A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 04
Arranged in Systematic Order: Forming a Complete History of the Origin and Progress of Navigation, Discovery, and Commerce, by Sea and Land, from the Earliest Ages to the Present Time (2024)

A

GENERAL

HISTORY AND COLLECTION

OF

ARRANGED IN SYSTEMATIC ORDER:

FORMING A COMPLETE HISTORY OF THE ORIGIN AND PROGRESS

OF NAVIGATION, DISCOVERY, AND COMMERCE,

BY SEA AND LAND,

FROM THE EARLIEST AGES TO THE PRESENT TIME.

BY

ROBERT KERR, F.R.S. & F.A.S. EDIN.

ILLUSTRATED BY MAPS AND CHARTS.

VOL. IV.

WILLIAM BLACKWOOD, EDINBURGH:

AND T. CADELL, LONDON.

MDCCCXXIV.

ADVERTIsem*nT TO THE FOURTH VOLUME.

Twelve months have now elapsed since the first half volume ofthis work was offered to the public. The favourable reception ithas experienced gives the Editor reason to hope that he hasfulfilled the engagements which he came under at its firstappearance, and is a powerful inducement to continue his utmostexertions to preserve and improve the character of the work. Inthe four volumes which are now published, several extensive andimportant original articles are introduced, which have nothitherto appeared in any similar collection, and had not evenbeen previously translated into English. These materiallycontribute towards the ample information which was formerlyannounced, in the Preface to the first Volume, as aleading object in this Collection. In the subsequent parts of thework, every effort shall be made to fill up its several divisionswith original articles of similar interest and equalimportance.

Encouraged by a satisfactory and increasing sale, the progressof publication has been somewhat hastened, beyond what wasoriginally promised in the Prospectus and Conditions; as thewhole of the fourth Volume is now published, at the periodwhen only its first half was to have appeared. It isintended to repeat this anticipation occasionally, by thepublication of two numbers or half-volumes at once, whenopportunity offers. While this may gratify one portion of ourreaders, it is not meant to preclude others from continuing to besupplied, as before, with the numbers or half volumes at regularintervals, in their own option.

EDINBURGH, 1st Jan, 1812.

CONTENTS OF VOLUME IV.

PART II.--(Continued.)

BOOK II.--Continued

HISTORY OF THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA, AND OF SOME OF THE EARLYCONQUESTS IN THE NEW WORLD

CHAPTER V.

History of the discovery and conquest of Mexico,continued.

SECTION VI. The Spaniards commence their march to Mexico; withan account of the war in Tlascala, and the submission of thatnation.

SECTION VII. Events during the march of the Spaniards fromTlascala to Mexico.

SECTION VIII. Arrival of the Spaniards in Mexico, andtransactions there till the arrival of Narvaez to supersedeCortes.

SECTION IX. Expedition of Narvaez to supersede Cortes in thecommand, and occurrences till his defeat by Cortes.

SECTION X. Occurrences from the defeat of Narvaez, to theexpulsion of the Spaniards from Mexico, and the subsequent battleof Otumba.

SECTION XI. Occurrences from the battle of Otumba, till themarch of Cortes to besiege Mexico.

SECTION XII. Transactions of Cortes and the Spaniards, fromtheir march against Mexico, to the commencement of the siege ofthat city.

SECTION XIII. Narrative of occurrences, from the commencementof the siege of Mexico to its reduction, and the capture ofGuatimotzin.

SECTION XIV. Occurrences in New Spain, immediately subsequentto the reduction of Mexico.

SECTION XV. Expeditions sent by Cortes to reduce the provincesof the Mexican empire.

SECTION XVI. Expedition of Garay to colonize Panuco.

SECTION XVII. Narrative of various expeditions for thereduction of different provinces in New Spain.

SECTION XVIII. Negociations of Cortes at the court of Spain,respecting the conquest and government of Mexico.

SECTION XIX. Of an expedition against the Zapotecas, andvarious other occurrences.

SECTION XX. Narrative of the expedition of Cortes toHigueras.

SECTION XXI. Return of Cortes to Mexico, and occurrences thereprevious to his departure for Europe.

SECTION XXII. Narrative of occurrences, from the departure ofCortes to Europe till his death.

SECTION XXIII. Concluding observations by the Author.

CHAPTER VI.

History of the discovery and conquest of Peru, by FranciscoPizarro; written by Augustino Zarate, treasurer of that kingdom,a few years after the conquest.

Introduction.

SECTION I. Of the discovery of Peru, with some account of thecountry and its inhabitants.

SECTION II. Transactions of Pizarro and the Spaniards in Peru,from the commencement of the conquest, till the departure ofAlmagro for the discovery of Chili.

SECTION III. Occurrences from the departure of Almagro forChili, to his capture by Pizarro, being the first part of thecivil wars in Peru.

SECTION IV. Expeditions of Pedro de Valdivia into Chili, andof Gonzalo Pizarro to Los Canelos.

SECTION V. Conspiracy of the Almagrians and Assassination ofPizarro.

CHAPTER VII.

Continuation of the early history of Peru, after the death ofFrancisco Pizarro, to the defeat of Gonzalo Pizarro, and there-establishment of tranquillity in the country; written byAugustino Zarate.

SECTION I. From the revival of the civil wars in Peru, to theclose of the administration of Vaca de Castro, the first governorappointed from Spain.

SECTION II. Commencement of the Viceroyalty of Blasco NunnezVela, and renewal of the civil war in Peru by the usurpation ofGonzalo Pizarro. [Illustration: Viceroyalty of Mexico Published 1Jan'y 1812 by W'm Blackwood Edin'r.]

A GENERAL HISTORY AND COLLECTION OF VOYAGES AND TRAVELS.

PART II.

BOOK II.--Continued.

HISTORY OF THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA, AND OF SOME OF THEEARLY CONQUESTS IN THE NEW WORLD.

CHAPTER V.

HISTORY OF THE DISCOVERY AND CONQUEST OF MEXICO, WRITTEN INTHE YEAR 1568, BY CAPTAIN BERNAL DIAZ DEL CASTILLO, ONE OF THECONQUERORS.--Continued.

SECTION VI.

The Spaniards commence their March to Mexico; with anaccount of the War in Tlascala, and the submission of thatNation.

Everything being in readiness for our march to Mexico, we wereadvised by our allies of Chempoalla to proceed by way ofTlascala, the inhabitants of that province being in friendshipwith them and constantly at war with the Mexicans; and at ourrequisition, we were joined by fifty of the principal warriors ofthe Totanacas[1], who likewise gave us 200 tlamama, or menof burden, to draw our guns and to transport our baggage andammunition[2]. Our first day's march on the 16th of August 1519,was to Xalapan, and our second to Socochima, aplace of difficult approach, surrounded by vines. During thewhole of this march, the main body was kept in compact order,being always preceded by an advance of light infantry, andpatroles of cavalry. Our interpreters informed the people of thisplace, that we were subjects of the great emperor Don Carlos, whohad sent us to abolish human sacrifices and various other abuses;and as these people were allies of Chempoalla and independent ofMontezuma, they treated us in a friendly manner. We erected across at this place, explaining its signification and giving theminformation of many things belonging to our holy faith, andexhorting them to reverence the cross. From this place weproceeded by a difficult pass among lofty mountains toTexotla, the people of which place were well disposed tous, as they also paid no tribute to Montezuma. Continuing ourmarch through desert lofty mountains, we experienced excessivecold, with heavy falls of hail, and came next day to a pass,where there were some houses and large temples, and great pilesof wood intended for the service of the idols. Provisions werescarce during the two last days, and we now approached theconfines of the Mexican empire, at a place calledXocotlan; to the cacique of which place Cortes sent amessage informing him of our arrival. The appearance of thisplace evinced that we were entering upon a new and richercountry. The temples and other buildings were lofty, withterraced roofs, and had a magnificent appearance, being allplastered and white-washed, so as to resemble some of our townsin Spain; on which account we called this place Castelblanco.

[1] Clavigero says that Cortes had some troops of theTotanacas, among whom were forty nobles, serving at the same timeas auxiliaries, and as hostages for the fidelity of theirnation.--Clavig. II. 30.

[2] In Clavigero, II. 29. the army of Cortes on thisoccasion is stated to have amounted to 415 Spanish infantry and16 cavalry.--E.

In consequence of our message, the cacique and other principalpersons of the town came out to meet us, and conducted us to ourquarters, where they gave us a very poor entertainment. Aftersupper, Cortes inquired respecting the military power ofMontezuma, and was told that he was able to bring prodigiousarmies into the field. The city of Mexico was represented as ofuncommon strength, being built on the water, with nocommunication between the houses, houses, except by means ofboats or bridges, each house being terraced, and only needing theaddition of a parapet to become a fortress. The only access tothe city was by means of three causeways or piers, each of whichhad four or five apertures for the passage of the waters, havingwooden bridges which could be raised up, so as to preclude allaccess. We were likewise informed of the vast wealth possessed byMontezuma, in gold, silver, and jewels, which filled us withastonishment; and although the account we had already received ofthe military resources of the empire and the inaccessiblestrength of the capital might have filled us with dismay, yet wewere eager to try our fortunes. The cacique expatiated in praiseof Montezuma, and expressed his apprehension of having offendedhim by receiving us into his government without his leave. Tothis Cortes replied, That we had come from a far distant countryby command of our sovereign, to exhort Montezuma and his subjectsto desist from human sacrifices and other outrages; adding: "Inow require all who hear me, to renounce your inhuman sacrifices,cannibal feasts, and other abominable customs; for such is thecommand of GOD, whom we adore." The natives listened to all thisin profound silence, and Cortes proposed to the soldiers todestroy the idols and plant the holy cross, as had been alreadydone at Chempoalla; but Father Olmedo recommended that thisshould be postponed to a fitter opportunity, lest the ignoranceand barbarism of the people might incite them to offer indignityagainst that holy symbol of our blessed religion.

We happened to have a very large dog along with us, whichbelonged to Francisco de Lugo, which used to bark very loudduring the night, to the great surprise of the natives, who askedour Chempoallan allies if that terrible animal was a lion ortiger which we had brought to devour them. They answered thatthis creature attacked and devoured whoever offended us; that ourguns discharged stones which destroyed our enemies, and that ourhorses were exceedingly swift and caught whoever we pursued. Onthis the others observed that with such astonishing powers wecertainly were teules. Our allies also advised them tobeware of practising any thing against us, as we could read theirhidden thoughts, and recommended them to conciliate our favour bya present. They accordingly brought us several ornaments of muchdebased gold, and gave us four women to make bread, and a load ofmantles. Near some of the temples belonging to this place I saw avast number of human skeletons arranged in such exact order thatthey might easily be counted with perfect accuracy, and I amcertain there were above an hundred thousand. In another partimmense quantities of human bones were heaped up in endlessconfusion. In a third, great numbers of skulls were suspendedfrom beams, and watched by three priests. Similar collectionswere to be seen everywhere as we marched through this districtand the territories of Tlascala.

On consulting the cacique of Xocotla respecting the road toMexico, he advised us to go through Cholula; but our alliesstrongly dissuaded us from that route, alleging that the peoplewere very treacherous, and that the town was always occupied by aMexican garrison, and repeated the former advice of going byTlascala, assuring us of a friendly reception there. Cortesaccordingly sent messengers before us to Tlascala announcing ourapproach, and bearing a crimson velvet cap as a present. Althoughthese people were ignorant of writing, yet Cortes sent a letterby his messengers, as it was generally understood to carry asanction of the message which was to be delivered. We now set outfor Tlascala, in our accustomed order of march, attended bytwenty principal inhabitants of Xocotla. On arriving at a villagein the territory of Xalacingo[3], where we received intelligencethat the whole nation of the Tlascalans were in arms to opposeus, believing as to be in alliance with their inveterate enemiesthe Mexicans, on account of the number of Mexican subjects whoattended our army. So great was their suspicion on this account,that they imprisoned our two messengers, for whose return wewaited two days very impatiently. Cortes employed the time inexhorting the Indians to abandon their idolatry and to reconcilethemselves to our holy church. At the end of these two days, weresumed our march, accompanied by two of the principal people ofthis place whom Cortes demanded to attend us, and we soonafterwards met our messengers who had made their escape, eitherowing to the negligence or connivance of their guards. Thesemessengers were in extreme terror, as the people of Tlascalathreatened to destroy us and every one who should adhere to us.As a battle was therefore to be expected, the standard wasadvanced to the front, and Cortes instructed the cavalry tocharge by threes to the front, never halting to give thrusts withtheir lances, but urging on at speed with couched lances levelledat the faces of the enemy. He directed them also, when theirlance was seized by the enemy, to force it from them by theefforts of the horse, firmly grasping the butt under the arm. Atabout two leagues from the last resting-place, we came to afortification built of stone and lime, excellently constructedfor defence, and so well cemented that nothing but iron toolscould make an impression on it. We halted for a short time toexamine this work, which had been built by the Tlascalans todefend their territory against the incursions of their Mexicanenemies; and on Cortes ordering us to march on, saying,"Gentlemen follow your standard the holy cross, through which weshall conquer;" we all replied, "Forward in the name of God, inwhom is our only confidence."

[3] In Clavigero, II. 31. Iztacmaxitlan is said tohave been the next stage after leaving Xocotla, and is describedas a populous district, with a strong city or fortress on a highrock, defended by barbicans and ditches.--E.

After passing this barrier some distance, our advanced guarddescried about thirty of the Tlascalan troops, who had been sentto observe us. Cortes sent on the cavalry to endeavour to takesome of these men prisoners, while the infantry advanced at aquick pace to support the advanced guard. Our cavalry immediatelyattacked, but the Tlascalans defended themselves bravely withtheir swords, wounding some of the horses severely, on which ourpeople had to kill five of them, but were unable to make anyprisoners. A body of three thousand warriors now sallied out uponus with great fury from an ambush, and began to discharge theirarrows at our cavalry; but as our artillery and musquetry werenow ready to bear upon them, we soon compelled them to give way,though in a regular manner, and fighting as they retreated;leaving seventeen of their men dead on the field; and one of ourmen was so severely wounded as to die a few days after. As theday was near a close, we did not attempt any pursuit; butcontinued our march, in which we soon descended from the hillsinto a flat country, thickly set with farm-houses, among fieldsof maize and the Maguay plant. We halted for the night on thebanks of a brook, where we dressed our wounds with the greaseof a fat Indian who was slain in the skirmish; and though thenatives had carried away all their provisions, we caught theirdogs when they returned at night to the houses, and made acomfortable supper of that unusual fare. Next day, afterrecommending ourselves to God, we resumed our march against theTlascalan army; both cavalry and infantry being duly instructedhow to act when we came to battle; the cavalry to charge rightthrough, and the infantry to preserve a firm array. We soon fellin with the enemy, to the number of about 6000 men in two bodies,who immediately attacked us with great spirit, discharging theirarrows, shouting, and sounding their martial instruments. Corteshalted the army, and sent three prisoners to demand a peaceableconference, and to assure them we wished to treat them asbrothers; ordering at the same time the notary Godoy, to witnessthis message officially. This message had no effect, as theyattacked us more fiercely than before, on which Cortes gave theword, St Jago, and on them. We accordingly made a furiousonset, slaying many with the first discharges of our artillery,three of their chiefs falling on this occasion. They nowretreated to some uneven ground, where the whole army of thestate of Tlascala, 40,000 in number, were posted under cover,commanded by Xicotencatl, the general in chief of therepublic. As the cavalry could not act in this uneven ground, wewere forced to fight our way through as well as we were able in acompact column, assailed on every side by the enemy, who wereexceedingly expert archers. They were all clothed in white andred, with devices of the same colours, being the uniform of theirgeneral. Besides the multitudes who discharged continual flightsof arrows, many of them who were armed with lances closed upon uswhile we were embarrassed by the inequality of the ground; but assoon as we got again into the plain, we made a good use of ourcavalry and artillery. Yet they fought incessantly against uswith astonishing intrepidity, closing upon us all around, so thatwe were in the utmost danger at every step, but God supported andassisted us. While closely environed in this manner, a number oftheir strongest warriors, armed with tremendous two-handedswords, made a combined attack on Pedro de Moron, an experthorseman, who was charging through them accompanied by otherthree of our cavalry. They seized his lance and wounded himselfdangerously, and one of them cut through the neck of his horsewith a blow of a two-handed sword, so that he fell down dead. Werescued Moron from the enemy with the utmost difficulty, evencutting the girths and bringing off his saddle, but ten of ournumber were wounded in the attempt, and believe we then slew tenof their chiefs, while fighting hand to hand. They at lengthbegan to retire, taking with them the body of the horse, whichthey cut in pieces, and distributed through all the districts ofTlascala as a trophy of victory. Moron died soon after of hiswounds, at least I have no remembrance of seeing him afterwards.After a severe and close conflict of above an hour, during whichour artillery swept down multitudes out of the numerous andcrowded bodies of the enemy, they drew off in a regular manner,leaving the field to us, who were too much fatigued to pursue. Wetook up our quarters, therefore, in the nearest village, namedTeoatzinco, where we found numbers of subterraneousdwellings. This battle was fought on the 2d September 1519. Theloss of the enemy on this occasion was very considerable, eightof their principal chiefs being slain, but how many others weknow not, as whenever an Indian is wounded or slain, he isimmediately carried off by his companions. Fifteen of them weremade prisoners, of whom two were chiefs. On our side fifteen menwere wounded, one only of whom died. As soon as we got clear ofthe enemy, we gave thanks to God for his merciful preservation,and took post in a strong and spacious temple, where we dressedour wounds with the fat of Indians. We obtained a plentifulsupply of food from the fowls and dogs which we found in thehouses of the village, and posted strong guards on every side forour security.

We continued quietly in the temple for one day, to reposeafter the fatigues of the battle, occupying ourselves inrepairing our cross-bows, and making arrows. Next day Cortes sentout seven of our cavalry with two hundred infantry and all ourallies, to scour the country, which is very flat and well adaptedfor the movements of cavalry, and this detachment brought intwenty prisoners, some of whom were women, without meeting withany injury from the enemy, neither did the Spaniards do anymischief; but our allies, being very cruel, made great havoc, andcame back loaded with dogs and fowls. Immediately on our return,Cortes released all the prisoners, after giving them food andkind treatment, desiring them to expostulate with theircompanions on the madness of resisting our arms. He likewisereleased the two chiefs who had been taken in the precedingbattle, with a letter in token of credence, desiring them toinform their countrymen that he only asked to pass through theircountry in his way to Mexico. These chiefs waited accordingly onXicotencatl, whose army was posted about two leagues fromour quarters, at a place called Tehuacinpacingo, anddelivered the message of Cortes. To this the Tlascalan generalreplied, "Tell them to go to Tlascala, where we shall give thempeace by offering their hearts and blood to our gods, and byfeasting on their bodies." After what we had already experiencedof the number and valour of the enemy, this horrible answer didnot afford us much consolation; but Cortes concealed his fears,and treated the messengers more kindly than ever, to induce themto carry a fresh message. By inquiry from them he got thefollowing account of the number of the enemy and of the nature ofthe command enjoyed by its general. The army now opposed to usconsisted of the troops or quotas of five great chiefs, eachconsisting of 10,000 men. These chiefs were Xicotencatlthe elder, father to the general, Maxicotzin,Chichimecatecle, Tecapaneca cacique ofTopeyanco, and a cacique named Guaxocinga[4]. Thus50,000 men were now collected against us under the banner ofXicotencatl, which was a white bird like an ostrich with itswings spread out[5]. The other divisions had each itsdistinguishing banner, every cacique bearing these cognizanceslike our Spanish nobles, a circ*mstance we could not credit whenso informed by our prisoners. This formidable intelligence didnot tend to lessen the fears which the terrible answer ofXicotencatl had occasioned, and we prepared for the expectedbattle of the next day, by confessing our sins to our reverendfathers, who were occupied in this holy office during the wholenight[6].

[4] In Clavigero, II. 31. Xicocentcatl Maxicatizin,is given as the name of one chief; and only three otherlords or great caciques are said to have then borne sway in theTlascalan republic, Tlekul, Xolotzin, and Citlalpocatzin. Theperson named Chichimecatecle by Diaz, is called ChichimecaTeuchtli by Clavigero: But it is impossible to reconcile thedifferences between these authors respecting the other names ofthe chiefs, nor is it important.--E.

[5] Clavigero, II. 37. says the grand standard of therepublic of Tlascala, used on this occasion, was a golden eaglewith expanded wings.--E.

[6] According to Clavigero, II. 37. Xicotencatl, toshow how little he regarded the Spaniards, sent them 300 turkeysand two hundred baskets of tamalli, to recruit theirstrength before the approaching battle.--E.

On the 5th of September, we marched out with our whole force,the wounded not excepted, having our colours flying and guardedby four soldiers appointed for that purpose. The crossbow-men andmusketeers were ordered to fire alternately, so that some of themmight be always loaded: The soldiers carrying swords and bucklerswere directed to use their points only, thrusting home throughthe bodies of the enemy, by which they were less exposed tomissile weapons; and the cavalry were ordered to charge at halfspeed, levelling their lances at the eyes of the enemy, andcharging clear through without halting to make thrusts. We hadhardly marched half a quarter of a league, when we observed thewhole army of the enemy, covering the plain on every side as faras the eye could reach, each separate body displaying itsparticular device or standard, and all advancing to the sound ofmartial music. A great deal might be said of this tremendous andlong doubtful battle, in which four hundred of us were opposed toprodigious hosts, which surrounded us on every side, filling allthe plains to the extent of two leagues. Their first dischargesof arrows, stones, and double-headed darts covered the wholeground which we occupied, and they advanced continually tillclosed upon us all around, attacking us with the utmostresolution with lances and two-handed swords, encouraging eachother by continual shouts. Our artillery, musketry, andcross-bows plied them with incessant discharges, and madeprodigious havoc among the crowded masses of the enemy, and thehome thrusts of our infantry with their swords, prevented themfrom closing up so near as they had done in the former battle.Yet with all our efforts, our battalion was at one timecompletely broken into and separated, and all the exertions ofour general was for some time unable to get us again into order;at length, however, by the diligent use of our swords, we forcedthem from among us, and were able again to close our ranks.During the whole battle our cavalry produced admirable effects,by incessant charges through the thickest of the enemy. We insome measure owed our safety, under God, to the unwieldymultitude of the enemy, so that some of the divisions could neverget up to the attack. One of the grand divisions, composed of thewarriors dependant on Guaxocinga, was prevented fromtaking any share in the battle by Chichemecatecle[7],their commander, who had been provoked by some insulting languageby Xicotencatl respecting his conduct in the precedingengagement, of which circ*mstance we received informationafterwords. The circ*mstance of these divisions not joining inthe battle, slackened the ardour of the rest, more especiallyafter they had experienced the terrible effects of our cavalry,artillery, and other offensive weapons; and one of their greatestchiefs being killed, they at length drew off from the fight, andwere pursued to a short distance by our cavalry. In this greatbattle, one only of our soldiers was killed, but seventy men andall our horses were wounded. I had two wounds, one by an arrowand the other by a stone, but they were not sufficient to make meunfit for duty. Thus again masters of the field, we gave thanksto God for his merciful preservation, and returned to our formerpost, first burying our dead companion in one of thesubterraneous houses, which was filled up and levelled, that hisbody might not be discovered by the enemy. We passed the ensuingnight in a most comfortless situation, not being able to procureeven oil and salt, and exposed to excessive cold winds from thesnowy mountains.

[7] Called the son of Chichimeca Teuctli byClavigero; perhaps his name was Guaxocingo, and Diaz, after along interval of time, transposed the names of the father andson.--E.

Cortes sent a fresh message by three of our prisoners andthose who had carried his former message, demanding a freepassage to Mexico, and threatening to destroy the whole countryin case of refusal. On their arrival at Tlascala, they found thechiefs much cast down at their repeated losses, yet unwilling tolisten to our proposals. They sent for their priests and wizards,who pretended to foretel future events by casting lots, desiringthem to say if the Spaniards were vincible, and what were thebest means of conquering us; likewise demanding whether we weremen or superior beings, and what was our food. The wizardsanswered, that we were men like themselves, subsisting uponordinary food, but did not devour the hearts of our enemies ashad been reported; alleging that though invincible by day, wemight be conquered at night, as we derived all our power from theinfluence of the sun. Giving credit to this response, Xicotencatlreceived orders to make an immediate attack on our quartersduring the night. He marched accordingly with ten thousandwarriors, and made a night attack on our post in three places atonce: But our outposts kept too good guard to be taken bysurprise, and we were under arms in a moment to receive them.They met with so warm a reception, that they were soon forced toturn their backs; and as it was clear moon-light, our cavalrypursued them with great effect, so that they returned to theircamp heartily repenting of their night attack; insomuch that itwas reported they sacrificed two of their priests for deceivingthem to their hurt. In this action one only of our allies waskilled, and two Spaniards wounded; but our situation was far fromconsolatory. Besides being dreadfully hard harassed by fatigue,we had lost fifty-five of our soldiers from wounds, sickness, andseverity of the weather, and several were sick. Our general andFather Olmedo were both ill of fevers: And we began to think itwould be impossible for us to reach Mexico, after the determinedresistance we had experienced from the Tlascalans.

In this extremity several of the officers and soldiers, amongwhom I was one, waited on Cortes, and advised him to release hisprisoners and to make a fresh offer of friendship with theTlascalans through these people. He, who acted on all occasionslike a good captain, never failing to consult with us on affairsof importance, agreed with our present advice, and gave ordersaccordingly. Donna Marina, whose noble spirit and excellentjudgment supported her on all occasions of danger, was now ofmost essential service to us, as indeed she often was; as sheexplained in the most forcible terms to these messengers, that iftheir countrymen did not immediately enter into a treaty of peacewith us, that we were resolved to march against their capital,and would utterly destroy it and their whole nation. Ourmessengers accordingly went to Tlascala, where they waited on thechiefs of the republic, the principal messenger bearing ourletter in one hand, as a token of peace, and a dart in the otheras a signal of war, as if giving them their choice of either.Having delivered our resolute message, it pleased GOD to inclinethe hearts of these Tlascalan rulers to enter into terms ofaccommodation with us. The two principal chiefs, named Maxicatzinand Xicotencatl the elder[8], immediately summoned the otherchiefs of the republic to council, together with the cacique ofGuaxocingo the ally of the republic, to whom they representedthat all the attacks which they had made against us had beenineffectual, yet exceedingly destructive to them; that thestrangers were hostile to their inveterate enemies the Mexicans,who had been continually at war against their republic forupwards of an hundred years, and had so hemmed them in as todeprive them of procuring cotton or salt; and therefore that itwould be highly conducive to the interests of the republic toenter into an alliance with these strangers against their commonenemies, and to offer us the daughters of their principalfamilies for wives, in order to strengthen and perpetuate thealliance between us. This proposal was unanimously agreed upon bythe council, and notice was immediately sent to the general ofthis determination, with orders to cease from hostilities.Xicotencatl was much offended at this order, and insisted onmaking another nocturnal attack on our quarters. On learning thisdetermination of their general, the council of Tlascala sentorders to supersede him in the command, but the captains andwarriors of the army refused obedience to this order, and evenprevented four of the principal chiefs of the republic fromwaiting upon us with an invitation to come to their city.

[8] It has been already mentioned that Clavigerowrites these two as the names of one man, Xicotencatl Maxicatzin,informing us that the latter name signifies theelder.--E.

After waiting two days for the result of our message withoutreceiving any return, we proposed to march to Zumpacingo, thechief town of the district in which we then were, the principalpeople of which had been summoned to attend at our quarters, buthad neglected our message. We accordingly began our march forthat place early of a morning, having Cortes at our head, who wasnot quite recovered from his late illness. The morning was soexcessively cold, that two of our horses became so exceedinglyill that we expected them to have died, and we were all like toperish from the effects of the piercing winds of the SierraNevada, or Snowy Mountains. This occasioned us to accelerateour march to bring us into heat, and we arrived at Zumpacingobefore daybreak; but the inhabitants, immediately on gettingnotice of our approach, fled precipitately from their houses,exclaiming that the teules were coming to kill them. Wehalted in a place surrounded with walls till day, when somepriests and old men came to us from the temples, making anapology for neglecting to obey our summons, as they had beenprevented by the threats of their general Xicotencatl. Cortesordered them to send us an immediate supply of provisions, withwhich they complied, and then sent them with a message toTlascala, commanding the chiefs of the republic to attend him atthis place to establish a peace, as we were still ignorant ofwhat had taken place in consequence of our former message. TheIndians of the country began to entertain a favourable opinion ofus, and orders were given by the Tlascalan senate that the peoplein our neighbourhood should supply us plentifully withprovisions.

At this time some of the soldiers resumed their mutinouscomplaints, particularly those who had good houses andplantations in Cuba, who murmured at the hardships they hadundergone and the manifold dangers with which we were surrounded.Seven of their ringleaders now waited on Cortes, having aspokesman at their head, who addressed the general in a studiedoration, representing, "That above fifty-five of our companionshad already perished during the expedition, and we were nowignorant of the situation of those we had left at Villa Rica.That we were so surrounded by enemies, it was hardly possible toescape from being sacrificed to the idols of the barbarians, ifwe persisted in our present hopeless enterprize. Our situation,they said, was worse than beasts of burden, who had food and restwhen forced to labour, while we were oppressed with fatigue, andcould neither procure sleep or provisions. As therefore thecountry now seemed peaceable and the enemy had withdrawn, thepresent opportunity ought to be taken for returning immediatelyto Villa Rica, on purpose to construct a vessel to send forreinforcements from Cuba; adding, that they lamented thedestruction of our shipping, a rash and imprudent step, whichcould not be paralleled in history," Cortes answered them withgreat mildness; "That he was satisfied no soldiers ever exhibitedmore valour than we, and that by perseverance alone could we hopeto preserve our lives amidst those great perils which Godhitherto delivered us from, and that he hoped for a continuanceof the same mercy. He appealed to them to say if he had evershrunk from sharing in all their dangers; which indeed he mightwell do, as he never spared himself on any occasion. As to thedestruction of the ships, it was done advisably, and for mostsubstantial reasons; and as the most illustrious of ourcountrymen had never ventured on so bold a measure, it was betterto look forward with trust in God, than to repine at what couldnot now be remedied. That although the natives we had left behindwere at present friendly, all would assuredly rise against us themoment we began to retreat; and if our situation were now bad, itwould then be desperate. We were now in a plentiful country; andas for our losses by death and fatigue, such was the fortune ofwar, and we had not come to this country to enjoy sports andpastimes. I desire therefore of you, who are all gentlemen, thatyou no longer think of retreat, but that you henceforwards shewan example to the rest, by doing your duty like brave soldiers,which I have always found you hitherto." They still continued tourge the danger of persisting in the march to Mexico; but Cortescut them short, saying, That it was better to die at once thanlive dishonoured: And being supported by all his friends, themalcontents were obliged to stifle their dissatisfaction, as weall exclaimed that nothing more should be said on thesubject.

Our deputation from Zumpacingo to Tlascala was at lengthsuccessful; as after four repeated messages from the chiefs ofthe republic, their general Xicotencatl was obliged to ceasehostilities. Accordingly forty Indians were sent by him to ourquarters with a present of fowls, bread, and fruit. They alsobrought four old women in tattered clothes, some incense, and aquantity of parrots feathers. After offering incense to Cortes,one of the messengers addressed him as follows: "Our generalsends these things to you. If ye are teules, as isreported, and desire human victims, take the hearts and blood ofthese women as food: We have not sacrificed them to you, as youhave not hitherto made known your pleasure. If ye are men, weoffer you fowls, bread, and fruit; if benignant teules,who do not desire human sacrifices, here are incense and parrotsfeathers." Cortes replied, That we were men like themselves, andnever put any one to death except in our own defence: That he hadrepeatedly required them to make peace with us, which offer henow renewed, advising them no longer to continue their madresistance, which must end in their own ruin and the destructionof their country: That our only object in coming among them, wasto manifest the truths of our holy religion, and to put an end tohuman sacrifices, by command from God and our emperor. These menwere spies, who had been sent by Xicotencatl to gain informationof the strength and disposition of our quarters; and we wereinformed of this by our Chempoallan allies, who had learnt fromthe people of Zumpacingo that Xicotencatl intended to attack us.On this information, Cortes seized four of the messengers, whomhe forced by threats to confess, that their general only waitedfor their report to attack us that night in our quarters. He thencaused seventeen of the Tlascalan messengers to be arrested,cutting off the hands of some and the thumbs of others, and sentthem back in that condition to Xicotencatl with a message, thathe would wait his attack for two days, after which, if he heardnothing farther from him, he would march with his Spaniards toseek him in his post. On the return of his spies in a mutilatedstate, Xicotencatl, who was prepared to march against us, lostall his haughtiness and resolution, and we were informed that thechief with whom he had quarrelled, now quitted the army with hisdivision.

The approach of a numerous train of Indians by the road fromTlascala was announced by one of our videts, from which we allconceived hopes of an embassy of peace, which it actually was.Cortes ordered us all immediately under arms, and on the arrivalof the embassy, four old men advanced to our general, and aftermaking three several reverences, touching the ground with theirhands and kissing them, they offered incense, and said: That theywere sent by the chiefs of Tlascala to put themselveshenceforwards under our protection, and declared that they wouldon no account have made war upon us, if they had not believed wewere allies of Montezuma, their ancient and inveterate enemy.They assured him that the first attack had been made upon us bythe Otomies without their approbation, who believed they mighteasily have brought our small number as prisoners to their lordsof Tlascala. They concluded by soliciting pardon for what hadpassed, assuring us that their general and the other chiefs ofTlascala would soon wait upon us to conclude a durable peace.Cortes in his answer, assumed a severe countenance, reproachingthem for the violence they had been guilty of, yet, inconsideration of their repentance, he accepted their presents,and was willing to receive them to favour, as he wished forpeace; but desired them to inform their chiefs, if they delayedwaiting upon him, he would continue his hostilities till be hadruined their whole country. The four ambassadors returned withthis message to their employers, leaving their attendants withthe provisions in our quarters. We now began to entertain hopesof their sincerity, to our great satisfaction, as we wereheartily tired of the severe and hopeless war in which we hadbeen so long engaged.

The news of the great victories which we had gained over theTlascalans soon spread over the whole country, and came to theknowledge of Montezuma, who sent five principal nobles of hiscourt to congratulate us on our success. These men brought apresent of various articles of gold, to the value of 1000 crowns,with twenty loads of rich mantles, and a message, declaring hisdesire to become a vassal of our sovereign, to whom he waswilling to pay an yearly tribute. He added a wish to see ourgeneral in Mexico, but, owing to the poverty of the country andthe badness of the roads, he found himself under the necessity todeprive himself of that great pleasure. Cortes expressed hisgratitude for the present, and his satisfaction at the offer oftheir sovereign to become tributary to our emperor; but requestedthe Mexican ambassadors to remain with him till he had concludedhis arrangements with the Tlascalans, after which he would givethem a definitive answer to the message of Montezuma. Whileconversing with the Mexican ambassadors, Xicotencatl, with fiftyof his principal warriors all in uniform habits of white and red,came to wait upon Cortes with great respect, who received themvery courteously, causing the Tlascalan general to sit downbeside him. Xicotencatl then said, That he came in the name ofhis father and the other chiefs of the Tlascalan nation, tosolicit peace and friendship, to submit themselves to oursovereign, and to ask pardon for having taken up arms against us,which had proceeded from their dread of the machinations ofMontezuma, who was always desirous of reducing their nation toslavery. Their country, he said, was very poor, as it possessedneither gold, jewels, cotton, nor salt; the two latter they wereprevented from obtaining by Montezuma, who had also deprived themof all the gold their fathers had collected. Their poverty,therefore, must plead their excuse, for not bringing satisfactorypresents. He made many other complaints against the oppressionsof Montezuma, and concluded by earnestly soliciting ourfriendship and alliance. Xicotencatl was strong made, tall, andwell proportioned, having a broad and somewhat wrinkled face, andgrave aspect, appearing to be about thirty-five years old. Cortestreated him with every mark of respect, and expressed his highsatisfaction that so brave and respectable a nation should becomeour allies, and subjects to our sovereign; but warned themseriously to beware of repeating the offences they had beenguilty of towards us, lest it should occasion an exemplarypunishment. The Tlascalan chief promised the utmost fidelity andobedience, and invited us to come to their city; which Cortespromised to do as soon as he had concluded his business with theMexican ambassadors, and Xicotencatl took his leave.

The ambassadors of Montezuma endeavoured to impress Corteswith distrust of the sincerity of the Tlascalans; asserting thattheir professions of peace and friendship were only meant tobetray us, as they would certainly murder us while in their city.To these representations Cortes answered that he was resolved togo to Tlascala, that he might ascertain the sincerity of theirprofessions; and that any such attempt as the Mexicans surmisedwould only bring on its own condign punishment. The ambassadorsthen requested Cortes to delay his march for six days, that theymight receive fresh instructions from their sovereign, to whichhe acceded for two reasons, because of the state of his ownhealth, and that the observations of the ambassadors seemed torequire serious consideration. He now sent a messenger to JuanEscalente at Villa Rica, informing him of all that had happened,and requiring him to send some vessels of sacramental wine, andsome consecrated bread, all that we had brought with us havingbeen used. We at this time got the people of Zumpacingo to purifyand white wash one of their temples, in which we erected a loftycross. Our new friends the Tlascalans supplied us amply withprovisions, particularly fowls and tunas, or Indian figs;and repeatedly invited us to their capital, but with this last wecould not immediately comply, owing to the engagement with theMexican ambassadors. At the end of the sixth day, as agreed upon,six nobles arrived from Montezuma, with a present of gold to thevalue of 3000 crowns, and 200 rich mantles; with a complimentarymessage, desiring us on no account to trust the Tlascalans or togo to their capital. Cortes returned thanks for the present, andthe warning respecting the Tlascalans, whom he said he wouldseverely punish if they attempted any treachery: and as he wasjust informed of the approach of the chiefs of Tlascala, herequested the Mexican ambassadors to wait three days for hisfinal answer.

The ancient chiefs of Tlascala now arrived at our quarters,borne in litters or hammocks, and attended by a large train offollowers. These were Maxicatzin, Xicotencatl the elder, who wasblind, Guaxocinga, Chichimecatecle, and Tecapaneca the alliedcacique of Topeyanco. After saluting Cortes with great respect,the old blind chief Xicotencatl addressed him to the followingeffect: "We have often sent to request pardon for ourhostilities, which were caused by our suspicions that you were inalliance with our enemy Montezuma. Had we known who and what youwere, we would have gone down to the coast to invite you fromyour ships, and would have swept the roads clean before you. Allwe can now do is to invite you to our city, where we shall serveyou in every thing within our power; and we beg you may notlisten to the misrepresentations of the Mexicans, who are ourenemies, and are influenced by malice against us." Cortesreturned thanks for their courtesy, saying that he would havevisited them ere now, but wanted men to draw his cannons. Onlearning this, five hundred of the natives were assembled forthis service in less than half an hour, and Cortes promised tovisit their capital next day. We accordingly began our marchearly next morning, the Mexican ambassadors accompanying us atthe desire of Cortes, and keeping always near his person thatthey might not be insulted by their Tlascalan enemies. From thistime the natives always gave Cortes the name of Malintzin,signifying the lord or captain of Marina, because she alwaysinterpreted for him in their language. We entered the city ofTlascala on the 23d September 1519, thirty-four days after ourarrival in the territories of the republic. As soon as we beganour march, the chiefs went before to provide quarters for us; andon our approach to the city, they came out to meet us,accompanied by their daughters and other female relations: eachtribe separately, as this nation consisted of four distincttribes, besides that which was governed by the cacique ofTopeyanco. These tribes were distinguished from each other bydifferent uniforms, of cloth made of nequen, as cotton didnot grow in their country. The priests, came likewise to meet us,in long loose white garments, having their long hair all clottedwith blood proceeding from recent cuts in the ears, and havingremarkably long nails on their fingers; they carried pots ofincense, with which they fumigated us. On our arrival, the chiefssaluted Cortes with much respect, and the people crowded to seeus in such numbers that we could hardly make our way through thestreets, presenting Cortes and the cavalry with garlands ofbeautiful and sweet smelling flowers.

We at length arrived at some large enclosed courts, in theapartments, around which our lodgings were appointed; when thetwo principal chiefs took Cortes by the hand and conducted himinto the apartment which was destined for his use. Every one ofour soldiers were provided with a mat and bed-clothes made ofnequen cloth. Our allies were lodged close by us, and theMexican ambassadors were accommodated, by desire of Cortes, inthe apartment next his own. Though we had every reason to confidein the Tlascalans, Cortes used the most rigid militaryprecautions for our safety; which, being observed by the chiefs,they complained of as indicating suspicion of their sincerity;but Cortes assured them this was the uniform custom of ourcountry, and that he had the most perfect reliance on theirtruth. As soon as an altar could be got ready, Cortes orderedJuan Diaz to celebrate the mass, as Olmeda was ill of a fever.Many of the native chiefs were present on this occasion, whomCortes took along with him after the service into his ownapartment, attended by those soldiers who usually accompaniedhim. The elder Xicotencatl then offered a present, consisting ofa small quantity of gold and some pieces of cloth, not worthtwenty crowns altogether, and expressed his fear that he mightdespise so paltry a present, which he excused on account of thepoverty of their nation, occasioned by the extortions ofMontezuma, from whom they were forced to purchase peace at theexpence of every thing valuable belonging to them. Cortes assuredthem that he valued their gift, small as it was, more than hewould a house full of gold from others, as it was a testimony oftheir friendship, which he greatly valued. Xicotencatl thenproposed that a strict alliance should be formed between the twonations, and that our chiefs should accept their daughters inmarriage, offering his own to Cortes, who thanked him for thesemarks of friendship. The chiefs remained with Cortes a whole day,and as Xicotencatl was blind, Cortes permitted him to examine hishead, face, and beard with his hands, which he did with muchattention.

Next day the chiefs brought five daughters of their principalcaciques, who were much handsomer than the other women of thecountry, each attended by a female slave. On this occasionXicotencatl presented his own daughter to Cortes, and desired himto assign the others among his principal officers. Cortes thankedhim for the mark of regard, but that for the present the ladiesmust remain with their parents, as we must first obey thecommands of our God, and the orders of our sovereign, byabolishing human sacrifices and other abominations, and byteaching them the true faith in the adoration of one only God. Hethen shewed them a beautiful image of the holy Mary, the queen ofheaven, the mother of our Lord by the power of the Holy Ghost,conceived without sin, adding, That if they wished to become ourbrethren, and that we should marry their daughters, they mustrenounce their idolatry, and worship our God, by which they wouldnot only benefit their temporal concerns, but would secure aneternal happiness in heaven; whereas by persisting in the worshipof their idols, which were representations of the devils, theywould consign themselves to hell, where they would be plungedeternally into flames of fire. This and a great deal moreexcellently to the purpose, being well explained to them by ourinterpreters, the chiefs made answer to the following effect:That they readily believed all they had now heard respecting theexcellence of our God and his saints, and might in time be ableto understand the subject of his exhortations; but that if theywere now to renounce the religion of their ancestors in their oldage to please us, the priests and people would rebel againstthem; more especially as the priests had already consulted theirgods, who had commanded them on no account to omit the humansacrifices and other ancient customs, as otherwise they wouldsend famine, pestilence, and war into their country: Theyrequested, therefore that nothing more might be said on thissubject, as they could not renounce their gods but with theirlives. When the subject of this conference was reported to fatherOlmedo, who was a wise and good man, he advised the general notto urge the matter any farther for the present, as he was adverseto forced conversions, such as had been already attempted atChempoalla; and that to destroy the idols were a needless act ofviolence, unless the principles of idolatry were eradicated fromtheir minds by argument as they would easily procure other idolsto continue their worship. Three of our cavaliers, Alvarado, deLeon, and De Lugo, gave a similar advice to Cortes, and thesubject was judiciously dropped, which might have again excitedthe Tlascalans to inveterate enmity.

Soon after this we got permission to clear out and purify oneof the temples, which was converted into a Christian church, andhad an altar and cross erected. Here the ladies who were destinedto be the brides of our officers, having been instructed in theprinciples of the Christian religion were baptized. The daughterof Xicotencatl was named Donna Luisa, and being taken by the handby Cortes, was presented by him to Alvarado, saying to her ratherthat this officer was his brother, with which arrangement the oldcacique seemed perfectly satisfied. Almost the whole province ofTlascala came afterwards to depend upon this lady, paying rentand homage to her. She had a son by Alvarado named Don Pedro, anda daughter Donna Leonora, who inherited her mothers domains, andis now the wife of Don Francisco de la Cueva, cousin to the Dukeof Albuquerque, by whom she has four or five sons. In right ofhis wife Donna Luisa, Alvarado became lord, and almost sovereignof Tlascala. As far as I can remember, the niece, or daughter ofMaxicatzin, named Donna Leonora, and remarkably handsome, wasgiven to Velasquez de Leon. I have forgotten the names of theother ladies, all stiled Donnas, but they were assigned to DeOli, Sandoval, and Avila. After the ceremonies were concluded,the natives were informed that the crosses were erected in orderto expel the evil spirits which they had been in use toworship.

Cortes obtained considerable information from the twoprincipal chiefs of Tlascala, Xicotencatl, and Maxicatzin,relative to the military and political state of Mexico. They saidthat Montezuma had an army of an hundred thousand warriors,occupying all the cities of the neighbouring states, which weresubject to his dominions, with strong garrisons, and forcing themto pay heavy tributes in gold, manufactures, productions of thesoil, and victims for sacrifice, so that his wealth and powerwere exceedingly great; but that all the districts which wereunder subjection to him were exceedingly dissatisfied with histyranny, and inclined to take part with his enemies. Their ownstate of Tlascala had been in almost continual wars with theMexicans for above an hundred years, and formed a league formutual defence with the people of Guaxocingo[9]; but wereprincipally vexed by inroads from the Mexican garrison inCholula, from which city the troops of Montezuma were able tocome by surprise on the Tlascalan territories. They described thecity of Mexico as of great strength, being built in the lake, andonly accessible by narrow causeways, with wooden bridges, andhaving no access to most of its houses but by drawbridges orboats. They described the arms of the Mexicans as consisting ofdouble-headed darts, which were projected by a kind of slings,lances having stone heads, an ell in length, and both edges assharp as a razor, and two-handed swords, edged likewise withsharp stones, besides shields and other defensive armour. Thechiefs shewed large nequen cloths, on which their variousbattles were represented, with all those different kinds ofweapons. They alleged that their country was anciently inhabitedby a people of great stature and very barbarous manners, who hadbeen extirpated by their ancestors, and produced a thigh-bonewhich they said had belonged to one of these giants. I stood byit, and it equalled my height, though I am as tall as most men.We sent this bone to Spain for the inspection of his majesty. Thechiefs told us that their idols had long ago predicted, that apeople was to arrive from the distant lands where the sun rises,and to subdue their country, and they believed we were those towhom the prediction applied. Cortes said that this was certainlythe case, and that our great emperor had sent us to establish alasting friendship between our nation and them, and to be theinstruments of shewing them the only way of Salvation: To whichwe all said Amen!

[9] This place, so often mentioned by Diaz, seems tobe the same called Huexotzinco by Clavigero.--E.

While we were in Tlascala a volcano near Guaxocingo threw outgreat quantities of flames, and Diego de Ordas went up to examineit, attended by two Spanish soldiers, and some of the principalIndians. The natives declined going any nearer to the volcanothan the temples of Popocatepeque, but De Ordas and histwo Spanish comrades ascended to the summit of the mountain, andlooked down into the crater, which is a circle of near a quarterof a league diameter. From this peak also, they had a distantview of the city of Mexico, which was twelve or thirteen leaguesfrom the mountain. This was considered as a great feat, and DeOrdas, on his return to Spain, got royal authority to bear thisvolcano in his arms, which is now borne by his nephew who dwellsin La Puebla. This volcano did not throw out flames for a goodmany years afterwards, but it flamed with great violence in 1530.We observed many wooden cages in the city of Tlascala, in whichthe victims intended for sacrifice were confined and fattened;but we destroyed all these, releasing the unhappy prisoners, whor*mained along with us, as they dared not to return to their ownhomes. Cortes spoke very angrily to the Tlascalan chiefs,exhorting them to abolish this horrible custom of humansacrifices, and they promised amendment; but immediately, on ourbacks being turned, they resumed their ancient abominations.

SECTION VII

Events during the March of the Spaniards from Tlascala toMexico.

After a stay of seventeen days, in Tlascala to refreshourselves after our late severe fatigues, and for the recovery ofour wounded companions, it was resolved to resume our march tothe city of Mexico, though the rich settlers of Cuba stillendeavoured to persuade Cortes to return to Villa Rica. Thisresolution also gave much uneasiness to our new Tlascalan allies,who used every argument to make us distrust the courteous mannersof Montezuma and his subjects, whom they alleged to be extremelytreacherous, and would either fall upon and destroy us on thefirst favourable opportunity, or would reduce us to slavery. Inthe event of hostilities between us and the Mexicans, theyexhorted us to kill them all young and old. Cortes thanked themfor their friendly counsel, and offered to negociate a treaty ofpeace and amity between them and the Mexicans; but they would byno means consent to this measure, saying that the Mexicangovernment would employ peace only as a cover for treachery. Onmaking inquiry as to the best road to Mexico, the ambassadors ofMontezuma recommended that by Cholula, in which we should findgood accommodation; but the Tlascalans earnestly entreated us togo by Huexotzinco which was in alliance with them, representingthe Cholulans as a perfidious people. But Cortes determined totake the road of Cholula, intending to remain in that city tillhe could secure a safe and peaceable reception at Mexico; he senttherefore a message to the chiefs of Cholula, to inform them ofhis intentions, and to express his dissatisfaction at theirconduct in not having been to wait upon him. While engaged inpreparations for our departure, four of the principal nobles ofMexico arrived with a rich present, consisting of gold to thevalue of 10,000 crowns, and ten bales of mantles of the finestfeather-work. After saluting Cortes with profound respect, theysaid that Montezuma was astonished at our long residence among sopoor and base a people as the Tlascalans, and that he requestedwe would come without delay to his capital. Cortes assured themthat he would very soon pay his respects to their sovereign, andrequested they would remain along with him during the march. Healso at this time appointed Pedro de Alvarado, and Vasquez deTupia, to go as his ambassadors to Montezuma, with instructionsto examine the city of Mexico. These gentlemen set outaccordingly, along with the former Mexican ambassadors, but weresoon recalled, in consequence of a remonstrance from the army. Atthis time I was confined by my wounds, and was ill of a fever,and consequently incapable of attending minutely to all thatpassed.

In return to our message, the chiefs of Cholula sent a verydry and uncourteous answer by four men of low degree, and withoutany present. As this was obviously done in contempt, Cortes sentthe messengers back to inform the chiefs, that he would considerthem as rebels if they did not wait upon him personally in threedays; but, if they complied with this requisition, he was willingto accept them as friends and brothers, and had much intelligenceof great importance to communicate to them. They sent back,saying, that they durst not come into the country of theirinveterate enemies the Tlascalans, who they were sure had grosslymisrepresented both them and Montezuma to us, but engaged to giveus an honourable reception in their city. When the Tlascalansfound we were determined upon taking the road of Cholula,contrary to their advice, they proposed that we should take10,000 of their best warriors along with us; but our generalconsidered this number as too many for a visit of peace, andwould only accept 3000, who were immediately made ready to attendus. Using every proper precaution for our safety, we began ourmarch from Tlascala, and arrived that evening at a river about aleague from Cholula, where there is now a stone bridge, andencamped here for the night. Some of the chiefs came tocongratulate our arrival in their neighbourhood, and gave us acourteous invitation to visit their city. We continued our marchnext day, and were met near the city by the chiefs and priests,all dressed in cassocks of cotton cloth, resembling those used bythe Zapotecans. After presenting incense to Cortes, the chiefsmade an apology for not waiting upon him at Tlascala, andrequested that so large a body of their enemies might not bepermitted to enter their city. As this request appearedreasonable, Cortes sent Alvarado and De Oli, to desire our alliesto hut themselves without the city, which they did accordingly,imitating the military discipline of the Spaniards, in thearrangement of their camp and the appointment of centinels.Before entering the city, Cortes explained the purpose of hismission in a long oration, in the same manner as he had alreadydone at all the other places during the march. To all this theyanswered that they were ready to yield obedience to our sovereignin all things, but could not abandon the religion of theirancestors. We then marched on in our usual compact order,attended only by our allies from Chempoalla, and the Indians whodrew our artillery, and conveyed our baggage, and entered thecity, all the streets and terraces of which was filled with animmense concourse of people, through whom we were conducted toour appointed quarters, in some large apartments, whichconveniently accommodated our army and all our attendants.

While we remained in this place, a plot was concerted by theMexican ambassadors for the introduction of 20,000 warriorsbelonging to Montezuma, who were to attack us in conjunction withthe people of Cholula; and several houses were actually filledwith poles and leather collars, by means of which we were to havebeen bound and carried prisoners to Mexico. But God was pleasedthat we should discover and confound their machinations. Duringthe first two days, we were perfectly well entertained; but onthe third no provisions were sent us, and none of the chiefs orpriests appeared at our quarters. Such few of the inhabitants aswe happened to see, speedily withdrew with a malicious sneer; andon Cortes applying to the Mexican ambassadors to procureprovisions for us as usual, some wood and water only were broughtto us by a few old men, as if in derision, who said that no maizecould be procured. This day, likewise, some ambassadors arrivedfrom Montezuma, who desired in very disrespectful terms on noaccount to approach Mexico, and demanded an immediate answer.Cortes gave them a mild answer, expressing his astonishment atthe alteration in the tone of their sovereign, but requested ashort delay before giving his definitive answer to their message.He then summoned us together, and desired us to keep on thealert, as he suspected some great act of treachery was inagitation against us. As the chiefs of Cholula had refused towait upon him, Cortes sent some soldiers to a great temple closeto our quarters, with orders to bring two of the priests to himas quietly as possible. They succeeded in this withoutdifficulty; and, having made a trifling present to the priests,he inquired as to the reason of the late extraordinary conduct ofthe Cholulan chiefs. One of these who was of high rank, havingauthority over all the temples and priests of the city, like oneof our bishops, told Cortes that he would persuade some of thechiefs to attend him, if allowed to speak with them; and, beingpermitted to go away for that purpose, he soon brought several ofthe chiefs to our quarters. Cortes reproved them sharply for thechange in their behaviour to us, and commanded them to send animmediate supply of provisions, and likewise to provide him nextday with a competent number of people to convey our baggage andartillery, as he meant then to resume his march to Mexico. Thechiefs appeared quite confounded and panic struck, yet promisedto send in provisions immediately, alleging in excuse for theirconduct, that they had been so ordered by Montezuma, who wasunwilling that we should advance any farther into hisdominions.

At this time, three of our Chempoallan allies called Cortesaside, and told him that they had discovered several pitfalsclose to our quarters, covered over with wood and earth, and thaton examining one of these they found its bottom provided withsharpened stakes. They informed him also that all the terraces ofthe houses near our quarters had been recently provided withparapets of sod, and great quantities of stones collected onthem, and that a strong barricade of timber had been erectedacross one of the streets. Eight Tlascalans arrived also fromtheir army on the outside of the town, who warned Cortes that anattack was intended against us, as the priests of Cholula hadsacrificed eight victims on the preceding night to their god ofwar, five of whom were children; and that they had seen crowds ofwomen and children withdrawing from the city with their valuableeffects, all of which were sure signs of some impendingcommotion. Cortes thanked the Tlascalans for this instance oftheir fidelity, and sent them back to the camp with orders totheir chiefs to hold themselves in readiness for any emergency.He then returned to the chiefs and priests, to whom he repeatedhis former orders, warning them not to deviate from theirobedience, on pain of instant condign punishment, commanding themat the same time to prepare 2000 of their best warriors toaccompany him next day on his march to Mexico. The chiefs readilypromised to obey all his commands, thinking in this manner tofacilitate their projected treachery, and took their leave.Cortes then employed Donna Marina to bring back the two priestswho had been with him before, from whom he learnt, that Montezumahad been lately very unsettled in his intentions towards us,sometimes giving orders to receive us honourably, and at othertimes commanding that we should not be allowed to pass. That hehad lately consulted his gods, who had revealed that we were allto be put to death, or made prisoners in Cholula, to facilitatewhich he had sent 20,000 of his troops to that place, half ofwhom were now in the city, and the rest concealed at the distanceof a league. They added, that the plan of attack was all settled,and that twenty of our number were to be sacrificed in thetemples of Cholula, and all the rest to be conveyed prisoners toMexico. Cortes rewarded them liberally for their intelligence,and enjoined them to preserve the strictest secrecy on thesubject, commanding them to bring all the chiefs to his quartersat an appointed time. He then convened a council of all theofficers, and such soldiers as he most confided in, before whomhe laid an account of the information which he had received,desiring their advice as to the best conduct to be pursued in thepresent alarming emergency. Some proposed to return immediatelyto Tlascala, and others proposed various measures, but it was theuniversal opinion that the treachery of the Cholulans required tobe severely punished, as a warning to other places. It wasaccordingly resolved to inflict condign punishment on theCholulans within the courts where we were quartered, which weresurrounded by high walls, but in the meantime, to continue ourpreparations for resuming the march, in order to conceal ourintentions. We then informed the Mexican ambassadors, that we haddiscovered the treacherous intentions of the Cholulans, whopretended that they acted by orders of Montezuma, which we wereconvinced was a false aspersion. They solemnly declared theirignorance of these transactions; but Cortes ordered them to haveno farther intercourse with the inhabitants of the city, and sentthem to his own quarters under a strong guard for the night,during the whole of which we lay upon our arms, ready to act at amoments warning.

During this anxious night, the wife of one of the caciques,who had taken a great liking to Donna Marina, came secretly tovisit that lady, informing her of the plot, invited her to takerefuge in her house from the danger which was about to overwhelmus, and proposed to give her for a husband the brother of a boywho was along with her. Donna Marina, with her usual presence ofmind, agreed to every thing proposed with a profusion of thanks,and said she only wanted some one to take charge of her effectsbefore leaving the Spanish quarters. In course of thisconversation, Marina acquired particular information of everypart of this mysterious affair, which the old woman told her hadbeen communicated to her three days before by her husband, whowas chief of one of the divisions of the city, and was now withhis warriors, giving directions for their co-operation with theMexican troops, and who had lately received a gold drum fromMexico, as an ensign of command. Donna Marina desired the oldwoman and her son to remain in her apartment till she went insearch of her valuables; but went immediately to Cortes, to whomshe communicated all the information she had received, addingthat her informer was still in her apartment. Cortes immediatelysent for the old woman, who being confronted by Donna Marina,repeated every thing exactly as before, which agreed in allrespects with the information he had already received fromothers.

When day appeared, the hurry of the chiefs, priests and peoplein coming to our quarters as appointed, and their apparentsatisfaction, was as great as if we had been already secured intheir cages. They brought a much greater number of warriors toattend us than had been required, insomuch that the large courtsin which we were quartered were unable to contain them. We wereall prepared for the event, having a strong guard of soldiersposted at the gate of the great court, to prevent any one fromescaping. Cortes mounted on horseback, attended by a strongguard; and as he saw the people crowding in at the gate, he saidto us, "See how anxious these traitors are to feast on our flesh!But GOD will disappoint their hopes." He ordered the two priestswho had given him the information to retire to their houses thatthey might escape the intended slaughter. Every one being arrivedin the great court, he commanded the chiefs and priests to drawnear, to whom he made a calm remonstrance on the treachery oftheir conduct towards us, which was explained by Donna Marina. Heasked them why they had plotted to destroy us, and what we haddone to deserve their enmity, except exhorting them to abandontheir barbarous and abominable customs, and endeavouring toinstruct them in our holy religion? Their evil intentions, hesaid, had been obvious, by withdrawing their women and childrenfrom the city, and by insultingly sending us only wood and water,when we required provisions. He said he was perfectly acquaintedwith the ambush which was placed in the road by which we meant tomarch, and with all the other contrivances they had made for ourdestruction; and that in recompence of our proffered friendship,and of all the holy services we intended them, he knew that theymeant to kill and eat us, and that the pots were already on thefire, prepared with salt, pepper, and tomatas, in whichour dissevered limbs were to be boiled. He knew that they haddoomed twenty of us to be sacrificed to their idols, to whom theyhad already immolated seven of their own brethren. "Since youwere determined to attack us," said he in conclusion, "it hadbeen more manly to have done so openly like the Tlascalans, andnot to have resorted to mean and cowardly treachery. But beassured that the victory which your false gods have promised isbeyond their power, and the punishment of your treason is nowready to burst on your guilty heads."

The astonished chiefs confessed every thing which was laid totheir charge, but endeavoured to excuse themselves, by laying thewhole blame on the orders they had received from Montezuma."Wretches," said Cortes, "this falsehood is an aggravation ofyour offence, and such complicated crimes can never be permittedto pass unpunished." He then ordered a musket to be fired, as asignal to commence the slaughter, for which we all stoodprepared. We immediately fell furiously on the multitudes whowere inclosed within the walls of our quarters, and executedtheir merited punishment in such a manner as will be longremembered by the remaining natives of Cholula. A vast number ofthem were put to death on the spot, and many of them wereafterwards burned alive. In less than two hours, our Tlascalanallies arrived in the city, having been previously instructed inour plan, and made a terrible slaughter in the streets of thecity; and when the Cholulans ceased to make resistance, theyravaged the city, plundering it of every thing valuable theycould lay hold of, and making slaves of all the inhabitants whofell in their way. On the day following, when intelligencereached Tlascala of the transactions at Cholula, great numberscrowded to the devoted city, which they plundered without mercy.It now became necessary to restrain the fury of the Tlascalans,and Cortes gave orders to their chiefs to withdraw their troopsfrom the city, with which they immediately complied.

Quiet being in some measure restored, some chiefs and priestswho presided over a distant quarter of the city, which theypretended had not been engaged in the conspiracy, waited in anhumble manner on Cortes, and prayed a remission of the punishmentwhich had already fallen so heavily on their townsmen. The twobefore mentioned priests, and the old woman from whom DonnaMarina had procured such material information, came forwardlikewise, and joined in the same petition, and Cortes determinedto shew clemency to the rest of the city, yet seemed still ingreat rage. He called the Mexican ambassadors into his presence,in whose presence he declared that the whole inhabitants of thecity and dependancy of Cholula had richly merited to be utterlyextirpated for their treachery; but that out of respect to thegreat Montezuma, whose vassals they were, he consented to pardonthem. He then ordered the Tlascalans to liberate their prisoners,which they in some measure complied with, setting free many ofthose they intended to have reduced to slavery, yet retained aprodigious booty in gold, mantles, cotton, and salt. Havingproclaimed an amnesty to the Cholulans, he reconciled them andthe Tlascalans who had anciently been confederates; and beingdesired to appoint a new chief cacique of Cholula, in place ofthe former who had been put to death, Cortes inquired to whomthat dignity belonged of right, and being informed that thebrother of the late head cacique ought to succeed according totheir laws, he nominated him to the office. As soon as theinhabitants had returned to their houses, and order was restoredin the city, Cortes summoned all the chiefs and priests to aconference, in which he explained to them the principles of ourholy religion, earnestly exhorting them to renounce theiridolatry, and the odious practices connected with it; and, as aninstance of the uselessness of their idols, he reminded them howmuch they had been lately deceived by the false responses imposedupon them in their names: He proposed to them therefore, todestroy their senseless idols, and to erect an altar and cross intheir stead. The latter was immediately complied with, but FatherOlmedo advised him to postpone the former to a more favourableopportunity, from a due consideration of our uncertain andperilous situation.

Cholula was then a large and populous city, much resemblingValladolid, situated on a fertile plain which was thicklyinhabited, and all its surrounding district was well cultivatedwith maize, maguey, and pepper. There were above a hundred loftywhite towers in the city, belonging to different idol temples,one of which was held in very high estimation, that principaltemple being more lofty even than the great temple of Mexico. Anexcellent manufacture of earthen ware was carried on at thisplace, the various articles of which were curiously painted indifferent patterns, in red, black, and white, and from which thecity of Mexico and all the surrounding countries were supplied,as Castile is from Talavera and Placencia. In the numeroustemples of this city there were many cages; which were filledwith men and boys, fattening up for sacrifice, all of whichCortes caused to be destroyed, sending the miserable captiveshome to their respective houses. He likewise gave positive ordersto the priests to desist in future from this most abominablecustom, which they promised to refrain from, but they forgottheir promises as soon as the authority of our irresistible armswas removed.

On hearing the melancholy fate of their companions in Cholula,the Mexican troops who were posted in ambush, with trenches andbarricades to oppose our cavalry, made a precipitate retreat toMexico, whether they carried an account to Montezuma of thefailure of his plot for our destruction; but he had already heardthe news of his misfortunes from two of his ambassadors, whomCortes had dismissed for the purpose. It was reported that heimmediately ordered a solemn sacrifice to his gods, and shuthimself up for two days with ten of his chief priests, engaged inrigid devotional exercises, on purpose to obtain a response fromhis gods respecting his future destiny; and we afterwards learntthat the priests advised him, as from their gods, to send anembassy to exculpate himself from having any connection with whathad passed in Cholula, and to inveigle us into Mexico; where, bycutting off the supply of water, or by raising the bridges on thecauseways, he might easily destroy us, or detain us in slavery tobreed people like ourselves for his service.

Having remained fourteen days in Cholula, Cortes consulted inregard to our future operations with a council of those officersand soldiers who were most sincerely attached to his person, asindeed he never engaged in any matter of importance withouttaking our advice. In this consultation, it was determined tosend a respectful message to Montezuma, informing him that wewere on our way to pay our respects to him by the orders of ourown sovereign. Our messenger was likewise desired to relate thewhole late events which had occurred at Cholula, where thetreachery which had been concerted against us had come to ourknowledge, from which nothing could be concealed which concernedour welfare, and that we had desisted from punishing the peopleof that city to the full extent which they deserved, entirely outof respect to him, whose vassals they were. That the chiefs andpriests had given out that all they had done or intended to dowas by his orders; but we could not possibly believe that sogreat a monarch, after the many marks of friendship with which hehad honoured us, could be guilty of such infamous proceedings;being convinced, if he had meditated hostility, he would have metus honourably in the field of battle: But at the same time toassure him, that day or night, field or town, fair battle orvillainous stratagem, were all the same for us, as we were alwaysprepared for every emergency. Montezuma had become exceedinglythoughtful and alarmed on account of the failure of the plot inCholula, and now sent an embassy of six of his chief nobles towait on Cortes, with a present to the value of 2000 crowns ingold, and several bales of fine mantles. The ambassadors salutedCortes with profound respect, and delivered a message in whichMontezuma endeavoured to exculpate himself from any concern inthe affair of Cholula, and in conclusion, invited the general tohis court. Cortes treated these ambassadors with his usualpoliteness, and retaining three of them to serve as guides on ourmarch to Mexico, he sent on the others to inform Montezuma thatwe were on our way to his capital. When the Tlascalan chiefsunderstood our determination to proceed, they renewed theirformer warnings to beware of treachery from the Mexicans, andagain offered to send 10,000 of their warriors along with us. ButCortes, after thanking them for their friendly solicitude andproffered aid, remarked, as he had done before, that so large abody of troops was incompatible with an amicable visit, butrequested they would furnish 1000 men for our baggage andartillery, which they immediately provided. Our faithfulChempoalan allies, being afraid of the resentment of the Mexicansfor their revolt, begged permission to return to their district,and Cortes dismissed them with a handsome present, sendingletters by them to Escalente at Villa Rica, containing an accountof our proceedings.

We marched from Cholula in our usual compact order, preparedfor whatsoever might befal, sending out patroles of our cavalryby threes in front, supported by a detachment of light infantryas an advanced guard. On our arrival at a small village calledIzcalpan, in the district of Huexotzinco, about four leagues fromCholula, we were met by the chiefs bearing provisions, and asmall present of gold. They requested our general to consideronly the good will of the givers, not the worthlessness of thegift, as they were very poor; and, while they endeavoured todissuade him from attempting to proceed to Mexico, they alsoinformed him, that, on ascending the next mountain, he would findtwo roads, the one of which leading by Chalco was broad and open,while the other leading by Tlalmanalco, though originally equallyconvenient, had been recently stopped up and obstructed by meansof trees felled across it to render it difficult, though it wasin reality shorter and more secure than that of Chalco, on whichroad the Mexicans had placed a large party of troops in ambushamong some rocks, for the purpose of attacking us by surprise onthe march. They advised us therefore, if we were determined topersevere, to choose the obstructed road, and offered to send anumber of their people to clear it for us. Cortes thanked themfor their good advice, of which he would avail himself by theblessing of GOD. Having halted for the night at Izcalpan, weresumed our march early the next morning, and reached the summitof a mountainous ridge about noon, where we found the two roadsexactly as they had been described to us. We halted here in orderto deliberate on our procedure, when Cortes called the Mexicanambassadors to explain the meaning of the felled trees.Pretending ignorance on this subject, they advised him to takethe road of Chalco, where they said he would be well received.Cortes chose however to take the other road, and sent on ourIndian allies to clear the way before us. As we ascended themountain, the weather became piercingly cold, and we even had aconsiderable fall of snow, which covered the whole country roundabout. We at length arrived at certain houses which had beenbuilt on the very top of the mountain for the accommodation oftravellers, where we found an abundant supply of provisions, andhaving placed proper guards, we halted here for the night. Weresumed our march next morning, and arrived by the hour of highmass at the town of Halmanalco, where we were hospitablyreceived. The people of the neighbouring districts of Chalco,Amaquemecan, and Ajotzinco, where the canoes are kept, waited onCortes at this place with a present of about 150 crowns in gold,some mantles, and eight women. Cortes received them affably, andpromised them his friendship and protection; explaining to them,as on former occasions, the doctrines of our holy faith,exhorting them to abandon their idolatry and barbarous immolationof human victims, informing them that he was sent among them by apowerful monarch to redress wrongs, and to lead them in the wayof eternal salvation. On this the people began to make loudcomplaints of the tyranny of Montezuma, who deprived them oftheir wives and daughters if handsome, forcing the men to worklike slaves in the conveyance of stones, timber, and corn, andappropriating their lands to the service of his temples. Cortesgave them kind assurances of speedy redress, but recommended tothem to be patient yet a little while.

Just as we were going to set out from Tlalmanalco, four of theprincipal nobles of the court of Mexico arrived with presentsfrom Montezuma, and having made their customary obeisance, theyaddressed Cortes in the following manner: "Malinatzin! oursovereign sent this present to you, and desires us to say, thathe is grieved you should take so much trouble in coming from adistant country to visit him. He has already made you be informedthat he will give you much gold, silver, and chalchihuisfor your teules, if you will give up your intention ofcoming to Mexico. We now repeat this request in his name, thatyou will return; and he will send after you a great treasure ingold, silver, and jewels for your king, with four loads of goldfor yourself, and a load for each of your brethren. It isimpossible for you to proceed to Mexico, as the whole Mexicanwarriors are in arms to oppose you; besides which you will findthe roads bad, and will be unable to procure provisions."Embracing the ambassadors with much politeness, and havingreturned thanks for their present, Cortes expressed hisastonishment at the changeableness of Montezuma, who thusalternately invited and deprecated his presence. He begged themto thank Montezuma for the splendid offers he had made oftreasure to the emperor, himself, and his soldiers; but it wasquite impossible for him to turn back, especially when so nearthe capital, as his orders from his own sovereign were to pay hisrespects to theirs in person; it was quite useless, therefore, tosend him any more such messages, for he was resolved to proceed;and if Montezuma should desire his departure after having seenhim, he would be ready at his command to return to his owncountry.

Having thus dismissed the ambassadors, we continued our march,and as our allies had informed us that Montezuma intended to putus all to death, after our entry into his city, we were filledwith melancholy reflections on our hazardous situation;recommending our souls therefore to the LORD JESUS CHRIST, whohad already brought us in safety through so many imminentdangers, and resolving to sell our lives at a dear rate, weproceeded on our march. We halted at a town named Iztapalapan,one half of the houses of which were built in the water, and therest on dry land, and took up our quarters there for the night.While preparing early next morning to recommence our march,information was brought by a sentinel that a great number ofMexicans in rich dresses were on the road towards our quarters,on which Cortes again dismissed us. Four principal nobles ofMexico now presented themselves with profound respect before ourgeneral, whom they informed that Cacamatzin, lord of Tezcuco, andnephew to the great Montezuma was approaching, and begged that hewould remain in his present situation to receive him. Cacamatzinsoon followed in vast pomp, borne in a magnificent litter,adorned with jewels and plumes of green feathers, set in branchedpillars of gold. His litter was carried by eight nobles, whoassisted him to alight, and then swept the way before him as hecame up to Cortes. Our general embraced the prince, and made hima present of three of the jewels named margajitas, whichare figured with various colours. The only purpose of this visitseemed to have been complimentary, as he addressed Cortes inthese words: "I, and these lords, have come by order of the greatMontezuma, to conduct you to your residence in our city." We thenset forwards in our usual array for Mexico, the road beingcrowded on both sides with innumerable multitudes of natives, andsoon arrived at the causeway of Iztapalapan, one of those whichleads to the capital.

When we contemplated the number of populous towns so closelysituated in regard to each other, some on the water, and otherson the firm ground, we could not help comparing this wonderfulcountry to the enchanted scenes we read of in Amadis de Gaul, somagnificent were the towers and temples and other superb edificesof stone and lime, which seemed everywhere to rise out of thewater. Many of us were disposed to doubt the reality of the scenebefore us, and to suspect we were in a dream; and my readers mustexcuse the manner of my expressions, as never had any one seen,heard, or even dreamt of any thing which could compare to themagnificence of the scene we now beheld. On approachingIztapalapan, we were received by several of the highest nobles ofthe Mexican empire, relations of Montezuma, who conducted us tothe lodgings appointed for us in that place, which weremagnificent palaces of stone, the timber work of which werecedar, having spacious courts and large halls, furnished withcanopies of the finest cotton. After contemplating themagnificence of the buildings, we walked through splendidgardens, containing numerous alleys planted with a variety offruit trees, and filled with roses, and a vast variety ofbeautiful and aromatic flowers. In these gardens there was a finesheet of clear water, communicating with the great lake of Mexicoby a canal, which was of sufficient dimensions to admit thelargest canoes. The apartments of the palace were everywhereornamented with works of art, admirably painted, and the wallswere beautifully plastered and whitened; the whole being rendereddelightful by containing great numbers of beautiful birds. When Ibeheld the delicious scenery around me, I thought we had beentransported by magic to the terrestrial paradise. But this placeis now destroyed, and a great deal of what was then a beautifulexpanse of water, is now converted into fields of maize, and allis so entirely altered that the natives themselves would hardlyknow the place where Iztapalapan stood.

SECTION VIII

Arrival of the Spaniards in Mexico, Description of thatCourt and City, and Transactions there, till the Arrival ofNarvaez on the coast to supersede Cortes, by order ofVelasquez.

Next day, being the 8th of November 1519, we set out on ourway into the city of Mexico along the grand causeway, which iseight yards wide, and reaches in a straight line all the way fromthe firm land to the city of Mexico, both sides of the causewaybeing everywhere crowded with spectators, as were all the towers,temples, and terraces in every part of our progress, eager tobehold such men and animals as had never been seen in that partof the world. A very different sentiment from curiosity employedour minds, though every thing we saw around us was calculated toexcite and gratify that passion in the highest degree. Our littlearmy did not exceed four hundred and fifty men, and we had beentold at every step of our march, that we were to be put to deathon our arrival in the city into which we were now about to enter.That city was everywhere surrounded by water, and approachableonly by long moles or causeways interrupted in many places bycross cuts, which were only to be passed by means of bridges, thedestruction or removal of any of which would effectually preventthe possibility of retreat. In these circ*mstances I may fairlyask my readers, what men in the world but ourselves would haveventured on so bold and hazardous an enterprize?

Proceeding along the broad causeway of Iztapalapan, we came toa place called Xoloc, where a smaller causeway goes offobliquely from the great one to the city of Cojohuacan, wewere met by a numerous train of the court nobles in the richestdresses, who were sent before Montezuma to compliment us on ourarrival, after which Cacamatzin and the other nobles who hadhitherto attended us, went to meet their sovereign, who nowapproached in a most magnificent litter, which was carried byfour of his highest nobles. When we came near certain towers,almost close to the city, Montezuma was lifted from his litter,and borne forwards in the arms of the lords of Tezcuco,Iztapalapan, Tacuba, and Cojohuacan, under a splendid canopy,richly adorned with gold, precious stones hung round likefringes, and plumes of green feathers. Montezuma was dressed andadorned with great magnificence, his mantle being all coveredwith gold and gems, a crown of thin gold on his head, and goldbuskins on his legs ornamented with jewels. The princes whosupported him were all richly dressed, but in different habitsfrom those in which they had visited us; and several other noblesin fine dresses, went before the monarch, spreading mantles onthe ground to prevent his feet from touching it. Three noblespreceded the whole, each carrying a golden rod, as a signal ofthe presence of their great monarch. All the natives who attendedMontezuma, except the four princes, kept their eyes fixed on theground, no one daring to look him in the face. On the approach ofMontezuma, Cortes dismounted and advanced towards him with everytoken of profound respect, and was welcomed by the Mexicanmonarch to his metropolis. Cortes then threw upon the neck ofMontezuma a collar of the artificial jewels calledmargajitas, being glass beads of various colours, set ingold; after which he advanced, meaning to embrace Montezuma, butthe surrounding nobles prevented him, by taking him respectfullyby the arms, considering this as too great familiarity. Itappeared to me that on this occasion Cortes offered to yield theright hand to Montezuma, who declined this mark of respect, andplaced our general on his right. Cortes then made a complimentarydiscourse to Montezuma, expressing his joy in having seen sogreat a monarch, and the great honour he had done him, by comingout to meet him, as well as by the many other marks of favour hehad already received. Montezuma made a gracious reply, and givingorders to the princes of Tezcuco and Cojohuacan to conduct Cortesand the rest of us to the quarters assigned to us, he returned tothe city in the same state in which he had come to meet us, allthe people standing close to the walls, not daring to look up;and as we followed the royal attendants, we passed on without anyobstruction from the multitudes in the streets. It wereimpossible to reckon the innumerable multitudes of men, women,and children which thronged everywhere in the streets, on thecanals, and the terraces on the house tops, during the whole ofour passage through the city of Mexico. So strongly is everything I saw on this memorable day imprinted on my memory, that itappears to me only as yesterday. Glory to our Lord and SaviourJesus Christ, who gave us courage to venture on so hazardous anenterprize, and preserved us amid so many dangers: And praised behis holy name, who hath permitted me to write this true history;though not so full and satisfactory as the subject merits.Amen!

Lodgings were provided for us in the palace which had formerlybeen occupied by Azayacatl, not far from the western gate of thegreat temple. Here Montezuma had a secret treasury of gold andvaluables, which he had inherited from his father Azayacatl, andwe were placed here, because being considered as teules,they thought we were properly lodged in the neighbourhood oftheir idols. The entry to this palace was through a large walledcourt, and the whole was very light, airy, clean, and pleasant,with large and lofty apartments. That allotted for our generalwas situated on a raised platform; and for each of us mats wereprovided to sleep upon, having little canopies over them, afterthe fashion of this country. On our arrival at the gate of thispalace, Montezuma, who had preceded us, took Cortes by the handand led him to the apartment destined to his particular use, andhaving placed a rich collar of gold round the generals neck, hesaid on taking leave of him, "Malinatzin, you and your friendsare now in your own house, refresh and repose yourselves." Wewere distributed to our several apartments by companies, havingour artillery posted in a convenient situation, and every thingwas arranged in such a manner as to be prepared for anyemergency. A plentiful and even sumptuous entertainment wasprovided for us, to which we sat down with much satisfaction.This is a full and true account of our adventurous andmagnanimous entry into the city of Mexico, on the 8th of November1519.

After Montezuma had taken a repast in his own palace, and wasinformed we had done the same, he returned to our quartersattended by a great retinue of nobles. Cortes received him in themiddle of the hall, where Montezuma took him cordially by thehand, and they sat down together on magnificently ornamentedseats. Montezuma made a very pertinent speech, in which heobserved, "That he rejoiced at the arrival of such valiantcaptains and warriors in his dominions. He had before heard of aSpanish captain who had arrived at Pontonchan, and of another whocame upon the coast in the preceding year with four ships, andhad wished to see these men, but was disappointed. Now that wewere actually arrived in his dominions, he was happy to offerevery favour in his power to grant, being convinced we were thosem*n predicted by the gods to his ancestors, who, coming from thatpart of the world in which the sun rises, were to acquire thegovernment of this country, as we had fought with suchastonishing valour ever since our arrival, representations of allour battles having been sent him in painting." Cortes replied,"That he and all his brethren could never sufficiently repay themany favours we had received from his bounty; that we certainlywere those men to whom the Mexican prophecies related, being thevassals of the great and powerful emperor Don Carlos, to whommany great princes were subject; and who, hearing of the fame andmagnificence of the great Montezuma, had sent us to request thathe and his subjects would embrace the Holy Christian religion,abandoning their false gods and senseless idols, and abolishingtheir barbarous human sacrifices, by which means he wouldpreserve the souls of himself, his family, and subjects fromperdition." Cortes enlarged on this and other topics in a mostedifying manner, promising to communicate more particularshereafter. Montezuma then presented a quantity of valuableornaments of gold to our general, with a present of some gold,and three loads of mantles to each of our captains, and two loadsof mantles to each of the soldiers. After this he asked Cortes ifall his soldiers were brothers and vassals to our emperor. Tothis Cortes answered that they were all brothers in love andfriendship, men of rank in our own country, and servants of ourgreat sovereign. Montezuma then departed, with mutualcompliments, after giving orders that we should be amply providedwith every thing we needed; particularly fowls, fruit, and corn,stone mills for grinding our corn, and women to make bread, andto supply us daily with plenty of grass for our horses.

Next day being appointed for making a visit to Montezuma,Cortes went to the royal palace accompanied by captains Alvarado,De Leon, Ordas, and Sandoval, with five soldiers. Montezuma methim in the middle of the great hall, attended by his relations,all others being excluded from the apartment in which he happenedto be, except on certain occasions of importance. After mutualcompliments of ceremony, Montezuma took Cortes by the hand, andled him to a seat on his own right hand, placed on an elevatedplatform in the saloon. Cortes then said, "That he came to him inthe name and for the service of the only true God, who was adoredby the Christians, the Lord Christ Jesus, who had died to save usand all men. He endeavoured to explain the mystery of the cross,as an emblem of the crucifixion, by which mankind had beenredeemed. He recounted the sufferings and death of our Lord andSaviour, who had risen on the third day and ascended to heaven,where he now reigns, the creator of the heavens, and the earth,and the sea, and all that they contain. He asserted, that thoseidols which the natives held as gods, were devils which dared notto remain wherever the holy cross was planted. That as allmankind were brothers, the offspring of the same first pair, ourglorious emperor lamented the loss of their souls, which would bebrought by their idols into everlasting flames, and had sent usto apply a sure remedy, by abolishing the worship of idols, thebloody and inhuman sacrifices of their fellow men, and theirother odious customs so contrary to the law of God: And that ouremperor would send them holy men hereafter to explain all thesethings more fully." To this Montezuma replied, "Malinatzin! I ammuch indebted to your emperor for sending you so far to inform meof all these things, of which I have already heard by means of myambassadors who have visited you in my name, and to whichhitherto we have made no reply. We have always worshipped ourgods, whom we consider to be just and good, and have no doubtyours are so likewise. It had always been his wish to see us fromthe first time he had heard of our arrival on his coasts, becausehe believed we were they of whom their ancient prophecies mademention, and his gods had now granted his desire. That our beingrefused entrance into his cities was none of his fault; havingbeen done by his subjects without orders, who were terrified bythe accounts they had received of us, which reported that we werefurious teules, who carried thunder and lightning alongwith us, that our horses eat men, and other such foolish stories.That he now saw we were valiant and wise men, for which he highlyesteemed us, and would give us proofs of his favour." Thenchanging the manner of his discourse to gaiety, he added"Malinatzin! Your new friends the Tlascalans have informed youthat I am like a god, and that every thing about me is gold,silver, and jewels. But you now see that I am like other men, andthat my houses are of lime, stone, and timber. It is true that Iam a powerful sovereign, and have great riches, which I haveinherited from my ancestors. You will now treat these reportswith the same contempt that I do the ridiculous stories which Ihave been told of your having command over the elements." To thisCortes replied, that the accounts of enemies were never to bedepended on; and made a handsome compliment to Montezuma on hispower and grandeur. Montezuma then ordered in a rich present,giving Cortes a quantity of gold, with ten loads of rich stuffsto be divided between him and his captains, and to each of usfive soldiers, he gave two gold collars, each worth ten crowns,and two loads of mantles. The gold given on this occasion wasworth about a thousand crowns, and the whole was given with somuch affability and indifference, as made him appear trulymunificent. Cortes now took leave, it being the hour of dinner,and we retired impressed with high respect for the liberality andprincely munificence of Montezuma.

The great Montezuma appeared to be about forty years of age,of good stature, well proportioned, and rather thin. His face wasrather long, with a pleasant expression, and good eyes, and hiscomplexion rather fairer than the other Indians. His hair wasshort, just covering his ears, and his scanty beard was thin,black, and well arranged. His person was very clean and delicate,as he bathed every evening; and his manners were a pleasingcompound of gravity and good humour. He had two lawful wives, whowere princesses, and a number of mistresses; but his visits tothese were conducted with such secrecy as only to be known by hismost familiar servants; and he lay under no suspicion ofunnatural vices, so common among his subjects. The clothes hewore one day were not used for four days after. His guardconsisted of two hundred nobles, who had apartments adjoining hisown. Certain persons only among these were permitted to speak tohim, and when they went into his presence, they laid aside theirordinary rich dresses, putting on others quite plain but clean,entering his apartment barefooted, with their eyes fixed on theground, and making three profound reverences as they approachedhim. On addressing him, they always began, Lord! my Lord! greatLord! and when they had finished, he always dismissed them in fewwords; on which they retired with their faces towards him,keeping their eyes fixed on the ground. I observed likewise, thatall the great men who waited upon him on business, always enteredthe palace barefooted and in plain habits, never entering thegate directly, but making a circuit in going towards it.

The cooks of the palace had above thirty different ways ofdressing meats, which were served up in earthen vessels of a veryingenious construction for keeping their contents always hot. ForMontezumas own table above three hundred dishes were dressedevery day, and more than a thousand for his guards. Montezumasometimes went before dinner to inspect the preparations, onwhich occasions his officers pointed out to him which were thebest, explaining what birds or flesh they were composed of. It issaid that the flesh of young children was sometimes dressed forhis table; but after Cortes had spoken to him respecting thebarbarity of this inhuman custom, it was no longer practised inthe palace. The ordinary meats were domestic fowls, pheasants,geese, partridges, quails, venison, Indian hogs orpecaris, pigeons, hares, rabbits and many other animalsand birds peculiar to the country; the various meats being servedup on black and red earthen-ware made at Cholula. In the coldweather while at his meals, a number of torches were lighted up,of the bark of a tree which has an aromatic smell and gives nosmoke; and to prevent the glare and heat of those from beingtroublesome, rich screens ornamented with gold and paintings oftheir idols were interposed between Montezuma and the torches. Athis meals he was seated on a low throne or chair, at a table ofproportional height covered with white cloths and napkins, fourbeautiful women attending to present him with water for hishands, in vessels named xicales, having plates under them,after which they gave him towels to dry his hands. Two otherwomen attended with small cakes of bread; and when he began toeat, a large screen of gilt wood was placed before him, toprevent him from being seen. Four ancient nobles, who were hisrelations and served as councillors and judges, stood beside thethrone, with whom he occasionally conversed, giving them a partof what he was eating, which they received with profound respect,and eat without lifting their eyes from the ground. Fruit of allkinds produced in the country was served up to him at table, ofwhich he eat in great moderation; and a certain liquor preparedfrom cocoa, said to be of a stimulant and strengthening nature,was presented to him from time to time in golden cups. All thetime he continued at table his guards and all others in or nearhis apartment had to preserve the most profound silence, underpain of death. Owing to the before-mentioned screen whichconcealed him from public view, we could not see all thecirc*mstances here described from information. But I noticedabove fifty jars of foaming chocolate brought into the hall, someof which was presented to him by the female attendants. Duringthe repast, various Indians were introduced at intervals for hisamusem*nt: Some of these were hump-backed, ugly, and deformed,who played various tricks of buffoonery, and we were told thatothers were jesters, besides which there were companies ofsingers and dancers in which he was said to take great delight;and to all these he ordered vases of chocolate to be distributed.When the repast was ended, the four female attendants alreadymentioned, after removing the cloths, presented him again withwater to wash his hands, during which he continued hisconversation with the four old nobles, who then took their leaveswith much ceremony. He was then presented with three small hollowcanes highly ornamented, containing an herb called tobacco mixedwith liquid amber; and when he was satisfied with the buffoons,dancers, and singers, he smoked for a short time from one ofthese canes, and then laid himself to sleep. I forgot to mentionin its proper place that, during the time of dinner, twobeautiful women were employed in making certain small delicatelywhite cakes, of eggs and other ingredients, which they presentedon plates covered with napkins to Montezuma; and then anotherkind of bread was brought to him in long loaves, as likewiseplates of a kind of cakes resembling wafers or pancakes. WhenMontezuma had concluded his meal, all his guards and domesticssat down to dinner, and as well as I could judge, above athousand dishes of the various eatables already mentioned wereserved up to them, with immense quantities of fruit, and numerousvessels of foaming chocolate. His establishment, including hiswomen and inferior servants of all kinds, was amazingly numerous,and must have occasioned prodigious expence, yet the most perfectregularity was preserved amid that vast profusion. The steward ofhis household, or major-domo, was at this time a prince namedTapiea, who kept an account of all the royal rents in aset of books or symbolical representations which occupied anentire house.

Connected with the palace of Montezuma there were two largebuildings filled with every kind of arms, both offensive anddefensive, some of which were richly ornamented with gold andjewels; such as large and small shields, some of the latter beingso contrived as to roll up in a small compass, and to let fall inaction so as to cover the whole body; much defensive armour ofquilted cotton, ornamented with various devices in feather work;helmets or casques for the head made of wood and bone, adornedwith plumes of feathers; immense quantities of bows, arrows,darts, and slings; lances having stone heads or blades six feetlong, so strong as not to break when fixed in a shield, and assharp as razors; clubs or two-handed swords, having edges ofsharp stones; and many other articles which I cannot enumerate.In the palace there was a magnificent aviary, containing everykind of bird to be found in all the surrounding country, fromlarge eagles down to the smallest paroquets of beautiful plumage.In this place the ornamental feather-work so much in repute amongthe Mexicans, was fabricated, the feathers for this purpose beingtaken from certain birds called Quetzales, and others,having green, red, white, yellow, and blue feathers, about thesize of our Spanish pyes, the name of which I have forgot. Therewere also great numbers of parrots, and geese of fine plumage;all these birds breeding in the royal aviary, and being annuallystripped of their feathers at the proper season, to supply theworkers in feather-work. There was likewise a large pond of clearwater, in which were kept a number of large birds of a red colourwith very long legs, resembling those called Ipiris inCuba, and called flamingos by the Spaniards. In another greatbuilding we saw a temple dedicated to the war gods, in which werekept great numbers of ferocious beasts, as tigers, lions of twospecies, one of which called Adive resembled a wolf; alsofoxes, and other smaller animals, all of them carnivorous. Mostof these were bred in this menagerie, and were fed upon game,fowls, and dogs, and, as I was informed, on the bodies of thesacrificed human victims. Their manner of sacrifice was said tobe as follows: They open the breasts of the living victim withlarge stone knives, offering his heart and blood to their gods;they feast on the head and limbs, giving the bodies to bedevoured by the wild beasts, and hanging up the skulls in thetemples as trophies of their misguided piety. In this placelikewise there were many vipers and serpents, the most dangerousof which have a kind of rattle on their tails, making a noiselike our castanets. These are kept in vessels filled withfeathers, where they breed, and are fed with human flesh and thecarcases of dogs. I was assured, after our expulsion from Mexico,that these animals were fed for many days on the bodies of ourcompanions who perished on that occasion. These ravenous beastsand horrid reptiles are fit companions for their infernaldeities; and when they yelled and hissed, that part of the palacemight be likened to hell itself.

The town in which most of the Mexican artists resided wascalled Azcapozalco, about a league from the city ofMexico, in which were many shops and manufactories of those whowrought in gold, silver, and jewellery, whose productionssurprised the ablest Spanish artist on being carried over toSpain. Their painters were also exceedingly expert, as may bejudged from what we still see among them; as there are now threeIndian painters in Mexico, named Marcos de Aquino, Juan de laCruz, and Grespillo, who are not inferior to Michael Angelo orBerreguete among the moderns, and might even have vied withApelles. The fine cotton manufactures of the Mexicans wereprincipally brought from the province of Costitlan. The womenlikewise of Montezumas family of all ranks, were exceedinglyexpert in these kinds of work, and were continually employed; aswere also certain females who lived together in a kind ofsecluded societies, like our nuns. One division of the city wasentirely inhabited by Montezumas dancers and posture-makers; someof whom danced like those Italians whom we callMatachines; others played various tricks by means ofsticks which they balanced in many curious ways; and others had astrange manner of flying in the air. Montezuma had also greatnumbers of carpenters and handicrafts of various descriptionscontinually employed in his service. His gardens were of greatextent, irrigated by means of canals, and shaded by an infinitevariety of trees; having stone baths, pavilions forentertainments or retirement, theatres for shows and for thesingers and dancers, and many other particulars, all of whichwere kept in the nicest order by a great number of labourers whowere constantly at work.

Four days after our arrival in Mexico, Cortes sent a messageto Montezuma by Aguilar, Donna Marina, and a young page namedOrteguilla, who already began to understand the language,requesting permission to take a view of the city, which wasimmediately granted; but as he was afraid we might offer someinsult to his temple, he went thither in person attended by agreat retinue, and in similar pomp as when he came to meet us onentering Mexico; two nobles preceding the cavalcade carryingsceptres in their hands, as a signal of the approach of themonarch. Montezuma was carried in his magnificent litter,carrying a small rod in his hand, half of which was gold and theother half wood: and on coming to the temple, he quitted thelitter and walked up the steps attended by many priests, where heoffered incense and performed many ceremonies in honour of hiswar gods. Cortes marched at the head of his small band ofcavalry, followed by most of the infantry under arms, into thegreat square, accompanied by many of the court nobles; where wewere astonished at the prodigious crowds of people, the vastquantities of merchandize exposed for sale, and the amazingregularity which everywhere prevailed; all of which our Mexicanattendants carefully pointed out to us. Every different commodityhad its own particular place, which was distinguished by anappropriate sign or emblem. There were dealers in gold, silver,feathers, jewels, mantles, chocolate, skins both dressed andundressed, sandals, manufactures of the roots and fibres ofnequen, and so forth. In one place great numbers of maleand female slaves were exposed for sale, most of whom werefastened by the neck in leather collars to long poles. The marketfor provisions was amply stocked with fowls, game, dogs,vegetables, fruit, articles of food ready dressed, salt, bread,honey, sweet pastry or confectionary of various kinds, and manyother articles. Other parts of the great square were appropriatedfor the sale of earthen ware, wooden furniture, such as tablesand benches, fire-wood, paper, hollow canes filled with tobaccoand liquid amber ready for smoking, copper axes, working tools ofvarious kinds, wooden vessels richly painted, and the like. Inanother part many women sold fish, and small loaves of a kind ofmud taken out of the lake resembling cheese. The makers of stoneblades were employed in shaping them out of the rough materials.The dealers in gold had the native metal in grains as it comesfrom the mines, in transparent tubes or quills, so that it couldeasily be seen; and the gold was valued at so many mantles, or somany xiquipils of cocoa nuts, in proportion to the size of thequills. The great square was enclosed all round by piazas, underwhich there were great stores of grain, and shops for variouskinds of goods. On the borders of the adjoining canals there wereboats loaded with human ordure, used in tanning leather, and onall the public roads there were places built of canes andthatched with straw or grass, for the convenience of passengersin order to collect this material. In one part of the square wasa court of justice having three judges, and their inferiorofficers were employed in perambulating the market, preservingorder, and inspecting the various articles.

After having satisfied our curiosity in the square, weproceeded to the great temple, where we went through a number oflarge courts, the smallest of which seemed to me larger than thegreat square of Salamanca, the courts being either paved withlarge cut white stones, or plastered and polished, the whole veryclean, and inclosed by double walls of stone and lime. On comingto the gate of the great temple, which was ascended by 114 steps,Montezuma sent six priests and two nobles to carry up Cortes,which he declined. On ascending to the summit, which consisted ofa broad platform, we observed the large stones on which thevictims were placed for sacrifice, near which was a monstrousfigure resembling a dragon, and much blood appeared to have beenrecently spilt. Montezuma came out of an adoratory or recess, inwhich the accursed idols were kept, and expressed hisapprehension to Cortes that he must be fatigued by the ascent, towhich Cortes answered that we were never fatigued. Montezuma,taking our general by the hand, pointed out to him the differentquarters of the city, and the towns in the neighbourhood, all ofwhich were distinctly seen from this commanding eminence. We hada distinct view of the three causeways by which Mexicocommunicated with the land, and of the aqueduct of Chapoltepec,which conveyed an abundant supply of the finest water to thecity. The numbers of canoes which were continually seen passingbetween Mexico and all the towns on the borders of the lake,carrying provisions and merchandise, was really astonishing. Wecould see, as we had been often told, that most of the houses ofthis great city, and of the others in the neighbourhood whichwere built in the water, stood apart from each other, their onlycommunication being by means of drawbridges or canoes, and thatall their roofs were terraced and battlemented. We saw numeroustemples and adoratories in the great city below, on thecauseways, and in the adjacent cities, all resembling so manyfortresses with towers, wonderfully brilliant, being allwhitewashed. The noise and bustle of the market in the greatsquare just below, was so great that it might easily have beenheard almost at the distance of a league; and some of ourcompanions who had seen both Rome and Constantinople, declaredthey had not seen any thing comparable in these cities, forconvenient and regular distribution or numbers of people.

After having admired the magnificent prospect around, Cortesrequested of Montezuma to shew us their gods. After consultingwith his priests, he led us into a kind of saloon in a tower,having a timber roof richly wrought, under which stood two altarshighly adorned, and behind these two gigantic figures resemblingvery fat men. That on the right was Huitzilopochtli, thegod of war, having a broad face and terrible eyes, all coveredover with gold and jewels, and having his body twisted round withgolden serpents. His right hand held a bow, and in his left therewas a bundle of arrows. Round his neck was a string of thefigures of human heads and hearts made of pure gold, intermixedwith precious stones of a blue colour. Close by him stood a smallimage representing his page, carrying a lance and shield richlyadorned with gold and jewels. Before the great idol stood a panof fire, in which three hearts of human victims were then burningalong with copal. The whole walls and floor of the apartment wasstained with human blood, and had a most offensive smell, worsethan any slaughter-house. On the left of Huitzilopochtli stoodanother gigantic figure, having a countenance like a bear, withgreat shining eyes. The name of this last wasTezcatlipoca, who was said to be the god of the infernalregions, and to preside over the souls of men[1]. He was likewiseconsidered as the brother of the god of war. His body was coveredall over with figures representing little devils with tails ofserpents, and was richly adorned with gold and jewels. Beforethis idol lay an offering of five human hearts. On the summit ofthe whole temple was a recess having its wood-work very highlyornamented, where we saw a figure half human and the rest like analligator, all inlaid with jewels, and partly covered by amantle. He was considered as the germ and origin of all createdthings, and was worshipped as the god of harvests and fruits.Here likewise the walls and altar were stained with blood likethe others, and so offensive that we were glad to retire in allhaste. In this place there stood a drum of prodigious size, thehead of which was made of the skin of a large serpent, whichresounded, when struck, with a noise that might be heard at thedistance of two leagues, and gave out a sound so doleful, that itmight be named the drum of hell. This dreadful drum, the horridsound of their horns and trumpets, and the shocking sight oftheir great sacrificial knives, the remnants of human victims,and their blood-stained altars and fanes, made me anxious to getaway from this horrible scene of human butchery, detestablesmells, and abominable sights.

[1] Clavigero calls this the god of providence, thesoul of the world, the creator of heaven and earth, and themaster of ill things, the rewarder of the just and the punisherof the wicked.--E.

Addressing himself to Montezuma, half jest half earnest,Cortes expressed his astonishment how so wise a prince couldadore such absurd and wicked gods; and proposed to substitute thecross on the summit of the tower, and the images of the HolyVirgin and her ever-blessed SON in the adoratories, instead ofthose horrid idols, assuring him that he would soon be convincedof the vanity of his idolatry, and the deception practised on himby these inhuman priests. Montezuma was much displeased withthese expressions, saying that he would not have admitted us tothe temple if he had known we were to insult his gods, whodispensed health, good harvests, seasonable weather, and victory,and whom they were bound in duty and gratitude to adore. Cortesdropped the subject and proposed to withdraw, to which Montezumaassented, observing that he must remain, and atone by anexpiatory sacrifice for having admitted us into the temple.Cortes then took leave of the king, and we descended the steps,to the great inconvenience of our invalids. If I am not quite socorrect as I wish and ought to be in many of the things which Irelate and describe, I must beg my readers to consider thesituation in which I then served, being under the necessity ofgiving more attention to the orders of my officers than to thesurrounding objects of curiosity. The temple which we had justvisited covered a prodigious extent of ground, and diminishedgradually from the base to the platform on the top, having fiveconcavities like barbicans between the middle and the top, butwithout parapets. On the broad platform of the summit there was atower in which the images were placed. But as there are manypaintings of temples in the possession of the conquerors, one ofwhich I have, it will be easy to form an idea of the structure ofthis temple from these representations[2]. It was said by theMexicans, that numerous offerings of gold, silver, jewels,productions of the earth, and human victims were deposited underthe foundations of this great temple at the time of its erection;and it is certain, when the ground on which it stood wasafterwards dug up for the church of St Jago, that we found greatquantities of gold, silver, and other valuables on sinking thenew foundations. A Mexican also, who obtained a grant of part ofthis ground, discovered a considerable treasure, about whichthere was a law-suit for the royal interest. This account wasconfirmed by King Guatimotzin, who assured us that thecirc*mstances were recorded in ancient historical paintings. At asmall distance from the great temple, there stood a tower, havinga gate or entrance always open, like the mouth of an enormousmonster, ready to devour those who entered this hell orhabitation of the demons. At this horrible door there stood manyfrightful idols, beside which there was a place for sacrifice,and within there were pots full of water ready to boil the fleshof the victims, which formed the horrible repasts of the priests.The idols were like serpents and devils, and the place, allsmeared over with human blood, was furnished with knives forsacrifice like the slaughter-house of a butcher. In another partof the buildings there were great piles of wood, and a reservoirof water supplied by a pipe from the great aqueduct ofChapoltepec. In one of the courts there was a temple, allbesmeared with blood and soot, surrounded by the tombs of theMexican nobility. In another court there were immense piles ofhuman bones, all regularly arranged. Every temple had itspeculiar idols, and each its regular establishment of priests,who were dressed in long black vestments, something between thedress of our canons and the Dominican friars. They all wore theirhair long and clotted with blood, and their ears were alllacerated in honour of their abominable idols. At some distancefrom the temple of the tombs, there was another of which theidols were said to preside over marriages; and all the courtswere surrounded by low houses for the priests and their numerousassistants. Hard by these was a large building in which greatnumbers of the Mexican young women resided, as in a nunnery, tillthey were married. They were devoted to the worship of two femaledeities, who presided over marriages, to whom they sacrificed inorder to obtain good husbands. I have thus been diffuse indescribing this great temple, as it was by far the largest andmost splendid in Mexico; yet the temple of Cholula was stillhigher, having 120 steps. This was built on a different plan fromthat of Mexico, and was held in high veneration by the natives.The temple of Tezcuco also was very large, being ascended by 117steps, and all these differed in their structure, though they allagreed in having a number of outer courts, and a doubleinclosure. Every province of this country had its own peculiargods, who were supposed to have no concern with those of otherprovinces, so that its gods and idols were quite innumerable.Having effectually fatigued ourselves in examining the objects Ihave just described, we retired to our quarters.

[2] Along with the work of Bernal Diaz, and in thehistory of Mexico by Clavigero, there are representations ofancient Mexican temples. In both they consist of six frustums oftruncated pyramids, placed above each other, having a gallery oropen walk around at each junction, and straight outside stairsreaching between each gallery, not unlike the representationsthat have been ideally formed of the tower ofBabel.--E.

As Montezuma was entirely adverse to the proposal of Cortesfor converting the great temple of Mexico into a Christianchurch, he was exceedingly desirous to have a chapel and altar inour quarters, and made application to Montezuma through one ofhis principal nobles to have materials for this purpose. Thisrequest was immediately complied with, and as abundance of timberand native workmen were sent immediately, it was completed inthree days. In this new chapel mass was celebrated every day,though we lamented the want of wine for the holy eucharist, as ithad been all expended during the illness of Cortes, Olmedo, andothers, while we were in the dominions of Tlascala. We wereextremely regular in our devotions, both because it was our duty,and that we might impress a favourable opinion of our holyreligion on Montezuma and his subjects. While our carpenters werelooking out for a proper place in which to fix the holy cross ofour chapel, they observed the appearance of a door in one of thewalls of our quarters which had been closed up. Cortes causedthis to be privately opened, and an apartment was found within,in which countless riches were deposited. The secret soontranspired, and we went all to view the concealed treasury. I wasthen a young man, and it seemed to me that all the treasures ofthe world gathered together could not have reached the amount ofwhat we then saw. It was thought prudent to close up the door ofthis place, and to conceal our knowledge of it and its contentsto a proper opportunity.

About this time Cortes convened a council of four captains andtwelve soldiers, of those in whom he had most confidence, amongwhom I was, in order to consult upon our present situation andfuture procedure. Having duly considered how obviously we hadbeen hitherto guided and preserved by the mercy of GOD, and howthe natives, though now kind, might soon change through theirnative fickleness, and notwithstanding the present hospitality ofMontezuma, he might at any time plot our destruction, weunanimously resolved, on the suggestion of Cortes, that the mosteffectual measure for our security was to make that monarch ourprisoner and the guarantee of our safety. We knew not but wemight all be poisoned in our food, and no gift which he couldmake us, not even all his fathers treasures which we had justdiscovered, could compensate to us for the continual alarms inwhich we lived. Some of the officers present at the council,proposed to induce Montezuma by some plausible pretext to come toour quarters, when we could easily seize him without resistanceor danger. It was observed by some of our soldiers, that we werenot now so plentifully supplied with provisions by the royalofficers as at our first coming; and that our interpreter,Aguilar, had been secretly informed by two of our Tlascalanallies, that they had noticed several indications of evilintentions towards us among the Mexicans, for the last two days.After a long consultation, we agreed to adjourn the considerationof the means of executing our resolution till next day; and inthe meantime the reverend Father Olmedo was consulted on thesubject, and we prayed GOD to guide and direct our proceedingsfor the best, in our present ticklish and dangerous situation.Next day, two Tlascalans arrived secretly with letters from VillaRica, with an account that Escalente and six Spaniards had beenslain in a battle with the Mexicans, and that the inhabitants ofChempoalla and the neighbouring mountains, who had submitted tous, had revolted back to the Mexican government, refusing tosupply provisions, or to work on the fortifications, insomuch,that the remaining garrison of Villa Rica were in much distressand knew not how to act. These letters said likewise, that thehigh opinion which the natives had adopted with respect to theSpaniards was much altered for the worse, since they found theycould be killed like other men. This intelligence gave us muchaffliction. It was the first defeat we had experienced since ourlanding; and had produced a most alarming change in oursituation, and in the opinions of the Mexicans. Before this, wewere in possession of wealth, and were considered asinvulnerable, and almost like demigods; but were now lowered inthe estimation of the natives, almost to a level with themselves,in whose power we were. It now seemed more necessary than ever toour very existence that we should secure the person of Montezuma;considering that if we failed in the attempt, we might as wellperish in what seemed our only chance of safety, as wait to beoverwhelmed by the whole power of the Mexican empire. Before Iproceed to narrate the sequel of our transactions in Mexico, Ishall give an account of the misfortune which befelEscalente[3].

[3] Clavigero pretends that the defeat and death ofEscalante were known to Cortes and his followers while atCholula. This is highly improbable, both from the narrative ofDiaz, and because Cortes would not certainly have put himselfentirely in the power of Montezuma, after this unequivocaldemonstration of resolute enmity.--E.

It has been already mentioned, that about thirty native chiefsof districts in the neighbourhood of Villa Rica, had voluntarilysubmitted to our government at Chiahuitztla. After our littlearmy had penetrated to the capital of the Mexican empire, thecommander of a garrison belonging to Montezuma endeavoured tolevy contributions from some of these our new subjects: and whenthis was represented to Escalente, who commanded at Villa Rica,he sent orders to the Mexican officers to desist, as otherwise hewould be under the necessity of chastising them, though he wishedto remain in peace and friendship with the subjects of Mexico. Tothis the Mexican officers sent a haughty reply, saying that hewould find them in the field. On receiving this answer,Escalente, who was a brave man, set out with forty of his ownsoldiers, and two thousand of our allies of the Totanaca nationto march against the Mexicans, whom he found pillaging thecountry, and immediately attacked them. Our allies were alwaysafraid of the Mexicans, and fled at the first shower of arrows,leaving the Spaniards to get out of the scrape as well as theymight. They made their retreat with great difficulty to VillaRica[4], where Escalente and six of his soldiers died of theirwounds. A Spanish soldier named Arguello, of great bodilystrength, with a large head, and thick frizzled beard, was takenalive, but died of his wounds. The Mexican captains reported thewhole of this affair to Montezuma, to whom they brought the headof Arguello; and it is said that Montezuma trembled when hebeheld it, and ordered it to be taken out of the way. Hereproached his captains for not having overwhelmed the whole ofthat small number of Spaniards with their numerous forces; butthey alleged that a supernatural being fought against them,assisting and encouraging the Spaniards, and struck terror intotheir men.

[4] In the original of Diaz they are said to haveretreated to Almeria, but this is an obvious mistake. Almeria,according to Clavigero, II. 55, was the name given by theSpaniards to Nauhtlan, a city on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico,thirty-six miles north of Villa Rica, which was governed byQuauhpopoca for Montezuma, and by whom the Mexican detachment wascommanded by which Escalente was defeated.--E.

Having finally resolved to seize Montezuma, we spent the wholenight before proceeding on that hazardous enterprize in earnestprayer to GOD, that what we were about to do might redound to hisholy service; and in the morning we arranged the manner in whichthis our resolution was to be executed. Our cavalry and infantrywere all ordered to be in readiness for instant action, and as itwas usual with us to go always fully armed, this circ*mstancegave no suspicion to the Mexicans. Leaving the whole of hisforces prepared to act in case of need, Cortes proceeded to thepalace, attended by five of his captains, Alvarado, Sandoval, DeLeon, De Lugo, and Avila[5], with the interpreters Donna Marinaand Aguilar, having first sent a message to the king, intimatinghis intention to wait upon him. Montezuma supposed that thisvisit of Cortes was on occasion of the affair which had latelyoccurred at Chiahuitztla, and that our general was muchdispleased on that account, yet sent back that he would be gladto see him. Our general, and we that were with him,immediately went to the royal apartment, and after paying hisrespects as usual, Cortes addressed Montezuma to the followingeffect through his interpreters: "He was astonished that so braveand magnanimous a monarch, who had shewn so much friendship forus on all occasions, should have clandestinely given orders tohis troops in Totonacapan[6] to make an attack upon theSpaniards whom he had left at Villa Rica, in which one of themhad been killed, and our allies the Totonacas had been pillagedand destroyed without mercy." Cortes intentionally concealed thedeath of Escalente and his six soldiers, not wishing that theextent of our loss on this occasion should be known to theMexicans. He then charged Montezuma as the author of thetreachery which had been attempted against us in Cholula, saying,that he had hitherto refrained from speaking on that subject,from motives of esteem and respect; but, from the late hostileattack by his governor of Totonacapan, and having learned thatthe officers of the court were plotting to cut us off in Mexico,it became necessary for us to use effectual measures to secureour safety. For this purpose therefore, and in order to preventthe ruin of the city of Mexico, it was necessary that his majestyshould go immediately to our quarters, assuring him if he gavethe smallest alarm, or made any resistance, the officers andsoldiers then present would put him instantly to death. Onhearing this proposal Montezuma was so petrified with terror andamazement that he seemed to have lost all sensation for a time.After recovering a little, he positively denied having given anyorders to Quauhpopoca the governor of Nauhtlan to attack ourtroops under Escalente; and taking from his wrist the signet ofHuitzilopochtli, which he employed on all occasions of importanceto confirm and enforce his orders, he gave it to one of hisofficers whom he commanded to bring Quauhpopoca to court withoutdelay to answer for his conduct. Then assuming a dignified air,he declined the proposal of quitting his palace with disdain,declaring that he would not be constrained to take so humiliatinga step. Cortes endeavoured to explain the necessity of hisimmediate compliance, and the king persisted in his refusal, sothat the conversation drew to considerable length, half an hourat least having elapsed. The captains who accompanied Cortesbecame impatient of delay, fearing that great numbers of theMexicans might collect to the rescue of their sovereign, and thatwe should be oppressed under superior force. In this dilemma, DeLeon exclaimed in his rough voice to Cortes: "Why, Sir, do youwaste so many words? Tell him, that if he does not instantlyyield himself our prisoner, we will plunge our swords into hisbody: Let us now assure our lives or perish." Montezuma was muchstruck with the manner in which De Leon expressed himself, andasked Donna Marina what he had said. She answered with muchdiscretion, by mildly advising him to consent immediately to goalong with us, assuring him that he would be treated with all thehonour and respect he could desire, whereas she was convinced wewould put him to death if he refused or even hesitated. Montezumathen offered to put his legitimate son and two daughters into thehands of Cortes, as hostages, and earnestly entreated that hemight not be exposed before his subjects as a prisoner. ButCortes assured him that nothing short of what had been originallyproposed could satisfy us, and that all remonstrances wereunavailing. At last he was obliged to consent, saying, "I trustmyself with you, let us go! let us go! since the gods will haveit so." Our captains gave him every assurance of their perfectesteem and respect, begging of him not to be offended at theirconduct, which was indispensably necessary to their own safety,and requested that he would say to his officers that he went ofhis own free will, and by the advice of his gods and priests. Hismagnificent state litter was now brought for his accommodation,and he proceeded to our quarters in his accustomed pomp, attendedby his guards, where he was received and entertained with everymark of respect; yet our posts and centinels were properly placedin every direction to guard against his escape or rescue. He wassoon waited on by the princes of his family, and all theprincipal Mexican nobles, who came to inquire the reason of thischange of abode, and whether it was his wish that they shouldattack us. But he told them that he intended to remain with usfor a few days, and commanded them to take no steps which mightdisturb the peace of the city.

[5] It is obvious from a circ*mstance in the sequelof this story that Diaz and other soldiers attended Cortes onthis occasion. Clavigero, II. 77. says there were twenty-fivesoldiers besides the five captains, who repaired two by two tothe palace, and joined Cortes there as if by accident. Thisdaring transaction took place eight days after the arrival ofCortes in the city of Mexico.--E.

[6] Diaz calls this Tuzapan; but as Nauhtlan was inthe country of the Totonacas, called Totonacapan by the Mexicans,we have chosen here and everywhere else that this could be donewith certainty, to adopt the orthography ofClavigero.--E.

Thus we accomplished the seizure of the great Montezuma. Hewas attended in our quarters with the same magnificence as in hisown palace; his wives, family, and officers being constantly withhim, and having always twenty chiefs or counsellors in hispresence. He bathed twice a-day, and appeared calm and resignedto his fate. Ambassadors came to him from all the provinces ofhis empire; some to deliver the accustomed tribute, and others totransact various affairs of importance, all of which wasdispatched in the usual manner. I perfectly remember that howevergreat might be the princes or chiefs who had to wait upon him,they always took off their rich dresses and put on plain andcoarse nequen clothes, and came into the royal apartmentsin this habit, barefooted, not entering directly, but making acircuit by the wall. On entering the presence they kept theireyes cast down on the ground, and after three profoundreverences, always began their addresses in these words, lord!my lord! great lord! They then displayed certain clothsbefore him, on which the business they came upon was representedby painting, the particulars of which they explained pointing outthe figures by means of nicely polished rods or wands. While thiswas going on, two old nobles always stood beside the king, whoattentively considered every circ*mstance, on which they gave himtheir opinions, and he then dispatched the affair in few words.The person who had the business with the king then withdrewwithout reply, making three profound reverences as before, alwayskeeping his eyes on the ground, and his face to the throne tillout of sight. On leaving the royal apartments, they reassumedtheir rich dresses, in which they walked about the city.

The messengers who had been dispatched with the royal signetto arrest the officers against whom Cortes had complained for theattack on Escalente, soon returned with them to Mexico. I knownot what passed in the royal presence when they appeared beforethe king; but he sent them immediately to Cortes to do with themas he pleased. On their examination, when the king was notpresent, they avowed all that had happened in Totonacapan, butsaid that they had acted by orders from Montezuma, by whom theyhad been commanded to levy the royal tribute, and even to attackthe Spaniards if they should support the refractory subjects ofthe empire. On Montezuma being charged with this, he endeavouredto exculpate himself; but Cortes told him, that although hisparticipation in the guilt of his officers was apparent, andalthough he had been commanded by his own sovereign to punishwith death all who had inflicted death on any of the Spaniards,yet he had so great a regard for his majesty, that he wouldsooner loose his own life than do him any injury. Notwithstandingthese assurances, Montezuma was in great fear of being put todeath. Cortes sentenced the Mexican officers to be burnt alive infront of their kings palace, which was immediately carried intoexecution; and to prevent any commotion while this was takingplace, he ordered Montezuma to be put in irons. The unfortunateking could not suppress his sense of this indignity, and weptaloud when the fetters were put on. After the execution was over,Cortes went into the apartment of Montezuma, attended by his fivecaptains formerly mentioned, and took off the irons with his ownhands, assuring him with a cordial embrace, that he loved himmore even than a brother, and that he hoped soon to extend hisdominions to more than double their present size. He is said alsoto have told him that he was now at liberty to return to his ownpalace, if he so wished; but we understood that Cortes orderedthe interpreters to inform Montezuma, that he was inclined to sethim at liberty, but that the other officers refused theirconsent. The spirit of the unfortunate king was now entirelysubdued, and the tears ran down his cheeks while Cortes wasspeaking: He declined the offer with thanks, well knowing theemptiness of his words; adding, that he thought it most prudentto remain where he was, to prevent an insurrection in the city.Montezuma requested Cortes to give him his page, Orteguilla, ayouth who had already made considerable progress in the Mexicanlanguage. Cortes immediately complied, and Orteguilla remainedafterwards constantly about the kings person, as Montezuma tookgreat delight in inquiring from him many particulars respectingthe manners and customs of Europe; and, from his knowledge of thelanguage, Orteguilla was of great service to us in the sequel, bycommunicating every circ*mstance that was of importance for us tobe made acquainted with. Montezuma continued to reside among us,always treated with the utmost respect and attention, as noofficer and soldier, even Cortes, ever came into his presence oreven passed him, without taking of his helmet. He always treatedus in return with much courtesey.

The Mexican officers who were publickly executed, were four innumber. Of these Quauhpopoca was the principal, two of the otherswere named Coatl and Quiabuitl, but I have forgotthe name of the fourth[7]. As soon as this punishment was madeknown throughout the provinces of the Mexican empire, itoccasioned universal terror among the natives, and the people ofTontonacapan immediately returned to submission to our garrisonat Villa Rica.--Let me now pause, and request my readers toconsider the train of our heroic acts which I have alreadyrelated. First, we destroyed our ships, by which we cutoff all hope of retreat. Secondly, we entered the city ofMexico, in spite of the many alarming warnings we had received.Thirdly, we made Montezuma, the sovereign of that greatand populous empire, a prisoner, in the midst of his own palaceand capital, surrounded by numerous guards. Fourthly, wepublickly burnt his officers in front of his palace, and put theking in irons during the execution. I now frequently revolve uponthese great events in my old age, which still appear as fresh inmy memory as if they had only happened yesterday. I say tomyself, it was not we who did those mighty things, but we wereguided therein by the hand of God. For without his direction, howwas it to be conceived that so small a number as we were, notamounting to four hundred and fifty men, should have dared toseize and put in irons, and publickly burn his officers forobeying his orders, in a city larger and more populous thanVenice, and 1500 leagues from our own country.

[7] According to Clavigero, II. 82. Quauhpopoca, hisson, and fifteen other nobles were cruelly put to death on thisoccasion. Diaz names the principal chiefQuetzalpopoca.--E.

It was necessary to appoint a successor in the command atVilla Rica, and accordingly Cortes gave the command to Alonzo deGrado, an indifferent soldier, but a good speaker, a handsomeman, a musician, and a ready writer, who had always been adverseto our marching to Mexico, and was the chief orator on theseoccasions, in conveying the sentiments of the opposite party toCortes. On notifying this appointment, Cortes said to himjocularly, "Senior de Grado, you are now commandant of VillaRica. See that you fortify it well; but I charge you not to go towar with the wicked Indians, lest they kill you as they have doneJuan de Escalente." This was said ironically, as Cortes well knewhe would not venture out of his garrison for any consideration.As we noticed the concealed meaning of Cortes in these words, wecould hardly refrain from laughing aloud. He then enjoined him tobe kind to the natives, and to protect them from oppression; touse all diligence in completing the fortifications of the woodenfort, and to cause two large chains to be made from the old ironof the destroyed ships, by the smiths at Villa Rica, which wereto be sent immediately to Mexico. De Grado, on arriving at hisgovernment, assumed a lofty demeanour, and ordered theneighbouring Indians who were allied with us, to send him goldand females slaves, neglecting the fortifications, and spendinghis time in feasting and deep play. What was still worse, heplotted with the adherents of Velasquez to deliver up to him thepost with which he had been entrusted. When Cortes learned thesethings, he repented of having employed a person whose baddispositions he well knew in a post of so much importance, andsent therefore Sandoval, our alguazil-major to supersede him.Sandoval was accompanied by Pedro de Ircio, who used to amuse himwith anecdotes of the families of the Conde de Ureno and DonPedro Giron, by which means he gained the favour of Sandoval, whonever ceased promoting him till he got him to the rank ofcaptain. On his arrival at Villa Rica, Sandoval arrested DeGrado, and sent him prisoner to Mexico, under a guard of Indians,by order of Cortes, who would not see him on his arrival, butordered him to be confined in the stocks, where he remained twodays. De Grado afterwards made his peace, and got the office ofcontador, in place of Avila, who was sent over to Hispaniola asprocurador. Sandoval made himself exceedingly popular among thenatives in the neighbourhood of Villa Rica, and diligentlyapplied to complete the fortifications. He likewise sent toMexico by order of the general, all the ironwork necessary forthe construction of two vessels which were ordered to be builtfor sailing on the lake.

Every day after mass Cortes went with all his officers to payhis respects to Montezuma, asking his orders, the king alwaysaffecting to be perfectly contented with his situation. On theseoccasions the discourse frequently turned upon the principles ofour holy faith, and the power of our emperor Don Carlos. At othertimes Montezuma and Cortes used to play at a game calledtotoloque by the Mexicans, in which they aim with goldenballs at certain other objects made of gold. Once, when Cortesand Alvarado were playing against Montezuma and his nephew, theking said in a jocular manner, that he would not allowTonatiu, for so he called Alvarado on account of hishandsomeness, to mark, as if he cheated; on which we all fell alaughing, as we knew Alvarado was rather given to exaggeration.On these occasions, Cortes gave all his winnings among theMexican attendants of the king; and Montezuma distributed hisamong us soldiers of the guard. Indeed he every day made presentsto all of us who attended him, and particularly to Velasquez deLeon, the captain of his guard, who always treated him with muchrespect and attention. One night, a soldier named Truxillo, wasguilty of a very disrespectful action within his hearing, atwhich Montezuma was much offended, and asked the page Orteguillawho had committed this extreme rudeness. Orteguilla told him thatTruxillo was a person of low birth, and knew no better, and thengave him an account of our different ranks and characters, bywhich he was much gratified. He sent next day for Truxillo, andafter reproving him for his unmannerly behaviour, made him apresent worth five crowns. Next night, Truxillo committed asimilar rudeness, in hopes to get more gold, but Montezumacomplained to De Leon, who ordered Truxillo to be relieved, afterwhich he gave him a severe reprimand. Another night, a soldiernamed Pedro Lopez happened to be unwell, and cursed that dog ofan Indian, meaning Montezuma, for occasioning so much trouble.The king overheard this and discovered its meaning, on which hecomplained to Cortes, who ordered the man to be whipped. Afterthis, proper discipline and strict silence were preserved by theguard, which greatly pleased the king, who knew us all, and usedto address us by our names, and was always very kind to us. I wasthen a young man, and always behaved to him with much respect.The page had informed him that I had been twice on the coast ofhis empire before the arrival of Cortes, and that I had desiredhim to say to his majesty that I would be much obliged to him fora handsome Indian girl. He very graciously complied with thisrequest, and calling me before him, addressed me to the followingeffect: "Bernal Diaz, the young woman I now present to you is thedaughter of one of my principal nobles; treat her well, and herrelations will give you as much gold, and as many mantles as youcan desire." I respectfully kissed his hand, thanking him for hisgracious condescension, and prayed God to bless and prosper him.On which he observed, that my manner spoke me of nobleextraction, and he ordered me three plates of gold, and two loadsof mantles. In the morning, after his devotions, according to themanner of his country, Montezuma used to eat a light breakfast ofvegetables seasoned with agi, which is a kind of pepper.He then employed a full hour in the dispatch of business, in theway I have formerly mentioned, being attended at this time bytwenty counsellors; and in this way, sometimes amusing himself,and sometimes meditating on his situation, he spent the time ofhis confinement among us. He had many mistresses, and he usedoften to give away some of these in marriage among his officersand particular friends. Some of these ladies fell to our lot, andthe one I got was a lady of high birth, as she shewed by hermanner; after her baptism she was called Donna Francisca.

After the iron materials, with sails and cordage had arrivedfrom Villa Rica, Cortes asked leave from Montezuma to build twobrigantines for the purpose of his amusem*nt on the lake, andalso that he would order the native carpenters to assist in theirconstruction. Montezuma readily consented, and as there wasplenty of oak at no great distance, the work went onexpeditiously under Martin Lopez our principal ship-builder, sothat the two brigantines were soon built, launched, and rigged.While this was going on, Montezuma begged to be allowed toperform his devotions in the great temple, that his friends andsubjects might be satisfied he lived among us by his own choice,and the permission of his gods. Cortes granted this, under astrict caution to beware of doing any thing that might bring hislife in hazard, as he would send a strong guard along with him,with orders to put him to death instantly if any commotion shouldarise among the people. Cortes likewise insisted that no humansacrifices should be permitted on the occasion. All this beingagreed to, Montezuma set out for the temple in his usual pomp,attended by four of our captains, and an hundred and fiftySpanish soldiers, Father Olmedo being likewise present, toprevent any human sacrifice. Montezuma came out of his litternear the temple, where he was met by a number of priests, whocarried him up the steps. They had sacrificed four Indians thenight before to their accursed idols, as all our endeavours wereinsufficient to stop that abominable practice, which we wereforced to connive at for a season, being afraid to do any thingwhich might occasion an insurrection. After remaining a shorttime at his devotions, Montezuma came down from the temple, andreturned to our quarters in much good humour, and made presentsto all of us who had attended him.

