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Title: History of Central America, Volume 2, 1530-1800

Author: Hubert Howe Bancroft

Release date: January 11, 2019 [eBook #58669]

Language: English

Credits: Produced by Melissa McDaniel and the Online Distributed
Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was
produced from images generously made available by The
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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HISTORY OF CENTRAL AMERICA, VOLUME 2, 1530-1800 *** 




Transcriber's Note:



Inconsistent hyphenation and spelling in the original document have
been preserved. Obvious typographical errors have been corrected.




     In many cases, Bancroft uses both "u" and "v" to spell an
     author's name. Examples include:



     Other archaic letter substitutions include "b" for "v" and "i" for "y" and
     vice versa.  These have been left as printed.


Possible printers errors include:



Italics in the footnote citations were inconsistently applied by the
     typesetter.


Accents and other diacritics are inconsistently used.



This volume contains references to the previous six volumes of this work.
They can be found at:









THE WORKS


OF


HUBERT HOWE BANCROFT.


VOLUME VII.


HISTORY OF CENTRAL AMERICA.


Vol. II. 1530-1800.


SAN FRANCISCO:

A. L. BANCROFT & COMPANY, PUBLISHERS.

1883.







Entered according to Act of Congress in the Year 1883, by

HUBERT H. BANCROFT,

In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.




All Rights Reserved.







CONTENTS OF THIS VOLUME.









CHAPTER I.

PIZARRO AND PERU.

1524-1544.		




 PAGE.




Origin and Character of the Conqueror—The Triumvirate Copartnership
of Pizarro, Friar Luque, and Diego de Almagro for Continuing the
Discovery of Andagoya—Departure—Attitude of Pedrarias—Slow
Development of their Plans—Return and Reëmbarkation—Persistence
of Pizarro—Sufferings on Gallo Island—Fate Defied—Discovery
of Tumbez and the Coast Beyond—Return to Panamá—Pizarro Visits
Spain—A New Expedition—Aboriginal History of Peru—The
Rival Incas—Establishment of the Spaniards at San Miguel—Atahualpa
at Caxamalca—The Spaniards Visit Him there—Seizure of
the Inca—Pacification of Peru—Arrival of Almagro—Death of
Father Luque—Judicial Murder of the Inca—A King's Ransom—Downfall
of the Peruvian Monarchy—Disputes and Violent Deaths
of the Almagros and Pizarros
1




CHAPTER II.

CASTILLA DEL ORO.

1527-1537.		




Administration of Pedro de los Rios—He is Superseded by the Licentiate
Antonio de la Gama—Barrionuevo's Reign—A Province in
Nueva Andalucía Granted to Pedro de Heredia—He Sails for Cartagena—Conflicts
with the Natives—Treasure Unearthed—The
Devil's Bohío—Prosperity of the Settlement—Alonso Heredia Sent
to Rebuild San Sebastian—Is Opposed by Julian Gutierrez—Capture
of Gutierrez—The Golden Temple of Dabaiba Once More—Expeditions
in Search of the Glittering Phantom, Francisco César
and Others—Audiencia Established at Panamá—Maleadministration—Complaints
of the Colonists—Destitution in the Province—Bishops
of Castilla del Oro—Miraculous Image of the Virgin—Bibliographical
vi
44





CHAPTER III.

THIRD ATTEMPTED COLONIZATION OF VERAGUA.

1535-1536.		




The Dukes of Veragua—María de Toledo Claims the Territory for her
Son Luis Colon—Felipe Gutierrez Appointed to the Command—Landing
on the Coast of Veragua—Sickness and Famine—The
Cacique Dururua Enslaved—He Promises to Unearth his Buried
Treasures—Messengers Sent in Search of It—They Return Empty-handed—But
Warn the Chief's Followers—He Guides the Spaniards
to the Spot—They are Surrounded by Indians—Rescue of the
Cacique—Cannibalism among the Christians—Sufferings of the Few
Survivors—The Colony Abandoned
63




CHAPTER IV.

THE CAKCHIQUELS AGAIN IN REVOLT.

1525-1526.		




Alvarado Sets forth to Honduras to Join Cortés—Mutiny among his
Men—Gonzalo de Alvarado Appointed Lieutenant-governor—His
Meeting with Marin and his Party—The Second Revolt of the
Cakchiquels—Gonzalo the Cause of the Insurrection—Massacre of
the Spaniards—Alvarado Returns to Guatemala—He Captures the
Peñol of Xalpatlahua—He Marches on Patinamit—His Return to
Mexico—His Meeting with Cortés
74




CHAPTER V.

SUBJUGATION OF ZACATEPEC AND CAPTURE OF SINACAM'S STRONGHOLD.

1527-1528.		




Puertocarrero in Charge of Affairs—Revolt at Zacatepec—Escape of the
Spanish Garrison—The Place Recaptured—Execution of the High
Priest Panaguali—Sinacam's Stronghold—Its Siege and Capture—Jorge
de Alvarado Appointed Governor—The City of Santiago
Founded in the Almolonga Valley—Prosperity of the new Settlement
87




CHAPTER VI.

INDIAN REVOLTS AND CIVIL FACTIONS IN GUATEMALA.

1529-1530.		




Alvarado Returns to Spain—He is Arraigned before the Council of the
Indies—His Acquittal—His Marriage—He Returns to Mexico—His
Trial before the Audiencia—Francisco de Orduña Arrives at
Santiago—And Takes the Residencia of Jorge de Alvarado—The
Confederated Nations in Revolt—Juan Perez Dardon's Expedition
to the Valley of Xumay—The Spaniards Attack the Stronghold of
vii
Uspantan—Their Repulse and Retreat—The Place Afterward Captured
by Francisco de Castellanos—The Circus of Copan Besieged
by Hernando de Chaves—Gallant Conduct of a Cavalry Soldier—Alvarado's
Return to Santiago—Demoralized Condition of the Province
100




CHAPTER VII.

ALVARADO'S EXPEDITION TO PERU.

1531-1536.		




Ship-building in Guatemala—Alvarado Prepares an Expedition to the
Spice Islands—But Turns his Attention toward Peru—Opposition of
the Treasury Officials—The Pilot Fernandez Brings News of Atahualpa's
Ransom—Strength of Alvarado's Armament—He Lands at
Puerto Viejo—Failure of his Expedition—His Return to Guatemala—Native
Revolts during his Absence—The Visitador Maldonado
Arrives at Santiago—He Finds No Fault in the Adelantado—But is
Afterwards Ordered to Take his Residencia—Alvarado in Honduras
122




CHAPTER VIII.

THE ECCLESIASTICS IN GUATEMALA.

1529-1541.		




Francisco Marroquin Arrives at Santiago—He is Appointed Bishop—Godlessness
of the Colonists—The Prelate Invites Las Casas to Join
Him—Marroquin's Consecration in Mexico—The Church at Santiago
Elevated to Cathedral Rank—Difficulty in Collecting the Church
Tithes—The Merced Order in Guatemala—Miraculous Image of Our
Lady of Merced—Bibliographical
133




CHAPTER IX.

AFFAIRS IN HONDURAS.

1527-1536.		




Diego Mendez de Hinostrosa Appointed Lieutenant-governor—Salcedo
Returns to Trujillo—His Office Usurped by Vasco de Herrera—Death
of Salcedo—Three Rival Claimants for the Governorship—Expeditions
to the Naco and Jutigalpa Valleys—Diego Mendez Conspires
against Herrera—Assassination of the Latter—A Reign of Terror—Arrest
and Execution of the Conspirator—Arrival of Governor Albitez
at Trujillo—His Death—Andrés de Cereceda at the Head of Affairs—Distress
of the Spaniards—Exodus of Settlers from Trujillo—They
Establish a Colony in the Province of Zula—Cereceda Appeals for
Aid to Pedro de Alvarado—He is Roughly Used by his own Followers—Alvarado
Arrives in Honduras—He Founds New Settlements—His
Departure for Spain
144
viii




CHAPTER X.

ADMINISTRATION OF AFFAIRS IN NICARAGUA.

1531-1550.		




Malefeasance of Castañeda—Diego Álvarez Osorio the First Bishop of
Nicaragua—A Convent Founded at Leon—Las Casas Arrives—Castañeda's
Flight—Arrival of Contreras—Proposed Expedition to El
Desaguadero—Opposition of Las Casas—Departure with All the
Dominicans—The Volcano of El Infierno de Masaya—Fray Blas Believes
the Lava to be Molten Treasure—His Descent into the Burning
Pit—Exploration of the Desaguadero—Doctor Robles Attempts
to Seize the New Territory—Contreras Leaves for Spain—His Arrest,
Trial, and Return—His Son-in-law Meanwhile Usurps the Government—Antonio
de Valdivieso Appointed Bishop—Feud between the
Ecclesiastics and the Governor—Alonso Lopez de Cerrato Takes the
Residencia of Contreras—Missionary Labors in Nicaragua
166




CHAPTER XI.

EXPEDITION OF DIEGO GUTIERREZ TO COSTA RICA.

1540-1545.		




Diego Gutierrez Appointed Governor—Desertion of his Soldiers—He Proceeds
to Nicaragua—The Advice of Contreras—The Expedition Sails
for the Rio San Juan—Friendly Reception by the Natives—His Men
Desert a Second Time—Reënforcements from Nicaragua and Nombre
de Dios—The Historian Benzoni Joins the Party—Gutierrez as
an Evangelist—He Inveigles Camachire and Cocori into his Camp—He
Demands Gold under Pain of Death—Noble Conduct of the Cacique
Cocori—The Spaniards March into the Interior—Their Sufferings
from Hunger—They are Attacked and Massacred—Benzoni and
Five Other Survivors Rescued by Alonso de Pisa
187




CHAPTER XII.

ALVARADO'S LAST EXPEDITION.

1537-1541.		




The Adelantado's Match-making Venture—Its Failure—Alvarado's Commission
from the Crown—He Lands at Puerto de Caballos—And
Thence Proceeds to Iztapa—His Armament—He Sails for Mexico—His
Defeat at Nochistlan—His Penitence, Death, and Last Will—Character
of the Conqueror—Comparison of Traits with Those of
Cortés—While above Pizarro He was far beneath Sandoval—His Delight
in Bloodshed for its own Sake—The Resting-place and Epitaph—Alvarado's
Progeny
201
ix




CHAPTER XIII.

THE CONQUEST OF CHIAPAS.

1520-1529.		




Origin of the Chiapanecs—They Submit to the Spaniards after the Mexican
Conquest—But Rise in Arms when Required to Pay Tribute—Captain
Luis Marin Undertakes the Conquest of the Province—His
Battles with the Natives—The Panic-stricken Artillerymen—Capture
of the Stronghold of Chiapas—The Chamulans Rise in Revolt—Their
Fortress Besieged—Repulse of the Spaniards—Bernal Diaz in Peril—Flight
and Surrender of the Chamulans—Marin Returns to Espíritu
Santo—Second Revolt of the Chiapanecs—Their Subjugation by
Diego de Mazariegos—Third Rebellion—Their Self-destruction—Pedro
Puertocarrero in the Field—His Discomfiture—Founding of
Villa Real—Juan Enriquez de Guzman Takes the Residencia of
Mazariegos—His Maleadministration
213




CHAPTER XIV.

THREATENED DESTRUCTION OF THE INDIES.

1526-1543.		




Decrease of Indian Population at the Isthmus—And in Honduras—Treatment
of Spanish Allies in Guatemala—Torture and Butchery of
Hostile Natives—Terror Inspired by Alvarado—Early Legislation—Its
Non-observance—The New Laws—The Audiencia of Panamá
Abolished—The Audiencia of Los Reyes and Los Confines Established—Disgust
Caused by the New Code—The First Viceroy of
Peru Arrives at the Isthmus—He Takes Charge of Treasure Acquired
by Slave Labor—And Liberates a Number of Indians
232




CHAPTER XV.

PANAMÁ AND PERU.

1538-1550.		




Administration of Doctor Robles—Interoceanic Communication—Proposed
Change of the Site of Panamá—Nombre de Dios and its
Trade—The Isthmus the Highway of Commerce between the Hemispheres—Vasco
Nuñez Vela Lands in Peru—Gonzalo Pizarro at the
Head of a Rebellion—Dissolution of the Audiencia of Los Reyes and
Arrest of the Viceroy—His Release—His Defeat and Death at Añaquito—Gonzalo's
Dreams of Conquest—He Despatches Bachicao to
Panamá—Hinojosa's Expedition—His Bloodless Conquest of the
Province—Melchor Verdugo's Invasion—Pedro de la Gasca—His
Negotiations with the Revolutionists—Gasca Lands in Peru—Execution
of Gonzalo Pizarro
245
x




CHAPTER XVI.

REVOLT OF THE CONTRERAS BROTHERS.

1550.		




Cause of the Revolt—Preparations of the Conspirators—Assassination of
Bishop Valdivieso—The Rebels Defeat the Men of Granada—Their
Plan of Operations—The Expedition Sails for Natá—Gasca Arrives
at the Isthmus with the King's Treasure—Capture of Panamá—Blunders
of the Rebel Leaders—Hernando de Contreras Marches to
Capira—He is Followed by his Lieutenant Bermejo—Gasca's Arrival
at Nombre de Dios—Uprising of the Inhabitants of Panamá—Bermejo's
Attack on the City—His Repulse—His Forces Annihilated—Fate
of Hernando and his Followers
274




CHAPTER XVII.

AFFAIRS IN HONDURAS.

1537-1549.		




Francisco de Montejo Appointed Governor—Revolt of the Cacique Lempira—Dastardly
Artifice of the Spaniards—Establishment of New
Colonies—Condition of the Settlements—Mining in Honduras—Return
of Pedro de Alvarado—Montejo Deposed from Office—Alonso
de Maldonado the First President of the Audiencia of the Confines—Maltreatment
of the Natives—Rival Prelates in Honduras—Their
Disputes—Las Casas Presents a Memorial to the Audiencia—He is
Insulted by the Oidores—His Departure for Chiapas—Maldonado's
Greed—He is Superseded by Alonso Lopez de Cerrato—The Seat of
the Audiencia Moved to Santiago de Guatemala
289




CHAPTER XVIII.

PROGRESS OF AFFAIRS IN GUATEMALA.

1541-1550.		




Mourning for Alvarado—Grief of Doña Beatriz—An Anomalous Government—A
Female Ruler—A Beautiful but Treacherous Mountain—A
Night of Horrors—Death of Doña Beatriz—Destruction of Santiago—A
Ruined City—Burial of the Dead—Gloom of Conscience-stricken
Survivors—Joint Governors—Removal of the City Resolved
upon—A New Site Discussed—Another Santiago Founded—Maldonado
Appointed Governor—Action of the Audiencia Relative to
Encomiendas—Controversies and Recriminations—Removal of the
Audiencia to Santiago—President Cerrato Offends the Settlers—His
Mode of Action
311
xi




CHAPTER XIX.

THE ECCLESIASTICS IN CHIAPAS.

1550.		




A Convent Founded by the Merced Order—Ciudad Real Appointed a
Cathedral City—Las Casas a Bishop—He Attempts to Enforce the
New Laws—He Refuses Absolution during Holy Week—His Controversy
with the Audiencia of the Confines—He Departs for Spain—His
Dispute with Sepúlveda—His Appeal to the Conscience of
Philip—The Audiencia Transferred from Panamá to Guatemala—Death
of the Apostle of the Indies—His Character—The Dominicans
in Chiapas
328




CHAPTER XX.

MARROQUIN AND LAS CASAS IN GUATEMALA AND VERA PAZ.

1541-1550.		




A New Cathedral Wanted—A Poor Prelate and Unwilling Tithe-payers—Two
Contentious Bishops—Charitable Institutions Founded—Dominican
Convent Organized—Franciscans Arrive—Their Labors—Motolinia
Founds a Custodia—Disputes between Franciscans and
Dominicans—La Tierra de Guerra—Las Casas' System—His First
Efforts in Vera Paz—He Goes to Spain—Decrees Obtained by Him
and an Indignant Cabildo—Las Casas Returns—Progress in Vera
Paz—Peaceful Submission and Heavy Tributes—Cancer's Expedition
to Florida—Ominous Opinions—An Indifferent Captain—A
Dominican Martyr
341




CHAPTER XXI.

GUATEMALA AND CHIAPAS.

1551-1600.		




Quesada's Administration—The Oidor Zorita Gathers the Natives into
Towns—Expedition against the Lacandones—Its Failure—Landecho
Appointed Quesada's Successor—His Residencia Taken by the Licentiate
Brizeño—Famine, Pestilence, and Earthquake in Guatemala—The
Audiencia of the Confines Removed to Panamá—And Again
Transferred to Guatemala—Gonzalez Appointed President—He is
Succeeded by Villalobos—Changes in Church Affairs—Death of
Bishop Marroquin—Quarrels between the Dominicans and Franciscans—Bishops
Villalpando and Córdoba—Fracas between two Ecclesiastics—Administration
of President Valverde, Rueda, Sandé,
and Castilla—Industrial Condition of the Province
358
xii




CHAPTER XXII.

AFFAIRS IN PANAMÁ.

1551-1600.		




Revolt of the Cimarrones—Pedro de Ursua Sent against Them—A
Second Revolt—Bayano Caught and Sent to Spain—Regulations
concerning Negroes—Commercial Decadence—Restrictions on Trade—Home
Industries—Pearl Fisheries—Mining—Decay of Settlements—Proposed
Change in the Port of Entry—Its Removal from
Nombre de Dios to Portobello—Changes in the Seat of the Audiencia—Tierra
Firme Made Subject to the Viceroy of Peru—Defalcations
in the Royal Treasury—Preparations for Defence against Corsairs
and Foreign Powers
386




CHAPTER XXIII.

DRAKE AND OXENHAM'S EXPEDITIONS.

1572-1596.		




Drake's Attack on Nombre de Dios—Panic among the Inhabitants—Stores
of Treasure—Retreat of the English—They Sail for Cartagena—And
Thence for the Gulf of Urabá—Visit to the Isle of Pinos—The
Ships Moved to the Cabezas Islands—Second Expedition to Cartagena—March
to the Isthmus—Drake's First Glimpse of the South
Sea—Ambuscade Posted near Cruces—The Bells of Approaching
Treasure Trains—The Prize Missed through the Folly of a Drunken
Soldier—Capture of Cruces—Thirty Tons of Gold and Silver Taken
near Nombre de Dios—Voyage on a Raft—The Expedition Returns
to England—Oxenham's Raid—Drake's Circumnavigation of the
Globe—His Second Voyage to the West Indies—His Final Expedition—His
Death and Burial off Portobello
404




CHAPTER XXIV.

NICARAGUA AND COSTA RICA.

1551-1600.		




Revolt of Juan Gaitan—His Defeat by the Licentiate Juan de Caballon—Expedition
of Caballon and Juan de Estrada Rábago to Costa Rica—Settlements
Founded—Distress of the Spaniards—Juan Vazquez
Coronado Comes to their Relief—Further Expeditions—Flight of
the Natives—Capture of the Stronghold of Cotu—Administration of
Diego de Artiega Cherino—The Franciscans in Costa Rica—Martyrdom
of Juan Pizarro—The Ecclesiastics in Nicaragua—Fray Juan
de Torres—Condition of the Settlements—Slow Growth of Trade
424
xiii




CHAPTER XXV.

NICARAGUA AND COSTA RICA.

1601-1700.		




Leon Abandoned—Another Site Selected—Description of the New City—The
Sacrilegious Mouse—The Trade of Granada—Freebooters in Nicaragua—Church
Matters—The Jesuits Enter the Province—They are
Recalled—The Diocese Subject to the Archbishop of Lima—Succession
of Prelates—Eruption of El Infierno de Masaya—Massacre of
Spaniards in Costa Rica—Maldonado's Expedition to Talamanca—Verdelete's
Mission to Tologalpa—Its Failure—His Further Attempts
to Christianize the Natives—Massacre of Soldiers and Ecclesiastics
439




CHAPTER XXVI.

BUCCANEERS AND BUCCANEERING RAIDS.

1518-1664.		




Buccaneers at Santo Domingo—Tortuga the Head-quarters of the Pirates—Their
Modes of Life—François L'Olonnois the Filibuster—His Vessel
Cast on the Shore of Campeche—He Escapes to Tortuga—And
Reappears in the Bay of Honduras—He Captures San Pedro—He
Plans a Raid on Guatemala—His Comrades Desert Him—His Vessel
Wrecked off Cape Gracias á Dios—His Expedition to Desaguadero—And
to Costa Rica—He is Hacked to Pieces—Mansvelt
Captures the Island of Santa Catarina—And Attacks Cartago—Santa
Catarina Retaken by the Spaniards
451




CHAPTER XXVII.

PANAMÁ, PORTOBELLO, AND PIRACY.

1601-1670.		




An Audiencia again Established in Panamá—Its Presidents—Captain
Parker's Raid on Portobello—Growth of Portobello and Decadence of
Panamá—Malefeasance of Officials—Interoceanic Communication—Contraband
Trading—Church Matters in Panamá—Disputes between
the Bishops and the Oidores—The Ecclesiastics in Evil Repute—Destructive
Conflagration—Bazan's Administration—His Downfall and
its Cause—The Annual Fair at Panamá
464




CHAPTER XXVIII.

MORGAN'S RAIDS ON THE ISTHMUS.

1664-1671.		




Morgan's Early Career—He Resolves to Attack Portobello—The Castle
of Triana Blown into the Air—Capture of the City—Atrocities
xiv
Committed by the Buccaneers—The President of Panamá Marches
against Them—He is Driven Back—Morgan Sends Him a Specimen
of his Weapons—Ransom of the City and Return to Jamaica—The
Buccaneers Prepare Another Armament, and Resolve to Attack Panamá—Capture
of Fort San Lorenzo—March across the Isthmus—Morgan
Arrives in Sight of Panamá—Cowardice of the Governor—Battle
with the Spaniards—Burning of the City—Torture of Prisoners—Bravery
of a Captive Gentlewoman—The Buccaneers Recross
the Isthmus—Division of the Booty
482




CHAPTER XXIX.

CORSAIRS IN THE SOUTH SEA.

1671-1682.		




The New City of Panamá—Portobello Sacked by Pirates—A Buccaneer
Fleet Assembles at Boca del Toro—The Corsairs Plan a Raid on Panamá—They
Capture Santa María—And Thence Sail for Plantain
Island—Massacre of their Captives—Desperate Conflict in Panamá
Bay—Some of the Marauders Return across the Isthmus—The Remainder
Proceed to the Island of Taboga—And there Capture Several
Prizes—They are Asked to Show their Commissions—The Answer—They
Sail for the Coast of Veragua—Their Repulse at Pueblo
Nuevo—Their Operations on the Coast of South America—Some of
Them Return to England—They are Tried and Acquitted
517




CHAPTER XXX.

FURTHER PIRATICAL RAIDS.

1681-1687.		




Dampier and his Comrades on the Santa María River—They Meet with
Spanish War Vessels—Their March to the North Sea—They Fall in
with a French Ship—And Sail round Cape Horn to the South Sea—They
Attack Realejo—They Sail for the Island of La Plata—Here
They are Reënforced—They Proceed to the Coast of South America—Where
they Gain Intelligence of the Treasure-fleet—The
Pirates Sail for the Pearl Islands—Their Defeat in the Bay of Panamá—Raids
on Leon, Realejo, and Granada—Piety of the Filibusters—Further
Operations of the Pirates
543




CHAPTER XXXI.

