The Memoirs of the Conquistador Bernal Diaz del Castillo Vol 2 Part 13

This plot was fortunately discovered to father Olmedo by one of the conspirators, named Trebijo, the evening preceding the night on which the b.l.o.o.d.y deed was to have been carried out. Father Olmedo instantly communicated what he had heard to Alvarado, who was about to start, in company of some of the conspirators, to go a hunting. Alvarado therefore pretended to be taken with a sudden pain in his side, and turning to those who were to have accompanied him, he said, "Gentlemen, I must return to my quarters; let a barber immediately come to bleed me."

As soon as Alvarado had arrived in his quarters he sent for his brothers Jorge and Gonzalo Gomez, with the alcaldes and alguacils; he then ordered the conspirators to be seized, and two of them, after a short trial, were sentenced to the gallows. One of these men was a certain Salamanca, of Condado, who had formerly been a pilot; the other was Bernardino Levantisco, and both of them died like good Christians, after father Olmedo had fully convinced them of the enormity of their crime.

This example of severity brought the remaining conspirators to their proper senses; so that Alvarado was enabled to depart with the gold for Mexico without any fear.

Alvarado had certainly laid the foundation of a new town, but it soon fell to nothing again; for the settlers had obtained very poor lands; the climate was excessively hot, and very unhealthy; many of the Spaniards soon fell ill, and the Indian naborias and slaves whom they had brought with them died away very fast. The place swarmed with moschitoes, mice, and even lice;--to which was added, that Alvarado had carried off all the gold. The inhabitants therefore determined to leave the new town, and to settle elsewhere; so that they soon dispersed, and some returned to Mexico, some settled in Guaxaca, and others in Guatimala. When Cortes received intelligence of this, he inst.i.tuted a formal inquiry into all the circ.u.mstances, and it was found that the determination to abandon the new town had been agreed upon in a council held by the alcaldes and regidors of the place. Sentence of death was then p.r.o.nounced against the guilty personages; but father Olmedo begged so hard of Cortes to mitigate this severe sentence, that the latter at length, though very reluctantly, yielded to his prayers, and altered the sentence into that of banishment.

Such was the ill-fated termination of the colony of Tutepec, which never after rose again, for every one feared the unhealthy climate, though the country was uncommonly rich. When the inhabitants, who could not forget Alvarado's cruel and unjust treatment, saw that all the Spaniards were leaving, they revolted anew, which obliged Alvarado to return, and he again forced them to lay down their arms and to sue for peace.

CHAPTER CLXII.

_How Francisco de Garay arrives with an extensive armament in the river Panuco; how far he was successful; and of many other circ.u.mstances._

I have above mentioned that Francisco de Garay was governor of Jamaica, and that he already possessed great wealth, when he heard of the rich countries we had discovered in our expeditions under Cordoba and Grijalva, and of the 20,000 pesos with which we returned to Cuba on our second voyage.

When he therefore received information of a new armament that was destined for New Spain, under command of Hernando Cortes, he himself was seized with a great desire likewise to discover some new countries, and certainly he had more wealth at his command than we had, to fit out an armament for such a purpose. He had learnt a good deal about the new countries from our old chief pilot Alaminos; of their riches, and how thickly populated the provinces were on the river Panuco; and as several other sailors who had accompanied us on those expeditions, confirmed what Alaminos had told him, he thought it worth his while to request his majesty to grant him the permission to make further discoveries on the river Panuco, and to appoint him governor of all the lands he should discover. For this purpose he despatched his major-domo, Juan de Torralva, to Spain, with letters and presents for those gentlemen who at that time governed the affairs of India, begging of them to procure him the appointment above-mentioned.

His Majesty was at that time in Flanders, and the president of the council of the Indies, Don Juan Rodriguez de Fonseca, bishop of Burgos and t.i.tular archbishop of Rosano, with the two licentiates Zapata and Vargas, and the secretary Lopez de Conchillos, governed the affairs of India just as they thought proper. Garay therefore easily obtained the appointment of adelantado and governor of the provinces bordering on the river St. Peter and St. Paul, and of all the countries he should discover.

By virtue of this appointment he fitted out three vessels, having on board 240 men; including a strong body of cavalry, crossbow-men, and musketeers. The chief command of this armament he gave to Alonso Alvarez Pinedo, who, as I have above mentioned, was soon cut off, with the greater part of his men, by the Indians, so that there was only one vessel with sixty men that escaped to Vera Cruz, who, with their captain, Comargo, entered our army.

