_How Gonzalo de Sandoval marches against the provinces which had
sent their troops to cooperate with Quauhtemoctzin._
In order that these events may be rendered more intelligible, I must
recur to the defeat which Cortes' division sustained on the causeway,
when sixty of his men, or rather sixty-two, as subsequently appeared,
were taken prisoners. The reader will remember that Quauhtemoctzin,
after that unfortunate day, sent the feet and hands, with the skins torn
from the faces of the murdered Spaniards, and the heads of the dead
horses to Matlaltzinco, Malinalco, and other townships. This he did to
blazon forth the victory he had gained over us; and he summoned the
inhabitants to cooperate with him, and carry on the war with us day and
night without intermission, and on a certain day to fall upon our rear,
while he with his troops sallied out upon us from the city; in that way,
he assured them, they could not fail to give us a total overthrow, as
above half of our men had been killed in the last battle. This message
from Quauhtemoctzin met with the more favorable reception in
Matlaltzinco, as the monarch had many relations on his mother's side in
this township. It was therefore resolved that the whole armed force of
the country should be called out, and march to the relief of Mexico.
The warriors of these three townships accordingly put themselves in
motion, and commenced hostilities by plundering and ill-using the
inhabitants of the districts they passed through, and carrying off their
children to sacrifice them to their idols. The inhabitants of these
places, therefore, applied to Cortes, who instantly despatched Andreas
de Tapia, with twenty horse, one hundred Spanish foot, and a strong body
of our allies to their assistance. Tapia soon dispersed the enemy, with
considerable loss, and they fled precipitately to their own country.
Cortes was excessively pleased with the promptness that Tapia had
displayed, who, however, had scarcely returned to head-quarters, when
messengers arrived from Quauhnahuac, praying for immediate assistance
against these same tribes of Matlaltzinco and Malinalco, who had fallen
hostilely into their country.
Cortes, on receiving this intelligence, instantly ordered off Sandoval
with twenty cavalry, eighty of his most nimble foot soldiers, and a
considerable body of allies to their assistance. God only knows how
perilous the situation of the three divisions became by the expedition
against these warlike tribes, as most of our troops were suffering from
severe wounds and lacked all manner of refreshments! Much indeed might
be said in praise of the victories which Sandoval gained over the enemy,
but I will not detain my reader with them, but merely state that he
speedily returned to his division. He brought in prisoners with him, two
of the most distinguished personages of Matlaltzinco, and restored peace
to the country. We certainly derived great advantages from this
expedition; our allies were protected from any further attacks, a new
and dangerous foe was put down, and it proved to Quauhtemoctzin that the
power of his allies in the provinces was very feeble; for the Mexicans
had triumphantly cried out to us in the last battles, that the warriors
of Matlaltzinco, and of other provinces, would march against us; and
then, as their gods had promised them, we should all be destroyed.
After the successful termination of this expedition Cortes again offered
terms of peace to Quauhtemoctzin, in the same way as on the former
occasion, and told him that the emperor, our master, again offered him
terms of peace, that the city might not be totally destroyed, which was
the only reason we had staid hostilities for the last five days. He
ought to reflect that he had scarcely any provisions and water left for
his troops and the unfortunate inhabitants, and that two thirds of the
city lay in ruins. He might convince himself by questioning the two
chiefs of Matlaltzinco, whom he expressly sent to him on this occasion,
what he had to expect from their country in the shape of assistance. To
this message, which Cortes accompanied by offers of sincere friendship,
Quauhtemoctzin would not deign an answer, but ordered the two chiefs of
Matlaltzinco to leave the city and return to their homes. Immediately
after this our three divisions were, if possible, attacked with greater
fury than on any previous occasion; and whatever numbers of these
infuriated beings we might kill, they were not to be deterred, and it
seemed as if they only sought death. Under the cry of, "Tenitoz rey
Castilla? Tenitoz Axaca?" which in their language means: What will the
king of Spain say to this? What will he now say? They showered forth
upon us volumes of lances, arrows, and stones, so that the whole
causeway was completely covered with them. However courageously the
Mexicans might defend themselves, we nevertheless each day made new
inroads upon the city. Their numbers had greatly decreased, nor did they
make any fresh openings in the causeway; though they never failed to
harass us every evening when we marched back to our encampment.
By this time there was not a grain of powder left among the three
divisions, when fortunately a vessel ran into Vera Cruz which had become
separated from an armament that had been fitted out by a certain
licentiate, named Lucas Vasquez de Aillon, but which had been
shipwrecked on the islands off Florida. This vessel had on board a
number of soldiers, with a good store of powder, crossbows and other
matters, of which we stood in need. All this was immediately forwarded
to us by Rodrigo Rangel, who kept Narvaez in close custody at Vera Cruz.
Cortes now carried on the siege with more determination, and issued
orders for the three divisions to advance as far as possible into the
city, and even to make an attempt to force the Tlatelulco, on which
stood the chief temples of Mexico.
