Chapter Twenty-Two: BETWEEN THE SMOKING MOUNTAIN AND THE SLEEPING WOMAN

The next morning, Cortez assembled the Cholulan caciques, commanders, nobles, and priests, together with the Tlaxcalan commanders, in the freshly swept courtyard.  Mounted on his horse, he had the Mesheeka ambassadors standing on one side, and Malinali on the other.  Behind him were arrayed his officers, resplendent in polished armor, and a contingent of Totonac warriors led by Mamexi, all in their finest feather headdresses.  Cortez began speaking to the Cholulans sternly:

"Two days ago, the king of Cholula was guilty of a great treachery, which he and his followers paid for with their lives.  The entire city of Cholula deserves to be destroyed for this treachery, and your enemies of Tlaxcala wished to do so.  But you are subjects of the Lord Montezuma, and it is out of my respect for him that I will forgive Cholula.  I will pardon and forgive Cholula on one condition:  that the Cholulans make peace with Tlaxcala.  Nobles and leaders of Cholula:  have you chosen one among you to now be your king?"

A tall man stepped forward, enrobed in a beautifully feather-embroidered mantle.  "I am he," he announced.  "I am Tlachiac (lord of what is below), brother to Tlaquiach."

Cortez called Chief Chichimecatecle forward to stand next to Tlachiac.  "Do you both, in the name of your peoples, forswear war and violence against each other, and pledge there will be forever more peace between Cholula and Tlaxcala?"  he asked them.

They both answered, "I do so forswear, I do so pledge, in the name of my people."

Malinali raised her voice with Cortez’s next words, to be sure everyone in the courtyard heard her.  "From this day forward, the people of Cholula and Tlaxcala are friends.  Do you all agree?"

There rose a great shout of agreement from the Cholulans, and perhaps a little less enthusiasm from the Tlaxcalans, but the agreement was made.

"I now request," Cortez announced, directing his words to the Cholulans, "that the people of Cholula, many of whom left the city, especially the women and children, to return to their homes and the marketplace.  Assure them that no harm will come to them, they are to have no fear, their lives will be more peaceful than ever."

Cortez paused.  "I have a further request.  The gods of Cholula have proven to be false gods.  You should abandon them, for they have abandoned you, and accept instead the One True God of the Christian faith, accept the Son of God, Jesus Christ, as your Savior, Who loves you and wishes for you to dwell with Him in Heaven.  The evil idols of your temples are not worthy of your worship.  I urge you to destroy them.  Yet even if you do not, your practice of sacrificing your fellow human beings to your gods is over.  Your gods will never again drink human blood. 

"We have heard of many prisons near your temples, cages with thick wooden beams full of captured men and boys – boys!  children! – being kept and fattened for sacrifice.  I have ordered my men to search the city for these prisons and release these prisoners.  Anyone attempting to prevent them from releasing these prisoners will be killed.  Anyone, any priest, who attempts to murder a person in sacrifice to your idols will be killed.  If you do not choose Christ as your Savior, that is your choice.  It will not be forced upon you.  But we will prevent human sacrifice, we will prevent your eating human flesh, by force if necessary.

"My last request is that we be given one of your temples that we may clean and erect a cross, the symbol of our Savior, where we and those among you who choose Christ may worship."

Cortez did not wait for the Cholulans to agree.  He turned in his saddle to address the Mesheeka ambassadors, as Malinali stepped to their side of him.  "Emissaries of Lord Montezuma:  I wish for you to carry a message of friendship to your lord.  Please inform him that the people of Cholula, to whom we came in peace and upon your insistence – for we were warned not to come here by our Tlaxcalan friends – treacherously planned to kill us, but that we have punished those guilty of this plot.  Even worse, the Cholulan king said this treachery was at Lord Montezuma’s command, as the Cholulans are his subjects.

"Please inform Lord Montezuma that we do not believe this slander, for we know such a noble prince as he would never conspire in such a cowardly fashion.  We know that Lord Montezuma is not a man of cowardice and foul treachery, but a man of strength and honor, whose promise of friendship towards us can be trusted.  This is why our Lord, His Majesty King Don Carlos of Spain, ordered us to cross many seas and distant lands to meet and speak with him.  This we shall do, and thus we shall soon be on our way to his city, to give him a complete account of what our King Don Carlos has commanded us to do."

