The Mastering of Mexico/Chapter 6
CHAPTER VI
How suspicion and dissent arose; how we chose Cortes captain general and chief justice, and founded Villa Rica de la Vera Cruz.
The Indians who stayed behind to look after our food soon ceased their efforts, and we so suffered from hunger, for our cassava bread had become mouldy and swarmed with weevils, that we should have had nothing to eat if we had not hunted shell fish. Those of the natives who had come freely bringing gold and fowls to barter for our goods, now became shy and reserved. We anxiously awaited the return of the messengers from Mexico.
After some days Teuhtlilli appeared with many followers. They paid us respect by incensing us after their manner, and then they brought forth their presents—ten packages or loads of cloth richly worked with feathers, four chalchihuites (green stones which the Mexicans think most excellent of its kind and hold at greater value than we hold the emerald), and all kinds of gold trinkets of which the gold alone was worth about three thousand dollars. The four rich stones, they said, should be sent to our emperor, for each was of more value than a load of gold. For the rest, they reported that their monarch, Montezuma, had accepted and was pleased with our present, but as to a personal interview between him and Cortes, no more was to be said about it.
Although it was a disappointment to Cortes that his visit should be refused so dryly, still he thanked the messengers, and turning to some of us who were standing near said, "This Montezuma must be a great and rich prince, and some day, God willing, we shall visit him in his palace." "We only wish," the hungry soldiers answered, "that we were living with him now."
All this happened at the hour of Ave Maria, and at the sound of the bell we gathered before a cross set on a sand hill and said our prayers. While we were kneeling Teuhtlilli asked why we so humbled ouselves before that piece of wood. At once Cortes turned to Padre de Olmedo, who was there. "This is a good opportunity, sir," he said, "to tell of our holy religion through our interpreters "; and he proceeded to speak in a manner that would have done credit to a good theologian. First he explained that we were Christians. Then explaining the substance of our belief, he told them that their gods were not good but evil spirits which fled from the presence of the cross. He said much else that was edifying, which the Indians understood and answered that they would relate them to their monarch, Montezuma. Also, said Cortes, among the great reasons which had led our emperor to send us here, one was to induce them to give up their idols and the stealing of children and the human sacrifice they practised before their idols. He therefore begged them to set up in their towns and temples a cross like this they saw before them, and an image of Our Lady with her most excellent Son in her arms, and our God would bless them. In short, Cortes spoke with admirable feeling and argument which I am not able to report and must therefore leave in my pen.
With Teuhtlilli came many Indians who wished to barter articles of low grade gold. So we set about trading and in this way got means to pay our sailors for catching fish—otherwise we had not food to stay our hunger. Although he was secretly pleased with our barter, Cortes pretended not to see what we were doing till those among us who were friends of Diego Velasquez asked him why he suffered such a thing, that Diego Valesquez did not send the expedition that the soldiers might put gold in their pockets. Moreover, It ought to be proclaimed that no one but Cortes should, for the future, be permitted to barter for metal, and for all gold already In the soldiers' possession every one should render account that the king's fifth might be taken. A treasurer also should be appointed.
In all this Cortes confessed they were right, but after they had chosen a treasurer he showed his real intentions and said with a heavy frown on his brow, "You see, gentlemen, how hard our comrades fare from want of food. To this moment, because the amount of gold was but a trifle, I overlooked their bartering that they might find something to eat. You have wished that the order be issued that there be no more bartering for gold. We have next to see what we shall get to eat."
Now it happened that one fine morning we woke up to find those Indians, who had stayed near us and had brought gold for barter, had secretly left. Later we learned that Montezuma had sent orders forbidding all conversation with Cortes and his company. For he was much attached to his idol-gods, Tezcatlipoca, god of hell, and Huitzilopochtli, god of war, to whom he every day sacrificed young children that the gods might make clear to him what he should do about us. And now they had told him not to listen to Cortes, nor to the message about setting up a cross and image of Our Lady. His plan was, if we would not sail away, to make us prisoners and use some of us to educate children and others for sacrifice.
We now had the reason the Indians left our camp secretly, and expecting daily that they would make war on us, we kept close watch. In these days I with another soldier was stationed at a lookout on the sand hills, when we saw five Indians walking towards us along the beach. Not to alarm the camp needlessly, we allowed them to come up. They approached with smiles, made their salutes after their fashion, and signed that we should take them to our camp. In their underlips they had made large holes in which they wore pieces of stone speckled blue, or thin plates of gold, and holes in their ears were still larger and bore like adornments. They looked quite different in dress from the Mexicans Montezuma had sent to our camp, and when I presented them to Cortes neither Aguilar nor Donna Marina could understand what they said. When Donna Marina asked, however, if there were Interpreters among them, two said they understood the Mexican speech, adding that their chief had sent them to bid us welcome and ask who we were and he would be glad to be of use to such brave men as we. They would have come to us before, the Interpreters went on. If they had not shunned as villains the people of Colua, that is, the Mexicans, who they knew had been with us and now had left us. These facts taught Cortes a thing of Importance, namely, that Montezuma had many enemies. Our captain gave the five men presents and asked them to say to their chief that he would shortly pay him a visit.
