BATTLE IN THE AIR.
As Cortes, at the head of his column, drew near the gate of the
_coatapantli_, he saw the inclosure and the terraces on that side of the
temple occupied by warriors, and the edge of the azoteas above lined
with _pabas_, chanting in dismal harmony with the deep music of the
great drum. Ensigns and symbols of unknown meaning, and rich regalia
pranked the dull gray faces of the pile with holiday splendors. Little
note, however, gave he to the beautiful effect.
"God helping us," he said to his cavaliers,--and with such gravity that
they knew him unusually impressed with the task before them,--"God
helping us, gentlemen, we will do a deed now that hath no likeness in
the wars of men. Commend we ourselves each, and all who follow us, to
the holy Christ, who cometh yonder on the staff of Father Olmedo."
So saying, he reversed his sword, and carried the crossed handle softly
and reverently to the bars of his helmet, and all who heard him did
likewise.
In front of the gate, under a shower of arrows, he stopped to adjust the
armlets of his shield, for his hand was yet sore; then, settling in his
saddle again, he spurred his horse through the entrance into the
enclosure.
Right into the mass waiting to receive him he broke, and whom his sword
left untouched the trained steed bore down. After him charged the
choicest spirits of the conquest, animated with generous rivalry and
the sublime idea that this time the fight was for God and His Church.
And so, with every thrust of sword and every plunge of horse, out rang
their cries.
"On, on, for love of Christ! Death to the infidels! Down with the false
gods!"
On the side of the infidels there was no yielding, for the ground was
holy ground to them. When their frail weapons were broken, they flung
themselves empty-handed upon the nearest rider, or under the horses,
and, dying even, tried to hold fast locked the hoofs that beat them to
death. In their aid, the pavement became heaped with bodies, and so
slippery with blood that a number of the horses fell down; and, in such
cases, if the rescue came not quickly they and their riders were lost.
Indeed, so much did this peril increase that Cortes, when his footmen
were fairly in the yard, dismounted the horsemen the better to wage the
fight.
At length resistance ceased: the inclosure was won. The marble floor
bore awful evidences of the prowess of one party and the desperation of
the other.
The Christians took up their wounded, and carried them tenderly to the
shade, for the sun blazed down from the cloudless sky.
Around Cortes gathered the captains, resting themselves.
"The Tlascalans must hold the yard," he said, well pleased, and with
raised visor. "That charge I commit to thee, Lugo."
Lugo bared his face, and said, sullenly,--
"Thou knowest, Señor, that I am accustomed to obey thee questionless;
but this liketh me not. I--"
"By the love of Christ--"
"Even so, Señor," said Lugo, interrupting him in turn. "I feel bidden by
love of Christ to go up, and help cast down the accursed idols."
The face of the crafty leader changed quickly.
"_Ola_, father!" he said. "Here is one malcontent, because I would have
him stay and take care of us while we climb the stairways. What say'st
thou?"
Olmedo answered solemnly, "What ye have in mind now, Señores,--the
disgrace of the false gods who abide in this temple of abominations,--is
what hath led us here. And now that the end is at hand, the least
circumstance is to be noted; for the wise hear God as often in the small
voice as in the thunder. Doubt not, doubt not; the prompting of the good
captain is from Him. Be this lower duty to the unassoilzied Tlascalans:
go we as the love of Christ calleth. Verily, he who doeth this work
well, though his sins be many as the sands of the sea, yet shall he
become as purity itself, and be blessed forever. Take thy measures
quickly, Señor, and let us be gone."
"Amen, amen!" said the cavaliers; and Cortes, crossing himself, hastened
in person to make dispositions for the further emprise.
The Tlascalans he set to hold the _coatapantli_ from attack without. To
the arquebusiers and cross-bowmen he gave orders to cover him with their
fire while he climbed the stairways and was driving the enemy around the
terraces. When the _azoteas_ was gained, they were to ascend, and take
part in the crowning struggle for the sanctuaries. The cavalry, already
dismounted, were to go with him in the assault. To the latter, upon
rejoining them, he said,--
"In my judgment, gentlemen, the fighting we go to now is of the kind
wherein the sword is better than axe or lance; therefore, put away all
else."
He took place at the head, with Alvarado and Sandoval next him in the
column.
"And thou, father?" he asked.
Olmedo raised his crucifix, and, looking up, said,--
"_Hagase tu voluntad en la tierra asi como en el cielo._"[49] Then to
Cortes, "I will follow these, my children."
"Forward, then! Christ with us, and all the saints!" cried Cortes.
