The watchman and southron. (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, September 19, 1894, Image 1
THE SUMTES WATCHMAN, established Apr?, is50. "Be Just and Fear not-Let all the Ends thou Aims't at, be thy Country's, thy God's ?and Truth's." THE TRUE SOUTHRON, established jone, 1 = 66
Consolidated Aug. 2,1881.
SUMTER, S. C., WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 1894.
New Series-Vol. XIV. No. 8.
Published Every Wednesday,
-BY
INT. Gr. Osteen,
SUMTER, S. C.
' ? TKRH&V"
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COPYRIGHT, laSS, BY TH? AUTHOR.
CHAPTER XXL
THE NIGHT OF FEAR.
Long before I awoke that day the com
. mauds of the council had been carried, out,
and the bridges in the great causeways
were broken down wherever dikes crossed
the raised roads that ran through the wa?
ters of the lake. That afternoon also I
went, dressed as an Indian warrior, with
Guafeemofe and the other generals, to a par?
ky which was held with Cortes, who took
bte stand in the same tower of the palace
that Montezuma had stood on when the
arrow of Guatemoc struck him down.
There is little tobe said of this parley, and
I remembered it chiefly because it was
then, for the first time since I had left the
Tabascans, that I saw Marina close and
heard her sweet and gentle voice, for
now, as ever, she was by the side of Cortes,
translating his proposals of peace to thc
Aztecs. Among these proposals was one
that showed me that Be Garcia had not
been idle. It asked that the false white
man who had been rescued from the altars
of the gods upon the teocalli should.be
given in exchange for certain Aztec pris?
oners, in order that he might be hung, ac?
cording to his merits, as a spy and desert?
er, a traitor to the emperor of Spain. I
wondered as I heard if Marina knew when
she spoke the words that ''the false white
man" was none other than the friend of
her Tabascan days.
'* You see *;hat you are fortunate in hav?
ing found place among us Aztecs, Teule,"
said Guatemoc, with a laugh, ''for your
own people would greet you with a rope."
Then he answered Cortes, saying noth?
ing of me, but bidding him and all the
Spaniards prepare for death.
"Many of us have perished," he said.
"You also must perish, Teales. You shall
perish of hunger and thirst; you shall per?
ish on the altars'of the gods. There is no
escape for you, Teales. The bridges are
broken."
And all the multitude took up the words
and thundered out: 4 * There is no escape for
you, Teules. The bridges are broken!"
Then the shooting of arrows began, and
I sought the palace to tell Otomie, my
wife, what I had gathered of the state of
her f ather Montezuma, who the Spaniards
said still lay dying, and of her two sisters,
who were hostages in their quarters.
Two days later came the news that Mon?
tezuma was dead and shortly after it his
body, which the Spaniards handed over to
the Aztecs for burial, attired in the gor?
geous robes of royalty. They laid it in the
hall of the palace, whence it was hurried
secretly and at night to Chapoltepee and
there hidden away with small ceremony,
for it was feared that the people might
rend it limb from limb in their rage.
With Otomie weeping at my side, I looked
for the last time on the face of that most
unhappy king, whose reign, so glorious in
its beginning, had ended thus. Otomie,
ceasing from her tears, kissed his clay and
cried aloud:
"O my father, it is well that you are
dead, for none who loved you could desire
to see you live on in shame and servitude!
May the gods you worshiped give me
strength .to avenge you, or if they be no
gods then may I find it in myself. I swear
this, my father, that while a man is left
to me I will not cease from seeking to
avenge you."
Then, taking my hand, without another
word she turned and passed thence. As
will be seen, she kept her oath.
On that day and on the morrow there
was fighting with the Spaniards, who sal?
lied out to fill up the gaps in the dikes of
the causeway, a task in which they suc?
ceeded, though with some loss. But it
availed them nothing, for so soon as their
backs were turned we opened the dikes
again. It was on these days that for the
first time I had experience of war, and
armed with my bow made after the Eng?
lish pattern I did good service. As it
chanced, the very first arrow that I drew
was on my hated foe, De Garcia, but
here my common fortune pursued me,
for, being out of practice or overanx?
ious, I aimed too high, though the
mark was an easy one, and the shaft
pierced the iron of his casque, causing him
to reel in his saddle, but doing him no
further hurt. Still this marksmanship,
poor as it was, gained me great renown
among the Aztecs, who were but feeble
archers, for they had never before seen an
arrow pierce through tho Spanish mail.
