History of Mexico, Volume 1, 1516-1521

by Hubert Howe Bancroft

FOOTNOTES

[219] Villa Rica is the name appearing in the first royal charter of 1523, but with later foundations Vera Cruz became the title. Panes, Extension Veracruz, MS., 1 et seq. The municipal council, however, distinctly calls it la Rica Villa de la Veracruz and ought to be the proper authority for the form of name first applied. Carta del Ayunt., in Cortés, Cartas, 1 et seq. ‘Y luego ordenamos de hazer, y fundar, è poblar vna Villa, que se nombró la Villa Rica de la Vera-Cruz; porque llegamos Jueves de la Cena, y desembarcamos en Uiernes Santo de la Cruz, é rica por aquel Cauallero que ... dixo que mirasse las tierras ricas.’ Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 29. ‘Llamola Villa Rica a la nueua poblaciõ, y de la Veracruz, por auer desembarcado el Viernes Sãto, y Rica, por la riqueza que se auia descubierto.’ Herrera, dec. ii. lib. v. cap. vii. Although nominally founded adjacent to San Juan de Ulua, there was no intention to build the town on that unhealthy and dreary spot. The first actual foundation took place at the harbor of Bernal. Nearly five years later the town rose anew on the present Rio de la Antigua, where it became known alone as Vera Cruz. In 1599 the actual or new Vera Cruz found itself finally planted on the very site of the first nominal foundation. The chief reason for this change was probably the need for the better protection against filibusters afforded by the island of San Juan de Ulua, whose batteries commanded the harbor. See Albornoz, Carta al Emperador, Dec., 1525, in Icazbalceta, Col. Doc., i. 495. The charter for la Nueva Ciudad de la Vera-Cruz was granted July 19, 1615. Calle, Mem. y Not., 68; Clavigero, Storia Mess., iii. 30; Rivera, Hist. Jalapa, i. 27; Humboldt, Essai Pol., i. 276-7. Alegre, Hist. Comp. de Jesus, i. 149-50, has some excellent remarks hereon. Few authors, however, are free from blunders with regard to the different sites, even Lorenzana committing more than one. Cortés, Hist. N. España, 381.

[220] ‘Los Hombres mas Poderosos entendian en buscar Lugares en los Montes, y partes mas remotas, para conservar sus Mugeres, Hijos, y Hacienda.’ Torquemada, i. 403.

[221] Inconsolable at the prospect of the strangers acquiring a footing in the country, Montezuma, after vainly searching for admission into the Hades of Cicalco, retired to the abode occupied by him ere he became emperor. Sahagun, Hist. Conq., i. 15-16. One reason for this is said to have been the result of the embassy to the oracle at Achiuhtla, in Miztecapan, which brought back the announcement that the Aztec empire must yield to strangers. Burgoa, Geog. Descrip. Oajaca, pt. ii. 129.

[222] ‘Figliuoli porse del suo fratello Cuitlahuatzin.’ Clavigero, Storia Mess., iii. 30.

[223] ‘Ciertas pieças de oro y plata bien labradas, y vn casquete de oro menudo.... Peso todo esto dos mil, y nouenta Castellanos.’ Gomara, Hist. Mex., 58.

[224] Before the embassy came, says Herrera, ‘Diò orden con voluntad del señor de Chianhuitzlan, que los tres Mexicanos pressos fuessen sueltos,’ dec. ii. lib. v. cap. xi.

[225] Ixtlilxochitl, Hist. Chich., 290. Other authorities differ in the spelling.

[226] One of them who had bartered a fine light-colored horse for some property in Cuba was unable to annul the trade, and thus lost his animal. Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 34. Gomara, Hist. Mex., 64, refers merely to murmurs in favor of Velazquez, which Cortés quiets by placing a few in chains for a time.

[227] ‘Muriò este soldado en vna guerra en la Prouincia de Guatimala sobre vn Peñol.’ Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 35. He places the incident on the return march.

[228] According to Gomara the Aztec garrison does ravage the country when the Totonac revolt occurs, and their forces meet the Spaniards on the field, only to flee at the sight of the horsemen. Cortés and four others dismount, and mingling with the fleeing, reach the fort gates, which they hold till their troops come up. Surrendering the place to the allies, Cortés tells them to respect the people and to let the garrison depart without arms or banner. This victory gained great influence for the Spaniards, and remembering the feat of Cortés, the Indians declared that one Spaniard was enough to aid them in achieving victory. Hist. Mex., 59. Ixtlilxochitl, who follows Gomara, fights the Aztec garrison as far as the city, and then captures it. Hist. Chich., 290. Solis assumes that a few Spaniards cut off the retreat of the townsmen, and rushing forward with some Cempoalans, are already inside when the leaders come to plead for mercy. Hist. Mex., i. 197-8. The foremost credit is however due to Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 34-5, who, being present, declares Gomara’s account wholly wrong, that no garrison existed here, and that no resistance was made. The latter sentence is modified by Tapia, also a member of the expedition, who states that the town did resist and was punished. Relacion, in Icazbalceta, Col. Doc., ii. 566. Hence it may be assumed that Diaz, as a foot soldier, was not present to see the probably bloodless rout of the Indians by the cavalry. The townsmen are not likely to have allowed the Cempoalans to approach without offering resistance, or, in case they knew of the Spanish advance, without sending a deputation before the pillage began.