Garay, being ignorant of the miserable termination of this expedition, sent out two more vessels, under command of Diaz de Auz and Ramirez, with many soldiers, horses, a quant.i.ty of provisions, and a considerable store of arms of various kinds; but when these vessels arrived in the river Panuco, and nowhere met with any traces of the other armament, excepting a few pieces of burnt wood of the first vessels, lying on the sh.o.r.e, they likewise put into Vera Cruz. Though I have mentioned all this above, it was nevertheless necessary to recapitulate these circ.u.mstances here, to render the whole more intelligible to the reader.

After Garay had thus spent so much money to no purpose, and heard of the great good fortune which attended Cortes; of the large towns he had discovered, and of the vast treasures in gold and jewels which he had acc.u.mulated in New Spain, envy, as well as thirst for riches, also rose up in his breast to torment him; and he was resolved to fit out as extensive an armament as he possibly could, and to take the command of it himself. He accordingly equipped a small fleet, consisting of eleven vessels and two brigantines, on board of which there were 130 horse and 840 foot, most of the latter being armed with muskets and crossbows. As he was a man of great wealth, he spared no expense in fitting out this splendid armament. With this fleet Garay left Jamaica in the month of June, of the year 1523, sailed in the direction of Cuba, and thence ran into the harbour of Xagua, where he learnt that Cortes had already subdued the whole province of Panuco; that he had founded a colony there, and that the expedition had cost him above 60,000 pesos; that he had pet.i.tioned his majesty to unite the government of this province with that of New Spain, and to appoint him the viceroy. This of itself was disheartening to Garay; but when he further heard of the heroic deeds of Cortes and his companions, and how we with a mere handful of men had gained the victory over Narvaez, although he had an army of 1300 men, besides eighteen heavy guns, he began to fear the good fortune of our general. His apprehensions were further augmented by what he heard from several distinguished personages of Cuba, who had come to pay their respects to him at Xagua; among these was also the licentiate Zuazo, whom the royal court of audience at St. Domingo had expressly sent to Cuba, to reside near Diego Velasquez. From the different interviews which Garay had with Zuazo, he soon foresaw that, if he proceeded to Panuco, he would have to dispute its possession with Cortes; he therefore proposed to Zuazo that he should accompany him thither, and act as a mediator between himself and Cortes. To this Zuazo replied, that he was not at liberty to leave his present abode without permission from his superiors, but that he would follow him as soon as possible.

Garay then weighed anchor and sailed in the direction of Panuco. He encountered very boisterous weather at sea, so that he was driven too far north off the mouth of the river Palmas, which he entered with his fleet on the day of Santiago de Compostella. Here he sent several of his officers, with a small detachment of his troops, on sh.o.r.e, who returned with so bad an account of the country that Garay determined to leave this place and go in search of the river Panuco, and to repair to the town Cortes had founded, where, at the same time, he would be nearer to Mexico. Upon this, Garay again required the whole of the officers and soldiers to take the oath of fidelity, and to promise implicit obedience to him as captain-general. He likewise appointed the alcaldes, the regidors, with all the chief authorities of a town he intended to found, and to which he said he would give the name of Garayana. He now disembarked the whole of his men and horses, and gave the command of the fleet to an officer named Grijalva, whom he ordered to sail as close as possible to the sh.o.r.e, while he marched with his troops along the coast.

