ENTRY INTO TLASCALA.
SEPTEMBER, 1519.
NATIVE CHIEFS SENT AS ENVOYS TO THE TLASCALAN CAPITAL—THEIR
FAVORABLE RECEPTION—XICOTENCATL PLANS RESISTANCE
TO CORTÉS—SENDS OUT SPIES—CORTÉS SENDS THEM BACK
MUTILATED—THE SPANIARDS ATTACK AND DEFEAT XICOTENCATL—NIGHT
ENCOUNTERS—GENERAL DISSATISFACTION AND A DESIRE TO
RETURN TO VILLA RICA—ENVOYS ARRIVE FROM MONTEZUMA—CORTÉS
RECEIVES XICOTENCATL AND THE TLASCALAN LORDS—PEACE
CONCLUDED—TLASCALA—FESTIVITIES AND REJOICINGS—MASS
CELEBRATED—CORTÉS INCLINED TO EXTREME RELIGIOUS ZEAL—BRIDES
PRESENTED TO THE SPANIARDS—APPROPRIATE CEREMONIES—PREPARING
TO LEAVE TLASCALA FOR CHOLULA—COMMUNICATIONS WITH THE
CHOLULTECS.
In the late battle three chiefs had been captured, and they together
with two others were sent, this time to the Tlascalan capital direct,
to carry an offer of peace, and to explain that the Spaniards would
not have harmed their warriors had they not been obliged to do so.
If peace was still declined they would come and destroy them all.
Meanwhile Cortés set out on another foraging and raiding expedition,
and “burned more than ten towns, one exceeding three thousand houses,”
retiring by the early afternoon, when the Indians began to gather in
aid of the raided neighbors.[307]
Tired of the fruitless fighting, attended with loss of life and
property only to themselves as it appeared, the peace party in Tlascala
had been gaining the ascendancy, with the efforts of Maxixcatzin,
supported as he now was by the powerful factions which had quarrelled
with the general. When the peace messengers of Cortés arrived they
were therefore received with favor. His previous friendly offers
were considered, also his kind treatment of captives, so unusual
with the natives, and the oracles and signs of a coming race of
rulers. Whether gods or men, they were evidently invincible, and the
friendship and alliance held out by them must be desirable, and ought
to be secured before the strangers, embittered by further resistance,
should pass on to join their enemies. An embassy, headed by Costomatl
and Tolinpanecatl,[308] was accordingly despatched with provisions
and some other trifling gifts to open negotiations for peace. Humbly
these men appeared before Cortés, expressing the sorrow of the lords
for the hostility shown, and their desire for peace. With a grave
reproval for their obstinacy, Cortés said that he would admit their
apology, and the envoys departed, after leaving beside the other
gifts a number of male and female slaves.[309]
Smarting under the disgrace of his defeats, Xicotencatl had meanwhile
been laying plans to retrieve himself. Among other counsellors he had
summoned diviners to his aid, and they, calling to mind the assumption
that the Spaniards were children of the sun, declared that as such
the new-comers were invincible only when animated by its beams, and at
night, when deprived of this invigorating power, they became mortals,
who must bow to superior force. Knowing the strength of the party
opposed to him in the Tlascalan capital, he does not appear to have
submitted his projects there, but to have ventured upon detaining the
envoys as they were returning from the Spanish camp until the result
of his plans should have been ascertained; and this in face of the
command to desist from hostility.[310] In order to make everything as
sure as possible for the intended blow, Xicotencatl sent fifty Indians
to the camp, with instructions to gather information concerning the
approaches, the condition of the soldiers, and other points. They
appeared before Cortés with the usual demonstrations of respect, and,
placing before him five female slaves, a quantity of food, and other
presents, they said: “Lord, behold these slaves! If you are fierce
gods, eat their flesh and blood, and more shall be brought; if gentle
gods, take these feathers and incense; if men, here are fowl, bread,
and fruit.” Cortés answered that they required no sacrifices of men.
Had they desired such they could have taken by force all the victims
needed. He rebuked their obstinacy and advised submission.[311] They
were then taken aside to receive the hospitalities of the camp, after
which they dispersed to satisfy their curiosity, and to question the
allies. This aroused the suspicions of Teuch, the Cempoalan chief,
who warned the general. Seizing the men he examined them singly, and
soon ascertained that their object was not only to spy, but to fire
the huts, and otherwise to aid the attack which would be made upon
the camp that very night. Finding that his friendly advances had been
scorned, Cortés resolved to inflict a lesson that would be understood
by a people so deeply intent upon war and sacrifices. This was to cut
off the hands of the leading spies, and the thumbs of others, and to
send them back with the message that this would be the punishment of
spies, and that the Spaniards were prepared, night or day, to face
their enemies.[312]
Fearing the confusion and danger of a night attack, when the artillery
and other means would be less effective, Cortés resolved to anticipate
the enemy by a counter charge, wherein the cavalry might render
particular service. Learning that Xicotencatl was hidden with ten
thousand or twenty thousand men behind a hill not far off, Cortés
did not despatch the mutilated spies till after dusk, in order to
let him approach nearer to camp.[313] When his messengers returned
to Xicotencatl and displayed their bleeding stumps, the general
was troubled, and throughout his army there was consternation, and
numbers of warriors declared openly that it was useless to fight men
who not only appeared to be invincible, but who could read their very
intentions. While in this state of demoralization they were startled
by the jingling of bells and the tramp of the dreaded horses, magnified
by their fears and by the weird moonlight into a host. The next moment
the Spaniards announced their presence by a ringing “Santiago!” and,
undeterred by the few stray and feeble volleys of stones and arrows
sent against them, they rode into the crowds of natives already in
full flight, slashing and riding down in all directions.[314]
After this lesson Xicotencatl appears to have made no further attempts
to molest the Spaniards, although small skirmishing parties, chiefly
Otomís, continued to hover round the camp and give the soldiers
opportunities for sallies. Gomara magnifies these skirmishes into
daily attacks on the camp by the army, whose divisions take turns so
as not to embarrass one another. This caused them to fight better,
partly from a spirit of rivalry to surpass the preceding record. The
ambition of the natives was to kill one Spaniard at least, but the
object was never attained, so far as they knew. This continued for
a fortnight, and daily came also messengers with food to sustain the
strangers.[315]
In order to farther impress upon the Indians that fighting by night
was quite congenial to the Spaniards, Cortés set out one midnight to
raid and forage in the direction of a large town called Tzompantzinco,
which could be distinguished beyond a range of hills, toward the
capital.[316] The soldiers had not gone far before one horse after
another began to tremble and fall, including the general’s. This was
regarded a bad omen, and the men urged a return, but Cortés laughed it
off, sent back five horses, and proceeded with the rest, declaring that
God, in whose cause they were engaged, was superior to nature.[317]
Two small villages were surprised, with some slaughter, and shortly
before dawn the Spaniards fell upon the large town, containing twenty
thousand houses, it is said. Frightened out of their senses by the
noise, the people rushed from the dwellings to join in the crowd
which sought to elude the pursuers. Finding that no resistance was
attempted, Cortés speedily stopped the attack, and collecting his men
in the plaza he forbade any attempt on life or property. The chiefs
and priests presently appeared with gifts of food and two female
slaves, pleading that the proximity of Xicotencatl’s army had prevented
them from sending in their submission. They would henceforth prove
their gratitude for his leniency by sending supplies to the camp.
