Bernal Díaz del Castillo

“ General! I am now convinced, from what I have seen of this vast country and its numerous towns, that of all the deeds of arms which you have accomplished in New Spain with your troops, the least victory has been that which you gained over me and my troops; and had these even been much more numerous I am sure we should have been defeated. You cannot be too highly honoured and rewarded for having subjected so vast a territory, with so many large cities, to the sceptre of our emperor. ”

“ I should be going too much into detail if I were to describe the countenances and figures of all the officers and soldiers who fought with Cortes. We were all men of courage and distinction, and we have deserved that our names should be written in letters of gold. I must also pass by in silence many brave officers of Narvaez's corps; for I intended from the beginning to confine myself to the heroic deeds of the small army which first set out for New Spain with Cortes. ”

“ We under Alvarado had likewise advanced along our causeway with like confidence of victory; but, when we least expected it, an immense body of Mexicans, completely clothed in their military costume, rushed out upon us with the most dissonant howls, and threw at our feet five bloody heads of our countrymen, whom they had captured of Cortes' division. "See these heads!" they cried; "we mean to kill you all in the same way we have Malinche and Sandoval, with the whole of their troops! These are some of their heads; you will certainly know them again." ”

“ Every spot of earth in the town looked as if it had been ploughed up, for the famished inhabitants had dug up every root out of the ground, and had even peeled the bark from the trees, to still their hunger; neither did we find any fresh water, for that in the wells was of a salty flavour; and yet during this horrible famine the Mexicans had not eaten the flesh of their countrymen, though they so greedily devoured that of the Tlascallans and Spaniards. ”

“ And thus, with our clothes completely drenched, with empty stomachs, and shivering with cold, we passed a most terrible night, the enemy continually assailing our ears with derisive shouts and horrible yells from their canoes and houses. But something still worse awaited us, for the inhabitants of Mexico, who had been apprized of our perilous situation, now came advancing towards us in vast numbers, both by land and water, and fell upon us the next morning with such dreadful fury, that it was only by exerting ourselves to the utmost we were able to make a stand against them. ”

“ I could enumerate many other matters of great importance, and describe the numerous silver mines which are worked in New Spain, and the new ones that are daily being discovered, and from which Spain draws so much wealth; but I have stated sufficient to prove that our heroic deeds were never surpassed in any age, and that no men ever subdued so many kingdoms as we, the true Conquistadores, conquered for our emperor and master: and though there were many brave men among us, yet I was not the least among them, and now I am the oldest alive. ”

“ We are much more conquered ourselves than conquerors, and should not be called the conquerors of New Spain, but the conquered of Cortes. Then again: Cortes is not content with taking his share of the gold as general, but must also have his royal fifths. Again: Alas! how my heart does grieve, ever since I have seen my share of the booty! And then again: Diego Velasquez has spent all his fortune to discover the coast up to Panuco, but Cortes has reaped the harvest. ”

“ We observed the utmost vigilance during this night: the horses stood saddled, and the whole of us were ready for action at a moment's notice, for we were almost certain that the enemy contemplated some sudden attack. We considered our position in every respect dangerous, as with all our firing and courageous fighting we had not been able to drive the foe from the field of battle, and we soon discovered that we had to deal with bold and intrepid warriors. Our cavalry were therefore commanded to charge the enemy's line in small bodies, five abreast, and to poise their lances at the face. ”

“ When Cortes, who had been purposely excluded from the council of war, learnt this, he declared, that if his majesty would leave the matter to him, he would, with the assistance of God, and the good fortune which had ever attended his majesty's troops, very soon take the town of Algiers, even with the few remaining forces: and as one word led to another, he launched out into the praise of his officers and companions in arms, who had formed the siege of Mexico with him, and he declared that we thought nothing of hunger and hardships; that we had proved ourselves heroes on every occasion ”

“ Señor Bernal Diaz, it is impossible to advance further this way; for even if the tumbling masses of rock do not crush us, we shall scarcely be able to hold fast by our hands under these projecting masses." As we were thus clinging to the rock by our hands, I espied Pedro Barba, who commanded the crossbow-men, with two soldiers, likewise clambering up to this projection, and I cried out to him, "Captain, don't give yourself any further trouble; there is neither place here to put your hand or foot, unless you wish to roll headlong down the mountain." ”

“ The reason of their having been separated from the rest of the cavalry was, because Cortes, after he had passed across the water, ordered the horse to divide into two bodies, and attack the enemy at different points.
While we were busily engaged dressing the wounds of our men, all at once there arose from out of the streets and adjoining fields terrific yells, with the wild war music of the enemy; the courtyard in which we had stationed ourselves was suddenly filled with Mexicans, and, in a very few moments, many more of our men were wounded. ”

“ As the atmosphere of the town had become perfectly pestiferous, from the decomposed bodies, Quauhtemoctzin requested Cortes to allow the whole of the inhabitants, with the remaining part of his troops, to leave the city. This our general readily granted, and the causeways were crowded for three days and nights with men, women, and children, on their way to the mainland. These poor beings were quite emaciated, and had a death-like appearance; their bodies covered with filth, and they spread around them so abominable a stench, that we grew miserable at the very sight. ”

“ When he had arrived in the neighbourhood of the town, a large body of Mexicans came advancing towards him, and attacked him so vigorously with their lances, slings, and arrows, that three horses and several of his men were instantly wounded, nor was Sandoval able to get at the enemy, who immediately retreated to the rocks and the fortified heights above, making a terrific noise with their drums, shell trumpets, and hideous yells. ”

