Chapter XXXIII: Letter 5 (1)

[196] The epithet by which, according to Diaz, the Castilians were constantly addressed by the natives, and which--whether correctly or not--he interprets into _gods_, or _divine beings_. (See Hist. de la Conquista, cap. 48, et alibi.) One of the stanzas of Ercilla intimates the existence of a similar delusion among the South American Indians,--and a similar cure of it:

“Por dioses, como dixe, eran tenidos
de los Indios los nuestros; pero oliéron
que de muger y hombre eran nacidos,
y todas sus flaquezas entendiéron:
viéndolos á miserias sometidos,
el error ignorante conociéron,
ardiendo en viva rabia avergonzados
por verse de mortales conquistados.”
LA ARAUCANA, Parte 1, Canto 2.

[197] Rel. Seg. de Cortés, ap. Lorenzana, p. 147.--Hunger furnished them a sauce, says Oviedo, which made their horse-flesh as relishing as the far-famed sausages of Naples, the delicate kid of Avila, or the savory veal of Saragossa! “Con la carne del caballo tubiéron buen pasto, é se consoláron ó mitigáron en parte su hambre, é se lo comiéron sin dexar cuero, ni otra cosa dél sino los huesos, é las vñas, y el pelo; é aun las tripas no les pareció de menos buen gusto que las sobreasados de Nápoles, ó los gentiles cabritos de Abila, ó las sabrosas Terneras de Zaragosa, segun la estrema necesidad que llevaban; por que despues que de la gran cibdad de Temixtitan havian salido, ninguna otra cosa comiéron sino mahiz tostado, é cocido, é yervas del campo, y desto no tanto quanto quisieran ó ovieran menester.” Hist. de las Ind., MS., lib. 33, cap. 13.

[198] Herrera mentions one soldier who had succeeded in carrying off his gold to the value of 3000 _castellanos_ across the causeway, and afterwards flung it away by the advice of Cortés. “The devil take your gold,” said the commander bluntly to him, “if it is to cost you your life.” Hist. general, dec. 2, lib. 10, cap. 11.

[199] Gomara, Crónica, cap. 110.

[200] The meaning of the word _Tlascala_, and so called from the abundance of maize raised in the country. Boturini, Idea, p. 78.

[201] “Empero la Nacion nuestra Española sufre mas hambre que otra ninguna, i estos de Cortés mas que todos.” Gomara, Crónica, cap. 110.

[202] For the foregoing pages, see Camargo, Hist. de Tlascala, MS.,--Bernal Diaz, Hist. de la Conquista, cap. 128,--Oviedo, Hist. de las Ind., MS., lib. 33, cap. 13,--Gomara, Crónica, ubi supra,--Ixtlilxochitl, Hist. Chich., MS., cap. 89,--Martyr, De Orbe Novo, dec. 5, cap. 6,--Rel. Seg. de Cortés, ap. Lorenzana, pp. 147, 148,--Sahagun, Hist. de Nueva-España, MS., lib. 12, cap. 25, 26.

[203] “Su nombre, que quiere decir _habitacion de los Dioses_, y que ya por estos tiempos era ciudad tan famosa, que no solo competia, pero excedia con muchas ventajas á la corte de Tollan.” Veytia, Hist. antig., tom. i. cap. 27.

[204] The pyramid of Mycerinos is 280 feet only at the base, and 162 feet in height. The great pyramid of Cheops is 728 feet at the base, and 448 feet high. See Denon, Egypt Illustrated (London, 1825), p. 9.

[205] “It requires a particular position,” says Mr. Tudor, “united with some little faith, to discover the pyramidal form at all.” (Tour in North America, vol. ii. p. 277.) Yet Mr. Bullock says, “The general figure of the square is as perfect as the great pyramid of Egypt.” (Six Months in Mexico, vol. ii. chap. 26.) Eye-witnesses both! The historian must often content himself with repeating, in the words of the old French lay,--

“_Si com je l’ai trové escrite_,
Vos conterai la vérité.”

[206] This is M. de Humboldt’s opinion. (See his Essai politique, tom. ii. pp. 66-70.) He has also discussed these interesting monuments in his Vues des Cordillères, p. 25, et seq.

[207] Latrobe gives the description of this cavity, into which he and his fellow travellers penetrated. Rambler in Mexico, Letter 7.

[208]

“Et tot templa deûm Romæ, quot in urbe sepulcra
Heroum numerare licet: quos fabula manes
Nobilitat, noster populus veneratus adorat.”
PRUDENTIUS, Contra Sym., lib. 1.

[209] The dimensions are given by Bullock (Six Months in Mexico, vol. ii. chap. 26), who has sometimes seen what has eluded the optics of other travellers.

[210] Such is the account given by the cavalier Boturini. Idea, pp. 42, 43.

[211] “Both Ixtlilxochitl and Boturini, who visited these monuments, one early in the seventeenth, the other in the first part of the eighteenth century, testify to their having seen the remains of this statue. They had entirely disappeared by 1757, when Veytia examined the pyramid. Hist. antig., tom. i. cap. 26.

[212]

“Agricola, incurvo terram molitus aratro,
Exesa inveniet scabra rubigine pila,” etc.
GEORG., lib. i.

[213] “Y como iban vestidos de blanco, parecia el campo nevado.” Herrera, Hist. general, dec. 2, lib. 10, cap. 13.

[214] “Vistosa confusion,” says Solís, “de armas y penachos, en que tenian su hermosura los horrores.” (Conquista, lib. 4, cap. 20.) His painting shows the hand of a great artist,--which he certainly was. But he should not have put fire-arms into the hands of his countrymen on this occasion.

[215] “Y cierto creímos ser aquel el último de nuestros dias.” Rel. Seg. de Cortés, ap. Lorenzana, p. 148.

[216] Camargo, Hist. de Tlascala, MS.--Oviedo, Hist. de las Ind., MS., lib. 33, cap. 14.--Bernal Diaz, Hist. de la Conquista, cap. 128.--Sahagun, Hist. de Nueva-España, MS., lib. 12, cap. 27.--Cortés might have addressed his troops, as Napoleon did his in the famous battle with the Mamelukes: “From yonder pyramids forty centuries look down upon you.” But the situation of the Spaniards was altogether too serious for theatrical display.

[217] It is Sahagun’s simile: “Estaban los Españoles como una Isleta en el mar, combatida de las olas por todas partes.” (Hist. de Nueva-España, MS., lib. 12, cap. 27.) The venerable missionary gathered the particulars of the action, as he informs us, from several who were present in it.

[218] The epic bard Ercilla’s spirited portrait of the young warrior Tucapél may be applied without violence to Sandoval, as described by the Castilian chroniclers:

“Cubierto Tucapél de fina malla
saltó como un ligero y suelto pardo
en medio de la tímida canalla,
haciendo plaza el bárbaro gallardo:
con silvos grita en desigual batalla:
con piedra, palo, flecha, lanza y dardo
le persigue la gente de manera
como si fuera toro, ó brava fiera.”
LA ARAUCANA, Parte 1, canto 8.

