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

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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… former somewhat more than the latter.I announce these, his majesty's commands, to you, as I have been informed that, in the distribution of the Indians, you have but poorly remunerated several of the veteran Conquistadores, who first landed with you in New Spain; but that, on the other hand, you have presented considerable lands on persons recently arrived from Spain, whohad no claim thereto whatever. If this is really true, I am bound to observe,that you have not acted up to the views of his majesty, when heconferred upon you the appointment of governor of these countries." To this Cortes replied, that there was not one of the Conquistadores whom he had not rewarded; that some, indeed, had fared better in thedistribution of the Indians than others; but that, owing to many unforeseencircumstances, he had not been able to do justice to all; andthat, on this account alone, he hailed his arrival in New Spain, to satisfyall parties; for the whole of the Conquistadores had every claim to behandsomely rewarded. [Pg 308] The licentiate then questioned him respecting the expedition to the Honduras, and asked him which of the Conquistadores had accompaniedhim on that occasion, and how they had fared; but he wishedparticularly to know what had become of the thirty or forty men whom he had left under the command of an officer, named Diego de Godoy,to perish of hunger at Puerto de Caballos? This latter reproach was, unfortunately, too well founded in truth,as we shall presently see; and certainly, as men who had been present at the siege of Mexico, and assisted in the conquest of New Spain,they, at least, had merited to live quietly in the enjoyment of the fruitsof their labour. Cortes ought rather to have taken along with him onthat expedition those troops only which had recently arrived from Spain. Ponce de Leon then made inquiries after the captain Luis Marin, after Bernal Diaz del Castillo, and the rest of the men who were with him. To all these inquiries Cortes answered: "That it would have beenuseless for him to have attempted an expedition to countries so far distant, attended with so many difficulties, without those veterans who were inured to the hardships of a military life. But he could assurehim that the troops which had been left behind were on their way toMexico, and that the whole of them were men whom he would particularlyrecommend to his consideration, and who deserved to havethe most lucrative commendaries bestowed upon them." The licentiate then continued in a more earnest tone of voice, and asked Cortes: "How, without his majesty's permission, he had daredto set out on so tedious an expedition, by which he knew he must absenthimself for so long a time from the seat of his government, and whichhad, as he knew, almost proved the destruction of the city of Mexico?" To this Cortes answered: "That as his majesty's captain-generalhe had been bound to pursue such a course, for, if he had not takensome active step, the example of revolt set by Oli would have beenfollowed by other officers. Besides which, he had previously announced his intention to his majesty of marching thither." After this explanation the licentiate touched upon the defeat andimprisonment of Narvaez, the capture of Garay's vessels, the loss ofhis troops, and his sudden death; and, lastly, on the manner in which he had obliged Christobal de Tapia to reembark; besides these, he questioned him on various other matters, which I will not enumeratehere. To all of which Cortes gave such excellent answers, that Poncede Leon appeared pretty well satisfied. I have above remarked, there was no one present during this conferenceexcepting father Thomas Ortiz. This person, immediately after it was ended, called upon three intimate friends, and assuredthem, in all confidence, that it was Leon's intention to sentence Cortes to decapitation, in accordance with the commands of his majesty, andthat it was for this purpose only he had put the above-mentioned questions to him. Ortiz, the next morning, [Pg 309] https://www.gutenberg.org/files/32475/32475-h/32475-h.htm 204/282
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… very early, called upon our general himself, and said to him: "Señor capitan, the great respect I entertain for you, my spiritual office, and the rules of theorder I belong to, make it imperative on me to warn people in caseslike these; I will therefore not hide from you that his majesty hasgiven Leon full power to put you to death." This communication appeared to affect Cortes very much, nor couldhe think lightly of it when he considered the questions which thelicentiate had put to him; yet, on the other hand again, he was well aware that this monk was an evil-minded person, and that very little reliance could be placed in what he said. Perhaps he had made upthis story himself, that Cortes might ask him to intercede for him with Leon, for which the former, he naturally supposed, would not fail to remunerate him with some gold bars. There were several personswho even affirmed that Leon himself had secretly desired Ortiz to communicatethis to our general, to alarm him into a supplication ofmercy. However, Cortes replied to father Ortiz in the most courteousmanner, thanked him for the communication, and concluded by saying,"He had always entertained hopes that his majesty would reward himfor the many great services he had rendered to the crown, and that heshould still continue to live in this hope, being conscious that he wasperfectly innocent of all guilt, and confident that Ponce de Leon wasnot the man to exceed his emperor's commands." By this reply the monk found himself excessively disappointed in his expectations, nor could he hide his confusion. Cortes, however,remained firm to his purpose, and never gave him a single farthing,although Ortiz had reckoned upon so much. CHAPTER CXCII. How the licentiate commences the investigation against Cortes, and allthose persons who had filled judicial offices; and how he fell illshortly after and died. Ponce de Leon publicly announced that a commission of inquiry would be set on foot, against Cortes, and against all those who filled military commands, or held judicial authority. As Cortes had many enemies, and among them several who had real cause of complaint,various old grievances were harrowed up, to substantiate whichwitnesses were required, and thus it may be imagined the whole city presented one continued scene of lawsuits. One brought hisaccusations against our general respecting his unjust division of the gold; another complained that, notwithstanding his majesty had particularly ordered Cortes to give him a fair portion of the Indians, intheir distribution, the latter had neglected to do so, but had bestowedthem on persons whose only merit consisted in their having been servants of Martin Cortes and of the grandees of Spain. Others again demanded an indemnification for their horses which had beenkilled in the several campaigns, for they did not consider the gold theyhad received a sufficient compensation for their losses. Lastly, therewere also persons who preferred their charges against Cortes for injurieswhich they had suffered by his orders. These investigations had, however, been scarcely set on foot, when, to our great misfortune, itpleased the Almighty that the licentiate Leon should fall ill. [Pg 310] It appears that he had been attending mass in the Franciscancloister, on leaving which he was seized with so malignant a fever thathe was obliged to be put to bed immediately, and he became so prostrate in strength that he lay in a state of unconsciousness for four successive days. He received every attention from his medical attendants, the licentiate Pedro Lopez, the Dr. Ojeda, and a third physician,who had come with him from Spain; but they were of opinionfrom the very first moment that his illness was of a dangerousnature, and they advised him to confess and make the holy communion.For this Leon was quite https://www.gutenberg.org/files/32475/32475-h/32475-h.htm 205/282
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The Memoirs of the Conquistador Bernal Diaz del Castillo Vol. 2

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