The Story of Extinct Civilizations of the West Part 8

Landing at Tabasco, where Grijalva had found the natives friendly, Cortes found that the Yucatans had resolved to oppose him, and were presently a.s.sembled in great numbers. The result of the fighting, however, was naturally a foregone conclusion, partly on account of "the astonishment and terror excited by the destructive effect" of the European firearms, and the "monstrous apparition" of men on horseback.

Such quadrupeds they had never seen before, and they concluded that the rider with his horse formed one unaccountable animal. Gomara and other chroniclers tell how St. James, the tutelar saint of Spain, appeared in the ranks on a gray horse, and led the Christians to victory over the heathen.

An especially fortunate thing for Cortes was that among the female slaves presented after this battle, there was one of remarkable intelligence, who understood both the Aztec and the Mayan languages, and soon learned the Spanish. She proved invaluable to Cortes as an interpreter, and afterward had a share in all his campaigns. She is generally called Marina.

If the Spanish accounts are true, stating that the native army consisted of five squadrons of 8,000 men each, then this victory is one of the most remarkable on record, as a proof of the value of gunpowder as compared with primitive bows and arrows. To the simple Americans the terrible invaders seemed actually to wield the thunder and the lightning. Next day Cortes made an arrangement with the chiefs; and after confidence was restored, asked where they got their gold from.

They pointed to the high grounds on the west, and said _Culhua_, meaning Mexico.

The Palm Sunday being at hand, the conversion of the "heathen" was duly celebrated by pompous and solemn ceremonial. The army marched in procession with the priests at their head, accompanied by crowds of Indians of both s.e.xes, till they reached the princ.i.p.al temple. A new altar being built, the image of the presiding deity was taken from its place and thrown down, to make room for that of the Virgin carrying the infant Saviour.

Cortes now learned that the capital of the Mexican Empire was on the mountain plains nearly seventy leagues inland; and that the ruler was the great and powerful Montezuma.

It was on the morning of Good Friday that Cortes landed on the site of Vera Cruz, which after the conquest of Mexico speedily grew into a flourishing seaport, becoming the commercial capital of New Spain. A friendly conference took place between Cortes and Teuhtlile, an Aztec chief, who asked from what country the strangers had come and why they had come.

"I am a servant," replied Cortes, "of a mighty monarch beyond the seas, who rules over an immense empire, having kings and princes for his va.s.sals. Since my master has heard of the greatness of the Mexican Emperor he has desired me to enter into communication with him, and has sent me as envoy to wait upon Montezuma with a present in token of good-will, and with a message which I must deliver in person. When can I be admitted to your sovereign's presence?"

The Aztec chief replied with an air of dignity: "How is it that you have been here only two days, and demand to see the Emperor? If there is another monarch as powerful as Montezuma, I have no doubt my master will be happy to interchange courtesies."

The slaves of Teuhtlile presented to Cortes

ten loads of fine cotton, several mantles of that curious feather-work whose rich and delicate dyes might vie with the most beautiful painting, and a wicker basket filled with ornaments of wrought gold, all calculated to inspire the Spaniards with high ideas of the wealth and mechanical ingenuity of the Mexicans.

Having duly expressed his thanks, Cortes then laid before the Aztec chief the presents intended for Montezuma. These were "an armchair richly carved and painted; a crimson cap bearing a gold medal emblazoned with St. George and the Dragon; collars, bracelets, and other ornaments of cut-gla.s.s, which, in a country where gla.s.s was unknown, might claim to have the value of real gems."

During the interview Teuhtlile had been curiously observing a shining gilt helmet worn by a soldier, and said that it was exactly like that of Quetzalcoatl. "Who is he?" asked Cortes. "Quetzalcoatl is the G.o.d about whom the Aztecs have the prophecy that he will come back to them across the sea." Cortes promised to send the helmet to Montezuma, and expressed a wish that it would be returned filled with the gold-dust of the Aztecs, that he might compare it with the Spanish gold-dust!

One reporter who was present says:

He further told Governor Teuhtlile that the Spaniards were troubled with a disease of the heart for which gold was a specific remedy!

Another incident of this notable interview was that one of the Mexican attendants was observed by Cortes to be scribbling with a pencil. It was an artist sketching the appearance of the strangers, their dress, arms, and att.i.tude, and filling in the picture with touches of color. Struck with the idea of being thus represented to the Mexican monarch, Cortes ordered the cavalry to be exercised on the beach in front of the artists.

