SUBJUGATION OF CHOLULA.
OCTOBER, 1519.
DEPARTURE FROM TLASCALA—DESCRIPTION OF CHOLULA—THE
WELCOME—ARMY QUARTERS IN THE CITY—INTIMATIONS OF A
CONSPIRACY BETWEEN THE MEXICANS AND CHOLULTECS—CORTÉS ASKS
FOR PROVISIONS AND WARRIORS—HE HOLDS A COUNCIL—PREPARATIONS
FOR AN ATTACK—THE LORDS ENTER THE COURT WITH THE REQUIRED
SUPPLIES—CORTÉS REPRIMANDS THEM IN AN ADDRESS—THE
SLAUGHTER BEGINS—DESTRUCTION OF THE CITY—BUTCHERY AND
PILLAGE—AMNESTY FINALLY PROCLAIMED—XICOTENCATL RETURNS
TO TLASCALA—RECONCILIATION OF THE CHOLULTECS AND
TLASCALTECS—DEDICATION OF A TEMPLE TO THE VIRGIN—REFLECTIONS
ON THE MASSACRE OF CHOLULA.
The Spaniards had been three weeks beneath the hospitable roofs of
the Tlascaltecs, and now they departed amid expressions of good-will
mingled with grief.[362] A crowd as large as that which had welcomed
their arrival followed them for a considerable distance, and this
included all the available warriors of the districts,[363] who would
gladly have joined the handful of heroes in their quest for wealth
and glory amongst the hated Aztecs. Cortés did not think it well,
however, to trammel his movements, or to intrude on his various hosts
with too large a force of undisciplined and unmanageable men, whom he
had not learned to trust, and only about five thousand were allowed
to attach themselves to his army.[364]
Late in the afternoon the army reached the southern border of Tlascala,
and camped by a river two leagues from Cholula. The city stood in a
vast fertile plain, so thickly covered with plantations and gardens
“that not a span of land remained uncultivated.” A network of ditches
irrigated the fields wherein maize and agave, cochineal and chile,
swelled the resources of the owners. “No city in Spain,” exclaims
Cortés, “presents a more beautiful exterior, with its even surface
and mass of towers,” interspersed with charming gardens and fringed
with alluring groves. Its six sections were marked by fine, straight
streets, lined with buildings, the neatness and substantial appearance
of which fully corresponded to the reputed wealth of the occupants.
Cortés estimates the number of houses at twenty thousand, with as
many more in the suburbs, which implies a population of two hundred
thousand.[365]
Cholula was one of the most ancient settlements in the country, with
traditions reaching far back into the misty past. It was here that
Quetzalcoatl had left the final impress of his golden age as ruler
and prophet, and here that a grateful people had raised to him the
grandest of his many temples, erected upon the ruins of a tower of
Babel which had been stayed in its growth by divine interference.
Notwithstanding the vicissitudes of war, during which the frenzy of
the moment had overcome religious scruples to wreak destruction, or
during which reckless invaders less imbued with veneration came to
desecrate this western Rome, she had maintained herself, ever rising
from the ashes with renewed vigor and fresh splendor, and she was at
this time the commercial centre for the great Huitzilapan plateau,
famous beside for her pottery and delicate fabrics. The warlike
Tlascaltecs referred to her contemptuously as a city of cunning and
effeminate traders, and there was doubtless a good deal of truth in
this; but then her merchants rivalled those of Mexico in wealth, while
her citizens were not behind the dwellers on the lake in refinement.
But the chief renown of Cholula consisted in being the holy city of
Anáhuac, unequalled for the frequency and pomp of her festivals and
sacred pageantry; in being the religious centre for countless pilgrims
who journeyed from afar to worship at the shrines here maintained,
not only by the citizens, but by princes of different countries. Her
temples were estimated to equal the number of days in the year, and as
some possessed more than one chapel, fully four hundred towers rose
to bewilder the eye with their gleaming ornamentation. Chief among
them was the semispherical temple, with its vestal fire, devoted to
Quetzalcoatl, which stood upon a quadrilateral mound of nearly two
hundred feet in height, ascended by one hundred and twenty steps,
and with a larger base than any old-world pyramid.[366]
The government was aristocratic republican, directed by a council of
six nobles, elected in the six wards. At their head sat two supreme
magistrates, the _tlachiach_ and _aquiach_, chosen respectively
from the priesthood and nobility, and corresponding to pontiff
and captain-general,[367] the latter office held at this time by
Tecuanhuehuetzin.[368]
At the command of these chiefs a number of Cholultec nobles appeared
at the camp to offer welcome and to bring provisions.[369] In the
morning the army advanced toward the city and was met by a crowd
of fully ten thousand people, preceded by a stately procession, at
the head of which appeared the lords. They showed themselves most
obsequious, but requested that the Tlascaltecs, as their enemies,
should not be allowed to enter the city, and Cortés accordingly
persuaded these warriors to camp outside. Some of their carriers
alone entered with the Cempoalans and Spaniards to receive a share in
the proffered hospitality. If the troops found no arches and floral
festoons, as at Tlascala, to honor them, nor the same jubilant shouts
of welcome, they were at least heralded by clashing music, and dense
crowds of spectators lined the streets and roofs, while priests in
white robes went chanting by their side, swinging the censers whence
the copal rose to shed a halo on the heroes. Cortés was struck with
the superior quality and quantity of dresses worn, the higher classes
being noticeable in their embroidered mantles, not unlike the Moorish
cloak. He also observed that beggars abounded, as they did in “Spain
and other parts inhabited by civilized people.”
