The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1894-09-12
New Series-VOI. XIV. No. Z.

DedrO, anu LQc SlleGCS Wt1o SIS<lo, AoA 11o1Ao
knew what his Judgment would be. AT
last he spoke:
$50 be it. We have need of Otomie, my
niece, and it is of no avail to fight against
woman's love. Teule, we give you life,
and with che life honor and wealth, and
the greatest of our women in marriage,
and place in our councils Take these
gifts and her, but say to you both be-
ware how you use them. If you betray us
nay, if you but think OH treachery-l
swear to you that you shall die death so
slow and horrible that the very name OF
it would turn your heart to water, you
and your wife, your children and your
servants Come, let him be swornr'
heard, and my head swan, and mist
| gathered before my eyes Once again l
| was saved from instant death.
Presently it cleared, and looking up my
eyes met those of the woman who had
saved me, Otonie, my wife, who smiled
upon me somewhat sadly. Then the priest
came forward bearing wooden bowl,
carved about with strange signs, ana
| flint knife, and bade me bare my arm. He
cut my flesh with the knife, so that blood
ran from it into the bowl. Some drops OF
this blood he emptied on to the ground,
muttering invocations the while. Then he
turned and looked at Cuitlahua as though
in question, and Cuitlahua answered with
bitter laugh:
tLet him be baptized with the blood OF
the Princess Otomie, my niece, for she Is
bail for him %
.sNay, lord said Guatemoc, ''these two
have mingled bloods already upon the
stone Of sacrifice, and they are man and
wife. But I also have vouched for him,
and offer mine in earnest Of my faith.
s.This Teule has good friends, said
| Cuitlahua. You honor him overmuch-
But so be it.
Then Guatemoc came forward, and
when the priest would have cut him with
the knife he laughed and said, pointing to
the bullet wound upon his neck:
"No need for that, priest. Blood runs
here that was shed by the Teules None
can be filter for this purpose -
So the priest drew away the bandege
and suffered the blood of Guatemoc to drop
into second smaller bowl Then he came
to me, and dipping his finger into the
blood he drew the sign of cross upon my
forehead as o Christian priest draws it
upon the forehead Of an infant and said:
I'm the presence and the name of God,
our Lord, who is everywhere and sees all
things, I sign you with this blood and
make you of this blood. In the presence
and the name of God, our Lord, WHO is ev-
erywhere and sees all things, pour forth
your blood upon the earthH' (Here he
poured as he spoke GAS this blood OF
yours sinks into the earth, SO may the
memory of your past life sink and be for
gotten, for you are born again OF the peo-
Die of Anahuac. In the presence and the
name of God, our Lord, who is everywhere
and sees all things, minglc these bloods"
there he poured from one bowl into the
| other) land with them l touch your
tongue (here, dipping his finger into the
bowl, he touca led the tip OF my tongue with
it) land bid you swear thus:
.t.I, Teule, swear to be faithful to the
people of Anahuac and to their lawful gov
ernors. I swear to wage war upon their
foes and to compass their destruction, ana
more especially upon tie Teules, TILL they
are driven into the sc;,~ swear to offer
no affront to the gods OF Anahuac. 1swear
myself in marriage to Otomie, princess OF
the Otomie, the daughter of Montczuma,
nv lord, for so long us her life shall en-
dure. I swear to attempt TO escape from
these shores swear to renounce my fa>
thcr and my mother, and the land where
I was born, and to cling to this land OF
my new birth, and this my oath shall en-
dure till the volcano Popo ceases to vonlf
smoke and fire, till there is 10 king IN
Tenoctitlan. till no priest serves the altars
of the gods and the people of Anahuac arc
no more people. - -
When had sworn, Guatemoc came for
ward and embraced me, saying: Wei
come, Teule, my brother in blood and
heart Now you arc one of us, and we
look to you for help and counsel. Come,
be seated by me-
Hooked toward Cuitlahua doubtfully,
but he smiled graciously and said: ''Teule,
your trial is over. We have accepted you,
and you have sworn the solemn oath OF
brotherhood, to break which is to die hor-
ribly in this world and to be tortured
through eternity in the next. Forget all
that may have been said in the hour Of
your weighing for the balance is in your
favor, and be sure that if you give US nt
cause to doubt you, you shall find none to
doubt US. Now, as the husband of Otomie,
you are lord among the lords, having
honor and great possessions, and as such
be seated by your brother Guatemoc and
join our council"
did as he bade me- and Oronie with
drew from our presence. Then Cuitlahua
spoke again, no longer of me and my mat
tiers, but of the urgent affairs of state. he
spoke in slow words and wcighty, and
more than once his voice broke in his sor-
row. He told of the grievous misfortunes
that had overcome the country, OF the
death of hundreds of its bravest warriors,
of the slaughter of the priests and soldiers
that day on the teocalli and the deSecra-
tion of his nations gods. What was to be
done in this extremity? he asked Monte
yuma lay dying, prisoner in the camp OF
the Teules, and the fire that he had nursed
with his breath devoured the land. No ef-
forts of theirs could break the iron strength
of these white devils, armed with strange
and terrible weapons. Day by day dis
, aster overlook the arms of the Aztecs.
What wisdom had they now that the pro-
tecting gods were shattered in their very