The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1894-08-29

because they failed to please ne, and part
ly that might drown my terrors in drink
and pleasure, for let it be remembered that
the days left me on earth were few, and
the awful end drew near
The day following the celebration Of my
marriage was that of the shameless mas
sacre of 600 Of the Aztec mobiles by the or
der of the hidalgo Alvarado, whom Cortes
had left in command Of the Spaniards,
for at this time Cortes was absent on the
coast lands, whittier he had gone to make
war on Narvaez, who had been sent to sub
due him by his enemy, Velasquez, the
governor Of Cuba
On this day was celebrated the feast Of
Huitzel, that was held with sacrifice, songs
and dances in the great court Of the tenn
pie that court which was surrounded by
a wall carved over with the writhing
shapes Of snakes 1t chanced that on this
morning before he went to join in the fcs-'
tiva1 Guatemoc, the prince, came to see
me on a visit Of ceremony.
asked him if he intended to take part
in the feast, as the splendor of his apparel
brought me to believe.
Eyes he answered, '.but why do you
ask?"
Because, were I you, ,Guatemoc, I
would not go. Say, now, will the dancers
be armed?''
mo, it is not usual. -
''They will be unarmed, Guatemoc, and
they are the flower of the land Unarmed
they will dance in yonder inclosed space,
and the Teulcs will watch them armed
Now, how would it be if these chanced to
pick q quarrel with the nobles?'
II do not know why you should speak
thus, Teule, for surely these white men
are not cowardly murderers. Still take
your words as an omen, and though the
feast must be held, for see, already the
mobiles gather, I will not share in it. -
"You are wise, Guatemoc, said Il
am sure that you are wise.
Afterward Otomie, Guatemoc and /
went into the garden Of the palace and sat
upon the crest Of small pyramid, teo-
CALI in miniature that Montezuma had
built for place of outlook on the market
and the courts of the temple. From this
spot we saw the dancing Of the Aztec no
bles and heard the song Of the musicians
1t was a gay sight, for in the bright SUM-
light their feather dresses flashed like coats
of gems, and none would have guessed
how it was to end Mingling with the
dancers were groups Of Spaniards clad in
mail and armed with swords and match
locks, but I noted that as the time went
on these men separated from the Indians
and began to cluster like bees about the
gates and at various points under the shad-
ow Of the wall Of serpents.
,1o% chic 1,ooonS3 I cold tn
Guatemoc, and as spoke I saw Span
lard wave white cloth in the air. Then
in an instant, before the cloth had ceased
to futter, smoke arose from every side,
and with it came the sound Of the firing
of matchIocks. Everywhere among the
dancers men fell dead or wounded, but the
mass of them, unharmed as yet, huddled
themselves together like frightened sheep
! and stood silent and terror stricken. Then
the Spaniards, shouting the name OF their
patron saint, as it is their custom to do
when they have some such wickedness IN
hand drew their swords, and rushing on
the unarmed Aztec MOBILES began to Kill
them. Now some shricked and fled, and
some stood still till they were cut down;
but, whether they staid or ran, the end
was the same, for the gates were guarded,
and the walls were too high to climb.
There they were slaughtered, every man
: of them, and may God, who sees it all,
reward their mnrdcrers. 1t was soon over
| Within 10 minutes of the waving OF the
cloth those 600 mon were stretched upon.
the pavement dead or dying, and with.
shouts of victory the Spaniards were de-
spoiline their corpses of the rich orna-
ments they had worn.
Then I turned to Guatemoc and said,
.'It seems that you did well not to join IN
yondcr revel.'
! But Guatcmoc made no answer. Hc;
stared at the dead and those who had 1nur-
dered them and said nothing. Only Oto-,
mic spoke. You Christians are a gentle
people" she said, with a bitter laugh. 1T
is thus that you repay cur hospitality
Now, trust that Montezun:a, my father,
is pleased with his guests. All, were he,
every man Of them should lie cn the stone
Of sacrifice! If our gods arc devils, as you
say, what arc those who worship ycurs:'
Then at length Guatemoc said: Only
one thing remains to us, and that is venge-
ance Montezuma has become wom
an, and heed him no mcrc. Nay. if it
were ncedfal, would kill him with M
own hand But two men arc still left in
the 1and-Cuitlahua my uncle, and my
self Now go to summon our armies.
And he went.
AL that night the city murmured like
swarm Of wasps, and next day at dawn,
so far as the eye could reach, the streets
and market place were filled with tens Of
thousands of armed warriors. They threw
themselves like wave upon the walls of
the palace of AKA, and like a wave from
rock they were driven back again by the
fire of the guns. Thrice they attacked, and
thrice they were rcpulscd. Then Monte
yuma, the woman king, appeared upon
the walls, praying them to desist, because,
forsooth, did they succeed, he himself
might perish Even then they obeyed him,
SO great was their reverence for his sacred
royalty, and for awhile attacked the Span
iards no more. But further than this they
would not go. If Montezuma forbade them
to kill the Spaniards, at least they deter
mined to starve them out and from that
hour strait blockade was kept up against
the palace. Hundreds of the Aztec soldiers
had been slain already, but the loss was
-