ARRIVAL OF THE SPANIARDS
The "New Birth" of the world, which characterized the end of the
fifteenth century, had an enormous influence upon Spain. Her queen, the
"great Catholic Isabella," had, by assisting Columbus, done much in the
great discovery of the Western World. Spain speedily had substantial
reward in the boundless wealth poured into her lap, and the rich
colonies added to her dominion. Thus in the beginning of the sixteenth
century the new consolidated Spain, formed by the union of the two
kingdoms, Castile and Aragon, became the richest and greatest of all the
European states.
The Spanish governors in the West Indies being ambitious of planting new
colonies in the name of the Spanish King, conquest and annexation were
stimulated in all directions. When Cuba and Hayti were overrun and
annexed to Spain, not without much unjust treatment of the simple
natives, as we have seen, they became centers of operation, whence
expeditions could be sent to Trinidad or any other island, to Panama, to
Yucatan, or Florida, or any other part of the continent. After the
marvelous experience of Grijalva in Yucatan, then considered an island,
and his report that its inhabitants were quite a civilized community
compared with the natives of the isles, Velasquez, the Governor of Cuba,
resolved at once to invade the new country for purposes of annexation
and plunder.
Velasquez prepared a large expedition for this adventure, consisting of
eleven ships with more than 600 armed men on board; and after much
deliberation chose Fernando Cortes to be the commander. Who was this
Cortes, destined by his military genius and unscrupulous policy to be
comparable to Hannibal or Julius Caesar among the ancients, and to Clive
or Napoleon Bonaparte among the moderns? Velasquez knew him well as one
of his subordinates in the cruel conquest of Cuba; before that Cortes
had distinguished himself in Hayti as an energetic and skilled officer.
Of an impetuous and fiery temper which he had learned to keep thoroughly
in command, he was characterized by that quality possessed by all
commanders of superior genius, the "art of gaining the confidence and
governing the minds of men." As a youth in Spain he had studied for the
bar at the University of Salamanca; and in some of his speeches on
critical occasions one can find certain traces of his academical
training in the adroit arguments and clever appeals.
Other qualifications as an officer were his manly and handsome
appearance, his affable manners, combined with "extraordinary address in
all martial exercises, and a constitution of such vigor as to be capable
of enduring any fatigue."
Cortes on reviewing his commission from the Governor, Velasquez, was too
shrewd not to be aware of the importance of his new position. The "Great
Admiral," with reference to the discovery of the New World, had said: "I
have only opened the door for others to enter"; and Cortes was conscious
that now was the moment for that entrance. Filled with unbounded
ambition he rose to the occasion.
Velasquez somewhat hypocritically pretended that the object he had in
view was merely barter with the natives of New Spain--that being the
name given by Grijalva to Yucatan and the neighboring country. He
ordered Cortes
to impress on the natives the grandeur and goodness of his royal
master; to invite them to give in their allegiance to him, and to
manifest it by regaling him with such comfortable presents of gold,
pearls, and precious stones as by showing their own good-will would
secure his favor and protection.
Mustering his forces for the new expedition, Cortes found that he had no
sailors, 553 soldiers, besides 200 Indians of the island; ten heavy
guns, four lighter ones, called falconets. He had also sixteen horses,
knowing the effect of even a small body of cavalry in dealing with
savages. On February 18, 1519, Cortes sailed with eleven vessels for the
coast of Yucatan.
Landing at Tabasco, where Grijalva had found the natives friendly,
Cortes found that the Yucatans had resolved to oppose him, and were
presently assembled in great numbers. The result of the fighting,
however, was naturally a foregone conclusion, partly on account of "the
astonishment and terror excited by the destructive effect" of the
European firearms, and the "monstrous apparition" of men on horseback.
Such quadrupeds they had never seen before, and they concluded that the
rider with his horse formed one unaccountable animal. Gomara and other
chroniclers tell how St. James, the tutelar saint of Spain, appeared in
the ranks on a gray horse, and led the Christians to victory over the
heathen.
An especially fortunate thing for Cortes was that among the female
slaves presented after this battle, there was one of remarkable
intelligence, who understood both the Aztec and the Mayan languages, and
soon learned the Spanish. She proved invaluable to Cortes as an
interpreter, and afterward had a share in all his campaigns. She is
generally called Marina.
If the Spanish accounts are true, stating that the native army consisted
of five squadrons of 8,000 men each, then this victory is one of the
most remarkable on record, as a proof of the value of gunpowder as
compared with primitive bows and arrows. To the simple Americans the
terrible invaders seemed actually to wield the thunder and the
lightning. Next day Cortes made an arrangement with the chiefs; and
after confidence was restored, asked where they got their gold from.
They pointed to the high grounds on the west, and said _Culhua_, meaning
Mexico.
