We Were Visited On The
Following Day By Many Chiefs Of The Neighbouring Districts, Who Brought
With Them Presents Of
Golden toys in various shapes; some like human faces,
and others in the shape of various animals, as lizards, dogs,
And ducks.
They presented at the same time three diadems or coronets, and two pieces
of gold resembling the sole of a shoe or sandal, with some other articles
of small value, as also some very large mantles. But the present which we
considered as most valuable, was twenty women; among whom was the
excellent Donna Marina, so called after her baptism. Cortes thanked the
chiefs for the presents, but told them that the most certain sign of peace
would be the return of the inhabitants to the town, which he desired might
be in two days; and this was done accordingly. He likewise exhorted them
to renounce their idolatry, explaining the mysteries of our holy faith,
especially those parts of it which are represented by the cross, and the
image of the holy virgin. They gave a ready assent to this, the caciques
declaring their admiration of the Tecleciquata, which signifies the
great princess in their language.
The chiefs excused their late hostilities, alleging that they had been
instigated to attack us by the cacique of Champoton, and by our
interpreter Melchoreja who had deserted. Cortes was anxious to have this
man delivered up to him, but was told that he had fled; we learned
afterwards that he had been sacrificed. On being questioned whence they
procured their gold, they answered that it came from the west, frequently
repeating Culchua and Mexico, words we did not then understand; but an
interpreter, named Franciso, who had been along with Grijalva, though he
did not understand the language of Tabasco, said that he knew Culchua,
which he alleged lay far inland. On the day following, having erected a
crucifix and built an altar, the name of Tabasco was changed to that of
Santa Maria de la Vittoria; and on this occasion, the twenty Indian
women who had been presented to Cortes by the chiefs were baptized by our
chaplain, Olmedo, who preached to them many good things of our holy faith,
Aguilar serving as interpreter. Cortes gave one of these women to each of
his captains. These were the first Christian women in New Spain.
The young native who was baptised by the name of Donna Marina was a woman
of high rank, which she shewed in her and appearance, of a beautiful
person and countenance, a quick genius and high spirit, and rendered very
essential services in the sequel of our expedition. She was a native of
the village of Painalla, in the province of Guacacualca, or
Coatzacualco[10]. Her father was prince or cacique of Painalla and
several other districts, under subjection to the empire of Mexico; but
dying while she was an infant, her mother married another cacique, by whom
she had a son, to whom they wished to give the succession which ought to
have belonged to Marina. For this purpose they gave her away privately to
some merchants of Xicallanco, a place on the borders of Tabasco in
Yucutan, giving out that she was dead, and going into mourning for the
daughter of one of their slaves who died at this time, and was much of the
same age. These merchants sold her to some chief in Tabasco, by whom she
was afterwards presented to Cortes, who presented her to Puertocarrero;
and when that cavalier returned to Spain, Cortes took her to himself, and
had a son by her, named Don Martin Cortes, who became a knight of St Jago.
She afterwards married, during our expedition to Higueras, a cavalier
named Juan Xaramillo. During the expedition to Higueras in Honduras, in
the year 1524, in which she accompanied Cortes, she had occasion to see
her mother and brother; as Cortes summoned all the neighbouring caciques
to meet him at Coatzacualco, among whom they came, as they now governed
their territory conjunctly, the second husband being dead. On seeing Donna
Marina, the old lady and her son cried bitterly, being afraid of being put
to death; but Marina assured them of her forgiveness, saying that she
thanked GOD their intended injury had been the means of drawing her from
the worship of idols to the true faith, and was happier in having a son by
her lord and master Cortes, and in the husband she then possessed, than if
she had been sovereign of all New Spain, and gave them at parting a
handsome present of gold. I was personally acquainted with her mother and
half brother, who were both afterwards baptized, the mother by the name of
Martha, and the brother by that of Lazarus. Donna Marina perfectly
understood her native language of Coatzacualco, which is the same with
that of Mexico; and as she could likewise converse with Aguilar in the
Maja language, which is spoken in Yucutan and Tabasco, we thus acquired
a medium of intercourse with the Mexicans, Tlascalans, and other nations
of Anahuac or New Spain, which was of infinite importance to us in the
sequel. In a little time she learnt the Spanish, by which the circuitous
means of double interpretation was avoided. She was always faithful to the
Spaniards, to whom her services were of the very highest importance; as
she not only was the instrument of their negotiations with the various
nations of Anahuac, but often saved their lives by giving them notice of
dangers, and suggesting the means of avoiding them. Don Martin Cortes, her
son, was afterwards most unjustly put to the torture at Mexico in 1568, on
some unfounded suspicion of intended rebellion, his iniquitous and
barbarous judges, paying no regard to the memory of the unequalled
services rendered by his parents to the Catholic king and the Spanish
nation.
We remained five days longer in Tabasco, taking care of our sick and
wounded, during, which time Cortes used his endeavours to conciliate the
natives, whom he enjoined to preserve their allegiance to his Catholic
majesty, by which they would secure his protection.
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