CHAPTER X.
PARLEY TELLS OF THE CONQUEST OF MEXICO.
Not long after this another expedition sailed from Cuba, under the command of Cordova, to make further discoveries on the new continent.
The first land they saw proved to be the eastern cape of that large peninsula which you see in the map projecting into the gulf of Mexico, and which still retains its original name of Yucatan.
As they approached the shore, five canoes came off full of people decently clad in cotton garments; this excited the wonder of the Spaniards, who had found every other part they had yet visited, possessed by naked savages.
Cordova endeavoured to gain their good-will by presents, but perceived they were preparing to attack him; and, as his water began to fail, he sailed further along the coast in hopes of procuring a supply, but not a single river did he find all along that coast till he came to Potonchon, in the bay of Campeachy, which is on the western side of the peninsula.
Here Cordova landed all his troops, in order to protect the sailors while filing their casks; but, notwithstanding, the natives rushed down upon them with such fury and in such numbers, that forty-seven of the Spaniards were killed upon the spot, and one man only of the whole body escaped unhurt.
Cordova, though wounded in twelve places, led off his wounded men with great presence of mind and fortitude, and with much difficulty they reached their ships, and hastened back to Cuba. Cordova died of his wounds soon after his arrival.
Notwithstanding the ill success of this expedition, another was shortly after fitted out under the command of Grijalva, a young man of known merit and courage. He directed his course to the bay of Campeachy, to the part from which Cordova had returned, and as they advanced they saw many villages scattered along the coast, in which they could distinguish houses of stone that appeared white and lofty at a distance.
In the warmth of their admiration, they fancied these to be cities, adorned with towers and pinnacles; and one of the soldiers happening to remark that this country resembled Spain in appearance, Grijalva, with universal applause, called it New Spain; the name which still distinguishes this extensive and opulent province of the Spanish dominions.
They landed to the west of Tabasco, where they were received with the respect due to superior beings; the people perfumed them as they landed with incense of gum copal, and presented to them offerings of the choicest delicacies of their country.
They were extremely fond of trading with their new visitants, and in six days, the Spaniards obtained ornaments of gold, and of curious workmanship, to the amount of fifteen thousand pesoes, an immense sum, in exchange for European toys of small price.
They learned from the natives that they were the subjects of a great monarch, whose dominions extended over that and many other provinces.
Grijalva now returned with a full account of the important discoveries he had made, and with all the treasure he had acquired by trafficking with the natives.
The favourable account of New Spain brought by Grijalva, determined Velasquez, the governor of Cuba, seriously to undertake the conquest of that country, but as he did not wish to take the command himself, he endeavoured to find a person who would act under his directions.
After much deliberation he fixed upon Fernando Cortez, a man of restless and ardent spirit, on whom he had conferred many benefits; but these Cortez soon forgot, and was no sooner invested with the command than he threw off the authority of Velasquez altogether.
The greatest force that could be collected for the conquest of a great empire, amounted to no more than five hundred and eight men, only thirteen of whom were armed with muskets; thirty-two were cross-bowmen, and the rest had swords and spears; they had only sixteen horses, and ten small field-pieces.
With such a slender and ill provided force did Cortez set sail to make war upon a monarch whose dominions were more extensive than all the kingdoms subject to the Spanish crown.
On his voyage Cortez first landed on the island of Cozumel, where he redeemed from slavery Jerome de Aguilar, a Spaniard, who had been eight years a prisoner among the Indians, and having learned the Yucatan language (which is spoken in all those parts), proved afterwards extremely useful as an interpreter.
He then proceeded to the river of Tabasco, where the disposition of the natives proved very hostile, and they showed the most determined resistance; but the noise of the artillery, the appearances of the floating fortresses which brought the Spaniards over the ocean, and the horses on which they fought, all new objects to the natives, inspired them with astonishment mingled with terror; they regarded the Spaniards as gods, and sent them supplies of provisions, with a present of some gold and twenty female slaves.
Cortez here learned that the native sovereign, who was called Montezuma, reigned over an extensive empire, and that thirty vassals, called caziques, obeyed him; that his riches were immense, and his power absolute. No more was necessary to inflame the ambition of Cortez, and the avarice of his followers.
He then proceeded along the coast till he came to St. Juan de Ulua, where, having laid the foundation of Vera Cruz, he caused himself to be elected Captain-general of the new colony.
Here he was visited by two native caziques, whose names were Teutile and Pilpatoe, who entered his camp with a numerous retinue, and informed him that they were persons entrusted with the government of that province by a great monarch, whom they called Montezuma, and that they were sent to inquire what his intentions were in visiting their coast, and to offer him what assistance he might need.
