Bernal Diaz del Castillo
The Memoirs of the Conquistador Bernal Diaz del Castillo, Vol 2 (of 2)
CHAPTER CCI
Of the great festivities which took place in Mexico on account of the peace which was concluded between our emperor and the king of France; and of Cortes' second journey to Spain.
In the year 1538 intelligence arrived from Spain that our emperor, of glorious memory, had repaired to France, and was most splendidly received by the French monarch in the harbour of Aigues-Mortes. Here the two monarchs met, embraced each other most affectionately, and concluded a treaty of peace.55 At this interview, which was celebrated by various festivities, there was also present queen Eleanor, the mother of the French king, and sister to our emperor.
In order to celebrate this happy event, the viceroy of New Spain, Mendoza, the marquis del Valle, the royal auditors, and several of the most distinguished Conquistadores gave splendid feasts. By this time Cortes and the viceroy had become good friends again, after having been for a length of time at variance with each other respecting the number of Indians belonging to his marquisate, and on account of the favour which the viceroy showed Nuño de Guzman. As far as I am able to judge, such splendid tournaments, sham fights, masquerades, bull fights, and public rejoicings, were never seen in Spain as took place in Mexico on this occasion. Similar festivities were celebrated as in ancient Rome, when a consul or a victorious general made a triumphal entry into the city; and all these rejoicings were superintended by a Roman cavalier, named Luis de Leon, who was said to be a descendant of some ancient patrician family of Rome.
When all these festivities were ended, Cortes ordered the necessary preparations to be made for his departure, and he invited me to accompany him, promising to obtain for me from the council of the Indies a grant of more lucrative townships than would be conferred upon me by the royal court of audience in Mexico. I accordingly embarked for Spain, and arrived there a couple of months before Cortes, who said he had been detained by a bad leg, and because he had not so soon been able to collect the quantity of gold he was desirous of taking with him on this voyage. It was in the year 1540 that Cortes thus, for the second time, arrived in Spain; and as the empress Isabella, of glorious memory, died in the month of May of the preceding year, the whole of Spain was still in deep mourning for her; and I, in my capacity of regidor of the town of Guacasualco, and as the oldest of the Conquistadores, had likewise put on deep mourning on arriving at the imperial court.
At this same time Hernando Pizarro, with his suite, consisting of above forty persons, all in deep mourning, likewise arrived in Madrid, where the court was then staying. Cortes and his suite arrived in the city almost at the same moment, was splendidly received by order of the council of the Indies, and took up his abode with the comendador Juan de Castilla. Upon the whole he was treated with the utmost respect, for whenever he went to attend the sittings of the council of the Indies, one of the auditors was sent to meet him at the door, and a seat was given him on the same bench with the president and the auditors.
Cortes never afterwards visited New Spain, for notwithstanding the admiral of Castile, the duke of Bejar, the comendador-mayor of Leon, and Doña Maria de Mendoza used all their influence with his majesty, he never could obtain leave to repair thither again. Each time these distinguished personages solicited the emperor, his majesty answered, "That all the investigations against Cortes must first be brought to an issue before he could grant him permission to return." Yet no one seemed to stir in the matter, and the council of the Indies would not say anything until his majesty should have returned from Flanders, whither he was gone to punish the town of Ghent. Neither was Nuño de Guzman allowed to return to New Spain, and though he was condemned in a heavy fine, he was allowed to retain possession of his commendaries in the province of Xalisco; and he likewise, with his suite, went about the town of Madrid clad in deep mourning. And as Cortes, Pizarro, Guzman, and several other personages of New Spain and Peru, were continually before the eyes of the public, we were derisively dubbed the mourning Indians of Peru. It was no joke, however, for Pizarro, for he was shortly after imprisoned in the Mota of Medina.
I myself returned to New Spain, and the first thing I heard on my arrival there was, that an insurrection had broken out among the mountain tribes of Cochitlan, in the province of Xalisco, to quell which the viceroy had despatched thither several officers, among whom was a certain Christobal Oñate. The Indians, however, defended themselves so courageously that the civic authorities of Mexico applied for assistance to Alvarado, who was at that time busily occupied in fitting out an extensive armament in Guatimala, destined for China; yet Alvarado readily consented to render the assistance required, and set out by forced marches for Cochitlan with a large body of troops. In this campaign he met with a fatal accident, which I will relate in a following chapter. I have now to speak of two armaments which left New Spain, one fitted out by the viceroy, the other by Alvarado.