I have already said that we were very short of provisions and our cassava bread foul with worms. Moreover, so many mosquitos swarmed on the sand dunes where we were camped that we could get no sleep because of them. No wonder, then, that those of our number who had Indians in the island of Cuba wished to go home. This was particularly the case with the friends and onhangers of Velasquez. Cortes, observing all this, gave orders that we should go to Quiahuitztlan, a walled town, which one of our exploring ships had seen some miles to the north.
While preparations were making for our start, friends and adherents of Diego Velasquez asked Cortes how we were to make the journey without provisions, seeing it was impossible to go further by sea; that already thirty-five of our soldiers had died from wounds received at Tabasco and from sickness and hunger; that the country we were now in was a large one, its peoples many, and no doubt they would soon attack us. How much better, they said, for us to go back to Cuba and account to Diego Velasquez for the gold he had gained, which was really a large sum when all the precious things Montezuma sent were counted.
Still Cortes answered that he did not think it wise to go back without having seen the country. Up to this time, he said, we had no reason to complain of our ill-luck; rather we should give thanks to God who had everywhere lent us aid; if we had lost men, that always happened in war and hardships. We should explore the country more thoroughly, and we must make shift for the time being to get and eat the maize the Indians had. By such reasonings Cortes seemingly quieted the partisans of Diego Velasquez. But they still held secret meetings and set on foot plans to bring about our return to Cuba.
Cortes on his part was no less active, for he had determined to be appointed captain general. I was drawn into the affair in this wise: One night Puertocarrero and Escalante, in company with Lugo, who was born in the same town with me and to whom I was related, came about midnight to my hut and said, "Bernal Diaz, take your arms and come out. We are making the rounds." I joined them, and when we were at a little distance from my hut they began, "We want to tell you something of greatest importance, but you must keep it secret and see to it that none of the Velasquez clique, who mess with you, find it out. We are of opinion that Cortes is not doing the right thing for us. In Cuba he proclaimed that he was going to found a colony, and now we find he has no power to do so, but only to barter for gold and then go back to Cuba with what we have gained. Now if Cortes does all this, we are ruined men, for Diego Velasquez will act just as he did before, pocket the gold. Think a moment, sir. This is the third time that you have come to this country, spent all you had and risked your life in battle and suffered wounds and hardships—and all for nothing. Such conditions must not go on. We gentlemen, friends of yours and all, count such a number that we must insist that Cortes in the name of our king founds a settlement here, and we make it known to his majesty in Spain. Promise that you will vote with us. You will do a service to God and our king. We have united to elect Cortes our captain general." In return I said I did not think it wise to go back to Cuba and I was quite ready to agree to elect Cortes general and chief justice until the king should order otherwise.
This agreement passed round from soldier to soldier, and the Velasquez clique, who were more in number than we, finally got wind of it. Then they went to Cortes and boldly asked him why he was intriguing to form a settlement in this country and shirking his duty instead of going to Cuba and rendering account to Diego Velasquez. His plottings were useless, they declared, for he had neither men nor supplies, nor any other outlook necessary for founding a settlement. Cortes answered, without a shadow of irritation, that he was quite of their opinion, and he had not the remotest intention of going against the wishes and instructions of Diego Velasquez; and he straightway gave orders that all should embark the next day, each in the ship that brought him.
When those of us who had agreed upon his election heard this, we said that Cortes had deceived us and done wrong, for in Cuba he had proclaimed that he was going to form a settlement, and now it was evident he had come only to trade. We begged of him not to break his word, but to further the greatest service to God and the king and found a colony. The natives, he declared, would never again let us land. But if a settlement were once established, soldiers from all the islands would flock to help us; Diego Velasquez had deceived us when he said he was empowered by the king to found colonies.
At first Cortes refused to comply with our wishes and only after much begging agreed, stipulating that we should make him chief justice and captain general, and, what was worse for us, that a fifth part of the gold which remained after the royal fifth had been subtracted, should fall to him. In the presence of the king's notary, Godoy, we formally gave him these powers, and at once set to work to found a town which we called Villa Rica de la Vera Cruz, because we landed on the Friday of the Cross and the country was rich. As soon as the first stone of the town was laid, we appointed mayors and magistrates, with Juan de Escalante as governor.
When they found that we had elected Cortes our captain general and chief justice, the Velasquez clique were so furious that they roundly abused Cortes and those of us who had chosen him. Their anger rose to such a pitch that we feared it would lead them to blows. At this juncture Cortes secretly told Escalante that we should demand the instructions he had received from Velasquez. This Escalante did, and Cortes drew the documents from his waistcoat and handed them to the royal secretary to read. The words, sure enough, were, "As soon as you have bartered for as many things as possible, you shall return." We asked Cortes that these instructions be attached to the deed recording the power we had given.
But even this did not silence the friends and onhangers of Velasquez, for they protested to Cortes that his being chosen captain without their consent was not right, and they did not wish to remain under his orders but to go back to Cuba at once. He answered that he would compel no one to stay, and if any should ask his leave to return he would readily grant it, even if at last he remained alone. This silenced some. But at last certain of the clique refused to obey Cortes, and we were forced to seize their persons, bind them with chains, and hold them prisoners.
An expedition which had gone out to explore the country now returned, every soldier laden with poultry and green things, which, since the people had fled, they had taken from deserted towns. We were overjoyed with having food—for when a man can have plenty to eat he forgets half his hardships. At this time, too, Cortes was so active, doing all in his power to make friends with those of the Velasquez clique, even to presenting them gold, that at last they became his true friends.