Handbook of item response theory,

volume three: applications 1st Edition

Wim J. Van Der Linden (Editor)
Visit to download the full and correct content document:
https://textbookfull.com/product/handbook-of-item-response-theory-volume-three-appl
ications-1st-edition-wim-j-van-der-linden-editor/
More products digital (pdf, epub, mobi) instant
download maybe you interests ...

Handbook of Item Response Theory, Three Volume Set -

First Edition Van Der Linden

https://textbookfull.com/product/handbook-of-item-response-
theory-three-volume-set-first-edition-van-der-linden/

The Basics of Item Response Theory Using R 1st Edition

Frank B. Baker

https://textbookfull.com/product/the-basics-of-item-response-
theory-using-r-1st-edition-frank-b-baker/

Narratives of Technology 1st Edition J. M. Van Der Laan

(Auth.)

https://textbookfull.com/product/narratives-of-technology-1st-
edition-j-m-van-der-laan-auth/

International Handbook of Thinking and Reasoning 1st

Edition Linden J. Ball

https://textbookfull.com/product/international-handbook-of-
thinking-and-reasoning-1st-edition-linden-j-ball/
Biota Grow 2C gather 2C cook Loucas

https://textbookfull.com/product/biota-grow-2c-gather-2c-cook-
loucas/

CRC Handbook of Thermodynamic Data of Polymer

Solutions, Three Volume Set First Edition Wohlfarth

https://textbookfull.com/product/crc-handbook-of-thermodynamic-
data-of-polymer-solutions-three-volume-set-first-edition-
wohlfarth/

Un intended consequences of EU parliamentary elections

1st Edition Wouter Van Der Brug

https://textbookfull.com/product/un-intended-consequences-of-eu-
parliamentary-elections-1st-edition-wouter-van-der-brug/

Optical microring resonators: theory, techniques, and

applications 1st Edition Van

https://textbookfull.com/product/optical-microring-resonators-
theory-techniques-and-applications-1st-edition-van/

Lev Vygotsky First Paperback Edition René Van Der Veer

https://textbookfull.com/product/lev-vygotsky-first-paperback-
edition-rene-van-der-veer/
 Handbook of
Item Response Theory
VOLUME THREE
Applications
Handbook of Item Response Theory, Three-Volume Set

Handbook of Item Response Theory, Volume One: Models

Handbook of Item Response Theory, Volume Two: Statistical Tools

Handbook of Item Response Theory, Volume Three: Applications

 Chapman & Hall/CRC
Statistics in the Social and Behavioral Sciences Series

Handbook of
Item Response Theory
VOLUME THREE
Applications

Edited by
Wim J. van der Linden
Pacific Metrics
Monterey, California
Contents

Contents for Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiii

Contents for Statistical Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xvii
Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xix
Contributors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xxiii

Section I Item Calibration and Analysis

1. Item-Calibration Designs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Martijn P. F. Berger

2. Parameter Linking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Wim J. van der Linden and Michelle D. Barrett

3. Dimensionality Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Robert D. Gibbons and Li Cai

4. Differential Item Functioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Dani Gamerman, Flávio B. Gonçalves, and Tufi M. Soares

5. Calibrating Technology-Enhanced Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Richard M. Luecht

Section II Person Fit and Scoring

6. Person Fit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .107

Cees A. W. Glas and Naveed Khalid

7. Score Reporting and Interpretation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .127

Ronald K. Hambleton and April L. Zenisky

8. IRT Observed-Score Equating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .143

Wim J. van der Linden

Section III Test Design

9. Optimal Test Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .167

Wim J. van der Linden

10. Adaptive Testing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .197

Wim J. van der Linden

ix
x Contents

11. Standard Setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .229

Daniel Lewis and Jennifer Lord-Bessen

12. Test Speededness and Time Limits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .249

Wim J. van der Linden

13. Item and Test Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .267

Wim J. van der Linden

Section IV Areas of Application

14. Large-Scale Group-Score Assessments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .297

John Mazzeo

15. Psychological Testing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .313

Paul De Boeck

16. Cognitive Diagnostic Assessment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .329

Chun Wang and Hua-Hua Chang

17. Health Measurement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .349

Richard C. Gershon, Ron D. Hays, and Michael A. Kallen

18. Marketing Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .365

Martijn G. de Jong and Ulf Böckenholt

19. Measuring Change Using Rasch Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .387

Gerhard H. Fischer

Section V Computer Programs

20. IRT Packages in R . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .407

Thomas Rusch, Patrick Mair, and Reinhold Hatzinger

21. Bayesian Inference Using Gibbs Sampling (BUGS) for IRT Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .421
Matthew S. Johnson

