The Memoirs of the Conquistador Bernal Diaz del Castillo Vol 1 Part 37

After this splendid victory, we dined off some gourds which grew in the fields, and joyfully continued our march to Tlascalla. We carefully avoided pa.s.sing through any villages, as our enemies still continued at a distance to fly their arrows at us, and to pour out abusive language.

It was not until the approach of evening that we resolved to enter a Mexican towns.h.i.+p, because it contained a temple and a large building, in which we could fortify ourselves. Here we quartered our troops for the night, dressed our wounds, and enjoyed a little repose. The Mexicans had certainly followed us, but without venturing too nigh, and it was visible in their countenances what they would say: "A good journey to you, you will now quickly have pa.s.sed our boundaries!" Soon after we had left this place, the range of hills near Tlascalla came into view, and we felt equal joy at beholding these as if our native country had been there; yet we could not tell what the present feeling of that people towards us might be, or whether they had remained faithful! And we were also quite ignorant as to how matters stood at Vera Cruz, where the enemy might also have cut the garrison to pieces.

Our whole strength now merely consisted in 440 men, twenty horses, twelve crossbows, and seven muskets; besides that, we were all excessively weak, and covered with wounds; our cannon, with our store of powder lost; we were at present, therefore, doubly vigilant, and returned fervent thanks to G.o.d for having so miraculously rescued us out of the enemy's hand. Our troops, Cortes said, were now dwindled down again to the same number of men with which we had first set sail from Cuba, and entered the city of Mexico. We should therefore be particularly cautious not to give the Tlascallans any reason of complaint. This was especially intended for Narvaez's men, who were not so accustomed to subordination as we were. For the rest, continued Cortes, he hoped to G.o.d we should find the Tlascallans as faithful and true to us as before. If, however, they should have turned against us, we were not therefore to lose courage, but to trust in our strong arm, which had the power to overcome any foe.

We now continued our march with every military precaution, and arrived at a fountain on the slope of a hill, near to which were standing the walls and inclosures of ancient temples. These the Tlascallans said formed the boundaries between their territory and the Mexican empire.

Here therefore we felt in greater safety, washed ourselves, and ate some little food. After we had sufficiently rested from our fatigues, we again marched forward, and arrived at a towns.h.i.+p called Gualiopar,[96]

situated in the Tlascallan territory, where the inhabitants allowed us to quarter, and furnished us with food; but we were obliged to give them small pieces of gold or chalchihuis in exchange. In this spot we remained a whole day, to dress our wounds and those of our horses.

When the news of our arrival was received in the metropolis of Tlascalla, Maxixcatzin, the old Xicotencatl, and Chichimeclatecl, accompanied by the princ.i.p.al inhabitants of that town, and those of Huexotzinco, immediately set out to welcome us. They gave us the most hearty reception, and several of the chiefs wept aloud. "Alas! Malinche, Malinche," cried they, "how deeply we take your misfortune to heart, and lament the death of so many of your brothers, and of our countrymen, who have perished with them! How oft have we not warned you not to trust to the Mexicans, and told you they would certainly, one time or other, fall suddenly upon you; but you would not believe us. However, what has happened cannot be recalled; the only thing you must think of at present is, to cure your wounds and strengthen yourselves with good food. Do, therefore, just as if you were at home in your own country. Rest yourselves a little and then proceed to our town, where we will find you quarters. For the rest, Malinche, you may look upon it as no small piece of heroism that you fought your way out of that strong city after the bridges had been destroyed; and if we previously looked upon you as men of extraordinary courage, we do so now in a much wider sense. We are well aware that numbers of men and women of this country have to mourn the loss of their sons, their husbands and their brothers, but let not this be matter of too much grief to you. You have likewise great reason to be thankful to your G.o.ds who have conducted you here in safety, and who gave you power to gain the victory over that vast army, which we were well aware had been lying four days in wait for you at Otumpan. It was our intention to have come to your a.s.sistance with 30,000 men, but we were unable to collect such a body of troops in sufficient time."

Cortes, with the whole of the officers and soldiers embraced these excellent men in the most affectionate manner, and we made them a present in gold and jewels, to which every man among us was glad to contribute his mite. They were also extremely rejoiced to find that Dona Marina and Dona Luisa had escaped the carnage; but their joy soon turned into lamentations when they discovered what numbers of their countrymen were missing; and Maxixcatzin evinced excessive grief at the loss of Dona Elvira his daughter, and of Leon, to whom he had presented her.