[229] Passing through two towns, the soldiers suffering greatly from heat and fatigue. Near Cempoala the lord awaited them in some temporary huts with bountiful cheer, though apprehensive of Cortés’ anger at his deception. The following day they entered the city. Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 35; Herrera, dec. ii. lib. v. cap. xiii.

[230] ‘Veinte Doncellas (aunque Gomara dice, que fueron ocho),’ says Torquemada, i. 399, without giving his reasons.

[231] ‘Tambien auian de ser limpios de sodomias, porque tenian muchachos vestidos en habito de mugeres, que andauan â ganar en aquel maldito oficio.’ This they promised. Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 35. Solis assumes that Cortés was aroused to this crusade by the heavy sacrifices at a great festival. Hist. Mex., i. 204-5.

[232] Gomara makes the natives tear down the idols and the sepulchres of caciques worshipped as gods. ‘Acabo con los de la ciudad que derribassen los idolos y sepulcros de los caciques, q̄ tambien reuerẽciauan como a dioses.’ Hist. Mex., 67.

[233] Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 36; Herrera, dec. ii. lib. v. cap. ix. xiv. Gomara places the presentation of the women at the first visit of the Spaniards to the city, and herein he is followed by Herrera, Torquemada, and Ixtlilxochitl. Hist. Chich., 289.

[234] These proved the more valuable since Cortés’ horse had died shortly before. He obtained, by gift or purchase, the fine Arriero, a dark chestnut belonging to Ortiz, the musician, and to García, the miner. Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 33. Gomara assumes that Salcedo brought a caravel, with sixty Spaniards and nine horses, the vessel having been detained in Cuba for repairs. Hist. Mex., 59; yet he includes Salcedo as present at the final review there. Id., 14. He is evidently confused.

[235] For himself and one heir. Further, after conquering and settling four islands, he might select one from which to receive perpetually for himself and heirs one twentieth part of all the revenue accruing therefrom for the king. No duty would be charged during his life on any clothing, arms, and provisions imported by him into those lands. As an aid toward the expenses of the conquest, a royal estate at Habana was granted him, and a salary in those lands of 300,000 maravedís. The other clauses of the commission related to mines, clergy, taxes, and settlers. It was dated at Saragossa, November 13, 1518, ‘five days previous to the usurpation of the fleet by Cortés,’ observes Las Casas, Hist. Ind., v. 3-5. Dated at Barcelona, says Herrera, dec. ii. lib. iii. cap. xi. Several are led to suppose that Velazquez did not receive the notice of his appointment for over a year after its date, which is unlikely. Mex., ii. 222-3.

[236] Which he failed to enjoy, since he died at sea while en route to New Spain to take possession. Las Casas, Hist. Ind., iv. 465-6; Herrera, dec. ii. lib. iii. cap. xi.; Cogolludo, Hist. Yucathan, 16-17.

[237] Many of these died from hardship, and the rest returned impoverished to their country. Las Casas, Hist. Ind., iv. 374-6; Herrera, dec. ii. lib. ii. cap. xix.; Cogolludo, Hist. Yucathan, 8.

[238] It has been generally assumed, from a loose acceptance of chroniclers’ text, that all the treasures were surrendered for the object in view, but this could not have been the case. The pile of gold dust and nuggets, accumulated by constant barter along the coast, and increased by the contents of two helmets sent by Montezuma, formed a respectable amount, of which only a small portion was sent to the king, as specimens of mining products. Three thousand castellanos were set aside for the expenses of the messengers to Spain, and an equal sum for Cortés’ father, ‘Otros 3000 que Cortés enviaba para su padre.’ Las Casas, Hist. Ind., iv. 498. ‘A su padre Martin Cortes y a su madre ciertos Castellanos.’ Gomara, Hist. Mex., 62. The disposal of the dust alone indicates an apportionment. Further, the list of treasure sent to Spain, as appended to the Carta del Ayuntamiento, and as given by Gomara, shows that much of the wrought metal received from Montezuma, not counting that acquired by barter, was retained by the expedition. Gomara writes that the first step of Cortés was to order a division of treasures by Ávila and Mejía, acting respectively for the crown and the army. All the effects being displayed in the plaza, the gold and silver amounting to 27,000 ducats, the cabildo observed that what remained after deducting the royal fifth would belong to the general in payment for the vessels, arms, and supplies surrendered by him to the company. Cortés said there was time enough to pay him; he would now take only his share as captain-general, and leave others wherewith to settle their small debts. He also proposed that instead of sending merely the one fifth to the king, the finest specimens should be given, which was agreed to. His list is given in Hist. Mex., 60-2. Ordaz and Montejo were sent round with a list to be signed by all who wished to surrender their share in the gold. ‘Y desta manera todos lo firmaron â vna.’ Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 36. The Carta del Ayunt. refers to four of Velazquez’ men as objecting to the presents being sent elsewhere than to their leader. Cortés, Cartas, 26-7; Tapia, Relacion, in Icazbalceta, Col. Doc., ii. 563; Herrera, dec. ii. lib. v. cap. xiv.; Torquemada, i. 407; Vetancvrt, Teatro Mex., pt. iii. 118.

