ARRIVAL IN TLASCALA--FRIENDLY RECEPTION--DISCONTENTS OF THE
ARMY--JEALOUSY OF THE TLASCALANS--EMBASSY FROM MEXICO
1520
On the following morning the army broke up its encampment at an early
hour. The enemy does not seem to have made an attempt to rally. Clouds
of skirmishers, however, were seen during the morning, keeping at a
respectful distance, though occasionally venturing near enough to salute
the Spaniards with a volley of missiles.
On a rising ground they discovered a fountain, a blessing not too often
met with in these arid regions, and gratefully commemorated by the
Christians for the refreshment it afforded by its cool and abundant
waters.[226] A little farther on they descried the rude works which
served as the bulwark and boundary of the Tlascalan territory. At the
sight, the allies sent up a joyous shout of congratulation, in which the
Spaniards heartily joined, as they felt they were soon to be on friendly
and hospitable ground.
But these feelings were speedily followed by others of a different
nature; and, as they drew nearer the territory, their minds were
disturbed with the most painful apprehensions as to their reception by
the people among whom they were bringing desolation and mourning, and
who might so easily, if ill disposed, take advantage of their present
crippled condition. “Thoughts like these,” says Cortés, “weighed as
heavily on my spirit as any which I ever experienced in going to battle
with the Aztecs.”[227] Still he put, as usual, a good face on the
matter, and encouraged his men to confide in their allies, whose past
conduct had afforded every ground for trusting to their fidelity in
future. He cautioned them, however, as their own strength was so much
impaired, to be most careful to give no umbrage or ground for jealousy
to their high-spirited allies. “Be but on your guard,” continued the
intrepid general, “and we have still stout hearts and strong hands to
carry us through the midst of them!”[228] With these anxious surmises,
bidding adieu to the Aztec domain, the Christian army crossed the
frontier, and once more trod the soil of the Republic.
The first place at which they halted was the town of Huejotlipan, a
place of about twelve or fifteen thousand inhabitants.[229] They were
kindly greeted by the people, who came out to receive them, inviting the
troops to their habitations, and administering all the relief of their
simple hospitality. Yet this was not so disinterested, according to some
of the Spaniards, as to prevent their expecting in requital a share of
the plunder taken in the late action.[230] Here the weary forces
remained two or three days, when, the news of their arrival having
reached the capital, not more than four or five leagues distant, the old
chief Maxixca, their efficient friend on their former visit, and
Xicotencatl, the young warrior who, it will be remembered, had commanded
the troops of his nation in their bloody encounters with the Spaniards,
came with a numerous concourse of the citizens to welcome the fugitives
to Tlascala. Maxixca, cordially embracing the Spanish commander,
testified the deepest sympathy for his misfortunes. That the white men
could so long have withstood the confederated power of the Aztecs was
proof enough of their marvellous prowess. “We have made common cause
together,” said the lord of Tlascala, “and we have common injuries to
avenge; and, come weal or come woe, be assured we will prove true and
loyal friends and stand by you to the death.”[231]
This cordial assurance and sympathy, from one who exercised a control
over the public counsels beyond any other ruler, effectually dispelled
the doubts that lingered in the mind of Cortés. He readily accepted his
invitation to continue his march at once to the capital, where he would
find so much better accommodations for his army than in a small town on
the frontier. The sick and wounded, placed in hammocks, were borne on
the shoulders of the friendly natives; and, as the troops drew near the
city, the inhabitants came flocking out in crowds to meet them, rending
the air with joyous acclamations and wild bursts of their rude Indian
minstrelsy. Amidst the general jubilee, however, were heard sounds of
wailing and sad lament, as some unhappy relative or friend, looking
earnestly into the diminished files of their countrymen, sought in vain
for some dear and familiar countenance, and, as they turned disappointed
away, gave utterance to their sorrow in tones that touched the heart of
every soldier in the army. With these mingled accompaniments of joy and
woe,--the motley web of human life,--the way-worn columns of Cortés at
length re-entered the republican capital.[232]
The general and his suite were lodged in the rude but spacious palace of
Maxixca. The rest of the army took up their quarters in the district
over which the Tlascalan lord presided. Here they continued several
weeks, until, by the attentions of the hospitable citizens, and such
medical treatment as their humble science could supply, the wounds of
the soldiers were healed, and they recovered from the debility to which
they had been reduced by their long and unparalleled sufferings. Cortés
was one of those who suffered severely. He lost the use of two of the
fingers of his left hand.[233] He had received, besides, two injuries on
the head; one of which was so much exasperated by his subsequent
fatigues and excitement of mind that it assumed an alarming appearance.
