_How Cortes himself marches at the head of his troops to the
Honduras in search of Christobal de Oli; of the officers and men he
selected on this occasion, and of other matters._
Several months having now elapsed since the departure of Las Casas with
the armament, and Cortes still without any tidings from him, he began to
fear that some misfortune had befallen him. The more he thought of the
many dangers to which vessels are exposed, and the various changes of
good and bad fortune which are inseparable from an expedition of this
nature, the more he regretted, notwithstanding all the confidence he
placed in Las Casas, that he had not gone in person at the head of the
armament. All this, added to the assurances he had received of there
being lucrative gold mines along the coast of the Honduras, determined
Cortes to march thither in person at the head of his troops.
His first care was to have the fortifications of Mexico well mounted
with cannon, and a good supply of ammunition to be laid by in the
arsenals for the protection of the city. The government of New Spain he
intrusted in his absence to the treasurer Alonso de Estrada and to the
accountant Albornoz. How he could make choice of the latter is quite
beyond my speculation; but he certainly would not have done so if he had
been aware of the infamous manner in which Albornoz had slandered him to
the emperor.
The licentiate Zuazo, who has so often been mentioned in the course of
this history, he appointed alcalde-mayor of Mexico, and the entire
management of his own private property he gave to his relative Rodrigo
de Paz.
After he had thus made every provision for the government and security
of Mexico, he particularly desired the crown officers, to whom he had
intrusted the chief government, the Franciscan friar Toribio Motolinia,
and the excellent father Olmedo, who was held in the highest estimation
in Mexico, and had deservedly the greatest influence on all classes of
people, to act in harmony to assist each other in the conversion of the
Indians and to maintain peace and good order throughout the provinces,
as well as in the city itself. In order, however, to deprive the
discontented of the Indian population in the city and in the provinces
of all possibility of choosing any leader of distinction, should they
take it into their heads to rise up in arms during his absence, he took
along with him Quauhtemoctzin, besides the king of Tlacupa, and several
others of the most distinguished caziques of the country, among whom the
chief of Tapiezuela held the first rank, and even despatched a message
to the caziques of Mechoacan, desiring them also to join his army.
As Geronimo de Aguilar had died some time previously, he only took Dona
Marina with him as interpretess. The suite of principal officers and
cavaliers who accompanied him in this expedition was very brilliant; of
which I shall only mention Sandoval, Luis Marin, Francisco Marmolejo,
Gonzalo Rodriguez de Ocampo, Pedro de Ircio, the brothers Avalos and
Saavedra, Palacios Rubios, Pedro de Sauzedo, Geronimo Ruiz de la Mota,
Alonso de Grado, Sante Cruz Burgales, Pedro de Solis, Juan Xaramillo,
Alonso Valiente, Navarrete, and Serna; further, Diego de Mazariegos,
cousin to the treasurer Gil Gonsalez de Benavides, Herman Lopez de
Avila, Gaspar Garnica, and several others, whose names I have forgotten.
The priests who joined this army were, father Juan de las Varillas, of
Salamanca, and two Flemish monks, who were profound theologians, and
preached a good deal. Besides these, there was another priest, whose
name has slipped my memory. Of the officers of his household, Cortes
selected his major-domo Carranza, his chief waiters Juan de Jasso and
Rodrigo Maneco, his butler Cervan Bejarano, and two stewards of the
kitchen department, San Miguel and Guinea.
As Cortes took with him a great quantity of gold and silver utensils
and ornaments, he gave the immediate charge of these to a certain Tello,
of Medina, and another person, named Salazar, of Madrid. As physician he
took the licentiate Pedro de Lopez, of Mexico, and as surgeon Diego de
Pedraza. To all these was added a number of pages, of whom Don Francisco
de Montejo was one, who subsequently commanded in Yucatan, and was son
to the oft-mentioned Montejo, adelantado of the latter province;
further, there were two pages appointed as his lance-bearers; his chief
equerry Gonzalo Rodriguez de Ocampo, with a number of grooms, and three
Spanish mule-drivers; two falconers, Garci Caro and Alvaro Montanes; a
number of performers on the sackbut, clarion, and dulcimer; lastly, a
buffoon and a juggler, who likewise entertained the men with
puppet-shows; further, he took with him a large herd of swine, in order
that the troops might have a constant supply of fresh meat on their
march. Besides the numbers of Indians which accompanied the several
caziques, a body of 3000 Mexican warriors were also joined to this army.
Just as Cortes was about to commence his march from Mexico, the factor
Salazar and the veedor Chirinos, who were both hurt and disappointed
that Cortes had not thought proper to give them any particular
appointment during the time he would be absent, urged on the licentiate
Zuazo and Rodrigo de Paz, besides all the veteran Conquistadores and
Cortes' intimate friends who remained behind in the metropolis,
earnestly to dissuade him from leaving Mexico, and not to intrust the
government of the country to other hands, as there was not the least
doubt but that the whole of New Spain would revolt in his absence. These
representations occasioned much debate between both parties; but as
Cortes abided by the resolution he had taken, the factor and veedor
begged of him to allow them, at least, to accompany him to Guacasualco,
through which his march lay, and so far to accept of their services.
