CHAPTER CXXVII.

After various deliberations on our present critical position, Cortes determined that one of the distinguished Mexicans and one of the papas whom we had taken prisoners should be despatched to the cazique of Cuitlahuatzin, whom the Mexicans had raised to the throne, to announce to him and his officers the death of Motecusuma, and explain to them the manner in which it had taken place; they were to assure them that they themselves had not only witnessed his death, but that his own subjects were guilty of it, and that we were deeply distressed at the melancholy circumstance. We also desired they would take charge of his body, to pay it the last honours, and to place the crown on the head of that cousin of Motecusuma who was staying with us, and who was entitled to it by right of inheritance; or to elect one of his sons, as the prince they had raised to the throne had no real claim to it. For the rest, we were ready to make a treaty of peace with them, and quit Mexico; they should not allow this opportunity of concluding peace with us to pass by, for, up to the present moment, we had refrained from destroying the city merely from our love and respect of the deceased monarch. If, however, they compelled us to the combat, we would burn down all their houses and cause no end of destruction. Upon this we handed over the corpse of Motecusuma to six other Mexican chiefs and a large body of papas whom we had taken prisoners. All these men had been present when the monarch expired, and they informed Cuitlahuatzin faithfully of every circumstance connected with it; how the Mexicans themselves had caused his death by the shot of an arrow and three stones from a sling.

As soon as the Mexicans espied the dead body of their monarch, they broke out into loud lamentations, and moaned bitterly; but still continued the attack upon us, and that with increased fury. "Now," they hollowed out, "we will make you pay dearly for the death of our monarch, and the insult you have offered to our gods! Is it now you beg peace of us? Only come out, and we will show you what terms we mean to make with you!" Many such like insulting speeches they threw out against us, and added, that they had now selected a monarch whose heart was placed in the right spot, and whom we should not so easily deceive with our lies as we had the good-natured Motecusuma. "Don't trouble yourselves," continued they, "about his burial, but think of your own graves, for, in a couple of days, not a single one of you will be left alive!"

Under such like threats, and vehement yells, they attempted to fire our quarters at various points. As it was very evident to us that we could not hold out much longer, it was determined, in a council of war, that we should abandon the metropolis, and continue the war outside on the main land, where we could destroy the plantations.

In this our proposed retreat, the cavalry was to form the vanguard, and at all stakes to break through the enemy's ranks, or drive them into the lake, even if we were to sacrifice all our horses in the attempt. Previous to taking this step, we determined on making such dreadful havoc among the Mexican troops, that they might allow us to depart in peace from the fear of still greater losses. This resolve was carried out the day following with unshaken bravery. We mowed down great numbers of the enemy, set fire to about twenty houses, and had fought our way almost up to the main land; but though we suffered much, and purchased this partial success with above twenty killed, it availed us nothing, for we could not gain possession of any of the bridges, which, besides being half burnt down, were defended by strong bodies of the enemy. Even those places where the horse might have found a way through the water, the enemy had now rendered impassable by sharp stakes which they had driven in. Thus we were beset on all sides by perils of various natures. In this last sally of our cavalry, which happened on a Thursday, there were, besides Sandoval, Lares, Dominiguez, Leon, Morla, and other brave cavalry officers, many of Narvaez's horse, who, however, showed the utmost fear, as they had not yet experienced, as we old soldiers of Cortes had, what it was to fight against Indians.

CHAPTER CXXVIII.

In this way our strength daily diminished, while that of the enemy increased. Several of our men had been killed, and most of us were wounded. Our courage was of no avail against such vast crowds, who kept up a constant attack upon us both during day and night time. Our powder was fast diminishing,[87] and provisions and water were beginning to fail. Motecusuma was gone, and the peace we solicited was refused. All the bridges on the causeways, along which we had to make good our retreat, had been destroyed by the enemy; in short death was staring at us on every hand. It was, therefore, at last determined, in a council of war, that we should leave the city, and choose the night-time to effect our purpose, when the enemy was generally less vigilant. To make more sure, we resolved to despatch one of the chief papas we had taken with many other prisoners, to the Mexicans on the evening preceding the night we contemplated making our retreat, to request of them to allow us to march quietly out of the city within the space of eight days, as we intended to leave them all the gold we possessed.