Cortez received them with much formal ceremony, and informed them that he came from Don Carlos of Austria, the greatest monarch of all the east, with propositions of such moment, that he could impart them to none but the emperor himself; and requested them to conduct him, without loss of time, into the presence of their master.
Messengers were immediately despatched to Montezuma, with a full account of everything that had passed.
The Mexican monarch, in order to obtain early information, had couriers posted along the road, and the intelligence was conveyed by a very curious contrivance called picture writing, persons being employed to represent, in a series of pictures, everything that passed, which was the Mexican mode of writing: Teutile and Pilpatoe were employed to deliver the answer of their master, but as they knew how repugnant it was to the wishes and schemes of the Spanish commander, they would not make it known till they had first endeavoured to soothe and pacify him. For this purpose they introduced a train of a hundred Indians loaded with presents sent to him by Montezuma.
The magnificence of these far exceeded any idea which the Spaniards had formed of his wealth.
They were placed on mats spread on the ground, in such order as showed them to the greatest advantage. Cortez and his officers viewed with admiration the various manufactures of the country. Cotton stuffs so fine as to resemble silk. Pictures of animals, trees, and other natural objects, formed with feathers of different colours, disposed with such skill and elegance, as to resemble, in truth and beauty of imitation, the finest paintings. But what chiefly attracted their eyes were two large plates of circular form; one of massive gold, representing the sun, the other of silver, an emblem of the moon. These were accompanied with bracelets, collars, rings, and other trinkets of gold, and with several boxes filed with pearls, precious stones, and grains of gold unwrought, as they had been found in the mines or rivers.
Cortez received all these with an appearance of profound respect for the monarch by whom they were bestowed; but when the Mexican informed him that their master would not give his consent that foreign troops should approach nearer to his capital, or even allow them to continue longer in his dominions, the Spanish general declared that he must insist on his first demand, as he could not, without dishonour, return to his own country until he was admitted into the presence of the princes whom he was appointed by his sovereign to visit.
He first caused all his vessels to be burnt, in order to cut off the possibility of retreat, and to show his soldiers that they must either conquer or perish. He then penetrated into the interior of the country, drew to his camp several caziques, hostile to Montezuma, and induced these native princes to assist him.
After surmounting every obstacle he arrived with his army in sight of the immense lake on which was built the city of Mexico, the capital of the empire.
In descending from the mountains of Chalco, the vast plain of Mexico opened gradually to their view, displaying a prospect the most striking and beautiful: fertile and cultivated fields, stretched out further than the eye could reach, a lake resembling the sea in extent, encompassed with large towns, and the capital city rising upon an island, adorned with temples and turrets.
Many messengers arrived one after another from Montezuma, one day permitting them to advance, on the next requiring them to retire, as his hopes or fears alternately prevailed, and so wonderful was his infatuation that Cortez was almost at the gates of the capital before the monarch had determined whether to receive him as a friend or oppose him as an enemy, but as no signs of hostility appeared, the Spaniards continued their march along the causeway which led to Mexico through the lake with great circumspection, though without seeming to suspect the prince whom they were about to visit.
When they drew near the city, about a thousand persons who appeared to be of distinction, came out to meet them, adorned with plumes and clad in mantles of fine cotton.
Each of these as they passed Cortez, saluted him according to the mode of their country; they announced the approach of Montezuma himself, and soon his harbingers came in sight.
There appeared first two hundred persons in uniform dresses, with large plumes of feathers, marching two and two in deep silence, barefooted, with their eyes fixed on the ground.
Then followed a company of higher rank, in their most shewy apparel. In the midst of these was Montezuma, in a chair or litter, richly ornamented with gold and feathers of various colours. Four of his principal favourites carried him on their shoulders; others supported a canopy of curious workmanship over his head: before him marched three officers with rods of gold in their hands, which they lifted on high at certain intervals.
At that signal all the people bowed their heads and hid their faces, as unworthy to look on so great a monarch.
When he drew near, Cortez dismounted advancing towards him in respectful posture; at the same time Montezuma alighted from his chair, and leaning on the arm of two of his nearest relations, approached him with a slow and stately pace, his attendants covering the way with cotton cloths, that he might not touch the ground.
Cortez accosted him with profound reverence, after the European fashion. He returned the salutation, according to the mode of his country, by touching the earth with his hand and then kissing it.
This condescension, in so proud a monarch, made all his subjects believe that the Spaniards were something more than human.
