THE HERO OF THE CONQUEST.
BIRTHPLACE OF HERNAN CORTÉS—HIS COMING COMPENSATORY FOR
THE DEVIL-SENT LUTHER—PARENTAGE—HERNAN A SICKLY CHILD—SAINT
PETER HIS PATRON—HE IS SENT TO SALAMANCA—RETURNS HOME—THINKS
OF CÓRDOBA AND ITALY—AND OF OVANDO AND THE INDIES—CHOOSES
THE LATTER—NARROW ESCAPE DURING A LOVE INTRIGUE—OVANDO
SAILS WITHOUT HIM—CORTÉS GOES TO VALENCIA—IS THERE
ILL—RETURNS HOME—FINALLY SAILS FOR THE INDIES—HIS RECEPTION
AT SANTO DOMINGO—HE FIGHTS INDIANS UNDER VELAZQUEZ, AND
IS GIVEN AN ENCOMIENDA—GOES TO CUBA WITH VELAZQUEZ—MAKES
LOVE TO CATALINA SUAREZ—BUT DECLINES TO MARRY—VELAZQUEZ
INSISTS—CORTÉS REBELS—SEIZURES, IMPRISONMENTS, ESCAPES, AND
RECONCILIATION.
Let us now look into the life of this Cuban magistrate, so suddenly
raised to prominence.
Medellin, a small town of Estremadura, Spain, was the birthplace of
Hernan Cortés, and 1485 the year in which he was born—miraculously
born, as Mendieta and others believe, and perhaps by way of
compensation for the appearing about this time of Martin Luther.[54]
The shade of Montezuma, peradventure, might deny that his was the
advent of a new Messiah, though the deluded monarch, at the first,
sorrowfully hailed him as such. The father, Martin Cortés y Monroy,
was of that poor but prolific class who filled Spain toward the close
of the Moorish wars, and who, although nothing in particular, were
nevertheless permitted to call themselves hidalgos, sons of something.
Some give him the title of escudero, others place him still higher in
the scale of fighting men. The mother, Catalina Pizarro y Altamirano,
likewise, with poverty, claimed noble blood.[55]
Hernan was a sickly child, and probably would have died had not his
good nurse, María de Estévan, secured in his behalf Saint Peter,
thenceforth his patron.[56] With his mother’s milk he drank courage[57]
and intelligence, and he was schooled in the virtues and the vices
of the day. In his youth he was headstrong, but chivalrous, and he
revelled in his superiority over other boys. The brain-ferment, chronic
throughout his life, set in at an early day. He was keenly sensitive
to disgrace. As he developed somewhat of archness and duplicity,
he was deemed best fitted for the profession of the law. At the
age of fourteen, accordingly, with such preparation as the slender
means of the father would allow, he was sent to Salamanca, whose
university, though past the zenith of its fame, was still the leading
seat of learning for conservative Spain. Two years of restraint and
intellectual drudgery, during which time he lived with his father’s
brother-in-law, Nuñez de Valera, sufficed to send him home surfeited
with learning, to the great disappointment of his family.[58] A
frolicsome and somewhat turbulent disposition, more marked since his
college career than previously, made his return all the more unwelcome.
Not that his studies, despite his aversion to them, had been wholly
neglected; he could boast a smatter of Latin, which indeed proved
of advantage afterward, giving him influence over many of those with
whom he associated. He had also acquired some knowledge of rhetoric,
as is manifest in his letters and occasional verses.[59] At present,
however, his intellectual talents were employed only in scribbling
rhymes in aid of amorous intrigues, which were now his chief pursuit.
Hence when arms possessed his fancy the parents did not repine, but
were only too glad for him to enter service, as he seemed inclined,
under the Gran Capitan, who was just then alluring to his standard
the chivalry of Spain by brilliant achievements in Italy. There was,
however, the glitter of gold in the Indies, and the appointment of
Nicolás de Ovando,[60] as governor, turned the youth’s vacillating
mind in that direction.