[219] Herrera, Hist. general, dec. 2, lib. 10, cap. 13.--“Este caballo harriero,” says Camargo, “le sirvió en la conquista de Méjico, y en la última guerra que se dió se le matáron.” Hist. de Tlascala, MS.

[220] The brave cavalier was afterwards permitted by the emperor Charles V. to assume this trophy on his own escutcheon, in commemoration of his exploit. Bernal Diaz, Hist. de la Conquista, cap. 128.

[221] The historians all concur in celebrating this glorious achievement of Cortés; who, concludes Gomara, “by his single arm saved the whole army from destruction.” See Crónica, cap. 110.--Also Sahagun, Hist. de Nueva-España, MS., lib. 12, cap. 27.--Camargo, Hist. de Tlascala, MS.--Bernal Diaz, Hist. de la Conquista, cap. 128.--Oviedo, Hist. de las Ind., MS., lib. 33, cap. 47.--Herrera, Hist. general, dec. 2, lib. 10, cap. 13.--Ixtlilxochitl, Hist. Chich., MS., cap. 89.--The brief and extremely modest notice of the affair in the general’s own letter forms a beautiful contrast to the style of panegyric by others: “In this arduous contest we consumed a great part of the day, until it pleased God that a person was slain in their ranks of such consequence that his death put an end to the battle.” Rel. Seg., ap. Lorenzana, p. 148.

[222] “Pues á nosotros,” says the doughty Captain Diaz, “no nos dolian las heridas, ni teniamos hambre, ni sed, sino que parecia que no auiamos auido, ni passado ningun mal trabajo. Seguímos la vitoria matando, é hiriendo. Pues nuestros amigos los de Tlascala estavan hechos vnos leones, y con sus espadas, y montantes, y otras armas que allí apañáron, hazíanlo muy biē y esforçadamente.” Hist. de la Conquista, loc. cit.

[223] Bernal Diaz, Hist. de la Conquista, ubi supra.

[224] The belligerent apostle St. James, riding, as usual, his milk-white courser, came to the rescue on this occasion; an event commemorated by the dedication of a hermitage to him, in the neighborhood. (Camargo, Hist. de Tlascala.) Diaz, a skeptic on former occasions, admits his indubitable appearance on this. (Hist. de la Conquista, ubi supra.) According to the Tezcucan chronicler, he was supported by the Virgin and St. Peter. (Hist. Chich., MS., cap. 89.) Voltaire sensibly remarks, “Ceux qui ont fait les relations de ces étranges événemens les ont voulu relever par des miracles, qui ne servent en effet qu’à les rabaisser. Le vrai miracle fut la conduite de Cortés.” Voltaire, Essai sur les Mœurs, chap. 147.

[225] See Oviedo, Hist. de las Ind., MS., lib. 33, cap. 47.--Herrera, Hist. general, dec. 2, lib. 10, cap. 13.--Gomara, Crónica, cap. 110.

[226] Is it not the same fountain of which Toribio makes honorable mention in his topographical account of the country? “Nace en Tlaxcala una fuente grande á la parte del Norte, cinco leguas de la principal ciudad; nace en un pueblo que se llama Azumba, que en su lengua quiere decir _cabeza_, y así es, porque esta fuente es cabeza y principio del mayor rio de los que entran en la mar del Sur, el cual entra en la mar por Zacatula.” Hist. de los Indios, MS., Parte 3, cap. 16.

[227] “El qual pensamiento, y sospecha nos puso en tanta afliccion, quanta trahiamos viniendo peleando con los de Culúa.” Rel. Seg. de Cortés, ap. Lorenzana, p. 149.

[228] “Y mas dixo, que tenia esperança en Dios que los hallariamos buenos, y leales: é que si otra cosa fuesse, lo que Dios no permita, que nos han de tornar á andar los puños con coraçones fuertes, y braços vigorosos, y que para esso fuessemos muy apercibidos.” Bernal Diaz, Hist. de la Conquista, cap. 128.

[229] Called Gualipan by Cortés. (Rel. Seg., ap. Lorenzana, p. 149.) An Aztec would have found it hard to trace the route of his enemies by their itineraries.

[230] Ibid., ubi supra.--Thoan Cano, however, one of the army, denies this, and asserts that the natives received them like their children, and would take no recompense. (See Appendix, No. 11.)

[231] “Y que tubiesse por cierto, que me serian muy ciertos, y verdaderos Amigos, hasta la muerte.” Rel. Seg., ap. Lorenzana, p. 150.

[232] Camargo, Hist. de Tlascala, MS.--Bernal Diaz, Hist. de la Conquista, ubi supra.--“Sobreviniéron las mugeres Tlascaltecas, y todas puestas de luto y llorando á donde estaban los Españoles, las unas preguntaban por sus maridos, las otras por sus hijos y hermanos, las otras por sus parientes que habian ido con los Españoles, y quedaban todos allá muertos: no es menos, sino que de esto llanto causó gran sentimiento en el corazon del Capitan, y de todos los Españoles, y él procuró lo mejor que pudo consolarles por medio de sus Intérpretes.” Sahagun, Hist. de Nueva-España, MS., lib. 12, cap. 28.

[233] “Yo assimismo quedé manco de dos dedos de la mano izquierda”--is Cortés’ own expression in his letter to the emperor. (Rel. Seg., ap. Lorenzana, p. 152.) Don Thoan Cano, however, whose sympathies--from his Indian alliance, perhaps--seem to have been quite as much with the Aztecs as with his own countrymen, assured Oviedo, who was lamenting the general’s loss, that he might spare his regrets, since Cortés had as many fingers on his hand at that hour as when he came from Castile. (See Appendix, No. 11.) May not the word _manco_, in his letter, be rendered by “maimed”?

[234] “Hiriéron á Cortés con Honda tan mal, que se le pasmó la Cabeça, ó porque no le curáron bien, sacándole Cascos, ó por el demasiado trabajo que pasó.” Gomara, Crónica cap. 110.

[235] Herrera, Hist. general, dec. 2, lib. 10, cap. 13.--Bernal Diaz Hist. de la Conquista, ubi supra.

[236] Rel. Seg. de Cortés, ap. Lorenzana, p. 150.--Oviedo, Hist. de las Ind., MS., lib. 33, cap. 15.--Herrera gives the following inscription, cut on the bark of a tree by some of these unfortunate Spaniards: “By this road passed Juan Juste and his wretched companions, who were so much pinched by hunger that they were obliged to give a solid bar of gold, weighing eight hundred ducats, for a few cakes of maize bread.” Hist. general, dec. 2, lib. 10, cap. 13.

[237] One is reminded of the similar remonstrance made by Alexander’s soldiers to him on reaching the Hystaspis,--but attended with more success; as, indeed, was reasonable. For Alexander continued to advance from the ambition of indefinite conquest; while Cortés was only bent on carrying out his original enterprise. What was madness in the one was heroism in the other.

[238] “Acordándome, que siempre á los osados ayuda la fortuna, y que eramos Christianos y confiando en la grandíssima Bondad, y Misericordia de Dios, que no permitiria, que del todo pereciessemos, y se perdiesse tanta, y tan noble Tierra.” Rel. Seg., ap. Lorenzana, p. 152.

