Page:The Conquest of Mexico Volume 2.djvu/445

 Page 166 (3).—Tezcuco, a Chichemec name, according to Ixtlilxochitl, signifying "place of detention or rest," because the various tribes from the North halted there on their entrance into Anahuac.—Hist. Chich., MS., cap. 10.

Page 167 (1).—The historian Ixtlilxochitl pays the following high tribute to the character of his royal kinsman, whose name was Tecocol. Strange that this name is not to be found—with the exception of Sahagun's work—in any contemporary record! "He was the first man to be regretted by the Spaniards, on account of his noble character and devotion to their interests. Don Fernando Tecocoltzin was a true gentleman, tall, with a skin as white as that of any Spaniard, a fact which demonstrated his high lineage. He understood Spanish, and nearly every night after supper he and Cortés discussed plans for carrying on the war."—Ixtlilxochitl, Venida de los Esp., ppP 12, 13.

Page 168 (1).—The accession of Tecocol, as indeed, his existence, passes unnoticed by some historians, and by others is mentioned in so equivocal a manner,—his Indian name being omitted— that it is very doubtful if any other is intended than his younger brother Ixtlilxochitl. The Tezcucan chronicler, bearing this last melodious name, has alone given the particulars of his history. I have followed him, as, from his personal connections, having had access to the best sources of information; though, it must be confessed, he is far too ready to take things on trust, to be always the best authority.

Page 169 (1).—Among other anecdotes recorded of the young prince's early development is one of his having, when only three years old, pitched his nurse into a well, as she was drawing water, to punish her for certain improprieties of conduct of which he had been witness. But I spare the reader the recital of these astonishing proofs of precocity, as it is very probable, his appetite for the marvellous may not keep pace with that of the chronicler of Tezcuco.

Page 181 (1).—The general's own Letter to the emperor is so full and precise, that it is the very best authority for this event. The story is told also by Bernal Diaz, Hist, de la Conquista, cap. 138.—Oviedo, Hist, de las Ind., MS., lib. 33, cap. 18.—Ixtlilxochitl, Hist. Chich., MS., cap. 92.—Herrera, Hist. General, dec. 3, lib. i, cap. 2, et auct. aliis.

Page 185 (1).—Rel. Terc, ap. Lorenzana, pp. 204, 205.—Oviedo, Hist, de las Ind., MS., lib. 33, cap. 19.

Page 186 (1).—Oviedo, in his admiration of his hero, breaks out in the following panegyric on his policy, prudence, and military science, which, as he truly predicts, must make his name immortal. It is a fair specimen of the manner of the sagacious old chronicler: "Undoubtedly the wisdom and energy and prudence of Hernando Cortés are worthy of admiration; the cavaliers and soldiers of our day highly esteemed him, and posterity will never forget. I think very often of all that has been written of our Captain Viceroy, Spaniard and man of Estremadura; and because of the deeds of Hernando Cortés I understand better the tireless energy of that mirror of knighthood Julius Cæsar, as shown in his Commentaries, and by Suetonius and Plutarch and others who likewise wrote of his great deeds. But those of Hernando Cortés were performed in a New World, far from European lands, with great labour and few resources and little aid, amongst a people thronging in immense numbers, barbarous and warlike, delighting in human flesh, at least that of their enemies, which they considered an excellent and healthful diet; Cortés and his soldiers lacked bread and wine and all other supplies to which they were accustomed in Spain, while living in strange and varied regions and climates, far away from succour and from their Sovereign; a wonderful and admirable record! "—Hist, de las Ind., MS., lib. 33, cap. 20.

Page 186 (2).—Among other chiefs, to whom Guatemozin applied for assistance in the perilous state of his affairs was Tangapan, lord of Michuacan, an independent and powerful state in the west, which had never been subdued by the Mexican army. The accounts which the Aztec emperor gave him, through his ambassadors, of the white men, were so alarming, according to