The first two days he pa.s.sed over a desolate and boggy country; he then crossed a river, which took its source in the mountains, lying about twenty miles inland, and arrived in a towns.h.i.+p which was quite deserted by its inhabitants, but where he found abundance of maise and fowls, besides the delicious fruit of the guayaba tree. The soldiers likewise brought in a few of the inhabitants prisoners, who understood the Mexican language; and Garay, after making them handsome presents, sent them to the neighbouring towns.h.i.+ps to incline the inhabitants peaceably towards him. He then marched round a large mora.s.s, and visited several towns.h.i.+ps, everywhere meeting with the kindest reception from the inhabitants, who brought him quant.i.ties of fowls, and a species of geese which they catch among the swamps. Many of his men had by this time become wearied of marching up and down the country; and having got it into their heads that the officers withheld from them some kinds of the provisions which the inhabitants brought in, a part of the troops rebelled, and plundered these towns.h.i.+ps for three days successively. On the fourth day, the whole of the troops again marched forward, with some Indian guides, and arrived at a very broad river, which they had no other means of crossing but by canoes which were furnished them by the friendly towns.h.i.+ps just mentioned. The horses were obliged to swim across, each rider in a canoe leading his horse by the bridle; but as there were a considerable number of horses, it was a very tedious business, and five were unfortunately drowned. At length the whole of the troops had pa.s.sed across, but they had to encounter another formidable mora.s.s, through which they found their way after undergoing many fatigues, and so reached the province of Panuco. Here Garay expected to have found provisions in abundance; but the whole of the towns.h.i.+ps had scarcely any food left for themselves, while the inhabitants were still in a very excited state, owing to the recent incursion which Cortes had made into this neighbourhood; and wherever there were any provisions left, the Indians took care to hide them as soon as they received information of the approach of so large a body of troops and horses; indeed they even totally deserted their towns, so that in the very place where Garay had thought to rest and refresh his troops, he only encountered greater difficulties and fatigues. In the deserted houses his men found nothing but mice, moschitoes, and lice, which made an unmerciful attack upon the new comers. To all this misery was added, that the fleet, which should have sailed close into the sh.o.r.e, and on board of which there was abundance of food, had not arrived in the harbour, nor had any tidings of it been received. The information with respect to the non-arrival of the vessels was given them by a Spaniard, who, on account of some misdemeanour or other, had been obliged to quit the town of Santisteban del Puerto. This man likewise informed Garay's men that there was a town not far off, and also that the Mexican territory was not very distant, which, he added, was amazingly fertile, and inhabited by wealthy personages. This account greatly excited the men, so that they began to stroll about the country in small bodies, plundered every place they came to, and took the road leading to Mexico.

Garay, who was well acquainted with the turbulent spirit of his troops, and fearing he should not be able to keep them much longer together, despatched Diego de Ocampo, one of his chief officers, with a letter to Pedro Vallejo, who was at that time Cortes' commandant of Santisteban, to learn which way he was inclined. In this letter Garay informed Vallejo that he had been appointed by his majesty governor of these provinces; that he had disembarked his troops in the river Palmas; and that at last, after undergoing excessive fatigues, he had reached the land of his destination.

Vallejo gave Ocampo and those who accompanied him a very honorable reception, answered in the most polite terms, and a.s.sured him Cortes would be delighted to have for neighbour so distinguished a governor; but he told him that he had expended a large sum of money in subjecting this province, of which he also had been appointed governor by his majesty. Garay, however, was at liberty, continued Vallejo, to march his troops into the town of Santisteban whenever he thought proper, and he would render him every service in his power; only he must beg of him not to allow his men to ill-use the Indian population, of which two towns.h.i.+ps had already complained to him.

Vallejo then sent an express to Cortes, inclosing Garay's letter to him, and gave him at the same time a circ.u.mstantial account of the posture of affairs, adding, that he must either send him a strong reinforcement of troops, or repair in person to Santisteban.

Cortes, on the receipt of Vallejo's letter, sent for father Olmedo, Alvarado, Sandoval, and Gonzalo de Ocampo, brother to him whom Garay had despatched to Vallejo. These gentlemen he instantly sent off to Garay with certain papers containing his appointment of governor of all the countries he might subdue, granted to him by his majesty, until the lawsuit should have terminated which was pending between him (Cortes) and the governor of Cuba. The answer which Vallejo had given to Diego de Ocampo was perfectly satisfactory to Garay, and he marched his troops close up to the town of Santisteban; but Vallejo being informed that a small detachment of the latter was strolling heedlessly about the large and beautiful towns.h.i.+p of Nechaplan, he sent out a body of his own men to attack them, who captured above forty of their numbers, and brought them in prisoners to Santisteban, which, it appears, was the very thing these men had desired. Garay was greatly incensed at this, demanded Vallejo to deliver up the men to him again, and threatened, unless he complied, to punish him by virtue of the royal authority with which he was vested. Vallejo, however, answered, that his reason for seizing these men was, because they were marching about the country without any legal authority, and had plundered the inhabitants: and that he (Vallejo) should act up to Cortes' instructions until he received some especial command from his majesty to the contrary; adding, that he must again request him not to allow his men to plunder and ill-treat his majesty's subjects.

