1 Ixtlilxochitl, Hist. Chich., Ms., cap

Part II., of the "History of Ferdinand and Isabella," where I have taken some pains to show
how deep settled were these convictions in Spain, at the period with which we are now oc­
cupied. The world had gained little in liberality since the age of Dante, who could coolly
dispose of the great and good of Antiquity in one of the circles of Hell, because-no fault of

March to Mexico - 367

theirs, certainly-they had come into the world too soon. The memorable verses, hKe many
others of the immortal bard, are a proof at once of the strength and weakness of the human
understanding. They may be cited as a fair exponent of the popular feeling at the beginning
of the sixteenth century.

"Ch' ei non peccaro, e, s'egli hanno mercedi,

Non basta, perch' e' non ebber battesmo,

Ch' e porta della fede the to credi.

E, se furon dinanzi al Cristianesmo,
Non adorar debitamente Dio;

E di questi cotai son io medesmo

Per tai difetti, e non per altro rio,
Semo perduti, e sol di tanto offesi
Che sanza speme vivemo in disio."
INFERNO, CANTO 4.

8 It is in the same spirit that the laws of Oleron, the maritime code of so high authority in the

Middle Ages, abandon the property of the infidel, in common with that of pirates, as fair spoil
to the true believer! "S'ilz sont pyrates, pilleurs, ou escumeurs de met, ou Turcs, etautres con­
traires et ennemis de nostredicteJoy catholinque, chascun peut prendre sur telles manieres de gens,
comme sur chiens et pent l'on les desrobber et spolier de lurs bins sans pugnition. C'est le judgment."
Jugemens d'Oleron, Art 45, ap. Collection de Lois Maritimes, par J. M. Pardessus, (ed. Paris,
1828,) tom. I. p. 351.
9 The famous bull of partition became the basis of the treaty of Tordesillas, by which the
Castilian and Portuguese governments determined the boundary line of their respective dis­
coveries; a line that secured the vast empire of Brazil to the latter, which from priority of oc­
cupation should have belonged to their rivals. See the History of Ferdinand and Isabella, Part
I., chap. 18; Part II., chap. 9,-the closing pages of each.

368 - History of the Conquest of Mexico

10 It is the condition, unequivocally expressed and reiterated, on which Alexander VI., in his fa­
mous bulls of May 3d and 4th, 1493, conveys to Ferdinand and Isabella full and absolute right
over all such territories in the Western World, as may not have been previously occupied by
Christian princes. See these precious documents, in extenso, apud Navarrete, Collection de
los Viages y Descubrimientos, (Madrid, 1825,) tom. II. Nos. 17, 18.
11 The ground on which Protestant nations assert a natural right to the fruits of their discover­
ies in the New World is very different. They consider that the earth was intended for culti­
vation; and that Providence never designed that hordes of wandering savages should hold a
territory far more than necessary for their own maintenance, to the exclusion of civilized
man. Yet it may be thought, as far as improvement of the soil is concerned, that this argument
would afford us but an indifferent tenure for much of our own unoccupied and uncultivated
territory, far exceeding what is demanded for our present or prospective support. As to a right
founded on difference of civilization, this is obviously a still more uncertain criterion. It is to
the credit of our Puritan ancestors, that they did not avail themselves of any such interpre­
tation of the law of nature, and still less rely on the powers conceded by KingJames' patent,
asserting rights as absolute, nearly, as those claimed by the Roman See. On the contrary, they
established their title to the soil by fair purchase of the Aborigines; thus forming an honor­
able contrast to the policy pursued by too many of the settlers on the American continents.
It should be remarked, that, whatever difference of opinion may have subsisted between the
Roman Catholic,-or rather the Spanish and Portuguese nations,-and the rest of Europe,
in regard to the true foundation of their titles in a moral view, they have always been content,
in their controversies with one another, to rest them exclusively on priority of discovery. For
a brief view of the discussion, see Vattel, (Droit des Cens, sec. 209,) and especially Kent,
(Commentaries on American Law, vol. 111. let. 51,) where it is handled with much perspicu^­
ity and eloquence. The argument, as founded on the law of nations, may be found in the cel­
ebrated case of Johnson v. McIntosh. (Wheaton, Reports of Cases in the Supreme Court of
the United States, vol. VIII. p. 543, et seq.) If it were not treating a grave discussion too lightly,
I should crave leave to refer the reader to the renowned Diedrich Knickerbocker's History of
New York, (book 1, chap. 5,) for a luminous disquisition on this knotty question. At all events,
he will find there the popular arguments subjected to the test of ridicule; a test, showing,
more than any reasoning can, how much, or rather how little, they are really worth.