Cortés had concluded to accompany the new governor, when one night,
just before the sailing of the fleet, an accident intervened. While
engaged in one of his intrigues he had occasion to climb a courtyard
wall to gain the lady’s apartment. The wall crumbling beneath his
weight threw him to the ground, and the noise brought to the door
of an adjoining house a blustering Benedick, who, perceiving the
situation of the gallant, and suspecting his own newly made wife,
drew the sword with bloody intent. At the prayer of the suspected
wife’s mother, however, the husband suspended vengeance. Before the
scapegrace recovered from a fever brought on by the bruises received
in this fall, the fleet of Ovando had sailed.
After this, Cortés thought again of Italy, and went to Valencia to
place himself under Córdoba, but once more illness overtook him, this
time accompanied by destitution, and he returned to Medellin somewhat
sobered.[61] Thus another year was idled away; but notwithstanding
his follies, the youthful cavalier, who was now nineteen, displayed
many fine qualities. As he approached manhood his health improved, and
form and features became more pleasing. Though proud in his bearing,
and of quick perceptions, and high-spirited in temper, he sought to
school his tongue, and to practise discretion in the use of his sword.
Native to him were generosity and amiability. The qualities of his
heart were noble; the vices were those of his time and station. Yet
he lacked the moral fibre which should be interwoven with the good
impulses of every rich, sensitive nature, and this want could not be
made up by repeating prayers and singing psalms, wherein Gomara
describes him as efficient.
The pinching economy to which Cortés was reduced made his present
frequent visions of the Indies appear only the brighter; and when,
in 1504, a fleet of five ships was announced to sail for Española,
he determined to delay no longer. With little else than his father’s
blessing he proceeded to Seville, and took passage with Alonso
Quintero, master of one of the vessels, who fancied himself shrewder
than other men, and shrewder than he was. Thinking to overreach his
brother captains in whose company he sailed, and to secure at Española
the first market for his merchandise, he stole forth one night from
the Canary Isles, where the squadron had touched for supplies. A gale
dismasted his vessel on reaching the open sea, and sent him back
to port. The others agreed to await his repairs, which generosity
Quintero repaid by seeking a second time to take advantage of them
by going before, and his treachery was a second time punished by
the winds, aided, indeed, by the pilot, who was at enmity with the
captain, and who threw the ship from her course during the night so
that the reckoning was lost. The usual sufferings are related; and,
in answer to prayer, we are told of a miraculous interposition. On
Good Friday, when all hope had been abandoned, there was seen poised
above the ship a dove, which presently dropped down and rested on
the mast.[62] However this might have been, we are credibly informed
that the wind subsided and the ship proceeded on her voyage. Finally,
on reaching his destination, Quintero found the other ships snugly
riding at anchor, their cargoes having been profitably disposed of
several days before.
The governor being absent, his secretary, Medina, received Cortés
kindly, and pointed him the common highway to fortune. “Register
yourself a citizen,” he said. “Promise not to leave the island for
five years, and you shall have lands and Indians; after the expiration
of your time you may go where you choose.” Cortés answered: “I want
gold, not work; and neither in this island nor in any other place will
I promise to remain so long.” He thought better of it, however, and on
the return of Ovando he presented himself, and was induced to settle.
Not long after an Indian revolt called Diego Velazquez, lieutenant of
Ovando, into the field, and Cortés hastened to join the expedition.
The coolness and ability displayed in this short campaign won for him
the admiration and esteem alike of chief and comrades.[63] His reward
was an encomienda of Indians in the Daiguao country, together with
the notaryship of the new town of Azua. For the next six years he was
occupied in husbandry and in official pursuits, varied by military
exploits and love intrigues which kept his sword from rusting and
gave him wounds which he carried through life. An abscess under the
right knee, a most lucky affliction, alone prevented his joining the
ill-fated expedition of Nicuesa to Veragua.[64]
On assuming the direction of New World affairs as governor, in place
of Ovando, Diego Colon in 1511 fitted out an expedition against Cuba,
and gave the command to Velazquez, who appointed Cortés his adviser and
executive officer,[65] a position which the latter gladly accepted,
deprived as he was of his patron Ovando, and heartily tired of the
monotony of Española. Still hidden beneath a careless exterior were the
deeper qualities of his nature, and there were yet six other years,
and more of ordinary business and pleasure, before the appearance of
earnest thought or great self-reliance.[66] Meanwhile Spanish women
were not numerous in the Indies, and rivalry for their favors was
great. Cortés had escaped with light punishment many gallantries, but
he had not been settled long in Cuba before he found a more serious
case upon his hands.
