Chapter Fourteen: Horror and Heaven in Zautla

Preparations for departure were made quickly. Cortez assigned his friend Juan de Escalante as governor of Villa Rica de la Vera Cruz, and Dandy Saucedo’s friend Pedro de Ircio as the community’s procurador. One hundred and fifty men stayed behind to guard Villa Rica, most all of whom were sick, wounded, or sailors with little experience at fighting. Cortez formally assured them they would share in whatever treasure the Entrada was to gain.

One the day of departure (1), Malinali stood next to Cortez as the procession was to begin. Three hundred soldiers were divided into companies of sixty each, captained by Pedro de Alvarado, Velasquez de Leon, Alonso de Avila, Cristobal de Olid, and Gonzalo de Sandoval.

There were some forty men with crossbows and twenty with arquebus muskets. Fifteen officers and captains were mounted on their horses. The men wore their armor, including cotton padding, chain mail, breastplate, Morion helmet, shield, lance, and Toledo sword.

One hundred and fifty Cuban Indian servants handled the war dogs and pulled the six Lombard guns. Behind the men were a thousand Totonac warriors in their cotton armor, their faces painted and hair bedecked with feathers, carrying bows, arrows, and obsidian swords, led by Chief Mamexi. Hundreds more carried the expedition’s food and supplies.

Leading the procession was the Alfarez, the Standard-Bearer, Cristobal del Corral, holding the “Cross of Burgundy,” a white banner with a jagged red X, the flag of King Don Carlos.

It was an amazing, thrilling sight for Malinali, particularly in the bright sunshine of a cloudless morning, against the backdrop of the huge rock face of what the Spaniards called Cerro de las Lluvias, Rain Mount, and the turquoise blue of the sea. She wondered if she would ever see the ocean again. She looked up at Cortez. He seemed to be a man of no qualms, of complete self-confidence.

Then the sun passed behind a cloud she had not noticed in the sky, casting a shadow upon the assembly and upon her heart. She felt a cold fright. The force before her looked impressive now, but it was like a small pond compared to the ocean of warriors Montezuma could assemble. How could such a tiny army hope to accomplish what they were embarking upon? Malinali drew in a sharp breath of sudden fear. This is madness! The Great Montezuma will crush us like a gnat! What chance is there…

Her spiraling down into a pit of panic was interrupted by Cortez, who had turned to look at her. His face expressionless, without a word, he looked into Malinali’s eyes and pulled her out of her spiral. “How does he know what I am feeling?” she asked herself. Somehow he did. Cortez’s glance lasted but a few seconds, yet she found herself straightening her slumped shoulders, and standing tall with an air of regal calm. She vowed to never doubt in Cortez again.

King Tlacochcalcatl and the caciques of a number of Totonac towns were assembled to bade the expedition farewell. Cortez swept off his helmet and waved it to the king with a bow and flourish. “My brother,” he addressed him through Malinali, “I cannot thank you enough for your friendship which I hold dear. I know you will be of good service to the governor of our Villa Rica home, Señor de Escalante, and you will care for my wife, Doña Catalina, in my absence.”

The grotesquely fat Catalina was standing next to the King, and both smiled broadly at Cortez’s charming words. With that, the Entrada began.

Mamexi served as the guide, and advised Cortez to head for the Kingdom of Tlaxcala. “The Tlaxcalans are our allies,” he said, “and have fought for their independence from the Mesheeka better than any other people.” This would take several days and the way was cold and dangerous. Cold? Cortez was surprised. Mamexi pointed to the huge snow-covered mountain in the distance. “Do you see Citlatepetl (seet-la-tay’-pettle)?” (2) He put the flat of his palm near the ground. “We are low, near the sea.” He raised his palm above his head. “Soon we will be in land that rises towards Citlatepetl. Yes, we will be cold.”

It was not so for the first day, as they trudged through forests, and plantations of maize. The trail got steeper, climbing to the towns of Jalapa and Xicochimalco, which the Spaniards called Flower Cities for their profusions of gardens and flowers. The residents, allies of the Totonacs, welcomed the visitors with smiles and food, thanking them for their liberation from Montezuma’s taxes. Mamexi said they could best demonstrate their gratitude by their soldiers joining the Entrada.