Nor would mine have done so had I not
Kfleeted the iron barbs off the crossbow
Ats of the Spaniards and fitted them to
my own shafts. I seldom found the mail
that would withstand arrows made thus
when the range was short and the aim
good.
After the first day's fight, I was ap?
pointed general over a body of 3,000 arch?
ers and was given a banner to be borne
before me and a gorgeous captain's dress
to wear. But what pleased me better was
a chain shirt which came from the body
of a Spanish cavalier. For many years I
always wore this shirt beneath my cotton
mall, and it saved my life more than once,
for even bullets would not pierce the two
of them.
I had taken over the command of my
archers but 48 hours, a scant time in which
to teach them discipline, whereof they had
little, though they were brave enough
when the occasion came to use them in
good earnest, and with it the night of dis?
aster that ia atUl known among the Span?
iard? as the noche triste. On the afternoon
before thatnlqht a council was held in the
palace, at "^T?i?cb I spoke, saying I was cc
tain that thc Terries thought of retre;
from the city and in the dark, for othe
?wise they would not have boen so eager 1
AU up thc canals in thc causeway. To th
Cuitlahua, who BOW that Montezuma wi
dead would bc emperor, though he was n<
yet chosen and crowned, answered that
might weU be that the Teules meditate
flight, but that they could never attem]
in the darkness, since in so doing thc
must become entangled in the streets an
dikes.
I replied that, though it was not tho A:
tee habit to march and fight at nigh
such things were common enough arnon
white men, as they had seen already, an
that because the Spaniards knew it wf
not their habit they would bo themoi
likely to attempt escape under cover <
the darkness when they thought thei
enemies asleep. Therefore I counsele
that sentries should be set at all the ei
trances to every osnseway. To this Cull
lahua assented, andr assigned tho' caus<
way of Tlacopan to Guatemoc and my sel:
making us the guardians of its safety
That night Guatemoc and I, with som
soldiers, went csa| toward midnight to visi
the guard that we had placed upon th
causeway. It was very dark, and a rai:
fell, so that a man could see no farther be
fore his eyes than he can at evenin,
through a Norfolk roko in autumn. W
found and relieved the guard, which rc
ported that all was quiet, and we were rc
turning toward thc great square when c
a sudden I heard a dull sound as of thou
sands of men tramping.
"Listen," I said.
4*It is the Teules who escape, " whisper
ed Guatemoc
Quickly we ran to where tho street fron
the great square opens on to tho causeway
and there even through thc darkness an<
rain we caught the gleam of armor. Thea
I cried aloud in a great voice: "'To arms
To arms! The Teules escape by the cause
way of Tlacopan!"
Instantly my words were caught up bj
the sentries and passed from post to pos
till the city rang with them. They wen
cried in every street and canal; they ochoa
from the roofs of houses and among th<
summits of a hundred temples. The cit]
awoke with a murmur; from the lake cam?
the sound of water beaten by "10,000 oars
as though myriads of wild fowl had sprung
suddenly from their reedy beds. Here,
there and everywhere torches flashed oui
like falling stars, wild notes were blowr
on horns and shells, and above all arose the
booming of the snakeskin drum, whicl
the priests upon the teocalli beat furiously.
Presently the murmur grew to a roar,
and from this direction and from thal
armed men poured toward-the causeway
of Tlacopan. Some came on foot, but thc
most of them were in canoes which covered
the waters of the lake farther than thc eai
could hear. Now the Spaniards to the
number of 1,500 or so, accompanied by
some 6,000 or 8,000 Tlascalans, were
emerging on thc causeway in a long thin
line. Guatemoc and I rushed before them,
collecting men as we went, till we came to
the first canal, where canoes were already
gathering by scores. The head of the Span?
ish column reached the canal, and the fight
began, which, so far as the Aztecs were
concerned, wasa fraywithout plan or order,
for in that darkness and confusion the
captains could not see their men or thc
men hear their captains. But they were
there in countless numbers and had only
one desire in their breast-to kill thc
Teules. A cannon roared, sending a storm
of bullets through us, and by its flash we
saw that the Spaniards carried a timber
bridge with them, which they were plac?
ing across thc canal. Then we fell on
them, every man fighting for himself.