Among those who had settled in Cuba was a family from Granada, Suarez
by name, consisting of a widow, her son Juan, and three daughters,
remarkable for their beauty. They had come with the vireyna María
de Toledo, and Gomara is so ungallant as to say that their object was to
secure rich husbands.[67] Scores of hearts are laid at their feet, but
the marriage obligation is evaded by the more promising men of the
colony, for the Suarez family has a somewhat clouded reputation. In
one of them Velazquez takes a tender interest;, some say he marries
her.[68] Cortés fancies another; Catalina is her name; he trifles with
her affections, obtains her favors, promises her marriage, and then
seeks to evade the issue. The brother petitions the virtuous governor,
who cannot see the sister of his love thus wronged. Velazquez orders
Cortés to marry Catalina. The cavalier refuses. Enmity arises between
the two men, and without difficulty Cortés is persuaded by certain
disaffected to join a cabal against the governor. Nocturnal meetings
are held at the house of Cortés; and when it is determined to lay
their fancied grievances before the authorities at Santo Domingo,
Cortés is chosen bearer of the complaints.[69] As he is about to
embark on his perilous mission, to traverse in an open boat eighteen
leagues of open ocean, the governor hears of it, seizes the envoy,
and sends him in chains to the fortress. His partisans are likewise
imprisoned, and active in preferring charges against them are Bermudez,
the two Velazquez, Villegas, and Juan Suarez. Friends intercede and
prevent immediate hanging.[70] Cortés resolves on escape. With some
difficulty he extricates himself from his fetters, seizes the sword
of the sleeping guard, forces the window, and dropping to the ground
takes refuge in the church.[71] Velazquez, enraged at the escape,
yet not daring to violate the privilege of sanctuary, resorts to
artifice. Introducing some soldiers into the chapel through a small
door in the rear, the blushing Catalina is stationed at a distance
before the sacred edifice as a decoy. The lover sees her; the dear
girl wishes to speak with him, but her maidenly modesty forbids her
nearer approach. Cortés rushes forward to clasp her in his arms,
only to be seized from behind, and placed under a strong guard in
the hold of a vessel bound for Española, where, in company with the
other conspirators, he is to undergo trial.[72]
Sympathy for Cortés increases with his misfortunes, and aid is
furnished for a second escape. The shackles are removed, and
exchanging clothes with an attendant, he mounts the upper deck,[73]
strolls carelessly about watching his opportunity until he gains
the skiff; then cutting loose the boat of another vessel near by, to
prevent pursuit, he pulls lustily toward Baracoa. The boat becomes
unmanageable, he plunges into the water, swims ashore, and once more
gains the sanctuary.[74]
Cortés was sensible enough now to perceive that he had involved
himself more deeply than a trifling love affair would justify, and
that possibly he might best rid himself of the charming Catalina
by marrying her. Once determined on this course, he called to him
the brother, Juan Suarez, and informed him of his doleful resolve.
Meanwhile the constant importunities of powerful friends, and the
need of Cortés’ services in an Indian outbreak, induced Velazquez
to make overtures of reconciliation; but Cortés met him in a haughty
spirit, and surrounding the church with a guard he went his way to the
wars. Notwithstanding the cavalier had made up his mind to drink the
marriage-draught, he would none of the governor in it; or if he must,
the reconciliation should be accomplished after his own fashion. No
sooner had the governor departed than Cortés directed Juan Suarez,
with lance and cross-bow, to await him at a certain place. Escaping
the guard during the night, Cortés joined Suarez, and proceeded to
the plantation where Velazquez was quartered. The governor, who was
engaged in looking over some books of accounts, was not a little
startled when Cortés knocked at the open door and entered. “Is it
murder the man means with arms in his hands, and at this hour?”
was his thought, as he gave the visitor a nervous welcome. “Command
that no one come near me!” exclaimed Cortés, “else I will put this
pike through him. And now, if my excellent and brave captain, Señor
Velazquez, has aught against me, let him speak. I am here to answer.”