The courts of one of the temples[370] were offered as quarters for
the army, and presently servants appeared with provisions, which, if
not abundant, were at least good.[371] Cortés did not omit to vaunt
the grandeur of his king and to impress the advantages of the true
faith, but although the lords bowed admission to the first they held
firmly to their idols. The following day they failed to appear, and the
supply of food dwindled perceptibly, while none was furnished on the
third day, the populace even appearing to avoid the Spanish quarters.
Cortés sent to remind the chiefs of their neglect, but received only
the scantiest provisions, with the excuse that the stock was nearly
exhausted.[372]
The same day came envoys from Montezuma, unprovided with the usual
presents, who, after some words with the confrères acting as guides to
the Spaniards, represented that to proceed to Mexico would be useless,
since the roads were impassable and the food supply insufficient.[373]
Finding that these and other statements had no effect on Cortés,
they left, taking with them the leading envoy stationed with the
Spaniards.[374] All this was far from reassuring, taken in connection
with the warning of the Tlascaltecs still ringing in their ears, and
with the report brought by Cempoalans of barricades, of stone piles
upon the roofs, and of excavations in the main street set with pointed
sticks and loosely covered over.[375]
Now came messengers from the allied camp to announce that women
and children had been leaving the city with their effects, and that
unusual preparations seemed to be going on. Scarcely had this set
Cortés pondering when Marina appeared with the still more startling
information that a native woman of rank, won by her beauty and evident
wealth no doubt, had just been urging her in a most mysterious manner
to transfer herself and her effects to the house of the woman, where
she should be married to her son.[376] By expressing gratitude and
pretending acquiescence, Marina elicited that envoys had been coming
and going between Mexico and Cholula for some time, and that Montezuma
had prevailed on the chiefs, by means of bribes and promises,[377] to
attack the Spaniards that very night or in the morning. Aztec troops
were stationed close to the city, to the number of twenty or even
fifty thousand, to aid in the work and to carry the Mexican share
of the captives to their capital.[378] Cortés at once secured the
communicative woman, who was awaiting the return of Marina with her
valuables, and ascertained further that the covered excavations, the
stone piles, and the barricades were no fiction.
He also secured two apparently friendly priests,[379] and by bribing
them with chalchiuite stones, and showing that he was aware of the
plot, obtained a revelation which agreed substantially with the account
already given. It appeared that Montezuma had proposed to quarter
his troops in the city, but this the lords had objected to, fearing
that once within the walls the Aztecs would retain possession.[380]
The Cholultecs intended to do the deed themselves, and it was only
in case the Spaniards left the city, or escaped, that the confederate
Aztecs were to take an active part.
Only three of the wards had consented to share in the treachery,[381]
and the priests of the others had that very day sacrificed ten
children[382] to the god of war, and received assurances of victory.
So confident were they of securing the encaged guests that ropes and
stakes had been prepared to bind the captives.
Cortés called his counsellors, and placing before them the state of
affairs asked their views. A few of the more cautious advised retreat
to Tlascala, whose friendly hospitality seemed alluring. Others
suggested an immediate departure by way of the friendly Huexotzinco,
while the majority inclined to a prompt and effective chastisement
of the treachery as a warning to others. This was what Cortés had
determined upon. He showed them how well the arrangement of the courts
would answer for the plan he had evolved, and how strong they were
in case of a siege.
Summoning the lords, he expressed his displeasure at the inconsiderate
treatment received, and said that he would rid them of his presence
on the morrow. He reminded them of the allegiance they had tendered,
and declared that if loyal they would be rewarded; if not, punishment
would follow. Finally he demanded provisions for the journey, and
two thousand warriors, beside carriers, to accompany the army.[383]
This appeared to suit their plans, for they exchanged a look of
intelligence, and at once promised compliance, protesting at the same
time their devotion. “What need have these of food,” they muttered
with a laugh, “when they themselves are soon to be eaten cooked with
chile?”[384] That very night preparations were made, the Spaniards
planting guns at the approaches to the streets and courts, looking to
the horses and accoutrements, and sending a message to the Tlascaltecs
to enter the city and join them on hearing the first shot.
