BOOK VI: Siege and Surrender of Mexico
Chapter I 
ARRANGEMENTS AT TEZCUCO- SACK OF IZTAPALAPAN- ADVANTAGES OF THE SPANIARDS- WISE POLICY OF CORTES- TRANSPORTATION OF THE BRIGANTINES
THE city of Tezcuco was the best position, probably, which
Cortes could have chosen for the head-quarters of the army. It
supplied all the accommodation for lodging a numerous body of
troops, and all the facilities for subsistence, incident to a large
and populous town. It furnished, moreover, a multitude of artisans and
labourers for the uses of the army. Its territories, bordering on
the Tlascalan, afforded a ready means of intercourse with the
country of his allies, while its vicinity to Mexico enabled the
general, without much difficulty, to ascertain the movements in that
capital. Its central situation, in short, opened facilities for
communication with all parts of the valley, and made it an excellent
Point d'appui for his future operations.
The first care of Cortes was to strengthen himself in the palace
assigned to him, and to place his quarters in a state of defence,
which might secure them against surprise, not only from the
Mexicans, but from the Tezcucans themselves. Since the election of
their new ruler, a large part of the population had returned to
their homes, assured of protection in person and property. But the
Spanish general, notwithstanding their show of submission, very much
distrusted its sincerity; for he knew that many of them were united
too intimately with the Aztecs, by marriage and other social
relations, not to have their sympathies engaged in their behalf. The
young monarch, however, seemed wholly in his interest; and, to
secure him more effectually, Cortes placed several Spaniards near
his person, whose ostensible province it was to instruct him in
their language and religion, but who were in reality to watch over his
conduct, and prevent his correspondence with those who might be
unfriendly to the Spanish interests.
Tezcuco stood about half a league from the lake. It would be
necessary to open a communication with it, so that the brigantines,
when put together in the capital, might be launched upon its waters.
It was proposed, therefore, to dig a canal, reaching from the
gardens of Nezahualcoyotl, as they were called from the old monarch
who planned them, to the edge of the basin. A little stream or
rivulet, which flowed in that direction, was to be deepened
sufficiently for the purpose; and eight thousand Indian labourers were
forthwith employed on this great work, under the direction of the
Meanwhile Cortes received messages from several places in the
neighbourhood, intimating their desire to become the vassals of his
sovereign, and to be taken under his protection. The Spanish commander
required, in return, that they should deliver up every Mexican who
should set foot in their territories. Some noble Aztecs, who had
been sent on a mission to these towns, were consequently delivered
into his hands. He availed himself of it to employ them as bearers
of a message to their master, the emperor. In it he deprecated the
necessity of the present hostilities. Those who had most injured
him, he said, were no longer among the living. He was willing to
forget the past; and invited the Mexicans, by a timely submission,
to save their capital from the horrors of a siege. Cortes had no
expectation of producing any immediate result by this appeal. But he
thought it might lie in the minds of the Mexicans, and that, if
there was a party among them disposed to treat with him, it might
afford them encouragement, as showing his own willingness to
co-operate with their views. At this time, however, there was no
division of opinion in the capital. The whole population seemed
animated by a spirit of resistance, as one man.
In a former page I have mentioned that it was the plan of
Cortes, on entering the valley, to commence operations by reducing the
subordinate cities before striking at the capital itself, which,
like some goodly tree, whose roots had been severed one after another,
would be thus left without support against the fury of the tempest.
The first point of attack which he selected was the ancient city of
Iztapalapan; a place containing fifty thousand inhabitants,
according to his own account, and situated about six leagues
distant, on the narrow tongue of land which divides the waters of
the great salt lake from those of the fresh. It was the private domain
of the last sovereign of Mexico; where, as the reader may remember, he
entertained the white men the night before their entrance into the
capital, and astonished them by the display of his princely gardens.
To this monarch they owed no good will, for he had conducted the
operations on the noche triste. He was, indeed, no more; but the
people of his city entered heartily into his hatred of the
strangers, and were now the most loyal vassals of the Mexican crown.