PANAMÁ.

1672-1800.		




The Scots Colony—They Propose to Establish Settlements in Darien—Subscriptions
for the Enterprise—Departure of the Expedition—Its
Arrival at Acla—Sickness and Famine among the Colonists—They
xv
Abandon their Settlement—A Second Expedition Despatched—Its
Failure—Cartagena Sacked by Privateers—Indian Outbreaks—Conflagrations
in Panamá—Pearl Fisheries—Mining—Spanish Commerce
Falling into the Hands of the British—Seizure of British Vessels and
Maltreatment of their Crews—Jenkins' Ears—Declaration of War—Vernon's
Operations on the Isthmus—Anson's Voyage round the
World—Vernon's Second Expedition—Its Disastrous Result
570




CHAPTER XXXII.

MOSQUITIA, NICARAGUA, AND COSTA RICA.

1701-1800.		




The Sambos of Mosquitia—Their Territory—A Mosquito Chieftain
Crowned King—Treaties between Spain and England—The British
Occupy Mosquitia—Galvez Captures an English Settlement on the
Black River—An Armament Despatched from Jamaica to Mosquitia—Surrender
of the Spaniards—Colonists Ordered to Leave the
Coast—The Governors of Nicaragua—The British Defeated at Fort
San Cárlos—They Capture Fort San Juan—But are Compelled to
Retreat—Church Matters—Missionary Expeditions to Talamanca—Affairs
in Costa Rica
595




CHAPTER XXXIII.

BELIZE.

1650-1800.		




Buccaneer Settlements in Yucatan—The Pirates Engage in Wood-cutting—Governor
Figueroa Ordered to Expel them—Raid of the Wood-cutters
on Ascension Bay—They are Driven Back by the Governor—Their
Settlement in Belize Destroyed by Figueroa—They Return in
Stronger Force—Further Expeditions against Them—The Wood-cutters
under British Protection—They are Attacked by Governor
Rivas—The Boundaries of Belize Defined by the Treaty of Versailles—Stipulations
of a Later Treaty—Further Encroachments of
the English
623




CHAPTER XXXIV.

HONDURAS.

1550-1800.		




Piratical Raids on Trujillo and Puerto de Caballos—Condition of the
Settlements—Church Matters—Missionary Expedition to Tegucigalpa—Martyrdom
of the Missionaries—Labors of the Franciscans in
Honduras—Interference of the Bishop—Trujillo Destroyed by the
Dutch—Fort San Fernando de Omoa Erected—Its Capture by the
English—And Recovery by President Galvez—Roatan Several Times
Occupied by Buccaneers—Their Final Expulsion
637
xvi




CHAPTER XXXV.

GUATEMALA AND CHIAPAS.

1601-1700.		




President Castilla—Port Santo Tomás Founded—Factions—A Gambling
President—Condition of the Colonists—Grievances—Patronage of
the Crown, the Audiencia, and the Cabildo—Disputes—Defensive
Measures—Rule of President Caldas—Reorganization of the Audiencia—President
Barrios and Bishop Navas—Political Dissensions—A
Troublesome Visitador—The Berropistas and Tequelies—A Line of
Bishops—Wealth of the Regular Orders—A Prelate Bewitched—The
Bethlehemites—Royal Order concerning Curacies—The New Cathedral
and Festivities—Succession—The Progress of Chiapas
649




CHAPTER XXXVI.

THE ITZAS AND LACANDONES.

1601-1700.		




Early Efforts at Pacification—Priests and Soldiers Sacrificed—Massacre
of Mirones and his Party—El Prospero Expedition—Indifference of
the Orders—Bishop Navas in the Field—A Tripartite Campaign
Determined upon—Expedition of President Barrios—Meeting with
Mazariegos—Velasco's Operations—The Expeditions Return—Further
Expeditions—Fate of Velasco and his Command—Failure—Ursua's
Enterprise—Progress of Paredes—Negotiations with the
Canek—Opposition of Soberanis—Ursua Takes Command—Treacherous
Allurements—The Itzas Conquered—Peten Garrisoned—Jealousy
of Soberanis—Unsatisfactory Operations—Questionable Possession
672




CHAPTER XXXVII.

GUATEMALA AND CHIAPAS.

1701-1800.		




The Tzendal Rebellion—A New Miracle—Atrocities—A Novel Hierarchy—The
Tzendales Repulsed—Segovia's Operations—President
Cosío Assumes Command—Fall of Cancuc—Spread of the Rebellion—Its
Suppression—Decadence of Chiapas—Earthquakes—Riots—Venality of the Clergy—Establishment of the Archbishopric—Heresy—Boundaries
of Provinces—Abolition of Corregimientos—Another
Great Earthquake—Quarrels over Removal—Expulsion of
the Jesuits
696








1




HISTORY
OF
CENTRAL AMERICA.




CHAPTER I.


PIZARRO AND PERU.

1524-1544.





Origin and Character of the Conqueror—The Triumvirate Copartnership
of Pizarro, Friar Luque, and Diego de Almagro for Continuing
the Discovery of Andagoya—Departure—Attitude of
Pedrarias—Slow Development of their Plans—Return and
Reëmbarkation—Persistence of Pizarro—Sufferings on Gallo
Island—Fate Defied—Discovery of Tumbez and the Coast Beyond—Return
to Panamá—Pizarro Visits Spain—A New Expedition—Aboriginal
History of Peru—The Rival Incas—Establishment
of the Spaniards at San Miguel—Atahualpa at Caxamalca—The
Spaniards Visit him There—Seizure of the Inca—Pacification
of Peru—Arrival of Almagro—Death of Father Luque—Judicial
Murder of the Inca—A King's Ransom—Downfall of
the Peruvian Monarchy—Disputes and Violent Deaths of the
Almagros and Pizarros.




In a society like that of Panamá, where politics
were so unjust and morality so diabolical, we could
expect nothing else than that the worst men should
prove the most successful. Among those who came
early to Darien, and whom we have frequently encountered
in the wars upon the natives, was one who
now enters the arena as the conqueror of Peru. His
origin was of the lowest. Born in bastardy, he was
laid by his mother on the church steps, whence he
2
was taken by a swine-herd to be suckled by a sow.
Escaping this master he fled to Seville and lived no
one knows how, until he took ship to Santo Domingo,
no one knows when. Thenceforward to the day of his
assassination, his merciless courage found congenial
occupation; neither his ignorance nor his beastly instincts
nor his infamous cruelty and treachery standing
in the way of fame and fortune.




He was now not far from fifty-three, having been
born at Trujillo, in Estremadura, about 1471. After
both had become famous a distant kinship was traced
between Pizarro and Hernan Cortés. The development
had been, in every respect, in keeping with the
origin and environment. Except Pedrarias there
was not a man in all the Indies more detestable.
Innately he was the coarsest of all the conquerors.
I have not seen of his a single noble sentiment expressed
or a single noble action recorded. The Christianity
which as a Spaniard he was obliged to wear
had in it not the slightest tincture of piety or pity,
and the civilization under which his genius grew
developed in him only the savage cunning which he
afterward displayed when in pursuit of human prey.
Under this same influence Cortés and other captains
of a generous, lordly nature might wade through horrors
to a determined goal, while appalling tragedies
and blood-reeking treacheries were not what their
souls delighted in. But incarnate vulgarity was
Francisco Pizarro, and a devouring sea of iniquity,
beside whom beasts were heavenly beings; for when
man sinks to his lowest, we must enter the domain
of hideous fancy to find his prototype.




Up to this time Pizarro had displayed little of that
signal ability, that marvellous determination and readiness
of resource which carried through one of the
most remarkable undertakings of any age. Soldier of
fortune and petty farmer were the only distinctions
he could boast. No talents of a higher order than
those exhibited by the other captains in Darien had
3
as yet appeared, except perhaps a cooler cruelty in his
treatment of the natives, and a more selfish heartlessness
in his intercourse with his comrades. He was
made of admirable stuff for an executioner, brave,
obedient, merciless, remorseless; and as he had not
manifested sufficient ambition to excite the jealousy
even of Pedrarias he had been a useful tool of the
governor. Great deeds do not always spring from
greatness of soul. It may have been merely owing
to the decline of physical powers with advancing age
that Pizarro's mind was led to serious reflection on
what at various times he had heard of the region
southward of the Isthmus, of what Panciaco had
said, and the Pearl Islanders, and Tumaco, and last of
all of what Andagoya had reported concerning Birú.
It was known what Cortés had done in the north;
might not the same feat be accomplished in the south?



ORGANIZATION OF AN EXPEDITION.



Whencesoever sprang the purpose, on the return of
Andagoya unsuccessful from Birú, Pizarro determined
if possible to undertake an expedition in that direction.
Notwithstanding a long career of successful robbery
he had little to venture, except that worthless article
his life. Two requirements were necessary, money
and the consent of the governor, both of which might
be obtained through Fernando de Luque, acting vicar
of Panamá, and formerly school-master of the cathedral
of Darien. Father Luque, or Loco as he was
later called for this folly, had influence with Pedrarias,
and the proceeds of his piety thus far amounted
to twenty thousand castellanos. He joined with himself
a comrade, Diego de Almagro, and winning over
the priest and the governor by a promise of one fourth
each, the company was complete. Almagro was a few
years older than Pizarro, and with an origin perhaps
as low, for he was likewise a foundling. Ill-favored
by nature, the loss of an eye but increased a sinister
expression that had played from infancy over his
features. It is but faint praise to say of him that his
4
impulses were nobler than those of Pizarro. Though
fiery he was frank, and abhorred treachery; nor could
he nurse a wrong more easily than his colleague.
Pizarro was to command the expedition; Almagro
to take charge of the ships; the vicar, besides his
money, was to contribute his prayers, while the governor
was to have an eye watchful for himself.




In a small caravel with about a hundred men and
four horses,[I‑1] Pizarro sailed from Panamá November
14, 1524, leaving Almagro to follow as soon as he
could equip another vessel. After touching at Toboga
and at the Pearl Islands, Pizarro coasted southward
past Puerto de Piñas where terminated the voyages
of Vasco Nuñez and Andagoya, and entered the
river Birú in search of provisions, but finding none
put to sea, and after buffeting a storm for ten days
again landed, and again failed to procure food. The
ground was soft, and the foragers suffered severely.
At a place subsequently called El Puerto del
Hambre he waited for six weeks with part of the
men, all on the verge of starvation, while the ship, in
command of Gil de Montenegro, went back to the
Pearl Islands for supplies. When his forces were
again united he put to sea and landing at various
points found food and gold abundant. Presently the
vessel required repairs, and fearful lest if he should
return the expedition would be broken up, Pizarro
caused himself and all his followers, save only those
needed to manage the ship, to be put ashore, while
Nicolás de Ribera, the treasurer, went with the vessel
and the gold collected to Panamá.




Three months after the departure of Pizarro from
Panamá, Almagro followed with seventy men, and
5
after some search, and the loss of an eye in fighting
savages, he found his colleague, left with him his surplus
men, and returned with his vessel to the assistance
of Ribera. By this time Pedrarias, although he
had invested nothing, was dissatisfied and sullen over
the result. The ships were wanted for Nicaragua,
he said, and half the men embarked in this mad
southern venture were dead. Almagro was finally
glad to get rid of him by paying him a thousand
pesos. Pizarro was obliged to return, and the three
associates bound themselves by oath, solemnized by
the sacrament, that the entire returns and emoluments
of the expedition should be equally divided; Father
Luque dividing the wafer into three parts and each
partaking of one.



SECOND EXPEDITION.



Nearly two years were thus occupied when the two
captains, made equal by the new contract, and each in
command of a ship, embarked a second time with
Bartolomé Ruiz as pilot and one hundred and sixty
men, and standing well out sailed directly to the Rio
San Juan, the farthest point yet discovered. Meeting
here with fair success, Almagro was sent to Panamá
with the plunder; Pizarro with most of the men
remained on shore; while Ruiz with the other vessel
continued the discovery beyond the equator, and
returning reported a more opulent people with a
higher culture than any yet found in the Indies.
Among other wonderful objects which he had seen
was a large trading balsa, or raft, made by lashing
together with vines porous timbers, which were overlaid
with a floor of reeds, and navigated by lateen
cotton sails. The people of the raft displayed spun
and raw wool, and scales for weighing gold, while
those upon the shore ran to and fro leaping and shouting
to the homeless wanderers, the hairy exiles, children
of the sea-foam, descendants of the sun, as they
called the glittering serpents that were so soon to
envenom their land.




Soon afterward Almagro appeared. He too had
6
been successful. Pedrarias was deposed; and with
Pedro de los Rios, the new governor, had come fresh
aspirants for adventure and a grave, eighty of whom
were soon launched with Father Luque's blessing in
the Peruvian expedition.




During the absence of the vessels death had taken
fourteen of Pizarro's men, and the remainder now
clamored loudly to be carried to Panamá. But this
was not to be considered. Refreshed by Almagro's
stores and cheered by Ruiz' tale hope revived, the
phantom of despair took flight, and joyous expectation
thrilled the hearts of those who had so lately dreamed
of death.




How happy was Pizarro as he went to prove the
golden report of good Ruiz! A storm which drove
him under the lee of Gallo Island, and obliged him
to repair at San Mateo Bay, only made the populous
cities and cultivated fields of maize and cacao the
more beautiful to behold. And the gems and precious
metals that glistened everywhere, how they made the
black blood of the pirate to tingle! But little could
be done with such a force as his against ten thousand
warriors that opposed his landing; for with increase
of wealth and intelligence was increased power to defend
possession. The soldiers were not pleased to have
the ships go back to Panamá without them, and the
leaders came almost to blows over the quarrel; but it
was finally arranged that Pizarro should remain with
the men on Gallo Island, while Almagro with one of
the ships should seek a stronger force. Some sent
letters denouncing the commanders, and begging that
the governor might be informed of the miserable condition
of the men; which letters, of course, were not
delivered, none save one which Juan de Sarabia inclosed
in a ball of cotton which was to be presented
to the wife of the governor as a specimen of native
industry.[I‑2]
7



A MOMENTOUS DECISION.



Fearful lest the men might seize the remaining
ship, Pizarro despatched it also to Panamá for recruits,
leaving himself with only eighty-five men. But the
missile projected by the verse-maker struck home.
The governor was indignant that the king's subjects
should be held in continued jeopardy of their lives
by their unprincipled leaders, ordered the expedition
stopped, and sent the licentiate Tafur with two ships
to bring the wanderers home. Father Luque, however,
wrote to Pizarro not to abandon the enterprise.
The arrival of Tafur at the island places Pizarro in a
most trying position. And we can almost forget the
hideousness of the man's nature, which assumes yet
darker deformity as we proceed, when he rises under
the inspiration of his energy in defiance of destiny.
The very impudence of his obstinacy commands our
admiration. What is the situation? Here stands a
single Spaniard. Yonder are the organized armies
of Peru with their tens of thousands of fighting men.
The rupture between the ruling powers, preliminary
to yet more dire convulsions, has not yet occurred.
Humanly regarded it as insensate folly for Pizarro
to dream of seizing this powerful realm, or any part
of it, with his handful of vagabonds as would be his
attempt to drink the ocean dry, or to pocket Parnassus.
Yet what shall we say in view of the result?
And sure I am it is no upright deity that aids him.




When Tafur landed and told the men to get on
board the ships, Pizarro cried "Stop!" Drawing his
8
sword he marked a line from west to east. Then
pointing toward the south he said: "Countrymen and
comrades! Yonder lurk hunger, hardships, and death;
but for those who win, fame and wealth untold. This
way is Panamá, with ease, poverty, and disgrace.
Let each man choose for himself. As for me, sooner
will I hang my body from some sun-smitten cliff
for vultures to feed on, than turn my back to the
glories God has here revealed to me!" Thus saying
he stepped across the line, and bade those who would
to follow. The pilot Ruiz was the first; then Pedro
de Candia; and finally eleven others. All the rest
went back with Tafur to Panamá. Ruiz was ordered
to accompany him and lend the associates his assistance.
Pizarro then crossed his army of twelve on a
raft to the small island of Gorgona, at a safer distance
from the main shore, and there awaited Almagro.
Alone, anchored on a cloud-curtained sea, near a fearfully
fascinating shore, they waited five months.




This rash act of the now thoroughly inspired Pizarro
was viewed differently by different persons at
Panamá. The governor was angry at what he deemed
suicidal obstinacy. Father Luque was enthusiastic,
and Almagro was not idle. The general sentiment
was that in any event these Spaniards, so chivalrous in
the service of their king, should not be abandoned to
certain destruction. To permit it would be infamous
on the part of the governor, and a disgrace to every
man in Panamá. Thus forcibly persuaded, Pedro de
los Rios permitted Luque and Almagro to despatch
a vessel to their relief, but stipulated that unless it
returned within six months they should be subject to
heavy penalties.







Peru.





COASTING SOUTHWARD.



We may well imagine that Pizarro was glad to see
the faithful Ruiz, although his force was not greatly
increased thereby. And now he would go forward;
with an army of ten thousand or alone he would
match his destiny against that of Peru. Passing
10

Gallo, Tacames, and the Cabo Pasado, the limits of
former discovery, twenty days after leaving Gorgona
they anchored off an island sacred to sacrificial purposes,
opposite the town of Tumbez. More brilliant
than had been their wildest hopes was the scene surrounding
them. Stretching seaward were the bright
waters of Guayaquil, while from the grand cordillera
of the Andes, Chimborazo and Cotopaxi lifted their
fiery front into the regions of frozen white. Tame
enough, however, were a new earth and a new heaven
to these souls of saffron hue, without the evidences of
wealth that here met their greedy gaze, of wealth
weakly guarded by the unbaptized. All along the
shore by which they had sailed were verdant fields
and populous villages, while upon the persons and
among the utensils of the inhabitants, seen principally
in the trading balsas that plied those strange waters,
were emeralds, gold, and silver in profusion.



ARRIVAL AT TUMBEZ.



Two natives captured in the former voyage and
kindly treated for obvious reasons, were put on shore
to pave the way, and soon maize, bananas, plantains,
cocoa-nuts, pineapples, as well as fish, game, and
llamas were presented to the strangers by the people
of Tumbez. Shortly afterward a Peruvian nobleman,
or orejon, as the Spaniards called him, from the large
golden pendants which ornamented his ears, visited the
ship with a retinue of attendants. Pizarro gave him
a hatchet and some trinkets, and invited him to dine.
Next day Alonso de Molina and a negro were sent on
shore to the cacique with a present of two swine
and some poultry. A crowd of wonder-stricken spectators
surrounded them on landing. The women were
shy at first, but presently could not sufficiently admire
the fair complexion and flowing beard of the European,
and the crisp hair of the ebony African, whose
laugh made them dance with delight. Never were
pigs so scrutinized; and when the cock crew they
asked what it said. Molina was promised a beautiful
bride if he would remain, and he was half inclined to
11
accept the offer. The cacique of Tumbez was equally
pleased and astonished. He lived in some state, having
vassals at his doors and gold and silver among his
utensils. Conspicuous among the buildings of Tumbez
was the temple built of rough stone. There was
a fortress surrounded by a triple row of walls. In
the valley without the town was a palace belonging
to Huayna Capac, the reigning inca, near which was
a temple with its sacred virgins, glittering decorations,
and beautiful gardens dedicated to the sun.




More witnesses to such facts as these must be obtained
before leaving this place. So next day Pedro
de Candia was permitted to go ashore armed cap-à-pie.
Candia was a Greek cavalier of extraordinary size and
strength; and when he presented himself in bright
mail, with his clattering steel weapons, and arquebuse
vomiting fire and smoke, there is little wonder these
simple people should take him for one of their children
of the sun. Returning to the ship Candia testified to
the truth of all Molina had said, and more. He was
received as a heavenly guest, and conducted through
the temple which he affirmed was laid with plates of
gold; whereat the Spaniards were wild with delight,
says an ancient chronicler. Pizarro thanked God that
it had been permitted him to make this great discovery,
and he cursed the luckless fortune which prevented
his landing and taking immediate possession. But
God did for Pizarro better than Pizarro could do for
himself. Had the five hundred he then so desired
been five thousand, the probability is all would have
been lost as soon as ventured.




Continuing southward some distance beyond the
site of Trujillo, a city subsequently founded by him,
the evidences of wealth and intelligence meanwhile
diminishing, and the reports of an imperial city where
dwelt the ruler of all that region becoming fainter,
Pizarro returned to Panamá, carrying back with him
two native youths, one of whom, called by the Spaniards
Felipillo, became notorious during the conquest.
12
The men had been ordered to treat gold with indifference,
that the future harvest might be greater.[I‑3]




The pirate's paradise was found; it next remained to
enter it. Pizarro reached Panamá late in 1527, and
instantly the town was wild with excitement. Father
Luque wept tears of joy. But although Pedro de
los Rios forgot his threats of punishment he did not
regard with favor another expedition, which would
tend to depopulate his own government and establish
a rival colony. This selfish policy of the governor
hastened the defeat of its own aims. Unable to do
more at Panamá, early in 1528 Pizarro set out for
Spain. Through the aid of Father Luque fifteen hundred
ducats had been raised to defray his expenses.
It was not without misgivings that Alamagro saw
him go, and the ecclesiastic himself was not without
his suspicions that foul play might come of it. "God
grant, my sons," he said at parting, "that you do not
defraud yourselves of his blessing." Pedro de Candia
accompanied Pizarro, and they took with them
specimens of the natives, llamas, cloth, and gold and
silver utensils of Peru.



THE DISCOVERER IN SPAIN.



Two notable characters were encountered by Pizarro
immediately on his arrival in Spain. One was Hernan
Cortés, revelling in the renown of an overthrown
northern empire as Pizarro was about to revel in the
overthrow of a southern. Cortés told Pizarro how he
had conquered Mexico and gave him many valuable
hints in empire-snatching.[I‑4] The other was no less a
13
personage than the Bachiller Enciso, who, still nursing
revenge, seized the now famous discoverer of
Peru and imprisoned him on the old charge of injuries
at Antigua. Released by royal order, Pizarro
presented himself before the emperor at Toledo with
all the impudence of unlettered merit, and received
the appointment of governor, captain general, and
alguazil mayor of all lands which he had discovered
or might discover for a distance of two hundred
leagues south from Santiago. His government was
to be independent from that of Panamá, with the
right to erect fortresses, maintain forces, grant encomiendas,
and enjoy the rights and prerogatives of
absolute authority. His salary was to be 725,000
maravedís, to be drawn from the resources of his
own government and without cost to the crown. In
return for these privileges he was to enlist and equip
for a Peruvian expedition two hundred and fifty men,
one hundred of whom he was at liberty to draw from
the colonies. For his associates he was satisfied with
much less; though it had been stipulated that for
Almagro should be asked the office of adelantado,
thus dividing the honors. As it was, he obtained for
Almagro only the post of captain of the fortress of
Tumbez, with an income of 300,000 maravedís, and
for Father Luque the bishopric of Tumbez, with a
salary of one thousand castellanos. Bartolomé Ruiz
was to be grand pilot of the South Sea; Pedro de
Candia, commander of artillery, and the brave thirteen
who so gallantly stood by their captain at the
Isle of Gorgona were elevated to the rank of knights
and cavaliers.




