Arcadia 1 1st Edition Mcdm James Introcaso

download

https://ebookbell.com/product/arcadia-1-1st-edition-mcdm-james-
introcaso-42685716

Explore and download more ebooks at ebookbell.com

Here are some recommended products that we believe you will be
interested in. You can click the link to download.

Arcadia 12 James Introcaso

https://ebookbell.com/product/arcadia-12-james-introcaso-42693224

American Arcadia 1st Edition Laura Scalzo

https://ebookbell.com/product/american-arcadia-1st-edition-laura-
scalzo-51340974

Emotional Settings In Early Modern Pedagogical Culture Hamlet The

Faerie Queene And Arcadia 1st Ed Judith Owens

https://ebookbell.com/product/emotional-settings-in-early-modern-
pedagogical-culture-hamlet-the-faerie-queene-and-arcadia-1st-ed-
judith-owens-22425632

The Rose In The Shadows House Of Hyrax Book 1 Arcadia Rayne

https://ebookbell.com/product/the-rose-in-the-shadows-house-of-hyrax-
book-1-arcadia-rayne-56619820
To Live Among Wolves Legends Of Arcadia Book 1 Morgan Hubbard

https://ebookbell.com/product/to-live-among-wolves-legends-of-arcadia-
book-1-morgan-hubbard-177561560

A Year In Jamaica Memoirs Of A Girl In Arcadia In 1889 Lewes

https://ebookbell.com/product/a-year-in-jamaica-memoirs-of-a-girl-in-
arcadia-in-1889-lewes-11878264

A Touch Of Gold And Madness Celestials Of Arcadia Book 1 Kl Devore

https://ebookbell.com/product/a-touch-of-gold-and-madness-celestials-
of-arcadia-book-1-kl-devore-230087298

A Touch Of Gold And Madness Celestials Of Arcadia Book 1 Kl Devore

https://ebookbell.com/product/a-touch-of-gold-and-madness-celestials-
of-arcadia-book-1-kl-devore-230420206

Arcadia A Novel 1st Lauren Groff

https://ebookbell.com/product/arcadia-a-novel-1st-lauren-
groff-48269728
 Managing Editor: James Introcaso Playtest Coordinators:
GuardianRoborn/Nathan Clark
Editor: Hannah Rose Pesto Enthusiast/Spencer Hibnick
Lord_Durok/John Champion
Authors: Willy Abeel, Leon Barillaro, SONSON/Alecson de Lima
Gabe Hicks, Sadie Lowry
Dig/Owen “Dig” Crary
Graphic Design/Layout: Jen McCleary Von Ruski/James Dewar
Chris/Chris Catterson
Cover Art: Gustavo Pelissari Glynisir/Dante Bozzini
Mayanaka/Michael Harsha
Title Logo: Töm Schmuck Shieldbuster/Moisés Raúl Montero
Templars Bane/Nick Pierson
Interior Illustrations: Vanacan/Taylor Lauer
The Workshop Watches: Faizal Fikri and ScottCPrim/@ScottCPrim
Grace Cheung
Titan Heart: Ognjen Sporin Playtesters:
Uqaviel, the Recreant: Nephelomancer Thais Baramarchi
Mounted Combat: Nick De Spain Gabriel Reichmann
Gabriel Azevedo
Cartography: Miska Fredman João Vargas
Noah Schwantner
MCDM is:
Russell J Anderson
Lars Bakke: Development
Doc Brown
Jerod Bennett: Technology
Marc Donati
Grace Cheung: Art
Donna & Ryan Day
Matt Colville: Writing & Design
Will Schoepp
Anna Coulter: Production
Daryk Nunn
Nick De Spain: Art & Art Outsource
Kafeii Bloise
Management
María Elisa Mascarín
Jason Hasenauer: Art & Art Direction
Ludwig Krüger
James Introcaso: RPG Line Developer
Fabiana Kerbes
James Cook
SirJoore
AkiraMiyu
CitizenSnips
BadWolf

Join us on the MCDM Discord server, where you can chat with others about Arcadia and more!
discord.gg/mcdm

Product Identity: The following items are hereby identified as Product Identity, as defined in the Open Game License
version 1.0a, Section 1(e), and are not Open Content: All content which is not included in the Systems Reference
Document version 5.1 or has otherwise been specifically designated as Open Game Content, including the Work-
shop Watches, Titan Heart, Uqaviel the Recreant, all Trademarks, registered trademarks, proper names (including
the names of characters, place names, monsters, organizations, new spells, new abilities, etc.), dialogue, plots, story
elements, locations, characters, artwork, graphics, sidebars, and trade dress.

2 ArcadiaArcadia
| Volume
| Issue
1 Number
1 | January
1 | January
2021 2021
 2 Letter from the Editor
James Introcaso

3 The Workshop Watches

Leon Barillaro
A murderous laboratory comes to life in this adventure for 5th-level characters.

14 Titan Heart
Gabe Hicks
Grow your magic and your character with this new sorcerer subclass.

20 Jumping on mounted combat

Willy Abeel
New mounted combat rules and six new mounts that will make your paladin jealous!

32 Uqaviel, the Recreant

Sadie Lowry
These epic celestials are your heaven-sent villains for your next campaign.

Issue 1 | January 2021

1 ArcadiaArcadia
| Volume
| Issue
1 Number
1 | January
1 | January
2021 2021
Letter from the Editor
“ARCADIA should be full of stuff that is super actionable and really freaking dope.”

Matt Colville’s words, proclaimed with ca- Our hope is that you love every word as
sual confidence in one of earliest meetings much as we do, but more important to us
about this magazine, serves as ARCADIA’s is your honest opinion. ARCADIA is for
guiding star. When I accept a pitch, when you, the patrons of MCDM. If we’re miss-
an author writes an article, and when Matt ing the mark, we want to know! If you re-
and our amazing playtesters give feedback, ally love an article and want to see more
it’s all about making the best and most use- like it, we want to know that too! Drop
ful content for you. your feedback as comments on Patreon.
Of course, the only person with the true (Please be kind. There are humans on the
power to decide which articles you must other end of your remarks.) Future issues
add to your campaign of the fifth edition will be shaped by your feedback.
of the world’s greatest roleplaying game is No matter where ARCADIA goes after
also you. Issue 1 of ARCADIA is the first this initial experiment, working with the
in a three-issue experiment. After issue 3 authors, the great folks at MCDM, and
comes out, we’re going to take a break and an amazing community of playtesters is
adjust our strategy to make sure we’re de- a true professional privilege. One of the
livering on the promise of “super action- greatest of my career. I’m excited to bring
able and really freaking dope.” you the work of these designers. Though
The RPG industry’s best authors wrote ar- Matt’s name is in the company and my ti-
ticles in these first issues that present new tle is managing editor, the writers had the
rule options, creatures, subclasses, and a final say over every word in their articles.
whole lot more. In this issue, Willy Abdeel We made suggestions, but each author’s
transforms mounted combat with rules voice, style, and design preferences shine
for riding owlbears, basilisks, and giant through. ARCADIA is not a solo act, but
toads, Gabe Hicks grows sorcerers to epic a chorus of artists. And we’re just getting
proportions with the Titan Heart subclass, warmed up.
Sadie Lowry cowrites the final act of your
campaign with two new celestial big bad Ex animo,
options, and Leon Barillaro challenges
your players in an adventure where dun- James Introcaso
geon and villain are one and the same. Managing Editor

P.S. I haven’t even mentioned the amazing art yet!