[239] This reply, exclaims Oviedo, showed a man of unconquerable spirit and high destinies: “Paréceme que la respuesta que á esto les dió Hernando Cortés, é lo que hizo en ello, fué vna cosa de ánimo invencible, é de varon de mucha suerte é valor.” Hist. de las Ind., MS., lib. 33, cap. 15.

[240] “E no me hable ninguno en otra cosa; y él que desta opinion no estubiere váyase en buen hora, que mas holgaré de quedar con los pocos y osados, que en compañía de muchos, ni de ninguno cobarde, ni desacordado de su propia honra.” Hist. de las Ind., MS., loc. cit.

[241] Oviedo has expanded the harangue of Cortés into several pages, in the course of which the orator quotes Xenophon, and borrows largely from the old Jewish history, a style of eloquence savoring much more of the closet than the camp. Cortés was no pedant, and his soldiers were no scholars.

[242] For the account of this turbulent transaction, see Bernal Diaz, Hist. de la Conquista, cap. 129,--Rel. Seg. de Cortés, ap. Lorenzana, p. 152,--Oviedo, Hist. de las Ind., MS., lib. 33, cap. 15,--Gomara, Crónica, cap. 112, 113,--Herrera, Hist. general, dec. 2, lib. 10, cap. 14.--Diaz is exceedingly wroth with the chaplain Gomara for not discriminating between the old soldiers and the levies of Narvaez, whom he involves equally in the sin of rebellion. The captain’s own version seems a fair one, and I have followed it, therefore, in the text.

[243] Oviedo, Hist. de las Ind., MS., lib. 33, cap. 15.--Herrera, Hist. general, dec. 2, lib. 10, cap. 14.--Sahagun, Hist. de Nueva-España, MS., lib. 12, cap. 29.

[244] Oviedo, Hist. de las Ind., MS., lib. 33, cap. 47.--Rel. Seg. de Cortés, ap. Lorenzana, p. 166.--Sahagun, Hist. de Nueva-España, MS., lib. 12, cap. 27, 29.--Or, rather, it was “at the instigation of the great Devil, the captain of all the devils, called Satan, who regulated every thing in New Spain by his free will and pleasure, before the coming of the Spaniards,” according to Father Sahagun, who begins his chapter with this eloquent exordium.

[245] Ixtlilxochitl, Hist. Chich., MS., cap. 88.--Sahagun, Hist. de Nueva-España, MS., lib. 12, cap. 29.--Herrera, Hist. general, dec. 2, lib. 10, cap. 19.

[246] The proceedings in the Tlascalan senate are reported in more or less detail, but substantially alike, by Camargo, Hist. de Tlascala, MS.,--Sahagun, Hist. de Nueva-España, MS., lib. 12, cap. 29,--Herrera, Hist. general, dec. 2, lib. 12, cap. 14.--See, also, Bernal Diaz, Hist. de la Conquista, cap. 129,--Gomara, Crónica, cap. 111.

[247] The Indian name of the capital,--the same as that of the province,--_Tepejacac_, was corrupted by the Spaniards into _Tepeaca_. It must be admitted to have gained by the corruption.

[248] “Y como aquello vió Cortés, comunicólo con todos nuestros Capitanes, y soldados: y fué acordado, que se hiziesse vn auto por ante Escriuano, que diesse fe de todo lo passado, y que se diessen por esclauos.” Bernal Diaz, Hist. de la Conquista, cap. 130.

[249] The chroniclers estimate his army at 50,000 warriors; one-half, according to Toribio, of the disposable military force of the republic. “De la cual (Tlascala), como ya tengo dicho, solian salir cien mil hombres de pelea.” Hist. de los Indios, MS., Parte 3, cap. 16.

[250] “That night,” says the credulous Herrera, speaking of the carouse that followed one of their victories, “the Indian allies had a grand supper of legs and arms; for, besides an incredible number of roasts on wooden spits, they had fifty thousand pots of stewed human flesh”! (Hist. general, dec. 2, lib. 10, cap. 15.) Such a banquet would not have smelt savory in the nostrils of Cortés.

[251] “Y allí hiziéron hazer el hierro con que se auian de herrar los que se tomauan por esclauos, que era una G., que quiere decir _guerra_.” Bernal Diaz, Hist. de la Conquista, cap. 130.

[252] Solís, Conquista, lib. 5, cap. 3.

[253] Called by the Spaniards _Huacachula_, and spelt with every conceivable diversity by the old writers, who may be excused for stumbling over such a confusion of consonants.

[254] “Y toda la Ciudad está cercada de muy fuerte Muro de cal y canto, tan alto, como quatro estados por de fuera de la Ciudad: é por de dentro está casi igual con el suelo. Y por toda la Muralla va su petril, tan alto, como medio estado, para pelear, tiene quatro entradas, tan anchas, como uno puede entrar á Caballo.” Rel. Seg., p. 162.

[255] This cavalier’s name is usually spelt Olid by the chroniclers. In a copy of his own signature I find it written Oli.

[256] “I should have been very glad to have taken some alive,” says Cortés, “who could have informed me of what was going on in the great city, and who had been lord there since the death of Montezuma. But I succeeded in saving only one; and he was more dead than alive.” Rel. Seg. de Cortés, ap. Lorenzana, p. 159.

[257] “Y á ver que cosa era aquella, los quales eran mas de treinta mil Hombres, y la mas lúcida Gente, que hemos visto, porque trahian muchas Joyas de Oro, y Plata, y Plumajes.” Ibid., p. 160.

[258] “Alcanzando muchos por una Cuesta arriba muy agra; y tal, que quando acabámos de encumbrar la Sierra, ni los Enemigos, ni nosotros podiamos ir atras, ni adelante: é assí caiéron muchos de ellos muertos, y ahogados de la calor, sin herida ninguna.” Rel. Seg. de Cortés, ap. Lorenzana, p. 160.

[259] “Porque demas de la Gente de Guerra, tenian mucho aparato de Servidores, y fornecimiento para su Real.” Ibid., p. 160.

[260] The story of the capture of this strong post is told very differently by Captain Diaz. According to him, Olid, when he had fallen back on Cholula, in consequence of the refusal of his men to advance under the strong suspicion which they entertained of some foul practice from their allies, received such a stinging rebuke from Cortés that he compelled his troops to resume their march, and, attacking the enemy “with the fury of a tiger,” totally routed them. (Hist. de la Conquista, cap. 132.) But this version of the affair is not endorsed, so far as I am aware, by any contemporary. Cortés is so compendious in his report that it is often necessary to supply the omissions with the details of other writers. But, where he is positive in his statements,--unless there be some reason to suspect a bias,--his practice of writing on the spot, and the peculiar facilities for information afforded by his position, make him decidedly the best authority.