Our two brigantines were now afloat on the lake, fullyequipped, and manned by expert sailors, and were found to obeyboth sail and oar to a wish. When Montezuma learnt this, herequested to go a-hunting to a certain district which was full ofgame, all other persons being prohibited from hunting there underpain of death. Cortes granted permission, giving warning that hislife would pay the forfeit of the smallest attempt to escape, andoffered him the use of our ships to convey him to the huntingground, which he accepted with much pleasure. The king and hissuit embarked in the swiftest of the two vessels, and the otheraccommodated his son and a number of nobles. Four of our captainsattended the king, with a guard of two hundred soldiers, and fourbrass guns, with their ammunition and artillery-men, wereembarked on the occasion. The wind was fresh, and our sailorstook great delight in exerting their utmost skill. Our shipsseemed to fly along the lake, and left a prodigious multitude ofthe canoes of the Mexicans far behind. Montezuma landed at theplace kept for his hunting, which abounded in game, so that hesoon procured a great quantity of various kinds, such as deer,hares, and rabbits; and having satisfied himself with sport, hereimbarked and came back to Mexico. We discharged our artilleryduring the voyage, which gave him much amusem*nt. He delighted usall by his affability and noble behaviour, and was held by everyone of us in the highest respect. It happened one day, whilethree of our captains were in his presence, that a hawk flew intothe apartment in pursuit of a quail, both these birds and dovesbeing bred about the palace. On this occasion our officers andsoldiers admired the beauty and fine flight of the hawk, andMontezuma was curious to know the subject of their discourse: Itwas accordingly explained to him, as likewise that we wereaccustomed to tame hawks, and to fly them from our hands inpursuit of game. On this Montezuma gave immediate orders to havethe hawk caught for us, and the very same bird was caught andbrought to us next morning.

Cacamatzin prince of Tezcuco, the largest town in the empirenext to Mexico, took great umbrage at hearing that his uncleMontezuma had been kept many days prisoner by the Spaniards, andthat we had opened the treasury of his ancestors. He thereforecalled a meeting of his principal vassals, and of theneighbouring princes or great feudatories of the Mexican empire,among whom was the lord of Matlatzinco, a renowned warrior andnear relation of Montezuma, who was reported to have somepretensions to the throne. His intention in summoning theseprinces was to persuade them to assemble their forces, in orderto attack us, and on making this proposal to the assembledchiefs, he of Matlatzinco offered to concur with his whole force,on condition that they would raise him to the throne of Mexico.But Cacamatzin alleged that he had a preferable claim to thatdignity, and declared he would destroy the Spaniards with his ownforces, for which purpose he entered into arrangements with hispartizans in Mexico. The whole of this plan was reported toMontezuma, who immediately commanded his nephew Cacamatzin todesist from his preparations, and communicated the information hehad received to Cortes, who had already received some notice ofwhat was going forwards, but not to the full extent. Cortesimmediately proposed to go at the head of a detachment of theSpaniards, and a large body of Mexican troops, and to destroyTezcuco; but as this proposal did not please Montezuma, Cortessent a message to Cacamatzin, requiring him to desist from hiswar-like preparations, and declaring his wish to have him for afriend. Cacamatzin answered, that he would not become the dupe ofplausible words like others, and meant soon to pay us a visit,when he would listen to what we had to say. In a second message,Cortes warned him not to proceed to hostilities, which wouldcertainly occasion the death of his uncle; but he replied, thathe cared neither for Montezuma nor Cortes, and was determined toact as he thought proper.

Cacamatzin had a brother named Cuitcuitzcatzin, who resided inMexico, having been obliged to take refuge there in consequenceof a family quarrel. As this was known to us, Cortes proposedthat Cacamatzin should be brought to Mexico, where we would seizehim unless he agreed to preserve the peace, or might substitutehis brother in the government of Tezcuco. Montezuma agreed tosend for him, and assured us if he refused to come, he would giveorders to bring him by force. Cortes thanked the king for thisinstance of his fidelity, declaring that he now only remained inMexico to protect him against his rebellious subjects, and wouldfeel happy to reinstate him in his own palace, but could notprevail on the rest of the Spanish captains to agree to thismeasure. Montezuma said in reply, that he would immediatelytransmit information to Cacamatzin, that his present residencewas entirely of his own free will, and by the advice of theirgods; for Montezuma was perfectly aware of the simulation ofCortes in his declarations, and endeavoured to fight him with hisown weapons. He accordingly sent a message to the prince in theproposed terms; but Cacamatzin understood the manner in which hisuncle was constrained to act, and declared his determination toassail our quarters within four days, saying that Montezuma was adespicable monarch, for having neglected to attack us at the Portof Chalco, as he had advised. That he was resolved to be avengedof the wrongs which we had heaped upon Montezuma and his country,and that if the throne of Mexico should fall to his lot duringthe contest, he would liberally reward all who assisted himagainst the Spanish invaders. Several of the Mexican chiefs whowere along with Cacamatzin, expressed their scruples aboutentering into war without the orders of their legitimatesovereign, and proposed to send to him for instructions.Cacamatzin was enraged at this proposal, as adverse to his viewsof assuming the crown of the Mexican empire, and immediatelyordered three of the most refractory into custody; by whichprocedure the rest were intimidated into compliance with hisplans. He then sent a message to Montezuma, representing thedisgrace into which he had fallen, by joining himself withwizards and magicians, and declared his resolution to destroy usall. Montezuma was much offended by the proud independenceassumed by his nephew, whom he now resolved to circumvent andmake prisoner. For this purpose he entrusted his signet to six ofhis captains, whom he commanded to shew it to certain otherleaders among his subjects, who were not well affected to theprince, and to communicate to them his orders to seize Cacamatzinand bring him prisoner to Mexico. These men went accordingly towhere Cacamatzin was consulting with the confederate chiefs onthe arrangement of his expedition; and shewing the royal signetwith which they were entrusted, they secured him and five of hisprincipal chiefs without opposition, and brought them away toMexico. Cacamatzin, being brought into the presence of Montezuma,was reproached by him for his disobedience and treason, and thendelivered over to Cortes; but the other prisoners werereleased.

Arrangements were immediately made for raisingCuitcuitzcatzin, one of the brothers of Cacamatzin, to theprincipality of Tezcuco; who was accordingly invested with thisdignity in the presence, of Montezuma, and sent over with asplendid retinue to take possession of the government[8]. Thisimportant business being completed to our entire satisfaction, wecontinued to reside in Mexico, paying our court to Montezuma withthe utmost demonstrations of respect, yet detaining him always aprisoner in our quarters.

[8] Diaz says that he assumed the name of Don Carloson this occasion; but does not allege even that he had beenbaptised. This name was probably merely imposed upon him by theSpanish soldiery; or he may have acquired it on becoming aChristian after the conquest of Mexico wascompleted.--E.

Cortes now resumed a proposal which had been formerly made,for Montezuma acknowledging the sovereignty of our emperor overhim and his dominions; to which Montezuma replied, that he wouldsummon a council of all his dependent princes, which he didaccordingly, and almost the whole of them attended in the courseof ten days. Among a few who absented themselves on thisoccasion, was the chief of Matlatzinco, who has been alreadymentioned as renowned for his warlike prowess. He sent back ananswer, that he would neither obey the summons nor pay any moretribute. Montezuma was much incensed by this contumacious messagefrom his vassal, and sent officers to apprehend him, but theywere unable to succeed. The princes and feudatories being allassembled, Montezuma reminded them of the ancient prophecies, bywhich it was foretold to their ancestors, that a people was tocome from the region of the rising sun, to whom the empire of thecountry was to be transferred. He added, that he believed theSpaniards to be the people spoken of in that prophecy; and hadsacrificed to his gods in vain to give him a distinct revelationon the subject, but they referred him to the former responses,and commanded him to ask no more. From all this he concluded thatthey willed him to yield obedience to the king of Castile, whowas the sovereign of these strangers. "I now," said he inconclusion, "beseech you to agree to this submission, which isrequired of me by the Spaniards. During the eighteen years whichI have reigned, I have ever been a kind monarch to you, and youhave always been faithful subjects. Since our gods will have itso, let no one refuse this instance of obedience which I nowask." The princes, with many sighs and tears, promised to doevery thing he might desire. Montezuma, who was still moreaffected than they, sent a message to inform Cortes, that he andhis princes would tender their allegiance to our emperor nextday. This was accordingly done at the time appointed, in presenceof all our officers and many of our soldiers, none of whom couldrefrain from tears, at beholding the distress and agitation ofthe great and generous Montezuma on this humiliatingoccasion.

Some time afterwards, when Cortes and his captains wereconversing with Montezuma on various topics, the general madeinquiry relative to the gold mines of the empire, when Montezumainformed him that the richest of these were in the province ofZacatula or Zacatollan, and said that the gold was procured bywashing the earth, the small grains of metal sinking to thebottom during the operation. He also said that it was obtainedfrom two rivers in the province of Guztepeque, where the nativeswere not subjects to his empire; but, if Cortes chose to sendsome troops to that place, he would order his officers toaccompany them. Cortes accordingly sent the pilot Umbria and twosoldiers to examine the mines of Zacatula; and sent his relationPizarro, to the territories of Chinantla and Zapoteca. Pizarrowas then a young man, and at that time his name and that of Peru,now so famous, were both equally unknown. Pizarro, who was one ofour captains, took with him four soldiers who were used tomining, and four Mexican nobles; and Montezuma presented Corteswith a map of the whole northern, or rather eastern coast of theMexican empire, admirably represented in painting, extending atleast an hundred and forty leagues, all the way to Tabasco. Amongthe rivers said to produce gold, was that of Huatzocoalco, whichCortes wished to have examined, and Diego de Ordas offeringhimself for this purpose, was reluctantly accepted by Cortes, ashe was a person on whom he depended for sound judgment andwholesome advice on occasions of importance. Before hisdeparture, Montezuma told Ordas, that the power of the crown ofMexico did not extend over the country to which he was going, butthat he was welcome to the assistance of the frontier garrisons.Umbria returned first from his mission, bringing with him gold tothe value of three hundred crowns and reported that the minesmight be made very productive, if they were as expertly managedas those of Hispaniola and Cuba. Two principal persons of thedistrict accompanied him to Mexico, who brought a present of goldto the value of about a hundred crowns, and offered to submitthemselves and country to the sovereignty of our emperor. Umbriaand his companions described the country which they had visitedas extremely rich and populous, and he and his companionsappeared to have done something handsome for themselves on theexpedition, which Cortes winked at in order to make up for someformer differences.

Ordas, on his return, said that he had passed through verypopulous districts, in all of which he was well received. That hefound several bodies of Mexican troops on the frontiers, of whoseoutrages the natives of the country made heavy complaints, onwhich account he had severely reprehended the commanders of thetroops, threatening them with a similar punishment with what hadbeen inflicted on the lord of Nauhtlan. He had sounded the riverof Huatzcoalco, where he found three fathoms water on the bar atlow tide in the shallowest part, and still deeper within, wherethere was a place very proper for a naval establishment. Thecaciques and natives treated him with much hospitality, andoffered themselves as vassals to our emperor, but complainedloudly against the exactions of Montezuma and his officers, andpointed out a place where they had lately slain many of theMexican troops, which they had named Cuilonemequi, or thePlace of Slaughter of the Mexicans, on whom they bestowed themost opprobrious epithets. He represented the soil of the countryas well fitted for tillage and the rearing of cattle, and theport as well situated for trade with Cuba, Hispaniola, andJamaica; but as inconvenient, from its distance from Mexico, andunhealthy owing to the morasses in its vicinity. Pizarro returnedfrom Tustepeque or Tzapotecapan, with gold in grains to the valueof a thousand crowns. He reported, that in going into themountains inhabited by the Chinantlans, they flew to arms andwould not permit the Mexicans to enter into their country,threatening to put them all to death; but admitted him and hisSpaniards with great attention. He brought several of the chiefsof that country along with him to Mexico, who wished to shake offthe Mexican yoke, and to become subjects to our emperor. Cortesthen inquired at Pizarro for the soldiers who had accompaniedhim, when Pizarro answered, that finding the country rich and thepeople friendly, he had left them to make a plantation of cocoa,and to explore the rivers and mines. Cortes said nothing to himin public, but gave him a severe private reprimand for employingthe soldiers in such foolish pursuits, contrary to his orders,and immediately sent a message commanding their return tohead-quarters.

Cortes now proposed to Montezuma to order a generalcontribution in gold to be collected through the whole of hisdominions, as a tribute to our emperor, and also that he shoulddeliver up his treasure for the same purpose. Montezumaaccordingly sent orders to his officers in those districts wherethe mines were situated, commanding them immediately to transmita certain quantity of gold plates, of the size usually paid astribute, two of which were sent as patterns. He remarked at thesame time, that there were many districts of the empire fromwhich gold was not to be expected in any considerable quantity,as they had no mines, and the natives had only such golden toysamong them as they had inherited from their ancestors. Much goldwas immediately transmitted to Mexico from the rich provinces incompliance with the order; but when it was communicated to therefractory lord of Matlatzinco, formerly mentioned, he haughtilyanswered, that he would pay no tribute, for he had as good aright as Montezuma to the throne of Mexico. Montezuma was muchenraged at this insolent message, and immediately sent sometrusty officers with his signet, who succeeded in apprehendingthis redoubted chief. On being brought prisoner into the presenceof the king, he behaved with so much insolence that Montezumaordered him to be put to death; but Cortes interceded for him,and got his punishment transmuted to imprisonment. He evenendeavoured to make a friend of this chief, and proposed to havehim set at liberty, but Montezuma insisted that he should be keptin chains along with Cacamatzin.

Twenty days after the orders had been issued for collectingthe tribute, it was all brought to Mexico, on which Montezumasummoned Cortes into his presence, along with the captains andthe soldiers who formed his usual guard, and addressed us asfollows: "Being indebted to your great king, whom I much esteemfor having sent you as his ambassadors to me from so great adistance, and as I am convinced by the prophecies transmitted tous by our ancestors, and confirmed by our gods, that he isdestined to rule over us, take this gold, which is all I couldcollect on so short a notice, and also the treasure which Iinherited from my ancestors which you have already seen; send allthis to your emperor, and let it be recorded in your chroniclesthat this is the tribute from his vassal Montezuma. Besides allthis, I shall give you for your monarch, a quantity of our mostvaluable jewels, which we call calchihuis[9], every one ofwhich is worth two loads of gold, and three tubes for shootingdarts or pellets, so richly adorned with jewels that he will bepleased with them. Accept all this as an instance of my goodwill, for it is the last of my treasure." We all immediately tookoff our helmets, and gave our hearty thanks to Montezuma for hismunificent and liberal gift, which Cortes promised should bepresented to the emperor with a just representation of the meritsof the donor. We were employed for three days in taking to piecesthe gold contained in the various ornamental articles in theconcealed treasury, which was now delivered up to us by thecommand of Montezuma, in which we were assisted by the royalgoldsmiths from the town of Escapuzalco. When separated andweighed, these articles weighed to the value of above 600,000crowns, besides many other articles of value, and exclusive ofgold in plates and bars, and in its rough state as brought fromthe mines. All this gold was melted down by the goldsmiths, andcast into bars of three fingers breadth, all of which werestamped with the royal arms, with our entire approbation. Therest of the present of Montezuma was worthy of great admiration,consisting of the jewels called calchihius ornamentedtubes covered with gold and jewels, beautiful embroideries ofpearls and feathers, plumes of feathers, and an endless varietyof rich manufactures; and it was unanimously agreed by us all notto take these rich ornaments to pieces.

[9] It is impossible now to say what were thesejewels so much valued by the Mexicans. Clavigero, I. 422,enumerates among their precious stones, "Emeralds, amethysts,cornelians, turquoises, and others not known in Europe." Inanother passage, I. 424, he mentions many small red stonessimilar to rubies, as among the Mexican curiosities transmittedto Charles V. by Cortes.--E.

After the royal officers had weighed and valued the gold,which exceeded, as I have already mentioned, 600,000 crowns,exclusive of the silver and other ornamental articles, it wasproposed to deduct the royal fifth, and to distribute the sharesamong the officers and soldiers. Cortes proposed to postpone thedivision till we acquired more treasure, and had more exactweights: But the soldiers were clamorous for an immediatedivision, as we perceived that above a third part had disappearedsince the various articles were taken to pieces, Cortes and thecaptains and others being continually carrying it away andconcealing it for their own use. It was at length agreed to makethe division next day, when it was still found to exceed 600,000crowns in weight. On making the division, Cortes in thefirst place caused a fifth to be laid aside for hismajesty; secondly, a fifth for himself, as had been agreedupon; thirdly, a portion to reimburse the navalexpenditure incurred by Velasquez, the destruction of the ships,and all the expences of the expedition from Cuba;fourthly, for the expences of the agents whom we had sentto Spain; fifthly, for the shares of our companions whowere in garrison at Villa Rica; sixthly, for the value ofthe horses which had been killed; seventhly, for thereverend Father Olmeda and our captains; eighthly, doubleshares for the cavalry, musketeers, and crossbow-men. When allthese deductions were made from the stock, the shares whichremained for each soldier were hardly worth acceptance, notexceeding 100 crowns a-man. We were obliged to submit, having noone to appeal to for justice; yet many were very clamorous, whomCortes secretly endeavoured to appease, giving a little to oneand a little to another in private, and feeding all with fairpromises. Our captains got chains of gold made for them by theMexican workmen, Cortes did the same, and had a superb service ofgold plate made for his table. Many of our soldiers, who had beenfortunate in secreting plunder, had golden ornaments made fortheir use, and gave themselves up to deep gaming, for whichpurpose they made cards from drum-heads; and thus we passed ourtime in Mexico. One Cardenas, a pilot, who had a wife andchildren, seeing that all the immense treasure of Montezuma haddwindled down to paltry shares of a hundred crowns, made loudcomplaints of the injustice he and all of us had experienced. Onthis coming to the ears of Cortes, he called us together, andgave us a long honied speech, wondering how we should be soclamorous about a paltry sum of gold, as the whole country, withall its rich mines, would soon be ours, by which we would allhave enough to make us lords and princes, and I know not allwhat. After this he distributed presents secretly among the mostclamorous, and promised Cardenas to send home 300 crowns to hiswife and children.

All men are desirous of acquiring riches, and the desiregenerally increases with the acquisition. As it was well knownthat a great many valuable pieces of gold had been abstractedfrom the treasury, suspicion naturally fell upon several personswho appeared to have more gold than their shares amounted to.Among these, it was noticed that Velasquez de Leon had some largechains of gold, and many trinkets and ornaments of that metal, inthe hands of the Mexican workmen, which the treasurer Mexiaclaimed as having been purloined. De Leon resisted this, allegingthat it had been given him by Cortes before the gold was run intobars. Mexia replied that Cortes had concealed enough, and hadalready taken too much from the soldiers, without giving him sogreat a quantity, and insisted on restitution. Both were valiantmen, and their quarrel rose to such a height, that they drewtheir swords, and each of them received two wounds before theycould be parted. Cortes ordered them both under arrest and to beput in chains; but spoke privately to De Leon, who was hisintimate friend, to submit quietly, and released Mexia inconsideration of his holding the office of treasurer. Velasquezwas a strong active man, and used to walk much in the apartmentwhere he was confined, and as Montezuma heard the rattling of hischains, he inquired who it was, and interceded with Cortes forhis liberation. Cortes told him that Velasquez was a mad fellow,who would go about robbing the Mexicans of their gold if notconfined. Montezuma replied, if that were all, he would supplyhis wants, and Cortes affected to release him as a favour to theking, but banished him to Cholula, whence he returned in sixdays, richer than before by the king's bounty.

About this time, the king offered to give Cortes one of theprincesses his daughter in marriage. Cortes received this offerwith much gratitude, but suggested the propriety of having her inthe first place instructed in the Christian religion, with whichMontezuma complied, though he still continued attached to his ownfalse worship and brutal human sacrifices. Cortes and hiscaptains were much scandalized by this persistence of Montezumain idolatry, and thought it their duty as Christians, to run eventhe risk of occasioning a rebellion of the Mexicans by destroyingthe idols and planting the true cross in their place; or if thatcould not be now accomplished, to make a chapel for Christianworship in the temple. On this determination, seven officers andsoldiers attended Cortes and Father Olmedo to wait uponMontezuma, to whom they communicated their wish, and theirresolution to employ force if necessary. The king was muchalarmed, and earnestly begged leave to consult with his priestson the subject. Cortes seemed touched with his situation, andmade a signal to the officers and soldiers to retire, leaving himand Olmedo with the king. He then told him, that he wouldendeavour to prevail on the officers to be satisfied for thepresent, if a part of the great temple was appropriated for thereception of an altar and crucifix, by which his majesty wouldsoon be convinced of the falsehood of his erroneous worship[10].To this proposal Montezuma reluctantly consented, with theappearance of much agitation and deep sorrow; and, an altar andcrucifix being erected, mass was solemnly celebrated in the newchapel, for the care of which a proper person was appointed.

[10] We are duly sensible of the divinesuper-excellence of Christianity, and the gross barbarism ofidolatry joined with abominable human sacrifices. Yet, the merechange of two crossed sticks and the images of Saint Somebody orSaint Nobody, for the idols of the Mexicans, under pretence ofintroducing the pure religion of the meek and holy Jesus, seemsin our humble opinion a mere qui pro quo; and, when takenin conjunction with the proposed conversion by militaryexecution, and the introduction of the bloody tribunal of theInquisition, not one iota less idolatrous or lessbarbarous.--E.

The whole time of our stay in this city was one continuedseries of alarms, sufficient to have destroyed us if we had notbeen supported by divine interposition. By this last measure,through the representations of the priests, acting on theprejudices of the people, our dangers were much increased. Theirgods, as the priests alleged, threatened to desert them, unlesswe were destroyed for this violation of the temple, and anuniversal determination was formed to obey this manifestation oftheir commands. This resolution of the people was conveyed toMontezuma by the priests, and all his principal warriors; who,besides this subject of complaint on the score of religion, mademany other representations respecting our misconduct, ever sinceour arrival in the empire. The page Orguetilla communicated manyalarming circ*mstances which he had observed, to Cortes,respecting frequent secret conferences between Montezuma and hispriests and nobles, and the angry and melancholy appearanceswhich he had frequently seen the king assume on these occasions.Cortes was alarmed by this intelligence, and immediately waitedon the king accompanied by his interpreters and five of hiscaptains. Montezuma seemed much distressed during thisconference, and declared to Cortes that he was extremely grievedat the manifestation of the will of his gods that we should allbe put to death or expelled from Mexico: He therefore, as oursincere friend, earnestly recommended that we should not run therisk of incurring the indignation of his subjects, but shouldsave our lives by a retreat whilst that remained within ourpower. Cortes and the rest were naturally much alarmed at this;but Cortes answered that he was principally concerned, because inthe first place, he had no vessels for returning into his owncountry, and in the next place he would be under the necessity oftaking Montezuma along with him, that he might present him to ouremperor. He therefore entreated Montezuma to use every influenceto restrain his priests and warriors from proceeding to violence,until we had time to build three ships for our conveyance, andoffered immediately to send our ship-builders to fell timber andconstruct the vessels on the coast, requesting the king to orderthe assistance of his carpenters for this purpose, that theremight be no delay. He repeated his request, that Montezuma wouldemploy all his influence to prevent any insurrection in the city,and his endeavours to appease his priests and gods, providingthat no human sacrifices were resorted to for that purpose.Martin Lopez, our principal ship-builder, was immediatelydispatched to Villa Rica to commence building the three ships,which were put on the stocks without delay. During this interval,we remained in Mexico full of terror of being attacked by thewhole force of a numerous and warlike people, exasperated by theinsults we had heaped on their sovereign and their religiousbelief. Our apprehensions were continually kept alive by theinformation we received from Donna Marina, and the pageOrteguilla; who, by understanding the language, obtained muchinformation which must otherwise have escaped our knowledge. Wekept however constant guard over Montezuma, and the strictestmilitary discipline in our quarters, sleeping always in ourarmour, and having our horses saddled and bridled every night.Without meaning it as any boast, I may say this of myself, thatmy armour became as easy and familiar to me as if it had been asoft down bed. And so habituated am I to this, that now in my oldage, when I make the circuit of my district, I never take a bedalong with me, unless attended by stranger gentlemen, when I doso merely to avoid the appearance of poverty or avarice. Yet,even when I have one, I always sleep in my clothes; neither can Irest throughout the night, but get up to contemplate the stars,walking about without hat or cap, as I used to do on guard; yetthank GOD I never get cold, nor am I the worse for this practice.This is to be a true soldier! My readers must pardon thisdigression, which does not proceed from vanity, but to let himknow what kind of men we were, the real conquerors ofMexico[11].

[11] Bernal Diaz neglects to accommodate his readerswith the very useful appendage of dates; it therefore may beproper to remark that the Spaniards entered the city of Mexicofor the first time on the 8th November 1519; and as Cortes leftit in the beginning of May 1520, in his march against Narvaez, hehad now spent about six months in the capital of a mighty empire,with hardly 450 soldiers.--E.

SECTION IX.

Expedition of Narvaez to supersede Cortes in the command,and occurrences till the Defeat of that Officer by Cortes atChempoalla.

The Bishop of Burgos, who was president of the council of theIndies, bore unlimited sway in that department of the Spanishgovernment during the absence of the emperor in Flanders. Owingto the representations of Velasquez against Cortes, he sentorders to him to seize and make us all prisoners at every hazard,as rebellious subjects. Velasquez therefore fitted out a fleet ofnineteen ships from the Island of Cuba, in which he embarked anarmy of fourteen hundred soldiers, eighty of whom were cavalry,eighty musketeers, and eighty crossbow-men, with twenty pieces ofcannon, and all necessary ammunition and appointments, giving thecommand in chief to Pamphilo de Narvaez. Such was his animosityagainst Cortes and us for having thrown off our dependance uponhim, that he made a journey of above seventy leagues from theHavanna on purpose to expedite the preparations. At this time,the royal audience of St Domingo and the brethren of the order ofSt Jerorimo, being satisfied of our loyalty and great exertionsin the service of God and the emperor, sent over the oydor LucasVasquez de Aillon to Cuba, with positive injunctions to stop thesailing of the armament against us; but as Velasquez wasconfident in the support of the bishop of Burgos, he gave no heedto the orders communicated to him by Aillon, who therefore wentalong with the armament, that he might endeavour as much aspossible to prevent injury to the public service by his mediationand influence, and be at hand if necessary, to take possession ofthe country for the emperor, in virtue of his office.

Narvaez arrived safe with his whole fleet in the harbour of StJuan de Ulua, except that he lost one small vessel during thevoyage. Soon after his arrival, the soldiers who had been sent byCortes to that part of the country in search of mines, went onboard, and it is said gave thanks to God for being delivered fromthe command of Cortes and the dangers of the city of Mexico.Finding them in this mood, Narvaez ordered them to be plentifullysupplied with wine, to make them more communicative. Cervantesthe jester, who was one of these soldiers, under pretence offacetiousness, exposed to him all the discontents of our soldiersrespecting the distribution of the treasure we had obtained, andinformed him also of the bad state of the garrison in Villa Ricaunder Sandoval. The arrival of this new armament was sooncommunicated to Montezuma, who concealed the intelligence forsome time from Cortes, and opened a private correspondence withNarvaez, to whom he sent many rich presents. Narvaez, in hiscorrespondence with Montezuma, said every thing that was badagainst Cortes and his troops, representing the whole of us asoutcasts and robbers, and that the emperor, hearing of our evilconduct, and that we detained the great Montezuma in custody, hadsent the present expedition for the express purpose of liberatinghim and putting us all to death. This intelligence gave greatsatisfaction to Montezuma, who thought we must necessarily be alldestroyed, as he had got an exact account of their forcerepresented to him in paintings: He accordingly transmitted verymagnificent presents to Narvaez, and could ill conceal thesatisfaction he had derived from the intelligence. Montezumaconcealed the news of this armament from Cortes, who observed andwas astonished at the alteration which it had produced on thekings manners and behaviour. At length however, from thecirc*mstance of Cortes making him two visits in one day,Montezuma became apprehensive of the general procuringintelligence from any other quarter, and told him the news,pretending only to have just heard of it himself. Cortesexpressed the utmost joy at the intelligence, and Montezumashewed him the representations which had been transmitted to him,by which he learnt every thing he wished to know on the subject.He immediately left the king and communicated the intelligence tothe troops, who got immediately under arms, and fired severalvollies in token of our joy. We soon noticed, however, thatCortes was exceedingly pensive when alone, of which we could notdivine the cause; till he soon afterwards convinced us, andexplained that the armament was evidently designed against us;and he now, partly by promises and partly by gifts, as from hisbounty of what was ours by good right, made interest with us tostand firmly by him in the approaching contest with Narvaez.

From what had been told him by Cervantes and our otherdeserters, Narvaez was induced to send a deputation to Sandoval,demanding him to surrender the port of Villa Rica. He appointedthree persons on this errand, Guavera a clergyman of abilities,Amarga, a relation of Velasquez, and one Vergara, a scrivener.Sandoval had received information of the arrival of the armament,and prepared to defend his post, as he rightly guessed that itwas destined to act against us. He sent off all his invalids toan Indian village at some distance, and exhorting his soldiers tostand by him, he erected a gibbet, and placed a guard on the roadto Chempoalla. On the arrival of the deputation from Narvaez atVilla Rica, they were astonished to meet none but Indians, asSandoval had ordered all the soldiers to remain in theirquarters, and remained at home himself; they knew not well how toproceed, but at length guessing by the appearance of the housethat it belonged to the governor, they went in. Guaveraimmediately began the conversation, by representing the greatnessof the force under Narvaez, and its object, which was to arrestCortes and all his followers as traitors, and concluded bysummoning Sandoval to surrender himself and his post to generalNarvaez. Sandoval was much displeased, and told him, if it werenot for the protection of his holy function, he would punish hisinsolence in calling those traitors who were more faithfulsubjects than either Narvaez or his employer Velasquez. Hedesired him to carry his demand to Cortes at Mexico, who wouldsettle the business with him at that place. Guavera insisted toexecute the commission on which he was sent, and ordered thescrivener Vergara to produce the authority under which theyacted. But Sandoval stopped him, saying, "I know not whether yourpapers be true or false; but if you attempt to read any here Iwill order you to receive a hundred lashes." On this, Guaveraexclaimed, "Why do you mind these traitors? read yourcommission." Sandoval, calling him a lying rascal, ordered themall to be seized: On which a number of Indians, who had beenpreviously instructed, came in and threw nets over them, andinstantly set out with them on their backs for Mexico, to whichthey were carried post by relays of Indians, through the severallarge and populous towns by the way, with a rapidity thatconfounded them, hardly knowing whether they were alive or dead,the whole seeming as if done by enchantment. Sandoval sent Pedrode Solis to accompany them, by whom he wrote a hasty letter toCortes, giving him an account of all he knew. When the generalgot notice of their arrival in Mexico, he ordered us all underarms, released them immediately from their trammels, and made anapology for the rudeness of Sandoval, whom he greatly blamed. Heentertained them with great hospitality and respect, giving themplenty of gold, and sent them back in a few days as gentle aslambs, who had come out against him as furious as lions.

Our general was one whose resources were never exhausted, andit must not be concealed that his officers and soldiers supportedhim through all his difficulties by our valour in the field andour wisdom in council. On this occasion, we determined that itwas proper to send letters to Narvaez and others of the new army,which they might receive previous to the return of Guavera. Inthese, we earnestly urged that no rash steps might be taken toendanger our general interest, by inciting the Indians to riseupon us; and held out every inducement of interest and friendshipto the followers of Narvaez to bring them over to our party, notforgetting to treat secretly with such as we thought might beeasiest wrought upon, as both Guavera and Vergara had informedCortes that Narvaez was by no means on good terms with hisofficers, among whom gold well applied would work wonders. In hisletters to Narvaez, Cortes adjured him by their formerfriendship, not to give encouragement to the Mexicans to rise anddestroy us, seeing that they were ready to have recourse to anyextremity to liberate Montezuma, whose dispositions were muchaltered for the worse since the arrival of this new armament, andthe opening a correspondence between him and Narvaez. He wasconvinced, he said, that the expressions which Narvaez had beenreported to use, could never have come from so wise a man, butmust have been fabricated by such wretches as the buffoonCervantes; and he concluded by offering an unlimited submissionto the authority of Narvaez. Cortes wrote also to the secretaryAndres de Duero, and Lucas Vasques the oydor, taking care toaccompany his letters with valuable presents of gold. Onreceiving the letter from Cortes, Narvaez turned it intoridicule, handing it about among his officers, speaking of us allas traitors whom he would put to death without mercy. He declaredhe would cut off and eat the ears of Cortes, and a great deal ofsuch braggart nonsense, and of course made no answer to theletters. Just at this time Father Olmedo arrived, bringing withhim the private letters and presents. He went in the first placeto wait upon Narvaez, intending to assure him that Cortes wouldbe proud to serve under his command; but Narvaez would not listento him, and did nothing but abuse both Cortes and him. Heaccordingly desisted from that part of his commission whichrelated to an agreement with Narvaez, and applied himself to thedistribution of presents among the officers with so much judgmentand success, that he soon won over all the principal officers toour party. If the oydor Vasques was originally disposed to favourCortes, he was entirely so on seeing the magnificent presentswhich were now distributed with so much liberality; which formeda striking contrast with the avarice of Narvaez, who used toenjoin his major domo to take heed that not a mantle weremissing, as he had marked down every article committed to hischarge. This penuriousness set all his officers against him,which he attributed to the intrigues of Vasques; and as there wasa difference between them, because Narvaez neglected to informhim respecting every thing sent in by order of Montezuma, ofwhich he ought to have been informed as oydor, an irreconcileablequarrel ensued; and depending on the favour of the bishop ofBurgos, Narvaez caused the oydor to be arrested, and sentprisoner to Cuba or Spain, I know not which. But during thevoyage, Vasques prevailed on the captain of the ship to land himin Hispaniola, where he so represented the treatment he hadreceived to the Audience and the Jeronimites, that theycomplained to the council of Castile, but ineffectually, owing tothe influence of the bishop of Burgos in favour of Narvaez. Aboutthis time too, a gentleman named Oblanco, made remonstrances toNarvaez respecting his violence, saying a good deal in favour ofCortes and his troops, with which Narvaez was so much offendedthat he threw him into prison; which Oblanco took so much toheart that he died three days after.

Soon after the arrival of Father Olmedo, Guevara and his twocompanions returned from Mexico, and launched out in praise ofCortes, reporting the many expressions of respect he had used inspeaking of Narvaez; and, commending the services he had alreadyperformed to our emperor, they expatiated on the advantages whichwould result from uniting their forces, instead of fomenting acivil war. All this put Narvaez into such a rage that he refusedto see them any more, and commanded them to be silent on thishateful subject. They carried their discourse therefore amongtheir comrades; and when they saw how well furnished with goldthese men had returned from Mexico, they began seriously to wishthemselves in the army of Cortes.

Narvaez now quitted the coast with his army and tookpossession of the town of Chempoalla; immediately on his arrivalseizing by force the young women who had been given to theofficers of Cortes by their parents, with all the gold andmantles which had been left in the custody of the fat caciquealong with the ladies, when we set out on our march to Mexico.When the cacique complained of this to Narvaez, and of therobberies committed by his soldiers, saying that Cortes and hissoldiers conducted themselves in quite a different manner, abragging fellow called Salvatierra exclaimed, "See what fearthese Indians are in for the sorry fellow Cortes!" yet thisboaster, who was so ready with his tongue, was the most cowardlywretch I ever beheld, when we came afterwards to attack the armyof Narvaez. About this time, Narvaez transmitted to Cortes a copyof the commission he had received from the governor of Cuba, theparticulars of which I shall detail hereafter. Cortes receivedregular intelligence of every thing done by Narvaez, partly fromthe friends he had made in the adverse army and partly fromSandoval, who now informed him that five persons of considerationhad joined from the army of Narvaez, who alleged for theirreason, that being the relations of the oydor Vasquez, who hadmet with such injurious treatment, they had little hopes of beingthemselves well used; and he added, that these persons saidNarvaez meant very soon to march to Mexico against us. On thisbeing made known to such of us as Cortes used generally toconsult with, he agreed with us in opinion that it was advisablefor us to march immediately against Narvaez and his army, leavingthe command in Mexico with Alvarado; and we left under his chargeall those men who were not inclined to be of the presenthazardous expedition, and all whom we suspected to have aninclination for the party of Narvaez or Velasquez. We also leftwith Alvarado a sufficient supply of provisions, in case theMexicans should refuse to supply him, and because the lateharvest had been deficient, in consequence of too dry a season.Our quarters were strengthened by the addition of a goodpallisade, and, besides four heavy guns, we left a garrison ofeighty-three men, twenty-four of whom were armed with muskets orcross-bows: a very inadequate force, surely, for keeping thegreat and populous city of Mexico in awe.

Previous to our departure, Cortes paid a visit to Montezuma,who questioned him very anxiously about the difference betweenhim and Narvaez, as both were vassals of the same sovereign, anddesired an explanation of the charges which the new comers hadmade against us, that we were outcasts and traitors. He likewiseasked if he could serve us in any way, expressing an apprehensionof our safety, considering the great superiority under Narvaez.Cortes replied in a cheerful manner, that he had not soonerinformed him of our intended departure, lest it might give himconcern; that we certainly were all subjects to the same monarch,but that the report of our being traitors and fugitives wasutterly false, as we had come into his country with fullauthority from our sovereign. As to the other party destroying usby their superiority in numbers, that did not depend on them, buton the will of our Lord and his holy mother, who would supportus. He added, that our sovereign ruled over many differentcountries, the inhabitants of some of which were more valiantthan those of others; that we were all true Castilians, while thecommander of our opponents was a Biscayan, and his majesty wouldsoon see the difference between us, as he trusted by the blessingof God to bring them all back as prisoners. He concluded byrecommending in the strongest terms to Montezuma, to use hisutmost endeavours to prevent any insurrection in the city duringour absence; as, on his return, he would assuredly punish all ina most exemplary manner who behaved amiss. Montezuma promised todo every thing which Cortes required, and even offered to assistus with five thousand of his warriors, which Cortes politelydeclined, knowing indeed that the king had not that in his power,if he even wished to have done so. Then requesting Montezuma tocause due respect to be paid to that part of the great templewhich had been consecrated to the Christian worship, he embracedMontezuma with much cordiality and took leave. He then calledAlvarado and the garrison which was to remain in Mexico, all ofwhom he strictly enjoined to be extremely watchful, and to takespecial care not to allow Montezuma to escape; promising to makethem all rich on his return, if he found they had done theirduty. On this occasion of leaving Mexico, he left the clergymanJuan Diaz with Alvarado, and some other persons whose fidelity hequestioned.

We began our march from Mexico in the beginning of May1520[1], making our first halt at Cholula. From that place wesent a message to the senate of Tlascala, requiring them toassist us with four thousand of their warriors. They sent ustwenty loads of fowls, saying that they were ready at any time tojoin us in war against Indians, but begged to be excused if wewere marching against our own countrymen. At this time likewise,Cortes sent orders to Sandoval to join our little army with thewhole of his garrison that was fit for duty, at a place namedTampinequeta or Mitalaquita[2], twelve leagues from Chempoalla.We marched in regular order without baggage, having always twoconfidential soldiers in advance about a days journey, who weredirected not to keep the main road, but to go always by those inwhich cavalry could not march, and whose especial business was toinquire for intelligence respecting the motions of Narvaez, whichthey were to communicate without delay to Cortes. When we hadproceeded a considerable way on our march, one of our advancedparties fell in with four Spaniards belonging to the army ofNarvaez, who were bringing to Cortes a copy of his commission andinstructions as captain-general in New Spain. On being brought tothe general, they saluted him respectfully, and he immediatelydismounted in order to hear what they had to say. Alonzo de Mata,who was at the head of the deputation, produced his papers andbegan to read them; but Cortes stopt him short, demanding if hewere a royal notary; as in that case, by shewing his commission,he would be implicitly obeyed, but if he had no such authority,he certainly would not be allowed to read any pretended orders."The commands of his majesty," said Cortes, "I shall submit towith the utmost humility; but, I desire that the original may beproduced." Mata was confounded at these words, as he held nooffice whatever under the crown, and was entirely at a loss howto proceed. But Cortes relieved him from his embarrassment,telling him our destination, and that he was ready to receive anymessage from his general, of whom he always spoke with greatrespect, but would listen to no orders that were not sanctionedby the royal authority. We halted for some time at this place,and Cortes had some private conferences with these agents ofNarvaez, with whom he used such powerful arguments that he madethem his firm friends. They returned to Chempoalla, quite loud intheir praises of Cortes, crying up his generosity to the skies,and made a magnificent report of the riches of our soldiers, manyof whom had ornaments of gold on their arms, and some of themgold chains and collars about their necks.

[1] The date is supplied in the text from attentiveconsideration of dates mentioned by Diaz in the sequel, and inthis date Clavigero, II. 97, agrees. Diaz gives no account of thestrength of Cortes on the present occasion, but afterwardsmentions 206 soldiers, with five horsem*n and two gunners,independent of 70 more who joined under Sandoval from thegarrison of Villa Rica. This would make the whole force 285soldiers, against 1400 who were under the command ofNarvaez.--E.

[2] No such place is to be found in the map ofClavigero, nor in that recently published byHumbolt.--E.

Next day, Sandoval joined with the garrison of Villa Rica, tothe number of about seventy men, with whom came the fiveSpaniards who had deserted from Narvaez, who were very graciouslyreceived by Cortes. Sandoval reported that he had sent two of hissoldiers, a little time before into the quarters of Narvaez, whowent disguised like Indians, having each a load of fruit forsale, and their complexions so completely resembled the nativesthat they were never suspected. They went immediately to thequarters of the braggart Salvatierra, who gave them a string ofyellow beads for their fruit, and sent them to cut grass for hishorse on the banks of a small rivulet. They brought home the lastload of grass in the evening, and having fed the horse, theyremained about the place till night, listening to theconversation of Salvatierra, whom they heard observing to some ofhis companions, how luckily they had come at the present momentto deprive the traitor Cortes of the 700,000 crowns which he hadobtained from Montezuma. When it was dark, our disguised soldiersgot privately out of the house, and took away Salvatierras horsewith the saddle and bridle, and meeting another horse by the way,which happened to be lame, they brought it along with them.Cortes laughed heartily at this exploit; and we learnedafterwards that Salvatierra gave much amusem*nt to the soldiersof Narvaez, by his absurd behaviour on discovering the trickwhich had been played upon him.

It was now resolved in a general consultation of our littlearmy, to send a letter in all our names to Narvaez, by the handsof Father Olmedo, of which the following is the purport: "We hadrejoiced on hearing of the arrival of so noble a person with sofine an army, by which we expected great advantages to have beenderived to our holy religion and to the service of our sovereign;but on the contrary he had reviled us as traitors, and hadoccasioned the whole country to revolt. Our general had alreadyoffered to resign to him whatever provinces or territories hemight be inclined to occupy, but nothing would serve him excepttreating our general and us as rebels, who had proved ourselvesby our actions faithful subjects to the emperor. If he came bythe authority of a commission from his majesty, we demanded tosee the original within three days, for which purpose we hadadvanced to this place, and were ready to obey it in all humilityand reverence: but, if he had no such authority, we required himto return immediately to Cuba, and not to make any attempt tothrow the country which we had conquered into confusion; asotherwise we should deem it our bounden duty to send him as aprisoner to his majesty, to be dealt with according to his royalpleasure. We declared that he was answerable for all thelamentable consequences which might follow from his unlawfulconduct; and that we had sent this letter by its presentconveyance, since no royal notary could undertake to deliver ourremonstrance in due form, after the violence which he hadcommitted against his majesties oydor Vasquez, a treasonable act,the perpetrator of which our general was bound to apprehend andbring to justice, and for which we now cited him to appear andanswer for his conduct." This letter was concluded in terms ofgreat respect, and was signed by Cortes, all the captains, andseveral of the most confidential of the soldiers. It was sent bythe reverend Father Olmedo, accompanied by a soldier namedUlagre, whose brother was in the army of Narvaez as commander ofhis artillery. Olmedo waited on Narvaez with great respect on hisarrival at Chempoalla; and proceeded afterwards to execute thesecret commission with which he had been entrusted, by a liberaldistribution of gold among certain officers of the army ofNarvaez, among whom were Rodrigo Mira, Ulagre, and Andres deDuero, which last he invited to pay a visit to Cortes. Narvaezsoon began to suspect the real object of Olmedo, and was muchinclined to have made him a prisoner: but Duero, who had muchinfluence over Narvaez, both on account of his situation andbecause they were in some degree related, represented theimpropriety of such an outrage against a person of his holyfunctions, and dissuaded him from doing so. He also suggested tohim the great probability of his being able to gain over thesoldiers of Cortes to his party, by means of a little policy. Bythese arguments he appeased Narvaez for the present, and wentimmediately to Olmedo whom he informed of all that hadpassed.

Shortly afterwards, Narvaez sent for Olmedo, who requested tospeak with him in private; when he told him good-humouredly thathe knew his intentions of making him a prisoner, in which he wasmuch to blame, as there was no one whatever more devoted to hisservice, and he knew that there were many persons with Cortes,who would gladly see their commander delivered up to hisexcellency; in proof of which he had a letter which Cortes hadwritten at the suggestion of these very persons who wished todeliver him up; which letter was so full of ridiculousabsurdities that he was frequently tempted to throw it away, butwould now with his permission lay it before him. He accordinglywent, as he pretended for the letter, which he alleged was withhis baggage, but in reality to bring Duero and others along withhim, that they might witness its delivery. In order to contrivean interview with Cortes, Duero proposed that a communicationshould be opened between Narvaez and him; and Augustin Bermudez,a secret friend of Cortes, proposed that Duero and Salvatierrashould be sent on this business, well knowing the character ofSalvatierra to be disinclined to any such employment. It was atlast settled that Duero should wait upon Cortes, and invite himto a conference with Narvaez at a convenient place between thetwo armies, where they might treat of an accommodation andarrange their future measures: And it was resolved that Narvaezshould make him prisoner at the conference, for which twenty ofhis most confidential soldiers were prepared. Duero carriedintelligence immediately to Cortes, and Father Olmedo remained atthe quarters of Narvaez, having scraped acquaintance withSalvatierra, under pretence of relationship, with whom he dinedevery day.

On first learning the arrival of Narvaez, Cortes sent one ofhis soldiers named Barrientos, who had served in Italy and waswell acquainted with the management of the pike, to the provinceof the Chinantlans, who had lately entered into alliance with us.That nation used lances or pikes much longer than ours, havingheads of sharpened stone, and Barrientos was directed to obtain300 of these lances for our use. There was plenty of excellentcopper in the country of the Chinantlans, and Barrientos wasdirected to get two heads of this metal for each lance, and thesewere executed so ingeniously that they were better made even thanthe pattern sent. He also obtained a promise of 2000 warriors ofthat nation to join us, who were to be armed in the same manner,but they did not arrive till after we had overcome Narvaez. Allthis being settled, Barrientos arrived at our quarters attendedby 200 Chinantlans carrying the lances he had procured. On trialthese were found excellent, and we were immediately exercised intheir use. A muster was now made of our force, which amounted totwo hundred and six men, including fife and drum, with fivemounted cavalry, two artillery-men, few cross-bows, and fewermusketeers. This being the force, and such the weapons, withwhich we marched against and defeated the vastly superior army ofNarvaez.

I have formerly mentioned that the secretary Duero and thecontador Lares had negociated the appointment of Cortes asgeneral of our expedition, and that they were to enjoy equalshares with him in all the treasure he should acquire. Lares wassome time dead, and Duero seeing how wealthy Cortes had become,used the colour of the proposed treaty between Narvaez andCortes, in order to have an opportunity of an interview withCortes, that he might remind him of their agreement. Cortes notonly promised faithfully to perform his engagement, but promisedhim an equal command with himself, and an equal share ofterritory when the conquest of the country was completed. It wasaccordingly agreed upon between them, in concurrence withAugustin Bermudez, who was alguazil-major of the army of Narvaez,and many other officers whom I do not name, to get Narvaez putout of the command in favour of Cortes. In order to confirm thesein his interest, and to gain over others, Cortes was more liberalthan ever in his presents, and on the present occasion loaded thetwo Indians who attended on Duero with gold. On one of the daysof intercourse, after Cortes and Duero had been a considerabletime together in private, and had dined, Duero asked him onmounting his horse to go away, if he had any farther commands. Tothis Cortes replied, "Remember what has been settled between us,or if you don't, I shall be in your quarters before three days,and you shall be the first person at whom I will throw my lance."Duero answered laughing, that he would not fail, and immediatelyset off for the quarters of Narvaez, where he is reported to havesaid that Cortes and all his men were ready to submit to thecommand of Narvaez. Soon after this, Cortes sent for JuanVelasquez de Leon, a person of much consideration, who had alwaysbeen greatly attached to him, though a near relation of thegovernor of Cuba. On coming to his quarters, Cortes addressed himin smooth and persuasive terms, which he could always assume atpleasure:--"Duero has informed me that Narvaez is anxious to seeyou at his quarters, and that it is generally believed I amcompletely ruined if you go there. Now my worthy friend, I desireyou to put on your gold chain, mount your grey mare, take allyour gold along with you and more which I will give you; goimmediately and fix yourself with Narvaez, and distribute thegold which I confide to you according to my directions."Velasquez was perfectly willing to do as he was desired, butobjected to the measure of carrying his own treasure along withhim, and after a secret conference with Cortes he set out forChempoalla. De Leon arrived there by day-break, and as theIndians were rejoiced to see him, the news soon reached Narvaez,who came out to meet and embrace him. After paying hiscompliments, Velasquez said his only object there was toendeavour to make an amicable arrangement between Narvaez andCortes; upon which Narvaez took him aside and asked him how hecould propose to treat for such a traitor? Velasquez desired thatno such injurious epithet might be used in his presence, asCortes was a most zealous and faithful officer. Narvaez thenoffered to make him second in command under himself if he wouldrenounce Cortes; but Velasquez declared he would never quit onewho had done such signal services for God and the emperor.

By this time all the principal officers in the army of Narvaezhad come up to salute Velasquez, who was an universal favourite,as he was very polite and well bred, and had a fine person andhandsome countenance. At this time he cut a fine martial figure,as he had a massy gold chain which made two turns round his bodyand over his shoulders, so that he impressed every one withrespect. Bermudez the alguazil-major and Duero wished much tohave had some private communication with Velasquez; but just atthis time Captain Gamarra, Juan Yuste, Juan Buono, andSalvatierra the braggadocio, persuaded Narvaez to give privateorders for taking Velasquez into custody, for having spoken soboldly in defence of Cortes; but the others who had come over tothe interest of Cortes, strongly represented the impropriety andimpolicy of such rash conduct, and Narvaez again spoke in afriendly manner to Velasquez, whom he invited to dine with him,and entreated his assistance to bring Cortes and the rest of usinto his power. Velasquez now agreed to forward this design, butrepresented Cortes as headstrong and resolute, advising thatNarvaez and he should divide the country between them, eachtaking separate provinces. At this time Olmedo came up, andadvised Narvaez to order his troops under arms, that Velasquezmight see them and report to Cortes, who would be terrified whenhe knew their strength. The troops were accordingly turned out inreview order, and Velasquez complimented Narvaez on their numberand martial appearence, wishing him an increase of his power.Narvaez said he hoped Velasquez was now satisfied how easily hecould crush Cortes and his despicable force; to which Velasquezreplied, he hoped they knew how to defend themselves.

Velasquez dined next day with Narvaez, where a captain in hisarmy who was nephew to the governor of Cuba happened to be, whoused very insulting language respecting Cortes. On this Velasquezrequested of Narvaez, that such insulting language might not beallowed in his hearing; but the other gentleman continued hisabuse, and even took great liberties with Velasquez himself; who,laying his hand on his sword, asked permission from Narvaez tochastise that base liar. The other officers who were presentinterfered to prevent mischief, and advised both Velasquez andOlmedo to retire. Velasquez accordingly mounted his excellentgrey mare, in his helmet and coat of mail, with his gold chainabout his shoulders, and took leave of Narvaez, who returned hissalute with apparent coldness. The young captain was again veryviolent in his abuse; on which Velasquez swore by his beard, thathe should see in a few days what stuff he was made of. Then,taking a hasty leave of the bystanders, he put spurs to his goodgrey mare and was soon out of sight, as he had some hint orsuspicion that Narvaez might send after him, and even saw somehorsem*n following him apparently for that purpose, but he wastoo well mounted for their pursuit.

In about two hours after Velasquez had left our camp to visitNarvaez, the drum beat to arms, and our little army set forwardson our march for Chempoalla. We killed two wild hogs on our way,which our soldiers considered as a good omen of our ultimatesuccess. We halted for the night on the side of a rivulet, havingthe ground for a bed, stones for our pillows, and heaven for ourcanopy, and arrived next day at the place where the city of VeraCruz is now built, which was then an Indian village in a grove oftrees. Being mid-day and the weather extremely sultry, we stoppedhere for rest and refreshment, being much fatigued by the weightof our lances and armour. While here, a report was brought fromone of our out-posts that some horsem*n were in sight, who turnedout to be Velasquez and Olmedo, who were received by Cortes, andall of us with much joy, and we all came round them to hear thenews. Velasquez told Cortes in what manner he had executed hiscommission and distributed the presents among the officers ofNarvaez. Then our merry Father Olmedo gave an account by whatfinesse he had persuaded Narvaez to read our letter; how he hadmade the foolish braggart Salvatierra believe they were cousins,and of the ridiculous bravadoes he uttered, as how he would killCortes and all of us in revenge for the loss of his horse; thenhow he had prevailed on Narvaez to turn out his troops in review,merely to laugh at him; and in all these stories he mimickedNarvaez and Salvatierra most admirably, so that we laughed andenjoyed ourselves as if going to a wedding-feast, though we wellknew that on the morrow we must conquer or die, having to attackfive times our number. Such is the fortune of war! After the heatof the day was over, we proceeded on our march, and halted forthe night at a river about a league from Chempoalla, where thereis now a bridge and a dairy farm.

After the departure of Father Olmedo and Velasquez from thequarters of Narvaez, some of his officers gave him warning of thesecret practices going on, and advised him to be on his guard, asCortes had many friends in his army. The fat cacique ofChempoalla, being terrified for being called to account by Cortesfor delivering up the women and mantles that had been confided tohis care, was extremely vigilant in watching all our motions.Finding that we drew near Chempoalla, he said to Narvaez, "Whyare you so careless! Malinatzin and his teules willcome upon you by surprise and put you all to death." Narvaez,being confident in his vast superiority, laughed heartily at thefears of the fat cacique, yet did not neglect the warning. In thefirst place, he declared war against us as rebels, with fire,sword, and rope, and then drew up his whole army, cavalry,artillery, and infantry, in a plain about a quarter of a leaguefrom Chempoalla, where he resolved to wait for us; all of whichwe learned from a soldier, named El Galleguillo, who eitherdeserted to us, or was sent by Duero to Cortes. The day happenedto be very rainy, and the troops of Narvaez, being unaccustomedto hardships, and despising our small number, became restless anddissatisfied with their situation, on which his officers advisedhim to march them back to quarters, which he did, placing all hisguns in a line before the house in which he lodged. He likewiseplaced a grand guard of forty cavalry on the road by which wewere expected to advance, and some cavalry videts and active footsoldiers at the ford where we must pass on our way to Chempoalla.Twenty of his cavalry were also appointed to patrole during thewhole night around his quarters. All this was done by the adviceof his officers, who were anxious to get under cover, and whoalleged it was absurd to suppose that Cortes would venture toattack them with so pitiful a handful of men, and that he onlyadvanced from ostentation, or to induce them to come to anagreement. On returning to quarters, Narvaez publickly offered areward of two thousand crowns to whoever should kill Cortes orSandoval; and he stationed as spies at the ford, GonzaloCarrasco, who now dwells in La Puebla, and a soldier namedHurtado. He also filled his own quarters, and those ofSalvatierra, Gamarra, and Buono, with musketeers, crossbow-men,and soldiers armed with partizans or halberts.

On arriving at the river which runs through the rich meadowsabout a league from Chempoalla, having appointed trustyout-guards, Cortes summoned all his officers and soldiers roundhim, and addressed us as follows: "Gentlemen! you well know thatthe governor of Cuba selected me as your general, although thereare many among you as worthy of the command. You also know thatit was publickly proclaimed and believed among us, that we wereto conquer and colonize this country, whereas our instructionswere only to barter with the natives for gold. You will recollectmy determination to have returned to Cuba, to give an account ofmy mission to Velasquez, when I was required by you to remain andcolonize the country for his majesties service, appointing meyour captain-general and chief magistrate, till his majestiespleasure was made known, and that we have in consequenceessentially served God, and the interest of our sovereign. I begleave to remind you, that we have written to the king, giving hima full account of this country, and all that we have done andsuffered for his service, requesting that the government mightnot be conferred on any unworthy person, and how we transmittedall the treasure to his majesty that we had obtained. Youlikewise know, that fearing the arts and influence of the bishopof Burgos and his favourite Velasquez, we came to a resolution tomaintain his majesties rights and government in this country,till his royal mandate, duly authenticated, should be produced tous. I must now remind you to what dangers you have been exposedin various sanguinary battles, what hardships you have sufferedfrom hunger and fatigue, and the inclemencies of the weather,having often been obliged to sleep on the ground in rain, wind,and snow, during all which, above fifty of your companions havedied, and many of your own wounds are still unhealed. I recal toyour remembrance, your numerous sufferings by sea and land, andthe perils of Tabasco, Tlascala, and Cholula, where the boilerswere already on the fires in which your limbs were to have beenprepared for the barbarous repast of your savage enemies. Andlastly, your hazardous entry into Mexico, the seizure of itspowerful sovereign, and its occupation in the face of an immenseand warlike population for more than six months. Let me now statethe reward of all these dangerous and brilliant services. Narvaezis sent here by your enemies the governor of Cuba and bishop ofBurgos, to strip you of your well-earned fame and dear-boughttreasures. By aspersing your characters with the great Montezumahe has occasioned the defection of the natives who had submittedto our government, and he proclaims exterminating war against uswith fire, sword, and rope, as if we were infidel Moors." He saida great deal more to the same purpose, exalting our merits andvalour to the skies, and after a profusion of compliments andpromises, he concluded by observing that this Narvaez, who hadcome to deprive us of our lives and properties, and hadimprisoned the royal oydor for endeavouring to defend us, onlyheld his command through the favour of our great enemy the bishopof Burgos; and it became us therefore, as faithful subjects, tomake a bold stand in defence of the royal rights, and our ownlives and properties: He therefore now wished to know ourdetermination on the subject.

The whole officers and soldiers declared unanimously that wewere ready to follow him, and determined to conquer or die. Wedesired, therefore, that we might hear no more said about anaccommodation with Narvaez, or a partition of the country; as inthat case we would plunge our swords into his body, and electanother chief. Cortes highly extolled our spirited declaration,saying that he expected no less from men of our valour; adding amultitude of fine promises and flattering assurances that hewould make us all rich and great. Then adverting to theapproaching attack, he earnestly enjoined us to observe thestrictest discipline, and the most profound silence, observingthat success in battle often depended a great deal more onprudent conduct and precise obedience, than on the mostdetermined bravery: He well knew, he said, that our ardour wouldprompt every one of us to strive who should be most forward inthe battle, but it was indispensably necessary that we should bedistributed into companies, having each our distinct duties toperform. The first thing necessary to be done, was to seize theenemies artillery, and for this duty he selected seventysoldiers, among whom I was one, over whom he appointed to thecommand his relation Pizarro, an active young man, but then aslittle known to fame as the kingdom of Peru. Our farther orderswere, as soon as we had got possession of the guns, that we wereto join and support the detachment which was to attack thequarters of Narvaez. This duty was assigned to Sandoval at thehead of seventy select men; and, as he was alguazil-major of ourarmy, he was provided with a formal warrant to arrest the body ofPamphilo de Narvaez, for having imprisoned an officer of hismajesty, and to put him to death in case of resistance. Cortesalso promised a reward of three thousand crowns to the firstsoldier who should lay hands on Narvaez, two thousand to thesecond, and one thousand to the third. Juan Velasquez de Leon wasappointed with a third body of seventy men, to seize his relationDiego Velasquez; and Cortes retained a body of reserve of twentymen, to act whatever he might see occasion, and in particular tosupport the intended attack on the quarters of Narvaez andSalvatierra, which were in the lofty temple of Chempoalla[3].Having thus arranged the troops and instructed our leaders, headdressed us in a short speech, saying, That he well knew thearmy of Narvaez was four times more numerous than we, but theywere unaccustomed to arms, and many of them ill; he trustedtherefore in this unexpected attack, that God would give usvictory, and that it was better to die gloriously than to livedishonoured. I have often reflected on this circ*mstance, that inall his addresses to us, he never once mentioned a wordrespecting those in the army of Narvaez who were our friends; inwhich he acted the part of a wise commander, making us to relyentirely on our own prowess, without counting on any assistance.Our three detachments were now formed, having each their captainsat their head, explaining to us our particular duties, while wemutually encouraged each other to hope for victory. Pizarro, ourleader, directed us to rush forwards upon the guns, with ourlances at the charge, and immediately on getting possession, theartillery-men who were attached to our division, were to pointand fire them against the quarters of Narvaez. Those who happenedat this moment to be deficient in defensive armour, would havegiven every thing they had in the world for a morion, a helmet,or a breast-plate. Our countersign for the engagement wasSpiritu Santo, that of Narvaez Santa Maria. Justbefore marching, Captain Sandoval, who had always been myintimate friend, called me aside, and made me promise, if Isurvived the capture of the guns, I should seek out and attachmyself to him during the rest of the battle.

[3] These numbers, as arranged for the attack onNarvaez, only amount to 230 men. At the occupation of Mexico theSpanish army is said to have been about 450, besides the garrisonof Villa Rica. Eighty-three men are stated to have been left inMexico under the command of Alvarado, which would still leave 367to march under Cortes for Chempoalla, to which 70 being addedfrom Villa Rica under Sandoval, would raise the amount of thearmy now under Cortes to about 437 men, so that about 207 areunaccounted for in the arrangement for the attack, besides Ordas,and other eminent captains are not now mentioned in the text. Wemay, therefore, reasonably conclude, that these captains and theunaccounted for remaining force of Cortes, were left at the fordof the river, about a league from Chempoalla, as a rear guard, onwhich to retreat in case of a defeat, or may have formed a mainbody for the assault.--E.

All things being arranged, we remained waiting the order tomarch, and reflecting with much anxiety on what was before us. Iwas stationed at an advanced post, where soon afterwards apatrole came to me, asking if I had heard any thing, to which Ianswered that I had not. A corporal came up to my post soonafter, who said that Galleguillo, the deserter from Narvaez, wasmissing, and was suspected of having come among us as a spy, forwhich reason Cortes had given orders to march immediately. Thedrum was soon heard beating for us to fall in, and the captainswere calling over their companies. We joined the column, and soonafter found the missing soldier sleeping under some mantles torelieve his fatigue, as he had not been accustomed to hardships.We marched on at a quick pace, and in profound silence, and onarriving at the river, surprised the two videts of Narvaez, oneof whom we made prisoner, and the other flying into the townbefore us, spread the alarm of our approach. Owing to rain theriver was deeper than usual, and the ford was difficult to pass,from loose stones and the weight of our armour. Carrasco thevidet, whom we had taken, exclaimed to Cortes, "Do not advance,Senior Cortes, for Narvaez and all his force is drawn out toreceive you." We proceeded, however, with all expedition, and oncoming to the town, heard the other man who had escaped givingthe alarm, and Narvaez calling on his officers to turn out. Ourcompany was at the head of the column; and rushing on withcharged lances, we soon made ourselves masters of the guns, theartillery-men having only time to discharge four, one only ofwhich took effect, and killed three of our men. Our whole forcenow advanced, and brought down seven of the enemies cavalry; butwe could not for some time quit the guns, as the enemy kept up asmart discharge of musketry and arrows from the quarters ofNarvaez. Sandoval and his company pressed forwards to climb thesteps of the temple, in which attempt he was resisted by theenemy, with musketry, partizans, and lances, and was even forceddown six or seven steps. At this time, seeing that the artillerywas no longer in danger of being rescued, our company, withCaptain Pizarro at their head, went to the assistance ofSandoval, when we jointly made the enemy give ground in theirturn; and at this critical moment I heard Narvaez crying out,"Santa Maria assist me! they have slain me, and beat out one ofmy eyes!" On hearing this we shouted out, "Victory! victory! forthe Espiritu Santo! Narvaez is dead!" Still we were unable toforce our way into the temple, till Martin Lopez, who was verytall, set the thatch on fire, and forced those within to rushdown the steps to save themselves from being burnt to death.Sanches Farfan laid hold on Narvaez, whom we carried prisoner toSandoval, along with several other captive captains, continuallyshouting, "Victory! victory! Long live the king and Cortes!Narvaez is slain!"

While this was going on with us, Cortes and the rest of ourarmy were engaged with some of the enemy who occupied some otherlofty temples. When the cause of our shouts was understood,Cortes notified to them the fall of their commander, proclaimingthat all who did not instantly submit should be put to death; yetthose who were in the temple, commanded by Diego Velasquez andSalvatierra would not submit, till Sandoval with half of ourbody, and the captured guns, forced his way into the temple andmade them all prisoners. Sandoval now returned to take charge ofNarvaez, who was doubly ironed; and we now, had in custodybesides him, Salvatierra, Diego Velasquez, Gamarra, Juan Yuste,Juan Buono, and many other principal persons. At this time Cortescame in unobserved, extremely fatigued; and addressing Sandoval,said it was impossible to describe the labour he had experienced;then asked, "What has become of Narvaez?" Sandoval told him thatNarvaez was here safe. Cortes then said, "Son Sandoval, keep goodwatch over him and the other officers." After which he hastenedaway, and caused proclamation to be made, that all should laydown their arms and submit. The whole of this happened during thenight, during which there were frequent showers, with intervalsof moon-shine; but at the moment of attack it was extremely dark,with multitudes of fire flies, which the soldiers of Narvaezmistook for the lighted matches of our musketry. Narvaez wasbadly wounded, and had one of his eyes beaten out, on whichaccount he requested to send for Master Juan the surgeon; andwhile he was getting his eye dressed Cortes entered the room,when Narvaez said to him: "Senior Cortes! thank your good fortunefor having made me your prisoner." Cortes answered, That histhanks were due to God and his valiant soldiers, who hadsucceeded in more difficult achievements since they came to NewSpain; and he considered the arrest of the royal oydor was moredaring than our present attack. He then left the room, withstrict injunctions to Sandoval to keep strict guard. Narvaez andthe rest of the captured officers were removed into a more secureapartment, where I and some other confidential soldiers wereappointed for their guard, and Sandoval gave me a private orderto allow no one to speak with Narvaez.

Cortes knew that forty of the enemies cavalry were still at anoutpost on the river, and that it was necessary to keep a goodlook out, lest they might attack us for the rescue of theirofficers. He sent, therefore, De Oli and De Ordas to speak withthem, on two horses which were found fastened in a wood, andguided by one of the soldiers of Narvaez. By their arguments andfair promises, the horsem*n were all persuaded to submit, andcame back with them for that purpose to the town. It was nowclear day, and Cortes was seated in an arm-chair, with anorange-coloured mantle over his shoulders, and his arms by hisside, surrounded by his officers and soldiers. He received thesalutations of the cavaliers, as they came up successively tokiss his hand, with amazing affability, embracing them all mostcordially, and politely complimenting them. Among these wereBermudez, Duero, and several others, who were secretly hisfriends already. Each of the cavaliers, after paying hisrespects, went to the quarters assigned for their lodgings. Eversince day-break, the drums, fifes, and timbals of the army ofNarvaez never ceased their music in honour of Cortes, though noneof us had spoken a word to them on the subject. A comical fellowof a negro, who belonged to the band, danced for joy, shoutingout; "Where are your Romans now? They never achieved so gloriousa victory with such small numbers!" We could not silence thesenoisy fellows, till Cortes ordered them to be confined. In thisaction, a gentleman of Seville, and standard-bearer to Narvaez,Roxas, one of his captains, and two others, were killed, and manywounded; one also of the three who deserted from us to him waskilled, and several wounded. The fat cacique also, who tookrefuge in the quarters of Narvaez on our approach, was wounded,and Cortes ordered him to his house, to be there well taken careof. As for Salvatierra, who had made so many boasts, his ownsoldiers said they never saw so pitiful a fellow. When he heardour drum he was in a terrible fright, and when we shouted outvictory, he declared he had a pain at his stomach, and couldfight no more. Diego Velasquez, who was wounded, was taken by hisrelation Juan Velasquez de Leon to his own quarters, where he waswell taken care of, and treated with the utmost attention[4].

[4] This victory of Cortes over Narvaez took place onthe 26th May 1520.--E.

The reinforcement of warriors which Cortes had been promisedfrom Chinantla, marched into Chempoalla soon after the conclusionof the action, under the command of Barrientos, who hadmarshalled them in a very shewy manner, in regular files,lancemen and archers alternately, 1500 in number, accompaniedwith colours, drums, and trumpets, and making a most warlikeappearance, to the great astonishment of the soldiers of Narvaez,who thought they were double the number. Our general receivedthem with much courtesy, and as their services were no longerneeded, he made them handsome presents, and dismissed them withthanks.

The army of Narvaez being now secured, Cortes sent F. de Lugoto order all the captains and pilots of the fleet to come toChempoalla, and directed all the ships to be dismantled, to cutoff all communication with Cuba. One Barahona, afterwards aninhabitant of Guatimala, had been confined by Narvaez, and wasnow set at liberty, who was in a very weak state when he joinedus. The captains and pilots of the fleet came on shore to paytheir respects, and Cortes bound them all by oath not to leavehim, appointing Pedro Cavallero, one of their number, admiral ofthe whole fleet now in his possession; and, as more ships wereexpected from Cuba, gave him orders to dismantle them all as theyarrived, and to send the captains and pilots to head-quarters.All these important matters being arranged, and his authoritycompletely established, Cortes proceeded to such measures asseemed proper for extending and securing the conquest anddiscovery of New Spain. For this purpose, Velasquez de Leon wasappointed to conduct an expedition to the river of Panuco, with220 soldiers, 20 of which were taken from among ourselves, and100 from the soldiers of Narvaez: And was to be accompanied bytwo ships, on purpose to extend the discovery of the coast. Diegode Ordas, was appointed with a similar force, to establish acolony in the province of Guacocualco, or Coatzacualco; and asthat country was well adapted for breeding cattle, he wasdirected to send to Jamaica for horses, mares, bulls, and cows,for the purpose of establishing an independent supply in thecountry. All the prisoners were released, except Narvaez andSalvatierra, who still had the pain in his stomach. Cortes alsogave orders to restore all their horses and arms to the soldiersof Narvaez, which gave us all much dissatisfaction, but we wereobliged to submit. On this occasion I had to resign a good horsewith a saddle and bridle, two swords, three daggers, and ashield. Avila and Father Olmedo, speaking on this subject toCortes, said he resembled Alexander the Great, who was alwaysmore generous to the vanquished, than to his own conqueringsoldiers. Indeed as fast as Cortes received gold or othervaluables, he gave away all to the captains of the other army,quite forgetful of us who had made him what he was. Cortesprotested that he and all he had was entirely devoted to ourservice, as he would shew by his future conduct; but that hispresent procedure was necessary for our common interest andsafety, we being so few, and the others so numerous. Avila, whowas of a lofty disposition, remonstrated in an imperious manner,and Cortes was forced to dissemble with him at the time, knowinghim to be a brave man; he pacified him therefore with presentsand flattering promises, to prevent any violence, but took carein future to employ him in distant business, as his agent firstin Hispaniola, and afterwards in Spain.

There happened to come over in the army of Narvaez, a negrowho was ill of the small-pox, a most unfortunate circ*mstance forthe people of New Spain, as the disease spread with astonishingrapidity through the country, and destroyed the natives bythousands, as they used to throw themselves into cold water inthe height of the disease, with the nature of which they wereutterly unacquainted. Thus multitudes of unfortunate souls werehurried into eternity, without an opportunity of being receivedinto the bosom of the holy Catholic church. At this time, such ofour soldiers as had been in distant garrisons, applied to Cortesto receive their shares of the gold which had been got in Mexico.As far as I can remember, he referred them to a place inTlascala, desiring that two persons might be sent to receive itat that place; and I shall have occasion to mention the resulthereafter.

SECTION X.

Occurrences, from the Defeat of Narvaez, 26th May 1520, tothe Expulsion of the Spaniards from Mexico, on the 1st, and theBattle of Otumba on the 4th of July of the same Year.

The wheel of fortune is ever in motion, evil following closelyupon good. This was strongly exemplified with us at this time, asour late successes were speedily followed by melancholy news fromMexico by express, informing us that an insurrection had brokeout in that city, that Alvarado was besieged in his quarters,which the natives had set on fire, after killing seven of his menand wounding many; for which reason Alvarado earnestly entreatedimmediate succour. It is not to be expressed how much this newsafflicted us all. In consequence of this distressingintelligence, Cortes countermanded the expeditions which were tohave marched under De Leon and De Ordas, and determined upon animmediate forced march to Mexico. We left Narvaez and Salvatierraas prisoners at Villa Rica, under the charge of Roderigo Rangel,who was likewise directed to collect all the stragglers, and totake care of the invalids, who were numerous: Just as we wereready to march, four principal nobles arrived from the court ofMontezuma, who made a heavy complaint against Alvarado, who hadassaulted them while dancing at a solemn festival in honour oftheir gods, which had been held by his permission, and statingthat they had been constrained to take up arms in their owndefence, during which seven of the Spanish soldiers were slain.Cortes made them a short answer, saying that he would shortly beat Mexico, when he would make proper inquiry and set all torights, with which answer they had to return to Montezuma, whowas much displeased with the insulting tone in which it wasgiven, more especially as a great number of his subjects had beenkilled by Alvarado. Before commencing our march, Cortes made aspeech to the soldiers of Narvaez, exhorting them to forget allpast animosities, and not to let the present opportunity be lostof serving both his majesty and themselves; and by way ofinducement, gave them a magnificent picture of the riches ofMexico, to a participation in which their faithful conduct wouldentitle them. They one and all declared their resolution to obeyhis orders, and to proceed immediately to Mexico, which theywould hardly have agreed to if they had known its strength, andthe numerous martial population of that city.

We arrived at Tlascala by very long marches, where we wereinformed that the Mexicans had made incessant attacks onAlvarado, until Montezuma and they received intelligence of thedefeat of Narvaez; after which they had desisted, leaving theSpaniards in great distress, owing to excessive fatigue fromtheir continual exertions, and much in want of water andprovisions. At Tlascala, Cortes made a general muster andinspection of our army, which now amounted to thirteen hundredmen, of whom nearly an hundred were cavalry, and a hundred andsixty armed with muskets and crossbows. We were here joined bytwo thousand Tlascalan warriors, and marched from hence toTezcuco, where we were very ill received, every thing bearing theappearance of disaffection.

On St John's day, 24th of June 1520, we again enteredMexico[1], where we met with a very different reception from whatwe had experienced on our former entry, on the 8th November 1519,seven months and a half before. Not one of the nobles of ouracquaintance came now to meet us, and the whole city seemed tohave been deserted by its inhabitants. On entering our quarters,Montezuma advanced to embrace Cortes, and to congratulate him onhis victory; but our general turned from him with disdain, andwould neither speak to him nor listen to his address, on whichthe king returned to his apartment much cast down. Cortes madeinquiry into the causes and circ*mstances of the late commotion,from all of which it was evident that it had neither beeninstigated nor approved by Montezuma; as if he had chosen to actagainst our garrison, they might all have been as easilydestroyed as only seven. Alvarado said, that the Indians wereenraged at the detention of their sovereign, and by the erectionof the cross in their temple; and that when they went, as theysaid by order of their gods, to pull it down, all their strengthwas unable to move it from its place; and that Montezuma hadstrictly enjoined them to desist from all such attempts. Injustification of himself, Alvarado alleged that the friends andsubjects of Montezuma had planned the attack upon him for theliberation of their sovereign, at the time when they believedCortes and his army had been destroyed by Narvaez: And beingquestioned why he had fallen on the Mexicans, while holding afestival in honour of their gods, he pretended that he hadintelligence of their hostile intentions from a priest and twonobles, and thought it safest to be beforehand with them. Whenpressed by Cortes to say whether the Mexicans had not asked andobtained his permission to hold that festival, he acknowledged itwas so, and that he had fallen upon them by anticipation, that hemight terrify them into submission, and prevent them from goingto war with the Spaniards. Cortes was highly displeased with theconduct of Alvarado, and censured him in the strongest terms.

[1] We are not writing the history of the conquest ofMexico, yet may be allowed to say that Cortes committed a grossmilitary error, in entering Mexico without establishing a strongcommunication of posts between that insulated city and the land,along one of the causeways; which he might easily have done alongthe shortest causeway of Tacuba or Tlacopan, or by the aqueductof Chapoltepec.--E.

Alvarado alleged that during one of the attacks of theMexicans on his quarters, he had endeavoured to fire off one ofhis guns and could not get the priming to take fire; but sometimeafterwards, when they were in great danger, the gun went off ofitself and made prodigious havock among the enemy, who were thusmiraculously repulsed, and the Spaniards saved from inevitabledestruction. He said also, that the garrison being in greatdistress for water, they sank a pit in one of the courts, whenimmediately a spring of the sweetest water sprung up. I know thatthere was a spring in the city which often produced tolerablyfresh water[2]. Glory be to GOD for all his mercies! Some allegedthat Alvarado was excited to this attack by avarice, in order toplunder the Indians of their golden ornaments during thefestival; but I am satisfied his attack proceeded from a mistakenidea of preventing insurrection by terror. It is certain, thateven after the massacre at the temple, Montezuma used everyendeavour to prevent his subjects from attacking our people: butthey were so enraged that nothing could restrain their eagerthirst for vengeance.

[2] It is to be noticed that the lake in which thecity of Mexico was built contained water so salt as to be unfitfor drinking.--E.

During our march, Cortes had launched out to the new comers inwarm eulogiums on the riches of Mexico, the power and influencewhich he had acquired, and the respect and obedience of theMexicans, filling them with promises and expectations of enjoyinggold in abundance. From the negligent coldness of his receptionin Tezcuco, and the similar appearances in Mexico, he becamevexed, disappointed, and peevish; insomuch, that when theofficers of Montezuma came to wait upon him, and expressed thewishes of their master to see him, Cortes exclaimed angrily:"Away with the dog, wherefore does he neglect to supply us." Thecaptains De Leon, De Oli, and De Lugo, happening to be present onthis occasion, entreated him to remember the former kindness andgenerosity of the Mexican sovereign, and to treat him withmoderation. This only seemed to irritate Cortes so much the more,as it appeared to censure his conduct, and he indignantlyanswered: "What obligations am I under to the wretch, who plottedsecretly against me with Narvaez, and who now neglects to supplyus with provisions?" The captains admitted that this ought to bedone, and Cortes being full of confidence in the great militarypower he now commanded, continued a haughty demeanour to theMexican noblemen who still waited his pleasure. Turning thereforeto them, he desired them to tell their master, that he mustimmediately order markets to be held, and provisions to besupplied for his troops, or to beware of the consequences. Theselords understood the general import of the injurious expressionswhich Cortes had used against Montezuma, and made a faithfulreport to him of all that passed. Whether it may have proceededfrom rage on account of these opprobrious expressions againsttheir sovereign, or from a plan previously concerted to fall uponus, I know not, but within a quarter of an hour, a soldierdangerously wounded came running into our quarters, and reportedthat the whole people were in arms against us. This man had beensent by Cortes to bring over to our quarters the daughter ofMontezuma and other Indian ladies, who had been left under thecharge of the cacique of Tacuba, when we marched against Narvaez.He was returning with these ladies, when the people attacked himin great numbers on the causeway of Tacuba, where they had brokendown one of the bridges, and had once seized him, and wereforcing him into a canoe to carry him off to be sacrificed; buthe extricated himself by a violent effort, and got away with twodangerous wounds.

Cortes immediately ordered out a detachment of 400 men underOrdas, to see what was the matter, and to endeavour to pacify thepeople; but he had hardly proceeded the length of a street, whenhe was assailed by immense numbers of the natives, some in thestreet, and others from the terraced tops of the houses, whokilled eight of his men on the first discharge of missiles, andwounded mostly the whole of his men, himself in three places.Finding it impossible to proceed, Ordas retreated slowly towardsour quarters, and soon after lost another soldier, who didastonishing feats of valour with a two-handed sword. The streetswere so crowded with enemies, and we were so incessantly attackedin front and rear, and from the roofs, that for a long while hewas unable to force his way. Neither the effect of our fire-arms,nor the most efficacious use of our other arms could deter thenatives from closing in upon us hand to hand, and foot to foot;but at length Ordas forced his way back, having lost in alltwenty-three of his men. Our quarters were attacked by prodigiousmultitudes at the same moment that the attack on Ordas began, andthey poured in such incessant discharges of missile weapons, thatthey soon wounded above forty-six of our men, of whom twelveafterwards died. Even after the retreat of Ordas, the enemycontinued their attacks, and at length set fire to various partsof the buildings forming our quarters, thinking to burn us aliveor to stifle us with smoke; and we were reduced to the necessityof tearing down some parts of the building, and to throw earthupon other parts, to extinguish the fire. All the courts and openplaces of our quarters were thickly strewed with arrows, stones,and darts, which had been thrown at us; and we were occupied thewhole day and night, in repelling the incessant assaults,repairing the breaches in our defences, dressing our wounds, andpreparing for future assaults. At dawn of the ensuing morning, wesallied out with our whole force, determined to conquer or toimpress them with respect. The Mexicans met us with the utmostresolution, and though we fought almost in despair, their numberswere so immense, and they continually brought up such strongreinforcements of fresh troops, that even if we had all beenHectors or Orlandos, we could not have forced them to giveground. It is quite impossible to give any adequate idea of theobstinacy and violence of this battle. Though in every reiteratedcharge we brought down thirty or forty of the enemy, it had noeffect, as they returned upon us with more violence anddesperation than before; our musketry and cannon made noimpression that was not instantly replaced; and if at any timethey gave ground, it was only to draw us farther from ourquarters, to make our destruction more sure. In the midst of allthis, the stones and darts which were launched upon us from theterraces of the house tops did us astonishing injury. Some of oursoldiers who had been in the wars of Italy declared, that neitheramong Christians or Turks, nor even in the French artillery, hadthey ever seen such desperate fighting as now among theseIndians. We were at length forced to retreat to our quarters,which we reached with infinite difficulty, after losing ten ortwelve of our men killed, and almost every one of us severelywounded.

After our return, we were busily occupied in preparing for ageneral sally on the next day after but one, with four militaryengines of strong timber like towers, each of which wascalculated to contain twenty-five men under cover, with portholesfor the artillery, and for muskets and crossbows. During thisinterval we had likewise to repair the breaches which theMexicans had made in our walls, and to resist their attempts toscale them, often in twenty places at once. The Mexicansconstantly used the most injurious language against us; sayingthat the voracious animals in the great temple had been keptfasting for two days, that they might be ready to devour ourbodies, when we were sacrificed to their gods. They assured us atthe same time that our allies were to be put into cages tofatten, and that they would soon recover our ill got treasure.Sometimes they adjured us in the most plaintive terms to restoretheir king to liberty, and they annoyed us without ceasing byflights of arrows, constantly shouting and whistling. On theensuing morning at day-break, having first recommended ourselvesto GOD, we sallied out from our quarters with the turrets, suchas I have seen in other places, and called mantas orburros. Our column was headed by a party of musketeers andcrossbow-men, and our cavalry on our flanks, occasionallycharging the enemy. Our purpose was to assail the great temple,which by its elevation and strong enclosures, served as a citadelto the Mexicans, and we advanced therefore in that direction,accompanied by our turrets; but the enemy resisted all ourefforts with the most determined obstinacy. I will not attempt torelate all the circ*mstances of this desperate battle, or thedifficulty which we had to encounter in driving the enemy from avery strong house which they occupied. The arrows of the Mexicanswounded many of our horses, notwithstanding that they woredefensive armour; and when our cavalry attempted at any time tocharge or to pursue the enemy, they threw themselves into thecanals, while others sallied out from the houses on both sideswith long lances, assailing our people in the rear and on bothflanks. It was utterly impossible for us to burn the houses, orto pull them down, as they all stood singly in the water,communicating only by means of draw-bridges; and it was toodangerous for us to attempt reaching them by swimming, as theyshowered vollies of stones upon us by slings, and threw largestones upon our heads from the terraces of their house tops. Evenwhen a house was set on fire, it was very long of taking effect;and even when we succeeded, the flames could not communicate tothe other houses, as they were all separated by canals, and theirroofs were terraced, not thatched.

At length we reached the great temple, into which fourthousand of the Mexicans immediately rushed, independent of otherlarge bodies who were previously stationed there for its defence.They defended their temple with the most obstinate valour, andfor some time prevented us from being able to ascend, ourturrets, musketry, and cavalry, being of no avail to force themto give ground. The pavements of the temple courts were sosmooth, that the horses fell when our cavalry attempted tocharge. They opposed us in front from the steps of the greattemple, and assailed us with such fury on both flanks and in therear, that though our guns swept off a dozen or fifteen of themat every discharge, and though in each charge of our infantry wekilled many of them with our swords and lances, they continuallyfilled up the chasms we had made among them, and their numbersand resolution were so great that we could not make any permanentor effectual impression. We were even forced to abandon ourmantas or turrets, which the enemy had demolished. Atlength, by a desperate effort, we forced our way up the steps,and in this assault Cortes shewed himself a hero. Our battle inthis place was most desperate, every man among us being coveredwith blood, and above forty of our number lay dead on the spot.We reached with infinite difficulty the place where we hadformerly set up the image of the blessed Virgin, which was not tobe found, as it had been removed by order of Montezuma, eitherthrough fear or from devotion to his idols. We set fire to thebuildings, and burnt down a part of the temples ofHuitzilopochtli and Tezcatlipoca; and while some of us wereemployed in setting fire to the buildings, and others fighting,in which our Tlascalan allies seconded us most gallantly, abovethree thousand Mexican nobles, headed by their priests, made amost severe attack, and drove us down eight or ten of the steps.Others of the enemy from the corridors, or within the railingsand concavities of the temple, assailed us on every side witharrows and other missiles, so that we were unable even tomaintain the ground we had gained. We were constrained thereforeto retreat, every man of us being wounded, and forty-six of ournumber slain. We regained our quarters with the utmostdifficulty, which the enemy had almost gained possession of, asthey had been continually endeavouring to carry them by assaultduring our absence, or to set them on fire. But they desisted ina great measure from the assault on our arrival, yet continued tothrow in perpetual showers of arrows, darts, and stones. In thecourse of this most terrible engagement, we made two of the chiefpriests prisoners, whom we carried along with us to our quarters.I have often seen representations of this battle in Mexicanpaintings, both at Mexico and Tlascala, in which the variousincidents were represented in a very lively manner. Our ascent tothe great temple; the setting the temple on fire; the numerouswarriors defending it in the corridors, from behind the rails,and in the concavities, and others on the plain ground, in thecourts of the temple, and on all sides of us; many of our menbeing represented as dead, and all of us covered with wounds. Inthese paintings, the destruction of our turrets is conspicuouslyrepresented as a most heroic achievement.

The night which succeeded this unfortunate battle was passedby us in a most melancholy state; repairing the breaches whichhad been made in the walls of our quarters, dressing our wounds,burying our slain companions, and consulting upon measures forextricating us from our present almost hopeless situation. Thefollowers of Narvaez heaped maledictions on Cortes for leadingthem to Mexico, and Velasquez came in for an ample share of theirabuse, for having induced them to quit their peaceful habitationsin Cuba. The enemy assembled around us again at day-break, andassailed our quarters with greater fury than ever, insomuch thatour fire-arms were insufficient to repel them, though they mowedthem down in great numbers. In this desperate situation, Cortessent for Montezuma, whom he desired to address his subjects froma terrace, desiring them to desist from their attacks, assuringthem that we would immediately evacuate the city. On receivingthis message, Montezuma burst into tears, exclaiming, "What doeshe want with me now? I have been reduced to my present unhappystate on his account, and I neither wish to see him nor to liveany longer?" He therefore dismissed the messengers with arefusal, and it is reported that he added, that he desired not tobe any more troubled with the false words and specious promisesof Cortes. Father Olmedo and Captain De Oli went to wait uponhim, and used all possible expressions of respect and affectionto induce him to comply with the request of Cortes. To this hereplied, that he did not believe any thing he could now do wouldbe of any avail, as the Mexicans had elected another sovereign,and were resolved not to allow a single Spaniard to quit the cityalive. He made his appearance however at the railing of aterraced roof, attended by many of our soldiers, and made a veryaffectionate address to the people below, earnestly entreating acessation of hostilities, that we might evacuate Mexico. As soonas Montezuma was perceived, the chiefs and nobles made theirtroops to desist from the attack, and commanded silence. Thenfour of the principal nobles came forwards, so near as to be ableto hold conversation with Montezuma whom they addressed,lamenting the misfortunes which had befallen him and his family.They told him that they had raised Cuitlahuatzin[3] to thethrone; that the war would soon be ended, as they had promised totheir gods never to desist till they had utterly destroyed theSpaniards; that they offered up continual prayers for the safetyof Montezuma their beloved sovereign, whom they would venerateand obey as formerly, as soon as they had rescued him from ourhands, and hoped he would pardon all they had done for thedefence of their religion and independence, and their presentdisobedience. Just as they concluded this address, a shower ofarrows fell about the place where Montezuma stood; and though theSpaniards had hitherto protected him by interposing theirshields, they did not expect any assault while he was speaking tohis subjects, and had therefore uncovered him for an instant; inthat unguarded state, three stones and an arrow hit him on thehead, the arm, and the leg, wounding him severely. Montezumarefused every assistance, and all the endeavours of Father Olmedocould not prevail upon him to embrace the holy Catholic faith,neither could he be prevailed upon to have his wounds attendedto. When informed of his death, Cortes and our captains lamentedhim exceedingly, and all of us soldiers who had been acquaintedwith his generosity and other amiable qualities, grieved as forthe loss of a father. He was said to have reigned seventeenyears, and to have been the best of all the sovereigns who hadruled over Mexico; having fought and conquered in three pitchedbattles, while subjugating other states to his dominions.

[3] This prince, whom Diaz names Coadlavaca, wasbrother to Montezuma, prince of Iztapalapan, and Tlachcocoatl, orgrand general of the Mexican army.--E.

After the death of Montezuma, Cortes sent two of ourprisoners, a nobleman and a priest, with a message to the newsovereign Cuitlahuatzin, to inform him of the melancholy event,which had happened by the hands of his own subjects; to expressour grief on the occasion; and our wish that Montezuma might beinterred with that respect which was due to his exaltedcharacter. Cortes likewise informed these messengers, that he didnot acknowledge the right of the sovereign whom the Mexicans hadchosen, as the throne ought to belong to the son of the greatMontezuma, or to his cousin, who was now a prisoner in ourquarters. He desired them also to say, if they would desist fromhostilities, we would immediately march out of their city. Hethen ordered the body of Montezuma to be carried out by sixnobles, and attended by most of the priests whom we had takenprisoners, desiring them to deliver the body of their deceasedmonarch to the Mexican chiefs, according to his dyinginjunctions. We could hear the exclamations of sorrow which wereexpressed by the people, at the sight of the body of their latesovereign; but our message was unavailing, as they recommencedtheir attack on our quarters with the utmost violence,threatening that in two days we should all pay with our lives forthe death of their king and the dishonour of their gods, as theyhad now a sovereign whom we could not deceive as we had done bythe good Montezuma.

Our situation was now exceedingly alarming, and on the dayafter the death of Montezuma, we made another sally towards thatpart of the city which contained many houses built on the firmground, meaning to do all the injury we could, and, takingadvantage of the causeway, to charge through the enemy with ourcavalry, hoping to intimidate them by severe military execution,so as to induce them to grant us a free passage; we accordinglyforced our way to that part of the city, where we burnt downabout twenty houses, and very nearly reached the firm land[4].But the injury we did the enemy was dearly purchased by the deathof twenty of our soldiers, and we were unable to gain possessionof any of the bridges, which were all partly broken down, and theenemy had constructed barricades or retrenchments in variousplaces to obstruct the cavalry, wherever they could have donemost essential service. Thus our troubles and perplexitiescontinually increased, and we were forced again to fight our wayback to our quarters. In this sally, which took place on aThursday, Sandoval and others of our cavalry acted with greatbravery; but those who came with Narvaez, not having beenaccustomed to such service, were timorous in comparison with ourveterans. The number and fury of our enemies increased daily,while our force was diminished by each successive attack, andfrom our wounds we were become less able for resistance. Ourpowder was almost entirely expended; provisions and water becamescarce; our friend Montezuma was no more; all our proposals forpeace were rejected; the bridges by which we might have retreatedwere broken down; and in fine nothing but death in its direstform of immolation to their horrible idols appeared before us. Inthis state almost bordering on despair, it was resolved by Cortesin a consultation with all his confidential officers andsoldiers, to make an attempt to quit the city during the night,as we were in expectation to find the enemy less upon their guardthan in the day time. In order to deceive them, a message wassent by one of their chief priests who had been made prisoner,engaging to give up all the treasure in our possession, if theywould give us permission within eight days to quit the city. Fourdays before this, one Botello, who pretended to be an astrologer,predicted that if we did not leave Mexico on this very night,that none of us would ever get out of it alive, adding many otherfoolish particulars to his prophecy.

[4] The expression in the text, of having nearlyreached the firm land, is rather obscure, and may possibly meanthat they had nearly forced their way along one of the causewaysleading from the insular city to the continental shore of thelake.--E.

As it was determined to endeavour to force our way from thecity, a portable bridge of very strong timber was prepared forenabling us to pass over the canals or passages in the causeway,where the enemy had broken down the bridges; and one hundred andfifty of our soldiers, with four hundred Tlascalan allies, wereappointed for conveying, guarding, and placing this bridge. Theadvanced guard of an hundred of our youngest and most active men,was commanded by Sandoval, assisted by Azevedo, De Lugo, DeOrdas, and De Tapia, with eight of the captains that came withNarvaez. The rear guard of an hundred men, mostly those ofNarvaez, and the greater part of our cavalry, was confided toAlvarado and Velasquez de Leon. Donna Marina and Donna Luisa,with the Mexican chiefs who were prisoners, were placed under anescort of thirty Spanish soldiers and three hundred Tlascalans:Our general, with Avila, Oli, and other officers, and fiftysoldiers, formed a body of reserve to act where they might bemost needed. The rest of our soldiers and allies, with thebaggage, formed a main body along with which the prisoners andtheir especial escort was to move, under protection of the vanand rear guards. By the time that all these arrangements werecompleted, it drew towards night, and Cortes caused all the gold,which had hitherto been kept in his apartment, to be brought intothe great hall of our quarters, when he desired Avila and Mexia,the kings officers, to take charge of what belonged to hismajesty, assigning them eight wounded horses and above fourscoreMexicans for its conveyance. When these were loaded with all thegold they were able to carry, a great deal more remained heapedup in the saloon. Cortes then desired his secretary Hernandez andother notaries to bear witness that he could no longer beresponsible for this gold; and desired the soldiers to take asmuch as they pleased, saying it were better for them to have it,than to leave it to their Mexican enemies. Upon this many of thesoldiers of Narvaez, and some even of our veterans, loadedthemselves with treasure. I was never avaricious, and was nowmore intent on saving my life than on the possession of riches: Itook the opportunity, however, of carrying off four calchihuisfrom a casket, though Cortes had ordered his major-domo to takeespecial care of this casket and its contents, and these jewelswere of infinite use to me afterwards, as a resource againstfamine, as they are highly prized by the Indians. The memorablenight of our leaving Mexico, was dark, with much mist and somerain. Just before midnight, the detachment having charge of theportable bridge moved off from our quarters, followed in regularsuccession by the other divisions of our army. On coming to thefirst aperture in the causeway of Tacuba or Tlacopan, by which weretreated as being the shortest, the bridge was laid across, andwas passed by the vanguard, the baggage, artillery, part of thecavalry, the Tlascalans with the gold. Just as Sandoval and hisparty had passed, and Cortes with his body of reserve, thetrumpets of the enemy were heard, and the alarm was given onevery side, the Mexicans shouting out, "Tlaltelulco!Tlaltelulco[5]! out with your canoes! the teules are marchingoff, assail them at the bridges!" In an instant the enemyassailed us on every side, some on the land and others in theircanoes, which swarmed on the lake and the canals on both sides ofour road, and so numerous were they and so determined that theyentirely intercepted our line of march, especially at the brokenbridges, and from this moment nothing but confusion and dismayprevailed among our troops. It rained so heavily that some of thehorses became restive and plunged into the water with theirriders; and to add to our distress our portable bridge was brokendown at this first gap, and it was no longer serviceable. Theenemy attacked us with redoubled fury, and as our soldiers made abrave resistance, the aperture became soon choked up with thedead and dying men and horses, intermixed with artillery, packsand bales of baggage, and those who carried them, all heaped upin the water. Many of our companions were drowned at this place,and many were forced into canoes and hurried away to besacrificed. It was horrible to hear the cries of theseunfortunate captives, calling upon us for aid which we wereunable to give, and invoking the blessed Virgin and all thesaints in vain for deliverance. Others of our companions escapedacross those gaps in the causeway, by clambering over theconfused mass of dead bodies and luggage by which they werefilled, and were calling out for assistance to help them up onthe other side; while many of them, thinking themselves in safetywhen they got to the firm ground, were there seized by theMexicans, or killed with war clubs. All the regularity which hadhitherto guided our march was now utterly lost and abandoned.Cortes and all the mounted officers and soldiers galloped offalong the causeway, providing for their own immediate safety, andleaving all the rest to save ourselves as we best might: Nor canI blame them for this procedure, as the cavalry could do nothingagainst the enemy, who threw themselves into the water on bothsides of the causeway when attacked, while others, by continualflights of arrows from the houses, or with long lances from thecanoes on each side, killed and wounded the men and horses. Ourpowder was all expended, so that we were unable to do any injuryto the Mexicans in the canoes. In this situation of utterconfusion and derout, the only thing we could do was by unitingtogether in bands of thirty or forty, to endeavour to force ourway to the land: When the Indians closed upon us, we exerted ourutmost efforts to drive them off with our swords, and thenhurried our march to get over the causeway as soon as possible.Had we waited for each other, or had our retreat been in the day,we had all been inevitably destroyed. The escape of such as madetheir way to land, was due to the mercy of God who gave usstrength to force our way; for the multitudes that surrounded us,and the melancholy sight of our companions hurried away in thecanoes to instant sacrifice, was horrible in the extreme. Aboutfifty of us, mostly soldiers of Cortes, with a few of those whocame with Narvaez, stuck together in a body, and made our wayalong the causeway through infinite difficulty and danger. Everynow and then strong parties of Indians assailed us, calling usluilones, their severest term of reproach, and using theirutmost endeavours to seize us. As soon as we thought them withinreach, we faced about and repelled them with a few thrusts of ourswords, and then resumed our march. We thus proceeded, until atlast we reached the firm ground near Tacuba, where Cortes,Sandoval, De Oli, Salcedo, Dominguez, Lares, and others of thecavalry, and such of the infantry as had got across the bridgebefore it was broken down, had already arrived[6].

[5] Tlaltelulco was the name of that division of thecity of Mexico through which the Spaniards marched in their waytowards the causeway of Tacuba, and was probably used to summonthe inhabitants of that quarter to the attack.--E.

[6] Clavigero, II. 116, says that the miserableremnant of the Spaniards assembled in Popotla, a village nearTacuba or Tlacopan. Diaz is often negligent of dates, but welearn in a subsequent passage, that this disastrous retreat fromMexico was on the 1st of July 1520.--E.

On our approach, we heard the voices of Sandoval, De Oli, andMorla, calling on Cortes to return to the assistance of those whowere still on the causeway, who loudly complained of beingabandoned. Cortes replied, that it was a miracle any should haveescaped, and that all who returned to the bridges would assuredlybe slain: Yet he actually did return with ten or twelve of thecavalry and such of the infantry as had escaped unhurt, andproceeded along the causeway to attempt the succour of such asmight be still engaged. He had not gone far when he met Alvaradobadly wounded, accompanied by three of our soldiers, four ofthose belonging to Narvaez, and eight Tlascalans, all severelywounded and covered with blood. These Alvarado assured him wereall that remained of the rear-guard, Velasquez de Leon and abouttwenty of the cavalry, and above an hundred of the infantry, whohad belonged to his division, being all slain, or made prisonersand carried away to be sacrificed. He said farther, that afterall the horses were slain, about eighty had assembled in a bodyand passed the first gap on the heaps of luggage and dead bodies;that at the other bridge the few who now accompanied him weresaved by the mercy of God. I do not now perfectly recollect inwhat manner he passed that last aperture, as we were all moreattentive to what he related of the death of Velasquez and abovetwo hundred of our unhappy companions. As to that last fatalbridge, which is still called Salto de Alvarado, or theLeap of Alvarado, we were too much occupied in saving our ownlives to examine whether he leaped much or little. He must,however, have got over on the baggage and dead bodies; for thewater was too deep for him to have reached the bottom with hislance, and the aperture was too wide and the sides too high forhim to have leaped over, had he been the most active man in theworld. In about a year after, when we besieged Mexico, I wasengaged with the enemy at that very bridge which was calledAlvarados Leap, where the enemy had constructed breastworks andbarricades, and we all agreed that the leap was impossible. OneOcampo, a soldier who came with Garay, who used to amuse himselfwith lampoons, made one on this supposed feat of Alvarado,saying, "That fear made him give that prodigious leap, leavingVelasquez and two hundred more to their fate as he leaped for hislife." As Cortes found, by the information of Alvarado, that thecauseway was entirely filled by the enemy, who must haveintercepted all the rest of our companions, he returned toTacuba, where all who had escaped were now collected. Messengershad been already sent from Mexico, ordering all the people ofTacuba, Ezcapuzalco, Tenajocan, and other neighbouring cities onthat side of the lake, to collect and attack us; and they nowbegan to surround us in the inclosed courts of Popotla where wehad taken shelter, harassing us with stones and arrows, and evenattacking us with lances, many of which were headed with theswords which we lost during our retreat. We defended ourselvesagainst this attack as well as we could, and made several salliesto drive them off. But, as the enemy continually increased innumber, it was determined to endeavour to reach Tlascala, forwhich purpose we set out under the direction of six or seven ofour allies who were well acquainted with the country. After afatiguing march by an indirect road, during which we were muchharassed by the enemy, who plied us with stones and arrows, wereached some houses on a hill near a temple, where we defendedourselves, and took such care as we could of our wounds; butcould get no provisions. After the conquest of Mexico, a churchwas built on the site of this temple, and dedicated to NuestraSenora de los Remedios, our Lady of Succour, to which manyladies and other inhabitants of Mexico, now go in procession topay nine days devotion[7].

[7] This place is about nine miles W.N.W. fromMexico, and only about a mile and a half from Tacuba. Its Mexicanname, according to Clavigero, was Otoncalpolco. It is almost inan opposite direction from the road to Tlascala, but was probablychosen on purpose to avoid the populous hostile vale of Mexico,and to get as soon as possible among the hills, and among some ofthe conquered tribes who bore the Mexican yoke with impatience.Clavigero says that the Spaniards procured at this place somerefreshments from a tribe of Otomies, who inhabited twoneighbouring hamlets.--E.

Our wounds had become extremely painful from cold, and want ofproper dressings, and we now bound them up as well as we could.We had to deplore the loss of great numbers of our valiantcompanions, most of the soldiers of Narvaez having lost theirlives by being overloaded with gold. Poor Botello the astrologerwas killed among the rest. The sons of Montezuma, Cacamatzin whohad been prince of Tezcuco, and all the other prisoners, amongwhom were some Mexican princes, lost their lives on this fatalnight of our retreat from Mexico. All our artillery were lost. Wehad only twenty-three horses remaining, and very few crossbows;and our situation was melancholy and desperate in the extreme,having no other resource but to endeavour to reach Tlascala, andeven there our reception was exceedingly uncertain[8]. Afterdressing our wounds, and making arrows for our crossbows, duringwhich employment we were incessantly harassed in our presentpost, we proceeded at midnight on our march, under the directionof our faithful Tlascalans. Some of those who were badly woundedhad to walk with the aid of crutches; others were assisted oneach side by some of their companions; and those who were utterlyunable to support themselves were placed upon lame horses. Thus,making head against the enemy with as many of the infantry ascould bear arms, and having the cavalry who were able to act infront and on our flanks, with the wounded Spaniards and allies inthe centre, we marched on continually harassed by the enemy, whor*viled us, saying that we should soon meet our destruction;words that we did not then understand. I have forgot to mentionthe satisfaction we all enjoyed at finding Donna Marina and DonnaLuisa had been saved in our retreat from Mexico. Having crossedamong the first, they had been brought safe to Popotla by theexertions of two brothers of Donna Luisa, all the rest of thefemale Indians having been lost in the retreat.

[8] The distance from where they now were to Tlascalawas between 80 and 90 miles in a straight line; but as they chosea very circuitous route, by the west and north of the lakes inthe vale of Mexico, before turning south-eastwards to Tlascala,their march must have much exceeded thatdistance.--E.

On this day we reached a large town named Gualtitlan[9]. Fromthat place we continued our march, still harassed at every stepby the enemy, whose numbers and boldness increased as weadvanced, insomuch that they killed two of our lame soldiers andone of our horses at a difficult pass, wounding many both of ourhorses and ourselves. Having repulsed them, we reached somevillages, where we halted for the night, making our supper of theslain horse[10]. We began our march very early next morning, andhad only proceeded about a league, believing ourselves now almostin safety, when three of our videts came in with a report thatthe whole extent of a plain through which we must necessarilypass was covered over by an innumerable army. This intelligencewas truly terrifying to our small numbers, worn out with fatigueand privations, and covered with wounds; yet we resolved toconquer or die, as we had indeed no other alternative. We wereimmediately halted and formed in order of battle, the infantrybeing directed to use their swords only in thrusts, by which weexposed ourselves less to the weapons of the enemy, and thecavalry were ordered to charge clear through at half speed, withtheir lances levelled at the faces of the enemy, never stoppingto make thrusts. While recommending ourselves to God and his HolyMother, and invoking the aid of St Jago, the enemy began to closearound us, and we resolved to sell our lives dearly, or force ourway through. The infantry being drawn up in a solid column, andour cavalry formed in bodies of five, we proceeded to the attack.It is impossible to describe the tremendous battle which ensued:How we closed hand to hand, and with what fury the enemy attackedus, wounding us with their clubs and lances and two-handedswords; while our cavalry, favoured by the even surface of theplain, rode through them at will with couched lances, bearingdown the enemy wherever they came, and fighting most manfullythough they and their horses were all wounded. We too of theinfantry did our best, regardless of our former wounds and ofthose we now received, closing up with the enemy, and using everyeffort to bear them down with our swords. Cortes, Alvarado, andDe Oli, though all wounded, continued to make lanes through thethrong of the enemy, calling out to us to strike especially atthe chiefs, who were easily distinguished by their plumes offeathers, golden ornaments, rich arms, and curious devices. Thevaliant Sandoval encouraged us by his example and exhortations,exclaiming, "Now is the day of victory! Trust in God, who willstill preserve us to do him service." We were all resolute toconquer or die, and were assuredly assisted by the Lord JesusChrist, the Holy Virgin, and St Jago; as was afterwards certifiedby a chief belonging to Guatimotzin, who was present in thisbattle. Though some were killed and many wounded, we continued tomaintain our ground, yet the enemy never relaxed in theirefforts. At length it was the will of God, that Cortes,accompanied by Sandoval, De Oli, Alvarado, Avila, and othercaptains, came up to that part of the enemy in which theircommander-in-chief was posted, who was distinguished from all therest by his rich golden arms, and highly adorned plume offeathers, and the grand standard of the army[11]. Immediately onCortes perceiving this chief, who was surrounded by many nobleswearing plumes of feathers, he exclaimed to his companions, "Now,gentlemen, let us charge these men, and if we succeed the day isour own." Then, recommending themselves to God, they charged uponthem, and Cortes struck the Mexican chief and threw down hisstandard, he and the other cavaliers effectually breaking anddispersing this numerous body. The Mexican chief, however, wasmaking his escape, but was pursued and slain by Juan deSalamanca, who seized his rich plume of feathers and presented itto Cortes, saying, that as he had first struck the Mexicangeneral and overthrown the standard, the trophy of the conquestwas his undoubted right.

[9] Named Quauhtitlan by Clavigero, and Guautitlan,Huauhtitlan or Teutitlan, in Humboldts map of the Vale ofMexico.--E.

[10] As related in the text, this march to thevillages appears to have been made on the same day with that toGuauhtitlan, and the battle of Otumba or Otompan, to have beenfought on the second day of the march from Popotla or LosRemedios. But the distances and difficulty of the marchrenders this almost impossible. The chronology and distances,taking the names of some of the stages from Clavigero, II. 117,and the distances from Humboldts map, may have been as follows;Retreat from Mexico to Popotla, 1st July, 9 miles. March toQuauhtitlan, 2d July, 10 miles. To Xoloc, 3d July, 13 miles. ToZacamolco, 4th July, 10 miles. To Otompan, 5th July, 3miles:--and indeed these dates are sufficiently confirmed by Diazhimself in the sequel.--E.

[11] According to Clavigero, II. 118, this standardwas a net of gold fixed to a staff ten palms long, which wasfirmly tied to his back, and was called by the MexicansTlahuizmatlaxopilli.--E.

It pleased God, that the enemy should relax in their effortsimmediately on learning the death of their general and of thenumerous chiefs who surrounded him. On perceiving that they beganto retreat, we forgot our hunger, thirst, fatigue, and wounds,and thought of nothing but victory and pursuit. Our scantycavalry followed them up close, dealing destruction around themon every side; and our faithful allies fought like lions, mowingdown all before them with the arms which the enemy threw away tofacilitate their flight. On the return of our cavalry from thepursuit, we gave humble thanks to God for our unexpected victoryand miraculous preservation. Never had the Mexican empirecollected together so large a force as on this occasion; beingcomposed of all the warriors of Mexico, Tezcuco, and Tlalcopan,headed by the whole nobility of these nations, magnificentlyarmed and adorned, and all determined not to leave a single traceof us upon earth. This great and decisive battle was fought inthe neighbourhood of a place called Obtumba, Otumba, or Otompan.I have frequently seen it, and all the other battles we foughtagainst the Mexicans, antecedent to the final conquest, admirablyrepresented in Mexican paintings. It is now proper to mention,that we entered Mexico to relieve Alvarado on the 24th of June1520, with upwards of 1300 soldiers, including 97 cavalry, 80musketeers, and 80 armed with crossbows; having with us a greattrain of artillery, and 2000 warriors of our allies theTlascalans. Our flight from Mexico was on the 1st of thesucceeding month of July, and the battle of Obtumba on the 4th ofthat month. In Mexico, during our passage of the causeway, on ourmarch, and in the battle, we lost above 870 soldiers, including72 of those belonging to Narvaez, and five Spanish women, whowere put to death at a place called Tustepeque. Upwards of 1200of our Tlascalan allies were also killed; as were Juan deAlcantara and two more who had been sent from Chempoalla for theshare of the gold assigned to the garrison of Villa Rica, whowere robbed and murdered. Upon the whole, all who were concernedin the treasure came to bad fortune; and thus a much greaterproportion of the soldiers of Narvaez perished in the flight fromMexico than of our veterans, as they had avariciously loadedthemselves with gold on that unhappy night[12].

[12] Cortes entered Mexico with above 1300 men, andthere were there under Alvarado about 75. Of these above 870 wereslain, down to the close of the battle of Otumba; so that about500 still remained under the command of Cortes. Diaz reckons only440; but these were probably exclusive of such as were entirelydisabled from service by their wounds.--E.

SECTION XI.

Occurrences from the Battle of Otumba till the march ofCortes to besiege Mexico.

Immediately after the victory, we resumed our march forTlascala, cheered by our success, and subsisted on a kind ofgourds, called ayotes, which we found in the countrythrough which we passed. We halted for the night in a strongtemple, being occasionally alarmed by detached parties of theMexicans, who still kept hovering about us, as if determined tosee us out of their country. From this place we were rejoiced atseeing the mountains of Tlascala, being anxious to ascertain thefidelity of these allies, and to hear news from our friends atVilla Rica. Cortes warned us to be exceedingly cautious of givingany offence to the Tlascalans, and particularly enforced thisadvice on the soldiers of Narvaez, who were less accustomed todiscipline. He said that he hoped to find our allies steady intheir attachment; but if they should have changed in consequenceof our misfortunes, although we were now only 440 strong, allwounded and ill armed, we still possessed vigorous bodies andfirm minds to carry us through, if necessary, to the coast. Wenow arrived at a fountain on the side of a hill, where we came toa rampart built in ancient times as a boundary between the stateof Tlascala and the dominions of Mexico. We halted here, and thenproceeded to a town called Gualiopar, or Huejotlipan, where wehalted one day, and procured some food for which we were obligedto pay. Immediately on our arrival being announced at Tlascala,our friends Maxicatzin, Xicotencatl, Chichimecatl, the chief ofHuexatcinco, and others, came to wait upon Cortes, whom theyembraced, yet kindly blamed him for having neglected their adviceto distrust the treachery of the Mexicans. They wept for thelosses we had sustained, yet rejoiced at our escape, and praisedour valiant actions; assuring us that they were assembling 30,000of their warriors to have joined us at Obtumba. They wererejoiced to see Donna Marina and Donna Luisa, and lamented theloss of the other ladies. Maxicatzin in particular bewailed thefate which had befallen his daughter and Velasquez de Leon, towhom he had given her. They invited us to their city, where wewere kindly received, and where we reposed in peace and safetyafter our many and severe hardships. Cortes lodged in the houseof Maxicatzin, Alvarado in that of Xicotencatl, and the otherofficers were distributed among the houses of the nobles, all thesoldiers being likewise supplied with comfortable quarters andabundant food. Here in the midst of our friends, we recoveredfrom our wounds and fatigues, all except four who died.

Soon after our arrival, Cortes made inquiry after certain goldto the value of 40,000 crowns, the share belonging to thegarrison of Villa Rica, which had been sent here from Mexico; andwas informed by the Tlascalan chiefs, and by a Spanish invalidleft here when on our march to Mexico, that the persons who hadbeen sent for it from Villa Rica had been robbed and murdered onthe road, at the time we were engaged in hostilities with theMexicans. Letters were sent to Villa Rica, giving an account ofall the disastrous events which had befallen us, and desiring animmediate supply of all the arms and ammunition that could bespared, and to send us a strong reinforcement. By the return ofthe messengers, we were informed that all was well at Villa Ricaand the neighbourhood, and that the reinforcement should beimmediately sent. It accordingly arrived soon after, consistingin all of seven men, three of whom were sailors, and allof them were invalids. They were commanded by a soldier namedLencero, who afterwards kept an inn still known by his name; andfor a long while afterwards, a Lencero reinforcement was aproverbial saying among us. We were involved in some trouble bythe younger Xicotencatl, who had commanded the Tlascalan armyagainst us on our first arrival in their country. This ambitiouschieftain, anxious to be revenged upon us for the disgrace he hadformerly sustained, on hearing of our misfortunes and ourintended march to Tlascala, conceived a project for surprising uson our march and putting us all to death. For this purpose, heassembled many of his relations, friends, and adherents, to whomhe shewed how easily we might all be destroyed, and was veryactive in forming a party and collecting an army for thispurpose. Although severely reproached by his father for thistreacherous design, he persevered in his plan; but the intriguewas discovered by Chichimecatl, his determined enemy, whoimmediately communicated the intelligence to the council ofTlascala, before whom Xicotencatl was brought prisoner to answerfor his treacherous intentions. Maxicatzin made a long speech inour favour, representing the prosperity which their state hadenjoyed ever since our arrival, by freeing them from thedepredations of their Mexican enemies, and enabling them toprocure salt from which they had been long debarred. He thenreprobated the proposed treachery of the younger Xicotencatl,against men who certainly were those concerning whom the prophecyhad been handed down by their ancestors. In reply to this, and toa discourse from his father to the same purpose, the young manused such violent and disrespectful language, that he was seizedand thrown down the steps of the council-hall into the street,with such violence that he narrowly escaped with his life. Suchwas the faithful conduct of our Tlascalan allies, and Cortes didnot think it prudent to push the matter any farther in ourpresent ticklish situation.

After remaining twenty two days in Tlascala, Cortes resolvedupon attacking the adjoining provinces of Tepejacac and Zacatula,on account of some murders the inhabitant of these districts hadcommitted on the Spaniards; but the soldiers of Narvaez weredecidedly averse from entering into any new war, as the slaughterof Mexico and the battle of Obtumba made them anxious to renounceCortes and his conquests, and to return as soon as possible totheir houses and mines in Cuba. Beyond all the rest, Andres Duerowas heartily sick of his junction with Cortes, regretting thegold he had been forced to leave in the ditches of Mexico. Thesem*n, finding that words were of no avail to persuade Cortes torelinquish his plans of conquest, made a formal remonstrance inwriting, stating the insufficiency of our force, and demandingleave to return to Cuba. Cortes urged every reason he could thinkof to induce them to concur in his schemes; and we who were hisown soldiers, requested him on no account to permit any one todepart, but that all should remain to serve the cause of God andthe king. The malcontents were forced reluctantly to acquiesce,murmuring against Cortes and his expeditions, and us whosupported him, who, they said, had nothing but our lives tolose[1]. We now, therefore, set out on an expedition to chastisethese districts, without artillery or fire-arms of any kind, allof which had been left in the Mexican canals. Our force consistedof 16 cavalry, 424 of our own infantry, mostly armed with swordsand targets, and about 4000 Tlascalans. We halted at about threeleagues from Tepejacac, but the inhabitants had deserted theirhouses on our approach. Having got some prisoners during themarch, Cortes sent them to the chiefs with a message, intimatingthat he came to demand justice for the murder of eighteenSpaniards in their territories, and for their admitting Mexicantroops into their country; and threatening them with fire andsword if they did not immediately submit to his authority. By ourmessengers and two Mexicans, they sent back a message, orderingus to return immediately, or they would put us all to death, andfeast upon our bodies. Upon this it was determined in a councilof the officers, that a full statement of all that had passed,should be drawn up by a royal notary, denouncing slavery on theMexicans or their allies who had killed any Spanish subjects,after having submitted to the authority of the king. When thiswas drawn up and authenticated, we sent once more to requiretheir submission, giving notice of the inevitable consequences oftheir disobedience. But they returned an answer like the former.Both sides being prepared for battle, we came to action with themnext day; and as the enemy were drawn up in open fields of maize,our cavalry soon put the enemy to flight with considerable loss,though they made an obstinate resistance. In this battle ourTlascalan allies fought bravely; and, in the pursuit, we took agood many prisoners, all of whom were made slaves of. After thisvictory, the natives sued for peace, and we marched to the townof Tepejacac to receive their submission; and finding it aneligible situation, being in a fertile district, and on the roadto Villa Rica, Cortes founded a colony in the place, naming itSegura de la Frontera. Municipal officers were appointed,and a branding-iron for marking those natives who were taken andreduced to slavery. We made excursions from this place throughthe surrounding district, and to the towns of Cachula,Tecamechalco, Guayavas, and some others, taking many prisoners,who were immediately branded for slaves; and in about six weekswe reduced the people to order and obedience.

[1] A long digression is here omitted, in which Diazseverely reprehends the account given by Gomara of this and othertransactions in his history of the conquest of Mexico, altogetheruninteresting to the English reader.--E.

At this time Cortes was informed from Villa Rica, that avessel had arrived there commanded by Pedro Barba, his intimatefriend, who had been lieutenant to Velasquez at the Havanna, andhad now brought over thirteen soldiers and two horses; as alsoletters from Velasquez to Narvaez, ordering to send Cortes, ifalive, to Cuba, that he might be sent to Castile, such being theorders of the bishop of Burgos. On the arrival of Barba in theharbour, the admiral appointed by Cortes went on board in a boatwell armed, but with the arms concealed. When on board, theadmiral saluted Barba, inquiring after the health of Velasquez,and the others inquired for Narvaez, and what had become ofCortes. They were told that Narvaez was in possession of thecountry, and had acquired great riches, while Cortes was afugitive, wandering about with only twenty followers. They theninvited Barba and the rest on shore; but the moment they enteredthe boats, they were ordered to surrender themselves prisoners toCortes. The ship was dismantled, and the captain and crew,together with Barba and his men, sent up to us at Tepejacac, toour great satisfaction; for though we did not now suffer much inthe field, we were very unhealthy from continual fatigue, five ofour men having died of pleurisies of late. Francisco Lopez,afterwards regidor of Guatimala, came along with this party.Barba was kindly received by Cortes, whom he informed thatanother small vessel might be expected with provisions in about aweek. It came accordingly, having on board Roderigo de Lobera,with eight soldiers and a horse. These were circumvented like theothers, and sent up to us, by which we were much pleased toprocure an accession to our small force.

About this period, Cuitlahuitzin, who had been electedsovereign of Mexico in place of his brother Montezuma, died ofthe small-pox, and Quauhtemotzin, or Gautimotzin, was chosen inhis stead, a young man of twenty-five years of age, of fineappearance, exceedingly brave, and so terrible to his subjectsthat every one trembled at his sight. On receiving notice of thereduction of Tepejacac, he became apprehensive of losing hisother provinces, yet neglected no precautions to preserve thechiefs in their obedience, and sent considerable bodies of troopsto the provinces nearest to where we were, to watch our motions.But these Mexican troops injured the cause they were sent tosupport, becoming very disorderly, plundering and maltreating thepeople whom they were sent to defend, or to keep undersubjection. Provoked by these injuries, the ruling people ofthese provinces deputed four chiefs to negociate with Cortes,offering to submit to him, provided he would expel the Mexicans.Cortes immediately acceded to this proposal, and detached all thecavalry and crossbow-men of our army under De Oli, with as manyof our other infantry as made up a force of 300 men, to which aconsiderable number of Tlascalan allies were joined. While ourpeople were on their march, they received such formidableaccounts of the number and force of the enemy, as entirelydeprived the soldiers of Narvaez of all inclination for militaryexpeditions. They mutinied, and told De Oli that, if he weredetermined to persevere, he might go alone, for they wereresolved to quit him. De Oli remonstrated with them in vain,though supported by all the old soldiers of Cortes, and wascompelled to halt at Cholula, whence he sent word to Cortes ofhis situation. Cortes returned an angry answer, ordering him toadvance at all events. De Oli was now in a violent rage at thosewho had occasioned this reprimand from the general, and orderedthe whole to march immediately, declaring he would send back allwho hesitated, to be treated by Cortes as their cowardicedeserved. On his arrival within a league of Guacacualco, he wasmet by some of the native chiefs, who informed him how he mightbest come upon the enemy. He accordingly marched against theMexican forces, whom he completely defeated and put to flight,after a sharp action, in which eight of our men were wounded, andtwo horses killed. Our allies made a great slaughter of theMexicans during the pursuit. The Mexicans fell back to a largetown called Ozucar, where they joined another great body of theircountrymen, who fortified themselves in that post, and broke downthe bridges. De Oli pursued with as many of his troops as couldkeep up with him; and having passed the river by the assistanceof his friends of Guacacualco, he again attacked the Mexicans,whom he again defeated and dispersed, losing two more of hishorses. He received two wounds himself on this occasion, and hishorse was wounded in several places. He halted two days after hisdouble victory, receiving the submission of all the neighbouringchiefs, after which he returned with his troops to Segura de laFrontera. De Oli was received with applause by Cortes and all ofus; and when we laughed at him for the hesitation of his men, hejoined with us heartily, saying he would take the poor soldiersof Cortes on the next expedition, and not the rich planters whocame with Narvaez, who thought more of their houses and estatesthan of military glory, and were more ready to command than toobey.

Cortes now got information from Villa Rica of the arrival of aship commanded by one Comargo, having upwards of seventy soldierson board, all very sickly. This vessel had belonged to anexpedition sent from Jamaica by Garray to establish a colony atPanuco; the other captain, Pineda, and all his soldiers, havingbeen put to death by the natives, and their ship burnt. Onfinding, therefore, the ill success of that adventure, and thathis men were afflicted with diseases of the liver from theunhealthy nature of the country, Camargo had come to Villa Ricafor assistance. He is said to have been perfectly acquainted withthe state of affairs in New Spain; and, on his arrival at VillaRica, he immediately disembarked his soldiers, and went to Segurade la Frontera by slow marches, where he and his men werereceived with the utmost kindness by Cortes, and every possiblecare was bestowed for his and their recovery; but he and severalof his soldiers soon died. By reason of their swollen bodies anddiscoloured countenances, we used to call these men the greenpaunches. That I may not interrupt the thread of mynarrative, I shall mention in this place, that all the rest ofthis armament which was destined for Panuco, arrived at our portof Villa Rica at different and irregular periods, Garraycontinually sending us reinforcements, which he meant for Panuco,as he believed his intended colony at that place was going onsuccessfully. The first of these reinforcements after Camargoconsisted of fifty soldiers with seven horses, under the commandof Michael Diaz de Auz. These men were all plump and jolly, andwe gave them the nickname of the Sir-loins. Shortly afterhim another vessel brought forty soldiers with ten horses, and agood supply of crossbows and other arms. These were commanded byan officer named Ramirez, and as all his soldiers wore very thickand clumsy cotton armour, quite impenetrable by arrows, we calledthem the Pack-horses.

Being thus unexpectedly reinforced by upwards of an hundredand fifty men, and twenty horses, Cortes determined to chastisethe Indians of Xalatcingo, Cacatame, and other towns near theroad to Villa Rica, who had been concerned in the murder of thoseSpaniards who had been sent from Villa Rica for the treasure. Forthis purpose he sent a detachment of two hundred veterans, amongwhom were twenty horsem*n, and twelve armed with crossbows, underthe command of Sandoval, who had likewise along with him a strongdetachment of Tlascalans. Being informed that the Indians of thatdistrict were in arms, and reinforced by Mexican troops, Sandovalsent a message, offering pardon for the murder of the Spaniards,if they would submit to our government, and return the treasure.Their answer was, that they would eat him and all his men, asthey had done the others. Sandoval, therefore, immediatelymarched into their country, and attacked them in two places atonce, and though both the natives and the Mexicans defendedthemselves with great bravery, they were soon defeated withconsiderable loss. On going into some of their temples after thevictory, our people found Spanish cloths, arms, saddles, andbridles, hung up as offerings to their gods. The inhabitants ofthis district submitted themselves to his majesties government,but were unable to return the treasure, as it had been sent toMexico. Sandoval remained three days in this district receivingthe submission of the inhabitants, whom he referred to Cortes fortheir pardon, and then returned to head-quarters, carrying anumber of women and boys along with him, who were all branded asslaves. I was not on this expedition, being ill of a fever,attended with a vomiting of blood; but, being bled plentifully, Irecovered by the blessing of God. In pursuance of orders fromSandoval, the chiefs of these tribes and of many others in theneighbourhood, came to Cortes and submitted themselves to hisauthority. Sandoval was sent in the next place to chastise theinhabitants of a district called Xocotlan, who had murdered nineSpaniards, having with him an hundred infantry, thirty cavalry,and a strong body of Tlascalans. On entering the district, hesummoned the people to submission under the usual threats; but,as they had a considerable body of Mexican forces to aid them,they returned for answer, that they would acknowledge no othergovernment than that of Mexico. Sandoval, therefore, put histroops in motion, cautioning the allies not to advance to theattack till the enemy were broken by our troops, and then to fallupon the Mexicans especially. Two large bodies of the enemy werefound posted in strong and rocky ground, very difficult for ourcavalry, insomuch, that before Sandoval could drive them fromthis post, one of his horses was killed, and nine wounded, aslikewise were four of his soldiers. They were at length drivenfrom this post into the town of Xocotlan, where they took post inthe temples and some large walled courts; but were dislodged fromthese and put to flight with great slaughter, our Tlascalanallies giving good assistance, as they were incited by the hopesof abundant plunder. Sandoval halted two days in this place, toreceive the submission of the chiefs, who begged pardon for whathad passed, promising future obedience, and to supply usplentifully with provisions. On being ordered to restore theeffects of the Spaniards whom they had slain, they replied thatevery thing of that kind had been burnt. They said, likewise thatmost of the Spaniards whom they had slain were eaten by them,except five, whom they sent to Guatimotzin[2].

