FOOTNOTES
[14] Solis and Herrera say 250; Gomara and Galvano, 200; Peter Martyr, 300, etc.
[15] Torquemada, i. 358, asserts that Montejo furnished his own vessel, and that Alonso Hernandez Puertocarrero, Alonso Dávila, Diego de Ordaz, and others, went at their own cost.
[16] As upon this point, that is to say, the orders and their fulfilment, turned the destiny, not only of Grijalva, but of the conquest, there has been much controversy over it. ‘Si Iuan de Grijalua supiera conocer aquella buena vẽtura, y poblara alli como los de su compañia le rogauan, fuera otro Cortes, mas no era para el tanto bien, ni lleuaua comission de poblar.’ Gomara, Hist. Ind., 57-8. Partisans of Cortés regard Grijalva with disdain, while no one seems greatly to care for Velazquez. Bernal Diaz was of opinion that the matter of founding a colony was left to Grijalva’s discretion; but Las Casas, who had much better opportunities for knowing, being intimate with the governor, and at special pains to ascertain the truth of the matter, states clearly that Grijalva’s instructions were positive, that he should not settle but only trade. ‘Bartolome de las Casas, autor de mucha fe, y que con particular cuydado lo quiso saber, y era gran amigo, y muy intimo de Diego Velazquez, dize que fue la instruccion que espressamente no poblasse, sino q̄ solamente rescatasse.’ Herrera, dec. ii. lib. iii. cap. i. So hold Torquemada, Solis, and all careful writers on the subject.
[17] Or as he calls himself, ‘capellano maggior’ of the armada. Long before the soldier, Bernal Diaz, published his ‘True History,’ Juan Diaz had given to the world an account of the voyage, Itinerario de la isola de Iuchatan, following the Itinerario de Ludovico de Varthema Bolognese nella Egitto, etc., in a volume printed at Venice in 1520. Juan Diaz disputes the honor with Bartolomé de Olmedo of having first said mass in the city of Mexico.
[18] Here again Prescott falls into error in attempting to follow a manuscript copy of Juan Diaz, without due heed to the standard chroniclers. Mr Prescott writes, Mex., i. 224, ‘The fleet left the port of St Jago de Cuba, May 1, 1518,’ and refers to the Itinerario of Juan Diaz in proof of his statement. But Juan Diaz makes no such statement. ‘Sabbato il primo giorno del mese de Marzo,’ he says, Itinerario, in Icazbalceta, Col. Doc., i. 281, ‘de questo sopradito anno parti il dicto capitaneo de larmata de lisola Fernandina.’ Saturday, the 1st day of May, the armada left the island of Fernandina, or Cuba. The writer does not intimate that they left the port of Santiago on that day, which, as a matter of fact, they did not, but the extreme western point of the island, Cape San Antonio. This Prescott might further have learned from Herrera, dec. ii. lib. iii. cap. i., ‘Despachado pues Iuan de Grijalua de todo punto, salio del puerto de Sãtiago de Cuba, a ocho de Abril deste año de 1518;’ from Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 6, who states that all met and attended mass at Matanzas, the 5th of April, just prior to sailing; ‘Y despues de auer oîdo Missa con gran deuocion, en cinco dias del mes de Abril de mil y quinientos y diez y ocho años dimos vela;’ from Solis, Conq. Mex., 25, ‘tardaron finalmente en hacerse á la mar hasta los ocho de Abril;’ from Robertson, Hist. Am., i. 241, ‘He sailed from St Jago de Cuba on the 8th of April,’ etc. Ternaux-Compans perpetrates two gross blunders in the first four lines of his translation of this Itinerario of Juan Diaz. First he writes March for May, ‘equivocando,’ as Icazbalceta says, ‘la palabra mazo del original con marzo.’ and, secondly, he brings the fleet to Cozumel Island on the 4th, when his author writes the 3d, which is enough, without the palpable absurdity of making Monday the 4th day of a month wherein the previous Saturday was the 1st. Oviedo states, i. 503, that ‘salieron del puerto de la cibdad de Sanctiago á los veynte é çinco dias del mes de enero;’ that they were at Matanzas the 12th of February, at Habana the 7th of April; that they left Matanzas finally the 20th of April, and San Antonio the 1st of May, in all which, except the last statement, he is somewhat confused.