Pizarro's commission was signed at Toledo July
26, 1528. Thence he proceeded to Trujillo, his native
place, where he was joined by four brothers, Fernando,
Juan, and Gonzalo Pizarro, and Francisco Martin
de Alcántara, all except the first like himself illegitimate,
14
all poor, ignorant, and avaricious. Fernando,
however, possessed some superiorities, and played a
conspicuous part in the conquest. He was a man of
fine form, repulsive features, and infamous character.
As arrogant, jealous, and revengeful as he was capable,
he soon acquired unbounded influence over his
brother, and was the scourge of the expedition.




Small as was the force required by his capitulation
with the crown, Pizarro was unable to raise it. With
the assistance of Cortés he managed to make ready
for sea three small vessels, in one of which, by eluding
the authorities, he embarked, and awaited his brothers
at the Canary Islands. By liberal bribery and the
solemn assurance of Fernando that all requirements
of the king had been complied with, and that the
specified number of men were with his brother who
had gone before, the other two ships were allowed to
depart, and the three vessels arrived at Nombre de
Dios in January 1530. There Pizarro was met by
Almagro and Father Luque, who when they learned
how the royal honors had been distributed, and saw
the insolent bearing of the vulgar brothers, upbraided
him for his perfidy; and it was with difficulty that
Almagro was prevented by fresh promises from withdrawing
from the partnership and engaging in conquest
on his own account.




Crossing to Panamá, an expedition was organized
with one hundred and eighty men, thirty horses, and
three ships, though all had been procured with no
small difficulty. On the day of St John the evangelist
imposing ceremonies were held in the cathedral; the
royal banner and the standard of the expedition were
unfurled and consecrated; a sermon was preached,
and to every one of the pirates the holy sacrament
was administered, thus giving this marauding expedition
the color of a religious crusade. The Pizarros
set sail early in January 1531, leaving Almagro, as
in the first instance, to follow with reënforcements.
Tumbez was their objective point; but turned from
15
their purpose by adverse winds, and eager for a trial
of their steel, the Spaniards landed at a bay which
they called San Mateo, surprised a village in the
province of Coaque, and secured, besides provisions,
gold, silver, and emeralds to the value of twenty thousand
pesos, which enabled them to send back the ships
at once, one to Nicaragua and the other to Panamá,
for reënforcements.




The Spaniards then continued their course toward
Tumbez by land; and burdened as they were by
weapons and armor, marching over hot sands under
an equatorial sun, the journey soon became painful in
the extreme. To add to their torments, an ulcerous
epidemic broke out among them, from which many
died, with curses on their commander. But their
hearts were gladdened one day by the approach of a
ship from Panamá having on board the royal officers
appointed to accompany the expedition, whom Pizarro
in his haste had left in Spain, and soon they were
joined by thirty men under Captain Benalcázar.
Meeting with no resistance from the natives, Pizarro
continued his march until he arrived at the gulf of
Guayaquil, opposite the isle of Puma. Possession
of this island was deemed desirable preparatory to
the attack on Tumbez. While meditating on the best
method of capturing the island, Pizarro was gratified
by a visit from its cacique, who invited the Spaniards
to take up their abode with him. It appears that
there existed an hereditary feud between the people
of Puma and those of the mainland; and although
forced to submission by the powerful incas, the
islanders never ceased to inflict such injuries as lay in
their power on the town of Tumbez. The friendship
of the strangers would give them great advantages;
hence the invitation. Pizarro gladly accepted the
proffered hospitality, and passing over to the island
with his army he awaited the arrival of reënforcements
before attacking Tumbez.




By their arrogance and apparent intimacy with
16
the people of Tumbez, the strangers soon became
intolerable to the islanders, who caught in a conspiracy
were attacked and driven to hiding-places by
their guests. Nevertheless, but for the opportune
arrival of Fernando de Soto with one hundred men
and some horses it would have gone hard with the
Spaniards. Pizarro now resolved to cross at once to
the mainland and set the ball in motion.



CIVIL WAR IN PERU.



Not least among the speculations that stirred the
breast of the Spanish commander was the rumor that
from time to time had reached his ear of discord
between the rival candidates for the throne of the
monarch lately deceased. Civil war would be a providence
indeed at this juncture, not less kind than that
which gave Montezuma's throne to Cortés.




Tradition refers the aborigines of Peru to a time
when the entire land was divided into petty chiefdoms,
composed of wild men who like wild beasts
roamed primeval forests. After the lapse of ages,
time marking no improvement, there appeared one
day on the bank of Lake Titicaca two personages,
male and female, Manco Capac and Mama Ocollo, of
majestic mien and clad in glistening whiteness. They
declared themselves children of the sun, sent by the
parent of light to enlighten the human race. From
Lake Titicaca they went northward a few leagues
and founded the city of Cuzco, whither the chiefs
throughout that region assembled and acknowledged
the sovereignty of the celestial visitants. Under the
instruction of Manco Capac the men became skilled
in agriculture; Mama Ocollo taught the women domestic
arts, and the migratory clans of the western
slope of the cordillera thus became cemented under
the beneficent rule of the heavenly teachers. Originally
the dominion of Manco Capac extended no
more than eight leagues from Cuzco, but in the
twelve succeeding reigns, which formed the epoch
prior to the advent of the Spaniards, the empire
17
of the incas, or lords of Peru, was greatly extended.



ABORIGINAL HISTORY.



It naturally followed from their celestial origin and
superior intelligence that the incas were adored as
divinities, as well as obeyed as sovereigns. Not alone
their person, but everything coming beneath their
touch was sacred. Their blood was never contaminated
by mortal intermixtures, and their dress it
was unlawful for any to assume. The empire under
Huayna Capac, twelfth monarch from the foundation
of the dynasty, embraced more than five hundred
leagues of western sea-coast, and extended to the
summit of the Andes. This politic and warlike
prince died about the beginning of the year 1526.
His father, Tupac Inca Yupanqui, during whose reign
the imperial domain had been enlarged by the addition
of Quito on the one side and of Chile on the
other, exhibited martial and administrative talents of
a high order. This vast inheritance, together with
the wisdom and virtues of the father, descended to
the son. In addition to a wife, who was also his
sister, Huayna Capac had many concubines. The
lawful heir to the throne, son of his sister-wife, was
named Huascar, next to whom as heir apparent stood
Manco Capac, son of another wife who was his cousin.
But his favorite son was Atahualpa, whose mother
was the beautiful daughter of the last reigning monarch
of Quito, and concubine of Huayna Capac.
From boyhood Atahualpa had been the constant
companion of his father, who on his death-bed, contrary
to custom, divided the realm, or ordered rather
that Quito, the ancient kingdom of his vanquished
ancestors, should be given to Atahualpa, while all
the rest should belong to Huascar. Four years
of tranquillity elapsed, and the impolitic measure of
Huayna Capac bid fair to prove successful. Huascar
was satisfied, and his brother appeared content. But
now a martial spirit was manifest in Atahualpa.
Gradually drawing to his standard the flower of the
18
Peruvian army, he marched against Huascar, overthrew
him near the base of Chimborazo, and pressing
forward again defeated the Peruvians before Cuzco,
captured his brother, and took possession of the imperial
city of the incas.




It was in the midst of this struggle that the Spaniards
gathered before Tumbez bent on plunder. We
see clearly now, that had they attempted invasion
before the opening of the war between the rival
brothers, their effort would have been what it appeared
to be, chimerical and absurd. But these few
swift years had ripened this land for hellish purposes,
and the demons were already knocking at the door.
Crossing to the mainland, not without some slight
opposition, Pizarro found Tumbez deserted. Gone
were the gold of the temple and the rich ornaments
of the merry wives. "And is this your boasted Tumbez?"
exclaimed the disappointed cavaliers. "Better
far and richer are the elysian fields of Nicaragua;
better have remained at home than to come so far for
so barren a conquest." After some search the cacique
was found. He charged the destruction of the town
to the islanders of Puma. As he professed willingness
to submit to the Spaniards, and as Pizarro
deemed it prudent to hold Tumbez peaceably, he
gave the cacique his liberty. This was in May 1532.
Keeping a watchful eye on his disaffected soldiers,
Pizarro set about planting a colony. He selected for
his operations the valley of Tangarala, some thirty
leagues south of Tumbez and near the sea, and thither
repairing with his men erected a fortress, church, and
other buildings, partitioned the adjacent lands, distributed
repartimientos, organized a municipality, and
called the place San Miguel. So thoroughly had the
work of devastation been carried on by the islanders
on one side, and the soldiery of Atahualpa on the other,
that the Spaniards met with little opposition.




But these were not the men to waste time in establishing
friendship upon a devastated seaboard when
19
there was a world of wealth somewhere thereabout.
One thing troubled Pizarro, however. By late arrivals
he had been informed that Almagro still thought seriously
of establishing for himself a colony. Pizarro
needed Almagro's aid, and he wanted no rival there.
So drawing in his talons he wrote Almagro begging
him for the love of God and the king, if such were
his plans to change them and come to his assistance.
This letter with the gold thus far collected he despatched
by ship to Panamá.



FATAL DISRUPTIONS.



Meanwhile the rumors of battle between the rival
princes become more defined. It is known that when
the Spaniards landed at San Mateo the war was raging.
While Pizarro was marching southward toward
Tumbez with one hundred and eighty men, Atahualpa
was also marching southward toward Cuzco with 140,000
men to meet Huascar with a force of 130,000.
And Atahualpa the victor now rests in the vale of
Caxamalca, beyond the cordillera, but not more than
twelve days' journey hence. Pizarro resolves to visit
him; peradventure there to throw the die which is to
determine many fates.[I‑5]
20




It is the 24th of September when Pizarro sets out
from San Miguel with one hundred and ten foot-soldiers,
sixty-seven horsemen, and two Indian interpreters.
Atahualpa is well aware of the presence of
the Spaniards, of their works within Peruvian domain,
and of their approach. And he is curious to behold
them. There is nothing to fear, unless indeed they
be gods, in which case it were useless to oppose them.
Along the way the natives cheerfully provide every
requirement for the courteous strangers.




Arrived at the western base of the cordillera the
sixth day, permission is given to all who may choose to
withdraw from the hazardous venture beyond. Nine,
four foot and five horsemen, avail themselves of the
opportunity and return to San Miguel. On the
march next day Pizarro is informed that the general
in charge of Atahualpa's forces garrisoned at Caxas,
a village lying directly on the route to Caxamalca,
is prepared to question his progress should he attempt
to pass that way. Hernando de Soto, with a small
detachment, is sent forward, while the main body of
the little army await results at Zaran. Proceeding
wonderingly by the great upper road or causeway
of the incas, which extends along the rugged Andes
the entire length of the empire from Quito to Cuzco,
and so wide that six horsemen can ride there abreast,
21
Soto finds the Peruvian general, recites the stale
story of the world's greatest monarch who sends his
master information of the maker of the universe and
this earth's saviour, and begs permission on behalf of
the Spanish captain to proceed on his heavenly and
peaceable errand. At this juncture a messenger arrives
with an invitation from the inca for the Spaniards
to visit him. While on the way presents are
exchanged by the heads of the respective powers, and,
as the Spaniards draw near the Peruvian encampment,
another messenger from the inca wishes to know on
what day the strangers will enter Caxamalca, that a
suitable reception may be prepared.



ARRIVAL AT CAXAMALCA.



At length from the terraced heights above Caxamalca,
through the openings of the foliage, the white
tents of the Peruvian host are seen stretching for
miles along the fertile valley. It is a sight at which
the heart of the stoutest cavalier might beat despondingly,
and that without prejudice. But these audacious
Spaniards halt only to don their brightest armor,
and unfurling their banner they march down the
mountain. Next day, the 15th of November, Pizarro
divides his force into three companies and enters the
town about the hour of vespers. Some two thousand
houses surround a triangular plaza of extraordinary
size, walled in by solid masonry and low adobe barracks,
and entered from the streets through gates. From a
large stone fortress broad steps descend to the plaza
on one side, while on the other a secret staircase leads
to the street. Without the now deserted town stands
the temple of the sun, and on an eminence near by is
another and more formidable fortress of hewn stone.
A spiral wall, which thrice encloses the citadel, renders
the place impregnable to native soldiery, while ascent
from the plain is made by a winding staircase. Between
the village and the Peruvian encampment, a
league distant, a causeway runs, forming a fine road
over the soft fertile lands intervening.




As with heavy tread the Spaniards march through
22
the silent streets in which no living thing is visible
save a few knots of ancient, witch-like crones who
predict in low mournful regrets the destruction of the
strangers, the adventure at this point assumes ghostly
shape, like the confused manœuvrings of a dream and
Caxamalca a phantom city. Quartering his troops in
the plaza, Pizarro sends Hernando de Soto with fifteen
horsemen,[I‑6] and the interpreter Felipillo, to ask the
inca the time and place of the approaching interview;
and lest accident should befall the embassy
Hernando Pizarro is ordered to follow and assist as
occasion requires. Over the causeway toward the
imperial camp rushes first one cavalcade and then the
other, past manly men and modest women who gaze
in mute astonishment as the apparitions emerge from
the murky twilight and sweep by and disappear midst
clatter of hoofs and clang of arms never before heard
in this quarter of the earth. Presently is encountered
the Inca's army drawn up in distinct battalions,
archers, slingers, clubmen, and spearmen, standing
expectantly.[I‑7] The royal pavilion occupies an open
space near the centre of the encampment. Within
a short distance are the bath-houses, and a rustic
dwelling, with plastered walls colored in various tints
and surrounded by corridors. On one side is a stone
fountain, and a reservoir into which flows water,
both hot and cold, from rivulets and springs through
aqueducts which intersect the valley in every direction.
On the other side are the royal gardens and
pleasure-grounds.



MEETING WITH ATAHUALPA.



As the horsemen draw up before the royal quarters
23
the inca is discovered seated on an ottoman in front
of his tent and surrounded by groups of courtiers,
while beautiful damsels in brilliant attire flit about the
grounds. Elegance, discipline, and the profound deference
of the nobles toward their chief are apparent
at the first glance. The inca, although arrayed less
gaudily than his attendants, is easily distinguished by
the famous imperial head-dress, or borla, worn by Peruvian
monarchs in place of a crown, consisting of a
crimson woollen fringe, which Oviedo describes as a
tassel of the width of the hand, and about one span in
length, gathered upon the crown in the form of a flat
brush, the fringe descending over the forehead down
to the eyes, and partially covering them, so that the
wearer can scarcely see without raising the lower part
of it with his hand. The Christians who have heard
many tales of his craft and ferocity, look in vain for
traces of extraordinary passion or cunning. The borla,
according to Jeres, throws a shade of melancholy over
the features of Atahualpa; aside from this, however,
his face is grave, passionless, and cold. With a single
horseman on either side, Hernando de Soto rides
forward a few paces, and without dismounting respectfully
addresses the inca through Felipillo, the
interpreter. "I come, most mighty prince, from
the commander of the Christians, who through your
courtesy now rests at Caxamalca, ardently longing to
kiss your royal hand, and deliver you a message from
his puissant master, the king of Spain." Immovable,
silent, with eyes downcast, sits the inca as if listening
he hears not, as if unaware of any extraordinary occurrence.
After an embarrassing pause, a nobleman
who stands nearest the august monarch answers, "It
is well."




At this juncture Hernando Pizarro rides up and
joins in the parley. When informed that a brother
of the Spanish captain has arrived, Atahualpa raises
his eyes and speaks: "Say to your commander that
to-day I fast, but to-morrow I will visit him at Caxamalca."
24
Hereupon the ambassadors turn to depart;
but the inca, slow to speak, is slower still to cease
speaking, and the Spaniards are motioned to pause.
"My cacique Mayzabilica informs me," continues
Atahualpa, "that the Christians are cowards, and
not invincible as they would make us believe; for on
the banks of the Turicara he himself had killed three
Spaniards and a horse in revenge for outrages on his
people." Checking his rising choler with the thought
of the stake for which he played, Hernando Pizarro
explains: "Your chieftain tells you false when he says
that the Christians dare not fight, or even that they
can be overcome. Ten horsemen are enough to put
to flight ten thousand of the men of Mayzabilica. My
brother comes to offer terms of amity. If you have
enemies to be subdued direct us to them, and we will
prove the truth of this I say." With an incredulous
smile Atahualpa drops the subject and offers refreshments
to his visitors. But at this moment the attention
of all is directed to another scene.




Hernando de Soto is an expert horseman and
superbly mounted. He marks the smile of incredulity
with which the broad boast of his comrade had
been received by the Peruvians, and in order to
inspire a more healthful terror, he drives his iron heel
into the flanks of his impatient steed, and darting off
at full speed, sweeps round in graceful curves, prancing,
leaping, running; then riding off a little distance
he wheels and dashes straight toward the royal pavilion.
The nobles throw up their hands to shield the
sacred person of the inca; a moment after they fly in
terror. But when with one more bound the horse
would be upon the monarch, the rider reins back the
animal to a dead stop. Not the twitching of a muscle
is discernible in the features of the inca; though for
their cowardice in the presence of strangers, we are
told that the nobles next day suffered death. The
cavaliers decline food, saying that they, too, are holding
a fast; but chicha, or wine of maize, being offered
25
them in golden goblets by dark-eyed beauties, and
Atahualpa brooking no refusal, the Spaniards without
dismounting drink it off, and then slowly ride back to
Caxamalca.



PREMEDITATED TREACHERY.



As the night wears away, while Atahualpa lies
dreaming of the twilight apparition, Francisco Pizarro
matures his plans. Little as there was in the
brief survey of the inca's camp to inspire confidence
in attempting here the seizure trick, the Spaniards
nevertheless determine to venture it. The details of
the proposed perfidy and butchery are arranged with
consummate audacity and executed with a cool indifference
to human rights and human suffering which
would do honor to the chief of anacondas. In issuing to
his officers their instructions for the day, which are
nothing less than to seize the inca and murder his
attendants, Pizarro says: "The project is more feasible
than at first glance one might imagine. To administer
to us the rites of hospitality, the Indians will
not come arrayed in hostile humor. No more can be
admitted to the plaza than may be easily vanquished;
and with the inca, whom his soldiers worship as a
god, within our grasp, we may dictate terms to the
empire. Farther than this our case is desperate.
Atahualpa has permitted our insignificant force, which
he could crush at pleasure, to advance even to the
border of his sacred presence; he will scarcely suffer
us to depart in peace, did we wish it. Of your hearts
make a fortress; for though we be few in number,
God will never forsake those who fight his battles."




Mass, attended by pious chants, follows the early
clarion call the 16th of November, and dread-dispelling
action soon clears the atmosphere of every gloomy
foreboding. Arms and armor are put in order and
burnished; the horses are decorated with bells and
jingling trappings, that they may present a terrifying
appearance. A sumptuous repast is spread in one of
the halls opening into the plaza in which the inca is to
be received. The cavalry is divided into three squadrons
26
under Hernando de Soto, Hernando Pizarro, and
Sebastian de Benalcázar, and stationed within the
halls on the three sides of the plaza. The foot-soldiers,
with the exception of twenty men reserved by
Pizarro as his body-guard, occupy rooms adjoining
the court, but few being visible. Two small field-pieces
are planted opposite the avenue by which
the Peruvians approach. Near the artillerymen are
stationed the cross-bowmen, and in the tower of the
fortress a few musketeers are placed. Thus the Spaniards
await their victim till late in the afternoon, when
from the tower they behold that which causes trepidation
not less than courage-cooling delay. Three
hundred warriors in gay uniforms clear the way of
sticks or stones or other obstruction for the royal procession,
which is headed by Atahualpa, seated on a
throne of gold, in a plumed palanquin garnished with
precious stones, and borne on the shoulders of his
vassals. On either side and behind the royal litter
walk the counsellors of the realm, and behind it follows
battalion after battalion of the forces of the inca
until thirty thousand soldiers in martial array occupy
the causeway from the Peruvian camp half way to
Caxamalca. Surely the projected seizure in the midst
of such a host were madness, and without a miracle it
would seem that the Christians must abandon their
pious purpose. The miracle, however, is not wanting.
Just before reaching the entrance in the city, Atahualpa
pitches his tents with the intention of passing
there the night and entering Caxamalca the next
morning. This, the death-blow to the high hopes of
the day, Pizarro determines if possible to prevent.
Despatching a messenger to the inca, he beseeches
him to change his purpose, and to sup with him that
night. The inca assents, saying that in view of the
lateness of the hour he will bring only a few unarmed
attendants. And to his subjects he remarks, "Arms
are unnecessary in our intercourse with those engaged
in so holy a mission." Hence the miracle.
27



VISIT OF ATAHUALPA.



Though few in comparison with his entire army,
the attendants of Atahualpa numbered several thousands,
as just before sunset, slowly and with measured
tread, they march up the main avenue toward the
plaza keeping step to the sonorous music of the singers
and with the dancers who amble before the royal litter.
Nearest the person of the monarch are the
orejones, as the Spaniards styled the Peruvian noblemen,
richly attired with armor and crowns of gold
and silver, some walking, others in litters, according
to their several ranks. Around his neck over a
sleeveless waistcoat, the inca wears a band of large
emeralds; under the magic borla, the dull, cold, listless
look of the preceding evening had given place
to an expression of enkindled majesty. Entering the
plaza the royal procession deploy to right and left,
Atahualpa and his nobles taking their station in the
centre, and the Peruvian soldiery filling the remaining
space. Profound quiet fills the place, and so
hidden behind the forms of his own swarthy warriors
are the few Spaniards appearing that Atahualpa,
without descending from the litter, casts about him
an inquiring glance and asks an attendant, "Have the
strangers fled?"[I‑8] At this moment a priest, Vicente
de Valverde, accompanied by the interpreter, emerges
from one of the halls. In one hand he bears a bible
and in the other a crucifix.[I‑9] Approaching the royal
litter, the ecclesiastic harangues the inca, beginning
with the doctrines of the trinity, creation, redemption,
28
and delegation of authority,[I‑10] and ending with faith,
hope, and charity, as manifest in the person of the
pirate Pizarro.




The contemptuous smile which mounts the features
of the inca at the opening of the address, changes
to looks of dark resentment as he is told to renounce
his faith and to acknowledge the sovereignty of the
king of Spain. "Your sovereign may be great," he
exclaims, fire flashing from his eye, "but none is
greater than the inca. I will be tributary to no man.[I‑11]
As for your faith, you say your god was slain and by
men whom he had made. Mine lives," pointing
proudly to the setting sun, "omnipotent in the heavens.[I‑12]
Your pope must be a fool to talk of giving away
the property of others."[I‑13] Then after a moment's pause
he demands, "By what authority do you speak thus
to me?" The priest places in his hand the bible. "In
this," he says, "is given all that is requisite for man
to know." The inca takes the book and turns the
leaves. "It tells me nothing," he exclaims. Then
exasperated by what he deems intentional insult he
throws the book upon the ground,[I‑14] saying, "You
shall dearly pay for this indignity, and for all the injuries
you have done in my dominions." It is enough.
29
God and the king rejected, and the holy evangelists
trampled under foot.[I‑15] "Why do you delay?" cries
the enraged monk to Pizarro as he picks up the sacred
volume. "In God's name at them! Kill the impious
dogs!"[I‑16]



SEIZURE OF THE INCA.



