After the royal officers had weighed and valued the gold, which exceeded, as I have already mentioned, 600,000 crowns, exclusive of the silver and other ornamental articles, it was proposed to deduct the royal fifth, and to distribute the shares among the officers and soldiers. Cortes proposed to postpone the division till we acquired more treasure, and had more exact weights: But the soldiers were clamorous for an immediate division, as we perceived that above a third part had disappeared since the various articles were taken to pieces, Cortes and the captains and others being continually carrying it away and concealing it for their own use. It was at length agreed to make the division next day, when it was still found to exceed 600,000 crowns in weight. On making the division, Cortes in the first place caused a fifth to be laid aside for his majesty; secondly, a fifth for himself, as had been agreed upon; thirdly, a portion to reimburse the naval expenditure incurred by Velasquez, the destruction of the ships, and all the expences of the expedition from Cuba; fourthly, for the expences of the agents whom we had sent to Spain; fifthly, for the shares of our companions who were in garrison at Villa Rica; sixthly, for the value of the horses which had been killed; seventhly, for the reverend Father Olmeda and our captains; eighthly, double shares for the cavalry, musketeers, and crossbow-men. When all these deductions were made from the stock, the shares which remained for each soldier were hardly worth acceptance, not exceeding 100 crowns a-man. We were obliged to submit, having no one to appeal to for justice; yet many were very clamorous, whom Cortes secretly endeavoured to appease, giving a little to one and a little to another in private, and feeding all with fair promises. Our captains got chains of gold made for them by the Mexican workmen, Cortes did the same, and had a superb service of gold plate made for his table. Many of our soldiers, who had been fortunate in secreting plunder, had golden ornaments made for their use, and gave themselves up to deep gaming, for which purpose they made cards from drum-heads; and thus we passed our time in Mexico. One Cardenas, a pilot, who had a wife and children, seeing that all the immense treasure of Montezuma had dwindled down to paltry shares of a hundred crowns, made loud complaints of the injustice he and all of us had experienced. On this coming to the ears of Cortes, he called us together, and gave us a long honied speech, wondering how we should be so clamorous about a paltry sum of gold, as the whole country, with all its rich mines, would soon be ours, by which we would all have enough to make us lords and princes, and I know not all what. After this he distributed presents secretly among the most clamorous, and promised Cardenas to send home 300 crowns to his wife and children.
All men are desirous of acquiring riches, and the desire generally increases with the acquisition. As it was well known that a great many valuable pieces of gold had been abstracted from the treasury, suspicion naturally fell upon several persons who appeared to have more gold than their shares amounted to. Among these, it was noticed that Velasquez de Leon had some large chains of gold, and many trinkets and ornaments of that metal, in the hands of the Mexican workmen, which the treasurer Mexia claimed as having been purloined. De Leon resisted this, alleging that it had been given him by Cortes before the gold was run into bars. Mexia replied that Cortes had concealed enough, and had already taken too much from the soldiers, without giving him so great a quantity, and insisted on restitution. Both were valiant men, and their quarrel rose to such a height, that they drew their swords, and each of them received two wounds before they could be parted. Cortes ordered them both under arrest and to be put in chains; but spoke privately to De Leon, who was his intimate friend, to submit quietly, and released Mexia in consideration of his holding the office of treasurer. Velasquez was a strong active man, and used to walk much in the apartment where he was confined, and as Montezuma heard the rattling of his chains, he inquired who it was, and interceded with Cortes for his liberation. Cortes told him that Velasquez was a mad fellow, who would go about robbing the Mexicans of their gold if not confined. Montezuma replied, if that were all, he would supply his wants, and Cortes affected to release him as a favour to the king, but banished him to Cholula, whence he returned in six days, richer than before by the king's bounty.
