Our agents had a most favorable voyage to the Havannah, and thence through the Bahama roads: their further course was equally prosperous, and they very soon arrived at the Tercera isles, and from there to Sevilla, where they hired a carriage and posted to the imperial court residence, at that time in Valladolid. Here the archbishop Fonseca governed at will, he being, moreover, president of Indian affairs, and the emperor then still very young, and residing in Flanders.

Our agents waited upon the archbishop, in the full expectation of being well received with thanks. They handed over to him the letters with the details of our adventures, also the presents, with the valuable things, and begged of him to forward all this to his majesty by a courier, whom they would accompany themselves. However, instead of meeting with a kind reception, they were very coolly received, and dismissed with a few dry and harsh words. They begged of him to mention the great services which Cortes and his men had rendered his majesty, and repeatedly urged him to send the letters and presents to the emperor, that he might learn everything as it had really taken place. He, however, answered in a very haughty tone, desiring them not to give themselves any further trouble: he would fully inform his majesty of what had taken place; not, however, according to their story, but conformably to truth; that, namely, we had rebelled against Velasquez. This was followed by many other sharp rebukes.

About this time also, Benito Martin, chaplain to Velasquez, arrived in Valladolid, preferring heavy accusations against Cortes and all of us, which set the archbishop more and more against us. Francisco de Montejo had not the courage to step forward and defend our cause; but Puertocarrero, as cousin to the earl of Medellin, durst presume the more: he therefore took up the question, and most urgently begged of the archbishop to give them a quiet hearing, and not to answer them so harshly. They demanded nothing further of him than to forward the presents to his majesty; they had a right to ask this, for we were servants of the crown, and merited a remuneration, but not the remarks he had allowed himself to make.

These words so greatly incensed the archbishop, that he ordered Puertocarrero to be thrown into prison, on account of some previous affair which had come to his ears; he having, namely, three years ago, carried off a married woman, named Maria Rodriguez, of Medellin, and taken her to India. Such was the first reception which our presents and services met with in Spain, and nothing remained for our agents but to hold their tongues for the present, and wait until a more favorable time and opportunity should present itself. The archbishop now forwarded his account to the emperor, who was then in Flanders, in which he extolled the merits of his creature Velasquez to the very skies, saying everything that was bad of Cortes and all of us; nor did he mention one single word about our letters.

Upon this Puertocarrero, Montejo, Martin Cortes, the father of our general, the licentiate Nuñez, who was reporter to the royal council, and a near relation to Cortes, determined to despatch a courier of their own to the emperor in Flanders. They fortunately possessed duplicates of all our despatches and letters, as also a list of all the presents we had destined for his majesty.

With these papers they likewise sent a separate letter to the emperor with complaints against the archbishop and the whole of his doings with Diego Velasquez. In this resolution they were backed by other cavaliers who were at variance with the archbishop, who, upon the whole, had many enemies on account of his haughty behaviour and the abuse he made of the important offices he filled. And as the great services we had rendered to God and his majesty, in whom we had alone reposed our trust, were looked upon in a favorable light, it also happened that his majesty made the strictest inquiries into the whole affair. His majesty was so highly pleased with what we had done, that the dukes, marquisses, earls, and other cavaliers, for days together spoke of nothing but Cortes, our courageous behaviour, our conquests, and of the riches we had sent over. It was owing to this as well as to the unfaithful and distorted account which the archbishop had drawn up respecting these matters, and particularly because he had not sent all the presents, but kept the major part to himself, that he fell from that moment into his majesty's displeasure. In the meantime the archbishop's agents in Flanders had sent him information of all that had passed, which vexed him in no small degree, and if previously he had blackened Cortes and all of us to his majesty, he now boldly accused us of high treason. But the Lord very soon bridled his rage; for two years after he received his dismissal, and then in his turn experienced the curse of malice and contempt. We, on the contrary, were looked upon as loyal men who had rendered services to the crown, as shall be mentioned in the proper place. For the present the emperor informed our agents, that he would himself shortly visit Spain to investigate the matter more closely and reward us. Our agents, therefore, awaited his majesty's arrival in Spain.

Before I proceed any further with my narrative, I must answer one question, which several cavaliers have very justly put to me; namely, how it was possible for me to relate these things, as I was not present myself, but making the campaign in New Spain, when our agents were despatched with the letters and presents, and met with this ill treatment from the archbishop of Rosano? To which my answer is, that our agents forwarded to us, the true conquistadores, verbatim all that had passed between them and the latter, as also the favorable decision which the emperor came to in our behalf; of which Cortes sent copies to all the towns where we happened to be stationed, to show us how favorably everything had terminated, and what a great enemy we had in the archbishop. After this digression we will return to our quarters in New Spain, and see what happened there in the meantime.