In a week after his arrival at his new quarters, Cortes, leaving
the command of the garrison to Sandoval, marched against this Indian
city, at the head of two hundred Spanish foot, eighteen horse, and
between three and four thousand Tlascalans. Within two leagues of
their point of destination, they were encountered by a strong Aztec
force, drawn up to dispute their progress. Cortes instantly gave
them battle. The barbarians showed their usual courage; but, after
some hard fighting, were compelled to give way before the steady
valour of the Spanish infantry, backed by the desperate fury of the
Tlascalans, whom the sight of an Aztec seemed to inflame almost to
madness. The enemy retreated in disorder, closely followed by the
Spaniards. When they had arrived within half a league of
Iztapalapan, they observed a number of canoes filled with Indians, who
appeared to be labouring on the mole which hemmed in the waters of the
salt lake. Swept along in the tide of pursuit, they gave little heed
to it, but, following up the chase, entered pell-mell with the
fugitives into the city.
The houses stood some of them on dry ground, some on piles in
the water. The former were deserted by the inhabitants, most of whom
had escaped in canoes across the lake, leaving, in their haste,
their effects behind them. The Tlascalans poured at once into the
vacant dwellings and loaded themselves with booty; while the enemy,
making the best of their way through this part of the town, sought
shelter in the buildings erected over the water, or among the reeds
which sprung from its shallow bottom. In the houses were many of the
citizens also, who still lingered with their wives and children,
unable to find the means of transporting themselves from the scene
Cortes, supported by his own men, and by such of the allies as
could be brought to obey his orders, attacked the enemy in this last
place of their retreat. Both parties fought up to their girdles in the
water. A desperate struggle ensued, as the Aztec fought with the
fury of a tiger driven to bay by the huntsmen. It was all in vain. The
enemy was overpowered in every quarter. The citizen shared the fate of
the soldier, and a pitiless massacre succeeded, without regard to
sex or age. Cortes endeavoured to stop it. But it would have been as
easy to call away the starving wolf from the carcass he was devouring,
as the Tlascalan who had once tasted the blood of an enemy. More
than six thousand, including women and children, according to the
Conqueror's own statement, perished in the conflict.
Darkness meanwhile had set in; but it was dispelled in some
measure by the light of the burning houses, which the troops had set
on fire in different parts of the town. Their insulated position, it
is true, prevented the flames from spreading from one building to
another, but the solitary masses threw a strong and lurid glare over
their own neighbourhood, which gave additional horror to the scene. As
resistance was now at an end, the soldiers abandoned themselves to
pillage, and soon stripped the dwellings of every portable article
of any value.
While engaged in this work of devastation, a murmuring sound was
heard as of the hoarse rippling of waters, and a cry soon arose
among the Indians that the dikes were broken! Cortes now
comprehended the business of the men whom he had seen in the canoes at
work on the mole which fenced in the great basin of Lake Tezcuco. It
had been pierced by the desperate Indians, who thus laid the country
under an inundation, by suffering the waters of the salt lake to
spread themselves over the lower level, through the opening. Greatly
alarmed, the general called his men together, and made all haste to
evacuate the city. Had they remained three hours longer, he says,
not a soul could have escaped. They came staggering under the weight
of booty, wading with difficulty through the water, which was fast
gaining upon them. For some distance their path was illumined by the
glare of the burning buildings. But, as the light faded away in
distance, they wandered with uncertain steps, sometimes up to their
knees, at others up to their waists, in the water, through which
they floundered on with the greatest difficulty. As they reached the
opening in the dike, the stream became deeper, and flowed out with
such a current that the men were unable to maintain their footing. The
Spaniards, breasting the flood, forced their way through; but many
of the Indians, unable to swim, were borne down by the waters. All the
plunder was lost. The powder was spoiled; the arms and clothes of
the soldiers were saturated with the brine, and the cold night wind,
as it blew over them, benumbed their weary limbs till they could
scarcely drag them along. At dawn they beheld the lake swarming with
canoes, full of Indians, who had anticipated their disaster, and who
now saluted them with showers of stones, arrows, and other deadly
missiles. Bodies of light troops, hovering in the distance, disquieted
the flanks of the army in like manner. The Spaniards had no desire
to close with the enemy. They only wished to regain their
comfortable quarters in Tezcuco, where they arrived on the same day,
more disconsolate and fatigued than after many a long march and
The close of the expedition, so different from its brilliant
commencement, greatly disappointed Cortes. His numerical loss had,
indeed, not been great; but this affair convinced him how much he
had to apprehend from the resolution of a people, who were prepared to
bury their country under water rather than to submit. Still, the enemy
had little cause for congratulation, since, independently of the
number of slain, they had seen one of their most flourishing cities
sacked, and in part, at least, laid in ruins,- one of those, too,
which in its public works displayed the nearest approach to
civilisation. Such are the triumphs of war!