*  *  *  *  *

The messengers were sent to Tenochtitlan, and over the next several days, Cholula was re-peopled and life returned to normal.  In the marketplace, the famous red and black pottery was being sold in abundance – Malinali was told that Montezuma himself would only eat food served on Cholulan plates.  Food was also in abundance and the Spaniards were well fed.

The Mesheeka messengers returned with six high nobles carried on litters by slaves.  Laying ten large plates of solid gold, an array of gold ornaments, and over a thousand feather-embroidered cotton cloaks before Cortez, then touching the ground before him in reverence, the highest of the nobles spoke:

"Malinche, our Lord the Great Montezuma sends you these gifts and asks that you accept them with the great affection he has for you and your people.  The trouble caused by the Cholulans weighs heavily on him, and he is happy you punished them as they deserve.  For the Cholulans are an evil and lying people, as they have proved by blaming him for their wickedness.  He wishes to assure you of his friendship, and that you are welcome in Tenochtitlan.  Although there will be little food to eat in the city, he will do you all the honor that is possible as his guest.  Further, he has ordered all the towns through which you will pass on the way to Tenochtitlan to give you all that you need."

Cortez had wine served to them all, presented them with a number of glass beads, told them of his gratitude for the gift – "greater than any amount of gold or feathers" – of Montezuma’s friendship, and announced that departure for Tenochtitlan would be the following morning.

That night, preparing to retire, Cortez wondered why Malinali was not there.  She was not present at supper, and had been gone all evening.  Unable to sleep, he had lain in bed awake until almost midnight when Malinali came in to slip into bed beside him.  "You missed a wonderful party," she said teasingly.  "But then, you weren’t invited."

Cortez was not going to snap at the bait.  He simply looked at her silently as the flicker of the candlelight danced across her face.  "In truth, I wasn’t invited either," she admitted, "but it still was my fiesta, my party."

Cortez could see the excitement in her eyes.  She could hardly wait to tell her secret, so his silence continued.

"As you know, my Captain, I have made many friends here.  The commander and his wife – the old lady who wanted me to marry her son – feel they owe me their lives.  So I told them to have a special dinner ­fiesta for the Mesheeka emissaries and messengers, with the best food and much pulque.  It is stronger than your wine, and only the priests are supposed to use it for rituals.  But I had my Cholulan hosts convince their guests tonight was an exception.  The pulque  made the Mesheeka tongues very loose, and they talked among themselves freely, because the Cholulans left them alone to enjoy themselves.  Of course, there were Cholulan servants who were serving them, but to them the Mesheeka paid no attention.

"The servants, however, were paying much attention to every word of the Mesheeka, for I had paid them well to do so.  So now, my Captain…" she snuggled close to him… "I get to tell you Mesheeka secrets."

Cortez held her tightly and sighed.  "Ah, Doña Marina, you are the most astonishing woman I have ever known."  He looked into her eyes.  "And the most beautiful."  He moved to kiss her, then pulled back.  "No… my desire for you can wait.  You are excited to tell me what you have learned, and I must not delay your excitement."

She snuggled closer.  "Yes, I am excited – and pleased with myself.  But what I learned you may not think too pleasing.  The Mesheeka talked of Montezuma making sacrifices to Huitzilopochtli and asking the god and his priests what to do.  The priests’ answer was for Montezuma to invite us into his island city, and that once we are there he can kill us all whenever he chooses.  The Mesheeka all laughed about how Montezuma would trap us so much better than ‘the stupid King Tlaquiach,’ as they called him. 

"But then they stopped laughing, and talked of the fear and panic among the people of Tenochtitlan, when they heard of how you dealt with the trap of Cholula.  They are saying in  the streets that you must be the invincible Quetzacoatl, returning to vanquish their gods as Quetzacoatl promised long ago.  So the fiesta tonight ended not with laughter but in silence, as the Mesheeka kept drinking pulque until they fell down asleep."

She reached over to blow out the candle, then whispered into his ear, "That is what I learned… and now your desire for me need not wait any longer."

*  *  *  *  *

As the Spaniards assembled the next morning for their departure[1], Chiefs Chichimacatecle and Mamexi asked to speak to Cortez.  The Tlaxcalan spoke first. 

"Malinche, we know of your intention to enter Tenochtitlan.  We do not think this wise, for it is an island with countless Mesheeka warriors from which none of you may escape alive.  Because of our fear for you and our friendship with you, the Army of Tlaxcala wishes to accompany and protect you with 10,000 of its finest warriors."

