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

by Robert Montgomery Bird

  CHAPTER XIV.

  Slowly the morning dawned; and the foremost Tlascalan, raising his headfrom the earth, could behold, dimly relieved against an atmosphere ofmist, the outlines of the foe, yet loitering upon the rampart behind theditch, and warming his naked body, for the last time, over hissmouldering fire. And now, also, were seen the brigantines, four innumber, which had taken post, long before day, on either flank of theditch, while a line of well-manned piraguas extended some distancebeyond them.

  The savages gathered up their arms, and leaping upon the ramparts, shookthem with defiance at the besiegers, taunting them with such words ofopprobrium as marked both their hatred and resolution.

  "Ho-ah! ho-ah! What says the king of Castile? what says the king ofCastile?" they cried,--for all the offers of peace and composition,(sent occasionally by the hands of liberated captives,) being made byCortes in the name of his master, the barbarians prefaced every defianceby expressing their contempt for his authority,--"what says the king ofCastile? He is a woman,--he shows not his face,--he is a woman. Whatsays Malintzin? what says Malintzin? He calls for peace,--he is acoward: he fights in the house, when his foe is a prisoner, but he callsfor peace, when Mexico comes out upon the causeways. What say theTeuctlis,--the Spaniards,--the sons of the gods? They bring theTlascalans, to fight their battles,--the Tlascalans, the Tezcucans, theChalquese, and the other little dogs of Mexico. Their flesh is verybitter, and their hearts sour: the mitzlis and ocelotls, the wolves andthe vultures, in the king's garden, say, 'Give us better food, for thisis the flesh of crocodiles.' What say the men of Tlascala? They areslaves,--they say they are slaves, and what matters it where they fight?If Malintzin prevail, wo for Tlascala! for he will scourge her withwhips, and burn her with brands, even from the old man with gray hairsdown to the little infant that screams: If Mexico be victorious, wo forTlascala! for we will strike her down with our swords, as we strike themaize-stalks in the harvest-field. Ho-ah! ho-ah! Come on, then, yewomen, cowards, and slaves! for we are Mexicans, and our gods arehungry!"

  With such ferocious exclamations, the bold barbarians provoked thebesiegers; and with such they were used, each morning, to incite them tothe work of slaughter.

  The Spaniards still stood fast, and the Tlascalans lay upon the earth,receiving the arrows that were for awhile shot at them; until theMexicans, exhausting their voices with outcries, at last ceased tocontinue them, and assumed an attitude as quiescent as that of theirfoes.

  While they thus remained, each party staring the other in the face, andthe rapidly increasing light made it evident that a very considerablemultitude of infidels were gathered upon the dike, a trumpet was windedbehind the Tlascalans, in one single, prolonged, and powerful note, thatwoke up the echoes of mountains, even at the distance of leagues. It wasanswered, first from the west, from the dike of Tacuba, in a blast bothstrong and cheery, and immediately after, though much more faintly, fromthe northern causeway, where Sandoval was marshalling his forces.

  As soon as these signals, for such they were, had been exchanged betweenthe leaders, the trumpet of Cortes sounded again, with a succession ofshort, sharp, and fierce notes, such as blast fury into men's hearts,through their ears. Instantly, and as if by enchantment, the fourfalconets in the brigantines were discharged, and swept hundreds of thebarbarians from the causeway. Then followed the rattle of musketry,mingled with the clang of cross-bows; which din was continued, until thegunners, loading again, discharged their pieces a second time upon theenemy. And now the Tlascalan pioneers, springing up, rushed, with wildyells to the ditch, which they began to fill with frantic speed.

  Notwithstanding the boldness of their defiance, the Mexicans made a muchless manly resistance than was expected. But they stood as long as anyhuman beings could do, exposed between two deadly batteries, both pliedwith unexampled activity, and both strengthened by the addition of thenative archers in the piraguas. They handled their bows and slings asthey could, and they cheered one another with shouts; but it was evidentthat they must soon give way, and take post behind some ditchunapproachable by the brigantines.

  As soon as this became known, the Spanish foot-soldiers began toencourage one another, in anticipation of the charge which they weresoon to be called on to make; and Bernal Diaz, losing his graveequanimity, in the prospect of adding another leaf to his chaplet ofimmortality, ran briskly to and fro, in virtue of his official rank,which could scarce be defined in any one title of modern militarynomenclature, and cheered every soldier with whom he happened to be wellacquainted. In the course of his rounds, he fell upon Gaspar, from whomhe had been before separated, and whom he now seized by the hand,crying,

  "Now, Gaspar, my dear brother of Medina del Campo, we shall have such arouse among the red infidels as will make posterity stare."

  He was then about to extend his exhortations to others, when Gaspararrested him, turning upon him, to his great surprise, a countenanceextremely pale and agitated.

  "Art thou sick, man?" cried the historian, "or art thou worn out withwatching? A few knocks, Gaspar, will soon warm thy blood."