On this our determination one of the soldiers named Botello had had great influence. This man was an Italian by birth, and was remarkable for his honesty and great intelligence. He had been at Rome, and many believed he could conjure up the dead; some said he had a spiritus familiaris, and many of us commonly called him the astrologer.

Botello had, four days previously, announced, that, by means of his secret art, he had discovered that every one of us would be killed if we did not leave Mexico on a certain night. He had likewise prophesied of Cortes that great misfortunes awaited him; he would lose his property and honour, but again rise to eminence and riches. Similar horoscopes drawn by him were frequently mentioned by our men.

As we shall again have to mention this Botello, we must now see what preparations were going on for our retreat; the first and most important of which was, the construction of a moveable bridge, out of strong beams, which was to serve in passing the canals where the former bridges had been burnt down by the enemy. Four hundred Tlascallans, assisted by 150 of our men, were to take charge of this bridge; were to fix it in the proper place each time it was required, then remove it again, and so on, until the whole of us with our baggage and cannon had passed the several openings. The transport of our heavy guns was intrusted to 250 Tlascallans and fifty of our men. Sandoval, Lugo, Ordas, and Tapia, formed the vanguard; these were to clear the streets of the enemy, and for that purpose were reinforced by eight or ten of Narvaez's officers, whose names I will not mention, and 100 of our strongest and most nimble young soldiers. Cortes himself was to take his station, supported by Oli, Avila, Bernardino de Tapia, besides other officers and fifty soldiers, between the baggage, our Indian female servants and the prisoners, in order to render assistance wherever it was most required. The rear-guard was to be commanded by Leon and Alvarado, consisting of the main body of the cavalry, 100 foot, and the greater part of Narvaez's troops. Doña Marina and Doña Luisa, with the prisoners, were to be guarded by 300 Tlascallans and thirty Spaniards.

After these arrangements had been made, and night was fast approaching, Cortes ordered his chamberlain Christobal de Guzman to see that all the gold, silver, and other valuable matters were brought together in one apartment. The royal treasurers, Alonso Avila and Gonzalo Mexia, were then desired to deduct the emperor's portion, and load eight of our wounded horses and eighty Tlascallans with it. The greater part of the treasure consisted of broad bars of gold, with which the horses and men were as heavily laden as possible.

Cortes then called his private secretary Pedro Hernandez, and the other royal secretaries, and spoke to them as follows: "Put down in writing and bear witness that I have done all which lay in my power to save this treasure, which is valued at 700,000 pesos. You see it is impossible to load any more of it on the Indian porters and the eight horses; I will, therefore, allow the soldiers to take as much away with them as they can conveniently carry, that this treasure may not fall into the hands of these Mexican dogs."

As soon as Narvaez's men and many of our old soldiers heard this, they stowed away as much as they could. For myself, whose failing had never been to covet gold, I took four chalchihuis stones out of a small box, and secreted them between my cuirass. Cortes soon after gave this box in safe keeping to his steward, and I do think he would have demanded the said four chalchihuis stones back again of me if I had not quickly secreted them. This small treasure proved afterwards of the greatest value to me towards the curing of my wounds, and in procuring myself food.

All matters being now properly ordered, and the mode of our retreat settled, we began to move forward. It was about the hour of midnight, and rather dark, a thin mist hung over the town, and a gentle rain was falling.

The moment we began to move forward in the above-mentioned order, the rear-guard being already in motion, and our moveable bridge fixed, and Sandoval, with his body of horse, and Cortes, with those under his command, and many other soldiers, had passed across, the wild war music and loud yells of the Mexicans suddenly burst forth. "Up, up, Tlatelulco!" they cried; "out with your canoes! The teules are running away: cut off their retreat over the bridges!"