22. BILOG-MG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .435

Michele F. Zimowski

23. PARSCALE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .447

Eiji Muraki

24. IRTPRO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .455

Li Cai

25. Xcalibre 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .469

Nathan A. Thompson and Jieun Lee
Contents xi

26. EQSIRT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .481

Peter M. Bentler, Eric Wu, and Patrick Mair

27. ACER ConQuest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .495

Raymond J. Adams, Margaret L. Wu, and Mark R. Wilson

28. Mplus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .507

Bengt Muthén and Linda Muthén

29. gllamm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .519

Sophia Rabe-Hesketh and Anders Skrondal

30. Latent GOLD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .533

Jeroen K. Vermunt

31. WinGen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .541

Kyung (Chris) T. Han

32. Firestar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .547

Seung W. Choi

33. jMetrik . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .557

J. Patrick Meyer

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .567
Contents for Models

1. Introduction
Wim J. van der Linden

Section I Dichotomous Models

2. Unidimensional Logistic Models

Wim J. van der Linden

3. Rasch Model
Matthias von Davier

Section II Nominal and Ordinal Models

4. Nominal Categories Models

David Thissen and Li Cai

5. Rasch Rating Scale Model

David Andrich

6. Graded Response Models

Fumiko Samejima

7. Partial Credit Model

Geoff N. Masters

8. Generalized Partial Credit Model

Eiji Muraki and Mari Muraki

9. Sequential Models for Ordered Responses

Gerhard Tutz

10. Models for Continuous Responses

Gideon J. Mellenbergh

Section III Multidimensional and Multicomponent Models

11. Normal-Ogive Multidimensional Models

Hariharan Swaminathan and H. Jane Rogers

xiii
xiv Contents for Models

12. Logistic Multidimensional Models

Mark D. Reckase

13. Linear Logistic Models

Rianne Janssen

14. Multicomponent Models

Susan E. Embretson

Section IV Models for Response Times

15. Poisson and Gamma Models for Reading Speed and Error
Margo G. H. Jansen

16. Lognormal Response-Time Model

Wim J. van der Linden

17. Diffusion-Based Response-Time Models

Francis Tuerlinckx, Dylan Molenaar, and Han L. J. van der Maas

Section V Nonparametric Models

18. Mokken Models

Klaas Sijtsma and Ivo W. Molenaar

19. Bayesian Nonparametric Response Models

George Karabatsos

20. Functional Approaches to Modeling Response Data

James Ramsay

Section VI Models for Nonmonotone Items

21. Hyperbolic Cosine Model for Unfolding Responses

David Andrich

22. Generalized Graded Unfolding Model

James S. Roberts

Section VII Hierarchical Response Models

23. Logistic Mixture-Distribution Response Models

Matthias von Davier and Jürgen Rost

24. Multilevel Response Models with Covariates and Multiple Groups

Jean-Paul Fox and Cees A. W. Glas
Contents for Models xv

25. Two-Tier Item Factor Analysis Modeling

Li Cai

26. Item-Family Models

Cees A. W. Glas, Wim J. van der Linden, and Hanneke Geerlings

27. Hierarchical Rater Models

Jodi M. Casabianca, Brian W. Junker, and Richard J. Patz

28. Randomized Response Models for Sensitive Measurements

Jean-Paul Fox

29. Joint Hierarchical Modeling of Responses and Response Times

Wim J. van der Linden and Jean-Paul Fox

Section VIII Generalized Modeling Approaches

30. Generalized Linear Latent and Mixed Modeling

Sophia Rabe-Hesketh and Anders Skrondal

31. Multidimensional, Multilevel, and Multi-Timepoint Item Response Modeling

Bengt Muthén and Tihomir Asparouhov

32. Mixed-Coefficients Multinomial Logit Models

Raymond. J. Adams, Mark R. Wilson, and Margaret L. Wu

33. Explanatory Response Models

Paul De Boeck and Mark R. Wilson

Index
Contents for Statistical Tools

Section I Basic Tools

1. Logit, Probit, and Other Response Functions

James H. Albert

2. Discrete Distributions
Jodi M. Casabianca and Brian W. Junker

3. Multivariate Normal Distribution

Jodi M. Casabianca and Brian W. Junker

4. Exponential Family Distributions Relevant to IRT

Shelby J. Haberman

5. Loglinear Models for Observed-Score Distributions

Tim Moses

6. Distributions of Sums of Nonidentical Random Variables

Wim J. van der Linden

7. Information Theory and Its Application to Testing

Hua-Hua Chang, Chun Wang, and Zhiliang Ying

Section II Modeling Issues

8. Identification of Item Response Theory Models

Ernesto San Martín

9. Models with Nuisance and Incidental Parameters

Shelby J. Haberman

10. Missing Responses in Item Response Modeling

Robert J. Mislevy

Section III Parameter Estimation

11. Maximum-Likelihood Estimation

Cees A. W. Glas

12. Expectation Maximization Algorithm and Extensions

Murray Aitkin

xvii
xviii Contents for Statistical Tools

13. Bayesian Estimation

Matthew S. Johnson and Sandip Sinharay

14. Variational Approximation Methods

Frank Rijmen, Minjeong Jeon, and Sophia Rabe-Hesketh

15. Markov Chain Monte Carlo for Item Response Models

Brian W. Junker, Richard J. Patz, and Nathan M. VanHoudnos

16. Statistical Optimal Design Theory

Heinz Holling and Rainer Schwabe

Section IV Model Fit and Comparison

17. Frequentist Model-Fit Tests

Cees A. W. Glas

18. Information Criteria

Allan S. Cohen and Sun-Joo Cho

19. Bayesian Model Fit and Model Comparison

Sandip Sinharay

20. Model Fit with Residual Analyses

Craig S. Wells and Ronald K. Hambleton

Index
Preface

Item response theory (IRT) has its origins in pioneering work by Louis Thurstone in the
1920s, a handful of authors such as Lawley, Mosier, and Richardson in the 1940s, and more
decisive work by Alan Birnbaum, Frederic Lord, and George Rasch in the 1950s and 1960s.
The major breakthrough it presents is the solution to one of the fundamental flaws inherent
in classical test theory—its systematic confounding of what we measure with the test items
used to measure it.
Test administrations are observational studies, in which test takers receive a set of items
and we observe their responses. The responses are the joint effects of both the properties
of the items and abilities of the test takers. As in any other observational study, it would
be a methodological error to attribute the effects to one of these underlying causal factors
only. Nevertheless, it seems as if we are forced to do so. If new items are field tested, the
interest is exclusively in their properties, and any confounding with the abilities of the
largely arbitrary selection of test takers used in the study would bias our inferences about
them. Likewise, if examinees are tested, the interest is only in their abilities and we do not
want their scores to be biased by the incidental properties of the items. Classical test theory
does create such biases. For instance, it treats the p-values of the items as their difficulty
parameters, but these values equally depend on the abilities of the sample of test takers
used in the field test. In spite of the terminology, the same holds for its item-discrimination
parameters and definition of test reliability. On the other hand, the number-correct scores
typically used in classical test theory are scores equally indicative of the difficulty of the
test as the abilities of test takers. In fact, the tradition of indexing such parameters and
scores by the items or test takers only systematically hides this confounding.
IRT solves the problem by recognizing each response as the outcome of a distinct prob-
ability experiment that has to be modeled with separate parameters for the item and test
taker effects. Consequently, its item parameters allow us to correct for item effects when we
estimate the abilities. Likewise, the presence of the ability parameters allows us to correct
for their effects when estimating the item parameter. One of the best introductions to this
change of the paradigm is Rasch (1960, Chapter 1), which is mandatory reading for anyone
with an interest in the subject. The chapter places the new paradigm in the wider context
of the research tradition still found in the behavioral and social sciences with its persistent
interest in vaguely defined “populations” of subjects, who, except for some random noise,
are treated as exchangeable, as well as its use of statistical techniques as correlation coeffi-
cients, analysis of variance, and hypothesis testing that assume “random sampling” from
them.
The developments since the original conceptualization of IRT have remained rapid.
When Ron Hambleton and I edited an earlier handbook of IRT (van der Linden & Ham-
bleton, 1997), we had the impression that its 28 chapters pretty much summarized what
could be said about the subject. But now, nearly two decades later, three volumes with
roughly the same number of chapters each appear to be necessary. And I still feel I have
to apologize to all the researchers and practitioners whose original contributions to the
vast literature on IRT are not included in this new handbook. Not only have the original
models for dichotomous responses been supplemented with numerous models for differ-
ent response formats or response processes, it is now clear, for instance, that models for
response times on test items require the same type of parameterization to account both

xix
xx Preface

for the item and test taker effects. Another major development has been the recognition
of the need of deeper parameterization due to a multilevel or hierarchical structure of
the response data. This development has led to the possibility to introduce explanatory
covariates, group structures with an impact on the item or ability parameters, mixtures
of response processes, higher-level relationships between responses and response times,
or special structures of the item domain, for instance, due to the use of rule-based item
generation. Meanwhile, it has also become clear how to embed IRT in the wider develop-
ment of generalized latent variable modeling. And as a result of all these extensions and
new insights, we are now keener in our choice of treating the model parameter as fixed
or random. Volume One of this handbook covers most of these developments. Each of its
chapters basically reviews one model. However, all chapters have the common format of
an introductory section with some history of the model and a motivation of its relevance,
and then continue with sections that present the model more formally, treat the estimation
of its parameters, show how to evaluate its fit to empirical data, and illustrate the use of the
model through an empirical example. The last section discusses further applications and
remaining research issues.
As any other type of probabilistic modeling, IRT heavily depends on the use of statis-
tical tools for the treatment of its models and their applications. Nevertheless, systematic
introductions and review with an emphasis on their relevance to IRT are hardly found in
the statistical literature. Volume Two is to fill this void. Its chapters are on topics such as
commonly used probability distributions in IRT, the issue of models with both intentional
and nuisance parameters, the use of information criteria, methods for dealing with missing
data, model identification issues, and several topics in parameter estimation and model fit
and comparison. It is especially in these last two areas that recent developments have been
overwhelming. For instance, when the previous handbook of IRT was produced, Bayesian
approaches had already gained some ground but were certainly not common. But thanks
to the computational success of Markov chain Monte Carlo methods, these approaches
have now become standard, especially for the more complex models in the second half of
Volume One.
The chapters of Volume Three review several applications of IRT to the daily practice of
testing. Although each of the chosen topics in the areas of item calibration and analysis,
person fit and scoring, and test design have ample resources in the larger literature on
test theory, the current chapters exclusively highlight the contributions IRT has brought to
them. This volume also offers chapters with reviews of how IRT has advanced areas such
as large-scale educational assessments, psychological testing, cognitive diagnosis, health
measurement, marketing research, or the more general area of measurement of change.
The volume concludes with an extensive review of computer software programs available
for running any of the models and applications in Volumes One and Three.
I expect this Handbook of Item Response Theory to serve as a daily resource of information
to researchers and practitioners in the field of IRT as well as a textbook to novices. To serve
them better, all chapters are self-contained. But their common core of notation and exten-
sive cross-referencing allow readers of one of the chapters to consult others for background
information without much interruption.
I am grateful to all my authors for their belief in this project and the time they have
spent on their chapters. It has been a true privilege to work with each of them. The
same holds for Ron Hambleton who was willing to serve as my sparring partner dur-
ing the conception of the plan for this handbook. John Kimmel, executive editor, statistics,
Preface xxi

Chapman & Hall/CRC has been a permanent source of helpful information during the
production of this book. I thank him for his support as well.

Wim J. van der Linden

Monterey, California

References
Rasch, G. 1960. Probabilistic Models for Some Intelligence and Attainment Tests. Copenhagen, Denmark:
Danish Institute for Educational Research.
van der Linden, W. J. & Hambleton, R. K. (Eds.). 1997. Handbook of Modern Item Response Theory. New
York, NY: Springer.
Contributors

Raymond J. Adams is an honorary professorial fellow of the University of Melbourne

and head of ACER’s global educational monitoring center. Ray specializes in psychomet-
rics, educational statistics, large-scale testing, and international comparative studies. He
received his PhD from the University of Chicago in 1989. He led the OECD PISA Program
from its inception until 2013. Dr. Adams has published widely on the technical aspects of
educational measurement and his item response modeling software packages are among
the most widely used in educational and psychological measurement. He has served as
chair of the technical advisory committee for the International Association for the Evalu-
ation of Educational Achievement and as head of measurement at the Australian Council
for Educational Research.

Michelle D. Barrett is senior director of Assessment Technology for Pacific Metrics, an ACT
technology company. She received her PhD from the University of Twente in 2015. While
conducting the research for this volume, Michelle was director of research systems and
analysis for CTB/McGraw-Hill, where she was responsible for developing systems for psy-
chometric analysis, automated test assembly, computer adaptive testing, and automated
scoring. She also previously worked as a senior consultant in the assessment division at the
Colorado Department of Education. Her research interests include response model param-
eter linking, optimal test design and assembly, and computer adaptive testing, and the
practical application of these methods through integration with assessment systems and
platforms.

Peter M. Bentler received his PhD in clinical psychology from Stanford University, spent
a postdoctoral year at the Educational Testing Service, and has been at UCLA for five
decades. A former chair of the Department of Psychology, he is now distinguished pro-
fessor of Psychology and Statistics. He has been an elected president of various societies
including the Psychometric Society and the APA’s Division of Evaluation, Measurement,
and Statistics. He was the 2007 recipient (with Karl Jöreskog) of the American Psycho-
logical Association’s Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award for the Applications of
Psychology and the 2014 recipient of the Psychometric Society’s Career Award for Lifetime
Achievement.

