The Early Days Of A Famous Cavalier

The island elysium which Columbus had discovered, and of which he wrote

and conversed in the most glowing terms, seemed like a fairy-land of

promise to the people of Spain, and hundreds of adventurers soon crossed

the seas, hopeful of winning gold and ready for deeds of peril and daring

in that wonderful unknown land. Some of them were men of wealth, who were

eager to add to their riches, but the most of them had little beyond thei

love of adventure and their thirst for gold to carry them across the seas,

needy but bold soldiers and cavaliers who were ready for any enterprise,

however perilous, that might promise them reward. The stories of many of

these men are full of romantic interest, and this is especially the case

with one of them, the renowned Hernando Cortez.



We propose here to deal with the interesting early history of this most

famous of the New World conquerors. The son of a Spanish captain, of good

family, his buoyant spirit and frolicsome humor led him into many wild

escapades while still a boy. The mystery and romance of the strange land

beyond the sea and the chance to win gold and glory which it offered were

fascinating to a spirit like his, and he was prevented from taking part in

an expedition when but seventeen years of age only by an unlucky accident.

As he was scaling a wall one night, in an adventure like that of Romeo and

Juliet, the stones gave way and he was thrown violently to the ground and

buried under the ruins. Before he got out of bed from his hurts the fleet

had sailed.



Two years longer the ambitious boy remained at home, engaged, perhaps, in

similar pranks, but at length another chance offered, and in 1504 he set

sail for the land of promise, still a youth of only nineteen years of age.

He did not get across the sea without adventure. Quintero, the captain of

his ship, bound for Hispaniola and a market, stole away from the rest of

the squadron, hoping to reach port and sell his cargo before the others

arrived. But fierce gales came to punish him; for many days the vessel was

tossed about, the sailors not knowing where they were, and furious at the

treachery of their captain. At length, one morning, hope returned to them,

in the form of a white dove that lighted on the foremast-top. When the

bird had rested it took to flight again, and by following its course the

weary mariners finally came to the port they sought. But the captain was

paid for his treachery by finding that the other vessels had arrived

before him and sold their cargoes.



The young adventurer was full of ambitious hope. When the governor's

secretary told him that no doubt he would be given a good estate to settle

on, he replied, "But I came to get gold; not to till the soil, like a

peasant."



As no gold offered, however, he was glad enough to accept the land, but

his fondness for active deeds clung to him, and he took part in the

military expeditions sent out to fight with the rebel natives. He had his

quarrels, too, and his duels about the love of fair ladies, and received

wounds whose scars he carried to the grave. A nobler opening for his valor

came in 1511, when an expedition set out for the conquest of Cuba. Cortez

enlisted under the leader, Diego Velasquez, whose favor he won by his

courage and activity, his cordial and lively disposition, and the good

humor and ready wit which made him a favorite with all he met.



After the island had been conquered, Velasquez was made its governor,

Cortez still being his close friend. But for some reason this friendship

did not last, and when at length a party of discontented men formed a plan

to complain of the acts of the governor to the higher authorities in

Hispaniola, Cortez took part in the conspiracy, and was chosen, from his

fearless spirit, to act as their envoy, it being necessary to perform the

perilous exploit of crossing an arm of the sea over fifty miles wide in an

open boat.



In some way the plot got wind, and, before he could leave the island,

Cortez was arrested by order of the governor and thrown into prison, his

limbs being loaded with fetters. Velasquez even intended to hang him, as

we are told, but was persuaded by his friends not to go so far. These

Spanish governors had the power to do almost anything they pleased, their

distance from home enabling them to act the despot at will, and their

influence at court saving them from evil consequences.






CATHEDRAL OF SAN DOMINGO.





Cortez did not stay long in his prison cell. In some way he managed to

open one of the bolts of his fetters and soon had his limbs free. Then,

turning his irons into tools, he used them to force open the window of his

cell. As he was on the second floor of the building, it was easy for one

so agile as he to reach the ground without injury, and he made his way to

a church near by, where he claimed the right of sanctuary.