"_Adelante! Christo y Santiago!_"
In a moment they were swiftly climbing the lower stair way of the
temple.
Meantime Io', from the _azoteas_, kept watch on the combats below. Two
figures charmed his gaze,--that of Cortes and that of the 'tzin,--both,
in their separate ways, moving forward slowly but certainly. Before he
thought of descending, the Christians were in the precinct of the
_coatapantli_, and after them streamed the long line of Tlascalans.
As we have seen, the prince had been in battles, and more than once felt
the joyous frenzy nowhere else to be found; but now a dread fell upon
him. Did Malinche's dream of conquest reach the gods? Again and again he
turned to the sanctuaries, but the divine wrath came not forth,--only
the sonorous throbs of the drum. Once he went into the presence chamber,
which was full of kneeling _pabas_. The _teotuctli_ stood before the
altar praying. Io' joined in the invocation; but miracle there was not,
neither was there help; for when he came out, all the yard around the
temple was Malinche's.
Then Io' comprehended that this attack, unlike Escobar's, was of method;
for the ways of succor, which were also those of retreat, were all
closed. The supreme trial had come early in his career. His spirit
arose; he saw himself the stay of the religion of his fathers; the gods
leaned upon him. On the roof and terraces were some two thousand
warriors, the fighting children of the valley: Tezcucans, with countless
glorious memories to sustain their native pride; Cholulans, eager to
avenge the sack of their city and the massacre of their countrymen;
Aztecs, full of the superiority of race, and the inspiration of ages of
empire. They would fight to the last man. He could trust them, as the
'tzin had trusted him. The struggle, moreover, besides being of special
interest on account of its religious character, would be in mid-air,
with the strangers and all the tribes and companies as witnesses. So,
with his caciques, he went down to the landing at the top of the lower
stairway.
A yell saluted Cortes when, at the head of the cavaliers, he appeared on
the steps, and, sword in hand and shield overhead, commenced the
perilous ascent. At the same time javelins and spears began to rain upon
the party from the first terrace. Up they hurried. Half the height was
gained and not a man hurt,--not a foot delayed! Then, slowly at first,
but with longer leaps and increasing force, a block of stone was started
down the stairs. Fortunately, the steps were broad, having been built
for the accommodation of processions. Down sped a warning cry; down as
swiftly plunged the danger. Olmedo saw three figures of men in iron
follow it headlong to the bottom; fast they fell, but not too fast for
his words of absolution; before the victims touched the pavement, their
sins were forgiven, and their souls at rest in Paradise.
The stones and timbers placed on the landing by the 'tzin's order were
now laid hold of, and rolled and dragged to the steps and hurled down.
Thus ten Christians more were slain. Even Cortes, deeming escape
impossible, turned his battle-cry into a prayer, and not in vain! From
below, the arquebusiers and cross-bowmen suddenly opened fire, which
they kept so close that, on the landing, the dead and wounded speedily
outnumbered the living.
"The saints are with us! Forward, swords of the Church!" cried Cortes.
Before the infidels recovered from their panic, he passed the last step,
and stood upon the terrace. And there, first in front of him, first to
meet him, was Io', whom pride and zeal would not permit to retire.
The meeting--combat it can hardly be called--was very brief. The blades
of Io's _maquahuitl_ broke at the first blow. Cortes replied with a
thrust of the sword,--quick, but true, riving both the shield and the
arm. A cacique dragged the hapless boy out of reach of the second
thrust, and took his place before the conqueror.
The terrace so hardly gained was smoothly paved, and wide enough for ten
men to securely walk abreast; on the outer side there was no railing or
guard of any kind, nothing but a descent of such height as to make a
fall certainly fatal. Four times the smooth, foot-worn pavement extended
around the temple, broken in its course by six grand stairways, the last
of which landed on the _azoteas_, one hundred and fifty feet above the
level of the street. Such was the highway of the gods, up which the
adventurous Christians essayed to march, fighting.
"To my side, Sandoval! And ye, Alvarado, Morla, Lugo, Ordas, Duero,--to
my side!" said Cortes, defending himself the while. "Make with me a line
of shields across the way. Let me hear your voices. No battle-cry here
but Christ and St. James! When ye are ready, shout, that I may hear ye!"
One by one the brave gentlemen took their places; then rose the cry,
"_Christo y Santiago! Christo y Santiago!_"
And then the voice of Cortes,--
"Forward, my friends! Push the dogs! No quarter! _Christo y Santiago!_"
Behind the line of shields moved the other cavaliers, eager to help when
help should be needed.
