MARCH TOWARD MEXICO.
AUGUST-SEPTEMBER, 1519.
ENTHUSIASM OF THE ARMY—THE FORCE—THE TOTONACS ADVISE THE
TLASCALAN ROUTE—ARRIVAL AT JALAPA—A LOOK BACKWARD—THE ANÁHUAC
PLATEAU—MEETING WITH OLINTETL—ARRIVAL IN THE COUNTRY OF THE
TLASCALTECS—THE SENATE CONVENES AND RECEIVES THE ENVOYS
OF CORTÉS—AN ENCOUNTER—A MORE SERIOUS BATTLE—XICOTENCATL
RESOLVES TO TRY THE PROWESS OF THE INVADERS, AND IS DEFEATED.
The Garay affair having thus been disposed of, it was announced to the
Spaniards that they would now go in quest of the great Montezuma. For
as the conciliating sea smooths the sand which but lately it ground
in its determinate purpose from the rocks, so had Cortés quieted
the ruffled temper of the malcontents, till they were committed as
one man to the will of the leader. And he smiled somewhat grimly as
he concluded his harangue: “To success or total destruction now we
march; for there is open to us no retreat. In Christ we trust, and
on our arms rely. And though few in number, our hearts are strong.”
The soldiers shouted their approval, and again signified their desire
to press onward to Mexico.[265]
The force for the expedition consisted of about four hundred and fifty
Spaniards, with fifteen horses, and six or seven light guns, attended
by a considerable number of Indian warriors and carriers, including
Cubans. The Totonac force comprised also forty chiefs, taken really
as hostages, among whom are named Mamexi, Tamalli, and Teuch, the
latter proving a most able and trusty guide and counsellor.[266]
[Illustration]
The advice of the Totonacs is to take the route through Tlascala,
as a state friendly to them and bitterly opposed to the Mexicans,
and on the 16th of August the army leaves Cempoala for the interior.
Soon begins the gentle ascent which lifts them from oppressive heat
and overpowering vegetation to cooler regions, and at the close of
the second day is reached the beautiful Jalapa,[267] a halting-place
between the border of the sea and the upper plateau.
There they turn with one accord and look back. How charming! how
inexpressibly refreshing are these approaching highlands to the
Spaniards, so lately from the malarious Isthmus and the jungle-covered
isles, and whose ancestors not long since had held all tropics to be
uninhabitable; on the border, too, of Montezuma’s kingdom, wrapped in
the soft folds of perpetual spring. Before the invaders are the ardent
waters of the gulf, instant in their humane pilgrimage to otherwise
frozen and uninhabitable lands; before them the low, infectious
_tierra caliente_ that skirts the lofty interior threateningly,
like the poisoned garment of Hercules, with vegetation bloated by
the noxious air and by nourishment sucked from the putrid remains
of nature’s opulence, while over all, filled with the remembrance
of streams stained sanguine from sacrificial altars, passes with
sullen sighs the low-voiced winds. But a change comes gradually
as the steep ascent is made that walls the healthful table-land of
Anáhuac. On the _templada_ terrace new foliage is observed, though
still glistening with sun-painted birds and enlivened by parliaments
of monkeys. Insects and flowers bathe in waves of burning light until
they display a variety of colors as wonderful as they are brilliant,
while from cool cañons rise metallic mists overspreading the warm
hills. Blue and purple are the summits in the distance, and dim glowing
hazy the imperial heights beyond that daily baffle the departing
sun. And on the broad plateau, whose rich earth with copious yield
of gold and grain allures to cultivation, all the realm are out of
doors keeping company with the sun. From afar comes the music-laden
breeze whispering its secrets to graceful palms, aloft against the
sky, and which bend to meet the confidence, while the little shrubs
stand motionless with awe. Each cluster of trees repeats the story,
and sings in turn its own matin to which the rest are listeners. At
night, how glittering bright with stars the heavens, which otherwise
were a shroud of impenetrable blackness. In this land of wild Arcadian
beauty the beasts are free, and man keeps constant holiday. And how
the hearts of these marauders burned within them as they thought,
nothing doubting, how soon these glories should be Spain’s and theirs.
The boundary of the Totonac territory was crossed, and on the fourth
day the army entered a province called by Cortés Sienchimalen,
wherein the sway of Montezuma was still maintained. This made no
difference to the Spaniards, however, for the late imperial envoys
had left orders with the coast governors to treat the strangers
with every consideration. Of this they had a pleasing experience
at Xicochimalco,[268] a strong fortress situated on the slope of
a steep mountain, to which access could be had only by a stairway
easily defended. It overlooked a sloping plain strewn with villages
and farms, mustering in all nearly six thousand warriors.[269] With
replenished stores the expedition began to ascend the cordillera
in reality, and to approach the pine forests which mark the border
of the _tierra fria_. Marching through a hard pass named Nombre de
Dios,[270] they entered another province defended by a fortress, named
Teoxihuacan,[271] in no wise inferior to the first for strength or
hospitality. They now finished the ascent of the cordillera, passed
through Tejotla, and for three days continued their way through the
alkaline wastes skirting the ancient volcano of Nauhcampatepetl,[272]
exposed to chilling winds and hailstorms, which the Spaniards with
their quilted armor managed to endure, but which caused to succumb many
of the less protected and less hardy Cubans. The brackish water also
brought sickness. On the fourth day the pass of Puerto de Leña,[273]
so called from the wood piled near some temples, admitted them to the
Anáhuac plateau, over seven thousand feet above the sea. With a less
balmy climate and a flora less redundant than that of the Antillean
stamping-ground, it offered on the other hand the attraction of being
not unlike their native Spain. A smiling valley opened before them,
doubly alluring to the pinched wanderers, with its broad fields of
corn, dotted with houses, and displaying not far off the gleaming
walls and thirteen towering temples of Xocotlan, the capital of the
district. Some Portuguese soldiers declaring it the very picture of
their cherished Castilblanco, this name was applied to it.[274]
Cacique Olintetl, nicknamed the temblador from the shaking of his fat
body, came forth with a suite and escorted them through the plaza to
the quarters assigned them, past pyramids of grinning human skulls,
estimated by Bernal Diaz at over one hundred thousand. There were
also piles of bones, and skulls suspended from beams, all of which
produced far from pleasant impressions. This horror was aggravated
by the evident coldness of their reception, and by the scanty fare
offered.[275] Olintetl occupied what Cortés describes as the “largest
and most finely constructed houses he had yet seen in this country,”
wherein two thousand servants attended to the wants of himself and
his thirty wives.