CHAPTER LVII.

The suspicions of Velasquez's adherents were again aroused at the departure of our agents, and the following occurrence took place a few days after. A conspiracy was set on foot by Pedro Escudero, Juan Cormeño, Gonzalo de Umbria, a pilot, the priest Juan Diaz, Bernardino de Coria, (who afterwards became a citizen of Chiapa, and was father of a certain Centeno,) and some seamen of Gibraleon. All these were excessively embittered against Cortes; some because he had refused to grant them the promised discharge to return to Cuba; others because they had lost their share of the gold by the present which had been sent to the emperor; and the seamen because they could not forget the lashes which he had given them on the island of Cozumel for stealing the flitches of bacon. They had determined to seize upon one of our small vessels, to sail to Cuba, and acquaint the viceroy Diego Velasquez that he had merely to send to the Havannah and the possessions of Montejo in order to capture our agents with all the riches. We concluded from this that the conspirators had been counselled by persons of authority among our officers, since they knew that Montejo, notwithstanding the strict injunctions which he had received to the contrary, had landed at his commendary. The affair was already so far advanced that the conspirators had sent on board the necessary provisions of cassave-bread, oil, dried fish, water, and such like, and were about to set sail, when one of them, Bernardino de Coria, began to repent, called upon Cortes at midnight, and discovered the whole plot to him.

Cortes first of all made an accurate inquiry into the names and number of the conspirators, as also into the reasons and the way they intended carrying out the plot; he then ordered the sails, the compass, and the rudder to be taken from the vessel which was to have conveyed them. Upon which he closely examined the conspirators, when they immediately made a full confession, and mentioned the names of others who were implicated. These names were for the present very prudently suppressed, and proceedings were merely taken against those who stood most prominent in the affair. A council of war having been held with all the usual formalities, Pedro Escudero and Juan Cormeño[19] were sentenced to be hung; the pilot Gonzalo de Umbria to have his feet cut off, and the sailors to receive two hundred lashes each. If father Juan had not been a priest he would likewise have shared a similar fate; as it was he merely suffered for a time the dread of suspense which indeed must have been terrible enough. I shall never forget how Cortes cried out, with a sigh, and deeply affected, at the moment he signed the death-warrants: "What a fortunate thing if I were unable to write; then should I neither be able to sign a death-warrant!" This same exclamation likewise frequently falls from judges who have to decide over life and death; in which expression, however, they merely repeat the words of the barbarous emperor Nero, when in the commencement of his reign he showed so goodly a disposition.

The sentences being executed, Cortes immediately set out for Sempoalla, having previously ordered that 200 men, with all our horse, should follow him. The distance to this place was a good twenty miles. Pedro de Alvarado was absent during this time, having three days beforehand been sent with 200 men into the mountains in search of provisions, which were extremely scarce. Orders were, therefore, left behind for him to march to Sempoalla on his return, where arrangements would be made for our further route to Mexico. Alvarado, consequently, was not present when the executions took place.

CHAPTER LVIII.

While preparations were going on at Sempoalla for our march into the interior numerous consultations were held with Cortes respecting everything connected with it, we, his trustworthy adherents, proposed that all the vessels should be run on shore, in order at once to cut off all possibility of further mutiny, when we should have advanced far into the interior of the country. In which case, likewise, the pilots and sailors would be of greater use to us than by idling their time away in the harbour. I am well aware that the idea of destroying our vessels originated with Cortes himself, and that he merely shoved it on our shoulders for this reason, that if payment for the vessels should be demanded of him, he could throw the blame on us, and say that all was done at our own request; so that we both individually and collectively should have to assist in repaying the damages. This resolution was immediately adopted, and Cortes ordered the alguacil-major, Juan de Escalante, a young man of very great courage, and who was a close adherer to him, utterly hating Diego Velasquez because he had neglected to give him any considerable commendary in Cuba, to take all the anchors, ropes, sails, in short everything that might be of use to us out of the vessels, and run the latter all on shore, with the exception of the boats. The pilots, the old ships' masters, and those seamen who were unable to make the campaign with us, were to remain behind in the town, and employ themselves in catching fish with our two drag-nets in the harbour, where the former were in great abundance.

Juan de Escalante punctually obeyed these orders, and arrived in Sempoalla with an additional company formed of the sailors, of whom several became very excellent soldiers. The next thing Cortes did was to call all the caziques of the mountain tribes together, who had revolted from Motecusuma, and formed an alliance with us. He gave them to understand that they were to assist in the building of the church, the fortresses, and houses of our new town. "This man," continued he, taking Juan de Escalante by the hand, "is my brother; him you must obey in everything; and to him you must apply if you require assistance against the Mexicans. He will himself at all times march out in your defence." The caziques in reply, said, "They were ready to obey him in everything," and perfumed Juan de Escalante after their fashion, which I can still well remember he unwillingly submitted to. For the rest he was a man you could trust in all matters, and who fully possessed the confidence of Cortes; for which reason the latter intrusted him with the command of the town and harbour, as one in whom he could place implicit reliance, in case, during his absence, Diego Velasquez should set anything on foot against him.

