Bernal Diaz del Castillo
The Memoirs of the Conquistador Bernal Diaz del Castillo, Vol 2 (of 2)
CHAPTER CLVII
How Cortes orders the aqueduct of Chapultepec to be restored; and of various other matters.
The first duty which Cortes imposed upon Quauhtemoctzin was to repair the aqueduct of Chapultepec, in order to supply Mexico with fresh water; also to bury the dead and all other putrid remains of flesh; to clean the streets, repair the causeways and bridges, and build up the houses and palaces which had been pulled down during the siege. After the space of two months the inhabitants were to return to the city, and the quarter which they and that we were to inhabit was marked out. Besides these, many other regulations were made, but which I have now forgotten.
Quauhtemoctzin and all his officers, after a time, complained to Cortes that many of our officers and soldiers had carried off their wives and daughters, whom they begged might now be restored to them. Cortes, in answer to this request, told them it would be a difficult matter to get the women out of the hands of the soldiers again, but promised he would do his best for them. He then gave them permission to go in search of the females they spoke of, and to bring those they found into his presence, that he might see how many of them had become converts to Christianity, and which of them felt a desire to return to their parents and husbands, as he would restore all those to them who felt inclined to leave. Cortes then issued orders to all three divisions to deliver up all those females who felt any inclination to return to their families.
The Mexicans did not fail to profit by this permission; they went from one quarter to another, and found most of the women again; but there were only three that showed any desire to return to their homes; the rest all remained with our soldiers. Many even concealed themselves on hearing that their relations were coming in search of them; others declared they would never again return to the worship of idols; and many of them were with child.
We now likewise constructed a secure harbour for our brigantines, and built a fort, to which a special alcalde was appointed, in the person of Alvarado (if I remember rightly), who filled this command until it was subsequently bestowed upon a certain Salazar de la Petrada, who came from Spain for that purpose.
The next thing which Cortes did was to collect all the gold, silver, and jewels that had been found in Mexico, of which, however, there was very little; for Quauhtemoctzin, it was said, had ordered all the treasures to be thrown into the lake four days previous to his capture. A great quantity had likewise been purloined by the Tlascallans, Tezcucans, Huexotzincans, Cholullans, and other auxiliary troops which had assisted us in the siege, besides what had fallen into the hands of the troops on board the brigantines.
The crown officials were positive that Quauhtemoctzin had concealed the greater part, and asserted that Cortes was very pleased that the monarch refused to say a word where it was hidden; for he would then be able to get the whole treasure into his own possession.
The officers then proposed that Quauhtemoctzin and the king of Tlacupa, his most intimate friend and cousin, should be put to the torture, in order to extort from them a confession as to what had become of the treasures: but Cortes could not make up his mind to insult so great a monarch as Quauhtemoctzin, whose territory more than trebled that of Spain, and that for mere lust after gold.31 Moreover, the monarch's household assured us they had given up all the gold they possessed to the officers of the crown, which, it was well known, amounted to 380,000 pesos, the whole of which had been melted into bars; and one thing is certain, that the emperor's and Cortes' fifths were deducted from that sum; but the conquistadores were not at all satisfied, and considered this sum much below the real amount, and several expressed their suspicion to Alderete, the royal treasurer, that Cortes' only reason for not wishing to put the monarch to the torture was, that he might secretly take possession of all his riches. Cortes, not willing that such a suspicion should any longer lie upon him, or that he should afterwards be called to an account on this score, at last consented that both should be put to the torture. Boiling hot oil was then applied to their feet; upon which they confessed that, four days prior to Quauhtemoctzin's capture, all the gold, with the cannon, crossbows, and muskets, which we had lost in the night of sorrows, when we retreated from Mexico, besides those which had been taken in Cortes' last defeat on the causeway, had been thrown into the lake. A number of good swimmers were then sent to dive for the treasure in the spot they pointed out, but nothing was found. Yet there was some truth in the statement; for I was myself present when Quauhtemoctzin led us to a large and deep reservoir of water, built of stone, which lay near his palace. From this reservoir we fished up a sun of gold similar to the one sent us by Motecusuma, besides many jewels and other trinkets, though all of little value. The king of Tlacupa also informed us that he had hidden all manner of valuable things in some large houses, about twelve miles from Tlacupa, and he would accompany us there to point out the spot where he had buried them.