While this dispute was going on, father Olmedo, with Alvarado and the other officers, arrived in Santisteban; and as Gonzalo de Ocampo was at that time alcalde major of Mexico, it was his duty to give Garay notice to quit that territory, of which the government had been conferred upon Cortes by his majesty. Several days were spent in these negotiations, which were carried on by word of mouth, between the two parties, by father Olmedo, and Garay began to discover that numbers of his men deserted to Vallejo, that Cortes' officers were accompanied by a considerable body of horse and musketeers, and that they daily increased in numbers. Two of his vessels had been lost in a heavy storm, and the rest lay at anchor in the mouth of the harbour, and were summoned by Vallejo to run in, otherwise he should be obliged to treat them as corsairs; to which the captains replied, that it was no business of his where they anch.o.r.ed their vessels, and he might keep his commands to himself.

Garay, who greatly feared the good fortune which always attended Cortes'

arms, durst not take any decisive step; while, on the other hand, Ocampo of Mexico, Alvarado, and Sandoval were carrying on their secret negotiations with his troops, but particularly with the captains of the vessels, with some of whom they came to a secret understanding that they should run into the harbour and declare for Cortes. The first two captains who ran in with their vessels were Martin Lepuzcuano and Castromucho, and they surrendered to Vallejo, who then immediately repaired to the mouth of the harbour with the two vessels, and commanded Juan de Grijalva either to run into the harbour or to quit his present station without delay and put to sea again. This message Grijalva answered by firing a broadside at him; but Vallejo was not to be daunted by this, and repaired on board Grijalva's vessel in one of his own boats, accompanied by a royal secretary, and handed over to him letters from Alvarado and father Olmedo, who made large promises to him in the name of Cortes. While Grijalva was perusing these letters, the rest of the vessels ran one after the other into the harbour, so that no other resource was left him than to follow their example, and to yield up his sword to Vallejo, who had demanded it of him in the name of Cortes, though he, with all the other captains, were immediately set at liberty again, according to the advice of father Olmedo, who always said it was most pleasing to G.o.d and to our emperor when disputes were settled without spilling any blood.

When Garay found what a miserable state his affairs were in, that a portion of his men had deserted, and that the rest had rebelled against him; how two of his vessels had foundered at sea, and the rest had declared for Cortes, his despondency was at its height. He earnestly requested Cortes' officers to deliver up to him again his troops and his vessels, and declared that he would return to the river Palmas, and thus put an end to all further disputes. These officers, in reply, wished him every success in this undertaking, and said they would order all his men who were strolling about the country to repair to his standard again, and reembark with their general; they promised also to furnish him with a good supply of provisions and other matters. Garay was highly delighted with this offer, and the strictest orders were accordingly issued to seize all the men who had rebelled, and to take them into the presence of Garay: but all threats proved fruitless, and the few of Garay's soldiers who were recaptured maintained that their agreement was to serve in the province of Panuco, and that their oath did not bind them to follow their general's standard anywhere else. They even used stronger language than this; and declared, without any reserve, that Garay did not possess the requisite talents for a commander, and that he was altogether no soldier.

When Garay found that, notwithstanding all his remonstrances and threats, he could not alter the minds of his men, he completely despaired. Our officers then advised him to write to Cortes, and they promised to use all their influence with the latter, and induce him to a.s.sist Garay in his expedition to the river Palmas; indeed, father Olmedo and Alvarado pledged their words to obtain this for him. Garay accordingly wrote a letter to our general, in which he gave him an account of his voyage, and of the fatigues he had undergone, then begged his permission to visit him in Mexico, in order that they might come to some understanding with each other, and consider what steps they could take to promote his majesty's best interests in this matter. Father Olmedo and our officers also wrote to Cortes, and strongly recommended Garay's cause to him, adding, that he was a gentleman with whom he had formerly lived on the most intimate terms of friends.h.i.+p.

When Cortes read Garay's letter, he could not help feeling excessively grieved at his misfortunes, and sent him a most polite answer in return, expressing his deep concern at the unfortunate position of his affairs, and invited him to repair in person to Mexico, where he would feel happy to aid him with his counsel, and otherwise to lend him every a.s.sistance in his power to prosecute his further designs. Cortes then despatched orders for the inhabitants of the towns through which Garay would have to pa.s.s, to give him an hospitable reception, and even sent various kinds of refreshments for him to the different stages along his route.