The Palm Sunday being at hand, the conversion of the "heathen" was duly
celebrated by pompous and solemn ceremonial. The army marched in
procession with the priests at their head, accompanied by crowds of
Indians of both sexes, till they reached the principal temple. A new
altar being built, the image of the presiding deity was taken from its
place and thrown down, to make room for that of the Virgin carrying the
infant Saviour.
Cortes now learned that the capital of the Mexican Empire was on the
mountain plains nearly seventy leagues inland; and that the ruler was
the great and powerful Montezuma.
It was on the morning of Good Friday that Cortes landed on the site of
Vera Cruz, which after the conquest of Mexico speedily grew into a
flourishing seaport, becoming the commercial capital of New Spain. A
friendly conference took place between Cortes and Teuhtlile, an Aztec
chief, who asked from what country the strangers had come and why they
had come.
"I am a servant," replied Cortes, "of a mighty monarch beyond the seas,
who rules over an immense empire, having kings and princes for his
vassals. Since my master has heard of the greatness of the Mexican
Emperor he has desired me to enter into communication with him, and has
sent me as envoy to wait upon Montezuma with a present in token of
good-will, and with a message which I must deliver in person. When can
I be admitted to your sovereign's presence?"
The Aztec chief replied with an air of dignity: "How is it that you have
been here only two days, and demand to see the Emperor? If there is
another monarch as powerful as Montezuma, I have no doubt my master will
be happy to interchange courtesies."
The slaves of Teuhtlile presented to Cortes
ten loads of fine cotton, several mantles of that curious
feather-work whose rich and delicate dyes might vie with the most
beautiful painting, and a wicker basket filled with ornaments of
wrought gold, all calculated to inspire the Spaniards with high
ideas of the wealth and mechanical ingenuity of the Mexicans.
Having duly expressed his thanks, Cortes then laid before the Aztec
chief the presents intended for Montezuma. These were "an armchair
richly carved and painted; a crimson cap bearing a gold medal emblazoned
with St. George and the Dragon; collars, bracelets, and other ornaments
of cut-glass, which, in a country where glass was unknown, might claim
to have the value of real gems."
During the interview Teuhtlile had been curiously observing a shining
gilt helmet worn by a soldier, and said that it was exactly like that of
Quetzalcoatl. "Who is he?" asked Cortes. "Quetzalcoatl is the god about
whom the Aztecs have the prophecy that he will come back to them across
the sea." Cortes promised to send the helmet to Montezuma, and expressed
a wish that it would be returned filled with the gold-dust of the
Aztecs, that he might compare it with the Spanish gold-dust!
One reporter who was present says:
He further told Governor Teuhtlile that the Spaniards were troubled
with a disease of the heart for which gold was a specific remedy!
Another incident of this notable interview was that one of the Mexican
attendants was observed by Cortes to be scribbling with a pencil. It was
an artist sketching the appearance of the strangers, their dress, arms,
and attitude, and filling in the picture with touches of color. Struck
with the idea of being thus represented to the Mexican monarch, Cortes
ordered the cavalry to be exercised on the beach in front of the
artists.
The bold and rapid movements of the troops, ... the apparent ease
with which they managed the fiery animals on which they were
mounted, the glancing of their weapons, and the shrill cry of the
trumpet, all filled the spectators with astonishment; but when they
heard the thunders of the cannon, which Cortes ordered to be fired
at the same time, and witnessed the volumes of smoke and flame
issuing from these terrible engines, and the rushing sound of the
balls, as they dashed through the trees of the neighboring forest,
shivering their branches into fragments, they were filled with
consternation and wonder, from which the Aztec chief himself was
not wholly free.
This was all faithfully copied by the picture-writers, so far as their
art went, in sketching and vivid coloring. They also recorded the ships
of the strangers--"the water-houses," as they were named--whose dark
hulls and snow-white sails were swinging at anchor in the bay.
Meantime what had Montezuma been doing, the sad-faced[19] and haughty
Emperor of Mexico, land of the Aztecs and the Tezcucans? At the
beginning of his reign he had as a skilful general led his armies as far
as Honduras and Nicaragua, extending the limits of the empire, so that
it had now reached the maximum.
[Footnote 19: The name Montezuma means "sad or severe man," a title
suited to his features, though not to his mild character.]
Tezcuco, the sister state to Mexico, had latterly shown hostility to
Montezuma, and still more formidable was the republic of Tlascala, lying
between his capital and the coast. Prodigies and prophecies now began to
affect all classes of the population in the Mexican Valley. Everybody
spoke of the return from over the sea of the popular god Quetzalcoatl,
the fair-skinned and longhaired (p. 93). A generation had already
elapsed since the first rumors that white men in great mysterious
vessels, bearing in their hands the thunder and lightning, were seizing
the islands and must soon seize the mainland.