  "Bernal," said his friend, with an unnatural laugh, "wert thou ever infear?"

  "In fear?" echoed Bernal Diaz. "Never, before an infidel;--never, atleast, but _once_, when they had me in their hands, and I thought theywere carrying me to the temple."

  "What were thy feelings then?" demanded Gaspar, with singular eagerness:"Was there ice in thy bosom, and lead in thy brain? Were thy lips coldand thy tongue hot? Did thy hand shake, thy teeth chatter, thy legfail?--Faugh! what should make _me_ fear to go into battle?"

  "Fear! _thou_ fear?" said Bernal, anxiously. "Thou art beside thyself,never believe me else,--frenzied with over-watching."

  "I tell thee," said Gaspar, with a grin that was indeed expressive ofterror, "that, if thou hunt this whole army through, thou wilt not finda white-livered loon of them all, who is, at this moment, more a cowardthan myself. Why should I be so? Is there an axe at my ear, and a footon my breast? There are an hundred stout Spaniards, and thirty scoreTlascalans betwixt me and the foe; and yet I am in great terror of mind.I have heard that such things are forewarnings!"

  "If thou art of this temper, indeed," said honest Bernal, with moredisgust than he cared to conceal, "get thee to the rear, in God's name,and thou mayst light somewhere upon a flask of maguey-liquor. Shame uponthee, man! canst thou be so faint-hearted?"

  "Ay!" replied Gaspar; "yet I go not to the rear, notwithstanding. Ithought thou shouldst have counselled me.--Fare thee well, then,Bernal.--Thou dost not know, that one can be in terror of death, and yetmeet death without flinching. Fare thee well, brother; and what angrythings I have said to thee, forget, even for the sake of our early days.Fare thee well, Bernal, fare thee well."

  The Barba-Roxa locked his friend in a warm embrace, kissed him on bothcheeks, and then starting away, rushed towards the front, with analacrity that seemed utterly to disprove his humbling confession.Whether or not fear had, indeed, for the first time in his life, besethim, it is certain that Gaspar Olea did, that day, achieve exploitswhich eclipsed those of the most distinguished cavaliers, andconsecrated his memory for ever in the hearts of his comrades.

  The Tlascalans, working with furious zeal, had now so choked up theditch, that stones and earth already appeared above the water. TheMexicans wavered, and seemed incapable of maintaining their post for amoment longer.

  The fiery spirit of the Captain-General became incensed with impatienceand hope. He rose upon his stirrups, and exalting his voice, always ofvast and thrilling power, exclaimed,

  "This time, brothers! we will seize the bridges before the pagans haveleisure to destroy them. Footmen! see that ye follow after the horse,with all your speed. Cavaliers! put your lances in rest, and be ready.What, trumpeter! speak thy signal to the pioneers; and, brave hearts!fear not the gap, for it is strong enough to support you.--Sound,trumpeter, sound!"

  The trumpeter winded a peculiar blast, and the Tlascalans, dividingasunder, flung themselves,
from either side of the causeway, into thelake,--a feat often before practised,--and thus left the whole space upto the ditch vacant for the horsemen. At a second blast of theinstrument, the cavaliers spurred up to the chasm, and crossing it asthey could, and clambering over the rampart, dashed down at once uponthe disordered infidels. The footmen followed, running with all theirstrength, and returning the cheers, with which those in the ships beheldthe exploit of the cavalry.

  Meanwhile, the Mexicans, seized with unusual consternation, fled withgreat haste towards the city, pursued so closely by the cavaliers, thatthey made no attempt at a stand, even at the second ditch; nor did theypause a moment, according to their usual tactics, to destroy the bridgethat spanned it. It was indeed a narrow chasm, with an unfinishedbreastwork, and could not have been maintained for an hour. Another,equally narrow and indefensible, occurred at a distance of less than twohundred paces; and at such intervals, it appeared that the dike wasperforated, as far as it extended, even within the limits of the island.

  The ardour of the cavaliers, aided by that incentive to valour, the backof the foe, carried them over three several bridges, before theybethought them of the propriety of drawing up their horses a little, andwaiting for the footmen.

  "_Halon!_ halt! and God give us better heads to our helmets, or betterhelms to our heads!" cried Juan of Salamanca, a valiant young hidalgo,who had won immortal renown upon the field of Otumba: "Does yourexcellency intend that we twenty Paladins of Spain shall sack this citywith our lances and bucklers? In my mind, we should divide a moiety ofthe honour with those who will share a full half of the profit."

  "Ay," said another, an ancient hidalgo, as all checked their steeds atthe sudden call of the young man: "We should be wise, lest we fall intoan ambush. Let us wait here for the footmen."

  "And have the bridges torn up before our eyes!" cried Cortes; withungovernable fire. "Heaven fights for us to-day; the infidels are seizedwith a panic, and they are but few in number."

