Bernal Diaz del Castillo
The Memoirs of the Conquistador Bernal Diaz del Castillo, Vol 1 (of 2)
CHAPTER XL
How Cortes goes in search of another harbour and a good spot to found a colony, and what further happened.
After the Mexican ambassadors had again taken their departure, Cortes ordered two vessels to sail further on and explore the coast. The command of these was given to Francisco de Montejo, with orders to follow the same course taken by Grijalva. He was to sail on for the space of ten days, and search for a good harbour and convenient spot to form a settlement; for in the sandy region we were now staying it was impossible to live, on account of the gnats; the inhabited districts, moreover, being too far distant. Alaminos and el Manquillo who were already acquainted with these waters, piloted the vessels. Montejo departed and arrived in the waters of Rio Grande, near Panuco, as far as we had gone with Grijalva, but on account of the heavy currents there he could proceed no further; he, therefore, returned to San Juan de Ulua, bringing us no other news than that they had seen at a distance of about thirty-six miles further on a town, which to all appearance was fortified. This place was called Quiahuitzlan, having a harbour, which, according to the opinion of Alaminos, was secure from the north wind. Ten or twelve days were spent by Montejo in this expedition out and home. Quitlalpitoc, who had remained to furnish us with provisions, soon ceased to do so altogether, which, of course, created a great scarcity of food: our cassave-bread had likewise become quite mouldy and swarmed with worms, so that we had nothing to eat if we did not procure ourselves shellfish. In the commencement the Indians had certainly brought us gold and fowls for our goods, but now they no longer came in such great numbers as at first, and those who did come appeared quite shy and reserved. We, therefore, anxiously awaited the return of the two ambassadors from Mexico.
After some days had elapsed Teuthlille indeed returned with a great number of Indians. They observed the same courteous behaviour as on the previous occasion, perfuming Cortes and all of us, and then brought forth their presents, consisting in ten packages of mantles, richly worked in feathers; further, four chalchihuitls, a species of green stone of uncommon value, which are held in higher estimation with them than the smaragdus17 with us; lastly, there were also all kinds of gold trinkets, which I heard valued at 3000 pesos. The great cazique Quintalbor had fallen ill on the journey, and consequently remained behind. Teuthlille and Quitlalpitoc, therefore, alone fulfilled Motecusuma's commission, and assured us that he had most graciously accepted of our present. Regarding the four chalchihuitls they observed, that those were intended as a present to our emperor, as each of them was worth, more than a load of gold. For the rest it was unnecessary to send any more messengers to Mexico, neither was there any further mention to be made of a personal interview between their monarch and Cortes.
Although, it was very unpleasant to the latter that his visit to Motecusuma should thus be declined in dry words, yet he thanked them most kindly; and added to some of us who were present: "Really this Motecusuma must be a great and rich gentleman; nevertheless, if God be willing, we shall one day visit him in his palace!" "We only wish, (returned we soldiers,) that we were once nicely engaged with him."
All this took place just about the hour of Ave Maria; the bell, therefore, announced that we should assemble ourselves around the cross, which we had erected on an elevated sand-hill. While we were all on our knees before it, and repeating the Ave Maria, Teuthlille and Quitlalpitoc inquired why we thus humbled ourselves so greatly before that pole.
Cortes immediately turned to Bartolome de Olmedo, and remarked to him: "This is a good opportunity, father, to give these people some notion of our holy religion through our interpreters." This father Olmedo accordingly did in a manner which would have done honour to the greatest of theologians. He first of all explained that we were Christians, and then expatiated on the whole substance of our belief; he then proved that their idols were useless things, evil spirits, which fled away from the presence of the cross. On such a cross, he continued, the Lord of heaven and earth suffered death, we believed in him only, and prayed to him as the only true God, Jesus Christ, who suffered death for the salvation of the human race; who rose again on the third day, and ascended into heaven, that he would again appear to hold judgment over the living and the dead. Upon this followed everything that was edifying, which the Indians comprehended well, and which they assured us they would relate to their monarch.
