The Mastering of Mexico/Chapter 7
CHAPTER VII
Our varying fortunes with the Totonacs of Cempoala and Quiahuitztlan; and of our letters to his majesty the king of Spain.
It were at the same time to run into a harbor about four miles from the town. We marched along the coast and to several towns subject to the town of Cempoala, from which came the five Indians we had led to Cortes on the sand dunes. In these smaller towns we found idol-temples stained with blood, and incense pans and other things with which they made their sacrifices. But not an Indian. They had never seen men like us before, nor horses, and had fled through fear. We were forced to go hungry to bed.
Next day we struck inland, towards the west, and now twelve natives, dwellers on the farms where we had slept the night before, came towards us, bringing fowls and maize bread. The food, they said, their cacique had sent for us to eat, and he begged us to visit his town, which was one sun, or one day's march, distant. Cortes sincerely thanked them and we marched on to another town where, a short time before, several human beings had been sacrificed. My readers would be horrified, I know, at hearing the number of Indian women and men we found butchered along every road and in every town we passed, and I shall tell my story further without stopping to mention them.
Very early next morning Cortes sent six of the Indians to the caciques of Cempoala to say that we were approaching. We marched in best order, cannon and all arms ready for use and every man on guard. Not more than three miles from the town twenty Indians met us bearing cones of roses of a most delicious scent and deep red color, and these they gave to Cortes and those of us who were on horseback, adding that their cacique awaited us, but he was so stout he could not himself come to meet us. When Cortes had thanked them we marched into the town and were so astonished that we returned thanks to God for having allowed us to discover so admirable a place. It was larger than we had yet met, and like a luxurious garden. The streets were full of men and women who had gathered to see us. Quarters set apart for us were most comfortable and large enough for all. And the food they gave us and plums and maize cakes were so plentiful, and we were so famished, not having seen so much food all at once for so long, that we called the town Villa Viciosa, or Luxury Town.
After we had finished our dinner the fat cacique sent word to Cortes that he wished to visit him and he shortly arrived with other Indian chiefs, each wearing gold plates set in their lips and richly wrought cloaks. Cortes, receiving them and their presents of gold trinkets and cotton stuffs of small value, told them, through Donna Marina and Aguilar, of his gratitude. He told also of our king, of his commands to us to redress wrongs wherever we came and to punish the bad, and he then added much about our holy religion.
The fat cacique sighed deeply when Cortes had spoken of evil doers, and complained bitterly of Montezuma and the caciques he sent to the provinces as governors, telling how their forces had recently subdued his people and robbed him of all his gold; how because the sway of Montezuma was over so vast a country and so many peoples and armies, he and his people dared not oppose the monarch's orders. Cortes endeavored to console him, in the end saying that he would relieve him of the oppression he suffered, after he could consider the matter thoroughly, but now he was on his way to visit his ships and to set up headquarters at Quiahuitztlan.
We left Cempoala the next morning, and the fat cacique pleased us very much by sending to our aid four hundred Indian porters—such men as carry fifty pounds weight on their backs and march twenty miles with it. Before this we had had to carry our own knapsacks, but now each of us had a man to bear his baggage. Donna Marina and Aguilar told us that by the custom of the country the caciques were bound, in times of peace, to furnish porters to those needing them, and from that time forward, wherever we came, we always demanded such helpers.
Next morning but one we entered the fortified town of Quiahuitztlan, built amid rocks upon a rocky cliff. It would be a difficult town to capture and we, expecting the Indians to oppose us, marched towards it in best order with cannon in front. But when they saw us climbing towards their houses, the people fled and we went to the very midst of the town without meeting a single native. After we had come to the plaza at the top of the fortress where they had their idol-houses, we found a small group dressed in good cloaks. Bearing pans of burning resin, they incensed Cortes and all the soldiers standing near, and begged us to pardon them for not going out to meet us. They had kept out of the way, they said, for fear of us and our horses, and, too, they wanted to know what sort of beings we were; but by night they would see to it that all the people had come back to town.
While Cortes was giving them green glass beads and a few other trifles we had brought from Spain, and was telling them of our religion and our king, as we were constantly doing wherever we came, and while they were bringing us fowls and maize bread, it was announced that the fat cacique of Cempoala was approaching, borne in a litter on the shoulders of Indian chiefs. When he arrived, the fat cacique, together with the chief men of the town, rehearsed to Cortes the cruelties and oppressions they had to suffer, and they spoke with such sighs and sobs that we could not but feel pity. Telling how they had been subdued and in many ways sadly ill-used, they also related how every year their conquerors demanded many of their sons and daughters for sacrifices and to serve in houses and plantations, and how Montezuma's tax collectors carried off their wives and daughters, if they were handsome. This the victors did, they asserted, throughout the Totonac country of over thirty towns.