 Cortez rose from his chair to grasp Chichimacatecle by the shoulders.  "I am so honored by your friendship," he replied.  "Yet your fear for me is matched by mine for you.  I fear that such a large host of warriors who are enemies to the Mesheeka in their territory, in their very city, would be too great a provocation for them.  A smaller number, say one or two thousand, would not be a provocation, yet be of great help to us in transporting our equipment and guarding us.  Is this acceptable?"

The Tlaxcalan chief immediately agreed.  He departed and Mamexi came forward.  "Malinche," he began with a tone of regret, "I come to inform you that we Totonacs must return to Cempoala.  It is our fear that the Great Montezuma will most certainly order our deaths if we accompany you to Tenochtitlan, for has not forgiven us for ceasing to pay him tribute and imprisoning his calpixque tax-men."

Malinali saw the flash of concern in Cortez’s eyes.  "Doña Marina, please explain to Chief Mamexi, to whom I and all of my men owe so much, that he need not have the slightest fear of coming to any harm, for as he will be in my company, the Mesheeka will not dare annoy the Totonacs.  I ask that he reconsider."

After she translated these words, she added, "Chief Mamexi, the Spaniards have come to look upon their Totonac allies as their brothers and with great affection.  Please stay with us.  Your men should know that besides the great affection Captain Cortez has for them, he promises that they shall be rewarded with Mesheeka riches."

Mamexi did not budge.  "We have made a decision, and that is to return to our homes," he stated firmly.  "But Malinche should know that there will always be a home for him among the Totonacs."

Hearing this, Cortez responded, "Doña Marina, tell the chief I regret his decision but I respect it.  He and the Totonacs have done me great service for which I and His Majesty King Don Carlos of Spain will always be grateful.  But he and his men shall not leave for their homes with only my gratitude.  I shall order that many loads of embroidered cotton mantles be distributed among them.  I wish also that Chief Mamexi take two loads of mantles to my friend King Tlacochcalcatl, and two for himself, and… ah, yes, two for my, ah, wife Doña Catalina and her family."

*  *  *  *  *

The gigantic mountain that loomed above Cholula in a mantle of white had been smoking for the last several days.  A huge plume of smoke was spewing from its summit, and its  roars and shudders could be heard and felt below.  As the Spaniards were about to depart, Diego de Ordaz approached Cortez with a request.

"Captain, the mountain above us is well-named:  Popocatepetl[2] (po-po-kah-tay’-pettle), the Smoking Mountain.  It is a volcano, like Vesuvius in Italy or Etna in Sicily, which some of our men have seen but never climbed upon.  It is my desire to climb upon it, for no man I know has done such a thing, especially when the mountain is exploding.  Further, from the heights, I may be able to look down upon this fabled city of the Mesheeka and give you a good account of it."

Cortez was pleased.  "Captain Ordaz, what a noble request!  Of course, I grant it.  My only request in return is that you come back to us in one solid piece.  But… do you propose to do this alone?"

"No, sir.  Gutierre de Casamori will be my companion, and the Tlaxcalans will be getting us guides from a village near the mountain."

Cortez nodded.  "We shall be passing close to the mountain on our way.  Your report should be very useful to us.  Via con Dios!"

Malinali had discussed the route with Cortez after long talks with Chichimacatecle.  There was a wall of mountains between them and Tenochtitlan.  The easiest way was to go south, below the mountains, then northeast up to the city.  But easiest meant the most expected by the Mesheeka.  To go around the mountains to the north was too far.  There was another way, the hardest and least expected:  through the mountains, and over a high pass between Popocatepetl and another huge mountain called Iztaccihuatl[3] (Iksh-tox-see-wattle), the Sleeping Woman.  Cortez decided the least expected was the best.

The expedition set out from Cholula in a joyous mood, rested, well-fed, and expectant.  It reached the good-sized town of Calpan by the end of the day.  The town’s elders, along with those from Huexotzinco, were waiting to greet Cortez.  After the priests fumigated him and the officers, they addressed him:

"Malinche, we welcome you to Calpan.  As you are brothers to our brothers of Tlaxcala, you are our brothers as well.  Which is why we must warn you of the trap prepared for you.  You intend to take the high road between the two mountains.  When you come to the top of this road and begin your journey down, you will find not one, but two roads, one leading to the town of Chalco, the other to the town of Amecameca.  You will find the road to Amecameca blocked with huge trees cut down by the Mesheeka to prevent you from taking it.  The Mesheeka intend for you to take the road to Chalco, for on this road they have prepared a great ambush for you, with many warriors waiting to fall upon you and kill you all."

