Cortes sent immediate orders
to purchase the whole cargo, and all the people came up to join us to our
great satisfaction. Among these were one Juan del Espinar, afterwards a
very rich man, and two others named Sagredo, and Monjaraz a Biscayan, who
had two nephews of the same name in our army. Monjaraz never went upon any
expedition or engagement along with us, always feigning to be sick, though
he omitted no opportunity to boast of his courage. Once, while we were
besieging Mexico, he went up to the top of a high temple, as he said to
see how the natives fought; and by some means which we could never find
out, he was killed that day by some of the Indians. Those who had known
him in Hispaniola, said it was a just judgment, for having procured the
death of his wife, a beautiful and honourable woman, by means of false
witnesses.
All the timber for our vessels being in readiness, and every thing
prepared for our expedition against Mexico, it was debated in our council
of war in what place we should establish our head-quarters, in order to
prepare our measures for investing that city. Some strongly recommended
Ayotcingo as most convenient for that purpose, on account of its canals.
Cortes and others preferred Tezcuco, as best adapted for making incursions
into the Mexican territory, and that place was accordingly fixed upon. We
accordingly began our march from Tlascala immediately after the junction
of our last reinforcement from Villa Rica, consisting of the soldiers who
came with Medel and De Burgos.
[1] A long digression is here omitted, in which Diaz severely reprehends
the account given by Gomara of this and other transactions in his
history of the conquest of Mexico, altogether uninteresting to the
English reader. - E.
[2] Clavigero, II. 132, mentions about this time an expedition against
Tochtepec, a considerable town on the river of Papaloapan, in which
Salcedo and a detachment of 80 Spaniards were entirely cut off. - E.
[3] This must have been a very considerable treasure. On one occasion,
Clavigero reckons a load of gold at 800 ounces. The eighty Tlascalans
might therefore carry off 64,000 ounces, which at L4 the ounce, is
worth L256,000 Sterling, and of considerably more efficacious value in
those days than a million is now. - E.
SECTION XII.
_Transactions of Cortes and the Spaniards from their March against Mexico,
to the Commencement of the Siege of that City_.
We began our March from Tlascala on the 26th of December 1520, with the
whole of our Spanish force, and accompanied by ten thousand of our
Tlascalan allies[1], and halted that night within the territories of the
state of Tezcuco, the inhabitants of which place supplied us with
provisions.
