CHAPTER XL.
FINAL OVERTHROW OF THE AZTEC GODS
The siege of Tenochtitlan had now been going on for nearly threemonths. Still the besieged, animated by the heroism of their youngking, and the fatal superstition that caused them to believe in thepromises and tremble at the threats of their false priests, held out.Famine, sickness, and death stalked abroad through the city; but itwould not surrender, nor would it so long as every house was a fortressand every canal a barricade. Guatamotzin steadily refused to treatwith embassies, or grant a personal interview to the Christian leader.Scores of Spaniards and hundreds of Huetzin's brave warriors had beensacrificed by priestly knives, and their blood cried out for vengeance.In view of these facts, Cortes came reluctantly to the conclusion thatthe beautiful city must be destroyed, its buildings levelled to theearth to afford a clear sweep for his guns, and its canals, filled withtheir débris, converted into solid ground for the unimpeded movementsof his cavalry.
So the fatal order was given, and a hundred thousand natives ofAnahuac, who had suffered too bitterly from the oppression of the Aztecto feel pity for him in the hour of his distress, seized their heavy_coas_ (picks), and sprang cheerfully to the work of destruction.First, the openings in the causeways were so solidly filled that theywere never again opened. Then the frail tenements of the suburbswere demolished, and a broad belt, encircling the more substantiallybuilt portions of the city, was presented for the movement of thetroops. The defenders of Tenochtitlan did not view these measures withindifference; but, sallying forth on all sides, maintained an incessantwarfare with the besiegers.
At this stage of the proceedings a message was sent to Guatamotzin,offering honorable terms of peace, and he called a great council toconsider it. His nobles advised its acceptance, but the priests,foreseeing their own downfall if its terms were agreed to, forbadehim to submit. Their councils prevailed; and thus, in obedience topriestly selfishness, was this queenly city of the New World doomed toannihilation.
For two days the besiegers quietly awaited an answer to their message.At length it came in the shape of a furious sortie, from every citystreet, of host after host of desperate Aztecs. Like swollen mountaintorrents bursting their confining flood-gates, they swept in waveafter wave, across the causeways, to the very entrenchments of theirenemy, threatening to overwhelm him by sheer force of numbers. Butthe besiegers were too strongly fortified, and too well armed, to bedislodged. Into the very faces of the dense Aztec ranks was poureda withering fire from the land batteries, while their flanks wereenfiladed by the guns of the fleet. Finally, hidden beneath clouds ofsulphurous smoke, their shattered columns wavered, and then rolledslowly back into the city. It was their last great effort, and fromthis time on, the proud city seemed to await its doom in sullen apathy.
Now the work of destruction was pressed with the utmost vigor. Dayafter day witnessed the demolition of dwellings, palaces, and temples,the filling of canals, and the penetrating of the besiegers, fromtwo sides at once, further and further toward the heart of the Azteccapital. Fiercely did its starving defenders contest each foot ofprogress, fighting from house to house, darting out in small partiesfrom side streets to slay a score or so of workmen, and then assuddenly disappearing, charging after the retreating forces at eachnightfall, and at all times battling with the ferocity of despair.
From the six hundred temples of the city Huetzin and his band of pickedwarriors hurled the idols, one after another, until at length, in allTenochtitlan, only one abiding-place remained to the Aztec gods. Thiswas the lofty teocal overlooking the market-place of Tlateloco, whichwas second only in size and importance to the mighty structure fromwhich the war-god had long since been driven.
Three-fourths of the beautiful city, including the stately palace ofits king, lay in ruins, when near the close of a day of destruction,the two attacking armies, doggedly fighting their way through the stillinnumerable host of Aztecs, came in sight of each other on oppositesides of the market-place. Suddenly, from the teocal overlooking it,a bright blaze shot high in the air, reddening the eastern sky with aglow like that of the western sunset. So ominous was the signal, thatfor a moment all combatants paused to regard it. As they gazed upward,a small body of men appeared on the verge of the lofty platform, andthe next instant a huge, shapeless mass, came crashing and thunderingdown the steep declivity. During the momentary silence that followed, asingle figure stood boldly outlined, on the point from which the imagehad come, and, in the ringing tones of Huetzin the Toltec, were heardthe words:
"Thus perishes the last of the Aztec gods!"
Then, making in mid-air the holy sign of his faith, he disappeared.
With joyous shouts the Christian soldiers sprang forward to completetheir victory; but it was completed. Guatamotzin was already afugitive, and, without king or gods, the Aztecs would fight no more.
That very evening Sandoval, who had been made admiral of the fleet,chased with his swiftest vessel a large periagua that was endeavoringto escape from the city. As he drew near to it, and was about to openfire, a stately figure sprang up, and proclaimed:
"I am the king! Slay me if you will, but spare these helpless ones."
On hearing this, Sandoval ordered his men to lower their weapons, andreceived Guatamotzin with courtesy and honor on board his vessel.
Thus ended the bitter siege of Tenochtitlan, a siege unsurpassed in theannals of war for the heroic fortitude, bravery, and persistence shownon both sides.
