The Infidel; or, the Fall of Mexico. Vol. II.

by Robert Montgomery Bird

  CHAPTER IV.

  When morning broke over the lake, the voyagers were still at a league'sdistance from the city. The wind had died away, the clouds parted in theheaven, and long before the sunlight trembled on the snows ofIztaccihuatl, the morning-star was seen peeping over its summit. It badefair for a goodly day, and Juan, despite his situation, which, rightlyconsidered, was in every point of view, wretched enough, began to feel asensation of pleasure, as he breathed the fresh air at liberty, andlooked around him on the fair prospects, disengaging themselves eachmoment from the rolling mists. Though the tops of the higher mountainsof the east were visible, the lower borders of the lake in that quarter,as well as to the north and south, were yet concealed under vapours. Inthe west, however, the view was but little obstructed, and he couldbehold, distinctly enough, the dense masses of edifices, which coveredthe whole island of Mexico and many a broad acre of water around it. Thehuge pyramids, with their tower-like sanctuaries, rose proudly, as ofyore, high above the surrounding buildings; the turrets and pinnacles,that crowned the royal palaces and the houses of nobles, still gleamedin the morning air; and, as he drew nigh, he could see the gardens ofshrubs and flowers on the terraces, which gave to the whole city a lookof verdure strange and beautiful to behold.

  As soon as objects became distinct, Techeechee, observing that Juan'sgarments were yet dripping with wet, took from the prow of the canoe alittle bundle, from which he drew a broad, richly ornamented tilmaltli,or cloak, a _maxtlatl_, or cloth to wrap round the loins, sandals forthe feet, fillets for the hair, and a fan of feathers to protect theeyes from sunshine. These he proffered to Juan, giving him to understandthat he should forthwith doff his Christian weeds, and appear in theguise of a Mexican noble; telling him, at the same time, that they hadbeen provided by Guatimozin, in anticipation of his deliverance. Yetneither remonstrance nor entreaty could prevail upon him to do more thanthrow off his reeking surcoat, and supply its place by the Indian cloak,which was of sufficient capacity, when folded about his person, almostto conceal his under attire, now in a great measure dried by the warmthof his body. This being accomplished to his satisfaction, Techeecheeresumed his paddle, and fixing his eyes upon the imperial city, began tomumble, in an under voice, certain snatches of native airs, which, bothin quality and pitch, bore no little resemblance to the suppressedgrowlings, or rather the groaning of an imprisoned lion, and which, hadJuan required any such testimony, would have proved how little hiscommerce with the Conquerors and his personal affection for himself, hadwithdrawn his heart from the people and the faith of Montezuma. As headvanced still nearer to the city, his air grew more confident, histones more resolute and animated; and, by and by, without seeming toregard the presence of the young Spaniard, he launched boldly into asort of national anthem, in which the military pride of the Mexicans wasmingled with the gloom of their ferocious superstitions. The melody wasrude and savage,--or rather it was no melody at all, but a chant orrecitative, which was relieved from monotony only by the variations ofemphasis, which became stronger and stronger, as the distance waxed lessand less to the city. To express the words employed in any of themetrical modes of civilized song, would be to rob the roundelay of itsidentity; for rhythm and melody were equally set at defiance;--at least,so it would have seemed to an ear accustomed only to the natural musicof iambics and dactyls. We will therefore express them in unambitiousprose, only premising that before the barbarian had proceeded far in thechant, the song was caught up and continued by the warriors in the fleetof canoes, now paddling out of the mists behind, and by many infidelswho watched its approach from the shore, and from an island crag,strongly fortified, that lay a little to the east of the city.

  "Mexitli Tetzauhteotl,[1] o-ah! o-ah!" thus sang the pagan,--"the son ofthe woman[2] of Tula. 'Mother, I will protect you.'[3] The green plumeis on his head, the wing of the eagle is on his leg, his forehead isblue like the firmament; he carries a spear and buckler, and with thefir-tree of Colhuacan,[4] he crushes the mountains. 'Mother, I willprotect you.' Am not I the son of Mexico? and is not Mexico the daughterof Mexitli? O-ah, o-ah! Mexitli Tetzauhteotl!