[239] No generous allusion appears to have been made to the discoverers who opened the way for him. Gomara alone gives a brief outline of the letter, but the original or copy has never been found, notwithstanding the close search made. Since Charles V. received it on the eve of his departure for Germany, it occurred to Robertson that the Vienna archives might throw on it some light, and the consequent search led to the discovery of an authenticated copy of the companion letter from the municipality of Villa Rica, but nothing relating to Cortés’ report. Hist. Am., preface, x.-xi. Panes insists that the letter must have existed in the Vienna Court Library at one time. Doc. Domin. Esp., MS., 59-60. Barcia suggests several ways in which it might have been lost; one being its production before the royal council at the instance of Pánfilo de Narvaez. Bibl. Occid., tit. iv. ii. 598. Fortunately the companion letter and other narratives cover its essential points.

[240] ‘El Cabildo escriuiò juntamente con diez soldados ... ê iva yo firmado en ella.’ Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 36.

[241] Written by Cortés’ most devoted friends, and undoubtedly under his supervision, we cannot expect to find it other than a labored effort to promote his views. Robertson, whose suggestion led to its discovery in the Vienna Imperial Library, offers a mere synopsis of the contents. Hist. Am., preface, p. xi. ii. 521-2. It is given at length in the Cortés, Cartas, by Gayangos, Paris, 1866, 1-34, with notes, and with the list of presents appended; and in Col. Doc. Inéd., i. 417-72, and in Alaman, Disert., i. 2d app., 41-104, preceded by an introductory sketch of the expedition by the collector of the papers, and containing the list of presents as checked by Muñoz in 1784 from the Manual del Tesorero de la Casa de la Contratacion de Sevilla.

[242] ‘Todos los Capitanes, y soldados juntamente escriuimos otra carta.’ Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 36. ‘El cabildo ... escriuio ... dos letras. Vna ... no firmaron sino alcaldes y regidores. La otra fue acordada y firmada del cabildo y de todos los mas principales.’ Gomara, Hist. Mex., 63.

[243] Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 37, gives a long detail of its contents, particularly of the conclusion, wherein the bishop of Búrgos is pointed out as favoring his friends and relations in the distribution of Indian governments. Velazquez enjoyed his special favor in return for the large presents in gold and towns he had made, to the prejudice of the crown. Cortés, on reading the letter, was highly pleased with the eulogy bestowed upon himself, and promised to remember it when rewards came to be distributed, but he objected to the prominence given to the discoveries of Córdoba and Grijalva, ‘sino á èl solo se atribuia el descubrimiento, y la honra, ê honor de todo,’ and wished to suppress the statement that one fifth of the profits were to be given to him. The men declined to hide anything from the king, and so Cortés no doubt made the messengers hide the letter. Tapia gives a brief synopsis of it, mentioning the objections raised against the bishop of Búrgos, and the resolution not to obey any orders contrary to their report till the king had replied to it—‘é para que otra cosa en contrario de lo que le escrebiamos no se hiciese, que S. M. sin saber de qué hacia mercedes, no las hiciese, estábamos prestos de morir é tener la tierra en su real nombre fasta ver respuesta de esta carta.’ Relacion, in Icazbalceta, Col. Doc., ii. 566.‘Esta carta no vido el Emperador, porque, si la viera, no les sucederia ni á Cortés ni á sus consortes el negocio tan favorable como abajo se parecerá.’ Las Casas, Hist. Ind., iv. 498.

[244] ‘En una nao que ... despaché á 16 de julio del año de 1519, envié a V. A. muy larga y particular relacion.’ Cortés, Cartas, 51; Oviedo, iii. 261. ‘En veinte y seis dias del mes de Julio ... partieron de San Juan de Ulua.’ Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 37. On the next page he says July 6th. The naming of Ulua as the port of departure shows also a carelessness of facts; yet Gomara says:‘Partieron ... de Aquiahuiztlã ... a veinte y seis.’ Hist. Mex., 6. Still Cortés’ letter, written so soon after, ought to be correct. Prescott accepts the 26th.

