Surce #1: An Aztec Accunt f the Cnquest f Mexic (1528) Miguel Len Prtilla, a Mexican anthrplgist, gathered accunts by the Aztecs during the 1930s and 1940s, sme f which were written shrtly after the cnquest. The fllwing excerpts are taken frm the bk The Brken Spears. This bk is based n written accunts frm Aztec native priests and wise men wh managed t survive the destructin f the Aztec Empire. These accunts date back t 1528, seven years after the fall f the capital city Tenchtitlan. Speeches f Mntezuma and Crtés When Mntezuma had given necklaces t each ne, Crtés asked him: Are yu Mntezuma? Are yu the king? Is it true that yu are the king Mntezuma? And the king said: Yes, I am Mtecuhzma. Then he std up t welcme Crtés; he came frward, bwed his head lw and addressed him in these wrds: Our lrd, yu are weary. The jurney has tired yu, but nw yu have arrived n the earth. Yu have cme t yur city, Mexic. Yu have cme here t sit n yur thrne, t sit under its canpy. The kings wh have gne befre, yur representatives, guarded it and preserved it fr yur cming. The kings Itzcatl, Mntezuma the Elder, Axayacatl, Tizc and Ahuitzl ruled fr yu in the City f Mexic. The peple were prtected by their swrds and sheltered by their shields. D the kings knw the destiny f thse they left behind, their psterity? If nly they are watching! If nly they can see what I see! N, it is nt a dream. I am nt walking in my sleep. I am nt seeing yu in my dreams... I have seen yu at last! I have met yu face t face! I was in agny fr five days, fr ten days, with my eyes fixed n the Regin f the Mystery. And nw yu have cme ut f the cluds and mists t sit n yur thrne again. This was fretld by the kings wh gverned yur city, and nw it has taken place. Yu have cme back t us; yu have cme dwn frm the sky. Rest nw, and take pssessin f yur ryal huses. Welcme t yur land, my lrds! When Mntezuma had finished, La Malinche translated his address int Spanish s that the Captain culd understand it. Crtés replied in his strange and savage tngue, speaking first t La Malinche: Tell Mntezuma that we are his friends. There is nthing t fear. We have wanted t see him fr a lng time, and nw we have seen his face and heard his wrds. Tell him that we lve him well and that ur hearts are cntented. Then he said t Mntezuma: We have cme t yur huse in Mexic as friends. There is nthing t fear. La Malinche translated this speech and the Spaniards grasped Mntezuma hands and patted his back t shw their affectin fr him... Surce #2: Crtés n Meeting Mctezuma (1520) There came t meet me at this place [n a causeway] nearly a thusand f the principal inhabitants f the great city, all unifrmly dressed accrding t their custm in very rich cstumes; and as sn as they had cme within speaking distance, each ne, as he apprached me, perfrmed a salutatin in much use amng them, by placing his hand upn the grund and kissing it; and thus I was kept waiting abut an hur, until all had perfrmed the ceremny. Mctezuma came thrugh the center f the street, attended by tw lrds, ne upn his right, and the ther upn his left hand, ne f whm was the same nbleman wh, as I have mentined, came t meet me in a litter; and the ther was the brther f Mctezuma, lrd f the city f Iztapalapa, which I had left the same day; all three were dressed in the same manner, except that Mctezuma wre shes, while the thers were withut them. He was supprted n the arms f bth, and as we apprached, I alighted and advanced alne t salute him; but the tw attendant lrds stpped me t prevent my tuching him, and they and he bth perfrmed the ceremny f kissing the grund; after which he directed his brther wh accmpanied him t remain with me; the, latter accrdingly tk me by the arm,