As well as he could by means of our interpreters, Cortes consoled them and promised he would put an end to such horrors; our king had sent us to their country for that purpose and they should soon see what we would do for their good. This assurance seemed to give them relief, if not wholly to lighten their hearts.
While this discussion was going on Indians came to tell the caciques that five Mexican tax collectors had just arrived. When the chiefs heard the news they fairly turned pale from fright, and leaving Cortes they hastened to receive the Mexicans and to have a room decked with flowers, and food, especially cacao or chocolate, cooked and served.
In reaching the house of the cacique it was necessary for these five Mexicans to go by our quarters, and they affected such arrogance and reserve that they passed us by without a word. They wore richly embroidered cloaks and loin cloths, and their hair was combed till it was quite glossy and tied in a knot on the head. Each carried sweet-scented roses which he was smelling, each also a stick with a hook, and each had an Indian with a fan to keep off the flies. A company of chief men from neighboring towns escorted them to their lodgings.
As soon as they had dined they sent for the fat cacique and other chiefs of the townships and scolded them roundly for speaking and dealing with us. Uttering many threats, they said they should neither have sheltered us nor given us any gold without Montezuma's permission, and now they must pay dearly for what they had done and at once deliver for sacrifice twenty Indians, men and women, so that the god of war would grant them victory over us.
Observing how restless every one seemed, Cortes asked Donna Marina and Aguilar what it was that was happening, and who these strange Indians were. Donna Marina, understanding fully what had passed, told Cortes. Upon this our captain again consoled the caciques and bade them take courage, for he would punish the Mexicans. They were already aware, he explained, that our king had sent him to chastise evil doers and to permit neither kidnapping nor sacrifice, and this these tax gatherers planned. He would, therefore, make them prisoners until their master, Montezuma, should learn the reason, namely, that they had come to carry into slavery women and children and to do other deeds of violence.
The caciques were thunderstruck. They durst not lay hands on tax-gatherers of the mighty Montezuma. But Cortes exhorted them so well that at last they took courage and seized the tax men and securely fastened them by collars to long poles; and one who would not permit them to bind him got a flogging in addition. This done, Cortes commanded the caciques to pay no more obedience and no more tribute to Montezuma—an order not for them alone but for all their friendly and allied towns where, if other tax gatherers came, those also he should make prisoners.
Rumor of this high-handed order spread throughout the country, for the fat cacique lost no time in sending messengers to tell the tidings, while the chiefs who had accompanied the tax gatherers hastened home with the astounding news. Deeds so marvelous and of such weight in their life could not have been done by mere men, they said to one another, but only by teules, which word means in their tongue, either gods or demons. From that time onward they called us teules; and I beg the reader to bear in mind that when I may use the word in my story, in affairs connected with our conquest, I refer to us, the Spaniards.
The caciques were of the opinion that we should sacrifice the prisoners that they might not go back to Mexico and tell what we had done. This Cortes forbade, however, and set soldiers on guard; and about midnight he called these guards to him and said, "Free the two most active and intelligent of the prisoners, and bring them to my lodgings. But do this in such a way that the Indians of the town know nothing about it."
When the prisoners stood before him, as if he did not know that they were Mexicans, our captain asked them what country they came from and why they were prisoners. They answered that the cacique of Cempoala aided by ourselves had seized their persons. Cortes, however, assured them that he knew nothing of the whole matter and regretted it, and having had food brought them and talking in kindly fashion, he told them to return at once to their lord Montezuma and tell him we were his sincere friends. Harm might come to them, he added, and so he had taken them from prison and would severely reprimand the caciques for seizing them. Moreover, any service he could do them he would gladly undertake, and he would free and protect their comrades; now, however, was the time for them to hasten lest they be retaken and killed. Thankful for their liberty, the prisoners said they feared they might fall into their enemies' hands. Therefore Cortes sent six sailors to take them to a boat and set them on friendly soil beyond the Cempoala territory.
When daylight came and the caciques found two prisoners missing, they were all the more determined to sacrifice the three that remained. This they might have done if Cortes had not feigned anger at the escape of the two, and, ordering a chain brought from the ships, bound the prisoners to it and sent them on board; where he ordered the chain removed.