Gomara here relates, that Cortes ordered the vessels to be sunk, and that he did not disclose his intentions to us of visiting the great Motecusuma himself at Mexico. But we Spaniards are, indeed, not the people who require so much pressing to move forward, or who desire to sit quietly down in a place where neither advantage nor military honour is to be gained. Gomara also says, that Pedro de Irico was the person left behind in command of Vera Cruz. This, however, is quite erroneous, for it was Juan de Escalante who was appointed commander and alguacil-major of New Spain. Pedro de Irico, indeed, would scarcely have been intrusted with the command of a company, much less, therefore, with such an important post. Nothing should be given to a man that does not belong to him, and nothing should be taken from him to which he is entitled.

CHAPTER LIX.

After the vessels had been run ashore before our eyes, and we the officers and soldiers were one morning after mass all standing around Cortes, the discourse turned upon various military topics, when he begged our attention for a few minutes, as he had some proposal to make to us. He then addressed us at great length, as near as possible, to the following effect. We already knew of the campaign which was in contemplation. It was of such a nature, that the aid of Jesus Christ, our Lord, only could bring us forth victorious from all the battles and engagements which awaited us; but, notwithstanding all the trust we reposed in God, we should not ourselves be wanting in courage and activity; should we be worsted, which Almighty God forbid, considering our small numbers we could expect no other assistance than from above, and that of our own arms, as we had no longer any vessels to return to Cuba. Cortes then adduced many beautiful comparisons from history, and mentioned several heroic deeds of the Romans. We answered him, one and all, that we would implicitly follow his orders, as the die had been cast, and we, with Cæsar, when he had passed the Rubicon, had now no choice left; besides which, everything we did was for the glory of God and his majesty the emperor.

After this speech, whose penetrating eloquence and charming powers I am unable to repeat, Cortes ordered the fat cazique into his presence, and reminded him of the care and reverence which was due from him to the church and the cross. For himself he was now about leaving for Mexico; he added, to oblige Motecusuma, for the future to abolish all robbery and the human sacrifices. He also told him he should require two hundred porters to transport our cannon, and fifty of his best warriors to accompany us.

When we were about to put ourselves in motion a soldier arrived from Vera Cruz, whom Cortes had despatched there to fetch more men. He brought a letter from Juan de Escalante, announcing that a vessel had been seen off the coast, to which he had made various signals by means of smoke and other things; had hung out white flags and rode up and down the coast on horseback dressed in scarlet, to attract the attention of those on board. He did not doubt for an instant but all this had been observed by the men on-board, yet they made no signs of running into the harbour. He had made inquiries along the coast as to where the vessel had put in, and found she was lying at anchor in the mouth of a small river, at the distance of about nine miles; he therefore awaited Cortes' orders as to what further steps he was to take. As soon as Cortes had read the letter he gave the command of all the troops, then at Sempoalla, to Alvarado conjointly with Gonzalo de Sandoval. This was the first time Sandoval had been put in command, for those military qualities, by which he so greatly distinguished himself all the rest of his life, now began to develop themselves. Properly speaking, the command ought to have devolved upon Alonso de Avila, which therefore created ill blood between him and Sandoval. Upon this Cortes mounted horse, selected four of our cavalry, and fifty of the most nimble-footed men amongst us, and marched to Vera Cruz, where we arrived that very night.

CHAPTER LX.

As soon as we had arrived at Vera Cruz, Juan de Escalante came up to Cortes and told him, it would be best to make off for the strange vessel that very night, otherwise she might heave anchor and steer for the wide ocean. Cortes himself might take his rest and allow him to manage the affair with twenty men.

To this Cortes answered, he could not rest as long as there was any thing to be done, and he was determined to go in person with the men he had brought along with him. We accordingly set off on our march along the coast, without even tasting a morsel of food before we left. On our road we soon captured four Spaniards, who had been ordered to take possession of the country in the name of Francisco de Garay, viceroy of Jamaica. They had been sent on shore by an officer named Alonso Alvarez de Pinedo, who a few days previous had left a settlement on the banks of the Panuco. One of the four Spaniards, named Guillan de la Loa, had drawn up a formal deed of having taken possession of the country, which was signed by the three others.

