Soon After Our Return To Tezcuco, A Conspiracy Was Formed For The
Assassination Of Our General, At The Head Of
Which was one Antonio de
Villafana, an adherent of Velasquez, and some of the other soldiers who
had come over
With Narvaez, but whose names I do not choose to mention,
and the conspirators had even communicated their plan to two principal
officers, whom I will not name, one of whom was to have been appointed
captain-general on the death of Cortes. They had even arranged matters for
the appointment of alguazil-major, alcaldes, regidor, contador, treasurer,
veedor, and others of that kind, and of captains and standard-bearer to
the army, all from among the soldiers of Narvaez. All the principal
adherents of Cortes were to have been put to death, and the conspirators
were to have divided our properties, arms, and horses, among themselves.
This business was revealed to Cortes, only two days after our return to
Tezcuco, by the repentance of one of the conspirators, whom he amply
rewarded. The general immediately communicated the intelligence to
Alvarado, De Oli, Sandoval, Tapia, Luis Marin, and Pedro de Ircio, who
were the two alcaldes for the time, also to me, and to all in whom he
reposed confidence. We all accompanied Cortes, well armed, to the quarters
of Villafana, where he found him and many others of the conspirators, and
took him immediately into custody. The others endeavoured to escape, but
were all detained and sent to prison. Cortes took a paper from the bosom
of Villafana, having the signatures of all his accomplices; but which he
afterwards pretended that Villafana had swallowed, to set the minds of the
conspirators at rest, as they were too numerous to be all punished in the
present weak state of our army. Villafana was immediately tried, and made
a full confession; and his guilt being likewise clearly established by
many witnesses, the judges, who were Cortes, the two alcaldes, and De Oli,
condemned him to die. Having confessed himself to the reverend Juan Diaz,
he was hanged from a window of the apartment. No more of the conspirators
were proceeded against; but Cortes thought it prudent to appoint a body
guard for his future security, selected from among those who had been with
him from the first, of which Antonio de Quinones was made captain.
At this period an order was issued for bringing in all our prisoners to
be marked, being the third time since we came to the country. If that
operation were unjustly conducted the first time, it was worse the second,
and this time worse than ever; for besides the two fifths for the king and
Cortes, no less than thirty draughts were made for the captains; besides
which, all the handsome females we had given in to be marked, were stolen
away, and concealed till it became convenient to produce them.
As the brigantines were entirely finished, and the canal for their passage
into the lake was now sufficiently wide and deep for that purpose, Cortes
issued orders to all the districts in our alliance, near Tezcuco, to send
him, in the course of ten days, 8000 arrow-shafts from each district, made
of a particular wood, and as many copper heads. Within the appointed time,
the whole number required was brought to head-quarters, all executed
better than even the patterns. Captain Pedro Barba, who commanded the
crossbows, ordered each of his soldiers to provide two cords and nuts, and
to try the range of their bows. Cortes ordered all the cavalry to have
their lances new-headed, and to exercise their horses daily. He sent
likewise an express to the elder Xicotencatl at Tlascala, otherwise called
Don Lorenzo de Vargas, to send 20,000 of the warriors of Tlascala,
Huixotzinco and Cholula; and he sent similar orders to Chalco and
Tlalmanalco; ordering all our allies to rendezvous at Tezcuco on the day
after the festival of the Holy Ghost, 28th April 1521. And on that day,
Don Hernandez Ixtlilxochitl of Tezcuco, was to join us with all his forces.
Some considerable reinforcements of soldiers, horses, arms, and ammunition
had arrived from Spain and other places, so that when mustered mustered on
the before-mentioned day by Cortes, in the large enclosures of Tezcuco,
our Spanish force amounted to the following number: 84 cavalry, 650
infantry, armed with sword and buckler, or pikes, and 194 musketeers and
crossbow-men, in all 928 Spaniards. From this number he selected 12
musketeers or crossbow-men, and 12 of the other infantry, for rowers to
each of the vessels, in all 312 men, appointing a captain to each vessel;
and he distributed 20 cannoneers through the fleet, which he armed with
such guns as we had that were fit for this service. Many of our men had
been formerly sailors, yet all were extremely averse from acting as rowers
on the present occasion; for which reason the general made inquiry as to
those who were natives of sea-ports, or who had formerly been fishers or
seafaring men, all of whom he ordered to the oars; and though some of them
pled their gentility as an exemption, he would hear of no excuse. By these
means he obtained 150 men for this service, who were in fact in a much
better situation than we who bore the brunt and danger of the war on land,
as will appear in the sequel. When all this was arranged, and the crews
embarked along with their commanders, each brigantine hoisted a royal
standard, and every one a distinguishing flag. Cortes likewise gave the
captains written instructions for their guidance, dividing them into
squadrons, each of which was to co-operate with a particular leader of the
land forces.
Cortes now issued the following general orders to the army: 1. No person
to blaspheme the Lord Jesus, his Virgin Mother, the Holy Apostles, or any
of the Saints, under heavy penalties. 2.
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