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…
Our troops in the brigantines had now a great advantage over us inmaking booty, for they
were able to get at all the houses that lay in thelake, in which the Mexicans had concealed
all their wealth; and alsoto those places in the lake which were thickly grown with reeds,
andwhither those Mexicans, whose houses were pulled down during thesiege, fled with all
their property; besides which, they had had frequent opportunities, while foraging in the
country, to plunder severaldistinguished Mexicans, who had fled to seek refuge among the
Otomies.We other soldiers, who fought away on the causeways and mainland,derived no
such benefits; all we got were severe wounds from arrows,stones, and lances. Whenever we
did penetrate into the houses, theinmates had already escaped with their valuables; for we
were unableto get at the houses without first filling up a canal, or throwing a bridgeacross,
which took up a considerable time: and this was my reason for observing in a former
chapter, that the troops whom Cortes selectedfor the service of the brigantines fared better
than those who were stationedon the mainland. There was not the slightest doubt about this;
for when Cortes asked Quauhtemoctzin after Motecusuma's treasure, he and his generals
declared that the greater part of it had been carriedoff by the crews of the brigantines.
As the atmosphere of the town had become perfectly pestiferous, from the decomposed
bodies, Quauhtemoctzin requested Cortes to allow the whole of the inhabitants, with the
remaining part of his troops, to leave the city. This our general readily granted, and the
causewayswere crowded for three days and nights with men, women, and children,on their
way to the mainland. These poor beings were quite emaciated, and had a death-like
appearance; their bodies covered withfilth, and they spread around them so abominable a
stench, that wegrew miserable at the very sight.
As soon as all the inhabitants had left the city, Cortes sent somepersons there to see how
things looked in general. The houses were found crammed with dead bodies, and among
them several poor peoplewere found still alive, though too weak to stand, and lying in their
ownfilth, like those hogs which are fed upon nothing but grass. Everyspot of earth in the
town looked as if it had been ploughed up, for thefamished inhabitants had dug up every
root out of the ground, and hadeven peeled the bark from the trees, to still their hunger;
neither did we find any fresh water, for that in the wells was of a salty flavour; and yet
during this horrible famine the Mexicans had not eaten the flesh of their countrymen,
though they so greedily devoured that of the Tlascallans and Spaniards. [28] Certainly no
people ever suffered so much in thisworld from hunger, thirst, and the horrors of war, as the
inhabitantsof this great city.
[Pg 113]
After we had thus subdued the great, the populous, and the celebrated city of Mexico, a
solemn service was performed, to offer up our thanks to the Almighty. After this Cortes
ordered a banquet to be prepared in Cojohuacan, to celebrate the conquest with a joyous
feast,at which the wine which had come with a vessel recently run into VeraCruz, and the
hog's meat from Cuba, were not spared.
To this banquet all the officers and soldiers were invited; but whenthe guests arrived there
was scarcely sufficient room at the table forone third of them, which occasioned a good
deal of ill-will, and it wouldhave been better if Cortes had never given the banquet at all;
for many curious things happened on this occasion, and Noah's tree gave rise to many
foolish pranks. There were some folks who, when they had eaten and drank too much,
instead of leaving the table, sicked all over it; others declared that they possessed gold
enough to buy themselveshorses with saddles of gold; and the crossbow-men swore they
wouldfor the future not shoot another arrow unless its point was made ofpure gold; some
kept stumbling about, and many rolled headlongdown the steps.
After the banquet we had a ball, in which the ladies joined who hadaccompanied our army;
and nothing could be more ridiculous than tosee the leaps which their gallants took who
were accoutred in fullarmour. The ladies who danced were only few in number, and Iwill
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