370 - History of the Conquest of Mexico

12 Los Dioses blancos-Camargo, Hist. de Tlascala, MS.-Torquemada, Monarch. Ind., lib.
cap. 40.
March to Mexico - 371
13 Sahagun, Hist. de Nueva Espafia, MS., lib. 12, cap. 11.

In an old Aztec harangue, made as a matter of form on the accession of a prince, we find

the following remarkable prediction. "Perhaps ye are dismayed at the prospect of the terri­
ble calamities that are one day to overwhelm us, calamities foreseen and foretold, though not
felt, by our fathers! .... When the destruction and desolation of the empire shall come, when
all shall be plunged in darkness, when the hour shall arrive in which they shall make us slaves
throughout the land, and we shall be condemned to the lowest and most degrading offices!"
(ibid., lib. 6, cap. 16.) This random shot of prophecy, which I have rendered literally, shows
how strong and settled was the apprehension of some impending revolution.

14 Herrera, Hist. (General, dec. 2, lib. 7, cap. 3.

372 - History of the Conquest of Mexico

15 Bernal Diaz, Hist. de la Conquista, cap. 83. J,

16 Veytia, Hist. Antig., tom I. cap. 13.

17 Humboldt, Vues des Cordilleres, p. 32.

18 Rel. Seg. de Cortes, ap. Lorenzana, p. 69.-Gomara, Cronica, cap. 63.-Oviedo, Hist. de las
Ind., MS., lib. 33, cap. 5.-Ixtlilxochitl, Hist. Chich., MS., cap. 84.

March to Mexico - 373

19 The language of the text may appear somewhat too unqualified, considering that three Aztec
codices exist with interpretations. (See Ante, Vol. 1. pp. 80, 81.) But they contain very few and
general allusions to Montezuma, and these strained through commentaries of Spanish
monks, oftentimes manifestly irreconcilable with the genuine Aztec notions. Even such writ­
ers as Ixtlilxochitl and Camargo, from whom, considering their Indian descent, we might ex­
pect more independence, seem less solicitous to show this, than their loyalty to the new faith
and country of their adoption. Perhaps the most honest Aztec record of the period is to be
obtained from the volumes, the twelfth book, particularly, of father Sahagun, embodying the
traditions of the natives soon after the Conquest. This portion of his great work was rewrit­
ten by its author, and considerable changes were made in it, at a later period of his life. Yet it
may be doubted if the reformed version reflects the traditions of the country as faithfully as
the original, which is still in manuscript, and which I have chiefly followed.

374 - History of the Conquest of Mexico

20 Bernal Diaz, Hist. de la Conquista, cap. 84, 85.-Rel. Seg. de Cortes, ap. Lorenzana, p. 67.­
Gomara, Cronica, cap. 60.-Oviedo, Hist. de las Ind., MS., lib. 33, cap. 5.
CHAPTER VIII
MARCH RESUMED^-ASCENT OF THE GREAT
VOLCANO^-VALLEY OF MEXICO^-IMPRESSION ON
THE SPANIARDS^-CONDUCT OF MONTEZUMA^­
THEY DESCEND INTO THE VALLEY
1519

376 - History of the Conquest of Mexico

1 "Andauamos," says Diaz, in the homely, but expressive Spanish proverb, "la barba sobre el
ombro." Hist. de la Conquista, cap. 86.

2 Ibid., ubi supra.-Rel. Seg. de Cortés, ap. Lorenzana, p. 70.-Torquemada, Monarch. Ind., lib. 4, cap. 41.

March to Mexico - 377

3 "Llamaban al volcan Popocat6petl, y a la sierra nevada Iztaccihuatl, que quiere decir la sierra

que humea, y la blanca muger." Camargo, Hist. de Tlascala, MS.