[19] Like a good soldier, Bernal Diaz makes the time fit the occasion. ‘A este pueblo,’ he says, Hist. Verdad., 7, ‘pusimos por nombre Santa Cruz; porq̄ quatro, ò cinco diaz antes de Santa Cruz le vimos.’ The native name of the island was Acusamil—Landa, Rel. de Yuc., 20, writes it Cuzmil; Cogolludo, Hist. Yucathan, 10, Cuzamil—Swallow’s Island, which was finally corrupted into the Cozumel of the Spaniards. Mercator, indeed, writes Acusamil, in 1569, although Colon, Ribero, and Hood had previously given coçumel, cozumel, and Cosumel, respectively. Vaz Dourado comes out, in 1571, with quoqumell, since which time the name has been generally written as at present.
[20] Some of the authorities apply the name Santa Cruz to a port; others to a town found there; but it was unquestionably the island to which they gave this name. ‘A questa isola de Coçumel che ahora se adimanda Santa Croce.’ Diaz, Itinerario, in Icazbalceta, Col. Doc., i. 287. ‘Se le puso nombre á esta ĩsla Sancta Cruz, á la qual los indios llaman Coçumel.’ Oviedo, i. 504.
[21] This, according to Diaz; Oviedo says they landed on Wednesday, the 5th, and again on the 6th; and Bernal Diaz affirms that the landing took place on the south side of the island.
[22] It was the crosses, which the Spaniards here regarded of miraculous origin, more than any physical feature which after all gave the name to these shores. Cortés established it for all the region under Aztec sway, and under the viceroys it was applied to all the Spanish possessions north of Guatemala, including the undefined territories of California and New Mexico. Humboldt, Essai Pol., i. 6-7, and others, have even shown an inclination to embrace thereunder Central America, but for this there is not sufficient authority. See Medina, Chron. de San Diego de Mex., 227; Lopez Vaz, in Purchas, His Pilgrimes, iv. 1432, and Gottfriedt, Newe Welt, 74; also Torquemada, from Herrera, and several standard authors. New Spain was for a long time divided into the three kingdoms of New Spain, New Galicia, and New Leon, each composed of several provinces. Under the administration of Galvez, this division gave way to intendencias, among them Mexico and a few provinces, and New Spain came to be limited in the north by the Provincias Internas, though including for a time at least the Californias. With the independence the name New Spain was replaced by Mexico, less because this term applied to the leading province and to the capital, than because the name was hallowed by association with the traditions of the people, whose blood as well as sympathies contained far more of the aboriginal element than of the imported. On Colon’s map the name is given in capital letters, Nova Spaña. Under Nveva España Ribero writes dixose asì por que ay aquy muchas cosas que ay en españa ay ya mucho trigo q̄ an lleuado de aca entanta cantidad q̄ lo pueden encargar para otras partes ay aquy mucho oro de nacimiento. Robert Thorne, in Hakluyt’s Voy., carries Hispania Noua east and west through Central America, while Ramusio, Viaggi, iii. 455, places La Nova Spagna in large letters across the continent.