We now, in company of all the caziques marched into the metropolis of Tlascalla. Cortes was quartered in the house of Maxixcatzin, and Alvarado in that of Xicotencatl. We dressed our wounds with great care, and patiently awaited their cure; four of our men, however, soon after died, and many others suffered for a length of time before they were completely restored.

[87] The daily allowance of a soldier during this time was only fifty grains of maise! (p. 347.)

[88] According to other accounts, it certainly appears that Alvarado made this astonis.h.i.+ng leap. (Monarchia In., iv, c. 71.) We find that Alvarado was distinguished from his brother by the surname of _Alvarado of the leap_. Humboldt, in his interesting work on New Spain, has thought it worth his while to rescue the honour of this brave officer with regard to this leap. Even to the present day there is a small bridge near Bonavista, called Salto de Alvarado. (p. 352.)

[89] According to other accounts Cortes put great faith in the secret art of this man. It was upon Botello's advice that he also attacked Narvaez in the night time. He had likewise advised the retreat from Mexico in the night time, although he knew, he said, that neither himself, his brother, nor several others of his company would escape alive. (p. 353.)

[90] During this retreat three of Motecusuma's sons lost their lives; but there were two other sons of this monarch who survived the fall of their house and became the founders of the distinguished grandee families of Spain, the earls of Montezuma and Tula; one was called Cano and the other Andrada Montezuma. (p. 353.)

[91] One circ.u.mstance Bernal Diaz has omitted to mention. After the enemy had taken possession of the bridges there were one hundred Spaniards, who, seeing no further chance of making good their retreat, fortified themselves on a teocalli or temple. Here these brave men maintained their position against the whole armed force of the town for three days, but hunger at length compelled them to surrender, and the whole of them were sacrificed to the idols. (p. 353.)

[92] The hunger which the Spaniards suffered during these days must have been excessive; for Torquemada states it as a fact, that one of the soldiers had cut out the liver from the body of another and devoured it; for which Cortes was nearly going to hang the man. (p. 354.)

[93] Torquemada says, "That the Spaniards stood like a small island in the midst of the ocean, against which the rolling billows beat on every side." When Cortes decided the fate of the day by his courageous attack upon the Mexican commander, the battle had lasted five hours. (p. 354.)

[94] The Mexican general's name was Cihuacatzin; he was the Matlaxopilli, commander-in-chief, and carried the imperial standard, called Tlahuizmatlaxopilli, being a golden net ten palms in length. (p.

355.)

[95] Bernal Diaz errs here with respect to dates, for the disastrous retreat from Mexico, according to Cortes' despatches and other accounts, took place on the 1st of July, and thus la noche triste (the night of sorrows) was on the night between the 1st and 2d of July, and the battle of Otumpan took place on the 7th. There must either have been some mistake in the original ma.n.u.script or in the printing, for the years are also dated erroneously. (p. 356.)

[96] This is certainly a corrupted name, for it is dissimilar in sound to all others, and terminates differently. (p. 358.)

CHAPTER CXXIX.

_How we quartered ourselves in the metropolis of Tlascalla, and what we did there._

I have already mentioned that we rested a day at Gualiopar, where we were visited by the caziques of Tlascalla, who kindly offered us every a.s.sistance, which was the more praiseworthy in them when we take the time and circ.u.mstances into consideration.[97]

As soon as we had arrived in the Tlascallan metropolis, Cortes made inquiries respecting the 40,000 pesos worth of gold which he had forwarded to the latter place for the garrison of Vera Cruz; when Maxixcatzin, Xicotencatl, and one of our soldiers who had remained behind in Tlascalla on account of ill health, informed him that a certain Juan de Alcantara, with two others of the garrison lying in Vera Cruz had arrived there and taken all the gold with them, as they had produced a written permission to that effect signed by Cortes, which he, Maxixcatzin, had carefully saved. Upon being questioned as to the time they had left with the gold, we found it must have been during the days we had the severe engagements with the Mexicans. Subsequently we learnt that Alcantara and his companions had been murdered and robbed of their treasure on their road to Vera Cruz. Cortes was sorely grieved at this loss, and was most anxious to know how matters stood in the latter place. He therefore despatched three Tlascallans to that town with a letter, in which he gave a full account of all that had transpired at Mexico, but very wisely omitted to mention the number of men we had lost there. He likewise admonished the garrison to observe the utmost vigilance, and to keep Salvatierra and Narvaez close prisoners. They were desired to send their sick to Tlascalla with all their store of powder and crossbows. He at the same time wrote to Caballero, and particularly cautioned him not to allow any vessel to depart for Cuba, and to see that Narvaez did not escape. If he considered the two vessels of Narvaez which lay in the harbour there unfit for use, he was to run them on sh.o.r.e, and immediately send him the sailors and as many arms as he could spare.