The expedition of Cortes, notwithstanding the disasters which
chequered it, was favourable to the Spanish cause. The fate of
Iztapalapan struck a terror throughout the valley. The consequences
were soon apparent in the deputations sent by the different places
eager to offer their submission. Its influence was visible, indeed,
beyond the mountains. Among others, the people of Otumba, the town
near which the Spaniards had gained their famous victory, sent to
tender their allegiance, and to request the protection of the powerful
strangers. They excused themselves, as usual, for the part they had
taken in the late hostilities, by throwing the blame on the Aztecs.
But the place of most importance which thus claimed their
protection, was Chalco, situated on the eastern extremity of the
lake of that name. It was an ancient city, people by a kindred tribe
of the Aztecs, and once their formidable rival. The Mexican emperor,
distrusting their loyalty, had placed a garrison within their walls to
hold them in check. The rulers of the city now sent a message secretly
to Cortes, proposing to put themselves under his protection, if he
would enable them to expel the garrison.
The Spanish commander did not hesitate; but instantly detached a
considerable force under Sandoval for this object. On the march his
rear-guard, composed of Tlascalans, was roughly handled by some
light troops of the Mexicans. But he took his revenge in a pitched
battle, which took place with the main body of the enemy at no great
distance from Chalco. They were drawn up on a level ground, covered
with green crops of maize and maguey. Sandoval, charging the enemy
at the head of his cavalry, threw them into disorder. But they quickly
rallied, formed again, and renewed the battle with greater spirit than
ever. In a second attempt he was more fortunate; and, breaking through
their lines by a desperate onset, the brave cavalier succeeded,
after a warm but ineffectual struggle on their part, in completely
routing and driving them from the field. The conquering army continued
its march to Chalco, which the Mexican garrison had already evacuated,
and was received in triumph by the assembled citizens, who seemed
eager to testify their gratitude for their deliverance from the
Aztec yoke. After taking such measures as he could for the permanent
security of the place, Sandoval returned to Tezcuco, accompanied by
the two young lords of the city, sons of the late cacique.
They were courteously received by Cortes; and they informed him
that their father had died full of years, a short time before. With
his last breath he had expressed his regret that he should not have
lived to see Malinche. He believed that the white men were the
beings predicted by the oracles, as one day to come from the East
and take possession of the land; and he enjoined it on his children,
should the strangers return to the valley, to render them their homage
and allegiance. The young caciques expressed their readiness to do so;
but, as this must bring on them the vengeance of the Aztecs, they
implored the general to furnish a sufficient force for their
Cortes received a similar application from various other towns,
which were disposed, could they do so with safety, to throw off the
Mexican yoke. But he was in no situation to comply with their request.
He now felt, more sensibly than ever, the incompetency of his means to
his undertaking. "I assure your Majesty," he writes in his letter to
the emperor, "the greatest uneasiness which I feel after all my
labours and fatigues, is from my inability to succour and support
our Indian friends, your Majesty's loyal vassals." Far from having a
force competent to this, he had scarcely enough for his own
protection. His vigilant enemy had an eye on all his movements, and,
should he cripple his strength by sending away too many detachments,
or by employing them at too great a distance, would be prompt to
take advantage of it. His only expeditions, hitherto, had been in
the neighbourhood, where the troops, after striking some sudden and
decisive blow, might speedily regain their quarters. The utmost
watchfulness was maintained there, and the Spaniards lived in as
constant preparation for an assault, as if their camp was pitched
under the walls of Mexico.
