The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1846-09-17
THE P.AILY UNION

4
precisely what you say, This certainly, Is ascrioing
to your fayorite hero crownng Pertectoni out ney
\ err, ia my opinion, was the word "Chnsuan' sppli-
ed with less propriety, taking The scripture uehni'
ton Of religion 10 be the true one-'to DO usuee, W
j love mercy and 70 walk humbly"-"to forgive our
i enemies, and to do unto others what would that
| they should do unto us" Which Of all these com
mands did Cortez fulfil Certainly not one, II there
is any truth in history, nor can be persuaded 'hs'
there is one single Christian virtue that he practsed
| He was lust such Christian Pizarro, whose
conduct in Peru was about like his own in Mexico
1 He was a fierce and bloody bigot-a sort OF beey-
| err who attended mass and murdered the poor MexE
cans by thousands on the same day. Can that far
rago OF fansticism cruelty, and intolerance profess
| ed and practised by Corez and his followers, be
called the Christian region' To call it 80 seems to
me one Of the most emphatic misnomers that ever
came under my notice. The term that Tacitus igno-
rantly applied TO the Christian religion at Pagan
Rome, nearly 800 years ago-eritabils sPTsti'o
IA pernicious supersuton-might well be applied 70
the faith ransplanted from Spain 10 Mexico oy Sueh
missionaries as Cortez and his followers, and very
| different were the weapons with which they propa-
| gated il from those employed by Christ and the
| apostles. These not persuasion, argument,
and the example Of blameless life, but hre, the
sword the halter, and the rack. Cortez sincere
and devout Christian "Angels and ministers OF
| grace defend US J"
am not among the admirers Of Napoleon. He
/ was a traitor TO the cause Of human liberty, and
what Mr. Jefferson, who but seldom erred IN his
opinion of men, called him-"the apostle OF desola-
tion." But bold, bad, and INSCRIPTIONS as he might
have been, cannot admit that the Christian piety
| Of Cortez placed him at any height above him,
measurable or "immeasurable." Most certain II Is
that Napoleon had no religion at all, although he
| died in communion with the Roman Catholic
church He was Indifferent to all religions, and would
just as readily have made the Jewish, or Mahome-
dan or Mormon, chad IL then existed, the religion
of the state the Christian, would Il have answer
ed his purpose as well. But he prosecuted no reli-
gon tolerated ALL projected all-the blood that he
| was the cause Of shedding was shed by his ambi-
tion not by his bigory. Ia prsctice he wasa better
Christian than Cortez, and TO faith and creeds,
think il getting rather late in the day TO suppose
that he that praetises virtue, whose life Is one OF
MURDER rapine, and robbery, can atone for his mis-
deeds by holding fast to a creed. This might pass
$40 years ago, but will not in the year 1886. will
again call the old chronicer into court
Bernal Diaz, not inferentiay and by inuendo, but
pretty plainly, establishes on Corez the fact that he
swinded his companions in arms out Of their just
share Of the booty after the capture Of the city Of
Mexico, saying that they did not receive from him
| more than fifth or sixth Of what due them,
even after deducting one-ffh Of the whole for the
king, and another fifth for himself There is a hero
for you'll Why, no bucanier chief would have
been guilty Of such baseness and ingrattude this
for among them the maxim, "honor among thieves,
was held sacred. say ingratitude, because II ever
a commander owed debt Of gratitude to his follow
ers, il was Cortez. For him they had braved all
perils and committed almost every crime-had be-
come rebels to their sovereign, and imbrued their
hands in the blood Of their feow-countrymen (the
troops Of Naryaez) had poured out their own blood
| like water-had endured all privations and suf-
fered all that human nature could suffer- and when,
at last, reduced to less, believe, than one-third Of
| their original number, they had accomplished the
| GROWING work Of their enterprise-the capture OF
| the cty-they defruuded, cheated, swindled out
of their share of their hard-earned though ilgoten
| spos, by their own commander, that miracle OF
| man." that "sincere and devout Christian" for
| whom they had won much glory and 30 much
gold, for the fifth IL which he entitled was more
than princely fortune. Now, il the annals Of hui
| man meanness and human baseness can furnish any
thing meaner and baser than this, know not where
1t is TO be found.
/ To show that do not stand alone in the opinion
have formed of Cortez, will quote Lord Brough.
am, than whom there is not perhaps ADLER or
more sagacious mana friend, too, of human liber-
ty-an admirer Of institutions, and the eulogist
Of Washington and Jefferson. In biographical
of the measures" of Cortez cas- bold and mastery,
but cruel and profigate, "a just sentence, and
coming from most competent Judge.
At present have nothing more TO say with refer
ence to the character conduct Of Cortez but will
submit brief vndication Of "our own Pocahontas,"
| whom yon have, most mistakingly, think, repre-
scented being inferior to that miracle of woman,
Marina" the Indian interpreter Of Corez. In this
opinion differ with you toto c6lo-the whole length
and breadth Of the heavens. Was Pocahontas not
'our own" still should regard her as a much nobler
character than the other for she was her superior
in all womany virtues. Marina good
Christian as Cortez, but not so good one as Poca
| hontas. She dexterous, courageous, talented,
and devoted to the Spaniards. Her haison with
| Cortez, without nuptial benediction, may be in
some degree excused perhaps account Of her I'M
protected situation, and the a-nectng, all-pout-
| ing lcenousness Of the invaders. But what great
qualities she possessed that "throw the other into
the shade" know not If birth we're anything,
Pocahontas has the advantage, for she was a prin-
cess. Marina was not, though of noble blood SO
says Daz, who does not give very satisfactory ac-
count, however, of her family and origin. But it
may be true. She courageous--so was the
other and in all history there is scarcely to be found
a more interesting female character than Pocahon-
tas She was gentle, afectionate, and good-heared:
she exerted herself to maintain peace between the
English and her father. Her efforts were always
the side of humanity, and TO prevent the efusion
of blood-Marina's on the side Of the oppressor and
ravager of her country; and if not so intended,
| had the effect to further the bloodiest and most
atrocious designs. Pocahontas became Christian
more than nominally Unmarried respectable Eng
! lishman, and her blood now flows in the veins of
some of our most respectable families. OF that
blood | should be proud; not because she was
| princess, but because she was woman of noble
soul, and ornament to her She was sour
| own" too, which is something in my estimation.
| think her greater than Marina, and throwing her
entirely into the shade; and | think Captain John
Smith, whose life she saved, a much more perfect
hero and man than Cortez, for he possessed all the
| good qualities of the Spanard and none of the
bad that so abounded in him. He was as enter
prising, chivaric, and as brave and as man and
a Christian, stands unreasonable higher; but his
career not being embazoned with blood and devas-
taton--as he conquered no kingdoms sacked no
cities, extermnated no communities, dethroned no
| monarch and murdered none history whose de-
light seems to be to record wicked actions, If they
but brilliant and to exal the cut-throat and rob-
Der into the hero, if but successful takes not much
pleasure in recording actions, however useful and
mertorous they may be, unless connected with
great name; and ifgreat, no matter how bad. Thus,
even in the United States, the history Of Cortez is
much better known than that of Captain Smith
Il tTo BE CONTINUED ua.ns@.
i GALE at the Nayy.yapd,-On "Wednesday