Impressed by the magnificence of his surroundings, Cortés inquired
whether he was a subject or ally of Montezuma. “Who is not his slave?”
was the reply. He himself ruled twenty thousand subjects,[276] yet
was but a lowly vassal of the emperor, at whose command thirty chiefs
at least could place each one hundred thousand warriors in the field.
He proceeded to extol the imperial wealth and power, and the grandeur
of the capital, wherein twenty thousand human victims were annually
given to the idols. This was probably intended to awe the little
band; “But we,” says Bernal Diaz,[277] “with the qualities of Spanish
soldiers, wished we were there striving for fortunes, despite the
dangers described.” Cortés calmly assured the cacique that great as
Montezuma was, there were vassals of his own king still mightier,
with more to the same effect; and he concluded by demanding the
submission of the cacique, together with a present of gold, and the
abandonment of sacrifices and cannibalism. Olintetl’s only reply was
that he could do nothing without authority from the capital. “Your
Montezuma,” replied the audacious Spaniard, with suppressed anger,
“shall speedily send you orders to surrender to me gold or any other
desired effects in your possession.”
More generous were the caciques of two towns at the other end
of the valley, who brought a few golden trifles and eight female
slaves.[278] The revelations of the Cempoalans and of Marina concerning
the wonderful power of the Spaniards, and the honors paid them by
Montezuma’s envoys, had the effect of making Olintetl also more liberal
with provisions at least. Being asked about the road to Mexico he
recommended that through Cholula, but the Cempoalans representing
the Cholultecs as highly treacherous, and devoted to the Aztecs, the
Tlascalan route was chosen, and four Totonac chiefs were despatched to
ask permission of the republican rulers to pass through their lands.
A letter served as mystic credentials, and a red bushy Flemish hat
for a present.[279]
After a stay of four days the army proceeded up the valley, without
leaving the customary cross, it seems, with which they had marked
their route hitherto; the reason for this was the objection of Padre
Olmedo to expose the emblem to desecration in a place not wholly
friendly to them.[280] The road lay for two leagues through a densely
settled district to Iztacmixtitlan, the seat of Tenamaxcuicuitl, a
town which Cortés describes as situated upon a lofty height, with very
good houses, a population of from five to six thousand families, and
possessing comforts superior to those of Xocotlan. “It has a better
fortress,” he writes, “than there is in half Spain, defended by a
wall, barbican, and moats.” The cacique who had invited the visit
made amends for the cold reception of the previous chief, and the
Spaniards remained for three days waiting in vain for the return of
the messengers sent to Tlascala. They then passed onward, reinforced
by about three hundred warriors from the town.[281] Two leagues’ march
brought them to the boundary of Tlascala, conspicuous by a wall of
stone and mortar nine feet in height and twenty in breadth, which
stretched for six miles across a valley, from mountain to mountain,
and was provided with breastworks and ditches.[282]
Between latitude 19° and 20° ranges of hills cut the plain of Anáhuac
into four unequal parts. In the centre of the one eastward stood
the capital of Tlascala. The state so carefully protected was about
the same small territory which we now see on the map,[283] with
twenty-eight towns, and one hundred and fifty thousand families,
according to the rough census taken by Cortés.[284] A branch of the
Teo-Chichimec nation, the Tlascaltecs had, according to tradition,
entered upon the plateau shortly before the cognate Aztecs, and, after
occupying for a time a tract on the western shore of Tezcuco Lake,
they had tired of the constant disputes with neighboring tribes and
proceeded eastward, in three divisions, the largest of which had, late
in the thirteenth century, taken possession of Tlascala, ‘Place of
Bread.’ The soil was rich, as implied by the name, but owing to the
continued wars with former enemies, reinforced by the Aztecs, they
found little opportunity to make available their wealth by means of
industries and trade, and of late years a blockade had been maintained
which deprived them of many necessaries, among others salt. But the
greater attention given in consequence to agriculture, had fostered
temperate habits and a sinewy constitution, combined with a deep love
for the soil as the source of all their prosperity. Compelled also
to devote more time and practice to warfare for the preservation of
their liberty than to the higher branches of culture, they presented
the characteristics of an isolated community, in being somewhat behind
their neighbors in refinement, as well as in the variety of their
resources.