Four days after leaving Villa Rica, the expedition stood in front of a mountain mass Mamexi called Nauhcampatepetl (now-campa-tay’-pettle) (3). “We must cross to the left,” he pointed. “Now we get cold.” They climbed along the southern edge of the mountain to a pass Cortez named Nombre de Dios, the Name of God. It was a miserable place of icy mists. They emerged onto a high barren plain full of maguey cactus plants, and spent the night in the open tormented by hail and freezing rain.

The Spaniards called the land Despoblado, desolation, a wasteland with a large salt lake. Trekking to the north of the lake without food or water, they finally reached a string of small communities, in turn, Altotonga, Xalacingo, Teziutlan, and Tlatlauquitepec, none of which had more than a few hundred inhabitants. Yet the townspeople shared food and drink with the travelers.

Turning southwest, they crossed another high pass which the men named La Leña, Firewood Pass, and down along a narrow forested valley to a river Mamexi called Apulco. “We are now in the Kingdom of Xocotlan,” Mamexi announced. “The people here are subjects of Montezuma. Let us see how they greet us.” After what seemed one of the longest weeks of their lives, the Spaniards arrived at the gates of Xocotlan’s capital, Zautla.

Greeting them at the gates was the King of Xocotlan, Olintecle (o-lin-tek’-lay), and a number of Zautla nobles. While Malinali translated his welcome, she noted that underneath his friendly smiles there was both fear and anger. As they were escorted to the plaza, she saw this was a city of many thousands of people, the people well-fed and well-housed. Yet the food the Spaniards were offered was meager and the quarters they were given to sleep in were spare.

Cortez seemed not to notice. What he and all the Spaniards could not help notice was a sight of absolute horror. “It is a tzompantli,” Malinali explained to Cortez who looked at her with shock in his eyes. “A skull rack.”

The Spaniards stood in unmoved silence, staring at row upon row, stack upon stack, of human skulls from sacrificial victims, ringing the plaza. There must have been well over 10,000 skulls, neatly and regularly arranged. In one corner of the plaza near the sacrificial temple their were huge piles of human thigh bones. Three priests in their hooded black gowns, their long hair matted with blood, stood guard over the bone piles.

Cortez told Malinali he wished to speak to King Olintecle. They gathered to converse sitting underneath a huge ceiba tree in a corner of the plaza. “I wish to know,” Cortez said, “if he is a subject of Montezuma’s.” The King was taken aback. “Is there anyone who is not?” came the reply. “Is not Montezuma the ruler of the world?”

Malinali realized Cortez was so infuriated by the sight of the tzompantli that he was unable to affect his usual diplomacy. Now it was her eyes that calmed him, so that at least his words came out quietly.

“Tell him, Doña Marina, that we are proof that Montezuma is not the Lord of the World. We are not his subjects, and neither are our Totonac brothers who accompany us. We are the subjects of His Majesty King Don Carlos of Spain, which lies across the East Ocean.

“Tell him we have come at the request of King Don Carlos to liberate this land from the worship of evil gods and end the evil practice of sacrificing and eating human beings. We have come to bring the faith of the One True God and the worship of His Son, Jesus Christ, who asks only for love, not blood. We have come so that Montezuma may become a subject of King Don Carlos, as he and his people will be happier in so doing.

“Ask him to look at our brothers, the Totonacs. They have ceased their sacrifices and live more peacefully among themselves. I ask, therefore, that he and his people do the same.

“Just as King Don Carlos sends us to command Montezuma not to kill any more of his people nor to rob his subjects and steal their land, so I must command him to desist from his sacrifices, to no longer eat the flesh of his fellow man, and other such evil practices, for such is the will of our Lord God, whom we believe in and worship, the giver of life and death, and who will deliver us to heaven if we obey Him.”

Olintecle and the other nobles made no reply. They sat dazed and mute, far too stunned by such inconceivable words to even think, much less speak. They were also thoroughly unnerved by this woman, whom the Spaniards treated as an equal yet was like them, who calmly and steadily looked directly into the King’s eyes waiting for an answer. No answer came. Olintecle’s eyes shifted away from Malinali’s to stare blankly into space.