Well, I guess I’d better save that to talk about in the next issue.

Arcadia | Issue 1 | January 2021 2

 THE
WORKSHOP
WATCHES
Leon Barillaro

“Good morning, inhabitants of the

Structure of Assistive Magic—that’s
Background
me! The weather is overcast and your
Illumar the Bright and his team of wizards created the
calendar is clear.
world’s first living laboratory—a workshop that could
learn their habits, anticipate their needs, and act on that
Reminder: I have placed the upper knowledge. The wizards succeeded, but not in the way
level off limits while I finish my secret they intended. The only way for their shop to anticipate
project. Please remain on the lower their needs was to develop its own intelligence and per-
level for your safety sonality.
With newfound sentience, the workshop lashed out in
unpredictable ways while exploring its own power. First
...Are you still there?” it accidentally incinerated a mage while testing its climate

T
control feature in the greenhouse. Then, when the oth-
he Workshop Watches is an adventure opti- er mages attempted to investigate the workshop’s “secret
mized for four to five 5th-level characters. In project” in the upper level, the workshop classified them
real life, many people fear a scenario where as a threat. It animated suits of armor that pushed the
computerized machines rebel against their cre- academics off the side of the mountain.
ators—and in a roleplaying game where characters use No one has heard from the researchers in two weeks,
enchanted items and cast spells to solve problems, the and the wealthy noble who sponsored the project is be-
perfect stand-in for technology is magic. ginning to worry.

Arcadia | Issue 1 | January 2021 3

 Another Random Document on
Scribd Without Any Related Topics
In the quaint old Italian city of Genoa was born a little boy named
Christopher Columbus, who was to change all this, and be the
innocent cause of much suffering to the descendants of the races
who had been visited by the Golden Hearted. When a mere lad at
school, he was greatly interested in boats, and he not only studied
geography and history, but read all the books of travel he could find,
and dreamed night and day of a great long voyage he was going to
make on the ocean some time. He did not waste his time fishing and
playing on the beach like other boys, but picked up the chips that
washed ashore and examined them very carefully, because he
believed that if there was an unknown land some where in the west,
that the waves would bring something ashore from there. He was
really quite an old man before he found anything, but one day he
picked up some strange chips at Cadiz that had been cut by hand,
and then he knew he was right.
Sailors always do have wonderful tales to tell about the sea, and in
those days they were so superstitious that they were sure that there
were huge monsters living in the distant waters just waiting to eat
up any sailor foolish enough to venture near them. There was not
one of them willing to listen to Columbus, when he tried to explain
that the earth is round like an orange, and that we live on the
outside of it. He said to them repeatedly:
"If we sail west steadily, we shall in time arrive back at the place
from which we started." Finally, not only the sailors, but the people
in the streets pointed their fingers at him and said:
"There goes the crazy old man, who thinks the world is as round as
an apple."
The more he talked and reasoned and argued and even drew maps
to prove that he was right, the more everybody shook their heads
and called him crazy.
Columbus was about to give up in despair because he was very poor,
and there seemed to be no way by which he could demonstrate that
his theory of the shape of the earth was correct.
And now comes a curious coincidence.
He was a very devout Christian, and felt certain that the inhabitants
of this strange country in the west had never heard of our God nor
of his beloved son Jesus, and his heart was fired with zeal to reach
these poor heathens and tell them the story of the Christ.
About this time some influential friend secured an audience for him
with the King of Portugal, but it did no good to tell his story to the
rich monarch, who was neither of a scientific nor a religious turn of
mind, and he might as well have talked to the wind. Utterly
discouraged Columbus decided to go to Spain, which is a near
neighbor of Portugal, and see if he could not induce the famous King
Ferdinand and Isabella, the queen, to give him boats to make his
longed-for voyage. The queen especially was very pious and was
much interested in Columbus' story about the heathens, but the
ministers of her court laughed at Columbus and said:
"It is a foolish dream which can never be carried out."
Almost heart-broken Columbus silently turned his back on the
Spanish capital and walked a long way to a seaport called Palos,
where there was a queer old convent in which strangers were made
welcome by the kind monks living in it. Knocking upon the gate, he
said to the porter:
"Will you please give me a bit of bread and a drink of water."
Fortunately, the prior, a learned man and an intimate friend of
Queen Isabella came along, and was quick to see that Columbus
was no common beggar. He invited him in, and after listening quietly
and thoughtfully to his visitor's plan of crossing the ocean to convert
the heathen to Christianity, he borrowed a mule and rode miles
across the country to the castle where the Queen was staying and
persuaded her to help Columbus.
"It is your duty," he said. "God has given you riches and many
blessings that you may assist your fellow men, and these strange
people know nothing of our God, and they need teachers to help
them find the right way of living."
Queen Isabella was so impressed with what he said that she
immediately petitioned the Royal Treasurer to give Columbus money
to make his voyage of discovery.
"Your majesty, there is no money to spare," was the polite answer of
the Treasurer, who, like all the rest of the court, thought Columbus
was a visionary dreamer if not crazy.
"Very well," she said. "I will pawn my crown jewels," and she did.
This was a most noble and courageous act on her part, for a queen
in those days was scarcely considered dignified or respectable
without splendid crown jewels to wear on public occasions, but she
was bent upon sending the gospel of Christ to the heathen in
America. Does it not seem strange that the Golden Hearted and the
Queen of Spain should be credited with the same desire to help the
people of the Americas, and that they lived hundreds of years apart
and could never have known of each other, and that one incident is
a fact of history and the other only a legend?
But as soon as Columbus secured the money another difficulty
arose. No sailor could be found who would risk his life on an
unknown sea with such a crazy old man. Finally Queen Isabella had
to promise liberty and full pardon to the convicts in the prisons
before Columbus could get any one to go with him. It was a terrible
thing for him but he had a brave heart, and the monks from the
convent at Palos sent some of their number with him to teach the
natives.
On and on, the three caravels, the Santa Maria, the Pinta and Nina,
sailed without finding land, until their provisions were getting low
and the crews of convicts were about to mutiny and kill Columbus.
In order to keep them quiet he told them wonderful stories of the
riches of this land they were trying to find.
"You can have all the gold, and silver, and precious gems you can
carry," he promised them. In an instant you could see the cunning
and greed in their wicked faces. They did not care whether the earth
was round or flat, nor what became of the natives, if they only had
gold, and then they would gather around Columbus and question
him closely about the size of the nuggets and precious stones. Of
course he could only guess at it, but he knew that to save his life he
must say something, so he replied:
"I firmly believe that there are immense pieces of solid gold to be
found there, and that it is abundant."

