Endurance: 100 Tales of Survival, Adventure and Exploration by Levison Wood

Author:Levison Wood [Wood, Levison]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Literary Collections, General, Travel, Special Interest, adventure, History, Expeditions & Discoveries, Biography & Autobiography, Adventurers & Explorers
ISBN: 9781801102582
Google: 7eF9EAAAQBAJ
Publisher: Head Of Zeus
Published: 2022-08-18T20:34:14+00:00

THE CONQUEST OF THE NEW SPAIN

Bernal Díaz del Castillo

Bernal Díaz del Castillo (c.1496–1584) was a Spanish conquistador and soldier of fortune who wrote one of the most comprehensive firsthand accounts of the conquest of Mexico under Hernán Cortés. Del Castillo wrote critically of Cortés as both a leader and an individual, and was cynical of the project of colonization and conquest of the New World, even while actively participating in it. In this extract, having made landfall on the Yucatán peninsula and come under attack by the people living there, the soldiers decide to retreat – heavily wounded and desperate for water – to Cuba. His account is considered one of the more accurate and reliable descriptions of the trials and tribulations overcome by the conquistadors during the Spanish conquest and provides important firsthand insights into Mesoamerican culture before its downfall.

We resolve to return to Cuba. The extreme thirst we suffered, and all the fatigues we underwent until our arrival in the port of Havannah.

After we had got into our vessels, as above related, and returned thanks to God for our preservation, we commenced dressing our wounds. None of us had escaped without two, three, or four wounds. Our captain had as many as twelve, and there was only one single soldier who came off whole. We therefore determined to return to Cuba; but as most of the sailors who had accompanied us on shore were also wounded, we had not sufficient hands to work the sails, we were therefore forced to set fire to our smallest vessel and leave it to the mercy of the waves, after taking out all the ropes, sails, and anchors, and distributing the sailors, who were not wounded equally among the two other vessels. We had, however, to struggle with another far greater evil. This was our great want of fresh water; for although we had filled our barrels and casks near Potonchan, we did not succeed to bring them off, owing to the furious attack of the natives and the hurry we were in to get on board: thus we had been compelled to leave them behind and return without a single drop of water. We suffered most intensely from thirst, and the only way we could in some measure refresh our parched tongues was to hold the edges of our axes between our lips. Oh, what a fearful undertaking it is to venture out on the discovery of new countries, and place one’s life in danger, as we were obliged to do! Those alone can form any idea of it who have gone through the hard school of experience.

We now kept as close into the shore as possible, to look out for some stream or creek where we might meet with fresh water. After thus continuing our course for three days we espied an inlet or mouth of some river as we thought, and sent a few hands on shore in the hopes of meeting with water. These were fifteen sailors who

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