So sweet was the mutual forgiveness that followed, that in the morning
the two gentlemen were found occupying the same bed.[75] Not long
after Cortés married Catalina, and jointly with his brother-in-law
received an encomienda of Manicarao Indians. Like a brave cavalier
he put the best face possible on the inevitable, and vowed he was as
pleased with his bride as if she had been a duchess.[76] Velazquez
stood godfather to a child born to them, and thenceforth addressed
Cortés by the intimate term compadre,[77] investing him afterward with
the staff of alcalde at Santiago de Cuba.[78] For a time, however, he
remained at Baracoa, where the preceding events occurred, and beside
mining he was one of the first upon the island to engage in stock
raising. Thus by diligence and judicious investments he was enabled
to rise from poverty, as well as from profligacy, and to stand ready
to embrace the golden opportunity fortune was now about to offer him.
The soft white snow gently dropped upon the mountain top is forged
by alternate thawings and freezings into hard, rasping glaciers.
FOOTNOTES
[54] Indeed, to make the miracle perfect in all its details,
a little warping of the facts is perhaps allowable. So
when the zealous chroniclers bring into the world the same
year, the same day, even the self-same hour, these two
great champions for the souls of men, we should not be too
critical, though in truth there were two years difference
in their ages. ‘Y así, no carece de misterio que el mismo
año que Lutero nació en Islebio,’ that is to say Eisleben,
‘villa de Sajonia, nació Hernando Cortés en Medellin, villa
de España; aquel para turbar el mundo y meter debajo de la
bandera del demonio a muchos de los fieles que de padres y
abuelos y muchos tiempos atras eran católicos, y este para
traer al gremio de la Iglesia infinita multitud de gentes
que por años sin cuento habian estado debajo del poder de
Satanás envueltos en vicios y ciegos con la idolatría.’
_Mendieta_, _Hist. Ecles._, 174-5. Pizarro y Orellana will
not be outdone by any one in zeal or mendacity. ‘Nació este
Ilustre Varon el dia mismo que aquella bestia infernal,
el Perfido Heresiarca Lutero, salió al mundo.’ _Varones
Ilvstres_, 66. Bernal Diaz is the first authority on the
question of age. ‘En el año que passamos con Cortés dende
Cuba,’ he writes _Hist. Verdad._, 238, ‘a la Nueva España,
fue el de quinientos y diez y nueue años, y entonces
solia dezir estando en conversacion de todos nosotros los
compañeros que con él passamos, que auia treynta y quatro
años, y veynte y ocho que auian passado hasta que murio,
que son sesenta y dos años.’ While agreeing with Bernal
Diaz in the date of Cortés’ death, December 2, 1547, Gomara says
he was then sixty-three. From his false premise Mendieta
elaborates a comparison between Luther and Cortés, dwelling
with pious pathos on the holocaust of human victims offered
up at the consecration of the great Aztec temple at Mexico,
which deed, he coolly states, was committed on the day
Cortés was born. For the facts, see _Bancroft’s Native
Races_, v. 5, 439-40. Without taking the trouble to test
Mendieta’s statement, Torquemada, i. 340-1, carries the
miraculous still further. Following the heaven-descended
Cortés in his piratical raid on Mexico, he sees the hand of
God in the finding of Aguilar, who, like Aaron, was to be
the mouthpiece of his chief, in the alliances with native
states, and in the great victories and hair-breadth escapes
of the conqueror, fighting under the banner of the cross.
[55] According to the _Testimonio de Hidalguia de Cortés_,
in _Col. Doc. Inéd._, iv. 238-9, the names of the mother’s
parents were Diego Altamirano and Leonor Sanchez Pizarro,
which would reverse her surnames, and make the son a Cortés y
Altamirano. But Gomara, _De Rebus Gestis Ferdinandi Cortesii_, and
other authorities, do not accept this form. This important
document, however, the _Testimonio_, establishes the fact
that both parents were hidalgos, ‘gozando de los oficios
que gozan los hijosdalgo en ... Medellin.’ Some historians
strain themselves to make Cortés the scion of a Roman
family, or even of a king of Lombardy and Tuscany, whose
descendants entered Spain during Gothic rule. Those who
have tastes in that direction may consult _Siculus_, _Viris
Illust._, 141; _Anales de Aragon_, iii. xiv.; _Pizarro y
Orellana, Varones Ilvstres_, 67. Las Casas, _Hist. Ind._, iv.
