The adventures of Hernan Cortes, the conqueror of Mexico

by Francis L. Hawks

This happiness did not last long, however. At the end of a fortnight, Quauhpopoca and some of his companions in the attack on Escalante were brought prisoners to Mexico. Though a prisoner, Quauhpopoca was borne upon a splendid litter like a conquering hero. He at once sought Montezuma, and presented himself before him as one who had faithfully obeyed his orders. To his surprise and confusion, the King treated him coldly, and ordered him to be delivered immediately to Cortes. He was now put to the torture, and confessed that all he had done was by command of his King. A court, made up of Spaniards, then tried him, and condemned him to be burnt alive. Cortes went now to Montezuma, and told him of the confession of Quauhpopoca, and the punishment he was to suffer; adding, very sternly, that he too would be put to death but for his late acts of kindness: his life would be spared, but that he was not to escape all punishment for his treachery. With that, he ordered a Spaniard, who had brought a pair of iron fetters along, to fasten them upon the legs of Montezuma. It was instantly done, and Cortes left him, to punish Quauhpopoca. The poor King of Mexico was confounded and speechless. His nobles who attended him clung to his fetters, and wept bitterly.

Cortes now gathered a large quantity of bows, arrows, and darts, from the Mexican armory, and caused an immense fire to be made of them directly in front of Montezuma’s palace. Quauhpopoca and three other chiefs (some say fifteen others) soon perished in the flames. Thousands of Mexicans looked calmly upon the scene; no resistance was made, for they thought it was all done by the command of the King. This horrible act being ended, Cortes again went to Montezuma, spoke kindly to him, and with his own hands took off his fetters. To carry his kindness further, he now told him that he was at liberty, and might return, if he pleased, to his own palace. This last was only a pretence of kindness, for Cortes knew very well that Montezuma dared not go. The people had just seen the death of the brave general Quauhpopoca, and Montezuma knew that he would probably suffer for the guilt of it.

Though the Mexicans made no resistance at the time, the insolent bearing of the Spaniards, before the very palace of their King, had roused the anger of many. The proud spirit of Cacamatzin, the lord of Tezcuco, was greatly excited. He at once gathered together a body of the nobles at Tezcuco, and they resolved to declare war upon the Spaniards. They were quickly busy in making their preparations, and the rumor of their intentions soon spread. Cortes began to feel alarmed for his safety, and Montezuma began to be startled with the thought of losing his crown; for, with the rumors, came the story that Cacamatzin intended to seize the reins of government, thinking that his uncle had disgraced both himself and the empire. They both sent messengers to Cacamatzin, commanding him to leave off his warlike preparations; but Cacamatzin only sent back this proud answer: “That his country was disgraced; that the Spaniards could no longer deceive or frighten him; they must leave Mexico, and return to their own country, or take the storm that was gathering.” Cortes now proposed to march out and attack him. Montezuma, however, advised him not to do this, stating that Tezcuco was a strongly-fortified city, the second in the empire, and he would only perish in the attempt. He sent, therefore, another message to his nephew, inviting him to come up to the capital and visit him, at which time all difficulties might be happily settled. Cacamatzin was now more indignant than ever: he declared to his followers that his uncle was more a friend to the strangers than to his own people. He sent for answer this time, that he would come to the capital, but not to waste words in idle talk: he would come to destroy the Spaniards. Finding his nephew thus resolute, Montezuma now determined to make him a prisoner. He took his signet from his arm, and giving it to some of his nobles, commanded them secretly to seize his rebel nephew, and bring him a prisoner to Mexico. His order was soon carried out. In a little time, the nobles returned, bringing Cacamatzin. Montezuma rebuked him, and then delivered him to Cortes. He was at once thrown into prison, and his brother Cuitcuitzcatzin sent out in splendid style to take charge of the province of Tezcuco.

