"It has four entrances, or causeways, made by the hand of man, as wide as two horsemen's lances.
"The city is as large as Seville and Cordova. The streets (I mean the principal ones,) are very wide, and others very narrow; and some of the latter and all the others are one-half land and the other half water, along which the inhabitants go in their canoes; and all the streets, at given distances, are open, so that the water passes from one to the other; and in all their openings, some of which are very wide, there are very wide bridges, made of massive beams joined together and well wrought; and so wide that ten horsemen may pass abreast over many of them."—Letters of Cortéz to Charles V.
CHAPTER IV.
1519–1520.
DESCRIPTION OF THE CITY OF TENOCHTITLAN.—MONTEZUMA'S WAY OF LIFE—MARKET-PLACE.—CORTÉZ AT THE GREAT TEMPLE—DESCRIPTION OF IT.—PLACE OF SACRIFICE—SANCTUARIES—HUITZILOPOTCHTLI.—TEZCATLIPOCA— DANGER OF CORTÉZ—MONTEZUMA SEIZED.—MONTEZUMA A PRISONER—HIS SUBMISSIVENESS.—ARRIVAL OF NARVAEZ—CORTÉZ'S DIPLOMACY.—CORTÉZ OVERCOMES NARVAEZ, AND RECRUITS HIS FORCES.
The city of Mexico, or Tenochtitlan, was, as we have already said, encompassed by the lake of Tezcoco, over which three solid causeways formed the only approaches. This inland sea was, indeed, "an archipelago of wandering islands." The whole city was penetrated throughout its entire length by a principal street, which was intersected by numerous canals, crossed by drawbridges; and, wherever the eye could reach, long vistas of low stone buildings rose on every side among beautiful gardens or luxuriant foliage. The quadrangular palaces of the nobles who Montezuma encouraged to reside at his court, were spread over a wide extent of ground, embellished with beautiful fountains which shot their spray amid porticoes and columns of polished porphyry. The palace of Montezuma was so vast a pile, that one of the conquerors alleges its terraced roof afforded ample room for thirty knights to tilt in tournament. A royal armory was filled with curious and dangerous weapons, and adorned with an ample store of military dresses, equipments and armor. Huge granaries contained the tributary supplies which were brought to the Prince by the provinces for the maintenance of the royal family, and there was an aviary in which three hundred attendants fed and reared birds of the sweetest voice or rarest plumage; whilst, near it, rose a menagerie, filled with specimens of all the native beasts, together with a museum, in which, with an oddity of taste unparalleled in history, there had been collected a vast number of human monsters, cripples, dwarfs, Albinos and other freaks and caprices of nature. The royal gardens are described by eye-witnesses as spots of unsurpassed elegance, adorned with rare shrubs, medicinal plants, and ponds, supplied by aqueducts and fountains, wherein, amid beautiful flowers, the finest fish and aquatic birds were seen forever floating in undisturbed quiet. The interior of the palace was equally attractive for its comfort and elegance. Spacious halls were covered with ceilings of odoriferous wood, while the lofty walls were hung with richly tinted fabrics of cotton, the skins of animals, or feather work wrought in mosaic imitation of birds, reptiles, insects and flowers. Nor was the Emperor alone amid the splendid wastes of his palace. A thousand women thronged these royal chambers, ministering to the tastes and passions of the elegant voluptuary. The rarest viands, from far and near, supplied his table, the service of which was performed by numerous attendants on utensils and equipage of the choicest material and shape. Four times, daily, the Emperor changed his apparel, and never put on again the dress he once had worn, or defiled his lips twice with the same vessels from which he fed.
Such was the sovereign's palace and way of life, nor can we suppose that this refinement of luxury was to be found alone in the dwelling of Montezuma and his nobles. It is to be regretted that we are not more fully informed of the condition of property, wealth and labor among the masses of this singular empire. The conquerors did not trouble themselves with acquiring accurate statistical information, nor do they seem to have counted numbers carefully, except when they had enemies to conquer or spoil to divide. In all primitive nations, however, the best idea of a people is to be attained from visiting the market-place,—or rather the fair,—in which it is their custom to sell or barter the products of their industry; and, to this rendezvous of the Aztecs, Cortéz, with the astuteness that never forsook him during his perilous enterprise, soon betook himself after his arrival in the city.
The market of Tenochtitlan was a scene of commercial activity as well as of humble thrift. It was devoted to all kinds of native traffic. In the centre of the city the conqueror found a magnificent square surrounded by porticoes, in which, it is alleged, that sixty thousand traders were engaged in buying and selling every species of merchandize produced in the realm; jewels, goldware, toys, curious imitations of natural objects, wrought with the utmost skill of deception; weapons of copper alloyed with tin, pottery of all degrees of fineness, carved vases, bales of richly dyed cotton; beautifully woven feather-work, wild and tame animals, grain, fish, vegetables, all the necessaries of life and all its luxuries, together with restaurateurs and shops for the sale of medical drugs, confectionery, or stimulating drinks. It was, in fact, an immense bazaar, which, at a glance, gave an insight into the tastes, wants and productive industry of the nation.
Satisfied with this inspection of the people and their talents, the next visit of the General was, doubtless, made with the double object of becoming acquainted with that class of men, who in all countries so powerfully influence public opinion, whilst, from the top of their tall temple, situated on their lofty central Teocalli or pyramid, he might, with a military eye, scan the general topography of the city.