Martijn P. F. Berger received his PhD from Tilburg University, the Netherlands. He was
appointed professor of methodology and statistics at Maastricht University, the Nether-
lands, in 1995. His main research interests concern optimal design problems for generalized
linear mixed models, including IRT, multilevel and random effect models applied to social
and biomedical research. He has published various articles on this area and two books on
applied optimal designs.

Ulf Böckenholt is the John D. Grey professor of marketing at the Kellogg School of Man-
agement. He is a past editor of Psychometrika, a past president of the Psychometric Society,
and a fellow of the Association of Psychological Science. He received his PhD from the
University of Chicago.

xxiii
xxiv Contributors

Li Cai is professor of education and psychology at UCLA, where he also serves as

co-director of the National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Test-
ing (CRESST). His methodological research agenda involves the development, integration,
and evaluation of innovative latent variable models that have wide-ranging applica-
tions in educational, psychological, and health-related domains of study. A component
on this agenda is statistical computing, particularly as related to item response theory
(IRT) and multilevel modeling. He has also collaborated with substantive researchers at
UCLA and elsewhere on projects examining measurement issues in educational games
and simulations, mental health statistics, substance abuse treatment, and patient-reported
outcomes.

Hua-Hua Chang is a professor of educational psychology, psychology, and statistics at

the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). He received his PhD in Statis-
tics from UIUC in 1992. His research interests include computerized testing, statistically
detection of biased test items, cognitive diagnosis, and asymptotic properties in item
response theory. He is editor-in-chief of Applied Psychological Measurement, past president
of the Psychometric Society (2012–2013), and a fellow of American Educational Research
Association.

Seung W. Choi received his PhD in educational psychology from the University of Texas at
Austin in 1996, with specialties in quantitative methods and psychometrics. He is currently
principal research at Pacific Metrics Corporation. Previously, he was chief psychometri-
cian at CTB/McGraw-Hill, held faculty positions at Northwestern University Feinberg
School of Medicine, and was a lead assessment specialist at the Oregon State Department
of Education. His research interests include applications of IRT models, computer adaptive
testing, patient-reported outcomes measurement, and large-scale testing.

Paul De Boeck received his PhD from the KU Leuven (Belgium) in 1977, with a disser-
tation on personality inventory responding. He has held positions at the KU Leuven as
professor of psychological assessment and at the University of Amsterdam (the Nether-
lands) as professor of psychological methods from 2009 to 2012. Since 2012, he is professor
of quantitative psychology at the Ohio State University. He is past section editor of
ARCS Psychometrika and past president of the Psychometric Society (2007–2008). His main
research interests are explanatory item response models and applications in the domain of
psychology and educational measurement.

Martijn G. de Jong is professor of marketing research at Erasmus University. He obtained

his PhD in marketing from Tilburg University in 2006, and his MSc and Bsc in economet-
rics from Erasmus University. His research applies statistical and psychometric methods
to decision-making in marketing, mostly in a cross-cultural context with large datasets. He
received several major research grants, including a Netherlands Organization for Scientific
Research innovation grant. He also received a J. C. Ruigrok award (awarded once every 4
years to the most productive young scholar in the economic sciences in the Netherlands)
and a Christiaan Huygens award (awarded once every 5 years to a young economist in the
Netherlands).

Gerhard H. Fischer received his PhD in psychology (major) and mathematics (minor) from
the University of Vienna in 1963. From 1961 to 1968, he served in several positions at the
Department of Psychology, University of Vienna, and the Institut für Höhere Studien (IHS),
Contributors xxv

Vienna. From 1968 to 1999, he was professor of psychology and head of the methodology
unit of the Department of Psychology, head of the Department for several terms, and head
of the Computing Centre of the University of Vienna for almost 10 years. He retired in
March 1999. Professor Fischer is past president of the Psychometric Society (1994–1995)
and was a long-term associate editor of various journals. He is the author, coauthor, and
contributor to approximately 20 books, as well as the author of many journal articles. He
also received an Austrian national award (Großes Silbernes Ehrenzeichen).

Dani Gamerman is a professor of statistics at Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro since

1996. He received PhD in Statistics from the University of Warwick, UK. He is currently
an associate editor of a several statistical journals. He has published papers in Biometrika,
JRSSB, and JEBS among others. He has published the books Statistical Inference: An Inte-
grated Approach and Markov Chain Monte Carlo: Stochastic Simulation for Bayesian Inference,
both in their second editions and both with Chapman & Hall. He organized the first and
second Brazilian Congresses on IRT in 2009 and 2011. His research areas include time series,
spatial statistics, survival analysis, extreme value theory, and IRT.

Richard C. Gershon completed PhD work in both clinical psychology and personality psy-
chology at Northwestern University in 1996, where he now serves as vice chair for research
in the Department of Medical Social Sciences. His research focuses on the development of
efficient assessments (typically using IRT and CAT). He currently serves as the principal
investigator of the NIH Toolbox for the Assessment of Neurological and Behavioral Func-
tion, the PI for the NIH Roadmap Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information
System (PROMIS) Technical Center and leads measurement selection and development for
the National Children’s Study.

Robert D. Gibbons is professor of biostatistics at the University of Chicago and directs the
Center for Health Statistics. Professor Gibbons is a fellow of the American Statistical Asso-
ciation and a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. He
has authored more than 250 peer-reviewed scientific papers and five books. Professor Gib-
bons is a University of Chicago Pritzker Scholar, and recipient of the Harvard Award for
lifetime contributions to the fields of psychiatric epidemiology and biostatistics, the Rema
Lapouse Award for contributions to psychiatric epidemiology from the American Public
Health Association, and the Long-Term Excellence Award from the Health Policy Statistics
Section of the American Statistical Association. He received his doctorate in statistics and
psychometrics from the University of Chicago in 1981.

Cees A. W. Glas is chair of the Department of Research Methodology, Measurement, and

Data Analysis, at the Faculty of Behavioural, Management, and Social Sciences of the
University of Twente in the Netherlands. He participated in numerous research projects
including projects of the Law School Admission Council and the OECD international edu-
cational survey PISA. Published articles and book chapters and supervised theses cover
topics such as testing of fit to IRT models, Bayesian estimation of multidimensional and
multilevel IRT models using MCMC, modeling with nonignorable missing data, concur-
rent modeling of item response and textual input, and the application of computerized
adaptive testing in the context of health assessment and organisational psychology.

Flávio B. Gonçalves received his PhD in statistics from the University of Warwick, UK,
in 2011. He currently holds the position of assistant professor at Universidade Federal de
xxvi Contributors

Minas Gerais. His research areas include inference for stochastic processes, computational
statistics, IRT, and Bayesian statistics in general.

Ronald K. Hambleton received his PhD degree from the University of Toronto in Canada
in 1969, with specialties in psychometric methods and applied statistics. He holds the title
of distinguished university professor at the University of Massachusetts where he has
been on the faculty since 1969. He received career achievement awards from NCME in
1993, from AERA in 2005, and from APA in 2006. His research interests are in the areas of
score reporting, standard setting, applications of item response theory, and test adaptation
methodology.

Kyung (Chris) T. Han is a senior psychometrician, director at the Graduate Management

Admission Council responsible for designing various test programs, including the Gradu-
ate Management Admission Test R
(GMAT R
) exam, and conducting psychometric research
to improve and ensure the quality of the test programs. Han received his doctorate in
research and evaluation methods from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He
received the Alicia Cascallar Award for an Outstanding Paper by an Early Career Scholar
in 2012 and the Jason Millman Promising Measurement Scholar Award in 2013 from the
National Council on Measurement in Education (NCME). He has presented and published
numerous papers and book chapters on a variety of topics from item response theory, test
validity, and test equating to adaptive testing. He has also developed several psychometric
software programs including WinGen, IRTEQ, and SimulCAT, which are used widely in
the test measurement field.

Reinhold Hatzinger received his PhD in psychology from the University of Vienna in 1980
and his habilitation in statistics from WU (Vienna University of Economics and Business)
in 1995. He was associate professor at the Institute for Statistics and Mathematics and
head of the Competence Center for Empirical Research Methods at WU. His research inter-
ests were applied statistics, psychometrics, computational statistics, and graphical models.
Dr. Hatinger passed away in July 2012.

Ron D. Hays specializes in patient-reported outcomes. He has published 482 peer-

reviewed articles, 13 reviews of the literature, and 37 book chapters. For the last 17 years,
he has held the position of professor of medicine in the Department of Medicine at UCLA.
Dr. Hays worked full-time as a behavioral scientist in the RAND Health program from
1984 until 1997 and has been a RAND consultant since starting at UCLA in 1997. He also
consults with the FDA and VA. Dr. Hays is the principal investigator for the ARHQ-funded
CAHPS study and principal investigator for a subcontract to UCLA from the NIH Patient
Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) project. He is also the
head of the measurement core for the UCLA/Drew Research Center for Minority Aging
Research (RCMAR), a research and mentoring program intended to reduce health dis-
parities for older African American and Latinos by training and mentorship of minority
faculty.