11, who claimed acquaintance with the family, slurs their
pretensions to high origin. ‘Ambos hijosdalgo sin raça’
is the qualification in _Sandoval_, _Hist. Carlos V._, i.
160. No doubt the parents of Cortés were respectable and
amiable people, but to attempt to make of them other than
they were is folly. ‘Catharinia namque probitate, pudicitiâ
et in conjugem amore, nulli ætatis suae feminae cessit.’ _De
Rebus Gestis Ferdinandi Cortesii_, in _Icazbalceta_, _Col.
Doc._, i. 310-11. This document refers to Martin Cortés
as ‘levis armaturae equitum quinquaginta dux fuerit,’ on
which evidence Prescott makes the man a captain when he is
only a lieutenant, which yet more clearly appears by Gomara, who
states, _Hist. Mex._, 4, that he was a ‘teniente de vna
compañia de Ginetes.’
[56] The nurse was a ‘vezina de Oliua,’ and her method
of choosing a patron was characteristic of the times. ‘La
deuocion fue echar en suertes los doze apostoles, y darle
por auogado el postrero q̄ ssliesse, y salio san Pedro. En
cuyo nõbre se dixeron ciertas missas y oraciones, con las
quales plugo a Dios q̄ sanasse.’ _Gomara_, _Hist. Mex._, 4.
[57] And Pizarro y Orellana, _Varones Ilvstres_, 66-69,
indulges in a lengthy dissertation upon the effect of
mothers’ milk on heroes. ‘Criole a sus pechos Doña Catalina
Pizarro su madre: y a la generosidad deste lacticinio
atribuye Marineo e Siculo su gran valor, y virtud.’
[58] Pizarro y Orellana, _Varones Ilvstres_, 67, states that
he was supported at college by Monroy and Rodriguez. It is
possible that his proud spirit chafed under this dependence,
or that he felt too deeply his position as a poor student
among the wealthy youth there congregated; or that this
aid was withdrawn owing to the turbulent character here
developed by the young man. These views find support in _Gomara_,
_Hist. Mex._, 4: ‘Boluiose a Medellin, harto o arrepentido
de estudiar, o quiça falto de dineros.’ While admitting the
want both of money and inclination for study, Torquemada,
i. 345, states that a quartan fever came on as he was
preparing for the study of law, and was the chief cause of
his leaving the college. Las Casas, _Hist. Ind._, iv. 11,
gives him the honors of a bachiller, and as having studied
law, both of which statements are unlikely, considering
his short course. ‘Aprendiendo gramática’ implies a course
of study in Latin and Greek, as well as rhetoric, which it
required three years to complete. _Plan de Estudios de la
Universidad de Salamanca_, quoted by Folsom, in _Cortés’
Despatches_, 10. According to Peralta, ‘asento con un
escribano, ... y aprendió á escrebir,’ etc. in Valladolid.
_Not. Hist._, 56.
[59] Verses which were tolerably good, and even procured
him some fame. _Anales_, 220. ‘Quando hablaua con Letrados,
y hombres Latinos, respondia á lo que le dezian en Latin.’
Bernal Diaz, _Hist. Verdad._, 238. The combined qualities
of scholar and general have called up a not inappropriate
comparison between Cortés and Cæsar. See _Helps’ Span.
Conq._, and other authorities.
[60] Some claim him for a relative of Cortés. See _Pizarro y
Orellana_, _Varones Ilvstres_, 70; _Solis_, _Hist. Mex._, i.
45; _De Rebus Gestis Ferdinandi Cortesii_, in _Icazbalceta_,
_Col. Doc._, i. 312.
[61] ‘Anduvo se a la flor del berro, aun q̄ no sin trabajos
y necessidades cerca de vn año.’ _Gomara_, _Hist. Mex._, 5.
‘Squandered his means at Valencia with bad companions,’ is
the term used in _Sandoval_, _Hist. Carlos_, i. 161.