[2] Clavigero, II. 132, mentions about this time anexpedition against Tochtepec, a considerable town on the river ofPapaloapan, in which Salcedo and a detachment of 80 Spaniardswere entirely cut off.--E.

These expeditions were productive of the best effects, as theyextended the fame of Cortes and the Spaniards through the wholecountry for valour and clemency; and our general became moredreaded and respected than Guatimotzin, the new sovereign ofMexico, insomuch that his authority was resorted to on alloccasions of importance. The small-pox at this time committeddreadful ravages in New Spain, cutting off vast numbers of thenatives, and among the rest, many of the chiefs and princes ofthe country became victims to this dreadful calamity. On theseoccasions, the claimants for succession to the vacant chiefshipsresorted to Cortes, as sovereign of the country, for hisdecision, which they uniformly submitted to. Among the rest, thelordship of Guacacualco and Ozucar became vacant, and the variousclaimants submitted their claims to the decision of Cortes, whodecided in favour of a nephew of the late Montezuma, whose sisterhad been married to the former cacique of the district.

All the country around Tlascala and to the eastwards being nowreduced to subjection, an order was issued to bring all theprisoners to a large house in the town of Segura, that the fifthsbelonging to the king and Cortes might be deducted, and the restdivided among the troops. The prisoners consisted of women, boys,and girls, as the men were found too difficult to keep, and ourTlascalan friends performed every service for us that we coulddesire, such as carrying our baggage, ammunition, and provisions,and all other drudgery. The prisoners were confined all night,and the repartition took place next morning. In the first placethe king's fifth was set aside, and then that which belonged toCortes; but when the shares of the soldiers came to bedistributed, there remained only a parcel of old miserable jades,and it was found that some person had been in the depot duringthe night, who had taken away all the young and handsome women.This occasioned much clamour among the soldiers, who accusedCortes of injustice, and the soldiers of Narvaez swore no suchthing had ever been heard of in the Spanish dominions as twokings and two fifths. One Juan de Quexo was very loud in hiscomplaints on this occasion, declaring that he would make itknown in Spain how we had been abused by Cortes, more especiallyin regard to the gold at Mexico, where only the value of 300,000crowns appeared at the division, whereas 700,000 crowns worthwere produced at the time of our flight. Many of the soldiersloudly complained of having their women taken from them, afterthey had given them clothes and ornaments, saying they had onlyexpected to have paid the fifth of their values to the king, andthen that each would have got back his own. Cortes protested thatbetter regulations should he adopted in future, and got theaffair hushed up with smooth words and fair promises; yet he soonattempted even worse than this. It may be remembered, that, onthe fatal night of our retreat from Mexico, all the treasure wasproduced, and every soldier was allowed to take as much as hepleased. On this occasion, many of the soldiers of Narvaez, andsome of our own, loaded themselves with gold. Cortes now learnedthat a quantity of gold in bars was in circulation among thetroops at La Frontera, who were much engaged in deep play, andforgot the old adage, that riches and amours should be concealed.He now issued an order for all the gold to be delivered within agiven time, under severe penalties for disobedience, and promisedto return back a third part to all who delivered their gold, butthat all should be forfeited in case of failure or evasion. Manyof the soldiers refused obedience to this arbitrary order, andfrom some Cortes took their gold by way of loan, yet rather byforce than with their consent. Many of our captains, and thosewho had civil offices in the colony, were possessed of gold, andat length Cortes was glad to quash the order and say no moreabout the matter.

The officers who had come with Narvaez thought the presentinterval of tranquillity was a favourable opportunity to renewtheir solicitations for leave to return to Cuba, to which Cortesat length consented, and gave them one of the best ships in theharbour, which was victualled with salted dogs, fowls, maize, andother provisions of the country. By this ship, Cortes sentletters to his wife Donna Catalina and her brother Juan Suarez,giving them an account of all that had happened in New Spain, andsent them some bars of gold and Mexican curiosities. Thefollowing were among the persons who now returned to Cuba, havingtheir pockets well lined after all our disasters. Andres deDuero, Augustin Bermudez, Juan Buono, Bernardino de Quesada,Francisco Velasquez, Gonsalo Carrasco, who afterwards returned toNew Spain, and lives now in La Puebla, Melchior Velasquez, oneXimenes, who now lives in Guaxaca, and went over at this time forhis sons, the commendator Leon de Cervantes, who went to bringover his daughters, who were very honourably married after theconquest of Mexico; one Maldonado of Medelin, an invalid, aperson named Vargas, and Cardinas the pilot, he who talked aboutthe two kings, to whom Cortes gave the three hundred crowns hehad formerly promised for his wife and daughters. We remonstratedwith Cortes for allowing so many persons to quit the army,considering how weak we were already, on which he observed, thathe did it partly to get rid of their importunities, and partlybecause they were unfit for war, and it was better to have a fewgood soldiers than many bad ones. Alvarado was sent to see thesem*n safely shipped off, and he sent at this time Diego de Ordasand Alonzo de Mendoza to Spain, with instructions of which wewere ignorant, except that they were meant to counteract themalice of the bishop of Burgos, who had declared us all traitors.De Ordas executed his commission to good purpose, and got theorder of St Jago for himself, and the volcano of Popocatepetladded to his arms. Cortes sent also Alonzo de Avila, contador ofNew Spain, and Francisco Alvarez, to Hispaniola, to make a reportto the court of royal audience, and the brothers of the order ofJeronymites, of all that had taken place, particularly in regardto Narvaez, and supplicating them to represent our faithfulservices to the emperor, and to support our interests against theenmity and misrepresentations of Velasquez and the bishop ofBurgos. He sent likewise De Solis to Jamaica to purchase horses.It may be asked how Cortes was able to send agents to Spain,Hispaniola, and Jamaica, without money. But, although many of oursoldiers were slain in our flight from Mexico, and much treasurelost in the ditches and canals of Mexico, yet a considerablequantity of gold was saved, as the eighty loaded Tlascalans wereamong the first who passed the bridge, and afterwards deliveredall their gold to Cortes[3]. But we poor soldiers had enough adoto preserve our lives, all badly wounded, and did not troubleourselves to inquire what became of the gold, or how much wasbrought off. It was even rumoured among us, that the sharebelonging to the garrison of Villa Rica, the carriers of whichhad been robbed and murdered, went after all to Spain, Jamaica,and other places; but as Cortes lined the pockets of our captainswith plenty of gold, all inquiry on this head was stopped.

[3] This must have been a very considerable treasure.On one occasion, Clavigero reckons a load of gold at 800 ounces.The eighty Tlascalans might therefore carry off 64,000 ounces,which at £4 the ounce, is worth £256,000 Sterling,and of considerably more efficacious value in those days than amillion is now.--E.

It may be wondered how Cortes should send away so valiant acaptain as Alonzo de Avila on an affair of negociation, when hehad several men of business in his army who could have beenbetter spared, such as Alonzo de Grado, Juan Carceres therich, and several others. The true reason was, that Avila wastoo ready to speak out on all occasions to obtain justice for thesoldiers, and therefore Cortes sent him away that he might nolonger be opposed and thwarted in his proceedings; and that hemight give his company to Andres de Tapia, and his office ofcontador to Alonzo de Grado.

Having now determined to undertake the siege of Mexico, Cortesleft a garrison of twenty men, mostly sick and invalids inFrontera, under the command of Juan de Orozco, and marched withthe rest of the army into the country of Tlascala, where he gaveorders to cut down a quantity of timber, with which to constructa number of vessels to command the lake of Mexico. These shipswere to be built under the direction of Martin Lopez, anexcellent shipwright, and a valiant soldier, in which he wasassisted by Andres Nunez, and old Ramirez, who was lame from awound. Lopez conducted matters with great spirit, insomuch thatin a very short time he had all the timber cut down, shaped, andmarked out for the vessels, ready to be put together. The ironwork, anchors, cables, sails, cordage, and all other necessariesfor the vessels were procured from Villa Rica, whence all thesmiths were sent up to the army to give their assistance. Aspitch was unknown among the natives, four sailors were sent tothe pine forests of Huetzotzinco, to obtain a supply of thatarticle, in which they succeeded.

On our arrival at Tlascala, we learnt that our good friend andfaithful ally Maxicatzin had fallen a sacrifice to the small-pox.Cortes lamented the death of this good man as that of a father,and put on mourning out of respect to his memory, in which he wasimitated by many of our officers and soldiers. As there was somedifficulty in regard to the succession, Cortes conferred thevacant dignity on the legitimate son of the deceased chief, as hehad desired a short time before his death, on which occasion hehad strictly enjoined all his family and dependents to perseverein their alliance with us, as we were undoubtedly destined torule their country according to their ancient traditions. Theother chiefs of the Tlascalans offered their best services, inproviding timber for our vessels, and engaged to aid us with alltheir military force in prosecuting the war against Mexico.Cortes accepted their offer with every mark of gratitude andrespect; and even prevailed on the elder Xicotencatl, one oftheir principal caciques, to become a Christian, who wasaccordingly baptised with great ceremony, by the name of DonLorenzo de Vargas.

Just as we were about to begin our march, intelligence camefrom Villa Rica of the arrival of a vessel from Spain and theCanaries, loaded with military stores, horses, and merchandize,and having thirteen soldiers on board. The owner, who waslikewise on board, was one Juan de Burgos, but the vessel wascommanded by Francisco Medel. Cortes sent immediate orders topurchase the whole cargo, and all the people came up to join usto our great satisfaction. Among these were one Juan del Espinar,afterwards a very rich man, and two others named Sagredo, andMonjaraz a Biscayan, who had two nephews of the same name in ourarmy. Monjaraz never went upon any expedition or engagement alongwith us, always feigning to be sick, though he omitted noopportunity to boast of his courage. Once, while we werebesieging Mexico, he went up to the top of a high temple, as hesaid to see how the natives fought; and by some means which wecould never find out, he was killed that day by some of theIndians. Those who had known him in Hispaniola, said it was ajust judgment, for having procured the death of his wife, abeautiful and honourable woman, by means of false witnesses.

All the timber for our vessels being in readiness, and everything prepared for our expedition against Mexico, it was debatedin our council of war in what place we should establish ourhead-quarters, in order to prepare our measures for investingthat city. Some strongly recommended Ayotcingo as most convenientfor that purpose, on account of its canals. Cortes and otherspreferred Tezcuco, as best adapted for making incursions into theMexican territory, and that place was accordingly fixed upon. Weaccordingly began our march from Tlascala immediately after thejunction of our last reinforcement from Villa Rica, consisting ofthe soldiers who came with Medel and De Burgos.

SECTION XII.

Transactions of Cortes and the Spaniards from their Marchagainst Mexico, to the Commencement of the Siege of thatCity.

We began our March from Tlascala on the 26th of December 1520,with the whole of our Spanish force, and accompanied by tenthousand of our Tlascalan allies[1], and halted that night withinthe territories of the state of Tezcuco, the inhabitants of whichplace supplied us with provisions. We marched about three leagueson the 27th, when we halted at the foot of a ridge of mountains,finding the weather extremely cold. Early next day we began toascend the mountains, the bad roads having been made moredifficult by the enemy, by means of ditches and felled trees,which were removed by the exertions of our allies. We proceededwith the utmost order and precaution, having an advanced guard ofmusketeers and crossbow-men, and our allies cleared the way toenable our cavalry to advance. After passing the summit of themountain, we enjoyed the glorious prospect of the vale of Mexicobelow, with the lakes, the capital rising out of the waters, andall its numerous towns and cultivated fields; and gave thanks toGOD, who had enabled us again to behold this astonishing scene ofriches and population, after passing through so many dangers. Wecould distinctly perceive numerous signals made by smoke in allthe towns towards Mexico; and a little farther on, we wereresisted by a body of the enemy, who endeavoured to defend a badpass at a deep water-run, where the wooden bridge had been brokendown; but we soon drove them away, and passed over, as the enemycontented themselves with shooting their arrows from aconsiderable distance. Our allies pillaged the country as we wentalong, which was contrary to the inclination of our general, buthe was unable to restrain them. From some prisoners whom we hadtaken at the broken bridge, we were informed that a large body ofthe enemy was posted on our line of march, intending to give usbattle; but it appeared afterwards that they had separated inconsequence of dissentions among the chiefs, and we soon learntthat a civil war actually existed between the Mexicans and thestate of Tezcuco. The small-pox also raged at this time in thecountry, which had a great effect in our favour, by preventingthe enemy from being able to assemble their forces.

[1] According to Clavigero, II. 135, the Spanishforce at this time amounted to forty cavalry, divided into fourtroops, and 550 infantry, in nine companies: But he swells theauxiliary force of the Tlascalans to 110,000men.--E.

Next morning we proceeded on our march for Tezcuco, which wasabout two leagues from the place where we had halted for thenight; but we had not proceeded far, when one of our patrolesbrought intelligence that several Indians were coming towards usbearing signals of peace, and indeed we found the whole countrythrough which we marched this day in perfect tranquillity. On thearrival of the Indians, we found them to consist of seven chiefsfrom Tezcuco, sent as ambassadors by Coanacotzin, the prince ofTezcuco or Acolhuacan. A golden banner was carried before them ona long lance, which was lowered on approaching Cortes, to whomthe ambassadors bowed themselves in token of respect. They thenaddressed our general in the name of their prince, inviting us tohis city, and requesting to be received under our protection.They denied having taken any part in the attacks which we hadexperienced, earnestly entreating that no injury might be done totheir city by our allies, and presented their golden banner toCortes, in token of peace and submission. Three of theseambassadors were known to most of us, as they were relations ofMontezuma, and had been captains of his guards, when we wereformerly at Mexico. The ambassadors were assured by Cortes thathe would use his utmost efforts to protect the country, althoughthey must well know that above forty Spaniards and two hundred ofour allies had been put to death in passing through theirterritories when we retreated from Mexico. Cortes added, thatcertainly no reparation could now be made for the loss of ourmen, but he expected they would restore the gold and otherproperty which had been taken on that occasion. They assertedthat the whole blame of that transaction was owing toCuitlahuatzin, the successor of Montezuma, who had received thespoil and sacrificed the prisoners. Cortes found that very littlesatisfaction could be got from them for the past, yet wishing ifpossible to make them now our friends, he earnestly entreated theTlascalan chiefs to prohibit their warriors from pillaging thecountry, and his wishes were strictly complied with, except inregard to provisions. After this conference was ended, weproceeded to a village named Guatinchan or Huexotla, at a smalldistance from Tezcuco, where we halted for the night.

Next morning, being the 31st December 1520, we marched intoTezcuco, where neither women or children were to be seen, andeven the men had a suspicious appearance, indicating that somemischief was intended against us. We took up our quarters in somebuildings which consisted of large halls and inclosed courts, andorders were issued that none of the soldiers were to go out oftheir quarters, and that all were to be on the alert to guardagainst surprize. On the soldiers being dismissed to theirrespective quarters, the Captains Alvarado and De Oli, with somesoldiers, among whom I was, went up to the top of a lofty temple,from which we had a commanding view, to observe what was going onin the neighbourhood. We could see all the people everywhere inmotion, carrying off their children and effects to the woods andthe reedy borders of the lake, and to great numbers of canoes.Cortes wished to have secured Coanacotzin, who had sent us thefriendly embassy, which now appeared to have been merely apretext to gain time; but it was found that he and many of theprincipal persons of Tezcuco had fled to Mexico. We posted strongguards, therefore, in every direction, and kept ourselves inconstant readiness for action. Cortes soon learnt that factionsexisted in Tezcuco, and that many of the chiefs were adverse totheir present prince, and remained in their houses, while thoseof the opposite faction had withdrawn. Cortes sent for thosechiefs next morning, from whom he learnt, that they consideredtheir present prince, Coanacotzin, as an usurper, he havingmurdered his elder brother, Cuicutzcatzin, who had been placed onthe throne by Montezuma and Cortes, and that Coanacotzin owed hiselevation to the favour of Guatimotzin, the present sovereign ofMexico. They pointed out a youth named Ixtlilxochitl as therightful heir of Acolhuacan, who was brought immediately toCortes, and installed without delay in the government. Cortesprevailed upon him to become a Christian, and had him baptisedwith great solemnity, standing godfather on the occasion, andgiving him his own name, Don Hernando Cortes Ixtlilxochitl; andto retain him in the Spanish interest and in our holy faith, heappointed three Spaniards to attend upon him, Escobar, who wasmade captain or governor of Tezcuco, Anthonio de Villa Real, andPedro Sanches Farfan. In the next place, Cortes required the newprince of Tezcuco to supply him with a number of labourers toopen up the canals leading to the lake, on purpose to admit ourvessels which were to be put together at Tezcuco. He alsoinformed him of our intentions to besiege Mexico, for whichoperation the young prince engaged to give all the assistance inhis power. The work on the canals was conducted with allexpedition, as we never had less than seven or eight thousandIndians employed[2]. As Guatimotzin, the reigning monarch ofMexico, frequently sent out large bodies of troops in canoes onthe lake, apparently with the hope of attacking us unprepared,Cortes used every military precaution to guard against any suddenattack, by assigning proper posts to our several captains, withorders to be always on the alert. The people in Huexotla, a townand district only a few miles from Tezcuco, who had been guiltyof murdering some of our countrymen on a former occasion,petitioned Cortes for pardon, and were taken into favour onpromise of future fidelity.

[2] In the very imperfect maps of Diaz and Clavigero,Tezcuco is placed near the mouth of a rivulet which dischargesitself into the lake of Mexico: In the former, the buildings arerepresented as extending two miles and a half along the rivulet,and coming close to the edge of the lake; but the map ofClavigero has no scale. In the map given by Humboldt, Tezcuco isplaced on a rising ground, near two miles from the edge of thelake. But the lake has since the time of Cortes been muchdiminished in extent by a grand drain, insomuch that Mexico,formerly insulated, is now a mile and a half from thelake.--E.

Before his elevation to the throne of Mexico, Guatimotzin hadbeen prince or cacique of Iztapalapa, the people of which placewere determined enemies to us and our allies[3]. We had been nowtwelve days in Tezcuco, where the presence of so large a forceoccasioned some scarcity of provisions, and even our allies beganto grow somewhat impatient of our inactivity. From all theseconsiderations, Cortes determined upon an expedition toIztapalapa, against which place he marched at the head of 13cavalry 220 infantry, and the whole of our Tlascalan allies. Theinhabitants had received a reinforcement of 8000 Mexicanwarriors, yet they fell back into the town on our approach, andeven fled into their canoes and the houses which stood in thewater, allowing us to occupy that part of the town which stood onthe firm land. As it was now night, we took up our quarters forthe night and posted our guards, unaware of a stratagem which hadbeen planned for our destruction. On a sudden there came so greata body of water into the streets and houses, that we had been allinfallibly drowned if our friends from Tezcuco had not given usinstant notice of our danger. The enemy had cut the banks of thecanals, and a causeway also, by which means the place was laidalmost instantly under water. We escaped with some difficulty,two only of our allies being drowned; but all our powder wasdestroyed, and we passed a very uncomfortable night, withoutfood, and all wet and very cold; and were very much provoked atthe laughter and taunts of the Mexicans from the lake. Atdaybreak, large bodies of Indians crossed over from Mexico andattacked us with such violence, that they killed two of oursoldiers and one horse, and wounded many of us, and were repelledwith much difficulty. Our allies also suffered considerable losson this occasion; but the enemy were at last repulsed, and wereturned to Tezcuco very little satisfied with the fame or profitof this fruitless expedition. Two days after our retreat fromIztapalapa, the inhabitants of these neighbouring districts,Tepetezcuco, Obtumba or Otompan, and some others in that quarter,sent to solicit pardon for the hostilities they had formerlycommitted against us, alleging in excuse that they had acted bythe orders of their sovereign Cuitlahuatzin, the immediatesuccessor of Montezuma. Cortes, knowing that he was not in asituation to chastise them, granted them pardon on promise offuture obedience. The inhabitants also of a place which we namedVenezuela, or Little Venice, because built in the water, who hadbeen always at variance with the Mexicans, now solicited ouralliance, and engaged to bring over their neighbours to ourparty. This circ*mstance was of much importance to our views,from the situation of that place on the lake facilitating ourfuture operations, especially those of our naval force.

[3] On this occasion Diaz mentions the inhabitants ofChalco, Tlalmalanco, Mecameca, and Chimaloacan, as the allies ofthe Spaniards; but these states do not appear to have submittedto the Spaniards till afterwards. Cortes employed the interval,from his arrival at Tezcuco in the end of December 1520, to theinvestment of Mexico, at the end of May 1521, five months, indetaching a great number of the native states from theirdependence upon Mexico.--E.

We soon afterwards received intelligence, that large bodies ofMexican troops had attacked the districts which were in alliancewith us, by which the inhabitants were compelled to fly into thewoods for shelter, or to take refuge in our quarters. Cortes wentout with twenty of our cavalry and two hundred infantry, havingAlvarado and De Oli along with him, to drive in the Mexicans. Thereal cause of contention on the present occasion was concerningthe crop of maize growing on the borders of the lake, which wasnow fit to reap, and from which the natives had been in use tosupply our wants, whereas it was claimed by the Mexicans, asbelonging to the priests of their city. Cortes desired thenatives to inform him when they proposed to cut down this corn,and sent upwards of a hundred of our men and a large body of ourallies to protect the reapers. I was twice on that duty, and onone of these occasions, the Mexicans came over to attack us inabove a thousand canoes, and endeavoured to drive us from themaize fields; but we and our allies drove them back to theirboats, though they fought with great resolution, killed one ofour soldiers and wounded a considerable number. In this skirmish,twenty of the enemy were left dead on the field, and we took liveprisoners.

Chalco and Tlalmanalco were two places of material importanceto us at this time, as they lay in the direct road betweenTlascala and our head-quarters at Tezcuco, but both of them weregarrisoned by Mexican troops; and though Cortes was at this timesolicited by several important districts to enable them to throwoff the yoke of Mexico, he considered it as of the firstnecessity to dislodge the Mexicans from these two towns, onpurpose to open a secure communication with our allies, and tocover the transport of our ship timber from Tlascala. He senttherefore a strong detachment of fifteen horse and two hundredinfantry under Sandoval and De Lugo, with orders to drive theMexicans from that part of the country, and to open a clearcommunication with Villa Rica. During the march, Sandoval placedten of his men as a rear guard, to protect a considerable numberof our allies who were returning home to Tlascala loaded withplunder. The Mexicans fell upon this weak rear-guard by surpriseduring the march, killing two of our men and wounding all therest; and though Sandoval made all the haste he could to theirrescue, the Mexicans escaped on board their canoes with verylittle loss. He now placed the Tlascalans in security, byescorting them beyond the Mexican garrisons, and sent forward theletter of our general to the commandant of Villa Rica, by whichhe was enjoined to send what reinforcements he could possiblyspare to Tlascala, there to wait until they were quite certainthat the road from thence to Tezcuco was clear. Sandoval, afterseeing the Tlascalans safe upon their journey, returned towardsChalco, sending word secretly to the inhabitants, who were veryimpatient under the Mexican yoke, to be in readiness to join him.He was attacked on his march through a plain covered with maizeand maguey, by a strong body of Mexican troops, whowounded several of his men; but they were soon repulsed andpursued to a considerable distance by the cavalry. Sandoval nowprosecuted his march to Chalco, where he found the cacique ofthat place had recently died of the small-pox, having recommendedhis two sons on his deathbed to the protection of Cortes, as hewas convinced we were the bearded men who, according to theirancient prophecy, were to come from the eastern countries to ruleover this land, and had therefore commanded his sons to receivethe investiture of their state from the hands of Cortes. Sandovalset out therefore for Tezcuco next day, talking along with himthe two young lords of Chalco, and many of the nobles of thatplace, carrying a present of golden ornaments to our generalworth about 200,000 crowns. Cortes accordingly received the youngprinces of Chalco with great distinction, and divided theirfathers territories between them; giving the city of Chalco andthe largest share of the district to the elder brother, andTlalmanalco, Aytocinco, and Chimalhuacan to the younger.

About this time, Cortes sent a message to Guatimotzin, thereigning sovereign of Mexico, by means of some prisoners whom heenlarged for this purpose, inviting him in the most conciliatoryterms to enter into a treaty of peace and friendship; butGuatimotzin refused to listen to any terms of accommodation, andcontinued to carry on the most determined and unceasing hostilityagainst us. Frequent and loud complaints were made by our alliesof Huexotla and Coatlichan of the incursions made upon theirterritories in the neighbourhood of the lake by the enemy, on theold quarrel about the fields which had been appropriated for thepriests who served in the temples of Mexico. In consequence ofthese hostilities so near our head-quarters, Cortes went with astrong detachment, with which he came up with the enemy about twoleagues from Tezcuco, and gave them so complete a defeat, thatthey never ventured to shew themselves there any more. It was nowresolved to bring the timber which had been prepared in Tlascalafor constructing our naval force on the lake of Mexico; for whichpurpose Sandoval was sent with a force of 200 infantry, including20 musketeers and crossbow-men, and 15 cavalry, to serve as anescort. He was likewise ordered to conduct the chiefs of Chalcoto their own district; and before they set out, Cortes effected areconciliation between the Tlascalans and the inhabitants ofChalco, who had been long at variance. He gave orders likewise toSandoval, after leaving the chiefs of Chalco in their own city,to inflict exemplary punishment on the inhabitants of a placewhich we call Puebla Moresca, who had robbed and murderedforty of our men who were marching from Vera Cruz to Mexico, atthe time when we went to relieve Alvarado. These people had notbeen more guilty than those of Tezcuco, who indeed were theleaders in that affair, but they could be more convenientlychastised. The place was given up to military execution, thoughnot more than three or four were put to death, as Sandoval hadcompassion upon them. Some of the principal inhabitants were madeprisoners; who assured Sandoval that the Spaniards were fallenupon by the troops of Mexico and Tezcuco in a narrow pass, wherethey could only march in single file, and that it was done inrevenge for the death of Cacamatzin.

In the temples at this place, our men found the walls andidols smeared with the blood of our countrymen, and the skins oftwo of their faces with their beards on were found hung upon thealtars, having been dressed like leather. The skins also of fourof our horses were found hung up as trophies; and they sawwritten on a piece of marble in the wall of one of the houses:"Here the unfortunate Juan Yuste and many of his companions weremade prisoners." Yuste was one of the gentlemen who came overwith Narvaez and had served in the cavalry. These melancholyremains filled Sandoval and his men with grief and rage; butthere were no objects on which to wreak their vengeance, as allthe men were fled, and none remained but women and children, whodeprecated their anger in the most moving terms. Sandovaltherefore granted them pardon, and sent them to bring back theirhusbands and fathers, with a promise of forgiveness on conditionof submission and future obedience. On questioning them about thegold they had taken from our people, they assured him it had allbeen claimed by the Mexicans[4].

[4] From the circ*mstance of the gold, it is probableYuste and his companions had been slain on their retreat fromMexico, not on their way there as stated in the text. From thisand other similar incidents, of parties of Spaniards having beenslain in different places after the retreat from Mexico, it ishighly probable that several detached parties made their escape,who missed forming a junction with Cortes. He, it will berecollected, made a detour round the west and south sides of thelake; and it is probable that they had turned to the east, as thenearest and most direct way to Tlascala and VillaRica.--E.

Sandoval continued his route towards Tlascala, near which hewas met by a vast body of Indians commanded by Chichimecatl,accompanied by Martin Lopez, and employed in transporting theship timber. Eight thousand men carried the timber all readyshaped for our thirteen vessels, with the sails, cordage, and allother materials. Eight thousand warriors attended in arms toprotect the bearers of the timber; and two thousand carriedprovisions for the whole[5]. Several Spaniards joined us alongwith this escort, and two other principal chiefs of theTlascalans, Ayotecatle and Teotlipil. During the march, only somesmall bodies of the enemy appeared, and these always at adistance; but it was deemed necessary to use the utmostvigilance, to avoid the danger of a surprise, considering thegreat length of the line of march[6]. Sandoval accordingly sent astrong detachment of Spanish troops as an advanced guard, andposted others on the flanks; while he remained with the rearguard which he assigned to the Tlascalans. This arrangement gavegreat offence to Chichimecatl; but he was reconciled to thispost, on being told that the Mexicans would most probably attackthe rear, which was therefore the post of honour, because of moredanger. In two days more, the whole escort arrived in safety atTezcuco; the allies being all dressed out in their gayest habits,with great plumes of feathers, and splendid banners, soundingtheir horns and trumpets, and beating their drums, as in triumphfor the expected fall of Mexico. They continued marching intoTezcuco for half a day, amid continual shouts of "Castilla!Castilla! Tlascala! Tlascala! Long live the emperor Don Carlos!"Our timber was now laid down at the docks which had been preparedfor this purpose; and, by the exertion of Martin Lopez, the hullsof our thirteen brigantines were very soon completed; but we wereobliged to keep a very careful guard, as the Mexicans sentfrequent parties to endeavour to set them on fire.

[5] Clavigero, II. 146, exaggerates the armed escortto 30,000 Tlascalan warriors, commanded by three chiefs,Chichimecatl, Ayotecatl, and Teotlipil. Diaz calls the two last,Teuleticle and Teatical; but though his facts are fully more tobe depended upon, Clavigero may be accounted better versant inMexican orthography.--E.

[6] Clavigero, II. 146, quotes Diaz as saying that itextended six miles from front to rear. This may very likely havebeen the case, but Diaz nowhere specifies the length of theline.--E.

The Tlascalan chiefs were very anxious to be employed on someenterprize against their ancient enemies the Mexicans, and Cortesresolved to indulge them by an expedition against Xaltocan, atown situated on an island of a lake to the northward of thegreat lake of Mexico or Tezcuco, which is now called the lake ofSt Christopher. Leaving therefore the charge of the importantpost of Tezcuco with Sandoval, who was enjoined to use the utmostvigilance, and giving orders to Martin Lopez to have the vesselsall ready for launching in fifteen days, he set out on theexpedition against Xaltocan with 250 Spanish infantry, 30cavalry, the whole force of the Tlascalans, and a body ofwarriors belonging to Tezcuco[7]. On approaching Xaltocan, ourarmy was met by some large bodies of Mexican troops, whom thecavalry soon dispersed and drove into the woods. The troopshalted for the night in some villages in a very populous country,and were obliged to keep on the alert, as it was known that theenemy had a strong force in Xaltocan, to which place a strongbody of Mexicans had been sent in large canoes, and were nowconcealed among the deep canals in that neighbourhood. Nextmorning, on resuming their march, our troops were exceedinglyharassed by the enemy, and several of them wounded, as ourcavalry had no opportunity to charge them, the ground being muchintersected by canals. The only causeway which led from the landto the town had been laid under water, so that our troops couldnot approach, and our musquetry had little or no effect againstthe enemy in the canoes, as they were defended by strong screensof timber. Our people began to despair of success, when some ofthe natives of Tezcuco pointed out a ford with which they wereacquainted, by which our people were enabled, under theirguidance, to make their way to the causeway leading into the townleaving Cortes and the cavalry on the main land. Our infantryforced their way into the town, where they made a considerableslaughter of the Mexicans, driving the remainder of them and manyof the inhabitants of the town to take shelter in their canoes.They then returned to Cortes, bringing with them a considerablebooty in gold, slaves, and mantles, having only lost one soldierin this exploit. Next day, Cortes marched through a thicklypeopled and well cultivated country against a large town namedQuauhtitlan, which we found deserted, and in which we halted forthe night. On the ensuing day, we marched to another large towncalled Tenayoecan, but which we named Villa de Serpe, orthe Town of Serpents, on account of some enormous figures ofthese animals which were found in the temples, and which thesepeople worshipped as gods. This place was likewise deserted bythe inhabitants, who had withdrawn with their effects into placesof safety. From thence we marched to Escapuzalco, or the town ofthe goldsmiths, which was also deserted, and thence to Tacuba orTlacopan, to which our troops had to cut their way throughconsiderable bodies of the enemy. Our troops halted here for thenight, and were assailed next morning by several successivebodies of the enemy, who had formed a plan to draw us into anambuscade, by pretending to take flight along the fatal causewayof Tacuba, where we had suffered so much on our retreat fromMexico. This partly succeeded, as Cortes and his troops pursuedthem along the causeway across one of the bridges, and wereimmediately surrounded by prodigious numbers of the enemy, someon the land and others in canoes on the water. Cortes soonperceived his mistake, and ordered a retreat, which was made withthe utmost firmness and regularity, our men constantly keepinga-front to the enemy and giving ground inch by inch, continuallyfighting. In the confusion of this surprise, Juan Volante, whocarried the colours, fell from the bridge into the lake, and theMexicans were even dragging him away to their canoes; yet heescaped from them and brought away his colours. In thisunfortunate affair, five of our soldiers were slain, and a greatmany wounded. Cortes halted for five days at Tacuba[8], duringwhich there were many skirmishes with the enemy, and then marchedback to Tezcuco, the Mexicans continuing to harass him byfrequent attacks; but having drawn them on one occasion into anambuscade, in which they were defeated with considerableslaughter, they desisted from any farther attack. On arriving atour head-quarters in Tezcuco, the Tlascalans, who had enrichedthemselves with plunder during the expedition, solicitedpermission to go home that they might secure their acquisitionsin their own country, which Cortes readily consented to.

[7] Clavigero says, 350 Spanish infantry, 25horsem*n, and 30,000 Tlascalans, with six smallcannon.--E.

During four days after our return from this expedition, theIndians of several neighbouring districts came in with presentsand offers of submission. Although Cortes was well aware thatthey had been concerned in the murder of our men after theretreat from Mexico, he received them all very graciously, anddismissed them with promises of protection. About this timelikewise, several nations who had joined with us in alliance madestrong representations of the outrages which had been committedupon them by the Mexicans, of which they produced paintings intheir manner, and earnestly entreated succour. But Cortes couldnot grant them the required assistance, as our army, besideshaving suffered loss by several being killed and many woundedduring the late hostilities, was now grown very unhealthy. Hegave them, however, fair promises, but advised them to rely moreupon their own exertions and the assistance of our other allies,for which purpose he issued orders to all the districts in ouralliance to assemble in arms against the common enemy. Theyaccordingly collected their forces, and came to action in thefield with the Mexicans, and exerted themselves with so muchvigour that they gained the victory. The province of Chalco washowever an object of principal importance to us, as thepossession of that country was essentially necessary to preserveour communication with Tlascala and Villa Rica, and beinglikewise a fertile corn country, contributed largely to thesubsistence of our army. As it was much harassed by the enemy,Cortes sent Sandoval with a detachment of about 250 of ourtroops, cavalry and infantry, to clear it of the Mexicans, andaccompanied by a body of warriors from Tezcuco and such of ourTlascalan allies as still remained with our army. Sandoval setout from Tezcuco on the 12th of March 1521, and arrived nextmorning at Tlalmanalco, where he learnt that the Mexican forceswere posted at a large town called Guaztepeque or Huaxtepec.Being now joined by the warriors of Chalco, Sandoval halted forthe night at the town of Chimalcan; and next morning gave ordersto his musketeers and crossbow-men to attack the enemy, who wereposted in strong ground; the troops who were armed with swordsand targets, were formed into a compact body of reserve; and thecavalry, being formed in small bodies of three each, weredirected to charge as soon as the firing had made an impressionon the enemy. While advancing in this order, Sandoval perceivedthe Mexican forces drawn up in three large columns or densebattalions, and thought proper to change his original plan, andto endeavour to break through them by a cavalry charge. Placinghimself, therefore, at the head of the cavalry, he immediatelyproceeded to the charge, exclaiming, "St Jago! fall on,comrades!" The main body of the enemy was partly broken by thischarge, but immediately closed again and stood firm; and thenature of the ground was so much in favour of the Mexicans, thatSandoval found it necessary to endeavour to drive them from theirpost in the manner first proposed, into the open ground in therear. For this purpose he made the musketeers and crossbow-menattack the enemy in front, and those armed with swords andtargets to turn their flanks, ordering also the allies to comeforward to the attack, and directed the cavalry to be ready tocharge at an appointed signal. Our troops at length forced themto retreat, but they immediately occupied another strong positionin their rear, so that Sandoval and the cavalry were unable tomake any considerable impression upon them. In one of the chargesin this difficult broken ground, the horse of Gonzalo Dominguezfell with him, and he was so much injured that he died in a fewdays afterwards: His loss was much regretted by the army, as hewas esteemed as brave as either Sandoval or De Oli. Our armybroke the enemy a second time, and pursued them to the town,where they were suddenly opposed by not less than 15,000 freshwarriors, who endeavoured to surround our troops: But Sandovalcaused them to be attacked on both flanks, when they fled towardsthe town, endeavouring however to make a stand behind somerecently constructed works; but our troops followed them up sovigorously that they had no time to rally, and were constrainedto take shelter in the town. As his troops were much fatigued,and had got hold of a good supply of provisions, Sandoval thoughtproper to allow them some repose, and they began to prepare theirvictuals, in which they were soon interrupted by an alarm of theenemy approaching. They were ready for action in a moment, andadvanced to meet the enemy, fortunately in an open place; where,after a smart action, the enemy were constrained to retreatbehind their works; but Sandoval pushed on the advantage with somuch impetuosity, that he soon drove them from their works, andcompelled them to evacuate the town with the utmostprecipitation.

Sandoval took up his quarters in a very extensive andmagnificent garden, which contained a number of large handsomebuildings, and many admirable conveniencies fit for the residenceof a great prince; but our soldiers had not then time to examineall its beauties, as it was more than a quarter of a league inlength. I was not in this expedition, being confined under cureof a bad wound in my throat, which I received by a lance in theaffair at Iztapalapa, and of which I still carry the marks; but Isaw this fine garden about twenty days afterwards, when Iaccompanied Cortes to this place. Not being on this expedition, Ido not in my narrative say we and us on thisoccasion, but they and them; yet every thing Irelate is perfectly true, as all the transactions of everyenterprize were regularly reported at headquarters. Sandoval nowsummoned all the neighbouring districts to submit, but to littlepurpose, as the people of Acapistlan or Jacapichtla answered by adefiance. This gave much uneasiness to our allies of Chalco, asthey were assured the Mexicans would immediately attack themagain on the Spaniards returning to Tezcuco. Sandoval was ratheraverse from engaging in any new enterprize, as a great number ofhis men were wounded, and the soldiers of Narvaez disliked risksof every kind; but our allies of Chalco were anxious to reducethat place, and were strongly supported in this opinion by LuisMarin, a wise and valiant officer; and as the distance was onlytwo leagues, Sandoval acquiesced. On his advance, the enemyassailed him with their missile weapons, and then retired totheir strong post in the town. Our allies were not very muchdisposed to attack the works, in which the Spaniards shewed themthe way, some even of the cavalry dismounting to fight on foot,and leaving the rest in the plain to protect the rear. Our peopleat length carried the place, but had a good many wounded in theassault, even Sandoval himself. Though our allies were rathertardy in the assault, they made up for it after the place wascarried, saving the Spaniards the trouble of putting the enemy todeath; and indeed we often blamed the ferocious cruelty of ourallies, from whom we saved many of our Indian enemies. At thistime indeed, our countrymen thought themselves better employed insearching for gold and taking good female prisoners, than inbutchering a parcel of poor wretches who no longer attempted anydefence.

Sandoval returned to Tezcuco with many slaves and considerableplunder, and just as he arrived at head-quarters, even before hehad time to make a report to Cortes of the success of his lateexpedition, an express arrived from Chalco with information thatthey were in a more perilous situation than before. Guatimotzinwas enraged at the defection of the inhabitants of Chalco, anddetermined to inflict upon them the most exemplary chastisem*nt.For this purpose, he sent a force of 20,000 Mexican warriorsacross the lake in 2000 canoes, with orders to lay waste thewhole district with fire and sword. On the communication of thisintelligence to Cortes, he was exceedingly enraged at Sandoval,believing that this had been occasioned by his negligence, and hegave him orders to return instantly to the defence of Chalco,refusing even to hear his relation of what he had already done.Sandoval was much hurt at this treatment, yet went back to Chalcowith all possible expedition; but found the business over beforehis arrival, as the inhabitants of that province, having summonedtheir neighbours to their aid, had already repelled the Mexicaninvasion, and Sandoval had only to return to head-quarters withthe prisoners.

At this period a proclamation was issued, by which all thesoldiers were ordered to bring in the Indian prisoners to bebranded, and to pay for them the royal dues. I have alreadymentioned the treatment we formerly met with at Tepeaca on asimilar occasion, but we were worse used now at Tezcuco ifpossible. In the first place a fifth was taken away for the king;then another fifth for Cortes; and, what was still worse, most ofthe good female slaves were abstracted during the night. We hadbeen promised that all the slaves should be rated according totheir value; but the officers of the crown valued them as theythought proper, and at a most exorbitant rate. In consequence ofthis, the poor soldiers for the future passed their slaves asservants, denying that they were prisoners of war, to avoid theheavy duty; and such as were in favour with Cortes, often gottheir slaves marked privately, paying him the composition. Manyof the slaves who happened to fall to bad masters, or such as hada bad reputation, used to run away; but their owners alwaysremained debtors for their estimated value in the royal books, sothat many were more in debt on this account than all the value oftheir share in the prize gold could pay for. About this timelikewise, a ship arrived at Villa Rica from Spain with arms andgunpowder, in which came Julian de Alderete, who was sent out asroyal treasurer. In the same vessel came the elder Orduna, whobrought out five daughters after the conquest, all of whom werehonourably married. Fra Melgarejo de Urrea, also, a Franciscanfriar, came in this vessel, bringing a number of papal bulls, toquiet our consciences from any guilt we might have incurredduring our warfare: He made a fortune of these in a few months,and returned to Spain. Several other persons came by this vessel,among whom were, Antonio Caravajal, who still lives in Mexico,though now very old; Geronimo Ruyz de la Mora; one Briones whowas hanged about four years afterwards for sedition at Guatimala;and Alonzo Diaz, who now resides in Valladolid. We learned bythis ship, with infinite satisfaction, that the bishop of Burgoshad been deprived of all power over the affairs of the WestIndies, as his majesty had been much displeased with his conductin regard to our expedition, after having received a true accountof our eminent services.

Scarcely were we apprised of the success of the inhabitants ofChalco and their confederates, when a new urgent message arrivedfrom Chalco for assistance against a fresh invasion of theMexicans. The brigantines intended for securing the command ofthe lake were now ready to launch, and we were all anxious tocommence the siege of Mexico, yet Cortes was sensible of theimportance of Chalco to the success of our ultimate operations,and determined to march in person to its support. Leaving thecommand in Tezcuco to Sandoval, Cortes marched for Chalco onFriday the 5th of April 1521, at the head of 300 infantry,including twenty crossbow-men, and fifteen musketeers, withthirty cavalry, and a large body of the auxiliaries of Tezcucoand Tlascala, meaning to clear the district of Chalco and theenvirons of the lake from the Mexicans. In this expedition, ourgeneral was accompanied by the treasurer Alderete, Melgarejo theFranciscan friar, with the captains Alvarado de Oli, and Tapia,and I also was on this expedition. We halted during the firstnight at Tlalmanalco, and reached Chalco next day, when Cortesconvened all the chiefs of that state, to whom he communicatedhis intention of proceeding very soon to attack Mexico, in whichthey engaged to give him all the assistance in their power. Wecontinued our march next day to Chimalhuecan or Chimalacoan, atown in the province of Chalco, where above twenty thousandwarriors had assembled to join us, belonging to our allies ofChalco, Guaxocingo, Tlascala, Tezcuco, and other places, beingthe largest body of our allies that I had hitherto seen together.These were attracted by the hope of plunder, and by a voraciousappetite for human flesh, just as the vultures and other birds ofprey follow our armies in Italy, in order to feast on dead bodiesafter a battle.

At this place we were informed that the Mexican forces, andtheir allies or subjects in that neighbourhood, were in the fieldto oppose us. Cortes therefore issued orders to the army to bealways ready for action at a moments warning, and we proceeded onour march next morning early, after hearing mass, our route lyingbetween two ridges of rocks, the summits of which were fortifiedand filled with large bodies of the enemy[9], who endeavoured byoutcries and reproaches to incite us to attack them. But wepursued our march to Guaztepeque or Huaxtepec, a large town onthe southern declivity of the mountains, which we foundabandoned. Beyond this place we came to a plain in which waterwas very scarce, on one side of which was a lofty rock having afortress on the summit which was filled with troops, who salutedus on our approach with showers of arrows and stones, by whichthree of our soldiers were wounded at the first discharge. Cortesordered us to halt, and sent a party of cavalry to reconnoitrethe rock, who reported on their return that the side where wethen were seemed the most accessible. We were then ordered to theattack, Corral preceding us with the colours, and Cortes remainedon the plain with our cavalry to protect the rear. On ascendingthe mountain, the Indians threw down great fragments of rock,which rolled among us and rebounded over our heads in a mostfrightful manner, so that it was wonderful how any of us escaped.This was a most injudicious attack, and very unlike the usualprudence of our general. One soldier, named Martin Valenciano,though defended by a helmet, was killed at my side. As wecontinued to ascend, three more soldiers, Gaspar Sanches, onenamed Bravo, and Alonzo Rodriguez, were slain, and two othersknocked down, most of the rest being wounded, yet we continued toascend. I was then young and active, and followed close behindour ensign, taking advantage of any hollows in the rock forshelter. Corral was wounded in the head, having his face allcovered with blood, and the colours he bore were all torn torags. "Senor Diaz," said he to me, "let us remain under cover,for it is impossible to advance, and it is all I can do to keepmy hold." On looking down, I noticed Pedro Barba the captain ofour crossbows climbing up with two soldiers, and taking advantageas we had done of the concavities of the rock. I called to himnot to advance, as it was impossible to climb much farther, andutterly out of our power to gain the summit. He replied in loftyterms, to keep silence and proceed; on which I exerted myself andgot a good way higher, saying we should see what he would do. Atthis moment a shower of large fragments of rocks came tumblingdown, by which one of the soldiers along with Barba was crushedto death, after which he did not stir a step higher. Corral nowcalled out to those below, desiring them to report to the generalthat it was utterly impossible to advance, and that even retreatwas infinitely dangerous. On learning this, and being informedthat most of us were wounded and many killed, as he could not seeus on account of the inequalities of the rock, Cortes recalled usby signal, and we came back in a very bloody and bruisedcondition, eight of our party having been slain. Three even ofthe cavalry were killed on the plain and seven wounded, by themasses of rock, which rebounded to a great distance after theirdescent from so great a height.

[8] Clavigero, II. 147, says that Cortes endeavouredat this time, but in vain, to come to an amicable agreement withthe court of Mexico.--E.

[9] In this expedition Cortes appears, by theinformation of Clavigero, II. 152, to have crossed the southernmountains of the Mexican vale, and to have reduced Huastepec,Jautepec, Quauhnahuac, and other towns belonging to theTlahuicas, who were subject to the Mexican empire; thusjudiciously using his endeavours to strengthen his own party andto weaken that of the Mexicans, before proceeding to assail thecapital of that powerful empire.--E.

Numerous bodies of Mexicans were lying in wait for us,intending to have attacked us while engaged in the ascent, andnow advanced towards us in the plain; but we soon drove thembefore us, on which they took shelter among some other rockyridges. We pursued them through some narrow passes among therocks, and found they had taken shelter in another very strongfortress, similar to that from which we had been repulsed. Wedesisted for the present, and returned to our former post insearch of water, our men and horses having been unable to procureany during the whole of this day. We found some appearance ofsprings at the foot of the rock, but they had been drawn dry bythe great numbers of the enemy, and nothing remained but mud.Being under the necessity of endeavouring to procure water, wereturned again to the second fortress, which was about a leagueand a half from the first, where we found a small village with agrove of mulberry trees, in which we discovered a very scantyspring. The people above discharged their missile weapons on ourapproach, seeming to be much more numerous than in the formerplace, and they were so situated that no shot from us could reachthem. For some way up the rock, there were evident paths, but itseemed to present insurmountable difficulties against any attack.Fortunately for us there was another rock which commanded that onwhich the enemy were posted, and within shot, to which all ourfire-arms and crossbows were detached, and the rest of ourinfantry proceeded to climb up the garrisoned rock slowly andwith infinite difficulty. The enemy might easily have destroyedus by rolling down fragments of rocks on our heads, but theirattention was called off from their main defence by our missiles,though rather at too great distance to produce much effect; yethaving killed several of the enemy, they lost heart and offeredto submit. On this, Cortes ordered five of their chiefs to comedown, and offered to pardon them for their hostile resistance, oncondition that they should induce those in the other fortress tosurrender, which they accordingly engaged for. Cortes then sentthe captains Xaramillo and de Ircio, with the ensign Corral and aparty of men, among whom I was, to ascend the rock which hadsurrendered, giving us orders not to touch a grain of maize. Iconsidered this as full permission to do ourselves all the goodin our power. We found this fortress to consist of an extensiveplain on the summit of a perpendicular rock, the entrance towhich did not exceed twice the size of the mouth of an oven. Thewhole plain was full of men, women, and children, but they hadnot a drop of water. Twenty of their warriors had been slain byour shot, and a great many wounded. All their property was packedup in bales, among which there was a considerable quantity oftribute, which had been collected on purpose to be sent toMexico. I had brought four of my Indian servants along with me,whom I began to load, and four of the natives whom I engaged inmy service; but Captain De Ircio ordered me to desist, or hewould report me to the general, putting me in mind that Corteshad forbidden us to touch a grain of maize. I answered that I haddistinctly heard the orders about the maize, and for that reasonI took the bales. But he would not allow me to carry any thingaway, and reported me on our return to Cortes, expecting I shouldreceive a reprimand; Cortes, however, observed that he was sorryI had not got the plunder, as the dogs would laugh at us and keeptheir property, after all the evil they had done us. De Irciothen proposed to return; but Cortes said it was not now time. Thechiefs now returned from the other fortress, having induced itsgarrison to submit; and we returned to Huaxtepec that we mightprocure water. Our whole force was lodged for the night in thebuildings belonging to the noble garden which I formerlymentioned, and I certainly never saw one of such beauty andmagnificence. Our general and others who walked over all itsextent, declared that it was most admirably disposed, andequalled the most magnificent they had ever seen in Spain.

We marched next day towards the city of Cuernabaca orQuauhnahuac. The Mexicans who occupied that place came out tofight us, but were soon defeated and pursued to Teputztlan orTepatlan, which we took by storm, and made a considerable bootyof Indian women and other spoils. Cortes summoned the chiefs ofthis place to come in and submit; and on their refusal, andon-purpose to impress the inhabitants of other places withterror, he ordered about the half of this town to be set on fire.At this time, the chiefs of a town called Yauhtepec came toCortes and made their submission. Next day, we returned toCuernabaca, which is a large town in a very strong situation,being defended by a deep ravine with a small rivulet, whichprecludes all access except by two bridges, which the inhabitantshad broken down on our approach. Cortes was informed of a fordabout half a league above the town which was practicable for thecavalry, to which he marched, by which the main strength of theenemy was drawn off to oppose him. We of the infantry searchedfor means to pass the ravine, and at length discovered a verydangerous pass by means of some trees which hung over from bothsides, by the help of which about thirty of us and a considerablenumber of our Tlascalan allies got across. Three fell into theravine, one of whom broke his leg. It was a most terrifyingpassage, and at one time I was quite blind with giddiness. Havinggot over and formed, we fell unexpectedly on the flank and rearof the enemy, and being now joined by a party of the cavalry, wesoon drove the enemy from the field into the neighbouring woodsand rocks. We found considerable property in the town, and wewere here all lodged in the buildings of a large garden belongingto the cacique of the district. A deputation of twenty of thechiefs of the Tlahuican nation now waited on Cortes, offering tosubmit their whole country to his authority, and threw all theblame of their hostilities on the Mexicans.

The object of our next march was against Xochimilco, a largecity on the fresh water lake of Chalco, in which most of thehouses are built. As it was late before we left Quauhnahuac, andthe weather was exceedingly sultry, our troops sufferedexcessively for want of water, which was not to be procured onour route. Many of our allies fainted, and one of them, and alsoone of our soldiers died of thirst. Seeing the distress of thearmy, Cortes ordered a halt in a pine forest, and sent forwards aparty in search of relief. As I saw my friend De Oli about to setoff, I took three of my Indian servants and followed the party,who endeavoured to persuade me to return; but I was resolute, andDe Oli at length consented, telling me I should have to fight myway. At the distance of about half a league our cavalry came tosome villages on the side of a ridge of mountains, where theyfound water in the houses, and one of my servants brought me alarge jar full of water. Having quenched my thirst, I nowdetermined to return, as the natives had taken the alarm, andwere gathering to attack us. I found Cortes just about to resumethe march, and gave him and the officers, who were with him ahearty draught from my jar. The whole army now moved forward tothe villages, where a scanty supply of water was procured. It wasnow near sunset, and the cavalry came in with a report that thewhole country had risen against us, on which account we haltedhere for the night, which was very rainy with much wind, as Iwell remember, being on the night guard. Several of our soldierswere taken ill here with inflammation of their mouth and throat,owing to their having eaten a species of artichoke to quenchtheir thirst.

We resumed our march early next morning, and arrived abouteight o'clock at Xochimilco[10]. I can give no idea of theprodigious force of the enemy which was collected at this placeto oppose us. They had broken down the bridges, and fortifiedthemselves with many parapets and pallisades, and many of theirchiefs were armed with the swords which we lost during our flightfrom Mexico, which they had polished very nicely. The attack atthe bridge lasted above half an hour, several of our peoplegetting across by swimming, in which attempt some were drowned,and we were assailed at once in front and rear and on bothflanks. At length our cavalry got on firm ground, after losingseveral men, and we drove the enemy before us; but just at thistime a fresh reinforcement of at least 10,000 Mexicans arrived,and received the charge of the cavalry with great intrepidity,and wounded four of our men. At this moment the good chesnuthorse on which Cortes rode fell under him among a crowd of theenemy, who knocked him down, and great numbers gathering aroundwere carrying him off, when a body of our Tlascalan allies cameup to his rescue, headed by the valiant De Oli, and remountedhim, after he had been severely wounded in the head. De Oli alsoreceived three desperate sword wounds from the enemy. As all thestreets of the town were full of Mexican warriors, we had todivide into a number of separate bodies in order to fight them;but we who were nearest the place in which our general was insuch danger, being alarmed by the uncommon noise and outcry,hurried there, where they found him and about fifteen of thecavalry in a very embarrassing situation, amid parapets andcanals where the horse had no freedom to act. We immediatelyattacked the enemy, whom we forced to give ground, and broughtoff Cortes and De Oli. On first passing at the bridge, Cortes hadordered the cavalry to act in two divisions on purpose to clearour flanks: They returned at this time all wounded, and reportedthat the enemy were so numerous and desperate, that all theirefforts wore unavailing to drive them away. At the time thecavalry came in, we were in an enclosed court, dressing ourwounds with rags and burnt oil; and the enemy sent in suchshowers of arrows among us that hardly any escaped being wounded.We all now sallied out upon the enemy, both cavalry and infantry,and made considerable havoc among them with our swords, so thatwe drove them away and they gave over their attempt to storm ourpost. Having now some relaxation, Cortes brought our whole forceto the large enclosures in which the temples were situated; andon some of us ascending to the top of one of the temples, wherewe had a commanding view of Mexico and the lake, we perceivedabout two thousand canoes full of troops coming to attack us. Abody of ten thousand men were likewise seen in full march by landfor the same purpose, and the enemy had already fully that numberin and about the town. We learned from five chiefs whom we hadmade prisoners, that this immense force was destined to assaultour quarters that night; for which reason strong guards wereposted at all the places where the enemy were expected todisembark; the cavalry were held in readiness to charge upon themon the roads and firm ground; and constant patroles were keptgoing about during the night. I was posted along with ten othersoldiers to keep guard at a stone and lime wall which commandedone of the landing-places, and while there we heard a noiseoccasioned by the approach of a party of the enemy, whom we beatoff, sending a report to Cortes by one of our number. The enemymade a second attempt, in which they knocked down two of our men;but being again repulsed, they made an attempt to land at adifferent place, where there was a small gate communicating witha deep canal. The night was extremely dark, and as the nativeswere not accustomed to fight in the night time, their troops fellinto confusion; and instead of making their attack in twoopposite places at the same time, they formed in one body of atleast 15,000 men.

[10] This beautiful city was the largest in the valeof Mexico, after the capital and the royal residences of Tezcucoand Tlacopan, and was famous for its floating gardens, whence itderived its name, signifying flower gardens in the Mexicanlanguage.--Clavig. II. 155.

When our report reached Cortes, he came to us attended by nineor ten of the cavalry, and as he did not answer my challenge, Iand my comrade Gonzalo Sanchez, a Portuguese from Algarve, firedthree or four shots at them; on which knowing our voices, Cortesobserved to his escort, that this post did not require to beinspected, as it was in charge of two of his veterans. He thenobserved that our post was a dangerous one, and continued hisrounds without saying any more. I was afterwards told that one ofthe soldiers of Narvaez was whipped this very night fornegligence on his post. As our powder was all expended, we wereordered to prepare a good supply of arrows for the crossbows, andwere employed all the rest of the night in heading and featheringthese, under the direction of Pedro Barba, who was captain of thecrossbow-men. At break of day the enemy made a fresh attack andkilled one Spaniard, but we drove them back, killing several oftheir chiefs, and took a great many prisoners. Our cavalry hadbeen ordered out to charge the Mexicans, but finding them ingreat force, they sent back for assistance. The whole of our armynow sallied forth and completely defeated the enemy, from whom wetook several prisoners. From these men, we learned that theMexicans intended to weary us out by reiterated attacks, on whichaccount it was resolved to evacuate the place next day. In themean time, having information that the town contained muchwealth, we got some of the prisoners to point out the houses inwhich it was contained, which stood in the water of the freshwater lake, and could only be approached by small bridges overthe canals, leading from a causeway. A considerable number bothof our men and of the allies went to these houses, from whichthey brought away a great deal of booty in cotton cloth and othervaluable articles, and this example was followed by others. Whilethus employed, a body of Mexicans came upon them unexpectedly incanoes, and besides wounding many of our men, they seized foursoldiers alive, whom they carried off in triumph to Mexico; andfrom these men Guatimotzin learnt the smallness of our number,and the great loss we had sustained in killed and wounded. Afterquestioning them as much as he thought proper, Guatimotzincommanded their hands and feet to be cut off, and sent them inthis mutilated condition through many of the surroundingdistricts, as an example of the treatment he intended for us all,and then ordered them to be put to death.

On the ensuing morning we had to sustain a fresh attack, ashad regularly been the case during the four days we remained inXochimilco, but which we now determined to quit. Beforecommencing our march, Cortes drew up the army in an open place alittle way out of the town, in which the markets were held, wherehe made us a speech, in which he expatiated on the dangers we hadto encounter in our march, and the strong bodies of the enemy wemight expect to oppose our retreat, and then warmly urged us toleave all our plunder and luggage, that we might not be exposedto danger in its defence. We remonstrated, however, that it wouldbe a cowardly act to abandon what we had so hardly won, declaringthat we felt confident of being able to defend our persons andproperty against all assailants. He gave way, therefore, to ourwishes, and arranged the order of our march, placing the baggagein the centre, and dividing the cavalry and crossbows between thevan and rear guards, as our musketry was now useless for want ofpowder. The enemy harassed us by continual assaults all the wayfrom Xochimilco to Cuyocan, or Cojohuacan, a city on the bordersof the lake, near one of the causeways leading to Mexico, whichwe found abandoned, and where we took up our quarters for twodays, taking care of our wounds, and making arrows for ourcrossbows. The enemy which had especially obstructed us on thismarch, consisted of the inhabitants of Xochimilco, Cuyocan,Huitzilopochco, Iztapalapa, Mizquic, and five other towns, all ofconsiderable size, and built on the edge of the lake, near oneanother, and not far from Mexico. On the third morning we marchedfor Tlacopan or Tacuba, harassed as usual by the enemy, but ourcavalry soon forced them to retire to their canals and ditches.During this march, Cortes attempted to lay an ambush for theenemy, for which purpose he set out with ten horsem*n and fourservants, but had nearly fallen into a snare himself. Havingencountered a party a Mexicans who fled before him, he pursuedthem too far, and was suddenly surrounded by a large body ofwarriors, who started out from an ambuscade, and wounded all thehorses in the first attack, carrying off two of the attendants ofCortes to be sacrificed at Mexico, the rest of the party escapingwith considerable difficulty. Our main body reached Tacuba insafety, with all the baggage; but as Cortes and his party did notappear, we began to entertain suspicions of some misfortunehaving befallen him. On this account, Alvarado, De Oli, Tapia,and I, with some others, went to look for him in the direction inwhich we had last seen him. We soon met two of his servants, whoinformed us of what had happened, and were shortly afterwardsjoined by Cortes, who appeared extremely sad, and even shedtears.

When we arrived at our quarters in Tacuba, which were in somelarge enclosed courts, it rained very heavily, and we wereobliged to remain exposed for about two hours. On the weatherclearing up, the general and his officers, with many of the menwho were off duty, went up to the top of the great temple ofTacuba, whence we had a most delightful prospect of the lake,with all its numerous cities and towns, rising as it were out ofthe water. Innumerable canoes were seen in all directions, someemployed in fishing, and others passing with provisions ormerchandize of all kinds. We all gave praise to God, who had beenpleased to render us the instruments for bringing the numerousinhabitants of so fine a country to the knowledge of his holyname; yet the bloody scenes which we had already experienced inMexico, filled us with melancholy for the past, and even withsome apprehension for the future. These recollections made Cortesexceedingly sad, regretting the many valiant soldiers he hadalready lost, and the brave men whom he might still expect tofall before he could be able to reduce the great, strong, andpopulous city of Mexico to submission[11]. Our reverend FatherOlmedo, endeavoured to console him, and one of our soldiersobserved, that such was the fortune of war, and that our generalwas in a very different situation from Nero, when he contemplatedhis capital on fire. Cortes replied, that he felt melancholywhile reflecting on the fatigues and dangers we should still haveto pass through; but that he should soon take effectual measuresfor bringing the great object in view to a speedy conclusion.Having no particular purpose to serve by remaining in Tacuba,some of our officers and soldiers proposed to take a view of thecauseway where we had suffered so severely on the fatal night ofour flight from Mexico; but this was considered dangerous andimprudent. We accordingly proceeded on our march by Escapozalco,which was abandoned by the enemy on our approach, to Terajoccan,which was also deserted, and thence to Coatitlan or Guatitlan,where we arrived excessively fatigued, as it never ceased rainingduring the whole of that day. We took up our quarters in thatplace for the night, which was excessively rainy; and, though theenemy gave us some alarms during the night, I can testify that noproper watch was kept, owing to the inclemency of the weather, asmy post was not visited either by rounds or corporal. FromCoatitlan, we continued our march by a deep miry road, throughfour or five other towns, all abandoned, and arrived in two daysat Aculman or Oculman, in the territory of Tezcuco, where wereceived the pleasing intelligence that a reinforcement hadarrived to us from Spain. Next day we proceeded to Tezcuco, wherewe arrived worn out with wounds and fatigue, and even diminishedin our numbers.

[11] Diaz mentions a poem circulated at the time, asbeginning in reference to the melancholy of Cortes on thisoccasion, somewhat in the following strain:
In Tacuba was Cortes, with many a gallant chief; He thought uponhis losses, and bow'd his head with grief.

Soon after our return to Tezcuco, a conspiracy was formed forthe assassination of our general, at the head of which was oneAntonio de Villafana, an adherent of Velasquez, and some of theother soldiers who had come over with Narvaez, but whose names Ido not choose to mention, and the conspirators had evencommunicated their plan to two principal officers, whom I willnot name, one of whom was to have been appointed captain-generalon the death of Cortes. They had even arranged matters for theappointment of alguazil-major, alcaldes, regidor, contador,treasurer, veedor, and others of that kind, and of captains andstandard-bearer to the army, all from among the soldiers ofNarvaez. All the principal adherents of Cortes were to have beenput to death, and the conspirators were to have divided ourproperties, arms, and horses, among themselves. This business wasrevealed to Cortes, only two days after our return to Tezcuco, bythe repentance of one of the conspirators, whom he amplyrewarded. The general immediately communicated the intelligenceto Alvarado, De Oli, Sandoval, Tapia, Luis Marin, and Pedro deIrcio, who were the two alcaldes for the time, also to me, and toall in whom he reposed confidence. We all accompanied Cortes,well armed, to the quarters of Villafana, where he found him andmany others of the conspirators, and took him immediately intocustody. The others endeavoured to escape, but were all detainedand sent to prison. Cortes took a paper from the bosom ofVillafana, having the signatures of all his accomplices; butwhich he afterwards pretended that Villafana had swallowed, toset the minds of the conspirators at rest, as they were toonumerous to be all punished in the present weak state of ourarmy. Villafana was immediately tried, and made a fullconfession; and his guilt being likewise clearly established bymany witnesses, the judges, who were Cortes, the two alcaldes,and De Oli, condemned him to die. Having confessed himself to thereverend Juan Diaz, he was hanged from a window of the apartment.No more of the conspirators were proceeded against; but Cortesthought it prudent to appoint a body guard for his futuresecurity, selected from among those who had been with him fromthe first, of which Antonio de Quinones was made captain.

At this period an order was issued for bringing in all ourprisoners to be marked, being the third time since we came to thecountry. If that operation were unjustly conducted the firsttime, it was worse the second, and this time worse than ever; forbesides the two fifths for the king and Cortes, no less thanthirty draughts were made for the captains; besides which, allthe handsome females we had given in to be marked, were stolenaway, and concealed till it became convenient to producethem.

As the brigantines were entirely finished, and the canal fortheir passage into the lake was now sufficiently wide and deepfor that purpose, Cortes issued orders to all the districts inour alliance, near Tezcuco, to send him, in the course of tendays, 8000 arrow-shafts from each district, made of a particularwood, and as many copper heads. Within the appointed time, thewhole number required was brought to head-quarters, all executedbetter than even the patterns. Captain Pedro Barba, who commandedthe crossbows, ordered each of his soldiers to provide two cordsand nuts, and to try the range of their bows. Cortes ordered allthe cavalry to have their lances new-headed, and to exercisetheir horses daily. He sent likewise an express to the elderXicotencatl at Tlascala, otherwise called Don Lorenzo de Vargas,to send 20,000 of the warriors of Tlascala, Huixotzinco andCholula; and he sent similar orders to Chalco and Tlalmanalco;ordering all our allies to rendezvous at Tezcuco on the day afterthe festival of the Holy Ghost, 28th April 1521. And on that day,Don Hernandez Ixtlilxochitl of Tezcuco, was to join us with allhis forces. Some considerable reinforcements of soldiers, horses,arms, and ammunition had arrived from Spain and other places, sothat when mustered mustered on the before-mentioned day byCortes, in the large enclosures of Tezcuco, our Spanish forceamounted to the following number: 84 cavalry, 650 infantry, armedwith sword and buckler, or pikes, and 194 musketeers andcrossbow-men, in all 928 Spaniards. From this number he selected12 musketeers or crossbow-men, and 12 of the other infantry, forrowers to each of the vessels, in all 312 men, appointing acaptain to each vessel; and he distributed 20 cannoneers throughthe fleet, which he armed with such guns as we had that were fitfor this service. Many of our men had been formerly sailors, yetall were extremely averse from acting as rowers on the presentoccasion; for which reason the general made inquiry as to thosewho were natives of sea-ports, or who had formerly been fishersor seafaring men, all of whom he ordered to the oars; and thoughsome of them pled their gentility as an exemption, he would hearof no excuse. By these means he obtained 150 men for thisservice, who were in fact in a much better situation than we whobore the brunt and danger of the war on land, as will appear inthe sequel. When all this was arranged, and the crews embarkedalong with their commanders, each brigantine hoisted a royalstandard, and every one a distinguishing flag. Cortes likewisegave the captains written instructions for their guidance,dividing them into squadrons, each of which was to co-operatewith a particular leader of the land forces.

Cortes now issued the following general orders to the army: 1.No person to blaspheme the Lord Jesus, his Virgin Mother, theHoly Apostles, or any of the Saints, under heavy penalties. 2. Nosoldier to maltreat any of our allies in their persons orproperties. 3. No soldier to be absent from quarters on anypretence. 4. Every soldier to keep his arms, both offensive anddefensive, in the best order. 5. No soldier to stake his horse orarms in gaming. 6. No soldier to sleep out of his armour, orwithout his arms beside him, except when disabled by wounds orsickness. Lastly, the penalty of death was denounced for sleepingon guard, for a sentinel quitting his post, for absence fromquarters without leave, for quitting the ranks in the field, orfor flight in battle.

At this time our allies of Tlascala arrived under the commandof Xicotencatl the younger, who was accompanied by his twobrothers. Some of the warriors of Huexotzinco and Cholula camealong with the Tlascalans, but not in any great numbers[12], yetthe alacrity of our allies was such that they joined us a dayprevious to that which was appointed by Cortes. They marched inwith great military parade, each of the chiefs carrying astandard with their national device, a white spread eagle, andthey were all in high spirits, shouting out, Castilla! Castilla!Tlascala! Tlascala! From the arrival of their van, till the rearcame in, took up three hours. Cortes received them with greatcourtesy, promising to make them all rich on their return totheir native country, and dismissed them with many compliments totheir respective quarters.

[12] Clavigero, II. 159, carries the number of allieswhich joined Cortes on this occasion, to more than 200,000 men.In his enumeration of the several divisions of the army appointedfor the investment of Mexico, Diaz makes the Indian allies verylittle more than 24,000 warriors.--E.

Cortes made the following arrangement of our land army for theinvestment of Mexico, distributing our forces in three separatedivisions, under the respective commands of Alvarado, De Oli, andSandoval, reserving to himself to act where his presence might bemost necessary, and taking in the mean time the command of thefleet. Pedro de Alvarado, under whom I served, had 150 infantry,30 cavalry, 18 musketeers and crossbow-men, and 8000 Tlascalans,and was ordered to take post at Tacuba, having three captainsunder his command, his brother Jorge de Alvarado, PedroGuttierrez, and Andres de Monjara, having each a company of 50infantry, with a third of the musketeers and crossbow-men, thecavalry being commanded by Alvarado in person.--Christoval de Olicommanded the second division, having under him Andres de Tapia,Francisco Verdugo, and Francisco de Lugo, with 175 infantry, 30cavalry, 20 musketeers and crossbows, and 8000 of our Indianallies. This division was ordered to take post at Cuyoacan orCojohuacan.--The third division, under the command of Gonzalo deSandoval, who had under him captains Luis Marin and Pedro deIrcio, consisted of 150 infantry, 24 cavalry, 14 musketeers andcrossbows, and above 8000 Indian warriors, was to take post atIztapalapa. The division of Alvarado and De Oli were ordered tomarch from Tezcuco by the right, going round the northern side ofthe lake, and the third, under Sandoval, by the left, to thesouth end of the lake; and his march being much shorter, he wasordered to remain in Tezcuco until Cortes should sail out withthe fleet[13].

[13] Diaz mentions, that about this time intelligencecame to Tezcuco, that three of our soldiers who had been left byPizarro to search for mines in the country of the Zapotecas hadbeen put to death by the Mexicans, one only, named Barrientos,having escaped to Chinantla, where he was protected by thenatives.--E.

Before setting out on their march, Alvarado and De Olidirected our Indian allies to go on a day before us, that wemight not be interrupted by their numbers, and ordered them towait for us when they reached the Mexican territory. While ontheir march, Chichimecatl remarked that Xicotencatl, thecommander in chief of the Tlascalans was absent; and it was foundthat he had secretly gone off from Tezcuco for Tlascala on thepreceding night, in order to take possession of the territory andproperty of Chichimecatl, thinking this a good opportunity duringthe absence of that chief and his warriors, and being in noapprehension of any opposition, now that Maxicatzin was dead.Chichimecatl returned immediately to Tezcuco, to inform Cortes ofwhat had taken place; and our general sent five chiefs of Tezcucoand two Tlascalan chiefs, to request Xicotencatl to return. Heanswered, that if his old father and Maxicatzin had listened tohim, they would not have been now domineered over by Cortes andthe Spaniards, and absolutely refused to go back. On this haughtyanswer being reported to Cortes, he immediately sent off analguazil with four horsem*n and five Tezcucan chiefs, orderingthem to seize and hang Xicotencatl wherever they could find him.Alvarado interceded strongly for his pardon, but ineffectually;for though Cortes seemed to relent, the party who arrestedXicotencatl in a town subject to Tezcuco, hung him up by privateorders from Cortes, and some reported that this was done with theapprobation of the elder Xicotencatl, father to the Tlascalangeneral. This affair detained us a whole day, and on the next thetwo divisions of Alvarado and De Oli marched by the same route,halting for the night at Aculma or Alcolman, a town belonging tothe state of Tezcuco, where a very ruinous quarrel was neartaking place between our two commanders and their divisions. DeOli had sent some persons before to take quarters for his troops,and had appropriated every house in the place for his men,marking them by setting up green boughs on the terraces; so thatwhen Alvarado arrived with his division, we had not a singlehouse for us to lodge in. Our soldiers were much irritated atthis circ*mstance, and stood immediately to their arms to fightwith those of De Oli, and the two commanders even challenged eachother; but several of the more prudent of the officers on bothsides interposed, and a reconciliation was effected, yet Alvaradoand De Oli were never afterwards good friends. An express wassent off immediately to apprize Cortes of this misunderstanding,who wrote to all the people of any influence in the twodivisions, greatly condemning the circ*mstances of thisdisagreement, which might have produced fatal consequences to ourwhole army, and earnestly recommended a reconcilement. Wecontinued our march for two days more, by several Mexican cities,which were abandoned by their inhabitants; and passing throughCoatitlan, Tenajoccan and Itzcapuzalco, where our allies waitedfor us, we proceeded for Tacuba, otherwise called Tlacopan.

SECTION XIII.

Narrative of Occurrences from the commencement of the Siegeof Mexico to its Reduction, and the Capture ofGuatimotzin.

Having thus, by the occupation of Tacuba, commenced theinvestment of the great and populous city of Mexico, we soonfound the enemy around us in great numbers; and as the firstoperation, it was determined on the following day, that ourdivisions should march to Chapoltepec to destroy the aqueduct atthat place, by which the city of Mexico was supplied with freshwater. We set out accordingly with our allies, and although theenemy attacked us on our march, we repelled them and succeeded inour object of cutting off the pipes, so that from that time thecity of Mexico was deprived of fresh water. It was now determinedto endeavour to penetrate to the city of Mexico by the causewayof Tacuba, or at least to attempt getting possession of the firstbridge on that causeway; but on our arrival there, the prodigiousnumber of boats which covered the water on both sides, and themultitude of Mexican troops which thronged the causeway to opposeus, was perfectly astonishing. By the first flight of arrowswhich they discharged against us, three of our men were slain andthirty wounded; yet we advanced to the bridge, the enemy retiringbefore us, as if by a concerted stratagem, so that we wereexposed on both flanks, on a narrow road only twenty feet wide,as a butt for the innumerable arrows of the Mexicans in thecanoes, and neither our musquetry nor crossbows were of any availagainst the people in the canoes, as they were effectuallyprotected by high wooden screens. The horses of our cavalry wereall wounded, and when at any time they made a charge upon theenemy, they were almost immediately stopt by barriers andparapets which the enemy had drawn across the causeway for thepurpose, and from whence they defended themselves with longlances. Likewise, when the infantry advanced along the causeway,instead of abiding our attack, the enemy threw themselves intothe water and escaped by swimming or into their canoes, returningincessantly to the attack. We were thus engaged for more than anhour to no useful purpose, the enemy continually increasing innumber, by reinforcements from every part of the lake; and ourallies, instead of being serviceable, only encumbered thecauseway and hindered our movements. Finding that we were unableany longer to resist the multitude of enemies who assailed usperpetually from the water, and almost with entire impunity, wedetermined to retreat to our quarters in Tacuba, having eight ofour men slain and above fifty wounded, and were closely followedup and much harassed by the enemy during our retreat. De Oli laidthe blame of the disaster of this day on the rashness ofAlvarado.

Next day[1], though we were all extremely solicitous for thetwo captains to remain together, De Oli proceeded with hisdivision to take possession of Cojohuacan, according to theorders he had received from Cortes; but this separation wasassuredly extremely ill judged; as, if the enemy had known thesmallness of our numbers at the two stations, they might havefallen upon and destroyed us separately, during the four or fivedays that we remained divided before the arrival of Cortes withthe brigantines. In all that time we never ventured to make anymore attempts against the Mexican causeways, but the enemyfrequently sent bodies of their troops to the main land to makeattacks on our quarters, on which occasions we always drove themaway.

[1] According to Clavigero, II. 162, the 30th of May1521, on which day Cortes dated the commencement of thismemorable siege.--E.

Sandoval with his division did not leave Tezcuco until thefourth day after the feast of Corpus Christi[2], when he marchedthrough a friendly country by the south side of the lake, andarrived without interruption in front of Iztapalapa. Immediatelyon his arrival, he commenced an attack on the enemy, and burntmany of the houses in that part of the town which stood on thefirm land; but fresh bodies of Mexican warriors came over incanoes and by the causeway of Iztapalapa to relieve their friendsin the town, and made a determined resistance against Sandoval.While the engagement was going on, a smoke was observed to arisefrom a hill above the town, which was answered by similar signalsat many other points around the lake, which were afterwards foundto have been made to apprize the enemy of the appearance of ourflotilla on the lake. On this, the efforts of the enemy againstSandoval were much relaxed, as their canoes and warriors wererecalled to oppose our naval force; and Sandoval was thus enabledto take up his quarters in a part of the town of Iztapalapa;between which and Cojohuacan the only means of communication wasby a causeway or mound dividing the lake of Chalco from that ofMexico or Tezcuco, which passage was at that time impracticablein the face of the enemy.

[2] Corpus Christi fell that year, according toClavigero, on the 30th May, so that the occupation of Iztapalapa,by which the investment of Mexico was completed, was on the 3d ofJune.

"Before proceeding to the narrative of the siege of Mexico, itmay be proper to give some account of the situation of the cityof Mexico, and the mounds or causeways by which it communicatedwith the land at the several posts which were occupied by Cortesfor its investment[3]. The city of Mexico was built partly on anisland and partly in the water, at the west side of aconsiderable salt lake, named sometimes the lake of Tezcuco, andsometimes the lake of Mexico, and appears to have been about amile from the firm land. It communicated with the land by threemounds or causeways; that of Tepejacac on the north, about threemiles long, measuring from the great temple in centre of Mexico;that usually called of Iztapalapa on the south, nearly five milesin length; and that of Tacuba or Tlacopan on the west, about twomiles long, likewise measuring from the temple; but at least amile may be abstracted from each of these measurements, onaccount of the extent of the city from the great temple to thecommencement of the causeways. About the middle of the southerncauseway called that of Iztapalapa, another causeway branched offobliquely to the south-east, to the town of Cojohuacan; and atthe place where these two causeways united stood the town ofXoloc, partly on the sides of the causeways, but chiefly in thewater intersected by canals and ditches. Besides these threegrand causeways for communicating with the land, there was asmaller mound about two miles south from the causeway of Tacuba,from a town named Chapoltepec, along which the aqueduct, orpipes, for supplying Mexico with fresh water was carried; butthis appears to have been too narrow for allowing any passage, atleast the Spaniards do not seem to have availed themselves of it,in their long and arduous endeavours to force their way intoMexico. Near the south-west angle of the salt lake of Mexico, itcommunicated by a narrow neck or strait with the fresh water lakeof Chalco; and at their junction a mound or causeway had beenconstructed across, to prevent the admixture of the salt andfresh lakes, having a town called Mexicaltzinco at the easternextremity of this mound. Iztapalapa stood in the western end ofthe peninsula, between the lakes of Mexico and Chalco, but on theborders and in the waters of the former. The whole fertile valeof Mexico or Anahuac, around these two lakes, and some others tothe north of the great lake, was thickly planted with cities,towns, and villages, and highly cultivated, containing and givingsubsistence to a prodigious population. The extent of thisextraordinary valley, elevated nearly 8000 feet above the levelof the sea, is about 50 miles from north to south, and fortymiles from east to west; being surrounded on every side by ridgesof lofty mountains, some of them perpetually covered with snow,and rising to about 10,000 feet in perpendicular elevation abovethe ocean."

[3] The whole of this topographical account of Mexicoand its approaches is added by the editor, and has been placed inthe text, distinguished by inverted commas, as too long for anote. A plan is added, constructed from a comparison of the mapsin Diaz and Clavigero, both evidently drawn without any actualsurvey, and corrected by means of the excellent map of the valeof Mexico given by Humboldt. By means of a great drain, madeconsiderably posterior to the conquest, the lake has been greatlydiminished in magnitude, insomuch that the city is now abovethree miles from the lake; so that the accurate map of Humboldtdoes not now serve for the ancient topography of Mexico and itsnear environs.--E.

When Cortes brought out his fleet of brigantines upon thelake, he went in the first place to attack an insular rock closebeside Mexico, on which a vast number of the inhabitants of thatcity and other places in the neighbourhood had taken shelter.Immediately on perceiving his intentions, their whole forcecollected from every part of the lake, and proceeded against himin not less than 4000 large canoes full of warriors. Onperceiving this immense number of boats coming to attack him,Cortes withdrew with his brigantines into an open part of thelake, ordering his captains to wait patiently for a breeze ofwind which then began to blow. As the enemy supposed that thismovement proceeded from fear, they immediately closed up aroundthe flotilla with shouts of triumph. The wind now sprung up, andthe whole fleet made sail through the throng of canoes, plyingtheir oars at the same time, and run down and overset greatnumbers of the Mexican canoes, compelling all the rest to fly forshelter to the recesses and shallows on the borders of the lake.After this, Cortes made sail to Cojohuacan[4], where he was againattacked by the Mexicans, both by means of their canoes on thewater, and from their temples on the land: But Cortes broughtfour guns to bear upon them, by which he did considerableexecution. During this action his powder magazine blew up, owingto some mismanagement of the gunners, by which many of his peoplewere wounded. This unfortunate accident obliged him to detach hissmallest brigantine to Sandoval for a supply of ammunition. Heremained at Cojohuacan for two days with the flotilla, repairingthe injury his ship had sustained from the explosion.

[4] It is hard to guess which way the brigantinescould get there, as by the maps both of Diaz and Clavigero, thegreat double causeway of Xoloc or Iztapalapa, ought to havecompletely prevented his penetrating to that part of the lake. Itwas probably Xoloc against which this attack was made, and Diazmay have mistaken the name after an interval of fifty-one years;for so long intervened between the siege of Mexico in 1521, and1572, when he informs us his history wasconcluded.--E.

When we were assured that the flotilla was out upon the lake,Alvarado marched out with our division to the causeway of Tacuba,as far as the bridge, in which we were constantly engaged withthe enemy to very little purpose, except that we repaired thepasses in our rear as we advanced, and did not now suffer thecavalry to come upon the causeway, as we had found by experiencethat they were of very little service, and besides that theirhorses were exposed to much danger. Finding that he could notsufficiently annoy the enemy in his present post at Iztapalapa,where the Mexicans had possession of the houses which were builtin the water, Sandoval advanced by a causeway to a morecommanding situation[5]. When this was noticed from Mexico, alarge detachment of warriors came over in canoes, with orders tocut the causeway in the rear of our troops. Cortes observed this,and immediately made sail with his vessels to the relief ofSandoval, giving orders at the same time to De Oli to march abody of troops by the causeway for the same purpose. Havingrelieved Sandoval by these means, Cortes ordered him to removewith his division from Iztapalapa to Tepeaquilla or Tepejacac,where the church of our Lady of Guadalupe now stands, in whichmany wonderful miracles have been performed.

[5] Perhaps along the mound or causeway ofMexicaltzinco; by which he approached towards the great causewayof Xoloc, and the position of De Oli atCojohuacan.--E.

As it was impossible for our troops to advance on thecauseways, unless their flanks were secured from attacks bywater, the flotilla was appointed to this service in threedivisions, one of which was attached to each of the threedetachments of our land force: Four brigantines being allotted toAlvarado, six to De Oli, and two to Sandoval[6]; twelve in all,the thirteenth having been found too small for service, and wastherefore laid up, and her crew distributed to the rest, astwenty men had been already severely wounded in the severalvessels. Alvarado now led our division to attack the causeway ofTacuba, placing two brigantines on each flank for our protection.We drove the enemy before us from several of their bridges andbarricades; but after fighting the whole day, we were obliged toretreat to our quarters at night, almost all of us wounded by theincessant showers of stones and arrows of the enemy. We werecontinually assailed on the causeway, by fresh troops ofwarriors, carrying different banners or devices; and ourbrigantines were excessively annoyed from the terraces of thehouses which stood in the water; and as we could not leave aparty to keep possession of what we had acquired during the day,the enemy repossessed themselves of the bridges at night, andrepaired and strengthened their parapets and other defences. Insome places they deepened the water, digging pits in the shallowplaces, and placing the canoes in ambush, which they securedagainst the approach of our brigantines by means of pallisadesunder water. Every day we were employed in the same manner,driving the enemy before us, and every night we returned to ourquarters to bind up our wounds. The cavalry were of no service,on account of the barricades defended by long lances; and thesoldiers even did not choose to risk their horses, as their priceat this time was from eight hundred to a thousand crowns. OneJuan, a soldier from Catalonia, used to heal our wounds by charmsand prayers, which by the mercy of God recovered us very fast;and this being observed by our allies, all their wounded menapplied to Juan, who had more business on his hands than he wasable for. But whether whole or wounded, we were obliged to go outdaily against the enemy, as otherwise our companies would havebeen reduced to less than half their strength. Our ensign wasdisabled almost every day, as he could not at the same time carryhis colours and defend himself from the enemy. We were abundantlysupplied with corn, but were much in want of refreshments for thewounded men; our chief resource being tunas or Indianfigs, cherries while in season, and a plant calledquilities by the natives. The situation of the other twoattacks was precisely similar to ours. Every day, when we marchedto the attack, a signal was made from the great temple ofTlaltelolco, the great division of Mexico nearest Tacuba, onwhich the enemy rushed out against us, and were continuallyrelieved by fresh troops, marching out in succession. Findingthat we gained nothing by these daily attacks, we changed ourplan of operations. On our causeway there was a small open space,on which stood some buildings for religious worship, where weformed a lodgment, and established a post, leaving our cavalryand allies to secure our rear in Tacuba, whence we were suppliedwith provisions. Though very badly lodged in this place, as everyshower of rain came in upon us, we maintained this post andadvanced a little towards the city every day, filling up thetrenches which intersected the causeway, and pulling down thehouses on each side, and using their materials to strengthen ourdefences. We found it extremely difficult to set the houses onfire, nor could the flames communicate from house to house, asall the houses were separated by canals and ditches. During thisoperation we were subjected to great danger, as the enemydestroyed us from their terraces when we endeavoured to swim overfrom the causeway to these detached houses.

[6] Though not mentioned by Diaz, this necessarilyimplies that one of the bridges of each causeway must have beentaken possession of by the Spaniards, to allow the brigantines toget through into those parts of the lake which were intersectedby the causeways.--E.

In this manner we gained some ground every day, which wesecured by parapets and other defences, and preserved during thenight. Every evening at sunset, the company which was first forduty, was entrusted with the advanced post, to which they sentforty men; the second company sent an equal number at midnight,and the relieved guard did not quit their post, but had to remainsleeping on the ground; the third company did the same the sametwo hours before day-break, and the second now lay down to sleep,so that we now had 120 men on guard. Sometimes our wholedetachment had to remain under arms the whole night, especiallyon the following occasion: We learnt from some of our prisoners,that the Mexicans intended to force our post by a great effort,which would have frustrated the other two attacks. For thispurpose, all the warriors of nine towns around the lake,including those of Tacuba, Izcapuzalco, and Tenajocan, were by ajoint attack upon our rear to carry off our baggage and destroyour bakery in Tacuba, while the Mexicans were to assail us infront on the causeway. We immediately communicated thisintelligence to our cavalry and allies at headquarters, warningthem to keep on the alert. In pursuance of this plan, we wereattacked both in front and rear for several successive nights,from midnight to day-break. Sometimes the enemy came on with aprodigious noise of shouting and military instruments, and atother times stole upon us in profound silence; but their nightattacks were never made with so much resolution as those duringthe day. Yet we were harassed to death with continual watching,fatigue, and wounds, and constantly exposed to cold winds andalmost incessant rain. Our post was reduced to a mere splash ofmud and water, and our only food was maize and miserable herbs.When we complained, the only comfort given us by our officers,was that such is the fortune of war. Yet all our efforts,fatigues, and privations, were of little avail; as the parapetswe destroyed and the ditches we filled up during the day, wereuniformly replaced next night by the enemy.

The destruction of the aqueduct of Chapoltepec, from which somuch had been expected, by cutting off the water which suppliedthe city of Mexico, was unavailing, neither could we starve theminto a surrender, as they were regularly supplied with everything they wanted by means of their canoes from the towns aroundthe lake. In order to prevent this, two of our brigantines wereordered to cruize every night on the lake, to intercept thesesupplies. This measure answered the purpose in some degree, butnot effectually, as some of the canoes escaped into the cityevery night. At this time the Mexicans laid a plan to surpriseour two cruizing brigantines. Having concealed thirty of theirlargest piraguas among some tall reeds on the borders of thelake, they sent several canoes, as if carrying provisions, todecoy our vessels into the snare, and even fixed a number oflarge wooden piles under water at the place to which our vesselswere to be inveigled. On the appearance of the decoy-canoes, ourtwo vessels made immediately towards them, the canoes rowing awaytowards the ambush followed by our brigantines. As soon as theyarrived at the place, the thirty piraguas immediately surroundedthem, and wounded every officer, soldier, and mariner on board,by their first flight of arrows. Our vessels could not move onaccount of the piles, and the enemy continued the assault withthe utmost vigour. One of the captains, named Portilla, wasslain, and Captain Pedro Barba, the commander of our crossbows,died of his wounds. This ambush completely succeeded, as the twobrigantines fell into the hands of the enemy. They belonged tothe principal division of our flotilla, which was commanded byCortes in person, who was much exasperated by the loss; but hesoon repayed the enemy in their own way. He constantly sent outsome vessels every night to scour the lake, and on one occasionthey brought in some prisoners of consequence, from whom helearnt that the enemy had formed another ambuscade of forty largepiraguas and as many canoes. He now laid a plan to turn theirschemes against themselves; for which purpose he sent six vesselsone night with muffled oars, to conceal themselves in a water-cutat the edge of the lake, covered with bushes and tall reeds,about a quarter of a league from the ambushment of the enemy. Asingle brigantine was then sent out early in the morning, as ifin search of the canoes which carried provisions to Mexico, andhaving the prisoners on board to point out the place where theenemies fleet lay concealed. The enemy sent as before some loadedcanoes to decoy the brigantine towards the ambush, and our vesselpursued them until near the place, where it lay-to, as if fearfulto approach. The Mexican fleet now sallied out upon them, and ourbrigantine rowed away towards the place where the six others wereconcealed, closely followed up by the enemy. When arrived nearenough, the brigantine fired two shots as a signal, on which theother vessels pushed out against the enemy, running down many oftheir vessels, dispersing all the rest, and making a great numberof prisoners. This sickened them at ambushments, and fromhenceforwards they did not attempt to cross the lake in theircanoes so openly.

Our three divisions of the land army continued to pursue theirplan for gradually advancing along the causeways. Always as wegained ground, we pulled down the houses on each side, filling upthe ditches or canals which intersected the causeways, andstrengthening our posts; in which, and in all the operations ofthe war, we were excellently seconded by our brave Tlascalanallies. On our attack, the Mexicans broke down one of the bridgesin the rear of their own barricades and parapets, leaving onenarrow passage at a place where the water was very deep as adecoy, and even dug trenches and pitfalls where the water wasmore shallow, placing pallisades in the deep water to prevent theapproach of our vessels, and constructing parapets on both sidesof the breach. They had also a number of canoes in readiness tosally out upon us on a concerted signal. When all thesepreparations were in readiness, they made a combined attack uponus in three several directions. One body advanced towards ourrear from the side of Tacuba, a second directly on our frontalong the causeway from the city, and the third by the ruins ofthe houses which we had destroyed. We repulsed the enemy on allsides; and one party of us, having forced them from the works atthe broken bridge, crossed the water up to our necks at the placethey had left open for us, and rashly pushed on to an open placewhere there were some large temples and towers. We were hereassailed on all sides by fresh troops from the houses andterraces, and those whom we pursued faced about and fought us infront. We now found it necessary to retreat, which we did withthe utmost order till we came to the pass at the broken bridge,which was occupied by the enemy in canoes; and as the otherspressed upon our rear, we were forced to throw ourselves into thelake and to get over any way we could. Those who could not swimgot entangled among the concealed ditches and pits in the shallowwater, where the enemy closed in upon us, wounding the wholeparty, and even taking five of our soldiers alive. The vesselswhich came to our relief were unable to approach, on account ofthe pallisades, and they lost two of their soldiers on thisoccasion. It was wonderful we were not all destroyed at thisdangerous pass. At one time I was laid hold of by a number of theenemy; but God gave me strength to disengage my arm, and with theassistance of my good sword, I extricated myself from theirgrasp. Though wounded, I escaped to the dry ground, where Ifainted and remained for some time insensible, owing to my greatexertions and the loss of blood. When the enemy had me in theirclutches, I recommended myself to the aid of God and his blessedMother, and they heard my prayer: Glory be to them for all theirmercies! From the time that we had cleared the flanks of our postby the destruction of the houses, Alvarado had brought a part ofhis cavalry thither; and one of them, who had crossed along withus at the broken bridge, lost both his horse and his own life.Fortunately all the rest were then with Alvarado in Tacuba; forif they had been with us they must have all been destroyed fromthe tops of the houses and temples, as the action took placealmost within the city of Mexico. The enemy was much elated bythe success of this day, and continued to assail our posts dayand night. Cortes was much displeased at the defeat we hadsustained, which he attributed to our having neglected hisorders; which were always to fill up the cuts in the causeway aswe advanced, by means of timber and rubbish.

In the space of four days, counting from our late defeat, wefilled up the great aperture at the broken bridge, andestablished our advanced post at this place, but lost six of oursoldiers in the course of this operation. The enemy established apost directly in front of us, which they secured by a ditch andparapet, so as to protect themselves from our shot. They made alarge fire in front of their post, by which they were concealedfrom our view, except when they had occasion to renew the fire,which was sometimes extinguished by the frequent heavy rainswhich prevailed at this season. They kept profound silence onguard, except when interrupted by loud whistling, which they usedas signals. Every morning we marched against the enemy, with whomwe fought during the whole day, and retreated to our post towardsevening, covered with wounds. Before retreating, we sent back ourallies, whose numbers embarrassed us in the narrow causeway, andthen fell back step by step, flanked by our armed brigantines,and firing on the enemy as they pressed upon us during theretreat.

About this time, the inhabitants of the cities on the lakegrew weary of the long protracted warfare, and sent deputationsto our general, offering to submit themselves to his authority,and declaring that they had been constrained by the Mexicans topersist hitherto in their hostilities against us. Cortes receivedthem very graciously, and assured them of his protection,providing that they should conduct themselves properly for thefuture, and give him their assistance by supplying canoes andprovisions to our army, and in the construction of barracks forthe troops. They readily promised all this, but performed verybadly. Cortes had huts built for his detachment[7]; but the restof us remained exposed to the weather, which was exceedinglysevere and distressing, as it rained almost incessantly duringJune, July, and August.

[7] Though not especially mentioned by Diaz, itappears that Cortes had taken the immediate command of thedetachment of De Oli, at Cojohuacan, which formed the southernattack.--E.

Our detachment on the causeway of Tacuba continued ourapproach towards Mexico, filling up every ditch and canal as weadvanced by means of the materials of the houses which wedestroyed; and we every day gained possession of temples orhouses, which stood apart from each other, and of the bridges bywhich they communicated. To avoid jealousy, our three companiestook the duties of working and fighting alternately, our alliesgiving most important assistance in pulling down the houses andfilling up the ditches and cross-cuts of the causeway. Everyevening the whole of our men stood to their arms, and we sent offour allies before us, before retreating to our post for thenight. During all this time, Sandoval, who carried on hisapproach from Tepejacac, was obliged to sustain continual attacksfrom the enemy; as likewise was Cortes, who now commanded at thethird attack.

On his side there was an out-post of the Mexicans, at a placewhere one of the apertures in the causeway was too deep to beforded, and which had been strongly fortified by the enemy. Hemade a successful attack on this place, where he commanded inperson, although the enemy made a brave resistance both by landand water; but he was obliged to retire at night without fillingup the ditch, and he lost four Spaniards killed, and had abovethirty wounded, the pass being commanded from the terraces ofseveral houses in the water, and his brigantines were unable toget forward to protect his flanks, owing to the piles which theenemy had fixed under water. Guatimotzin and his Mexicansdefended themselves with amazing bravery and resolution, trustingto wear us out and destroy us by continual assaults. On the 21stof June, the anniversary of the day of our first entry intoMexico, the enemy assailed us at every point of all our threeattacks, both by land and water, in front, flanks, and rear,about two hours before day. The number fit for duty at our poston the causeway of Tacuba was 120 men, and all the alliesattached to our detachment, were as usual off the causeway duringthe night. It was with the utmost difficulty that we were able toresist and repulse the enemy, of whom a great number were killedand wounded, losing two of our own soldiers. The enemy repeatedtheir assaults on all the posts for two other nightssuccessively; and on the third morning, just at day-break, theyconcentrated their whole force and made a desperate attack on ourpost. If our allies had been with us we should have been alllost. On this occasion our cavalry saved our rear, and ourbrigantines did signal service by clearing our flanks. After amost severe and long doubtful contest, we beat off the enemy andmade four of their chiefs prisoners, eight of our soldiers beingslain in this tough affair. I fear my readers may be tired ofthis constant repetition of battles, which my duty of historiancompels me to relate: But if I were to give an account of everyaction which took place during the ninety-three days in which wewere engaged in the siege of this great, strong, and populouscity, every day and night of which time brought a perpetualsuccession of battles and assaults, my work would be without end,and would more resemble Amadis de Gaul and other romances ofchivalry than a true history, which it really is.

Cortes became impatient of delay, and proposed in a council ofwar to make a general assault on the city, marching at once byall the three causeways, and uniting our whole force in the greatsquare, whence we could command all the streets leading to thatcentre of Mexico. Some of the members of the council objectedgreatly to this plan, giving the preference to our present systemof advancing gradually, filling up the ditches as we proceeded,and destroying the houses to make roads and defences of theirmaterials. They alleged that if we were to succeed in forcing ourway into the great square, we should in our turn be besieged inthe heart of the city, exactly as we had been before our flightfrom Mexico, and be involved in much greater difficulties thannow; as the enemy would be enabled to environ us with their wholeforce by land and water, and would cut off all possibility of ourretreat, by cutting through the causeways. But Cortes, afterhearing all these well founded reasons, still adhered to his ownplan, and issued orders for the whole army, including the allies,to attack the city next day, and to use our utmost efforts to getpossession of the great square. On the next morning therefore,having recommended ourselves to God in the solemn service of themass, all our three detachments marched to attack the posts ofthe enemy on their several fronts. In our attack commanded byAlvarado, most of the Spaniards were wounded at the first ditchand parapet of the enemy; one Spaniard was slain, and above athousand of our allies were killed or wounded. In the attackcommanded by Cortes in person, he carried every thing before himat first, and having driven the enemy from a post where the waterwas very deep and the causeway very narrow, he imprudently pushedon after the enemy followed by the Indian allies. The enemyinduced him by frequent halts and feigned resistance to continuethe pursuit, having even narrowed the causeway on purpose, andCortes negligently omitted to fill up the deep ditch which he hadpassed. When the enemy perceived that our general had fallen intothe snare which they had laid for him, they attacked him withfresh troops in front, while numerous canoes filled with warriorsissued out at an appointed signal and assailed him both on theflanks and rear, his brigantines being unable to approach for hisdefence by the pallisades under water. Retreat became nowindispensably necessary, which was at first conducted withperfect regularity; but when they came to the narrow part of thecauseway, which was all covered with mud and water, the retreatchanged to an absolute flight, our people flying from the enemywith their utmost speed, without even attempting to defendthemselves. Cortes used every effort to rally his men, but all invain, and was wounded in the leg at the narrow pass by some ofthe enemy from the canoes. At this pass, six of our horses werekilled, and seventy-two Spaniards were carried off alive. At thismoment six Mexican chiefs seized Cortes, but by the will of God,Christoval de Olea, that valiant soldier, and another brave mannamed Lerma flew to the rescue of our general. De Olea killedfour of the chiefs with his own hand, and gallantly lost his lifein defence of Cortes, while Lerma narrowly escaped. Other bravesoldiers arrived at this moment to his aid, among whom wasQuinones the captain of his guards. By these men he was liftedout of the water and hurried off from among a crowd of the enemy.At this critical moment, Guzman his majordomo, brought up a horseon which our wounded general was mounted. The enemy followed uptheir success with increasing ardour, Cortes and the shatteredremains of his troops, retreating to their quarters with theutmost difficulty, pursued to the last by the Mexicans.

After our first attack, in which we defeated the enemy anddrove them from their post, we were met by fresh bodies of theenemy, marching in great parade, bearing rich plumes of feathersand ornamented standards. On coming near, they threw down beforeus five bleeding heads, saying these were the heads of Cortes andhis officers, and that we should soon meet the same fate. Theythen marched up, and fought us hand to hand with the utmostvalour, insomuch that we were at length compelled to retreat. Asusual, we gave orders to our allies to clear the way, byretreating before us; but the sight of the bloody heads had donethis effectually, and not a man of them remained on the causewayto impede our flight. Our cavalry made several charges this day,but our great safety depended upon two guns which raked the wholecauseway, and were admirably managed by Pedro Morena, anexcellent officer, whose services this day were singularlyuseful, as the whole causeway was crowded by the enemy. Before wearrived at our quarters, and while pursued by the enemy, we heardthe shrill timbals and mournful sound of the great drum from thesummit of the temple of the god of war. The priests were thensacrificing the hearts of ten of our companions to their accursedidols, and the sound of their dismal drum, which might be heardat almost three leagues off, might be imagined to be the music ofthe infernal deities. Soon after this, the horn of Guatimotzinwas heard, giving notice to the Mexican officers either to makeprisoners of their enemies, or to die in the attempt. It isutterly impossible to describe the fury with which they assailedus on hearing this dreadful signal, though the remembrance isstill as lively as if now passing before me: I can only say, thatit was the good pleasure of God that we got back in safety to ourpost; praised be his mercy now and for ever. Amen! We wereignorant of the fate of our other detachments. Sandoval was morethan half a league from us, and Cortes still farther. Themelancholy sight of the heads of our countrymen, and the loss ofone of our brigantines in which three of our soldiers were slain,filled us with melancholy, and we almost thought that we hadreached the last hour of our lives. Our captured vessel wasafterwards recovered by Captain Xaramillo. In the action of thisday, Captain Caravajal, a most gallant officer, had the honour ofbeing the first who broke through the enemies pallisades with hisvessel: He now lives in La Puebla, and has been ever sinceentirely deaf, having lost his hearing this day by excessiveexertion.

Most of the soldiers in the detachment of Cortes were wounded,a good many slain, and a great number taken prisoners, so that onhis arrival in his quarters, where he was immediately attacked,his men were little able to defend themselves. To add to theirdistress, the enemy threw into their post four bleeding heads,saying they were those of Alvarado, Sandoval, and two otherofficers, in order to impress the soldiers of Cortes with thebelief that the two other detachments had been as roughly handledas their own. On beholding this horrid spectacle, Cortes wasseverely agitated, and his heart sunk within him; yet he kept upappearances, encouraging his men to stand to their arms anddefend their post against the enemy. He now sent Tapia with threeothers on horseback to our quarters, to ascertain our situation.They were attacked on their way by several bodies of the enemy,who had been sent out by Guatimotzin to obstruct ourcommunications; but they forced their way through, and found usengaged with the Mexicans.

On his side, Sandoval went on victoriously till the defeat ofCortes, when the enemy sent a powerful reinforcement against him,by whom he was very vigorously assailed; and in the first assaultthey killed two of his men and wounded all the rest, Sandovalhimself receiving three wounds, one of which was on the head. Asthey had done at the other posts, they threw down six bleedingheads, pretending they were the heads of Cortes and his principalofficers, and threatening Sandoval and his men with a similarfate. Sandoval was not to be intimidated, and encouraged his mento behave themselves bravely; yet, seeing no chance of ultimatesuccess, he brought his people back to their quarters, many ofthem being wounded, but having only two slain. After this, thoughseverely wounded himself, he left the command of his quarterswith Captain Luis Marin, and set out on horseback to have aninterview with Cortes. Like Tapia, he was frequently attacked bythe enemy on the road, yet made his way to Cortes, whom headdressed with condolence and astonishment, asking the occasionof his severe misfortune. Cortes laid the blame on Alderate, forneglecting to fill up the bad pass where the enemy threw his meninto confusion; but the treasurer denied the charge, saying thatCortes had not given any such orders, but hurried on his menafter the feigned retreat of the enemy. In fact Cortes was muchblamed for his rashness, and for not sending the allies soonenough out of his way. About this time, Cortes was agreeablysurprised by the arrival of two of his brigantines, which he hadgiven over for lost. Cortes requested Sandoval to visit ourquarters at Tacuba, being unable to go there himself, as he wasapprehensive the brunt of the attack might now fall upon ourpost. Sandoval arrived about the hour of vespers, when he foundus occupied in repelling the enemy, some of them having attackedus by the causeway, and others from the ruined houses. I andseveral other soldiers were at this time up to our middles in thewater, engaging the enemy in defence of a brigantine which hadrun aground, and of which the enemy were endeavouring to gainpossession. Just as Sandoval arrived, we got her afloat by agreat exertion, after the enemy had slain two of her crew andbadly wounded all the rest. The enemy continued their attack withthe utmost violence, and Sandoval received a blow on the facewith a stone. He called out to us to retreat; and as we did notfall back as fast as he wished, he repeated his orders, asking usif we wished to have all the cavalry destroyed. We then retreatedto our post, and though the two guns under Moreno frequentlyswept the causeway, the execution they made did not prevent theenemy from pursuing us to our works.

We remained for some time at our quarters comparatively atrest, recounting the events which had occurred at our post, andlistening to a relation of what had taken place at the twoothers. On a sudden, we were struck by the horrifying sound ofthe great drum, accompanied by the timbals, horns, and trumpetsof the temple of the god of war: And, shocking to tell! we coulddistinctly see our unfortunate companions who had been madeprisoners, driven by blows to the summit of the diabolicaltemple. On their arrival at the platform, we could see themiserable victims decorated for sacrifice, with plumes offeathers on their heads, and fans in their hands, when they wereforced to dance to the infernal music before the accursed idols.After this, we saw them stretched on their backs on the stone ofsacrifice, where their hearts were cut out alive, and presentedyet palpitating to the damnable gods of the enemy, and theirbodies drawn by the feet down the steps. "O merciful GOD ofHeaven," said we among ourselves, "suffer not that we too may besacrificed by these wretches!" My readers may conceive howpoignant were our reflexions at this horrible scene, moreespecially as we were utterly unable to afford the smallest aidto our poor friends, whom we saw thus butchered before our eyes.At this moment the enemy assailed our post in great force; but wemaintained it with determined resolution, and drove them backwith much loss. During this assault, they reviled us, saying thattheir gods had promised to deliver the whole of us into theirhands, and they threw over some of the mangled remains of thehorrible repast they had made on our countrymen, sending roundother portions among the neighbouring towns, as a bloody memorialof their victory over us. Sandoval and Tapia, on their return toCortes, reported the valiant manner in which we defended ourpost; and Sandoval mentioned me in particular with approbation,saying many handsome things of me, which it would be improper forme to repeat, though the facts were perfectly well known to allthe army.

Our new allies on the lake had suffered considerably from theresentment of the enemy, who had taken from them above half theircanoes: Yet some continued firm in their alliance with us, out ofhatred to the Mexicans; and others satisfied themselves withlooking on, without attempting to molest us. In consequence ofour recent losses, having lost near eighty men, killed andprisoners, and seven horses, and almost all the rest of us beingwounded, Cortes issued orders to cease from our attacks for fourdays. But the enemy continued their attacks daily, and evengained ground, making new ramparts and ditches. We had a deepditch and very defensible ramparts in front of our post; andduring this cessation from offensive operations, the whole of ourinfantry kept guard on the causeway every night, flanked by ourbrigantines, one half of our cavalry patroling in Tacuba, and theother half on the causeway to protect our rear. Every morning weprepared ourselves to resist the attacks of the enemy, whocontinued every day to sacrifice some of our miserablecompanions. During their daily and incessant attacks, theyreviled us, saying, that their gods had promised to permit themto destroy us all within eight days; yet that our flesh was toobitter to be eaten: And truly I believe that this wasmiraculously the case. The threats of the Mexicans, and theirdeclaration that their gods had promised to deliver us into theirhands in eight days, had such an effect upon our allies, combinedwith the bad appearance of our affairs, that they almost entirelydeserted from us about this time. The only one who remained withCortes, was Suchel, otherwise called Don Carlos, brother to ourally the prince of Tezcuco, with about forty followers. The chiefof Huexotzinco remained in the camp of Sandoval with about fiftyof his warriors; and the brave Chichimecatl, with the two sons ofDon Lorenzo de Vargas of Tlascala, and about eighty Tlascalans,continued with us in the quarters of Alvarado. When they wereasked the reason of the desertion of their countrymen, they said,that the Mexican gods had predicted our destruction, and theyounger Xicotencatl had foretold from the first we should all beput to death; they saw that many of us were killed and allwounded, and they had already had above twelve hundred of theirown number slain; And, considering us all devoted to inevitableruin, they had fled to avoid sharing our fate. Though Cortessecretly thought there was too much reason in what they alleged,he yet assumed a cheerful appearance of perfect security as tothe ultimate result of the enterprize, and used his utmostendeavours to reassure our remaining friends, turning the hopesand predictions of the Mexicans and the promises of their falsegods into ridicule, and had the good fortune to persuade our fewremaining friends to abide with us. The Indian Don Carlos, orSuchel of Tezcuco, who was a brave warrior and a wise man,strongly represented to our general that he had hitherto acted ona most erroneous plan, especially considering the relativesituations of us and the enemy. "If you cut off their means ofprocuring water and provisions," he observed, "how is it possiblethat the many xiquipils[8] of warriors can subsist? Theirprovisions must be at last expended: The water of their wells issalt and unwholesome, and their only resource is from the presentrainy season. Combat them, therefore, by means of hunger andthirst, and do not throw away your own force by unnecessaryviolence." Cortes embraced Suchel, thanking him for his salutaryadvice; which indeed had already more than once occurred toourselves, but we were too impatient to act with so muchprudence. Our general began therefore to act upon this newsystem, so judiciously recommended by our friend of Tezcuco, andsent orders to all the detachments to confine themselves entirelyto the defensive for the next three days. As the canoes of theenemy were numerous, our brigantines never ventured singly on thelake; and as they had now found out the way to break through thepallisades of the enemy, by using both sails and oars whenfavoured by the wind, we became absolute masters of the lake, andwere able to command all the insulated houses at any distancefrom the city; and as the brigantines could now break through thepallisades of the enemy, they could always secure our flanks,while we were engaged in filling up the ditches in our front,which we did effectually in a very few days, Cortes evenassisting in person to carry beams and earth for thatpurpose.

[8] On some former occasions the xiquipil has beenalready explained as denoting eight thousandmen.--E.

Every night of this period during which we remained on thedefensive, the enemy continued their infernal ceremonies,sacrificing some of our unfortunate companions, which we coulddistinctly see as their temple was brightly illuminated; theaccursed drum continually stunned our ears, and the shrieks andyells of the multitudes who surrounded the temple were at timesperfectly diabolical. Christoval de Guzman was the last executed,who remained eighteen days in their hands. We learned everyminute circ*mstance respecting these horrible sacrifices from ourprisoners, who told us, that after each successive sacrifice,their war god renewed his promise of delivering us all into theirpower. Sometimes, even during this period, the enemy employedsome of our own crossbows against us, obliging our unfortunatecompanions who were in their custody to shoot them off; but ourpost was protected by the excellent management of the two guns byMorena, and we every day advanced, gaining possession of a bridgeor a parapet. Our brigantines also were of infinite service, asthey were continually intercepting the canoes which carried waterand provisions to the enemy, and those which were employed inprocuring a certain nutritive substance from the bottom of thelake, which, when dry, resembles cheese. Twelve or thirteen dayshad now elapsed after the time when the Mexican priest hadpredicted we had only eight days to live. Our allies, therefore,recovered their courage when they saw the fallacy of theprediction, and at the requisition of our steady friend Suchel,two thousand warriors of Tezcuco returned to our quarters, withwhom came Pedro Farfan and Antonio Villareal, who had been leftby Cortes at that city. About the same time, many bodies ofwarriors returned to us from Tlascala and other places in ouralliance. After their return, Cortes called the chiefs together,to whom he made a speech; partly reprimanding them for havingabandoned us, and partly encouraging their future fidelity byconfident hopes of victory, and promises of reward, and concludedby earnestly admonishing them not to put any of their Mexicanprisoners to death, as he wished to negociate peace withGuatimotzin.

Though the heavy rains which fell at this season were bothincommodious and distressing to us, they operated in our favour,as the enemy always relaxed their efforts against us during theircontinuance. By slow but steady perseverance, we had nowconsiderably advanced into the city at all the three attacks, andhad even reached the wells of brackish water which the enemy haddug, and which we now destroyed. Our cavalry could now act freelythrough the whole space which we had gained, as we had carefullylevelled the causeway behind us, destroying all the houses oneach side from which we could be annoyed, and carefully fortifiedour several fronts. Cortes deemed the present conjuncturefavourable for offering peace to the Mexicans, and proposed tothree of our principal prisoners to carry a message toGuatimotzin to that effect; but they declined the commission,alleging that he would put them to death. They were at lengthprevailed upon to comply, and were instructed to represent toGuatimotzin in the name of Cortes: "That from respect to thefamily of the great Montezuma, and that he might prevent thedestruction of the capital and the loss of so many lives, he waswilling to enter into a treaty of peace and amity; desiringGuatimotzin to reflect that he and his people were now cut offfrom all supplies of water and provisions; and that all thenations who had formerly been the vassals of Mexico, were now inalliance with the Spaniards." A great deal more was added, to thesame effect, all of which was perfectly understood by themessengers. Before they went into the city, they required aletter from Cortes, to serve them as a token of credence; withwhich they waited on their sovereign, weeping and lamentingthemselves bitterly, as they knew the danger to which they wereexposed. At first, Guatimotzin and his principal chiefs werefilled with rage and indignation at the proposal; but he at lastconsented to call a council of all the princes, chiefs, andprincipal priests of the city, before whom he laid the message ofCortes, and even expressed his own inclination to come into termsof peace, considering the inefficacy of their resistance, thedesertion of their allies, and the miseries to which the peoplewere reduced. The priests obstinately opposed every idea ofpeace. They represented the hostile conduct of the Spaniards totheir nation ever since they first came into the country; theirprofanation of the temples and idols of their gods; theirinjurious treatment of the great Montezuma, and of all the otherprinces who had fallen under their power; the death of the twosons of Montezuma, the seizure of the royal treasures, and thedestruction of the city. They reminded Guatimotzin of his ownmartial fame, which would be sullied and disgraced by submission;insisting, that all the offers of Cortes were only insidiouslymeant to enslave and circumvent; and concluded by repeating theassurances of victory which they had received from their gods.Guatimotzin yielded to these arguments, and declared hisresolution to fight to the last: He gave orders, therefore, tohusband their provisions with the utmost frugality, to use theirutmost endeavours to procure supplies under night, and to sinknew wells in various parts of the city. Our army had remained twodays quietly in their posts, waiting an answer to our pacificmessage. On the third, we were furiously assailed on all pointsby large bodies of the enemy, who rushed upon us like lions,closing up as if utterly regardless of their lives, and usingtheir utmost efforts to make us prisoners; all the while, thehorn of Guatimotzin being continually sounded, to inspire themwith fury. For seven days we were thus continually assailed:After watching all night, we had to go into action every morningat day-break; and having fought the whole day, we retired in theevening to a miserable regale of maize calces, with tunasor Indian figs, herbs, and agi or pepper. Our recentpacific offer was employed as a subject of contempt, for whichthey reproached us as cowards; saying that peace belonged only towomen, arms and war to brave men.

It has been already mentioned, that the horrible fragments ofour wretched companions had been sent round the provinces of theMexican empire, to encourage them to rise in support of thesovereign and his capital. In consequence of this, a great forceassembled from Matlatzinco, Malinalco, and other places abouteight leagues from Mexico, which was intended for an attack onour rear, while the Mexicans should attack us in front. On theassemblage of this force, they committed horrible ravages on thecountry in our rear, seizing numbers of children in order tosacrifice them to their idols. To disperse this hostileassemblage, Andres de Tapia was detached with twenty cavalry andan hundred infantry, and effectually executed his commission,driving the enemy back to their own country with great loss. Soonafter his return, Cortes sent Sandoval with a detachment to theassistance of the country around Quauhnahuac, or Cuernabaca. Muchmight be said of this expedition, were I to enter into a detail:but it may suffice, that it was more like a peaceable triumphthan a warlike expedition, yet proved of most excellent serviceto us, as Sandoval returned accompanied by two chiefs of thenation against which he was sent[9]. Cortes, after thesesuccesses, sent a second message to Guatimotzin, reminding him ofthe distresses to which his people were reduced, and expressinggreat anxiety to save the city of Mexico from destruction, whichcould only be done by immediate submission; and to convince himthat all hopes of assistance from his former allies were now atan end, he sent this message by the two chiefs who hadaccompanied Sandoval. Guatimotzin refused any answer, but sentback the chiefs unhurt. The enemy continued their daily assaultsupon the advanced works of our several attacks, increasing evenin their fury if possible, and exultingly exclaiming, Tenitotzre de Castila? Tenitotz axa a! "What says the king ofCastile? What does he now?"

[9] Clavigero, II. 180, supplies the brevity used byDiaz on this occasion. He says that the chiefs of the districtsof Matlatzinco, Malinalco, and Cohuixco came to Cortes andentered into a confederacy with him against Mexico; by whichmeans, added to his former alliances, he was now able to haveemployed "more warriors against Mexico than Xerxes did againstGreece." Clavigero everywhere deals in monstrous exaggeration,while Diaz is uniformly modest, and within due bounds ofcredibility. Even in the few miracles of which Diaz makesmention, his credulity is modestly guarded by devout fear of theholy office.--E.

We still continued to advance towards the centre of Mexico,regularly destroying the houses on both sides of us, andcarefully fortifying our advanced post; and we now perceived aconsiderable relaxation in the efforts of the enemy, who were notso eager as formerly to open up the ditches; yet they continuedto attack us with the utmost fury, as if courting death. But wetoo had now serious cause of alarm, as our gunpowder was almostentirely expended. At this critical moment, and most fortunatelyfor us, a vessel arrived at Villa Rica with soldiers and ordnancestores, all of which, together with the men, were immediatelysent to Cortes by Rangel, who commanded at Villa Rica. Thisvessel belonged to an armament which had been fitted out by LucasVasquez de Aillon, and which had been destroyed or dispersed nearFlorida. On the arrival of this reinforcement, Cortes and all thearmy determined to make a grand push for the great square in thatpart of the city called Tlaltelolco, as it would become anexcellent place of arms, on account of some principal temples andother strong buildings which were there situated. For thispurpose, each of our divisions continued their daily efforts toadvance in our usual cautious manner. Cortes got possession of asmall square in which were some temples, on the beams of whichmany of the heads of our sacrificed companions were placed, theirhair and beards being much grown. I could not have believed this,if I had not myself seen them three days afterwards, when ourparty had worked their way to the same place, after having filledup three canals. In twelve days afterwards, they were allreverently buried by us in that place where the Church of theMartyrs is now built.

Our detachment under Alvarado continued to advance, and atlast forced the enemy from the barricades they had thrown up todefend the great square, which cost us two hours hard fighting.Our cavalry was now of most essential service in the large spacewhich was now laid open, and drove the enemy before them into thetemple of the god of war, which stood in the middle of the greatsquare. Alvarado determined to gain possession of the temple; forwhich purpose he divided his forces into three bodies, one ofwhich, commanded by Guttierrez de Badajoz, he ordered to gainpossession of the temple, while with the other two he occupiedthe attention of the enemy below. A large force of the enemy,headed by the priests, occupied the platform of the temple, withall its idol sanctuaries and galleries, and repulsed the troopsof Guttierrez, driving them down the steps. The body to which Ibelonged was now ordered by Alvarado to their support. Weadvanced boldly to the assault, and having ascended to theplatform, we drove the enemy from the post, of which we tookpossession, setting fire to their abominable idols, and plantingour standard in triumph on the summit of the temple. The view ofthis signal of victory greatly rejoiced Cortes, who would fainhave joined us; but he was still a quarter of a league from theplace, and had many ditches to fill as he advanced. In four daysmore, both he and Sandoval had worked their way up to the greatsquare of Tlaltelolco, where they joined us, and thuscommunications from all our three attacks were opened up to thecentre of Mexico.

Our attack on the temple was truly perilous, considering thenumber of the enemy, the height and difficulty of the ascent, andthe fury with which they continued to fight against us, evenafter we had attained the platform and set their idols on fire,and it was night before we could compel them to abandon thesummit. The royal palaces were now levelled with the ground, andGuatimotzin had retired with his troops to a more distant quarterof the city towards the lake[10]. Still, however, the enemyattacked us every day, and at night pursued us into our quarters;and though apparently reduced to the last extremity, they made nooffer towards peace. Cortes now laid a plan for drawing the enemyinto an ambush: For this purpose, he one night placed 30 of ourcavalry, with 100 of our best foot soldiers, and 1000 Tlascalans,in some large houses which had belonged to a principal noblemanof Mexico. Next morning he went in person with the rest of ourarmy to attack a post at a bridge, which was defended by a largeforce of the Mexicans. After continuing the assault for sometime, Cortes slowly retreated with his men, drawing the enemyafter him by the buildings in which the ambush lay concealed.When he had led them to a sufficient distance, he gave theconcerted signal, by firing two guns in quick succession. Weimmediately sallied out, and having thus enclosed the enemybetween us, we made a terrible havoc among them, and from thattime they never ventured to annoy us on our nightly retreat.Another trap was laid for the enemy by Alvarado, which had notthe same success; but as I was now doing duty with the divisionwhich Cortes commanded in person, I was not present, and cannot,therefore recount the particulars. Hitherto we had continued toretreat every night to the posts we had established on thecauseways, which were at least half a league from the greattemple; but we now quitted these posts, and formed a lodgment forthe whole army in the great square of Tlaltelolco, where weremained for three days without doing any thing worth notice, asCortes wished to abstain from destroying any more of the city, inhopes of prevailing on Guatimotzin to accept of peace. He sent,therefore, a message, requesting him to surrender, giving him thestrongest assurances that he should continue to enjoy thesovereignty, and should be treated with every honourabledistinction; and he accompanied this message with a considerablepresent of provisions, such as fowls, game, bread, and fruit.Guatimotzin pretended to be inclined towards a pacification, andeven sent four of his principal nobles to propose an interviewbetween him and our general. But this, was a mere stratagem togain time for strengthening his fortifications, and makingpreparations to attack us; as from the example of what hadbefallen his uncle Montezuma, and the suggestions of hisadvisers, he was afraid to trust himself in our hands. The maskwas soon thrown off, and the enemy attacked us with such extremeviolence, and having taken us in some measure by surprise, thatthey had some success at first, killing one of our soldiers andtwo horses; but in the end we drove them back with considerableloss.

[10] The whole western division of Mexico calledTlaltelolco was now in possession of the Spaniards, and probablydestroyed by them to secure their communications; and themiserable remnant of the brave Mexicans had retired into theeastern division, named Tenochtitlan.--E.

Cortes now ordered us to proceed on our former system, ofadvancing daily against that part of the city which was occupiedby Guatimotzin, filling up the ditches and destroying the housesas we proceeded; and we accordingly gained ground as formerly.Guatimotzin, on seeing this, made another offer of an interviewwith our general, proposing the conference might take placeacross a large canal. To this Cortes readily assented, and wentaccordingly to the appointed place, but Guatimotzin neverappeared; instead of which he sent some of his principal nobles,who said the king was apprehensive of being shot during theconference. Cortes engaged by the most solemn oaths that noinjury should be offered, but all to no purpose. At this time twoof these nobles played a most ridiculous farce: They took outfrom a sack a fowl, some bread, and a quantity of cherries, whichthey began to eat deliberately, as if to impress us with thebelief that they had abundance of provisions. When Cortes foundthat the proposed conference was only a pretext to gain time, hesent a message of defiance to Guatimotzin and retired. For fourdays after this, we were not attacked by the enemy; but numbersof famished Mexicans used to surround our quarters every night.Cortes pitied their wretched situation, and ordered us to refrainfrom hostilities, always hoping that the enemy would offer termsof accommodation. One of our soldiers, named Sotela, who hadserved in Italy, was always boasting of the great battles he hadseen, and of the wonderful military engines which he was able toconstruct, and particularly that he could make a machine forthrowing stones, by which he would destroy the whole of that partof the city which Guatimotzin occupied, in a very few days.Cortes was at last induced to listen to him, and all kinds ofmaterials were brought for him to construct his engine. Stone andlime was procured; the carpenters were set to work to preparetimber; two strong cables were made; and a number of large stoneswere brought, which the machine was to project. When all wasready, a stone was placed in the engine, and it was played offa*gainst the quarters of Guatimotzin. But instead of taking thatdirection, the stone flew up vertically into the air, andreturned exactly to the place whence it was launched. Cortes wasangry and ashamed at the result, and ordered the machine to bedestroyed, reproaching the soldier for his ignorantpresumption.

