YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY From the Library of LEWIS S. WELCH HISTORY CONQUEST OF MEXICO. VOL. II. $ 1 OKr.A' a HISTOBY OF THE CONQUEST OF MEXICO, WITH A PRKLJM1NARY VIEW OF THE ANCIENT MEXICAN CIVILIZATION, AND THE LIFE OF THE CONQUEROR, HERNANDO CORTEZ. BY WILLIAM II. PRESCOTT, AtJTHOB OF THE "HISTOBT OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA," "HISTOBY OF ! CONQUEST OF PEBU," ETC., ETC. *' Victrices aquilaa alium laturua in orbem." Lucan, Pharaalia, lib. t., t. 238. IN THREE VOLUMES. VOL. II. T-WBNTT- S IXTH EDITION. ¦ 1 w BOSTON: PHILLIPS, SAMPSON AND COMPANY, No. 18 WINTER STREET. 18 5 6. Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1843, by Wiliiam H. Pkesoott, In the Clerk's office of the District Court for the District of Massachuset. CONTENTS VOLUME SECOND BOOK III. MARCH TO MEXICO.— CONTINUED. CHAPTER VI. Pago 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 ........ 0 Temple of Quetzalcoatl ....... 7 Holy City 8 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 29 VI 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 26272S 30 30313334 35 363738 3839 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 49 The Troops suffer from the Tempest . 50 First View of the Valley .... .51 Its Magnificence and Beauty 58 Impression on the Spaniards ...... 53 Disaffection of the Natives to Montezuma .... 54 Embassy from the Emperor 55 His gloomy Apprehensions 56 Silence of the Oracles ....... 57 CONTENTS. vn Page Spaniards advance ... 58 Death of the Spies 59 Arrival of the Tezcucan Jjord 60 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 86 Cortes visits Montezuma 87 Attempts to convert the Monarch ..... 87 Entire Failure 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 96 Viu CONTENTS. Pag* Peter Martyr ... 99 His Works 100 BOOK IV RESIDENCE IN MEXICO. CHAPTER I. Tezcucan Lake. — Description of the Capital. — Palaces and Museums. — Royal Household. — Montezuma's Way of Life 10i> Lake of Tezcuco 105 Its Diminution ......... 106 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 12S Reserve of Montezuma 130 Symptoms of Decline of Power 13j CONTENTS. ix. Page 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 Provisions 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 146 Shrines of the Idols 148 Imprudence of Cortes 150 Interior Sanctuaries 151 Mound of Skulls 152 Aztec Seminaries 153 Impression on the Spaniards 154 Hidden Treasures ........ 155 Mass performed in Mexico 156 CHAPTER III. Anxiety of Cortes. — Seizure of Montezuma. — His Treat ment by the Spaniards. — Execution of his Officers. — Montezuma in Irons. — Reflections .... 157 Anxiety of Cortes 157 Council of War 158 Opinions of the Officers 159 Bold Project of Corte"s 160 Plausible Pretext 161 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 x CONTENTS. Page Trial of the Aztec Chiefs 171 Montezuma in Irons • 172 Chiefs burnt at the Stake ...... 173 Emperor allowed to return 174 Declines this Permission 174 Reflections on these Proceedings 175 Views of the Conquerors 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 Lake 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 His Distress 197 Its Effect on the Spaniards 198 Imperial Treasures ........ 199 Splendid Ornaments 200 The Royal Fifth 202 Amount of the Treasure 203 CONTENTS. XI Page 206 Cortes demands the Teocalli .... 209 Christian Worship in the Sanctuary . . 210 National Attachment to Religion . . 211 Discontents of the Aztecs .... . 212 Reply of Cortes . 214 Insecurity in the Castilian Quarters . . . 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 217 Cortes' Emissaries arrive in Spain ..... 217 • Their Fate 218 Proceedings at Court . . . . . . . 219 The Bishop of Burgos 220 Emperor postpones his Decision 221 Velasquez meditates Revenge 222 Sends Narvaez against Cortes 223 The Audience interferes ....... 224 Narvaez sails for Mexico 226 Vaunts of Narvaez 227 He anchors off San Juan de Ulua 228 Sandoval prepares for Defence . .... 229 His Treatment of the Invaders 230 Cortes hears of Narvaez . . .... 231 He bribes his Emissaries . . .... 232 Sends an Envoy to his Camp 233 The Friar's Intrigues 235 Embarrassment of Cortes 236 He prepares for Departure ...... 238 He leaves the Capital 240 VOL II. xii CONTENTS CHAPTER VII. Cortes 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 Cortds crosses the Rio de Canoas Surprises Narvaez by Night Tumult in his Camp Narvaez wounded and taken The Sanctuary in Flames The Garrisons surrender . Cortes gives Audience to his Captives Reflections on the Enterprise Page 241 241242243 244245 246 247 248 249250251252 253254255 256257 259 260 260262 264265 CHAPTER VIII. Discontent of the Troops. — Insurrection in the Capital. — Return of Cortes. — General Signs of Hostility. — Massacre by Alvarado. — Rising of the Aztecs . 269 Discontent of the Troops of Narvaez .... 269 Policy of Cortds 270 He displeases his Veterans 271 He divides his Forces . 272 News of an Insurrection in the Capital .... 273 Cortds prepares to return .... . 274 Arrives at Tlascala 275 Beautiful Landscape 276 CONTENTS. Disposition of the Natives News from the Spaniards in Mexico Cortds marches to the Capital . Signs of Alienation in the Aztecs . Spaniards reenter the Capital . Cause of the Insurrection Massacre by Alvarado HiB Apology for the Deed His probable Motives Rising of the Aztecs . Asscult the Garrison Cort5s reprimands his Officer His Coldness to Montezuma Cortes releases Montezuma's Brother He heads the Aztecs The City in Arms Notice of Oviedo His Life and Writings . Camargo's History . XM Paga 277278279279280281282284285286287289290291 292 292293294296 BOOK V. ' EXPULSION FROM MEXICO CHAPTER I. Desperate Assault on the Quarters. — Fury of the Mexi cans. — Sally cf tee 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 Appearance of their Forces 308 Sally of the Spaniards 309 Aztecs shower Missiles from the Azoteas . , . .311 Their Dwellings in Flames 311 Spaniards sound the Retreat 312 Gallantry of Cortes 313 Resolute Bearing of the Aztecs ... . . 314 xiv CONTENTS. -Page Cortds 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. Storming of the Great Temple. — Spirit of the Aztecs. — Distresses of the Garrison. — Sharp Combats in the City. — Death of Montezuma . ... 322 322323324 . 325326 . 327328 . 329330 . 331 332 . 333335 . 337339340341 . 343 344 . 345347 . 351353 . 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 Cortds invites a Parley He addresses the Aztecs . Spirit of the Aztecs The Spaniards dismayed . Distresses of the Garrison Military Machine of Cortds Impeded by the Canals Sharp Combats in the City Bold Bearing of Cortds Apparition of St. James . Attempt to convert Montezuma Its Failure Last Hours of Montezuma . His Character His Posterity .... Effect of his Death on the Spaniards Interment of Montezuma CHAPTER III. Council 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 Astroloeer 356 CONTENTS. Their Effect on Cortds . 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 ofthe Rear .... Alvarado's Leap .... Sad Spectacle of the Survivors Feelings of Cortds .... Spaniards defile through Tacuba . Storm the Temple .... Halt for the Night .... Reflections of the General The Loss of the Spaniards . CHAPTER IV, Retreat of the Spaniards. — Distresses Pyramids of Teotihuacan. — Great Quiet of the Mexicans The Spaniards resume their Retreat Distresses of the Army . Their heroic Fortitude Pyramids of Teotihuacan . Account 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 Cortds . He leads the Attack Great Battle of Otumba Gallantry of the Spaniards of the Army.— Battle of Otumba xv Page 357357359360 361362363364 364365366 367367368369 371372373374375375 376 381381 382384 386387 388390391392 393394 395396397397 svi CONTENTS. Pago Their Forces in Disorder 398 Desperate Effort of Cortds 39S The Aztec Chief is slain 400 The Barbarians put to Flight . ... 400 Rich Spoil for the Victors 401 Reflections on the Battle 402 CHAPTER V. Arrival in Tlascala. — Friendly Reception. — Discontents of the Army. — Jealousy of the Tlascalans. — Embassy from Mexico . Spaniards Arrive at Tlascala Friendly Reception Feelings of the Tlascalans Spaniards recruit their Strength Their further Misfortunes Tidings from Villa Rica Indomitable Spirit of Cortds Discontents of the Army Their Remonstrance The General's resolute Reply Jealousy of the Tlascalans Cortds strives to allay it Events in Mexico Preparations for Defence Aztec Embassy to Tlascala Stormy Debate in the Senate Mexican Alliance rejected 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 Cortds heads his Forces ...... 428 Capture of Quauhquechollan 429 404 405406407408410410411 411 412 414415416 417 418 419420421 CONTENTS XVII Pago Spaniards follow up the Blow . 431 Cortds' Treatment of his Allies 432 Building of the Brigantines 434 . 434 The Small-pox in Mexico 435 The disaffected Soldiers leave the Army , . 436 Arrival of Reinforcements 437 Further Good-fortune of Cortds . 439 His Letter to the Emperor 440 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 . 447 The Aztec Monarch dies ....... 447 The Electors appoint another 447 Prayer of the High-priest ...'... 448 Guatemozin elected Emperor 450 Prepares for War ...... . 451 Amount of the Spanish Force 452 Cortds reviews his Troops 452 His animated Address 453 Number of the Indian Allies . . ... 453 Their brilliant Array .... . . 454 Military Code of Cortds 455 Its Purpose 456 Its salutary Provisions 457 The Troops begin their March 459 Designs of Cortes ... . . 460 He selects his Route .... 461 Crosses the Sierra . 462 Magnificent View of the Valley .... 463 Energy of Cortds . . 465 Affairs in Tezcuco . 466 Spaniards arrive there • 467 ^Yo'D^j'AV Tl'teZftrsTOtls Jtisiiu ir ul'tlit. Conquest «f JSezico. ' » ,,I ''- ^ "I ,, a' 'toa 10 It is the condition, unequivo cally expressed and reiterated, on which Alexander VI. , 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 ha c been previously occupied by Christian princes. See these precious documents, in ex- tenso, apud Navarrete, Colleccion de los Viages y Descubrimientos, (Madrid, 1825,) tom. II. 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 should 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 ofthe law of nature, and still less rely on the powers conceded by King James' patent, asserting rights as absolute, nearly, as those claimed by the Roman See. On the contraiy, 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- Ch. VIL] REFLECTIONS ON THE MASSACRE. 33 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 Court of the United States, vol. titles in amoral view, they have VIII. p. 543, et seq.) If it were always been content, in their con- not treating a grave discussion too troversies with one another, to rest lightly, I should crave leave to them exclusively on priority of refer the reader to the renowned discovery. For a brief view of the Diedrich Knickerbocker's History discussion, see Vattel, (Droit des of New York, (book 1, chap. 5,) Gens, sec. 209,) and especially for a luminous disquisition on this Kent, (Commentaries on American knotty question. At all events, he Law, vol. III. lee. 51,) where it will find there the popular argu- is handled with much perspicuity ments subjected to the test of rid- and eloquence. The argument, as icule ; a test, showing, more than founded on the law of nations, may any reasoning can, how much, or be found in the celebrated case of rather how little, they are really Johnson v. Mcintosh. (Wheaton, worth. Reports of Cases in the Supreme VOL. II. 5 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. VIL] REFLECTIONS ON THE MASSACRE. 35 and without the same apology for resentment, — with no apology, indeed, but that afforded 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 then- 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 I2 — 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.13 He felt his empire melting away like a 12 Los Dioses blancos. — Camar- In an old Aztec harangue, made go, Hist, de Tlascala, MS. — as a matter of form on the accession Torquemada, Monarch. Ind., lib. of a prince, we find the following 4, cap. 40. remarkable prediction. "Perhaps 13 Sahagun, Hist, de Nueva ye are dismayed at the prospect Espana, 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.14 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- tion 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 14 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.15 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; 16 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.17 15 Bernal Diaz, Hist, de la Con- 17 Humboldt, Vues des Cordik quista, cap. 83. 16res, p. 32. 16 Veytia, Hist. Antig., tom. 1. cap. 13. Ch. VIL] 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 these 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.18 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, in a form capable of interpretation.19 It is the hard fate of 18 Rel. Seg. de Cortes, ap. Lo- ified, considering that three Aa- renzana, p. 69. — Gomara, Cro- tec codices exist with interpreta- nica, cap. 63. — Oviedo, Hist, de tions. (See Ante, Vol. I. pp 103, las Ind., 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 19 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 was 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 seem 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. Ch. VIL] 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 30 Bernal Diaz, Hist, de la Con- Gomara, Crdnica, cap. 60. — Ovi- quista, cap. 84, 85. — Rel. Seg. edo, Hist, de las Ind, MS., lib. de Cortds, ap. Lorenzana, p. 67. — 33, cap. 5. VOL. II. CHAPTER VIII. March resumed. —Ascent of the Great Volcano. — Valley op Mexico. —Impression on the Spaniards.— Conduct of Monte zuma. — They descend into the Valley. 1519. Every thing 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. VIIL] 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.1 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 foretold, ob structed with large trunks of trees, and huge stones which had been strewn across it. Cortes inquired the meaning of this from the Mexican ambassadors. They said it was done by the emperor's orders, to 1 "Andauamos," says Diaz, in ombro." Hist, do 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 rubbfsh 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.2 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,"3 — a name suggested, doubt less, by the bright robe of snow spread over its broad and broken surface. A puerile superstition 3 Ibid., ubi supra. — Rel. Seg. catepetl, y a la sierra nevada Izt- de Cortes, ap. Lorenzana, p. 70. accihuatl, que quiere decir Ia sier- — Torquemada, Monarch. Ind., raquehumea,y la blanca muger." lib. 4, cap. 41. Camargo, Hist, de Tlascala, MS, 8 " Llamaban al volcan Popo- Ch. VIIL] 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.4 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.5 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,6 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.7 During the present century, it has rarely given evidence of its volcanic origin, and " the hill 4 " La Sierra nevada y el volcan or " snow volcano " ; (Humboldt, los tenian por Dioses ; y que el Essai Politique, tom. I. p. 162 ;) volcan y la Sierra nevada eran and that enterprising traveller, marido y muger." Ibid., MS. Stephens, notices the volcan de s Gomara, Crdnica, cap. 62. agua, "water volcano," in the '¦' iEtna Giganteos nunquam tacitura trium- neighbourhood of Antigua Guate- phos, mala. Incidents of Travel in Encsladibustum.quisauciatergarevinc. ChiapaS; Central America, and Spiral inexhaustum flagranti pectore sui- Yucatan, (New Yo:k, 1841,) vol. phur." I. chap. 13. Claddian, De Rapt. Pros., lib. 1, v. 152. 7 Mont BlanC) according to M. 6 The old Spaniards called any de Saussure, is 15,670 feet high. lofty mountain by that name, For the estimate of Popocatepetl, though never having given signs see an elaborate communication in of combustion. Thus, Chimbora- the Revista Mexicana, tom. IT. 7.0 was called a volcan de nieve, No. 4. Ch. VIIL] 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 away 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. If 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. 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 Tlascalans, 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, 48 MARCH TO MEXICO. [Book ill. 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 )f 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.8 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 the crater, which presented an irregular ellipse at its mouth, more than a league in circumference. Its depth might be from 8 Rel. Seg. de Cortes, ap. Lo- perfectly successful. The genor- 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. III. p at Tlascala, and of the attempt as 308. — Gomara, Crdnica, cap. 62. Ch. VIIL] ASCENT OF THE GREAT VOLCANO. 4& eight hundred to a thousand feet. A lurid flame burned gloomily at the 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.9 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- reached in two expeditions, and tes, ap. Lorenzana, pp. 318, 380. again in 1833 and 1834. A very — Herrera, Hist. General, dec. 3, full account of the last, containing lib. 3, cap. 1. — Oviedo, Hist, de many interesting details and sci- las Ind., MS., lib. 33, cap. 41. entific observations, was written M. de Humboldt doubts the fact by Federico de Gerolt, one of the of Montaiio's descent into the era- party, and published in the period- ter, thinking it more probable that ical already referred to. (Revista he obtained the sulphur through Mexicana, tom. I. pp. 461-482.) some lateral crevice in the moun- The party from the topmost peak, tain. (Essai Politique, torn. I. p. which commanded a full view of 164.) No attempt — at least, no the less elevated Iztaccihuatl, saw successful one — has been made no vestige of a crater in that moun- to gain, the summit of Popocate- tain, contrary to the opinion usual- petl, since this of Montaiio, till the ly received. present century. In 1827 it was VOL. II. 7 50 MARCH TO MEXICO. [Book III. 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.10 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. VIIL] 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.11 Stretching far away at their feet, were seen noble forests of oak, sycamore, and cedar, and beyond, 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, in 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, n The . lake of Tezcuco, on above the sea. Humboldt, Essai which stood the capital of Mexico, Politique, tom. II. 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 Chapokepec, 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 rivalcapital 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.12 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 Oh. VIIL] 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 ! k 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!"13 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 on 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 battlt-s 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 Torquemada, Monarch. Ind., played to his hungry 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. prey. 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.1'1 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. H Torquemada, Monarch. Ind., mara, Crdnica, cap. 64. — Oviedo, nbi supra. — Herrera, Hist. Gene- Hist, de las Ind., MS., lib. 33. ral. dec. 2, lib. 7, cap. 3. — Go- cap. 5. Ch VIIL] CONDUCT OF MONTEZUMA. * 55 He took advantage, moreover, of their favorable dis positions, to scatter among them such gleams of spiritual light as time and the preaching of father 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,15 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 15 A load for a Mexican tamane hundred ounces. Clavigero, Stor. was about fifty pounds, or eight del Messico, tom. III. p. 69, nota, 56 MARCH TO MEXICO. [Book III peace. Montezuma would so find it, but, should their presence prove burdensome to him, it would be easy for them to relieve him of it.1G 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 be 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, do la na, p. 73. — Herrera, Hist. Gen- Conquista, cap. 87 eral, dec 2, lib. 7, cap. 3. — Go- Oh. VIIL] CONDUCT OF MONTEZUMA. ol 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 ! 17 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 !7 This was not the sentiment of the Roman hero. ' Victrix causa Biis placuit. sed victa Catoni ! " Luoan, lib. 1, v. 128. VOL. II. 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 Palseologi, to bury himself under its ruins.18 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.19 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- 18 Sahagun, Hist, de Nueva esclavas, y tres mil castellanos ; Espana, MS., lib. 12, cap. 13. — y dos dias que alli estuve nos pro- Torquemada, Monarch. Ind., lib. veyd muy cumplidamente de todo 4, cap. 44. — Gomara, Cronica, lo necesario para nuestra comida." cap. 63. Rel. Seg. de Cortes, ap. Lorenza- 19 "El sefior de esta 'provincia na, p. 74. y pueblo me did hasta quarenta Ch. VIIL] THEY DESCEND INTO THE VALLEY. 59 dious structure of the houses, built chiefly of stone, and with the general aspect of wealth and even ele gance which preyailed 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.20 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.21 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 que assi de espias, que venian por la gente que de un cabo e de otro el agua en canoas, como de otras, concurrian a mirar a los EspaBoles, que por la sierra abajaban, a ver £ maravillabanse mucho de los ver. si habia aparejo para exeeutar su Tenian grande espacio e atencion voluntad, amanecieron casi quince, en mirar los caballos ; decian, ' Es- 6 veinte, que las nuestras las ha- tos son Teules,' que quiere decir bian tornado, y muerto. Por ms.- Demonios." Oviedo, Hist, de las nera que pocas bolvieron a dar su Ind., MS., lib. 33, cap. 45. respuesta de el aviso que venian a 31 Cortes tells the affair coolly .tomar." Rel. Seg. de Cortds, ap. enough to the emperor. " E Lorenzana, p. 74. aquella nochs tuve tal guarda, 60 MARCH TO MEXICO. [Book III ing to meet him. It 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 (o 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 him 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 thin°; they had hith erto seen in the country.22 92 Rel. Seg. de Corte"s, ap. Lo- ca, cap. 64. — Ixtlilxochitl, Hist, renzana, p. 75. — Gomara, Croni- Chich.. MS., cap. 85 —Oviedo Oh. VIIL] THEY DESCEND INTO THE VALLEY. 61 Resuming its march, the army 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 une 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 nob- cap. 5. otros, que quando aquel Cacique "Llegd con el mayor fausto, traia tanto triunfo, que haria el y grandeza que ningun senor de gran Monteguma ? " Bernal Diaz, fos 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 the 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."23 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 33 "Nos quedamos admirados," dress had appeared before this exclaims Diaz, with simple won- time, as the prologue to the second der, " y deziamos que pareeia a las edition of 1521 speaks of a former casas de encantamento, que cuen- one in the reign of the "Catholic tan en el libro de Amadis! " (Ibid., Sovereigns." See Cervantes, Don loc. cit. ) An edition of this cele- Quixote, ed. Pellicer, (Madrid, brated romance in its Castilian 1797,) tom. I., Discurso Prelim. Ch. VIIL] THEY DESCEND INTO THE VALLEY. 