And then were shown the excellences of the sword in a master's hand. The
best shields of the infidels could not bar its point; it overcame
resistance so quietly that men fell, wounded, or slain outright, before
they thought themselves in danger; it won the terrace, and so rapidly
that the Christians were themselves astonished.
"_Ola, compañeros!_" said Cortes, who in the fiercest _mêleé_ was still
the watchful captain. "_Ola!_ Yonder riseth the second stairway. That
the heathen may not use the vantage against us, keep we close to this
pack. On their heels! Closer!"
So they mounted the steps of the second stairway, fighting; and the
crowd which they kept between them and the enemy on the landing was a
better cover even than the fire of the bowmen and arquebusiers. And so
the terraces were all taken. Of the eight other Christians who fell
under the stones and logs rolled upon them from the heights above, two
lived long enough to be shrived by the faithful Olmedo.
The _azoteas_ of the temple has been already described as a broad, paved
area, unobstructed except by the sacrificial stones and the sanctuaries
of Huitzil' and Tezca'. A more dreadful place for battle cannot be
imagined. The coming and going of worshippers, singly or in processions,
and of barefooted pabas, to whom the dizzy height was all the world, had
worn its surface smooth as furbished iron. If, as the combat rolled
slowly around the terraces, rising higher, and nearer the chiefs and
warriors on the summit,--if, in faintness of heart or hope, they looked
for a way of escape, the sky and the remote horizon were all they saw:
escape was impossible.
With many others disabled by wounds, Io' ascended to the _azoteas_ in
advance of the fight; not in despair, but as the faithful might, never
doubting that, when the human effort failed, Huitzil', the Omnipotent,
would defend himself. He passed through the ranks, and with brave words
encouraged the common resolve to conquer or die. Stopping upon the
western verge, he looked down upon the palace, and lo! there was a rest
in the assault, except where the 'tzin fought, with his back to the
temple; and the thousands were standing still, their faces
upturned,--each where the strange truce found him,--to behold the hunted
gods in some majestic form at last assert their divinity. So Io' knew,
by the whisperings of his own faith.
Again he turned prayerfully to the sanctuaries. At that instant Cortes
mounted the last step of the last stairway,--after him the line of
shields, and all the cavaliers,--after them again, Olmedo with his
crucifix! Then was wrought an effect, simple enough of itself, but so
timely that the good man--forgetful that the image of Christ dead on the
cross is nothing without the story of his perfect love and sorrowful
death--found believers when he afterwards proclaimed it a miracle. He
held the sacred effigy up to be seen by all the infidels; they gazed at
it as at a god unfriendly to their gods, and waited in awe for the
beginning of a struggle between the divine rivals; and while they
waited, Cortes and his cavaliers perfected their formation upon the
_azoteas_, and the bowmen and arquebusiers began to climb the second
stairway of the ascent. The moment of advantage was lost to the Aztecs,
and they paid the penalty.
Io' waited with the rest; from crucifix to sanctuary, and sanctuary to
crucifix, he turned; yet the gods nursed their power. At last he awoke;
too late! there was no escape. Help of man was not possible, and the
gods seemed to have abandoned him.
"Tezcuco! Cholula! Tenochtitlan! Up, up, Tlateloco, up!"
Over the azoteas his words rang piercing clear, and through the ranks
towards the Christians he rushed. The binding of the spell was broken.
Shook the banners, pealed war-cry, conch, and atabal,--and the battle
was joined.
"Hold fast until our brethren come; then shall our swords drink their
fill! _Christo y Santiago!_"
Never was the voice of Cortes more confident.
Need, nevertheless, had the cavaliers for all their strength and skill,
even the nicest cunning of fence and thrust. Every joint of their
harness was searched by javelin and spear, and the clang of
_maquahuitls_ against the faces of their shields was as the noise of a
thousand _armeros_ at work. The line swayed and bent before the surge,
now yielding, now recovering, at times ready to break, and then--death
awaited them all on the terraces below. For life they plied their
swords,--no, not for life alone; behind them to and fro strode Olmedo.
"Strike, and spare not!" he cried. "Lo, the gates of hell yonder, but
they shall not prevail. Strike for Holy Church, whose swords ye are! For
Holy Cross, and room to worship above the Baals of heathendom! For glory
here, and eternal life hereafter!"
So he cried as he strode; and the crucifix on his lance and the saintly
words on his lips were better than trumpets, better than a hundred Cids
in reserve.