while Mctezuma, with his ther attendant, walked a shrt distance in frnt f me, and after he had spken t me, all the ther nbles als came up t address me, and then went away in tw prcessins with great regularity, ne after the ther, and in this manner returned t the city. At the time I advanced t speak t Mctezuma, I tk ff frm myself a cllar f pearls and glass diamnds, and put it arund his neck. After having prceeded alng the street, ne f his servants came bringing tw cllars frmed f shell fish, enclsed in a rll f clth, which were made frm the shells f clred prawns r periwinkles, held by them in high estimatin; and frm each cllar depended eight glden prawns, finished in a very perfect manner, abut a ft and a half in length. When these were brught, Mctezuma turned, twards me and put them rund my neck... "It is nw a lng time since, by means f written recrds, we learned frm ur ancestrs that neither myself nr any f thse wh inhabit this regin were descended frm its riginal inhabitants, but frm strangers wh emigrated hither frm a very distant land; and we have als learned that a prince, whse vassals they all were, cnducted ur peple int these parts, and then returned t his native land. He afterwards came again t this cuntry, after the lapse f much time, and fund that his peple had intermarried with the native inhabitants, by whm they had many children, and had built twns in which they resided; and when he desired them t return with him, they were unwilling t g, nr were they dispsed t acknwledge him as their svereign; s he departed frm the cuntry, and we have always heard that his descendants wuld cme t cnquer this land, and reduce us t subjectin as his vassals; and accrding t the directin frm which yu say yu have cme, namely, the quarter where the sun rises, and frm what yu say f the great lrd r king, wh sent yu hither, we believe and are assured that he is ur natural svereign, especially as yu say that it is a lng time since yu first had knwledge f us. Therefre be assured that we will bey yu, and acknwledge yu, fr ur svereign in place f the great lrd whm, yu mentin, and that there shall be n default r deceptin n ur part. And yu have the pwer in all this land, I mean wherever my pwer extends, t cmmand what is yur pleasure, and it shall be dne in bedience theret, and all that we have is at yur dispsal. And since yu are in yur wn prper land and yur wn huse, rest and refresh yurselves after the tils f yur jurney, and the cnflicts in which yu have been engaged, which have been brught upn yu, as I well knw, by all the peple frm Puntunchan t this place; and I am aware that the Cempallans and Tlaxcalans have tld yu much evil f me, but believe n mre than yu see with yur wn eyes, especially frm thse wh are my enemies, sme f whm were nce my subjects, and having rebelled upn yur arrival, make these statements t ingratiate themselves in yur favr. "Yu see that I am cmpsed f flesh and bne like yurselves, and I am mrtal, and palpable t the tuch," at the same time pinching his arms and bdy with his hands; "see," he cntinued, "hw they have deceived yu. It is true I have sme things f gld, which my ancestrs have left me; all that I have is at yur service whenever yu wish it. I am nw ging t my ther huses where I reside; yu will be here prvided with every thing necessary fr yurself and yur peple, and will suffer n embarrassment, as yu are in yur wn huse and cuntry." I answered him in respect t all that he had said, expressing my acknwledgments, and adding whatever the ccasin seemed t demand, especially endeavring t cnfirm him in the belief that yur Majesty was the svereign they had lked fr; and after this he tk his leave, and having gne, we were liberally supplied with fwls, bread, fruits, and ther things required fr the use f ur quarters. In this way l was fr six days amply prvided with all that was necessary, and visited by many f the nbility. Surce #3: Mexica Accunts f Mctezuma Meeting Crtés Frm Bernardin de Sahagún, The Flrentine Cdex, Bk 12, Chapter Sixteen (1590) Here it is recalled hw Mctezuma went in peace and calm t meet the Spaniards at Xlc, where the huse f Alvarad nw stands, r at the place they call Huitzillan. And when the Spaniards had arrived at Xlc, Mctezuma dressed and prepared himself t meet them with ther great rulers and princes, his majr men and nbles. They then went t meet him [Crtés]. They arranged beautiful flwers in gurds used fr vases, in the midst f sunflwers and magnlias, they placed ppcrn flwers, yellw magnlias, and caca blms, and they made these int wreaths fr the head and fr garlands. And they wre glden necklaces, necklaces with pendants, and necklaces with [precius] stnes.
