The White Conquerors: A Tale of Toltec and Aztec by Kirk Munroe
CHAPTER XVII.
PUNISHMENT OF THE CONSPIRATORS
Cortes had determined to anticipate the treachery of the Cholulans andthe meditated destruction of his army, by a punishment so terrible thatits effect should be felt throughout all Anahuac. He intended that awholesome dread of the white conquerors should be implanted in everyAztec breast. By earliest dawn he was on horseback, perfecting hisarrangements for the coming tragedy. The musketeers and cross-bowmenwere placed close under the walls of the temple courtyard, and thepikemen were stationed near the three entrances. Here, too, thegunners, under command of Mesa, chief of artillery, renewed theirprimings and blew their matches into a brighter glow. The cavalry,headed by Cortes in person, was held in reserve to act as emergenciesshould dictate.
At the same time, silent but active preparations were being made inall parts of the city, though, of course, unseen by the Spaniards,for their destruction. As every Cholulan to whom the secret was knownfondly hoped, the hour was at hand in which the boasted prowess ofthese invaders should come to naught and they should be sacrificed tothe wrath of the Aztec gods. Everywhere the exulting natives swarmedto the housetops along the designated line of march, and stationedthemselves near the ample stores of missiles already gathered; orthey collected in armed bodies, whispering, but jubilant over theperfection of their plans, in the side streets, from which they wereto leap, like mountain lions, on their helpless prey. The Aztec army,secretly prepared for this emergency, entered the city, and so swelledthe number of assailants that no Cholulan doubted for a moment as towhich side should be granted the victory in the coming conflict. So,impatiently and joyously, they awaited the signal with which theirtriumph would begin.
Outside the city Huetzin's grim Tlascalans, each with a fillet of grassbound about his head to distinguish him from an Aztec or a Cholulan,awaited the signal that should send them into action with an equalimpatience. They too were without a doubt as to the result of thebattle. Had they not fought against the white conquerors? and did theynot know, from bitter experience, the extent of their terrible powers?What would avail the puny efforts of the pottery-making Cholulansagainst beings before whom even the mountain warriors of Tlascalacould not stand? That they should dare, for a moment, to oppose thewhite conquerors, to say nothing of themselves, was a subject forscornful mirth in the Tlascalan camp. As for Huetzin, he was filledwith the nervous anxiety of a young commander about to engage in hisfirst battle. Of this, however, he effectually concealed all traces inthe presence of his warriors, to whom he presented a calm and cheerfulcountenance. His friend and brother, Sandoval, had urged him to don acap of steel, such as were worn by the conquerors themselves; but this,Huetzin had firmly declined, saying that he would wear no armor thatcould not be equally shared by his warriors. Now, therefore, he wasclad as they were, in a doublet of quilted cotton, and wore on his heada simple fillet of grass. Above it waved the graceful plume of a whiteheron, which, with his Spanish sword, formed the distinguishing badgesof his rank.
The sun had hardly risen before the Cholulan Caciques, who were toguide the Spanish army through the city streets, presented themselvesat the temple and were admitted. They were followed by a thousand ormore of tamanes, who, as the quick eye of Cortes instantly detected,were all armed with weapons, of one kind or another, thrust into theirgirdles. These were halted in the centre of the court, while theCaciques advanced, with smiling faces and complimentary words, to wherethe Spanish commander sat on his gray steed. Their smiles were quicklyexchanged for expressions of consternation; for, with scornful words,Cortes began to charge them with their treachery, and showed himselfto be acquainted with all the details of their conspiracy. He recalledthe apparent friendliness with which they and their king had invitedhim to Cholula, and the mask of hospitality with which they had coveredtheir base designs. Now he demanded to know what they had to say forthemselves, and whether any form of punishment could be too severe forsuch perfidy.
The trembling Caciques were overwhelmed by these terrible words, anda memory of the supernatural powers credited to these mysteriousstrangers, who seemed able to read their most hidden thoughts, cameback to them. They dared not deny the accusation just made, and so madea full confession of the conspiracy, only striving to lay the entireblame upon Montezuma, by whose orders they claimed to have acted, andwhom they dared not disobey.