Cortes, with his division, soon fought his way up to another square
where some smaller temples stood, in which were suspended from beams the
heads of several of my companions in arms who had been slain in the
different engagements. The hair of these heads and beards was much
longer than when on the living body, and I certainly should not have
believed this if I had not seen it with my own eyes three days after,
when our division had likewise advanced up to this spot. Among these
heads I recognized those of three of my companions in arms. At this
melancholy sight the tears rolled from our eyes, and we allowed these
sorrowful remains of our fellow-countrymen to hang there for the
present, until twelve days after, when we took them down with others we
found elsewhere in these temples, and buried them in a church we
founded, which is now called the Church of the Martyrs. Alvarado, with
his division, had fought his way up to the Tlatelulco, but found so
formidable a body of Mexican troops stationed there for the defence of
the temples and idols, that it took him a couple of hours' hard fighting
before he had entire possession of it. Here our cavalry was of the
greatest assistance to us, as they were less restricted in their
movements on this open space, and charged the crowded ranks of the enemy
with much success.
As the enemy attacked us in great numbers from three different points,
our three companies also fought in detached bodies, and one of these,
commanded by Guiterrez de Badajoz, was ordered by Alvarado to make an
attempt on the great temple of Huitzilopochtli. This company fought most
valiantly with the enemy, and particularly with the priests, who lived
in great numbers in houses near the temple, and our men were beaten back
down the steps of this building again, up which they had advanced to a
considerable distance. Alvarado seeing this, now also commanded the two
other companies who were fighting away in another direction to assist
the other in storming the temple. The body of the enemy's forces we thus
suddenly quitted, instantly followed us, yet this did not deter us from
ascending the steps of the temple. By heavens! it was a most terrific
piece of labour to take this elevated and strongly-fortified building,
and much might be said in praise of our courage for attempting it. We
were all dreadfully wounded, yet we were determined to gain the summit
to plant our standard there, and set fire to the idols. When we had
accomplished this, we had still to fight about with the Mexicans at the
foot of the temple until night came on; for owing to their immense
numbers it was impossible to give them an entire defeat.
While we were accomplishing this splendid deed of arms on the temple of
Huitzilopochtli, Cortes was hotly engaged with the enemy in another
quarter of the town, at a great distance from us. When he saw the flames
issuing on a sudden from the summit of the chief temple, and our
standard waving there, he expressed his joy aloud, and all his troops
would gladly have been with us at that moment. But they found too many
difficulties to surmount, as the distance between us was a good mile,
and a number of bridges and canals intervening, all of which they must
have forced. Besides this they everywhere met with so determined an
opposition that it was quite impossible for them to fight their way into
the heart of the city. It was not till four days after, when the three
divisions had cleared the streets of the enemy and could meet together
without any further obstacle, that they likewise advanced up to this
temple, and Quauhtemoctzin found himself obliged to retire with the
whole of his forces into a part of the city which lay in the midst of
the lake, after we had levelled all his palaces to the ground. But even
from this quarter the Mexicans continued their attacks upon us, and when
we commenced our retreat towards nightfall they followed us with greater
fierceness than on former occasions.
Cortes, finding that day after day passed away without the Mexicans
seeming any way inclined to sue for peace, determined to try if he
could not gain some decisive victory over them by suddenly falling upon
them from an ambush. For this purpose he selected thirty horse and one
hundred of the most active foot soldiers from the three divisions; these
troops were ordered to conceal themselves with 3000 Tlascallans very
early one morning in some extensive buildings which belonged to one of
the Mexican grandees. Cortes then marched as usual with the remaining
troops along the causeway into the city, the cavalry clearing the
streets in advance, followed by the musketeers and crossbow-men. When he
had arrived at a bridge which lay across a broad canal, and was defended
by a vast body of the enemy, he ordered his men to make a sudden
retreat, and our allies to move off the causeway. The Mexicans, who
imagined Cortes was retreating from fear, fell upon his rear with great
impetuosity; but as soon as he saw the enemy had passed the houses in
which we lay concealed, he fired a cannon, which was the signal
previously agreed upon; and we rushed forth from our ambush with the
cavalry at our head, and fell in our turn upon the enemy's rear. Cortes
then faced about with his men and our Tlascallan friends, and attacked
the enemy in front. A terrible slaughter now ensued in the ranks of the
Mexicans, and they never after showed any inclination to molest us when
we marched back to our encampments in the evening.
Alvarado, with his division, had in a similar manner attempted to entrap
the enemy by an ambush, but he was not equally successful.
As for myself I was not with my division on this occasion, Cortes having
purposely selected me to join his troops in the ambush above-mentioned.