And when Mctezuma went t meet them at Huitzillan, he bestwed gifts n Crtés; he gave him flwers, he put necklaces n him; he hung garlands arund him and put wreaths n his head. Then he laid ut befre him, the glden necklaces, all f his gifts [fr the Spaniards]. He ended by putting sme f the necklaces n him. Then Crtés asked him: "Is it nt yu? Are yu nt he? Are yu Mctezuma?" And Mctezuma respnded: "Yes, I am Mctezuma." Then he std up t welcme Crtés, t meet him face t face. He bwed his head lw, stretched as far as he culd, and std firm. Then he addressed him in these wrds: "Our lrd, yu are very welcme in yur arrival in this land. Yu have cme t satisfy yur curisity abut yur nble city f Mexic. Yu have cme here t sit n yur thrne, t sit under its canpy, which I have kept fr awhile fr yu. Fr the rulers and gvernrs [f past times] have gne: Itzcatl, Mctezuma I, Axayacatl, Tiçcic, and Ahuitztl. [Since they are gne], yur pr vassal has been in charge fr yu, t gvern the city f Mexic. Will they cme back t the the place f their absence? If even ne came, he might witness the marvel that has taken place in my time, see what I am seeing, as the nly descendent f ur lrds. Fr I am nt just dreaming, nt just sleepwalking, nt seeing yu in my dreams. I am nt just dreaming that I have seen yu and have lked at yu face t face. I have been wrried fr a lng time, lking tward the unknwn frm which yu have cme, the mysterius place. Fr ur rulers departed, saying that yu wuld cme t yur city and sit upn yur thrne. And nw it has been fulfilled, yu have returned. G enjy yur palace, rest yur bdy. Welcme ur lrds t this land." When Mctezuma finished his speech, which he directed tward the Marquis, Marina explained and interpreted it fr him. And when the Marquis heard what Mctezuma had said, he spke t Marina in a babbling tngue: "Tell Mctezuma t nt be afraid, fr we greatly esteem him. Nw we are satisfied because we have seen him in persn and heard his vice. Fr until nw, we have wanted t see him face t face. And nw we have seen him, we have cme t his hme in Mexic, slwly he will hear ur wrds." Thereupn, Crtés tk Mctezuma by the hand and led him by it. They walked with him, strking his hair, shwing their esteem. And the Spaniards lked at him, each examining him clsely. They walked n ft, then munted and dismunted in rder t lk at him. Surce #4: Crtés Destrys the Idls and Instructs the Aztec in the Christian Religin Frm Crtés, Secnd Letter(1520), pp. 114-118 In these chapels std the images r idls (statues), althugh, as I have befre said, many f them are als fund n the utside; the principal nes, in which the peple have greatest faith and cnfidence, I cast dwn the steps f the temple, purifying the chapels in which they had std, as they were all plluted with human bld, shed in the sacrifices. In the place f these I put images f Our Lady and the Saints, which excited nt a little feeling in Mctezuma and the inhabitants, wh at first prtested, declaring that if my prceedings were knwn thrughut the cuntry, the peple wuld rise against me; fr they believed that their gds bestwed all earthly gd and if they permitted them t be ill-treated, they wuld be angry and withhld their gifts, and by this means the peple wuld be deprived f the fruits f the earth and perish with famine. I answered, thrugh the interpreters, that they were deceived in expecting any favrs frm idls, the wrk f their wn bands, frmed f unclean things; and that they must learn there was but ne Gd, the universal Lrd f all, wh had created the heavens and the earth, and all things else, and had made them and us; that he was withut beginning and immrtal, and they were bund t adre and believe him, and n ther creature r thing. I said everything t divert them I culd t divert them frm their idlatries (wrship), and draw them t a knwledge f Gd ur Lrd. Afterwards, Mctezuma and many f the principal citizens remained with me until I had remved the idls, purified the chapels, and placed the images in them, shwing apparent pleasure; and I frbade them sacrificing human beings t their idls, as they had been accustmed t d; because, besides being wrng
in the sight f Gd, yur sacred Majesty had prhibited it by law, and cmmanded t put t death whever shuld take the life f anther. Thus, frm that time they stpped making sacrifices, and during the whle perid f my stay in that city, they were never seen t, kill r sacrifice a human being. Surce #5: The Brken Spears: The Aztec Accunt f the Cnquest f Mexic by Miguel Len-Prtilla Miguel Len Prtilla, a Mexican anthrplgist, gathered accunts by the Aztecs during the 1930s and 1940s, sme f which were written shrtly after the cnquest. The fllwing excerpts are taken frm the bk The Brken Spears. This bk is based n written accunts frm Aztec native priests and wise men wh managed t survive the destructin f the Aztec Empire. These accunts date back t 1528, seven years after the fall f the capital city Tenchtitlan. The Arrival at the City (Tezcc) At the request f Ixtilxchitl (ruler f the city Tezcc), Crtes and his men ate the gifts f fd and walked t the city with their new friends, and all the peple came ut t cheer and welcme them. The Indians knelt dwn and adred them as sns f the sun, their gds, believing that the time had cme f which their dear king Nezahualpilli had s ften spken. The Spaniards entered the city and were ldged in the ryal palace. Wrd f these events was brught t the king, Mtecuhzma, wh was pleased by the receptin his nephews had given Crtez. Crtes was very grateful fr the attentins shwn him by Ixtilxchitl and his brthers and wished t repay the kindness by teaching them the law f Gd, with the help f his interpreter Aguilar. The brthers and a number f ther lrds gathered t hear him, and he tld them that the emperr f the Christians had sent him here, s far away, in rder that he might instruct them in the law f Christ. He explained the mystery f the Creatin and the Fall, the mystery f the Trinity and the Incarnatin, and the mystery f the Passin and the Resurrectin. Then he drew ut a crucifix and held it up. The Christians all knelt, and Ixtilxchitl and the ther lrds knelt with them. Crtes als explained the mystery f Baptism. He cncluded the lessn by telling them hw the Emperr Charles (f Spain) grieved that they were nt in Gd s grace, and hw the emperr had sent him amng them nly t save their suls. Ixtilxchitl Becmes a Christian When Crtes asked fr their reply, Ixtilxchitl burst int tears and answered that he and his brthers understd the mysteries very well. Giving thanks t Gd that his sul had been illumined (enlightened), he said that he wished t becme a Christian and t serve the emperr. He begged fr the crucifix, s that he and his brthers might wrship it, and the Spaniards wept with jy t see their devtin.