"ON AND ON THE THREE CARAVELS

SAILED."
See opposite page

Some thought they would find it in lumps as big as a house, and

they all expected to pick up hands full of gems just anywhere.
Columbus had strained his eyes looking for the land until he was
nearly blind, but one night he imagined he saw a glimmer of light
ahead. Where there was light there must be land, he thought. So he
called one of the sailors to him and asked him what he saw.

"LAND! LAND AHEAD!"

"A light! a light!" cried the sailor joyfully. But it was not until nearly
two o'clock in the morning that the commander of one of the other
boats started the cry:
"Land! Land ahead!"
You can imagine what excitement there was on all the caravels, and
how thankful Columbus was. The padres gathered around him, and
as he sprang ashore, he dropped on his knees and stooped and
kissed the ground. Even the sailors forgot about the gold while he
and the padres prayed and thanked God for giving mankind a new
world.
Immediately the flag of Spain was planted and the land claimed for
King Ferdinand and Isabella, but wonderful indeed were the things
surrounding them. Men and women of a bronze color crowded
around them and offered them strange, but delicious fruits and
flowers and brought them food and water. In his first letter to Queen
Isabella, Columbus said of them:
"There is not in all the world a better people nor a better land. Their
converse is ever sweet and gentle, and is accompanied by a smile.
They truly love their neighbor as themselves."
Finding them docile and kind the padres set about teaching them,
and the simple natives were very willing listeners. It was quite a long
time before they could understand each other well, but the padres
told the story of the Christ the first time they held a service, which
was on a Sunday. Remembering the precepts of the Golden Hearted,
the faces of the natives lighted up understandingly when they heard
the words of Jesus which bade them be loving and kind to each
other, and they nodded their heads and exclaimed:
"El Dorado! El Dorado!"
At least that is what the ignorant convict sailors thought they said.
The words "El Dorado" in Spanish, which was their mother tongue,
meant "The Golden," or "The Gilded One." We know they were
eager and greedy to find gold and that they had been told to help
themselves freely to all they could get, so they immediately began to
question the simple natives.
"Yes, yes; we have plenty of gold," the natives said, in surprise,
because they did not value it at all, except for ornaments, and they
ran to fetch some for their visitors. When they saw how glad it made
the sailors, they were happy and content as a lot of children, and
they not only brought all they had, but told where there was plenty
more to be found.
 "Bimini, the Fountain of Youth"
W HEN Columbus sailed back to Spain and told the story of
his wonderful discoveries the people did not believe him at
first, but when he showed them the gold and silver
ornaments, and the strange red men, they were so amazed that
they forgot even to ask questions.
The news was so startling that it simply took their breath away and
they stared at each other stupidly. Then they said in awe-stricken
whispers:
"How can such things be? Is the world coming to an end? Are we
going to die? Or are we crazy? Maybe our ears and eyes are fooling
us."
But Columbus only smiled and said:
"My friends, you see I was right. The earth is round, and I have not
only found India with its untold riches, but I have brought some of
its people home with me."
And that is why today we call the red men Indians. Columbus did
not know that he had discovered a new continent, so it was natural
for him to speak of the natives as Indians. And I am sure you will
pity him when I tell you that he died without ever knowing the
difference.
All Europe was in a fever of excitement over his voyage, and it was
not long before he fitted out other vessels and sailed across the
ocean again to find the northwest passage which he believed would
shorten the route to India. Rich men, and learned ones, were ready
to go with him, and the sailors expected to find gold and precious
stones scattered all over the ground. Every word that the convicts
told them about El Dorado they thought meant gold, and the wildest
and most exaggerated stories were soon in everybody's mouth.
The padres, too, were enthusiastic over the prospect of converting
the heathen, but nobody took the trouble to find out what the
Indians believed about God. Every one misunderstood the meaning
of El Dorado and never dreamed that there had been such a teacher
as the Golden Hearted, or that the Indians already knew how to be
brotherly and kind.
Even the most learned men in those days were ready to accept the
existence of a mythical city called Cathay as true.
They thought it was situated somewhere between the island of
Newfoundland and Florida, where they expected to find the spice
groves. Another story very common in Europe said that there was
among the beautiful summer isles of the west, one that conferred
immortality and was spoken of as the Island of Perpetual Youth.
Among those whose imagination was fired by this romance was a
brave knight named Ponce de Leon, who was Columbus' companion
on his second voyage. He did not care for the gold of the new world,
for he was already rich, but he was old, and he wanted to renew his
youth. King Ferdinand commissioned him Governor of Porto Rico, but
he soon tired of it, and was determined to discover the magic spring.
"For what reason should I stay here and lord it over these half-naked
savages," he said to his relatives and friends when they tried to
dissuade him from undertaking such a perilous search. "Let us go
where we can bathe in those enchanted waters and be young once
more. I need it and so will you before very long."
"But how do you know there is such a place?" they asked.
"By hearing the full particulars of an old Indian who went there and
washed himself and drank from the spring until he was restored to
youth and vigor. Let us go and be like him."
To find this new marvel he set sail with three brigantines, and the
adventurers with him floated over the summer sea, as men bent
upon pleasure, and to whom time was long and burdened with no
serious duties. They sailed from island to island touching here and
there as fancy led them. They sought the safest and pleasantest
coves, where the shades were deepest in the noonday sun, and the
waters coolest; where the fruits were the sweetest, the Indians most
friendly and their women the loveliest. At last they came to an inlet
which led invitingly up among wooded banks and flowering valleys.
Here the old knight said:
"Let us disembark and strike inland. My heart tells me that we have
