CHAPTER XIII
THE STONE OF SACRIFICE
At length the morning broke and found me in a sorry plight, for my facewas swollen to the size of a pumpkin by the venom of the mosquitoes, andthe rest of my body was in little better case. Moreover I could notkeep myself still because of the itching, but must run and jump like amadman. And where was I to run to through this huge swamp, in which Icould see no shelter or sign of man? I could not guess, so since I mustkeep moving I followed the bank of the river, as I walked disturbingmany crocodiles and loathsome snakes. Now I knew that I could not livelong in such suffering, and determined to struggle forward till I felldown insensible and death put an end to my torments.
For an hour or more I went on thus till I came to a place that was clearof bush and reeds. Across this I skipped and danced, striking with myswollen hands at the gnats which buzzed about my head. Now the end wasnot far off, for I was exhausted and near to falling, when suddenlyI came upon a party of men, brown in colour and clothed with whitegarments, who had been fishing in the river. By them on the water wereseveral canoes in which were loads of merchandise, and they were nowengaged in eating. So soon as these men caught sight of me they utteredexclamations in an unknown tongue and seizing weapons that lay by them,bows and arrows and wooden clubs set on either side with spikes offlinty glass, they made towards me as though to kill me. Now I lifted upmy hands praying for mercy, and seeing that I was unarmed and helplessthe men laid down their arms and addressed me. I shook my head to showthat I could not understand, and pointed first to the sea and then tomy swollen features. They nodded, and going to one of the canoes a manbrought from it a paste of a brown colour and aromatic smell. Then bysigns he directed me to remove such garments as remained on me, thefashion of which seemed to puzzle them greatly. This being done, theyproceeded to anoint my body with the paste, the touch of which gave mea most blessed relief from my intolerable itching and burning, andmoreover rendered my flesh distasteful to the insects, for after thatthey plagued me little.
When I was anointed they offered me food, fried fish and cakes ofmeal, together with a most delicious hot drink covered with a brown andfoaming froth that I learned to know afterwards as chocolate. When Ihad finished eating, having talked a while together in low tones, theymotioned me to enter one of the canoes, giving me mats to lie on. Iobeyed, and three other men came with me, for the canoe was large. Oneof these, a very grave man with a gentle face and manner whom I tookto be the chief of the party, sat down opposite to me, the other twoplacing themselves in the bow and stern of the boat which they drovealong by means of paddles. Then we started, followed by three othercanoes, and before we had gone a mile utter weariness overpowered me andI fell asleep.
I awoke much refreshed, having slept many hours, for now the sun wassetting, and was astonished to find the grave-looking man my companionin the canoe, keeping watch over my sleep and warding the gnats from mewith a leafy branch. His kindness seemed to show that I was in no dangerof ill-treatment, and my fears on that point being set at rest, I beganto wonder as to what strange land I had come and who its people mightbe. Soon, however, I gave over, having nothing to build on, and observedthe scenery instead. Now we were paddling up a smaller river than theone on the banks of which I had been cast away, and were no longer inthe midst of marshes. On either side of us was open land, or rather landthat would have been open had it not been for the great trees, largerthan the largest oak, which grew upon it, some of them of surpassingbeauty. Up these trees climbed creepers that hung like ropes evenfrom the topmost boughs, and among them were many strange and gorgeousflowering plants that seemed to cling to the bark as moss clings toa wall. In their branches also sat harsh-voiced birds of brilliantcolours, and apes that barked and chattered at us as we went.
Just as the sun set over all this strange new scene the canoes came toa landing place built of timber, and we disembarked. Now it grew darksuddenly, and all I could discover was that I was being led along a goodroad. Presently we reached a gate, which, from the barking of dogs andthe numbers of people who thronged about it, I judged to be the entranceto a town, and passing it, we advanced down a long street with houses oneither side. At the doorway of the last house my companion halted, andtaking me by the hand, led me into a long low room lit with lamps ofearthenware. Here some women came forward and kissed him, while otherswhom I took to be servants, saluted him by touching the floor with onehand. Soon, however, all eyes were turned on me and many eager questionswere asked of the chief, of which I could only guess the purport.