On two occasions the general had sallied forth and engaged the
enemy in the environs of Tezcuco. At one time a thousand canoes,
filled with Aztecs, crossed the lake to gather in a large crop of
Indian corn nearly ripe, on its borders. Cortes thought it important
to secure this for himself. He accordingly marched out and gave battle
to the enemy, drove them from the field, and swept away the rich
harvest to the granaries of Tezcuco. Another time a strong body of
Mexicans had established themselves in some neighbouring towns
friendly to their interests. Cortes, again sallying, dislodged them
from their quarters, beat them in several skirmishes, and reduced
the places to obedience. But these enterprises demanded all his
resources, and left him nothing to spare for his allies. In this
exigency, his fruitful genius suggested an expedient for supplying the
deficiency of his means.
Some of the friendly cities without the valley, observing the
numerous beacon-fires on the mountains, inferred that the Mexicans
were mustering in great strength, and that the Spaniards must be
hard pressed in their new quarters. They sent messengers to Tezcuco,
expressing their apprehension, and offering reinforcements, which
the general, when he set out on his march, had declined. He returned
many thanks for the proffered aid; but, while he declined it for
himself, as unnecessary, he indicated in what manner their services
might be effectual for the defence of Chalco and the other places
which had invoked his protection. But his Indian allies were in deadly
feud with these places, whose inhabitants had too often fought under
the Aztec banner not to have been engaged in repeated wars with the
people beyond the mountains.
Cortes set himself earnestly to reconcile these differences. He
told the hostile parties that they should be willing to forget their
mutual wrongs, since they bad entered into new relations. They were
now vassals of the same sovereign, engaged in a common enterprise
against a formidable foe who had so long trodden them in the dust.
Singly they could do little, but united they might protect each
other's weakness, and hold their enemy at bay till the Spaniards could
come to their assistance. These arguments finally prevailed; and the
politic general had the satisfaction to see the high-spirited and
hostile tribes forego their long-cherished rivalry, and, resigning the
pleasures of revenge, so dear to the barbarian, embrace one another as
friends and champions in a common cause. To this wise policy the
Spanish commander owed quite as much of his subsequent successes, as
to his arms.
Thus the foundations of the Mexican empire were hourly
loosening, as the great vassals around the capital, on whom it most
relied, fell off one after another from their allegiance. The
Aztecs, properly so called, formed but a small part of the
population of the valley. This was principally composed of cognate
tribes, members of the same great family of the Nahuatlacs, who had
come upon the plateau at nearly the same time. They were mutual
rivals, and were reduced one after another by the more warlike
Mexican, who held them in subjection, often by open force, always by
fear. Fear was the great principle of cohesion which bound together
the discordant members of the monarchy, and this was now fast
dissolving before the influence of a power more mighty than that of
the Aztec. This, it is true, was not the first time that the conquered
races had attempted to recover their independence; but all such
attempts had failed for want of concert. It was reserved for the
commanding genius of Cortes to extinguish their old hereditary
feuds, and, combining their scattered energies, to animate them with a
common principle of action.
Encouraged by this state of things, the Spanish general thought it
a favourable moment to press his negotiations with the capital. He
availed himself of the presence of some noble Mexicans, taken in the
late action with Sandoval, to send another message to their master. It
was in substance a repetition of the first with a renewed assurance,
that, if the city would return to its allegiance to the Spanish crown,
the authority of Guatemozin should be confirmed, and the persons and
property of his subjects be respected. To this communication no
reply was made. The young Indian emperor had a spirit as dauntless
as that of Cortes himself. On his head descended the full effects of
that vicious system of government bequeathed to him by his
ancestors. But, as he saw his empire crumbling beneath him, he
sought to uphold it by his own energy and resources. He anticipated
the defection of some vassals by establishing garrisons within their
walls. Others he conciliated by exempting them from tributes, or
greatly lightening their burdens, or by advancing them to posts of
honour and authority in the state. He showed, at the same time, his
implacable animosity towards the Christians, by commanding that
every one taken within his dominions should be sent to the capital,
where he was sacrificed with all the barbarous ceremonies prescribed
by the Aztec ritual.