[245] ‘Esta fuga fue ocasion de descubrir el derrotero de la Canal de Bahama, para la buelta de España, hasta entonces no nauegada, y desde aquella ocasion siempre seguida.’ Cogolludo, Hist. Yucathan, 41. ‘Alaminos ... fue el primero que nauegò por aquella canal.’ Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 36-39. Prejudiced against Montejo, as shown by previous expressions, this author accuses him of sending letters to Velazquez by a sailor, who spread the news of the mission along his route. Some of the letters were from adherents in Cortés’ army. ‘Pareciò, de otras personas principales que estauan en nuestro Real, fueron aconsejados que fuessen á aquella estancia ... y aun escriuieron para que el Diego Velazquez tuuiesse tiempo de auellos á las manos.’ Velazquez accordingly sends two small vessels under Gabriel de Rojas and Guzman to pursue the ship, but their cruise between Habana and the Bahamas Channel is in vain. Montejo’s conduct before and after this indicates nothing that can justify the accusations, and Velazquez, in his letter to Figueroa, juez de residencia in Española, inveighs against one ‘Montejo’ and his companion for taking not only provisions and forty butts of water, but a number of Indians from Mariel, and then leaving ‘without informing any magistrate or other person,’ taking a dangerous and hitherto unknown route. In Icazbalceta, Col. Doc., i. 401. During the investigation held on the subject by the governor, it appeared that Juan de Rojas of Habana reported the secret visit of Montejo, who, knowing that Rojas had become aware of his presence, wrote him at the moment of leaving that he was going to visit Velazquez. From Perez, a servant of Rojas and in charge at Mariel, it seems, he exacted an oath not to reveal what he had learned of the rich cargo and destination of the vessel. Rojas nevertheless obtained the facts from him. Testimonio, in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xii. 151-204. In a letter to the bishop of Búrgos, October 12, 1519, Velazquez states that a man at Mariel, Perez probably, was at the last moment shown the treasures. Guzman was sent with a vessel in pursuit. In Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xii. 248-50. Gomara also says, ‘embiando tras ella vna carauela de armada.’ Hist. Mex., 64; Torquemada, i. 407.

[246] ‘Doña Mayor de Fonseca. El obispo de Búrgos ... por la muerte del Gran Chanciller ... tornó á alear y á ser principal.’ Las Casas, Hist. Ind., v. 2; Herrera, dec. ii. lib. iii. cap. xi.; Zúñiga, Anales Ecles. Sevilla, 414.

[247] The bishop of Búrgos, then at Valladolid, spoke so harshly to Puertocarrero that the latter ventured to remonstrate, and demand that their messages be forwarded to the king. A charge was now raked up against Puertocarrero of having three years before carried off a woman from Medellin to the Indies, and for this he was cast into prison. Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 38; Vetancvrt, Teatro Mex., pt. iii. 119.

[248] Guzman appears to have started in October from Cuba, when Narvaez’ expedition against Cortés had already begun to be fitted out. Carta de Velazquez, Oct. 12, 1519, in Col. Doc. Inéd., i. 472-5; Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xii. 246-51; Carta al Figueroa, in Icazbalceta, Col. Doc., i. 402; Las Casas, Hist. Ind., v. 2. His appeal to the Jeronimite Fathers, says Bernal Diaz, met only with rebuff. They considered that Cortés had done well to send so rich a present to the king. ‘Le embiaron al Diego Velazquez â Cuba â vn Licenciado que se dezia Zuazo para que le tomasse residencia ... Uelazquez, se congoxó mucho mas, y como de antes era muy gordo, se paró flaco en aquellos dias.’ Hist. Verdad., 38. Martin petitioned the bishop for the repair and return of the messengers’ vessel to Velazquez, together with another vessel, both to carry reinforcements to the Indies. This was needed, partly to prevent the possible conflict between Cortés’ party and the expedition fitting out under Velazquez to support the men he had already sent under Cortés as his lieutenant. Memorial, in Col. Doc. Inéd., i. 407-9.

[249] Sandoval, Hist. Carlos V., i. 203. ‘Viniéronse con la corte hasta llegar á la Coruña, y en este camino los cognoscí yo.’ Las Casas, Hist. Ind., iv. 499; Herrera, dec. ii. lib. ix. cap. vii.

[250] In the Manual de la Casa de Contratacion de la Indias is noted that the Cempoala natives were presented to the king, at Tordesillas, in February, or March, 1520, and the presents at Valladolid in April. The Indians were sent to Cuba at the close of March, 1521, except one who had died. Cortés, Cartas, 34; Alaman, Disert., i. 91-104.

[251] According to Bernal Diaz the bishop of Búrgos retained not only the original letters of the king, but a portion of the presents, which produced a sharp letter from Charles. The duplicate letters reached him, however. Hist. Verdad., 38-9. This author is not well informed about the movements of the procuradores. He lets the king reach Flanders before they arrive, and there receive only the reports.

CHAPTER XI.
THE SINKING OF THE FLEET.
July-August, 1519.