After the prisoners had made this disclosure to Cortes, he inquired of them under what pretence Garay had sent them out to take possession of the country? To which they gave the following answer. In the year 1518, when the fame of our having discovered this country, under Cordoba and Grijalva, and of the twenty thousand pesos which it produced Diego Velasquez, had spread through the whole of the West Indies, Anton de Alaminos and another pilot who had made the voyage of discovery with us, persuaded Garay to petition his majesty, that the discovery of all the countries which might lie to the north of the river St. Peter and Paul might be granted to him. Trusting to the patrons he had at the court of Madrid, he despatched his house-steward, Torrolva, to Spain, who managed to obtain for him the appointment of adelantado, and vice-regent of all countries north of the river just mentioned. Garay, in consequence of this appointment, fitted out three vessels with two hundred and seventy men, besides horses and the necessary provisions. The command of these he intrusted to an officer named Alonso Alvarez Pinedo, who at present was lying at a distance of about 280 miles from this place, in the river Panuco, where he intended to found a colony. For the rest, added the prisoners, they had merely obeyed the commands of that officer, and were therefore not answerable for anything they had done. Cortes was very much pleased with these fellows, on account of the disclosure they had made; he tried to gain them over to his interest, and inquired of them, if it were possible to capture the vessel? Guillan de la Loa, the most distinguished of the prisoners, thought it might be done, and he, with his comrades, would hail the ship's shallop on shore. This they accordingly tried, but, notwithstanding all their shouting and signals, no one moved from the vessel. No doubt we must have been observed by them, for the captain knew all about us, and he had particularly cautioned his men to be upon their guard, not to fall into the hands of Cortes. We had now, therefore, no other course left than to try to entice the shallop on shore by some other stratagem. For this purpose Cortes desired the prisoners to take off their clothes, and four of our men to put them on, who were to remain behind. The rest of us marched back along the road we had come, and halted behind a mountain, as soon as we were out of sight of the vessel. Here we remained until midnight, when all was dark around; we then, without the least noise, put ourselves in motion, and made for the landing-place, in the neighbourhood of which we concealed ourselves, so as to be invisible to any one excepting our four disguised soldiers.

As soon as daylight had broken forth, the latter made signals to the vessel with their cloaks and hats; upon which the shallop put off with six sailors, two of whom had water-bottles in their hands, and immediately stepped on shore. We watched until the four others should have done the same. Our four disguised men were in the meantime washing their hands, and doing everything else to hide their faces. Those in the shallop cried out, "What the deuce are you about there? why don't you come on board?" One of our men then answered, "Come on shore for a few minutes, and see what the place is like!" They found, however, the voice to be that of a stranger, and put off with the shallop to the vessel again, notwithstanding all the signals our men were making. We others were very desirous of sending a few musket-shots after them, but Cortes would not permit us, saying, we ought to allow them to go off quietly, and he would communicate with their commander himself. All the prisoners we made, therefore, were the four above-mentioned, and the two who had stepped out of the shallop, and we returned to Vera Cruz without having tasted a morsel of food. Such are the true particulars of the whole matter, and not as Gomara relates, who even makes Garay himself present on this occasion, though he did not visit these parts in person until some time after, having sent the three officers with the vessels before him. I shall speak more particularly of this in the proper place.

CHAPTER LXI.

After we had got all in readiness for our march to Mexico, we held a consultation as to the route we should take. The chiefs of Sempoalla preferred the road through the province of Tlascalla, as the inhabitants were friendly with them and deadly enemies of the Mexicans. They had likewise equipped forty of their best warriors to accompany us, who, indeed, proved of the greatest utility to us on this journey. They also gave us 200 porters to convey our cannon; for, at that time, we poor soldiers had no other baggage than our weapons, with which in hand we stood, walked, and slept: we had not even any other covering to our feet than light shoes, but we were always ready for battle. It was about the middle of the month of August, 1519, that we broke up our quarters at Sempoalla. During our march we observed the strictest order, while our sharp-shooters and a great number of our most active men were always in advance. On the first day we arrived in the township of Xalapa, and from there to Socochina, which is very strongly situated, the access to it being very dangerous, and surrounded by numerous trained vine trees.[20] Doña Marina and Aguilar told the inhabitants a good deal about our holy religion, and how we were subjects of the emperor Don Carlos the Fifth, who sent us out to bring them back from kidnapping and sacrificing human beings. As they were in friendship with the Sempoallans, and paid no tribute to Motecusuma, we found them very well inclined towards us, and we received hospitable treatment. We erected a cross in every township, and explained its signification to the inhabitants, and what great veneration was due to it. From Socochina we marched over a high mountain, through a pass, to Texutla: here, likewise, the inhabitants were friendly to us, because they refused to pay any further tribute to Motecusuma. It was from this township that we first arrived into a rugged and wild mountain district; the population ceased, and, in the very first night, we had excessive cold, with hail showers; add to which, our provisions were totally gone, and the wind so keen which blew across the snow mountains, that we shook again with the frost: indeed, no one can wonder at this, for we had come so suddenly from the hot climate of Cuba, the town of Vera Cruz, and the neighbouring coast, into a cold country. Whatever calamity might befall us, we had only our weapons for protection, and were, moreover, totally unaccustomed to the cold. From this place we arrived at another mountain pass, where we found some houses and huge temples for human sacrifices; near these, heaps of wood were piled up for the use of the idol-worship. Neither did we here again meet with any food, the weather continuing bitterly cold.