[62] Torquemada, i. 346, sees in the bird a messenger from
God to conduct safely his chosen instrument for converting
the natives of the New World. Pizarro y Orellana, _Varones
Ilvstres_, 69-70, recognizes the Holy Ghost, who assumed
this form, and comments on similar appearances elsewhere.
How goodly a thing is faith!
[63] He assisted in the pacification of Higne, Bauruco,
Daiguao, Iutagna, Jaraguá, and Amguayagua. _Cortés_,
_Memorial_, in _Col. Doc. Inéd._, iv. 220.
[64] The author of _De Rebus Gestis Ferdinandi Cortesii_
directs this expedition to Cuba, after delaying it three
months in the hope of securing the services of Cortés, in
both of which statements he is in error. _Icazbalceta_,
_Col. Doc._, i. 318-19.
[65] ‘Socium et ministrum consiliorum omnium adsumit.’
_De Rebus Gestis Ferdinandi Cortesii_, in _Icazbalceta_,
_Col. Doc._, i. 320. So highly did Velazquez esteem the
qualities of his friend, ‘diu multùmque Cortesium rogat,
ut secum eat: maria ac montes pollicetur, si operam ad id
bellum polliceatur.’ _Id._, 319. Las Casas, who knew Cortés
at a later time, makes him one of the two secretaries of
Velazquez, the other being Andrés de Duero; and this would
coincide with the above. Las Casas is too inconsistent to
be very reliable. On the same page he refers to Cortés as a
prudent, reticent man, and also as a prater not to be trusted
with secrets; useful to Velazquez only for his knowledge
of Latin. _Hist. Ind._, iv. 10-11. _Herrera_, dec. i., lib.
ix., cap. viii., follows Las Casas. Gomara, _Hist. Mex._, 6, calls
him ‘oficial del tesorero Miguel de Passamõte, para tener
cuẽta cõ los quintos y hazienda del rey, y aun el mesmo
Diego Velazquez se lo rogo, por ser habil y diligente.’ Gomara may
have had his reasons for not connecting him too closely
with his later enemy, but he admits on this and on the
following page that Velazquez intrusted him with business
affairs of his own, which he was afterward charged with
having divulged. Among these duties was superintending
the construction of a mint and hospital. The position of
clerk to a treasurer would of course be inferior to that
of secretary to the chief of the expedition; yet if the
treasurer was as illiterate as Contador Láres, his clerk
would rank rather as deputy.
[66] ‘Era muy resabido y recatado,’ says Las Casas, ‘puesto
que no mostraba saber tanto, ni ser de tanta habilidad como
despues lo mostró en cosas árduas.’
[67] The deceased head of the family bore the name of Diego
Suarez Pacheco, the mother that of María de Marcaida, also
wrongly written Mercaida. The son, Juan Suarez, the partner
of Cortés in the Cuban encomienda, afterward settled in
Mexico. _Bernal Diaz_, _Hist. Verdad._, 12-13. See also
Proceso de Marcayda, in _Cortés_, _Residencia_, ii. 333.
Peralta, the son of Juan, gives the family a genealogy of
high order. _Not. Hist._, 57. ‘Suarez ... gente pobre.’ _Las
Casas_, _Hist. Ind._, iv. 13. ‘Doña Catalina Suarez Pacheco
(the daughter), doncella noble y recatada.’ Solis, _Hist.
Mex._, i. 46, and Pizarro y Orellana, _Varones Ilvstres_,
70, also write Suarez, Herrera and Gomara, Xuarez. The latter
says three or four daughters, _Hist. Mex._, 7, but it seems
that there were four children in all. Those who write the
more common form of Suarez are more explicit, and deserve
at least equal credit with Gomara.
[68] Velazquez was married not long after his arrival in
Cuba to the daughter of Contador Cuéllar. The bride died
within the same week. _Herrera_, dec. i. lib. ix. cap.
ix. ‘Velazquez fauoreciala por amor de otra su hermana,
q̄ tenia ruin fama, y aun el era demasiado mugeril.’ _Gomara_,
_Hist. Mex._, 7. Delaporte, _Reisen_, x. 141-2, assumes
that Cortés won the love of her whom Velazquez wished to
possess; while Gordon, _Anc. Mex._, ii. 32, supposes that
the bride had been the object of Velazquez’ gallantry;
hence the trouble. Folsom, on the other hand, marries
one of the Suarez sisters to Velazquez, and calls him the
brother-in-law of Cortés. _Cortés_, _Despatches_, 9, 11-12.