In Tezcuco a banquet was prepared in his honour, and when he had approached to within a short distance of Mexico, Cortes went out to meet him, accompanied by several officers.

Garay was not a little astonished when he beheld the many large towns, and at length the city of Mexico itself. Cortes gave him his own new palace to live in, and immediately began to converse with him about the posture of his affairs, and to deliberate what further steps it would be most advisable for him to adopt. Alvarado, Sandoval and father Olmedo used their utmost influence with Cortes to further Garay's views; and the latter had scarcely been four days in Mexico when father Olmedo, in order to substantiate the good understanding which had arisen between him and Cortes, brought about the preliminaries of a marriage between a natural daughter of the latter, who was still very young, and the son of Garay.

It was at length settled that Garay should continue commander-in-chief of his fleet, and that he should colonize the country on the river Palmas, for which purpose Cortes was to furnish him with everything that was necessary, and even with officers and men. It was also agreed that Cortes should give a very large sum of money as a marriage portion to his daughter.

By these bright prospects and the friendly disposition which Cortes evinced towards him, Garay's spirits were again raised, and I am sure that everything would have been fulfilled as agreed upon between them, if Providence had not disposed otherwise.

Garay soon after inhabited the house of Alonso Villanueva, as Cortes was making great alterations in his palaces. This Villanueva had upon one occasion been despatched by Cortes to purchase horses in Jamaica, but really I am unable to say whether previous or subsequent to this time; at all events, Garay and he were very intimate friends, wherefore he had requested permission of Cortes to inhabit the latter's house.

Narvaez was still in Mexico at this time, and renewed his former friends.h.i.+p with Garay. As may naturally be supposed, each related to the other his misfortunes, and as Narvaez was a man of a haughty disposition, he said smilingly to Garay on one occasion: "What very fine things, Senor Adelantado, have been told me by several of the men who have deserted your troops! They a.s.sert, that on every occasion when you wished to encourage your officers you used to say: 'We must show ourselves brave men and fight valiantly about with Cortes' soldiers, and not allow ourselves to be cozened as Narvaez was.' But what say you now, Senor? I lost one of my eyes in the battle I fought with Cortes; lost my army and all my property in the courageous defence which I offered, and indeed it was no joke to defeat me. No one in the world can have greater luck than this man; but it must be remembered that he has officers and soldiers who lend him the most vigorous a.s.sistance in all his undertakings, which alone has rendered it possible for him to have the good fortune of an Octavius, the victorious career of a Julius Caesar, and the endurance of a Hannibal in battle."

To which Garay replied, "That it was unnecessary for him to mention all this, for the deeds spoke for themselves;" and indeed, added he, "where will you find another man who would dare, after destroying his fleet, to penetrate with a handful of men in the midst of a country so thickly populated, in order to wage war against powerful states and large cities?"

Narvaez then mentioned other heroic deeds of our general, and in this way they discoursed for a length of time with each other about the wonderful conquest of New Spain! Garay, soon after, even begged Cortes to grant Narvaez and his wife permission to return to the island of Cuba. This lady, whose name was Maria Valenzuela, possessed great wealth, and she had formerly known Cortes at Cuba, and was even related to him. She had herself also pet.i.tioned Cortes to liberate her husband.

Our general now not only granted this request, but also gave Narvaez 2000 pesos to defray the expenses of his voyage. Narvaez could scarcely find words to thank Cortes sufficiently for so much kindness, and promised him, by everything that was holy, never under any circ.u.mstance whatever to go against his interests.

But to return to Garay, whose unfortunate expedition terminated in the following manner. On Christmas eve of the year 1523 he accompanied Cortes to church in order to attend midnight ma.s.s, performed by father Olmedo; after church they both returned home in high spirits and sat down to breakfast, when it appears that Garay, who was not in very good health, caught cold by standing in a draught, which ended in pleurisy, accompanied by a violent fever. The medical men bled and purged him, but the disease continually grew worse, so that father Olmedo was desired to inform him of the danger he was in, that he might confess, while he was yet able, and make his last will. Father Olmedo accordingly disclosed to him that his end was drawing nigh, and he ought to think of preparing for death as a good Christian and an honest cavalier, that he might not lose his soul in the next world, as he had his riches in this. "Your advice is good, father," answered Garay; "I wish to confess this very night, to receive the holy sacrament, and to make my last will." All this he fulfilled with great devotion, appointed Cortes with father Olmedo his executors, and four days after rendered up his soul again to his G.o.d and his Creator.