Our route now lay across the territory of the township Xocotlan. We sent before us two Indians of Sempoalla to the cazique, to acquaint him of our approach, and beg of him to give us an hospitable reception. As the inhabitants of this district were subject to Motecusuma, everything wore a different aspect, and we marched forward with the utmost precaution and in close array. For the rest, we were as much pleased with this spot as with many a Spanish town, on account of the numerous and beautifully whitewashed balconies, the dwellings of the caziques, and the elevated temples wholly built of stone and lime. We, therefore, called it Castilblanco, which name it still retains; for a Portuguese soldier, who was among our troops, assured us, the place was very like the town of Casteloblanco in Portugal. The cazique, on receiving information of our arrival, came out to meet us with the principal inhabitants. His name was Olintecle, and he led us into his habitation, where he gave us but little to eat, and that with bad will.

After the repast, Cortes, by means of our interpreters, put all manner of questions to the cazique respecting the affairs of his monarch. Motecusuma, and we learnt a good deal about the great armies which were stationed in the conquered provinces, besides those on the boundaries themselves, and the provinces which bordered on them. He spoke of the great and strong city of Mexico, how it lay in the midst of the waters, and that it was only by means of bridges and canoes that a person could go from one house to another: every house was provided with a balcony at the top, and was so completely isolated by means of moats, that they might separately be considered as so many castles, and, as such, capable of defence. The town was approached by three roads, each of which was cut through in four or five several places, to admit the water; across these sections, wooden bridges were built: it was merely requisite to break down these bridges, and all access to Mexico was cut off. Lastly, the cazique also mentioned the great quantity of silver and gold, the numerous precious stones and great riches of Motecusuma; in fact, there was no end to the praises he bestowed upon his monarch.

Cortes and all of us were vastly astonished at everything the man related of Motecusuma's power and greatness. However, instead of being thereby disheartened, we only the more earnestly desired to try our fortune against the fortresses and bridges, for such is the very spirit of a Spanish soldier; while the impossibility of which Olintecle spoke seemed to us a mere nothing. Mexico was, indeed, strongly fortified, and even more so than mentioned by the cazique: a person ought to have seen it himself to form an idea of it,—a description can convey none. For the rest, added the cazique, Motecusuma is accustomed to obedience from every one, and he feared Motecusuma's resentment when he should learn that we had entered the township without his permission, and had been provided with provisions.

Upon which Cortes, by means of our interpreters, spoke to him as follows: "I give you to understand that we have come here from very distant countries, by command of our emperor and master Don Carlos, who has among his numerous vassals many powerful princes, to acquaint your great Motecusuma that he shall no longer permit kidnapping and human sacrifices, nor conquer any more territories, and that he must obey the commands of the emperor our master. In the same way I also declare to you Olintecle, and the other caziques now present that you must relinquish those human sacrifices, no longer eat human flesh, and abstain from committing unnatural offences and other abominations customary with you; for such are the commandments of the God in whom we believe, and whom we adore, from whom come life and death, and who will once receive us into his heaven."

As the Indians made no answer to all this and many other things he said of our holy religion, Cortes turned to us, and said, "I think, gentlemen, we can do nothing further here than erect a cross:" to which father Olmedo answered, "I think, sir, that even this would be doing too much at present, for these people, as subjects of Motecusuma, are neither afraid nor shy of us, and would undoubtedly destroy the cross. What we have disclosed to them concerning our religion is sufficient until the time they shall be susceptible of understanding more of it."

In compliance with this advice, no cross was erected here.

On this expedition we had a large dog with us, the property of Francisco de Lugo. As the animal did nothing but bark the whole night, the caziques asked our friends of Sempoalla whether it was a lion or a tiger which we employed for the purpose of tearing the Indians to pieces? The Sempoallans answered that we indeed let it loose upon those who attacked us. They gave similar answers to questions concerning our cannon, telling them we loaded these with stones, and killed every one therewith at whom we shot: that our horses were as nimble as deer; that they galloped against whomsoever we desired. "Certainly these must be teules!" said Olintecle and the other chiefs. "That they are indeed as you see them now before you, (continued the Sempoallans,) therefore take great care not to arouse their displeasure. Whatever you may do, they are sure to know: they penetrate your very thoughts, and have even imprisoned the tax-gatherers of your great Motecusuma, and commanded the inhabitants of the mountains and us of Sempoalla not to pay any more tribute. They have likewise torn down our teules from the temples, and placed theirs there instead. The tribes of the Tabasco and Tzinpantzinco were conquered by them; and, however powerful Motecusuma may be, he nevertheless sent them presents. Now they have visited you, and you have given them nothing; therefore you cannot too speedily correct the mistake you have made."