No wonder that Montezuma, stern, tyrannical, and disappointed, should be
dismayed at the news of Grijalva's landing, and still more so when
hearing of the fleet and army of Cortes, and seeing their horsemen
pictured by his artists--the whole accompanied by exaggerated accounts
of the guns and cannon able to produce thunder and lightning. After
holding a council, Montezuma resolved to send an embassy to Cortes,
presenting him with a present which should reflect the incomparable
grandeur and resources of Mexico, and at the same time forbidding an
approach to the capital.
The governor Teuhtlile, on this second embassy, was accompanied by two
Aztec nobles and 100 slaves, bearing the present from Montezuma to
Cortes. As they entered the pavilion of the Spanish general the air was
filled with clouds of incense which rose from censers carried by some
attendants.
Some delicately wrought mats were then unrolled, and on them the
slaves displayed the various articles, ... shields, helmets,
cuirasses, embossed with plates and ornaments of pure gold; collars
and bracelets of the same metal, sandals, fans, and crests of
variegated feathers, intermingled with gold and silver thread, and
sprinkled with pearls and precious stones; imitations of birds and
animals in wrought and cast gold and silver, of exquisite
workmanship; curtains, coverlets, and robes of cotton, fine as
silk, of rich and various dyes, interwoven with feather-work that
rivaled the delicacy of painting.... The things which excited most
admiration were two circular plates of gold and silver, as "large
as carriage-wheels"; one representing the sun was richly carved
with plants and animals. It was thirty palms in circumference, and
was worth about L52,500 sterling.[20]
[Footnote 20: Robertson, the historian, gives L5,000; but Prescott
reckons a _peso de oro_ at L2 12s. 6d.; whence the 20,000 of the text
gives 20,000 x 2-5/8 = 2,500 x 21 = L52,500.]
Cortes was interested in seeing the soldier's helmet brought back to him
full to the brim with grains of gold. The courteous message from
Montezuma, however, did not please him much. Montezuma excused himself
from having a personal interview by "the distance being too great, and
the journey beset with difficulties and dangers from formidable
enemies.... All that could be done, therefore, was for the strangers to
return to their own land."
Soon after Cortes, by a species of statecraft, formed a new
municipality, thus transforming his camp into a civil community. The
name of the new city was _Villa Rica de Vera Cruz_, i. e., "the Rich
Town of the True Cross." Once the municipality was formed, Cortes
resigned before them his office of captain-general, and thus became free
from the authority of Velasquez. The city council at once chose Cortes
to be captain-general and chief justice of the colony. He could now go
forward unchecked by any superior except the Crown.
It was a desperate undertaking to climb with an army from the hot region
of this flat coast through the varied succession of "slopes" which form
the temperate region, and at last, on the high table-land, obtain
entrance upon the great enclosed valley of Mexico. Cortes found that an
essential preliminary was to gain the friendship of the Totonacs, a
nation tributary to Montezuma. Their subjection to the Aztecs he had
already verified, since one day when holding a conference with the
Totonac leaders and a neighboring cazique (i. e., "prince"), Cortes saw
five men of haughty appearance enter the market-place, followed by
several attendants, and at once receive the politest attention from the
Totonacs.
Cortes asked Marina, his slave interpreter, who or what they were. "They
are Aztec nobles," she replied, "sent by Montezuma to receive tribute."
Presently the Totonac chiefs came to Cortes with looks of dire dismay,
to inform him of the great Emperor's resentment at the entertainment
offered to the Spaniards, and demanding in expiation twenty young men
and women for sacrifice to the Aztec gods.
Cortes, with every look of indignation, insisted that the Totonacs
should not only refuse to comply, but should seize the Aztec messengers
and hold them strictly confined in prison. Unscrupulous to gain his
ends, Cortes by lies and cunning duplicity managed to set the Mexican
nobles free, dismissing them with a friendly message to Montezuma, while
at the same time securing the confidence of the simple-minded Totonacs,
urging them to join the Spaniards and make a bold effort to regain their
independence. Some thought that Cortes was really the kindly divinity
Quetzalcoatl, promised by the prophets to bring freedom and happiness.
As an instance of the religious enthusiasm of the Spanish invaders, we
may give the account of the "conversion" of Zempoalla, a city in the
Totonac district. When Cortes pressed upon the cazique of Zempoalla that
his mission was to turn the Indians from the abominations of their
present religion, that prince replied that he could not accept what the
Spanish priests had told him about the Creator and Ruler of the
Universe; especially that he ever stooped to become a mere man, weak and
poor, so as to suffer voluntarily persecution and even death at the
hands of some of his own creatures. The cazique added that he "would
resist any violence offered to his gods, who would, indeed, avenge the
act themselves by the instant destruction of their enemies."
Cortes and his men seized the opportunity. There is no doubt that, after
witnessing some of the barbarous sacrifices of human victims followed by
cannibal feasts, their souls had naturally been sickened. They now
proceeded to force the work of conversion as soon as Cortes had appealed
to them and declared that "God and the holy saints would never favor
their enterprise, if such atrocities were allowed; and that for his own
part, he was resolved the Indian idols should be demolished that very
hour if it cost him his life.