Cortés accepted their excuses, and told them to proceed to Tlascala
to urge upon the lords the necessity for accepting peace. Before
returning, Cortés ascended a hill, and thence saw the capital, with
its surrounding villages. “Behold,” he said to those who had objected
to his leniency with the towns, “what boots it to have killed these
people, when so many enemies exist over there?”[318]
Although left in comparative peace for some days, the end of the
campaign seemed to the Spaniards as remote as ever. The harass and
hardship of their life, the vigils, the cold nights, the scanty
supplies, the absence of salt, medicine, and many other necessaries,
all this was severely felt, particularly since so large a number
were either sick or wounded, including Cortés and Padre Olmedo.[319]
The ailments and wounds were as a rule slight, yet they helped to
magnify dangers, and to dim every cheerful aspect. The very cessation
of regular hostile demonstrations seemed to cover a plot for a new
Tlascalan combination. If this people could exhibit such armies
and such valor, what must be expected from the far more numerous
and equally warlike Aztecs? These views owed not a little of their
acceptance to the fears and exaggeration of the Indian allies, and
through their medium the prospect of reaching the impregnable Mexico
began to appear preposterous. Cortés was aware that this feeling
existed among a large number, for in making his customary tour of
the camp one evening he had overheard a party of soldiers express
themselves pretty strongly about the madness of his enterprise. It
would happen to him as to Pedro Carbonero, who ventured with his force
among the Moors and was never heard of again. The general should be
left to go alone.
The murmurs in camp grew particularly strong during the raid on
Tzompantzinco, promoted of course by Velazquez’ men; and when Cortés
returned, a deputation of seven, whom Bernal Diaz forbears to name,
appeared before him to recommend that, in view of the suffering, the
danger, and the dark prospects, they should return to Villa Rica,
build a vessel, and send to Cuba for reinforcements. They were only
tempting providence by their foolhardy course. Finding that arguments
would be lost on these men, Cortés had caused his adherents to rally,
and turning to them he recalled the determination formed at Villa
Rica to advance on Mexico, and extolled their valorous deeds, which
dimmed even the Greek and Roman records. He was suffering equally with
them, yet he wavered not. Should they, the brave Spaniards, belie
their character and country, and desert their duty to their king,
to their God, who had protected them hitherto? To retreat now would
be to abandon the treasures to be found only a few leagues off, the
reward for which they had striven during a whole year, and to draw upon
themselves the contempt not only of their countrymen, who at present
looked on them as the bravest of the brave, but that of the natives,
who regarded them as gods. The Tlascaltecs had already sued for peace,
but let the Spaniards take one step in retreat, and the enemy would
turn with renewed ardor on them, joined by the Mexicans, so far held
in check by their fame and deeds. Even the allies would for their own
safety join to crush them. To retire was impossible, because it would
be fatal. In any case, death was preferable to dishonor. The usual
marks of approval which followed the speech silenced the deputation,
and nothing more was heard about retreat.[320]
* * * * *
Great was the sensation in Mexico at the successive reports of easy
Spanish victories over the stanch armies of Tlascala—victories by an
insignificant band over armies which had successfully resisted the
vast forces of the Anáhuac allies. Since it was only too evident that
force could not keep the strangers from reaching the capital, Montezuma
again called his council to consider the situation. Cuitlahuatzin
proposed that they should be bought off with presents, while Cacama
represented that their mission was probably harmless, and that they
should be frankly invited to the city, there to be awed with the
grandeur of the monarch. Others favored this course, but with the
idea of laying traps for the strangers. The fear of their being warned
and aided by Ixtlilxochitl, the rebellious brother of Cacama, caused
Montezuma to incline to the advice of Cuitlahuatzin; and six prominent
lords, headed by Atempanecatl,[321] were accordingly despatched to the
Spanish camp to congratulate the white chieftain on his victories,
and to offer annual tribute in gold, silver, jewels, cloth—in fact,
to do almost anything that his king might desire, on the condition
that he should not proceed to Mexico. The envoys entered the presence
of Cortés followed by two hundred attendants, and laying before him
a present of twenty bales of embroidered cloth and feathers, and
about one thousand castellanos in gold-dust, they delivered their
message.[322] They explained that their monarch would gladly see him
in Mexico, but feared to expose the Spaniards to the hardships of the
rough and sterile country wherein Mexico was situated. Cortés expressed
his thanks, and said that he would consider the proposal.[323]
While entertaining the Mexican envoys the camp was stirred by the
announcement of the Tlascalan plenipotentiaries, consisting of fifty
leading men, headed by Axayacatzin Xicotencatl himself.[324] The
soldiers crowded forward to gaze at the dreaded general, who appeared
to be a man of about thirty-five years, tall and broad-shouldered,
well formed and robust, with broad, rough face, grave in manner and
commanding in presence, though he came a suppliant. He had used every
means as a noble patriot to save his country from the enslavement
which he seemed with prophetic spirit to have foreseen; and as a
brave soldier he had struggled to uphold the honor of the army. With
pride subdued he had sought pardon of the lords for disobeying their
orders,[325] and offered the best amends in his power by personally
humbling himself before the chief who had torn the wreath from
his brow. He approached Cortés with the customary profound salute,
while his attendants swung the copal censer, and announced that he
had come in the name of his father and the other lords to ask his
friendship, and to offer their submission to the mightiest of men, so
gentle yet so valiant. Accepting a seat by Cortés’ side, he entered
into explanations, and frankly took upon himself the blame for the
resistance offered, but pleaded the Tlascalan love for liberty,
threatened, as they imagined, by an ally of Montezuma, for were not
Mexican allies in the Spanish train? and had not the Aztec monarch
exchanged friendly intercourse with them? While delighted with the
manner of the chief, and particularly with the object of his visit,
Cortés thought it necessary to administer a slight rebuke for the
obstinate refusal of his friendly offers; yet since his people had
already suffered enough for this, he freely pardoned them in the
name of his king, and received them as vassals.[326] He hoped the
peace would be permanent; if not, he would be obliged to destroy the
capital and massacre the inhabitants. Xicotencatl assured him that
the Tlascaltecs would henceforth be as faithful as they had hitherto
been unfriendly. In proof of their sincerity the chiefs would remain
with him as hostages. He begged Cortés to come to the city, where
the lords and nobles were awaiting him, and regretted not being able
to offer a present worthy of his acceptance, but they were poor in
treasures, even in cloth and salt, and what they once possessed had
been surrendered to the Mexicans.[327]
Mass was said by Padre Diaz to celebrate the concluded peace, and in
honor of the occasion Tecohuatzinco received the name of Victoria.[328]
Both Spaniards and allies concluded the day with feasting and
appropriate demonstrations of their delight. At Tlascala, where it
was soon understood that the Spaniards were in some way to liberate
the state from the tyranny of Montezuma, floral decorations and
sacrifices gave eclat to the festivities, and twenty thousand leading
men are said to have taken part in the _mitote_ dance, singing to
the prospective overthrow of the Mexicans and to the glory of the
Spaniards.