From this it may be seen that our confederates perfectly understood how to boast of us: nor was it long before the caziques brought us four chains, three neck ornaments, and a few lizards, all of gold, though of an inferior quality; besides this there was a package of cotton cloths, and four women to bake our bread. Cortes thanked them very kindly for these presents, and offered to render them services in return.

One certain spot in this township I never shall forget, situated near the temple. Here a vast number of human skulls were piled up in the best order imaginable,—there must have been more than 100,000; I repeat, more than 100,000. In like manner you saw the remaining human bones piled up in order in another corner of the square; these it would have been impossible to count. Besides these, there were human heads hanging suspended from beams on both sides. Three papas stood sentinel on this place of skulls, for which purpose, it was told us, they were particularly appointed.[21]

Similar horrible sights we saw towards the interior of the country in every township, and even in Tlascalla.

Cortes inquired of the cazique Olintecle, which was the best and most easy road to Mexico. "That one," answered the cazique, "over Cholulla, which is a very large town." Our friends of Sempoalla, however, advised us not to take that road, as the inhabitants of Cholulla were a treacherous people, and Motecusuma had always a strong garrison in that town. We had better choose the road over Tlascalla was their opinion; for there the inhabitants were their friends, and sworn enemies to the Mexicans. This advice was followed by Cortes, and the Almighty blessed his choice. Before our departure we required an additional twenty of their best warriors to join our ranks, which were accordingly granted us by the cazique.

The next morning we commenced our march to Tlascalla, and first arrived in the small township of Xacatcinco. From this place we sent before us to the Tlascallans two of the principal men of Sempoalla, who well knew how to blazon forth our praise, and were upon intimate terms of friendship with the latter. We gave them a letter to these, although we knew they could not read it, and a Flanders hat surmounted by a coloured feather, as they were worn at that time. I will relate in the following chapter what further took place.

CHAPTER LXII.

On our march from Castilblanco we were, if possible, doubly precautious. Our sharp-shooters were always in advance, the cavalry kept surrounding our troops, our muskets were loaded, the matches lighted, and, in short, we were ready for action at a moment's notice.

We first arrived in the small township of Xacatcinco, where the inhabitants presented us with a golden chain for the neck, some packages of cotton stuffs, and two Indian females. As above remarked, we despatched two distinguished personages of Sempoalla to Tlascalla, who were to announce our approach, and say we came as friends, and hoped they would receive us as such. We found it the more necessary to send this message, as we learnt in Xacatcinco, that the whole of Tlascalla was up in arms against us. They were already informed of our having left that place, and concluded from the number of warriors we had with us out of Sempoalla and Xocotlan, tributary to Motecusuma, that we came with hostile intentions. They had quite concluded we were going to act like the Mexicans, who always, under some fraudulent pretence or other, marched into their country when intent upon plunder.

When, therefore, the messengers arrived with our letter and the Flanders hat, and were about to deliver our commission, they were even refused a hearing, and immediately thrown into prison. We awaited their return for two days, during which time Cortes explained to the inhabitants as usual, the nature of our holy religion, who our emperor was, the sinfulness of human sacrifices, and the other abominations they practised. He also demanded twenty of their warriors to accompany us.

These they readily furnished us, and after we had commended ourselves to the protection of the Almighty, we broke up our quarters on the third day and marched for Tlascalla. On our route we were met by our two messengers, who had been secretly released by their friends. All Tlascalla was making warlike preparations against us. They appeared quite downcast, and durst scarcely inform us of what they had seen and heard. Having at last taken courage, they related how they had been immediately seized and thrown into prison, and what terrible threats had been thrown out against us and themselves. "Now we will rise up," it had been told them, "and destroy those whom yon term teules. We shall soon see whether they are so courageous as you have mentioned. We will devour both you and them together, for you are come under fraudulent pretences, and at the instigation and in the spirit of the traitor Motecusuma."

The messengers might say what they liked in contradiction to this it was all to no purpose. When Cortes and we others heard this lofty language, and how they awaited us completely equipped for war, we did not think altogether so light of the matter; nevertheless, we one and all cried out, "Well, then, since it cannot be otherwise, forward! for good or ill luck." We commended ourselves to the protection of God, and unfurled our standard, which was borne by the ensign Corral. The inhabitants of the small township, where we passed the night, informed us, that the Tlascallans would march against us to prevent our entering into their country. Of this opinion were also our friends of Sempoalla.