[69] Gomara, _Hist. Mex._, 7, insists that Velazquez had no
motive for anger except the refusal of Cortés to marry. The
meeting of conspirators at his house gave plausibility to
the charges of his enemies. By others it is even stated that
at these meetings Cortés defended the governor against the
charges of the conspirators and overruled their plots. _De
Rebus Gestis Ferdinandi Cortesii_, in _Icazbalceta_, _Col.
Doc._, i. 325-6. The preponderance of evidence, however,
is against this supposition.
[70] ‘Estando para se embarcar en una canoa de indios con
sus papeles, fué Diego Velazquez avisado y hízolo prender
y quísolo ahorcar.’ _Las Casas_, _Hist. Ind._, iv. 11. He
was cast in the fort prison, lest the army should proclaim
him general. ‘Timebat ne si quis,’ etc. _De Rebus Gestis
Ferdinandi Cortesii_, in _Icazbalceta_, _Col. Doc._, i.
325 and 326-7.
[71] In _De Rebus Gestis Ferdinandi Cortesii_, in
_Icazbalceta_, _Col. Doc._, i. 326-7, it is related that
Cortés broke the ropes holding him by means of a stick,
and filed the padlock of the chains. Seizing a bludgeon
he advanced on the sleeping jailer, resolved to break his
head if he moved. But Cristóbal de Lagos either slept or
pretended not to hear the noise as Cortés seized the sword
and shield at his head. Swinging open a small window, Cortés
slid down and hurried to the sanctuary, giving on the way
a word of cheer and advice to the conspirators who were
held within the prison.
[72] ‘Cortés ... tuuo por cierto q̄ lo embiariã a santo
Domingo o a España.’ _Gomara_, _Hist. Mex._, 7. There would
have been no reasons for his fears on this score, if he
possessed papers implicating Velazquez, as Gomara states.
Another version is that the alcaldes imposed a heavy sentence
on Cortés, after his capture, and that Velazquez, on being
appealed to by Duero and others, was noble-minded enough
to grant a pardon. He discharged him from his service,
however, and had him placed on board a ship for Española.
_Torquemada_, i. 348. Herrera says that Catalina lived
near the church, and while Cortés was making love to her
an alguacil named Juan Escudero, whom Cortés afterward
hanged in Mexico, came up behind him and pinioned his arms,
while the soldiers rushed to his assistance. Dec. i. lib.
ix. cap. ix.; _Cortés_, _Residencia_, i. 63, etc. _Las
Casas_, _Hist. Ind._, iv. 11; _De Rebus Gestis Ferdinandi
Cortesii_, in _Icazbalceta_, i. 327-8, give minutely the
mode of capture.
[73] Broke the pump and crawled through, ‘Organum
pneumaticum,’ etc. _De Rebus Gestis Ferdinandi Cortesii_,
in _Icazbalceta_, _Col. Doc._, i. 329.
[74] The current of the Macaguanigua River did not allow
him to enter it, and elsewhere the breakers would upset
the boat. Stripping himself, he tied to his head certain
documents against Velazquez, held by him as notary of the
ayuntamiento and clerk of the treasurer, and thereupon swam
ashore. He entered his house, consulted with Juan Suarez,
and reëntered the temple, armed. _Gomara_, _Hist. Mex._,
7. _De Rebus Gestis Ferdinandi Cortesii_, in _Icazbalceta_,
vi. 329-30, refers to a friend of Cortés chained in the same
ship’s hold, and states that Cortés rowed ashore. On the way
to the house of Suarez he narrowly escapes a patrol. Having
secured arms, he proceeds to cheer his captive partisans,
and then enters the sanctuary. At dawn the captain of the
vessel from which Cortés escaped comes also to the temple,
to secure himself against Velazquez’ wrath, no doubt, but is
refused admission into the sacristy by his fellow-refugee,
who suspects the man, and fears that the provisions may
not outlast the siege. In _Herrera_, dec. i. lib. ix. cap.
viii., Cortés drifts about on a log and is finally cast
ashore.