In the morning, so early indeed as to indicate a decided eagerness,
came the lords and leading priests, with an immense throng. A force
even larger than had been demanded followed them into the Spanish
quarter, and was allowed to file into the court, which was commanded
at all points by the soldiers and the cannon, the latter as yet
innocent-looking instruments to the Cholultecs.[385] The lords and
leading men, to the number of thirty or forty, were invited to Cortés’
rooms to receive his farewell. He addressed them in a severe tone,
in the presence of the Aztec envoys, representing that he had sought
to win their friendship for himself and their adhesion for his king,
and to further this he had treated them with every consideration.
They had withheld the necessary supplies, yet he had respected their
property and persons, and for their sake he had left his stanch allies
outside the city. In return for this they had, under the mask of
friendship, plotted against the lives of his party, the invited guests
of themselves and of Montezuma, with the intention of assassinating
them. But they had been caught in their own trap. The amazement of the
chiefs deepened into terror as he concluded. “Surely it is a god that
speaks,” they murmured, “since he reads our very thoughts.” On the
impulse of the moment they admitted their guilt, but cast the blame
on Montezuma. This, rejoined Cortés, did not justify treachery, and
the excuse should avail them naught. The lords who had been opposed
to the plot, and a few others less guilty or less responsible chiefs
and priests, were now taken aside, and from them further particulars
were obtained, which implicated the Mexicans only the more.
Returning to the envoys, who protested that their emperor was wholly
blameless, he reassured them by saying that he believed not a word
of the accusation. Montezuma was too great a prince, he continued,
to stoop to such baseness, and had beside, by means of presents
and messages, shown himself to be his friend. The Cholultecs should
suffer the penalty not only of their treason but of their falsehood.
The fact was that it did not suit Cortés to quarrel with Montezuma
for the present, but rather to lull him into fancied security.[386]
A terrible punishment was now in store for the Cholultecs.
The signal being given, volleys poured from cannon, arquebuses, and
cross-bows upon the warriors confined in the court, and then the
Spaniards rushed in with sword and lance thrusting and slashing at
the packed masses. The high walls permitted no escape, and at the
gates gleamed a line of lances above the smoking mouths of the guns.
Pressing one upon another, the victims offered only a better mark for
the ruthless slayers, and fell in heaps, dead and dying intermingled,
while many were trampled underfoot. Not one of those who had entered
the court remained standing. Among the slain were the captain-general
and the most inimical of the lords and leading men.[387]
Meanwhile other guns had belched destruction along the approaches from
the streets, as the crowd rushed forward in response to the cries and
groans of their butchered friends. Terrified by the fiery thunder and
its mysterious missiles, they fell back; and now the cavalry charged,
trampling them underfoot, and opening a way for the infantry and
allies, who pressed onward to take advantage of the confusion and
to repeat the scene enacted within. Panic-stricken as the natives
were by the strange arms and tactics of the Spaniards, they offered
little or no resistance, though armed with intent to attack. Being
also without leaders, they had none to restrain their flight, but
pressed one on the other, down the streets and into buildings, anywhere
out of the reach of the cutting blades and fierce-tramping horses.
The Tlascaltecs[388] were at the same time falling on their flanks,
glorying in the opportunity to repay their enemies the treachery of
years ago. A bloody track they left. Unprepared for such an onslaught
the people of Cholula found little opportunity to make use of the
barricades and the stone piles, and where they attempted it the
fire-arm and cross-bow aided the fire-brand. The strongest resistance
was met at the temples, wherein the fugitives mostly gathered, but
even these did not hold out long, for stones and arrows availed little
against armor.
All who could sought to gain the great temple of Quetzalcoatl, which
offered not only the best defence from its height, but was held to
be impregnable through the special protection extended over it by the
deity. Within its walls lay confined a mighty stream, so it was said,
which by the removal of a few stones could be let loose to overwhelm
invaders. Now, if ever, in the name of all the gods, let it be done!
Reverently were removed, one by one, the stones of the sacred wall,
but no flood appeared, not even a drop of water. In their despair
the besieged hastened to hurl the stones, and arrows, and darts[389]
upon the enemy as they climbed the sides of the pyramid. But there
was little use in this. Quickly they were driven by the sword from
the platform into the chapel tower. Not caring to lose time in a
siege, the Spaniards offered them their lives. One alone is said to
have surrendered. The rest, inspired by the presence of the idols,
spat defiance. It was their last effort, for the next moment the
torch was applied, and enfolding the building, the flames drove the
besieged, frenzied with terror and excitement, upon the line of pikes
inclosing them, or head-foremost down the dizzy heights. To the last
could be seen a priest upon the highest pinnacle, enveloped in smoke
and glare, declaiming against the idols for having abandoned them,
and shouting: “Now, Tlascala, thy heart has its revenge! Speedily
shall Montezuma have his!”[390]
During the first two hours of the slaughter over three thousand
men perished, if we may believe Cortés, and for three hours more
he continued the carnage, raising the number of deaths according to
different estimates to six thousand or more.[391] The loss of life
would have been still greater but for the strict orders issued to
spare the women and children, and also the less hostile wards,[392]
and for the eagerness of the Tlascaltecs to secure captives as well
as spoils, and of the Spaniards to hunt for treasures. The hostile
wards had besides been pretty well cleared of inhabitants by the time
Cortés returned to his quarters forbidding further butchery. When the
amnesty was proclaimed, however, numbers appeared from hiding-places,
even from beneath the heaps of slain, while many who had pretended
death, to escape the sword, arose and fled.