"Scarcely waiting for his commands the Spaniards moved toward one of the
principal _teocallis_, or temples, which rose high on a pyramidal
foundation with a steep ascent of stone steps in the middle. The
cazique, divining their purpose, instantly called his men to arms. The
Indian warriors gathered from all quarters, with shrill cries and
clashing of weapons, while the priests, in their dark cotton robes, with
disheveled tresses matted with blood, rushed frantic among the natives,
calling on them to protect their gods from violation! All was now
confusion and tumult.... Cortes took his usual prompt measures. Causing
the cazique and some of the principal citizens and priests to be
arrested, he commanded them to quiet the people, declaring that if a
single arrow was shot against a Spaniard, it should cost every one of
them his life.... The cazique covered his face with his hands,
exclaiming that the gods would avenge their own wrongs.
"The Christians were not slow in availing themselves of his tacit
acquiescence. Fifty soldiers, at a signal from their general, sprang up
the great stairway of the temple, entered the building on the summit,
the walls of which were black with human gore, and dragged the huge
wooden idols to the edge of the terrace. Their fantastic forms and
features, conveying a symbolic meaning which was lost on the Spaniards,
seemed to their eyes only the hideous lineaments of Satan. With great
alacrity they rolled the colossal monsters down the steps of the
pyramid, amid the triumphant shouts of their own companions and the
groans and lamentations of the natives. They then consummated the whole
by burning them in the presence of the assembled multitude."
After the temple had been cleansed from every trace of the idol-worship
and its horrors, a new altar was raised, surmounted by a lofty cross,
and hung with garlands of roses. A reaction having now set in among the
Indians, many were willing to become Christians, and some of the Aztec
priests even joined in a procession to signify their conversion, wearing
white robes instead of their former dark mantles, and carrying lighted
candles in their hands, "while an image of the Virgin half smothered
under the weight of flowers was borne aloft, and, as the procession
climbed the steps of the temple, was deposited above the altar.... The
impressive character of the ceremony and the passionate eloquence of the
good priest touched the feelings of the motley audience, until Indians
as well as Spaniards, if we may trust the chronicler, were melted into
tears and audible sobs."
Before finally marching westward toward the temperate "slopes" of the
mountains, Cortes had another opportunity of proving his generalship
and prompt resource at a critical moment. When Agathocles, the
autocratic ruler of Syracuse, sailed over to defeat the Carthaginians,
the first thing he did on landing in Africa was to burn his ships, that
his soldiers might have no opportunity of retreat, and no hope but in
victory. Cortes now acted on exactly the same principle.
After discovering that a number of his soldiers had formed a conspiracy
to seize one of the ships and sail to Cuba, Cortes, on conviction,
punished two of the ringleaders with death. Soon after, he formed the
extraordinary resolution of destroying his ships without the knowledge
of his army.
The five worst ships were first ordered to be dismantled; and, soon
after, to be sunk. When the rest were inspected, four of them were
condemned in the same manner.
When the news reached Zempoalla, the army were excited almost to open
mutiny. Cortes, however, was perfectly cool. Addressing the army
collectively, he assured them that the ships were not fit for service,
as had been shown by due inspection. "There is one important advantage
gained to the army, viz., the addition of a hundred able-bodied recruits
who were necessary to man the lost ships. Besides all that, of what use
could ships be to us in the present expedition? As for me, I will remain
here even without a comrade. As for those who shrink from the dangers of
our glorious enterprise, let them go back, in God's name! Let them go
home, since there is still one vessel left; let them go on board and
return to Cuba. They can tell how they deserted their commander and
their comrades, and patiently wait till they see us return loaded with
the spoils of the Aztecs."
Persuasion is the end of true oratory. The reply of the army to Cortes
was the unanimous shout "To Mexico! To Mexico!"
After beginning the gradual ascent in their march toward the table-land
of Mexico, the first place noted by the invaders was Jalapa, a town
which still retains its Aztec name, known to all the world by the
well-known drug grown there. It is a favorite resort of the wealthier
residents in Vera Cruz, and that too tropical plain which Cortes had
just left. The mighty mountain Orizaba, one of the guardians of the
Mexican Valley, is now full in sight, towering in solitary grandeur with
its robe of snow.
At last they reached a town so populous that there were thirteen Aztec
temples with the usual sacrificial stone for human victims before each
idol. In the suburbs the Spanish were shocked by a gathering of human
skulls, many thousand in number. This appalling reminder of the
unspeakable sacrifices soon became a familiar sight as they marched
through that country.