In government the state formed an aristocracy, ruled by a senate of
the nobility, presided over by four supreme hereditary lords, each
independent in his own section of the territory. This division extended
also to the capital, which consisted of four towns, or districts,
Tizatlan, Ocotelulco, Quiahuiztlan, and Tepeticpac, ruled respectively
by Xicotencatl, Maxixcatzin, Teohuayacatzin, and Tlehuexolotl.[285]
It was before this senate that the messengers of Cortés appeared,
informing them in the name of the Cempoalan lord of the arrival of
powerful gods from the east, who having liberated the Totonacs from
Montezuma’s sway, now desired to visit Tlascala in passing through to
Mexico, and to offer their friendship and alliance. The messengers
recommended an acceptance of the offer, for although few in number
the strangers were more than equal to a host. They thereupon depicted
their appearance, their swift steeds, their savage dogs, their
caged lightning, as well as their gentle faith and manners. The
messengers having retired, the senate proceeded to discussion. Prudent
Maxixcatzin, lord of the larger and richer industrial district, called
attention to the omens and signs which pointed to these visitors, who
from all accounts must be more than mortal, and, if so, it would be
best to admit them, since resistance must be vain. Xicotencatl, the
eldest lord, replied to this that the interpretation of the signs
could not be relied on. To him these beings seemed monsters rejected
by the sea-foam, greedy of gold and luxuries, whose steeds devoured
the very ground. To admit them would be ruinous. Besides, should the
invincible Tlascaltecs submit to a mere handful? The gods forbid! It
was further argued that the amicable relations of the strangers with
Montezuma and his vassals did not accord with their protestations
of friendship. This might be one of the many Aztec plots to obtain a
footing in the country. Nor did the destruction of idols at Cempoala
increase the confidence of a people so jealous of its institutions. The
discussion waxing warmer, senator Temilotecatl suggested the middle
course of letting the Otomí frontier settlers, who were thoroughly
devoted to their Tlascaltec patrons, make an attack on the invaders,
aided by their own general Axayacatzin Xicotencatl, son of the old
lord, and known by the same name. If successful, they could claim the
glory; if not, they might grant the victors the permission they had
desired, while casting the blame for the attack on the Otomís. This
was agreed to.[286]
As the Spaniards halted before the great wall, speculating on the
strength of the people who had erected it, and upon the possible
traps it might hide, their late hosts again besought them to take
the Cholula route, but Cempoalan counsel prevailed. Waving aloft his
banner, Cortés exclaimed: “Behold the cross! Señores, follow it!”
And with this he led the way through the semicircular laps of the
entrance. The wall was not provided with sentinels, and the army
met with no obstacles.[287] Attended by ten horsemen, the general
advanced to reconnoitre. After proceeding about four leagues he caught
sight of fifteen armed Indians, who were pursued and overtaken. A
fight ensued, in which the natives, nerved by despair, fought so
fiercely that two horses were killed, and three horses and two riders
wounded.[288] Meanwhile a force of Indians came up, estimated at from
three to five thousand, and a horseman was at once sent back to hurry
forward the infantry, while the rest boldly charged the enemy, riding
through their ranks, and killing right and left without being injured
themselves. On the approach of the foot-soldiers, and the discharge
of a volley, the natives retired with about sixty of their number
slain.[289] Shortly afterward two of the Cempoalan messengers returned
with some Tlascaltecs, who expressed their sorrow at the attack made
by a tribe not belonging to their nation. They offered to pay for the
horses killed, and invited the Spaniards in the name of the lords to
proceed. The army advanced for a league into more open country, and
camped among some abandoned farms, where dogs proved to be the only
food left. Thus ended the first day in Tlascalan territory, the first
of September, according to Bernal Diaz.
In the morning the Spaniards met the two other messengers returning
from their mission to Tlascala, who told a harrowing story of their
seizure for the sacrificial stone, and of their escape by night. It
is probable that their detention by the Tlascaltecs for messenger
purposes had frightened them into believing that they were destined
to be sacrificed, for envoys enjoyed the greatest respect among the
Nahuas.[290] Shortly after a body of over one thousand warriors[291]
appeared, to whom Cortés, in presence of the notary Godoy, sent three
prisoners, with a formal assurance of his friendly intentions. The
only reply being showers of arrows, darts, and stones, Cortés gave
the “Santiago, and at them!” and charged. The enemy retreated with
the face to their pursuers, enticing them toward some broken ground
intersected by a creek, where they found themselves surrounded by a
large force, some bearing the red and white devices of Xicotencatl.
Missiles were showered, while double-pointed spears, swords, and clubs
pressed closely upon them, wielded by bolder warriors than those
whom the Spaniards had hitherto subdued. Many were the hearts that
quaked, and many expected that their last moment had come; “for we
certainly were in greater peril than ever before,” says Bernal Diaz.
“None of us will escape!” exclaimed Teuch, the Cempoalan chief, but
Marina who stood by replied with fearless confidence: “The mighty
God of the Christians, who loves them well, will let no harm befall
them.”[292] The commander rode back and forth cheering the men, and
giving orders to press onward, and to keep well together. Fortunately
the pass was not long, and soon the Spaniards emerged into an open
field, where the greater part of the enemy awaited them, estimated in
all, by different authorities, at from thirty thousand to one hundred
thousand.[293]
How long was this to continue, each new armed host being tenfold
greater than the last? Yet once again the Spaniards whet their swords,
and prepare for instant attack, as determined to fight it out to the
death, as Leonidas and his brave Spartans at the pass of Thermopylæ.
