Page:The Mastering of Mexico.djvu/103

Rh really it was more to us than ten times that, for it told us there were rich mines in the country. Among the other things were twenty ducks of gold, looking exactly like living birds and beautifully worked, and other figures wrought In shape of lions, tigers, dogs and monkeys, ten gold chains of most splendid workmanship, twelve arrows and a bow with strings, and two staffs five palms long—such as are used by justices, all cast of purest gold. Then there were crests of gold and silver mounted with beautiful green feathers, and fans similarly wrought—in short, such a number of objects that I can not now remember all, and it is useless to try to describe them, for I do not know how to do it. There were alone thirty packages of beautiful cotton cloth of various patterns and inwrought with colored feathers.

When they had presented all this magnificence the ambassadors begged Cortes to accept it in the same friendship in which their monarch gave, and to divide the things among his teules, or gods, and men. Montezuma, they said, was much pleased with the coming of such valiant men as fame of our doings at Tabasco said we were, and he wished to see our great emperor to whom he would send a present of precious stones. But as for Cortes' coming to see him, we should dismiss the thought, for there was no need of such a journey and It would be fraught with dangers.