Matthew S. Johnson is associate professor of Statistics and Education and chair of the
Department of Human Development at Teachers College of Columbia University. He
received his PhD in Statistics from Carnegie Mellon University in 2001. Prior to joining
Teachers College, Dr. Johnson was an associate professor at Baruch College of the City
University of New York, and was an associate research scientist in the Center for Large
Contributors xxvii

Scale Assessment of Educational Testing Service. He is past editor of the Journal of Edu-
cational and Behavioral Statistics, and on the Editorial Board of Psychometrika. Dr. Johnson’s
research interests focus broadly on statistical models used in psychological and educational
measurement.

Michael A. Kallen received his PhD from the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona
in 2003, specializing in measurement, methodology, and applied psychometrics. He is a
research associate professor in the Department of Medical Social Sciences at Northwestern
University’s Feinberg College of Medicine. His current research interests are in the areas
of measurement bias, assessment, computer adaptive testing, parameter setting, and the
identification of response invalidity.

Naveed Khalid holds a PhD in psychometrics from the University of Twente, the Nether-
lands, with a dissertation on the assessment of the goodness of fit of IRT models, both in
a frequentist and Bayesian framework. His current position is senior research and vali-
dation manager at Cambridge English Language Assessment. His research interests focus
on applications of IRT, item-banking, differential item functioning, item and person fit,
malpractice, equating, and structural equation modeling.

Jieun Lee is a psychometrician for Pearson VUE. She received PhD in psychometric meth-
ods from the University of Minnesota in 2015, during which time she helped develop
Xcalibre 4 at Assessment Systems Corporation and completed an internship at ACT. Her
research interests include item response theory and computerized adaptive testing.

Daniel Lewis is a principal research scientist at Pacific Metrics. Previously, he served as

chief research advisor at the California Testing Bureau (CTB)/McGraw-Hill. Dr. Lewis
earned a PhD in evaluation and measurement from Kent State University, where he taught
educational research methods as an associate faculty member of the Graduate School of
Education. He is a co-developer of the widely used bookmark standard setting procedure
and received the 2006 AERA Division D Award for Significant Contribution to Educa-
tional Measurement and Research Methodology for his contributions to the special volume
of Applied Measurement in Education on Vertically Moderated Standard Setting. Dr. Lewis’
current research interests include standard setting and score reporting.

Jennifer Lord-Bessen earned a PhD in psychometrics and quantitative psychology from

Fordham University. She worked as a research scientist leading standard setting efforts
for California Testing Bureau (CTB)/McGraw-Hill. Besides teaching in the City Univer-
sity of New York system, Jennifer is the director of clinical data sciences for ProPhase, a
company specializing in measurement in the clinical trial sphere. Her research interests
include developing new assessments, the effect of placebo response on signal detection,
and communication of uncertainty to lay audiences.

Richard M. Luecht received his PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 1989,
with emphasis on educational statistics and measurement. He has held the title of profes-
sor of educational research methodology at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro
since 1999. Previously, he held research positions with the National Board of Medical
Examiners and ACT, Inc. Dr. Leucht continues to be a technical advisor to many testing
organizations on issues related to assessment technologies, including computer-based test-
ing, (multistage) adaptive testing, automated test assembly, large-scale software systems
xxviii Contributors

design and integration, language testing, item design, IRT calibration and linking, data
presentation, and standard setting. His most recent research involves the development of
a comprehensive framework and tools for assessment engineering.

Patrick Mair received his PhD in statistics from the University of Vienna in 2005. He
works as senior lecturer in statistics at the Department of Psychology, Harvard University.
His research focuses on computational/applied statistics and psychometrics, including
methodological developments as well as corresponding implementations.

John Mazzeo is currently vice president of statistical analysis, data analysis & psycho-
metric research in ETS’s Research & Development Division. His tenure with ETS spans
more than 25 years in numerous departments, where he has worked as a psychometrician
and researcher on College Board R
testing programs and as a psychometric director for
NAEP. His professional activities have focused on the analysis of large-scale groups score
assessments, applications of IRT, and equating.

J. Patrick Meyer is an associate professor at the University of Virginia. He received his

PhD in educational psychology and research from the University of South Carolina. His
research interests include scale linking, mixture item response models, and models for
response speed and accuracy. He is the inventor of jMetrik and a regular contributor to
its development, for which he received the Bradley Hanson Award for Contributions to
Educational Measurement in 2010.

Eiji Muraki is professor emeritus, Tohoku University, School of Educational Informatics,

and a research advisor for the Japan Institute for Educational Measurement. He holds a
PhD in measurement, evaluation, and statistical analysis from the University of Chicago
and has developed several psychometric software programs including PARSCALE, RES-
GEN, BILOG-MG (formerly BIMAIN), and TESTFACT. His research interests in psycho-
metrics have been in a polytomous and multidimensional response models, item parameter
drift, and the method of marginal maximum-likelihood estimation. Recently, he has added
computer-based testing, Web-based education, and instructional design to his research
agenda.

Bengt Muthén obtained his PhD in statistics at the University of Uppsala, Sweden and is
professor emeritus at UCLA. He was the 1988–1989 president of the Psychometric Soci-
ety and the 2011 recipient of the Psychometric Society’s Lifetime Achievement Award. He
has published extensively on latent variable modeling and many of his procedures are
implemented in Mplus.

Linda Muthén obtained her PhD in the Research Methods Division of the Graduate School
of Education at UCLA. She was formerly the manager of quality control and customer sup-
port at BMDP Statistical Software. She is the director of product development at Muthén &
Muthén, which develops and distributes the Mplus program.

Sophia Rabe-Hesketh is a professor of education and biostatistics at the University of Cal-