Cortes thus left Mexico[45] at the head of his army, and took the road
leading to the last-mentioned province. The splendour with which he was
received in every township he came to, and the festivities which took
place in his honour, were really astonishing. On his march he was also
joined by fifty men who had but recently arrived from Spain, all
light-hearted extravagant young fellows.
In order that his troops might not be detained on the road for want of
provisions, and to procure these the more readily, he divided his army
into two bodies, which marched by different routes to Guacasualco.
Immediately about his person were Sandoval, the factor and the veedor,
who vied with each other in their attentions to him; but none of them
carried their politeness so far as the factor, who, whenever he
addressed Cortes, bowed himself almost double, with his head uncovered,
and took every opportunity, under the most flattering assurances of his
devoted attachment, to dissuade him from this tedious and perilous
expedition, and summoned to his aid all the subtlety of rhetoric in
representing to him the evils that might ensue from it, and the little
advantage he could gain. He would often sing out, when riding along at
the side of Cortes:
Turn back, dear uncle, turn back;
Dear uncle, turn back!
To this Cortes likewise replied, in a singing tone of voice:
Forward, nephew; forward, nephew;
Let not omens dishearten you;
The will of God it must be done;
Forward, nephew; forward, nephew!
When the division which was commanded by Cortes himself arrived in the
neighbourhood of Orizaba, the property of the squinting Ojedo, Dona
Marina was married to Juan Xaramillo, and the hymeneal knot was solemnly
tied in presence of witnesses.
The army now marched further on towards the extensive township of
Guazaltepec, which was comprised in the commendary of Sandoval. From
this place we received intelligence in Guacasualco of Cortes' approach,
and the whole of us officers and distinguished personages of the town,
with the alcaldes, regidors, and all the chief authorities, immediately
marched out, and we advanced about 132 miles into the country to receive
our general. This was done with such zeal on our part as if we were each
going to receive some large benefice; and I merely mention this
circumstance to show the reader how much Cortes was esteemed and feared
at the same time. He was always pleased to find this kind of respect
paid to his person, and it was impossible to go too far in your
attentions to him.
The army now continued its march from Guazaltepec further on towards
Guacasualco, and had to pass over a very broad and rapid river, when the
first ill omen showed itself; for three of the canoes, which were
conveying across considerable sums of money and other things, upset, and
all they contained went to the bottom. Upon this occasion Juan Xaramillo
lost the half of his baggage, nor was it possible to save any part that
floated down the river, on account of the enormous alligators with which
the water abounded.
From this place Cortes marched over the townships of Uluta up to the
broad river of Guacasualco, where every preparation had been made to
convey the army across, for which purpose a great number of canoes lay
ready fastened two and two together. In the town of Guacasualco itself
triumphal arches had been erected, and every preparation had been made
to entertain our general as magnificently as possible. Sham fights took
place between Christians and Moors, all kinds of fireworks were
displayed at night, and various other rejoicings were kept up.
Cortes staid altogether six days in Guacasualco, during which time the
veedor and factor left him not a moment's peace, with their
representations to relinquish the expedition, and return to Mexico. They
constantly reminded him of the men to whom he had confided the chief
government, and told him that the accountant Albornoz was a man fond of
innovation, restless of disposition, and double-faced; that the
treasurer openly prided himself on being a son of his catholic majesty;
so that very little trust could be placed in either of these gentlemen.
From the moment he had intrusted the government to them, and even
previously, they had laid their heads together, and determined upon some
secret movement. They likewise reminded Cortes of the letters he had
received on his march hither, from Mexico, in which it was stated that
his two representatives had already began to slander his government of
the country. In short, the veedor and factor spoke in such eloquent and
flattering terms of their great attachment to his person, and how much
more fitting persons they were themselves to have been intrusted with
the government in his absence than the two other gentlemen, that at last
they actually persuaded him to grant them equal power in the
administration; and not only this, but with the additional authority to
take the sole government into their own hands, if they saw that Albornoz
and Estrada acted against the true interests of his majesty.
The power which Cortes thus conferred upon the veedor and factor was the
source of many evils, and of the terrible insurrection which shortly
after burst out in Mexico, and of which I will give a full account in a
following chapter, when our army has fairly reached the town of
Truxillo, after a long and tedious march. I will only take this
opportunity of observing, that father Olmedo, and the Franciscan monks
who accompanied us, did not hesitate a moment to tell Cortes how greatly
they disapproved of this measure, and said, they hoped to God he would
not have to repent of this step: and indeed their apprehensions were but
too well confirmed by future events! Cortes, however, took little heed
of what the good Franciscans had said; for only the words of father
Olmedo, whom he consulted on most occasions, had ever any weight with
him.
When the factor and the veedor took leave of Cortes before returning to
Mexico, it was ludicrous to behold their reverential bows, and to hear
the compliments they paid him. The factor, in particular, had a manner
of sighing peculiar to himself, and he appeared ready to burst into
tears when he took leave of Cortes, and the deed of appointment, which
had been drawn out by his intimate friend, the secretary Alonso
Valiente, was put into his hands. Both these gentlemen now set out for
Mexico, whither they were accompanied by Hernan Lopez de Avila, as he
was suffering from severe pains in his joints and large swellings in his
groins, so that he could scarcely move along.
We will now wish them a pleasant journey, and begin to think of our
tedious march, during which we suffered so many hardships, that it was a
wonder any of us ever returned alive.