Made bold by his success in this matter, Cortes now resolved that Montezuma should declare himself subject to the King of Spain. He went to him, and told him that it was his desire that he should acknowledge the authority of the King of Spain over him, and subject his kingdom to a yearly tribute in token of dependence. The poor captive monarch, in great sorrow, soon assented to this. He called all his lords and nobles together in a great hall in the Spanish quarters. With sobs and tears, he reminded them of the old tradition that the sons of Quetzalcoatl were to come and rule the Mexican empire; that he held it, as they knew, only till that time; the time was now come; the Spaniards (he believed) were the sons of Quetzalcoatl, and he was ready to recognise the title of the King of Spain over his dominions. His chiefs and lords heard this declaration in silent grief; yet they gave their consent; for, like the King, they believed the tradition: they were afraid to resist. Montezuma informed Cortes that on the next day they would all swear allegiance to the Spanish King. Accordingly, on the day following, it was done in the presence of all the Spanish officers, and even their hearts (it is said) were moved when they witnessed the sorrow of Montezuma as he took that oath.

One step led on to another. Cortes next resolved to persuade him that it was right and proper that his empire should send a rich present of jewels, gold, and silver, to the King of Spain. It was soon done. To this also he assented: he brought forward his own treasures liberally, at the same time sending commands to all his lords throughout the kingdom to bring in their portions. Within twenty days, an amount equalling six hundred thousand dollars, besides jewels, was collected at Mexico. Cortes now proceeded to divide this treasure. One fifth part was for the King of Spain; one fifth part for himself; from the balance was to be taken what he, Velasquez, and others, had expended in fitting out the expedition; and then the remainder was to be equally divided among the men, according to their rank. The soldiers were dissatisfied with this division, especially the part given to the King of Spain, who had never aided them in any way in the enterprise; but Cortes managed to pacify them by giving secret presents to some, and offering promises and prospects to all.

The Spanish chief had rolled upon a tide of fortune thus far; but now it began to turn. Matters had come to such a pass, that some of the Mexican nobles, forgetting their traditions and their fears, began seriously to think of forcing the Spaniards from Mexico. Their King was a captive, Quauhpopoca murdered, Cacamatzin in prison, their gods insulted, and the whole country, in fact, under the control of strangers. This was more than could be borne. They began to hold secret meetings, and sometimes to meet Montezuma secretly. Matters were freely talked over: the priests, who hated the Spaniards, threw in their advice, and all this ended in a solemn resolution that the Spaniards should leave the city. They were afraid, however, to attack them openly, so long as Montezuma was in their possession. They were to be got off peaceably, if possible, and therefore another plan was adopted. Montezuma sent for Cortes, and told him that “he had already been in his capital six months, and there was no reason in his remaining any longer. He wished him, therefore, to depart as speedily as possible. His priests, his nobles, and his people were all dissatisfied, and determined that the Spaniards should no longer remain in the land. Moreover, that it was the will of the gods that the strangers who had insulted them should be expelled, or sacrificed.” This was said very sternly by the King, and Cortes, who had heard that a conspiracy was at work, felt that it must be strong when Montezuma could speak to him so boldly. He knew, too, if the Mexicans did rise against him, it was death to his hopes. He very artfully, therefore, answered the King that his demand was very reasonable; that he had himself already thought of leaving Mexico. He could not, however, leave immediately; his ships had been destroyed, and it was necessary to build new ones. He hoped the Mexicans would allow him time to make his preparations. Montezuma was greatly pleased. The thought of his departure was real joy to him. He embraced Cortes, and promised him not only time to make his preparations, but that he would assist him in making them. He sent out his order that some of his men should at once go to the woods to cut timber for the Spaniards, and that some of his carpenters should set to work in helping them to build their ships. Cortes left Montezuma feeling very happy himself; he saw he had deceived the King: he had no thought of leaving the country, and was hoping, during the time allowed him, that he might gain strength in some way to meet any difficulty. At the end of a week, however, ships appeared on the coast. Montezuma, hearing of this, sent for him again, and told him there was no necessity for his remaining any longer to build his vessels; ships were off the coast, and he must start immediately.