The Mexican envoys felt not a little chagrined at a peace which
could bode no good to their nation. Before Cortés, however, they
sought to ridicule the whole proceeding as a farce on the part of the
Tlascaltecs. The latter were too treacherous to be trusted. When the
Spaniards were once in their city they would fall on them, and avenge
the defeats and losses which till then must rankle in their hearts.
Cortés told them that the Spaniards could not be overcome in town
or field, by day or night. He intended going to Tlascala, and if the
inhabitants proved treacherous they would be destroyed. Xicotencatl
had been no less abusive of the Mexicans during his late interview,
and Cortés, as he declares, enjoyed their dissension, sympathizing
alternately with either party, in order to promote his own ends.[329]
Finding the general so determined, the envoys begged that he would
remain at the camp for a few days while they communicated with the
emperor. This was granted, partly because Cortés wished to await
developments, not being at all sure of the Tlascaltecs, and partly
because he and others needed a respite to recover from their wounds
and fevers.[330]
* * * * *
The only result of the message to Mexico appears to have been
an instruction to the envoys to use every effort to prevent the
Spaniards from going either to Tlascala or to Mexico; and to make
their representations more weighty a present was sent, consisting of
ten pieces of wrought gold, worth over three thousand castellanos,
says Bernal Diaz, and of several hundred pieces of cotton fabrics,
richly embroidered.[331] It served but as another magnet to aid in
attracting the invaders. Cortés accepted the presents, but held out
no hopes of changing his determination.
The Tlascaltecs had meanwhile kept the camp liberally supplied with
provisions, for which they would accept no recompense, and were daily
urging Cortés to depart for Tlascala. Alarmed at his delay, the lords
thought it best to go in person, accompanied by the leading nobles,
to entreat him.[332] The last envoy from Montezuma had just delivered
his presents when they were announced. Descending from their litters
they advanced toward Cortés with the customary salute,[333] the lead
being taken by Xicotencatl, ruler of Tizatlan, so blind and old
that he had to be supported by attendants, and by Maxixcatzin, of
Ocotelulco, the youngest and wisest of the lords.[334]
Xicotencatl expressed his sorrow for their resistance, but reminded
the Spanish chief that, this being forgiven, they had now come to
invite him to their city, and to offer their possessions and services.
He must not believe the slanderous insinuations which they feared the
Mexicans had uttered. Cortés could not resist the evident sincerity
of this appeal from so prominent a body, and he hastened to assure
them that preparations for the departure and other affairs had alone
detained him.[335]
The lords accordingly returned to prepare for the reception, and to
send five hundred carriers to assist in the march, which began the
following morning. The Mexican envoys were invited to accompany the
Spaniards, in order that they might witness the honors paid to them.
The road to Tlascala, some six leagues in length, passed through
a hilly yet well cultivated country, skirted on the east by the
snow-crowned peak which was soon to bear the revered name of Malinche.
In every direction were verdure-clad slopes spotted with huge oaks,
while above and beyond the vista was closed by a dark green fringe of
the hardier fir, which seemed to rise like shielding bulwarks round
the settlements in the valleys. The leading towns on the route were
Tzompantzinco and Atlihuetzin, where the population turned out _en
masse_ to receive the Spaniards.
A quarter of a league from the capital they were met by the lords
and nobles, accompanied by a great retinue, attired in the colors of
the different districts. Women of rank came forward with flowers in
garlands and bouquets; and a long line of priests in flowing white
robes, with cowls, and flowing hair clotted with blood from freshly
slashed ears, marched along swinging their copal censers, while in
the rear and around surged a crowd estimated at one hundred thousand
persons.
Before them rose the capital, prominently located upon four hills,
“so great and so admirable,” quoth Cortés, “that although I say but
little of it, that little will appear incredible, for it is much
larger than Granada and much stronger, with as good edifices and with
much more people than Granada had at the time it was captured; also
much better supplied with the things of the earth.”[336] There were
four distinct quarters, separated by high stone walls and traversed
by narrow streets. In each stood a lordly palace for the ruler, and
here and there rose temples and masonry buildings for the nobles, but
the greater part of the dwellings were one-story adobe and mud huts.
The highest quarter in situation was Tepeticpac, the first settled,
separated from Ocotelulco by the river Zahuatl.[337] The latter was
not only the largest and most populous, but the richest, and held a
daily market attended by thirty thousand people, it is claimed.[338]
Quiahuiztlan lay below on the river, and above it Tizatlan, the
residence of the blind chief.[339]
It was here that the Spaniards entered on September 23d,[340]
henceforth a feast-day to its people. Through streets adorned with
festoons and arches, and past houses covered with cheering multitudes,
they proceeded to the palace of Xicotencatl, who came forward to
tender the customary banquet. Cortés saluted him with the respect due
to his age,[341] and was conducted to the banquet-hall, after which
quarters were pointed out in the courts and buildings surrounding the
temple.[342] Neat beds of matting and nequen cloth were spread for
the troops. Close by were the quarters of the allies and the Mexican
envoys.
A round of invitations and festivities was tendered the guests in
the several quarters; yet Cortés allowed no relaxation in the usual
discipline and watches, greatly to the grief of the lords, who
finally remonstrated against this apparent want of confidence. The
Mexicans must have poisoned the mind of Malinche against them, they
said. Malinche was becoming a recognized name for Cortés among the
Indians. It seems strange that they should have fixed upon no higher
sounding title for so great a leader than ‘master of Marina,’ as
it implied, while the inferior Alvarado was dubbed Tonatiuh, ‘the
sun.’ The Tlascaltecs had, however, another name for the general in
Chalchiuitl, the term for their favorite precious stones, and also
a title of Quetzalcoatl, ‘the white god.’[343] Cortés was quite
touched by the fervor of the lords in their newly formed friendship.
Untutored in some respects, they appeared to rush like children from
one extreme to another—from obstinate enmity to profound devotion,
now worshipping the doughty little band who had overcome their vast
number, and admiring their every trait and act, willing to yield
life itself for the heroic leader. He hastened to assure them of his
confidence, and declined the hostages they offered, asserting that
strict discipline was part of the military system which he was in duty
bound to maintain. This seemed to convince the lords, and they even
sought to introduce among their own troops some of the regulations
which they learned to admire.