The cavalry charged with loose reins, and lances fixed on a range
with the heads of the enemy, opening a way through the dense columns
and spreading a confusion which served the infantry well. Bernal
Diaz relates how a body of natives, determined to obtain possession
of a horse, surrounded an excellent rider named Pedro de Moron, who
was mounted upon Sedeño’s fine racing mare, dragged him from the
saddle, and thrust their swords and spears through the animal in all
directions. Moron would have been carried off but for the infantry
coming to his rescue. In the struggle which ensued ten Spaniards were
wounded, while four chiefs bit the dust. Moron was saved only to die
on the second day, but the mare was secured by the natives and cut
into pieces, which were sent all over the state to afford opportunity
for triumphal celebrations. The loss was greatly regretted, since it
would divest the horses of their terrifying character. Those previously
killed had been secretly buried. The battle continued until late
in the afternoon, without enabling the Indians to make any further
impression on the Spanish ranks than inflicting a few wounds, while
their own were rapidly thinning under the charges of the cavalry
and the volleys of artillery and firelocks. The slaughter had been
particularly heavy among the chiefs, and this was the main reason
for the retreat which the enemy now began, in good order.[294] Their
actual loss could not be ascertained, for with humane devotion the
wounded and dead were carried off the moment they were stricken; and
in this constant self-sacrificing effort the Tlascaltecs lost many
lives and advantages. Robertson regards with suspicion the accounts
of the great battles fought during the conquest, wherein Indians fell
by the score while the Spaniards stood almost unscathed, and Wilson
ridicules the whole campaign, reducing the Tlascalan population, for
instance, to about ten thousand, with a fighting force of less than
one thousand men. Such remarks certainly show a want of familiarity
with the subject.[295] We have often seen, in the New World wars, a
thousand naked Americans put to flight by ten steel-clad Europeans,
and I have clearly given the reasons. When we look at the Indians,
with their comparatively poor weapons, their unprotected bodies, their
inefficient discipline and tactics, whereby only a small portion of
their force could be made available, the other portion serving rather
as an obstruction, their custom of carrying off the dead, and other
weak points, and when we contrast them with the well armored Spaniards,
with their superior swords and lances, their well calculated movements,
and their concerted action carried out under strict and practised
officers, and above all their terror-inspiring and ravaging fire-arms
and horses—how can we doubt that the latter must have readily been
able to overcome vast numbers of native warriors? It was soon so
understood in Europe. For once when Cortés was in Spain he scoffed at
certain of his countrymen for having fled before a superior force of
Moors, whereupon one remarked: “This fellow regards our opponents like
his, of whom ten horsemen can put to flight twenty-five thousand.” In
the retreat of the Ten Thousand, who under Cyrus had invaded Persia,
we have an example of the inadequacy of numbers against discipline.
Though for every Greek the Persians could bring a hundred men, yet
the effeminate Asiatic absolutely refused to meet the hardy European
in open conflict. Æschylus was inspired by personal experience in his
play of the Persians when he makes the gods intimate to the wondering
Atossa, the queen-mother, that free Athenians, unwhipped to battle,
could cope successfully with the myriads of despotic Xerxes. The poor
Americans had yet to learn their own weakness, and to pay dearly for
the knowledge.
“It well seems that God was he who fought for us to enable us to get
free from such a multitude,” says Cortés. He attempted no pursuit,
but hastened to take possession of Tecohuatzinco, a small town on
the hill of Tzompachtepetl,[296] where they fortified themselves
upon the temple pyramid, and proceeded to celebrate the victory with
songs and dances, a performance wherein the allies took the leading
part. The following day[297] Cortés sallied forth with the horses,
one hundred infantry, and seven hundred allies, partly to forage
before the enemy appeared, but also to inflict some damage, and to
show that they were as fresh as ever. “I burned five or six small
villages,” he says, “each of about one hundred families, and returned
with four hundred prisoners.”[298] After being consoled with food and
beads, the captives, including fifteen taken during the late battle,
were despatched to the camp of Xicotencatl, two leagues off, with
a letter to serve as credentials, and a message assuring him of the
friendly intentions of the Spaniards, although they had been obliged
to resort to severe measures. By no means impressed either with his
defeat or with the assurances, Xicotencatl replied that peace would
be celebrated at his father’s town with a feast on the Spaniards’
flesh, while their hearts and blood were delighting the gods. They
would receive a more decisive answer on the morrow. With this defiant
message came the report that the Tlascalan army, largely reinforced,
was preparing to march on and overwhelm them. “When we learned this,”
says Bernal Diaz, “being men, we feared death, many of us; and all
made confession to the Merced father, and the clergyman Juan Diaz, who
all night remained present to listen to the penitent; and we commended
ourselves to God, praying that we might not be conquered.” Cortés
applied himself energetically to supervise preparations and give the
enemy a welcome. A fresh supply of arrows, and of Indian shields of
plaited cane and cotton, were made, and the arms and accoutrements
inspected. He impressed upon the soldiers the necessity of keeping
close together, round the banner to be carried well aloft by Alférez
Corral, in order that they might not be cut off. As for the cavalry
they were to make repeated charges, without losing time in delivering
thrusts.
Early in the morning of September 5th the Indian army could be
seen extending far over the field, terrible in war-paint, plumed
helmets, and gaudy shields, with their double-edged flint swords and
many-pointed lances gleaming in the sun, while the air resounded with
shrill yells, mingling with the melancholy tones of their drums and
the doleful blasts of conchs and trumpets.[299] It was the largest and
finest army yet seen by the Spaniards, numbering, according to Gomara,
one hundred and fifty thousand men, but according to Bernal Diaz
only fifty thousand,[300] in four divisions, representing Tizatlan,
Ocotelulco, Quiahuiztlan, and Tepeticpac, each distinguished by its
own banner and colors, the latter noticeable also in the war-paint of
the common soldier and in the quilted armor of the officers. Far in
the rear, indicative of hostile sentiment, rose the standard of the
state, bearing a bird with wings extended.[301] Gomara relates that,
confident of success, the Tlascaltecs sent messengers to the camp
with three hundred turkey-cocks and two hundred baskets of tamales,
each of one hundred arrobas, so that they might not be taunted with
having fought starved men, or having offered such to the idols.