4 "La Sierra nevada y el volcan los tenian por Dioses; y que el volcan y la Sierra nevada eran

marido y muger." Ibid., MS.

5 Gomara, Cr6nica, cap. 62.

"zEtna Giganteos nunquam tacitura triumphos,
Enceladi bustum, qui saucia terga revinctus
Spirat inexhaustum flagranti pectore sulphur."
CLAUDIAN, DE RAPT. PROS., LIB. 1, v. 152.

6 The old Spaniards called any lofty mountain by that name, though never having given signs

of combustion. Thus, Chimborazo was called a volcan de nieve, or "snow volcano"; (Humboldt,
Essai Politique, tom. 1. p. 162;) and that enterprising traveller, Stephens, notices the volcan de
agua, "water volcano," in the neighborhood of Antigua Guatemala. Incidents of Travel in
Chiapas, Central America, and Yucatan, (New York, 1841,) vol. I. chap. 13.

7 Mont Blanc, according to M. de Saussure, is 15,670 feet high. For the estimate of Popocate­

petl, see an elaborate communication in the Reoista Mexicana, tom. 11. No. 4.

378 - History of the Conquest of Mexico

March to Mexico - 379

8 Rel. Seg. de Cortes, ap. Lorenzana, p. 70.-Oviedo, Hist. de las Ind., MS., lib. 33, cap. 5.­

Bernal Diaz, Hist. de la Conquista, cap. 78.

The latter writer speaks of the ascent as made when the army lay at Tlascala, and of the

attempt as perfectly successful. The general's letter, written soon after the event, with no mo­
tive for misstatement, is the better authority. See, also, Herrera, Hist. General, dec. 2, lib. 6,
cap. 18.-Rel. d' un gent., ap. Ramusio, tom. III. p. 308.-Gomara, Cronica, cap. 62.

380 - History of the Conquest of Mexico

9 Rel. Ter. y Quarta de Cortes, ap. Lorenzana, pp. 318, 380.-Herrera, Hist. General, dec. 3, lib. 3, cap.1.-Oviedo, Hist. de las Ind., MS., lib. 33, cap. 41.

M. de Humboldt doubts the fact of Montafio's descent into the crater, thinking it more

probable that he obtained the sulphur through some lateral crevice in the mountain. (Essai
Politique, tom. I. p. 164.) No attempt-at least, no successful one-has been made to gain the
summit of Popocatepetl, since this of Montafio, till the present century. In 1827 it was
reached in two expeditions, and again in 1833 and 1834. A very full account of the last, con­
taining many interesting details and scientific observations, was written by Federico de
Gerolt, one of the party, and published in the periodical already referred to. (Revista Mexi­
cana, tom. 1. pp. 461-482.) The party from the topmost peak, which commanded a full view
of the less elevated Iztaccihuatl, saw no vestige of a crater in that mountain, contrary to the
opinion usually received.
10 Humboldt, Essai Politique, tom. IV. p. 17.

March to Mexico - 381

11 The lake of Tezcuco, on which stood the capital of Mexico, is 2277 metres, nearly 7500 feet,
ibove the sea. Humboldt, Essai Politique, tom. 11. p. 45.

382 - History of the Conquest of Mexico

12 It is unnecessary to refer to the pages of modern travellers, who, however they may differ in
taste, talent, or feeling, all concur in the impressions produced on them by the sight of this
beautiful valley.
13 Torquemada, Monarch. Ind., lib. 4, cap. 41.

It may call to the reader's mind the memorable view of the fair plains of Italy which Han­

nibal displayed to his hungry barbarians, after a similar march through the wild passes of the
Alps, as reported by the prince of historic painters. Livy, Hist., lib. 21, cap. 35.

