Vicente Genaro de Alvarado

“ Oñate having witnessed the rout of the Spanish forces from his position, hastened to his relief; but the flight of Alvarado's party was so rapid that it was impossible to overtake them. At Yahualica, too late, he came up with stragglers from whom he learned the particulars of Alvarado's fate.
At nightfall the lieutenant-governor arrived at Atenguillo, and the meeting of the commanders was touching in the extreme. "He who will not listen to good counsel must be content to suffer," said Alvarado. ”

“ And the poor wretch had appealed to his superior with a mixture of pitifulness and indignation.
"Ah, Captain! save me from this dismal fate. You should, in very justice you should, for you contented not yourself with stealing skin and bone done up in feathers. And yet you came off with no punishment at all."
"Thou impudent fellow!" exclaimed Alvarado. "Callest thou a furious rebuke before the whole force, and accompanied with threats too, nothing? Thinkest thou that thy beggarly life is worth a Spanish noble's honour?" ”

“ The charge of the returning cavaliers created a temporary check, and a feeble rally was made, but the flood of foes soon came on again and drove them resistlessly back.
Cortez and the cavaliers with him were forced to plunge once more into the canal, not all of them this time escaping. Alvarado stood on the brink for a moment, uncertain what to do, death behind him and deadly peril before. He was a man of great strength and agility, and despair now gave him courage. ”

“ In this march four of the soldiers deserted and went over to Hernandez Giron at Nasca, to whom they gave an account of the great force with which Alvarado was marching against him, but reported in public that the royalists were inconsiderable in number. Giron, however, chose to let his soldiers know the truth, and addressed his army as follows. "Gentlemen, do not flatter or deceive yourselves: There are a thousand men coming against you from Lima, and twelve hundred from the mountains. But, with the help of God, if you stand firm, I have no doubt of defeating them all." ”

“ I will not catch thee with tiger-traps!"
To these extraordinary expressions, Juan answered with emotion, but still with unvarying resolution,
"I wait your excellency's orders. I fear not death; I am alone in the world;—father or mother, brother or sister, kinsman or friend, there is not one to lament me, should I come to disaster. If I live, I will, as your excellency has said, have saved the effusion of Christian blood; if I die, heaven will remember the motive, and none will miss me.—I will go to Tenochtitlan."
"Thou art a fool," said Alvarado. "Señor Captain-General, this embassy may not be ”

“ Blithe were the revels that now rang through the ancient city of Pachacamac; where, instead of songs, and of the sacrifices so often seen there in honor of the Indian deity, the walls echoed to the noise of tourneys and Moorish tilts of reeds, with which the martial adventurers loved to recall the sports of their native land. When these were concluded, Alvarado reembarked for his government of Guatemala, where his restless spirit soon involved him in other enterprises that cut short his adventurous career. His expedition to Peru was eminently characteristic of the man. ”

“ Holy Mother of heaven! grace upon all, and Amen! if thou beest a living creature, speak,—or I will smite thee for a devil!"
These words came from the lips of Alvarado, who had himself commanded the body of hangmen, and who now, though his teeth chattered with terror, advanced his rapier towards the bosom of his late companion. As he gazed and menaced, Don Amador, yielding, at last, to the consequences of labours altogether above his enfeebled powers, sunk swooning to the earth; and Jacinto, rushing from the crowd, flung himself upon his body. ”

“ All this is to be at Alvarado's expense, without the king being obliged to recompense him for any outlay, except by the privileges granted him. "Likewise you offer, that after the discovery ... you shall keep masters, carpenters, and other workmen, as many as thirty, in a shipyard that you own in the said province of Guatemala, in order that what shall have been discovered, may be aided and preserved more easily." Also he is to employ as many men as may be necessary in building vessels for the space of ten years. He is to be governor of Guatemala for seven years, "and as many more as we choose ”

