the noche triste tree.—a brief history of the conquest of mexico.—departure of cortez from cuba.—he lands in yucatan.—founding the city of vera cruz.—defeating the tlascalans.—entrance to tenochtitlan.—reception by montezuma.—return to the coast.—expulsion of the spaniards.—besieging the city with the aid of the tlascalans.—capture of the city, and death of guatemozin.—beginning of the rule of the viceroys.—the church of guadalupe.—story of the miraculous apparition.—religious and political holiday.—pilgrimage to guadalupe.—penitentes; their self-inflicted tortures.

the noche triste tree.

the tree of montezuma and the traditions connected with it called the attention of the youths to another famous tree of mexico. it was the arbol de la noche triste, or tree of the mournful night.

[pg 249]

when it was mentioned to doctor bronson the latter said:

"before we go there i wish you to inform yourselves about the tree, so that we can talk intelligently concerning its historical associations."

frank and fred promised to comply with his request; and in their case a promise was equivalent to its performance.

a day was set for the excursion to popotlan, where the tree stands. on the morning of that day frank said they were ready with their story; it was presented to the doctor at the breakfast-table, and pronounced satisfactory. here it is as it was read by fred:

departure of cortez from cuba.

"those who have studied history carefully know that cortez sailed from cuba to make the conquest of mexico. he had a fleet of eleven vessels; the largest of them was of one hundred tons, three were of seventy tons each, and the rest were open barks. his whole force consisted of one hundred and ten seamen, five hundred and fifty-three soldiers, two hundred indians, and a few indian women for servants. his regular soldiers consisted of sixteen horsemen, thirty musketeers, and thirty-two cross-bowmen; all the rest of the soldiers were armed with swords and spears. in addition to these he had fourteen pieces of artillery, with an abundance of ammunition; and he had sixteen horses, which were the first ever seen in america. this was the force with which he

[pg 250]

started for the conquest of a people numbering millions, and ruled by a king, with a large army equipped with spears and bows and arrows, and protected by coats of mail of thick wadding.

the first mass in the temples of yucatan.

"he landed first on cozumel island, near the coast of yucatan, where he proceeded to convert the natives to christianity. he did it in a very summary way: by calling on the natives to destroy their idols and embrace the new religion. when they declined to do so, he set his soldiers to breaking and overturning the idols and throwing them out of the temples. then he erected an altar, reared a cross and an image of the virgin, and ordered one of the priests who accompanied him to celebrate mass, which was done in the presence of his kneeling followers.

battle with the indians.

"from yucatan he sailed for the coast of mexico, which he reached at the mouth of the tabasco river. here he landed, and after a fight with the indians, which was won chiefly by the terror inspired by his horses and the sound of the guns, which the natives took for thunder, he occupied tabasco. shortly afterwards he had another battle with a force which his historians estimated at 40,000. this army he defeated, and he celebrated mass on the battle-field in thanks for his triumph over the heathen.

"'then,' writes diaz, 'after dressing our wounds with the fat of the

[pg 251]

indians whom we found dead, and having placed good guards round our post, we ate our supper and went to our repose.'

"peace was arranged with the indians on condition that they should submit to the authority of cortez, and accept the religion he brought them. they had no alternative, and immediately became christians. when this was accomplished he continued along the coast of mexico, and laid the foundations of vera cruz. there he first heard of the emperor montezuma, and the story of his great wealth determined cortez to make the conquest of mexico."

"that was where he burned his ships," remarked frank, as fred paused for a moment.

"yes," answered fred, "he burned his ships partly in order to make retreat impossible, and partly that he might increase his force with the 110 seamen. he left a small garrison at vera cruz, and then advanced towards the city. taking part with the tribes who had been annoyed by the tax-collectors of montezuma, he secured their friendship. he conquered the tlascalans in four severe battles, and then induced them to join him in a march upon montezuma's capital, as they were not on good terms with the aztecs; but he could not prevail upon them to renounce their religion and adopt christianity.

[pg 252]

first view of the mexican capital.

"he reached tenochtitlan, montezuma's capital, in november, 1518, with 6000 indian allies, in addition to his force of spaniards. ambassadors from montezuma met him on the road, and he was welcomed with great courtesy and ceremony. a palace was assigned to him, and he immediately fortified it. while he was laying his plans for taking possession of the country and its immense store of gold, he learned that his garrison at vera cruz had been attacked and one of his soldiers killed; and not only was the soldier killed, but his head was sent to montezuma.

