al for the
reception of our flotilla which had been of such signal service during the
siege. To the best of my remembrance, Alvarado was appointed alcalde, or
chief magistrate, till the arrival of Salazar de la Pedrada. It was
currently reported that Guatimotzin had thrown great quantities of gold,
silver, and jewels, into the lake four days before his capture, and it was
well known that our allies had got large plunder as well as our own men
who served in the brigantines, and many of us suspected that Cortes was
well pleased that Guatimotzin had concealed much treasure, as he expected
to procure the whole for himself. It was then proposed in the army, that
Guatimotzin and the prince of Tacuba, his most confidential counsellor,
should be put to the torture, to extort confession of where the treasure
was secreted; this horrid act was certainly greatly against the
inclination of Cortes, yet he was forced to leave the unfortunate king and
the lord of Tacuba at the disposal of those avaricious wretches, who
alleged that our general objected to this infernal measure that he might
secure the gold for himself. In answer to all interrogatories on the
subject of the treasure, the royal Mexican officers uniformly protested
that no more existed than what had been produced; which, when melted, did
not exceed the value of 380,000 crowns; so that, when the royal fifth and
that for Cortes were deducted, those of the conquerors who were not
friends to Cortes were exceedingly dissatisfied. All that could be
extorted by the inhuman procedure of torture from the king and prince was,
that they had thrown some treasure into the lake, together with the
muskets and other arms captured during our flight from Mexico in the
preceding year, four days before the surrender. The place indicated was
repeatedly searched to no purpose by our best divers; but a sun of solid
gold, similar to one we got from Montezuma, with many ornaments of small
value, were found in a deep pond near his residence. The prince of Tacuba
declared under the torture that he had buried some gold at a place about
four leagues from Tacuba; but when Alvarado and six soldiers accompanied
him there, of whom I was one, he declared he had no gold, and had only
said so in hope of dying on the road. In fact the treasury was reduced
very low before the accession of Guatimotzin. I and several other good
divers searched that part of the lake which had been indicated by
Guatimotzin, but we