When all had gazed their fill supper was served, a rich meal of manystrange meats, and of this I was invited to partake, which I did, seatedon a mat and eating of the dishes that were placed upon the ground bythe women. Among these I noticed one girl who far surpassed all theothers in grace, though none were unpleasing to the eye. She was dark,indeed, but her features were regular and her eyes fine. Her figure wastall and straight, and the sweetness of her face added to the charm ofher beauty. I mention this girl here for two reasons, first because shesaved me once from sacrifice and once from torture, and secondly becauseshe was none other than that woman who afterwards became known asMarina, the mistress of Cortes, without whose aid he had never conqueredMexico. But at this time she did not guess that it was her destiny tobring her country of Anahuac beneath the cruel yoke of the Spaniard.
From the moment of my entry I saw that Marina, as I will call her,for her Indian name is too long to be written, took pity on my forlornstate, and did what lay in her power to protect me from vulgar curiosityand to minister to my wants. It was she who brought me water to wash in,and a clean robe of linen to replace my foul and tattered garments, anda cloak fashioned of bright feathers for my shoulders.
When supper was done a mat was given me to sleep on in a little roomapart, and here I lay down, thinking that though I might be lost forever to my own world, at least I had fallen among a people who weregentle and kindly, and moreover, as I saw from many tokens, no savages.One thing, however, disturbed me; I discovered that though I was welltreated, also I was a prisoner, for a man armed with a copper spearslept across the doorway of my little room. Before I lay down I lookedthrough the wooden bars which served as a protection to the windowplace, and saw that the house stood upon the border of a large openspace, in the midst of which a great pyramid towered a hundred feet ormore into the air. On the top of this pyramid was a building of stonethat I took to be a temple, and rightly, in front of which a fireburned. Marvelling what the purpose of this great work might be, and inhonour of what faith it was erected, I went to sleep.
On the morrow I was to learn.
Here it may be convenient for me to state, what I did not discover tillafterwards, that I was in the city of Tobasco, the capital of one of thesouthern provinces of Anahuac, which is situated at a distance of somehundreds of miles from the central city of Tenoctitlan, or Mexico. Theriver where I had been cast away was the Rio de Tobasco, where Corteslanded in the following year, and my host, or rather my captor, was thecacique or chief of Tobasco, the same man who subsequently presentedMarina to Cortes. Thus it came about that, with the exception of acertain Aguilar, who with some companions was wrecked on the coast ofYucatan six years before, I was the first white man who ever dwelt amongthe Indians. This Aguilar was rescued by Cortes, though his companionswere all sacrificed to Huitzel, the horrible war-god of the country. Butthe name of the Spaniards was already known to the Indians, who lookedon them with superstitious fear, for in the year previous to my beingcast away, the hidalgo Hernandez de Cordova had visited the coast ofYucatan and fought several battles with the natives, and earlier in thesame year of my arrival, Juan de Grigalva had come to this very river ofTobasco. Thus it came about that I was set down as one of this strangenew nation of Teules, as the Indians named the Spaniards, and thereforeas an enemy for whose blood the gods were thirsting.
I awoke at dawn much refreshed with sleep, and having washed and clothedmyself in the linen robes that were provi
ded for me, I came into thelarge room, where food was given me. Scarcely had I finished my mealwhen my captor, the cacique, entered, accompanied by two men whoseappearance struck terror to my heart. In countenance they were fierceand horrible; they wore black robes embroidered with mystic charactersin red, and their long and tangled hair was matted together with somestrange substance. These men, whom all present, including the chief orcacique, seemed to look on with the utmost reverence, glared at me witha fierce glee that made my blood run cold. One of them, indeed, toreopen my white robe and placed his filthy hand upon my heart, which beatquickly enough, counting its throbs aloud while the other nodded at hiswords. Afterwards I learned that he was saying that I was very strong.
Glancing round to find the interpretation of this act upon the faces ofthose about me, my eyes caught those of the girl Marina, and there wasthat in them which left me in little doubt. Horror and pity were writtenthere, and I knew that some dreadful death overshadowed me. BeforeI could do anything, before I could even think, I was seized by thepriests, or pabas as the Indians name them, and dragged from the room,all the household following us except Marina and the cacique. Now Ifound myself in a great square or market place bordered by many finehouses of stone and lime, and some of mud, which was filling rapidlywith a vast number of people, men women and children, who all stared atme as I went towards the pyramid on the top of which the fire burned. Atthe foot of this pyramid I was led into a little chamber hollowed in itsthickness, and here my dress was torn from me by more priests, leavingme naked except for a cloth about my loins and a chaplet of brightflowers which was set upon my head. In this chamber were three othermen, Indians, who from the horror on their faces I judged to be alsodoomed to death.