[23] It is remarkable, as I have often observed, how two eye-witnesses can sometimes tell such diametrically opposite stories; not only in regard to time and minor incidents, but to place and prominent events. In this instance Diaz the priest is no less positive and minute in placing the affair at Campeche, than is Diaz the soldier, at Champoton. The second-rate authorities, following these two writers who were present, are divided, by far the greater number, Herrera among the rest, accepting the statement of Bernal Diaz. Oviedo, who was a resident of the Indies at the time, describes the battle as occurring at Campeche. Perhaps one reason why the soldier-scribe has more adherents than the priest, is because the existence of the narrative of the latter was not so well known. Las Casas affirms, Hist. Ind., iv. 425, that the pilot unintentionally passed Lázaro’s port, or Campeche, and landed and fought at Champoton. ‘Llegaron, pues, al dicho pueblo (que, como dije, creo que fué Champoton, y no el de Lázaro).’
[24] Puerto Escondido. On the maps of Colon and Hood it is placed as one of the eastern entrances of the Laguna de Términos, the former writing p. deseado, and the latter P. desiado; Gomara places the Laguna de Términos between Puerto Deseado and Rio Grijalva. On Ribero’s map, north of Escondido, isla ger, Vaz Dourado marking in the same locality p:. seqo amgratriste, Dampier gives Boca Eschondido, and Jefferys, Boca Escondida.
[25] Velazquez had instructed his captain to sail round the island of Yucatan. Cortés, in 1519, ordered Escobar to survey this sheet, which was found to be a bay and shallow. Still the pilots and chart-makers wrote it down an island. It is worthy of remark that in the earliest drawings, like Colon’s, in 1527, the maker appears undecided, but Ribero, two years later, boldly severs the peninsula from the continent with a strait. See Goldschmidt’s Cartog. Pac. Coast, MS., i. 412-14. The earliest cartographers all write terminos, Ribero marking a small stream flowing into the lagoon, R:. de x p̅ianos. Here also is the town and point of Jicalango. Ogilby calls the lagoon Lago de Xicalango, east of which is the name Nra Sra de la Vitoria; Dampier places south of Laguna Termina the town Chukabul; Jefferys writes in large letters, a little south of Laguna de Xicalango or Terminos, the words Quehaches Indios Bravos. Kohl thinks Puerto Escondido may be the Puerto Deseado of Grijalva mentioned by Gomara.
[26] Of ‘la isola riccha chiamata Ualor,’ as the chaplain calls it, Diaz, Itinerario, in Icazbalceta, Col. Doc., i. 295, ‘descoprir una altra terra che se dice Mulua.’ Alaminos believed New Spain to be another island distinct from Yucatan. The natives called it Coluá, says Las Casas, Hist. Ind., iv. 428.
[27] On the chart of Cortés, 1520, it is called R:. de Guzalua, and placed west instead of east of Rio Santa Ana. Ribero writes, R:. de grisalua; Vaz Dourado, Ro. de grigalua; Hood, R. de Grisalua; Mercator’s Atlas, 1574, has a town, Tausco; Ogilby, Dampier, and Jefferys employ the name Tabasco. Kohl ascribes the name of the river San Pedro y San Pablo to Grijalva. Colon has R:. de s. pablo; Ribero, R. de s:. Pabo; Munich Atlas, No. iv., rio de s. p.; Baptista Agnese, rio de S. paulo; Hood, R. de S. Pablo; Ogilby, S. Paulo: Dampier, St. Peter, St. Paul, etc. As there are plenty of streams in that vicinity Herrera gives one to Grijalva and still leaves the chieftain, Tabasco, his own.
[28] It is Las Casas who testifies to 6,000; Bernal Diaz enumerates 50 canoes; Herrera speaks of three Xiquipiles of 8,000 men each, standing ready in that vicinity to oppose the Spaniards, waiting only for the word to be given.