ifornia, Berkeley. Previous positions include professor of social statistics at the Institute of
Education, University of London. Her research interests include multilevel, longitudinal,
and latent variable modeling and missing data. Rabe-Hesketh has over 100 peer-reviewed
articles in Psychometrika, Biometrika, and Journal of Econometrics, among others. Her six
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
against the native strength of the other, the manners and
pusillanimity of the one against the fate-defying chivalry of the other
—had each his active workers not only in Spain, but in America,
those of Velazquez being some of them in the very camp of Cortés.
Since the royal grant of superior powers to Velazquez, this faction
has lifted its head. And now its brain works.
The messengers for Spain had scarcely left the port before these
malcontents form a plot, this time not with the sole desire to return to
a more comfortable and secure life, but with a view to advise
Velazquez of the treasure ship so close at hand. Amongst them are
to be found the priest Juan Diaz; Juan Escudero, the alguacil of
Baracoa, who beguiled and surrendered Cortés into the hands of the
authorities; Diego Cermeño and Gonzalo de Umbría, pilots;
Bernardino de Coria, and Alonso Peñate, beside several leading
men who merely countenanced the plot.[252] They have already
secured a small vessel with the necessary supplies, and the night of
embarkment is at hand, when Coria repents and betrays his
companions.
Cortés is profoundly moved. It is not so much the hot indignation
that stirs his breast against the traitors as the light from afar that
seems to float in upon his mind like an inspiration, showing him more
vividly than he had ever seen it before, his situation. So lately a lax
and frivolous youth, apparently of inept nature, wrought to stiffer
consistency by some years of New World kneading, by a stroke of
the rarest fortune he suddenly finds himself a commander of men, in
a virgin field of enterprise fascinating beyond expression, and
offering to the soldier possibilities excelled by nothing within the
century. As the mind enlarges to take in these possibilities, the whole
being seems to enlarge with it, the unstable adventurer is a thing of
the past, and behold a mighty rock fills the place. Against it heads
shall beat unprofitably. The momentous question of to be or not to be
is forever determined; it is an affair simply of life now. Life and the
power of which he finds himself possessed shall rise or fall together;
and if his life, then the lives of others. No life shall be more precious
to him than his own; no life shall be accounted precious at all that
stands in the way of his plans. To a lady who complained of the
burning of the Palatinate by Turenne, Napoleon answered: “And why
not, madame, if it was necessary to his designs?” The Palatinate! ay,
and a hundred million souls flung into the same fire, ere the one
omnipotent soul shall suffer the least abridgment. It was a small
matter, and he would do it; all the islands of the Western Inde he
would uproot and fling into the face of the Cuban governor before he
would yield one jot of his stolen advantage. Each for himself were
Velazquez, Columbus, and Charles, and the rest of this world’s great
and little ones, and Cortés would be for himself. Henceforth, like
Themistocles, though he would die for his country he would not trust
her. Return to Cuba he well knew for him was death, or ignominy
worse than death. His only way was toward Mexico. As well first as
last. All the past life of Cortés, all his purposes for the future,
concentred in these resolves to make them the pivot of his destiny.
Cortés, master of kings, arbiter of men’s lives! As for these traitors,
they shall die; and if other impediments appear, as presently we shall
see them appear, be they in the form of eye or right hand, they shall
be removed. Tyrant, he might be branded; ay, as well that as another
name, for so are great ends often brought to pass by small means.
Unpleasant as it may be, the survivors may as well bear in mind that
it will be less difficult another time.
So the conspirators are promptly seized and sentenced,
Escudero and Cermeño to be hanged, Umbría to lose his feet, and
others to receive each two hundred lashes.[253] Under cover of his
cloth Padre Diaz, the ringleader and most guilty of them all, escapes
with a reprimand. As for the rest, though among them were some
equally guilty, they were treated with such dissembling courtesy and
prudence as either to render them harmless or to convert them into
friends. “Happy the man who cannot write, if it save him from such
business as this!” exclaimed the commander, as he affixed his name
to the death-warrants. For notwithstanding his inexorable resolve he
was troubled, and would not see his comrades die though they
would have sacrificed him. On the morning of the day of execution
he set off at breakneck speed for Cempoala, after ordering two
hundred soldiers to follow with the horses and join a similar force
which had left three days before under Alvarado.[254]
Cortés’ brain was in a whirl during that ride. It was a horrible
thing, this hanging of Spaniards, cutting off feet, and flogging.
Viewed in one light it was but a common piece of military discipline;
from another stand-point it was the act of an outlaw. The greater part
of the little army was with the commander; to this full extent the men
believed in him, that on his valor and discretion they would
adventure their lives. With most men beliefs are but prejudices, and
opinions tastes. These Spaniards not only believed in their general,
but they held to a most impetuous belief in themselves. They could
do not only anything that any one else ever had done or could do,
but they could command the supernatural, and fight with or against
phantoms and devils. They were a host in themselves; besides
which the hosts of Jehovah were on their side. And Cortés measured
his men and their capabilities, not as Xerxes measured his army, by
filling successively a pen capable of holding just ten thousand; he
measured them rather by his ambition, which was as bright and as
limitless as the firmament. Already they were heroes, whose story
presently should vie in thrilling interest with the most romantic tales
of chivalry and knight-errantry, and in whom the strongest human
passions were so blended as to lift them for a time out of the hand of
fate and make their fortunes their own. The thirst for wealth, the
enthusiasm of religion, the love of glory, united with reckless daring
and excessive loyalty, formed the most powerful incentives to action.
Life to them without the attainment of their object was valueless; they
would do or die; for to die in doing was life, whereas to live failing
was worse than death. Cortés felt all this, though it scarcely lay on
his mind in threads of tangible thought. There was enough however
that was tangible in his thinkings, and exceedingly troubling.
Unfortunately the mind and heart of all his people were not of the
complexion he would have them. And those ships. And the
disaffected men lying so near them, looking wistfully at them every
morning, and plotting, and plotting all the day long. Like the
Palatinate to Turenne, like anything that seduced from the stern
purposes of Cortés, it were better they were not.
This thought once flashed into his mind fastened itself there. And
it grew. And Cortés grew with it, until the man and the idea filled all
that country, and became the wonder and admiration of the world.
Destroy the ships! Cut off all escape, should such be needed in case
of failure! Burn the bridge that spans time, and bring to his desperate
desire the aid of the eternities! The thought of it alone was daring;
more fearfully fascinating it became as Cortés dashed along toward
Cempoala, and by the time he had reached his destination the thing
was determined, and he might with Cæsar at the Rubicon exclaim,
Jacta est alea! But what would his soldiers say? They must be made
to feel as he feels, to see with his eyes, and to swell with his
ambition.
The confession of the conspirators opened the eyes of Cortés to
a fact which surely he had seen often enough before, though by
reason of his generous nature which forgot an injury immediately it
was forgiven, it had not been much in his mind of late, namely, that
too many of his companions were lukewarm, if not openly
disaffected. They could not forget that Cortés was a common man
like themselves, their superior in name only, and placed over them
for the accomplishment of this single purpose. They felt they had a
right to say whether they would remain and take the desperate
chance their leader seemed determined on, and to act on that right
with or without his consent. And their position assuredly was sound;
whether it was sensible depended greatly on their ability to sustain
themselves in it. Cortés was exercising the arbitrary power of a
majority to drive the minority as it appeared to their death. They had
a perfect right to rebel; they had not entered the service under any
such compact. Cortés himself was a rebel; hence the rebellion of the
Velazquez men, being a rebelling against a rebel, was in truth an
adherence to loyalty. Here as everywhere it was might that made
right; and, indeed, with the right of these matters the narrator has
little to do.
Success, shame, fear, bright prospects, had all lent their aid to
hold the discontented in check, but in these several regards feeling
and opinion were subject to daily fluctuations. Let serious danger or
reverses come, and they would flee in a moment if they could. And
the fleet lying so near was a constant temptation. Cut that off, and
the nerves of every man there would be freshly strung. The meanest
would suddenly become charged with a kind of nobility; they would
at once become inspired with the courage that comes from
desperation. Often those least inclined to fight when forced to it are
the most indifferent to death. Other dormant elements would be
brought out by the disappearance of those ships; union, fraternity,
complete community, not only of interest but of life. Their leader with
multiplied power would become their god. On him they would be
dependent for all things; for food and raiment, for riches, glory, and
every success; for life itself. Cortés saw all this, pondered it well, and
thought it would be very pretty to play the god awhile. He would
much prefer it to confinement in old Velazquez’ plaza-pen, or even in
a Seville prison. Cortés was now certain in his own mind that if his
band remained unbroken either by internal dissension or by white
men yet to arrive, he would tread the streets of the Mexican capital
before he entered the gates of the celestial city. If Montezuma would
not admit him peaceably, he would gather such a force of the
emperor’s enemies as would pull the kingdom down about his ears.
It would be necessary on going inland to leave a garrison at Villa
Rica; but it would be madness to leave also vessels in which they
could sail away to Cuba or elsewhere. And finally, if the ships were
destroyed, the sailors, who otherwise would be required to care for
them, might be added to the army. Such were the arguments which
the commander would use to win the consent of his people to one of
the most desperate and daring acts ever conceived by a strategist of
any age or nation.
Not that such consent was necessary. He might destroy the
ships and settle with the soldiers afterward. The deed accomplished,
with or without their consent, there would be but one course open to
them. Nevertheless he preferred they should think themselves the
authors of it rather than feel that they had been tricked, or in any way
unfairly dealt with. And with the moral he would shift the pecuniary
responsibility to their shoulders. So he went to work as usual, with
instruments apparently independent, but whose every step and word
were of his directing. One day quickly thereafter it came to pass that
the masters of several of the largest ships appeared before the
captain-general with lengthened faces well put on, with the sad
intelligence that their respective craft were unseaworthy; indeed one
of them had sunk already. They did not say they had secretly bored
holes in them according to instructions. Cortés was surprised, nay he
was painfully affected; Roscius himself could not have performed the
part better; “for well he could dissemble when it served his purpose,”
chimes in Las Casas. With Christian fortitude he said: “Well, the will
of God be done; but look you sharply to the other ships.” Barnacles
were then freely discussed, and teredos. And so well obeyed the
mariners their instructions that soon they were able to swear that all
the vessels save three were unsafe, and even these required costly
repairs before they would be seaworthy.[255] Thus as by the hand of
providence, to the minds of the men as they were able to bear it, the
deed unfolded. Soon quite apparent became the expediency of
abandoning such vessels as were leaking badly; there was trouble
and no profit in attempting to maintain them, for they would surely
have to be abandoned in the end. “And indeed, fellow-soldiers,”
continued Cortés, “I am not sure but it were best to doom to
destruction also the others, and so secure the coöperation of the
sailors in the coming campaign, instead of leaving them in idleness
to hatch fresh treachery.” This intimation was successful, as had
been foreordained by the ruler of these events it should be. It was
forthwith resolved to scuttle all the ships but one, the one brought by
Salcedo. Accordingly Escalante, the alguacil mayor, a brave and
able officer wholly devoted to Cortés, was sent down to Villa Rica to
carry out the order, with the aid of the picked soldiers there
stationed. Sails, anchors, cables, and everything that could be
utilized were removed, and a few hours later some small boats were
all that remained of the Cuban fleet.[256]
It was then the community first realized its situation. The
followers of Cortés, with unbounded faith in their leader, did not so
much care, but the partisans of Velazquez, few of whom knew that
the affair had been coolly predetermined, were somewhat agitated.
And when on closer inquiry they were enlightened by certain of the
mariners, the cry arose that they were betrayed; they were lambs led
to the slaughter. Cortés promptly faced the now furious crowd. What
did they want? Were their lives more precious than those of the rest?
“For shame! Be men!” he cried, in conclusion. “You should know ere
this how vain are the attempts to thwart my purpose. Look on this
magnificent land with its vast treasures, and narrow not your vision
to your insignificant selves. Think of your glorious reward, present
and to come, and trust in God, who, if it so please him, can conquer
this empire with a single arm. Yet if there be one here still so craven
as to wish to turn his back on the glories and advantages thus
offered; if there be one here so base, so recreant to heaven, to his
king, to his comrades, as to slink from such honorable duty, in God’s
name let him go. There is one ship left, which I will equip at my own
charge to give that man the immortal infamy he deserves.” This he
said and much more, and to the desired effect. The speaker knew
well how to play upon his men, as on an instrument, so that they
would respond in any tune he pleased. Cheers rent the air as he
concluded, in which the opposition were forced to join through very
shame. Seeing which Cortés gently intimated, “Would it not be well
to destroy the remaining vessel, and so make a safe, clean thing of
it?” In the enthusiasm of the moment the act was consummated with
hearty approval.[257]
“To Mexico!” was now the cry, and preparations for the march
were at once made. Escalante, whose character and services had
endeared him to Cortés, was placed in command of Villa Rica. The
native chiefs were directed to regard him as the representative of the
general, and to supply him with every requirement.[258]
Some nine days after the sinking of the fleet a messenger
arrived from Escalante, announcing that four vessels[259] had
passed by the harbor, refusing to enter, and had anchored three
leagues off, at the mouth of a river. Fearing the descent upon him of
Velazquez, Cortés hurried off with four horsemen, after selecting fifty
soldiers to follow. Alvarado and Sandoval were left jointly in charge
of the army, to the exclusion of Ávila, who manifested no little
jealousy of the latter. Cortés halted at the town merely to learn
particulars, declining Escalante’s hospitality with the proverb, “A
lame goat has no rest.” On the way to the vessels they met a notary
with two witnesses,[260] commissioned to arrange a boundary on
behalf of Francisco de Garay, who claimed the coast to the north as
first discoverer, and desired to form a settlement a little beyond
Nautla. It appeared that Garay, who had come out with Diego Colon,
and had risen from procurador of Española to become governor of
Jamaica, had resolved to devote his great wealth to extending his
fame as explorer and colonizer. On learning from Alaminos and his
fellow voyagers of the coasts discovered in this direction, he
resolved to revive the famed projects of Ponce de Leon, and with
this view despatched a small fleet in 1518, under Diego de Camargo.
[261]Driven back by the Floridans with great slaughter, says Gomara,
the expedition sailed down to Pánuco River, again to be repulsed,
with the loss of some men, who were flayed and eaten. Torralba,
steward of Garay, was then sent to Spain, and there, with the aid of
Garay’s friends, obtained for him a commission as adelantado and
governor of the territories that he might discover north of Rio San
Pedro y San Pablo.[262] Meanwhile a new expedition was
despatched to Pánuco, under Alonso Álvarez Pineda, to form a
settlement and to barter for gold. After obtaining some three
thousand pesos, Pineda sailed southward to take possession and to
select a site for the colony.[263]
And now while the notary is endeavoring to arrange matters with
Cortés, Pineda waits for him a little distance from the shore. At that
moment Cortés cared little for Garays or boundaries; but he would
by no means object to a few more Spaniards to take the place of
those he had hanged, and of others whom he might yet be obliged to
hang. To this end he converted perforce to his cause the notary and
his attendants. Then learning from them that Pineda could on no
account be prevailed on to land for a conference, Cortés signalled to
the vessels with the hope that more men would come on shore. This
failing, he bethought himself of letting three of his men exchange
clothes with the new-comers and approach the landing, while he
marched back with the rest in full view of the vessels. As soon as it
grew dark, the whole force returned to hide near the spot. It was not
till late the following morning that the suspicious Pineda responded
to the signals from shore, and sent off a boat with armed men. The
trio now withdrew behind some bushes, as if for shade. Four
Spaniards and one Indian landed, armed with two firelocks and two
cross-bows, and on reaching the shrubbery they were pounced upon
by the hidden force, while the boat pushed off to join the vessels all
ready to sail.[264]