And before we had time to look about us, we were attacked by vast bodies of the enemy, and the whole lake was instantly covered with canoes, so that we were unable to move on any further, although many of our men had already passed the moveable bridge. Now the most obstinate conflict ensued for the possession of this, and, as misfortunes never come singly, it happened that two of our horses should slide out on the wet planks, become unmanageable, and roll over into the lake. This caused the bridge itself to overbalance and fall down. A number of Mexicans that instant fell furiously on us, and, though we exerted ourselves to the utmost, and cut down numbers of the enemy, we were unable to recover the bridge. As, however, those behind, kept continually pushing on those in front, the opening in the canal was speedily filled up with dead horses and their riders, who were inevitably lost if they were unable to swim. The unmerciful enemy now attacked us from all sides. A number of Tlascallans and our Indian female servants were carried off, with the baggage and cannon; numbers of our men were drowned, and no less a number, who were trying to save themselves by swimming, were taken prisoners by those in the canoes. It was heart-rending to behold this scene of misery, and to hear the moans and pitiful cries for assistance. "Help! help! I am drowning," cried one here: "help me, they are killing me!" cried another there. Here one called upon the name of the Virgin Mary for assistance; and there another upon Santiago de Compostella! Here another, who had managed to get to the water's edge, implored us to lift him out; yonder, again, was another clambering over the dead bodies. Many, when they had reached the high road, imagined themselves safe, but here they only met with denser crowds of the foe. Does any believe that there was a man amongst us who still observed the order of retreat as it was first regulated? That man would, indeed, have been a fool who had thought of anything else but of his own safety! Cortes, with the officers and soldiers who were with him, acted similarly, and dashed away, unmindful of the men, at full gallop, over the bridge, and strove to gain the main land: besides which, it must be acknowledged that our cavalry was quite useless here. Exposed on every side to the enemy's arrows and lances, pelted with stones from the housetops, they had also to encounter a forest of our own swords, which the enemy had captured and fixed to their long lances, so that it was a wonder each time a horse with its rider escaped. Neither could we defend ourselves in the water, as the wet had rendered our muskets and crossbows totally useless, while the darkness of the night made every movement uncertain. All our attempts to keep together were fruitless. What did it avail us if, at times, thirty or forty of us managed to make a stand, and boldly faced about? By this means we certainly advanced forward a little, yet none of us would have escaped alive, if, in the end, every one had not strove to save his own life. Thus sadly did we fare in that night, and had it been day we should have fared much worse. Indeed, if the Almighty had not lent us extraordinary powers, every man of us would have been killed! It was really terrific to see the immense crowds which fell upon us from all sides, and the number of canoes which were merely waiting for the moment to carry off the prisoners, all of whom were destined to be sacrificed to their gods! It was a fearful sight indeed!

I shall never forget how at one time about fifty of us had got together, and the Mexicans, while they fell upon us, constantly cried out, "O, O, Luilones!" meaning thereby, You wish to live, do you, you varlets? It was only by dint of heavy blows and hard fighting we were able to cut our way through.

At last, as we were approaching the main land near Tlacupa, where the vanguard, under Sandoval, with a large body of the cavalry and of our foot had arrived, we recognized the voices of Oli, Morla, and Sandoval, who were thus addressing Cortes: "Only consider for a moment, general, we are here indeed on safe ground, but there are still such numbers of our men in the streets behind the bridges, who will be inevitably lost unless we hurry back to their assistance. Up to this moment but few have been able to cut their way through, and these are all covered with wounds."

To which Cortes gave the sorrowful answer, "That it was a real wonder every time one of us escaped; if, however, they turned back to the bridges, they would certainly be lost with horses and all."

Nevertheless Cortes, Oli, Avila, Sandoval, Morla, and Dominiguez, turned back and took with them six or seven of the cavalry and a few of the foot who had escaped without a wound. They had not advanced far before they came up with Alvarado. He had lost his brown mare and was coming on limping with one foot, heavily wounded, with lance in hand, having only seven of his Spanish soldiers and eight Tlascallans left, all dripping with blood.

Cortes and those who had accompanied him now returned, and we took up a position close to Tlacupa. But even here the Mexicans had by this time arrived, and were stirring up the inhabitants of this town, of Escapuzalco, and of Tenayuacan against us.

Here again the Mexicans, who had fastened on our swords to their long pikes, set hard upon us, and we had enough to do to maintain our ground.