The pillage was continued for some time longer,[393] and as the
Tlascaltecs cared chiefly for fabrics, feathers, and provisions,
particularly salt, the Spaniards were allowed to secure all the gold
and trinkets they could, though these were far less in amount than had
been expected.[394] When the real work was over, Xicotencatl appeared
with twenty thousand men and tendered his services; but Cortés could
offer him only a share in the booty for his attention, and with this
he returned to Tlascala to celebrate the downfall of the hated and
boastful neighbor.[395]
The prayers of the chiefs who had been spared, supported by the
neighboring caciques, and even by the Tlascalan lords, prevailed on
Cortés to stop the pillage after the second day, and to issue a pardon,
although not till everything of value had been secured. Some of the
chiefs were thereupon sent forth to recall the fugitive inhabitants,
and with such good effect that within a few days the city was again
peopled. The débris and gore being removed, the streets speedily
resumed their accustomed appearance, and the shops and markets were
busy as before, though blackened ruins and desolated homes long
remained a testimony of the fearful blow.[396] Impressed no less by
the supposed divine penetration of the white conquerors than by their
irresistible prowess and terrible revenge, the natives were only too
ready to kiss with veneration the hand red with the blood of their
kindred. To this they were also impelled by finding that the Spaniards
not only allowed no sacrifice of captives, but ordered the Tlascaltecs
to release the prisoners they had hoped to carry into slavery. This
was a most trying requirement to the allies, but at the instance of
Maxixcatzin and other lords they obeyed in so far as to restore the
greater proportion of the thousands who had been secured.
The intervention of the Tlascaltec lords and chiefs in behalf of the
Cholultecs tended to promote a more friendly feeling between the two
peoples, particularly since the one had been satiated with revenue
and the other humbled, and Cortés took advantage of this to formally
reconcile them. Whatever may have been their sincerity in the matter,
they certainly found no opportunity to renew their feud.
The captain-general having fallen, the people, with Cortés’ approval,
chose a successor from the ranks of the friendly chiefs.[397] Cortés
assured them of his goodwill and protection so long as they remained
the loyal subjects they now promised to be, and he hoped that nothing
would occur hereafter to mar their friendly intercourse. He explained
to them the mysteries of his faith, and its superiority over the
superstitious worship of the idols which had played them false during
the late conflict, counselling them to cast aside such images, and let
their place be occupied by the redeeming emblems of Christianity. The
terrified natives could only promise obedience, and hasten to aid in
erecting crosses, but the idols nevertheless retained their places.
Cortés was quite prepared to take advantage of his power as conqueror
to compel the acceptance of his doctrines by the now humbled people,
but Padre Olmedo representing the futility of enforced conversion, he
contented himself with breaking the sacrificial cages and forbidding
the offering of human victims. As it was, idolatry had suffered a
heavy blow in this terrible chastisement of the holy city, rich as
she was in her sanctuaries and profound in her devotion. The gods
had proved powerless! Although a number of temples were speedily
restored to their worship, the great pyramid was never again to be
graced by pagan rites. Twice had this temple shared in the destruction
of the city, only to rise more beautiful than ever in its delusive
attractions; now a simple stone cross stood upon the summit, erected
by Cortés to guard the site on behalf of the church which was there
to rise a few years later. This was dedicated to the Vírgen de los
Remedios, whose image is said to have been left in the city by her
conquerors.[398]
* * * * *
The massacre of Cholula forms one of the darkest pages in the annals
of the conquest, and has afforded much ground for reproach against
Cortés, but it is to be regarded from different stand-points.
The diabolical doctrines of the day may be said to have forced on
adventurers in America the conquest of her nations, and cruel deeds
were but the natural result, particularly when the task was undertaken
with insufficient forces. According to their own admission, made also
before the later investigating committee, the Cholultecs had plotted
to destroy their invited guests, whom they sought first to lull into
fancied security, and in this they acted as treacherously and plotted
as cruelly as did their intended victims in retaliating. True, they
had been forced by threats, and by the exhibition of an apparently
superior force, into a submission which they could ill brook, and were
justified in striking a blow for liberty, especially when encouraged,
or bidden, by the great monarch; but they had no right to complain
if they suffered the penalty everywhere affixed to treachery; and
the Cholultecs did bear an unenviable reputation in this respect.