Alvarado was then despatched thither with six soldiers, among which number I also was; but when we arrived at the spot, this king assured us he had merely invented all this in the hopes that we would have killed him in a moment of anger at our disappointment. We consequently returned without the treasure, and thus there was no more smelting of gold into bars for the present. But it is an undoubted fact that there was very little left in the treasury of Motecusuma when it came into the hands of Quauhtemoctzin; for by far the greater part had been taken out as a present for our emperor.
Among the things which were collected together on this occasion, there were various objects of beautiful workmanship, which it would be too tedious to describe. One thing however is certain, and many were bold enough to assert it, that the emperor's fifths were not taken of a third part of what there really was.
I said above that there was some truth in what was stated by Quauhtemoctzin with regard to his having ordered a quantity of gold and other things to be thrown into the lake. I, with many of my companions proved this to be a fact, for we frequently dived to the bottom of the water in the spot which had been pointed out by the monarch. Each time we brought up some trifling trinket or other, which were afterwards demanded of us by Cortes and the royal treasurer. On one occasion they both accompanied us to this spot, and took a number of good divers with them, who brought up various ornaments of gold, worth altogether about one hundred pesos; but this was nothing in comparison to the treasure which was said to have been thrown in by the command of the monarch.
When the gold we took on this occasion came to be divided, the officers and all our men were of opinion that what would fall to each one's share would scarcely be worth accepting; wherefore father Olmedo, Avila, Alvarado, and other cavaliers proposed to Cortes, that the whole should be distributed among the invalids, the blind, the lame, the deaf, and those who had been accidentally burnt by powder; assuring him that we others who enjoyed good health, would gladly accede to this. Their object in making this proposal was to induce Cortes to add so much to each one's share as to make it worthy of our acceptance; for the suspicion was become pretty general that he had concealed the greater part of Quauhtemoctzin's treasure.
In answer to this Cortes said he would first see how much each man's share amounted to, and he would try if he could not satisfy all parties. Our officers and men now insisted that this calculation should instantly be gone into, when it was found that every cavalry soldier would have to receive 100 pesos, and the musketeers and crossbow-men I forget how much. None of the men would accept of this miserable pittance, and they began to throw out bitter complaints against Cortes and the royal treasurer, who excused himself by saying, that there was nothing more for them, as Cortes had deducted for himself an equal portion with the crown, and had besides claimed large sums in payment for the horses which had been killed, and such like; also, many curious objects of value had not at all been added to the common stock, but had been set apart as particular presents for the emperor. They should not, therefore, concluded Alderete, cavil with him about it, but with Cortes.
As there were friends and partisans among our troops of the governor of Cuba, and soldiers of Narvaez's corps who were besides this ill inclined towards Cortes, they obstinately refused to accept of the gold which was offered them, saying, they were entitled to much more.
About this time Cortes was staying at Cojohuacan, and inhabited a large palace, the walls of which had been recently fresh plastered and white-washed, so that they were well adapted for writing on with charcoal or other colours. Every morning that came, a couple of biting epigrams or satires were found written on these walls, either in prose or rhyme. One time for instance you would read: The sun, moon, stars, firmament, the sea and the earth have their fixed course, and if ever they do diverge from their regular course, they always correct themselves again; may Cortes, in his love of power, take this as a precept. At another time: We are much more conquered ourselves than conquerors, and should not be called the conquerors of New Spain, but the conquered of Cortes. Then again: Cortes is not content with taking his share of the gold as general, but must also have his royal fifths. Again: Alas! how my heart does grieve, ever since I have seen my share of the booty! And then again: Diego Velasquez has spent all his fortune to discover the coast up to Panuco, but Cortes has reaped the harvest. Such like sayings were numerous, many of which I should not wish to repeat here.
