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Montezuma and the Paba

COLUMBUS died poor and in prison because nobody was interested in his effort to find a northwest passage to India, or cared whether the earth was round or flat. They wanted gold, and the stories of El Dorado told by the ignorant sailors had more influence on the people than anything Columbus said or did.

"I have merely opened the gates for others to enter," he exclaimed bitterly, when he found himself thwarted in all his plans, but there is more honor accorded his memory than to any of the others who came after him, and made immense fortunes.

The same year that Queen Isabella died, a young man, but nineteen years old, named Hernando Cortez, sailed from Spain for Cuba. Already there was quite a Spanish settlement on the island, and when the Governor offered him a large tract of land with Indian slaves to cultivate it, he answered angrily:

"I came to get gold, not to till the soil like a peasant."

He expected to find untold wealth locked up in the unexplored regions of the new world, and had no patience with any of the slower methods of gaining riches. Instead of working he meant to fight for what he wanted and we shall find when we know more about him that he broke his word to his king, the governor of Cuba, to his wife, to his soldiers, and to every friend who served him. Yet he was born a gentleman, handsome and well mannered, but a greedy love of gold rendered him brutal and treacherous to a degree.

In his company were gallant knights of chivalry, servile retainers of the king, soldiers of fortune, and bearded friars, who left behind them country, home, family, friends and sweethearts, to seek El Dorado, which to them meant simply gold. When we study the history of the United States we shall be surprised to find men like them in full armor of steel, with lance, shield and helmet, mounted on prancing steeds, caparisoned in gay colors, glittering through the untracked wilderness of Florida, Georgia, Alabama, and even as far west as Arizona, always in search of El Dorado. And in every case their greed for gold led to such bloodshed and violence, that it makes the heart ache to think about it.

Not many years after Cortez landed in Cuba, the Governor sent for him and said:

"I have at last secured permission from the king to explore the continent lying to the west, and I desire you to take ships and soldiers and have command of the expedition."

Something in Cortez' manner excited the suspicion of the Governor, but he said nothing until he was ready to sail. Then he withdrew the commission, and ordered Cortez to remain in Cuba. Instead of obeying he stole away in the night, and did not land until he came to the coast of Mexico, close to the point from which the Golden Hearted had sailed. His men were afraid to venture far from shore, but he painted glowing pictures of the gold they were to find, and said:

"I hold out to you a glorious prize, but it is only to be won by incessant toil."

Then holding up a black velvet standard with a red cross in the center, surrounded by flames of blue and white, he continued:

"Comrades, let us follow the cross, and under this sign if we have faith, we shall conquer."

The padres with them, who had come to minister to the spiritual welfare of the cavaliers and soldiers, urged them to go forward, saying:

"We are in honor bound to carry the gospel to these poor, ignorant heathens, and God has given you the privilege of helping in this work."

The Indians were friendly and when asked for gold, answered:

"We on the sea coast have little, but in Tenochtitlan there is a rich and powerful king named Montezuma, who has much gold and other treasures."

Around them were parched and sandy plains, but on the march they soon came to "the land of bread," as the Tlascallan country was called, and here they heard of Cholula, the sacred city. When they came in sight of it they exclaimed:

"It is the promised land!" and were amazed at the splendor of the city, as well as the surrounding country, where there were fields of maize, vanilla, indigo, sugar cane, flowering cacao groves, and banana trees in profusion. The streets of Cholula were filled with a concourse of priests whom Cortez mistook for beggars. They were holding a religious festival in honor of Quetzalcoatl, which was their name for the Golden Hearted, who had now become the Fair God of tradition. Long had they been expecting him to return to Cholula, and because Cortez had a fair complexion, and was accompanied by other white men they thought the Golden Hearted had come at last. The people lined the streets and roadways and not only wore garlands of flowers on their heads, but tossed bouquets to the soldiers, while the priests met them with music and swung incense up and down the cleanly-swept streets they passed through.

"What is the will of Quetzalcoatl?" they asked eagerly of Cortez.

"Do you come from Tlapalla?" they inquired of his followers.

"No," they were answered, "but we have a disease of the heart which only gold can cure."