A part of the bone was obliged to be removed.[234] A fever ensued, and
for several days the hero who had braved danger and death in their most
terrible forms lay stretched on his bed, as helpless as an infant. His
excellent constitution, however, got the better of disease, and he was
at length once more enabled to resume his customary activity. The
Spaniards, with politic generosity, requited the hospitality of their
hosts by sharing with them the spoils of their recent victory, and
Cortés especially rejoiced the heart of Maxixca by presenting him with
the military trophy which he had won from the Indian commander.[235]
But while the Spaniards were thus recruiting their health and spirits
under the friendly treatment of their allies, and recovering the
confidence and tranquillity of mind which had sunk under their hard
reverses, they received tidings, from time to time, which showed that
their late disaster had not been confined to the Mexican capital. On his
descent from Mexico to encounter Narvaez, Cortés had brought with him a
quantity of gold, which he left for safe keeping at Tlascala. To this
was added a considerable sum collected by the unfortunate Velasquez de
Leon in his expedition to the coast, as well as contributions from other
sources. From the unquiet state of the capital, the general thought it
best, on his return there, still to leave the treasure under the care of
a number of invalid soldiers, who, when in marching condition, were to
rejoin him in Mexico. A party from Vera Cruz, consisting of five
horsemen and forty foot, had since arrived at Tlascala, and, taking
charge of the invalids and treasure, undertook to escort them to the
capital. He now learned that they had been intercepted on the route and
all cut off, with the entire loss of the treasure. Twelve other
soldiers, marching in the same direction, had been massacred in the
neighboring province of Tepeaca; and accounts continually arrived of
some unfortunate Castilian, who, presuming on the respect hitherto shown
to his countrymen, and ignorant of the disasters in the capital, had
fallen a victim to the fury of the enemy.[236]
These dismal tidings filled the mind of Cortés with gloomy apprehensions
for the fate of the settlement at Villa Rica,--the last stay of their
hopes. He despatched a trusty messenger, at once, to that place, and had
the inexpressible satisfaction to receive a letter in return from the
commander of the garrison, acquainting him with the safety of the colony
and its friendly relations with the neighboring Totonacs. It was the
best guarantee of the fidelity of the latter, that they had offended the
Mexicans too deeply to be forgiven.
While the affairs of Cortés wore so gloomy an aspect without, he had to
experience an annoyance scarcely less serious from the discontents of
his followers. Many of them had fancied that their late appalling
reverses would put an end to the expedition, or, at least, postpone all
thoughts of resuming it for the present. But they knew little of Cortés
who reasoned thus. Even while tossing on his bed of sickness, he was
ripening in his mind fresh schemes for retrieving his honor, and for
recovering the empire which had been lost more by another’s rashness
than his own. This was apparent, as he became convalescent, from the new
regulations he made respecting the army, as well as from the orders sent
to Vera Cruz for fresh reinforcements.
The knowledge of all this occasioned much disquietude to the disaffected
soldiers. They were, for the most part, the ancient followers of
Narvaez, on whom, as we have seen, the brunt of the war had fallen the
heaviest. Many of them possessed property in the Islands, and had
embarked on this expedition chiefly from the desire of increasing it.