"the death of one soldier may not be thought a very serious matter," fred remarked, by way of explanation, "but it was so for cortez. down to that time the mexicans supposed the spaniards were supernatural beings; they were the children of the sun, and therefore immortal, but the receipt of the head of the slain soldier undeceived them.

the meeting of cortez and montezuma.

"he at once took montezuma prisoner, and having captured the men who attacked vera cruz, he burned them alive in the public square in front of the palace. montezuma took the oath of allegiance to the king of spain, and was set at liberty after paying an enormous amount of gold and precious stones by way of ransom.

"just as cortez thought everything was quiet he learned that the governor of cuba had sent an army under narvaez to deprive him of

[pg 253]

the command of the country. as the army was much larger than his own, the situation was desperate; but cortez was equal to it.

"he left 200 men in the city under charge of one of his officers, and then hastened to the coast, where he defeated and killed narvaez, and added his men to his own forces. thus the army of 900 men, with eighty horses and twelve pieces of artillery, that had been sent to conquer cortez became really his reinforcement. he returned with them to mexico, where, meantime, the people had risen against the spaniards, killed montezuma, and under their new emperor, cuitlahua, driven the invaders out of the city. if you want a brilliant account of the evacuation of the city, you will find it in prescott's history; it is too long to be given here.

"there is a reminiscence of the terrible retreat," continued fred, "which is shown to every visitor to the city. it is the salto de alvarado, or alvarado's leap, in the street which bears the name of that warrior. they tell us that where the line of house-fronts is broken, and shut off by an iron railing, was formerly a canal in the ancient city of tenochtitlan. this is said to be the exact spot where alvarado leaped across the canal, and saved himself from the death which overtook so many of his comrades. he commanded the rear-guard, and was one of the few who escaped. bernal diaz says the opening was so wide, and the sides so high,

[pg 254]

that no man in the world could have jumped across, no matter how strong might be his limbs."

"now we are coming to the noche triste tree," remarked frank.

"yes," answered fred. "cortez is said to have sat all night under this tree at the time of the evacuation, lamenting over his misfortunes and laying plans for the future.

"do you think it is really so?" fred asked, turning to doctor bronson.

"the legend is a romantic one," the doctor replied, "and i would not care to disturb it; but if i read the character of cortez correctly, he was not the man to sit down and mourn under any circumstances. quite likely he stopped under the tree on that eventful night of july 1, 1520; but it is more probable that he was planning what to do next instead of wasting his time in vain lamentations. it is time to go now," said he, glancing at his watch, "and we'll have the rest of the story at the foot of the famous tree."

fred folded his manuscript and consigned it to his pocket, and then the trio, accompanied by their guide, proceeded to popotla by the railway. taking a car at the west side of the plaza mayor, they reached popotla in little more than half an hour from the time of their departure. they passed through tacuba, which was anciently an important town, but is now a suburb of the great city, with a population of between two and three thousand.

the tree is a species of cedar, called ahuehuete by the indians, and sabino by the spaniards. down to a few years ago it was in fine condition, but one night a fire was kindled against it and seriously injured its trunk. several of its limbs have since died and been removed; and to prevent its utter destruction by relic-hunters, the tree has been surrounded by an iron railing, and is carefully watched by a policeman. visitors may pick up any twigs lying outside the railing, but they are forbidden to tear anything from the tree, however insignificant.

after inspecting the tree, and commenting upon the fact that it was certainly old enough for cortez to have sat a whole night beneath it and indulged in any amount of lamentation, our friends resumed the story of the conquest.

"during the retreat," continued fred, "the rear-guard of the spaniards was destroyed; the retreat lasted for six days, and then a battle was fought, on the 7th of july, 1520, on the plains of otumba. here cortez was victorious, but he was not strong enough to attempt to retake the city.

"he went to tlascala, where he assembled a large force of natives, and

[pg 255]

again marched upon the capital. meantime the mexicans prepared for defence, and the emperor having died of small-pox, which the spaniards introduced, the throne was taken by guatemozin, the son-in-law of montezuma. guatemozin assembled a large army and fortified the causeways, so that he believed the place impregnable; but he was not equal to the warlike skill of the spanish commander.

the battle upon the causeway.

"cortez had again been 'reinforced' by the governor of cuba; the latter had sent two ships to the aid of narvaez, of whose fate he was ignorant, and when these ships arrived at vera cruz they were seized, and the men of the expedition were easily induced to join cortez.