Merely regarding this as a further evidence of Cholulan cowardice, anddeclaring that he was now about to make such an example of them asshould cause their false-hearted king to tremble on his throne, Cortesraised his hand. At the signal every Spanish musket and cross-bow waslevelled, and so deadly a volley of bullets and bolts was poured intothe dense body of natives, huddled together like sheep in the middle ofthe court, that they fell by scores. Then the soldiers leaped forwardto complete their work with sword and pike.
In another moment the combined throngs of Cholulans and Aztecs,gathered outside the walls, hearing the sounds of strife, advanced,with exulting cries, to an attack upon the Spaniards. As they rushedforward there came a burst of flame full in their faces, and, with athunderous roar, increased tenfold by reverberations from enclosingbuildings, Mesa's guns hurled forth their deadly tempest. Ere thebewildered natives could comprehend the nature of what had happened,the cavalry was upon them with sword, lance, and trampling, iron-shodhoofs. By the onrush of succeeding hosts these were driven back; butagain Mesa's reloaded guns swept the narrow streets. Again and againwere these tactics repeated with frightful losses to the natives andalmost none to their adversaries.
In the mean time, Huetzin's warriors, dashing forward like tigers atsound of the first volley, fell on the rear of the swarming Aztecs withsuch fury that none could withstand them. Dismayed and panic-strickenthe townsmen gave way and took refuge in their houses. Even here thefierce Tlascalans pursued them, and setting fire to such structures aswere of wood, soon caused whole blocks of buildings to be enveloped inflames.
Ever in the front, using his keen Toledo blade with deadly effect,Huetzin cheered on his followers. Suddenly he detected a body ofskulking priests who had come from all the temples of the city to sharein the anticipated victory of their benighted adherents. Now theywere seeking safety in flight. Like a flash of light came a vision ofinnocent children torn to death by these human wolves, and, with aninarticulate cry of rage, the young Toltec darted after them. A numberof his warriors sprang to his side, and, as the priests dashed up thelong flight of steps leading to the summit of the great pyramid, theTlascalans were close on their heels. Hardly had the panting fugitivesgained the upper platform, ere others, who had already sought thisplace of refuge, rolled great stones down on the heads of theirpursuers.
Many a mountain warrior was swept, lifeless, to the bottom of the vastpile before the survivors obtained a foothold on its summit; but, oncethere, these took ample revenge for the death of their comrades. Thecowardly priests, who had heretofore urged others to fight, but who hadthemselves wielded no weapon save the bloody knife of sacrifice, nowfought for their lives, but with no more effect against Huetzin and hisfierce Tlascalans, than if they had been so many carrion crows. Theface of the murdered Tlahuicol rose before his son's vision, and thedespairing cries of thousands of priestly victims rang in the ears ofthe young Toltec as he closed with the mob of blood-stained wretcheswho sought in vain the protection of their gods. With no thought saveof vengeance, he leaped among them, his sword drinking life blood withevery stroke. Animated by his example, his followers dealt death-blowson all sides with a fury only excelled by his own.
From the top of the wooden temple in which the image of the god wasenshrined, the Cholulans poured down javelins, stones, and burningarrows. Snatching a blazing brand from an altar, Huetzin set fire tothe building, and, with the aid of some Spaniards, who now appeared onthe scene, he dragged the great idol from its pedestal, and hurled it,crashing, down a side of the lofty pyramid, at the base of which it wasshattered into a hundred fragments.
Priest after priest shared the fat
As he realized this, a solemn joy took possession of the young warrior,and, though he was bleeding from many wounds he felt them not. Heseemed to hear the myriad voices of his forefathers united in praiseand blessing, and for a moment he stood in rapt unconsciousness of hissurroundings. Then, lifting his eyes to the glowing noonday sky, hereverently and slowly traced the sacred symbol of the God of the FourWinds.
At this moment he was recalled to earthly things by a mightyhand-grasp, and the hearty tones of Sandoval's voice, saying, "Thouhast done nobly, my warrior brother! I came in time to witness theconclusion of thy fighting, and never saw I a more finished bit ofwork. Thou hast indeed smitten the idolater in his stronghold, andhere, on the site of yonder smoking temple, shall thou and I erect agoodly cross, the holy symbol of thy religion and of mine."