By
These Means, And By The Aid Of The Natives, We Soon Nearly Completed The
Fort, With The Church And Houses.
In the meantime, on receiving information of the rebellion of the
Totonacas, and the usage his officers had received, Montezuma was enraged
against Cortes, and ordered two armies to march, one for the punishment of
the rebels, and the other against us.
But when they were ready to march,
the two officers arrived who had been liberated by Cortes, and gave a
favourable report of the treatment they had received while in our hands.
This lessened his anger, and induced him to send us an amicable message,
which was brought by two of his nephews, under the care of four old nobles
of the highest rank belonging to his court. These brought a present of
gold and mantles, worth about 2000 crowns, and delivered a complimentary
message to Cortes, thanking him for liberating the officers, yet
complaining of him for instigating the Totonacas to rebel whom he would
severely punish hereafter, yet refrained from doing so while we were among
them, since he believed we were of the same ancestors with himself, and
were the people of whom their ancient prophesies had made mention. Cortes
desired the ambassadors to believe that he and all his people were
entirely devoted to the service of the great Montezuma, on whose account
he had protected the officers; and causing the other three who were on
board ship to be brought, he delivered them to the ambassadors. He then
complained of the unkindness of Montezuma, in ordering Cuitlalpitoc and
the natives to desert us, by which incivility we had been deprived of
provisions, and had been under the necessity of coming into the country of
the Totonacas, who had received us with much kindness. He farther trusted
that Montezuma would pardon what had happened, who could not now look for
tribute from that province, the inhabitants of which had become vassals to
the king of Spain. He desired them likewise to say, that he hoped soon to
have it in his power to pay his respects in person to the great Montezuma,
when he had no doubt of settling everything to his entire satisfaction. He
then presented glass diamonds and coloured beads to the young princes, and
ordered out the cavalry to perform their evolutions in his presence, at
which they were extraordinarily astonished and much pleased. After all
this, the ambassadors returned to Mexico, much satisfied with their
reception. This embassy had a great effect on the natives of the country
in our favour, as they concluded we must certainly be very formidable
indeed, since even the great Montezuma seemed afraid of us.
At this time the fat cacique of Chempoalla complained to Cortes of certain
outrages committed by the soldiers of a Mexican garrison in a town called
Cincapacinga, nine leagues off Chiahuitztla, where we were then quartered,
and requested his assistance. Turning to some of the Spaniards who were
about him, Cortes said jocularly:
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