"approach by land being so well guarded, cortez decided to attack the city by water. timber for thirteen brigantines was prepared on the other side of the mountains, and carried on the shoulders of 8000 tlascalans to the bank of a small stream flowing into one of the lakes. there the boats were put together, and though the mexicans made many attacks, they were always defeated.

"each boat carried a piece of artillery and twenty-five spaniards, and the fleet was sufficient to wipe the war-canoes of the mexicans out of existence. when all was ready the fleet moved to the attack, and at the same time the land forces proceeded against the city along three of the causeways.

[pg 256]

the capture of guatemozin.

"altogether the siege of the city lasted seventy-seven days; it ended on the 13th of august, 1521, and that day may be taken as the commencement of the reign of the spaniards in mexico. guatemozin attempted to escape in a boat, but was captured and treated as a prisoner of distinction. the mexicans again endeavored to drive out their invaders, but were unsuccessful, and guatemozin was put to death under circumstances of great cruelty. he was burned on a bed of coals by order of cortez, along with several of his nobles and leading men.

"and this ends our story of the conquest of mexico," said fred. "those who think it dry reading are at liberty to skip, but if they have read thus far there will be no need of doing so."

"what became of cortez after the conquest?" doctor bronson asked.

"he was rewarded by the king with the appointment of governor and captain-general of mexico, and a marquisate with a large revenue. but his success aroused jealousy, as it generally does, and while he was busy with the conquest of the outlying provinces of mexico his property was seized, and his retainers were imprisoned. he returned to spain in consequence of this, was received with distinction, and returned to mexico for new enterprises, but he found himself under the orders of a viceroy, who had been sent to rule over him.

[pg 257]

"he went back to spain once more, where, with great difficulty, he obtained an audience with the king, and was very coldly received. he soon dropped out of sight, and the closing years of his life were passed in utter obscurity in seville."

"very much like the closing years of the life of columbus," frank remarked.

ponce de leon.

"yes," added the doctor, "and you may continue the parallel further among american discoverers and conquerors. americus vespucius, or amerigo vespucci, died in poverty; balboa and sir walter raleigh were beheaded; pizarro was assassinated; magellan was killed in battle; and de soto never lived to know the value of his discovery of the mississippi. hendrick hudson was forced into an open boat at sea by a band of mutineers, and never heard of afterwards; and captain john smith died in retirement after having passed some time in a french prison. ponce de leon, who went to florida to find the fabled fountain of youth, was mortally wounded in a fight with the natives of that country, and his followers were forced into a disastrous retreat."

absorbed with the train of thought aroused by doctor bronson's remark, the youths silently accompanied that gentleman on the return trip to the city. frank concluded that he would never lead an expedition for the discovery of a new world, and fred decided that he did not care to make a name in history by the conquest of a country that had done him no harm.

the church of guadalupe.

in the afternoon they went to the hill which is notable for the church bearing the name of "our lady of guadalupe." it is about three miles from the city, and in a direction opposite to that of chapultepec. the present road is comparatively modern, the old one having been given up to the line of railway from the capital to vera cruz. the new road and the old one are parallel; the former has fourteen shrines along the way-side, where pilgrims to the church used to pause to say their prayers, but

[pg 258]

the new one is not so well provided. the tram-cars run at a rapid rate, the mules often dashing into a gallop, but coming suddenly to a halt when the conductor blows his horn.

the youths inquired as to the origin of the church, which is the most famous of all the places of worship in the country, and the object of many a pilgrimage every year. the result of their inquiries was the following story:

"the church of nuestra señora de guadalupe stands on the spot where the virgin mary is said to have appeared to a poor shepherd, an indian named juan diego, in 1531, ten years after the capture of the city of tenochtitlan by cortez. he lived in a mud hut near the base of the hill, and one day, his father being ill, he went to obtain medicine for him, and was stopped by the virgin, who upbraided him for the slowness of the mexicans in accepting the religion which the conquerors offered them. she announced that she was to be the patron saint of the indians, and told him to go and tell the bishop what he had seen and heard.

"he went to the house of zumarraga, who was then bishop of mexico, but was turned away unbelieved and almost unheard. the virgin appeared to him again, and told him to gather some roses from the top of the rock and carry them in his blanket to the bishop. he did so, and

[pg 259]

when the blanket was opened the picture of mary was found to be painted upon it, and surrounded by the imprint of the roses. the bishop was incredulous at first, but when he reflected that the indian could not paint, and was too poor to employ an artist, he accepted the miracle, and it was soon after adopted by the nation.