But this story, adopted by Herrera, Clavigero, Robertson, and nearly
every other writer, implies a generosity altogether too impolitic for
an enemy who had already suffered two severe defeats. It is probable,
however, that Xicotencatl may have sent small presents of food in
order to obtain an opportunity for his spies to examine the camp.[302]
The Indians advanced in several columns up the sides of the hill, and,
despite the resistance offered, pressed onward into the very camp,
but were soon obliged to yield before murderous bullets and cutting
blades. Cortés allowed the Indians to become tired and discouraged with
repeated charges, and then with a ringing “Santiago!” the Spaniards,
followed by the allies, sallied forth,[303] driving them in confusion
to the plain, where the cavalry followed up the advantage, leaving
bloody paths in all directions. Checked and reinforced by the reserve,
the enemy turned with fresh courage on their pursuers. The shock
was overwhelming. The tired Castilians yielded; their ranks were
broken, and all seemed lost. Even Cortés was seized with a terrible
misgiving, but it was only for a moment. Leading the cavalry to the
rescue, he raised his voice above the din of battle, and called on
all to rally. Nerved by his words and deeds, the men plied lustily
their swords, and, driving back the enemy, formed anew. “So ably and
valiantly fought the horsemen,” writes Bernal Diaz, “that next to
God who protected us, they proved our strength.” Following up their
advantage, the Spaniards hewed down the enemy in great numbers.
Victory might yet have turned against them but for a quarrel between
Xicotencatl and another captain,[304] one accusing the other of
mismanaging the late battle. The latter not only challenged the other,
it seems, but withdrew his troops, and induced another division to
follow him.[305] Thus left with only half his army, and that shattered
and discouraged, Xicotencatl retired before the handful on whom his
every effort seemed to have made no impression. He retreated in good
order, carrying off most of the dead, for the opponents were too
exhausted to pursue. Indeed, all the horses were wounded, and fully
sixty men, of whom it appears several must have died soon after,
though Cortés admits of no dead, and Bernal Diaz of only one.[306]
FOOTNOTES
[265] ‘Y todos â vna le respondimos, que hariamos lo que
ordenasse, que echada estaua la suerte de la buena ò mala
ventura.’ _Bernal Diaz_, _Hist. Verdad._, 40.
[266] Bernal Diaz states, 65, that on reaching Mexico City
‘no llegauamos á 450 soldados,’ intimating that they must
have amounted to fully this figure on leaving Villa Rica.
This would allow fully 120 men to Escalante, which appears
a large garrison, even after making allowances for the old
and infirm. Gomara places the force at 400 Spaniards, with
15 horses, 6 guns, and 1300 Indians, including Cubans and
carriers. _Conq. Mex._, 67; _Herrera_, dec. ii. lib. vi.
cap. i.; _Torquemada_, i. 411, 517. Ixtlilxochitl increases
this to 7 guns, 1300 warriors, and 1000 carriers. ‘Con
quince de caballo y trescientos peones.’ _Cortés_, _Cartas_,
52. Cortés refers later on to 400 Cempoalans. He mentions
merely 200 carriers. Clavigero has 415 Spaniards, a figure
resulting from a misreading of his original. _Storia Mess._,
iii. 36. Solis, _Hist. Mex._, i. 216-17, followed of course
by Robertson, changes the figures to 500 men, 200 carriers,
and 400 Indian troops. A page, twelve years old, was left
with the lord of Cempoala to learn the language. ‘Tomaron
un indio principal que llamaban _Tlacochalcatl_ para que los
mostrase el camino,’ taken from the country by Grijalva, and
brought back by Cortés. _Sahagun_, _Conq. Mex._, 16. Shortly
before beginning the march, says Duran, a messenger arrived
from Mexico in the person of Motelchiuh, sent by Montezuma
to serve as guide, and to provide for the proper service
and hospitality on the way. Being told that no guide was
needed, he returned, leaving orders with the caciques en
route to tender good reception to the strangers. _Duran_,
_Hist. Ind._, MS., ii. 405-10.
[267] Meaning ‘Spring in the Sand.’ _Rivera_, _Hist. Jalapa_,
i. app. 7. ‘Y la primera jornado fuimos â vn pueblo, que se
dize Xalapa.’ _Bernal Diaz_, _Hist. Verdad._, 41. But the
road was too long for one day’s march. I may here observe
that Bernal Diaz is remarkably faulty in his account of
this march and of the campaign into Tlascala, and this is
admitted by several writers, who nevertheless follow him
pretty closely. The place is known the world over for its
fairs and productions, particularly for the drug bearing
its name, and is famous in the neighboring districts for
its eternal spring and beautiful surroundings.
[268] Identified with Naulinco. _Lorenzana_, _Viage_, p. ii.
[269] Cortés refers to a friendly chat with the governor,
who mentioned the orders he had received to offer the
Spaniards all necessities. _Cartas_, 57.
[270] ‘Por ser el primero que en estas tierras habíamos
pasado. El cual es tan agro y alto, que no lo hay en España
otro.’ _Cortés_, _Cartas_, 57. ‘Hoy se llama _el Paso del
Obispo_.’ _Lorenzana_, ubi sup. ‘Ay en ella muchas parras con vuas,
y arboles cõ miel.’ _Gomara_, _Hist. Mex._, 68.
[271] ‘Hoy se nombra _Ixhuacán_ de los Reyes.’ _Lorenzana_,
_Viage_.
[272] ‘De _Nauhcampa_, quatre parties, et _tepetl_,
montagne.’ _Humboldt_, _Vues_, ii. 191. Equivalent to the
Spanish name of Cofre de Perote.
[273] Lorenzana believes it to be the later Sierra de la
Agua. A map with profile of the route is given in _Carbajal
Espinosa_, _Hist. Mex._, ii. 201; and a still better map by
Orozco y Berra, _Itinerario_, in _Noticias Mex._, 233.