Cortes never neglected to read these epigrams as soon as he rose in the morning; the greater part of which were in rhyme, and not exactly so homely as those above quoted. As he was himself a bit of a poet, he wrote answers in verse beneath them, which had always reference to his deeds of arms, and tended to lower those of Diego Velasquez, Grijalva, and of Narvaez. These, his answers, were so pointed, that each day the epigrams became more severe, when Cortes at length wrote: White wall, the paper of fools! And the following morning was found under it: And of the wise and honest! Our general very well knew who were the writers of these verses; namely, a certain Tirado, one of Velasquez's partisans, and son-in-law of the elder Ramirez, who lived in la Puebla; a certain Villalobos, who returned afterwards to Spain; and one Mansilla, with others, who were always ready to oppose Cortes in everything. These verses grew at length of so scandalous a nature, that father Olmedo told Cortes he ought to put a stop to them. Our general followed this good advice, and ordered that no one henceforth should presume to dirty the walls with any beastly sayings, under threats of severe punishment.
For the rest we were all deeply in debt. A crossbow was not to be purchased for less than forty or fifty pesos, a musket cost one hundred, a sword fifty, and a horse from 800 to 1000 pesos, and above. Thus extravagantly had we to pay for everything! A surgeon, who called himself Mastre Juan, and who had cured some very severe wounds, demanded most exorbitant fees for his cures. There was also an apothecary and barber, named Murcia, who likewise cured wounds. Various other impositions were practised, and payment was demanded of the men as soon as they had obtained their shares of the booty.
Serious complaints were made about this, and Cortes knew no other remedy than to appoint two men of business-like habits and of well-known honesty, to examine each demand and tax the amount. One of these persons was named Santclara, the other Llerena, and no debt was considered valid unless it had been examined by them; and two years were allowed to liquidate a debt we were unable to pay at the moment.
In the smelting of the gold there was also allowed an eighth of alloy to every ounce, to assist the men in the purchase of the necessaries of life, as about that time a number of vessels had arrived at Vera Cruz with various kinds of merchandise. But we derived no advantage from this, on the contrary it proved very prejudicial to us; for the merchants added the same per centage to the price of their goods, and sold for five pesos what was only worth three, and so this alloy became, as the Indians termed it, tepuzque, or copper. This expression afterwards became so common among us, that we added it to the names of distinguished cavaliers, to express the worth of their character; as for instance we would say, Señor Don Juan of so much tepuzque.
Complaints were now made of the excess of alloy which was mixed with the gold; at length two gold workers were even detected in stamping the gold mark on pure copper, in punishment for which Cortes ordered them to be hung. But all these are stories which do not exactly belong to my history.
Our general becoming weary of the continued reproaches which were thrown out against him, and the everlasting petitions for loans and advance in pay, determined at once to get rid of the most troublesome fellows, by forming settlements in those provinces which appeared most eligible for this purpose. He accordingly despatched Sandoval to Tuztepec, to form a settlement there, and punish the Mexican garrison lying in that township, for having, about the time of our unfortunate retreat from Mexico, put to death sixty Spaniards, and six Spanish ladies, all of Narvaez's corps. He was, first of all, to leave a settlement at Medellin, then to proceed to the river Guacasualco, form a settlement in the harbour there, and then subdue the province of Panuco.
Rodrigo Rangel and Pedro de Ircio were ordered off to Vera Cruz; the younger Juan Velasquez to Colima and Villa Fuerte, in the province of Zacatula; Christobal de Oli, who about this time married a Portuguese lady, named Doña Filipa de Araujo, was sent to Mechoacan; and Francisco de Horozco was commissioned with the colonization of Oaxaca.
The inhabitants of the provinces I have just mentioned would not at first credit that Mexico had fallen; but when they found it to be a fact, the kings and caziques of those distant provinces sent ambassadors to congratulate Cortes on his victory, and to declare themselves vassals of our emperor; as also to convince themselves with their own eyes that we had really levelled that terrible city to the ground. Each of these ambassadors brought with them valuable presents in gold, and many had their young sons with them, to whom they pointed out the ruins of Mexico, just as we would show our children the spot where Troy once stood.