“ When Alvarado had returned to Cuba with his golden freight, and the accounts of the rich empire of Mexico which he had gathered from the natives, the heart of the governor swelled with rapture as he saw his dreams of avarice and ambition so likely to be realised. Impatient of the long absence of Grijalva, he despatched a vessel in search of him under the command of Olid, a cavalier, who took an important part afterwards in the Conquest. Finally he resolved to fit out another armament on a sufficient scale to insure the subjugation of the country. ”

“ A loud shout, mingled with laughs of fierce derision, testified the triumph of the barbarians; and Cortes, stung with fury, though hesitating to attack, called for his musketeers, to break the line of opponents.
"Our musketeers are in heaven! carried up in the fiend of a burro!" cried Alvarado, waving his sword, and eyeing the vaunting herd. "Before the days of saltpetre, true men were wont to shoot their foes without it.—All that is to be done, is to conceive we are hunting foxes, and leaping over a farmer's wall. ”

“ Immediately upon their arrival, the Bishop came to the monastery and had a long conversation with the prince. So much struck was he with the Indian's knowledge of the Christian faith, and with his dignity and intelligence, that he asked Alvarado to come and see him also. Although this great captain held the [Pg 70] life of an Indian of no more worth than that of a dog, yet he was so pleased with the prince, that wanting to make him a present, but having nothing with him for that purpose, he took off his own red velvet cap and placed it upon Don Juan's head. ”

“ Now it was that Pedro de Alvarado, the future conqueror of Guatemala, who had accompanied Grijalva to Mexico, returned, and now it was that Velasquez cast about for men, money and ships, to push the conquest of Mexico. Choice fell upon Cortes. The long-nourished hopes of the young Spaniard—he was thirty-four or five—were fulfilled. He realised all his resources to subscribe towards the expense, covering indeed the major portion of the cost of ships and stores. The little port of Santiago de Cuba echoed with the bustle of preparation. ”

“ I thought as I was stricken down there would be no need for you to——"
"Thou hast earned life, Alvarado, not death, and thou shalt have it."
"Señors," said Alvarado, whose faintness was passing from him, "I broke my plighted word to the Viceroy and Don Felipe de Tobar. I love this lady and was false to my charge. Don Alvaro promised me death for punishment, and I crave it. I care not for life without——"
"And did he tell thee why he broke his word?" asked Mercedes, taking his hands in her own and looking up at her father. "It was my fault. I made him. ”

“ He afterward ascertained that between the opposing lines lay a narrow meadow which the Spaniards mistook for a swamp, and delayed their onset until they had assured themselves of the firmness of the ground. Presently the stirring cry of Santiago! was heard, and Alvarado's heart swelled within him: his passion for human blood appears to increase with the slaughter of his tens of thousands, and the lately gay and gallant cavalier is becoming a monster delighting in carnage and butchery, killing men for the mere pleasure of it. ”

“ Would you awaken the cavalier in the next room?"
"And who is he?" cried the other furiously; "this cavalier, of whom you have spoken thrice, who is he? But it matters not: let him keep his ears to himself, if he is given to lie awake. Listeners seldom hear aught that is pleasant for themselves. Said you an officer of Wellington's army? He, too, shall die, if he ventures to cross my path this night!"
"Carlos! Madman! Let me beseech you not to raise your voice thus!" intreated Alvarado in a whisper.
But Stuart had heard more than enough to whet his curiosity. ”

“ The house of Ayxacatl was at once besieged, the influx of provisions was stopped, and the pueblo was surrounded by vast numbers of thoroughly enraged citizens. Neither the Spaniards nor the allies could leave the pueblo without being overwhelmed. Alvarado at last compelled Montezuma to show himself on the walls and bid the people stop fighting, to enable him to strengthen his position and hold it until the arrival of Cortes, and some fifteen hundred men, his own force and that of Narvaez combined. ”

“ There are hidden recesses in the mountains. Your soldiers worship you. Take me away, away into the undiscovered countries to the southward. A continent is before you. We will find a new Mexico, carve out a new Peru with your sword, though I want nothing but to [Pg 181] be with you, alone with you, my soldier, my lover, my king!"
"But your plighted word?"
"'Tis nothing. My heart was plighted to you. That is enough. Let us go, we may never have the chance again," she urged, clinging to him.
A fearful struggle was going on in Alvarado's breast. ”