1'Iarch to Mexico - 383

14 Torquemada, Monarch. Ind., ubi supra.-Herrera, Hist. General, dec. 2, lib. 7, cap. 3.­
Gomara, Cronica, cap. 64.-Oviedo, Hist. de las Ind., MS., lib. 33, cap. 5.
15 A load for a Mexican tamane was about fifty pounds, or eight hundred ounces. Clavigero, Stor.
del Messico, tom. III. p. 69, nota.
384 - History of the Conquest of Mexico
16 Sahagun, Hist. de Nueva Espana, MS., lib. 12, cap. 12.-Rel. Seg. de Cortes, ap. Lorenzana, p
73.-Herrera, Hist. General, dec. 2, lib. 7, cap. 3.-Gomara, Cr6nica, cap. 64.-Oviedo, His'.
de las Ind., MS., lib. 33, cap. 5.-Bernal Diaz, Hist. de la Conquista, cap. 87.

March to Mexico - 385

17 This was not the sentiment of the Roman hero.

"Victrix causa Diis placuit, sed victa Catoni!"

LUCAN, LIB. 1, b'. 128.
18 Sahagun, Hist. de Nueva Espaiia, MS., lib. 12, cap. 13.-Torquemada, Monarch. Ind., lib. 4,
cap. 44.-Gomara, Cr6nica, cap. 63.
19 "El senor de esta provincia y pueblo me di6 hasta quarenta esclavas, y tres mil castellanos; y
dos dias que alli estuve nos provey6 may cumplidamente de todo to necessario para nuestra
comida." Rel. Seg. de Cortés, ap. Lorenzana, p. 74.
386 - History of the Conquest of Mexico
20 "De todas partes era infinita la gente que de un cabo e de otro concurrian a mirar a los Es­
pafioles, e maravillabanse mucho de los ver. Tenian grande espacio e atencion en mirar los
caballos; decian, `Estos son Teules,' que quiere decir Demonios." Oviedo, Hist. de las Ind.,
MS., lib. 33, cap. 45.
21 Cortes tells the affair coolly enough to the emperor. "E aquella noche tuve tal guarda, que
assi de espias, que venian por el agua en canoas, como de otras, que par la sierra abajaban, a
ver si habia aparejo para executar su voluntad, amanecieron casi quince, o veinte, que las
nuestras las habian tomado, y muerto. Por manera que pocas bolvieron a dar su respuesta de
el aviso que venian 6 tomar." Rel. Seg. de Cortes, ap. Lorenzana, p. 74.
March to Mexico - 387
22 Rel. Seg. de Cortes, ap. Lorenzana, p. 75.-Gomara, Cronica, cap. 64.-Ixtlilxochitl, Hist.
Chich., MS., cap. 85.-Oviedo, Hist. de las Ind., MS., lib. 33, cap. 5.

"Llego con el mayor fausto, y grandeza que ningun sefior de los Mexicanos auiamos visto

traer, . . . . y to tuuimos por muy gran coca: y platicamos entre nosotros, que quando aquel
Cacique traia tanto triunfo, que haria el gran MonteSuma?" Bernal Diaz, Hist. de la Con­
quista, cap. 87.

388 - History of the Conquest of Mexico

23 "Nos quedamos admirados," exclaims Diaz, with simple wonder, "y deziamos que parecia a
las casas de encantamento, que cuentan en libro de Amadis!" (Ibid., loc. cit.) An edition of this
celebrated romance in its Castilian dress had appeared before this time, as the prologue to
the second edition of 1521 speaks of a former one in the reign of the "Catholic Sovereigns."
See Cervantes, Don Quixote, ed. Pellicer, (Madrid, 1797,) tom. I., Discurso Prelim.

24 "Una ciudad, la mas hermosa, aunque pequefia, que hasta entonces habiamos visto, assi de

muy bien obradas Casas, y Torres, como de la buena orden, que en el fundamento de ella
habia pot set armada toda sobre Agua." (Rel. Seg. de Cortes, ap. Lorenzana, p. 76.) The
Spaniards gave this aquatic city the name of Venezuela, or little Venice. Toribio, Hist. de los
Indios, MS., Parte 2, cap. 4.