Guatemoc and I were swept over that
bridge by tho first rush of thc enemy as
leaves are swept in a gale, and though both
of us won through safely we saw each oth?
er no more that night. With us and after
us came tho long array of Spaniards and
Tlascalans, and from every side the Aztecs
poured upon them, clinging to their strug?
gling linc as ants cling to a wounded
worm.
How can I tell all that came to pass
that night? I cannot, for I saw but little
of it. AU I know is that for two hours I
was fighting like a madman. The foe
crossed the first canal, but when all were
over the bridge was sunk so deep in the
mud that it could not be stirred, and three
furlongs on ran a second canal, deeper and
wider than the first. Over this they could
not cross till it was bridged with the dead.
It seemed as though all hell had broken
loose upon that narrow ridge of ground.
The sound of cannon and of arquebuses,
the shrieks of agony and fear, the shouts
of the Spanish soldiers, the warcries of the
Aztecs, t hc screams of wounded horses, the
wail of women, the hiss of hurtling darts
and arrows and the dull noise of falling
blows went up to heaven in one hideous
hurly burly. Like a frightened mob of
cattle, thc long Spanish array swayed this
way and that, bellowing as it swayed.
Many rolled down the sides of the cause?
way to be slaughtered in the waters of the
lake or borne away to sacrifice in the
canoes, many were drowned in the canals,
and yet more were trampled to darth in
the mud. Hundreds of the Aztecs per?
ished also, for the most part beneath the
weapons of their own friends, who struck
and shot, not knowing on whom thc blow
should fall or in whose breast the arrow
would find its home.
For my part, I fought on with a little
band of men who had gathered about me
till at last the dawn broke and showed an
awful sight. The most of those who were
left alive of the Spaniards and their allies
had crossed thc second canal upon a bridge
made of the dead bodies of their fellows
mixed up with a wreck of baggage, can?
non and packages of treasure. Now the
fight was raging beyond it. A mob of
Spaniards and Tlascalans were still cross?
ing the second breach, and on these I fell
with such men as were with mc. I
plunged right into the heart of them, and
suddenly before me I saw the face of De J
Garcia.
With a shout I rushed at him. He heard
my voice and knew me. With an oath he
struck at my head. Tho heavy sword came
down upon my helmet of painted wood,
shearing away one side of it and felling
me, but ere I feU I smote him on the breast
with the club I carried, tumbling him to
the earth. Now, half stunned and blinded,
I crept toward him through the press. All
that I could see was a gleam of armor in
the mud. I threw myself upon it, grip?
ping at the wearer's throat, and together
we rolled down the side' bf "tho causeway
Into the shallow water at the edge of the
lake. I was uppermost, and with a fierce
joy I dashed the blood from my eyes that
I might see to kin my enemy, caught at
hist. His body was in the lake, but his
/ threw myself upon it, gripping at the
wearer's throat.
j head lay upon "the sloping D??k7?nu my
plan was to hold him beneath the water
till he was drowned, for I had lost my
club.
"At length, De Garcia!" I cried in
Spanish as I shifted my grip.
"For the love of God, let me go!" gasp
? ed a rough voice beneath me. 4'Fool, I
anvno Indian dog."
Now I peered into the man's face be?
wildered. I had seized De Garcia, but thc
voice was not his voice, nor was the face
his face, but that of a rough Spanish sol?
dier.
"Who are you?" I said, slackening my
hold. "Where is De Garcia, he whom
you name Sarceda?"
*4Sarceda? I don't know. A minute
ago he was on his back on the causeway.
The fellow pulled me down and rolled be?
hind me. Let me be, I say. I am not Sar?
ceda, and if I were, is this a time to settle
private quarrels? I am your comade, Ber?
nai Diaz. Holy Mother, who are you? An
; Aztec who speaks Castillan?"