When Cortes came up with Alvarado and his few followers, and learnt the fate of those left behind, tears flowed from his eyes; for Alvarado and Leon had had above twenty horse and more than one hundred foot with them in the rear-guard. All these, with nearly the whole of the cavalry, and above one hundred and fifty other men of the old and new troops, had perished with Leon. Alvarado related, that after he and his men had all lost their horses, he managed to get together about eighty men, and with these he succeeded in passing over the first opening by clambering over the baggage, dead men and horses. Although I am not sure whether he said that he passed the opening by stepping over the dead bodies, I know that at this bridge more than 200 men, with Leon at their head, were cut to pieces by the enemy, notwithstanding all their courageous fighting. At the second bridge again, it was merely through God's mercy that Alvarado had saved himself, as all the canals and streets were crowded by the enemy.

It was also at this bridge of sorrows that the well-known leap of Alvarado was said to have taken place. At that time, indeed, none of us took notice whether he leaped well or not; for every one had enough to do to escape from the hands of the merciless enemy. I am, however, inclined to believe that this leap was nothing more than what Alvarado told Cortes himself, how he had made his bridge over the canal by clambering over the baggage, dead bodies, and drowned horses; for the water was too deep in that place for him to have swung across the opening by means of his lance, and the width of the canal too great, however nimble Alvarado may have been, for him to have leaped across. It would have been an impossibility I am sure to have crossed it by means of his lance or by leaping. I myself can speak from eyewitness; for the following year when we marched against Mexico, and surrounded the town on all sides, I often came in contact with the enemy at that bridge which now bears the name of Alvarado's leap. At that time the Mexicans had blocked up the passage with palisade and breastwork, and I very frequently spoke with my fellow-soldiers about the circumstance, but none of them ever thought such a leap possible. What people thought of it at the time itself the reader will see from the following anecdote.

Among Garay's troops there was a certain Ocampo who came to Mexico: this man possessed much wit and was always writing pasquils, or libelling some one or other. Among other things he wrote a good deal of scandal and falsehood respecting our officers, and accused Alvarado, that he had left Leon with upwards of 200 men and the whole of our cavalry which composed the rear-guard, in the lurch, and that in order to save his own life he had taken the Alvarado's leap indeed, in accordance with the old proverb: Leap and save your life![88]

As I have above mentioned, we had certainly reached Tlacupa, but had not escaped all danger there, for here again great numbers of Mexicans, with the troops of Tlacupa, Escapuzalco, Tenayuacan, and of the surrounding districts, continually assailed us; but it was from the maise plantations they did us most injury, and here we lost three more of our men, who had been previously wounded. The best thing we could therefore do was to quit this terrible neighbourhood as soon as possible. Some few of the Tlascallans knew a bye-road to Tlascalla, and they safely conducted us to a row of houses which stood on a rising ground, and here we quartered ourselves in a temple, which had also the appearance of a fortress. During the whole of this march the Mexicans continually harassed our troops, and greatly annoyed us with their arrows, slings, and lances. The reader must not be displeased if I am forced to depict the same miserable scenes over again.

It was not until we had reached this temple that we were able to defend ourselves successfully. Here we lighted several fires, and dressed our wounds.

After the conquest of Mexico, we turned this building into a church, and dedicated it to our dear lady de los remedios. This church in course of time became very celebrated, and to this day numerous people make pilgrimages to that place, particularly females, from Mexico.

We found, however, nothing to eat here, and it was grievous indeed to see with what miserable rags we were obliged to dress our wounds, which had become chilled by the cold, and this increased their severity. But what grieved us most was the great loss of horses, and of so many of our brave companions. Of our old troops there were missing Leon, Salcedo, Morla, the brave lancer Lares, and several others. And yet I merely mention these few; for if I wished to mention the names of all those whom we had to mourn, I should not finish so easily. Most of Narvaez's men met with their death at the bridges, from the weight of the gold with which they had overburdened themselves. The Tlascallans, who had charge of the crown treasures, shared a similar fate. The astrologer Botello[89] found no protection in all his art, and perished with many others. Even Motecusuma's sons,[90] and other princes we had taken prisoners, met with their deaths in that dreadful night.[91]