63 most beautiful, according to Cortes, that he had yet seen in the country.24 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 tlie throng of Indians, who, 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.25 Traversing this peninsula, they entered the 34 "Una ciudad, la mas hermosa, or little Venice. Toribio, Hist, de aunque pequena, que hasta enton- los Indios, MS., Parte 2, cap. 4. ces habiamos visto, assi de muy ^ M. de 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 nquatic 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.26 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,27 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.23 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 " E me dieron," says Cortes and history. " hasta tres, 6 quatro mil Caste- 26 Several writers notice a visit llanos, y algunasEsclavas, y Ropa, of the Spaniards to Tezcuco on e me hicieron muy buen acogimi- the way to the capital. (Torque- ento." Rel. Seg., ap. Lorenzana, mada, Monarch. Ind., lib. 4, cap. p. 76. 42. — Solis, Conquista, lib. 3, cap. 28 "Tiene el Seiior de ella unas 9. — Herrera, Hist. General, dec. Casas nuevas, que aun no csian 2, lib. 7, cap. 4. — Clavigero, Stor. acabadas, que son tan buenas como del Messico, tom. III. p. 74.) This las mejores de. Espafia, digo da improbable episode — which, it grandes y bien "abradas." Ibid., may bo remarked, has led these p. 77. Ch. VIIL] THEY DESCEND INTO THE VALLEY. 65 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 foui persons to go abreast. The sides were curiously sculptured, and a flight of steps led to the water be- VOL. ii. 9 66 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 ; 29 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 ! w 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 39 The earliest instance of a Gar- 2, lib. 7, cap. 44. — Sahagun, den of 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 Americaines, tom. Ind., MS., lib. 33, cap. 5. — Ber- *¦ let- 21- nal Diaz, Hist, de la Conquista, 30 Rel. Seg. de Cone's, ubi su- cap. 87. pra. — Herrera, Hist. General, dec. i Ch. VIIL] 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 81 ' There Aztlan stood upon the farther The imperialcity, her far-circling walls, shore ; Her garden groves and stately palaces, Amid ' the shade of trees its dwellings Her temples mountain size, her thou- rose, sand roofs ; Their level roofs wi th turrets set around, And when I saw her might and majesty, And battlements all burnished white, My mind misgave me then. " which shone Southey's Madoc, Port 1, canto 6 Like silver in the sunshine. I behold CHAPTER IX. Environs or Mexico. — Interview with Montezuma. — Entrance 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.1 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.2 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 a " La calzada d'Iztapalapan est allies continued with him. The fon dee sur cette meme digue an- Spanish force on leaving Vera cienne, sur laquelle Cortez fit des Cruz amounted to about 400 foot prodige3 de valeur dans ses ren- and 15 horse. In the remonstrance contres avec les assieges." Hum- of the disaffected soldiers, after the boldt, Essai Politique, tom. II. p. murderous Tlascalan combats, they 57. speak of having lost fifty of their 70 MARCH TO MEXICO. [Book III. their metropolis.3 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.4 The water was dark ened by swarms of canoes filled with Indians,5 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 considerable size, rising and falling with the gentle undulation of the billows. At the distance of half a league from 3 Among these towns were sev- tos pueblos a la redonda de si y eral containing from three to five tan bien asentados." Hist, de log or six thousand dwellings, accord- Indios, MS., Parte 3, cap. 7. ing to Cortes, whose barbarous or- 5 lt ;s 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 ! * Father Toribio Benavente does (Hist. General, dec. 2, lib. 7, cap. not stint his panegyric in speaking 14.) The poet-chronicler Saavedra of the neighbourhood of the cap- is more modest in his estimate. ital, which he saw in its glory. " Bos mil y mas canoas cada dia " Creo, que en toda nuestra Euro- Bastecen el gran pueblo Mexicano pa hay pocas ciudades que tengan "° la mas y la me"M ,ni5eria v r J r L ° Que ea necessano al alimento humane' tai asiento y tal comaroa, con tan- El Peregrino Indiano, canto U. 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 tlie Fort of Xoloc, and became memorable in after- times as the position occupied by Cortes in tne 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,6 while their ears, under-lips, 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 genera], the 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. e " Usaban unos brazaletes de cas y con oro, y unas bandas de musaico, hechos de turquezas con oro, que subian con las plumas. unas plumas ricas que salian de Sahagun, 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 111. 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.7 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.8 Amidst a crowd of Indian nobles, preceded by three officers of state, bearing golden wands,9 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 7 Gonzalo de las Casas, Defen- of San Antonio. (Rel. Seg. de sa, MS., Parte 1, cap. 24. — Go- Cortes, p. 79, nota.) This is con- mara, Crdnica, cap. 65. — Bernal firmed by Sahagun. "Y asi en Diaz, Hist, de la Conquista, cap. aquel trecho que estA desde la 88. — Oviedo, Hist, de las Ind., Iglesia de San Antonio (que ellos MS., lib. 33, cap. 5. — Rel. Seg. llaman Xuluco) que va por cave de Cortes, ap. Lorenzana, pp. 78, las casas de Alvarado, hacia el 79-— Ixtlilxochitl, Hist. Chich., Hospital de la Concepcion, salid MS., cap. 85. Moctezuma a recibir de paz a D. 8 Cardinal Lorenzana says, the Hernando Cort6s." Hist deNue- street intended, probably, was that va Espafia, MS., lib. 12, cap. 16. crossing the city from the Hospital 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.10 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, 10 " Toda la gente que estaba hasta que el era pasado, tan incli- en las calles se le humiliaban y nados como frayles en Gloria Pa- hacian profunda reverencia y gran- tri." Toribio, Hist, de los Indios, de acatamiento sin levantarlos oios MS., Parte 3, cap. 7. a le mirar, 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 11 For the preceding account lib. 7, cap. 22, — Sahagun, Hist. of the equipage and appearance de Nueva Espafia, MS., lib. 12, of Montezuma, see Bernal Diaz, cap. 16, — Toribio, Hist, de los Hist, de la Conquista, cap. 88, — Indios, MS., Parte 3, cap. 7. Carta de Zuazo, MS., — Ixtlilxo- The noble Castilian, or rather chitl, Hist. Chich., MS., cap. 85, Mexican bard, Saavedra, who be- — Gomara, Crdnica, cap. 65, — longed to the generation after the Oviedo, Hist, de las Ind., MS., Conquest, has introduced most of ubi supra, et cap. 45, — Acosta, 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 personally seeing him in his capi tal.12 Cortes responded by the most profound 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 ore son las suelas • n iii ai r ,\.~ Asidos con muy ricas correhuelas." men will probably suffice for the ^ Pee JKIN0 ,NDXAN0] canl0 u. „„ ' „T la Satis vultu lffito," says Mar- "Yva el gran Motecuma atauiado , . De manta acul y blanca con gran falda, tyr, " an stomacho sedatus, et an De algodon muy sutil y delicado, hospites per vim quis unquam ll- Y al remate vna concha de esmeralda : beng susceperitj experti loqaantUI.' En la parte q .ie el nudo tiene dado, , . _ q Y UIU tiara a modo de guimalda, De Orbe Novo, dec. 5, Cap. d. 76 MARCH TO MEXICO. [Book III. menaced profanation of the sacred person of then master.13 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 flying and music playing soon made their entrance into the southern quarter of Tenochtitlan.14 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.15 Occasionally a great square I3 Rel. Seg. de Cortes, ap. Lo- de Nueva Espafia, MS., lib. 12, renzana, p. 79. cap. 15. 14 "Entraron en la ciudad de 15 " Et giardini alti et bassi, che Mejico a punto de guerra, tocando era cosa maravigliosa da vedere." los atambores, y con banderas des- Rel. d'un gent., ap. Ramusio, tom. plegadas," &c. Sahagun, Hist. HI. fol. 309 Ch. IX.] ENTRANCE INTO THE CAPITAL. 77 or market-place intervened, surrounded by 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." 16 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 16 " i Quien podra," exclaims the cosa de notar, que agora que lo old soldier, " dezir la multitud de estoy escriuiendo, se me representa hombres, y mugeres, y muchachos, todo delante de mis ojos, como si que estauan en lascalles, 6 acute- ayer fuera quando esto passd." as, y en Canoas en aquellas ace- Hist, de la Conquista, cap. 88. auias, que nos salian a mirar? Era 78 MARCH TO MEXICO. [Book III. in such supernatural terrors; as they gazed on the children of the East, revealing 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.17 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.18 At length, they halted before a broad area near the centre of the city, where rose the huge pyramidal 17 " Ad spectaculum," says the Tenochtitlan is commonly derived penetrating Martyr, "tandem His- from Aztec words signifying "the panis 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 Indios, Parte 3, qui nil sentit aeque delectabile, cap. 7. — Esplic. de la Colec: de quam 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 Tenoch, the cap. 3. name of one of the founders of 18 The euphonious name of the monarchy. Cu. 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 i about fifty years before.19 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 of 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 eig'ht ornaments, also of gold, made in resemblance of the same shell-fish, a span in length each, and of delicate workmanship ; 20 for the Aztec goldsmiths were confessed to have shown skill in their craft, not inferior to their brethren of Europe.21 Montezuma, as he hung the gorgeous 19 Clavigero, Stor. del Messico, 21 Boturini says, greater, by the tom. IH. p. 78. acknowledgment of the goldsmiths, It occupied what is now the themselves. "Los plateros de comer of the streets, " Del Indio Madrid, viendo algunas Piezas, y Triste" and "Tacuba." Hum- Brazaletes de oro, con que se ax- boldt, Vues des Cordilleres, p. 7, maban en guerra los Reyes, y et seq. Capitanes Indianos, confessaron, 30 Rel. Seg. de Cortds, 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, " Io vi algunas piedras jas- 80 MARCH TO MEXICO. [Book III. collar round the general's neck, said, " This palace belongs to you, Malinche,"22 (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 ! 23 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,coraiolas, cion." Hist, de las Ind., MS., 6 plasmas de esmeraldas, 6 otras lib. 33, cap. 11. de otras especies labradas 6 fechas, ^ Ante, Vol. I. p. 483. aabezas de Aves, 6 otras hechas w Bernal Diaz, Hist, de la Con- animales € otras figuras, que dudo quista, cap. 88. — Rel. Seg. de haber en Espana ni en Italia quien Cortes, ap. Lorenzana, p. 80. las supiera hacer con tanta pern- Oh. IX.] HOSPITABLE RECEPTION 81 used by the natives, whether of high or low de gree.24 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. Having 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 Espana, MS., lib. 12 cap 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 present 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 army. 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 ! 25 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 which 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.26 That evening, the Spaniards celebrated their ar- 35 " Muchas y diversas Joyas de y entre todos los soldados tambien Oro, y Plata, y Plumajes, y con nos did a cada vno k dos cargas fasta cinco 6 seis mil Piezas de de mantas, con alegria, y en todo Ropa de Algodon muy ricas, y de pareeia 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 videre." 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 Ixtlilxochitl, Hist. Chich., cuma muy ricas joyas de oro, y de MS., cap. 85. — Gomara, Crdnica, muchas hechuras, que did a nu- cap. 66. — Herrera, Hist. Gener- estro Capitan, £ assi mismo a ca- al, dec. 2, lib. 7, cap. 6. — Bernal da vno de nuestros Capitanes did Diaz, Ibid., ubi supra. — Oviedo, cositas de oro, y tres cargas de Hist, de las Ind., MS., lib. 33, mantas de labores ricas de pluua, cap. 5. 34 MARCH 70 MEXICO. [Book HI. rival in the Mexican capital by a general discharge of artillery. The thunders of the ordnance rever berating among the buildings and shaking them to their foundations, the stench of the sulphureous va por that rolled in volumes above the walls 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.27 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 37 La noche siguiente jugaron mal edor de la pdlvora, recibidron la artilleria por la solemnidad de grande alteracion y miedo toda haber llegado sin dafio a donde aquella noche." Sahagun, Hist. deseaban ; pero los Indios como no de Nueva Espafia, MS. lib. 12, usados a los truenos de Ia artilleria, cap. 17. Ch IX.] VISIT TO THE EMPEROR. 85 cathedral, since covered in part by the Casa del Estado, the palace of the dukes of Monteleone, the descendants of Cortes.23 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.2s 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.30 In the courts through which the Spaniards passed, fountains of crystal water were playing, fed from the copious reservoir on the distant hill of Chapolte- pec, 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- non per altro effetto che per veder- struisit le bei edifice dans lequel se la, et ogni volta vi camminauo tan* trouvent les archives del Estado, to che mi stancauo, et mai la fini et qui est passe avec tout l'heritage di vedere tutta." Rel. d' un gent., au due Napolitain de Monteleone." ap. Ramusio, tom. III. fol. 309. (Humboldt, Essai Politique, tom. 30 Gomara, Cronica, cap. 71. — II. p. 72.) The inhabitants of Herrera, Hist. General, dec 2, modern Mexico have large obliga- lib. 7, cap. 9. tions to this inquisitive traveller, The authorities call it " tiger,'' for the care he has taken to iden- an animal not known in America. tify the memorable localities of I have ventured to substitute the their capital. It is not often that "ocelotl," ilalocelotl of Mexico, n a philosophical treatise is, also, a native animal, which, being ofthe good manuel du voyageur. same family, might easily be con- 29 " Et io entrai piu di quattro founded by the Spaniards with the volte in una casa del gran Signor tiger ofthe Old Continent. 86 MARCH TO MEXICO. [Book HI. Aztec nobles were sauntering up and down in these squares, and in the outer halls, loitering away their hours in attendance on the court. The apartments were, of immense size, though not lofty. 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.31 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.32 Thus bare-footed, with 31 Toribio, Hist, de los Indios, s2 "Para entrar en su palacio, MS., Parte 3, cap. 7. — Herrera, a. que ellos llaman Tecpa, todos se Hist. General, dec. 2, lib. 7, cap. descalzaban, y los que entraban a 9. — Gomara, Crdnica, cap. 71. — negociar con dl habian de llevar Bernal Diaz, Hist, de la Conquista, mantas groseras encima de si, y si cap. 91. — Oviedo, Hist, de las eran grandes senores d en tiempo Ind., MS., lib. 33, cap. 5, 46. — de frio, sobre las mantas buenas Rel. Seg. de Cortea, 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 thej 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, y sinlevantarlosojos." (Toribio, for the usages ofthe ancient Az- Hist. de los Indios, MS., Parte 3, tecs, of which he had such large cap. 7.) There is no better au- personal knowledge. 88 MARCH TO MEXICO. [Book HI. t 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 insensible 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.33 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.34 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.35 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 K " E 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 a nosotros como a sus ta, cap. 90.) For some points of Vasallos." Rel. Seg. de Cortds. resemblance 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, that I am a god, and dwell in palaces of gold and silver.36 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."37 As the 38 " Y luego el Montecuma dixo do oro, d plata, y piedras ricas." riendo, porque en todo era muy Bernal Diaz, Ibid., ubi supra. regozijado en su hablar de gran se- 37 " E por tanto Vos sed cierto, fior: Malinche, bien se que te han que os obedeceremos, y ternemos dicho essos de Tlascala, con quien por sefior en lugar de esse gran tanta amistad aueis tornado, que senor, que decis, y que en ello no yo que soy como Dios, d Teule, habia falta, ni engaiio alguno ; d que quanto ay en mis casas es to- bien podeis en toda la tierra, digo. Ch. IX.] VISIT TO THE EMPEROR. 91 monarch concluded these words, a few natural tears suffused his eyes, while the image of ancient inde pendence, perhaps, flitted across his mind.38 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 tenemos 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 abi supra. to the subsequent meeting in the 38 Martyr, De Orbe Novo, dec. palace. In the only fact of ha ft, cap. 3. — Gomara, Crdnica, portance, the dialogue itself, both cap 66. — Oviedo, Hist, de las substantially agree. Ind., MS., lib. 33, cap. 5. — Gon zalo de las Casas, MS., Parte 1, nap. 24. 92 MARCH TO MEXICO. TBook IU could discourse of nothing but the gentle breeding and courtesy of the Indian monarch, and of the re spect we entertained for him."39 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 unlike 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 39 "Assi nos despedimos con mucho acato, £ con las gorras de grandes cortesias ddl, y nos fuymos armas colchadas quitadas, quandc k nuestros aposentos, 6 ibamos delante ddl passassemos." Bernal platicando de la buena manera d Diaz, Hist, de la Conquista, cap, crianca que en todo tenia, d que 90. nosotros en todo le tuuiessemos Cn. 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?40 As to the subversion of Montezuma's empire, now that he had seen him in his capital, it m&st 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- Lain this sentiment unimpaired in both, as far as H "Y assi," says Toribio de la tierra, vel Sefior ae ella (Mo- Bonavcnte, " estaba tan fuerte esta teczuma) gloriabase en su silla y mudad, que pareeia 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 Indios, MS., Parte 3. tenia, era cabeza y Sefioria de toda cap. 8. 94 HERRERA. "Book III. possible.41 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 born 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 Spanish 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 fiilent, occupations of a man of letters. He continued to hold the office of historian ofthe colonies through Philip the Second's reign, and under his successors, Philip the Third, and the Fourth ; till in 1625 he died at the 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 General de las Tndias Occidentals. It extends from the year 1492, the time of the discovery of America, ta 1554, and is divided into eight decades. Four of them Ch. 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 ofthe 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- Belf of it to transfer whole pages, nay, chapters, of his narrative in the most unscrupulous manner to his own work. In doing this, he mad6 a decided improvement on the manner of his original, reduced his cum brous and entangled sentences to pure Castilian, omitted his turgid 96 TORIBIO. [Book HI 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 efforts, scrupulously to weigh their moral character, or the merits of the cause in whieh 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 ofthe 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 ofthe twelve Franciscan missionaries, who, at the request of Cortds, were sent out tu 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 weni, 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 carry 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 different 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 ofthe 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 his biographer, and established them firmly in the Faith. Probably Tori bio's exemplary hfe 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 gy TORIBIO. [BoOK nl> the scene of his earthly 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 therh 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 work, 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 abandoried 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 distrust. 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 was enabled to penetrate deeper than the illiterate soldiers of Cortds, meD Ch. IX.] MARTYR 99 given to action rather than to speculation. — Yet Toribio'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 thai 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 Arona 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 he 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. [B°0K nl- His various writings, including his copious correspondenee, 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 parsed 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 ofthe 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, hut that which arises from 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 so often encumber the literal narratives of the Spanish voyagers, and fixes his attention on the great results of their discoveries, — the prk IV 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,24 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.25 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 his 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 34 " Ricos edificios," says the ^ "Tenia dentro de la ciudad Licentiate Zuazo, speaking of the sus Casas deAposentamiento, tales, buildings in Anahuac generally, y tan maravillosas, que me pare- "ecepto que no se halla alguno ceria casi imposible poder decir la con boveda." (Carta, MS.) The bondad y grandeza de ellas. E writer made large and careful ob- por tanto, no me pornd en expresar servation, the year after the Con- cosa de ellas, 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. 111. mooted among antiquaries. Ch. I.] PALACES AND MUSEUMS. \\1 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.26 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, famished 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 the feathered race. > Adjoining this aviary was a menagerie of wild animals, gathered from the mountain forests, and even from the remote swamps of the tierra caliente. 