By Right of Conquest; Or, With Cortez in Mexico

by G. A. Henty

  Chapter 8: At Tezcuco.

  In each city through which they passed, and several of these wereof vastly greater size and importance than Tepeaca, Roger wasreceived with the same welcome and rejoicings that had greeted himthere. The houses were decorated with flowers and garlands, densecrowds lined the streets, processions came out to meet him;banquets were given in his honor, and everything seemed gay andjoyous. But Roger was low and depressed. To him the whole thingappeared a mockery. He seemed to see blood everywhere, and the factthat, as he learned from the casual remark of one of the envoys,numbers of victims were offered upon the altars on the eveningbefore his arrival at each town, in order to please the gods andbring about favorable omens, added to his depression; and hethought that he had better, a thousand times, have been drownedwith his father and friends, than be the cause of men being thusput to death.

  It was true that, as he was told, these captives were reserved forthis purpose, and had they not been slain on that night might havebeen sacrificed on the next; but this was a small consolation. Itseemed to him that above the joyful cries of greeting he could hearthe screams of agony of the victims, and to such a pitch was hewrought up that, had he seen any whom he could have recognized aspriests, he would have fallen upon them with his sword.

  But the priests held aloof from the gatherings. They knew not, asyet, how their chiefs would regard this stranger, and it was nottheir policy to join in welcoming one who might, afterwards, bedenounced and sacrificed as an enemy of their religion; nor, uponthe other hand, would they commit themselves to hostility to onewho might be held to be a god.

  From the summits of the teocallis they looked down upon the greatgatherings; angry that instead of, as usual, figuring in the chiefplaces in the procession, they were forced to stand aloof. As inEgypt, the Aztec priests embraced within their order all thescience and learning of the nation. They were skilled in thesciences of astrology and divination, and were divided intonumerous ranks and classes. Those best instructed in music took themanagement of the choirs, others arranged the festivals conformablyto the calendar, some superintended the education of the young ofboth sexes, others had charge of the hieroglyphic paintings andrecords and of the oral traditions, while the rites of sacrificewere practiced by the chief dignitaries of the order. They wereeach devoted to the service of some particular deity, and hadquarters provided within the spacious precincts of his temple.

  Here a certain number were always on duty, and men living therepracticed the stern severity of conventual discipline. Thriceduring the day, and once at night, they were called to prayers.They mortified the flesh by fasting and cruel penance, drawingblood from their bodies by flagellation or by piercing themselveswith the thorns of the aloe. When their turn of duty was over, theyresided with their wives and families outside the temples.

  The great cities were divided into districts, placed under thecharge of a sort of parochial clergy. These administered the ritesof baptism, confession, and absolution, each of which stronglyresembled that of the Christian religion. In baptism the lips andbosom of the infant were sprinkled with water, and the Lord wasimplored to permit the holy drops to wash away the sin that wasgiven to it, before the foundation of the world, so that the childmight be born anew. The secrets of confession were held inviolable,and penances were laid upon the penitents. There was onepeculiarity in the Aztec ceremony of confession--namely, that therepetition of an offense, once atoned for, was deemed inexpiable--andconfession was therefore made but once in a man's life, and generallydeferred until a late period of it.

  One of the most important duties of the priesthood was that ofeducation, to which certain buildings were appropriated, within theenclosure of the principal temple of each city. Here the youth ofboth sexes, of the middle and higher classes, were placed when veryyoung; the girls being entrusted to the care of priestesses, forwomen exercised all sacerdotal functions except those of sacrifice.In these institutions the boys were drilled in monastic discipline.They decorated the shrines of the gods with flowers, fed the sacredfires, and took part in the religious chants and festivals. Thosein the higher schools were initiated in the traditionary law, themysteries of hieroglyphics, the principles of government, and inastronomical and natural science. The girls were instructed in allfeminine employments, especially in weaving and embroidery. Thediscipline, both in male and female schools, was stern and rigid.

  The temples were supported by the revenue from lands bestowed uponthem by successive princes. These were managed by the priests, whowere considered as excellent masters, treating their tenants withliberality and indulgence. Besides this they were entitled to thefirst fruits of all produce, and were constantly receiving richofferings from the pious. The surplus, beyond what was required forthe support of the priests, was distributed in alms among the poor,charity being strongly prescribed by the moral code of the nation.

