The herald. [microfilm reel], May 05, 1895, Image 13

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PART TWO
CHRONICLES
OF THE
CONQUEST OF MEXICO
Being the Diary
OF BERNAL DIAZ DEL CASTILLO
Translated Literally by
JOHN T. OAFFEY
Copyright. All Rights Reserved,*
CHAPTER LI I
Of (he Expedition Against Iztapalapa, and
How We Were Surprised In 'Me Night
and Nearly Drowned by the Mexicans
Cutting the Aqueducts and Canals
HEX AS WJfi HAD
been twelve days in Tez
cueo, and there were so
many of us, including
the Tlascalans. that the
latter could not supply
us all with provisions
enough, ami seeing that
the Tlascalans were eager
for warfare, Cortes determined upon an
other expedition at once. Accompanied
by Cristobal de Oli and Pedro do Alvarado
and 2'JO crossbowmen and six arquebus
iers and our friends of Tlascala, besides
twenty of the principal men of Tezcueo,
Cortes took the road for Itapalapa, which
was about four leagues from Tezcueo, The
Mexicans on seeing our object, sent 8000
warriors to assist the Iztapalapans against
us and like good warriors they awaited
us on •firm, ground and for a short time
fought valiantly. But wo soon broke
them witli our horse and crossbowmen
and our arquebuses, and when they were
once broken our Tlascalans charged them
like mad dogs, so that presently they fiea
into the town and took to their canoes
anil hid in those houses which were built
in the water where we could not fallow
them.
That night we camped on solid ground,
taking possession of that part of the town
which was not built on the water. The
nii> lit was very dark and after placing our
spies and guards we betook us to rest,
well content with our victory and the
spoils we had obtained. But during tlic
night, when we were not expecting it,
they broke some aqueducts and canals,
and turned the water in on us so that
bad it not been for some Tezetica.is who
discovered it immediately, we would
have been all drowned. And as it was we
lust two Tlascalans and all our powder
nnd baggage. The balance of the night |
we passed miserably, as it was very cold; :
but worst of all was to hear the jeers and
yells ot the peoplo of Iztapalapa and their [
Mexfctrii allies from their houses and ca
noes while we sat shivering on dry land.
Another and worse thing which we
found out, that in addition to the plan
the Mexicans had arranged to drown us,
they hnd sent out many squadrons of war
riors both by land anil in canoes, and in
the morning all of these came upon us
and attacked us so furiously that we could
scarcely sustain it, and came very near
being overwhelmed by them. As it wus,
by sheer stubborn fighting, we little by
little beat them oft and returned to Tez
cueo, wearied, wounded and disgusted at
the manner they had entrapped us. And
although they laughed at aud jeered us. it
took them some time to cure their wounds [
and bury their dead. We lost but two
men in "this expedition and one hotse,
but a great number of our Tlascalan war
riors were wounded.
CHAPTER Llll
Of the Comiug of Three Neighboring Towns to
Ask for Peace, and of the Expedition of
(ionzalu de Sandoval to Succor Chalco
and Talmanalco, Which Had Been At
tacked by tbe Mexicans
Three days after our return from Izta
pala there came to Cortes three of the
neighboring towns to ask for peace and
purJon for the past wars .thoy had made
upon ifsV and for the murder of some
(Spaniards. The excuse was that it had
been so ordered by the King who bad
succeeded Montezuma, and that as his
vassals they had to comply, and that the
Spaniards whom they had captured had
been taken to Mexico anil sacriliccd, and
that the horses und arms had also been
taken there. Cortes, after severely repri-
manding them and telling them that there
after they niuat make no alliance with
the Mexicans, but must remain loyal vas
sals of his majesty the King,granted them
pardon.
At this time there came a 1.,0 to ask for
peace the people of the town Mizquique,
which we called Venezuela, and which
was also built in the lagoon, and it ap
pears that these people had never been
friendly with the Mexicans, and we were
all glad when they came to make an al
liance with us. because through them we
expected lo also bring in their neighbors
to our alliance. Cortes received them
well and they went away contented.