The second day of their sojourn Padre Diaz said mass in the presence
of the two leading lords, who thereupon presented Cortés with half a
dozen fishes made of gold, several curious stones, and some nequen
cloth, altogether worth about twenty pesos, says Bernal Diaz.[344]
Insignificant as was the gift, they expressed a hope that in view
of their poverty he would accept it as a token of friendship. Cortés
assured them that “he received it from their hand with greater pleasure
than he would a house filled with gold dust from others.”[345] In
return he gave them some of the robes and other useful articles
obtained from Montezuma, beside beads and trinkets. They now proposed,
as a further proof of their good-will, to bestow on the captains
their daughters, in order to have for relatives men so good and brave.
Cortés expressed himself pleased, but explained that this could not
be admitted till the Tlascaltecs renounced idolatry and its attendant
evils.[346] He thereupon proceeded to expound to them the doctrines of
his faith and contrast them with the impure, cruel, and bloody rites
practised by them. This was ably interpreted by Marina and Aguilar,
who were by this time expert in preaching, and the cross and virgin
image were produced to illustrate the discourse. The lords answered
that they believed the Christian’s God must be good and powerful, since
he was worshipped by such men, and they were willing to accord him
a place by the side of their idols;[347] but they could not renounce
their own time-honored and benevolent deities. To do so would be to
create an uprising among the people, and bring war and pestilence
from the outraged gods. Cortés produced further arguments, only to
be told that in time they would better understand the new doctrines,
and might then yield, but at present their people would choose death
rather than submit to such sacrilege.
Finding that the religious zeal of Cortés threatened to overcome his
prudence, Padre Olmedo hastened to interpose his counsel, representing
the danger of losing all that their valor and perseverance had gained
if they pressed so delicate a subject with a superstitious and warlike
people as yet only half gained over. He had never approved of forcible
conversion, and could see no advantage in removing idols from one
temple when they would be sure to rise in another. Indeed, persecution
could only tend to root idolatry more deeply in the heart. It were
better to let the true faith work its way into the appreciation of
the people, as it would be sure to do if the natives were given an
opportunity to contrast their bloody rites with the religion of Christ,
provided the Spaniards would themselves follow the precepts of love
and gentleness they were commending to the Indians. The success of
the conquest owes much to Olmedo, whose heart, like Las Casas’, warmed
for the benighted Indians, to him wayward children who must be won by
moderation. Like a guardian angel he rose in defence of his flock,
saving at the same time the Spaniards from their own passions.[348]
Alvarado, Velazquez de Leon, and others, who had no desire to witness
a repetition of the Cempoalan iconoclasm, supported the father in his
counsel, and Cortés agreed to content himself for the present with
having an appropriate place set aside in the temple for an altar and
a cross.[349] And upon this cross, say the credulous chroniclers,
a white radiant cloud, in form of a whirling pillar, descended at
night from the sky, impressing the natives with the sacredness of
the symbol, and guarding it till the conquest had established the
faith in the land.[350] The Spaniards succeeded further in abolishing
human sacrifices, and the fattening-cages being torn down, a large
number of intended victims sought refuge in their camp, lauding their
doctrines and aiding not a little to pave the way for conversion.[351]
The inaugural mass for the new altar was followed by the baptism of
the brides, the daughters and nieces of the lords being the first to
undergo the ceremony. Cortés pleading that he was already married,
Tecuilhuatzin, the daughter of Xicotencatl, destined for him, was
at his request given to Alvarado, his brother and captain as he
proclaimed him, and blessed with the name of Luisa, while her sister
Tolquequetzaltzin, baptized as Lucía, was conferred on the brother,
Jorge de Alvarado. Maxixcatzin’s niece Zicuetzin, a pretty girl,
was named Elvira and given to Velazquez de Leon, it appears. Olid,
Sandoval, Ávila, and others also received distinguished brides with
dowries. Cortés found it necessary, however, to decline accepting
wives for the whole company, as the lords proposed.[352] Indeed, they
urged him to settle among them, offering to give lands and to build
houses for the whole party.[353]
Finding him determined to proceed to Mexico, they offered their
coöperation, and gave an account of the wealth, power, and condition
of the lake states, dwelling in particular on the magnificence of
Montezuma. They did not omit a tirade against his tyranny, and stated
that whenever he proposed to attack Tlascala no less than one hundred
thousand men were placed in the field. It was because they were
forewarned that their resistance was so successful, and because the
Aztec troops, gathered as they were to a great extent from subject
provinces, fought with less spirit.[354]
Cortés had now a further motive for going to Mexico, which was the
alliance proposed to him by Ixtlilxochitl, the rebellious brother of
Cacama, and ruler of northern Acolhuacan, who hoped with Spanish aid
to overthrow the hated Montezuma, and raise himself to the throne
of Tezcuco, at least, and to the head of the allied states. To this
pleasing proposal Cortés replied in a manner which could not fail to
promote his own interests by keeping alive the spirit of dissension
among his prey.[355] Huexotzinco, the ally of Tlascala, sent in her
formal adhesion about the same time.
Finding that the Spaniards could not be kept away from Mexico,
Montezuma thought it best at any rate to hasten their departure
from Tlascala. An urgent invitation to visit him in his capital
was accordingly sent through four prominent caciques, attended by
followers bearing as usual a costly present, consisting of ten bales
of embroidered robes and a number of gold articles, worth fully ten
thousand pesos.[356] A council was held to consider the departure
and the route to be taken. The lords of Tlascala did not relish the
idea of a friendly visit to Mexico by their new allies, to be won
over perhaps by the arts of the enemy. They sought to impress upon
Cortés that Montezuma was the incarnation of treachery, awaiting only
an opportunity to get them into his power and to crush them. They
were ready to join in an armed descent upon the tyrant, proposing to
spare neither young nor old; the former, because they might grow up
to be avengers, the latter because of their dangerous counsel. Cortés
suggested that he might yet establish friendly relations between them
and the Mexicans, and reopen the trade in salt, cotton, and other
articles; but this aroused only an incredulous smile. With regard
to the route, they favored either the Calpulalpan road, proposed by
Ixtlilxochitl, or that leading through Huexotzinco, friendly to them,
declaring that it would be preposterous to pass by the way of Cholula,
as urged by the Mexican envoys, since this was the very hatching-place
for Montezuma’s plots. The road to it, and every house there, were
full of snares and pitfalls; the great Quetzalcoatl temple-pyramid,
for instance, being known to contain a mighty stream which could at
any moment be let loose upon invaders, and Montezuma having a large
army hidden near the saintly city.[357]
The extraordinary accounts of Cholula served to arouse Cortés’
curiosity, and the representation of dangers made him the more
resolved to encounter them, chiefly because he did not wish to appear
intimidated. This route was beside easier, and passed through a rich
country. He accordingly decided in favor of it, and when reminded of
the suspicious absence of any deputation from that city, he sent a
message to the rulers that they might remedy the omission.[358]
The Cholultec council was divided on the answer to be sent, three
of the members being in favor of compliance, and the other three,
supported by the generalissimo, opposing any concession.[359] Finally
a compromise was effected by sending three or four persons of no
standing, and without presents, to say that the governors of the
city were sick and could not come. The Tlascaltecs pointed out the
disrespect in sending such men and such a message, and Cortés at
once despatched four messengers to signify his displeasure, and to
announce that unless the Cholultecs within three days sent persons
of authority to offer allegiance to the Spanish king, he would march
forth and destroy them, proceeding against them as against rebels.[360]
Finding that it would not do to trifle with the powerful strangers,
some of the highest nobles in the city were despatched to the Spanish
camp, with a suitable retinue, to tender excuses, pleading that they
had dreaded to enter Tlascala, a state hostile to them.