Sandoval was now sent with the command of the flotilla, to actagainst that division of the city in which Guatimotzin still heldout. He was ordered to spare the Mexicans as much as possible,but to destroy all the houses and advanced works which the enemypossessed in the lake. On this occasion, Cortes ascended to thehigh platform of the great temple, attended by many of hisofficers and soldiers, to observe the movements of the fleet.Guatimotzin, on observing the approach of Sandoval, became veryapprehensive of being made prisoner, and determined to attemptmaking his escape. For this purpose he had already fifty largepiraguas in readiness, on board of which he embarked with hisfamily, principal officers and courtiers, and all their mostvaluable effects, and endeavoured to escape by the lake to themain land; all the piraguas taking different directions, in orderto distract the pursuit of the brigantines. At this time Sandovalwas occupied in tearing down some houses, that he might clear hisway towards the quarters of Guatimotzin, of whose flight he gotimmediate notice. He set out therefore immediately in pursuit,giving strict orders to all the captains of his brigantines tooffer no injury or insult to the royal fugitive; but to keep awatchful eye on that vessel in which Guatimotzin was supposed tohave embarked, using every effort to take it, and paying noattention to the rest. In particular, he directed Garcia Holguin,who commanded the swiftest sailing vessel of the fleet, to makefor that part of the shore to which it was supposed Guatimotzinwas most likely to go. Holguin accordingly fell in with severalpiraguas, one of which, from the superior appearance of itsstructure and awning, he supposed to be that which carried theking. He called out to the people on board to bring to, butwithout effect, and then ordered his musketeers and cross-bows topresent. On seeing this, Guatimotzin called out to them not toshoot, acknowledging who he was, and declared his readiness tosubmit, requesting to be taken immediately to the general, andentreating that his queen, children, and attendants might not beill treated. Holguin received him and his queen with the utmostrespect, placing them and twenty of the nobles who attended themon the poop of his vessel, setting such refreshments before themas he had in his power, and ordered the piraguas which carriedthe royal effects to follow untouched. At this time, perceivingthat Holguin had made Guatimotzin prisoner, and was carrying himto Cortes, Sandoval made a signal for all the brigantines toclose up with him, and ordered his rowers to exert every effortto bring him up with Holguin. On getting alongside, Sandovaldemanded Guatimotzin to be delivered up to him, as commander ofthe naval force, but Holguin refused, and many high words passedbetween them. One of the vessels was sent to inform Cortes of thegreat event which had taken place, and by the same means helearnt the dispute which had occurred between Sandoval andHolguin. He immediately sent the Captains Marin and De Lugo withorders to bring the whole party to his quarters on the summit ofthe great temple, ordering them to treat Guatimotzin and hisqueen with the highest respect. In the meantime, he ordered astate canopy to be arranged as well as he could, with cloths andmantles, to receive his prisoners, and a table to be spread withsuch refreshments as could be procured.

On the approach of the prisoners, Cortes went forward to meetthe king, whom he embraced with much respect, and shewed allpossible attention to his followers. The unfortunate monarchsinking under his affliction, addressed Cortes as follows, withhis eyes full of tears: "Malinatzin! I have done everything in my power to defend my kingdom and people, but all myefforts have been in vain, and I am now your prisoner; I requestof you, therefore, to draw your dagger and stab me to the heart."Cortes used his best endeavours to console him, assuring him ofhis high esteem for the valour and firmness he had exerted, thathe should continue to reign as formerly, and that he had onlyrequired his submission when all reasonable hope of defence wasgone, in order to avoid the utter destruction of his capital andpeople. Cortes then inquired after the queen, and was told thatshe and her female attendants remained in the piragua till theirfate was decided. He then ordered them to be sent for, andtreated them with all respect. As the evening drew on, and itthreatened to rain, the whole royal family was sent toCojohuacan, under the care of Sandoval, and a sufficient escort.Guatimotzin was about twenty-three or twenty-four years of age,of a noble appearance, both in person and countenance, havinglarge and cheerful features, with lively eyes, and his complexionwas very fair for an Indian. His queen, who was the niece[11] ofMontezuma, was young and very handsome.

[11] According to the genealogy of the Mexican kingsin Clavigero, I. 240, this princess, whose name wasTecuichpotzin, was queen successively to her uncle Cuitlahuatzin,and her cousin Guatimotzin. After the conquest, she became aChristian, by the name of Donna Elizabeta Montezuma, marryingthree noble Spaniards in succession; and from her descended thetwo noble families of Cano Montezuma, and Andrea Montezuma.Montezuma left likewise a son, Don Pedro JohualicahuatxinMontezuma, whose male descendants failed in a great-grandson; butthere are several noble families both in Spain and Mexicodescended from that sovereign of Mexico in the femaleline.--E.

The whole army was now ordered to withdraw from the greattemple of Tlaltelolco, and to return to their originalhead-quarters. Cortes proceeded to Cojohuacan, where he took thecommand in person, sending Sandoval to resume his station atTepejacac, and our division, under Alvarado, retired to Tacuba.Thus was the important seige of Mexico brought to a successfulconclusion, by the capture of Guatimotzin and his family at thehour of vespers, on the day of St Hypolitus, 13th of August 1521.Glorified be our Lord Jesus Christ, and his Holy Virgin Mother,Amen!

In the night after the capture of Guatimotzin, about midnight,there was the greatest tempest of thunder, lightning, and rain Iever witnessed. But all the soldiers were as deaf as if they hadbeen an hour in a belfrey, and all the bells ringing about theirears. This proceeded from the continual noise they had beenaccustomed to from the enemy during the ninety-threedays[12] of this memorable siege: Some bringing on theirtroops to attack us on the causeways, with loud shouts, andshrill whistling; others in canoes assailing our flanks; some atwork on the pallisades, water courses, and stone parapets, orpreparing their magazines of arms, and the shrieks and yells ofthe women, who supplied the warriors with stones, darts, andarrows; the infernal noise of their timbals, horns, and trumpets,and the dismal drum, and other shocking noises, perpetuallysounding in our ears: All of which immediately ceased on thecapture of Guatimotzin. In consequence of the dispute betweenSandoval and Holguin threatening unpleasant consequences, Cortesrelated to them from the Roman history the dispute between Mariusand Sylla, about the capture of Iugurtha, which was ultimatelyproductive of very fatal civil wars. He assured them that thewhole affair should be represented to the emperor Don Carlos, bywhose arbitration it should be decided. But in two years after,the emperor authorised Cortes to bear in his arms the seven kingswhom he had subdued, Montezuma, Guatimotzin, and the princes ofTezcuco, Cojohuacan, Iztapalapa, Tacuba, and Matlatzinco.

[12] We have formerly said, on the authority ofClavigero, that the siege of Mexico commenced on the 30th of May,and as it ended on the 13th of August, the siege, by this mode ofreckoning, could only have lasted 76 days. It is highly probable,therefore, that the commencement of the siege must have been onthe 13th of May, and the 30th of Clavigero may only be an errorof the press.--E.

It is absolutely truth, to which I swear amen! that allthe lake, the houses, and the courts were filled with deadbodies, so that I know not how to describe the miserablespectacle. All the streets, squares, courts, and houses ofTlaltelolco, were so covered by them, that we could not take asingle step without treading on or between the bodies of deadIndians. The lake and the canals were full of them, and thestench was intolerable. It was for this reason that our troopsretired from the city immediately after the capture ofGuatimotzin: Cortes was himself ill for some time, owing to thedreadful effluvia arising from the putrifying bodies. I have readthe history of the destruction of Jerusalem, but I cannotconceive that the mortality even there exceeded what I waswitness to in Mexico; as all the warriors from the most distantprovinces of that populous empire were concentrated there, andalmost the whole garrison was cut off in their almost perpetualencounters with us, or perished of famine.

Our vessels were now in the best situation for service; asthose on board had ready access to the houses in the water, whichwere beyond our reach, whence they carried away all the best ofthe plunder. Their crews also discovered a great many valuablearticles which the Mexicans had concealed among the tall reeds onthe borders of the lake, and they intercepted a great deal thatthe inhabitants of the city endeavoured to carry away in theircanoes; all of which was beyond our reach: Indeed the wealthwhich our mariners procured at this time was quite incalculable,as Guatimotzin and all his chiefs declared that far the greaterpart of the public treasure fell into their hands.

Soon after the capture of Guatimotzin, it was ordered on hissuggestion, that all the remaining inhabitants of Mexico shouldremove to the neighbouring towns, in order to have the the citycleared of the dead bodies, to restore its salubrity. Inconsequence of this order, all the causeways were full for threedays and nights, of weak, sickly, and squalid wretches, men,women, and children, covered with filth, worn out by famine anddisease, so that the sight was shocking in the extreme. When allwere gone who had been able to get away, we went to examine thesituation of the city, which was as I have already described, ina most miserable state. All the streets, courts, and houses werecovered with dead bodies, among whom some miserable wretches werecrawling about in the different stages of the most offensivediseases, occasioned by famine, the most unnatural food, and thepestilential smell of the corrupting carcases. Even the treeswere stripped of their bark, and the ground had been everywheredug up in search of any kind of roots it might be able to afford.Not a drop of water could be any where procured; and though itwas the constant practice of all these nations to feast on theprisoners they took in war, not one instance occurred, in themidst of their extreme distress, of their having preyed on eachother: and certainly there never existed in the history of thisworld any instance of a people who suffered so severely fromhunger, thirst, and warfare. I must here observe, that in all ourcombats, the Mexicans seemed much more anxious to carry oursoldiers away alive, that they might be sacrificed to their gods,than to kill them.

After a solemn service of thanks to God for our victory,Cortes determined upon giving a feast in Cojohuacan to celebrateour triumph, as a vessel had arrived at Villa Rica with abundanceof hogs, and a cargo of wine. He invited all his officers, andall the soldiers of particular estimation to this entertainment,and we all accordingly waited upon him at the time appointed.When we came to sit down to dinner, there were not tables andcovers prepared for more than half of us, so that the companyfell into sad confusion. The wine occasioned many to commitfollies and other worse things. Some leapt over the tables, whowere afterwards unable to get out at the doors, and many rolleddown the steps, who could not walk home to their quarters. Theprivate soldiers, in high expectations of immense plunder,declared they would buy horses with gold trappings, and thecrossbow-men swore they would henceforth use only golden arrows.When the tables were removed, the soldiers danced in theirarmour, with the few ladies who were present; but thedisproportion was very great, and the scene became trulyludicrous. Father Olmedo became quite scandalized at the conductof the visitors at the feast, and was so disgusted at what wasgoing on during the dances, that he complained to Sandoval, whor*ported to Cortes that the good Father was grumbling andscolding out of all measure. Our general, always prudent in hisproceedings, came up to Olmedo, affecting to disapprove of theindecent conduct of his guests, and requested of him to order asolemn mass and thanksgiving, and to give the soldiers a sermonon their religious and moral duties. The good father was quitedelighted at this proposal; and accordingly the crucifixes andthe image of the blessed Virgin were carried in solemnprocession, amid our drums and military ensigns; Olmedo chantedthe litany and administered the sacrament, and we all gave thanksto God for our victory.

Cortes now dismissed the Tlascalan chiefs and our otherallies, who had rendered most important services during our longprotracted warfare, making them many compliments and greatpromises, that he would make them all rich and great lords, withextensive territories and numerous vassals, so that they alldeparted in high spirits: But they had secured something moresubstantial than empty promises, as they were all well laden withthe plunder of Mexico. Neither were they behind our enemies intheir cannibal feasts, of which they had reserved some portionsto give to their friends on their return.

Now that I have concluded the narrative of so many furious andbloody engagements, through which the Almighty has been pleasedto protect me, I must confess, that the sight of so many of mycompanions sacrificed alive to the war-god of the Mexicans,inspired me with fear. This may appear to some as an indicationof want of courage, yet in that time I considered myself, and waslooked upon by all as a valiant soldier, and was never exceededby any in bold achievements. But when I saw the palpitatinghearts of my companions taken out alive, and their legs and armscut off to be served up in the barbarous feasts of our cannibalenemies, I feared it might one day be my own lot; and in fact theenemy had me twice in their hands, but by the blessing of God Iescaped from their savage grasp. Yet I ever afterwards rememberedthe dreadful scene which I had witnessed, and on going to battlewas much depressed and uneasy, fearing to be doomed to that crueldeath. Yet I always recommended myself to God and his blessedMother, and the moment I was engaged with the enemy all fear leftme. Let those valiant cavaliers who have been in desperatebattles and mortal dangers decide on the cause of my fears, for Ideclare I never knew what fear was till I saw the savageimmolation of my seventy-two companions: In my own opinion it wasfrom excessive courage, as I was fully aware of the extent ofdanger which I was voluntarily about to encounter. I have relatedmany engagements in this history, at which I was not present; foreven if my body had been of iron I could not have been present atall, and I was much oftener wounded than whole.

SECTION XIV.

Occurrences in New Spain immediately subsequent to thereduction of Mexico.

As soon as Cortes had leisure to think of objects of internalregulation, he gave orders to have the aqueduct restored by whichthe city of Mexico was supplied with water, and to have the citycleared of the dead bodies and repaired, so that it might beagain habitable within two months. The palaces and houses wereordered to be rebuilt, and a certain portion of the city wasallotted for the natives, while another part was reserved for theresidence of the Spaniards. Guatimotzin made application to ourgeneral, in the name of many of his principal nobles, requestingthat all their women of rank who had been taken by our soldiers,might be restored to their husbands and fathers. This was amatter of considerable difficulty; yet the general allowed asearch to be made, with an assurance that all should be deliveredup who were inclined to return. Every house was accordinglysearched; and though many were found, three only of the wholenumber were inclined to return to their families; all the restexpressed their abhorrence at the idolatry of their countrymen,besides which, many of them declared that they were pregnant, andrefused to quit the soldiers to whom they were attached.

One of the first public works undertaken in Mexico was anarsenal for the reception of our flotilla which had been of suchsignal service during the siege. To the best of my remembrance,Alvarado was appointed alcalde, or chief magistrate, till thearrival of Salazar de la Pedrada. It was currently reported thatGuatimotzin had thrown great quantities of gold, silver, andjewels, into the lake four days before his capture, and it waswell known that our allies had got large plunder as well as ourown men who served in the brigantines, and many of us suspectedthat Cortes was well pleased that Guatimotzin had concealed muchtreasure, as he expected to procure the whole for himself. It wasthen proposed in the army, that Guatimotzin and the prince ofTacuba, his most confidential counsellor, should be put to thetorture, to extort confession of where the treasure was secreted;this horrid act was certainly greatly against the inclination ofCortes, yet he was forced to leave the unfortunate king and thelord of Tacuba at the disposal of those avaricious wretches, whoalleged that our general objected to this infernal measure thathe might secure the gold for himself. In answer to allinterrogatories on the subject of the treasure, the royal Mexicanofficers uniformly protested that no more existed than what hadbeen produced; which, when melted, did not exceed the value of380,000 crowns; so that, when the royal fifth and that for Corteswere deducted, those of the conquerors who were not friends toCortes were exceedingly dissatisfied. All that could be extortedby the inhuman procedure of torture from the king and prince was,that they had thrown some treasure into the lake, together withthe muskets and other arms captured during our flight from Mexicoin the preceding year, four days before the surrender. The placeindicated was repeatedly searched to no purpose by our bestdivers; but a sun of solid gold, similar to one we got fromMontezuma, with many ornaments of small value, were found in adeep pond near his residence. The prince of Tacuba declared underthe torture that he had buried some gold at a place about fourleagues from Tacuba; but when Alvarado and six soldiersaccompanied him there, of whom I was one, he declared he had nogold, and had only said so in hope of dying on the road. In factthe treasury was reduced very low before the accession ofGuatimotzin. I and several other good divers searched that partof the lake which had been indicated by Guatimotzin, but we foundonly some small pieces of gold, which were immediately claimed byCortes and Alederete the treasurer; who likewise sent down otherpersons in their own presence, but all they got did not reach thevalue of ninety crowns. We were all miserably disappointed tofind our shares so small; insomuch that Olmedo and all thecaptains proposed to Cortes to divide the whole which belonged tothe army among the wounded, the lame, the blind, and the sick,all who were sound renouncing their claims. We were all curiousto know what our shares amounted to, and it at length appearedthat the share of a horseman was only an hundred crowns. I forgethow much belonged to a foot soldier; but it was so small thatnone of us would accept the paltry sum, more especially thesoldiers of Narvaez, who never liked Cortes.

Many of our soldiers had incurred heavy debts. A crossbow costfifty crowns, a musket a hundred, a horse eight hundred or athousand, and every thing else in proportion. Our surgeon, masterJuan, and Doctor Murcia our apothecary and barber, charged veryhigh, and there were various other sources of debt, all to besatisfied from our miserable dividends. These required to beregulated; and accordingly Cortes appointed two respectablepersons, Santa Clara and Lerena, to arbitrate all claims, whichwere ordered to be cleared off within two years according totheir award. The value also of the gold was debased, to serve usin our dealings with the merchants from Spain and Cuba; but ithad the opposite effect, as they charged more than double thedifference on their goods. On these abuses being known at court,our emperor was pleased to prohibit the farther currency of thisbase metal, ordering it to be all received in payment of certainduties, and no more of it to be made; and as two goldsmiths weredetected for putting off base metal with the legal mark of good,they were hanged for the fraud.

As the best way to rid himself of troublesome demands, Cortesresolved to send off colonies to make settlements at convenientsituations. Sandoval was sent for this purpose to occupyCoatzacualco and Tzapotecapan, the south-eastern provinces of theMexican empire. Juan Velasquez to Colima, and Villa Fuerte toZacatollan, the most westerly provinces on the south sea.Christoval de Oli to take possession of the kingdom of Michuacan,and Francisca de Orozco to Guaxaca or Oaxaco. The native chiefsof the distant provinces could hardly be brought to believe thatMexico was destroyed, and sent deputations to ascertain the truthof the report, bearing large presents of gold to Cortes, andsubmitting themselves as vassals to our emperor. Many came inperson to Mexico, and even brought their children to see thefallen condition of that great power which they had once held insuch awe and terror, expressing themselves in their own language,as who should say, Here stood Troy. My readers may becurious to know how we, the conquerors of Mexico, afterencountering so many fatigues and dangers to gain possession ofthat city, should now so readily abandon it in search of newsettlements. To this I answer: The books containing the record ofthe Mexican revenues were examined to find whence Montezmna hadobtained the valuable articles of tribute, such as gold, cocoa,and cotton, and we all wished to remove to these productivedistricts. Some especially were led by the example of Sandoval,who was known to be the particular friend of Cortes, and whowould not, as they thought, be sent upon an unprofitable errand.We all knew that the vicinity of Mexico had neither mines,plantations, nor manufactures, being entirely occupied in thecultivation of maize and maguey, which did not affordsufficient prospects of advantage, and we anxiously removedtherefore to other places, where we were miserably disappointed.I among others, went to Cortes and asked permission to accompanySandoval to his government: "Brother Diaz," said he, "you hadbetter stay with me: If you are resolved to accompany your friendSandoval, you may certainly go; but on my conscience you willrepent." All the gold got into the hands of the royal officers,as the slaves were purchased by the soldiers at a public sale.The various detachments were sent out at different periods tooccupy the provinces, but all within two months after thereduction of Mexico.

At this time, Christoval de Tapia, veedor ofHispaniola, arrived at Villa Rica with a commission to assume thegovernment of New Spain, by order of the emperor and under thedirection of the bishop of Burgos. He likewise brought lettersfrom the bishop to Cortes and many persons in the army,recommending him to be received with honour as governor,promising great rewards to all who should assist him in assumingthe government, with severe threats of punishing all who opposedhim: besides these sealed letters, he had many others which hewas authorised to address as he saw occasion. Tapia in the firstplace presented his commission to Alvarado, who now commanded atVilla Rica, who received it with the highest respect, saying thatit did not belong to him to decide on so important a subject, andit would be proper, therefore, to assemble the alcaldes andregidors of the settlement, that the commission might be verifiedin their presence, and that it might be certainly known it cameregularly from his majesty. This did not exactly suit the viewsof Tapia, who was advised to proceed to Mexico, and to producehis commission to the general; he therefore forwarded to Cortesthe letter of the bishop, and wrote to him on the subject of hismission to New Spain, using smooth and persuasive terms, andCortes was by no means behind hand in the civility of his reply.Cortes, however, sent off expresses to some of his mostconfidential officers whom he had previously detached to settlecolonies, ordering them to go to meet Tapia, who had alreadybegun his journey to Mexico, and was met with on the road byAlvarado, Sandoval, Valdenegro, Andres de Tapia, and FatherOlmedo, all persons in the confidence of Cortes, by whomChristoval de Tapia was persuaded to go back to Chempoalla, andto produce his commission to them. Having examined it and findingit genuine, they placed it on their heads in token of respect andsubmission to the will of the emperor, yet hesitated as toacknowledging Tapia for governor, alleging that it was necessaryin the first place to be assured of his majestys pleasure in thepresent state of New Spain, which had been concealed from hisknowledge by the bishop of Burgos, to serve his own private viewsand to favour Tapia and Velasquez, one of whom it was alleged wasto marry his niece. Tapia saw evidently that it would be no easymatter to enter upon his office of governor, and fell sick withvexation. The before-mentioned deputies informed Cortes by letterof all that had passed, and advised him to try the all-powerfulinfluence of gold on the would-be governor. Cortes complied withthis advice, and transmitted a good quantity of golden ingots byreturn of the express, by means of which his friends gratifiedthe avarice of Tapia, under pretence of purchasing one of hisships, with some horses and negroes; and Tapia set sail in hisother vessel for Hispaniola, where he was very ill received bythe royal audience and the Jeronymite brotherhood, as he hadundertaken this business contrary to their express orders.

I have formerly mentioned some particulars of an unsuccessfulexpedition set on foot by Garray, the governor of Jamaica, forthe establishment of a colony on the river of Panuco; and asCortes was informed that Garray intended to resume that project,he resolved to anticipate him, considering the country on thatriver as included in New Spain. Having likewise been informedthat Narvaez, who still continued a prisoner at Villa Rica, hadheld some confidential intercourse with Tapia, in which headvised him to quit the country as soon as possible, and to lay astatement of the whole before his patron the bishop of Burgos;Cortes sent orders to Rangel, now commandant at Villa Rica, tosend up Narvaez to Cojohuacan, where Cortes resided until thepalace he meant to inhabit at Mexico was completed. On appearingbefore Cortes, Narvaez fell on his knees and endeavoured to kisshis hand; but Cortes raised and embraced him, and treated himwith the utmost kindness. His residence in Mexico being ready forhis reception, Cortes went to live there in great splendour,marking out a plan for the restoration of the city, in whichample allotments were made for churches, monasteries, and publicbuildings, with squares and markets, all the rest of the groundbeing set apart for the private inhabitants; and both so speedilyand splendidly was this capital restored, that all who have seenit allow there is not in Christendom a larger, better built, ormore populous city. While thus employed, intelligence was broughtto Cortes that the province of Panuco was in arms, and had killedmany of the soldiers whom he had sent to make a settlement atthat place. He resolved, therefore, to proceed to Panuco inperson, as all his most confidential officers were now absent ondifferent duties.

By this time our strength had been considerably augmented,both by means of those formerly mentioned who had been on theexpedition to Florida under Aillon, and by several who had comeover along with Tapia, and by the arrival of many adventurersfrom the islands of Hispaniola, Cuba, and Jamaica. De Oli,likewise, had now returned from Mechoacan, which he had reducedto submission, bringing with him the principal cacique of thatcountry and several other chiefs, with a considerable quantity ofgold. Cortes therefore left a respectable garrison in Mexico,under Diego de Soto, and set out on his march for Panuco[1] with130 cavalry, 250 infantry, and 10,000 Mexican warriors. As thisexpedition was very expensive, Cortes, wished the charge to bedefrayed from the royal funds, but the officers of the treasuryrefused, under the pretext that it had been undertaken frommotives of private interest, to prevent Garray from establishinga colony in that place, and not for the public service. ThePanuchese, otherwise called the Guastecas and Naguaticas, werenumerous and warlike, and had collected a force of above 70,000warriors, with which they fought two battles against Cortes inthe course of a few days, in which three Spaniards, four horses,and above a hundred Mexicans were slain; but we obtained thevictory in both actions, with such slaughter of the rebels, asdeprived them of all inclination to renew the war for thepresent. By means of Father Olmedo and some prisoners, thePanuchese were now induced to submit. Cortes in the next placeproceeded with half his army across the river Chila, to reducethe natives who had murdered the messengers whom he sent torequire their submission. On crossing the river, the enemy fellupon our troops with great fury, but were soon defeated, and ourpeople advanced to a town in which they found abundance ofprovisions. Some of our soldiers, on going into a temple nextmorning, found the remains of some of our men, and evenrecognized their features, a melancholy sight to us all; but wecarefully collected and buried their remains. From this place ourdetachment marched to another, where the enemy concealed some oftheir troops among houses, intending to fall upon our men whenthe cavalry had dismounted; but as their plan was discovered itfailed of success, yet they fought valiantly for half an hour,even rallying three times, contrary to the usual custom of theIndians, and three of our soldiers were so badly wounded thatthey afterwards died. On the ensuing day, our soldiers scouredthe country, and in some deserted towns they found a number ofearthen vessels filled with a species of wine in undergroundcellars. After having marched for five days through the countryin various directions, the detachment returned to the riverChila, and Cortes again summoned the the country to submission.They promised to send a deputation for that purpose in four days,for which Cortes waited, but to no purpose; he therefore sent alarge body of Mexicans, during a dark rainy night, across a laketo attack one of their largest towns, which was entirelydestroyed; after which most of the country submitted, and Cortesestablished a town of 130 houses about a league from the river ofChila, which he named Estevan del Puerto, leaving 63 Spanishsoldiers to keep the country under subjection, and giving thecommand of all the neighbouring country to Pedro Valego. Beforeleaving this country, Cortes was informed of three districts,which had now submitted, the inhabitants of which had been veryactive in the murder of the Spaniards at Panuco on the formeroccasion, and who had entered into a resolution to fall upon thenew settlement as soon as he quitted the country. He marchedtherefore against them, and destroyed their towns, which theyre-established soon after his departure. In consequence of theloss of a vessel which Cortes had ordered to bring provisionsfrom Villa Rica, this new settlement was reduced to muchdistress. The inhabitants of this province of Panuco were themost barbarous of all the tribes in New Spain, being cruel toexcess, exceedingly addicted to human sacrifices, drunken,filthy, and wicked beyond belief. They frequently rebelled, andwere as often punished in a most exemplary manner; but all wouldnot reduce them under good government: But when Nunez de Guzmanbecame governor of New Spain, he reduced the whole nation toslavery, and sold them among the different Islands of the WestIndies.

[1] The province here named Panuco, is situated onthe coast of the gulf of Mexico, at the mouth of a considerableriver which drains the superfluous waters of the Mexican vale,named at first Rio del Desague, then Rio de Tula, and Rio Tampicoat its mouth, in about lat. 22° 15' N. The Modern town ofPanuco is about 200 miles almost due north fromMexico.--E.

On his return towards Mexico, Cortes received complaints ofvarious depredations having been committed by the inhabitants ofthe neighbouring mountains on the peaceable districts of NewSpain[2], He determined therefore to chastise these lawlesstribes while on his way; but they anticipated him, by assaultinghis rear in a difficult pass of the mountains, where they gotpossession of a considerable portion of the baggage. But ourMexican allies severely revenged this insult, and made prisonersof two of the principal hostile chiefs who were both hanged.After this victory, Cortes suspended hostilities, and havingsummoned the people to appear before him, they came in andsubmitted, on which Cortes appointed the brother of the caciquewho had been put to death to the vacant government. About thistime Alonza de Avila, who was formerly mentioned, returned withfull powers from the royal audience and the Jeronymitebrotherhood, to continue our conquests, to make settlements ofland and colonies according to the established rules inHispaniola and Cuba, and to brand slaves: And he brought noticethat these tribunals had transmitted a report of the steps theyhad now taken to the government in Spain, whence it wastransmitted to the emperor, then in Flanders. If Avila had beenin New Spain at the arrival of Tapia, he might have provedtroublesome, as he was entirely devoted to the Bishop of Burgos,having been bred up in his house. On this account, and by theadvice of Olmedo, Cortes gave him the command of the district ofGuatitlan, one of the most profitable in New Spain, and also madehim a considerable present of gold, and many flattering words andpromises by which he gained him over entirely to his interest,insomuch that he sent him soon afterwards into Spain as hisagent, carrying a large quantity of gold, pearls, and jewels tothe emperor, together with several gigantic human bones that werefound in a temple at Cojohuacan, similar to those which had beenformerly sent from Tlascala, as already mentioned[3]. Besidesthese things, he carried over three Mexican tigers, and manyother curious things which I do not now remember. One part of thebusiness of this agency, was to carry a memorial from thecabildo of Mexico, and from us the conquerors of NewSpain, soliciting to be supplied with bishops and clergy of holylife and exemplary manners, and requesting that all offices ofhonour and emolument might be conferred on us who had conqueredthis vast empire for our sovereign, and that the supremegovernment might be confided to our general Cortes. We requestedthat his majesty might be pleased to prohibit any lawyers fromcoming among us, who would throw us into confusion with theirlearned quibbles; and we farther represented the insufficientcommission of Christoval de Tapia, who had been sent out by theBishop of Burgos, merely for the purpose of effectuating amarriage between him and the bishops niece. We deprecated theinterference of the bishop in the affairs of New Spain, which hadalready obstructed our efforts of conquest in the service of hismajesty, and had manifested great enmity against us byprohibiting the Casa de Contratation of Seville from sending usany supplies. We concluded by declaring ourselves ready toreceive his majesties commands with the most perfect submissionand obedience, but that we had deemed it our bounden duty to layall these particulars before his majesty, which had hitherto beenartfully kept from his knowledge. On his part, Cortes sent amemorial to the king of twenty-one pages long, in which he leftno argument unemployed to serve his own and our interest. He evenrequested permission to go over to the island of Cuba, and tosend the governor Velasquez a prisoner to Spain, that he might betried and punished for the injuries he had done to the publicservice, and especially for having sent an order to put Cortes todeath.

[2] These were probably the Chichimecas and Otomies,who inhabited to the north-west of the Mexicanempire.--E.

[3] From these slight notices, nothing certain can begathered respecting these large bones: Yet there is every reasonto believe they must have been of the same kind with those nowfamiliar to the learned world, under the name of Mammoth.The vale of Mexico has every indication of having once been animmense inland lake, and the other big bones of NorthAmerica have all been found in places of a similar description.The greatest deposit of these hitherto known, is at a placecalled big-bone-swamp, near the Mississippi, in the modernstate of Kentucky.--E.

Our agents sailed from Vera Cruz on the 20th December 1522,and no particular occurrence happened on the voyage to theTerceras or Açores, except that one of the tigers brokeloose and wounded some of the sailors, who were likewise obligedto kill the other on account of its ferocity. At the island ofTercera, Captain Quinones lost his life in a duel, occasioned bya quarrel about a lady, by which means our business was left inthe hands of Alonzo de Avila. In continuing his voyage to Europe,he was taken by a French privateer, commanded by one Jean Florin,who took another ship from Hispaniola with a valuable cargo ofsugar and hides, and 20,000 crowns in gold, and many pearls; sothat with this and our treasure he returned very rich to France,where he made magnificent presents to the king and admiral ofFrance, astonishing every body at the magnificence of thepresents which we had transmitted for our emperor. The king ofFrance observed on this occasion, that the wealth which wesupplied from New Spain was alone sufficient to enable oursovereign to wage war against him, although Peru was not thendiscovered. It was also reported that the king of France sent amessage to our emperor, saying, That as he and the king ofPortugal had divided the world between them, he desired to seethe will of our father Adam, to know if he had made themexclusively his heirs. In his next expedition, Florin was madeprisoner by a strong squadron belonging to Biscay, and was hangedin the island of Teneriffe.

Avila was made a close prisoner in France, but by gaining thefriendship of the officer to whose custody he had been confided,he was enabled to correspond with his friends in Spain, to whomhe transmitted all the documents with which he had beenentrusted, which were all laid before the emperor Don Carlos byMartin Cortes, our generals father, and Diego de Ordas, by meansof the licentiate Nunez, relator of the royal council, whowas cousin to Cortes. The emperor was pleased, on dueconsideration of these documents, to order that all favour shouldbe shewn to our general, and that the proceedings respecting thegovernment of New Spain should be suspended until his majestyreturned into Spain.

We were much disappointed on receiving intelligence of theloss of our treasure, and the detention of our agent in France;yet Cortes honourably reserved the district of Guatitlan forAvila, notwithstanding his captivity, and gave it three yearsafterwards to a brother of Alonzo de Avila, who was then promotedto be contador of Yucutan.

SECTION XV.

Expeditions of Gonzalo de Sandoval, Pedro de Alvarado, andothers, for reducing the Mexican Provinces.

After the settlement with Christoval de Tapia, the CaptainsSandoval and Alvarado resumed the expeditions with which they hadbeen before entrusted, and on this occasion I went along withSandoval. On our arrival at Tustepeque[1], I took my lodgings onthe summit of a very high tower of a temple, for the sake offresh air, and to avoid the musquitoes, which were verytroublesome below. At this place, seventy-two of the soldiers whocame with Narvaez and six Spanish women were put to death. Thewhole province submitted immediately to Sandoval, except theMexican chief who had been the principal instrument of thedestruction of our soldiers, who was soon afterwards madeprisoner and burnt alive. Many others had been equally guilty,but this example of severity was deemed sufficient.

[1] This expedition appears to have been for thereduction of certain provinces to the south-east of the vale ofMexico, now forming the intendency of Oaxaca, inhabited by theMixtecas and Tzapotecas. The Tustepeque of the text, was probablya town on the Boca de Chacahua on the South Sea, now calledTututepec, in lat. 15º 50' N. and long. 100º 15' E. Onthe very imperfect map of Clavigero, it is named Tototepec, andis placed in the country of the Mixtecas.--E.

Sandoval, in the next place, sent a message to the Tzapotecas,who inhabit a mountainous district about ten leagues fromTustepeque or Tututepec, ordering them to submit to hisauthority; and on their refusal, an expedition was sent againstthem under Captain Briones, who according to his own account hadserved with reputation in the wars of Italy. His detachmentconsisted of 100 Spanish infantry, and about an equal number ofIndian allies; but the enemy were prepared for him, and socompletely surprised him in a difficult pass of the mountains,that they drove him and his men over the rocks, rolling them downto the bottom, by which above a third of them were wounded, ofwhom one afterwards died. The district inhabited by theTzapotecas is of very difficult access among rocky mountains,where the troops can only pass in single file, and the climate isvery moist and rainy. The inhabitants are armed with long lances,having stone heads about an ell long, which have two edges assharp as razors, and they are defended by pliable shields whichcover their whole bodies. They are extremely nimble, and givesignals to each other by loud whistlings, which echo among therocks with inconceivable shrillness. Their province is namedTiltepeque[2]; which, after its submission, was confided to thecharge of a soldier named Ojeda. On his return to quarters,Sandoval ridiculed Briones on the bad success of his expedition,asking him if he had ever seen the like in Italy; for Briones wasalways boasting of his exploits there, as how he had severed menin two, and the like. Briones was sore displeased with thesesarcasms, and swore he would rather fight against the Turks orMoors than the Tzapotecas. There was another district of theTzapotecas called Xaltepec, which was then at war with aneighbouring tribe, and who immediately, on being summoned bySandoval, sent a deputation of their chiefs to wait upon him withhandsome presents; among which was a considerable quantity ofgold, partly made into toys, and partly in ten little tubes.Their chiefs were dressed in long cotton robes, richlyembroidered, and reaching to their feet, like the upper garmentsworn by the Moors. They requested to be assisted by some of oursoldiers against their enemies, whom they named the Minxes. Thestate of our force at this time did not permit him to comply withthis request, but he promised to transmit their request to ourgeneral at Mexico, with an application for an auxiliary force tobe sent them, and said he could only now send a small number ofhis men along with them, to observe the nature of the passes, buthis real object was to examine their mines. With this answer hedismissed them all except three, sending eight of us along withthem to explore the country and its mines.

[2] Named, more appropriately, in the map ofClavigero, Tzapoteca-pan.--E.

There was another soldier of the same name with myself in thisparty, for indeed there were three of us in the army namedCastillo. At that time I prided myself on my dress, and wascalled Castillo the beau. My namesake who went on thepresent expedition was named Castillo the thoughtful, ashe was of slow speech, never replying to a question for a longwhile, and then answering by some absurdity. The third was calledCastillo the prompt, as he was always very ready and smartin all his words. On our arrival at the district of Xaltepec, theIndians turned over the soil in three different rivers, in eachof which they found gold, and soon filled three tubes with it aslarge as a mans middle finger, with which we returned toSandoval, who now thought that all our fortunes would be made. Hetook a district to himself, from which he very soon procured goldto the value of 15,000 crowns. He gave the district of Xaltepec,whence we had obtained the gold, to Captain Luis Marin, but itturned out very indifferently. He gave me a very profitabledistrict, which I wish to God I had kept; it consisted of threeplaces, named Matalan, Oztoequipa, and Oriaca, where theingenio of the viceroy is now situated; but I thought itmore consistent with my character as a soldier to accompanySandoval in his military expeditions. Sandoval called his townMedellin, after the birth-place of Cortes; and the Rio de lasVanderas, from which he procured the 15,000 crowns, was for sometime the port where the merchandise from Spain was discharged,until Vera Cruz became the emporium.

We now marched into the province of Coatzacualco, through thedistrict of Citla[3], which is about twelve leagues in length andbreadth, and is very populous, having a fine climate andabounding in provisions. The chiefs immediately submitted. On ourarrival at the river of Coatzacualco, which is the governingdistrict of all the neighbouring tribes, the chiefs did not maketheir appearance on being summoned, which we considered as anindication of hostility, which was in fact their first intention;but after five days, they came in and made their submissions,presenting some trinkets of fine gold to Sandoval. By his orders,they collected a hundred canoes, in which we crossed the river,sending four soldiers in advance to examine and report the stateof the country. A town was founded in this place, which we namedVilla del Espiritu Santo, because on that day we defeatedNarvaez, using that expression as our watchword, and because wecrossed this river on the same day. In this place the flower ofour army was established, which at this time mustered eightycavalry, a greater number in proportion than five hundred is now,horses being then very scarce and dear. Having examined thesurrounding districts, Sandoval divided them among the differentsettlements. To the settlement of Coatzacualco, he allottedCuetzpaltepec, Tepeca, Chinantla, the Tzapotecas, Copilco,Cimatan, Tabasco, Cachula, the Zoques, Techeapa, Cinacatan, theQuilenes, and Papanahausta. We had a long litigation afterwardswith the district of Vera Cruz about three of these,Cuetzpaltepec, Chinantla, and Tepeca; with Tabasco about Cimatanand Copilco; with Chiapa or Guatimala, concerning the Quilenesand Zoques; and likewise with the town of St Ildefonso about theTzapotecas. I regretted having fixed myself in this place, as thelands were very poor, and every thing turned out to mydisadvantage. We might indeed have done well enough if we hadbeen left in our original situation; but as new settlements weresuccessively formed, ours were curtailed to accommodate them, sothat our colony fell into decay; and from being the best, andcontaining the greatest number of the true conquerors of Mexico,it has now very few inhabitants.

[3] I suspect this ought to be namedChinantla.--E.

About this time Sandoval received intelligence of the arrivalof Donna Catalina, the lady of our general, in the river ofa*guayalco[4], accompanied by her brother. La Zembrana also withher family came along with her, and Donna Elvira Lopez thetall, who married Juan de Palma, who was afterwards hanged.We all went to pay our respects to the ladies, the roads beingalmost impassable owing to constant heavy rain. Having escortedDonna Catalina and the rest to our town of Coatzacualco, orEspiritu Santo, intelligence was sent to Cortes of their arrival,and they set out soon afterwards for Mexico. Cortes was sorry fortheir coming, but he received them with great pomp, and we heardabout three months afterwards that Donna Catalina had died of anasthma.

[4] This way probably be some corruption of thenative name of the Rio Coatzacualco, or Huaxacualco; by giving itthe ordinary Spanish prefix agua; which signifies water,or a river, with the native terminationcualco.--E.

Villafuerte had been sent to Zacatula, and Juan Alvarez Chicoto Colima, two provinces on the south sea to the west of Mexico,but were unsuccessful; on which Cortes sent Christoval de Oli toreduce these provinces to submission. The natives attacked him onhis march, killing two of his soldiers; yet he reached thestation of Villafuerte, who was afraid to stir out, and had foureven of his soldiers killed by the enemy in the town where heresided. I do not know what became of Captain Juan Alvarez, but Ibelieve he lost his life about this time in some action with thenatives. De Oli reduced both provinces to submission and returnedto Mexico, where he was hardly arrived when intelligence wasbrought that they had again rebelled; on which Cortes sentSandoval with a small party of veterans to take the charge ofthem. He punished the ringleaders of the rebellion, and regulatedthem in so effectual a manner, that they continued everafterwards submissive.

On the departure of Sandoval with the ladies, several of thedistricts subjected to Coatzacualco rebelled, killing thesoldiers who were appointed to collect the tribute; among whichwere the Tzapotecas of Xaltepec, Cimatan and Copilco, the firstbeing difficult of access on account of its rugged mountains, andthe two others because of lakes and marshes, so that they werenot reduced to subjection without great difficulty. While CaptainLuis Marin was engaged in reducing these districts, Juan Buonoarrived at our settlement in a small vessel. He immediatelycalled us all together, and endeavoured to persuade us to submitto Christoval de Tapia as governor of New Spain, being ignorantof the return of that person to Hispaniola. Buono had a number ofunaddressed letters from the bishop of Burgos, making largeoffers to such as would further his views of superseding Cortes,and which Buono had a discretionary power of directing to anypersons that he supposed might support the cause in which he wasengaged, and which he accordingly transmitted to those who heldoffices in the settlement. Among the rest, I was offered theappointment of regidor. When Buono learnt that Tapia had left thecountry, he seemed much disappointed. We referred him to Cortesat Mexico, to which place he went. I know not what passed betweenhim and Cortes, but I believe the general sent him back to Spainwith some money in his pocket.

Among the tribes that courted our alliance after the conquestof Mexico, was a people of the Tzapotecan nation, named theTutepecs, who earnestly requested our assistance against ahostile tribe, who bore the same name with themselves, and whomthey represented as possessing a very rich country. Accordingly,in the year 1522, Alvarado marched from Mexico with a detachmentof 180 soldiers, cavalry and infantry, with orders to take twentymore on his march through the district of Oaxaco, and also tovisit and reduce during his march certain mountainous districtswhich were said to be in rebellion. Alvarado was forty days onhis march between Mexico and Tutepec, and was very hospitablyreceived on his arrival, being lodged in the most populous partof the city, where the houses stood close together, and werethatched with straw, it not being the custom of that part of thecountry to have terraced roofs, on account of their climate beingvery sultry. By the advice of Father Olmedo, Alvarado removed hisquarters to a more open part of the town; as in case of anytreachery being intended, the natives might easily have set fireto the first quarters. In this place, Alvarado was plentifullysupplied with provisions, and the principal chief made him everyday some rich present of gold; and among other things gave him apair of golden stirrups, made according to a pattern. Yet, only afew days after, the cacique was made a prisoner, on theinformation, as was said, of the Indians of Tecuantepec, that hemeant to burn the Spaniards in the quarters which had beenassigned them in the temples. Some of the Spaniards alleged thatAlvarado made him a prisoner in order to extort gold for hisransom. However this may have been, he died in prison ofvexation, after Alvarado had got from him to the value of 30,000crowns. His son was permitted to succeed him in the government,from whom Alvarado obtained more gold than he had done from thefather. Alvarado now established a colony, which was calledSegura, because most of the colonists came from Tepeaca,named by us Segura de la Frontera.

Alvarado set out soon afterwards on his return to Mexico withall his wealth, as Cortes had written to him to bring all thetreasure he possibly could, which he intended to send into Spain.The soldiers were much dissatisfied at being thus excluded fromany share, and several of them entered into a conspiracy toassassinate Alvarado and his brothers. One of the conspirators,named Tribejo, gave information of the plot to Father Olmedo,only a few hours before it was intended to have been executed;and the reverend Father informed Alvarado, just as he was ridingout along with some of the conspirators. He continued hisintended excursion for a short way; then turning suddenly, hecomplained of a pain in his side, saying he must go back for asurgeon to bleed him. On his arrival at quarters, he immediatelysent for his two brothers, together with the alcaldes andalguazils of the settlement, whom he ordered to arrest theconspirators, two of whom were hanged. Alvarado returned toMexico with his gold; but the colonists finding all the goldtaken away, and that the place was hot and unhealthy, infestedwith musqutioes, bugs, and other vermin, and themselve and slavesfast dying, they abandoned the settlement, some going to Mexico,and others to different places. Cortes was much displeased atthis abandonment, and finding on inquiry that it had been done bya resolution of the alcaldes and regidors in full cabildo, hecondemned them to suffer death; but their punishment, at theintercession of Olmedo, was mitigated to banishment. Thus thesettlement of Segura fell to the ground, which had beenestablished in a very fertile country, but exceedingly unhealthy.By the cruelty and extortion of Alvarado, the minds of thenatives were alienated, and they threw off their allegiance; buthe reduced them again to submission, and they continuedafterwards to behave themselves peaceably.

SECTION XVI.

Some Account of the Expedition of Francisco de Garay forthe Colonization of Panuco.

Having formerly mentioned the expedition fitted out byFrancisco de Garay, the governor of Jamaica, it seems proper togive a more particular account of that affair in this place.Hearing of the great riches which Diego Velasquez was likely toacquire from New Spain, and of the fertile countries which hadbeen discovered on the continent of the West Indies, andencouraged by the means he now possessed of prosecutingdiscoveries and conquests, he determined to try his own fortunein that career. For this purpose he sent for and discoursed withAlaminos, who had been our chief pilot, from whom he received sofavourable an account of these countries, that he sent Juan deTorralva, a person in whom he could confide, to solicit thebishop of Burgos to grant him a commission for settling thecountry on the river of Panuco; and having succeeded in thispreliminary step, he fitted out an armament of three ships, with240 soldiers, under the command of Alonzo Alvarez Pineda, who wasdefeated by the Panuchese, one ship only escaping, which joinedus at Villa Rica, as already related. Receiving no intelligenceof the fate of his first armament, Garay sent a second, whichalso arrived at our port. Having now expended a great deal ofmoney to no purpose, and having learnt the good fortune ofCortes, he became more than ever desirous to secure theadvantages he expected to derive from his commission. With thisview he fitted out thirteen ships, in which he embarked 136cavalry, and 840 foot soldiers, mostly musqueteers andcrossbow-men, of which he took the command in person. He sailedwith this great armament from Jamaica, on the 24th June 1523, andarrived safe at the port of Xagua in the island of Cuba, where hereceived information that Cortes had reduced the province ofPanuco to subjection, and had sent a petition to the emperor toget a commission for governing his new acquisition. He was hereinformed of the heroic deeds of Cortes and his companions, and inparticular of our having defeated the large force of Narvaez,while we had only 270 soldiers.

Struck with awe at the power and abilities of our general, hesolicited the licentiate Zuazco to mediate between him andCortes, that he might be permitted to take possession of thegovernment of Panuco, in pursuance of his commission from thebishop of Burgos.

Garay shortly afterwards set out with his armament, and beingdriven by a storm into the river Palmas[1], he disembarked there,intending to march by land to Panuco, having first exacted anoath of fidelity from his troops; and he even nominated thevarious officers of his colony, which he intended to nameGarayana. Having marched for two days along the sea-shore,through a marshy uninhabited country, he arrived at somevillages, where the inhabitants entertained him hospitably, butmany of his soldiers straggled about robbing and maltreating thepeople. Garay at length arrived at Panuco, where his soldiersexpected all their difficulties would end, but it was almost adesert, as it had been much wasted in the war with Cortes, andthe natives concealed what remained, so that they found nothingbut bare walls, where they were tormented with mosquitos andevery kind of vermin. Garay could get no intelligence of hisfleet, and learnt from a Spaniard who had fled from punishmentand lived among the Indians, that the province of Panuco was poorand unhealthy; and as this man gave a very favourable account ofMexico, many of Garays soldiers deserted from him, and went offfor Mexico, plundering the natives on their way. Garay foundhimself in a bad plight, and sent one of his officers, namedDiego de Ocampo, to sound the disposition of Vallejo, who wasgovernor of St Estevan del Puerto for Cortes, and to notify theappointment of Garay to the government of this country. Vallejogave a favourable answer, requesting the soldiers might berestrained from maltreating the inhabitants; but sent off anexpress to Cortes, soliciting a strong reinforcement or theimmediate presence of the general. On receiving thisintelligence, Cortes immediately sent off Alvarado, Sandoval,Father Olmedo, and Gonzalo de Ocampo, brother to Diego de Ocampo,who was with Garay, giving them a copy of the royal instructions,by which all his conquests were left under his command till thedispute between him and Velasquez were judicially settled.

[1] This is probably the river of Nueva Santander,about 100 miles north from the Rio Tampico or river ofPanuco--E.

On the arrival of Garay in the neighbourhood of St Estevan,Vallejo learnt from five deserters that the troops were scatterednegligently in a large town called Nacoplan, on which heconcerted a plan for coming on them by surprise, and made fortyof them prisoners, alleging that they had invaded the countrywithout a commission, and had plundered the inhabitants who livedunder his government. Garay threatened Vallejo with the vengeanceof the court of Spain for this outrage, and demanded theimmediate release of his soldiers; on which Vallejo requested tosee his commission, which, if from his majesty, he would obey inall humility. Just at this time arrived the deputies from Cortes,and Diego de Ocampo, being then first alcalde of Mexico, made aformal remonstrance against the entrance of Garay with an armedforce into the government of another person. Several days werespent in remonstrances and replies on both sides, during whichtime many of Garays troops deserted from him.

Two of the ships belonging to Garay were lost in a tempest,and the remainder took shelter in the mouth of the river, whenVallejo secretly negotiated with their officers to join the partyof Cortes. He at length contrived to inviegle the whole of thefleet up the river to the port of St Estevan, where he made alltheir officers and men prisoners in the name of Cortes; butFather Olmedo persuaded him to set them at liberty. Theunfortunate Garay entreated the officers of Cortes to restore hisships and to compel his troops to return to their duty, promisingto give up his intended settlement at Panuco, and to retire tothe river Palmas. They agreed to this, and used every measure toinduce the deserters to return, but with little effect; as theyalleged they had already discharged their engagement in coming toPanuco, and they despised Garay. In this hopeless state, Garaywas persuaded to write to Cortes, stating his situation, andrequesting his protection and assistance, in consideration oftheir former friendship. Cortes engaged to do what he desired,and invited him to come to Mexico, where he was honourablyreceived, and promised every redress, referring him to Olmedo,Sandoval, and Alvarado, to agree with him on the terms. At thesuggestion of Olmedo, a marriage was proposed between DonnaCatalina Cortes y Pizarro, the daughter of Cortes, and the eldestson of Garay, who had a command in the fleet. Cortes agreed tothis, giving his daughter a liberal fortune, and agreed thatGaray should establish a colony on the river Palmas, in which heengaged to give him every assistance in his power. Garay nowinterceded with Cortes to allow Narvaez to return to Cuba, forwhich favour Narvaez was extremely thankful, and took leave ofCortes with many professions of gratitude. Soon afterwards, Garaywas seized with a pleurisy, of which he died in four days,leaving Cortes and Father Olmedo his executors. As his armamentwas left without a head, a competition arose among his officersfor the vacant command; but young Garay was ultimately madegeneral. This gave great offence to the soldiers, in consequenceof which they dispersed about the country in small bodies offifteen or twenty men, pillaging the natives as if they had beenamong Moors. This enraged the Indians, who laid a plot to cut offthe Spaniards, which they executed so effectually that in a veryshort time they sacrificed and eat above five hundred of thesoldiers of Garay, in some of the towns upwards of a hundred ofthem being destroyed at one time. In other places they fell uponthe stragglers, whom they massacred almost without resistance;and, encouraged by this success, they even rose against thesettlement of Estevan in such numbers, that they could hardly beresisted by Vallejo and seven or eight of the veterans of Cortes,who induced many of Garays soldiers to abide by them in the openfield, where three battles were fought, in one of which Vallejowas slain, and a great number of Spaniards wounded. The Indiansbecame at length so bold and desperate, that they one nightkilled and burned forty Spaniards, among whom were severalbelonging to Cortes, and destroyed fifteen horses. When Cortesheard of these proceedings he was much enraged, and would havegone in person to suppress the rebellion, but was then confinedby a broken arm; wherefore he sent Gonzalo de Sandoval, with 100infantry, 50 cavalry, 15 musqueteers, and two field-pieces,accompanied by 8000 Mexican and Tlascalan warriors, giving ordersto reduce the country so completely under subjection that theymight not have power to give any farther disturbance.

Sandoval was a person of much vigilance when he had anyimportant business in hand, and made no delay in marching againstthe enemy, who had concentrated their forces in two narrowdefiles. Sandoval divided his forces into two bodies, but was soobstinately resisted, that he drew off his forces, feigning toretreat to Mexico, followed by the Indians, whom he completelydeceived, making an unexpected countermarch at midnight, by whichhe gained possession of the passes; yet not till he had lostthree horses, and had a great many of his men wounded. On passingthe defiles, he found himself opposed in front by an immense bodyof Indians, who had collected on receiving notice of hiscountermarch. He concentrated his whole force into one solidcolumn; and as his cavalry were inexperienced in the service, hegave them full instructions never to halt making thrusts, as theIndians always seized the lances when wounded, and often wrestedthem from the hands of our men; but ordered them to clap spurs totheir horses on such occasions, firmly grasping their lances, andthus force them from the enemy by the strength of their horses.Having placed guards and patroles, and ordered the horses of thecavalry to remain all night saddled and bridled, he made thetroops repose under arms on the banks of a river, placing theMexican and Tlascalan warriors at a short distance from theSpanish troops, knowing by experience that the allies were ofmore harm than benefit in a night attack. At day-break nextmorning, Sandoval put his troops in motion, and was soon frontedby three large bodies of the enemy, who endeavoured to surroundhim. Forming his cavalry in two squadrons, he attacked the enemywith such spirit that they were soon broken and dispersed, withthe loss of two soldiers and three horses on his side. The alliesmade terrible havock after this victory, burning and plunderingall before them, till the arrival of the army at St Estevan. Theremains of this colony were found in a miserable condition, andthe soldiers of Garay assured him that its preservation wasentirely owing to the bravery and conduct of our few veterans whowere there. Sandoval divided his army into several bodies, whichhe entrusted to the command of the veterans, and sent them tooverrun the neighbouring districts, with orders to send in allthe provisions they could collect, being unable to go outhimself, as he was badly wounded. In the course of three days,his parties sent in many prisoners of the ordinary class, andfive chiefs; but Sandoval released the common people, and orderedhis troops to make no more prisoners, except of such chiefs ashad been concerned in or present at the murder of the Spaniards.In a few days Sandoval was able to take the field, and by skilfulmeasures he made prisoners of twenty caciques, who had commandedwhere no less than six hundred Spaniards were slain. He thensummoned all the neighbouring towns to send their chiefs to himto treat of peace and submission: Some obeyed, but othersneglected to attend, and he thought it best to dissimulate withthe latter for the present, till he had informed Cortes what hadbeen already done, and had received his orders as to the disposalof the prisoners and his future procedure. Cortes, who nowconferred the vacant command of St Estevan on Sandoval, orderedall who had been any way concerned in the murder of the Spaniardsto be punished with death, as an example to deter others frombeing guilty of the like offence, directing Diego de Ocampo, asalcalde-major, to take the necessary steps against them, withorders to execute all who should be found guilty. He gave orderslikewise to conciliate the natives by all possible means, and toprevent the soldiers of Garay from committing any futureoutrages. Two days after the receipt of these orders, the accusedcaciques were brought to trial; and many of them being foundguilty by evidence, or by their own confession, were publicklyexecuted, some being burnt and others hanged. Many also werepardoned; and all the districts which had belonged to thecaciques who suffered on this occasion, were restored to theirchildren or other heirs. Ocampo now proceeded against all thoseSpaniards who had been guilty of outrages, going about thecountry in bands, plundering and murdering the natives, or whohad invited other soldiers to desert to them; and havingcollected them together, he shipped them off for Cuba. To Juan deGrijalva, who had been commodore of the fleet under Garay, Cortesoffered the alternative of a present of 2000 crowns, and apassage to Cuba, or an honourable reception at Mexico. ButGrijalva and all the other officers belonging to Garay preferredgoing to Cuba. When Sandoval and Ocampo had thus reduced thesettlement to order, and cleared it of these troublesome inmates,they returned to Mexico, leaving the command at St Estevan to anofficer named Vallecillo; and on their arrival at the capital,they were received by Cortes and others with the distinctionwhich their services richly merited[2].

[2] A very uninteresting episode, respecting themisfortunes of the liceniate Zuazo, who has been formerlymentioned, is here omitted, as having no reference whatever tothe general history in hand: It is sufficient to say that, aftermany perils by sea and land, Zuazo came to Mexico, where Cortesgave him the office of alcalde-major, which seems to haveresembled our provost-marshal, or chief militaryjudge.--E.

SECTION XVII.

Narrative of various Expeditions for the Reduction ofdifferent Provinces in New Spain.

As the views of Cortes were always lofty, so was he alwayswell supported by the talents and bravery of his officers andsoldiers. After his power was thoroughly established in the greatcity of Mexico and its more immediate dependencies, and in thedistricts or provinces of Guaxaca, Zacatula, Colima, Vera Cruz,Panuco, Coatzacualco, and others, as already related, he wasinformed that there were populous nations and rich mines in theprovince of Guatimala; and he resolved to send a military forceunder Alvarado, to conquer and colonize that country. Alvarado,therefore, was dispatched to that province, with 300 infantry,135 cavalry, 200 Tlascalans and Cholulans, and 100 Mexicans[1],and four field-pieces. Alvarado was instructed to bring thosenations to submission by peaceful means, if possible; and FatherOlmedo accompanied him, on purpose to preach the doctrines of ourholy religion to the natives; and at all events, to insist uponall the prisons and cages that were used for human victims beingdestroyed, the prisoners set free, and the utter abolition ofhuman sacrifices and cannibal feasts. This expedition left Mexicoon the 13th of December 1523; and Alvarado during his march,received the submission of the district known by the name of theRocks of Guelama, where he received many rich contributions ingold. Having passed the districts belonging to the Tzapotecas ofTecuantepec, and by Soconusco, a town containing above 15,000houses, Alvarado came to the neighbourhood of a place namedZapotitlan, where, at a bridge over a river, he was opposed by avery numerous body of warriors who disputed the passage with somuch bravery, that many of the soldiers were wounded and onehorse killed; and it required three very hard fought battlesbefore the Spaniards were able to break through and disperse theenemy.

[1] Though without any warrant for this purpose, webelieve that the numbers of these allies ought to have beenreckoned by thousands instead of hundreds.--E.

From this place, continuing his march, Alvarado wascontinually harassed by the Indians of Quetzaltenango, and cameat length to a defile in a high mountain, where the ascent wasabout a league and a half. On arriving at the summit, aremarkably fat woman was found in the act of sacrificing a dog,which is an infallible token of intended hostilities; andimmediately afterwards, great numbers of armed Indians were seenadvancing on all sides, in a difficult broken ground, where thecavalry of Alvarado were unable to act. In this rough andimpracticable place, above 6000 of the warriors of Utatlan, adistrict adjoining to Quetzaltenango, made an attack upon ourtroops; and being soon put to flight, they rallied shortly after,reinforced by great numbers of fresh troops, who waited theadvance of our forces, and fought them bravely hand to hand. Onthis occasion, three or four of the enemy uniting their efforts,used to seize a horse before and behind, endeavouring to pull himto the ground, and it required the most strenuous exhortationsboth of Alvarado and Father Olmedo to animate the exertions ofour troops, who at length succeeded in defeating and dispersingthe Indians. Our army halted in the field of battle for threedays, unmolested by the enemy, and then marched toQuetzaltenango, where Alvarado hoped to have given his troopssome repose; but he found two xiquipils of warriors, or 16,000men assembled to oppose him in a plain, where he gave them socomplete a defeat, with so heavy a loss of warriors, that theyremained for a long time under complete awe of the Spaniards. Thechiefs of these Indians sent a deputation to Alvarado, offeringpeace and submission, under which they had concealed a plan fordestroying his army in the following manner. At a short distancethere was a place called Utatlan, in a very difficult ruggedcountry, and surrounded by defiles, to which they invited him tomarch, intending to fall upon him there with all their forces, asin that place the cavalry could not act.

Alvarado accordingly marched to Utatlan, a town ofconsiderable strength, which had only two gates, the ascent toone of which was by a stair of about twenty-five steps, and theother opened to a very bad broken causeway, the streets likewisebeing very narrow, and the houses very close together. Observingthe bad situation of this place, and that the women and childrenhad disappeared, Alvarado began to suspect that some mischief wasin contemplation; and he was informed by some Indians of theplace he had last quitted, that a number of warriors wereconcealed all round the place, to which they meant to set fire inthe night, and then assault him with all their forces. Alvaradoimmediately called his troops to arms, and marched out into theopen country, telling the chiefs that he did so for the purposeof procuring grass for his horses. They did not seem pleased withthis change; and as soon as Alvarado was completely clear of thetown, he seized the principal cacique, whom he reproached for histreachery, and ordered to be burnt alive. Father Olmedo obtaineda respite of this sentence, with permission to endeavour toconvert the condemned cacique to the holy faith, in which heexerted himself a whole day, and at length succeeded: and, asan indulgence, his punishment was commuted to hanging, andhis territory given to his son. After this, Alvarado attacked anddispersed the native warriors who were in the neighbourhood ofthe town. When this success became known in Guatimala, which wasengaged in hostility with the people of Utatlan, they sent anembassy to treat with Alvarado before his arrival on theirfrontiers, bringing a present of gold, declaring their submissionto the government of our emperor, and offering to serve as alliesin all our wars. Alvarado accepted their submission and offer ofservice, and desired them to send him 2000 of their warriors,with which they immediately complied; and as the people ofUtatlan had again rebelled, he remained eight days in theircountry, collecting considerable spoil and making many slaves;after which he marched to the city of Guatimala, where he washospitably received.

As the utmost harmony subsisted between Alvarado and thenatives of Guatimala, the chiefs of that nation represented tohim that a nation in their neighbourhood, called the Altitlans,who occupied several strong fortresses on the side of a lake, hadrefused to make submission to him, and that they were a barbarousand malicious people. Alvarado sent a message commanding thesepeople to submit, but they abused his messengers; on which hemarched against them with 140 Spanish soldiers and 2000 warriorsof the Guatimalans, and was resisted by a strong force of theAltitlans, whom he soon defeated with considerable loss, andpursued to their fortresses on the lake. Having driven them fromthese fortresses, they took shelter in an island of the lake, towhich he sent several of their chiefs whom he had takenprisoners, to persuade them into peace and submission, in whichhe at length succeeded, partly by threats and partly by promises,and returned to Guatimala. Father Olmedo exerted himself soeffectually in his mission, that he prevailed upon the people toimitate our example, in adoring the holy Virgin, for whichpurpose he erected an altar and image of our lady, and explainedthe mysteries of the Christian faith to the natives. A peoplenamed the Pipiles, who came from a considerable distance towardsthe south, to enter into submission to Alvarado, informed himthat a nation in their way, called the Izcuintepecs, were of amalignant disposition, and maltreated all travellers throughtheir country. He sent, therefore, a message to invite them tocome in and submit, which they refused to comply with; for whichreason he marched into their country with his whole force, unitedto a strong body of his allies of Guatimala, and made greathavock among them. Not having been present in this expedition, asI did not go into the province of Guatimala until my return fromHigueras, I have only given a short summary of the conquest ofGuatimala and its dependencies, which may be found related atfull length in a book written by Gonzalo de Alvarado.

About this time Cortes was informed that the provinces ofHigueras and Honduras contained rich mines, and some sailorsreported that the native fishers of these countries used weightsto their nets made of gold mixed with copper; they alleged also,that a strait or passage would probably be found in thatdirection into the Pacific Ocean. On these accounts he determinedto send some troops to that country under Christoval de Oli, toinquire after the mines, and to search for this reported strait,by which a communication might be opened with the Spice Islands;and as the way by land was long and difficult, it was determinedto send this expedition by sea. Accordingly, de Oli embarked insix ships, with a force of 370 soldiers, 100 of whom weremusqueteers and crossbow-men, and 22 cavalry. Five of the veteranconquerors of Mexico went along with this expedition; among whomwas one Briones, a seditious fellow and a bitter enemy of Cortes;besides whom, many of the soldiers on this expedition weregreatly dissatisfied at the unequal distribution of lands whichhad been made in New Spain. De Oli was ordered to go first to theHavanna, to procure a supply of provisions and necessaries, andthen to pursue his voyage to the Higueras to make the necessaryinquiries for the reported mines and straits; after which he wasto build a town in some commodious situation. To advance theinterests of our holy religion, he was provided with two friars,one of whom understood the Mexican language. At the Havanna, deOli took on board five of the followers of Garay, who had beenexpelled from Panuco for seditious conduct, who ingratiatedthemselves into his confidence, and advised him to renounce hisobedience to Cortes, in which they were aided by Briones; so thathe at length went over to the party of Velasquez, who engaged tomake such representations at court that the command of thisintended settlement might be given to de Oli independent ofCortes. De Oli was a brave man, and endowed with many goodqualities, yet unfit for his present employment, having beenbrought up in the house of Velasquez, so that he was the morereadily influenced by bad advisers to desert the interest ofCortes to whom he lay under great obligations. On the third ofMay, de Oli arrived at his station, which he named El Triumphode la Cruz, where he appointed to the civil administration ofthe new colony, such alcaldes and regidors as had beenrecommended by Cortes, and even took possession of the countryfor his majesty in the name of Cortes, as he wished to concealhis secession from our general till he saw whether the countrywas sufficiently rich to be worth while to set up an independentgovernment; as, if it turned out otherwise, he could return tohis possessions in Mexico, and gloss over his negociations withVelasquez, under pretence of having done so in order to procurethe necessary supplies. In this manner was the new colony of ElTriumpho established, from whence Cortes had no intelligence formore than eight months.

There were a considerable number of veterans and Spaniards ofrank, established in the town of Coatzacuaclo, otherwise calledDel Espiritu Santo, who were entrusted with the government ofthat province, together with the districts of Citla, Tabasco,Cimatan, Choutalpa, Cachula, Zoque, the Quilenes, Cinacatan,Chamuela, Chiapa, Papanahausta, Pinula, Xaltepec, Huaxaltepec,Chinantla, Tepeque, and others; but through all New Spain, thedemand for tribute was the signal of insurrection, and all whoattempted to levy it were killed, as were all Spaniards who fellinto the hands of the natives; so that we were continuallyobliged to go from one town to another with a company of soldiersto preserve peace. As the district of Cimatan was particularlyrefractory, and Captain Luis Marin could not conveniently send abody of troops to that place, I and three other Spaniards weresent there to endeavour to prevail on the people to submit. Onapproaching the principal town, we were attacked by a large bodyof Indians, who killed two of my companions, and wounded medesperately in the throat. My surviving companion made off tosome canoes on the banks of the river Macapa, leaving me aloneand in great jeopardy; but I crept under cover of some busheswhere I lay some time almost exhausted, and recovering mystrength after some time, I forced my way through the natives,and escaped to where my companion was in the canoes, with fourIndians whom we had brought with us to carry our baggage, whichthey had thrown away, and for the sake of which the nativesquitted us, so that we got across the river, which is broad anddeep and full of alligators. To avoid the Indians, we concealedourselves for eight days in the woods, so that we were concludedto be lost, and our property in lands and Indians was dividedamong the other Spaniards, such being then the custom in NewSpain. We returned to the town, however, at the end oftwenty-three days, to the great joy of our friends, and thedisappointment of those who had succeeded to our property.

Our captain, Luis Marin, thought proper to wait upon Cortes,to represent the necessity of a reinforcement; and accordinglygot thirty soldiers, commanded by Alonzo de Grado, with ordersfor all the Spaniards at Coatzacualco to march for the provinceof Chiapa, which was then in a state of rebellion, and directionsto build a town there to keep the natives in order. In the firstplace, we had to make roads through the woods, and the countrybeing very marshy, we were under the necessity of constructingcauseways in many places to enable the horses to pass. The firstplace we came to was Tezputzlan, and thence to Cachula, beyondwhich there had been no passage before our expedition, all theother natives being in great fear of the inhabitants of Chiapa,who were then the bravest warriors in all America, and had neverbeen subdued by the Mexicans; but they were extremely barbarous,being in use to rob all passengers, and to carry away the nativesof other districts to till their ground. The present expeditionwas during Lent, and as well as I can now remember, in the year1524, our little army consisting of 27 cavalry, 23 musqueteers,72 foot soldiers armed with sword and target, and one field-pieceunder the direction of a cowardly fellow of a gunner, whopretended to have served in Italy. Besides these, we had 50Mexican warriors, and the cacique of Cachula with some of hisprincipal people, who were all terribly afraid. On approachingChiapa, an advanced guard of four of our most active soldiers, ofwhom I was one, always preceded the army to reconnoitre, and asthe ground was not fit for a horse, I left mine behind. We wereusually about half a league in front of the army, but on ourapproach to Estapa, their first settlement, some of the huntersof Chiapa perceived us at a distance, and gave the alarm by meansof smoke. The road was now wide and convenient, between wellcultivated fields of corn and other vegetables; and on coming toEstapa we found it abandoned by the inhabitants, on which weposted our guards and patroles, and took up our quarters for thenight. We were soon disturbed by information from our out-guards,that the natives were collecting on every side to attack us; and,going out of town to meet them we had a severe action, in whichthey killed two of our soldiers and four horses, wounding ourreverend father Fra Juan, and thirteen soldiers, including ourcaptain Luis Marin, who was wounded in two places; besides whichmany of our allies were slain. This action lasted till darknight, when the enemy were forced to retire, leaving fifteenslain and many wounded in the field. From two of the wounded, whoseemed chiefs, we learnt that a general attack was intendedagainst us next day. These people were clothed in good defensivearmour of quilted cotton, using darts hardened in the fire, warclubs, and lances longer than ours, and they fought with unusualbravery; insomuch that, when one of our horsem*n halted to make athrust, the Indians seized the horse, and either wrested thelance from the horseman or pulled him to the ground.

Next day we pursued our march to Chiapa, a place with veryregular streets, and containing not less than four thousandfamilies, besides the dependent towns and villages around. We hadnot proceeded above a quarter of a league from Estapa, where wehad passed the night, when we found the whole warriors of thedistrict drawn up to oppose us, well armed, dressed up in plumesof feathers, and making the hills resound with their warlikeshouts. They attacked us with the utmost fury, and our blackgunner was so stupified with fear, that he stood long tremblingbefore he durst put the match to the gun, and when he fired thepiece all the good he did was wounding three of our own men.After a severe conflict, we at length forced them to fly; butthey rallied in some broken ground, reinforced by some freshbodies of Indians, and attacked us again by surprize, while wewere giving God thanks for our victory. In these new troops, manywere provided with long thongs to twist round our horses, andsome carried the nets they used in hunting for the same purpose.In this second battle the enemy were so desperate that theykilled two of our soldiers and five horses, and scarce one of usescaped without a wound. They had along with them a very fat agedwoman, whom they esteemed a wizard, who had promised them thevictory. Her body was all covered over with paint mixed withcotton wool; and she advanced fearlessly amid our allies, whowere regularly formed by companies, by whom she was cut topieces. At length, by a violent effort, we forced the enemy tofly, some taking to the rocks and others to the river, and beingexcellent swimmers they made their escape. We then halted andsang the Salve regina: After which we took possession of atown on the river, where we halted for the night, taking care ofour wounded, and carefully concealing our dead.

About midnight, ten chiefs of neighbouring districts came downthe river in five canoes, and were brought to our captain, whomthey informed that they belonged to the nation of the Xaltepecs,who were at war with the people of Chiapa, and came to offertheir assistance to us against them, on condition that we shouldafterwards support the independence of their nation against thepeople of Chiapa. This was very satisfactory to us, as we couldnot have passed the river, which was both broad and deep, withouttheir assistance; the chiefs were therefore dismissed with apromise on our part of protection, and on theirs to bring uscanoes and auxiliaries. During the remainder of the night we hadto keep strict guard, as the drums and horns of the enemy wereheard on the opposite banks of the river, where their warriorswere collecting from all sides to attack us. As soon as it waslight, our new friends joined us with the promised canoes, andshewed us a very dangerous ford, which they urged us to passwithout delay, that we might endeavour to save the lives of someof their people who had been recently made prisoners by theenemy. We accordingly passed the river in a solid column at theford, which reached our armpits, and where we lost one of ourcavalry. On gaining the opposite bank, we were so hotly assailedby the enemy with darts and arrows, that every one of us had twoor three wounds before we got out of the water. But as we werenow joined by large bodies of those Indians who had offered theirassistance, we soon compelled the enemy to fly for shelter totheir city, against which we immediately advanced in good order,accompanied by our new allies. On arriving there, it seemed tooclosely built to be occupied with safety, and we encampedtherefore in the open field, sending messengers to invite them topeace, with which they complied, by sending a deputation of theirchiefs, who submitted to become subject to our sovereign, andrequiring that the neighbouring tribes might be prevented fromdestroying their houses and plantations. All these things beingsettled to our mutual satisfaction, we went into the town, wherewe found many prisoners confined in wooden cages, who had beenseized by the Chiapese while travelling from place to place, allof whom we set free. In the temples of this place we foundseveral idols of horrible figures, and many remains of men andboys, who had been recently sacrificed. Our reverend father FraJuan, broke all the idols to pieces, and preached so successfullythat many were baptized. Many of the chiefs of the neighbouringtribes came in and made their submission: Among these were thechiefs of Cinacatan, Papanahaustla, Pinola, Guehuistlan, Chamula,the Quilenes, and others who spoke the Zoque language, and manyother tribes, the names of which I do not now remember. Thesepeople were much surprised when they perceived the smallness ofthe force with which we had ventured to attack a nation sowarlike as the Chiapese, whom the Mexicans were never able tosubdue.

While our captain was thus occupied in arranging matters withthe chiefs of the surrounding districts, one of our soldiers wentaccompanied by eight Mexicans, to a town called Chamula, where hedemanded a contribution of gold in the name of our captain,though entirely without authority. A quantity was accordinglyoffered him; but not being satisfied with the amount, heattempted to seize the cacique, by which violent proceeding heoccasioned an insurrection of that town, and another in theneighbourhood called Quiahuitlan, or Guehuistlan. When thisimproper transaction came to the ears of our captain, he sent thesoldier a prisoner to Mexico, and immediately marched to Chamulato quell the insurrection, being assisted on this occasion by theinhabitants of Cinacatan, a polished tribe which was addicted tomerchandize. On our arrival at Chamula, we found the placestrongly fortified by art and nature, and the people well armed,having a peculiar species of large shield which covered the wholebody, and could be rolled up into a small compass when not inuse. Our cavalry were ordered to keep guard in the plain in ourrear, to watch the motions of the insurgents in the neighbouringdistricts; while the infantry endeavoured to force their way intothe town; but our musketeers made very little impression, as theenemy were covered by their walls, while their missiles injuredus materially, being exposed without any defence. We continuedthe attack during the whole day to very little purpose, beingunable to force the ramparts, which were guarded by above 2000men armed with lances. We therefore drew off for the time, andprocured some timber from a depopulated town in theneighbourhood, with which we constructed certain machines namedmantas or burros, under cover of which twenty menor more could approach the walls in safety, to work a passagethrough them. On our first attempt to do this, the enemy threwdown upon our machines, heavy stones, fire, and scalding water,so that we were constrained to remove our machines to repair theinjury they had sustained. We again brought forward our machinesto the walls, and at length succeeded in making several breaches.While employed in this manner, four of their principal chiefs andpriests addressed us from the top of the ramparts, saying, sincewe wanted gold they had brought us some, and then threw overseven crowns of fine gold, with many gold trinkets, some of whichwere cast in the shape of various birds, shells, and the like;immediately after which they assailed us with repeated vollies ofdarts, arrows, and stones. By the time that it was dark, we hadmade two considerable breaches; but as a heavy rain came on, wedrew off for the night, keeping a vigilant guard round our post,and having our cavalry on the alert in the plain, ready saddledand bridled. During the whole night, the enemy kept continuallysounding their warlike instruments, making horrid yells, andthreatening us with destruction next day, which they said waspromised by their gods. We brought forward our machines again atday-break to enlarge the breaches we had made on the precedingday; but the enemy defended themselves with great obstinacy,wounding five of our people, and myself among the rest by thethrust of a lance, which had gone through me, had it not been forthe strength of my quilted cotton armour. Towards evening it cameon again to rain hard, and we were called off from the attack;but as the enemy ceased to shout and make their usual noises, Isuspected they were about leaving the town, and perceived alsothat their lances were mostly rested against the walls andparapets, except about two hundred which still appeared in thehands of a part of the enemy. On this, I and one of my comradescrept in at a small breach in the wall, and were immediatelyattacked by above two hundred of these lancemen, who would soonhave dispatched us, if some of our Indian allies had not noticedour perilous situation, and called the rest of our soldiers toour aid, who crowded in at the breach and soon enabled us to putthe enemy to flight. These were only the rear guard of thegarrison, all the rest of the inhabitants, men, women, andchildren, having evacuated the town by the opposite gate. Weimmediately pursued, and made many prisoners.

Leaving this place, we marched for Cinacatan, and halted forthe night at the place where Chiapa de losÉspanoles is now built; from whence our captaindismissed six of our prisoners, with a message to theircountrymen, offering to restore all the rest of the prisoners, ifthey would submit. They immediately complied with this, andsubmitted themselves as subjects to the Spanish monarchy. In thisneighbourhood dwelt a nation called the Guehuistlans[2], whopossessed three fortified towns, and were in rebellion againstus. Leaving our baggage and wounded men in Cinacatan, weproceeded to reduce these people to submission. They hadbarricaded all the approaches to their towns by means of felledtrees, which were cleared away by the aid of our Indian allies,and we got up to one of their fortresses, which threatened togive us infinite trouble, as it was full of warriors, well armedboth for offence and defence. But they all fled when we mountedto the assault, leaving the place to us without resistance. Bymeans of two prisoners who were taken by our allies, offers ofpeace and good treatment were sent to them, on condition ofsubmission; with which they complied, bringing with them sometrifling presents of gold and quetzal feathers.

[2] Diaz is often variable in his orthography ofIndian names; calling this people in different places,Gueguestitlans, Guehuistlans, and Quiahuistlans.--E.

Having thus effected our business in this place, by reducingall the surrounding tribes to submission, we proceeded, accordingto the orders of Cortes, to establish a colony, though some whohad already plantations and Indians in Coatzacualco objected tothis place as unfit for cavalry, and that our force was too smallfor keeping so populous a district under subjection, especiallyas the natives had many strong fortresses in the fastnesses oftheir mountains. Even our captain, Luis Marin, and the royalnotary Diego de Godoy, were adverse to the plan. Alonzo de Grado,also, a very troublesome fellow, was possessed of a patent fromCortes, by which he was entitled to an encomienda in theprovince of Chiapa, when reduced to obedience; and in virtue ofthis, he demanded that all the gold which had been received fromthe Indians of Chiapa, and also, that which had been found in thetemples, amounting to about 1500 crowns, should be delivered upto him. This was refused by Marin, who alleged that it ought tobe applied for replacing the horses which were killed during theexpedition. These disputes ran so high, that our captain orderedboth Godoy and De Grado into irons, intending to send them toMexico. Godoy obtained his liberty by concessions; and in returnfor this lenity entered into cabals with De Grado formisrepresenting the conduct of Marin to Cortes. On this occasionI was solicited to write to Cortes in exculpation of De Grado, asthey said that Cortes would believe my statements. I wroteaccordingly a true state of the case, but in no respect chargingMarin with any thing amiss. De Grado was sent off to Mexico,under an oath to appear before Cortes in eighty days, as thedistance he had to travel exceeded 190 leagues. On his arrival,Cortes was so much displeased by his conduct, that he ordered DeGrado to take 3000 crowns and retire to Cuba, that he might giveno farther trouble in his government; but De Grado made suchample apologies, that he was restored to favour. As it wasfinally resolved to establish a colony in this place, and as Ihad an order to that effect from Cortes, our captain, who waslikewise my particular friend, appointed me to the command of theencomienda at Cinacatan, which I enjoyed for eight years.As soon as possible after my appointment, I procured a reverendfather to preach to the Indians, whom I was anxious to convert toour holy faith. He accordingly erected an altar and crucifix, andpreached with so much success, that fifteen of the Indiansoffered themselves for baptism on the first day of his mission;which gave me infinite satisfaction, as I felt the warmestinterest in the welfare of these people, whom I looked upon as myown children.

When all things were properly settled at this place, weresolved to chastise the people of Cimatan who had slain two ofthe party with which I had been deputed to them, as formerlymentioned near the beginning of this section. In our way to thatplace, we had to march through a district named Tapelola, whichwas so very rugged that our horses were unable to proceed untilthe roads were cleared for them, which was immediately done onapplication to the caciques. We continued our march by thedistricts of Silo, Suchiapa, and Coyumelapa, to those ofTecomayatacal and Ateapan; the chief town of which was extensive,closely built, and very populous. This place belonged to myencomienda. Near this town there was a large and deepriver which it was necessary for us to pass, where we wereopposed by the people of the vicinity with so much vigour that wehad six soldiers wounded and three of our horses killed; but weput them to flight, and they withdrew into the woods andmountains, after setting fire to their town. We remained herefive days, taking care of our wounded men; and as we had takenmany of the women of this district, some of them were sent out toinvite the natives to return and submit, with which theycomplied. Godoy was averse from the lenity shewn on thisoccasion, and insisted that these people ought to be punished fortheir revolt, or at least made to pay for the horses which theyhad slain. I happened to be of a different opinion; and as Ispoke freely, Godoy became enraged and used very angry words,which I retorted. At length we proceeded to blows and drew ourswords; and if we had not been parted one or other of us musthave been killed, we were both so much enraged. Even as it was,several cuts were given and received on both sides, before wewere separated. Marin was a good man and of a mild disposition,so that he restored every thing to these deluded people and leftthem in peace.

We continued our march through the other districts of Cimatlanand Talatiopan, where we were attacked by a numerous body ofarchers, by whom above twenty of our soldiers were wounded andtwo horses killed; but we very soon defeated them. These peoplewere the most powerful archers I had yet seen, as they were ableto drive their arrows through two suits of well quilted cottonarmour; and their country is mostly composed of a marsh whichquakes under foot. It was in vain therefore to think of pursuingthe natives in such an impracticable country; and as they treatedall our offers of peace with contempt, we judged it best toreturn to our colony of Coatzacualco; which we did through thedistricts of Guimango, Nacaxa, Xuica, Teotitlan, Copilco, andsome others which I do not remember the names of, to Ulapa, andthence across the rivers Agaqualulco and Tonala to Coatzacualco,where the slain horses were paid for at the rate of a penny thepound.

SECTION XVIII.

Negotiations of Cortes at the Court of Spain, in respect tothe Conquest and Government of Mexico.

In the year 1521, the holy father Adrian de Lobayana,succeeded to the papacy, he being then governor of Castille andresident in the city of Vittoria, where our agents waited uponhim to kiss the foot of his holiness. About the same time a greatnobleman, named M. de la Soa, arrived from Germany, who waschamberlain to our emperor, and was sent by him to congratulatethe new pope on his election. When this nobleman was informed ofthe heroic deeds of the conquerors of Mexico, and the greatthings they had performed for the extension of the holy faith, bythe conversion and baptism of such myriads of Indians, he becameinterested in our behalf, and made application to his holiness toexpedite the business of our agents. This was readily acceded to,as besides the allegations of our agents, the pope had receivedother complaints against the bishop of Burgos from persons ofquality and honour. Our chief agents on this occasion wereFrancisco de Montejo, Diego de Ordas, Francisco Nunez cousin toour general, and his father Martin Cortes; who were countenancedby many powerful noblemen, and chiefly by the Duke of Bejar. Thussupported, they brought forward their charges against the bishopto good purpose. These were, that Velasquez had bribed the bishopby the gift of a considerable district in Cuba, the natives ofwhich were made to work in the gold mines for his emolument, tothe manifest injury of the royal revenue. That when, in 1517, 110of us had sailed at our own expence under the command ofHernandez de Cordova for the discovery of New Spain, the bishophad falsely informed his majesty that it was done by Velasquez.That Velasquez had transmitted 20,000 crowns in gold, which hadbeen procured by his nephew Juan de Grijalva on our secondvoyage, all of which was given to the bishop, and no part of itto his majesty to whom it belonged. That when Cortes sent home alarge contribution in gold to his majesty, the bishop hadsuppressed our letters, substituting others, and ascribed thepresent to Velasquez, retaining half of the treasure to his ownuse; and, when Puertocarrera applied to him for permission towait upon his majesty, the bishop had thrown him into prison,where he died. That the bishop had forbidden the officers of theCasa de contratation of Seville to give any assistance toCortes, by which the public service had suffered manifest injury.That he had appointed very unfit persons to the military commandin New Spain, as was particularly the case with regard toChristoval de Tapia, to whom he had given a commission asgovernor of New Spain, in order to bring about a marriage betweenhis niece and Tapia. That he had given authenticity to the falseaccounts transmitted by the agents of Velasquez, suppressing thetrue relations which came from Cortes. There were many othercharges against the bishop which he could not gainsay, as theywere all substantiated by good evidence.

All these things being made clear to his holiness, he waspleased to order, that the bishop should have no longer anyauthority in regard to the affairs of New Spain, of which thegovernment should be conferred on Cortes, and that Velasquezshould be remunerated for all the expences he had incurred onaccount of the expedition, which he could duly substantiate. Hisholiness sent also to New Spain, a great number of indulgencesfor the hospitals and churches, and recommended to Cortes and theother conquerors to pay unremitting attention to the conversionof the Indians, and was pleased to send us his holy bulls ofabsolution. His majesty graciously confirmed all these orders ofthe pope, ordering Velasquez to be deprived of the government ofCuba, on account of having sent the expedition under Narvaez, indefiance of peremptory orders to the contrary from the royalaudience of St Domingo, and the Jeronymite brethren. The bishopwas so much affected by his disgrace on this occasion, that hefell dangerously ill.

About this time, Panfilo de Narvaez and Christoval de Tapiaarrived in Spain, together with the pilot Umbria and Cardenas,who by the instigation of the bishop of Burgos, preferred manysevere accusations against Cortes to his majesty, in which theywere gladly joined by the agents of Velasquez. They alleged, thatVelasquez had fitted out three several expeditions for New Spainat vast expence, the last of which he had confided to Cortes, whobroke his engagements and converted the armament to his ownadvantage. That when Velasquez sent Narvaez as governor of NewSpain, with his majesties commission, Cortes made war upon him,defeated him and made him a prisoner. That when the bishop ofBurgos sent Tapia to take the command of New Spain in the name ofhis majesty, Cortes refused obedience, and compelled him tore-embark. They also accused Cortes of having embezzled a greatquantity of gold which he had obtained for his majesty; of takinga fifth of all the plunder to his own use; of having torturedGuatimotzin; of defrauding the soldiers of their shares; ofmaking the natives of Mexico construct for his use magnificentpalaces and castles as large as villages; of having poisonedFrancisco de Garay, in order to get possession of his ships andtroops, and many other charges of a similar nature. By command ofhis majesty, a court of inquiry was appointed from the privycouncil, to hear and determine upon these allegations, beforewhich the following answers were given in. That Cordova was thereal discoverer of New Spain, which had been done by him and hiscompanions at their own cost. That although Velasquez had sentJuan de Grijalva on an expedition to New Spain, it was only forthe purpose of trade, and not of colonization. That the principalcharges had been expended by the different captains, and not byVelasquez, who had received the chief part of 20,000 crowns whichthese captains had collected. That Velasquez gave Indians in Cubato the bishop of Burgos to collect gold for him, which ought tohave belonged to his majesty. That although it was true Velasquezhad sent Cortes to New Spain, his orders were only to barter; andthe establishment he had made was entirely owing to therepresentations of his companions for the service of God and hismajesty, and in no respect due to the instructions of Velasquez.That it was well known to all, that Cortes had reported the wholeof his proceedings to his majesty, to whom he and his companionssent all the gold they could procure, waiting his majestiesultimate orders in the utmost humility; whereas the bishop ofBurgos suppressed his letters, and appropriated the gold to hisown use, concealing our meritorious services from his majesty,preventing our agents from gaining access to the emperor, andeven throwing one of them into prison, where he died; and that heprevented the royal officers from supplying us with such thingsas we needed, by which our enterprize had been much retarded.That all these things had been done by the bishop from corruptmotives, that he might give the government of Mexico to Velasquezor Tapia, in order that one of them might marry his nieceDonna Petronilla de Fonseca, being anxious to make hisson-in-law governor of that splendid kingdom. As for theexpedition of Narvaez, our agents contended that Velasquez oughtto suffer death for having sent it in direct disobedience of hismajesties orders as communicated by the royal audience; and thathe had behaved with high disrespect to his majesty, in making hisapplication to the bishop of Burgos on this occasion. In supportof all these accusations they offered to bring substantialproofs, and prayed the court to award punishment for thesemultiplied offences.

In reply to the accusations of Narvaez against Cortes, theyrepresented, that Narvaez sent word to Montezuma on his arrivalin Mexico, that he came to rescue him, by which he occasioned adangerous war. That when Cortes desired to see his commission,and represented the necessity of an amicable junction of theirforces for the good of the service, Narvaez would give no answer,but immediately declared war against Cortes and his companions,by which they were forced to defend themselves, and that Narvaezhad even presumed to seize his majesties oydor, for which Cortesdeemed it requisite to bring him to punishment. That when Corteswent to wait on Narvaez, that he might see his commission andremonstrate with him on his proceedings, Narvaez had attempted tomake him prisoner by surprise, of which proof could be made bywitnesses. As to the failure of Garay, and the ridiculous chargeof having poisoned him; it was well known that the expeditionunder Garay had failed through his own misconduct and ignoranceof the country; after which he had gladly accepted the friendlyoffers of Cortes, who had given him an hospitable reception inMexico, where an alliance was agreed upon between their families,and Garay was to have been assisted in establishing a colony onthe river Palmas; and finally, it was established beyond alldoubt, by the oaths of the physicians who attended him, thatGaray had died of a pleurisy. In regard to the charge ofretaining his majesties fifth, it was proved that Cortes hadfairly expended it in the public service, together with 6000crowns of his own property. That the fifth which he had retainedfor himself, was according to compact with the soldiers; and asto the shares belonging to the soldiers, it was well known thatvery little gold was found in Mexico on its capture, as almostall the wealth of the place had fallen into the hands of ourallies of Tlascala and Tezcuco. That the torture given toGuatimotzin had been done by his majesties officers, contrary tothe inclination of Cortes, in order to force a discovery of wherethe treasures of Montezuma had been concealed. As for thebuildings, though certainly sumptuous, they were intended for theuse of his majesty and his successors, and that the work had beencarried on by the Indians, under the order of Guatimotzin, as wasalways done in building houses for the great in that country. Asto Alonzo de Avila having taken the commission from Narvaez byforce; it appeared there was no commission among his papers,which consisted entirely of receipts for the purchase of horsesand the like; and farther, that these papers had been takenwithout any order from Cortes, who never saw any of them. As forTapia, it was urged, that if he had come to Mexico and producedhis majesties orders, they should have been received and obeyedby Cortes with the utmost humility: But that his incapacity wasso notorious to every one then in New Spain, that it was theuniversal advice and desire of all that Cortes should retain thecommand. As to the pilot Umbria, whose feet had been cut off,this had been done in the due course of justice, for having runaway with his ship. That Cardenas had consented along with allthe rest to give up his share of the gold, that the whole mightbe sent to his majesty; and that Cortes had given him 300 crownsfrom his own pocket, which was more than he deserved, being aperson of no consideration and no soldier.

The court having duly weighed all the charges and answers, thewhole proceedings were reported to his majesty, together withtheir opinion and sentence, which were entirely in favour ofCortes, whose merit and valour, and that of all the veteranconquerors of Mexico, were highly praised. Velasquez was enjoinedsilence in respect to his complaints against Cortes, and was toldthat he might seek for the remuneration of his expences by alegal process. Cortes was declared governor-general of New Spain,pursuant to the orders of the pope, and the court approved of thearrangements which he had made in the country, authorizing him todistribute and appoint the districts or repartimientos inthe way he thought proper. Narvaez was referred for redress toFrance, where Avila was still a prisoner. The pilots Umbria andCardenas obtained royal grants of property in New Spain, to theextent of a thousand crowns in annual rent. And it was ordainedthat all the veterans of Cortes should have immediate and amplegratifications in lands and Indians, with such precedency in rankas their valour and services had deserved. This sentence wasconfirmed by the emperor at Valladolid, who was then on his roadto Flanders; and he gave orders likewise for the banishment ofall relapsed converts in New Spain, and that noScholars[1] should be admitted into that country for acertain term of years. His majesty, and his brother the king ofHungary, were graciously pleaded to write letters to Cortes, andto us the conquerors, thanking us for the good service we hadperformed.

[1] This probably alludes to lawyers, as on aformer occasion, Diaz mentions a request from the Spaniards thatnone of that fraternity might be sent over to New Spain, probablyto avoid the introduction of litigious lawsuits.--E.

This affair being decided in our favour, the necessarydocuments were entrusted to two relations of Cortes, Roderigo dePaz and Francisco de las Casas, who carried them in the firstplace to St Jago in the island of Cuba, where Velasquez resided.On the sentence being made known to him, and proclaimed by soundof trumpet, he fell ill from vexation, and died soon afterwardspoor and miserable. Francisco de Montejo had the government ofYucutan and Cozumel from his majesty, with the title of Don.Diego de Ordas was ennobled, getting for his coat of arms thevolcano of Guaxocingo, and was confirmed in all his possessionsin New Spain. He went back to Spain two years afterwards tosolicit permission to conquer the province of Maranion, in whichenterprize he lost his life and all his property. On the arrivalof Las Casas and De Paz in Mexico with the appointment of Cortesto the government, there were great rejoicings everywhere. LasCasas was made a captain, and got the encomienda of a gooddistrict called Anquitlan; and De Paz was appointed major-domoand secretary to Cortes, getting likewise valuable possessions.Cortes liberally rewarded the captain of the vessel which broughtout this pleasing information, and provided handsomely for allwho came out to New Spain from his native country of Medellin.All the proceedings of our agents in Spain were regularlyconveyed to us the conquerors; but it seemed to me that theyagented solely for Cortes and themselves, as we who had raisedCortes to his greatness, were continually encountering dangersand hardships, without any reward. May God protect us, andinspire our great emperor to cause his just intentions towards usto be carried into effect. To us, the ancient, wise, and braveconquerors of Mexico, it appeared that Cortes ought to have dulyconsidered his true friends, who had supported him from the firstthrough all his difficulties and dangers, and ought to haverewarded us according to our respective merits, and his majestiesorders, by giving us good and profitable situations, instead ofleaving us poor and miserable. By his majesties orders, and byhis duty, Cortes was bound to have given to us and our childrenall the good offices in the kingdom of New Spain; but be thoughtonly of himself and his favourites. In our opinion, who were theconquerors, the whole country ought to have been divided intofive equal parts, allotting one to the crown, another for theholy church, and the remaining three parts to Cortes and the restof us, who were the true original conquerors, giving each a sharein perpetuity in proportion to our rank and merits, consideringthat we had not only served his majesty in gratuity, but withouthis knowledge, and, almost against his will. This arrangementwould have placed us at our ease; instead of which, many of usare wandering about, almost without a morsel to eat, and God onlyknows what may become of our children.

To the veedor Pedro Alonzo Chirinos, Gonzalo Salazar thefactor, Rodrigo Albornos the contador, and many others who camenow from Spain, and to the dependents of great men, who flatteredhim and told him fine tales, Cortes refused nothing; but hetreated us the true conquerors like vassals, forgetting usentirely in the distribution of property, yet never failing tocall upon us when he wanted our assistance, as if we had been fitonly for expeditions and battles. I do not blame him for beinggenerous, as there was enough for all; but he ought in the firstplace to have considered those who had served his majesty in theconquest of this noble kingdom, and to whose blood and valour hewas indebted for his own elevation. Long afterwards, when LuisPonce de Leon came out to supersede Cortes, we the veteranconquerors represented to our general that he ought to give usthat property which he had been ordered by his majesty to resign.He expressed his sorrow for having so long neglected us, andpromised even with an oath, that he would provide for us all, ifhe returned to his government, thinking to satisfy us with smoothwords and empty promises.

SECTION XIX.

Of an Expedition against the Zapotecas, and various otherOccurrences.

Intelligence was brought to Mexico that the Zapotecas were inrebellion, on which Rodrigo Rangel, whom I have several timesmentioned already, solicited Cortes to be appointed to thecommand of an expedition for their reduction, that he too mighthave an opportunity of acquiring fame, proposing likewise to takePedro de Ircio along with him as his lieutenant and adviser.Cortes knew well that Rangel was very unfit for any service ofdanger or difficulty, being a miserably diseased object, theeffect of his sins, and put him off therefore by various excuses;but as he was a very slanderous fellow, whom he wished to get ridof, he at length agreed to his proposal, and at the same timewrote for ten or twelve veterans, then residing in Coatzacualco,of whom I was one, desiring us to accompany Rangel on thisexpedition. The country of the Zapotecas is composed of high andrugged mountains, always enveloped in clouds and mists, with suchnarrow and bad roads as to be unfit for cavalry, so steep thatthey must be climbed up like ladders, each successive soldier ofthe file having his head at the heels of the man immediatelybefore him. The natives of these mountains are light and active,and have a way of whistling and shouting, so as to make the hillsresound again, insomuch that it is hardly possible to know onwhich side they are coming to attack. Against such enemies in sostrong a country, and with such a leader, it was impossible forus to effect any thing. We advanced, however, under heavy rain,to a scattered village, part of the houses being situated on arocky ridge, and the rest in a valley, and well it was for usthat the Indians made no stand, as poor Rangel whined and moanedthe whole way, complaining of pains in his limbs, and theseverity of the weather. It was at last agreed, as he grew everyday worse and worse, that we could be of no use here, and wereexposing ourselves needlessly to danger, to abandon thisfruitless expedition, and return to our homes. Pedro de Ircio wasamong the first who advised this, and soon set the example, byretiring to his own town of Villa Rica; but Rangel chose ratherto go along with us to Coatzacualco, to our greatdissatisfaction, as he expected benefit from that warm climate torelieve him of his pains.

We were hardly returned to Coatzacualco, when Rangel took itinto his head to go upon an expedition against the Indians ofCimatan and Tatupan, who continued in rebellion, confiding in theimpracticability of their country, among large rivers andtrembling marshes; being also very formidable warriors, who usedvery long bows of great strength. We were all very averse fromthis, but as Rangel produced his commission from Cortes, we wereunder the necessity to obey, and accordingly set out on theexpedition, with about 100 horse and foot. We soon arrived at apass among lakes and marshes, where the Indians had thrown up astrong circular entrenchment of large trees and pallisades,having loop-holes to shoot through, and where they gave us a verywarm reception with a flight of darts and arrows, by which theykilled seven horses, and wounded Rangel and eight of our men. Wehad often told him what stout warriors these Indians were, and henow declared that in future the old conquerors should commandhim, and not he us, for he would not have been now in suchjeopardy if he had listened to our advice. When our wounded menand horses were dressed, he requested me to go forward toreconnoitre, on which I took two comrades, and a fierce dogbelonging to Rangel, desiring the infantry to follow closebehind, but that Rangel and the cavalry might keep at a gooddistance in the rear. In this order we pursued our march forCimatan, and soon fell in with another post, fortified like theformer, and as strongly defended, whence the Indians assailed uswith a shower of arrows, which killed the dog, and wounded us allthree. On this occasion I received a wound in my leg, and hadseven arrows sticking in my cotton armour. I immediately calledto some of our Indian auxiliaries, who were a little way behind,to desire all the infantry to come up immediately, but that allthe cavalry must remain behind, as otherwise they would certainlylose their horses. We soon drove the Indians from theirentrenchments; but they took refuge among the marshes, where wecould not pursue them without running the risk of sinking atevery step.

Having passed the night at an Indian village, we proceededforwards next day, when we were opposed by a body of Indiansposted in a marsh on the border of an open plain. In spite ofevery thing we could say, Rangel made a charge upon them with hiscavalry, and was the first to tumble head foremost into themarsh, where the Indians closed in upon him, in hope of takinghim alive for sacrifice. By great exertions we rescued him fromtheir hands, half drowned and badly wounded. The country beingvery populous, we very soon found a village which the natives hadabandoned, where we went for the purpose of refreshment, and todress our wounded men: But had hardly been there a quarter of anhour, when the enemy attacked us with such violence, that we hadmuch ado to repel them, after they had killed one of our men andtwo horses. Poor Rangel complained grievously of his wounds andbruises, and was so infested by mosquitoes and other vermin,which abound greatly in that country, that he could not resteither day or night. He, and some of the soldiers who hadbelonged to Garay that accompanied him, grew very sick of theirexpedition, in which nothing had been got except three hardfought battles, in which eleven horses and two soldiers had beenslain, and many others wounded, on which account they were verydesirous to get home again; yet Rangel was averse from having itappear that a retreat was his choice, and got, therefore, acouncil of those who were of his own opinion to propose thatmeasure. At this time, I and about twenty more had gone out totry if we could make any prisoners, and had taken five among somegardens and plantations near the village. On my return, Rangelcalled me aside, and informed me that his council had determinedon a retreat, and desired me to persuade the rest of thedetachment to come into that opinion. "How, Sir," said I, "canyou think of a retreat? What will Cortes and the world say ofyou, when they hear of your retreating in two successiveexpeditions, without having done any thing? You cannot surelyreturn without disgrace, till you have reached the head town ofthese Indians. I will go forward on foot with the infantry toreconnoitre: Give my horse to another soldier, and you may followin the rear with the cavalry." "You give good advice, saidRangel, and we will march on." This was done accordingly, to thegreat regret of many of our companions, and we advanced in goodorder to Cimatan, the principal town of the district, where wewere saluted as usual by a shower of arrows. We entered the town,however, which was abandoned by the enemy, yet took severalprisoners, whom I dismissed, with an invitation to the chiefs tocome in and make peace with us; but they never returned. Rangelwas very angry at me on this account, and swore that he wouldmake me procure Indians for him, in place of those whom I hadliberated. To pacify him, I went among the neighbouring marsheswith thirty soldiers, where we picked up several stragglers, whomwe brought to him. But he dismissed these likewise, in hopes toinduce the rest to submit, yet all to no purpose. Thus ended thetwo famous expeditions against the Zapotecans and Cimatanese, andsuch was all the fame acquired by Rangel in the wars of NewSpain. Two years afterwards, we effected the conquest of boththese countries, the natives of which were converted to our holyreligion, by the grace of God, and through the exertions ofFather Olmedo, now grown weak and infirm, to the great regret ofall who knew him, as he was an excellent minister of thegospel.

Cortes had now collected 80,000 crowns in gold, and had causeda superb golden culverin to be made as a present for the emperor,on which the following motto was engraved:

Esta ave nacio sin par: Yo en servir os sin segundo; Y vossin iqual en el Mundo[1].

[1] Like the solitary Phoenix, I, without a peer,serve you, who have no equal in the world.

This sumptuous present was sent over to Spain under the careof Diego de Soto. I am uncertain whether Juan de Ribera, who hadbeen secretary to Cortes went over at the same time with Soto;but I know that he carried over a sum of money for the generalsfather, which he appropriated to his own use; and, unmindful ofthe many obligations he had received, he reported much evil ofCortes, combining with the bishop of Burgos and others to injurehim. I always thought him a bad man, from what I had observed ofhim when engaged in gaming, and many other circ*mstances: But, ashe was of a fluent speech, and had been secretary to Cortes, hedid him much harm, and would have injured him much more, if ithad not been for the interest of the Duke of Bejar, who protectedCortes, who was then engaged in a treaty of marriage with thedukes niece, Donna Juana de Zuniga[2]. By this interest, andcombined with the magnificent present brought over by Soto, theaffairs of Cortes at the court of Spain took a favourable turn.The golden Phoenix with its motto, gave great offence to many,who thought it presumptuous in Cortes to insinuate that he had noequal in his services: But his friends justly defended him,observing that no one had so far extended the fame and power ofhis majesty, or had brought so many thousand souls under thedominion of the holy catholic church as he had done. Neither didthey forget the merits of us his associates, truly declaring thatwe were entitled to honours and emoluments, which we had asjustly earned as the original nobles of Castille, whose estatesand honours were now enjoyed by their descendents. The culverinwent no farther than Seville, as his majesty was graciouslypleased to give it to Don Francisco de los Cobos,commendator-major of Leon, who melted it down. Its value was20,000 ducats. Martin Cortes, our generals father, brought a suitagainst Ribera for the money of which he had defrauded him; andwhile that was pending, Ribera died suddenly while at dinner, andwithout confession. May God pardon his sins! Amen.

[2] In Clavigero, at the close of Vol. I. this ladyis named Donna Jeroma Ramirez de Arrellano y Zuniga, daughter ofDon Carlos Ramiro de Arellano, Count of Auguiller, by DonnaJeroma de Zuniga, a daughter of the Count of Benares, eldest sonof Don Alvaro de Zuniga, duke of Bejar. After two male descentsfrom this marriage, the Marquisate of the Valley of Oaxaca, andthe great estates of Cortes in New Spain, fell, by variouscollateral female descents, to the Neapolitan family ofPignatelli, duke of Montelione and Terranova, marquis of theValley of Oaxaca, Grandee of Spain, and prince of the Romanempire.--E.

Cortes continued to rebuild and embellish the city of Mexico,which was again as well peopled by natives as ever it had beenbefore the conquest. All of these were exempted from payingtribute to his majesty, till their houses were built, and tillthe causeways, bridges, public edifices, and aqueducts, were allrestored. In that quarter of the city appropriated to theSpaniards, churches and hospitals were erected under thesuperintendence of Father Olmedo, as vicar and superior; wholikewise established an hospital for the natives, to whom he paidparticular attention. In compliance with our petition, formerlymentioned, the general of the Franciscans sent over twelve of hisorder, under the vicarage of Father Martin de Valentia. Amongthese came Father Torribio de Motolinea, which name, signifyingpoor brother, he acquired from the Mexicans, because allthat he received in charity he gave away in the same manner,going always barefooted in a tattered habit, preaching to thenatives, and often in want of food. When Cortes learnt that thesereverend fathers were arrived at Villa Rica, he ordered the roadto Mexico to be repaired, and to have houses built at properintervals for their accommodation; commanding the inhabitants ofall the towns in the way to meet them with the utmost reverence,ringing their bells, bearing crucifixes and lighted wax-candles,and that all the Spaniards should kneel down and kiss theirhands. On their approach to Mexico, Cortes went out to meet them,and dismounting from his horse, kneeled down to kiss the hands ofthe vicar. The natives were astonished to see so much honourconferred on these reverend fathers in tattered garments and barefeet, and considering them as gods, they all followed the exampleof the general, and have ever since behaved to them with theutmost reverence.

About this time, Cortes informed his majesty of hisproceedings with regard to the conversion of the natives, andrebuilding the city of Mexico; and also of the conduct of De Oli,whom he had sent to reduce the province of Higueras, but who haddeserted and joined the party of Velasquez, on which account hehad resolved to send a force to reduce him to obedience. Hecomplained also of the proceedings of Velasquez, to the greatinjury of his majesties service, and of the partiality which hadbeen shewn by the bishop of Burgos. At this time likewise, heremitted 30,000 crowns in gold to the royal treasury, lamentingthe injurious effects of the proceedings of Velasquez and thebishop, which had prevented him from making a much largercontribution. He complained also against the contador, Rodrigo deAlbornos, who had aspersed him from private pique, because he hadrefused to give him in marriage the daughter of the prince ofTezcuco; and that he understood Albornos corresponded in cypherswith the bishop of Burgos. Cortes had not yet learnt that thebishop was removed from the management of the affairs of theIndies. By the same ship, Albornos sent home accusations againstCortes; charging him with the levy of exorbitant contributions ingold for his own use; fortifying castles to defend himself, andmarrying his private soldiers to the daughters of the nativelords: insinuating that Cortes was endeavouring to set himself upas an independent king, and that it was highly necessary to sendout an able officer with a great force to supersede him. Thebishop of Burgos laid these letters before the whole junto of theenemies of Cortes, who immediately produced this new accusationto the emperor, complaining of the partial favour which had beenshewn him on former occasions. Deceived by thesemisrepresentations, which were enforced by Narvaez, his majestyissued an order to the admiral of Hispaniola, to go with sixhundred soldiers to arrest Cortes, and to make him answer withhis head if found guilty; as also to punish all of us who hadbeen concerned in attacking Narvaez. As an encouragement, thisofficer was promised the admiralty of New Spain, the right towhich was then under litigation. Either from want of money, orbecause he was afraid of committing himself against so able andsuccessful a commander, the admiral delayed his expedition solong, that the friends and agents of Cortes had time to make afull explanation of all the circ*mstances to the Duke of Bejar,who immediately represented a true statement of the case to theemperor, and offered to pledge his own life in security for theloyalty of Cortes. Being on due consideration quite satisfied ofthe justice of our cause, his majesty determined to send out aperson of high quality and good character to hold a supreme courtof justice in New Spain. The person chosen for this purpose wasLuis Ponce de Leon, cousin to Don Martin, Count of Cordova; whomhis majesty entrusted to inquire into the conduct of Cortes, withfull power to inflict capital punishment if guilty. But it wastwo years and a half before this gentleman arrived in NewSpain.

I now go beyond the date of my narrative to inform my readersof a circ*mstance which happened during the viceroyalty of thatillustrious nobleman, Don Antonio de Mendoza, worthy of eternalmemory and heavenly glory for his wise and just government.Albornos wrote malignant and slanderous letters against him, ashe had before done of Cortes, which letters were all sent backfrom Spain to Don Antonio. When he had read all the gross abusewhich they contained, he sent for Albornos, to whom he shewed hisown letters; saying mildly, in his usual slow manner, "When youare pleased to make me the subject of your letters to hismajesty, remember always in future to tell the truth."

SECTION XX.

Narrative of the Expedition of Cortes to Higueras.

I have formerly mentioned the revolt of De Oli. Cortes wasmuch distressed on receiving this intelligence, and immediatelysent off his relation, Francisco de las Casas, with five shipsand a hundred well appointed soldiers, among whom were some ofthe veteran conquerors of Mexico, with orders to reduce De Oli.Las Casas soon arrived at the bay of Triumpho de la Cruz, whereDe Oli had established his head-quarters; and though Las Casashoisted a signal of peace, De Oli determined on resistance, andsent a number of soldiers in two armed vessels to oppose LasCasas, who ordered out his boats armed with swivels and musquetryto attack those belonging to De Oli. In this affair Las Casas wassuccessful, as he sunk one of the vessels belonging to De Oli,killed four of his soldiers, and wounded a great number. On thismisfortune, and because a considerable number of his soldierswere on a detached service in the inland country, for the purposeof reducing a party of Spaniards under Gil Gonzalez de Avila, whowas employed in making conquests on the river Pechin, De Olithought it advisable to propose terms of peace to Las Casas, inhopes that his detachment might return to his assistance. LasCasas unfortunately agreed to treat, and remained at sea; partlyfor the purpose of finding some better place of disembarkation,and partly induced by letters from the friends of Cortes who werealong with De Oli. That same night a heavy storm arose, by whichthe vessels of Las Casas were driven on shore and utterly lost,and above thirty of the soldiers perished. All the rest were madeprisoners two days afterwards, having been all that time on shorewithout food, and almost perished with cold, as it was the seasonof almost incessant rain. De Oli obliged all his prisoners toswear fidelity to him against Cortes, and then released them allexcept Las Casas.

The party which he sent against De Avila returned about thistime, having been successful in their errand. Avila had gone witha party to reduce the country about the Golfe Dolce, andhad founded a settlement to which he gave the name of St Gilde buena vista; and the troops sent against him, afterkilling his nephew and eight of his soldiers, made himself andall the rest prisoners. De Oli was now much elated by hissuccess, in having made two captains belonging to Cortesprisoners, and sent off a full account of his exploits to hisfriend Velasquez. He afterwards marched up the country to a placecalled Naco in a very populous district, which is all now laidwaste. While here, he sent off various detachments in differentdirections, among which one was commanded by Briones, who hadfirst instigated him to revolt; bat Briones now revolted from himin his turn, and marched off with all his men for New Spain. Hewas a seditious fellow, who had on some former occasion had thelower part of his ears cut off, which he used to say had beendone for refusing to surrender in some fortress or other. He wasafterwards hanged at Guatimala for mutiny.

De Oli was personally brave but imprudent, and permitted LasCasas and Avila to be at large, disdaining to be under anyapprehensions from them; but they concerted a plan with some ofthe soldiers for putting him to death. Las Casas one day askedhim, as if half in jest, for liberty to return to Cortes; but DeOli said he was too happy to have the company of so brave a man,and could not part with him. "Then" said Las Casas, "I advise youto take care of me, for I shall kill you one of these days". DeOli considered this as a joke, but measures were actuallyconcerted for the purpose; and one night after supper, when theservants and pages had withdrawn to their own apartment, LasCasas, Avila, Juan de Mercado, and some other soldiers attachedto Cortes, suddenly drew out their penknives and fell upon DeOli. Las Casas seized him by the beard, and made a cut at histhroat, and the rest gave him several wounds; but being strongand active, he escaped from their hands, calling loudly to hispeople for assistance, but they were all too busy at theirsuppers to hear him. He then fled and concealed himself amongsome bushes, calling out for assistance, and many of his peopleturned out for that purpose; but Las Casas called upon them torally on the side of the king and his general Cortes, which aftersome hesitation they consented to. De Oli was made prisoner bythe two captains, who shortly afterwards sentenced him to bebeheaded, which was carried into execution in the town of Naco.He was a brave man, but of no foresight, and thus paid with hislife for following evil counsels. He had received many favoursfrom Cortes, having valuable estates, and the commission ofMaestre de Campo. His lady, Donna Philippa de Aranja, wasa Portuguese, by whom he had one daughter. Las Casas and Avilanow joined their troops together, and acted in concert ascaptains under Cortes. Las Casas colonized Truzilo in NewEstremadura. Avila sent orders to his lieutenant in Buena Vistato remain in charge of that establishment, promising to send hima reinforcement as soon as possible, for which purpose he meantto go to Mexico.

Some months after the departure of Las Casas, Cortes becameafraid of some disaster, and repented that he had not gonehimself on the expedition, and now resolved to go himself, thathe might examine the state of the country and the mines it wassaid to contain. He left a good garrison in Mexico, and appointedAlonzo de Estrada and Albornos, the treasurer and contador, tocarry on the government in his absence, with strict injunctionsto pay every attention to the interest of his majesty, andrecommended to Motolinca and Olmedo to labour incessantly inconverting the natives. On purpose to deprive the Mexicans ofchiefs during his absence, he took along with him Guatimotzin thelate king of Mexico, the prince of Tacuba, an Indian now namedVelasquez, who had been a captain under Guatimotzin, and severalother caciques of consequence. We had along with us Fra Juan delas Varillas, and several other good theologians to preach to theIndians, as also the captains Sandoval and Marin and many othercavaliers. On this occasion, Cortes, was attended by a splendidpersonal suit; such as a steward, paymaster, keeper of the plate,a major-domo, two stewards of the household, a butler,confectioner, physician, surgeon a number of pages, among whomwas Francisco de Montejo, who was afterwards captain in Yutucan,two armour-bearers, eight grooms, two falconers, five musicians,a stage-dancer, a juggler and puppet-master, a master of thehorse, and three Spanish muleteers. A great service of gold andsilver plate accompanied the march, and a large drove of swinefor the use of the table. Three thousand Mexican warriorsattended their own chiefs, and a numerous train of domesticservants.

When about to set out, the factor Salazar and veedor Chirinos,remonstrated with Cortes on the danger of leaving the seat ofgovernment; but finding him determined, they asked permission toaccompany him to Coatzacualco, which he agreed to. Cortes wasreceived in all the places on his way with much pomp and manyrejoicings; and above fifty soldiers and straggling travellersnewly arrived from Spain, joined us on the road. During the marchto Coatzacualco, Cortes divided his troops into two detachments,for the convenience of quarters and provisions. While on themarch, a marriage took place at the town of Ojeda near Orizava,between our linguist Donna Marina and Juan Xaramillo. As soon asthe advance of Cortes to Guazpaltepec in the district of Sandovalwas known at Coatzacualco, all the Spaniards of that settlementwent above thirty leagues to meet him; in so much respect and awewas he held by us all. In proceeding beyond Guazpaltepec fortunebegan to frown upon us, as in passing a large river three of ourcanoes overset, by which some plate and other valuables werelost, and nothing could be recovered as the river swarmed withalligators. At Coatzacualco three hundred canoes were preparedfor crossing the river, fastened two and two together to preventoversetting, and we were here received under triumphal arches,with various festivities, such as mock skirmishes betweenChristian's and Moors, fireworks, and the like. Cortes remainedsix days at Coatzacualco, where the factor and veedor prevailedon Cortes to give them a commission to assume the government ofMexico in case they should judge that the present deputies failedin their duty. This measure occasioned much trouble afterwards inMexico, as I shall explain hereafter; but these two associatestook their leaves at this place, with much pretended tendernessand affection for the general, even affecting to sob and cry atparting.

From Coatzacualco, Cortes sent orders to Simon de Cucena, oneof his major-domos, to freight two light vessels at Villa Ricawith biscuit made of maize flour, as there was then no wheat inMexico, wine, oil, vinegar, pork, iron, and other necessaries,and to proceed with them along the coast till he had fartherdirections. Cortes now gave orders for all the settlers ofCoatzacualco who were fit for duty, to join the expedition. Thiswas a severe disappointment to us, as our colony was composed ofmost of the respectable hildagos, the veteran conquerors, whoexpected to have been allowed to enjoy our hard earned houses andlands in peace, instead of which we were obliged to undertake anarduous expedition of five hundred leagues, which took us upabove two years and a half of infinite fatigues. We had nothingfor it but compliance, so that we armed ourselves and mounted ourhorses; being in all above 250 veterans, 130 of whom werecavalry, besides many soldiers newly arrived from Old Spain. Iwas immediately dispatched at the head of 30 Spaniards and 3000Mexicans, to reduce the district of Cimatan, which was then inrebellion. My orders were, if I found the natives submissive, Iwas merely to quarter my troops on the natives, and do them nofarther injury. But, if refractory, they were to be summonedthree times in presence of a royal notary and proper witnesses,after which, if they still persisted in rebellion, I was to makewar on them and compel them to submit. The people received me ina peaceable manner, for which reason I marched on with mydetachment to rejoin Cortes at Iquinapa. In consequence of theveterans being withdrawn from Coatzacualco, these people revoltedagain in a few months after. After I left him, the generalproceeded with the rest of his troops to Tonala, crossing theriver Aquacualco, and another river seven leagues from an arm ofthe sea, by a bridge a quarter of a league in length, which wasconstructed by the natives under the direction of two Spanishsettlers of Coatzacualco. The army then proceeded to the largeriver Mazapa, called by seamen Rio de dos bocas, orTwo-mouth river, which flows past Chiapa. Crossing this by meansof double canoes, they proceeded through several villages toIquinapa, where my detachment rejoined the army. Crossing anotherriver and an arm of the sea, on wooden bridges, we came to alarge town named Copilco, where the province of Chontalpa begins;a populous district, full of plantations of cacoa, which we foundperfectly peaceable. From thence we marched by Nicaxuxica andZagutan, passing another river, in which the general lost somepart of his baggage. We found Zagutan in peace, yet theinhabitants fled during the night; on which Cortes orderedparties out into the woods to make prisoners. Seven chiefs andsome others were taken, but they all escaped from us again in thenight, and left us without guides. At this place fifty canoesarrived at our quarters from Tabasco, loaded with provisions, andsome also from Teapan, a place in my encomienda.

From Zagutan, we continued our march to Tepetitan, crossing alarge river called Chilapa, where we were detained four daysmaking barks. I here proposed sending five of our Indian guidesto a town of the same name, which I understood was on the banksof this river, in order to desire the inhabitants to send theircanoes to our assistance; which was accordingly done, and theysent us six large canoes and some provisions: Yet with all theaid we could procure, it took us four days to pass this river.From thence we went to Tepetitan, which was depopulated and burntin consequence of a civil war. For three days of our march fromthe river Chilapa, our horses were almost constantly up to theirbellies in the marshy grounds, and when we reached a place calledIztapa, it was found abandoned by the inhabitants; but severalchiefs and others were brought in, who were treated kindly, andmade the general some trifling presents of gold. As this placeabounded in corn and grass, we halted three days to refresh themen and horses, and it was considered by Cortes as a goodsituation for a colony, being surrounded by a number of towns,which might serve as dependencies. Cortes received informationfrom some travelling merchants at this place concerning thecountry he had to pass through, produced to them a map painted oncloth, representing the road to Huy-Acala, which signifiesgreat Acala, there being another place of the same name.According to them, the way was much intersected by rivers, as, toreach a place named Tamaztepec, three days journey from Iztapa,there were three rivers and an arm of the sea to cross. Inconsequence of this intelligence, the general sent orders to thechiefs to provide canoes and construct bridges at the properplaces, but neither of these things were done. Instead of threedays, our march occupied us for a whole week; but the nativessucceeded in getting quit of us, and we set out with onlyprovisions of roasted maize and roots for three days, so that wewere reduced to great straits, having nothing to eat but a wildplant called quexquexque, which inflamed our mouths. Wewere obliged to construct bridges of timber, at which every onehad to labour from the general downwards; which detained us forthree days. When we had crossed the last inlet, we were obligedto open a way through the woods with infinite labour, and aftertoiling in this manner for two days we were almost in despair.The trees were so thick that we could not see the sun; and onclimbing to the top of one of the trees, we could not discoverany thing but a continuation of the same impervious forest. Twoof our guides had fled, and the only one who remained was utterlyignorant of the country. The resources of Cortes were quiteinexhaustible, as he guided our way by a mariners compass,assisted by his Indian map, according to which the town ofHuy-acala of which we were in search, lay to the east; buteven he acknowledged that he knew not what might become of us, ifwe were one day longer of finding it out.

We who were of the advanced guard fortunately at this timefell in with the remains of some trees which had been formerlycut, and a small lane or path, which seemed to lead towards atown or village. The pilot Lopez and I returned to the main bodywith intelligence of this happy discovery, which revived thespirits of our whole army. We accordingly made all possible hastein that direction, and soon came to a river, on the opposite sideof which we found a village named Tamaztepec, where, thoughabandoned by the inhabitants, we found plenty of provisions forourselves and horses. Parties were immediately sent out in searchof the natives, who soon brought back many chiefs and priests whowere well treated, and both supplied us plentifully withprovisions, and pointed out our road to Izguantepec, which wasthree days journey, or sixteen leagues from the town where we nowwere. During our journey to this place, our stage-dancer andthree of the new come Spaniards died of fatigue, and many of theMexicans had been left behind to perish. We discovered likewisethat some of the Mexican chiefs who accompanied us, had seizedsome of the natives of the places through which we passed, andhad eaten them to appease their hunger. Cortes very severelyreprimanded all who had been concerned in this barbarous deed,and one of our friars preached a holy sermon on the occasion;after which, as an example to deter our allies from this practicein future, the general caused one against whom this crime hadbeen most clearly proved, to be burnt. All had been equallyguilty, but one example was deemed sufficient on the presentoccasion. Our poor musicians felt severely the want of the feaststhey had been used to in Spain, and their harmony was now stopt,except one fellow; but the soldiers used to curse him, sayingthey wanted maize not music. It may be asked, how we did not layour hands on the herd of swine belonging to Cortes in our presentstate of starvation? But these were out of sight, and the stewardalleged they had been devoured by the alligators on passing oneof the rivers: In reality, they were artfully kept four daysmarch behind the army. During our route, we used to carve crosseson the bark of trees, with inscriptions bearing, that Cortes andhis army had passed this way at such and such a time.

The Indians of Tamaztepec sent a message to Izguantepec, ournext station, to inform the inhabitants, and that they might notbe alarmed at our approach: They also deputed twenty of theirnumber to attend us to that place as guides. After our arrival atIzguantepec, Cortes was curious to know the course of a largeriver which flowed past that place, and was informed that itdischarged itself into the sea near two towns named Guegatastaand Xicolanga; from which he judged that this might be aconvenient way in which to send for information concerning hisships under Cuença whom he had ordered to wait his orderson that part of the coast. He accordingly sent off two Spaniardson that errand, to one of whom, Francisco de Medina, he gave anorder to act as joint commander along with Simon Cuença.Medina was a man of dilligence and abilities, and well acquaintedwith the country; but the commission he carried proved mostunfortunate in its consequences. He found the ships waiting atXicolanga, and on presenting his authority as joint captain, adispute arose between him and Cuença as to which of themshould have the chief command. Each was supported by a party, andhad recourse to arms, in which all the Spaniards were slainexcept eight. The neighbouring Indians fell upon the survivors,and put them all to death; after which they plundered the shipsand then destroyed them. It was two years and a half after this,before we knew what had become of the ships.

We now learnt that the town of Huy-acala was three days marchdistant from our present quarters, and that the way lay acrosssome deep rivers and trembling marshes. Two soldiers were sent onby Cortes to examine the route, who reported on their return thatthe rivers were passable by means of timber bridges, but as forthe marshes, which were more material to know, they were beyondthe rivers and had not been examined. Cortes sent me in the nextplace, along with one Gonzalo de Mexia and some Indian guides,with orders to go forward to Huy-acala to procure provisions,with which we were to meet him on the road. But our guidesdeserted us the first night, on account of the two nations beingat war, and we were forced to rely entirely on ourselves for theremainder of the journey. On our arrival at the first townbelonging to the district of Huy-acala, which has the supremecommand over twenty other towns, the inhabitants seemed veryjealous of us at first, but were soon reconciled. This districtis much intersected by rivers, lakes, and marshes, and some ofthe dependent towns are situated in islands, the generalcommunication being by means of canoes. We invited the chiefs toaccompany us back to Cortes; but they declined this, becausetheir nation was at war with the people of Izguantepec. It wouldappear that at our arrival they had no idea of the force of ourarmy under Cortes; but, having received more accurateintelligence concerning it next day, they treated us with muchdeference, and promised that they would provide everyaccommodation for our army on its arrival. While stillconversing, two other Spaniards came up to me with letters fromCortes, in which he ordered me to meet him within three days withall the provisions I could possibly collect; as the Indians ofIzguantepec had all deserted him, and he was now on his march forHuy-acala entirely destitute of necessaries. These Spaniards alsoinformed me, that four soldiers who had been detached farther upthe river had not returned, and were supposed to have beenmurdered, which we learnt afterwards was the case. In pursuinghis march, Cortes had been four days occupied in constructing abridge over the great river, during which time the army sufferedexcessive famine, as they had come from their last quarterswithout provisions, owing to the desertion of the natives. Someof the old soldiers cut down certain trees resembling palms, bywhich means they procured nuts which they roasted and eat; butthis proved a miserable recourse for so great a number. On thenight that the bridge was completed, I arrived with 130 loads ofprovisions, consisting of corn, honey, fruit, salt, and fowls. Itwas then dark, and Cortes had mentioned his expectation of myarrival with provisions, in consequence of which, the soldierswaited for me and seized every thing I had, not leaving any thingfor Cortes and the other officers. It was all in vain that themajor-domo cried out, "this is for the general;" for the soldierssaid the general and his officers had been eating their hogs,while they were starving, and neither threats nor entreatiescould prevail on them to leave him a single load of corn. Corteslost all patience, and swore he would punish those who had seizedthe provisions and spoken about the hogs; but he soon saw that itwas better to be quiet. He then blamed me; but I told him heought to have placed a guard to receive the provisions, as hungerknows no law. Seeing there was no remedy, Cortes, who wasaccompanied by Sandoval, addressed me as follows: "My dearfriend, I am sure you must have something in reserve for yourselfand your friend Sandoval, pray take us along with you that we maypartake." Sandoval also assured me that he had not a singlehandful of maize. "Well," said I, "gentlemen, come to me when thesoldiers are asleep, and you shall partake of what I had providedfor myself and my companions." They both thanked and embraced me,and so we escaped famine for this bout, as I had with me twelveloads of maize, twenty fowls, three jars of honey, and some fruitand salt. Cortes made inquiry as to how the reverend fathers hadfared; but they were well off, as every soldier gave them a shareof what they had procured. Such are the hardships of militaryexpeditions in unexplored countries. Feared as he was by thesoldiers, our general was pillaged of his provisions, and indanger of starving, and both he and captain Sandoval wereindebted to me for their rations.