Cortez immediately called for wine to be served and glass beads to be presented to the elders.  Thanking them profusely for their advice, he also expressed surprise, as he had chosen this route because it would be unexpected by the Mesheeka.

The elders smiled to themselves.  "Yes, they thought you would go the easy way below the mountain, and had prepared a huge trap for you there.  But when they learned you would come this way, the Great Montezuma, we are told, became very frightened.  You must know that he thinks you are Quetzacoatl returning to destroy his gods.  When Quetzacoatl was defeated by Tezcatlipoca[4], he fled over this very road you intend to use. 

"All Mesheeka know this story, and of how Quetzacoatl’s dwarf and hunchback servants froze to death at the top of the road, which is why they call it the Pass of Quetzacoatl[5].  How else, then, could you choose to use this hard way and not the easy way, if you are not the Feathered Serpent?  So, shaking with fear, he ordered warriors to race to the mountain, block one path and sweep clean the other, and wait to ambush you."

Cortez glanced at Malinali, then shook his head slowly.  "With every time I hear of this Montezuma, the stranger he becomes.  Yes, it is true that I have come to kill his gods – but you must know that I am not a god myself but human just like you."

They smiled gently at him.  "Yes, we know this, Malinche.  Our Tlaxcalan brothers have told us.  This is why we have warned you, for what need would a god have of our warnings?"

Malinali could not help laughing as she translated this, and soon everyone was laughing with her, Cortez the loudest.  He asked for more wine for his friends from Calpan. 

Starting off at dawn the next morning, the Spaniards reached the top of the pass by noon.  Just as the elders in Calpan described, there were two roads, one blocked with newly-felled trees, the other freshly swept clean.  They were in clouds and mists, and it began to snow.  The Tlaxcalans set to work removing the huge trees from the path, and within a few hours the way was clear.  Marching down upon it, the expedition came upon a number of stone shelters to spend the night.  Cortez posted sentries and sent out scouting parties, making sure no Mesheeka were about.

As they were embarking the next morning, Diego de Ordaz arrived, excited with news and his men bearing large heavy loads in cloth sacks. 

"The great mountain has been climbed, my Captain!" he announced proudly.  "On our way up, it threw up long tongues of fire, burnt stones that have no weight, and plumes of ash.  The entire mountain shook, but soon this was over, and we made our way up through the snow.  There is no summit at the top but a huge crater, very round and a half-league wide.  We were far above the clouds, the air was very clear, and we could see a  new world in the valley below, with a giant lake ringed with cities and towers, and in the middle of the lake, a very great city which must be Tenochtitlan.  It was the most wondrous sight!  Yet better than this sight was this discovery…"

He bade his Tlaxcalan guides set down their loads and opened one of them.  Out poured yellow dirt.

"Sulfur, my Captain!  For making gunpowder!  We were only able to get this much, but there is far more on the walls inside the crater that we could see."

Ordaz beamed with pride and could tell Cortez was impressed.  "You have done well, Diego, very well.  My congratulations!  This feat of yours shall be remembered.  Stories shall be told about it, perhaps a song or poem – or commemorated on the coat-of-arms your family shall be granted for the title and estates you shall have in this land one day[6]."

When the Spaniards reached the town of Amecameca, a great crowd awaited them.  A number of elders had assembled in the central square, and approached Malinali.  One of them whispered, "You are the woman we have heard so much of, the one who is named Malina and because of you we call your leader Malinche.  We have heard we can trust you.  Please tell Malinche we must speak with him quietly, so that no spies of Montezuma, no Mesheeka ambassadors who are with you, may hear us."

The elders led Malinali and Cortez into a corner of the plaza shaded by trees.  Cortez had guards placed so that no one disturbed them.  The elders poured their story out:

"We have come from many cities and towns to speak with you, from here in Amecameca, and from Chalco, Chimaluancan, Tlamanalco, Ayotzingo, and others.  We are all the Chalca people, who have been here long before the Mesheeka came and made us their subjects.  The Mesheeka calpixque rob us of all we have.  If our daughters or wives are beautiful,  the Mesheeka will violate them in front of their fathers and husbands, then carry them away.  Our men are made their slaves, to carry wood and stone and maize for them.  Our children and young men are carried away for sacrifice to their gods.  Malinche!  We have heard of your making other people like the Totonacs free of the Mesheeka.  We ask that you do the same for us."