It is peculiar to the climate of Mexico that those who are attacked by pleurisy, generally die within three or four days; this we experienced to our great sorrow in Tezcuco and Cojohuacan, where we lost numbers of our men from this disease. For the rest, every honour was paid to the last remains of Garay; and Cortes, with several officers, put on mourning. May his soul rest in peace. Amen! It is, however, to be regretted that he died far away from his wife and family in the house of a stranger. After his departure from Mexico pretty work was going on with his troops in Panuco; for as the officers and soldiers had no commander-in-chief, any one who got it into his head raised himself to captain or general, and in this way there stood successively at the head of the troops, Juan Grijalva, Gonzalo de Figueroa, Alonso de Mendoza, Lorenzo de Ulloa, Juan Medina, Juan de Villa, Antonio de la Cada, and a certain Taborda, who was the most rebellious of all. Garay's son, to whom Cortes' daughter was betrothed, nominally indeed, had the chief command, but the men troubled themselves very little about him; and they dispersed themselves in small bodies of fifteen and twenty-five about the country, plundered the towns.h.i.+ps, forcibly carried away the women, and in every respect conducted themselves as if they were plundering among the Moors. At last the inhabitants were resolved to suffer this no longer, and they united in a body with the determination to destroy these cruel invaders, and in the s.p.a.ce of a few days they killed upwards of 500 Spaniards, all of Garay's troops, the most of whom were sacrificed to their G.o.ds and their flesh was devoured. In one towns.h.i.+p alone, above one hundred were slaughtered in this way. Cortes' troops in Santisteban were no longer able to quell these disturbances, nor did the Indians any way fear them; for when the garrison had upon one occasion marched out against them, they defended themselves so valiantly that our troops were obliged to retreat back to the town, to which the Indians had even the temerity to lay siege, and made repeated attacks upon it both day and night, and they would certainly have taken it if there had not been seven or eight of the veteran conquistadores among the garrison, who, with Vallejo, continually spurred on the rest of the men, and took every military precaution to prevent so terrible a disaster.

These determined men also lent every a.s.sistance they could to the rest of Garay's troops, but at the same time showed the necessity of their continuing to encamp outside the town, so as to prevent the enemy from making a combined attack upon the latter. Three separate engagements were fought between the Indians and the troops of Vallejo, joined to those of Garay, and though the former was killed himself and many Spaniards wounded, yet the Indians were each time defeated with considerable loss. The inhabitants had altogether become so furious and exasperated, that on one occasion during night-time they burnt alive in one of their towns forty Spaniards and fifteen horses.

When Cortes received intelligence of this terrible state of things he felt excessively annoyed, and was upon the point of marching himself to Panuco at the head of his troops to quell these disturbances, but he was still suffering from the consequences of a broken arm, so that he was compelled to leave this to Sandoval, whom he instantly despatched thither with one hundred foot, fifty horse, fifteen crossbow-men and musketeers, two cannon, and a body of 10,000 Tlascallan and Mexican auxiliaries. Sandoval's instructions were to punish the inhabitants in such a manner as to discourage them from ever after breaking out into rebellion. As Sandoval was a man who could not rest night or day whenever he had any important business on hand, he never stayed a moment longer in any place than was absolutely necessary. Having received intelligence that the enemy had stationed the whole of their troops in two narrow pa.s.ses, he divided his men into two bodies, of which one was to attack the first and the other the second pa.s.s. The crossbow-men and musketeers were instructed to keep up a constant fire upon the enemy, who, however, bid a stout resistance in their turn, and wounded several of the Spanish and auxiliary troops. When Sandoval found that all his attempts to force the first pa.s.s were fruitless, and having no better fortune on the following day, he sent orders for the other body, which had been equally unsuccessful at the second pa.s.s, to turn back upon the road leading to Mexico, he himself drawing off his men in the same direction. The enemy, who imagined he retreated from fear, likewise quitted their position, and followed Sandoval with terrific yells. The latter now encamped in a secure spot, where he remained quiet for three days; and one midnight, when he thought the enemy less upon their guard, he suddenly broke up his camp, and, with the cavalry in advance, forced his way through the narrow pa.s.ses, with the whole of his troops; but even then it was with great difficulty he succeeded, and three of his horses were killed, besides numbers of the troops wounded: however, as soon as he had the advantage ground, he fell with great impetuosity upon the enemy, who had received considerable reinforcements during the night. So vastly had their numbers increased, that he began to entertain serious doubts as to the issue of the battle; he therefore firmly closed his ranks, and so continued to combat with the enemy, who rushed upon the points of the swords with the savage ferocity of so many tigers, and they even succeeded to wrest the lances from six of the less experienced cavalry soldiers. Sandoval was terribly enraged at this latter circ.u.mstance, and swore he would rather go to battle with a few men who knew how to fight, than with a great number who did not: and he then instructed the cavalry how to aim at the enemy's face; and if the Indians grasped the lances, to hold them firmly with the hand placed under the arm, give spurs to the horses, and, by a sudden jerk, wrest the lance from the enemy's grasp, or drag him along with it.