  Thus the Aztec religion was a strange mixture of good and evil. Themoral discipline enforced by it was excellent. Many of its preceptsresembled very closely those of Christianity, and yet the whole wascontaminated by the wholesale sacrifices. It is supposed that thisdual religion was the result of the mixture of two peoples, themild and gentle tenets of the Toltecs being adopted by the fierceAztec invaders, who added to them their own superstitious andbloody rites.

  All this, however, was unknown to Roger at the time. He saw thedark side of their religion, only, and was ignorant that thereunderlay it a system which, in point of morality, love of order andmethod, and a broad charity, was in no way inferior to thatpracticed among Christian nations.

  For some reason, of which Roger was ignorant--but which was,doubtless, in order to avoid the delays occasioned by stoppages atlarge towns, and to push on the faster towards the capital, wherethe king and his counselors were impatient to behold the whitestranger--a detour was made. The towns of Puebla and Cholula wereavoided, and the party pushed on rapidly across the plateau landthey were now ascending, where the air was again keen and piercing.The road passed between two of the highest mountains in the NorthAmerican continent--the great volcano Popocatepetl, meaning "thehill that smokes," and Iztaccihuatl, or "the white woman," socalled from the bright robe of snow which extended far down itssides. The lower part of these mountains was covered with denseforests, above which rock, lava, and ashes extended to the summitof the crater of the volcano.

  At night the party sheltered in one of the stone buildings, erectedby government at intervals along the road, for the accommodation oftravelers and couriers. Pushing on the next morning, they came upona view which caused an exclamation of surprise, and delight, toburst from Roger. At their feet lay the valley of Mexico, with itslakes glistening in the sunshine, its cultivated plains, andnumerous cities and villages. Stretching away, from the point atwhich he was standing, were forests of oak, sycamore, and cedar;beyond, fields of yellow maize and aloe, intermingled with orchardsand bright patches of many colors. These were flowers, which weregrown on a very large scale, as they were used in vast quantitiesin the religious festivals, and almost universally worn by thewomen.

  In the center of the valley lay the great lakes, their bordersthickly studded with towns and hamlets. Rising from an island, inthe center of the largest of these, was the city of Mexico; itsgreat buildings and lofty teocallis being seen clearly through thedry atmosphere. The envoys first pointed out the capital to Roger,and then another great city, some distance to the right, as beingTezcuco. Beyond the lakes, a barrier of dark hills rose, forming asuitable background to the lovely prospect.

  Upon the road, Roger learned much from the Tezcucan envoys of thecharacter of the king of their country, and of the EmperorMontezuma.

  The grandfather of the present king had been the greatest and mostpowerful of the Tezcucan princes. In his youth he had gone througha series of strange adventures. Tezcuco had been captured, thepeople subjugated by the Tepanecs, and the king killed when theyoung prince was but fifteen years old. The boy himself was throwninto a dungeon, but escaped and fled to M
exico; and on theintercession of the king of that city was allowed to return, and tolive for eight years, quietly, in a palace belonging to the family.When the Tepanec usurper died, his son Maxtla, who succeeded him,determined to kill the rightful heir to the throne; but beingwarned in time Nezahualcoyotl escaped, and for a long time wanderedabout the country, hotly pursued by his enemies; who were manytimes on the edge of capturing him, but he was always sheltered bythe peasantry.

  At last the neighboring powers, fearing the aggression of theTepanecs, united and routed them. Maxtla was put to death, and thelawful prince placed upon the throne. He showed great magnanimity,granting a general amnesty, and then set about to remodel thegovernment.

  Three departments were formed: the Council of War, the Council ofFinance, and the Council of Justice; and in each of these bodies, acertain number of citizens were allowed to have seats with thenobles and state officers. The highest body was composed offourteen members, all belonging to the highest orders of nobles.This was called the Council of State, which aided the king in thedispatch of business, and advised him in all matters of importance.Its members had seats provided for them at the royal table.