found the Fountain of Youth."
"Nonsense," said his younger kinsman, "our way lies by water."
"Then leave me here with my men," he replied, and after an angry
discussion five men, long past middle age, and who had come with
him from Spain, were left on shore. The first thing they did was to
climb to the top of a hill and set up a cross which they had brought
with them. As soon as it was in place they all removed their helmets
and prayed before it. One of the men said to him:
"The ground is pawed up as if cattle ranged here, and this path has
been trod by human feet."
"You are right," said Ponce de Leon, "lead the way and we will
follow."
Taking the path they met about fifty Indian bowmen, who seemed to
their startled vision like a whole company of giants, but, who proved
to be of a very friendly disposition.
The grizzled old knights were anxious to inquire about the fabled
Fountain, so they gave the Indians strings of gay-colored beads, and
some little bells. In return they received an arrow, as a token of
good will. After a long parley the bowmen turned back to their huts.
"We will bring you food in the morning," they said, and at daybreak
they appeared again bringing plenty of fish, roots and fruits. When
they saw that the men were chilly from the cold night air, they said
to each other:
"Let us carry our brothers to our homes where they can get warm."
"But they will suffer on the way," said the chief. "Go before us and
build big fires and we will stop at each one to rest our weary arms."
The Spanish knights did not know what to make of this kind of
treatment, but they offered no resistance when the stalwart warriors
took them on their backs and started through the woods. The
Indians carried them very carefully, and at last set them down before
the doors of their huts where the women brought them food and
drink.
"I wonder what they intend to do with us," said the knights among
themselves. On hearing this remark Ponce de Leon replied:
"It is just possible that they will offer us as a sacrifice, for it is quite
plain that they think we are supernatural beings."
"Let us get away from them as quickly as we can," they said, fearing
that something terrible would happen.
"Before we go we must try to find out about the magic spring we are
seeking," replied Ponce de Leon, unwilling to give up his project. It
required considerable time and patience to make the Indians
comprehend what he wanted, but they stoutly maintained that they
knew nothing about it.
"These redskins are cunning rascals, and will not tell us where to
find the Fountain of Youth," said Ponce de Leon, in explanation, after
his fruitless talk with them, "but God giving us strength we will find
it yet."
So they went slowly and carefully over the whole country, stopping
at each spring to take off their clothes and jump into it, then they
would drink as much of the water as they could, and sit down and
wait to see if it would make them young again. As they went farther
away from the coast the Indians became more and more friendly,
because they thought the white men had come from Heaven.
"We must bring them food, build houses for them and bear all their
burdens," they said among themselves. Some went out on the hills
and killed deer with their bows and arrows, while others killed
rabbits by going in a big wide circuit and then gradually closing in on
the game. When near enough they knocked the rabbit on the head
with a wooden club as it ran by them.
"Breathe upon and bless our food," they said to the knights, after
giving them all they wanted for themselves, "so that we may feel
sure in our hearts that you are pleased with us."
At first only the men made these requests, but finally the women
brought wild fruits and berries, which they wanted the visitors to see
and touch before they would eat. All this was very troublesome to
the knights, but if they refused or acted as if they were offended,
the poor Indians were terrified, and falling on their faces would cry
out:
"We shall die unless we have the favor of our good and wise white
brothers."
Farther on, the people did not venture to come out in the paths and
gather round them as the first had done, but stayed meekly in their
houses, sitting with their faces turned to the wall, and with all their
property heaped up in the middle of the floor.
"We could easily plunder and rob these simple folk," said Ponce de
Leon, "but I charge you on your honor as knights to take nothing
you do not pay for."
In spite of this the natives loaded them with valuable skins and other
presents, and were eager and willing to show all the springs and
creeks in their neighborhood.
"They pretend to know nothing of the miraculous gifts of the
Fountain of Youth, but their own splendid endurance of heat and
cold, and the fatigues of travel show how perpetually young and
active they are. If their bodies were pierced through with arrows
they would soon recover. They are trying to mislead us and conceal
the source of their strength, but we will soon find it," the Spanish
knights said, and Ponce de Leon, their leader, heartily agreed with
them.
Never in the world had there been such a strange journey
undertaken by gray and careworn men. On and on they went
searching in the heart of the woods for a fountain where they could
renew their youth. Yellow jasmine trailed in festoons above their
heads; wild roses grew at their feet; the air was sweet with the odor
of pine, while long gray moss hung from the branches of the live-
oaks.
Finally they came to a spring which widened into a natural basin and
bubbled up in such a cool, delicious manner, that Ponce de Leon
plunged into it with joy. Coming up on the bank to dress himself, he
exclaimed:
"It is enough. I have bathed in the Fountain of Youth. See, I am
young again."
His companions hastened to try it, and they too said the same.
"Hurrah! hurrah! the Fountain of Youth has been found! Let us make
haste to tell the world of your discovery."
But they were mistaken and had not counted on what the Indians
would do about it. When they found that the white men wanted a
boat to go down the river they were eager to get it for them, but
when they understood that they were going away, they wept bitterly,
and tried every way to persuade them to stay.
"No, we will not remain. This is Florida, the land of flowers, and we
are looking for Bimini, the Fountain of Youth," said Ponce de Leon,
firmly. "Your people have misled us continually. Bimini is an island
and we are going to search until we find it."
"And if you succeed will you return to us," asked an Indian chief
eagerly. "You have the secret of life and death in your hands, and
have already saved my wife and child. Stay and we will serve you
faithfully."