“ At that time his majesty would have consented to such a division, as the whole of the conquest of New Spain never cost the crown anything, and his majesty himself had altogether a very imperfect notion of the country. Besides which, his majesty was then still in Flanders, and would have been pleased to know the country was in the hands of such faithful and courageous subjects.
But nothing of all this ever entered Cortes' mind, while our condition was daily growing worse; and at present there are even many of us veteran Conquistadores who have not the common necessaries of life! ”

“ As soon as all the inhabitants had left the city, Cortes sent some persons there to see how things looked in general. The houses were found crammed with dead bodies, and among them several poor people were found still alive, though too weak to stand, and lying in their own filth, like those hogs which are fed upon nothing but grass. ”

“ A short time after he had made his will Sandoval rendered up his soul into the hands of his Maker, and his death caused universal and heartfelt grief. He was buried with every imaginable pomp in the monastery of our dear lady of Rabida, and Cortes, with the whole of his suite, put on mourning for him. May God have mercy upon his soul! Amen!
The next thing Cortes did was to announce his arrival to his majesty, to the cardinal de Siguenza, the duke of Bejar, the earl of Aguilar, and to many other cavaliers of distinction. ”

“ Sandoval, on coming up to Cortes, said to him, "Alas! general, what a shocking business this has been! Thus miserably have your great schemes terminated!" At these words, tears started from Cortes' eyes, and he cried out, "O! my son Sandoval! if this misfortune has befallen us for my sins, I have not been so entirely the cause of it as you suppose. The royal treasurer Juan de Alderete neglected to do his duty, and did not obey my orders to fill up the opening in the causeway. The man is not accustomed to war, nor does he know how to obey." ”

“ Of the great merit which is due to us, the true Conquistadores.
I have now said sufficient of every individual soldier who accompanied Cortes, and how each one ended his life. If any one wishes to know anything further about us, I can tell him that most of us were men of good families; and if the lineage of some was not quite so distinguished, we must remember that all are not born equal in this world, neither in respect to rank nor virtues. ”

“ In the same way these rebellious spirits sought to arouse Cortes by their vile projects; they did their utmost to alarm the governor and the factor, assuring them that Cortes had not the remotest idea of leaving for Spain, but had merely spread this rumour to hide his real intentions, which were, to assemble as large a body of men as he possibly could, to fall suddenly upon them; and that the caziques of Mexico, Tezcuco, Tlascalla, and of all the townships situate on the lake, were only awaiting the word from him to commence hostilities. ”

“ However, by the valour of our arms and our heroic deeds, we conquered New Spain, with the great city of Mexico, and many other provinces, thereby rendering the most important services to the emperor our master, though at so vast a distance from Castile; nor had we any assistance in the terrible battles we fought night and day, saving that of our Lord Jesus Christ, who indeed is our true strength. What we have done is sufficient to spread our fame throughout the world! ”

“ We had not been long here before our outposts brought intelligence that twenty Indians were approaching, who, to judge from their bearing, must either be caziques or men of distinction, and seemed to be coming with some message or to sue for peace. They proved, indeed, to be the caziques of the town, who approached Cortes with the utmost veneration, handed over to him a present in gold, and begged pardon for their recent behaviour towards us. ”

“ Subsequently all the charges which Albornoz had made against Cortes became known to this excellent viceroy, but he contented himself by merely ordering Albornoz into his presence, and laying before him the slanderous letters which he had written; he said to him with his usual mildness and composure of countenance: "Since you are so accustomed to write to his majesty, do not write falsehood, and thereby wantonly precipitate others into ruin!" ”

“ We thought we had already gained the victory, and waded through the shallow part of the water in vigorous pursuit of the enemy up to some large buildings and towers; while they, to deceive us the more effectually, constantly faced about to fling their arrows at us; and, when we in the least expected it, they suddenly turned round upon us and in an instant we were surrounded and attacked with excessive fury from all sides. It was impossible to resist their overwhelming numbers, and we began to retreat towards the causeway in the best order we could, with our ranks firmly closed. ”

“ The chief justice and governor of Yucatan, Montejo, was of middling stature, had a pleasant-looking countenance, was a good horseman, and much addicted to all kinds of pleasures. He was about thirty-five years of age when he came to New Spain, but was rather a man of business than a soldier. He was generous of disposition, but lived beyond his income.
Gonzalo de Sandoval was a man of extraordinary courage and of heroic valour. ”

“ Many thousands of pounds weight of gold and silver have indeed been also sent from Peru; but at the time we conquered New Spain the name of Peru was not even known, nor was it discovered till ten years after. We forwarded to his majesty presents of immense value from the very beginning, for which and other reasons I place New Spain at the head; for we very well know with regard to the affairs of Peru, that the captains, governors, and soldiers continually carried on civil wars with each other, in which the lives of many Spaniards were sacrificed. ”

“ We then requested his majesty to send to New Spain a bishop and monks of different religious orders, but all to be pious and well-informed men, that they might assist us in extending the holy catholic faith in these countries. We likewise humbly petitioned his majesty to appoint Cortes viceroy of New Spain, as he had proved himself so meritorious and faithful an officer to the Spanish crown. In the same way we begged the favour for ourselves, that all appointments made by the crown in this country might exclusively be given to us the conquistadores or to our sons. ”