26 Herrera's account of these the bees, they live 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 terflies, with long beaks, brilliant again"! Hist. General, dec "-, plumage, much esteemed for the lib. 10, cap. 21. curious works made of them. Like 118 RESIDENCE IN MEXICO. [Book 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 by 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.27 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 siudy the peculiarities of these new species, compared 27 " Pues mas tenian," says the en las colas vnos que suenan como honest Captain Diaz, " en aquella cascabeles ; estas son las peores maldita casa muchas Viboras, y Viboras de todas." Hist, de la Culebras emponconadas, que traen Conquista, cap. 91. Cn. ].] PALACES AND MUSEUMS. H9 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.28 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!29 Extensive gardens were spread out around these buildings, filled with fragrant shrubs and flowers, "and especially with medicinal plants.30 No country «8 "Digamos aora," exclaims Hist, de las Ind., MS., lib. 33, 'Japtain Diaz, "las cosas infernales cap. 11, 46. que hazian, quando bramauan los 30 Montezuma, according to Go- Tigres y Leones, y aullauan los mara, would allow no fruit-trees, Adiues y Zonos, y silbauan las considering them as unsuitable to Sierpes, era grima dirlo, y pareeia; pleasure-grounds. (Crdnica, cap. infierno." Ibid., loc. cit. 75.) Toribio says, to the same 29 Ibid., ubi supra. — Rel. Seg. effect, "Los Indios Senores no de Cortds, ap. Lorenzana, pp. Ill procuran &rboles de fruta, porque -113. — Carta del Lie. Zuazo, se la traen sus vasallos, sino arboles MS.^- Toribio, Hist, de los Indios, de floresta, de donde cojan rosas, MS., Parte 3, cap. 7. — Oviedo, y adonde se crian aves, asi para 120 RESIDENCE IN MEXICO. [Book IV. has afforded more numerous species of these last, than 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 with 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.31 But the most luxurious residence of the Aztec monarch, at that season, was the royal hill of Cha pokepec, 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 porphyritic 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 st Ibid., loc. cit. — Rel. Seg. tirar con Cerbatana, de la cual son de Cortds, ubi supra. — Oviedo, erandes tiradores." Hist, de los Hist, de las Ind., MS., lib. 33. Indios. 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 ; ffi 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 wifh 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.33 They 32 Gama, a competent critic, who ma, Descripcion, Pirte 2, pp. 81 - saw them just before their destruc- 83. — Also, Ante, Vol. I. p. 142. tion, praises their execution. Ga- M No less than one thousand, VOL. H. 16 122 RESIDENCE IN MEXICO. [Book IV. were lodged in their own apartments, and provided with every accommodation, according to their ideas, for personal comfort and cleanliness. They passed tlieir 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.34 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 maneras de vestiduras todas nu- the edifying intelligence, " que evas, y nunca mas se las vestia huvo vez, que tuvo ciento i cincu- otra vez." Rel. Seg. de Cortds, euta preHadas a un tiempo ! " ap. Lorenzana, p. 114. 84 " Vestiase todos los dias qua- Ch. I.] ROYAL HOUSEHOLD 123 haughty Montezuma refused to be waited upon by 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.35 His meals the emperor took alone. The well- matted floor of a large saloon was covered with hun dreds of dishes.38 Sometimes Montezuma himself, but more frequently his steward, indicated those which he preferred, and which were kept hot by means of chafing-dishes.37 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 35 Bernal Diaz, Hist, de la Con- de guerra en esta guarda cotediana quista, cap. 91. — Gomara, Crdni- 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 Indios, 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 d 30 pies de still remains in manuscript, I have largo cada vno sobre si en torno de transferred the chapter in the ori- dicho patio, d alli estaban los Se- ginal Castilian to Appendix, Part nores 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 Tierra es fria upan mas de 600 hombres, que trahian debaxo de cada plato y es« jamas se quitaban de alli, £ cada cudilla de manjar un braserico con vno de aq-iellos tenian mas de 30 brasa, porque no se enfriasse." servidores de manera que k lo me- Rel. Seg. de Cortes, ap. Lorenz* nos nunca faltaban 3000 hombres na, p. 113. 124 RESIDENCE IN MEXICO [Book IV. penetrated deep into the mysteries of culinary sci ence.38 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, 38 Bernal Diaz has given us a children! " carnes de muchachos few items of the Toyal carte. The de poca edad." He admits, how- first cover is rather a startling one, ever, that this is somewhat apoo- 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 chocolatl, 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 ! 39 Two thousand more were allowed for that of his house hold.49 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, 40 Ibid., ubi supra. — Rel. Seg. speaking from his own observation, de Cortds, ap. Lorenzana-, pp. 113, " que traian sobre cincuenta jarros 114. — Oviedo, Hist, de las Ind., grandes hechos de buen cacao con MS., lib. 33, cap. 11, 46. — Go- su espuma, y de lo que bebia." mara, Crdnica, cap. 67. Ibid., cap. 91. 126 RESIDENCE IN MEXICO. rBooK 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 tobacco,"*1 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.-42 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 fl " Tambien le ponian en la me- the Grand Khan of China, as Sir sa tres canutos 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- re tabaco." Bernal Diaz, Hist, de pute, that Cortes sent two of them la Conquista, cap. 91. to Rome to amuse his Holiness, 42 The feats of jugglers and turn- Clement VII. Clavigero, Stor. del, biers were a favorite diversion with Messico, tom II. p. 186 Ch. I.] MONTEZUMA'S WAY OF LIFE. 127 they 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 ' ° 43 "Ninguno de los Soldanes, monias en servicio tengan." Re). ni otro ningun seiior infiel, de los Seg. de Cortds, 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 haremf 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 with 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 filled 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.44 ** Bernal Diaz, Hist, de la Con- Zuazo, MS. — Oviedo, Hist, de mista, cap. 91. — Carta del Lie. las Ind., MS., ubi supra. — Tori Oh. I] MONTEZUMA'S WAY OF LIFE. 129 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 ; 45 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, trivia] 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 ostenta- Dio, Hist, de los Indios, MS., but a generation later for his au- Parte 3, cap. 7. — Rel. Seg. de thorities, he may find materials for Cortds, ap. Lorenzana, pp. 110- as good a chapter as any in Sir 115. — Rel. d'un gent., ap. Ra- John Maundeville or the Arabian musio, tom. III. fol. 306. Nights. 45 If the historian will descend VOL. II. 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, on 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, Ch. I.] MONTEZUMA'S WAY OF LIFE. 13 J the homage of an adulation worthy of an Oriental despot.46 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 had eaten deepest into its heart. 46 " Referre in tanto rege piget historian in reference to Alexan- superbam mutationem vestis, et der, after he was infected by the desideratas humi jacentium 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 Sanctuaries. — 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 own inspection the nature of its resources. He accordingly, as was 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 tc Ch. II.] MARKET OF MEXICQ. \'3ij 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.1 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.2 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, " La Gente de esta Ciudad es says, "Vi muchas mantas de a de mas mantra y primor en su dos haees labradas de plumas de vestido, y servicio, que no la otra papos de aves tan suaves, que de estas otras Provincias, y Ciu- trayendo la mano por encima a dades : porque como alli estaba pelo y a pospelo, no era mas que siempre este Sefior Muteczuma, y vna manta zebellina mui bien ado- todos los Senores sus Vasallos bada : hice pesar vna dellas no ocurrian siempre a la Ciudad, ha- peso mas de seis onias. Dicen bia en ella mas manera, y policia que en el tiempo del Ynbierno una en todas las cosas." Rel. Seg., abasta para encima de la camisa ap. Lorenzana, p. 109. sin otro cobertor ni mas ropa enci- 2 Zuazo, speaking of the beauty ma de la cama." Carta, MS. and warmth of this national fabric, 134 RESIDENCE IN MEXICO. [Book IV. seemed to go about as freely as the men. They wore several skirts 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.3 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, revealing 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.4 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.5 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, tom. HT. orate di bellisimi, & molto gentili fol. 305. lauori sparsi per esse, co le loro 4 Ibid., fol. 305. ftangie, 6 orletti ben lauorati che 5 Ibid., fol. 309. Dompariscono benissimo." Rel. Ch. ll.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.6 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 nese.7 6 " Quivi concorrevano i Pento- stuoje, e di scranne di Quauhtitlan lai, ed i Giojellieri di Cholulla, gli ed i coltivatori de' fiori di Xochi- Ornfici d' Azcapozalco, i Pittori di milco." Clavigero, Stor. del Mes- Tezcuco, gli Scarpellini di Tenajo- sico, tom. II. p. 165. can, i Cacciatori di Xilotepec, i ' " Oro y plata, piedras de valor, Pescatori di Cuitlahuac, i fruttaju- con otros plumajes e argenteriaa oli de' paesi caldi, gli artefici di maravillosas, y con tanto primor 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 ; 8 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 maquahuitl, the Mexican sword, with its sharp blades of itztli. Here were fabricadas que excede todo ingenio humano para comprenderlas y al- canzarlas." (Carta del Lie. Zu azo, MS.) The licentiate then enumerates several of these ele gant 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 h.ay Platero en el Mundo que me jor lo hiciesse, y lo de las Piedras, que no baste juicio comprehender con que Instrumentos 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 Cortds, 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. — Also, Clavigero, Stor. del Mes sico, tom. I. p. Ill, nota Ch. IL] MARKET OF MEXICO. 137 razors and mirrors of this same hard and polished mineral which served so many of the purposes of steel with the Aztecs.9 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 hieroglyphioal 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 [38 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.10 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.11 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 cuisine. " Vendense huebos tales trujamanes." Carta, MS. asados, crudos, en tortilla, £ diversi- ll Ample details — many more dad de guisados que se suelen gui- than I have thought it necessary Ch. II.] MARKET OF MEXICO. 139 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.12 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 says from 40,000 to 50,000. " Et il writings of all the old Spaniards giorno del mercato, che si fa di cin- who visited the capital. Among que in cinque giorni,vi sono da qua- others, see Rel. Seg. de Cortds, - ranta 6 cinquanta mila persone " , ap. Lorenzana, pp. 103-105. — (Rel. d'un gent., ap. Ramusio, Toribio, Hist, de los Indios, MS., tom. 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.) 18 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., ubisupra.) The most the market. modest computation is that of the 140 RESIDENCE 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 by 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 ii is singular that they should have had no knowledge of scales and weights. The quantity was detei- mined by measure and number.13 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- » Ante, Vol. I. p. 145. Ch. II.J GREAT TEMPLE. 141 ity with which they exercised these powers, in more than one instance, proves that they were not a dead letter.14 The tianguez 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 them 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.15 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 ofthe adjoining streets.16 It 14 Toribio, Hist, de los Indios, Constantinopla, y en toda Italia, MS., Parte 3, cap. 7.— Rel. Seg., y Roma, y dixdron, que placa tan ap. Lorenzana, p. 104. — Oviedo, bieri compassada, y con tanto con- Hist. de las Ind., MS., lib. 33, cierto, y tamaiia, y llena de tanta cap. 10. — Bernal Diaz, Hist, de gente, no la auian visto." Ibid., la Conquista, loc. cit. ubi supra. K " Entre nosotros," says Diaz, 16 Clavigero, Stor. del Messico, " huuo soldados que auian estado tom. II. p. 27. en mucins 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.17 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.18 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 17 Ante, Vol. I. p. 80. quando si facea qualche rumore 0 18 "Etdiphlv'hauea vna guar- ribellione nella citta d nel paese nigione di dieci mila huomini di circumuicino, andauano questi, d guerra, tutti eletti per huomini val- parte d'essi per Capitani." Rel enti, & questi accompagnauano & d'un gent., ap. Ramusio, tom. HI. guardauano la sua persona, & fol. 309. Ch. IL] GREAT TEMPLE. 143 employed in the buildings of the city.19 It was probably square, with its sides facing the cardinal points.20 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.21 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 similai 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, 19 Humboldt, Essai Politique, shape, and his contemptible wood tom. 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. Ind., ground. Ibid., loc. cit. lib. 8, cap. 11 ; — Crdnica, cap. 80;) 20 Clavigero calls it oblong, on the and Toribio de Benavente, speak- alleged authority of the " Anony- ing generally ofthe Mexican tem- mous Conqueror." (Stor. del Mes- pies, says, they had that form. Hist bico, tom. II. p. 27, nota.) But de los. Ind., MS., Parte 1, cap. 12 the latter says not a word of the 21 See Appendix, Part 1. RESIDENCE IN MEXICO. [Book 1^. 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;22 and, as the Spaniards counted a hundred and fourteen steps, was, probably, less than one hundred feet in height.23 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 33 Clavigero, calling it oblong, adopts Torquemada's estimate, — not Sahagun's, as he pretends, whieh 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, tom. 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 l/razas, or two hundred and forty feet square. (Hist.de los Ind., 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 ofthe " 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. (Hist, de los Indios, 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 with broad flat stones. The first object that met their view was a large block of jasper, the peculiar shape of which 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. rBooK lv politic vaunt, assured him " the Spaniards were nev er weary"! 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 streets 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.24 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.25 They could discern the insu- 94 " Tornamos a ver la gran pla- 25 << y por honrar mas sus tern- ca, y la multitud de gente que en plos sacaban los caminos muy de- ella auia, 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 alli auia, sonaua mas que de como venian de todos los pueblos vna legua! " Bernal Diaz, Hist, menores y barrios; salian los ca de la Conquista, cap. 92. minos muy derechos y iban a dar Ch. IL] GREAT TEMPLE. 1 17 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.25 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 the 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, habia otros muchos pequerios,y cap. 1?. todos estaban blancos y encalados, 26 " No se 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 a cuarto de legua, tenian sas, en especial de los patios del otros patios pequenos adonde habia Demonio, que eran muy de ver." tres d cuatro teocallis, yen algunos Toribio, Hist, de los Indios, MS., mas, en otras partes solo uno, y en ubi supra. cada Mogote d Cerrejon und d 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.27 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 delicate feathers of the humming-bird, which, singularly enough, gave its 97 Bernal Diaz, Hist, de la Conquista, ubi supra. Ch. IL] INTERIOR SANCTUARIES. 149 name to the dread deity.28 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 recently torn from the victims, and now lying on the altar before him ! The adjoining sanctuary was dedicated to a milder deity. This was Tezcatiipoca, next in honor to that invisible Being, the Supreme God^ who was represented by no image, and confined by no temple. It was Tezcatiipoca 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 38 Ante, Vol. I. p. 58. 150 RESIDENCE IN MEXICO. [Book IV. they flitted to and fro, seemed to the Spaniards to be those of the very ministers of Satan ! 29 From this foul abode they gladly escaped into the open air ; when Cortes, turning to Monto'zuma* 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 ing 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.30 29 " Y tenia en las paTedes tan- 106. — Carta del Lie. Zuazo, MS. tas costras de sangre, y el suelo — See, also, for notices of these todo banado dello, que en los ma- deities, Sahagun, lib. 3, cap. 1, et taderos de Castilla no auia tanto seq.,— Torquemada, Monarcl. 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, 3° Bernal Diaz, Ibid., ubi supra. Ch. 11.] 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 different Aztec deities.31 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.32 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, — inestim- ed to find it stated, that, instead of able chronicle of Diaz. any acknowledgment to Montezu- 31 " Quarenta torres 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- & "Delante de todos estos al- renzana, p. 106.) This was an tares habia braceros que toda la svent of much later date. The noche hardian, y en las salas tam- Conquisladar wrote his despatches bien tenian sus fuegos." Toribio, ' too rapidly and concisely to give Hist, de los Indios, MS., Parte 1, heed 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."33 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 ! M 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.35 There were long ranges of buildings in the inclo sure, appropriated as the residence of the priests and others engaged in the offices of v ?ligion. The 33 Bernal Diaz, Ibid., ubi supra. " Andres de Tapia, que me lo Toribio, also, notices this temple dijo, i Goncalo de Umbria, las con- with the same complimentary epi- taron vn Dia, i hallaron ciento i tnet- treinta i seis mil Calaberas, en las " La boca hecha como de inner- Vigas, i Gradas." Gomara, Crd no y en ella pintada la boca 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 estaha en Mdxico, que vol. Xn. p. 45.) A Eutopean pareeia traslado del verdadero in- scholar commends " the conquer- fierno." Hist, de los Indios, MS., or's piety, his moderation, and his Parte 1, cap. 4. justice " ! Rowe's Dedication of 34 Bernal Diaz, ubi supra. " Tamerlane." Ch. IL] 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.36 The spot was also covered by edifices of a still different 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 tne 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 state of the capital, at the stitutions in the Introductory Book time of its occupation by the Span- of this History. VOL. II. 20 154 RESIDENCE IN MEXICO. [Book IV. shaded by ancient trees and watered by fountains and reservoirs from the copious streams of Chapoke pec. The little community was thus provided with almost every thing requisite for its own maintenance, and the services of the temple.37 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.33 It presented in this brief compass the extremes of barbarism, blended with 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 !39 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 ! 40 Such were the opposite 37 Toribio, Hist, de los Indios, M " Todas estas mugeres," says MS., Parte 1, cap. 12. —Gomara, father Toribio, "estaban aqui sir- Crdnica, cap. 80. — Rel. d'un gent., viendo al demonio por sus propios ap. Ramusio, tom. III. 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 mercado de Muro muy alto, se po- 1, cap. 9. dia muy bien facer una Villa de' 40 See Appendix, Part 1. quinientos Vecinoa." Rel, Seg., ap. Lorenzana, p. 105. Ch. IL] 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 priva^ 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 156 RESIDENCE IN MEXICO. [Book IV. me as if all the riches of the world were in that room!"41 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.42 41 "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 entr&mos a ver muy se- mundo no deuiera auei otras tan- cretamente, y como yo lo vi, digo tas ! " Hist, de la Conquista, que me admird, d como en aquel cap. 93. tiempo era mancebo, y no auia vis- <3 Ibid., loo. cit. CHAPTER III. A.nxiety of Cortes. — Seizure or Montezuma. — His Treatment by the Spaniards. — Execution op his Officers. — Montezuma in Irons- — Reflections. 1519. The Spaniards had been now a week in Mexico. During this time, they 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 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.1 The danger was even greater with the Tlascalans, a fierce race now brought into daily contact with the nation who held 1 "Los Espaiioles," says Cortes tunos." Rel. Seg., ap. Lorenza frankly, of his countrymen, "so- na, p. 84. mos algo incomportables, d impor- 158 RESIDENCE IN MEXICO. [Book IV them in loatlung and detestation. Rumors were already rife ermong the allies, whether well-founded or not, of murmurs among the Mexicans, accom panied bv 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 ofthe 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 * Gomara, Crdnica, cap. 83. canos de esto, y de lo demas que There is reason to doubt the se les argulld, que lo cierto era truth of these stories. " Segun que fud invencion de los Tlascalte- una carta original que tengo en mi cas, y de algunos de los Espanoks poder firmada de las tres cabezas que veian la hora de salirse de de la Nueva Espafia en donde es- miedo de la Ciudad, y^>oner en criben a la Magestad del Empera- cobro innumerables riquezas que dor Nuestro Sefior (que Dios tenga habian venido a sus manos." Ix- en su Santo Reyno) disculpan en tlilxochitl, Hist. Chich., MS. ella a Motecuhzoma y a los Mexi- cap. 85. Ch. IIL] ANXIETY OF CORTES. 