  Lastly, there was a tribunal known as the Council of Music. Thiswas composed of the best instructed persons in the country, withoutregard of rank, and was devoted to the encouragement of allbranches of science and art. All works on these subjects had to besubmitted to them, before they could be made public. They had thesupervision of all the productions of art, and the more delicatefabrics. They decided on the qualifications of the teachers of thevarious branches of science, inquired into the proper performanceof their duties, and instituted examinations of the pupils. TheCouncil gave prizes for historical composition, and poems treatingof moral or traditional topics. It was, in fact, at once a board ofeducation, and a council of science and art. The kings of the threeallied states had seats upon it, and deliberated with the othermembers on the adjudication of the prizes.

  Thus Tezcuco became the center of the education, science, and artof Anahuac, and was at this time the head of the three alliedkingdoms. Nezahualcoyotl greatly encouraged agriculture, as well asall the productive arts. The royal palace and the edifices of thenobles were magnificent buildings, and were upon an enormous scale,the Spaniards acknowledging that they surpassed any buildings intheir own country.

  Not satisfied with receiving the reports of his numerous officers,the monarch went frequently in disguise among his people, listeningto their complaints, and severely punishing wrongdoers. Beingfilled with deep religious feeling, he openly confessed his faithin a God far greater than the idols of wood and stone worshiped byhis subjects, and built a great temple which he dedicated to theUnknown God.

  After fifty years' reign this great monarch died, and was succeededby his son Nezahualpilli, who resembled his father in his tastes,encouraging learning, especially astronomical studies, and buildingmagnificent public edifices. He was severe in his morals, and sternin the execution of justice. In his youth he had been devoted towar, and had extended the dominion of Tezcuco; but he afterwardsbecame indolent, and spent much of his time in retirement.

  His Mexican rival took advantage of this, for as the rule ofTezcuco became relaxed distant provinces revolted, the disciplineof the army became shaken, and Montezuma, partly by force, partlyby fraud, possessed himself of a considerable portion of itsdominions, and assumed the title, hitherto held by the Tezcucanprinces, of Emperor.

  These misfortunes pressed heavily on the spirits of the king, andtheir effect was increased by certain gloomy prognostics of a greatcalamity, which was shortly to overwhelm the country. His healthrapidly gave way. He had died but two years before, and had beensucceeded by his son Cacama, the present king, a young prince whowas two-and-twenty years old when he ascended the throne, after asanguinary war with an ambitious younger brother. In Tezcuco, as inMexico, the office of king was elective and not hereditary. It was,indeed, confined to the royal family; but the elective council,composed of the nobles and of the kings of the other two greatconfederate monarchies, selected the member of that family whomthey considered best qualified to rule.

  Roger was greatly impressed with these accounts of the governmentof this strange country. It appeared to him that art and learningwere there held of much higher account than they were in England;and it seemed more strange to him than ever, that a people soenlightened could be guilty of such wholesale human sacrifices asthose of which he had heard, and had indeed seen proof; still morethat they could absolutely feast upon the flesh of these victims oftheir cruel superstitions.

  Descending into the valley the party avoided, as before, thenumerous cities in the plain. The Tezcucans told him that they didso simply because they were anxious to arrive as soon as possibleat the capital; but as Roger learned from them that the sway ofMontezuma was paramount in this part of the valley, he thought itprobable that they feared the Aztecs might take him from theirhands, and send him direct to the emperor.

  After a long march across a richly cultivated country, theyapproached the town of Tezcuco just as evening was closing in. Amessenger had gone on ahead, to announce the exact hour at whichthey would arrive; and a party of soldiers were stationed a shortdistance outside the town, to escort them through the city to theroyal palace. They formed up on either side of the party when theyarrived and, without a pause, the caravan kept on its way.

  Roger had been astonished at the magnificence of the houses of thewealthy, scattered for a long distance round the city, and at theextraordinary beauty of the gardens with their shady groves, theirbright flowers, their fish ponds and fountains; but the splendor ofthe buildings of the capital surpassed anything he had beforebeheld. Not even in Genoa or Cadiz were there such statelybuildings, while those of London were insignificant in comparison.The crowd in the streets were quiet and orderly and, although theylooked with curiosity and interest on the white stranger, of whosecoming they had heard, evinced none of the enthusiasm with which hehad been greeted at Tepeaca. This was natural enough. Theinhabitants of a capital, being accustomed to splendid fetes andfestivals, are less easily moved than those of a small provincialtown by any unaccustomed events, and are more restrained in theexpression of their feelings.