CHAPTER CCII
How the viceroy sends out a squadron of three vessels into the South sea to the assistance of Francisco Vasquez Coronado, in the conquest of Cibola. 56
I have already mentioned in a former chapter that the viceroy and the royal auditors had sent out an armament for the discovery of the seven towns, which are also termed the towns of Cibola. A certain cavalier of Salamanca, called Francisco Vasquez Coronado, who was governor of the province of Xalisco, and was married to the beautiful and virtuous daughter of the treasurer Estrada, had marched out as captain-general with a strong body of horse and foot, in order further to explore the country. Having appointed a certain Oñate to govern in his absence, he took his route overland, and arrived, in the space of a few months, among the so-termed seven towns. Whether he had despatched thither the Franciscan monk, father Marcos de Nizza, in advance, or whether both arrived there at the same time, I am unable to say; however, when they came into the country of Cibola they found to their surprise the meadows abounding with cows and bulls, though different in shape to ours in Spain; the houses of the towns were several stories high, and were ascended by regular steps. The father seeing all this considered it well worth his while to return to Mexico and inform the viceroy of the country they had discovered, that he might send thither an armament of some extent. This the viceroy accordingly did, and he sent out three vessels under the chief command of Hernando Alcaron, one of the officers of his household, who was accompanied by Marcos Ruiz de Rojas, of Madrid, and a certain Maldonado, as second in command. I ought to mention that all I have related respecting the discovery of this country I have from hearsay.
CHAPTER CCIII
Of a very extensive armament which was fitted out by Alvarado in the year 1537.
Here I must not pass by in silence the vast armament which Alvarado fitted out in the year 1537, in the harbour of Acaxatla, lying on the coast of the South Sea, in the province of Guatimala, of which he was then governor.
This expedition was fitted out according to an agreement he had entered into with the crown during his stay in Spain, by which he bound himself down to fit out a certain number of vessels at his own expense, for the express purpose of discovering some western passage to China, the Moluccas, or to other of the Spice islands. In consideration of which he was promised a certain portion of the lands he should discover, or of the annual rents that should arise from them; however, as I never saw this agreement myself, I am unable to give any further particulars about it.
Alvarado, who had always proved himself a most faithful servant to his majesty, both during the conquest of New Spain and in the campaigns of Peru, and, with his four brothers, had taken every opportunity to promote the interests of the crown, was desirous on this occasion to surpass every armament which Cortes had fitted out before him. He therefore equipped thirteen vessels of considerable burden, all well provided with ammunition, provisions, and water, and care was taken to select the best sailors and the most experienced pilots. As the harbour where he built these vessels lay above 800 miles from Vera Cruz, all the ironwork and the greater part of the building materials had to be transported thither from the latter port by land; and all this proved so expensive to him, that he might have built eighty vessels of the same size at Seville for an equal sum of money. He not only spent in fitting out this armament all the riches he had brought with him from Peru, and all the gold he could collect from his mines in Guatimala and other possessions, but he borrowed large sums of money, besides that he purchased quantities of goods on credit. To all of which was added the large sums of money he had to pay the captains of the vessels, the officers, and the troops, which amounted to 650 men; further, the purchase of horses, the best of which cost him 300 pesos a piece, and the inferior ones from 150 to 200 pesos; and lastly, the cost of a considerable store of ammunition and powder. In short, the sums of money he laid out were beyond conception. By this expedition he not only thought to render his majesty distinguished services, but he also hoped to reach China, the Moluccas, or the Spice islands, by a western passage, and either to make conquests there, or at least to open a trade between these countries and the province of which he was governor; he was therefore determined to stake both his life and the whole of his property in the enterprise.
The armament being at length fully equipped, Alvarado took the chief command himself, as captain-general, and ordered the imperial flags to be hoisted. The number of troops he had on board amounted to 650 men, including 200 horse, and after attending mass he set sail in the year 1538, but I forget in which month. He first of all shaped his course for the harbour de la Purificacion, in the province of Xalisco, where he took a further supply of water and provisions on board, besides a few additional troops.