I will now answer a question which the curious reader will surely ask himself, namely, why we, the true Conquistadores of New Spain, and of the strong city of Mexico, did not settle down there, but selected other provinces by preference? The reason is, that we had learnt from Motecusuma's rent-rolls where those districts lay from which he derived the greatest quantity of gold, cacao, and cotton stuffs. All our thoughts and desires were bent upon those provinces whence the monarch obtained the largest tribute in gold, and when we found that even Sandoval, one of our chief officers, and a particular friend of Cortes, likewise left Mexico for the provinces, we no longer hesitated to follow his example; the more so, as there were no gold mines in the neighbourhood of Mexico, nor did it produce cotton or cacao, but merely maguey and maise, from the former of which the inhabitants prepare their wine. We therefore considered the country surrounding the metropolis very poor, and we consequently settled in other provinces, though we were greatly disappointed in our expectations! This Cortes had well foreseen, and I still remember that he said to me, when I requested his permission to accompany Sandoval: "Upon my conscience, brother Bernal Diaz del Castillo, you are making a great mistake. I should feel delighted if you would stay with me in Mexico; but if you have made up your mind to accompany your friend Sandoval, I will not oppose your wishes, and may God be with you. You may rely upon it I will take every opportunity to promote your welfare; but I am sure you will soon regret having left me."
Before we commenced our march each man received an account of his share of the booty, when it was found that all our shares of the gold were due to the officers of the crown, in payment for the slaves we had bought at the auctions.
I will not here trouble the reader by enumerating what number of horse, crossbow-men, musketeers, or other soldiers left for the provinces, nor will I give the date of the month, but merely inform him that the first troops left a few days after the capture of Quauhtemoctzin, and the second expedition two months later.
I must now relate the important news which arrived about this time from Vera Cruz.
CHAPTER CLVIII
How a certain Christobal de Tapia arrived in Vera Cruz, with the appointment of governor of New Spain.
After Cortes had despatched these several detachments to bring the provinces into complete subjection, and leave settlements in them, a certain Christobal de Tapia, who had been veedor at St. Domingo, arrived at Vera Cruz, with the appointment of governor of New Spain, which had been procured him by Fonseca, bishop of Burgos. He likewise brought with him several letters from the bishop for Cortes, and many others of the conquistadores, as also for the officers of Narvaez's corps, by which they were desired to support Tapia in the government. Besides this appointment, which was drawn up in due form by the bishop, Tapia had several other blank papers with him, which were merely signed, so that he was at liberty to fill them up as he might think proper, by which means he would obtain unlimited power in New Spain. He was ordered to make us vast promises if we assisted him in his government, but to threaten us with severe punishment if we refused to obey him.
As soon as Tapia arrived at Vera Cruz, he showed his appointment to Gonzalo de Alvarado, who was then commandant of that place, as Rodrigo Rangel, who had previously filled that office, had recently been deprived of it by Cortes, but for what reason I cannot say.
Alvarado perused these papers with the most respectful veneration, as containing the commands of his emperor and master; but as to acting up to their contents, he told Tapia he must previously consult with the alcaldes and regidors of the town, to take the matter into mature consideration, and investigate as to how he had obtained the appointment, as he (Tapia) could not expect that they should exactly place implicit belief in what he said, and they should also like to convince themselves whether his imperial majesty was really cognizant of the drawing up of this appointment.
As Tapia was by no means satisfied with this answer, they advised him to repair to Mexico, where he would find Cortes, with all his officers and troops, who would, no doubt, on perusing his papers, pay him the respect which was due to his appointment.