There now came information that strong
squadrons of Mexicans had been sent to
ravage the towns of Guatinchan and Htta
xatlan and two other towns tnat were our
allies also. And they said that they did
not dare to await them in their houses,
and that unless we went to their assist
ance they would either have to Hce to the
mountains or come to Tezcueo. where we
were. Such being the case Cortes took
two hundred soldiers and some horse and
crossbowmcn and arquebusiers and
went, to their assistance.
We found that indeed the Mexicans
had threatened them, but that the real
cause of the quarrel was, tbat near those
four towns there was a large tract of land
which the people of the four towns were
required to sow in maize for the use of
the temples of Mexico, and as the corn
was now ripe the Mexicans wanted to
gather it, but tho people of the four
towns and of Tezcueo were supplying our
camp with provisions from the same
fields of maize, and there had already
been many fights over this and many
Indians had been killed. When Cortes
understood how things were he told
tlieui that he would send them a Captain
and some horsemen to protect them
while they were gathering the corn, and
with this they were content and we re
turned to our camp.
And thereafter whenever we needed
corn we sent a great number of tamones
from the neighboring towns and a strong
force of soldiers and Tlascalans and ob
tained what we wanted. I say this be
cause 1 went there twice, and once we
had a pretty fight with with great squad
rons of Mexicans who were hidden there
and who had come in over one thousand
canoes, and fought stubbornly, but we
finally defeated them after losing one
soldier and having twelve wounded.
Our Tlascalan allies also suffered heavily,
but the Mexicans did not go away rejoic
ing, as they lost fifteen killed and about
twenty-five whom we captured.
At this time the people of Chalco and
'Talraanalco sent to Cortes saying that
they wished for peace and to be admitted
to our alliance because of the ill-treat
ment which they were receiving from
the Mexican garrisons stationed in their
towns. We all felt anxious now for the
the timbers of which were
still in Tlascala, and besides our allies in
the lagoon towns sent daily to complain ol
the depredations of the Mexicans, which
we could not prevent until we had our
brigantines afloat.
And our Tlascalans nlso, who had salt
and spoils of different kinds which they
wished to send to Tlascala. did not dare
to do so because the road win unsafe.
Cortes, seeing how things were, and that
he was merely sitting in Tezcueo with
his beaid hanging on his breast, ever on
the alert and accomplishing little, now
determined that it was necessary to
drive the Mexicans out of Chalco and Tal
manalco, in order to open and protect the
road from Tuzcuco to Tlascala, and sent
Francisco de Lugo and (lonzalo do San
doval, with 200 foot and fifteen horse and
some crossbowmen and arquebusiers and
our Tlascalans, with orders to drive the
Mexicans out of Chalco and Talmaialco
at all hazards. He then, through some
Tezcucans, sent word to the people
A FORTIFIED PENOL
of Cnalco of bis intention, in order that
they might be ready t j co-operatj with the
/force he was sending, and as those of
; Chalco were expecting this, they were all
ready, fionzulu de Sandoval placed In
his rearguard on his march the Tlasca
lans, who were loaded witb spoils, and
live horsemen and some anjuebiisiers. The
Mexicans already knew of his march, and
apart from the force they had in Chalco
they had another large squadron watch
THE HERALD
LOS ANGELES: SUNDAY MORNING, MAY 5, 1895.—-TWENTY-FOUR PAGES
ing the movements of Sandoval. And
this force, seeine the arrangements San
doval made of his forces, pounced sud
denly on the Tlascalans in the rear and
treated them roughly, killing several of
the arquebusiers and wounding the re
mainder, and although Sandoval turned
on them quickly with his other forces
they escaped in their boats, leaving seven
dead on the field When Gonzalo de San
doval saw what had happened he was an
gry, and he told those who had been left
to protect the rear that they had made a
poor fight, and it seemed that not alone
were they unable to protect our friends,
tbe Tlascalans. but that they could not
even protect their own lives, and that it
was easy to see that they knew nothing
about war. And in truth they were of
those who had come recently from Castile.