[261] Cortés, with an eye less sensible to the picturesque than his great predecessor in the track of discovery, Columbus, was full as quick in detecting the capabilities of the soil. “Tiene un Valle redondo muy fertil de Frutas, y Algodon, que en ninguna parte de los Puertos arriba se hace por la gran frialdad; y allí es Tierra caliente, y caúsalo, que está muy abrigada de Sierras; todo este Valle se riega por muy buenas Azequias, que tienen muy bien sacadas, y concertadas.” Rel. Seg. de Cortés, ap. Lorenzana, pp. 164, 165.

[262] So numerous, according to Cortés, that they covered hill and dale, as far as the eye could reach, mustering more than a hundred and twenty thousand strong! (Ibid., p. 162.) When the Conquerors attempt anything like a precise numeration, it will be as safe to substitute “a multitude,” “a great force,” etc., trusting the amount to the reader’s own imagination.

[263] For the hostilities with the Indian tribes, noticed in the preceding pages, see, in addition to the Letter of Cortés, so often cited, Oviedo, Hist. de las Ind., MS., lib. 33, cap. 15,--Herrera, Hist. general, dec. 2, lib. 10, cap. 15, 16,--Ixtlilxochitl, Hist. Chich., MS., cap. 90,--Bernal Diaz, Hist. de la Conquista, cap. 130, 132, 134,--Gomara, Crónica, cap. 114-117,--P. Martyr, De Orbe Novo, dec. 5, cap. 6,--Camargo, Hist. de Tlascala, MS.

[264] “La primera fué de viruela, y comenzó de esta manera. Siendo Capitan y Governador Hernando Cortés al tiempo que el Capitan Pánfilo de Narvaez desembarcó en esta tierra, en uno de sus navíos vino un negro herido de viruelas, la cual enfermedad nunca en esta tierra se habia visto, y esta sazon estaba esta nueva España en estremo muy llena de gente.” Toribio, Hist. de los Indios, MS., Parte 1, cap. 1.

[265] “Morian como chinches á montones.” (Toribio, Hist. de los Indios, ubi supra.) “So great was the number of those who died of this disease that there was no possibility of burying them, and in Mexico the dead were thrown into the canals, then filled with water, until the air was poisoned with the stench of putrid bodies.” Sahagun, Hist. de Nueva-España, lib. 8, cap. 1.

[266] Bernal Diaz, Hist. de la Conquista, cap. 136.

[267] Hist. de la Conquista, ubi supra.--Herrera, Hist. general, dec. 2, lib. 10, cap. 19.--Sahagun, Hist. de Nueva-España, MS., lib. 12, cap. 39.

[268] Bernal Diaz, Hist. de la Conquista, cap. 131.

[269] Bernal Diaz, Hist. de la Conquista, cap. 131, 133, 136.--Herrera, Hist. general, ubi supra.--Rel. Seg. de Cortés, ap. Lorenzana, pp. 154, 167.--Oviedo, Hist. de las Ind., MS., lib. 33, cap. 16.

[270] Rel. Seg. de Cortés, ap. Lorenzana, p. 156.

[271] Clavigero, Stor. del Messico, tom. iii. p. 153.

[272] “E creo, como ya á Vuestra Magestad he dicho, que en muy breve tomará al estado, en que antes yo la tenia, é se restaurarán las pérdidas pasadas.” Rel. Seg., ap. Lorenzana, p. 167.

[273] “Me pareció, que el mas conveniente nombre para esta dicha Tierra, era llamarse _la Nueva España del Mar Océano_: y assí en nombre de Vuestra Magestad se le puso aqueste nombre; humildemente suplico á Vuestra Alteza lo tenga por bien, y mande, que se nombre assí.” (Ibid., p. 169.) The name of “New Spain,” without other addition, had been before given by Grijalva to Yucatan. _Ante_, Book 2, Chapter 1.

[274] It was dated, “De la Villa Segura de la Frontera de esta Nueva-España, á treinta de Octubre de mil quinientos veinte años.” But, in consequence of the loss of the ship intended to bear it, the letter was not sent till the spring of the following year; leaving the nation still in ignorance of the fate of the gallant adventurers in Mexico, and the magnitude of their discoveries.

[275] The state of feeling occasioned by these discoveries may be seen in the correspondence of Peter Martyr, then residing at the court of Castile. See, in particular, his epistle, dated March, 1521, to his noble pupil, the Marquis de Mondejar, in which he dwells with unbounded satisfaction on all the rich stores of science which the expedition of Cortés had thrown open to the world. Opus Epistolarum, ep. 771.

[276] This memorial is in that part of my collection made by the former President of the Spanish Academy, Vargas Ponçe. It is signed by four hundred and forty-four names; and it is remarkable that this roll, which includes every other familiar name in the army, should not contain that of Bernal Diaz del Castillo. It can only be accounted for by his illness; as he tells us he was confined to his bed by a fever about this time. Hist. de la Conquista, cap. 134.

[277] Rel. Terc. de Cortés, ap. Lorenzana, p. 179.--Herrera, Hist. general, dec. 2, lib. 10, cap. 18.--Alonso de Avila went as the bearer of despatches to St. Domingo. Bernal Diaz, who is not averse, now and then, to a fling at his commander, says that Cortés was willing to get rid of this gallant cavalier, because he was too independent and plain-spoken. Hist. de la Conquista, cap. 136.

[278] Bernal Diaz, Hist. de la Conquista, cap. 136.--Herrera, Hist. general, dec. 2, lib. 10, cap. 19.

[279] Ibid., ubi supra.--“Híçolo,” says Herrera, “i armóle caballero, al vso de Castilla; i porque lo fuese de Jesu-Christo, le hiço, bautiçar, i se llamó D. Lorenço Maxiscatzin.”

[280] For an account of the manner in which this article was procured by Montaño and his doughty companions, see vol. ii., p. 227.

[281] “Ansí se hiciéron trece bergantines en el barrio de Atempa, junto á una hermita que se llama San Buenaventura, los quales hizo y otro Martin Lopez uno de los primeros conquistadores, y le ayudó Neguez Gomez.” Hist. de Tlascala, MS.

[282] Solís dismisses this prince with the remark “that he reigned but a few days; long enough, however, for his indolence and apathy to efface the memory of his name among the people.” (Conquista, lib. 4, cap. 16.) Whence the historiographer of the Indies borrowed the coloring for this portrait I cannot conjecture; certainly not from the ancient authorities, which uniformly delineate the character and conduct of the Aztec sovereign in the light represented in the text. Cortés, who ought to know, describes him “as held to be very wise and valiant.” Rel. Seg., ap. Lorenzana, p. 166.--See, also, Sahagun, Hist. de Nueva-España, MS., lib. 12, cap. 29,--Herrera, Hist. general, dec. 2, lib. 10, cap. 19,--Ixtlilxochitl, Hist. Chich., MS., cap. 88,--Oviedo, Hist. de las Ind., MS., lib. 33, cap. 16,--Gomara, Crónica, cap. 118.

