The Memoirs of the Conquistador Bernal Diaz del Castillo Vol 1 Part 40

On our arrival in Tlascalla, we found that our old friend Maxixcatzin, one of his majesty's most faithful va.s.sals, was no more, he having died of the smallpox. We were all sorely grieved at this loss, and Cortes himself, as he a.s.sured us, felt it as much as if he had lost his own father. We put on black cloaks in mourning for him, and paid the last honours to the remains of our departed friend, in conjunction with his sons and relations.

A dispute having arisen in Tlascalla respecting the heir to the caziquedom, Cortes p.r.o.nounced in favour of the deceased's son, in accordance with the last wishes of his late father. Maxixcatzin, on his death-bed, strongly advised his whole family to remain faithful to Malinche and his brothers; for they, he said, were certainly those people for whom the dominion of these countries had been predestined.

However, let us leave the dead in peace, and turn to the living. The elder Xicotencatl, Chichimeclatecl, and the other caziques of Tlascalla, one and all gladly offered their a.s.sistance to Cortes in cutting wood for the building of the brigantines, and generally to aid in prosecuting the war against Mexico.

Cortes gave them all a hearty embrace, and thanked them for their great kindness, especially Chichimeclatecl and Xicotencatl, the latter of whom eventually became a convert to Christianity, and was baptized by father Olmedo with every solemnity, and received the name of Don Lorenzo de Vargas.

In the meantime the preparations for the building of our brigantines were going on very fast; the wood being soon felled and prepared for use with the a.s.sistance of the Indians; an excellent soldier named Andreas Nunez, and Ramirez the elder, an old carpenter who had been lamed by a wound, rendering most efficient services. Matters being thus far advanced, Cortes sent for a quant.i.ty of ironwork, anchors, sails, and ropes, from the vessels which had been destroyed at Vera Cruz, and ordered all the smiths of that town to repair to Tlascalla. Above 1000 Indians were despatched thither to transport these things. The cauldrons for boiling and preparing the tar were likewise brought from Vera Cruz, and we were now only in want of the materials for making it, the preparation of which was wholly unknown to the Indians; but here again Cortes was not at a loss, for he picked out four men from among the sailors who understood its preparation, and for that purpose sent them off to a forest of pine trees near Huexotzinco.

Though it may, perhaps, be rather out of place here, I must answer a question which has been put to me by several cavaliers respecting Alonso de Avila, with whom they were well acquainted. They knew that this man, though treasurer of New Spain, was, at the same time, an excellent soldier, and felt more inclination for the life of a warrior than for business; they could not, therefore, imagine why Cortes should exactly have selected him to confer with the Hieronymite brothers at St.

Domingo, and that he had not rather chosen some person of more business-like habits; as, for instance, Alonso de Grado, or Juan de Cacares, called the wealthy, or others whose names they mentioned to me.

Cortes had no other motive than to get Avila out of the way, because he spoke his mind too freely, and took every occasion to side with us soldiers if he saw we were unjustly dealt with. To this was added, that the latter had fallen out with several of our officers, from a frankness of disposition displeasing to them. And, lastly, Cortes was desirous of conferring the command of a company on Andreas de Tapia, and of appointing Alonso de Grado treasurer, both of which were only possible by removing Avila.

Cortes now determined to march, with the whole of his men, to Tezcuco, as the wood for constructing the brigantines was ready prepared, and we had got rid of Narvaez's men, who made difficulties in all our expeditions, and always argued against any attempt to besiege Mexico, maintaining we were not sufficiently numerous for that purpose; by which means they infected others with their cowardice. Previous to our leaving for Tezcuco, however, various deliberations took place as to which would be the most eligible spot for launching our brigantines. Some of our men maintained that Ayotzinco, near to Chalco, on account of its ca.n.a.ls and harbour, was better adapted for this purpose; others, again, preferred Tezcuco, and were of opinion that, once having taken possession of that town, standing as it did in the midst of so many other populous townships, we should be better able to plan our operations against Mexico.

We had scarcely decided in favour of the latter place, when three men arrived with the news from Vera Cruz that a large Spanish vessel had run in there from the Canaries, having on board a quant.i.ty of crossbows, muskets, powder, and other ammunition, besides three horses and thirteen soldiers. The owner of the cargo was a certain Juan de Burgos, and the captain of the vessel was named Francisco Medel.

The reader may easily imagine our joy at this news; and if we had previously felt in good spirits for our intended expedition, we now felt the more so on hearing of the arrival of these timely succours. Cortes immediately bargained with Burgos for the whole of the ammunition and cargo, who himself, with Medel and all the pa.s.sengers, came to our head-quarters, where they met with the kindest reception. Among the pa.s.sengers there was a certain rich man, named Juan del Espinar, who once lived in Guatimala; further, a certain Sagredo, from Medellin; a Biscayan, named Monjaraz, uncle of the other two of that name serving among us. This Monjaraz had a very beautiful daughter, who subsequently came to Mexico, and was commonly called Monjaraza. But this Monjaraz did not accompany us in any of our expeditions, as he was always suffering from ill health. It was not until we had laid regular siege to Mexico that he came to us in good health, and told us he was desirous of seeing how we carried on this war, and our mode of attacking the Mexicans, of whose bravery he entertained a very mean opinion. On this occasion he mounted to the top of an Indian temple, which was shaped like a tower; from that moment, however, we never saw him again, nor did we ever learn how the Mexicans got at him, or what became of him. Many persons who had known him on the island of St. Domingo saw the hand of G.o.d in his sudden death: for they related that he had put his own wife, a most virtuous, excellent, and beautiful woman, to death, without any cause or provocation; and that he had escaped punishment for his crime by proving, through false witnesses, she had attempted to poison him. I must, however, leave these old tales, and begin earnestly to think of our march to Tezcuco.

[Transcriber's Note: Notes to the First Volume, that is, endnotes at the end of this volume, have been included as footnotes under the relevant chapter.]

END OF VOL. I.