Upon this Tapia wrote to Cortes, and acquainted him in what capacity he had come to New Spain. Now as Cortes was remarkable for his great tact, he answered this man in much more courteous terms than the former had used in his letter to him, saying the most obliging and pleasant things; at the same time he despatched several of our principal officers to visit Tapia at Vera Cruz. These were Alvarado, Sandoval, Diego de Soto, Andreas de Tapia, and a certain Valdenebro, to all of whom Cortes sent couriers with orders for their immediate return from the provinces, and to repair to Vera Cruz. He likewise requested father Melgarejo to hasten thither, in order to be present at the meeting; but Tapia had already started for Mexico, to wait upon Cortes himself, and was met on his road by our officers, who paid him the greatest respect, and proposed that he should turn off with them to Sempoalla. When arrived there they requested him to produce his papers, that they might convince themselves whether or not he was really sent by his imperial majesty, and whether his appointment bore the royal signature. If he could convince them of this, continued our officers, they would immediately promise obedience to him, in the name of Cortes and the whole of New Spain.
Tapia then produced his papers, and all the officers acknowledged, with respectful veneration, that, to all appearances, his appointment came direct from his majesty; but that it was impossible the emperor could be cognizant of all the particulars, nor of how matters stood in general, and they were determined to petition his majesty against his appointment. They assured him he was not fit for the important office of governor of New Spain; that the bishop of Burgos, the avowed enemy of the Conquistadores, the faithful servants of his majesty, had procured this appointment without first acquainting his majesty with the real state of affairs, merely to favour the governor of Cuba, and him (Tapia), to whom he had promised one of his own nieces in marriage, a certain Doña Fonseca.
When Tapia found that all his eloquence, papers, letters, promises, and threats availed him nothing, he fell ill from downright vexation. Our officers then wrote Cortes word of everything that had transpired, and advised him to forward a few bars of gold, with some jewels, to sooth Tapia in his excessive disappointment; all of which our general sent without delay, and our officers purchased some negroes and three horses from Tapia, who then returned to St. Domingo. Neither did he meet with the best of receptions there, as the royal court of audience and the Hieronymite brotherhood had been exceedingly vexed with him for having persisted in going to New Spain, though they had so strongly advised him not to do so, as the time was badly chosen, and his arrival there would create disputes, and only tend to interrupt the progress of the conquest of New Spain. But Tapia had placed all his reliance on the protection of the bishop of Burgos, wherefore they had not dared to detain him by force in St. Domingo, particularly as his appointment had been made out by the president of the council of the Indies, and as the emperor himself still continued in Flanders.
I will now return to Cortes' plan of forming settlements. Alvarado, as I have mentioned above, was sent for this purpose to a province abounding in gold, called Tuztepec, which must not be confounded with Tutepec, whither Sandoval was despatched for the same end. Sandoval was also to make a settlement on the river Panuco, as Cortes had received intelligence that a certain Francisco de Garay had fitted out an extensive armament for the same object, in which Cortes wished to anticipate him.
About this time our general again sent Rodrigo Rangel to Vera Cruz as commandant of that place, and ordered Gonzalo de Alvarado to conduct Narvaez to Cojohuacan, where Cortes still occupied the same palace, until the one should be finished which was building for him in Mexico. Cortes' motive for ordering Narvaez to be brought to Mexico was, because he had been informed that, in a conversation he had had with Christobal de Tapia, he thus addressed him: "Señor, you are come here with the same lawful authority as I came before you, but it will avail you no more than it did me, who arrived, moreover, in this country with so large a body of troops. I advise you to be upon your guard, lest they put you to death. You have no time to lose; for the wheel of fortune still turns in favour of Cortes and his men. Strive to get as much gold out of them as you can, and with that journey to his majesty in Spain, and relate to him how matters stand here; and if you can rely upon the bishop Fonseca's protection, so much the better for your cause. This is the best advice I can give you."
Narvaez, on his journey to Mexico, was greatly surprised at the large towns he passed through; but when he came to Tezcuco, then to Cojohuacan, and saw the lake, with the numerous other large towns, and Mexico itself, he was perfectly astonished.
