  course  to  take;  like  a 
herd  of  panic-struck  deer,  who,  flying  from  the  hunt- 
ers, with  the  cry  of  hound  and  horn  still  ringing  in 
their  ears,  look  wildly  around  for  some  glen  or  copse 
in  which  to  plunge  for  concealment.  Cortes,  who 
had  hastily  mounted  and  rode  on  to  the  front  again, 
saw  the  danger  of  remaining  in  a  populous  place, 
where  the  inhabitants  might  sorely  annoy  the  troops 
from  the  azoteas,  witl\^  ^^ittle  risk  to  themselves. 
Pushing  forward,  therefore,  he  soon  led  them  into 
the  country.  There  he  endeavoured  to  reform  his 
disorganized  battalions,  and  bring  them  to  something 
like  order.^^ 

Hard  by,  at  no  great  distance  on  the  left,  rose  an 
eminence,  looking  towards  a  chain  of  mountains 
which  fences  in  the  Valley  on  the  west.  It  was 
called  the  Hill  of  Otoncalpolco,  and  sometimes  the 

23  "Tacuba,"  says  that  inter-  this  was  the  very  position  chosen 
psting  traveller,  Latrobe,  "  lies  by  Cortes  for  his  intrenchment, 
near  the  foot  of  the  hills,  and  is  after  the  retreat  just  mentioned, 
at  the  present  day  chiefly  noted  and  before  he  commenced  his  pain- 
for  the  large  and  noble  church  ful  route  towards  Otumba. "  (Ram- 
which  was  erected  there  by  Cortes,  bier  in  Mexico,  letter  5.)  It  is 
And  hard  by,  you  trace  the  lines  evident,  from  our  text,  that  Cortes 
of  a  Spanish  encampment.  I  do  could  have  thrown  up  no  intrench- 
not  hazard  the  opinion,  but  it  might  ment  here,  at  least  on  his  retreat 
appear  by  the   coincidence,   that  from  the  capital. 


374  EXPULSION  FROM  MEXICO.  [Book  V. 

Hill  of  Montezuma.^  It  was  crowned  with  an  In- 
dian ieocalli,  with  its  large  outworks  of  stone  cov- 
ering an  ample  space,  and  by  its  strong  position, 
which  commanded  the  neighbouring  plain,  promised 
a  good  place  of  refuge  for  the  exhausted  troops. 
But  the  men,  disheartened  and  stupefied  by  their 
late  reverses,  seemed  for  the  moment  incapable  of 
further  exertion ;  and  the  place  was  held  by  a  body 
of  armed  Indians.  Cortes  saw  the  necessity  of  dis- 
lodging them,  if  he  would  save  the  remains  of  his 
army  from  entire  destruction.  The  event  showed 
he  still  held  a  control  over  their  wills  stronger  than 
circumstances  themselves.  Cheering  them  on,  and 
supported  by  his  gallant  cavaliers,  he  succeeded  in 
infusing  into  the  most  sluggish  something  of  his  own 
intrepid  temper,  and  led  them  up  the  ascent  in  face 
of  the  enemy.  But  the  latter  made  slight  resistance, 
and,  after  a  few  feeble  volleys  of  missiles  which  did 
little  injury,  left  the  ground  to  the  assailants. 

It  was  covered  by  a  building  of  considerable  size, 
and  furnished  ample  accommodations  for  the  dimin- 
ished numbers  of  the  Spaniards.  They  found  there 
some  provisions ;  and  more,  it  is  said,  were  brought 
to  them,  in  the  course  of  the  day,  from  some  friendly 
Otomie  villages  in  the  neighbourhood.  There  was, 
also,  a  quantity  of  fuel  in  the  courts,  destined  to  the 
uses  of  the  temple.  With  this  they  made  fires  to 
dry  their  drenched  garments,  and  busily  employed 
themselves  in  dressing  one  another's  wounds,  stiff 

**  Lorenzana,  Viage,  p.  xiii. 


ch.  hi.]  halt  for  the  night.  375 

and  extremely  painful  from  exposure  and  long  exer- 
tion. Thus  refreshed,  the  weary  soldiers  threw 
themselves  down  on  the  floor  and  courts  of  the  tem- 
ple, and  soon  found  the  temporary  oblivion,  —  which 
Nature  seldom  denies  even  in  the  greatest  extremity 
of  suffering.'" 

There  was  one  eye  in  that  assembly,  however, 
which  we  may  well  believe  did  not  so  speedily  close. 
For  what  agitating  thoughts  must  have  crowded  on 
the  mind  of  their  commander,  as  he  beheld  his  poor 
remnant  of  followers  thus  huddled  together  in  this 
miserable  bivouac !  And  this  was  all  that  survived 
of.  the  brilliant  array  with  which  but  a  few  weeks 
since  he  had  entered  the  capital  of  Mexico !  Where 
now  were  his  dreams  of  conquest  and  empire  ?  And 
what  was  he  but  a  luckless  adventurer,  at  whom  the 
finger  of  scorn  would  be  uplifted  as  a  madman  ? 
Whichever  way  he  turned,  the  horizon  was  almost 
equally  gloomy,  with  scarcely  one  light  spot  to  cheer 
him.  He  had  still  a  weary  journey  before  him,  through 
perilous  and  unknown  paths,  with  guides  of  whose 
fidelity  he  could  not  be  assured.  And  how  could  he 
rely  on  his  reception  at  Tlascala,  the  place  of  his 
destination;  the  land  of  his  ancient  enemies;  where, 
formerly  as  a  foe,  and  now  as  a  friend,  he  had 
brought  desolation  to  every  family  within  its  borders? 

Yet  these  agitating  and  gloomy  reflections,  which 
might  have  crushed  a  common  mind,  had  no  power 

^  Sahagun,  Hist,  de  Nuova  ta,  cap.  128. — Camargo,  Hi»t. 
Espafia,  MS.,  lib.  12,  cap.  24.—  de  Tlascala,  MS.  —  IxtlilxochiU. 
Bernal  Diaz,  Hist,  de  la  Conquis-    Hist.  Chich.,  MS.,  cap.  80. 


S7S  EXPULSION  FROM  MEXICO.  [Book  \ 

over  that  of  Cortes ;  or  rather,  they  only  served  to  re- 
new his  energies,  and  quicken  his  perceptions,  as  the 
war  of  the  elements  purifies  and  gives  elasticity  to 
the  atmosphere.  He  looked  with  an  unblenching 
eye  on  his  past  reverses ;  but,  confident  in  his  own 
resources,  he  saw  a  light  through  the  gloom  which 
others  could  not.  Even  in  the  shattered  relics  which 
lay  around  him,  resembling  in  their  haggard  aspect 
and  wild  attire  a  horde  of  famished  outlaws,  he 
discerned  the  materials  out  of  which  to  reconstruct 
his  ruined  fortunes.  In  the  very  hour  of  discomfit- 
ure and  general  despondency,  there  is  no  doubt  that 
his  heroic  spirit  was  meditating  the  plan  of  opera- 
tions which  he  afterwards  pursued  with  such  daunt- 
less constancy. 

The  loss  sustained  by  the  Spaniards  on  this  fatal 
night,  like  every  other  event  in  the  history  of  the 
Conquest,  is  reported  with  the  greatest  discrepancy. 
If  we  believe  Cortes'  own  letter,  it  did  not  exceed 
one  hundred  and  fifty  Spaniards,  and  two  thousand 
Indians.  But  the  general's  bulletins,  while  they  do 
full  justice  to  the  difficulties  to  be  overcome,  and  the 
importance  of  the  results,  are  less  scrupulous  in  stat- 
ing the  extent  either  of  his  means  or  of  his  losses. 
Thoan  Cano,  one  of  the  cavaliers  present,  estimates 
the  slain  at  eleven  hundred  and  seventy  Spaniards, 
and  eight  thousand  allies.  But  this  is  a  greater 
number  than  we  have  allowed  for  the  whole  army. 
Perhaps  we  may  come  nearest  the  truth  by  taking 
the  computation  of  Gomara,  who  was  the  chaplain 
of  Cortes,  and  who  had  free  access,  doubtless,  not 


Ch.  III.]  AMOUNT  OF  LOSSES.  377 

only  to  the  general's  papers,  but  to  other  authentic 
sources  of  information.  According  to  him,  the  num- 
ber of  Christians  killed  and  missing  was  fou^  hun- 
dred and  fifty,  and  that  of  natives  four  thousand. 
This,  with  the  loss  sustained  in  the  conflicts  of  the 
previous  week,  may  have  reduced  the  former  to 
something  more  than  a  third,  and  the  latter  to  a 
fourth,  or,  perhaps,  fifth,  of  the  original  force  with 
which  they  entered  the  capital.^     The  brunt  of  the 

26  The  table  below  may  give  the  among  eyewitnesses,  and  writers 
reader  some  idea  of  the  dis<jirepan-  who,  having  access  to  the  actors, 
cies  in  numerical  estimates,  even    are  nearly  of  equal  authority. 

Cort6s,  ap.  Lorenzana,  p.  145,  150  Spaniards,  2000  Indiana,  killed  and  missing. 

Cano,  ap.  Oviedo,  lib.  33,  cap.  54,  1170  "  8000  "  "  " 

Probanza,  fcc,  200  "  2000  "  "  " 

Oviedo,  Hi8t.de  las  Ind.,  lib.  33,  cap.  13, 150  "  2000  "  "  " 

Camargo,  450  "  4000  "  "  " 

Gomara,  cap.  109,  450  "  4000  "  "  " 

Ixtlilxocliitl,  Hist.  Chich.,  cap.  88,  450  "  4000  "  "  " 

Sahagua,  lib.  12,  cap.  24,  300  "  2000  "  "  " 

Herrera,  dec.  2,  lib.  10,  cap.  12,  150  "  4000  "  "  " 

Bernal  Diaz  does  not  take  the  the  palace  of  AxayacatI,  where 

trouble  to  agree  with  himself.  Af-  they  surrendered  on    terms,  but 

ter  stating  that  the  rear,  on  which  were  subsequently  all  sacrificed  by 

the  loss  fell  heaviest,  consisted  of  the  Aztecs  !    (See  Appendix^  Part 

120  men,  he  adds,  in  the  same  2,  iVo.  11.)     The  improbability  of 

paragraph,  that  150  of  these  were  this  monstrous  story,  by  which  the 

slain,  which  number  swells  to  200  army  with  all  its  equipage  could 

in  a  few  lines  further !     Falstaff 's  leave    the    citadel    without    the 

men  in  buckram  !     See  Hist,  de  knowledge  of  so  many  of  their 

la  Conquista,  cap.  128.  comrades,  —  and  this  be  permitted, 

Cano's  estimate  embraces,  it  is  too,  at  a  juncture,  which  made 
true,  those  —  but  their  number  was  every  man's  cooperation  so  impor- 
comparatively  small  —  who  per-  tant,  —  is  too  obvious  to  require 
ished  subsequently  on  the  march,  refutation.  Herrera  records,  what 
The  same  authority  states,  that  270  is  much  more  probable,  that  Cort^ 
of  the  garrison,  ignorant  of  the  gave  particular  orders  to  the  cap- 
proposed  departure  of  their  coun-  tain,  Ojeda,  to  see  that  none  of 
trymen,  were  perfidiously  left  in  the  sleeping  or  wounded  should, 
VOL.    II.                       48 


378  EXPULSION  FROM  MEXICO.  [Book  V 

action  fell  on  the  rear-guard,  few  of  whom  escaped. 
It  was  formed  chiefly  of  the  soldiers  of  Narvaez, 
who  fell  the  victims,  in  some  measure,  of  their 
cupidity.^^  Forty-six  of  the  cavalry  were  cut  off, 
which  with  previous  losses  reduced  the  number  in 
this  branch  of  the  service  to  twenty-three,  and 
some  of  these  in  very  poor  condition.  The  greater 
part  of  the  treasure,  the  baggage,  the  general's 
papers,  including  his  accounts,  and  a  minute  diary 
of  transactions  since  leaving  Cuba, — which,  to  pos- 
terity, at  least,  would  have  been  of  more  worth  than 
the  gold,  —  had  been  swallowed  up  by  the  waters.^ 
The  ammunition,  the  beautiful  little  train  of  artillery, 
with  which  Cortes  had  entered  the  city,  were  all 
gone.  Not  a  musket  even  remained,  the  men  hav- 
ing  thrown  them  away,  eager  to  disencumber  them- 
selves of  all  that  might  retard  their  escape  on  that 
disastrous  night.  Nothing,  in  short,  of  their  military 
apparatus  was  left,  but  their  swords,  their  crippled 
cavalry,  and  a  few  damaged  crossbows,  to  assert 
the  superiority  of  the  European  over  the  barbarian. 

The  prisoners,  including,  as  already  noticed,  the 
children  of  Montezuma  and  the  cacique  of  Tezcuco, 
all  perished  by  the  hands  of  their  ignorant  country- 


in  the  hurry  of  the  moment,  be  *  According  to  Diaz,  part  of 

orerlooked  in  their  quarters.   Hist,  the  gold  intrusted  to  the  Tlascalan 

General,  dec.  2,  lib.  10,  cap.  U.  convoy  was  preserved.     (Hist,  de 

87  **Pues  de  los  de  Narvaez,  la  Conquista,  cap.  136.)  From  the 

todos  los  mas  en  las  puentes  que-  document  already  cited,  —  Proban- 

d&ron,  cargados  de  oro."     Bernal  za  de  Villa  Segura,  MS.,  —  it  ap- 

Diaz,  Hiat.  de  la  Conquista,  cap.  pears,  that  it  was  a  Castilian  guard 

128.  who  had  charge  of  it. 


Ch.  III.]  AMOUNT  OF  LOSSES.  379 

men,  it  is  said,  in  the  indiscriminate  furj  of  the 
assault.  There  were,  also,  some  persons  of  consid- 
eration among  the  Spaniards,  whose  names  were 
inscribed  on  the  same  bloody  roll  of  slaughter. 
Such  was  Francisco  de  Morla,  who  fell  by  the  side 
of  Cortes,  on  returning  with  him  to  the  rescue.  But 
the  greatest  loss  was  that  of  Juan  Velasquez  de 
Leon,  who,  with  Alvarado,  had  command  of  the 
rear.  It  was  the  post  of  danger  on  that  night,  and 
he  fell,  bravely  defending  it,  at  an  early  part  of  the 
retreat.  He  was  an  excellent  officer,  possessed  of 
many  knightly  qualities,  though  somewhat  haughty 
in  his  bearing,  being  one  of  the  best  connected  cav- 
aliers in  the  army.  The  near  relation  of  the  gov- 
ernor of  Cuba,  he  looked  coldly,  at  first,  on  the  pre- 
tensions of  Cortes  ;  but,  whether  from  a  conviction 
that  the  latter  had  been  wronged,  or  from  personal 
preference,  he  afterwards  attached  himself  zealously 
to  his  leader's  interests.  The  general  requited  this 
with  a  generous  confidence,  assigning  him,  as  we 
have  seen,  a  separate  and  independent  command, 
where  misconduct,  or  even  a  mistake,  would  have 
been  fatal  to  the  expedition.  Velasquez  proved  him- 
self worthy  of  the  trust ;  and  there  was  no  cavalier 
in  the  army,  with  the  exception,  perhaps,  of  Sando- 
val and  Alvarado,  whose  loss  would  have  been  so 
deeply  deplored  by  the  commander. — Such  were  the 
disastrous  results  of  this  terrible  passage  of  the 
causeway;  more  disastrous  than  those  occasioned 
by  any  other  reverse  which  has  stained  the  Spanish 
arms  in  the  New  World ;  and  which  have  branded 


380 


EXPULSION  FROM  MEXICO. 


[Book  V 


the  night  on  which  it  happened,  in  the  national 
annals,  with  the  name  of  the  noche  triste,  "  the  sad 
or  melancholy  night."  ^^ 


29  Gomara,  Crdnica,  cap.  109.     Villa  Segura,  MS.  —  BeraalDiaz, 
—  Oviedo,  Hist,  de  las  Ind.,  MS.,    Hist,  de  la  Conquista,  cap.  128 
lib.  33,  cap.  13.  — Probanza  en  la 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Retreat  op  the  Spaniards. — Distresses  op  the  Army.  —  Pt«- 
AMiDS  OP  Teotihuaoan.  —  Great  Battle  of  Otumba. 

1520. 

The  Mexicans,  during  the  day  which  followed 
the  retreat  of  the  Spaniards,  remained,  for  the  most 
part,  quiet  in  their  own  capital,  where  they  found 
occupation  in  cleansing  the  streets  and  causeways 
from  the  dead,  which  lay  festering  in  heaps  that 
might  have  bred  a  pestilence.  They  may  have  been 
employed,  also,  in  paying  the  last  honors  to  such  of 
their  warriors  as  had  fallen,  solemnizing  the  funeral 
rites  by  the  sacrifice  of  their  wretched  prisoners, 
who,  as  they  contemplated  their  own  destiny,  may 
well  have  envied  the  fate  of  their  companions  who 
left  their  bones  on  the  battle-field.  It  was  most 
fortunate  for  the  Spaniards,  in  their  extremity,  that 
they  had  this  breathing-time  allowed  them  by  the 
enemy.  But  Cortes  knew  that  he  could  not  calcu- 
late on  its  continuance,  and,  feeling  how  important 
it  was  to  get  the  start  of  his  vigilant  foe,  he  ordered 
his  troops  to  be  in  readiness  to  resume  their  march 
by  midnight.  Fires  were  left  burning,  the  better  to 
deceive  the  enemy ;  and  at  the  appointed  hour,  the 


382  EXPULSION   FROM   MEXICO.  [Book  \. 

litde  army,  without  sound  of  drum  or  trumpet,  but 
with  renewed  spirits,  sallied  forth  from  the  gates  of 
the  teocalli,  within  whose  hospitable  walls  they  had 
found  such  seasonable  succour.  The  place  is  now 
indicated  by  a  Christian  church,  dedicated  to  the 
Virgin,  under  the  title  of  Nuestra  Senora  de  los  Re- 
medios,  whose  miraculous  image  —  the  very  same, 
it  is  said,  brought  over  by  the  followers  of  Cortes  ^ — 
still  extends  her  beneficent  sway  over  the  neighbour- 
ing capital ;  and  the  traveller,  who .  pauses  within 
the  precincts  of  the  consecrated  fane,  may  feel  that 
he  is  standing  on  the  spot  made  memorable  by  the 
refuge  it  afforded  to  the  Conquerors  in  the  hour  of 
their  deepest  despondency.^ 

It  was  arranged  that  the  sick  and  wounded  should 
occupy  the  centre,  transported  on  litters,  or  on  the 
backs  of  the  tamanes,  while  those  who  were  strong 
enough  to  keep  their  seats  should  mount  behind  the 
cavalry.  The  able-bodied  soldiers  were  ordered  to 
the  front  and  rear,  while  others  protected  the  flanks, 
thus  affording  all  the  security  possible  to  the  in- 
valids. 

The  retreating  army  held  on  its  way  unmolested 
under   cover  of   the   darkness*      But,    as   morning 


1  Lorenzana,  Viage,  p.  xiii.  next  morning  in  henf  dwn  sitictuary 

2  Tho  last  instance,  I  believe,  of  at  Los  Remedies,  showing,  by  the 
the  direct  interposition  of  the  Vir-  mud  with  which  she  was  plentiful- 
gin  in  behalf  of  the  metropolis  ly  bespattered,  that  she  must  have 
was  in  1833,  when  she  wasbrought  performed  the  distance  —  several 
into  the  city  to  avert  the  cholera,  leagues  —  through  the  miry  ways 
She  refused  to  pass  the  night  in  on  foot !  See  Latrobe,  Rambler 
town,  however,  bat  was  found  the  in  Mexico,  letter  5. 


Ch.  IV.]  RETREAT  OF  THE  SPANIARDS.  383 

dawned,  they  beheld  parties  of  the  natives  moving 
over  the  heights,  or  hanging  at  a  distance,  like  a 
cloud  of  locusts,  on  their  rear.  They  did  not  be- 
long to  the  capital ;  but  were  gathered  from  the 
neighbouring  country,  where  the  tidings  of  their  rout 
had  already  penetrated.  The  charm,  which  had 
hitherto  covered  the  white  men,  was  gone.  The 
dread  Teules  were  no  longer  invincible.^ 

The  Spaniards,  under  the  conduct  of  their  Tlas- 
calan  guides,  took  a  circuitous  route  to  the  north, 
passing  through  Quauhtitlan,  and  round  lake  Tzom- 
panco,  (Zumpango,)  thus  lengthening  their  march, 
but  keeping  at  a  distance  from  the  capital.  From 
the  eminences,  as  they  passed  along,  the  Indians 
rolled  down  heavy  stones,  mingled  with  volleys  of 
darts  and  arrows,  on  the  heads  of  the  soldiers.  Some 
were  even  bold  enough  to  descend  into  the  plain  and 
assault  the  extremities  of  the  column.  But  they 
were  soon  beaten  off  by  the  horse,  and  compelled 
to  take  refuge  among  the  hills,  where  the  ground 
was  too  rough  for  the  rider  to  follow.  Indeed,  the 
Spaniards  did  not  care  to  do  so,  their  object  being 
rather  to  fly  than  to  fight. 

3  The  epithet  by  which,  accord-  can  Indians,  —  and  a  similar  cure 

mg  to  Diaz,  the  Castilians  were  of  it. 

constantly   addressed    by  the   na-  "  Por  dioses,  como  dixe,  eran  tenldos 
tives  ;  and  which  —  whether  cor-       ^®  ^°^  ^"^'o^  I03  nueetroa ;  pero  Mina 

.1  .        t_      •    .  ^     •    ,  que  de  router  y  hombre  eran  nacidos, 

rectly  or  not -he  interprets  into       ^  ,,,^  J  ^i^ez^s  entendi«ron 
gods,  or  divine  beings.    (See  Hist.        vi6ndolos  &  miserias  sometidos, 
de  la  Conquista,  cap.  48,  et  alibi.)        el  error  ignorante  conoci^ron, 
One  of  the  stanzas  of  Ercilla  inti-       ""^'^"'^^  «?  ^'"*  "^""'^  "'''Tf^. 

por  verse  de  mortales  conqulstadot." 

mates  the  existence  of  a  similar  _      .  ^      -, 

delusion  among  the  South  Amen- 


384  EXPULSION  FROM  MEXICO.  [Book 

In  this  way  they  slowly  advanced,  halting  at  in- 
tervals to  drive  off  their  assailants  when  they  became 
too  importunate,  and  greatly  distressed  by  their  mis- 
siles and  their  desultory  attacks.  At  night,  the  tBoops 
usually  found  shelter  in  some  town  or  hamlet, 
whence  the  inhabitants,  in  anticipation  of  their  ap- 
proach, had  been  careful  to  carry  off  all  the  provis- 
ions. The  Spaniards  were  soon  reduced  to  the 
greatest  straits  for  subsistence.  Their  principal  food 
was  the  wild  cherry,  which  grew  in  the  woods,  or  by 
the  roadside.  Fortunate  were  they,  if  they  found 
a  few  ears  of  corn  unplucked.  More  frequently 
nothing  was  left  but  the  stalks ;  and  with  them,  and 
the  like  unwholesome  fare,  they  were  fain  to  supply 
the  cravings  of  appetite.  When  a  horse  happened 
to  be  killed,  it  furnished  an  extraordinary  banquet ; 
and  Cortes  himself  records  the  fact  of  his  having 
made  one  of  a  party  who  thus  sumptuously  regaled 
themselves,  devouring  the  animal  even  to  his  hide.^ 

The  wretched  soldiers,  faint  with  famine  and  fa- 

*  Rel.  Seg.  de  Cortes,  ap.  Lo-  menos  buen  gusto  que  las  sobrea- 

renzana,  p.  147.  sados  de  Napoles,  6  los  gentiles 

Hunger  furnished  them  a  sauce,  cabritos  de  Abila,  6  las  sabrosas 

says  Oviedo,  which   made    their  Terneras  de   Zaragosa,  segun  la 

horse-flesh  as  relishing  as  the  far-  estrema  necesidad  que  llevaban  ; 

famed  sausages  of  Naples,  the  del-  por  que  despues  que  de  la  gran  cib- 

icate  kid  of  Avila,  or  the  savory  dad  de  Temixtitan  havian  salido, 

real  of  Saragossa  !    "Con  la  came  ninguna  otra  cosa  comieron  sine 

del  caballo  tubi^ron buen  pasto,^se  mahiz  tostado,  6  cocido,  €  yervas 

consol&ron  6  mitig&ron  en  parte  su  del  campo,  y  desto  no  tanto  quan- 

hambre,  ^  se  lo  comi6ron  sin  dex-  to  quisieran  6  ovieran  menester." 

ar  cuero,  ni  otra  cosa  d^l  sino  los  Hist,  de  las  Ind.,  MS.,  lib.  3.S 

huesos,  €  las  vfias,  y  el  pelo  ;  e  cap.  13. 
auB  las  tripas  no  les  pareci6  de 


Ch.  IV.]  DISTRESSES  OF  THE  ARMY.  385 

tigue,  were  sometimes  seen  to  drop  down  lifeless  on 
the  road.  Others  loitered  behind,  unable  to  keep 
up  with  the  march,  and  fell  into  the  hands  of  the 
enemy,  who  followed  in  the  track  of  the  army  like 
a  flock  of  famished  vultures,  eager  to  pounce  on  the 
dying  and  the  dead.  Others,  again,  who  strayed  too 
far,  in  their  eagerness  to  procure  sustenance,  shared 
the  same  fate.  The  number  of  these,  at  length, 
and  the  consciousness  of  the  cruel  lot  for  which 
they  were  reserved,  compelled  Cortes  to  introduce 
stricter  discipline,  and  to  enforce  it  by  sterner  pun- 
ishments than  he  had  hitherto  done,  —  though  too 
often  ineffectually,  such  was  the  indifference  to  dan- 
ger, under  the  overwhelming  pressure  of  present 
calamity. 

In  their  prolonged  distresses,  the  soldiers  ceased  to 
set  a  value  on  those  very  things  for  which  they  had 
once  been  content  to  hazard  life  itself.  M013  than 
one,  who  had  brought  his  golden  treasure  safe  through 
the  perils  of  the  noclie  triste,  now  abandoned  it  as 
an  intolerable  burden ;  and  the  rude  Indian  peasant 
gleaned  up,  with  wondering  delight,  the  bright  frag- 
ments of  the  spoils  of  the  capital.'' 

Through  these  weary  days  Cortes  displayed  his 
usual  serenity  and  fortitude.  He  was  ever  in  the 
post  of  danger,  freely  exposing  himself  in  encounters 


5  Herrera  mentions  one  soldier  advice   of   Cortes.      *'  The  devil 

who  had  succeeded  in  carrying  off  take  your  gold,"  said  the  com- 

his  gold  to  the  value  of  3,000  cas-  mander  bluntly  to  hinri,  "if  it  is 

idlanos  across  the  causeway,  and  to   cost  you    your    life."      Hist. 

afterwards  flung  it  away  by  the  General,  dec.  2,  lib.  10,  cap.  11. 
VOL.    II.                      49 


386  EXPULSION  FROM  MEXICO.  [Book  V 

with  the  enemy;  in  one  of  which  he  received  a 
severe  wound  in  the  head,  that  afterwards  gave  him 
much  trouble.^  He  fared  no  better  than  the  humblest 
soldier,  and  strove,  by  his  own  cheerful  countenance 
and  counsels,  to  fortify  the  courage  of  those  who 
faltered,  assuring  them  that  their  sufferings  would 
soon  be  ended  by  their  arrival  in  the  hospitable 
"land  of  bread.'"^  His  faithful  officers  cooperated 
with  him  in  these  efforts ;  and  the  common  file,  in- 
deed, especially  his  own  veterans,  must  be  allowed, 
for  the  most  part,  to  have  shown  a  full  measure  of 
the  constancy  and  power  of  endurance  so  character- 
istic of  their  nation,  — justifying  the  honest  boast  of 
an  old  chronicler,  "  that  there  was  no  people  so  ca- 
pable of  supporting  hunger  as  the  Spaniards,  and 
none  of  them  who  were  ever  more  severely  tried 
than  the  soldiers  of  Cortes."^  A  similar  fortitude 
was  shown  by  the  Tlascalans,  trained  in  a  rough 
school  that  made  them  familiar  with  hardship  and 
privations.  Although  they  sometimes  threw  them- 
selves on  the  ground,  in  the  extremity  of  famine, 
imploring  their  gods  not  to  abandon  them,  they  did 
their  duty  as  warriors,  and,  far  from  manifesting 
coldness  towards  the  Spaniards  as  the  cause  of  their 
distresses,  seemed  only  the  more  firmly  knit  to  them 
by  the  sense  of  a  common  suffering. 


•  Gomara,  Cr6nica,  cap.  110.  8  "  Empero  la  Nacion  nuestra 

'    The   meanings    of   the  Word  Espanola  sufre  mas  hambre  que 

Tlascala,  and  so  called  from  the  otra  ninguna,  i  estos  de  Cortes  mas 

abundance  of  maize  raised  in  the  que   todos."      Gomara,   Crdnica, 

country.     Boturini,  Idea,  p.  78.  cap.  110. 


Ch.  IV.]  PYRAMIDS  OF  TEOTIHUACAN.  387 

On  the  seventh  morning,  the  army  had  reached 
the  mountain  rampart  which  overlooks  the  plains  of 
Otompan,  or  Otumba,  as  commonly  called,  from  the 
Indian  city, —  now  a  village,  —  situated  in  them. 
The  distance  from  the  capital  is  hardly  nine  leagues. 
But  the  Spaniards  had  travelled  more  than  thrice  that 
distance,  in  their  circuitous  march  round  the  lakes. 
This  had  been  performed  so  slowly,  that  it  con- 
sumed a  week ;  two  nights  of  which  had  been 
passed  in  the  same  quarters,  from  the  absolute  ne- 
cessity of  rest.  It  was  not,  therefore,  till  the  7th 
of  July,  that  they  reached  the  heights  commanding 
the  plains  which  stretched  far  away  towards  the 
territory  of  Tlascala,  in  full  view  of  the  venerable 
pyramids  of  Teotihuacan,  two  of  the  most  remarka- 
ble monuments  of  the  antique  American  civilization 
now  existing  north  of  the  Isthmus.  During  all  the 
preceding  day,  they  had  seen  parties  of  the  enemy 
hovering  like  dark  clouds  above  the  highlands,  bran- 
dishing their  weapons,  and  calling  out  in  vindictive 
tones,  "  Hasten  on  !  You  will  soon  find  yourselves 
where  you  cannot  escape ! "  words  of  mysterious 
import,  which  they  were  made  fully  to  comprehend 
on  the  following  morning.^ 

The  monuments  of  San  Juan  Teotihuacan  are, 
with  the  exception  of  the  temple  of  Cholula,  the 

*  For  the  concluding  pages,  see  IxtlilxochitJ,  Hist.   Chich.,  MS., 

Camargo,  Hist,  de  Tlascala,  MS.,  cap.  89,  —  Martyr,  De  Orbe  Novo, 

—  Bemal  Diaz,  Hist.de  la  Con-  dec.  5,  cap.  6,  —  Rel.  Seg.  de 
quista,  cap.  128, —  Oviedo,  Hist.  Cort6s,  ap.  Lorenzana,  pp.  147, 
de  las  Ind.,  MS.,  lib.  33,  cap.  13,  148,  —  Sahagun,  Hist.,  de  Nueva 

—  Gomara,  CnSnica,  ubi  supra,  —  Espafla,  MS.,  lib.  13,  cap.  25,  36. 


