The Memoirs of the Conquistador Bernal Diaz del Castillo, Vol 1 (of 2)

These threats were most intelligibly interpreted to the Indians by Doña Marina, who also put them in mind of Motecusuma's army, which every moment might fall upon them. They, therefore, turned the question another way, and declared, "That they were not worthy of laying hands on their gods. If we durst venture to do so, they supposed we must, for we could not resist the temptation; but they would never give their consent."

They had scarcely done speaking when more than fifty of us began to mount the steps of the temple. We tore down the idols from their pediments, broke them to pieces, and flung them piecemeal down the steps. Some of these idols were shaped like furious dragons, and were about the size of young calves; others with half the human form; some again were shaped like large dogs, but all were horrible to look at.

When the caziques and papas thus beheld these monsters lying crumbled on the ground, they set up a miserable howl, covered their faces, and begged forgiveness of the idols in the Totonaque language, as they were unable to protect them against the teules, nor durst they attack us for fear of Motecusuma. It did not, however, end here, for their armed warriors who had now come up began to fly their arrows at us. Finding matters had taken such a turn, we seized the fat cazique, six papas, and several of the chief personages; and Cortes declared to them, that if the attack was not instantly staid they should all forfeit their lives. Upon this the fat cazique commanded his men to desist, and when quiet was somewhat restored they began to negotiate about terms of peace, which was concluded as shall shortly be related.

In this place I have only further to add, that our march to Tzinpantzinco was the first expedition Cortes made towards the interior of New Spain, and that it turned out greatly to our advantage. The historian Gomara here again tells his fables of the many thousands of human beings we destroyed at Tzinpantzinco; the curious reader, however, may sufficiently convince himself from my account what little faith is to be placed in his history, however beautiful the style may be in which it is written.

CHAPTER LII

How Cortes erects an altar, and places thereon the image of the blessed Virgin with a cross; after which mass was said, and the eight Indian females baptized.

After peace had been restored between us, the caziques, papas, and other chiefs, Cortes ordered the fragments of the idols we had destroyed to be carried away and burnt. These orders were executed by six papas who came forth from a particular house, into which they carried the broken pieces and burnt them. The dress of these priests consisted in a long black cloak, white cassock, without sleeves, which hung down to the feet, and in a species of hood, which some wore greater, some less in size. Their dress was completely clogged together with blood, with which they were besmeared from head to foot, and impeded in their walk: they likewise smelt most offensively of sulphur and putrid flesh. We subsequently learnt that these papas were sons of distinguished personages. They were forbidden to marry, but were wholly given to unnatural offences, and fasted on certain days. Generally speaking, I never saw them eat anything else than the seeds of the cotton tree; they may, however, have partaken of other food for all I know.

When the idols were burnt, Cortes said everything that was edifying to the Indians by means of our interpreters. "Now," he said, "we could look upon them as our true brothers, and lend them every powerful assistance against Motecusuma and the Mexicans, he having already acquainted the former that he was no longer to make war upon them, nor to exact tribute. Instead of their idols, he would give them our own blessed Virgin and Sainte, the mother of Jesus Christ, in whom we believed, and to whom we prayed, that she might intercede and protect them in heaven."

The Indians listened with great good nature to this and many other things, which Cortes explained to them, concerning our holy religion. Every mason in the town was now set to work to bring chalk, which was in great abundance here, to clean away the blood from the walls of the cues, and plaster them well over. The day following this work was finished and an altar erected, which was covered with cotton cloth. The Indians were likewise ordered to bring a quantity of their splendid and sweet-scented roses with small branches of trees. Of these a garland was plaited, which was constantly to be renewed, that the place might remain pure and undefiled. Four papas were selected by Cortes to take charge of this; but their hair was previously shorn off, which they wore, as I have before remarked, very long and bristly; their dirty cloaks were taken off, and white ones put on, which, with the other part of their dress, they were in future to keep perfectly clean. In order, however, that they might have some one to look over them in their new occupation, Cortes nominated Juan de Torres, an old lame invalid of Cordova, to dwell near the altar, in the capacity of anchorite. The carpenters likewise made a cross which we erected on an elevated base, well plastered over with lime.