That night the fall of the Aztec capital, and the overthrow of itsgods, was signalized by one of the most fearful storms ever known inthe Mexican valley. For hours the rain descended in torrents, theheavens were rent by incessant flashes of blinding lightning, and thecontinuous crash of thunder shook the encircling mountain-walls totheir foundation. It was a fitting requiem over the death of a braveand powerful, but at the same time cruel and superstitious, nation.
On the following morning began an exodus, from the devastated city, ofits remaining inhabitants; and so great was the number who had survivedthe horrors of battle, pestilence, and famine, that the sorrowfulprocessions occupied three days in defiling across the causeways to themainland. As they had for many days been unable to bury their dead, thedeserted city was now but a vast charnel-house in which no human beingcould exist. As soon after this as was practicable, Cortes set to work,with the aid of the conquered citizens and immense levies drawn fromthe surrounding country, to rebuild what he had destroyed. The firstbuilding to be erected was a magnificent Christian cathedral, which,dedicated to St. Francis, was made to occupy the very site on whichformerly stood the temple of the Aztec war-god. So actively was thework of reconstruction pushed, that in less than four years' time thenew city of Mexico, in many respects more splendid than its predecessoron the same site, had arisen from the ashes of Tenochtitlan.
With the fall of the Aztec capital, and the final overthrow of itscruel gods, Huetzin, the Knight of Castile and head chief of the freerepublic of Tlascala, was absolved from his vow. Thus the momenthis military duties would permit, he sought the brave and beautifulIndian girl, to win whom had for so long been the hope of his life.He found her in the royal gardens of Tezcuco; where, above the graveof Tiata, he declared to Marina the love which had been hers, and hadbeen reciprocated by her, from the time of their first meeting. A fewdays later they were married by the good Father Olmedo, the Christianpriest who had accompanied the white conquerors through all their wearymarches and battles.
Thus when the Lord of Titcala returned to his mountain home, atthe head of his army of victorious warriors, all other causes forhappiness seemed to him insignificant as compared with that of takingwith him, as his wife, the maiden whose services as interpreter to thewhite conquerors were no longer needed.
The fall of Tenochtitlan occurred in August, 1521, and for seven yearslonger did Cortes remain in Mexico, founding new cities, rebuildingmany of those that had been destroyed, extending the dominion of theSpanish king, and in all ways perfecting his gloriou
s conquest. At theend of that time, or in the early summer of 1528, two fine ships, ladenwith the rarest products of Anahuac, sailed from Vera Cruz, and, aftera prosperous voyage across the Atlantic, entered the port of Palos, inSpain. On the deck of one of them, eagerly gazing at the land whichsome of them had not seen in many years, and others were now viewingfor the first time, stood a group, most of whom would be recognizedby those familiar with the Mexico of that day. Chief among them wasHernando Cortes, the leader. Beside him stood Gonzalo de Sandoval, hisbeloved and well-tried Captain, and several other cavaliers, all heroesof the Mexican wars. Near at hand were Huetzin, Lord of Titcala, hisbeautiful wife, a son of Montezuma, and a number of other Tlascalan andAztec nobles.
Immediately on their arrival these repaired to the convent of LaRabida, long since inseparably connected with the immortal name ofColumbus, to offer up thanks for their safe voyage.
Here, on the threshold of his native land, sturdy Sandoval took sickof a mysterious malady, which, it was quickly evident, was about toterminate his earthly career of glory and usefulness.
About the dying bed of the soldier were gathered his commander and hisbest-loved friends. With the same composure and undaunted courage withwhich he had faced death on a hundred battle-fields, he faced it now.With a lingering hand-clasp to each, he bade farewell to the comradeswho had fought those battles beside him.
"To thy gentle care, Marina, I commend Motilla. From thee, Juan, mybrother, I will bear a message to Tiata."
Very faint were these words, but with the mention of her name, to whomhis loyal troth had been plighted years before in the royal gardensof fair Tenochtitlan, a smile of ineffable glory illumined his ruggedfeatures. In another moment his soldier spirit was answering the gladtrumpet-call of the Immortals, while above its earthly habitation,Huetzin the Toltec was making the holy sign of the peace-loving butall-powerful God of the Four Winds.
TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES:
This book uses dialect. To retain the intended flavor of the book,spelling and punctuation in dialect text have not been altered.
Spelling of non-dialect wording in the text was made consistent whena predominant preference was found in this book; if no predominantpreference was found, or if there is only one occurrence of the word,spelling was not changed.
Hyphenation irregularities in non-dialect text were retained as found.Occasional spaces following dashes were retained as found.
Ambiguous hyphens at the ends of lines were retained. If otheroccurrences of the word were found, end-of-line broken words werehyphenated to match the most prevalent.
Punctuation has been standardized to modern usage for betterreadability.
Punctuation in chapter titles and illustration captions was madeconsistent.
Page 287--The name "Alvavado" was used. Elsewhere the name "Alvarado"was used. With no definitive evidence that all referred to the samecharacter, both spellings were retained as found.
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