The zealous commander needs no second exhortation.
Unfurling a white banner, the signal for assault,
he springs from his retreat; the sentinel in the tower
discharges his musket, and loud rings the war-cry
Santiago! as every Spaniard rushes to the charge.
To their brutal instinct was added a spiritual drunkenness
which took them out of the category of manhood
and made them human fiends. We wonder how men
could so believe; but greater still is our wonder how
men so believing could so behave. The guns fill the
place with reverberating noise and smoke; with shrill
blast of trumpets and jingling of bells the horsemen
ride upon the panic-stricken crowd; the infantry with
clang of arms appear and all unite in quick succession
in sheathing their sharp swords in the unprotected
bodies of the natives. At first they turn to fly, but
at every point they are met by a blood-thirsty foe.
Those nearest the gates escape, but soon the passages
are blocked by heaps of dead bodies. The carnage is
fearful. And above all the din of slaughter is heard
the shrill voice of the man of God crying to the soldiers,
"Thrust! thrust! thrust with the point of your
swords, lest by striking you break your weapons."[I‑17]
30
When the first fierce charge is made, Pizarro, who
with twenty chosen men had assumed the task of
capturing the inca, rushes for the royal litter, but
quick as are their movements the devoted followers of
Atahualpa are before him, and crowding round their
imperilled sovereign, struggle to shield his person.
As one drops dead another hastens to take his place.
Each one of Pizarro's guard strives for the honor of
the capture; but for a time they are prevented by
the surges of the crowd which carry the monarch
hither and thither and by the desperate defence made
by the Peruvians.



AT THE BANQUET.



Fearful lest in the darkness which is now coming
on the victims should escape, one of the Spaniards
strikes with his sword at the inca. In warding off
the blow, Pizarro receives a slight wound in the hand;
then threatening death to any who offer violence to
Atahualpa, he hews his way through the fortress
of faithful hearts which guard the royal person, and
thrusting his sword into the bearers of the litter
brings down the monarch, whom he catches in his
arms. The borla is torn from Atahualpa's forehead
and he is led away to the fortress, where he is manacled
and placed under a strong guard.[I‑18] Meanwhile
the butchery continues in and beyond the plaza. And
in the slaughter of about five thousand men which
occupied not more than half an hour it is said that no
Spanish blood was spilled save that drawn from the
hand of Pizarro by one of his own men.[I‑19] Following
31
their instincts these fiends incarnate spend the night
in rioting and drunkenness.[I‑20] Thus during the swift
glimmer of a tropical twilight, the conquest of Peru
is accomplished; the sun of the inca sets lurid, blood-colored;
true to their engagement, Pizarro and Atahualpa
sup together that night![I‑21]




We have seen how the opulent empire of Peru was
found; how its powerful chieftain was treacherously
taken captive by a crew of Spanish invaders; now
witness for a moment how peace was made by ambassadors
of the Prince of Peace.




So suddenly fell the blow that Atahualpa failed to
realize his situation. It was but an affray of the
hour; the idea of his subjugation had not yet even
occurred to him. At the banquet he praised the skill
with which the bloody work was done, and to his
lamenting followers he said, "Such are the vicissitudes
of war, to conquer and to be conquered." By Pizarro
and his comrades the august prisoner was treated as
a dish fit for the gods. His women and his nobles
were permitted to attend him, and for his life or
prolonged imprisonment he was told to have no fear.
32
Meanwhile the Spaniards were exhorted to watchfulness;
they were reminded that they were but a
handful of men surrounded by millions of foes. "Our
success," said Pizarro, "was miraculous, for which God
who gave it us should be devoutly praised." The
Peruvians made no effort to rescue their chief; and
while the sacred person of their inca was a prisoner
they were powerless and purposeless. Thirty horsemen
were sufficient to scatter the imperial army and
rifle the encampment. And while Pizarro preached[I‑22]
Christianity to his chained captive, his soldiers were
out gold-gathering, desecrating the Peruvian temples,
killing the men, and outraging the women.[I‑23] It was
quickly discovered that the wealth of the country far
exceeded the wildest dreams of the conquerors, and
soon gold and silver ornaments and utensils to the
value of one hundred thousand castellanos were heaped
up in the plaza.[I‑24]



A KING'S RANSOM.



Atahualpa was not slow to perceive that neither
loyalty nor their vaunted piety was the ruling passion
of his captors, but the love of gold. And herein was
a ray of hope; for as the days went by a dark suspicion
of their perfidy and evil intention concerning
him had filled his mind. Calling Pizarro to him he
said: "The affairs of my kingdom demand my attention.
Already my brother Huascar, having heard of
my misfortune, is planning his escape. If gold will
satisfy you, I will cover this floor with vessels of
solid gold, so you but grant me my freedom." Pizarro
made no reply. The Spaniards present threw an
incredulous glance around the apartment. The room
33
was twenty-two feet in length by sixteen in width.
Inferring from their silence that the ransom was too
small and distressed at the prospect of long confinement,
he exclaimed: "Nay, I will fill the room as high
as you can reach with gold, if you will let me go."
And to make the offer the more tempting he stepped to
the wall and on tiptoe stretching out his arm made a
mark nine feet from the floor. Still his tormentors
were silent. At last he burst out excitedly: "And if
that is not enough," pointing to a smaller apartment adjoining,
I will fill that room twice full with silver."[I‑25]
The proposal was accepted. It was safe enough to do
so, although the infamous Pizarro never for a moment
intended his royal prisoner should leave his hands
alive; for by this means might the wealth of the
empire be most speedily collected, and if successful
a pretext for breaking the promise of liberation might
easily be found. Two months were allowed the captive
in which to gather this enormous treasure. Hollow
vessels and all utensils were to be contributed in
manufactured form, not melted down. Valuable jewels
were to enrich the collection, and the friendship of
the inca was to crown the visionary ransom.




Immediately after the recording of this stipulation
by the notary, Atahualpa sent out in every direction
messengers with instructions to gather and bring to
Caxamalca with the least possible delay, the requisite
articles for the ransom. The treasures of the inca
were chiefly lodged in the royal palaces of Cuzco and
Quito and in the temples of the sun throughout the
empire. All governors and subalterns were urged to
use the utmost alacrity in the execution of this order.
Meanwhile the pirates were masters of the situation.
Each beastly boor of them was a lord waited on by
male and female attendants. They drank from vessels
34
of gold and shod their horses with silver. Their captain
was king of kings; one king his prisoner, another
his prisoner's prisoner. One of the chroniclers states
that shortly after his capture Atahualpa received
intelligence of an important battle won by his army
on the day of his fall. "Such are the mysteries of
fate," exclaimed the unhappy monarch, "at the same
moment conquered and a conqueror." Huascar who
was at this time confined at Andamarca not far distant
from Caxamalca hearing of the capture of Atahualpa
and of the immense ransom offered for his release sent
to Pizarro offering a much larger amount for his own
liberation. Pizarro saw at once the advantage to be
derived in acting the part of umpire between these
rival claimants to the throne, and consequently the
overtures of Huascar were encouraged. But Atahualpa
although closely confined was kept fully informed
of the events transpiring throughout the empire, and
his word was yet law. Pizarro imprudently remarked
to him one day, "I wait with impatience the arrival
of your brother in order that I may judge between
you and render justice where it may be due."[I‑26] Shortly
afterward Huascar was secretly put to death; and
Pizarro had the mortification of finding himself outwitted
by a manacled barbarian.




While waiting the gathering of the gold, Hernando
Pizarro with twenty horsemen raided the country
with rich results. Three soldiers, it is said, were sent
by Pizarro under the inca's protection to Cuzco, where
after desecrating the temples and violating the sacred
virgins they returned to Caxamalca with two hundred
cargas of gold and twenty-five of silver, the transportation
of which required no less than nine hundred
Indians.



GATHERING THE GOLD.



Time passed wearily with the imprisoned monarch.
The influx of gold at first rapid, soon fell off, and unfortunately
35
for Atahualpa much of it was in flat plates
which increased the bulk but slowly. Nevertheless
as the matter went Pizarro felt justified in granting
the prisoner an extension of time. In February 1533
Almagro arrived at Caxamalca with two hundred men,
fifty of whom were mounted, and demanded for himself
and company equitable participation in the spoil, according
to compact. This Pizarro refused, but agreed
to divide what should be thereafter taken. The dispute
was finally settled by allowing Almagro for his
expenses one hundred thousand pesos, and for his men
twenty thousand.




Yet more slowly came in the gold; the people were
now hiding it; the Spaniards desired the death of
Atahualpa with the liberty to devastate and pillage
after the old manner. They determined the inca
should die;[I‑27] but first they would melt down and
divide the gold; they determined to kill the inca, but
first he should have a fair trial. It was no difficult
matter to frame an indictment. Huascar's death,
pretended insurrections, delay in the ransom, refusal
to accept baptism; these charges, or any of them, were
amply sufficient. Then Felipillo desired one of Atahualpa's
wives, and did what he could to hasten his
death.[I‑28]




The native artisans to whom the task was allotted
were occupied more than a month in running into
bars the immense mass of gold and silver collected.
It was in value 1,326,539 castellanos,[I‑29] equal in purchasing
36
power to over twenty millions of dollars at
the present day. "It is the most solemn responsibility
of my life," exclaimed Pizarro, as he seated
himself in the golden chair of the inca, to act as
umpire in the partition, "and may God help me to
deal justly by every man;" after which prayer the
pirate's dealings might well be watched. And first
he gave himself the golden chair in which he sat,
valued at 20,000 castellanos, golden bars, 57,222 castellanos,
and 2,350 marks of silver. Next his brother
Hernando received 31,080 castellanos of gold, and
2,350 marks of silver, nearly twice as much as was
given to Hernando de Soto, his equal in rank and
talent. Horsemen received 8,880 castellanos in gold
and 362 marks of silver. Some of the infantry received
half that amount, others less. To the church of San
Francisco was given 2,220 castellanos of gold.[I‑30] Father
Luque had died shortly before the departure of Almagro
from Panamá; no mention is made of him or
of his legal representative, Gaspar de Espinosa, in the
distribution.




Hernando Pizarro and Hernando de Soto were
both opposed to harsh measures with regard to the
inca, treating with the contempt they deserved the
thickening rumors of revolt. But Pizarro and Almagro,
impatient to pursue their ambitious schemes,
had long since determined Atahualpa's fate. The accusations
37
and the trial would both be laughable were
they not so diabolical. Pizarro and Almagro acted
as judges. Among the charges were attempted insurrection,
usurpation and putting to death the lawful
sovereign, idolatry, waging unjust warfare, adultery,
polygamy, and the embezzlement of the public
revenues since the Spaniards had taken possession of
the country! What more cutting irony could words
present of the Christian and civilized idea of humanity
and the rights of man then entertained than the
catalogue of crimes by which this barbarian must
unjustly die, every one of which the Spaniards themselves
had committed in a tenfold degree since entering
these dominions. The opinion of the soldiers was
taken.[I‑31] It is unnecessary to say that the prisoner
was found guilty. He was condemned to be burned
alive in the plaza.



DEATH OF ATAHUALPA.



At the appointed hour the royal captive, heavily
chained, was led forth. It was nightfall, and the
torch-lights threw a dismal glare upon the scene.
By the inca's side walked the infamous Father Vicente,
who never ceased pouring into the unwilling
ear of his victim his hateful consolations. Upon the
funeral pile, Atahualpa was informed that if he would
accept baptism he might be kindly strangled instead
of burned. "A cheap escape from much suffering,"
thought the monarch, and permitted it to be done.
The name of Juan de Atahualpa was given him. The
iron collar of the garrote was then tightened, the
Christians recited their credos over the new convert,
38
and the spirit of the inca hied away to the sun. Thus
one more jewel was added to the immortal crown of
Father Vicente de Valverde![I‑32]




With the death of Atahualpa the empire of the
incas fell to pieces, and the Spaniards were not slow
to seize upon the distracted country. It is said that
the gold and silver obtained by the conquerors at
Cuzco equalled that furnished by the inca. Official
statements place the amount at 580,200 castellanos of
gold, and 215,000 marks of silver.[I‑33] After another
distribution government was organized by the Spaniards
with Manco Capac crowned inca of Peru for a
figure-head, behind whom and in whose name the
grim conquerors might unblushingly pursue their work
of destruction. Sebastian Benalcázar took possession
of Quito, where he was shortly afterward confronted
by Pedro de Alvarado, one of the conquerors of Mexico
and governor of Guatemala.



ALVARADO IN PERU.



It appears that Alvarado, having fitted out a fleet
of twelve ships for a voyage to the Spice Islands, was
turned from his purpose as will be hereafter related,
by the reported marvellous successes of the Peruvian
adventures. Believing or affecting to believe that
the province of Quito was without the jurisdiction
of Pizarro, he determined to conquer that country for
himself. His army on landing presented the strongest
front of any in Peru, but the march across the snowy
sierra was one of the most disastrous in Spanish colonial
history.[I‑34] Although the distance was short the entire
39
way was strewn with the dead; more than one hundred
Spaniards and two thousand Indians perished.
Enough however survived to enable Alvarado to make
equitable arrangements with Almagro and Benalcázar.
A portion of the vessels and the entire forces of Alvarado
were transferred to the associates for one hundred
thousand castellanos. Alvarado then visited Pizarro
at Pachacamac, where the latter was awaiting the
development of events at Quito; after which Alvarado
took his departure. Benalcázar remained at Quito
and eventually became governor of that province.




After this in the history of Peru comes the feud
between the associate conquerors; for here as elsewhere
no sooner are the savages slain than their
destroyers fall to fighting among themselves. Almagro
and Pizarro are old men, old friends, copartners;
yet instead of dividing their immense acquisition and
devoting the brief remainder of their days to peaceful
pursuits, so deadly becomes their hatred that
each seems unable to rest while the other lives.
Hernando Pizarro reports proceedings in Spain, and
Almagro is placed in command of Cuzco, while Pizarro
founds his capital at Lima. The king confirms Pizarro
in his conquest and makes him Marqués de los
Atavillos, and grants Almagro two hundred leagues
along the sea-shore commencing from the southern
limit of Pizarro's territory. Hernando Pizarro takes
Almagro's place at Cuzco. While Benalcázar is at
Quito, Almagro in Chile, and the forces of Pizarro
divided between Cuzco and Lima, the inca, Manco
Capac, revolts. With two hundred thousand men
he besieges Cuzco, Lima, and San Miguel simultaneously,
and massacres the settlers on plantations.
The Spaniards are reduced to the greatest extremity.
Cuzco is laid in ashes, and Pizarro, unable to coöperate
with his brother Hernando, despatches ships to
Panamá and Nicaragua for aid.




The chief point of dispute between the associates
40
is the partition line dividing their respective governments.
Each claims the ancient capital of Cuzco as
lying within his territory. Almagro, returning from
a disastrous expedition into Chile, makes overtures to
gain the friendship of Manco Capac; failing in this
he defeats the inca in a pitched battle, takes possession
of Cuzco, makes Hernando Pizarro his prisoner,
and captures his army. Instead of striking off his
head as urged to do by Orgoñez, and marching at
once on Lima, Almagro falters and thereby falls.




Meanwhile Hernan Cortés sends his imperilled
brother-conqueror a vessel laden with provisions; a
kingly gift. Gaspar de Espinosa, Father Luque's successor,
presents himself about this time in Peru, and
is sent to Almagro by Pizarro to effect a settlement
of their difficulties, but the latter remains firm, and
the sudden death of Espinosa terminates the present
overtures. Finally by many solemnly sworn promises,
which are broken immediately, his point is gained,
Francisco Pizarro obtains the release of his brother;
then with seven hundred men, on the plain before
Cuzco, he engages and defeats Almagro's force of five
hundred men under Orgoñez, captures Almagro, whom
he places in chains, and after a mock trial puts him to
death. Hernando Pizarro is afterward arrested in
Spain for the murder of Almagro, kept confined a
prisoner for twenty years, is liberated, and dies at the
age of one hundred years.



BLOODY TERMINATION.



And now appears on the scene, as heir to the feud,
Almagro's illegitimate son Diego, who henceforth
lives but to avenge his father's death. There are
those who will not serve the murderer of their master,
'men of Chile,' they are called, and so they see distress
and carry thin visages and tattered garments about
the streets of Cuzco. These to the number of twenty,
with Juan de Rada their leader, meet at the house of
young Almagro, and bind themselves by oath to kill
Francisco Pizarro on the following Sunday the 26th
of June 1541. Almagro's house adjoins the church,
41
while Pizarro's is on the other side of the plaza. They
will slay him as he leaves the church after mass.
But the governor does not attend church that day;
so they cross the square and enter through an open
gate into the court-yard, from which stairs lead to
an upper room, where Pizarro is at dinner with
several friends. Suddenly the diners hear a shout
from below, "Long live the king! Death to tyrants!"




Accustomed to danger Pizarro acts on the instant,
directs his chief officer Francisco de Chaves to make
fast the door, and steps into an adjoining room with
his half-brother, Martinez de Alcántara, to arm himself.
Chaves springs forward and closes the door, but
instead of securing it he parleys with the assailants
who are now at the top of the stairs. A sword thrust
into the officer's breast cuts short the conference, and
the body is flung below. Perceiving blood, most of
the guests fly, climbing over a corridor and dropping
to the ground; two or three who had come forward
with Chaves are quickly despatched by the conspirators.
Although his armor is ill-adjusted Pizarro
springs forward sword in hand. "How now, villains!
would you murder me?" cries this veteran of a hundred
fights. Then to Alcántara, "Let us hold bravely
against these traitors, for I swear to God we two are
enough to slay them all." The men of Chile fall back
before him, but only for a moment; again crowding
forward one after another of the conspirators is
stretched on the ground. The conquest however is
too unequal to continue; yet after Alcántara, the two
pages of the governor, and every person present except
the chief lie dead upon the floor, Pizarro still fights
on. At length Rada, exasperated, grasps one of his
comrades, named Narvaez, and hurls him against
Pizarro's sword. It is death to Narvaez, but it is
victory for Almagro; for while the sword of Pizarro
is sheathed in the body of the luckless conspirator,
the weapon of another strikes him in the throat,
and brings him to the floor. "Kill him! kill him!" cry
42
the assailants as they close round the fallen chieftain,
thrusting into his body their swords.[I‑35] True to his
religious instincts, the expiring hero raises himself on
his arm, traces with his own blood upon the floor the
sacred emblem of his faith, sighing "Jesu Cristo!"
then while he bows his head to kiss the cross which
he had made, a blow more dastardly than all the rest
terminates his eventful life. Thus perish in sanguinary
brawl, each by the hand of the other, these renowned
chieftains, whose persistent steadfastness of purpose
and manly courage under difficulties were equalled only
by their avarice, treachery, and infamous cruelty.




The bloody work accomplished, the conspirators
rush forward and cry, "Long live the king! The tyrant
is dead! Long live our lawful governor Almagro!"
The Almagroists continue in power till the latter part
of 1542, when they are exterminated by Vaca de
Castro, sent as commissioner by the crown to quiet the
country. Almagro is executed, and the name becomes
extinct. Juan Pizarro is killed by the Indians while
capturing the fortress of Cuzco, and after the defeat
of Vasco Nuñez Vela at Añaquito had been avenged
by the execution of Gonzalo Pizarro at Xaquixaguana,
the affairs of Peru lapse into the hands of the
viceroys.[I‑36]
44





CHAPTER II.



CASTILLA DEL ORO.


1527-1537.




Administration of Pedro de los Rios—He is Superseded by the Licentiate
Antonio de la Gama—Barrionuevo's Reign—A Province in
Nueva Andalucía Granted to Pedro de Heredia—He Sails for Cartagena—Conflicts
with the Natives—Treasure Unearthed—The
Devil's Bohío—Prosperity of the Settlement—Alonso Heredia
Sent to Rebuild San Sebastian—Is Opposed by Julian Gutierrez—Capture
of Gutierrez—The Golden Temple of Dabaiba Once
More—Expeditions in Search of the Glittering Phantom, Francisco
César and Others—Audiencia Established at Panamá—Maleadministration—Complaints
of the Colonists—Destitution
in the Province—Bishops of Castilla del Oro—Miraculous Image
of the Virgin—Bibliographical.



PEDRO DE LOS RIOS.



Mention has already been made of the appointment
of Pedro de los Rios as governor of Castilla del Oro
in place of Pedrarias Dávila, of the arrival of his fleet
at Nombre de Dios in 1526, and of the death of Pedrarias
at Leon in 1530. The new governor was
instructed that the conversion of the natives rather
than their conquest should be his main purpose; they
were to be treated indeed as vassals of the crown but
not as slaves; and his Majesty the emperor Charles
V. was pleased to declare that in the foundation of
new colonies he had less regard for his own aggrandizement
than for the spread of the holy Catholic
faith. Pedro de los Rios was a man unfit to govern a
community of wild and turbulent adventurers in a
strange and half-settled territory. Instead of pursuing
the right course at the right moment, he seemed
to go out of his way to commit blunders. As occurred
45
at his meeting with Salcedo in Nicaragua, when the
mere threat of a fine made him beat a hasty retreat to
Panamá, he was often found wanting in the hour of
trial. His lack of ambition and ever-present regard
for his own personal ease and safety, caused his administration
to prove tame and uneventful.




The auri sacra fames was a vice so prevalent among
the rulers of Castilla del Oro that it is but a tiresome
iteration again to allude to it; but Rios' thirst for
riches far surpassed the greed of all his predecessors.
His avarice was only exceeded by that of his wife,
who, as Oviedo tells us, held him under complete control
and governed the province through the governor.
He appropriated all that he could lay hands on, whether
public or private property, and his malefeasance in office
soon became so notorious as to attract the attention
of the emperor. He was enjoined from crossing the
boundaries of his province, ordered to surrender to the
royal treasurer the Pearl Islands, the revenues of
which, it will be remembered, were placed under his
control by the crown, and to give all needful aid to
Francisco Pizarro and Diego de Almagro in the prosecution
of their exploring expeditions.




But it was no part of the policy of Rios to build
up other territories at the expense of his own, and his
neglect of these instructions, united with the malign
influence of the crafty Pedrarias, whom the slender-witted
Rios never ceased to persecute, soon wrought
his downfall.[II‑1] Such, finally, were the complaints laid
before the council of the Indies, that some time
before the expiration of his three years' term of office,
the licentiate Antonio de la Gama was sent to take
his residencia, and the governor, dissatisfied with the
result, proceeded to Spain and demanded justice. His
cause came up before the council of the Indies, Oviedo
acting as attorney for the city of Panamá, and Pedro
46
de los Rios was fined, despoiled of office, ordered home,
and forbidden ever to return to the Indies.[II‑2] His wife,
whom he had left behind, refused to make the journey
to Spain without the company of her husband,
and as he declined to return for her, she remained at
Panamá to the day of her death.




After the condemnation of Rios in 1529, the licentiate
refused to surrender his badge of office, retaining
his post as governor for about five years.
Notwithstanding some complaints of his summary
method of dealing with judicial matters, a few even
going so far as to say that if Rios chose to return he
might do so with impunity, the general verdict of the
colonists was in his favor, and during his administration
many public improvements were made. An
inordinate craving for wealth was, as usual, the cause
of his removal,[II‑3] and in the spring of 1534 he was
superseded by Captain Francisco de Barrionuevo, a
soldier who had gained some distinction at Cartagena.
Barrionuevo had received his commission nearly two
years before, and set sail from Spain in command of a
force of two hundred men, furnished at the expense
of the crown. He was ordered to touch at Española,
where the governor was instructed to furnish all
needed supplies; and the expedition arrived at Nombre
de Dios with ranks somewhat thinned by disease, and
by casualties incurred through rendering assistance
in quelling an Indian revolt in Santo Domingo.



NUEVA ANDALUCÍA.