When the viceroy received intelligence that so vast an armament had been fitted out at such a distance from Vera Cruz and Mexico, he was filled with utter astonishment. He consulted the most experienced pilots and cosmographers, and learnt from them, but particularly from his relative Villalobos, who was a very skilful geographer and navigator, that it was every way possible to reach China by sailing due west from the new world. This created a great desire in him to share the expenses of the expedition with Alvarado; for which purpose he first made the latter a proposal by letter, and then despatched to him his major-domo Agostino Guerrero and Don Luis de Castilla, to settle the terms of an agreement. In consequence of this proposal an interview took place between the viceroy and Alvarado in the township of Chiribitio, lying in the province of Mechoacan, a commendary belonging to Juan de Alvarado. Here both these distinguished personages inspected the armament, and then travelled in company to Mexico, in order to select an officer as captain-general of the whole expedition. Alvarado was desirous of appointing his relative Juan de Alvarado, of Guatimala, who, however, must not be confounded with the person of the same name just mentioned; but the viceroy's choice fell upon his relative Villalobos. Alvarado himself had been obliged to relinquish all thoughts of taking the chief command himself, as the affairs of his own province required his immediate presence there; nevertheless, he was desirous of being present at the departure of the armament, for which purpose he journeyed overland to the harbour of Natividad, where all the vessels lay in readiness, and only awaited his commands for setting sail.
Just as he was about to issue these commands, he received a letter from Christobal de Oñate, whom, as I have above stated, Vasquez Coronado, during his absence in Cibola, had appointed governor of Xalisco. In this letter Oñate stated that he was threatened on all sides by large bodies of Indians, who had, in particular, taken up a strong position on the mountains of Chochitlan, and had killed a considerable number of his troops; and that, if he did not receive immediate assistance, he must be cut off, with the whole of his men. In short, Oñate drew so dreadful a picture of the posture of affairs, that the whole of New Spain itself seemed to be threatened with destruction, if the Indians could march down victorious from their strong position on the heights. Alvarado, on receiving this intelligence, hastened with a large body of troops to Oñate's assistance, whom he indeed found in so perilous a position, that if this timely help had not come, the Indians would very shortly have mastered his small body of troops. After Alvarado's arrival the enemy did not repeat their attacks so often, yet they fought with great courage each time the combat was renewed. It was in one of these engagements between the rocky mountains that a horse stumbled, and rolled headlong down a steep declivity. Alvarado, who happened to be ascending the same height, was unable to get out of the way of the rolling horse, which carried him down, and lay upon him, when both reached the bottom, so that his body was bruised all over, and he found himself very ill. However, the bruises he had received were not considered dangerous, and he was conveyed in a sedan to the neighbouring town de la Purificacion for medical aid, but on his way thither he had frequent swoons, and scarcely a few days elapsed before he rendered up his spirit to God, after he had partaken of the holy communion, and made his confession. Some persons even maintained that he left a will, but nothing was ever seen of it.
This excellent cavalier would, no doubt, have survived, if he had not been carried to the town in the weak state he was in, but had been promptly attended by a surgeon on the spot where the accident took place. However, it was thus ordained by the Lord, whose will be praised, and may God have mercy on his soul. Alvarado was buried with every possible splendour in the town where he breathed his last. Subsequently, I heard that Juan de Alvarado carried his earthly remains to Chiribitio, where they were again entombed with the greatest funeral pomp, many alms were distributed, and several masses were ordered for the repose of his soul.
When intelligence of Alvarado's death reached the fleet and the head-quarters of Cochitlan, there being no one there to take the chief command, a number of the troops dispersed with the money they had received in advance. The consternation which this sad news created in Mexico was very great, particularly as the viceroy, after Alvarado's decease, was desired to send immediate assistance to Xalisco; but as he was unable to leave himself just then, he despatched the licentiate Maldonado thither with as large a body of men as could be assembled in the hurry of the moment; though subsequently he marched in person against the Indians, and completely subdued them, after protracted and fatiguing campaigns.