Before coming to any determination as to what our next step should be, we proceeded to consider our present condition. The whole of us were wounded, and only twenty-three horses had escaped alive; our cannon were all lost, and we had not a grain of powder left; there were but few crossbows remaining, though these, with the arrows, might speedily be replaced. Besides all this, the enemy were day and night at our heels, and we no longer knew on what footing we stood with our friends of Tlascalla. Nevertheless, we resolved to continue our march towards that country, and we set out at midnight. Our guides, with the Tlascallans, marched in advance; those who were more severely wounded, and obliged to use the support of a stick, were placed in the centre; and those who were not capable of moving at all were bound fast to the horses of those who were unable to fight. All who could bear arms were stationed in the flanks, and had some of the cavalry to support them; while the rear-guard was composed of the remaining horse. The Tlascallans who were wounded likewise marched in the centre, and those who were still capable of defending themselves joined our ranks, that we might be ready to receive an attack at any point, as the Mexicans were still close at our heels, yelling most hideously, and crying out from time to time, "Go on! go on! not one of you will escape alive!" At that moment we did not exactly understand what they meant, but soon after we discovered it, as we shall presently see.

I must not, however, forget to mention how greatly rejoiced we were to find that Doña Marina and Doña Luisa, who had left Mexico with the vanguard, were quite safe; but the greater part of our other Indian females, who had been presented to us by the Mexicans and Tlascallans, had not been so fortunate; almost the whole of these perished at the bridges.

On this day's march we arrived at a considerable township, named Quauhtitlan, once the property of Alonso de Avila; there likewise we were received with reviling language, stones, and arrows, all of which we patiently endured. We fared no better in the numerous other small villages we passed through, while the pursuing Mexicans were continually increasing in numbers. They strove to lock us in on all sides, and sent forth so many stones, arrows, and lances upon us, while we were passing through a narrow defile, that two more of our men were killed who had been dangerously wounded in the last conflict, and also one of our horses; besides that, numbers of us were wounded. We certainly destroyed some of the enemy in return, but the number was small.

This night we quartered ourselves in a few straggling houses, and supped off the horse which had been killed.[92] The next morning early we continued our route, and marched in closer order than on the day previous, the half of our cavalry being always in advance. We had marched to the distance of about four miles along an open plain, where we considered ourselves in safety, when three of our horse came galloping up to inform us that the fields were covered with Mexicans, who were lying in wait for us. We were not a little dismayed at this intelligence; however, our courage did not flag so far as to prevent us from making immediate preparations for battle, and we determined to defend ourselves to the last. We halted for a few moments, and Cortes gave instructions for the cavalry to dash in a body full gallop upon the enemy, to aim at the face, and break their line. Our infantry were to direct their blows and thrusts at the enemy's lower quarters. In this way it was said we should be certain to revenge our dead and wounded, if it pleased the Almighty to spare our lives in the approaching battle.

We then commended ourselves to God and the holy Virgin, and boldly rushed forth upon the enemy, under the cry of Santiago! Santiago! Our cavalry charged the enemy's line five abreast, and broke it, we rushing in after them close at their heels. What a terrific battle and remarkable victory was this! How we fought man to man! and those dogs like the very furies themselves! and many of our men did they kill and wound with their pikes and huge broad swords.[93]

The level ground, however, was uncommonly favorable for the manœuvres of our horse, which every now and then gallopped at full speed in upon the enemy, and then retired, to watch another favorable opportunity. Although both horse and rider were severely wounded, yet they continued to fight most valiantly. It seemed as if we who formed the cavalry had double our usual strength; for, though we were covered with wounds, and each moment received fresh ones, yet we never gave them thought, but kept dashing in upon the foe without intermission. Cortes, Oli, Alvarado (who had borrowed a horse from one of Narvaez's men), and Sandoval, though all covered with wounds, were always present where the danger was greatest. Neither did Cortes omit to cheer us on by the most animating words, and to bring under our notice what a fine booty we should make of the enemy's rich apparel and ornamental weapons. But it was above all glorious to hear the brave and spirited Sandoval cry out, "On, my fellow-soldiers? this day the victory must be ours! Our trust is in God! We shall not lose our lives here, for God has destined us for better things!"