159 in opinion. All admitted the necessity of some in stant action. One party were for retiring secretly 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 b6 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 royal palace, and bring Monte zuma to the Spanish quarters, by 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 3 Rel. Seg. de Cortds, ap. Lo- general's narrative. It is contrary renzana,p.84. — Ixtlilxochitl, Hist, to anterior probability; since, if Chich., MS., cap. 85. — P. Mar- the conception seems almost too tyr, De Orbe Novo, dec. 5, cap. 3. desperate to have seriously entered — Oviedo, Hist, de las Ind., MS., into the head of any one man, how lib. 33, cap. 6. much more improbable is it, that Bernal Diaz gives a very differ- it should have originated with a ent report of this matter. Accord- number! Lastly, it is contrary to ing to him, a number of officers and the positive written statement of soldiers, of whom he was one, sug- Cortds to the Emperor, publicly gested the capture of Montezuma known and circulated, confirmed to the general, who came into the in print by his chaplain, Gomara. plan with hesitation. (Hist, de la and all this when the thing was Conquista, cap. 93.) This is con- fresh, and when the parties inter- trary to the character of Cortds, ested were alive to contradict it. who was a man to lead, not to b 3 We cannot but think that the led, on such occasions. It is con- captain here, as in the case of the trary to the general report of his- burning of the ships, assumes ra- torians, though these, it must be ther more for himself and his corn- confessed, arc mainly built on the rades, than the facts will strictly Ch. 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.4 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 tribes 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 5/ 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 flie claims of the latter (Hist, de la Conquista, cap. 93.) — may furnish some apology. Cortds had the best means of 4 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, 5 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. 21 162 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 m 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.6 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 was 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 Cortds, ap. Lorenzana, pp. 83, 84. passamoscon Cortds tenemos muy The apparition of the Virgin creido, d 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 flora 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 V,a. III.] SEIZURE OF MONTEZUMA. 163 city, and not offered at the shrine of any of his gods, Although Cortes had received inteUigence 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.7 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 ! s 7 "Pasedse vn gran rato solo, all night. "Toda la noche estu- i cuidadoso de aqiiel gran hecho, uimos en oracion con el Padre de que emprendia, i que aun a dl la Merced, rogando a Dios que mesmo le pareeia temerario, pero fuesse de tal modo, que redundasse necesario para su intento, andan- para su santo servicio." Hist, de do." Gomcr"; Crdnica, 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 m 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. 165 manner, and with a serious tone briefly acquainted Montezuma with the treacherous proceedings in the tierra caliente, 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,9 he gave it to one of his nobles, with orders to show it to the Aztec governor, and require his instant presence in the capita], 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 Ixtlilxochitl, it esta eseulpido su rostro (que era It- was his own portrait. " Se quitd mismo 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, ^uch 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 ! 10 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 ! "n 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 s I0 Rel. Seg. de Cortes, ap. Lo- losmiosnopasarianporello." Ix- renzana, p. 86. tlilxochitl, Hist. Chich., MS., cap. 11 " Quando Io lo consintiera, 85. Ch, III.] SEIZURE OF MONTEZUMA. 167 high-mettled cavalier, Velasquez de Leon, impatient of the long delay, 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 ! " 12 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 nev>3r more to return. Had he possessed , the spirit of the first Montezuma, he lB " i Que haze v. m. ya con tan- porque mas vale que desta vez aa- tas palabras? O le lleuemos preso, seguremos nuestras vidas, d las d le daremos de estocadas,por esso perdamos." Bernal Diaz, Hist tornadle a dezir, que si da vozes, de la Conquista, cap. 95 6 haze alboroto, que le matareis 168 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 ! 13 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 some doubts wheth- however, in favor of pusillanimity. er Montezuma's conduct is to be " Un Principe tan grande como vieweH as pusillanimous or as pru- Montezuma no se habia de dexat dent " Al coronista le parece, se- incurrir en tales tdrminos, 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 Espafioles, ni de otra gen- falto de ammo, d pusilanimo, d mui eracion alguna; mas como Dios prudente, aunque en muchas cosas, tiene ordenado lo que hade ser, los que le vidron lo loan de mui ninguno puede huir de su juicio." senor y mui liberal ; y en sus ra- Hist, de las Ind., MS., lib. 88, zonamientos moslraba ser de buen cap. 6. juicio." He strikes the balance, Ch. III.] HIS TREATMENT BY THE SPANIARDS. 16£ 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.14 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.15 With all this studied ceremony and show of hom- ** The story of the seizure of 15 " 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 d 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 Montecuma las Ind., MS., lib. 33, cap. 6, — les mandaua dar sus assentaderos Gomara, Crdnica, cap. 83, — Her- ricos, y les mandaua assentar." rera, Hist. General, dec. 2, lib. 8, Bernal Diaz, Hist, de la Conqui's- 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 the 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.16 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.17 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.18 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 by 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.19 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.20 They were condemned to be burnt alive in . 19 " Y despues que confesaron si lo que alli se habia hecho si ha- haber muerto los Espafioles, les bia sido por su mandado ? y dijd- hice interrogar si ellos eran Vasa- ron que no, aunque despues, al ti- llos de Muteczuma? Y el dicho empo que en ellos se executd la Qualpopoca respondid, que si ha- sentencia, que fuessen quemados, bia otro Senor, de quien pudiesse todos k una voz dijeron, que era Berlo ? 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 Cortds, ap. Lorenzana, p. 87. por su mandado lo habian hecho " 20 " E assimismo 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 ! 21 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.22 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 o£ Cortes, the other interpreter, Aguilar, gave him to understand the Spanish officers never would consent that he should avail himself of it.23 Whatever were his reasons, it is certain that he 21 Gomara, Crdnica, cap. 89. — rare. Ble vero pcenam se aieruis- Oviedo, Hist, de las Ind., MS., se fassus est, vti agnus mitis. JEr 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, deeidit 22 Rel. Seg. de Cortds, ap Lo- animo, neque iam erigere caput renzana, p. 88. audet, aut suorum auxilia implo- %* Bernal Diaz, Ibid., ubi supra. Ch. IIL] REFLECTIONS. I/O 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 would 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 vacts 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 Avith thein 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.24 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.25 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- Espafioles no se confian ligeramen- ry, finds good Scripture warrant te : Jonathas fue muerto, y sor- for the proceeding of the Span- prendido por haberse conliado de iards. "Fud grande prudencia, Triphon." Rel. Seg. de Cortds, y Arte militar haber asegurado a p. 84, nota. el Emperador, porque sino que- ^ See Puffendorf, De lure Na- daban expuestos Hernan Cortds, y turae et Gentium, lib. 8, cap. 6, sussoldadosa perecer a traycion, sec. 10. — Vattel, Law of Nations, y teniendo seguro a el Emperador book 3, chap. 8, sec. 141. Ch. IIL] 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 sup posed 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 days, 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 ! " 2S 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? 26 " Osar quemar sus Capitanes presentes : Y digo que nuestros delante de sus Palacios, y echalle hechos, que no los haziamos noso- grillos entre tanto que se hazia la tros, sino que venian todos encami- Justicia,quemuchasvezesaoraque nados por Dios Porque ay soy viejo me paro a considerar las mucho que ponderar en ello." cosas heroicas que en aquel tiempo Hist, de la Conquista, cap. 95. passamos, que me parece las veo CHAPTER IV. Montezuma's Deportment. — His Life in the Spanish Quarters. — Meditated Insurrection. — Lord of Tezcuco seized. — Further Measures of Cortes. 1520. T;HE 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 render 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.1 The Aztec emperor, meanwhile, was passing his 1 Bernal Diaz, Hist, de la Conquista, 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 oi his officers to play at some of the national games. A favorite one was called totoloque, played with golden 182 RESIDENCE IN MEXICO. [Book n . 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.2 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 fo the gold and other articles, if you will but spare 2 Ibid., cap. 97 Ch. IV.] HIS LIFE IN THE SPANISH QUARTERS. 133 those belonging to the gods." Some of the soldiers, making the most of his permission, carried off sev eral hundred loads of fine cotton to their quarters. When this was represented to Montezuma, he only replied, " What I have once given, I never take back again." 3 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 roval 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."4 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.5 The arrogance, for which he had been so 3 Gomara, Crdnica, cap. 84. — que todos le queriamos con gran Herrera, Hist. General, dec. 2, amor, porque verdaderamente era lib. 8, cap. 4, gran senor en todas las cosas que 4 Ibid., dec. 2, lib. 8, cap. 5. le viamos hazer." Bernal Diaz, 5 " 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 m 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.6 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 of 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 6 " Y el bien conocia a todos, y todos nos daua joyas, k otros man- sabia nuestros nombres, y aun cal- tas £ Indias hermosas." Ibid., idades, y era tan bueno que a 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."8 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 were 7 Ibid., cap. 98. this evil counsellor actually ap- 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. Dpinion, there is no evidence that Conquista, lib. 3, cap. 20. VOL. II. 24 186 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 witnessing the nau tical skill of the white men, embarked Avith 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 a 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," shcSved that the beautiful phantom was clothed in terror.9 9 Bernal Diaz, Hist, de la Conquista, cap. 99. — Rel. Seg. de Cor tes, ap. Lorenzana, p. 88. Ch. IV.] 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.10 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. 10 He sometimes killed his game na, era a. tirar k Pajaros, i a 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 Caca eral, dec. 2, lib. 8, cap. 4. 4 que Motecuma iba por la Lagu- 188 RESIDENCE IN MEXICO. [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.11 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 brother, 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.12 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.13 11 Ante, Book I. Chap. 6. speaks of it as covering a league 12 " E llamase esta Ciudad Tez- oneway by six another! (Hist. cuco, y sera de hasta treinta mil de los Indios, MS., Parte 3, cap. Vecinos," (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. ta, MS.) Scarcely probable, as 13 A description of the capital in Mexico had no moie. Toribio its glory is thus given by an eye- Cn IV,] MEDITATED INSURRECTION . 189 The young Tezcucan chief beheld, with indigna tion, and no slight contempt, the abject condition of his uncle. He endeavoured to rouse him to manly exertion, but in vain. He then set about forming a league Avith 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.14 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 Senores, 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- tar en ella un egereito, con muchos jardines, y unmuy grande estanque, que por debajo de tierra solian en- trar a el con barcas." (Toribio, Hist, de los Indios, 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- L-hitl, 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 semejantes desacatos a quatro Estrangeros y que no les mataban, se escusaban con decides 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 Estrangeroj les habian hecho en prender a su senor, y quemar a Quauhpopocatzin, los demas sus Hijos y Deudos sin culpa, con las Armas y Municion que tenian para la defenza y guarda de la ciudad, y de su autoridad tomar para si los tesoros del Rey, y de los Dioses, 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 Iv 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,"15 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 desvergaenzas tra el dicho Muteczuma." Rel. que cada dia pasaban, y aunque Seg., ap. Lorenzana, p. 95. — Vol- todo esto vehian lo disimulaban taire, with his quick eye for the por no enojar a Motecuhzoma que ridiculous, notices this arrogance tan amigo y casado estaba con in his tragedy of Alzire. ellos." Ixtlilxochitl, Hist. Chich., "Tuyoisdecea tyranslafureurdespotiquo: MS cart Rfi ^3 Pensent (lue Pour eux *e Ciel fit PA- *' T . ' _ , m*rique, 15 It is the language of Cortes. Qu'ilsen sont ries lea Rois; et Zamora a " Y esta seiior se rebelS, assi contra l8»ra yeux, el servicio de Vuestra Alteza, a Tout s°uveT «bM1 fut' n'est 1u'un ¦**¦ tieux." quien se habia ofrecido, como con- Aizirs Act 4 sc 3 Cn. IV.] LORD OF TEZCUCO SEIZED 191 Cacama replied, " He acknowledged no such author ity; he knew nothing of the Spanish sovereign 1101 his people, nor did he wish to know any thing of them." 16 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 Avhom he assured the prince he Avas 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 well 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 ! " 17 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;13 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 Gomara, Crdnica, cap. 91. la Nacion de Culhua." Ibid., 17 " I que para reparar la Re- cap. 91. ligion, i restituir los Dioses, guar- 18 " Pero que el tenia en su Tier- dar el Reiho, cobrar la fama, i lib- ra de el dicho Cacamazin muchas ertad k £1, i a Mexico, iria de mui Personas Principales, que vivian buena gana, mas no las manos en con el, y les daba su salario. el seno, sino en la Espada, para Rel. Seg. do Cortes, ap. Lorenza- matar los Espanoles, 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 tbe 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 Avith 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.19 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- 16 Ibid., pp. 95, 96. — Oviedo, capture of Cacama with the com- Hisl. de las Ind., MS., lib. 33, fortable reflection, " that it saved cap. 8.— Ixtlilxochitl, Hist. 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 unAvarrantable 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 aAve of the Spaniards ; and the new prince was welcomed with acclamations to his capital.20 Cortes still Avanted 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 oAvn palace. By his command, the caciques were seized, each in his OAvn city, and brought in chains to Mexico, Avhere Cortes placed them in strict con finement Avith their leader.21 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- 30 Cortes calls the name of this the royal roll of Tezcuco. Hist. prince Cucuzca. (Rel. Seg. ap. de Nueva Espana, 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 admiration, wrong nine times out of ten. — if we are to credit Solis, through 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 genero de castigo sin sangre, him as an intruder, who had no que se atribuy6 al superior juicio claim to be ranked among the right- de los Espafioles, 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. 25 194 RESIDENCE IN MEXICO. [Book IV. ient 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 Avas 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 Avere laid down with tolerable accuracy.22 Cortes, after care fully inspecting it, sent a commission, consisting of ten Spaniards, several of them pilots, and some Aztecs, who 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 CroAvn. He stocked it with the different kinds of domesticated 23 Rel. Seg. de Cortes, ap. Lorenzana, p. 91. Cn. 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 33 "Damus 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 o4 and beautiful edifices in the prov- Mitla. » CHAPTER V. Montezuma swears Allegiance to Spain. — Royal Treasures. — 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, Avho 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 Avhere the sun rises, beyond the ocean, to Avhich the good deity had AvithdraAvn. They were sent by their master to reclaim the obedience of his ancient sub jects. For himself he was ready to acknoAvledge his authority. » You have been faithful vassals of mine," continued Montezuma, "during the many Ch. V.] MONTEZUMA SWEARS ALLEGIANCE. 197 years that 1 have sat on the throne of my fathers. I noAv expect that you will shoAV me this last act. of obedience by acknoAvledging the great king beyond the Avaters to be your lord, also, and that you will pay him tribute in the same manner as yc:u have hitherto done to me."1 As he concluded, his voice was nearly stifled by his emotion, and the tears fell fast doAvn his cheeks. His nobles, many of whom, coming from a dis tance, had not kept pace Avith 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.2 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. 1 " Y mucho 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 k mi me ha- ap. Lorenzana, p. 97. beis tenido, y obedecido por Seflor 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 el es vuestro natural Senor, manifestar ; e assimismo todos y en su lugar tengais a este su aquellos Senores, que le estaban Capitan : y todos los Tributes, y oiendo, lloraban tanto, que en gran Servicios, que fasta aqui a mi me rato no le pudieron responder haciades, los haced, y dad a el, 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.3 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 eye »| 4 3 Solis regards this ceremony ss 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 sinuation misteriosa del titulo que se debio despues al derecho de las armas, sobre justa provocation, como lo veremos en su lugar : cir- cunstancia particular, que concur- rio en la conquista de Mejico para mayor justification de aquel do- minio, sobre las demas consid- eraciones generales que no solo hicieron licita la guerra en otras partes, sino legitima y razonable siempre que se puso en terminos de medio necesario para la intro duction del Evangelic" Conquis ta, lib. 4, cap. 3. 4 Bernal Diaz, Hist, de la Con quista, cap. 101. — Solis, 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, pasd en efecto, mui gran cosa me parece la con- ciencia y liberalidad de Montezu ma en esta su restitution £ 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 oration, £ amonestamiento, despo- jandose de su seflorio, e las de aquellos con que les respondieron aceptando lo que les mandaba, y exortaba, y a mi parecer su llanto Ch. V.] ROYAL TREASURES. 199 The rumor of these strange proceedings Avas soon circulated through the capital and the country. Men read in them the finger of Providence. The ancient tradition of Quetzalcoatl was familiar to all ; and Avhere 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 signification of Avhich is " sad " or " angry lord," was construed into an omen of his evil destiny.5 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-Avill by con vincing him of the loyalty of his new vassals.6 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 el, y ellos dixeron ; por- lib. 33, cap. 9. que las obediencias que se suelen 5 Gomara, Cronica, cap. 92. — dar a los Principes con riza, e con Clavigero, Stor. del Messico, tom. camaras ; e diversidad de Miisica, II. p. 256. £ leticia, enseflales de placer, se 6 "Pareceria que ellos comen- suele hacer ; £ no con lucto ni zaban a servir, y Vuestra Alteza lagrimas, £ 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, fuerza se da no es servicio sino Lorenzana, p. 98. 200 RESIDENCE IN MEXICO. [Book IV. and the various commodities in which the taxes Avere 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 Avas 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 Avas 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 Avere 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;7 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 Avhom it would not be safe to trifle with, — as no monarch in Europe could boast in his dominions ! 8 ? Peter Martyr, distrusting some se multa pratermittere, ne tanta extravagance in this statement of recensendo sit molestus. Idem Cortes, found it fully confirmed by affirmant qui ad nos inde regredt- the testimony of others. " Refe- untur." De Orbe Novo, dec. 5. runt non credenda. Credenda ta- cap. 3. men, quando vir talis ad Cassarem 8 « Las quales, demas de su et nostri collegii Indici senatores valor, eran tales, y tan maravillo- audeat exscribere. Addes insuper sas, que consideradas por su nove- Ch V.] ROYAi. TREASURES 201 Magnificent as it was, Montezuma expressed his regret that the treasure Avas 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 your annals, that Montezuma sent this present to your master." 9 The Spaniards gazed with greedy eyes on the dis play of riches,10 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.11 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 estraneza, no tenian precio, 10 " Fluctibua auri ni es de creer, que alguno de todos Expleri oalor ille netlf " . .. , ' 1 ° Claudian, In Ruf., lib. 1. los Principes del Mundo de quien se tiene noticia, las pudiesse tener n "Y quado aquello le oyd tales, y de tal calidad." Rel. Seg. Cortes, 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 Montecuma, Ind., MS., lib. 33, c'ap. 9, — Ber- y con mucho acato le quitamos nal Diaz, Hist, de la Conquista, todos las gorras de armas, y le cap. 101. dixfmos, que se lo teniamos en 9 "Dezilde en vuestros anales y merced, y eon palabras de mucho cartas : Esto os embia vuestro buen amor," &c Bernal Diaz, ubi su- vassallo Montecuma." 