  [Footnote 1: Mexitli, the Terrible God.]

  [Footnote 2: Coatlicue, or Coatliquay, a religieuse, and sort oflady-abbess, of a mythic era. She was deified as the Goddess ofFlowers.--A strange mother for such a son. But the Mexicans carried asword in one hand, and a flower in the other.]

  [Footnote 3: The words of the god, yet unborn, when the life ofCoatlicue was threatened by her _human_ children.]

  [Footnote 4: The Hunchbacked Mountain, on the sides of which theMexicans won their first recorded victory.]

  "My father ate the heart of Xochimilco! Where was Painalton, the god ofthe swift foot, when the Miztecas ran to the mountains? 'Fast, warrior,fast!' said Painalton, brother of Mexitli. His footprint is on the snowsof Iztaccihuatl, and on the roof of Orizaba.[5] Tochtepec and Chinantla,Matlatzinco and Oaxaca, they shook under his feet, as the hills shake,when Mictlanteuctli, king of hell, groans in the caverns. So my fatherkilled the men of the south, the men of the east and west, and Mexitlishook the fir-tree with joy, and Painalton danced by night among thestars.

  [Footnote 5: _Pojautecatl_, in Mexican.]

  "Where is the end of Mexico? It begins in Huehuetapallan in the north,and who knows the place of Huehuetapallan?[6] In the south, it sees thelands of crocodiles and vultures,--the bog and the rock, where mancannot live. The sea washes it on the east, the sea washes it on thewest, and that is the end--Who has looked to the end of the waters?It is the land of blossoms,--the land of the tiger-flower,and the cactus-bud that opens at night like a star,--of theflower-of-the-dead,[7] that ghosts come to snuff at, and of thehand-flower,[8] which our gods planted among the hills. It is a landdear to Mexitli.

  [Footnote 6: Huehuetapallan, was the name of the unknown land, fromwhich came all the hordes of Toltecs and Aztecs. One remarkablecircumstance connected with the famous ruined city near to Palenque inGuatemala, seems to have escaped the theorists. It is said that theIndians call this city by the name of Huehuetapallan. It is far to the_south_ of Mexico.]

  [Footnote 7: The Dahlia.]

  [Footnote 8: _Arbol de las Manitas_--the marvellous tree, of which,besides that in the present Botanic Garden, there are supposed to be buttwo more specimens in the land, unless known only to the Indians.]

  "Who were the enemies of Mexico? Their heads are in the walls of theHouse of Skulls, and the little child strikes them, as he goes by, witha twig. Once, Mexico was a bog of reeds, and Mexitli slept on a couch ofbulrushes: our god sits now on a world of gold, and the world is Mexico.Will any one fight me? I am a Mexican.--Mexitli is the god of the brave.Our city is fair on the island, and Mexitli sleeps with us. When hecalls me in the morning, I grasp the quiver,--the quiver and the axe;and I am not afraid. When he winds his horn from the temple, I know thathe is my father, and that he looks at me, while I fight. Sound the hornof battle, for I see the spear of a foe! Mexitli Tetzauteotl, we are themen of Mexico!"

  With such roundelays as these, echoed at a distance by the rowers in thefleet and by many barbarians from the buildings that projected into thelake, Techeechee urged the light canoe through a sluice in the northerndike, and approached that long neck or peninsula, once the island ofTlatelolco, but long since united to that of Tenochtitlan, which gaveits name to the fifth quarter of the city, and, as it afterwardsappeared, was the site of the noblest of the many palaces, built atdifferent periods, by the kings of Mexico. A large portion of thepeninsula, midway between its extremity and the ancient bank of theisland of Tenochtitlan, was occupied by a garden, divided from the lakeby a wall lofty enough to secure it against the assault of a foe, andyet sufficiently low to expose to the eye of a spectator on the lake,the rich luxuriance of groves, among whose waving boughs could be tracedthe outlines of a spacious edifice, profusely decorated with turrets andobservatories, some of which were of great height and singularstructure.

