surrender, I had two large field pieces directed against them to see whether they would surrender then, because they would suffer greater damage by our giving permission to our friends to attack them, than by those two field pieces, which caused some destruction. As this also brought no result, I ordered the signal of the musket to be fired, whereupon the corner they still held was immediately taken, and those who were in it were forced into the water, and others who had not fought surrendered. The brigantines swiftly entered that lake, and broke into the midst of the fleet of canoes, and the warriors no longer ventured to fight.
It pleased God that the captain of a brigantine, called Garci Holguin, overtook a canoe in which there were some distinguished people, and, as he had two
August
13, 1521
or three cross-bowmen in the prow of the brigantine, and was crossing in the front of the canoe, they signalled to him not to shoot because their sovereign was there. The canoe was quickly captured, and they took Quatamucin,[1] and the lord of Tacuba, and the other chiefs who were with him;
- ↑ Quauhtemotzin, seeing that escape was hopeless, stood up in the canoe saying: "I am the King of Mexico and of this country; take me to Malintzin. I ask only that my wife and children and the women be spared." Some twenty persons were with him, all of whom Holguin brought back to the city. There is little to add to what Cortes here says about what passed on that historic occasion, except that he gave orders that the Princess Tecuichpo, youngest daughter of Montezuma, recently married to her cousin Quauhtemotzin should receive every consideration. Humboldt, commenting on Quauhtemotzin's choice of instant death, commends the unfortunate young sovereign's conduct in the following terms: "Ce trait est digne du plus beau temps de la Grèce et de Rome. Sous toutes les zones, quelle que soit la couleur des hommes, le langage des âmes fortes est le même lorsqu'elles luttent contre le malheur" (Essai Politique, p. 192, 4to ed.). The captive monarch was not deceived by the suave manners and honied words of his captor, and his forebodings were realised, when, a few days later, upon his protesting that there was no treasure left in the city, Cortes consented to his torture to force him to speak. Bernal Diaz seeks to excuse Cortes's part in this unworthy proceeding. It may be said in
