XXVI.
THE GATHERING FOR WAR.
Although the whole of the discussion of their plan of revolt was carriedon by the Council with so calm a gravity, there was enough of energy andof quick movement when their deliberations came to an end; and weaugured well of the result because they thus had delayed their actionuntil their plan for making it effective had been fully matured. Thewhole of that first day in Huitzilan, and much of the following nightalso, was given to arranging clearly what must be done in order to setup a temporary government and to get an army together; and how well thispreliminary work was accomplished was shown by the precision andcelerity with which the plans then made were executed during theimmediately ensuing days.
During this period we had ample time to look around us; and, being nowupon a most friendly footing with the strange people among whom we thusstrangely found ourselves, we were heartily aided--so far as this waspossible because of the exigencies of that stirring time--ininvestigating the manner of their lives. The material then was obtainedfor my chapter on the "House Life and Domestic Customs of the Aztecs";and the knowledge which Rayburn gathered (also embodied in his ownpaper, that attracted so much attention when read before the AmericanInstitute of Mining Engineers) he has permitted me to use in my chapteron "Mining and Metal-working among the Aztecs"; which two chapters areamong the most note worthy _Pre-Columbian Conditions on the Continent ofNorth America_. Rayburn, indeed, was lost in wonder as he came tounderstand how far scientific investigation had been carried among thisisolated people, and how well they had learned to apply their scientificknowledge to their practical affairs. In many matters, to be sure, theyfell far behind the remainder of the civilized world; but a large partof the useful knowledge that has been gained by study under civilizedconditions elsewhere we found here also as the fruit of independentdiscovery. In many cases the discovery was identical in every respectwith our own. Thus, their process (the adding of hydrochloric acid to aneutral solution of auric-chloride) for producing from gold a richpurple stain, that was employed in the coloring of hard-wood and bone,was precisely that which Boyle mentioned in 1663; and, as nearly as Icould determine the date, it was about that very time that they, also,first effected this combination. In the matter of hardening gold, andthereafter giving it all the qualities of tempered steel, they had madea step that was distinctly in advance of anything which ourmetallurgists had accomplished; and I am strongly inclined to the beliefthat--at least among the priests--knowledge had been gained of a processquite unlike that known to us for producing a gold fulminate. I was notso fortunate as to gain more knowledge of this matter than could belearned from hearsay, but from several sources I heard of the splittingasunder of a certain great rock by the Priest Captain--which wonder wasaccompanied by a thunderous noise and a gleam of flame and a burstingforth of smoke--whereby he was considered to have proved that the aid ofthe gods was at his command. But to my mind, and also to Rayburn's, theproof was, rather, that he had at his command--in some way that as yetour chemists have not fathomed--the aid of a gold fulminate that couldbe controlled in use as readily as we control gunpowder. That thisagent, whatever it might be, was not easily available, was indicated bythe fact that the Priest Captain never had given more than this singleexhibition of the wonders which he could accomplish with it; and that itthen had served his purpose well was shown by the obvious awe with whichall who told me of it spoke of the dreadful havoc that thus visibly waswrought by what they termed the thunder of the gods.
Indeed, a very serious difficulty that the leaders of the revolution hadto overcome was the unwillingness on the part of the people at large todefy the power of their spiritual chief; which feeling among the upperclasses was mainly because disobedience to the Priest Captain was, ineffect, heresy; while among the lower classes there was joined to a likehorror of heresy a very lively dread of the punishment, both temporaland spiritual, that the Priest Captain could bring upon them because ofhis intimate relations with the supernatural beings by which the forcesof the world were controlled.
Yet out of this condition of affairs arose an opportunity that FrayAntonio was not slow to make the most of. Our coming into the valleywith news of the outside world that directly controverted the PriestCaptain's claim to infallibility gave a great shock to the religiousfaith of the community, and so induced a willingness to listen to thepreaching of a new and purer creed. And on the part of those of theCouncil who were organizing the revolution--among whom religion seemedto be regarded less as a vital fact than as a matter of politicalexpediency--there was a strong disposition to encourage the spread ofdoctrines which obviously, by weakening the Priest Captain's hold uponthe people, would increase their own strength. Therefore, Fray Antoniofound himself free to preach to this heathen multitude the gloriousChristian faith; and that he was granted this most rare and signalopportunity, the like of which was not given even to the blessed SaintFrancis himself, so filled and exalted his soul with a radiantly joyfulthankfulness that he was as one transformed. And his holy enthusiasm,that thus made every fibre of his being vibrate with a gratefulgladness, gave him also so eloquent a command of beseeching languagethat it was a living wonder to perceive how his inspired wordspenetrated into the minds, darkened by superstitious doctrines, of thoseto whom he spoke, and so sunk into their hearts and brought the restfulhappiness of the faith Christian to those who had known only therestless terror of idolatry throughout all their lives. Like a pureflame, the doctrine that he preached ran through that host of theheathen, burning out from among them the impure creed whereby theirsouls had been held in a most cruel and desolate bondage, and giving inthe place thereof the tender comfort of a saving Christian grace.