388 


EXPULSION  FROM  MEXICO. 


[Book  V 


most  ancient  remains,  probably,  on  the  Mexican  soil. 
They  were  found  by  the  Aztecs,  according  to  their 
traditions,  on  their  entrance  into  the  country,  when 
Teotihuacan,  the  habitation  of  the  gods,  now  a  pal- 
try village,  was  a  flourishing  city,  the  rival  of  Tula, 
the  great  Toltec  capital.'*'     The  two  principal  pyra- 
mids  were   dedicated   to  Tonatiuh,   the    Sun,  and 
Meztli,  the  Moon.     The  former,  which  is  consider- 
ably the  larger,  is  found  by  recent  measurements  to 
be  six  hundred  and  eighty-two  feet  long  at  the  base, 
and  one  hundred  and  eighty  feet  high,  dimensions 
not  inferior  to  those  of  some  of  the  kindred  mon- 
uments of  Egypt.''     They  were  divided  into  four 
stories,  of  which  three  are  now  discernible,  while 
the   vestiges    of    the    intermediate    gradations    are 
nearly  effaced.     In  fact,  time  has  dealt  so  roughly 
with  them,  and  the  materials  have  been  so  much 
displaced  by  the  treacherous  vegetation  of  the  trop- 
ics, muffling  up  with  its  flowery  mantle  the  ruin 
which  it  causes,  that  it  is  not  easy  to  discern,  at 
once,  the  pyramidal  form  of  tne  structures.'^     The 


10  "  Su  nombre,  que  quiere  de- 
cir  habitacion  de  los  Dioses,  y  que 
ya  por  estos  tiempos  era  ciudad 
tan  famosa,  que  no  solo  competia, 
pero  excedia  con  muchas  ventajas 
k  la  corte  de  Tollan."  Veytia, 
Hist.  Antig.,  torn.  I.  cap.  27. 

'*  The  pyramid  of  Mycerinos 
is  280  feet  only  at  the  base,  and 
162  feet  in  height.  The  great  pyr- 
amid of  Cheops  is  728  feet  at  the 
haae,  and  448  feet  high.     See  Be- 


non,  Egypt  Illustrated,  (London, 
1825,)  p.  9. 

12  "  It  requires  a  particular  posi- 
tion," says  Mr.  Tudor,  "united 
with  some  little  faith,  to  discover 
the  pyramidal  form  at  all."  (Tour 
in  North  America,  vol.  II.  p.  277.) 
Yet  Mr.  Bullock  says,  "  The  gen- 
eral figure  of  the  square  is  as  per- 
fect as  the  great  pyramid  of  Egypt." 
(Six  Months  in  Mexico,  vol.  IL 
chap.    26.)      Eyewitnesses  both  ' 


Ch.  IV.] 


PYRAMIDS  OF  TEOTIHuACAN. 


389 


huge  masses  bear  such  resemblance  to  the  North 
American  mounds,  that  some  have  fancied  them  to 
be  only  natural  eminences  shaped  by  the  hand  of 
man  into  a  regular  form,  and  ornamented  with  the 
temples  and  terraces,  the  wreck  of  which  still  covers 
their  slopes.  But  others,  seeing  no  example  of  a 
similar  elevation  in  the  wide  plain  in  which  they 
stand,  infer,  with  more  probability,  that  they  are 
wholly  of  an  artificial  construction.*^ 

The  interior  is  composed  of  clay  mixed  with 
pebbles,  incrusted  on  the  surface  with  the  light 
porous  stone  tetzontli,  so  abundant  in  the  neighbour- 
ing quarries.  Over  this  was  a  thick  coating  of 
stucco,  resembling,  in  its  reddish  color,  that  found  in 
the  ruins  of  Palenque.  According  to  tradition,  the 
pyramids  are  hollow,  but  hitherto  the  attempt  to 
discover  the  cavity  in  that  dedicated  to  the  Sun  has 
been  unsuccessful.  In  the  smaller  mound,  an  aper- 
ture has  been  found  on  the  southern  side,  at  two 
thirds  of  the  elevation.  It  is  formed  by  a  narrow 
gallery,  which,  after  penetrating  to  the  distance  of 
several  yards,  terminates  in  two  pits  or  wells.  The 
largest  of  these  is  about  fifteen  feet  deep  ;  *^  and  the 
sides  are  faced  with  unbaked  bricks  ;   but  to  what 


Ths  historian  must  often  content 
himself  with  repeating,  in  the 
words  of  the  old  French  lay,  — 

*'  Si  com  je  I' at  trovi  escrite, 
Vos  conterai  la  voril*." 

13  This  is  M.  do  Humboldt's 
opinion.  (See  his  Essai  Politique, 
torn.  IT.  pp.  66-70.)  He  has  also 


discussed  these  interesting  monu- 
ments in  his  Vues  des  Cordilldres 
p.  25,  et  seq. 

1*  Latrobe  gives  the  description 
of  this  cavity,  into  which  he  and 
his  fellow-travellers  penetratecL 
Rambler  in  Mexico,  let.  7. 


390  EXPULSION  FROM  MEXICO.  [Book   V. . 

purpose  it  was  devoted,  nothing  is  left  to  show.  It 
may  have  been  to  hold  the  ashes  of  some  powerful 
chief,  like  the  solitary  apartment  discovered  in  the 
great  Egyptian  pyramid.  That  these  monuments 
were  dedicated  to  reUgious  uses,  there  is  no  doubt ; 
and  it  would  be  only  conformable  to  the  practice  of 
Antiquity  in  the  eastern  continent,  that  they  should 
have  served  for  tombs,  as  well  as  temples. ^^ 

Distinct  traces  of  the  latter  destination  are  said 
to  be  visible  on  the  summit  of  the  smaller  pyramid, 
consisting  of  the  remains  of  stone  walls  showing  a 
building  of  considerable  size  and  strength.^^  There 
are  no  remains  on  the  top  of  the  pyramid  of  the 
Sun.  But  the  traveller,  who  will  take  the  trouble  to 
ascend  its  bald  summit,  will  be  amply  compensated 
by  the  glorious  view  it  will  open  to  him  ;  —  towards 
the  south-east,  the  hills  of  Tlascala,  surrounded  by 
their  green  plantations  and  cultivated  corn-fields,  in 
the  midst  of  which  stands  the  little  village,  once  the 
proud  capital  of  the  republic.  Somewhat  further 
to  the  south,  the  eye  passes  across  the  beautiful 
plains  lying  around  the  city  of  Puebla  de  los  An- 
geles, founded  by  the  old  Spaniards,  and  still  rival- 
ling, in  the  splendor  of  its  churches,  the  most  bril- 
liant capitals  of  Europe;  and  far  in  the  west  he 
may  behold  the  Valley  of  Mexico,  spread  out  like  a 


'*  ''^'u'^LTpukra^'"  ^""^'  '*"'*'  '"  ^^  ^^^  dimensions  are  given  by 

Herouninutnerare  licet :quosfabula  Bullock,  (Six  Months  in  Mexico, 

manes  vol.  II.  chap.  26,)  who  has  some- 

Nobllitat  notter  populus  reneraius  times  seen  what   has   eluded  the 

adorat."  •         /.      , 

Phudbjitipb,  Contra  Sym,  lib.  1.  ®P^^^^  ^f  other  travellers. 


Ch.  IV.]  PYRAMIDS  OF  TEOTIHUACAN.  391 

map,  with  its  diminished  lakes,  its  princely  capital 
rising  in  still  greater  glory  from  its  ruins,  and  its 
rugged  hUls  gathering  darkly  around  it,  as  in  the 
days  of  Montezuma. 

The  summit  of  this  lar^;er  mound  is  said  to  have 
been  crowned  by  a  temple,  in  which  was  a  colossal 
statue  of  its  presiding  deity,  the  Sun,  made  of  one 
entire  block  of  stone,  and  facing  the  east.  Its  breast 
was  protected  by  a  plate  of  burnished  gold  and 
silver,  on  which  the  first  rays  of  the  rising  luminary 
rested. ''^  An  antiquary,  in  the  early  part  of  the  last 
century,  speaks  of  having  seen  some  fragments  of 
the  statue.  It  was  still  standing,  according  to  re- 
|K)rt,  on  the  invasion  of  the  Spaniards,  and  was 
demolished  by  the  indefatigable  Bishop  Zumarraga, 
whose  hand  fell  more  heavily  than  that  of  Time 
itself  on  the  Aztec  monuments.'^ 

Around  the  principal  pyramids  are  a  great  number 
of  smaller  ones,  rarely  exceeding  thirty  feet  in 
height,  which,  according  to  tradition,  were  dedicated 
to  the  stars,  and  served  as  sepulchres  for  the  great 
men  of  the  nation.  They  are  arranged  symmetri- 
cally in  avenues  terminating  at  the  sides  of  the  great 
pyramids,  which  face  the  cardinal  points.  The  plain 
on  which  they  stand  was  called  Micoatl,  or  "  Path  of 


17  Such  is  the  account  given  by  teenth  century,  testify  to  their 
the  cavalier  Boturini.  Idea,  pp.  having  seen  the  remains  of  thi» 
42,  43.  statue.     They  had  entirely  disap- 

18  Both  Ixtlilxochitl  and  Botu-  pearcd  by  1757,  when  VejTtia  e»- 
rini,  who  visited  these  monuments,  amined  the  pyramid.  Hist.  Antig., 
one,  early  in  the  seventeenth,  the  torn.  I.  cap.  2G. 

other,  in  the  first  part  of  the  eigh- 


592  EXPULSION  FROM  MEXICO.  [Book  V. 

the  Dead."  The  laborer,  as  he  turns  up  the  ground, 
still  finds  there  numerous  arrow-heads,  and  blades 
of  obsidian,  attesting  the  warlike  character  of  its 
primitive  population. ^^ 

What  thoughts  must  crowd  on  the  mind  of  the 
traveller,  as  he  wanders  amidst  these  memorials  of 
the  past ;  as  he  treads  over  the  ashes  of  the  gen- 
erations who  reared  these  colossal  fabrics,  which 
take  us  from  the  present  into  the  very  depths  of 
time  !  But  who  were  their  builders  ?  Was  it  the 
shadowy  Olmecs,  whose  history,  like  that  of  the 
ancient  Titans,  is  lost  in  the  mists  of  fable  ?  or, 
as  commonly  reported,  the  peaceful  and  industrious 
Toltecs,  of  whom  all  that  we  can  glean  rests  on 
traditions  hardly  more  secure  ?  What  has  become 
of  the  races  who  built  them  ?  Did  they  remain  on 
the  soil,  and  mingle  and  become  incorporated  with 
the  fierce  Aztecs  who  succeeded  them  ?  Or  did  they 
pass  on  to  the  South,  and  find  a  wider  field  for  the 
expansion  of  their  civilization,  as  shown  by  the 
higher  character  of  the  architectural  remains  in  the 
distant  regions  of  Central  America  and  Yucatan  ? 
It  is  all  a  mystery,  —  over  which  Time  has  thrown 
an  impenetrable  veil,  that  no  mortal  hand  may  raise. 
A  nation  has  passed  away,  —  powerful,  populous, 
and  well  advanced  in  refinement,  as  attested  by 
their  monuments, —  but  it  has  perished  without  a 
name.     It  has  died  and  made  no  siirn  ! 


19   "Agricola,  Incurvo  lerram  tnolitus  aratro, 
Ezesa  inveniet  scabra  rubigine  pila,"  &c. 

Geoug.,  lib.  I 


Ch.  IV.]  GREAT  BATTLE  OF  OTUMBA.  393 

Such  speculations,  however,  do  not  seem  to  have 
disturbed  the  minds  of  the  Conquerors,  who  have 
not  left  a  single  line  respecting  these  time-honored 
structures,  though  they  passed  in  full  view  of  them, 
—  perhaps,  under  their  very  shadows.  In  the  suf- 
ferings of  the  present,  they  had  little  leisure  to 
bestow  on  the  past.  Indeed,  the  new  and  perilous 
position,  in  which  at  this  very  spot  they  found  them- 
selves, must  naturally  have  excluded  every  other 
thought  from  their  bosoms,  but  that  of  self-preser- 
vation. 

As  the  army  was  climbing  the  mountain  steeps 
which  shut  in  the  Valley  of  Otompan,  the  videttes 
came  in  with  the  intelligence,  that  a  powerful  body 
was  encamped  on  the  other  side,  apparently  await- 
ing their  approach.  The  intelligence  was  soon  con- 
firmed by  their  own  eyes,  as  they  turned  the  crest 
of  the  sierra,  and  saw  spread  out,  below,  a  mighty 
host,  filling  up  the  whole  depth  of  the  valley,  and 
giving  to  it  the  appearance,  from  the  white  cotton 
mail  of  the  warriors,  of  being  covered  with  snow.^ 
It  consisted  of  levies  from  the  surrounding  country, 
and  especially  the  populous  territory  of  Tezcuco, 
drawn  together  at  the  instance  of  Cuitlahua,  Mon- 
tezuma's successor,  and  now  concentrated  on  this 
point  to  dispute  the  passage  of  the  Spaniards. 
Every  chief  of  note  had  taken  the  field  with  his 
whole  array  gathered  under  his  standard,  proudly 
displaying  all  the  pomp  and  rude  splendor  of  his 

20  "Y  como  iban  vestidos  de     Herrera,   Hist.   General,  dec.  3 
bianco,  parecia  el  campo  nevado."     lib.  10,  cap.  13. 
VOL.    U.  50 


;^  EXPULSION  FROM  MEXICO  [Book    V. 

military  equipment.  As  far  as  the  eye  could  reach, 
were  to  be  seen  shields  and  waving  banners,  fantas- 
tic helmets,  forests  of  shining  spears,  the  bright 
feather-mail  of  the  chief,  and  the  coarse  cotton  pan- 
oply of  his  follower,  all  mingled  together  in  ^vild 
confusion,  and  tossing  to  and  fro  like  the  billows  of 
a  troubled  ocean.^^  It  was  a  sight  to  fill  the  stoutest 
heart  among  the  Christians  with  dismay,  height- 
ened by  the  previous  expectation  of  soon  reaching 
the  friendly  land  which  was  to  terminate  their  wea- 
risome pilgrimage.  Even  Cortes,  as  he  contrasted 
the  tremendous  array  before  him  with  his  own  di- 
minished squadrons,  wasted  by  disease  and  enfee- 
bled by  hunger  and  fatigue,  could  not  escape  the 
conviction  that  his  last  hour  had  arrived.^^ 

But  his  was  not  the  heart  to  despond  ;  and  he 
gathered  strength  from  the  very  extremity  of  his 
situation.  He  had  no  room  for  hesitation ;  for  there 
was  no  alternative  left  to  him.  To  escape  was  im- 
possible. He  could  not  retreat  on  the  capital,  from 
which  he  had  been  expelled.  He  must  advance,  — 
cut  through  the  enemy,  or  perish.  He  hastily  made 
his  dispositions  for  the  fight.  He  gave  his  force  as 
broad  a  front  as  possible,  protecting  it  on  each  flank 
by  his  little  body  of  horse,  now  reduced  to  twenty. 

21    "Vislosa    confusion,"   says  have  put  fire-arms  into  the  hands 

Soils,  *'de  armas  y  penachos,  en  of  his  countrymen,  on  this  occa- 

que  tenian  su  hermosura  los  hor-  sion. 

rores."     (Conquista,  lib.  4,  cap.  22  » Y  cierio  creimos  ser  aquel 

^^                    20.)    His  painting  shows  the  hand  el  ultimo  de  nuestros  dias."     Rel. 

of  a  great  arUst,  — which  he  cer-  Seg.  de  Cort6s,  ap.  Lorenzana,  p. 

lainly   was.     But  he  should  not  148 


Ch.  IV.]       GREAT  BATTLE  OF  OTUMBA.         395 

Fortunately,  he  had  not  allowed  the  invalids,  for  the 
last  two  days,  to  mount  behind  the  riders,  from  a 
desire  to  spare  the  horses,  so  that  th^se  were  now  in 
tolerable  condition  ;  and,  indeed,  the  whole  army 
had  been  refreshed  by  halting,  as  we  have  seen,  two 
nights  and  a  day  in  the  same  place,  a  delay,  howev- 
er, which  had  allowed  the  enemy  time  to  assemble 
in  such  force  to  dispute  its  progress. 

Cortes  instructed  his  cavaliers  not  to  part  with 
their  lances,  and  to  direct  them  at  the  face.  The 
infantry  were  to  thrust,  not  strike,  with  their  swords ; 
passing  them,  at  once,  through  the  bodies  of  their 
enemies.  They  were,  above  all,  to  aim  at  the  lead- 
ers, as  the  general  well  knew  how  much  depends 
on  the  life  of  the  commander  in  the  wars  of  barba- 
rians, whose  want  of  subordination  makes  them  im- 
patient of  any  control  but  that  to  which  they  are 
accustomed. 

He  then  addressed  to  his  troops  a  few  words  of 
encouragement,  as  customary  with  him  on  the  eve  of 
an  engagement.  He  reminded  them  of  the  victories 
they  had  won  with  odds  nearly  as  discouraging  as 
the  present ;  thus  establishing  the  superiority  of 
science  and  discipline  over  numbers.  Numbers, 
indeed,  were  of  no  account,  where  the  arm  of  the 
Almighty  was  on  their  side.  And  he  bade  them 
have  full  confidence,  that  He,  who  had  carried  them 
safely  through  so  many  perils,  would  not  now  aban- 
don them  and  his  own  good  cause,  to  perish  by  the 
hand  of  the  infidel.  His  address  was  brief,  for  he 
read  in  their  looks  that  settled  resolve  which  ren- 


396  EXPULSION  FROM  MEXICO.  [Book  V. 

dered  words  unnecessary.  The  circumstances  of 
their  position  spoke  more  forcibly  to  the  heart  of 
every  soldier  than  any  eloquence  could  have  done, 
filling  it  with  that  feeling  of  desperation,  which 
makes  the  weak  arm  strong,  and  turns  the  coward 
into  a  hero.  After  they  had  earnestly  commended 
themselves,  therefore,  to  the  protection  of  God,  the 
Virgin,  and  St.  James,  Cortes  led  his  battalions 
straight  against  the  enemy .^^ 

It  was  a  solemn  moment, — that,  in  which  the 
devoted  little  band,  with  steadfast  countenances, 
and  their  usual  intrepid  step,  descended  on  the 
plain,  to  be  swallowed  up,  as  it  were,  in  the  vast 
ocean  of  their  enemies.  The  latter  rushed  on  with 
impetuosity  to  meet  them,  making  the  mountains 
ring  to  their  discordant  yells  and  battle-cries,  and 
sending  forth  volleys  of  stones  and  arrows  which  for 
a  moment  shut  out  the  light  of  day.  But,  when 
the  leading  files  of  the  two  armies  closed,  the  supe- 
riority of  the  Christians  was  felt,  as  their  antagonists, 
falling  back  before  the  charges  of  cavalry,  were 
thrown  into  confusion  by  their  own  numbers  who 
pressed  on  them  from  behind.  The  Spanish  infan- 
try followed  up  the  blow,  and  a  wide  lane  was 
openec  in  the  ranks  of  the  enemy,  who,  receding  on 


23  Camargo,  Hist,  de  Tlascala,  troops,  as  Napoleon  did  his  in  the 

MS.  —  Oviedo,  Hist,  de  las  Ind. ,  famous  battle  with  the  Mamelukes : 

MS.,  lib.   33,  cap.   14.  —  Bernal  "From    yonder     pyramids     forty 

Diaz,  Hist,  do  la  Conquista,  cap.  centuries  look  down  upon   you." 

128.  — -Sahagun,  Hist,  de  Nueva  But  the  situation  of  the  Spaniards 

Espafia,  MS.,  lib.  12,  cap.  27.  was  altogether  too  serious  for  tho- 

Cort6»  might  have  addressed  his  atrical  display. 


Cn.  IV.]       GREAT  BATTLE  OF  OTUMBA.         397 

all  sides,  seemed  willing  to  allow  a  free  passage  for 
their  opponents.  But  it  was  to  return  on  them  with 
accumulated  force,  as  rallying  they  poured  upon  the 
Christians,  enveloping  the  little  army  on  all  sides, 
which,  with  its  bristling  array  of  long  swords  and 
javelins,  stood  firm,  —  in  the  words  of  a  contempo- 
rary, —  like  an  islet  against  which  the  breakers, 
roaring  and  surging,  spend  their  fury  in  vain.^  The 
struggle  was  desperate  of  man  against  man.  The 
Tlascalan  seemed  to  renew  his  strength,  as  he  fought 
almost  in  view  of  his  own  native  hills ;  as  did  the 
Spaniard,  with  the  horrible  doom  of  the  captive  be- 
fore his  eyes.  Well  did  the  cavaliers  do  their  duty 
on  that  day  ;  charging,  in  little  bodies  of  four  or  five 
abreast,  deep  into  the  enemy's  ranks,  riding  over  the 
broken  files,  and  by  this  temporary  advantage  giving 
strength  and  courage  to  the  infantry.  Not  a  lance 
was  there  which  did  not  reek  with  the  blood  of  the 
infidel.  Among  the  rest,  the  young  captain  Sando- 
val is  particularly  commemorated  for  his  daring 
prowess.  Managing  his  fiery  steed  with  easy  horse- 
manship, he  darted,  when  least  expected,  into  the 
thickest  of  the  melee,  overturning  the  stanchest 
warriors,  and  rejoicing  in  danger,  as  if  it  were  his 
natural  element.^ 

But  these  gallant  displays  of  heroism  served  only 

^  It  is  Sahagun's  simile.  *'Es-  gathered  the  particulars  of  the  ac- 

taban    los    Espafioles    como    una  tion,  as  he  informs  us,  from  several 

Isleta  en  el  mar,  combatida  de  las  who  were  present  in  it. 

olas  por  todas  partes."     (Hist,  de  25  The  epic  bard  Ercilla's  spir- 

Nueva  Espafia,  MS.,  lib.  12,  cap.  ited  portrait  of  the  young  warrior 

27.)     The   venerable   missionary  Tucap^l   may  apply  without  Yio- 


398 


EXPULSION  FROM  MEXICO. 


[Book  V. 


to  ingulf  the  Spaniards  deeper  and  deeper  in  the 
mass  of  the  enemy,  with  scarcely  any  more  chance 
of  cutting  their  way  through  his  dense  and  intermi- 
nable battalions,  than  of  hewing  a  passage  with 
their  swords  through  the  mountains.  Many  of  the 
Tlascalans  and  some  of  the  Spaniards  had  fallen, 
and  not  one  but  had  been  wounded.  Cortes  him- 
self had  received  a  second  cut  on  the  head,  and  his 
horse  was  so  much  injured  that  he  was  compelled  to 
dismount,  and  take  one  from  the  baggage  train,  a 
strong-boned  animal,  who  carried  him  well  through 
the  turmoil  of  the  day.^^  The  contest  had  now 
lasted  several  hours.  The  sun  rode  high  in  the 
heavens,  and  shed  an  intolerable  fervor  over  the 
plain.  The  Christians,  weakened  by  previous  suffer- 
ings, and  faint  with  loss  of  blood,  began  to  relax  in 
their  desperate  exertions.  Their  enemies,  constantly 
supported  by  fresh  relays  from  the  rear,  were  still  in 
good  heart,  and,  quick  to  perceive  their  advantage, 
pressed  with  redoubled  force  on  the  Spaniards.  The 
horse  fell  back,  crowded  on  the  foot ;  and  the  latter, 
in  vain  seeking  a  passage  amidst  the  dusky  throngs 
of  the  enemy,  who  now  closed  up  the  rear,  were 
thrown  into  some  disorder.     The  tide  of  battle  was 


lence  to  Sandoval,  as  described  by 
the  Castilian  chroniclers. 

'  Cubierlo  Tucap^l  do  fina  malla 
nlt6  como  un  ligero  y  suelto  pardo 
en  medio  de  la  timida  canalla, 
haciendo  plaza  el  barbaro  gallardo : 
con  silvos  grita  en  desigual  batalla: 
COD  piedra,  palo,  flecha,  lanza  y  dardo 
le  peraigue  la  gente  de  manera 
como  81  fuera  loro,  6  brava  fiera." 
La  Araccana  Parte  I,  canto  S. 


26  Herrera,  Hist.  Greneral,  dec. 
2,  lib.  10,  cap.  13. 

"Este  caballo  harriero,"  says 
Camargo,  "  le  sirvio  en  la  conquis- 
ta  de  Mejico,  y  en  la  ultima  guerra 
que  se  did  se  le  mataron."  Hist 
de  Tlascala,  MS. 


Ch.  IV.l  GREAT  BATILE  OF  OTUMBA.  399 

setting  rapidly  against  the  Christians.  The  fate  of 
the  day  would  soon  be  decided ;  and  all  that  now 
remained  for  them  seemed  to  be  to  sell  their  lives 
as  dearly  as  possible. 

At  this  critical  moment,  Cortes,  whose  restless 
eye  had  been  roving  round  the  field  in  quest  of  any 
object  that  might  offer  him  the  means  of  arresting 
the  coming  ruin,  rising  in  his  stirrups,  descried  at  a 
distance,  in  the  midst  of  the  throng,  the  chief  who 
from  his  dress  and  military  cortege  he  knew  must 
be  the  commander  of  the  barbarian  forces.  He  was 
covered  with  a  rich  surcoat  of  feather-work ;  and  a 
panache  of  beautiful  plumes,  gorgeously  set  in  gold 
and  precious  stones,  floated  above  his  head.  Rising 
above  this,  and  attached  to  his  back,  between  the 
shoulders,  was  a  short  staff  bearing  a  golden  net  for 
a  banner,  —  the  singular,  but  customary,  symbol  of 
authority  for  an  Aztec  commander.  The  cacique, 
whose  name  was  Cihuaca,  was  borne  on  a  litter,  and 
a  body  of  young  warriors,  whose  gay  and  ornament- 
ed dresses  showed  them  to  be  the  flower  of  the 
Indian  nobles,  stood  round  as  a  guard  of  his  person 
and  the  sacred  emblem. 

The  eagle  eye  of  Cortes  no  sooner  fell  on  this 
personage,  than  it  lighted  up  with  triumph.  Turn- 
ing quickly  round  to  the  cavaliers  at  his  side,  among 
whom  were  Sandoval,  Olid,  Alvarado,  and  Avila,  he 
pointed  out  the  chief,  exclaiming,  "  There  is  our 
mark !  Follow  and  support  me  !  "  Then  crying 
his  war-cry,  and  striking  his  iron  heel  into  his  weary 
steed,  he  plunged  headlong  into  the  thickest  of  the 


400  EXPULSION  FROM  MEXICO.  [Book  V 

press.  His  enemies  fell  back,  taken  by  surprise  and 
daunted  bj  the  ferocity  of  the  attack.  Those  who 
did  not  were  pierced  through  with  his  lance,  or 
borne  down  by  the  weight  of  his  charger.  The 
cavaliers  followed  close  in  the  rear.  On  they  swept, 
with  the  fury  of  a  thunderbolt,  cleaving  the  solid 
ranks  asunder,  strewing  their  path  with  the  dying 
and  the  dead,  and  bounding  over  every  obstacle  in 
their  way.  In  a  few  minutes  they  were  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  Indian  commander,  and  Cortes,  over- 
turning his  supporters,  sprung  forward  with  the 
strength  of  a  lion,  and,  striking  him  through  with  his 
lance,  hurled  him  to  the  ground.  A  young  cavalier, 
Juan  de  Salamanca,  who  had  kept  close  by  his  gen- 
eral's side,  quickly  dismounted  and  despatched  the 
fallen  chief.  Then  tearing  away  his  banner,  he 
presented  it  to  Cortes,  as  a  trophy  to  which  he  had 
the  best  claim.^^  It  was  all  the  work  of  a  moment. 
The  guard,  overpowered  by  the  suddenness  of  the 
onset,  made  little  resistance,  but,  flying,  communi- 
cated their  own  panic  to  their  comrades.  The  ti- 
dings of  the  loss  soon  spread  over  the  field.  The 
Indians,  filled  with  consternation,  now  thought  oniy 
of  escape.  In  their  blind  terror,  their  numbers  aug- 
mented their  confusion.  They  trampled  on  one 
another,  fancying  it  was  the  enemy  in  their  rear.^ 

27  The  brave  cavalier  was  after-  28  The  historians  all  concur  in 

wards  permitted  by  the  Emperor  celebrating  this  glorious  achieve- 

Charles  V.  to  assume  this  trophy  ment  of  Cortes;    who,  concludes 

on  his  own   escutcheon,  in  com-  Gomara,  "  by  his  single  arm  saved 

memoration  of  his  exploit.    Bernal  the  whole  army  from  destruction." 

Diaz,  Hist,  de  la  Conquista,  cap.  See    Crdnica,  cap.    110.  —  Also, 
128. 


^ 


M^ 


Ch.  IV] 


GREAT  BATTLE  OF  OTUMBA. 


401 


The  Spaniards  and  Tlascalans  were  not  slow 
to  avail  themselves  of  the  marvellous  change  in 
their  afikirs.  Their  fatigue,  their  wounds,  hunger, 
thirst,  all  were  forgotten  in  the  eagerness  for  ven- 
geance ;  and  they  followed  up  the  flying  foe,  dealing 
death  at  every  stroke,  and  taking  ample  retribution 
for  all  they  had  suffered  in  the  bloody  marshes  of 
Mexico.^^  Long  did  they  pursue,  till,  the  enemy 
having  abandoned  the  field,  they  returned  sated 
with  slaughter  to  glean  the  booty  which  he  had  left. 
It  was  great,  for  the  ground  was  covered  with  the 
bodies  of  chiefs,  at  whom  the  Spaniards,  in  obe- 
dience to  the  general's  instructions,  had  particularly 
aimed ;  and  their  dresses  displaj^ed  all  the  barbaric 
pomp  of  ornament,  in  which  the  Indian  warrior  de- 
lighted.^ When  his  men  had  thus  indemnified 
themselves,  in  some  degree,  for  their  late  reverses, 
Cortes  called  them  again  under  their  banners ;  and, 


Sahagun,  Hist,  de  Nueva  Espana, 
MS.,  lib.  12,  cap.  27.  —  Camargo, 
Hist,  de  Tlascala,  MS.  —  Bernal 
Diaz,  Hist,  de  la  Conquista,  cap. 
128.— Oviedo,  Hist,  de  las  Ind., 
MS.,  lib.  33,  cap.  47.  — Herrera, 
Hist.  General,  dec.  2,  lib.  10,  cap. 
13.  —  IxtliJxochitl,  Hist.  Chich., 
MS.,  cap.  89. 