FOOTNOTES
[252] The names vary somewhat in different authorities, Bernal Diaz including
instead of Peñate, a number of the Gibraltar sailors known as Peñates, who were
lashed at Cozumel for theft. The plot was hatched ‘Desde â quatro dias que
partieron nuestros Procuradores.’ Hist. Verdad., 39. Cortés mentions only four
‘determinado de tomar un bergantin ... y matar al maestre dél, y irse á la isla
Fernandina.’ Cartas, 53-4. Gomara assumes them to be the same who last
revolted on setting out for Tizapantzinco. Hist. Mex., 64. ‘Pusieron ... por obra de
hurtar un navío pequeño, é salir á robar lo que llevaban para el rey.’ Tapia,
Relacion, in Icazbalceta, Col. Doc., ii. 563. Peter Martyr jumbles the names, dec.
v. cap. i.

[253] Thus Cortés had his revenge on the alguacil. ‘Y no le valiò el ser su
Compadre,’ says Vetancvrt, with a hasty assumption which is not uncommon with
him. Teatro Mex., pt. iii. 119. Gomara mentions no mutilation. ‘Parece claro ser
aquestas obras, ... propias de averiguado tirano,’ says Las Casas, Hist. Ind., iv.
496, which may be regarded as a singularly mild expression for the bishop.
Herrera dwells upon Cermeño’s extraordinary skill with the leaping-pole; he could
also smell land fifteen leagues off the coast, dec. ii. lib. v. cap. xiv. ‘Coria, vezino
que fue despues de Chiapa.’ Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 39.

[254] ‘Embiado ... por los pueblos de la sierra, porque tuuiessen que comer;
porque en nuestra Villa passauamos mucha necessidad de bastimentos.’ Id. This
seems unlikely, since the Totonacs were not only willing, but bound, to provide
supplies.

[255] Testimonio de Montejo y Puertocarrero, in Col. Doc. Inéd., i. 489, 494.

‘Viniesen á él, cuando estuviese mucha gente con él junta, y le denunciasen como
no podian vencer el agua de los navíos.’ Las Casas, Hist. Ind., iv. 497. ‘Tuuo
forma para que los soldados mas aficionados que tenia se lo pidiessen.... Los
soldados se lo pidieron, y dello se recibio auto por ante escriuano.’ Herrera, dec.
ii. lib. v. cap. xiv. ‘Le aconsejamos los que eramos sus amigos, que no dexasse
Nauio en el Puerto.’ Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 39.
[256] ‘Los Pilotos, ê Maestres viejos, y marineros, que no erã buenos para ir â la
guerra, que se quedassen en la Villa, y cõ dos chinchorros que tuuiessen cargo
de pescar ... y luego se vino (Escalante) â Cempoal con vna Capitania de
hombres de la mar, que fuessen los que sacaron de los Nauios, y salieron
algunos dellos muy buenos soldados.’ Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 40.