The native records naturally assert their innocence; but even if we
ignore the confession of the Indians, as prompted by fear of their
judges and masters, or as colored by Franciscans whose patron Cortés
was, and if we disregard all official testimony, we must still admit
that there was evidence enough to justify the general in a measure
which he regarded as necessary for the safety of his men.[399]
It might be claimed that by holding captive the chiefs their safety
would have been assured; but treason was rife everywhere, and a lesson
was needed. Here among the greatest plotters, and in the holy city,
the lesson would be most effective. It might also be claimed that
the chiefs were the guilty ones, and should alone have suffered,
not the citizens and soldiers; but they were also in arms, even if
subordinate, and such discrimination is not observed in our own age.
Outrages equally as cruel are to-day exculpated throughout Christendom
as exigencies of war. If we, then, overlook such deeds, how much more
excusable are they in the more bloody times of Cortés? But neither now
nor then can war, with any of its attendant atrocities, be regarded by
right-thinking, humane men as aught but beastly, horrible, diabolical.
FOOTNOTES
[362] ‘Hiço sacrificar treynta muchachos el dia que se
partieron.’ _Oviedo_, iii. 497.
[363] Estimated by Cortés at around 100,000. Others say
he was offered 10,000 to 20,000 men.
[364] This is the figure deduced from later references.
‘Quedaron en mi compañía hasta cinco ó seis mil.’ _Cortés_,
_Cartas_, 72. Dismissing the 100,000 with presents, he
retained only 3000. ‘Por no ponerse en manos de gente
barbara.’ _Herrera_, dec. ii. lib. vii. cap. i. ‘Six thousand
warriors,’ says Ixtlilxochitl, _Hist. Chich._, 294. He
gives the names of their chiefs, which differ wholly from
those mentioned in _Camargo_, _Hist. Tlax._, 160. ‘Fueron
tãbien con el muchos mercaderes a rescatar sal y mantas.’
_Gomara_, _Hist. Mex._, 91.
[365] _Cartas_, 74-5. ‘En el tiempo de la guerra salian en
campo ochenta ó noventa mill hombres de guerra.’ _Oviedo_,
iii. 498. ‘Ultra triginta millia familiarum capiebat.’ _Las
Casas_, _Regio. Ind. Devastat._, 26. ‘Parecio ... en el
assiento, y prospetiua a Valladolid.’ _Herrera_, dec. ii.
lib. vii. cap. i.
[366] See _Native Races_, iii. iv.
[367] _Native Races_, v. 264; _Camargo_, _Hist. Tlax._,
160. ‘Gouernauase por vn capitan general, eligido por la
republica, con el consejo de seys nobles, assistian en el
sacerdotes.’ _Herrera_, dec. ii. lib. vii. cap. ii. Gomara
mentions only a captain-general or governor. _Hist. Mex._,
95. Torquemada gives the city four lords, who divided between
them the territory, ii. 350-1. The government appears to have
undergone several changes since the age of Quetzalcoatl,
and at one period four nobles appear to have represented
the wards, but these increased in course of time to six,
and the council appears also to have been increased by the
attendance of other priests beside the pontiff.
[368] _Chimalpain_, _Hist. Conq._, 100, 107-8. For history
and description of city and temples, see _Native Races_,
ii.-v.
[369] From a vague reference in Camargo, Brasseur de
Bourbourg assumes that this party is headed by the three
counsellors least friendly to the Spaniards. A little
later the other three come to Cortés for protection, after
escaping from the imprisonment imposed upon them by their
colleagues. _Hist. Nat. Civ._, iv. 174. Herrera places the
arrival of the refugees at Tlascala. dec. ii. lib. vi.
cap. xviii. But there appears to be no ground for these
statements.
[370] ‘Del gran Cú de _Quetzalcoatl_.’ _Sahagun_, _Hist.
Conq._, 18.
[371] ‘Les dieron aquella noche a cada vno vn gallipauo.’
_Gomara_, _Hist. Mex._, 92.
[372] ‘Lo que traian era agua, y leña,’ says Bernal Diaz,
_Hist. Verdad._, 58.
[373] ‘Do Muteczuma estaba habia mucho número de leones é
tigres é otras fieras, é que cada que Muteczuma quirie las
hacie soltar, é bastaban para comernos é despedazarnos.’
_Tapia_, _Rel._, in _Icazbalceta_, _Col. Doc._, ii. 574;
_Gomara_, _Hist. Mex._, 92.
[374] Cortés told them to wait, for he would start for
Mexico on the following day, and they promised to do so,
says Bernal Diaz, _Hist. Verdad._, 58.
[375] On his entry into the city Cortés also observed
suspicious features. ‘Algunas calles de la ciudad tapiadas,
y muchas piedras en todas las azoteas.’ _Cartas_, 72.