  Against this wall, through a fleet of fishing can
oes, now paddling outinto the lake, Techeechee seemed to direct the little skiff, much toJuan's surprise, until, having drawn nigher, he perceived that it wasperforated by several gateways or sally-ports, very low, and evidentlydesigned to give entrance only to the humble vessels which composed theMexican navy. The largest was wide enough to admit two or three of thelargest piraguas abreast, and the smaller ones seemed intended only forthe private gondolas of the royal family. All were defended by stoutwickets, which, as Juan soon perceived, were raised and let fall fromwithin, somewhat in the manner of a portcullis.

  The tranquillity that seemed to reign within this sanctified recess,betrayed at once its royal character. In every other quarter of thecity, as he passed it, Juan could hear a roaring hum, as if proceedingfrom a vast multitude pent within the narrow island,--as was indeed thecase, the whole military strength of the empire being concentratedwithin the limits of the island and the shore-cities that commanded thecauseways. But here all was a profound calm, broken only by the songs ofbirds, and, occasionally, by what seemed the cry of some tamed anddomesticated beast of prey.

  As Techeechee urged the canoe towards one of the smaller gateways, Juanbeheld the wicket ascend from the water, but without seeing by whom orin what manner, it was raised. An instant after, he was on the verypoint of entering the narrow chasm, perhaps never more to repass it. Heturned his eye back again to the lake, and strove to discover the dimlines and masses of shore and city, palace and pyramid, among which hehad so lately dwelt in sorrow and confinement. The mists were nearlydispersed, and the sky was clear; but the fiery track of the rising sunover the lake, dazzled his eyes, and, with a veil of radiance, hid thetowers of Tezcuco. He caught an indistinct view of two or threebrigantines, becalmed at a distance from the shore, which they wereendeavouring to regain by the force of oars; but the city of theAcolhuacanese was no longer visible; and by and by, the whole prospectof the lake was shut out by the garden wall, under which he had passed.He had scarce turned away his eyes, when the wicket sunk, with a plunge,into the water. He looked back: but those who had loosed it, werealready hidden among the shrubbery. It seemed as if the falling of thatportal had shut him out for ever from the society of his countrymen. Hiscompanions were now to be found among the uncivilized and the godless.

  A narrow canal, bordered with banks of flowers, conducted the canoe fromthe gateway to a little stone basin, planted round with trees, at theroots of which were placed carved blocks of stone, as if designed forseats. Here Techeechee sprang ashore, followed by Juan and Befo, thelatter now completely refreshed, and, though evidently somewhatsurprised, and even daunted, by the novelty of his situation, withoutshowing any symptoms of having repented his change of masters.

  "The Great Eagle is in the house of the king, his brother," said theOttomi, "and his enemies cannot reach him,--no, not even if they werethe Tlatoani of the great city. Sit down then, and be at peace; forpresently the king will come from the lake, and speak to his brother.Techeechee will go to the wall and look out. The big tiger,--thedog,--Pepo."--He had already acquired the dog's name, or as near anapproach to it as his organs could overmaster, and was not a littlepleased, when the animal, raising his head at the sound, stalkedamicably towards him, rubbing his nose against him in token ofgood-will. "Pepo! amigo, friend, good rascal!" he said, affectionately,but not without some nervousness--"very pretty Pepo, Techeechee'sbrother. Guatimozin is the Young Eagle's brother; Techeechee will bePepo's!" Then, Befo having returned to Juan, he continued, "Let not Peporoam through the garden; the watchmen on the walls would think him atiger escaped from his cage, and shoot him with arrows. This is the Poolof the Full Moon: here the king will come to his brother."

  So saying, Techeechee glided away through the shrubbery, and waspresently seen ascending the wall, by certain steep steps constructedfor the purpose, up to a ledge, undoubtedly prepared to give footing todefenders, from which he could overlook the outer parapet, and enjoy anextensive view of the lake.

  And now the outcast Juan, after giving way, for a few moments, to agrief that was the stronger perhaps, from the opportunity thus offeredof indulging it in secret, began gradually to be moved by otherfeelings, in which curiosity soon became predominant; and looking abouthim, he beheld with his own eyes an example of the strange and barbaricmagnificence which characterized the royal gardens of Anahuac.