When Velasquez heard of the escape of his prisoner he was furious. He did

not dare attempt to take him from the church by force, since the sacred

walls protected all who sought their asylum. But a guard was stationed

close by, with orders to seize the fugitive if he should leave the

sanctuary. With one so careless as Cortez this was sure to be done. A few

days later, as he stood heedlessly sunning himself outside the walls of

the building, one of the guards rushed on him from behind, seized his

arms, and held him till his comrades came to his aid. This man was one of

those who afterwards took part in the conquest of Mexico, during which he

was hung for some offence by Cortez, who perhaps took this opportunity for

revenge.



Once more the reckless young adventurer found himself a fettered captive,

this time being put on board a vessel that was to sail the next morning

for Hispaniola, where Velasquez designed he should be tried for his

offence. But he proved a very hard prisoner to hold. That night, with much

pain and difficulty, he managed to pull his feet out of the irons that

held them, and then stole cautiously to the deck, where he found a boat

floating by the vessel's side. Slipping down into this, under cover of the

darkness, he cut loose and paddled silently away.



When near the shore he met with a rapid current and rough waters, to which

he was afraid to trust the boat. Being an expert swimmer, he thought it

safest to breast the water himself, and boldly plunged overboard. He found

his task a hard, almost a fatal one; the current threatened to sweep him

away, but after a long struggle with the waves he succeeded in reaching

the shore, in a state of almost complete exhaustion. He now sought the

church again, no doubt resolving this time to keep safely within its

sacred shelter.



The story goes on to state that the governor, worked upon by friends of

the culprit, offered him forgiveness, which the incensed young cavalier

was too proud to accept. What followed is amusing. Velasquez was at a

distance from the capital, on a military excursion, when one evening he

was startled in his tent by the appearance of his enemy, completely armed

and threatening in aspect. In dismay, the governor asked him what he

wanted. Cortez replied, angrily, that he was tired of being treated like a

felon, and that he must have an explanation or he would know the reason

why. Velasquez answered as angrily, and a hot altercation followed. But at

length their talk became more friendly, and in the end their old amicable

relations were resumed and they embraced like a pair of lovers. The

amusing part of the story is this: When a messenger arrived to tell the

governor that Cortez had left the sanctuary and disappeared, he found the

governor and the culprit both fast asleep in the same bed.



This story seems doubtful, but at any rate they became friends again, and

Cortez was given a large estate in Cuba, which he stocked with cattle, and

on which he found gold-mines, which were worked by Indian labor. He

married a beautiful Spanish girl, and, fast growing rich, spent several

years in happy content.



This, with some, would have been the end of a career. It was only the

beginning of that of Cortez, before whom still lay a wonderful history and

a record of undying fame. All we can tell here is how this came about. It

began in expeditions of discovery. Cordova, a Cuban settler, seeking

Indians for slaves in the Bahamas, was blown far westward by a storm, and

reached an unknown shore, where the natives lived in stone buildings,

cultivated the soil, and wore delicate cotton garments and ornaments of

gold. In other ways they showed evidence of civilization. The land thus

reached is that now known as Yucatan.



Velasquez, on seeing the gold which Cordova brought back, sent out a small

fleet under his nephew, Juan de Grijalva, to visit and explore this new

land. Grijalva found evidence that a great civilized nation dwelt inland,

rich in gold and far superior in civilization to any Indians whom the

Spaniards had yet met. He named the country New Spain, and sailed back to

Cuba with an account of his important discoveries.