When the news of Alvarado's death reached Guatimala, the grief of his family knew no bounds; and his wife, Doña Beatriz de la Cueva, with whom he had lived on the most affectionate terms, cried incessantly, and she and all the ladies of her household cut off their hair. His death was also a severe blow to his lovely daughter, his sons, and his son-in-law Don Francisco de la Cueva, on whom Alvarado had conferred the government of Guatimala during his absence. Every one of the Conquistadores of this province deeply lamented his death, and put on mourning for him. The bishop Don Francisco Marroquin was likewise deeply affected at the sad news, and performed a solemn mass for the dead, assisted by the whole body of the clergy, and ordered daily prayers to be offered up for the repose of his soul. Alvarado's major-domo, to show his excessive grief, had even plastered all the walls of his house with a species of black bitumen, which stuck so fast, that it could never after be taken off again.
Several cavaliers waited upon the disconsolate widow to condole with her, and begged of her to moderate her grief, and humbly to resign herself to the will of God. This, as a good Christian, she promised to do; but as women are unable to moderate their grief for the loss of those they have loved, she said she was tired of life, and longed to quit this vale of sorrows. I have merely mentioned this circumstance because Gomara, in his Chronicles, puts the following blasphemous words into her mouth: "That the Lord Jesus could not have visited her with a severer calamity;" and he maintains that it was owing to her having given utterance to this that the town of Guatimala was shortly after visited by so direful a calamity; for the volcano, which lies about two miles from the town, during a violent storm, suddenly vomited huge masses of stone and clouds of ashes, succeeded by a deluge of water, from the bursting of the crater, by which a great part of the town where the widow of Alvarado resided was totally destroyed, and she herself, with several of her ladies, drowned. However, this lady certainly gave utterance to nothing more than what I have mentioned above, and what Gomara states is an invention of his own: and if it pleased the Lord Jesus to call her away from this earth, it is not for mortal man to scrutinise the mysterious decrees of heaven.
With respect to this dreadful tempest and earthquake, I will give the particulars in another place. I cannot help mentioning with regret, that, notwithstanding the many important services which Alvarado and his five brothers, as also the other Alvarados, had rendered to the crown, the sons and daughters of the first-mentioned retained none of the townships comprehended in his commendary, and that the fact of his having subdued the whole province was never even taken into consideration, and it was no longer borne in mind that he accompanied the expedition under Grijalva, and was present in all the campaigns of Cortes. The manner in which he himself, his wife, his children, and his brothers lost their lives, is altogether remarkable. Alvarado himself, as we have seen, met with his death in the expedition against Cochitlan; his brother Jorge, who fought in some of the campaigns of Mexico and those of Guatimala, died in Madrid in the year 1540, whither he had gone to solicit his majesty for some remuneration for the services he had rendered the crown; Gomez was killed in Peru; Gonzalo died in Guaxaca or Mexico; and Juan, who was a natural brother, ended his life at Cuba, whither he had journeyed to look over some property he possessed in this island. The eldest of Alvarado's sons, named Don Pedro, repaired, with his uncle Juan the younger, to Spain, to represent to his majesty the many valuable services his father had rendered to the crown; but neither of them were ever after heard of, and they must either have been lost at sea or taken prisoners by the Moors. His second son, Don Diego, finding that all his father's property was gone, returned to Peru, where he lost his life in battle. With respect to Alvarado's widow, I have above stated how she perished, with several of the ladies of her household, during a fearful tempest. And thus, unfortunately, did Alvarado die, at a distance from his wife and daughters, whom he loved with so much affection; and the wife without her husband, for whom she cherished the dearest remembrance! One of the sons, in his journey to Spain, was never heard of again, and the second was killed in Peru. May they become glorified with the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen!
A short time ago two tombs were constructed near the altar of the principal church of Guatimala, in one of which the remains of Alvarado are to be deposited, which were taken to Chiribitio; and in the other Don Francisco de la Cueva and his wife, Doña Leonora, Alvarado's daughter, have expressed a wish to be buried, when it shall please the Almighty to call them from this earthly life.
In order to return to the armament which Alvarado had fitted out, I must not omit to mention that the viceroy a year after ordered the best of the vessels to be selected, and these he sent out to sea, under the command of his relative Villalobos, with instructions to sail in a westerly direction, in search of China; but as I never heard how this expedition terminated, I will say nothing further about it; though one thing is certain, the heirs of Alvarado never derived any advantages from it, and the whole of the vast sums which Alvarado had expended in fitting out this armament were for ever lost to the family.
We must now see what Cortes is doing in Spain.