[274] The name must not be confounded with Zacatlan, as
Ixtlilxochitl calls it, for this lies north of Tlascala.
‘Este valle y poblacion se llama Caltanmi.’ ‘Tenia las
mayores y mas bien labradas casas que hasta entonces ...
habiamos visto.’ _Cortés_, _Cartas_, 58. Lorenzana says,
‘the present Tlatlanquitepec,’ in the lower lying portion of
which stood the palace of Caltanni, ‘house below;’ and there
stands the big tree to which the natives say that Cortés tied
his horse. _Viage_, pp. iii.-iv. ‘Llamase ... Zaclotan aquel
lugar, y el valle Zacatami.’ _Gomara_, _Hist. Mex._, 68;
_Oviedo_, iii. 260. Cocotlan. _Bernal Diaz_, _Hist. Verdad._,
41.
[275] Gomara intimates that the Spaniards were well received,
and had 50 men sacrificed in their honor. _Hist. Mex._,
68. The native records state that bread sprinkled with the
blood of fresh victims was offered to them, as to idols,
but this being rejected with abhorrence, pure food was
brought. Before this sorcerers had been sent to use their
arts against them, by spreading diseases, casting spells
to prevent their advance, and otherwise opposing them. But
everything failed before the magic influence shed perhaps
by the banner of the cross. _Duran_, _Hist. Ind._, MS.,
ii. 401-8; _Sahagun_, _Hist. Conq._, 14; _Acosta_, _Hist.
Ind._, 518; _Torquemada_, i. 417-8.
[276] ‘Tenia Montezuma en este pueblo, y su comarca, cinco
mil soldados de guarnicion.’ _Herrera_, dec. ii. lib. vi.
cap. ii.
[277] _Conq. Mex._, 42. ‘A muchos valientes por ventura
desmayara,’ says to the contrary Gomara, _Hist. Mex._, 69.
[278] _Cortés_, _Cartas_, 59. Bernal Diaz assumes that
Olintetl was persuaded by the Cempoalans to conciliate
Cortés with four slaves, a few paltry pieces of jewelry,
and a load of cloth.
[279] Camargo sends the letter from Cempoala, together with
a sword, a crossbow, and a red silk cap. _Hist. Tlax._, 145.
But it is not probable that Cortés would deprive himself
of such needful articles, not overabundant with him, even
if he had no objection to let Indians examine them. Bernal
Diaz, _Hist. Verdad._, 42-3, despatches two Cempoalans from
a later station, and this on hearing that the Tlascaltecs
had risen to oppose them.
[280] Still Gomara, in his sweeping way, declares that Cortés
‘puso muchas cruzes en los templos, derrocãdo los idolos
como lo hazia en cada lugar.’ _Hist. Mex._, 70; _Tapia_,
_Relacion_, in _Icazbalceta_, _Col. Doc._, ii. 567. Twenty
leading warriors were taken from here, says Bernal Diaz.
[281] Clavigero calls them ‘un competente numero di truppe
Messicane del presidio di Xocotla,’ _Storia Mess._, iii.
41, which is unlikely.
[282] See _Native Races_, ii. 568, et seq.
[283] Fifteen leagues from west to east, ten from north to
south, says Torquemada, i. 276. Herrera extends it to 30
leagues in width.
[284] ‘Hay en esta provincia, por visitacion que yo en
ella mandé hacer, ciento cincuenta mil vecinos.’ _Cortés_,
_Cartas_, 69. In the older edition of these letters by
Lorenzana, it reads, 500,000 families, a figure which in
itself indicates an exaggeration, but has nevertheless been
widely copied. _Gomara_, _Hist. Mex._, 87.
[285] For further information about Tlascala, see _Native
Races_, ii. and v. Torquemada gives a detailed history of
the state in i. 259-78. See also _Prescott’s Mex._, 411-19;
_Soria_, _Istoria y Fundacion de la Ciudad de Tlaxcala_,
MS. in Aztec, sm. 4º of 48 leaves.
[286] _Herrera_, dec. ii. lib. vi. cap. iii., confounds
the two Xicotencatls, and Torquemada, in seeking to correct
him, applies the title of general to Maxixcatzin, i. 416,
supposing besides, with Clavigero, that Temilotecatl may
be another name for Tlehuexolotl. _Storia Mess._, iii.
40; _Brasseur de Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, iv. 133.
Jealous of the honor of his countrymen, and eager to
vindicate them against the charge of duplicity or enmity
toward the Spaniards, Camargo lets the messengers go back
with a friendly invitation. After they had started on this
mission the idols were consulted, but remained mute; the
temples were overthrown by earthquakes, and comets appeared,
creating a general panic. _Hist. Tlax._, 144-6. The account
of the conquest by this author is particularly interesting
since Diego Muñoz Camargo was a native of the valiant
little republic of Tlascala, a mestizo, says Veytia, _Hist.