[75] So the story was current at the time, and I doubt
not it contains some degree of truth, notwithstanding
Las Casas, _Hist. Ind._, iv. 11-12, scouts it as a pure
fabrication. He knew both men; Velazquez as a proud chief,
exacting the deepest reverence from those around him,
and making them tremble at his frown; while Cortés was in
those days so lowly and humble as to be glad to curry favor
with the meanest servants of the governor. The good bishop
is evidently prejudiced. In _De Rebus Gestis Ferdinandi
Cortesii_, in _Icazbalceta_, _Col. Doc._, i. 332-4, the
facts are a little elaborated and contradictory, as usual.
Cortés escapes the guard round the church, and reaches the
farm. ‘Halloh, señores!’ he shouts, ‘Cortés is at the door,
and salutes Señor Velazquez, his excellent and gallant
captain.’ Velazquez is astonished, yet pleased, at the
arrival of one whom he always had regarded as a friend and
beloved brother. He orders supper and bed to be prepared;
but Cortés insists that none shall approach, or he will
lance them. He demands to know what complaints there are
against him. He abhors the suspicion of being a traitor,
and will clear himself. ‘Receive me,’ he concludes, ‘in
your favor with the same good faith that I return to it.’
‘Now I believe,’ answers Velazquez, ‘that you regard as
highly my name and fame as your own loyalty.’ They shake
hands, and Cortés now enters the house to fully explain
the misunderstanding. After supper they retire to one bed.
In the morning the messenger, Diego Orellana, arrives to
announce Cortés’ flight, and finds them lying side by side.
Cortés will not proceed with the expedition just then; but
after arranging his affairs he joins, to the delight of
the general, who follows his advice implicitly, as he had
done in former campaigns. After their victorious return
Cortés enjoys greater honors than ever. Peralta, who also
gives the story at length, states that Cortés surprised
Velazquez asleep. At the request of the governor he gave
himself up to the jailer in order to be formally released.
_Nat. Hist._, 58-62. Still Peralta is a little confused.
[76] She was received by Cortés in Mexico, after the
conquest, with great distinction; but died in about three
months after her arrival.
[77] Las Casas, who, as usual, will have a fling at Cortés,
writes: ‘Tuvo Cortés un hijo ó hija, no sé si en su mujer,
y suplicó á Diego Velazquez que tuviese por bien de se lo
sacar de la pila en el baptismo y ser su compadre, lo que
Diego Velazquez aceptó, por honralle.’ _Hist. Ind._, iv.
13. Among Cortés’ children a natural daughter by a Cuban
Indian is mentioned, _Bernal Diaz_, _Hist. Verdad._, 238,
but it is not likely that Cortés would ask the governor to
stand godfather to a natural child. The same writer makes
Velazquez the groomsman or sponsor at the marriage. ‘Fue su
padrino, quando Cortés se velò con Doña Catalina;’ _Id._, 13;
_Vetancvrt_, _Teatro Mex._, pt. iii. 109. Although compadre
is not unfrequently used as a mere term of friendship, it
is not likely to have been applied by a marriage padrino;
hence the title of co-father indicates that it originated
at the font.
[78] An office granted only to men of note and to leading
conquistadores. _Solis_, _Hist. Mex._, i. 46. It conveyed
the title of ‘muy virtuoso señor,’ the governor being called
‘muy magnífico señor,’ _Pacheco_ and _Cárdenas_, _Col.
Doc._, xii. 225, and permitted the holder to walk side by
side with the governor. _Herrera_, dec. ii. lib. iii. cap.
xii. ‘Auia sido dos vezes Alcalde en la Villa de Sãtiago
de Boroco, adõde era vezino: porque en aquestas tierras se
tiene por mucha honra.’ _Bernal Diaz_, _Hist. Verdad._,
13. He does not refer to him as alcalde at Santiago de
Cuba, where the fleet is fitting out, as he clearly states.
Gomara, _Hist. Mex._, 4, mentions merely that he was here
before the quarrel with Velazquez. Some writers assume that
Santiago de Cuba is the same as Santiago de Baracoa, but
Herrera, _loc. cit._, and others, observe the distinction.