The next morning early father Olmedo said mass. A regulation was also made that in future the copal of this country should be used instead of our usual incense, and the inhabitants were taught to make wax candles from the wax of the country; of which, up to this moment, they had made no manner of use: these candles were always to be kept burning on the altar. The principal caziques of the district and village attended mass. But the chief ornaments there were the eight Indian females, who in the meantime had remained with their parents and relatives. These were now baptized after an edifying discourse had preceded the ceremony. The niece of the fat cazique, a very ugly woman, was named Doña Catalina, and presented to Cortes, who accepted her with every appearance of delight. The daughter of Cuesco, on the other hand, was most beautiful for an Indian female, and received the name of Doña Francisca, and fell to the lot of Puertocarrero. The six remaining young women, whose names I have totally forgotten, were given to some other of our soldiers.

The mass and baptismal ceremony being concluded, the caziques and principal personages took their leave, and from this moment the best feeling subsisted between us, for they were highly delighted that Cortes had accepted their daughter. We, therefore, returned to our new town Vera Cruz amidst the most joyous professions of friendship, and we shall soon see what happened there.

The good reader, however, may feel assured that nothing of any consequence further took place at Sempoalla than what I have related, and that herein Gomara and the other historians have completely erred.

CHAPTER LIII

How we arrived in our town of Vera Cruz, and what happened there.

We arrived at Vera Cruz, in company of the most distinguished personages of Sempoalla, on the same day that a ship had run in there from Cuba. The captain's name was Francisco de Saucedo, but we always called him the gallant, from his extravagance in beautifying his outward person, being altogether a perfect fop. He was said to have been at one time butler to the admiral of Castile, and was born at Medina de Rioseco. Along with him were ten soldiers, and a certain Luis Marin, a most distinguished officer, who afterwards became one of our chief commanders in the Mexican campaigns. Both the former had horses, one a stallion, and the other a mare. These men brought us intelligence that Diego Velasquez had obtained authority from Spain to trade and found colonies wherever he liked, and was appointed adelantado of Cuba. All this pleased his adherents excessively, in particular the latter preferment.

The building of the fortress having solely occupied us for a length of time, and now in such a forward state that we could lay the woodwork, we began to grow tired of doing nothing. Almost the whole of us, therefore, addressed Cortes in a body: representing to him, that we had now been three months in this country, and high time we should just convince ourselves how much truth there was in the boasted power of Motecusuma, of which so much had been said: we would gladly risk our lives in it, and therefore begged he would make preparations for this expedition. But, previous to commencing our march, we ought first to give some proof of our most humble submission to his majesty our emperor, by forwarding him a complete account of everything that had befallen us since our departure from Cuba. We also proposed that all the gold we had bartered for, and the presents sent by Motecusuma, should be forwarded to his majesty.

In answer to which Cortes said, that our ideas accorded exactly with his own, and that he had already spoken to the same effect to several of the cavaliers. There was merely one circumstance which caused him to hesitate, namely, that if each person took the portion of gold which fell to his share, too little would remain to be worthy of his majesty's acceptance. For this reason he commissioned Diego de Ordas and Francisco de Montejo, who were thorough men of business to see what they could make out of those men whom they might expect would demand their share. This was accordingly done, and they represented to every one that we were desirous of sending his majesty the emperor a present in gold, which, considering it was the first, ought indeed to be something valuable. In order, however, to make this possible, nothing remained but that each one should give up his share of the gold which had been made up to this moment. A great number of officers and soldiers had already signed their hands to that effect; yet every one was at liberty to act herein as he thought proper. Here was the paper, which every one who chose could put his hand to.

Every one, without exception, signed his name to the document, and agents were chosen to be despatched to Spain. These were Alonso Puertocarrero and Francisco de Montejo, to whom Cortes himself had already given above two thousand pesos. The best vessel of our squadron, furnished with the necessary provisions and manned with fifteen sailors, was selected to convey them. The charge of the vessel was given to two pilots, one of whom was Anton de Alaminos, from his being so well acquainted with the passage through the Bahama channel, and the first who had ventured that road. Upon this all of us, in common, drew up an account of our adventures expressly for his majesty, relating everything that had happened to us, and Cortes himself, as he assured us, likewise wrote a very circumstantial narrative, which, however, was not given us to read.¹⁹ The account was signed by all the authorities of the new town and ten soldiers, of which I myself was one. But there was likewise another account drawn up by all the officers and soldiers, the contents of which will be fully explained in the following chapter.

