dios, which Rodriguez de Villafuerte is said to have afterward placed in the great temple of Mexico. It had been brought here by the owner, although some supposed it might have come over of its own accord, as it is said to have miraculously done in later times when detained in Mexico against its will.[1] Some years after the Noche Triste it was found on this hill under a bush, by a converted cacique named Juan de Tobar, who kept it for a long time, and then by divine direction built a hermitage for it on the hill, where it had been found. The many miracles reported of the shrine induced the City of Mexico in 1574 to adopt it as a patron, and by the following year the simple chapel was replaced by a fine temple worthy of the sanctity of the image which has absorbed so large a share of holy pilgrimage.[2]
The review held on Remedios Hill revealed the full extent of the blow suffered, "one which Spaniards alone could have endured," says Peter Martyr. At the beginning of the siege the army mustered twelve hundred and fifty Spaniards and six thousand allies, with arms and ammunition in abundance, and now
- ↑ It has been shown previously, by testimony not accessible till later years, that the image placed in the great temple was a picture on a tablet, while that of Remedios is a doll. But, of course, the image that could move through the air could also transform its shape. Bernal Diaz assumes, as we have seen, that Montezuma had ordered the image to be cared for; yet many believe that Rodriguez secured it before or after the massacre, while the more pious prefer to suppose that he could not find it, for want of time, perhaps, and that it moved miraculously to the camp. Acosta, Hist. Ind., 524; Ixtlilxochitl, Hist. Chich., 302. After the departure of the troops the image hid itself on the spot, or Rodriguez, tired of the burden which had saved his life, ungratefully left it there. It is also supposed to have been carried to Tlascala ere it reappeared on its later site. Cabrera, Escudo Armas, 106 et seq.; Alaman, Disert., i. 122. Lorenzana accepts it as the image from Mexico's temple. Cortés, Hist. N. España, 138.
- ↑ It has frequently been brought to Mexico, and is still brought to avert epidemics and other ills, to bring rain or other blessings. When detained it would travel back of its own accord to the shrine, a proof of which was afforded by the travel stains on the dress. One rainy night it arrived covered with mud. Latrobe's Rambler, 133. Thompson describes it as 'a little alabaster doll, with the nose broken, and the eye out ... about eight inches high.' Her wardrobe and jewels are valued at over $1,000,000. Recollections, 103-9. He gives an account of the veneration for the image and its miraculous power. The history of its origin and worship is to be found in a multitude of books, among which may be mentioned, Medina, Chrón. S. Diego Mex., 30 et seq.; Cabrera, Escudo Armas, 106 et seq.; Bustamante, Mem. Piedad., Mex., 1-52.