The  brief  and  extremely  modest 
notice  of  the  affair  in  the  general's 
own  letter  forms  a  beautiful  con- 
trast to  the  style  of  panegyric  by 
others.  "  ti  con  este  trabajo  fui- 
mos  mucha  parte  de  el  dia,  hasta 
que  quiso  Dies,  que  murio  una 
Persona  de  ellos,  que   debia  ser 


tan  Principal,  que  con  su  rauerte 
ceso  toda  aquella  Guerra.''  Rel. 
Seg.,  ap.  Lorenzana,  p.  148. 

29  "  Pues  a  nosotros,"  says  the 
doughty  Captain  Diaz,  "  no  nos 
dolian  las  heridas,  ni  teniamos 
hambre,  ni  sed,  sine  que  parecia 
que  no  auiamos  auido,  ni  passado 
ningun  mal  trabajo.  Seguimos  la 
vitoria  matando,  6  hiriendo.  Pues 
nuestros  amigos  los  de  Tlascala 
estavan  hechos  vnos  leones,  y  con 
sus  espadas,  y  montantes,  y  otrai 
armas  que  alii  apafiaron,  hazianlo 
muy  bie  y  esforgadamente."  Hist. 
de  la  Conquista,  loc.  cit. 

30  Ibid.,  ubi  supra. 


VOL.  n. 


51 


i-02  EXPULSION  FROM   MEXICO.  [Book   V 

after  offering  up  a  grateful  acknowledgement  to  the 
Lord  of  Hosts  for  their  miraculous  preservation,^^ 
they  renewed  their  march  across  the  now  deserted 
valley.  The  sun  was  declining  in  the  heavens,  but, 
before  the  shades  of  evening  had  gathered  around, 
tJiey  reached  an  Indian  temple  on  an  eminence, 
which  afforded  a  strong  and  commodious  position  for 
the  night. 

Such  was  the  famous  battle  of  Otompan,  —  or 
Otumba,  as  commonly  called,  from  the  Spanish  cor- 
ruption of  the  name.  It  was  fought  on  the  8th  of 
July,  1520.  The  whole  amount  of  the  Indian  force 
is  reckoned  by  Castilian  writers  at  two  hundred 
thousand !  that  of  the  slain  at  twenty  thousand  ! 
Those  who  admit  the  first  part  of  the  estimate  will 
find  no  difficulty  in  receiving  the  last.^^  It  is  about 
as  difficult  to  form  an  accurate  calculation  of  the 
numbers  of  a  disorderly  savage  multitude,  as  of  the 
pebbles  on  the  beach,  or  the  scattered  leaves  in  au- 
tumn. Yet  it  was,  undoubtedly,  one  of  the  most 
remarkable   victories   ever    achieved    in    the    New 

31  The  belligerent  apostle  St.  ter.    (Hist.  Chich.,  MS.,  cap.  89.) 

James,  riding,  as  usual,  his  milk-  Voltaire  sensibly  remarks,  "  Ceux 

white  courser,  came  to  the  rescue  qui  ont  fait  les  relations   de  ces 

on  this  occasion ;   an  event  com-  ^tranges  ^v^nemens  les  ont  voulu 

memorated  by  the  dedication  of  a  relever  par  des  miracles,  qui  ne 

hermitage  to  him,  in  the  neigh-  servent  en  effet  qu'a  les  rabaisser. 

bourhood.      (Camargo,  Hist,   de  Le  vrai  miracle  fut  la  conduite  de 

Tlascala.)     Diaz,  a  skeptic  on  for-  Cort^."     Voltaire,  Essai  sur  les 

mer  occasions,  admits  his  indubi-  Mceurs,  chap.  147. 

table  appearance  on  this.     (Ibid.,  32  gee  Oviedo,  Hist,  de  las  Ind., 

ubi    supra.)      According    to    the  MS.,  lib.  33,  cap.  47.  — Herrera, 

Tezcucan  chronicler,  he  was  sup-  Hist.  General,  dec.  2,  lib.  10,  cap. 

ported  by  the  Virgin  and  St.  Pe-  13. —Gomara,  Crdnica,  cap.  110. 


Un.  IV.]       GREAT  BATTLE  OF  OTUMBA.         403 

World.  And  this,  not  merely  on  account  of  the 
disparity  of  the  forces,  but  of  their  unequal  condi- 
tion. For  the  Indians  were  in  all  their  strength, 
while  the  Christians  were  wasted  by  disease,  fam- 
ine, and  long  protracted  sufferings ;  without  cannon 
or  fire-arms,  and  deficient  in  the  military  apparatus 
which  had  so  often  struck  terror  into  their  barbarian 
foe,  —  deficient  even  in  the  terrors  of  a  victorious 
name.  But  they  had  discipline  on  their  side,  des- 
perate resolve,  and  implicit  confidence  in  their  com- 
mander. That  they  should  have  triumphed  against 
such  odds  furnishes  an  inference  of  the  same  kind 
as  that  established  by  the  victories  of  the  Euro 
pean  over  the  semi-civilized  hordes  of  Asia. 

Yet  even  here  all  must  not  be  referred  to  superior 
discipline  and  tactics.  For  the  battle  would  cer- 
tainly have  been  lost,  had  it  not  been  for  the  fortu- 
nate death  of  the  Indian  general.  And,  although 
the  selection  of  the  victim  may  be  called  the  result 
of  calculation,  yet  it  was  by  the  most  precarious 
chance  that  he  was  thrown  in  the  way  of  the  Span- 
iards. It  is,  indeed,  one  among  many  examples  of 
the  influence  of  fortune  in  determining  the  fate  of 
military  operations.  The  star  of  Cortes  was  in  the 
ascendant.  Had  it  been  otherwise,  not  a  Spaniard 
would  have  survived  that  day,  to  tell  the  bloody  tal« 
of  the  batde  of  Otumba. 


r 


CHAPTER  V. 

Arrival  in  Tlascala. — Friendly  Reception.  —  Discontents  of 
THE  Army. — Jealousy  of  the  Tlascalans. — Embassy  from 
Mexico. 


1520. 


On  the  following  morning,  the  army  broke  up  its 
encampment  at  an  early  hour.  The  enemy  do  not 
seem  to  have  made  an  attempt  to  rally.  Clouds  of 
skirmishers,  however,  were  seen  during  the  morning, 
keeping  at  a  respectful  distance,  though  occasionally 
venturing  near  enough  to  salute  the  Spaniards  with 
a  volley  of  missiles. 

On  a  rising  ground  they  discovered  a  fountain,  a 
blessing  not  too  often  met  with  in  these  arid  regions, 
and  gratefully  commemorated  by  the  Christians,  for 
the  refreshment  afforded  by  its  cool  and  abundant 
waters.^  A  little  further  on  they  descried  the  rude 
works  which  served  as  the  bulwark  and  boundary  of 


^  Is  it  hot  the  same  fountain  of 
which  Tortkiio  makes  honorable 
mention  in  his  topographical  ac- 
count of  the  country  1  "  Nace  en 
TIaxcala  una  fuente  grande  k  la 
parte  del  Norte,  cinco  leguas  do  la 
principal  ciudad  ;  nace  en  un  pue- 
blo que   se  llama  Azumba,  que 


en  su  lengua  quiere  decir  cabeza, 
y  asl  es,  porque  esta  fuente  es 
3abeza  y  principio  del  mayor  rio 
de  los  que  entran  en  la  mar  del 
Sur,  el  cual  entra  en  la  mar  por 
Zacatula."  Hist,  de  los  Indies. 
MS.,  Parte  3,  cap.  16. 


ch.  v.]  arrival  in  tlascala.  40o 

the  Tlascalan  territory.  At  the  sight,  the  allies 
sent  up  a  joyous  shout  of  congratulation,  in  which 
the  Spaniards  heartily  joined,  as  they  felt  they  were 
soon  to  be  on  friendly  and  hospitable  ground. 

But  these  feelings  were  speedily  followed  by  oth- 
ers of  a  different  nature ;  and,  as  they  drew  nearer 
the  territory,  their  minds  were  disturbed  with  the 
most  painful  apprehensions  as  to  their  reception  by 
the  people  among  whom  they  were  bringing  desola- 
tion and  mourning,  and  who  might  so  easily,  if  ill- 
disposed,  take  advantage  of  their  present  crippled 
condition.  "  Thoughts  like  these,"  says  Cortes, 
"  weighed  as  heavily  on  my  spirit  as  any  which  1 
ever  experienced  in  going  to  battle  with  the  Az- 
tecs."^ Still  he  put,  as  usual,  a  good  face  on  the 
matter,  and  encouraged  his  men  to  confide  in  their 
allies,  whose  past  conduct  had  afforded  every  ground 
for  trusting  to  their  fidelity  in  future.  He  cautioned 
them,  however,  as  their  own  strength  was  so  much 
impaired,  to  be  most  careful  to  give  no  umbrage,  or 
ground  for  jealousy,  to  their  high-spirited  allies. 
^*Be  but  on  your  guard,"  continued  the  intrepid 
general,  "  and  we  have  still  stout  hearts  and  strong 
hands  to  carry  us  through  the  midst  of  them ! "  ^ 


*  *'El  qual  pensamiento,  y  sos-  otra  cosa  fuesse,  lo  que  Dios  no 

pecha  nos  piiso  en  tanta  afliccion,  permita,  que  nos  han  do  tornar  k 

quanta  trahiamos  viniendo  pelean-  andar  los  puflos  con  cora^ones  fu- 

do  con  los  de  Culua."     Rel.  Sag.  ertes,  y  bragos  vigorosos,  y  que 

de  Cort6s,  ap.  Lorenzana,  p.  149.  para  esso  fuessemos  muy  aperci- 

3  *' Y  mas  dixo,  que  tenia  es-  bides."     Bernal  Diaz,  Hist,  de  la 

peranga  en  Dios  que  los  hallaria-  Conqnista,  cap.  128. 
mos  buenos,  y  leales  ;   €  que  si 


406  EXPULSION  FROM  MEXICO.  [Book  V. 

With  these  anxious  surmises,  bidding  adieu  to  the 
Aztec  domain,  the  Christian  army  crossed  the  fron- 
tier, and  once  more  trod  the  soil  of  the  Republic. 

The  first  place  at  which  they  halted  was  the 
town  of  Huejotlipan,  a  place  of  about  twelve  or 
fifteen  thousand  inhabitants.^  They  were  kindly 
greeted  by  the  people,  who  came  out  to  receive 
them,  inviting  the  troops  to  their  habitations,  and 
administering  all  the  relief  of  their  simple  hospitali- 
ty. Yet  this  was  not  so  disinterested,  according  to 
some  of  the  Spaniards,  as  to  prevent  their  expecting 
in  requital  a  share  of  the  plunder  taken  in  the  late 
action.^  Here  the  weary  forces  remained  two  or 
three  days,  when  the  news  of  their  arrival  having 
reached  the  capital,  not  more  than  four  or  five  leagues 
distant,  the  old  chief,  Maxixca,  their  efficient  friend 
on  their  former  visit,  and  Xicotencatl,  the  young 
warrior,  who,  it  will  be  remembered,  had  commanded 
the  troops  of  his  nation  in  their  bloody  encounters 
with  the  Spaniards,  came  with  a  numerous  concourse 
of  the  citizens  to  welcome  the  fugitives  to  Tlascala. 
Maxixca,  cordially  embracing  the  Spanish  com- 
mander, testified  the  deepest  sympathy  for  his  mis- 
fortunes. That  the  white  men  could  so  long  have 
withstood  the  confederated  power  of  the  Aztecs 
was   proof    enough    of    their    marvellous    prowess. 

*  Called  Gualipan  by  Cortes.  Thoan  Cano,  however,  one  of 
(Ibid.,  p.  149.)  An  Aztec  would  the  army,  denies  this,  and  asserts 
have  found  it  hard  to  trace  the  that  the  natives  received  them  like 
route  of  his  enemies  by  their  itin-  their  children,  and  would  take  no 
eranes.  recompense.    (See  Appendix,  Pari 

*  Ibid.,  ubi  supra.  2,  No.  II.) 


Ch.  v.] 


FRIENDLY   RECEPTION. 


407 


'*  We  have  made  common  cause  together,"  said  the 
lord  of  Tlascala,  "  and  we  have  common  injuries  to 
avenge;  and,  come  weal  or  come  woe,  be  assured 
we  will  prove  true  and  loyal  friends,  and  stand  by 
you  to  the  death."  ^ 

This  cordial  assurance  and  sympathy,  from  one 
who  exercised  a  control  over  the  public  counsels  be- 
yond any  other  ruler,  effectually  dispelled  the  doubts 
that  lingered  in  the  mind  of  Cortes.  He  readily 
accepted  his  invitation  to  continue  his  march,  at 
once,  to  the  capital,  where  he  would  find  so  much 
better  accommodations  for  his  army,  than  in  a  small 
town  on  the  frontier.  The  sick  and  wounded, 
placed  in  hammocks,  were  borne  on  the  shoulders  of 
the  friendly  natives ;  and,  as  the  troops  drew  near 
the  city,  the  inhabitants  came  flocking  out  in  crowds 
to  meet  them,  rending  the  air  with  joyous  acclama- 
tions, and  wild  bursts  of  their  rude  Indian  minstrelsy. 
Amidst  the  general  jubilee,  however,  were  heard 
sounds  of  wailing  and  sad  lament,  as  some  unhappy 
relative  or  friend,  looking  earnestly  into  the  dimin- 
ished files  of  their  countrymen,  sought  in  vain  for 
some  dear  and  familiar  countenance,  and,  as  they 
turned  disappointed  away,  gave  utterance  to  their 
sorrow  in  tones  that  touched  the  heart  of  every  soldier 
in  the  army.  With  these  mingled  accompaniments 
of  joy  and  woe,  —  the  motley  web  of  human  life,  — 


'  '*  Y  que  tubiesse  por  cierto,    Rel.  Seg.  de  Cortes,  ap.  Lo; 
que  me  serian  muy  ciertos,  y  ver-     na,  p.  150. 
daderos  Amigos,  hasta  la  muerte." 


408  EXPULSION   FROM   MEXICO.  [Book  V. 

the  way-worn  columns  of  Cortes  at  length  reentered 
the  republican  capital/ 

The  general  and  his  suite  were  lodged  in  the  rude, 
but  spacious,  palace  of  Maxixca.  The  rest  of  the 
army  took  up  their  quarters  in  the  district  over 
which  the  Tlascalan  lord  presided.  Here  they  con- 
tinued several  weeks,  until,  by  the  attentions  of  the 
hospitable  citizens,  and  such  medical  treatment  as 
their  humble  science  could  supply,  the  wounds  of  the 
soldiers  were  healed,  and  they  recovered  from  the 
debility  to  which  they  had  been  reduced  by  their 
long  and  unparalleled  sufferings.  Cortes  was  one  of 
those  who  suffered  severely.  He  lost  the  use  of  two 
of  the  fingers  of  his  left  hand.^  He  had  received, 
besides,  two  injuries  on  the  head  ;  one  of  which  was 
so  much  exasperated  by  his  subsequent  fatigues  and 
excitement  of  mind,  that  it  assumed  an  alarming 


7  Camargo,  Hist,  de  Tlascala,  8  <<Yo  assimismo  quede  manco 
MS.  —  Bernal  Diaz,  Hist,  de  la  de  dos  dedos  de  la  mano  izquier- 
Conquista,  ubi  supra.  — "  Sobre-  da"  —  is  Cortes'  own  expression 
vinieron  las  mugeres  Tlascaltecas,  in  his  letter  to  the  emperor.  (Rel. 
y  todas  puestas  de  luto,  y  llorando  Seg.,  ap.  Lorenzana,  p.  152.) 
a  donde  estaban  los  Espaiioles,  las  Don  Thoan  Cano,  however,  whose 
Unas  preguntaban  por  sus  maridos,  sympathies  —  from  his  Indian  al- 
ias otras  por  sus  hijos  y  hermanos,  liance,  perhaps  —  seem  to  have 
las  otraa  por  sus  parientes  que  ha-  been  quite  as  much  with  the  Az- 
bian  ido  con  los  Espanoles,  y  que-  tecs  as  with  his  own  countrymen, 
daban  todos  allSi  muertos:  no  es  assured  Oviedo,  who  was  lamenting 
menos,  sine  que  de  esto  llanto  the  general's  loss,  that  he  might 
caus6  gran  sentimiento  en  el  cora-  spare  his  regrets,  since  Cortes  had 
zon  del  Capitan,  y  de  todos  los  as  many  fingers  on  his  hand,  at 
Espafioles,  y  61  procur6  lo  mejor  that  hour,  as  when  he  came  from 
que  pudo  consolarles  por  medio  de  Castile.  (See  Appendix,  Part  2, 
suslnt^rpretes."  Sahagun,  Ilist.  iVb,  11.)  May  not  the  word  man- 
de  Nueva  EspaFia,  MS.,  lib.  12,  co,  in  his  letter,  be  rendered  by 
cap.  28.  "maimed"? 


■%' 


Ch.  v.]  friendly  reception.  409 

appearance.  A  part  of  the  bone  was  obliged  to  be 
removed.^  A  fever  ensued,  and  for  several  days  the 
hero,  who  had  braved  danger  and  death  in  their  most 
terrible  forms,  lay  stretched  on  his  bed,  as  helpless 
as  an  infant.  His  excellent  constitution,  however, 
got  the  better  of  disease,  and  he  was,  at  length,  once 
more  enabled  to  resume  his  customary  activity. — 
The  Spaniards,  with  politic  generosity,  requited  the 
hospitality  of  their  hosts  by  sharing  with  them  the 
spoils  of  their  recent  victory,  and  Cortes  especially 
rejoiced  the  heart  of  Maxixca,  by  presenting  him 
with  the  military  trophy  which  he  had  won  from  the 
Indian  commander.^^ 

But  while  the  Spaniards  were  thus  recruiting  their 
health  and  spirits  under  the  friendly  treatment  of 
their  allies,  and  recovering  the  confidence  and  tran 
quillity  of  mind  which  had  sunk  under  their  hard 
reverses,  they  received  tidings,  from  time  to  time, 
which  showed  that  their  late  disaster  had  not  been 
confined  to  the  Mexican  capital.  On  his  descent 
from  Mexico  to  encounter  Narvaez,  Cortes  had 
brought  with  him  a  quantity  of  gold,  which  he  left 
for  safe  keeping  at  Tlascala.  To  this  was  added  a 
considerable  sum,  collected  by  the  unfortunate  Ve- 
lasquez de  Leon,  in  his  expedition  to  the  coast,  as 
well  as  contributions  from  other  sources.     From  the 

9  "  Hiri^ron  a  Cortes  con  Hon-        10  Herrera,  Hist.  General,  dec. 
da  tan  mal,  que  se  le  pasm6  la    2,  lib.  10,  cap.  13. — Bernal  Dias, 
Cabega,  6  porque  no  le  curaron    Ibid.,  ubi  supra, 
bien,  sac&ndolc  Cascos,  6  por  el 
demasiado  trabajo  que  paso."    Go- 
mara,  Crdnica,  oap.  110. 

VOL.    II.  52 


410  EXPULSION   FROM  MEXICO.  [Book  V. 

unquiet  state  of  the  capital,  the  general  thought  it 
best,  on  his  return  there,  still  to  leave  the  treasure 
under  the  care  of  a  number  of  invalid  soldiers,  who, 
when  in  marching  condition,  w^ere  to  rejoin  him  in 
Mexico.  A  party  from  Vera  Cruz,  consisting  of  five 
horsemen  and  forty  foot,  had  since  arrived  at  Tlas- 
cala,  and,  taking  charge  of  the  invalids  and  treasure, 
undertook  to  escort  them  to  the  capital.  He  now 
learned  that  they  had  been  intercepted  on  the  route, 
and  all  cut  off,  with  the  entire  loss  of  the  treasure. 
Twelve  other  soldiers,  marching  in  the  same  direc- 
tion, had  been  massacred  in  the  neighbouring  prov- 
ince of  Tepeaca  ;  and  accounts  continually  arrived 
of  some  unfortunate  Castilian,  who,  presuming  on 
the  respect  hitherto  shown  to  his  countrymen,  and 
ignorant  of  the  disasters  in  the  capital,  had  fallen  a 
victim  to  the  fury  of  the  enemy. ^^ 

These  dismal  tidings  filled  the  mind  of  Cortes 
with  gloomy  apprehensions  for  the  fate  of  the  set- 
tlement at  Villa  Rica,  —  the  last  stay  of  their 
hopes.  He  despatched  a  trusty  messenger,  at  once, 
to  that  place  ;  and  had  the  inexpressible  satisfaction 
to  receive  a  letter  in  return  from  the  commander  of 
the  garrison,  acquainting  him  with  the  safety  of  the 
colony,  and  its  friendly  relations  with  the  neighbour- 


ly Rel.  Seg.  de  Cortes,  ap.  Lo-  Juste   and  his  wretched  compan- 

renzana,  p.  150.  —  Oviedo,  Hist,  ions,  who  were  so  much  pinched 

de  las  Ind.,  MS.,  lib.  33,  cap.  15.  by  hunger,  that  they  were  obliged 

Herrera  gives  the  following  in-  to  give  a  solid  bar  of  gold,  weigh- 

sciiption,  cut  on  the  bark  of  a  tree  ing  eight  hundred  ducats,  for  a  few 

by  some  of  these  unfortunate  Span-  cakes  of  maize  bread."  Hist.  Gen 

iards.     "  By  this  road  passed  Juan  eral,  dec.  2,  lib.  \p,  cap.  13. 


ch.  v.]  discontents  of  the  army.  411 

ing  Totonacs.  It  was  the  best  guaranty  of  the 
fidelity  of  the  latter,  that  they  had  offended  the 
Mexicans  too  deeply  to  be  forgiven. 

While  the  affairs  of  Cortes  wore  so  gloomy  an 
aspect  without,  he  had  to  experience  an  annoyance 
scarcely  less  serious  from  the  discontents  of  his  fol- 
lowers. Many  of  them  had  fancied  that  their  late 
appalling  reverses  would  put  an  end  to  the  expedi- 
tion ;  or,  at  least,  postpone  all  thoughts  of  resuming 
it  for  the  present.  But  they  knew  little  of  Cortes 
who  reasoned  thus.  Even  while  tossing  on  his  bed 
of  sickness,  he  was  ripening  in  his  mind  fresh 
schemes  for  retrieving  his  honor,  and  for  recovering 
the  empire  which  had  been  lost  more  by  another's 
rashness  than  his  own.  This  was  apparent,  as  he 
became  convalescent,  from  the  new  regulations  he 
made  respecting  the  army,  as  well  as  from  the  orders 
sent  to  Vera  Cruz  for  fresh  reinforcements. 

The  knowledge  of  all  this  occasioned  much  db- 
quietude  to  the  disaffected  soldiers.  They  were,  for 
the  most  part,  the  ancient  followers  of  Narvaez,  on 
whom,  as  we  have  seen,  the  brunt  of  the  war  had 
fallen  the  heaviest.  Many  of  them  possessed  prop- 
erty in  the  Islands,  and  had  embarked  on  this  expe- 
dition chiefly  from  the  desire  of  increasing  it.  But 
they  had  gathered  neither  gold  nor  glory  in  Mexico. 
Their  present  service  filled  them  only  with  disgust ; 
and  the  few,  comparatively,  who  had  been  so  fortu- 
nate as  to  survive,  languished  to  return  to  their  rich 
mines  and  pleasant  farms  in  Cuba,  bitterly  cursing 
the  day  when  they  had  left  them. 


412  EXPULSION   FROM  MEXICO.  [Book  V. 

Finding  their  complaints  little  heeded  by  the  gen- 
eral, they  prepared  a  written  remonstrance,  in  which 
they  made  their  demand  more  formally.  They  rep- 
resented the  rashness  of  persisting  in  the  enterprise 
in  his  present  impoverished  state,  without  arms  or 
ammunition,  almost  without  men;  and  this,  too, 
against  a  powerful  enemy,  who  had  been  more  than 
a  match  for  him  with  all  the  strength  of  his  late 
resources.  It  was  madness  to  think  of  it.  The 
attempt  would  bring  them  all  to  the  sacrifice-block. 
Their  only  course  was  to  continue  their  march  to 
V^era  Cruz.  Every  hour  of  delay  might  be  fatal. 
The  garrison  in  that  place  might  be  overwhelmed 
from  want  of  strength  to  defend  itself;  and  thus 
their  last  hope  would  be  annihilated.  But,  once 
there,  they  might  wait  in  comparative  security  for 
such  reinforcements  as  would  join  them  from  abroad ; 
while  in  case  of  failure  they  could  the  more  easily 
make  their  escape.  They  concluded,  with  insisting 
on  being  permitted  to  return,  at  once,  to  the  port 
of  Villa  Rica.  This  petition,  or  rather  remon- 
strance, was  signed  by  all  the  disaffected  soldiers, 
and,  after  being  formally  attested  by  the  royal  nota- 
ry, was  presented  to  Cortes.  ^^ 

It  was  a  trying  circumstance  for  him.  What 
touched  him  most  nearly  was,  to  find  the  name  of 

^  One  is  reminded  of  the  simi-  continued  to  advance  from  the  am 
lar  remonstrance  made  by  Alex-  bition  of  indefinite  conquest,  while 
ander's  soldiers  to  him,  on  reach-  Cortes  was  only  bent  on  carrying 
ing  the  Hystaspis,  —  but  attended  out  his  original  enterprise.  What 
with  more  success  ;  as,  indeed,  was  madness  in  the  one  was  hero- 
was  reasonable.     For  Alexander  ism  in  the  other. 


Ch.  V.J  DISCONTENTS  OF  THE  ARMY.  413 

his  friend,  the  secretary  Duero,  to  whose  good  offices 
he  had  chiefly  owed  his  command,  at  the  head  of 
the  paper.  He  was  not,  however,  to  be  shaken 
from  his  purpose  for  a  moment ;  and  while  all  out- 
ward resources  seemed  to  be  fading  away,  and  his 
own  friends  faltered,  or  failed  him,  he  was  still  true 
to  himself.  He  knew  that  to  retreat  to  Vera  Cruz 
would  be  to  abandon  the  enterprise.  Once  there, 
his  army  would  soon  find  a  pretext  and  a  way  for 
breaking  up  and  returning  to  the  Islands.  All  his 
ambitious  schemes  would  be  blasted.  The  great 
prize,  already  once  in  his  grasp,  would  then  be  lost 
for  ever.     He  would  be  a  ruined  man. 

In  his  celebrated  letter  to  Charles  the  Fifth,  he 
says,  that,  in  reflecting  on  his  position,  he  felt  the 
truth  of  the  old  adage,  "that  fortune  favors  the 
brave.  The  Spaniards  were  the  followers  of  the 
Cross ;  and,  trusting  in  the  infinite  goodness  and 
mercy  of  God,  he  could  not  believe  that  He  would 
suffer  them  and  his  own  good  cause  thus  to  perish 
among  the  heathen.^^  He  was  resolved,  therefore, 
not  to  descend  to  the  coast,  but  at  all  hazards  to 
retrace  his  steps  and  beard  the  enemy  again  in  his 
capital." 

It  was  in  the  same  resolute  tone  that  he  answered 
his  discontented  followers.^^  He  urged  every  argu- 
es *'  Acordindome,  que  siempre  y  se  perdiesse  tanta,  y  tan  noble 
&  los  osados  ayuda  la  fortuna,  y  Tierra."  Rel.  Seg.,  ap.  Loren- 
que  eramos  Christianos  y  confian-  zana,  p.  152. 
do  en  la  grandissima  Bondad,  y  M  This  reply,  exclaims  Oviedo, 
Misericordia  de  Dies,  que  no  per-  showed  a  man  of  unconquerable 
mitiria,quedeltodopereciessemo3,    spirit,  and  high  destinies.     *' Pa- 


•^^ 


414  EXPULSION   FROM   MEXICO.  [Book  V. 

ment  which  Could  touch  their  pride  or  honor  as  cav- 
aliers. He  appealed  to  that  ancient  Castilian  valor 
which  had  never  been  known  to  falter  before  an 
(!nemy;  besought  them  not  to  discredit  the  great 
deeds  which  had  made  their  name  ring  throughout 
Europe  ;  not  to  leave  the  emprise  half  achieved,  for 
others  more  daring  and  adventurous  to  finish.  How 
could  they  with  any  honor,  he  asked,  desert  their 
allies  whom  they  had  involved  in  the  war,  and  leave 
them  unprotected  to  the  vengeance  of  the  Aztecs  ? 
To  retreat  but  a  single  step  towards  Villa  Rica 
would  be  to  proclaim  their  own  weakness.  It  would 
dishearten  their  friends,  and  give  confidence  to  their 
foes.  He  implored  them  to  resume  the  confidence 
in  him  which  they  had  ever  showed,  and  to  reflect, 
that,  if  they  had  recently  met  with  reverses,  he  had 
up  to  that  point  accomplished  all,  and  more  than  all, 
that  he  had  promised.  It  would  be  easy  now  to 
retrieve  their  losses,  if  they  would  have  patience, 
and  abide  in  this  friendly  land  until  the  reinforce- 
ments, which  would  be  ready  to  come  in  at  his 
call,  should  enable  them  to  act  on  the  offensive.  If, 
however,  there  were  any  so  insensible  to  the  motives 
which  touch  a  brave  man's  heart,  as  to  prefer  ease 
at  home,  to  the  glory  of  this  great  achievement,  he 
would  not  stand  in  their  way.  Let  them  go  in 
God's  name.  Let  them  leave  their  general  in  his 
extremity.     He  should  feel  stronger  in  the  service 

raceme  que  la  respuesta  que  &  esto  mo  invencible,  6  de  varon  de  mucha 
lc8  did  Hernando  Cort6s,  6  lo  que  suerte  6  valor."  Hist,  de  las  Ind., 
h»o  en  ello,  fu6  vna  cosa  de  4ni-    MS.,  lib.  33,  cap.  15. 