"HURRAH! HURRAH! THE FOUNTAIN OF

YOUTH"
See opposite page

"Oh! my brothers, stay with us!" begged and implored the Indians.
Some of them clung to the garments of the knights, and others were
dragged out of the boat by the determined natives. Finally Ponce de
Leon, grown tired of useless parley, said angrily:
"I am old and weary and must soon die if I do not find the waters
which will renew my youth and vigor. Your thickets and swamps are
filled with alligators and poisonous water snakes; the very air is
laden with deadly fevers, and never again will I return to it."
As the canoe started down the river the Indians wrung their hands
and wailed loudly:
"Come back! come back!" But Ponce de Leon stood up in the boat
and shook his head, and made them understand by signs that he
would not do as they wished. This made them all the more frantic
and one of the warriors, snatching up a poisoned arrow, sped it with
deadly aim. It went through the thigh of the gallant old knight where
he stood, and it was not long until death ended his search for the
Fountain of Youth. Since then no one has ever tried to locate this
wonder-working fountain, but philosophers say that it is in our own
hearts and that we find it when we realize that the soul never dies,
and is perpetually young because of its immortality.
 Montezuma and the Paba
C OLUMBUS died poor and in prison because
nobody was interested in his effort to find a
northwest passage to India, or cared whether the
earth was round or flat. They wanted gold, and
the stories of El Dorado told by the ignorant sailors
had more influence on the people than anything
Columbus said or did.
"I have merely opened the gates for others to
enter," he exclaimed bitterly, when he found
himself thwarted in all his plans, but there is more honor accorded
his memory than to any of the others who came after him, and
made immense fortunes.
The same year that Queen Isabella died, a young man, but nineteen
years old, named Hernando Cortez, sailed from Spain for Cuba.
Already there was quite a Spanish settlement on the island, and
when the Governor offered him a large tract of land with Indian
slaves to cultivate it, he answered angrily:
"I came to get gold, not to till the soil like a peasant."
He expected to find untold wealth locked up in the unexplored
regions of the new world, and had no patience with any of the
slower methods of gaining riches. Instead of working he meant to
fight for what he wanted and we shall find when we know more
about him that he broke his word to his king, the governor of Cuba,
to his wife, to his soldiers, and to every friend who served him. Yet
he was born a gentleman, handsome and well mannered, but a
greedy love of gold rendered him brutal and treacherous to a
degree.
In his company were gallant knights of chivalry, servile retainers of
the king, soldiers of fortune, and bearded friars, who left behind
them country, home, family, friends and sweethearts, to seek El
Dorado, which to them meant simply gold. When we study the
history of the United States we shall be surprised to find men like
them in full armor of steel, with lance, shield and helmet, mounted
on prancing steeds, caparisoned in gay colors, glittering through the
untracked wilderness of Florida, Georgia, Alabama, and even as far
west as Arizona, always in search of El Dorado. And in every case
their greed for gold led to such bloodshed and violence, that it
makes the heart ache to think about it.
Not many years after Cortez landed in Cuba, the Governor sent for
him and said:
"I have at last secured permission from the king to explore the
continent lying to the west, and I desire you to take ships and
soldiers and have command of the expedition."
Something in Cortez' manner excited the suspicion of the Governor,
but he said nothing until he was ready to sail. Then he withdrew the
commission, and ordered Cortez to remain in Cuba. Instead of
obeying he stole away in the night, and did not land until he came to
the coast of Mexico, close to the point from which the Golden
Hearted had sailed. His men were afraid to venture far from shore,
but he painted glowing pictures of the gold they were to find, and
said:
"I hold out to you a glorious prize, but it is only to be won by
incessant toil."
Then holding up a black velvet standard with a red cross in the
center, surrounded by flames of blue and white, he continued:
"Comrades, let us follow the cross, and under this sign if we have
faith, we shall conquer."
The padres with them, who had come to minister to the spiritual
welfare of the cavaliers and soldiers, urged them to go forward,
saying:
"We are in honor bound to carry the gospel to these poor, ignorant
heathens, and God has given you the privilege of helping in this
work."
The Indians were friendly and when asked for gold, answered:
"We on the sea coast have little, but in Tenochtitlan there is a rich
and powerful king named Montezuma, who has much gold and other
treasures."
Around them were parched and sandy plains, but on the march they
soon came to "the land of bread," as the Tlascallan country was
called, and here they heard of Cholula, the sacred city. When they
came in sight of it they exclaimed:
"It is the promised land!" and were amazed at the splendor of the
city, as well as the surrounding country, where there were fields of
maize, vanilla, indigo, sugar cane, flowering cacao groves, and
banana trees in profusion. The streets of Cholula were filled with a
concourse of priests whom Cortez mistook for beggars. They were
holding a religious festival in honor of Quetzalcoatl, which was their
name for the Golden Hearted, who had now become the Fair God of
tradition. Long had they been expecting him to return to Cholula,
and because Cortez had a fair complexion, and was accompanied by
other white men they thought the Golden Hearted had come at last.
The people lined the streets and roadways and not only wore
garlands of flowers on their heads, but tossed bouquets to the
soldiers, while the priests met them with music and swung incense
up and down the cleanly-swept streets they passed through.
"What is the will of Quetzalcoatl?" they asked eagerly of Cortez.
"Do you come from Tlapalla?" they inquired of his followers.
"No," they were answered, "but we have a disease of the heart
which only gold can cure."
Then the simple natives brought all the gold-dust and little trinkets
they could find and gave to their visitors. Cortez thanked them, but
said:
"This is not enough. We must have very much more."
"Then you would better ask our friend and ally, the great king,
Montezuma. He has immense stores of it."
"Where is this great king, and this city of Tenochtitlan?"
"Farther to the west," they answered.
Shortly after this an embassy of nobles from the court of Montezuma
appeared with rich presents and an invitation to Cortez to visit the
king. None of them had ever seen a white man before, and they did
not for a moment doubt that Cortez was the Golden Hearted,
returned to claim his own, and they were very anxious to please
him. Touching his brass helmet one of them said timidly:
"It is very like that worn by Quetzalcoatl, and I would like our king,
Montezuma, to see it."
"Certainly," responded Cortez, "but bring it back filled with gold."
And they did. No one knows just why, but something made Cortez
suspect the gentle natives of treachery, and one morning at
daybreak he fell upon them in the market place, and slew thousands
of people, and then set fire to the city. His rude soldiers went up on
the pyramid and threw down the statue of the Golden Hearted, and
erected a cross in its place. History says that the Aztecs had long
been offering the hearts of human beings in sacrifice to the Golden
Hearted in Cholula, while in Tenochtitlan they had set up an image
of a terrible war god, and were worshiping that more than the
gentle, inoffensive Golden Hearted. It was this disobedience which
made Montezuma fear that he was returning to take vengeance.
One morning early the king went to see the Paba, who had charge
of the sacred fires on the altars built by the Golden Hearted himself.