[29] Not ‘Culba, Culba, Mexico, Mexico,’ as Bernal Diaz has it. The natives pronounced the word Culhua only; but this author, finding that Culhua referred to Mexico, puts the word Mexico into the mouth of Tabasco and his followers. Long before the Aztecs, a Toltec tribe called the Acolhuas, or Culhuas, had settled in the valley of Mexico. The name is more ancient than that of Toltec, and the Mexican civilization might perhaps as appropriately be called Culhua as Nahua. The name is interpreted ‘crooked’ from coloa, bend; also ‘grandfather’ from colli. Colhuacan might therefore signify Land of our Ancestors. Under Toltec dominion a tripartite confederacy had existed in the valley of Anáhuac, and when the Aztecs became the ruling nation, this alliance was reëstablished. It was composed of the Acolhua, Aztec, and Tepanec kingdoms, the Aztec king assuming the title Culhua Tecuhtli, chief of the Culhuas. It is evident that the Culhuas had become known throughout this region by their conquests, and by their culture, superior as it was to that of neighboring tribes. The upstart Aztecs were only too proud to identify themselves with so renowned a people. The name Culhua was retained among the surrounding tribes, and applied before Grijalva to the Mexican country, where gold was indeed abundant.
[30] ‘Das grosse Fest des heiligen Antonius von Padua fällt auf den 13 Juni, und dies giebt uns also eine Gelegenheit eines der Daten der Reise des Grijalva, deren uns die Berichterstatter, wie immer, nur wenige geben, genau festzusetzen.’ Kohl, Beiden ältesten Karten, 105. Cortés, in his chart of the Gulf of Mexico, 1520, calls it Santo Anton; Fernando Colon, 1527, R. de la Balsa, with the name G. de s. anton to the gulf; Ribero, 1529, r: de Sãton; Globe of Orontius, 1531, C. S. ãto; Vaz Dourado, 1571, rio de S. ana; Hood, 1592, R. de S. Antonio, etc. For Santa Ana Dampier in 1699 lays down St. Anns, and Jefferys in 1776, B. St. Ann.
[31] Cortés calls it Rio de totuqualquo; Colon, R. de gasacalcos; Ribero, R. de guasacalco; Orontius, R. de qualqo; Vaz Dourado, R.o de de guaqaqa; Hood, R. de Guaca; Mercator, Quacaqualco; De Laet, Ogilby, R. de Guazacoalco; Jefferys, R. Guazacalo; Dampier, R. Guazacoalco or Guashigwalp.
[32] Colon gives it, Sierras de San mrtí; Vaz Dourado, seras de S. martin; Hood, Sierras de St. min; Ogilby, Sierras de S. Martin; Dampier, St. Martin’s High Land, and St. Martin’s Point. This soldier, San Martin, was a native of Habana.
[33] Herrera makes the Indian name Papaloava; Bernal Diaz, Papalohuna, Cortés, 1520, and Orontius, 1531, give R. d alvarado; Colon, 1527, R: del comendador aluarado; Ribero, 1529, R:. de Aluarado; Vaz Dourado, 1571, Ro. de Alluorado, etc. ‘Die Karte von 1527 hat den Rio del comendador Alvarado etwas weiter westlich, jenseits des Rio de banderas, welches keineswegs mit den Berichten des Bernal Diaz übereinstimmt.’ Kohl, Beiden ältesten Karten, 106.
[34] Some of the early maps place this stream incorrectly east of the Papaloapan; where Ribero writes P. delgada, first east from R: de uanderas, Vaz Dourado writes p:. de hiqada.
[35] The Chaplain Diaz affirms that ten days were passed on the mainland, where Indians dressed in mantles brought them food, and where they melted their gold into bars; and that on the San Juan Island they appointed one of the natives cacique, christening him Ovando. ‘El capitaneo li disse che non volevano se non oro et loro resposseno che lo portariano laltro giorno portorono oro fondido in verghe et lo capitaneo li disse che portasseno molto d quello.’ Itinerario, in Icazbalceta, Col. Doc., i. 299.