CHAPTER LIV

Concerning the account of our adventures, with the letter, which we sent his majesty the emperor, through Puertocarrero and Montejo, the letter being attested by some officers and soldiers.

This account very properly opened with those distinguished marks of respect which were due to our great emperor and master. Then followed a complete account of our expedition, from the day of our departure from Cuba up to our arrival on the coast of Mexico, and the day the account was drawn up. We did not omit to state that we had merely been induced to join the expedition from a promise that we were going to found a colony, and how Diego Velasquez had given Cortes secret instructions merely to confine himself to the trade of barter. That Cortes, conformably to this, had indeed wished to return to Cuba with the gold we had made; that, however, we had compelled him to remain here and found a colony, for which purpose we had elected him captain-general and chief justice, until we should receive his most gracious majesty's pleasure on this head. We had, moreover, promised him a fifth part of all the gold that should remain after deducting the fifths for his majesty. We then mentioned the name of Francisco Hernandez de Cordoba, as the first discoverer of this country; the expedition which followed upon that under Juan de Grijalva; of our landing on the island of Cozumel, and of our fortunate discovery of Geronimo de Aguilar, and other things. We described our negotiations with the great Motecusuma, mentioning his power and riches, of which the things he had given us to present to his majesty, consisting in the sun of gold and moon of silver, and the casque of gold dust, as it is found in the mines, as also the other articles of solid and manufactured gold, were small proofs.

After this we spoke about the extent of the country, its population, the arts, customs, and religion of the inhabitants, of whom we sent four as a sample, whom we had liberated from a wooden cage at Sempoalla, where they were being fattened for a sacrificial feast. We then mentioned something about ourselves; how we were in all 450 armed men in the midst of so many warlike tribes; how our expedition had merely for its object to serve God and his majesty; and, in the position we were now placed, how much depended upon a man being at our head who was acquainted with the country, and in whom we could repose all trust. We most humbly begged of his majesty not to confer the command of this country upon any one of his officers; from its extent and vast riches, it was worthy of being ruled by a royal prince or some other great personage. We all feared that the archbishop Don Rodriguez de Fonseca, whom his majesty had intrusted with the government of Indian affairs, had destined the command to one of his own creatures, namely, a certain Diego Velasquez, who was then viceroy of Cuba; this favour, however, was entirely owing to the presents which the bishop received from Velasquez, consisting in the most valuable townships of his imperial domains wherever any gold was to be found. As his majesty's most humble and faithful servants, we could not neglect to bring this under his imperial notice, and we had resolved to wait until our agents had thrown themselves at his majesty's feet to hand over our letters, and his majesty should have acquainted them with his imperial wishes, which we, whatever they might be, would honour in the very dust. If the archbishop Fonseca in the meantime sent any one to take the command, we should not obey him until we had informed his majesty of it, wherever he might be. We begged of his majesty, for the present, to confer the command on Cortes. This prayer we accompanied by such high-flown praise of Cortes, – how faithful and devoted he was to his majesty; that we elevated him to the very skies. This closed the letter, which was drawn up with great discernment, and divided into chapters. This letter was signed by all the officers and soldiers who belonged to Cortes' party. We also took the precaution of keeping other copies.

After the letter was quite finished, Cortes desired to read it, and when he found how faithfully the account was drawn up, and himself so highly praised, he was vastly pleased, returned us hearty thanks, and promised us golden mountains. He, however, observed, that it would be better to make no allusion to the fifth part of the gold which we had promised him; also to suppress the names of the first discoverers of the country. Indeed, we subsequently learnt that Cortes, in his account, never mentioned a word either about Cordoba, or of Grijalva, but reserved all the honour and merit to himself.

Nevertheless the men were not wanting among us who answered the objections made by Cortes, saying it was our bounden duty to narrate every circumstance to his majesty as it had really taken place.

Our agents took charge of the letters, and were bound down by a promise not to touch at the Havannah under any pretence whatever, nor run into the harbour of El Marien, where Francisco de Montejo had possessions. This was done that Velasquez might receive no intelligence of our doings. They certainly promised, but neglected to observe these orders, as will be seen.