He placed those, of the Tlascalans who
carried burdens where they would be safe
from attack, and then he dispatched the
letters which Cortes had written to Villa
Rica, telling them of our conquests and
warning them to keep good watch, and
that if there were any soldiers there ca
pable of bearing arms to send them to
Tlascala, but to come no further until the
road was more secure. Having dispatched
the messenger. Sandoval again took the
road for Chalco, which was near ny, anil
as he approached the town great squad
rons of Mexicans came out to meet him
on a plain where there were fields of
maize and maguey, from which they
make a liquor which they drink. The
squadrons immediately attacked Sandoval
with arrows and slings and long lances
with which they attacked the horse. But
although they fought well, with one or two
charges of the horse he broke their ranks,
and then, charging witb his foot and al
lies he completely defeated them. In the
first attack they" wounded live soldiers
and six horses, but Sandoval made them
pay dearly for this, killing and wounding
a great many of them.
When the people of Chalco saw how
things had gone they came out to receive
him and paid him great honor, and made
feasts. In this battle Sandoval captured
eight Mexicans, three of thctn being Cap
tains.
The next day he told the Chalcans he
was about to" return to Tezcueo and they
said they wished to send some of their
principal men to see Malinche and that
the lord of that province had but lately
died of smallpox, and that before ho died
he commanded them to take his two sons
to Cortes in order that he might recog
nize them as lords of Chalco. and that
they all desired to be subjects of the great
King of the Tcules, as their ancestors
had handed down a tradition that men
would come from where the sun rose who
should rule over them.
From what they had seen they were sat
isfied, they said, that we were the men
spoken of by their ancestors. Sandoval
then returned with his whole force to
Tezcueo. taking with him the sons of the
late lord of Chalco. and other principal
men and the eight Mexican prisoners.
When he arrived in Tezcueo he imme
diately took the Chalcans and his Mex
ican prisoners to the quarters of Cortes,
and the men of Chalco. after the usual
courtesies had been exchanged, told
Cortes of the good will they had toward
him, and of their desire to become vas
sals of his majesty, and of the wiiih of
their late lord relative to iiis sons, and
they presented Cortes with jewels worth
about two hundred dollars. When Cortes
heard this he gave by his hand the lord
ship to the eldest brother, with more than
half of the subject towns, and to the
younger brother he gave Talmanalco and
Chimalocan with Ayocingo und some other
towns.
After some further talk the Chalcans
said that now they desired to return
home, and that in every possible way thoy
would endeavor to serve the representa
tives of his majesty. And Cortes told
them to wait two days as he was about to
send a Captain with soldiers to Tlascala
for the timbers of the brigantines, aud
that the force would escort them to their
province.
Cortes at this time sent the eight pris
oners taken by Sandoval to Mexico to tell
the King Guateraoc that If he would
make peace with us he would pardon all
the harm the Mexicans had already done
to us. and that it was easy to commence
the war, but that the end "of all wars was
ruin to some one, and that this one could
only end in the destruction of his city:
and that we welt knew of all the warlike
stoics lie was laying in, but that ho was
only wasting time and working in vain,
and that the result would be the destruc
tion of his people and of his city.
And ho asked him to consider the
great power of the God we adored and
who always aided us, and also to consider
that all his neighbors were now allied
with us against him and that us for the
Tlascalans they desired nothing better
than the destruction of the Mexicans in
order to he revenged for the great injur
ies-they had done them in tne past, and
to think of ali these things and make
peace, and that he would confer honors
on him.
The prisoners carried the messaege to
Guatemae, but he paid no attention to
it and went on with his preparations for
war. sending out to all his provinces,
telling them that whenever they captured
any of us they should send us to Mexico
to be sacrifice! and to be ready to come
in arms whenever he called "them and
he forgave them tributes and made them
great promises.
The people of Guatinchan again came
to Cortes complaining that the Mexicans !
rA ..I-;., ~ ih*»wi and thn+ thr-v h*"' 1
VVUIO Ulll.i.Ulilj, 111. 1,, U1.L.1 l,l>-j
taken some of their people prisoners and
curried them off to Mexico, and they said
that the Mexicans were accustomed to
come about twice a week to the tields oi
maize, of which 1 have already spoken.