The bold and rapid movements of the troops, ... the apparent ease with which they managed the fiery animals on which they were mounted, the glancing of their weapons, and the shrill cry of the trumpet, all filled the spectators with astonishment; but when they heard the thunders of the cannon, which Cortes ordered to be fired at the same time, and witnessed the volumes of smoke and flame issuing from these terrible engines, and the rushing sound of the b.a.l.l.s, as they dashed through the trees of the neighboring forest, shivering their branches into fragments, they were filled with consternation and wonder, from which the Aztec chief himself was not wholly free.

This was all faithfully copied by the picture-writers, so far as their art went, in sketching and vivid coloring. They also recorded the ships of the strangers--"the water-houses," as they were named--whose dark hulls and snow-white sails were swinging at anchor in the bay.

Meantime what had Montezuma been doing, the sad-faced[19] and haughty Emperor of Mexico, land of the Aztecs and the Tezcucans? At the beginning of his reign he had as a skilful general led his armies as far as Honduras and Nicaragua, extending the limits of the empire, so that it had now reached the maximum.

[Footnote 19: The name Montezuma means "sad or severe man," a t.i.tle suited to his features, though not to his mild character.]

Tezcuco, the sister state to Mexico, had latterly shown hostility to Montezuma, and still more formidable was the republic of Tlascala, lying between his capital and the coast. Prodigies and prophecies now began to affect all cla.s.ses of the population in the Mexican Valley. Everybody spoke of the return from over the sea of the popular G.o.d Quetzalcoatl, the fair-skinned and longhaired (p. 93). A generation had already elapsed since the first rumors that white men in great mysterious vessels, bearing in their hands the thunder and lightning, were seizing the islands and must soon seize the mainland.

No wonder that Montezuma, stern, tyrannical, and disappointed, should be dismayed at the news of Grijalva's landing, and still more so when hearing of the fleet and army of Cortes, and seeing their hors.e.m.e.n pictured by his artists--the whole accompanied by exaggerated accounts of the guns and cannon able to produce thunder and lightning. After holding a council, Montezuma resolved to send an emba.s.sy to Cortes, presenting him with a present which should reflect the incomparable grandeur and resources of Mexico, and at the same time forbidding an approach to the capital.

The governor Teuhtlile, on this second emba.s.sy, was accompanied by two Aztec n.o.bles and 100 slaves, bearing the present from Montezuma to Cortes. As they entered the pavilion of the Spanish general the air was filled with clouds of incense which rose from censers carried by some attendants.

Some delicately wrought mats were then unrolled, and on them the slaves displayed the various articles, ... shields, helmets, cuira.s.ses, embossed with plates and ornaments of pure gold; collars and bracelets of the same metal, sandals, fans, and crests of variegated feathers, intermingled with gold and silver thread, and sprinkled with pearls and precious stones; imitations of birds and animals in wrought and cast gold and silver, of exquisite workmanship; curtains, coverlets, and robes of cotton, fine as silk, of rich and various dyes, interwoven with feather-work that rivaled the delicacy of painting.... The things which excited most admiration were two circular plates of gold and silver, as "large as carriage-wheels"; one representing the sun was richly carved with plants and animals. It was thirty palms in circ.u.mference, and was worth about 52,500 sterling.[20]

[Footnote 20: Robertson, the historian, gives 5,000; but Prescott reckons a _peso de oro_ at 2 12s. 6d.; whence the 20,000 of the text gives 20,000 x 2-5/8 = 2,500 x 21 = 52,500.]

Cortes was interested in seeing the soldier's helmet brought back to him full to the brim with grains of gold. The courteous message from Montezuma, however, did not please him much. Montezuma excused himself from having a personal interview by "the distance being too great, and the journey beset with difficulties and dangers from formidable enemies.... All that could be done, therefore, was for the strangers to return to their own land."

Soon after Cortes, by a species of statecraft, formed a new munic.i.p.ality, thus transforming his camp into a civil community. The name of the new city was _Villa Rica de Vera Cruz_, i. e., "the Rich Town of the True Cross." Once the munic.i.p.ality was formed, Cortes resigned before them his office of captain-general, and thus became free from the authority of Velasquez. The city council at once chose Cortes to be captain-general and chief justice of the colony. He could now go forward unchecked by any superior except the Crown.

It was a desperate undertaking to climb with an army from the hot region of this flat coast through the varied succession of "slopes" which form the temperate region, and at last, on the high table-land, obtain entrance upon the great enclosed valley of Mexico. Cortes found that an essential preliminary was to gain the friendship of the Totonacs, a nation tributary to Montezuma. Their subjection to the Aztecs he had already verified, since one day when holding a conference with the Totonac leaders and a neighboring cazique (i. e., "prince"), Cortes saw five men of haughty appearance enter the market-place, followed by several attendants, and at once receive the politest attention from the Totonacs.

Cortes asked Marina, his slave interpreter, who or what they were. "They are Aztec n.o.bles," she replied, "sent by Montezuma to receive tribute."

