They prayed that he, the beloved of all the troops, might be confirmed in the office of captain-general, as the only man whose genius and experience could be relied on to carry out and maintain the conquest. The natives being docile and ready to receive conversion, friars should be sent to secure this harvest for the church, and also to administer to the spiritual wants of the Spaniards. Colonists were needed; also horses, and other live-stock—the latter to be paid for at a future time—in order to secure the country and develop its wealth.
With these letters went one from the army, which, recounting but briefly the leading incidents of the campaigns, had for its main object to decry Narvaez and Velazquez as the sole cause of all the disasters that had occurred in the country, and to praise Cortés as a noble, loyal, and able man, by whom alone the conquest could be achieved.[986] These and other letters were intrusted to Alonso de Mendoza, a townsman of Cortés, together with thirty thousand pesos, in fifths and presents, and a number of commissions from different members of the expedition. A well appointed vessel was assigned for the voyage, and three other vessels were despatched for Española, there to enlist recruits and to buy horses, arms and ammunition, cattle, clothing, and other requirements, and four strong vessels to maintain traffic with the Antilles. Letters were sent to Licenciado Rodrigo de Figueroa and other royal officers on the Island, inclosing duplicates of those forwarded to Spain; and a number of specimens of the jewels, manufactures, and natural resources of the country, were transmitted as presents and as samples to allure recruits. The letters and the ample funds for the enlistment and purchases were intrusted to Contador Ávila and another officer,[987] with instructions to use every effort to confirm the audiencia officials in their good opinion of Cortés, so that they might plead his cause in Spain. The ill-treatment of Aillon by Velazquez and Narvaez had already impelled them to do this, as we have seen. Their advice was to be asked regarding the enslavement of rebels and other measures, and their authority and aid sought for obtaining men and stores.[988] Another vessel was sent under Solis[989] to Jamaica to buy horses and war material. Bernal Diaz does not fail to point out the evidence in the large remittance for Spain and the Antilles of treasures secretly taken from Mexico by Cortés and his clique, and accuses him of having appropriated also the share for Villa Rica, claimed to have been captured by the Indians during its transmission from Tlascala.[990]
No sooner were these preparations announced than Duero and a number of others of the Narvaez party claimed a fulfilment of the promise regarding their departure. The success of the Spanish arms and the allurement of spoils had reconciled most of the lately disaffected, so that those who now demanded to return were only a few of the more wealthy. The services of these could be readily dispensed with, now that such large reinforcements had been received, and the display of their accumulations at home might inspire fresh recruits. Therefore Cortés gave his consent, with abundant promises that as soon as the conquest was fully accomplished, gold and other rewards would flow on those who supported his cause either in the Islands or in Spain. Leaders like Duero and Bermudez were the chief recipients of such offers; and offers alone they remained in most instances, for Cortés was not the man to reward desertion. Duero and others evidently expected nothing more, since they were soon after found arrayed on the side of Velazquez. When some among the Cortés party raised objections to this diminution of the force, they were quieted with the declaration that the army was better rid of unwilling and inefficient soldiers, whose presence served only to discourage others.[991]
The vessel for Spain and two of those for the Islands were wrecked on the coast; and one consequence was that Mendoza’s departure was delayed till the 5th of March. He took with him a supplementary letter for the emperor, relating the progress so far made for the recovery of Mexico. By this time Ordaz was, according to Bernal Diaz, commissioned to join him and plead the cause of Cortés before the emperor, and at the same time to receive the reward for his many achievements, one of which was the ascent of the volcano. Several of the Narvaez party appear to have left by the same vessel.[992]
In course of the late campaign the advantages of the town of Tepeaca for permanent occupation had become apparent, chiefly as a point of observation for watching over the new conquest. It was well situated for protecting the road to Villa Rica,[993] and for communicating with Cholula and Tlascala, each capital eight or nine leagues distant, and it lay in the midst of a fertile maize country, which offered ample subsistence for a garrison. Although the punishment at first inflicted, by sacking and enslaving, had been severe, yet the treatment of the inhabitants became afterward so considerate that they themselves prayed for a continuance of Spanish protection.[994] Every circumstance, therefore, demanding a settlement, it was decided in council to found a villa in this same town, with the appropriate name of Segura de la Frontera, intended, as it was, to secure the frontier against the Mexicans. Pedro de Ircio was made alcalde, with Francisco de Orozco and others as regidores.[995]
