But Velasquez, Like Many Other Men Of Excellent Abilities,
Often Preferred The Opinions Of Others To His Own, Thereby Losing The
Opportunities Which His Superior Talents Afforded.
Yet it is highly
probable that this very error contributed more to the important conquests
which were afterwards made by the Spaniards, than the wisest measures he
could have taken.
[1] The Sue Tajassu of Naturalists, or the Pecary. This singular species
of the hog tribe, has an open glandular orifice in the hinder part of
the back, which discharges an unctuous foetid liquor, which must be
cut out immediately after the death of the animal, otherwise the whole
carcase is soon tainted with an intolerable odour. - E.
[2] This is probably an error for the Sierra Nevada, or Snowy
Mountains. - E.
* * * * *
CHAPTER V.
HISTORY OF THE DISCOVERY AND CONQUEST OF MEXICO, WRITTEN IN THE YEAR 1568,
BY CAPTAIN BERNAL DIAZ DEL CASTILLO, ONE OF THE CONQUERORS.
INTRODUCTION.
Although the present chapter may not, at first sight, appear
strictly conformable to the plan of this work, which professes to be a
Collection of Voyages and Travels, it is, notwithstanding, very intimately
connected with our plan, as every step of the conquerors, from their first
landing on the coast of the Mexican empire, to the final completion of the
conquest and reduction of the numerous dependent provinces, must be
considered as discoveries of kingdoms, provinces, and people before
utterly unknown. In our endeavours to convey a clear view of this
important event to our readers, we have preferred the original narrative
of Bernal Diaz, one of the companions of Cortes, who accompanied him
during the whole of his memorable and arduous enterprise, an eye-witness
of every thing which he relates, and whose history, notwithstanding the
coarseness of its style, has been always much esteemed for the simplicity
and sincerity of the author, everywhere discoverable[1]. Those who are
desirous of critically investigating the subject, as a matter of history,
will find abundant information in the History of Mexico by Clavigero, and
in Robertson's History of America. In our edition of the present article
we have largely availed ourselves of The true History of the Conquest of
Mexico by Bernal Diaz, translated by Maurice Keating, Esq. and published
in 1800; but which we have not servilely copied on the present occasion.
This history is often rather minute on trivial circumstances, and somewhat
tedious in its reprehensions of a work on the same subject by Francisco
Lopez de Gomara; but as an original document, very little freedom has been
assumed in lopping these redundancies. The whole has been carefully
collated with the history of the same subject by Clavigero, and with the
recent interesting work of Humbolt, so as to ascertain the proper
orthography of the Mexican names of persons, places, and things, and to
illustrate or correct circumstances and accounts of events, wherever that
seemed necessary. Diaz commences his work with his own embarkation from
Spain in 1514, and gives an account of the two previous expeditions of
Hernandez de Cordova, and Juan de Grijalva, to the coast of New Spain,
both already given in the preceding chapter, but which it would have been
improper to have expunged in this edition of the original work of Diaz.
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