*'I am no Aztec," I answered. "I am
an Englishman, and I fight with the Az?
tecs that I may slay him whom you name
Sarceda. But with you I have no quar?
rel, Bernai Diaz. Begone and escape if
you can. No; I will keep the sword, with
your leave."
"Englishman, Spaniard, Aztec or
devil," grunted the man as he drew him?
self from his bed of ooze, "you are a good
fellow, and I promise you that if I live
through this, and if it should ever come
about that I get you by the throat, I will
remember the turn you did me. Fare?
well," and without more ado he rushed
up the bank and plunged into a knot of
his flying countrymen, leaving his sword
in my hand. I strove to follow him that
I might find my enemy, who once more
had escaped by craft, but my strength
failed me, for De Garcia's sword had bit?
ten deep, and I bled much. So I must sit
where I was till a canoe came and bore me
back to Otomie to be nursed, and 10 days
went by before I could walk again.
This was my share of the victory of the
noche triste. Alas, it was a barren tri?
umph, though more than 500 of the
Spaniards were slain and thousands of
their allies! For there was no warlike
skill or discipline among the Aztecs, and
instead of following the Spaniards until
none of them remained alive they staid to
plunder the dead and drag away the liv?
ing to sacrifice. Also this day of revenge
was a sad one to Otomie, seeing that two
of her brothers, Montezuma's sons, whom
the Spaniards held in hostage, perished
with them in tho.fray.
As for De Garcia, I could not learn
what had become of him, nor whether he
was dead or living.
CHAPTER XXTT.
THE BUSTING OF MOXTEZUMA'-S TREASURE.
Cuitlahua was crowned emperor of the
Aztecs, in succession of his brother Mon
. terama, while I lay sick with thc wound
given me by the sword of De Garcia and
also with that which I had received on the
altar of sacrifice. This hurt had found no
time to heal, and in the fierce fighting on
thc night of fear it burst open and liled
much. Indeed it gave me trouble for years,
and to this hour I feel it in the autumn
season. Otomie, who nursed me tenderly,
and, so strange is the heart of woman, even
seemed to be consoled in her sorrow at the
loss of her father and nearest kin, because
I had escaped the slaughter and won fame,
told me of the ceremony of the crowning,
which was splendid enough. Indeed the
Aztecs were almost mad with rejoicing be?
cause the Teules were gone at last. They
forgot or seemed to forget thc loss of
thousands of their bravest warriors and of
the flower of their rank, and as yet, at any
rate, they did not look forward to the fu?
ture. From house to house and street to
street ran troops of young men and maid?
ens, garlanded with flowers, crying: "The
Teules are gone; rejoice with us! The
Teules are fled!" and woe to them who
were not merry-aye, even though their
houses were desolate with death. Also the
statues of. the gods were set up again on
the great pyramid and their temples re?
built, the holy crucifix that the Spaniards
had placed there being served as the idols
Huitzel and Tezcat had been served, and
tumbled down the sides of thcteocalli, and
that after sacrifice of some Spanish prison?
ers who had been offered in its presence.
It was Guatemoc himself who told me of
this sacrilege, but not with any exulta?
tion, for I had taught him something of
our faith, and though he was too gcod a
heathen to change his creed, in secret he
believed that the God of the Christians
was a true and mights God. Moreover,
though he was obliged to countenance
them, like Otomie, Guatemoc never loved
the horrid rites of human sacrifice.
Now, when I heard this tale my anger
overcame my reason, and I spoke fiercely,
saying:
"I am sworn to your cause, Guatemoc,
my brother, find I am married to your
blood, but I tell you that from this hour
it is an accursed cause. Because of your
blood stained idols and your priests it is
accursed. That God whom you havo dese?
crated and those who serve him shall
come back in power, and he shall sit
where your idols sat, and none shall stir
him forever."
Thus I spoko, and my words were true,
though I did not know what put them in?
to my heart, since I spoke at random in
my wrath, for today Christ's church
stands upon the site of the place of sacri?
fice in Mexico, a sign and token of his
triumph over devils, and there it shall
?tand while tho world endures.