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.12 Diaz swells it to nearly four times that amount.13 But their desire of securing the emperor's favor makes it improbable that the Spaniards should have defrauded the exchequer of 12 Rel. Seg.' de Cortes, ap. Lo- Diaz, — the last, it may he 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 Ponce. Probanza fecha k pedim- 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 dire", sin la plata, £ otras muchas names in the army, as Olid, Ordaz, riquezas." Hist, de la Conquista, Avila, the priests Olmedo and cap. 104. Cb. V J THEIR DIVISION. 203 any part of its due ; while, as Cortes was respon sible for the sum1 admitted in his lettei-, 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 oniaments 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.14 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.15 It was, indeed, small in comparison with 14 The quantity of silver taken Real Acad, de Hist., tom. VI. from the American mines has ex- Bust. 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. III. p. 401.) The century. (Wealth of Nations, value of the latter metal, says book 1, chap. 11.) The differ- Clemencin, which, on the discov- ence would have been much more ery of the New World, was only considerable, but for the greatei eleven times greater than that of demand for silver for objects of or- the former^ has now come to he nament and use. (sixteen times. (Memorias de la « Dr. Robertson, preferring tbe 204 RESIDENCE IN MEXICO. [Bcok IV.' that obtained by the conquerors of Peru. But few European monarchs of that day could boast a larger treasure in their coffers.16 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 Jhe principal cavaliers. The cavalry, arquebusiers, and crossbow-men, each authority, it seems, of Diaz, speaks he falls into an error in stating of the value of the treasure as that gold was not one of the stand- 600, 000 pesos. (History of Amer- ards by which the value of other ica, vol. II. pp. 296, 298.) The commodities in Mexico was esti- value of the peso is an ounce of mated. Comp. Ante, Vol. I. silver, or dollar, which, making al- p. 145. lowance for the depreciation of sil- W Many of them, indeed, could ver, represented, in the time of boast little or nothing in their cof- Cortes, nearly four times its value fers. Maximilian of Germany, and at the present day. But that of the the more prudent Ferdinand of peso de oro was nearly three times Spain, left scarcely enough to de- that sum, or eleven dollars, sixty- fray their funeral expenses. Even seven cents. (See Ante, Book as late as the beginning of the n. chap. 6, note 18.) Robertson next centur;-, we find Henry IV. makes his own estimate, so much of France embracing his minister, reduced below that of his original, Sully, with rapture, when he in- an argument for doubting the ex- formed him, that, by dint of great istence, in any great quantity, of economy, he had 36,000,000 livres, either gold or silver in the country, about 1,500,000 pounds sterling, In accounting for the scarcity of in his treasury. See Memoires du the former metal in this argument, Due de Sully, tom. III. liv. 2" Ch. V.] THEIR DIVISION. 205 received double pay. So that, when the turn of the common soldiers 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.17 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 Avent 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." Bernal Diaz, Hist, 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 ? 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,18 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 Avere 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 M "Palabras muy melifluas; que las sabia Men 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 folloAvers 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, Avho, with the aid of the royal jew ellers, converted their gold into chains, services of plate, and other portable articles of ornament or use.19 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 attthority, 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 [Book IV. to be achieved, and that without a blow. But it was far from being achieved. One important step yet remained to be taken, toAvards 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,20 neither Montezuma nor his subjects shoAV- ed any , disposition to abjure the faith of their fa thers.21 The bloody exercises of their religion, on the contrary, Avere 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 Avails of the garrison. They wished to spread nts light far 30 " Ex jureconsulto Cortesius Naturales, diciendoles, que pues tlieologus effectus," says Martyr, eran vasallos del Rey de Espana in his pithy manner. De Orbe que se tornasen Cristianos como el Novo, dee. 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 was Maria, y el Credo, se dilato por la postponed, and he died before re- Pasqua siguiente, que era la dc i.eiving it. That he ever consent- 'Resurrection, y fue tan desdicha- ed to receive it is highly improba- do que nunca alcanz6 tanto bien, hie. I quote the historian's words, y los Nuestros con la dilation y in which he further notices the gen- aprieto en que se vieron, se des- eral's unsuccessful labors among cuidaron, de que pes6 a todos mu- the Indians. " Cortes comenzo a cho mrriese sin Bautismo." Hist. dar drden do la conversion de los Chich., MS., cap. 87. Ch 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 Avill never endure this profanation pf their tem ples ? " 22 Cortes, seeing how greatly he was moved, made a sign to his officers to withdraw. When left alone with the interpreters, he told the emperor that he would use his influence 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 quoreis echar a perder a toda esta que pararan." Bernal Diaz, Hist. ciuihd, porque estaran mui enoja- de la Conquista, cap. 107. dos nuestros Dioses contra noso- VOL. II. 27 210 RESIDENCE IN MEXICO. [Booh 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 with 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 Diaz. 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 triumph of the Cross.23 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 sures the Emperor that he occupi- Seg., ap. Lorenzana, p. 106.) Ch. V.] CHRISTIAN WORSHIP IN THE TEOCALLI. 211 It was a striking spectacle, — that of these rude va arriors 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 Avith 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, — which have to do with its highest interests here, and with the dread hereafter. Any violence to the reli gious sentiment touches all alike, the old and the young, the rich and the poor, the noble and the ple 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 Avith 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 n'everthe- 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. setoff 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.24 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 was 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 94 " Para mi yo tengo por ma- cipales, e se aniquilaban y disipa- rabilla, £ grande, la mucha pa- ban sus templos, £ hasta en aquel- ciencia de Montezuma, y de los los y sus antecesores estaban. Re- Indios principales, que assi vieron cia cosa me parece soportarla con tratar sus Templos, £ Idolos : Mas tanta quietud ; pero adelante, co- su disimulacion adelante se mos- mo lo dira la Historia, mostrd el tr6 ser otra cosa viendo, que vna tiempo lo que en el pecho estaba Gente Extrangera, £ de tan poco oculto en todos los Indios general- numero,lesprendi6su Senor £ por- mente." Hist, de las Ind. , MS., que formas los hacia tributarios, £ lib. 33, cap. 10. se castigaban e quemaban los prin- 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 Avith some feelings of anxiety and distrust, taking Avith 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 all 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.25 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 predieabau the Devil himself who communi- y decian los christianos, le [al Dia- cated this to Montezuma, and he bio] daban gran tormento ; y debese reports the substance of the dia- pensar, si verdad es, que esas gen- logue between the parties. (Hist, tes tienen tanta conversation y General, dec. 2, lib. 9, cap. 6.) comunicacion con nuestro adversa- Indeed, the apparition of Satan in rio, como se tiene por cierto en estas his own bodily presence, on this Indias, que no le podia a nuestrc occasion, is stoutly maintained by enemigo placer con los misterios y most historians of the time. Ovie- sacramentos de la sagrada religior do, a man of enlarged ideas on most Christiana." Hist, de las Ind-, subjects, speaks with a little more MS., lib. 33, cap. 47. qualification on this. " Porque la 214 RESIDENCE IN MEXICO. [Book IV. every Aztec in the land will rise in arms against you." There was no reason to doubt his sincerity. For Montezuma, whatever evils had been broughl on him by the white men, held them in reverence as a race more highly gifted than his own, Avhile for several, as Ave have seen, he had conceived an at tachment, flowing, no doubt, from their personal at tentions and deference to himself. Cortes Avas too much master of his feelings, to shoAV Iioav far he Avas 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 Avhich he should be driven, if he quitted it under these circumstances, — that of taking the emperor along with him. Montezuma Avas evidently 'troubled by this last suggestion. He inquired hoAV long it Avould 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 ; meamvhile, 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 Oh. V.] DISCONTENTS OF THE AZTECS. 210 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.26 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, Avith his weapons by 26 " E Cortes proveio de maes- avisad que tales estais en la Mon- tros £ personas que entendiesen en tana, e que no sientan los Indios lallabor de los Navios, e dixo des- nuestra disimulacion. E asi se pues k los EspaBoles 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, £ edrtese la madera ; £ entretanto the principal builder, assured him Dios nos provehera de gente £ they made all the expedition pos- socorro ; por tanto, poned tal dila- sible in getting three ships on the cion que parezca quo haceis algo stocks. Hist, de la Conquista, y se haga con ella lo que nos con- cap. 108. Aene; £ siempre me escrivid 6 216 RESIDENCE IN MEXICO. L1300" lv 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.27 Such was the uncomfortable position of the army, when, in the beginning of May, 1520, six months after their arrival in the capital, tidings came from the coast, which gave greater alarm to Cortes, than even the menaced insurrection of the Aztecs. 27 "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 of 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 wher 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, and of other cavaliers, who might im- how well drilled we were to arms pute this to parsimony. But eveL and watching." Hist, de la Con- then I throw myself on it with my quista, cap. 108. CHAPTER VI. Fate of Cortes' Emissaries. — Proceedings in the Castilian Court. — Preparations or Velasquez.— Narvaez lands in Mex ico. — Politic Conduct of 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 now, 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 ihe 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 Avith treason to the Crown.1 In consequence of his representations, the ship Avas 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 Avere 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 themseh'es, 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 1 In the collection of MSS., Velasquez, and the ingratitude and made by Don Vargas Ponce, 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 OAvn 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.2 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.3 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 Seethe letter of Peter Martyr gular reason, —that of being near to his noble friend and pupil, the the coast, so as to enable Chievres, 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, tom. I. p. 203, ed. Pamplona, 1G34. 220 RESIDENCE IN MEXICO. [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 sIoav to forgive. His re sentments seem to have been nourished and perpet uated like a part of his OAvn 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 toAvards the Conqueror of Mexico. The immediate cause of this was his own personal relations with Velasquez, to whom a near relative was betrothed.4 Through this prelate's representations, Charles, instead of a favorable ansAver to the envoys, post poned his decision till he should arrive at Corufia, the place of embarkation.5 But here he was much pressed by the troubles Avhich his impolitic con duct had raised, as Avell as by preparations for his voyage. The transaction of the colonial business, which, long postponed, had greatly accumulated on his hands, Avas 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 Avas required to defray the charges of the voyage. On the 16th of May, 1520, the impatient monarch bade adieu to his distracted king- 4 Zuniga, Anales Eclesiasticos sent home an account of the doings y Seculares 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, 5 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 Avithout an effort to promote the magnificent enter prise which was to secure to" him the possession of an empire. AVhat a contrast to the policy of his illustrious predecessors, Ferdinand and Isabella!6 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.7 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.8 At first, he 6 " Con gran miisica," 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. General, las &ncoras, dieron vela al viento dec. 2, lib. 3, cap. 11. con gran regozijo, dexando & la 8 Gomara (Crdnica, cap. 96) triste Espafia cargada de duelos, and Robertson (History of Amer- y desventuras." Hist, de Carlos ica, vol. II. pp. 304, 466) consider Quinto, tom. I. p. 219. that the new dignity of adelantado 7 The instrument was dated at stimulated the governor to this en- Ch. VI.] PREPARATIONS OF VELASQUEZ. 228 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 OAvn account, tenderness for his Indian sub jects, then wasted by an epidemic, induced him to devolve the command on another.9 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 Avas 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.10terprise. By a letter of his own 10 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 sefior 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. 224 RESIDENCE IN MEXICO. [Book IV. The governor and his lieutenant were unwearied in their efforts to assemble an army. They visited eiery 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.11 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 CroAvn. They chose accordingly one of their number, the licentiate Ayllon, a man of prudence and resolution, and despatched him to Cuba, Avith in structions to interpose his authority, and stay, if pos sible, the proceedings of Velasquez.12 11 The danger of such a result Carta al Emperador, Guaniguani- '.s particularly urged in a memo- co, Marzo 4, 1520, MS. randum ofthe licentiate Ayllon. 12 Processoy Pesquizahechapor Ch. VI 1 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 24, 1519, MS. VOL. II. 29 226 RESIDENCE IN MEXICO. [Boo*. IV. staying the expedition, determined to accompany it in person, that he might prevent, if possible, by his presence, an open rupture between the parties.13 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 Avere, besides, a thousand In dians, natives of the island, who went probably in a menial capacity.14 So gallant an armada — with one exception 15 — 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 called the "island of Yuca tan,"16 after a heavy tempest, in which some of his smaller vessels foundered, anchored, April 23, off San Juan de Ulua. It was the place where Cortes, also, had first landed ; the sandy Avaste coArered by the present city of Vera Cruz. Here the commander met with a Spaniard, one 13 Parecer del Lie. Ayllon al 15 The great fleet under Ovan- adelantado Diego Velasquez, Isla do, 1501, in which Cortes hadin- 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 M " De alli 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. Ch. VI.] NARVAEZ 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 Narvaez 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 £ ha nor de lo mas de la tierra, a lo que visto este testigo, que el dicho Her- este testigo alcanza, al cual los In- nando Cortes tiene pacifica, e le sir- dios obedecen, e facen lo que les ven e obedecen todos los Indios ; e manda, e los Cristianos andan por que cree este testigo que lo hacen toda esta tierra seguros, £ un solo por cabsa que el dicho Hernando Cristiano la ha atravesado toda sin Cortes tiene preso a un Cacique temor." Processo y Pesquiza por Hue 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 Avas 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.18 These successive steps gave serious displeasure to Ayllon, Avho 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.19 18 Relacion del Lie. Ayllon, MS. among the MSS. of Vargas Ponce, — Demanda de Zavallos en nom- in the archives of the Royal Acad- bre de Narvaez, MS. emy of History. It embraces a 19 This report isN to be found hundred and ten folio pages, and Ca. VL] NARVAEZ LANDS IN MEXICO. 229 Sandoval meanwhile had riot 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 eye 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 Avorks 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- ^uiza hecha por la Real Audien- sejo de su Majestad." cia de la Espanola e 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 Avroth in his turn, and called on the notary to read 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 Crown, 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 caraAran took its march for the capital. Day and night they travelled, stopping only to obtain fresh relays of carriers ; and as they passed through populous towns, forests, and cultivated fields, vanishing as soon as seen, the Spaniards, bewildered by the strangeness of the 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.20 20 "E iban espantados de que vnos los dexavan, y otros los to- veian tatas ciudades y pueblos mavan, y andar por su camino. grandes, que les traian de comer, y Dize que iban pensando si era en- Ch. VL] POLITIC CONDUCT OF CORTES. 231 Its inhabitants had already been made 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.21 At length, inviting him tp- 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 Avay 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 sueiio." Bernal sabia el Montecuma, y Cortds nc Diaz, Hist, de la Conquista, cap. sabia cosa ninguna." Bernal Diaz 111. — Demanda de Zavallos, MS. Hist, de la Conquista, cap. 110. 21 "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 capita], — 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 tlieir 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 tern- CJh. VL] POLITIC CONDUCT OF CORTES. 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 Mm 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.22 Soon after the departure of Guevara and his com rades,23 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 lon, with whose departure he was not acquainted, kJS Oviedo, Hist, de las Ind., Diaz, "and anointed their fingers MS., lib. 33, cap. 47.— Rel. Seg. so plentifully with gold,that,though de Cortds, ap. Lorenzana, pp. 117 they came like roaring lions, they - 120. went home perfectly tame ! " Hist. 23 "Our commander said so de la Conquista, cap. 111. many kind things to them," says VOL. II. 30 234 RESIDENCE IN 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 spirit 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 returned, 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 with greedy ears to the accounts given of Cortes, his frank and liberal manners, which they involuntarily contrasted with those of their oavii 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 VL] POLITIC CONDUCT OF CORTES. 235 ger Avhich found vent in the most opprobrious invec tives against his rival ; Avhile one of his captains, named Salvatierra, openly avowed his intention to cut off the rebel's ears, and broil them for his break fast ! " 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 his 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 OAvn. 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.25 That Montezuma should have treated him a* Ibid., cap. 112. Oviedo says that Montezuma 35 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 was 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 C'u. VI.] POLITIC COJSDUCT OF CORTES. 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 Velasquey 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, thf. 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 Tonatiuh 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 de manded by policy. He was to pay uniform respect to the usages and the prejudices ofthe people ; re membering that though his small force would be large enough to overawe them in times 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. VL] HE LEAVES THE CAPITAL. 239 said Cortes, would be most grateful to his own mas ter, the Spanish sovereign. Should the Aztec prince do othei'Avise, and lend himself to any hostile move ment, he must be convinced that he Avould fall the first victim of it. The emperor assured him of his continued good will. He was much perplexed, however, by 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.26 With 88 In the Mexican edition of the witnesses as to the management of letters of Cortes, it is called five the royal fifth by Cortfe, it is said, hundred men. (Rel. Seg., ap. Lo- there were one hundred and fifty renzana, p. 122.) But this was soldiers left in the capital under more than his whole Spanish force. Alvarado. (Probanza fecha en la In Ramusio's version of the same nueva Espana del mar oceano a letter, printed as early as 1565, the pedimento de Juan Ochoa de Lex- number is stated as in the text, aide, en nombre de Hernando Cor- (Navigationi et Viaggi, fol. 244.) tes, MS.) The account in the In an instrument without date, con- Mexican edition is unquestionably taining the affidavits of certain 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 Avere 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 Avhole 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 Avas 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.27 27 Carta de Villa de Vera Cruz 9, cap. 1, 21 ; lib. 10, cap. 1, — a 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 a 115, — Oviedo, Hist, de las Ind,, podimento 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 Narvaez.