But they had gathered neither gold nor glory in Mexico. Their present
service filled them only with disgust; and the few, comparatively, who
had been so fortunate as to survive, languished to return to their rich
mines and pleasant farms in Cuba, bitterly cursing the day when they had
left them.
Finding their complaints little heeded by the general, they prepared a
written remonstrance, in which they made their demand more formally.
They represented the rashness of persisting in the enterprise in his
present impoverished state, without arms or ammunition, almost without
men; and this, too, against a powerful enemy, who had been more than a
match for him with all the strength of his late resources. It was
madness to think of it. The attempt would bring them all to the
sacrifice-block. Their only course was to continue their march to Vera
Cruz. Every hour of delay might be fatal. The garrison in that place
might be overwhelmed from want of strength to defend itself; and thus
their last hope would be annihilated. But, once there, they might wait
in comparative security for such reinforcements as would join them from
abroad; while in case of failure they could the more easily make their
escape. They concluded with insisting on being permitted to return at
once to the port of Villa Rica. This petition, or rather remonstrance,
was signed by all the disaffected soldiers, and, after being formally
attested by the royal notary, was presented to Cortés.[237]
It was a trying circumstance for him. What touched him most nearly was
to find the name of his friend the secretary Duero, to whose good
offices he had chiefly owed his command, at the head of the paper. He
was not, however, to be shaken from his purpose for a moment; and, while
all outward resources seemed to be fading away, and his own friends
faltered, or failed him, he was still true to himself. He knew that to
retreat to Vera Cruz would be to abandon the enterprise. Once there, his
army would soon find a pretext and a way for breaking up and returning
to the Islands. All his ambitious schemes would be blasted. The great
prize, already once in his grasp, would then be lost forever. He would
be a ruined man.
In his celebrated letter to Charles the Fifth, he says that, in
reflecting on his position, he felt the truth of the old adage, “that
fortune favors the brave.” The Spaniards were the followers of the
Cross; and, trusting in the infinite goodness and mercy of God, he could
not believe that He would suffer them and his own good cause thus to
perish among the heathen.[238] He was resolved, therefore, not to
descend to the coast, but at all hazards to retrace his steps and beard
the enemy again in his capital.”
It was in the same resolute tone that he answered his discontented
followers.[239] He urged every argument which could touch their pride or
honor as cavaliers. He appealed to that ancient Castilian valor which
had never been known to falter before an enemy; besought them not to
discredit the great deeds which had made their name ring throughout
Europe; not to leave the emprise half achieved, for others more daring
and adventurous to finish. How could they with any honor, he asked,
desert their allies whom they had involved in the war, and leave them
unprotected to the vengeance of the Aztecs? To retreat but a single step
towards Villa Rica would be to proclaim their own weakness. It would
dishearten their friends and give confidence to their foes. He implored
them to resume the confidence in him which they had ever showed, and to
reflect that, if they had recently met with reverses, he had up to that
point accomplished all, and more than all, that he had promised. It
would be easy now to retrieve their losses, if they would have patience
and abide in this friendly land until the reinforcements, which would be
ready to come in at his call, should enable them to act on the
offensive. If, however, there were any so insensible to the motives
which touch a brave man’s heart, as to prefer ease at home to the glory
of this great achievement, he would not stand in their way. Let them go,
in God’s name. Let them leave their general in his extremity. He should
feel stronger in the service of a few brave spirits than if surrounded
by a host of the false or the faint-hearted.[240]
The disaffected party, as already noticed, was chiefly drawn from the
troops of Narvaez. When the general’s own veterans heard this
appeal,[241] their blood warmed with indignation at the thoughts of
abandoning him or the cause at such a crisis. They pledged themselves to
stand by him to the last; and the malecontents, silenced, if not
convinced, by this generous expression of sentiment from their comrades,
consented to postpone their departure for the present, under the
assurance that no obstacle would be thrown in their way when a more
favorable season should present itself.[242]
Scarcely was this difficulty adjusted, when Cortés was menaced with one
more serious, in the jealousy springing up between his soldiers and
their Indian allies. Notwithstanding the demonstrations of regard by
Maxixca and his immediate followers, there were others of the nation who
looked with an evil eye on their guests, for the calamities in which
they had involved them; and they tauntingly asked if, in addition to
this, they were now to be burdened by the presence and maintenance of
the strangers. These sallies of discontent were not so secret as
altogether to escape the ears of the Spaniards, in whom they occasioned
no little disquietude. They proceeded for the most part, it is true,
from persons of little consideration, since the four great chiefs of the
republic appear to have been steadily secured to the interests of
Cortés. But they derived some importance from the countenance of the
warlike Xicotencatl, in whose bosom still lingered the embers of that
implacable hostility which he had displayed so courageously on the field
of battle; and sparkles of this fiery temper occasionally gleamed forth
in the intimate intercourse into which he was now reluctantly brought
with his ancient opponents.