We had now entire possession of the Tlatelulco, and Cortes ordered our
three companies to fortify themselves on this large square, to save the
men the trouble of marching thither every morning from the encampment
which was two miles off. Here we lay quietly for three days without
doing anything worthy of notice, and Cortes, in the hopes that the
Mexicans would now certainly sue for peace, would not allow any more
houses to be pulled down, nor any further attacks to be made on the
other parts of the city. He then forwarded another message to the
Mexican monarch, in which he desired him to surrender, and assured him
he would have nothing to fear for his own person; on the contrary, he
would meet with the most honorable treatment, and that he should
continue in possession of his dominions and cities as heretofore. This
message our general accompanied by a supply of provisions, consisting in
maize-cakes, fowls, venison, figs, and cherries, as he knew the monarch
had scarcely any food left. Quauhtemoctzin, on receiving this message,
called a council of war composed of his chief officers, in which it was
agreed that the monarch should return this answer to Cortes: "He,
Quauhtemoctzin, was now very desirous of putting an end to the war, and
wished to have a personal interview with Cortes in the space of three
days, to settle the terms of peace."
Four distinguished Mexicans accordingly arrived in our camp with an
answer to that effect. We really now thought Quauhtemoctzin earnestly
desired peace, and for this reason Cortes sumptuously regaled these four
ambassadors, and presented them on leaving with a further supply of
provisions for their monarch, who returned this civility by sending
other ambassadors with a present of two splendid mantles for our
general, with the assurance that he would meet Cortes according to his
promise.
But this message which Quauhtemoctzin had sent was a mere blind to gain
time in order to repair the bridges and deepen the canals, and get in a
fresh supply of arms; and, to be short, the three days expired, but no
Quauhtemoctzin made his appearance. His courtiers continually cautioned
him not to put any trust in Cortes, and supported their arguments by
reminding him of his uncle Motecusuma's miserable end; they assured him
that Cortes would exterminate the whole of the Mexican nobility, and
they advised him to excuse himself for not meeting Cortes, under the
pretence of ill health. They faithfully promised him to march out to a
man against the teules, and they despaired not of gaining a decisive
victory over us some day or other, for this had been promised them by
their gods.
When the three days had passed by and Quauhtemoctzin did not make his
appearance, we concluded that we had been imposed upon by the Mexicans,
who, however, did not leave us much time to vex ourselves about it, for
all of a sudden they renewed the attack upon us with their accustomed
fierceness, so that we were scarcely able to maintain our ground. The
same befell the divisions of Alvarado and Sandoval, and it was as if the
war had only just commenced.
As we had become rather careless from the certain expectation that peace
was going to be concluded, the enemy found us not quite so well
prepared, and wounded several of our men, one of whom died shortly
after. We likewise lost two horses, and many others were wounded; but we
did not leave them much room to brag of this sally, and made them pay
dearly for it, as Cortes now ordered us to penetrate into that part of
the town where Quauhtemoctzin had himself retreated; who, when he
perceived that he was upon the point of losing this last quarter of the
city, sent messengers to propose a parley between himself and Cortes on
the banks of a large canal, in such a manner that he was to stand on one
side of the canal and our general on the other. Cortes accepted of this
proposal and the following day was fixed for the interview. Our general
repaired to the spot which had been fixed upon at the proper hour, but
no Quauhtemoctzin came; however, he sent in his stead several
distinguished personages, who offered as an excuse for their monarch's
not coming, that he feared we should kill him with our crossbows and
muskets. Cortes assured them upon his oath that no injury should befall
their monarch; but all to no purpose, they were not to be persuaded.
During this discourse two of these Mexican grandees drew forth from a
small package they had with them some maize-cakes, a piece of broiled
fowl, and a few cherries, and began to eat, all which was only done that
Cortes might not think they were in want of provisions. Our general then
sent back word to Quauhtemoctzin by these messengers, that he was now
quite indifferent whether he came or not; he would himself soon come and
pay him a visit in his own house, and see all his stores of provisions.
For the five following days both armies remained perfectly quiet; but
during this interval a great number of poor people who were starving for
want of food deserted to our divisions, which was the principal reason
why Cortes ordered all hostilities to be staid, as he still lived in
expectation that the enemy would sue for peace. But we were again
disappointed in our hopes.
There happened to be in Cortes' division a soldier named Sotelo, who had
served in Italy under the great captain,[26] and who had fought at
Garayana,[27] and in other famous battles. This man was always talking
about the different battering engines which had been used in that war,
and said, he would himself engage to construct a species of catapult on
the Tlatelulco, and batter down the houses in which the enemy still held
out, and this so effectually that the Mexicans would soon find
themselves obliged to sue for peace.
Cortes allowed himself to be persuaded by the great things which this
man promised, and issued the necessary orders for the construction of
such a machine; and the stone, wood, lime, and iron, which this man
required for his wonderful machine were soon provided for him. Two of
these catapults were soon finished, by which large stones, of the size
of buckets, were to be cast upon the houses. But these machines proved a
complete failure, and the stones which they were to throw to a distance
fell at the foot of the engine itself. Cortes was excessively annoyed
with this soldier for having persuaded him to listen to his schemes, and
ordered the machines to be destroyed. Cortes then determined that an
attack should be made with the brigantines on that quarter of the town
where Quauhtemoctzin had retreated. The manner in which this was done I
will relate in the following chapter.