AniT Cortes ordered spies to be placed
near the fields, as they were only about
two leagues from Tezcueo. And one
Wednesday morning, when he was ad
vised that the Mexicans were there, he
fell on them suddenly with about one
hundred soldiers, and handled them
roughly, wounding many and killing four
and taking three prisonres. And there
after the Mexicans did not attack the
people of those towns.
CHAPTER LIV
Of How Gonzalo de Sandoval Went to Tlas
cala for the Timbers of the Brigantines,
■nd What He Did In a Town Which We
Called El Pueblo Morisco
Cortes now sent Gonzalo de Sandoval
with-a body of 200 foot and twenty cross
bowmen and fifteen horse and some Tlas
calans and twenty of the principal men of
Tezcuco.and before he started, he made a
treaty between the Tlascalans and the
Chalcans, because whenever the Mexicans
made war on Tlascala they always took
with them the people of Chalco. who were
subject to them, so that there was always
bad blood between the Chalcans and Tlas
calans. But Cortes now made them
friends, so that thereafter they always
maintained friendly relations. He also
ordered Gonzalo de Sandoval that when
bo had escorted the Chalcans to their
town he should goto another place which
was nearer, wh.ch we called "El Pueolo
Morisco," and which was subject to Tez
cueo, because the Tezcucans said that in
that town there had been killed over for
ty of the soldiers of Narvaez and even
some of our own, and we learned that the
attack had been made in a narrow pass
in the mountains, where only one man
could pass at a time, and that the Tzecu
cans ban taken their prisoners to their
city, where t ey divided them with the
Mexicans, but they said that whatever
pift they took in tho affair was because
they were ordered to and could do, noth'
Ing'else, and that they did it to revenge
their lord Cacamatzin, who had been
taken prisoner by Cortes and was after
ward killed on the Calzadas the night we
lied from Mexico. Sandoval found, how-
AN AZTEC PICTURE OF A BATTLE WITH THE SPANIARDS
ever that the inhabitants of tne town,
notwithstanding their account of the af
fair, had covered the walls of their tem
ple with the blood of the slain Spaniards,
a nd he found also the skins of two Span
ish laoes which they had dried and made
an offering of to their idols.
And he also found the hides of four
horses tanned with the hair on, and even
their shoes still on their hoofs, and these
also were hung up in the temple as an
offering to their idols. And there were
many other things belonging to the Span
iards hung up in the temple, and ou a
marble slab they found written by one of
the Spaniards : ''Here the unfortunate
Juan Yuste was prisoner with many oth
! ers who came in my company." This
Juan Yuste was an hidalgo, one of the
persons of quality who came with Nar
vaez. Sandoval and his soldiers felt very
sad when t icy saw these things, but what
could they do" but treat with pity the peo
ple of the town, particularly as they had
nearly all tied to the mountains? Sando
val, seeing how things were, set free the
prisoners he had taken and told them to
go and bring back those who had lied.
And when they came they begged that
they should be forgiven and that there
alter they would be loyal vassals to His
Majesty and would aid us against the
Mexicans. When they were asked for the
gold they had stolen thoy replied that the
Mexicans and Tezcucans had carried it
away, saying that it had belonged to Mon
tezuma.
Sandovil now went to Tlascala, and
near the chief town he met a cavalcade
that was bringing the material for the
brigantines to Tezcueo. There were over
eight thousand Indians employed in car
rying it and as many«more came as a
guard, and two thousand more who car
ried provisions. And there came as Cap
tains of the Tlascalans, .Chinchimectecle
ami Tctilepilc and Teutical. and Martin
Lopez came with them. And Sandoval
was glad when he saw them, for be had
feared that he would have been detained
sonic days in Tlascala arranging the man
ner of transporting the materials; and
after two days' march, when they entered
the territory of Mexico, the Tlascalans
asked Sandoval to change the arrange
ment of hf< forces as they were now lia
ble to be attacked at any" moment by the
great forces of Mexico.
