MARCH—A SONG.
THE WORDS AND MUSIC COMPOSED FOR MERRY’S MUSEUM.
March is like a child,
Now gentle and now wild;
March is like a child,
Now gentle and now wild;
To-day, the soft winds blow,
To-morrow it doth snow,
To-day the soft winds blow,
To-morrow it doth snow.
March is like a rill,
Now roaring, and now still;
Today the blast is stinging,
To-morrow birds are singing.
March is like a cloud,
Now bright, and now a shroud;
To-day the warm rain falls,
To-morrow we have squalls.
March is like a bear,
With sharp claws and soft hair;
To-day ’tis rough and wild,
To-morrow, all is mild.
THE HARPY EAGLE.
MERRY’S MUSEUM.
VOLUME III.—No. 4.
Montezuma.
Sketches of the Manners, Customs, &c., of the Indians of America.
CHAPTER XV.
Description of Mexico.—Montezuma.—Landing of Cortez.—His reception.—Advances towards the Capitol.—War with the Tlascalans.
In the first part I have related, briefly, but with as much clearness as possible, the history of the Indians of the West Indian Islands, and of South America. I have described their customs and manners, and traced the progress of the Spaniards and other Europeans from the “Landing of Columbus,” till all the islands, and the greater part of the southern continent were subjected to the invaders. We will now turn to North America, and pursue the fortunes of the Red Man from the burning clime of Darien to the cold regions of the Arctic sea.
At the time of the discovery of the New World, the region which is at present known by the name of the Republic of Mexico, extending from the Pacific to the Gulf of Mexico, and from the United States to Guatemala, was called Anahuac. This vast country was inhabited by several independent nations, of which the Mexicans were by far the greatest and most civilized. Their capital city, Mexico, was situated on a group of islands in the Lake of Texcuco, partly natural and partly formed by the labor of the inhabitants. The lake of Texcuco lay in a large and beautiful valley, called the Vale of Mexico, in the central part of the country of Anahuac. From the shore, three great dykes or causeways, formed of stone and earth, led to the city, the appearance of which must have been magnificent, even to men of enlightened Europe.
The houses of the common people were mostly low wooden buildings, arranged with the greatest regularity. But the dwellings of the nobility were of stone, and some of them spacious and magnificent. The city was adorned with numerous temples, the principal of which was the great temple of their god Mexitli, the Mars of the Mexicans. This was an enormous four-sided pyramid, one hundred and twenty feet high; on one side were steps to ascend to the top, which was a square platform. On this were two small temples, containing images of their gods and altars, on which, (horrible to relate!) great numbers of human victims were sacrificed every year, by this inhuman people.
The lake around was covered with vessels of all descriptions, and numbers of floating gardens, filled with the most beautiful flowers. Numerous canals were cut through the city, in which the boats of the natives were constantly passing, as in the great towns of Holland.
But all this greatness and splendor was not, as might be supposed, the growth of many ages of prosperity; from the foundation of the city, according to the account of the natives, to its capture by Cortez, in 1520, had elapsed a period of only one hundred and ninety-five years. The ancient history of the Aztec or Mexican nations, as given in their own annals, is as follows:—
“During the twelfth and thirteenth centuries after Christ, a great number of nations or tribes arrived at Anahuac, from some country to the north; they are supposed by many to have come, originally, from Tartary, crossing over to America at Bhering’s straits; but of this we have no certain proof. The first who arrived, found the country entirely unoccupied, except by a few stragglers, the remnant of a great and highly cultivated people, called Saltees, who formerly possessed the country, and had been destroyed, or driven away by famine and pestilence. To them are ascribed the pyramid of Cholula, and many other works of power and skill; and to them the new comers were indebted for their knowledge of many of the arts of civilized life.
“The Aztecs or Mexicans were the last of the emigrating nations who arrived in this country. For a long time they remained an insignificant tribe, living in the most wretched condition, on the borders of the lake of Tezcuco, often in a state of slavery to the neighboring kings. At last, having regained their freedom, they settled, in the year 1325, on a group of islands in the lake, and here founded the city of Mexico.
“This city, after remaining for about twenty years a mere collection of wretched huts, suddenly began to increase with wonderful rapidity. By a long series of wars, undertaken partly through desire of conquest and partly for the horrid purpose of obtaining victims for their human, or, rather, inhuman sacrifices, the Mexicans rendered themselves masters of nearly all the country of Anahuac. A few states, however, among which was the brave little republic of Tlascala, still maintained their independence, almost at the gates of the capital.”
Such was the state of affairs at the time when Montezuma II. mounted the throne, in the year 1502. Before, and for a short time after his accession, he was esteemed a prince of a mild and humble disposition, and of the greatest wisdom. But his real character soon began to appear. He showed himself haughty, arrogant, and cruel, and a merciless oppressor of the common people. At the same time, he was liberal to those who faithfully served him, and a brave, and successful warrior. He founded a hospital for his disabled soldiers, built many magnificent edifices, and added much, by his conquests, to the extent of his dominions.
In a war, however, with the brave republicans of Tlascala, he did not meet with his usual success. The Tlascalans having sent an embassy to the Mexican court, to complain of grievances which they suffered from their neighbors, received for answer, that the king of Mexico was lord of all the world, and all mortals were his vassals; and that, as such, the Tlascalans should render him due obedience, and acknowledge him by tribute; if they refused, they were to be utterly destroyed, and their country given to another people.
To this arrogant demand, the Tlascalans returned a brave and spirited refusal, and both nations immediately prepared for war. The Mexicans were, by far, the most numerous, but they wanted the courage which their enemies derived from the feeling that they fought for life and liberty, for their homes and their country. The Tlascalans were victorious in two pitched battles, and their opponents were compelled to retire from the contest in disgrace.