Diego Velazquez once More—His Supporters in the Camp of Cortés—They Attempt Escape—Are Discovered—The Leaders are Seized and Executed—Cortés’ Ride to Cempoala, and what Came of it—He Determines on the Destruction of the Fleet—Preliminary Stratagems—Several of the Ships Pronounced Unseaworthy—The Matter before the Soldiers—The Fleet Sunk—Indignation of the Velazquez Faction—One Vessel Remaining—It is Offered to any Wishing to Desert—It is finally Sunk—Francisco de Garay’s Pretensions—Seizure of Some of his Men.

To the top of a fir-tree, which he curbed and then let spring, Theseus fastened the robber Sinis, who had been accustomed himself to kill travellers in that way. In a hollow brazen bull, which he had made for the Sicilian tyrant to roast his victims in, Perillus the inventor was roasted. A famous detective was hanged at last for house-breaking. Matthew Hopkins, the witch-finder, who about the middle of the seventeenth century travelled the country over to discover and bring witches to punishment, was finally, with pronounced effect, subjected to one of his own tests. Witches, he had said, would not sink in water. This was a safe proposition for the prosecution; for if they sank they were drowned, and if they did not sink they were burned. Being at length himself charged with witchcraft, the people seized and threw him into a river; and as he floated, by his own law he was declared a witch, and put to death accordingly. In more ways than one, he who invents a guillotine is often the first to suffer by it. It is not wise to sow dragons’ teeth, and expect therefrom a happy harvest.

Now Diego Velazquez had all his life been sowing dragons’ teeth, and hunting witches, and building guillotines, and brazen bulls. Starting from Spain in the guise of a noble old soldier, as he advertised himself, though some said of him that his sword was bloodless and his bravery bravado, he served the usual apprenticeship in the New World, chasing, and mutilating, and murdering, and enslaving natives, working to death on his plantations those saved for this most cruel fate. For this and similar service Diego Colon, then ruling the Indies at Española, sent him to Cuba to play governor there over those inoffensive and thrice unlucky savages. Fraud being native to his character, no sooner was he fairly seated than he repudiated his late master and benefactor, and reported directly to the king, even as his own captain of the Mexican expedition was now doing. Another of his guillotines was the vile treatment of Grijalva for not disobeying orders, on which score he could not complain against Grijalva’s successor. Yet, as head and heart frosted with time the Cuban governor was not happy: misdeeds never bring true or lasting happiness. His bitterness, however, was but in the bloom; the full fruit of his folly would come only after the consummation of events upon the continent, grand as yet beyond conception. Ordinarily it is much easier to kill a man than to create one; in this instance it was extremely difficult to kill the man that he had made.

If among the New World cavaliers such a thing as poltroon or coward could be, Diego Velazquez was that thing, notwithstanding he had participated in so much fighting. Yet I do not call him coward, for my pen refuses to couple such a term with that of sixteenth-century Spaniard. Certain it is, however, that few men in those days preferred conquering new lands by deputy to winning glory in person, and if this soldier and governor was not a coward, there was little of the manly or chivalrous in his bravery. He was cautious, yet frequently his cupidity overcame his caution; and when he adventured his gold—for he seldom risked his life, either for fame which he dearly loved, or for gold which he loved still dearer—it was under restrictions ruinous to almost any enterprise. In his ordinary mood he played fairly enough the statesman and hero, but in truth his statesmanship was superficial, and his heroism theatrical. Las Casas calls him a terrible fellow for those who served him, and Gomara says he had little stomach for expenditures. This much allowance, however, should be made in any statements of historians respecting the governor of Cuba: in their drama of the conquest Diego Velazquez plays the part of chief villain to the hero Hernan Cortés, when as a matter of fact Cortés was the greater villain of the two, principally because he was the stronger.

Even the priests praise Cortés, though many of his acts were treacherous; and timidity in a leader was accounted the most heinous of crimes. On the whole, I agree with Torquemada that the governor should have gone against Montezuma in person, if it was necessary he should go on such dastardly work at all; but we may be sure that Velazquez would not himself venture upon this sea of high exploit, though Æolus with a silver cord had tied up the winds in an ox-hide, as he did for Ulysses. And now from this time forth, and indeed from the moment the unrestrainable Estremaduran embarked defying him, the sulphurous fire of hatred and revenge burned constant in the old man’s breast.

Never was villainy so great that if united with high station or ability it could not find supporters; for most men are rascals at heart in one direction or another. The pretty pair, Velazquez the governor, and Cortés the adventurer—so well pitted that the difference between them consists chiefly in setting off the position of one against the native strength of the other, the manners and pusillanimity of the one against the fate-defying chivalry of the other—had each his active workers not only in Spain, but in America, those of Velazquez being some of them in the very camp of Cortés. Since the royal grant of superior powers to Velazquez, this faction has lifted its head. And now its brain works.