Amidst the throng of adventurers who, dazzled by
marvellous reports of the wealth of the incas and of
the fabled treasures of Dabaiba, petitioned the emperor
for grants of territory south of Castilla del Oro was
Pedro de Heredia, who had already done good service
at the settlement of Santa Marta and elsewhere in
the Indies. To him was assigned in Nueva Andalucía
47
a province whose limits extended from the
River Atrato to the Magdalena, and from the North
Sea to the equator. Sailing from Spain in 1532 with
three vessels and about one hundred men, he landed
at a port then called Calamari, but to which he gave
the name of Cartagena.[II‑4] It was hereabout that
Ojeda's command was annihilated in 1509, and here
that Nicuesa avenged the defeat of his late rival by
putting to the sword the people.




After a brief rest the Spaniards marched inland and
came ere long to a town where they met with stout
resistance. The natives made good use of their
poisoned arrows and clubs of hard wood, man, matron,
and maid fighting side by side, and though all destitute
of clothing or any defensive armor, confronted
the fire-arms and swords of the Europeans without
flinching. A few prisoners were taken during the
skirmish, one of whom, on the return of the party to
Cartagena, offered to act as guide to some of the
largest towns in that vicinity, thinking that his captors
must surely be there overpowered and exterminated.
On the way they were attacked by a large body of
natives who, after a sharp contest, were driven into a
neighboring stronghold, enclosed with several thickly
planted rows of trees. In hot pursuit the Spaniards
followed, and forced their way into the enclosure side
by side with the fugitives. Fresh bands of Indians
soon arrived and, turning the scale, drove out the
invaders, and in the plain beyond, where was room for
the use of artillery and cavalry, even here pressed
them so hard that they held their ground with difficulty.
During the fight Heredia, becoming separated
from his men, was surrounded, and would surely have
been killed had not one of his soldiers forced his way
through the enemy's ranks, and thrusting his sword
through the body of one, and cutting the bowstring
of another, held the foe in check till others could come
48
to his assistance. Finally the savages were driven
back, leaving their town in the hands of the captors,
who found there provisions and a little gold.




Returning to Cartagena, Heredia fell in with a
vessel newly arrived from Española with troops on
board that raised his command to one hundred foot
and as many horse. Thus reënforced, he penetrated
the province as far as the town of Cenú, in the valley of
a river which still bears that name. Here was found
in two boxes or chests gold to the value of 20,000
pesos, and in a place which went by the name of "El
bohío del diablo,"[II‑5] a pit with three compartments,
each about two hundred and fifty feet in length, was
a hammock supported by four human figures, and
containing gold to the value of 15,000 pesos, amid
which, according to Indian tradition, his sable majesty
was wont to repose. In a sepulchre near by, gold-dust
was unearthed to the amount of 10,000 pesos.




Well satisfied with the results of his expedition
Heredia returned to head-quarters, and was soon afterward
joined by a fresh reënforcement of three hundred
men. The tidings of his success soon attracted
numbers of dissatisfied colonists from Castilla del Oro,
and toward the close of the sixteenth century Cartagena
became a place of considerable note,[II‑6] the fleet
that supplied the New World with the merchandise
of Spain touching there on the way to Portobello.
The latter was but a small village, tenanted chiefly
by negroes, and possessing, next to Nombre de Dios,
the most sickly climate of all the settlements in Tierra
Firme. So deadly were the exhalations from its rank
and steaming soil that a small garrison maintained
there to guard the fleet was changed four times a
year. Notwithstanding its unwholesome atmosphere
49
an annual fair was held there lasting forty days, during
which time its streets were crowded with merchants
from every quarter of the Indies. Not many years
afterward the Peruvian herder, climbing the mountain
side in quest of his stray llama, discovered the silver-mines
of Potosí,[II‑7] and the place became, for a few weeks
in the year, the most redundant mart of commerce in
the world. A fleet, freighted with all that was required
to supply the real and artificial wants of an
opulent community, called there once a year, and as
soon as it appeared in sight the treasures of the mines
and pearl-fisheries were conveyed by land from Panamá
to Cruces, and thence down the Rio Chagre to Portobello.







Castilla del Oro.





SAN SEBASTIAN.



When the conquest and exploration of his territory
had been partially effected, Pedro de Heredia
despatched his brother Alonso to the gulf of Urabá
50
to rebuild there the town of San Sebastian.[II‑8] The site
selected was some leagues south of the ruins of the
settlement which Ojeda had founded, and where his
lieutenant Francisco Pizarro and his band suffered
from hunger and pestilence before Vasco Nuñez led
them to the South Sea. On a spot distant about
half a league from the eastern shore of the gulf, among
some hillocks near which were groves of tall cocoa-nut
palms,[II‑9] the settlement was founded, sorely against
the will of Julian Gutierrez, who, having married
the sister of the cacique Urabá, had accumulated a
fortune by bartering for gold such cheap baubles as
the natives most preferred.[II‑10] Inciting the natives to
harass Heredia's party at every opportunity, Gutierrez
proceeded to build a fort on the banks of the Rio
Caiman, at no great distance from San Sebastian. In
this enterprise he was joined by a number of malecontents
from Castilla del Oro, who had been on the
point of embarking for Peru, but were persuaded to
take service under Gutierrez. Chief among them
was one Francisco César, who soon afterward figures
prominently in the history of Cartagena.




Heredia at once marched with all his forces against
Gutierrez, and bid him withdraw from the limits of
his province. The latter replied that he was acting
under instructions from the governor of Castilla del
Oro and could not neglect his orders. Heredia pretended
to be satisfied with this answer and withdrew
his troops, but returning after nightfall stormed the
enemy's camp and put most of the garrison to the
sword. Gutierrez and his Indian wife were carried
51
captives to Cartagena. César with a few of the survivors
escaped to the woods and afterward took service
under Heredia. News of the disaster soon reached
Panamá, whereupon Barrionuevo immediately crossed
over to Nombre de Dios, took ship for Cartagena,
procured the release of his lieutenant, and concluded
an arrangement with Pedro de Heredia by which the
Atrato was made the southern boundary of Castilla
del Oro.



THE GOLDEN TEMPLE OF DABAIBA.



In the vicinity of a temple in the valley of the
Cenú River the colonists of San Sebastian discovered
numerous tombs, some of them of such ancient date
that their contents betokened the lapse of centuries.
Here the natives buried their caciques in a sitting
posture, side by side with their favorite wives, best
trusted servants, and dearest friends; and in the
vaults which contained the remains were placed all
their gold, gems, and armor. This, perchance, may
have been the golden temple of Dabaiba, the quest of
which had already cost the lives of so many Spaniards,
and was yet to cost the lives of hundreds more as
they pursued this glittering phantom far south toward
the verge of the province. South-east of the gulf of
Urabá lay the territory of the cacique Dabaiba, whose
name is still applied to the sierra that skirts the bank
of the Atrato, forming a western spur of the cordillera.
Between the gulf and the town of the cacique
was a forest ten or twelve leagues in length, dense
with palm-trees, and matted with tropical undergrowth,
through which flowed to the sea mountain streams,
dammed in places with fallen trees, and covering the
neighborhood with vast tracts of lagoon and marsh
land. Through this region the natives, with their
light portable canoes, made their way with little
difficulty, but to the Spaniard with his heavy armor
and cumbersome accoutrements the forest was almost
impervious. Beyond it lay a rugged and broken
country in which roads were unknown and where the
52
tortuous bed of a mountain torrent afforded for a
brief space during the dry season the only means of
access to the realms of the Indian chief. The sierra
of Dabaiba had for many years barred the progress
of Spanish exploration and conquest, but there, if
report were true, lay hidden stores of gold that outshone
even the riches of an Atahualpa or a Montezuma.
Closely guarded indeed must be the treasure
that could escape the keen scent of the Spaniard, and
great the obstacles that could stay his path when in
search of his much loved wealth.




The first to attempt the conquest of this territory
was Francisco César, now a captain of infantry, and
one whose skill and gallantry had gained for him the
confidence of his men. Starting from San Sebastian
in 1536, in command of eighty foot and twenty horse,
he travelled southward through a pathless wilderness.
Ten months the party journeyed, and arriving at
length at the Guaca[II‑11] Valley were suddenly attacked
by an army of twenty thousand natives. While thus
surrounded and cut off from all hope of retreat, there
appeared above them in the heavens the image of
Spain's patron saint. Three hours thereafter the
enemy was routed, and the Spaniards proceeded at
once to look for gold. After much tedious search,
a crumbling sepulchre was discovered, wherein was
hidden treasure to the value of thirty thousand castellanos.
The remnant of César's band then returned
to San Sebastian, accomplishing their homeward
journey in seventeen days.



HEREDIA'S EXPEDITION.



Less fortunate was Pedro de Heredia, who in the
same year organized an expedition to invade the
realms of the cacique Dabaiba and to gain possession of
his treasures. At the head of two hundred and ten
mail-clad men, Heredia set out from San Sebastian,
and directed his course along the banks of the Atrato.
53
He soon arrived at the verge of the forest through
which he must cut his way as best he could, with frequent
and vexatious delays for the felling of trees
and the construction of rafts to bridge the marshy
ground, impassable else for man or beast. Rain fell
in torrents; poisonous snakes and swarms of wasps
and mosquitoes haunted the gloomy solitudes. No
fires could be kindled, and famine and pestilence soon
became familiar guests in the Spanish camp. Some
natives who served as guides were accused of having
purposely led them astray. They answered: "We go
from the river to the mountains in three days, while
you and your horses require as many months."




When the storm cleared away a detachment of
Spaniards was sent in advance to reconnoitre, the rest
remaining in camp to await their report. After a
few days' march they arrived at a spot where the
smoke of expiring embers and the skins of animals
indicated a recent encampment of savages. After
diligent search huts were discovered built amidst the
boughs of the forest-trees, the natives thus securing
themselves from venomous reptiles. After a slight
resistance two of the natives were captured, and from
their information the party brought back news to their
comrades that they were travelling in a wrong direction.
Heredia and his men, too much dispirited to
make any further effort, turned their faces homeward
and arrived at San Sebastian empty-handed and in
sorry plight, the return journey occupying forty days,
and the entire expedition about three months.



FRANCISCO CÉSAR'S EXPEDITION.



The survivors of the two Spanish companies soon
became clamorous for fresh adventure, and in 1538
Francisco César, with Heredia's permission, equipped
a force about equal in number to his first command,
resolved this time to penetrate at all hazard the fastnesses
of the mysterious sierra. After leaving San
Sebastian, César marched along the coast in the direction
of the Rio Verde, thence turning eastward toward
54
the cordillera. The party suffered severely, and on
arriving at the Guaca Valley mustered but sixty-three
men capable of bearing arms. Nevertheless César advanced
boldly on the first town which fell in his way
after ascending the sierra. The inhabitants, assured
by interpreters that the invaders had no hostile intent,
brought forth an abundant supply of roots, corn,
fruit, and such other provisions as they possessed.
The horses were treated with special care, and homage
was paid to them as to superior beings.




While the Spaniards were enjoying here a few days
of repose the chief of the district, Nutibara by name,
quietly assembled an army of two thousand men,
thinking to crush this presumptuous little band, for
no tidings had yet reached him of the dread prowess
of the strangers. A stubborn conflict ensued, terminated
only by the death of Quinunchú, brother of
Nutibara, who fell by the hand of César. Santiago
on his white horse again appeared in behalf of his
followers, and to him was ascribed the glory of the
carnage that followed. The conquerors soon ascertained
that the country for many leagues around was
rising in arms against them, and having now secured
treasure to the value of forty thousand ducats they
returned by forced marches to San Sebastian.[II‑12]




News of César's expedition was soon carried to
Cartagena, whence in December 1537 the licentiate
Juan de Badillo set forth to explore further the
region south of the gulf of Urabá. A force of three
hundred and fifty men was collected, with five hundred
and twelve horses, a number of Indians and
negroes, and ample stores of provisions and munitions
of war. Francisco César was second in command, and
the treasurer Saavedra one of the captains. Starting
from the port of Santa María near the mouth of the
Atrato they arrived, with no adventure worthy of
55
note, at the valley of Los Pitos[II‑13] where was a fort
defended by a large force of natives. Saavedra, leading
an attack on this stronghold at the head of sixty
men, was beaten back, and César, coming to his support
about nightfall, posted his men in readiness to
renew the assault at daybreak. The defenders, perceiving
their design, determined to anticipate them,
and fell on the Spaniards unawares, but after some
sharp fighting were repulsed.




Badillo then continued his march through the Guaca
Valley, arriving at the domains of the chief Quinachi.
It was here that César, on his first expedition, had
unearthed treasure to the value of thirty thousand
castellanos, and hence one reason for selecting this
route. In June the expedition arrived at the valley
of Norí,[II‑14] with ranks somewhat thinned by famine
and by ceaseless encounters with the natives. Meeting
with a friendly cacique they questioned him as to
the whereabouts of the great treasure of Dabaiba.
He replied: "There is no treasure, for they have no
need of any; but when they want gold to purchase
food or redeem a captive, they pick it up in dry
weather from under the rocks in the river-beds."
Exploring parties were sent in all directions, but with
little success. They could not scale the steep sierra
or cross the treacherous marshes, and they were constantly
harassed by bands of Indians. Acosta relates
that one detachment sent out toward the mountains
in a westerly direction passed underneath a village,
built amidst the overhanging boughs of forest-trees,
whence the natives plied them with arrows, rocks,
hot water, and lighted fagots.




The cacique of Norí, anxious to be rid of the
Spaniards, presented Badillo with gold to the value
of two thousand pesos, and offered to conduct him to
an auriferous region, then known as the Buritica
56
Valley. After a six days' march they came to a
native stronghold, which was captured after a sharp
struggle, the chieftain, with his young wife, being
taken captive. The latter was released on payment
of a large ransom, accompanied with a promise from
her husband to act as guide to a spot where rich
mines were known to exist. With a heavy iron collar
round his neck, and fastened by chains between
four stalwart soldiers, the cacique led the way till he
came to the verge of a precipice, whence he threw
himself headlong, dragging with him his guards. Unhappily
the fall did not prove fatal, and the Spaniards,
though sorely hurt, had yet life enough left to
drag their bruised victim into the presence of Badillo,
who at once ordered his slaves to burn him alive.




Want, sickness, and the ceaseless hostility of the
natives had now spread havoc in the Spanish ranks.
Many who had come in search of wealth had found
a grave; and the survivors, worn with hardship and
disgusted with the meagre results of their long-protracted
toil, threatened to abandon the expedition
and set their faces homeward. The discontent was
greatly increased by the death of Francisco César, a
much loved and well trusted officer, and one who, had
fortune cast his lot in a wider or nobler sphere of action,
might have become one of the foremost captains
of his age. Nevertheless, the march was continued,
and on Christmas-eve, after a journey lasting one
year and three days, the expedition arrived at the
province of Calí, in the valley of the Cauca River.
Here the soldiers well nigh broke out into open mutiny.
Badillo confronted them with drawn sword,
exclaiming: "Let him return who chooses; I will go
forward alone till fortune favors me." Nevertheless
the men crowded around him still clamoring to be led
back to Urabá, whereupon he ordered a division to be
made of the spoil, hoping thus to put them in better
heart. To complete his discomfiture it was found that
the treasure-chest had disappeared. This last was a
57
heavy stroke, for the worthy licentiate was of course
suspected of the theft. Alone and broken-hearted he
stole away to Popayan, some twenty leagues to the
south in the same valley. Thence he made his way
to Panamá, was there arrested, and after being sent
a prisoner to Cartagena, the city from which he had
departed in pursuit of fame and riches, ended his days
at Seville, before his trial was concluded, friendless
and a pauper.




The charge of peculation against Badillo proved to
be unfounded, for the chest containing two thousand
six hundred castellanos was afterward discovered.




The share of each foot-soldier was ascertained to
be five castellanos, from which it would appear that
the Spaniards lost about half their number before
arriving at Calí. The remainder of the band followed
the course of the Cauca River northward as far as the
Indian province of Umbrá, where most of them took
service under one Jorge Robledo, who made further
explorations on the right bank of the Cauca in the
mountainous region which now bears the name of
Antioquia.



THE AUDIENCIA OF PANAMÁ.



In 1533[II‑15] the audiencia real y chancillería of the
city of Panamá was established, the personnel of which
included a president, four oidores, a fiscal, a relator,
two secretaries, and for local government two alcaldes
and three ministers of justice. The territory under
the jurisdiction of the audiencia originally included
Peru with the exception of the port of Buenaventura,
but was afterward bounded by Costa Rica, Cartagena,
and the two oceans, and was divided into the three
provinces of Castilla del Oro, Darien, and Veragua, all
of which were included under the one name of Tierra
Firme. During the administration of Pedrarias, as
we have seen, an interdict was passed forbidding lawyers
and magistrates to reside in Castilla del Oro,
58
and the minions of the governor decided civil cases
always in favor of the party who paid the heaviest
bribe. There was no appeal but to the governor himself
except in cases where the amount exceeded five
hundred pesos. A transcript of proceedings might in
such cases be sent to the audiencia of Española, which
at that time held jurisdiction over the inferior courts
of Castilla del Oro. Some few years after the demise
of Pedrarias the prohibition was removed, when
there fell upon the fated land an avalanche of lawyers.
"A magistrate," writes Oviedo to the emperor, "is
worse than a pestilence, for if the latter took your
life it at least left your estate intact." After the
establishment of the audiencia of Panamá certain
changes were made, but they were of little benefit to
the community, for in 1537 we find the alcalde mayor
holding the threefold office of presiding judge and
attorney both for plaintiff and defendant, "passing
sentence," as Oviedo says, "on him whom he least
favored."[II‑16] The government of the three provinces
was in fact little else than a legalized despotism. Complaint
was sometimes made to the emperor, but the
colonists soon found that the complainant was only
made to suffer the more for his presumption. "Only
that an ocean lay between Charles and his downtrodden
subjects," exclaims Vazquez, "nineteen out
of twenty would have thrown themselves at his feet
to pray for justice."




The corruption extended to the municipal officers,
and the provinces became rapidly impoverished. To
make matters worse, multitudes of vagrants, the scum
of the Spanish population, had for years been swarming
into the New World settlements. At one time
the hospitals and churches of Panamá were insufficient
to shelter the hordes of poverty-stricken and
houseless vagabonds that crowded the city. As they
would not work, many were near starving.




Charles knew little of all this, if indeed he cared.
59
As an instance of his ignorance as to the true condition
of affairs in Tierra Firme, it may be mentioned
that on the appointment of Fray Vicente de Peraza
as the second bishop of Castilla del Oro, he was enjoined
by the monarch to render aid to the faithful
Pedrarias Dávila in securing the conversion and
proper treatment of the natives. It is probable that
the good bishop worked a little too conscientiously in
the cause of the savage to suit the taste of Pedrarias,
for as it has already been stated, he died of poison
supposed to have been administered by that worthy
ruler.



BISHOP BERLANGA'S BOX.



Of Fray Tomás de Berlanga, who filled the episcopal
chair a few years after Peraza's decease,[II‑17] it is
stated that during his return voyage to Spain, in
1537, being overtaken by a heavy storm, he arrayed
himself in his pontifical robes, and kneeling with the
rest of the company chanted a litany to the virgin.
In response there appeared on the waves what seemed
at first a small boat, but proved to be a box containing,
as was supposed, merchandise. The gale moderated
and the captain readily assented to the bishop's
proposition that if the box contained a saint's image
or other sacred thing, it should become the property
of the prelate, but if it held anything of monetary
value it should be claimed by the former. Soon the
sea was calm; the box was opened, and there, sure
enough, was the image of Our Lady of the Immaculate
Conception. On his arrival in Spain Berlanga
placed the image in the convent of Medina de Rioseco,
where he afterward founded a similar institution,
60
chanting his first mass there on the 19th of January
1543.[II‑18]



CASTELLANOS, SIMON, PIEDRAHITA.



With the trio of travellers and observers, Benzoni, Acosta, and Thevet,
may be classed Juan de Castellanos, whose Elegías de Varones Ilustres de
Indias recount not only the glories of the military, ecclesiastic, and civil
conquerors who figured in the early annals of the region extending over the
Antilles, the Isthmus, and the northern part of South America, but give
special histories of the New Granada provinces. Himself one of the horde
which came over from Spain for glory and plunder, he had as cavalry soldier
taken active part in a number of the expeditions so graphically described.
With the acquisition of a fortune came a sense of the injustice exercised in its
accumulation, and remorse perhaps for ill-treatment of the Indians, mingled
largely with discontent at the poor recognition of his services, caused him to
join the church. He received the appointment of canónigo tesorero at Cartagena,
but resigned it after a brief tenure for the curacy of Tunja, erroneously
assumed by some writers to be his birthplace. Here he found ample time to
seek solace by unlocking the gates of a natural eloquence, and letting forth the
remembrances of glorious deeds and events. The gown is forgotten, and
the old soldier dons again in fancy the rusty armor, though he modestly, too
modestly, refrains from intruding himself. It is in prose that he first relates
his story, but finding this too quiet for his theme of heroes and battles, he
transposes the whole into verse, a work of ten years.




His is not the artificial refinement of the epic writer, whose form he follows
from a love of rhythm, but merely versified narrative, with a generally honest
adherence to fact, though form and metre suffer:







Iré con pasos algo presurosos,


Sin orla de poéticos cabellos


Que hacen versos dulces, sonorosos


A los ejercitados en leerlos;


Pues como canto casos dolorosos,


Cuales los padecieron muchos dellos,


Parecióme decir la verdad pura


Sin usar de ficcion ni compostura.





The ease and variety of the lines indicate the natural poet, however, and
even when form departs the sentences retain a certain elegance. The first
part was published as Primera Parte de las Elegías, etc., Madrid, 1589, 4o,
used by De Bry in his eighth part on America, and given in the fourth volume
of Biblioteca de Autores Españoles, 1850. The second and third parts, provided
with maps and plans, and dedicated, like the first, to King Philip,
remained in manuscript in the library of the Marqués del Carpio—Pinelo,
Epitome, ii. 590—till issued by Ariban, together with the first part, in
1857, as a special volume of the above Biblioteca. A fourth part, perhaps
the best and most important, as it must have recorded the latest and freshest
recollections of Castellanos, was used by Bishop Piedrahita for his history,
and has since disappeared. He found the original with Consejero Prado,
and refers to "las otras tres partes impressas." Hist. Conq. Granada, preface.
61




The three published parts are divided into elegies, eulogies, and histories,
according to the theme, though Castellanos evidently stretches a point to
obtain so many subjects under the first heading, inscribing them, as a rule,
'to the death' of some noted captain. The subdivision forms octave stanzas
of the Italian form, undecasyllabic triple measure, in feminine rhyme, of
triple alternating lines, with a finishing couplet. Toward the end a continuous
and chiefly blank verse is used. The facility for versification in Spanish
can hardly find a better illustration than these sustained triplets of double
rhyme, which reflect no small credit on Castellanos' patience and power of
expression. The usual faults of writers of his age are, of course, to be
found; incredulity, pedantry, and contradiction, chiefly due to the readiness
with which he accepted statements from chroniclers and from participants in
the events related. His own versions may, Muñoz' slurs notwithstanding,
be regarded as faithful recitals, so far, at least, as memory and military
ardor permitted, while everywhere are to be found clear, vivid descriptions
of battles, scenes, and people.