Ch.  v.]  jealousy   of  the  TLASCALAN8.  416 

of  a  few  brave  spirits,  than  if  surrounded  by  a  host 
of  the  false  or  the  faint-hearted.^^ 

The  disaffected  party,  as  already  noticed,  was 
chiefly  drawn  from  the  troops  of  Narvaez.  When 
the  general's  own  veterans  heard  this  appeal, ^^  their 
blood  warmed  with  indignation  at  the  thoughts  of 
abandoning  him  or  the  cause,  at  such  a  crisis.  They 
pledged  themselves  to  stand  by  him  to  the  last ;  and 
the  malecontents,  silenced,  if  not  convinced,  by  this 
generous  expression  of  sentiment  from  their  com- 
rades, consented  to  postpone  their  departure  for  the 
present,  under  the  assurance,  that  no  obstacle  should 
be  thrown  in  their  way,  when  a  more  favorable  sea- 
son should  present  itself. ^^ 

Scarcely  was  this  difficulty  adjusted,  when  Cortes 
was  menaced  with  one  more  serious,  in  the  jealousy 
springing  up  between  his  soldiers  and  their  Indian 


15  "  E  no  me  hable  ninguno  en  ^7  Por  the  account  of  this  tur- 

otracosa;  y  61  que  desta  opinion  bulent    transaction,    see     Bernal 

no  estubiere  vayase  en  buen  hora,  Diaz,  Hist,  de  la  Conquista,  cap. 

que  mas  holgar6  de  quedar  con  los  129,  —  Rel.  Seg.  de  Cortes,  ap. 

pocos  y  osados,  que  en  compaiiia  Lorenzana,  p.  152, — Oviedo,  Hist. 

de  muchos,  ni  de  ninguno  cobarde,  de  las  Ind.,  MS.,  lib.  33,  cap.  16, 

ni  desacordado  de  su  propia  hon-  — Gomara,    Crdnica,    cap.    112, 

ra."     Hist,  de  las  Ind.,  MS.,  loc.  113,  —  Herrera,    Hist.    Greneral, 

cit.  dec.  2,  lib.  10,  cap.  14. 

18  Oviedo  has  expanded  the  ha-  Diaz  is  exceedingly  wroth  with 
rangue  of  Cortes  into  several  pages,  the  chaplain,  Gomara,  for  not  d»- 
in  the  course  of  which  the  orator  criminating  between  the  old  soft- 
quotes  Xenophon,  and  borrows  diers  and  the  levies  of  Narraes, 
largely  from  the  old  Jewish  his-  whom  he  involves  equally  in  the 
tory,  a  style  of  eloquence  savoring  sin  of  rebellion.  The  captain*! 
much  more  of  the  closet  than  the  own  version  seems  a  fair  one,  and 
camp.  Cortds  was  no  pedant,  I  have  followed  it,  therefore,  in 
and  his  soldiers  were  no  scholars,  the  text. 


416  EXPULSION   FROM  MEXICO.  [Book  T. 

allies.  Notwithstanding  the  demonstrations  of  re- 
gard by  Maxixca  and  his  immediate  followers,  there 
ysere  others  of  the  nation  who  looked  with  an  evil 
eye  on  their  guests,  for  the  calamities  in  which  they 
had  involved  them ;  and  they  tauntingly  asked,  if,  in 
addition  to  this,  they  were  now  to  be  burdened  by 
the  presence  and  maintenance  of  the  strangers? 
These  sallies  of  discontent  were  not  so  secret  as  al- 
together to  escape  the  ears  of  the  Spaniards,  in  whom 
they  occasioned  no  little  disquietude.  They  pro- 
ceeded, for  the  most  part,  it  is  true,  from  persons  of 
little  consideration,  since  the  four  great  chiefs  of  the 
republic  appear  to  have  been  steadily  secured  to  the 
interests  of  Cortes.  But  they  derived  some  impor- 
tance from  the  countenance  of  the  warlike  Xicoten- 
catl,  in  whose  bosom  still  lingered  the  embers  of 
that  implacable  hostility  which  he  had  displayed  so 
courageously  on  the  field  of  battle ;  and  sparkles 
of  this  fiery  temper  occasionally  gleamed  forth  in  the 
intimate  intercourse  into  which  he  was  now  reluc- 
tantly brought  with  his  ancient  opponents. 

Cortes,  who  saw,  with  alarm,  the  growing  feel- 
ings of  estrangement,  which  must  sap  the  very  foun- 
dations on  which  he  was  to  rest  the  lever  for  future 
operations,  employed  every  argument  which  sug- 
gested itself,  to  restore  the  confidence  of  his  own 
men.  He  reminded  them  of  the  good  services  they 
had  uniformly  received  from  the  great  body  of  the 
nation.  They  had  a  sufficient  pledge  of  the  future 
constancy  of  the  Tlascalans  in  their  long  cherished 
hatred  of  the  Aztecs,  which  the  recent  disasters  they 


ch.  v.]         jealousy  of  the  tlascalans.  417 

had  suffered  from  the  same  quarter  could  serve  onlj 
to  sharpen.  And  he  urged  with  much  force,  that,  if 
any  evil  designs  had  been  meditated  by  them  against 
the  Spaniards,  the  Tlascalans  would,  doubtless,  have 
taken  advantage  of  their  late  disabled  condition,  and 
not  waited  till  thej  had  recovered  their  strength  and 
means  of  resistance.'^ 

While  Cortes  was  thus  endeavouring,  with  some- 
what doubtful  success,  to  stifle  his  own  apprehen- 
sions, as  well  as  those  in  the  bosoms  of  his  followers^ 
an  event  occurred  which  happily  brought  the  affair 
to  an  issue,  and  permanently  settled  the  relations  in 
which  the  two  parties  were  to  stand  to  each  other. 
This  will  make  it  necessary  to  notice  some  events 
which  had  occurred  in  Mexico,  since  the  expulsion 
of  the  Spaniards. 

On  Montezuma's  death,  his  brother,  Cuitlahua, 
lord  of  Iztapalapan,  conformably  to  the  usage  regu- 
lating the  descent  of  the  Aztec  crown,  was  chosen 
to  succeed  him.  He  was  an  active  prince,  of  large 
experience  in  military  affairs,  and,  by  the  strength 
of  his  character,  was  well  fitted  to  sustain  the  totter- 
ing fortunes  of  the  monarchy.  He  appears,  more- 
over, to  have  been  a  man  of  liberal,  and  what  may 
be  called  enlightened,  taste,  to  judge  from  the 
beautiful  gardens  which  he  had  filled  with  rare  ex- 
otics, and  which  so  much  attracted  the  admiration 
of  the  Spaniards  in  his  city  of  Iztapalapan.     Unlike 

18  Oviedo,  Hist,  de  las  Ind.,  cap.  14. — Sahagun,  Hiai.  da 
MS.,  lib.  33,  cap.  15.  — Herrera,  Nueva  Espafia,  MS.,  lib.  IS,  cap. 
Hist.   General,    dec.    2,  lib.    10,    29. 

VOL.    II.  53 


il8  EXPULSION  FROM  MEXICO.  [Book   V. 

his  predecessor,  he  held  the  white  men  in  detesta- 
tion ;  and  had,  probably,  the  satisfaction  of  celebrat- 
ing his  own  coronation  by  the  sacrifice  of  many  of 
them.  From  the  moment  of  his  release  from  the 
Spanish  quarters,  where  he  had  been  detained  by 
Cortes,  he  entered  into  the  patriotic  movements  of 
his  people.  It  was  he  who  conducted  the  assaults 
both  in  the  streets  of  the  city,  and  on  the  "Melan- 
choly Night" ;  and  it  was  at  his  instigation,  that  the 
powerful  force  had  been  assembled  to  dispute  the 
passage  of  the  Spaniards  in  the  Vale  of  Otumba.^^ 

Since  the  evacuation  of  the  capital,  he  had  been 
busily  occupied  in  repairing  the  mischief  it  had  re- 
ceived,—  restoring  the  buildings  and  the  bridges, 
and  putting  it  in  the  best  posture  of  defence.  He 
had  endeavoured  to  improve  the  discipline  and  arms 
of  his  troops.  He  introduced  the  long  spear  among 
them,  and,  by  attaching  the  sword-blades  taken  from 
the  Christians  to  long  poles,  contrived  a  weapon  that 
should  be  formidable  against  the  cavalry.  He  sum- 
moned his  vassals,  far  and  near,  to  hold  themselves 
in  readiness  to  march  to  the  relief  of  the  capital,  if 
necessary,  and,  the  better  to  secure  their  good-will, 
relieved  them  from  some  of  the  burdens  usually  laid 
on  them.     But  he  was  now  to  experience  the  insta- 


^9  Oviedo,   Hist,   de  las  Ind.,  captain  of  all  the   devils,  called 

MS.,  lib.  33,  cap.  47.  — Rel.  Seg.  Satan,  who  regulated  every  thing 

de  Cortes,  ap.  Lorenzana,  p.  166.  in  New  Spain  by  his  free  will  and 

—  Sahagun,  Hist,  de  Nueva  Es-  pleasure,  before  the  coming  of  the 

pafia,  MS.,  lib.  12,  cap.  27,  29.  Spaniards,"   according    to   father 

Or  rather,  it  was  "at  the  in-  Sahagun,  who  begins  his  chaptef 

stigation  of  the  great  Devil,  the  with  this  eloquent  exordium. 


ch.  v.]  embassy  from  MEXICO.  41-9 

bilitj  of  a  government  which  rested  not  on  love,  but 
on  fear.  The  vassals  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the 
Valley  remained  true  to  their  allegiance ;  but  others 
held  themselves  aloof,  uncertain  what  course  to 
adopt ;  while  others,  again,  in  the  more  distant  prov- 
inces, refused  obedience  altogether,  considering  this 
a  favorable  moment  for  throwing  off  the  yoke  which 
had  so  long  galled  them.^ 

In  this  emergency,  the  government  sent  a  deputa- 
tion to  its  ancient  enemies,  the  Tlascalans.  It  con- 
sisted of  six  Aztec  nobles,  bearing  a  present  of  cot- 
ton cloth,  salt,  and  other  articles  rarely  seen,  of  late 
years,  in  the  republic.  The  lords  of  the  state,  as- 
tonished at  this  unprecedented  act  of  condescension 
in  xhmh  ancient  foe,  called  the  council  or  senate  of 
the  great  chiefs  together,  to  give  the  envoys  au- 
dience. 

Before  this  body,  the  Aztecs  stated  the  purpose 
of  their  mission.  They  invited  the  Tlascalans  to 
bury  all  past  grievances  in  oblivion,  and  to  enter  into 
a  treaty  with  them.  All  the  nations  of  Anahuac 
should  make  common  cause  in  defence  of  their  coun- 
try against  the  white  men.  The  Tlascalans  would 
bring  down  on  their  own  heads  the  wrath  of  the 
gods,  if  they  longer  harboured  the  strangers  who 
had  violated  and  destroyed  their  temples.  If  they 
counted  on  the  support  and  friendship  of  their  guests, 
let  them  take  warning  from   the  fate  of  Mexico, 

•-»  Ixtlilxochitl,    Hist.    Chich.,    cap.  29. — Herrera,  Hist.  General 
MS.,  cap.   88.  —  Sahagun,  Hist.     dec.  2,  lib.  10,  cap.  19. 
de  Nueva  Espaiia,  MS.,  lib.  12, 


c 


} 


420  EXPULSION   FROxM   MEXICO.  [Book  V. 

which  had  received  them  kindly  within  its  walls,  and 
which,  in  return,  they  had  filled  with  blood  and 
ashes.  They  conjured  them,  by  their  reverence  for 
their  common  religion,  not  to  suffer  the  white  men, 
disabled  as  they  now  were,  to  escape  from  their 
hands,  but  to  sacrifice  them  at  once  to  the  gods, 
whose  temples  they  had  profaned.  In  that  event, 
they  proffered  them  their  alliance,  and  the  renewal 
ef  that  friendly  traffic  which  would  restore  to  the 
republic  the  possession  of  the  comforts  and  luxuries 
of  wMch  it  had  been  so  long  deprived. 

The  proposals  of  the  ambassadors  produced  dif- 
ferent effects  on  their  audience.  Xicotencatl  was 
for  embracing  them  at  once.  Far  better  was  it,  he 
said,  to  unite  with  their  kindred,  with  those  who 
held  their  own  language,  their  faith  and  usages,  than 
to  throw  themselves  into  the  arms  of  the  fierce  stran- 
gers, who,  however  they  might  talk  of  religion,  wor- 
shipped no  god  but  gold.  This  opinion  was  followed 
by  that  of  the  younger  warriors,  who  readily  caught 
the  fire  of  his  enthusiasm.  But  the  elder  chiefs,  es- 
pecially his  blind  old  father,  one  of  the  four  rulers  of 
the  state,  who  seem  to  have  been  all  heartily  in  the 
interests  of  the  Spaniards,  and  one  of  them,  Maxixca, 
their  stanch  friend,  strongly  expressed  their  aversion 
to  the  proposed  alliance  with  the  Aztecs.  They  were 
always  the  same,  said  the  latter,  —  fair  in  speech, 
and  false  in  heart.  They  now  proffered  friendship  to 
the  Tlascalans.  But  it  was  fear  which  drove  them 
to  it,  and,  when  that  fear  was  removed,  they  would 
return  to  their  old  hostility.     Who  was  it,  but  these 


Ch.  v.]  embassy   from   MEXICO.  ^l 

insidious  foes,  that  had  so  long  deprived  the  countrj 
of  the  very  necessaries  of  life,  of  which  tliey  were 
now  so  lavish  in  their  offers  ?  Was  it  not  owing  to 
the  white  men,  that  the  nation  at  length  possessed 
them  ?  Yet  they  were  called  on  to  sacrifice  the 
white  men  to  the  gods!  —  the  warriors  who,  after 
fighting  the  battles  of  the  TIascalans,  now  threw 
themselves  on  their  hospitality.  But  the  gods  ab- 
horred perfidy.  And  were  not  their  guests  the  very 
beings  whose  coming  had  been  so  long  predicted  by 
the  oracles  ?  Let  us  avail  ourselves  of  it,  he  con- 
cluded, and  unite  and  make  common  cause  with 
them,  until  we  have  humbled  our  haughty  enemy. 

This  discourse  provoked  a  sharp  rejoinder  from 
Xicotencatl,  till  the  passion  of  the  elder  chieftain  got 
the  better  of  his  patience,  and,  substituting  force  for 
argument,  he  thrust  his  younger  antagonist,  with 
some  violence,  from  the  council  chamber.  A  pro- 
ceeding so  contrary  to  the  usual  decorum  of  Indian 
debate  astonished  the  assembly.  But,  far  from 
bringing  censure  on  its  author,  it  effectually  silenced 
opposition.  Even  the  hot-headed  followers  of  Xico- 
tencatl shrunk  from  supporting  a  leader  who  had 
incurred  such  a  mark  of  contemptuous  displeasure 
from  the  ruler  whom  they  most  venerated.  His 
own  father  openly  condemned  him ;  and  the  patriotic 
}oung  warrior,  gifted  with  a  truer  foresight  into  fu 
turity  than  his  countrymen,  was  left  without  support 
in  the  council,  as  he  had  formerly  been  on  the  field 
of  battle.  —  The  proffered  alliance  of  the  Mexicans 
was  unanimously  rejected ;  and  the  envoys,  fearing 


422 


EXPULSION   FROM   MEXICO. 


[Book  V. 


that  even  the  sacred  character  with  which  they  were 
invested  might  not  protect  them  from  violence,  made 
their  escape  secretly  from  the  capital.^^ 

The  result  of  the  conference  was  of  the  last  im- 
portance to  the  Spaniards,  who,  in  their  present 
crippled  condition,  especially  if  taken  unawares, 
would  have  been,  probably,  at  the  mercy  of  the 
TIascalans.  At  all  events,  the  union  of  these  lat- 
ter with  the  Aztecs  would  have  settled  the  fate  of 
the  expedition;  since,  in  the  poverty  of  his  own 
resources,  it  was  only  by  adroitly  playing  off  one 
part  of  the  Indian  population  against  the  other,  that 
Cortes  could  ultimately  hope  for  success. 


21  The  proceedings  in  the  Tlas-  29,  —  Herrera,  Hist.  General,  dec. 

calan  senate  are  reported  in  mor5  2,  lib.  12,  cap.  14. 
or  less   detail,   but    substantially         See,  also,  Bernal  Diaz,  Hist,  de 

alike,  by  Caraargo,  Hist,  de  Tlas-  la  Conquista,  cap.  129,  — Gomara 

cala,  MS., — Sahagun,  Hist,  de  Cronica,  cap.  111. 
Nueva  Espana,  MS.,  lib.  12,  cap. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

War  with  the  surrounding  Tribes.  —  Successes  of  the  Spax- 
lARDs.  —  Death  of  Maxixca.  —  Arrival  of  Reinforcements. — 
Return  in  Triumph  to  Tlascala. 

1520. 

The  Spanish  commander,  reassured  by  the  result 
of  the  deliberations  in  the  Tlascalan  senate,  now 
resolved  on  active  operations,  as  the  best  means  of 
dissipating  the  spirit  of  faction  and  discontent  inev- 
itably fostered  by  a  life  of  idleness.  He  proposed 
to  exercise  his  troops,  at  first,  against  some  of  the 
neighbouring  tribes  who  had  laid  violent  hands  on 
such  of  the  Spaniards  as,  confiding  in  their  friendly 
spirit,  had  passed  through  their  territories.  Among 
these  were  the  Tepeacans,  a  people  often  engaged  in 
hostility  with  the  Tlascalans,  and  who,  as  mentioned 
in  a  preceding  Chapter,  had  lately  massacred  twelve 
Spaniards  in  their  march  to  the  capital.  An  expe- 
dition against  them  would  receive  the  ready  support 
of  his  allies,  and  would  assert  the  dignity  of  the 
Spanish  name,  much  dimpled  in  the  estimation  of 
the  natives  by  the  late  disasters. 

The  Tepeacans  were  a  powerful  tribe  of  the  same 
primitive  stock  as  the  Aztecs,  to  whom  they  ac- 
knowledged allegiance.     They  had  transferred  this 


424  EXPULSION   FROM  MEXICO.  [Book  V. 

to  the  Spaniards,  on  their  first  march  into  the  coun- 
try, intimidated  bj  the  bloody  defeats  of  their  Tlas- 
calan  neighbours.  But,  since  the  troubles  in  the 
capital,  they  had  again  submitted  to  the  Aztec  scep- 
tre. Their  capital,  now  a  petty  village,  was  a 
flourishing  city  at  the  time  of  the  Conquest,  situated 
in  the  fruitful  plains  that  stretch  far  away  towards 
the  base  of  Orizaba.^  The  province  contained, 
moreover,  several  towns  of  considerable  size,  filled 
with  a  bold  and  warlike  population. 

As  these  Indians  had  once  acknowledged  the 
authority  of  Castile,  Cortes  and  his  officers  regarded 
their  present  conduct  in  the  light  of  rebellion,  and, 
in  a  council  of  war,  it  was  decided  that  those  en- 
gaged in  the  late  massacre  had  fairly  incurred  the 
doom  of  slavery.^  Before  proceeding  against  them, 
however,  the  general  sent  a  summons  requiring  their 
submission,  and  offering  full  pardon  for  the  past,  but, 
in  case  of  refusal,  menacing  them  with  the  severest 
retribution.  To  this  the  Indians,  now  in  arms,  re- 
turned a  contemptuous  answer,  challenging  the 
Spaniards  to  meet  them  in  fight,  as  they  were  in 
want  of  victims  for  their  sacrifices. 

Cortes,  without  further  delay,  put  himself  at  the 
head  of  his  small  corps  of  Spaniards,  and  a  large 

1  The  Indian  name  of  the  capi-  comunic61o  con  todos  nuestros  Ca- 

tal,  —  the    same    as  that  of  the  pitanes,  y  soldados  :  y  fue  acorda- 

province,  —  Tcpejacac,   was    cor-  do,  que  se  hiziesse  vn  auto  por  an- 

nipted  by  the  Spaniards  into  Tepe-  te  Escriuano,  que  diesse  fe  de  todo 

aca.     It  must  be  admitted  to  have  lo  passado,  y  que  se  diessen  por 

gained  by  the  corruption.  csclauos."     Bernal  Diaz,  Hist,  de 

•  "  Y  como  aqncUo  vi6  Cort<Ss,  la  Conquista,  cup.  130. 


Ch.  VI.]     WAR  WITH  THE  SURROUNDING  TRIBES.         426 

reinforcement  of  Tlascalan  warriors.  They  were 
led  by  the  younger  Xicotencatl,  who  now  appeared 
willing  to  bury  his  recent  animosity,  and  desirous  to 
take  a  lesson  in  war  under  the  chief  who  had  so 
often  foiled  him  in  the  field. ^ 

The  Tepeacans  received  their  enemy  on  their  bor- 
ders. A  bloody  battle  followed,  in  which  the  Span  • 
ish  horse  were  somewhat  embarrassed  by  the  tall 
maize  that  covered  part  of  the  plain.  They  were 
successful  in  the  end,  and  the  Tepeacans,  after  hold- 
ing their  ground  like  good  warriors,  were  at  length 
routed  with  great  slaughter.  A  second  engagement, 
which  took  place  a  few  days  after,  was  followed 
by  like  decisive  results  ;  and  the  victorious  Span- 
iards with  their  allies,  marching  straightway  on  the 
city  of  Tepeaca,  entered  it  in  triumph.^  No  further 
resistance  was  attempted  by  the  enemy,  and  the 
whole  province,  to  avoid  further  calamities,  eagerly 
tendered  its  submission.  Cortes,  however,  inflicted 
the  meditated  chastisement  on  the  places  implicated 
in  the  massacre.  The  inhabitants  were  branded 
with  a  hot  iron  as  slaves,  and,  after  the  royal  fifth  had 
been  reserved,  were   distributed  between  his  own 

3  The   chroniclers  estimate  his  rouse  that  followed  one  of  their 

army  at  50,000  warriors  ;  one  half,  victories,  "  the  Indian  allies  had  a 

according  to  Horibio,  of  the  dispos-  grand  supper  of  legs  and   arms; 

able  military  force  of  the  repub-  for,  besides  an  incredible  number 

lie.     "  De  la  cual,  (Tlascala,)  co-  of  roasts  on  wooden  spits,  they  had 

mo  ya  tengo  dicho,  solian  salir  cien  fifty  thousand  pots  of  stewed  hu- 

mil  hombres  de  pelea."     Hist,  de  man  flesh! !  "  (Hist.  General,  dec. 

los  Indies,  MS.,  Parte  3,  cap.  16.  2,  lib.  10,  cap.  15.)     Such  a  bao- 

*  "That  night,"  says  the  cred-  quet  would  not  have  smelt  savory 

ulcus  Herrera,  speaking  of  the  ca-  in  the  nostrils  of  Cortes. 
VOL.    II.                       64 


426  EXPULSION   FROM  MEXICO.  [Book  V. 

men  and  the  allies.^  The  Spaniards  were  familiar 
with  the  system  of  repartimientos  established  in  the 
Islands ;  but  this  was  the  first  example  of  slavery  in 
New  Spain.  It  was  justified,  in  the  opinion  of  the 
general  and  his  military  casuists,  by  the  aggravated 
offences  of  the  party.  The  sentence,  however,  was 
not  countenanced  by  the  Crown,^  which,  as  the 
colonial  legislation  abundantly  shows,  was  ever  at 
issue  with  the  craving  and  mercenary  spirit  of  the 
colonist. 

Satisfied  with  this  display  of  his  vengeance,  Cor- 
tes now  established  his  head- quarters  at  Tepeaca, 
which,  situated  in  a  cultivated  country,  afforded  easy 
means  for  maintaining  an  army,  while  its  position  on 
the  Mexican  frontier  made  it  a  good  point  d^appui 
for  future  operations. 

The  Aztec  government,  since  it  had  learned  the 
issue  of  its  negotiations  at  Tlascala,  had  been  dili- 
gent in  fortifying  its  frontier  in  that  quarter.  The 
garrisons  usually  maintained  there  were  strength- 
ened, and  large  bodies  of  men  were  marched  in  the 
same  direction,  with  orders  to  occupy  the  strong  po- 
sitions on  the  borders.  The  conduct  of  these  troops 
was  in  their  usual  style  of  arrogance  and  extor- 
tion, and  greatly  disgusted  the  inhabitants  of  the 
country. 

Among  the  places  thus  garrisoned  by  the  Aztecs 

*  '•  Y  alii  hizi^ron  hazer  el  hier-  ra."     Bernal  Diaz,   Hist,   de  la 

ro  con  que  se  auian  de  herrar  los  Conquista,  cap.  130. 
que  se  tomauan  por  esclauos,  que        6  Soiis,  Conquista,  lib.  6,  cap. 

era  una  G.,  que  quiere  deeir  ffuer-  3. 


Ch.  VI.]     WAR  WITH  THE  SURROUNDING  TRIBES.         427 

was  Quauhquechollaii/  a  city  containing  thirty  thou- 
sand inhabitants,  according  to  the  historians,  and 
lying  to  the  south-west  twelve  leaguesor  more  from  the 
Spanish  quarters.  It  stood  at  the  extremity  of  a 
deep  valley,  resting  against  a  bold  range  of  hills,  or 
rather,  mountains,  and  flanked  by  two  rivers  with 
exceedingly  high  and  precipitous  banks.  The  only 
avenue,  by  which  the  town  could  be  easily  approach- 
ed, was  protected  by  a  stone  wall  more  than  twenty 
feet  high  and  of  great  thickness.^  Into  this  place, 
thus  strongly  defended  by  art  as  well  as  by  nature, 
the  Aztec  emperor  had  thrown  a  garrison  of  several 
thousand  warriors,  while  a  much  more  formidable 
force  occupied  the  heights  commanding  the  city. 

The  cacique  of  this  strong  post,  impatient  of  the 
Mexican  yoke^  sent  to  Cortes,  inviting  him  to  march 
to  his  relief,  and  promising  a  cooperation  of  the 
citizens  in  an  assault  on  the  Aztec  quarters.  The 
general  eagerly  embraced  the  proposal,  and  detached 
Christoval  de  Olid,  with  two  hundred  Spaniards  and 
a  strong  body  of  Tlascalans,  to  support  the  friendly 
cacique.^     On  the  way.  Olid  was  joined  by  many 


'  Called  by  the  Spaniards  Hua-  por  de  dentro  estd  casi  igual  con  el 
cachula,  and  spelt  with  every  con-  suelo.  Y  por  toda  la  Muralla  va  su 
ceivable  diversity  by  the  old  writ-  petril,  tan  alto,  como  medio  estado, 
era,  who  may  be  excused  for  stum-  para  pelear,  tiene  quatro  enlradas, 
bling  over  such  a  confusion  of  con-  tan  anchas,  como  uno  puede  en- 
sonants,  trar  a  Caballo."  Rel.  Seg.,  p.  162. 

8  "  Y  toda  la  Ciudad  estk  cer-        9  This  cavalier's  name  is  usual- 

cada  de  muy  fuerte  Muro  de  cal  y  ly  spelt  Olid  by  the  Chroniclers, 

canto,  tan  alto,  como  quatro  esta-  In  a  copy  of  his  own  signatute,  I 

dos  Dor  de  fuera  de  la  Ciudad  :  6  find  it  written  Oli. 


42t  EXPULSION  FROM   MEXICO.  [Book  V 

volunteers  from  the  Indian  city  and  from  the  neigh^ 
bouring  capital  of  Cholula,  all  equally  pressing  thgir 
services.  The  number  and  eagerness  of  these  aux- 
iliaries excited  suspicions  in  the  bosom  of  the  cava- 
lier. They  were  strengthened  by  the  surmises  of 
the  soldiers  of  Narvaez,  whose  imaginations  were 
still  haunted,  it  seems,  by  the  horrors  of  the  noche 
triste,  and  who  saw  in  the  friendly  alacrity  of  their 
new  allies  evidence  of  an  insidious  understanding 
with  the  Aztecs.  Olid,  catching  this  distrust,  made 
a  countermarch  on  Cholula,  where  he  seized  the 
suspected  chiefs,  who  had  been  most  forward  in 
offering  their  services,  and  sent  them  under  a  strong 
guard  to  Cortes. 

The  general,  after  a  careful  examination,  was 
satisfied  of  the  integrity  of  the  suspected  parties. 
He,  expressing  his  deep  regret  at  the  treatment  they 
had  received,  made  them  such  amends  as  he  could 
by  liberal  presents  ;  and,  as  he  now  saw  the  impro- 
priety of  committing  an  affair  of  such  importance  to 
other  hands,  put  himself  at  the  head  of  his  remain- 
ing force,  and  effected  a  junction  with  his  officer  in 
Cholula. 