  "Say not so, senor," exclaimed Salamanca, pointing in front, where theycould see the fugitives checked by what seemed a flood of armed men,pouring out from the city. "They are in no panic; but we took them tooearly. Their drum has not yet been beaten upon the temple-top; but weshall hear it now, soon enough.--What ho! ye lame ducks with swords andlances! ye lagging footmen! come on like men, and be fleeter."

  "Let us pass on, at least, slowly," said Cortes. "The footmen are nigh,and we may yet gain two or three bridges. Do you not see, we are almostupon the island?--Hark! I hear the trumpet of Alvarado!--He will win therace to the pyramid!--Press on, gallant cavaliers, press on!"

  They were indeed within but a short distance from the island, surroundedby the ruins of the water suburb; and it seemed yet easy to secure, atleast, two more bridges, over which the fugitives had fled withoutpausing, and which could be gained before the causeway should beobstructed by the advance of the dense column from the city. Calling outtherefore to the infantry to hasten, and finding themselves alreadyjoined by two or three of the fleetest of foot, of whom the Barba-Roxawas one, they again dashed onwards, and secured the desired passes.

  They now found themselves so near to the island, as to be within reachof annoyance from the adjoining housetops; and this circumstance,together with the unexpected conduct of the Mexicans, produced suchalarm in the bosom of the cavalier who had seconded Salamanca's cautionbefore, that he exclaimed,

  "Senor mio, and good brothers, let us think a little what we do, beforeproceeding further. Let us beware of an ambuscado. The knaves yielded usthe rampart, almost without a blow; and they leave the ditches bridgedbehind them. This is not the way Mexicans fight, when they fighthonestly. Lo you, now, yonder is a herd of twenty thousand men, withflags and banners, and they stop at sight of us, as if in dismay! Whatdoes this mean, if not some decoy for a stratagem?"

  "It means," said Cortes, "that they are in a perplexity, because theirpriests have not yet given them the signal to fall on: and of thisperplexity it should be our wisdom to take advantage. See, now, the dogsare in confusion!--Nay, by my conscience! 'tis the confusion of attack,and they come against us! Couch your lances, and at them! for it isbetter they should feel the weight of our horses, than we the shock oftheir stormy bodies. On, footmen, on! spur, cavaliers, spur! Santiagoand Spain! and down with the paynim scum!"

  At these words of exhortation, the horsemen closed their ranks, shoutedtheir war-cries, and dashed with fearless audacity upon the advancingwarriors. They swept the causeway, like a moving wall, and howeverinsignificant their numbers, it did not seem possible for the enemy towithstand the violence of their onset; indeed, before a drop of bloodwas shed, they manifested such symptoms of hesitation and wavering, asgreatly exalted the courage of the assailants. They plied their slingsand arrows, indeed, they darted their javelins, brandished their spears,and added their discordant shrieks and wild whistling to the shouts ofthe Spaniards; but still it was in a kind of confusion and disorder,that showed them to be, from some cause or other, not yet prepared forcombat. Nay, some were seen, as the galloping squadron approached, tocast themselves into the lake, as if in fear, and swim to the nearestruins for protection.

  This degree of disrelish for battle was a phenomenon, so unusual in thecharacter of barbarians brave not only to folly, but to madness, that awary commander would have laid it to heart, and pondered over it withsuspicion. But not so the Captain-General. He remembered, withSalamanca, that the sound of the enormous drum on the temple of Mexitli,with which, each morning, the Mexican emperor gave the signal forbattle, had not yet been heard; and as there seemed to be as close, andalmost as fanatical, a connexion between the thunder of this instrumentand the courage of the pagans, as he had found, in former days, in thecase of the sacred horn, he did not doubt that their present timiditywas caused entirely by the failure of the signal. Perhaps he thought itincreased also by their sense of weakness; for, now that he was nigh, itbecame obvious that their numbers were much less considerable than theyhad appeared at a distance. At all events, they were in fear, and theywavered; which was enough to give his valour the upperhand of hisprudence.--It is with martial ardour as with a pestilence;--it ravensmost furiously among the ranks of fear.

  Fierce, therefore, was the zeal of his cavaliers, and their heartsflamed at the thought of blood. They raised their voices in a cry ofvictory, and bounded like thunderbolts among their opponents. The shockwas decisive; in a moment, the whole mass of pagans was put to rout.They flung down their arms, and betook themselves to flight. Those whocould, fled down along the dike into the city; others flung themselvesinto the water, and swam to the island, or to the neighbouring ruins.The only ones who made resistance, were those whose hearts weretransfixed by Spanish lances, before they could turn to retreat. Suchmen uttered the yell of battle, and, in their dying agonies, thrust withtheir own hands, the spears further through their vitals, that theymight be nearer to the foe, and strike the macana once more forTenochtitlan.

  "On, ye men of the foot!" cried the Captain-General. "Let the Tlascalansfire the houses behind me; for now we are again upon the island. Charge,cavaliers, charge! The saints open a path for us. Charge, my brothers,charge! and _viva_ for Spain and our honour!"