[257] It is generally admitted that Cortés suggested the idea of destroying the fleet,
for even Bernal Diaz, who at first gives the credit to the men by saying, ‘le
aconsejamos los que eramos sus amigos,’ confesses on the following page that
‘el mismo Cortès lo tenia ya concertado.’ Hist. Verdad., 39-40. The preponderating
testimony also shows that the masters made their report in public, with the evident
object, as the best authorities clearly indicate, of obtaining the consent of the
responsible majority for the scuttling. During the partition of treasures at Mexico,
large shares were set aside for Cortés and Velazquez to cover the cost of the fleet
and the outfit, ‘que dimos al traues con ellos, pues todos fuimos en ellos,’ Bernal
Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 84, which is proof, in addition to the reliable assertion that the
deed was agreed upon by the majority. Cortés’ expression, ‘los eché á la costa,’
Cartas, 54, is merely that of a leader of that party or majority, who besides really
gives credit to others. Hence the conclusion of Prescott and others, that the
scuttling was done on his own responsibility, is not well founded. Cortés was
clever enough always to have those present who were ready to take any
responsibility for him that he might wish. The phrase, ‘his was the greatest
sacrifice, for they (the vessels) were his property,’ Prescott’s Mex., i. 374, is also
wrong, for he was compensated by the army. And it is an exaggeration to say that
the execution of the measure ‘in the face of an incensed and desperate soldiery,
was an act of resolution that has few parallels in history,’ Id., 376, since his party
supported him. According to Gomara the pilots bore holes in the vessels, and
bring their report, whereupon five vessels are first sunk; shortly afterward the
remainder except one are scuttled. The offer of this vessel to those who wished to
return was made with a view to learn who were the cowards and malcontents.
Many indeed did ask for leave, but half of them were sailors. Others kept quiet out
of shame. Hist. Mex., 65. It was never Cortés’ policy to mark the disaffected,
however. This author is followed by Torquemada, ‘porque asi se ha platicado
siempre entre las Gentes, que mas supieron de esta Jornada,’ i. 409, and on the
strength of this the latter argues that Herrera’s version, dec. ii. lib. v. cap. xiv.,
which adheres chiefly to Bernal Diaz’, must be wrong. Tapia, Relacion, in
Icazbalceta, Col. Doc., ii. 563, conforms chiefly to Gomara. Robertson, after
following Bernal Diaz, takes the trouble of having the ships ‘drawn ashore and ...
broke in pieces.’ Hist. Am., ii. 33-4; Clavigero, Storia Mess., iii. 35-6; Oviedo, Hist.
Gen., iii. 262; Sandoval, Hist. Carlos V., i. 171; Peter Martyr, dec. v. cap. i. Peralta
has them burned by secret agents of Cortés. Nat. Hist., 76. Solis, ever zealous for
his hero, objects to Bernal Diaz’ attempt to pluck any of the glory, and scouts the
idea that fears of pecuniary liability could have influenced Cortés to gain the
approval of others for his act. ‘Tuvo á destreza de historiador el penetrar lo interior
de las acciones,’ is the complacent tribute to his own skill in penetrating the
question. Hist. Mex., i. 214-15. The view of the foundering fleet, appended to
some editions of his work, has been extensively copied. One is given in the
Antwerp edition of 1704, 141. A still finer view, with the men busy on shore, and
the sinking vessels in the distance, is to be found in the Madrid issue of 1783, i.
213. The destruction of the fleet has been lauded in extravagant terms by almost
every authority, from Gomara and Solis to Robertson and Prescott, as an
unparalleled deed. Of previous examples there are enough, however, even though
the motives and the means differ. We may go back to Æneas, to whose fleet the
wives of the party applied the torch, tired of roaming; or we may point to
Agathocles, who first fired his soldiers with a resolution to conquer or to die, and
then compelled them to keep their word by firing the vessels. Julian offered a
tamer instance during his campaign on the Tigris; but the deed of the terrible
Barbarossa in the Mediterranean, only a few years before the Mexican campaign,
was marked by reckless determination. Still examples little affect the greatness of
an act; motives, means, and results afford the criteria. ‘Pocos exemplos destos ay,
y aquellos son de grandes hombres.’ Gomara, Hist. Mex., 65. ‘Una de las
acciones en que mas se reconoce la grandeza de su ánimo.... Y no sabemos si
de su género se hallará mayor alguna en todo el campo de las Historias.’ Solis,
Hist. Mex., i. 213. ‘An effort of magnanimity, to which there is nothing parallel in
history.’ Robertson, Hist. Am., ii. 34. ‘Un’impresa, che da per se sola basterebbe a
far conoscere la sua magnanimità, e ad immortalare il suo nome.’ Clavigero,
Storia Mess., iii. 35; Prescott, Mex., i. 375-6, is equally carried away, and he finds
more words for his admiration. He is wrong in supposing that one of the vessels in
the harbor was left intact; the exempt ship referred to by a chronicler was the one
carrying the messengers to Spain.
Antonio de Solis y Ribadeneyra is remarkable as the first Spanish historian of
the conquest. It appears to us strange that an episode so glorious to the fame of
Castilians should have been allowed to lie so long neglected in the musty pages of
their chroniclers. True, these were worthy, zealous men, who conscientiously
narrated every occurrence of any note, but their standard for historic truth and
dignity caused them to clothe facts, however striking, in a garb of dreary gravity,
dryness of detail, and ambiguous confusion, which discouraged even the student.
It required the dramatic eye of the composer and the imagination of the poet to
appreciate the picturesque sketches of a strange people now fading into oblivion,
the grandeur of a semi-savage pageantry, the romantic exploits that recalled the
achievements of the Cid. This faculty was innate in Solis, developed besides by a
long and successful career in letters. He had profited also by the advantages
opened to him as the secretary of Conde de Oropesa, Viceroy of Navarre and of
Valencia, who Mæcenas-like fostered the talents and aided in the promotion of the
promising savant, for as such he already ranked. Cradled in the famous college
town of Alcalá de Henares, he had given early evidence of talent, and at
Salamanca university he had signalized himself in his seventeenth year by
producing a comedy of considerable merit. While pursuing with energy the study
of law and moral philosophy, he cultivated with hardly less ardor the muses, to
which end he was no doubt impelled also by his intimacy with the illustrious
Calderon. Several of his dramas were received with acclamation, and one was
translated into French, while his miscellaneous poems, reprinted in our days, are
marked by a vivid imagination and an elegance which also adorns his letters.
Talents so conspicuous did not wait long for recognition, and with the aid of his
patron he advanced to the dignities of royal secretary and chief chronicler of the
Indies. When 56 years old his mind underwent a change, and entering the church
he abandoned forever the drama and light literature. The pen changed only its
sphere, however, for it served the historiographer zealously, achieving for him the
greatest fame; and fame alone, for at his death, in April, 1686, at the age of 76,
deep poverty was his companion. When he entered on this office the Indies had
lapsed into the dormant quietude imposed by a strict and secluding colonial
régime. There were no stirring incidents to reward the efforts of the historian, save
those connected with free-booter raids, which offered little that could flatter
Spanish pride. To achieve fame he must take up some old theme, and present it in
a form likely to rouse attention by its contrast. Thus it was that he selected the
thrilling episode of the conquest of Mexico, with the determination to rescue it from
the unskilful arrangement and repetitions, the want of harmony and consistency,
the dryness and faulty coloring, to which it had hitherto been subjected, and to
expend upon it the effects of elegant style and vast erudition. When the work
appeared at Madrid, in 1684, its superior merits were instantly recognized, and
although the sale at first was not large, editions have multiplied till our day, the
finest and costliest being the illustrated issue of 1783-4, in two volumes, which I
quote, while consulting also the notes of several others. So grand and finely
elaborated a subject, and that from a Spanish historian who was supposed to
have exhausted all the available resources of the Iberian archives, could not fail to
rouse general attention throughout Europe, and translations were made into
different languages. Robertson, among others, while not failing to point out certain
blemishes, has paid the high compliment of accepting Solis for almost sole guide
on the conquest, and this with a blindness which at times leads him into most
amusing errors. Even Prescott warms to his theme in a review of six closely
printed pages, wherein eulogy, though not unmingled with censure, is stronger
than a clearer comprehension of the theme would seem to warrant. But in this he
is impelled to a great extent by his oft displayed tendency to hero worship.
Solis deserves acknowledgment for bringing order out of chaos, for presenting
in a connected form the narrative of the conquest, and for adorning it with an
elegant style. But he has fulfilled only a part of the promises made in his preface,
and above all has he neglected to obtain information on his topic beyond that
presented in a few of the generally accessible works, even their evidence being
not very closely examined. He has also taken great liberties with the text,
subordinating facts to style and fancy, seizing every possible opportunity to
manufacture speeches for both native and Spanish heroes, and this with an
amusing disregard for the consistency of language with the person and the time.
His religious tendencies seriously interfere with calm judgment, and impel him to
rave with bigoted zeal against the natives. The hero worship of the dramatist
introduces itself to such an extent as frequently to overshadow everything else,
and to misrepresent. ‘Sembra più un panegirico, che una istoria,’ says Clavigero,
very aptly. Storia Mess., i. 16. His arguments and deductions are at times most
childish, while his estimation of himself as a historian and thinker is aired in more
than one place with a ridiculous gravity. With regard to style, Solis had Livy for a
model, and belonged to the elder school of historians; he was its last good
representative, in fact. His language is expressive and elegant, greatly imbued
with a poetic spirit not unsuited to the subject, and sustained in eloquence, while
its pure idiom aids to maintain the work as classic among Castilians. ‘Ingenio
Conceptuoso, Floridisimo, i Eloquente,’ is the observation in the work of his
historiographic predecessor, Pinelo, Epitome, ii. 607. But it lacks in boldness and
dignity; the rhapsodies are often misplaced, and the verboseness is tiresome.
Some of the faults are of course due to the time, but not the many, and it also
becomes only too apparent that Solis is so conceitedly infatuated with his affected
grandiloquence as to sacrifice facts wherever they interfere with its free scope. It is
said that he intended to continue the history of Mexico after the conquest, and that
death alone prevented the consummation of the project. But this is mere
conjecture, and it appears just as likely that the dramatist recognized the effect of
closing a great work at so appropriate a point as the fall of Mexico. The work was
taken up, however, by Salazar y Olarte, who published in 1743 the second part of
the Conquest, till the death of Cortés, abounding in all the faults of the superficial
and florid composition of Solis.

[258] ‘Luego le zahumaron [the chiefs] al Juan de Escalante con sus inciensos.’
Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 40. ‘Dejé en la villa de la Veracruz ciento y cincuenta
hombres con doze de caballo.’ Cortés, Cartas, 52-3. One hundred and fifty
Spaniards, with two horses and two fire-arms, were left here under Pedro de Ircio,
Gomara, Hist. Mex., 65-6, but Bernal Diaz corrects him. ‘Al Pedro de Ircio no le
auian dado cargo ninguno, ni aun de cuadrillero.’ ubi sup.; Ixtlilxochitl, Hist. Chich.,
291. The force seems to be altogether too large. Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 51,
says 60 old and suffering soldiers were left as garrison.

[259] Bernal Diaz says one vessel; but Cortés and other authorities mention four.

[260] Bernal Diaz, who appears to have been with the party, names them as
Guillen de la Loa, notary; Andrés Nuñez, shipwright; Pedro de la Arpa, a
Valencian, and a fourth man. Hist. Verdad., 40.

[261] ‘Armo Francisco de Garay tres carauelas en Iamaica, el año de mil quiniẽtos
y deziocho, y fue a tentar la Florida.’ Gomara, Hist. Ind., 55. ‘Determinó de enviar
á un hidalgo, llamado Diego de Camargo, á descubrir é continuar el
descubrimiento que Grijalva habia hecho, con uno ó con dos navios; el cual
descubrió la provincia de Panuco, ó, por mejor decir, comenzó de allí donde
Grijalva se habia tornado, que fué desde Panuco, y anduvo navegando por la
costa cien leguas hácia la Florida.’ Las Casas, Hist. Ind., iv. 466; Herrera, dec. ii.
lib. iii. cap. xi.; Galvano’s Discov., 133-4.