[283] The reader of Spanish will see that in the version in the text I have condensed the original, which abounds in the tautology and repetitions characteristic of the compositions of a rude people. “Señor nuestro, ya V. M. sabe como es muerto nuestro N.: ya lo habeis puesto debajo de vuestros pies: ya está en su recogimiento, y es ido por el camino que todos hemos de ir y á la casa donde hemos de morar, casa de perpetuas tinieblas, donde ni hay ventana, ni luz alguna: ya está en el reposo donde nadie le desasosegará.... Todos estos señores y reyes rigiéron, gobernáron, y gozáron del señorío y dignidad real, y del trono y sitial del imperio, los cuales ordenáron y concertáron las cosas de vuestro reino, que sois el universal señor y emperador, por cuyo albedrio y motivo se rige todo el universo, y que no teneis necesidad de consejo de ningun otro. Ya estos dichos dejáron la carga intolerable del gobierno que tragéron sobre sus hombros, y lo dejáron á su succesor N., el cual por algunos pocos dias tuvo en pie su señorío y reino, y ahora ya se ha ido en pos de ellos al otro mundo, porque vos le mandásteis que fuese y le llamásteis, y por haberle descargado de tan gran carga, y quitado tan gran trabajo, y haberle puesto en paz y en reposo, está muy obligado á daros gracias. Algunos pocos dias le lográmos, y ahora para siempre se ausentó de nosotros para nunca mas volver al mundo.... ¿Quien ordenará y dispondrá las cosas necesarias al bien del pueblo, señorío y reino? ¿Quien elegirá á los jueces particulares, que tengan carga de la gente baja por los barrios? ¿Quien mandará tocar el atambor y pífano para juntar gente para la guerra? ¿Y quien reunirá y acaudillará á los soldados viejos, y hombres diestros en la pelea? Señor nuestro y amparador nuestro! tenga por bien V. M. de elegir, y señalar alguna persona suficiente para que tenga vuestro trono, y lleve á cuestas la carga pesada del régimen de la república, regocige y regale á los populares, bien así como la madre regala á su hijo, poniéndole en su regazo.... O señor nuestro humanísimo! dad lumbre y resplandor de vuestra mano á esto reino!... Hágase como V. M. fuere servido en todo, y por todo.” Sahagun, Hist. de Nueva-España, lib. 6, cap. 5.

[284] The Spaniards appear to have changed the _Qua_, beginning Aztec names, into _Gua_, in the same manner as, in the mother country, they changed the _Wad_ at the beginning of Arabic names into _Guad_. (See Condé, El Nubiense, Descripcion de España, notas, passim.) The Aztec _tzin_ was added to the names of sovereigns and great lords, as a mark of reverence. Thus, Cuitlahua was called Cuitlahuatzin. This termination, usually dropped by the Spaniards, has been retained from accident, or perhaps for the sake of euphony, in Guatemozin’s name.

[285] “Mancebo de hasta veynte y cinco años, bien gentil hombre para ser Indio, y muy esforçado, y se hizo temer de tal manera, que todos los suyos temblauan dél; y estaua casado con vna hija de Monteçuma, bien hermosa muger para ser India.” Bernal Diaz, Hist. de la Conquista, cap. 130.

[286] Herrera, Hist. general, dec. 2, lib. 10, cap. 19.

[287] Bernal Diaz, Hist. de la Conquista, cap. 134.

[288] One may call to mind the beautiful invocation which Racine has put into the mouth of Joad:

“Venez, cher rejeton d’une vaillante race,
Remplir vos défenseurs d’une nouvelle audace;
Venez du diadéme à leurs yeux vous couvrir,
Et périssez du moins en roí, s’il faut périr.”
ATHALIE, acte 4, scene 5.

[289] Rel. Tercera de Cortés, ap. Lorenzana, p. 183.--Most, if not all, of the authorities--a thing worthy of note--concur in this estimate of the Spanish forces.

[290] “Y como sin causa ninguna todos los Naturales de Colúa, que son los de la gran Ciudad de Temixtitan, y los de todas las otras Provincias á ellas sujetas, no solamente se habian _rebelado_ contra Vuestra Magestad.” Ibid., ubi supra.

[291] Rel. Terc. de Cortés, ap. Lorenzana, p. 184.--“Porque demas del premio, que les davia en el cielo, se les seguirian en esto mundo grandíssima honra, riquezas inestimables.” Ixtlilxochitl, Hist. Chichimeca, MS., cap. 91.

[292] “Cosa muy de ver,” says Father Sahagun, without hazarding any precise number, “en la cantidad y en los aparejos que llevaban.” Hist. de Nueva-España, lib. 12, cap. 30, MS.

[293] Herrera, Hist. general, dec. 2, lib. 10, cap. 20.

[294] Ibid., ubi supra.

[295] Herrera, Hist. general, loc. cit.

[296] “Que su principal motivo é intencion sea apartar y desarraigar de las dichas idolatrías á todos los naturales destas partes y reducillos ó á lo menos desear su salvacion y que sean reducidos al conocimiento de Dios y de su Santa Fe católica: porque si con otra intencion se hiciese la dicha guerra seria injusta y todo lo que en ella se oviese Onoloxio é obligado á restitucion.” Ordenanzas militares, MS.

[297] “E desde ahora protesto en nombre de S. M. que mi principal intencion é motivo es facer esta guerra é las otras que ficiese por traer y reducir á los dichos naturales al dicho conocimiento de nuestra Santa Fe é creencia; y despues por los sozjugar é supeditar debajo del yugo é dominio imperial é real de su Sacra Magestad, á quien juridicamente el Señorío de todas estas partes.” Ordenanzas militares, MS.

[298] “Ce n’est qu’en Espagne et en Italie,” says the penetrating historian of the Italian Republics, “qu’on rencontre cette habitude vicieuse, absolument inconnue aux peuples protestants, et qu’il ne faut point confondre avec les grossiers juremens que le peuple en tout pays mêle à ses discours. Dans tous les accès de colère des peuples du Midi, ils s’attaquent aux objets de leur culte, ils les menacent, et ils accablent de paroles outrageantes la Divinité elle-même, le Rédempteur ou ses saints.” Sismondi, Républiques Italiennes, cap. 126.

[299] Lucio Marineo, who witnessed all the dire effects of this national propensity at the Castilian court, where he was residing at this time, breaks out into the following animated apostrophe against it: “The gambler is he who wishes and conspires the death of his parents, he who swears falsely by God and by the life of his king and lord, he who kills his own soul and casts it into hell. What will not the gambler do, when he is not ashamed to lose his money, his time, his sleep, his reputation, his honor, and even life itself? So that, considering how great a number of men are incessantly engaged in play, the opinion seems to me well founded of those who say that _hell is filled with gamblers_.” Cosas memorables de Espagña (ed. Sevilla, 1539), fol. 165.

[300] These regulations are reported with much uniformity by Herrera, Solís, Clavigero, and others, but with such palpable inaccuracy that it is clear they never could have seen the original instrument. The copy in my possession was taken from the Muñoz collection. As the document, though curious and highly interesting, has never been published, I have given it entire in the Appendix, No. 13.