March to Mexico - 389

25 M. de Humboldt has dotted the conjectural limits of the ancient lake in his admirable chart of
the Mexican Valley. (Atlas Geographique et Physique de la Nouvelle Espagne, (Paris, 1811,)
carte 3.) Notwithstanding his great care, it is not easy always to reconcile his topography with
the itineraries of the Conquerors, so much has the face of the country been changed by nat­
ural and artificial causes. It is still less possible to reconcile their narratives with the maps of
Clavigero, Lopez, Robertson, and others, defying equally topography and history.
26 Several writers notice a visit of the Spaniards to Tezcuco on the way to the capital. (Torque­
mada, Monarch. Ind., lib. 4, cap. 42.-Solis, Conquista, lib. 3, cap. 9.-Herrera, Hist. General,
dec. 2, lib. 7, cap. 4.-Clavigero, Stor. del Messico, tom. III. p. 74.) This improbable episode­
which, it may be remarked, has led these authors into some geographical perplexities, not to
say blunders-is altogether too remarkable to have been passed over in silence, in the minute
relation of Bernal Diaz, and that of Cortes, neither of whom alludes to it.
27 "E me dieron," says Cortes, "hasta tres, o quarto mil Castellanos, y a1gunas Esclavas, y Ropa,
e me hicieron muy buen acogimiento." Rel. Seg., ap. Lorenzana, p. 76.

390 - History of the Conquest of Mexico

28 "Tiene el Senor de ella unas Casas nuevas, que aun no estan acabadas, que son tan buenas
como las mejores de Espana, digo de grandes y bien labradas." Ibid., p. 77.
29 The earliest instance of a Garden of Plants in Europe is said to have been at Padua, in 1545.
Carli, Lettres Am6ricaines, tom. I. let. 21.

March to Mexico - 391

30 Rel. Seg. de Cortes, ubi supra.-Herrera, Hist. General, dec. 2, lib. 7, cap. 44.-Sahagun, Hist.
de Nueva Espana, MS., lib. 12, cap. 13.-Oviedo, Hist. de las Ind., MS., lib. 33, cap. 5.-Bernal
Diaz, Hist. de la Conquista, cap. 87.

31 "There Aztlan stood upon the farther shore;

Amid the shade of trees its dwellings rose,
Their level roofs with turrets set around,

And battlements all burnished white, which shone

Like silver in the sunshine. I beheld

The imperial city, her far-circling walls,

Her garden groves and stately palaces,
Her temples mountain size, her thousand roofs;
And when I saw her might and majesty,

My mind misgave me then."

SOUTHEY'S MADOC, PART 1, CANTO 6.

CHAPTER IX

ENVIRONS OF MEXICO^-INTERVIEW WITH
MONTEZUMA^-ENTRANCE INTO THE CAPITAL^­
HOSPITABLE RECEPTION^-VISIT TO THE
EMPEROR
1519

March to Mexico - 393

I He took about 6000 warriors from Tlascala; and some few of the Cempoallan and other In­
dian allies continued with him. The Spanish force on leaving Vera Cruz amounted to about
400 foot and 15 horse. In the remonstrance of the disaffected soldiers, after the murderous
Tlascalan combats, they speak of having lost fifty of their number since the beginning of the
campaign. Ante, Vol. 1. p. 327.

2 "La calzada d'Iztapalapan est fondee sur cette meme digue ancienne, sur laquelle Cortez fit des

prodiges de valeur dans ses recontres avec les assieges." Humboldt, Essai Politique, tom. 11. p. 57.
3 Among these towns were several containing from three to five or six thousand dwellings, ac­
cording to Cortes, whose barbarous orthography in proper names will not easily be recog­
nized by Mexican or Spaniard. Rel. Seg., ap. Lorenzana, p. 78.

4 Father Toribio Benavente does not stint his panegyric in speaking of the neighborhood of

the capital, which he saw in its glory. "Creo, que en toda nuestra Europa hay pocas ciudades

394 - History of the Conquest of Mexico

que tengan tal asiento y tal comarca, con tantos pueblos a la redonda de si y tan bien asenta­
dos." Hist. de los Indios, MS., Parte 3, cap. 7.
5 It is not necessary, however, to adopt Herrera's account of 50,000 canoes, which, he says, were
constantly employed in supplying the capital with provisions! (Hist. General, dec. 2, lib. 7,
cap. 14.) The poet-chronicler Saavedra is more modest in his estimate.

"Dos mil y mas canoes cada dia

Bastecen el gran pueblo Mexicano
De la mas y la menus nineria

Que es necessario al alimento humano."

