_What befel the marquis del Valle on his second visit to Spain._
When the emperor, after punishing the town of Ghent, fitted out the
large fleet to besiege Algiers, the marquis del Valle, with his eldest
son, likewise entered the service, and he also took along with him his
natural son Don Martin Cortes, whom he had by Dona Marina, besides
several pages, servants, and horses, and embarked in a fine galley, with
Don Enrique Enriquez. However, as the whole of this fleet, by the
mysterious destiny of heaven, was cast away in a violent storm, the
galley in which Cortes had embarked was also dashed to pieces, and he,
with his son and most of the other cavaliers, narrowly escaped with
their lives. During the universal disorder which reigned at the moment,
when every one saw death before his eyes, Cortes, according to the
assurances of his servants, had tied up his splendid jewels in a
kerchief, and fastened them tight to his arm; for it was customary for
persons of distinction to take their jewels with them; but he
unfortunately lost them in the rush every one made to save his own life;
which indeed must have been a loss to him of several thousands of pesos.
After this great destruction of men and vessels, the principal officers,
who formed the royal council of war, advised his majesty to relinquish
all idea of besieging Algiers, and to withdraw to Bugia, as it would be
fruitless to make any attempts on the former place at present. When
Cortes, who had been purposely excluded from the council of war, learnt
this, he declared, that if his majesty would leave the matter to him, he
would, with the assistance of God, and the good fortune which had ever
attended his majesty's troops, very soon take the town of Algiers, even
with the few remaining forces: and as one word led to another, he
launched out into the praise of his officers and companions in arms, who
had formed the siege of Mexico with him, and he declared that we thought
nothing of hunger and hardships; that we had proved ourselves heroes on
every occasion; and though we had many times been covered with wounds,
and ready to sink with fatigue, yet we used to continue the conflict,
and took every town and fortress that came in our way.
As many cavaliers were present when Cortes uttered this, they did not
fail to acquaint his majesty with it, expressing their regret at the
same time that Cortes had not sat in the council, nor did they omit to
mention that the latter himself felt hurt at his having been excluded.
Other cavaliers, however, openly avowed that he had been purposely
excluded, because it was well to be foreseen he would have opposed the
general opinion of the council, and have given his voice for prosecuting
the siege. After the destruction which had been caused by the tempest,
they continued, advice was scarcely needed, for all that could be done
was to save the life of his majesty, and of so many distinguished
cavaliers who had accompanied him on this expedition. With the
assistance of God, they concluded, the expedition against Algiers might
be renewed on some future occasion: and thus it was resolved the troops
should return to Spain.
After the miserable termination of this perilous expedition, Cortes grew
wearied of any longer stay at court; and as old age was growing upon
him, and he was beginning to feel the effects of the many hardships and
fatigues he had endured through life, his greatest desire was to obtain
permission from the emperor to return to New Spain. To all this may be
added, the breaking off of the marriage which was to have taken place
between his daughter Dona Maria and Don Alvaro Perez Osorio, heir to the
marquisate of Astorga, to whom Cortes had promised, as a marriage gift,
above 100,000 golden ducats, besides other valuable matters. Dona Maria
had expressly arrived in Seville from Mexico, at her father's desire,
that the marriage might be consummated, and he was consequently much
hurt and annoyed when the match was broken off. The fault, it appears,
lay with the bridegroom; and certain it is this matter caused so much
annoyance to Cortes that it brought on a severe fever, accompanied by
dysentery. Finding that his sickness was growing upon him, he left the
town of Seville, and retired to Castilleja de la Cuesta to enjoy more
repose. Here he ordered all his affairs, made his last will, and was
called away from this world of troubles on the 2d of September, 1547,
after receiving the holy sacrament and extreme unction. He was buried
with every pomp and magnificence in the chapel containing the sepultures
of the dukes of Medina Sidonia, and he was followed to the grave by a
large body of the clergy and a number of cavaliers. Subsequently his
remains were taken to New Spain, and interred, according to a desire
expressed in his last will, either in Cojohuacan or Tezcuco,[55] I
forget which.