Such attacks they feared, because,
loaded as they were, they could not. de
fend themselves. He then divided the
hors? and crossbows and arquebusiers,
placing some in front and some on each
side, and he ordered Chichimecatecle to
guard the rear with his Tlascalans,where
at this chief was much offended, as he
deeimed it a reflection ou his courage, but
was contented wlien he found that Gonzalo
de Sandoval was also going with the rear
guard. And Sandoval told him that be
placed him there in the post of danger,
because the Mexicans always attacked
the rear, where the baggage was, and he
then embraced Sandoval and thanked him
fur the honor he had done him. and twu
days after the whole party arrived safely
lrJfTezcuco. Tbey entered the town with
bay tiers Hying, drums beating and cor- 1
nets playing, while the air was rent with
shouts of "Long live our lord the Em
peror," "Castile, Castile." and "Tlascala.
Tlascala." Cortes and the other Captains
«,n;,i out to receive them and so !ou" was
the line of march that it was half a day
before the last man entered Tezcueo.
As soon as the material fcr»thc brigan
tines was placed where they were to be
built, it did not take long to put them to
gether, so that iv a short time nothing
remained but to calk them, and we had
to keep good watcn for the Mexicans, for
through some prisoners we learner! that
it was the determination of Guatimoc to
then destroy us all or die fighting in de-
OUATEnOC, THE LAST AZTEC EIPEROR
OF MEXICO
fense of his kingdom, but that on no ac
count would he make peace with us.
CHAPTER LV
Of How Cortes Went on an Expedition to the
Town of Saltocan, Which Is About Six
Leagues From the City, of Mexico, and of
What Occurred There and in Other Towns
Through Which He Passed
There came witli us to Tezcueo oyer
fifteen thousand Tlascalans. and five day?
having now passed without anything
worthy of note happening, the Cantain
in-('hief of \he i,Tlascalans. Chichimeca
tecle, who was very brave and proud, said
to Cortes that he wished to do something
against the Mexicans that would be of
service tn our Emperor, and also to re
venge the deaths* of those Tlascalans
that had been slain by them both in Mex
ico and in former times in their own ter
ritories, and that he wished to be allowed
to go against a town called Saltocan,
which was in the lagoon about six leagues
from Mexico. We had already sent
messengers to the people of this town
three times, calling on them to come and
make peace, and they had beaten the
messengers and replied that what they
most desired was for us to come against
them, as their idols assured them that
in that case we would all be destroyed.
Cortes determined to go in person and
bring them to peace, and for this purpose
he took with him two hundred and fifty sol
diers and thirty horse and a strong body
of crossbowmen and arquebusiers; and
he took in his company l'edrode Alvarado
and Cristobal de Oh and all the Tlasca
lans and a squadron of Tezcucan war
riors, and he left Gonzalo de Sandoval in
charge of the camp. After he had heard
mass he set forth on the march. Oncom
ing near Saltocan he encountered a great
squadron of Mexicans Who were posted
in a place which they thought favorable fur
resisting our horse. But after one dis
( ,e arquebuses and crossbows
Cortes charged them with his horse and
broke their ranks so that they Hcd in all
directions out of reach of the horse, but
our friends of Tlascala followed them
closely and killed and captured over thirty
of them.
That night Cortes halted where there
were some houses and with great precau
tion placed sentinels and watches lest he
should be surprised during the night.
When Guatemoc learned that we hail
gone against Saltocan he sent in canoes
great squadrons of warriors to the assis
tance 3f the people of that place.
The next day, early in the morning,
they attacked us from the houses, which
were totally in the water, with arrows and
slings, and they soon wounded ten of ot;r
men, besides a great many of the Tlasca
lans, while our horses could not reach
them because of the water, for some days
before they had b.'oken the causeway that
led into the town so that we could not get
at them in any way, nor could our cross
bowmen or arquebusiers hurt those in
the canoes, for they were protected by
bulwarks,and were besides careful to keep
out of range.
Our soldiers, seeing that in no way
could they get at them,and suffering from
the shower of rocks and arrows, and an
gry at the cries of the Mexicans, who
called them women and said that Malin
ehe.too.wns a woman who dared not tight,
but only deceived with lying words, grew
desperate and cursed the town and the
expedition both.