Cortes felt more joy than sorrow. The news of the ships delighted him; he thought instantly of Portocarrero and Montejo, the messengers whom he had sent to Spain to get the authority of Don Carlos. Nine months had passed away since they left him; he had looked for them eagerly before, and supposed they had now arrived with fresh troops to help him in his conquest. In this he was sadly disappointed. The truth was, that his very messengers had betrayed him. Contrary to their positive orders, they had stopped at Cuba, on their way to Spain. Portocarrero being sick, Montejo had forced the pilot, Alaminos, to touch at Havana, under pretence of getting supplies from his estate. The ship had no sooner cast anchor, than he sent a sailor ashore with letters to Velasquez. The Governor was more enraged than ever; from that moment, he had used all his efforts to ruin Cortes. The eighteen ships on the coast were under the command of Pamphilo de Narvaez, and he had been sent out by him, at the head of eight hundred soldiers, with positive orders to seize Cortes and his principal officers, and send them prisoners to Cuba. It was not long before Cortes understood the whole.

Narvaez had made a landing on the coast of Chempoalla, and was soon joined by three Spanish deserters. These told him that Cortes was in a forlorn and wretched condition, and might easily be taken. Narvaez was made bold by such news. He immediately sent off Guevara, a priest, with a company, to Sandoval (who was commanding at Villa Rica since the death of Escalante), to demand that he should surrender that place. Sandoval refused to do so, and when the priest proved insolent, told him that his sacred order alone protected him. Upon this, Guevara was very angry: the quarrel became high, and Sandoval seized him and his companions, and sent them prisoners to Mexico. Upon their arrival there, Cortes very prudently received them kindly; he took off their fetters, expressed himself sorry for the conduct of Sandoval, made them many rich presents, and in this way completely won them over as friends. They now talked to him freely of Narvaez and the strength of his forces: said that he had declared to the Indians that Cortes was a traitor and tyrant, keeping their King a prisoner, and that he was sent out by the King of Spain to set them free. They stated, too, that Montezuma was sending secret messages to him, and that several of the Mexican provinces had openly declared in his favor.

Cortes was now in a very dangerous and trying position. It was idle for him to march out and meet Narvaez with all his fresh and numerous troops; to release Montezuma, and attempt to retreat from Mexico, would prove sure destruction; to remain where he was, in an enemy’s city, and wait for Narvaez to attack him, would prove equally unsafe. His courage, however, did not forsake him. He was resolved upon one thing—that he would never leave as a prisoner the country that he had entered as a conqueror, and never allow another to reap the glory which he thought he had earned. Narvaez was, he supposed, his most dangerous enemy, and he turned his thoughts towards him. He made up his mind that before long he must come to a battle with him, but, in the mean time, he would try to win him as a friend: if he failed in that, he would try to break up his strength by bringing over some of his officers. He selected, as the messenger whom he would send to him, Father Olmedo, whose prudence he had tried before this. He was to propose terms of friendship; if he failed in carrying this point, he was to use his arts in making friends in his army. Accordingly, Olmedo was sent off with letters to Narvaez and some of his officers—among the rest, Andres de Duero, the old friend of Cortes, who was fortunately one of them—together with many rich presents for them from Cortes.

Narvaez received him with great scorn. He declared that he would soon cut off the head of the traitor Cortes, and put all his followers to death. It was in vain that Father Olmedo reasoned with him, telling him that the Spaniards were brothers; that the glory of their common country required that they should turn their forces against the Mexicans, and that Cortes was ready to do so. Narvaez would hear no terms of peace whatever. Finding that he failed in this point, Olmedo remembered the other. He mingled with the men, talked with them freely, delivered the rich presents of Cortes, and soon won over some of the officers. Fortunately, just at this time, Guevara and his companions returned. They talked loudly of the generosity of Cortes, and the glory that was before the Spaniards, if they would only join forces; declaring that no better leader could be found than Cortes, and that it was a shame to take the command from him after all his perils. Narvaez, only the more enraged at all this, ordered Guevara never again to speak to him of terms of friendship between him and Cortes, and immediately issued his proclamation, declaring Cortes and all his followers rebels to Don Carlos, and traitors to their country.