[301] Herrera, Hist. general, dec. 2, lib. 10, cap. 20.--Bernal Diaz, Hist. de la Conquista, cap. 127. The former historian states the number of Indian allies who followed Cortés, at eighty thousand; the latter at ten thousand! _¿Quien sabe?_

[302] This mountain, which, with its neighbor Popocatepetl, forms the great barrier--the _Herculis columnæ_--of the Mexican Valley, has been fancifully likened, from its long dorsal swell, to the back of a dromedary. (Tudor’s Tour in North America, Let. 22.) It rises far above the limits of perpetual snow in the tropics, and its huge crest and sides, enveloped in its silver drapery, form one of the most striking objects in the magnificent _coup-d’œil_ presented to the inhabitants of the capital.

[303] “Y prometímos todos de nunca de ella salir, sin Victoria, ó dejar allí las vidas. Y con esta determinacion ibamos todos tan alegres, como si fueramos á cosa de mucho placer.” Rel. Terc., ap. Lorenzana, p. 188.

[304] “Y yo torné á rogar, y encomendar mucho á los Españoles, que hiciessen, como siempre habian hecho, y como se esperaba de sus Personas; y que nadie no se desmandasse, y que fuessen con mucho concierto, y órden por su Camino.” Ibid., ubi supra.

[305] “E como la Gente de pie venia algo cansada, y se hacia tarde, dormímos en una Poblacion, que se dice Coatepeque.... E yo con diez de Caballo comenzé la Vela, y Ronda de la prima, y hice, que toda la Gente estubiesse muy apercibida.” Rel. Terc., ap. Lorenzana, pp. 188, 189.

[306] For the preceding pages, giving the account of the march, besides the letter of Cortés, so often quoted, see Gomara, Crónica, cap. 121,--Oviedo, Hist. de las Ind., MS., lib. 33, cap. 18,--Bernal Diaz, Hist. de la Conquista, cap. 137,--Camargo, Hist. de Tlascala, MS.,--Herrera, Hist. general, dec. 2, lib. 10, cap. 20,--Ixtlilxochitl, Relacion de la venida de los Españoles y Principio de la Ley Evangélica (México, 1829), p. 9.

[307] See _ante_, p. 210.--The skins of those immolated on the sacrificial stone were a common offering in the Indian temples, and the mad priests celebrated many of their festivals by publicly dancing with their own persons enveloped in these disgusting spoils of their victims. See Sahagun, Hist. de Nueva-España, passim.

[308] Rel. Terc. de Cortés, ap. Lorenzana, p. 187.--Oviedo, Hist. de las Ind., MS., lib. 33, cap. 19.

[309] Tezcuco, a Chichimec name, according to Ixtlilxochitl, signifying “place of detention or rest,” because the various tribes from the North halted there on their entrance into Anahuac. Hist. Chich., MS., cap. 10.

[310] “La qual es tan grande, que aunque fueramos doblados los Españoles, nos pudieramos aposentar bien á placer en ella.” Rel. Terc., ap. Lorenzana, p. 191.

[311] “De tal manera que se quemáron todos los Archivos Reales de toda la Nueva-España, que fué una de las mayores pérdidas que tuvo esta tierra, porque con esto toda la memoria de sus antiguayas y otras cosas que eran como Escrituras y recuerdos pereciéron desde este tiempo. La obra de las Casas era la mejor y la mas artificiosa que hubo en esta tierra.” Ixtlilxochitl, Hist. Chich., MS., cap. 91.

[312] The historian Ixtlilxochitl pays the following high tribute to the character of his royal kinsman, whose name was Tecocol. Strange that this name is not to be found--with the exception of Sahagun’s work--in any contemporary record! “Fué el primero que lo fué en Tezcoco, con harta pena de los Españoles, porque fué nobilísimo y los quiso mucho. Fué D. Fernando Tecocoltzin muy gentil hombre, alto de cuerpo y muy blanco, tanto cuanto podia ser cualquier Español por muy blanco que fuese, y que mostraba su persona y término descender, y ser del linage que era. Supo la lengua Castellana, y así casi las mas noches despues de haber cenado, trataban él y Cortés de todo lo que se debia hacer acerca de las guerras.” Ixtlilxochitl, Venida de los Españoles, pp. 12, 13.

[313] The accession of Tecocol, as, indeed, his existence, passes unnoticed by some historians, and by others is mentioned in so equivocal a manner--his Indian name being omitted--that it is very doubtful if any other is intended than his younger brother Ixtlilxochitl. The Tezcucan chronicler bearing this last melodious name{*} has alone given the particulars of his history. I have followed him, as, from his personal connections, having had access to the best sources of information; though, it must be confessed, he is far too ready to take things on trust, to be always the best authority.

{*} [This name--“which,” says Mr. Tylor, “sticks in the throats of readers of Prescott”--signifies “vanilla-face,” being compounded of _ixtli_, face, and _tlilxochitl_, vanilla, the latter being itself a compound of _tlilli_, black, and _xochitl_, flower.--Buschmann, Uber die Aztekischen Ortsnamen, S. 681.--K.]

[314] “Él respondió, que era por demas ir contra lo determinado por el Dios Criador de todas las cosas, pues no sin misterio y secreto juicio suyo le daba tal Hijo al tiempo y quando se acercaban las profecías de sus Antepasados, que havíase venir nuevas Gentes á poseer la Tierra, como eran los Hijos de Quetzalcoatl que aguardaban su venida de la parte oriental.” Ixtlilxochitl, Hist. Chich., MS., cap. 69.

[315] “Con que el Rey no supo con que ocacion poderle castigar, porque lo pareciéron sus razones tan vivas y fundadas que su parte no habia hecho cosa indebida ni vileza para poder ser castigado, mas tan solo una ferocidad de ánimo; pronóstico de lo mucho que habia de venir á saber por las Armas, y así el Rey dijo, que se fuese á la mano.” Ixtlilxochitl, Hist. Chich., MS., cap. 69.

[316] Ibid., ubi supra.--Among other anecdotes recorded of the young prince’s early development is one of his having, when only three years old, pitched his nurse into a well, as she was drawing water, to punish her for certain improprieties of conduct of which he had been witness. But I spare the reader the recital of these astonishing proofs of precocity, as it is very probable his appetite for the marvellous may not keep pace with that of the chronicler of Tezcuco.

[317] _Ante_, vol. ii., p. 8.

[318] “Así mismo hizo juntar todos los bastimentos que fuéron necesarios para sustentar el Exército y Guarniciones de Gente que andaban en favor de Cortés, y así hizo traer á la Ciudad de Tezcuco el Maiz que habia en las Troxes y Graneros de las Provincias sugetas al Reyno de Tezcuco.” Ixtlilxochitl, Hist. Chich., MS., cap. 91.

[319] “No era de espantar que tuviese este recelo, porque sus Enemigos, y los de esta Ciudad eran todos Deudos y Parientes mas cercanos, mas despues el tiempo lo desengañó, y vido la gran lealtad de Ixtlilxochitl, y de todos.” Ixtlilxochitl, Hist. Chich., MS., cap. 92.

[320] Bernal Diaz, Hist. de la Conquista, cap. 137.

[321] Bernal Diaz, Hist. de la Conquista, ubi supra.--Ixtlilxochitl, Hist. Chich., MS., cap. 91.