[36] To distinguish it, Herrera says, from San Juan de Puerto Rico. On the chart of Cortés, 1520, the B:. de Sant Juan is laid down, but no other names are given except that of Sacrificios Island, which is placed some distance out and called Ys della creficio. On Orontius’ globe, 1531, three islands are called Insula Sacrifici. Colon lays down R: de s. Juhan; R. salado; R: de s. x pouae (christobal); villa rica, and yeo: de sacreficios. Ribero designates R:. de s. Jua; R:. de cãpual; uilla rica, and y:.a de saćficios. Vaz Dourado writes R.o de Säo (santo) Joáo (Juan); llaueracrus (la vera cruz), and uilla riqua (villa rica). Hood gives R. de medelin; S. Jon delua; Laueracruz; Sen Jual; Villa Rica; and marks the point south of Vera Cruz P. de antonisardo. Mercator gives Villa Rica; Ogilby, S. Juan de Luz, and north of it Villarica. On another of his maps we find S. Juan de Lua; Pta de Anto Sardo, I. y Fuerca de la vera Cruz nueva, La Vera Cruz, R. Medelin, and Yas de Sacrificios. See further Cartography North Am., MS., i. 531. Las Casas confounds the islands Sacrificios and Ulua, calling them one. The Spaniards supposed the continent thereabout, far into the interior, was known to the natives as Culhua; hence we find Velazquez, in his instructions to Cortés, Mendoza, Col. Doc., xii. 227, speaking of ‘una tierra grande, que parte della se llama Ulúa, que puso por nombre Santa María de las Nieves.’ See also Oviedo, i. 539.
CHAPTER III.
RETURN OF GRIJALVA. A NEW EXPEDITION ORGANIZED.
1518.
Refusal of Grijalva to Settle—Alvarado Sent back to Cuba—Grijalva Continues his Discovery—After Reaching the Province of Pánuco he Turns back—Touching at the Rio Goazacoalco, Tonalá, the Laguna de Términos, and Champoton, the Expedition Returns to Cuba—Grijalva Traduced and Discharged—A New Expedition Planned—Velazquez Sends to Santo Domingo and Spain—Characters of Velazquez and Grijalva Contrasted—Candidates for the Captaincy of the New Expedition—The Alcalde of Santiago Successful—His Standing at that Time.
At various places during this expedition, notably where is now Vera Cruz, and at the River Tabasco, both in coming and returning, Grijalva’s men begged permission to settle and subdue the country. In their desire to remain they pictured to themselves all the pleasures of the abandoned crew of Ulysses, in a land as happy as that of which Horace sang, where Ceres decked untilled fields with sheaves and Bacchus revelled under purple-clustered vines. And they were angry with their commander for not breaking the instructions which forbade his colonizing. Pedro de Alvarado was particularly chafed by the restraint, though he kept his temper until he obtained permission to return to Cuba with one of the vessels[37] which had become unseaworthy, so as to report to the governor the progress of the discovery, and obtain recruits and fresh supplies, with permission to found a colony. Beside some fifty sick persons, all the gold, cotton, and other articles obtained from the natives thus far were placed in Alvarado’s ship, which sailed the 24th of June. The remainder of the expedition continued its now north-westward course past Nautla,[38] which the Spaniards called Almería, and with the mountains of Tuxpan[39] in full view, advanced as far as Cabo Rojo, some say as far as the Rio de Pánuco.[40] The entrance to the large lagoon now known as the Bahía de Tanguijo, was mistaken for a river and named Rio de Canoas. On anchoring here the ships of the Spaniards were fiercely attacked by the occupants of twelve canoes,[41] which came out from a large city compared by the worthy chaplain to Seville in size and magnificence, in common with other towns along this seaboard; and as if this were not strange enough, the same authority goes on to relate a miracle which happened here because Grijalva refused the soldiers leave to sack the place; how a star, poised above the fleet after sunset, shot toward the town and hung over it invitingly, as if Jehovah signified his pleasure that the Christians should seize the city.[42]