Montezuma conducted Cortez to the quarters which he had ordered for his reception, and immediately took his leave, with a politeness not unworthy of a court more refined.
"You are now," said he, "with your brothers, in your own house: refresh yourselves after your fatigue, and be happy until I return."
The place a lotted for the Spaniards was a magnificent palace built by the father of Montezuma. It was surrounded by a stone wall with towers, and its apartments and courts were so large as to accommodate both the Spaniards and their Indian allies.
The first care of Cortez was to take precautions for his security, by planting artillery so as to command the different avenues which led to it, and posting sentinels at proper stations, with orders to observe the greatest vigilance.
In the evening Montezuma returned to visit his guests, with the same pomp as in their first interview, and brought presents of great value not only to Cortez and his officers, but even to the private men. Along conference ensued, in which Cortez, in his usual style, magnified the power and dignity of his sovereign.
Next morning Cortez and some of his principal attendants were admitted to a public audience of the emperor; the three following days were employed in viewing the city, the appearance of which was so far superior to any place the Spaniards had beheld in America, and yet so little resembling the structure of an European city, that it filed them with surprise and admiration.
Mexico, or Tenuchtitlan, as it was anciently called, is situated on some small islands, near one side of a large lake, which is ninety miles in circumference. The access to the city was by artificial causeways or streets, formed of stones and earth, about thirty feet in breadth. These causeways were of considerable length: that on the west extended a mile and a half; that on the north-west three miles, and that towards the south six miles. On the east, the city could only be approached by canoes.
Not only the temples of their Gods, but the palaces belonging to the monarch, and to persons of distinction, were of such dimensions that they might be termed magnificent.
But, however the Spaniards might be amused or astonished at these objects, they felt the utmost anxiety with respect to their situation.
They had been allowed to penetrate into the heart of a powerful kingdom, and were now lodged in its capital without having once met with open opposition from its monarch; but they had pushed forward into a situation where it was difficult to continue, and from which it was impossible to retire without disgrace and ruin.
They could not, however, doubt of the hostility of the Mexicans, more especially as, on his march, Cortez received advice from Vera Cruz, where he had left a garrison, that a Mexican general had marched to attack the rebels whom the Spaniards had encouraged to revolt against Montezuma, and that the commander of the garrison had marched out with some of his troops to support the rebels, that an engagement had ensued, in which, though the Spaniards were victorious, the Spanish general with seven of his men, had been mortally wounded, his horse killed, and one Spaniard taken alive, and that the head of his unfortunate captive had been sent to Mexico, after being carried in triumph to different cities in order to convince the people that their invaders were not immortal.
In this trying situation, he fixed upon a plan no less extraordinary than daring; he determined to seize Montezuma in his palace and to carry him a prisoner to the Spanish quarters. This he immediately proposed to his officers, who, as it was the only resource in which there appeared any safety, warmly approved of it, and it was agreed instantly to make the attempt.
At his usual hour of visiting Montezuma, Cortez went to the palace, accompanied by five of his principal officers, and as many trusty soldiers; thirty chosen men followed, not in regular order, but sauntering at some distance, as if they had no object but curiosity: the remainder of his troops continued under arms, ready to sally out on the first alarm.
Cortez and his attendants were admitted without suspicion, the Mexicans retiring, as usual, out of respect.
He now addressed the monarch in a tone very different from that which he had employed on former occasions, and a conversation ensued, very much resembling that between the wolf and the lamb, in the fable, which you no doubt remember.
Cortez bitterly reproached him as the author of the violent assault made by the Mexican general upon the Spaniards, and with having caused the death of some of his companions.
Montezuma, with great earnestness, asserted his innocence, but Cortez affected not to believe him, and proposed that, as a proof of his sincerity, he should remove from his own palace, and take up his residence in the Spanish quarters.
The first mention of so strange a proposal almost bereaved Montezuma of speech; at length he haughtily answered "That persons of his rank were not accustomed voluntarily to give themselves up as prisoners, and were he mean enough to do so, his subjects would not permit such an affront to be offered to their sovereign."
Cortez now endeavoured to soothe, and then to intimidate him, and in this way the altercation continued three hours, when Velasquez de leon, an impetuous young man exclaimed, "Why waste more time in vain? let us seize him instantly, or stab him to the heart." The threatening voice and fierce gesture with which these words were uttered, struck Montezuma with a sense of his danger, and abandoning himself to his fate, he complied with their request: his officers were called, he communicated to them his resolution. Though astonished and affected, they presumed not to question the will of their master, but carried him in silent pomp, all bathed in tears, to the Spanish quarters.