While these occurrences were passing, Cortes received the
welcome intelligence, that the brigantines were completed and
waiting to be transported to Tezcuco. He detached a body for the
service, consisting of two hundred Spanish foot and fifteen horse,
which he placed under the command of Sandoval. This cavalier had
been rising daily in the estimation both of the general and of the
army. Though one of the youngest officers in the service, he possessed
a cool head and a ripe judgment, which fitted him for the most
delicate and difficult undertakings. Sandoval was a native Of
Medellin, the birth-place of Cortes himself. He was warmly attached to
his commander, and had on all occasions proved himself worthy of his
confidence. He was a man of few words, showing his worth rather by
what he did, than what he said. His honest, soldier-like deportment
made him a favourite with the troops, and had its influence even on
his enemies. He unfortunately died in the flower of his age. But he
discovered talents and military skill, which, had he lived to later
life, would undoubtedly have placed his name on the roll with those of
the greatest captains of his nation.
Sandoval's route was to lead him by Zoltepec, a city where the
massacre of the forty-five Spaniards, already noticed, had been
perpetrated. The cavalier received orders to find out the guilty
parties, if possible, and to punish them for their share in the
When the Spaniards arrived at the spot, they found that the
inhabitants, who had previous notice of their approach, had all
fled. In the deserted temples they discovered abundant traces of the
fate of their countrymen; for, besides their arms and clothing, and
the hides of their horses, the heads of several soldiers, prepared
in such a way that they could be well preserved, were found
suspended as trophies of the victory. In a neighbouring building,
traced with charcoal on the walls, they found the following
inscription in Castilian: "In this place the unfortunate Juan Juste,
with many others of his company, was imprisoned." This hidalgo was one
of the followers of Narvaez, and had come with him into the country in
quest of gold, but had found, instead, an obscure and inglorious
death. The eyes of the soldiers were suffused with tears, as they
gazed on the gloomy record, and their bosoms swelled with indignation,
as they thought of the horrible fate of the captives. Fortunately
the inhabitants were not then before them. Some few, who
subsequently fell into their hands, were branded as slaves. But the
greater part of the population, who threw themselves, in the most
abject manner, on the mercy of the Conquerors, imputing the blame of
the affair to the Aztecs, the Spanish commander spared, from pity,
He now resumed his march on Tlascala; but scarcely had he
crossed the borders of the republic, when he descried the flaunting
banners of the convoy which transported the brigantines, as it was
threading its way through the defiles of the mountains. Great was
his satisfaction at the spectacle, for he had feared a detention of
some days at Tlascala, before the preparations for the march could
There were thirteen vessels in all, of different sizes. They had
been constructed under the direction of the experienced shipbuilder,
Martin Lopez, aided by three of four Spanish carpenters and the
friendly natives, some of whom showed no mean degree of imitative
skill. The brigantines, when completed, had been fairly tried on the
waters of the Zahuapan. They were then taken to pieces, and, as
Lopez was impatient of delay, the several parts, the timbers, anchors,
iron-work, sails, and cordage were placed on the shoulders of the
tamanes, and, under a numerous military escort, were thus far advanced
on the way to Tezcuco. Sandoval dismissed a part of the Indian convoy,
Twenty thousand warriors he retained, dividing them into two equal
bodies for the protection of the tamanes in the centre. His own little
body of Spaniards be distributed in like manner. The Tlascalans in the
van marched under the command of a chief who gloried in the name of
Chichemecatl. For some reason Sandoval afterwards changed the order of
march, and placed this division in the rear,- an arrangement which
gave great umbrage to the doughty warrior that led it, who asserted
his right to the front, the place which he and his ancestors had
always occupied, as the post of danger. He was somewhat appeased by
Sandoval's assurance that it was for that very reason he had been
transferred to the rear, the quarter most likely to be assailed by the
enemy. But even then he was greatly dissatisfied, on finding that
the Spanish commander was to march by his side, grudging, it would
seem, that any other should share the laurel with himself.