On continuing our march from the river for about a league, wecame to the trembling marshes, where our horses had all beennearly destroyed; but the distance across did not exceed half abowshot, between the firm ground on either side, and we got themthrough by main force. When we were all safe over, and had giventhanks to God for our safety, Cortes sent on to Huy-acala for afresh supply of provisions, and took care not to have theseplundered like the former; and on the ensuing day, our whole armyarrived early at Huy-acala, where the chiefs had made amplepreparation for our reception. Having used every proper means toconciliate the chiefs of this nation, Cortes inquired from themas to the country we had still to march through, and whether theyhad heard of any ships being on the coast, or of any Europeansbeing settled in the country. He was informed, that at thedistance of eight days journey, there were many men having beardslike ourselves, who had horses and three ships. They also gavethe general a map of the route, and offered every assistance intheir power; but when asked to clear the road, they representedthat some of their dependent districts had revolted, andrequested our assistance to reduce them to obedience. This dutywas committed to Diego de Mazariegos, a relation of the treasurerde Estrada, as a compliment to him, and Cortes desired me inprivate to accompany him as his counsellor, being experienced inthe affairs of this country. I do not mention this circ*mstance,which is known to the whole army, by way of boast, but as my dutyof historian requires it of me, and indeed his majesty wasinformed of it, in the letters which were written to him byCortes. About eighty of us went on this occasion along withMazariegos, and had the good fortune to find the district in thebest disposition. The chiefs returned with us to Cortes, andbrought a most abundant supply of provisions along with them. Inabout four days, however, all the chiefs deserted us, and we wereleft with only three guides to pursue our march, as well as wecould. After crossing two rivers, we came to another town in thedistrict of Huy-acala, which was abandoned by the inhabitants,but in which we took up our quarters.

In this place, Guatimotzin, the last king of the Mexicans,closed his unhappy career. It appeared that a plot had beenconcerted by this unfortunate monarch with many of the Mexicannobles who accompanied him, to endeavour to cut off theSpaniards; after which they proposed to make the best of theirway back to Mexico, where, collecting all the forces of thenatives, they hoped to be able to overpower the Spanish garrison.This conspiracy was revealed to Cortes by two Mexican nobles whohad commanded under Guatimotzin during the siege, and who hadbeen baptized by the names of Tapia and Velasquez. On receivingthis intelligence, Cortes immediately took the judicialinformations of these two and of several others who wereconcerned in the plot; from which it was learnt, that theMexicans, observing that we marched in a careless manner, thatdiscontent prevailed among our troops, many of whom were sick,that ten of our Spanish soldiers had died of hunger, and severalhad returned towards Mexico, and considering also the uncertaintyof the fate of the expedition and the miseries they endured fromscarcity of provisions, they had come to the resolution offalling upon us at the passage of some river or marsh, beingencouraged by their numbers, which exceeded 3000 well armed men,and thinking it preferable to die at once than to encounter theperpetual miseries they now endured by accompanying us in thiswilderness. Guatimotzin acknowledged that he had heard of thisproposal, which he never approved of, declaring that he did notbelieve it would ever have been attempted, and anxiously deniedthat the whole of the Mexican force had concurred in the plot.His cousin, the prince of Tacuba, declared that all which hadever passed on the subject, between him and Guatimotzin, was,that they had often expressed their opinion, that it would bebetter to lose their lives at once like brave men, than to sufferin the manner they did by hunger and fatigue, and to witness theintolerable distresses of their friends and subjects whoaccompanied them. On those scanty proofs, Cortes sentencedGuatimotzin and the prince of Tacuba to be immediately hanged;and when the preparations were made for the execution, they wereled forth to the place attended by the reverend fathers, who didtheir utmost to console them in their last moments. Before hisexecution, Guatimotzin addressed Cortes to the following effect:"Malintzin! I now see that your false words and flatteringpromises have ended in my death. It had been better to havefallen by my own hands, than to have trusted myself to yourpower. You take away my life unjustly, and may God demand of youmy innocent blood." The prince of Tacuba only said, that he washappy to die along with his beloved sovereign. Thus did these twogreat men end their lives, and, for Indians, most piously andlike good Christians. I lamented them both sincerely, having seenthem in their greatness. They always treated me kindly on thismarch, giving me Indians to procure grass for my horse, and doingme many services. To me and all of us, their sentence appearedcruel and unjust, and their deaths most undeserved.

After this, we continued our march with much circ*mspection,being apprehensive of a mutiny among the Mexican troops inrevenge for the execution of their chiefs; but these poorcreatures were so exhausted by famine, sickness, and fatigue,that they did not seem even to have bestowed a thought on thematter. At night we came to a deserted village; but on searchingwe found eight priests, whom we brought to Cortes. He desiredthem to recal the inhabitants, which they readily promised,requesting him not to injure their idols in a temple close tosome buildings in which Cortes was quartered, which he agreed to,yet expostulated with them on the absurdity of worshippingcompositions of clay and wood. They seemed as if it would havebeen easy to induce them to embrace the doctrines of our holyfaith; and soon brought us twenty loads of fowls and maize. Onbeing examined by Cortes about the bearded men with horses, theysaid that these people dwelt at a place called Nito, atthe distance of seven suns, or days journey from their village,and offered to guide us to that place. At this time Cortes wasexceedingly sad and ill-humoured, being fretted by thedifficulties and misfortunes of his march, and his conscienceupbraided him for the cruelty he had committed upon theunfortunate king of Mexico. He was so distracted by thesereflections, that he could not sleep, and used to walk about atnight, as a relief for his anxious thoughts. Going in the dark towalk in a large apartment which contained some of the Indianidols, he missed his way and fell from a height of twelve feet,by which he received a severe contused wound in his head. Heendeavoured to conceal this circ*mstance from general knowledge,and got his wounds cured as well as he could, keeping hissufferings to himself.

After leaving this place, we came in two days to a districtinhabited by a nation called the Mazotecas, where we founda newly built town, fortified by two circular enclosures ofpallisades, one of which was like a barbican, having loop-holesto shoot through, and was strengthened by ditches. Another partof the town was inaccessible, being on the summit of aperpendicular rock, on the top of which the natives had collectedgreat quantities of stones for their defence. And a third quarterof the town was defended by an impassable morass. Yet after allthese defensive preparations, we were astonished to find the townentirely abandoned, though every house was full of the differentkinds of provisions which the country afforded, besides which ithad a magazine stocked with arms of all sorts. While we wereexpressing our astonishment at these circ*mstances, fifteenIndians came out of the morass in the most submissive manner, andtold us that they had been forced to the construction of thisfortress as their last resort, in an unsuccessful war with aneighbouring nation, called the Lazandones as far as I cannow remember. They brought back the inhabitants, whom we treatedwith kindness, and from whom we received farther information,respecting, the Spanish settlement, to which two of the nativesof this place undertook to shew us the way. From this place weentered upon vast open plains, in which not a tree was to beseen, and in which innumerable herds of deer were feeding, whichwere so tame as almost to come up to us. Our horsem*n, therefore,easily took as many as they pleased, and we found that theIndians never disturbed them, considering them as a kind ofdivinities, and had even been commanded by their idols, orpriests rather in their name, neither to kill or frighten theseanimals. The heat of the weather was now so excessive thatPalacios Rubios, a relation of Cortes, lost his horse by pursuingthe deer. We continued our march along this open campaigncountry, passing several villages where the destructive ravagesof war were distinctly perceivable. On one occasion we met someIndians on their return from hunting, who had along with them ahuge lion[1] just killed, and several iguanas[2], aspecies of small serpent very good to eat. These people shewed usthe way to their town, to which we had to wade up to our middlesthrough a lake of fresh water by which it was surrounded. Thislake was quite full of fish, resembling shads, but enormouslylarge, with prickles on their backs; and having procured somenets, we took above a thousand of them, which gave us a plentifulsupply. On inquiry, five of the natives of this place engaged toguide us to the settlement of our countrymen; and they were gladto get so easily rid of us, as they were apprehensive we had cometo put them all to death.

[1] The true lion, Felis leo, is only found in theold world, chiefly in Africa and the south of Persia. TheAmerican lion, or puma, the Felis concolor of naturalists,is considerably less than the true lion, being about the size ofa large wolf, of a lively red colour tinged with black, butwithout spots. It climbs trees, whence it drops down by surpriseon animals passing below; and though fierce and cunning, hardlyever ventures to attack mankind.--E.

[2] The iguana, instead of being a serpent, isa large species of lizard, the Lacerta iguana ofnaturalists. It abounds in all the warm and marshy parts ofAmerica, and is reckoned excellent eating.--E.

Leaving this place, we proceeded to a town namedTayasal, situated on an island in a river, the whitetemples, towers, and houses, of which place, glistened from adistance. As the road now became very narrow, we thought properto halt here for the night, having in the first place detachedsome soldiers to the river to look out for a passage. They wereso fortunate as to take two canoes, containing ten men and twowomen, who were conveying a cargo of maize and salt. Beingbrought to Cortes, they informed him that they belonged to a townabout four leagues farther on. Our general detained one of thecanoes and some of the people, and sent two Spaniards along withthe rest in the other canoe, to desire the cacique of that townto send him canoes to enable us to cross the river. Next morning,we all marched down to the river, where we found the caciquewaiting for us, who invited the general to his place ofresidence. Cortes accordingly embarked with an escort of thirtycrossbows, and was presented on his arrival at the town with afew toys of gold very much alloyed, and a small number ofmantles. They informed him that they knew of Spaniards being atthree different places, which were Nito, Buena Vista, and Naco,the last being ten days journey inland from Nito, and where thegreater number of the Spaniards resided, Nito being on the coast.On hearing this, Cortes observed to us that De Oli had probablydivided his forces, as we knew nothing as yet respecting GilGonzalo de Avila, or Las Casas.

Our whole army now crossed the river, and halted about twoleagues from it, waiting the return of Cortes. At this place,three Spanish soldiers, two Indians, and a Negro deserted;preferring to take their chance among the unknown natives of thecountry, to a continuance of the fatigues and dangers they hadexperienced. This day likewise, I had a stroke of the sun, whichoccasioned a burning fever or calenture. At this period theweather changed, and for three days and nights it rainedincessantly; yet we had to continue our march, lest ourprovisions might fail. After two days march we came to a ridge ofrocky hills, which we named the Sierra de los Pedernales,the stones of which were as sharp as knives. Several soldierswere sent a league on each side of this bad pass in search of abetter road, but to no purpose, so that we were forced toproceed. Our horses fell at every step, and the farther weadvanced it grew the worse, insomuch that we lost eight horses,and all the rest were so lamed that they could not keep up withus. After getting over this shocking pass, we advanced towards atown called Taica, where we expected to procure provisionsin abundance; but to our great mortification were unexpectedlystopped by a prodigious torrent, so swelled by the late heavyrains that it was quite impassable, and made such a noise intumbling over its rocky bed that it might have been heard at thedistance of two leagues. We had to stop here for three completedays to construct a bridge between the precipitous banks of thisriver; in consequence of which delay the people of Taica hadabandoned their town, removing all their provisions out of ourreach. We were all miserably disappointed at this event, findingthat hunger was to be our portion after all our fatigues. Aftersending out his servants in every direction, Cortes was only ableto procure about a bushel of maize. He then called together thecolonists of Coatzacualco, and earnestly solicited us to use ourutmost endeavours to procure supplies. Pedro de Ircio requestedto have the command on this occasion, to which Cortes assented:But as I knew Ircio to be a better prater than marcher, Iwhispered to Cortes and Sandoval to prevent him from going, as hewas a duck-legged fellow, who could not get through the miryground, and would only interrupt us in our search. Cortesaccordingly ordered him to remain, and five of us set out withtwo Indian guides across rivers and marshes, and came at lengthto some Indian houses where we found provisions in abundance. Wehere made some prisoners, and with their fruit, fowls, and corn,we celebrated the feast of the Resurrection to our greatcontentment. That same night we were joined by a thousandMexicans, who had been sent after us, whom we loaded with all thecorn we could procure, and twenty fowls for Cortes and Sandoval,after which there still remained some corn in the town, which weremained to guard. We advanced next day to some other villages,where we found corn in abundance, and wrote a billet to Cortesdesiring him to send all the Indians he could spare to carry itto the army. Thirty soldiers and about five hundred Indiansarrived in a short time, and we amply provided for the wants ofthe army during the five days it remained at Taica. I may observehere, that the bridges which we constructed on this marchcontinued good for many years; and the Spaniards, when theytravelled this way, used to say, "These are the bridges ofCortes."

After resting five days at Taica, we continued our march fortwo days to a place called Tania, through a country everywhereintersected by marshes, rivers, and rivulets, all the towns beingabandoned and the provisions carried away; and, to add to ourmisfortunes, our guides made their escape during the night, beingentrusted, as I suppose, to some of the newly arrived Spaniards,who used to sleep on their posts. We were thus left in adifficult country, and did not know which way to go; besideswhich heavy rains fell without ceasing. Cortes was very much outof humour, and observed among his officers, that he wished someothers besides the Coatzacualco settlers would bestir themselvesin search of guides. Pedro de Ircio, a man of quality namedMarmolejo, and Burgales, who was afterwards regidor of Mexico,offered their services, and taking each of them six soldiers,were out three days in search of Indians, but all returnedwithout success, having met with nothing but rivers, marshes, andobstructions. Cortes was quite in despair, and desired Sandovalto ask me as a favour to undertake the business. Though ill, Icould not refuse when applied to in this manner; wherefore,taking two friends along with me who could endure fatigue, we setout following the course of a stream, and soon found a way tosome houses, by observing marks of boughs having been cut.Following these marks, we came in sight of a village surroundedby fields of corn; but we remained concealed till we thought thepeople were asleep, and taking the inhabitants by surprise, wesecured three men, two very handsome Indian girls, and an oldwoman, with a few fowls and a small quantity of maize. Onbringing our prize to head-quarters, Sandoval was quiteoverjoyed. "Now," said he to Pedro de Ircio in the presence ofCortes, "was not Castillo in the right, when he refused to takehobbling people along with him, who tell old stories of theadventures of the Conde de Urena and his son Don Pedro Giron?"All who were present laughed heartily at this sally, as Ircioused to pester us with these stories continually, and Sandovalknew that Ircio and I were not on friendly terms. Cortes paid memany compliments on this occasion, and thanked me for my goodservice. But what is praise more than emptiness, and what does itprofit me that Cortes said he relied on me, next to God, forprocuring guides? We learnt from the prisoners that it wasnecessary to descend the river for two days march, when we wouldcome to a town of two hundred houses, called Oculiztli;which he did accordingly, passing some large buildings where thetravelling Indian merchants used to stop on their journeys. Atthe close of the second day we came to Oculiztli, where we gotplenty of provisions, and in one of the temples we found an oldred cap and a sandal, which had been placed there as offerings tothe idols. Some of our soldiers brought two old men and fourwomen to Cortes, who told him that the Spanish settlement was onthe seaside two days journey from this place, with no interveningtowns. Cortes therefore gave orders to Sandoval to set outimmediately with six soldiers for the coast, to ascertain whatnumber of men De Oli had with him, as he meant to fall upon himby surprise, being quite ignorant of the revolution which hadhappened in this quarter.

Sandoval set out accordingly with three guides, and onreaching the sea shore, he soon perceived a canoe; and concealinghimself where he expected it might anchor for the night, wasfortunate enough to get possession of the canoe; which belongedto some Indian merchants who were carrying salt to Golfodolce. Sandoval embarked in this canoe with a part of hismen, sending the rest along the shore, and made for the greatriver. During the voyage, he fell in with four Spaniardsbelonging to the settlement, who were searching for fruit nearthe mouth of the river, being in great distress from sickness andthe hostilities of the Indians. Two of these men were up in atree, when they saw Sandoval to their great astonishment, andsoon joined him. They informed him of the great distress of thesettlement, and of all the events which had occurred, and howthey had hanged the officer whom Avila had left in the command,and a turbulent priest, for opposing their determination toreturn to Cuba, and had elected one Antonio Niote in his stead.Sandoval resolved to carry these people to Cortes, whom he wishedto inform as soon as possible of the news, and sent a soldiernamed Alonzo Ortiz, who soon reached us with the agreeableintelligence, for which Cortes gave him an excellent horse, andall of us gave him something in proportion to our abilities.Sandoval arrived soon afterwards, and Cortes issued immediateorders to march to the coast, which was about six leaguesdistant. Cortes pushed forwards with his attendants, and crossedthe river by means of the two canoes, swimming the horses. TheSpanish settlement was about two leagues from the place whereCortes landed, and the colonists were astonished on seeing theEuropeans coming towards them, and still more so when they foundit was the renowned conqueror of Mexico. Cortes received theircongratulations very graciously, and desired them to bring allthe canoes they could collect, and the boats belonging to theirships to assist his army in crossing. He likewise ordered them toprovide bread for the army; but of this only fifty pounds weightcould be got, as they lived almost entirely on sapotes andother vegetables, and fish.

We had an arm of the sea to cross, and had therefore to waitfor low water, but Cortes had found the passage so dangerous thathe sent us word not to follow till farther orders. The care ofpassing this dangerous place was entrusted to Sandoval, who tookas effectual measures as possible, but it took us four days toget over, partly wading and partly swimming. One soldier and hishorse went to the bottom, and was never seen more, and two otherhorses were lost. A person named Saavedra, presuming on hisrelationship to Cortes, refused obedience to the orders ofSandoval, and endeavoured to force his passage, even laying hishand on his poinard, and using disrespectful expressions toSandoval; who seized him instantly and threw him into the water,where he was nearly drowned. Our sufferings at this time wereexcessive, as during all these four days we had literally nothingto eat, except by gathering a few nuts and some wild fruits, andon getting across our condition was not improved. We found thiscolony to contain forty men and six women, all yellow and sickly,and utterly destitute of provisions; so that we were under thenecessity of setting out immediately in search of food both forourselves and them. For this purpose, about eighty of us marched,under the command of Luis Marin, to a town about eight leaguesdistant, where we found abundance of maize and vegetables, andgreat quantities of cacao; and as this place was in the directroad for Naco, to which Cortes intended to go, he immediatelysent Sandoval and the greatest part of the troops to join us, onreceiving the agreeable intelligence of our good fortune. We senta plentiful supply of maize to the miserable colonist who hadbeen so long in a starving condition, of which they eat to suchexcess that seven of them died. About this time likewise a vesselarrived with seven horses, forty hogs, eight pipes of saltedmeat, a considerable quantity of biscuit, and fifteen adventurersfrom Cuba. Cortes immediately purchased all the provisions, whichhe distributed among the colonists, who eat the salted meat sovoraciously that it occasioned diarrhoeas, by which, in a veryfew days, fourteen of them were carried off.

As Cortes wished to examine this great river, he caused one ofthe brigantines belonging to Avila which had been stranded to befitted out; and embarking with thirty soldiers and eight marinersbelonging to the vessel lately arrived, having likewise a boatand four double canoes, he proceeded up the river to a spaciouslake with good anchorage. This lake was navigable for sixleagues, all the adjacent country being subject to be inundated;but on endeavouring to proceed higher, the current becamestronger, and he came to certain shallows, which prevented thevessels from proceeding any farther. Cortes now landed with hissoldiers, and advanced into the country by a narrow road whichled to several villages of the natives. In the first of these heprocured some guides, and in the second he found abundance ofcorn, and many domesticated birds, among which were pheasants,pigeons, and partridges, which last are often domesticated by theIndians of America. In prosecuting his route, he approached alarge town called Cinacan Tencintle, in the midst of fineplantations of cacao, where he heard the sound of music andmerry-making, the inhabitants being engaged in a drunken feast.Cortes waited a favourable opportunity, concealed in a wood closeby the town, when suddenly rushing out, he made prisoners of tenmen and fifteen women. The rest of the inhabitants attacked himwith their darts and arrows, but our people closed with them andkilled eight of their chiefs, on which the rest submitted,sending four old men, two of whom were priests, with a triflingpresent of gold, and to petition for the liberation of theprisoners, which he accordingly engaged to give up on receiving agood supply of provisions, which they promised to deliver at theships. A misunderstanding took place afterwards between Cortesand these Indians, as he wished to retain three of their women tomake bread, and hostilities were renewed, in which Cortes washimself wounded in the face, twelve of his soldiers wounded, andone of his boats destroyed. He then returned after an absence oftwenty-six days, during which he had suffered excessive tormentfrom the mosquitoes. He wrote to Sandoval, giving him an accountof all that had occurred in his expedition to Cinacan, which isseventy leagues from Guatimala, and ordered him to proceed toNaco; as he proposed to remain himself on purpose to establish acolony at Puerto de Cavallos[3], for which he desiredSandoval to send back ten of the Coatzacualco veterans, withoutwhose assistance nothing could be done properly. Taking with himall the Spaniards who remained at St Gil de Buena Vista, Cortesembarked in two ships, and arrived in eight days sail at Puertode Cavallos, which had a good harbour, and seemed every way wellcalculated for a colony, which he established there under thecommand of Diego de Godoy, naming the town Natividad. Expectingby this time that Sandoval might have arrived at Naco, which isnot far distant from Puerto Cavallos, Cortes sent a letter forhim to that place, requiring a reinforcement of ten of theveteran soldiers of Coatzacualco, as he intended to proceed forthe bay of Honduras; but this letter reached us in ourlast-mentioned quarters as we had not yet reached Naco. LeavingCortes for the present, I shall only say that he was so tormentedby the mosquitoes, which prevented him from procuring rest eitherby night or day, that he had almost lost his life or hissenses.

[3] Diaz is very lax in his topographical notices ofthis famous expedition. The settlement of St Gil de Buena Vista,where Cortes now was, appears to have been at the bottom of thegulf of Amatique in the bay of Honduras, on the east side of theinlet which communicates with the golfo dolce. Hisexploration of that inland gulf, was probably in the hope offinding a navigable passage to the Pacific Ocean. The settlementwhich Cortes projected in Puerto Cavallos, must have been nearthat now called Fort Omoa.--E.

[4] These islands of Guanajes appear to be thosecalled by the English settlers of Honduras, Ratan and Bonaeo, offcape Honduras.--E.

On receiving this last letter from the general, Sandovalpressed on for Naco, but was obliged to halt at a place calledCuyocan, in order to collect the stragglers who had gonein quest of provisions. We were also impeded by a river, and thenatives on every side were hostile. Our line of march was nowextremely long, by the great number of invalids, especially ofthe Mexicans, who were unable to keep up with the main body; onwhich account Sandoval left me at this place, with the command ofeight men at the ferry, to protect and bring up the stragglers.One night the natives attacked my post, setting fire to the housein which we were lodged, and endeavoured to carry away our canoe;but, with the assistance of some of our Mexicans who had come up,we beat them off; and, having collected all the invalids who hadloitered behind, we crossed the river next day, and set but torejoin Sandoval. A Genoese, who had been sometime ill, sunk atlength through weakness, occasioned by poverty of diet, and diedon the road, and I was obliged to leave his body behind. When Imade my report to Sandoval, he was ill pleased at me for nothaving brought on the dead body; but I told him we had alreadytwo invalids on every horse, and one of my companions said ratherhaughtily, that we had enough of difficulty to bring onourselves, without carrying dead men. Sandoval immediatelyordered me and that soldier, whose name was Villanueva, to goback and bury the Genoese, which we did accordingly, and placed across over his grave. We found a purse in his pocket, containingsome dice, and a memorandum of his family and effects inTeneriffe. God rest his soul! Amen. In about two days wearrived at Naco, passing a town named Quinistlan, and aplace where mines have been since discovered. We found Naco to bea very good town, but it was abandoned by its inhabitants, yet weprocured plenty of provisions and salt, of which we were in verygreat need. We took up our quarters in some large quadrangularbuildings, where De Oli was executed, and established ourselvesthere as if we had been to have remained permanently. There isthe finest water at this place that is to be found in all NewSpain; as likewise a species of tree which is most admirable forthe siesta; as, however great may be the heat of the sun,there is always a most delightful and refreshing coolness underits shade, and it seems to give out a delicate kind of dew, whichis good for the head. Naco is admirably situated, in a fertileneighbourhood, which produces different kinds of sapotesin great abundance, and it was then very populous. Sandovalobtained possession of three chiefs of the district, whom hetreated kindly, by which means the people of the districtremained in peace, but all his endeavours to induce theinhabitants to return to the town were ineffectual. It was nownecessary to send the reinforcement of ten Coatzacualco veteranswhich Cortes had required. At that time I was ill, and besidesSandoval wished to retain me along with him: Eight valiantsoldiers were sent off, however, who heartily cursed Cortes andhis expedition at every step of their march; for which indeedthey had good reason, as they were entirely ignorant of the stateof the country through which they had to go. Sandoval took theprecaution of sending five principal people of the natives alongwith them, making known at the same time that he would punish thecountry most severely if any injury was done them on theirjourney. They arrived in safety at Natividad, where Cortes thenwas; who immediately embarked for Truxillo, leaving Godoy in thecommand of the settlement at Puerto de Cavallos, with fortySpaniards, who were all that remained of the settlers who hadaccompanied de Avila, and of those who had come recently fromCuba. Godoy maintained himself for some time; but his men werecontinually dropping off by disease, and the Indians began atlast to despise and neglect him, refusing to supply thesettlement with provisions, so that in a short time he lost abovehalf his number by sickness and famine, and three of his mendeserted to join Sandoval. By various expeditions and judiciousmeasures, Sandoval reduced all the country round Naco to peaceand submission, namely the districts of Cirimongo, Acalao,Quinistlan, and four others, of which I forget the names, andeven extended his authority over the natives as far as PuertoCavallos, where Godoy commanded.

After six days sail, Cortes arrived at the port of Truxillo,where he found a colony which had been established by Franciscode las Casas, among whom were many of the mutineers who hadserved under De Oli, and who had been banished from Panuco.Conscious of their guilt, all these men waited on Cortes, andsupplicated for pardon, which he granted them, even confirmingall who had been appointed to offices in the colony; but heplaced his relation Saavedra as commandant of the colony andsurrounding province. Cortes summoned all the chiefs and priestsof the Indians, to whom he made a long harangue, giving them tounderstand that he had come among them to induce them to abandonthe cruel and abominable practices of their false religion, andto embrace the only true faith. He also enlarged upon the powerand dignity of our great emperor, to whose government he requiredtheir submission. He was followed by the reverend fathers, whoexhorted them to become proselytes to the holy catholic religion,the principles of which they explained. After all this, thepeople readily agreed to obey our general, and to become vassalsto Don Carlos; and Cortes enjoined them to provide the settlementwith provisions, especially fish, which are caught in greatabundance in the sea about the islands of Guanojes[4]; helikewise ordered them to send a number of labourers to clear thewoods in front of the town of Truxillo, so as to open a view ofthe sea. Cortes likewise ordered a number of sows with young tobe turned loose in these islands, by which, in a few years, theywere amply stocked. The natives cleared the woods betweenTruxillo and the sea in two days, and built fifteen houses forthe colonists, one of which for Cortes, was sufficientlycommodious. Cortes became feared and renowned over all thedistricts, as far as Olancho, where rich mines have beensince discovered; the natives giving him the name of CaptainHue-hue de Marina, or the old captain of Donna Marina. Hereduced the whole country to submission, excepting two or threedistricts in the mountains, against which he sent a party ofsoldiers under Captain Saavedra, who brought most of them undersubjection, one tribe only named the Acaltecans holdingout.

[3] Diaz is very lax in his topographical notices ofthis famous expedition. The settlement of St Gil de Buena Vista,where Cortes now was, appears to have been at the bottom of thegulf of Amatique in the bay of Honduras, on the east side of theinlet which communicates with the golfo dolce. Hisexploration of that inland gulf, was probably in the hope offinding a navigable passage to the Pacific Ocean. The settlementwhich Cortes projected in Puerto Cavallos, must have been nearthat now called Fort Omoa.--E.

[4] These islands of Guanajes appear to be thosecalled by the English settlers of Honduras, Ratan and Bonaeo, offcape Honduras.--E.

As a great many of the people along with Cortes became sickthrough the unhealthiness of the climate, he sent them by avessel to Hispaniola or Cuba for the recovery of their healths.By this opportunity, he sent letters to the royal audience of StDomingo and the reverend brothers of the order of St Jerome,giving an account of all the events that had recently happened,and in particular of his having left the government of Mexico inthe hands of deputies, while he proceded to reduce de Oli who hadrebelled. He apprised them of his future intentions, andrequested a reinforcement of soldiers, to enable him to reducethe country where he now was to subjection; and that they mightattach the greater credit to his report of its value, he sent avaluable present of gold, taken in reality from his ownside-board, but which he endeavoured to make them believe was theproduce of this new settlement. He entrusted the management ofthis business to a relation of his own, named Avalos, whom hedirected to take up in his way twenty-five soldiers who, he wasinformed, had been left in the island of Cozumel to kidnapIndians to be sent for slaves to the West Indian islands. Thisvessel was wrecked about seventy leagues from the Havanna, onwhich occasion Avalos and many of the passengers perished. Thosewho escaped, among whom was the licentiate Pedro Lopez, broughtthe first intelligence to the islands of the existence of Cortesand his army; as it had been universally believed in Cuba andHispaniola that we had all perished. As soon as it was knownwhere Cortes was, two old ships were sent over to Truxillo withhorses and colts, and one pipe of wine; all the rest of theircargoes consisting of shirts, caps, and useless trumpery ofvarious kinds. Some of the Indian inhabitants of the Guanajasislands, which are about eight leagues from Truxillo, came atthis time to Cortes, complaining that the Spaniards had beenaccustomed to carry away the natives and their macegualosor slaves, and that a vessel was now there which was supposed tohave come for that purpose. Cortes immediately sent over one ofhis vessels to the islands; but the ship against which thenatives complained made sail immediately on seeing her, andescaped. It was afterwards known, that this vessel was commandedby the bachelor Moreno, who had been sent on business by theroyal audience of St Domingo to Nombre de Dios.

While Sandoval remained at Naco, the chiefs of twoneighbouring districts, named Quecuspan and Tanchinalchapa,complained to him of a party of Spaniards, at the distance of adays march from Naco, who robbed their people and made slaves ofthem. Sandoval set out against these people immediately with aparty of seventy men, and on coming to the place these Spaniardswere exceedingly surprised at seeing us and took to their arms;but we soon seized their captain and several others, and madethem all prisoners without any bloodshed. Sandoval reprehendedthem severely for their misconduct, and ordered all the Indianswhom they had made prisoners to be immediately released. OnePedro de Garro was the commander of these men, among whom wereseveral gentlemen, and in comparison of us dirty and worn downwretches, they were all mounted and attended like lords. Theywere all marched to our head-quarters as prisoners; but in a dayor two they became quite reconciled to their lot. The occasion oftheir coming into the country was as follows: Pedro Arias deAvila, the governor of Tierra Firma, had sent a captain namedFrancisco Hernandez to reduce the provinces of Nicaragua and NewLeon, and to establish a colony in that place, which heaccomplished. After the atrocious murder of Balboa, who hadmarried Donna Isabella the daughter of Aries, Moreno had beensent over by the court of royal audience, and persuadedHernandez, who was now comfortably settled, to throw off hisdependence upon Pedro Aries, and to establish a distinctgovernment immediately under the royal authority. Hernandez haddone so, and had sent this party under de Garro on purpose toopen a communication from Nicaragua with the north coast, bywhich to receive supplies from old Spain. When all this wasexplained to Sandoval, he sent Captain Luis Marin to communicatethe intelligence to Cortes, in expectation that he would supportthe views of Hernandez. I was sent along with Marin on thisoccasion, our whole force consisting of ten men. Our journey wasexceedingly laborious, having to cross many rivers which weremuch swollen by the rains, and we had at times to make our waythrough hostile Indians armed with large heavy lances, by whichtwo of our soldiers were wounded. We had sometimes threedifficult rivers to cross in one day; and one river, named Xagua,ten leagues from Triumpho de la Cruz, detained us for two days.By the side of that river we found the skeletons of seven horses,which had belonged to the troops of de Oli, and had died fromeating poisonous herbs. Several of the rivers and inlets on ourjourney were much infested by alligators.

Passing Triumpho de la Cruz and a place called Quemara, wearrived one evening near Truxillo, where we saw five horsem*nriding along the sea shore, who happened to be our general andfour of his friends taking the air. After the first surprize atthis unexpected meeting, Cortes dismounted and embraced us allwith tears in his eyes, quite overjoyed to see us. It made mequite melancholy to see him, as he was so worn down by distressand disease, that he appeared much reduced and extremely weak,insomuch that he had even expected death, and had procured aFranciscan habit to be buried in. He walked along with us intothe town of Truxillo, and invited us all to sup with him; wherewe fared so wretchedly that I had not even my fill of bread orbiscuit. After reading over the letters we had brought himrelative to Hernandez, he promised to do every thing in his powerto support him. The two vessels which I formerly mentioned ashaving brought horses from Hispaniola, only arrived three daysbefore us, and we were fools enough to run ourselves in debt bypurchasing their useless frippery. Hitherto Cortes had notreceived any intelligence whatever from Mexico since he left iton this disastrous expedition; but, while we were giving him anaccount of the hardships of our late journey from Naco, a vesselwas descried at a distance making for our port. This vessel wasfrom the Havanna, and brought letters from the licentiate Zuazo,who had been alcalde-major of Mexico, the contents of whichoverwhelmed Cortes with such sorrow and distress, that he retiredto his private apartment, whence he did not stir out for a wholeday, and we could distinctly hear that he suffered greatagitation. After hearing mass next morning, he called us togetherand communicated to us the intelligence which these lettersconveyed, which was to the following effect.

In consequence of the power which Cortes had inconsideratelygranted to Salazar and Chirinos, to supersede Estrada andAlbornos in the administration of government in Mexico, in caseof misconduct in these deputies, they had formed a strong partyon their return to Mexico, among whom were Zuazo thealcalde-major, Rodrigo de Paz, alguazil-major, Alonzo de Tapis,Jorge de Alvarado, and many of the veteran conquerors, and hadattempted to seize the government by force, and much disturbanceand some bloodshed had ensued. Salazar and Chirinos had carriedtheir point, and had taken the two former deputies and many oftheir friends prisoners; and as discontents and opposition stillprevailed, they had confiscated the property of their opponents,which they distributed among their own partizans. They hadsuperseded Zuazo in his office of alcalde-major, and hadimprisoned Rodrigo de Paz; yet Zuazo had brought about atemporary reconciliation. During these disturbances, theZapotecans and Mixtecans, and the inhabitants of a strong rockydistrict named Coatlan had rebelled, against whom the veedorChirinos had marched with an armed force; but his troops thoughtof nothing but card-playing, so that the enemy had surprisedtheir camp and done them much mischief. The factor Salazar hadsent a veteran captain, Andres de Monjaraz, to assist and adviseChirinos; but Monjaraz being an invalid was unable to exerthimself properly; and to add to their distractions, aninsurrection was every hour expected in Mexico. The factorSalazar, constantly remitted gold to his majesties treasurer, DonFrancisco de los Cobos, to make interest for himself at court,reporting that we had all died at Xicalonga. This reportoriginated with Diego de Ordas, who, on purpose to escape fromthe factious troubles in Mexico, had gone with two vessels insearch of us to Xicalongo, where Cuença and Medina hadbeen slain as formerly mentioned, on learning which misfortune heconcluded it had been Cortes and his whole party, which he soreported in letters to Mexico, and had sailed himself to Cuba.Salazar shewed these letters to our several relations in Mexico,who all put on mourning, and so universally were we all believedto be dead, that out properties had been sold by public auction.The factor Salazar even assumed to himself the office of governorand captain-general of New Spain; a monument was erected to thehonour of Cortes, and funeral service was performed for him inthe great church of Mexico. The self-assumed governor even issuedan order, that all the women whose husbands had gone with Cortes,and who had any regard for their souls, should considerthemselves as widows and should immediately marry again; andbecause a woman named Juana de Mansilla, the wife of AlonzoValiente, refused to obey this order, alleging we were not peoplewho would be so easily destroyed as Salazar and his party, shewas ordered to be publickly whipped through Mexico as a witch.One person from whom we expected better behaviour, and whose nameI will not mention, by way of flattering Salazar, solemnlyassured him before many witnesses, that one night, as he waspassing the church of St Jago, which is built on the site of thegreat temple of Mexico, he saw the souls of Cortes, Donna Marina,and Sandoval burning in flames of fire: Another person, also, ofgood reputation, pretended that the quadrangles of Tescuco werehaunted by evil spirits, which the natives said were the souls ofDonna Marina and Cortes.

At this time the captains Las Casas and De Avila, who hadbeheaded Christoval de Oli, arrived in Mexico, and publicklyasserted the existence of Cortes, reprobating the conduct ofSalazar, and declaring if Cortes were actually dead, thatAlvarado was the only fit person to have been raised to thegovernment, till his majesties pleasure could be known. Alvaradowas written to on the subject, and even set out for Mexico; butbecoming apprehensive for his life, he returned to his district.Finding that he could not bring over Las Casas, De Avila, andZuazo to his party, Salazar caused the two former to be arrestedand prosecuted for the murder of De Oli, and even procured theircondemnation; and it was with the utmost difficulty theirexecution could be prevented by an appeal to his majesty; but hewas obliged to content himself with sending them prisoners toSpain. He next sent off the licentiate Zuazo in irons to Cuba,under pretence of making him answer for his conduct while actingas a judge in that island. Salazar collected all the gold hecould lay his hands upon, and seized Rodrigo de Paz,alguazil-major of Mexico, who had been major domo to Cortes,demanding of him an account and surrender of all the treasurebelonging to the general; and as he either could not or would notdiscover where it was, he caused him to be tortured by burninghis feet and legs, and even caused him to be hanged that he mightnot carry his complaints to his majesty. His object in collectinggold was to support his negociations at court; but in this he wascounteracted by almost all the other officers of government inNew Spain, who determined to send their own statements of theaffairs of the colony to court by the same conveyance with his.He arrested most of the friends of Cortes, several of whom joinedhis party as he gave them Indians, and because they wished to beof the strongest side; but Tapia and Jorge Alvarado tooksanctuary with the Franciscans. To deprive the malcontents ofarms, he brought the whole contents of the arsenal to his palace,in front of which he planted all the artillery for his defence,under the command of Captain Luis de Guzman, son-in-law to theduke of Medina Sidonia. He formed likewise a body guard for hisown individual protection, partly composed of soldiers who hadbelonged to Cortes, to the command of which he appointed oneArriaga. This letter likewise mentioned the death of FatherBartholomew de Olmedo, who was so much revered by the nativeMexicans, that they fasted from the time of his death till afterhis burial. Zuazo, in the conclusion of his letter, expressed hisapprehensions that the colony of Mexico would be utterly ruinedby these confusions. Along with this long and melancholy letterfrom Zuazo, Cortes received letters from his father, informinghim of the death of the bishop of Burgos, and of the intrigues ofAlbornos at court, already mentioned on a former occasion, andthe interference of the Duke of Bejar in his behalf. He also toldhim that Narvaez had been appointed to the government of thecountry on the river Palmas, and one Nuno de Guzman to theprovince of Panuco.

The intelligence from Zuazo made us all very melancholy, andit is difficult to say which of the two we cursed most heartilyin secret for our misfortunes, Cortes or Salazar, for we gavethem ten thousand maledictions, and our hearts sunk within us tothink of our miserable plight after all our fatigues and dangers.Cortes retired to his chamber, and did not appear again till theevening, when we unanimously entreated him to hasten to Mexico,that he might recover the government from the usurper. He repliedkindly: "My dear friends, this villainous factor is verypowerful. If I go along with you to Mexico, he may waylay us bythe road and murder us all. I think it better for me to goprivately to Mexico with only three or four of you, that I maycome upon him at unawares, and that all the rest of you rejoinSandoval and go along with him to Mexico." When I saw that Corteswas resolved on going privately to Mexico, I anxiously requestedto attend him, as I had hitherto accompanied him in all hisdifficulties and dangers. He complimented me on my fidelity, butinsisted on my continuing with Sandoval. Several of the colonistsof Truxillo began to grow mutinous, because Cortes had neglectedpromoting them to offices; but he pacified them by promises ofproviding for them when he should be replaced in his governmentof Mexico. Previous to his intended departure, he wrote to Diegode Godoy, to quit Puerto Cavallos with his settlers, where theywere unable to remain on account of mosquitos and other vermin,ordering them to relieve us in the good settlement of Naco. Healso ordered that we should take the province of Nicaragua in ourway to Mexico, as it was a country in his opinion worth takingcare of. We took our leave of Cortes, who embarked on hisintended voyage, and we set out cheerfully for Naco to joinSandoval, as Mexico was now the object of our march. The route toNaco was as usual attended with much difficulty and distress, yetwe got safe there, and found that Captain De Garro had set offfor Nicaragua, to inform his commander Hernandez that Cortes wassetting out for Mexico, and had promised to give him all theassistance in his power.

Two confidential friends of Pedro Aries had come to theknowledge of the private correspondence between Hernandez andCortes, and suspected that Hernandez meant to detach himself fromthe command of Aries, and to surrender his province to Cortes.The names of these men were Garruito and Zamorrano, the former ofwhom was urged by an ancient enmity to Cortes, on account of arivalship between them in Hispaniola when both young men, about alady, which ended in a duel. These persons communicatedintelligence of all they knew to Aries, who immediately hastenedto Nicaragua, to seize all the parties concerned. Garro took thealarm in time, and made his escape to us; but Hernandez, relyingon his former intimacy with Aries, expected that he would notproceed to extremities against him, and waited his arrival. Hewas miserably disappointed in these hopes, as Aries, after asummary process, ordered him to execution as a traitor to hissuperior officer.

On his first attempt to sail from Truxillo to Vera Cruz,Cortes was put back by contrary winds, and a second time by anaccident happening to his ship. Dispirited by sickness, theaccidents which had delayed his voyage prayed on his spirits, hebecame apprehensive of the power of Salazar being too great forhim, and his lofty mind sunk under superstitious fears. On hissecond return to Truxillo, he ordered the celebration of a solemnmass, and prayed fervently to be enlightened by the Holy Spiritas to his future proceedings. On this occasion it appears that hebecame inclined to remain in Truxillo to colonize that part ofthe country; and in three several expresses which he sent inquick succession to recall us to that place, he attributed hisdetermination on that subject to the inspiration of his guardianangel. On receiving these messages, we cursed Cortes and his badfortune, and declared to Sandoval that he must remain by himself,if he chose that measure, as we were resolved on returning toMexico. Sandoval was of the same opinion with us, and we sent aletter to Cortes to that effect signed by all of us; to which wehad an answer in a few days, making great offers to such of us aswould remain, and saying, if we refused, that there still weregood soldiers to be had in Castile and elsewhere. On receivingthis letter we were more determined than ever to proceed; butSandoval persuaded us to wait a few days till he could see andspeak with Cortes; to whom we wrote in reply, that if he couldfind soldiers in Castile, so could we find governors and generalsin Mexico, who would give us plantations for our services, andthat we had already suffered sufficient misfortunes by followinghim. With this reply Sandoval set off, attended by a soldiernamed Sauzedo and a farrier, swearing by his beard that he wouldnot return till he had seen Cortes embarked for Mexico. On thisoccasion Sandoval applied to me for my horse, an excellent animalfor speed, exercise, and travel, which cost me six hundredcrowns, my former horse having been killed in action at a placecalled Zulaco. Sandoval gave me one of his in exchange, which waskilled under me in less than two months; after which I wasreduced to a vicious colt which I bought from the two vessels atTruxillo. On parting from us, Sandoval desired us to wait hisreturn at a large Indian town called Acalteca.

When Sandoval came to Truxillo, Cortes received him veryjoyfully; but neither his pressing instances nor our letter couldprevail on him to proceed to Mexico. He prevailed on him,therefore, to send Martin de Orantes, a confidential servant,with a commission to Pedro de Alvarado and Francisco de lasCasas, in case these officers were in Mexico, to assume thegovernment till he should return; or, in the event of theirabsence, to authorise the treasurer, Estrada, and the contador,Albornos, to resume the power granted by the former deputation,revoking that which he had so inadvertently given to the factorSalazar and the veedor Chirinos, which they had so grosslyabused. Cortes agreed to this, and having given Orantes hisinstructions and commissions, directed him to land in a baybetween Vera Cruz and Panuco, suffering no person but himself togo on shore, after which the vessel was immediately to proceed toPanuco, that his arrival might be kept as secret as possible.Orantes was likewise furnished with letters from Cortes to allhis friends in New Spain, and to the treasurer and contador,although he knew they were not of that description, desiring themall to use their utmost diligence in displacing the presenttyrannical usurpers. Having favourable weather, Orantes soonarrived at his destination; and disguising himself as a labourer,set forward on his journey, always avoiding the Spaniards, andlodging only among the natives. When questioned by any one, hecalled himself Juan de Flechilla; and indeed he was so alteredduring his absence of two years and three months, that his mostintimate acquaintances could not have recognised him. Being avery active man, he arrived in four days in Mexico, which heentered in the dark, and proceeded immediately to the convent ofthe Franciscans, where he found the Alvarados and several otherfriends of Cortes, who were there concealed. On explaining hiserrand and producing the letters of Cortes, every one wasexceedingly rejoiced, and even the reverend fathers danced forgladness. The gates of the monastery were immediately locked, topreclude all notice being conveyed to the adverse party; andabout midnight, the treasurer and contador, and many of thefriends of Cortes were brought secretly to the convent, where theintelligence was communicated to them. In a grand consultation,it was resolved to seize the factor Salazar next morning, thecontador Chirinos being still occupied at the rock ofCoatlan.

The rest of the night was employed in providing arms andcollecting all their friends, and at day-break next morning thewhole party marched for the palace which Salazar inhabited,calling out as they went along, "Long live the king, and thegovernor Hernando Cortes." When this was heard by the citizens,they all took up arms; and under an idea that their assistancewas required by the government, many of them joined Estrada onthe march. The contador Albornos played a double game on theoccasion, as he sent intelligence to put Salazar on his guard,for which Estrada reproached him afterwards with much severity.On approaching the palace, the friends of Cortes found Salazaralready well prepared for resistance, in consequence of theinformation he had received; the artillery under Guzman beingdrawn out ready for action in front of the palace, and a stronggarrison inside for its defence. But the adherents of Cortespushed on, forcing their way by the different doors, and othersby the terraces or wherever they could get access, continuallyshouting, for the king and Cortes. The adherents of Salazar weredismayed; the artillery-men abandoned the guns, and the othersoldiers run away and hid themselves, leaving the poor factorwith only Pedro Gonzalez Sabiote and four servants. Salazar beingthus abandoned, became desperate, and endeavoured to fire off oneof the guns, in which attempt he was made prisoner, and confinedin a wooden cage. Circular notice of this revolution wasimmediately conveyed to all the provinces of New Spain; and theveedor Chirinos, leaving the command of his troops with Monjaraz,took refuge in the Franciscan monastery at Tescuco; but wasshortly afterwards made prisoner and secured in another cage.Immediate intelligence of this revolution was transmitted toPedro de Alvarado, with directions to go immediately to Truxilloto wait upon Cortes. The next thing done by the new deputies wasto wait upon Juanna de Mansilla, who had been whipped as a witch,who was placed on horseback behind the treasurer Estrada, inwhich situation she was escorted in grand procession through allthe streets of Mexico, like a Roman matron, and was everafterwards stiled Donna Juanna, in honour of herconstancy, for refusing to marry again while she believed herhusband was still living.

As the situation of Mexico evidently required the presence ofCortes, Fra Diego de Altamirano was sent by his friends torepresent to him the necessity of setting out immediately for thecapital. This reverend father had been in the army before heentered the church, and was a man of considerable abilities, andexperienced in business. On his arrival at Truxillo, and givingCortes an account of the recent events in Mexico, the generalgave thanks to God for the restoration of peace; but declared hisintention of going to Mexico by land, being afraid ofencountering the adverse currents, and because of the bad stateof his health. The pilots, however, represented that the seasonwas quite favourable for the voyage, it being then the month ofApril, and prevailed on him to give up his first resolution. Buthe would on no account leave Truxillo till the return ofSandoval, who had been detached with seventy soldiers against aCaptain Roxas, who served under Pedro Arias de Avila, againstwhom complaints had been made by the inhabitants of Olancho, adistrict about fifty-five leagues from Truxillo. When the partiesfirst met they were on the brink of proceeding to hostilities;but they were reconciled and parted amicably, Roxas and his menagreeing to evacuate the country. Sandoval was recalled inconsequence of the arrival of Altamirano, and Cortes tookmeasures to leave the country in good order, of which Saavedrawas left lieutenant-governor. Captain Luis Marin was directed tomarch our whole party to Mexico by way of Guatimala, and CaptainGodoy was ordered to take the command at Naco. All things beingnow settled for the departure of Cortes, he confessed to Fra Juanand received the Sacrament, previous to his embarkation, as hewas so exceedingly ill that he thought himself on the point ofdeath. The wind was favourable, and he soon arrived at theHavanna, where he was honourably received by his former friendsand acquaintances, and where he had the pleasure, by a vesseljust arrived from Vera Cruz, to receive intelligence that NewSpain was entirely restored to peace; as all the refractoryIndians, on hearing that Cortes and we their former conquerorswere alive and returning, had come in and made theirsubmissions.

The conduct of Salazar and Chirinos during their usurpedauthority had gained them many adherents; as, by means of theirconfiscations and the distribution of property among their greedysupporters, many were interested in the maintenance of theirauthority. These were mostly of the lower order, and persons of aseditious disposition; though some men of quality, especiallyinfluenced by the contador Albornos, who dreaded the arrival ofCortes, had formed a plot to kill the treasurer Estrada, and toreinstate Salazar and Chirinos in the government. For the purposeof releasing them from prison, they employed one Guzman, awhite-smith, a fellow of low character who affected to be a wit,to make keys for opening their cages, giving him a piece of goldof the form which they required, and enjoining the strictestsecrecy. He undertook all that they asked with the utmostapparent zeal, pretending to be very anxious for the liberationof the prisoners; and by his affected humour and zeal for thecause, contrived to become acquainted with their whole plan ofprocedure: But when the keys were finished and the plot ripe forexecution, he communicated intelligence of the whole affair toEstrada; who instantly assembled the friends of Cortes, and wentto the place of meeting, where he found twenty of theconspirators already armed and waiting for the signal. These wereseized, but many others made their escape. Among the prisonersthere were several very notorious characters, one of whom hadlately committed violence on a Spanish woman. They wereimmediately brought to trial before Ortega, the alcalde-major ofMexico; and, being convicted, three of them were hanged, andseveral of the rest whipped.

I must here digress, to mention an affair not exactlyaccordant in point of time with my narrative, but relevant inregard to its subject. By the same vessel in which Salazar hadtransmitted letters to his majesty tending to criminate Cortes,other letters were conveyed and so artfully concealed that he hadno suspicion of their existence, in which a full and true accountof all his oppresions and unlawful proceedings was sent to hismajesty. All these facts had also been reported by the royalcourt of audience at St Domingo; by which the reported death ofCortes was contradicted, and his majesty was truly informed inwhat manner the general was employed for his service. Inconsequence of these representations, the emperor is said to haveexpressed his high indignation at the unworthy treatment whichCortes had experienced, and his determination to support him inthe government of New Spain.

SECTION XXI.

Return of Cortes to Mexico, and occurrences there previousto his departure for Europe; together with an account of thereturn of the Author to Mexico.

Cortes remained five days at the Havanna for refreshment,after which he reimbarked, and in twelve days arrived at the portof Medelin, opposite the Isla de los Sacrificios, where hedisembarked with twenty soldiers; and while proceeding to thetown of San Juan de Ulua, about half a league from Medelin, hehad the good fortune to fall in with a string of horses and muleswhich had been employed in conveying travellers to the coast,which he immediately engaged to carry him and his suit to VeraCruz[1]. He gave strict orders to all who accompanied him to giveno hint to any person of his name and quality; and on his arrivalat the town before day-break, he went directly to the church, thedoors of which were just opened. The sacristan was alarmed atseeing so great a number of strangers going into the church, andimmediately ran into the streets to call the civil power to hisassistance. The alcaldes, with the alguazils, and some of theinhabitants repaired immediately to the church with their arms;and Cortes was so squalid from long illness, that no one knew himtill he began to speak. The moment he was known, they all fell ontheir knees and kissed his hands, welcoming him back to NewSpain; and his old fellow-soldiers escorted him after mass to thequarters of Pedro Moreno, where he remained eight days, duringwhich he was feasted by the inhabitants. Intelligence wasimmediately conveyed of the joyful news to Mexico and all thesurrounding country, and Cortes wrote to all his friends givingthem notice of his arrival. The neighbouring Indians flocked towait upon him with presents and congratulations; and when he setout on his journey to Mexico, every preparation was made for hisaccommodation and honourable entertainment. The inhabitants ofMexico, and all the places round the lake, and those of Tlascalaand all the other Indian towns, celebrated his return withfestivals. On his arrival at Tescuco, the contador came to waitupon him, and on entering the capital, he was received in greatstate by all the civil and military officers, and all theinhabitants. The natives in their gayest attire, and armed aswarriors, filled the lake in their canoes; dancing and festivityprevailed in every corner of the city during the whole day; andat night every house was illuminated. Immediately on his arrival,he went to the monastery of St Francis, to give thanks to God forhis preservation and safe return; and from thence went to hismagnificent palace, where he was esteemed, served, and fearedlike a sovereign prince, all the provinces sending messages ofcongratulation on his happy return, with considerable presents.This return of Cortes to Mexico was in June[2], and heimmediately ordered the arrest of all who had been most eminentfor sedition during his absence, causing a judicial inquiry to bemade into the conduct of the two principal culprits, Salazar andChirinos, whom he intended to have brought immediately to justicefor their crimes; and, if he had done so, no one would have foundfault, but in this instance he certainly acted with too muchlenity, or rather want of firmness. I remember to have heard fromsome of the members of the royal council of the Indies in 1540,that the capital punishment of these men would have been approvedby his majesty. One Ocampo, who had been guilty of defamatorylibels, and an old scrivener named Ocana, who used to be calledthe soul of Chirinos, was arrested on this occasion.

[1] The harbour of Medelin is fifteen or twenty milessouth from Vera Cruz; but I suspect the place named St Juan deUlua in the text is the modern town of Vera Cruz, the harbour ofwhich is protected by the island and castle of St Juan de Ulua.The ancient town of Villa Rica de la Vera Cruz, now calledAntigua, is about twenty-five miles north from modern VeraCruz.--E.

[2] Diaz is frequently inattentive to dates, and doesnot on this occasion inform us of the year: By reference toRobertsons History of America, II. 266, 12mo. ed Lond. 1800, itcertainly apoears to have been in the year 1524.--E.

Shortly after the arrival of Cortes in Mexico, the licentiateLuis Ponce de Leon arrived unexpectedly at Medelin, and Corteswas surprised with this intelligence while performing hisdevotions in the church of St Francis. He prayed earnestly fordirection from God, that he might so conduct himself on thiscritical emergency, as seemed best fitting to his holy will, andthe good service of his sovereign; and immediately sent aconfidential person to bring him information of the particularobject and tendency of the coming of De Leon. In two days after,he received a copy of the royal orders to receive the licentiateas resident judge of Mexico: In consequence of which, hedispatched a person with a complimentary message, desiring toknow which of the two roads to the city De Leon intended to take,that he might give orders for every proper accommodation to beprepared suitable to his rank. De Leon sent back an answer,thanking him for his polite attention, but that he proposed torepose for some time where he then was, to recover from thefatigues of his voyage. This interval was busily employed by theenemies of Cortes, in misrepresenting all the transactions inwhich Cortes had been concerned. They asserted that Cortesintended to put the factor and veedor to death before the arrivalof De Leon at Mexico, and even warned him to take great care ofhis own personal safety, alleging that the civility of Cortes indesiring to know the road he meant to take, were to enable him toprepare for his assassination, under pretence of doing himhonour. The persons with whom the licentiate principallyconsulted were, Proano, the alcalde-major, and his brother, whowas alcalde of the citadel, named Salazar de la Pedrada, who soonafterwards died of a pleurisy; Marcos de Aguilar, a licentiate orbachelor; a soldier named Bocanegra de Cordova, and certainfriars of the Dominican order, of whom Fra Thomas Ortiz wasprovincial. This man had been a prior somewhere, and was said tobe much better fitted for worldly affairs, than for the concernsof his holy office. By these men De Leon was advised to proceedto Mexico without delay, and accordingly the last messengers sentto him by Cortes met him on the road at Iztapalapa. A sumptuousbanquet was prepared at this place for De Leon and his suit, inwhich, after several abundant and magnificent courses, somecheese-cakes and custards were served up as great delicacies,which were much relished, and some of the company eat of them soheartily that they became sick. Ortiz asserted that they had beenmixed up with arsenic, and that he had refrained from eating themfrom suspicion; but some who were present declared that hepartook of them heartily, and declared they were the best he hadever tasted. This ridiculous story was eagerly circulated by theenemies of Cortes. While De Leon was at Iztapalapa, Cortesremained in Mexico; and report said that he sent at this time agood sum in gold as a present to the licentiate. When De Leon setout from Iztapalapa, Cortes having notice of his approach, wentimmediately to meet him, with a grand and numerous retinue of allthe officers and gentlemen of the city. At meeting, manycivilities passed between the two great men, and Cortes prevailedwith some difficulty on De Leon to take the right hand. De Leonproceeded immediately to the monastery of St Francis, to offer uphis thanks to the Almighty for his safe arrival, whence he wasconducted by Cortes to a palace prepared for him, where he wasmost sumptuously entertained, all business being deferred forthat day. On this occasion the grandeur and politeness of Corteswere so conspicuous, that De Leon is said to have observedprivately among his friends, that Cortes must have been longpractising the manners of a great man.

Next day, the cabildo or council of Mexico, all thecivil and military officers, and all the veterans who werepresent in the capital, were ordered to assemble; and in thepresence of all these, the licentiate Ponce de Leon produced hiscommission from his majesty. Cortes kissed it, and placed it onhis head as a mark of respectful submission, and all presentdeclared their ready obedience. The licentiate then received fromCortes the rod of justice, in token of surrendering thegovernment into his hands, saying: "General, I receive thisgovernment from you by the orders of his majesty; although it isby no means implied that you are not most worthy both of this andof a higher trust." The general answered, "That he was alwayshappy in obeying the commands of his majesty, and was the moresatisfied on the present occasion, because he would have anopportunity to prove the malice and falsehood of his enemies." DeLeon replied, "That in all societies there were good and bad men,for such was the way of the world; and he trusted that both wouldbe repaid in kind." This was all the material business of thefirst day. On the next, the new governor sent a respectfulsummons to Cortes, who accordingly waited upon him, and they hada long private conference, at which no one was present except theprior Ortiz: Yet it was believed that the conversation was to thefollowing effect. De Leon observed, that it was the wish of hismajesty that those who had most merit in the conquest of thecountry should be well provided for in the distribution ofplantations, those soldiers who had first come from Cuba beingmore especially considered: Whereas it was understood that theyhad been neglected, while others who had newly arrived had beengratified with unmerited wealth. To this Cortes answered, thatall had got shares in the division of the country; and that itcould not be imputed to him that some of these had turned out ofless value than others: But it was now in the power of the newgovernor to remedy this inequality. The governor then asked whyLuis de Godoy had been left to perish in a distant settlement,when the veterans ought to have been allowed to enjoy thecomforts of established possessions in Mexico, and the newsettlements assigned to new colonists: And why Captain LuisMarin, Bernal Diaz, and other approved veterans had beenneglected. Cortes answered, That for business of difficulty anddanger, none but the veterans could be depended on: But that allthese were soon expected to return to Mexico, when the newgovernor would have it in his power to provide for them. De Leonnext questioned him rather sharply about his imprudent marchagainst Christoval de Oli, which he had undertaken withoutpermission from his majesty. Cortes said, That he looked uponthat measure as necessary for his majestys service, as such anexample might have dangerous effects on officers entrusted withsubordinate commands; and that he had reported his intentions tohis majesty before he set out on this expedition. De Leonquestioned him likewise on the affairs of Narvaez, Garay, andTapia; on all of which subjects Cortes gave such answers that thegovernor seemed perfectly satisfied.

Soon after this conference, Ortiz called on three veryintimate friends of the general, and pretending to be actuatedonly by the most friendly desire to serve him, assured them thatthe governor had secret orders from the emperor to behead Cortesimmediately; and that he, from private regard, and in conformitywith the duties of his holy functions, had considered it to behis duty to give him this intelligence. He even desired aninterview with Cortes next morning, and communicated the sameinformation to him, accompanied with many protestations of regardand friendship. This assuredly gave Cortes a very serious subjectof meditation: But he had already been informed of the intriguingcharacter of the prior, and suspected all this proceeded from awish to be bribed for his good offices with the governor; thoughsome alleged that Ortiz acted by the secret directions of De Leonon this occasion. Cortes received this pretended friendlyinformation with many thanks; but declared his belief that hismajesty had a better opinion of his services, than to proceedagainst him in this clandestine manner; and that he had too highan opinion of the governor, than to believe he could proceed tosuch extremities without the royal warrant. When the prior foundthat his sly conduct did not produce the effect which he hadexpected, he remained so confused that he knew not what fartherto say on the occasion. The new governor gave public notice, forall who had complaints to make against the former administration,to bring their charges, whether against Cortes, or any others ofthe civil or military officers. In consequence of this, a vastnumber of accusers, litigants, and claimants started up; amongwhom many private enemies of the general preferred unjustaccusations against him, while others made just claims for whatwas really due to them. Some alleged that they had not receivedtheir just shares of the gold; others that they had not beensufficiently rewarded in the distribution of settlements; somedemanded remuneration for their horses which had been killed inthe wars, though they had already been paid ten times theirvalue; and others demanded satisfaction for personal injuries.Just as the governor had opened his court to give a hearing toall parties, it pleased God, for our sins, and to our greatmisfortune, that he was suddenly taken ill of a fever. Heremained four days in a lethargic state; after which, by theadvice of his physicians, he confessed and received the sacramentwith great devotion, and appointed Marcos de Aguilar, who hadcome with him from Spain, to succeed him in the government. Onthe ninth day from the commencement of his illness, he departedfrom this life, to the great grief of all the colonists,particularly the military, as he certainly intended to haveredressed all abuses, and to have rewarded us according to ourmerits. He was of a gay disposition, and fond of music; and it issaid that his attendants, while his illness was at the height,brought a lute player into his apartment, in hopes of soothinghis distress. While a favourite air was playing, he was said tohave beat time with perfect accuracy, and expired just when thetune was finished.

Immediately on his death, the enemies of Cortes in Mexicocirculated the most malignant slanders against him, even goingthe length of asserting that he said Sandoval had poisoned thegovernor as he had before done with Garay. The most busy inpropagating this malicious report was the Prior Ortiz. But thetruth was, that the vessel which brought the governor and hissuite from Spain was infected with the disease of which he died;above a hundred of the crew and passengers having died at sea orsoon after landing; among whom, almost all the friars who cameout at that time were carried off, and the contagion spreadthrough the city of Mexico. Some of the principal people inMexico objected against the appointment which the late governorhad made of a successor; alleging that Marcos de Aguilar was onlya bachelor and not a licentiate, and therefore incapable ofacting in that capacity. The cabildo of Mexico insisted thatAguilar was incapable of executing the high office to which DeLeon had appointed him, on account of his age and infirmities; ashe was a diseased hectic old man, who was obliged to drink goatsmilk, and to be suckled by a woman to keep him alive; theyrecommended therefore that Cortes should be associated with himin the government: But Aguilar insisted on adhering strictly tothe testament of his predecessor; and Cortes, for substantialprivate reasons, was entirely averse from taking any share in theauthority. The enemies of Cortes insisted on the inquiryproceeding in the manner intended by the late governor; andCortes readily assented to this, providing the new governor wouldtake the responsibility on himself for acting contrary to thetestament of his predecessor, who had left orders for him not toproceed with the business before the court, but that the wholeshould be laid before his majesty.

It is now proper to revert to our situation who had been leftat Naco, when Cortes set sail from Truxillo for the Havanna andMexico. We remained for some time at Naco, waiting intelligencefor the sailing of Cortes, which Sandoval was to have sent us;but Saavedra maliciously suppressed the letters. Becomingimpatient after a considerable delay, our captain, Luis Marin,sent ten of the cavalry, among whom I was, to Truxillo to learnthe truth. On our arrival at a place named Olancho, we learnedfrom some Spaniards that Cortes was sailed; which information wassoon afterwards confirmed by a message from Saavedra. We returnedtherefore joyfully to Marin, and set out for Mexico, throwingstones at the country we were quitting, as a mark of our dislike.At a place called Maniani, we met five soldiers commanded byDiego de Villaneuva, one of our brave veterans, who were sent insearch of us by Alvarado, who was at a place not far distant,named Chohilteca Malalaca, where we joined him in twodays, and where we were likewise joined by a party belonging toPedro Arias de Avilla, who had sent some of his captains toadjust some disputed boundaries with Alvarado. From this place,where we remained three days, Alvarado sent one Gaspar Arias deAvilla to treat on some confidential business with Pedro Arias, Ibelieve relative to a marriage; for Pedro Arias seemed muchdevoted henceforwards to Alvarado. Continuing our march through ahostile country, the natives killed one of our soldiers, andwounded three; but we were too much in haste to punish them asthey deserved. Farther on in Guatimala, the natives manned thepasses against us, and we were detained three days in forcing ourway through, on which occasion I received a slight wound. Whilein the valley where the city of Guatimala has been since built,and all the people of which were hostile, we had a number ofshocks of an earthquake, all of which continued a long while, andwere so violent that several of our soldiers were thrown down. Onpassing old Guatimala, the natives assembled against us inhostile array, but we drove them before us, and took possessionof their magnificent dwellings and quadrangles for the night, andhutted ourselves next day on the plain, where we remained tendays. During this time Alvarado summoned the neighbouring Indiansto submit, but they neglected to appear. We then proceeded bylong marches to Olintepec, where Alvarados main force wasstationed, whence we proceeded by Soconuzco and Teguantepectowards Mexico, losing two soldiers on our march, and the Mexicanlord named Juan Velasquez, who had been a chief underGuatimotzin.

On our arrival at Oaxaca, we learned the news of the death ofPonce de Leon the governor. We pressed forward to Mexico, and onour arrival at Chalco sent messengers to inform Cortes of ourapproach, and to request he would provide us with good quarters,having been two years and three months absent on our expedition.Cortes, attended by many gentlemen on horseback, met us on thecauseway and accompanied us into the city, where we immediatelywent to the great church to return thanks to God for our arrival,after which we went to the generals palace, where a sumptuousentertainment was provided for us. Alvarado went to reside at thefortress, of which he had been appointed alcalde. Luis Marin wentto lodge with Sandoval; and Captain Luis Sanchez and I, weretaken by Andres de Tapia to his house. Cortes and Sandoval andall our other friends sent us presents of gold and cacao to bearour expences[3]. Next day, my friend Sanchez and I went to waitupon the new governor Aguilar, accompanied by Sandoval and DeTapia. We were received with much politeness, saying he wouldhave done every thing in his power for us, if so authorised, butevery thing having been referred by De Leon to his majesty, hewas unable to make any new arrangements.

[3] It may be proper to remark in this place, thatthe cacao nuts were used by the Mexicans before the conquest as amedium for purchases of small value instead of money, and thepractice was continued under the Spanish dominion, as the marketswere supplied by the original natives. Clavigero, I. 366. saysthat the Mexicans used five substitutes for money. 1. Cacao,which they counted by xiquipils, or in sacks containingeach three xiquipils, or 24,000 nuts. 2. Small cotton cloths,called patolquachtli. 3. Gold dust in goose quills. 4.Pieces of copper in the form of the letter T. 5. Thin pieces oftin.--E.

At this time Diego de Ordas arrived from Cuba, who was said tohave circulated the report of our deaths; but he declared that hehad only sent an account of the unfortunate catastrophe ofXicalonga as it really happened, and that the misrepresentationproceeded entirely from the factor Salazar. Cortes had so muchbusiness on his hands that he thought proper to drop this affair,and endeavoured to recover his property which had been disposedof under the supposition of his death. A great part of it hadbeen expended in celebrating his funeral obsequies, and in thepurchase of perpetual masses for his soul; but, on his beingdiscovered to be alive, had been repurchased by one Juan Caceresfor his own benefit when he might happen to die, so that Cortescould not recover his property. Ordas, who was a man of muchexperience, seeing that Cortes was fallen much into neglect sincehe was superseded from the government, advised him to assume morestate and consequence to maintain the respect due to him: Butsuch was his native plainness of manners, that he never wished tobe called otherwise than simply Cortes; a truly noblename, as glorious as those of Cesar, Pompey, or Hanibal among theancients. Ordas likewise informed Cortes of a current report inMexico, that he intended to put Salazar privately to death inprison, and warned him that he was powerfully patronized. Aboutthis time, the treasurer Estrada married one of his daughters toJorge de Alvarado, and another to Don Luis de Guzman, son to theConde de Castellar. Pedro de Alvarado went over to Spain tosolicit the government of Guatimala, sending in the meantime hisbrother Jorge to reduce that province, with a force chieflycomposed of the warriors of the different nations that were inour alliance. The governor also sent a force against the provinceof Chiapa, under the command of Don Juan Enriquez de Guzman, anear relation to the Duke of Medina Sidonia: And an expeditionwas sent against the Zapotecan mountaineers, under Alonzo deHerrera, one of our veteran soldiers.

Having lingered about eight months, Marcos de Aguilar died,and appointed by his testament Alonzo de Estrada the treasurer tosucceed him in the government: But the Cabildo of Mexico and manyof the principal Spaniards were very solicitous that Cortesshould be associated in the government; and on his peremptoryrefusal, they recommended that Sandoval, who was thenalguazil-major, should act in conjunction with Estrada, whichaccordingly was the case. The incompetence of Estrada forconducting the government in the present conjuncture,particularly appeared from the following circ*mstance. Nuno deGuzman, who had held the government of Panuco for two years,conducted himself in a furious and tyrannical manner, arbitrarilyextending the bounds of his jurisdiction on the most frivolouspretences, and putting to death all who dared to oppose hiscommands. Among these, Pedro Gonzalez de Truxillo, havingasserted truly that his district was dependent on Mexico, Guzmanimmediately ordered him to be hanged. He put many other Spaniardsto death, merely to make himself feared; and set the authority ofthe governor of Mexico at defiance. Some of the enemies of Cortespersuaded Estrada to represent to the court of Spain, that he hadbeen compelled by the influence of Cortes to associate Sandovalwith himself in the government, contrary to his inclination, andto the detriment of his majesties service. By the sameconveyance, a string of malevolent falsehoods were transmittedagainst the general; as that he had poisoned Garay, De Leon, andAguilar; that he had endeavoured to administer arsenic incheese-cakes to a great number of people at a feast; that he wasplotting the deaths of the veedor and factor Chirinos andSalazar, then in jail; and that he had procured the death of hiswife, Donna Catalina. All these lies were supported by theindustry of the contador Albornos, then in Spain: And, inconsequence of these gross falsehoods, Cortes was partly judgedunheard; as orders were sent to release Salazar and Chirinos; andPedro de la Cueva, commendator-major of Alcantara, was ordered togo out to Mexico with an escort of three hundred soldiers at theexpence of Cortes, with authority to put Cortes to death if hisguilt were proved, and to distribute his property among theveteran conquerors of Mexico. This was to have been done,however, under the authority of a court of royal audience, whichwas to be sent out to Mexico; but all ended in nothing; asneither De la Cueva nor the court of royal audience made theirappearance.

Estrada was greatly elated by the countenance he received atcourt, which he attributed to his being considered as a naturalson of the Catholic king. He disposed of governments at hispleasure, and carried every thing with a high hand. At this timehe sent his relation Mazoriejos to inquire into the conduct ofDon Juan Enriquez de Guzman in Chiapa, who is said to have mademore plunder there than was proper. He sent also a force againstthe Zapotecas and Mixtecas, under the command of one De Barrios,said to be a brave soldier who had served in Italy. I do not meanDe Barrios of Seville, the brother-in-law of Cortes. This officermarched with a hundred men against the Zapotecas; but theysurprised him, one night, and slew himself and seven of hissoldiers. Such was the difference between these raw half formedsoldiers, who were ignorant of the stratagems of the enemy, andus the veteran conquerors. One Figuero, a particular friend ofEstrada, was sent with a hundred new soldiers to the province ofOaxaca. On passing through the country of the Zapotecas, Figuerofell into a dispute with one Alonzo de Herrera, who had been sentto command there by the late governor Aguilar, in which Figueroand three soldiers were wounded. Finding himself unable for thefield, and that his soldiers were unfit for expeditions among themountains, Figuero thought proper to search for the sepulchres ofthe ancient chiefs, on purpose to appropriate the gold which usedto be buried along with them; by which means he collected abovean hundred thousand crowns, and returned with this wealth toMexico, leaving the province in a worse state than before. FromMexico he went to Vera Cruz, where he embarked for Spain; but heand all his wealth went to the bottom, as the vessel in which hesailed was lost in a storm. The business of subjecting theseIndians was finally left for us, the veterans of Coatzacualco,who at length reduced them to submission. They used to submitduring the summer, and to rebel when the torrents rendered theircountry inaccessible. I was on three expeditions against them;and at last the town of St Alfonso was built to keep them undersubjection.

When the governor heard how his friend Figuero had beenmaltreated by Herrera, he sent the officers of justice toapprehend him, but he made his escape to the rocks and woods.They took a soldier named Cortejo who used to accompany him, whomthey brought prisoner to Mexico, where the governor ordered hisright hand to be cut off, without hearing him in his defence,although he was a gentleman. About this time also, a servantbelonging to Sandoval wounded one of Estradas servants in aquarrel. The governor had him arrested, and sentenced him to havehis right hand cut off, Cortes and Sandoval resided at this timein Quernavaca, partly on prudential considerations; andimmediately posted off to Mexico, where he is said to have usedsuch severe expressions to the governor as to put him in fear ofhis life. He called his friends about him to form a guard for hisperson, and immediately released Salazar and Chirinos fromprison, by whose advice he issued an order for the expulsion ofCortes from Mexico. When this was represented to Cortes, hedeclared his readiness to obey; and since it was the will of God,that he who had gained that city at the expence of his bestblood, should be banished from it by base and unworthy men, hewas resolved to go immediately to Spain and demand justice fromhis majesty. He quitted the city instantly, and went to one ofhis country residences at Cojohuacan, from whence in a few dayshe proceeded towards the coast. Estradas lady, a person worthy ofmemory for her many virtues, seeing the dangerous consequenceswhich were likely to result from this absurd and arbitraryconduct, remonstrated with her husband on the subject, remindinghim of the many favours he had received from Cortes, theingratitude with which he now repaid him, and the many powerfulfriends of the general. These representations are said to haveinduced the treasurer to repent sincerely of the violent steps hehad taken. Just at this time, Fra Julian Garrios, the firstbishop of Tlascala arrived in New Spain, who was much displeasedon hearing the proceedings of the governor; and two days afterhis arrival in Mexico, where he was received with great pomp, heundertook to mediate a reconciliation between the governor andCortes. Many seditious persons, knowing the dissatisfaction ofCortes, offered him their services if he would set himself up asan independant monarch in New Spain, and he even received similaroffers from many persons in Mexico. He immediately arrested allof these men who were in his reach, threatening to put them todeath, and wrote to inform the bishop of Tlascala of theirtreasonable offers. The bishop waited on Cortes, and found hisconduct in every respect satisfactory, of which he sent word toMexico; and finding that Cortes was positively determined upongoing to Spain, the prelate added to his letter a severe censurefrom himself upon the misconduct of those who had driven him fromthence.

SECTION XXII.

Narrative of Occurrences, from the Departure of Cortes toEurope till his Death.

About this time likewise, Cortes received letters from thepresident of the council of the Indies, the Duke of Bejar, andseveral others of his friends in Spain; strongly urging thenecessity of his appearance at court to counteract the malignantaccusations of his numerous enemies[1]. By the same conveyance,he received notice of the death of his father. Having performedfuneral obsequies in memory of his father, he ordered two shipsto be purchased, which he stored so abundantly with provisions ofall kinds, that after his arrival in Spain the overplus mighthave served for a voyage of two years. I am uncertain whetherCortes returned to Mexico in order to arrange his privateaffairs; but he appointed several agents for that purpose, theprincipal of whom was the licentiate Altamirano. His major-domo,Esquival, was employed in making preparations for the voyage;who, in crossing the lake to Ajotzinco in a large canoe with sixIndians and a negro, having some ingots of gold in hispossession, was waylaid and murdered; but the manner of his deathcould never be ascertained, as neither canoe, Indians, nor negrocould ever be traced. The body of Esquival was found four daysafterwards on a small island, half eaten by the birds of prey.There were many suspicions about this affair, some of such anature as I cannot relate; but no great inquiry was made as tohis death. Cortes appointed other persons to complete thepreparations for his voyage; and offered by proclamation a freepassage for all Spaniards who had license from the government togo to Spain, with a supply of provisions during the voyage. Hetook home with him from Mexico a great number of the curiositiesof the country to present to his majesty, among which werevarious unknown birds, two tigers[2], many barrels of ambergrisand indurated balsam, and of a kind resembling oil[3]: FourIndians who were remarkably expert in playing the stick withtheir feet: Some of those Indian jugglers who had a manner ofappearing to fly in the air: Three hunchbacked dwarfs ofextraordinary deformity: Some male and female Indians whose skinswere remarkable for an extraordinary whiteness, and who had anatural defect of vision[4]. Cortes was likewise attended byseveral young chiefs of the Mexican and Tlascalan nations, whowent over along with him into Spain at their own request[5].

[1] According to Robertson, II. 266. Cortes took theresolution of returning into Spain to avoid exposing himself tothe ignominy of a trial in Mexico, the scene of his triumphs, onhearing that a commission of inquiry into his conduct was on thepoint of coming out to New Spain for that purpose. Diaz almostperpetually neglects dates, in the latter part of his workespecially: but we learn from Robertson that it was now the year1528.--E.

[2] The Mexican Tiger, or Jaguar, called Tlatlauhquiocelotl by the Mexicans, the felis onca of naturalists, isof a yellowish colour with cornered annular spots, which areyellow in the middle. It grows to the size of a wolf or largedog, and resembles the Bengal tiger, felis tigris, incraft and cruelty, but not in size or courage.--E.

[3] Perhaps the Balsam of Capivi, which is of thatconsistence. The indurated balsam may be that ofTolu.--E.

[4] These were albinos, an accidental ordiseased rariety of the human species, having chalky white skins,pure white hair, and a want of the pigmentum nigrum of the eye.The white rabbit is a plentiful example of animal albinos, whichvariety continues to propagate its kind.--E.

[5] According to Herrera, Dec. iv. lib. iij. c. 8.and lib. iv. c. 1. as quoted by Robertson, note cxxiv. thetreasure which Cortes took over with him consisted of 1500 marksof wrought plate, 200,000 pesos of fine gold, and 10,000 ofinferior standard; besides many rich jewels, one in particularbeing worth 40,000 pesos. The value of this enumerated treasureamounts to L.104,250 Sterling numerical value; but estimating itsefficient value in those days, with Robertson, as equal to sixtimes the present amount, it exceeds L.600,000.--E.

Every thing being in readiness for the voyage, Cortesconfessed and received the sacrament, after which he embarkedalong with Sandoval, de Tapia, and other gentlemen; and inforty-one days arrived in Spain, where he disembarked near thetown of Palos, in the month of December 1527. As soon as he sethis foot on shore, he knelt down and returned thanks to God forthe safety of his voyage. This fortunate voyage was soonsucceeded by severe grief, in consequence of the death of thevaliant Sandoval, who expired after a lingering illness in thehouse of a rope-maker in Palos, who robbed him in his presence ofthirteen bars of gold, in the following manner: Perceiving theextreme weakness of Sandoval, he sent away all his servants on apretended message to Cortes; and then went into Sandovals room,where he broke open his chest and took out the gold, our poorfriend being too ill in bed to hinder him, and even apprehensiveif he made any outcry, that the robber might take his life. Assoon as he got the gold, he made his escape into Portugal, wherehe could not be pursued. Sandoval grew worse hourly, and as thephysicians pronounced his end approaching, he prepared himselffor death like a good Christian, and made his will, by which heleft all his property to a sister, who afterwards married anatural son of the Conde de Medelin. Sandoval died universallyregretted, and was followed to the grave by Cortes and a greattrain of mourners. May God pardon his sins! Amen.

Cortes transmitted by express, an account of his arrival andof the death of his friend Sandoval to his majesty and to hispatrons at court; and when the Duke of Bejar and the Conde deAguilar waited on his majesty on the occasion, they found himalready acquainted by means of letters from Cortes, and that hehad been pleased to issue orders for his being received in themost honourable manner in all the towns and cities where he mighthave occasion to pass. On his arrival at Seville, Cortes wasentertained by the Duke of Medina Sidonia, who presented him withseveral beautiful horses. He proceeded from thence to attend thenine days devotion at the shrine of our lady ofGuadaloupe, where Donna Maria, the lady of the commendador DonFrancisco de los Cobos, and many other ladies of high rankarrived at the same time. After Cortes had performed hisdevotions, and given charity to the poor, he went in grand styleto pay his respects to Donna Maria, her beautiful sister, and themany other ladies of distinguished rank who were along with her,where he exhibited that politeness, gallantry, and generosity, inwhich he surpassed all men. He presented various golden ornamentsof great value to all the ladies, giving a plume of greenfeathers richly ornamented with gold to every one of the ladies,but his presents to Donna Maria and her sister were particularlyrich and valuable. He then produced his Indian dancers andplayers with the stick, who astonished all the spectators. Andlearning that one of the mules belonging to Donna Marias sisterhad fallen lame, he presented her with two of the finest whichcould be procured. Waiting the departure of these ladies, heattended them during their journey to the court, entertainingthem magnificently on all occasions, doing the honours with agrace peculiar to himself, insomuch that Donna Maria de Mendozabegan to have thoughts of a marriage between her sister andCortes, and wrote in such strains of the politeness andgenerosity of Cortes, that she brought over the commendador herhusband entirely to his interest.

On his arrival at court, his majesty was pleased to orderapartments for him, and all his friends came out to meet him onthe road. Next day he went by permission to throw himself at hismajestys feet, accompanied by the Duke of Bejar, the Admiral ofthe Indies, and the commendador of Leon. His majesty commandedhim to rise, on which Cortes, after a short enumeration of hisservices and vindication of his conduct from the aspersions ofhis enemies, presented a memorial in which the whole was fullydetailed. His majesty then honoured him with the title of Marquisdella Valle de Oaxaca and the order of St Jago, giving him anestate for the support of his new dignity, and appointed himCaptain-general of New Spain and of the South Seas. Thus loadedwith honours, Cortes retired from the royal presence; and shortlyafterwards falling dangerously ill, the emperor did him thehonour of paying him a visit in person. One Sunday after hisrecovery, when the emperor was at mass in the cathedral ofToledo, seated according to custom with all the nobility in theirproper stations, Cortes came there rather late, designedly as itwas said, after all were seated; and, passing before all theothers, took his place next the Conde de Nasao, who sat nearestthe emperor. This gave great offence to many, though some said itwas done by desire of the emperor. Indeed Cortes felt hiselevation so much, that he ceased to hold some of his patrons inthe estimation they deserved, bestowing his whole attentions onthe Duke of Bejar, the Admiral, and the Conde de Nasao. Heapplied likewise to the emperor to be reappointed to thegovernment of New Spain; but, though supported in this request byhis noble patrons, his majesty refused compliance, and from thistime he did not seem so much in favour as before.

The emperor now proceeded on a journey to Flanders; andshortly after his departure, Cortes was married to Donna Juannade Zuniga, on which occasion he presented his lady with the mostmagnificent jewels that had ever been seen in Spain. QueenIsabella, from the report of the lapidaries, expressed a wish forsome similar jewels, which Cortes accordingly presented to her;but it was reported that these were not so fine or so valuable asthose he had given to his lady. At this time Cortes obtainedpermission from the council of the Indies to fit out two ships ona voyage of discovery to the south seas, with the condition ofenjoying certain privileges and revenues from all lands that wereacquired through his means to the crown of Spain. Don Pedro de laCueva, who was to have gone to Mexico with a commission to tryCortes and to put him to death if found guilty, was now upon themost intimate footing with him, and told him that even hisinnocence would have been sufficiently expensive, as the cost ofthe expedition, which he was to have paid, would have exceeded300,000 crowns.

Cortes sent Juan de Herrada, a brave soldier who had attendedhim in his expedition to Honduras, to carry a rich present ofgold, silver, and jewels, to his holiness Pope Clement, with anample memorial of all the circ*mstances respecting the newlydiscovered countries; and on this occasion solicited someabatement of the tithes of New Spain. Herrada was accompanied toRome by several of the Indians who shewed feats of agility, andwith whose performances the pope and cardinals were highlydiverted. His holiness, on the receipt of the letters andmemorial, gave thanks to God for the opportunity of making somany thousands converts to the holy catholic faith, praising theservices which Cortes and we had rendered to the church and oursovereign, and sent us bulls of indulgence, freeing us from thepenalties of our sins, and others for the erection of churchesand hospitals; but I know not what was done in regard to thetithes. When Herrada had concluded his business at Rome, hereturned to Spain with a liberal reward from the pope, who gavehim the rank of Count Palatine, and strongly recommended that heshould have the grant of a considerable plantation in New Spain,which he never got. After his return to America, he went to Peru,where Diego de Almagro left him in the office of governor to hisson. He was high in the favour and confidence of the family andparty of Almagro, with whom he served as maestre de campounder young Almagro, and headed the party which put to death theelder Don Francisco Pizarro.

While Cortes remained in Spain, the members of the court ofroyal audience arrived in Mexico. Of this court, Nuno de Guzman,who had been governor of Panuco, was president; the fouroydors or judges being the licentiates, Matienzo,Delgadillo, Parada, and Maldonado; not the good Alonzo Maldonadowho was afterwards governor of Guatimala. These magistrates hadgreater powers than had hitherto been confided to any officers inNew Spain, being entrusted with the final distribution of landedproperty, in which his majesty had particularly charged them totake care of the interests of the conquerors, and they evincedfrom the very first a determination to do justice. Immediatelyafter their arrival, they issued a proclamation, requiring theattendance of an agent from each settlement, and to be furnishedwith memorials and returns of the several districts; and theagents accordingly arrived as soon as possible. Being then inMexico in the execution of my office of procurator-syndic of thetown of Coatzacualco, I posted to that place in order to bepresent at the election of agents, and after a violent contest,Captain Marin and I were elected by the majority. On our arrivalin Mexico, we found that two of the oydors had died ofpleurisies, and that the factor Salazar had acquired so completean ascendancy over the others that they followed his advice inevery thing. The agents pressed a final distribution of lands;but Salazar persuaded the president and the two remaining oydorsnot hastily to part with that source of patronage, which wouldnecessarily diminish their influence. Salazar even set out forSpain, to solicit the government for the president, Nuno deGuzman; but was shipwrecked on the coast near Coatzacualco, andhad to return to Mexico. Estrada died soon after beingsuperseded, which he owed more to his own tameness than to anyright the members of the court could found on his majestysorders, which left the government entirely with him, withoutsaying any thing of the association of Guzman; who yet usurpedthe sole government to himself as president. Estrada wasuniversally regretted, as he conducted himself with perfectimpartiality, and would assuredly have been supported, if he hadinsisted on retaining his office of governor.

A commission was appointed at Guatimala, where Jorge deAlvarado commanded, of which I never learnt the result. In Mexicothe most severe proceedings were adopted against the Marquisdella Valle, during which the factor Salazar reviled andslandered him in the grossest manner. The licentiate Altamirano,his friend and manager of his affairs, remonstrated with thecourt against these indecent proceedings, but to no purpose, asGuzman and the surviving judges gave their countenance toSalazar, who became more abusive than ever; insomuch that on oneof these occasions Altamirano drew his poniard, and would havestabbed the factor, throwing the court into confusion and uproar,if he had not been prevented. Altamirano was sent prisoner to thecitadel, and Salazar was ordered into arrest in his own house,and the city was thrown into an universal ferment. At the end ofthree days, the licentiate was liberated from confinement at ourearnest desire, and the dispute was quieted for the present; buta more serious disscution succeeded. One Zavalos, a relation ofNarvaez, had been sent by his wife in quest of him, as he hadgone as governor to the Rio Palmas, and had not been heard of fora long while. On coming to Mexico, Zavalos, as is supposed byinstigation of the members of the royal court of audience, lodgedcriminal information against all the soldiers of Cortes who hadbeen concerned in the attack upon Narvaez; so that about twohundred and fifty of us, then in the city, myself among the rest,were apprehended, brought to trial, convicted, and sentenced to afine of a certain quantity of gold, and banishment to thedistance of five leagues from Mexico: But the banishment wasremitted and very few paid the fine.

The enemies of the marquis took a new ground of attack,alleging that he had embezzled the treasure of Montezuma andGuatimotzin, and was answerable to the soldiers both for what hehad appropriated to his own use, and for that which had been sentto Spain as a present to his majesty and had been captured byFlorin the French corsair. A long list of other demands followed,on every one of which he was found liable, and his property wassold under executions for the payment. At this time likewise,Juan Suarez the brother of Donna Catalina, the first wife ofCortes, charged him with her murder, offering to producewitnesses of the manner of her death. Many of us the veteranconquerors, who were the friends of Cortes, seeing the harshmanner in which he was treated, met by appointment at the houseof Garcia Holguin, under the license of an alcalde or judge ofpolice, where we entered into a resolution to renounce all ourclaims to the treasure: But when the judges of the royal tribunalheard of our proceedings, they ordered us all to be arrested foran illegal meeting; and though we produced the license underwhich our meeting was held, they again banished us five leaguesfrom Mexico; but we were allowed to return. A proclamation wasissued about this time, that all persons of Moorish descent, orfrom those who had been burned or sanbenited[6] by theholy tribunal, as far as the fourth generation, should quit NewSpain within four months, under the penalty of losing half theirproperty. Vast numbers of informers and accusers started up onthis occasion, by which an infinite number of most infamousslanders were propagated; and yet after all only two individualswere expelled.

[6] Those who had worn the san benito, orpenal dress, in an auto de fe. In the original translationthe descendants of Indians are included in thisproscription, which certainly must be an error.--E.

The court was generous in fulfilling the royal commandsrespecting the veteran conquerors, who were all amply providedfor; but they granted an excessive license in regard to thebranding of slaves, in consequence of which so many were made inthe province of Panuco that it became almost depopulated. Guzmanmade a new-years-gift to Albornos, who was newly returned toSpain, of the whole district of Guazpaltepec. Albornos broughtwith him a royal patent for erecting some sugar-works atChempoalla, which soon went to ruin. The oydor Delgadillo wasmuch censured for his free gifts, as it was observed healways reserved some rents to himself, and the consequentextortions and oppressions of those he patronized were excessive.The other oydor Matienzo was superannuated. The abuses of themembers of this supreme court became at length so notorious, thatother members of more discretion were sent out to supersede them.Old Matienzo, who was the least exceptionable, was sent to Panucoto inquire into and remedy the abuses committed in that province;where he revoked the grants made by the president and Delgadilloto their friends and clients, bestowing the plantations on thosewho were pointed out by the royal instructions; but all those whowere desired to deliver up their plantations endeavoured to bringproof that they had been granted in reward of former services,disclaiming all favour or patronage from Guzman or Delgadillo,and most of them succeeded in keeping what they had got, the onlypersons deprived being Albornos of his new-years-gift, Villareal,and Villegas.

When the members of the royal tribunal understood that theywere to be superseded, they resolved to send agents to Spain,provided with witnesses and documents to vouch for the proprietyof their conduct; and for this purpose all the veteran conquerorsand other persons of distinction were convened in the greatchurch, to choose an agent for our interest. The president andjudges of the royal tribunal recommended Salazar the factor; andthough they had committed some improprieties, as they had in themain done us justice in the repartimientos, ordistribution of property and vassals, we were all disposed tovote for the person they recommended; but when we had assembledin the church, so many persons had crowded in who had no right,making a prodigious noise and confusion, that we could notproceed to business; and though all who had not been summonedwere ordered to withdraw, they refused and insisted to vote aswell as the others. We therefore adjourned to the next day, atthe house of the president; and none being admitted but thosesummoned, the business was soon amicably adjusted by agreementwith the members of the royal audience, and two agents werechosen. One, named Antonio de Carvajal, for the court; andBernardino Vasquez de Tapia, for Cortes and the conquerors. In myopinion, both of these were equally devoted to the views of thepresident; but this was natural on our part, as Guzman had donemuch more for us during his short administration, than Cortesduring all the period of his power. Yet we were always moreattached to Cortes, who had been our commander, than he was toour interest, notwithstanding that he had his majestys orders toprovide for us; of which the following is a striking proof. Thepresident and judges used their influence with us to petition hismajesty that Cortes might never be permitted to return to NewSpain, under pretence that his presence might occasion factionsand disturbances, tending to the loss of the country. We opposedthis to the utmost of our power; and as Alvarado arrived at thistime from Spain with the commission of governor andlieutenant-general of Guatimala, and decorated with a commanderyof St Jago, he and the friends of Cortes agreed to lay astatement of every thing before his majesty, giving a cleardevelopement of the views and conduct of the members of the royalaudience. From this it appeared to the royal council of theIndies, that all the measures they had taken against Cortes weredictated by passion and interest, and the determination ofrecalling the present members of the audience was therebyconfirmed. The presence of Cortes in Spain at this time was alsohighly favourable to his interests, and he was now rapidlyadvancing to the pinnacle of his fortune.

As Guzman was now quite certain of being superseded, hedetermined upon an expedition into the province of Xalisco, nowcalled New Gallicia[7]. For this purpose he collected a largemilitary force, partly of volunteers, and partly by the influenceof his supreme authority, obliging those who did not servepersonally to find substitutes, and those who had horses to sellthem for half value. He took with him likewise a considerablenumber of Mexicans, partly as soldiers, and others to carry thebaggage. In this expedition, he cruelly oppressed the provincesthrough which he passed, that he might amass riches. FromMechoacan[8] he obtained a large quantity of gold much alloyedwith silver, which the inhabitants had been collecting for ages;and as the unfortunate prince or cacique of that country wasunable to gratify his avarice sufficiently, he had him torturedin the first place, and afterwards hanged on some false ortrifling allegations, to the great displeasure of all theSpaniards in his army, who considered it as the cruellest andmost unjust action ever committed in New Spain. All the bootywhich he had made in this expedition was collected at the town ofCompostello, which he founded at a heavy expence to the crown andto the inhabitants of Mexico, and he remained in this place untilhis arrest.

[7] New Gallicia, to the north-west of Mexico andupon the Pacific Ocean, is now included in the Intendenciaof Guadalaxara, and appears to have been named Colima by theMexicans.--E.

In consequence of the injustice of the former court ofaudience, his majesty was pleased to suppress it, and to cancelall its grants, and to appoint a new one consisting of wise andupright men. Of this new tribunal, Don Sebastian Ramirez, bishopof St Domingo was president, and the oydors or judges were thelicentiates Maldonado de Salamanca, Vaco de Quiroga y Madrigal,afterwards bishop of Mechoacan, Zaynos de Toro, and Solomon deMadrid. On commencing their sittings, such crowds of complainantsof all descriptions, settlers, agents, and native chiefs fromevery city, town, and district of New Spain made application forredress against the partiality and oppression of the formercourt, that the members were quite astonished. The demands madeby the agents of Cortes for what had been unjustly taken fromhim, amounted to above 200,000 crowns. As Nuno de Guzman wasabsent, the whole blame was laid upon him by the other members ofthe former tribunal, who alleged that they were compelled to actaccording to his orders. He was accordingly summoned to appear,which he did not think proper to do, and it was judged proper torefer the whole affair for the present to the supreme court inSpain. Accordingly, one Torre, a licentiate, was sent with fullpowers from Spain to Xalisco, having orders to transmit Guzman toMexico, and to commit him to prison. Torre was also commissionedto indemnify us for the fines which had been imposed on usrespecting the affair of Narvaez.

The properties of Delgadillo and Martienzo, were sold to paythe damages of those who had gained causes against them, andtheir persons imprisoned for the deficiency. A brother ofDelgadillo, who was alcalde-major in Oaxaca, and another who wasalcalde among the Zapotecas, were fined and imprisoned for thesame reason, and died in jail. Delgadillo and Martienzo returnedafterwards to Spain in poverty, where they soon died. The newjudges were wise and just, regulating their conduct entirelyaccording to the will of God and the king, and shewing a laudablezeal for the protection and conversion of the Indians. Theyprohibited all branding of the natives for slaves, and made manyother excellent regulations. In about four years, Solomon andZaynos, two of the judges, being old and wealthy, petitioned forleave to retire. The president also was ordered to repair toEurope, to give an account of the affairs of New Spain. He wasthen bishop of St Domingo, having been formerly inquisitor inSeville. After his return to Spain, he was advanced successivelyto the bishopricks of Toro, Leon, and Cuença, withastonishing rapidity, and was also made president of the royalchancery in Valladolid. The good conduct of the oydorMaldonado was rewarded by the government of Guatimala, Honduras,and Veragua, and the title of adelantado or lieutenantgovernor of Yucutan. The other judge, Quiroga de Madrigal,obtained the bishoprick of Mechoacan. Such were the rewards ofthese just judges!

His majesty was pleased to appoint Don Antonio de Mendozaviceroy of New Spain. This most illustrious nobleman, worthy ofall praise, was brother to the Marquis of Montejar. Along withhim there came out as oydors or judges of the court of audience,the doctor Quesada, and the licentiates Tejada de Logrono andLoaysa. The latter was an old man who staid only three or fouryears in Mexico, where he collected a good deal of money, andthen returned home to Spain. Santilana, another licentiate cameout at the same time, appointed to succeed Maldonado as oydorwhen he might vacate his office. All were excellent magistrates.On opening their court, they gave leave to every one to makeobjections against the conduct of their predecessors; but whichwas found on inquiry to have been perfectly right. When theviceroy Mendoza arrived, as he knew that the licentiate Torre hadorders to arrest Nuno de Guzman, he invited him to Mexico,meaning to save him from insult, and gave him apartments in thepalace, where he was treated with all respect. But Torre, who hadorders to communicate his commission to the viceroy, not findinghimself countenanced in the strong measures he was inclined topursue, and being naturally violent, arrested Guzman in thepalace and carried him to the common prison, saying that he actedby royal authority. Guzman remained several days in custody, butwas at length released at the intercession of the viceroy. Thelicentiate was much addicted to cards, particularly at the gamesof triumpho and primero, on which circ*mstance one ofGuzmans friends played him the following trick to hold him up toridicule. The civilians at that time wore gowns with loosehanging sleeves, into one of which some wag contrived to convey apack of cards, so that when Torre was walking across the greatsquare of Mexico in company with several persons of quality, thecards began to drop from his sleeve, leaving a long trail behindhim as he walked along. On discovering the trick, which washeartily laughed at, he became very much enraged; and either fromvexation or the influence of the climate, he died soon after of acalenture or burning fever, by which the affair of Guzmanwas respited.

Cortes having now been long in Spain, advanced to the dignityof marquis, captain-general of New Spain, and admiral of thesouth sea, being anxious to revisit his estates in New Spain,embarked with his family and twelve fathers of the order ofmercy. On his arrival at Vera Cruz, he was by no means sohonourably received as formerly, and went from thence to Mexico,to present his patents to the viceroy and to take possession ofhis offices. Considerable difficulty occurred in regard to theinterpretation of the royal grant of towns and lands to themarquis, which I do not pretend to understand. The grant, inmentioning the districts which were granted to him, enumeratedthe vicinos or neighbours who were considered as belongingto it and as constituting his vassals. Cortes insisted that thehead person only of each family was to be considered as thevicino or vassal; but the Doctor Quesada, who was deputedto allot his districts, contended that every adult male in afamily, master, son, servant, or slave, was to be reckoned in thenumber of the vicinos. The marquis was much disappointedby this interpretation, as there were often twelve or fifteen ofthese in one household or family, which would have prodigiouslyreduced his revenue, and several law-suits ensued in consequence.This matter was reported for his majesties determination, andcontinued for several years in suspence, during which the marquisreceived his full rents without hindrance: But finding the greatdiminution of his importance in the country which he had subdued,by the appointment of a viceroy, he retired to Quernavaca, wherehe established his residence, being on his own estate, neverreturning to Mexico. While Marcos de Aguilar held the governmentof New Spain, Cortes caused four ships to be fitted out atZacatula on the south sea, under the command of Alvarado deSaavedra, and provided with various articles of merchandize, fora voyage to China and the Molucca or spice islands. He waslikewise directed to look out for a squadron which had sailedfrom Spain for China, commanded by Don Garcia de Loaysa, acommander of the order of St John at Rhodes[9]. While Saavedrawas preparing for his expedition, a vessel belonging to thesquadron of Loaysa arrived at Zacatula, from the pilot and crewof which he acquired all the information he wished. Taking withhim the pilot and two sailors of this ship, Saavedra proceeded onhis voyage in December 1527 or 1528, and sustained manymisfortunes and hardships on the way to the Moluccas. I do notknow the particulars of this voyage: But, about three yearsafterwards, I met a sailor who had sailed in this expedition, whotold me many strange things respecting the cities and nations hehad seen. I also heard that the Portugueze had captured Saavedraand several of his people, whom they had sent prisoners toEurope. After his return to New Spain the marquis sent two ships,in May 1532, from Acapulco, commanded by Diego Hurtado deMendoza, to make discoveries in the south sea. One of his shipsmutinied and returned to New Spain, to the great mortification ofCortes, and Hurtado was never heard of afterwards. After this,Cortes sent out two other vessels, one commanded by Diego Bezerrade Mendoza, and the other by Hernando de Grijalva. The firstnight after their departure from Tehuantepec, they were separatedin a gale of wind and never joined again, Grijalva being wellpleased to escape from under the command of Bezerra, who was of ahaughty temper; and besides, Grijalva was desirous to take themerit of any discoveries he might make to himself. After sailing200 leagues, he came to an uninhabited island, which he named StThomas. Bezerra made himself so odious by his domineeringdisposition, that his pilot Ximenes entered into a plot for hisassassination, which he carried into effect, and took the commandof the vessel. Continuing the voyage, he discovered an islandwhich he named Santa Cruz, which was inhabited by savages, andwhere he set on shore two Franciscan friars and several personswho had refused to join in the mutiny. Being in want of water, hewent at the same time on shore for that purpose; but he and allwho landed were put to death by the savages within view of theship. After this misfortune the survivors returned to NewSpain.

[8] Mechoacan, to the west of Mexico and reaching tothe south sea forms now the Intendency ofValladolid.--E.

[9] For the information of some readers, it may beproper to observe, that the order of St John of Jerusalem, latelyknown by the name of the order of Malta, then resided atRhodes.--E.

The Marquis del Valle was so much vexed by thesedisappointments that he resolved to go in person upon discovery,with three ships which he had ready for launching at Teguantepec.When the Spaniards learnt that he meant to embark on a voyage ofdiscovery, they thought that success was quite certain, and greatnumbers resolved to accompany him. Above 320 persons, includingwomen, offered their services, as there were above 130 of themmarried men, who brought their wives along with them. LeavingTeguantepec in May 1536 or 1537, accompanied by Andres de Tapiaand several other officers, with some ecclesiastics, physiciansand surgeons, and as many colonists as the vessels could contain,he sailed for the island of Santa Cruz, where he arrived after aprosperous voyage, and sent back the ships to bring over theremainder of the people[10]. The second voyage was not sofortunate, as they separated in a gale of wind near the river ofSt Peter and St Paul, one only of the ships arriving at theisland of Santa Cruz, where the marquis anxiously expected them,as provisions were growing scarce. One of the other vessels,which contained the provisions, was stranded on the coast ofXalisco, whence most of the people returned to New Spain. Theother vessel came to a bay which the people named Guayaval, fromthe quantity of guayavas which they found there. Duringthis time, the marquis and his people were experiencing extremedistress on the uncultivated island of Santa Cruz, twenty-threeof the soldiers dying of famine, and the rest sinking daily, andcursing his expeditions and discoveries. Taking fifty soldierswith him in the ship which had arrived, he went in search of theother two; and after some considerable search he found onestranded, as already mentioned, on the coast of Xalisco, andabandoned by the people, and met the other among some rocks.Having repaired these vessels, he brought them with a quantity ofprovisions to Santa Cruz, where his famished colonists eat sovoraciously that half of them died. Anxious to quit this scene ofmisery, the marquis embarked from Santa Cruz, and, continuing hisproject of discoveries, fell in with the land of California,heartily tired of his fruitless pursuit, yet unwilling to returnto New Spain without effecting some important discovery. When theMarchioness del Valle had notice of the loss of one of thevessels, she became very apprehensive of her husbands safety, andfitted out two ships to go in search of the marquis and hisunfortunate colonists. These sailed under the command ofFrancisco de Ulloa, who carried letters from the marchioness andthe viceroy, requesting the return of Cortes to New Spain. Ulloahad the good fortune to fall in with Cortes, who suffered himselfto be prevailed on, and returned to New Spain by way of Acapulco,leaving Ulloa to command the squadron. His return rejoiced theSpaniards, who were always afraid the natives chiefs mightrevolt, when not awed by his presence. The people whom he left inCalifornia returned soon afterwards; but whether they were soordered by the government I know not.

[10] Santa Cruz is a small island in the Vermilionsea, on the eastern coast of California, in lat. 25º 23' N.lon. 110º 47' W. from Greenwich.--E.

After a few months, the Marquis fitted out other two ships,which he sent upon discovery under the command of Ulloa, whosailed from the port of Navidad in the month of June, but Iforget the year. Ulloa had orders to explore the coast ofCalifornia, and to search for Hurtado, who had never been heardof. After an absence of seven months, Ulloa returned to Xalisco,without having effected any discovery of importance; and wasassassinated a few days afterwards on shore by a soldier who borehim a grudge. Thus ended the projected discoveries of the Marquisdel Valle, in which I have heard him say that he expended above300,000 crowns. He never prospered after his first conquest ofNew Spain; and his bad fortune was ascribed to the curses of hiscompanions, for having treated them so ill in the distribution ofthe property acquired by their bravery. He now determined ongoing to Spain, in order to solicit an allowance from his majestyfor the expences he had been at in these voyages, as also toendeavour to end the dispute concerning the vassals of hisestates in New Spain, and to procure restitution of the propertywhich had been seized from him by Nuno de Guzman, who was now aprisoner in Castille.

After the departure of the Marquis, the viceroy and court ofaudience sent a military force from Xalisco by land to the northwest, under the command of Francisco Vasquez Coronado, whomarried the beautiful and virtuous daughter of the treasurerEstrada. Coronado left his government of Xalisco, under thecharge of an officer named Onate, and marched into the countrynamed Celibola[11] or the Seven Cities; whence he sent aFranciscan friar, named Marcos de Nica, to Mexico, to give theviceroy an account of the country. He described it as consistingof fine plains, with great herds of cattle quite different fromthose of Europe; having populous towns, in which the houses wereof two stories with stairs. He also represented that it lay onthe coast of the south sea, by means of which necessaries andreinforcements could be easily sent to the Spanish force.Accordingly, three ships were sent for that purpose, under thecommand of Hernando de Alarco, an officer belonging to thehousehold of the viceroy.

[11] This appears to be the country now calledCinaloa, or Culiacan. The strange appellation of the sevencities seems to have reference to that fancied ancientSpanish colony which has been formerly spoken of in theintroduction to the discovery of Columbus.--E.

In the year 1537, Don Pedro de Alvarado fitted out a greatarmament of thirteen vessels from the port of Acaxatla[12]on the south sea, in consequence of a license from his majesty,in which he had a grant of certain rents and advantages in suchcountries as he might discover; that is to say, in China and theMoluccas or Spice Islands. As the port where this armament wasfitted out was above 200 leagues from Vera Cruz, whence all theiron and most other articles had to be carried by land, its costmight easily have fitted out eighty such vessels from Old Spain.All the wealth which Alvarado brought from Peru[13], togetherwith what he had got from the mines in Guatimala, with the rentsof his estates, and rich presents from his friends and relations,were insufficient for his preparations on this occasion, althoughall the merchandize was procured on credit. Great as was theexpence of the ships, it was far exceeded by that of his army,consisting of 650 soldiers with their officers, and a number ofhorses, as a good horse at that time cost 300 crowns. Alvaradosailed some time in the year 1538 for the harbour ofNavidad near the city of Purification, in theprovince of Xalisco, or New Galicia, where he meant to take inwater, and to embark more soldiers. When the viceroy heard ofthis great armament, he became desirous to have a share in it,and went to Navidad to view the fleet, whence he and Alvaradoreturned to Mexico. Alvarado wished to have a relation of his ownnamed Juan appointed to have the command of this expedition,while the viceroy was desirous to have another officer, namedVillalobos, joined in command with Juan Alvarado. On his returnto the port of Navidad, and when just ready to sail, Alvaradoreceived a letter from Onate, who had been left in the command ofthe province of Xalisco, earnestly entreating his immediateassistance, as he and the settlement were threatened withdestruction by the Indians of Cochitlan. Alvarado, who was alwayszealous in his majestys service, marched immediately with histroops to their relief, and found them in a most desperatesituation. The insurgents rather diminished in the violence oftheir attacks on the arrival of Alvarado, but hostilities werestill continued; and one day, as Alvarado was following the enemyamong some rocky mountains, a soldier on horseback, who was at aconsiderable height above him on the steep side of a mountain,came rolling down above him, horse and all, by which he was somuch bruised, that soon after his removal to the town of thePurification, he was seized with fainting-fits, and expired in afew days. On the news of Alvarados death being known to his fleetand army, many of the people returned to their homes with whatthey had received. The viceroy sent off the licentiate Maldonadoto prevent confusion as much as possible, whom he followed soonafter to take the charge of the remaining soldiers, with whom hemarched against the insurgents, and after a tedious and difficultwarfare of some continuance, reduced them to submission.

[12] This name, which is not to be found in any map,is probably a mistake for Zacatula, in lat. 18º N. on thecoast of the Pacific Ocean, W.S.W. from Mexico.--E.

The loss of Alvarado was severely felt in his family, and hismemory was long held in high esteem through all New Spain. Onreceiving the fatal intelligence in Guatimala, the worthy bishopMaroguin and all his clergy celebrated his obsequies with muchhonour, and his major-domo caused the walls of his house to bepainted black, which colour has remained ever since. Manygentlemen waited on Donna Beatrix de la Cueva, his lady, toconsole her for her loss. They advised her to give God thanks,since it was his will to take her husband to himself. Like a goodChristian, she assented to this sentiment, yet said that she nowwished to leave this melancholy world and all its misfortunes.The historian Gomara has falsely said that she spokeblasphemously on this occasion, saying that God could now do herno more injury; and injuriously ascribes the subsequentmisfortune which befel her to these words which she did notutter. A deluge of mud and water burst forth from the volcanonear Guatimala, which overwhelmed the house in which she waspraying along with her women. Although Alvarado and his fourbrothers had served his majesty with much zeal, no part of hisproperty descended to his children, and the whole family waspeculiarly unfortunate. Don Pedro died, as I have alreadyrelated, by an uncommon accident in Cochitlan, or Culiacan. Hisbrother Jorge died in Madrid in 1540, while soliciting hismajesty for a recompence of his services. Gomes de Alvarado diedin Peru. Gonzalo in Mexico or Oaxaca, I am uncertain which. Juanon his voyage to Cuba. The eldest son of Don Pedro, while on avoyage along with his relation the younger Juan, to solicit arecompence for his fathers services, was lost at sea. Don Diego,the younger son, seeing the fortunes of the family desperate,returned to Peru, where he died in battle. Donna Beatrix[14], thelady of Don Pedro, with the female part of the family, weredestroyed, as before related, by a torrent from a volcano, one ofhis daughters only excepted, Donna Leonora, who was saved fromthe torrent, and has caused two sepulchres to be built in thegreat church of Guatimala, to receive the bones of her relations.May our Lord Jesus take them all with him into glory!Amen.

[13] The expedition of Alvarado to Peru will berelated in the subsequent chapter. Diaz merely gives this slighthint on the subject.--E.

[14] In the sixth section of this chapter, ithas been already mentioned that Don Pedro Alvarado was married toDonna Luisa the daughter of Xicotencatl, one of theprinces or chiefs of Tlascala, through whom he acquired a greatinheritance, and by whom he had a son Don Pedro, and a daughterDonna Leonora, married to Don Francisco de la Cueva, cousin tothe Duke of Albuquerque, by whom she had four or five sons. Thewidow of Don Pedro destroyed in Guatimala, seems to have been asecond wife--E.

About a year after the death of Don Pedro Alvarado, theviceroy sent the best of his ships under Villalobos to makediscoveries to the westwards of the Pacific Ocean; but with whatsuccess I never learnt. No part of the expences of this armamentwere ever recovered by any of the descendants of Alvarado.

As the Marquis del Valle was in Spain at the time of theexpedition against Algiers, he attended his majesty on thatoccasion, along with his legitimate son Don Martinez, and DonMartin the son he had by Donna Marina. The fleet was dispersed ina storm, and the ship on board of which the marquis had embarkedwas stranded, on which occasion he, his sons, and his suite, goton shore with much difficulty. On this occasion he tied aquantity of rich jewels, which he used to wear like other greatlords for no use, in a handkerchief round his arm, butthey were all lost. On account of this disaster to the fleet, thecouncil of war was of opinion that the siege ought to beimmediately raised. The marquis was not called to this council;but it has been said that, if present, he would have declared forcontinuing the siege, and if he had been so fortunate as tocommand there such brave soldiers as those who accompanied him toMexico, he would have entertained no doubt of success.

The marquis was now grown old and worn out by long and severefatigue, and was anxious to have returned to New Spain, to settlehis affairs: But he waited the celebration of a marriage, betweenhis eldest daughter Donna Maria and Don Alvaro Pinez Osorio, sonand heir to the Marquis of Astorga, and had agreed to give hisdaughter a fortune of 100,000 ducats. He had sent to bring overhis daughter from Mexico, and had even gone himself to Seville tomeet her; but the match was broke off, as is said by the fault ofDon Alvaro. Cortes was much disappointed at this, and as hishealth was already in a bad state, he declined so rapidly, thathe retired to Castileja de la Cuesta, to attend to the concernsof his soul, and to make his testament. Having arranged all hisaffairs, both for this and the next world, he departed this lifeon the 2d of December 1547. He was buried with great pomp in thechapel of the dukes of Medina Sidonia; but, according to hiswill, his remains were afterwards, removed to Cojohuacan orTezcuco in New Spain, I am uncertain which. By his latter will,he left funds for the endowment of an hospital in Mexico, and anunnery in his own town of Cojohuacan. In 1519, when we wentalong with him from Cuba against Mexico, he used to tell us thathe was then thirty-four years old; and as he died 28 yearsafterwards, he must have been exactly 62 at his death. The armsgranted to him by his majesty, when he was created a marquis,were the heads of seven kings surrounded by a chain, implyingMontezuma, Cacamatzin, Guatimotzin, Tulapa, Coadlavaca, and theprinces of Tacuba and Cojohuacan. The motto, as I have been told,was well adapted to a valiant warrior; but being in Latin, whichI do not understand, I say nothing on that subject.

The Marquis del Valle de Oaxaca, was strong built, and of agood stature, with a rather pale complexion and seriouscountenance. His features were rather small, with mild and graveeyes. His hair and beard were black and thin. His breast andshoulders were broad, and his body thin. He was well-limbed, hislegs being somewhat bent. He was an excellent horseman, and verydexterous in the use of arms; and he also had the heart and mindof valour, which is the principal part of that business. I haveheard that, when young, he was very wild about women, and hadseveral duels in Hispaniola on that account with able swordsmen,in all of which he came off victorious: But he received a woundnear his under lip on one of these occasions, the scar of whichcould be seen through his beard when closely examined. In hisappearance, manners, behaviour, conversation, table, and dress,every thing corresponded to a man of high rank; and, although hisclothes always corresponded to the fashion of the times, he wasnot fond of silks, damasks, or velvets; but wore every thingplain and handsome. Instead of large chains of gold in which somedelighted, he was satisfied with a small chain of exquisiteworkmanship, to which was appended a gold medal of the Virgin andchild Jesus, with a Latin motto, and on the reverse St John theBaptist and another motto. On his finger he wore a very finediamond ring; and in his cap, which was of velvet, he bore a goldmedal, the head and motto of which I have forgot: But, in hislatter days, he wore a plain cloth cap without ornament.

His table was always magnificently served and attended, havingfour major-domos or principal officers, with many pages, and agreat quantity of massy plate both of gold and silver. He dinedheartily about mid-day, drinking only about half a pint of winemixed with water. He was not nice or expensive in his food,except on particular occasions, where he saw it to be proper. Hewas exceedingly affable with all his captains and soldiers,especially those who accompanied him at first from Cuba; yetpractised the strictest attention to military discipline,constantly going the rounds himself in the night, and visitingthe quarters of the soldiers, severely reprehending all whom hefound without their armour or appointments, and not ready to turnout at a moments warning, saying, "It is a bad sheep that cannotcarry its own wool." He was a Latin scholar, and as I have beentold, a bachelor of laws, a good rhetorician, and something evenof a poet. He was very devote to the Holy Virgin, and to StPeter, St James, and St John the Baptist. His oath was, "By myconscience." When angry with any of his friends, he used to say,"may you repent it;" and when in great warmth, the veins of histhroat and forehead used to swell much, but he then never spoke.He was very patient under insults or injuries, as the soldierswere sometimes very rude and abusive; yet he never resented theirconduct, only saying, "Be silent," or, "Go in Gods name, and donot repeat this or I shall have you punished." In all matters ofwar, he was exceedingly headstrong and determined, neverattending to remonstrances on account of danger; one instance ofwhich was in the attack of the fortresses called the Rocks ofthe Marquis, which he forced us to climb, contrary to all ouropinions, where courage, counsel, or wisdom, could give norational hope of success. Another instance was in his obstinacyrespecting the expedition against De Oli; in which I repeatedlyurged him to go by way of the mountains, whereas he obstinatelypersisted in going by the coast. Had he taken my advice, he wouldhave found towns the whole way. Where we had to erect anyfortress or entrenchment, he was always the hardest labourer;when we advanced to battle, he was always in the front.

Cortes was fond of play, both at cards and dice, at which hewas always good-humoured and affable, often using the cant termscustomary on these occasions. During our expedition to Higueras,I observed that he had acquired a habit of taking a short sleepor siesta after eating; and if he could not get this hewas apt to become sick. On this account, let the rain be ever soheavy, or the sun ever so hot, he always reposed a short while ona cloak or carpet under a tree; and after a short sleep, mountedhis horse and proceeded on his march. When engaged in theconquest of New Spain, he was very thin and slender; but afterhis return from Higueras, he became fat and corpulent. His beardbegan at that time to grow grey, after which he trimmed it in theshort fashion. In his early life, he was very liberal, but grewclose afterwards, insomuch that some of his servants complainedthat he did not pay them properly. I have already observed thathe never succeeded in his latter undertakings: Perhaps such wasthe will of Heaven, which reserved his reward for a better world;for he was a good gentleman and very devout. God pardon him hissins, and me mine, and give me a good end, which is better thanall conquests or victories over Indians! Amen.

Descendants of Hernando Cortes[15].

[15] This extended account of the descendants ofCortes, is adopted from Clavigero, I. 442. The first paragraph,which enumerates the younger children of the marquis, and hisnatural children, are from Diaz. There is a difference betweenthese authors in the name of the marchioness, whom Diaz namesDonna Juanna, and Clavigero Jeroma: The formerlikewise names the eldest son of Cortes Martin, and thelatter Martinez.--E.

The legitimate children of Cortes were, Don Martin, whosucceeded him as marquis; Donna Maria, who married the Conde deLuna of Leon; Donna Juanna, who married Don Hernando Enriquez,heir to the Marquis of Tarriffa; Donna Catalina, who died inSeville; and Donna Leonora, who married, in Mexico, Juanez deTolosa, a rich Biscayan, which alliance gave great offence to theyoung marquis. He left also two natural sons: Don Martin by DonnaMarina; and Don Luis by a lady named De Hermosilla; both of whomwere commanders of the order of St Jago. Besides these, he hadthree natural daughters; one by an Indian woman of Cuba, and twoothers by a Mexican woman: He left great fortunes to all theseladies.

Don Hernando Cortes, conqueror, governor, and captain-generalof New Spain, admiral of the South Seas, first Marquis ofthe Valley of Oaxaca, had in second marriage, Donna JeromaRamirez de Arellano y Zuniga, daughter of Don Carlos Ramirez deArellano, second Conde de Aguilar, and of Donna Jeroma deZuniga, daughter of the first Duke of Bejar. Their sonwas,

I. Don Martinez Cortes de Ramirez y Arellano, secondMarquis of the Valley, married his cousin, Donna Anna Ramirez deArellano. Their issue was,

II. Don Hernando Cortes de Ramirez ye Arellano, thirdMarquis of the Valley; married Donna Murcia Hernandez de Cabreray Mendoza, daughter of Don Pedro Hernandez de Cabrera yBovadilla, second Conde de Chinchon, and Donna Maria deMendoza y Cerda, sister to the Prince of Melito. Don Hernando hadbut one son, who died in childhood, and was therefore succeededby his brother,

2. Don Pedro Cortes, &c. fourth Marquis of theValley, who married Donna Anna Pacheco de la Cerda, sister of thesecond Conde de Montalban: But leaving no issue was succeeded byhis sister,

3. Donna Jeroma Cortes, &c. fifth Marchioness ofthe Valley, who married Don Pedro Carillo de Mendoza,ninth Conde de Priego, captain-general of Seville, andgrand major-domo to Queen Margaret of Austria. Their onlydaughter, who carried on the line of the family, was,

III. Donna Stephania Carillo de Mendoza y Cortes, sixthMarchioness of the Valley, who married Don Diego de Arragon,fourth Duke of Terra Nova, prince of Castel Vetrano, andof the holy Roman empire, Marquis of Avola and Favora, constableand admiral of Sicily, commander of Villa Franca, viceroy ofSardinia, knight of the golden fleece. Their only daughterwas,

IV. Donna Juana de Arragon, &c. fifth duch*ess ofTerra Nova, seventh Marchioness of the Valley, &c. whomarried Don Hector Pignatelli, Duke of Montelione, prince ofNoja, &c. Their only son was,

V. Don Andrea Fabrizio Pignatelli, &c. duke of Montelioneand Terra Nova, &c. eighth Marquis of the Valley; whomarried Donna Teresa Pimentel y Benavides, &c. Their daughterwas,

VI. Donna J. Pignatelli, &c. duch*ess of Montelione andTerra Nova, ninth Marchioness of the Valley, &c. whomarried Don Nicolas Pignatelli, viceroy of Sardinia and Sicily,&c. Their son was,

VII. Don Diego Pignatelli, &c. duke of Montelione andTerra Nova, tenth Marquis of the Valley, &c. His sonwas,

VIII. Don Fabrizio Pignatelli, &c. Duke of Montelione andTerra Nova, eleventh Marquis of the Valley, &c. Hisson was,

IX. Don Hector Pignatelli, &c. Duke of Montelione andTerra Nova, twelfth Marquis of the Valley, grandee ofSpain, prince of the holy Roman empire, at present living inNaples[16], and married to Donna N. Piccolomini, of thefamily of the Dukes of Amalfi.

[16] This refers to the period when Clavigerocomposed his History of Mexico, about the year 1780; according toHumboldt, the dukes of Montelione retained the vast estates ofCortes in Mexico within the present century.--E.

From the noble couple mentioned in the VI. step of theforegoing deduction, besides Don Diego, who carried on theirline, there were three other sons and three daughters: 1. DonDiego, as above. 2. Don Ferdinand. 3. Don Antonio. 4. DonFabrizio. 5. Donna Rosa. 6. Donna Maria Teresa. 7. DonnaStephania[17].

[17] This genealogical deduction has been somewhatabridged, as to the multiplicity of high sounding titles, andminute particulars of marriages and noble connections, altogetheruninteresting to the English reader.--E.

SECTION XXIV.

Concluding Observations by the Author[1].

[1] In this section Diaz gives a minute enumerationof the valiant companions who passed over to the conquest ofMexico with the most adventurous and most magnanimous DonHernando Cortes, Marquis of the Valley. This must assuredlybe a most valuable document to vast numbers of the presentinhabitants of New Spain, by enabling them to trace theirhonourable descent from the conquerors; but, as totallyuninteresting to the English reader, is hereomitted.--E.

Having enumerated the soldiers who passed from Cuba along withCortes, to the conquest of New Spain, I have to observe that wewere for the most part hidalgos, or gentlemen, though somewere not of such clear lineage as others; but, whatever may havebeen the dignity of our birth, we made ourselves much moreillustrious by our heroic actions in the conquest of thiscountry, at our own sole cost, without any aid or support, savethat of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. In the ancient historyof our own country, many cavaliers rose to dignity and honours byvaliant and faithful services to their kings; and though they didnot go into the field as we did, without pay, they were rewardedwith lands, houses, castles, dignities, and privileges, to themand their heirs in perpetuity. Also, when his majesty Don Jayme,won certain parts of his kingdom from the Moors, he made grantsof these to the cavaliers who assisted him in the conquest, fromwhich period their descendants derive their estates, honours, andblazons. Those also who served under the Great Captain and thePrince of Orange were rewarded in like manner. I have recalledthe recollection of these things, that the world may consider anddetermine whether we, who gained this great country by ourvalour, even without the knowledge of his majesty, are not asworthy of such rewards and honours as those cavaliersabove-mentioned, by our good, notable, and loyal services to God,the king, and all Christendom.