4'You speak rashly, my brother," Gua?
temoc answered proudly enough, though
I saw him quail at the evil omen of my
words. "I say you speak rashly, and were
you overheard there are those, notwith?
standing the rank we have given you, the
honor which you have won in war and
council, and that you have passed the
stone of sacrifice, who might force you to
look again upon the faces of the beings
you blas?neme. What worse thing has
De?n done to your Christian God than ?as
been done again and again to our gods by
your white kindred ? But let us talk no
more of this matter, and I pray you, my
brother, do not utter such ill omened
words to me again, lest it should strain
our love. Do you, then, believe that the
Tooles will return?"
"Aye, Guatemoc, so surely as tomor?
row's sun shall rise. When you held Cor?
tes in your hand, you let him go, and
since then he has won a victory at Otom
pan. Is he a man, think you, to sheath
the sword that he has once drawn and go
down Into darkness and dishonor? Be?
fore a year is past the Spaniards will be
back at the gates of Tenoctitlan. "
"You are no comforter tonight, my
brother," said Guatemoc, "and yet I fear
that your words are true. Well, if we
must fight, let us strive to win. Now, at
least, there is no Montezuma to take the
viper to his breast and nurse it till it
stings him." Then ho rose and went in
silence, and I saw his heart was heavy.
On the morrow of this talk I could leave
my bed, and within a week I was almost
well. Kow it was that Guatemoc came to
mo again, sayirg that he had been bidden
by Cuitlahua, the emperor, to command
me to accompany him, Guatemoc, on a
service of trust and secrecy. And indeed
the nature of the service showed how great
a confidence the leaders of the Aztecs now
placed in me, for it was none other than
the hiding away of the treasure that had
been recaptured from the Spaniards on the
night of fear, and with it much more
from tho secret stores of tho empire.
At the fall of darkness we started, some
of the great lords, Guatemoc and I, and
coming to the water's edge wo found 10
large canoes, each laden with something
that was hidden by cotton cloths. Into the
canoes we entered secretly, thinking that
none saw us, three to a canoe, for there
were SO of us in all, and led by Guatemoc
we paddled for two hours or more across
the Lake Tezcuco till we reached the far?
ther shore at a spot where this prince had
a fair estate. Here we landed, and the
cloths were withdrawn from the cargoes of
the canoes, which were great jars and
sacks of gold and jewels, besides many
other precious objects, among them a like?
ness of the head of Montezuma, fashioned
in solid gold, which was so heavy that it
was as much as Guatemoc and I could do
to lift between us. As for the jars, of
which, if my memory serves me, there
were 17, six men must carry each of them
hythe help of paddles lashed on either
side, and then the task was not light. All
this priceless stuff we bore in several jour?
neys to the crest of a rise some hundred
paces distant from the water, setting it
down by tho mouth of a shaft behind the
shelter of a mound of earth. When every?
thing was brought up from the boats,
Guatemoc touched me and another man,
a great Aztec noble, born of a Tlascalan
mother, on the shoulder, asking us if we
were willing to descend with him into the
hole and thereto dispose of the treasure.
"Gladly," I answered, for I was curious
to see the place, but the noble hesitated
awhile, though in thc end he came with
us, to his ill fortune.
Then Guatemoc took torches in his hand
and was lowered into the shaft by a rope.
Next came my turn, and down I went,
hanging to the cord like a spider to its
thread, and the whole was very deep. At
length I found myself standing by the
side of Guatemoc at the foot of the shaft,
round which, as I saw by thc light of the
torch he carried, an edging of dried bricks
was built up to the height of a man above
our heads. Besting on this edging and
against the wall of the shaft was a massive
block of stone sculptured with the picture
writing of the Aztecs. I glanced at thc
writing, which I could now read well, and
saw that it recorded the burying of the
treasure in the ?rst year of Cuitlahua,
emperor of Mexico, and also a most fear?
ful curse on him who should dare to steal
it. Beyond us and at right angles to the
shaft ran another passage, 10 paces in
length and high enough for a man to
walk in, which led to a chamber hollowed
in the earth, as large as that wherein I
write today at Ditchingham. By the
mouth of this chamber were placed piles
of adobe bricks and mortar, much as the
blocks of hewn stones had been placed in
that underground vault at Seville where
Isabella de Siguenza was bricked up liv?
ing.
l*Who dug this place?" I asked.