The messengers for Spain had scarcely left the port before these malcontents form a plot, this time not with the sole desire to return to a more comfortable and secure life, but with a view to advise Velazquez of the treasure ship so close at hand. Amongst them are to be found the priest Juan Diaz; Juan Escudero, the alguacil of Baracoa, who beguiled and surrendered Cortés into the hands of the authorities; Diego Cermeño and Gonzalo de Umbría, pilots; Bernardino de Coria, and Alonso Peñate, beside several leading men who merely countenanced the plot.[252] They have already secured a small vessel with the necessary supplies, and the night of embarkment is at hand, when Coria repents and betrays his companions.

Cortés is profoundly moved. It is not so much the hot indignation that stirs his breast against the traitors as the light from afar that seems to float in upon his mind like an inspiration, showing him more vividly than he had ever seen it before, his situation. So lately a lax and frivolous youth, apparently of inept nature, wrought to stiffer consistency by some years of New World kneading, by a stroke of the rarest fortune he suddenly finds himself a commander of men, in a virgin field of enterprise fascinating beyond expression, and offering to the soldier possibilities excelled by nothing within the century. As the mind enlarges to take in these possibilities, the whole being seems to enlarge with it, the unstable adventurer is a thing of the past, and behold a mighty rock fills the place. Against it heads shall beat unprofitably. The momentous question of to be or not to be is forever determined; it is an affair simply of life now. Life and the power of which he finds himself possessed shall rise or fall together; and if his life, then the lives of others. No life shall be more precious to him than his own; no life shall be accounted precious at all that stands in the way of his plans. To a lady who complained of the burning of the Palatinate by Turenne, Napoleon answered: “And why not, madame, if it was necessary to his designs?” The Palatinate! ay, and a hundred million souls flung into the same fire, ere the one omnipotent soul shall suffer the least abridgment. It was a small matter, and he would do it; all the islands of the Western Inde he would uproot and fling into the face of the Cuban governor before he would yield one jot of his stolen advantage. Each for himself were Velazquez, Columbus, and Charles, and the rest of this world’s great and little ones, and Cortés would be for himself. Henceforth, like Themistocles, though he would die for his country he would not trust her. Return to Cuba he well knew for him was death, or ignominy worse than death. His only way was toward Mexico. As well first as last. All the past life of Cortés, all his purposes for the future, concentred in these resolves to make them the pivot of his destiny. Cortés, master of kings, arbiter of men’s lives! As for these traitors, they shall die; and if other impediments appear, as presently we shall see them appear, be they in the form of eye or right hand, they shall be removed. Tyrant, he might be branded; ay, as well that as another name, for so are great ends often brought to pass by small means. Unpleasant as it may be, the survivors may as well bear in mind that it will be less difficult another time.

So the conspirators are promptly seized and sentenced, Escudero and Cermeño to be hanged, Umbría to lose his feet, and others to receive each two hundred lashes.[253] Under cover of his cloth Padre Diaz, the ringleader and most guilty of them all, escapes with a reprimand. As for the rest, though among them were some equally guilty, they were treated with such dissembling courtesy and prudence as either to render them harmless or to convert them into friends. “Happy the man who cannot write, if it save him from such business as this!” exclaimed the commander, as he affixed his name to the death-warrants. For notwithstanding his inexorable resolve he was troubled, and would not see his comrades die though they would have sacrificed him. On the morning of the day of execution he set off at breakneck speed for Cempoala, after ordering two hundred soldiers to follow with the horses and join a similar force which had left three days before under Alvarado.[254]

Cortés’ brain was in a whirl during that ride. It was a horrible thing, this hanging of Spaniards, cutting off feet, and flogging. Viewed in one light it was but a common piece of military discipline; from another stand-point it was the act of an outlaw. The greater part of the little army was with the commander; to this full extent the men believed in him, that on his valor and discretion they would adventure their lives. With most men beliefs are but prejudices, and opinions tastes. These Spaniards not only believed in their general, but they held to a most impetuous belief in themselves. They could do not only anything that any one else ever had done or could do, but they could command the supernatural, and fight with or against phantoms and devils. They were a host in themselves; besides which the hosts of Jehovah were on their side. And Cortés measured his men and their capabilities, not as Xerxes measured his army, by filling successively a pen capable of holding just ten thousand; he measured them rather by his ambition, which was as bright and as limitless as the firmament. Already they were heroes, whose story presently should vie in thrilling interest with the most romantic tales of chivalry and knight-errantry, and in whom the strongest human passions were so blended as to lift them for a time out of the hand of fate and make their fortunes their own. The thirst for wealth, the enthusiasm of religion, the love of glory, united with reckless daring and excessive loyalty, formed the most powerful incentives to action. Life to them without the attainment of their object was valueless; they would do or die; for to die in doing was life, whereas to live failing was worse than death. Cortés felt all this, though it scarcely lay on his mind in threads of tangible thought. There was enough however that was tangible in his thinkings, and exceedingly troubling. Unfortunately the mind and heart of all his people were not of the complexion he would have them. And those ships. And the disaffected men lying so near them, looking wistfully at them every morning, and plotting, and plotting all the day long. Like the Palatinate to Turenne, like anything that seduced from the stern purposes of Cortés, it were better they were not.