After this battle, in which neither party had gained any advantage over the other, Sandoval encamped for the night near a small river. Here he carefully posted his watches, and, having been taught experience in our battles with the Mexicans, he ordered his auxiliary troops to encamp at a good distance from the Spanish, to avoid all confusion if the enemy commenced the attack in the dark. Sandoval had indeed every reason to suppose that the Indians would fall upon him in the night, for they had taken up a position so very near to his camp that their war-whoop and military music were quite audible; but they made so sure of victory, they said, (as Sandoval learnt from his auxiliaries,) that they would rather wait till morning, and then put him, with all his men, to the sword.

As soon as daylight broke forth, Sandoval marched out, with the whole of his troops in close order, towards some houses whence the enemy's war-music resounded. He had scarcely proceeded a mile when he came up with three large bodies of the enemy, who immediately began to hem him in on all sides. Sandoval, observing this, placed half of his cavalry in each wing, and attacked the enemy with such determination that he completely routed them, and slew great numbers. Two Spaniards, who had but recently come to New Spain, were killed in this battle, besides three horses. The Mexicans and Tlascallans then spread themselves through the different towns.h.i.+ps, killed several more of the enemy, set fire to every place, and brought in great numbers of prisoners.

The road to Santisteban was now open, and when Sandoval arrived there he found the garrison in a most deplorable condition: greater part of the troops were either sick or wounded, but what was worse, they had neither food for themselves nor their horses.

The reader may easily imagine how welcome Sandoval's arrival was, and he soon learnt how Garay's troops had behaved, and how the garrison would probably have been cut to pieces if it had not been for the a.s.sistance of seven or eight veteran Conquistadores, who each day marched to the field of battle, kept Garay's troops outside the city, and so occupied the enemy's attention in another quarter that they did not even allow them time to think of storming the town. Sandoval then embraced these brave men, and gave to each of the Conquistadores, who were all his old companions in arms, a separate command, and desired them to divide all the foot and cavalry into two bodies, and so sally out of the town, forage the country round, damage the enemy's property as much as possible, and bring in as many prisoners as they could take, particularly of the chiefs. He himself, to his great sorrow, was obliged to remain behind, as he was severely wounded in the leg, and had been struck in the face by a stone.

The two detachments obeyed his commands in every respect; they soon brought in a quant.i.ty of maise and other provisions, with several women, a number of poor people, and five chiefs who had fought in the recent battles. Sandoval ordered all these prisoners to be released, with the exception of the five last mentioned, and ordered his troops not to bring in any other prisoners excepting those who had had a hand in the murder of the Spaniards. The rest of the inhabitants they were to encourage to approach the town peaceably, and to live on terms of friends.h.i.+p with the Spaniards.

