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

More documents

Recommendations

Info

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… The expedition against Tezcuco, where, in the two battles we fought, I was each time severely wounded in the throat by the thrust of a lance. Two battles against the Mexicans, on our march to the assistance ofsome townships in the province of Tezcuco. These battles were respectingthe possession of some maise fields. Second campaign of Mexico, and our battles against the wild tribes of the marquis mountains. Here we had eight men killed, and thewhole of us were in the utmost danger. The battle of Quauhnahuac. The three battles of Xochimilco, where likewise we stood in greatdanger, and four of our men were killed. The siege of Mexico, which lasted ninety-three days, during the wholeof which time the battles continued, almost without intermission, dayand night. Here I may, at least, say that I fought in eighty severeengagements and skirmishes. Expeditions to the provinces of Guacasualco, Chiapa, and Zapoteca.Here we fought three battles, and I was also at the taking of Chiapa. The two conflicts near Chamula and Quitlan. The two similar rencontres near Teapa and Cimatan. Here I losttwo of my companions, and was myself severely wounded in the throat. I had almost forgotten to mention that, in our disastrous retreat from Mexico, we were continually attacked, for the space of nine days, bythe enemy, and we fought four severe battles with them. Expedition to the Honduras and Higueras, in which two years and three months elapsed before we again reached Mexico. Near the township of Culacotu we fought a severe engagement, in which I lost myhorse, which had cost me 600 pesos. On my return to Mexico, I assisted in putting down the insurrection of the Zatopecs and Minges. I do not mention several other hostile rencontres, for I should findneither any end to them, nor to the numerous perils I encountered.Neither must I omit to mention that I was among the first who stood before Mexico when we were about to commence the siege. Cortes himself did not take up his station till five days after. I was also oneof those who destroyed the aqueduct of Chapultepec, by which theMexicans were deprived of fresh water. [Pg 406] If we sum up all this together, it will be found that I have, at least,been in 119 battles and hostile rencontres: not that I exactly wish topraise myself by stating this; but it is truth what I have written, and my history is not a book of old traditions, or account of things that happened in ancient times among the Romans; neither does it containpoetical fictions, but a faithful narrative of the important and remarkable services which we rendered to the Almighty, to our emperor, andto the whole of Christianity. Praise and thanks be to the Lord Jesus Christ, who preserved me inso many perils, and that at present I have the power to write all thiswith such clearness! And I can, indeed, boast that I have been inas many battles as historians relate of the emperor Henry the Fourth. CHAPTER CCXIII. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/32475/32475-h/32475-h.htm 268/282
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… Of the planets and signs in the heavens which prognosticated ourarrival in New Spain; how these were interpreted by the Mexicans;and of other matters. The Mexicans relate that, shortly before our arrival in New Spain,there appeared a figure in the heavens of a circular form, like a carriagewheel, the colours of which were a mixture of green and red. Shortlyafter a second, of a similar form, made its appearance, which moved towards the rising of the sun, and joined the first. Motecusuma, whoat that time sat upon the throne of Mexico, assembled his priests andsoothsayers, and desired them to watch, and explain to him these wonderful signs, which had never been seen before. The priests accordingly communicated with their god Huitzilopochtli, who answered, that they portended dreadful wars and horrible pestilence, and that it was necessaryto sacrifice some human beings. Shortly after these signs had been seen in the heavens we arrived inNew Spain, and ten months after Narvaez came, and brought with hima negro, who was ill with the smallpox. From this person the diseasespread among the inhabitants of Sempoalla, and thence, like a truepestilence, throughout the whole of New Spain. When, subsequently, we fought the severe battles during the nightof sorrows, and lost 550 of our men, who were either killed in ourretreat or taken prisoners, and sacrificed to the Mexican idols, the interpretationswhich the priests had given of the signs were considered perfectly correct. These signs were not seen