With this exception, the first years of Montezuma’s reign were in every respect prosperous. But suddenly a great reverse took place; a large army of Mexicans, on an expedition to a distant country, after suffering severely from a storm, were utterly destroyed by their enemies. At the same time, a comet made its appearance, spreading the greatest consternation throughout the nation; for, according to their diviners, it portended the downfall of the empire.
While the king and his subjects were in this state of anxiety and dread, news arrived, that a number of huge vessels, bearing men speaking an unknown tongue, and clothed in glittering armor, had arrived on the coast of his empire. These strangers, who so naturally excited the admiration and awe of the natives, were no other than Cortez and his companions.
On the second of April, 1519, this bold and enterprising Spaniard entered the harbor of Saint Juan de Ulua, on the eastern coast of Mexico, with eleven small vessels, containing only about six hundred men; and of these, more than a hundred were sailors. With this small force was he about to make war upon a monarch, whose dominions were more extensive than all the kingdoms subject to the Spanish crown. On the following day he landed his troops, and having selected a suitable place for a camp, began to fortify it; in which he was zealously assisted by the unsuspecting natives. Here he was soon visited by the governors of the district. He received them with many demonstrations of respect, and informed them that he had come as ambassador from Don Carlos, of Spain, the greatest king of the East, with proposals which he could only declare to their monarch himself. He therefore demanded to be led immediately to his presence.
The governors attempted to dissuade him from visiting the capital, but at the same time laid before him a rich present of gold and silver articles, which had only the effect of increasing his desire to proceed. He therefore repeated his demand in a determined tone. Seeing among his visiters several painters, who were busily engaged in taking down, for the information of their sovereign, everything remarkable in the appearance of the strangers, he resolved to give them a specimen of his warlike power. He ordered his troops to be drawn up in battle-array, and to go through the evolutions of a mock battle. While the natives were gazing in astonishment at the spectacle, the cannon, pointed towards the thick woods which surrounded the camp, were suddenly fired, and made terrible havoc among the trees. At the dreadful sound, some fled, others fell to the ground, overcome by amazement and terror; and the painters had now to exercise their ingenuity to invent figures and symbols by which to represent the new and surprising things they had seen.
In a few days an answer was received from the emperor, refusing an audience, and commanding the Spaniards to leave the country; but, at the same time, directing that they should be supplied with all things requisite for their voyage. Notwithstanding this prohibition, Cortez resolved to proceed, and his followers eagerly joined in the determination. They first set about founding a colony on the place where they had landed, as this was one of the objects of the expedition. The whole army labored with the utmost diligence; a number of houses, or rather huts, were soon erected, and the whole strongly fortified. The infant settlement received the name of “Villa rica de la Vera Cruz;” “the rich town of the true cross.”
The next act of the troops appears deserving of mention as a display of heroic and determined courage almost without a parallel. Cortez, fearing lest, when their enthusiasm should subside, the soldiers should be seized with a desire to return, by his arguments and representations so wrought upon them, that, of their own accord, to cut off all opportunity for retreat, they dragged the vessels upon the beach, and burnt them to ashes.
They had now no choice but to proceed; and, accordingly, much to the dismay and dissatisfaction of the Indians, who did not, however, dare to oppose them by force, they set out on their march towards the capital. On their way, they passed through the territories of several caziques or chiefs, who bore with impatience the yoke of their Mexican conquerors, and were glad to free themselves from it, by transferring their allegiance to the king of Spain. Cortez eagerly accepted their services, and artfully represented that he had been deputed, by his sovereign, to redress the grievances which they had suffered at the hands of the Mexicans. These new allies afterwards proved extremely useful.
After proceeding for several days without obstruction, the Spaniards arrived at the confines of Tlascala. Knowing the implacable enmity of the inhabitants to the Mexicans, he expected that he should meet from them a friendly reception. The Tlascalans, however, were far differently disposed. Having heard that he was on his way to visit the Mexican king, they probably suspected, that, notwithstanding all his professions, he courted the friendship of a monarch whom they both hated and feared. The ambassadors whom he sent to them with proposals of alliance, they seized, and, regardless of their sacred character, prepared to sacrifice them to their gods. At the same time they collected their forces in order to prevent their unknown invaders from making good a passage by force of arms.
This, however, was the only way by which the Spaniards could hope to attain the object of their expedition. Accordingly, they entered the Tlascalan territories, prepared to fight their way through all opposition. They were immediately attacked by the troops of the enemy with great intrepidity; but courage and numbers availed little against the arms and discipline of the Spaniards, who were everywhere victorious, without the loss of a man. The horses of the invaders contributed much to their success. For a long time the horse and his rider were considered as one animal; and terrible stories were circulated of his power and ferocity. Even when they discovered their mistake, they still believed that the horse fought with his teeth, and devoured the bodies of the slain. Hence, when they had the good fortune to slay one of these terrible animals, they cut off his head and carried it in triumph as the greatest trophy of victory.
But notwithstanding their constant success, the Spaniards, at length, worn out by their continual exertions, and the unceasing attacks of their determined foes, were almost ready to despair. But the Tlascalans, on a sudden, began to relax their exertions; they were convinced that the small force, on which all their numbers and boldness could make no impression, must be composed of beings of a superior order; and concluding that it would be in vain to contend longer with the children of the Sun, as they supposed them to be, they made proposals of peace, which were joyfully accepted by Cortez and his troops. They were hospitably received into the capital of their former enemies, who ever after remained their most faithful allies.