Several officers of distinction belonging to Garay's troops, who had done their worst to create the insurrection in this province, had remained behind in the town on this last occasion. These gentlemen, whose names I have mentioned above, considered themselves grossly insulted when they found that Sandoval had not intrusted them with any command, but had selected the veteran Conquistadores. They therefore began to murmur and to inveigh bitterly against the dispositions which Sandoval had made, and even spoke to Garay's son of making common cause with the inhabitants, and of revolutionizing the province. After Sandoval had regarded their intrigues in silence for some time, he at length addressed these discontented personages to the following effect: "Instead, gentlemen, of being thankful to me for having marched into this province to your a.s.sistance, and for rescuing you from the imminent danger in which you lived, you have, I hear, thrown out language against me which little becomes cavaliers of your stamp. It is no dishonour to you that I put those in command who have proved themselves able officers. I should, indeed, have been a fool had I not done so; and if you had shown yourselves equally deserving, I should not have forgotten you: but I should like to know whether you showed any fitness to command when you allowed yourselves to be hemmed in on all sides by the Indians.

You yourselves have unanimously declared that you would have been on the brink of destruction had it not been for the eight veteran Conquistadores; it is for this reason, and because they are acquainted with the country, that I intrusted them with the command. These jealousies never entered our mind when we were besieging Mexico; our only thoughts were how we should best be able to promote his majesty's interests. Follow, therefore, our example for the future. I do not intend staying much longer here, for I must soon return to Mexico, if, at least, these Indians do not kill me; but he whom I shall leave behind as Cortes' commandant of this town will not allow you much leisure time; therefore, moderate your anger, and learn to judge better of me in future!" Here Sandoval ended, but all he said produced very little effect.

The following day Sandoval marched out with the whole of his troops, and made so excellent a disposition of his men, that he captured above twenty caziques who had all been concerned in the ma.s.sacre of Garay's troops and of several other Spaniards belonging to the colony. He then invited all the towns.h.i.+ps to send him messengers of peace, which they accordingly did, with the exception of a few. After this, he forwarded an account to Cortes of every circ.u.mstance, and requested to know what course he was to adopt with the prisoners, and whom he should appoint commandant of Santisteban in the room of Vallejo; nor did he omit to mention the courage and skill which the eight veterans above mentioned had throughout displayed.

Cortes received this letter just at the moment when he was surrounded by a great number of the old Conquistadores, and by several Spaniards who had recently arrived from Spain. He was highly delighted to find that Sandoval had so speedily quelled the disturbances, and exclaimed aloud, in the presence of all, "O! Sandoval, how much am I not indebted to you, and what vast fatigues do you not undergo for me?" Every person present joined in the praise of Sandoval, declaring unanimously that he was a most excellent officer, and might be compared with the most renowned captains of any age.

Cortes, in answer to Sandoval's letter, told him that those of the Indians who had been guilty of the murder of so many Spaniards, and had wantonly killed so great a number of horses, were to be tried and punished according to law; for which purpose he would despatch to him the alcalde major Diego de Ocampo, who would investigate the matter in due form. The remaining part of the population he was to treat with every possible kindness, and strictly to forbid the troops of Garay or any other Spaniards to plunder or in anywise to ill-use the inhabitants.

Sandoval was vastly pleased when Ocampo arrived, who, without delay, brought the Indian caziques and chiefs to trial; and, as they themselves confessed they had had a hand in the murder of the Spaniards above mentioned, they were found guilty, and some were sentenced to be hung, some to be burnt alive, and others were liberated altogether. The sons and brothers of those who had been sentenced to death were appointed to the vacant caziquedoms, according to their respective rightful claims.

Here Ocampo's business did not end, for he was likewise empowered by Cortes to inst.i.tute inquiries against those of Garay's troops who had strolled about the country like so many banditti, and thereby caused the insurrection among the Indian population. The whole of these fellows Ocampo put on board one of the vessels, and sent them to the island of Cuba. Grijalva he left the choice, by command of Cortes, either to accept of 2000 pesos, which would instantly be paid down to him, and sail with the others to Cuba, or to repair to Mexico and enter the service of Cortes, by which he would benefit himself and be raised to high honours; but he, with the whole of them, chose rather to return to Cuba, where the greater part had Indian commendaries. This vessel was therefore well victualled, and sailed under the command of a certain Vallecillo for the last-mentioned island.

Ocampo and Sandoval, upon this, returned to Mexico, where they were splendidly received by Cortes and the whole town; and the joy at Sandoval's triumphant return was the greater, as every one had entertained doubts as to the probable issue of this campaign. Father Olmedo even proposed a day of thanksgiving, which was accordingly celebrated in the church of our dear Lady. For the rest, this province ever after remained very tranquil and obedient.