These three messengers made all haste and soon returned with an answer from Vera Cruz, which gave us the good news that they had enjoyed the profoundest peace there, but had been apprized of our misfortune at Mexico by the fat cazique of Sempoalla. They also informed us that Juan de Alcantara and his companions had been murdered on their return.

Pedro Caballero sent word that all Cortes' commands should be attended to. One of the two vessels was still in good condition, but with the other he would act as he had been ordered and send the men to us, though he had not over-sufficient hands, as many of the sailors were sick and several had died.

All the reinforcement we received, on this occasion, consisted in seven men, of whom three were sailors. They arrived in Tlascalla under the command of a certain Lencero, to whom the tavern belonged, known to this day by the name of Venta de Lencero. Every one of these men were in bad health; five of them were covered with sore swellings, and the two others limped helplessly about with their bellies enormously swollen, so that the succours brought by Lencero became quite a byword among us.

I must now, however, relate something of a more serious nature. The reader cannot have forgotten the younger Xicotencatl, who commanded the whole armed power of Tlascalla against us, and who had always shown his hatred of us. This feeling was again aroused in him when the news of our flight from Mexico, and of the number of troops we had lost arrived in Tlascalla; and how we were marching towards the latter place to seek protection and a.s.sistance. Xicotencatl now, therefore, a.s.sembled his relations and friends, with all those whom he thought would enter into his views, and proposed that they should select some favorable opportunity, either in the day or night-time to fall upon us unawares and destroy us all. "He would," he said, "form a friendly alliance with the Mexican monarch, for which the present moment was particularly favorable, as the Mexicans had just elected a new monarch in the person of Cuitlahuatzin. We had," he continued, "left quant.i.ties of cotton stuffs and gold behind us in Tlascalla, and had brought an additional quant.i.ty with us, and they would all become wealthy personages by such a booty."

When the elder Xicotencatl received information of this rebellious movement, he grew excessively angry, and commanded his son to banish all such thoughts from his mind. Such a step as that, he said, would be altogether unjustifiable, and he might be sure, if Maxixcatzin and Chichimeclatecl got intelligence of it, they would certainly order him to be put to death, to which he himself would give his consent. Old Xicotencatl, however, might say what he liked, his son remained firm to his purpose, and set earnestly about to make the necessary preparations, when Chichimeclatecl, who was at enmity with the younger Xicotencatl, got secret information of his intentions, which he instantly communicated to Maxixcatzin, and both determined to call a meeting of the chief personages of the town, with the elder Xicotencatl and the caziques of Huexotzinco, and commanded the younger Xicotencatl to appear before them.

After all had been a.s.sembled, Maxixcatzin addressed the meeting as follows: "I ask you, do you yourselves think, or have you ever heard others say that such riches or so much prosperity was ever known for the last hundred years in the land of Tlascalla as since the time these teules have appeared among us? Were we ever so much respected by all our neighbours? It is only since their arrival we possess abundance of gold and cotton stuffs; it is since that time only we eat salt again, of which we had been deprived for such a length of time. Wherever our troops have shown themselves with these teules, they have been treated with the utmost respect; and if many of our countrymen have lately perished in Mexico, they certainly fared no worse than the teules themselves. All of you must likewise bear in mind the ancient tradition handed down to us by our forefathers, that, at some period or other, a people would come from where the sun rises, to whom the dominion of these countries was destined. How dare Xicotencatl, taking all this into consideration, contemplate this horrible treachery, from which nothing can flow but war and our destruction? Is this not a crime which ought not to be pardoned? Is it not exactly in accordance with the evil designs with which this man's head always runs full? Now that misfortune has led these teules to us for protection, and that we may a.s.sist them with our troops to renew the war with Mexico, are we to act treacherously to these our friends?"

To these reproaches, in which his own blind father joined, the younger Xicotencatl replied, that he persevered in his opinion that, under the present circ.u.mstances, it would be most politic to form an alliance with the Mexicans; and allowed himself many other impudent expressions, which so enraged the old chiefs that Maxixcatzin, Chichimeclatecl, and the elder Xicotencatl, notwithstanding his blindness, rose up from their seats, then fell upon the young man, and pushed him down the steps of the building, under the most abusive language. He would certainly have been killed on the spot, if respect for his aged father had not withheld them. In the meantime they imprisoned all those who had sided with him.