-- Attacked by Night. — 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 AATas 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. [Book 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.1 The idea of re sistance, with his own handful of folloAvers, would have been chimerical. As it Avas, his little band was noAV 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 to 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 Avhich 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 a Guacacalco, a truth ; " Si aquel capitan Juan Ve- la parte de Panfilo de Narvaez su lasqvezde Leon no estubiera mal cunado, acabado oviera Cortes su con su pariente Diego Velasquez, oficio." Hist, de las Ind., MS., £ se pasari con los 150 Hombres, lib. 33, cap. 12. Ch. VIL] HE DESCENDS FROM THE TABLE-LAND. 243 of 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, Avho 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, shoAved no great partiality for their commander, and were strongly disinclined to a rupture Avith 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 in the neighbourhood of Perote, strewed with the wreck of volcanic matter, which 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.2 At- the same place, also, Cortes Avas met by To- billos, a Spaniard whom he had sent to procure the lances from Chinantla. They were perfectly well 9 Rel. Seg. de Corte"s, ap. Lo- 115-117. — Oviedo, Hist, de laa renzana, pp. 123, 124. — Bernal Ind., MS., lib. 33, cap. 12. Diaz, Hist, de la Conquista, cap. Ch. VIL] HE DESCENDS FROM THE TABLE-LAND. 245 made, after the pattern which had been given double-headed spears, tipped with copper, and of great length. Tobillos drilled the men in tho 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.3 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 escaupil, 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 Avas exceedingly out of repair, giving evidence, in its unsightly gaps, of much rude service, and hard blows. FeAV, 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 ar.d buckler of the Span- ra, lib. 2, ap. Opere, tom. IV. iard, in the great battle of Ravenna, p. 67. fought a few years before this, 1512. 246 RESIDENCE IN MEXICO. [Book IV take the place of their own hacked and battered ar mor.4 Under this coarse covering, however, they bore hearts stout and courageous as ever beat in human bosoms. For they 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 A'erdure 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 tAvo or three others. 4 Bernal Diaz, Hist, da la Con- casco, 6 babera de hierro, diera- qnista, cap. 118. mos aquella noche quato nos pidi- " Tambien 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 AVITH 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 Avas 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, hoAvever 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. [Boos IV it will be glory enough to have perished in the dis charge of our duty." 5 His friend might have been somewhat 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.6 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 respondi, que no via provision de Vuestra Alteza, por donde le debiesse entregar la Tier ra ; £ que si alguna trahia, que la presentasse ante mi, y ante el Ca bildo de la Vera Cruz, segun or den, y costumbre de Espana, y que yo estaba presto de la obedecer, y cumplir ; y que hasta tanto, por ningun interese, ni partido haria lo que £1 decia ; antes yo, y los que conmigo estaban, moririamos en defensa de la Tierra, pues la ha- biamos ganado, y tenido por Vues tra Magestad pacifica, y segura, y por no ser Traydores y desleales a 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, V a os de mi Compafiia se nos se- guia farta gloria." R*el. 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 donaire, 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 £ no- torio, que el Adelantado Diego Velasquez, que embid a Cortes, era parte, segun derecho, para le embiar a remover, y el Cortes ob ligado a le obedecer. No quiero Uh. VIL] NEGOTIATES AVITH 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.7 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.3 From this authentic source the general derived much information re specting the designs of Narvaez, Avhich 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 the a ninguna de las partes." Hist, precise passages have escaped mv de las Ind., MS., lib. 33, cap. 12. . memory. 7 More than one example of 8 Bernal Diaz, Hist, de la Con this ruse is mentioned by Mariana quista, cap. 119. VOL. II. 32 250 RESIDENCE IN MEXICO. [Book IV. delay, and to acknowledge his authority as the rep resentative of his sovereign. He should otherwise be compelled to proceed against them as rebels to the Crown ! 9 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 wonders of creation ; it Avas 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 light bamboo, or banana, the product of a season, each in its way attesting the marvellous fecundity of 9 " E assimismo mandaba, y hacer en servicio de Vuestra Alte- mande por el dicho Mandamiento za : con protestacion, que lo con st todas las Personas, que con el trario haciendo, procederia contra dicho Narvaez estaban, que no ellos, como contra Traydores, y tubies3en, ni obedeciessen al dicho aleves, y malos Vasallos, que se Narvaez por tal Capitan, ni Justi- rebelaban contra su Rey, y quieren cia; antes, dentro de cierto t6rmi- usurpar sus Tierras, y Senorios." no, que en el dicho Mandamiento Rel. Seg. de Cortes, ap Lorenza- senal6, pareciessen ante mi, para na, p. 127. que yo les dijesse, lo que debian Ch. VII.] IREPARES TO ASSAULT HIM. 25 J 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 Rio 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.10 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 ""'Yaunllouiaderatoenrato, y llouia, y tambien la escuridad y entonces salia la Luna, que qua- ayudo." w"=* io alli lleg&mos hazia muy escuro, c? 252 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 Avhich 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, witn 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 noAV. And, if they should fail, better to die like brave men on the field of battle, than, Avith 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 Oh. VIL] 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. He made no allusion to the defection which he kneAV 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 Avorst 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.11 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 qe debia a V. M., expatiates on the diabolical enor- el dho Corttes 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, e si se defendiese qe lo partte, con un diabolico pensam10 £ maUase." Demanda de Zavallos Infernal osadia, en contemtto e en nombre de Narvaez. MS. rrier.osprecio de V. M. 6 de sus 254 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 Christoval 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.12 During the interval thus occupied by Cortes, Nar 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." 13 Alarmed at these suggestions and those of his friends, Narvaez at length put himself at the head 18 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, sera aqui, y os matara." Bernal lib. 10, cap. 1. Diaz, Hist, de la Conquista, cap. 13 " Que hazeis, que estais mui 121. descuidado ? pensais que Malinche, Ch VIL] QUARTERS OF NARVAEZ. 255 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 de 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 teocalli. 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 othel teocallis 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 Avas 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, Avho invoked fhe blessing of Heaven on the Avarriors who had Ch. VIL] 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 feAv 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 thek 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 remained obstinately silent ; and, though threatened with the gibbet, and having a noose actually drawn round his neck, his Spartan heroism was not to be vanquished. VOL. II. 33 258 RESIDENCE IN MEXICO. - [Book IV. Fortunately no change had taken place in the ar rangements of Narvaez 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 Avas not credited by the lazy soldiers, Avhose 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 Avere far enough on the other side of the river, which they would 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.14 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 towers of the city. "It is the quarters of Narvaez," he exclaimed to SandoAral, " and that light must be your beacon." On entering the sub urbs, the Spaniards Avere surprised to find no one stirring, and no symptom of alarm. Not a sound was to be heard, except the measured tread of their OAvn footsteps, half-drowned in the hoAvling of the tempest. Still they could not move so stealthily as altogether to elude notice, as they defiled through u Rel. Seg. de Cortds, ap. Lo- — Herrera, Hist. General, dec. 2, renzana, p. 128. — Oviedo, Hist. lib. 10, cap. 2, 3. de las Ind., MS , lib. 33, cap. 47. Ch. VIL] ATTACKED BY NIGHT. 259 the streets of this populous city. The tidings Avere 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 teocallis 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.15 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 15 "Ya que se acercaban al dos aceras de la Calle, para que Aposento de Narvaez, Cortds, que las balas del Artilleria pasen poi andaba reconociendo, i ordenando medio, sin hacer dano." Ibid., k todas partes, dixo a la Tropa de dec. 2, lib. 10, cap. 3. Sandoval : Seflores, arrimaos a 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 Oh. VIL] ATTACKED BY NIGHT. 261 fetters. His followers, seeing the fate of their chief, made no further resistance.16 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 Avho 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. 19 Demanda de Zavallos en nom- Hist, de las Ind., MS., lib. 33, bre de Narvaez, MS. — Oviedo, cap. 47. 262 RESIDENCE IN MEXICO [Book IV. 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.17 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.18 17 "'Como hazia tan escuro auia ney, swells the amount of slain on muchos cocayos (ansi los llaman his own side much higher. But en Cuba) que relumbrauan de it was his cue to magnify the mis- noche, e 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 eap. 122. affords the best means of approx- 18 Narvaez, or rather his attor- imation to truth. " E alli le mat- Ch. VIL] 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 chair of state, and, with a rich, embroidered mantle thrown over his shoulders, received, one by one, the officers and soldiers, %s 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.19 taron quince hombres qc murieron y assi como venia, ivan a. besar las de las feridas qe les dieron £ les manos a Cortes, q estaua sentado quemaron seis hombres del dho en vna silla de caderas, con vna Incendio qe despues parecieron las ropa larga de color como narajada, cabezas de ellos quemadas, e pusi- co sus armas debaxo, acopaiiado eron a sacomano todo quantto tte- de nosotros. Pues ver la gracia nian los que beniaii con el dho mi con que les hablaua, y abragaua, partte como si fueran Moros y al y las palabras de tatos cumplimie- dho mi partte robiiron e saquearon tos que les dezia, era cosa de vei todes sus vienes, oro, e Platta e que alegre estaua : y tenia mucha Joyas." Demanda de Zavallos en razon de verse en aquel puto tan nombre de Narvaez, MS. senor, y pujate : y assi como le 19 "Entre ellos venia Andres besaua la mano, se fuero cada vno lie Duero, y Agustin Bermudez, y asuposada." Bernal Diaz, Hist. muchos 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 Avas 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 poAver." " 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 ! " 20 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 Avea- pons and military stores, he had attacked in then- own quarters, routed, and captured the entire force of the enemy, thrice his superior in numbers, well provided with cavalry and artillery, admirably equip- 20 IbiQ-i loo. cit. pondid, £ dixo : Lo menos que yo " Dixose que como Narvaez vi- he hecho en esta tierra donde es- do a Cone's -estando asi preso le tais, es haberos prendido ; £ luego dixo : Senor Cortes, tened en le hizo poner a buen recando e le mucho 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- Oh. VIL] NARVAEZ DEFEATED. 265 ped, and complete in all the munitions of war ! The amount of troops engaged on either 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 Avas the work of chance. If Velasquez de Leon, for example, had proved false, the expedition must have failed.21 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 el le dio d toviese en aquella those of his kinsman, the governor tierra como capitan particular le of Cuba. They decided in favor acudiese a el 6 a quien le mandase. ofthe former, on the ground of his Juan Velasquez faltd a lo que era holding his commission immedi- obligado en no pasar a Panfilo de ately from him. " Visto he plati- Narvaez siendo requerido de Diego car sobre esto a caballeros e per- Velasquez, mas si le hizo capitan sonas militares sobre si este Juan Hernando Cortes, e le did el la Velasquez de Leon hizo lo que Gente, a el havia de acudir, como debia, en acudir 6 no k Diego Ve- acudio, excepto si viera carta, k lasquez, 6 al Panfilo en su nom- mandamiento expreso del Rey en bre ; E combienen los veteranos contrario." Hist, de las Ind., milites, £ a mi parecer determinan MS., lib. 33, cap. 12. VOL. II. 34 266 RESIDENCE IN MEXICO. [BooK IV. 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, tiiat, in the darkest moment, not a man offered to desert him.22 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. TJie 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- 22 This ascendency the thought- partido £ gratificador de los que le fol Oviedo refers to his dazzling vinidron, fud mucha causa junta- and liberal manners, so strongly mente con ser mal quisto Diego contrasted with those of the gov- Velasquez, para que Cortds se sa- ernor of Cuba. " En lo demas liese con lo que emprendid, £ se valerosa pernona ha seido, £ para quedase en el oficio, £ governa- mucho; y este deseo de mandar cion." Ibid., MS., lib. 33, cap. juntamente con que fu Oviedo mentions a conversa- 1, cap. 12,) and Herrera, (Hist, tion which he had some years after General, dec. 2, lib. 10, cap. 8,) this tragedy witl a noble Spaniard, Ch. VI II.] 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.21 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.22 He proposed to Don Thoan Cano, who came over Ind., MS., lib. 33, cap. 54.) See in the train of Narvaez, and was the original dialogue in Appendix, present at all the subsequent oper- Part 2, No. 11. ations of the army. He married 21 " Verdaderamente did en el- a daughter of Montezuma, and los por metelles temor." Hist, de settled in Mexico after the Con- la Conquista, cap. 125. quest. Oviedo describes him as a 22 Such, indeed, is the state- man of sense and integrity. In ment of Ixtlilxochitl, derived, as answer to the historian's queries he says, from the native Tezcucan respecting the cause of the rising, annalists. According to them, the he said, that Alvarado had wan- Tlascalans, urged by their hatred tonly perpetrated the massacre from of the Aztecs and their thirst for pure avarice ; and the Aztecs, en- plunder, persuaded Alvarado, noth- raged at such unprovoked and un- ing loth, that the nobles meditated merited cruelty, rose, as they well a rising on the occasion of these might, to avenge it. (Hist, de las festivities. The testimony is im- 286 RESIDENCE IN MEXICO. [Book IV. defeat it by imitating the example of his commandei 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.23 Every feeling of long smothered hostility and portant, and I give it in the author's words. " Fud que ciertos Tias- caltecas (segun las Historias de Tescuco que son las que Io 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 mejor ocasion que ellos podian te ner para poder hinchir las manos de despojos y hartar su codicia, y vengarse de sus Enemigos, (porque hasta entonces no habian tenido lugar, ni Cortes se les diera, ni admitiera sus dichos, porque siem pre hacia las cosas con mucho acuerdo) fudron con esta invencion al capitan Pedro de Albarado, que estaba en lugar de Cortes, el qual no fud menester mucho para darles crddito porque tan buenos filos, y pensamientos tenia como ellos, y mas viendo que alli en aquella fiesta habian acudido todos los Seilores 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, antiquos 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 Novo, dec. 5, cap. 5 Ch. VIU.] 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 — tp fan these passions into a blaze. The city rose in arms to a man ; and on 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 battlements 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 tlieir 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, witliin the 288 RESIDENCE IN MEXICO. [Be ok IV inclosure, was exceedingly brackish, for the soil was saturated Avith the salt of the surrounding element. In this extremity, they 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 was 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 Avho 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.24 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 Avas a cavalier of high family, gallant and chivalrous, and his Avarm personal friend. He had talents for action, was possessed of firmness and intrepidity, Avhile 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 24 Camargo, Hist, de Tlascala, MS., lib. 33, cap. 13, 47. Go MS. — Oviedo, Hist, de las Ind., mara, Crdnica, cap. 105. Ch. VIIL] RISING OF THE AZTECS. 289 cruel. He was altogether destitute of that modera tion, which, in the delicate position he occupied, was a quality of more worth than all the rest. When Alvarado had concluded his answers 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 his 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 less to inflict on him the punish ment he merited. The Spaniards were like mariners laboring in a heavy tempest, whose bark nothing but the dexterity of the pilot, and the hearty cooper ation of the crew, can save from foundering. Dis sensions at such a moment must be fatal. Cortes, it 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.25 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 95 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. rBooK IV- his officer, and embarrassed by 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 con'jol.20 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 unreasonably, his good faith, received him so coldly that the Indian monarch withdrew, dis pleased and dejected, to his apartment. As the Mexican populace made no show of submission, and brought no supplies to the army, the general's ill- humor with the emperor continued. When, there fore, Montezuma sent some of the nobles to ask an interview with Cortes, the latter, turning to his own officers, haughtily exclaimed, "What have I to do with this dog of a king who suffers us to starve be fore his eyes ? " His captains, among whom Avere 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- 26 " Y viendo que todo estaua la mucha gete de EspaBoles que muy al contrario de sus pensami- traia, y muy triste, y mohino.'1 entos, q au de comer no nos dauan, Bernal Diaz, Hist, de la Conquista, estaua muy airado, y sobervio co cap. 126. Ch. VIIL] RISING OF THE AZTECS. 29 1 thet, " betray us in his communications Avith 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 Avill 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.27' Shortly after, Cortes, at the suggestion, it is said, of Montezuma, released his brother Cuitlahua, lord of Iztapalapan, who, it will 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.28 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 27 The scene is reported by an eyewitness, in his conversation Diaz, who was present. (Ibid., with Oviedo. See Appendix, Pan cap. 126.) See, also, the Chron- 2, No. 11. icle of Gomara, the chaplain of ^ 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 Avith 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 bourhood, were thronged with combatants brandish ing their missiles, who seemed to have risen up as if by magic ! 29 It was a spectacle to appall the stout 29 "El qual Mensajero bolvid nian de Guerra y que tenian todas dende a media hora todo descala- las Puentes alzadas ; £ junto tras brado, y herido, dando voces, que dl da sobre nosotros tanta multitud todos los Indios de la Ciudad ve- d'j Gente por todas partes, que ni Ch. VIIL] 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. Seg. de con Gente ; la qual venia con los Cortds, ap. Lorenzana, p. 134. — mayores 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 Valdds 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 with 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, Orieda gave to the world the first volume of his great work, which ho 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, whieh took place at Valladolid in 1557, in the seventy-ninth year of his age, at the very time when he was employed in 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 portionof 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. 354-361.) It still remains in manuscript. Ch. 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, Hke a poor gallant, who would make the most of his little store of finery. He affected to take the elder Pliny as his model, as appears from the preface to his Sumario. 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 ofthe 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 Laa 296 CAMARGO. [Book IV Casas 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 Munos Camargo. He was a noble Tlascalan mcstee, and lived in the latter half of the sixteenth century. He was educated in the Christian faith, ind early instructed in Castilian, in whieh tongue he composed his On. VIIL] CAMARGO. 297 Historia de Tlascala. In this work he introduces the reader to the different members of the great Nahuatlac family, who came successive ly 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 Mufioz 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. 38 BOOK FIFTH. EXPULSION FROM MEXICO. BOOK V. EXPULSION FROM MEXICO. CHAPTER I. Desperate Assault on the Quarters. — Fury 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 suffi 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. Ch. I.] DESPERATE ASSAULT ON THE QUARTERS. 