  The dresses of the people were greatly superior to those he hadseen hitherto. They wore over their shoulders a cloak, made ofcottons of different degrees of fineness, according to thecondition of the wearer. These and the ample sashes worn round theloins were wrought in rich and elegant figures, and edged with adeep fringe, or tassels.

  The women went about as freely as the men. Instead of the cloaks,they wore mantles of fur or gorgeous feather work. Beneath thesewere several skirts or petticoats of different lengths, with highlyornamented borders. Sometimes loose flowing robes were worn overthese, reaching to the ankles--those of the upper classes being ofvery fine textures, and prettily embroidered. Some of the womenwore veils made of fine thread of the aloe, or that spun from thehair of rabbits and other animals. Others had their faces entirelyexposed, their dark tresses falling luxuriantly ever theirshoulders. These, Roger learned afterwards, were Aztecs, the restof the women of Anahuac mostly wearing the veil; which was,however, extremely thin, and scarcely concealed the features.

  The guards ahead with difficulty cleared the way through the crowd,until they at last arrived at the king's palace, a building ofextraordinary splendor. A number of nobles, in gorgeous attire,received the party at the entrance; and passing along a statelycorridor, they entered a vast hall. A cornice of carved stoneworkcovered with thin plates of gold ran round the walls, and from thisdropped hangings of the most delicately embroidered stuffs. Theroof was of carved cedar, the floor a mosaic of stone of differentcolors, so delicately fitted together that they seemed one.

  At the farther end of the hall, upon a raised dais, was a throne.Upon this the young king was sitting, while a number of hiscounselors and nobles, together with several princesses and ladiesof the court, were gathered around him.

 
When Roger approached, he bowed low, saluting in Mexican fashion.The king rose as he approached, looking with lively curiosity andinterest at the strange visitor, of whom he had already received somany reports.

  Roger, on his part, regarded the king with no less interest. He sawbefore him a young man of three or four and twenty, with a brightintelligent face. His figure showed signs of considerable strengthas well as activity, and there was a certain martial air in hiscarriage that spoke of the soldier rather than of the king. Thenobles had endeavored to impress upon Roger the necessity for himto salute the king, by prostrating himself on the ground as theythemselves did. But Roger had refused to comply with their request.

  "King Hal, himself, would not expect me to go before him like aworm, if he gave me audience," he said to himself; "and I will notdemean myself, as an Englishman, to bow as a slave before any othermonarch. Besides, to do so would be to acknowledge that I was hishumble subject, and would at once show that I have no pretension,whatever, to be the superior creature they seem to consider me. Iwill salute him as his nobles saluted me--paying due deference tohis rank, and no more."

  The king himself did not seem displeased at Roger's breach of theusual etiquette. He looked with admiration at the tall figure ofthis strange white man, and at the frank and honest expression ofhis pleasant face, his blue eyes, and sunny hair.

  "Whoever he may be, he comes not as an enemy," he said in a lowvoice to his sister, who was standing next to him. "There isneither deceit nor treachery in that face."

  Then he said aloud to Roger:

  "You are welcome, white stranger. We rejoice to see you in ourcourts. We have heard wonderful stories concerning you, and aboutthe people in the distant lands from which you come; and shallgladly hear them from your lips, for we are told that you speak ourtongue."

  "I thank you, King Cacama, and I am glad, indeed, that it is mygood fortune to behold so great and magnificent a king. I havecome, as you have heard, from a far country, towards the risingsun; so far that it takes many months to traverse the sea whichdivides it from you; but had the distance been far greater than itis, I should have been more than repaid for the journey by thesight of you, and of this great city over which you rule."

  "And is it true that your people move about the sea in floatingcastles, and that they fight with weapons that make a noise likethunder, and can batter down walls at a distance of two miles?"

  "They can kill men at more than that distance, Sire, but forbattering down walls they are used at shorter distances. The shipsare, as you say, floating castles, and will carry hundreds of men,with provisions and stores for many months, besides merchandise andgoods. These castles are armed with weapons such as you speak of,some of them carrying twenty or more; besides which each mancarries a weapon of the same kind, but small and light in make, sothat it can be carried on the shoulders. These weapons also make agreat noise, though not comparable with that of the large pieces,which are called cannon."

