Cortes Made Inquiry Into The
Causes And Circumstances Of The Late Commotion, From All Of Which It Was
Evident That It Had Neither Been Instigated Nor Approved By Montezuma; As
If He Had Chosen To Act Against Our Garrison, They Might All Have Been As
Easily Destroyed As Only Seven.
Alvarado said, that the Indians were
enraged at the detention of their sovereign, and by the erection of the
Cross in their temple; and that when they went, as they said by order of
their gods, to pull it down, all their strength was unable to move it from
its place; and that Montezuma had strictly enjoined them to desist from
all such attempts. In justification of himself, Alvarado alleged that the
friends and subjects of Montezuma had planned the attack upon him for the
liberation of their sovereign, at the time when they believed Cortes and
his army had been destroyed by Narvaez: And being questioned why he had
fallen on the Mexicans, while holding a festival in honour of their gods,
he pretended that he had intelligence of their hostile intentions from a
priest and two nobles, and thought it safest to be beforehand with them.
When pressed by Cortes to say whether the Mexicans had not asked and
obtained his permission to hold that festival, he acknowledged it was so,
and that he had fallen upon them by anticipation, that he might terrify
them into submission, and prevent them from going to war with the
Spaniards. Cortes was highly displeased with the conduct of Alvarado, and
censured him in the strongest terms.
Alvarado alleged that during one of the attacks of the Mexicans on his
quarters, he had endeavoured to fire off one of his guns and could not get
the priming to take fire; but sometime afterwards, when they were in great
danger, the gun went off of itself and made prodigious havock among the
enemy, who were thus miraculously repulsed, and the Spaniards saved from
inevitable destruction. He said also, that the garrison being in great
distress for water, they sank a pit in one of the courts, when immediately
a spring of the sweetest water sprung up. I know that there was a spring
in the city which often produced tolerably fresh water[2]. Glory be to GOD
for all his mercies! Some alleged that Alvarado was excited to this attack
by avarice, in order to plunder the Indians of their golden ornaments
during the festival; but I am satisfied his attack proceeded from a
mistaken idea of preventing insurrection by terror. It is certain, that
even after the massacre at the temple, Montezuma used every endeavour to
prevent his subjects from attacking our people: but they were so enraged
that nothing could restrain their eager thirst for vengeance.
During our march, Cortes had launched out to the new comers in warm
eulogiums on the riches of Mexico, the power and influence which he had
acquired, and the respect and obedience of the Mexicans, filling them with
promises and expectations of enjoying gold in abundance.
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