Slowly and painfully, encumbered with their heavy burden, the
troops worked their way over steep eminences, and rough
mountainpasses, presenting, one might suppose in their long line of
march, many a vulnerable point to an enemy. But, although small
parties of warriors were seen hovering at times on their flanks and
rear, they kept at a respectful distance, not caring to encounter so
formidable a foe. On the fourth day the warlike caravan arrived in
safety before Tezcuco.
Their approach was beheld with joy by Cortes and the soldiers, who
hailed it as a signal of a speedy termination of the war. The general,
attended by his officers, all dressed in their richest attire, came
out to welcome the convoy. It extended over a space of two leagues,
and so slow was its progress that six hours elapsed before the closing
files had entered the city. The Tlascalan chiefs displayed their
wonted bravery of apparel, and the whole array, composed of the flower
of their warriors, made a brilliant appearance. They marched by the
sound of atabal and comet, and, as they traversed the streets of the
capital amidst the acclamations of the soldiery, they made the city
ring with the shouts of "Castile and Tlascala, long live our
sovereign, the emperor."
"It was a marvellous thing," exclaims the Conqueror, in his
letters, "that few have seen, or even heard of,- this transportation
of thirteen vessels of war on the shoulders of men, for nearly
twenty leagues across the mountains!" It was, indeed, a stupendous
achievement, and not easily matched in ancient or modern story; one
which only a genius like that of Cortes could have devised, or a
daring spirit like his have so successfully executed. Little did he
foresee, when he ordered the destruction of the fleet which first
brought him to the country, and with his usual forecast commanded
the preservation of the iron-work and rigging,- little did he
foresee the important uses for which they were to be reserved. So
important, that on their preservation may be said to have depended the
successful issue of his great enterprise.
1. "Así mismo hizo juntar todos los bastimentos que fuéron necesarios para sustentar el Exército y Guarniciones de Gente que andaban en favor de Cortés, y así hizo traer á la Ciudad de Tezcuco el Maiz que habia en las Troxes y Graneros de las Provincias sugetas al Reyno de Tezcuco." lxtlilxochitl, Hist. Chich., MS., cap. 91.
2. "No era de espantar que tuviese este recelo, porque sus Enemigos, y los de esta Ciudad eran todos Deudos y Parientes mas cercanos, mas despues el tiempo lo desengañó, y vido la gran lealtad de Ixtlilxochitl, y de todos." Ixtlilxochitl, Hist. Chich., MS., cap. 92.
3. Bernal Diaz, Hist. de la Conquista, cap. 137.
4. Ibid., ubi supra.--Ixtlilxochitl, Hist. Chich., MS., cap. 91.
5. "Los principales, que habian sido en hacerme la Guerra pasada, eran ya muertos; y que lo pasado fuesse pasado, y que no quisiessen dar causa á que destruyesse sus Tierras, y Ciudades, porque me pesaba mucho de ello." Rel. Terc. de Cortés, ap. Lorenzana, p. 193.
6. "Muriéron de ellos mas de seis mil ánimas, entre Hombres, y Mugeres, y Niños; porque los Indios nuestros Amigos, vista la Victoria, que Dios nos daba, no entendian en otra cosa, sino en matar á diestro y á siniestro." Ibid., p. 195.
7. "Estándolas quemando, pareció que Nuestro Señor me inspiró, y trujo á la memoria la Calzada, ó Presa, que habia visto rota en el Camino, y representóseme el gran daño, que era." Ibid., loc. cit.
8. "Y certifico á Vuestra Magestad, que si aquella noche no pasaramos el Agua, ó aguardaramos tres horas mas, que ninguno de nosotros escapara, porque quedabamos cercados de Agua, sin tener paso por parte ninguna." Ibid., ubi supra.