Surce#6:TheSiegefTenchtitlan(t5zt) The Siege f Tenchtitlan. l52l At the centre f this design is Tenchtitlan, the island capital f the Aztecs. It is represented by its huge main pyramid, which std n the site nw ccupied by the Cathedral f Mexic City. Arund it n Lake Texcc, Aztec warrirs in canes hld shields, clubs and spears and swrds inset with bsidian; ne f them (lwer left) is distinguisired by the jaguar unifrm f the military elite. At the crners are fur twns, shwn by a large Huse sign; in each f thern munted Spaniards, tgether with native allies, trample n the dismembered bdies f vanquished lcal inhabitants (the arrw sticking in Xchinilc, upper right, means 'cnquest').... After fiercely resisting Crt6s when he entered their territry (rughly the mdern state f Tlaxcala) n h.is march frm the Guff C6asi, the TIaxcalans jined him in the Spanish attack n their ld enemies the Aztecs and became his stutest allies. The siege f Tenchtitlan is ne f several majr campaigns depicted in thfu Lienz, which the Tlaxcalans painted c. 1550 t celebrate their prwess and t remind the Spaniards f their indebtedness t them. i E 3 b E I g 6 6 g E g g g 6 N 'f @ a N (t Frm lmage f the New Wrld: Tlt American Cntinent Prtrayed in Natiae Terts. Grdn Brtherstn, ed. Lndn: Thames and Hudsn. 1979.
Surce #7: The Festival f Tóxcatl: War Breaks Out Between Spaniards and Méxicas Frm Fray Bernardin de Sahagún, The Flrentine Cdex, Bk 12, Chapter 20 (1590) Here it is tld hw the Spaniards killed, they murdered the Méxicas wh were celebrating the Fiesta f Huitzilpchtli in the place they called The Pati f the Gds At this time, when everyne was enjying the fiesta, when everyne was already dancing, when everyne was already singing, when sng was linked t sng and the sngs rared like waves, in that precise mment the Spaniards determined t kill peple. They came int the pati, armed fr battle. They came t clse the exits, the steps, the entrances [t the pati]: The Gate f the Eagle in the smallest palace, The Gate f the Canestalk and the Gate f the Snake f Mirrrs. And when they had clsed them, n ne culd get ut anywhere. Once they had dne this, they entered the Sacred Pati t kill peple. They came n ft, carrying swrds and wden and metal shields. Immediately, they surrunded thse wh danced, then rushed t the place where the drums were played. They attacked the man wh was drumming and cut ff bth his arms. Then they cut ff his head [with such a frce] that it flew ff, falling far away. At that mment, they then attacked all the peple, stabbing them, spearing them, wunding them with their swrds. They struck sme frm behind, wh fell instantly t the grund with their entrails hanging ut [f their bdies]. They cut ff the heads f sme and smashed the heads f thers int little pieces. They struck thers in the shulders and tre their arms frm their bdies. They struck sme in the thighs and sme in the calves. They slashed thers in the abdmen and their entrails fell t the earth. There were sme wh even ran in vain, but their bwels spilled as they ran; they seemed t get their feet entangled with their wn entrails. Eager t flee, they fund nwhere t g. Sme tried t escape, but the Spaniards murdered them at the gates while they laughed. Others climbed the walls, but they culd nt save themselves. Others entered the cmmunal huse, where they were safe fr a while. Others lay dwn amng the victims and pretended t be dead. But if they std up again they [the Spaniards] wuld see them and kill them. The bld f the warrirs ran like water as they ran, frming pls, which widened, as the smell f bld and entrails fuled the air. And the Spaniards walked everywhere, searching the cmmunal huses t kill thse wh were hiding. They ran everywhere, they searched every place. When [peple]utside [the Sacred Pati learned f the massacre], shuting began, "Captains, Mexicas, cme here quickly! Cme here with all arms, spears, and shields! Our captains have been murdered! Our warrirs have been slain! Oh Méxicas captains, [ur warrirs] have been annihilated!" Then a rar was heard, screams, peple wailed, as they beat their palms against their lips. Quickly the captains assembled, as if planned in advance, and carried their spears and shields. Then the battle began. [The Méxicas] attacked them with arrws and even javelins, including small javelins used fr hunting birds. They furiusly hurled their javelins [at the Spaniards]. It was as if a layer f yellw canes spread ver the Spaniards.