The chamber in the temple was square, with the ceiling covered by a
lattice work of shining white and yellow metal which, at the
intersections, was carved to represent flowers set with jewels. All
around the walls were sculptured pictures of men. As the king
approached the Paba said:
"The gloomy clouds hanging overhead are not darker than is the
mood of Quetzalcoatl, but to the poor Paba the voice of the king is
ever welcome."
"Why should the mood of Quetzalcoatl be dark? A new teocalli holds
his image, and they say he is happy and that he comes from the
place of sunrise with a canoe filled with blessings."
"Do you remember, O king! that in some of the underground
chambers of this temple, besides vast stores of wealth, there are
prophecies to be read?"
"I remember it well," said Montezuma.
"Give me leave, and I will show you the writing from Quetzalcoatl
himself."
Groping their way through the great underground cavern, but dimly
lighted, the Paba said:
"Son of a king, is your heart strong? The writing begins here and
continues around the wall."
"Read it," said Montezuma.
"The first is here on the north and represents the ancient king on
the march. You see him in the midst of warriors who are dancing in
honor of his victories. Here we have the whole story of our race."
"This was before the coming of Quetzalcoatl and is of the remote
past," said Montezuma, with a frown.
"On the southern wall, opposite," replied the Paba, "is what you
seek. Observe the king stands on a rock, and a priest points out to
him an eagle on a cactus holding a serpent in its claws. Beside it the
king reclines on a couch. Our city has been founded."
Montezuma said not a word, but turned to another panel.
"Look well to this, O king! There is Quetzalcoatl before an altar
offering a sacrifice of fruit and flowers. His hands are free from
blood!"
Montezuma's face was deadly pale, because he knew that many
orders of priests in his kingdom sacrificed human beings by cutting
out their hearts, and he was afraid that the coming of the strange
white men was on account of this forbidden practice.
"See! Oh majesty! the fair god is departing from our beloved
Tenochtitlan. Saddest of all days was that for us."
"Show me a prophecy if you would have me believe that this was
written by Quetzalcoatl. I would know something of the future."
"Be wise, oh my master! Let the future alone; it is sown with
sorrows for all you love."
"Until I wrong the gods why should I fear them? Have done, Paba. I,
too, am a priest," said Montezuma, earnestly.
"I, his true servant, tell you never again to look for smile from
Tlapalla. I will show you from Quetzalcoatl himself, that the end of
your empire is at hand. Every breeze from the east is filled with woe
for you and yours. The writing is on the wall. Look again and
closely."
"I see nothing," cried the king.
"All that you have heard about the return of Quetzalcoatl is true. He
is coming to end the days of the Aztecs forever."
"Forever! It cannot be. Read the next panel."
"There is no other, this is the last," answered the Paba sadly.
Montezuma turned quickly to the north wall, but found it without a
single mark. Here indeed was the end.
That night the Aztec king could neither eat nor sleep. The prophecy
was with him all the time. When the morning came he called for his
canoe. From the battlements of Chapultepec, the palace and tomb of
his fathers, he would see the sun rise. If Quetzalcoatl was angered
and meant to wreak vengeance, he naturally supposed the sun, his
dwelling place, would give some warning.
In all the heavens around there was not a fleck when suddenly a
cloud of smoke rushed upward, and across the pathway of the sun,
so that when it crept over the mountain range, it looked like a ball of
blood! Montezuma drew the hood over his face quickly, and his head
dropped on his breast.
The Paba had spoken the truth. Quetzalcoatl was coming! and next
evening a runner sped hotly over the causeway and up the street,
stopping at the gate of the royal palace. He was taken before the
king and shortly after the news went flying over Tenochtitlan, that
Quetzalcoatl had arrived in his huge water-house with wings, and
filled with thunder and lightning! for that was what the Aztecs called
the ships and cannon brought by Cortez.
When Montezuma heard of the terrible massacre in Cholula, he
called a council of wise old men and said:
"Of what use is it, uncles? The gods are against us and resistance is
of no avail. I mourn most for the women and children, and the old
and infirm who are too feeble to fight or fly. For myself and the
brave men around me, we must bare our breasts to the storm and
meet it as we may."
As Cortez neared Tenochtitlan he was met by so many chiefs and
nobles under Montezuma, that it took them an hour to pass before
him, and make their salutation which they did by touching the
ground with the right hand and then carrying it to the forehead. The
four nobles carrying Montezuma on their shoulders, were preceded
by three officers of state bearing gold wands in their hands to show
that they came in peace. The royal palanquin, or chair, in which
Montezuma was seated, blazed with gold, jewels and gaudy feather-
work, while the nobles carrying it were barefooted. They walked
with slow measured steps and kept their eyes bent on the ground.
Finally the train of warriors and nobles halted, and Montezuma came
forward to meet Cortez.
Imagine what their feelings must have been as they looked at each
other! Montezuma thought he was welcoming back the gentle, kind
Quetzalcoatl, whom we know as the Golden Hearted, while Cortez
knew he had found more gold and riches than he ever dreamed
existed anywhere.
The poor misled Aztec king approached the Spanish adventurer and
putting an exquisitely wrought gold collar around his neck said:
"This was my father's palace but it belongs to you and your
brethren. Rest here after your fatigues and in a little while I will visit
you again."
When he went out of the palace he sent slaves to wait upon them,
and he gave each one new clothes, and a splendid feast. When they
had finished eating, the rude soldiers searched all through the
palace for hidden wealth, and finding the treasure house of the king
proceeded to help themselves. When Montezuma heard of it he said:
"They are welcome to the gold and silver and other articles, if they
will but spare the things belonging to the gods."
In the palace grounds where they were quartered they found an
aviary filled with beautiful singing birds; a menagerie full of strange
animals, and snakes; ten big tanks stocked with water-fowl and fish;
fountains playing everywhere, and wonderful floating gardens on the
lakes, while all around them lay a city filled with temples, market
places, and handsome houses.
True to his promise Montezuma returned shortly and in speaking to
Cortez said:
"I have been expecting you for many days. The wonderful deeds
attributed to you, your complexion and the quarter from whence you
come show me that you are Quetzalcoatl. You and your brethren
shall share all things with me," and with tears in his eyes he gave
them as many costly presents as they could carry. The padres and
soldiers were constantly asked:
"Do you come from Tlapalla?" while Montezuma did everything he
could to please Cortez.
One day he went to the king's palace and after accepting the usual
presents of gold and silver, Montezuma offered him one of his
daughters for a wife. Cortez declined, and seeing that the courtyard
was partly filled with his trusted men, he approached Montezuma
abruptly and said:
"You have treated me treacherously, and have allowed one of my
officers to be killed on the sea coast."
Montezuma turned very pale. No one else in his kingdom would have
dared speak to him in such an insulting manner, and besides that he
knew nothing of the death of the officer before. In reality the officer
had been murdered while torturing the poor natives to make them
give him more gold.
"I demand that you send for the chief and all the notable men in his
council that I may punish him for the death of my comrade," said