Then the simple natives brought all the gold-dust and little trinkets they could find and gave to their visitors. Cortez thanked them, but said:

"This is not enough. We must have very much more."

"Then you would better ask our friend and ally, the great king, Montezuma. He has immense stores of it."

"Where is this great king, and this city of Tenochtitlan?"

"Farther to the west," they answered.

Shortly after this an embassy of nobles from the court of Montezuma appeared with rich presents and an invitation to Cortez to visit the king. None of them had ever seen a white man before, and they did not for a moment doubt that Cortez was the Golden Hearted, returned to claim his own, and they were very anxious to please him. Touching his brass helmet one of them said timidly:

"It is very like that worn by Quetzalcoatl, and I would like our king, Montezuma, to see it."

"Certainly," responded Cortez, "but bring it back filled with gold." And they did. No one knows just why, but something made Cortez suspect the gentle natives of treachery, and one morning at daybreak he fell upon them in the market place, and slew thousands of people, and then set fire to the city. His rude soldiers went up on the pyramid and threw down the statue of the Golden Hearted, and erected a cross in its place. History says that the Aztecs had long been offering the hearts of human beings in sacrifice to the Golden Hearted in Cholula, while in Tenochtitlan they had set up an image of a terrible war god, and were worshiping that more than the gentle, inoffensive Golden Hearted. It was this disobedience which made Montezuma fear that he was returning to take vengeance.

One morning early the king went to see the Paba, who had charge of the sacred fires on the altars built by the Golden Hearted himself. The chamber in the temple was square, with the ceiling covered by a lattice work of shining white and yellow metal which, at the intersections, was carved to represent flowers set with jewels. All around the walls were sculptured pictures of men. As the king approached the Paba said:

"The gloomy clouds hanging overhead are not darker than is the mood of Quetzalcoatl, but to the poor Paba the voice of the king is ever welcome."

"Why should the mood of Quetzalcoatl be dark? A new teocalli holds his image, and they say he is happy and that he comes from the place of sunrise with a canoe filled with blessings."

"Do you remember, O king! that in some of the underground chambers of this temple, besides vast stores of wealth, there are prophecies to be read?"

"I remember it well," said Montezuma.

"Give me leave, and I will show you the writing from Quetzalcoatl himself."

Groping their way through the great underground cavern, but dimly lighted, the Paba said:

"Son of a king, is your heart strong? The writing begins here and continues around the wall."

"Read it," said Montezuma.

"The first is here on the north and represents the ancient king on the march. You see him in the midst of warriors who are dancing in honor of his victories. Here we have the whole story of our race."

"This was before the coming of Quetzalcoatl and is of the remote past," said Montezuma, with a frown.

"On the southern wall, opposite," replied the Paba, "is what you seek. Observe the king stands on a rock, and a priest points out to him an eagle on a cactus holding a serpent in its claws. Beside it the king reclines on a couch. Our city has been founded."

Montezuma said not a word, but turned to another panel.

"Look well to this, O king! There is Quetzalcoatl before an altar offering a sacrifice of fruit and flowers. His hands are free from blood!"

Montezuma's face was deadly pale, because he knew that many orders of priests in his kingdom sacrificed human beings by cutting out their hearts, and he was afraid that the coming of the strange white men was on account of this forbidden practice.

"See! Oh majesty! the fair god is departing from our beloved Tenochtitlan. Saddest of all days was that for us."

"Show me a prophecy if you would have me believe that this was written by Quetzalcoatl. I would know something of the future."

"Be wise, oh my master! Let the future alone; it is sown with sorrows for all you love."

"Until I wrong the gods why should I fear them? Have done, Paba. I, too, am a priest," said Montezuma, earnestly.

"I, his true servant, tell you never again to look for smile from Tlapalla. I will show you from Quetzalcoatl himself, that the end of your empire is at hand. Every breeze from the east is filled with woe for you and yours. The writing is on the wall. Look again and closely."

"I see nothing," cried the king.

"All that you have heard about the return of Quetzalcoatl is true. He is coming to end the days of the Aztecs forever."

"Forever! It cannot be. Read the next panel."

"There is no other, this is the last," answered the Paba sadly.