9. The general's own Letter to the Emperor is so full and precise, that it is the very best authority for this event. The story is told also by Bernal Diaz, Hist de la Conquista, cap. 138.--Oviedo, Hist. de las Ind., MS., lib. 33, cap. 18,--Ixtlilxochitl, Hist. Chich., MS., cap 92.--Herrera, Hist. General, dec. 3, lib. 1, cap. 2, et auct. aliis.
10. Lorenzana, p. 199, nota.
11. "Porque ciertamente sus antepassados les auian dicho, que auian de señorear aquellas tierras hombres que vernian con barbas de hazia donde sale el Sol, y que por las cosas que han visto, eramos nosotros." Bernal Diaz, Hist. de la Conquista, cap. 139.
12. Ibid., ubi supra.--Rel. Terc. de Cortés, ap. Lorenzana, p. 200.--Gomara, Crónica, cap. 122.--Ixtlilxochitl, Venida de los Esp., p. 15.
13. "Y certifico á Vuestra Magestad, allende de nuestro trabajo y necesidad, la mayor fatiga, que tenia, era no poder ayudar, y socorrer á los Indios nuestros Amigos, que por ser Vasallos de Vuestra Magestad, eran molestados y trabajados de los de Culúa." Rel Terc., ap. Lorenzana, p.204.
14. Ibid., pp. 204, 205.--Oviedo, Hist. de las Ind., MS., lib. 33, cap. 19.
15. Oviedo, in his admiration of his hero, breaks out into the following panegyric on his policy, prudence, and military science, which, as he truly predicts, must make his name immortal. It is a fair specimen of the manner of the sagacious old chronicler.
"Sin dubda alguna la habilidad y esfuerzo, é prudencia de Hernando Cortés mui dignas son que entre los cavalleros, é gente militar en nuestros tiempos se tengan en mucha estimacion, y en los venideros nunca se desacuerden. Por causa suya me acuerdo muchas veces de aquellas cosas que se escriven del capitan Viriato nuestro Español y Estremeño; y por Hernando Cortés me ocurren al sentido las muchas fatigas de aquel espejo de caballería Julio César dictador, como parece por sus comentarios, é por Suetonio é Plutarco é otros autores que en conformidad escriviéron los grandes hechos suyos. Pero los de Hernando Cortés en un Mundo nuevo, é tan apartadas provincias de Europa, é con tantos trabajos é necesidades é pocas fuerzas, é con gente tan innumerable, é tan bárbara é bellicosa, é apacentada en carne humana, é aun habida por excelente é sabroso manjar entre sus adversarios; é faltándole á él ó á sus mílites el pan é vino é los otros mantenimientos todos de España, y en tan diferenciadas regiones é aires é tan desviado é léjos de socorro é de su príncipe, cosas son de admiracion." Hist. de las Ind., MS., lib. 33, cap. 20.
16. Among other chiefs, to whom Guatemozin applied for assistance in the perilous state of his affairs, was Tangapan, lord of Michuacan, an independent and powerful state in the West, which had never been subdued by the Mexican army. The accounts which the Aztec emperor gave him, through his ambassadors, of the white men, were so alarming, according to Ixtlilxochitl, who tells the story, that the king's sister voluntarily starved herself to death, from her apprehensions of the coming of the terrible strangers. Her body was deposited, as usual, in the vaults reserved for the royal household, until preparations could be made for its being burnt. On the fourth day, the attendants, who had charge of it, were astounded by seeing the corpse exhibit signs of returning life. The restored princess, recovering her speech, requested her brother's presence. On his coming, she implored him not to think of hurting a hair of the heads of the mysterious visitors. She had been permitted, she said, to see the fate of the departed in the next world. The souls of all her ancestors she had beheld tossing about in unquenchable fire; while those who embraced the faith of the strangers were in glory. As a proof of the truth of her assertion, she added, that her brother would see, on a great festival, near at hand, a young warrior, armed with a torch brighter than the sun, in one hand, and a flaming sword, like that worn by the white men, in the other, passing from east to west over the city.
Whether the monarch waited for the vision, or ever beheld it, is not told us by the historian. But relying, perhaps, on the miracle of her resurrection, as quite a sufficient voucher, he disbanded a very powerful force, which he had assembled on the plains of Avalos, for the support of his brother of Mexico.