Cortes then explained to them, that among the many reasons which had induced our great emperor to send us here, one was that they should abandon for ever the religion of their cursed idols, abolish human sacrifices, and abstain from kidnapping. He, therefore, must beg of them to erect crosses like this in their towns and on their temples, and also the figure of the holy Virgin, with her most excellent Son, then God would bestow great blessings on them. In short, there were many expressions replete with excellent feeling, which I am unable wholly to report, and therefore will rather leave in my pen.
Our men now commenced to barter with the Indians, who had arrived with Teuthlille for what they had brought, and obtained various kinds of things, all of inferior gold, which we gave to our sailors for catching us fish; this was the only means we had of stilling our hunger. Cortes was well aware of this, and secretly enjoyed the idea; however, the creatures of Diego Velasquez drew his attention to it, and thought he ought not to permit such a species of traffic. We shall further see what happened on this account.
CHAPTER XLI
What happened on account of our bartering for gold, and of other things which took place in our camp.
This bartering for gold being continued with the Indians, the adherents of Diego Velasquez remonstrated with Cortes, and asked him how he could suffer such a thing? Diego Velasquez, they added, had not sent him hither, that the soldiers should put most of the gold in their pockets. It ought to be made known, that henceforth no one but Cortes himself should barter for gold, and that every one should render an account of the gold in his possession, in order that the emperor's fifths might be deducted therefrom. It was, moreover, necessary to appoint a treasurer. Cortes confessed they were in the right, and allowed them to choose a treasurer themselves. But, not until their choice had fallen on one Gonzalo Mexia, did he show what his real intentions were; then he said to them with a heavy frown on his brow: "Only consider, gentlemen, how hard our comrades have to fare, since provisions totally fail! In order that they might not hunger, I have up to this moment overlooked this system of bartering, and indeed it produces but a mere trifle. I hope, with the assistance of God, that our affairs will take a better turn by and bye. Everything has its two sides to be looked at, and as we have now, in compliance with your wishes, ordered that no more bartering for gold shall be allowed in future, we have to see whence we are henceforth to obtain provisions."
Gomara is in the wrong, when he relates, that Cortes issued that order, on this occasion, to make Motecusuma believe we cared little about gold. This monarch knew very well how the matter stood on this point, from the time of our arrival under Grijalva in the Bandera stream; he might also easily guess what we were after, when we begged of him to send us the casque full of golden grains, and our daily bartering for that metal. The Mexicans, indeed, are not the kind of folks to be thus imposed upon.
However this may be, one fine morning the Indians, who had resided near us in the huts and were accustomed to furnish us with provisions and bring gold for barter, had all secretly left with Quitlalpitoc. This, we subsequently learnt, was done by the commands of Motecusuma, who had forbidden all intercourse with Cortes, which he had been induced to do from his attachment to his idol-gods. These were named Tetzcatlipuca and Huitzilopochtli, the former being the god of hell and the latter the god of war, to whom Motecusuma daily sacrificed some young children, that they might disclose to him what he should do with us. His intention was to take us prisoners if we would not re-embark, and employ some to educate children, while others were to be sacrificed. For his idol-gods, as we afterwards discovered, advised him not to listen to Cortes, and to take no notice of what we had sent him word concerning the cross and the figure of the blessed Virgin. This was also the reason why his men had gone away so secretly.