I have placed myself last in the list, having been twice inthis country before the coming of Cortes, and the third timealong with him; and, as among those whom I have enumerated, therewere many valiant captains, so I was held in no inconsiderableestimation in my day as a soldier. Besides the many battles anddangers in which I participated since I came into this country,and the distresses, by hunger, thirst, fatigue and wounds,incident to all who undertake discoveries and wars in unknowncountries, I was twice in the hands of the enemy, who werecarrying me off for sacrifice: But thanks and praise to God andhis holy Virgin Mother, who gave me force to escape from theirgrasp, that I might now relate and make manifest our heroic deedsin the conquest of this new world, and thereby to preventall the honour and merit from being unjustly ascribed to ourgeneral alone. It is now proper that I should make someobservations on the good effects produced by our exertions andillustrious conquests, to the service of God and our king, inwhich many of our companions lost their lives, being sacrificedto the gods or idols of the Mexicans, Huitzilopochtli andTezcatlipoca.

In the first place, we purged the land of many wicked customs,and in particular from human sacrifices. By estimates made by thereverend Franciscan friars, who succeeded Fra Bartholomew deOlmedo, it appears that above 2500 human victims were sacrificedyearly in Mexico and some adjacent towns on the lake; so that thenumber annually put to death in the whole country must have beenvery great. Their various other horrible practices exceed mypowers of description. Their cursed adoratories were exceedinglynumerous, like our holy churches, hermitages, and chapels, inSpain, as they had everywhere houses dedicated to idols, devils,and infernal figures. Besides which, every individual native hadtwo altars, one beside the place where he or she slept, andanother at the door of the house, with chests containing large orsmall idols and stone knives, and books made of the bark of treescontaining the record of past times. Especially on the coast andother sultry parts of the country, they were addicted to the mostabominable vices, where they had boys in female attire. They fedon human flesh, as we do on beef, having wooden cages in everytown, in which men, women, and children, were kept and fed forthat purpose, to which all the prisoners taken in war weredestined. Incest was common among them, and they were extremelyaddicted to drunkenness. They had as many wives as they pleased.From these and many other abominations, it was the will of Godthat we should be the humble instruments to clear the land;substituting a good policy and the holy doctrine of Jesus Christin their place. It is true that, two years afterwards, when thecountry was subjugated and civilized, certain worthy Franciscansof good example and holy doctrine came here, who were followed inthree or four years by fathers of the order of St Dominic, whocompleted what others had begun. But the honour of havingdestroyed the abominations of the land, assuredly belongs to usthe true conquerors, who opened the way for these holyfathers.

By the will of God, and the sacred Christianity of the emperorDon Carlos of glorious memory, and our present most fortunatesovereign the invincible Don Philip, all the natives of thisgreat country have been baptised to the salvation of their souls,formerly sunk and lost in the bottomless pit. We have manyfathers of the different orders, who go about preaching andbaptizing, by which means the knowledge of the holy Evangile isfirmly planted in the hearts of the natives, who confess yearly,and those who have sufficient knowledge in the faith, participatein the holy eucharist. The churches and their altars are richlyadorned with all requisites for holy worship; as crosses,candlesticks, wax-candles, chalices, cups, plates, and vesselsfor incense, all of silver. The ornaments of the altars andcrosses are of velvet, and damask, and other rich materials, ofvarious colours and splendid workmanship, adorned with embroideryof gold, silk and pearls. Each town has its bells according toits ability. The chapels have choirs of good voices which sing inconcert, tenors, trebles, and counter-tenors. In some placesthere are organs; but most have lutes, sackbuts, dulcimers, andbass and treble trumpets. This one province of Guatimala has morethan my native county, old Castille. It is edifying and wonderfulto see the devotion of the natives at the holy mass, especiallywhen performed by the fathers of the orders of St Francis and ofMercy, who have the cures of the parishes. All the natives, men,women, and children, are taught the holy prayers in their owntongue; and always on passing a cross, crucifix, or altar, theyfall on their knees repeating a pater noster or an aveMaria. We, the conquerors, taught them to burn wax candlesbefore the holy altars and crosses, and to behave respectfully tothe reverend fathers, going out to meet them when they came tothe towns, with lighted candles, ringing of bells, and providingthem abundantly with provisions. On Lady Day and Corpus Christi,and other solemn fasts of the church, when we make processions,most of the natives of this city of Guatimala go likewise inprocession, with crosses and lighted candles, bearing the imagesof their patron saints as richly dressed as they can afford, andsinging litanies and other holy prayers to the sound of flutesand trumpets.

The natives also of these countries have learnt all the tradesused among us in Spain, having their shops, manufactories, andwork-people. Their goldsmiths and silversmiths, both those whomake cast work or who use the hammer, are excellent. Theirlapidaries or engravers on precious stones, especially emeralds,execute the nicest representations of the holy acts and passionof our blessed Saviour, in such a manner as could not be believedfrom Indians. Three of our native Mexican artists, named Andresde Aquino, Juan de la Cruz, and El Crispillo, have in my humblejudgment executed paintings which may vie with those of Apelles,Michael Angelo, and Berruguete. The sons of the chiefs used to beeducated in grammar, and were learning very well, till this wasprohibited by the holy synod, under an order of the most reverendthe archbishop of Mexico. Many of the natives are manufacturersof silks and various other stuffs, and hatters, and soap-boilers.Two trades only could never be acquired by them, which is the artof glass blowing, and that of the apothecary; but this is notowing to any defect of natural genius, as there are among themsurgeons, herbalists, jugglers, makers of puppets, and ofviolins. They cultivated the ground before our arrival; and nowthey rear stock, break in bullocks to the plough, sow, reap,manure, and make bread and biscuit. They have planted their landswith the various fruits of old Spain, such as quince, apple, andpear trees, which they hold in high estimation; but cut down theunwholesome peach trees and the overshading plantains. From usthey have learnt laws and justice; and they every year electtheir own alcaldes, regidors, notaries, alguazils, fiscals, andmajor-domos[2]. They have their cabildos, or commoncouncils, and bailiffs, which meet twice a-week, judging,sentencing, and punishing for smaller offences; but for murderand higher crimes, they must have recourse to the Spanishgovernors in places where there are no courts of royal audience.In Tlascala, Tezcuco, Cholula, Guaxocinco, Tepeaca, and otherlarge cities, gilt maces are borne before the native magistrateswhen they go to hold their cabildos, as is done before ourviceroys; and they distribute justice with much zeal andimpartiality, being anxious to acquire a thorough knowledge ofour laws. All the caciques are rich, and ride on horseshandsomely caparisoned, attended by pages. In some townshipslikewise, they exercise with the lance on horseback, running atthe ring; and they have bull feasts, especially on the days ofCorpus Christi, St John, St James, the Assumption, or the patronor patroness saint of the town. Many of them are excellenthorsem*n, and the natives especially of Chiapa de los Indios,will face the fiercest bull. The caciques breed horses, and usethem and mules for conveying their various commodities for sale,such as maize, wood or lime; and many of the natives gain theirliving by following the occupation of carriers.

[2] These are the ordinary municipal officers ofSpanish townships, answerable to our mayors, aldermen, bailiffs,constables, &c.--E.

By means of our illustrious services, our mother-countryobtains gold, silver, precious stones, cochineal, wool,salsaparilla, hides, and various other commodities, to the greatadvantage of the royal revenue. Since the time of the great andwise Solomon, neither ancient nor modern history record theacquisition of such riches by any country, as have been derivedfrom New Spain. I do not now include the millions in gold andsilver derived from Peru, as that country was unknown when weconquered New Spain, and was not conquered till ten yearsafterwards: Besides all which, Peru has been involved in cruelcivil wars, whereas we have ever remained submissive in ourallegiance to his majesty, and ready to devote our lives andfortunes to his service. The numerous cities in New Spain areworthy of consideration, but would be too tedious to enumerate.Besides the archbishoprick of Mexico, we have ten bishopricks,with many cathedrals, and monastaries belonging to theDominicans, Franciscans, Augustines, and the order of Mercy. Manyhospitals, with extensive remissions and pardons attached tothem; besides the Santa casa of our Lady of Guadeloupe,where many holy miracles are performed daily. In Mexico there isan university in which are taught grammar, theology, rhetoric,logic, philosophy, and other sciences; and in which the studentstake the several degrees of bachelor, licentiate, and doctor;having also a printing press for books in the Spanish and Latinlanguages. If all I have now said be insufficient, let the wiseand learned read over this my true history with impartial care,and they must confess that there never were men who have gainedmore by their valorous achievements for their king than we thebrave conquerors, among the most valiant of whom I wasconsidered. And I say again, I myself, who am a true conqueror,am the most ancient of all. Of the 550 soldiers who left Cubaalong with Cortes, five only are now living in the year1568, while I am writing this history; all the rest having beenslain in the wars, or sacrificed to the accursed idols, or havedied in the course of nature. Of 1300 soldiers who came withNarvaez, exclusive of mariners, not more than ten or eleven nowsurvive. Of those who came with Garay, including the threecompanies which landed at St Juan de Ulua previous to his ownarrival, amounting to 1200 soldiers, most were sacrificed anddevoured in the province of Panuco. We five companions of Corteswho yet survive, are all very old and bowed down withinfirmities, and extremely poor; having heavy charges of sons toestablish, daughters to marry off, and grand-children tomaintain, with very small means to do all this. Whereas we oughtto have had the best properties in the country allotted to us, inreward of our high prowess and transcendent services in thatcountry which we conquered; not indeed to the same extent withthe rewards granted to Cortes, but in just moderation inproportion to our merits. This indeed was ordered by his majesty,but interest and partiality gave away what we ought to havereceived to others, leaving little for the royal patrimony or tobe bestowed on us. Immediately after the conquest, Cortes oughtto have divided the whole country into five shares, assigning therichest and best to his majesty, out of which to reward thosecavaliers who served him in his European wars; taking a share anda half to himself, and for the establishment of churches,monasteries, and municipalities; and dividing the remaining halfin perpetual grants to us the true conquerors, by which we shouldhave all been amply provided for.

Our emperor was so truly a Christian monarch, that he wouldwillingly have granted us these favours, more especially as theconquest cost him nothing. But we knew not then where to applyfor justice, except to Cortes himself, who did in all things ashe thought fit, taking care of himself, and of his friends andrelations newly come from old Spain. We remained therefore withthe little which had been assigned to us, till we saw DonFrancisco de Montejo, who had waited on his majesty in Europe,return with the appointment of adelantado and governor ofYucutan, estates in Mexico, and other rewards. Diego de Ordasalso, who went to court, obtained a commandery of St Jago, anddistricts in New Spain. Don Pedro de Alvarado, who likewise wentto represent his services, was made adelantado and governor ofGuatimala and Chiapa, commander of the order of St Jago, andobtained extensive grants of land. When therefore, we theconquerors saw that those who did not reach his majesty, or hadno one to speak for them, were neglected, we transmitted apetition, by which we prayed that such lands as fell vacant mightbe distributed among us in perpetuities, as had been done by thefirst court of royal audience, of which Nuno de Guzman waspresident; who had been directed to make the divisions moreequal, deducting in due proportions from the immoderate grants ofCortes, and that the best districts and rents should be dividedamong us the true conquerors, leaving the cities and great townsfor his majesty. His majesty likewise ordered the vassals ofCortes to be counted, leaving no more than were specified in hispatents; but I do not remember what was to have been done withthe surplus. Nuno de Guzman and the judges of his tribunal weremisled by advisers from making their grants perpetual, underpretence that the conquerors would cease to depend upon andrespect them if independent, and that it was better to keep themunder the necessity of supplicating for subsistence, and likewiseto preserve to themselves the power of dividing the conqueredlands to the advantage of their own interest. Guzman and hisoydors indeed, constantly assigned such districts as fell vacantamong the conquerors and colonists to universal satisfaction; butwere superseded in consequence of their disputes with Cortes.

In 1550, when I was in Old Spain, a council was formed,consisting of Bartholomew de las Casas, bishop of Chiapa, Vascode Quiroga, bishop of Mechoacan, and other cavaliers who had comeas agents from New Spain and Peru, with some gentlemen who hadcome on business to court; to which council I also was called, asbeing the most ancient of the conquerors of New Spain. At thistime certain of the Peruvian gentlemen petitioned his majesty tocause perpetual allotments of lands to be made in that kingdom,and a similar petition was presented by Gonzalo Lopez and Alonzode Villanueva, who had come over as agents from Mexico. Hismajesty was pleased to order the rapartimiento ordistribution of lands to be referred to the council of theIndies, consisting of the Marquis de Mondejar president, with thelicentiates Gutierre Velasquez, Tello de Sandoval, Gregorio Lopesde Briviesca, and the Doctor Hernan Perez de la Fuente, oydors orjudges of that court, together with the members of other royalcouncils. At this meeting, it was proposed to make a perpetualdistribution of the lands of New Spain and Peru; I am uncertainif New Granada and Popayan were to have been included. Manyexcellent reasons were given for this measure being adopted, butit was strenuously opposed by the members of the royal council ofthe Indies, together with Bishop de las Casas, Fra Rodrigo hiscoadjutor, and the Bishop of las Charcas, who insisted that thematter should be postponed till the return of the emperor fromVienna, when every thing should be arranged to the satisfactionof the conquerors: And thus the affair was dropped for thepresent.

After my return to New Spain, the conquerors then proposed tosend agents to solicit his majesty for our interest exclusively,in consequence of which I was written to here in Guatimala, byCaptain Andres de Tapia, Pedro Morena de Medrana, and JuanLimpias Caravajal, on the subject. I accordingly went round amongthe other conquerors who were settled in this city, to raise asum by subscription for the purpose, but this project failed forwant of money. At a subsequent period, our present invincibleking Don Philip, was pleased to command that the conquerors andtheir posterity should be provided for, attending in the firstinstance to those who were married. But all has been of noavail.

Two learned licentiates, to whom I communicated the MS. ofthis history, observed that I had praised myself greatly in thebattles of which I have given an account, whereas I ought to haveleft that to be done by others. But how is any one who was not inthe wars with us to praise us as we deserve? To compare myself, apoor soldier, with the great emperor and warrior Julius Cesar, weare told by historians, that he used to write down with his ownhand an account of his own heroic deeds, not chusing to entrustthat office to others, although he had many historians in hisempire. It is not therefore extraordinary if I relate the battlesin which I fought, that it may be known in future ages, thusdid Bernal Diaz del Castillo; that my sons and grandsons mayenjoy the fame of their ancestor, as many cavaliers and lords ofvassals do the deeds and blazons of their predecessors. I shalltherefore enumerate the various battles and other warlike affairsin which I have been present. At Cape Cotoche, under Cordova; atPontonchan in a battle where half our number was slain; and inFlorida where we landed to procure water. Under Juan de Grijalva,I was present in the second battle of Pontonchan. During my thirdvoyage, under Cortes, two pitched battles at Tabasco. On ourarrival in New Spain, the battle of Cingapacinga or Teoatzinco.Shortly afterwards three pitched battles with the Tlascalans. Theaffair of Cholula. On our entry into Mexico, I was at the seizureof Montezuma, which I do not enumerate as a warlike exploit, buton account of its great boldness. Four months afterwards, whenwith 276 men, Cortes defeated Narvaez who had 1300. The relief ofAlvarado, when the Mexicans made incessant attacks upon us duringeight days and nights, during which I reckon eight severalbattles, at all of which I was present, and in the course ofwhich we lost 870 men. The battle of Obtumba or Otompan. A battleat Tepeaca. A battle at Tezcuco. Two battles, in one of which Iwas wounded in the throat by a lance. Two actions about the maizefields near Chalco. The rash attack on the fortresses called theRocks of the Marquis in our expedition round the lake. The battleof Cuernavaca. Three battles at Xochimilco. During the siege ofMexico, which lasted ninety-three days, I find by myaccount that I was engaged in upwards of eighty battles andskirmishes. After the conquest, I was sent out on variousexpeditions to reduce Coatzacualco, Chiapa, and the Zapotecans,in which we had several engagements. In Chamula and Cuitlan, twoengagements. In Teapa and Chematlan two others, in one of which Iwas badly wounded in the throat. I forgot to mention, that wewere pursued for nine days in our flight from Mexico, and had tofight four battles before the great one at Otompan. Severalactions in our expedition to Higueras and Honduras, during whichin a battle at Culacotu I had a horse killed under me which cost600 crowns. After my return to Mexico, I went upon an expeditioninto the mountains against the Zapotecas and Mixtecas. I have onthe whole been present in one hundred and nineteenbattles, engagements, and skirmishes; so that it is not wonderfulif I praise myself for the many and notable services which I haverendered to God, his majesty and all Christendom: And I givethanks and praise to the Lord Jesus Christ, who hath preserved mein so many dangers.

THE END OF BERNAL DIAZ.

CHAPTER VI.

HISTORY OF THE DISCOVERY AND CONQUEST OF PERU, BY FRANCISCOPIZARRO, WRITTEN BY AUGUSTINO ZARATE, TREASURER OF THAT KINGDOM,A FEW YEARS AFTER THE CONQUEST.

INTRODUCTION.

The present chapter, like that immediately preceding from thepen of Bernal Diaz, although in strict language neither a journeynor a voyage, records in every step of the conquerors a newdiscovery of coasts, islands, rivers, districts, andtribes, that had never been visited before. In conformity withour uniform desire to have recourse upon all occasions to themost authentic original authorities for every article admittedinto this collection, so far as in our power, the work of Zaratehas been chosen as the record of the discovery and conquest ofPeru, in preference to any modern compilation on the samesubject. As we learn from himself, Zarate was a person of rankand education, who went into Peru in 1543, only eighteenyears after the first movements of Pizarro and Almagro towardsthe discovery of that extensive country, and only elevenyears after its actual invasion by Pizarro in 1532. From theillustrious historian of America, Dr William Robertson, the workwhich we now offer to the public for the first time in theEnglish language, has the following high character: "The historyof Zarate, whether we attend to its matter or composition, is abook of considerable merit, and great credit is due to histestimony." Besides this general eulogy; in his enumeration ofsix original authors whom he had consulted in the composition ofthat portion of his History of America which refers to Peru, heclearly shews that Zarate alone can be considered as at the sametime perfectly authentic and sufficiently copious for the purposewe have at present in view. The substance of his account of allthe six is as follows.

"Two of the more early writers on the subject of thediscovery and conquest of Peru, Francisco de Xeres, the secretaryof Pizarro, and Pedro Sanchez, an officer who served under theconqueror, break off almost in the introduction to the narrative,going no farther into the history of the conquest than the deathof Atahualpa in 1533, only one year after the invasion of Peru.The third in point of time, Pedro Cioca de Leon, only twoyears earlier in his publication than Zarate, gives nothing morethan a description of the country, and an account of theinstitutions and customs of the natives. Zarate is thefourth. The fifth, Don Diego Fernandez, solelyrelates to the dissentions and civil wars among the Spanishconquerors. The sixth and last of these original authors,Garcilasso de la Vega Inca, the son of a Spanish officerof distinction by a Coya, or Peruvian female of the royalrace, gives little more than a commentary on the before mentionedwriters, and was not published till 1609, seventy five yearsafter the invasion of Peru by Pizarro[1]."

[1] History of America, notecxxv.

In the Bibliotheque des Voyages, VI. 319. mention is made of aDescription of Peru as published in French in 1480, and said tobe a very rare work: Rare, indeed, if the imprint be notan error, fifty-two years before the actual invasion anddiscovery. In the same useful work, the performance of Zarate isthus characterized. "The author has not confined his views to thehistory and conquest of Peru, but has given us a statement of thenatural features of the country, an account of the manners of theinhabitants, and a curious picture of the religious opinions andinstitutions of the Peruvians."

Four of the six original authors respecting Peru which arenoticed by Robertson, we have not seen; having confined our viewsto that of Zarate, which is not only the best according to theopinion of that excellent judge, but the only one which couldanswer the purpose of our present collection. In preparing thisoriginal work for publication, it is proper to acknowledge thatwe have been satisfied with translating from the French editionof Paris, 1742; but, besides every attention to fidelity oftranslation, it has been carefully collated throughout with theRoyal Commentary of the Inca Garcilasso de la Vega, aspublished in English by Sir Paul Rycaut, knight, in 1688; andwith the excellent work of Dr Robertson. It may be proper tomention, however, that the following translation, thoughfaithful, has been made with some freedom of retrenching asuperfluity of useless language; though nothing has been omittedin point of fact, and nothing altered.

Having mentioned the work of Garcilasso de la Vega, which wehave employed as an auxiliary on the present occasion, it may beworth while to give a short account of it in this place: Forthere never was, perhaps, a literary composition so strangelymixed up of unconnected and discordant sense and nonsense, and sototally devoid of any thing like order or arrangement, in thewhole chronology of authorship, or rather of book-making, as hasbeen produced by this scion of the Incas. No consideration shortof our duty to the public, could have induced us to wade throughsuch a labyrinth of absurdity in quest of information. It isastonishing how the honest knight could have patience totranslate 1019 closely printed folio pages of such a farrago; andon closing the work of the Inca for ever, we heartily joined inthe concluding pious thanksgiving of the translator, Praisedbe God. This enormous literary production of the IncaGarcilasso, is most regularly divided and subdivided into parts,books, and chapters; which contain here a little history, thendigressions on manners, customs, opinions, ceremonies, laws,policy, arts, animals, vegetables, agriculture, buildings,&c. &c. &c. intermixed with bits and scraps ofhistory, in an endless jumble; so that for every individualcirc*mstance on any one of these topics, the pains-taking readermust turn over the whole work with the most anxious attention. Wequote an example, taken absolutely at random, the titles of theChapters of Part I. Book ix.

Chap. I. Huayna Capac makes a gold chain as big as a cable,and why. II. Reduces ten vallies of the coast. III. Punishes somemurderers. IV.-VII. Incidents of his reign, confusedly related.VIII. Gods and customs of the Mantas. IX. Of giants formerly inPeru. X. Philosophical sentiments of the Inca concerning the sun.XI. and XII. Some incidents of his reign. XIII. Construction oftwo extensive roads. XIV. Intelligence of the Spaniards being onthe coast. XV. Testament and death of Huayna Capac. XVI. Howhorses and mares were first bred in Peru. XVII. Of cows and oxen.XVIII.-XXIII. Of various animals, all introduced after theconquest. XXIV.-XXXI. Of various productions, some indigenous,and others introduced by the Spaniards. XXXII. Huascar claimshomage from Atahualpa. XXXIII.-XL. Historical incidents,confusedly arranged, all without dates.

The whole work is equally confused at best, and often muchmore so; often consisting of extracts from other writers, withcommentaries, argumentations, ridiculous speeches, miracles, andtales recited by old Incas and Coyas, uncles auntsand cousins of the author. To add to the difficulty ofconsultation, Sir Paul, having exhausted his industry in thetranslation, gives no table of contents whatever, and a mostmiserable Index which hardly contains an hundredth part of thesubstance of the work. Yet the author of the Bibliotheque desVoyages, says "that this work is very precious, as itcontains the only remaining notices of the government, laws,manners, and customs of the Peruvians."--Ed.

PREFACE OF THE AUTHOR.

After having enjoyed the office of secretary to the royalcouncil of Castille for fifteen years, the king was graciouslypleased to order me to Peru in 1543, as treasurer-general of thatprovince and of the Tierra Firma; in which employment I wasentrusted with the entire receipt of the royal revenues andrights, and the payment of all his majesties officers in thosecountries. I sailed thither in the fleet which conveyed BlascoNugnez Vela the viceroy of Peru; and immediately on my arrival inthe New World, I observed so many insurrections, disputes, andnovelties, that I felt much inclined to transmit their memory toposterity. I accordingly wrote down every transaction as itoccurred; but soon discovered that these could not be understoodunless the previous events were explained from which theyoriginated. I found it necessary, therefore, to go back to theepoch of the discovery of the country, to give a detail of theoccurrences in their just order and connection. My work mightperhaps have been somewhat more perfect, if I had been able tocompose it in regular order while in Peru; but a brutalmajor-general, who had served under Gonzalo Pizarro[1],threatened to put any one to death who should presume to write ahistory of his transactions, so that I was obliged to satisfymyself with collecting all the documents I could procure forenabling me to compose my history after returning into Spain. Hewas perhaps right in wishing these transactions might fall intooblivion, instead of being transmitted to posterity.

[1] Even the orthography of the name of Pizarro ishanded down to us with some variety. In the work of Garcilasso dela Vega it is always spelt Piçarro: Besides which, theInca Garcilasso, in his almost perpetual quotations of our authorZarate, always gives the name Carate; the ç, orcerilla c, being equivalent in Spanish to the z inthe other languages of Europe.--E.

Should my style of writing be found not to possess all thepolish that my readers may desire, it will at least record thetrue state of events; and I shall not be disappointed if it onlyserve to enable another to present a history of the same periodin more elegant language and more orderly arrangement. I haveprincipally directed my attention to a strict regard for truth,the soul of history, using neither art nor disguise in mydescription of things and events which I have seen and known; andin relating those matters which happened before my arrival, Ihave trusted to the information of dispassionate persons, worthyof credit. These were not easy to find in Peru, most personshaving received either benefits or injuries from the party ofPizarro or that of Almagro; which were as violent in their mutualresentments as the adherents of Marius and Sylla, or of Caesarand Pompey of old.

In all histories there are three chief requisites: thedesigns, the actions, and the consequences. In the two latterparticulars I have used all possible care to be accurate. If Imay not always agree with other authors in regard to the first ofthese circ*mstances, I can only say that such is often the casewith the most accurate and faithful historians. After I hadfinished this work, it was my intention to have kept it longunpublished, lest I might offend the families of those personswhose improper conduct is therein pourtrayed. But some persons towhom I had communicated my manuscript, shewed it to the kingduring his voyage to England, who had it read to him as anamusem*nt from the tiresomeness of the voyage. My work had thegood fortune to please his majesty, who honoured it with hisapprobation, and graciously commanded me to have it printed; andwhich I have the more readily complied with, as his royalcommands may protect my book from the cavils of the censoriousreaders.

* * * * *

Much difficulty occurs respecting the origin of the people whoinhabited Peru and the other provinces of America, and by whatmeans their ancestors could have crossed the vast extent of seawhich separates that country from the old world. In my opinionthis may be explained from what is said by Plato in hisTimaeus, and the subsequent dialogue entitledAtlantis. He says: "That the Egyptians report, to thehonour of the Athenians, that they contributed to defeat certainkings who came with a numerous army by sea from the great islandof Atlantis, which, beginning beyond the Pillars of Hercules, islarger than all Asia and Africa together, and is divided into tenkingdoms which Neptune gave among his ten sons, Atlas, theeldest, having the largest and most valuable share." Plato addsseveral remarkable particulars concerning the customs and richesof that island; especially concerning a magnificent temple in thechief city, the walls of which were entirely covered over withgold and silver, having a roof of copper, and many othercirc*mstances which are here omitted for the sake of brevity;though it is certain that several customs and ceremoniesmentioned by Plato are still practised in the provinces of Peru.Beyond the great island of Atlantis, there were other largeislands not far distant from the Firm Land, beyond whichagain was the True Sea. The following are the words whichPlato attributes, in his Timaeus, to Socrates, as spoken to theAthenians. "It is held certain, that in ancient times your cityresisted an immense number of enemies from the Atlantic Ocean,who had conquered almost all Europe and Asia. In those days theStraits were navigable, and immediately beyond them therewas an island, commencing almost at the Pillars ofHercules, which was said to be larger than Asia and Africaunited; from whence the passage was easy to other islands nearand opposite to the continent of the True Sea." A littleafter this passage, it is added. "That nine thousand years beforehis days, a great change took place, as the sea adjoining thatisland was so increased by the accession of a prodigious quantityof water, that in the course of one day it swallowed up the wholeisland; since when that sea has remained so full of shallows andsand banks as to be no longer navigable, neither has any one beenable to reach the other islands and the Firm Land."

Some authors hare believed this recital to be merelyallegorical, while most of the commentators on Plato consideredit as a real historical narrative. The nine thousandyears, mentioned by Plato, must not be considered as anindication of this discourse being fabulous; since, according toEudoxus, we must understand them as lunar years or moons,after the Egyptian mode of computation, or nine thousandmonths, which are seven hundred and fifty years. Allhistorians and cosmographers, ancient as well as modern, haveconcurred to name the sea by which that great island wasswallowed up, the Atlantic Ocean, in which the name ofthat ancient island is retained, giving a strong evidence of itsformer existence. Adopting, therefore the truth of thishistorical fact, it must be granted that this island of Atlantis,beginning from the Straits of Gibraltar near Cadiz, must havestretched a vast way from north to south, and from east to west,since it was larger than all Asia and Africa. The otherislands in the neighbourhood must have been those now namedHispaniola, Cuba, Porto Rico, Jamaica, and others of the WestIndies; and the Firm Land, that part of the Continent towhich we still give the name of Tierra Firma, togetherwith the other countries and provinces of America, from theStraits of Magellan in the south to the extreme north; as Peru,Popayan, Golden Castille, Veragua, Nicaragua, Guatimala, NewSpain, the Seven Cities, Florida, Baccalaos, and soon along the north to Norway. The authority of Plato isconclusive that the New World which has been discovered inour time, is the same Continent or Firm Land mentioned by thatphilosopher; and his True Sea must be that which we namethe South Sea, or Pacific Ocean; for the wholeMediterranean, and all that was before known of the Ocean, whichwe call the North Sea, can only be considered as rivers orlakes in comparison with the vast extent of that other sea. Afterthese explanations, it is not difficult to conceive how mankindin ancient times may have passed from the great island ofAtlantis and the other neighbouring isles, to whatwe now call the Tierra Firma, or Firm Land, and thence byland, or by the South Sea, into Peru: As we must believe that theinhabitants of these islands practised navigation, which theymust have learned by intercourse with the great island, in whichPlato expressly says there were many ships, and carefullyconstructed harbours. These, in my opinion, are the most probableconjectures which can be formed on this obscure subject ofantiquity; more especially as we can derive no lights from thePeruvians, who have no writing by which to preserve the memory ofancient times. In New Spain, indeed, they had certain pictures,which answered in some measure instead of books and writings; butin Peru, they only used certain strings of different colours withseveral knots, by means of which and the distances between them,they were able to express some things in a very confused anduncertain manner, as shall be explained in the course of thishistory.

So much of the following history as relates to the discoveryof the country, has been derived from the information of RodrigoLozan, an inhabitant of Truxillo in Peru, and from others whowere witnesses of and actors in the transactions which I havedetailed.

SECTION I.

Of the discovery of Peru, with some account of the countryand its inhabitants.

The city of Panama is a port on the South Sea, in thatprovince of the continent of America which is called GoldenCastille. In the year 1524, three inhabitants of that cityentered into an association for the purpose of discovering thewestern coast of the continent by the South Sea, in thatdirection which has been since named Peru. These were DonFrancisco Pizarro of Truxillo, Don Diego de Almagro of Malagon,and Hernando de Luque, an ecclesiastic. No one knew the family ororigin of Almagro, though some said that he had been found at achurch door[1]. These men, being among the richest of thecolonists of Panama, proposed to themselves to enrich andaggrandize themselves by means of discovering new countries, andto do important service to the emperor, Don Carlos V. byextending his dominions. Having received permission from PedroArias de Avila[2], who then governed that country, FranciscoPizarro fitted out a vessel with considerable difficulty, inwhich he embarked with 114 men. About fifty leagues from Panama,he discovered a small and poor district, named Peru, fromwhich that name has been since improperly extended to all thecountry afterwards discovered along that coast to the south formore than 1200 leagues. Beyond that Peru, he discovered anotherdistrict, to which the Spaniards gave the name of El Puebloquemado, or the Burnt People. The Indians of thatcountry made war upon him with so much obstinacy, and killed somany of his men, that he was constrained to retreat toChinchama or Chuchama, not far from Panama.

[1] In a note of the French edition of 1742, it issaid that, in the folio edition of Zarate printed at Seville in1677, Luque was called the father of Almagro, and that no mentionis made of that ecclesiastic having taken any part in theexpedition. Robertson, in his History of America, II. 273, saysthat Pizarro was the natural son of a gentleman of honourablefamily by a low woman, and that his education was so entirelyneglected that he could neither read nor write. He adds that,after serving some years in Italy, he embarked for America, wherehe greatly distinguished himself. In our last chapter, Diaz makesfrequent mention of Pizarro as serving with reputation underCortes, in the early part of the expedition to Mexico; but givesno account of his quitting the service of Cortes; to whom he wasprobably somehow related, as the mother of Cortes was namedCatalina Pizarro Altamirano. Almagro, according to Robertson, wasa foundling, and bred like Pizarro in the army. Luque acted aspriest and schoolmaster at Panama, and had amassed considerableriches.--E.

[2] Named Pedrarias by Robertson.--E.

In the mean time, Almagro fitted out another vessel at Panama,in which he embarked with 70 men, and went along the coast insearch of Pizarro as far as the river San Juan, a hundred leaguesfrom Panama. Not finding him there, Almagro returned along thecoast to the Pueblo quemado, where, from certainindications of Pizarro having been there, he landed with his men.The Indians, puffed up with the remembrance of the victory theyhad gained over Pizarro, attacked Almagro with great courage, anddid him considerable injury; and one day they even penetrated theentrenchment he had thrown up for defence, through somenegligence in the guards, and put the Spaniards to flight, whowere forced to retreat with loss to their vessel and put to sea,on which occasion Almagro lost an eye. Following the shore on theway back towards Panama, Almagro found Pizarro at Chinchama[3].Pizarro was much pleased by the junction of Almagro, as by meansof his men, and some additional soldiers they procured inChinchama, they had now a force of two hundred Spaniards. Theyaccordingly recommenced the expedition, endeavouring to sail downthe coast to the southwards in two vessels and three largecanoes. In this navigation they suffered great fatigue fromcontrary winds and currents, and were much incommoded when theyattempted to land in any of the numerous small rivers which fallinto the South Sea, as they all swarmed at their mouths withlarge lizards, or alligators, called caymans by the natives.These animals, are ordinarily from twenty to twenty-five feetlong, and kill either men or beasts when in the water. They comeout of the water to lay their eggs, which they bury in greatnumbers in the sand, leaving them to be hatched by the heat ofthe sun. These caymans have a strong resemblance to thecrocodiles of the river Nile. The Spaniards suffered much fromhunger in this voyage, as they could find nothing fit to eatalong this coast except the fruit of a tree called mangles, whichgrew in great abundance everywhere along the shore. These treesare tall and straight, and have a very hard wood; but as theygrow on the shore, their roots being drenched in sea water, theirfruit is salt and bitter; yet necessity obliged the Spaniards tosubsist on them, along with such fish as they could find,particularly crabs; as on the whole of that coast no maize wasgrown by the natives. From the currents along this coast, whichalways set strongly to the north, they were obliged to make theirway by dint of constant rowing; always harassed by the Indians,who assailed them with loud cries, calling them banished men, andhairy faces, who were formed from the spray of the sea,and wandered about without cultivating the earth, like outcastsand vagabonds.

[3] Chinchama, by the map in Zarate is that part ofthe western coast of Tierra Firma or Darien, opposite the Isladel Rey. The poor province of Peru, beyond or to the southwardsof Cinchama, is that now called Biruquete; and the Puebloquemada, or Burnt People, must be looked for in the province ofNovita, perhaps Nounamas, immediately to the south of which isthe river of St Juan.--E.

Having lost several of his men through famine and by theincessant attacks of the Indians, it was agreed that Almagroshould return to Panama for recruits and provisions. Havingprocured twenty-four, they advanced with these and the remains oftheir original force to a country named Catamez[4],considerably beyond the river of St Juan, a tolerably peopledcountry, in which they found plenty of provisions. The Indians ofthis part of the coast, who were still hostile, were observed tohave certain ornaments of gold, resembling nails, inserted intoholes made for that purpose in different parts of their faces.Almagro was sent back a second time to Panama, to endeavour toprocure a larger force, and Pizarro retired in the mean time tothe small island of Gallo somewhat farther to the north,near the shore of the Barbacoas, and not far from CapeMangles, where he and his people suffered extremehardships from scarcity of provisions, amounting almost toabsolute famine.

[4] Tacamez, otherwise called the district ofEsmeraldas, or of emeralds, is in the kingdom of Quitonear the equinoctial line.--E.

On the return of Almagro to Panama for reinforcements, hefound the government in the hands of Pedro de los Rios, whoopposed the design of Almagro to raise recruits, because thosewith Pizarro had secretly conveyed a petition to the governor,not to permit any more people to be sent upon an enterprize of somuch danger, and requesting their own recal. The governor,therefore, sent an officer to the Isle of Gallo, with an orderfor such as were so inclined to return to Panama, which waseagerly embraced by the greatest part of the soldiers of Pizarro,twelve only remaining along with him. Not daring to remain withso small a force in an island so near the main land, Pizarroretired to an uninhabited island named Gorgona, about 70 milesfarther north, and considerably more distant from the coast thanGallo, in which island, which had abundance of springs andrivulets, he and his small band of faithful associates, lived oncrabs in expectation of relief and reinforcement from Panama. Atlast a vessel arrived with provisions, but no soldiers, in whichPizarro embarked with his twelve men, to whose courage andconstancy the discovery of Peru was owing. Their names deserve tobe handed down to posterity: Nicolas de Ribera, Pedro de Candia anative of the Greek island of that name, Juan de Torre, AlfonsoBriseno, Christoval de Peraulte, Alfonso de Truxillo, Franciscode Cuellar, and Alfonso de Molina[5]. The pilot of the vessel inwhich they embarked was named Bartholomew Bruyz, a native ofMoguer. Under the guidance of this man, but with infinitedifficulty from contrary winds and adverse currents, Pizarroreached a district named Mostripe[6], about equallydistant from the two places since built by the Christians, namedTruxillo and San Miguel. With the very small number of men whoaccompanied him, Pizarro dared not to advance any farther alongthe coast, and contented himself with going a small way up theriver Puechos or de la Chira[7]; where he procured some ofthe sheep[8] of the country, and some of the natives on purposeto serve him as interpreters in the sequel. Returning fromthence, Pizarro went northwards to the port of Tumbez on thesouth-side of the bay of Guayaquil, where he was informed thatthe king of Peru had a fine palace, and where the Indians weresaid to be very rich. This place was one of the mostextraordinary in the country, until it was ruined by theinhabitants of the island of Puna, as will be related hereafter.At this place, three of his men deserted, who were afterwards putto death by the Indians.

[5] Instead of twelve, the text only nameseight of the brave associates of Pizarro.--E.

[6] Morope, in lat. 6° 35', in the district ofSana, is in the situation of the place mentioned in thetext.--E.

[7] This river, otherwise called Amatape, runs intothe bay of Payta, in lat. 5° 10' south.--E.

[8] Under the name of Peruvian sheep, five species ofthe Camel genus are known to naturalists, the Glama or Llama,Guanaco, Chillihueque, Vicugna, and Pacos. The three former wereused as animals of burthen by the native Peruvians, anddomesticated, the two latter, especially the Vicugna, arevaluable for the firmness of their fleeces. The three largerspecies carry loads of about a hundred pounds weight, the othertwo, when domesticated, may be made to carry smaller burdens offrom fifty to seventy-five pounds.--E.

After these discoveries, Pizarro returned to Panama, havingspent three years in this voyage, counting from his first leavingPanama, in which time he was exposed to many dangers fatigues andprivations, by the opposition and hostilities of the Indians, andthrough famine, and more than all distressed by the discontentsand mutinies of his people, most of whom lost all hope ofsuccess, or of deriving any advantage from the expedition.Pizarro soothed their fears and encouraged their perseverance byevery means in his power, providing for their necessities withmuch prudent care, and bearing up against every difficulty withastonishing firmness and perseverance: leaving to Almagro toprovide men arms and horses, and necessaries of all kinds for theenterprize. These two officers, from being the richest of thesettlers in Panama at the commencement of their enterprize, werenow entirely ruined and overwhelmed in debt; yet did they notdespair of ultimate success, and resolved to prosecute thediscovery of which a very promising commencement had now beenmade[9].

[9] It was now towards the close of 1527, the thirdyear from the first departure of Pizarro from Panama.--RobertsonsAmerica, II. 281.

In concert with his associates Almagro and Luque, Pizarro wentto Spain, to lay an account before the king of the discoverywhich he had made, and to solicit the appointment of governor ofthat country, of which he proposed to prosecute the discovery,and to reduce it under the dominion of the crown of Spain. Hismajesty granted his demand, under those conditions which used tobe stipulated with other officers who engaged in similarenterprizes. With this authority, he returned to Panama,accompanied by Ferdinand, Juan, and Gonzalo Pizarro, andFrancisco Martin de Alcantara, his brothers. Ferdinand and JuanPizarro were his brothers both by father and mother, and the onlylawful sons of Gonzalo Pizarro, an inhabitant of Truxillo in OldSpain, a captain in the infantry regiment of Navarre: DonFrancisco Pizarro himself and Gonzalo Pizarro were natural sonsof the elder Gonzalo Pizarro by different mothers: Francisco deAlcantara was likewise the brother of Don Francisco Pizarro, byhis mother only, but by a different father[10]. Besides these,Pizarro brought as many men from Spain to assist in hisenterprize as he could procure, being mostly inhabitants ofTruxillo and other places in Estremadura[11].

[10] Robertson, II. 284. gives a different account ofthese four relations of Francisco Pizarro from Zarate. Accordingto him, Ferdinand was the only lawful son of old Gonzalo Pizarro;Francisco, Juan, and the younger Gonzalo being all natural sons;and Francisco de Alcantara was the uncle of Don Francisco, beingthe brother of his mother. In the sequel, the conqueror of Perushall be always mentioned by the single name of Pizarro,distinguishing his brothers by the addition of their Christiannames. While in Spain, Pizarro received a supply of money fromCortes, under whom he had served in the early part of theconquest of Mexico.--E.

[11] His commission from the crown of Spain, imposedthe condition of raising 250 men, and to supply the ships andwarlike stores necessary for the expedition; but his funds andcredit were so low that he could hardly complete half the number,and had to steal away from the port of Seville to elude theexamination of the officers as to the fulfilment of hiscontract.--Robertsons America, II. 284.

On his arrival at Panama in 1530, Pizarro and his associatesused every effort to complete the preparations for theenterprize; but at first a dispute arose between him and Almagro.The latter complained that Pizarro had only attended to his owninterests when at the court of Spain, having procured theappointments of governor and president of Peru for himself,without making any mention of Almagro, or at least without havingprocured any office for him, who had borne the far greaterproportion of the expences hitherto incurred. Pizarro allegedthat the king had refused to give any office to Almagro, thoughsolicited by him for that purpose: But engaged his word torenounce the office of president in his behalf, and to supplicatethe king to bestow that appointment upon him. Almagro wasappeased by this concession; and they proceeded to make everypreparation in concert that might be conducive to the success ofthe undertaking. But, before entering upon the narrative of theiractions, it seems proper to give some account of the situation ofPeru, of the most remarkable things which it contains, and of themanners and customs of the inhabitants.

The country of Peru, of which this history is intended totreat, commences at the equator, and extends south towards theantarctic pole[12]. The people who inhabit in the neighbourhoodof the equator have swarthy complexions; their language isextremely guttural; and they are addicted to unnatural vices, forwhich reason they care little for their women and use themill[13], The women wear their hair very short, and their wholeclothing consists of a short petticoat, covering only from thewaist to about the knees. By the women only is the graincultivated, and by them it is bruised or ground to meal, andbaked. This grain, called maize in the West-Indian Islands, iscalled Zara in the language of Peru[14]. The men wear akind of shirts or jackets without sleeves, which only reach tothe navel, and do not cover the parts of shame. They wear theirhair short, having a kind of tonsure on their crowns, almost likemonks. They have no other dress or covering, yet pride themselveson certain ornaments of gold hanging from their ears andnostrils, and are particularly fond of pendants made of emeralds,which are chiefly found in those parts of the country borderingon the equator. The natives have always concealed the placeswhere these precious stones are procured, but the Spaniards havebeen in use to find some emeralds in that part of the country,mixed among pebbles and gravel, on which account it is supposedthat the natives procured them from thence. The men also are fondof wearing a kind of bracelets, or strings of beads, of gold andsilver, mixed with small turquoise stones and white shells, or ofvarious colours; and the women are not permitted to wear any ofthose ornaments.

[12] It is impossible to give any competentgeographical account of this extensive country in the compass ofa note. Proper Peru begins at the river Tumbez in the gulf ofGuayaquil, in about lat. 3° 20' S. and extends S.S.E. alongthe Pacific Ocean to the desert of Atacama, which divides it fromChili, in lat. 21° 28 S. an extent of about 1200 miles;consisting of two remarkably different tracts of country. Anarrow valley along the Pacific Ocean, seldom so much as 70 milesin breadth, bounded on the east by the enormous main ridge of theAndes; beyond which are many elevated vallies or table lands ofvarious extent, divided by collateral ridges and branches of theAndes, from each other and from the prodigiously extensive plainsof the vast Orinoco Maranon and La Plata rivers. Quito, which hadbeen annexed to the kingdom of Peru, only a short time before theSpanish conquest, is similarly situated, both as to maritimevale, and elevated table land, immediately to the north of Peruproper, and seems to have reached from lat. 3° 20' S. toabout lat, 1° N. but is now included in the viceroyalty ofNew Granada which reaches to the Carribbean sea, with which it isconnected by the river Magdalena.--E.

[13] The substance of this description appears torefer entirely to that province of the kingdom of Quito which isnamed Esmeraldas or Tacamez, on both sides of theequator.--E.

[14] Various reasons have been assigned for theorigin of the word Peru, as the name of the empire of the Incas,unknown to themselves, at least in that sense. The most probablederivation is from the river Piura, near its northernfrontier, where it was first visited by Pizarro.--E.

The country is exceedingly hot and unwholesome, and theinhabitants are particularly subject to certain malignant wartsor carbuncles of a dangerous nature on the face and other partsof the body, having very deep roots, which are more dangerousthan the small-pox, and almost equally destructive as thecarbuncles of the plague. The natives have many temples, of whichthe doors always front the east, and are closed only by cottoncurtains. In each temple there are two idols or figures in reliefresembling black goats, before which they continually burncertain sweet-smelling woods. From this wood a certain liquorexudes, when the bark is stripped off, which has a strong anddisagreeable flavour, by means of which dead bodies are preservedfree from corruption. In their temples, they have alsorepresentations of large serpents, to which they give adoration;besides which every nation, district, tribe or house, had itsparticular god or idol. In some temples, particularly in those ofcertain villages which were called Pafao, the walls andpillars were hung round with dried bodies of men women andchildren, in the form of crosses, which were all sothoroughly embalmed by means of the liquor already mentioned,that they were entirely devoid of bad smell. In these places alsothey had many human heads hung up; which by means of certaindrugs with which they were anointed, were so much shrunk or driedup as to be no bigger than a mans fist[15].

[15] This circ*mstance is unintelligible, as thebones could not shrink, unless by supposing these humanheads to have been the heads of small apes, resembling humanfaces. The expression of the text, immediately before, of humancarcasses hung up in the form of crosses, ought perhaps tohave been rendered instead of crosses.--E.

This country is extremely dry, as it very seldom has any rain,and its rivulets are few and scanty; so that the people arereduced to the necessity of digging pit-wells, or of procuringwater from certain pools or reservoirs. Their houses are built oflarge canes or reeds. It possesses gold, but of a very lowquantity; and has very few fruits. The inhabitants use smallcanoes hollowed out of the trunks of trees, and a sort of raftswhich are very flat. The whole coast abounds in fish, and whalesare sometimes seen in these seas. On the doors of the temples inthat district which is called Caraque, the figures of menare sometimes seen, which have dresses somewhat resembling thoseof our deacons.

Near the last mentioned province, at Cape St Helena in theprovince of Guayaquil, there are certain springs or mineral veinswhich give out a species of bitumen resembling pitch or tar, andwhich is applied to the same purposes. The Indians of thatcountry pretend that in ancient times it was inhabited by giants,who were four times the height of ordinary men[16]. The Spaniardssaw two representations of these giants at Puerto viejo,one of a man and the other of a woman, and the inhabitantsrelated a traditionary tale of the descent of a young man fromheaven, whose countenance and body shone like the sun, who foughtagainst the giants and destroyed them with flames of fire. In theyear 1543, Captain Juan de Holmos, lieutenant-governor of Puertoviejo, caused a certain valley to be carefully examined, in whichthese giants were were said to have been destroyed, and in whichribs and other bones of prodigious size were dug up, which fullyconfirmed the traditions of the Indians[17]. The natives of thiscountry have no knowledge whatever of writing, nor had they evenany use of that method of painting employed by the Mexicans forpreserving the memory of ancient events, which were handed downfrom father to son merely by traditionary stories. In some placesindeed they used an extraordinary means for preserving theremembrance of important events, by certain cords or strings ofcotton called Quippos, on which they representednumbers by knots of different kinds, and at regulatedintervals, from units up to dozens, and so forth;the cords being of the same colours with those things which theywere intended to represent. In every province, there are personswho are entrusted with the care of these quippos, who arenamed Quippo camayos, who register public matters by meansof these coloured strings and knots artificially disposed; and itis wonderful with what readiness these men understand and explainto others events that have happened several ages ago. There arepublic buildings throughout the country which are used asmagazines of these quippos.

[16] A good deal more is said of these giants, bothby Zarate and Garcilasso de la Vega, p. 363, but so vague andabsurd as not to be worth insertion. The whole story seems tohave arisen out of the colossal representation of a man and womanat Puerto viejo.--E.

[17] This is merely a repetition of the bigbones of Mexico and the Ohio, already referred to theMammoth, or animal ignotum.--E.

To the south of the equator, and near the coast, is the islandof Puna[18], about twelve leagues in circumference, containingabundance of game, and having great quantities of fish on itsshores. It has plenty of fresh water, and was formerly verypopulous, its inhabitants being almost continually engaged inwar, especially with the people of Tumbez, which is twelveleagues distant to the south. These people wore shirts, abovewhich they had a kind of woollen garments. They went to sea in apeculiar kind of flats or rafts, made of long planks of a lightwood fixed to two other cross planks below them to hold themtogether. The upper planks are always an uneven number, usuallyfive, but sometimes seven or nine; that in the middle, on whichthe conductor of the float sits and rows, being longer than theothers, which are shorter and shorter toward the sides, and theyare covered by a species of awning to keep those who sit uponthem from the weather. Some of these floats are large enough tocarry fifty men and three horses, and are navigated both by oarsand sails, in the use of which the Indians are very expert.Sometimes, when the Spaniards have trusted themselves on thesefloats, the Indian rowers have contrived to loosen the planks,leaving the christians to perish, and saving themselves byswimming. The Indians of that island were armed with bows andslings, and with maces and axes of silver and copper. They hadlikewise spears or lances, having heads made of gold very muchalloyed; and both men and women wore rings and other ornaments ofgold, and their most ordinary utensils were made of gold andsilver. The lord of this island was much feared and respected byhis subjects, and so extremely jealous of his women, that thosewho had the care of them were not only eunuchs, but had theirnoses cut off. In a small island near Puna, there was found in ahouse the representation of a garden, having the figures ofvarious trees and plants artificially made of gold andsilver.

[18] Puna is in the bay of Guayaquil, in lat. 3°S. and is near thirty leagues in circumference, beingabout ten leagues long by five inbreadth.--E.

Opposite to the island of Puna on the main land, there dwelt anation or tribe which had given so much offence to the king ofPeru, that they were obliged as a punishment to extirpate alltheir upper teeth; in consequence of which, even now, the peopleof that district have no teeth in their upper jaws. From Tumbezfor five hundred leagues to the south along the coast of thesouth sea, and for ten leagues in breadth, more or less accordingto the distance between the sea and the mountains, it never rainsor thunders. But on the mountains which bound that maritimeplain, there are both rain and thunder, and the climate has thevicissitudes of summer and winter nearly as in Spain. While it iswinter in the mountain, it is summer all along the coast; and onthe contrary, during the summer on the mountain the coast haswhat may be termed winter. The length of Peru, from the city ofSt Juan de Parto to the province of Chili latelydiscovered, is above 1800[19] leagues of Castille. Along thewhole of that length, a vast chain of exceedingly high and desertmountains extends from north to south, in some places fifteen ortwenty leagues distant from the sea, and less in others. Thewhole country is thus divided into two portions, all the spacebetween the mountains and the sea being denominated theplain, and all beyond is called the mountain.

[19] The estimate in the text is exceedinglyerroneous. The city of Parto is in lat. 1° 12' N. and the Riode Loa, or commencement of the desert of Atacama, in lat. 21°26' S. which give only a difference of nearly 25 degrees oflatitude, which at 17-1/2 Spanish leagues to the degree are only438 leagues. Even supposing the text to include Chili, whichextends to 39° 21' S. the whole extent of Peru and Chili isonly 753 Spanish leagues.--E.

The whole plain of Peru is sandy and extremely arid, as itnever has any rain, and there are no springs or wells, nor anyrivulets, except in four or five places near the sea, where thewater is brackish. The only water used by the inhabitants is fromtorrents which come down from the mountain, and which are thereformed by rain and the melting of snow, as there are even veryfew springs in the mountainous part of the country. In someplaces, these torrents or mountain-streams are twelve fifteen ortwenty leagues distance from each other, but generally only sevenor eight leagues; and travellers for the most part are under thenecessity of regulating their days journies by these streams orrivers, that they may have water for themselves and cattle. Alongthese rivers, for the breadth of a league, more or less accordingto the nature of the soil, there are some groves and fruit-trees,and maize fields cultivated by the Indians, to which wheat hasbeen added since the establishment of the Spaniards. For thepurpose of irrigating or watering these cultivated fields, smallcanals are dug from the rivers, to conduct the water wherever itis necessary and where that can be done; and in the constructionof these the natives are exceedingly ingenious and careful,having often to draw these canals seven or eight leagues byvarious circuits to avoid intermediate hollows, although perhapsthe whole breadth of the vale may not exceed half a league. Inall these smaller vales along the streams and torrents, from themountain to the sea, the country is exceedingly fertile andagreeable. Several of these torrents are so large and deep, suchas those of Santa, Baranca, and others, that without theassistance of the Indians, who break and diminish for a shorttime the force of the current, by means of piles and branchesforming a temporary wear or dike, the Spaniards would be unableto pass. In these hazardous passages, it was necessary to getover with all possible expedition, to avoid the violence of thestream, which often rolled down very large stones. Travellers inthe plain of Peru, when going north or south, almost always keepwithin sight of the sea, where the torrents are less violent,owing to the greater flatness of the plain as it recedes from themountain. Yet in winter the passage of these torrents isextremely dangerous, as they cannot be then forded, and must becrossed in barks or floats like those formerly mentioned, or on akind of rafts made of gourds inclosed in a net, on which thepassenger reclines, while one Indian swims before pulling theraft after him with a rope, and another Indian swims behind andpushes the raft before him.

On the borders of these rivers there are various kinds offruit-trees, cotton-trees, willows, and many kinds of canes,reeds, and sedges. The watered land is extremely fertile, and iskept under continual cultivation; wheat and maize being sown andreaped all the year through. The Indians in the plain seldom haveany houses, or at best a kind of rude huts or cabins made ofbranches of trees, often dwelling under the shade of trees,without any habitation whatever. The women are habited in longdresses of cotton which descend to their feet; while the men wearbreeches and vests which come down to their knees, and have akind of cloak or mantle thrown over their shoulders. They are alldressed in a similar manner, having no distinctions except intheir head-dresses, according to rank or the different districtsof the country; some wearing a tuft of wool, others a singlecord, and others several cords of different colours. All theIndians of the plain are distributed into three orders; the firstnamed Yungas, the second Tallanes, and the thirdMochicas. Every province has its own peculiar language ordialect, different from all the rest. But all the caciques orprincipal people and nobles of the country, besides the languagepeculiar to their respective countries or districts, were obligedto understand and speak the language of Cuzco. One of thePeruvian kings, named Huana Capac, the father of Atahualpa orAtabalipa, was much displeased that the caciques and principalpeople of his empire should be under the necessity of employinginterpreters when they had occasion to speak to him; and gaveorders that all the caciques and their relatives should sendtheir children to reside at court, to be instructed in thelanguage of Cuzco which was spoken by the Incas. This was theostensible reason of the measure; but in reality he wished tohave these children in his power, to serve as hostages for theloyalty of their parents. By this means, all the nobles of theland came to understand the peculiar language of Cuzco which wasspoken at court; just as in Flanders all the nobles and personsof any rank speak French. Owing to this circ*mstance, as theSpaniards have learnt the language of the Incas, or of Cuzco,they are able to converse with all the principal natives of Peru,both those of the mountain and of the plain.

It may appear difficult to some of my readers to comprehendwhy no rain should fall in the plain of Peru, considering thatthe country is bounded along the whole of one side by the sea,where many vapours are constantly ascending, and on the otherside by a vast range of mountain which is always enveloped inrain or snow. Those who have carefully considered this singularphenomenon, allege that it is occasioned by the continualprevalence of a strong south-west wind all along the coast andover the whole plain of Peru, which carries off all the vapourswhich rise from the sea and the land, without allowing them torise sufficiently high in the air to gather and fall down againin rain. From the tops of the high mountains, these vapours areoften seen far beneath on the plain in thick clouds, while all isquite clear and serene on the mountain. By the perpetual blowingof the same wind, the waters of the South-sea have a constantcurrent along the coast to the northward. Others allege adifferent reason for this current; saying, that the water of theSouth-sea having only a narrow outlet at the straits of Magellan,which are only two leagues broad, and being there opposed by theAtlantic Ocean, they are forced to return to the northward alongthe coast of Chili and Peru. This constant wind and currentrender the navigation exceedingly difficult, from Panama to Perufor the greater part of the year; so that vessels are obligedalways to tack to windward against wind and current.

The whole coast of Peru abounds in fish of various kinds,among which are great quantities of sea-calves or seals, ofseveral species. Beyond the river of Tumbez there are no caymansor alligators, which is supposed to be owing to the too greatcoolness of the sea and rivers, as these animals delight in heat;but it is more probable that their absence from the rivers ofPeru is occasioned by their great rapidity, as they usuallyfrequent rivers that are very still. In the whole extent of theplain there are only five cities inhabited by the Christians[20].The first of these, Puerto Viejo, about one degree south of theline, has very few inhabitants, as it stands in a poor andunwholesome country, in which the principal production of valueis a few emeralds. Fifty leagues to the southward, and aboutfifteen leagues from the coast, is the city of San Miguel, namedPiuru by the Indians, in a pleasant and fruitful country,but which has no mines of gold or silver. Most people who haveoccasion to go there are liable to be afflicted with diseases ofthe eyes. Sixty leagues farther along the coast, is the city ofTruxillo, two leagues from the sea, in the valley of Chimo,having a dangerous harbour of difficult approach. This citystands on the banks of a river in a fine plain, which is fertilein wheat and maize, and breeds great abundance of cattle, havingplenty of excellent water. Truxillo is very regularly built, andis inhabited by about three hundred Spanish families. Abouteighty leagues from Truxillo to the south, and in the valley ofRimac, stands the city of Los Reys, or Lima,because it was founded at Epiphany, vulgarly called the day ofthe kings. This city is about two leagues from the harbour ofCallao, an excellent and secure harbour, and is situatedon a large river in a fine plain, abounding in grain, and in allkinds of fruit and cattle. All the streets are perfectlystraight, and all of them lead towards the country, which may beseen from all parts of the city. This is a most agreeableresidence, as the air is always temperate, being never either toohot or too cold at any season of the year. During the four monthswhich constitute the summer in Spain, the air here is somewhatcooler than for the rest of the year; and every day from sun-riseto noon there falls a light dew, somewhat like the mists atValladolid in Old Spain. Far from being injurious to health, thisslight moisture is reckoned an infallible cure for headaches.This part of the country produces the same kinds of fruit as arefound in Spain, particularly oranges, citrons, and lemons of allkinds, both sweet and sour, with figs and pomegranates. It mightassuredly have produced grapes in great abundance, if thediscords which have prevailed in this country had allowed thecolonists to plant and cultivate the vine; as it already hasseveral thriving vine plants which have grown from the pips ofdried raisins. The neighbouring country produces all kinds of potherbs and garden vegetables usually cultivated in Spain, in greatperfection and abundance. Indeed every thing conspires to assistcultivation at this place, as every plantation has a canal fromthe river sufficiently large for a mill-stream; and on the mainriver, the Spaniards have several corn-mills. This city isuniversally reckoned the most salubrious and most agreeableresidence in all Peru; and its harbour is so convenient fortrade, that people come here from all parts of Peru to providethemselves with necessaries of all kinds, bringing with them thegold and silver which is so abundantly procured from the mines ofthe other provinces. For these reasons, and because it is nearlycentral to Peru, it has been chosen by his majesty for theresidence of the royal court of audience, to which theinhabitants of all Peru have to carry their law-suits, by whichmeans it is to be presumed that this place will in time becomemore considerable and very populous. Lima at present, 1550,contains five hundred houses; yet is larger than any city inSpain of fifteen hundred houses, as the square in the centre ofthe town is very large, and all the streets very wide, andbecause each house has a plot of eighty feet in front by twicethat in depth. The houses likewise are all of one storey, as thecountry has no wood fit for joists or flooring-deals, every kindwhich it produces becoming worm-eaten in three years. The houses,however, are large and magnificent, and have many chambers andvery convenient apartments. The walls are built on both sides ofbrick, leaving a hollow between of five feet, which is filled upwith hard-rammed earth; in which manner the apartments arecarried up to a convenient height, and the windows towards thestreet are raised considerably above the ground. The stairsleading up are towards the interior court, and in the open air,leading to galleries or corridors, which serve as passages to theseveral apartments. The roofs are formed of some rough timbers,not even hewn square, which are covered underneath by colouredmatts like those of Almeria, or painted canvas, serving asceilings, to conceal these clumsy joists: and the whole iscovered over by way of roofing with branches of trees with theirleaves, which keep the rooms cool and effectually exclude therays of the sun. In this climate there is no call for any defencefrom rain, which never falls in the plain of Peru.

[20] This is only to be understood of the period whenZarate wrote, about the middle of the sixteenth century, or twohundred and fifty years ago. The first town he enumerates, PuertoViejo, is now in the viceroyalty of New Granada.--E.

One hundred and thirty leagues still farther south, is thecity of Villahermosa de Arequipa, containing about three hundredhouses, in a very healthy situation, abounding in provisions.Though at twelve leagues distance from the sea, this place isvery conveniently situated for trade, as vessels can easilyimport thither by the river Quilca all sorts of Europeancommodities for the supply of the city of Cuzco and the provinceof Charcas, which are much frequented on account of the mines ofPotosi and Porco; and from whence large quantities of silver arecarried to Arequipa, to be transported by sea to Lima and Panama,which saves a vast expence and risk of land-carriage; now becomemore difficult since his majesty has forbidden those heavyburdens upon the Indians by which they were formerly oppressed.From this city we travel four hundred leagues by land along thecoast of the South Sea to the province of Chili, which wasdiscovered and in part colonized by the governor Pedro deValdibia, or Baldivia. In the language of the Indians the wordChili signifies cold; and it was so named by the Peruviansbecause of the terribly cold mountains which were necessary to bepassed on the way thither from Peru, as will be particularlymentioned when we come to detail the perilous enterprizeundertaken by Don Diego de Almagro when he marched to discoverthat distant country. Such is a rapid view of that portion ofPeru which is called the plain; to which must be addedthat the sea along its entire coast is always smooth andtranquil, from which it has been called the Pacific Ocean,being never vexed with storms, or disturbed by high and lowtides; so that vessels can everywhere ride in perfect security atsingle anchor.

Those Indians who inhabit the mountainous regions of Peru areentirely different from the inhabitants of the plain, whom theyvastly exceed in strength, courage, and mental abilities. Theylive in a much less savage manner, having houses covered withearth, and being clothed in shirts and mantles made from the woolof their sheep[21]; but their only head-dress consists in aspecies of bands or fillets. The women wear a species ofvestments like shifts without sleeves, and gird their waists withseveral turns of a woollen girdle, which give them a neat andhandsome shape; covering their shoulders with a mantle or plaidof woollen cloth like a large napkin, which they fix round theneck with a large skewer or pin of silver or gold calledtopos in their language, with large broad heads, the edgesof which are sharpened so as to serve in some measure thepurposes of a knife. These women give great assistance to theirhusbands in all the labours belonging to husbandry and householdaffairs, or rather these things fall entirely to their lot. Theircomplexions are much fairer, and their countenances, manners, andwhole appearance, are greatly superior in all respects to thenatives of the plain. Their countries likewise differ entirely;as instead of the sterile sands which are everywhere interspersedover the plain, the mountain is covered through its whole extentwith verdure, and is everywhere furnished with rivulets andsprings of fine water, which unite to form the torrents andrivers which descend so impetuously into the plain country. Thefields are everywhere full of flowers and plants of infinitevarieties, among which are many species like the plants whichgrow in Spain; such as cresses, lettuce, succory, sorrel,vervain, and others; and vast quantities of wild mulberries, andother fruit-bearing shrubs are found everywhere. There is oneparticular plant with yellow flowers, having leaves like those ofcelery, of most admirable virtues. If applied to the most putridsore, it makes it quite clean and sweet in a short time; but iflaid upon a sound place it soon eats to the very bone. There aremany fruit-trees in this country of various kinds, carryingabundant crops of fruit as good as those of Spain without havingthe smallest care taken of them.

[21] The wool-bearing animals of Peru, improperlynamed sheep, are one or other of the species of camel alreadymentioned in a former note.--E.

There are great numbers of sheep in the mountainous region,part of which are domesticated by the Indians, but vast numbersof them are wild; likewise abundance of deer and roes, many foxesand other smaller animals. The natives often have public hunts ofthese animals, which they call chaco, in which they takegreat delight. Four or five thousand natives, more or lessaccording to the population of the district, assemble together,and enclose two or three leagues of country by forming a circle,in which at first they are at considerable distances from eachother, and by gradually contracting their circle, beating thebushes, and singing certain songs appropriated to the occasion,they drive all the animals of every kind before them to anappointed place in the centre. The whole company at length joinin a small circle, holding each other by the hands, and hallooingloudly, by which the beasts are terrified from endeavouring tobreak through, and are easily taken in nets or even by the hand.Even partridges, hawks, and other birds, are often so astonishedby the loud cries of the hunters as to fall down in the circleand allow themselves to be taken. In these mountains there arelions or pumas, black bears, wild cats of several kinds,and many species of apes and monkeys. The principal birds, bothof the plain and the mountain, are eagles, pigeons, turtle-doves,plovers, quails, parroquets, falcons, owls, geese, white and greyherons, and other water fowl; nightingales and other birds ofsweet song, many kinds of which have very beautiful plumage.There is one kind of bird very remarkable for its astonishingsmallness, not being larger than a grasshopper or large beetle,which however has several very long feathers in its tail. Alongthe coast there is a species of very large vulture, the wings ofwhich, when extended, measure fifteen or sixteen palms from tipto tip. These birds often make prey of large seals, which theyattack when out of the water: On these occasions, some of thebirds attack the animal behind; others tear out his eyes; and therest of the flock tear him on all sides with their beaks, till atlength they kill him, and tear him to pieces. Upon the coast ofthe South Sea there are great numbers of birds namedalcatraz, somewhat like our ordinary poultry in shape, butso large that each individual may contain three pecks of grain inits crop. These birds feed mostly on fish which they catch in thesea, yet are fond of carrion, which they go in search of thirtyor forty leagues inland. The flesh of these birds stinks mostabominably, insomuch that some persons who have been driven tothe necessity of eating it have died, as if poisoned.

It has been already said, that rain, hail, and snow, fall onthe mountainous region of Peru, where in many places it isintensely cold: But in many parts of that region there are deepvalleys in which the air is so hot, that the inhabitants have touse various contrivances to defend themselves from the excessiveheat. In these vallies there is an herb called coca, whichis held in very high estimation by the natives: Its leafresembles that of the sumach, and the Indians have learntfrom experience that, by keeping a leaf of that plant in theirmouth they can prevent themselves for a long time from feelingeither hunger or thirst. In many parts of the mountain there isno wood, so that travellers in those parts are obliged to use aspecies of earth which is found there for the purpose of fuel,and which burns very much like turf or peats. In the mountainsthere are veins of earth of various colours, and mines both ofgold and silver, in which the natives are exceedingly conversant,and are even able to melt and purify these metals with lesslabour and expence than the Christians. For this purpose theyconstruct furnaces in the mountains, placing always the door ofthe furnace towards the south, as the wind blows always from thatpoint. The ores are put into these furnaces alternately withdried sheeps dung, which serves as fuel, and by means of the windthe fire is raised to a sufficient power to melt and purify themetal. In melting the vast quantities of silver which has beendug from the mines of Potosi, the furnaces constructed withbellows were found quite inefficient, while these furnaces, namedguayras by the Indians, which signifies wind-furnaces,answered the purpose effectually.

The soil is everywhere extremely fertile, and gives abundantreturns of all the kinds of grain which are there sown; insomuchthat from one bushel of seed for the most part at hundred bushelsare reaped, sometimes an hundred and fifty, and even as high astwo hundred. The natives employ no ploughs, but labour the earthwith a kind of hoes; and set their seed into the ground in holesmade with a dibble, or pointed stick, just as beans are sown inSpain. All kinds of pot and garden herbs grow so luxuriantly thatradishes have been seen at Truxillo as thick as a mans body, yetneither hard nor stringy. Lettuces, cabbages, and all othervegetables grow with similar luxuriance: But the seeds of thesemust all be brought from Spain; as when raised in the country theproduce is by no means so large and fine. The principal food ofthe Indians is maize, either roasted or boiled, which serves themfor bread, and venison of various kinds, which they salt up foruse. They likewise use dried fish, and several kinds of roots,one of which named yuca resembles skirret; likewiselupines and many other leguminous vegetables. Instead of wine,they make a fermented liquor from maize, which they bury in theearth along with water in tubs or large jars, where it ferments.In this process, besides the maize in its natural state, acertain quantity of maize which has been steeped in a particularmanner is used as a ferment; and there are men and women who areversant in the manner of steeping maize, and are hired for thispurpose. When this kind of drink is made by means of stagnantwater, it is reckoned stronger and better than when running wateris used. In the West Indian islands this drink is calledchica, but the Peruvian name is azua. It is eitherwhite or red, according to the kind of maize used for itspreparation, and inebriates even more readily than Spanish wine;yet the Indians prefer the latter when it can be procured. Theymake another kind of liquor from the fruit of certain trees,which they call molles; but it is by no means so wellliked as azua from maize.

The first city of the Christians in the mountain of Peru isQuito, which is about four degrees to the south of theequator[22]. This city is situated in an agreeable and fertiledistrict; and particularly since 1544 and 1545, when rich minesof gold were discovered in its neighbourhood, it has becomepopulous, and continued to increase fast in the number of itsinhabitants; till in the destructive civil wars its people werealmost entirely cut off by Gonzalo Pizarro and his adherents, asthey favoured the party of the viceroy Blasco Nugnez Vela, whomade this place his ordinary residence. The Spaniards had noother establishment in the mountain till the discovery of theprovince of Bracamoras[23], by the captains, Juan Porceland Vergara, who established some small colonies in these parts,on purpose to continue the discovery and conquest of the interiorcountry; but these establishments have been since entirelyruined, as Gonzalo Pizarro recalled these two captains and theirmen to assist him in his war. This discovery was made under theorders of the licentiate Vaca de Castro, who was then governor ofPeru. The Captain Porcel was sent by him from S. Miguel de Piura,and Vergara into the province of Chachapoyas farther tothe south; but they unexpectedly met each other in the course oftheir exploration of the country, and quarrelled about theboundaries of their discoveries, in consequence of which theywere recalled by Vaco de Castro, and were at Lima at thecommencement of the civil war in the service of the viceroy; andwhen he was made prisoner they entered into the party of GonzaloPizarro. The place which they discovered, called Bracamoras, is ahundred and sixty leagues from Quito by way of the mountain; andeighty leagues farther south they discovered a province namedChacaapoyas, where there is a small Christian town namedLevanto[24]. This province abounds in provisions, and hasmines of some value. Its situation is peculiarly strong againstan enemy, as it is surrounded on all sides by a deep valley, inwhich runs a considerable river; so that by breaking down thebridges, it may be made very difficult of access. The Maestre deCampo Alfonzo de Alvarado, who held the command of this province,established a colony of Christians at this place.

[22] Instead of four degrees, Quito is onlythe fourth part of a degree beyond theline.--E.

[23] Bracamoras, or Jaen de Bracamoras, in lat.5° 30' S. is in the district or province of Jaen in thekingdom of New Granada, on one of the branches of the Lauricochaor Tanguragua, which is one of the great rivers which contributeto form the vast Maranon, or river of theAmazons.--E.

[24] No place of that name is now found in our bestmaps. The principal town of the district of Chachapoyas has thesame name, otherwise called St Juan de laFrontera.--E.

Sixty leagues farther to the south, in the district ofGuanuco, Vaco de Castro established a colony which heordered to be called Leon, as he came from the city ofthat name in Spain. The country of Guanuco is fertile and aboundsin provisions; and valuable mines are believed to exist on thatside which is occupied by a warlike and powerful inca in aprovince of the Andes, as shall be mentioned hereafter[25]. Thereis no other place in the mountains farther south which has beenas yet settled by the Christians, till we come to the province ofGuamanga, in which is a small town named San Juan de laVittoria[26], which is sixty leagues from Leon. In San Juan thereare very few Spaniards, but their number is expected to increase,if the neighbouring inca can be induced to submit to peace; as heat present occupies the best lands belonging to that city, inwhich there are many mines, and which produces the herb calledcoca in great abundance, formerly mentioned as of greatvalue. The town of Guamanga is about eighty leagues from the cityof Cuzco; the road between being exceedingly difficult, as itgoes over high and precipitous mountains, and through verydangerous passes.

[25] Not far to the south of San Leon de Guanuco, inthe mountains of Lauricocha, there are considerable silvermines.--E.

[26] No such place is now found on our maps in theprovince of Guamanga; but the ruins of a town named Vittoria aremarked in the district of Calca, about fifty miles north-westfrom the city of Cuzco. Perhaps the Vittoria of the text is thetown now called Guamanga.--E.

Before the arrival of the Spaniards, the kings of Peru residedin the city of Cuzco, whence they governed the whole of thisgreat country of which I have endeavoured to give some account,and which will be more particularly treated of in the sequel ofthis history. This city served as the common centre for all thechiefs or caciques of this vast kingdom, to which they resortedfrom all quarters, to pay their tributes to the king, and toobtain justice in case of disputes among each other. At that timeCuzco was the only place in all Peru that had the leastresemblance to a city. It had even a strong fortress, built ofsuch enormous dressed stones, that it was very wonderful toconceive in what manner the Indians had been able to transportsuch vast masses of stone without the aid of any animals ofdraught. In fact some of these are so large that they would haverequired ten yokes of oxen to have dragged them along on a fitcarriage. The houses which are now inhabited by the Spaniards arethe same which were formerly occupied by the Indians; some ofwhich houses have been merely repaired and others enlarged bytheir present possessors. This city was formerly divided intofour quarters, corresponding to the four cardinal points; and byorders of the Incas, or sovereigns of Peru, all thosenatives who came to the capital were obliged to lodge in theparticular quarter which was towards the direction of theprovince from whence they came, under severe penalties. The southquarter of the city was named Colla-sugo, from theprovince of Collao which lay to the south. The northernquarter was named Chinca-sugo, from the large and renownedprovince of Chinca[27] in that direction. The eastern andwestern quarters were respectively named Ande-sugo andConde-sugo. The country about Cuzco is extremely fertile,and abounds in all kinds of provisions, and the climate is sohealthy that the inhabitants are seldom if ever sick. Around thecity there are many rich mines, whence all the gold which hasbeen hitherto sent into Spain was procured. These indeed havebeen nearly abandoned since the discovery of the rich silvermines of Potosi; both because much greater profit may be madefrom these other mines of silver, and because the working ofthese are far less dangerous both to the Indians and Spaniardswho are there employed.

[27] Probably the country of the people now calledChunchos, who are implacable enemies to theSpaniards.--E.

From the city of Cuzco to that of La Plata in the province ofCharcas, the distance is more than a hundred and fifty leagues,between which two places there is a large flat province namedCollao, above fifty leagues long; the principal part ofwhich, named Chiquito, belongs to his majesty. Seeing solarge an extent of country unoccupied by the Spaniards, thelicentiate De la Gasca sent some people there in 1545 to commencean establishment. The city of La Plata is situated in the coldestpart of all the mountainous region of Peru, and has very fewinhabitants, but these are extremely rich, and spend the greatestpart of the year in the mines of Porco, and in those ofPotosi since their discovery. Towards the left hand or theeast from La Plata, a new province was explored by Diego de Rojasand Philip Gutierez, by the order of Vaca de Castro, which wasnamed Rojas[28] from one of these captains. It is said tobe fertile and abounding in provisions, but they have not foundso much riches there as was expected. Captain Domingo de Ytalaand his companions came by that way into Peru in 1549, havingremounted the Rio Plata from the Atlantic Ocean.

[28] Probably the province now called Chicason the eastern side of the Andes, occupying the head of the riverChirivionas which joins the Paraguay or RioPlata.--E.

Such is the state and situation of all that has been hithertodiscovered of this vast country of Peru, which is chiefly knownalong the coast of the South Sea, and has not been much exploredin its inland parts, on account of the vast quantity of lofty andrude mountains, by which it is everywhere pervaded, and which areextremely difficult to pass; because of their height andprecipitous nature, the excessive cold which prevails among them,and the scarcity of food. Yet the industry and courage of theSpaniards would have overcome all these obstacles, if there wereany hope of finding a rich country beyond.

As the Peruvians were ignorant of writing they knew nothingrespecting the history of the creation and deluge or of their ownorigin. They had however some tradition among them, which hadbeen altered from age to age according to the fancies of thereciters. They said that there came anciently from the north, aman who had no bones or joints, and who was able to shorten orlengthen the way before him as he thought fit, and to elevate ordepress the mountains at his pleasure. By this man the ancientIndians were created; and as those of the plain had given himsome cause of displeasure, he rendered their country sterile andsandy as it now is, and commanded that it should never rain inthat district; yet sent them the rivers and torrents which runthrough it, that they might have wherewithal to quench theirthirst. This person, named Con, who they allege was son ofthe sun and moon, they esteemed and adored as a god, pretendingthat he had given the herbs and wild fruits as food for thepeople whom he had created. After him came another man from thesouth, named Pachacamac, or the creator, who was likewisethe son of the sun and moon, but more powerful than Con,who disappeared on his arrival, leaving the men whom he hadcreated without chiefs or laws, and Pachacamac transformed themall into various animals, as birds, cats, bears, lions, and thelike, giving origin in this manner to all the beasts and birdswhich are now found in the country. After this Pachacamac createdthe present race of Indians, teaching them the art of labouringthe ground for the cultivation of plants of various kinds forfood. Pachacamac is considered as a god, and all the principalpersons among the Peruvians are desirous of being buried in theprovince named from him Pachacamac, as he resided there, which isabout four leagues from the city of Lima[29]. They pretended thattheir god Pachacamac continued several ages among them, even tothe time of the arrival of the Spaniards, since when he hasdisappeared. Hence we may presume that he was some demon by whomthey were miserably abused and misled, and who filled their mindswith so many extravagant absurd fables.

[29] Off the mouth of the river Lurin, in lat.12° 26' S. is the island of Pachacamac, probably indicatingthe situation of the ancient province of thatname.--E.

The Indians believe likewise, that even before Con andPachacamac, there was a great deluge, during which mankind savedthemselves in great caves in the high mountains, into which theycarried a store of food, shutting up the entries, and carefullyfilling up all the crevices, to keep out the water. After a longwhile, they sent out some dogs, who returned to them all wet butnot dirtied with mud, from which circ*mstance they concluded thatthe waters still remained very high, and they did not venture toleave their caverns till the dogs came back a second time allcovered with mud. They allege that great numbers of serpents wereengendered by the moisture left in the earth by this deluge, bywhich their ancestors were much distressed for a long time, tillthey at length succeeded to extirpate them. From this traditionthey appear to have retained some confused notion of the deluge,although they were ignorant of the way in which Noah and sevenother persons were saved in the ark to repeople the whole earth.Perhaps their tradition may refer to some partial deluge, likethat of Deucalion.

The have a notion that the world is to come to an end; beforewhich there is to be a great drought, when no rain is to fall forseveral years. On this account, in former times, the caciquesused to lay up large magazines of maize to serve them during thelong drought. Even yet, the more timid among the Peruvians make agreat lamentation when the sun or moon are eclipsed, believingthe end of the world to be at hand; as they allege that theseluminaries are to be extinguished at the destruction of theworld.

The Peruvians worship the Sun and Moon as deities, and swearby these luminaries and by the earth, which they consider astheir mother. In their temples they adore certain stones, asrepresentatives of the sun, which they name guacas, a wordsignifying to weep, which they do on entering into their temples.No person is permitted to approach these guacas except thepriests who sacrifice to these idols, who are all clothed inwhite. When they go up to their idols, they carry certain whitecloths in their hands, prostrating themselves and crawling on theearth, and addressing their idols in a language which is notunderstood by any of the natives. By these priests all theofferings for the idols are received and buried in the temples,as the Indian votaries make gifts of figures in gold or silver ofthose things for which they address their prayers to the guaca.These priests likewise offer sacrifices of animals and even ofmen to their gods, searching the hearts and intrails of thevictims for certain signs which they wish to find, and repeatingtheir abominable sacrifices until they meet with those signswhich they desire; pretending that the idols are not satisfied bythe sacrifices till these appear. During all the time that thepriests are engaged in sacrificing, they never appear in public,neither have they any intercourse with women, and employthemselves all night in loud cries, invoking the demons near tothe places in which the guacas are kept, which are extremelynumerous, as most houses have each their own guaca. The priestsprepare themselves for having intercourse with the demons by longfasts, after which they tie up their eyes and some even carrytheir superstition to such excess as to put out their own eyes.The caciques and other great men among the Peruvians neverundertake any affair of importance without having first consultedthe idols, or demons rather, by means of the priests.

In the temples of the sun the Spaniards found several largeearthen jars containing the dried bodies of children which hadbeen sacrificed. Among the figures of gold and silver which wereused as ornaments to the guacas, there were several which had astrong resemblance to the mitres and crosiers of our bishops, andsome of these idols were found having mitres on their heads. WhenThomas de Verlanga, bishop of Tierra Firma travelled throughPeru, with his mitre, in which he was seen by the Indianscelebrating the mass, they asked if he was the guaca of theChristians. When asked the reason of these mitres, they couldonly say that they had been handed down from their ancestors. Inevery part of Peru there were certain houses or monasteries,which were inhabited by women who were consecrated to the sun.These women never went out, but were perpetually employed inspinning cotton and wool, which they wove into cloth, and thenburned along with the bones of white sheep, throwing the ashesinto the air in honour of the sun. These women were consecratedto perpetual celibacy, and were put to death if found to be withchild, unless they could swear that their child was begotten bythe sun.

Every year, at the season of the maize harvest, themountaineer Peruvians had a solemn festival; on which occasionthey set up two tall straight trees like masts, on the top ofwhich was placed the figure of a man surrounded by other figuresand adorned with flowers. The inhabitants went in processionarmed with bows and arrows and regularly marshalled intocompanies, beating their drums and with great outcries andrejoicings, each company in succession discharging their arrowsat the dressed up figure. After which the priests set up an idolat the bottom of the masts, before which they sacrificed a man ora sheep, sprinkling the idol with the blood of the victim; andhaving inspected the heart and entrails of the sacrifice, theyreported the signs they had discovered to the people, who weresad or rejoiced according as these were good or bad. The whole ofthis festival was usually spent in dancing and drinking, and invarious games and sports, some of which were warlike exercises,with maces, clubs, axes and other arms.

All the caciques and other principal inhabitants of Peru arereposited after their death in a kind of vaults, clothed in alltheir richest dresses, and seated in a kind of chairs which theyname duos. It was customary also to bury along with themone or two of their best beloved wives, and on this occasion thehonour was frequently contested among the wives of the deceased,unless when the husband had previously settled who were to bechosen to accompany him in the tomb. Two or three youths of theirtrain, and all their gold and silver-plate used also to be buriedalong with them; all of which was done in the hope of one dayrising again from the dead, and that they might then appear inproper style, accompanied by their wives and servants. When theSpaniards broke up these sepulchres on purpose to take possessionof their buried treasures, the Peruvians requested of them not todisturb the bones of the dead, that they might not be hindered intheir resurrection. In the burial ceremony, the relations of thedeceased used to pour some of the liquor formerly mentioned,named Chica, into the grave, of which a portion wasconveyed by some hollow canes into the mouth of the dead person.On the top of the tomb or sepulchre, wooden images were placed,representing the appearance of the deceased; but on the graves ofthe lower orders, they satisfied themselves by some paintedemblems of their profession or employment, more especially ifthey happened to be warriors.

In all the provinces of Peru there were certain nobles orprincipal persons, of whom the chiefs or rulers were namedcuracas, similar in every respect to the caciques of theislands. As the Spaniards who conquered Peru had been accustomedto name many things according to the language of Hispaniola andCuba, and were at first ignorant of the Peruvian language, theycontinued to employ the terms to which they had been accustomed;and the Peruvians have so far accommodated themselves to thislanguage, especially in speaking to the Spaniards, that theymostly use these terms. Thus they call those chiefscaciques, who in their own language are namedcuracas, their bread corn and drink, which in the Peruvianare zara and azua, they denominate maize andchica, which names were brought from the islands by theSpaniards. These curacas or caciques were the judges andprotectors of their subjects in peace, and their leaders in waragainst the neighbouring tribes. The whole people of Peru livedin that manner for many years under a multiplicity of independentchiefs, having no king or supreme chief; until at length awarlike nation came from the environs of the great lake Titicacanamed the Incas in the language of Peru. These men had theirheads close shaven, and their ears pierced, in which they worelarge round pendents of gold, by which their ears were draggeddown upon their shoulders, in consequence of which they werecalled ringrim, or the large ears. Their chief was calledZapalla Inca[30], or the only king; though others say thathe was named Inca Vira cocha, or the king from the scum ofthe lake, because the astonished natives, not knowing the originof their invaders, believed that they had started into existencefrom the scum or mud of the great lake. This great lake ofTiticaca is about eighty leagues in circumference, from which alarge river runs to the southwards, which in some places is halfa league in breadth, and which discharges its waters into a smalllake about forty leagues from the great lake, which has nooutlet. This circ*mstance gives great astonishment to many, whoare unable to comprehend how so vast a body of water shoulddisappear in so small a reservoir. As this smaller lake appearsto have no bottom, some conceive that it discharges itself intothe sea by some subterranean communication, like the riverAlphaeus in Greece.

[30] The first of the Incas is named by Robertson,II. 290. and III. 47. Manco Capac.--E.

These Incas established themselves in the first place atCuzco, from whence they gradually extended their sway over thewhole of Peru, which became tributary to them. The empire of theIncas descended in successive order, but not by immediatehereditary rules. On the death of a king, he was succeeded by hisimmediately younger brother; and on his demise the eldest son ofthe preceding king was called to the throne; so as always to haveon the throne a prince of full age. The royal ornament worn bythe supreme Inca in place of a crown or diadem, consisted in afringe of coloured worsted from one temple to the other, reachingalmost to the eyes. He governed their extensive empire with muchgrandeur and absolute power; and perhaps there never was acountry in the world where the subjects were so submissive andobedient. They had only to place a single thread drawn from theirdiadem in the hands of one of the ringrim or great ears,by which he communicated to this deputy the most absolutedelegation of power, which was respected and obeyed over thewhole empire. Alone, and without troops or attendants, themessage or order which he carried was instantly obeyed, were iteven to lay waste a whole province, and to exterminate every oneof its inhabitants; as on the sight of this thread from the royalfillet, every one offered themselves voluntarily to death,without a single murmur or the slightest resistance.

In the before mentioned order of succession, the empire of theIncas fell in process of time to a sovereign named HuanaCapac[31], which signifies the young rich man. This princemade great conquests, and augmented the empire more considerablythan had been done by any one of his predecessors, and ruled overthe whole more reasonably and with greater justice and equitythan had ever been done by the former sovereigns. He establishedeverywhere the most perfect police, and exact rules forcultivating the earth; ruling and governing among a barbarous andignorant nation with the most surprising order and justice; andthe love and obedience of his subjects was equally wonderful andperfect. They gave him a signal proof of this, worthy of beingmentioned, in the construction of two roads through the wholeextent of Peru for his more convenient travelling; of which thedifficulty labour and expence equal or even surpass all that theancients have written of the seven wonders of the world. HuanaCapac, in marching from Cuzco to conquer the kingdom of Quito,had to march five hundred leagues by the mountains, where he hadeverywhere to encounter excessive difficulties, from bad roads,rocks, precipices and ravines, almost impracticable in manyplaces. After he had successfully executed this great enterprize,by the conquest and submission of Quito and its dependencies, hissubjects conceived that it was incumbent on them to do honour tohis victorious career, by preparing a commodious road for histriumphant return to Cuzco. They accordingly undertook, andexecuted by prodigious labour, a broad and easy road through themountains of five hundred leagues in length, in the course ofwhich they had often to dig away vast rocks, and to fill upvalleys and precipices of thirty to forty yards in depth. It issaid that this road, when first made, was so smooth and levelthat it would have admitted a coach with the utmost ease throughits whole length; but since that time it has suffered greatinjuries, especially during the wars between the Spaniards andthe Peruvians, having been broken up in many places, on purposeto obstruct the invasion of the enemy. The grandeur anddifficulty of this vast undertaking may be readily conceived, byconsidering the labour and cost which has been expended in Spainto level only two leagues of a mountain road between Segovia andGuadarrama, and which after all has never been brought to anydegree of perfection, although the usual passage of the king andcourt on travelling to or from Andalusia or the kingdom ofToledo. Not satisfied with this first astonishing labour, thePeruvians soon afterwards undertook another of a similar and noless grand and difficult kind. Huana Capac was fond of visitingthe kingdom of Quito which he had conquered, and proposed totravel thither from Cuzco by way of the plain, so as to visit thewhole of his extensive dominions. For his accommodation likewise,his subjects undertook to make a road also in the plain; and forthis purpose they constructed high mounds of earth across all thesmall vallies formed by the various rivers and torrents whichdescend from the mountain, that the road might be everywheresmooth and level This road was near forty feet wide, and where itcrossed the sandy heights which intervene betwixt the verdantvallies of the torrents, it was marked on each side by stakes,forming palings in straight lines to prevent any one losing theway. This road was five hundred leagues in length like that ofthe mountain; but the palings are now wanting in many places, thewood of which they were constructed having been used by theSpaniards for fuel during the war; but the mounds still existacross the vallies, and most of them are yet tolerably entire, bywhich the grandeur of the entire work may be judged of. In hisjourneys to and from Quito, Huana Capac used to go by one ofthese roads and return by the other; and during his whole journeyhis subjects used to strew the way with branches and flowers ofthe richest perfume.

[31] By Zarate this Inca is named Guaynacava, but themore general name used by Garcilasso de la Vega and other Spanishwriters, and from them by the illustrious Robertson, is adoptedin this translation.--E.

Besides the two great roads already mentioned, Huana Capacordered to be built on the mountain road a number of largepalaces, at the distance of a days journey from each other,having a prodigious number of apartments, sufficient to lodge hisown personal suite and all his army. Such were likewise builtalong the road in the plain, but not so numerous or so near eachother as on the mountain road, as these palaces of the plain hadall to be placed on the sides of the rivers for convenience andthe procurement of provisions and other necessaries; so that theywere in some places eight or ten leagues distant from each other,and in other places fifteen or twenty leagues. These buildingswere named tambos, and the neighbouring Indians were boundto furnish each of these with provisions and every thing elsethat might be wanted for the royal armies; insomuch that in eachof these tambos, in case of necessity, clothing and armscould be had for twenty or thirty thousand men. Huana Capac wasalways escorted by a considerable body of soldiers, armed withlances, halberts, maces, and battle axes, made of silver orcopper, and some of them even of gold.

In their armies, besides these arms, the Peruvians usedslings, and javelins having their points hardened in the fire. Onsuch parts of their rivers as furnished materials for thepurpose, they built wooden bridges; and where timber could not behad, they stretched across the stream two large cables made of aplant named maguey, forming a kind of net work betweenthese of smaller ropes and masts, strong enough to answer thepurpose of a bridge. In this manner they constructed bridges of asurprizing magnitude; some of them being thirty yards broad andfour hundred yards long[32]. In such places as did not admit ofthe construction of bridges, they passed over rivers by means ofa cable or thick rope extended from side to side, on which theyhung a large basket, which was drawn over by means of a smallerrope. All these bridges were kept in repair by the inhabitants ofthe districts in which they stood.

[32] Garcilasso de la Vega, p. 65, describes thebridge over the Apurimac not far from Cuzco, as about two hundredpaces in length. He says that its floor consisted of three greatcables as thick as the body of a man; having another cable oneach side, a little raised, to serve as rails. The two hundredtoises or four hundred yards of the text seem an exaggeration;perhaps a mistake of the French translator.--E.

The king of Peru was always carried in a species of littercovered over with plates of gold, and was attended by more than athousand of the principal native nobles, who relieved each otherin carrying the royal litter on their shoulders. All these menwere counsellors, principal officers of the household, orfavourites of the prince. The caciques or curacas of thedifferent provinces were likewise carried in litters on theshoulders of their vassals. The Peruvians were exceedinglysubmissive to their sovereigns, insomuch that even the mostpowerful lord always entered the presence barefooted, andcarrying some present wrapped up in a cloth, as a mark of homage;and even if one person had occasion to go an hundred times in oneday to speak to the king, the present had to be repeated everytime he went. To look the king in the face was considered as acriminal disrespect; and if any one should happen to stumblewhile carrying the royal litter, so as to make it fall, his headwas immediately cut off. At every half league on the public roadsthroughout the whole empire, there were Indians in constantattendance to relieve each other in carrying dispatches, whichthey did swifter than our post horses. When any province ordistrict was subdued, the natives of the place, or at least alltheir chiefs and principal people, were immediately removed toother parts of the empire, and natives from other places whichhad been long subjected were sent to occupy the new conquest, bywhich means the fidelity and submission of the whole weresecured. From every province of the empire, yearly tributes ofthe several productions of their respective countries were sentto the king; and even some sterile districts above three hundredleagues distant from Cuzco, had to send yearly a number oflizards as a mark of their submission, having nothing of anyvalue to send. Huana Capac rebuilt the temple of the sun atCuzco, and covered over all the walls and the roof of thatstructure with plates of gold and silver. During his reign, oneChimocappa, who was curaca or prince of a large district in theplain, above a hundred leagues in length, chose to erect thestandard of rebellion; but Huana Capac marched against him inperson, defeated him in battle, and put him to death; after whichhe commanded that the Indians of the plain should not bepermitted to carry arms. Yet he allowed the son and successor ofChimocappa to remain in the province of Chimo, in whichthe city of Truzillo has been since built.

Peru was astonishingly full of those animals called sheep; asHuana Capac and his predecessors had established laws for theirmultiplication and preservation. Every year a certain proportionof these animals belonging to individuals were set apart as akind of tythe or offering to the sun, and these consecratedanimals multiplied greatly, no person being allowed to injurethem under pain of sacrilege, except the prince only for his ownuse or that of his army. On such occasions, he gave orders forone of these hunts called chacos, formerly mentioned, atsome of which twenty or thirty thousand sheep have been taken atone time. Gold was in great request among the Peruvians, as theking and all the principal persons of the empire used it for theconstruction of vessels for all uses, as ornaments for theirpersons, and as offerings to their gods. The king had everywherecarried along with him a kind of couch or table of gold, ofsixteen carats fine, on which he used to sit, and which was worth25,000 ducats of standard gold. This was chosen by Don FranciscoPizarro, at the time of the conquest, in consequence of anagreement, by which he was authorized to appropriate some singlejewel or valuable article to his own use, besides his regularshare of the plunder. When the eldest son of Huana Capac wasborn, he ordered a prodigious chain or cable of gold to be made,so large and heavy that two hundred men were hardly able to liftit. In remembrance of this circ*mstance, the infant was namedHuascar, which signifies a cable or large rope, as thePeruvians have no word in their language signifying a chain. Tothis name of Huascar was added the surname Inca, belonging to alltheir kings, just as Augustus was given to all the Romanemperors. Huana Capac had several large magazines full of gold invarious shapes, such as the figures of men and women, of sheepand animals of all kinds, and of all the kinds of plants whichare found in the country, all accurately represented. He had alsogreat quantities of vestments of various kinds, and many slings,in which the fabric was mixed with gold threads; and many bars ofgold and silver made like billets of fire wood.

Although the main object of this history is to relate theSpanish Discovery and Conquest of Peru, it seems proper toexplain the circ*mstances under which they found the affairs ofthat empire at their arrival; by which we shall have occasion toadmire the wisdom of Providence, in permitting that enterprize totake place at a time when that vast country was divided into twohostile parties, which greatly facilitated the conquest. AfterHuana Capac had reduced many provinces to submission, to theextent of five hundred leagues from Cuzco, he undertook in personto make the conquest of the kingdom of Quito, which bounded withhis empire in the north-west. Having successfully accomplishedthat great enterprise, finding the country exceedingly pleasant,he continued to reside there for a long while, leaving at Cuzcoseveral of his children, both sons and daughters, among whom werehis eldest son Huascar Inca, Manco Inca, Paul Inca, and severalothers. While at Quito, he took to wife the daughter of theformer lord of that country, by whom he had a son named Atahualpaor Atabalipa, of whom he was very fond, and whom he left to beeducated in Quito when he returned to Cuzco. After residing forsome years in Cuzco, he made a journey back to Quito, partlybecause he delighted in that country which he had subdued, andpartly from affection for his son Atahualpa, whom he loved morethan all the rest of his children. He continued to reside inQuito all the rest of his life; and at his death, he bequeathedthe kingdom of Quito to Atahualpa[33], which had belonged to hismaternal ancestors. On his death, Atahualpa secured the affectionof the army, and got possession of all the treasure which hisfather had in Quito, but the far greater proportion of thetreasure remained in Cuzco, as too heavy for transportation, andaccordingly fell to Huascar, the eldest son.

[33] This prince is called Atabaliba by Zarate, andAtabalipa by some other writers, but we have chosen to follow theillustrious historian of America in naming himAtahualpa.--E.

Atahualpa sent ambassadors to his eldest brother Huascar,informing him of the death of their father, and assuring him ofhis loyalty and obedience; yet requesting that he might bepermitted to retain the command of the kingdom of Quito, theconquest of his father; which he alleged was beyond the limits ofthe Peruvian empire, and ought not therefore to follow theordinary rules of primogeniture, more especially as Atahualpa wasthe legitimate heir of that country in right of his mother andgrandfather. Huascar sent back for answer, that if Atahualpawould come to Cuzco and give up the army, he should receive landsand possessions sufficient to enable him to live according to hisrank; but that he would on no account give up Quito, a frontierprovince of the empire, where of course he must keep up a body oftroops for the defence of the whole. Huascar added, that ifAtahualpa refused submission to these conditions, he would marchin person against him as a declared enemy. On receiving thismessage, Atahualpa consulted two of his fathers principalofficers, Quiz-quiz and Cilicuchima, brave and experiencedwarriors, who advised him not to wait the invasion of hisbrother, but to take the field without delay and march againsthim; as the army which was under his orders was sufficient toenable him to acquire the whole provinces of the empire, andwould increase on the march by means of the provinces whichintervened between Quito and Cusco. Atahualpa followed thisadvice and gradually made himself master of the country throughwhich he marched. Huascar, on hearing of the hostile proceedingsof his brother, sent some light-armed troops against him. Thecommander of these troops advanced to the province of Tumibambaabout a hundred leagues from Quito; and learning that Atahualpahad taken the field, he sent a courier to Cuzco with notice ofthe state of the affairs, and to request that he might befurnished with two thousand officers of experience; by means ofwhom he could arm thirty thousand men of the warlike provincecalled Cagnares which remained in allegiance to Huascar.These two thousand experienced warriors were immediately sent, bywhose means, and with assistance of the curacas of Tumibamba,Chaparras, Paltas, and Cagnares[34], in that neighbourhood,Huascars general was enabled to collect a formidable army.Atahualpa marched against this army, with whom he fought a battlewhich lasted three days, in which he was at last defeated andmade prisoner, in attempting to escape by the bridge ofTumibamba.

[34] These names are not to be found in our bestmodern maps of Peru: but some other names not unlike, asMayobamba, Chachapoyas, Partas, and Caxamarca, are in the presentbishopric of Truxillo, the most northern in Peru proper, andtherefore likely to have been the seat of war against therevolters in Quito.--E.

While the army of Huascar was celebrating their victory withgreat feasts and rejoicings, Atahualpa contrived to escape fromthe tambos or palace of Tumibamba in which he wasconfined, by digging through a very thick wall with a bar ofcopper, which he procured from a woman. He returned immediatelyto Quito, where he collected the remains of his defeated army, towhom he represented that his father had changed him into aserpent, by which means he had been enabled to escape from hisprison through a small hole; and that his father had assured himof certain victory, if they would return along with him againstthe enemy. His troops were so much encouraged by this stratagem,that they followed him with great courage, believing themselvesinvincible under the protection of Huana Capac. He again attackedthe army of Huascar, which in this second battle was entirelydefeated. Such numbers were slain on both sides in these twobattles, that even to this day large quantities of human bonesremain in the places where they were fought. In pursuit of hisvictory, Atahualpa marched into the provinces which adhered tohis brother, which he destroyed with fire and sword. He entirelydestroyed the great city of Tumibamba, which stood on a plainwatered by three great rivers. In his pursuing his conquests, hegave no quarter wherever he met with resistance but granted mercyand peace to all such districts as submitted quietly to hisauthority, obliging all the warriors to join his army, which bythese means, increased continually as he advanced. On arriving atTumbez he was desirous to take possession of the island of Puna,but as the curaca of that island defended himselfcourageously, Atahualpa did not think it prudent to waste muchtime in the attempt, more especially as he had intelligence ofthe approach of Huascar with a numerous army; for which reason hecontinued his march towards Cuzco, and arrived at Caxamarca,where he established his head-quarters. From this place hedetached two of his principal officers at the head of two orthree thousand light armed troops, with orders to reconnoitre thearmy of the enemy, and to bring him word of their numbers andsituation. When this party had arrived at no great distance fromthe camp of the enemy, they quitted the direct road and made acircuit among the woods and mountains, to prevent the enemy fromdiscovering them. Procuring intelligence that Huascar had retiredto a place at some distance from his camp, attended by sevenhundred of his principal officers and nobles, on purpose to avoidthe noise and confusion of his great army, they attacked hisquarters by surprise, easily defeated his small escort, and madehim prisoner. While endeavouring to make good their retreat tothe camp of Atahualpa with their great prize, they weresurrounded on every side by the vast army of the enemy, whichcould easily have exterminated them, being at least thirty toone. But the commanders of this fortunate detachment, immediatelytold Huascar that they would put him to death, if he did notinstantly give orders to his army to retire: and at the same timeassured him that his brother Atahualpa had no farther desire thanto be permitted to enjoy the kingdom of Quito in peace, for whichhe would do homage to him as his king and lord. Huascar,terrified by the prospect of death, and believing their promiseof restoration to liberty and dominion, issued peremptory ordersto his army to desist from their intended attack and to return toCuzco, which they did accordingly; and the Atahualpan officerscarried Huascar a prisoner to Caxamarca, where they delivered himup to their master. Thus were the affairs of Peru situated whenDon Francisco Pizarro arrived in that country with the Spaniards;which conjuncture was exceedingly favourable to his views ofconquest, of which we shall give an account in the next section,as the great army of Huascar was entirely dispersed, andAtahualpa had dismissed a great proportion of his troops, afterthis fortunate event, which had placed his enemy in hishands.

Of the Peruvian History before the arrival of theSpaniards[35].

[35] The whole of this appendix to the first sectionis an addition to Zarate, extracted from Garcilasso de la Vegaand Robertson; which, being too long for a note, has been placedin the text. The introductory part of this deduction is from theHistory of America, Vol. II p. 289. The list of kings is fromGarcilasso, whose disarranged work is too confused forquotation.--E.

"Peru, like the rest of the New World, was originallypossessed by small independent tribes, differing from each otherin manners, and in their forms of rude policy. All, however, wereso little civilized, that, if the traditions concerning theirmode of life, preserved among their descendants, deserve credit,they must be classed among the most unimproved savages ofAmerica. Strangers to every species of cultivation or regularindustry, without any fixed residence, and unacquainted withthose sentiments and obligations which form the first bonds ofsocial union, they are said to have roamed naked about theforests with which their country was then covered, more like wildbeasts than like men. After they had struggled for ages with thehardships and calamities which are inevitable in such a state,and when no circ*mstance seemed to indicate the approach of anyuncommon effort towards improvement, we are told that thereappeared on the banks of the lake Titicaca, a man and woman ofmajestic form, and clothed in decent garments. They declaredthemselves to be children of the sun, sent by their beneficentparent, who beheld with pity the miseries of the human race, andwho had commanded them to instruct and reclaim them. At theirpersuasion, enforced by reverence for the divinity in whose namethey were supposed to speak, several of the dispersed savagesunited together, and receiving their commands as heavenlyinstructions, followed them to Cuzco where they settled, andwhere they begun to lay the foundations of a city, afterwards thecapital of Peru."

"Manco Capac and Mama Ocollo, for such were the names of theseextraordinary personages, having thus collected some wanderingtribes, formed that social union which, by multiplying thedesires, and uniting the efforts of the human species, excitesindustry and leads to improvement. Manco Capac instructed the menin agriculture and other useful arts; Mama Ocollo taught thewomen to spin and weave. By the labour of the one sex subsistencebecame less precarious; by that of the other life was renderedmore comfortable. After securing the object of first necessity inan infant state, by providing food, raiment, and habitations forthe rude people of whom he took charge, Manco Capac turned hisattention towards introducing such laws and policy as mightperpetuate their happiness. By his institutions, the variousrelations in private life were established, and the dutiesresulting from them prescribed with such propriety, as graduallyformed a barbarous people to decency of manners. In publicadministration, the functions of persons in authority were soprecisely defined, and the subordination of those underjurisdiction maintained with such a steady hand, that the societyin which he presided soon assumed the aspect of a regular andwell-governed state."

"Thus, according to the Indian traditions, was founded theempire of the Incas, or Lords of Peru. At first its extentwas small; as the territory of Manco Capac did not reach aboveeight leagues from Cuzco: But within these narrow limits heexercised an uncontrolled authority. His successors, as theirdominions extended, arrogated a similar jurisdiction over the newsubjects which they acquired; the despotism of Asia was not morecomplete. The Incas were not only obeyed as monarchs, but reveredas divinities. Their blood was held to be sacred, and byprohibiting intermarriages with the people, was nevercontaminated by mixing with that of any other race. The familythus separated from the rest of the nation, was distinguished bypeculiarities in dress and ornaments, which it was unlawful forothers to assume. The monarch himself appeared with ensigns ofroyalty reserved for him alone; and received from his subjectsmarks of obsequious homage and respect, which approached almostto adoration. But among the Peruvians, this unbounded power oftheir monarchs seems to have been uniformly accompanied withattention to the good of their subjects. It was not the rage ofconquests, if we may believe the accounts of their countrymen,that prompted the Incas to extend their dominion, but the desireof diffusing the blessings of civilization, and the knowledge ofthe arts which they possessed, among the barbarous people whomthey reduced. During a succession of twelve monarchs, it is saidthat not one deviated from this beneficent character."

"When the Spaniards first visited the coast of Peru in 1526,Huana Capac, the twelfth monarch from the founder of the state,was seated on the throne. He is represented as a princedistinguished not only for the pacific virtues peculiar to therace, but eminent for his martial talents. By his victorious armsthe kingdom of Quito was subjected, a conquest of such extent andimportance as almost doubled the power of the Peruvian empire. Hewas fond of residing in the capital of that valuable provincewhich he had added to his dominions; and notwithstanding theancient and fundamental law of the monarchy against polluting theroyal blood by any foreign alliance, he married the daughter ofthe vanquished monarch of Quito. She bore him a son namedAtahualpa, whom, on his death at Quito, which seems to havehappened about the year 1529, he appointed his successor in thatkingdom, leaving the rest of his dominions to Huascar, his eldestson, by a mother of the royal race. Greatly as the Peruviansrevered the memory of a monarch who had reigned with greaterreputation and splendour than any of his predecessors, thedestination of Huana Capac concerning the succession appeared sorepugnant to a maxim coeval with the empire, and founded onauthority deemed sacred, that it was no sooner known at Cuzcothan it excited general disgust. Encouraged by those sentimentsof his subjects, Huascar required his brother to renounce thegovernment of Quito, and to acknowledge him as his lawfulsuperior. But it had been the first care of Atahualpa to gain alarge body of troops which had accompanied his father to Quito.These were the flower of the Peruvian warriors, to whose valourHuana Capac had been indebted for all his victories. Atahuaipafirst eluded the demand of his brother, and then marched againsthim in hostile array."

"Thus the ambition of two young princes, the title of the onefounded on ancient usage, and of the other asserted by theveteran troops, involved Peru in civil war, a calamity to whichit had been hitherto a stranger, under a succession of virtuousmonarchs. In such a contest the issue was obvious. The force ofarms triumphed over the authority of laws. Atahualpa remainedvictorious, and made a cruel use of his victory. Conscious of thedefect in his own title to the throne, he attempted toexterminate the royal race, by putting to death all the childrenof the sun descended from Manco Capac, whom he could seize eitherby force or stratagem. From a political motive, the life of theunfortunate Huascar, who had been taken prisoner in a battlewhich decided the fate of the empire, was prolonged for sometime; that, by issuing orders in his name, the usurper might moreeasily establish his own authority."

"When Pizarro landed in the bay of St Matthew, in 1531, thiscivil war raged between the two brothers in its greatest fury;and though the two competitors received early accounts of thearrival of the Spaniards, they were so intent upon the operationsof a war which they deemed more interesting, that they gave noattention to the motions of an enemy too inconsiderable in numberto excite any great alarm, and to whom it would be easy, as theyimagined, to give a check when more at leisure. By this fortunatecoincidence of events, of which he could have no foresight, andof which he remained long ignorant from its defective mode ofintercourse with the people of the country, Pizarro was permittedto advance unmolested into the centre of a great empire, beforeany effort of its power was exerted to stop his career. Duringtheir progress, the Spaniards acquired some imperfect knowledgeof the struggle between the two contending factions; and thefirst complete information respecting it was received frommessengers sent by Huascar to Pizarro, to solicit his aid againstAtahualpa, whom he represented as a rebel and an usurper."

Manco Capac, the first Inca of the Peruvians, is said to havereigned about the middle of the twelfth century, as thetraditionary accounts attribute a period of about 400 yearsbetween the commencement of his reign and the decease of HuanaCapac in 1529, which would place the origin of the monarchy aboutthe year 1129, allowing an average of 30 years to each of 13successive reigns. The traditions of such ancient matters amongan ignorant people are little to be depended on; and evenadmitting the series of kings to be right as to number, theordinary average of twenty years to each of thethirteen successive reigns would only give 260 years forthe duration of the monarchy, and would carry back thecommencement of the reign of Manco Capac only to the year 1269.The series of these kings, as given by various Spanish writers,according to the traditions of the Peruvians, is as follows:

1. Manco Capac. 2. Sinchi Roca. 3. Lloque Yupanqui. 4. MaytaCapac. 5. Capac Yupanqui. 6. Inca Roca. 7. Yahuar Huacac. 8. IncaRoca, likewise named Viracocha. 9. Pachacutec[36]. 10. Yupanqui.11. Tupac Yupanqui. 12. Huana Capac. 13. Huascar, orInti-cusi-Hualpa. 14. Atahualpa. 15. Manco Capac the Second,crowned at Cuzco by permission of Pizarro; afterwards revoltedand retired to the mountains. 16. Sayri Tupac; who resigned thenominal sovereignty of Peru to Philip II. He died a Christian,and left one daughter who married a Spaniard named Onez deLoyola, and from whom are descended the marquisses of Orepesa andAlcanises.

[36] By some authors an Inca Roca is here interposed,who was deposed after a reign of eleven days.--E.

As the empire of Peru was made up of many barbarous tribes,its native inhabitants spoke many languages or dialects, whichwere only understood in their own particular districts. Thelanguage of the ruling people or tribe to which the royal familybelonged, called the Quichua, was solely used at court,and we have already seen that the sons of all the chiefs orcuracas of the empire were ordered to be educated at Cuzco, thatthey might be all able to converse with the sovereign. In thislanguage the sounds of b, d, f, g, and r, are saidto have been wanting; and yet that of the r occurs in thenames of several of their kings. Garcilasso says that this letterhad a guttural sound, perhaps resembling the burr, or parlergras of the French: And it is alleged that this language of acomparatively barbarous people was nearly as copious and asartificial as the Greek. The following specimens are given in theModern Geography, III. 585, to which are added two examples ofwhat are called Peruvian poetry, from Garcilasso de la Vega, p.50. The nouns in this language are declined by altering theterminations thus; Runa, a man; Runap, of a man;Runapac, to a man, &c. The verbs have also moods andtenses, the terminations often extending to a great length.

 1. Huc 5. Chumpi, picheca. 9. Yscon. 2. Yscay 6. Zocta. 10. Chunca. 3. Quimza 7. Canchis. 100. Pachac. 4. Tahua 8. Puzac. 1000. Huaranca. The Andes....Anti A Hog.........Cuchi The Arm......Ricra A House.......Huaci Bad..........Mana alli[A] A Husband.....Coza The Beard....Zunca Iron..........Quellay Beauty.......Zumay A King........Capac, Inca The Belly....Vicza A Lake........Cocha A Brother....Huauquey A Lance.......Chuqui A Canoe......Huampu Land..........Allpa To Die.......Huauny, pitini Little........Huchuy A Dog........Alles Love..........Cuyay, munay To Drink.....Upiana A man.........Runa The Ears.....Rinri The Moon......Quilla Eared, or having Mother........Mama great ears...Ringrim A Mountain....Puna, acha To Eat.......Micuni The Mouth.....Simi An Emerald...Umina No............Maria The Eye......Naui The Nose......Cenca A Family.....Ayllu A Queen, or Father.......Mayu Princess...Coya Fire.........Nina A Sacrifice...Arpay Many fires...Ninanina Sand..........Aco A Fish.......Challhua The Sea.......Atun cocha[B] Flesh........Aycha .......Mama cocha[C] A Foot.......Chaqui A Ship........Huampu[D] A Friend.....Cocho Silver........Collqui Good.........Alli A Sister......Panay Gold.........Cori Snow..........Riti Gold dust....Chichi cori A Son.........Churi Great........Hatun A Stone.......Rumi A Hatchet....Avri, champi The Sun.......Inti The Hair.....Caspa Water.........Unu, yaco The Hand.....Maqui Woman.........Huami The Head.....Uma Yes...........Y

Specimen of Peruvian poetry.

Caylla Llapi To the Song Pununqui I will Sleep,Chaupitua At Midnight Samusac I will come.

[A] Not good.

[B] Great Lake.

[C] Mother Lake.

[D] Huampu likewise signifies a canoe, and probably a shipmight be named Atun huampu, a great canoe.--E.

SECTION II.

Transactions of Pizarro and the Spaniards in Peru, from thecommencement of the Conquest, till the departure of Almagro forthe Discovery of Chili.

After the return of Don Francisco Pizarro from Spain toPanama, he made every preparation in his power for the conquestof Peru, in which he was not seconded with the same spirit asformerly by his companion Almagro, by which their affairs wereconsiderably retarded, as Almagro was the richer man and hadgreater credit among the settlers. Diego Almagro, as formerlymentioned, was much dissatisfied with Pizarro for havingneglected his interest in his applications to his majesty; but atlength became pacified by his apologies and promises, and theirfriendship was renewed; yet Almagro could never be thoroughlyreconciled to the brothers of Pizarro, more especially Ferdinand,against whom he had a rooted dislike. Owing to these disputes aconsiderable time elapsed; but at length Ferdinand Ponce deLeon[1] fitted out a ship which belonged to him, in which DonFrancisco Pizarro embarked with all the soldiers he couldprocure, which were very few in number, as the people in Panamawere much discouraged by the great difficulties and hardshipswhich had been suffered in the former attempt, and the poorsuccess which had then been met with[2]. Pizarro set sail aboutthe commencement of the year 1531; and in consequence of contrarywinds was obliged to land on the coast of Peru a hundred leaguesmore to the north than he intended[3]; by which means he wasreduced to the necessity of making a long and painful march downthe coast, where he and his troops suffered great hardships fromscarcity of provisions, and by the extreme difficulty of crossingthe different rivers which intersected their line of march, allof which they had to pass near their mouths, where they are wideand deep, insomuch that both men and horses had often to passthem by swimming. The courage and address of Pizarro wasconspicuous amidst these difficulties, by encouraging thesoldiers, and frequently exposing himself to danger for theirrelief, even assisting those who were unable to swim. Theyarrived at length at a place named Coaque[4] on the seaside, which was well peopled, and where they procured abundanceof provisions to refresh and restore them after the hardships andprivations they had undergone. From that place, Pizarro sent backone of his vessels to Panama, and the other to Nicaragua, sendingby them above 30,000 castillanas[5] of gold, which he hadseized at Coaque, to encourage fresh adventurers to join him, bygiving a specimen of the riches of the country. At Coaque theSpaniards found some excellent emeralds, as this country beingunder the line, is the only place where such precious stones areto be had. Several of these were destroyed by the Spaniards, whobroke them in order to examine their nature; as they were soignorant as to believe that good emeralds ought to bear thehammer without breaking, like diamonds. Believing therefore thatthe Indians might impose false stones upon them, they broke manyof great value through their ignorance. The Spaniards were hereafflicted by a singular disease, formerly mentioned, whichproduced a dangerous kind of warts or wens on their heads facesand other parts of their body, extremely sore and loathsome, ofwhich some of the soldiers died, but most of them recovered,though almost every one was less or more affected.

[1] With regard to this person, the original Frenchtranslator makes the following observation: "Perhaps this is theperson named Hernando de Luque at the beginning of the firstsection, who is said to have been one of the original adventurersin the enterprize. If so, the name of de Luque on the formeroccasion may be an error of the press."--It must be observedhowever, that Garcilasso de la Vega names the third person of theoriginal fraternity Hernando de Luque, and makes no mentionwhatever of Ponce de Leon.--E.

[2] Neither Zarate nor Garcilasso mention the numberof troops embarked on this expedition, but we learn fromRobertson, II. 206, that the whole armament consisted of 180soldiers, 36 of whom were horsem*n.--E.

[3] According to Robertson, II. 293, Pizarro landedin the bay of St Matthew. The distance of 100 Spanish leaguesfrom Tumbez, mentioned by Garcilasso as the intended place oflanding, would lead us to the Rio de Santjago in lat. 1° S.on the coast of Tacames or Esmeraldas. Garcilasso says thatPizarro had two vessels, which he immediately sent back toPanama. But these seem to have accompanied the march of Pizarroto Coaque.--E.

[4] From the sequel, this place appears to have beenin the province of Tacames.--E.

[5] A species of gold coin worth 14 reals 18maravedies. Garcilasso says that Pizarro sent 24000 or 25000ducats of gold to Almagro, part of which was plunder, and partreceived in ransom for prisoners.--E.

Leaving Coaque on account of this strange disease, whichPizarro attributed to the malignity of the air, he marched on tothat province or district in which Puerto Viejo nowstands, and easily reduced all the surrounding country tosubjection. The captains Sebastian Benalcazar and Juan Fernandezjoined him at this place, with a small reinforcement of horse andfoot, which they brought from Nicaragua[6].

[6] In making this small progress the whole of theyear 1531 had been employed, and the year 1532 was already begunbefore Pizarro left Coaque.--Roberts. H. of Amer. II.288.

Having reduced the province of Puerto Viejo to subjection,Pizarro proceeded with all his troops to the harbour ofTumbez, whence he determined to pass over into the islandof Puna, which is opposite to that port. For this purpose hecaused a number of flats or rafts to be constructed after themanner of the Peruvians, formerly mentioned, to transport his menand horses to the island, which is above twenty miles from theriver of Tumbez. The Spaniards were in imminent danger in thispassage, as the Indians who guided their floats had resolved tocut the cords by which their planks were held together, onpurpose to drown the men and horses; but as Pizarro had somesuspicion or intimation of their secret intentions, he orderedall his people to be on their guard, constantly sword in hand,and to keep a watchful eye on the Indians. On arriving in theisland, the inhabitants received them courteously and requestedthat there might be peace between them; yet it was soon knownthat they had concealed their warriors in ambush, with theintention of massacring the Spaniards during the night. WhenPizarro was informed of this treachery, he attacked and defeatedthe Indians, and took the principal cacique of the island; andnext morning made himself master of the enemies camp, which wasdefended by a considerable body of warriors. Learning thatanother body of the islanders had attacked the flat vessels orrafts in which they had come over, Pizarro and his brothers wentin all haste to assist the Spanish guard which had the care ofthem, and drove away the enemy with considerable slaughter. Inthese engagements two or three of the Spaniards were killed, andseveral wounded, among whom was Gonzalo Pizarro, who received adangerous hurt on the knee.

Soon after this action, Hernando de Soto arrived fromNicaragua with a considerable reinforcement of foot and horse.But finding it difficult to subdue the islanders effectually, asthey kept their canoes concealed among the mangrove trees whichgrow in the water, Pizarro resolved to return to Tumbez; moreespecially as the air of Puna is unwholesome from its extremeheat, and the marshy nature of its shores. For this reason hedivided all the gold which had been collected in the island, andabandoned the place. In this island of Puna, the Spaniards foundabove six hundred prisoners, men and women, belonging to thedistrict of Tumbez, among whom was one of the principal nobles ofthat place. On the 16th May 1532, Pizarro set all these people atliberty, and supplied them with barks or floats to carry themhome to Tumbez; sending likewise in one of these barks along withthe liberated Indians, three Spaniards to announce his own speedyarrival. The Indians of Tumbez repaid this great favour with theblackest ingratitude, as immediately on their arrival, theysacrificed these three Spaniards to their abominable idols.Hernando de Soto made a narrow escape from meeting with the samefate: He was embarked on one of these floats, with a singleservant, along with some of the Indians, and had already enteredthe river of Tumbez, when he was seen by Diego de Aguero andRoderick Lozan, who had already landed, and who made him stop thefloat and land beside them; otherwise, if he had been carried upto Tumbez, he would certainly have been put to death.

From the foregoing treachery of the inhabitants of Tumbez, itmay readily be supposed that they were by no means disposed tofurnish barks for the disembarkation of the Spanish troops andhorses; so that on the first evening, only the Governor DonFrancisco Pizarro, with his brothers Ferdinand and Juan, thebishop Don Vincente de Valverde, captain de Soto, and the othertwo Spaniards already mentioned, Aguero and Lozan, were able toland. These gentlemen had to pass the whole night on horsebackentirely wet, as the sea was very rough, and they had no Indiansto guide their bark, which the Spaniards did not know how tomanage, so that it overset while they were endeavouring to land.In the morning, Ferdinand Pizarro remained on the shore to directthe landing of the troops, while the governor and the others whohad landed rode more than two leagues into the country withoutbeing able to find a single Indian, as all the natives had armedthemselves and retired to the small hills in the neighbourhood.On returning towards the coast, he met the captains Mina andSalcedo, who had rode to meet him with several of the cavalrywhich had disembarked. He returned with them to Tumbez, where heencamped with all the troops he was able to collect.

Soon afterwards, Captain Benalcazar arrived with the rest ofthe troops from the island of Puna, where he had been obliged toremain till the return of the vessels, as there was not enough ofshipping to contain the whole at once. While he waited for thevessels, he had to defend himself from continual attacks of theislanders; but now rejoined the governor with very little loss.Pizarro remained above twenty days at Tumbez, during which timehe used every endeavour to persuade the cacique to enter intoterms of peace, by sending him repeated messages to that effect,but all to no purpose. On the contrary, the natives did everyinjury in their power to our people, and especially to theservants and others who went out into the country in search ofprovisions; while the Spaniards were unable to retaliate, as theIndians kept always on the opposite side of the river. Thegovernor caused three barks or floats to be brought up secretlyfrom the coast, in which he crossed the river during the night,with his brothers Juan and Gonzalo, and the Captains Benalcazarand Soto, with above fifty horsem*n. With these he made a veryfatiguing march before day, as the road was very difficult anduneven, and full of knolls overgrown with brambles and bushes.About day break he came unexpectedly to the Indian camp, which heimmediately attacked and carried, putting many of the natives tothe sword; and for fifteen days he pursued them into all theirhaunts, making a cruel war upon them with fire and sword, inrevenge for the three Spaniards whom they had sacrificed. Atlength, the principal cacique of Tumbez sued for peace, and madesome presents of gold and silver in token of submission.

Having thus reduced the province of Tumbez, Pizarro left apart of his troops there under the charge of Antonio de Navarreand Alonso Requelme, the former of whom was Contador orcomptroller of accounts, and the latter treasurer, both in theservice of his majesty. Taking along with himself the greaterpart of his troops, he went forwards to the riverPoechos[7], thirty leagues to the southward of Tumbez, inwhich march, as the caciques and inhabitants received himpeaceably, he conducted himself in a friendly manner to thenatives. Passing beyond the before mentioned river, he came tothe bay of Payta, which is the best on all that coast; whence hedetached de Soto to reduce the caciques inhabiting the banks ofthe river Amatape or Chira, in which he succeeded after a slightresistance, all the caciques and natives submitting and demandingpeace.

[7] Perhaps that now called Mancora, intermediatebetween the river of Tumbez and that of Piura. In this routePizarro had to cross a mountainous district, not mentioned byZarate, called the hills of Castro, Aguarro, andPachini--E.

While at this place, Pizarro received a message from Cuzco bycertain envoys sent by Huascar, informing him of the revolt ofhis brother Atahualpa, and requesting his assistance to establishhim, as the lawful sovereign, in his just rights[8]. On thereceipt of this message, Pizarro determined to take advantage ofthe divisions in Peru. He sent therefore his brother Ferdinand toTumbez to bring the troops from thence; and established a colonyat San Miguel in the district of Tangarara, near the sea on theriver Chira[9], as a port in which to receive vessels coming withreinforcements from Panama. Having placed a garrison in StMiguel, and made a division of all the gold and silver which hadbeen procured since leaving Puna, the governor marched with therest of his army for the province of Caxamarca, in which he wasinformed that Atahualpa then was[10].

[8] Garcillasso suspects that this message must havecome from some curaca in the interest of Huascar, who wasthen a prisoner to Atahualpa.--E.

[9] San Miguel stands on the river Piuru, which runsinto the sea upwards of forty miles farther south than the Chira.This colony being intended for a harbour to receivereinforcements, was probably first established at the mouth ofthe river, where Sechura now stands. The present town of SanMiguel is near thirty miles from the sea--E.

[10] In this adventurous march into the interior ofan extensive empire, the forces commanded by Pizarro, who had nowreceived several reinforcements, consisted of 62 horsem*n and 102foot soldiers, twenty of whom were armed with cross-bows, andonly three carried muskets or rather matchlocks.--Robertson, H.of Amer. II. 295. He appears also to have had two smallfield-pieces.--E.