The following is what I know respecting Cortes' age. When we first set
out with him for New Spain from Cuba, in the year 1519, we often heard
him say in the course of conversation, that he was thirty-four years of
age, and from this day until the day of his death twenty-eight years had
elapsed, which will bring his age to sixty-two.[56]
The following were the children he left behind him born in lawful
wedlock: the present marquis Don Martin; Dona Maria, who was to have
been married to Don Perez Osorio, but who afterwards married the earl of
Luna de Leon; Dona Juana, the wife of Don Hernando Enriquez, heir to the
marquisate of Tarifa; and Dona Catalina de Arellano, who died in
Seville. Besides these there was another daughter of Cortes, named Dona
Leonor, who was married to a wealthy gentleman of Biscay, living in
Mexico, named Juan de Toloso, who possessed lucrative silver mines. When
the present marquis del Valle arrived in New Spain, he greatly
disapproved of this match.
Besides these children, Cortes had two sons and three daughters born out
of wedlock. One of these sons, named Don Martin, was a comendador of
Santiago, whom he had by the interpretress Dona Marina. The other son,
Don Luis, was also a comendador of Santiago, whom he had by a certain
Hermosilla. Of these daughters one was named Pizarro, after her mother,
an Indian woman of Cuba; the other was born of a Mexican woman.[57]
Cortes had, during his lifetime, richly provided for these daughters,
and had bestowed lucrative townships upon them; among others, that of
Chinanta. There is no doubt he also remembered them in his will, for he
was a man of deep penetration and had sufficient time in his latter days
to order all his affairs in a proper manner, he would naturally not omit
to fulfil anything that might tend to lighten his conscience. In this
way, like a good Christian, he also left a fund for erecting an hospital
in Mexico, and a cloister in Cojohuacan, where he desired his remains
might be interred; besides this, he left large sums for other pious
purposes. However, in order not to go too much into detail I will say
nothing further on this head, indeed I have forgotten many circumstances
relative to his bequests.
Cortes' armorial bearings and their motto bespoke his great valour, and
were suitable emblems of his heroic deeds. The motto was in Latin, but
as I am no Latin scholar I will not attempt to explain its meaning. His
escutcheon bore the seven heads, chained, of monarchs whom he had
conquered. These I believe, and have heard others say, represent the
monarchs Motecusuma of Mexico, Cacamatzin of Tezcuco, Cuitlahuatzin of
Iztapalapan; the kings of Tlacupa and Cojohuacan, and a powerful cazique
of the province of Tulapa, near Matlaltzinco, who was nephew to
Motecusuma, and the nearest heir to the throne of Mexico. The last was
Quauhtemoctzin, who fought the terrible battles with us during the siege
of Mexico.
I must now say a few words with respect to Cortes' outward person. He
was of good stature, his limbs well proportioned and strongly knit
together, but his complexion was rather of an ash-coloured grey, nor was
there much cheerfulness in his look; and if his countenance had been
somewhat larger it would have been more handsome. His eyes, generally
speaking, had a remarkably sweet expression, but he could also look very
grave. The hair of his beard, like that of his head, was black, but not
very thick. His chest was well developed, his shoulders broad, his legs
were rather bowed, but his ankles and feet were well proportioned. He
had very little _embonpoint_, and was rather lean. He was a capital
horseman, remarkably expert in all martial exercises, both as a foot and
cavalry soldier; but what was more than this he was uncommonly
courageous and never shrunk back from any danger. In his younger days,
while living at Hispaniola, he had frequent adventures about women, and
often fought with the most expert swordsmen for the possession of some
fair one, and always carried off the palm of victory. On one of these
occasions he was wounded beneath the underlip, the scar of which was
visible through his beard. His bearing, his gait, his conversation, his
behaviour during dinner-time, and the taste he showed in his dress, all
bespoke the cavalier of distinction and good breeding. He always dressed
according to the fashion of the day; wore very little silk, satins, or
expensive damasks; but the whole of his garments were plain and very
neat. He never bedizened himself with heavy gold chains, but always had
the same one, which was of exquisite workmanship, and had attached to it
a kind of trinket, having on one side the image of the blessed virgin,
holding her heavenly Son in her arms; on the other that of St. John the
Baptist, with a Latin inscription. On one of his fingers he wore a
valuable ring set with a most splendid diamond. To his velvet cap was
fastened a medal, with a bust in relief and some name, but I have
forgotten what it was, as latterly he used to wear nothing but cloth
caps, without any medal.