Cortes asked the cazique if he were subject to Montezuma. "Who is
there," replied the local prince, "that is not tributary to that
Emperor?" "_I_ am not," said the stranger general. Cortes assured him
that the monarch whom the Spaniards served had princes as vassals, who
were more powerful than the Aztec ruler. The cazique said:
Montezuma could muster thirty great vassals, each master of 100,000
men. His revenues were incalculable, since every subject, however
poor, paid something.... More than 20,000 victims, the fruit of his
wars, were annually sacrificed on the altars of his gods! His
capital stood on a lake, in the center of a spacious valley.... The
approach to the city was by means of causeways several miles long;
and when the connecting bridges were raised all communication with
the country was cut off.
The Indians showed the greatest curiosity respecting the dresses,
weapons, horses, and dogs of their strange visitors. The country all
around was then well wooded and full of villages and towns, which
disappeared after the conquest. Humboldt remarked, when he traveled
there, that the whole district had, "at the time of the arrival of the
Spanish, been more inhabited and better cultivated, and that in
proportion as they got higher up near the table-land, they found the
villages more frequent, the fields more subdivided, and the people more
law-abiding."
Before entering upon the table-land, Cortes resolved to visit the
republic of Tlascala, which was noted for having retained its
independence in spite of the Aztecs. After sending an embassy,
consisting of the four chief Zempoallas, who had accompanied the army,
he set out toward Tlascala, lingering as they proceeded, so that his
ambassadors should have time to return. While wondering at the delay,
they suddenly reached a remarkable fortification which marked the limits
of the republic, and acted as a barrier against the Mexican invasions.
Prescott thus describes it:
A stone wall nine feet in height and twenty in thickness, with a
parapet a foot and a half broad raised on the summit for the
protection of those who defended it. It had only one opening in
the center, made by two semicircular lines of wall overlapping each
other for the space of forty paces, and affording a passageway
between, ten paces wide, so contrived, therefore, as to be
perfectly commanded by the inner wall. This fortification, which
extended more than two leagues, rested at either end on the bold
natural buttresses formed by the sierra. The work was built of
immense blocks of stone nicely laid together without cement, and
the remains still existing, among which are rocks of the whole
breadth of the rampart, fully attest its solidity and size.
Who were the people of this stout-hearted republic? The Tlascalans were
a kindred tribe to the Aztecs, and after coming to the Mexican Valley,
toward the close of the twelfth century, had settled for many years on
the western shore of Lake Tezcuco. Afterward they migrated to that
district of fruitful valleys where Cortes found them; _Tlascala_,
meaning "land of bread." They then, as a nation, consisted of four
separate states, considerably civilized, and always able to protect
their confederacy against foreign invasion. Their arts, religion, and
architecture were the same as those of the Aztecs and Tezcucans.
More than once had the Aztecs attempted to bring the little republic
into subjection, but in vain. In one campaign Montezuma had lost a
favorite, besides having his army defeated; and though a much more
formidable invasion followed, "the bold mountaineers withdrew into the
recesses of their hills, and coolly watching their opportunity, rushed
like a torrent on the invaders, and drove them back with dreadful
slaughter from their territories."
The Tlascalans had of course heard of the redoubtable Europeans and
their advance upon Montezuma's kingdom, but not expecting any visit
themselves, they were in doubt about the embassy sent by Cortes, and the
council had not reached a decision when the arrival of Cortes was
announced at the head of his cavalry. Attacked by a body of several
thousand Indians, he sent back a horseman to make the infantry hurry up
to his assistance. Two of the horses were killed, a loss seriously felt
by Cortes; but when the main body had discharged a volley from their
muskets and crossbows, so astounded were the Tlascalan Indians that they
stopped fighting and withdrew from the field.
Next morning, after Cortes had given careful instruction to his army
(now more than 3,000 in number, with his Indian auxiliaries), they had
not marched far when they were met by two of the Zempoallans, who had
been sent as ambassadors. They informed Cortes that, as captives, they
had been reserved for the sacrificial stone, but had succeeded in
breaking out of prison. They also said that forces were being collected
from all quarters to meet the Spaniards.
At the first encounter, the Indians, after some spirited fighting,
retreated in order to draw the Spanish army into a defile impracticable
for artillery or cavalry. Pressing forward they found, on turning an
abrupt corner of the glen, that an army of many thousands was drawn up
in order, prepared to receive them. As they came into view, the
Tlascalans set up a piercing war-cry, shrill and hideous, accompanied by
the melancholy beat of a thousand drums. Cortes spurred on the cavalry
to force a passage for the infantry, and kept exhorting his soldiers,
while showing them an example of personal daring. "If we fail now," he
cried, "the Cross of Christ can never be planted in this land. Forward,
comrades! when was it ever known that a Castilian turned his back on a
foe?"