[376] ‘Hermano de otro moço que traia la vieja que la
acompañaua.’ _Bernal Diaz_, _Hist. Verdad._, 59. This is
probably the young man who, according to Peter Martyr,
reveals the plot to Aguilar. A ‘Cempoal maiden’ was also
warned by a Cholultec woman, dec. v. cap. ii.
[377] ‘Dieron al capitan-general vn atambor de oro.’
_Gomara_, _Hist. Mex._, 92. This official was the husband
of the old woman. _Bernal Diaz_, _Hist. Verdad._, 59.
[378] ‘Auian de quedar veinte de nosotros para sacrificar
á los idolos de Cholula.’ _Bernal Diaz_, _Hist. Verdad._,
59. Others say half the captives.
[379] Marina won them over. _Id._ ‘Dos que andauan muy
solicitos.’ _Herrera_, dec. ii. lib. vii. cap. i. Brasseur
de Bourbourg supposes that the friendly chiefs were those
who gave the first intimation of the plot, _Hist. Nat.
Civ._, iv. 174, and it is not unlikely that they did warn
the Spaniards.
[380] Oviedo regards the Cholultecs as having rebelled
against Montezuma, iii. 498. But they stood rather in the
position of allies. See _Native Races_, v. Bernal Diaz
assumes that half the Aztec troops were admitted.
[381] ‘Los Mexicanos ... trataron con los Señores de los
Tres Barrios.’ _Torquemada_, i. 438. Herrera has been even
more explicit, and Bernal Diaz confirms this in several
places, without specifying the number. ‘Otros barrios, que
no se hallaron en las traiciones.’ _Hist. Verdad._, 60.
[382] Three years old, half males, half females. _Herrera_,
dec. ii. lib. vii. cap. ii. Oviedo supposes the females to
be young virgins, iii. 498. Bernal Diaz says five children
and two other persons.
[383] Most authors, following Gomara and Herrera, assume that
only carriers were asked for, but Diaz writes warriors, and
correctly, no doubt, since it could not be Cortés’ plan or
desire to wreak vengeance on helpless carriers, but rather
on the very men who proposed to attack him. According to
Tapia, followed by Gomara, Cortés upbraids the lords for
lying and plotting, but they assure him of their loyalty.
_Rel._, in _Icazbalceta_, _Col. Doc._, ii. 575. It is not
likely that he would have roused suspicion by such language.
[384] ‘Aguilar que los oya hablar.’ _Oviedo_, iii. 498.
[385] Picked warriors were brought, pretending to be slaves
and carriers. _Tapia_, _Rel._, in _Icazbalceta_, _Col.
Doc._, ii. 575. ‘Cõ hamacas para lleuar los Españoles.’
_Gomara_, _Hist. Mex._, 93.
[386] According to Bernal Diaz the envoys are told of this
on the preceding evening, and are thereupon placed under
guard. _Hist. Verdad._, 59.
[387] Tapia states that most of the lords and chiefs whom
Cortés addressed were killed. _Rel._, in _Icazbalceta_,
_Col. Doc._, ii. 575. ‘Some of them,’ say Ixtlilxochitl
and Gomara, while Clavigero, Brasseur de Bourbourg, and
others suppose that all these leaders were pardoned, which
is not likely, since so many less guilty men fell. ‘El
que solia mãdar, fue vno de los que murieron en el patio.’
_Bernal Diaz_, _Hist. Verdad._, 60. He intimates that the
real carriers were allowed to leave the court, the warriors
alone being detained for slaughter. The two friendly priests
were sent home to be out of harm’s way. This leads to the
supposition that all the rest of the leading men fell. ‘Los
otros señores naturales todos murieron.’ _Oviedo_, iii. 499.
[388] Wearing crowns of rushes to be distinguished from
their enemies. _Camargo_, _Hist. Tlax._, 164.
[389] Zamacois enters into an elaborate argument to disprove
the unimportant statement that burning arrows were showered
on the besiegers. _Hist. Méj._, ii. 707. This author has a
decided faculty for singling out trifles, apparently under
the impression that important questions can take care of
themselves.
[390] _Camargo_, _Hist. Tlax._, 163-4; _Torquemada_, i. 440.
‘Se dejaron allí quemar.’ _Tapia_, _Rel._, in _Icazbalceta_,
_Col. Doc._, ii. 576.
[391] _Cortés_, _Cartas_, 73-4; _Gomara_, _Hist. Mex._, 94;
6000 and more within two hours. _Ixtlilxochitl_, _Hist.
Chich._, 294. Las Casas lets him first kill 6000 unarmed
carriers and then proceed to devastate the city. _Regio.
Ind. Devastat._, 27.
[392] ‘Eché toda la gente fuera de la ciudad por muchas
partes della.’ _Cortés_, _Cartas_, 74. The statement of
Bernal Diaz that the friendly priests were sent home, to be
out of harm’s way, shows also that parts of the city were
respected. See notes 17 and 23. ‘El marques mandaba que se
guardasen de no matar mujeres ni niños.’ _Tapia_, _Rel._,
in _Icazbalceta_, _Col. Doc._, ii. 576.