To punish Xicotencatl himself, this was not exactly the time, and Cortes refused in any way to meddle in the matter. I have mentioned this circ.u.mstance to convince the reader how loyal and honest the Tlascallans were towards us, and how much we were indebted to them, particularly to the elder Xicotencatl, who, it is even said, had given orders for his son to be put to death, as soon as he had been informed of all his intrigues and treacherous designs.[98]

We had now rested twenty-two days, and had patiently awaited the cure of our wounds; and Cortes now determined upon making an incursion into the neighbouring province of Tepeaca, where several of Narvaez's men and some of ours had been killed on their march to Mexico. He accordingly told our officers what his plan was; but when Narvaez's men heard of a new campaign, they became quite low-spirited. The latter were not accustomed to war, and had had a sufficient taste of it in our overthrow at Mexico, the carnage at the bridges, and in the battle of Otumpan; and were very clamorous in their requests to our general to return to their commendaries and their gold mines in Cuba. They peremptorily refused to obey him any longer, and declared they would take no further part in his conquests; and Duero, who, from the very beginning, had been in secret understanding with Cortes, protested most loudly against this contemplated invasion of Tepeaca. They cursed the gold Cortes had given them, which had all been lost again in their flight from Mexico, and a.s.sured him they were glad enough to have escaped with their lives from that terrific battle. They were unanimously determined to return to Cuba, and said they were not desirous of suffering any further losses than they already had in this expedition.

Cortes, however, did not so soon give up all hopes of persuading them to join him in this campaign. He spoke to them in a very quiet and kind manner, and made many very excellent remarks, but all to no purpose; and when they found that Cortes persevered in his determination, they desired one of the royal secretaries to draw up a formal protest, in which they gave a circ.u.mstantial account of our present position, how we were in want of horses, muskets, crossbows, and even cords for the latter; in short, of everything necessary to carry on a war. They further went on to say, that the whole of us were covered with wounds, and that only 440 men remained of the united troops of Narvaez and Cortes; the Mexicans occupied every pa.s.s and every mountain, and the vessels would rot away with the worm if they lay any longer in the harbour; and so on.

After they had presented this protest in form to our general, he altogether objected to it, and we others of his old troops begged of him most earnestly not to allow any of Narvaez's men to return to Cuba, as it would every way prove injurious to the cause of G.o.d and the interest of our emperor.

When they found that all the steps they had taken were fruitless, and that we maintained they were imperatively called upon to remain, both for the service of G.o.d and of our emperor, they at last consented to stay, and declared their willingness to join us in the contemplated campaign; but Cortes was obliged to promise that he would allow them to depart for Cuba as soon as ever circ.u.mstances would permit. This, however, did not put an end to their murmurs. We heard nothing but complaints against Cortes and his conquests,--how dearly they had paid for all this, left comfortable homes, and peace and security, to serve in a country where they lived in constant danger of losing their lives.

They likewise considered it would be unpardonable in us to commence a second war with the Mexicans, with whom we should never be able to cope in the open field for any length of time, after what we had seen of their vast power both in Mexico and at Otumpan. Cortes, they continued, would not relinquish his purpose as long as his ambition to command was satisfied, and we others merely stuck to him because we had nothing to lose but our lives. Many similar reproaches did they throw out against Cortes, who, under the present circ.u.mstances, thought it was best to leave them unnoticed; and he was glad, a few months after, to send them home, as will be related in the proper place.

Here again I am bound to notice a number of errors in Gomara's history; in order, however, not to go too much into detail, I will confine myself to the following remarks.

Respecting the above-mentioned protest against the projected campaign of Tepeaca, Gomara does not exactly state with which party it originated, whether from Cortes' old troops or those of Narvaez. Everything he relates concerning this matter merely goes to raise Cortes to the skies and to cast the rest of us in the shade. We, the true Conquistadores, on reading his work, soon discovered that Gomara had been bribed by presents to relate the circ.u.mstances in that way. Were we not the very men who supported Cortes in all the battles, and in every other matter?

and yet Gomara has the impudence to consider this as nothing, and affirms that we protested against the further conquest of New Spain.

Gomara likewise commits a terrible blunder when he makes Cortes say, in answer to this protest, in order to inspire us with courage, that he would recall Leon and Ordas, of whom one, he says, was engaged forming a settlement with 300 men in Panuco, and that the other, with a like detachment, had been sent for a similar purpose to the river Guacasualco. Every word of this is false; for, when we marched to Alvarado's a.s.sistance in Mexico, those projected settlements were relinquished, as I have above mentioned, and both these officers went along with us to Mexico. Leon even met with his death at one of the bridges, as we saw, and Ordas was severely wounded in three several places. What a great pity it is that Gomara does not write with equal veracity as he does beauty!