  The sun was already high in the east, and the last rain-drop wasexhaling from the leaf. The sky was cloudless, the waters were at rest.It was such a day as lent beauty to objects not in themselves fair; andto the green brilliance of foliage and the harmonious hues of flowers itimparted a loveliness as dear to the imagination as the senses. It wasthe spring time, too,--the season of Nature's triumph and rejoicing.

  The Pool of the Full Moon, as Techeechee had called it, doubtless, fromits circular shape, and its diminutive size, was surrounded by a wall oftrees as dense as that which enclosed the memorable pond in the gardenof Tezcuco. But besides the addition of the stone seats and basin, itwas ornamented with banks of the richest flowers, behind which rose athick setting of shrubbery; and from the branches of the trees hung richtufts and festoons of that gray moss--the Barba de Espana, which givesan air of such indescribable solemnity to the forests of the lowerMississippi. A few little birds warbled among the boughs, and thefield-cricket chirped in the bushes. In other respects the place wassilent and wholly solitary; and as its green walls shut out almostaltogether the spectacles disclosed from other places, Juan left it,after seeing that Techeechee maintained his stand on the wall, as if thefleet were still at a distance.

  He now perceived that the garden, though very beautiful, was alabyrinth, or rather, as it seemed, a wilderness of groves, glades, andfountains, some of which last burst from mounds of stone, that were thepedestals of rude and fantastic statues, perhaps idols, and some spoutedup into the air, from the mouths of porphyry serpents and dragons, as ifthe science of hydraulics had already begun to dawn upon the minds ofthe Mexican artisans. The noblest cypresses rose over the humblest vine,and many a convolvulus rolled its cataract of flowers over the tops oflesser trees, and many an aloe, from a vast pyramid of leaves, reared upits lofty pillar, crowned with a yellow canopy of blossoms. All thesplendour of the vegetable world known to Anahuac, found its place inthis magnificent retreat: and the plants of the lower zones, and eventhe palms of the coast, had been made to thrive side by side with thoseproductions which were natural to the elevated valley.

  Besides these ornaments and a thousand similar, the animal kingdom wasmade to add a charm, and, as it soon appeared, a horror to the royalgarden; for Juan had no sooner left the pool, than he beheld, besides athousand birds of every dye among the trees, some half dozen deerfrisking over the glades, and heard at but a little distance, the roarof fiercer animals, such as came to his ears, while he was yet on thelake.

  At a sound so hostile, Befo bristled and uttered a low bark, as if toapprize his master of the presence of danger; but Juan knew enough ofthe habits of the Mexican kings to understand that their gardens,besides enclosing all that was beautiful among plants, contained alsoaviaries and menageries, in which were collected the birds and beasts oftheir empire;--in other words, they were Zoological Gardens, such as theadvance of science is now establishing in the countries of Europe. Alittle fawn, feeding hard by, started with more terror at this unusualcry of Befo, than at any of the howls to which it had been longaccustomed, and ran timidly away. As it fled, Juan remarked that itsneck was encircled by a chaplet of flowers, as if lately put on by somecaressing hand.

  At this sight a new impulse seemed to seize the youth. He faltered,hesitated, cast his eye to the wall, on which Techeechee was yetstanding, and then marking the quarter whither the little animal hadfled, he beckoned to Befo to take post at his heels, and immediatelyfollowed.

  He soon found himself among a maze of copses, among which were scattereddivers cages or baskets, of great strength, secured to the trunks oftrees, and little paddocks equally strong, each containing somefer
ocious or untameable beast, many of them brought from the mostdistant provinces. Thus he beheld,--besides an abundant display of pumasor mitzlis, (the maneless lion,) jaguars, wolves, ounces, and wilddogs,--the bison of Chihuahua staggering in his pen, the antelope orprong-horn of the north, and even the great bear from the ridges of theOregon or Rocky Mountains. The tapir of Guatemala rolled by his fennypool, and the peccary herded hard by. Here were apes, ant-eaters,porcupines, and a thousand other animals; and among them, imprisonedwith the same jealous care, in suitable cages, were the reptiles of thecountry,--lizards and adders, and all the family of the Crotalus, fromthe common rattlesnake of America to that frightful one of Mexico andSouth America, which has been distinguished as especially the Horrid.Here was the phosphorescent _cencoatl_, whose path through the bushesand grass by night is said to be indicated by the gleaming light of hisbody; the _tlilcoa_, or great black serpent of the mountains, and thestill more formidable and gigantic _canauhcoatl_, or Boa-Constrictor,which, like his neighbour, the cayman or crocodile, from the sameboiling fens of the coast, made his prey upon the largest stags, andeven human beings. With these were many smaller snakes, distinguishedfor their beauty, and sometimes their docility, some of which latter,entirely harmless, were allowed to crawl about at liberty.