303 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.1 The Spaniards waited until the foremost column had 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.2 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 ; 3 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 pareeia sino ta y pelear, y los Espafloles les 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 loa con ellas." (Rel. Seg. de Cortes, Espafloles hicieron gran destrozo ap. Lorenzana, p. 134.) No won- en los Indios, con la artilleria, ar- der that they should have found cabuzes, y ballestas y todo el otro some difficulty in wading through artificio de pelear." (Sahagun, the arrows, if Herrera's account Hist, de Nueva Espana, MS., be correct^ that forty can-loads ol lib. 12, cap. 22.) The good fa thom were gathered up and burnt ther waxes eloquent in his descrip- by the besieged every day ! Hist, tion of the battle scene. General, dec. 2, lib. 10, cap. 9. 3 The enemy presented so easy 2 " Luego sin tardanza se jun- a mirk, says Gomara, that the taron los Mexicanos, en gran co- gunners loaded and fired with pia, puestos a punto de Guerra, hardly the trouble of pointing theii qu6 no pareeia, sino que habian pieces. " Tan recio, que los ar- 304 EXPULSION FROM MEXICO. [Book V. rallying, the bold barbarians uttered a piercing cry, and rushed forward over the prostrate bodies of theii 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 ; 4 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 great difficulty. But the moment they showed their heads above the rampart, they were shot down by the un erring marksmen within, or stretched on the ground tilleros sin asestar jugaban con los fuerte arma de pelea que los Meji- tiros." Cr6nica, cap. 106. canos tenian." Camargo, Hist. 1 " Hondas, que eran la mas de Tlascala, MS. Ch I.] DESPERATE ASSAULT ON THE QUARTERS. 305 by a blow of a Tlascalan maquahuttl. 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 the 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. Tbe 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 30G EXPULSION FROM MEXICO. [Boox 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.5 The fight now raged with fury on both sides. The walls around the palace Jbelched 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 ofthe artillery, — it announced that the white man, the destroyer, had set his foot within her precincts.6 5 "En la Fortaleza daban tan escala vista, sin los poder resistir." recio combate, que por muchas Rel. Seg. de Cortes, ap. Lorenza- partes nos pusieron fuego, y por na, p. 134. la una se quem6 mucha parte de 6 Ibid., ubi supra. — Gomara, ella, sin la poder remediar, hasta Cronica, cap. 106. — Oviedo, Hist. que la atajamos, 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 fuera por paiia, MS., lib. 12, cap. 22. — Gon- la mucha Guarda, que alli puse de zalo de las Casas, Defensa, MS., Escopeteros, y Ballesteros, y otros Parte 1, cap. 26. — Bernal Diaz, tiros de p61vora, nos entraran a Hist, de la Conquista, cap. 126. Ch. I.] FURY OF THE MEXICANS. 307 Night at length came, and drew her friendly man tle over the contest. The Aztec seldom fought by 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 a7vast 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 facilityKwith 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 soon waste itself by its own fury. And he proposed, on the following day, to sally out and inflict such chas tisement on his foes as should bring them to their 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. I.J SALLY OF THE SPANIARDS. S09 with its sharp afnd brittle blades of obsidian. Amidsi 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 man} 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 tilian 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 possible 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 they 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.7 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, with their formidable darts searched every crevice or weak place in the armor of proof, and made havdc on the unprctccted bodies ofthe Tlascalans. By repeated and vigorous charges, the Spaniards succeeded in driving the Indians before them ; though many, with a des- 7 Carta del Exercito, MS Cu. I] SALLY OF THE SPANIARDS. 311 peration which showed they loved vengeance better than life, sought to embarrass the movements of their horses by clinging to their legs, or, more sue • cessfully, 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- quahuitl, 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 8 " Estan todas en el agua, y vna casa e se quemar 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 a otra ; lo vno, por estar igrosa ; porque desde las acuteas apartadas la vna de otra el agua tirauan tanta piedra, y cantos, que en medio ; y lo otro, por ser de era cosa perdida ponernos en ello. acuteas." Bernal Diaz, Hist, de V demas desto, en algunas casas la Conquista, cap. 126. que les poniamos fuego, tardaua 312 EXPULSION FROM MEXICO. [Book V. They 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.9 9 '' 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. 1.] 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.10 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- he adds, "who had served in the laciones, MS., — Piobanza a pecu- 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, 10 Herrera, Hist. General, dec. cap. 12p. 2, lib. 10, cap. 9. — Torquemada, See, also, for the last pages, Monarch. Ind., lib. 4, cap. 69. Rel. Seg. de Cortes, ap. Loren- VOL. II. 40 314 EXPULSION FROM MEXICO [Book V retreating foes, annoying them at every step by 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, who 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. Tlieir 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 straint, which, in deference to their monarch, more Jn. I.] FURY OF THE MEXICANS. 315 than to their 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 the 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 works 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 316 EXPULSION FROM MEXICO. [Book f. left alive. But, in the impetuosity of the assault, il seemed, for a few moments, as if the place was to he carried by storm.11 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.12 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 ! " 13 When urged still further to comply by Olid and father Olmedo, 11 Bemal Diaz, Hist, de la Con- presumptive heir to his crown, and quista, cap. 126. — Oviedo, Hist, the same chief whom the Spanish de las Ind., MS., lib. 33, cap. 13. commander had released a few — Gomara, Crdnica, cap. 107. days previous. Herrera, Hist. 12 Cortes sent Marina to ascer- General, dec. 2, lib. 10, cap. 10. tain from Montezuma the name of 13 " j Que quiere de mi yaMalir.- the gallant chief, who could be che, que yo no deseo viuir ni oil- easily seen from the walls animat- le ? pues en tal estado por su ing and directing his countrymen, causa mi ventura me ha traido." The emperor informed him that it Bernal Diaz, Hist, de la Cinquista was his brother Cuitlahua, the 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.14 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- vill. 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 f6rm 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, " Ibid., v.bi supra — Ixtlilxochitl, Hist. Chich., MS., cap. 88. 318 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. 1 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 tlieir own land ; and all shall he 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 tc Ch 1.] 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 weave 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,15 when, in an instant, a, cloud of stones and arrows descended on the spot where the royal train was gathered. Th» 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, was the that Guatemozin, Montezuma's man that shot the first arrow. Lib. nephew, 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 16 I have reported this tragical 126. — Oviedo, Hist, de las Ind., event, and the circumstances at- MS., lib. 33, cap. 47. — Rel. Seg. lending 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 writers 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 Conquista, 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 the instrument granting to Mon tezuma's favorite daughter certain estates by way of dowry. (See Appendix, Pa-cf. 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, exphcitly 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- aron los Espafloles a morir 6 veneer varonilmente ; y asi hablaron a todos los amigos Indios, y todos silos estuvieron firmes en esta determination : y lo primero que VOL. II. 41 hicieron fu<5 que dieron. garrote 5 todos los Seflores que tenian pre- sos, y los echaron muertos fuera del fuerte : y antes que esto hicie sen les dijeron muchas cosas, y les hicieron saber su determina- cion, y que de ellos habia de co- menzar eeta obra, y luego todos los demas habian de ser muertos a sus manos, dijeronles, no es po sible que vuestros Idolos os libren de nuestras manos. Y desque le.= hubieron dado Garrote, y vieron que estaban muertos, mandaronlos echar por las azoteas, fuera de la easa, en un lugar que se llama Tortuga de Piedra, porque alli estaba una piedra labrada a manera de Tortuga. Y desque supieron y vieron los de k fuera, que aquel los Senores tan principales habian sido muertos por las manos de los Espafloles, luego tornaron los cu erpos, y les hicieron sus exequias, al modo de su Idolatria, y quema- ron sus cuerpos, y tornaron sus cenizas, y las pusieron en lugares apropiadas a. sus dignidades y va lor." Hist, de Nueva Espana, 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 of 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. 323 the attempt, and, after the most desperate efforts, was obliged to return with considerable loss, and withou 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 serviceable, however, by fastening his buckler to it,1 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 themselves 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 platform, or terraced walk, which passed round the building until it reached 1 " Sail fuera de la Fortaleza, rodela en el brazo fuf a la Torre aunque manco de la mano izquier- con algunos Espafioles, que me ^a de una herida que el primer siguieron." Rel. Seg. de Cortes, dia me habian dado : y liada la ap. Lorenzana, p. 138. 324 EXPULSION FROM MEXICO. [Book V. 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 whole 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.2 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 8 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.] ST0RMI1SG 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 afford 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 fhe 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. [BookV. were sometimes seen to roll over the sheer sides of the precipice together.3 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.4 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. 12, cap. 22. hands of the Spaniards, on the 4 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 k los de arriba que los The first of these authors had ao- lban 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 morian despeiiados, quebrados bra- met with. It is strange, that so aos y piernas, y hechos pedazos, valiant an exploit should not have porque el cu era muy alto ; y otros been communicated by Cortes him- los mesmos Espafloles los arrojaban self, who cannot be accused of de lo alto del cu, y asi todos cuan- diffidence in such matters los alia habian subido de los Mex- Ch. IL] STORMING OF THE GREAT TEMPLE. 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 numbers. After doing all that the courage of despair could enable men to do, resistance grew fainter and fainter on the side of the Az'tecs. One after another they had fallen. Two or three priests only survived to be led away in triumph by the victors. Every other v 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.5 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 image 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 mui varo, — Gomara, Cronica, cap. 106. — como siepre lo fue. O que pelear, Sahagun, Hist, de Nueva Espana, 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., £ mas de quarenta soldados muer- MS., lib. 33, cap. 13.— Torque- tos." (Hist, de la Conquista, cap. mada, Monarch. Ind., lib. 4, cap. 126.) The pens of the old chroni- 69. clers keep pace with their swords in 328 EXPULSION FR0M7MEX1C0. [Book V. of the Virgin and the Cross removed.6 But hi 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 was 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 ! 7 Having accomplished this good work, the Span iards descended the winding slopes of the teocalli with more free and buoyant step, as if conscious 6 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 icle. would warrant. (Ibid., ubi supra.) 7 No achievement in the war It was the only way in whieh the struck more awe into the Mexi- conquered could take their re- Bans, than this storming of the venge. Ch. IL] 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.8 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 " Sequenti 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 lestia fiebat. Ita nunc trucidando, as to time, place, circumstance, or nuncdiruendo, et interdum vulnera order, no two hold together. How recipiendo, in pontibus et in viis, shall the' historian of the present diebus noctibusque 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. 42 330 EXPULSION FROM MEXICO. [Book V. and whose connexion with the general, in particular, had led the Aztecs to designate him by her Mexican name of Malinche.9 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 falling 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 exterior 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 9 It is the name by which she cueye," — named in compliment to iu still celebrated in the popular the Indian damsel ? At all events, minstrelsy of Mexico. Was the it was an honor well merited from famous Tlascalan mountain, sierra her adopted countrymen. de Malinche, — anciently " Mattal- Ch. IL] 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!10 " 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!11 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 10 According to Cortes, they n " Que todas las calzadas de boasted, in somewhat loftier strain, las entradas de la ciudad eran des- they could spare twenty-five thou- hechas, como de hecho' passaba." Band for one, "a morir veinte y Ibid., loc. cit. — Oriedo, 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 the* had done and suffered, their battles by day, theii 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 lined 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. 333 of Velasquez, and still more, in embarking under the banner of Cortes ! 12 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 " Pues tambien quiero dezir bien pacificos estauan en sus casas las maldiciones que los de Narvaez en la Isla de Cuba, y estavan em- cchauan k Cortes, y las palabras belesados, y sin sentido." Bernal que dezian, que renegauan del, y Diaz, Hist, de la Conquista, ubi de la tierra, y aun de Diego Ve- supra. lasauez, que aca les embid, 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 mortifica 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.13 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,14 with the breaches every day widening in his feeble 13 Notwithstanding this, in the 14 " La hambre era tanta, que a petition or letter from Vera Cruz, los Indios no se daba mas de vna 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. 9, diers is expressly stated as the lib. 10, cap. 9. principal motive that finally induc ed their general to abandon the city Carta del Exercito, MS. Ch. II.] DISTRESSES OF THE GARRISON. 33g 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 with 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. TBook V. were provided with strong ropes, by which they were to be dragged along the streets by the Tlascalan auxiliaries.15 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 mantas 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 manta, they opened a passage to the terrace, and closed with 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 15 Rel. Seg. de Cortes, ap. Lo- the North, — touched their rude renzana, p. 135. — Gomara, Cro- features with the bright coloring nica, cap. 106. of a poetic fancy.' He has been Dr. Bird, in his picturesque ro- equally fortunate in his delinea- mance of "Calavar," has made good tion of the picturesque scenery of use of these mantas, better, indeed, the land. If he has been less so than can be permitted to the his- in attempting to revive the antique torian. He claims the privilege dialogue of the Spanish cavalier, of the romancer ; though it must we must not be surprised. No- be owned he does not abuse this thing is more difficult than the privilege, for he has studied with skilful execution of a modem an- great care the costume, manners, tique. It requires all the genius ind military usages of the natives, and learning of Scott to execute He has done for them what Coop- it so that the connoisseur shall not pr has done for the wild tribes of detect the counterfeit. Ch. 11 ] 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 mantas, 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 nature 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.16 There were no less than seven of these canals, intersecting the great street of Tlacopan,17 and at 16 Carta del Exercito, MS. — 17 Clavigero is mistaken in call- Rel. Seg. de Cortes, ap. Loren- ing this the street of Iztapalapan. zana, p. 140. — Gomara, Cronica, (Stor. del Messico, tom. IIL, p. cap. 109. 120.) It was not the street by VOL. H. 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. Overjoyed 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. IL] SHARP COMBATS IN THE CITY. 339 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 with 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 tbe rider on the ground. The confusion became greater around the broken bridge. 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 Codes.18 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.19 A report ran through the army 18 It is Oviedo who finds a paT- a pesar de los Enemigos, aunque allel for his hero in the Roman con harto trabajo." Hist, de las warrior ; the same, to quote the Ind., MS., lib. 33, cap. 13. spirit-stirring legend of Macaulay, 19 It was a fair leap, for a knight , " who kept the bridge so well and horse in armor. But the gen- In the bra^e days of old." eral's own assertion to the Empe- " Mui digno es Cortes que se com- ror (Rel. Seg., ap. Lorenzana, p. pare este fecho suyo desta Jornada 142) is fully confirmed by Oviedo, aide Oracio Cocles, que se toc6 who tells us he had it from several de suso, porque con su esfuerzo, who were present. " Y segun & lanza sola di<5 tanto lugar, que lo que yo he entendido de algunoa, los caballos pudieran pasar, £ hizo que presentes se hallaron, demas desembarayar la puents £ paso, de la resistencia de aquellos havia Oh. II.] SHARP COMBATS IN THE CITY. 34 i 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 muchas pedradas de di- qualified manner by many respect- versas partes, e manos, e por ir £1, able authorities. It is edifying to £ su caballo bien armados no los observe the combat going on in hirierm ; 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 20 Tiuly, "dignus vindice no- equal combat, with odds sorely dus ' ! The intervention of the against the former, in the sixteenth 342 EXPULSION FROM MEXICO. [Boor V. The coming of night dispersed the Indian battal ions, which, vanishing like 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 then- 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.21 The Indian monarch had rapidly declined, since century. I quote the passage as characteristic of the times. " Afir- man que se vido el Ap6stol San tiago k caballo peleando sobre vn caballo bianco en favor de los Christianos ; e decian los Indios que el caballo con los pies y manos £ con la boca mataba muchos del los, de forma, que en poco discur- so de tiempo no parecio Indio, e reposaron los Christianos lo restan- te de aquel dia. Ya s^ que los incredulos 6 poco devotos diran, que mi ocupacion en esto destos miraglos, pues no los vi, es super flua, 6 perder tiempo novelando, y yo hablo, que esto e mas se pue de creer ; pues que los gentiles 6 sin fe, e Idol atras escriben, que ovo grandes misterios e miraglos en sus tiempos, £ aquellos sabe- mos que eran causados £ fechos por el Diablo, pues mas facil cosa es a Dios £ a la inmaculata Vir- gen Nuestra Senora £ al glorioso Apostol Santiago, e a los santos £ amigos de Jesu Christo hacer esos miraglos, que de suso estan dichos, £ 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. Postquam vero se in ar- cem receperunt, non commode sa tis conditas dapes, quibus refice- rentur, inuenerunt, nee forte 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 Cone's, ap. Lorenza na, pp. 140-142, — Carta del Exercito, MS., — Gonzalo de laa Casas, Defensa, MS., Parte 1, cap. 26, — Herrera, Hist. Gene ral, dec. 2, lib. 10, cap. 9, 10, — Gomara, Cronica, cap. 107. Ch. U.J 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.22 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- 28 The sentiment is expressed C'est trahir i la fois, sous un masque hypo- with singular energy in the verses Et ,e"^ qu,on pr6fire) et le dieu qu„ ,,on of Voltaire ; quitte : „ „ . .. „„„ „„=, C'est mentir au Ciel meme, a l'univers, a " Mais renoccer aux dieux que run croit SOI." dans son coeur ^ ^ s< sc. 6. C'est le crimp, d'un lacne, et non pas una erreur ; 344 EXPULSION FROM MEXICO. [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.23 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 horn- desert the faith of my fathers." M One thing, how- 23 Camargo, 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, pidid agua de batismo £ que fue batizado y mu rid 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 murid batizado y Cristiano, £ que fueron sus padrinos del batismo Fernando Cortes y Don Pedro de Alvarado." (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 hurry 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, Tejects 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. 34 "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 nosotros huvi- Ch. U.J DEATH OF MONTEZUMA 345 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 concluded, "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."25 Such, according to Cortes himself, were the words of the dying monarch. Not long after, on the 30th of June, 1520,26 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). £1, y no le pudo atraer a que se — The general adds, that he faith- bolviesse Christiano." Hist, de la fully complied with Montezuma's Conquista, cap. 127. request, receiving his daughters, ^Aunque no le p'esaba 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 were bap- rather too much for human nature tized, and instructed in the doc- to assert ; and it is probable the trines and usages of the Christian language of the Indian prince un- faith. They were afterwards mar- derwent some little change, as it ried to Castilian hidalgos, and was sifted through the interpre- handsome' dowries were assigned tation of Marina. The Spanish them by the government. See reader will find the original con- note 36 of this Chapter. fersation, as reported by .Cortes 9° 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." 