Cortez looked at each of them intently and in turn.  He turned to Malinali.  "Doña Marina, please tell them I am honored by their request, that I have been sent here by my King to achieve their wishes.  That I can only do so if they will listen to the words of our holy men who will instruct them to be Christians.  That they must abandon the worship of any gods who are like those of the Mesheeka and drink human blood.  Tell them I must ask for their patience, for I and my men are about to enter Tenochtitlan to instruct Lord Montezuma to abandon his evil ways.  I promise them they will one day be free of the Mesheeka."

When Malinali told them of Cortez’s words, adding that "Malinche always keeps his promises," the leaders wept in gratitude. 

Two days later, well cared-for, well-fed, and well-rested, the expedition was ready to embark when an elaborate delegation of Mesheeka arrived, bearing a man on a litter dressed in incredible feather finery.  The men before him spread out  a treasure of gold ornaments, quetzal feathers, and feather-embroidered cotton mantles before Cortez, then announced that the Great Montezuma himself had come at last to see Malinche.

Malinali and Cortez cast skeptical glances at each other.  "Tell them we are honored, then ask our Chalcan friends if this is truly Montezuma," Cortez bade her.

Malinali soon confirmed that the man was an impostor.  As the man got off the litter and stood in front of Cortez, Malinali asked, "You are truly the Great Montezuma?"

"Yes, I am Montezuma, Lord of all Mesheeka, Lord of the World," he grandly replied.

Cortez laughed.  "Whoever you are, I ask that you go back to your home.  Why do you lie to us?  Why are you here?  It cannot be that your Lord Montezuma sent you to trick us, that he could be so foolish to think we can be made stupid, that we can be flattered, that our gaze can be misdirected, that we can be made to turn back, or destroyed, or dazzled.  Who are you, for you are not Montezuma!"

The man’s eyes flared in anger and started to speak when Malinali cut him off.  Shaking her head, she looked him in the eye and said, "The game is over.  It will be much better if you tell the truth."

He looked away from Malinali’s stare and wilted.  "I am Tziuacpopocatzin (tzee-wok-popo-cot-zin), cousin to Lord Montezuma.  He thought you would be satisfied by thinking you had seen him, and with the promise of much gold and silver and chalchihuites in tribute to your Lord, you would not advance further but return from whence you came."

As she listened to this confession, Malinali noticed that the Chalcans with them were very disturbed, glancing about with looks of fright and terror.  She asked them what was wrong. 

"The Mesheeka have brought a number of tlacatecolotl – owl-men wizards, and teipitzani – evil-blower sorcerers, to curse you and us all, to make us all sick and die," came their answer.

Cortez exploded in anger.   "How dare you!" he thundered at the Montezuma impostor.  He drew his sword.  "I should cut you down where you stand!"  He looked over at the trembling Chalcans.  "Doña Marina, tell them these wizards and sorcerers are frauds.  Their magic is as worthless as their gods.  They have no power over the Spaniards and I promise they will have no power over the Chalcans."

He looked back at the impostor.  After Malinali finished reassuring the Chalcans, he pointed his sword at him and said in a voice of quiet rage, "You take your wizards, who are as false as you are, and leave.  Leave now or I will have every one of you killed."

As Malinali translated his words, Cortez looked over to Pedro de Alvarado, who drew his sword as did all the officers standing near.  "And when you return to your city, please inform your Lord Montezuma that he cannot hide from us, he cannot take refuge from us, that I will hear no more messages from him that on one day welcomes us and the next begs us to stay away.  Please inform your Lord Montezuma that we are coming to see him.  We shall not fail to look him in the face.  He shall hear what I have to say to him."

Cortez sheathed his sword and the officers followed.  Too shaken and terrified to utter a word of reply, the impostor had to be helped back onto his litter, and within seconds he and his entourage were on their way.

Cortez turned to the Chalcans with his arms spread wide and smiled.  "You see, my friends, there is nothing to fear.  It is the wizards who are frightened of us, not we of them.  They will never harm you again."

[1]   November 1, 1519.

[2]   17,925 ft.

[3]   17,159 ft.

[4]   See Chapter 7.

[5]   Now known as the Pass of Cortez, or Paseo de Cortes.  At an altitude of 13,000 ft., it is the starting point for mountain climbers to ascend either Popo or Izta

[6]   This coat-of-arms, depicting a volcano emitting flames, was granted to the House of Ordaz by Charles V in 1525.