An ambition with the monks and missionaries who assisted to develop the
conquest was to become chroniclers of general history, of expeditions, or of
provinces, and as brethren of the hood abounded narratives were numerous
enough to form the most perfect record of events that could be desired; but
the deplorable fact remains that so few have been preserved, in print or manuscript.
New Granada, which includes the southern part of the Isthmus, was
long without a public chronicle. The conqueror Quesada had prepared one,
and Medrano had left a history just begun, which Aguado completed in
two volumes, but neither saw the light, and Castellanos' poetical record
was published only in part. They existed in manuscript, however, and with
them for guide, Pedro Simon was encouraged to undertake the task anew.
Born at La Parilla in 1574 he had early joined the Franciscan order, and came
to New Granada 30 years later as teacher and missionary, rising in 1623 to
the office of provincial. The same year he began the history for which he had
during several years been gathering material and experience. Three stout folio
volumes were speedily completed, each divided into seven historiales; but of
these only the Primera Parte de las Noticias historiales de las Conquistas de
tierra firme, Cuenca, 1627, relating to Venezuela, came to be published; the
other two, on Santa Marta, and on the region adjoining Darien, remaining in
manuscript at Bogotá, whence Muñoz obtained a copy for the Madrid Academy.
The published volume opens with a dissertation on geographic knowledge
among the ancients, and on the origin of the Indians, and proceeds with
the discovery and naming of America. The Isthmus receives at first considerable
attention, as one of the earliest explored portions, but soon the narrative
concentrates upon the conquest and settlement of Venezuela, devoting a
considerable space to the custom and condition of the natives, but entering
very little upon religious affairs. The work is decidedly the most important
history of the province for the sixteenth century, and the failure to publish
that of the other provinces is highly to be regretted. The simple, verbose
style is that common to the convent chroniclers of the period, and the only
serious fault is in giving too ready credence to statements.




Simon's non-success with the printer gave the rank of leading historian of
62
the province to Bishop Lucas Fernandez Piedrahita, who wrote 50 years later.
A creole of Bogotá by birth, his whole career as priest and prelate is bound
up with his native country. While yet a student he gave evidence of a literary
taste by writing comedies, of which no traces remain however. His
ability procured rapid advancement in the church. While governor of the
archdiocese, till 1661, he incurred the enmity of a visitador and was obliged
to appear in Spain for trial, but passed the ordeal, and received in compensation
the bishopric of Santa Marta. It was while waiting the slow progress
of the trial that he found time to write the Historia General de las Conqvistas
del Nvevo Reyno de Granada, 1688. In 1676 he was promoted to the see of
Panamá, where he died, 1688, at an age of over 70 years, revered for his
extreme benevolence and sanctity. In the preface to the volume, just then
passing through the press, Piedrahita admits that it is merely a reproduction
of Quesada's Compendio, and of the fourth part of Castellanos' Elegías, both
now lost, and the text shows indeed but little of the research, speculation, and
variety manifest in Simon, whom he excels however in beauty and clearness
of style. He confines himself more to the special history of New
Granada than Simon, and instead of learned dissertations on America in
general, he devotes the first two of the 12 books to an account of native customs
and ancient history. He then takes up the conquest and settlement of the
provinces in question and carries the history to 1563. The first title is bordered
with cuts of Indian battle scenes, and the portraits of seven leading
kings and caciques, while that of the first libro has 12 minor chiefs in medallions.
The title-page of the third libro, again, which begins the conquest,
bears the likenesses of 12 Spanish captains. At the close of the work is
promised a continuation, but this never appeared.




A modern publication covering the same field and period as the preceding is
Joaquin Acosta's Compendio Histórico del Descubrimiento y Colonizacion de la
Nueva Granada en el siglo decimo sexto. Paris, 1843. Lacking in critique it
nevertheless fills the want of a popular chronologic review, and exhibits considerable
labor. Acosta was an officer of engineers in the Colombian service
who had taken an active part in scientific investigations, and written several
archæologic essays.63




CHAPTER III.



THIRD ATTEMPTED COLONIZATION OF VERAGUA.

1535-1536.





The Dukes of Veragua—María de Toledo Claims the Territory for
her Son Luis Colon—Felipe Gutierrez Appointed to the Command—Landing
on the Coast of Veragua—Sickness and Famine—The
Cacique Dururua Enslaved—He Promises to Unearth his
Buried Treasures—Messengers Sent in Search of It—They Return
Empty-handed—But Warn the Chief's Followers—He Guides the
Spaniards to the Spot—They are Surrounded by Indians—Rescue
of the Cacique—Cannibalism among the Christians—Sufferings
of the Few Survivors—The Colony Abandoned.




Thus far in North America we have followed the
Spaniards in their pacification and settlement of Castilla
del Oro, Nicaragua, and Honduras. Between
these territories is situated the province of Veragua,
subsequently called Nueva Cartago. Though rich in
metals and near to Darien, such was the indomitable
fierceness of the natives, and the ruggedness and sterility
of the country, that this, the spot on Tierra Firme
where the first attempt at settlement was made, was
the last province of Central America that became
subject to European domination. The New World
was informed by the council of the Indies, in 1514,
that permission was granted by the crown to Bartolomé
Colon to plant a settlement upon the coast of Veragua,
if he were so inclined. But this recognition of
the eminent services of the adelantado in that quarter
came too late, as he was then prostrated by an illness
from which he never recovered.




In 1526 the admiral Diego Colon died in Spain,
64
and was succeeded by his son Luis in those hereditary
rights which had been granted by Ferdinand and Isabella
to the first admiral. In 1538, being then eighteen
years of age, Luis Colon brought suit before the
tribunal of the Indies to establish his right to his
father's titles and dignities unjustly withheld by the
emperor. Wearied with the interminable litigation
received as an inheritance from his father and grandsire,
Luis abandoned, in 1540, all claims to the viceroyalty
of the Indies, receiving therefore the title of
duke of Veragua and marquis of Jamaica.[III‑1] Not
long after Don Luis died, leaving two daughters and
an illegitimate son. From this time the lineal descendants
of the great admiral were denominated
dukes of Veragua, and after passing through several
genealogical stages, the honors and emoluments of
Columbus fell to the Portuguese house of Braganza,
a branch of which was established in Spain. The
heirs of this house are entitled De Portugallo, Colon,
duke de Veragua, marqués de la Jamaica, y almirante
de las Indias.




María de Toledo, vice-queen of the Indies and
mother of the young admiral Luis Colon, after the
death of her husband, Diego Colon, demanded from
the royal audiencia of Española a license to colonize
the province of Veragua.[III‑2] The audiencia referred
the application to the emperor who ordered that the
matter be held in abeyance until after the arbitration
of the claim of Luis then pending before the crown.
But the high-spirited vice-queen would not brook the
delay. The right of her son to govern that land was
beyond question; it was his by inheritance from his
grandfather, confirmed by royal decree to his father.
65



FELIPE GUTIERREZ.



But the Lady María lacked funds for the enterprise,
and to enlist men and equip an armada without
the royal sanction and without money was impossible.
The mother, however, was equal to the emergency.
Among the ecclesiastics of Santo Domingo who, as
they avowed for the glory of God and the promulgation
of the true faith had left the cloisters of Spain
and embarked in a mission to the New World, was
one Juan de Sosa. "I knew him," says Oviedo, "several
years ago, when he was a poor man in Tierra
Firme." But being more solicitous for gold than for
souls, he went to Peru and after serving under Pizarro
came in for a share at the distribution of the
gold at Caxamalca, receiving as his portion the then
enormous sum of ten thousand castellanos. Thence
the worthy priest returned to Spain, and settled in
Seville, where he resolved to spend the remainder of
his life in ease and luxury. But alas for constancy
of purpose in cavalier or clérigo when women and
cupidity unite to undermine his resolve! The vice-queen
soon gained for herself the sympathy of the
wealthy ecclesiastic, and for her enterprise his money
and coöperation. He advanced the necessary funds,
and though prevented by the character of his calling
from taking control of the expedition, he sailed with
the fleet, which was placed under the command of
a wealthy and honorable young man named Felipe
Gutierrez,[III‑3] son of the treasurer Alonso Gutierrez.
The chief captain of the expedition under Gutierrez
was one Pedro de Encinasola who had resided in
Tierra Firme for about two years. "And whom," says
Oviedo, "I also knew, for he had grown rich by keeping
a public house half way between Nombre de Dios
and Panamá." With a fine squadron[III‑4] manned by
66
four hundred well armed men, Gutierrez embarked
from Santo Domingo in September 1535.[III‑5] The pilot,
whose name was Liaño, held a southerly course, and
on approaching Tierra Firme turned to the westward
and passed by Veragua without recognizing the coast.
Continuing their search along Honduras, the vessels
sailed around Cape Gracias á Dios and proceeded
westward as far as Punta de Caxinas.




At length the pilot became aware that he was out
of his course. The ships were put about, but soon
encountered a heavy gale, during which they became
separated. The fleet, once more united off the island
of Escudo, cast anchor near the spot where Diego
de Nicuesa suffered shipwreck. Gutierrez sent a
boat's crew to reconnoitre. They returned in eight
days, bringing hammocks, earthen pots, and other
utensils. The exploring party affirmed that according
to their belief the land was Veragua, but the
pilot Liaño insisted that they had not yet reached
that province. Another party went in boats to the
Cerebaro Islands, where meeting an Indian they inquired
by signs the direction toward Veragua. He
pointed toward the west, thus indicating that they had
again sailed past the ill-fated coast. The pilot treated
the assertion of the Indian with contempt. In good
Castilian he swore that the savage was a liar, and
insisted on continuing an easterly course. Arriving
off Nombre de Dios he confessed his error, and
acknowledged that they had left Veragua far behind.
Turning again toward the west they at length discovered
a large river, which some said was the Belen;
others declared it to be a stream west of the Belen.[III‑6]
At the mouth of this river was a small island where
Gutierrez disembarked his men, built some huts, and
67
landed the greater portion of the cargo. On the
mainland adjacent a favorable site for a town was
selected and men were sent to clear away the dense
forest and build houses. A large and comfortable
log cabin was erected for the governor, and this was
soon followed by storehouses and dwellings for the
men.




A series of disasters followed this third attempt to
plant a settlement upon the coast of Veragua, similar
to those which had attended Columbus and Nicuesa.
The goods of the colonists were damaged by heavy
storms; the sudden swelling of the streams carried
away their houses, drowning some of the men; and
the cultivation of the soil was prevented by frequent
inundations. Their supply of provisions grew daily
less; the men, unaccustomed to the climate, sickened
and died, and soon the four hundred were reduced to
two hundred and eighty. To add to their distresses
the Spaniards drank copiously from a poisonous spring,
before becoming aware of the deadly nature of its
waters; in consequence of which their lips became
swollen, their gums diseased, and the effect proved
fatal in many instances.



CONCEPCION FOUNDED.



The colonists felt greatly the necessity of an interpreter,
and the clérigo Juan de Sosa with one of
the vessels coasted as far as Nombre de Dios in search
of one, but returned unsuccessful. Felipe Gutierrez
named the town which he had built Concepcion, "but
from the sufferings of the people," says Oviedo, "better
to have called it Aflicion."[III‑7] It soon became evident
that to remain in that locality was death to all concerned,
and Gutierrez determined to remove to some
more favorable spot farther from the marshy lowlands
of the coast. Foraging expeditions were sent
out in several directions for the double purpose of
securing food and examining the country.
68



PISA'S PARTY.



In one of these excursions the Spaniards encountered
a cacique named Dururua who received them
courteously, and entertained them, after his rude
fashion, with bounteous hospitality. But the followers
of Felipe Gutierrez proved no exception to the
rule in their treatment of the natives. One of two
evils was open to the heathen, either to submit and
suffer wrong and robbery, or to resist and be slain
or enslaved. Dururua placed at the disposal of the
Spaniards his entire wealth, but even this was insufficient
to satisfy their cupidity. After his resources
were exhausted their demands did not cease, but heaping
up the measure of their iniquity they invaded the
homes of the natives, compelled them to search for
gold, and after infamously burning their cornfields
returned to the settlement. Open hostilities having
broken out, the governor sent against Dururua a force
of one hundred and fifty men under Alonso de Pisa,[III‑8]
who captured the chief with many of his followers.
The Spaniards demanded gold. Dururua answered
that if they would give him liberty he would bring
them four baskets of gold each containing 2,000 pesos.
The cacique however was held a prisoner, while an Indian
was sent under his direction to bring in the treasure.
At the expiration of four days the messenger
returned empty-handed. Others were despatched on
the same errand, but all returned unsuccessful. The
wily Dururua affected great indignation against his
followers. He called them traitors, and requested that
he might be allowed to go himself upon the mission,
bound and attended, when he would not only make
good his word respecting the gold, but secure to the
Spaniards the friendship and service of all his people.




In chains and guarded by a band of thirty men
69
Dururua set forth to reveal the hiding-place of the
treasure, and after a five days' march arrived at an
abandoned village, where he directed the Spaniards to
dig in a certain spot. The directions of the chief
were followed, but only about half an ounce of gold
was found. Encinasola, who had the matter in charge,
then struck the cacique in the face, calling him dog,
impostor, and other vile epithets. Dururua solemnly
affirmed that he had left there a large store and that
his people must have removed it on their departure
from the village. He begged for one more trial, and
Encinasola, blinded by cupidity, gave his assent.




All this while the shrewd cacique had not been
idle. Each messenger had been despatched upon a
mission to a certain quarter of his dominion to rally
forces for his rescue, and an attack, which had been
planned for the very night when the last attempt to
find the gold was to be made, was carried into execution.
The Spaniards were surrounded by a force of
six hundred hostile Indians, their camp burned, eight
of their number killed, and in the confusion which
followed the chief was rescued. The natives then disappeared
from the vicinity, removing all provisions
and leaving behind a wasted country.




On their march homeward many of the survivors
died of starvation. Some dropped by the way-side
and were left to perish; others, notwithstanding the
horror with which the act was regarded by their
countrymen, fed upon the bodies of the Indians.
One Diego Lopez Dávalos in a fit of choler drew his
sword and slew a native servant. Two Spaniards
who were following at some distance behind, on
coming up to the body, cut off some portions which
they cooked for their supper, their companions also
partaking of the loathsome repast. On the day following
another native was killed for food, and it is
70
related that even one of their own countrymen was
slaughtered and devoured.[III‑9]




When the survivors arrived at Concepcion and presented
themselves before the governor, but nine emaciated
and haggard wretches could be counted, and
these must ever be regarded as infamous from having
so preserved their lives. The governor on being
informed of their conduct placed every man of them
except the informer under arrest, and tried and condemned
them all. Two who were considered most
culpable were burned. The others were branded
with a hot iron in the face with the letter C, this
being the initial of his Cæsarean majesty's name, and
the mark used in branding criminals doomed to perpetual
slavery in his service.




Thus we see in every attempt made by the Spaniards
upon the coast of Veragua only a series of
horrors, each fresh trial proving more calamitous
if possible than the one preceding. Yet further the
company of Felipe Gutierrez diminished. Oppressed
by famine, forty at length revolted and set out for
Nombre de Dios, the greater part of them perishing
by the way. The governor finding it necessary to
give employment to those who remained or else to
abandon the settlement, sent Pedro de Encinasola
with a few men eastward in search of food. Fortunately
they found several fields of maize which had
not yet been destroyed, and hearing of a great quantity
of gold in that vicinity, started in quest of it.
As soon as their hunger was appeased they sent a
messenger to notify the governor of the proposed
excursion. As life was more endurable while pillaging
the natives, the governor and the remainder of
the men also sallied in quest of adventure. They
passed through several villages, but the inhabitants
fled at their approach. Following an Indian guide,
they arrived on the fourth day at a certain high hill
71
where they had been told were situated mines of surpassing
richness. On reaching the spot they were
informed that by digging in a certain place an abundance
of gold could be gathered. The Spaniards did
as directed, but found only a few nuggets, and turning
fiercely upon the guide, accused him of trifling
with them or of treachery. The poor savage totally
at a loss whither to turn for relief, at length sprang
upon a rock which overhung the brow of a precipice,
threw himself headlong into the chasm, and thus terminated
his miserable existence.



EARLY SUFFERINGS REPEATED.



Meanwhile the famishing soldiers under Encinasola,
despairing of life if they remained longer in that
country, broke their ranks, many of them straggling
off to Nombre de Dios. The governor determined
to make one more attempt to relieve his people. He
accordingly despatched Father Juan de Sosa and the
alcalde Sanabria with six soldiers, four negroes, and
two natives for Nombre de Dios, to obtain recruits and
supplies. In three days this party reached the river
Belen, and then, unable to cross, followed its course
southward, cutting their way through thickets and
struggling through morasses until after eleven days
they succeeded in reaching the opposite bank. Continuing
their journey they encountered along their
pathway the dead bodies of their former companions
who had perished while attempting to reach Nombre
de Dios. A little stale food which had been washed
ashore from some wreck or distressed ship saved them
from starvation. At length they came upon the remnant
of those who had deserted from Concepcion, now
reduced to twenty-five men, and these gaunt, haggard,
and naked as the natives. Their progress was barred
by hostile bands, and themselves reduced to the last
extremity. Unable to proceed farther, they fortified
themselves from the attacks of the natives as best
they were able, and awaited the development of events.




Meanwhile the sufferings of the Spaniards at
Veragua, if possible, increased. "I was informed by
72
Marcos de Sanabria, one of the survivors," says
Oviedo, "that the mortality at Veragua was at one
time so great that dead bodies lay unburied within
and around the huts, and that the stench arising from
putrefaction was intolerable." He relates of one
Diego de Campo, a native of Toledo, who seized with
illness became convinced that death was near and
that soon his own corpse would be added to those
which lay strewn before him rotting in the sun, that he
determined, if possible, to escape that horror. Wrapping
himself in a cloak, he resorted to a spot where a
grave had been prepared for another of those who
were to die, and stretching himself within it soon
breathed his last. Not long afterward the owner of the
grave, being obliged himself to seek his last resting-place,
found there another; but leaving the occupant
undisturbed, he directed that his own body should be
placed in the same grave, and thus the two found burial.



SOSA GOES TO PERU.



Failing of relief from any quarter, and receiving no
tidings from Father de Sosa and his companions,
Gutierrez was at last obliged to abandon the coast
of Veragua. This of all others appeared the most
difficult act for a Spaniard of those days to perform;
he could die with less regret than he could give up
a favorite enterprise. Taking ship for Nombre de
Dios, he there obtained some intimation of the whereabouts
and condition of Father de Sosa and the
remnant of the Veragua colonists. A vessel was immediately
sent to their relief with a supply of food
and other necessaries which were contributed by the
people of Nombre de Dios. The survivors, twenty-seven
in number, were thus rescued, and the government
of Felipe Gutierrez in the province of Veragua
was at an end.[III‑10] He crossed over to Panamá, and
73
shortly afterward embarked for Peru, where he was
made governor by Gonzalo Pizarro, but subsequently
quarrelling with that ferocious adventurer, he was
beheaded. The worthy Father Juan de Sosa in deep
disgust also turned his face towards Peru, vowing
that if ever he again fell heir to the spoils of an
inca, his wealth should not be squandered in ambitious
schemes of colonization.
74




CHAPTER IV.



THE CAKCHIQUELS AGAIN IN REVOLT.

1525-1526.





Alvarado Sets Forth to Honduras to Join Cortés—Mutiny among his
Men—Gonzalo de Alvarado Appointed Lieutenant-governor—His
Meeting with Marin and his Party—The Second Revolt of the
Cakchiquels—Gonzalo the Cause of the Insurrection—Massacre
of the Spaniards—Alvarado Returns to Guatemala—He Captures
the Peñol of Xalpatlahua—He Marches on Patinamit—His Return
to Mexico—His Meeting with Cortés.



AFFAIRS IN GUATEMALA.



It will be remembered that of all the native tribes
of Guatemala the Cakchiquels offered the stoutest resistance
to the forces of Pedro de Alvarado. When
the Spaniards took possession of Patinamit they preferred
to abandon their capital rather than submit to
the domination of the conqueror.[IV‑1] Sinacam, their
chief, was still uncaptured, having taken refuge in the
mountain fastnesses of Comalapa, and it may safely
be concluded that he never ceased from his efforts to
harass the Spaniards. The unsettled condition of
affairs at this period may be inferred from the fact
that there is no record of any session of the cabildo
from May 6, 1525, to October 4th of the same year.[IV‑2]
The numbers of the colonists were, however, being
continually reënforced. The trouble which occurred
in Mexico during the absence of Cortés, caused many
of the settlers in Anáhuac to turn their faces toward
75
Guatemala, while those newly arrived from Spain or
the West Indies also joined the followers of Alvarado,
who now considering that his hold upon the
country was secure, informed the municipality of Santiago
that he intended to depart at once for Mexico.




Reports had reached Guatemala of the death of
Cortés in Honduras, and if this were true he had lost
a powerful patron and friend, and must needs hasten
back to protect his own interests. His purpose was
to proceed afterward to Spain and report his services
to his sovereign from whom he hoped to obtain
recognition and reward.[IV‑3]




Moreover, his brother Jorge and many other Spaniards
of the Cortés party had secretly informed him
of the usurpation by the factor Salazar of the governorship
of Mexico, urging him not to absent himself
longer, and promising to establish him as governor
in place of the former, until positive information
should be received whether Cortés were alive or dead.
The chance that the mantle of his great master might
perhaps fall upon his own shoulders, made him anxious
not to miss this opportunity, and he lost no time
in beginning the journey. But it was already reported
in Mexico that he would arrive there before
long, and he had proceeded but a short distance when
he received an intimation from the factor that he had
better approach no further. If, however, he preferred
to revisit the capital, Salazar informed him that he
would gladly meet him on the way, and have the
satisfaction of putting him to death. He soon afterward
learned that this was no idle threat, for a force
of fifty horse and seventy foot had already been despatched
against him, and he could not for a moment
expect that the small band of soldiers which the colonists
had been able to spare him as an escort should
be able to compete with these troops. Venturesome
76
as he was, Alvarado was not the one to encounter
almost certain death, and though sorely mortified he
was compelled to retrace his steps.




About the close of 1525 he was informed of the
safety of Cortés, and received from him despatches
with instructions to join him in Honduras with all
his available forces. At that time, it will be remembered,
the latter proposed to return to Mexico by
way of Guatemala, but afterward resolved to make
the journey by sea, landing at Vera Cruz in May
1526.[IV‑4] Alvarado at once prepared to obey his orders,
but his purpose was resolutely opposed by the colonists.
Municipal and military officers, citizens and
common soldiers all alike objected to his entering
upon a campaign which would strip the province of
most of its defenders. Even his own brothers endeavored
to dissuade him. But remonstrance was of
no avail. The alcaldes and regidores he addressed
in intemperate and abusive language,[IV‑5] while to his
brothers he hotly exclaimed: "Offer me no advice; all
I possess was given me by Hernan Cortés, and with
him will I die."[IV‑6] Discontent was, however, widely
spread, and Alvarado's personal safety appears to have
been in danger, for the cabildo requested him to enroll
a body-guard for his own protection, as the stability
of the colonies would be endangered should any harm
happen to him.[IV‑7]




With great difficulty the adelantado levied troops
for his expedition. His men were discontented, and
utterly averse to engage in an enterprise which
77
offered no prospect of gain, but was certain to be
attended with hardship and risk of life. When he
was on the point of setting forth, fifty or sixty of
them mutinied, and setting fire to the city by night[IV‑8]
made their escape while the remainder of the soldiers
were engaged in preventing the conflagration from
spreading. It was a godless and ruffian band, that
which issued forth from Patinamit under the veil of
night and shrouded by the smoke of the burning city.
Before their departure they stripped the chapel of
all its ornaments and jewelry, and forcibly compelled
the priest to accompany them. Taking the road to
Soconusco they sacked the villages which lay on their
route, and on their arrival in that province, considering
themselves safe from pursuit, displayed their
hatred of Alvarado by holding a mock trial and
hanging in effigy their commander and those who
had remained faithful to him. Then they passed on
to Mexico plundering and destroying on their way.