I was likewise amazed to read what he says of the battle of Otumpan. He boldly a.s.serts that we should have been defeated if Cortes had not been present, for he alone decided the fate of the day by his attack upon the Mexican commander-in-chief, who carried the royal standard. I should indeed be loth to do Cortes an injustice, and, as an excellent and brave general, I have the highest esteem for him; but certainly we have, above all, to thank the Almighty, who mercifully protected us in all the dangers we encountered, and who put under Cortes' commands such courageous officers and soldiers. The second praise is certainly due to us, whose valiant arms overcame every obstacle. We it were who firmly withstood the enemy's attack, who broke their line, and who punctually obeyed the commands of our general and his officers. And yet Cortes is said to have done all himself at the battle of Otumpan! Why does this Gomara not mention as well the heroic deeds of the officers and soldiers in that battle? But it is quite evident that all he relates in his book is intended for the praise of Cortes only, otherwise he could not have pa.s.sed by all the rest of us in silence. He should have asked how often the brave Christobal de Olea had saved Cortes' life, until he met with his death in a similar attempt during the subsequent siege of Mexico?

I had nearly forgotten to mention the battle near Sochimilco, where Olea again saved Cortes' life, but which had nearly cost him his own, for he was severely wounded.

In order not to confound names, I must observe that we had among our troops a Christobal de Olea and a Christobal de Oli.

Gomara is right when he says that Cortes made a run at the Mexican commander-in-chief, which caused the latter to drop the standard from his hands; but then it is also a fact that Juan Salamanca, of Ontiveras, who became alcalde mayor of Guacasualco after the fall of Mexico, killed that chief with a thrust of his lance, tore away the splendid crest of plumes which adorned his head, and presented it to Cortes; for which reason he was subsequently permitted to add a bunch of feathers to his armorial bearings.

I do not mention these things to diminish Cortes' glory, for the praise and merit of all the victories we gained, and of the battles we fought, down to the total conquest of New Spain, are due to him, and he has deserved those honours with which the Castillians were wont to crown their generals after some splendid victories, and the triumphs which the Romans decreed to Pompey, Julius Caesar, and the Scipios. Cortes, indeed, has merited greater honours than all these Romans!

Gomara further relates that Cortes ordered the younger Xicotencatl to be secretly executed in Tlascalla as punishment for his treacherous designs against us; but this likewise is an untruth, for Cortes ordered him to be hung in a village near Tezcuco, as will be seen hereafter.

In the same way Gomara sends so many thousands of Indians with us into the field of battle, that there is neither sense nor meaning in what he says; and he likewise gives a very exaggerated account of the numbers of cities, towns, and villages, of which not one fifth part ever existed; and if we sum up what he says of the population, we shall find there are more millions than there are villages in Spain. Wherever he speaks of 80,000, we must really write down 1000. Everything certainly sounds very fine in his work, because he never at any time relates all that happened. When, therefore, the reader compares his account with mine, he must not allow himself to be blinded by the ornaments of his beautiful style, for mine is plain and rude, but truth supplies the place of art and eloquence. How much it is to be regretted that Dr. Illescas and Paul Jovio should have copied him so closely!

I must, however, return to my history on the campaign of Tepeaca.

[97] According to Torquemada, Cortes had left one of his officers, named Juan Perez, with eighty Spaniards in Tlascalla, when he first marched to Mexico. On learning from this officer that Maxixcatzin had offered to march at the head of 100,000 men to his a.s.sistance, he grew excessively angry with him, and reproached him in the severest terms for not having accepted of the offer. (p. 359.)

[98] Torquemada throws more light on the reason of the younger Xicotencatl's wis.h.i.+ng to form an alliance with Mexico. The Mexicans being aware that the Spaniards would derive great advantages by their alliance with Tlascalla, sent an emba.s.sy of six distinguished personages to draw this republic into an alliance with them. The matter was formally discussed by the Tlascallan chiefs in council, and though the Mexican amba.s.sadors tried their utmost to persuade them into an alliance, the majority decided against it.

At the head of the minority stood the younger Xicotencatl, and the debate was carried on with such asperity that the young hero, who had more penetration than the rest, was at length forcibly expelled the meeting. (p. 362.)