Cortés, who saw with alarm the growing feeling of estrangement which
must sap the very foundations on which he was to rest the lever for
future operations, employed every argument which suggested itself, to
restore the confidence of his own men. He reminded them of the good
services they had uniformly received from the great body of the nation.
They had a sufficient pledge of the future constancy of the Tlascalans
in their long-cherished hatred of the Aztecs, which the recent disasters
they had suffered from the same quarter could serve only to sharpen. And
he urged, with much force, that if any evil designs had been meditated
by them against the Spaniards the Tlascalans would, doubtless, have
taken advantage of their late disabled condition, and not waited till
they had recovered their strength and means of resistance.[243]
While Cortés was thus endeavoring, with somewhat doubtful success, to
stifle his own apprehensions, as well as those in the bosoms of his
followers, an event occurred which happily brought the affair to an
issue, and permanently settled the relations in which the two parties
were to stand to each other. This will make it necessary to notice some
events which had occurred in Mexico since the expulsion of the
Spaniards.
On Montezuma’s death, his brother, Cuitlahua, lord of Iztapalapan,
conformably to the usage regulating the descent of the Aztec crown, was
chosen to succeed him. He was an active prince, of large experience in
military affairs, and, by the strength of his character, was well fitted
to sustain the tottering fortunes of the monarchy. He appears, moreover,
to have been a man of liberal, and what may be called enlightened,
taste, to judge from the beautiful gardens which he had filled with rare
exotics and which so much attracted the admiration of the Spaniards in
his city of Iztapalapan. Unlike his predecessor, he held the white men
in detestation, and had, probably, the satisfaction of celebrating his
own coronation by the sacrifice of many of them. From the moment of his
release from the Spanish quarters, where he had been detained by Cortés,
he entered into the patriotic movements of his people. It was he who
conducted the assaults both in the streets of the city and on the
“Melancholy Night;” and it was at his instigation that the powerful
force had been assembled to dispute the passage of the Spaniards in the
Vale of Otumba.[244]
Since the evacuation of the capital, he had been busily occupied in
repairing the mischief it had received,--restoring the buildings and the
bridges and putting it in the best posture of defence. He had endeavored
to improve the discipline and arms of his troops. He introduced the long
spear among them, and, by attaching the sword-blades taken from the
Christians to long poles, contrived a weapon that should be formidable
against the cavalry. He summoned his vassals, far and near, to hold
themselves in readiness to march to the relief of the capital, if
necessary, and, the better to secure their good will, relieved them from
some of the burdens usually laid on them. But he was now to experience
the instability of a government which rested not on love, but on fear.