They invited Cortés to their city, where amends would be made by
rendering the obedience and tribute which was considered due from
them as vassals of his king.[361]
FOOTNOTES
[307] _Cortés_, _Cartas_, 62-3. According to Gomara the
Indians pursued to the very camp, where they were defeated
with great slaughter, after five hours’ fighting. _Hist.
Mex._, 76-7.
[308] _Camargo_, _Hist. Tlax._, 146. Duran gives a short
speech, delivered in the council-chamber. _Hist. Ind._,
MS., ii. 422-3.
[309] Cortés places the arrival of this embassy on the
day following the raiding of the ten towns, _Cartas_, 63;
but Bernal Diaz at a later date. He makes the envoys four
in number, and allows them, in returning, to instruct the
neighboring settlements to furnish supplies to the Spaniards,
all of which Xicotencatl prevents. _Hist. Verdad._, 47-8,
50, 55.
[310] Bernal Diaz assumes that the lords consult the
diviners, and allow a night attack to be made; but then
he describes two night attacks, while Cortés and others
distinctly allow only one, and he forgets his former
admission that, in addition to the peace party, half the
army had actually abandoned Xicotencatl. It is after this
first night attack, ignored by other writers, that the
senate send in their submission, and order Xicotencatl to
desist from hostilities. He refuses to obey, and detains
the envoys on their way to the Spaniards, whereupon his
officers are ordered to desert him. Finally he repents and
is forgiven. _Hist. Verdad._, 46-7. The detention of the
envoys must be placed on their return from the Spanish camp,
for Cortés distinctly states that the peace proposals from
the lords arrived before the night attack.
[311] According to Gomara, Cortés announces that his men
are mortal like themselves, which is not very likely. _Hist.
Mex._, 77. Bernal Diaz calls the slaves four old hags, and
allows the Indians to act in rather an insulting manner,
and without tendering the usual courtesies, which is also
unlikely, when we consider that they had an object to gain.
_Hist. Verdad._, 49.
[312] ‘Los mandé tomar á todos cincuenta y cortarles las
manos,’ says Cortés, _Cartas_, 63; but the phrase may be
loose, for Bernal Diaz specifies only seventeen as sent
back with hands or thumbs cut off. _Hist. Verdad._, 49.
‘El marques les hizo á algunos de ellos contar (sic pro
cortar) las manos.’ _Tapia_, _Rel._, in _Icazbalceta_, _Col.
Doc._, ii. 570. ‘Mandò cortar las manos a siete dellos,
y a algunos los dedos pulgares muy contra su voluntad.’
_Herrera_, dec. ii. lib. vi. cap. viii. Gomara places
this occurrence on the 6th of September, but it is most
likely later, and makes the spies a different party from
those bringing the slaves and feathers, who arrive on the
preceding day. _Hist. Mex._, 77-8. Bernal Diaz accounts
for this difference by stating that the party had been in
camp since the previous day. Robertson reverses the order
by assuming that mutilation of the spies so perplexes the
Indians that they send the men with the slaves and feathers
to ask whether they are fierce or gentle gods, or men. He
does not understand why so many as 50 spies should have
been sent, but had he read Cortés’ letter more closely, he
would have divined the reason, that they intended to fire
the camp, and otherwise aid in the attack. He stigmatizes
as barbarous the mutilation, _Hist. Am._, ii. 42, 451, but
forgets, in doing so, that the Spanish conquerors belonged
to an age when such deeds were little thought of. Spies even
now suffer death, and the above punishment may therefore
be regarded as comparatively lenient, particularly by a
people who daily tore out the heart from living victims.
The mutinous pilot of Villa Rica had his life spared, but
lost his feet. Cortés, as the captain of a small band,
was obliged to conform to his age and surroundings in the
measures taken for its safety.
[313] ‘En yendose las espias, vieron de nuestro real como
atrauessaua por vn cerro grandissima muchedumbre de gente,
y era la que traya Xicotencatl.’ _Gomara_, _Hist. Mex._, 79.
[314] _Cortés_, _Cartas_, 63-4; _Gomara_, _Hist. Mex._,
78-9; _Tapia_, _Rel._, in _Icazbalceta_, _Col. Doc._, ii.
569; _Herrera_, dec. ii. lib. vi. cap. viii. Bernal Diaz
describes a night attack with 10,000 warriors, made a few
days before, in which the Spaniards drive back the Indians
and pursue them, capturing four, while the morning revealed
twenty corpses still upon the plain. Two of the diviners
appear to have been sacrificed for their bad advice. He now
reappears with 20,000 men, but on meeting the mutilated spies
he becomes disheartened, and turns back without attempting a
blow. _Hist. Verdad._, 46, 49-50. He is the only authority
for two night expeditions. Having already been defeated
in one night attack, Xicotencatl would be less likely to
attempt a second, particularly since nocturnal movements
were contrary to Indian modes of warfare. Cortés distinctly
intimates that the present occasion was the first attempt
at a night raid. _Ixtlilxochitl_, _Hist. Chich._, 291.
[315] He begins to suspect that their object may also have
been to spy. Cortés was suffering from fever at this time,
and one night he took pills, a course which among the
Spaniards involved the strictest care and seclusion from
affairs. Early in the morning three large bodies of Indians
appeared, and regardless of his pills Cortés headed the
troops, fighting all day. The following morning, strange
to say, the medicine operated as if no second day had
intervened. ‘No lo cuẽto por milagro, sino por dezir lo que
passo, y que Cortés era muy sufridor de trabajos y males.’
_Gomara_, _Hist. Mex._, 80. But Sandoval assumes ‘que sin
duda fue milagro.’ _Hist. Carlos V._, i. 173. Solis applies
this story to the night attack, which seems plausible, and
smiles philosophically at Sandoval’s conclusion. _Hist.