[322] “Los principales, que habian sido en hacerme la Guerra pasada, eran ya muertos; y que lo pasado fuesse pasado, y que no quisiessen dar causa á que destruyesse sus Tierras, y Ciudades, porque me pesaba mucho de ello.” Rel. Terc. de Cortés, ap. Lorenzana, p. 193.

[323] “Muriéron de ellos mas de seis mil ánimas, entre Hombres, y Mugeres, y Niños; porque los Indios nuestros Amigos, vista la Victoria, que Dios nos daba, no entendian en otra cosa, sino en matar á diestro y á siniestro.” Rel. Terc. de Cortés, ap. Lorenzana, p. 195.

[324] “Estándolas quemando, pareció que Nuestro Señor me inspiró, y trujo á la memoria la Calzada, ó Presa, que habia visto rota en el Camino, y representóseme el gran daño, que era.” Rel. Terc. de Cortés, loc. cit.

[325] “Y certifico á Vuestra Magestad, que si aquella noche no pasaramos el Agua, ó aguardaramos tres horas mas, que ninguno de nosotros escapara, porque quedabamos cercados de Agua, sin tener paso por parte ninguna.” Ibid., ubi supra.

[326] The general’s own Letter to the emperor is so full and precise that it is the very best authority for this event. The story is told also by Bernal Diaz, Hist. de la Conquista, cap. 138.--Oviedo, Hist. de las Ind., MS., lib. 33, cap. 18,--Ixtlilxochitl, Hist. Chich., MS., cap. 92,--Herrera, Hist. general, dec. 3, lib. 1, cap. 2, et auct. aliis.

[327] Lorenzana, p. 199, nota.

[328] “Porque ciertamente sus antepassados les auian dicho, que auian de señorear aquellas tierras hombres que vernian con barbas de hazia donde sale el Sol, y que por las cosas que han visto, eramos nosotros.” Bernal Diaz, Hist. de la Conquista, cap. 139.

[329] Ibid., ubi supra.--Rel. Terc. de Cortés, ap. Lorenzana, p. 200.--Gomara, Crónica, cap. 122.--Venida de los Españoles, p. 15.

[330] “Y certifico á Vuestra Magestad, allende de nuestro trabajo y necesidad, la mayor fatiga, que tenia, era no poder ayudar, y socorrer á los Indios nuestros Amigos, que por ser Vasallos de Vuestra Magestad, eran molestados y trabajados de los de Culúa.” Rel. Terc., ap. Lorenzana, p. 204.

[331] Rel. Terc. de Cortés, ap. Lorenzana, pp. 204, 205.--Oviedo, Hist. de las Ind., MS., lib. 33, cap. 19.

[332] Oviedo, in his admiration of his hero, breaks out into the following panegyric on his policy, prudence, and military science, which, as he truly predicts, must make his name immortal. It is a fair specimen of the manner of the sagacious old chronicler. “Sin dubda alguna la habilidad y esfuerzo, é prudencia de Hernando Cortés mui dignas son que entre los cavalleros, é gente militar en nuestros tiempos se tengan en mucha estimacion, y en los venideros nunca se desacuerden. Por causa suya me acuerdo muchas veces de aquellas cosas que se escriven del capitan Viriato nuestro Español y Estremeño; y por Hernando Cortés me ocurren al sentido las muchas fatigas de aquel espejo de caballería Julio César dictador, como parece por sus comentarios, é por Suetonio é Plutarco é otros autores que en conformidad escriviéron los grandes hechos suyos. Pero los de Hernando Cortés en un Mundo nuevo, é tan apartadas provincias de Europa, é con tantos trabajos é necesidades é pocas fuerzas, é con gente tan innumerable, é tan bárbara é bellicosa, é apacentada en carne humana, é aun habida por excelente é sabroso manjar entre sus adversarios; é faltándole á él ó á sus mílites el pan é vino é los otros mantenimientos todos de España, y en tan diferenciadas regiones é aires é tan desviado é léjos de socorro é de su príncipe, cosas son de admiracion.” Hist. de las Ind., MS., lib. 33, cap. 20.

[333] Among other chiefs, to whom Guatemozin applied for assistance in the perilous state of his affairs, was Tangapan, lord of Michoacán, an independent and powerful state in the West, which had never been subdued by the Mexican army. The accounts which the Aztec emperor gave him, through his ambassadors, of the white men, were so alarming, according to Ixtlilxochitl, who tells the story, that the king’s sister voluntarily starved herself to death, from her apprehensions of the coming of the terrible strangers. Her body was deposited, as usual, in the vaults reserved for the royal household, until preparations could be made for its being burnt. On the fourth day, the attendants who had charge of it were astounded by seeing the corpse exhibit signs of returning life. The restored princess, recovering her speech, requested her brother’s presence. On his coming, she implored him not to think of hurting a hair of the heads of the mysterious visitors. She had been permitted, she said, to see the fate of the departed in the next world. The souls of all her ancestors she had beheld tossing about in unquenchable fire; while those who embraced the faith of the strangers were in glory. As a proof of the truth of her assertion, she added that her brother would see, on a great festival near at hand, a young warrior, armed with a torch brighter than the sun, in one hand, and a flaming sword, like that worn by the white men, in the other, passing from east to west over the city. Whether the monarch waited for the vision, or ever beheld it, is not told us by the historian. But, relying perhaps on the miracle of her resurrection as quite a sufficient voucher, he disbanded a very powerful force which he had assembled on the plains of Avalos for the support of his brother of Mexico. This narrative, with abundance of supernumerary incidents, not necessary to repeat, was commemorated in the Michoacán picture-records, and reported to the historian of Tezcuco himself by the grandson of Tangapan. (See Ixtlilxochitl, Hist. Chich., MS., cap. 91.) Whoever reported it to him, it is not difficult to trace the same pious fingers in it which made so many wholesome legends for the good of the Church on the Old Continent, and which now found, in the credulity of the New, a rich harvest for the same godly work.

[334] “Aquí estuvo preso el sin ventura de Juā luste cō otros muchos que traia en mi compañía.” Bernal Diaz, Hist. de la Conquista, cap. 140.

[335] Ibid., ubi supra.--Oviedo, Hist. de las Ind., MS., lib. 33, cap. 19.--Rel. Terc. de Cortés, ap. Lorenzana, p. 206.

[336] “Y despues de hechos por orden de Cortés, y probados en el rio que llaman de Tlaxcalla Zahuapan, que se atajó para probarlos los bergantines, y los tornáron á desbaratar por llevarlos á cuestas sobre hombros de los de Tlaxcalla á la ciudad de Tetzcuco, donde se echáron en la laguna, y se armáron de artillería y municion.” Camargo, Hist. de Tlascala, MS.

[337] Rel. Terc. de Cortés, ap. Lorenzana, p. 207.--Bernal Diaz says sixteen thousand. (Hist. de la Conquista, ubi supra.) There is a wonderful agreement between the several Castilian writers as to the number of forces, the order of march, and the events that occurred on it.

[338] “Estendíase tanto la Gente, que dende que los primeros comenzáron á entrar, hasta que los postreros hobiéron acabado, se pasáron mas de seis horas; sin quebrar el hilo de la Gente.” Rel. Terc. de Cortés, ap. Lorenzana, p. 208.