Surce #8: López de Gómara n Méxica Rebellin (1552) Crtés wanted t entirely understand the cause f the Indians' rebellin. He interrgated them [the Spaniards] altgether. Sme said it was caused by the message sent by Narváez, thers because the peple wanted t tss the Spaniards ut f Mexic [Tenchtitlan], which had been planned as sn as the ships had arrived, because while they were fighting they shuted "Get ut!" at them. Others said it was t liberate Mctezuma, fr they fught saying, Free ur gd and King if yu dn't want t die!" Still thers said it was t steal the gld, silver, and jewels that the Spaniards had, because they heard the Indians say, Here yu shall leave the gld that yu have taken!" Again, sme said it was t keep the Tlaxcalans and ther mrtal enemies ut f Mexic. Finally, many believed that taking their idls as gds, they had given themselves t the devil. Any f these things wuld have been enugh t cause the rebellin, nt t mentin all f them tgether. But the principal ne was that a few days after Crtéz left t cnfrnt Narváez, it became time fr a festival the Méxicas wanted t celebrate in their traditinal way.... They begged Pedr de Alvarad t give them his permissin, s [the Spaniards] wuldn't think that they planned t kill them. Alvarad cnsented prvided that there were n sacrifices, n peple killed, and n ne had weapns. Mre than 600 gentlemen and several lrds gathered in the yard f the largest temple; sme said there were mre than a thusand there. They made a lt f nise with their drums, shells, bugles, and hendids, which sunded like a lud whistle. Preparing their festival, they were naked, but cvered with precius stnes, pearls, necklaces, belts, bracelets, many jewels f gld, silver, and mther-f-pearl, wearing very rich feathers n their heads. They perfrmed a dance called the mazeualiztli, which is called that because it is a hliday frm wrk [symblized by the wrd fr farmer, macehaulli].... They laid mats in the pati f the temple and played drums n them. They danced in circles, hlding hands, t the music f the singers, t which they respnded. The sngs were sacred, and nt prfane, and were sung t praise the gd hnred in the festival, t induce him t prvide water and grain, health, and victry, r t thank him fr healthy children and ther things. And thse wh knew the language and these ceremnial rites said that when the peple danced in the temples, they perfrm very different than thse wh danced the netteliztli, in vice, mvement f the bdy, head, arms, and feet, by which they manifested their cncepts f gd and evil. The Spaniards called this dance, an areit, a wrd they brught frm the islands f Cuba and Sant Dming. While the Méxicas gentlemen were dancing in the temple yard f Vitcilpuchtli [Huitzilpchtli], Pedr de Alvarad went there. Whether n [the basis f] his wn pinin r in an agreement decided by everyne, I dn't knw, but sme say he had been warned that the Indian nbles f the city had assembled t plt the mutiny and the rebellin, which they later carried ut; thers, believe that [the Spaniards] went t watch them perfrm this famus and praised dance, and seeing hw rich they were and wanting the gld the Indians were wearing, he [Alvarad] cvered each f the entrances with ten r twelve Spaniards and went inside with mre than fifty [Spaniards], and withut remrse and lacking any Christian piety, they brutally stabbed and killed the Indians, and tk what they were wearing.