He  had  arranged  with  the  cacique  of  the  city 
against  which  he  was  marching,  that,  on  the  appear- 
ance of  the  Spaniards,  the  inhabitants  should  rise 
on  the  garrison.  Every  thing  succeeded  as  he  had 
planned.  No  sooner  had  the  Christian  battalions 
defiled  on  the  plain  before  the  town,  than  the  inhab- 
itants attacked  the  garrison  with  the  utmost  fury. 
The  latter,  abandoning  the  outer  defences  of  the 


ch.  vi]   war  with  the  surrounding  tribes.      429 

place,  retreated  to  their  own  quarters  in  the  principal 
teocalli,  where  they  maintained  a  hard  struggle  with 
their  adversaries.  In  the  heat  of  it,  Cortes,  at  the 
head  of  his  little  body  of  horse,  rode  into  the  place, 
and  directed  the  assault  in  person.  The  Aztecs 
made  a  fierce  defence.  But  fresh  troops  constantly 
arriving  to  support  the  assailants,  the  works  were 
stormed,  and  every  one  of  the  garrison  was  put  to 
the  sword. ''^ 

The  Mexican  forces,  meanwhile,  stationed  on  the 
neighbouring  eminences,  had  marched  down  to  the 
support  of  their  countrymen  in  the  town,  and  formed 
in  order  of  battle  in  the  suburbs,  where  they  were 
encountered  by  the  Tlascalan  levies.  "They  mus- 
tered," says  Cortes,  speaking  of  the  enemy,  "at 
least,  thirty  thousand  men,  and  it  was  a  brave  sight 
for  the  eye  to  look  on, —  such  a  beautiful  array  of 
warriors  glistening  with  gold  and  jewels  and  varie- 
gated feather- work !  "^^  The  action  was  well  con- 
tested between  the  two  Indian  armies.  The  sub- 
urbs were  set  on  fire,  and,  in  the  midst  of  the  flames, 
Cortes  and  his  squadrons,  rushing  on  the  enemy,  at 
length  broke  their  array,  and  compelled  them  to  fall 
back  in  disorder  into  the  narrow  gorge  of  the  moun- 

1®  "I  should  have  been  very  glad  than  alive.*'  Rel.  Seg.  de  Cort^, 
to  have  taken  some  alive,"  says  ap.  Lorenzana,  p.  159. 
Cones,  "  who  could  have  inform-  l^  "  Y  &  ver  que  cosa  era  aque- 
ed  me  of  what  was  going  on  in  the  11a,  los  quales  eran  mas  de  treinta 
great  city,  and  who  had  been  lord  mil  Hombres,  y  la  maslucida  Gen- 
there  since  the  death  of  Montezu-  te,  que  hemos  visto,  porque  trahi 
ma.  But  I  succeeded  in  saving  an  muchas  Joyas  de  Oro,  y  Plata, 
onl)  one,  —  and  he  was  more  dead  y  Plumajes."    Ibid.,  p.  160 


430  EXPULSION  FROM  MEXICO.  [Book  V. 

tain,  from  which  they  had  lately  descended.  The 
pass  was  rough  and  precipitous.  Spaniards  and 
Tlascalans  followed  close  in  the  rear,  and  the  light 
troops,  scaling  the  high  wall  of  the  valley,  poured 
down  on  the  enemy's  flanks.  The  heat  was  intense, 
and  both  parties  were  so  much  exhausted  by  their 
efforts,  that  it  was  with  difficulty,  says  the  chronicler, 
that  the  one  could  pursue,  or  the  other  fly.^^  They 
were  not  too  weary,  however,  to  slay.  The  Mex- 
icans were  routed  with  terrible  slaughter.  They 
found  no  pity  from  their  Indian  foes,  who  had  a 
long  account  of  injuries  to  settle  with  them.  Some 
few  sought  refuge  by  flying  higher  up  into  the  fast- 
nesses of  the  sierra.  They  were  followed  by  their 
indefatigable  enemy,  until,  on  the  bald  summit  of 
the  ridge,  they  reached  the  Mexican  encampment. 
It  covered  a  wide  tract  of  ground.  Various  utensils, 
ornamented  dresses,  and  articles  of  luxury,  were 
scattered  round,  and  the  number  of  slaves  in  attend- 
ance showed  the  barbaric  pomp  with  which  the 
nobles  of  Mexico  went  to  their  campaigns.'^  It  was 
a  rich  booty  for  the  victors,  w^ho  spread  over  the 
deserted  camp,  and  loaded  themselves  with  the  spoil, 
until  the  gathering  darkness  warned  them  to  de- 
scend.'* 

^  "Alcanzando  muchos  per  una  13  <<  Porque  demas  de  la  Gente 

Cuesta  arriba  muy  agra ;  ytal,que  de  Guerra,  tenian  mucho  aparato 

quarido  acab&mos  de  encumbrar  la  de  Servidores,  y  fornecimiento  par 

Sierra,  ni  los  Enemigos,  ni  noso-  ra  su  Real."     Ibid.,  p.  160. 

tros  podiamos  ir  atras,  ni  adelante  :  i^  The  story  of  the  capture  of 

i  assi  cai^ron  muchos  de  ellos  mu-  this  strong  post  is  told  very  differ- 

ertos,  y  ahogados  de  la  calor,  sin  entlyby  Captain  Diaz.     According 

hcrida  ninguna."     Ibid.,  p.  160.  to  him,  Olid,  when  he  had  fallen 


Ch.  VI.]  SUCCESSES  OF  THE  SPANIARDS.  431 

Cortes  followed  up  the  blow  by  assaulting  the 
Strong  town  of  Itzocan,  held,  also,  by  a  Mexican 
garrison,  and  situated  in  the  depths  of  a  green  valley 
watered  by  artificial  canals,  and  smiling  in  all  the 
rich  abundance  of  this  fruitful  region  of  the  plateau.'^ 
The  place,  though  stoutly  defended,  was  stormed 
and  carried ;  the  Aztecs  were  driven  across  a  river 
which  ran  below  the  town,  and,  although  the  light 
bridges  that  traversed  it  were  broken  down  in  the 
flight,  whether  by  design  or  accident,  the  Spaniards, 
fording  and  swimming  the  stream  as  they  could, 
found  their  way  to  the  opposite  bank,  following  up 
the  chase  with  the  eagerness  of  bloodhounds.  Here, 
too,  the  booty  was  great ;  and  the  Indian  auxiliaries 
flocked  by  thousands  to  the  banners  of  the  chief 
who  so  surely  led  them  on  to  victory  and  plunder.*^ 

back  on  Cholula,  in  consequence  the  spot,  and  the  peculiar  facilities 

of  the  refusal  of  his  men  to  ad-  for  information  afforded  by  his  po- 

vance,  under  the  strong  suspicion  sition,  make  hira  decidedly  the  best 

which  they   entertained   of  some  authority. 

foul  practice  from  their  allies,  re-  15  Cortes,  with  an  eye  less  sen- 

ceived  such  a  stinging  rebuke  from  sible  to  the  picturesque  than  hi 

Cortes,    that    he    compelled     his  great  predecessor  in  the  track  ol 

troops  to  resume  their  march,  and,  discovery,  Columbus,  was  full  as 

attacking  the  enemy,  "  with  the  quick  in  detecting  the  capabilities 

fury    of  a  tiger,"  totally  routed  of  the  soil.     *'  Tiene  un  Valle  re- 

them.    (Hist,  de  la  Conquista,  cap.  dondo  muy  fertil  de  Frutas,  y  Al- 

132.)     But  this  version  of  the  af-  godon,  que  en  ninguna  parte  de 

fair  is  not  endorsed,  so  far  as  I  am  los  Puertos  arriba  se  hace  por  la 

aware,  by  any  contemporary.  Cor-  gran  frialdad  :  y  alii  es  Tierra  cali 

tes  is  so  compendious  in  his  report,  ente,  y  causalo,  que  est&  muy  abri- 

that  it  is  often  necessary  to  supply  gada  de  Sierras  ;  todo  este  Valle 

the  omissions  with  the  details  of  se  riega  por  muy  buenas  Azequi- 

other  writers.     But  where  he  ie  as,  que  tienen  muy  bien  sacadas, 

positive  in  his  statements,  — unless  y  concertadas."  Ibid.,  pp.  164, 165. 

there  be  some  reason  to  suspect  a  16  So   numerous,  according  to 

bias,  —  his  practice  of  writing  on  Cortes,  that  they  covered  hill  and 


432  EXPULSION  FROM   MEXICO.  [Book  V. 

Soon  afterwards,  Cortes  returned  to  his  head- 
quarters at  Tepeaca.  Thence  he  detached  his  offi- 
cers on  expeditions  which  were  usually  successful. 
Sandoval,  in  particular,  marched  against  a  large 
body  of  the  enemy  lying  between  the  camp  and 
Vera  Cruz ;  defeated  them  in  two  decisive  battles, 
and  thus  restored  the  communications  with  the  port. 

The  result  of  these  operations  was  the  reduction 
of  that  populous  and  cultivated  territory  which  lies  be- 
tween the  great  volcan,  on  the  west,  and  the  mighty  . 
skirts  of  Orizaba,  on  the  east.  Many  places,  also, 
in  the  neighbouring  province  of  Mixtecapan  ac- 
knowledged the  authority  of  the  Spaniards,  and 
others  from  the  remote  region  of  Oaxaca  sent  to 
claim  their  protection.  The  conduct  of  Cortes  to- 
wards his  allies  had  gained  him  great  credit  for  dis- 
interestedness and  equity.  The  Indian  cities  in  the 
adjacent  territory  appealed  to  him,  as  their  umpire, 
in  their  differences  with  one  another,  and  cases  of 
disputed  succession  in  their  governments  were  re- 
ferred to  his  arbitration.  By  his  discreet  and  mod- 
erate policy,  he  insensibly  acquired  an  ascendency 
over  their  counsels,  which  had  been  denied  to  the 
ferocious  Aztec.  His  authority  extended  wider  and 
wider  every  day;  and  a  new  empire  grew  up,  in 
the  very  heart  of  the  land,  forming  a  counterpoise  to 


dale,  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  meration,  it  will  be  as  safe  to  sub- 

muateriiig  more  than   a  hundred  stitute  "  a  multitude,"  "  a  great 

and  twenty  thousand  strong!  (Ibid.,  force,"  &c.,  trusting  the  amount 

p.  162.)  When  the  Conquerors  at-  to  the  reader's  own  imagination 
tempt  any  thing  like  a  precise  nu- 


Ch.  VI.]  SUCCESSES  OF  THE  SPANIARDS. 

the   colossal   power  which   had   so  long  overshad- 
owed it.^'^ 

Cortes  now  felt  himself  strong  enough  to  put  in 
execution  the  plans  for  recovering  the  capital,  over 
which  he  had  been  brooding  ever  since  the  hour 
of  his  expulsion.  He  had  greatly  undervalued  the 
resources  of  the  Aztec  monarchy.  He  was  now 
aware,  from  bitter  experience,  that,  to  vanquish  it,  his 
own  forces,  and  all  he  could  hope  to  muster,  would 
be  incompetent,  without  a  very  extensive  support 
from  the  Indians  themselves.  A  large  army  would, 
moreover,  require  large  supplies  for  its  maintenance, 
and  these  could  not  be  regularly  obtained,  during  a 
protracted  siege,  without  the  friendly  cooperation  of 
the  natives.  On  such  support  he  might  now  safely 
calculate  from  Tlascala,  and  the  other  Indian  territo- 
ries, whose  warriors  were  so  eager  to  serve  under  his 
banners.  His  past  acquaintance  with  them  had  in- 
structed him  in  their  national  character  and  system 
of  war ;  while  the  natives  who  had  fought  under  his 
command,  if  they  had  caught  litde  of  the  Spanish 
tactics,  had  learned  to  act  in  concert  with  the  white 
men,  and  to  obey  him  implici dy  as  their  commander. 
This  was  a  considerable  improvement  in  such  wild 

^7  For  the  hostilities  with  the  16, —  Ixtlilxochitl,  Hist.  Chich  , 

Indian  tribes,  noticed  in  the  prece-  MS.,  cap.  90,  —  BernalDiaz,  Hist. 

ding-  pages,  see,  in  addition  to  the  dela  Conquista,cap.  130, 132, 134, 

Letter  of  Cortes,  so  often  cited,  — Gomara,Cr6nica,  cap.  114-117, 

Oviedo,  Hist,  de  las  Ind.,  MS.,  — P.  Martyr,  De  Orbe  Novo,  dec. 

lib.  33,  cap.  15, — Herrera,  Hist.  5,  cap.  6,  —  Camargo,  Hist,  de 

General,  dec.  2,  lib.  10,  cap.  15,  Tlascala,  MS. 

VOL.    II.  55 


434  EXPULSION  FROM  MEXICO.  [Book  V 

and   disorderly  levies,  and   greatly  augmented   the 
strength  derived  from  numbers. 

Experience  showed,  that,  in  a  future  conflict  with 
the  capital,  it  would  not  do  to  tmst  to  the  cause- 
ways, but  that,  to  succeed,  he  must  command  the 
lake.  He  proposed,  therefore,  to  build  a  number  of 
vessels  like  those  constructed  under  his  orders  in 
Montezuma's  time,  and  afterwards  destroyed  by  the 
inhabitants.  For  this  he  had  still  the  services  of 
the  same  experienced  ship-builder,  Martin  Lopez, 
who,  as  we  have  seen,  had  fortunately  escaped  the 
slaughter  of  the  "  Melancholy  Night."  Cortes  now 
sent  this  man  to  Tlascala,  with  orders  to  build  thir- 
teen brigantines,  which  might  be  taken  to  pieces  and 
carried  on  the  shoulders  of  the  Indians  to  be  launched 
on  the  waters  of  Lake  Tezcuco.  The  sails,  rigging, 
-,  and  iron  work,  were  to  be  brought  from  Vera  Cruz, 
where  they  had  been  stored  since  their  removal 
from  the  dismantled  ships.  It  was  a  bold  concep- 
tion, that  of  constructing  a  fleet  to  be  transported 
across  forest  and  mountain  before  it  was  launched 
on  its  destined  waters!  But  it  suited  the  daring 
genius  of  Cortes,  who,  with  the  cooperation  of  his 
stanch  Tlascalan  confederates,  did  not  doubt  his 
ability  to  carry  it  into  execution. 

It  was  with  no  little  regret,  that  the  general 
learned  at  this  time  the  death  of  his  good  friend 
Maxixca,  the  old  lord  of  Tlascala,  who  had  stood  by 
him  so  steadily  in  the  hour  of  adversity.  He  had 
fallen  a  victim  to  that  terrible  epidemic,  the  small- 
pox, which  was  now  sweeping  over  the  land  like 


Ch.  VI.] 


DEATH  OF  MAXIXCA. 


435 


fire  over  the  prairies,  smiting  down  prince  and  peas- 
ant, and  adding  another  to  the  long  train  of  woes 
that  followed  the  march  of  the  white  men.  It  was 
imported  into  the  country,  it  is  said,  by  a  Negro 
slave,  in  the  fleet  of  Narvaez.^^  It  first  broke  out 
in  Cempoalla.  The  poor  natives,  ignorant  of  the 
best  mode  of  treating  the  loathsome  disorder,  sought 
relief  in  their  usual  practice  of  bathing  in  cold  wa- 
ter, which  greatly  aggravated  their  trouble.  From 
Cempoalla  it  spread  rapidly  over  the  neighbouring 
country,  and,  penetrating  through  Tlascala,  reached 
the  Aztec  capital,  where  Montezuma's  successor, 
Cuitlahua,  fell  one  of  its  first  victims.  Thence  it 
swept  down  towards  the  borders  of  the  Pacific, 
leaving  its  path  strown  with  the  dead  bodies  of  the 
natives,  who,  in  the  strong  language  of  a  contempo- 
rary, perished  in  heaps  like  cattle  stricken  with  the 
murrain. ^^  It  does  not  seem  to  have  been  fatal  to 
the  Spaniards,  many  of  whom,  probably,  had  already 
had  the  disorder,  and  who  were,  at  all  events,  ac- 
quainted with  the  proper  method  of  treating  it. 


18  "  La  primera  fue  de  viruela, 
y  comenzo  de  esta  manera.  Siendo 
Capitan  y  Governador  Hernando 
Cortis  al  tiempo  que  el  Capitan 
Panfilo  de  Narvaez  deserabarc6  en 
esta  tierra,  en  uno  de  sus  navios 
vino  un  negro  herido  de  viruelas, 
la  cual  enfermedad  nunca  en  esta 
tierra  se  habia  visto,  y  esta  sazon 
estaba  esta  nueva  Espana  en  estre- 
mo  muy  Uena  de  gente."  Tori- 
bio,  Hist,  de  los  Indios,  MS  ,  Parte 
1,  cap.  1. 


19  "  Morian  como  chinches  k 
montones."  (Ibid.,  ubi  supra.) 
"  Eran  tantos  los  difuntos  que  mo- 
rian de  aquella  enfermedad,  que 
no  habia  quien  los  enterrase,  por 
lo  cual  en  Mexico  los  echaban  en 
las  azequias,  porque  entdnces  habia 
muy  grande  copia  de  aguas  y  era 
muy  grande  hedor  el  que  salia  de 
los  cuerpos  muertos."  Sahagun, 
Hist,  de  Nueva  EspaHa,  lib.  8, 
cap.  1. 


436  EXPULSION  FROM  MEXICO.  [Book  V. 

The  death  of  Maxixca  was  deeply  regretted  by 
the  troops,  who  lost  in  him  a  true  and  most  efficient 
ally.  With  his  last  breath,  he  commended  them  to 
his  son  and  successor,  as  the  great  beings  whose 
coming  into  the  country  had  been  so  long  predicted 
by  the  oracles.^  He  expressed  a  desire  to  die  in 
the  profession  of  the  Christian  faith.  Cortes  no 
sooner  learned  his  condition  than  he  despatched 
father  Olmedo  to  Tlascala.  The  friar  found  that 
Maxixca  had  already  caused  a  crucifix  to  be  placed 
before  his  sick  couch,  as  the  object  of  his  adoration. 
After  explaining,  as  intelligibly  as  he  could,  the 
truths  of  revelation,  he  baptized  the  dying  chieftain ; 
and  the  Spaniards  had  the  satisfaction  to  believe 
that  the  soul  of  their  benefactor  was  exempted  from 
the  doom  of  eternal  perdition,  that  hung  over  the 
unfortunate  Indian  who  perished  in  his  unbelief.^^ 

Their  late  brilliant  successes  seem  to  have  recon- 
ciled most  of  the  disaffected  soldiers  to  the  prosecu- 
tion of  the  war.  There  were  still  a  few  among 
them,  the  secretary  Duero,  Bermudez  the  treasurer, 
and  others  high  in  office,  or  wealthy  hidalgos,  who 
looked  with  disgust  on  another  campaign,  and  now 
loudly  reiterated  their  demand  of  a  free  passage  to 
Cuba.  To  this  Cortes,  satisfied  with  the  support  on 
which  he  could  safely  count,  made  no  further  objec- 
tion. Having  once  given  his  consent,  he  did  all  in 
his  power  to  facilitate  their  departure,  and  provide 

*  Bernal  Diaz,  Hist,  de  la  Con-  Hist.  General,  dec.  2,  lib.  10,  cap. 
quista,  cap.  136.  19.  —  Sahagun,  Hist,  de  Nuev* 

^  Ibid.,  ubi  supra.  —  Herrera,    Espafia,  MS.,  lib  12,  cap.  39. 


Oh.  VI.] 


ARRIVAL  or   REINFORCEMENTS. 


437 


for  their  comfort.  He  ordered  the  best  ship  at  Vera 
Cruz  to  be  placed  at  their  disposal,  to  be  well  sup- 
plied with  provisions  and  every  thing  necessary  for 
the  voyage,  and  sent  Alvarado  to  the  coast  to  sup^r 
intend  the  embarkation.  He  took  the  most  cour- 
teous leave  of  them,  with  assurances  of  his  own 
unalterable  regard.  But,  as  the  event  proved,  those 
who  could  part  from  him  at  this  crisis  had  little 
sympathy  with  his  fortunes ;  and  we  find  Duero 
not  long  afterwards  in  Spain,  supporting  the  claims 
of  Velasquez  before  the  emperor,  in  opposition  to 
those  of  his  former  friend  and  commander. 

The  loss  of  these  few  men  was  amply  compensat- 
ed by  the  arrival  of  others,  whom  Fortune  —  to 
use  no  higher  term  —  most  unexpectedly  threw  in 
his  way.  The  first  of  these  came  in  a  small  vessel 
sent  from  Cuba  by  the  governor,  Velasquez,  with 
stores  for  the  colony  at  Vera  Cruz.  He  was  not 
aware  of  the  late  transactions  in  the  country,  and  of 
the  discomfiture  of  his  officer.  In  the  vessel  came 
despatches,  it  is  said,  from  Fonseca,  bishop  of  Bur- 
gos, instructing  Narvaez  to  send  Cortes,  if  he  had 
not  already  done  so,  for  trial  to  Spain.^  The  al- 
calde of  Vera  Cruz,  agreeably  to  the  general's  in- 
structions, allowed  the  captain  of  the  bark  to  land, 
who  had  no  doubt  that  the  country  was  in  the  liands 
of  Narvaez.  He  was  undeceived  by  being  seized, 
together  with  his  men,  so  soon  as  they  had  set  foot 
on  shore.     The  vessel  was  then  secured ;  and  the 


«Bernal  Diaz,  Ibid.,  cap.  131. 


438  EXPULSION   FROM   MEXICO.  [Book  V 

commander  and  his  crew,  finding  out  their  error, 
were  persuaded  without  much  difficulty  to  join  their 
countrymen  in  Tlascala. 

A  second  vessel,  sent  soon  after  by  Velasquez, 
shared  the  same  fate,  and  those  on  board  consented, 
also,  to  take  their  chance  in  the  expedition  under 
Cortes. 

About  the  same  time,  Garay,  the  governor  of  Ja- 
maica, fitted  out  three  ships  with  an  armed  force  to 
plant  a  colony  on  the  Panuco,  a  river  which  pours 
into  the  Gulf  a  few  degrees  north  of  Villa  Rica. 
Garay  persisted  in  establishing  this  settlement,  in 
contempt  of  the  claims  of  Cortes,  who  had  already 
entered  into  a  friendly  communication  with  the  in- 
habitants of  that  region.  But  the  crews  experienced 
such  a  rough  reception  from  the  natives  on  landing, 
and  lost  so  many  men,  that  they  were  glad  to  take 
to  their  vessels  again.  One  of  these  foundered  in  a 
storm.  The  others  put  into  the  port  of  Vera  Cruz 
to  restore  the  men,  much  weakened  by  hunger  and 
disease.  Here  they  were  kindly  received,  their 
wants  supplied,  their  wounds  healed;  when  they 
were  induced,  by  the  liberal  promises  of  Cortes,  to 
abandon  the  disastrous  service  of  their  employer, 
and  enlist  under  his  own  prosperous  banner.  The 
reinforcements  obtained  from  these  sources  amounted 
to  full  a  hundred  and  fifty  men  well  provided  with 
arms  and  ammunition,  together  with  twenty  horses. 
By  this  strange  concurrence  of  circumstances,  Cortes 
saw  himself  in  possession  of  the  supplies  he  most 
needed ;  that,  too,  from  the  hands  of  his  enemies, 


Ch.  VI.] 


ARRIVAL  OF  REINFORCEMENTS. 


whose  costly  preparations  were  thus  turned  to  the 
benefit  of  the  very  man  whom  they  were  designed 
to  ruin. 

His  good  fortune  did  not  stop  here.  A  ship  from 
the  Canaries  touched  at  Cuba,  freighted  with  arms 
and  military  stores  for  the  adventurers  in  the  New 
World.  Their  commander  heard  there  of  the  recent 
discoveries  in  Mexico,  and,  thinking  it  would  afford 
a  favorable  market  for  him,  directed  his  course  to 
Vera  Cruz.  He  was  not  mistaken.  The  alcalde, 
by  the  general's  orders,  purchased  both  ship  and  car- 
^o ;  and  the  crews,  catching  the  spirit  of  adventure, 
followed  their  countrymen  into  the  interior.  There 
seemed  to  be  a  magic  in  the  name  of  Cortes,  which 
drew  all  who  came  within  hearing  of  it  under  hLs 
standard. ^^ 

Having  now  completed  the  arrangements  for  set 
tling  his  new  conquests,  there  seemed  to  be  no  fui 
ther  reason  for  postponing  his  departure  to  Tlasccila. 
He  was  first  solicited  by  the  citizens  of  Tepeaca  to 
leave  a  garrison  with  them,  to  protect  them  from  the 
vengeance  of  the  Aztecs.  Cortes  acceded  to  the 
request,  and,  considering  the  central  position  of  the 
town  favorable  for  maintaining  his  conquests,  resolved 
to  plant  a  colony  there.  For  this  object  he  selected 
sixty  of  his  soldiers,  most  of  whom  were  disabled 
by  wounds  or  infiirmity.  He  appointed  the  alcaldes, 
regidores,  and  other  functionaries  of  a  civic  magis- 


23  Ibid.,  cap,  131,  133,  136.  —  zana,  pp.  154, 167. —Ovieclb,  Hist. 
Herrera,  Hist.  General,  ubi  supra,  de  las  Ind.,  MS.,  lib.  33,  cap.  16. 
—  Rel.  Sag.  de  Cortes,  ap.  Loren-  ' 


440  EXPULSION  FROM  MEXICO.  [Book  V. 

tracy.  The  place  he  called  Segura  de  la  Frontera, 
or  Security  of  the  Frontier.^  It  received  valua- 
ble privileges  as  a  city,  a  few  years  later,  from  the 
emperor  Charles  the  Fifth  ;  ^^  and  rose  to  some  con- 
sideration in  the  age  of  the  Conquest.  But  its 
consequence  soon  after  declined.  Even  its  Castilian 
name,  vi^ith  the  same  caprice  which  has  decided  the 
fate  of  more  than  one  name  in  our  own  country,  was 
gradually  supplanted  by  its  ancient  one,  and  the 
little  village  of  Tepeaca  is  all  that  now  commemo- 
rates the  once  flourishing  Indian  capital,  and  the 
second  Spanish  colony  in  Mexico. 

While  at  Segura,  Cortes  wrote  that  celebrated 
letter  to  the  emperor, -— the  second  in  the  series, — 
so  often  cited  in  the  preceding  pages.  It  takes  up 
the  narrative  with  the  departure  from  Vera  Cruz, 
and  exhibits  in  a  brief  and  comprehensive  form  the 
occurrences  up  to  the  time  at  which  we  are  now 
arrived.  In  the  concluding  page,  the  general,  after 
noticing  the  embarrassments  under  which  he  labors, 
says,  in  his  usual  manly  spirit,  that  he  holds  danger 
and  fatigue  light  in  comparison  with  the  attainment 
of  his  object ;  and  that  he  is  confident  a  short  time 
will  restore  the  Spaniards  to  their  former  position, 
and  repair  all  their  losses.^^ 

He  notices  the  resemblance  of  Mexico,  in  many 


**  Rel.  Seg.  de  Cortes,  ap.  Lo-    Magestad  he  dicho,  que  en  muy 
renzana,  p.  156.  breve  tomara  al  estado,  en  que  an- 


t-jm 


25  CUvigero,  Stor.  del  Messico,     tes  yo  la  tenia,  e  se  restaurarfin 
"**  \P-  ^^^'  las  p(«rdidas  pasadas."    Re!.  Seg., 

^  "  E  crco,  como  ya  &  Vuestra    ap.  Lorenzana,  p.  167. 


Ch.  VI.]  ARRIVAL  OF  REINFORCEMENTS.  441 

of  its  features  and  productions,  to  the  mother  coun- 
try, and  requests  that  it  may  henceforth  be  called, 
"New  Spain  of  the  Ocean  Sea."^'^  He  finally  re- 
quests that  a  commission  may  be  sent  out,  at  once, 
to  investigate  his  conduct,  and  to  verify  the  accuracy 
of  his  statements. 

This  letter,  which  was  printed  at  Seville  the  year 
after  its  reception,  has  been  since  reprinted,  and 
translated,  more  than  once.^  It  excited  a  great 
sensation  at  the  court,  and  among  the  friends  of 
science  generally.  The  previous  discoveries  in  the 
New  World  had  disappointed  the  expectations  which 
had  been  formed  after  the  solution  of  the  grand 
problem  of  its  existence.  They  had  brought  to  light 
only  rude  tribes,  which,  however  gentle  and  inoffen- 
sive in  their  manners,  were  still  in  the  primitive 
stages  of  barbarism.  Here  was  an  authentic  account 
of  a  vast  nation,  potent  and  populous,  exhibiting  an 
elaborate  social  polity,  well  advanced  in  the  arts  of 
civilization,  occupying  a  soil  that  teemed  with  min- 
eral treasures  and  with  a  boundless  variety  of  vege- 

37  '*  Me  parecid,  que  el  mas  con-  *  It  was  dated,  "  De  la  Villa  Se- 

veniente  nombre  para  esta  dieha  gura  de  la  Frontera  de  esta  Nueva 

Tierra,  era  llamarse  la  Nueva  Es-  Espana,  a  treinta  de  Octubre  de  rail 

pafia  del  Mar   Oceano  :  y  assi  en  quinientos  veinte  afios."     But,  in 

nombre  de  Vuestra  Magestad  se  le  consequence  of  the  loss  of  the  ship 

puso   aqueste   nombre  ;    humilde-  intended  to  bear  it,  the  letter  was 

mente  suplico  k  Vuestra  Alteza  lo  not  sent  till  the  spring  of  the  fol- 

tenga  por  bien,  y  mande,  que  se  lowing  year;    leaving  the  nation 

nombre  assi."  (Ibid.,  p.  169.)  The  still  in  ignorance  of  the  fate  of  the 

name  of  "  New  Spain,"  without  gallant  adventurers  in  Mexico,  and 

other  addition,  had  been  before  giv-  the  magnitude  of  their  discoverioi. 
en  by  Grijalva  lo  Yucatan.     Ante, 
Book  2,  Chapter  1 

VOL.    II.  56 


442 


EXPULSION   FROM  MEXICO. 


[Book  V 


table  products,  stores  of  wealth,  both  natural  and 
artificial,  that  seemed,  for  the  first  time,  to  realize 
the  golden  dreams  in  which  the  great  discoverer  of 
the  New  World  had  so  fondly,  and  in  his  own  day 
so  fallaciously,  indulged.  Well  might  the  scholar  of 
that  age  exult  in  the  revelation  of  these  wonders, 
which  so  many  had  long,  but  in  vain,  desired  to  see.^^ 
With  this  letter  went  another  to  the  emperor, 
signed,  as  it  would  «^em,  by  nearly  every  officer  and 
soldier  in  the  camp.  It  expatiated  on  the  obstacles 
thrown  in  the  way  of  the  expedition  by  Velasquez 
and  Narvaez,  and  the  great  prejudice  this  had 
caused  to  the  royal  interests.  It  then  set  forth  the 
services  of  Cortes,  and  besought  the  emperor  to 
confirm  him  in  his  authority,  and  not  to  allow  any 
interference  with  one  who,  from  his  personal  charac- 
ter, his  intimate  knowledge  of  the  land  and  its  peo- 
ple, and  the  attachment  of  his  soldiers,  was  the  man 
best  qualified  in  all  the  world  to  achieve  the  conquest 
of  the  country .^^ 


29  The  state  of  feeling  occasion- 
ed by  these  discoveries  may  be 
seen  in  the  correspondence  of  Peter 
Martyr,  then  residing  at  the  court 
of  Castile.  See,  in  particular,  his 
epistle,  dated  March,  1521,  to  his 
noble  pupil,  the  Marques  de  Mon- 
dejar,  in  which  he  dwells  with 
unbounded  satisfaction  on  all  the 
rich  stores  of  science  which  the 
expedition  of  Cortes  had  thrown 
open  to  the  world.  Opus  Episto- 
larum,  ep.  771. 

**  This  memorial  is  in  that  part 


of  my  collection  made  by  the  former 
President  of  the  Spanish  Acade- 
my, Vargas  Pon^e.  It  is  signed  by 
four  hundred  and  forty-four  names ; 
and  it  is  remarkable  that  this  roll, 
which  includes  every  other  famil- 
iar name  in  the  army,  should  not 
contain  that  of  Bernal  Diaz  del 
Castillo.  It  can  only  be  accounted 
for  by  his  illness ;  as  he  tells  us  he 
was  confined  to  his  bed  by  a  fever 
about  this  time.  Hist,  de  la  Con- 
quista,  cap.  134. 