This thought once flashed into his mind fastened itself there. And it grew. And Cortés grew with it, until the man and the idea filled all that country, and became the wonder and admiration of the world. Destroy the ships! Cut off all escape, should such be needed in case of failure! Burn the bridge that spans time, and bring to his desperate desire the aid of the eternities! The thought of it alone was daring; more fearfully fascinating it became as Cortés dashed along toward Cempoala, and by the time he had reached his destination the thing was determined, and he might with Cæsar at the Rubicon exclaim, Jacta est alea! But what would his soldiers say? They must be made to feel as he feels, to see with his eyes, and to swell with his ambition.

The confession of the conspirators opened the eyes of Cortés to a fact which surely he had seen often enough before, though by reason of his generous nature which forgot an injury immediately it was forgiven, it had not been much in his mind of late, namely, that too many of his companions were lukewarm, if not openly disaffected. They could not forget that Cortés was a common man like themselves, their superior in name only, and placed over them for the accomplishment of this single purpose. They felt they had a right to say whether they would remain and take the desperate chance their leader seemed determined on, and to act on that right with or without his consent. And their position assuredly was sound; whether it was sensible depended greatly on their ability to sustain themselves in it. Cortés was exercising the arbitrary power of a majority to drive the minority as it appeared to their death. They had a perfect right to rebel; they had not entered the service under any such compact. Cortés himself was a rebel; hence the rebellion of the Velazquez men, being a rebelling against a rebel, was in truth an adherence to loyalty. Here as everywhere it was might that made right; and, indeed, with the right of these matters the narrator has little to do.

Success, shame, fear, bright prospects, had all lent their aid to hold the discontented in check, but in these several regards feeling and opinion were subject to daily fluctuations. Let serious danger or reverses come, and they would flee in a moment if they could. And the fleet lying so near was a constant temptation. Cut that off, and the nerves of every man there would be freshly strung. The meanest would suddenly become charged with a kind of nobility; they would at once become inspired with the courage that comes from desperation. Often those least inclined to fight when forced to it are the most indifferent to death. Other dormant elements would be brought out by the disappearance of those ships; union, fraternity, complete community, not only of interest but of life. Their leader with multiplied power would become their god. On him they would be dependent for all things; for food and raiment, for riches, glory, and every success; for life itself. Cortés saw all this, pondered it well, and thought it would be very pretty to play the god awhile. He would much prefer it to confinement in old Velazquez’ plaza-pen, or even in a Seville prison. Cortés was now certain in his own mind that if his band remained unbroken either by internal dissension or by white men yet to arrive, he would tread the streets of the Mexican capital before he entered the gates of the celestial city. If Montezuma would not admit him peaceably, he would gather such a force of the emperor’s enemies as would pull the kingdom down about his ears. It would be necessary on going inland to leave a garrison at Villa Rica; but it would be madness to leave also vessels in which they could sail away to Cuba or elsewhere. And finally, if the ships were destroyed, the sailors, who otherwise would be required to care for them, might be added to the army. Such were the arguments which the commander would use to win the consent of his people to one of the most desperate and daring acts ever conceived by a strategist of any age or nation.

Not that such consent was necessary. He might destroy the ships and settle with the soldiers afterward. The deed accomplished, with or without their consent, there would be but one course open to them. Nevertheless he preferred they should think themselves the authors of it rather than feel that they had been tricked, or in any way unfairly dealt with. And with the moral he would shift the pecuniary responsibility to their shoulders. So he went to work as usual, with instruments apparently independent, but whose every step and word were of his directing. One day quickly thereafter it came to pass that the masters of several of the largest ships appeared before the captain-general with lengthened faces well put on, with the sad intelligence that their respective craft were unseaworthy; indeed one of them had sunk already. They did not say they had secretly bored holes in them according to instructions. Cortés was surprised, nay he was painfully affected; Roscius himself could not have performed the part better; “for well he could dissemble when it served his purpose,” chimes in Las Casas. With Christian fortitude he said: “Well, the will of God be done; but look you sharply to the other ships.” Barnacles were then freely discussed, and teredos. And so well obeyed the mariners their instructions that soon they were able to swear that all the vessels save three were unsafe, and even these required costly repairs before they would be seaworthy.[255] Thus as by the hand of providence, to the minds of the men as they were able to bear it, the deed unfolded. Soon quite apparent became the expediency of abandoning such vessels as were leaking badly; there was trouble and no profit in attempting to maintain them, for they would surely have to be abandoned in the end. “And indeed, fellow-soldiers,” continued Cortés, “I am not sure but it were best to doom to destruction also the others, and so secure the coöperation of the sailors in the coming campaign, instead of leaving them in idleness to hatch fresh treachery.” This intimation was successful, as had been foreordained by the ruler of these events it should be. It was forthwith resolved to scuttle all the ships but one, the one brought by Salcedo. Accordingly Escalante, the alguacil mayor, a brave and able officer wholly devoted to Cortés, was sent down to Villa Rica to carry out the order, with the aid of the picked soldiers there stationed. Sails, anchors, cables, and everything that could be utilized were removed, and a few hours later some small boats were all that remained of the Cuban fleet.[256]