The great drum, which had been for a while silent, at this juncture
burst out again; and still more to inflame the infidels, forth from the
sanctuaries the pabas poured, and dispersed themselves, leaping,
dancing, singing, through the ranks. Doubtless they answered the
Christian priest, promise for promise, and with even greater effect; the
calm and self-possessed among their people became zealots, and the
zealots became frantic madmen.
At last the bowmen and arquebusiers appeared upon the scene. When Cortes
saw them,--their line formed, matches lighted, bows drawn,--he drew out
of the combat to give them directions.
"_Viva compañeros!_" he said, with a vivacity peculiar to himself, "I
bid ye welcome. The temple and its keepers are ours. We with swords will
now go forward. Keep ye the stairway, and take care of our flanks. Ply
your bolts,--ply them fast,--and spare not a cur in the kennel!"
They made no answer, spake not a word. Stolidly, grimly they gazed at
him under their morions; they knew their duty, and he knew them. Once
more he turned to the fight.
"To the sanctuaries!" he shouted, to the cavaliers. "We have come for
the false gods: let us at them. Charge, gentlemen, Christ with us!
Forward all!"
Back came their response, "Forward! _Christo y Santiago!_"
They advanced their shields suddenly; the play of their swords
redoubled; the weapons in front of them splintered like reeds; war-cries
half uttered turned to screams; under foot blood ran like water, and
feathered panoply and fallen men, dying and dead, blotted out the
pavement. Surprised, bewildered, baffled, the bravest of the infidels
perished; the rest gave way or were pushed helplessly back; and the
dismay thus excited rose to panic when the bowmen and arquebusiers
joined in the combat. A horrible confusion ensued. Hundreds threw away
their arms, and ran wildly around the _azoteas_; some flung themselves
from the height; some climbed the sanctuaries; some took to piteous
imploration of the doomed idols; others, in blind fury, rushed
empty-handed upon the dripping swords.
Steadily, as a good craft divides the current and its eddies, Cortes
made way to the sanctuaries, impatient to possess the idols, that, at
one blow, he might crush the faith they represented, after which he made
no doubt of the submission of the nations in arms. A rare faculty that
which, in the heat of battle, can weave webs of policy, and in the
mind's eye trace out lines of wise conduct.
When, at last, the end was nigh, such of the pabas as survived withdrew
themselves from the delirious mob, and assembled around the sacrificial
stones. Some of them were wounded; on many the black gowns hung in
shreds; all of them had one purpose more, usually the last to linger in
an enthusiast's heart. There, where they had witnessed so many
sacrifices, and, in eager observance of auguries, overlooked or savagely
enjoyed the agony of the victims, they came themselves to die,--there
the sword found them; and from their brave, patient death we may learn
that Satan hath had his martyrs as well as Christ.
About the same time another body collected in the space before the
presence chamber of Huitzil'. They were the surviving caciques, with Io'
in their midst. Having borne him out of the fray, they now took up a
last position to defend him and the gods.
Upon them also the battle had laid a heavy hand; most of them were hurt
and bleeding; of their beautiful regalia only fragments remained; some
were without arms of any kind, some bore headless javelins or spears; a
few had _maquahuitls_. Not a word was spoken: they, too, had come to
die, and the pride of their race forbade repining.
They saw the last of the pabas fall; then the rapacious swords, to
complete the work, came to them. In the front strode Cortes. His armor
shone brightly, and his shield, though spotted with blood, was as a
mirror from which the sun's rays shot, like darts, into the eyes of the
infidels attracted by its brightness.
Suddenly, three warriors, unarmed, rushed upon him; his sword passed
through one of them; the others caught him in their arms. So quick, so
bold and desperate was the action that, before he could resist or his
captains help him, he was lifted from his feet and borne away.
"Help, gentlemen! Rescue!" he cried.
Forward sprang Sandoval, forward Alvarado, forward the whole line. The
caciques interposed themselves. Played the swords then never so fast and
deadly,--still the wall of men endured.
Cortes with all his armor was a cumbrous burthen; yet the warriors bore
him swiftly toward the verge of the _azoteas_. No doubt of their
purpose: fair and stately were the halls awaiting them in the Sun, if
they but took the leap with him! He struggled for life, and called on
the saints, and vowed vows; at the last moment, one of them stumbled and
fell; thereupon he broke away, regained his feet, and slew them both.