CH.  VI.]  ARRIVAL  OF  REINFORCEMENTS.  443 

It  added  not  a  little  to  the  perplexities  of  Cortes, 
that  he  Was  still  in  entire  ignorance  of  the  light  in 
which  his  conduct  was  regarded  in  Spain.  He  had 
not  even  heard  whether  his  despatches,  sent  the 
year  preceding  from  Vera  Cruz,  had  been  received. 
Mexico  was  as  far  removed  from  all  intercourse  with 
the  civilized  world,  as  if  it  had  been  placed  at  the 
antipodes.  Few  vessels  had  entered,  and  none  had 
been  allowed  to  leave  its  ports.  The  governor  of 
Cuba,  an  island  distant  but  a  few  days'  sail,  was 
jet  ignorant,  as  we  have  seen,  of  the  fate  of  his 
armament.  On  the  arrival  of  every  new  vessel  or 
fleet  on  these  shores,  Cortes  might  well  doubt 
whether  it  brought  aid  to  his  undertaking,  or  a 
royal  commission  to  supersede  him.  His  sanguine 
spirit  relied  on  the  former ;  though  the  latter  was 
much  the  more  probable,  considering  the  intimacy 
of  his  enemy,  the  governor,  with  Bishop  Fonseca,  a 
man  jealous  of  his  authority,  and  one  who,  from  his 
station  at  the  head  of  the  Indian  department,  held 
a  predominant  control  over  the  affairs  of  the  New 
World.  It  was  the  policy  of  Cortes,  therefore,  to 
lose  no  time  ;  to  push  forward  his  preparations,  lest 
another  should  be  permitted  to  snatch  the  laurel  now 
almost  within  his  grasp.  Could  he  but  reduce  the 
Aztec  capital,  he  felt  that  he  should  be  safe;  and 
that,  in  whatever  light  his  irregular  proceedings  might 
now  be  viewed,  his  services  in  that  event  would  far 
more  than  counterbalance  them  in  the  eyes  both  of 
the  Crown  and  of  the  country. 

The  general  wrote,  also,  to  the  Royal  Audience 


444  EXPULSION  FROM   MEXICO.  [Book  %. 

at  St.  Domingo,  in  order  to  interest  them  in  his 
cause.  He  sent  four  vessels  to  the  same  island,  to 
obtain  a  further  supply  of  arms  and  ammunition ; 
and,  the  better  to  stimulate  the  cupidity  of  adven- 
turers, and  allure  them  to  the  expedition,  he  added 
specimens  of  the  beautiful  fabrics  of  the  country, 
and  of  its  precious  metals.^^  The  funds  for  procur- 
ing these  important  supplies  were,  probably,  derived 
from  the  plunder  gathered  in  the  late  battles,  and 
the  gold  which,  as  already  remarked,  had  been  saved 
from  the  general  wreck  by  the  Castilian  convoy. 

It  was  the  middle  of  December,  when  Cortes, 
having  completed  all  his  arrangements,  set  out 
on  his  return  to  Tlascala,  ten  or  twelve  leagues 
distant.  He  marched  in  the  van  of  the  army,  and 
took  the  way  of  Cholula.  How  different  was  his 
condition  from  that  in  which  he  had  left  the  repub- 
lican capital  not  five  months  before !  His  march 
was  a  triumphal  procession,  displaying  the  various 
banners  and  military  ensigns  taken  from  the  enemy, 
long  files  of  captives,  and  all  the  rich  spoils  of  con- 
quest gleaned  from  many  a  hard -fought  field.  As 
the  army  passed  through  the  towns  and  villages,  the 
inhabitants  poured  out  to  greet  them,  and,  as  they 
drew  near  to  Tlascala,  the  whole  population,  men, 
women,  and  children,  came  forth  celebrating  their 

3i  Rel.  Terc.  de  Cortes,  ap.  Lo-  averse,  now  and  then,  to  a  fling 

renzana,  p.  179. — Herrera,  Hist,  at  his  commander,  says,  that  Cor- 

General,  dec.  2,  lib.  10,  cap.  18.  tes  was  willing  to  get  rid  of  this 

Alonso  de  Avila  went  as  the  gallant  cavalier,  because  he  was 

bearer  of  despatches  to  St.  Do-  too  independent  and  plain-spoken. 

mingo.     Bernal  Diaz,  who  is  not  Hist,  de  la  Conquista,  cap.  136. 


ch.  vi]     return  in  triumph  to  tlascala.        445 

return  with  songs,  dancing,  and  music.  Arches 
decorated  with  flowers  were  thrown  across  the 
streets  through  which  they  passed,  and  a  Tlascalan 
orator  addressed  the  general,  on  his  entrance  int(» 
the  city,  in  a  lofty  panegyric  on  his  late  achieve- 
ments, proclaiming  him  the  "avenger  of  the  nation." 
Amidst  this  pomp  and  tiiuraphal  show,  Cortes  and 
his  principal  officers  were  seen  clad  in  deep  mourn- 
ing in  honor  of  their  friend  Maxixca.  And  this 
tribute  of  respect  to  the  memory  of  their  venerated 
ruler  touched  the  Tlascalans  more  sensibly  than  all 
the  proud  display  of  military  trophies.*^ 

The  general's  first  act  was  to  confirm  the  son  of 
his  deceased  friend  in  the  succession,  which  had 
been  contested  by  an  illegitimate  brother.  The 
youth  was  but  twelve  years  of  age ;  and  Cortes 
prevailed  on  him  without  difficulty  to  follow  his 
father's  example,  and  receive  baptism.  He  after- 
wards knighted  him  with  his  own  hand ;  the  first 
instance,  probably,  of  the  order  of  chivalry  being 
conferred  on  an  American  Indian.^  The  elder  Xico- 
tencatl  was  also  persuaded  to  embrace  Christianity, 
and  the  example  of  their  rulers  had  its  obvious  effecl 
in  preparing  the  minds  of  the  people  for  the  recep- 
tion of  the  truth,  Cortes,  whether  from  the  sug- 
gestions of  Olmedo,  or  from  the  engrossing  nature 


32  Bernal  Diaz,  Hist,  de  la  Con-  arm61e  caballero,  al  vso  de  Castilla  : 
quista,  cap.  136. — Herrera,  Hist,  i  porque  lo  fuese  de  Jesu-Chriato, 
General,  dec.  2,  lib.  10,  cap.  19.  la  hi^o  bautigar,  i  se  llam6  D.  Lo- 
ss Ibid.,  ubi  supra.  ren^o  Maxiscatzin." 
*'  Hiijolo,"   says    Herrera,   "  i 


446  JEX PULSION  FROM   MEXICO.  [Book  V. 

of  his  own  affairs,  did  not  press  the  work  of  conver- 
sion further,  at  this  time,  but  wisely  left  the  good 
seed,  already  sown,  to  ripen  in  secret,  till  time 
should  bring  forth  the  harvest. 

The  Spanish  commander,  during  his  short  stay  in 
Tlascala,  urged  forward  the  preparations  for  the 
campaign.  He  endeavoured  to  drill  the  Tlascalans, 
and  to  give  them  some  idea  of  European  discipline 
and  tactics.  He  caused  new  arms  to  be  made,  and 
the  old  ones  to  be  put  in  order.  Powder  was  man- 
ufactured with  the  aid  of  sulphur  obtained  by  some 
adventurous  cavaliers  from  the  smoking  throat  of 
Popocatepetl.^  The  construction  of  the  brigantines 
went  forward  prosperously  under  the  direction  of 
Lopez,  with  the  aid  of  the  Tlascalans.^^  Timber 
was  cut  in  the  forests,  and  pitch,  an  article  un- 
known to  the  Indians,  was  obtained  from  the  pines 
on  the  neighbouring  Sierra  de  Malinche.  The  rig- 
ging and  other  appurtenances  were  transported  by 
the  Indian  tamanes  from  Villa  Rica ;  and  by  Christ- 
mas, the  work  was  so  far  advanced,  that  it  was 
no  longer  necessary  for  Cortes  to  delay  the  march 
to  Mexico. 


34  For  an  account  of  the  manner  junto  a  una  hermita  que  se  llama 

in  which  this  article  was  procured  San  Buenaventura,  los  quales  hizo 

by  Montano  and  his  doughty  com-  y  otro   Martin   Lopez  uno  de  lo9 

panions,  see  Ante,  p.  49.  primeros  conquistadores,  y  le  ayu- 

35"An8i  se  hici^ron  trece  ber-  d6  Neguez    Gomez."      Hist,   ^g 

^aotines  en  el  barrio  de  Atempa,  Tlascala,  MS. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

» 

GuATEMOziN,  Emperor  of  the  Aztecs.  —  Preparations  for  the 
March. — Military  Code.  —  Spaniards  cross  the  Sierra.— 
Enter  Tezcuco.  — Prince  Ixtlilxochitl. 

1520. 

While  the  events  related  in  the  preceding  Chap- 
ter were  passing,  an  important  change  had  taken 
place  in  the  Aztec  monarchy.  Montezuma's  brother 
and  successor,  Cuitlahua,  had  suddenly  died  of  the 
small-pox,  after  a  brief  reign  of  four  months,  —  brief, 
but  glorious,  for  it  had  witnessed  the  overthrow 
of  the  Spaniards  and  their  expulsion  from  Mexico.^ 
On  the  death  of  their  warlike  chief,  the  electors 
were    convened,   as    usual,   to    supply   the    vacant 

1  Solis  dismisses  this  prince  with  in    the   light  represented  in  the 

the  remark,  "  that  he  reigned  but  text.    Cortes,  who  ought  to  know, 

a  few  days  ;  long  enough,  howev-  describes  him  "  as  held  to  be  very 

er,  for  his  indolence  and  apathy  wise  and  valiant."      Rel.    Seg., 

to  efface  the  memory  of  his  name  ap.  Lorenzana,  p.  166.— See,  also, 

among  the  people."     (Conquista,  Sahagun,  Hist,  de  Nueva  Espa- 

lib.   4,   cap.    16.)      Whence  the  na,  MS.,  lib.  12,  cap.  29,  — Her- 

historiographer  of  the  Indies  bor-  rera.   Hist.  General,  dec.  2,  lib. 

rowed  the  coloring  for  this  portrait  10,  cap.  19,  —  Ixtlilxochitl,  Hist. 

I  cannot  conjecture;  certainly  not  Chich.,  MS.,  cap.  88,  —  Oviedo, 

from  the  ancient  authorities,  which  Hist,  de  las  Ind.,  MS.,  lib.  33 

uniformly  dehneate  the  character  cap.  16,  —  Gomara,  Cr6nica,  cap 

<ind  conduct  of  the  Aztec  sovereign  1 18. 


448  EXPULSION   FROM  MEXICO.  [Book  V 

throne.  It  was  an  office  of  great  responsibility  in 
the  dark  hour  of  their  fortunes.  The  teoteuctli,  oi 
high-priest,  invoked  the  blessing  of  the  supreme 
God  on  their  deliberations.  His  prayer  is  still  ex- 
tant. It  was  the  last  one  ever  made  on  a  similar 
occasion  in  Anahuac,  and  a  few  extracts  from  it 
may  interest  the  reader,  as  a  specimen  of  Aztec 
eloquence. 

"  O  Lord !  thou  knowest  that  the  days  of  our 
sovereign  are  at  an  end,  for  thou  hast  placed  him 
beneath  thy  feet.  He  abides  in  the  place  of  his 
retreat ;  he  has  trodden  the  path  which  we  are  all  to 
tread ;  he  has  gone  to  the  house  whither  we  are  all 
to  follow,  —  the  house  of  eternal  darkness,  where  no 
light  cometh.     He  is  gathered  to  his  rest,  and  no 

one  henceforth  shall  disquiet  him All  these 

were  the  princes,  his  predecessors,  who  sat  on  the 
imperial  throne,  directing  the  affairs  of  thy  kingdom ; 
for  thou  art  the  universal  lord  and  emperor,  by  whose 
will  and  movement  the  whole  world  is  directed; 
thou  needest  not  the  counsel  of  another.  They  laid 
down  the  intolerable  burden  of  government,  and 
left  it  to  him,  their  successor.  Yet  he  sojourned  but 
a  few  days  in  his  kingdom,  —  but  a  few  days  had 
we  enjoyed  his  presence,  when  thou  summonedst 
him  away  to  follow  those  who  had  ruled  over  the  land 
before  him.  And  great  cause  has  he  for  thankful- 
ness, that  thou  hast  relieved  him  from  so  grievous  a 

load,  and  placed  him  in  tranquillity  and  rest 

Who  now  shall  order  matters  for  the  good  of  the 
neople   and   the   realm?     Who   shall   appoint    the 


Cii.  VI!.]     ULATEMOZIN,  EMPEROR  OF  THE  AZTECS.        449 

judges  to  administer  justice  to  thy  people.'^  Who 
now  shall  bid  the  drum  and  the  flute  to  sound,  and 
gather  together  the  veteran  soldiers  and  the  men 
mighty  in  battle  ?  Our  Lord  and  our  Defence ! 
wilt  thou,  in  thy  wisdom,  elect  one  who  shall  be 
worthy  to  sit  on  the  throne  of  thy  kingdom  ;  one 
who  shall  bear  the  grievous  burden  of  government  ; 
who  shall  comfort  and  cherish  thy  poor  people,  even 

as  the  mother  cherisheth  her  offspring.^ O 

Lord  most  merciful!    pour  forth  thy  light  and  thy 

splendor  over  this  thine  empire  ! Order  it 

so  that  thou  shalt  be  served  in  all,  and  through  all."^ 


2  The  reader  of  Spanish  will 
see,  that,  in  the  version  in  the  text, 
I  have  condensed  the  original, 
which  abounds  in  the  tautology 
and  repetitions  characteristic  of 
the  compositions  of  a  rude  people. 

"  Senor  nuestro!  ya  V.  M.  sabe 
como  es  muerto  nuestro  N. :  ya 
lo  habeis  puesto  debajo  de  vuestros 
pies  :  ya  esta  en  su  recogiraiento, 
y  es  ido  per  cl  camino  que  todos 
hemos  de  ir  y  a  la  casa  donde  he- 
mos  de  morar,  casa  de  perpetuas 
tinieblas,  donde  ni  hay  ventana,  ni 
luz  alguna :  ya  esta  en  el  reposo 

donde  nadie  le  desasosegar^ 

Todos  estos  senores  y  reyes  rigi6- 
ron,  gobernaron,  y  gozkron.  del  se- 
ilorio  y  dignidad  real,  y  del  trono 
y  sitial  del  imperio,  los  cuales  or- 
denaron  y  concertaron  las  cosas  de 
vuestro  reino,  que  sois  el  universal 
senor  y  emperador,  por  cuyo  al- 
bedrio  y  motive  se  rige  todo  el 
universe,  y  que  no  teneis  necesidad 

VOL.    II.  57 


de  consejo  de  ningun  otro.  Ya 
estos  dichos  dejSiron  la  carga  intol- 
erable del  gobierno  que  trag^ron 
sobre  sus  hombros,  y  lo  dejaron  a 
su  succesor  N.,  el  cual  por  algunoa 
pocos  dias  tuvo  en  pie  su  senorio  y 
reino,  y  ahora  ya  se  ha  ido  en  pos 
de  ellos  al  otro  mundo,  porque  vos 
le  mandisteis  que  fuese  y  le  11a- 
mSsteis,  y  por  haberle  descargado 
de  tan  gran  carga,  y  quitado  tan 
gran  trabajo,  y  haberle  puesto  en 
paz  y  en  reposo,  est^  muy  obligado 
a  daros  gracias.  Algunos  pocos 
dias  le  logr&mos,  y  ahora  para  si- 
empre  se  ausent6  de  nosotros  para 

nunca  mas  volver  al  mundo 

jQuien  ordenara  y  dispondr^  las 
cosas  necesarias  al  bien  del  pueblo, 
senorio  y  reino  ?  j  Quien  elegira  a 
los  jueces  particulares,  que  tengao 
carga  de  la  gente  baja  por  los  bar- 
rios? I  Quien  mandari  tocar  el 
atambor  y  pifano  para  juntar  gente 
para  la  guerra?    jY  quien  reuniii 


450 


EXPULSION   FROM   MEXICO. 


[Book  V 


The  choice  fell  on  Quauhtemotzin,  or  Guatemo- 
zin,  as  euphoniously  corrupted  by  the  Spaniards.^ 
He  was  nephew  to  the  two  last  monarchs,  and  mar- 
ried his  cousin,  the  beautiful  princess  Tecuichpo, 
Montezuma's  daughter.  "He  was  not  more  than 
twenty-five  years  old,  and  elegant  in  his  person  for 
an  Indian,"  says  one  who  had  seen  him  often ; 
"valiant,  and  so  terrible,  that  his  followers  trem- 
bled in  his  presence."^  He  did  not  shrink  from  the 
perilous  post  that  was  offered  to  him ;  and,  as  he 
saw  the  tempest  gathering  darkly  around,  he  pre- 
pared to  meet  it  like  a  man.  Though  young,  he 
had  ample  experience  in  military  matters,  and  had 
distinguished  himself  above  all  others  in  the  bloody 


y  acaudillar^  k  los  soldados  viejos, 
y  hombres  diestros  en  la  pelea  1 
Senor  nuestro  y  amparadpr  nues- 
tro !  tenga  por  bien  V.  M.  de  elegir, 
y  senalar  alguna  persona  suficiente 
para  que  tenga  vuestro  trono,  y 
lleve  a  cuestas  la  carga  pesada  del 
regimen  de  la  republica,  regocige 
y  regale  a  los  populares,  bien  asi 
como  la  madre  regala  a  su  hijo, 

poni^ndole  en  su  regazo O 

senor  nuestro  humanisimo  !  dad 
lurabre  y  resplandor  de  vuestra 
ipano  k  esto  reino !  .  •  •  •  •  H%ase 
oomo  V.  M.  fuere  servido  en  todo, 
y  por  todo."  Sahagun,  Hist,  de 
Nueva  Espafia,  lib.  6,  cap.  5. 

3  The  Spaniards  appear  to  have 
changed  the  Qua,  beginning  Az- 
tec names,  into  Gua,  in  the  same 
manner  as,  in  the  mother  country, 
tlwy  changed   the    Wad   at    the 


beginning  of  Arabic  names  into 
Guad.  (See  Conde,  El  Nubiense, 
Descripcion  de  Espana,  notas,  pas- 
sim.) The  Aztec  tzin  was  added 
to  the  names  of  sovereigns  and 
great  lords,  as  a  mark  of  reverence. 
Thus  Cuitlahua  was  called  Cuitla- 
huatzin.  This  termination,  usual- 
ly dropped  by  the  Spaniards,  has 
been  retained  from  accident,  or, 
perhaps,  for  the  sake  of  euphony, 
in  Guatemozin's  name. 

■*  "  Mancebo  de  hasta  veynte  y 
cinco  alios,  bien  gentil  hombre  pa- 
ra ser  Indio,  y  muy  esforgado,  y 
se  hizo  temer  de  tal  manera,  que 
todos  los  suyos  temblauan  d6\ ;  y 
estaua  casado  con  vna  hija  de  Mon- 
teguma,  bien  hermosa  muger  para 
ser  India."  Bernal  Diaz,  Hist 
de  la  Conquista,  cap.  130. 


Oh.  VII.]    GUATEMOZIN,  EMPEROR  OF  THE  AZTECS.     451 

conflicts  of  the  capital.  He  bore  a  sort  of  religious 
hatred  to  the  Spaniards,  like  that  which  Hannibal  is 
said  to  have  sworn,  and  which  he  certainly  cherished, 
against  his  Roman  foes. 

By  means  of  his  spies,  Guatemozin  made  himseli 
acquainted  with  the  movements  of  the  Spaniards, 
and  their  design  to  besiege  the  capital.  He  pre- 
pared for  it  by  sending  away  the  useless  part  of  tke 
population,  while  he  called  in  his  potent  vassals  from 
the  neighbourhood.  He  continued  the  plans  of  his 
predecessor  for  strengthening  the  defences  of  the 
city,  reviewed  his  troops,  and  stimulated  them  by 
prizes  to  excel  in  their  exercises.  He  made  ha- 
rangues to  his  soldiers  to  rouse  them  to  a  spirit  of 
desperate  resistance.  He  encouraged  his  vassals 
throughout  the  empire  to  attack  the  white  men  wher- 
ever they  were  to  be  met  with,  setting  a  price  ob 
their  heads,  as  well  as  on  the  persons  of  all  who 
should  be  brought  alive  to  him  in  Mexico.^  And  it 
was  no  uncommon  thing  for  the  Spaniards  to  find 
hanging  up  in  the  temples  of  the  conquered  places 
the  arms  and  accoutrements  of  their  unfortunate 
countrymen  who  had  been  seized  and  sent  to  the 
capital  for  sacrifice.^  —  Such  was  the  young  monarch 
who  was  now  called  to  the  tottering  throne  of  the 
Aztecs;  worthy,  by  his  bold  and  magnanimous  na- 
ture, to  sway  the  sceptre  of  his  country,  in  the  most 
flourishing  period  of  her  renown ;  and  now,  in  her 


5  Herrera,  Hist.  General,  dec.        6  Bernal  Di»,  Hist,  de  I* 
2,  lib.  10,  cap.  19.  quista,  cap.  134. 


452  EXPULSION   FROM    MEXICO.  [Book  V. 

distress,  devoting  himself  in  the  true  spirit  of  a  patri- 
ot prince  to  uphold  her  falling  fortunes,  or  bravely 
perish  with  them/ 

We  must  now  return  to  the  Spaniards  in  Tlascala, 
where  we  left  them  preparing  to  resume  their  march 
on  Mexico.  Their  commander  had  the  satisfaction 
to  see  his  troops  tolerably  complete  in  their  appoint- 
ments ;  varying,  indeed,  according  to  the  condition 
of  the  different  reinforcements  which  had  arrived 
from  time  to  time  ;  but,  on  the  whole,  superior  to 
those  of  the  army  with  which  he  had  first  invaded 
the  country.  His  whole  force  fell  little  short  of  six 
hundred  men ;  forty  of  whom  were  cavalry,  together 
with  eighty  arquebusiers  and  crossbow-men.  The 
rest  were  armed  with  sword  and  target,  and  with 
the  copper-headed  pike  of  Chinantla.  He  had  nine 
cannon  of  a  moderate  calibre,  and  was  indifferently 
supplied  with  powder.^ 

As  his  forces  were  drawn  up  in  order  of  march, 
Cortes  rode  through  the  ranks,  exhorting  his  soldiers, 
as  usual  with  him  on  these  occasions,  to  be  true  to 
themselves,  and  the  enterprise  in  which  they  were 
embarked.  He  told  them,  they  were  to  march 
against  rebels,  who  had  once  acknowledged  alle- 
giance to  the  Spanish  sovereign  ;  ^  against  barbarians, 

'  One  may  call  to  mind  the  beau-  8  Rel.  Tercera  de  Cortes,  ap. 

liful  invocation  which  Racine  has  Lorenzana,  p.  183. 

put  into  the  mouth  of  Joad  ;  Most,  if  not  all,  of  the  authori- 

"  Venez,  cher  rejeton  d'une  vaillante  race,  ties,  — a  thing  worthy  of  note,  — 

Rempll^s  d6fenseur8  d'une  nouvelle  au-  concur  in  this  estimate  of  the  Span- 

Venei  du  diadfimo  k  leurs  yeux  voue  cou-  ^^^  forces. 

▼rir>  9  <<  Y  como  sin  causa  ninguna 

Elp4rlmzdumoln«enrol,8'ilfautp«rir.»  todos  los  Naturales  de  Colua,  que 
ArniaiE,  acte  4,  seine  5. 


Ch.  VII.]         PREPARATIONS  FOR  THE  MARCH.  453 

the  enemies  of  their  religion.  They  were  to  fight 
the  battles  of  the  Cross  and  of  the  crown ;  to  fight 
their  own  battles,  to  wipe  away  the  stain  from  their 
arms,  to  avenge  their  injuries,  and  the  loss  of  the 
dear  companions  who  had  been  butchered  on  the 
field  or  on  the  accursed  altar  of  sacrifice.  Never 
was  there  a  war  which  offered  higher  incentives  to 
the  Christian  cavalier ;  a  war  which  opened  to  him 
riches  and  renown  in  this  life,  and  an  imperishable 
glory  in  that  to  come.^° 

Thus  did  the  politic  chief  touch  all  the  secret 
springs  of  devotion,  honor,  and  ambition  in  the  bo- 
soms of  his  martial  audience,  waking  the  mettle  of 
the  most  sluggish  before  leading  him  on  the  perilous 
emprise.  They  answered  with  acclamations,  that 
they  were  ready  to  die  in  defence  of  the  Faith  ;  and 
would  either  conquer,  or  leave  their  bones  with  those 
of  their  countrymen  in  the  waters  of  the  Tezcuco. 

The  army  of  the  allies  next  passed  in  review  be- 
fore the  general.  It  is  variously  estimated  by  writers 
from  a  hundred  and  ten  to  a  hundred  and  fifty  thou- 
sand soldiers !  The  palpable  exaggeration,  no  less 
than  the  discrepancy,  shows  that  little  reliance  can 
be  placed  on  any  estimate.  It  is  certain,  however, 
that  it  was  a  multitudinous  array,  consisting  not  only 

son  los  de  la  gran  Ciudad  de  Te-  "  Porque  demas  del  premio,  que 

raixtitan,  y  los  de  todas  las  otras  les  davia  en  el  cielo,  se  les  segui- 

Provincias  a  ellas  sujetas,  no  sola-  nan   en  esto  mundo  grandissima 

mente   se  habian  rebelado   contra  honra,  riquezas  inestimables."  Ixt- 

Vuestra  Magestad."      Ibid.,   ubi  lilxochitl,  Hist.Chichimeca,  MS., 

supra.  cap.  91, 

10  Rel.   Terc.   de   Cortes,  ap. 
Lorenzana,  p.  184. 


464  EXPULSION  FROM   MEXICO.  [Book  V. 

of  the  flower  of  the  Tlascalan  warriors,  but  of  those 
of  Cholula,  Tepeaca,  and  the  neighbouring  territo- 
ries, which  had  submitted  to  the  Castilian  crown  J  ^ 
Thej  were  armed,  after  the  Indian  fashion,  with 
bows  and  arrows,  the  glassy  maquahuitl,  and  the 
long  pike,  which  formidable  weapon,  Cortes,  as  we 
have  seen,  had  introduced  among  his  own  troops. 
They  were  divided  into  battalions,  each  having  its 
own  banner,  displaying  the  appropriate  arms  or  em- 
blem of  its  company.  The  four  great  chiefs  of  the 
nation  marched  in  the  van  ;  three  of  them  venerable 
for  their  years,  and  showing,  in  the  insignia  which 
decorated  their  persons,  the  evidence  of  many  a  glo- 
rious feat  in  arms.  The  panache  of  many-colored 
plumes  floated  from  their  casques,  set  in  emeralds  or 
other  precious  stones.  Their  escaupil,  or  stuffed 
doublet  of  cotton,  was  covered  with  the  graceful 
surcoat  of  feather- work,  and  their  feet  were  protect- 
ed by  sandals  embossed  with  gold.  Four  young 
pages  followed,  bearing  their  weapons,  and  four 
others  supported  as  many  standards,  on  which  were 
emblazoned  the  armorial  bearings  of  the  four  great 
divisions  of  the  republic. ^^  The  Tlascalans,  though 
frugal  in  the  extreme,  and  rude  in  their  way  of  life, 
were  as  ambitious  of  display  in  their  military  attire 
as  any  of  the  races  on  the  plateau.  As  they  defiled 
before  Cortes,  they  saluted   him   by  waving  their 


11  "Cosa  muy   de  ver,"  says  Hist,  de  Nueva  Espana,  lib.  12, 

&ther  Sahagun,  without  hazarding  cap.  30,  MS. 
any  precise  number,  "en  la  canti-        12  Herrera,  Hist.  General,  dee. 

dad  y  en  los  aparejos  que  Uevaban."  2,  lib.  10,  cap.  20. 


CiL  Vli.i  MILITARY  CODE.  465 

banners  and  by  a  flourish  of  their  wild  music,  which 
the  general  acknowledged  by  courteously  raising  his 
cap  as  they  passed.'^  The  Tlascalan  warriors,  and 
especially  the  younger  Xicotencatl,  their  commander, 
affected  to  imitate  their  European  masters,  not  mere- 
ly in  their  tactics,  but  in  minuter  matters  of  military 
etiquette. 

Cortes,  with  the  aid  of  Marina,  made  a  brief  ad- 
dress to  his  Indian  allies.  He  reminded  them  that 
he  was  going  to  fight  their  battles  against  their  an- 
cient enemies.  He  called  on  them  to  support  him 
in  a  manner  worthy  of  their  renowned  republic. 
To  those  who  remained  at  home,  he  committed  the 
charge  of  aiding  in  the  completion  of  the  brigantines, 
on  which  the  success  of  the  expedition  so  much  de- 
pended ;  and  he  requested  that  none  would  follow 
his  banner,  who  were  not  prepared  to  remain  till  the 
final  reduction  of  the  capital,^*  This  address  was  an- 
swered by  shouts,  or  rather  yells,  of  defiance,  show- 
ing the  exultation  felt  by  his  Indian  confederates 
at  the  prospect  of  at  last  avenging  their  manifold 
wrongs,  and  humbling  their  haughty  enemy. 

