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

favofaDiy OF Daz, and he 10, or was, as good
judge Of his claims to credibiity as Mr. Prescott
is; but not better, certainly. Diaz calls his own
work "plain and true history" (eima uerdadsra
hiaOria) and such il IL admitted almost universally
to be.
The slaughter of the Cholulans, you say yourself,
il a stain the character Of Cortez, and undoubt-
eddy ISL bat do not perceive that II furnishes his
character any more than any other Of the almost
countless slaughters that he commanded and super
intended, as at Capistan, for instance, where Mex
lean blood flowed so proiusey that II dscolored the
water of stream that was near, rendering Il unit
TO be drunk This say not upon the authority OF
Diaz, but of the historian Soils, who relates the
fact in his Conquest Of Mexico" His words
are, "riyulets Of Mexican blood flowed for
while abundantly into the river, that the Span
iards who repaired TO il to drink, were Obliged
either TO continue TO suffer from thirst or TO re-
concile themselves to the horror Of the refresh
ment" Fus neessarto aguardase Ia ssd SC com
ptisisss con 81 horror del rorigaio.) And Soils vas
as great an admirer of Cortez as you arei Tor he
was his favorte hero also, and he labors hard TO
make him heroic throughout his work, which Is
we'll written, his style being greatly superior to
Diaz's, though not so entertaining but do
not believe him to have been veracious
or as conscientious az the old chronicer
he was a furious and Incorporating bigot
who regarded the cutting of throats, and all
atrocities, as meritorious acts IL done for the adj
yaneement Of the holy Catholic faith. The words
he uses in relating the death Of Montezums, prove
what kind Of heart he must have had. "During
the battle" he says, "that lasted three days, he
(Montezuma) rendered to the Devil eternal pos
session of his SOUL" (rindio al denlonio Ia slsrna
possession de su sspiritus.) He claims much for his
hero, bat is modest enough TO place him, as regards
power and merit, after the Almighty, for "the
work (the conquest) he says was not entirely his
for was the will Of God that that empire should
be reduced, he awaited himself Of his TALENT" &c,
(Siruisudose de su taleniO)
The slaughter at Choluls you condemn, though
you acquit Cortez of unnecessary cruelty" which
is phrase not perfectly ineligible to me, though
1t may be TO you, and TO many others. l am not
metaphysican and casuist enough to be able TO dis
ungulsh between necessary and unnecessary cruel
ty being rather Of opinion, right or wrong, that
cruelty can never be necessary. Harsh, stern, and
severe may be, bat If dictated by ineyita
BILE and oyerpowering necessity, they can scarcely
be called crue, II appears 10 me. But what do you
say to Corez's branding the prisoners he made (be-
ing first made saves) with hot iron, precisely as
cattle are brinded-thus superadding 10 the greatest
wrong that can be inflicted, the greatest insult that
can be offered to human misunderstanding into
his flesh an ignomnous and indeble token Of his
degradation and RUM Was this cruelty, and was
II necessary And upon whose authority do [ re-
late this' You know well enough, without doubt
but II will surprise some probably to learn that II Is
the veracious old chronicler himself who vouches
for such unparalleled barbarity or to be parallel
ed only the on DOar0
slave ships, and which have been so eloquently and
Indignantly denounced by Burke, Wilbeforce,
Fox, Brougham, and others.
These massacres and this branding are bad
enough, but they not all the stains that dscolor
and make odious the character Of the miracle Of
man." and which feel assured, and am happy
to feel, all the eloquent historians and eloquent
diplomatists who have come SO chivalrously to the
rescue will be able, in the opinion Of Just and inn
partial posterity, to remove. And the time will
come, If mankind do not retrograde, thai this
beau ideal Of hero, he is now represented to be-
and who is placed upon the same eminence with
great and good men, will finally find his level in his
tory among the Neros and Caligulas Of antiquity,
and the Viscontis and Muley Ishmaels and Pizarros
of more modern times.
] will now call your attention TO an act of neeessa-
ny cruelty, you seem TO regard IT, which seems to
me to a shade over the character of Corez Of
yet deeper darkness than his saughters and brand
ings-the murder, as call it, the execution you
call it, of his prisoner Guatemosn, the Mexican
monarch, who you say had formed plan for the
massacr, Of the Spaniards. This plan you as
sumo as undeniable and pronounce tito be absurd
impute Cortez any other motives for the act he
being al hero at all points--at all points !! You ar
que at some length to prove this, but cite no
authority. | will cite one, though, to establish
the murder--one unimpeachable in your eyes and
in my own--pronounced by you to be most
reliable authority-no less man than the old
plict and betrays feelings that do him honor such
as certainly never influenced the actions or soitened
the heart Of the hero The truth Of this dark trans
action is plainly follows: Guatemosin had be-
come an incumbrance TO Cortez. No more treas
ures could be extorted or discovered by threat i'm
prisonment, Ill treatment, or tortures. To set him
at liberty might be dangerous; it would have been,
no doubt. What, then, was to be doneS To this
question the same answer suggested ITSELF that has
suggested itself to every unscrupulous tyrant
who has been placed in the same circumstances:
Put him out ofthe way. But pretext was neces-
sary That was soon found. A conspiracy of an
uncomfortable number of naked, miserable, starv-
ing, unarmed, and exhausted Indian slaves against
the lives of the Spaniards armed TO the teeth and
one of whom, as previous combats had proven, was
more than match for two hundred, when free and
armed, and in martial array, and fighting for their
country, their homes, their liberties their wives and
children, and all that is dear to man. savage or civil
lied. Never, in my opinion, was the allegation of
a conspiracy more utterly groundless and absurd,
if you will permit me to borrow your word.
You must know-no man knows better-that this
charge of conspiracy is an old device and one long
since discredted. Awaiting herself of this pretext,
Queen Elizabeth murdered Queen Mary, with
some judicial forms, it is true such as they WERE
because she could not prevail upon an honest man,
Sir Amias Pawlet, to take her off privately. Qua
temosn was disposed of without any forms; and to
add to the "deep damnation Of his taking off, he was
made to die death of all others the most disgrace
full, and which the Spaniards do not believe, in
Aict upon the worst malefactors--he was hung, and
with him the Cacique Of Tacuba, charged also with
conspiracy-( some say two caciques were executed
Diaz says this OCCASION: 81 much pitied the great
Guatemuz, !" (Guatemosin.) "They" ia. and the Ca
Clique of Tacuba) "were most unustly put to
DEATH and the act was condemned by all of us that
were on that expedition" TUE gran iasfina del
gran Guaten,uz y fue esia muerte que les deron
n,'y njusamenie dada y pareeia NAL a TODD, los que
ilanos aquetla jonaada.) Not only did Diaz con-
denim the murder, but it was condemned by all the
soldiers--men to whom blood and slaughter were
familiar who regarded but little the life OF an Indian
certainly, yet even these men, callous as they may
be supposed to have been, touched by the cruel
fate of the fallen monarch, disapproved the putting
OF him to death, and pronounced it to be unjust
One only approved, and he ought to have been the
last. You say, though, that on that occasion,
Cortez, whilst imbruing his hands in the blood Of
his prisoner, could have "had for him no other feel
ing Than that Of sympathy and admiration" | do
not know what authority you have for this opinion
assertion, whichever il Isl but il Diaz is good au-
tbn I do nntfh ,o 4