It was then the community first realized its situation. The followers of Cortés, with unbounded faith in their leader, did not so much care, but the partisans of Velazquez, few of whom knew that the affair had been coolly predetermined, were somewhat agitated. And when on closer inquiry they were enlightened by certain of the mariners, the cry arose that they were betrayed; they were lambs led to the slaughter. Cortés promptly faced the now furious crowd. What did they want? Were their lives more precious than those of the rest? “For shame! Be men!” he cried, in conclusion. “You should know ere this how vain are the attempts to thwart my purpose. Look on this magnificent land with its vast treasures, and narrow not your vision to your insignificant selves. Think of your glorious reward, present and to come, and trust in God, who, if it so please him, can conquer this empire with a single arm. Yet if there be one here still so craven as to wish to turn his back on the glories and advantages thus offered; if there be one here so base, so recreant to heaven, to his king, to his comrades, as to slink from such honorable duty, in God’s name let him go. There is one ship left, which I will equip at my own charge to give that man the immortal infamy he deserves.” This he said and much more, and to the desired effect. The speaker knew well how to play upon his men, as on an instrument, so that they would respond in any tune he pleased. Cheers rent the air as he concluded, in which the opposition were forced to join through very shame. Seeing which Cortés gently intimated, “Would it not be well to destroy the remaining vessel, and so make a safe, clean thing of it?” In the enthusiasm of the moment the act was consummated with hearty approval.[257]

“To Mexico!” was now the cry, and preparations for the march were at once made. Escalante, whose character and services had endeared him to Cortés, was placed in command of Villa Rica. The native chiefs were directed to regard him as the representative of the general, and to supply him with every requirement.[258]

Some nine days after the sinking of the fleet a messenger arrived from Escalante, announcing that four vessels[259] had passed by the harbor, refusing to enter, and had anchored three leagues off, at the mouth of a river. Fearing the descent upon him of Velazquez, Cortés hurried off with four horsemen, after selecting fifty soldiers to follow. Alvarado and Sandoval were left jointly in charge of the army, to the exclusion of Ávila, who manifested no little jealousy of the latter. Cortés halted at the town merely to learn particulars, declining Escalante’s hospitality with the proverb, “A lame goat has no rest.” On the way to the vessels they met a notary with two witnesses,[260] commissioned to arrange a boundary on behalf of Francisco de Garay, who claimed the coast to the north as first discoverer, and desired to form a settlement a little beyond Nautla. It appeared that Garay, who had come out with Diego Colon, and had risen from procurador of Española to become governor of Jamaica, had resolved to devote his great wealth to extending his fame as explorer and colonizer. On learning from Alaminos and his fellow voyagers of the coasts discovered in this direction, he resolved to revive the famed projects of Ponce de Leon, and with this view despatched a small fleet in 1518, under Diego de Camargo.[261] Driven back by the Floridans with great slaughter, says Gomara, the expedition sailed down to Pánuco River, again to be repulsed, with the loss of some men, who were flayed and eaten. Torralba, steward of Garay, was then sent to Spain, and there, with the aid of Garay’s friends, obtained for him a commission as adelantado and governor of the territories that he might discover north of Rio San Pedro y San Pablo.[262] Meanwhile a new expedition was despatched to Pánuco, under Alonso Álvarez Pineda, to form a settlement and to barter for gold. After obtaining some three thousand pesos, Pineda sailed southward to take possession and to select a site for the colony.[263]

And now while the notary is endeavoring to arrange matters with Cortés, Pineda waits for him a little distance from the shore. At that moment Cortés cared little for Garays or boundaries; but he would by no means object to a few more Spaniards to take the place of those he had hanged, and of others whom he might yet be obliged to hang. To this end he converted perforce to his cause the notary and his attendants. Then learning from them that Pineda could on no account be prevailed on to land for a conference, Cortés signalled to the vessels with the hope that more men would come on shore. This failing, he bethought himself of letting three of his men exchange clothes with the new-comers and approach the landing, while he marched back with the rest in full view of the vessels. As soon as it grew dark, the whole force returned to hide near the spot. It was not till late the following morning that the suspicious Pineda responded to the signals from shore, and sent off a boat with armed men. The trio now withdrew behind some bushes, as if for shade. Four Spaniards and one Indian landed, armed with two firelocks and two cross-bows, and on reaching the shrubbery they were pounced upon by the hidden force, while the boat pushed off to join the vessels all ready to sail.[264]