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… Cortes having waited a length of time in vain at Santisteban delPuerto for this vessel, wrote to his major-domo at Mexico to know thereason why the things he sent for had not arrived. When his major-domoreceived this letter he soon guessed that some accident must have happened to the vessel, and instantly sent out another in search of her.It pleased God in his great mercy that the vessel should approach thesmall island where the three Spaniards had been cast on shore, whohad had the good sense to keep a large fire burning night and day. The reader can easily picture to himself the great joy of these menwhen this vessel arrived off the island: they immediately embarked inher, and sailed for Vera Cruz. One of these men, whose name wasCeliano, subsequently lived in Mexico. Cortes was on his way to Mexico when he received information thatseveral tribes which inhabited the wildest part of the mountains hadrisen up in arms, and were committing every kind of depredation againstthose of their neighbours who had entered into an alliance with us. He therefore determined to put an end to these hostilities before he returned to the metropolis; but these ferocious tribes being apprizedof his approach, lay wait for him in a dangerous mountain pass, attacked his baggage, killed many of the Indian porters, and plundered them of all they carried. Our cavalry, which now came up to the assistance of those who had charge of the baggage, lost two horses from the rugged state of the road. These Indians, however, had topay dearly for all this when our troops reached their towns, for theMexican warriors showed very little mercy, and killed and took numbersof them prisoners. The cazique and his chief officer were hung, andthe baggage of which they had plundered our troops was retaken. [Pg 131] After the execution of these men, Cortes commanded the Mexicansto stay hostilities, and he summoned the chiefs and papas of the province to send him ambassadors, who now arrived without delay, andacknowledged themselves subjects of our emperor. Cortes then appointedthe brother of him who had been executed, cazique of theplace; and, after thus restoring peace to the province, he continuedhis march to Mexico. I must here observe that there is not a more wicked, a more uncivilized,or a more filthy people in the whole of New Spain than theinhabitants of the province of Panuco; and in no part were humansacrifices found to be so frequent or so barbarous. The inhabitantswere excessive drunkards, and guilty of every kind of abomination:however, they met with due punishment; for, after our troops hadvisited their country a few times with fire and sword, they received, in the person of Nuño de Guzman, who became governor there, a much severer scourge. He sold almost the whole of them for slaves to thedifferent islands, as we shall see in the proper place. CHAPTER CLIX. How Cortes and the officers of the crown forward to Spain the wardrobeof Motecusuma, and the emperor's share of the booty; and what further happened. After this campaign in the province of Panuco, Cortes was busily occupied with the rebuilding of the city of Mexico. Alonso de Avila, who had been despatched to the island of St.Domingo to communicate there in Cortes' name with the royal court of audience and the Hieronymite brotherhood, had by this time returnedto Mexico, and had obtained for Cortes the necessary powers from theabove courts to subdue the whole of New Spain, turn the inhabitantsinto slaves, mark them with a red-hot iron, and distribute the Indiansinto commendaries in the same manner [Pg 132] https://www.gutenberg.org/files/32475/32475-h/32475-h.htm 92/282
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… as was customary at Hispaniola,Cuba, and Jamaica. This power granted to Cortes was to remain in force until the emperor's pleasure was known on this head. The Hieronymite brotherhood duly apprized his majesty of all this, anddespatched a vessel for that purpose to Spain; and though the youngemperor was at that time still in Flanders, their despatches arrived safely in his hands. As the Hieronymite brotherhood were well aware of the bad feeling which the bishop of Burgos always had evincedtowards us, they purposely omitted to acquaint him with the nature of these despatches; and, upon the whole, they never communicated withhim excepting on matters of trifling import. Alonso de Avila, as I have before remarked, was a man who feared no one, and had formerly held some office immediately under thebishop of Burgos, so that it was fortunate he happened to be absent upon the mission just mentioned, in St. Domingo, when Christobalde Tapia arrived at Vera Cruz with the appointment of governor ofNew Spain, as the latter had brought letters from the bishop to him, and on such an occasion the determined character of Avila might havegreatly injured our general's cause. Cortes, who was thoroughly acquainted with this man's disposition,always strove to keep him at a distance from his person; and nowagain, upon the advice of father Olmedo, he presented him with thelucrative township of Quauhtitlan, which would give him constant occupation; and Cortes added to this a considerable sum of money, bywhich he gained him so completely over to his side, that he soon after intrusted him with a most important mission, by despatching him andQuiñones, the captain of the guards, to Spain, as his own procuradores, and those of New Spain in general; and provided them with two vessels which were to carry over to the emperor 88,000 pesos, in goldbars, and the wardrobe of Motecusuma, which had hitherto been inthe possession of Quauhtemoctzin. The latter was a valuable present,and well worthy of our great emperor's acceptance, as it containedjewels of the most precious kind, pearls of the size of hazel nuts, andvarious other precious stones, which I should not like to enumeratesingly, even if my memory would allow me. At the same time weresent the bones of the giants which we found in the temple ofCojohuacan, similar to those bones which were previously given to usby the Tlascallans, and which we had sent to Spain on a formeroccasion. [Pg 133] Three tigers, and several other curiosities, which I have now forgotten by name, were likewise shipped on board these two vessels. The chief magistrates of Mexico, on this occasion, wrote a letter tothe emperor, and we, the conquistadores, with father Olmedo and theroyal treasurer, drew up an humble address to our monarch, in whichwe first of all mentioned with praise the many important and faithful services which Cortes and all of us had rendered to his imperialmajesty; we gave him a full account of the siege of the city of Mexico and the discovery of the southern ocean, and added we were convincedthese countries would prove a source of great wealth to Spain. We then requested his majesty to send to New Spain a bishop and monks of different religious orders, but all to be pious and well-informed men, that they might assist us in extending the holy catholic faith in these countries. We likewise humbly petitioned his majesty to appointCortes viceroy of New Spain, as he had proved himself so meritorious and faithful an officer to the Spanish crown. In the same way we begged the favour for ourselves, that all appointments made by the crown in this country might exclusively be given to us the conquistadoresor to our sons. Further, we requested his majesty not tosend any lawyers into the country, as those persons, with all theirlearning, would merely breed lawsuits, discord, and confusion throughout the whole country. We then mentioned how Christobal de Tapiahad been sent as viceroy to New Spain by the appointment of thebishop of Burgos, assuring his majesty that Tapia was not fit to fillsuch an important situation, and that if he had been allowed to enterupon the viceroyalty of New Spain, that country would undoubtedlyhave been lost again to the Spanish crown. We were compelled toclear up all these circumstances to his majesty, as we feared the bishopof Burgos had not only omitted https://www.gutenberg.org/files/32475/32475-h/32475-h.htm 93/282
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The Memoirs of the Conquistador Bernal Diaz del Castillo Vol. 2

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