  "And they have animals on which they sit, and which carry them at aspeed far greater than that at which a man can run?"

  "That is so, Sire."

  "Of what color are they, and of what form?"

  "They are all colors: some are black, and some white, others brown,or gray, or roan, or bay."

  This answer seemed to surprise the king more than any other he hadheard. All the beasts and birds with which he was acquainted wereof the particular color which appertained to their species, andthat the animals of any one kind should thus differ in soextraordinary degree from each other struck him as remarkable,indeed.

  Roger had always been fond of sketching, and had often whiled awaydull hours on board ship with pencil and paintbrush; and hiscousins at home had quite a collection of sketches that he made forthem in, foreign parts. He now said:

  "If your Majesty will order that gentleman, who is at presenttaking my likeness, to hand me a sheet of paper and his brushes, Iwill endeavor to draw for your Majesty an outline of the animal Ispeak of, and which we call a horse."

  At the king's order the scribe at once handed the necessarymaterials to Roger, who in three or four minutes dashed off aspirited sketch of a horse, with a rider upon his back. The kingwas greatly struck with the representation. The Aztecs possessedthe art of copying objects with a fair amount of accuracy, but thefigures were stiff and wooden, without the slightest life oranimation. To the king, then, this little sketch appeared almostsupernatural. Here was before him an animal which looked alive, asif already in movement. He passed it to those next to him, andcontinued the conversation.

  "And the men fight on the backs of those animals?"

  "The nobles and a certain portion of the troops fight on horseback,the rest of the army on foot."

  "And are not these animals frightened at the terrible noises madeby the weapons you speak of?"

  "They speedily become accustomed to them, Your Majesty, just as mendo; and will carry their rider into the midst of the enemy, howevergreat the noise. Some other time I will draw for your Majesty arepresentation of one of our knights, or captains, charging in fullarmor; which is, as you have perhaps heard, made of a metal that isnot known here."

  "And these weapons that you speak of are made of the same metal?"

  "They are mostly made of that metal, Sire, though sometimes theyare made of a metal which we call brass, which is a compound ofcopper, and of another metal called tin, which adds greatly to itsstrength and hardness."

  "But how do they work? What machinery can be used to hurl a missileat so vast a distance?"

  "There is no machinery, Sire. The weapon is a hollow tube of vaststrength, closed at one end, with only a small hole left there bywhich fire can be applied. A black powder, composed of varioussubstances, is placed in the tube and pressed up to the end, a wadof cotton or other material being forced down upon it. A large ballmade of this metal, which is called iron, and almost the samediameter as the tube, is pushed down upon the wad; and the weaponis pointed at the enemy, or at the wall to be knocked down. Thenfire is applied to the small hole, the powder at once explodes witha noise like thunder, and the ball is sent through the air with sogreat a speed that the eye cannot follow its flight, and all thatit strikes goes down before it."

  "Even one of these captains on his horse?" the king asked.

  "Fifty of them, Sire, were they ranged up in line, one behind theother."

  "Will you be able to teach us to make such weapons?"

  "Your Majesty, I have had a share in the using of these weapons,but not in the making of them; and they require great skill intheir manufacture. I know not whether iron stone exists in thiscountry, and were it found it would require a long experiment andgreat knowledge to manufacture a cannon from it. As to the powder,it is composed of three ingredients--one is charcoal, which can beobtained wherever trees grow; another is called by us saltpeter;and the third, sulphur; but I cannot say whether either is found inthis land. Nor, your Majesty, do I think that such knowledge, couldI impart it, would be a blessing to the land; on the contrary, thebattles would be far more terrible and bloody than they now are.Vast numbers would be slain, and valor and bravery would avail butlittle, against these terrible missiles."

  "No," the king said, thoughtfully: "you would take few prisoners,if you fought with such weapons as these. You take some prisoners,I suppose?"

  "Yes, your Majesty; we always take as prisoners those who ask formercy."

  "And what do you do with them?"

  "We treat them honorably and well, as is befitting men who havefought bravely. We exchange them for men of our own side who havebeen taken prisoners by the enemy, or if they are knights or noblesthey pay a ransom according to their rank to their captor, and soreturn home."