Presently the Totonac chiefs came to Cortes with looks of dire dismay, to inform him of the great Emperor's resentment at the entertainment offered to the Spaniards, and demanding in expiation twenty young men and women for sacrifice to the Aztec G.o.ds.

Cortes, with every look of indignation, insisted that the Totonacs should not only refuse to comply, but should seize the Aztec messengers and hold them strictly confined in prison. Unscrupulous to gain his ends, Cortes by lies and cunning duplicity managed to set the Mexican n.o.bles free, dismissing them with a friendly message to Montezuma, while at the same time securing the confidence of the simple-minded Totonacs, urging them to join the Spaniards and make a bold effort to regain their independence. Some thought that Cortes was really the kindly divinity Quetzalcoatl, promised by the prophets to bring freedom and happiness.

As an instance of the religious enthusiasm of the Spanish invaders, we may give the account of the "conversion" of Zempoalla, a city in the Totonac district. When Cortes pressed upon the cazique of Zempoalla that his mission was to turn the Indians from the abominations of their present religion, that prince replied that he could not accept what the Spanish priests had told him about the Creator and Ruler of the Universe; especially that he ever stooped to become a mere man, weak and poor, so as to suffer voluntarily persecution and even death at the hands of some of his own creatures. The cazique added that he "would resist any violence offered to his G.o.ds, who would, indeed, avenge the act themselves by the instant destruction of their enemies."

Cortes and his men seized the opportunity. There is no doubt that, after witnessing some of the barbarous sacrifices of human victims followed by cannibal feasts, their souls had naturally been sickened. They now proceeded to force the work of conversion as soon as Cortes had appealed to them and declared that "G.o.d and the holy saints would never favor their enterprise, if such atrocities were allowed; and that for his own part, he was resolved the Indian idols should be demolished that very hour if it cost him his life.

"Scarcely waiting for his commands the Spaniards moved toward one of the princ.i.p.al _teocallis_, or temples, which rose high on a pyramidal foundation with a steep ascent of stone steps in the middle. The cazique, divining their purpose, instantly called his men to arms. The Indian warriors gathered from all quarters, with shrill cries and clashing of weapons, while the priests, in their dark cotton robes, with disheveled tresses matted with blood, rushed frantic among the natives, calling on them to protect their G.o.ds from violation! All was now confusion and tumult.... Cortes took his usual prompt measures. Causing the cazique and some of the princ.i.p.al citizens and priests to be arrested, he commanded them to quiet the people, declaring that if a single arrow was shot against a Spaniard, it should cost every one of them his life.... The cazique covered his face with his hands, exclaiming that the G.o.ds would avenge their own wrongs.

"The Christians were not slow in availing themselves of his tacit acquiescence. Fifty soldiers, at a signal from their general, sprang up the great stairway of the temple, entered the building on the summit, the walls of which were black with human gore, and dragged the huge wooden idols to the edge of the terrace. Their fantastic forms and features, conveying a symbolic meaning which was lost on the Spaniards, seemed to their eyes only the hideous lineaments of Satan. With great alacrity they rolled the colossal monsters down the steps of the pyramid, amid the triumphant shouts of their own companions and the groans and lamentations of the natives. They then consummated the whole by burning them in the presence of the a.s.sembled mult.i.tude."

After the temple had been cleansed from every trace of the idol-worship and its horrors, a new altar was raised, surmounted by a lofty cross, and hung with garlands of roses. A reaction having now set in among the Indians, many were willing to become Christians, and some of the Aztec priests even joined in a procession to signify their conversion, wearing white robes instead of their former dark mantles, and carrying lighted candles in their hands, "while an image of the Virgin half smothered under the weight of flowers was borne aloft, and, as the procession climbed the steps of the temple, was deposited above the altar.... The impressive character of the ceremony and the pa.s.sionate eloquence of the good priest touched the feelings of the motley audience, until Indians as well as Spaniards, if we may trust the chronicler, were melted into tears and audible sobs."

Before finally marching westward toward the temperate "slopes" of the mountains, Cortes had another opportunity of proving his generalship and prompt resource at a critical moment. When Agathocles, the autocratic ruler of Syracuse, sailed over to defeat the Carthaginians, the first thing he did on landing in Africa was to burn his ships, that his soldiers might have no opportunity of retreat, and no hope but in victory. Cortes now acted on exactly the same principle.

After discovering that a number of his soldiers had formed a conspiracy to seize one of the ships and sail to Cuba, Cortes, on conviction, punished two of the ringleaders with death. Soon after, he formed the extraordinary resolution of destroying his ships without the knowledge of his army.

The five worst ships were first ordered to be dismantled; and, soon after, to be sunk. When the rest were inspected, four of them were condemned in the same manner.