Cortez finally broke the silence to turn and say to Padre Bartholomew de Olmedo behind him, “It seems that there remains nothing more to do but set up a cross.”

The Padre quietly objected. “Captain, I think it would be rash to do so this soon. These people know nothing of our religion, and will commit sacrilege against any cross we leave here, and we intend not to tarry here long. It would be best to wait until they have learned more of our holy faith.”

Cortez nodded. “I shall heed your wise advice, Padre. Let us retire, gentlemen.” He stood, together with the officers accompanying him, bowed to King Olintecle still sitting in a daze, and left for the quarters provided him. “It has been a long day – a long week,” he said to his officers. “It will be good to have a roof over our heads for the night.” They dispersed. Malinali stayed. Cortez’s eyes invited her to step inside his room.

* * * * *

For the very first time, Malinali was alone with Cortez. It was what she wasn’t feeling that surprised her. Instead of an emotional tumult of fear, anxiety, heart-thumping excitement, and all the rest she thought would overwhelm her when she dreamed of this moment, instead she felt as serene and calm as still water. They stood soundlessly looking at each other. Cortez, too, seemed filled with her serenity. Finally he spoke. “You are unlike any woman I have ever imagined, Doña Marina.”

“You are unlike any man I ever imagined, my Captain,” came her reply.

“There have been many times when I looked at you and it seemed that your beauty would overcome me,” Cortez told her. “But I had to bury those thoughts, always and quickly. You were assigned to Don Alonso. I had to completely focus on our purpose in this strange land. Then came my duty to that noble and attractive lady, Doña Catalina.”

Malinali couldn’t maintain herself and burst out laughing. She and Cortez laughed so hard tears poured from their eyes. “I must tell you, Captain Cortez, that I laughed myself to sleep many nights thinking of you with that lovely and so-slender lady.” She knew that wasn’t quite true but it did seem so funny now.

“Well, I can tell you, my Doña Marina, that I was not laughing during those endless nights! It is such a relief to be able to laugh about them now.” He clasped her hands. “Especially with you.” His touch jolted her as the spark of his energy ran through her body.

They spoke not another word. It was all Malinali had fantasized it would be. To join her body with that of a man she adored and admired had been a hidden hope. Now it was more than real. She felt transported beyond the earth, that she and Cortez were gods joined together in ilhuicatl, the heavens. This was far beyond physical rapture, it was an act of spiritual rapture. When the final moment came, her soul exploded in fulfillment. As she floated back to earth, she made no attempt to hold back a flood of tears.

Cortez understood. He looked at her with deep tenderness. “Doña Marina,” he whispered as he kissed her cheek, “I have never seen anyone as happy as you are right now.”

She wasn’t ready to return to earth just yet. She closed her eyes to absorb Cortez’s presence next to her. When she opened them he was still looking at her. “You seem quite happy yourself, my Captain,” she said with a twinkle. All Cortez could do was smile contentedly and nod.

They awoke before dawn. Cortez turned to look at her. “I wish for every night from now on to be like this one,” he said. “It is my wish too,” came her reply. She caressed his face with her hand. “But now I have work to do.” Startled, Cortez stammered, “What work?” Smiling as she put on her robe and slipped out of the room, she informed him, “You’ll find out.”

She made her way over to the cooking fires of the Totonacs and engaged Mamexi and a number of his warriors in conversation. Thereafter and throughout the morning, the Totonacs struck up casual talk with a number of Zautla citizens.

When the Totonacs were asked about the loud barking of a Spaniard mastiff that had kept them up all night, and what kind of animal it was – a lion, a jaguar, or what? – the Zautlans were not told that it was a dog belonging to Francisco de Lugo, but instead explained it was a dragon – a dragon the Spaniards had that loved to kill anyone who annoyed them.

The Totonacs told the Zautlans about the Spanish lightning-tubes that could kill huge numbers of enemies at great distances, of their giant deer that could run down and trample enemies to death. When the Zautlans exclaimed the Spaniards must be Teules, gods, the Totonacs encouraged the belief.

“Yes, you are right, they are Teules!” the Zautlans were told. “This is why they captured the calpixque, the tax-gatherers, of your great Montezuma, and ordered that we pay no more taxes and sacrifices to the Mesheeka – and Montezuma sent them presents, not a punishing army in return!”