"it was not easy to identify the spot, and so the virgin appeared again and stamped her foot upon the ground. immediately there burst forth a spring which is said to possess wonderful healing properties, and it has continued to flow ever since. a small chapel was immediately erected, and soon afterwards the foundations of the church were laid. pope clement vii. officially proclaimed our lady of guadalupe to be the patron saint of mexico, and the adoration of the picture spread throughout the whole of america and also to catholic europe.

"at one time," said frank, in his account of the visit, "the church of guadalupe was one of the richest in mexico, second only to the great cathedral; but the greater part of its treasure was taken by the liberal government, and coined into money, at the time of the confiscation of church property. the golden frame of the picture of the virgin was carried away, but afterwards returned. the altar railing, of solid silver, was not disturbed. its

[pg 260]

value must be very great, as it is massive, and the metal is said to be of the highest standard.

statuette of the virgin mary.

"the original painting is kept in an iron frame above the high altar, and is shown only on rare occasions. by paying a fee to the sacristan we obtained a view of it. the material on which the painting appears is of a very coarse fabric, but the picture is distinct, and its colors seem to be admirably preserved. copies of the picture are to be seen everywhere. hardly a house in the country is without one of them, and they are for sale in all shapes and kinds to suit the most economical purse. peddlers offer them to you on the streets, and no pious mexican would be without at least one image of the patron saint of his country.

making a pilgrimage comfortably.

"pilgrimage to this place is constantly going on, but the great and especial day of the year is the 12th of december, the anniversary of the miraculous appearance. on that day thousands of pilgrims are here from all parts of mexico and central america, and at the conclusion of the ceremonies there is an exhibition of fireworks in front of the church. after this display the natives perform the mitate, one of their ancient dances, in one of the halls attached to the church. the high dignitaries of the church are present at the fireworks and also at the dance. according to what we learned of it, the mitate has a resemblance to some of the dances in the hindoo temples of india. we are told that the priests facilitated the adoption of the catholic religion by permitting the natives to retain some of their heathen customs, and the mitate is one of them.

"in the war for independence the picture of our lady of guadalupe was borne on the banners of the insurgents, and their rallying cry was 'guadalupe.' the priest hidalgo, who originated the insurrection, was so identified with the shrine and its use during the war that his name was incorporated with it and given to the town which surrounds the church. after the independence of the country was secured it was decreed that december 12th should be kept as a national holiday, and consequently the date is political as well as religious. the treaty of peace between the united states and mexico was signed here on february 2, 1848, and is consequently known in history as the treaty of guadalupe hidalgo."

this is the church to which the emperor maximilian walked with bare feet from the city, three miles away. he established a title and decoration of the order of guadalupe, and during his brief reign it was conferred upon distinguished and other persons who had rendered, or might render, services to the empire or its ruler.

the mention of the devotional act of maximilian in walking barefooted to the church of guadalupe reminded one of the youths of an

[pg 261]

account he had read not long before of the way in which many of the pilgrims to the shrine were accustomed to inflict self-torture in days gone by. they lashed themselves and one another with whips, gashed their flesh with knives, and in other ways personally injured themselves. of late years the practice has fallen into disuse, but occasionally a penitente, as he is called, may be seen punishing himself for some real or fancied sin.

the penitentes walking on cactus-leaves.

doctor bronson told the youths that in some parts of the country a favorite act of the penitentes is to walk over cactus-leaves, or to crawl upon them on their bare knees. a cross is set up, in the yard of a church and the ground in front of it is strewn with the thorny cactus. on this dreadful pavement the penitentes walk to the foot of the cross, and believe

[pg 262]

that when they have accomplished the journey they have expiated all the sins committed by them since the last ceremony of the same kind was held. the doctor said the priests had tried to abolish this practice, which was established by the old franciscan missionaries about 200 years ago, but it has so strong a hold upon the indians that they refuse to give it up.

when the missionaries established the order of penitentes, their principal dogma was that no sin could be forgiven without confession and

[pg 263]

expiation. the society increased in numbers, and at length became practically independent of the church; it adopted several dogmas of its own, one of them being the converse of the original, and to the effect that no sin could be so great that it could not be washed away by expiation. this new dogma gave the priests much trouble, especially among the natives of new mexico and the neighboring provinces of the republic.