ALVARADO IN HONDURAS.



Notwithstanding this defection, the adelantado soon
afterward set forth to join Cortés,[IV‑9] leaving his brother
Gonzalo to take command during his absence. Of his
journey, which was probably an uneventful one, few
incidents are narrated. He passed through the provinces
of Cuzcatlan and Chaparristic, and entered
Choluteca in Honduras, where, at a place called
Choluteca Malalaca, as narrated by Bernal Diaz,[IV‑10] he
78
heard for the first time of the return of Cortés to
Mexico.




It has already been mentioned that in 1525 the
settlement of Natividad de Nuestra Señora was abandoned
on account of the unhealthiness of its site and
the refusal of the natives to furnish provisions, and
that Cortés granted permission to the Spaniards
to remove to Naco.[IV‑11] Captain Luis Marin, left in
charge of the latter colony, after remaining for some
time in doubt as to the fate of his commander, despatched
thence a small band of horsemen to Trujillo
to ascertain whether he yet survived, and, if that
were so, to gather information as to his intended
movements.[IV‑12] Bernal Diaz, who was one of the troop,
relates that on reaching the Olancho Valley they
learned that Cortés had already embarked from Trujillo,
leaving Saavedra in command. Marin's brief
sojourn in Honduras had already made him impatient
to return to Mexico,[IV‑13] and he at once decided to return
to that province by way of Guatemala. Thus
it chanced that at Choluteca Malalaca, his party met
with Alvarado, who expressed unbounded delight on
hearing of the safety of his old comrade in arms, and
felt much inward satisfaction that now his superior
could not interfere with his own schemes of conquest
and aggrandizement.




The lieutenant-general then commenced his homeward
march, accompanied by Marin and about eighty
of the colonists of Naco. Returning through the
territory at present known as the province of San
Miguel, they arrived at the Rio Lempa at a season of
the year when the current was so greatly swollen by
79
the rains that to ford it was impossible. In this
emergency they felled a huge ceiba-tree, out of which,
with infinite labor, they fashioned an immense canoe,[IV‑14]
and after toiling for five days, drenched with rain and
ravenous with hunger, thus made good their crossing.
They had now entered the province of Cuzcatlan,[IV‑15]
where Alvarado found that during his delay in Choluteca
the whole country had risen in rebellion.
Several battles were fought, all resulting favorably to
the Spaniards, and on the 6th of August 1526, after
a final and desperate conflict, the Indians were routed
with terrible carnage and soon afterward tendered
their submission.[IV‑16] The Spaniards then continued
their journey by forced marches and reached Guatemala
without further adventure. As they drew near
to Jalpatagua[IV‑17] they were met with the unwelcome
tidings of the revolt of the Cakchiquels and other
native nations.[IV‑18]



EVIL REIGN OF GONZALO DE ALVARADO.



During the absence of Pedro de Alvarado in Honduras,
his brother Gonzalo, left in charge as his lieutenant,
had made good use of the opportunity to
enrich himself, imposing excessive tribute and regarding
80
neither age nor condition in his inordinate craving
for wealth. To him must be attributed the great and
general uprising of the natives which occurred at this
time.[IV‑19] His crowning act of oppression was to compel
a large number of Indian boys to work in certain
gold-washings near Patinamit,[IV‑20] requiring of them to
procure daily a certain quantity of the precious metal.[IV‑21]
For a few weeks the amount was punctually furnished,
but on account of the tender age of the children, who
were but from nine to twelve years old, the measure
fell short, whereupon Gonzalo insisted that the deficiency
should be made up by contribution, and threatened
the natives with death, exclaiming with angry
gesticulations: "Think not that I have come to this
coast to dwell among a pack of hounds for any other
purpose than to gather gold to take with me to Spain."
This outrageous demand was also complied with, but
the bitter hate of their oppressors, which had long
smouldered in the hearts of the natives, was now about
to break forth into a flame.



GREAT UPRISING.



Among the nations of Central America the name of
the supreme being was represented by a word that
signifies 'deceiver,' or in the Cakchiquel language
'demon.'[IV‑22] In time of need or peril this personage
appeared to them, as Oviedo and Vazquez would have
us believe, and until the Christian Spaniard made firm
his footing in the land was consulted and obeyed in all
81
important matters. "Why wait you?" he exclaimed,
as he now bid his votaries strike once more for freedom.
"Tonatiuh has gone to Castile, and the strangers
are few. What fear you? I am the thunderbolt and
will make them dust and ashes. Both them and you
will I destroy if you prove cowards. Live not as
slaves, nor abandon the laws of your forefathers; convoke
the nation and terminate your woes." The appeal
was not in vain. From Chaparristic to Olintepec,
a distance of one hundred and thirty-nine leagues,
the Indians rose in revolt.[IV‑23] An army of thirty thousand
warriors was quickly and secretly raised, and
the Spaniards now scattered among the different settlements
were taken completely by surprise. The
confederated tribes divided their forces into two
divisions, one of which occupied the mountain passes
near Petapa for the purpose of holding Alvarado's
band in check, while the other fell on the unsuspecting
colonists, slaughtering the greater portion of them
together with a number of their Indian allies. Those
who escaped fled to Quezaltenango and Olintepec.[IV‑24]
82







 Alvarado's March.






The Indians were now in possession of the country
from its southern boundary to the district of Quezaltenango,
but a swift and terrible vengeance was
about to overtake them. Alvarado was already within
their borders. Having crushed the rebellion in
Cuzcatlan he swept northward with the fury of a
tempest. Scattering like sheep the bands that first
offered him resistance, he met with no serious opposition
till he arrived at the peñol of Xalpatlahua, situated
about three leagues from the present village of
Jalpatagua.
83



SUCCESS OF THE SPANIARDS.



At this point a huge rock, surrounded by a dry
moat, formed an almost impregnable fortress, commanding
not only the high-road, but also the pass
through the mountain defiles, and here the natives had
collected in force. For three days the Spaniards were
detained in forcing the approaches and reducing the
stronghold. Two furious assaults directed against it
before daylight in hope of carrying it by surprise
were repulsed, and it was only by stratagem that on
the third day Alvarado succeeded in his attempt.
Dividing his men into two parties, he assailed the
peñol at two different points at the same moment. In
the heat of the contest the adelantado, feigning retreat,
suddenly withdrew the corps under his command; the
others were ordered meanwhile to press the assault
more closely. The ruse was successful. The defenders
all collected at the point assailed, and Alvarado,
rapidly wheeling round his column, crossed the
ditch and gained the height.[IV‑25] The Indians, attacked
in rear, were thrown into disorder, driven down the
heights, and closely pursued by the Spaniards. Only
when night closed upon their flying columns did pursuit
and carnage cease.[IV‑26]




The army now continued its march unmolested, until
it arrived at the plains of Canales. Here another
obstinate and bloody battle was fought with a large
body of natives collected from the surrounding districts.
The contest was long maintained with doubtful
result, but was at last decided by the arrival of
the friendly cacique Cazhualan, who, although a portion
of his tribe had forsaken their allegiance,[IV‑27] fell
84
on his countrymen with such forces as he could collect
and caused their overthrow.




Alvarado now advanced rapidly toward Patinamit.
Fighting his way through numerous bodies of the
enemy who sought to oppose his passage, he arrived
in a few days at the plain in front of the city. Here
the combined forces of the confederated kings and
chiefs, mustering in all about thirty thousand warriors,
were drawn up to give him battle and strike one
more blow in defence of their native soil. In vain
their effort. These Spanish veterans were invincible,
and the Indian hosts were almost annihilated in
sight of their capital.[IV‑28] The Spaniards following up
their victory at once forced their way along the narrow
causeway that formed the only means of approach to
Patinamit, and putting to the sword the few defenders
left, took up their quarters there for the night.[IV‑29]



ALVARADO GOES TO MEXICO.



On the following morning, however, they evacuated
the city and occupied a position on the plain, where
building for themselves a number of huts,[IV‑30] they remained
85
for several days, during which Alvarado vainly
endeavored to induce the revolted caciques to return
to their allegiance.[IV‑31] Twice he sent proposals of peace;
but no reply being vouchsafed, he hastened onward to
Olintepec, where he arrived toward the end of August
1526. He was now at liberty to return to Mexico.
Although he had not succeeded in either killing or
capturing Sinacam and Sequechul, he considered that
the late terrible punishments ensured safety.




Official business was promptly despatched. New
alcaldes and regidores were elected, two of the former,
named Hernan Carrillo and Pedro Puertocarrero, being
nominated as Alvarado's lieutenants during his absence.
A procurador, one Diego Becerra, was appointed by the
cabildo to represent the interests of the city in Mexico;
and, his arrangements being completed, he set forth
on his journey accompanied by Marin, his brother
Gonzalo,[IV‑32] and more than eighty soldiers. He passed
through Soconusco and Tehuantepec, travelling with
such breathless speed that two of his men, enfeebled
by the hardships of the recent campaign, died on the
march. As he drew near to the capital he was met
by Cortés, whose friendship was soon to be cast aside,
86
and whose lofty pride was ere long to be humbled by
the very man whom that great conqueror now welcomed
with open arms and entertained with princely
hospitality at his palace in Mexico.[IV‑33]




And here, for a time, we must leave him to tell of
his great achievements; to gamble with old comrades,
to cheat them and lie to them, just as he had done
three years before. Then he will bid farewell to
Cortés forever, as it will prove, and go on his voyage
to Spain, where we shall hear of his reaping honor
and distinction. We shall hear of him also, under
the consciousness of broken faith and dishonorable
conduct, shrinking from and glad to avoid a meeting
with his old comrade to whom he owed all that he
possessed on earth.[IV‑34]
87




CHAPTER V.



SUBJUGATION OF ZACATEPEC, AND CAPTURE OF SINACAM'S
STRONGHOLD.

1527-1528.





Puertocarrero in Charge of Affairs—Revolt at Zacatepec—Escape
of the Spanish Garrison—The Place Recaptured—Execution of
the High Priest Panaguali—Sinacam's Stronghold—Its Siege and
Capture—Jorge de Alvarado Appointed Governor—The City of
Santiago Founded in the Almolonga Valley—Prosperity of the
New Settlement.




Of the two lieutenant-governors appointed by
Alvarado on his departure from Olintepec, Puertocarrero
was the one in whom he had most reliance.
The ability which he had displayed as a soldier and
a magistrate fully justified this confidence. A near
relative to Alvarado, he was second only to that great
captain in valor and military skill; and the most important
posts in the field were usually assigned to him,
while the fact that he was elected a regidor of the first
cabildo, and filled that office by re-appointment till
his promotion to the rank of alcalde and lieutenant-governor,
is evidence of his capacity for government.
In character he was in one respect too like his commander,
being severe and ruthless in his treatment of
the natives.[V‑1] His high breeding was displayed by a
fine deportment and courteous mien, while as a companion
he could be either most charming or exceeding
88
disagreeable; his flashes of wit and humor were as
much enjoyed as the lash of his sarcasm was dreaded.




With the assistance of his colleague Hernan Carrillo,
he began vigorously to establish order throughout the
province. His first care was to carry out the instructions
of Alvarado relative to the suppression of a
revolt in the town of Zacatepec, news of which had
arrived before the captain general's departure. Though
a portion of the natives of the Zacatepec province had
joined in the general insurrection, the garrison stationed
in the town itself had hitherto been able to
overawe the inhabitants; but toward the end of August
1526, incited by their high priest, named Panaguali,
one inspired by the presiding genius of the nation,
they suddenly rose upon the Spaniards. Threats of
the displeasure of their god Camanelon outweighed
with them even the dread of their conquerors; and the
chief priest, taking advantage of a violent earthquake
which occurred a short time before, so wrought upon
the fears of his countrymen that he prevailed on them
to attempt the extermination of the foreigners. The
garrison barely escaped a general massacre, being compelled
to make their escape from the town by cutting
their way through a dense crowd of assailants, who
attacked them one evening about sunset. In the
struggle one of their number, together with three of
the Tlascaltecs, were captured and sacrificed. Next
day the fugitives were joined by one hundred friendly
Zacatepecs, and by rapid marches reached Olintepec
the 31st of August.[V‑2]



BEFORE THE STRONGHOLD.



At daybreak on the following morning Puertocarrero
marched against the insurgents. His force consisted
of sixty horse, eighty arquebusiers, five hundred
and fifty Tlascaltecs and Mexicans, and one hundred
Zacatepecs. He had also two pieces of artillery.
89
On arriving within sight of the town the army encamped
in a small valley two leagues from the village
of Ucubil,[V‑3] to rest and reconnoitre. Hernando de
Chaves being sent forward with the cavalry captured
two natives, who gave information that Ucubil was
peaceably deposed and that in Zacatepec a portion of
the inhabitants had declared for the Spaniards, and
having made their escape, were scattered among the
neighboring corn lands. Puertocarrero now moved
to Ucubil, and thence sent messages of encouragement
to the friendly natives, eight hundred of whom
shortly afterward joined him. The Spanish army
now mustered fifteen hundred and ninety men, and
with this force the commander was quite ready to
meet the opposing eight thousand. He advanced,
therefore, toward the town, and when about half a
league distant sent messengers to offer peace on condition
of surrender. They were received with disdain,
and when others were despatched on a similar errand,
they were on the point of being seized and sacrificed,
and only made their escape by trusting to the speed
of their horses.




The Spaniards now took up their position on
rising ground a quarter of a league from Zacatepec.
There they were almost immediately assailed by a
body of two thousand natives who, issuing from a
neighboring wood, attacked them briskly, but after
a brief struggle were forced to retire. Early next
morning three thousand warriors, advancing from the
direction of the town, came down upon them, taking
good aim with poisoned arrows, while the fire of the
arquebusiers was for some time rendered almost harmless
by a strong breeze, which drove the smoke into
their eyes. Later their weapons were used with
more effect, and the Indians began to retire with
loss, whereupon the Spaniards incautiously advanced,
thereby suffering defeat; for when the Spanish forces
90
were in the center of the plain, the detachment from
the town, suddenly wheeling round, attacked them
in front, while those who remained under cover of
the woods assailed their rear. Puertocarrero was
compelled to withdraw from the field with all possible
haste; but this could only be done by traversing the
greater portion of the plain, and was attended with
great loss, the troops becoming entangled during the
hottest part of the engagement, in canebrakes and
creepers. At length the retreating army reached a
secure position between two converging eminences,
and here the conflict ceased for the night.




On the following day the Spanish commander,
drawing up his infantry in a hollow square with the
artillery in front and the cavalry on the wings, gave
the enemy battle on the plain. His lines were too
strong to be broken by the Zacatepec warriors who
rushed in a dense mass to the attack, but were driven
back by a well directed fire of artillery and small
arms. Forming into two columns, they next assailed
both wings simultaneously, but with no better success.
Again massing themselves in a single phalanx, they
made a furious attack on the right of the Spanish
army. The struggle was long but not doubtful.
Volley after volley mowed down their ranks in front,
while the horsemen charged repeatedly on either
flank. At length they took to flight and were pursued
to the entrance of the town, where Panaguali
and two other priests with eight of the principal
caciques were made prisoners.







Guatemala.





EXECUTION OF PANAGUALI.



The campaign was now at an end. Puertocarrero,
aware that the loss of their priests and their chieftains
would assure the submission of the rebels,
retired to Ucubil, whence one of the captives was sent
to the town with a final summons to allegiance, and
with strict injunctions to return as soon as possible.
A submissive reply was returned, and on the fourth
day after the battle the Spaniards entered the town
with all necessary precautions against attack. Having
91
occupied the guard-house and public square, Puertocarrero
ordered the caciques and other leading men to
appear before him, to witness the closing scene of the
revolt. The Spaniards were marshalled in the plaza,
and Panaguali was placed on trial in the presence of
his deluded people, as being the promoter of the
insurrection. All that the poor wretch could urge in
his defence was that he had acted in obedience to the
orders of his god; but Camanelon had now no power
to save. As a matter of course the high priest was
condemned to death, and immediately executed in full
view of the awe-stricken natives who but now had confidently
hoped to capture the Spaniards for sacrifice.[V‑4]
92




The suppression of the Zacatepec rebellion being
completed, Alvarado's lieutenant[V‑5] next turned his
attention to the stronghold of Sinacam. This fortress,
built of stone and lime, was situated in an almost inaccessible
position in the Comalapa mountains.[V‑6] In
the fastnesses of this range, seamed with gloomy
cañons, numbers of the Cakchiquels had taken refuge.
Far down in the sierra is a precipitous ravine through
which flows the Rio Nimaya.[V‑7] The stream when it
reaches the valley below is of great depth, abounds
in fish, and is fringed in places with beautiful glades
and stretches of fertile land, which can be approached
only by difficult and dangerous paths.[V‑8] Here Sinacam's
followers planted and gathered their maize in
safety, while river and forest supplied them with additional
food. No better place for a stronghold could
have been selected than that to which the chief of the
Cakchiquels had withdrawn the remnant of his once
powerful nation.[V‑9]



SIEGE OF THE STRONGHOLD.



At the head of a numerous and well appointed
93
force[V‑10] Puertocarrero took up a suitable position before
it,[V‑11] and for two months prosecuted the siege in
vain. During this time he made frequent overtures
of peace, which were answered only with contempt,[V‑12]
while his men, smarting under the taunts of the foe,
who felt secure in his position and had no fear of
hunger, were repulsed at every attack, rocks and
trunks of trees being hurled down on them from the
overhanging heights. Meanwhile they were harassed
by repeated sorties from the natives, who, whenever
they perceived any want of vigilance in the camp of
the Spaniards, swept down from the mountains with
inconceivable rapidity, fell upon the weakest point of
their lines, and as quickly regained the shelter of their
stronghold.[V‑13]




But failure only roused the Spaniards to more determined
effort. There were among them many who
had taken part in the storming of Mexico, and had
fought under Alvarado at Patinamit. The mettle
of the adelantado's veterans had been tested on many
a doubtful field, and they were now about to give fresh
evidence of their valor. It may be that a traitor revealed
to the besiegers some secret path,[V‑14] or even
served as guide; but the storming of the fortress
94
was none the less a desperate undertaking. Its fate
was sealed however. Puertocarrero divided his forces
into four bodies and stationed them at the most favorable
points; but before ordering the assault sent in his
last summons to surrender. The messengers who bore
the letter to Sinacam narrowly escaped death. On
receiving it the chieftain tore the paper to shreds, and
throwing the pieces on the ground with many expressions
of scorn and contempt ordered the envoys to be
put to death. At this moment, however, the attack
was made. Puertocarrero who had observed all that
was transpiring suddenly advanced his men. The
ramparts were scaled, and a foothold won within the
fortifications. No hope now for the garrison; the
struggle which followed was severe but brief. The
discolored ground was soon heaped with the dead and
dying, on whose prostrate forms the triumphant Spaniards
trampled as they pressed on in pursuit of the
panic-stricken natives. Sinacam and Sequechul, together
with a larger number of their followers, were
captured, and few of those who survived the massacre
made good their escape to the mountains.[V‑15]
95




The storming of the Cakchiquel stronghold occurred
on Saint Cecilia's day, the 22d of November
1526, and long afterward the event was yearly celebrated
by an imposing procession. On the anniversary
of the saint and on the eve preceding, the
standard-bearer displayed the royal colors in the
presence of the president, the royal audiencia, the
municipality, and nobles, while the Mexicans and
Tlascaltecs, who had contributed to the victory in no
small degree, joined in the procession, decked in
bright colors and armed with the weapons of their
ancestors.



JORGE DE ALVARADO.



In the month of March 1527, a new governor arrived
in Guatemala in the person of Jorge de Alvarado,[V‑16]
brother of the great conqueror, and a man gifted with
abilities of no common order. He had already won
repute in the conquest of Mexico, and had taken a
prominent part in the political dissensions which
occurred in the capital during the absence of Cortés
in Honduras. During the military operations in
Guatemala, more especially in the first campaign in
Salvador, he had proved himself possessed of true
soldierly qualities. The preferment was bestowed on
him by the governor of Mexico, and that he should
have been permitted to supersede Puertocarrero was
probably due to his brother's favor and to the friendship
of Cortés. Nevertheless he was a man eminently
fitted to rule. His appointment was at once recognized
by the cabildo, and he was requested immediately
to take the oath of office.
96



SANTIAGO FOUNDED.



Soon after his arrival the cabildo met to discuss a
matter of general interest, which had long engaged
the attention of the colonists. This was the selection
of a permanent site for their hitherto unstable city.
The choice lay between the valleys of Almolonga and
Tianguecillo,[V‑17] and after a long and wordy discussion
the question was decided in favor of the former locality.
A spot was chosen which had the advantages of a
cool and healthful climate, a plentiful supply of wood,
water, and pasture, and where the slope of the ground
would allow the streets to be cleansed by the periodical
rains. The governor then presented to the municipality
a document, signed by his own hand, conveying
his instructions as to the laying-out of the future
city. The streets were to intersect at right angles,
their direction corresponding with the cardinal points
of the compass; space was to be reserved for a plaza;
and ground adjoining the public square was set apart
for the erection of a church to be dedicated to Santiago,
who was chosen as the patron saint of the city which
was henceforth to bear his name, and whose heart was
to be gladdened in after years, when the day of his
anniversary recurred, by religious ceremonies and
festivities, by tilting, and by bull-fights whenever a
supply of bulls could be procured.[V‑18] Locations were
97
to be assigned for a hospital, a chapel and shrine,[V‑19] and
a fortress; appropriations adjoining the plaza were to
be marked out for the municipal and civic buildings
and for a prison; and the remainder of the site was
then to be divided among present or future citizens
according to the customs prevailing in New Spain.




After this document had been publicly read and
entered by the notary in the books of the cabildo, all
formalities were completed except that of taking possession
of the future city as though it already existed.
According to the usual formality a post was erected,
and the governor, placing his hand upon it, proclaimed
with great solemnity, "I take and hold possession, in
the name of his Majesty, of the city and province, and
of all other adjacent territory."[V‑20]




Four days after the completion of this ceremony
twenty-four persons enrolled themselves as citizens;
and so prosperous, at first, were the affairs of the new
settlement that within six months one hundred and
fifty additional householders joined the community.[V‑21]
During the remainder of the year 1527 and for many
months afterward the Spaniards were occupied with
municipal affairs, or busied themselves with the erection
98
of dwellings and with dividing and putting under
cultivation the rich lands of the adjoining valley.




In March 1528 Jorge de Alvarado, in virtue of the
authority granted to him by the governor of Mexico,
claimed the right to appoint new members of the
municipality. As no valid objection could be offered
by the cabildo, the nominations were immediately
made, and eight regidores were elected in place of
four. The most important measure adopted by the
new corporation during the year was the redivision of
lands and the adjustment of questions that would
necessarily arise from such a change. The grants
were so unfairly distributed that, while many citizens
had far more than their share, others had none at all.
The discontent of the latter made it imperative for
the municipality to take action. On the 18th of
April all previous regulations were revoked and all
divisions of land cancelled. An order was then issued
for the redivision of the valley into caballerías and
peonías,[V‑22] and a committee appointed to redistribute
the grants.