Montezuma turned quickly to the north wall, but found it without a single mark. Here indeed was the end.

That night the Aztec king could neither eat nor sleep. The prophecy was with him all the time. When the morning came he called for his canoe. From the battlements of Chapultepec, the palace and tomb of his fathers, he would see the sun rise. If Quetzalcoatl was angered and meant to wreak vengeance, he naturally supposed the sun, his dwelling place, would give some warning.

In all the heavens around there was not a fleck when suddenly a cloud of smoke rushed upward, and across the pathway of the sun, so that when it crept over the mountain range, it looked like a ball of blood! Montezuma drew the hood over his face quickly, and his head dropped on his breast.

The Paba had spoken the truth. Quetzalcoatl was coming! and next evening a runner sped hotly over the causeway and up the street, stopping at the gate of the royal palace. He was taken before the king and shortly after the news went flying over Tenochtitlan, that Quetzalcoatl had arrived in his huge water-house with wings, and filled with thunder and lightning! for that was what the Aztecs called the ships and cannon brought by Cortez.

When Montezuma heard of the terrible massacre in Cholula, he called a council of wise old men and said:

"Of what use is it, uncles? The gods are against us and resistance is of no avail. I mourn most for the women and children, and the old and infirm who are too feeble to fight or fly. For myself and the brave men around me, we must bare our breasts to the storm and meet it as we may."

As Cortez neared Tenochtitlan he was met by so many chiefs and nobles under Montezuma, that it took them an hour to pass before him, and make their salutation which they did by touching the ground with the right hand and then carrying it to the forehead. The four nobles carrying Montezuma on their shoulders, were preceded by three officers of state bearing gold wands in their hands to show that they came in peace. The royal palanquin, or chair, in which Montezuma was seated, blazed with gold, jewels and gaudy feather-work, while the nobles carrying it were barefooted. They walked with slow measured steps and kept their eyes bent on the ground. Finally the train of warriors and nobles halted, and Montezuma came forward to meet Cortez.

Imagine what their feelings must have been as they looked at each other! Montezuma thought he was welcoming back the gentle, kind Quetzalcoatl, whom we know as the Golden Hearted, while Cortez knew he had found more gold and riches than he ever dreamed existed anywhere.

The poor misled Aztec king approached the Spanish adventurer and putting an exquisitely wrought gold collar around his neck said:

"This was my father's palace but it belongs to you and your brethren. Rest here after your fatigues and in a little while I will visit you again."

When he went out of the palace he sent slaves to wait upon them, and he gave each one new clothes, and a splendid feast. When they had finished eating, the rude soldiers searched all through the palace for hidden wealth, and finding the treasure house of the king proceeded to help themselves. When Montezuma heard of it he said:

"They are welcome to the gold and silver and other articles, if they will but spare the things belonging to the gods."

In the palace grounds where they were quartered they found an aviary filled with beautiful singing birds; a menagerie full of strange animals, and snakes; ten big tanks stocked with water-fowl and fish; fountains playing everywhere, and wonderful floating gardens on the lakes, while all around them lay a city filled with temples, market places, and handsome houses.

True to his promise Montezuma returned shortly and in speaking to Cortez said:

"I have been expecting you for many days. The wonderful deeds attributed to you, your complexion and the quarter from whence you come show me that you are Quetzalcoatl. You and your brethren shall share all things with me," and with tears in his eyes he gave them as many costly presents as they could carry. The padres and soldiers were constantly asked:

"Do you come from Tlapalla?" while Montezuma did everything he could to please Cortez.

One day he went to the king's palace and after accepting the usual presents of gold and silver, Montezuma offered him one of his daughters for a wife. Cortez declined, and seeing that the courtyard was partly filled with his trusted men, he approached Montezuma abruptly and said:

"You have treated me treacherously, and have allowed one of my officers to be killed on the sea coast."

Montezuma turned very pale. No one else in his kingdom would have dared speak to him in such an insulting manner, and besides that he knew nothing of the death of the officer before. In reality the officer had been murdered while torturing the poor natives to make them give him more gold.

"I demand that you send for the chief and all the notable men in his council that I may punish him for the death of my comrade," said Cortez, trying to pick a quarrel with the king.

