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… terrific hurricane arose, accompanied by torrents of rain, which continued incessantly for the space of three days, and so vast was thequantity of water that came pouring down, that the crater of the volcano,which lies about four miles from the town of Guatimala, literally burst, and so terrific was the volume of water that came rolling downthe mountain, that numbers of huge stones and trees were carriedalong with it. Those who did not witness it themselves will scarcelycredit this, for there were masses of rock carried down by the flood which two oxen could not move, and these blocks of stone were leftthere as a memento of this fearful tempest. Every tree was torn upby the roots, and hurried down the precipices by the impetuosity ofthe torrent. The water had exactly the colour as if it had been mixedwith chalk, and by the immense power of the hurricane it was raisedinto foaming billows. The noise occasioned by the rushing of the windand water was so terrific, that persons could not hear each other speak,and fathers were unable to render their sons any assistance. This direful tempest commenced at ten o'clock on Sunday evening, of the 11th of September, and the whole body of water, stones, andtrees came rolling along over the half of the town of Guatimala, crumblingdown the houses in its progress, strongly built as they were. A great number of men, women, and children perished in a few moments, and everything they possessed was lost. Some houses which had withstood the torrent were blocked up to the topmost windows by mud, pieces of rock, and large trees. During this tempest, also, Doña Beatriz de la Cueva, the wife of Pedro de Alvarado, perished, with several other ladies, who had fled to the chapel, to supplicate the Almighty in prayer to preserve them from destruction in the tempest. The water and mud rushed with such impetuosity into the chapel, that it soon gave way, and only three ladies escaped, one of whom was Alvarado's daughter;the names of the two others I have forgotten. This young lady, whose name was Leonora, was fortunately rescued from her perilous situation, between scattered trees and heaps of stone, and is now the wife of thedistinguished cavalier Don Francisco de la Cueva, by whom she hasseveral fine sons and daughters. Many persons declared that they heard during this tempest a fearful kind of howling, yelling, and whistling, and maintained that numbersof evil spirits came rolling along with the large pieces of rock; for itwould not have been possible for the water of itself to have moved thoseheavy masses of stone and large trees. In the midst of this flood peoplealso said they saw a cow with one horn, and two monstrous-looking men, like negroes, with horrible countenances, who kept crying out ina loud voice: "Go on! Go on! For all must be destroyed!" If theinhabitants looked out of their doors or windows to watch the torrent,they were seized with such sudden dread, that they fled from their houses from one street to another, and were at length carried off by theflood, or sinking into the mud, were hurried with it into the neighbouringriver. The Indians who lived further down the country, in the direction in which this mass of water, mud, stones, and trees was moving, fared much worse, for they were all drowned. May Godhave mercy on their souls! [Pg 409] I have above related that this dreadful tempest was looked upon as a punishment for the blasphemous expression which the disconsolatewidow of Alvarado was said to have uttered at the intelligence of herhusband's death. However, I have often been assured since I have resided in Guatimala, that this lady never gave utterance to the sinfulexpressions of which she has been accused, but that she merely said: "She wished she had perished with her husband." I must not omit to observe that the stones which were rolled downwith the flood are of such magnitude, that when any stranger comesto Guatimala, they are always pointed out to him, and he is quiteastounded at the sight. After this unfortunate occurrence the inhabitants burned all thedead bodies they could find; but they themselves durst no longer takeup their abode in the town, and the greater part retired to their possessions in the country, or built huts in the fields. At length, however, they determined to build the present town, which now stands where formerly maise was https://www.gutenberg.org/files/32475/32475-h/32475-h.htm 270/282
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… grown. But I cannot say much in praise of the site that was chosen. It would have been much preferable ifchoice had been made of Petapa, or of the valley of Chimaltenango,both of which places are better situated for commerce. Each timethe river overflows its banks the town is in danger, while earthquakesare of very frequent occurrence. [63] After this destructive tempest, the late bishop, of pious memory, andseveral other cavaliers instituted an annual solemn procession, whichwas to take place on the 11th of September. This procession, composedof the clergy and of all the inhabitants of the town, set out from the principal church, under chant of sacred hymns, to the spot wherethe old town stood, and then entered the church, which on this daywas decorated with green boughs and cloth, and a solemn funeral mass was performed for those who had perished in the tempest. After which funeral ornaments were placed on the graves of the more distinguishedwith lighted wax torches, and an offering was made ofbread, meat, and other things, according to the quality of the personinterred. After the funeral mass a sermon was preached, and thelate bishop not only followed in the procession himself, but he likewise left a fund for celebrating the mass for the dead on the anniversary of this day of sorrows. After these religious ceremonies, thosewho formed the procession enjoyed themselves in the gardens and thefields of the neighbourhood, and feasted off the plentiful provisionswhich they had brought along with them, in the same manner as it isdone in Spain on similar occasions. What I have related of this deluge I have taken from the memorialsof the late bishop, who was accustomed to note down every curious phenomena of nature which he himself witnessed in this neighbourhood; besides which, I have heard all this confirmed by eyewitnesses. Butthe procession I have been describing is no longer continued, as thefund left by the late bishop, according to the assurances of the priests and dignitaries of the church of Guatimala, is not sufficient to meetthe expenses. [Pg 410] [Pg 411] NOTES TO THE SECOND VOLUME. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] Cortes, in his despatches, thus enumerates his troops, 40 horse, 550 foot soldiers, among whom there were 80 musketeers and crossbow-men; 8 or 9 field-pieces and asmall supply of powder. (p. 1.) This king was also called Cohuanacotzin, subsequently he became a convert to Christianity, and took the name of Don Fernando. (p. 3.) His Indian name was Ixtlilxuchitl, and his Spanish, Don Hernando Pimentel,not Cortes. (p. 5.) His real name was Necahuatpiltzintli. (p. 5.) Calpullalpan. (p. 15.) Several Spanish writers make the number of Tlascallan warriors who accompaniedthis transport, amount to 180,000; but this is no doubt an excessive exaggeration.Here again the honesty of Bernal Diaz is conspicuous, who never multiplies numbers. (p. 17.) Teutepil and Ayutecatl were their proper names. (p. 17.) Torquemada, who himself saw this canal, says it was full two miles in length. (p. 18.) Gomara calls this place Accapichtlan; Torquemada, Yacapichtla. (p. 29.) https://www.gutenberg.org/files/32475/32475-h/32475-h.htm 271/282
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The Memoirs of the Conquistador Bernal Diaz del Castillo Vol. 2

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