When the news reached Zempoalla, the army were excited almost to open mutiny. Cortes, however, was perfectly cool. Addressing the army collectively, he a.s.sured them that the ships were not fit for service, as had been shown by due inspection. "There is one important advantage gained to the army, viz., the addition of a hundred able-bodied recruits who were necessary to man the lost ships. Besides all that, of what use could ships be to us in the present expedition? As for me, I will remain here even without a comrade. As for those who shrink from the dangers of our glorious enterprise, let them go back, in G.o.d's name! Let them go home, since there is still one vessel left; let them go on board and return to Cuba. They can tell how they deserted their commander and their comrades, and patiently wait till they see us return loaded with the spoils of the Aztecs."

Persuasion is the end of true oratory. The reply of the army to Cortes was the unanimous shout "To Mexico! To Mexico!"

After beginning the gradual ascent in their march toward the table-land of Mexico, the first place noted by the invaders was Jalapa, a town which still retains its Aztec name, known to all the world by the well-known drug grown there. It is a favorite resort of the wealthier residents in Vera Cruz, and that too tropical plain which Cortes had just left. The mighty mountain Orizaba, one of the guardians of the Mexican Valley, is now full in sight, towering in solitary grandeur with its robe of snow.

At last they reached a town so populous that there were thirteen Aztec temples with the usual sacrificial stone for human victims before each idol. In the suburbs the Spanish were shocked by a gathering of human skulls, many thousand in number. This appalling reminder of the unspeakable sacrifices soon became a familiar sight as they marched through that country.

Cortes asked the cazique if he were subject to Montezuma. "Who is there," replied the local prince, "that is not tributary to that Emperor?" "_I_ am not," said the stranger general. Cortes a.s.sured him that the monarch whom the Spaniards served had princes as va.s.sals, who were more powerful than the Aztec ruler. The cazique said:

Montezuma could muster thirty great va.s.sals, each master of 100,000 men. His revenues were incalculable, since every subject, however poor, paid something.... More than 20,000 victims, the fruit of his wars, were annually sacrificed on the altars of his G.o.ds! His capital stood on a lake, in the center of a s.p.a.cious valley.... The approach to the city was by means of causeways several miles long; and when the connecting bridges were raised all communication with the country was cut off.

The Indians showed the greatest curiosity respecting the dresses, weapons, horses, and dogs of their strange visitors. The country all around was then well wooded and full of villages and towns, which disappeared after the conquest. Humboldt remarked, when he traveled there, that the whole district had, "at the time of the arrival of the Spanish, been more inhabited and better cultivated, and that in proportion as they got higher up near the table-land, they found the villages more frequent, the fields more subdivided, and the people more law-abiding."

Before entering upon the table-land, Cortes resolved to visit the republic of Tlascala, which was noted for having retained its independence in spite of the Aztecs. After sending an emba.s.sy, consisting of the four chief Zempoallas, who had accompanied the army, he set out toward Tlascala, lingering as they proceeded, so that his amba.s.sadors should have time to return. While wondering at the delay, they suddenly reached a remarkable fortification which marked the limits of the republic, and acted as a barrier against the Mexican invasions.

Prescott thus describes it:

A stone wall nine feet in height and twenty in thickness, with a parapet a foot and a half broad raised on the summit for the protection of those who defended it. It had only one opening in the center, made by two semicircular lines of wall overlapping each other for the s.p.a.ce of forty paces, and affording a pa.s.sageway between, ten paces wide, so contrived, therefore, as to be perfectly commanded by the inner wall. This fortification, which extended more than two leagues, rested at either end on the bold natural b.u.t.tresses formed by the sierra. The work was built of immense blocks of stone nicely laid together without cement, and the remains still existing, among which are rocks of the whole breadth of the rampart, fully attest its solidity and size.

Who were the people of this stout-hearted republic? The Tlascalans were a kindred tribe to the Aztecs, and after coming to the Mexican Valley, toward the close of the twelfth century, had settled for many years on the western sh.o.r.e of Lake Tezcuco. Afterward they migrated to that district of fruitful valleys where Cortes found them; _Tlascala_, meaning "land of bread." They then, as a nation, consisted of four separate states, considerably civilized, and always able to protect their confederacy against foreign invasion. Their arts, religion, and architecture were the same as those of the Aztecs and Tezcucans.

More than once had the Aztecs attempted to bring the little republic into subjection, but in vain. In one campaign Montezuma had lost a favorite, besides having his army defeated; and though a much more formidable invasion followed, "the bold mountaineers withdrew into the recesses of their hills, and coolly watching their opportunity, rushed like a torrent on the invaders, and drove them back with dreadful slaughter from their territories."