This narrative, with abundance of supernumerary incidents, not necessary to repeat, was commemorated in the Michuacan picture-records, and reported to the historian of Tezcuco himself, by the grandson of Tangapan. (See Ixtlilxochitl, Hist. Chich., MS., cap. 91.)--Whoever reported it to him, it is not difficult to trace the same pious fingers in it, which made so
many wholesome legends for the good of the Church on the Old Continent, and which now found, in the credulity of the New, a rich harvest for the same godly work.
17. "Aquí estuvo preso el sin ventura de Jua Iuste co otros muchos que traia en mi compañía." Bernal Diaz, Hist. de la Conquista, cap. 140.
18. Ibid., ubi supra.--Oviedo, Hist. de las Ind., MS., lib. 33, cap. 19.--Rel. Terc. de Cortés, ap. Lorenzana, p. 206.
19. "Y despues de hechos por órden de Cortés, y probados en el rio que llaman de Tlaxcalla Zahuapan, que se atajó para probarlos los bergantines, y los tornáron á desbaratar por llevarlos á cuestas sobre hombros de los de Tlaxcala á la ciudad de Tetzcuco, donde se echáron en la laguna, y se armáron de artillería y municion." Camargo, Hist. de Tlascala, MS.
20. Rel. Terc. de Cortés, ap. Lorenzana, p. 207.
Bernal Diaz says sixteen thousand. (Ibid., ubi supra.) There is a wonderful agreement between the several Castilian writers as to the number of forces, the order of march, and the events that occurred on it.
21. "Estendíase tanto la Gente, que dende que los primeros comenzáron á entrar, hasta que los postreros hobiéron acabado, se pasáron mas de seis horas; sin quebrar el hilo de la Gente." Rel. Terc. de Cortés, ap. Lorenzana, p. 208.
22. "Dando vozes y silvos y diziendo: Viua, viua el Emperador, nuestro Señor, y Castilla, Castilla, y Tlascala, Tlascala." (Bernal Diaz, Hist. de la Conquista, cap. 140.) For the particulars of Sandoval's expedition, see, also, Oviedo, Hist. de las Ind., MS., lib. 33, cap. 19,--Gomara, Crónica, cap. 124,--Torquemada, Monarch. Ind., lib. 4, cap. 84,--Ixtlilxochitl, Hist. Chich., MS., cap. 92,--Herrera, Hist. General, dec. 3, lib. 1, cap. 2.
23. "Que era cosa maravillosa de ver, y assí me parece que es de oir, llevar trece Fustas diez y ocho leguas por Tierra." (Rel. Terc. de Cortés, ap. Lorenzana, p. 207.) "En rem Romano populo," exclaims Martyr, "quando illustrius res illorum vigebant, non facilem!" De Orbe Novo, dec. 5, cap. 8.
24. Two memorable examples of a similar transportation of vessels across the land are recorded, the one in ancient, the other in modern history; and both, singularly enough, at the same place, Tarentum, in Italy. The first occurred at the siege of that city by Hannibal; (see Polybius, lib. 8;) the latter some seventeen centuries later, by the Great Captain, Gonsalvo de Cordova. But the distance they were transported was inconsiderable. A more analogous example is that of Balboa, the bold discoverer of the Pacific. He made arrangements to have four brigantines transported a distance of twenty-two leagues across the Isthmus of Darien, a stupendous labor, and not entirely successful, as only two reached their point of destination. (See Herrera, Hist. General, dec. 2, lib. 2, cap. 11.) This took place in 1516, in the neighborhood, as it were, of Cortés, and may have suggested to his enterprising spirit the first idea of his own more successful, as well as more extensive, undertaking.
25. "Y ellos me dijéron, que trahian deseo de se ver con los de Culúa, y que viesse lo que mandaba, que ellos, y aquella Gente venian con deseos, y voluntad de se vengar, ó morir con nosotros; y yo les dí las gracias, y les dije, que reposassen, y que presto les daria las manos llenas." Rel. Terc., ap. Lorenzana, p. 208.
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