EL PEREGRINO INOIANO, CANTO 11.
6 "Usaban unos brazaletes de musaico, hechos de turquezas con unas plumas ricas que
salian de ellos, que eran mas alias que la cabeza, y bordadas con plumas ricas y con oro, y
unas bandas de oro, que subian con las plumas." Sahagun, Hist. de Nueva Espana, lib. 8, cap. 9.
March to Mexico - 395

7 Gonzalo de las Casas, Defensa, MS., Parte 1, cap. 24.-Gomara, Cronica, cap. 65.-Bernal

Diaz, Hist. de la Conquista, cap. 88.-Oviedo, Hist. de las Ind., MS., lib. 33, cap. 5.-Rel. Seg.
de Cortes, ap. Lorenzana, pp. 78, 79.-Ixtlilxochitl, Hist. Chich., MS., cap. 85.
8 Cardinal Lorenzana says, the street intended, probably, was that crossing the city from the
Hospital of San Antonio. (Rel. Seg. de Cortes, p. 79, nota.) This is confirmed by Sahagun. "Y
asi en aquel trecho que esta desde la Iglesia de San Antonio (que ellos llaman Xuluco) que va
por cave las casas de Alvarado, hacia el Hospital de la Concepcion, salio Moctezuma a recibir
de paz a D. Hernando Cortes." Hist. de Nueva Espana, MS., lib. 12, cap. 16.
9 Carta del Lic. Zuazo, MS.
10 "Toda la gente que estaba en las calles se le humiliaban y hacian profunda reverencia y
grande acatamiento sin levantar los ojos A le mirar, sino que todos estaban hasta que el era
396 - History of the Conquest of Mexico
pasado, tan inclinados como frayles en Gloria Patri." Toribio, Hist. de los Indios, MS., Parte 3,
cap. 7.
11 For the preceding account of the equipage and appearance of Montezuma, see Bernal Diaz,
Hist. de la Conquista, cap. 88,-Carta de Zuazo, MS.,-Ixtlilxochitl, Hist. Chich., MS., cap.
85,-Gomara, Cronica, cap. 65,-Oviedo, Hist. de las Ind., MS., ubi supra, et cap. 45,­
Acosta, lib. 7, cap. 22,-Sahagun, Hist. de Nueva Espana, MS., lib. 12, cap. 16,-Toribio, Hist.
de los Indios, MS., Parte 3, cap. 7.

The noble Castilian, or rather Mexican bard, Saavedra, who belonged to the generation

after the Conquest, has introduced most of the particulars in his rhyming chronicle. The fol­
lowing specimen will probably suffice for the reader.

"Yva el gran Motezuma atauiado

De manta acul y blanca con gran falda,
March to Mexico - 397
De algodon muy sutil y delicado,

Y al remate vna concha de esmeralda:

En la parte que el undo tiene dado,
Y una tiara a modo de guirnalda,
Zapatos que de oro son las suelas
Asidos con muy ricas correhuelas."

EL PEREGRINO INDIANO, CANTO 11.

12 "Saris vultu Into," says Martyr, "an stomacho sedams, et an hospites per vim quis unquam
libens susceperit, experti loquantur." De Orbe Novo, der. 5, cap. 3.
13 Rel. Seg. de Cortés, ap. Lorenzana, p. 79.

14 "Entraron en la ciudad de Mejico a punto de guerra, tocando Ins atambores, y con banderas

desplegadas," &c. Sahagun, Hist. de Nueva Espana, MS., lib. 12, cap. 15.

398 - History of the Conquest of Mexico

15 "Et giardini alti et bassi, the era cosa maravigliosa da vedere." Rel. d' un gent., ap. RumusiO,
tom. III. fol. 309.
16 "~Quien podra," exclaims the old soldier, "dezir la multitud de hombres, y mugeres, y mucha­
chos, que estauan en las calles, e aqueeas, y en Canoas en aquellas acequias, que nos salian a
mirar? Era cosa de notar, que agora que to estoy escriuiendo, se me representa todo delante
de mis ojos, como si ayer fuera quando esto passo." Hist. de la Conquista, cap. 88.

March to Mexico - 399