About this time, the king offered to give Cortes one of the princesses his daughter in marriage. Cortes received this offer with much gratitude, but suggested the propriety of having her in the first place instructed in the Christian religion, with which Montezuma complied, though he still continued attached to his own false worship and brutal human sacrifices. Cortes and his captains were much scandalized by this persistence of Montezuma in idolatry, and thought it their duty as Christians, to run even the risk of occasioning a rebellion of the Mexicans by destroying the idols and planting the true cross in their place; or if that could not be now accomplished, to make a chapel for Christian worship in the temple. On this determination, seven officers and soldiers attended Cortes and Father Olmedo to wait upon Montezuma, to whom they communicated their wish, and their resolution to employ force if necessary. The king was much alarmed, and earnestly begged leave to consult with his priests on the subject. Cortes seemed touched with his situation, and made a signal to the officers and soldiers to retire, leaving him and Olmedo with the king. He then told him, that he would endeavour to prevail on the officers to be satisfied for the present, if a part of the great temple was appropriated for the reception of an altar and crucifix, by which his majesty would soon be convinced of the falsehood of his erroneous worship[10]. To this proposal Montezuma reluctantly consented, with the appearance of much agitation and deep sorrow; and, an altar and crucifix being erected, mass was solemnly celebrated in the new chapel, for the care of which a proper person was appointed.
[10] We are duly sensible of the divine super-excellence of Christianity, and the gross barbarism of idolatry joined with abominable human sacrifices. Yet, the mere change of two crossed sticks and the images of Saint Somebody or Saint Nobody, for the idols of the Mexicans, under pretence of introducing the pure religion of the meek and holy Jesus, seems in our humble opinion a mere qui pro quo; and, when taken in conjunction with the proposed conversion by military execution, and the introduction of the bloody tribunal of the Inquisition, not one iota less idolatrous or less barbarous.--E.
The whole time of our stay in this city was one continued series of alarms, sufficient to have destroyed us if we had not been supported by divine interposition. By this last measure, through the representations of the priests, acting on the prejudices of the people, our dangers were much increased. Their gods, as the priests alleged, threatened to desert them, unless we were destroyed for this violation of the temple, and an universal determination was formed to obey this manifestation of their commands. This resolution of the people was conveyed to Montezuma by the priests, and all his principal warriors; who, besides this subject of complaint on the score of religion, made many other representations respecting our misconduct, ever since our arrival in the empire. The page Orguetilla communicated many alarming circumstances which he had observed, to Cortes, respecting frequent secret conferences between Montezuma and his priests and nobles, and the angry and melancholy appearances which he had frequently seen the king assume on these occasions. Cortes was alarmed by this intelligence, and immediately waited on the king accompanied by his interpreters and five of his captains. Montezuma seemed much distressed during this conference, and declared to Cortes that he was extremely grieved at the manifestation of the will of his gods that we should all be put to death or expelled from Mexico: He therefore, as our sincere friend, earnestly recommended that we should not run the risk of incurring the indignation of his subjects, but should save our lives by a retreat whilst that remained within our power. Cortes and the rest were naturally much alarmed at this; but Cortes answered that he was principally concerned, because in the first place, he had no vessels for returning into his own country, and in the next place he would be under the necessity of taking Montezuma along with him, that he might present him to our emperor. He therefore entreated Montezuma to use every influence to restrain his priests and warriors from proceeding to violence, until we had time to build three ships for our conveyance, and offered immediately to send our ship-builders to fell timber and construct the vessels on the coast, requesting the king to order the assistance of his carpenters for this purpose, that there might be no delay. He repeated his request, that Montezuma would employ all his influence to prevent any insurrection in the city, and his endeavours to appease his priests and gods, providing that no human sacrifices were resorted to for that purpose. Martin Lopez, our principal ship-builder, was immediately dispatched to Villa Rica to commence building the three ships, which were put on the stocks without delay. During this interval, we remained in Mexico full of terror of being attacked by the whole force of a numerous and warlike people, exasperated by the insults we had heaped on their sovereign and their religious belief. Our apprehensions were continually kept alive by the information we received from Donna Marina, and the page Orteguilla; who, by understanding the language, obtained much information which must otherwise have escaped our knowledge. We kept however constant guard over Montezuma, and the strictest military discipline in our quarters, sleeping always in our armour, and having our horses saddled and bridled every night. Without meaning it as any boast, I may say this of myself, that my armour became as easy and familiar to me as if it had been a soft down bed. And so habituated am I to this, that now in my old age, when I make the circuit of my district, I never take a bed along with me, unless attended by stranger gentlemen, when I do so merely to avoid the appearance of poverty or avarice. Yet, even when I have one, I always sleep in my clothes; neither can I rest throughout the night, but get up to contemplate the stars, walking about without hat or cap, as I used to do on guard; yet thank GOD I never get cold, nor am I the worse for this practice. This is to be a true soldier! My readers must pardon this digression, which does not proceed from vanity, but to let him know what kind of men we were, the real conquerors of Mexico[11].