Presently a drum began to beat high above us, and we were taken from thechamber and placed in a procession of many priests, I being the firstamong the victims. Then the priests set up a chant and we began theascent of the pyramid, following a road that wound round and round itsbulk till it ended on a platform at its summit, which may have measuredforty paces in the square. Hence the view of the surrounding country wasvery fine, but in that hour I scarcely noticed it, having no care forprospects, however pleasing. On the further side of the platform weretwo wooden towers fifty feet or so in height. These were the temples ofthe gods, Huitzel God of War and Quetzal God of the Air, whose hideouseffigies carved in stone grinned at us through the open doorways. Inthe chambers of these temples stood small altars, and on the altarswere large dishes of gold, containing the hearts of those who had beensacrificed on the yesterday. These chambers, moreover, were encrustedwith every sort of filth. In front of the temples stood the altarwhereon the fire burned eternally, and before it were a hog-backed blockof black marble of the size of an inn drinking table, and a great carvenstone shaped like a wheel, measuring some ten feet across with a copperring in its centre.
All these things I remembered afterwards, though at the time I scarcelyseemed to see them, for hardly were we arrived on the platform when Iwas seized and dragged to the wheel-shaped stone. Here a hide girdlewas put round my waist and secured to the ring by a rope long enoughto enable me to run to the edge of the stone and no further. Then aflint-pointed spear was given to me and spears were given also to thetwo captives who accompanied me, and it was made clear to me by signsthat I must fight with them, it being their part to leap upon the stoneand mine to defend it. Now I thought that if I could kill these two poorcreatures, perhaps I myself should be allowed to go free, and so to savemy life I prepared to take theirs if I could. Presently the head priestgave a signal commanding the two men to attack me, but they were so lostin fear that they did not even stir. Then the priests began to flog themwith leather girdles till at length crying out with pain, they ran atme. One reached the stone and leapt upon it a little before the other,and I struck the spear through his arm. Instantly he dropped his weaponand fled, and the other man fled also, for there was no fight in them,nor would any flogging bring them to face me again.
Seeing that they could not make them brave, the priests determined tohave done with them. Amidst a great noise of music and chanting, he whomI had smitten was seized and dragged to the hog-backed block of marble,which in truth was a stone of sacrifice. On this he was cast down,breast upwards, and held so by five priests, two gripping his hands,two his legs, and one his head. Then, having donned a scarlet cloak,the head priest, that same who had felt my heart, uttered some kind ofprayer, and, raising a curved knife of the flint-like glass or itztli,struck open the poor wretch's breast at a single blow, and made theancient offering to the sun.
As he did this all the multitude in the place below, in full view ofwhom this bloody game was played, prostrated themselves, remaining ontheir knees till the offering had been thrown into the golden censerbefore the statue of the god Huitzel. Thereon the horrible priests,casting themselves on the body, carried it with shouts to the edge ofthe pyramid or teocalli, and rolled it down the steep sides. At thefoot of the slope it was lifted and borne away by certain men who werewaiting, for what purpose I did not know at that time.
Scarcely was the first victim dead when the second was seized andtreated in a like fashion, the multitude prostrating themselves asbefore. And then last of all came my turn. I felt myself seized and mysenses swam, nor did I recover them till I found myself lying on theaccursed stone, the priests dragging at my limbs and head, my breaststrained upwards till the skin was stretched tight as that of a drum,while over me stood the human devil in his red mantle, the glass knifein his hand. Never shall I forget his wicked face maddened with the lustfor blood, or the glare in his eyes as he tossed back his matted locks.But he did not strike at once, he gloated over me, pricking me with thepoint of the knife. It seemed to me that I lay there for years while thepaba aimed and pointed with the knife, but at last through a mist thatgathered before my eyes, I saw it flash upward. Then when I thought thatmy hour had come, a hand caught his arm in mid-air and held it and Iheard a voice whispering.