Mex._, i. 271; _Ixtlilxochitl_, _Hist. Chich._, 291;
_Clavigero_, _Storia Mess._, iii. 47-8. ‘Tenia calenturas, ò
tercianas.’ _Bernal Diaz_, _Hist. Verdad._, 47. Some place
the story with the later capture of Tzompantzinco, where
it is entirely out of place, if indeed worth recording at
all, for this expedition was a voluntary project, calling
for no sick men to venture out. Duran relates that, tired of
being besieged, Cortés one night made a sally in different
directions. One party surprised all the native leaders
together and asleep, and brought them to camp. In the morning
they were sent back to the army, which had awakened to find
them missing. In recognition of their kind treatment the
chiefs raised the siege. This is told on the authority of
an eye-witness, who evidently reserved his choicest stories
for Padre Duran. _Hist. Ind._, MS., ii. 419-20.
[316] Bernal Diaz places it one league from the camp, and
Tapia four leagues. Ixtlilxochitl calls it Tzimpantzinco;
others vary.
[317] _Gomara_, _Hist. Mex._, 80. Tapia allows the horses
to overcome their attack and proceed. It appears to have
been due to the cold night winds.
[318] _Gomara_, _Hist. Mex._, 80-1. According to Herrera,
Alcalde Mayor Grado counselled Cortés, on seeing this
populous country, to return to Villa Rica and send to
Velazquez for aid. Deeply grieved at such advice, the general
remarked that the very stones would rise against them if
they retreated, dec. ii. lib. vi. cap. viii.; _Cortés_,
_Cartas_, 64-5. Bernal Diaz places this raid before the
final night attack. _Hist. Verdad._, 47; _Tapia_, _Rel._,
in _Icazbalceta_, _Col. Doc._, ii. 568-9.
[319] ‘Nos vimos todos heridos â dos, y â tres heridos, y
muy cansados, y otros dolientes ... y faltauan ya sobre
cincuenta y cinco soldados que se auian muerto en las
batallas, y dolencias, y frios, y estauan dolientes otros
doze.’ _Bernal Diaz_, 46. Prescott, i. 458, is careless
enough to accept this verbally, but the run of the text
here and elsewhere indicates that the sentence is rather
figurative. The last four words, ‘twelve others were on the
sick-bed,’ indicate that only three per cent. were laid low,
and that the general health and condition must therefore
have been tolerably good. This also indicates that the 55
missing soldiers could not have died since they left Vera
Cruz, as certain writers assume. The only obstacles under
which the soldiers could have succumbed in any number were
the several battles with the Tlascaltecs, wherein the total
number of the wounded nowhere foots up to more than 100. Of
these 50 per cent. could not have died, to judge from the
warfare engaged in, and from the very few, a couple at the
most, it is said, who fell on the field. Nor could diseases
have killed many during a month’s march through a fine and
fertile country, for the passage of the Cofre de Perote
did not affect the Spaniards seriously. Hence it must be
assumed that the 55 dead include the 35 who fell out of the
ranks ere the army reached Villa Rica. This leaves, say,
fifteen casualties for the present expedition since it left
Villa Rica, and that appears to be a fair proportion. The
only one who rightly interprets Bernal Diaz on this point
appears to be Torquemada, who says, ‘desde que salieron de
Cuba, se avian muerto cinquenta y cinco Castellanos.’ i.
428. The old soldier confirms the interpretation by stating
in more than one place that the Spaniards numbered 450, or
nearly so, on entering Mexico City. ubi sup., 65, 109.
[320] Gomara gives a long speech, and intimates that it
was delivered before a regular meeting. _Hist. Mex._,
81-3; _Cortés_, _Cartas_, 65; _Herrera_, dec. ii. lib.
vi. cap. ix.; _Torquemada_, i. 428-9; _Tapia_, _Rel._, in
_Icazbalceta_, _Col. Doc._, ii. 571. Bernal Diaz addresses
the speech to the committee, and states that Cortés, on
finding them still unconvinced, abandoned the gentle tone
he had used, and exclaimed with some asperity that it was
better to die like brave men than to live dishonored. The
men being appealed to upheld him, and declared that they
would listen to no contrary talk. _Hist. Verdad._, 48-9;
_Solis_, _Hist. Mex._, i. 259-63.
[321] Surnamed Tlachpanquizqin, it seems. _Ixtlilxochitl_,
_Hist. Chich._, 292; _Veytia_, _Hist. Ant. Méj._, iii. 380.
Bernal Diaz calls them five leading men.
[322] Nearly every writer states that Montezuma acknowledged
himself the vassal of the Spanish king, but it is doubtful
whether he stooped so low before a distant enemy. Gomara,
_Hist. Mex._, 79, calls the present 1000 ropas and 1000
castellanos de oro, and Cortés says pesos de oro, which
doubtless means dust; but Bernal Diaz terms the latter gold
jewels worth that amount. Prescott confounds these presents
with a later gift, and assumes without good authority that
they came after Xicotencatl had brought in his submission.
Gomara on the other hand places their arrival on September
6, which must be altogether too early.
[323] ‘No les quiso dar luego la respuesta, porque estaua
purgado del dia antes,’ says Bernal Diaz, in explanation
of the delay. _Hist. Verdad._, 51. Brasseur de Bourbourg,
however, lets Cortés declare that the orders of his king
oblige him to disregard the wishes of the emperor. But the
general was too prudent to give an open rebuff ere he saw
how affairs would develop. According to Gomara he wished to
detain them to witness his prowess against the Tlascaltecs.
_Hist. Mex._, 79; _Herrera_, dec. ii. lib. vi. cap. x.
[324] Ixtlilxochitl alone differs by stating that they were
headed by Tolinpanecatl Tlacatecuhtli the younger brother
of Xicotencatl; but he appears confused.
[325] Solis causes him to be dismissed from the office
of captain-general. _Hist. Mex._, i. 272-3. In _Carbajal
Espinosa_, _Hist. Mex._, ii. 154, is a portrait of him,
corresponding fairly to the description.
[326] It is generally accepted that the Tlascaltecs submitted
as vassals. Yet it is just as likely that they merely offered
their friendship and alliance, a relation which after the
conquest was changed into vassalage.
[327] According to Bernal Diaz the Tlascaltecs gave but one
present, and that at the capital, but some authors prefer
to bring it in here. ‘Le presentó cantidad de alpargatas
para el camino.’ _Ixtlilxochitl_, _Hist. Chich._, 292;
_Herrera_, dec. ii. lib. vi. cap. x.; _Gomara_, _Hist.
Mex._, 84-5; _Cortés_, _Cartas_, 66-7.
[328] _Herrera_, loc. cit.