The news filled Velasquez with hope and joy. Here seemed to be the land of

gold which the Spaniards had so long sought. Here he might win vast wealth

and the glory of adding a new and splendid province to Spain. He at once

began to fit out a much larger expedition, and looked around for a man fit

to command it. Several of the hidalgos, or gentlemen of Cuba, offered

themselves, but none pleased the governor, and at length he settled upon

Cortez as the best man for his purpose. By chance, rather than by

intention, he had made a splendid choice. Cortez was the one man in the

New World, and perhaps the one man at that time in all Spain, fitted by

nature for the difficult task which lay before him. Wild and frivolous as

he had shown himself in youth, all he needed was a great occasion to prove

himself a great man. He was to develop into one of the ablest military

leaders in all history, a man who, on a small scale, was to display a

genius and achieve a success worthy of Caesar or Alexander or any of the

famous soldiers of the world.



But, from another point of view, Velasquez had made a bad choice. Cortez

had disdained his fetters and his prisons, and would soon disdain his

control. His hope to win gain and glory by the aid of this young

adventurer was likely to prove a mere Will-o'-the-wisp.






LANDING-PLACE OF CORTEZ, VERA CRUZ.





The very appointment seemed to change the whole character of the new

admiral. He became a different man. His high spirits now changed to a

tireless energy. He spent his money freely in fitting out the fleet, and

even mortgaged his estate to raise more, and borrowed all he could. He

worked incessantly, and inspired his companions and followers to active

and enthusiastic toil. He was so popular in the island that several

hundred recruits soon flocked to his banner, and six ships, some of them

of large size, were rapidly got ready and stocked with provisions and

military stores.



Yet at the last moment it seemed as if all the labor and cost of Cortez

would go for naught. Velasquez grew suspicious of him, and decided to rob

him of his command and trust the fleet to safer hands. But he was not

dealing with a man who could be played with in this fast and loose

fashion. The secret was whispered to Cortez, and he decided to sail at

once, though he was still short of men, of vessels, and of supplies. That

night he took on board all the meat in the town, weighed anchor, and got

ready to set sail.



At day-dawn the news came to Velasquez that the fleet was about to depart.

In a panic he sprang from his bed, threw on his clothes, mounted his

horse, and rode in all haste to the beach. Cortez entered a boat and rowed

near enough to the shore to speak with him.



"And is this the way you leave me?" cried the angry governor; "a courteous

leave-taking, truly."



"Pardon me," said Cortez; "time presses, and there are some things that

should be done before they are even thought of. Has your excellency any

commands?"



His excellency would have commanded him to come on shore, if it had been

of any use. As it was he had little to say, and with a polite wave of the

hand Cortez returned to his ships. Soon only their vanishing hulls were to

be seen.



The fleet stopped for supplies at Macaca and at Trinidad. At the last

place many men, and several cavaliers who were to prove his ablest

officers, joined him. While there, letters came from Velasquez to the

governor of Trinidad, ordering him ta arrest Cortez, and hold the fleet

for a new admiral who was to command it. The governor looked at Cortez and

his men and concluded that he had better let them alone. They were too

strong for him to deal with.



So once more the bold adventurers escaped from Velasquez and his schemes

and sailed in triumph away, this time for Havana. Here, also, the governor

of the place had received orders to arrest Cortez, and here, also, he did

not dare attempt it. Velasquez also wrote to Cortez, asking him to wait

till he could see him. Hernando Cortez was hardly the fool to pay any heed

to such a letter as that. The lion was hardly likely to trust himself to

the fox. He sent him a very polite and mild answer, saying that he would

not lose sight of the interests of his excellency, and that he and the

fleet, "God willing, would set sail the next morning."



Finally, on the 18th of February, 1519, the fleet lost sight of Cuba at

Cape San Antonio, on the western end of the island. It consisted in all of

eleven vessels, most of them small, and had on board six hundred and

sixty-three soldiers and sailors. A few of these were armed with

cross-bows and only thirteen with muskets, while the horses numbered only

sixteen. In addition there were ten heavy guns and four lighter ones, with

a good supply of ammunition.



Such was the fleet and such the force with which Hernando Cortez set sail

to conquer a powerful and warlike nation. Fortunately the expedition had

one of the world's great commanders at its head, or the enterprise would

have ended in failure instead of leading, as it did, to a wonderful

success.