Caciques of Cempoala, Quiahuitztlan and all the other Totonac chiefs now gathered and told Cortes the dilemma they were in, for Montezuma would soon come down upon them with his vast army and totally destroy their possessions and themselves. Again Cortes replied with cheerful looks that he and his brothers who were here would defend them and any one who dared molest them should forfeit his life. Impressed by this, the caciques, one and all, agreed to stand by us in whatever we ordered them to do, and to join their force to ours against Montezuma and his allies. In the presence of the royal secretary, Godoy, and by formal deed, they pledged obedience to his majesty, our king. Messengers now bore the news to other towns of the province, and when they heard they were no longer to pay tribute and no longer to suffer the robbery of their families for sacrifice, the people were almost out of their senses from excessive joy.
Meanwhile report of what had happened reached Montezuma in Mexico, and he was so angry that he ordered a great army to march against the Totonacs and not leave one alive, while he himself determined to come against us with unnumbered warriors. Just at this moment the two tax gatherers Cortes had freed got back, and when Montezuma learned the promises our captain had sent, the Almighty softened his heart and he resolved to ask what we intended to do. To this end he despatched two young nephews in the charge of caciques of rank, sending with them thanks to Cortes for freeing his tax men and also a present of gold and cloth. On the other hand he made heavy complaints how it was owing to our protection that the Totonac people had revolted. In our persons, he said, he recognized those who, his ancestors had foretold, were coming to his country; we must therefore be of his own lineage, but how did it happen we were uniting with traitors?
Cortes embraced the messengers and accepted their presents, which were worth about two thousand dollars; and averring that he and all of us were good friends of Montezuma, declared that in such a spirit he still kept guard over the three tax gatherers—whom he sent for from the ships and delivered at once. As to the complaint about the people not paying tribute, they could not serve two masters at once, and they had, during our stay, sworn allegiance to our king; but for the rest, we were on our way to visit him and when we were once there we could in friendly talk arrange these matters. After this conversation Cortes presented the two young men with blue and green glass beads, and paid every honor to the old caciques; for instance, he had Alvarado and other good riders mount their horses and gallop and manɶuvre before them in a neighboring meadow. So the caciques went back to Mexico highly gratified.
This had its effect on our allies in the mountains and the people of Cempoala who had stood in such awe of the Mexicans. For when they saw kinsmen of the great Montezuma coming to us, and bearing themselves with marked respect to Cortes and to us all, they were astonished more and more and said to one another that we clearly must be teules, for Montezuma himself stood in fear of us and sent us presents of gold. This reasoning of theirs vastly augmented our power over them. In days following these we made, at the request of the fat cacique, a detour to a fortress town two days' journey, or from thirty-two to thirty-six miles from Cempoala. As we went forward we found our march a wile of the Cempoalans to get us to avenge upon some Mexican warriors an ancient enmity of theirs. When Cortes learned this we turned about to Cempoala.
The only wish of the Cempoalans now seemed to be that we should remain ever in their country. If we left they feared Montezuma would send an army to their destruction. They therefore proposed to Cortes that, since we were already so close friends, we should also become brothers by marrying daughters of the caciques. To show their earnestness they brought with them eight cacicas, all of them dressed in rich garments of their country, each with a gold collar about her neck and gold rings in her ears, and attended by maids.
Naturally Cortes thanked the chiefs for their very generous wishes. He said, however, that he could not look upon them as brothers until they rid themselves of their monstrous idols and human sacrifices. Then only could we form a permanent and brotherly union with them. Every day, he said, he saw three, four or even five Indians sacrificed, their hearts torn out of their bodies and offered to their idols, their blood smeared over the walls, and their arms and legs cut off and eaten, just as in our country we eat beef bought at the butchers'. All these horrible deeds must end, said Cortes, and then we could be their friends and make them lords over other countries. The caciques and papas answered that it did not seem to them loyal to give up their idols and human sacrifices, for these gods of theirs gave them whatever good they had—good health, good harvests and everything else of which they stood in need.
Cortes and all of us found this answer very unsatisfactory. Their barbarities we could no longer bear to look upon, and we spoke together a long time, Cortes bringing to our minds many good and holy lessons, and saying in conclusion, "We can never accomplish any greater benefit for this people, and for the honor of God, than put out of the way sacrifices before these idols. The people may rise against us; yet even if it costs us our lives, the idols must come to the ground."
The caciques were beside themselves with rage when Cortes told them the idols must come down. They said if we so insulted their idols we should all perish with them. Cortes now lost patience—after what he had already several times told them about sacrifices and that their monsters were liars and deceivers, and he said either they or we must tear them down at once. He added that we were no longer friends, but enemies, and any opposition would cost 
The Indians turned the question one way and another. They feared Montezuma's power, which might any day fall on them, and they finally answered that they were not worthy to lay hands on the idol symbols of their gods and they would never give their consent to our doing so; but if we dared to overthrow them they supposed we must.
