The herald., 1895-04-14

saying that when Malinche and his
Teules were there they took nothing but
what they bought. When Narvaez heard
this he laughed at it, and Salvatierra,
who made more boasts and threats than
any of the others. exclaimed: Look
you, gentlemen, in what terror these
Caciques hold this little monkey Cortes. I"
And now lei the curious reader look and
consider what IL thing boaster is for |
swear before God that when we attacked
Narvaez the greatest coward in his camp
was this same Salvatierra and not be
cause he was not man of strength, but
because he had not the heart to fight.
Narvaez now sent one Alonzo de Mata.
an escribano. to Cortes with proclama-
ton, sent by Diego Velasquez, to notify
us OF the appointment of himself as cap
tain General in Mexico. Cortes. who was
well informed of everything that trans
pired in the camp of Narvaez, both by
letters from there and from GonZalo de
Sandoval in Villa Rica, now called coun-
Gil of our Captains and those OF us who
were his confidential friends. And it was
resolved that without any more delay we
should march against NarvaeZ, leaving
Pedro de Alvarado in Mexico in charge
of Montezuma with all OF the soldiers or
persons who could not be absolutely re-
lied on.
He then sent to Tlascala for provisions,
IOT bldb year buSlC was BlCd1 SCuIClly ali
through Mexico, the crops having failed
because of light rainfall. We left these
provisions with Pedro de Alvarado and
fortified his quarters. and for garrison
we left him ten crossbowmen and four
teen arquebusiers and seven horsemen
and tifty-two foot soldiers, the force
amounting all told to eighty-three men.
Although Cortes went each day to visit
Muntezuma yet he never let him know
that he knew he had sent gold to Mar
yaez ana had furnished him with pr owls
ions.
i But one day when Cortes was speaking
with the great Montezuma, as was his
custom. the King said to him: Lord
| Malinche l have noticed recently that
your Captains and soldiers appear to be
making preparations for something, and
| YOU do not visit me as often as formerly,
| and Ortecuilla, my page, has told me that
you are going to make war on those Other
| Teules. your brothers who have recently
| arrived on the coast, and that you intend
| to leave me here in charge of the Tonatn.
Do me the favor to tell me if this is so,
for if L can aid you in any way l will dc
| it with good will.
"And further, Lord Malinche,'' said
Montezuma, Il do not wish to see any
| disaster happen to you. for you have only
few Teules and those against whom You
are going are five times as many, and
you and vassals of your great
Emperor, and they have images
and crosses and they celebrate mass,
and they have declared everywhere
| that you and your companions fled from
CASTLE without permission of your right
full King and that they have come here to
| capture or slay you; and in truth. Malin-
che, l cannot understand these things
and it scenes to me that it behooves you
| to De very careful
Cortes responded with an appearance
of perfect assurance that if he had not
| spoken to him about it, it was because
| he did not desire to worry him with any
| of our troubles. knowing what good
will he had for US, and that he would
take very much to hearG any danger that
| menaced us; and that as to our being all
vassals of the same great Emperor, that
| was true, and that as to Narvaez and his
men being Christians, it was true that
they were, but that as to our having fled
| from CASTLE, that was false, and that we
had come by command of our King to sec
] and speak with him as we had done; and