In the door of the sanctuary of Huitzil', meantime, Io' stood, biding
the sure result of the unequal struggle. Again and again he had striven
to get to the enemy; but the devoted caciques closed their circle
against him as compactly as against them. Nearer shone the resistless
blades,--nearer the inevitable death. The rumble and roar of the drum
poured from the chamber in mighty throbs; at times he caught glimpses of
the _azoteas_ strewn with bloody wreck; a sense of the greatness of the
calamity seized him, followed by the sullen calm which, in brave men
dying, is more an accusation of fate than courage, resignation, or
despair; upon his faculties came a mist; he shouted the old war-cry of
the 'tzin, and scarcely heard himself; the loves and hopes that had made
his young life beautiful seemed to rise up and fly away, not in the
air-line of birds, but with the slow, eccentric flight of star-winged
butterflies; then the light faded and the sky darkened; he reeled and
staggered, but while falling, felt himself drawn into the presence
chamber, and looking up saw the face of the _teotuctli_, and heard the
words, "I loved your father, and he loved the god, who may yet save us.
Come, come!" The loving hands took off his warlike trappings, and
covering him with the frock of a paba set him on the step of the altar
at the feet of the god; then the darkness became perfect, and he knew no
more.
Directly there was a great shout within the chamber, blent with the
clang of armor and iron-shod feet; the _teotuctli_ turned, and
confronted Olmedo, with Cortes and the cavaliers.
The Christian priest dropped his lance to the floor, threw back his
cowl, raised his visor, and pointing to the crucifix gazed proudly into
the face of the infidel pontiff, who answered with a look high and
scornful, as became the first and last servant of a god so lately the
ruler of the universe. And while they faced each other, the beating of
the drum ceased, and the clamor stilled, until nothing was heard but the
breathing of the conquerors, tired with slaughter.
Then Cortes said,--
"Glory to Christ, whose victory this is! Thou, father, art his priest,
let thy will be done. Speak!"
Olmedo turned to that quarter of the chamber where, by permission of
Montezuma, a Christian shrine and cross had been erected: shrine and
cross were gone! Answered he then,--
"The despoiler hath done his work. Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord.
Take this man," pointing to the _teotuctli_, "and bind him, and lead him
hence."
Alvarado stepped forward, and took off the massive silver chain which he
habitually wore twice encircling his neck, and falling down low over his
breast-plate; with it he bound the wrists of the prisoner, who once, and
once only, cast an appealing glance up to the stony face of the idol. As
they started to lead him off, his eyes fell upon Io'; by a sign and look
of pity, he directed their attention to the boy.
"He is not dead," said Sandoval, after examination.
"Take him hence, also," Olmedo ordered. "At leisure to-morrow we can
learn what importance he hath."
Hardly were the captives out when the chamber became a scene of wild
iconoclasm. The smoking censers were overthrown; the sculpturings on the
walls were defaced; the altar was rifled of the rich accumulation of
gifts; fagots snatched from the undying fires in front of the
sanctuaries were applied to the carved and gilded wood-work; and amid
the smoke, and with shouting and laughter and the noisy abandon of
school-boys at play, the zealots despoiled the gigantic image of its
ornaments and treasure,--of the bow and golden arrows in its hands; the
feathers of humming birds on its left foot; the necklace of gold and
silver hearts; the serpent enfolding its waist in coils glistening with
pearls and precious stones. A hundred hands then pushed the monster from
its sitting-place, and rolled it out of the door, and finally off the
_azoteas_. Tezca' shared the same fate. The greedy flames mounted to the
towers, and soon not a trace of the ages of horrible worship remained,
except the smoking walls of the ruined sanctuaries.
Down from the heights marched the victors; into the palace they marched;
and not a hand was raised against them on the way; the streets were
almost deserted.
"_Bien!_" said Cortes, as he dismounted once more in front of his
quarters. "_Muy bien!_ We have their king and chief-priests; we have
burned their churches, disgraced their gods, and slain their nobles by
the thousand. The war is over, gentlemen; let us to our couches. Welcome
rest! welcome peace!"
And the weary army, accepting his words as verity, went to rest, though
the sun flamed in the brassy sky; but rest there was not; ere dreams
could follow slumber, the trumpets sounded, and the battle was on again,
fiercer than ever.
The sun set, and the night came; then the companies thought to rest;
but Cortes, made tireless by rage, went out after them, and burned a
vast district of houses.
And the flames so filled the sky with brilliance that the sun seemed to
have stood still just below the horizon.
During the lurid twilight, Olmedo laid away, in shallow graves dug for
them in the palace-garden, more than fifty Christians, of whom six and
forty perished on the temple and its terraces.
FOOTNOTES:
[49] Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.