[393] For two days, says Tapia, _Id._, and Bernal Diaz
intimates that it ended with the second day. _Hist. Verdad._,
60.
[394] ‘Tomaron los Castellanos el oro, y pluma, aũque se
halló poco.’ _Herrera_, dec. ii. lib. vii. cap. ii. ‘Ovo
mucho despojo de oro é plata,’ says Oviedo, iii. 499,
probably because he knew Cholula to be rich; but a great
deal of private treasure at least must have been taken out
of the city when the women were sent away. The Tlascaltecs
carried off 20,000 captives, he adds.
[395] _Herrera_, ubi sup. Oviedo allows a reinforcement of
40,000 Tlascaltecs to join in the massacre and pillage,
iii. 498, and Bernal Diaz, _Hist. Verdad._, 60, says the
late comers joined in the pillage on the second day. The
Tlascaltecs brought the Spaniards food, of which they had
fallen short. _Ixtlilxochitl_, _Hist. Chich._, 295.
[396] A very similar massacre and raid was perpetrated
by the Chichimec-Toltecs at the close of the thirteenth
century. _Native Races_, v. 484-7.
[397] _Gomara_, _Hist. Mex._, 95. Finding that the brother
of the deceased was, according to custom, entitled to the
office, Cortés appointed him. _Bernal Diaz_, _Hist. Verdad._,
60. Oviedo intimates that one governor was chosen to take
the place of all the other ruling men. iii. 499.
[398] It is also said ‘que la trajo un religioso franciscano
á quien se le apareció en Roma.’ _Veytia_, _Hist. Ant.
Méj._, i. 156. ‘Disgusted with the idol which had played
them false, they installed another in its place,’ says
Bernal Diaz, _Hist. Verdad._, 61. The disregard shown by
Spaniards even for the temples and relics of Quetzalcoatl
might have struck the natives as peculiar in men whom rumor
pointed out as his descendants, yet no chronicle refers to
it.
[399] Spanish chroniclers as a rule approve the deed as
necessary and just, either in tacit or open comment, and
a few devout missionaries, who have assumed the rank of
Indian apostles, are the only ones to take exception. Chief
among these stands Las Casas, as might be expected from his
sympathy with Velazquez, and from his character as Indian
protector. He condemns it in the most unmeasured terms as
a base murder of innocent and defenceless people, committed
merely with a view to spread terror. Six thousand carriers,
he writes, were shut up in a court and put to the sword,
while the many discovered alive on the following days
were thrust through and through. The chiefs of the city
and neighborhood, to the number of over 100, were chained
together to a circle of poles and burned alive, and the
king, who fled with 30 or 40 followers to a temple, met
the same fate there. While the soldiers were butchering
and roasting the captives, ‘eorum Capitaneum summa lætitia
perfusum in hunc cantum prorupisse:
Monte ex Tarpeio Romana incendia spectans
Ipse Nero planctus vidit, nec corde movetur.’
_Las Casas_, _Regio. Ind. Devastat._, 26-8. A number of
finely executed copper plates are appended to illustrate
these deeds.
Bernal Diaz expresses himself hotly against this version,
and states that several of the first Franciscans who came
to Mexico held an investigation at Cholula of the massacre.
After examining the leaders, and other persons who had
witnessed it, they came to the conclusion that the story
of the conquerors was true, and that the slaughter was
a well merited punishment for a plot which involved the
lives of Cortés’ soldiers, and would, if successful, have
stayed the conquest for God and the king. Diaz had heard
the pious Motolinia say that although he grieved over the
deed, yet, being done, it was best so, since it exposed the
lies and wickedness of the idols. _Hist. Verdad._, 61. The
Franciscans did not probably care to weigh carefully the
value of testimony from new converts given before a tribunal
composed of their religious and political masters, nor
were they likely to favor a Dominican friar like Las Casas
when the interest of their patron Cortés was at stake. In
awe of the friars, and in terror of the conquerors whose
encomienda slaves they were, the Indians hardly dared to
say aught to implicate the latter. This is doubtless the
view Las Casas would have taken. Intent on pleading the
cause of his dusky protégés, he cared not to sift statements
that might create sympathy for them. Yet, had he foreseen
how widely his accusations would be used to sully Spanish
fame, he might have been more circumspect. ‘E’ vero, che
fu troppo rigorosa la vendetta, ed orribile la strage,’
says Clavigero; yet he severely condemns Las Casas for his
distorted account. _Storia Mess._, iii. 63-4. According
to Sahagun’s native record, the Tlascaltecs persuaded
Cortés to avenge them on the Cholultecs, and as the latter
received him coldly, he began to believe the accusations of
his allies. Assembling the chiefs and soldiers, together
with citizens, in the temple court, he slaughtered them,
defenceless as they were. _Hist. Conq._, 18. Bustamante
comments on this version, and denounces the conquerors as
atrociously cruel. _Id._ (ed. 1840), 56-63. Duran’s version
is a little milder. His main object being to give the life
of Montezuma, he has passed by many events connected with
the Spaniards, and has suppressed many accounts of their
cruelties. He accordingly refers but briefly to the Cholula
massacre, saying that ‘the Indians, in their eagerness to
serve the Spaniards, came in such large numbers to their
quarters with provisions, grass, etc., that Cortés suspected
treasonable designs, and put them to the sword.’ _Hist.