Cortez at first pretended to treat Montezuma with great respect, but soon took care to let him know that he was entirely in his power. Being thus master of the person of the monarch, he demanded that the Mexican general who had attacked the Spaniards, his son, and five of the principal officers who served under him, should be brought prisoners to Mexico, and delivered into his hands.
As Cortez wished that the shedding the blood of a Spaniard should appear the most heinous crime that could be committed, he then ordered these brave men, who had only acted as became loyal subjects in opposing the invaders of their country, to be burnt alive, before the gates of the imperial palace.
The unhappy victims were led forth, and laid on a pile composed of the weapons collected in the royal magazine for the public defence.
During this cruel execution, Cortez entered the apartments of Montezuma, and caused him to be loaded with irons, in order to force him to acknowledge himself a vassal of the king of Spain. The unhappy prince yielded, and was restored to a semblance of liberty on presenting the fierce conqueror with six hundred thousand marks of pure gold, and a prodigious quantity of precious stones.
The Mexicans driven to desperation, all at once flew to arms, and made so sudden and violent an attack that all the valour and skill of Cortez was scarcely sufficient to repel them.
The Spaniards now found themselves enclosed in a hostile city, the whole population of which was exasperated to the highest pitch against them, and without some extraordinary exertion they were inevitably undone. Cortez therefore made a desperate sally, but after exerting his utmost efforts for a whole day, was obliged to retreat to his quarters with the loss of twelve men killed, and upwards of sixty wounded; Cortez himself was wounded in the hand.
The Spanish general now betook himself to the only resource which was left, namely, to try what effect the interposition of Montezuma would have to soothe and overawe his subjects.
When the Mexicans approached next morning to renew the assault, that unfortunate prince, who was now reduced to the sad necessity of becoming the instrument of his own disgrace, and of the slavery of his people, advanced to the battlements in his royal robes, and with all the pomp in which he used to appear on solemn occasions. At the sight of their sovereign, whom they had long been accustomed to reverence almost as a god, the Mexicans instantly forebore their hostilities; and many prostrated themselves on the ground; but when he addressed them in favour of the Spaniards, and made use of all the arguments he could think of to mitigate their rage, they testified their resentment with loud murmurings, and at length broke forth with such fury, that before the soldiers appointed to guard Montezuma had time to cover him with their shields, he was wounded with two arrows and a blow on the temple with a stone struck him to the ground.
On seeing him fall, the Mexicans instantly fled with the utmost precipitation, and Montezuma was conveyed to his apartments, whither Cortez followed in order to console him; but as the unhappy monarch now perceived that he was become an object of contempt even to his own subjects, his haughty spirit revived, and scorning to prolong his life after this last humiliation, he tore the bandages from his wounds, in a transport of rage, and refusing to take any nourishment, he soon ended his wretched days; refusing with disdain all the solicitations of the Spaniards to embrace the Christian faith.
The Mexicans having chosen his son Guatimozin emperor, attacked the head quarters of Cortez with the utmost fury, and, in spite of the advantages of fire-arms, forced the Spaniards to retire, which alone saved them from destruction. Their rear guard was cut to pieces, and suffered severely during the retreat, which lasted six days.
The Spaniards, however, having received fresh troops from Spain, defeated the Mexicans, and took Guatimozin prisoner, and in the end succeeded in totally subjugating this vast empire.
Guatimozin, before he was taken prisoner, being aware of his impending fate, had ordered all his treasures to be thrown into the lake, and he was now put to the torture, on suspicion of having concealed his treasure. This was done by laying him on burning coals; but he bore whatever the cruelty of his tormentors could inflict, with the invincible fortitude of an American warrior. One of his chief favourites, his fellow sufferer, being overcome by the violence of the anguish, turned a dejected eye towards his master, which seemed to implore his permission to reveal all he knew. But the high spirited prince darted on him a look of authority mingled with scorn, and checked his weakness by asking, "Am I reposing on a bed of flowers?"
Overawed by the reproach, he persevered in dutiful silence and expired.
Cortes, utterly regardless of what crimes and cruelties he committed, added largely to the Spanish territory and revenue. But Spain was always ungrateful. Pizarro was murdered; Columbus died of a broken heart, and Balboa the death of a felon; so what could Cortez expect? He fell into neglect and poverty when his work was done. One day he forced his way through the crowd that had collected about the carriage of the sovereign, mounted the door-step, and looked in. Astonished at so gross a breach of etiquette, the monarch demanded to know who he was? "I am a man," replied Cortez, "who has given you more provinces than your ancestors left you cities!"