Ant. Méj._, ii. 91, who calls him Domingo, while Clavigero
gives him nobility. _Storia Mess._, i. 10. Born shortly
after these events, and in contact with the very men who
figured therein, his stories are reproduced from their lips,
though colored with the spirit of a convert and patriot
who, like nearly all of his countrymen, was only too eager
to curry favor with the dominant race. This is apparent in
nearly every line of his text, wherein the terms of praise
bestowed on the conquerors become not unfrequently absurd
from the contradictions implied by other passages. Nor
does he neglect to hold forth on his own people for their
bravery and exploits in fighting the detested Aztecs, and
their unswerving devotion to the Spaniards. In the pursuit
of this pleasing theme he scruples not to sacrifice truth
when it proves a stumbling-block. He leaves the impression,
for instance, that the Tlascaltecs never raised sword
against Cortés. Many of the misstatements are due to a
non-critical acceptance of tales, for Camargo was as simple
and superstitious as any of his contemporaries. Although
acting as interpreter in the province, _Torquemada_, i. 523,
he exhibits a not very thorough acquaintance with Spanish,
which is the cause of errors and repetitions. The conquest
forms but a portion of his narrative, which treats chiefly
of aboriginal history and customs, and touches lightly the
events that passed before his eyes. It was written in 1585,
and lay for some time in the Felipe Neri convent archives,
where it was consulted by Torquemada. Taken afterward by
Panes to Spain, it was deposited by Muñoz with the Royal
Academy of History at Madrid, from which source copies
were obtained, among others one by Ternaux-Compans, and a
faulty translation was published in the _Nouvelles Annales
des Voyages_, xcviii.-ix.
[287] A short distance further they passed through a pine
grove, wherein threads and papers were fixed and scattered
across the path, the work of Tlascaltec sorcerers, who thus
sought to cast a spell upon the invaders. _Herrera_, dec.
ii. lib. vi. cap. iv.
[288] ‘Segun algunos que lo vieron, cortaron cercen de
vn golpe cada pescueço con riendas y todo.’ _Gomara_,
_Hist. Mex._, 71. ‘Io viddi che cõbattẽdosi vn dì, diede
vn Indiano vna cortellata a vn cauallo ... nel petto, che
glielo aperse fin alle ĩteriora, et cadde icõtanẽte morto,
& ... che vn’ altro Indiano diede vn’ altra cortellata
a vn’ altro cauallo su il collo che se lo gettò morto.’
_Relatione per vn gentil’huomo_, in _Ramusio_, _Viaggi_,
iii. 305. According to Duran two warriors stepped forth
from a vast Tlascalan army before the regular battle, and
issued a challenge, which was accepted by two horsemen.
After a short combat the Indians, by deft movements, killed
both horses, cutting off the neck of one, and wounding
the other in the pasterns. _Hist. Ind._, MS., ii. 411-20;
_Tezozomoc_, _Hist. Mex._, ii. 255-6. This attack is the
only resistance admitted by Camargo. The assailants were
all Otomís, who killed one Spaniard and two horses. _Hist.
Tlax._, 146.
[289] ‘Hirieron á quatro de los nuestros, y pareceme que
desde alli á pocos dias muriò el vno de las heridas ...
quedaron muertos hasta diez y siete dellos.’ _Bernal Diaz_,
_Hist. Verdad._, 43; _Cortés_, _Cartas_, 61; Lorenzana calls
the scene of this battle the plain of Quimichoccan. _Viage_,
p. viii.
[290] See _Native Races_, ii. 413; _Solis_, _Hist. Mex._,
i. 230. According to Bernal Diaz the messengers are met
before the Tlascalan border is reached, and they deliver the
announcement that the Tlascaltecs will kill the Spaniards and
eat their flesh, in order to test their reputed strength.
The Cempoalans shall suffer the same fate, since they are
assumed to be plotting in behalf of the Aztecs, loc. cit.
Sahagun supposes that the Cempoalan guide had treacherously
led the Spaniards against the Otomís. _Conq. Mex._ (ed.
1840), 40; _Clavigero_, _Storia Mess._, iii. 42-3.
[291] Bernal Diaz says 6000.
[292] _Herrera_, dec. ii. lib. vi. cap. v. A pious
conquistador who was present, says Duran, told me that
many wept, wishing they had never been born, and cursing
the marquis for having led them into such danger. _Hist.
Ind._, MS., ii. 417.
[293] Tapia gives the higher and Herrera the lower figure,
while Ixtlilxochitl makes it 80,000.
[294] During the battle one of the late Cempoalan envoys
recognized the captain who had bound him for sacrifice, and
with Cortés’ permission he sent him a challenge. The duel
was held in front of the armies, and after a tough struggle
the Cempoalan, with a feint, threw his opponent off guard,
and secured his head, which served as a centre-piece during
the Cempoalan victory celebration. _Herrera_, dec. ii. lib.
vi. cap. vi. This author also relates that one of the final
acts of the battle was the capture by Ordaz, with 60 men,
of a pass. ‘Les matamos muchos Indios, y entre ellos ocho
Capitanes muy principales, hijos de los viejos Caciques.’
Five horses were wounded and fifteen soldiers, of whom one
died. The other chronicles admit of no dead. _Bernal Diaz_,
_Hist. Verdad._, 44.
[295] _Robertson_, _Hist. Am._, ii. 38-9; _Wilson’s Conq.
Mex._, 360-70; _Benzoni_, _Hist. Mondo Nvovo_, 51. It is
seldom that I encounter a book which I am forced to regard
as beneath censure. He who prints and pays the printer
generally has something to say, and generally believes
something of what he says to be true. An idiot may have
honest convictions, and a knave may have talents, but
where a book carries to the mind of the reader that its
author is both fool and knave, that is, that he writes only
foolishness and does not himself believe what he says, I
have not the time to waste in condemning such a work. And
yet here is a volume purporting to be _A New History of
the Conquest of Mexico_, written by Robert Anderson Wilson,
and bearing date Philadelphia, 1859, which one would think
a writer on the same subject should at least mention. The
many and magnificent monuments which to the present day
attest the great number and high culture of the Nahua race,
and the testimony to this effect offered by witnesses on
all sides, are ignored by him with a contempt that becomes
amusing as the pages reveal his lack of investigation and
culture. Indeed, the reader need go no further than the
introduction to be convinced on the latter point. Another
amusing feature is that the work pretends to vindicate the
assertions of Las Casas, who, in truth, extols more than
other Spanish author the vast number and advanced culture
of the natives. In addition to this mistaken assumption,
which takes away his main support, he states that Prescott
worked in ignorance of his subject and his authorities,
and to prove the assertion he produces wrongly applied or
distorted quotations from different authors, or assumes
meanings that were never intended, and draws erroneous
conclusions. Thus it is he proves to his own satisfaction
that Mexico City was but a village occupied by savages of
the Iroquois stamp, and that Cortés was the boastful victor
over little bands of naked red men. As for the ruins, they
were founded by Phœnician colonists in remote ages. Another
tissue of superficial observations, shaped by bigotry and
credulous ignorance, was issued by the same author under
the title of _Mexico and its Religion_, New York, 1855,
most enterprisingly reprinted in the disguise of _Mexico:
its Peasants and its Priests_, New York, 1856. In common
with Mr Morgan, and others of that stamp, Mr Wilson seems
to have deemed it incumbent on him to traduce Mr Prescott
and his work, apparently with the view of thereby attracting
attention to himself. Such men are not worthy to touch
the hem of Mr Prescott’s garment; they are not worthy of
mention in the same category with him.
