_How Teuthlille makes his report to Motecusuma, and gives him our
presents; as also what further took place in our camp._
After the departure of Teuthlille with the presents which Cortes sent to
his monarch, Motecusuma; the other governor, Quitlalpitoc, remained
behind in our camp. He took up his quarters in a kind of hut, at a
distance from ours, and ordered Indians to bake maise-bread, procure the
fowls, fruits, and fish, which the province had to furnish, for the
table of Cortes and his officers. We other soldiers, if we wished to get
our bellies full were compelled to catch shell and other fish ourselves.
In the meantime numbers of Indians arrived from the above-mentioned
provinces, over which the two officials sent by Motecusuma were
governors, bringing with them some gold trinkets of small value, and
fowls, which they gave us in exchange for our goods, consisting in glass
pearls and such like; with which we were all provided, having
experienced the value of these during the expedition under Grijalva.
Six or seven days may have thus been spent, when Teuthlille returned in
the morning with more than a hundred Indian porters, all heavily laden,
accompanied by a great Mexican cazique, who both in countenance,
stature, and deportment, greatly resembled Cortes, and on that account
only had been selected by his monarch to accompany the deputation; for,
as was related, when Teuthlille brought forth the picture representing
Cortes, all the grandees who were present with their monarch Motecusuma,
immediately observed that he resembled a person of distinction named
Quintalbor. This was the same person who now accompanied Teuthlille, we
therefore called one the Cortes of this place, and the other the Cortes
of that place. We must now, however, learn what the ambassadors did when
they came into the presence of Cortes. First of all they touched the
ground at his feet with the hand, they then perfumed him and all the
Spaniards who were present, with pans made of clay. Cortes gave them a
most cordial reception, and desired them to sit down at his side. The
cazique Quintalbor was commissioned to discuss matters jointly with
Teuthlille. Both, therefore, told Cortes he was most welcome in their
country; and after a good deal of talking on both sides, they produced
the presents and spread them out on a mat, over which they had first
thrown some cotton cloths. The first was a round plate, about the size
of a waggon wheel, representing the sun, the whole of the finest gold,
and of the most beautiful workmanship; a most extraordinary work of art,
which, according to the account of those who weighed it, was worth
above 20,000 gold pesos. The second was a round plate, even larger than
the former, of massive silver, representing the moon, with rays and
other figures on it, being of great value. The third was the casque,
completely filled with pure grains of gold, as they are found in the
mines, worth about 3000 pesos, which was more to us than if it had been
ten times the value, as we now knew for certain there were rich gold
mines in the country. Among other things there were also thirty golden
ducks, exactly resembling the living bird, and of splendid workmanship;
further figures resembling lions, tigers, dogs and apes; likewise ten
chains with lockets, all of gold, and of the most costly workmanship; a
bow with the string and twelve arrows, and two staffs five palms in
length, like those used by the justices, all cast of the purest gold;
further, they brought small cases containing the most beautiful green
feathers, blended with gold and silver, and fans similarly worked; every
species of game likewise cast in gold. In short such a number of
objects, which from the many years since elapsed I cannot now altogether
remember.[16] There were alone above thirty packages of cotton stuffs,
variously manufactured and interworked with variegated feathers. When
the great cazique Quintalbor and Teuthlille handed over these presents
to Cortes, they begged of him to accept of them in the same friendly
disposition with which their monarch sent them, and to distribute them
among his Teules. Upon this they began to unfold what their monarch had
in particular commissioned them to say, which was as follows: "He,
Motecusuma, was delighted with the arrival of such courageous men in his
states, as we, according to the accounts he had received and judging
from the occurrence at Tabasco, certainly must be. He wished very much
to see our great emperor, who was such a powerful monarch, of whom,
although residing at such a vast distance, he had already gained some
knowledge, and he would send him a present of some valuable stones. He
was likewise ready to furnish us with everything we might require during
our stay. But as for Cortes calling upon him, we had better give up all
thoughts of that, as it was not necessary, and would be accompanied with
great difficulties."
Cortes thanked them most sincerely for their kindness, gave to each a
couple of shirts made of holland, blue beads, and other trifles, begging
of them to return to their great monarch Motecusuma, and tell him that
our emperor and master would take it very unkind, after we had come from
such distant countries and crossed such vast seas, merely with the
intention of paying our respects to Motecusuma, if we returned without
fulfilling this object. He wished, therefore, to proceed to his
residence and himself to receive his commands. The ambassadors answered,
that they would mention all this to their monarch, but that any waiting
upon him would be superfluous. Cortes upon this gave them out of our
poverty a cup, of Florentine workmanship, gilt and surrounded with a
quantity of relieved foliage, besides those shirts made of holland, and
other things; all these were to be presented to Motecusuma, and he
desired them to take his answer to him. Both the delegates then
departed, while Quitlalpitoc remained alone behind in our camp,
commissioned, it appeared, by the two other officials of Motecusuma, to
provide provisions for us out of the neighbouring districts.
[16] These remarkable presents have all been enumerated by Torquemada,
(Monarchia Indiana, i, iv, c. 17;) and we cannot do better than give his
minute description of them here: "The ambassador of Motecusuma ordered
mats to be spread on the ground before Cortes, and over them some cotton
cloths, on which he arranged the presents, consisting of large
quantities of cotton shirts and other cotton stuffs, beautifully
manufactured, and interwoven with feathers of the most splendid colours;
bucklers made of the purest white staffs, decorated with feathers, gold,
silver, and pearls, surpassing everything in beauty and skilfulness of
workmanship that was ever seen. There was also a helmet, tastefully
carved out of wood, filled with grains of gold; a casque, made of thin
plates of gold, decorated with tassels and stones, resembling the
smaragdus; numerous large bunches of feathers of diversified colours,
fastened in silver and gold; fans for keeping off flies, made of the
rarest feathers; a thousand lockets of gold and silver, of the most
curious and beautiful workmanship; bracelets and military decorations of
gold and silver, splendidly embossed with green and bright yellow
feathers; leather made of deer skin, curried and coloured in the best
possible manner; shoes and sandals of the same leather, sewn with thin
gold wire, and the soles made of splendid white and blue stone. There
were other kinds of shoes, most tastefully manufactured of cotton;
mirrors of marcasite, globular shaped, of the size of a fist, and most
ingeniously set in gold, the small frame itself being very valuable, and
worthy of the acceptance of any crowned head; coverings and curtains to
beds, manufactured of various coloured cotton, more glossy and of finer
texture than silk; a number of other gold and silver trinkets; a
necklace of gold, decorated with upwards of a hundred emeralds, rubies,
and various other ornaments of gold; a second necklace, consisting of
numbers of large pearls and emeralds, all of the most exquisite
workmanship; numerous other gold trinkets in the shape of frogs and
animals; jewels in the form of medals, the shrines being even more
valuable than the precious stones they contained; a quantity of large
and small grains of gold. The most valuable of these presents, however,
were two round plates, one of gold, on which was a sun with rays and the
zodiac; this weighed above one hundred marks: the other was of silver,
which in a similar manner represented the moon, weighing above fifty
marks: both were massive, and of the thickness of the Spanish coin of
four silver reals, and as large as a waggon wheel. Those who saw these
splendid presents said that, without considering the beautiful
workmanship, the value of the gold and silver alone amounted to 25,000
castellanos de oro; so that the whole together may well be estimated at
50,000 ducats." (p. 91.)