"Very well," said Montezuma, kindly. "I will have them brought as you desire."

"I believe in your promise, but you must come to my quarters as hostage until the thing is done."

Poor Montezuma thinking it was a command of God did not dare refuse, and in a short time afterward the chief and his council were brought before him. He turned them over to Cortez for punishment, and they were burned to death in the public square, where Montezuma could see them from his window. Cortez had the poor creatures tortured to make them accuse Montezuma of telling them to commit the murder, so that he would have an excuse for what he intended to do to the king. Pretending to believe the confessions, he went before the king and ordered two common Spanish soldiers to put him in irons. Poor Montezuma moaned and groaned like his heart would break, while his faithful attendants, weeping bitterly tried to put their mantles under the irons so they would not touch his flesh.

Cortez now demanded that he abdicate his power, and pay tribute to Spain, so he compelled the king to assemble all his chiefs, which he did saying to them:

"You are acquainted with the traditions which say that the good Quetzalcoatl is to return and rule over us. That time has come and we must obey our new masters. You have been faithful vassals of mine, and I expect you to show me this last act of obedience by acknowledging the great king across the water as your lord also." The tears streamed down his face, and his haughty chiefs were very sad at heart, but they were loyal as well as brave men, and they answered:

"Your will is our law, and if you think the king of the strangers is the ancient lord of our country we are willing to acknowledge him as such."

As soon as this was done the grasping Spaniards compelled Montezuma to send throughout his kingdom for all the gold, silver, precious stones and feather-work that could be found, in the name of the king of Spain, but when they got it they divided it among themselves, and then quarreled fiercely over who should have the greater part.

Here indeed was their fabled El Dorado!

There was but one more humiliation awaiting Montezuma, and that was to have his own people revile him. The Spaniards had been so brutal and cruel in their dealings with the Aztecs that some of them began to doubt whether they could have come from Tlapalla, and whether Cortez was the Golden Hearted. Knowing this Cortez induced Montezuma to dress himself in his royal robes, and appear on the stone parapet of the palace where he was confined, to quiet the mob and induce them to go about their work peaceably. Cortez was beginning to fear for his own safety, but the populace were not to be tricked by him. They did not believe it was Montezuma before them, and hurling a stone at the royal palanquin accidentally hit the unhappy king on the forehead. The blow was not sufficient to kill him, but he took to his bed and refused to eat until he finally died. History says of him that "his great heart was burst in twain by the sorrows that oppressed his high courage." Certain it is that he could not live when he found that both his God and his people despised him. It has never been known what became of his body, for a terrible war followed his death.

Today we call his country and city Mexico.

The Child of the Sun

NONE of us have forgotten about the Children of the Sun, and the city of Cuzco founded by the Golden Hearted, or of his ruling over them as Manco-Capac, the powerful one. He went into their country which we call Peru before he had ever seen Mexico, but the Spaniards came to the ancient city of Tenochtitlan before they knew anything about Cuzco. It was not long after the death of Montezuma until the Spaniards heard about the riches of the Children of the Sun, and they were determined to find that country.

The Aztecs did not help them any because they no longer looked upon them as sent from Heaven but as ruthless destroyers borne along on the backs of fierce animals swift as the wind, and carrying weapons in their hands that scattered death and destruction everywhere. The Aztecs learned to hate the Spaniards bitterly, and when we came to study their history we shall know why. Even their own historians do not pretend to deny that they fell upon the poor Aztecs sword in hand and robbed them of all the treasures they had, besides taking their lands away from them.

Some say that Francisco Pizarro was a cousin of Hernando Cortez who conquered the Aztecs, but all agree that he was an ignorant swineherd, who could neither read nor write, and whose parents were not respectable. While he was not actually a convict he belonged to the low class, and the men going with him to search for the new El Dorado among the Children of the Sun, were really no better. Cortez had some hidalgoes, cavalliers and knights with him because men of good family often came to the Americas on the first voyages after Columbus, but Pizarro collected a band of cut-throat adventurers who were just as greedy and ignorant as he was. All the exploring they did was simply to search for gold, and they did not care what methods they used to get it. The simple natives with their naked defenseless bodies, and bows and arrows were no match for men covered with steel armor, mounted on horseback and armed with guns and cannon. Balboa had already found the Pacific Ocean, and Pizarro knew that the Children of the Sun lived in that direction, so he rigged out a vessel and sailed along the coast trying to find them. At the first place he landed the natives said to him:

"Why do you not stay at home and till your own land instead of roaming about to rob others who have never harmed you?"

