Next Day Being Good Friday, We Disembarked The Cavalry, Artillery, And
Infantry, On The Sand Hills Where The City Of New Vera Cruz Now Stands,
Where We Constructed Huts For The Troops, Posting The Artillery For The
Protection Of Our Cantonment, And Erected An Altar For Public Performance
Of Our Devotions.
Many of the natives came to visit us next day, bringing
hatchets with them, and assisted us in making
Our huts more comfortable,
more especially that of our general; they also brought a present of many
large cloths or mantles to protect us from the sun, and made us a
considerable present of fowls, bread, and plumbs, and some gold. The
bearers of this present informed Cortes that the governor of the province
intended to wait upon him on the second day after, being Easter Sunday,
the 24th of April. Accordingly Teuchtlile, the governor, came at the
time specified, accompanied by a chief named Quitlatpitoc[2], who was
afterwards named Ovandillo, with a great retinue bearing various articles
of provisions with much ceremony and respect. These men advanced, making
three profound reverences to Cortes and the soldiers who were with him;
and, after exchanging civilities, Cortes ordered mass to be performed in
their presence, after which he and the two Mexican lords with several
Spanish officers, sat down to dinner. When this was over, he informed the
Mexican chiefs, that he was the servant of the greatest king in the world,
who had sent him to visit their sovereign, whose fame had reached him, and
who had ordered him to communicate some affairs of the greatest importance.
To this Teuchtlile answered somewhat haughtily: "You are only just arrived
in this land, and yet speak already of seeing our king: receive in the
meantime this present which he has sent you, and we shall speak of other
things hereafter." He then took from a petlacalli, or basket of reeds,
many admirably wrought toys of gold, with various artificial works in
coloured feathers, which he presented to Cortes, together with ten loads
of fine garments of white cotton, and an abundant supply of provisions,
such as fowls, fruit, and roasted fish. There were many other articles in
the present made on this occasion which I do not now remember the
particulars of, as it is long ago. Cortes presented them in return with
artificial diamonds, and requested they would encourage the natives to
barter with us, which they engaged to do. We afterwards learnt that these
Mexican chiefs were the governors Cuetlachtlan, Tustepeque,
Cuetzpaltepec, Tlacatlalpan, and other districts, which had been
lately reduced under the Mexican empire. Cortes then produced a richly
carved and painted arm-chair, some artificial jewels called margajitas[3]
enveloped in perfumed cotton, a string of artificial diamonds, and a
crimson velvet montero cap ornamented with a gold medal of St George
killing the dragon; which he requested Teuchtlile to convey to Montezuma
as a present from the king of Spain, and to signify his request to be
permitted to wait upon him. The chief made answer, that his sovereign
would assuredly be happy to hold intercourse with ours, and that he should
convey a true report of this request to Montezuma, who would instruct him
what answer he should make.
Some able Mexican painters accompanied the two chiefs on this occasion,
who drew accurate representations of Cortes and the other Spanish officers
and soldiers, of Donna Marina, Aguilar, and every circumstance that seemed
worthy of remark, even our dogs, guns, and balls, in order to convey exact
information to Montezuma. On perceiving this, Cortes ordered the cannon to
be loaded, and ordered the cavalry to be exercised in their presence under
Alvarado. He drew off the attention of the chiefs as if by accident, and
had the cannon discharged without any previous notice. The prodigious
noise of the explosion, and the strange effects of the balls among the
trees, impressed the natives with terror and amazement, yet their painters
endeavoured to represent even this for the information of their king.
Teuchtlile happened to notice a partly gilt helmet[4] on one of our
soldiers, which he said resembled one which had belonged to their
ancestors, and which was now placed on the head of Huitzilopochtli,
their god of war, and which he wished to carry along with them to
Montezuma. Cortes immediately complied with his request, saying that it
would be proper to return it full of grains of gold, as a fit present for
our emperor, in order to see whether the gold of Mexico was the same with
that of Spain. Teuchtlile now took leave of Cortes, assuring him that he
would very soon return with an answer from Montezuma. Our presents, and
intelligence of all that had passed at this interview, were conveyed with
amazing rapidity to Montezuma by this officer, who was as much
distinguished for swiftness of foot as for his high rank. Montezuma was
particularly struck with the appearance of the helmet, as it impressed him
strongly with the opinion that we were destined by heaven to acquire the
rule over his empire[5]. On the departure of Teuchtlile, the other chief,
Cuitlalpitoc, took up his residence in a temporary building near the camp,
whence his people supplied the table of Cortes with provisions, and our
soldiers procured subsistence by means of barter with the natives.
At the end of six or seven days, Teuchtlile returned to the camp,
accompanied by more than an hundred men bearing presents from Montezuma.
He had another Mexican chief along with him, named Quintalbor[6], who
had so strong a resemblance to our general, that the soldiers always
called him the other Cortes. On coming into the presence of Cortes, the
ambassadors touched the ground with their hands, which they kissed in
token of respect, and then fumigated him and the rest of the Spaniards
with incense. After some conversation, the presents were displayed on mats
and mantles spread out on the ground. The first was a plate of gold, as
large as a coach wheel, most admirably wrought, and representing the
sun[7], said to exceed the value of 20,000 crowns.
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