[329] ‘Aun acordéme de una autoridad evangélica que dice:
_Omne regnum in seipsum divisum desolabitur_; y con los
unos y con los otros maneaba.’ _Cortés_, _Cartas_, 70.
According to Ixtlilxochitl quite a quarrel sprang up between
the Mexican and Tlascalan representatives in the presence
of Cortés, attended by an exchange of epithets. _Hist.
Chich._, 292.
[330] Cortés gives only his suspicions of the Tlascaltecs
as a reason for the delay, without referring to any
communication being sent to Mexico. _Cartas_, 67. Meanwhile
he wrote to Escalante at Villa Rica, informing him of
occurrences, and asking for a supply of holy wafers and
two bottles of wine, which speedily came. _Bernal Diaz_,
_Hist. Verdad._, 51.
[331] After an absence of six days, six leading men came
from Mexico, who brought, beside the ten pieces of jewelry,
200 pieces of cloth. _Bernal Diaz_, _Hist. Verdad._, 52.
The envoys who had been sent to Mexico came back on the
sixth day with ten beautifully wrought jewels of gold and
1500 pieces of cloth, far richer than the former. _Gomara_,
_Hist. Mex._, 85-6.
[332] ‘Todos los señores me vinieron á rogar.’ _Cortés_,
_Cartas_, 67. ‘Vinieron assi mismo todas las cabeçeras y
señores de Tlaxcallan a rogarle.’ _Gomara_, _Hist. Mex._,
86. Bernal Diaz, _Hist. Verdad._, 52, names five lords,
but the names are very confused, except Xicotencatl and
Maxixcatzin, which approach nearer to the usual form.
Ixtlilxochitl states that Cortés made it a condition that
the lords should come and ask him, whereupon they each
select two high representatives to proceed to the camp
and escort him to Tlascala. They were guided by the envoys
Tolinpanecatl and Costomatl, and brought a few jewels as
presents. _Hist. Chich._, 292-3. Nor does Camargo allow the
lords to go to the camp, but Costomatl and Tolinpanecatl
are sent. _Hist. Tlax._, 146.
[333] ‘Tocarõ las manos en el suelo, y besaron la tierra.’
_Bernal Diaz_, _Hist. Verdad._, 52.
[334] _Camargo_, _Hist. Tlax._, 155. Maxixcatzin is put
forward by the Spanish writers as the principal lord, chiefly
perhaps because he was the most devoted to the conquerors,
but also because his quarter of Ocotelulco was the largest
and richest. Camargo and Ixtlilxochitl place Xicotencatl
first, and he certainly takes the lead in speaking and
in receiving the Spaniards at his palace. His age, which
Camargo raises into the hundred, may have had something to
do with this, however.
[335] Bernal Diaz, _Hist. Verdad._, 52, states that he
pleaded the want of carriers, which was not very plausible,
unless intended as a hint at Tlascaltec hospitality.
[336] _Cortés_, _Cartas_, 67.
[337] Now Atoyac.
[338] Cortés proceeds to give an account of articles sold
here, which is on a par with his Granada comparison, and
accords little with the declared simplicity or poverty of the
people. In the temple over 800 persons had been sacrificed
during some years. _Peter Martyr_, dec. v. cap. ii.
[339] _Gomara_, _Hist. Mex._, 87-8; _Herrera_, dec. ii.
lib. vi. caps. v. xii. xiii.; _Carbajal Espinosa_, _Hist.
Mex._, ii. 162; _Las Casas_, _Hist. Apolog._, MS., 13-14.
[340] _Bernal Diaz_, _Hist. Verdad._, 52. Gomara, followed
by Herrera, says the 18th.
[341] ‘Se quitó la gorra y les hizo una muy grande y
humilde reverencia, y luego abrazó á Xicotencatl,’ says
Ixtlilxochitl, with an exactness which is doubtless intended
to impress the ruder Spanish population of his day. _Hist.
Chich._, 293. Camargo also describes ceremonies with some
detail, _Hist. Tlax._, 147, and Duran, _Hist. Ind._, MS.,
ii. 425-7.
[342] _Gomara_, _Hist. Mex._, 86. Camargo and Ixtlilxochitl
quarter the Spaniards in the palace. ‘Á las casas reales.’
_Sahagun_, _Hist. Conq._, 17.
[343] _Camargo_, _Hist. Tlax._, 150; _Bernal Diaz_, _Hist.
Verdad._, 52.
[344] Camargo calls it a rich present.
[345] _Bernal Diaz_, _Hist. Verdad._, 53.
[346] According to the somewhat mixed account of Bernal
Diaz, Xicotencatl offers his daughter at once to Cortés,
who accepts, and thereupon urges Padre Olmedo to begin a
raid against idolatry. The latter tells him to wait till the
daughters are brought. They are introduced on the following
day, five in number, and Xicotencatl joins the hands of
the general with the one intended for him. He accepts her,
but declares that she and her companions must remain with
their parents till conversion is consummated. Finally the
daughter is transferred to Alvarado.
[347] A not uncommon practice in Mexico, carried out in
the same manner as among the Romans. See _Native Races_,
iii., passim.
[348] Portrait in _Carbajal Espinosa_, _Hist. Mex._, ii.
165, and _Zamacois_, _Hist. Méj._, ii. 514.
[349] ‘En aquel templo adonde estaua aposentado, se
hiziesse vn capilla.’ _Herrera_, dec. ii. lib. vi. cap.
xv. A new temple near by was set aside for this. _Bernal
Diaz_, _Hist. Verdad._, 54. ‘Hizo la sala principal de
Xicotencatl Oratorio.’ _Ixtlilxochitl_, _Hist. Chich._,
294. ‘Hizo una iglesia en una casa de un ídolo principal.’
_Tapia_, _Rel._, in _Icazbalceta_, _Col. Doc._, ii. 572-3.
This author does not intimate that Cortés sought to force
conversion, Bernal Diaz alone being responsible for the
statement, though Herrera adopts it. Eager to remove the
reproach of infidelity from his people, Camargo relates
that Cortés insisted on the renunciation of idolatry, and
that the chiefs finally yielded, while placing upon him the
responsibility of removing the images. When the iconoclasm
began, the people hastened to hide their cherished idols,
which they long worshipped in secret, although accepting
baptism. _Hist. Tlax._, 150-8. In a hieroglyphic painting
still possessed by the cabildo, says Ixtlilxochitl, it is
shown that the lords were at this time baptized. He gives
their new names. _Hist. Chich._, 294.
[350] ‘Durò tres, ó quatro años.’ _Remesal_, _Hist. Chyapa_,
304; _Dávila_, _Teatro Ecles._, i. 78; _Camargo_, _Hist.
Tlax._, 140; _Herrera_, dec. ii. lib. vi. cap. xv. Solis
dwells upon the spiritual effect of the miracle, which
occurred immediately after the departure from Tlascala.