27 " 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." 2S This simple, but emphatic, testimony to his desert, at such a time, gy, which cannot be far from truth, muerte de tan gran Senor se aca- (Stor. del Messico, tom. III. p. baron 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. monarquia ; y ansi no hay de que 27 " 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. i desdichado Rey, habiendo gober- * " Y Cortds llord por dl, y to- nado este nuevo Mundo con la dos nuestros Capitanes, y soldados: mayor prudencia y gobierno que d hombres huvo entre nosotros ue puede imaginar, siendo el mas de los que le conociamos, y tratau- tenido y reverenciado y adorado amos, que tan llorado fud, como si Sefior que en el mundo ha habido, fuera nuestro padre, y no nos he- y en su linaje, como es cosa piibli- mos de maravillar dello, viendo que ca y notoria en toda la maquina tan bueno era." Hist, de la Con- deste Nuevo Mundo, donde con la quista, cap. 126. Ch. IL] DEATH OF MONTEZUMA. 347 is in itself the best refutation of the suspicions occa sionally entertained of his fidelity to the Christians.23 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- »"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, Crdnica, cap. 107.) Don Thoan Cano as sured Oviedo, that, during all the troubles of the Spaniards with the Mexicans, both in the absence of Cortes, and after his Teturn, 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 Appendix, 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. Solis, however, the most eminent of all, dismisses the account of his death with the remark, that " his last hours were spent in breathing vengeance and maledictions against his people ; until he surrendered up to Satan — with whom he had frequent communication in his life time — the eternal possession of his soul ! ' ' (Conquista de Mdx- ico, lib. 4, cap. 15.) Fortunately, the historiographer of the Indians could know as little of Montezu ma's fate in the next world, as ho 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 thus unworthily to darken that of hia Indian rival? 348 EXPULSION FROM MEXICO. [Book V. tion, hoJow 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 grac ious, 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.30 He was greatly renowned for his martial prowess, for he belonged to the Quachictin, the highest military order of his nation, and one into which but few even of its sove reigns had been admitted.31 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 niching away much of the territory of his royal kins- 30 " Dicen que ve.icid nueve Ba- cessors, Tizoc, is shown by the tallas, i otros nueve Campos, en Aztec Paintings to have belonged desafio vno a vno." Gomara, to this knightly order, according Crdnica, cap. 107. to Clavigero. Stor. del Messico, 31 One other only of his prede- tom. II. p. 140. Ch. II. | DEATH OF MONTEZUMA. 349 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.32 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, wThich 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 s' " Era mas cauteloso, y ardi- nidad y Majestad Real de condi- doso, que valeroso. En las Armas, cion muy severo, aunque cuerdo ymodo de su govierno, fue muy y gracioso." Ixtlilxochitl, Hist. iusticiero ; en las cosas tocantes a 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 ! " 33 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 fatliers, 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 The whole address is given by Torquemada, Monarch. Ltd., lib. 1, cap. 68. Ch. IL] 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 ! m 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.35 Two of them, however, a son and a daughter, who embraced Christianity, became the founders of noble houses in Spain.36 The government, willing to show its gral- 34 "Tlxn V itiyxnt &ir!imrriqct /ta- Montezuma had two lawful wives. *{$¦ By the first of these, named Te- Tff »J» itiyjivs Uriy tix»trr(S the name of Isabella. She was Olxm it ixfiyu yt rh m^/it- married, when very young, to her ""• cousin Guatemozin ; and lived long '.Eschyl., Prometh., ,. 514-518. enough after his death to give her 35 Senor 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 mure than these, Don Pedro Gallejo, and once passed by an Indian dweUing, 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, 38 This son, baptized by the the princess Acatlan, left two name of Pedro, was descended daughters, named, after their ccn- from one of the royal concubines, version, Maria and Leonor. The 352 EXPULSION FROM MEXICO. [Book V itude for the large 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.37 Montezuma's death was a misfortune to the Span- tormer died without issue. Dona Leonor married with a Spanish cavalier, Cristdval 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, setting 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 Mufioz. 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 ftom the emperor's son Iohnalicahua, 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. TH. 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. WhL'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, distinctly 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 Chapokepec.38 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.39 Whatever be the fact, the people, occupied with the stirring scenes 33 Gomara, Crdnica, cap. 107. 39 Torquemada, Monarch. Ind., — Herrera, Hist. General, dec. 2, lib. 4, cap. 7. lib. 10, cap. 10. VOL. II. 45 354 EXPULSIOiv FROM MEXICO. [Book V in which they were engaged, were probably not long mindful 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 'III. Council of War. — Spaniards evacuate the City. — Noche Triste, or " The Melancholy Night." — Terrible 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 only 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 respect to the hour of departure. The day-time, it was argued by some, would be preferable, since it would 356 EXPULSION FROM MEXICO. [Book V. enable them to see the nature and extent of theii danger, and to provide against it. Darkness would be 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.1 This man recommended to his 1 Oviedo, Hist, de las Ind., MS., greatest extremity of distress, and lib. 33, cap. 47. afterwards come to great honoi The astrologer predicted that and fortune. (Bernal Diaz, Hist. Cortds would be reduced to the de la Conquista, cap. 128.) He Ch. 111.] 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.2 It is possible Botello's predictions had some weight in 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 aboui 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 <'f the strong apartments of the palace. Cortes de livered the share belonging to the Crown to the royal showed himself as cunning in his 2 " Pues al astrdlogo Botello, art, as the West Indian sybil who no le aprouechd su astrologia, que foretold the destiny of the unfor- tambien alli murioV Ibid., ubi tunate Josephine. supra. 358 EXPULSION FROM MEXICO. [Book V. officers, assigning them one of the strongest horses, arid a guard of Castilian soldiers, to transport it.3 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 lloor, exciting tlie 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.4 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 Wst bulk, though, it might be, of greatest value.5 But Jip 3 The disposition of the trea&ure 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 hy 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 zo saear el oro e joyas de sus Al tezas e le did £ entregd a los otros oficiales Alcaldes d Regidores, e les dixo k la rason que asi se lo entregd, que todos viesen el mejor modo e manera que habia para lo poder salvar, que el alli estaba pa ra por su parte hacer lo que fuese posible £ poner su persona a qual quier trance e riesgo que sobre lo salvar le viniese El qual les did para ello una muy buena yegua, e quatro d cinco Espafioles de mucha confianza, a quien se en- cargd 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 pera'ido entre estos perros." Bernal Diaz, Hist. de la Conquista, cap. 128. — Oviedo, Hist, de las Ind., MS.. lib. 33, cap. 47. 5 Captain Diaz teils us, that he contented himself with four dial- 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. IIL] THE SPANIARDS EVACUATE THE CITY. 3QU troops of Narvaez, pining for riches, of which thev 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 their per sons, but as they could stow away in wallets, boxes, or any other mode of conveyance at their disposal.6 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 o'ther 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 in great extremity, afterwards, 6 Oviedo, Hist, de las Ind., MS., 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.7 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.8 1 Gomara, Crdnica. cap. 109. — events in the Conquest ; attention Rel. Seg. de Cortds, ap. Lorenza- to chronology being deemed some- na, 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 Cortds, which states, that Ch IIL] 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 rambling 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 delMessico, 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. 46 362 EXPULSION FROM 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 oafs. Then came a few stones and arrows striking at Ch. III.] THE ME .ANCHOLY NIGhT. 363 random among the hurrying troops. They fell everv 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 ?he 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 weight of so many men and forses, and above all of the heavy artillery, had wedged the timbers so firmly in the stones and earth, that it was 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 iri 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. IIL] TERRIBLE SLAUGHTER. 365 noes, to be reserved for a protracted, but more dread ful death.9 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 ; in 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- 9 Ibid. , p. 143.— Camargo, Hist. — Probanza en la Villa Segura, de Tlascala, MS. Bernal Diaz, MS. Hist, de la Conquista, cap. 128.— 10 " Pueslagrita, ylloros, ylSs- Oviedo, Hist, de las Ind., MS., lib. timas q dezia demadando socorro: 33, cap. 13,47. — Sahagun, Hist. Ayudadme, q me ahogo, otros: de Nueva Espana, MS., lib. 12, Socorredme, q me mata, otros de- cap. 24. — Martyr, De Orbe Novo, madando ayuda a. N. Seiiora Santa dec. 5, cap. 6. — Herrera, Hist. Maria, y k Senor Santiago " Ber General, dec. 2, lib. 10, cap. 4. nal Diaz, Ibid., cap. 128. 366 EXPULSION FROM MEXICO. [Boos V. tling with broadsword and target like the stanch- est of the warriors.11 The opening in the causeway, meanwhile, was filled 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.12 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 mostrd mui MS. — Bernal Diaz, Hist, de la valerosa 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, hico hechos maravillosos, menzaron a. caer en aquel foso, y y se entraba por los Enemigos caydron juntos, que de Espanoles, con tanto corage, y animo, como que de Indios y de caballos, y de si fuera vno de los mas valientes cargas, el foso se hinchd hasta ar- Hombres de el Mundo, olvidada de riba, cayendo los unos sobre I09 que era Muger Casd esta otros, y los otros sobre los otros, Senora con Pedro Sanchez Ear- de manera que todos los del ba- fan, y didronle en Encomienda el gage quedaron alli ahogados, y Pueblo de Tetela." Torquema- los de la retaguardia pasaron sobio da, Monarch. Ind., lib. 4, cap. los muertos." Sahagun, Hist, de 72. Nueva Espaila, MS., lib. 12, cap. 1g Camargo, Hist, de Tlascala, 24 Ch HI.] TERRIBLE SLAUGHTER. 367 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.13 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 13 " E los que habian ido con maban vivos cargados ; £ a otros Narvaez arrojaronse en la sala, d llevaban arrastrando, d k otros ma- cargaronse de aquel oro d plata taba.i alli ; E asi no se salvaron quanto pudidron ; pero los menos sino los desocupados d que iban en lo gozaron, porque la carga no los la delantera." Oviedo, Hist, de dexaba pelear, d los Indios los to- las Ind., MS., lib. 33, cap. 47. 368 EXPULSION FROM MEXICO. [Book\. through the press, swam the canal, and placed them selves in the thick of the melee on the opposite bank.14 The first grey 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.15 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 fiesh combatants from the city. The artillery in the car- 14 Herrera, Hist. General, dec. dro de Alvarado bien heriao con 2, lib. 10, cap. 11. — Oviedo, Hist, vna lanca en la mano k pie, que la delas Ind., MS., lib. 33, cap. 13. yegua alacana ya se la auian mu- — Bernal Diaz, Hist, de la Con- erto." Bernal Diaz, Hist, de to imista, cap. 128. Conquista, cap. 128. 15 " Luego encontraron 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 the pieces, ahd, 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, afforded 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 child of the Sun!"16 — The 16 "Y los amigos vista tan gran co, espantable y raro, que ellos no hazafia quedaron maravillados, y habian visto hacer a ningun hom- al instante que esto vieron se ar- bre, y ansi adoraronal Sol, comien- rojaron por el suelo postrados por do punados de tierra, arrancando tierra en senal de hecho tan heroi- yervas del campo, diciendo a gran- VOL. 11. 47 370 EXPULSION FROM MEXICO. [Book V. breadth of the opening is not given. But it was so great, that the valorous captain Diaz, who well re membered the place, says the leap was impossible to any man.17 Other contemporaries, however, do not discredit the story.18 It was, beyond doubt, matter of popular belief at the time ; it is to this da)' 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.19 des voces, verdaderamente que este hombre es hijo del Sol." (Camar go, Hist, de Tlascala; MS.) This writer consulted the process insti tuted by Alvarado's heirs, in whieh they set forth the merits of their ancestor, as attested bv the most valorous captains of ~ Tlascalan nation, present at the Conquest. It may 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, tom. II. p. 75.) This would do more than any thing else to establish the 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 soltura de vn hombre que tal saltasse." Hist. de la Conquista, cap. 128. 18 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. " Pud tan estremado de grande el salto, que a muchos hombres que han visto aquello, he oido decir que parece cosa imposible haberlo po- dido saltar ninguno hombre humar no. En fin el lo salto d gand por ello la vida, d perdidronla 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. As the place received its name in Alvarado's time, the story could scarcely have been discountenan ced by 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. IIL] TERRIBLE SLAUGHTER. 371 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 been 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.20 The Spanish commander there dismounted from his 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 spectacle 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 tattered garments dripping with the salt ooze, showing through their rents many a bruise and ghastly wound ; their bright arms soiled, their proud crests and banners gone, the baggage, 80 " Fud Dios servido de que esto no siguidron el alcanze, y los los Mejicanos se ocupasen en re- Espafioles pudidron ir poco a poco cojer los despojos de los muertos, por su camino sin tener mucha y las riquezas de oro y piedras que molestia de enemigos." Sahagun, llevaha el bagage, y de sacar los Hist, de Nueva Espana, MS., hb. muertos de aquel acequia, y a los 12, cap. 25. caballos y otros bestias- Y por 372 EXPULSION FROM MEXICO. [Book ?. 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.21 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 been committed, with a daughter of a Tlascalan chief, to several of that nation. She was fortunately placed in the van, and her faithful escort had carried her securely through all the dangers of the night. Aguilar, the other interpreter, had also escaped. And it was with no less satisfaction, that Cortes learned the safety of the ship-builder, Martin Lo pez.22 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 21 Oviedo, Hist, de las Ind., & Herrera, Hist. General, dec. MS., lib. 33, cap. 47.— Ixtlilxo- 2, lib. 10, cap. 12. chitl, Hist. Chich., MS., cap. 89. --Gomara, Crdnica, cap. 109, Ch. III.] HALT FOR THE NIGHT. 373 ail 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, with little 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.23 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 83 " Tacuba," says that inter- this was the very position chosen esting traveller, Latrobe, " lies by Cortds 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 Cortds. 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.24 It was crowned with an In dian teocalli, 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 31 Lorenzana, Viage, p. xiii. Ch. IIL] 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.23 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 4iow 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 25 Sahagun, Hist, de Nueva ta, cap. 128. — Camargo, Hist. Espafia, MS., lib. 12, cap. 24. — de Tlascala, MS. — Ixtlilxochitl, Bernal Diaz, Hist, de la Conquis- Hist. Chich., MS., cap. 89. 376 EXPULSION FROM MEXICO. [Book V. 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. IIL] 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 four hun dred and fifty, a id that of natives four thousand. This, with the lo s sustained in the conflicts of the previous week, m y 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.26 The brunt of the 150 Spaniards 2000 Indians, killed and missing. 1170 " 8000 ' " " 200 " 2000 < .i ff 150 " 2000 I (C tt 450 " 4000 t tt tt 450 " 4000 t It it 450 " 4000 I tt " 300 " 2000 t tt tt 150 " 4000 t tt tt 88 The table below may give the among eyewitnesses, and writers reader some idea of the discrepan- who, having access to the actors, c es in numerical estimates, even are nearly of equal authority. Cortes, ap. Lorenzana. p. 145, Cano, ap. Oviedo, lib. 33, cap. 54, Probanza, &c, Oviedo, Hist, de las Ind., lib. 33, cap. 13, 150 Camargo, Gomara, cap. 109, Ixtlilxochitl, Hist. Chich., cap. 88, Sahagun, lib. 12, cap. 24, Herrera, dec. 2. lib. 10, cap. 12, Bernal Diaz does not take the trouble to agree with himself. Af ter stating that the rear, on which the loss fell heaviest, consisted of 120 men, he adds, in the same paragraph, that 150 of these were slain, which number swells to 200 in a few lines further ! Falstaff's men in buckram ! See Hist, de la Conquista, cap. 128. Cano's estimate embraces, it is true, those — but their number was comparatively small — who per ished subsequently on the march. The same authority states, that 270 of the garrison, ignorant of the proposed departure of their coun trymen, were perfidiously left in VOL, II. 48 the palace of Axayacatl, where they surrendered on terms, but were subsequently all sacrificed by the Aztecs ! (See Appendix, Part 2, iVo.ll.>', The improbability of this monstroW story, by which the army with all its equipage could leave the citadel without the knowledge of so many of their comrades, — and this be permitted, too, at a juncture, which made every man's cooperation so impor tant, — is too obvious to require refutation. Herrera records, what is much more probable, that Cortds gave particular orders to the cap tain, Ojeda, to see that none of the sleeping or wounded should, 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.27 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.28 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 ol overlooked in their quarters. Hist, the gold intrusted to the Tlascalan General, dec. 2, lib. 10, cap. 11. convoy was preserved. (Hist, de 27 "Pues de los de Narvaez, la Conquista, cap. 136.) From the todos los mas en las puentes que- document already cited, — Proban- daron, cargados de oro." Bernal za de Villa Segura, MS., — it ap- Diaz, Hist, de la Conquista, cap. pears, that it was a Castilian guard 128. who had charge of it. Ch. IIL] AMOUNT OF LOSSES. , 379 men, it is said, in the indiscriminate fury 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 ihe 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. #[Boox V. the night on which it happened, in the nationa, annals, with the name of the noche triste, " the sad or melancholy night."29 29 Gomara, Crdnica, cap. 109. Villa Segura, MS. — Bernal Diaz, — Oviedo, Hist, de las Ind., MS., Hist, de la Conquista, cap. 128. lib. 33, cap. 13. — Probanza en la CHAPTER IV. Retreat of the Spaniards. — Distresses op the Armt. — Pyr amids op Teotihuacan. — Great Battle op 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 V little 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.2 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 her own sanctuary 2 The last instance, I believe, of at Los Remedios, 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 was brought performed the distance — several into tbe city to avert the cholera, leagues — through the miry ways She refused to pass the night in on foot ! See Latrobe, Rambler town, however, but was found the in Mexico, letter 5. Ch. IV.] RETREAT OF THE SPANIARDS. 383 dawned, they beheld parties of the natives movin» over the heights, or hanging at a distance.1, 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.3 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 ing to Diaz, the Castilians were of it. constantly addressed by the na- " Por dioses, como dixe, eran tenidoa tives ; and which — -whether cor- de los Indios los nuestros ; pero olieron ., , . , . , que de muger y hombre eran nacidos. rectly or not — he interprets into y toda3 SU3 flBqllezM eDtemWron gods, or divine beings. (See Hist. vifindolos a miserias sometidos, de la Conquista, cap. 48, et alibi.) eI error ignorante conociirou, r\ „r .. /. -n .„ . .. ardiendo en viva rabia avergonzados Une ot the stanzas of lucilla inti- . . , . , . ,, oor ver«e de mortales conquistadoa." mates the existence of a similar r , „ . „ ... Li Araucana, Parte 1, Canto 2. nelusion among the South Amen- 384 EXPULSION FROM MEXICO. [Book V. 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 troops 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.4 The wretched soldiers, faint with famine and fa- 4 Rel. Seg. de Cortds, ap. Lo- menos buen gusto que las sobrea- renzana, p. 147. sados de Napoles, d los gentiles Hunger furnished them a sauce, cabritos de Abila, d 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 lcid of Avila, or the savory dad de Temixtitan havian salido, veal of Saragossa ! "Con la carne ninguna otra cosa comieron sino del caballo tubieron buen pasto, ese mahiz tostado, d cocido, £ yervas consol&ron d mitigaron en parte su del campo, y desto no tanto quan- hambre, d se lo comidron sin dex- to quisieran d ovieran menester." ar cuero, ni otra cosa ddl sino los Hist, de las Ind. MS., lib 33, huesos, e las viias, y el pelo ; £ cap. 13. nun las tripas no les parecid 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-