  "That is good," the young king said, with animation; "though itdiffers altogether from our usages; but then, how are their altarsof the gods to be served?"

  "I believe," Roger said, "that your Majesty's grandfather erected atemple here to the Unknown God. It is the Unknown God--unknown t
oyou, but known to us--that the white peoples across the seaworship. He is a good and gentle and loving God, and would abhorsacrifices of blood."

  The king did not reply for a minute. The introduction of humansacrifices was a comparatively recent innovation in Tezcuco, andalthough the Aztecs had, lately, almost forced their own hideousrites upon their neighbors, there were many who were still, atheart, opposed to them. He turned the subject by saying:

  "There will be much for you to tell me, when we have leisure. Atpresent the banquet waits."

  The eighteen months that had elapsed, since the wreck of the Swan,had prepared Roger for taking part in such scenes as those in whichhe was, at present, placed. From living so long among natives, andin native costume, he had acquired something of their manner;which, unless under strong excitement, was quiet and dignified. Hehad done this the more because, whenever he went out, all eyes hadbeen upon him, and he had felt that it was necessary, so far as hecould, to support the mysterious reputation he possessed. He hadlost, alike, the sailor walk and carriage, the careless gaiety of aboy, and the roughness of one brought up to life at sea. He himselfwas only half conscious of this transformation, but to one who hadseen him last when he sailed from Plymouth, it would have appearedabsolutely marvelous. Undoubtedly it impressed both the king andhis nobles most favorably; and as the party followed the king andRoger to the banqueting hall, there was a chorus of approval of themanners, bearing, and appearance of the white stranger.

  The banquet was similar, but on a vastly greater scale, to that ofwhich Roger had partaken at Tepeaca. Mexico contained, withincomparatively narrow limits, extreme diversities of climate; and bymeans of the swift couriers, the kings and nobles could place upontheir tables the tropical fruits and vegetables from the zone ofthe sea, the temperate fruits from the lofty plateau land, and theproducts of the rich and highly cultivated valley of the capital.

  The twenty counselors sat down at table with the king. Other tableswere spread at which the principal nobles feasted, while the king'swife and sister and other ladies dined in the same hall, but hadtables apart. The king abstained from asking questions of Rogerabout his country, during the meal, but conversed with himconcerning his journey, and his impressions of the country; andinquired particularly whether he was perfectly satisfied with thetreatment he had received from the merchants. Roger assured himthat nobody could have been kinder or more courteous than they hadbeen, and that he hoped his Majesty would express his satisfactionat their conduct.

  "That has already been done," the king said. "The reports of myenvoys were sufficient for that. They have been raised in rank,have received permission to carry specially decorated banners, withother privileges and immunities."

  After dinner was over, the king, without waiting as usual for thesmoking and entertainments of musicians, dancers, and acrobats,rose, saying to Roger:

  "I am too anxious to talk with you to take pleasure in theseamusements. Come with me now."

  He led the way to the entrance to the private apartments. Thesewere enclosed by magnificent hangings, which were drawn aside bytwo attendants as he approached them. The walls were here entirelyhidden by hangings, and the floor covered with a thick carpeting ofrichly-dyed cotton stuff. The air was heavy with odors of perfumes.

  The king led the way to an apartment of considerable size, althoughsmall in comparison to the two great halls they had left. Couchesof quilted mats, covered with silken embroidery, extended round theroom; and a general air of comfort, as well as luxury, pervaded it.

  From the open windows, a view extended over a lovely garden below,and then across the lake to the walls and temples of Mexico,shining in the moonlight and dotted with innumerable spots of fireon the summits of the teocallis. The room itself was lighted withopen lamps, in which burned cotton wicks embedded in wax.

  Cacama clapped his hands, and a young noble in attendance entered.The king bade him summon six of his counselors, and tell the queenand the princess that he awaited them.

  In a short time these entered. The pomp and ceremony of royaltywere, to a considerable extent, laid aside in Tezcuco in theinterior of the palace--the custom there differing much from thatwhich prevailed at the court of Montezuma, where the emperor neverrelaxed, in the slightest, in exacting the lowliest and mostprofound homage from all who approached him.