_Hist. Mex._, i. 324-5. Torquemada devotes a whole chapter
to it, and states that the first cross was raised by unseen
hands the night after the arrival of the Spaniards in
the city. The high-priest placed over it a guard, who was
surprised by a celestial light which appeared at midnight
and drove out the demon from the temple, iii. 200-3.
[351] ‘Lo primero que mandaua nuestro Capitan era quebralles
las tales carceles, y echar fuera los prisioneros.’ _Bernal
Diaz_, _Hist. Verdad._, 55.
[352] In order to obtain by them a race of heroes. Most
writers, following Bernal Diaz and the less explicit
chroniclers, allow Xicotencatl to give only one daughter,
but Ixtlilxochitl names two, _Hist. Chich._, 294. and
Juarros, in his biography of the Alvarados, enumerates
their different wives, and among them the two sisters, with
their full names and their descendants. Pedro de Alvarado’s
only surviving issue, he says, was a daughter Leonor, by
Luisa, who married first Pedro Puertocarrero and afterward
Francisco de la Cueva, nephew of the Duke of Alburquerque.
The other sister also left a daughter. _Hist. Guat._,
347-8. Bernal Diaz mentions also a son, Pedro, by Luisa.
_Hist. Verdad._, 54; _Clavigero_, _Storia Mess._, iii. 54.
According to Camargo, 300 young and pretty slave girls,
destined for the sacrifices, were the first women offered.
They were at first declined, but finally accepted for
the suite of Marina. Finding that they were well treated,
the lords offered their own daughters in marriage. _Hist.
Tlax._, 148-50. A number of women were added to the suite
of Marina and of the new wives, from the first families in
the state, another authority intimates. _Gomara_, _Hist.
Mex._, 86; _Herrera_, dec. ii. lib. vi. cap. xi.
[353] _Camargo_, _Hist. Tlax._, 150-1. They opened a road
to Cempoala, and brought effects from Villa Rica, including
presents for the lords. _Ixtlilxochitl_, _Hist. Chich._, 294.
[354] Tapia writes, ‘Yo que esto escribo pregunté á
Muteczuma y á otros sus capitanes,’ and was told that
the Mexicans could readily have subdued little Tlascala,
but they preferred to use her as a means, close at hand,
for exercising their youth and armies in warfare, and for
supplying war captives for the sacrifices! _Tapia_, _Rel._,
in _Icazbalceta_, _Col. Doc._, ii. 572. ‘Juntaua dozientos y
trezientos mil hombres para vna batalla.’ _Gomara_, _Hist.
Mex._, 89. The Tlascaltecs spoke of their descent from
giants, and produced gigantic bones in evidence thereof.
Some of these were sent to Spain by Cortés, together with
the report. _Bernal Diaz_, _Hist. Verdad._, 55.
[355] Torquemada places the arrival of this embassy
immediately after Cortés’ entry into Tlascala, _Monarq.
Ind._, i. 433, while Clavigero dates it at Tecohuatzinco.
_Storia Mess._, iii. 51-2. Brasseur de Bourbourg calls
it the second embassy, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, iv. 165, for he
accepts the statement of Ixtlilxochitl, _Hist. Chich._, 288,
that the first envoys saw Cortés at his camp by San Juan
de Ulua. For Ixtlilxochitl’s career, see _Native Races_,
v. 474-7.
[356] Bernal Diaz relates that Cortés detained these men
as hostages, while he sent Alvarado and Bernardino Vazquez
de Tapia to Mexico to communicate with Montezuma, and to
examine the route and approaches to the city. They had hardly
left before the company began to censure the rashness of
sending two valuable men on so risky a mission, and Cortés
accordingly sent to recall them. Tapia having fallen sick
on the road, they gladly returned, but left the guides to
proceed to Mexico.
[357] ‘Me dijeron ... que para ello habia enviado Muteczuma
de su tierra ... cincuenta mil hombres, y que los tenia en
guarnicion á dos leguas de la dicha ciudad ... é que tenian
cerrado el camino real por donde solian ir, y hecho otro
nuevo de muchos hoyos, y palos agudos hincados y encubiertos
para que los caballos cayesen y se mancasen, y que tenian
muchas de las calles tapiadas, y por las azoteas de las
casas muchas piedras.’ _Cortés_, _Cartas_, 70. The stream
within the temple was a myth, which the Cholultecs sought
to maintain in order to frighten their enemies. Oviedo
and Gomara relate that Xicotencatl junior was concerned
in these plots, and that, warned by his sister, the wife
of Alvarado, Cortés had him quietly seized and choked to
death, iii. 497; _Hist. Mex._, 90. Whoever may have been
throttled, it certainly was not the general, for he met
his fate at a later date. According to Bernal Diaz the
whole army was consulted as to whether all were prepared
to start for Mexico. Many of those owning estates in Cuba
raised objections, but Cortés firmly declared that there
was no other way open than the one to Mexico, and so they
yielded. _Hist. Verdad._, 56.
[358] ‘Y dar la obediencia â nuestro Rey, y Señor, sino
que los ternia por de malas intenciones.’ _Bernal Diaz_,
_Hist Verdad._, 56. According to Camargo, Patlahuatzin of
Tlascala was sent with the message. The Cholultecs seized
and flayed his face and arms, cutting off the hands, so that
they were left dangling by the skin from the neck. In this
guise they sent him back with the reply that thus would they
receive the white gods whose prowess he had extolled. The
Tlascaltecs demanded that Cortés should avenge the cruelty
and the insult, and he did so in the massacre of Cholula.
This, continues the narrator, is commemorated in Tlascalan
song, but the account is evidently mixed, and probably
refers chiefly to some earlier occurrence. _Hist. Tlax._,
161-2. Brasseur de Bourbourg assumes that Patlahuatzin is
merely insulted and ill-treated. The two peoples had once
been friends and allies, but during the last battle which
they fought against their common enemy, the Aztecs, the
Cholultecs had suddenly changed sides and fallen on the rear
of their unsuspecting allies, inflicting great slaughter.
_Herrera_, dec. ii. lib. vi. cap. xviii.
[359] Three of the members are imprisoned for favoring an
alliance with the Spaniards, but they escape and come to
Cortés, says Herrera, _Id._
[360] Cortés, _Cartas_, 71, says that he sent this message
by the Cholultec messengers.
[361] ‘É así lo asentó un escribano.’ _Id._, 72. ‘Otro dia
vinieron muchos señores y capitanes de Chololla.’ _Gomara_,
_Hist. Mex._, 91. According to Brasseur de Bourbourg,
Cortés is already en route for Cholula when the friendly
council members appear to bring excuses and invitations.
_Hist. Nat. Civ._, iv. 169-70. Bernal Diaz, indeed, appears
to say that the Cholultecs sent to excuse themselves from
appearing before Cortés so long as he remained in hostile
territory. _Hist. Verdad._, 57.