As we were marching along, our only discourse was how we should attack the enemy. Our cavalry was to gallop up three abreast, with lances fixed, and run the Indians full in the face. At the same time they were to be particularly upon their guard that the enemy did not lay hold of the lances with their hands; should such, however, be the case, the rider was to keep the tighter hold of his lance, give his horse the spur, and either by a sudden jerk wrest it out of the enemy's grasp, or drag him along with it.

The reader will perhaps ask, why we took these precautions though we had not yet come in sight of the foe? I can answer this with Cortes' own words, who spoke to us as follows: "You are aware, gentlemen, of the smallness of our numbers, we must, therefore, be the more upon our guard, and fancy the enemy will each moment fall upon us. Nor is this sufficient, we must imagine ourselves already fighting, as if the battle was begun. Every soldier is fond of catching hold of the enemy's lance with his hand, but considering the smallness of our numbers, we must now particularly guard ourselves against it. For the rest, you are not in need of my advice, for I have always found that you do things much better than I am able to instruct you."

Under similar discourses we had already advanced about eight miles, when we came up to an enormous entrenchment, built so strongly of stone, lime, and a kind of hard bitumen, that it would only have been possible to break it down by means of pickaxes, and if defended would have with difficulty been taken. We halted on purpose to inspect this fortification, and Cortes inquired of the Xocotlans, for what purpose it stood there. They told him that it was built by the Tlascallans, on whose territory we were now entering, against the great Motecusuma, with whom they were continually at war, to protect them against his hostile incursions.[22]

After we had examined this structure for some time, and each expressed his opinion upon it, Cortes cried out, "Let us follow our standard, gentlemen! It bears the figure of the holy cross, and in that sign we shall conquer." To which we unanimously added: "Forward! whatever may happen; for God is our only strength."

We now continued our march onwards in the cautious manner above mentioned, and had not proceeded far when our vanguard observed at no very great distance about thirty Indians, who had been sent out to reconnoitre; this was immediately communicated to us. They had broad swords, which are used with both hands, the edges of which are made of hard flint, and are sharper than our steel swords. They were also armed with shields, lances, and had feathers stuck in their hair. Cortes ordered some of our cavalry to go in among them, and try, if possible, to capture one, but not to inflict any wounds. These were followed at a distance by five others, to assist them should they fall into an ambush; the rest of our army marched direct for the narrow pass, but with the utmost circumspection, as our friends had assured us that we should undoubtedly meet with a large body of the enemy in some hiding place or other. When the thirty Indians above mentioned found our cavalry approaching them, and saw how they beckoned to them with their hands, they began to retreat slowly, and arranged themselves again in order, whenever our men attempted to take any of them prisoners. They defended themselves right valiantly with their swords and lances, wounding several of our horses. The blood of our men now also began to boil, who, in return, killed five of the Indians. At that moment a swarm of more than 3000 Tlascallans rushed furiously from an ambush, pouring forth a shower of arrows upon our cavalry, who now immediately closed their ranks. At the same time we fired among them with our cannon, and so at last we obliged the enemy to give ground, though they fought bravely and with a good deal of manœuvring. On our side we had four wounded, of whom one died a few days after, if I still remember rightly. Seventeen of the enemy lay dead, and the number of their wounded was very considerable. As it was growing very late they continued to retreat, and we to follow them.

As soon as we had passed over the mountain we came into a plain, and found numerous plantations of maise and maguey,[23] from which the inhabitants make their wine. We took up our night's quarters near a brook, and for want of oil we dressed the wounds of our men with the fat of a corpulent Indian who had been killed. We made our supper off young dogs, which we found here in great numbers; for, although the inhabitants had left all their plantations and taken the dogs with them, these animals during the night time had come back to their old places again; and we were thus able to catch a good many, and so procured ourselves some very delicious joints. The whole of this night we kept a most vigilant look-out. We placed outposts in all quarters; our horses stood ready saddled and bridled, and the rounds were regularly made. I will, however, break off here, and relate our further battles in the next chapter.

CHAPTER LXIII.

The next morning, after we had commended ourselves to God in prayer, we broke up our quarters. Each company marched in close order, and our cavalry were to be particularly upon their guard; were either to advance suddenly, or fall back upon us, according as circumstances might be, and at all events to watch that our ranks were nowhere broken, and that no one strayed from his own company.