With desperate efforts the soldiers forced a passage through the Indian
columns, and then, as soon as the horse opened room for the movements of
the gunners, the terrible "thunder and lightning" of the cannon did the
rest. The havoc caused in their ranks, combined with the roar and the
flash of gunpowder, and the mangled carcasses, filled the whole of the
barbarian army with horror and consternation. Eight leaders of the
Tlascalan army having fallen, the prince ordered a retreat.
The chief of the Tlascalans, Xicotencatl, was no ordinary leader. When
Cortes wished to press on to the capital, he sent two envoys to the
Tlascalan camp, but all that Xicotencatl deigned to reply was
that the Spaniards might pass on as soon as they chose to Tlascala,
and when they reached it their flesh would be hewn from their
bodies for sacrifice to the gods. If they preferred to remain in
their own quarters, he would pay them a visit there the next day.
The envoys also told Cortes that the chief had now collected another
very large army, five battalions of 10,000 men each. There was evidently
a determination to try the fate of Tlascala by a pitched battle and
exterminate the bold invaders.
The next day, September 5, 1519, was therefore a critical one in the
annals of Cortes. He resolved to meet the Tlascalan chief in the field,
after directing the foot-soldiers to use the point of their swords and
not the edge; the horse to charge at half speed, directing their lances
at the eyes of their enemies; the gunners and crossbowmen to support
each other, some loading while others were discharging their pieces.
Before Cortes and his soldiers had marched a mile they saw the immense
Tlascalan army stretched far and wide over a vast plain. Nothing could
be more picturesque than the aspect of these Indian battalions, with the
naked bodies of the common soldiers gaudily painted, the fantastic
helmets of the chiefs bright with ornaments and precious stones, and the
glowing panoplies of feather-work....
The golden glitterance and the feather-mail
More gay than glittering gold; and round the helm
A coronal of high upstanding plumes....
... With war-songs and wild music they came on.[21]
[Footnote 21: Southey (Madoc, i, 7).]
The Tlascalan warriors had attained wonderful skill in throwing the
javelin. "One species, with a thong attached to it, which remained in
the slinger's hand, that he might recall the weapon, was especially
dreaded by the Spaniards." Their various weapons were pointed with bone
or obsidian, and sometimes headed with copper.
The yell or scream of defiance raised by these Indians almost drowned
the volume of sound from "the wild barbaric minstrelsy of shell, atabal,
and trumpet with which they proclaimed their triumphant anticipations
of victory over the paltry forces of the invaders."
Advancing under a thick shower of arrows and other missiles, the Spanish
soldiers at a certain distance quickly halted and drew up in order,
before delivering a general fire along the whole line. The front ranks
of their wild opponents were mowed down and those behind were "petrified
with dismay."
But for the accident of dissension having arisen between the chiefs of
the Tlascalans, it almost seemed as if nothing could have saved Cortes
and his Spanish army. Before the battle, the haughty treatment of one of
those chiefs by Xicotencatl, the cazique, provoked the injured man to
draw off all his contingent during the battle, and persuade another
chief to do the same. With his forces so weakened, the cazique was
compelled to resign the field to the Spaniards.
Xicotencatl, in his eagerness for revenge, consulted some of the Aztec
priests, who recommended a night attack upon Cortes's camp in order to
take his army by surprise. The Tlascalan, therefore, with 10,000
warriors, marched secretly toward the Spanish camp, but owing to the
bright moonlight they were not unseen by the vedettes. Besides that,
Cortes had accustomed his army to sleep with their arms by their side
and the horses ready saddled. In an instant, as it were, the whole camp
were on the alert and under arms. The Indians, meanwhile, were
stealthily advancing to the silent camp, and, "no sooner had they
reached the slope of the rising ground than they were astounded by the
deep battle-cry of the Spaniards, followed by the instantaneous
appearance of the whole army. Scarcely awaiting the shock of their
enemy, the panic-struck barbarians fled rapidly and tumultuously across
the plain. The horse easily overtook the fugitives, riding them down,
and cutting them to pieces without mercy." Next day Cortes sent new
ambassadors to the Tlascalan capital, accompanied by his faithful slave
interpreter, Marina. They found the cazique's council sad and dejected,
every gleam of hope being now extinguished.
The message of Cortes still promised friendship and pardon, if only they
agreed to act as allies. If the present offer were rejected, "he would
visit their capital as a conqueror, raze every house to the ground, and
put every inhabitant to the sword." On hearing this ultimatum, the
council chose four leading chiefs to be entrusted with a mission to
Cortes, "assuring him of a free passage through the country, and a
friendly reception in the capital." The ambassadors, on their way back
to Cortes, called at the camp of Xicotencatl, and were there detained by
him. He was still planning against the terrible invaders.