Before  setting  out  on  the  expedition,  Cortes  pub- 
lished a  code  of  ordinances,  as  he  terms  them,  or 
regulations  for  the  army,  too  remarkable  to  be  passed 
over  in  silence.  The  preamble  sets  forth,  that  in  all 
institutions,  whether  divine  or  human,  —  if  the  latter 
have  any  worth,  —  order  is  the  great  law.  The 
ancient  chronicles  inform  us,  that  the  greatest  cap- 

13  Ibid.,  ubi  supra.  i<  Ibid.,  loo.  oit. 


456  EXPULSION  FROM   MEXICO.  [Book  V. 

tains  in  past  times  owed  their  successes  quite  as 
much  to  the  wisdom  of  their  ordinances,  as  to  their 
own  valor  and  virtue.  The  situation  of  the  Span- 
iards eminently  demanded  such  a  code  ;  a  meni 
handful  of  men  as  thej  were,  in  the  midst  of  count- 
less enemies,  most  cunning  in  the  management  of 
their  weapons  and  in  the  art  of  war.  The  instru- 
ment then  reminds  the  army  that  the  conversion 
of  the  heathen  is  the  work  most  acceptable  in  the 
eye  of  the  Almighty,  and  one  that  will  be  sure 
to  receive  his  support.  It  calls  on  every  soldier  to 
regard  this  as  the  prime  object  of  the  expedition, 
without  which  the  war  would  be  manifestly  unjust, 
and  every  acquisition  made  by  it,  a  robbery. ^^ 

The  general  solemnly  protests,  that  the  principal 
motive,  which  operates  in  his  own  bosom,  is  the 
desire  to  wean  the  natives  from  their  gloomy  idola- 
try, and  to  impart  to  them  the  knowledge  of  a  purer 
faith ;  and  next,  to  recover  for  his  master,  the  em- 
peror, the  dominions  which  of  right  belong  to  him.^^ 

The  ordinances  then  prohibit  all  blasphemy  against 

15  "  Que  su  principal  motive  6  nombre  de  S.  M.  que  mi  principal 

intencion  sea  apartar  y  desarraigar  intencion  6  motive  es  facer  esta 

de  las  dichas  idolatrias  a  todos  los  guerra  e  las  otras  que  ficiese  por 

naturales  destas  partes  y  reducillos  traer  y  reducir  k  los  dichos  natu- 

6k]o  menosdesear  su  salvacion  y  rales  al  dicho  conocimiento  de  nu- 

que  scan  reducides  al  conocimiento  estra  Santa  Fe  e  creencia  ;  y  des- 

de  Dios  y  de  su  Santa  Fe  cat61ica :  pues  por  los  sozjugar  e  supeditar 

porque  si  con  otra  intencion   se  debajo  del  yugo  e  dominio  imperial 

hiciese  la  dicha  guerra  seria  injus-  e  real  de  su   Sacra  Magestad,  a 

ta  y  todo  lo  que  en  ella  se  oviese  quien  juridicamente  el  Senorio  de 

Onoloxio  6obligadoarestitucion."  todas  estas  partes.*'     Ordenanzas 

Ordenanzas  Militares,  MS.  Militares,  MS. 

W  "  E  desde  ahora  protesto  en 


Ch.  VII.]  MILITARY  CODE.  4^7 

God  or  the  saints ;  a  vice  much  more  frequent  among 
Catholic  than  Protestant  nations,  arising,  perhaps, 
less  from  difference  of  religion,  than  of  physical 
temperament,  —  for  the  warm  sun  of  the  South,  un  • 
der  which  Catholicism  prevails,  stimulates  the  sensi- 
bilities to  the  more  violent  expression  of  passion. ^^ 

Another  law  is  directed  against  gaming,  to  which 
the  Spaniards,  in  all  ages,  have  been  peculiarly  ad- 
dicted. Cortes,  making  allowance  for  the  strong 
national  propensity,  authorizes  it  under  certain  lim- 
itations ;  but  prohibits  the  use  of  dice  altogether.'^ 
Then  follow  other  laws  against  brawls  and  private 
combats,  against  personal  taunts  and  the  irritating 
sarcasms  of  rival  companies ;  rules  for  the  more  per- 
fect discipline  of  the  troops,  whether  in  camp  or  the 
field.    Among  others,  is  one  prohibiting  any  captain, 

17  "Cen'est  qu'en  Espagne  et  this  time,  breaks  out  into  the  follow- 
er! Italic,"  says  the  penetrating  ing  animated  apostrophe  against  it. 
historian  of  the  Italian  Republics,  "El  jugador  es  el  que  dessea  y 
"  qu'on  rencontre  cette  habitude  procura  la  muerte  de  sus  padres, 
vicieuse,  absolument  inconnue  aux  el  que  jura  false  por  Dies  y  por  la 
peuples  protestans,  et  qu'il  ne  faut  vida  de  su  Rey  y  Sefior,  el  que 
point  confondre  avec  les  grossiers  mata  k  su  anima,  y  la  echa  en  el 
juremens  que  le  peuple  en  tout  infierno :  j  y  que  no  hara  el  juga- 
pays  mele  a  ses  discours.  Dans  tons  dor  q  no  averguenca  de  perder  sus 
les  acces  de  colere  des  peuples  du  dineros,  de  perder  el  tiempo,  per- 
Midi,  ils  s'attaquent  aux  objets  de  der  el  suefio,  perder  la  fama,  per- 
Ipur  culte,  ils  les  menacent,  et  ils  der  la  honra,  y  perder  finalmente 
accablent  de  paroles  outrageantes  la  vida?  Porlo  cual  como  ya  gran 
la  Divinite  elle-meme,  le  Redemp-  parte  de  los  hombres  siempre  y 
teur  ou  ses  saints."  Sismondi,  donde  quiera  continuamente  jue- 
Republiques  Italiennes,  cap.  126.  gan,  paresceme  verdadera  la  opin- 
io Lucio  Marineo,  who  witness-  ion  de  aquellos  que  dizenc/  infierno 
ed  all  the  dire  effects  of  this  na-  estar  lleno  de  jugadores.''^  Cosaa 
tional  propensity  at  the  Castilian  Memorables  de  Espagiia,  (ed.  Se- 
court,  where  he  was  residing  at  villa,  1539,)  fol  165. 
VOL.    II.                      68 


458  EXPULSION  FROM  MEXICO.  [Book  V. 

under  pain  of  death,  from  charging  the  enemy  with- 
out orders ;  a  practice,  noticed  as  most  pernicious 
and  of  too  frequent  occurrence,  —  showing  the  im- 
|)etuous  spirit  and  want  of  true  military  subordina- 
tion in  the  bold  cavaliers  who  followed  the  standard 
of  Cortes. 

The  last  ordinance  prohibits  any  man,  officer  or 
private,  from  securing  to  his  own  use  any  of  the 
booty  taken  from  the  enemy,  whether  it  be  gold, 
silver,  precious  stones,  feather-work,  stuffs,  slaves,  or 
other  commodity,  however  or  wherever  obtained,  in 
the  city  or  in  the  field  ;  and  requires  him  to  bring 
it  forthwith  to  the  presence  of  the  general,  or  the 
officer  appointed  to  receive  it.  The  violation  of  this 
law  was  punished  with  death  and  confiscation  of 
property.  So  severe  an  edict  may  be  thought  to 
prove,  that,  however  much  the  Conquistador  may 
have  been  influenced  by  spiritual  considerations,  he 
was  by  no  means  insensible  to  those  of  a  temporal 
character.  ^^ 

These  provisions  were  not  suffered  to  remain  a 
dead  letter.  The  Spanish  commander,  soon  after 
their  proclamation,  made  an  example  of  two  of  his 
own  slaves,  whom  he  hanged  for  plundering  the  na- 
tives.    A  similar  sentence  was  passed  on  a  soldier 

1*  These  regulations  are  report-  taken  from  the  Munoz  collection. 

ed  with  much  uniformity  by  Her-  As  the  document,  though  curious 

rera,  Solis,  Clavigero,  and  others,  and  highly  interesting,  has  never 

but  with  such  palpable  inaccuracy,  been  published,  I  have  given  it  en- 

that  it  is  clear  they  never  could  tire  in  the  Appendix.  Part  2,  No 

have  seen  the  original  instrument.  13. 
The  copy  in  my  possession  was 


Ch.  VII.] 


MILITARY   CODE. 


459 


for  the  like  offence,  though  he  allowed  him  to  be  cue 
down  before  the    sentence  was  entirely  executed. 
Cortes  knew  well   the  character  of  his  followers ; 
rough  and  turbulent  spirits,  who  required  to  be  ruled 
with  an  iron  hand.     Yet  he  was  not  eager  to  assert 
his  authority  on  light  occasions.     The  intimacy  into 
which  they  were  thrown  by  their  peculiar  situation, 
perils,  and  sufferings,  in  which  all  equally  shared, 
and  a  common  interest  in  the  adventure,  induced  a 
familiarity  between  men  and  officers,  most  unfavora- 
ble to  military  discipline.     The  general's  own  man- 
ners, frank  and  liberal,  seemed  to  invite  this  free- 
dom,  which,   on   ordinary   occasions,  he    made   no 
attempt  to  repress ;  perhaps  finding  it  too  difficult, 
or  at  least  impolitic,  since  it  afforded  a  safety-valve 
for  the  spirits  of  a  licentious  soldiery,  that,  if  violent- 
ly coerced,  might  have  burst  forth  into  open  mutiny. 
But  the  limits  of  his  forbearance  were  clearly  de- 
fined ;  and  any  attempt  to  overstep  them,  or  to  vio- 
late the  established  regulations  of  the  camp,  brought 
a  sure  and  speedy  punishment  on  the  offender.     By 
thus  tempering    severity  with  indulgence,  masking 
an  iron  will  under  the  open  bearing  of  a  soldier,  — 
Cortes  established  a  control  over  his  band  of  bold 
and  reckless  adventurers,  such  as  a  pedantic  marti- 
net, scrupulous  in  enforcing  the  minutiae  of  military 
etiquette,  could  never  have  obtained. 

The  ordinances,  dated  on  the  twenty-second  of 
December,  were  proclaimed  to  the  assembled  army  on 
the  twenty-sixth.  Two  days  afterwards,  the  troops 
were  on  their  march,  and  Cortes,  at  the  head  of  his 


460  EXPULSION  FROM  MEXICO.  [Book  V. 

battalions,  with  colors  fljing  and  music  playing, 
issued  forth  from  the  gates  of  the  republican  capital, 
which  had  so  generously  received  him  in  his  distress, 
and  which  now,  for  the  second  time,  supplied  him 
with  the  means  for  consummating  his  great  enter- 
prise. The  population  of  the  city,  men,  women,  and 
children,  hung  on  the  rear  of  the  army,  taking  a  last 
leave  of  their  countrymen,  and  imploring  the  gods  to 
crown  their  arms  with  victory. 

Notwithstanding  the  great  force  mustered  by  the 
Indian  confederates,  the  Spanish  general  allowed 
but  a  small  part  of  them  now  to  attend  him.  He 
proposed  to  establish  his  head-quarters  at  some  place 
on  the  Tezcucan  lake,  whence  he  could  annoy  th' 
Aztec  capital,  by  reducing  the  surrounding  country, 
cutting  off  the  supplies,  and  thus  placing  the  city  in 
a  state  of  blockade.^" 

The  direct  assault  on  Mexico  itself  he  intended 
to  postpone,  until  the  arrival  of  the  brigantines 
should  enable  him  to  make  it  with  the  greatest 
advantage.  Meanwhile,  he  had  no  desire  to  en- 
cumber himself  with  a  superfluous  multitude,  whom 
it  would  be  difficult  to  feed ;  and  he  preferred  to 
leave  them  at  Tlascala,  whence  they  might  convey 
the  vessels,  when  completed,  to  the  camp,  and  aid 
liim  in  his  future  operations. 

Three  routes  presented  themselves  to  Cortes,  by 

5*  Herrera,  Hist.  General,  dec.  number  of  Indian  allies  who  fol- 

2,  lib.  10,  cap.  20.  —  Bernal  Diaz,  lowed  Cort6s,  at  eighty  thousand  ; 

Hist,  de  la  Conquista,  cap.  127.  the  latter  at  ten  thousand  !  iQuien 

The  former  historian   states   the  sabe? 


Ch.  VII.]  SPANIARDS  CROSS  THE  SIERRA.  461 

which  he  might  penetrate  into  the  Valley.  He 
chose  the  most  difficult,  traversing  the  bold  sierra 
which  divides  the  eastern  plateau  from  the  western, 
and  so  rough  and  precipitous,  as  to  be  scarcely  prac- 
ticable for  the  march  of  an  army.  He  wisely  judg- 
ed, that  he  should  be  less  likely  to  experience  an- 
noyance from  the  enemy  in  this  direction,  as  they 
might  naturally  confide  in  the  difficulties  of  the 
ground  for  tlieir  protection. 

The  first  day,  the  troops  advanced  five  or  six 
leagues,  Cortes  riding  in  the  van,  at  the  head  of  his 
little  body  of  cavalry.  They  halted  at  the  village  of 
Tetzmellocan,  at  the  base  of  the  mountain  chain 
which  traverses  the  country,  touching,  at  its  southern 
limit,  the  mighty  Iztaccihuatl,  or  "  White  Woman," 
—  white  with  the  snows  of  ages.^^  At  this  village 
they  met  with  a  friendly  reception,  and  on  the  fol- 
lowing morning  began  the  ascent  of  the  sierra. 

The  path  was  steep  and  exceedingly  rough. 
Thick  matted  bushes  covered  its  surface,  and  the 
winter  torrents  had  broken  it  into  deep  stony  chan- 
nels, hardly  practicable  for  the  passage  of  artillery, 
while  the  straggling  branches  of  the  trees,  flung 
horizontally  across  the  road,  made  it  equally  difficult 


21  This  mountain,  which,  with  rises  far  above  the  limits  of  perpet- 

its  neighbour  Popocatepetl,  forms  ual  snow  in  the  tropics,  and  it« 

the   great  barrier  —  the  Herculis  huge  crest  and  sides,  enveloped  in 

columruB  —  of  the  Mexican  Valley,  its  silver  drapery,  form  one  of  the 

has  been  fancifully  likened,  from  most  striking  objects  in  the  magni- 

its  long  dorsal  swell,  to  the  back  ficent  coup  d^aeil  presented  to  the 

of  a  dromedary.     (Tudor's  Tour  inhabitants  of  the  capital, 
in  North  America,  let.  22.)     It 


462  EXPULSION   FROM   MEXICO.  [Book  V. 

for  cavalry.  The  cold,  as  they  rose  higher,  became 
intense.  It  was  keenly  felt  by  the  Spaniards,  accus- 
tomed of  late  to  a  warm,  or,  at  least,  temperate 
climate  ;  though  the  extreme  toil,  with  which  they 
forced  their  way  upward,  furnished  the  best  means 
of  resisting  the  weather.  The  only  vegetation  to 
be  seen  in  these  higher  regions  was  the  pine,  dajrk 
forests  of  which  clothed  the  sides  of  the  mountains, 
till  even  these  dwindled  into  a  thin  and  stunted 
growth.  It  was  night  before  the  way-worn  soldiers 
reached  the  bald  crest  of  the  sierra,  where  they  lost 
no  time  in  kindling  their  fires  ;  and,  huddling  round 
their  bivouacs,  they  warmed  their  frozen  limbs,  and 
pi-epared  their  evening  repast. 
'  With  the  earliest  dawn,  the  troops  were  again  in 
motion.  Mass  was  said,  and  they  began  their  de- 
scent, more  difficult  and  painful  than  their  ascent 
on  the  day  preceding ;  for,  in  addition  to  the  natural 
obstacles  of  the  road,  they  found  it  strown  with 
huge  pieces  of  timber  and  trees,  obviously  felled  for 
the  purpose  by  the  natives.  Cortes  ordered  up  a 
body  of  light  troops  to  clear  away  the  impediments, 
and  the  army  again  resumed  its  march,  but  with  the 
apprehension  that  the  enemy  had  prepared  an  am- 
buscade, to  surprise  them  when  they  should  be  en- 
tangled in  the  pass.  They  moved  cautiously  for- 
ward, straining  their  vision  to  pierce  the  thick  gloom 
of  the  forests,  where  the  wily  foe  might  be  lurking. 
But  they  saw  no  living  thing,  except  only  the  wild 
inhabitants  of  the  woods,  and  flocks  of  the  zopilote, 
the  voracious  vulture  of  the  country,  which,  in  an- 


Ch.  YIL]  SPANIARDS  CROSS  THE  SIERRA.  46;^ 

ticipation  of  a  bloody  banquet,  hung,  like  a  tioop 
of  evil  spirits,  on  the  march  of  the  army. 

As  they  descended,  the  Spaniards  felt  a  senniWe 
:ind  most  welcome  change  in  the  temperature.  Thf 
character  of  the  vegetation  changed  with  it,  and 
the  funereal  pine,  tlieir  only  companion  of  late,  gave 
way  to  the  sturdy  oak,  to  the  sycamore,  and,  lower 
down,  to  the  graceful  pepper-tree  mingling  its  red 
berry  with  the  dark  foliage  of  the  forest ;  while,  in 
still  lower  depths,  the  gaudy-colored  creepers  might 
be  seen  flinging  their  gay  blossoms  over  the  branches, 
and  telling  of  a  softer  and  more  luxurious  climate. 

At  length,  the  army  emerged  on  an  open  level, 
where  the  eye,  unobstructed  by  intervening  wood 
or  hill-top,  could  range,  far  and  wide,  over  the 
Valley  of  Mexico.  There  it  lay  bathed  in  the 
gdden  sunshine,  stretched  out,  as  it  were,  in  slum- 
ber, in  the  arms  of  the  giant  hills,  which  clustered, 
like  a  phalanx  of  guardian  genii,  around  it.  The 
magnificent  vision,  new  to  many  of  the  spectators, 
filled  them  with  rapture.  Even  the  veterans  of 
Cortes  could  not  withhold  their  admiration,  though 
this  was  soon  followed  by  a  bitter  feeling,  as  they 
recalled  the  sufferings  which  had  befallen  them 
within  these  beautiful,  but  treacherous,  precincts. 
It  made  us  feel,  says  the  lion-hearted  Conqueror,  in 
his  Letters,  that  "  we  had  no  choice  but  victory  or 
death ;  —  and,  our  minds  once  resolved,  we  moved 
forward  with  as  light  a  step,  as  if  we  had  been 
going  on  an  errand  of  certain  pleasure."^ 

22  "  Y  prometimos  todos  de  nanca  de  ella  salir,  sin  Victoria,  6  dejar 


464  EXPULSION   FROM  MEXICO.  [Book  V, 

As  the  Spaniards  advanced,  tliej  beheld  the  neigh- 
bouring hill-tops  blazing  with  beacon  fires,  showing 
that  the  country  was  already  alarmed  and  mustering 
to  oppose  them.  The  general  called  on  his  men  to 
be  mindful  of  their  high  reputation ;  to  move  in  or- 
der, closing  up  their  ranks,  and  to  obey  implicitly  the 
commands  of  their  officers.^^  At  every  turn  among 
the  hills,  they  expected  to  meet  the  forces  of  the 
enemy  drawn  up  to  dispute  their  passage.  And,  as 
they  were  allowed  to  pass  the  defiles  unmolested, 
and  drew  near  to  the  open  plains,  they  were  pre- 
pared to  see  them  occupied  by  a  formidable  host, 
who  would  compel  them  to  fight  over  again  the  bat- 
tle of  Otumba.  But,  although  clouds  of  dusky  war- 
riors were  seen,  from  time  to  time,  hovering  on  the 
highlands,  as  if  watching  their  progress,  they  expe- 
rienced no  interruption,  till  they  reached  a  barranca^ 
or  deep  ravine,  through  which  flowed  a  little  river, 
crossed  by  a  bridge  partly  demolished.  On  the 
opposite  side  a  considerable  body  of  Indians  was 
stationed,  as  if  to  dispute  the  passage  ;  but,  whether 
distrusting  their  own  numbers,  or  intimidated  by  the 
steady  advance  of  the  Spaniards,  they  offered  them 
no  annoyance,  and  were  quickly  dispersed  by  a  few 
resolute  charges  of  cavalry.     The  army  then  pro- 


alli  las  vidas.     Y  con  esta  deter-  quehiciessen,comosiemprehabian 

minacion  ibamos  todos  tan  alegres,  hecho,  y  como  se  esperaha  de  sus 

como  si  fueramos  §.  cosa  de  mucho  Personas  ;  y  que  nadie  no  se  des- 

placer."     Rel.  Terc,  ap.  Loren-  mandasse,  y  que  fuessen  con  mucho 

tana,  p.  188.  concierto,y  6rden  porsuC amino." 

^  **  Y  yo  torn6  k  rogar,  y  en-  Ibid.,  ubi  supra. 
comendar  mucho  k  los  Espanoles, 


Cii.  VII.]  ENTER  TEZCUCO.  4^ 

ceeded,  without  molestation,  to  a  small  town,  called 
Coatepec,  where  they  halted  for  the  night.  Before 
retiring  to  his  own  quarters,  Cortes  made  the  rounds 
of  the  camp,  with  a  few  trusty  followers,  to  see  that 
all  was  safe.^  He  seemed  to  have  an  eye  that 
never  slumbered,  and  a  frame  incapable  of  fatigue. 
It  was  the  indomitable  spirit  within,  which  sustained 
him.^ 

Yet  he  may  well  have  been  kept  awake  through 
the  watches  of  the  night,  by  anxiety  and  doubt.  He 
was  now  but  three  leagues  from  Tezcuco,  the  far- 
famed  capital  of  the  Acolhuans.  He  proposed  to 
establish  his  head-quarters,  if  possible,  at  this  place. 
Its  numerous  dwellings  would  afford  ample  accom- 
modations for  his  army.  An  easy  communication 
with  Tlascala,  by  a  different  route  from  that  which 
he  had  traversed,  would  furnish  him  with  the  means 
of  readily  obtaining  supplies  from  that  friendly  coun- 
try, and  for  the  safe  transportation  of  tJie  brigantines, 
when  finished,  to  be  launched  on  the  waters  of  the 
Tezcuco.     But  he  had  good  reason  to  distrust  the 


2*  **  E  como  la  Gente  de  pie  quoted,  see  Gomara,  Cr6nica,  cap 

venia  algo    cansada,   y  se  hacia  121,  —  Oviedo,  Hist,  de  las  Ind., 

tarde,  dormimos  en  una  Poblacion,  MS.,  lib.   33,  cap.   18,  —  Beroal 

que  se  dice  Coatepeque Diaz,  Hist,  de  la  Conquista,  cap. 

E  yo  con  diez  de  Caballo  comenz6  137,  —  Camargo,  Hist,  de  Tlas- 

la  Vela,  y  Ronda  de  la  prima,  y  cala,  MS.,  —  Herrera,  Hi»t.  Gen- 

hice,  que  toda  la  Gente  estubiesse  eral,  dec.  2,  lib.   10,  cap.  20, — 

muy  apercibida."     Ibid.,  pp.  188,  Ixtlilxochitl ,  Relacion  de  la  Venida 

189.  de  los  Espaiioles  y  Principio  de  la 

25  For  the  preceding  pages,  giv-  Ley  Evangdlica,  (Mexico,  1829,) 

tag  the  account  of  the  march,  be-  p.  9. 
gides  the  Letter  of  Cort^,  so  often 

VOL.   II.  59 


466  EXPULSION  FROM  MEXICO.  [Book  V. 

reception  he  should  meet  with  in  the  capital ;  for  an 
important  revolution  had  taken  place  there,  since 
the  expulsion  of  the  Spaniards  from  Mexico,  of 
which  it  will  be  necessary  to  give  some  account. 

The  reader  will  remember  that  the  cacique  of 
that  place,  named  Cacama,  was  deposed  by  Cortes, 
during  his  first  residence  in  the  Aztec  metropolis,  in 
consequence  of  a  projected  revolt  against  the  Span- 
iards, and  that  the  crown  had  been  placed  on  the 
head  of  a  younger  brother,  Cuicuitzca.  The  de- 
posed prince  was  among  the  prisoners  carried  away 
by  Cortes,  and  perished  with  the  others,  in  the  terri- 
ble passage  of  the  causeway,  on  the  noche  triste. 
His  brother,  afraid,  probably,  after  the  flight  of  the 
Spaniards,  of  continuing  with  his  own  vassals,  whose 
sympathies  were  altogether  with  the  Aztecs,  accom- 
panied his  friends  in  their  retreat,  and  was  so  fortu- 
nate as  to  reach  Tlascala  in  safety. 

Meanwhile,  a  second  son  of  Nezahualpilli,  named 
Coanaco,  claimed  the  crown,  on  his  elder  brother's 
death,  as  his  own  rightful  inheritance.  As  he  hear- 
tily joined  his  countrymen  and  the  Aztecs  in  their 
detestation  of  the  white  men,  his  claims  were  sanc- 
tioned by  the  Mexican  emperor.  Soon  after  his  ac- 
cession, the  new  lord  of  Tezcuco  had  an  opportunity 
of  showing  his  loyalty  to  his  imperial  patron  in  an 
effectual  manner. 

A  body  of  forty-five  Spaniards,  ignorant  of  the 
disasters  in  Mexico,  were  transporting  thither  a 
large  quantity  of  gold,  at  the  very  time  their  coun- 
trymen were  on  the  retreat  to  Tlascala.     As  they 


Ch.  VII.]  ENTER  TEZCUCO.  467 

passed  through  the  Tezcucan  territory,  they  were 
attacked  by  Coanaco's  orders,  most  of  them  mas- 
sacred on  the  spot,  and  the  rest  sent  for  sacrifice  to 
Mexico.  The  arms  and  accoutrements  of  these  un- 
fortunate men  were  hung  up  as  trophies  in  the  tem- 
ples, and  their  skins,  stripped  from  their  dead  bodies, 
were  suspended  over  the  bloody  shrines,  as  the  most 
acceptable  offering  to  the  offended  deities.^ 

Some  months  after  this  event,  the  exiled  prince, 
Cuicuitzca,  wearied  with  his  residence  in  Tlascala, 
and  pining  for  his  former  royal  state,  made  his  way 
back  secretly  to  Tezcuco,  hoping,  it  would  seem,  to 
raise  a  party  there  in  his  favor.  But,  if  such  were 
his  expectations,  they  were  sadly  disappointed ;  for 
no  sooner  had  he  set  foot  in  the  capital,  than  he  was 
betrayed  to  his  brother,  who,  by  the  advice  of  Gua- 
temozin,  put  him  to  death,  as  a  traitor  to  his  coun- 
txy,^'^  —  Such  was  the  posture  of  affairs  in  Tezcuco, 
when  Cortes,  for  the  second  time,  approached  its 
gates ;  and  well  might  he  doubt,  not  merely  the  na- 
ture of  his  reception  there,  but  whether  he  would  be 
permitted  to  enter  it  all,  without  force  of  arms. 

These  apprehensions  were  dispelled  the  following 
morning,  when,  before  the  troops  were  well  under 
arms,  an  embassy  was  announced  from  the  lord  of 
Tezcuco.     It  consisted  of  several  nobles,  some  of 

88  See  Ante,  p.  410.  in  these  disgusting  spoils  of  their 

The  skins  of  those  immolated  on  victims.    See   Sahagun,  Hist,  de 

the  sacrificial  stone  were  a  common  Nueva  Espana,  passim. 

offering  in  the  Indian  temples,  and        27  Rgl.  Terc.  de  Cortds,  ap.  Lo- 

the  mad  priests  celebrated  many  of  renzana,  p.    187.  —  Oviedo,  Hist. 

their  festivals  by  publicly  dancing  de  las  Ind.,  MS.,  lib.  33,  cap.  19. 

with  their  own  persons  enveloped 


468  EXPULSION  FROM  MEXICO.  [Book  V 

whom  were  known  to  the  companions  of  Cortes. 
They  bore  a  golden  flag  in  token  of  amity,  and  a 
present  of  no  great  value  to  Cortes.  They  brought 
also  a  message  from  the  cacique,  imploring  the  gen- 
eral to  spare  his  territories,  inviting  him  to  take  up 
his  quarters  in  his  capital,  and  promising  on  his  arri- 
val to  become  the  vassal  of  the  Spanish  sovereign. 

Cortes  dissembled  the  satisfaction  with  which 
he  Hstened  to  these  overtures,  and  sternly  demanded 
of  the  envoys  an  account  of  the  Spaniards  who  had 
been  massacred,  insisting,  at  the  same  time,  on  the 
immediate  restitution  of  the  plunder.  But  the  In- 
dian nobles  excused  themselves,  by  throwing  the 
whole  blame  upon  the  Aztec  emperor,  by  whose  or- 
ders the  deed  had  been  perpetrated,  and  who  now 
had  possession  of  the  treasure.  They  urged  Cortes 
not  to  enter  the  city  that  day,  but  to  pass  the  night 
in  the  suburbs,  that  their  master  might  have  time  to 
prepare  suitable  accomodations  for  him.  The  Span- 
ish commander,  however,  gave  no  heed  to  this  sug- 
gestion, but  pushed  forward  his  march,  and  at  noon, 
on  the  thirty-first  of  December,  1520,  entered,  at  the 
head  of  his  legions,  the  venerable  walls  of  Tezcuco, 
"the  place  of  rest,'^  as  not  inaptly  denominated.^"^ 

He  was  struck,  as  when  he  before  visited  this 
populous  city,  with  the  solitude  and  silence  which 
reigned  throughout  its  streets.     He  was  conducted 


28  Tezcuco,  a  Chichemec  name,  the  North  halted  there  on  their 

according  to  Ixtlilxochitl,  signify-  entrance    into    Anahuac.       Hist. 

ing  "  place  of  detention  or  rest,"  Chich.,  MS.,  cap.  10. 
because  the  various  tribes   from 


Cp.  VII.]  ENTER  TEZCUCO.  469 

to  the  palace  of  Nezahualpilli,  which  was  assigned 
as  his  quarters.  It  was  au  irregular  pile  of  low 
buildings,  covering  a  wide  extent  of  ground,  like  the 
royal  residence  occupied  by  the  troops  in  Mexico. 
It  was  spacious  enough  to  furnish  accommodations, 
not  only  for  all  the  Spaniards,  says  Cortes,  but  for 
twice  their  number.^^  He  gave  orders,  on  his  arri- 
val, that  all  regard  should  be  paid  to  the  persons 
and  property  of  the  citizens ;  and  forbade  any  Span- 
iard to  leave  his  quarters  under  pain  of  death. 

His  commands  were  not  effectual  to  suppress  some 
excesses  of  his  Indian  allies,  if  the  report  of  the 
Tezcucan  chronicler  be  correct,  who  states  that  the 
Tlascalans  burned  down  one  of  the  royal  palaces, 
soon  after  their  arrival.  It  was  the  depository  of  the 
national  archives  ;  and  the  conflagration,  however  it 
may  have  occurred,  may  well  be  deplored  by  the 
antiquary,  who  might  have  found  in  its  hieroglyph- 
ic records  some  clue  to  the  migrations  of  the  myste- 
rious races  which  first  settled  on  the  highlands  of 
Anahuac.^ 

Alarmed  at  the  apparent  desertion  of  the  place, 
as  well  as  by  the  fact  that  none  of  its  principal 
inhabitants  came  to  welcome  him,  Cortes  ordered 

29  "Laqualestan  grande,  que  tuvo  esta  tierra,  porque  con  eslo 
aunque  fueramos  doblados  los  Es-  toda  la  memoria  de  sus  antiguayas 
paiioles,  nos  pudieramos  aposentar  y  otras  cosas  que  eran  como  Escri- 
bien  k  placer  en  ella."  Rel.  Terc,  turas  y  recuerdos  perecieron  desde 
ap.  Lorenzana,  p.  191.  este  tierapo.   La  obra  de  las  Casaa 

30  "  De  tal  manera  que  se  que-  era  la  mejor  y  la  mas  artiliciosa 
m^ron  todos  los  Archivos  Reales  que  hubo  en  esta  tierra."  Ixtlilxo- 
de  toda  la  Nueva  Espana,  que  fue  chitl,  Hist.  Chich.,  MS.,  cap.  91 
una  de  las  mayores  p^rdidas  que 


470  EXPULSION  FROM  MEXICO.  [Book  V 

some  soldiers  to  ascend  the  neighbouring  teocalli 
and  survey  the  city.  They  soon  returned  with  the 
report,  that  the  inhabitants  were  leaving  it  in  great 
numbers,  with  their  families  and  effects,  some  in 
canoes  upon  the  lake,  others  on  foot  towards  the 
mountains.  The  general  now  comprehended  the 
import  of  the  cacique's  suggestion,  that  the  Span- 
iards should  pass  the  night  in  the  suburbs,  —  in  order 
to  secure  time  for  evacuating  the  city.  He  feared 
that  the  chief  himself  might  have  fled.  He  lost 
no  time  in  detaching  troops  to  secure  the  principal 
avenues,  where  they  were  to  turn  back  the  fugi- 
tive:;), and  arrest  the  cacique,  if  he  were  among  the 
number.  But  it  was  too  late.  Coanaco  was  already 
far  on  his  way  across  the  lake  to  Mexico. 