But the savages wore some heavy gold ornaments, and Pizarro asked eagerly:

"Have you more of this?"

"Yes, we have a little more," they said, and as they were weighing some of the metal their chief struck the scales with his fist, scattering the nuggets all over the floor.

"If this is what you prize so much that you are willing to risk your lives to attain it, I can tell you of a land where they eat and drink out of vessels of gold, and where there are great quantities to be had for the asking."

"Where is this rich country?"

"It is ten days journey toward the south and is ruled by the Child of the Sun."

The Spaniards were nearly mad with joy because now they said:

"All our fond dreams are about to be realized." They were in such a good humor that they gave the natives some glass beads and some live chickens. When they turned the rooster loose, he crowed, and then the simple natives clapped their hands in glee, and asked:

"What is it saying?"

It sounded as if the rooster said:

"How do you do, sir!" which the natives thought was very funny indeed. Then they wanted to know what the cannon said. One of the men set up a target and fired at it shivering the board into fine splinters. The loud noise, the flash of smoke and powder, frightened the poor natives nearly to death. Some of them fell flat on their faces, and others ran into the woods as fast as they could go, screaming:

"Our good Manco-Capac is coming back to us angry."

That night the old men huddled the terrified people together and said to them:

"Do you remember when the comet flamed through the sky; when the earthquake shook the land, and there was a rainbow around the moon?"

"I well remember," said one of the old men, "that a thunderbolt fell on one of the Incas' royal palaces setting it on fire, and I saw an eagle chased by several hawks hovering in the air over Cuzco. Our king saw it too, and while he looked at it the eagle fell dead at his feet."

"It is no use to resist these strangers," said an envoy from the Inca, who had arrived in time to hear the last statement. "Seven years ago when the father of our king died, he called his son to his bedside and told him that white and bearded strangers were coming to overturn the Empire. And as you know, our great oracle has foretold the return of Manco-Capac at the close of the twelfth dynasty of the Incas. That day is at hand, so do not quarrel with the strangers."

No one showed a disposition to disobey him, and in a short time he stood before Pizarro saying:

"I bring you greetings from the Inca, Child of the Sun, who rules this land. He wishes me to ask why you come, and from what country."

"Our home is far across the sea," responded Pizarro, "and we serve a rich and powerful prince who has heard of the Child of the Sun, and sends us to pay our respects to him."

This was not the truth for the King of Spain knew nothing whatever of Pizarro's wicked intentions, nor did he know about Cortez either until long after poor Montezuma was dead and his country laid waste. But when men turn out to be wholesale robbers they do not care whether they tell the truth or not.

"Our Inca is at his favorite baths and wishes to know when you will arrive, so that he may provide suitable refreshments for you."

"We will come at once," said Pizarro.

"It would be better to wait a few days," said the king's messenger. "Our Inca is keeping a sacred fast, and we cannot disturb him until it is finished." The Spaniards had no respect for the king's wishes or his privacy, so they made ready to follow the messenger. While they were dividing the presents of llamas, sheep and gold goblets among themselves some of the soldiers said:

"This dog of a king may have thousands of followers. What can a handful of men like we are, do against so many? Suppose they should try to fight us?"

Pizarro happened to overhear them and replied:

"Let every one of you take heart, and go forward like a good soldier. God ever protects his own, and will humble the pride of the heathen and bring him to a knowledge of the true faith—the great end and object of this conquest."

It was the first time he had spoken of conquest, but the soldiers remembered the complete success of Cortez in Mexico and only needed to be told that the natives were to be Christianized to make them certain that the home authorities would not interfere with them, so they shouted:

"Lead on! wherever you think best we will follow with good will."