Cortes, in the meantime, had another opportunity of showing his resource
and presence of mind. Some of his soldiers had shown a grumbling
discontent: "The idea of conquering Mexico was madness; if they had
encountered such opposition from the petty republic, what might they not
expect from the great Mexican Empire? There was now a temporary
suspension of hostilities; should they not avail themselves of it to
retrace their steps to Vera Cruz?" To this Cortes listened calmly and
politely, replying that "he had told them at the outset that glory was
to be won only by toil and danger; he had never shrunk from his share of
both. To go back now was impossible. What would the Tlascalans say? How
would the Mexicans exult at such a miserable issue! Instead of turning
your eyes toward Cuba, fix them on Mexico, the great object of our
enterprise." Many other soldiers having gathered round, the mutinous
party took courage to say that "another such victory as the last would
be their ruin; they were going to Mexico only to be slaughtered." With
some impatience Cortes gaily quoted a soldiers' song:
Better die with honor
Than live in long disgrace!
--a sentiment which the majority of the audience naturally cheered to
the echo, while the malcontents slunk away to their quarters.
The next event was the arrival of some Tlascalans wearing white badges
as an indication of peace. They brought a message, they said, from
Xicotencatl, who now desired an arrangement with Cortes, and would soon
appear in person. Most of them remained in the camp, where they were
treated kindly; but Marina, with her "woman's wit," became somewhat
suspicious of them. Perhaps some of them, forgetting that she knew their
language, let drop a phrase in talking to each other, which awoke her
distrust. She told Cortes that the men were spies. He had them arrested
and examined separately, ascertaining in that way that they were sent
to obtain secret information of the Spanish camp, and that, in fact,
Xicotencatl was mustering his forces to make another determined attack
on the invading army.
To show the fierceness of his resentment at such treatment, Cortes
ordered the fifty spy ambassadors to have their hands hacked off, and
sent back to tell their lord that "the Tlascalans might come by day or
night, they would find the Spaniards ready for them." The sight of their
mutilated comrades filled the Indian camp with dread and horror. All
thoughts of resistance to the advance of Cortes were now abandoned, and
not long after the arrival of Xicotencatl himself was announced,
attended by a numerous train. He advanced with "the firm and fearless
step of one who was coming rather to bid defiance than to sue for peace.
He was rather above the middle size, with broad shoulders and a muscular
frame, intimating great activity and strength. He made the usual
salutation by touching the ground with his hand and carrying it to his
head." He threw no blame on the Tlascalan senate, but assumed all the
responsibility of the war. He admitted that the Spanish army had beaten
him, but hoped they would use their victory with moderation, and not
trample on the liberties of the republic.
Cortes admired the cazique's lofty spirit, while pretending to rebuke
him for having so long remained an enemy. "He was willing to bury the
past in oblivion, and to receive the Tlascalans as vassals to the
Emperor, his master."
Before the entry into Tlascala, the capital, there arrived an embassy
from Montezuma, who had been keenly disappointed, no doubt, that Cortes
had not only not been defeated by the bravest race on the Mexican
table-land, but had formed a friendly alliance with them.
As Cortes, with his army, approached the populous city, they were
welcomed by great crowds of men and women in picturesque dresses, with
nosegays and wreaths of flowers; priests in white robes and long matted
tresses, swinging their burning censers of incense. The anniversary of
this entry into Tlascala, September 23, 1519, is still celebrated as a
day of rejoicing.
Cortes, in his letter to the Emperor, King of Spain, compares it for
size and appearance to Granada, the Moorish capital. Pottery was one of
the industries in which Tlascala excelled. The Tlascalan was chiefly
agricultural in his habits; his honest breast glowed with the patriotic
attachment to the soil, which is the fruit of its diligent culture,
while he was elevated by that consciousness of independence which is the
natural birthright of a child of the mountains.
Cholula, capital of the republic of that name, is six leagues north of
Tlascala, and about twenty southeast of Mexico. In the time of the
conquest of the table-land of Anahuac, as the whole district is
sometimes termed, this city was large and populous. The people excelled
in mechanical arts, especially metal-working, cloth-weaving, and a
delicate kind of pottery. Reference has already been made to the god
Quetzalcoatl, in whose honor a huge pyramid was erected here. From the
farthest parts of Anahuac devotees thronged to Cholula, just as the
Mohammedans to Mecca.
The Spaniards found the people of Cholula superior in dress and looks to
any of the races they had seen. The higher classes "wore fine
embroidered mantles resembling the Moorish cloak in texture and
fashion.... They showed the same delicate taste for flowers as the other
tribes of the plateau, tossing garlands and bunches among the
soldiers.... The Spaniards were also struck with the cleanliness of the
city, the regularity of the streets, the solidity of the houses, and the
number and size of the pyramidal temples." After being treated with
kindness and hospitality for several days, all at once the scene
changed, the cause being the arrival of messengers from Montezuma. At
the same time some Tlascalans told Cortes that a great sacrifice, mostly
of children, had been offered to propitiate the favor of the gods.