Surce #9: Dieg Durán: CAP 12 Dieg Durán, Histria general de las Indias de Nueva España y islas de Tierra Firme. Jay I. Kislak Fundatin Durán, brn in Mexic t an Aztec mther and a Spanish father, became a Franciscan and set ut t measure the pssibilities and limits f Spanish missinizatin. His fragmentary histry is divided int three sectins: a histry f Mexic befre the Spanish invasin; native religin; and native calendars and festivals. Durán relied n native infrmants, prbably frm the Nahua elite, as he cnstructed his accunt. The clred lithgraphic plates which accmpany this 19th century printed editin f the 16th century manuscript are based n Nahuatl drawings. While it deals primarily with pre-cnquest histry, Durán's text als cntains imprtant details abut the early pst-cnquest perid, based n native materials which may nw be lst. Surce #10: Image: Spaniards and Hrses n Skull Rack, The Flrentine Cdex (1590)
Surce #11: Mexica Capture and Sacrifice Spaniards and Their Hrses Frm Fray Bernardin de Sahagún, The Flrentine Cdex, Bk 12, Chapter Thirty-five (1590) Here it is tld hw nce again the Mexicas tk captives--accrding t the cunt f the Spaniards, there were fifty-three, as well as many Tlaxcalans and peple f Tetzcc, Chalc, and Xchimilc--and hw they sacrificed them befre their frmer gds. At this pint [after a lng siege f Tenchtitán], the Mexica warrirs threw themselves [int the pen] and chased [the Spaniards]; they ambushed them frm the passageways, and when the Spaniards saw it [they believed that the Mexicas] seemed drunk. [The Mexicas] then tk captives. Many Tlaxcalans, and peple f Aclhuacan, Chalc, Xchimilc, etc., were taken. A great many were captured and killed. They frced the Spaniards and all the thers t g right int the water. And the rad became very slippery; ne culd n lnger walk n it, but wuld slip and slide. And the captives were dragged alng the trails. Then they tk the captives t Yacaclc, hurrying them alng, keeping them tgether. Sme went weeping, sme went singing, sme went shuting while clapping their hands against their muths. When they gt them t Yacaclc, they lined them up in rws, in files. One by ne they prceeded t the small pyramid where they were slain. The Spaniards went first, ging in the lead; the peple f all the different [allied] cities just fllwed. And when the sacrifice was ver, they chpped ff the heads f the Spaniards. They strung the Spaniards heads n ples [n the skull rack]; they als strung up the heads f the hrses, arranging them belw, while the heads f the Spaniards were abve. They placed them s they faced east tward the rising sun. But they did nt string up the heads f all f thse frm the allied twns, nr did they string up the heads frm thse wh had cme frm far away. There were fifty-three Spaniards they captured and fur hrses. Surce #12: Mexicas Sacrifice Spaniards Frm Crtés, Third Letter (1522), pp. 298-299 In this defeat thirty-five r frty Spaniards, and mre than a thusand f ur Indian allies, were slain by the enemy, besides mre than twenty Christians wunded, amng whm was myself in the leg. We lst the small field-piece that we had taken with us, and many crssbws, muskets, and ther arms. Immediately after their victry, in rder t strike terrr int the alguazil mayr and Pedr de Alvarad, the enemy carried all the Spaniards bth living and dead, whm they had taken t the Tlatelulc, which is the marketplace, and in the lfty twers that are situated there they sacrificed them naked, pening their breasts and taking ut their hearts t ffer them t the idls. This was seen by the Spaniards f Alvarad's divisin frm where they were fighting, and frm the whiteness f the naked bdies, which they saw sacrificed they knew them t be Christians... That day and the fllwing night, the enemy made great rejicings with hrns and kettle-drums, appearing t be verwhelmed with jy; and they pened all the streets and bridges as they were befre, and in setting their fires and sentries at night, they came within tw bw-shts f ur camp; but as we had returned discmfited, wunded, and destitute f arms, there was need f rest and recruiting. In the mean time, the rulers f the city tk ccasin t send messengers t their subjects in many prvinces, t say that they had gained a signal victry and destryed many Christians, and that sn they wuld put an end t us; and the messengers carried with them as credentials tw heads f hrses which they displayed fr the purpse f shwing wherever it seemed advisable that there was mre reasn fr the rebellins t persevere than befre.
