The Memoirs of the Conquistador Bernal Diaz del Castillo Vol. 2

1/25/22, 8:50 PM The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Memoirs of the Conquistador Bernal Diaz del Castillo written by himself, containing a true an…
factor, Gonzalo de Salazar; as accountant, Rodrigo de Albornoz, of Paladinos, (Julian de
Alderete havingdied a short time previously); as veedor, Pedro Almindez Chirinos, anative
of Ubeda, or of Baëza, besides many others.
About this time Rodrigo Rangel, although he was neither present atthe siege of Mexico nor
in many of the great battles we fought in NewSpain, all of a sudden got it into his head that
he must also reap someglory to himself; he therefore begged of Cortes to give him a small
body of troops in order to put down the rebellion which had arisen among the Zapotec
townships, and also that Pedro de Ircio might beallowed to join the expedition in order to
support him with his goodcounsel. Cortes very well knew what kind of man Rangel was;
thathe was not fit for any kind of service, as he constantly suffered fromill health. He was
gouty, had large swellings in his groins, was coveredall over with sores, and so debilitated
in strength that he could scarcely move along on his thin ulcerated legs. Cortes
consequently refused this man his unreasonable request, representing to him what a
ferociouspeople the Zapotecs were, and how excessively difficult it was to subduea people
like this who inhabited rugged mountains covered with eternalmists; that no cavalry could
penetrate into their country, or, at most,they were wholly useless there; how, owing to the
narrow and steepmountain paths, his men would only be able to march one abreast, and
then with great risk of their lives, from the slippery state of theground, which was covered
with perpetual dew. For an expedition ofthis nature, continued Cortes, the most experienced
and robust of soldiers were required, who thoroughly understood the art of war. Rangel,
however, was a very conceited fellow, and also a native of Medellin, and solicited so
strongly that Cortes at length granted him his request;but, from what we afterwards heard,
it would appear that Cortes onlygave way to him to rid himself for ever of this man, who
was of amalicious disposition, thinking he would never survive this campaign.However,
this is very little to the purpose, and I will rather acquaintthe reader that letters arrived from
Cortes to twelve of us soldiers who had settled in Guacasualco, with orders for us to
accompany Rangel onthis expedition. I was likewise among the number, and it happened
that all twelve of us were neighbours.
[Pg 214]
I have already informed the reader, in a previous chapter, that thecountry of the Zapotecs
consists of high mountains; how nimble and courageousthe inhabitants are, and how they
communicate with each other by means of piping, the shrill sound of which reechoes
through all thevalleys. In such a place it may readily be imagined that a man likeRangel,
and the troops under such a leader, would not be able to achieveanything. Wherever we
came, the inhabitants had fled away; besideswhich, the houses were not built together as in
other townships of NewSpain, but straggling about, some on the mountains, others in the
valleys. The rainy season had just set in when we arrived in this wild country, and poor
Rangel suffered so violently from the swellings in hisgroins, that he cried out aloud in the
agonies of pain. The rest of us,therefore, were not a little annoyed that we were compelled
to sacrificeour time for such a man; however, he was soon convinced himself thatall his
trouble was to no purpose, and he resolved to relinquish theexpedition, and to allow the
men to return to their respective abodes.Pedro de Ircio, whom Rangel had purposely taken
with him to profitby his good counsel, was the first who advised this latter step, and left
him to return to Vera Cruz, where he had settled. Rangel himselfmarched back with us to
Guacasualco, the warm climate of which heaffirmed would agree best with his health. This
we looked upon as a greater calamity even than marching out with him into the field of
battle; however, we were obliged to submit, and we put the best face we could on the
matter. When we had arrived in Guacasualco, he gotit into his head to march to Cimatan
and Talatupan, in order to put down the insurrection which still continued in these
provinces. The inhabitants there principally confided in the strength of their positions,
which lay between rivers, swamps, and marshy ground, where everystep was attended with
danger; besides which, they were remarkablyexpert archers, and the arrow which flew from
their enormous bowsseldom missed its aim.
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