The few padres in the company were sincere in their wish to teach the natives and so was the King of Spain, but neither of them could control the actions of such men as Pizarro and his adventurers, now ready to pounce down on the mild and inoffensive people like a band of hungry wolves. When they got up on the top of the mountain and looked down, the landscape had the appearance of a huge checker-board cut into squares by canals and evergreen hedges. A wide river rolled through the meadows, like a narrow silver ribbon, while across the valley were the famous hot baths with steam and vapor rising from them in the clear air. Along the slope of the hills a white cloud of tents covered the ground for several miles, where the Child of the Sun, and his court were encamped.

Pizarro with banners streaming and the sparkle of armor glittering in the sun, galloped into the city with blare of trumpets and lances fixed. The Inca was in a camp near by, but the rude Spaniards broke in upon his fast, and a brother of Pizarro almost rode him down with his horse. Giving the bridle a sudden jerk he brought the horse to his haunches, so close to the Inca, that the horse snorted with fear, but the brave king did not move a muscle, although he had never seen a white man in armor nor a horse before in his life. Seeing that he could not frighten him Pizarro's brother said haughtily:

"What is your royal will? My brother desires that you visit him."

Without raising his eyes from the ground where he had kept them as a mark of respect to his visitor, the Inca smiled and said:

"Tell your captain, that I am keeping a fast, which will end tomorrow morning. I will then visit him with my chieftains. In the meantime let him occupy the public buildings on the square till I come, when I will order what is to be done."

Turning to his attendants he continued:

"Give our brothers food and drink, and have their quarters made ready for them."

That night Pizarro put all his cannon in place and boldly planned to take the Inca prisoner in his own pleasure garden. He ordered his soldiers to hide in the plaza, and wait until the Inca arrived. As soon as he was in the great square they were suddenly to spring out and put the natives to the sword, and capture their king.

It was late in the day before the Inca got all his court in splendid array, and then he sent word to Pizarro that he was coming in state.

"I am much pleased to hear it," said Pizarro. "Let your king come anyway he will; he shall be received as a friend and brother. Let him sup with us and sleep in our quarters tonight."

When once in motion the Inca's retinue had on so many gold ornaments that they blazed like the sun. Some wore showy stuffs in white and red with gold and silver embroidery, while others were dressed in white and carried silver maces in their hands. The Inca wore the royal borla, or crown on his head, with the Quetzal feathers in the back and the long red fringes across the forehead. Over him was a canopy representing a rainbow, to show that he was a Child of the Sun, and a follower of Manco-Capac, who we know was the Golden Hearted. He was seated on a gold throne which was placed in a litter and carried by four noble youths, in gorgeous liveries. Around his neck was a splendid gold necklace set with large emeralds. Looking around and not seeing any one the Inca asked in surprise:

"Where are the strangers?"

At this moment a padre came forward and demanded that he give up his power and become a subject of Spain. He also told the king that he must become a convert to Christianity. The eyes of the Inca flashed fire as he replied:

"I will be no man's tributary. Your prince may be great; I do not doubt it when I see that he has sent his subjects so far across the waters. I am willing to hold him as a brother. As for my faith, I will not change it. My God still lives in the heavens and looks down on his children. By what authority do you make such demands upon me?"

The padre handed the Inca a bible but as the thought of the insult offered came over him, the Inca threw it to the ground and said angrily:

"Tell your comrades that they shall give me an account of their doings in my country. I will not go from here until they have made me full satisfaction for the wrongs they have committed."

A soldier turned to Pizarro and said:

"Do you not see that while we stand here wasting our breath in talking to this dog full of obstinate pride that the fields are filling with Indians. Let us set on at once."

Pizarro saw that the hour had come, and waving a white scarf which was the appointed signal he and his soldiers sprang into the square, shouting the old war cry of Cortez:

"Santiago! and at them!"

The poor natives in their holiday dress and fine jewelry were wholly unarmed, because they were coming to make a visit, and had no way to defend themselves. When they tried to escape they found they were hemmed in on all sides by the stone buildings facing the plaza, and nobody knows how many thousands of them were killed. They were stunned by the roar of the cannon, choked by the smoke, trampled under the horses' feet, and their naked bodies hacked to pieces with swords.