"Those who knew not what they dug, "
answered Guatemoc. "But see, here is
our companion. Now, my brother, I
charge you be surprised at nothing which
comes to pass, and be assured I have good
reason for anything that I may do. "
Before I could speak again tho Aztec
noble was at our side. Then those above
began to lower the jars and sacks of treas?
ure, and as they reached us one by one
Guatemoc looseu the ropes and checked
them, while the Aztec and I rolled them
down the passage into thc chamber, as
here in England men roll a cask of ale.
For two hours and more we worked till
at length all were down, and the tale was
complete. The last parcel to be lowered
was a sack of jewels that burst open as it
came and descended upon us in a glitter?
ing rain of gems. As it chanced, a great
necklace of emeralds of surpassing size
and beauty fell over my head and hung
upon my shoulders.
??Keep it, brother," laughed Guatemoc,
"in memory of this night," and, nothing
loath, I hid the bauble in my breast. That
necklace I have yet, and a stone of it-thu
smallest save one-I gave to our gracious
Queen Elizabeth. Otomie wore it for many
years, and tc : this reason it shall be buried
with me, though its value is priceless, 6C
say those who aro skilled in gems. But,
priceless or no, it is doomed to lie in thc
mold of Ditchingham churchyard, and
may that samo curse which is graved upon
the stone that hides the treasure of the
Aztecs fall upon him who steals it from
my bones.
Now, leaving the chamber, we three en?
tered the tunnel and began the work of
building the adobe wall. When it was of
a height of between two and three feet,
Guatemoc paused from his labor and bade
me hold a torch aloft. I obeyed, wonder?
ing what he wished to see. Then he drew
back some three paces into tho tunnel and
spoke to the Aztec noble, our companion,
byname.
"What is the fate of discovered traitors,
friend?" he said in a voice that, quiet
though it was, sounded very terrible, and
as he spoke he loosed from his side the war
club set with spikes of glass that hung
there by a thong.
Now the Aztec turned gray beneath his
dusky skin and trembled in his fear.
"What mean you, lord?" he gasped.
** You know well what I mean," answer?
ed .Guatemoc In the same terrible voice,
and lifted the club.
Then the doomed man fell upon his
knees crying for mercy, and his wailing
sounded so awful in that deep and lonely
place that in my horror I went near to let?
ting the torch fall.
'.To a foe I can give mercy-to a traitor
none, " answered Guatemoc, and whirling
the club aloft he rushed upon the noble
and killed him with a blow. Then seizing
the body in his strong embrace he cast it
into the chamber with the treasure, and
there it lay still and dreadful among the
gems and gold, the arms, as it chanced,
being wound about two of the great jars
as though the dead man would clasp them
to his heart.
Now I looked at Guatemoc, who had
slain him, wondering if my hour was at
hand also, for I knew well that when
princes bury their wealth , they hold that
few should share the secret.
"Fear not, my brother," said Guate?
moc. "Listen. This man was a thief, a
dastard and a traitor. As we know now,
he strove twice to ? "ray us to the Teules.
More, it was his plan to show this nest of
wealth to them should they return again
and to share the spoil. All this we learned
from a woman whom he thought his love,
but who was in truth a spy set to worm
herself into the secrets of his wicked heart
Now let him take his fill of gold. Look
how he grips it even in death; a white man
could not hug the stuff more closely to his
breast. Ah, Teule, would that the soil of
Anahuac bore naught but corn for bread
and flint and copper for thc points of
spears and arrows; then had her sons been
free forever. Curses on yonder dross, for
it is the bait that sets these sea sharks
tearing at our throats. Curses on it, I say!
May it never glitter more in the sunshine;
may it be lost forever! ' ' And he fell fierce?
ly to the work of building up the walL
Soon it was almost done, but before we
set the last bricks, which were shaped in
squares like the clay lump that we use for
the building of farmeries and hinds' houses
in Norfolk, I thrust a torch through the
opening and looked for the last time at the
treasure chamber that was also a dead
house. There lay the glittering gems,
there, stood upon a jar, gleamed thc gold?
en head of Montezuma, of which the em?
erald eyes 6eemed to glare at me, and
there, his back resting against this same
jar and his arms encircling two others to
the right and left, was the dead man. But
he was no longer dead, or so it seemed to
me-at the least his eyes that were shut
had opened, and they stared at me like
the emerald eyes of the golden statue above
, him, only more fearfully.