[339] “Dando vozes y silvos y diziendo: Viua, viua el Emperador, nuestro Señor, y Castilla, Castilla, y Tlascala, Tlascala.” (Bernal Diaz, Hist. de la Conquista, cap. 140.) For the particulars of Sandoval’s expedition, see, also, Oviedo, Hist. de las Ind., MS., lib. 33, cap. 19.--Gomara, Crónica, cap. 124,--Torquemada, Monarch. Ind., lib. 4, cap. 84,--Ixtlilxochitl, Hist. Chich., MS., cap. 92,--Herrera, Hist. general, dec. 3, lib. 1, cap. 2.

[340] “Que era cosa maravillosa de ver, y assí me parece que es de oir, llevar trece Fustas diez y ocho leguas por Tierra.” (Rel. Terc. de Cortés, ap. Lorenzana, p. 207.) “En rem Romano populo,” exclaims Martyr, “quando illustrius res illorum vigebant, non facilem!” De Orbe Novo, dec. 5, cap. 8.

[341] Two memorable examples of a similar transportation of vessels across the land are recorded, the one in ancient, the other in modern history; and both, singularly enough, at the same place, Tarentum, in Italy. The first occurred at the siege of that city by Hannibal (see Polybius, lib. 8); the latter some seventeen centuries later, by the Great Captain, Gonsalvo de Cordova. But the distance they were transported was inconsiderable. A more analogous example is that of Balboa, the bold discoverer of the Pacific. He made arrangements to have four brigantines transported a distance of twenty-two leagues across the Isthmus of Darien, a stupendous labor, and not entirely successful, as only two reached their point of destination. (See Herrera, Hist. general, dec. 2, lib. 2, cap. 11.) This took place in 1516, in the neighborhood, as it were, of Cortés, and may have suggested to his enterprising spirit the first idea of his own more successful, as well as more extensive, undertaking.

[342] “Y ellos me dijéron, que trahian deseo de se ver con los de Culúa, y que viesse lo que mandaba, que ellos, y aquella Gente venian con deseos, y voluntad de se vengar, ó morir con nosotros: y yo les di las gracias, y les dije, que reposassen, y que presto les daria las manos llenas.” Rel. Terc. de Cortés, ap. Lorenzana, p. 208.

[343] “De lejos comenzáron á gritar, como lo suelen hacer en la Guerra, que cierto es cosa espantosa oillos.” Rel. Terc., ap. Lorenzana, p. 209.

[344] Ibid., loc. cit.--Bernal Diaz, Hist. de la Conquista, cap. 141.--Oviedo, Hist. de las Ind., MS., lib. 33, cap. 20.--Ixtlilxochitl, Venida de los Españoles, pp. 13, 14.--Idem, Hist. Chich., MS., cap. 92.--Gomara, Crónica, cap. 125.

[345] These towns rejoiced in the melodious names of Tenajocoan, Quauhtitlan, and Azcapozalco. I have constantly endeavored to spare the reader, in the text, any unnecessary accumulation of Mexican names, which, as he is aware by this time, have not even brevity to recommend them. [Alaman, with some justice, remarks that these names appear unmelodious to an English writer who does not know how to pronounce them, for the same reason as English names would appear unmelodious to a Mexican. Conquista de Méjico (trad. de Vega), tom. ii. p. 115.]

[346] [The Hill of Los Remedios. Conquista de Méjico (trad. de Vega), tom. ii. p. 116.]

[347] They burned this place, according to Cortés, in retaliation of the injuries inflicted by the inhabitants on their countrymen in the retreat: “Y en amaneciendo los Indios nuestros Amigos comenzáron á saquear, y quemar toda la Ciudad, salvo el Aposento donde estabamos, y pusiéron tanta diligencia, que aun de él se quemó un Quarto; y esto se hizo, porque quando salímos la otra vez desbaratados de Temixtitan, pasando por esta Ciudad, los Naturales de ella juntamente con los de Temixtitan nos hiciéron muy cruel Guerra, y nos matáron muchos Españoles.” Rel. Terc., ap. Lorenzana, p. 210.

[348] “Luego mandó, que todos se retraxessen; y con el mejor concierto que pudo, y no bueltas las espaldas, sino los rostros á los contrarios, pie contra pie, como quien haze represas.” Bernal Diaz, Hist. de la Conquista, cap. 141.

[349] “Desta manera se escapó Cortés aquella vez del poder de México, y quando se vió en tierra firme, dió muchas gracias á Dios.” Ibid., ubi supra.

[350] “Pensais, que hay agora otro Muteczuma, para que haga todo, lo que quisieredes?” Rel. Terc, de Cortés, ap. Lorenzana, p. 211.

[351] “Y peleaban los unos con los otros muy hermosamente.” Rel. Terc. de Cortés, ubi supra.--Oviedo, Hist. de las Ind., MS., lib. 33, cap. 20.

[352] “Y comenzamos á lanzear en ellos, y duró el alcanze cerca de dos leguas todas llanas, como la palma, que fué muy hermosa cosa.” Rel. Terc., ap. Lorenzana, p. 212.

[353] For the particulars of this expedition of Cortés, see, besides his own Commentaries so often quoted, Oviedo, Hist. de las Ind., MS., lib. 33, cap. 20,--Torquemada, Monarch. Ind., lib. 4, cap. 85,--Gomara, Crónica, cap. 125,--Ixtlilxochitl, Venida de los Españoles, pp. 13, 14,--Bernal Diaz, Hist. de la Conquista, cap. 141.

[354] Rel. Terc. de Cortés, ap. Lorenzana, pp. 214, 215.--Gomara, Crónica, cap. 146.--Bernal Diaz, Hist. de la Conquista, cap. 142.--Oviedo, Hist. de las Ind., MS., lib. 33, cap. 21.

[355] “Which gardens,” says Cortés, who afterwards passed a day there, “are the largest, freshest, and most beautiful that were ever seen. They have a circuit of two leagues, and through the middle flows a very pleasant stream of water. At distances of two bow-shots are buildings surrounded by grounds planted with fruit-trees of various kinds, with many shrubs and odorous flowers. Truly the whole place is wonderful for its pleasantness and its extent.” (Rel. Terc., ap. Lorenzana, pp. 221, 222.) Bernal Diaz is not less emphatic in his admiration. Hist. de la Conquista, cap. 142.

[356] The distinguished naturalist Hernandez has frequent occasion to notice this garden, which furnished him with many specimens for his great work. It had the good fortune to be preserved after the Conquest, when particular attention was given to its medicinal plants, for the use of a great hospital established in the neighborhood. See Clavigero, Stor. del Messico, tom. ii. p. 153.

[357] “E como esto vió el dicho Alguacil Mayor, y los Españoles, determináron de morir, ó subilles por fuerza á lo alto del Pueblo, y con el apellido de _Señor Santiago_, comenzáron á subir.” Rel. Terc., ap. Lorenzana, p. 214.--Oviedo, Hist. de las Ind., MS., lib. 33, cap. 21.