Affairs having assumed such a posture, we now daily expected that hostilities would break out, and were particularly on our guard. It was during one of these days that I was standing sentinel on the sand-hills with another soldier, when we espied five Indians approaching along the shore. Not to alarm our camp with such a trifle we allowed them to come up. They all appeared very good humoured, made their obeisance to us after their fashion, and begged of us, by signs, to conduct them to our camp. Upon which I said to my companion, I will take them there, while you remain where you are, for at that time my legs were not so infirm as they are now, in my old age. When I presented them to Cortes, they paid him the profoundest respect, and continually repeated the word, Lopelucio, Lopelucio, which in the Totonaque language means Lord, great God. In dress and language this people differed entirely from the Mexicans, whom Motecusuma had sent to our camp. They had large holes bored in their under-lips, in which they wore pieces of blue speckled stone, or thin plates of gold; the holes in their ears were still larger in size, and adorned with similar ornaments. Neither Aguilar nor Doña Marina understood their language; but the latter inquired of them whether there was any Naëyavatos, or interpreter, among them? Upon which two of them answered that they understood the Mexican language, and now the discourse immediately commenced. They bid us welcome, and stated that their ruler had sent them hither to inquire who we were, and that he would be delighted to be of any use to such powerful men as we were. They would have waited upon us earlier if they had not shunned the people of Culhua, namely, the Mexicans (meaning as much as villains,) who had been with us. Most probably these people had heard of our battles at Tabasco and Potonchan; they at least knew that the Mexicans had secretly departed from us three days ago. Cortes learnt from them many things which were of the greatest importance to him, particularly respecting the enemies and opponents of Motecusuma: Cortes, therefore, was most friendly to these people, gave them various kinds of presents, and desired them to return to their ruler and acquaint him that he would visit him shortly in person. From this moment we called these Indians by no other name than Lopelucios. However, it was impossible for us to remain on these sand-hills, on account of the long-legged and small gnats, which they call chechenes, and are the worst of all: we could get no sleep for them. Moreover, we had no kind of provisions left; our cassave-bread was quite mouldy and uneatable, on account of the worms, with which it swarmed: it was, therefore, no wonder that several of our men, who had Indian possessions in the island of Cuba, should wish to return home, which was in particular the case with all the friends and creatures of Velasquez. Cortes, observing this disposition, gave orders for our departure to Quiahuitzlan, which had been seen by Montejo and Alaminos, and where the vessels would be secure from the north winds, being sheltered by the rock above mentioned.
While preparations were making for our departure, the whole of Diego Velasquez's adherents united to remonstrate with Cortes. They asked him how he was to commence the march without provisions; it was, indeed, quite impossible to proceed further on by sea. Already thirty-five of our men had died either of the wounds they received at Tabasco, of sickness, or of hunger. The country we were now in was extensive, the population numerous, and the inhabitants would, no doubt, attack us in a few days. It was, therefore, most advisable to return to Cuba, and render an account to Diego Velasquez of the gold we had bartered for, of which we possessed a good deal: to this might be added the presents sent by Motecusuma, the golden sun, silver moon, the casque full of gold dust, and all the other precious things, which I have above mentioned. To which Cortes answered, "that he did not consider it advisable to return without having even seen the country. Up to this moment we had no reason to complain of ill luck; on the contrary, God had everywhere lent us his support. If we had lost any of our men, such things were to be expected in warlike undertakings. We should first explore the country more thoroughly; and with regard to provisions, there was sufficient maise in the country, with which we must make a shift for the present."
By these arguments Cortes succeeded in quieting the partisans of Diego Velasquez; yet it was of short duration, for they held secret meetings, and commenced setting all manner of intrigues on foot to bring about our return to Cuba: how far they succeeded we shall presently see.
CHAPTER XLII
How we elected Hernando Cortes captain-general and chief justice until we should receive the emperor's commands on this head; and what further happened.
I have already remarked how the relatives and friends of Diego Velasquez united to stop our further progress, and bring about our return to Cuba. Cortes, on his part, however, was no less active, and managed with his friends to get himself appointed our captain-general. In this the following personages acted the chief part: Alonso Hernandez Puertocarrero, Pedro de Alvarado, with his four brothers Jorge, Gonzalo, Gomez, and Juan; further, Christobal de Oli, Alonso de Avila, Juan de Escalante, Francisco de Lugo, myself, and many other cavaliers and officers.
Francisco de Montejo soon perceived what our intentions were, and kept a sharp look-out upon everything that was going on. I was drawn into this affair in the following manner: at midnight, Puertocarrero, Escalante, and De Lugo, to whom I stood somewhat related, both of us, moreover, being born at the same place, called upon me in my quarters, and said, "Bernal Diaz del Castillo, take your arms and follow us: we are to accompany Cortes, who is going to make the rounds." When we had arrived at some distance from my hut, they again commenced, "We have something to tell you, sir, but you must keep it a secret, for it is of great importance, and those of Diego Velasquez's partisans who mess with you must know nothing about it. We are of opinion that Cortes does not act rightly towards us. At Cuba he made known that he was going out to found a colony, and now we hear that he was not empowered to do so, but was merely sent out to barter for gold, and then to return to Cuba with all we should make. If this takes place, we are altogether ruined men, and Diego Velasquez will himself comfortably pocket the gold, and keep it, as he has on previous occasions. Do but reflect, sir, that this is the third expedition of the kind which you have accompanied, that you have spent your whole in them, and undergone so many fatigues, risked your life, and suffered from wounds, all for nothing. This we cannot allow. We cavaliers are sufficient in number, your friends one and all, and we must insist that Cortes founds a colony here, in the name of his majesty; we must also find means to acquaint our sovereign immediately with this. Promise that you also will be one of us. We have united to elect Cortes our captain-general. It would, indeed, be rendering God and our king a great service."