“ But Alonso de Alvarado, who was lieutenant governor in the province of Chachapoyas, ordered the deputies who were sent into his government to be arrested, declaring for his majesty in opposition to Don Diego, whom he denounced a rebel. He was encouraged in this bold procedure, because he was confident of being able to defend himself with a hundred men whom he commanded in a strong fortress of his province, which he fortified with much care. ”

“ The general ordered Hernando de Alvarado to take 20 companions and go with them, and gave him a commission for eighty days, after which he should return to give an account of what he had found. [43] Captain Alvarado started on this journey and in five days reached a village which was on a rock called Acuco [44] having a population of about 200 men. These people were robbers, feared by the whole country round about. ”

“ Of them he constituted a body-guard for Nenetzin. Rough riders were they, yet around her they formed, more careful of her than themselves; against them rattled and rang the stones and arrows; against them dashed the infidels landed from their canoes; sometimes a cry announced a hurt, sometimes a fall announced a death; but never hand of foe or flying missile reached the curtained carriage in which rode the little princess.
Nor can it be said that Alvarado, so careful as lover, failed his duty as captain. Sometimes at the rear, facing the ’tzin ”

“ Others differ more or less, some giving details that hardly accord with the totals. Bernal Diaz names as Alvarado’s three captains his brother Jorge de Alvarado, Gutierre de Badajoz, and Andrés de Monjaraz, the latter an agreeable, bright-faced fellow of about 32 years, always suffering from a Lotharian disease which prevented him from doing anything. The three captains under Olid were Andrés de Tápia, a growing favorite of Cortés’, Francisco Verdugo, the unconscious fellow-conspirator of Villafañe, and Francisco de Lugo, the natural son of a prominent estate-holder at Medina del Campo. ”

“ The seditious schemes of Alvarado perished with him. The seeds of insubordination were eradicated, and from that moment Almagro experienced only implicit obedience and the most loyal support from his followers. From that hour, too, his own character seemed to be changed; he relied far less on others than on himself, and developed resources not to have been anticipated in one of his years ”

“ The unhappy duenna watched them with anxious eyes, but hesitated to attempt to join them. Indeed, the way was blocked for such an indifferent horsewoman as she by the adroit manœuvres of the sergeant. He was devoted to his young commander and he had surmised the state of affairs also. He would have had no scruples whatever in facilitating a meeting, even an elopement. The two lovers, therefore, could speak unobserved, or at least unheard by any stranger.
"Lady," said Alvarado at last, "I am indeed afraid. You make the strong, weak. Your beauty—forgive me—masters me. ”

“ Then, too, he first learned how Velazquez, ever fickle and distrustful as are all timid and unscrupulous men, becoming nervous concerning the fleet, had sent Cristóbal de Olid in a small vessel with seven soldiers to search and report; and that on reaching the coast of Yucatan a storm had obliged the explorer to part with his anchor and return to Cuba. [9] Before the return of Olid, Alvarado had arrived with the gold and good tidings from the armada, which gave the governor unbounded joy. ”

“ Among Garay's troops there was a certain Ocampo who came to Mexico: this man possessed much wit and was always writing pasquils, or libelling some one or other. Among other things he wrote a good deal of scandal and falsehood respecting our officers, and accused Alvarado, that he had left Leon with upwards of 200 men and the whole of our cavalry which composed the rear-guard, in the lurch, and that in order to save his own life he had taken the Alvarado's leap indeed, in accordance with the old proverb: Leap and save your life! ”

“ We shall not dwell upon the sufferings and misery which tried the expedition in these sparsely-peopled countries, until it arrived at San Gil de Buena-Vista, upon the Golfo Dolce, where Cortès, after receiving the news of the execution of Olid and the re-establishment of the central authority, embarked upon his return to Mexico. At this time he entrusted to Alvarado the command of three hundred infantry, one hundred and sixty cavalry, and four cannon, with a body of Indian auxiliaries, with which he set out for the south of Mexico, to conquer Guatemala. ”