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peace had been restored between us, the caziques, papas, and other
chiefs, Cortes ordered the fragments of the idols we had destroyed to be
carried away and burnt. These orders were executed by six papas who
came forth from a particular house, into which they carried the broken
pieces and burnt them. The dress of these priests consisted in a long
black cloak, white cassock, without sleeves, which hung down to the
feet, and in a species of hood, which some wore greater, some less in
size. Their dress was completely clogged together with blood, with which
they were besmeared from head to foot, and impeded in their walk: they
likewise smelt most offensively of sulphur and putrid flesh. We
subsequently learnt that these papas were sons of distinguished
personages. They were forbidden to marry, but were wholly given to
unnatural offences, and fasted on certain days. Generally speaking, I
never saw them eat anything else than the seeds of the cotton tree; they
may, however, have partaken of other food for all I know.

When the idols were burnt, Cortes said everything that was edifying to
the Indians by means of our interpreters. "Now," he said, "we could look
upon them as our true brothers, and lend them every powerful assistance
against Motecusuma and the Mexicans, he having already acquainted the
former that he was no longer to make war upon them, nor to exact
tribute. Instead of their idols, he would give them our own blessed
Virgin and Sainte, the mother of Jesus Christ, in whom we believed, and
to whom we prayed, that she might intercede and protect them in heaven."

The Indians listened with great good nature to this and many other
things, which Cortes explained to them, concerning our holy religion.
Every mason in the town was now set to work to bring chalk, which was in
great abundance here, to clean away the blood from the walls of the
cues, and plaster them well over. The day following this work was
finished and an altar erected, which was covered with cotton cloth. The
Indians were likewise ordered to bring a quantity of their splendid and
sweet-scented roses with small branches of trees. Of these a garland was
plaited, which was constantly to be renewed, that the place might remain
pure and undefiled. Four papas were selected by Cortes to take charge of
this; but their hair was previously shorn off, which they wore, as I
have before remarked, very long and bristly; their dirty cloaks were
taken off, and white ones put on, which, with the other part of their
dress, they were in future to keep perfectly clean. In order, however,
that they might have some one to look over them in their new occupation,
Cortes nominated Juan de Torres, an old lame invalid of Cordova, to
dwell near the altar, in the capacity of anchorite. The carpenters
likewise made a cross which we erected on an elevated base, well
plastered over with lime.

The next morning early father Olmedo said mass. A regulation was also
made that in future the copal of this country should be used instead of
our usual incense, and the inhabitants were taught to make wax candles
from the wax of the country; of which, up to this moment, they had made
no manner of use: these candles were always to be kept burning on the
altar. The principal caziques of the district and village attended mass.
But the chief ornaments there were the eight Indian females, who in the
meantime had remained with their parents and relatives. These were now
baptized after an edifying discourse had preceded the ceremony. The
niece of the fat cazique, a very ugly woman, was named Doña Catalina,
and presented to Cortes, who accepted her with every appearance of
delight. The daughter of Cuesco, on the other hand, was most beautiful
for an Indian female, and received the name of Doña Francisca, and fell
to the lot of Puertocarrero. The six remaining young women, whose names
I have totally forgotten, were given to some other of our soldiers.

The mass and baptismal ceremony being concluded, the caziques and
principal personages took their leave, and from this moment the best
feeling subsisted between us, for they were highly delighted that Cortes
had accepted their daughter. We, therefore, returned to our new town
Vera Cruz amidst the most joyous professions of friendship, and we shall
soon see what happened there.

The good reader, however, may feel assured that nothing of any
consequence further took place at Sempoalla than what I have related,
and that herein Gomara and the other historians have completely erred.

CHAPTER LIII.

 _How we arrived in our town of Vera Cruz, and what happened there._

We arrived at Vera Cruz, in company of the most distinguished personages
of Sempoalla, on the same day that a ship had run in there from Cuba.
The captain's name was Francisco de Saucedo, but we always called him
the gallant, from his extravagance in beautifying his outward person,
being altogether a perfect fop. He was said to have been at one time
butler to the admiral of Castile, and was born at Medina de Rioseco.
Along with him were ten soldiers, and a certain Luis Marin, a most
distinguished officer, who afterwards became one of our chief commanders
in the Mexican campaigns. Both the former had horses, one a stallion,
and the other a mare. These men brought us intelligence that Diego
Velasquez had obtained authority from Spain to trade and found colonies
wherever he liked, and was appointed adelantado of Cuba. All this
pleased his adherents excessively, in particular the latter preferment.

The building of the fortress having solely occupied us for a length of
time, and now in such a forward state that we could lay the woodwork, we
began to grow tired of doing nothing. Almost the whole of us, therefore,
addressed Cortes in a body: representing to him, that we had now been
three months in this country, and high time we should just convince
ourselves how much truth there was in the boasted power of Motecusuma,
of which so much had been said: we would gladly risk our lives in it,
and therefore begged he would make preparations for this expedition.
But, previous to commencing our march, we ought first to give some proof
of our most humble submission to his majesty our emperor, by forwarding
him a complete account of everything that had befallen us since our
departure from Cuba. We also proposed that all the gold we had bartered
for, and the presents sent by Motecusuma, should be forwarded to his
majesty.

In answer to which Cortes said, that our ideas accorded exactly with his
own, and that he had already spoken to the same effect to several of the
cavaliers. There was merely one circumstance which caused him to
hesitate, namely, that if each person took the portion of gold which
fell to his share, too little would remain to be worthy of his majesty's
acceptance. For this reason he commissioned Diego de Ordas and Francisco
de Montejo, who were thorough men of business to see what they could
make out of those men whom they might expect would dema

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