What was said did not please the priest, for suddenly he howled aloudand made a dash towards me to kill me, but again his arm was caughtbefore the knife fell. Then he withdrew into the temple of the godQuetzal, and for a long while I lay upon the stone suffering the agoniesof a hundred deaths, for I believed that it was determined to torture mebefore I died, and that my slaughter had been stayed for this purpose.
There I lay upon the stone, the fierce sunlight beating on my breast,while from below came the faint murmur of the thousands of the wonderingpeople. All my life seemed to pass before me as I was stretched uponthat awful bed, a hundred little things which I had forgotten came backto me, and with them memories of childhood, of my oath to my father, ofLily's farewell kiss and words, of de Garcia's face as I was hurled intothe sea, of the death of Isabella de Siguenza, and lastly a vague wonderas to why all priests were so cruel!
At length I heard footsteps and shut my eyes, for I could bear the sightof that dreadful knife no longer. But behold! no knife fell. Suddenly myhands were loosed and I was lifted to my feet, on which I never hoped tostand again. Then I was borne to the edge of the teocalli, for I couldnot walk, and here my would-be murderer, the priest, having firstshouted some words to the spectators below, that caused them to murmurlike a forest when the wind stirs it, clasped me in his blood-stainedarms and kissed me on the forehead. Now it was for the first time thatI noticed my captor, the cacique, standing at my side, grave, courteous,and smiling. As he had smiled when he handed me to the pabas, so hesmiled when he took me back from them. Then having been cleansed andclothed, I was led into the sanctuary of the god Quetzal and stood faceto face with the hideous image there, staring at the golden censer thatwas to have received my heart while the priests uttered prayers. ThenceI was supported down the winding road of the pyramid till I came to itsfoot, where my captor the cacique took me by the hand and led me throughthe people who, it seemed, now regarded me with some strange veneration.The first person that I saw when we reached the house was Marina, wholook
ed at me and murmured some soft words that I could not understand.Then I was suffered to go to my chamber, and there I passed the rest ofthe day prostrated by all that I had undergone. Truly I had come to aland of devils!
And now I will tell how it was that I came to be saved from the knife.Marina having taken some liking to me, pitied my sad fate, and beingvery quick-witted, she found a way to rescue me. For when I had been ledoff to sacrifice, she spoke to the cacique, her lord, bringing it tohis mind that, by common report Montezuma, the Emperor of Anahuac, wasdisturbed as to the Teules or Spaniards, and desired much to see one.Now, she said, I was evidently a Teule, and Montezuma would be angered,indeed, if I were sacrificed in a far-off town, instead of being sentto him to sacrifice if he saw fit. To this the cacique answered that thewords were wise, but that she should have spoken them before, for nowthe priests had got hold of me, and it was hopeless to save me fromtheir grip.
'Nay,' answered Marina, 'there is this to be said. Quetzal, the godto whom this Teule is to be offered, was a white man,* and it may wellhappen that this man is one of his children. Will it please the godthat his child should be offered to him? At the least, if the god is notangered, Montezuma will certainly be wroth, and wreak a vengeance on youand on the priests.'
* Quetzal, or more properly Quetzalcoatl, was the divinity who is fabled to have taught the natives of Anahuac all the useful arts, including those of government and policy, he was white-skinned and dark-haired. Finally he sailed from the shores of Anahuac for the fabulous country of Tlapallan in a bark of serpents' skins. But before he sailed he promised that he would return again with a numerous progeny. This promise was remembered by the Aztecs, and it was largely on account of it that the Spaniards were enabled to conquer the country, for they were supposed to be his descendants. Perhaps Quetzalcoatl was a Norseman! Vide Sagas of Eric the Red and of Thorfinn Karlsefne.--AUTHOR.
Now when the cacique heard this he saw that Marina spoke truth, andhurrying up the teocalli, he caught the knife as it was in the act offalling upon me. At first the head priest was angered and called outthat this was sacrilege, but when the cacique had told him his mind,he understood that he would do wisely not to run a risk of the wrath ofMontezuma. So I was loosed and led into the sanctuary, and when I cameout the paba announced to the people that the god had declared me to beone of his children, and it was for this reason that then and thereafterthey treated me with reverence.
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