The words were scarcely out of their mouths before fifty of us were running up the steps of the temple. The idols, horrible to look at and shaped half like men and half great dog, and about the size of young calves, we tore from their foundations and sent them tumbling down and crashing in many pieces.
When the caciques and papas beheld the monsters in fragments on the ground, covering their eyes they set up a howl and prayed their gods to forgive them. The blame was not theirs, they cried, but these teules' whom they dared not attack for fear of Montezuma. This the papas and caciques did, but the warriors among them began flying arrows at us. In so serious a turn we seized the fat cacique and six papas, and Cortes declared that if the attack were not stayed, the seven should forfeit their lives. When at last quiet reigned Cortes ordered the broken idols completely destroyed, whereupon eight papas came out of a house and carried back the fragments and burned them. These priests wore long black, cloaks like cassocks that hung down to their feet, and hoods of different sizes. Their hair was matted together with blood and they smelled most offensively. They were the sons of caciques and were forbidden to marry, and they fasted on certain days.
After the idols were out of the way Cortes told the caciques we could now look upon them as true brothers and give them every powerful aid against Montezuma and his Mexicans. He also spoke of our religion and set every Indian mason in town at work cleaning away the blood and plastering over the walls of the temples. This done, he had an altar erected and told the Indians to bring many of their splendid and sweet-scented roses and green leaves, and ever keep the place clean and undefiled. Four of the papas he had shorn of their hair and clothed in clean garments, and named them to look after the place. The very next morning Padre Fray Olmedo held services and incensed the holy image of Our Lady and the sacred cross with the copal of the country. The caciques and others were present. The chief ornament of the service, however, were the eight Indian damsels brought to be made Christians; for after they were instructed about our religion they were baptized.
We now returned to Vera Cruz and set at building the fort. We got it ready for the roof, and then suggested to Cortes that already we had been three months in the country and it was now high time for us to see what the boasted power of this great Montezuma might be, and time to try to make an honest competence for ourselves. But before we started we ought first to send our salutations to our king, and give him account of what had happened since we left Cuba. In this question we also debated whether we should send his majesty all the gold we had bartered for and received in presents.
Answering us, Cortes said our ideas exactly agreed with his own. In the matter of the gold, however, one circumstance made him hesitate, namely, if each man took the portion which fell to his share, there would be too little to send. Our wish was, he and some men good in business said, to send the king a treasure, and as it was our first, it ought to be something valuable. To make it greater, each of us, they thought, ought to give up his share which he had up to that moment made. Upon this the soldiers to a man signed a paper revoking their portion of the gold. The best ship in the fleet, with full supplies of stores and fifteen sailors, we chose to convey the treasure to Spain.
With the ship we agreed also to send letters telling his majesty of our adventures. In that account, drawn up by all the officers and soldiers, we did not omit to state that we had been induced to join the expedition by promises that we should make settlements; how Diego Velasquez had secretly instructed Cortes to trade and not to settle, and how we had compelled Cortes to stay and found a colony. We spoke also of our battles, of our interpreters, of the riches of the country, its extent, its arts, its religion, its people, four of whom we had liberated from a wooden cage where they were being fattened for sacrifice and feast, and whom we sent for his majesty to see. We spoke something of ourselves, too, how we were four hundred and fifty armed men in the midst of warlike tribes. We begged his majesty to show us favor and not confer the command of the country upon crown officers. We feared that the archbishop, whom his majesty had made president of the Council and ruler of the Indies, would give the command to some relation or friend, especially to one Diego Velasquez, governor of Cuba, because he, Velasquez, was always giving the archbishop townships of Indians to get gold out of mines. As his majesty's most faithful servants we begged that he confer the command on Cortes, accompanying this prayer with praise that raised Cortes to the very skies.
After we had finished the letter Cortes begged us to see it, and when he found how true our narrative was, and the great praise we had given him, he was vastly pleased and made us great promises. It were better, however, he said, to make no mention of the fifth part of the gold we had pledged to him, nor to say who were the first discoverers of the country, because, we later learned, in his own account he did not refer to Cordova and Grijalva, but reserved the discovery and the honor and glory of it all to himself. Men were not wanting among us who told him it was our bounden duty to leave nothing untold that had happened.
The ship we had prepared sailed on the 26th of July, 1519, and after a prosperous voyage arrived in Spain. Our agents waited at once on the archbishop and handed him our letters and presents, begging him to send them to the king that he might learn everything as it really had taken place. The archbishop, however, received them with harshness and answered their request in haughty tones, at last becoming so incensed that he threw one of them into prison.