  It would require a book by itself, to particularize and describe all themembers of this fearful convocation of monsters; of which it wasafterwards written by Bernal Diaz, that when the beasts and reptileswere provoked and irritated, so as to howl and hiss together, 'thepalace seemed like hell itself.' It is very certain that Befo lost muchof his dignity of carriage at the mere sight of such assembled terrors,creeping along reluctantly and with draggling tail; and Juan himself wasnot without some sensations of alarm, as he found himself now startledby the growl of an angry mitzli, now perturbed by the sudden rustling ofa boa among the dried reeds of his couch. The rattlesnakes shook theircastanets at his approach, the cayman tumbled, with a sudden plunge,into his muddy pool, the wolf showed his sharp teeth, and the ape dartedtowards him from the tree, with a wild, chattering, and half hostilescream. But he had remarked that the little fawn directed its courseimmediately through the thickest of the assemblage; and if thatcircumstance did not convince him of the safety of the path, he wascertainly ashamed to show less courage than the young of a doe. Hetherefore trudged onwards, and, in a few moments, exchanged the scenefor one less frightful, though not less striking.

  He was now among the birds of Mexico. A grove,--it might have seemed aforest,--of lofty trees, was covered over with a curious contrivance ofnets, some of which were confined to their tops, while others were madeto surround the shrubbery at their roots, in all which were confined thenoisy prisoners. Other nets were flung over little pools, whose banksand surface were enlivened by the presence of water-fowl. In some placescages were hung upon the trees, containing the more precious orunmanageable captives. Through this grove one might penetrate in allconceivable directions, and seem to be confined along with its featheredinhabitants, and yet be really separated from them by the nets.

  The outer portion or border of the grove, was devoted to the endlesstribe of parrots, whose magnificent colours gave a beauty to thetreetops, not to be lessened even by the horrid clamour of their voices.The singing birds were confined within the silent recesses of itscentre.

  If curiosity and a mere love of barbarous display, without other motive,had collected together in the gardens of Mexico her beasts and reptiles,utility had some little influence in the selection of her birds. Theirfeathers were devoted to a thousand purposes of ornament, and amongothers, to the construction of those very singular Mosaic works, orpictures, which have won the admiration even of European painters andvirtuosos. But while thus providing for the supply of one of the mostelegant of wants, the Mexican kings secured to themselves the means ofadding the loveliest and most natural feature to their gardens. It wouldbe impossible to convey any just idea of the splendid creatures thatwent wandering and leaping, like sunbeams, among the leaves and over thegrass. Eagles and kites sat on the trees, and storks, herons, andflamingos stalked through the pools. Here the macaw flashed, screaming,through the boughs; there the wood-pigeon sat cooing by his mate. Thelittle _madrugador_, or early-riser, the happiest of his species, whochirps up his companions, when the morning-star peeps from the horizon,repeated his jovial note; the white-sparrow, the calandra, the cardinal,the sable-and-golden orible, and the little spotted tiger-bird, addedtheir charming voices; and the Centzontli, or mocking-bird, as it istrivially called, for it is worthy of a name much more poetical anddignified, whistled and sang with such a power and variety ofmelody, as left all other songsters in the background. The little_chupa-rosas_,--rose-pickers, or humming-birds,--darted about fromblossom to blossom, needing and acknowledging no bonds save those ofattachment to their favourite flowers.

  Through this delightful grove Juan stepped, enchanted with its music;and following a pleasant path, over which there echoed no notes louderthan those of the little wood-pigeon, such as the traveller yet hearscooing in the copse that surmounts the mouldered pyramid of Cholula, hewas soon introduced to a spectacle more striking, more lovely, and tohim far more captivating, than any he had yet beheld.