After beating back the canoes the Spaniards proceeded, but found their course impeded by the currents off Cabo Rojo; from which circumstance, together with the hostility of the natives, the rapidity with which the season was advancing, and the condition of the ships, they determined to return. Turning toward the southward, therefore, they were carried past the River Goazacoalco by boisterous winds, and entered Tonalá to careen and repair a leaky vessel.[43] Again the men blasphemed and held the commander in derision because he would not settle. After several failures in starting they continued the voyage, encountered bad weather, touched at Deseado for water, engaged in a parting fight with the natives of Champoton, sailed again, and the fifth reached San Lázaro, where they were led into ambush while searching for water, and attacked. After helping themselves to maize they embarked, followed the shore past Rio de Lagartos, the Comi of the natives, whence they sailed for Cuba, and arrived at Matanzas about the first of November.[44]
When Grijalva cast anchor in the bay of Matanzas his heart beat high with promise. He had returned successful from a brilliant discovery, in which had begun that pronounced mastery of life which is the dream of every chivalrous mind. There had been nothing in the least irrational in his policy, or fickle or factious in his conduct. He had used diligence and discretion, had been true to his companions, and faithful to his king and to his chief. Surely his uncle would praise him, his governor would reward him, and his king would intrust him with new commissions. So he deserved; so he had every reason to expect, and hence it was with pride and pleasure that he once more set foot on Isla Fernandina.
But, unfortunately, this most virtuous cavalier was now destined to reap the too common reward of honest service in the cause of a vicious master. Scarcely had Grijalva landed, when a letter from the governor was placed in his hand, ordering him to repair with his ships at once to Santiago, and at the same time to notify his soldiers that opportunity would be quickly given all who desired to embark in a fresh adventure to New Spain, and that meanwhile they might rest themselves at the governor’s farms in that vicinity. Then, too, he first learned how Velazquez, ever fickle and distrustful as are all timid and unscrupulous men, becoming nervous concerning the fleet, had sent Cristóbal de Olid in a small vessel with seven soldiers to search and report; and that on reaching the coast of Yucatan a storm had obliged the explorer to part with his anchor and return to Cuba.[45] Before the return of Olid, Alvarado had arrived with the gold and good tidings from the armada, which gave the governor unbounded joy. Grijalva had yet to learn, however, how Alvarado, not forgetting the censure bestowed on him for disobedience, had not failed to color the conduct of his commander to suit his own ends. Grijalva’s repeated refusals to colonize were paraded as the gross mistakes of a stubborn and spiritless man; the coolness and bravery displayed at Champoton were made to appear as reckless imprudence; and as the governor thought of the danger to which his adventure had there been subjected, he became alarmed. “Had I lost all,” he muttered, “it would have been a just penalty for sending such a fool.” And now both Dávila and Montejo poured fresh poison into the ear of the governor respecting his nephew, in revenge for similar fancied injuries; so that when Grijalva reported himself to Velazquez at Santiago, he was told to go his way, since the governor had no further use for him.
Indeed, this line of action had been for some time determined on. Immediately upon the arrival of Alvarado, a new expedition had been planned, in which Grijalva was not to participate. The latter was hurt, almost to death. He had conferred a great benefit on this Tiberius of an uncle; but as affection is heightened by the conferring of benefits, so it is often lessened by the acceptance of them. Not long after, Juan de Salcedo was sent to Santo Domingo for permission to colonize New Spain, and Benito Martin, chaplain and man of business, was despatched to Spain[46] with a full account of the discovery, and with gold for the bishop of Búrgos. Haste seemed necessary to Velazquez lest some one might anticipate and rob him of the honors and emoluments won through Grijalva’s efforts. Nor were forgotten the Licentiate Zapata and the Secretary Conchillos; and so happily were distributed the Indian villages of Cuba among these conscientious men of Spain, that Velazquez gained all his requests, with the title of adelantado of Cuba added.