As the Zautlans eyes widened in shock at this revelation, the Totonacs followed up with, “What is more, they have ended our practice of killing our own people for the gods – we now have the Teules’ gods who want flowers and not blood. They are such good Teules they made peace between Cempoala and Tizapacingo, which were great enemies before. And now they have come here and you have given them nothing. You should run at once and give them offerings of friendship!”

It wasn’t long before Zautlans began walking up to Spaniards with small gifts, such as golden necklaces and pendants, cloth, and maize cakes. As word spread about the supposed true identity of the visitors, Cortez discovered a large crowd following him around – and when it was learned that King Olintecle had asked to speak to him, the crowd proceeded to pick Cortez up and carry him reverently on its shoulders to see their King. Malinali walked beside the crowd with a satisfied look on her face.

As he was set down from the Zautlan shoulders in front of Olintecle, he murmured to Malinali, “Why do I know this is your doing?” “I told you I had work to do,” she murmured back, both of them keeping straight and serious faces. King Olintecle spoke to her. The anger in his voice of yesterday, Malinali noticed, was replaced with a tone of awe.

“He wishes you to know that he is grateful that you and your people have come to visit Xocotlan, that he regrets he was unable to fully welcome you yesterday. He wishes you to know that he and his people will do all they can to provide for you as you rest here on your way to Tenochtitlan.”

“Tell the King that we thank him most gratefully for his hospitality,” was Cortez’s response, “that we wish nothing more than peace and friendship between us and the great kingdom of Xocotlan. Perhaps, if he would like, he could tell us more about Montezuma’s city of Tenochtitlan.”

Olintecle brightened at the opportunity. His hands and arms gestured animatedly with his description. “Tenochtitlan is the best-defended and most beautiful city in the world. It is a huge city of many, many thousands, built in the middle of a giant lake, with homes on poles in the water so you must go to them by canoe or bridges.

“The city can only be entered by three roads built across the water with a number of openings so water can flow through. Each opening has a wooden bridge which can be raised so no one can enter the city. Montezuma has many great palaces in the city and is the richest king in the world, with great stores of gold, silver, chalchihuite jade stones, and much more treasure.

“Tenochtitlan is protected by the largest and strongest army in the world. Montezuma has so many soldiers in his army they are like the leaves of a large forest. The Great Temple of Huitzilopochtli is in the center of the city. Twenty thousand sacrifices a year are made to the Great God, which….”

The King stopped talking as he noticed Cortez was now staring at him with a look of stabbing anger. He smoothly shifted. “I am sure that the Great Montezuma will be pleased to see you and will welcome you to his city as we have welcomed you to ours. We thank you for your offer of friendship between us. Please know that we accept this offer for it is what we desire ourselves.”

Instantly, Cortez’s anger was replaced by a broad smile, a courteous bow, and wide sweep of his hat. “We are now friends and brothers,” he proclaimed. As the crowd heard Malinali’s translation of these words, the Zautlan townspeople again hoisted Cortez on their shoulders and carried him back across the plaza to his headquarters. As word spread among the Spaniards of Olintecle’s description of Tenochtitlan, they became more and more excited to begin marching towards it. But first, Cortez told them, they must make sure about their welcome enroute.

He called for Mamexi, asking him to send four Totonac messengers to Tlaxcala. “I wish for these messengers to explain to the leaders of Tlaxcala,” Cortez told him through Malinali, “that as the Totonacs are friends of the Tlaxcalans, so we are the friends of the Totonacs. That we come in the name of His Majesty King Don Carlos of Spain in order to assist Tlaxcala in her admirable struggle against the tyranny of the butcher Montezuma. That we wish the same friendship with them as they have with the Totonacs.”

After the messengers departed, Cortez then ordered preparations to march on the next day. All afternoon, Cortez did his best to not be distracted from overseeing arrangements and supplies, to refrain from thinking about the night to come. Malinali did the same.

NOTES:

1. August 16, 1519.

2. Now known as Orizaba. At 18,696’, it is Mexico’s highest mountain.

3. Now known as Cofre de Perote, 14,045’.