After we had marched onwards for some time we came up with two large bodies of the enemy, amounting to about 6000 men. They set up a most terrific noise with their drums and trumpets, and yelled awfully. They then let fly their arrows, threw their lances at us, and upon the whole were most daringly valiant. Cortes now ordered us to halt, and despatched three Indians, whom we had made prisoners the day before, to the enemy, requesting them to stay hostilities, as we were very desirous of looking upon them as brothers and friends. At the same time he ordered one of our warriors, Diego de Godoy, who was the royal secretary, to pay particular attention to everything that should take place, in order that if any reproach were made us for having destroyed any of the Indians, he might give evidence, and be able to prove that we on our side had shown every disposition for peace.

The prisoners went off with this message to the enemy, but not the slightest notice was taken of it; on the contrary, they attacked us so furiously that we could no longer look idly on. "Forward! St. Jacob is with us! On to the enemy!" cried Cortes; and in an instant we greeted the Indians so sharply with our firearms, that numbers were immediately killed and wounded; among the former three chiefs. After this first volley they fell back to about the distance of a musket-shot, where they took up their position. Here an army of above 40,000 warriors, commanded by their general-in-chief Xicotencatl, lay in ambush. Their standards bore his colours, white and variegated. As the ground here was full of deep cavities our cavalry were completely useless, until by using the greatest precaution they managed to pass over these. This was not done without considerable risk, for the enemy plied their bows and lances with great dexterity, having, moreover, the advantage of the higher ground. The stones from their slings were no less annoying; but all this only lasted until we had gained the level ground. For now we richly rewarded them for their pains, and killed great numbers. Yet we durst not venture to open our ranks; for the instant any one stepped out to assist any other soldier or officer he was that moment dangerously wounded. We were, therefore, obliged to keep our ranks firmly closed, and by degrees had to contend with more than twenty different divisions, which was, indeed, pretty hot work. Besides all this the Indians kept continually throwing sand in our faces to blind us. Here, indeed, the great mercy of God alone could save us. The chief object of the enemy was to capture one of our horses, in which they did not altogether fail; for, as Pedro de Moron on his well-trained mare, attended by three others of our cavalry, was attempting to break through the enemy's ranks, the Indians wrenched the lance out of his hand, and fell furiously upon him with their broad swords, wounding him severely. They gave his mare such a terrific cut with the same weapon in the neck, that the animal instantly fell down dead. If Moron's three companions had not immediately hastened to his assistance, he would have shared his horse's fate; for this gave our whole company time to come up.

I must again repeat, that the worst was, we had to keep ourselves so close together in order not to run the danger of being cut off, which of course greatly encumbered our movements. Nevertheless, we were obliged to open our ranks to rescue the mare and Moron whom they were already dragging off half dead. The mare we were obliged to relinquish, though we managed to cut the girth asunder in order at least to save the saddle. In this battle we had nine wounded. As for the enemy I believe on this occasion we killed four of their chiefs. We pushed forward shoulder to shoulder, and made considerable havoc with our swords. The enemy retreated, carrying off the dead mare, which was subsequently cut into pieces to be sent into every township of Tlascalla. As we afterwards learnt, the horse's shoes, the Flanders hat, and the letter we sent them, were brought as an offering to their idols. The mare belonged to Juan Sedeño, who, on the previous day, was wounded in three several places, and had, therefore, lent her to Moron. This Moron was a capital horse soldier, and died a few days after; at least, I do not remember to have seen him again after this battle.

We had fought for a good hour, and our firearms must have done considerable destruction among the enemy who stood so crowded together. Every man among us did his duty, and we fought away like brave warriors, for in all truth we were placed in greater jeopardy this time than we had ever been before. Numbers of the Indians lay dead on the field of battle; among whom were eight of the principal chiefs, all sons of old caziques, who dwelt together in the chief town of the country. At last our enemies retreated in good order, which we were glad enough to see, for we could scarcely stand any longer from over-fatigue, nor durst we think of following the enemy. Add to which, the ground was greatly to our disadvantage, partly on account of the number of straggling houses, partly on account of a species of pits in which many of the inhabitants dwelt. This battle was fought on the first two days of September, 1519, near the village of Tehuacacinco, and we returned fervent thanks to God for having rescued us from such great peril and for the victory we had gained.

After the battle, we fell back to some temples, which were very high, and large enough to serve us for castles. We dressed the wounds of our men with the fat of Indians, as we had done on previous occasions. Five of our horses were wounded, and fifteen men, of whom one subsequently died. Upon this we took our suppers, and made a good meal off the number of dogs and fowls which we found in the dwellings. Before, however, we lay down to rest, we posted our sentinels, and continually patrolled during the night: not before all these things were properly ordered did we lie down, and slept till morning.

For the rest, we made fifteen prisoners, among whom were two of the most distinguished personages; but we could never discover how many we killed or wounded, as it was customary with the Tlascallans immediately to carry off the wounded and dead from the field of battle. [24]

CHAPTER LXIV.