At this juncture, Marina, the Indian slave interpreter, again proved to
be the "good angel" of Cortes. She had become very friendly with the
wife of one of the Cholula caziques, who gave her a hint that there was
danger in staying at the house of any Spaniard; and, when further
pressed by Marina, said that the Spaniards were to be slaughtered when
marching out of the capital. The plot had originated with the Aztec
Emperor, and 20,000 Mexicans were already quartered a little distance
out of town.
In this most critical position, Cortes at once decided to take
possession of the great square, placing a strong guard at each of its
three gates of entrance. The rest of what troops he had in the town, he
posted without with the cannon, to command the avenues. He had already
sent orders to the Tlascalan chiefs to keep their soldiers in readiness
to march, at a given signal, into the city to support the Spaniards.
Presently the caziques of Cholula arrived with a larger body of levies
than Cortes had demanded. He at once charged them with conspiring
against the Spaniards after receiving them as friends. They were so
amazed at his discovery of their perfidy that they confessed everything,
laying the blame on Montezuma. "That pretense," said Cortes, assuming a
look of fierce indignation, "is no justification; I shall now make such
an example of you for your treachery that the report of it will ring
throughout the wide borders of Anahuac!"
At the firing of a harquebus, the fatal signal, the crowd of
unsuspecting Cholulans were massacred as they stood, almost without
resistance. Meantime the other Indians without the square commenced an
attack on the Spaniards, but the heavy guns of the battery played upon
them with murderous effect, and cavalry advanced to support the attack.
The steeds, the guns, the weapons of the Spaniards, were all new to
the Cholulans. Notwithstanding the novelty of the terrific
spectacle, the flash of arms mingling with the deafening roar of
the artillery, the desperate Indians pushed on to take the places
of their fallen comrades.
While this scene of bloodshed was progressing, the Tlascalans, as
arranged, were hastening to the assistance of their Spanish allies. The
Cholulans, when thus attacked in rear by their traditional enemies,
speedily gave way, and tried to save themselves in the great temple and
elsewhere. The "Holy City," as it was called, was converted into a
pandemonium of massacre. In memory of the signal defeat of the
Cholulans, Cortes converted the chief part of the great temple into a
Christian church.
Envoys again arrived from Mexico with rich presents and a message
vindicating the pusillanimous Emperor from any share in the conspiracy
against Cortes. Continuing their march, the allied army of Spaniards and
Tlascalans proceeded till they reached the mountains which separate the
table-land of Puebla from that of Mexico. To cross this range they
followed the route which passes between the mighty Popocatepetl (i. e.,
"the smoking mountain") and another called the "White Woman" from its
broad robe of snow. The first lies about forty miles southeast of the
capital to which their march was directed. It is more than 2,000 feet
higher than Mont Blanc, and has two principal craters, one of which is
about 1,000 feet deep and has large deposits of sulfur which are
regularly mined. Popocatepetl has long been only a quiescent volcano,
but during the invasion by Cortes it was often burning, especially at
the time of the siege of Tlascala. That was naturally interpreted all
over the district of Anahuac to be a bad omen, associated with the
landing and approach of the Spaniards. Cortes insisted on several
descents being made into the great crater till sufficient sulfur was
collected to supply gunpowder to his army. The icy cold winds, varied by
storms of snow and sleet, were more trying to the Europeans than the
Tlascalans, but some relief was found in the stone shelters which had
been built at certain intervals along the roads for the accommodation
of couriers and other travelers.
At last they reached the crest of the sierra which unites Popocatepetl,
the "great _Volcan_," to its sister mountain the "Woman in White." Soon
after, at a turning of the road, the invaders enjoyed their first view
of the famous Valley of Mexico or Tenochtitlan, with its beautiful lakes
in their setting of cultivated plains, here and there varied by woods
and forests. "In the midst, like some Indian empress with her coronal of
pearls, the fair city with her white towers and pyramidal temples,
reposing as it were on the bosom of the waters--the far-famed 'Venice of
the Aztecs.'"
This view of the "Promised Land" will remind some of the picturesque
account given by Livy (xxi, 35) of Hannibal reaching the top of the pass
over the Alps and pointing out the fair prospect of Italy to his
soldiers. We may thus render the passage: "On the ninth day the ridge of
the Alps was reached, over ground generally trackless and by roundabout
ways.... The order for marching being given at break of day, the army
were sluggishly advancing over ground wholly covered with snow,
listlessness, and despair depicted on the features of all, Hannibal went
on in front, and after ordering the soldiers to halt on a height which
commanded a distant view, far and wide, points out to them Italy and the
plains of Lombardy on both banks of the Po, at the foot of the Alps,
telling them that at that moment they were crossing not only the walls
of Italy but of the Roman capital; that the rest of the march was easy
and downhill." The situation of Hannibal and his Carthaginians
surveying Italy for the first time is in some respects closely analogous
to that of Cortes pointing out the Valley of Mexico to his Spanish
soldiers.