by any of us, but I haverelated this exactly as told by the Mexicans, for it is so described in theirhieroglyphic writing, which we always found correct. [Pg 407] The following appearance I beheld with my own eyes, which any oneelse might have seen if he had taken the trouble of looking up. In theyear 1527 there appeared in the heavens a sign, which had the shapeof a long sword, and seemed as if it stood between the province of Panuco and the town of Tezcuco, and remained unchanged in theheavens for the space of twenty days. The Mexicans and their papasdeclared it was a sign of some pestilence, and certainly a few days afterthe measles, and another eruptive disease, like leprosy, broke out, which was accompanied by a very nauseous smell, and carried off numbers of persons, though it did not prove so destructive as the smallpox. In the year 1528 a very heavy rain fell in Guacasualco, with largeclods of earth. But this phenomena differed from what had been seenbefore of the kind, for as soon as these clods touched the ground they turned into innumerable frogs, a little larger in size than the bluebottlefly. The earth was completely covered with these creatures, whichhopped about in various directions, to gain the river, which was not far off. As, however, there were myriads of them, and the sun burning hot, numbers of them perished before they could reach the water. Thebirds of prey certainly devoured great numbers, yet many of them still remained on the ground, and soon turned putrid, spreading a mostdreadful stench around. I have likewise been assured by credible persons that similar showers of frogs fell at Sempoalla, in the neighbourhood of the sugar mills,belonging to the accountant Albornoz. I should not have noticed this raining of frogs if it were not somethingof rare occurrence, a thing which the greater part of mankindnever see; moreover, celebrated men have said a writer should onlynotice those things which are truly wonderful. I was also assured bya cavalier of distinction, who resides in the neighbourhood of this town, named Juan de Guzman, that he himself was once caught in a showerof this kind, on his journey through Yucatan. He assured me that a number of such small frogs stuck frozen to his and his companions'cloaks, and they were even obliged to shake them off. About the same time that this happened to Guzman, it also rainedfrogs in Guatimala, as I have been assured by my fellow-townsman Cosmo Roman. The most awful occurrence, however, took place inGuatimala, in the month of September, of the year 1541. Here a most [Pg 408] https://www.gutenberg.org/files/32475/32475-h/32475-h.htm 269/282
Page 1 and 2:
1/25/22, 8:50 PM The Project Gutenb
Page 3 and 4:
Page 5 and 6:
Page 7 and 8:
Page 9 and 10:
Page 11 and 12:
Page 13 and 14:
Page 15 and 16:
Page 17 and 18:
Page 19 and 20:
Page 21 and 22:
Page 23 and 24:
Page 25 and 26:
Page 27 and 28:
Page 29 and 30:
Page 31 and 32:
Page 33 and 34:
Page 35 and 36:
Page 37 and 38:
Page 39 and 40:
Page 41 and 42:
Page 43 and 44:
Page 45 and 46:
Page 47 and 48:
Page 49 and 50:
Page 51 and 52:
Page 53 and 54:
Page 55 and 56:
Page 57 and 58:
Page 59 and 60:
Page 61 and 62:
Page 63 and 64:
Page 65 and 66:
Page 67 and 68:
Page 69 and 70:
Page 71 and 72:
Page 73 and 74:
Page 75 and 76:
Page 77 and 78:
Page 79 and 80:
Page 81 and 82:
Page 83 and 84:
Page 85 and 86:
Page 87 and 88:
Page 89 and 90:
Page 91 and 92:
Page 93 and 94:
Page 95 and 96:
Page 97 and 98:
Page 99 and 100:
Page 101 and 102:
Page 103 and 104:
Page 105 and 106:
Page 107 and 108:
Page 109 and 110:
Page 111 and 112:
Page 113 and 114:
Page 115 and 116:
Page 117 and 118:
Page 119 and 120:
Page 121 and 122:
Page 123 and 124:
Page 125 and 126:
Page 127 and 128:
Page 129 and 130:
Page 131 and 132:
Page 133 and 134:
Page 135 and 136:
Page 137 and 138:
Page 139 and 140:
Page 141 and 142:
Page 143 and 144:
Page 145 and 146:
Page 147 and 148:
Page 149 and 150:
Page 151 and 152:
Page 153 and 154:
Page 155 and 156:
Page 157 and 158:
Page 159 and 160:
Page 161 and 162:
Page 163 and 164:
Page 165 and 166:
Page 167 and 168:
Page 169 and 170:
Page 171 and 172:
Page 173 and 174:
Page 175 and 176:
Page 177 and 178:
Page 179 and 180:
Page 181 and 182:
Page 183 and 184:
Page 185 and 186:
Page 187 and 188:
Page 189 and 190:
Page 191 and 192:
Page 193 and 194:
Page 195 and 196:
Page 197 and 198:
Page 199 and 200:
Page 201 and 202:
Page 203 and 204:
Page 205 and 206:
Page 207 and 208:
Page 209 and 210:
Page 211 and 212:
Page 213 and 214:
Page 215 and 216:
Page 217 and 218: 1/25/22, 8:50 PM The Project Gutenb
Page 267: 1/25/22, 8:50 PM The Project Gutenb
show all

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

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?