Cortez did not stay long in his prison cell. In some way he managed to
open one of the bolts of his fetters and soon had his limbs free. Then,
turning his irons into tools, he used them to force open the window of his
cell. As he was on the second floor of the building, it was easy for one
so agile as he to reach the ground without injury, and he made his way to
a church near by, where he claimed the right of sanctuary.
When Velasquez heard of the escape of his prisoner he was furious. He did
not dare attempt to take him from the church by force, since the sacred
walls protected all who sought their asylum. But a guard was stationed
close by, with orders to seize the fugitive if he should leave the
sanctuary. With one so careless as Cortez this was sure to be done. A few
days later, as he stood heedlessly sunning himself outside the walls of
the building, one of the guards rushed on him from behind, seized his
arms, and held him till his comrades came to his aid. This man was one of
those who afterwards took part in the conquest of Mexico, during which he
was hung for some offence by Cortez, who perhaps took this opportunity for
revenge.
Once more the reckless young adventurer found himself a fettered captive,
this time being put on board a vessel that was to sail the next morning
for Hispaniola, where Velasquez designed he should be tried for his
offence. But he proved a very hard prisoner to hold. That night, with much
pain and difficulty, he managed to pull his feet out of the irons that
held them, and then stole cautiously to the deck, where he found a boat
floating by the vessel's side. Slipping down into this, under cover of the
darkness, he cut loose and paddled silently away.
When near the shore he met with a rapid current and rough waters, to which
he was afraid to trust the boat. Being an expert swimmer, he thought it
safest to breast the water himself, and boldly plunged overboard. He found
his task a hard, almost a fatal one; the current threatened to sweep him
away, but after a long struggle with the waves he succeeded in reaching
the shore, in a state of almost complete exhaustion. He now sought the
church again, no doubt resolving this time to keep safely within its
sacred shelter.
The story goes on to state that the governor, worked upon by friends of
the culprit, offered him forgiveness, which the incensed young cavalier
was too proud to accept. What followed is amusing. Velasquez was at a
distance from the capital, on a military excursion, when one evening he
was startled in his tent by the appearance of his enemy, completely armed
and threatening in aspect. In dismay, the governor asked him what he
wanted. Cortez replied, angrily, that he was tired of being treated like a
felon, and that he must have an explanation or he would know the reason
why. Velasquez answered as angrily, and a hot altercation followed. But at
length their talk became more friendly, and in the end their old amicable
relations were resumed and they embraced like a pair of lovers. The
amusing part of the story is this: When a messenger arrived to tell the
governor that Cortez had left the sanctuary and disappeared, he found the
governor and the culprit both fast asleep in the same bed.
This story seems doubtful, but at any rate they became friends again, and
Cortez was given a large estate in Cuba, which he stocked with cattle, and
on which he found gold-mines, which were worked by Indian labor. He
married a beautiful Spanish girl, and, fast growing rich, spent several
years in happy content.
This, with some, would have been the end of a career. It was only the
beginning of that of Cortez, before whom still lay a wonderful history and
a record of undying fame. All we can tell here is how this came about. It
began in expeditions of discovery. Cordova, a Cuban settler, seeking
Indians for slaves in the Bahamas, was blown far westward by a storm, and
reached an unknown shore, where the natives lived in stone buildings,
cultivated the soil, and wore delicate cotton garments and ornaments of
gold. In other ways they showed evidence of civilization. The land thus
reached is that now known as Yucatan.
Velasquez, on seeing the gold which Cordova brought back, sent out a small
fleet under his nephew, Juan de Grijalva, to visit and explore this new
land. Grijalva found evidence that a great civilized nation dwelt inland,
rich in gold and far superior in civilization to any Indians whom the
Spaniards had yet met. He named the country New Spain, and sailed back to
Cuba with an account of his important discoveries.
The news filled Velasquez with hope and joy. Here seemed to be the land of
gold which the Spaniards had so long sought. Here he might win vast wealth
and the glory of adding a new and splendid province to Spain. He at once
began to fit out a much larger expedition, and looked around for a man fit
to command it. Several of the hidalgos, or gentlemen of Cuba, offered
themselves, but none pleased the governor, and at length he settled upon
Cortez as the best man for his purpose. By chance, rather than by
intention, he had made a splendid choice. Cortez was the one man in the
New World, and perhaps the one man at that time in all Spain, fitted by
nature for the difficult task which lay before him. Wild and frivolous as
he had shown himself in youth, all he needed was a great occasion to prove
himself a great man. He was to develop into one of the ablest military
leaders in all history, a man who, on a small scale, was to display a
genius and achieve a success worthy of Caesar or Alexander or any of the
famous soldiers of the world.
But, from another point of view, Velasquez had made a bad choice. Cortez
had disdained his fetters and his prisons, and would soon disdain his
control. His hope to win gain and glory by the aid of this young
adventurer was likely to prove a mere Will-o'-the-wisp.
[Illustration: LANDING-PLACE OF CORTEZ, VERA CRUZ.]