Everything being now ready for their departure, father Olmedo said mass, and we commended them to the guidance and protection of the Holy Ghost. On the 26th of July, 1519, they set sail from San Juan de Ulua, and arrived pretty soon at the Havannah. Here Francisco de Montejo left our chief pilot Alaminos no peace, persuading him to sail along the coast in the direction of his settlement, where he pretended he would take in a fresh supply of cassave-bread and bacon. Puertocarrero was greatly displeased with this conduct; however, the landing was effected. The night following a sailor swam secretly on shore, and forwarded Diego Velasquez letters from his adherents, giving him an account of all that had passed. We afterwards learnt that Montejo himself had sent this man, who, besides this, spread the news everywhere along the route he journeyed. We shall now see what steps Velasquez took upon this.

CHAPTER LV

How Diego Velasquez is informed by his agents that we had sent messengers with letters and presents to our king, and what further took place.

Diego Velasquez received intelligence of everything we had done, partly by the letters which had been secretly conveyed to him, and were said to be of Montejo's own writing, and partly from the sailor, who swam on shore for that purpose. When he heard of the valuable present which we sent to his majesty, and of the agents we had selected for the purpose, he grew excessively angry, and threw out the most heavy curses against Cortes, against his own private secretary Duero, and the treasurer Almador de Lares. He then immediately ordered two small but very swift sailing vessels to be fitted out, and furnished with as great a number of men and firearms as could be got together at the moment. These vessels were given in command of two officers named Gabriel de Rojas and Guzman, who were ordered to repair to the Havannah, and to capture the vessel which conveyed our agents and the gold.

Both vessels arrived, after two days' sail, in the Bahama roads, and made every inquiry of the fishermen and coasters whether they had seen a ship of considerable tonnage pass that way. All the accounts they received went to show that she must have left the roads, as the wind had constantly been favorable: they, therefore, tacked up and down a considerable time, but, discovering no trace of her, they returned to Santiago.

If the first accounts had made Diego Velasquez dispirited, he was now the more so when he found the ship had escaped. His friends now advised him to send some one to Spain to lay his complaints before the president of Indian affairs, with whom he stood in great favour. Velasquez also laid a formal accusation against Cortes and all of us, in the royal court of audience at Santo Domingo, and also before the Hieronymite brethren, who were viceroys of that island. These brothers were then three in number, father Luis de Figueroa, father Alonso de Santo Domingo, and father Bernardino de Mancañedo: they lived together in the cloister of Mejorada, eight miles from Medina del Campo. The answer they gave Diego Velasquez was not very consoling; for, when they found, from our papers, what great things we had done, they declared that no reproach could be made either to Cortes or his troops: we had merely addressed the emperor our master, and sent him a present of such considerable value as had not been seen in Spain for a length of time, (this they might say in all justice, for Peru was then still unknown;) on the contrary, we had merited a most noble remuneration at his majesty's hands.

Besides coming to this decision, the Hieronymite brothers commissioned the licentiate Zuazo, who was either purposely sent to Cuba for this purpose, or at least had arrived there only a few months previous, to examine into this affair of Velasquez on the spot itself. The turn which this matter had taken completely prostrated his spirits for many days together. At last he again aroused himself, and gave orders to fit out every ship in the island, and to enlist officers and men: his intention was to send out such a powerful fleet as would soon overcome Cortes and the whole of us: indeed he spared no trouble; he travelled himself from place to place, and from one settlement to another, and where he could not call in person, he at least sent letters, and invited all his friends to join the armament. In this way he succeeded, after the space of eleven or twelve months, to fit out a fleet of eighteen sail, carrying 1300 soldiers and sailors: for, as the affair was carried on with great party spirit, his relations and every distinguished person of Cuba, as well as every one who had a commendary, considered themselves bound to take part in the undertaking. The command of this fleet was given to a cavalier named Pamfilo de Narvaez, a man of high stature and great bodily strength, with a voice amazingly powerful, and an imperious look in his countenance: he was a native of Valladolid, very wealthy, and had married a widow at Cuba named Maria de Valenzuela, who possessed several lucrative Indian townships.

For the present, however, we will leave this expedition to itself, and turn to our agents, who had most favorable weather for their voyage, and arrived safe at the place of destination, as we shall see in the following chapter. The good reader will do me the justice to consider, with respect to the irregular mode of narrating which I appear to pursue, that I am bound to mention the occurrences in this my history in the order they follow each other.