Very hastily I withdrew the torch, and
we finished in silence. When it was done,
we withdrew to the end of the passage
and looked up the shaft, and I for one
was glad to see the stars shining in heaven
above me. Then we made a double loop
in the rope, and at a signal were hauled
up till we hung over the ledge where the
black mass of marble rested, the tomb?
stone of Montezuma's treasure and of him
who sleeps among it.
This stone, that was nicely balanced,
we pushed with our hands and feet till
presently it fell forward with a heavy
sound, and catching on the ridge of brick
which had been prepared to receive it shut
the treasure shaft in such a fashion that
those who would enter it again must take
powder with them.
Then we were dragged up and came to
the surface of the earth in safety.
Now one asked of the Aztec noble who
had gone down with us and returned no
more.
''He has chosen to stay and watch the
treasure, like a good and loyal man, till
such time as his king needs it," answered
Guatemoc grimly, and the listeners nod?
ded, understanding all.
Then they fell to and filled up the nar?
row shaft with the earth that lay ready,
working without cease, and the dawn
broke before the task was finished. When
at length the hole was full, one of our corn
There thc body lay still and dreadful
among thc gems and gold.
panions took seeds from a bag and scat?
tered them on the naked earth; also he set
two young trees that he had brought with
him in the soil of the shaft, though why
he did this I do not know unless it was
to mark the spot. All being done, we gath?
ered up the ropes and tools, and embark- j
in g in the canoes came back to Mexico in j
the morning, leaving the canoes at a land- :
ing place outside the city and finding j
our way to our homes by ones and twos, J
as we thought, unnoticed of any.
Thus it was that I helped in the bury- j
ing of Montczuma's treasure, for the sake
of which I was destined to suffer torture J
in days to come. Whether any will help ;
to unbury it I do not know, but till I left '
the land of Anahuac the secret had been
kept, and I think that then, except my?
self, all those were dead who labored with
me at this task. It chanced that I passed
the spot as I came down to Mexico for the
last time and knew it again by the two
trees that were growing tall and strong,
and as I went by with Spaniards at my
side I swore in my heart that they should
never finger the gold by my help. It is
for this reason that even now I do not
write of the exact bearings of tho place
where it lies buried with the bones of the
traitor, though I know them well enough,
seeing that in days to come what I set down
Highest of all in Leavening Pow
Ro>l
Aft?O&Uf
here~might fair into the hands of one of
their nation.
And now, before I go on to speak of the
siege of Mer?co, I must tell of one more
matter-namely, of how I and Otomie, my
wife, went up among the people of the Oto?
mie and won a great number of them back
to their allegiance to the Aztec crown.
It must be known, if my tale has not made
this clear already, that the Aztec power
was not of one people, but built up of sev?
eral, and that surrounding it were many
other tribes, some of whom were in alli?
ance with it or subject to it, and some of
them were its deadly enemies. Such, for
instance, were the Tlascalans, a small but
warlike people living between Mexico and
the coast, by whose help Cortes overcame
Montezuma and Guatemoc. Beyond the
Tlascalans and to the west the great Oto?
mie race lived or lives among its moun?
tains. They are a braver nation than the
Aztecs, speaking another language, of a
different blood and made up of many clans.
Sometimes they were subject to the great
Aztec empire, sometimes in alliance and
sometimes at open war with it and in close
friendship with the Tlascalans. It was to
draw the tie closer between the Aztecs
and the Otomies, who were to the inhabit?
ants of Anahuac much what the Scottish
clans are to the people of England, that
Montezuma took to wife the daughter and
sole legitimate issue of their great chief
or king. This lady died in childbirth, and
her child was Otomie, my wife, heredita?
ry princess of the Otomie. But though
her rank was so great amor g her mother's
people, as yet Otomie had visited them
but twice, and then as a child. Still she
was well skilled in their language and cus?
toms, having been brought up by nurses
and tutors of the tribes, from which she
drew a great revenue every year and over
whom she exercised many rights of royal?
ty that were rendered to her far more free?
ly than they had been to Montezuma, her
father.