To all this I answered that I considered it equally inadvisable to return to Cuba, and that I was quite ready to give my consent towards electing Cortes captain-general and chief justice, until his imperial majesty should have communicated his wishes to us on that point. As this plan went round from one to another, the partisans of Diego Velasquez, who were much more numerous than we, soon got wind of it, and boldly asked Cortes what intrigues had been set on foot to form a colony here? and why he should shirk from rendering the account which was due to him by whom he had been appointed head of the expedition? Diego Velasquez would certainly be ill pleased with such proceedings: we could not do otherwise than re-embark: all his intrigues with the men were useless: to found a colony, we were in want both of provisions, men, and everything else to ensure success. Cortes, without showing the least irritability, answered, that he was quite of their opinion, and had not the remotest intention to act contrary to the instructions and wishes of Diego Velasquez, and immediately issued orders that every one who had come with him should repair on board by the next day.
As soon as we others, who had confederated, heard this, we declared to Cortes that he was doing wrong in thus wishing to deceive us. At Cuba he had publicly announced that he was going out to found a colony, and now it appeared it was merely for the sake of trafficking. We begged of him, for the sake of God and our king, not to break his word, but to found a colony, as was required of us, to promote the interests of his majesty and the service of God. It would be impossible for us to return here at any future time, as the inhabitants would certainly not permit us to land: but, if a colony was once founded, soldiers from every island in these parts would come flocking hither in order to assist us. Diego Velasquez had deceived us when he falsely announced that he was empowered by his majesty to found colonies: we were, therefore, determined to found one, and left it to the choice of the others if they wished to return to Cuba. Cortes at first refused to comply, and only submitted after much begging and entreating; as the saying goes,
What you desire
Is my wish.
He, however, made the condition that we should nominate him chief justice and captain-general, and, what was worse, that a fifth part of the gold should fall to his share which remained after deducting the fifths for his majesty: concerning all which and everything else, the royal secretary Godoy was to draw up a formal deed. Upon this we resolved that a town should be built, and called Villa Rica de la Vera Cruz, as we arrived off this coast on Holy Thursday, and stepped on land on Good Friday. The addition of Villa Rica (rich town) was owing to what Puertocarrero had some time previous said to Cortes, "He might look upon these rich countries, – he would know how to govern them;" meaning to say thereby, that he wished Cortes to be appointed captain-general.
After the ceremony of laying the first stone of the town was ended, we nominated the alcaldes and regidors. The chief alcaldes were Alonso Puertocarrero and Francisco de Montejo: Cortes purposely appointed the latter because he was not on the best terms with him. To give all the names of the regidors would be superfluous, and it must suffice to mention their names as they appear in the course of this narrative. We also erected a pillory inside the town, and a gallows outside. Pedro de Alvarado was appointed city-major; Christobal de Oli, colonel; Juan de Escalante, alguacil-major; treasurer, Gonzalo Mexi Mexia; book-keeper, Alonso de Avila; standard-bearer, a certain Corrar, as Villareal, who first filled this post, had got into disgrace with Cortes about an Indian female of Cuba, and was obliged to relinquish it. Achoa of Biscay and Alonso Romero were nominated alguacils of the camp.
The reader will wonder that I have not yet mentioned the name of one of our principal men, Gonzalo de Sandoval, though he was such a renowned officer, being second to Cortes only, and particularly distinguished by our emperor himself. There is no other reason than that Sandoval was still very young, and that we did not make so much of him and other brave officers then as we did subsequently, when we saw all his real qualities developed in a manner that drew forth unbounded praise from Cortes and every soldier: indeed he was considered equal to Cortes himself. – Gomara has likewise related a good deal respecting these matters, of which he has been ill informed. I could not leave this unnoticed, however beautiful his style of writing may be, in which his strength really lies.
