all daughters of caziques: one of these, the niece
of the fat cazique, was given to Cortes, and Puertocarrero was presented
with the daughter of another powerful cazique, whom they called Cuesco.
All these young women were finely dressed out after the fashion of the
country: they wore beautiful shifts, had golden chains about their
necks, golden rings in their ears, and had other Indian females to wait
upon them.

When the fat cazique presented these, he said to Cortes, "_Tecle_,
(which signifies sir, in their language,) these seven women are intended
for your chief officers, and this my niece, who herself holds dominion
over a country and a people, I have destined for you." Cortes joyfully
accepted of the young women, and returned thanks to the chiefs,
remarking, at the same time, that he should gladly recognize in these
women, the bonds of brotherly union between us. But now they should
likewise renounce their idols, and no longer bring them human
sacrifices. It grieved him sorely whenever he reflected on the monstrous
heresy in which they lived; henceforth he would neither see nor hear of
these abominations, of human sacrifices and unnatural offences: then
only could a permanent and brotherly union subsist between us. Above all
things the women must be converted to Christianity, before we could
think of taking them. Further, all unnatural crimes must be put a stop
to, and young men must cease to go about in female garments, to make a
livelihood by such cursed lewdness. Indeed, hardly a day passed by that
these people did not sacrifice from three to four, and even five
Indians, tearing the hearts out of their bodies, to present them to the
idols and smear the blood on the walls of the temple. The arms and legs
of these unfortunate beings were then cut off and devoured, just in the
same way we should fetch meat from a butcher's shop and eat it: indeed I
even believe that human flesh is exposed for sale cut up, in their
_tiangues_, or markets.

"All these atrocities," added Cortes, "must cease from this moment; then
only could our union be sincere, and should we be able to make them
lords over additional countries." To this the caziques, the papas, and
all the other personages answered, "That it would be impossible to
abolish their idols and the human sacrifices: for everything that was
good they received from these idols; they made their seeds grow and
granted them all necessaries; but with regard to the unnatural cri