The style in which he lived was that of a person of high distinction. At
the head of his household stood two maestresalas and two mayor-domos; he
had many pages to wait upon him, and everything was served up in gold
and silver. He always made a good dinner, and drank about a pint of wine
diluted with water. He also took suppers; but all his dishes were plain,
excepting on particular occasions, when, indeed, no expense was spared.
He was always affable to us officers and his companions in arms,
particularly to those who joined him in the first instance at Cuba. He
was a good Latin scholar, and whenever he was in conversation with men
of learning he always spoke that language; indeed, I have heard say, he
was a bachelor of laws. He was also fond of poetry, and composed several
pretty pieces himself, and wrote good prose. His manner of speaking was
calm and his sentences were well chosen, and his manner of arguing was
remarkably convincing. When he rose in the morning he prayed from his
breviary, and he attended mass every day with fervent devotion. For his
tutelar saint he had chosen the blessed Virgin Mary, whom, indeed, every
faithful Christian ought to look up to as his protectress and holy
guardian. He also held in particular veneration St. Peter, St. Jacob,
and St. John the Baptist, and was liberal in bestowing alms. His oath
was, Upon my conscience! And whenever he was annoyed with any of us
soldiers who were upon more intimate terms with him, he used to say, May
the plague take you! When he was in a passion, a vein in his forehead
and neck distended considerably; and when excessively annoyed with any
one, he flung down his cloak: yet he never made use of any low or
unbecoming expression to his officers or soldiers. He bore everything
with great patience, and though sometimes the soldiers were very
inconsiderate in their behaviour, yet Cortes never forgot himself in
wrathful expressions towards them, and all he said was, Hold your
tongue! or, In the name of God, be gone, and for the future be more
guarded in your language, for you might have to pay dearly in repeating
such conduct. If he had once made up his mind to anything, he was not to
be dissuaded from it, particularly in matters relating to war; and we
might argue with him as we liked on the inconsiderateness of any command
he might issue, it was all to no purpose,--we were obliged to act up to
it, whatever the cost might be. This was frequently the case on our
expeditions to the large townships which lay on the lake of Mexico, and
in our attacks upon those mountains which are now known by the name of
the Marquis mountains. On the latter occasion it was in vain for us to
represent to him that it would be impossible to storm the rocky heights
against the huge masses of stone which were rolled down upon us; that
all our courage and experience would be of no avail, and that we should
all run the risk of being crushed to pieces. Our words were spoken to
the wind; we were ordered to ascend and peril our lives in the attempt
to scale the rugged heights. The consequence was, a complete failure;
ten or twelve men were killed on the spot, and the whole of us covered
with wounds. On our expedition to the Honduras, after Christobal de Oli
had rebelled, I repeatedly proposed to him that we should march over the
mountains; but he obstinately maintained that the route along the coast
was preferable, nor would he ever believe when I told him that the
country through which I proposed to march was everywhere inhabited: yet
those who are at all acquainted with these parts know that there is a
straight road leading from Guacasualco over Chiapa and Guatimala to
Naco, where Oli had fixed his head-quarters. But then I must also say
that Cortes was always the first to put his hand to any laborious work
we had to do. This he fully showed when we constructed the
fortifications of Vera Cruz, for he himself was the first to take spade
in hand and dig out the earth for laying the foundations. In every
battle that was fought I always found him in the midst of the ranks. As
early as in the battle of Tabasco, where he courageously headed the
cavalry, he showed what kind of officer he was; the excellent example
which he set during the construction of the fortress of Vera Cruz I have
just mentioned. Then we must remember what great determination he showed
when his brave officers and soldiers counselled him to run the thirteen
vessels on shore; and not, as Gomara would have it, without consulting
us. In the three battles which we fought with the warriors of Tlascalla
he proved himself the most courageous of commanders. And then how daring
it was to march into the city of Mexico with only 400 men, and to seize
a monarch like Motecusuma in his own palace, surrounded by so many
thousands of his warriors! It is certainly true he had good officers and
soldiers to counsel him, yet it was an astonishingly bold step on his