[11] Bernal Diaz neglects to accommodate his readers with the very useful appendage of dates; it therefore may be proper to remark that the Spaniards entered the city of Mexico for the first time on the 8th November 1519; and as Cortes left it in the beginning of May 1520, in his march against Narvaez, he had now spent about six months in the capital of a mighty empire, with hardly 450 soldiers.--E.
SECTION IX.
Expedition of Narvaez to supersede Cortes in the command, and occurrences till the Defeat of that Officer by Cortes at Chempoalla.
The Bishop of Burgos, who was president of the council of the Indies, bore unlimited sway in that department of the Spanish government during the absence of the emperor in Flanders. Owing to the representations of Velasquez against Cortes, he sent orders to him to seize and make us all prisoners at every hazard, as rebellious subjects. Velasquez therefore fitted out a fleet of nineteen ships from the Island of Cuba, in which he embarked an army of fourteen hundred soldiers, eighty of whom were cavalry, eighty musketeers, and eighty crossbow-men, with twenty pieces of cannon, and all necessary ammunition and appointments, giving the command in chief to Pamphilo de Narvaez. Such was his animosity against Cortes and us for having thrown off our dependance upon him, that he made a journey of above seventy leagues from the Havanna on purpose to expedite the preparations. At this time, the royal audience of St Domingo and the brethren of the order of St Jerorimo, being satisfied of our loyalty and great exertions in the service of God and the emperor, sent over the oydor Lucas Vasquez de Aillon to Cuba, with positive injunctions to stop the sailing of the armament against us; but as Velasquez was confident in the support of the bishop of Burgos, he gave no heed to the orders communicated to him by Aillon, who therefore went along with the armament, that he might endeavour as much as possible to prevent injury to the public service by his mediation and influence, and be at hand if necessary, to take possession of the country for the emperor, in virtue of his office.
Narvaez arrived safe with his whole fleet in the harbour of St Juan de Ulua, except that he lost one small vessel during the voyage. Soon after his arrival, the soldiers who had been sent by Cortes to that part of the country in search of mines, went on board, and it is said gave thanks to God for being delivered from the command of Cortes and the dangers of the city of Mexico. Finding them in this mood, Narvaez ordered them to be plentifully supplied with wine, to make them more communicative. Cervantes the jester, who was one of these soldiers, under pretence of facetiousness, exposed to him all the discontents of our soldiers respecting the distribution of the treasure we had obtained, and informed him also of the bad state of the garrison in Villa Rica under Sandoval. The arrival of this new armament was soon communicated to Montezuma, who concealed the intelligence for some time from Cortes, and opened a private correspondence with Narvaez, to whom he sent many rich presents. Narvaez, in his correspondence with Montezuma, said every thing that was bad against Cortes and his troops, representing the whole of us as outcasts and robbers, and that the emperor, hearing of our evil conduct, and that we detained the great Montezuma in custody, had sent the present expedition for the express purpose of liberating him and putting us all to death. This intelligence gave great satisfaction to Montezuma, who thought we must necessarily be all destroyed, as he had got an exact account of their force represented to him in paintings: He accordingly transmitted very magnificent presents to Narvaez, and could ill conceal the satisfaction he had derived from the intelligence. Montezuma concealed the news of this armament from Cortes, who observed and was astonished at the alteration which it had produced on the kings manners and behaviour. At length however, from the circumstance of Cortes making him two visits in one day, Montezuma became apprehensive of the general procuring intelligence from any other quarter, and told him the news, pretending only to have just heard of it himself. Cortes expressed the utmost joy at the intelligence, and Montezuma shewed him the representations which had been transmitted to him, by which he learnt every thing he wished to know on the subject. He immediately left the king and communicated the intelligence to the troops, who got immediately under arms, and fired several vollies in token of our joy. We soon noticed, however, that Cortes was exceedingly pensive when alone, of which we could not divine the cause; till he soon afterwards convinced us, and explained that the armament was evidently designed against us; and he now, partly by promises and partly by gifts, as from his bounty of what was ours by good right, made interest with us to stand firmly by him in the approaching contest with Narvaez.