Adventure | Science Fiction | Ghost stories | Poetry | Children | History

Book

Open Original Text

ose who had overloaded themselves with it lost their lives in the
retreat. Several, however, had had the good fortune to escape with their
treasures, but had paid dearly for it with severe wounds and the risk of
their lives.

When Cortes learnt that there were still a great many bars of gold among
the men, and heavy gambling in consequence, (for, according to the old
saying, gold and love cannot lie long concealed,) he made known, under
threats of severe punishment, that every one should produce the gold he
had obtained on the night of our retreat from Mexico, of which one third
was to be returned to him; but that any one who refused to pay this,
should have the whole taken from him. Many of our men refused downright
to comply with this; yet Cortes managed to extort a good deal of it
under the pretence of a loan: but, as most of the officers and crown
officials had also well stocked themselves with gold on that occasion,
Cortes suddenly dropped the question, and nothing further was heard of
it. It is certain, however, that this circumstance injured him vastly in
every one's opinion.

CHAPTER CXXXVI.

 _How the chief officers and principal personages of Narvaez's troops
 request leave to return to Cuba, which Cortes grants, and they
 accordingly leave; also how our general sends ambassadors to Spain,
 St. Domingo, and Jamaica._

The officers of Narvaez's troops and those who had come from Jamaica in
Garay's expedition, seeing that the whole province of Tepeaca was now
tranquillized, begged Cortes would fulfil his promise, and allow them to
depart for Cuba; who not only granted them their request, but promised
them, and particularly Duero and Bermudez, that he would give them much
more gold after the total conquest of New Spain and Mexico, than they
had previously received. In the meantime he furnished them with
provisions of the kinds we had, consisting in maise, salted dog's flesh,
and fowls. He likewise gave them one of our best vessels, and sent by
them letters to his wife Catalina Suarez de Mercayda, and to his
brother-in-law Juan Suarez, who was then staying at Cuba. These letters
were accompanied by a few bars of gold and some jewels, and contained,
among other things, an account of our overthrow at Mexico.

All those who left New Spain on that occasion had accumulated great
riches, and I will give their names, as far as my memory permits. Duero,
Bermudez, Bono, Bernardino Quesada, Francisco Velasquez, with the
hunchback, a relation of the governor of Cuba; Carrasco, who afterwards
returned to New Spain, and now lives at Puebla; Melchior de Velasco, of
Guatimala; a certain Ximenes, who lives at Quaxaca, and was obliged to
go to Cuba on account of his son; the accountant Leon de Cervantes, who
made the same excuse to see his daughter there, for whom he concluded a
most excellent match after the conquest of Mexico; Maldonado de Medellin
was forced to leave on account of ill health; the other of that name,
who was surnamed the proud, and was married to a lady named Maria Arias,
likewise left us; further, a certain Vargas, of Trinidad, who, at Cuba,
was commonly called the gallant; lastly, one of Cortes' old warriors,
the pilot Cardenas, who said to one of his companions, "We soldiers may
now take our repose, since New Spain has two kings." Cortes had
presented him with 300 pesos, to induce him to return with his wife and
family. Besides these men, there were many others whose names I have
forgotten, which, indeed, is a good thing, for it prevents me from
going too much into detail.

As soon as Cortes had given them permission to leave, we asked him why
he had allowed them to depart, as he knew there would be so few of us
remaining? Cortes said he had done so to rid himself of their eternal
complaints and solicitations. We likewise knew that many of them were
not fit for service, and it was better to be alone than in bad company.

Pedro de Alvarado was commissioned to see them safe on board, with
orders to return immediately to head-quarters after they had left.

About this time Cortes also despatched Ordas and Alonso de Mendoza on
business to Spain, but for what particular purpose he never told us. We
only heard that the bishop of Burgos told Ordas to his face that we were
all villains and traitors, and that Ordas had boldly defended us. The
latter, on this occasion, was made comptoir of Santiago, and received
permission from the emperor to assume a burning mountain in his coat of
arms. What he further did in Spain I will relate hereafter.

Alonso de Avila, who was treasurer of New Spain, and Alvarez Chico,
another thorough man of business, were despatched in another vessel to
St. Domingo to render an account of all we had done to the royal court
of audience there, and to the Hieronymite brothers, who were appointed
viceroys over the whole of the islands, to gain their approbation of our
proceedings against Narvaez, and their sanction of the manner in which
we had enslaved and punished the inhabitants who had murdered the
Spaniards and rebelled against his majesty: and their opinion as to
whether Cortes should not similarly punish all those tribes who, as
allies of the Mexicans, had been guilty of like offences. Lastly, Cortes
begged of them to inform his majesty of all this, and of the great
services we had rendered and still daily rendered to the crown; and
requested them to favour our just cause against the bishop of Burgos,
who was striving to work out our ruin.

A third vessel was despatched by Cortes to Jamaica, to purchase horses
there, the command of which was given to Solis, who was the son-in-law
of the bachelor Ortega. Here the reader might be induced to ask whence
Cortes obtained the money to do all this? In reply to which, I can only
say that of the gold stowed away by Narvaez's and our own troops,
particularly by the horse, a great quantity was certainly saved. Besides
that, many of the eighty Tlascallans, who were loaded with the gold, and
retreated from Mexico in the vanguard, got safely over the bridges. We
poor soldiers, who had not to command but to obey, cared very little at
that time whether there was plenty of gold or not, but were happy if we
escaped alive and were able to cure our wounds. However, of the gold
that was saved, Cortes received as much back as he could possibly lay
his hands on; our men likewise suspected that he had put into his own
pocket again the 40,000 pesos, being the share of the Mexican treasure
belonging to the garrison of Vera Cruz. With this money he sent persons
to Spain and St. Domingo on his own private business, and others to
Jamaica to purchase horses.

Perfect tranquillity being now again restored to the province of
Tepeaca, Cortes marched back with his troops to Tlascalla, and left
Francisco de Orozco behind, with twenty invalid soldiers, as commandant
of Villa Segura.

Cortes then ordered the necessary quantity of wood to be felled for
building thirteen brigantines, with which another attack was to be made
upon

Previous Next