On this march towards Caxamarca, the Spaniards sufferedintolerably, while passing through the dry and burning sandydesert of Sechura, where for above fifty miles they could notfind any water to drink, or a single tree to shelter them fromthe sun. This desert reaches from San Miguel or the river Piurato the province of Motupe, in which latter they found some wellpeopled vallies full of verdure, and were supplied with abundanceof provisions and refreshments to restore them after the fatiguesand privations they had suffered in the desert. Marching fromthence by way of the mountain towards Caxamarca, Pizarro was metby an envoy from Atahualpa, bringing presents from that prince,among which were painted slippers and golden bracelets. Thismessenger informed the governor, that, when he appeared beforeAtahualpa, he must wear these slippers and bracelets, that theprince might know who he was[11]. Pizarro received this envoywith much kindness, and promised to do every thing that had beenrequired on the part of Atahualpa; desiring the envoy to informhis sovereign that he might be assured of receiving no injuryfrom him or the Spaniards, on condition that the Peruvianstreated them with peace and friendship; as he had it in ordersfrom the king his master, who had sent him to this country, to dono harm to any one without just cause.

[11] This envoy would assuredly bring some othermessage; and accordingly Robertson, II. 296, says that he offeredan alliance, and a friendly reception at Caxamarca. Garcilassogives a long and vague account of the object of this message, andenumerates many articles of provisions and curiosities, and somerich presents of gold and silver dishes and vases which were senton this occasion by Atahualpa to Pizarro.--E.

On the departure of the Peruvian envoy, Pizarro continued hismarch with great precaution, being uncertain whither the Indiansmight not attack him during the passage of the mountains, in onepart of which he had to pass through an almost inaccessiblenarrow defile, where a few resolute men might have destroyed hiswhole party. On his arrival at Caxamarca, he found anothermessenger from Atahualpa, who desired that he would not presumeto take up his quarters in that place until he receivedpermission for the purpose. Pizarro made no answer to thismessage, but immediately took up his quarters in a large court,on one side of which there was a house or palace of the Inca, andon the other side a temple of the sun, the whole beingsurrounded, by a strong wall or rampart of earth. When he hadposted his troops in this advantageous situation, he sent captainSoto at the head of twenty horsem*n to the camp of Atahualpa,which was at the distance of a league from Caxamarca, with ordersto announce his arrival. On coming towards the presence ofAtahualpa, Soto pushed his horse into a full career, making himprance and curvet to the great terror of many of the Peruvians,who ran away in a prodigious fright. Atahualpa was so muchdispleased at his subjects for their cowardice, that he orderedall who had run away from the horse to be immediately put todeath.

After Soto had delivered his message, Atahualpa declinedgiving any direct answer, not choosing to address his discourseimmediately to Soto: He spoke first to one of his attendantchiefs, who communicated what the king had said to theinterpreter, after which the interpreter explained what had beensaid to Soto. While this circuitous conversation was going on,Ferdinand Pizarro arrived with some more horsem*n, and addressedAtahualpa in the name of his brother, to the following effect."That his brother the general had been sent to wait uponAtahualpa by his sovereign Don Carlos with an offer of friendshipand alliance, and wished therefore to have an audience of hismajesty, that he might communicate what had been given to him incharge by the king of Spain." To this Atahualpa replied; "That heaccepted with pleasure the offer of friendship from the general,provided he would restore to his subjects all the gold and silverhe had taken from them, and would immediately quit the country;and that on purpose to settle an amicable arrangement, he meantnext day to visit the Spanish general in the palace ofCaxamarca."

After visiting the Peruvian camp, which had the appearance ofan immense city, from the prodigious multitude of tents and thevast numbers of men which it contained, Ferdinand Pizarroreturned to his brother, to whom he gave a faithful account ofevery thing he had seen, and of the words of Atahualpa. Theanswer of that prince gave some considerable uneasiness toPizarro, as having rather a menacing appearance, more especiallyconsidering that the army of the Peruvians outnumbered his ownsmall force in the proportion of one or two hundred to one. Yetas the general and most of those who were with him were men ofbold and determined resolution, they encouraged each other duringthe night to act like men of courage and honour, trusting to theassistance of God in the discharge of their duty. They passed thewhole night under arms, keeping strict watch round theirquarters, and in complete readiness for whatever might befal.

Early in the morning of the 16th November 1532, Pizarro drewup his small body of men in regular order. Dividing his cavalryinto three bodies, under the command of his three brothers,Ferdinand, Juan, and Gonzalo, assisted by the Captains Soto andBenalcazar, he ordered to keep themselves concealed within theirquarters till they should receive orders to attack. He remainedhimself at the head of the infantry, in another part of theinclosed court, having issued the strictest commands that no oneshould make the smallest motion without his orders, which were tobe conveyed by the discharge of the artillery.

Atahualpa employed a great part of the day in arranging histroops in order of battle, pointing out to each of the commanderswhere and in what manner their divisions were to attack theSpaniards. He likewise sent a detachment of 5000 Peruvianwarriors under one of his principal officers named Ruminagui,with orders to take possession of the defile by which theSpaniards had penetrated the mountain, and to kill every one ofthem who might endeavour to escape in that way[12]. Atahualpahaving given all these orders, began his march and advanced soslowly that in four hours his army hardly proceeded a shortleague. He was carried in his litter in the usual state, on theshoulders of some of the principal lords of his court, havingthree hundred Indians marching before him in rich uniforms, whor*moved every stone or other substance which might obstruct theway, even carefully picking up the smallest straws. He wasfollowed by a numerous train of curacas or caciques, andprincipal officers of his court, all carried in litters. ThePeruvians held the Spaniards in small estimation, they were sofew in number, and imagined they could easily make them allprisoners without presuming to make the smallest resistance. Oneof the caciques had sent to inform Atahualpa not to stand in anyawe of the Spaniards, as they were not only few in number, but soeffeminate and lazy that they were unable to march on footwithout being tired by a very short distance, for which reasonthey travelled on the backs of large sheep, by which namethey distinguished our horses.

[12] Robertson, II. 299, suppresses all mention ofany hostile intentions on the part of Atahualpa.--E.

In the order already described, Atahualpa entered with all hisarmy and attendants into a large square or enclosure in front ofthe tambos or palace of Caxamarca; and seeing theSpaniards so few in number and all on foot, as the cavalryremained in concealment, he conceived that they would notcertainly dare to stand before him or to resist his commands.Rising up therefore in his litter, be said to his attendants,"These people are all in our power, and will assuredlysurrender." To which they all answered that this was certainlythe case. At this time, the bishop Don Vincente Valverde advancedtowards Atahualpa, holding a crucifix in one hand and hisbreviary in the other, and addressed him to the followingeffect.

"There is but one God in three persons who has created theheavens and the earth and all that are therein. He formed Adamthe first man out of the dust of the earth, and afterwards madeEve his wife from a rib taken out of his side. All thegenerations of men are descended from these our first parents, bywhose disobedience we have all become sinners, unworthy thereforeof the grace and mercy of God, and beyond the hope of heaven,until Jesus Christ our Redeemer was born of the Virgin andsuffered death to purchase for us life and immortality. After ourLord had suffered a shameful death upon the cross, he rose againin a glorious manner; and, having remained a short time on earth,he ascended into Heaven, leaving St Peter his vicar on earth, andafter him his successors who dwell in Rome, and are named popesby the Christians. These holy successors of St Peter have dividedall the countries of the world among the Christian kings andprinces, giving in charge to each to subdue that portion whichhas been alotted to him. This country of Peru having fallen tothe share of his imperial and royal majesty, the emperor DonCarlos king of Spain, that great monarch hath sent in his placethe governor Don Francisco Pizarro, now present, to make known toyou on the part of God and the king of Spain, all that I have nowsaid. If you are disposed to believe all this, to receivebaptism, and to obey the emperor, as is done by the greatestportion of the Christian world, that great prince will protectand defend you and your country in peace, causing justice to beadministered to all. He will likewise confirm all your rights andliberties, as he is accustomed to do to all the kings and princeswho have voluntarily submitted to his authority. But if yourefuse this and choose to run the hazard of war, the governorwill attack you with fire and sword, and is ready at this momentto do so with arms in his hand[13]."

[13] Robertson, note cxxx, justly observes, that theextravagant and absurd discourse of Valverde, of which that givenby Zarate in the text is an epitome, is merely a translation orparaphrase of a form, concerted in 1509 by a junto of Spanishlawyers and divines, for directing the office employed in the NewWorld how to take possession of any new country.--E.

When Atahualpa had listened to this discourse, veryimperfectly rendered by an ignorant interpreter, he answered,"That the whole of this country had been conquered by his fatherand his ancestors, who had left it in rightful succession to hiselder brother the inca Huascar. That he having been conquered andtaken prisoner, Atahualpa held himself as legitimate sovereign,and could not conceive how St Peter could pretend to give it awayto any one, without the knowledge and consent of him to whom itbelonged. As for Jesus Christ, who he said had created heaven andearth and man and all other things, he knew nothing of all this,believing that the sun his father was the creator of all, whom heand his nation venerated as a god, worshipping likewise the earthas the mother of all things, and the guacas as subordinatedivinities, and that Pachacama was the supreme ruler and creatorof all things. As for what he had said of the king of Spain, heknew nothing at all about the matter, never having seen him." Atthe last, he asked the bishop where he had learnt all thosethings which he had been telling him. Valverde answered him thatall these things were contained in the book which he held in hishand, which was the word of God. Atahualpa asked it from him,opened the book turning over its leaves, saying that it saidnothing to him, and threw it on the ground. The bishop thenturning to the Spaniards, called out, "To arms! to arms!Christians: The word of God is insulted."

Pizarro being of opinion that he would be easily destroyed ifhe waited for the attack of the Peruvians, immediately orderedhis soldiers to advance to the charge, sending word to hisbrothers and the other officers who commanded the cavalry toexecute the orders which they had already received. He likewiseordered the artillery and the crossbows to commence firing uponthe Indians, on which the cavalry, as had been concerted, salliedforth and charged through among the Indians in three separatebodies; while he moved forwards at the head of the infantry,pushing directly for the litter in which Atahualpa was carried,the bearers of which they began to slay, while others pressed onto supply their places. As Pizarro was convinced that he and hispeople would be infallibly destroyed if the battle remained forany length of time undecided, the loss of one soldier being ofinfinitely worse consequence to him than the destruction ofhundreds was to the enemy, and that he gained nothing by thedeath of thousands of the Peruvians, determined to make everyeffort to gain possession of Atahualpa, for which purpose he cuthis way up to the litter in which he was carried; and seizing himby his long hair dragged him from his seat to the ground. Indoing this, as several of his soldiers were making cuts withtheir swords against the golden litter, one of their swordsglancing off wounded Pizarro in the hand. Paying no attention tothis wound, he held fast his rich prize, in spite of theendeavours of multitudes of Indians to rescue their sovereign,who were all either killed or driven away, and at length securedAtahualpa as his prisoner.

When the Peruvians saw their sovereign in the hands of theSpaniards, and found themselves assailed in so many places atonce by the enemy, especially by the horse, the fury of whosecharge they were unable to resist, they threw down their arms anddispersed in every direction, endeavouring to preserve theirlives by flight. A prodigious multitude of them being stopped bya corner of the great court or square, pressed with such violenceagainst the wall that a part of it gave way, forming a largebreach by which many of them escaped. The cavalry pursued thefugitives in every direction till night, when they returned toquarters[14].

[14] In this engagement, or massacre rather,according to one Spanish writer 2000 Peruvians were slain, whileanother author swells the number to six or seven thousand, and athird says five thousand. Of the Spaniards not one was even hurtexcept the general Pizarro, who was wounded in the hand by one ofhis own soldiers.--Roberts. Hist. of America. II. 302. and notecxxxi.

When Ruminagui heard the noise of the artillery, and saw acentinel who had been placed on the top of a rock thrown down bya Spaniard, he concluded that the Spaniards had gained thevictory; and was so much alarmed that he marched away with allhis men to Quito, never stopping for any time till he got to thatcity, which is two hundred and fifty leagues from Caxamarca.

Atahualpa being thus made prisoner, and his whole army havingtaken to flight, the Spaniards went next morning to pillage hiscamp, where they found a prodigious quantity of gold and silvervessels, excessively rich tents, stuffs, vestments, and manyother articles of immense value. The gold plate alone which wascarried along with the army for the use of Atahualpa exceeded thevalue of 60,000 pistoles[15]. Above 5000 women who were found inthe camp of the enemy voluntarily surrendered themselves to theSpaniards.

[15] Considerable even as this sum appears, it seemstoo small for the sovereign of so vast an empire which aboundedso much in gold; yet we have no means of correcting the amount.Garcilasso however mentions one piece of goid plate found in thebaths of Atahualpa after the battle worth 100,000 ducats; but hiswork is so strange a farrago of confusion and absurdity as tobear very little authority.--E.

The captive Atahualpa now made submissive application toPizarro, earnestly intreating to be well used, and made offer forhis ransom to deliver a quantity of gold that should fill a largechamber, besides so large a mass of silver that the Spaniardswould be unable to carry the whole away. Pizarro was astonishedat this magnificent offer, which he could hardly credit, yetpromised the fallen monarch that he should be well used, and evenengaged to restore his freedom if he made good his offer.Atahualpa was so much pleased with this promise, that heimmediately sent numerous messengers through the whole empire,particularly to Cuzco, ordering all the gold and silver thatcould be procured to be brought to Caxamarca to pay his ransom.He had promised an immense quantity, as he had engaged to fill along hall in the tambos or palace of Cazamarca as high ashe could reach with his hand[16], for which purpose the heightwas marked by a coloured line drawn round the whole room.Although large quantities of gold and silver arrived every dayafter this agreement, the Spaniards could not be satisfied thatthe promise of Atahualpa would ever be fulfilled. They began evento murmur at the delay, alleging that the time which had beenfixed by Atahualpa for the accomplishment of his promise wasalready past; and they alleged that he had fallen upon thisscheme on purpose to gain time for the assemblage of a new army,with which to attack them at unawares. As Atahualpa hadconsiderable sagacity, he soon noticed the discontent of theSpaniards, and asked Pizarro the reason. On being informed, hemade answer that they were in the wrong to complain of the delay,which was not such as to give any reasonable cause for suspicion.They ought to consider that Cuzco, from whence the far greaterpart of the gold had to be brought, was above 200 largeleagues distant from Caxamarca by an extremely difficult road, bywhich all the gold had to be carried on the shoulders of thePeruvians, and that very little time had elapsed for theaccomplishment of so laborious a work. Having thus endeavoured toexplain the cause of delay in payment of the ransom, he requestedthat they would satisfy themselves on the subject by inspectionthat he was actually able to perform his engagement; after whichthey would not think much of its being delayed a month more orless. For this purpose, he proposed that he should depute two orthree of the Spaniards, who might go to Cuzco, having orders fromhim to be shewn the royal treasures in that city, of which theywould then be able to bring back certain information to satisfythe rest.

[16] The omission of the length and breadth of thisroom by Zarate, is supplied by Robertson, ii. 503, from the otheroriginal Spanish authors, who say the room was 22 feet long by 16feet broad. The reach of Atahualpa could not be less than. 7-1/2feet, 2640 cubic feet of gold, even heaped up of hollow vessels,must have produced a most astonishing value of that preciousmetal; but there are no data on which to calculate the numericalvalue of this imperial ransom, which the Spaniards certainlymeant to accept, but would never have fulfilled thealternative.--E.

Opinions were much divided among the Spaniards, as to theadoption or rejection of this proposal. Several considered it isa most dangerous measure for any person to trust himself in thehand of the Peruvians, especially to so great a distance.Atahualpa considered this doubt of safety as very strange,especially as they had him in their hands as an hostage, togetherwith his wives, children, and brothers. On this, Hernando de Sotoand Pedro de Barco resolved to undertake the journey; andaccordingly by the directions of Atahualpa, they set out inlitters, each of which was carried on the shoulders of two men,with a number of other Peruvians accompanying them, to serve asreliefs when the others were tired. They were carried in thismanner almost as fast as if they had rode post; as the littercarriers went along with great swiftness, frequently relieved bythe others, of whom there were fifty or sixty in all.

Several days journey from Caxamarca, Soto and Barco met aparty of the troops of Atahualpa, who were escorting the IncaHuascar as a prisoner. This unfortunate prince, on learning whothey were, requested to have a conference with them, to whichthey consented, and in which he was distinctly informed of allthe recent events. On being informed of the intentions of hisimperial majesty Don Carlos, and of Pizarro, who commanded theSpaniards in his name, to cause impartial justice to be executedboth to the Peruvians and Spaniards, he laid before them adistinct account of the injustice which he had suffered from hisbrother Atahualpa, who not only wished to deprive him of thekingdom, which belonged to him of right, as the eldest son of thelate monarch Huana Capac, but now kept him a prisoner, with thedesign of putting him to death. He urged them to return to theirgeneral, and to lay his complaints before him, requesting thathe, who now had both competitors in his power, and wasconsequently entire master of the country, would judge betweenthem, and decree the possession of the empire to him who held thelawful right of succession. He farther promised, if Pizarro woulddo this, that he would not only fulfil all that Atahualpa hadpromised, which was to fill the apartment at Caxamarca to acertain height, but he would fill it with gold to the roof, whichwould be three times more than Atahualpa had promised. He assuredthem that he was better able to do all this, than was Atahualpato perform what he had promised; because Atahualpa, to implementhis engagement, would be under the necessity of stripping thetemple of the Sun at Cuzco of all the plates of gold and silverwith which it was lined; whereas he, Huascar, was in possessionof all the treasures which belonged to his father Huana Capac,and the former Incas, by which he was able to perform what he hadnow offered, and a great deal more.

All that he alleged was certainly true, as Huascar was inpossession of immense treasures, which he had hidden under groundin some secret place, unknown to all the world. On this occasion,he had employed many Indians to transport his wealth into theplace of concealment, after which he had ordered them all to beput to death, that they might not inform any one of the place.After the Spaniards were entire masters of the country, they madeevery possible search after these treasures, and even continuetheir search to the present day, digging in every place wherethey suspect they may be concealed, but hitherto without beingable to find them.

Soto and Barco told Huascar, that it was out of their power toturn back, being under the necessity of continuing the journey onwhich they had been sent by order of their general; but that ontheir return they would make a faithful report of all he hadsaid. They accordingly went on their way towards Cuzco. But thismeeting and conference occasioned the death of Huascar, and theloss to the Spaniards of the vast treasure he had promised forhis liberty and restoration. The captains who had the custody ofHuascar made a report to Atahualpa of all that had passed in theinterview between their prisoner and the Spanish messengers; andAtahualpa had sufficient sagacity to see, if these matters cameto the knowledge of Pizarro, that he would feel inclined to takepart with Huascar, especially in consideration of the prodigiousquantity of gold which had been offered for his interference. Hehad remarked the extreme eagerness of the Spaniards for thepossession of gold, and feared that they would deprive him of thekingdom, and give it his brother, and might put himself to death,as an unjust usurper of the clear rights of another. Beingdisposed, from these motives, to order his brother Huascar to beput to death, he was only restrained from doing this immediatelyby one circ*mstance. He had frequently heard from the Christians,that one of their principal laws, which was most religiouslyobserved, was, that all who were guilty of murder were punishedwith death, whether the murder were committed by themselvespersonally, or by others at their instigation. He resolved,therefore, to sound Pizarro, and to discover his sentiments onthis subject, which he did with wonderful artifice anddissimulation. One day he pretended to be overcome with extremegrief, weeping and sobbing, and refusing to eat or drink, or tospeak with any one. When Pizarro inquired the cause of thisdistress, he allowed himself to be long intreated before he wouldgive any reason of his sorrow. At length, as if overcome bysolicitation, he said, "That he had just received intelligencethat one of his officers had put his brother Huascar to death, bywhich news he was entirely overcome with grief, as he had alwaysentertained the warmest and most respectful affection for him,not only as his eldest brother, but in a great measure as hisfather and sovereign. That although he had taken Huascarprisoner, he not only had no intention of using him ill in hisperson, but did not even mean to deprive him of the kingdom: hissole object being to oblige him to give up the possession of thekingdom of Quito, according to the last will of their father,Huana Capac; who had made a conquest of that country, which wasbeyond the boundary of the hereditary empire of the incas, andwhich consequently their father had an undoubted right to disposeof in his favour." Pizarro endeavoured to console the pretendedaffliction of Atahualpa, by assuring him, when peace and goodorder re-established in the empire, that he would make a strictinquiry into the circ*mstances of the death of Huascar, and wouldseverely punish all who had participated in the crime.

When Atahualpa found that Pizarro took up this affair with somuch coolness and moderation, he resolved to execute his design,and sent immediate orders to his officers who had the custody ofHuascar to put him to death. So promptly were these ordersobeyed, that it was difficult to ascertain in the sequel whetherthe excessive grief of Atahualpa was feigned, and whether itpreceded or followed the death of his brother Huascar. Most ofthe soldiers blamed Soto and Barco for this unhappy event: notconsidering the necessity of every one to obey the orders oftheir superiors with exactness, according to their instructions,especially in time of war, without assuming the liberty of makingany alteration or modification according to circ*mstances intheir own opinion, unless they have express and formaldiscretionary power.

It was currently reported among the Peruvians, that whenHuascar learnt he was to be put to death by order of his brother,he made the following observation: "I have been only a shortwhile sovereign of this country, but my faithless brother, bywhose orders I am to die, will not be longer a king than I havebeen." When the Peruvians soon afterwards saw Atahualpa put todeath, conformable to this prediction, they believed Huascar tohave been a true son of the sun. It is reported also, thatHuascar should have said, when his father Huana Capac took hislast leave of him, he foretold "That white men with long beardswould soon come into Peru, and advised him to treat them asfriends, as they would become masters of the kingdom." HuanaCapac may have received some intimation of this futurecirc*mstance from the demons; and that the more readily, thatPizarro had been on the coast of Peru before his death, and hadeven begun to make some conquests.

While Pizarro continued to reside in Caxamarca, he sent outhis brother Ferdinand with a party of cavalry to discover thecountry, who went as far as Pachacamac, about a hundred leaguesfrom Caxamarca. In the district of Huamachucos, Ferdinand metwith Hlescas, one of the brothers of Atahualpa, who was escortinga prodigious quantity of gold to Caxamarca, part of the ransom ofthe captive inca, to the value of two or three millions at theleast, without counting an immense quantity of silver[17]. Hecontinued his journey from Huamachucos to Pachacamac, not far tothe south of where Lima now stands, through several difficult anddangerous passes; when he learnt that one of the generals ofAtahualpa, named Cilicuchima was stationed with a large army at aplace about forty leagues from thence. Ferdinand Pizarro sent amessage to the Peruvian general to request that he would come tospeak with him; and as Cilicuchima refused, Ferdinand took theresolution to wait upon him in person. This was considered bymany as extremely rash and imprudent, to trust himself in thehands of a barbarous and powerful enemy. He was successfulhowever in the attempt, as by various representations andpromises, he prevailed on the Peruvian general to dismiss hisarmy, and to go along with him to Caxamarca to wait upon hissovereign Atahualpa. To shorten their journey, they took a verydifficult route through mountains covered with snow, where theywere in danger of perishing with cold.

[17] The sum in the text is quite vaguely expressed;perhaps pieces of eight reals, or dollars.--E.

On arriving at Caxamarca, before entering into the presence ofAtahualpa, Cilicuchima bared his feet and carried a present tohis sovereign after the custom of the country, and said to himweeping, that if he had been along with him, the Spaniards shouldnot have been allowed to make him a prisoner. Atahualpa answered,that his captivity was a punishment from the gods, whom he hadnot honoured and respected as he ought to have done; but that hisdefeat and capture were chiefly owing to the cowardice and flightof Ruminagui with his 5000 men, who ought to have succoured himwhen attacked by the Spaniards.

While Don Francisco Pizarro was in the province of Poechobetween Tumbez and Payta, before he marched to Caxamarca, hereceived a letter without any signature, which it was afterwardslearnt had been sent to him by the secretary of Don Diego deAlmagro. He was informed by this letter, that Almagro had fittedout a large ship and several smaller vessels with a considerablenumber of soldiers, in which he proposed to sail beyond thecountry of which Pizarro had taken possession, and to reduce thebest portion of Peru under his own authority, as beyond thegovernment which had been granted to Pizarro by his majesty,which only extended 200 leagues to the south of the equator[18].The governor had never shewn his patents to any person[19]; yetit was currently reported that Almagro actually left Panama withthe intention of carrying that design into execution; but onarriving at Puertoviejo, and learning the amazing successes ofPizarro, and the prodigious quantities of gold and silver he hadalready acquired, the half of which he considered as belonging tohim, he changed his purpose, and marched with all his people toCaxamarca to join Pizarro. On his arrival there, the greater partof the ransom of Atahualpa was already brought, and Almagro andhis followers were filled with astonishment and admiration at thesight of the prodigious masses of gold and silver which werethere collected, more than they thought could have been in anypart of the world.

[18] At 17-1/2 leagues to the degree, this governmentaccorded to Pizarro, would have reached from about Tacames to thelat. of 11° 25' S. whereas the kingdom of Peru extends tolat. 21° 35' S. and its most valuable and richest provinceswould have fallen to the share of Almagro.--E.

[19] This expression is entirely vague, and does noteven say which governor is meant. We shall see afterwards thatthis project of Almagro to appropriate the southern part of Perutook place at a subsequent period, and involved the recentconquest in long and destructive civil wars.--E.

When all this gold and silver was melted down, weighed andessayed, it was found to amount to the amazing sum of six hundredmillions of maravedies, or more than 4,500,000 livres. Itis true that the proof or essay of this gold was made hurriedly,and only by means of the touchstone, as they had no aquafortis to conduct the process in a more exact manner. Itafterwards appeared that this gold had been estimated two orthree carats below its real value; so that the wholeamount ought to have been reckoned at seven millions ofmaravedies, or 5,250,000 livres. The quantity of silver was solarge, that the royal fifth amounted to 30,000 marks of finesilver, most of which was afterwards found to contain two orthree carats of gold. The royal fifth of the gold amounted to 120millions of maravedies, or 900,000 livres. Each horseman receivedfor his share in gold, without counting the silver 240 marks or12,000 pesos, equal to 80,000 francs. The shares of the horsem*nwere a quarter part larger than those of the foot soldiers. Yetall these sums did not amount to a fifth part of what Atahualpahad engaged to pay for his ransom. Those who had come along withAlmagro, though considerable both from their rank and number,certainly had no just title to demand any share in the treasurewhich Atahualpa paid for his ransom, as they had no share in hiscapture; yet the general assigned each of them 20 marks, or 1000pesos, as a donative to keep them in good humour.

Pizarro thought it now incumbent upon him to send intelligenceto his majesty of the success of his enterprize, for whichpurpose he sent over his brother Ferdinand to Spain; and as whenhe departed, the precious metals had not been melted or proved,so that it was impossible to ascertain what was the exact sharebelonging to the king, two thousand marks of gold and twentythousand marks of silver, were set apart for this purpose[20]. Inmaking the selection of articles to be sent to Spain, the largestand finest pieces were chosen, that they might have a granderappearance: Among these were several large vessels of variouskinds and for different uses, together with figures of men andwomen and various animals. When Atahualpa learnt that FerdinandPizarro was to embark for Spain he was much afflicted, having agreat affection for that gentleman, in whom he reposed implicitconfidence; and when Ferdinand came to take leave, he said tohim, "I am sore afflicted at your departure, for I am much afraidthe big-belly and the blinkard will put me to death in yourabsence." By the former he meant Requelme the treasurer, who wasvery fat, and by the latter Almagro, who had lost an eye, whom hehad observed frequently to mutter against him, for certainreasons, which will appear in the sequel.

[20] Reckoning the mark at eight ounces, thegold at L.4, and the silver at 5s 6d. per oz. this royal fifthwould come to L.108,000, and the whole treasure to five timesthat sum, or L.540,000. But as the precious metals were thenworth at least six times as much as now, or would purchasesix times the amount of labour or necessaries, this firstfruit of the conquest of Peru exceeded the value of threemillions sterling.--E.

As Atahualpa suspected, Ferdinand Pizarro had not been longgone, when the death of the unfortunate prince began to be talkedof among the Spaniards. This was brought about by the suggestionsof an Indian named Philippillo, who had accompanied the generalinto Spain, and now served him as an interpreter with thePeruvians. He pretended that Atahualpa had secretly laid a planfor destroying all the Spaniards; for which purpose he had agreat number of armed men concealed in various places, meaning toemploy them when a favourable opportunity occurred. The proofsand examination of facts and circ*mstances respecting thisalleged plot, had all to come through Philippillo, as the onlyone who knew both languages; and he gave such a turn to everything as best suited his own views and purposes. Accordingly theSpaniards were never able perfectly to discover the truth, or topenetrate entirely into his motives for this procedure. It hasbeen alleged by some persons, that Philippillo had become amorousof one of the wives of Atahualpa, with whom he even had acriminal intercourse, and expected to secure the quiet possessionof his mistress by the death of that unfortunate prince. It waseven reported that Atahualpa had come to the knowledge of thatamour, and had complained to Pizarro of the criminal and eventreasonable conduct of the paramours; which, by the laws of Peru,could only be expiated by burning the guilty persons, putting todeath all their near relations, destroying all their cattle andsubstance, laying waste the place of their birth, and sowing salton the place, so as to render the memory of the crime infamousfor ever.

It has been alleged by others that the death of Atahualpa wasoccasioned by the solicitations and intrigues of those newlyarrived Spaniards who accompanied Almagro, who considered hiscontinuing to live as prejudicial to their interests. Thesoldiers of Pizarro who were with him when Atahualpa was takenprisoner, insisted that those who came with Almagro had no rightto participate in any part of the treasure given or to be givenon account of his ransom, and could not justly pretend to anyshare of what might be collected until all that Atahualpa hadpromised was entirely paid up. The soldiers of Almagro, on theother hand, believed it to be for their interest that Atahualpashould be removed out of the way; since as long as he might live,the soldiers of Pizarro would always pretend that all thetreasure which might be procured formed part of his ransom, sothat they would never come in for any share. However this mightbe, the death of that unfortunate prince was resolved on, andeven this determination was communicated to him. Astonished atthis fatal intelligence, of which he had never entertained theslightest suspicion, Atahualpa urged his merciless conquerors toconfine him rather in a stricter captivity, or even to put him onboard their ships. "I know not," said he, "how you can possiblysuppose me so stupid as to think of any treachery against you inmy present situation. How can you believe those troops which yousay are assembled, have been called together by my orders or bymy consent? Am I not a prisoner, in chains, and in your hands?And is it not easy for you to put me to death whenever thesepretended troops make their appearance? If you believe that mysubjects will undertake any thing against you without my consent,you are ill informed of the absolute authority I possess over allmy subjects, and the perfect obedience which it is their glory torender me on all occasions. So to speak, the birds do not dare tofly, nor the leaves to move upon the trees without my orders; andhow then shall my subjects presume to go to war against youwithout my consent."

All that he could urge was of no avail, as his death wasabsolutely resolved upon, although he offered to place hostagesof the highest consideration in the hands of the Spaniards, whoselives should be answerable for any of the Christians who might beslain or ill treated by his subjects. Besides the suspicionsalready mentioned, which were alleged against Atahualpa, it issaid that he was accused of the death of his brother Huascar. Hewas condemned to die, and his sentence was executed withoutdelay. In his distress, he was continually repeating the name ofFerdinand Pizarro; saying, if he had been present, he would nothave allowed him to be thus unjustly put to death. Shortly beforehis death, he was persuaded by Pizarro and Valverde to submit tothe ceremony of baptism[21].

[21] Of this tragical event, the illustriousHistorian of America, gives a somewhat different account, II.310, from Herrera and Garcilasso de la Vega; which, as much toolong for a note, is subjoined in the text to the narrative ofZarate, and distinguished by inverted commas.--E.

"While Almagro and his followers openly demanded the life ofAtahualpa, and Philippillo laboured to ruin him by privatemachinations, that unhappy prince inadvertently contributed tohasten his own fate. During his confinement he had attachedhimself with peculiar affection to Ferdinand Pizarro and HernandoSoto; who, as they were persons of birth and education superiorto the rough adventurers with whom they served, were accustomedto behave with more decency and attention to the captive monarch.Soothed with this respect from persons of such high rank, hedelighted in their society. But in the presence of the governorhe was always uneasy and overawed. This dread soon came to bemingled with contempt. Among all the European arts, that which hemost admired, was reading and writing; and he long deliberatedwith himself, whether he should regard it as a natural oracquired talent. In order to determine this, he desired one ofthe soldiers who guarded him, to write the name of God on thenail of his thumb. This he shewed successively to severalSpaniards, asking its meaning; and, to his amazement, they all,without hesitation, gave the same answer. At length Pizarroentered; and on presenting it to him, he blushed, and with someconfusion was obliged to acknowledge his ignorance. From thatmoment, Atahualpa considered him as a mean person, lessinstructed than his own soldiers; and he had not address enoughto conceal the sentiments with which this discovery inspired him.To be the object of scorn to a barbarian, not only mortified thepride of Pizarro; but excited such resentment in his breast, asadded force to all the other considerations which prompted him toput the Inca to death."

"But in order to give some colour of justice to this violentaction, and that he himself might be exempted from standingsingly responsible for the commission of it, Pizarro resolved totry the Inca with all the formalities observed in the criminalcourts of Spain. Pizarro himself and Almagro, with twoassistants, were appointed judges, with full power to acquit orcondemn; an attorney-general was named to carry on theprosecution in the king's name; counsellors were chosen to assistthe prisoner in his defence; and clerks were ordained to recordthe proceedings of court. Before this strange tribunal, a chargewas exhibited still more amazing. It consisted of variousarticles: That Atahualpa, though a bastard, had dispossessed therightful owner of the throne, and usurped the regal power; thathe had put his brother and lawful sovereign to death; that he wasan idolater, and had not only permitted, but commanded theoffering of human sacrifices; that he had a great number ofconcubines; that since his imprisonment he had wasted andembezzled the royal treasures, which now belonged of right to theconquerors; that he had incited his subjects to take arms againstthe Spaniards. On these heads of accusation, some of which are soludicrous, and others so absurd, that the effrontery of Pizarro,in making them the subject of a serious procedure, is not lesssurprizing than his injustice, did this strange court go on totry the sovereign of a great empire, over whom it had nojurisdiction. With respect to each of the articles, witnesseswere examined; but as they delivered their evidence in theirnative tongue, Philippillo had it in his power to give theirwords whatever turn best suited his malevolent intentions. Tojudges pre-determined in their opinion, this evidence appearedsufficient. They pronounced Atahualpa guilty, and condemned himto be burnt alive. Friar Valverde prostituted the authority ofhis sacred function to confirm this sentence, and by hissignature warranted it to be just. Astonished at his fate,Atahualpa endeavoured to avert it by tears, by promises, and byentreaties that he might be sent to Spain, where a monarch wouldbe the arbiter of his lot. But pity never touched the unfeelingheart of Pizarro. He ordered him to be led instantly toexecution; and, what added to the bitterness of his last moments,the same monk who had just ratified his doom, offered to console,and attempted to convert him. The most powerful argument Valverdeemployed to prevail with him to embrace the Christian faith, wasa promise of mitigation in his punishment. The dread of a crueldeath extorted from the trembling victim a desire of receivingbaptism. The ceremony was performed; and Atahualpa, instead ofbeing burnt alive, was strangled at the stake."

Ruminagui, one of the captains under Atahualpa, who had fledwith five thousand men from Caxamarca, as already related, havingarrived in the kingdom of Quito, seized the children ofAtahualpa, and made himself master of that country as if he hadbeen the lawful sovereign. A short time before his death,Atahualpa had sent his brother Illescas into the kingdom ofQuito, with orders to bring his children from thence; butRuminagui not only refused to deliver them up, but even put themall to death. After the death of Atahualpa, some of his principalofficers, according to his dying commands, carried his body toQuito that it might be interred beside the remains of his fatherHuana capac. Ruminagui received them in the most honourablemanner, with every outward mark of affection and respect, andcaused the body of Atahualpa to be buried with much pomp andsolemnity, according to the custom of the country. After theceremony, he gave a grand entertainment to the officers of thelate unfortunate monarch, at which, when they were intoxicated,he caused them all to be put to death, together with Illescas thebrother of Atahualpa. He caused this person to be flead alive,and had a drum covered with his skin, inclosing his head in theinside of the drum.

After the governor Pizarro had made a repartition of all thegold and silver which was found in Caxamarca, he learned that oneof the officers of Atahualpa, named Quizquiz, had assembled sometroops in the province of Xauxa[22], and endeavoured toexcite an insurrection in the country. Pizarro therefore marchedagainst him, but Quizquiz durst not wait for him in Xauxa, andretreated to a greater distance. Pizarro pursued, causingHernando de Soto to lead the van with a party of horse, while heled the rear or main body himself. While advancing in this orderinto the province of Vilcacinga[23], Soto was unexpectedlyattacked by a vast body of Peruvians, and in great danger ofbeing totally defeated, five or six of his men being slain; buton the approach of night, the Peruvians retreated to a mountain,and the governor sent on Almagro with a reinforcement of cavalryto Soto. Early next morning the fight was resumed, and theSpaniards endeavoured to draw the Peruvians into the plain, bypretending to retreat, that they might not be exposed to theprodigious quantity of stones which the Indians hurled down uponthem from the mountain. The Peruvians seemed aware of thisstratagem, as they continued to defend their position on themountain; though they were not apprized of the reinforcementwhich Soto had received, as the morning was thick and misty.Being unable to induce their enemies to descend from theiradvantageous situation, the Spaniards assailed the Peruvians withso much resolution, that they drove them from their position withconsiderable slaughter, and forced them to take to flight.

[22] Probably the district now called Jauja: as the xand j have nearly the same sound in Spanish with the aspiratedGreek xi.--E.

[23] Apparently Guancavelica, in which is the town ofVilca-bamba.--E.

At this place, a brother of the late Incas, Huascar andAtahualpa, named Paul Inca[24], came to Pizarro underpretence of entering into terms of peace and submission. Afterthe death of his brothers, this prince had been recognised asking of Peru, and had been invested with the fringed fillet,which answered among the Peruvians as the crown or emblem ofsupreme rule. The Inca told the governor that he had a veryconsiderable force of warriors in Cuzco, all of whom only waitedhis arrival to submit to his orders. Pizarro accordingly marchedtowards that city, and arrived within sight of it after severaldays march. So thick a smoke was seen to arise from the city,that Pizarro suspected the Peruvians had set it on fire, andimmediately sent on a detachment of cavalry to endeavour ifpossible to prevent the destruction of the city. On their arrivalnear Cuzco, a vast body of Peruvians issued from the city andattacked them with great violence, with stones, darts, and otherarms; insomuch that the Spaniards were forced to retreat above aleague to rejoin the main body of the army which was commanded byPizarro in person. He immediately detached the greater part ofhis cavalry under the command of his brothers Juan and Gonzalo,who attacked the enemy with so much courage and impetuosity, thatthey were soon defeated and many Peruvians were slain in thepursuit. On the approach of night, Pizarro reassembled all hisarmy, which he ordered to lie on their arms; and marched nextmorning with every precaution to Cuzco, which he entered withoutopposition.

[24] This name of Paul could hardly bePeruvian. Manco Capac, a full brother of Huascar, had beenrecognized as Inca at Cuzco; perhaps the person named Paul byZarate, is the same prince who is called Paullu by Gardilasso,and may have received that name in baptism at an afterperiod.--E.

After remaining twenty days in Cuzco, Pizarro was informedthat the Peruvian General Quizquiz had drawn together aconsiderable body of warriors, with whom he pillaged and raisedcontributions in a province named Condefugo[25]. Thegovernor detached Hernando Soto with fifty horsem*n againstQuizquiz, who did not think proper to await his arrival; but hetook the resolution of marching to Xauxa or Jauja, on purpose toattack the baggage and royal treasure belonging to the Spaniards,which had been left there with a guard, under the care ofRequelme the treasurer. Although the Spanish troops in Xauxa werefew in number, they posted themselves in a strong position,waiting the attack of Quizquiz, and defended themselves socourageously that he was unable to make any impression upon them,and accordingly drew off his troops, taking the road to Quito.The governor sent Soto after him with his detachment of cavalry,and soon afterwards sent off his two brothers, Juan and Gonzalo,to reinforce Soto. These three Spanish captains pursued Quizquizabove a hundred leagues, but were unable to come up with him, andreturned therefore to Cuzco.

[25] This it probably an error of the press forCondesugo. To the south of Cusco, and in the plain ofPeru, there are two contiguous districts named the Condesuyos ofArequipa and Cusco, which are probably the province alluded to inthe text. The term seems Spanish; but it is not unusual withZarate to substitute posterior names to those of the periodconcerning which he writes.--E.

In that ancient capital of the Peruvian empire, Pizarro andthe Spaniards found a prodigious booty in gold and silver, notless in value than all they had collected at Caxamarca for theransom of Atahualpa. He made a division of this among hissoldiers, and settled a colony in Cuzco, which had long been thecapital of the Peruvian empire, and continued to be so for aconsiderable time under the Spaniards. He likewise made arepartition of Indians among such Spaniards as chose to settle inthe place as colonists: Only a few, however, chose to availthemselves of their advantage; as a considerable proportion ofthe Spaniards were better pleased to return into Spain, that theymight enjoy in repose the treasure which they had acquired atCaxamarca and Cuzco, than to remain in Peru.

"The riches displayed by the early conquerors of Peru on theirreturn among their astonished countrymen, had so great an effectto induce others to try their fortunes in that golden region,that the governors of Guatimala, Panama, and Nicaragua couldhardly restrain the people under their jurisdiction fromabandoning their possessions, and crowding to that inexhaustiblesource of wealth which seemed to be opened in Peru. In spite ofevery check or regulation, such numbers resorted to the standardof Pizarro, that he was soon enabled to take the field at thehead of five hundred men, besides leaving sufficient garrisons inSan Miguel and other places necessary for the defence of hisconquests[26]".

[26] This paragraph is added from the history ofAmerica, II. 313, to the text of Zarate, as necessary to accountfor the subsequent operations of Pizarro, after the secession ofa considerable part of his original followers.--E.

It has been already said that Pizarro, soon after his arrivalin Peru, established a settlement at the town of San Miguel inthe province of Tangarara, not far from the harbour ofTumbez[27], as a secure place of disembarkation for those whocame to join him from Spain. While he still remained at Caxamarcaafter the death of Atahualpa, on recollection that he had left aweak garrison in San Miguel, the governor thought proper to senda reinforcement of ten horsem*n to that place under the commandof Benalcazar. Soon after his arrival, a considerable number ofSpanish soldiers came there from Panama and Nicaragua, and as theCagnares made loud complaints to him that they were oppressed byRuminagui and the Peruvians of Quito, Benalcazar chose twohundred of the new recruits, eighty of whom were cavalry, withwhom he marched for Quito, because he was informed that Atahualpahad left a large quantity of gold in that city, and that he mightlikewise protect the Cagnares, who had declared themselves thefriends of the Spaniards. Ruminagui advanced with an army of morethan twelve thousand Peruvians to defend the defiles of themountains leading towards the kingdom of Quito, which heendeavoured to do with considerable judgment, taking advantage ofthe nature of the ground, and fighting only in places ofdifficult approach. Benalcazar, on his side likewise, joinedstratagem and military conduct to courage and prudence; for,while he occupied the attention of the enemy by frequentskirmishes, and demonstrations of attacking them in front, hedetached one of his officers with fifty or sixty horsem*n, whogained possession of a commanding post during the night on therear of the Peruvians, so that he was able next morning to renderhimself easily master of the pass they had endeavoured to defend.In this way, Benalcazar gradually drove the enemy from theirstrong ground into the plain of Quito, where they were unable towithstand the charge of the cavalry and suffered considerably.Ruminagui still endeavoured to make head in several differentposts, which he carefully forfeited with concealed pit-falls,digging for this purpose broad and deep ditches, in the bottom ofwhich a number of pointed stakes were set up, the whole coveredover with green turf held up by slender twigs, somewhat likethose described by Caesar as contrived by the inhabitants ofAlesia. But all the contrivances of the Peruvians for surprizingBenalcazar, or for drawing him into their snares were quiteunavailing. He avoided them all, and never attacked on the sidethey expected; often making a circuit of several leagues so as toattack them unexpectedly on the flank and rear, and alwayscarefully avoiding every piece of ground that had not a naturalappearance. The Peruvians tried another stratagem, on seeing theformer miscarry: They dug a great number of small pits close toeach other, about the size of a horses foot, in every placearound their camp where they thought the cavalry might come toattack them. But all their arts and labour were useless, asBenalcazar was never off his guard, and was not to be deceived byany of their contrivances, so that they were at last driven allthe way to the city of Quito. It is reported of Ruminagui, thatone day after his arrival in Quito, where he had a great numberof wives, that he told them they might soon expect to have thepleasure of seeing the Christians, with whom they would have theopportunity of diverting themselves; and that, believing him injest, they laughed heartily at the news, on which he caused mostof them to be put to death. After this cruel deed, he set fire toa large apartment filled with rich dresses and valuable moveablesbelonging to the late Inca Huana Capac, and retired from Quito,having first made another unsuccessful attempt to surprise theSpaniards by a night attack, after which Benalcazar made himselfmaster of Quito with very little opposition.

[27] Tumbez seems here substituted by mistake forPayta. San Miguel is not less than 130 miles from Tumbez, andonly about 30 from Payta--E.

While these things were going on in the kingdom of Quito, thegovernor Pizarro received information that Don Pedro de Alvarado,who was governor of Guatimala, had embarked with a considerableforce for Peru, on which account he deemed it proper to detachsome troops under Almagro to San Miguel, to inquire into thetruth of that report and to prevent the invasion of hisgovernment. As Almagro on his arrival at San Miguel could get nodistinct accounts of the motions of Alvarado, and was informed ofthe resistance made to Benalcazar in the kingdom of Quito byRuminagui, he accordingly marched there with his troops andformed a junction with Benalcazar, assuming the command of thecombined forces, after which he reduced several districts andfortified stations of the natives. But, as he did not find anygold in that country, which was by no means so rich as he thoughthe had reason to expect from report, he soon afterwards returnedtowards Cuzco, leaving the command in Quito to Benalcazar.

After the conquest of New Spain by the Marquis del Valle, hedetached one of his captains named Don Pedro de Alvarado to aneighbouring country called Guatimala; which that officeraccordingly reduced to subjection after much trouble and manydangers, and, as a reward of his services, was appointed to thegovernment of that province by the king of Spain. On receivingintelligence of the riches of the newly discovered empire ofPeru, Alvarado solicited permission from the emperor Don Carlosto be permitted to undertake the conquest of some part of thatcountry, beyond the bounds that had been granted to Pizarro, andreceived a patent to that effect. Having received authority forthis purpose, while he was making preparations for theexpedition, he sent one of his officers, named Garcias Holguin,with two ships to examine the coast of Peru, and to gain someprecise intelligence respecting its actual state. From the reportof Holgum respecting the immense quantities of gold which thegovernor Don Francisco Pizarro had found in that country,Alvarado was encouraged to proceed in his enterprize; flatteringhimself, that while Pizarro and his troops were occupied atCaxamarca, he might be able to acquire possession of Cuzco[28],which he considered as beyond the two hundred and fifty leagueswhich had been assigned as the extent of the government conferredupon Pizarro. For the better execution of his design, and lestreinforcements might be sent from Nicaragua to Pizarro, he cameby sea to that place one night, where he made himself master oftwo large ships which had been fitted out there expressly for thepurpose of carrying a large reinforcement of men and horses toPeru. In these two ships, and in those which he brought with himfrom Guatimala, Alvarado set sail with five hundred men, cavalryand infantry, and landed on the coast of South America at theharbour of Puerto Viejo.

[28] From the subsequent operations of Alvarado, thisseems an error of the press for Quito.--E.

From Puerto Viejo, Alvarado marched almost due east with hisarmy, crossing those mountains which separate the plain countryof Guayaquil from the table land of Quito, which the Spaniardscall the Arcabucos, being thickly covered with brushwood,but over which the road is tolerably easy and only moderatelysteep, being almost under the equator. In this march his mensuffered extremely from hunger and thirst, as the country throughwhich they went was very barren, and had neither springs norrivulets. The only relief they could procure was from certainlarge canes as thick as a mans leg, in each of the joints ofwhich they usually found rather more than a quart of excellentwater. They were so much distressed by famine on this march as tobe under the necessity of eating several of their horses, theflesh of which sold so high that a dead horse brought more moneyon this occasion than he had cost when living. Besides thirst andfamine, they were very much distressed during a considerable partof the way by quantities of hot ashes falling upon them, whichthey afterwards learnt were thrown up by a volcano in theneighbourhood of Quito, which burns with such violence that itsashes are often carried by the wind to the distance of eightyleagues, and its noise like prodigious thunder is sometimes heardat a hundred leagues from Quito. In the whole march, which wasnearly under the equinoctial line, the troops of Alvarado foundeverywhere abundance of emeralds. After a long and difficultmarch through these arcabucos, where they were for themost part obliged to cut their way through the thick brushwood bymeans of axes and their swords, they came at length to a highchain of mountains covered with snow, over which it was necessaryto pass. In this difficult and dangerous passage by an extremelynarrow road, it snowed almost continually, and the cold was soextremely severe, that although every one put on all the clothesthey had along with them, more than sixty men perished from theextreme severity of the weather. One of the soldiers happened tobe accompanied by his wife and two young children, and seeingthem entirely worn out with fatigue, while he was unable toassist them, he preferred to remain with them and perish,although he might have saved himself. At length, after infinitetoil and danger, they found that they had reached the top of themountain, and began joyfully to descend into the lower grounds ofthe kingdom of Quito. It is true that in this country they foundother high mountains covered likewise with snow, as the provinceis entirely surrounded and interspersed with mountains; but thenthere are many temperate vallies among these mountains, which arewell peopled and cultivated. About this time, so great a quantityof snow melted suddenly on one of these mountains, producing suchprodigious torrents of water, that the valley and village ofContiega were entirely overwhelmed and inundated. Thesetorrents bring down immense quantities of stones, and even vastfragments of rock, with as much ease as if they were only piecesof cork.

It has been already said that Almagro had left Benalcazar inthe government of Quito, meaning to return to Cuzco, because nointelligence had reached him of the motions of Alvarado; andmention has been made of his having reduced certain rocks andfortresses into which the Indians of Quito had retired to defendthemselves. This had occupied him so long, that Alvarado hadpenetrated into the province of Quito before Almagro had returnedinto the south of Peru, being still employed in reducing thesouthern districts of Quito. He received the first intelligenceof the arrival of Alvarado while reducing the province ofLiribamba[29], for which purpose he had to pass aconsiderable river with much difficulty and danger, as theIndians had destroyed the bridges, and waited on the other sideof the river to attack him while passing. He defeated them,though with much difficulty, as the Indians were very numerous,and their wives fought as bravely as the men, being very expertin slinging stones. In this engagement the head cacique of theIndians was made prisoner, and from him Almagro got the firstintelligence of the arrival of Alvarado, who was then only at thedistance of about sixty miles, employed in reducing an Indianfortress into which one of the captains of the Indians hadretired, whose name was Zopazopaqui. On receiving this news,Almagro sent seven horsem*n to inquire into its truth, and tobring him exact information of the strength and intentions ofAlvarado. These were all made prisoners by the troops ofAlvarado, who liberated them some time afterwards. Alvaradoadvanced with his troops within less than twenty miles of thecamp of Almagro, who, considering the great superiority in numberpossessed by Alvarado, formed the resolution of returning toCuzco with an escort of twenty-five horse, and to leave theremainder of his troops under Benalcazar for the defence of thecountry.

[29] Probably that now called Riobamba by theSpaniards, about 100 miles south from Quito.--E.

At this time, Philipillo, the Indian interpreter who has beenalready mentioned as the cause of the death of Atahualpa, fearingto incur the punishment of his treachery, fled from the camp ofAlmagro to that of Alvarado, taking along with him a principalPeruvian cacique. These men had concerted with most of thePeruvian curacas or chiefs who accompanied Almagro, tohold themselves and their people in readiness to abandon him andto join Alvarado at the earliest notice sent them for thatpurpose. Immediately on his arriving in the presence of Alvarado,Philipillo offered to make him master of the whole country,informing him at the same time of the design of Almagro to retireto Cuzco, and that if he chose to attack him without delay hemight easily make him prisoner, as he had only about eightyhorsem*n and a hundred and fifty infantry. On this advice,Alvarado marched immediately to attack Almagro, whom he found atLiribamba, resolved to defend himself bravely, and to diefighting rather than fly. Almagro had thrown up intrenchments forhis defence, having divided his small party into two bands, oneof which he commanded in person, and placed the other under thecommand of Benalcazar. Alvarado marched up with his troops inorder of battle; but when just on the point of commencing theattack, certain propositions of peace were made, and a truce wasagreed upon for the rest of the day and the following night, onpurpose to agree upon conditions[30]. In a conferrence for thispurpose, an agreement was entered into, which was greatlyforwarded by a licentiate named Caldera. It was agreed thatAlmagro should pay to Alvarado 100,000 pesos, or 2000 marks ofgold[31], as an equivalent for the expences he had incurred infitting out his expedition, and that the two commanders should gotogether to Pizarro, for the purpose of procuring the necessaryfunds for payment of this agreement. The conditions were keptsecret, lest the companions of Alvarado might prevent theirexecution, as their interest had been entirely overlooked in thisagreement. It was therefore given out that Alvarado was to embarkwith his people to make farther discovery of the country, leavingthat part which was already occupied and conquered by theSpaniards, and permission was given to all who thought properthat they might remain at Quito with Benalcazar. A considerablenumber of the followers of Alvarado availed themselves of thispermission, and others accompanied him and Almagro to Pachacamac,where they were informed Pizarro had gone from Xauxa expressly toreceive them. Before leaving the province of Quito, Almagroordered the curaca who deserted from him along withPhilipillo to be burnt alive, and would have treated theinterpreter in the same manner, but Alvarado interceded for him,and obtained his pardon.

[30] Garcilasso says that the soldiers of botharmies, being mostly natives of Estremedura, mixed togetherwithout permission of their officers, and made propositions ofpeace and amity, by which the generals were in a great measureforced to an agreement.

[31] Two thousand marks of gold of eight ounces each,and the ounce at four pound Sterling are worth L.64,000, perhapsequivalent to near L.460,000 of modern money.--E.

While Almagro and Alvarado were on their march from theprovince of Quito for Pachacamac, the curaca or chief ofthe Cagnares, informed them that the Peruvian general Quizquizhad assembled an army of above 12,000 men, with which he hadcollected all the people and cattle of the country between andXauxa, and intended attacking them on their march. This chiefadded, that if they would delay their march for some time, hewould contrive a plan for delivering Quizquiz into their hands.Almagro was not disposed to put too much confidence in thisproposal, and continued his journey. On arriving in the provinceof Chaparra[32], they unexpectedly fell in with above twothousand Peruvian warriors commanded by a curaca named Sotaurco.This was the advanced guard of Quizquiz, whose main body was twoor three days march in the rear. Quizquiz had a similardetachment at a considerable distance on his left flank, onpurpose to raise contributions of provisions from the inhabitantsof the country for the subsistence of his army; and had besides arear guard of three or four thousand warriors, two days marchbehind. The main body under his own immediate command escortedall the cattle which had been collected on the march, and greatnumbers of prisoners, so that his whole army occupied a space ofabove sixty miles of country.

[32] Perhaps that now called Xibarros, in the southof the kingdom of Quito.--E.

Sotaurco, the commander of the Peruvian vanguard, endeavouredto gain possession of a defile or pass in the mountains, by whichhe supposed the Spaniards intended to march; but Almagro not onlyprevented the execution of that project by seizing the pass, buteven made Sotaurco prisoner. From him Almagro was informed of theorder of march observed by Quizquiz, and determined to make aforced march with all his cavalry to attack him. In this march,at a steep stoney pass near a river which it was necessary topass, most of the horses lost their shoes; and as it was in thenight, the Spaniards had to replace them as well as they could bythe light of fires and candles. Being afraid lest Quizquiz mightbe informed of their approach by some of the natives of thecountry, Almagro continued his march with all possibleexpedition, and towards the evening of the second day of hismarch he came in sight of the Peruvian camp.

Immediately on seeing the Spaniards, Quizquiz withdrew to somedistance with all the women and people who were unfit for battle,and placed his troops in a post of very difficult access underthe command of Huaypalca, a brother of the late incaAtahualpa. Almagro advanced without hesitation to attack them,although the horses were so weary that they were hardly able tomove though led mostly by the soldiers; besides which thePeruvians rolled down upon them from the mountain greatquantities of large stones and fragments of rock. In spite ofevery obstacle, the Spaniards made their way to the post occupiedby Huaypalca, which they attacked both in front and flank, andforced him to retire among the steep rocks, where he defendedhimself till night, and then drew off under cover of the darknessto rejoin Quizquiz. Sometime afterwards, it was learnt that thedetached party of Peruvians which marched on the left ofQuizquiz, had made prisoners of fourteen Spaniards, all of whomthey put to death. Almagro, in continuing his march, was opposedby the Peruvian rear-guard at the passage of a river, so that hewas unable to get over for a whole day. Besides occupying theopposite bank of the river, the Peruvians had taken possession ofa very high mountain immediately above the place occupied by theSpaniards, so that they were unable to attack the enemy withoutexposing themselves to great danger; and indeed a good many ofthe Spaniards were wounded, among whom Alfonso de Alvarado waspierced quite through the thigh by a javelin, and another officerof rank was severely wounded. The Peruvians kept firm all night,but in the morning they abandoned their post on the banks of theriver, leaving the passage free for the Spaniards. The Indianshad burnt all the baggage which they could not carry off, butabove 15,000 Peruvian sheep were found in their camp, and morethan four thousand Indian men and women, of those whom Quizquizhad made prisoners, who now voluntarily surrendered themselves tothe Spaniards. The Peruvian warriors had retired to a strong poston the top of a mountain, where Almagro did not think fit toattack them, as he was desirous to continue his march to thesouth.

On their arrival at San Miguel, Almagro sent the Captain Diegode Mora to Puerto Viejo, to take the charge of the vesselsbelonging to Alvarado, who likewise sent Garcias de Holguin onhis part, that this measure might be executed amicably accordingto agreement. After giving all the necessary orders at SanMiguel, and having provided his own men and those of Alvaradowith arms, money, and clothes, he and Alvarado continued theirjourney towards Pachacamac. In the course of this march, he leftCaptain Martin Astete to build and settle a town now calledTruxillo, in a convenient situation on the coast, in pursuance oforders to that effect from the governor Don FranciscoPizarro.

About this time Quizquiz, having continued his march towardsQuito, had his advanced guard attacked and defeated by one of theofficers belonging to Benalcazar. Quizquiz was much afflicted bythis loss, and knew not well what to do or how to conducthimself. The curacas or native chiefs in his army advised him tomake his peace with Benalcazar; but he would not listen to thisproposal, even threatening to put them to death if they evermentioned such a thing again, and ordered them to prepare forreturning into Peru. But, as they were in want of provisions, andhad no hopes of procuring any in the retreat which Quizquizmeditated, several of the curacas, at the head of whom wasHuaypalca, remonstrated with him that it was better to die likebrave men in battle against the Spaniards, than to retreat as hedesired and to die of famine in a desert country. As Quizquizgave a very unsatisfactory answer to this remonstrance, Huaypalcagave him a thrust in the breast with his lance, and all the othercuracas fell upon him with their clubs and axes, cutting him topieces. After this they dismissed the troops, allowing every oneto go where he pleased.

On the arrival of Almagro and Alvarado at Pachacamac, theywere joyfully received by the governor, who had come there fromXauxa to meet them. Pizarro honourably fulfilled the entireagreement which Almagro had made with Alvarado, by the payment ofthe stipulated sum of 100,000 gold pesos; though several personsremonstrated against paying so large a sum, and alleged thatAlmagro had been constrained to enter into the agreement bynecessity, and that Alvarado, instead of receiving so much money,deserved to be sent prisoner into Spain, for having invaded thegovernment belonging to another person. After receiving themoney, Alvarado returned quietly to his government ofGuatimala[33].

[33] According to Garcilosso, Pizarro made anadditional free gift to Alvarado of 20,000 gold pesos to defraythe expence of his voyage back to his government, with emeraldsand turquoises to a considerable value, and several articles ofgold plate for the use of his table.--E.

After the departure of Alvarado, the governor Pizarro beganthe establishment of a colony or settlement in the district ofPachacamac, which he named Ciudad de los Reyes, or theCity of the Kings, otherwise called Lima, to which place heremoved the colonists whom he had formerly established at Xauxaor Jauja; as the situation of Lima appeared to him exceedinglywell calculated for trade, being near the sea[34]. From thatplace, Almagro went with a considerable force to Cuzco, andPizarro visited Truxillo on purpose to place that colony on aproper footing, by making an equitable repartition of the landsand Indians among the colonists.

[34] Lima or Los Reyes is built on the banks of ariver named Rimac or Limac by the Peruvians, whence its ordinaryname of Lima. It is about ten miles from the sea, having a portnamed Callao at the mouth of the river. This city got the name ofthe City of the Kings; either from its foundation beinglaid on the 18th of January 1535, on the festival of the threekings; or in honour of Juana and Carlos, joint sovereigns ofCastile.--E.

While at Truxillo, Pizarro received information that Almagrowas inclined to take possession of the city of Cuzco, having beenapprized by Ferdinand Pizarro, who was sent to Spain, that hismajesty had appointed him a separate government extending ahundred leagues beyond the boundaries which had been assigned toPizarro, and which Almagro alleged were considerably to the northof Cuzco. Juan and Gonzalo Pizarro, brothers of the governor, whowere then in Cuzco, and several other persons of consideration,vigorously opposed Almagro and Hernando Soto, who took the partof Almagro, and a civil war seemed on the point of breaking out:But Almagro was unable to succeed in his design, as the greatmajority of the senators or members of the Cabildo took the partof the governor and his brothers. Immediately on receivingintelligence of these disputes, Pizarro posted with allexpedition to Cuzco, where he soon re-established tranquillity byhis presence. He pardoned Almagro, who was much ashamed of havingoccasioned so much confusion by attempting a matter of such highimportance on such slight grounds as a mere hearsay or report.The ancient friendship and association between Pizarro andAlmagro was renewed, and it was agreed that Almagro should gowith a military force on discovery to the south, and if he foundany country worth taking possession of, that the associates wereto use their joint interest at the court of Spain to procure thegovernment of it for him; but, if no good country were to befound, the government of Peru was then to be divided betweenPizarro and Almagro. This agreement was solemnly ratified by oathupon the consecrated host, pledging themselves never to attemptin future to do any thing contrary to the interests of eachother. Some have said that Almagro, on this occasion, swore thathe would never make any future attempt upon Cuzco, or any part ofthe country to the distance of a hundred and thirty leagues tothe south of that city, even in the event of being named by theking to to its government; and they add, that in addressinghimself on this occasion to the holy body of Christ, he usedthese words, "If I should violate the oath which I now make, Ipray, O Lord! that thou mayest punish and confound me in body andsoul."

After this solemn agreement; Almagro prepared everything forhis departure, and accordingly set out with above five hundredmen, as shall be related in the next section. Pizarro returned toLima, whence he sent Alfonso de Alvarado to conquer the countryof the Chachapoyas, which is in the mountainous region of Peruabout sixty leagues from Truxillo. This officer and his followersencountered much difficulty and labour in this enterprize, inwhich they at length succeeded, by forming establishments andreducing the inhabitants to submission; after which, thegovernment of the province was conferred upon Alvarado, by whomthe conquest had been effected.

SECTION III.

Occurrences from the departure of Almagro for Chili, to hiscapture by Pizarro, being the first part of the civil wars inPeru.

Inconsequence of the agreement between Pizarro and Almagro,which was ratified on the 12th of June 1535, Almagro soonafterwards set out upon the proposed discovery and conquest atthe head of five hundred and seventy men, partly cavalry and partinfantry; for so great were the hopes of acquiring riches in thisexpedition, that several who had already acquired establishmentsin Peru, abandoned their houses, lands, and Indians, to followthe fortunes of Almagro[1]. Juan, de Saavedra was sent on beforethe main body of the army with a detachment of a hundred men;and, in the course of his march through that province which hassince been called Los Charcas, he met with some Indians ontheir road from Chili to Peru, who were going to pay their homageto the Inca. Almagro having along with him a body of two hundredmen, both horse and foot, made a march of two hundred and fiftyleagues, reducing the whole country in his way, till he arrivedin the district of the Chichas, where he learnt that hewas followed by a body of fifty Spaniards commanded by Niguerolde Ulloa. Almagro commanded that party to join him, and continuedhis march towards Chili, which is 350 leagues beyond theprovince, of Chichas, reducing all the tribes on his route tosubmission. Almagro halted at this place with half his troops,and sent on the rest under Gomez de Aivarado, who proceeded sixtyleagues farther; but was forced to return to Almagro, inconsequence of the severity of the weather.

[1] Though not mentioned directly in the text, itappears that Almagro knew of and intended to conquer the countryof Chili, and that he chose to march by the high country of Peru,through the great elevated valley of the lake Titicaca, probablythe highest inhabited land of South America. His object was inall probability to avoid the extensive desert of Atacama, whichdivides the plain of Peru from Chili.--E.

After the departure of Almagro from Cuzco, the Inca MancoCapac and his, brother Villaoma entered into a plot formassacring all the Spaniards in Peru on a certain day. MancoCapac had engaged execute to that part of the conspiracy whichhad for its object the destruction of Almagro and his troops, butwhich he was unable to accomplish. What was done by his brotherwill be related afterwards. Philipillo, the Peruvian interpreterwho has been formerly mentioned, was acquainted with thisconspiracy, on which account he made his escape from Almagro, andbeing pursued and taken was condemned to be quartered. Before hisexecution, he confessed that he had unjustly procured the deathof Atahualpa, that he might thereby secure to himself one of thewives of that unhappy prince, of whom he was enamoured.

About two months after the arrival of Almagro in Chili, one ofhis captains named Ruy Dias came to him with a reinforcement of ahundred men, and informed him that all the natives of Peru hadrevolted and had massacred most of the Spaniards in that country.Almagro was much grieved at this intelligence, and resolvedimmediately to return, that he might chastise the revolters andrestore the country to obedience; meaning afterwards to send oneof his captains with a sufficient force to reduce Chili. Heaccordingly set out on his return, and was met on his way byRodrigo Orgognez, who brought him a reinforcement of twenty-fivemen, and was soon afterwards joined by Juan de Herrada with afarther reinforcement of a hundred. Herrada brought him likewisethe letters patent of the king, by which he was appointedgovernor of two hundred leagues of country beyond the boundariesassigned to Pizarro. This new government which was granted toAlmagro was directed to be named the New Kingdom of Toledo, andthat of Pizarro, the New Kingdom of Castille. Having said at thecommencement of this section, that Almagro carried with him fromCuzco on this expedition a force of 570 Spanish troops; it mustbe remarked that such was his intention, but that in reality hehad only 200 men along with him, after which his army was made upnearly to the intended number by the different reinforcements ofwhich we have made mention.

In the march of Almagro into Chili, his army sufferedexcessive hardships from hunger and thirst. Besides their otherfatigues, they had often to encounter Indians of great stature,clothed in the skins of sea-wolves and seals, who used the bowand arrow with great strength and address. But the most severecirc*mstance during this march was the intense cold which theyencountered in passing over some mountains covered with snow. Inparticular, several of the soldiers belonging to Ruy Dias and agood many horses were frozen to death; and so excessive was thecold, that when Almagro returned towards Cuzco five monthsafterwards, several of the bodies of those who had been frozen todeath were found upright and leaning against the rocks, stillholding the bridles of their horses, which were likewise frozen,and their flesh still remained as sweet and uncorrupted as ifthey had only just expired, insomuch that the troops used theflesh of these horses as food on their return to Peru. In someparts of these deserts where there was no snow, the Spaniardswere reduced to great straits from want of water; on whichaccount they had to make bags or leather bottles of the skins ofsheep, in which to carry water for their supply.

It is proper to remark, that the Peruvian sheep are muchlarger animals than those of Europe, and are used as beasts ofburden. They resemble in some measure the camel in their shape,except that they have no hunches on their backs, and are able tocarry a load of a hundred pounds or more, with which they areable to travel four or five leagues a-day. The Spaniards evensometimes rode on their backs. When fatigued, they immediatelylie down, and it is impossible to make them rise again by anymeans whatever, neither blows nor kindness are of any avail, andit becomes necessary to unload them. When a person rides on oneof these animals, and endeavours to urge it on when weary, itturns round its head towards the man, blowing upon him a mostoffensive breath mixed with a kind of stinking dew, which seemsto proceed from the contents of its stomach. This is a mostuseful and profitable animal, as besides serving as a beast ofburden, its wool is excellent and very fine; more especially thatspecies which is called pacas, which has very long wool.These animals are supported at very little expence while on ajourney, requiring only a very small allowance of maize, and theycan subsist four or five days without drinking. Their flesh iswell tasted and wholesome, and equal to the best fat mutton ofSpain; and it is accordingly sold in all the butcher-markets ofPeru. At the first settlement of the Spaniards in this country,before the establishment of regular markets, when any personkilled one of these sheep, his neighbours used to participate,and they in their turns killed others, and divided them among theneighbours.

In some of the level plains of Peru there is a species ofostrich, which is taken in the following manner. Several horsem*nplace themselves in ambush, while others likewise on horsebackpursue the ostriches and endeavour to drive them towards theircompanions who are concealed. These birds, although they areunable to rise in flight into the air, go with astonishingswiftness, partly by running, and partly by means of shortflights close to the ground, insomuch that a man on horseback isaltogether unable to get up with them, so that it requiresstratagem to kill or take them alive.

In Chili there are some rivers which have water only duringthe day, and are entirely dry during the night. This is owing tothe heat of the sun melting the snow on the mountains by day, bywhich temporary rivers, or torrents rather, are formed by day,which cease again at night when the cold puts a stop to themelting of the snow. When we have got about 500 leagues along thecoast from Peru towards the south, or in the lat. of about30° S. rain is often met with, and the winds are no longer soregular as nearer the line, but blow sometimes one way andsometimes another, as in Spain and other countries of Europe.Chili is a tolerably well peopled country, and resembles Peru inbeing divisible into two districts, the plain and the mountain,and its coast is considerably more indented by gulfs and baysthan that of Peru[2]. It enjoys the vicissitudes of summer andwinter nearly as in Spain, but at opposite times of the year, thewinter of Chili being at the same time with the Spanish summer,and vice versa. The pole seen from that country, which isdirectly opposite our Arctic or north pole, is only markedby a kind of small white cloud or nebula, which is seen aftersunset in that direction in which astronomers have placed theantartic or south pole. There is likewise seen a constellation ofseven stars, four of them being in form of a cross, followed bythree others, resembling the lesser bear of the astronomers whichturns round the north polar star. These seven stars near thesouth pole are situated somewhat like those of the ursaminor, except that the four which form the cross are nearereach other than those of the north pole which are seen in ourhemisphere. Our north pole is lost sight of somewhat less than200 leagues to the south of Panama, under the equator; fromwhence, or a little beyond, on either side of the line, these twoconstellations may be seen when they rise a little above thepoles of the horizon. On the south side of the equinoctial line,navigators are only able to see the four stars near the antarcticpole which form the cross, until they reach the thirtiethdegree of south latitude, after which they get sight of the otherthree stars which form this constellation.

[2] From the desert of Atacama in lat 25° S. tothe island of Chiloe in about lat. 42° S. Chili Proper,between the Pacific ocean and the western ridge of the Andes,stretches about 1100 English miles nearly north and south by anaverage breadth of about 140 miles.--E.

The change in the length of the days and nights in Chili isnearly the same as in Spain, only the longest day in Chili is atthat time of the year when Spain has the day shortest. In Peruand Tierra firma and generally in all places near the equinoctialline, the days and nights are always equal or nearly so duringthe whole year. Even at Lima and other places the difference isso small as hardly to be noticed. The natives of Chili areclothed nearly in the same manner with the Peruvians, and use thesame kind of food. The inhabitants, both men and women, aretolerably well looked. They are governed by great lords, who makewar against each other, and some of whom are able to bring200,000 men into the field. One of these lords at this time wasnamed Leuchengorma, who possessed an island about twoleagues from the coast which was consecrated to his idols, inwhich was a temple ministered to by two thousand priests. Thesubjects of Leuchengorma informed the Spaniards, that there was agreat province about fifty leagues farther on, situated betweentwo rivers, which was entirely inhabited by women, who did notadmit any men among them but at certain times, for the purpose ofhaving children, and who sent all their sons to their fathers,reserving their daughters only to be brought up among themselves.They said farther, that these women were subjects ofLeuchengorma, and were ruled over by a queen namedGuaboymilla, which signifies golden heaven in theirlanguage, and so named because her country produces a greatquantity of gold. These women manufactured rich stuffs, in which,and in the gold produced in their country, they paid tribute toLeuchengorma. Although these things have often been spoken of,their truth has not as yet been ascertained by the discovery ofthe country, Almagro having made no establishment there. Of late,indeed, Pedro de Valdivia has been sent thither to establish somecolonies, but he has never yet had a sufficient force for makingdiscoveries, or for colonization, and has settled one colonyonly, which is placed about thirty-three degrees to the south ofthe equator[3].

[3] Valparayso stands nearly in the latitudeindicated by the text. Valdivia, taking its name from thatcommander, is in lat. 30°40' S.--E.

The whole coast of Chili is well peopled, as far as to thelatitude of 40° south and still farther; which is known byone of the ships belonging to the fleet sent out by Don Gabrielde Carvajal bishop of Placentia, which passed through the straitsof Magellan, and sailed along the whole western coast of SouthAmerica from south to north, and at length reached the portbelonging to Lima. This ship brought over the first rats everseen in Peru, which have so multiplied since that there areplenty in every town of the whole country.

These animals are named ococha by the Peruvians, whichword signifies having come from the sea.

Soon after the departure of Almagro from Cuzco on hisexpedition to Chili, Ferdinand Pizarro returned from Spain, wherehis majesty made him a knight of the order of St Jago, with otheradvantages[4]. He had likewise obtained an enlargement of thegovernment of his brother to a certain extent, and brought outwith him a commission for Almagro to a new government.

[4] Zarate is extremely remiss in regard to dates,and not a little confused in the arrangement of his narrative. Welearn from Robertson, II. 325, that Ferdinand Pizarro returned toPeru in 1536.--E.

At this time Manco Capac, whom Pizarro had permitted to assumethe nominal title of Inca of Peru, was detained a prisoner in thecitadel of Cuzco, in consequence of the discovery of a conspiracyhe had entered into with his brothers Paul and Villaoma toexterminate the Spaniards. Manco Capac wrote to Juan Pizarro,intreating to be set at liberty before the arrival of FerdinandPizarro at Cuzco; and Juan, who was then in the Collaoendeavouring to reduce certain Indians who had retired into astrong place among rocks, sent orders to liberate the Inca. Onthe arrival of Ferdinand Pizarro at Cuzco, he treated Manco Capacwith much respect, yet kept a constant guard over him, and it isbelieved that Ferdinand shewed great friendship for the Inca, inthe hope of procuring gold from him, to send to the king of Spainor for his own use. Two months after the return of Ferdinand toCuzco, Manco Capac solicited permission from Ferdinand to go intothe district of Jucaya[5] on purpose to celebrate a solemnfestival, promising on his return to present him with a statue ofthe late Huana Capac of solid gold as large as life. Ferdinandallowed him to attend this festival, which turned out merely theunravelment of the plot which had been formed at the time whenAlmagro began his march for Chili. Manco Capac gave immediateorders to put to death some Spaniards who superintended theworking of the mines, and others who were travelling through thecountry on various affairs. He sent likewise one of his captainswith a considerable body of troops against Cuzco, who by a suddenand unexpected attack got possession of the castle of that city.The Spaniards indeed retook it after six or seven days, yet notwithout hard fighting, in which they lost Juan Pizarro; who waskilled by a stone which struck him on the head, at a time when hewas unable to wear his helmet in consequence of a former wound.His death was much regretted by the Spaniards, being a brave manand much experienced in the manner of carrying on war with theIndians, and besides because his manners had made him beloved byevery one.

[5] According to Robertson, II. 326, the place wherethe festival was to be celebrated was only at a few leaguesdistance from Cuzco. Garcilasso says that it was a gardenbelonging to the Incas only a league from thecity.--E.

Notwithstanding the recapture of the castle of Cuzco by theSpaniards, the Inca brought a large army against the city, whichhe besieged for more than eight months, making frequent assaultson various parts of the works, chiefly during moon-light nightswhen the moon was full. Ferdinand Pizarro and his brothers,assisted by Gabriel de Roias, Hernand Ponce de Leon, Don AlfonsoEnriquez, the treasurer Requelme, and other brave officers, madea resolute defence, and were almost perpetually under arms dayand night, as the number of the garrison was exceedinglyinadequate to the extent of the place and the multitude ofassailants. As the Spaniards in Cuzco were aware that theinsurrection was general over all Peru, they hardly doubted butthe governor and all their other countrymen were cut off, so thatthey defended themselves as men who had no earthly hope ofsuccour, depending only on the mercy of God and their owncourage. Their small number was daily diminished, as hardly a daypassed in which the Indians did not kill or wound some of theirpeople. One time during the siege, Gonzalo Pizarro made a sallywith twenty horsem*n, and proceeded to the lake or marsh ofChinchero which is five leagues from Cuzco, where he wassurrounded by so vast a force of Indians that he must inevitablyhave been made prisoner, had not Ferdinand Pizarro and Alfonso deToro come up to his rescue with a body of horse. Gonzalo was muchblamed on this occasion for having advanced so far among theenemy with so few men.

We have already mentioned that Almagro had resolved to returninto Peru and to make himself master of Cuzco, from the time thatJuan de Herrada had brought him the commission by which he wasappointed to a government beyond that assigned to Don FranciscoPizarro. The principal officers who were along with him, stronglyurged him to this measure, particularly Gomez Alvarado and DiegoAlvarado, brother and uncle of Don Pedro Alvarado the governor ofGuatimala, and Rodrigo Orgognez; some of whom were eager toprocure settlements in Peru, and others were desirous of gainingestablishments in Chili. To succeed in their design, as reportsof the insurrection in Peru had reached Chili, they instructedsome Indian interpreters to inform Almagro that the governorFrancisco Pizarro and most of the Spaniards in Peru had beenslain by the Peruvians. Urged by all these considerations,Almagro marched back into Peru, and even arrived within sixleagues of Cuzco without giving notice to Ferdinand Pizarro ofhis motions or intentions[6]. Almagro made overtures to the IncaManco Capac for an accommodation, offering to forgive him all theinjury he had already done to the Spaniards, in consideration ofjoining his party and assisting him to become master of Cuzco, ofwhich he pretended that he had been appointed governor by theking of Spain. The Inca proposed an interview between them underpretence of settling the terms of an agreement, to which Almagroconsented without suspecting any treachery, and went accordinglywith a part only of his troops to the place appointed for theconference, leaving the rest of his force under the command ofJuan de Saavedra. Taking advantage of this confidence, the Incaattacked Almagro by surprize with extreme fury, and even killedand wounded several of his men.

[6] The return of Almagro to Cuzco was in the year1537.--E.

In the mean time, Ferdinand Pizarro received notice of thearrival of Almagro, and that Juan de Saavedra was left at thevillage of Hurcos in command of the troops in the absence ofAlmagro. He went therefore from Cuzco at the head of an hundredand seventy of his best troops, in hope of being able to prevailon Saavedra and the rest to abandon the party of Almagro, or tofall upon them by surprize and make them prisoners. But Saavedragot timely notice of his approach, and drew up his forces,amounting to three hundred Spaniards, in an advantageoussituation for his reception. When the two parties were just aboutto engage, Ferdinand Pizarro sent a message to Saavedra proposinga private interview, that they might endeavour to agree upon anaccommodation, to which the other consented. As this conferencewas entirely between themselves, it is difficult to know with anycertainty what passed; but it was reported that Ferdinandendeavoured to persuade Saavedra to join him with the troopsunder his command, for which he offered a large recompense ingold; but that Saavedra, like a man of honour, peremptorilyrefused to betray his general.

On the return of Almagro from his affair with the Inca, herejoined the troops under Saavedra, and marched for Cuzco withhis whole force. While on the march, he made prisoners of fourhorsem*n who had been sent out by Ferdinand Pizarro toreconnoitre, from whom he learnt all the particulars of theinsurrection of the Peruvians, who had killed more than sixhundred Spaniards, and had burnt down a great part of the city ofCuzco, on which news Almagro was very sensibly afflicted. He senthowever, his patents as governor to the senators of the royalcouncil or Cabildo of Cuzco, whom he urged to receive him astheir governor; since, as he insisted, the bounds of thegovernment assigned to Francisco Pizarro certainly did notinclude their city, and even fell considerably short of it to thenorth. In answer to this demand, the council made answer, thatwhenever the extent of the government belonging to Pizarro wasaccurately measured and determined, they would be ready to accedeto his desires, provided their city was found to be beyond hislimits. This subject was endeavoured to be settled at that time,and has been since tried to be ascertained by several experiencedpersons; but the manner in which this affair ought to beregulated has never been agreed upon between the two interestedparties. The adherents of Almagro have always insisted, that theextent assigned by his majesty as the government of Pizarro,ought to be measured either along the sea coast or by the grandroad of the Incas, taking into the account all the turnings andwindings in either of these routes; by which means, in either ofthese ways not only the city of Cuzco, but even Lima according tothe opinions of several persons, would be left out of theprovince of Pizarro. He on the other hand, insisted that theextent of country granted to him, ought to be measured in astraight line directly from north to south, without any angles orturnings, or by means of settling the degrees of latitude at thetwo extremities, allowing so many leagues to each degree.

Ferdinand Pizarro offered to admit Almagro and his troops intoCuzco, and to assign them a particular quarter of the city fortheir residence, if he would agree to defer the dispute about theboundaries, till intelligence were sent to the governor DonFrancisco Pizarro, then at Lima, that he might have it in hispower to endeavour to fall upon some means of settling thedifference between them in an amicable manner. It has been saidby some, that a truce was agreed upon between them on theseprinciples; and that on the faith of this truce, FerdinandPizarro allowed all the soldiers and inhabitants to retire totheir quarters for rest and refreshment, after their longfatigues, having spent several days and nights continually underarms, without time to sleep or even to take proper food. It isfarther said, that Almagro, being informed of this circ*mstance,made a night attack on Cuzco, in which he was aided by a thickmist, so that he got possession of the defences without beingobserved. Ferdinand and Gonzalo Pizarro, awakened by the noise,flew to arms and defended their house, which was the firstattacked, with the assistance of their servants; but as the enemyset it on fire in several places, they were forced to surrender.Next day, Almagro obliged the Cabildo to receive him as governor,and committed Ferdinand and Gonzalo Pizarro to prison. Several ofhis confidents even urged him to secure his conquest by puttingthe Pizarros to death; but he was chiefly dissuaded from this bythe influence of Diego de Alvarado, who became responsible forthem.

It has been said that Almagro violated the truce which he hadagreed to with Ferdinand Pizarro, in consequence of the falserepresentations of several Indians and Spaniards, who told himthat Ferdinand had ordered all the bridges to be broken down, andwas employed in fortifying Cuzco against him. In proof of this,it is alleged that when Almagro was advancing to attack the city,and saw the bridges remained uninjured, he said aloud that he hadbeen imposed on. The governor Don Francisco Pizarro did notreceive any account of these events at Cuzco for a good many daysafterwards. As the Inca Manco Capac had fled with a large body ofPeruvian warriors to the high mountains of the Andes, Almagroinvested his brother the Inca Paul[7] with the royalfringed fillet, appointing him nominal king of Peru.

[7] Garcilasso names this prince PaulluInca.--E.

Among those things which Don Francisco Pizarro had solicitedfrom his majesty in reward for his services in the discovery andconquest of Peru, he particularly requested the grant inperpetuity to him and his descendants of twenty thousand Indiansin a province named Atabillos[8], with all the revenues,imposts, rights, and jurisdictions appertaining to them, togetherwith the title of Marquis of that province. The king gave him thetitle of Marquis according to his desire; but in regard to thegrant of Indians which he solicited, answered, that he must inthe first place be better informed of the nature andcirc*mstances of the country and its native institutions, beforehe could determine on that measure, but that Pizarro might restassured of having every reasonable concession in his favour.

[8] Named Atavillos by Garcilasso de laVega.--E.

On receiving information of the insurrection of the Peruviansaround Cuzco under Manco Capac, Francisco Pizarro, now Marquis,sent several detachments of troops to the assistance of hisbrother Ferdinand at Cuzco, sometimes ten or fifteen onlytogether, according as circ*mstances or convenience occurred, notbelieving the state of affairs to be so hazardous as it was inreality[9]. The Peruvians having accurate information of themarch of these detachments, occupied the difficult passes of themountains with parties of warriors, and succeeded on severaloccasions to defeat these small bodies, most of whom were slain.One considerable reinforcement of seventy horsem*n, was sent bythe Marquis from Truxillo and San Miguel under the command ofDiego Pizarro, who was waylaid by the Peruvians at a difficultpass called the mountain of Parios, about fifty leagues fromCuzco, where he and his men were all slain. One Gonzalo de Tapia,who was brother-in-law to the Marquis, who went with a body ofeighty horsem*n, was likewise defeated and slain; and two othercaptains, named Morgoveio and Gaete, while endeavouring to passthe mountains to the relief of Cuzco, were treated in the samemanner. Of all these different detachments, scarcely one manescaped, so that those who followed knew nothing of what happenedto those who went before them. The enemy always attacked theSpaniards while engaged in marching through some deep and narrowvalley among the mountains, occupying both ends of the valley bystrong bodies of warriors, and rolling down great stones andmasses of rock from the steep and high mountains on both sides ofthe valley, destroyed our men and horses in a miserable manner,often without fighting. In this way they at different timesdestroyed more than three hundred soldiers, and made themselvesmasters of their arms, besides acquiring considerable andvaluable plunder in gold and jewels and silk dresses. Not knowingthe fate of the former detachments, Francisco de Godoy was sentwith a reinforcement of eighty men; but falling in with two ofthose who had belonged to the detachment under Gaete, who hadescaped, he learnt from them what had happened, on which heimmediately endeavoured to retreat from the mountain passes, inwhich he had considerable difficulty, as the Indians had alreadyoccupied the defiles in his rear. He made good his retreathowever, followed and harassed by the Indians for more thantwenty leagues, sometimes attacking him in the rear and at othertimes in the van, and at length got safe to Lima with muchdifficulty. About the same time the captain Diego de Agueroarrived at that place with some other Spaniards, who had savedthemselves from the Indians, who had endeavoured to massacre themat their country residences.

[9] The arrangement of Zarate is extremely faulty andconfused, as he here recounts circ*mstances which preceeded thereturn of Almagro to Cuzco. We are here giving a translation of aoriginal document; not endeavouring to write a history of theConquest of Peru, and have not therefore authority to alter thearrangement of our author.--E.

The marquis sent Pedro de Lerma at the head of eighty cavalryto drive away a numerous army of Peruvian warriors who hadinvaded the lower country in pursuit of Aguero. Lerma foughtagainst these troops of the Inca a whole day, and at last forcedthem to take refuge in a strong place among steep rocks, wherethe Spaniards surrounded them. In this battle, Lerma lost severalof his teeth, and several of his men were wounded, but nonekilled. The Indians were so exceedingly crowded together amongthe rocks to which they had retired, that they were unable to usetheir arms, insomuch that the Spaniards might probably have putan end to the war on this occasion, if the marquis had not sentthem an order to retire. On seeing the retreat of their enemies,the Indians returned thanks to their gods for their escape fromso great danger, and took post on a high mountain near the cityof Lima on the other side of the river, whence they harassed theSpaniards by frequent skirmishes and attacks. The commander ofthese Indians was named Tyzogopangui, who had along with him oneof the brothers of the Inca, whom the marquis had sent along withGaete[10]. While the Peruvians remained in the neighbourhood ofLima, skirmishing every day with the Spaniards, it often happenedthat the natives who were in the service of the Spaniards, whowere called Yanacones, went during the day to theirfriends in the mountains, who gave them provisions, and returnedat night to their masters.

[10] Garcilasso names the Peruvian general TituYupanqui. The remainder of the sentence, respecting the brotherof the Inca and Gaete, is quite unintelligible. I suspect it hasbeen misunderstood by the French translator and ought to standthus: "The commander of these Peruvians was Titu Yupanqui, abrother of the Inca, and the same person who had driven Gaete andothers to take refuge in Lima."--E.

As he was in a manner besieged by so large a force of theenemy in Lima, the marquis concluded that his brothers and allthe other Spaniards in Cuzco had certainly been slain, and thatthe insurrection was so general that the inhabitants of Chili hadlikewise destroyed Almagro and his army. In this emergency, boththat his Spaniards might not expect to save themselves by sea,and to convince the Peruvians that he had no intention to leavethe country, he sent off all his ships to Panama. At the sametime he sent notice to the Viceroy of New Spain and all the othergovernors in America and the West Indies of the perilous state ofaffairs in Peru, intreating them to send him assistance. In theseletters, he is said not to have shewn his usual firmness, and itis reported that this was occasioned by the earnest solicitationsof many of those around him. He sent orders at the same time tothe commandant of Truxillo to abandon that place, and to come tohis assistance with all the armed men and horses he couldcollect, sending off the women and children and all theirvaluable effects to the province of Tierra firma. But before theexecution of these orders, the captain Alfonso de Alvaradoarrived at Truxillo with the troops he had taken along with himfor the conquest of the province of the Chachapoyas, whence hehad been recalled by orders from the marquis. Leaving a part ofhis troops for the defence of Truxillo, Alvarado marched with therest to Lima, where the marquis appointed him lieutenant-generalof his army, in place of Don Pedro de Lerma, who had hithertoenjoyed that office. This gave great offence to Lerma, and wasthe occasion of his revolt, as shall be mentioned in thesequel.

As the marquis was now reinforced by a considerable number oftroops, he thought himself in condition to send assistance tothose parts which were in greatest danger, and detached thereforeAlfonso Alvarado with three hundred horse and foot, who pillagedseveral districts with very little resistance from the Indians.But about four leagues from the city of Pachacamac, he wasviolently attacked by the Indians, whom he defeated withconsiderable slaughter; after which he continued his marchtowards Cuzco. On this march the army of Alvarado suffered greathardships in passing across a large extent of desert country,five hundred Indians who attended as servants perishing ofthirst; and it is said that all the Spanish infantry must havedied of thirst and fatigue, if they had not been relieved by theactivity of the cavalry in bringing them water from a distance.After reaching the province of Jauja, Alvarado was joined byGomez de Tordoya with two hundred horse and foot, who had beensent after him. His force being augmented to five hundred men bythis reinforcement, Alvarado proceeded to the bridge ofLumichaca, where he was surrounded by a numerous army ofhostile Indians. Having defeated these in battle, he continuedhis march to the bridge of Abancay[11], continually harassed bythe Indians. At that place he learned that Ferdinand and GonzaloPizarro had been imprisoned by Almagro, who had taken possessionof Cuzco; on which he resolved to halt where he then was till hemight receive precise orders from the marquis for his fartherproceedings.

[11] Abancay is a town on one of the branches of theApurimac about 60 miles west from Cuzco.--E.

When Almagro was informed of the arrival of Alfonso Alvaradoat Abancay, he sent Diego Alvarado to wait upon him, attended byseven or eight horsem*n, with orders to notify his commission asgovernor in these parts. Alfonso, after examining the commission,declared that he did not consider himself competent to decideupon an affair of such high importance, and that the documentsought to be communicated to the marquis. Almagro had come part ofthe way from Cuzco towards the camp of Alvarado, where he waitedthe return of his messenger; and not seeing him at the time heexpected, he became afraid that Alvarado had detained him andmight advance to Cuzco by another road. He returned therefore toCuzco in all haste to provide for his defence. Learning thediscontent of Lerma, on account of having been superseded in thecommand of the army by the marquis, and that he was disposed tocome over to his side with eighty men, Almagro marched out fromCuzco with his troops a fortnight afterwards, and advancedtowards the army of Alfonso Alvarado. While on the march, theadvanced guard belonging to Almagro, by means of an ambush, madePedro Alvarez Holguin prisoner, who had been sent out ondiscovery by Alvarado. On learning this circ*mstance, Alvaradomeant to have arrested Pedro de Lerma, as he entertainedsuspicions that he was in correspondence with Almagro; but Lermahad previously escaped to the enemy, carrying along with him thesignatures of all those who had joined him in the plot fordeserting to Almagro.

After the junction of Lerma, Almagro approached during thenight to the bridge of Abancay with one part of his army, wherehe knew that Gomez de Tordoya and a son of Colonel Vilalva waitedfor him; and he detached at the same time a large body of histroops to a ford of the river, where those who had conspired inhis favour along with Lerma had the guard. By these men thetroops of Almagro were received as friends, so that they passedthe river without opposition. Some of these conspiratorscontrived during the night to throw above fifty lances belongingto the cavalry of Alvarado into the river. Owing to all thesecirc*mstances, when Alvarado proposed next morning to haveattacked the enemy, he found himself abandoned by theconspirators; and a considerable number of his own troops, notbeing able to find their arms, did not come up in time for theattack. By these means Almagro got an easy and bloodless victory,not a single Spaniard being killed on either side, RodrigoOrgognez only losing several of his teeth by a stone thrown froma sling[12]. After the capture of Alfonso Alvarado, theAlmagrians pillaged his camp, and carried all the adherents ofPizarro as prisoners to Cuzco, where they were harshly treated.In consequence of this victory the partizans of Almagro were somuch elated, that they used to say the Pizarros might now retirefrom Peru to govern the Mangroves under the equator.

[12] We learn from the History of America, II. 331,that this bloodless victory over Alvarado took place on the 12thJuly 1537. Garcilasso calls it the battle of the river Amancay,and names Alvarado Alonso.--E.

In consequence of the victories which Alvarado had gained overthe Indians at Pachacamac and Lumichaca, as already mentioned,the Inca and Titu Yupanqui were obliged to retire from beforeLima, which they had in a manner blockaded. By this circ*mstancethe marquis found himself at liberty to act in support of hisinterest at Cuzco; and having received considerablereinforcements from various parts, he began his march for Cuzcoat the head of more than seven hundred men, horse and foot. Inthis expedition, his only purpose was to succour his brothersagainst the Peruvians, as he had not hitherto receivedinformation of the return of Almagro from Chili, or any of thoseother events which had taken place, as before related. Most ofthe troops by which the marquis was lately joined, were sent byDon Alonso de Fuenmayor, archbishop and president of Hispaniola,under the command of his brother Don Diego de Fuenmayor. Besidesthese, Gaspar de Espinosa had brought some troops from Panama,and Diego de Avala had brought others from Nicaragua. With thisarmy the marquis set out from Lima for Cuzco, taking the way ofthe plain, and arrived in the province of Nasca, abouttwenty-five leagues from Lima[13]. At this place he receivedintelligence of the return of Almagro, the death of one of hisbrothers and imprisonment of the other two, the defection ofLerma, and the capture of Alvarado. He was sensibly affected bythis afflicting news; and considering that his troops were onlyprepared for contending against Indians, he thought proper toreturn immediately to Lima to take proper measures under thepresent emergency of his affairs.

[13] Nasca is about 240 miles S.S.E. from Lima, orabout sixty Spanish leagues.--E.

Soon after his return to Lima, the marquis sent the licentiateEspinosa to endeavour to bring about an accommodation withAlmagro. Espinosa was directed to represent to Almagro, that ifhis majesty were informed of the disputes between them, and theevil consequences of these upon the condition of the colony, hewould assuredly recal both, and send some other person to assumethe government of Peru, who would reap the rich fruit of theirjoint labours. If Almagro refused to listen to theseremonstrances, and to enter into a friendly accommodation,Espinosa was instructed to request that he would set the brothersof Pizarro at liberty, and would remain at Cuzco withoutattempting any farther hostilities, untill they had laid astatement of their differences before his majesty, and hadreceived his final orders respecting the boundaries between theirgovernments. Espinosa was unable to persuade Almagro to agree toany accommodation, and soon afterwards died. Leaving Gabriel deRoias as his lieutenant in Cuzco, with the charge of GonzaloPizarro and Alonso de Alvarado, Almagro descended into the plainwith a considerable force, carrying Ferdinand Pizarro along withhim. He penetrated into the province of Chancay, which is onlytwenty leagues from Lima, where he even established a colony orgarrison, in a place which was without any manner of doubt withinthe province of the marquis.

On the return of the marquis to Lima, he made additionallevies of troops; giving out openly that he was reduced to takeup arms against Almagro, who had invaded his government. In a fewdays he assembled an army of seven hundred men, among whom was aconsiderable body of musqueteers, which had been brought fromFlanders with the necessary arms and ammunition by Pedro deVergera, along with the troops of Diego de Fuenmayor. Hithertothere had not been a sufficient number of musquets in Peru toform entire companies of that species of troops; but on thepresent occasion the marquis was enabled to arm two companieswith that powerful weapon, one of which was commanded by thebefore named Pedro de Vergera, who had been formerly sent todiscover the province of Bracamoras. Nugno de Castro wasappointed captain of the other company of musqueteers. Diego deUrbina, nephew of the maestre de campo Juan de Urhina, was madecaptain of the pikemen. Diego de Roias, Peranzures, and Alfonsode Mercadillo, were appointed captains of horse: Pedro deValdivia maestre de campo, and Antonio de Vilalva sergeant-major,who was son of Colonel Vilalva.

About this time, Alonso de Alvarado and Gonzalo Pizarro, whor*mained prisoners in Cuzco[14], made their escape from prison,and joined the marquis with above seventy men whom they hadpersuaded to accompany them, bringing likewise along with them asprisoner Gabriel de Roias the lieutenant of Almagro. The arrivalof these officers gave much satisfaction to the marquis, both onaccount of their escape from danger, and because thereinforcement they brought along with them gave greatencouragement to his troops. He appointed his brother Gonzalolieutenant-general of his army, and Alonso Alvarado maestre decampo, or major-general of the cavalry. When Almagro learnt thathis prisoners had escaped, and the numerous forces which themarquis had procured, he became desirous of an accommodation, forwhich purpose he sent Alfonso Enriquez, Diego Nugnez de Mercadurathe factor, and Juan de Guzman treasurer, to the marquis todesire an interview, at which they might regulate every thingthat was in dispute between them. After several messages andproposals, the marquis proposed to refer the whole matter to theumpirage of Francisco de Bovadilla, provincial of the order ofMercy, to which Almagro consented.

[14] Zarate forgets that only a few lines before, hehad mentioned that Almagro carried these officers along with hisarmy:--E.

In virtue of the powers given to him by both parties,Bovadilla ordained that Ferdinand Pizarro should be set atliberty; that Cuzco should be restored to the marquis; that botharmies should be disbanded, and the different companies sent invarious directions to discover and conquer the country; and thatfinally the whole dispute about the boundaries of the twogovernments should be referred to the decision of his majesty.Bovadilla likewise persuaded Almagro and Pizarro to have aninterview in the village of Mala[15], mid-way between the twoarmies, at which they might discuss the terms of an entirereconcilement, each to be attended by twelve horsem*n. Theyaccordingly set out for that place from their respective camps;but as Gonzalo Pizarro did not give implicit confidence to thepromise of Almagro, he followed his brother with the whole army,which he secretly posted in the neighbourhood of Mala, placingCastro with forty musketeers in ambush among some reeds near theroad by which Almagro had to pass, and directing him, in caseAlmagro was accompanied by a larger force than was agreed on, togive notice by a discharge of musketry, that Gonzalo might hastento the defence of the marquis.

[15] Mala, or San Pedro de Mala, is a town andsea-port on a river of the same name, about 50 miles south fromLima.

Before leaving Chincha on his way to the interview withPizarro, Almagro left orders with his lieutenant-general, RodrigoOrgognez, to keep vigilant guard againt the machinations of theenemy, in case the marquis should bring a greater escort than wasagreed upon, that he might send him prompt assistance; and if anytreason were practised against him, that Ferdinand Pizarro shouldbe considered as an hostage for his safety. On their meeting, themarquis and Almagro embraced each other with much apparentcordiality; but after a short discourse, in which no part oftheir difference was alluded to, one of the horsem*n whoaccompanied the marquis, whispered to Almagro that he was indanger, and advised him to retire without delay, as GonzaloPizarro had placed an ambush to intercept him. Almagroimmediately called for his horse; and several of the attendantson Pizarro, seeing Almagro about to retire, endeavoured topersuade the marquis to have him arrested, which could easilyhave been done by means of the musqueteers under De Castro. Tothis the marquis would by no means consent, being resolved tokeep his promise inviolate, and would not believe that Almagromeant to go away without coming to some conclusion on the subjectof their meeting. Almagro however went away; and as he saw theambush on his way back, he was convinced that treachery wasintended against him, and made loud complaints of the conduct ofthe marquis after his return to Chincha. Yet, by the intercessionof Diego de Alvarado, Almagro set Ferdinand Pizarro at liberty,on condition that the marquis should provide him with a ship anda free port, by which he might send dispatches to Spain andreceive answers, and that they should continue in peace untilthey received the final determination of the sovereign respectingthe boundaries of their governments. Rodrigo Orgognez wasexceedingly averse from this measure of liberating FerdinandPizarro, who had been harshly treated while a prisoner, and whohe believed would be eager for revenge if set free, and stronglyurged Almagro to put him to death. But Almagro would not listento his advice, and sent Ferdinand Pizarro to the marquis,accompanied by his own son the younger Almagro and severalgentlemen. Ferdinand Pizarro was hardly set off on his return,when Almagro began to repent that he had set him at liberty; andit is believed he would have been remanded to prison if he hadnot made haste on his journey, during which he was met by severalof his brothers principal officers.

Soon after the liberation of his brother Ferdinand, themarquis received provisional orders from his majesty, by thehands of Pedro Anzures; by which the two governors were commandedto retain the countries which each of them had discovered andconquered, and in which they had formed establishments at thetime when this provisional order should be notified to them;neither of them making any attempt to disturb the other until hismajesty should give definitive orders on the subject. Having nowhis brother at liberty, the marquis sent a notification toAlmagro of this imperial order, requiring him to retire accordingto his majestys orders from the country which he, Pizarro, haddiscovered, and in which he had established colonies. Almagroanswered, that he was ready to obey the orders of his majesty, inkeeping possession of the country and establishments he occupiedwhen the imperial order was notified, for which reason herequired the marquis to leave him in the peaceable enjoyment ofwhat he how possessed, declaring that on his part he wouldcarefully and entirely perform whatever should be finallycommanded by his majesty. The marquis replied, that the city ofCuzco and the adjoining territory had been first discovered,colonized, and occupied by him, of which he had been violentlydispossessed by Almagro, that in conformity with the orders ofhis majesty, therefore, it behoved Almagro to evacuate that cityand territory, or he would drive him from it by force, as all thecompacts and conventions which had been entered into between themwere abrogated by this new regulation of his majesty.

As Almagro refused to accede to these demands, the marquismarched against him with his whole force, on which Almagroretired towards Cuzco, and fortified himself on a high mountainnamed Guavtara, breaking up all the roads to render the approachto his camp as difficult as possible. Ferdinand Pizarro foundmeans to ascend the mountain during the night by a secret path,and forced the passages with his musqueteers, so that Almagro wasforced to abandon this position, seeking his safety in flight.Being sick at the time, he went with the advanced guard, leavingOrgognez to bring up and protect the rear. One night, Orgognezlearnt by two of Pizarros horsem*n who were taken prisoners, thatthe enemy were close up with his rear, on which he hastened theretreat as much as possible, although several of his officerswere anxious for him to turn back upon the pursuers, knowing byexperience that those who usually inhabited the plain wereliable, on their first coming into the mountainous region, tosickness and vomiting, very much resembling sea-sickness.Orgognez refused to listen to this advice, because contrary tothe orders of Almagro; yet it was believed he might have beensuccessful, as the troops belonging to the marquis were inreality affected by that ordinary malady, and were besides somuch distressed by the snow that Pizarro retired back with hisarmy into the maritime plain of Peru. Almagro continued his marchto Cuzco, where he employed himself for two months in raisingrecruits, procuring ammunition, preparing arms of silver andcopper, founding cannon, and making every preparation to defendhimself against Pizarro.

After the return of the marquis into the plain, variousconsultations were held as to the best plan of procedure, and itwas at last determined that Ferdinand Pizarro, nowlieutenant-general under the marquis, with his brother GonzaloPizarro as major-general, should march with the army againstCuzco[16]. On this occasion, a manifesto was circulated as thereason of this measure, that several of the inhabitants of Cuzcohad made complaints to the marquis against the tyranny ofAlmagro, who had violently seized their goods and houses, anddispossessed them of their Indians and every thing that belongedto them. The marquis returned to Lima, and his brother Ferdinandmarched at the head of the army towards Cuzco. Having arrived onthe mountainous ridge near Cuzco in the evening, all his officersurged Ferdinand Pizarro to descend immediately into the plainthat the army might encamp there for the night; but Ferdinandpositively rejected this advice, and ordered the army to encampon the mountain. Early next morning, the whole army of Almagrowas seen drawn up in order of battle on the plain, under thesupreme command of Orgognez; Francisco de Chaves, Juan Tello, andVasco de Guevara, having the command of the cavalry under hisorders. On the side of the mountain there was a great body ofIndians in charge of a small number of Spaniards, intended to beemployed as circ*mstances might admit in the expected battle. Inthe meantime, all the friends and partizans of the marquis whowere in Cuzco were committed prisoners to the citadel, which wasso extremely crowded on this occasion, and the placesappropriated for their confinement so small, that several of themwere stifled.

[16] According to Robertson, II. 334, after anunsuccessful attempt to cross the mountains by the direct roadfrom Lima to Cuzco, Ferdinand marched southwards in the maritimeplain to Nasca, whence he penetrated by the defiles of themountains in that quarter.--E.

On the following day, after the solemnization of the mass,Ferdinand Pizarro marched his army into the plain of Cuzco inorder of battle, and advanced towards the city, intending to gainpossession of some high ground which overlooked the citadel.Ferdinand and his troops flattered themselves, from their greatsuperiority in numbers, that Almagro would not risk a battle, andwere even anxious to spare the effusion of Christian blood on thepresent occasion, in which the natives of the same country andsubjects of the same sovereign were preparing to destroy eachother, instead of uniting in a common cause for the general goodof all. Orgognez was actuated by a different principle, and hadoccupied the only passage by which the troops of Pizarro couldapproach towards Cuzco, in which he had drawn up his troops andartillery with much judgment, under cover of a marsh, acrosswhich it was necessary for the troops of Pizarro to pass beforethey could attack his position. Immediately on reconnoitring theorder of the enemy, Ferdinand Pizarro ordered captain Mercadilloto advance with his cavalry to a proper place for keeping theIndians in check in case they should attempt to attack his armywhile engaged in battle with Orgognez, and whence likewise hemight be able to give succour where necessary during theapproaching engagement. Before the Spaniards began to engage, theIndians on both sides skirmished with each other. The cavalry ofPizarro endeavoured to pass the morass, and being opposed by asquadron of Almagro's horse, the musketeers belonging to Pizarroadvanced in front of their own horse and soon compelled theadverse cavalry to give ground. On seeing this successfulcommencement of the battle, Pedro de Valdivia, a maestre de campoof the marquis, assured his friends that the victory was theirown. While the troops of Pizarro were passing the marsh, theAlmagrians plied their artillery, and by one discharge five menbelonging to Pizarro were brought down. But Pizarro pressed onunder cover of a close fire from his musketeers, and passed boththe marsh and a rivulet beyond, and drew up in good order on thefirm ground, every one of the captains having been previouslyinstructed how to proceed with their divisions before theengagement commenced. As Pizarro noticed that the pikemen in thearmy of Orgognez carried their pikes high, he gave orders to hismusketeers to fire a little high, by which means in two volliesthey broke above fifty of the enemies pikes[17]. At this timeOrgognez ordered his army to advance to the charge, and observingthat several of his divisions hesitated, being held in check bythe fire of the musqueteers, he moved on himself at the head ofhis main body, directing his attack to that part of the enemywhere Ferdinand Pizarro was seen at the head of his squadrons.Orgognez apparently despairing of the battle, called out whileadvancing, "Follow me who will! I go in the name of God to do myduty, and to seek an honourable death!" While Orgognez wasadvancing, Gonzalo Pizarro and Alonso Alvarado observed that hisflank was uncovered, and accordingly made an immediate charge, bywhich above fifty of the Almagrians were overthrown. Orgognez waswounded by a musket-ball in the head, which broke through hisbeaver; notwithstanding which he killed two men with his lance,and wounded one of Pizarros servants in the mouth whom he mistookfor the general, as he was finely dressed. For some time theengagement was extremely severe and the combatants were mingledtogether; but at length the troops of Pizarro forced theAlmagrians to take to flight after they had a considerable numberkilled and wounded.

[17] Garcilasso informs us that the musketeers ofPizarro used a kind of chain shot on this occasion; their leadenbullets being cast in two hemispheres connected together byseveral links of a small iron chain.--E.

Almagro being sick, took no part in the battle, which heobserved from a height at some distance, and on seeing his troopstake to flight, exclaimed, "I thought we had come out to fightlike valiant soldiers, not to run away like cowards." Heimmediately withdrew to the citadel of Cuzco, to which place hewas pursued by Gonzalo Pizarro and Alonso Alvarado, and madeprisoner. Orgognez was taken prisoner by two of Pizarroshorsem*n, who were leading him away when a third came up who borehim a grudge for some injurious treatment, and cut off his head.Several others who had surrendered were slain in this manner bypersonal enemies, in spite of every endeavour by FerdinandPizarro and his officers to protect them. The soldiers ofAlvarado especially, ashamed and irritated by the defeat they hadformerly sustained at the bridge of Abancay, were eager forrevenge, and put many of the Almagrians to death in cold blood.Captain Ruy Dias had taken up a prisoner behind him on horseback,on purpose to protect him, when one of his own troopers run himthrough with his lance.

When the Indian servants of the two armies saw that the battleamong the Christians was ended, they too gave over fighting, andfell to plundering the dead, whom they stripped of their clothesand valuables, even pillaging several who were yet alive, butunable to defend themselves because of their wounds; and as theconquerors were entirely taken up in pursuing their victory, theIndians had it in their power to do as they pleased, so that theyentirely stripped everyone whom they found on the field ofbattle. The Spaniards, both victors and vanquished, were so wornout and fatigued by their exertions in this battle, that theymight have been easily destroyed by the Indians who were present,if they had dared to attack them according to their originalintention; but they were so busied in plundering the killed andwounded, that they neglected the opportunity of avengingthemselves on their oppressors. This decisive battle was foughton the 6th of April 1538, in a plain called Cachipampa orthe field of salt by the Indians, about a league to the south ofthe citadel of Cuzco, near a salt spring from which theinhabitants make great quantities of salt; and as these saltworks are in the neighbourhood of the field, this engagement hasbeen always known by the name of the battle of Salinas, orof the salt works[18].

[18] In Zarate the date of this battle is given asthe 26th of April, in which he is followed by Robertson; butGarcilasso carefully notices the mistake, and assures us that itwas fought on the 6th of the month.--E.

After this decisive victory, Ferdinand Pizarro used everymeans to conciliate the officers of Almagros army who hadsurvived the battle, that he might engage them in the party ofthe marquis, and being unsuccessful, he banished several of themfrom Cuzco. Being unable to satisfy the demands of all those whohad served him on the late occasion, as many of them thought sohighly of their own merits that the government of Peru wouldhardly have been a sufficient reward in their own estimation,Ferdinand Pizarro resolved to separate the army, sending it awayin various detachments to discover and conquer those parts of thecountry which had not been hitherto explored and reduced. By thismeasure, he at the same time rewarded his friends by giving themopportunities to distinguish and enrich themselves, and got ridof his enemies by sending them to a distance. On this occasionPedro de Candia was sent with three hundred men, part of whom hadbelonged to Almagro, to conquer the country of Collao, amountainous district which was said to be extremely rich. Notbeing able to make any progress in this country on account of thedifficulty of the roads, he had to return; besides which histroops became mutinous, chiefly at the instigation of one Mesa,who had been commissary of artillery under Almagro, and wasencouraged by the other soldiers of Almagro who served on thisexpedition. On this, Candia arrested Mesa and sent him toFerdinand Pizarro with the evidences of his guilt. Thiscirc*mstance, combined with information of conspiracies inseveral other places, which had for their object to free Almagrofrom prison and to give him possession of Cuzco, satisfiedFerdinand Pizarro that the country would never be in quiet whileAlmagro lived.

Ferdinand accordingly brought Almagro to trial, in which hewas convicted of giving occasion to all the preceding disorders,of which he was the first and chief cause; having begun the warby several acts of hostilities; having taken forcible possessionof the city of Cuzco by his own private authority, where he putseveral persons to death merely for opposing his unlawfulusurpation; and having marched in hostile array into the provinceof Chincha, which incontestibly belonged to the province assignedto the marquis. When sentence of death was pronounced, Almagrosaid every thing he could think of to excite the compassion ofFerdinand Pizarro that he might spare his life. He representedthat the marquis in a great measure owed his present greatness tohim; as he had advanced the greatest proportion of the originalfunds for the discovery of Peru. He desired Ferdinand torecollect, that when he was a prisoner in his hands, he had sethim at liberty contrary to the representations of his officers,who advised that he should be put to death: And that though he,Pizarro, might have been ill treated while a prisoner, that hadbeen done without his orders or knowledge. He intreated him toconsider his very advanced age, which would soon bring him to thegrave, without the disgrace of a public punishment. Ferdinandexpressed his astonishment that one of such great courage shouldshew so much fear of death, which was now inevitable, and desiredhim to submit to the will of God like a good Christian, and tomeet death with the courage of a gentleman and a man of honour.Almagro replied, that be ought not to be surprised at seeing himafraid of death, being a man and a sinner, since even JesusChrist had evinced a fear to die. All this however was of noavail, as Ferdinand caused him to be beheaded.

After the execution of Almagro, Ferdinand Pizarro went toCollao, where he punished Mesa for having excited mutiny amongthe troops of Candia; after which he sent the three hundred menunder the command of Peranzures to reduce the country which hadbeen assigned to Pedro de Candia. These troops had to march by amost difficult and dangerous route among morasses anduncultivated places, where they thought to have perished offamine. Ferdinand remained in Collao, which he reduced. This is alevel country containing several gold mines, but so cold that itproduces no maize, the natives living principally on a root namedpapas, which resembles truffles. This country likewiseabounds in those Peruvian sheep which have been formerlydescribed[19]. About this time the marquis came to Cuzco, towhich place Ferdinand went to confer with him, leaving hisbrother Gonzalo Pizarro to continue his conquest. Gonzaloadvanced into the province of the Charcas[20], where he wasattacked by a great body of Indians and reduced to great straits,insomuch that Ferdinand set out from Cuzco to his assistance witha body of horse. On this occasion, on purpose to encourage thesesuccours to use every possible expedition, the marquis gave outthat he meant to go in person to relieve his brother Gonzalo, andactually went two or three days journey from Cuzco. WhenFerdinand arrived at Charcas, he found that Gonzalo had alreadyextricated himself from his difficulties, having defeated anddispersed the enemy. They continued together for some timereducing the country, having frequently to fight with theIndians, till at last they took their chief prisoner, namedTixo[21], on which the natives universally submitted.Ferdinand and Gonzalo now returned to Cuzco, where the marquisdistributed settlements to every one sufficient to maintain themin ease and comfort.

[19] Collao in the text is probably Cailloma ofmodern maps, a very elevated valley at the head of one of thebranches of the Apurimac. The marshy country beyond, to whichCandia and Peranzures were sent on discovery, is called Musu byGarcilasso, and was probably the Pampas or marshy plains of theMojos or Muju, to the east of the Andes, nearly in the latitudeof Cailloma--E.

[20] We learn from Garcilasso that in this provincethe city of La Plata was afterwards built, not far distant fromthe famous mines of Potosi and Porco--E.

[21] Perhaps the Inca Titu Yupanqui is here meant,who was named Tizogopangui by Zarate on a formeroccasion.--E.

About this time likewise various other parties were sent outin different directions to discover and reduce the provinces ofPeru and the neighbouring districts; among the commanders ofthese detachments were the captains Vergara, Porcel, Mercadillo,and Guevera. Pedro de Valdivia likewise was sent to Chili, whereAlmagro had formerly been, and Gonzalo Pizarro to Quito, of whoseadventures we shall speak hereafter. When all these matters werearranged, by which the Spaniards were dispersed in various parts,and tranquillity was restored to the country, Ferdinand Pizarroset out for Spain to give an account to the emperor of all thetransactions which had taken place in Peru, though many advisedhim not to run the risk of that measure until it was known whatjudgment might be formed at court respecting the death ofAlmagro. Before his departure, Ferdinand strongly advised hisbrother the marquis to put no trust in those who had adhered tothe service of Almagro in the late troubles, who were usuallydenominated the Chilese, and particularly that he ought tokeep them at a distance from each other, being well assured thatif even eight or ten of them were permitted to dwell in oneneighbourhood, that they would form conspiracies against hislife.

SECTION IV.

Expeditions of Pedro de Valdivia into Chili, and of GonzaloPizarro to Los Canelos.

On the arrival of Pedro de Valdivia in Chili, he was peaceablyreceived by the Indians, who wished to gather in their crops, asit was then the season of harvest. When this important businesswas accomplished, the whole country rose upon the Spaniards, whowere unprepared for this event and somewhat dispersed, and killedforty of them before they could draw their forces together. Onthis occasion, when Valdivia was about to take the field tochastise the Chilese, part of his troops threatened to mutinyagainst his authority, and he was under the necessity of hangingseveral of the ringleaders, among whom was captain Pedro Sanchode Hosz, who was almost equal to himself in the command of thisexpedition. After the suppression of this mutiny, Valdivia tookthe field against the Indians, and during his absence an army ofthe enemy exceeding seven thousand men came to attack the newlyestablished city, in which only a small number of Spaniardsremained for its defence, under the command of the captainsFrancisco de Villagran, and Alfonso de Monroy. These officerswent boldly out against the Chilese, at the head only of thirtyhorsem*n, with whom they fought bravely against the immensenumber of Chilese archers from morning till night, after whichthey retired into the city, extremely fatigued and several ofthem wounded, but none of them slain. As the Chilese suffered agreat loss in killed and wounded during this engagement, theyretired during the night.

For eight years afterwards, Valdivia and his troops defendedthemselves bravely against every effort of the Chilese, whocontinued the war incessantly. In all that time, Valdivia obligedhis soldiers to cultivate a sufficient quantity of land for theirsustenance, not being able to procure Indians for that purpose,yet resolved not to abandon the country which had been commitedto his government. At the end of that period he returned intoPeru, at the time when the licentiate Pedro de la Gasca wasemployed in levying an army against Gonzalo Pizarro, as shall berelated in the sequel[1].

[1] We shall have a future opportunity of giving abetter account of the discovery and conquest of Chili than thisextremely meagre notice by Zarate from Molina, Ovalle and otherearly authors. The nameless city mentioned by Zarate was probablySt Jago de Chili, which was founded by Valdivia. The commencementof the Valdivian expedition was in the year1530.--E.

Soon after the overthrow of the Almagrians, it was reported inPeru that a very rich country had been discovered to theeastwards of Quito, which in particular contained greatquantities of cinnamon trees, on which account it got the name ofLos Canelos, or the cinnamon country. The marquis accordinglyresolved to send his brother Gonzalo Pizarro to discover thatcountry; and as it was necessary to march thither by way ofQuito, where likewise every requisite for the expedition was tobe procured, the marquis conferred the government of the kingdomof Quito on his brother, till his majestys pleasure might be madeknown. Gonzalo Pizarro accordingly set out from Cuzco with aconsiderable force, taking his route for Quito by way of theelevated mountain vallies[2]. In this march he was opposed by theIndians of the province of Guanuco with so much perseverance andbravery, that the marquis was under the necessity of sending hima reinforcement under Francisco de Chaves. After having overcomethis obstacle, he arrived in safety at Quito, where he proceededto make preparations for his expedition to Los Canelos.

[2] This force, according to Garcilasso, amounted to100 horse, and an equal number of foot.--E.

On account of the hostile conduct of the Guanucos towardsGonzalo, and because the curacas or caciques of that province, inconjunction with those of the Conchucos had made frequent attackson the city and province of Truxillo, in which they killed allthe Spaniards they could meet with and pillaged the country, noteven sparing their Indian neighbours, the marquis sent adetachment of troops under Gomez de Alvarado to make a conquestof Guanuco, with orders to establish a settlement in that countryto keep the natives under subjection. In their militaryexpeditions, the Peruvians of Guanuco carried an idol along withthem, named Cataquilla, to which they made offerings of all whomthey massacred or made prisoners, and of the spoil which fellinto their hands. They persisted for a long time in theirbarbarous hostilities, till at length, Miguel de la Cerna raiseda considerable force in Truxillo, with which he joined Franciscode Chaves. With these forces conjoined, they fought successfullyagainst the Indians of Guanuco and reduced them tosubjection.

When Gonzalo Pizarro had completed the preparations for hisexpedition, he set out from Quito in the year 1540 at the head of200 Spaniards well equipped, of whom the half was cavalry[3]. Hewas attended by 4000 friendly Indians[4], and by a flock of 4000animals, consisting of swine and Peruvian sheep, to serve asprovisions, and to carry the baggage and ammunition of the army.After passing a place called Inca, the boundary of the conquestsof Huana Capac towards the north and east, Gonzalo arrived in thecountry of the Quixos, where he was opposed by the natives, butthey all disappeared one night, without the Spaniards being ableto make a single prisoner. On the retreat of the Indians, Gonzaloand his troops took possession of their deserted habitations inwhich they rested for some days. While here, the country wasvisited by a dreadful earthquake, accompanied by prodigiousthunder and lightning and an immense fall of rain. The earthopened in many places and swallowed up above five hundred houses.By the excessive rains, which continued forty or fifty days, ariver in the neighbourhood of the Spanish quarters became soswollen that it was quite impassable, in consequence of which thetroops suffered much from famine, as they were unable to getacross the river in search of provisions. On the cessation of thetempest, Gonzalo had to cross a prodigious ridge of mountains, onthe top of which they suffered such extreme cold that many oftheir attendant Indians were frozen to death. And as noprovisions or shelter could be had in that elevated region, hemade haste to arrive in the province of Zumaco[5] which issituated at the foot of a volcano. As provisions were found herein abundance, the army halted in this place for refreshments. Inthe mean time Gonzalo went with a small party of troops toendeavour to find out a passage through the forest. He at lengthreached the banks of a river named Coca, whence he sent for theremainder of his people to join him from Zumaco. During twomonths that the army remained in this country, it never ceasedraining day or night, so that they never had a sufficientinterval in which to dry their clothes.

[3] According to Garcilasso de la Vega, his forceconsisted of 340 Spaniards, of whom 150 werehorsem*n.--E.

[4] These Indians, according to Garcilasso, wereladen with arms, provisions, and ammunition, besides largequantities of hatchets, ropes, nails, and wooden pins, to useupon occasion.--E.

[5] Perhaps the elevated valley of Macas on the riverMorona which runs into the Tunguragua.--E.

In this province of Zumaco the trees are found which affordcinnamon. These trees are very large and have leaves resemblingthe laurel. Their fruit grows in clusters, consisting of a nutresembling the acorn of the cork tree, but larger, and containinga number of small seeds. The fruit, leaves, bark, and roots haveall the taste and flavour of cinnamon; but the best consists ofthe shell or nut which contains the seeds. In the whole of thatcountry vast numbers of these trees are found wild in the woods,growing and producing fruit without care; but the Indianscultivate them with much attention in their plantations; andthese cultivated trees produce a much better cinnamon than thosetrees which grow wild. This cinnamon is in great request amongthe natives, and is exchanged by the inhabitants of Zumaco withthe neighbouring tribes, receiving in return provisions and otherthings of which they are in want.

Leaving the greater part of his people in the country ofZumaco, as has been already said, Gonzalo penetrated into thecountry with much difficulty, accompanied by the most vigorous ofhis men, and guided by the Indians, who frequently gave him falseaccounts of the country in advance, on purpose to get him awayfrom their own district. Thus the people of Zumaco informed himthat the country beyond theirs was well peopled and had abundanceof provisions; but he found it extremely barren and very thinlyinhabited. Having penetrated to the province of Coca upon a largeriver of that name, he remained there about six weeks, waitingthe arrival of the rest of his people from Zumaco, all the whiletreated in a friendly manner by the cacique of the district.

After his troops were all assembled at Coca, Gonzalo marchedalong the course of the river, till at last he arrived at a placewhere it fell over a cataract of above 200 fathoms making a noisethat could be easily heard at six leagues distance. A few daysmarch below that place, the whole waters of the river becameconfined in a rocky channel not exceeding twenty feet wide, whilethe rocks were at least 200 fathoms in height above the water,and perfectly perpendicular. After a march of fifty leagues alongthe banks of this river, the Spaniards could find no place wherethey might possibly cross over, except at that narrow rockychannel, where a considerable number of Indians opposed theirpassage. Having driven away these Indians by means of theirfirearms, the Spaniards constructed a wooden bridge acrossbetween the steep rocks, over which they all passed insafety.

After crossing the river, the Spaniards penetrated through thewoods to a country named Guema, which was extremely flat andintersected with rivers and marshes, and in which they could getno provisions except wild fruits; but after this they came to acountry tolerably peopled, in which there were some provisions.In this place the natives wore cotton vestments, but in the wholecountry through which they had hitherto passed, the few nativesthey had seen were entirely naked, either on account of thecontinual and excessive heat of the climate, or because they hadno means of procuring clothes: The men had only a kind of girdlesround their waist, with some strings tied to their prepuce, whichpassed between their thighs and were drawn up to the girdle; andthe women wore some slight clouts. At this place Gonzalo built abark to serve for crossing the rivers in search of provisions,and to transport the baggage and the sick by water. Besides insome places the country was so covered with wood, that they wereunable to clear the way by means of their swords and hatchets,and in other places so inundated, that they were often obliged totransport the whole party by water. The building of this vesseloccasioned infinite difficulty and labour, as besides cuttingdown wood for the purpose, they had to construct a forge in whichto make the necessary iron work, which they made from the shoesof their dead horses. On this occasion, Gonzalo not only obligedevery one to labour without regard to rank, but gave the examplehimself in using both the hatchet and the hammer as occasionrequired. Instead of pitch and tar, the gum which exuded fromsome trees of the forest was collected; and instead of flax andhemp, the old clothes of the Indians and the wore-out shirts ofthe Spaniards were employed for caulking the scams. They atlength succeeded in making their bark capable of swimming, so asto transport all their baggage very commodiously; besides whichthey hollowed out several canoes to accompany the bark instead ofboats.

Gonzalo flattered himself that all his difficulties would besurmounted by means of this bark, and that he would now be ableto pursue his discoveries to any extent he pleased. He continuedhis march therefore, accompanied by the bark which carried thebaggage, while the main body had to travel along the banks of theriver, often greatly incommoded in passing marshes, thick woods,and close brushwood. In some of these places they had to cuttheir way through canes and reeds with great toil, by means oftheir swords and hatchets; often changing from one side of theriver to the other in search of an easier road. In this marchthey were always accompanied by the bark; and at night the wholeparty united together, that they might be able to give mutualassistance in case of need. After having penetrated above twohundred leagues, always following the course of the river, duringwhich space they got only wild fruits and roots to support them,Gonzalo gave orders to Francisco de Orellana, one of hiscaptains, to go forwards in the bark with fifty men in search ofprovisions; with orders to load his bark with these if he foundany, leaving all the baggage at a place where two great riversjoined, according to information received from the Indians; andlikewise to leave two canoes in a river which crossed the road tothat place by land, to serve for ferrying over the troops.