part when he ordered Motecusuma's generals, who had killed Juan de
Escalante with seven of his men, to be burned at the stake in front of
the monarch's own palace. And then what a remarkably bold and hazardous
undertaking it was first of all to lead Narvaez and his 1300 well-armed
troops by the nose with a few small presents, and afterwards, with only
266 men, merely armed with pikes and swords, to attack, completely
overthrow them, and take the commander himself prisoner! He displayed
wonderful feats of courage in our attack upon the great temple of
Huitzilopochtli, before our disastrous flight from the city, though
certainly neither his courage nor ours, as it unfortunately turned out,
was of any avail. Shortly upon this, at the memorable battle of Otumpan,
where the flower of the Mexican army was drawn up against us to put us
all to the sword, it was Cortes who made the first run at the Mexican
general-in-chief who carried the imperial standard, and threw him to the
ground, and in an instant the courage of the enemy began to flag; though
it must be borne in mind he was courageously assisted by his brave
officers Alvarado, Sandoval, Oli, Ordas, Dominiguez, Lares, and Tapia,
besides other officers and soldiers who had no horses, but whose names I
will not mention: even several of Narvaez's men fought bravely on this
occasion. It was, however, Juan de Salamanca, of Ontiveros, who gave the
Mexican general the finishing stroke, and tore away the splendid penache
from his head, which he presented to Cortes. How dangerous was not our
position in Iztapalapan? Near Xochimilco the Mexicans had already
dragged him from his horse; and had it not been for our Tlascallan
auxiliaries, and the brave Christobal de Olea, of Old Castile, he would
have been carried off by the enemy. In that unfortunate combat on the
causeway, where sixty-two of our men were taken prisoners and sacrificed
to the Mexican gods, the enemy had already laid hands on our general and
wounded him in the foot; but in that perilous moment it again pleased
the Almighty that Olea should come up to his rescue, assist him on
horseback, and thus save him from a horrible death. But, alas! this
heroic deed cost Olea his own life; and now even, while I am writing
this, the figure and powerful build of Christobal de Olea comes fresh to
my memory, and my heart feels sore with grief, for we were both born in
the same spot, and he was a relative of my relations. I will not,
however, relate the further heroic deeds of the marquis del Valle, for
they are so numerous and astonishing that I should not so soon get to
the end of them. I will now show a few of his peculiarities.
He was excessively fond of gambling at cards and dice, but he never lost
his temper in playing, and he delighted in using those quaint
expressions customary with gamblers. Nothing could exceed his vigilance
during war, and in the night-time he would make the rounds himself, and
visit the different outposts. He would visit the hut of every soldier,
see that his weapons were ready at hand, and that he had his shoes on.
Those whom he found had neglected anything in this way he severely
reprimanded, and compared them to mangy sheep whose own wool is too
heavy for them. During our expedition to the Honduras, he had a peculiar
infirmity about him which I never observed previously, which was, that
if he could not get some little nap after dinner he became so ill that
he vomited up everything he had eaten. We therefore took the precaution
as soon as he had dined to spread a carpet for him beneath some tree or
elsewhere in the shade, on which he took a short repose; it mattered not
whether it was oppressively hot, or that the rain came down in torrents,
it made no difference to him. During the conquest of New Spain he was
very thin, and had scarcely any _embonpoint_; but after our return from
the Honduras he became excessively fat and big-bellied. When his beard
was beginning to grow grey, he used to dye it black. In New Spain and on
his first return to Castile he was uncommonly generous; but on his
second return thither in the year 1540, he was considered very miserly,
and one of his servants, named Ulloa, actually brought an action against
him for non-payment of wages. If we consider his life after the conquest
of New Spain, we shall find that it was full of troubles and sorrows.
The armaments which he fitted out cost him immense sums of money, from
which he never derived any advantage. Both his expedition to the
Honduras and to California proved very unsatisfactory. I hope, however,
that he may meet with his reward in heaven, and I have every reason to
think he will, because he was an honest cavalier, and a devoted reverer
of the blessed Virgin, of the holy apostle St. Peter, and of other
saints. May the Almighty pardon his sins, and mine also; and may he also
grant me a happy death, for this is of more importance than all our
conquests and victories over the Indians.