At this moment two Indians of Tezcu
eo. between whom and the people of Sal
tocan there was bad blood, said that it
was only a few days before that the peo
ple of Saltocan had opened certain canals
and caused the water to cover the cause
way.and that it could be crossed with lit
tle difficulty. Thereupon.guided by these
Indians.our soldiers commenced to wade.
Sometimes they were knee deep, and at
others with the water to their waists.
The crossbowmen and arquebusiers were
in front, and Cortes on the bank: with bis
horse lest they should he attacked in the
I rear. When they reached the town, where
thero was dry ground, the Indians rushed
on them like wolves and wounded a great
many, but our men paid them back well
lor their jeers and killed and wounded so
many of them that they soon fled in their
canoes with everything they could carry
off. But notwithstanding we got a good
spoil of gold and cotton cloth and other
things, and the Tlascalans also carried off
a good spoil of gold and salt and cotton
cloth, and in this town we captured also
a great many pretty Indian women.
As the houses were built in tbe lagoon
our men did not dare to remain there
that night, but returned to where Cortes
was. and they camped in a small town
about a league from Saltocan. where they
dressed ttieir wounds. A few days after
one of our men died of an arrow wound
in the throat.
The next day Cortes went to a largo
town called Colvatitlan. but although the
Indians yelled at the troops as they
passed, yet when they arrived at the
town they found it deserted, the popula
tion having carried off everything of
value. That night they stayed at Col
vatitlan and the next day marched to a
large town called Teneyuca. This was the
town which on first entering Mexico we
called "the town of the serpents," be
cause they had two immense figures of
serpents for idols. This town thoy also
found deserted, the people having moved
to a town still further in advance, called
Ecapuzalco. sVnd when Cortes reached
that place he found it also deserted. This
was the town in which resided all the sil
versmiths and goldsmiths of Montezuma,
and which we were accustomed to call "ci
pueblo de las Platerose."
From this town we marched to Tacuba,
which is about half a league from Eseapu
zalco. This was the town where we rested
the "noche triste" when we Hed from
Mexico. Before we reached Tecuba Cortes
met great squadrons composed of the peo
ple of the deserted towns with those of
Tacuba, assisted by squadrons ol Mexi
cans; they came upon him with such fury
that he had great difficulty in breaking
their ranks with his horsemen. But there
were so many of them and in such close
order that every shot and every stab
counted, so that presently he drove them
back, and that night he stayed in Tacuba.
The next day great squadrons of war
riors, sent over in the night time, at
tacked him with great fury and persist
ency, they being assisted each moment
by fresh squadrons from the cily, which
was near at hand.
Gradually he drove them back, and
finally they broke and fled along the Cal
zada toward the city, which was only a
stratagem to draw him and his men into
a trap. And Cortes, believing that he
had the victory, and that they were flying
through fear, pursued them along the
Calzada. And when the Mexicans
thought they had him far enough, there
came upon him and his soldiers such a
multitude of warrior?, both on the Calzada
and in canoes, that he feared that he not
only would be defeated but destroyed, for
there was such a multitude of them that
the soldiers could not fight to advant
age because the causeway was narrow,
an alferez who carried a banner was so
badly wounded that he fell into the water.
The Mexicans haa aheady seized him
and were dragging him into a ftanoe.
when by desperate effort he freed himself
and saved both himself ; and his banner
by climbing back on the Calzada.
In this fight we lost five men killed
and had a great number wounded, and
Cortes, seeing that the Mexicans had en
trapped him, put his men in the best or
der possible and little by little fought his
way to the shore of the lake. It was ou
that very bridge at that time that Pedro
de ircio'madc some injurious remarks ti»
the Alferez .Itian Valante, who fell in tho
water. There was bad blood between;
SPECIMENS OF AZTEC GOLD JEWELRY
them because of a woman, and the re«
marks of Pedro Ircio were unjust because
the alferez was a brave man, but there
after they were mortal enemies.
Cortes now commenced the return
march to Tezcueo by the road lie had
come, and the Mexicans, thinking he was
retreating through loar, followed him,
yelling, and laid ambushes for bim,
whore they thought they could kill the
horses. logons of these attacks Cortes
killed a great many of them, hut lost In
PAGES 13 TO 24