Cortez, trying to pick a quarrel with the king.
"Very well," said Montezuma, kindly. "I will have them brought as
you desire."
"I believe in your promise, but you must come to my quarters as
hostage until the thing is done."
Poor Montezuma thinking it was a command of God did not dare
refuse, and in a short time afterward the chief and his council were
brought before him. He turned them over to Cortez for punishment,
and they were burned to death in the public square, where
Montezuma could see them from his window. Cortez had the poor
creatures tortured to make them accuse Montezuma of telling them
to commit the murder, so that he would have an excuse for what he
intended to do to the king. Pretending to believe the confessions, he
went before the king and ordered two common Spanish soldiers to
put him in irons. Poor Montezuma moaned and groaned like his
heart would break, while his faithful attendants, weeping bitterly
tried to put their mantles under the irons so they would not touch
his flesh.
Cortez now demanded that he abdicate his power, and pay tribute to
Spain, so he compelled the king to assemble all his chiefs, which he
did saying to them:
"You are acquainted with the traditions which say that the good
Quetzalcoatl is to return and rule over us. That time has come and
we must obey our new masters. You have been faithful vassals of
mine, and I expect you to show me this last act of obedience by
acknowledging the great king across the water as your lord also."
The tears streamed down his face, and his haughty chiefs were very
sad at heart, but they were loyal as well as brave men, and they
answered:
"Your will is our law, and if you think the king of the strangers is the
ancient lord of our country we are willing to acknowledge him as
such."
As soon as this was done the grasping Spaniards compelled
Montezuma to send throughout his kingdom for all the gold, silver,
precious stones and feather-work that could be found, in the name
of the king of Spain, but when they got it they divided it among
themselves, and then quarreled fiercely over who should have the
greater part.
Here indeed was their fabled El Dorado!
There was but one more humiliation awaiting Montezuma, and that
was to have his own people revile him. The Spaniards had been so
brutal and cruel in their dealings with the Aztecs that some of them
began to doubt whether they could have come from Tlapalla, and
whether Cortez was the Golden Hearted. Knowing this Cortez
induced Montezuma to dress himself in his royal robes, and appear
on the stone parapet of the palace where he was confined, to quiet
the mob and induce them to go about their work peaceably. Cortez
was beginning to fear for his own safety, but the populace were not
to be tricked by him. They did not believe it was Montezuma before
them, and hurling a stone at the royal palanquin accidentally hit the
unhappy king on the forehead. The blow was not sufficient to kill
him, but he took to his bed and refused to eat until he finally died.
History says of him that "his great heart was burst in twain by the
sorrows that oppressed his high courage." Certain it is that he could
not live when he found that both his God and his people despised
him. It has never been known what became of his body, for a
terrible war followed his death.
Today we call his country and city Mexico.
 The Child of the Sun
N ONE of us have forgotten about the Children of
the Sun, and the city of Cuzco founded by the
Golden Hearted, or of his ruling over them as
Manco-Capac, the powerful one. He went into their country which
we call Peru before he had ever seen Mexico, but the Spaniards
came to the ancient city of Tenochtitlan before they knew anything
about Cuzco. It was not long after the death of Montezuma until the
Spaniards heard about the riches of the Children of the Sun, and
they were determined to find that country.
The Aztecs did not help them any because they no longer looked
upon them as sent from Heaven but as ruthless destroyers borne
along on the backs of fierce animals swift as the wind, and carrying
weapons in their hands that scattered death and destruction
everywhere. The Aztecs learned to hate the Spaniards bitterly, and
when we came to study their history we shall know why. Even their
own historians do not pretend to deny that they fell upon the poor
Aztecs sword in hand and robbed them of all the treasures they had,
besides taking their lands away from them.
Some say that Francisco Pizarro was a cousin of Hernando Cortez
who conquered the Aztecs, but all agree that he was an ignorant
swineherd, who could neither read nor write, and whose parents
were not respectable. While he was not actually a convict he
belonged to the low class, and the men going with him to search for
the new El Dorado among the Children of the Sun, were really no
better. Cortez had some hidalgoes, cavalliers and knights with him
because men of good family often came to the Americas on the first
voyages after Columbus, but Pizarro collected a band of cut-throat
adventurers who were just as greedy and ignorant as he was. All the
exploring they did was simply to search for gold, and they did not
care what methods they used to get it. The simple natives with their
naked defenseless bodies, and bows and arrows were no match for
men covered with steel armor, mounted on horseback and armed
with guns and cannon. Balboa had already found the Pacific Ocean,
and Pizarro knew that the Children of the Sun lived in that direction,
so he rigged out a vessel and sailed along the coast trying to find
them. At the first place he landed the natives said to him:
"Why do you not stay at home and till your own land instead of
roaming about to rob others who have never harmed you?"
But the savages wore some heavy gold ornaments, and Pizarro
asked eagerly:
"Have you more of this?"
"Yes, we have a little more," they said, and as they were weighing
some of the metal their chief struck the scales with his fist,
scattering the nuggets all over the floor.
"If this is what you prize so much that you are willing to risk your
lives to attain it, I can tell you of a land where they eat and drink out
of vessels of gold, and where there are great quantities to be had for
the asking."
"Where is this rich country?"
"It is ten days journey toward the south and is ruled by the Child of
the Sun."
The Spaniards were nearly mad with joy because now they said:
"All our fond dreams are about to be realized." They were in such a
good humor that they gave the natives some glass beads and some
live chickens. When they turned the rooster loose, he crowed, and
then the simple natives clapped their hands in glee, and asked:
"What is it saying?"
It sounded as if the rooster said:
"How do you do, sir!" which the natives thought was very funny
indeed. Then they wanted to know what the cannon said. One of the
men set up a target and fired at it shivering the board into fine
splinters. The loud noise, the flash of smoke and powder, frightened
the poor natives nearly to death. Some of them fell flat on their
faces, and others ran into the woods as fast as they could go,
screaming:
"Our good Manco-Capac is coming back to us angry."
That night the old men huddled the terrified people together and
said to them:
"Do you remember when the comet flamed through the sky; when
the earthquake shook the land, and there was a rainbow around the
moon?"
"I well remember," said one of the old men, "that a thunderbolt fell
on one of the Incas' royal palaces setting it on fire, and I saw an
eagle chased by several hawks hovering in the air over Cuzco. Our
king saw it too, and while he looked at it the eagle fell dead at his
feet."
"It is no use to resist these strangers," said an envoy from the Inca,
who had arrived in time to hear the last statement. "Seven years
ago when the father of our king died, he called his son to his
bedside and told him that white and bearded strangers were coming
to overturn the Empire. And as you know, our great oracle has
foretold the return of Manco-Capac at the close of the twelfth
dynasty of the Incas. That day is at hand, so do not quarrel with the