The vassals in the neighborhood of the Valley remained true to their
allegiance; but others held themselves aloof, uncertain what course to
adopt; while others, again, in the more distant provinces, refused
obedience altogether, considering this a favorable moment for throwing
off the yoke which had so long galled them.[245]
In this emergency, the government sent a deputation to its ancient
enemies the Tlascalans. It consisted of six Aztec nobles, bearing a
present of cotton cloth, salt, and other articles rarely seen, of late
years, in the republic. The lords of the state, astonished at this
unprecedented act of condescension in their ancient foe, called the
council or senate of the great chiefs together, to give the envoys
audience.
Before this body the Aztecs stated the purpose of their mission. They
invited the Tlascalans to bury all past grievances in oblivion, and to
enter into a treaty with them. All the nations of Anahuac should make
common cause in defence of their country against the white men. The
Tlascalans would bring down on their own heads the wrath of the gods, if
they longer harbored the strangers who had violated and destroyed their
temples. If they counted on the support and friendship of their guests,
let them take warning from the fate of Mexico, which had received them
kindly within its walls, and which, in return, they had filled with
blood and ashes. They conjured them, by their reverence for their common
religion, not to suffer the white men, disabled as they now were, to
escape from their hands, but to sacrifice them at once to the gods,
whose temples they had profaned. In that event, they proffered them
their alliance, and the renewal of that friendly traffic which would
restore to the republic the possession of the comforts and luxuries of
which it had been so long deprived.
The proposals of the ambassadors produced different effects on their
audience. Xicotencatl was for embracing them at once. Far better was it,
he said, to unite with their kindred, with those who held their own
language, their faith and usages, than to throw themselves into the arms
of the fierce strangers, who, however they might talk of religion,
worshipped no god but gold. This opinion was followed by that of the
younger warriors, who readily caught the fire of his enthusiasm. But the
elder chiefs, especially his blind old father, one of the four rulers of
the state, who seem to have been all heartily in the interests of the
Spaniards, and one of them, Maxixca, their stanch friend, strongly
expressed their aversion to the proposed alliance with the Aztecs. They
were always the same, said the latter,--fair in speech, and false in
heart. They now proffered friendship to the Tlascalans. But it was fear
which drove them to it, and, when that fear was removed, they would
return to their old hostility. Who was it, but these insidious foes,
that had so long deprived the country of the very necessaries of life,
of which they were now so lavish in their offers? Was it not owing to
the white men that the nation at length possessed them? Yet they were
called on to sacrifice the white men to the gods!--the warriors who,
after fighting the battles of the Tlascalans, now threw themselves on
their hospitality. But the gods abhorred perfidy. And were not their
guests the very beings whose coming had been so long predicted by the
oracles? “Let us avail ourselves of it,” he concluded, “and unite and
make common cause with them, until we have humbled our haughty enemy.”
This discourse provoked a sharp rejoinder from Xicotencatl, till the
passion of the elder chieftain got the better of his patience, and,
substituting force for argument, he thrust his younger antagonist, with
some violence, from the council-chamber. A preceding so contrary to the
usual decorum of Indian debate astonished the assembly. But, far from
bringing censure on its author, it effectually silenced opposition. Even
the hot-headed followers of Xicotencatl shrunk from supporting a leader
who had incurred such a mark of contemptuous displeasure from the ruler
whom they most venerated. His own father openly condemned him; and the
patriotic young warrior, gifted with a truer foresight into futurity
than his countrymen, was left without support in the council, as he had
formerly been on the field of battle. The proffered alliance of the
Mexicans was unanimously rejected; and the envoys, fearing that even the
sacred character with which they were invested might not protect them
from violence, made their escape secretly from the capital.[246]
The result of the conference was of the last importance to the
Spaniards, who, in their present crippled condition, especially if taken
unawares, would have been, probably, at the mercy of the Tlascalans. At
all events, the union of these latter with the Aztecs would have settled
the fate of the expedition; since, in the poverty of his own resources,
it was only by adroitly playing off one part of the Indian population
against the other that Cortés could ultimately hope for success.