How different the quality of these two men, Velazquez and Grijalva, and both so widely different from the phœnix now about to rise from their ashes! The character of the governor was like a candle flame, hot without and hollow within. Almost as much as gold he loved glory, the brass and tinsel of it, but lacked both the ability and the courage to achieve noble distinction. As easily worked upon by designing men as Othello, there was in him none of the nobility of the Moor; and, possessing no great integrity himself, he was very ready to suspect treachery in others.
Grijalva, on the other hand, was the Lysander of New World discovery; of a modest though manly spirit, obedient to customs and superior authority, preferring honor and duty to self and pleasure, native to generous action, the very faults brought out by his enemies shine brilliant as virtues. He was as chivalrous as any Spaniard that ever drew steel on naked savage, as brave and talented as any. But he lacked the unscrupulous positiveness inseparable here from permanent success. He was resolute in overcoming difficulties, and he was strong and shrewd enough in the prosecution of any high enterprise, particularly so long as fortune favored him; but he was no match for the subtle-minded of his own nation, who overwhelmed him in their show of learning, backed by imposing forms. All contemporary writers speak well of him; likewise all the chroniclers, except Gomara, who permits chivalry no place save in his pet and patron, Cortés. The soldier Bernal Diaz pronounces him a most worthy officer. The historians Oviedo and Herrera call him a comely man, thoroughly loyal, and never backward at fighting. Yet we are told that some censured him, while others cursed him outright for his conscientiousness, because he did not break orders and seize opportunity. So ready were they to engage in the fallacious argument that it was right to do wrong if good might come of it. To disobey Velazquez, they said, was to break no divine law; forgetting that the governor derived his authority from the king, and the king from the Almighty. Of a truth, when force alone is the standard of right, then honesty is not the best policy. For a time he carried himself with a brave front, conscious of his integrity, yet we may say he was laid low forever by the blow misfortune here gave him.[47] Meanwhile patience, good governor! For soon enough will arise an agent capable of playing shrewd tricks to your ample contentment.
Before the return of Grijalva, interest in the new expedition had already raised itself into a whirl of excitement; and as volunteers pressed forward, the captaincy became an apple of discord among aspirants. Chief among these were Vasco Porcallo a near relative of the count of Feria, Antonio Velazquez,[48] and Bernardino Velazquez, the last two kinsmen of the governor. Another was Baltasar Bermudez,[49] from Velazquez’ own town, and his intimate friend. None of these suited. Then followed for the governor nights of troubled dreams and days of irritable indecision. It was a peculiar personage Velazquez wanted. He must be, in Mexico, courageous, wise, and prudent; in Cuba, obedient, teachable. He must be able to command men, to brave the proudest barbarian, and so fired by enthusiasm in the field as cheerfully to endure hardships and risk life; his work successfully accomplished, he must return humbly to Santiago, and lay his trophies at the feet of his master. Grijalva was most nearly such a man; but he lacked that subtle second sense which should tell him when it was the governor’s pleasure to have his orders disobeyed. Porcallo was competent, but Velazquez was afraid of him. He was scarcely farther from the throne than himself; and in reporting any important conquest to the king would prove the greater of the two. The relatives present were worse, if anything, than Grijalva; besides, they had no means, and to this position the successful aspirant must bring money as well as courage and discretion. Bermudez might be eligible, but for his services, in braving the dangers, and bringing the results of the expedition to Velazquez, he had the temerity to demand three thousand ducats. The proposition was not for a moment to be entertained; the job must be accomplished for less money.