Orellana set out accordingly in the bark, and was very sooncarried by the current to the appointed place where the tworivers met; but finding no provisions, and considering theimmense difficulty of going up the river against a rapid current,he resolved to trust himself to the stream to try his fortune inthat way. He even neglected to leave the two canoes at this placeaccording to the orders of Gonzalo; and although several of thosewho were along with him in the bark urged him to remain accordingto the orders of his general, he insisted upon going forwards,even maltreating Friar Gaspard de Carvajal, who opposed this actof mutiny and desertion more forcibly than any of the rest. Inhis progress down the river, Orellana and his people frequentlylanded in search of provisions, and had often to fight with theIndians, who sometimes even attacked him in the bark by means ofcanoes, on which occasion the Spaniards could hardly defendthemselves they were so crowded. On this last account he built asecond bark, at a place where the Indians received him in afriendly manner and supplied him with provisions. From theseIndians he was informed of a district a few days journey fartheron, which was entirely inhabited by women, who made war anddefended themselves agaist their neighbours[6].

[6] Even Garcilasso, who is sufficiently fond of themarvellous and ever ready to adopt absurdities, honestly relatesof these Amazons, that they were a fierce and wild nationof men, whose wives went forth to war along with their husbands;and that Orellana invented the tale of a nation of Amazons toraise the honour of his atchievement, and to induce the emperorto bestow upon him the government of the country he haddiscovered.--E.

Following continually the stream of the river, but withoutfinding any gold or silver, or the least indication of thesemetals, Orellana arrived at the mouth of this river on theAtlantic Ocean, about 350 leagues from the island of Cubagua.This great river is called the Maragnon or Marannon, from aperson of that name who first discovered its mouth. It takes itsrise in Peru on the eastern slopes of the Andes of Quito, and itsentire course measured in a straight line extends to 700 leagues;but following all its flexures from the Andes to the ocean, itmeasures at least 1800 leagues. At its mouth it measures 15leagues in breadth, and in many parts of its course is three orfour leagues broad. Orellana went afterwards into Spain[7], wherehe gave an account to his majesty of his discovery, which hepretended to have made at his own charges. He alleged that he haddiscovered a very rich country inhabited by a nation of warlikefemales, on which account the country and river came to be calledof the Amazons. Having procured a commission of governorof this new country from his majesty, he levied a force of fivehundred men for its conquest, with which he embarked fromSeville: But having a most unprosperous voyage, in which hispeople suffered much from scarcity of provisions, most of hisfollowers deserted from him at the Canaries, leaving him almostalone. He died during the subsequent part of the voyage, and allhis remaining companions dispersed themselves among theislands.

[7] According to Garcilasso, he contrived with greatdifficulty and danger to navigate in his rude bark from the mouthof the Marannon or Amazons to the island of Trinidada, where hepurchased a ship for his voyage to Spain.--E.

Gonzalo Pizarro was reduced to prodigious straits inconsequence of the desertion of Orellana, both by the want ofprovisions and the difficulty of passing the rivers in hiscourse; besides which Orellana had carried away with him a greatquantity of gold, silver, and emeralds, which he converted to hisown use in making his solicitations at the court of Spain, and infitting out his expedition for the conquest and settlement ofAmazonia. On his arrival at the place where Orellana had beenordered to leave the canoes, for the purpose of facilitating thepassage of certain rivers which fall into the great Maranon,Gonzalo and his people were exceedingly embarrassed, and had tomake other canoes with much difficulty to enable them to crossover, that they might continue their journey. When they cameafterwards to where the two large rivers joined[8], and whereOrellana ought to have waited for them, they found a Spaniard whohad been left at this place by Orellana, because he had opposedthe continuation of the voyage, and preferred to wait in thatplace for his general[9]. By his account, Orellana had renouncedhis dependence on Gonzalo Pizarro, meaning to proceed to discoverthe river in his own name and authority, and had prevailed on thepeople who accompanied him to elect him of new for theircaptain.

[8] The river Napo joins the Maranon in lat. 3°20' S. and long. 70° W. But we are uncertain whether thiswere the place where Orellana deserted, as there are manyjunctions of large rivers in the course of the vast Maranon. Thetwo greatest of its tributary streams are the Negro which joinsin long. 60° W. from the north, and the Madeira in long.58° W. from the south.--E.

[9] Garcilasso preserves the name of that faithfulSpaniard, Hernando Sanchez de Vargas, a young gentleman ofBadajoz.--E.

By the loss of their vessel Gonzalo and his men were deprivedof every means of procuring provisions from the Indians, as allthe mirrors, bells, and other baubles for trading with thenatives of the country had been put on board the bark. In thishopeless and discouraging situation, above four hundred leaguesdistant from Quito, they came to the immediate resolution ofreturning to that city; although, from the length and difficultyof the way, through forests and marshes, they had very littlehope of ever getting back, and could hardly expect to escapedying of famine in the mountains and deserts over which they hadto pass. In fact above forty actually died of famine during themarch. After recommending themselves to the mercy of God, theybegan their march in great dejection; and as the way in whichthey came from Peru was full of difficulties and destitute ofprovisions, they took another road in their return, altogether athazard, which they did not find in any degree better than theformer[10]. Before reaching Peru, they were under the necessityof killing all their remaining horses to keep themselves fromstarving, and even to eat all their dogs. In the course of thisjourney likewise, they were reduced to the necessity of feedingon certain strings, or twining plants, a good deal like thetendrils of vines, which they found in the woods, and which hadthe taste of garlic. During this march a wild cat or a turkeysold for four dollars, and one of the sea-birds named Alcatraz,formerly mentioned as being very bad eating, brought a dollar ormore, although reckoned very unwholesome.

[10] We learn from Garcilasso that this new road wason the north side of the river, Napo probably, and consequentlythat they had kept the south side in their wayeastwards.--E.

Some short time before Gonzalo got to Peru intelligence of hisreturn had reached Quito, on which the inhabitants collected aconsiderable number of swine and Peruvian sheep which they sentoff to meet him. They sent off at the same time a good manyhorses, and a supply of clothes for Gonzalo and his officers.This seasonable supply met them above fifty leagues from Quito,and one may easily judge that it was received with much joy,especially the provisions. The whole party, from the general tothe private soldier, was almost entirely naked; as, from thealmost continual rains to which they had been exposed, and theother hardships of their journey, their clothes were all rottenand torn to rags, and they were reduced to the necessity ofcovering themselves with the skins of beasts. Their swords wereall without scabbards, and almost destroyed with rust. Their legsand arms were torn and scratched by the brushwood, thorns, andbrakes, through which they had travelled; and the whole partywere so pale, lean, and worn out with fatigue and famine, thattheir most intimate acquaintances were hardly able to recognizethem. Among all their privations, what they felt the mostunsufferable, was the want of salt, of which they had not beenable to procure the smallest supply for above two hundredleagues.

On arriving in the kingdom of Quito, where every thing theystood in need of was brought them, they knelt down and kissed theground as a mark of gratitude and satisfaction, and returnedthanks to God for their preservation from so many dangers. Suchwas their eagerness for food after so long famine, that it becamenecessary to regulate their supply, and only to allow them to eatby little and little at a time, till their stomachs becameaccustomed to digest their food. As there had only been sent fromQuito a sufficiency of horses and clothes for Gonzalo and hisofficers, they refused to avail themselves of either, notchoosing to enjoy any advantages which they could not share withtheir soldiers, by which they rendered themselves extremelypopular and gained their affection greatly. They arrived at Quitoin the morning, and went immediately to church to hear mass, andto give thanks to God for their delivery from so many and severeevils; after which every one retired to his quarters, to refreshand clothe themselves according to their means. This country ofLos Canelos, whence the cinnamon is procured, is immediatelyunder the equinoctial line, similar in that respect to theMolucca islands, whence cinnamon is brought into Spain and otherparts of Europe[11].

[11] It is hardly necessary to say that cinnamoncomes only from Ceylon, not from the Moluccas; and that soentirely different was the substance sought for in thisdisastrous expedition from cinnamon, that it is now entirelyunknown in Europe; unless it be the Canella alba, now only usedas a light aromatic of small value by druggists.
Zarate is generally loose and confused in his accounts, andalmost entirely neglectful of dates. We learn from the History ofAmerica that this unfortunate expedition lasted near two years,and that two hundred and ten Spaniards and four thousand Indiansperished during its continuance, only eighty Spaniards returningto Quito. Garcilasso says that two thousand of the Indiansreturned along with the Spaniards, and served them during thehardships of the journey with the most affectionate fidelity,supplying their extreme necessities with herbs, roots, and wildfruit, and with toads, snakes, and other reptiles, which theSpaniards greedily devoured, or they must have died for want offood.--E.

SECTION V.

Conspiracy of the Almagrians and Assassination ofPizarro.

On his return to Quito in 1541, Gonzalo Pizarro receivedaccounts of the most afflicting nature. When, as formerlyrelated, Don Diego Almagro was put to death at Cuzco by FerdinandPizarro, a son whom Almagro had by an Indian woman was sent toreside in Lima. This young man, who was named after his fatherDiego Almagro, was of a graceful appearance, handsome, generous,and excelling in all the martial exercises, being particularlygraceful and dexterous in riding the manage horse. His literaryeducation likewise had been so carefully attended to, that he wasconsidered as more versant in these things than his situationrequired. Juan de Herrada, formerly mentioned, to whose care hehad been especially confided by his father, undertook the care ofeducating young Almagro in the capacity of his governor, and hadbeen particularly watchful and successful in the charge. Theirhouse in Lima was the rendezvous of such friends and partizans ofthe late Almagro as remained unemployed in Peru, and had beenexcepted from the division of lands and Indians after the defeatof their party, as the adherents of the Pizarros would not, andtheir dependents dared not to have any intercourse with them.

After the voyage of Ferdinand Pizarro to Spain, and thesetting out of Gonzalo Pizarro upon his disastrous discovery ofLos Canelos, Herrada and the younger Almagro, being now left atentire liberty by the Marquis, who before had held them in aspecies of imprisonment, began to take measures for the executionof an enterprize they had long contemplated. For this purposethey secretly provided arms and every thing that appearednecessary for their project of revenging the death of the elderAlmagro. Their partizans were farther animated to theaccomplishment of this design from resentment for the death ofseveral of their friends and companions, who had been cut offduring the late civil war. The marquis had often used hisendeavours to reconcile Almagro and Herrada to his authority bygentle means, and by the offer of his friendship and patronage tothem and their adherents; but finding all his advancesineffectual, he deprived Almagro of the moderate repartition ofIndians which had been assigned to him, on purpose to prevent himfrom continuing to form a party by the application of his fortuneto the support of the malcontents. All these precautions wereultimately ineffectual, as the Almagrians were so closely unitedamong themselves, that all their property was in a great measureheld common among the members of their party, even every thingthat the individuals acquired by play or otherwise being throwninto a common stock in the hands of Herrada to serve theirgeneral expence. Their numbers increased daily, by the accessionof all who were dissatisfied by the administration of themarquis, or who thought their merits overlooked in thedistribution of property and employments. They secretly increasedtheir store of arms, and took measures for securing the successof their plot.

Their conduct, however secretly pursued, being known amongmany, came at length to the knowledge of some friends of themarquis, who endeavoured to put him on his guard against themachinations of his enemies. But he, confiding in his honour andgood faith, judged of others by himself, and refused to listen tothis advice; saying that it was proper to leave these unfortunatemen in peace, who were already sufficiently punished by the shameof their defeat, the public hatred, and the poverty to which theywere reduced. So much were the Almagrians encouraged by thepatient indulgence of the marquis, that their chiefs used even topass him in public without saluting him or giving him any tokenof respect; and one night some of them had the audacity to affixthree ropes to the gibbet, one of which was stretched towards thepalace of the marquis, another towards the house of hislieutenant, and the third to that of his secretary. Even thisinsolence was forgiven by the marquis, in consideration of theirmisery and the unhappy situation of their affairs. Profiting bythis indulgence, the Almagrians assembled together almost openly,several of their party who were wandering about the countrywithout property or employment, coming to Lima from the distanceeven of two hundred leagues. They resolved upon putting themarquis to death; yet waited to hear from Spain what judgmentmight be given in the case of Ferdinand Pizarro, who was therethrown into prison as accused, of the murder of Don DiegoAlmagro; and to prosecute whom Captain Diego Alvarado had gonehome and was actively engaged in soliciting his trial andpunishment. When the conspirators learnt that his majesty hadappointed the licentiate Vaca de Castro to proceed to Peru, onpurpose to examine into all the past disorders, but withoutorders to prosecute the death of Almagro with that rigorousseverity which they wished and expected, they resolved upon theexecution of their long concerted enterprize. They were anxious,however, to learn exactly the intentions of Vaca de Castro, asthe intended assassination of the marquis was by no meansuniversally approved among the Almagrians. Several of thegentlemen belonging to the party, although much incensed at thedeath of Almagro, were anxious only for redress by legal means,and in a manner that might be conformable with the pleasure andservice of the sovereign. The chiefs of this conspiracy who werenow assembled in Lima, were Juan de Saavedra, Alfonso deMontemayor, Juan de Gusman controller, Manuel de Espinartreasurer, Nugnez de Mercado agent, Christoval Ponce de Leon,Juan de Herrada, Pero Lopez de Ayala, and some others. In thisassemblage, Don Alfonso de Montemayor was deputed to wait uponVaca de Castro; and accordingly set out with letters of credenceand dispatches to meet Vaca de Castro at the beginning of April1541. After his arrival at the place where Vaca de Castro thenwas, and before he proposed to return to his employers, news wasbrought of the assassination of the marquis. On this occasion,Montemayor and some others of the Almagrian party, who were notconcerned in the murder, remained with Vaca de Castro till afterthe defeat of the younger Almagro in the battle of Chupas,preferring the service of their sovereign, in whose name andauthority de Castro acted, to their individual resentments.

So public had the measures of the conspirators become in thecity of Lima, that several persons gave notice of theirintentions to the marquis, and advised him to employ a guard forthe protection of his person: But he always said that the livesof others would guard him from violence, and that he was resolvedto give no cause for suspecting that he used precautions ofdefence against the judge whom his majesty was sending to Peru.On one occasion, Juan de Herrada complained to the marquis of areport that he meant to put all the friends of Almagro to death.The marquis assured him that the report was entirely groundless;and when Herrada mentioned that the marquis was collecting agreat number of lances and other arms, as a confirmation of thereport that these were intended against the Almagrians, themarquis replied in the gentlest terms, that these arms were by nomeans intended to be used against him or his friends. He evenpresented Herrada with several oranges which he pluckt for him,which were then esteemed a high delicacy, as they were the firstthat were grown in Peru; and told him privately, that if he werein want of anything, he had only to give him notice, and he mightdepend on being provided for. Herrada kissed his hands, andthanked him for his kindness, going away delighted with theassurance that the marquis seemed to have no suspicion whateverof the conspiracy.

On arriving at his house, where the principal conspiratorswaited for him, it was determined to kill the marquis on thefollowing Sunday, as they had not been able to put their designinto execution on the festival of St John[1] as they at firstintended. On the Saturday immediately preceding, one of theconspirators revealed the circ*mstances of the plot in confessionto the curate of the great church of Lima. The curate went thatsame evening to communicate the intelligence to Antonio Picado,secretary to the marquis, who immediately carried the curate toFrancisco Martinez de Alcantara, the marquises brother[2], wherethe marquis then was at supper together with his children[3]. Onbeing informed of the urgent business on which they came, themarquis rose from table and retired to another room, where thecurate informed him of every thing he had learnt respecting theconspiracy. The marquis was at first considerably agitated by hisintelligence: but after a moments reflection, he said that hecould not credit the story, as Herrada had been with him only afew days before, and had conversed with him with much humility;for which reason he was convinced that the man who now broughtthis intelligence had some secret end to serve, and had inventedthis story to assume merit. He sent however, for his lieutenant,the doctor Juan Velasquez[4] meaning to consult with him; but asVelasquez was ill in bed, the marquis went to his house, and toldhim all that he had heard. Velaquez used every argument toconvince him that the story was false, and that he had nothing tofear. Taking up his rod of office, he declared that no one daredto revolt so long as he held that badge in his hand, and that themarquis might rest in security. He may be said in some measure tohave kept his word; for when the Almagrians came next day to killthe marquis, Velasquez made his escape over a window, and tookhis rod of office in his teeth, that he might use both his handsto assist himself in his descent.

[1] The festival of St John the Evangelist is on the5th May but the assasination of the Marquis did not take placetill the 26th June 1541.--E.

In spite of all these assurances the marquis was somewhatalarmed, insomuch that next day, being Sunday the 26th June 1541,he determined not to go to church, and had the mass said in hisown house. After church, the doctor Velasquez and captainFrancisco de Chaves, who were the principal persons in thecolony, went along with several other persons to visit themarquis. Having paid their visit, they all retired to theirhouses, except Velasquez and de Chaves who remained to dine withhim. After dinner, between twelve and one o'clock, when all theattendants of the marquis had retired to their dinner, and thewhole city was quiet, Juan de Herrada and ten or twelve of hisassociates all armed sallied forth from the house of Almagro,which was not more than three hundred paces from the palace ofthe marquis, between which were part of a street and the wholebreadth of the great square. On coming out into the street withtheir drawn swords, they exclaimed, "death to the tyrant who hathslain the judge sent by the emperor to execute judgment uponhim." They used these words, and went thus openly, to induce theinhabitants to believe that their party was numerous, so that noone might take measures to oppose them. Besides this, theconspirators believed that there was no time for any one tointerpose to prevent the execution of their purpose, and that itwould either be accomplished, or themselves slain in the attempt,before any effectual succour would arrive. On their arrival atthe palace of the marquis, one of the party remained at the gatewith a bloody sword in his hand, who cried out repeatedly,"The tyrant is dead! the tyrant is dead!" This had thedesired effect, as several of the inhabitants who hastened to thepalace on the alarm, being convinced that the marquis was alreadyslain, retired again to their houses.

In the mean time Juan de Herrada and the rest of theconspirators rushed up the stair towards the apartment of themarquis, who, being alarmed by some of the Indian servants,desired de Chaves to shut the doors of the saloon and the hall,while he retired to put on his armour. De Chaves was so muchconfused, that instead of fastening the doors he went out to thestaircase demanding the reason of the noise; on which one of theconspirators wounded him. "This, said he, is not the usage of afriend," and immediately drew his sword, but was soon overpoweredand slain. The conspirators immediately rushed into the hall,whence ten or twelve Spaniards who were there made their escapeby the windows: Among these was Velasquez, who, as has beenalready mentioned, took his rod of office in his mouth, that hemight use his hands the more readily in making his escape by thewindow. The marquis was at this time in his chamber, employed inarming himself, attended by his brother de Alcantara, two othergentlemen, and two pages. Seeing his enemies so near, the marquiswas unable to fasten the clasps of his cuirass, but advancedcourageously with his sword and buckler to defend the entry tothe chamber, in which he was bravely assisted by those who werealong with him. He defended himself for a considerable timesuccessfully, encouraging his brother and the rest by his voiceand example. At length the Almagrians slew de Alcantara, on whichone of the pages took his place beside the marquis. TheAlmagrians, being afraid lest succour might arrive, resolved tomake a desperate effort, for which purpose one of the best armedamong them forced in at the door and made room for the rest toenter, who now attacked the marquis and his faithful companionswith such fury that he was soon exhausted with fatigue and hardlyable to handle his arms. At length the marquis received a mortalthrust in his throat, and falling to the ground called out in aloud voice for a confessor. Soon losing all power of speech, hemade the sign of the cross on the floor with his finger, which hekissed and expired. Besides his brother, the two pages werelikewise slain. Of the Almagrians, four were killed, and severalof the rest wounded.

When the marquises death was made known, above two hundred menwho waited the event, declared themselves loudly in favour of DonDiego, and went about the city arresting and disarming all whoseemed to favour the party of the marquis. The conspirators wentout into the street waving their bloody swords, and Herrada madeDon Diego ride on horseback through the city of Lima, proclaiminghim as governor of Peru. The palace of the marquis, and thehouses of Alcantara and Picado the secretary were pillaged,Herrada assembled the cabildo of the city, and obliged them toacknowledge Don Diego as governor, under pretence that the elderAlmagro had been appointed by his majesty to the government ofNew Toledo, with succession to his son or to any person he mightappoint as his successor. The conspirators likewise put to deathseveral persons who were particularly attached to the latemarquis, and gave up their houses to be plundered by their ownpartizans. It was melancholy to behold the misery and desolationof the wives and children of those who were thus massacred, andwhose houses were pillaged of every thing valuable, as they wentabout the streets bewailing their forlorn condition.

[2] In a former note, it has been mentioned, on theauthority of Robertson, that Francisco de Alcantara was the uncleof Pizarro by his mother; yet Garcilasso calls him his brother,and perhaps he was so by a different father.--E.

[3] The language of the French translator is hererather equivocal, but distinctly bears the construction heregiven of the marquis being at supper in the house of deAlcantara.--E.

[4] By Garcilasso, Velasquez is called the ChiefJustice.--E.

Some obscure persons[5] carried or dragged the dead body ofthe marquis to the church, where no one dared to give it burial,till one Juan Barbaran and his wife, who had been servants to themarquis, obtained permission from Don Diego, and buried themarquis and his brother as well as they could. They were obligedto hurry over the ceremony as quickly as possible, having hardlytime to clothe the body in the habit of St Jago, of which orderhe was a member, and to put on his spurs according to the usualmanner of burying the knights of that order; as they wereinformed that some of the Almagrians were hastening to the churchto cut off the head of the marquis to affix it to the gallows.Barbaran himself performed the ceremonies of the funeral, atwhich he was sole mourner, and defrayed all the expences from hisown funds. He next endeavoured to provide for the security of thechildren of the marquis, who were concealed in different parts ofthe city of Lima, now under the absolute controul of theAlmagrians.

[5] Garcilasso, quoting Zarate, says that the bodywas dragged to church by some negroes; the French translator saysquelques miserables.--E.

In this melancholy catastrophe, we have a forcible example ofthe uncertainty and changeableness of fortune. In a very shortspace of time, a private individual who held no important office,had discovered a vast extent of country containing powerfulkingdoms, of which he made himself master and governor withalmost uncontrolled authority, bestowing on several persons suchample fortunes and extensive revenues as none of the richest andmost powerful monarchs whom we read of in history had ever givenaway in so short a time. Yet was this man assassinated by onlytwelve men at noonday, in the midst of a city the wholeinhabitants of which were his creatures, servants, kinsmen,friends, and soldiers, who had all eaten of his bread andsubsisted on his bounty, even his own domestic servants and thosewho were in his house, flying away and abandoning him to hisfate. He was interred in the most obscure manner, all hisrichness and greatness having disappeared, not enough being leftto defray the consecrated tapers and other expences of hisfuneral. The unsearchable ways of Providence are surprisinglyillustrated by these events; and particularly, that after all thewarnings and just causes of suspicion which had been given him,he refused to take any precautions for his safety which he couldhave done so easily.

As the discovery and conquest of Peru, the subject of thiswork, originated from the two captains of whom I have hithertodicoursed, the Marquis Don Francisco Pizarro, and the PresidentDon Diego de Almagro; it seems proper to attempt giving theirportraitures, with some account of their manners andqualifications, imitating in this the example of Plutarch; who,after giving the lives and heroic actions of two greatcommanders, institutes a comparison between them, shewing how farthey resembled and differed from each other. We have already saidall that could be learnt respecting their parentage. They wereboth personally brave and daring, patient of labour, of hale androbust constitutions, and exceedingly friendly, being alwaysready to do good offices to every one without consideration ofexpence. In their inclinations and manner of life they very muchresembled each other, as neither of them were married, thoughAlmagro attained to seventy-five years of age and the marquis tosixty-five. Both loved war; but Almagro, when not thus employed,willingly devoted himself to the management of his privateaffairs. They were both advanced in life when they undertook thediscovery and conquest of Peru, in which they both encounteredgreat fatigues, as has been formerly mentioned; but the marquismore especially was exposed to great dangers, far beyond those ofthe president, who remained long at Panama providing allnecessaries for the success of the enterprize, while the marquiswas actually engaged in the discovery and conquest of the greaterpart of the country. Both had great souls, continually occupiedin vast designs and splendid enterprizes; yet both were of gentleand conciliatory manners, and of easy access to their followers.They were both liberal and generous in their gifts; yet thepresident loved to have his liberalities known and published tothe world; while the marquis carefully concealed his gifts, andexpressed uneasiness when they were known or blazed abroad; beingmore anxious to serve the necessities of those to whom he madethem, than to make an ostentatious display of his munificence.One example of this is worthy of being mentioned. He learnt thatone of his soldiers had lost a horse, on which occasion he wentto a tennis-court belonging to his house, expecting to meet thesoldier in that place, carrying with him an ingot of gold of tenpounds weight, which he meant to present him with. Not findingthe soldier there, he engaged in a match at tennis without takingoff his coat, as he did not wish the ingot should be noticed,which was concealed below his waistcoat. He remained there abovethree hours, when at length the soldier made his appearance. Themarquis then took him aside and gave him the gold, saying that hewould rather have given him thrice as much than have been obligedto carry that heavy weight so long.

Many other examples might be given of the secret liberalitiesof the marquis, who gave all his presents with his own hand thatthey might not be known. On this account, Almagro was alwaysconsidered as more liberal, as his gifts were made in anostentatious manner. They may be considered, however, asperfectly equal in their liberality and munificence; for, as themarquis used to acknowledge that all came from their commonfunds, being partners and associates in every thing derived fromtheir joint discovery and conquest, the half of all that wasgiven by one belonged to the other, so that he who consented toor participated in the present, was equally generous with theactual donor. Besides, in proof that they both deserved thepraise of liberality, they were both during their livesprodigiously rich in ready money and vast revenues, beyond anyperson or prince not sovereign who had been known for many ages;yet both died so poor that no mention is made of the treasures orestates left by them; so that hardly at their deaths was theresufficient to defray the expences of their funerals; resemblingin that respect Cato and Sylla and some other famous Romans, whowere buried at the public charge.

Both were exceedingly kind to their servants and dependents,whom on all occasions they delighted to enrich and advance, andto rescue from dangers. In this last particular the marquiscarried his attentions even to excess, as appears by thefollowing instance. In passing a river called the Baranca, one ofhis Indian servants, of the Yanaconas tribe, was carried away bythe strength of the current, on which the marquis plunged intothe stream and swam after him, catching him by the hair, andsaved him at the imminent hazard of his own life, in so rapid acurrent that the bravest and most vigorous man in his army dursthardly have made the attempt. When his officers blamed him forhis rashness in thus exposing his life, he answered that none ofthem knew how to value a faithful servant. The marquis enjoyedthe authority of governor much longer in tranquillity thanAlmagro; who, though he hardly enjoyed that authority at all, wasmore ambitious, and evinced a more ardent desire of exercisingcommand. Both affected simplicity in dress, keeping to the samefashion in their old age which they had been accustomed to intheir youth. In particular, the marquis used ordinarily to wear aclose coat of black cloth, the wide skirts of which came downalmost to his ankles, while the body had a very short waist andwas closely fitted to his shape. His shoes were of white leather,with a white or grey hat, and a plain sword and dagger in the oldfashion. Sometimes on festivals, by the entreaty of his servants,he wore a robe of fine fur which had been sent him by the Marquisdel Valle; but immediately on his return from church he put itoff, remaining in his shirt or a plain jacket, with a napkinhanging from his neck to wipe away sweat, as he usually passedmost of the day when in peace in playing at bowls or tennis.

Both Pizarro and Almagro were exceedingly patient of labourand fatigue, and could submit better than most men to hunger andthirst and other privations; but especially the marquis, who wasso vigorous that few young men were able to compete with him inhis old days at athletic sports. The marquis in general was moreaddicted to play than Almagro, insomuch that he often spent wholedays in playing at bowls, with any one that offered, whethermariner or miller was all one; and he never allowed any man tolift his bowl for him, or to use any ceremony whatever in respectto his rank. He was so fond of play, that few affairs were ofsufficient importance to induce him to give over, especially whenlosing. But when informed of any insurrection among the Indians,he would instantly lay every thing aside, immediately bracing onhis armour and seizing his lance and target, would hasten to theplace where the mutiny had risen, without waiting for his people,who followed him with all expedition.

Both the marquis and the president were so brave and soexperienced in the manner of making war with the Indians, thateither of them alone would never hesitate when on horseback andarmed to charge through a hundred Indians. Both were extremelyintelligent, sensible, and judicious, and could take theirmeasures both in civil and military affairs with greatpromptitude and propriety; yet both were so extremely illiteratethat neither of them could read or write, or even sign theirnames; which assuredly was a great defect, and exceedinglyinconvenient in carrying on the important affairs in which theywere concerned; and although they in every other respect appearedlike persons of high birth, and deported themselves like noblemenwith much dignity and propriety, yet their entire ignorance ofletters was an evident demonstration of the meanness of theirbirth. The marquis placed implicit confidence in his servants andfriends, insomuch that in all his dispatches and orders relativeto the government, and in the assignments of lands and Indians,he only made two lines with the pen, between which Antonio Picadohis secretary wrote his name, Francisco Pizarro. As Ovid said ofRomulus, respecting astronomy, we may say of Pizarro that he wasmore learned in the art of war than in the sciences, and appliedhimself more to know how to atchieve glorious conquests than toacquire literature. Both were exceedingly affable and familiarwith the colonists, making them frequent visits, and they readilyaccepted invitations to dinner from any one; yet both wereextremely moderate in eating and drinking; and both refrainedfrom amorous connection with Spanish women, on the principle thatto intrigue with the wives or daughters of their countrymen wasboth prejudicial and dishonourable to their neighbours. Almagrowas the most continent in regard to the Peruvian women, as weknow of no affairs of his gallantry in that country, his only sonbeing born of an Indian woman of Panama. But the marquis had morethan one attachment in Peru, having lived publickly with a sisterof Atahualpa, by whom he had a son named Don Gonzalo who died atfourteen years of age, and a daughter named Donna Francisca. Byanother Indian woman of Cuzco he had a son named DonFrancisco[6].

[6] According to Garcilasso, the marquis had only oneson and one daughter, Don Francisco being the son of his brotherGonzalo. Don Gonzalo, the only son of the marquis, was born of adaughter of Atahualpa, not a sister, named Angelina. DonnaFrancisca was the marquises daughter by Ynes Huayllas Nusta, adaughter of the Inca Huana Capac, whose Christian name was DonnaBeatrix.--E.

Both Pizarro and Almagro received high rewards from hismajesty for their signal services; the former being created amarquis, with the authority of governor of New Castille, and theorder of St Jago. Almagro was rewarded with the government of NewToledo, with the title of President or Lord Lieutenant of thatcountry. The marquis always evinced the highest respect for hismajesty, the utmost zeal for his service, and the most perfectobedience for his orders; insomuch that he would often refrainfrom doing many things which were evidently within the scope ofhis authority, lest he should appear to overstep the bounds ofhis commission. Frequently, when sitting in the meeting-houseswhere the gold and silver was assessed for the royal fifth, hewould rise from his chair to pick up the small pieces whichstarted from the scissars; observing that if the hands failed onsuch occasions, a loyal subject ought to use his mouth to servethe king. As these two great men resembled each other in manythings during their lives, so in their deaths they were alikeunfortunate: the president being put to death by the brother ofthe marquis, and the marquis slain by the son of thepresident.

The marquis was exceedingly anxious for the improvement of thecountry, giving every encouragement to the cultivation of thesoil, and the establishment of colonies of Spaniards in differentplaces. He built for himself a fine house or palace in the cityof Lima, and had two sluices constructed on the river to drivemills for its supply; employing much of his leisure insuperintending the workmen, and instructing the overseers how hewished the works to be carried on. He was particularly diligentin procuring the erection of a great and handsome church in Lima,and monasteries for the Dominicans and the order of Mercy; bothof whom he endowed with ample estates in lands and Indians.

CHAPTER VII.

CONTINUATION OF THE EARLY HISTORY OF PERU, AFTER THE DEATH OFFRANCISCO PIZARRO, TO THE DEFEAT OF GONZALO PIZARRO, AND THERE-ESTABLISHMENT OF TRANQUILITY IN THE COUNTRY; WRITTEN BYAUGUSTINO ZARATE[1].

[1] This chapter is merely a continuation of thehistory of the discovery and conquest of Peru, by Zarate: but wehave thought proper to divide it in this manner, separating thetransactions which took place during the life of FranciscoPizarro, from those which occurred after hisdeath.--E.

SECTION I.

From the revival of the civil wars in Peru, to the close ofthe administration of Vaca de Castro, the first governorappointed from Spain.

After Don Diego had made himself master of the city of Lima,he deprived the magistrates of all their insignia of command, butwhich he immediately returned to them, with orders to executetheir official duties in his name and authority. He then orderedthe Doctor Velasquez, who had been chief justice or adelantadounder the marquis, and Antonio Picado who had been his secretary,to be taken into custody[2]. In the next place he appointed JuanTello, Francisco de Chaves[3], and one Sotelo to be captains ofhis troops. On the news of this revolution, all the idlevagabonds and debauched blackguards of the country hastened toenrol themselves under the banners of Don Diego, in hopes ofparticipating in the plunder of the partizans of Pizarro, and ofbeing enabled to live licentiously without labour. To enable himto pay his troops, Don Diego seized the fifth of the preciousmetals belonging to the crown, and took possession of theproperties of those who had been massacred, and the revenues ofall the absentees. In a very short time disputes and divisionsarose among those who had taken part with Don Diego, as theleaders of the malcontent party among them were anxious toassassinate Juan de Herrada, because every thing was done anddirected by him, Don Diego having only the name of captaingeneral, while he in fact exercised the whole authority. Theintention of these malcontents being discovered, several of themwere put to death as seditious people; among whom was Franciscode Chaves, who was put to the rack and afterwards hanged as aringleader of this new conspiracy. One Antonio de Orihuelalikewise, who had only arrived of late from Spain, was beheaded,having imprudently asserted that the Almagrians were tyrants andusurpers.

[2] Il les fit prenare, are the words of theFrench translator: prendre may possibly be an error of thepress on this occasion for pendre; in which case thoseofficers of the late marquis were ordered to be hanged;and indeed they do not appear in the sequel.--E.

[3] There must have been two persons in Peru of thisname and surname, as we have already seen one Francisco deChaves killed on the same day with the marquis.--E.

Deputies or messengers were sent to all the cities andprovinces of Peru, to induce the commandants and magistrates torecognize Don Diego as governor, which was done in many placesout of fear: But Alonso de Alvarado, who was lieutenant governorin the province of Chachapoyas, ordered the deputies who weresent into his government to be arrested, declaring for hismajesty in opposition to Don Diego, whom he denounced a rebel. Hewas encouraged in this bold procedure, because he was confidentof being able to defend himself with a hundred men whom hecommanded in a strong fortress of his province, which hefortified with much care. Don Diego used every effort to gainAlvarado to his party, by flattering promises and menaces ofcondign punishment; but he uniformly replied, that he would neveracknowledge his authority without an express command from hismajesty to that effect, and that he hoped, by the blessing of Godand the assistance of the brave men whom he commanded, to revengethe death of the marquis, and to punish the Almagrians for theirinjurious and outrageous conduct, and the contempt of the royalauthority which they had evinced in their whole procedure.Garcias de Alvarado was therefore sent with a force of cavalryand infantry, having orders to go in the first place to thecities of San Miguel and Truxillo, to deprive the inhabitants ofthese two colonies of their arms and horses, and then to marchwith all his troops against Alonso de Alvarado. Garcias wentaccordingly by sea to the port of Jauta, about fifteen leaguesfrom Truxillo, where he found Captain Alonso de Cabrera, who hadfled thither with all the inhabitants of Guanuco to join thepeople of Truxillo against the usurpation of Don Diego. Garciasmade Cabrera and some other of his companions prisoners; and onhis arrival at San Miguel he cut off his head, and likewise putto death Francisco de Vozmudiana, and Hernando de Villegas.

When the deputies or messengers of Don Diego arrived at Cuzcowith orders to recognize him as governor general of Peru, Diegode Silva and Francisco de Carvajal were the chief magistrates ofthat city. These officers, together with the other magistratesand counsellors forming the Cabildo, were unwilling to submit tohis authority, yet durst not declare themselves openly till theyhad maturely considered whether they were possessed of asufficient force, and had enough of provisions and warlike storesto defend themselves in case of being attacked. On purposetherefore to gain time, they desired the messengers of Don Diegoto return to their master, and to desire him to send them otherdeputies with more ample and more regular powers or instructions,after which they would recognize his authority. Gomez de Tordoya,who was one of the principal members of the royal council ofCuzco, happened not to be in the city when the deputies arrived,as he had gone out that day to take the diversion of hawking. Theother members sent therefore a message to inform him of what wasgoing on, and to desire his presence and advice. On his return tothe city, he met the messengers of Don Diego, and having learntthe state of affairs, he twisted off the head of an excellentfalcon which he carried on his fist, saying that fighting mustnow be followed, not the sports of the field. After a secretconsultation with the rest of the Cabildo on the proper measuresto be pursued on the present emergency, he left the city the samenight, and went to the residence of Captain de Castro. They sentimmediately a message to Pedro Anzurez, the lieutenant of theprovince of Charcas, giving him an account of the state ofaffairs, and he declared himself at once for the party of hismajesty.

Immediately afterwards Gomez de Tordoya set off in pursuit ofPedro Alvarez Holguin, who had lately marched with above ahundred men to reduce some revolted Indians: On coming up withHolguin, Tordoya immediately told him all that had taken place,earnestly intreating him to assist the loyal inhabitants of Cuzcoin their just and honourable intentions, and to assume thecommand of such troops as might be collected for the defence ofthat city against the usurpation of Don Diego. To induce him tocomply, Tordoya declared himself ready to become one of hissoldiers, and to give an example of implicit obedience to hiscommands. Holguin immediately declared for his majesty, andagreed to assume the command. He and Tordoya assembled theinhabitants of the city of Arequipa, whom they confirmed in theirloyalty, and immediately set out for Cuzco with all the forcethey could collect. On the arrival of Holguin and Tordoya nearCuzco, above fifty men who had declared themselves for Don Diegoleft the city, meaning to join him at Lima; but the royalistssent de Castro and Ferdinand Bachicao after them with a party ofmusqueteers, who came up with and attacked them during the night,and brought them all back prisoners to Cuzco.

All the magistrates and councillors of Cuzco concurred notonly in the appointment of Pedro Alvarez Holguin as militarycommandant, but they named him captain general and governor ofall Peru, coming under an oath of obedience to him in that highcapacity till the pleasure of his majesty should be made manifeston the subject: And in testimony of their zealous loyalty, thewhole inhabitants of Cuzco came under obligations to replace allthe sums that Holguin might be under the necessity of taking fromthe effects and revenues belonging to the crown for the paymentand equipment of his troops, in case his majesty might notapprove and allow that expence. Besides this, all the inhabitantsof Cuzco, Charcas, and Arequipa engaged voluntarily to serve inthe war, and to contribute towards its expences. Immediately onhis appointment to the supreme power, Holguin made a proclamationof war against Don Diego as a rebel, and in a short timeassembled a force of 150 cavalry, 100 musqueteers and 100pikemen. But learning that Don Diego had more than 800 men underarms, he did not consider himself powerful enough to wait for himin Cuzco, deeming it more prudent to march from thence by way ofthe mountain road, on purpose to join forces with Alonso deAlvarado, who had declared for his majesty. Holguin likewiseexpected to be joined upon the march by several of the friendsand servants of the late marquis, who had concealed themselvesfrom the rage of the Almagrians in different parts of themountain region of Peru. In pursuance of this plan, Holguin setout on his march from Cuzco, having appointed Gomez de Tordoyahis maestre de campo or major general, Garcilasso de la Vega[4]and Pedro Anzurez, captains of horse, Nunno de Castro andHernando de Bachicao captains of foot, and Martin de Robles asensign to carry the royal standard. On leaving Cuzco, all whowere unfit for active service in the field were left behind, andproper officers were appointed for maintaining the government andto distribute justice.

[4] This officer was father to the historian of thesame name.--E.

On receiving notice of all these events which had taken placein Cuzco, and that Holguin had marched from thence with histroops, Don Diego judged that Holguin would endeavour to form ajunction with Alonzo de Alvarado who commanded in Chachapoyas,and would therefore proceed by the mountain road towards thenorth; he resolved therefore to march in such a direction asmight enable him to intercept Holguin before his junction withAlonzo de Alvarado, but did not think it prudent to attempt thisbefore the arrival of the force under Garcias de Alvarado, whomhe had recalled from the originally concerted expedition againstAlonzo de Alvarado[5]. While passing through Truxillo, levyingmen and providing arms and horses, Garcias proposed to haveattacked Alonzo de Alvarado, but was resisted by the inhabitantsof a town in the province of Chachapoyas named Levanto, andreceiving his orders of recal from Don Diego he relinquished hisdesign, and marched in all haste for Lima. Immediately after thereturn of Garcias, Don Diego began his march against Holguin,with a force of 300 horse, 100 musqueteers, and 150 pikemen; butbefore his departure, he banished the children of the latemarquis and of Gonzalo Pizarro from the country, and executedAntonio Picado, having previously put him to the torture toendeavour to extort confession from him as to any hidden treasurebelonging to the marquis.

[5] It was now the year 1542.--E.

"As during the civil dissentions in Peru, all intercourse withSpain was suspended, the detail of the extraordinary transactionsthere between the marquis and the elder Almagro, alreadyrecounted, did not soon reach the court[6]. Unfortunately for thevictorious faction, the first intelligence was brought thither bysome of Almagro's officers, who left the country on the ruin oftheir cause; and they related what had happened with everycirc*mstance unfavourable to Pizarro and his brothers. Theirambition, their breach of the most solemn engagements, theirviolence and cruelty, were painted with all the malignity andexaggeration of party hatred. Ferdinand Pizarro, who arrived soonafter, and appeared at court with great splendour, endeavoured toefface the impression which their accusations had made, and tojustify his brother and himself by representing Almagro as theaggressor. The emperor and his ministers, though they could notpronounce which of the contending factions was most criminal,clearly discerned the fatal tendency of their dissentions. It wasobvious, that while the leaders entrusted with the conduct of twoinfant colonies, employed the arms which should have been turnedagainst the common enemy in destroying one another, all attentionto the public good must cease, and there was reason to dread thatthe Indians might improve the advantage which the disunion of theSpaniards presented to them, and extirpate both the victors andthe vanquished. But the evil was more apparent than the remedy.Where the information which had been received was so defectiveand suspicious, and the scene of action so remote, it was almostimpossible to chalk out the line of conduct that ought to befollowed; and before any plan that should be approved of in Spaincould be carried into execution, the situation of the parties,and the circ*mstances of affairs, might alter so entirely as torender its effects extremely pernicious."

[6] As Zarate introduces Vaca de Castro into thehistory of Peru without any previous notice of his appointment,it has been deemed proper to give a short account of hiscommission from Robertsons History of America, II. 339, which,being too long for a note, is distinguished in the text byinverted commas--E.

"Nothing therefore remained but to send a person to Peru,vested with extensive and discretionary powers; who, afterviewing deliberately the posture of affairs with his own eyes,and inquiring on the spot into the conduct of the differentleaders, should be authorised to establish the government in thatform which he deemed most conducive to the interest of the parentstate and the welfare of the colony. The man selected in 1539 forthis important charge was Christoval Vaca de Castro, a judge inthe court of royal audience at Valladolid; and his abilities,integrity, and firmness, justified the choice. His instructions,though ample, were not such as to fetter him in his operations.According to the different aspect of affairs, he had power totake upon him different characters. If he found the governorstill alive, he was only to assume the title of judge, tomaintain the appearance of acting in concert with him, and toguard against giving any just cause of offence to a man who hadmerited so highly of his country. But, if Pizarro were dead, hewas entrusted with a commission that he might then produce, bywhich he was appointed his successor in the government of Peru.This attention to Pizarro, however, seems to have flowed ratherfrom dread of his power, than from any approbation of hismeasures; for at the very time that the court seemed sosolicitous not to irritate him, his brother Ferdinand wasarrested at Madrid, and confined to a prison where he remainedabove twenty years[7]."

[7] The remainder of the circ*mstances relative to deCastro, here quoted, are to be found in Robertson II. 353.; theother events in the history of Peru having been already givenfrom Zarate.--E.

"Vaca de Castro, who left Spain in 1540, was driven by stressof weather in 1541, after a long and disastrous voyage, into asmall harbour in the province of Popayan; and proceeding fromthence by land, after a journey no less difficult than tedious,he reached Quito. In his way he received accounts of Pizarro'sdeath, and of the events which followed upon it, as alreadymentioned. He immediately produced his commission appointing himgovernor of Peru, with the same privileges and authority whichhad been enjoyed by Pizarro; and his jurisdiction wasacknowledged without hesitation by Benalcazar, adelantado orlieutenant general for the emperor in Popayan, and by Pedro dePuelles, who had the command of the troops left in Quito in theabsence of Gonzalo Pizarro. Vaca de Castro not only assumed thesupreme authority, but shewed that he possessed the talents whichthe exercise of it at that juncture required. By his influenceand address, he soon assembled such a body of troops as not onlyset him above all fear of being exposed to any insult from theadverse party, but enabled him to advance from Quito with thedignity that became his character. By dispatching persons ofconfidence to the different settlements in Peru, with a formalnotification of his arrival and of his commission, hecommunicated to his countrymen the royal pleasure with respect tothe government of the country. By private emissaries, he excitedsuch officers as had discovered their disapprobation of Almagro'sproceedings, to manifest their duty to their sovereign bysupporting the person honoured with his commission. Thosemeasures were productive of great effects. Encouraged by theapproach of the new governor, or prepared by his machinations,the loyal were confirmed in their principles, and avowed themwith greater boldness; the timid ventured to declare theirsentiments; the neutral and wavering, finding it necessary tochoose a side, began to lean to that which now appeared to be thesafest, as well as the most just[8]."

[8] We now return to the narrative ofZarate.--E.

Don Diego had hardly got two leagues from Lima, in 1542, whensecret orders arrived there from Vaca de Castro, addressed to F.Thomas de San Martin, provincial of the Dominicans, and Franciscode Barrionuevo, to whom he committed the direction of publicaffairs till his own arrival. By these persons, the cabildo ofthe city was secretly assembled in the Dominican convent, to whomthese orders were communicated, and who immediately recognizedVaca de Castro as governor, and Geronimo de Aliaga, his principalsecretary, as adelantado or lieutenant governor of Peru.Immediately upon this formal act of recognition, the members ofthe cabildo and several of the principal citizens fled toTruxillo, fearing the resentment of the Almagrians. Although allthis had passed in secret, it was communicated on the same nightto Don Diego, who was disposed in consequence to have returnedwith the intention of giving up the city to plunder; but he wasafraid lest by delay Holguin might escape into the north of Peru,and lest by returning, the arrival of the new governor might cometo the knowledge of his troops. He determined therefore tocontinue his march against Holguin with all expedition. In spiteof all his precautions, intelligence of the arrival of the newgovernor reached his camp, on which several persons abandoned himsecretly, particularly the provincial of the Dominicans, Diego deAguero, Juan de Saavedra, Yllen Suarez de Carvajal thecommissary, and Gomez de Alvarado.

Although every consideration prompted Don Diego to use theutmost diligence in the present posture of affairs, he was underthe absolute necessity of marching slowly, as Juan de Herrada hisgreat friend and adviser fell sick of a mortal distemper. Owingto this delay, Holguin was enabled to get beyond the valley ofJauja in his march towards the province of Chachapoyas. Yet DonDiego followed after him with so much diligence that he verynearly got up with him. In this emergency, as Holguin was by nomeans in sufficient force to venture a battle with Don Diego, heput the following stratagem in practice to enable him to escape,which effectually succeeded. During the night he detached twentyhorsem*n to make an attack on the advanced guard of the enemy,with orders to take some prisoners if possible, and then toretire. They executed their orders successfully and made threeprisoners, two of whom Holguin ordered to be immediately hanged,and offered life and liberty with a considerable reward in moneyto the third, if he would carry information to certain persons inthe army of Don Diego, who he pretended were disposed to joinhim, that he intended to attack the right wing of the camp in theensuing night, that they might be ready to assist him. He evenadministered an oath to this soldier that he would religiouslykeep the secret from every one but those to whom he was directedto carry the message. Being a young man and desirous of procuringthe promised large reward, he readily undertook the commission,and returned to the camp of Don Diego. When Don Diego understoodthat this man had come back, and that his two companions werehanged by Holguin, he suspected that mercy had been shewn him onsome private conditions; for which reason he ordered the soldierto be put to the torture, who immediately avowed all that hadbeen confided to him. By this means, Don Diego was led to believethat Holguin actually intended to surprise him by night, and tookeffectual measures to receive him, placing the greatest part ofhis troops under arms all night on that side which the soldiermentioned as the part where Holguin was to attack. The intentionsof Holguin were diametrically opposite to this story which he hadput in the mouth of the soldier, meaning only to gain time for asecure retreat; so that immediately after dispatching thesoldier, he decamped in the middle of the night, marching withall possible celerity to get his army into a place of safety,while Don Diego uselessly kept his army under arms in expectationof being attacked.

When Don Diego discovered the trick which had been imposed onhim, he resumed the pursuit of Holguin with as much celerity ashe could: But Holguin had sent a quick messenger to Alonso deAlvarado, requesting him to hasten to his assistance, whichAlvarado did without delay with all his own troops and several ofthe inhabitants of Truxillo. On the junction of these officers afew davs afterwards, Don Diego discontinued the pursuit, andreturned towards Cuzco. Holguin and Alvarado sent off immediatelyto inform Vaca de Castro by letter of all the preceding events,and counselled him to advance without delay to join them, as theywere in sufficient force to make him master of the country whenstrengthened by his authority. At this time Juan de Herradaexpired at Jauja, and Don Diego detached a part of his army tothe low country of Peru to collect those of his party who were atArequipa and other places. His officers plundered the city ofArequipa, and dug up every where about the monastery of theDominicans in search of treasure, as they were informed that theinhabitants of that city had concealed their valuable effects inthat convent.

Vaca de Castro had reached Peru with much difficulty andfatigue. The voyage from Panama was exceedingly tedious andtempestuous, and the vessel in which he sailed lost all itsanchors. Having at last reached the harbour of Buenaventura atthe bottom of the bay of Choco on the coast of Raposo, he wentfrom thence by land to the frontiers of the government ofBenalcazar, who commanded in Popayan, and thence to Peru. Hesuffered much hardship and fatigue in that journey, both from thelength and difficulty of the way and the scarcity of provisions,so that he fell sick as being quite unused to such fatigues. Yetas the death of the marquis and the subsequent events werealready known in Popayan, de Castro continued his journey with aslittle delay as possible, that he might endeavour by his presenceto remedy the disorders of the country. Although Vaca de Castrohad been sent to Peru ostensibly to investigate into and takecognizance of the death of Almagro, and of the subsequenttransactions, without any order to deprive the marquis of thegovernment, or even to suspend his authority; yet he had beenfurnished with a secret commission, by which he was authorized toassume the government, in case the marquis should die during hisvoyage, or after his arrival, and to exercise all the functionsof that high office, till the emperor might give orders to thecontrary. By the authority of this commission, he was received inthe camp of Holguin and Alvarado as governor. He was accompaniedthither by several persons who had joined him on his firstarrival in Peru, particularly by Captain Lorenzo de Aldana, whohad been lieutenant governor of Quito under the marquis. He sentbefore him Captain Pedro de Puelles, to make preparations forcarrying on the war. He sent likewise Gomez de Royas to Cuzco,with orders to the magistrates and inhabitants of that city toreceive him as lieutenant. Royas used so much diligence andaddress that he arrived at Cuzco and was received andacknowledged in the command of that place before Don Diego couldreach it with his army.

When Vaca de Castro passed through the province of Bracamorason his way from Quito to Truxillo, Captain Pedro de Vergara, whowas then occupied in reducing that province, and had evenfortified himself in a strong post on purpose to defend himselfa*gainst Don Diego, joined him with all his men. At Truxillo thenew governor was joined by Gomez de Tordoya, who had quitted thecamp in consequence of a dispute with Holguin. He was joinedlikewise at Truxillo by Garcilasso de la Vega and some othergentlemen. By all these means, when Vaca de Castro left Truxilloto repair to the camp of Holguin and Alvarado, he had alreadycollected a well armed force of more than two hundred men, allready to obey his orders. Immediately on his arrival at the camp,Holguin and Alvarado received him with every demonstration ofjoy, giving up to him their standards and all other marks ofauthority; all of which he restored, except the royal standard,which he retained for himself. Having appointed Holguin to thecommand of the army, as maestre de campo general, he ordered himto march forwards to Jauja, and to wait there till he himselfmight return from Lima, where he proposed going that he mightestablish its government in proper order, and on purpose tocollect men, arms and ammunition. He gave orders to Holguin, thatCaptain Diego de Royas should always precede the army abouttwenty leagues, with a detachment of thirty horsem*n, to gainintelligence of the motions of the enemy. At the same time hesent back Diego de Mora to Truxillo, to take the command in thatcity. De Castro thus took every proper precaution for thesuccessful issue of his expedition, with as much prudentforesight as if he had been all his life enured to warlikeaffairs.

When Don Diego found that Holguin had escaped from hispursuit, as formerly related, he went to Cuzco with his army,where Christoval de Sotelo, whom he had detached there beforehim, had already taken possession of the city, and had displacedthe magistrates who had been established there under theauthority of the new governor. Immediately on the arrival of DonDiego at Cuzco, he made every exertion to provide artillery andgunpowder for the farther prosecution of the war. Both of thesewarlike articles are easily made in Peru. As to artillery, thereis abundance of metal for that purpose, and there were alsoseveral persons in Cuzco who were perfectly well acquainted withthe manner of founding cannon: These were Levantines orGreeks, several of whom had come to Peru out of respect for Pedrode Candia, who was master of the ordnance to Don Diego. Powderwas likewise easily made in great abundance, as saltpetre is tobe had in every part of that country of excellent quality. At thesame time he had defensive armour made for those of his peoplewho were in want, forming corslets and helmets of silver mixedwith copper, which answered amazingly well, and, were made by thenative artists, who fabricated every kind of arms in imitationof, and as good as those of Milan. By these means, and bycollecting all the arms throughout the whole country, every oneof his men was at least provided with a coat of mail, a cuirassor corselet, and a helmet[9]. In this manner Don Diego wasenabled to equip two hundred musqueteers, and to establishseveral companies of men at arms, as hitherto in Peru, hardly anything had been seen of that kind, the cavalry being all lighthorse except a very few.

[9] Garcilasso says, that on this occasion, the IncaManca Capac, who had retired to the mountains, in remembrance ofthe friendship which had subsisted between him and the elderAlmagro, provided Don Diego with large quantities of armour,swords and saddles, which had been formerly taken from theSpaniards, sufficient to arm two hundred men.--E.

While these preparations were going on, an unfortunate quarrelarose between the captains Garcias de Alvarado and Christoval deSotelo, in which they drew their swords and Sotelo was slain. Asboth of these captains were principal leaders in the Almagrianparty, and had many friends and partizans in the army, thisunfortunate affair occasioned much strife, and had nearlyoccasioned a battle between the friends of the two combatants;but Don Diego appeased them with some difficulty, and by using agreat deal of address. But as Garcias de Alvarado plainlyperceived that Don Diego took the death of Sotelo much to heart,whom he dearly loved, and feared lest he might take measuresafterwards of revenge, he endeavoured to take precautions in themeantime for his own safety, and for this purpose proposed tohave assassinated Don Diego. With this view he one day invitedDon Diego to dinner, intending to have put him to death duringthe entertainment. Don Diego accepted the invitation, but whenthe appointed day came, having some suspicion of what wasintended, he sent an excuse for his absence, on pretence of beingindisposed. As Garcias had provided every thing for the executionof his design, he went with several of his friends to endeavourto prevail on Don Diego to come to the entertainment. While onhis way, he met a soldier named Martin Carillo who advised him tostay away from the house of Don Diego, who he was fully persuadedintended to put him to death. He continued his purpose however,and received a similar advice from another soldier a littlefarther on. Yet he persisted in going to the house of Don Diego,and even went up to his chamber, where he found him on a day-bedunder pretence of being unwell. This visit seemed to be expected,as Don Diego had several armed men concealed in a neighbouringroom.

Garcias de Alvarado and his followers went into the chamber ofDon Diego, to whom Alvarado said; "I hope, my lord, that yourindisposition is of little importance. You must rise and shake itoff, and you will be the better of some exercise and amusem*nt.Come along with us, and though you eat little, your presence willgive pleasure to the company who expect you." Don Diego agreed togo, and called for his cloak, being already armed with his swordand dagger. While the company in the room made way by going out,and Garcias de Alvarado went immediately before Don Diego, Pedrode Onnate and several others who were instructed, shut the door,and seizing on Garcias told him he was their prisoner. Don Diegodrew his sword, with which he wounded Garcias, saying that hemust be slain, not taken prisoner; and immediately Juan Balsa,Alfonso de Saavedra, Diego Mendez the brother of RodrigoOrgognez, and several others who were concealed in the next room,rushed out and put Alvarado to death with many wounds.

On the news of this event spreading through the city, itoccasioned much dissatisfaction and some appearances of aninsurrection which might have had very fatal consequences; butDon Diego went immediately out into the great square, where hesucceeded in appeasing the people, and the friends of Alvaradowere forced to be quiet. Immediately after this, on purpose togive employment to his troops, and because he heard that Vaca deCastro had joined Holguin and Alonso Alvarado, he marched outfrom Cuzco, meaning to seek out and give battle to the royalists.His army on this occasion was the most numerous and bestappointed that had hitherto been seen in Peru, consisting of 250horse, 200 musqueteers, and 250 pikemen, many of these beingarmed with halberts, and all remarkably well provided withdefensive armour, especially all his cavalry, who, besides coatsof mail, had back and breast-pieces of iron. Besides these, hehad a great train of artillery, and was accompanied by Paul, thebrother of the Inca who had been raised to the Peruvian throne bythe elder Almagro. The assistance of this chief was of greatimportance to Don Diego on the present occasion, as his Indiansalways went a considerable way before the army, and obliged thenatives of all the districts through which they passed to supplyprovisions for the troops, and to furnish people for carrying thebaggage and other necessary services. In this manner Don Diegoproceeded for about fifty leagues to the province of Vilcas,where he learnt that the royal army was only thirty leaguesdistant from him.

While Vaca de Castro was in Lima, he procured a number ofmusquets to be made by the workmen of that city, and made everyother preparation in his power to strengthen his army. Amongother things, as Don Diego had carried off the whole royaltreasure, he borrowed a large sum from the inhabitants of Lima,for the pay of his troops and other expences of the war; and allthings being regulated, he set out to join the army with as manymen as he could collect, leaving Francisco de Barrionuevo as hislieutenant in Lima, and Juan Perez de Guevara as commandant ofhis marine. He directed his march for Jauja, leaving orders withthe inhabitants of Lima to retire on board the ships, in case DonDiego, as he threatened, should make an attack upon the city. Onhis arrival at Jauja, where Holguin and the army waited for him,he found that the general had provided good store of arms bothoffensive and defensive, and particularly a large supply ofgunpowder which had been made at that place. The governorincorporated the horsem*n whom he brought along with him fromLima among the troops or companies of cavalry already in thearmy, which were commanded by the Captains Pedro Alvarez Holguin,Pedro Anzurez, and Garcilasso de la Vega, and formed anadditional troop of horse of which he gave the command to Gomezde Alvarado. Those foot soldiers which he brought with him weredistributed into the companies of Pedro de Vergara and Nunno deCastro, and he formed a new company of musqueteers, of which heappointed the bachelor Juan Velez de Guevara captain. Although aman of letters and educated in the study of the law, Guevara wasan excellent soldier, and particularly attentive to discipline,and had even greatly assisted in the construction of the musquetswith which his company was armed. Being likewise very learned inthe law, he executed a judicial charge at the same time with hismilitary command, both on the present occasion under Vaca deCastro, and during the subsequent troubles produced by GonzaloPizarro, as will be afterwards related. Every day till noon, heheld his judicial sittings and dispatched such affairs of thatkind as occurred, in the ordinary sober dress of a lawyer. Afterthat, he dressed in richly embroidered uniforms, with a buffjerkin, a feather in his hat, and his musquet on his shoulder,exercising his company with much attention, and practised himselfin firing.

Having drawn together a well armed force of seven hundred men,370 of whom were cavalry, 170 musqueteers, and 160 armed withpikes, Vaca de Castro appointed captain Francisco de Carvajalserjeant major[10] of his army; the same person who wasafterwards maestre de campo general under Gonzalo Pizarro.Carvajal was an officer of great experience, having served aboveforty years in the army, and was bred in the wars of Italy underthe great captain, having risen in that service from theranks to a lieutenancy. By him all the movements of the army weredirected.

[10] The rank of serjeant major in the Spanishservice appears to answer to our adjutant, as applied to abattalion: On the present occasion Carvajal may be considered asadjutant general under Vaca de Castro. Maestre de Campo seemsequivalent to Major-General.--E.

About this time a message was received by Vaca de Castro fromGonzalo Pizarro, who had just returned to Quito from hisdisastrous expedition to Los Canelos, formerly related. Gonzalomade offer to the governor to march to his assistance with allthe troops he could raise; but de Castro, in answer, afterthanking him for his good will, desired him to remain at Quitoand on no account to come to the army, as he had hope of bringingDon Diego to terms of accommodation, being only desirous ofrestoring the country to peace. In this procedure, the governormeant in some measure to mortify the pride of Gonzalo Pizarro;and besides, he feared lest his natural desire of taking revengefor the murder of his brother might prove an invincible obstacleagainst Don Diego agreeing to any accommodation, who would neverventure to submit to any one who was accompanied by GonzaloPizarro, whose friends in the royal army were very numerous. Somepersons allege that Vaca de Castro was afraid of permittingGonzalo to join the army, lest they might elect him as theirgeneral, as he was greatly beloved by the soldiers. At this timelikewise, Vaca de Castro sent orders to those persons who had thecharge of the children of the late marquis in San Miguel andTruxillo, to remain with them there till farther orders, and onno account to carry them to Lima; alleging, as a speciouspretext, that they were safer there than at Lima.

All his military preparations being completed, Vaca de Castroleft Jauja with his army in excellent order, taking the route forGuamanga, as he was informed that Don Diego was in full march totake possession of that city, or to take post at a very importantpassage of a river in that neighbourhood, which would give greatadvantage in the future operations of the war to either partywhich might obtain possession of that post, as Guamanga wassurrounded by precipitous rocks and deep vallies, serving asnatural fortifications of extremely difficult access. CaptainDiego de Royas, who has been formerly mentioned as commanding theadvanced guard of the royal army, had already occupied the cityof Guamanga; and on receiving intelligence of the rapid march ofDon Diego to that place, had fortified himself there as stronglyas possible, that he might be able to defend it till the arrivalof the army under Vaca de Castro. The governor, therefore,marched with as much celerity as possible, sending on Captain deCastro with his company of musqueteers to take post on a craggyhill of difficult ascent near Guamanga, called Farcu bythe Peruvians and Parcos by the Spaniards. Vaca de Castro, on hisarrival one evening within two leagues of Guamanga, receivedinformation that Don Diego was already in possession of thatcity, which disappointed him greatly, more especially as thewhole of his own troops were not yet come up. Alonso de Alvaradowas sent back therefore, to expedite their march, and to bringthem on in good order, as the enemy was so near. Some of therear-guard of the army marched that day above five long leagues,which was a most fatiguing exertion, as the road was full ofrocks and steep passes, and they were under the necessity ofcarrying their arms and accoutrements. Having passed the city,the whole army stood to their arms all night, not having anyaccurate intelligence of the enemy, who was believed to be nigh.Next day, however, learning by their scouts, who had been abovesix leagues in advance, that the enemy was still at aconsiderable distance, the royalists encamped to take somerest.

Receiving more certain information of the situation of theenemy, who were still at the distance of nine leagues from hiscamp, Vaca de Castro sent a letter to Don Diego by FranciscoYdiaquez, commanding him in his majesty's name to dismiss hisarmy, and to repair to the royal standard, on doing which heshould be pardoned for all that was past: But, if he refused, hemight expect to be proceeded against with the utmost severity, asa rebel against the king. The governor sent likewise a privatesoldier who was well acquainted with the country, diguised as anIndian, carrying letters for several gentlemen in the rebel army,offering them an amnesty and large rewards if they would abandonDon Diego. Though this man took every precaution to preventdiscovery, his track was noticed in some places in the snow, andhe was followed and carried prisoner to Don Diego, who orderedhim to be hanged. Don Diego complained loudly of Vaca de Castrofor sending spies to corrupt his followers while making offers ofaccommodation; and drawing out his army in complete order beforethe governors messengers, he ordered all his officers to preparefor battle, promising that whoever killed any of the hostileinhabitants of the country, should be rewarded with the wife,lands, Indians, and wealth of the slain. He then gave an answerto the governors message, that he would never acknowledge or obeyhim so long as he was associated with his enemies, Pedro AlvarezHolguin, Alonso de Alvarado, Gomez de Tordoya, Juan de Saavedra,Garcilasso de la Vega, Yllen Suarez de Carvajal, Gomez deAlvarado, and others of that party. That he would never disbandhis army, unless he received a formal amnesty under the royalsign manual; as he could not give faith to one signed by theCardinal de Loaysa. That de Castro was much mistaken in supposingany of his army would abandon him, and might therefore preparefor battle, as he was determined to defend the country to hislast breath.

On receiving this resolute answer, Vaca de Castro marched hisarmy to a small distance from Guamanga, where the ground was toorough and uneven for his cavalry, and took up a position in asmooth plain named Chupaz, where he remained three days,during all which time it never ceased raining, as it was then themiddle of winter, yet the troops were forced to be always underarms and ready for action, as the enemy was very near. He hadresolved to give battle, us the enemy obstinately refused allaccommodation; yet finding that several persons in his armyseemed to hesitate on account of the disapprobation which hismajesty had evinced respecting the former battle ofSalinas, on which account Ferdinand Pizarro was detainedin prison, he judged it proper to take some formal judicialsteps, both for his own justification, and to satisfy thescruples of his troops. He pronounced therefore a formal sentenceagainst Don Diego, whom he declared a traitor and rebel,condemning him and all his adherents to death and theconfiscation of all their goods. After signing this judicialsentence in the presence of the whole army, he commanded theofficers to give him asistance for carrying it intoexecution.

Next morning, being Saturday, the scouts brought intelligenceafter mass that the enemy, who had encamped for the night at twoshort leagues distance, was very near, and in full march towardsthe left of the royalist camp, advancing by some low hills toavoid a marsh which covered the front of the royalists. Don Diegowished to gain possession of Guamanga before giving battle, andentertained no doubt of being victorious, trusting to his greatsuperiority in artillery over the royalist army. When the twoarmies were so near that the advanced guards were within musketshot, the governor detached Captain Castro with fifty musqueteersto skirmish with the enemy, while the rest of his troops marchedup the slope of a hill on purpose to intercept the march of therebels. This movement was liable to considerable danger, as DonDiego might have done the royalists much damage by means of hisartillery if he had taken advantage of the nature of the groundin proper time; for during this conversion, the royalist infantrywere often obliged to halt to recover their order, which was muchderanged by the difficulty of the ground. When Carvajal theserjeant-major observed this circ*mstance, he ordered all thetroops to gain the height as quickly as possible withoutpreserving any precise order of march, and to form again whenthey were arrived at the summit. They accordingly got all up,while Captain Castro and his musqueteers were skirmishing withthe troops of Don Diego; who likewise continued his march, anddrew up in order of battle.

After the royal army had been marshalled in good order by theserjeant-major, the governor made them a speech, in which heexhorted them to recollect that they were loyal Spaniards whowere fighting in the just cause of their sovereign. He told themthat the fate of Peru was now in their hands and depended ontheir courage. If defeated he and they could only expect to beput to death; but if victorious, besides the important service tothe king, which they were bound as good and loyal subjects toperform, they would thereby secure the possession of theirestates and effects, and to such as had none he would provideamply in the name and by the authority of his majesty, who onlydesired to preserve the sovereignty of Peru, that he might divideit among those who served him faithfully. In conclusion, he saidthere needed not a long harangue to encourage gentlemen of honourand brave soldiers to do their duty, whose example he proposed tohimself to follow, not pretending to give them one; yet, as aproof that he meant to imitate their bravery, he intended tomarch at their head and should be among the first to break alance. They all declared that they would do their duty manfully,and would rather be cut to pieces than allow themselves to bedefeated, as they all considered themselves interested in thesuccess of the war on their own accounts, as well as from duty tothe king. All the officers earnestly intreated Vaca de Castro notto hazard himself in the front of battle, insisting that heshould take post in the rear with thirty horsem*n, whence hemight send succour to wherever it might be needed. He consentedto this, and as the day drew towards a close, being within anhour and a half of sunset, he proposed to postpone the battletill next morning. But Alonso de Alvarado assured him that hewould be defeated if he delayed, as the whole army seemed thenanimated by the best resolution, and it was impossible to saywhether some might not change their sentiments during the night.The governor assented to this advice, only saying that he wishedto have the power which had been given to Joshua, that he mightstop the going down of the sun.

At this time the artillery belonging to Don Diego opened itsfire upon the royalists; and as it was dangerous to descend thehill in front towards the enemy, on account of being too muchexposed in that direction to their guns, the serjeant-major andAlonso Alvarado directed the army to move by the left, wherethere was a hollow which led towards the enemy, by which theywere protected from the balls which all flew over their heads.The troops marched in the following order. Alonzo de Alvarado wason the right with his troops of horse, having the royal standardcarried by Christoval de Barientos; on the left were the otherfour captains of horse, Pedro Holguin, Gomes Alvarado, Garcilassode la Vega, and Pedro Anzurez, all at the head of theirrespective troops in excellent order. Between the two wings ofcavalry, the Captains Pedro de Vergara and Juan Velez de Guevaramarched with the infantry; and Nunno de Castro marched in frontwith his musqueteers to begin the battle, with orders to retirewhen pressed by the enemy under the protection of the main body.The governor, at the earnest entreaty of his officers, remainedin the rear guard at the head of thirty horse, at some shortdistance from the main body, where he could see all thatoccurred, so as to send assistance where it was wanted, which hedid with much judgment.

During the advance of the royalists, the enemy kept up aconstant fire of their artillery, but altogether ineffectually,as all their balls flew too high. Don Diego observing thiscirc*mstance, suspected that Pedro de Candia the captain of hisartillery was gained by the enemy and did this on purpose; forwhich reason he went to him in great rage and killed him with hisown hand. After this he pointed and fired off one of the cannonagainst a squadron of the royalists, by which shot several of thetroopers were killed. Seeing this, and considering that theartillery of the royal army was too insignificant to do muchservice, Carvajal determined to leave it behind that the armymight advance more quickly. At this time Don Diego and hisofficers had arranged their army in order, the cavalry divided onthe two wings, and the infantry in the centre, having theircannon in front, directly over against the only ground by whichthe royalists could advance to the attack. The rebels believed itwould argue timidity in them thus to wait for the enemy, and thatit was proper for them to advance and meet them half way. Thismovement was much against the opinion and advice of Pedro Suarez,serjeant-major to Don Diego, a brave and experienced officer; whor*monstrated that, as the enemy had to advance over a plain ofconsiderable extent, they would be greatly injured by theartillery before they could come to the charge, whereas byadvancing the troops of Don Diego would shorten this dangerousway for their enemies, and would lose an excellent advantage nowin their power. Nothwithstanding this judicious remonstrance theAlmagrian army continued to advance, and took post near a risingground over which the royalists had to march, and after which therebel artillery could do them very little harm, and was unable toprevent them from charging, as the way between was very short.Suarez was so much dissatisfied at his advice being thusdespised, that he set spurs to his horse and galloped over to theroyalist army.

About this time the Indians under the command of Paullu thebrother of Inca Manco Capac, attacked the left wing of theroyalists with repeated vollies of stones and arrows, but weresoon put to flight by a few discharges from the musqueteers.Martin Cote who commanded a company of musqueteers on the side ofAlmagro, advanced to that side and began to skirmish with theadverse musqueteers of Nunno de Castro. At this time theroyalists, advancing slowly and in good order to the music oftheir drums and trumpets, made their appearance on the height,where they halted as waiting an opportunity to charge, in hopesthat the incessant discharge from the artillery of the enemymight relax. Although now so near, the rebel artillery did themvery little harm, as having to point upwards, most of their ballsflew too high, whereas if the royalists had advanced only twentypaces farther, they would have been exposed to point blank shot.The infantry indeed of the royalists suffered materially at thistime, as they were more directly exposed to the shot, insomuchthat by one ball a whole file of seventeen men was brought down.This made a wide gap in the battalion, which the officers tookcare immediately to fill up. The serjeant-major, Francisco deCarvajal, still held back the royalist cavalry from the charge,waiting for some relaxation in the fury of the adverse artillery,by which the captains Pedro Alvarez Holguin and Gomez de Tordoyawere both slain, and several others were killed and wounded byevery discharge. Captain Pedro de Vergara being wounded by amusket shot, exclaimed loudly against the conduct of the cavalry,saying that all the infantry would be speedily destroyed if thecavalry did not charge the enemy. The trumpets immediatelysounded a charge, and the royalist squadrons advanced, on whichthose of Don Diego moved forward to meet them courageously. Theshock was so violent that almost all the lances on both sideswere broken, and many horsem*n of both armies were borne to theground, some killed and others wounded. A bloody engagementsucceeded this charge, in which they fought man to man withswords, maces and battle axes; some even of the cavalry beingarmed with large woodmens axes which they wielded in both hands,gave such heavy blows as no armour could withstand. Aftercontinuing the battle with great fury till both sides were out ofbreath, they drew off for a little.

In the meantime the royalist infantry advanced against thoseof Don Diego, encouraged by the exhortations and example ofCarvajal who marched at their head. "Be not afraid, said he, ofthe artillery: I, who am as large as any two of you, do not fearit, and you all see how many bullets pass by without hurting me."That his soldiers might not conceive that he confided in thegoodness of his armour, he threw away his coat of mail andhelmet, and advanced in this manner to the rebel cannon; andbeing bravely seconded by his men, he soon got possession of themall, killing several of those who guarded them, after which heturned them against the enemy. By this vigorous, and successfulexploit, the event of the battle was in a great measure decided.The day was now ended, and the evening became so dark that theopponents could hardly distinguish each other except by thevoice. After a short rest, the cavalry renewed the fight, andvictory began to lean to the side of the royalists, when Vaca deCastro made a furious assault on the left of the enemy, where twotroops belonging to Don Diego still kept their ground, while allthe rest began to fall back. On charging the enemy, the governorexclaimed, Vittoria! Vittoria! Yet the battle continuedundecided for some time, and several of the horsem*n who followedVaca de Castro were wounded and unhorsed, two gentlemen andseveral others being slain. The rebels were at last thrown intodisorder and fled from the field, being pursued for somedistance. Two of their officers, named Bilboa and de Sosa, wereso enraged on seeing the defeat and flight of their companions,that they rushed like madmen into the thickest of the enemy,crying out I am he who killed the marquis, till both wereslain. Many of the Almagrians saved themselves by favour of thedarkness; and some of them, for greater security, threw awaytheir white scarfs, by which the rebels weredistinguished, and put on the red scarfs of the royalistswho lay dead on the field. Thus Vaca de Castro obtained acomplete victory, although before the charge was given his armylost many more men than the enemy, insomuch that Don Diegothought himself till then secure of conquering. Such of thefugitives as endeavoured to save themselves by way of the plainwere all killed by the Indians; and a hundred and fifty horse,who made their escape to Guamanga, about two leagues from thefield of battle, were disarmed and made prisoners by the smallnumber of inhabitants who remained in that city. Don Diego fledto Cuzco, where Rodrigo de Salazar, his own lieutenant, andAntonio Ruyz de Guevara, one of the magistrates made himprisoner. Thus ended the authority of Don Diego Almagro, who oneday was lord and master of the great kingdom of Peru, and thenext day was thrown into prison by officers of his ownappointment. This decisive battle of Chupaz was fought on the16th September 1542.

A great part of the night was over before their officers couldreassemble the victorious army, as the soldiers were busied inpillaging the tents of the rebels, where they got a rich plunderin silver and gold, and killed several of the wounded fugitiveswho were unable to continue their flight any farther. When allwere reassembled, Vaca de Castro made the army remain all therest of the night under arms and in order of battle, lest theenemy might rally and renew the fight. Vaca de Castro employedhimself likewise during most part of the night in going aboutamong the troops, praising the whole in general, and thanking theindividual soldiers for having so bravely done their duty. Inthis battle several officers and soldiers on both sidessignalized themselves remarkably. Don Diego distinguished himselfparticularly, shewing much courage, and more conduct than couldhave been expected from a young man only twenty-two years ofa*ge[11]. He was animated by what he considered a just vengeancefor the death of his father; and was well seconded by many of hisfollowers. Many of those on the side of Vaca de Castro, were onthe contrary incited by the desire of avenging the death of themarquis, for whose memory they preserved an inviolableattachment, insomuch that no danger could prevent them from usingtheir utmost efforts to punish his murderers. On the two sides,about 300 men were slain[12], among whom were several officersand men of note. Pedro Alvarez Holguin and Gomez de Tordoyaeminently distinguished themselves on the side of the royalists,having mantles of white velvet richly embroidered over theirarmour, owing to which they were particularly marked out by themusqueteers of the enemy, and both lost their lives inconsequence. Alonso de Alvarado and Carvajal likewisedistinguished themselves signally, particularly the latter, asalready mentioned, in a manner that it seemed almost impossiblehe should have escaped. But by despising death, he appeared tohave made it flee from him; as indeed it often happens duringgreat dangers, that those who meet them bravely are preserved,while those who shrink are lost. A signal instance of thishappened in the present battle, as a young man who was afraid ofthe balls concealed himself behind a projecting rock; where hishead was shattered to pieces by a splinter driven off by a cannonball[13]. Many others signalized themselves in the battle, tomost of whom the governor gave competent estates in lands andIndians, when he made the re-partition of the country, adding hiswarm acknowledgements for having resigned their individualinterests and resentments in the service of the crown.

[11] Garcilasso, himself a mestee, says that DonDiego was the bravest Mestizo, or son of a Spaniard by an Indianwoman, that ever the New World produced.--E.

[12] According to Garcilasso, of 1500 combatants,including both sides, 500 men were slain, and about an equalnumber wounded; the royalists having 500 killed and 400 wounded,while the rebels had only 200 slain and 100 wounded. In thisestimate he has surely made a material error, as he makes thekilled and wounded of the royalists equal to the whole numberthay had in the field.--E.

[13] At this place, a naked list of a great number ofnames of those who signalized themselves in the battle, areenumerated by Zarate, but omitted here as altogetheruninteresting.--E.

The night after the battle was extremely frosty, and as thebaggage was considerably in the rear, only two of the woundedofficers had their wounds dressed, so that a good many of thewounded died of cold during the night. Next morning, the governorcaused every attention to be given to the wounded, who exceededfour hundred in number[14], and had the dead buried, ordering thebodies of Holguin and Tordoya to be carried to the city ofGuamanga, where they were magnificently interred. On the daysucceeding the battle, the governor ordered the heads of severalprisoners to be cut off, who had been concerned in the murder ofthe marquis. Next day he went to Guamanga, where Captain Diego deRoyas had already beheaded Juan Tello and some other captains ofthe rebels. The governor now gave orders to the licentiate de laGama to try the rest of the prisoners, and to punish themaccording to their deserts. De la Gama accordingly hanged severaland beheaded others, to the number of forty of the most culpable,insomuch that in all about sixty were executed. Some others werebanished, and the rest were pardoned, such of them as hadsettlements being allowed to return to their houses.

[14] This appears to countenance the account ofGarcilasso in a former note, who probably quoted from Zarate; butthe latter does not limit this number to the royaltroops.--E.

The governor went afterwards to Cuzco, where he brought DonDiego to trial, and ordered him to be beheaded. Diego de Mendez,Gomez Perez, and another, made their escape from prison into themountains of the Andes, where they were kindly received by MancoCapac the fugitive Inca, who had taken refuge in an inaccessiblecountry. The Inca was much grieved on learning the death of DonDiego, whom he was greatly attached to, and to whom he had sentseveral coats of mail, corselets, cuirasses, and other arms,which he had taken from the Spaniards whom he defeated and slew,at the time when he went by order of the marquis to relieveGonzalo and Juan Pizarro, then besieged in Cuzco.

After the death of Don Diego and the entire dispersion of hisadherents, by which peace was restored through the whole country,the governor did not consider it proper to disband his army, ashe had not sufficient funds to reward them according to theirservices; for which reason he resolved to send them in differentdetachments to make discoveries and conquests. Captain Vergaraand his troops were accordingly sent back to complete theconquest of the Bracamoras. The Captains Diego de Royas andPhilip Gutierez were sent with above three hundred men to theeastwards, where they afterwards made some establishments on theRio de la Plata. Captain Monroy was sent to Chili withreinforcements to Pedro de Valdivia, who was engaged in reducingthat country. Captain Juan Perez de Guevara was sent to reducethe country of Mullobamba which he had discovered. This is anexceedingly mountainous country, in which the two great riversMarannon and La Plata have their sources, both of which run intothe Atlantic. Its inhabitants are Caribs, or canibals, and theircountry so hot that they go entirely naked, or at least have onlya few rags round their loins. While in this country, Juan Perezgot notice of an extensive province beyond the mountains towardsthe north, in which there are rich gold mines, and which hascamels and fowls like those of New Spain, and a species of sheepconsiderably smaller than those of Peru. In that country it isnecessary to water all kinds of seeds regularly, as it seldomrains. In it there is a lake, the environs of which areexceedingly populous. In all its rivers there are certainfishes as large as dogs, which they likewise very muchresemble, which kill and eat the Indians when they go into thewater or even pass near it, as they often come out of the waterand walk on the dry land[15]. This great country is bounded onthe north by the Marannon, on the east by Brasil, and on thesouth by the Rio de la Plata; and it is said that the Amazonsdwell in this country, of whom Orellana received intelligencewhile descending the Marannon.

[15] Obviously a misunderstood description ofalligators. Indeed the whole account of this country, now calledColona, seems to have been derived from the reports of Indians,and is in many circ*mstances entirely fabulous, as is well knownfrom the more recent accounts of the Jesuitmissions.--E.

Vaca de Castro remained above eighteen months in Cuzco afterthe departure of these various expeditions, employing himself inmaking a distribution of the unoccupied lands and Indians, andsettling the whole country in good order, issuing likewise manyuseful regulations for the protection and preservation of theIndians. In that period the richest gold mine ever heard of inour days was discovered near Cuzco in a river namedCarabaya, where a single Indian is able to gather to theextent of a mark in one day[16]. The whole country being nowperfectly tranquil, and the Indians protected from thoseexcessive toils to which they had been subjected during the civilwar, Gonzalo Pizarro was permitted to come to Cuzco, and after afew days went thence to Las Charcas, where he employed himself intaking care of the extensive estate which he possessed in thatcountry. He there remained in quiet, till the arrival of theviceroy, Blasco Nunnez Vela in Peru, as shall be related in thesequel.

[16] Carabaya is an elevated valley of considerableextent, to the south east of Cuzco. A mark of gold or eightounces is worth about L.32; hence we may readily believe so richa days work was seldom made.--E.

SECTION II.

Commencement of the Viceroyalty of Blasco Nunnez Vela, andrenewal of the civil war in Peru by the usurpation of GonzaloPizarro.

At this period, some of the clergy who had been in the NewWorld, represented to the Emperor Don Carlos and the lords of hiscouncil, that the Spaniards treated the natives in the conqueredprovinces of America with extreme cruelty, depriving them of alltheir property by excessive exactions, forcing them to labour inthe mines and to dive for pearls beyond their strength, obligingthem to carry heavy burdens in long journeys, and frequentlysubjecting them to arbitrary punishments, and even wantonlyputting them to death; insomuch that their numbers were fastdiminishing, and that in a short time they would be entirelyextirpated from Mexico and Peru and the other continentaldominions of Spain in America, as was already the case in theislands of Cuba, Hispaniola, Porto Rico, Jamaica, and others,where hardly any trace remained of the original inhabitants. Toconfirm these representations, they particularly recited manyinstances of cruelty exercised by the Spaniards upon the Indians,among which were numerous circ*mstances that were by no meanswell authenticated. They alleged as one of the greatest of theseevils, and a principal cause of the destruction of the Indians,that they were forced to carry heavy burdens on long journeys,far beyond their strength, without any consideration of justiceor humanity. They added that these tyrannical practices had beencarried to the greatest excess by the governors, lieutenants, andother officers of the crown, and by the bishops, monks, and otherfavoured and privileged persons, trusting to their authority andimmunities to be exempted from punishment for their improperconduct, by which they were encouraged to the commission of everyexcess. He who insisted in these remonstrances with the greatestzeal and perseverance was Fra Bartholomew de las Casas, aDominican monk, whom his majesty had raised to the bishopric ofChiapa.

After maturely considering these representations, his majestywas anxious to devise proper means to relieve the Indians fromoppression; and for this purpose he assembled a council of allthose persons to whom the administration of affairs in the Indieswas confided, with several other persons of probity learned inthe laws. By this assembly the whole affair was deliberatelyexamined, and a code of regulations drawn up by which it wasexpected to remedy the abuses complained of. By these regulationsit was enacted that no Indian should be forced to labour in themines, or to dive for pearls; that no excessive labours should beimposed on them, and even that they should not be obliged tocarry burdens except in places where no other means could beemployed; that all Indians should be paid for their labour, andthat the tribute which they were to pay to their masters shouldbe fixed; that upon the death of any person to whom lands andIndians now belonged, they were to revert to the crown. Besides,that all lands and Indians belonging to bishops, monasteries, andhospitals, or to governors, lieutenant-governors, or otherofficers of the crown, should be taken from them and annexed tothe crown, even although the possessor should incline to demittheir offices for the purpose of enabling them to retain theirrepartitions. It was particularly ordered in regard to Peru, thatall who had taken any share in the civil wars between the marquisand Almagro should forfeit their lands and Indians. And finally,all Indians set at liberty by this regulation were to belong inperpetuity to the crown, to whom their tributes were to be paidin all time coming.

It is perfectly obvious, in consequence of the concludingclause but one of these regulations, by which all who had takenany share in the late civil wars were to be deprived of theirlands and Indians, that every individual then in Peru would havebeen reduced to poverty, as it may be seen by every circ*mstancerelated in the foregoing part of this history, that everySpaniard in the country had embraced one or other of theseparties with extreme violence. Even the native Peruvians hadtaken a part in the civil discords, and had frequent quarrels andengagements on the subject, some of them taking part with theChilese, and others with the Pachacamacs, by whichtitles they distinguished respectively the adherents of Almagroand of the marquis. Hitherto the only court of justice or royalaudience was held at Panama, at a most inconvenient distance fromPeru. By the new regulations this court of Panama was abolished,and besides the establishment of a new court on the frontiers ofGauatimala and Nicaragua for all the provinces from Tierra Firmanorthwards, of which the licentiate Maldonado was made president,another court of royal audience was ordered to be established inLima, consisting of four oydors or judges, and a president whowas to have the title of Viceroy and captain general. Thismeasure was deemed indispensibly necessary for the well being ofthis distant country, the richest and most valuable dominionwhich belonged to the crown in all America. All these regulationswere enacted and published at Madrid in 1542, and copies of themwere immediately sent to different parts of the New World. Thesenew reglations gave extreme dissatisfaction to the conquerors ofthe American provinces, and particularly to those of Peru; asevery Spanish settler in that country must have been deprived bythem of almost every thing they possessed, and reduced to thenecessity of looking out for new means of subsistence. Every oneloudly declared that his majesty must have received erroneousinformation respecting the late events, as the partizans andadherents both of the marquis and of Almagro, had conductedthemselves to the best of their judgment as faithful subjects ofhis majesty, believing that they acted in obedience to his ordersin what respected the two rival governors, who acted in his nameand by his authority, and were besides under the necessity ofobeying their officers, either by force or good will, so thatthey were in fact guilty of no crime in what they had done; or,even if their conduct were in some measure faulty, they certainlydid not deserve to be stript entirely of their property. Theyalleged farther, that when they discovered and conquered thecountry, which had been done at their own proper cost, it hadbeen expressly covenanted that they were to enjoy the division ofthe lands and Indians among them for their lives, with remainderto their eldest sons, or to their widows in case of having nochildren; and that, in confirmation of all this, an order hadbeen issued by his majesty, by which all who had participated inmaking the conquest of Peru were to marry within a certainspecified time, under the penalty of losing their lands andIndians, with which regulation most of them had complied; andthat it were now unjust, when they had become old and worn out,and were encumbered with wives and families, to deprive them oftheir substance, when they looked to enjoy repose after all theirfatigues and dangers; being unable from age and infirmity to goin search of new countries and new establishments.

Great numbers of persons repaired to Cuzco, where Vaca deCastro then resided, to lay their complaints before him. He toldthem, that he was persuaded his majesty would remedy theirgrievances when informed of the true state of affairs, andrecommended therefore that the procurators or syndics of thedifferent cities should assemble, and elect a deputation to carrya true statement of matters to the king and royal council of theIndies, with a humble supplication that his majesty might apply aproper remedy, by the revocation or modification of thoseregulations, which, as they stood, would produce such ruinousconsequences to the colony. On purpose to facilitate thisassembly, the governor promised to repair in person to Lima, asthe most convenient and most central situation for the deputiesof all the other cities. He accordingly set out from Cuzco forLima, accompanied by the syndics of all the neighbouring cities,and by several gentlemen and other persons of consequence.

In the year 1542, while these things were going on in Peru,his majesty appointed Blasco Nunnez Vela, who had been commissarygeneral of the revenue in Castille, as Viceroy of Peru, andpresident of the court of royal audience, to carry thoseregulations into effect which we have already given an accoun of.Vela was chosen to this high and important office as a person ofcapacity and experience, who would dispense strict justicewithout respect of persons, and would punctually fulfil the royalorders. The four oydors or judges nominated to the royal audienceof Lima were the licentiate Cepeda, doctor Lison de Texada, andthe licentiates Alvarez and Pedro Ortiz. Augustin de Zarate[1],secretary of the royal council of Castille, was appointed at thesame time auditor general of accounts both for Peru and theTierra Firma, as since the discovery and settlement of theseprovinces, no accounts of the royal revenues had ever beenrendered to the treasurers. All these persons embarked at SanLucar de Barrameda on the 1st November 1543, and arrived safe atthe harbour of Nombre de Dios, where they made some stay, onpurpose to prepare for their voyage to Peru. As the viceroy waseager to proceed, he embarked at Panama in the middle of February1543, without waiting for the judges of the royal audience, whoanxiously requested to accompany him, and who were accordinglymuch chagrined by this procedure. Even before this, some slightdisputes had occurred between them and Vela, which though ofsmall importance in themselves, had left some impression ofmutual dissatisfaction, and evinced that they were not likely toagree in the government of the country.

[1] The author of this history.--E.

Befere leaving the Tierra Firma, the viceroy began to carryone of the new regulations into effect, by which all Indians wereenjoined to be at liberty to return to their native countries,whatever might have been the cause of their transportation toother places. He accordingly collected all the natives of Peruwho happened to be in the province of Tierra Firma; and as therewas a great and constant intercourse between that province andPeru, the number of Peruvians in Tierra Firma was considerable,and he ordered all of these to embark in the same ship withhimself at the expence of their masters. The new viceroy had aquick passage from Panama to the port of Tumbez at the northernextremity of proper Peru, where he disembarked on the 4th ofMarch, being resolved to go from thence by land to Lima, andimmediately proceeded to enforce the new regulations in every oneof the places by which he travelled. In regard to some of thecolonists, he fixed the services and tributes which they were infuture to exact from the Indians; and others he deprived entirelyof their lands and Indians, annexing them to the crown. Many ofthose who found themselves aggrieved by these regulations,particularly all the inhabitants of San Miguel and Truxillo,waited on the viceroy, respectfully yet earnestly entreating thathe would at least postpone the execution of those rigorousdecrees till the arrival of the judges, when they would maketheir humble application for justice at Lima in the royal courtof audience. In corroboration of this request, they pointed outone of the articles of the regulations, which directed that theywere to be put in force by the viceroy and oydors conjunctly, andthat therefore he was not authorised to execute them by hissingle authority. All their remonstrances and reasonings wereunavailing, as he refused to listen to them, saying, that theorders with which he was entrusted were general laws, which couldnot be suspended or even postponed in compliance with anyrequests or supplications whatever. He persisted, therefore, toput the regulations strictly in force, through the whole extentof his journey from Tumbez till his arrival in the province ofGuavara[2], which is eighteen leagues from Lima.

[2] About that distance to the north of Lima is thetown of Huaura, which is probably the place indicated inthe text, as in many names of places in Peru the initial syllableGua or Hua, are interchangeably used by differentauthors.--E.

Immediately on his arrival at Tumbez, the viceroy sent anexpress to notify his arrival and the extent of his powers andauthority to the governor Vaca de Castro, whom he directed todiscontinue all exercise of authority as governor. By thismessenger, and by other persons who followed him, the inhabitantsof Lima were informed of the rigorous manner in which the viceroyhad proceeded to enforce the new regulations, and of his refusalto listen to any supplications or remonstrances on the subject.On purpose still more to irritate every one against the viceroy,reports were spread of several other rigorous proceedings ashaving been exercised by him, of which he never even conceivedthe idea. These news caused much emotion and discontent among thepersons who accompanied Vaca de Castro, insomuch that several ofthem urged him to refuse recognizing the viceroy, and to protestboth against the regulations and his commission, as he hadrendered himself unworthy of the government by executing hiscommission with extreme rigour, refusing justice to his majestysfaithful subjects, and turning a deaf ear to their respectfulremonstrances. Vaca de Castro soothed them as much as possible,by assuring them that when the oydors were arrived and had begunto act as the royal court of audience, they would certainlylisten to their remonstrances on being instructed in the truestate of the country; but that for himself, he could in no degreeconsent to disobey the orders of his majesty. At this time, Vacade Castro had arrived at Guarachiri, about twenty leagues fromLima, and on receiving the orders which had been transmitted tohim by the viceroy, he immediately divested himself of hisoffice, and discontinued from exercising any of the functions ofgovernment; except that he granted some vacant repartitions oflands and Indians to different people, some of which grants werein his own name.

Finding all their representations to Vaca de Castroineffectual, the principal persons who attended him set out intheir return to Cuzco, under pretence that they dared not toawait the arrival of the viceroy so long as he was alone; butthat they would return to Lima on the arrival of the judges: Yet,in spite of these specious pretexts, it was easy to see that theywere much discontented and had evil intentions. Indeed theyclearly evinced this soon afterwards on their arrival at the cityof Guamanga, where they excited a great tumult, and tookpossession of all the artillery which Vaca de Castro had disposedin that place after his victory over Don Diego. They thencollected a great number of Indians, and caused the whole of thistrain or artillery to be removed to Cuzco.

Vaca de Castro continued his journey from Guarachiri to Lima,which he found all involved in confusion and discontent, theinhabitants being much divided in opinion as to the expediency ofreceiving the viceroy or refusing to recognize him in thatcapacity. Some alleged that the orders of his majesty did notcommand his recognition till his actual arrival. Others said thathe ought not to be recognized even on his arrival, consideringthe unjust regulations which he brought along with him, and therigour with which he put them in force, in spite of everyremonstrance and supplication to the contrary. But by the earnestexhortations of Yllan Suarez, alcalde or judge of policeand royal commissary of Lima, they came at length to theresolution of receiving the viceroy, and even to admit theregulations, which were published with much solemnity. Upon thisall the magistrates principal inhabitants of the city, went toHuaura to welcome the viceroy and to pay him their respectfulcompliments. From Huaura he was accompanied by the wholecavalcade to Lima, where he was received with great pomp andmagnificence, making his entry under a canopy of cloth of gold.All the magistrates walked in procession, carrying the ensigns oftheir office, and dressed in long robes of crimson satin turnedup with white damask. In this grand stile the viceroy wasconducted in the first place to church, and thence to hispalace.

Next day as the viceroy had received information of thediscontents and seditious conduct of the persons who had retiredto Cuzco, he ordered Vaca de Castro to be arrested and throwninto the common prison, as he suspected that he had fomentedthese seditious practices, and that he had even been their secretadviser to that step. Although the inhabitants of Lima were by nomeans perfectly satisfied with the conduct of Vaca de Castro,they yet humbly petitioned the viceroy, not to allow a person ofsuch high rank, who was a member of the royal council and hadbeen governor of the country, to be thrown into the commonprison; as, even if he merited the punishment of death, and wereto be beheaded next day, he ought to be more honourably dealtwith. The viceroy was softened by these remonstrances, andordered Vaca de Castro to be placed under arrest in the palace,taking a bail bond from the burgesses for his safe custody undera heavy penalty; and besides, he placed all the effects of thelate governor under sequestration. The inhabitants of Lima wereextremely discontented by the harsh conduct of the viceroy,holding frequent secret conferences among themselves, and aconsiderable number of them withdrew gradually from the city,repairing to Cuzco, at which place toe viceroy was notacknowledged.

At this time Gonzalo Pizarro dwelt at Chuquisaca de la Plata,in the province of las Charcas, employed in the arrangement ofthe estate which had been conferred upon him by his brother themarquis, where ten or twelve of his most intimate friends residedalong with him. On learning the arrival of the viceroy, thecauses of his mission, and the regulations which he had broughtout for the government of the colony, and which he rigorouslyenforced, Gonzalo took the resolution of going to Cuzco, underpretence of inquiring after news from Spain, and to regulate theaffairs belonging to his brother Ferdinand, according to theinstructions he had received on that subject. While employed incollecting money for his journey, he received letters from allparts of Peru, written both by private persons and themagistrates of the cities and towns, endeavouring to persuade himto stand forwards in defence of the common interests on thepresent emergency, by protesting against the execution of theroyal ordinances, and demanding either that their executionshould be delayed, or that some other remedy should be interposedto prevent universal ruin among the colonists. Gonzalo was evenurged to this interference, as a person to whom the government ofthe country belonged of right, as heir to the marquis hisbrother. In some of these letters the writers offered to devotethemselves and their fortunes to his service: Others informed himthat the viceroy had publickly declared he would put Gonzalo todeath. In this way every means was used to irritate Gonzalo, thathe might come to Cuzco to prevent the entry of the viceroy intothat city. As every thing seemed to conspire towards theaccomplishment of the desire which he had always cherished, ofacquiring the government of Peru, he gathered a large sum ofmoney, both from his own funds and those belonging to his brotherFerdinand, and repaired to Cuzco accompanied by a retinue oftwenty Spaniards[3].

[3] Zarate is exceedingly negligent in regard todates. We learn from the history of America, II. 370, that thepresent occurrences took place in 1544.--E.

The whole Spanish population of the city went out to meet him,and received him with every demonstration of joy. Every dayadditional persons flocked to Cuzco, withdrawing from Lima inconsequence of the rigorous conduct of the viceroy, whocontinually irritated the inhabitants by his tyranny. Numerousmeetings were held in the town-house of Cuzco, both of themagistrates and the citizens in general, to consult as to whatought to be their conduct in the event of the viceroy arriving attheir city. Some proposed that he ought to be received, and thata deputation should be sent to his majesty, praying him to giverelief in respect to the regulations, which would ruin the colonyunless changed or considerably modified. Others alleged, if theviceroy were received, that he was so determined on theestablishment of the regulations in their entire rigour, that hewould instantly deprive them of all their Indians; and that,whatever alteration might be afterwards made, it would beexceedingly difficult to recover them. It was at length resolvedto elect Gonzalo Pizarro procurator-general, and Diego Centeno,who had been sent to represent the city of la Plata, wasappointed his deputy. Gonzalo was authorised, in the exercise ofthis new office, to lay the remonstrances of the Spanishinhabitants of Peru, in regard to the new regulations, before theroyal Court of Audience; and at first considerable difference ofsentiment took place in the councils of the remonstrants, as tothe mode in which he should proceed to Lima: whether he should beaccompanied by a body of troops for his defence in case of need,or should go there merely as a peaceful messenger. At last theformer alternative was resolved on, and for the followingreasons, in excuse for taking up arms against the viceroy. First,that the viceroy had beat up for volunteers at Lima, underpretence of chastising those who had taken possession of theartillery. Secondly, that the viceroy conducted himself with themost inflexible rigour in carrying the regulations into effect,without listening to the supplications and remonstrances whichhad been presented to him, and without waiting for the arrival ofthe judges of the royal audience, to whom, not less than tohimself, the authority had been confided for enforcing orsuspending the execution of the regulations. Lastly, because theviceroy had been several times heard to declare that he would putGonzalo to death, on account of his participation in the latecivil war, and in the death of Don Diego. Some of theremonstrants were disposed to place this measure, of escortingthe procurator general by an armed force, upon a more moderatepretext, alleging that it was necessary for him to travel througha part of the country, in his way to Lima, where the Inca was inarms, and that it was proper in consequence that Gonzalo shouldbe enabled to defend himself from the hostility of the natives.Others talked more openly, saying that the viceroy was a personof an obstinate and inflexible disposition, who did not confinehimself within the bounds of justice and equity, and against whomit was necessary to have some other protection than that of thelaw. Some able persons among them endeavoured to place theirpresent conduct in a favourable light, by drawing up a kind ofmanifesto, in which they endeavoured to demonstrate, that therewas nothing in their present conduct which could be considered asderogatory to the respect which was due to the royal authority,as justice allowed every one to repel force by force, and todefend themselves against unjust oppression, even resisting byviolence a judge who acts unlawfully, and against the essentialforms of law and justice.

It was flnally determined therefore, that Gonzalo should raisea body of troops, and for this purpose many of the inhabitants ofCuzco offered their persons and properties, declaring themselvesready to hazard their lives in defence of the common cause.Besides the title of Procurator-general of Peru, for the purposeof presenting the supplications and remonstrances of thecolonists, Gonzalo was appointed general of the army which was todefend him against the Inca. As is usual in such matters, theseresolutions were all extended with much formality, to give acolour of regularity to their proceedings. The remonstrants thenproceeded to levy an army, for the payment of which they tookpossession of the royal treasure, and availed themselves of theproperty belonging to deceased colonists and some other funds,under pretence of a loan. After this captain Francisco deAlmendras was detached with some troops to take possession of thedefiles of the mountains, on purpose to prevent any intelligenceof their proceedings being conveyed to Lima. In this measure,they were aided by Paullu, brother to the Inca, who guarded allthe passes on his side by means of his Peruvians, to prevent anyone from carrying intelligence to the low country.

The Cabildo or council of Cuzco sent letters to the Cabildo ofla Plata, representing the prodigous injuries which would accrueto all the colonists from the execution of the obnoxiousregulations, informing them of the measures which they hadresolved upon for averting the ruin of the colony, and requiringthem to approve of and concur in these measures, to which in factthey were already parties, since captain Diego Centeno, theirdeputy, had already consented to them in their name and behalf.They therefore required their concurrence and assistance, andrequested them to repair immediately to Cuzco with their arms andhorses. Gonzalo wrote by the same conveyance to all theinhabitants of La Plata, soliciting their individual concurrenceand aid. At this time, Luis de Ribera acted in the city of LaPlata as lieutenant to Vaca de Castro, the former governor, andAntonio Alvarez, another inhabitant of the same place, held theoffice of judge ordinary. These men, on hearing of thetransactions which had taken place at Cuzco immediately revokedthe commission which had been given to Centeno as deputy fromtheir city, and sent an answer to the regency of Cuzco in thename of the whole cabildo of La Plata declaring that they wereresolved to obey the orders of his majesty, although it shouldcost them their lives and properties: That their city had alwayspreserved its loyalty against all who had acted against the royalauthority, and they were resolved to persist in the same line ofconduct: That Centeno had only been authorised to concur in theirname to such measures as might appear conducive to the service ofhis majesty, the advantage of his dominions, and the preservationof the natives of the country; and since, in the election ofGonzalo, and the other measures which had been resolved upon atCuzco, they saw no tendency towards those things which had beenconfided to Centeno, they could not be implicated in the consentwhich Centeno had given beyond his legitimate powers, nor werethey to be considered as bound to ratify what he had done intheir name, as every thing which had been done was contrary tothe orders and instructions which they had given him.

This letter did not contain the universal sentiments of thecitizens of La Plata, in which Gonzalo had several friends, whoused their endeavours to gain over the inhabitants to his side,and to engage them to join his army. They even endeavoured morethan once to kill Ribera and Alvarez, but these officers usedsuch precautions as to baffle all their attempts. Ribera andAlvarez waited patiently for receiving the regulations from theviceroy; but owing to the great distance of their city from Lima,these had not yet reached them. In the mean time, they commandedall the inhabitants, under severe penalties, to remain in LaPlata; yet several of them left the city and joined theremonstrants at Cuzco.

The viceroy made his entry with great pomp, in the month ofMay 1544, into Lima, where no one dared to speak to him on thesubject of suspending the obnoxious regulations. The magistrates,indeed, had already made their respectful remonstrances andsupplications, alleging substantial reasons why they ought to besuspended, but all in vain. He engaged indeed, after theregulations should have been carried into effect, that he wouldwrite to his majesty, representing that it was for the interestof the crown, as well as for the advantage of the natives of thecountry, that they should be revoked; and that those who haddrawn them up were certainly ignorant of the true state of thecountry, or they could never have advised the king to establishthem. He acknowledged that the regulations were prejudicial tothe royal interest and the good of the country; and herecommended that deputies should be sent to him from all parts ofPeru, in conjunction with whom he would write to the king whatmight be proper on the subject; and that doubtless he would thenreceive orders calculated to remedy the apprehended evils: Butthat he could not of his own authority suspend the execution ofthe ordinances, and must continue to act as he had already done,as his orders left him no choice but absolute obedience to theroyal instructions.

At this time three of the judges of the court of audience,Cepeda Alvarez and Texada, arrived at Lima, leaving Ortiz, theother judge, sick at Truxillo. The viceroy issued immediateorders for the inauguration of the royal Court of Audience; forwhich purpose all the necessary preparations were made for thesolemn reception of the royal seal, as usual on the firstestablishment of this high tribunal. The seal was placed in arich casket, carried by a horse superbly caparisoned and coveredby housings of cloth of gold, and led under a canopy of the samesplendid materials, held up by the magistrates of the citydressed in flowing robes of crimson velvet, in the same ceremonyas is used in Spain on the entry of the king in person into anyof the cities. On this occasion, Juan de Leon led the horse,being appointed to officiate as chancellor, in the place of theMarquis de Camarasa, president of Cazorla, who then held theseals in Spain. After this procession, the court of audience wasinstalled, and proceeded immediately to business; but a subjectof dispute soon arose between the viceroy and the judges, whichrenewed the dissentions which had arisen between them even beforetheir arrival in Peru, the explanation of which requires somedetail.

When the viceroy arrived at the Tambo or palace ofGuavra[4], where he waited till he was sure of being received atLima, he found written on one of the walls of the tambo tothe following effect: "Whoever may endeavour to deprive me of myhouse and property, I shall endeavour to deprive of life." Hedissimulated his displeasure at these words for some time; butbeing afterwards persuaded that these words had been written byAntonio de Solar, to whom the district of Guavra belonged, andwho he believed was not well inclined towards him, because he hadfound the tambo entirely deserted on his arrival, he sent forSolar a few days after his reception at Lima. In a privateconference, he spoke to Solar concerning these words which he hadseen on the walls of the tambo, and reproached him likewise forhaving spoken to him personally with much insolence: Then,ordering the gates of the palace to be shut, the viceroy sent forone of his chaplains to confess Solar, declaring his resolutionto have him immediately hanged from one of the pillars of agallery fronting the great square of Lima. Solar refused toconfess himself, and the dispute continued so long that news ofwhat was going forwards spread over the city, on which thearchbishop and some other persons of quality came to the palaceand humbly requested the viceroy to defer the execution. At firsthe obstinately persisted in his intention; but at last consentedto postpone the execution till next day, and sent Solar to prisonloaded with fetters. On the morrow, the anger of the viceroy wassomewhat appeased, so that he did not renew his orders forhanging Solar, but detained him for two months in prison and inirons, without any information or process respecting hiscrime.

[4] It has been already mentioned in a former note,that this is probably a different orthography for Huaura, a placeabout 70 miles to the N.N. W. of Lima.--E.

After the installation of the court of audience, the judgeswent on a Saturday to visit the prison; and having been informedof the foregoing circ*mstances by a judicial note or requestpresented to them on the subject, they demanded to see Solar,whom they asked the cause of his imprisonment; to which heanswered that he knew nothing about the matter. On examination,they found no process against Solar, and the jailor andregistrars were only able to say that the viceroy had givenorders for his imprisonment. On the ensuing Monday, the judgesrepresented to the viceroy that they had found no process orinformations against Solar, and could only learn as the reason ofhis imprisonment that it was by his orders; and consequently,having no documents to instruct the lawfulness of his detention,they could not in law or equity do otherwise than order him to beset at liberty. The viceroy said that Solar had been arrested byhis orders, and that he had even been inclined to have hangedhim, on account of the writing on the wall of the tambo, andbecause of his personal insolence when there was no witnessespresent; believing, by his sole authority as viceroy, that he hadthe power of arrest, and even of ordering him to be hanged,without being under the necessity of giving them any reasons forhis conduct. To this the judges made answer, that his authorityas viceroy could only extend so far as justice and the laws ofthe kingdom allowed. As the viceroy and they could not agree onthis point, when they visited the prison on the followingSaturday, they ordered Solar to be liberated, desiring himhowever to remain under arrest in his own house; and on asubsequent visitation, they set him entirely at liberty.

The viceroy was much chagrined by this affront, and soughtanxiously for an opportunity of being revenged, for which hethought the following circ*mstance gave him a favourable opening.The three judges lodged separately with some of the richestinhabitants of Lima, who likewise provided their tables, andfurnished every thing that was necessary for themselves and theirservants. At first this was done with the consent of the viceroy,till such time as they might be able to procure and to furnishhouses for themselves. After the dispute concerning Solar, theviceroy caused them to be informed, that it did not seem to himconsistent with decorum that they should live at the expence ofthe citizens, which would be assuredly displeasing to hismajesty, and therefore that they ought to look out for houses fortheir accommodation: And that, besides, he did not approve oftheir walking about the streets in company with the merchants andother inhabitants of the city. The judges made answer, that theyhad not been able to find any houses for hire, and that they wereunder the necessity of waiting till some then building werefinished: That in future they would live at their own charges:but as to walking in the streets with the inhabitants, it wasneither a criminal nor a forbidden conduct, nor in any wayimproper; as even in Spain the members of the royal council, orof any other tribunal, were in use to do the same, which was evenuseful, as in that way the merchants had an opportunity ofinforming or reminding them of their affairs. The viceroy and thejudges were always upon bad terms, and their misunderstandingbroke out into disputes on every occasion. It is said that at onetime the licentiate Alvarez, one of the judges, preferred an oathto a procurator or attorney, respecting a bribe which he hadgiven to Alvarez de Cueto, brother-in-law to the viceroy, for hisinterest to obtain the appointment. By this procedure of Alvarez,the viceroy is said to have been greatly offended.

During all this time, the passes of the mountains leadingtowards Cuzco had been so well guarded by the Spaniards andPeruvians appointed for that purpose, that no intelligence couldbe had at Lima of what was going on among the remonstrants. Itwas only known that Gonzalo Pizarro had gone to Cuzco, and thatall those who had withdrawn from Lima and other places in theplain had repaired to the same place in expectation of a civilwar. The viceroy and judges of the royal audience issued theirjoint proclamation, ordering, in the name of the king, all theinhabitants of Cuzco, and the other cities of Peru, to recognizeand submit to Blasco Nunnez as viceroy, and to repair with theirarms and horses to Lima to offer their services. Most of theseproclamations were lost by the way; but that which was sent to LaPlata was more fortunate, and, by virtue of its authority, Luisde Ribera, Antonio Alvarez, and the other magistrates andofficers of that city, proclaimed Blasco Nunnez with muchceremony and great rejoicings: And, in testimony of theirsubmission to his authority, they equipped twenty-five horsem*n,being all the city could spare, who were sent to join the viceroyunder the command of Captain Luis de Ribera. Lest Gonzalo mightcut off their passage and arrest them on their march, Ribera madehis way towards Lima by a desert and unfrequented road.

Some even of the inhabitants of Cuzco got copies of theproclamation, in consequence of which several of them repairedsecretly to Lima to offer their services to the viceroy, as willbe more particularly specified in the sequel. By their means theviceroy became acquainted with the transactions at Cuzco, onwhich account he found himself under the necessity of using everyeffort to increase his forces by means of additional levies; forwhich purpose he fortunately possessed ample funds, as Vaca deCastro had embarked upwards of 100,000 crowns which he had drawnfrom Cuzco to transmit to the king, which the viceroy tookpossession of and employed for the equipment and pay of histroops. He appointed Don Alfonso de Montemayor and Diego Alvarezde Cuero, who was his own brother-in-law, captains of horse;Martin de Robles and Paul de Menezes captains of foot; andGonzalo Diaz de Pignera captain of musqueteers. Vela Nunnez, hisown brother, was made captain-general of the troops. Diego deUrbina maestre de campo, or major general, and Juan de Aguireserjeant-major, or adjutant general. Without including thecitizens, his army amounted to 600 men; of whom 100 were cavalry,200 musqueteers, and the remaining 300 armed with pikes. Onpurpose to arm these soldiers, he caused a considerable number ofmusquets to be made, some of which were of iron, and others ofcast metal, which he procured by melting down some of the bellsbelonging to the great church.

Besides frequently exercising his troops to perfect them intheir discipline, he occasionally caused false alarms to be giventhat he might ascertain their disposition towards him, as it wasmuch suspected that the majority were by no means hearty in thecause. Having some suspicion of Vaca de Castro, the formergovernor, whom he had lately allowed to be a prisoner at large onparole not to leave the city, and believing that he had somesecret intelligence with his former friends and dependents, theviceroy ordered a false alarm one day about noon, reporting thatGonzalo was near at hand; and when the troops were all assembledin the great square, he sent his brother-in-law, Diego Alvarez deCueto to arrest Vaca de Castro. At the same time he arrested DonPedro de Cabrera, Hernan Mexia de Gusman, Lorenço deAldana, Melchior Ramirez, and Baltazar Ramirez hisbrother-in-law, all of whom he sent prisoners on board a shipcomanded by Jeronimo de Zurbano. A few days afterwards, he setLorenço de Aldana at liberty, and sent off Cabrera andMexia to Panama, and the two Ramirez to Nicaragua. Vaca de Castroremained prisoner in the ship, neither he nor any of the restbeing informed of what they were accused, nor were anyinformations or law-processes made respecting them. While thesecivil discords were going on, two ships loaded with merchandisearrived at the port belonging to Arequipa[5], both of which werepurchased by Gonzalo Pizarro, with the intention of employingthem to transport his artillery, and for getting possession ofthe harbour of Lima, and seizing the ships belonging to theviceroy, believing that whoever was master of the sea along thecoast of Peru must command the country, by having it in his powerto land in any unguarded place and to do all the mischief hepleased, on account of the prodigious extent of coast. Bycommanding at sea, he would likewise have been enabled to procurearms and horses from the vessels which are in use to bring theseto Peru, and would have it in his power to stop all vesselscoming there from Spain with merchandise or other supplies. Onlearning that Gonzalo had purchased these two vessels, and thepurpose for which he destined them, the viceroy was a good dealdistressed, fearing they might occasion considerable detriment tohis affairs, as he had no means of opposing two ships so wellprovided with artillery; yet he took the best measures in hispower to prepare for his defence. He equipped, therefore, one ofthe vessels in the port of Lima, which he armed with eight brasscannon and some others of iron, with several musquets andcross-bows, appointing Jeronimo de Zurbano to the command, withorders to make the best resistance he could against the ships ofGonzalo. Fortunately these preparations became unnecessary; forthe captains Alfonso de la Caçares and Jeronimo de laCerna, who dwelt in Arequipa, went secretly by night on board thetwo ships which Gonzalo had purchased, and which remained waitingfor their artillery, and by large bribes to the masters andmariners got possession of them for the viceroy; then, abandoningtheir houses lands and Indians, they immediately set sail forLima. On their arrival off the harbour of Callao, the viceroy gotnotice of their approach from some centinels who were stationedin a neighbouring island, and having no doubt that they wereenemies, he immediately set out from Lima at the head of a bodyof cavalry. In the meantime, Zerbana discharged his artilleryagainst the two ships, which immediately lowered their sails intoken of peace, and sent some of their people on shore in a boatto surrender the ships to the viceroy. This circ*mstance gavemuch satisfaction to the viceroy and all the inhabitants of Lima,as it relieved them from a danger of which they were in greatfear.

[5] Arequipa is a considerable way from the coast, onwhich there are several harbours, thirty or forty milesdistant.--E.

While these things were going on, Gonzalo Pizarro leviedtroops at Cuzco, which he carefully armed and disciplined, andmade every necessary preparation for war. He assembled a body of500 men, of which he appointed Alfonso de Toro major-general,retaining the chief command in person. He divided his cavalryinto two troops, one of which he gave the command of to Don Pedrode Porto-Carrero, placing himself at the head of the other.Gumiel, and the bachelor Juan Belez de Guevera, were appointedcaptains of two companies of pikemen; and Captain Pedro Cermenohad the command of the musqueteers. He had three standards, onehaving the royal arms, which was given to Porto Carrero; a secondhaving the arms of Cuzco was confided to Antonio de Altamirano,alcalde of Cuzco, whom he afterwards beheaded as inclined to theroyal interests: the third, bearing his own arms, was carried byhis ensign; but was afterwards given to Captain Pedro de Puelles.Ferdinand Bachicao was made commander of the artillery,consisting of twenty excellent field-pieces, with a plentifulsupply of powder, balls, and every other necessary for theirservice.

Gonzalo endeavoured to secure the troops in his interest,covering his designs and endeavouring to justify his criminalenterprize by the most specious pretexts. Having assembled hisarmy he made a long harangue to the soldiers, in which herepresented, "That he and his brothers, as was well known to tothem all, had discovered the kingdom of Peru, which they hadreduced under the dominion of the king at their own propercharges, and had already remitted very large sums in gold andsilver to his majesty; yet, after the death of the marquis, theking had not conferred the government of the country, either onthe son of the marquis, or on him who now addressed them, asought to have been done in conformity with the promises andagreements which had been made at the first discovery, but hadeven sent a cruel and inflexible person at this time to strip allof them of their property, as it was quite obvious that everyperson in Peru came under the scope of the obnoxious regulations.Blasco Nunnez Vaca, to whom the execution of these fatalregulations was confided, caused them to be put in force with theutmost rigour, not only refusing to listen to remonstrances andpetitions the most respectful, but treating every one harshly whopresumed to offer the most humble representations against theirexecution; of all which, and many other things of a like nature,every one who heard him were able to testify. Besides which, itwas publickly given out, that the viceroy had orders to cut offhis head; although it was well known to them all that he had notonly never done any thing contrary to the service of the king,but had always conducted himself with the most zealous loyalty.For all these reasons, and by the consent and appointment of thecity of Cuzco, he had resolved to go to Lima, to make arepresentation of their grievances to the royal audience, andhumbly to supplicate a suspension of the ruinous regulations,that time might be given for sending deputies to the king in thename and on behalf of the whole kingdom of Peru, to inform hismajesty of the true state of affairs, and of what seemednecessary to be done in the present conjuncture; having no doubt,when his majesty was truly informed, that he would devise asuitable remedy. If however, after using their utmost efforts,his majesty should still think proper to enforce the regulations,he and all with whom he acted would then obey the royal orderswith the most entire and unreserved submission. His own journeyand compearance before the viceroy, considering the menaces ofthat officer and the troops which he had levied, were obviouslyattended with the utmost danger to himself and all who shouldaccompany him, unless he and they should be in a situation todefend themselves from lawless violence. For this reason it hadbeen deemed indispensably necessary that he and the otherdeputies should be accompanied by a body of troops, which theyhad not the most distant intentions of employing to injure anyperson, unless they were attacked. He entreated them, therefore,to accompany him in his journey to Lima, and to observe duringtheir march the strictest and most vigilant discipline, and thatthey might be assured, he, and those other gentleman who actedalong with him, would reward them liberally for their toil andbravery, in enabling them to act with effect for preserving theproperties of all from ruin."

By this specious discourse, in which Gonzalo endeavoured topersuade his troops that his cause was just and his intentionspure, a considerable effect was produced, and his soldiersunanimously declared their determination to follow and defend himat the risk of their lives. He then marched out from Cuzco,accompanied by all the inhabitants of that city; and having puthis troops in proper order, he gave permission that same eveningto several of the citizens, as had been previously concertedbetween them, to return on purpose to prepare for the journey.Next morning early, twenty-five of the most eminent citizens, whohad first given their assent to the supplications against theobnoxious regulations, considering that the steps which were nowtaking were criminal and rebellious, and dreading the injuriousconsequences which they would necessarily produce in Peru, cameto the resolution of abandoning the party of Gonzalo and offeringtheir services to the viceroy. They immediately set aboutexecuting this design, and went by long journeys throughunfrequented ways in the deserts and mountains, lest Gonzalomight order them to be pursued, which he actually did. Theprincipal persons in this defection were Gabriel de Roias, andGomez de Roias his nephew, Garcilasso de la Vega, Pedro delBarco, Martin de Florencia, Jeronimo de Soria, Juan de Saavedra,Jeronimo Costilla, Gomez de Leon, Luis de Leon, and PedroManjares[6]. On setting out from Cuzco, they carried with themthe orders they had received from the royal audience, by whichthey were enjoined to compear at Lima to submit to the authorityof the viceroy.

[6] Garcilasso de la Vega differs somewhat in thenames of one or two of these leading men who deserted fromGonzalo, and enumerates a considerable number more, among whom henames one Pedro Pizarro, saying they were in all about forty,with many of whom he was personally acquainted.--E.

When Gonzalo was informed of this notable defection from hiscause, by which all his troops seemed very considerablydisconcerted, he was almost in the mind to have abandoned hisenterprize, and to withdraw into the district of Charcas withabout fifty horsem*n of his most attached friends, to fortifyhimself there as well as he could; but after mature reflection,he considered it as less dangerous to follow his firstintentions, and to continue the march for Lima. Having taken thisresolution, he endeavoured to encourage his troops, by tellingthem that the deserters were assuredly ill-informed of the truestate of affairs at Lima, as he had letters from the principalinhabitants of that city, assuring him that, with fifty horsem*nonly, he might easily bring his enterprize to a happy conclusion,and without incurring the smallest danger, as all the colonistsentertained the same sentiments with him, and only needed hiscountenance and direction to declare themselves. He continued hismarch accordingly, but very slowly and with infinite difficulty,on account of the extreme labour which was requisite for bringingforward his artillery. All the cannon and warlike stores had tobe carried on the shoulders of Indians, by means of levers orlong spars, for which purpose the guns were taken off from theircarriages, and it required twelve Indians to each gun, who werehardly able to go above a hundred paces under their load, whenthey were relieved by an equal number. On this account, 300Indians were assigned to each gun, so that the artillery alone,with its ammunition and stores, required above 6000 Indians toconduct it over the mountains.

Several gentlemen and other persons of consideration whoaccompanied Gonzalo, began to repent of being engaged in theenterprize. They had concurred with the rest at the beginning, inthe propriety of remonstrating against the execution of theobnoxious regulations, and had even offered to risk their livesand fortunes in that measure; but on seeing the turn whichaffairs had taken, and that Gonzalo gradually assumed anauthority to which he had no pretensions, they wished sincerelyto get away from the engagements into which they had entered.Before leaving Cuzco, Gonzalo had seized the treasure belongingto the crown, not only without the consent and authority of themagistrates, but contrary to their advice and desire. They wereanxiously desirous, therefore, of retracing the dangerous andcriminal steps which they had taken, and the rather because theyalready believed that it would be unsuccessful. Gaspard RodriguezDe Campo-rondo, the brother of the deceased Captain PedroAnzurez, and who had succeeded to the management of his estateand Indians, was the leader of these persons who wished to returnto their duty. He and the rest concerted with each other how theymight best abandon Gonzalo and join the viceroy; but they weresomewhat afraid of trusting implicitly to Blasco Nunnez, inconsideration of the extreme severity of his character, fearingthat he might punish them for the share they had taken hithertoin the insurrection, notwithstanding of this their intended tardyabandonment of Gonzalo. For this reason they resolved to takeeffectual measures for securing an indemnity, and sent off, by asecret and unfrequented road, letters for the viceroy and theaudience, in charge of a priest named Baltasar de Loaysa, bywhich they craved pardon for the past and a safe conduct fortheir compearance at Lima; adding, that, as they held some rankin the insurgent army, being captains under Gonzalo, all theirfriends and dependents might be expected to follow their example,by which in all probability the army of Gonzalo would fall topieces of itself. Besides Rodriguez, Philip Gutierez, AriasMaldonado, Pedro de Vila-Castin, and others to the number oftwenty-five, concurred in this plan of abandoning Gonzalo.

Loaysa went in all haste to Lima, and, for the betterconcealment, he avoided uniting himself with Gabriel de Roias andthe others who had formerly set out from Cuzco to join theviceroy. On his arrival at Lima, he immediately delivered hisdispatches to the viceroy and the audience, and received withoutdelay the safe conduct which his employers required. The news ofthis affair was soon spread over Lima, in which many of theinhabitants and others secretly wished well to the party ofGonzalo, as conformable to their own interest; and they weretherefore a good deal mortified at the defection among theinsurgents, which they supposed would soon occasion the army ofGonzalo to disperse; after which, the viceroy would assuredlycarry the regulations into execution with the utmost rigour, whenthere was no one to oppose him.

At the time when the viceroy was received at Lima, Pedro dePuelles, who was lieutenant of Guanuco under Vaca de Castro, cameamong the first to pay his compliments and to tender submissionto his authority. As he had resided long in Peru, and had greatexperience in the affairs of that country, the viceroy gave him anew commission, by which he was confirmed in the lieutenancy ofGuanuco, to which city he was sent back, with orders to hold theinhabitants in readiness to take the field with their horses andarms in case of need. Puelles not only prepared the people of hisgovernment for taking the field, but even retained in his paysome soldiers who had come from the province of Chachapoyas alongwith Gomez de Soliz and Bonefaz. Thinking it necessary tostrengthen his army as much as possible to oppose Gonzalo, whowas now marching towards Lima, the viceroy sent Jeronimo deVillegas with a letter commanding Puelles to join him withoutdelay with all his force. On the arrival of Villegas at Guanuco,he and Puelles consulted together on the state of affairs, andconcluded that if they should join the viceroy they would give adecided superiority to his side; and after the defeat of Gonzalo,having no one to oppose him, the viceroy would then cause theregulations to be enforced in their utmost rigour, by which thewhole colonists of Peru would suffer extreme injury; as bydepriving them of their Indians, not only the burgesses to whomthey belonged would be reduced to poverty, but even the soldierswould be materially injured, as the burgesses would be no longerin condition to furnish subsistence to the troops as now. Theycame to the resolution therefore to join the party of Gonzalo,and set out immediately in search of his army for thatpurpose.

END OF VOLUME FOURTH.