Now, as has been said, some of these
Otomie clans had joined the Tlascalans,
andas their allies had taken part in the
war on the side of the Spaniards; there-,
fore it was decided at - solemn council
that Otomie and I, her husband, should
go on an embassy to the chief town of the
nation, that was known as the City of
Pines, and strive to win it back to the
Aztec standard.
Accordingly, heralds having been sent
before us, we started upon our journey,
not knowing how we should be received
at the end of it. For eight days we trav?
eled in great pomp and with an ever in?
creasing escort, for when the tribes of the
Otomie learned that their princess was
come to visit them in person, bringing
with her her husband, a man of the Teules
who had espoused the Aztec cause, they
flocked in vast numbers to swell her ret?
inue, so that it came to pass that before
wo reached the City of Pines we were ac?
companied by an army of at least 10,000
mountaineers, great men and wily, who
made a savage music as we marched. E-:t
with them and with their chiefs as yet we
held no converse, except by way of formal
greeting, though every morning when wc
started on our journey, Otomie in a litter
and I on a horse that had boen captured
from the Spaniards, they set up shouts of
salutation and made the mountains ring.
Ever as we went thc lend, like its people,
grew wilder and more beautiful, for now
we were passing throng!: forests clad with
oak and pine and with many a lovely
plant and fern. Sometimes we crossed
great and sparkling rivers, and sometimes
we wended through gorges and passes of
the mountains, but every hour we mount?
ed higher till at length the climate b
came like that of England, only far mo: J
bright. At last, on the eighth day, we.
passed through a gorge riven in the red:
rock, which was so narrow in places that.
three horsemen could scarcely have ridden
there abreast. This gorge, that is five miles -
long, is the high road to the City of Pines,
to which there was no other access except
by secret paths across the mountains, and.
on either side of it are sheer and towering ;
cliffs that rise to heights of between ljOOO.
and 2,000 feet.
. "Here is a place where a hundred men
might hold an army at bay, " I said to Ot?
omie, little knowing that it would be my
task to do so in a day to come.
Presently the gorge took a turn, and I
reined up amazed, for before me was the
City of Pines in all its beauty. The city
lay in a wheel shaped plain that may
measure 12 miles across, and all around
this plain are mountains clad to their sum?
mits with forests of oak and cedar trees.
At the back of tho city and in the center
of the ring of mountains is one, however,
that is not green with foliage, but black
with lava, and above the lava white with
snow, over which again hangs a pillar of
smoke by day and a pillar of fire by night.
This was the volcano Xaca, or the Queen,
and though it is not so lofty as its sisters,
Orizaba, Popo and Ixtac, to my mind it
is thc loveliest of them all, both because
of its perfect shape and of the colors-pur?
ple and blue-of the fires that it sends
forth at night or when its heart is trou?
bled. The Otomies worshiped this moun?
tain as a god, offering human sacrifice to
it, which was not wonderful, for once the
lava pouring from its bowels cut a path
through the City of Pines; also they think
it holy and haunted, so that none dare set
foot upon its loftier snows. Nevertheless
I was destined to climb them-I and one
other.
Now, in the lap of this ring of moun?
tains and watched over by the mighty Xa?
ca, clad in its robe of snow, cs cap of
smoke and its crown of fire, lies, or lay,
the City of Pines, for now it is a ruin, or
so I left it. As to the city itself, it wa?
not BO large as some others that I have
seen in Anahuac, having only a popula?
tion of some thirty and five thousan
souls, since the Otomie, being a race c
mountaineers, did not desire to dwell in
cities. But if it was not great it was one
of the most beautiful of Indian towns, be?
ing laid out in straight streets that met at
the square in its center. All along these
streets were houses, each standing in a
garden and for the most part built of
blocks of lava and roofed with cement of
white lime. Ih_ the midst ,of the^smiare
er.-Latest U. S. Gov't Report