[262] See Hist. Mex., i. 29, this series. ‘El Rey se las concedió el año de 819,
estando en Barcelona.’ Las Casas, loc. cit. ‘Torralua ... truxo prouisiones para que
fuesse Adelantado, y Gouernador desde el rio de San Pedro, y San Pablo, y todo
lo que descubriesse: y por aquellas prouisiones embiò luego tres Nauios con
hasta dozientos y setenta soldados.’ Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 41.

[263] Bernal Diaz intimates that Pineda had remained at Rio Pánuco to colonize,
while one vessel was sent down to take possession where Cortés met the men.
After giving an account of two expeditions in 1518 and 1519, Gomara says: ‘Otros
dizen, que no fue mas de vna vez. Sino que como estuuo mucho alla cuẽtan por
dos.’ Hist. Ind., 55. But Las Casas mentions distinctly that it was on the strength of
Camargo’s discoveries, in 1518, that the grant was made to Garay in the following
year, ubi sup. ‘Garai auia corrido mucha costa en demãda de la Florida, y tocado
en vn rio y tierra, cuyo rey se llamaua Panuco, donde vieron oro, aun que poco. Y
que sin salir de las naues auiã rescatado hasta tres mil pesos de oro.’ Gomara,
Hist. Mex., 67; Cortés, Cartas, 56-7; Oviedo, iii. 262-3; Herrera, dec. ii. lib. vi. cap.
i.

[264] ‘El uno(of the captured ones) era maestre de la una nao, é puso fuego á la
escopeta, é matara al capitan de la Veracruz, sino que á la mecha le faltó el
fuego.’ Oviedo, iii. 263. Bernal Diaz, in a less intelligent account of the capture,
states that only two men landed. ‘Por manera que se huuieron de aquel Nauio
seis soldados.... Y esto es lo que se hizo, y no lo que escriue el Coronista
Gomara.’ Hist. Verdad., 41. But Cortés’ version must surely be the best, since it
was related shortly after the occurrence, and by an immediate participator in the
events.
 CHAPTER XII.
MARCH TOWARD MEXICO.

August-September, 1519.

Enthusiasm of the Army—The Force—The Totonacs Advise the Tlascalan

Route—Arrival at Jalapa—A Look Backward—The Anáhuac Plateau—
Meeting with Olintetl—Arrival in the Country of the Tlascaltecs—The
Senate Convenes and Receives the Envoys of Cortés—An Encounter—
A More Serious Battle—Xicotencatl Resolves to Try the Prowess of
the Invaders, and is Defeated.

The Garay affair having thus been disposed of, it was

announced to the Spaniards that they would now go in quest of the
great Montezuma. For as the conciliating sea smooths the sand
which but lately it ground in its determinate purpose from the rocks,
so had Cortés quieted the ruffled temper of the malcontents, till they
were committed as one man to the will of the leader. And he smiled
somewhat grimly as he concluded his harangue: “To success or total
destruction now we march; for there is open to us no retreat. In
Christ we trust, and on our arms rely. And though few in number, our
hearts are strong.” The soldiers shouted their approval, and again
signified their desire to press onward to Mexico.[265]
The force for the expedition consisted of about four hundred and
fifty Spaniards, with fifteen horses, and six or seven light guns,
attended by a considerable number of Indian warriors and carriers,
including Cubans. The Totonac force comprised also forty chiefs,
taken really as hostages, among whom are named Mamexi, Tamalli,
and Teuch, the latter proving a most able and trusty guide and
counsellor.[266]

The advice of the Totonacs is to take the route through Tlascala,

as a state friendly to them and bitterly opposed to the Mexicans, and
on the 16th of August the army leaves Cempoala for the interior.
Soon begins the gentle ascent which lifts them from oppressive heat
and overpowering vegetation to cooler regions, and at the close of
the second day is reached the beautiful Jalapa,[267] a halting-place
between the border of the sea and the upper plateau.
There they turn with one accord and look back. How charming!
how inexpressibly refreshing are these approaching highlands to the
Spaniards, so lately from the malarious Isthmus and the jungle-
covered isles, and whose ancestors not long since had held all
tropics to be uninhabitable; on the border, too, of Montezuma’s
kingdom, wrapped in the soft folds of perpetual spring. Before the
invaders are the ardent waters of the gulf, instant in their humane
pilgrimage to otherwise frozen and uninhabitable lands; before them
the low, infectious tierra caliente that skirts the lofty interior
threateningly, like the poisoned garment of Hercules, with vegetation
bloated by the noxious air and by nourishment sucked from the
putrid remains of nature’s opulence, while over all, filled with the
remembrance of streams stained sanguine from sacrificial altars,
passes with sullen sighs the low-voiced winds. But a change comes
gradually as the steep ascent is made that walls the healthful table-
land of Anáhuac. On the templada terrace new foliage is observed,
though still glistening with sun-painted birds and enlivened by
parliaments of monkeys. Insects and flowers bathe in waves of
burning light until they display a variety of colors as wonderful as
they are brilliant, while from cool cañons rise metallic mists
overspreading the warm hills. Blue and purple are the summits in the
distance, and dim glowing hazy the imperial heights beyond that
daily baffle the departing sun. And on the broad plateau, whose rich
earth with copious yield of gold and grain allures to cultivation, all the
realm are out of doors keeping company with the sun. From afar
comes the music-laden breeze whispering its secrets to graceful
palms, aloft against the sky, and which bend to meet the confidence,
while the little shrubs stand motionless with awe. Each cluster of
trees repeats the story, and sings in turn its own matin to which the
rest are listeners. At night, how glittering bright with stars the
heavens, which otherwise were a shroud of impenetrable blackness.
In this land of wild Arcadian beauty the beasts are free, and man
keeps constant holiday. And how the hearts of these marauders
burned within them as they thought, nothing doubting, how soon
these glories should be Spain’s and theirs.
The boundary of the Totonac territory was crossed, and on the
fourth day the army entered a province called by Cortés
Sienchimalen, wherein the sway of Montezuma was still maintained.
This made no difference to the Spaniards, however, for the late
imperial envoys had left orders with the coast governors to treat the
strangers with every consideration. Of this they had a pleasing
experience at Xicochimalco,[268] a strong fortress situated on the
slope of a steep mountain, to which access could be had only by a
stairway easily defended. It overlooked a sloping plain strewn with
villages and farms, mustering in all nearly six thousand warriors.[269]
With replenished stores the expedition began to ascend the
cordillera in reality, and to approach the pine forests which mark the
border of the tierra fria. Marching through a hard pass named
Nombre de Dios,[270] they entered another province defended by a
fortress, named Teoxihuacan,[271] in no wise inferior to the first for
strength or hospitality. They now finished the ascent of the cordillera,
passed through Tejotla, and for three days continued their way
through the alkaline wastes skirting the ancient volcano of
Nauhcampatepetl,[272] exposed to chilling winds and hailstorms,
which the Spaniards with their quilted armor managed to endure, but
which caused to succumb many of the less protected and less hardy
Cubans. The brackish water also brought sickness. On the fourth
day the pass of Puerto de Leña,[273] so called from the wood piled
near some temples, admitted them to the Anáhuac plateau, over
seven thousand feet above the sea. With a less balmy climate and a
flora less redundant than that of the Antillean stamping-ground, it
offered on the other hand the attraction of being not unlike their
native Spain. A smiling valley opened before them, doubly alluring to
the pinched wanderers, with its broad fields of corn, dotted with
houses, and displaying not far off the gleaming walls and thirteen
towering temples of Xocotlan, the capital of the district. Some
Portuguese soldiers declaring it the very picture of their cherished
Castilblanco, this name was applied to it.[274]
 Cacique Olintetl, nicknamed the temblador from the shaking of
his fat body, came forth with a suite and escorted them through the
plaza to the quarters assigned them, past pyramids of grinning
human skulls, estimated by Bernal Diaz at over one hundred
thousand. There were also piles of bones, and skulls suspended
from beams, all of which produced far from pleasant impressions.
This horror was aggravated by the evident coldness of their
reception, and by the scanty fare offered.[275] Olintetl occupied what
Cortés describes as the “largest and most finely constructed houses
he had yet seen in this country,” wherein two thousand servants
attended to the wants of himself and his thirty wives.
Impressed by the magnificence of his surroundings, Cortés
inquired whether he was a subject or ally of Montezuma. “Who is not
his slave?” was the reply. He himself ruled twenty thousand subjects,
[276] yet was but a lowly vassal of the emperor, at whose command
thirty chiefs at least could place each one hundred thousand warriors
in the field. He proceeded to extol the imperial wealth and power,
and the grandeur of the capital, wherein twenty thousand human
victims were annually given to the idols. This was probably intended
to awe the little band; “But we,” says Bernal Diaz,[277] “with the
qualities of Spanish soldiers, wished we were there striving for
fortunes, despite the dangers described.” Cortés calmly assured the
cacique that great as Montezuma was, there were vassals of his own
king still mightier, with more to the same effect; and he concluded by
demanding the submission of the cacique, together with a present of
gold, and the abandonment of sacrifices and cannibalism. Olintetl’s
only reply was that he could do nothing without authority from the
capital. “Your Montezuma,” replied the audacious Spaniard, with
suppressed anger, “shall speedily send you orders to surrender to
me gold or any other desired effects in your possession.”