LITMIR.BIZ

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It had become necessary to open great ditches as graves for those who had died, although many remained unburied. Because the survivors lacked the resources necessary to handle the scourge, many bodies had been left in their huts, in the fields or on the public roads. The passengers of the fleet were warned that it would be folly to enter the interior under these conditions. However, with few resources available to them in this village, some ignored this advice. They began to arrange for the organization of a mule train to begin their 400-mile trek to the City of Mexico.

      * * *

      The decision for the Robledos was complicated. Each member of the family was gaunt and debilitated, and four-year-old Lucia was suffering from anemia and a low-grade fever that ebbed and flowed in its attack. Perhaps with rest and proper nourishment she could be nursed back to health, but attempting to penetrate the interior of the country under the present conditions seemed impossible. There were, in addition, other factors that argued for staying in Vera Cruz at least for the present. Twenty-eight-year-old Catalina Lopez, who could no longer hide her bulging shape under a full skirt, was now visibly pregnant, weak and unable to maintain her balance. She would be unable to walk and would likely be unable to ride a mule either. Then, there was the matter of their cargo.

      The unloading of ships at Vera Cruz was a dangerous undertaking generally accompanied by the loss of many lives. The time required for unloading the cargo was an incredible four months, then nine or ten months would elapse before the ships would be ready for their return trip to Seville. Those who now chose to enter the interior of the kingdom were carrying with them only those parcels that had been in their cabin. In contrast, the Robledos had deep in the bowels of their vessel the trunks and valises, boxes and barrels of cloth for their new venture. This material—from brocade to sackcloth—had been stored in Seville awaiting this transit, but earmarked for Pedro’s first cousin, Miguel de Sandoval. Sandoval and his wife, Catalina Sanchez, whom Pedro had described as ‘personas muy ricas’ in his petition of 1574, and with whom Pedro and his family were to have lived, were tragically no longer in the picture. Senor Enriquez, agent for Catalina’s father who had met the Robledos in Seville, had received the cloth. He had overseen its storage and placement aboard the Morning Star. This was weeks before the Robledos arrived from Toledo. This cargo was now sitting among the rats in the dark hold of the Robledos’ ship, and it might take several months to retrieve it. A wait by the Robledos at Vera Cruz would not be wasted though. This would give them the time they needed to examine their surroundings and to determine what their next move would be.

      * * *

      Vera Cruz was located in a hot, humid coastland below the Sierra Madre Oriental, a range occupying the area’s central and western portions of the kingdom. Immediately along the coast, the lowland was very flat and bordered by offshore barrier beaches and lagoons. The rivers, of which there were many, had as their source the Sierra Madre Oriental to the west.

      From Vera Cruz south the plain was poorly drained and had numerous swamps and lakes dotting its surface. These contributed to the proliferation of insects that carried the tropical diseases prevalent in the area. The poor drainage of the south coastal region was exacerbated by the area’s tropical wet climate of both the year-round and monsoonal types that resulted in intense summer rains. The rains in the past year had not been excessive, but in the three-week period just preceding the arrival of the fleet, this began to change with rain falling every day.

      Somewhat inland and to the west, was an exceedingly dense rain forest on mountainous terrain with savannas and palm savannas on the wetter portions. The slippery slopes of this rain forest loomed as the passengers’ first trial after leaving the plain. The rain forest presented a difficult but not insurmountable, barrier to their final destination which, for most of the passengers, was Mexico City.

      The watery world of tropical rain forest, savannas, swamps, lakes, lagoons, and rivers constituted an unhealthy environment. It was under these soggy conditions that the Robledos sought shelter. They needed a place where they could regain their strength and equilibrium for their eventual move into the interior.

      Fortunately, the offer of shelter was almost immediate, though not motivated by charity. A certain merchant from the City of Mexico, a Senor Mattos, was in Vera Cruz seeking to buy the cargo of the fleet. If sold to him, he said, they would not have to wait for their cargo to be unloaded. Thus unencumbered, they could go into the interior where the comforts and amenities of the City of Mexico awaited them. Dona Catalina should not have her baby here among these Indians and poor peasants, he said. Also, he added, if they remained in Vera Cruz, they would be subjected to the mal aire (the musty and bad smelling air of the swamps) and would catch some dreaded disease. “Think of yourselves. Think of your children!” he implored. With much sighing and wringing of hands, his attempts to persuade them continued unabated, but, when it was finally apparent that the Robledos did not intend to sell their cargo, the merchant relented.

      Yes, he had a storehouse, he said. It was near the foundations of Cortes’s disintegrating fortress with its earthen walls, bricks, and timbers. Yes, the adobe structure, mostly dry, and with a straw floor, was nearly empty. However, he might be successful in buying cargo from yet another prospective merchant and some portion of his warehouse would then be filled. Yes, he would become their landlord and perhaps their partner. Who knew how their relationship might develop!

      It was while trying to make this space habitable and secure that Pedro Robledo bought his first firearm. The merchant, Mattos, a very persuasive fellow who sold munitions along with shirts and socks, insisted that Pedro Robledo arm himself. When Robledo was able to secure his cargo, Senor Mattos said, the barrels and crates would have to be broken down into parcels that could be carried by a mule. Then Pedro would need an armed escort to successfully transport his cargo to Mexico City. Moreover, Mattos insisted, Pedro himself would have to be armed.

      Pedro Robledo did not require a great deal of convincing. He had learned from his experience in the forest that he and his family needed the protection a firearm would help give them. The only question was what to buy and from whom to buy it. Senor Mattos had the answer.

      “You’ll need a forked metal stick like this one,” he said, holding a metal crutch in the air. “These damn locks are heavy, perhaps half an arroba, maybe more. You put the barrel of your gun on it like this while you aim and fire,” he demonstrated by placing one arm in the crook of the other. “You’ll need powder, a ramrod, wadding, lead, and a bullet mold. You’ll need a powder flask and a pouch, and a harquebus, of course. This one’s French,” he added excitedly, removing a finely tooled implement from the crate in which it was stored, “but I have Italian and Flemish ones, too, if you’d prefer one of those. Actually, it doesn’t matter which one you take. They’re all pretty much the same in terms of the equipment you’ll need. You’ll need it all, lock, stock and barrel!”

      So it was that 39-year-old Pedro Robledo got his first flintlock, a Flemish piece with a beautifully incised gunstock. He knew that Mattos had probably made a considerable profit from its sale, but it did not matter to Pedro for he was exceedingly satisfied with his purchase.

      * * *

      Under conditions of almost constant rain, which only increased or decreased in intensity, the Robledos attempted to reconstruct some semblance of family life. This was exceedingly difficult, for they lacked both cooking and baking facilities. Because of this, they were largely dependent on what they could buy from their better-established neighbors who lived in scattered homes throughout the village. They also obtained foodstuff from the village market where Indians from the interior and from the coast sold fruit, vegetables, fowl, maize-cakes, and baked fish.

      Daily, in torrents of rain, Pedro Robledo worked to build a lean-to that he began to affix to the south side of the Mattos warehouse. The mud through which he trudged while foraging for building material was a fetid mess of soil, water, and rotting vegetation. Walking in it was a near impossibility. Every motion required great effort, and it was difficult to remain shod in steps that gurgled in his passage. Falling constantly, especially on the forested slopes, he kept re-injuring the shin that he had first severely bruised while climbing over a fallen tree.

      Although he had at first denied the request by six-year-old Diego to help in building the lean-to,

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