Watchful eyes saw the governor’s dilemma, and artful tongues wagged opportunely. Near to him in their daily vocations were two men, both small in stature, but large of head, and broad in experience and sagacity. One was the governor’s secretary, Andrés de Duero, and the other the royal contador, Amador de Láres. Both possessed rare attainments; they were skilled in every artifice, and could make their master see white or black; while Láres could not write, he had not failed to profit by a twenty-two years’ career in Italy, during which time he rose to the honorable distinction of chief butler to the Gran Capitan, and he seldom found it difficult to move the unstable Velazquez to his purposes, although they were not always the purest and best.[50] Following the example of the governor, these two worthies were not averse to improving their fortunes by securing, at little risk or expense, an interest in the New Spain conquest; and so they gave heed when the alcalde of Santiago softly insinuated that he was the man for the emergency, and that if they would help him to the command they should share the profits.[51]
The alcalde of Santiago bore a fair reputation, considering the time and place; for comparatively few names in the New World were then wholly free from taint. In the prime of manhood, his age being thirty-three, of full medium stature, well proportioned and muscular, with full breast, broad shoulders, square full forehead, small straight spare compact body and well turned limbs, though somewhat bow-legged, he presented a pleasing rather than imposing front. His portraits show fine antique features, bearing a somewhat sad expression, which was increased by the grave tenderness of the dark oval eyes. The full though thin beard, cut short, counteracted to some extent the effect of the small ash-colored face, and served to cover a deep scar on the lower lip, the memento of a duel fought in behalf of a certain frail fair one.
He was an exceedingly popular alcalde; there was nothing staid or sombre in his method of administering justice. The law was less to him than expediency, and his standard of right was easily shifted, according to circumstances. In wit and vivacity he was a Mercutio. Astute of intellect, discreet, of a cheerful, even jovial disposition, with brilliant intuitions and effervescent animal spirits, he knew how to please, how to treat every man as best he liked to be treated. A cavalier of the Ojeda and Balboa type, he was superior to either. He would not, like the former, woo danger for the mere pleasure of it, nor, like the latter, tamely trust his forfeited head to any governor. Life was of value to him; yet adventure was the rhythm of it, and the greater the peril the greater the harmony secured. An hidalgo of respectable antecedents, whatever he might have been, or might be, he now played the part of magistrate to perfection. As a matter of course, he was in entire sympathy with the religious views of the day, as well as with the leading men among the clergy. Indeed the friars ever praised him, believing him to be a zealous and conscientious man; he made it a point that they should. The moral ideal of the Japanese is politeness. Politeness is virtue. They do not say that lying and stealing are wrong, but impolite. While the alcalde if pressed must confess himself an optimist, believing that whatever is, is best, yet in practice that best he would better, and whatsoever his strength permitted, it was right for him to do. He was a sort of Mephistopheles, decked in manners and guided by knowledge. Besides the world, he knew books, and how to make somewhat of them. Earnestly devoted to the service of the church, many of his acts yet met with its most unqualified condemnation. Possessed of vehement aspirations, his ambition was of the aggressive kind; not like that of Velazquez, mercenary and timid. Like Tigellinus Sophonius, it was to his pleasing person and unscrupulous character that the alcalde owed his rise from poverty and obscurity; and now, like Phaethon, if for one day he might drive the governor’s sun-chariot across the heavens, it would be his own fault if he were not a made man. This much at this time we may say of Hernan[52] Cortés, for such was the alcalde’s name; which is more than he could say for himself, not knowing himself as we know him, and more than his associates could say of him. Hereafter as his character develops we shall become further acquainted with him. It is as difficult to detect the full-grown plant in a seed as in a stone, and yet the seed will become a great tree, while the stone remains a stone.
And so, with the aid of his loving friends Duero and Láres, whose deft advice worked successfully on the plastic mind of Velazquez, and because he possessed some money and many friends, as well as courage and wisdom, the alcalde of Santiago was proclaimed captain-general of the expedition.[53] And now, while the heathen wail let the Spaniards rejoice. Yes. Noble Castilian! cry aloud! for gold shall fill the coffers of your king as they were never filled before, and great shall be the glory of your kingdom; and if the sight of the blood your captains shall draw from the hapless savages, even more freely than gold is drawn, does not spoil your appetite for the game, then whet your swords for the grand pacification.