Cortes had given orders that he should be treated with the utmost respect, and, immediately on his arrival, was to be brought into his presence. Narvaez, on coming up to our general, fell down on one knee to kiss his hand. Cortes, however, would not consent to this, but, raising him up, embraced him affectionately, and desired him to take a seat next to his person; when Narvaez thus addressed him: "General! I am now convinced, from what I have seen of this vast country and its numerous towns, that of all the deeds of arms which you have accomplished in New Spain with your troops, the least victory has been that which you gained over me and my troops; and had these even been much more numerous I am sure we should have been defeated. You cannot be too highly honoured and rewarded for having subjected so vast a territory, with so many large cities, to the sceptre of our emperor. I am convinced that the most famous generals of our time will agree with me, that what you have accomplished surpasses everything that the greatest and most renowned captains have ever done before you, in the same degree as the city of Mexico surpasses every other town of the world in strength of position. Indeed, you and your brave soldiers have merited the greatest rewards from his majesty."
To these and other flattering speeches, Cortes answered, "What we have done was certainly not of ourselves alone, but through the great mercy of the Almighty, who protected us, and the good fortune which always attends the troops of our great emperor."
Cortes now also began to make the necessary regulations for the rebuilding of the great and celebrated city of Mexico; he marked out the ground for the churches, monasteries, private dwellings, public squares, and assigned a particular quarter of the town for the Mexican population. This city was rebuilt with so much splendour, that, in the opinion of those who have travelled through the greater part of Christendom, Mexico, after its restoration, was a larger and a more populous city than any they had seen, and the architectural style of the houses more magnificent.
While Cortes was busily engaged with these matters, he received intelligence that the province of Panuco had revolted, and the whole of its numerous and warlike population had risen up in arms. Many of the Spanish settlers had been murdered by the inhabitants, and the few who had escaped begged for immediate assistance.
As soon as our general heard this bad news, he determined to march thither in person, as all our chief officers were absent, with their respective detachments, in the provinces. He therefore collected all the cavalry, crossbow-men, musketeers, and other troops he could; and it fortunately happened that considerable recruits arrived in Mexico about this time from those who came in the suite of Tapia, and of the troops of Vazquez de Aillon, whose expedition to Florida terminated so miserably; besides that, numbers had arrived from the Caribbee and other islands.
Cortes left a strong garrison in Mexico, under the command of Diego Soto, and set out on his march with no more than 250 Spanish troops, including the musketeers, crossbow-men, and 130 horse; but to this small body he added 10,000 Mexican auxiliaries.
Before Cortes left, Christobal de Oli returned from the province of Mechoacan, which he had completely subdued, and was accompanied by many caziques, as also by the son of Consi, the great cazique of the province. He likewise brought with him a large quantity of gold, but of very inferior quality, being considerably mixed with copper and silver.
This expedition to the province of Panuco cost our general a large sum of money, which he subsequently requested the emperor to reimburse him; but the board of finance refused this, and told him he ought to bear all the expenses himself, as he had subdued that province to suit his own private views, and to anticipate Garay, who was fitting out an extensive armament in Jamaica for the same purpose.
Cortes found the whole province of Panuco in a terrible state of rebellion. He several times offered the inhabitants peace, but to no purpose, and the consequence was a series of battles, of which ten were very severe, three Spaniards and four horses being killed, besides one hundred of the Mexican auxiliaries. In these battles the enemy had brought 60,000 men into the field; yet Cortes defeated them with considerable loss, and they never after felt any inclination to fight against him.
Cortes, finding that the district he was in contained abundance of provisions, staid eight days in a township near the field of battle, and, ardently desirous of restoring peace to the country, he sent father Olmedo and ten distinguished caziques he had taken prisoners in the last battles, with Doña Marina and Aguilar, to the enemy. Father Olmedo then addressed the several chiefs in a suitable speech, and asked them, among other things, how they could have entertained a hope of maintaining their independence, as they well knew that the city of Mexico, which had been defended by so many brave warriors, was obliged to surrender to our emperor. They ought, therefore, to sue for peace, and he promised them that Cortes would pardon their past behaviour. By these and other representations which the excellent father made to them, mixed up with a few threats, they were brought to their senses, and began to reflect on the large body of men they had lost, and the number of towns which had been sacked and burnt to the ground; so that, at length, they agreed to send a message of peace to Cortes, with a few ornaments of gold. Our general received the ambassadors very kindly, and assured them of his future friendship.