Yet the very fervor of Fray Antonio's preaching, and the strong holdthat the gentle doctrine which he set forth took upon the hearts of themultitude, tended also to stir up against him a lively enmity amongthose who, refusing to hearken to him, remained steadfast in the ancientfaith. Many such there were among us at that time in Huitzilan; butbecause of the firm grasp that Fray Antonio had upon so many hearts, andalso because of the countenance which the Council gave him, these didnot venture to assail either him or his doctrine openly; yet, as I notedat times the evil glances which they shot forth at him--which surelywould have killed him could he thus have been slain--I was filled withdread that hate so malignant as here was shown must surely findexpression in a direct attempt upon his life. Fortunately, there nolonger were any priests among us. Of these there had been aconsiderable number in Huitzilan upon our first coming there, butsilently, one by one, they had disappeared--going, as we well knew, tojoin themselves to the force which the Priest Captain was gatheringagainst the time when the issue between us would be settled by thearbitration of arms. And those who went from our camp to his must havecarried with them news of the peril that menaced the ancient faiththrough the new faith that Fray Antonio preached so zealously in suchburning words; for of his knowledge of what Fray Antonio was doing, andof his dread of what might therefrom result, we presently had proof in away that filled our hearts with a very dismal fear.
All the while that this curious, and to me most interesting, conflictbetween a primitive and a highly developed religion went on, the morepractical work went on also of establishing a new government and oforganizing an army whereby it might be maintained. So far as the settingup of a government was concerned, the matter was comparatively easy; forthe majority of the Council had come out with us from Culhuacan, andthese had but to adapt to the requirements of the new situation thegovernmental machinery that already was established and at theircommand. And they were surprised pleasurably by finding how readily thistransformation was effected; for among the higher classes--from whichclasses the officials of the government exclusively were drawn--thefeeling of hatred against the Priest Captain, begotten of his many actsof cruelty and oppression, was so strong that the opportunity nowoffered to turn against him was seized upon most gladly. In every townthroughout the valley the emissaries of the Council were w
armlywelcomed; and presently the new government was established everywheresave in the capital city and in certain villages upon the lake borderlying close beneath its walls.
The work of organizing an army, however, was a more difficult matter;for very serious obstacles, both moral and material, had to be overcomebefore we of the revolutionary faction could place an effective fightingforce in the field. Of what I may term regular troops, that is to say,thoroughly drilled and disciplined soldiers, we could count upon butfew; for, practically, the whole body of the army had remained faithfulto the Priest Captain and was with him in Culhuacan. For the most part,also, the regular troops scattered through the garrisons of the varioustowns had betaken themselves immediately to Culhuacan upon theacknowledgment by the civil officers of these towns of the authority ofthe new government; and at the same time had departed with them nearlyall the priests, and such few persons of the upper classes as desiredthe maintenance of the ancient order of things. The result of whichgeneral movement at least gave us the advantage of carrying onunmolested our own work of concentrating and organizing; and, so far,was a positive service to us.
As the nucleus of our army we had the corps that Tizoc commanded, thehighly organized body of troops charged with the important duty ofguarding the Barred Pass; and we had also the few hundreds of men whohad come out with us from Culhuacan. From these sources we were able todraw officers to command the irregular force, largely made up ofTlahuicos, that the Council rapidly got together; while for theorganizing of the main body of our troops, the savages who worked in themine, the bold stroke was made of mingling them with the men who, untilthen, had been their most relentless enemies--the soldiers who hadserved as their guards. That it was possible to put in operation thisdaring plan was due, I think, in great part to the fact that both guardsand miners were led to accept the extraordinary fellowship that itcreated by a genuine shock of surprise; and before they had at allrecovered from their astonishment their interests became identical,through their common need of defending themselves against a commonenemy. And, further, I am well convinced that the Tlahuicos had been inpart prepared, before our coming into the valley, to join in the revoltthat under any circumstances could not have been much longer delayed. Inregard to this matter, Tizoc persistently evaded my questions; but Iremembered very distinctly his curious hesitancy when he had told me ofthe effective part that the servile class could be made to take in theevent of a rebellion; and I perceived many evidences of a secretunderstanding between him and certain of the miners during the time thatthe gathering for war was going on in Huitzilan. Therefore, I inferredthat the seeds of revolt which germinated so readily had been long sincesown.
