Page:The Mastering of Mexico.djvu/374

334 point out to our children the spot where Troy stood.

I now answer a question that many interested readers have asked me: "Why did the true Conquistadores of the strong city of Mexico and of New Spain not settle down in Mexico? Why did they go to other provinces?" The reason is that we learned from tribute-books of Montezuma from what districts the greatest tribute of gold came, where there were mines, cacao, garments of cotton cloth. We were bent on going to those places from which we saw by the books and their accounts the people brought these chief tributes. And when we found even Sandoval, so notable an officer and such a friend of Cortes, starting out from Mexico, and when we considered that in the towns of the neighborhood of Mexico they had neither gold, nor mines, nor cotton, merely maize and maguey plantations, all the more did we seek to follow his, Sandoval's, example. We concluded that the country about the metropolis was poor, and so went off to settle in other provinces. And greatly were we deceived in our expectations.

This disappointment Cortes had foreseen. I remember when I went to ask him to give me leave to go with Sandoval, he said, "On my conscience, brother Bernal Diaz del Castillo, you are making a great mistake. I should like better your staying in Mexico with me. But if your choice is to go with