The campaign being practically concluded, a division was ordered to be made of the spoils not hitherto distributed, including slaves, which had now become a prominent feature thereof, and were intended for personal and plantation service, as already practised in the Antilles. The pretence was to enslave only the inhabitants of districts concerned in the murder of Spaniards, but the distinction was not very strictly observed, and rebellious tribes and those addicted to cannibalism and other vicious practices were included.[996] The Spaniards, as a rule, kept only the women and the children, the men being transferred to the allies for their share, “because they were difficult to watch,” says Bernal Diaz, “and because their services were not needed while we had the Tlascaltecs with us.”[997]
The soldiers were ordered to bring in all their captives, which from the first had been branded for recognition with a ‘G,’ signifying guerra, war.[998] When the day for distribution came, it was found that the leaders and favored men had already secured their share by appropriating the prettiest and choicest slaves. They had probably been priced by the officials, and the leaders, being entitled to larger shares, had secured the best articles. At this there was a considerable uproar, increased by the outcry against the fifth set apart for Cortés, after deducting the royal fifth.[999] How the matter was settled is not clear, except that the general had recourse to the soothing eloquence he knew so well how to apply, promising that for the future he would conform to the general desire, which appeared to be in favor of offering the slaves at auction, so as to arrive at their proper value, and to give all members of the expedition an equal chance in securing the more desirable.[1000]
One of the last expeditions fitted out at Segura was for the reduction of the northern route to Villa Rica, by which the Spaniards had first entered the plateau, and for the punishment of those concerned in the murder of Alcántara and other Spaniards.[1001] It set out in the beginning of December, under Sandoval, with two hundred infantry, twenty horses, and the usual complement of allies, and entered Xocotlan valley, which readily submitted, with the exception of the main town, named Castilblanco during the first entry into the country. The cacique, who had then already shown himself unfriendly, rejected every proposition, with the threat that he would make a feast on the commander and his followers, as he had on the former party. There being no alternative, the cavalry charged the large force which had taken up position near a ravine, on the outskirts of the city, with a view to defend the entrance. Under cover of the musketeers and archers, who from one side of the ravine did considerable harm to the enemy, the charge succeeded, though four riders and nine horses were wounded, one of the latter dying. The enemy thrown into disorder fled to join the remaining garrison, which occupied the temples on the plaza. With the aid of the infantry and allies the stronghold speedily fell, and a number of prisoners were secured.[1002]
Proceeding northward along the mountain border of the plateau Sandoval added a considerable extent of country to his conquest, meeting serious opposition only at Jalancingo, where the Aztec garrison, ever since the beginning of the Tepeaca campaign, had been employed in fortifying the place, and either considered themselves secure or feared that a surrender would procure no better terms, for them, at least. They were disconcerted by being attacked on different sides, under native guidance, and after a brief resistance took to flight, during which a number of them were captured, the Spaniards losing three horses, and having eight men severely injured, Sandoval receiving an arrow wound. In a temple were found relics of slaughtered Spaniards, in the shape of dresses, arms, and saddles.[1003] A few days later the expedition set out to rejoin the army, with a large amount of spoils and a train of captives. The chiefs were pardoned by Cortés, with politic regard for the future, and enjoined to furnish their quota of supplies at Segura.[1004]
The head-quarters had meanwhile been removed to Tlascala, preparatory to a march on Mexico, and Segura was now in charge of the alcalde, Pedro de Ircio, lately lieutenant of Sandoval at Villa Rica, assisted by the regidor, Francisco de Orozco, and sixty men, including the invalids and the disabled.[1005] Cortés had left it in the middle of December,[1006] taking with the cavalry the route through Cholula,[1007] to settle the question of succession to a number of cacique offices vacated during the epidemic. These appeals were made to him not only as the representative of the Spanish monarch to whom the people had sworn obedience, but as an acknowledgment of his influence over the native mind. His treatment of the conquered and his equitable decisions of disputes had made him the umpire and king-maker whom not only allies, but half-reconciled tribes were willing to heed, in private and public affairs. Having made the appointments, and formed favorable arrangements for himself, he rejoined the army. The march to Tlascala was one befitting the return of conquering heroes. Triumphal arches covered the roads, and processions came to chant the praises of the victors, and recount the successes achieved by the Tlascaltec allies, as shown by spoils and banners from different provinces and cities, and by long files of captives. On nearing the republican capital the whole population came forth to join in the ovation, and at the plaza an orator stepped forward to greet Cortés in a glowing panegyric, wherein he reviewed his progress as conqueror and avenger. In reply Cortés alluded feelingly to the brotherhood between the two races, now cemented by blood and victories, and to the common loss sustained in the death of the wise and noble Maxixcatzin. These words, added to the evidence of sorrow in the mourning array of their dress and arms, left a most favorable impression on the minds of the brave allies.