Of all the disabilities under which we then labored, the most seriouswas the lack of an adequate supply of arms. The great arsenal of theAztlanecas was in Culhuacan; and thus nearly the whole of the supply ofmunitions of war in the valley was in the Priest Captain's hands.Fortunately, the shipment of hardened gold that we had intercepted--bylanding at the pier whence in a few hours it would have been despatchedto the Treasure-house--gave us a good supply of raw material out ofwhich spear-heads, and the heads of darts, and swords could be made; andnight and day the forges blazed in Huitzilan while the manufacture ofthese weapons went on. Of bows and arrows it was not possible to makemany in that short time, but of slings there was no difficulty in makingenough to supply our entire force--and among these people, who arewonderfully skilful in the use of it, the sling is a most deadlyimplement of war. We lacked time, also, to make any large number ofshields, and our deficiency in this respect was regarded by Tizoc, andby all the military officers who were with us, as a most serious matter;for not only would our men without shields be the more easily slain inbattle, but their fighting value would be lessened by theirconsciousness that they were without this piece of furniture that allsavage races hold to be so necessary in war.
However, of defensive armor we had a good supply, for it chanced that inthe Citadel there was a great store of cotton cloth, suitable for makinglong kirtles of many thicknesses of cloth quilted together; whichkirtles were arrow proof, and well protected a man from his neckdownward almost to his knees. Young was disposed to think but lightly ofthis curious armor, but when Tizoc, to convince him of its utility,demonstrated its power to resist a well-pointed arrow shot at very shortrange he was forced to confess its entire applicability to the purposefor which it was designed.
"Tell th' Colonel that I give in, an' think it a first-rate notion,Professor," he said. "But if you can get it into his head, an' I'mafraid you can't, just tell him that when this barelegged army of oursgets fitted out with those little night-shirts they'll look for all th'world like a lot o' fellows who've scrambled out of a hotel that'scaught fire in th' middle o' th' night. All that'll be wanted t' maketh' thing perfect 'll be a couple o' steam fire-engines, an' a crowdwith all their clothes on, an' a line of policemen. I guess it's goin't' be one o' th' funniest lookin' armies that was ever seen outside of alunatic asylum. What I'd like to do, Professor, instead o' tryin' t' doany fightin' with it, is just t' take th' whole outfit back t' th'States an' make a show of it. I'd get Benito Nichols t' go in withme--he's a first-class man, Benito is, an' he's a boss hand as a showmanager--an' we'd call it 'Th' Aztec Warrior Army an' CircusCombination,' an' we'd just rake in th' dollars quicker'n we could count'em. That makes me think o' that show we were talkin' about makin' withPablo an' his burro." Young's voice changed as he spoke, and there was ahuskiness in it as he added: "I s'pose by this time there ain't muchleft for show-makin' purposes of either of 'em. No, I guess I'll stayaround an' take a hand in any fightin' that's goin' on; for I'd prettynear be willin' t' be killed right away after it myself for th' chancet' square things with that old devil for killin' our boy. He was a goodboy, Professor, an'--How this devilish dust does get into my eyes an'make 'em water." With which highly irrelevant remark--for there was nodust blowing just then--Young suddenly ceased speaking and walked away.
This was the only time that we spoke of Pablo while we lay at Huitzilan,for talk about the boy only increased the bitter sorrow for him that wasin all our hearts. As for my own heart, it was wellnigh broken as Ithought that but for me his gentle life would still be flowing onsmoothly--as I had found it flowing when, in an evil hour, I joined hisfortunes with mine, and so had brought him to so untimely and to socruel a death. And I, too, longed for the fighting to begin that I mightavenge him; for the accomplishment of which vengeance I was not merelyin part, but altogether ready to yield up my own life.
Indeed, excepting only Fray Antonio, who saw in warfare only thewickedness and the cruelty of it, we all were most eager for ourinaction to end, and for the battling to begin that would give usopportunity to let the life out of some of those by whom Pablo had beenslain. It was with delight, therefore, that we noted the rapidity withwhich the preparations for the impending campaign were carried forward,and saw how each day the disorderly host that had been gathered atHuitzilan was changing from a confused mass of good fighting materialinto a body fairly well adapted to the needs of war. It was, in truth,astonishing to us--for we could not well comprehend how essentiallywarlike were the instincts of this people, and how quick, therefore,they must be in military matters--to observe the promptness that wasshown in getting our army in readiness for the field. And with ourastonishment came also a comforting conviction that the force that couldbe so quickly, and, as it seemed, so effectively organized, must surelyhold well together, and fight well together, when the hour for fightingcame.
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