Mexico, Aztec, Spanish and Republican, Vol. 1 of 2 / A Historical, Geographical, Political, Statistical and Social Account of That Country From the Period of the Invasion by the Spaniards to the Present Time.

by Brantz Mayer

*****

In a historical narrative which is designed to treat exclusively of Mexico, it might perhaps be considered inappropriate to relate that portion of the biography of Cortéz which is covered by his expedition to Honduras, whither he marched after he learned the defection of his lieutenant Olid whom he had sent to that distant region with a body of Spanish soldiers to found a dependant colony. It was whilst on this disastrous march that the report of a conspiracy to slay the Spaniards, in which Guatemozin was implicated, reached his ears, and that the dethroned monarch, together with several princes and inferior nobles, was hanged, by his orders, on the branches of a tree. There is a difference of opinion among contemporary writers as to the guilt of Guatemozin and the Aztec nobles; but it is probable that the unfortunate prince had become a dangerous and formidable captive and that the grave was a safer prison for such a personage, than the tents and bivouacs of a menaced army.

Another renowned character in this drama—the serviceable and gentle Indian girl Doña Mariana,—was no longer needed and was disposed of during this expedition, by marriage with Don Martin Xamarillo, to whom she brought a noble dowry of estates, which were assigned her by the conqueror in her native province, where, in all likelihood she ended her romantic career. Her son by Cortéz, named after his grand-father Don Martin, became distinguished in the annals of the colony and of Spain, but in 1568, he was cruelly treated in the capital which had been won by the valor and fidelity of his parents.

*****

From this digression in his Mexican career, Cortéz was suddenly recalled by the news of disturbances in the capital, which he reached after a tempestuous and dangerous voyage. His journey from the coast to the valley was a continued scene of triumphs; and, from Tezcoco, in June, 1526, he made his stately entrance into the city of Mexico amid brilliant cavalcades, decorated streets, and lakes and canals covered with the fanciful skiffs of Indians.

A month later, the joy of his rapturous reception was disturbed by the announcement that the Spanish Court had sent a commissioner to supercede him temporarily in the government. The work of sapping his power and influence had long been carried on at home; and false reports, involving Cortéz in extreme dishonesty not only to the subjects but to the crown of Spain itself, at length infused suspicions into the sovereign's mind. The Emperor resolved to search the matter fairly to its core, and, accordingly, despatched Don Luis Ponce de Leon, a young, but able nobleman to perform this delicate task, at the same time that he wrote with his own hand to the conqueror, assuring him that his sole design was not to distrust or deprive him of his honors, but to afford him the opportunity of placing his integrity in a clear light before the world.

De Leon, and the delegate chosen on his death bed, died within a few months, and were succeeded by Estrada, the royal treasurer, who was hostile to Cortéz, and whose malicious mismanagement of the investigation soon convinced even the Spanish court that it was unjust to leave so delicate and tangled a question in his hands. Accordingly the affair was transferred from Estrada to a commission styled the Audiencia Real de España, and Cortéz was commanded to hasten across the Atlantic in order to vindicate himself from the aspersions before this august body, which sat in the midst of his countrymen.

Cortéz resolved to go at once; and, loyal to the last, rejected all the offers that were made him to reassume the reins of power, independently of Spain. He carried with him a number of natives, together with specimens of all the natural and artificial products of his viceroyalty; nor did he forget a plentiful supply of gold, silver, and jewels, with which he might maintain, in the eyes of his luxurious countrymen, the state that was appropriate for one whose conquests and acquisitions were so extensive. Sandoval and Tapia, too, departed with their beloved companion in arms, the former of whom, only, lived to land once more on his native land.

*****

As he journeyed from the sea-port towards Toledo, the curious crowds poured out on the way side to behold and welcome the hero of the New World; and from the gates of the city a gallant crowd of cavaliers poured forth, with the Duke de Bejar and the Count de Aguilar, to attend him to his dwelling.