Montezuma on his Throne.
The Abdication of Montezuma.—Although Montezuma was permitted to exercise the functions of royalty, yet he was guarded with the utmost vigilance by the Spaniards. The king's brave son, with several of the principal officers, on the slightest pretext, was burned alive by the command of Cortez. The monarch himself was, at length, bound with fetters. Having both the monarch and his subjects under this temporary authority, Cortez availed himself of it to the utmost. He appointed commissioners to survey the empire, and to prepare the minds of the people for submitting to the Spaniards; and, in the end, he persuaded Montezuma to acknowledge himself a vassal to the Spanish crown, and to pay an annual tribute. The fallen prince, at the instance of Cortez, accompanied this profession of fealty and homage, with a magnificent present to the king of Spain, and, after his example, his subjects brought in liberal contributions.
War, and the Death of Montezuma.—About this time Velasquez, piqued by the success of his subaltern, had sent a force into Mexico to take him and his principal officers prisoners; but the good fortune of Cortez triumphed again; for overcoming his enemies in battle, he induced the greater part of them to join his standard; and when he had least of all expected it, he was placed at the head of a thousand Spaniards, ready to aid him, at any hazard, in his enterprises.
This additional force had but just time to enroll themselves under their new leader, before the Mexicans attacked them in all directions.
Death of Montezuma.
Cortez now found himself environed with the most imminent dangers. The only resource which remained to him was to try what effect the interposition of Montezuma might have upon his enraged subjects. When, the next morning, they approached to renew the assault, that unfortunate prince was compelled to advance to the battlements, and exhort his people to discontinue hostilities. But the fury of the multitude could not be repressed, and it was now directed momentarily against their prince. Flights of arrows and volleys of stones poured in so violently upon the ramparts, that before the Spanish soldiers had time to lift their shields for Montezuma's defence, two arrows wounded the unhappy monarch, and a blow of a stone on his temple struck him to the ground.
Most bitterly did these poor men lament the consequences of their displeasure, as they witnessed the fate of their sovereign. As for Montezuma, in a paroxysm of rage he tore the bandage from his wounds, and so obstinately refused to take any nourishment, that he soon ended his days, rejecting with disdain all the urgency of the Spaniards that he should embrace the Christian faith.
Retreat and Return of Cortez.—The death of Montezuma filled the Mexicans with surprise and terror; but added to, rather than diminished, their hostility. They determined to reduce by famine a foe which they could not subdue by force. This coming to the knowledge of Cortez, he perceived, situated as he was, that his safety lay in instant retreat from the city. Preparations were accordingly made to march out of Mexico that very night. Each soldier took such booty as he was able; yet a large quantity of silver was left behind. At midnight, the troops abandoned their quarters, and proceeded in silence along the causeway that led to Tacubaya.