In this way we continued fighting courageously, for God and the blessed Virgin strengthened us, and St. Santiago de Compostella certainly came to our assistance; and one of Quauhtemoctzin's chief officers, who was present at the battle, beheld him with his own eyes, as he afterwards affirmed. At this moment it pleased the Almighty that Cortes' attention should be drawn to that part of the enemy's troops where the Mexican general-in-chief was stationed with the flying standard, clothed in the richest armour, shining with gold, and a penache of large white feathers on his head. As soon as Cortes espied him among his glittering retinue, he cried out to Alvarado, Sandoval, Oli, Avila, and many other officers, "Follow me, my brave companions; these are the men we must attack!" The words were scarcely out of his mouth, when they commended themselves to God, and gallopped among the enemy; Cortes poised his lance, and made a rush at the Mexican commander-in-chief, who dropped the standard; our other officers at the same moment cutting down the other chiefs, by whom he was immediately surrounded.[94]

The Mexican generalissimo was about to snatch up the standard again and flee; but Juan de Salamanca, a native of Ontiveras, gallopped after him on his splendid horse, and brought him to the ground, wrested the standard from his hand, and the rich bunch of feathers from his head, and presented both to Cortes, who had made the first run at the chief. Salamanca was subsequently rewarded for this piece of heroism; for a few years afterwards the emperor allowed him to assume a bunch of feathers in his coat of arms, which his descendants bear to this day.

After the Mexican chief had fallen and the royal standard was lost, and numbers of the enemy killed, they began to give way, and then fled. Our cavalry, however, kept close at their heels, and punished them severely. Now, indeed, we no longer felt our wounds, nor hunger, nor thirst, and it appeared to us all as if we were beginning the attack with renewed vigour! Our friends of Tlascalla had likewise changed into real lions, and hacked in furiously among the enemy with, the broad swords they had captured.

After our cavalry had returned from the pursuit, we offered up thanks unto the Almighty for this victory, and our escape from the hands of so numerous an enemy; for the Spaniards had never before in India encountered so vast an army as on this occasion. It was composed of the flower of the joint armies of Mexico, Tezcuco, and of Xaltocan; while every Indian had entered the battle with the determination that not a soul of us should escape alive. It was also evident, from the richness of their arms and apparel, that a greater portion were officers and men of distinction.

Near to the place where this terrible and bloody battle was fought lay the township of Otumpan, by which name this battle will be known through all times to come. The Mexicans and Tlascallans have given a faithful representation of it in their numerous paintings of the battles we fought up to the conquest of Mexico.

For memory's sake, I must here note down that we marched into Mexico on the 24th of June, 1520, to Alvarado's assistance, with an army of nearly 1400 men, among which there were seventy-nine horse, eighty crossbow-men, and a like number of musketeers, with above 2000 Tlascallan troops, and a fine park of artillery. On the 10th[95] of July following we commenced our retreat, and on the 14th we fought the battle of Otumpan.

I must now likewise recount the loss we sustained in that time. In five days, including the battle of Otumpan, we lost in killed, and those who were taken prisoners, above 870 of our troops, and above 1200 Tlascallans; to which must be added 72 men and five Spanish females, all of Narvaez's division, whom the Mexicans put to death in Tustepec. About the same time the Mexicans likewise murdered old Juan de Alcantara, and three others, who were on their road from Vera Cruz to Mexico to receive their share of the gold. Thus these persons not only lost their gold, but their lives also. Indeed, if it be well considered, it will be found that none of us derived any blessings from the gold the Indians gave us. The reason why Narvaez's troops suffered more at the bridges than those of Cortes', was from their having overloaded themselves with gold, the weight of which prevented them from swimming, and otherwise encumbered their movements.

After this splendid victory, we dined off some gourds which grew in the fields, and joyfully continued our march to Tlascalla. We carefully avoided passing 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 township, 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 passed 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 God 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 God 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 township 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 principal 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 gods 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 assistance 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 Doña Marina and Doña 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 Doña 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.

CHAPTER CXXIX.

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 assistance, which was the more praiseworthy in them when we take the time and circumstances 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 shore, 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 assistance. Xicotencatl now, therefore, assembled 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 quantities of cotton stuffs and gold behind us in Tlascalla, and had brought an additional quantity 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 assembled, 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 assist 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 circumstances, 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 circumstance 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 assured 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 circumstantial 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 pass 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 God 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 God 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 circumstances 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 circumstances, 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 circumstances 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 assistance 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 asserts 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 passed 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 Cæsar, 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.

CHAPTER CXXX.