Ind._, MS., ii. 438-9. Ixtlilxochitl evidently struggles
between his fear of the Spanish rulers and the desire
to tell what he regards as the truth. He intimates that
the only ground for suspicion against the Cholultecs was
the effort to dissuade Cortés from going to Mexico. The
chiefs and the citizens were assembled on the pretence of
selecting carriers, and over 5000 fell beneath the sword.
_Hist. Chich._, 294. An antagonistic view of the affair
is offered by Juan Cano, of Narvaez’ expedition, who gave
Oviedo the hearsay statement that Cortés had asked for 3000
carriers, and wantonly killed them. iii. 552. Carbajal
Espinosa, a Mexican historian, like Bustamante, regards
the victims as innocent and the deed as barbarous. _Hist.
Mex._, ii. 182. Robertson considers that Cortés had good
reasons for it, yet ‘the punishment was certainly excessive
and atrocious.’ _Hist. Am._, ii. 452. Solis condemns those
who seek to accuse the Spaniards of cruelty and to pity the
Indians—‘maligna compasion, hija del odio y de la envidia.’
The conquerors gave religion to them, and that he regards
as sufficient compensation. _Hist. Mex._, i. 345. ‘Cortez
felt but doubtful of their fidelity, and feared to leave
his rear to a people who might ruin his enterprise,’ says
Wilson, _Conq. Mex._, 383, in explanation of the motive;
but he forgets that a few hostages, as taken from other
peoples on the route, would have secured Cortés far more
than the murder of a small percentage of this population.
Prescott compares the deed with European cruelties, and,
considering the danger threatening the Spaniards, he excuses
it. He prefaces his comments by a consideration of the
right of conquest. _Mex._, ii. 29-39. Alas for honesty,
humanity, decency, when talented American authors talk of
the right of one people to rob and murder another people!
See also _Veytia_, _Hist. Ant. Méj._, iii. 381-2; _Pizarro y
Orellana_, _Varones Ilvstres_, 86-9; _Peralta_, _Not. Hist._,
112-13, 313-14; _Pimentel_, _Mem. Sit._, 90-2. Although some
of the early Dutch writers eagerly copy and even exaggerate
Las Casas’ version, the contemporary German writers are
quite moderate. Cortés’ version is given in the _Weltbuch
Spiegel und bildtnis des gantzen Erdtbodens von Sebastiano
Franco Wördensi_, Tübingen, 1534, ccxxxvii leaves, beside
preface and register. This book was much sought after in
its day, and received several editions, in German and Dutch,
as late as the seventeenth century. The earliest mentioned
by Harrisse is dated 1533. The new continent was gradually
receiving a larger space in the cosmographies at this period,
and Franck actually assigns it a whole section, as one of
the four parts of the world. The historic and geographic
description of Africa occupies the first and smallest
section; Europe follows and absorbs about half the pages,
while Asia receives 100 folios, and America the remainder,
beginning at folio 210. The heading reads: _Von America
dem vierdten teyl der welt, Anno M.CCCC.XCVII. erfunden_;
but after this chapter follow several pages on Portuguese
discoveries in Africa and eastward, till folio 220, when
begins the voyage of Columbus, ‘sunst Dauber genant,’ the
German translation of the admiral’s name. After several
chapters on the physical features, natural resources, and
inhabitants of the new discoveries, comes one relating how
Americus Vespucius found the fourth part of the world. This
is followed by three pages of matter on Asia, as if the
author, fearful of forgetting it, there and then gave his
story. Several interpolations occur, but the chief portion
of the remaining folios relates to Cortés’ conquest of
Mexico. The carelessly compiled and badly arranged material
of the volume claims to be based on over sixty authorities,
among which figure Apianus, Munster, Vespucci, Columbus,
and Cortés. The affix Wördensi indicates that Franck was a
Hollander, although he is often referred to as a German,
probably because his life was passed chiefly in Germany.
Here he issued, among other works, a not very orthodox
chronicle, which was excommunicated at Strasburg. Franck
was chased from more than one place, but enjoys the honor of
standing in the first class among authors condemned by the
Roman Church, and of having been deemed worthy of special
refutation by Luther and Melancthon. Even the liberal-minded
Bayle, after applying the term Anabaptist, refers to him
as ‘un vrai fanatique.’ _Dict. Hist._, ii. 1216.