Cortes  now  determined  to  turn  this  event  to  his 
own  account,  by  placing  another  ruler  on  the  throne, 
who  should  be  more  subservient  to  his  interests. 
He  called  a  meeting  of  the  few  principal  persons 
still  remaining  in  the  city,  and,  by  their  advice,  and 
ostensible  election,  advanced  a  brother  of  the  late 
sovereign  to  the  dignity,  which  they  declared  vacant. 
This  prince,  who  consented  to  be  baptized,  was  a 
willing  instrument  in  the  hands  of  the  Spaniards. 
He  survived  but  a  few  months,^^  and  was  succeeded 


^^    The    historian    Ixtlilxochitl  cord!      "Fue  el  primero  que  lo 

pays  the  following  high  tribute  to  fue  en  Tezcoco,  con  harta  pena  de 

the  character  of  his  royal  kinsman,  los  Espanoles,  porque  fue  nobilisi- 

whose  name  was  Tecocol.  Strange  mo  y  los  quiso  mucho.     Fu^  D. 

that  this  name  is  not  to  be  found —  Fernando  Tecocoltzin  muy  gentil 

with  the  exception  of  Sahagun's  hombre,   alto  de  cuerpo    y  muy 

work  —  in  any  contemporary  re-  bianco,    tanto    cuanto   podia    ser 


Ch.  VII.]  PRINCE  IXTLILXOCHITL.  471 

by  another  member  of  the  royal  house,  named  Ix- 
tlilxochitl,  who,  indeed,  as  general  of  his  armies, 
may  be  said  to  have  held  the  reins  of  government 
in  his  hands  during  his  brother's  lifetime.  As  this 
person  was  intimately  associated  with  the  Spaniards 
in  their  subsequent  operations,  to  the  success  of 
which  he  essentially  contributed,  it  is  proper  to  give 
some  account  of  his  earlier  history,  which,  in  truth, 
is  as  much  enveloped  in  the  marvellous,  as  that  of 
any  fabulous  hero  of  antiquity.^ 

He  was  son,  by  a  second  queen,  of  the  great 
Nezahualpilli.  Some  alarming  prodigies  at  his  birth, 
and  the  gloomy  aspect  of  the  planets,  led  the  as- 
trologers, who  cast  his  horoscope,  to  advise  the  king, 
his  father,  to  take  away  the  infant's  life  since,  if 
he  lived  to  grow  up,  he  was  destined  to  unite  with 
the  enemies  of  his  country,  and  overturn  its  institu- 
tions and  religion.  But  the  old  monarch  replied, 
says  the  chronicler,  that  "  the  time  had  arrived 
when  the  sons  of  Quetzalcoatl  were  to  come  from 
the  East  to  take  possession  of  the  land;  and,  if  the 

cualquier  Espanol  por  muy  bianco  a  manner,  — his  Indian  name  being 
que  fuese,  y  que  mostraba  su  per-  omitted,  —  that  it  is  very  doubtful 
sona  y  t^rmino  descender,  y  ser  if  any  other  is  intended  than  his 
del  linage  que  era.  Supo  la  lengua  younger  brother  Ixtlilxochitl.  The 
Castellana,  y  asi  casi  las  mas  no-  Tezcucan  chronicler,  bearing  this 
ches  despues  de  haber  cenado,  tra-  last  melodious  name,  has  alone 
taban  el  y  Cortes  de  todo  lo  que  given  the  particulars  of  his  history, 
se  debia  hacer  acerca  de  las  guer-  I  have  followed  him,  as,  from  his 
ras."  Ixtlilxochitl,  Venida  de  los  personal  connexions,  having  had 
Ksp.,  pp.  12,  13.  access  to  the  best  sources  of  infor- 
32  The  accession  of  Tecocol,  as,  mation  ;  though,  it  must  be  con- 
indeed,  his  existence,  passes  un-  fessed,  he  is  far  too  ready  to  take 
noticed  by  some  historians,  and  by  things  on  trust,  to  be  always  the 
others  is  mentioned  in  so  equivocal  best  authority. 


472  EXPtJLSION  FROM  MEXICO.  [Book  V. 

Almighty  had  selected  his  child  to  cooperate  with 
them  in  the  work,  His  will  be  done."^ 

As  the  boy  advanced  in  years,  he  exhibited  a 
marvellous  precocity  not  merely  of  talent,  but  of 
mischievous  activity,  which  afforded  an  alarming 
prognostic  for  the  future.  When  about  twelve  years 
old,  he  formed  a  little  corps  of  followers  of  about  his 
own  age,  or  somewhat  older,  with  whom  he  practis- 
ed the  military  exercises  of  his  nation,  conducting 
mimic  fights  and  occasionally  assaulting  the  peaceful 
burghers,  and  throwing  the  whole  city  as  well  as 
palace  into  uproar  and  confusion.  Some  of  his  fa- 
ther's ancient  counsellors,  connecting  this  conduct 
with  the  predictions  at  his  birth,  saw  in  it  such 
alarming  symptoms,  that  they  repeated  the  advice  of 
the  astrologers,  to  take  away  the  prince's  life,  if  the 
monarch  would  not  see  his  kingdom  one  day  given 
up  to  anarchy.  This  unpleasant  advice  was  reported 
to  the  juvenile  offender,  who  was  so  much  exasper- 
ated by  it,  that  he  put  himself  at  the  head  of  a  party 
of  his  young  desperadoes,  and,  entering  the  houses 
of  the  offending  counsellors,  dragged  them  forth,  and 
administered  to  them  the  garrote,  —  the  mode  in 
which  capital  punishment  was  inflicted  in  Tezcuco. 

He  was  seized  and  brought  before  his  father. 
When  questioned  as  to  his  extraordinary  conduct,  he 

33  **E1  respondio,  que  era  por  viase  venir  nuevas  Gentes  ^  poseer 

demas  ir  contra  lo  determinado  por  la  Tierra,  como  eran  los  Hijos  de 

«1  Dios  Criador  de  todas  las  cosas,  Quetzalcoatl    que  aguardaban  su 

pues  no  sin  misterio  y  secreto  jui-  venida  de  la  parte  oriental."     Ix- 

cio  suyo  le  daba  tal  Hijo  al  tiempo  tlilxochitl,  Hist.  Chich.,  MS.,  cap. 

y  quando  se  acercaban  las  profe-  69. 
cias  de  bub  Aiitepasados,  que  ha- 


Ch.  VII.] 


PRINCE  IXTLILXOCHITL. 


473 


coolly  replied,  "  that  he  had  done  no  more  than  he 
had  a  right  to  do.  The  guilty  ministers  had  deserved 
their  fate,  by  endeavouring  to  alienate  his  father's 
affections  from  him,  for  no  other  reason,  than  his  too 
great  fondness  for  the  profession  of  arms,  —  the 
most  honorable  profession  in  the  state,  and  the  one 
most  worthy  of  a  prince.  If  they  had  suffered  death, 
it  was  no  more  than  they  had  intended  for  him." 
The  wise  Nezahualpilli,  says  the  chronicler,  found 
much  force  in  these  reasons;  and,  as  he  saw  nothing 
low  and  sordid  in  the  action,  but  rather  the  ebulli- 
tion of  a  daring  spirit,  which  in  after  life  might  lead 
to  great  things,  he  contented  himself  with  bestowing 
a  grave  admonition  on  the  juvenile  culprit.^^  Wheth- 
er this  admonition  had  any  salutary  effect  on  his 
subsequent  demeanour,  we  are  not  informed.  It  is 
said,  however,  that,  as  he  grew  older,  he  took  an  ac- 
tive part  in  the  wars  of  his  country,  and,  when  no 
more  than  seventeen,  had  won  for  himself  the  insig- 
nia of  a  valiant  and  victorious  captain.^^ 

On  his  father's  death,  he  disputed  the  succession 
with  his  elder  brother,  Cacama.  The  country  was 
menaced  with  a  civil  war,  when  the  affair  was  corn- 


s' "  Con  que  el  Rey  no  snpo  con 
que  ocacion  poderle  castigar,  por- 
que  lo  parecieron  sus  razones  tan 
vivas  y  fundadas  que  su  parte  no 
habia  hccho  cosa  indebida  ni  vileza 
para  poder  ser  castigado,  mas  tan 
solo  una  ferocidad  de  anirao  ;  pro- 
ndstico  de  lo  mucho  que  habia  de 
venir  k  saber  por  las  Armas,  y  asi 
el  Rey   dijo,   que  se  fuese  4  la 

VOL.    II.  60 


mano . ' '  Ixtlilxochitl ,  Hist.  Chich. , 
MS.,  cap.  69. 

35  Ibid.,  ubi  supra. 

Among  other  anecdotes  recorded 
of  the  young  prince's  early  devel 
opment  is  one  of  his  having,  when 
only  three  years  old,  pitched  hb 
nurse  into  a  well,  as  she  wa» 
drawing  water,  to  punish  her  for 
certain  improprieties  of  conduct  of 


474  EXPULSION  FROM   MEXICO.  [Book  V. 

promised  bj  his  brother's  ceding  to  him  that  portion 
of  his  territories,  which  lay  among  the  mountains. 
On  the  arrival  of  the  Spaniards,  the  young  chieftain 
—  for  he  was  scarcely  twenty  years  of  age  —  made, 
as  we  have  seen,  many  friendly  demonstrations  to- 
wards them,  induced,  no  doubt,  by  his  hatred  of 
Montezuma,  who  had  supported  the  pretensions  of 
Cacama.^^  It  was  not,  however,  till  his  advance- 
ment to  the  lordship  of  Tezcuco,  that  he  showed 
the  full  extent  of  his  good- will.  From  that  hour, 
he  became  the  fast  friend  of  the  Christians,  support- 
ing them  with  his  personal  authority,  and  the  whole 
strength  of  his  military  array  and  resources,  which, 
although  much  shorn  of  their  ancient  splendor  since 
the  days  of  his  father,  were  still  considerable,  and 
made  him  a  most  valuable  ally.  His  important  ser- 
vices have  been  gratefully  commemorated  by  the 
Castilian  historians ;  and  history  should  certainly 
not  defraud  him  of  his  just  meed  of  glory,  —  the 
melancholy  glory  of  having  contributed  more  than 
any  other  chieftain  of  Anahuac  to  rivet  the  chains  of 
the  white  man  round  the  necks  of  his  countrymen. 

which  he  had  been  witness.     But  petite  for  the  marvellous  may  not 

I  spare  the  reader  the  recital  of  keep  pace  with  that  of  the  chron- 

these  astonishing  proofs  of  precoc-  icier  of  Tezcuco. 

ity,  as  it  is  very  probable,  his  ap-  36  Ante,  Vol.  I.  p.  311. 


The  two  pillars,  on  which  the  story  of  the  Conquest  mainly  rests, 
are  the  Chronicles  of  Gomara  and  of  Bernal  Diaz,  two  individuals 
having  as  little  resemblance  to  each  other  as  the  courtly  and  cultivated 
churchman  has  to  the  unlettered  soldier. 

The  first  of  these,  Francisco  Lopez  de  Gomara,  was  a  native  of 


Cii.  VIL]  GOMARA.  475 

Seville.  On  the  return  of  Cortes  to  Spain  after  the  Conquest,  Gomara 
became  his  chaplain  ;  and  on  his  patron's  death  continued  in  the  service 
of  his  son,  the  second  Marquess  of  the  Valley.  It  was  then  that  he 
wrote  his  Chronicle  ;  and  the  circumstances  under  which  it  was  pro- 
duced might  lead  one  to  conjecture,  that  the  narrative  would  not  be 
conducted  on  the  strict  principles  of  historic  impartiality.  Nor  would 
such  a  conjecture  be  without  foundation.  The  history  of  the  Conquest 
is  necessarily  that  of  the  great  man  who  achieved  it.  But  Gomara 
has  thrown  his  hero's  character  into  so  bold  relief,  that  it  has  entirely 
overshadowed  that  of  his  brave  companions  in  arms ;  and,  while  he 
has  tenderly  drawn  the  veil  over  the  infirmities  of  his  favorite,  he  is 
ever  studious  to  display  his  exploits  in  the  full  blaze  of  panegyric. 
His  situation  may  in  some  degree  excuse  his  partiality.  But  it  did 
not  vindicate  him  in  the  eyes  of  the  honest  Las  Casas,  who  seldom 
concludes  a  chapter  of  his  own  narrative  of  the  Conquest  without 
administering  a  wholesome  castigation  to  Gomara.  He  even  goes  so 
far  as  to  tax  the  chaplain  with  "  downright  falsehood,"  assuring  us 
"that  he  had  neither  eyes  nor  ears  but  for  what  his  patron  chose  to 
dictate  to  him."  That  this  is  not  literally  true  is  evident  from  the  fact 
that  the  narrative  was  not  written  till  several  years  after  the  death  of 
Cortes.  Indeed,  Gomara  derived  his  information  from  the  highest 
sources  ;  not  merely  from  his  patron's  family,  but  also  from  the  most 
distinguished  actors  in  the  great  drama,  with  whom  his  position  in 
society  placed  him  in  intimate  communication. 

The  materials  thus  obtained  he  arranged  with  a  symmetry  little 
understood  by  the  chroniclers  of  the  time.  Instead  of  their  rambling 
incoherencies,  his  style  displays  an  elegant  brevity ;  it  is  as  clear 
as  it  is  concise.  If  the  facts  are  somewhat  too  thickly  crowded  on 
the  reader,  and  occupy  the  mind  too  busily  for  reflection,  they  at  least 
all  tend  to  a  determinate  point,  and  the  story,  instead  of  dragging 
its  slow  length  along  till  our  patience  and  interest  are  exhausted, 
steadily  maintains  its  onward  march.  In  short,  the  execution  of  the 
work  is  not  only  superior  to  that  of  most  contemporary  narratives,  but, 
to  a  certain  extent,  may  aspire  to  the  rank  of  a  classical  composition. 

Owing  to  these  circumstances,  Gomara's  History  soon  obtained  gen- 
eral circulation  and  celebrity  ;  and,  while  many  a  letter  of  Cort^, 
and  the  more  elaborate  compositions  of  Oviedo  and  Las  Casas,  were 
suffered  to  slumber  in  manuscript,  Gomara's  writings  were  printed  and 
reprinted  in  his  own  day,  and  translated  into  various  languages  of  Eu- 
rope. The  first  edition  of  the  Cronica  de  la  Nueva  Espana  appeared  at 
Medina,  in  1553  ;  it  was  republished  at  Antwerp  the  following  year.  It 
has  smce  been  incorporated  in  Barcia's  collection,  and  lastly,  in  1826, 
made  its  appearance  on  this  side  of  the  water  from  the  Mexi  'ar  piess. 


476  BERNAL  DIAZ.  [Book  V. 

The  circumstances  attending  this  last  edition  are  curious.  The  Mexican 
government  appropriated  a  small  sum  to  defray  the  expense  of  trans- 
lating what  was  supposed  to  be  an  original  chronicle  of  Chimalpain, 
an  Indian  writer  who  lived  at  the  close  of  the  sixteenth  century.  The 
care  of  the  translation  was  committed  to  the  laborious  Bustamante.  But 
this  scholar  had  not  proceeded  far  in  his  labor,  when  he  ascertained 
that  the  supposed  original  was  itself  an  Aztec  translation  of  Gomara's 
Chronicle.  He  persevered,  however,  in  his  editorial  labors,  until  he 
had  given  to  the  public  an  American  edition  of  Gomara.  It  is  a  fact 
more  remarkable,  that  the  editor  in  his  different  compilations  constantly 
refers  to  this  same  work  as  the  Chronicle  of  Chimalpain. 

The  other  authority  to  which  I  have  adverted  is  Bernal  Diaz  del 
Castillo,  a  native  of  Medina  del  Campo  in  Old  Castile.  He  was  born 
of  a  poor  and  humble  family,  and  in  1514  came  over  to  seek  his  for- 
tunes in  the  New  World.  He  embarked  as  a  common  soldier  under 
Cordova  in  the  first  expedition  to  Yucatan.  He  accompanied  Grijalva 
in  the  following  year  to  the  same  quarter ;  and  finally  enlisted  under 
the  banner  of  Cortes.  He  followed  this  victorious  chief  in  his  first 
march  up  the  great  plateau  ;  descended  with  him  to  make  the  assault 
on  Narvaez ;  shared  the  disasters  of  the  noche  triste ;  and  was  pres- 
ent at  the  siege  and  surrender  of  the  capital.  In  short,  there  was 
scarcely  an  event  or  an  action  of  importance  in  the  whole  war  in  which 
he  did  not  bear  a  part.  He  was  engaged  in  a  hundred  and  nineteen 
different  battles  and  rencontres,  in  several  of  which  he  was  wounded, 
and  in  more  than  one  narrowly  escaped  falling  into  the  enemy's  hands. 
In  all  these  Bemal  Diaz  displayed  the  old  Castilian  valor,  and  a 
loyalty  which  made  him  proof  against  the  mutinous  spirit  that  too 
often  disturbed  the  harmony  of  the  camp.  On  every  occasion  he  was 
found  true  to  his  commander  and  to  the  cause  in  which  he  was  em- 
barked. And  his  fidelity  is  attested  not  only  by  his  own  report,  but 
by  the  emphatic  commendations  of  his  general ;  who  selected  him  on 
this  account  for  offices  of  trust  and  responsibility,  which  furnished  the 
future  chronicler  with  access  to  the  best  means  of  information  in  re- 
spect to  the  Conquest, 

On  the  settlement  of  the  country,  Bernal  Diaz  received  his  share 
of  the  repartimientos  of  land  and  laborers.  But  the  arrangement  was 
not  to  his  satisfaction  ;  and  he  loudly  murmurs  at  the  selfishness  of  his 
commander,  too  much  engrossed  by  the  care  for  his  own  emoluments 
to  think  of  his  followers.  The  division  of  spoil  is  usually  an  unthankful 
office.  —  Diaz  had  been  too  long  used  to  a  life  of  adventure  to  be  con- 
tent with  one  of  torpid  security.  He  took  part  in  several  expeditions 
conducted  by  the  captains  of  Cortes,  and  he  accompanied  that  chief 
in  his  terrible  passage  through  the  forests  of  Honduras.     At  lenjjth, 


Ch.  VII.]  BERNAL  DIAZ.  477 

in  1568,  we  find  the  veteran  established  as  regidor  of  the  city  of  Gru»- 
teniala,  peacefully  employed  in  recounting  the  valorous  achievement* 
of  his  youth.  It  was  then  nearly  half  a  century  after  the  Conqueat. 
He  had  survived  his  general  and  nearly  all  his  ancient  companions  in 
arms.  Five  only  remained  of  that  gallant  band  who  had  accompani* 
ed  Cortes  on  his  expedition  from  Cuba ;  and  those  five,  to  borrow  tho 
words  of  the  old  chronicler,  were  "  poor,  aged,  and  infirm,  with  chil- 
dren and  grandchildren  looking  to  them  for  support,  but  with  scarcely 
the  means  of  affording  it,  —  ending  their  days,  as  they  had  begun  them, 
in  toil  and  trouble."  Such  was  the  fate  of  the  Conquerors  of  goldeo 
Mexico. 

The  motives  which  induced  Bernal  Diaz  to  take  up  bis  pen,  at  to 
late  a  period  of  life,  were  to  vindicate  for  himself  and  his  comradat 
that  share  of  renown  in  the  Conquest,  which  fairly  belonged  to  them. 
Of  this  they  had  been  deprived,  as  he  conceived,  by  the  exaggerated 
reputation  of  their  general ;  owing,  no  doubt,  in  part,  to  the  influence 
of  Gomara's  writings.  It  was  not,  however,  till  he  had  advanced 
beyond  the  threshold  of  his  own  work,  that  Diaz  met  with  that  of  the 
chaplain.  The  contrast  presented  by  his  own  homely  diction  to  the 
clear  and  polished  style  of  his  predecessor  filled  him  with  so  much 
disgust,  that  he  threw  down  his  pen  in  despair.  But,  when  he  had  read 
further,  and  saw  the  gross  inaccuracies  and  what  he  deemed  disregard 
of  truth  in  his  rival,  he  resumed  his  labors,  determined  to  exhibit  to 
the  world  a  narrative  which  should,  at  least,  have  the  merit  of  fidelity. 
Such  was  the  origin  of  the  Historia  Verdadera  de  la  Conquista  de  la 
Nueva  Espana. 

The  chronicler  may  be  allowed  to  have  succeeded  in  his  object.  In 
reading  his  pages,  we  feel,  that,  whatever  are  the  errors  into  which  he 
has  fallen,  from  oblivion  of  ancient  transactions,  or  from  unconscious 
vanity,  —  of  which  he  had  full  measure,— or  from  credulity,  or  any 
other  cause,  there  is  nowhere  a  wilful  perversion  of  truth.  Had  he  at- 
tempted it,  indeed,  his  very  simplicity  would  have  betrayed  him.  Even 
in  relation  to  Cortes,  while  he  endeavours  to  adjust  the  true  balance 
between  his  pretensions  and  those  of  his  followers,  and  while  he  freely 
exposes  his  cunning  or  cupidity,  and  sometimes  his  cruelty,  he  doea 
ample  justice  to  his  great  and  heroic  qualities.  With  all  his  defects,  it 
is  clear  that  he  considers  his  own  chief  as  superior  to  any  other  of  an- 
cient or  modem  times.  In  the  heat  of  remonstrance,  he  is  ever  ready 
to  testify  his  loyalty  and  personal  attachment.  When  calumnies  assail 
his  commander,  or  he  experiences  unmerited  slight  or  indignity,  the 
loyal  chronicler  is  prompt  to  step  forward  and  shield  him.  In  short,  it 
is  evident,  that,  however  much  he  may  at  times  censure  Cort^,  he  wfll 
allow  no  one  else  to  do  it. 


47B  BERNAL  DIAZ.  [Book  V. 

Bernal  Diaz,  the  untutored  child  of  nature,  is  a  most  true  and  literal 
copyist  of  nature.  He  transfers  the  scenes  of  real  life  by  a  sort  of 
daguer'^eoiype  process,  if  I  may  so  say,  to  his  pages.  He  is  among 
chroniclers  what  De  Foe  is  among  novelists.  He  introduces  us  into 
the  heart  of  the  camp,  we  huddle  round  the  bivouac  with  the  soldiers, 
loiter  with  them  on  their  wearisome  marches,  listen  to  their  stories,  their 
murmurs  of  discontent,  their  plans  of  conquest,  their  hopes,  their  tri- 
umphs, their  disappointments.  All  the  picturesque  scenes  and  romantic 
incidents  of  the  campaign  are  reflected  in  his  page  as  in  a  mirror.  The 
lapse  of  fifty  years  has  had  no  power  over  the  spirit  of  the  veteran. 
The  fire  of  youth  glows  in  every  line  of  his  rude  history  ,  and^  as  he  calls 
up  the  scenes  of  the  past,  the  remembrance  of  the  brave  companions 
who  are  gone  gives,  it  may  be,  a  warmer  coloring  to  the  picture,  than 
if  it  had  been  made  at  an  earlier  period.  Time,  and  reflection,  and  the 
apprehensions  for  the  future,  which  might  steal  over  the  evening  of 
life,  have  no  power  over  the  settled  opinions  of  his  earlier  days.  He 
has  no  misgivings  as  to  the  right  of  conquest,  or  as  to  the  justice  of  the 
severities  inflicted  on  the  natives.  He  is  still  the  soldier  of  the  Cross  ; 
and  those  who  fell  by  his  side  in  the  fight  were  martyrs  for  the  faith. 
"Where  are  now  my  companions  ?  "  he  asks;  "they  have  fallen  in 
battle  or  been  devoured  by  the  cannibal,  or  been  thrown  to  fatten  the 
wild  beasts  in  their  cages !  they  whose  remains  should  rather  have 
been  gathered  under  monuments  emblazoned  with  their  achievements, 
which  deserve  to  be  commemorated  in  letters  of  gold  ;  for  they  died  in 
the  service  of  God  and  of  his  Majesty,  and  to  give  light  to  those  who 
sat  in  darkness, — and  also  to  acquire  that  ivealth  which  most  men  covet.^^ 
The  last  motive — thus  tardily  and  incidentally  expressed  —  may  be 
thought  by  some  to  furnish  a  better  key  than  either  of  the  preceding  to 
the  conduct  of  the  Conquerors.  It  is,  at  all  events,  a  specimen  of  that 
naivete  which  gives  an  irresistible  charm  to  the  old  chronicler ;  and 
which,  in  spite  of  himself,  unlocks  his  bosom,  as  it  were,  and  lays  it 
open  to  the  eye  of  the  reader. 

It  may  seem  extraordinary,  that,  after  so  long  an  interval,  the  inci- 
dents of  his  campaigns  should  have  been  so  freshly  remembered.  But 
we  must  consider  that  they  were  of  the  most  strange  and  romantic 
character,  well  fitted  to  make  an  impression  on  a  young  and  susceptible 
imagination.  They  had  probably  been  rehearsed  by  the  veteran  again 
and  again  to  his  family  and  friends,  until  every  passage  of  the  war 
was  as  familiar  to  his  mind  as  the  "  tale  of  Troy  "  to  the  Greek  rhap- 
sodist,  or  the  interminable  adventures  of  Sir  Lancelot  or  Sir  Gawain  to 
the  Norman  minstrel.  The  throwing  of  his  narrative  into  the  form 
of  chronicle  was  but  repeating  it  once  more. 
The  literary  merits  of  the  work  are  of  a  very  humble  order ;  as 


Ch.  VII.]  BERNAL   DIAZ.  479 

might  be  expected  from  the  condition  of  the  writer.  He  has  not  even 
the  art  to  conceal  his  own  vulgar  vanity,  which  breaks  out  with  a  truly 
comic  ostentation  in  every  page  of  the  narrative.  And  yet  we  should 
have  charity  for  this,  when  we  find  that  it  is  attended  with  no  dispoM^ 
tion  to  depreciate  the  merits  of  others,  and  that  its  display  may  be  re- 
ferred in  part  to  the  singular  simplicity  of  the  man.  He  honestly  con- 
fesses his  infirmity,  though,  indeed,  to  excuse  it.  "  When  my  chronicle 
was  finished,"  he  says,  "  I  submitted  it  to  two  licentiates,  who  were 
desirous  of  reading  the  story,  and  for  whom  I  felt  all  the  respect  which 
an  ignorant  man  naturally  feels  for  a  scholar.  I  besought  them,  at  the 
same  time,  to  make  no  change  or  correction  in  the  manuscript,  as  all 
there  was  set  down  in  good  faith.  When  they  had  read  the  work,  they 
much  commended  me  for  my  wonderful  memory.  The  language,  they 
said,  was  good  old  Castilian,  without  any  of  the  flourishes  and  finicalities 
so  much  affected  by  our  fine  writers.  But  they  remarked,  that  it  would 
have  been  as  well,  if  I  had  not  praised  myself  and  my  comrades  so 
liberally,  but  had  left  that  to  others.  To  this  I  answered,  that  it  was 
common  for  neighbours  and  kindred  to  speak  kindly  of  one  another ; 
and,  if  we  did  not  speak  well  of  ourselves,  who  would  ?  Who  else 
witnessed  our  exploits  and  our  battles,  —  unless,  indeed,  the  clouds  in 
the  sky,  and  the  birds  that  were  flying  over  our  heads?  " 

Notwithstanding  the  liberal  encomiums  passed  by  the  licentiates  on 
our  author's  style,  it  is  of  a  very  homely  texture  ;  abounding  in  collo- 
quial barbarisms,  and  seasoned  occasionally  by  the  piquant  sallies  of  the 
camp.  It  has  the  merit,  however,  of  clearly  conveying  the  writer's 
thoughts,  and  is  well  suited  to  their  simple  character.  His  narrative 
is  put  together  with  even  less  skill  than  is  usual  among  his  craft,  and 
abounds  in  digressions  and  repetitions,  such  as  vulgar  gossips  are  apt 
to  use  in  telling  their  stories.  But  it  is  superfluous  to  criticize  a  work 
by  the  rules  of  art,  which  was  written  manifestly  in  total  ignorance  of 
those  rules ;  and  which,  however  we  may  criticize  it,  will  be  read  and 
re-read  by  the  scholar  and  the  school-boy,  while  the  compositions  of 
more  classic  chroniclers  sleep  undisturbed  on  their  shelves. 

In  what,  then,  lies  the  charm  of  the  work  ?  In  that  spirit  of  truth 
which  pervades  it ;  which  shows  us  situations  as  they  were,  and  sen- 
timents as  they  really  existed  in  the  heart  of  the  writer.  It  is  this 
which  imparts  a  living  interest  to  his  story ;  and  which  is  more  fir©- 
quently  found  in  the  productions  of  the  untutored  penman  solely  intent 
upon  facts,  than  in  those  of  the  ripe  and  fastidious  scholar  occupied 
with  the  mode  of  expressing  them. 

It  was  by  a  mere  chance  that  this  inimitable  chronicle  was  reeeaed 
from  the  oblivion  into  which  so  many  works  of  higher  pretensions  hare 
fallen  in  the  Peninsula.     For  more  than  sixty  years  after  its  composi- 


480  BERNAL   DIAZ.  [Book  ▼. 

tion,  the  manuscript  lay  concealed  in  the  obscurity  of  a  private  library, 
when  it  was  put  into  the  hands  of  Father  Alonso  Remon,  Chronicler 
General  of  the  Order  of  Mercy.  He  had  the  sagacity  to  discover,  un- 
der its  rude  exterior,  its  high  value  in  illustrating  the  history  of  the 
Conquest.  He  obtained  a  license  for  the  publication  of  the  work,  and 
under  his  auspices  it  appeared  at  Madrid  in  1632,  —  the  edition  used  in 
the  preparation  of  these  volumes. 


END    OP  THE    SECOND   VOLUME. 


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