[296] _Lorenzana_, _Viage_, ix., wherein the appearance of the hill
is described as the bishop saw it. _Ixtlilxochitl_, _Hist.
Chich._, 292; _Camargo_, _Hist. Tlax._, 146. Other authors
differ. ‘_Teoatzinco_, cioè il luogo dell’acqua divina.’
_Clavigero_, _Storia Mess._, iii. 44. Duran assumes that
the battle was for the possession of this place, which he
calls Tecoac. _Hist. Ind._, MS., ii. 418, 422; _Tezozomoc_,
_Hist. Mex._, ii. 256. ‘Aldea de pocas casas, que tenia
vna torrezilla y tẽplo.’ _Gomara_, _Hist. Mex._, 74.
[297] So Cortés distinctly says. Bernal Diaz writes,
however, that this day was devoted to rest. Still, a later
observation indicates that Cortés is right.
[298] _Id._ Bernal Diaz, _Hist. Verdad._, 44, admits only
twenty captives, and blames the allies for firing the
villages; but Cortés is frank enough about it.
[299] Prescott, _Mex._, 438-42, gives a pretty description
of the army, but is so carried away that he dons it with
helmets glittering with gold and precious stones, etc.; and
this in spite of the efforts of the chroniclers to exhibit
the Tlascaltecs as very poor in anything but rude comforts.
[300] Under five captains, to whom he applies the names of
the four lords, as he understands them, and of the ruler of
Huexotzinco. _Hist. Verdad._, 45; _Gomara_, _Hist. Mex._,
75. 149,000 men, says Cortés, in his second letter, 62,
but this exactness is probably due to a printer’s mistake.
[301] For colors and banners, and how carried, see _Native
Races_, ii. 411-12, and _Torquemada_, i. 436.
[302] He was detected in this trick afterward. ‘Lo qual fue
gran refrigerio y socorro para la necesidad que tenian.’
_Gomara_, _Hist. Mex._, 76. Oviedo increases the gift to
700 baskets. iii. 495. Gomara proceeds to relate that
in sign of contempt for the small number of the enemy,
whom it could be no honor for his large army to overcome,
Xicotencatl detached 2000 warriors—200 says Oviedo—to seize
and bring him the strangers bound. They attacked, and were
routed with an almost total destruction of their number.
‘No escapo hombre dellos, sino los q̄ acertaron el passo
de la barranca.’ loc. cit. 76.
[303] Bernal Diaz states that they did not wait for the
enemy to attack, but marched forth and met them one eighth
of a league from camp. _Hist. Verdad._, 45. But Cortés says
distinctly, ‘Otro dia en amaneciendo dan sobre nuestro real
mas de ciento y cuarenta y nueve mil hombres.’ _Cartas_,
62. Gomara and Herrera also allow Indians to attack the
camp first. Cortés is too fond of announcing when he takes
the initiative to have failed to say so had he done it in
this case.
[304] ‘Son of Chichimeclatecle,’ says Bernal Diaz, a name
which should read Chichimeca-tecuhtli.
[305] That of Guaxolcingo—meaning Huexotzinco. _Bernal Diaz_,
_Hist. Verdad._, 45. That of Tlehuexolotzin. _Clavigero_,
_Storia Mess._, iii. 46. Solis exaggerates this into an
actual battle between the leaders and their followers. _Hist.
Mex._, i. 255-8. Herrera intimates that a secret arrangement
had been formed between Cortés and the seceding captain,
the latter appearing with his officers at the camp, the
evening after the previous battle, and, declaring himself
convinced that the Spaniards were invincible, offered not
only to remain neutral, but to aid them in entering Tlascala.
Cortés agreed. When the captain returned to Xicotencatl’s
camp he was so badly beaten that he came back to Cortés
for medical treatment. Certain signs were to be worn, so
that the Spaniards might respect the neutral troops. dec.
ii. lib. vi. cap. vi. He also relates that one Tlascaltec
maintained himself so long and bravely against two Spanish
soldiers that Láres, the smith, rushed up, cried shame upon
the twain, and lanced the warrior. _Id._, cap. vii.
[306] This soldier himself received two wounds, which
did not prevent him from fighting, however. ‘Nos mataron
vn soldado,’ he says, and a few lines further down, ‘y
enterramos los muertos ... porque no viessen los Indios
que eramos mortales.’ _Hist. Verdad._, 45. Thus even the
‘True Historian’ reveals the common weakness. _Hazart_,
_Kirchen-Geschichte_, ii. 512-14; _West-Indische Spieghel_,
224-35; _Franck_, _Weltbuch_, ccxxix.