The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques, and Discoveries of the English Nation — Volume 14: America, Part IIIHakluyt, Richard
History
The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques, and Discoveries of the English Nation — Volume 14: America, Part III
Hakluyt, Richard
Discoveries in geography -- English; Voyages and travels
Crownes. And after wee were
entred two dayes iourney into the Countrey, I the saide Robert Tomson
fell so sicke of an ague, that the next day I was not able to sit on my
horse, but was faine to be caried vpon Indians backes, from thence to
Mexico. And when wee came within halfe a dayes iourney of the Citie of
Mexico, the saide Iohn Field also fell sicke, and within three dayes
after we arriued at the said Citie, hee died: And presently sickened one
of his children, and two more of his houshold people, and within eight
days died. So that within tenne dayes after we arriued at the Citie of
Mexico, of eight persons that were of vs of the saide company, there
remained but foure aliue, and I the said Tomson was at the point of
death of the sicknes that I got vpon the way, which continued with mee
the space of sixe moneths. At the end of which time it pleased Almightie
God to restore me my health againe, although weake and greatly disabled.
And being some thing strong, I procured to seeke meanes to liue, and to
seeke a way how to profite my selfe in the Countrey, seeing it had
pleased God to sende vs thither in safetie. Then by friendship of one
Thomas Blake a Scottishman borne, who had dwelt and had bene married in
the said Citie aboue twentie yeeres before I came to the saide Citie, I
was preferred to the seruice of a gentleman a Spaniard dwelling there, a
man of great wealth, and one of the first conquerours of the said Citie,
whose name was Gonçalo Cerezo, with whom I dwelt twelue moneths and a
halfe. At the ende of which I was maliciously accused by the Holy house
for matters of Religion, and so apprehended and caried to prison, where
I lay close prisoner seuen moneths, without speaking to any creature,
but to the Iailer that kept the said prison, when he brought me my meat
and drinke. In the meane time was brought into the saide prison one
Augustin Boacio an Italian of Genoua also for matters of Religion, who
was taken at Sacatecas 80. leagues to the Northwest of the Citie of
Mexico: At the ende of the said seuen moneths, we were both caried to
the high Church of Mexico, to doe open penance upon an high scaffold,
made before the high Alter, vpon a Sunday, in presence of a very great
number of people, who were at the least fiue or sixe thousand. For there
were that came one hundreth mile off, to see the said Auto (as they call
it) for that there were neuer none before, that had done the like in the
said Countrey, nor could not tell what Lutheranes were, nor what it
meant: for they neuer heard of any such thing before. We were brought
into the Church, euery one with a S. Benito vpon his backe, which is
halfe a yard of yellow cloth, with a hole to put in a mans head in the
middest, and cast ouer a mans head: both flaps cast one before, and
another behinde, and in the middest of euery flap, a S. Andrewes crosse,
made of red cloth, sowed on vpon the same, and that is called S. Benito.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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