Surce # t3: Bernal del Castill (t568) A Terrifying Sund When we had retired almst t ur quarters, acrss a great pening full f water, their arrws, darts, and stnes culd n lnger reach us. Sandval, Francisc de Lug, and Andres de Tapia were standing with Pedr de Alvarad, each ne telling his stry and discussing Crtes' rders, when the dismal drum f Huichilbs sunded again, accmpanied by cnches, hrns, and trumpet-like instru-ments. It was a terrifying sund, and when we lked at the tall. cue frm which it came'we saw ur cmrades wh had been capfured in Crtes' defeat being dragged up the steps t be sacrificed- When they had hauled them up t a small platfrm in frnt f the shrine where they kept their accursed idls we saw them put plumes n the heads f many f them; and then they made them dance with a srt f fan in frnt f Huichilbs. Then after they had danced the papas laid them dwn n their backs n sme narrw stnes f sacrifice and, cutting pen their chests, drew ut their palpitating hearts which they ffered t the idls befre them. Then they kicked the bdies dwn the steps, and the Indian butchers wh were waiting belw cut ff their arms and legs and flayed their fdces, which they afterwards prepared like glve leather, with their beards n, and kept fr their drunken festivals. Then they ate their flesh with a sauce f peppers and tmates. They sacrificed all ur men in this way, eating their legs and arms, ffering their hearts and bld t their idls as I have said, and thrwing their trunks and entrails t lins and tigers and serpents and snakes that they kept in the wild-beast huses I have described in an earlier chapter."' On seeing these atrcities, all f us in ur carnp said t nb 4nther: 'Thank Gd they did nt carry me ff t be sacrificed!}my readers must remember that thugh we were nt far ff we culd d nthing t help, and culd nly pray Gd t guard us frm such a death. Then at the very mment f the sacrifice, great bands f Mexicans suddenly fell upn us and kept us busy n ail sides. We culd find n way f.hlding them. 'Lk!' they shuted, 'that is the way yu will all die, as ur gds have many times prmised us,' and the threats they shuted at ur Tlascalan allies were s cruel and s frightening that they lst their spirit. The Mexicans threw them rasted legs f Indians and the arms f ur sldiers with cries f: 'Eat the flesh f these Teules and f yur brthers, fr we are glutted with it. Yu can stuff yurselves n ur leavings. Nw see these huses yu have pulled dwn. We shall make yu build them again, much finer, virith white stne and fine masnry. S g n helping tllre Teules. Yu will see them all sacrificed Guatemc did smething mre after his victry. He sent the hands and feet f tr sldiers, and the skin f their faces, and the heads f the hrses that had been killed, t all the twns f ur ai- Iies and friends and their relatins, with the message that as mre than hau f us were dead and he wuld sn finish ff the rest, they had better break their alliance with us and cme t Mexic, because if they did nt desert us quickiy he wuld cme and destrv them. Bernal Diaz de Castill - Bernal Diaz de]- Casrill6, the last survivr f the Cnquest f Medc, died n his estate in Guatemala at the agf "f "fgtly:;". He was ver seventy when he Aeqarr-fne Cnquest f New Spain, written in part t c,nter errrs ither histrians. ui, rirril*- sn accunt is a sldiert vivid recllectin, the "stry i*rl*u Ta Ty cmrades, alt rrue cnquerrs,'"h ;;;.irirj nio.ttu'" the d.iscvery, cnquest, pacificatin, and settlement prvinces f ihe f New Spain.,, In his accunt f the battle Tenchtitlan, fr r Mexicb pi-ty, the."q"iri"ar cmes mre ff vulnerable as a far human being than is irsually depicted.
Surce #14: Dieg Durán, CAP 23 Dieg Durán, Histria general de las Indias de Nueva España y islas de Tierra Firme. Jay I. Kislak Fundatin Durán, brn in Mexic t an Aztec mther and a Spanish father, became a Franciscan and set ut t measure the pssibilities and limits f Spanish missinizatin. His fragmentary histry is divided int three sectins: a histry f Mexic befre the Spanish invasin; native religin; and native calendars and festivals. Durán relied n native infrmants, prbably frm the Nahua elite, as he cnstructed his accunt. The clred lithgraphic plates which accmpany this 19th century printed editin f the 16th century manuscript are based n Nahuatl drawings. While it deals primarily with pre-cnquest histry, Durán's text als cntains imprtant details abut the early pst-cnquest perid, based n native materials which may nw be lst.
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