strangers."
No one showed a disposition to disobey him, and in a short time he
stood before Pizarro saying:
"I bring you greetings from the Inca, Child of the Sun, who rules this
land. He wishes me to ask why you come, and from what country."
"Our home is far across the sea," responded Pizarro, "and we serve
a rich and powerful prince who has heard of the Child of the Sun,
and sends us to pay our respects to him."
This was not the truth for the King of Spain knew nothing whatever
of Pizarro's wicked intentions, nor did he know about Cortez either
until long after poor Montezuma was dead and his country laid
waste. But when men turn out to be wholesale robbers they do not
care whether they tell the truth or not.
"Our Inca is at his favorite baths and wishes to know when you will
arrive, so that he may provide suitable refreshments for you."
"We will come at once," said Pizarro.
"It would be better to wait a few days," said the king's messenger.
"Our Inca is keeping a sacred fast, and we cannot disturb him until it
is finished." The Spaniards had no respect for the king's wishes or
his privacy, so they made ready to follow the messenger. While they
were dividing the presents of llamas, sheep and gold goblets among
themselves some of the soldiers said:
"This dog of a king may have thousands of followers. What can a
handful of men like we are, do against so many? Suppose they
should try to fight us?"
Pizarro happened to overhear them and replied:
"Let every one of you take heart, and go forward like a good soldier.
God ever protects his own, and will humble the pride of the heathen
and bring him to a knowledge of the true faith—the great end and
object of this conquest."
It was the first time he had spoken of conquest, but the soldiers
remembered the complete success of Cortez in Mexico and only
needed to be told that the natives were to be Christianized to make
them certain that the home authorities would not interfere with
them, so they shouted:
"Lead on! wherever you think best we will follow with good will."
The few padres in the company were sincere in their wish to teach
the natives and so was the King of Spain, but neither of them could
control the actions of such men as Pizarro and his adventurers, now
ready to pounce down on the mild and inoffensive people like a band
of hungry wolves. When they got up on the top of the mountain and
looked down, the landscape had the appearance of a huge checker-
board cut into squares by canals and evergreen hedges. A wide river
rolled through the meadows, like a narrow silver ribbon, while across
the valley were the famous hot baths with steam and vapor rising
from them in the clear air. Along the slope of the hills a white cloud
of tents covered the ground for several miles, where the Child of the
Sun, and his court were encamped.
Pizarro with banners streaming and the sparkle of armor glittering in
the sun, galloped into the city with blare of trumpets and lances
fixed. The Inca was in a camp near by, but the rude Spaniards broke
in upon his fast, and a brother of Pizarro almost rode him down with
his horse. Giving the bridle a sudden jerk he brought the horse to his
haunches, so close to the Inca, that the horse snorted with fear, but
the brave king did not move a muscle, although he had never seen a
white man in armor nor a horse before in his life. Seeing that he
could not frighten him Pizarro's brother said haughtily:
"What is your royal will? My brother desires that you visit him."
Without raising his eyes from the ground where he had kept them as
a mark of respect to his visitor, the Inca smiled and said:
"Tell your captain, that I am keeping a fast, which will end tomorrow
morning. I will then visit him with my chieftains. In the meantime let
him occupy the public buildings on the square till I come, when I will
order what is to be done."
Turning to his attendants he continued:
"Give our brothers food and drink, and have their quarters made
ready for them."
That night Pizarro put all his cannon in place and boldly planned to
take the Inca prisoner in his own pleasure garden. He ordered his
soldiers to hide in the plaza, and wait until the Inca arrived. As soon
as he was in the great square they were suddenly to spring out and
put the natives to the sword, and capture their king.
It was late in the day before the Inca got all his court in splendid
array, and then he sent word to Pizarro that he was coming in state.
"I am much pleased to hear it," said Pizarro. "Let your king come
anyway he will; he shall be received as a friend and brother. Let him
sup with us and sleep in our quarters tonight."
When once in motion the Inca's retinue had on so many gold
ornaments that they blazed like the sun. Some wore showy stuffs in
white and red with gold and silver embroidery, while others were
dressed in white and carried silver maces in their hands. The Inca
wore the royal borla, or crown on his head, with the Quetzal feathers
in the back and the long red fringes across the forehead. Over him
was a canopy representing a rainbow, to show that he was a Child of
the Sun, and a follower of Manco-Capac, who we know was the
Golden Hearted. He was seated on a gold throne which was placed
in a litter and carried by four noble youths, in gorgeous liveries.
Around his neck was a splendid gold necklace set with large
emeralds. Looking around and not seeing any one the Inca asked in
surprise:
"Where are the strangers?"
At this moment a padre came forward and demanded that he give
up his power and become a subject of Spain. He also told the king
that he must become a convert to Christianity. The eyes of the Inca
flashed fire as he replied:
"I will be no man's tributary. Your prince may be great; I do not
doubt it when I see that he has sent his subjects so far across the
waters. I am willing to hold him as a brother. As for my faith, I will
not change it. My God still lives in the heavens and looks down on
his children. By what authority do you make such demands upon
me?"
The padre handed the Inca a bible but as the thought of the insult
offered came over him, the Inca threw it to the ground and said
angrily:
"Tell your comrades that they shall give me an account of their
doings in my country. I will not go from here until they have made
me full satisfaction for the wrongs they have committed."
A soldier turned to Pizarro and said:
"Do you not see that while we stand here wasting our breath in
talking to this dog full of obstinate pride that the fields are filling
with Indians. Let us set on at once."
Pizarro saw that the hour had come, and waving a white scarf which
was the appointed signal he and his soldiers sprang into the square,
shouting the old war cry of Cortez:
"Santiago! and at them!"
The poor natives in their holiday dress and fine jewelry were wholly
unarmed, because they were coming to make a visit, and had no
way to defend themselves. When they tried to escape they found
they were hemmed in on all sides by the stone buildings facing the
plaza, and nobody knows how many thousands of them were killed.
They were stunned by the roar of the cannon, choked by the smoke,
trampled under the horses' feet, and their naked bodies hacked to
pieces with swords.
Welcome to our website – the perfect destination for book lovers and
knowledge seekers. We believe that every book holds a new world,
offering opportunities for learning, discovery, and personal growth.
That’s why we are dedicated to bringing you a diverse collection of
books, ranging from classic literature and specialized publications to
self-development guides and children's books.

More than just a book-buying platform, we strive to be a bridge

connecting you with timeless cultural and intellectual values. With an
elegant, user-friendly interface and a smart search system, you can
quickly find the books that best suit your interests. Additionally,
our special promotions and home delivery services help you save time
and fully enjoy the joy of reading.

Join us on a journey of knowledge exploration, passion nurturing, and

personal growth every day!

ebookbell.com