ALMOLONGA VALLEY.



A measure of this kind could not fail to meet with
much opposition, and as will be seen later the division
of lands and the system of repartimientos caused much
dissension among the colonists; yet in the present
instance the cabildo acted with all possible discretion
and fairness in the matter. Those grants of land
which were less fertile, were of greater extent than
the more barren portions; men distinguished for
their services received larger shares to correspond
with the degree of their merit; growing crops were
the property of those in possession at the time of
the redistribution; and if any occupant had made
99
improvements and was removed to another grant, his
successor was required to make others of equal value
on the new land assigned to him. Complete title-deeds
were promised by the cabildo in the name of
his Majesty;[V‑23] the citizens were ordered to enclose
and keep in good condition the portion of the street
corresponding with their allotments; the exorbitant
charges of artisans were regulated; and such was the
thrift of the inhabitants that within little more than
a year after its foundation the town was surrounded
with cornfields and orchards, and the valley of Almolonga
soon became one of the most flourishing colonies
throughout the breadth of Central America.
100




CHAPTER VI.



INDIAN REVOLTS AND CIVIL FACTIONS IN GUATEMALA.

1529-1530.





Alvarado Returns to Spain—He is Arraigned before the Council
of the Indies—His Acquittal—His Marriage—He Returns to
Mexico—His Trial before the Audiencia—Francisco de Orduña
Arrives at Santiago—And Takes the Residencia of Jorge de Alvarado—The
Confederated Nations in Revolt—Juan Perez Dardon's
Expedition to the Valley of Xumay—The Spaniards Attack
the Stronghold of Uspantan—Their Repulse and Retreat—The
Place Afterward Captured by Francisco de Castellanos—The
Circus of Copan Besieged by Hernando de Chaves—Gallant Conduct
of a Cavalry Soldier—Alvarado's Return to Santiago—Demoralized
Condition of the Province.



ALVARADO IN SPAIN.



Soon after his meeting with Cortés in Mexico Pedro
de Alvarado returned to Spain. Arriving early in
1527, he soon learned, as we may well imagine,
that charges of a serious nature were being preferred
against him. Gonzalo Mejía, the colonial procurator,
had accused him before the India Council of obtaining
wealth by embezzling the royal dues, and by unfair
appropriation of the spoils of war. The amount thus
secured was estimated at one hundred thousand pesos.
Many acts of injustice were also laid to his charge,
all of which Mejía affirmed could be substantiated by
documents which he laid before the council. The result
was that an order was issued directing a formal investigation
to be made both in Madrid and New Spain,
and directing that his gold which amounted to fifteen
thousand ducats be seized as security for any fine in
which he might be mulcted. He was required moreover
to appear at court, in person, without delay.
101




Alvarado had now no easy task before him, but
there was much in his favor. His great renown, his
handsome presence,[VI‑1] and remarkable conversational
powers won for him many friends, among others the
king's secretary, Francisco de los Cobos, who personally
interested himself in his defence, and with such success
that the conqueror of Guatemala was acquitted,
his gold restored, and he soon had an opportunity to
plead his own case before the emperor.




Once in the royal presence the cavalier does not
hesitate to inform his Majesty of his many doughty
deeds during the conquest of Mexico, and to mention
that the subjugation of Guatemala was achieved at
his own expense.[VI‑2] The king listens with marked attention,
particularly when he advances schemes for
ship-building on the southern shore of Guatemala for
the discovery of the coveted Spice Islands, and for
the development of South Sea commerce.[VI‑3] The royal
favor is won, and honors and appointments follow.
The cross of Santiago is bestowed upon him, and he
is appointed a comendador.[VI‑4] He is also made governor
and captain general, as Arévalo tells us, of
Guatemala, of Chiapas, Cinacantan, Tequepampo,
Omatan, Acalan, and all other territories adjoining
102
and belonging to that province. In return he enters
into an engagement with his royal master to send
forth expeditions of discovery and thoroughly to explore
the waters of the South Sea.[VI‑5]




The favors which he thus received from the emperor
were due in part to his marriage with a ward of the
secretary Cobos. It is true that he was already
betrothed to Cecilia Vazquez, a cousin of Cortés, but
a mere vow could not be allowed to stand between
him and high connection. Cortés had been a true
friend; but Alvarado could now win stronger support
than ever the conqueror of Mexico could bestow on
him, and what mattered friendship when help[VI‑6] was
no longer needed? A few months after his arrival in
Spain, he had offered himself as a suitor for the hand
of the accomplished Doña Francisca de la Cueva,
daughter of the conde de Bedmar, and niece of the
duke of Albuquerque. Secretary Cobos received
his offer approvingly, arranged the marriage, and at
the ceremony gave the bride away.[VI‑7]




Alvarado was now prepared to return to the western
world, and on the 26th of May 1528,[VI‑8] entered his
appointments and despatches at the India House in
Seville according to form. While he was there waiting
to embark Cortés arrived at Palos. But the new
adelantado was no longer so anxious to meet his former
103
commander as he had been when he marched to
his aid through the wilds of Honduras. He knew
how deeply he had wounded his pride in the two most
sensitive points, and he received with a feeling of
relief the news that Cortés had gone direct to Madrid.




In October 1528, the governor of Guatemala,
accompanied by a number of noble gentlemen, friends,
and relatives, again arrived at Vera Cruz, and hastening
on to Mexico hoped soon to reach the capital
of his own province. But the officers of the royal
treasury informed him that he need be in no haste to
leave; for now the investigations were not to be lightly
treated. It was a serious matter, that of accounts, very
serious the question how much he owed his Majesty.
And near at hand were those immaculate men, the
oidores of Mexico's first audiencia, who were jealous
for the rights of the king, and more jealous that any
other subjects should be permitted to outsteal them.
Upon the heels of Alvarado they entered Mexico, bearing
a document in which was a clause which read
thus: "You will also inform yourselves whether it is
true that, when Pedro de Alvarado was in Guatemala,
there was not proper care in the collection of
the fifths, and that he did not present himself to the
treasurer with the portion pertaining thereto."[VI‑9] The
Guatemalan governor was at once informed that he
might answer to the charges on record against him.



TRIAL OF ALVARADO.



The celebrated trial which followed was protracted
as long as party faction, envy, and personal enmity
could make it last. The more important accusations
were three—embezzlement of royal fifths and soldiers'
booty, cruelty, and illegal warfare; but any act of
Alvarado's previous life that could be used against
him was pertinent. The total number of charges
preferred was thirty-four, and there were ten witnesses
for the prosecution. On April 6, 1529, the
examination commenced; on the 4th of June Alvarado
presented his reply; and on the 10th began the
104
examination of his witnesses who numbered thirty-two,
the chaplain Juan Diaz being one. Eighty-four
questions were submitted, and in addition to verbal
evidence twelve documents were filed for the defence.[VI‑10]
On the 5th of July the defence was closed and the case
submitted, but all efforts to obtain a speedy decision
were unavailing. The oidores would have the governor
of Guatemala feel their power yet a little longer.



GOVERNMENT OF THE PROVINCE.



Soon after Alvarado's arrival in Mexico, his brother
Jorge, who had been left in charge of the province of
Guatemala, received from him a copy of the former's
appointment as governor and captain general.[VI‑11] At
the same time the adelantado, being so empowered,
105
constituted Jorge his lieutenant. The documents,
being read before the cabildo, were duly recognized
by that body; whereupon Jorge declared that he
ceased to exercise the powers he had hitherto held
from the governor of Mexico,[VI‑12] took the oath in the
usual manner, and assumed the duties laid upon him
by his new appointment.




The audiencia of Mexico was quickly notified of
these proceedings, and in July 1529 it was known in
Santiago that a judge and captain general had been
appointed to take the lieutenant-governor's residencia.
A bold though unsuccessful attempt was made to
avoid the threatened investigation. Jorge compelled
the procurator, syndic, and notary public to draw up
a formal representation, urging, in the name of the
cabildo, that Pedro de Alvarado and no other person
should be obeyed as captain general and governor.
This action had, however, no effect in averting his
speedy fall from power. On the 14th of August Francisco
de Orduña, the official appointed by the oidores,
arrived at Santiago, and presenting his credentials
took the customary oath the same day.[VI‑13]




The audiencia could not have selected a man more
unfitted for this important office, or one less likely to
promote the interests of the colony. He came at a
time when of all others prudence and dispassionate
action were needed. The redistribution of lands and
the assignment of encomiendas in spite of all efforts
to the contrary had caused discontent; the new-comers
were jealously regarded by the conquerors and the
settlers were already divided into factions. To reconcile
106
differences was not Orduña's object. His policy
was to be guided by self-interest, and by enmity to
Alvarado and his party. A man of coarse nature,
irascible and unscrupulous, he was often guilty of gross
indecency in speech and of unseemly personal violence;
after acts of gross injustice he insulted all who claimed
redress.




One of his first measures was to call in question
the legality of Jorge's administration. The alcalde
Gonzalo Dovalle, a creature of Orduña's, brought the
matter before the cabildo, claiming that all repartimientos
which he had assigned, and all suits which he
had decided, from the time that he had received from
his brother the appointment of lieutenant-governor,
were annulled. The question was a delicate one, inasmuch
as the cabildo had recognized the authority of
Jorge, and their own powers and rights were thus
endangered. Nevertheless they did not venture to
oppose the jurisdiction of the audiencia, and within
three months after Orduña's arrival he found himself
in control of the ayuntamiento.



THE XUMAY WAR.



The natives were not slow to take advantage of
the discord among the Spaniards, and during the latter
portion of 1529 it became necessary to send out
numerous expeditions to suppress revolt or repel
encroachments.[VI‑14] Several of the confederated nations
107
which had sustained defeat at the hands of Alvarado
on his return from Honduras[VI‑15] began to make inroads
on portions of the province which hitherto had always
been held in subjection. The valley and town of
Xumay was the principal seat of the outbreak, and
against this point a force of eighty foot, thirty horse,
and one thousand native auxiliaries was despatched
under command of Juan Perez Dardon.[VI‑16]




The march of the troops was uninterrupted until
they reached the river Coaxiniquilapan.[VI‑17] Here they
found their passage disputed by a large force posted
on the opposite bank. Not deeming it prudent to
attempt the crossing in the face of the enemy, Dardon
withdrew his troops, and making a rapid detour under
cover of a range of hills, arrived unperceived at a
point above on the stream. By the aid of a wooden
bridge which he hastily threw across it he passed his
army over, and marched into the valley of Xumay.
Here he encountered a strong body of the enemy,
who, after a spirited opposition, suddenly retreated to
a steep eminence,[VI‑18] hotly pursued by the Spaniards.
The latter failed more than once in their attempts to
108
carry this position, but the natives falling short of
provisions and becoming enfeebled through hunger
were at length dislodged with great slaughter.




The town of Xumay now lay at the mercy of the
Spaniards; and the chief of the confederated tribes,[VI‑19]
finding himself unable to cope with the enemy, determined
on stratagem; but his astuteness could suggest
nothing better than the oft-tried ruse of making
treacherous overtures of peace. Dardon was not to
be imposed upon by so trite an artifice, and apprised
him that he was thoroughly aware of his design,
whereupon the cacique threw off the mask, and resolving
to make one last effort, attacked the Spaniards
with all the forces he could collect, but was routed
with heavy loss. On entering the town Dardon found
the place abandoned, and in vain sent a number of his
prisoners with promises of pardon to their countrymen
on condition of their return. They had even
less confidence in the word of the Spanish commander
than he himself had shown in the good faith of their
chieftain. It was therefore ordered that the place
should be burned, and parties were sent to hunt down
the scattered fugitives, many of whom were captured,
and among them a number of caciques. All were
indiscriminately branded as slaves, and hence a village
afterward built near the spot, as well as the Rio
Coaxiniquilapan received the name of Los Esclavos.[VI‑20]



DISCOMFITURE BEFORE USPANTAN.



While the confederated tribes were thus again
being brought under subjection, an expedition directed
against the stronghold of Uspantan[VI‑21] met with signal
failure. Shortly after Orduña's arrival the reduction
109
of this place was decided on by the cabildo; and a
force of sixty foot and three hundred experienced
Indian auxiliaries[VI‑22] was despatched for that purpose
under command of the alcalde Gaspar Arias.[VI‑23] The
mountainous district in which this fortress was situated
lay on the borders of the present departments of Vera
Paz and Totonicapan, and was inhabited by fierce
roaming tribes that were continually urging the conquered
Quichés to revolt. Surrounded with deep
ravines, and occupying one of those naturally fortified
positions that were ever selected by the natives as a
refuge against the Spaniards, Uspantan was deemed
almost as impregnable as Patinamit and the mountain
stronghold of Sinacam.
No sooner had Arias taken up his position in front
of this fortress, after capturing several towns that
lay on the line of his march, than he received news
that Orduña had deposed him from office and appointed
another alcalde in his place.[VI‑24] Indignant at this proceeding,
he resolved to return at once to Santiago,[VI‑25]
delegating his command to Pedro de Olmos, a man
in whom he had confidence, but who, as the result
proved, was unfitted for the post. Heeding not the
instructions left him, or the advice of his fellow-soldiers,
he determined to carry the place by storm, hoping
110
thus to win for himself a reputation. The result was
most disastrous. While the assault was being made
at the single point where an entrance could be effected,
his rear was assailed by two thousand of the enemy
placed in ambush in anticipation of the attack. The
surprise was complete. In the brief conflict which
ensued a large portion of the Spaniards were wounded,
Olmos himself among the number, while the slaughter
of the auxiliaries was fearful. To complete their discomfiture
a number of prisoners captured by the enemy
were immediately stretched upon the altar in sacrifice.[VI‑26]
Then the allies fled and made their way back
to Santiago.




Nothing now remained but retreat; and sullenly
the small remnant of Olmos' command, ill-provided
with food and overladen with baggage, turned their
backs upon the stronghold of Uspantan to fight their
way homeward. Day by day they pressed onward,
constantly assailed by the enemy posted in ambuscade
along the route. The final struggle occurred on
approaching the district of Chichicastenango. Here
three thousand of the enemy had collected to dispute
with them a mountain pass through which lay their
only line of retreat. No hope for the Spaniards now,
unless they could cut their way through this dense
throng of warriors. Provisions and baggage were
cast aside and each soldier, grasping his weapons,
prepared for the conflict which was to determine his
destiny. The fight was obstinate and bloody, but
sword and arquebuse prevailed as usual against the
rude arms of the natives, and at length the Spaniards
rested unopposed on the opposite side of the range,
the survivors finally reaching Utatlan, haggard and
gaunt with famine.



WAR AT CHICHICASTENANGO.



Orduña, recognizing that his indiscretion had been
the cause of this disaster, hastened to repair his mistake.
111
He met with much difficulty in raising a sufficient
force, as he had already made himself unpopular
with most of the colonists, but at the beginning of
December he left the city accompanied by forty foot-soldiers,
thirty-two horse, and four hundred Mexican
and Tlascaltec allies,[VI‑27] the latter commanded by Spanish
officers. As Orduña had little faith in his own
abilities as a leader, and his soldiers had none, the
command of this force was intrusted to the treasurer
Francisco de Castellanos, a man of spirit and ability.
On arriving in Chichicastenango Orduña sent envoys
to Uspantan with a summons to surrender.[VI‑28] The
reply was of a practical nature: the emissaries were
immediately put to death.




The natives must now be brought under subjection
by force of arms, and Orduña sent forward Castellanos
with the greater portion of the troops to undertake
the fighting, while he himself remained in safe
quarters at Chichicastenango.[VI‑29] The latter first directed
his march against the important stronghold of
Nebah. On arriving at the river Sacapulas he found
for some time an impassable obstacle, on account of
the precipitous nature of the ravine down which it
flowed. By moving up stream, he discovered at last
112
a spot where he could descend, and throwing a bridge
over the river made good his crossing. Ascending
the opposite slope, he encountered on the summit a
body of five thousand warriors gathered there from
Nebah and neighboring towns. They retired on his
approach, and took up a position at a narrow mountain
pass, whence they were driven only after a
sharp and protracted struggle.




Castellanos then advanced without further opposition
to Nebah, which like many other Indian towns
he found to be a natural stronghold. Such reliance
did the natives place on the protection of the precipices
which surrounded it, that they did not think it
necessary to post sentinels, and all collected to defend
its only entrance. This over-confidence wrought
their destruction. While the assault was being made,
a few Tlascaltecs and Mexicans succeeded, by clinging
to tendrils and creepers, in scaling the height in
the rear of the town. Then approaching unobserved
they set fire to some houses. The conflagration
spread; the defence was soon abandoned; and the Spaniards
rushing through the narrow entrance were soon
masters of the town. On the following day all the
inhabitants were branded; and such was the effect of
the fall of this fortress, that the neighboring villages
as well as the large town of Chahúl surrendered without
opposition.



BRANDING OF PATRIOTS.



The Spaniards then marched on Uspantan, where
ten thousand warriors belonging to that district, aided
by an equal number of allies, disdained submission.
This place was also practically impregnable, and again
but for excess of confidence the garrison might have
remained in security. But when they saw the little
army under Castellanos impudently sitting down before
their door, the men of Uspantan resolved to go forth
and sweep them from the earth. The Spaniards took
up their position, the infantry being divided into two
equal bodies, and stationed on the wings, while the
horsemen occupied the centre somewhat in advance.
113
As soon as the onset was made and the assailants
were engaged with the cavalry, the foot, rapidly
deploying to right and left, fell upon the enemy's
flanks simultaneously and overthrew them with great
slaughter. So many prisoners of high position were
taken that the submission of Uspantan and the allied
towns was secured, and Castellanos, having branded
and reduced to slavery a large number of his captives,
returned to Santiago about the beginning of 1530.




During the same year the confusion caused by
Orduña's maleadministration held out a hope to the
stubborn Cuzcatecans of even yet winning back their
independence, and once more they rose in revolt.
Diego de Rojas was sent by the captain general with
a small force to aid the Spanish settlers in that part
of the province in suppressing the insurrection. His
efforts were successful; but when about to accept the
surrender of a fortress that lay beyond the river Lempa
he heard the unwelcome news that a party of Spaniards
were approaching from the south. Rojas determined
to reconnoitre in person, and his curiosity was soon
gratified, for while doing so he was made prisoner with
a number of his followers. The intruders proved to
be a party of two hundred men despatched by Pedrarias
Dávila, under Martin Estete, for the purpose of
making possession of Salvador and making that province
an appendage to Nicaragua. If a man of ability
had been in charge of this expedition it is not improbable
that its purpose might have been accomplished;
but Estete, though by name a soldier, had neither
courage nor military skill. In the hour of trial he
deserted his men; and it has already been related that
about half of his force joined the colonists of Guatemala.




At the foot of a precipitous mountain range near
Gracias á Dios is the circus of Copan, where lie the
ruins of an ancient town which are yet an object of
114
interest to travellers. Fuentes, writing about the
close of the seventeenth century, describes it as a space
surrounded by pyramids of stone, eighteen feet in
height, at the base of which were sculptured figures
attired in Castilian costume. The place was garrisoned
by thirty thousand troops well supplied with provisions,
and was guarded, at the only point where approach
was possible, by a deep fosse and a barricade of earth,
pierced with loop-holes. To this stronghold Hernando
de Chaves, who had been ordered to quell an uprising
in the adjoining province of Chiquimula, now resolved
to lay siege. Drawing up his forces in front of it he
approached within bow-shot of the town at the head
of a small band of horse and demanded its surrender.
He was answered with flights of arrows directed
with such good aim that he was glad to make his
escape.




On the following morning an assault was made
upon the intrenchment, but without success; and
though the attack was renewed again and again during
the day, and the arquebuses and cross-bows of
the Spaniards spread havoc among the defenders, at
nightfall no impression had been made, and Chaves
was compelled to draw off his forces sorely discomfited.
He had exceeded his orders and was acting
on his own responsibility in attempting the subjugation
of Copan. He was compelled to admit his rashness;
but the question was now which way should he
turn in his present dilemma? To capture the stronghold
with his slender force was all but impossible,
while failure and retreat would bring disgrace upon
the Spanish arms and dishonor on himself. When
brooding over the difficulties of his position the welcome
news was brought that a spot had been discovered
where the depth and width of the fosse were
comparatively small, and on the following day he again
led his men to the attack. The struggle was long
and doubtful. The Spaniards obstinately refused to
withdraw, though time after time, as they attempted
115
to scale the rampart, they were repelled by lance-thrusts,
or crushed under falling rocks.



REDUCTION OF COPAN.



The day was at last decided by the desperate courage
of a cavalry soldier, one Juan Vazquez de Osuña,
who, enraged at the repulse of his comrades, plunged
the spurs into his horse and rode him straight at the
ditch. The steed cleared the fosse, striking the barricade
with his barbed chest. The works could not
withstand the shock: palisades and earth gave way;
the frightened horse, urged on by his impetuous rider,
struggled through the debris and plunged amidst the
mass of warriors, scattering them in every direction.
Other horsemen came to Osuña's support. The whole
Spanish force followed, swarming through the breach,
and formed in line inside the defences. The contest
which ensued was no exception to the usual issue
of Spanish warfare in America. The horsemen spread
terror and death through the ranks of the natives,
while the foot-soldiers followed up the work of carnage.
The cacique rallied his scattered troops upon a strong
body of reserves posted in a favorable position, and
attempted to retrieve the day, but the resistance was
brief; their ranks were soon broken, and Copan was
in the hands of the victors. Not even yet, however,
did the chieftain abandon hope. Leaving his capital
to the foe, he retreated to Sitalá, on the confines of his
domain. Here he rallied all the men he could muster,
and soon at the head of a formidable army he made a
desperate effort to win back Copan. Twice he assailed
the Spaniards with desperate courage, and twice was
driven back, his best warriors being left dead on the
field. At length, convinced of the uselessness of further
resistance, he tendered his submission, and from
his mountain retreat sent the tributary offering of gold
and plumage. His surrender was graciously accepted
by Chaves, who received him with the condescension
and courtesy becoming a conqueror.[VI‑30]
116



CIVIL FACTIONS IN GUATEMALA



About the middle of 1530, Pedro de Alvarado
returned to Guatemala, having at length extricated
himself from the net spread by his adversaries. Complaints
that the audiencia was misinterpreting the
king's instructions remained unheeded; representations
that he was being unjustly deprived of opportunities
to prosecute new conquests, and to reap some
benefit from the great outlay he had incurred, had
brought to his enemies a secret satisfaction. But
later the political aspect of affairs had favored him.
The audiencia and a strong party of their supporters
were hostile to Cortés and spared no effort to prevent
his return to Mexico.



RETURN OF ALVARADO.



None of the enemies were more active than the
king's factor, Gonzalo de Salazar, who seized and imprisoned
a number of the leading men of the opposite
faction, and among them the brothers of Alvarado.
Indignant at this proceeding the latter challenged
Salazar to mortal combat,[VI‑31] and insurrectionary movements
in the city excited the alarm of the oidores and
their partisans. At this juncture information was received
that Cortés was already on his way to Mexico.
A compromise was agreed upon, and Alvarado was
117
at last permitted to continue his long-delayed journey
to Santiago.[VI‑32]




Such is the version given by Remesal of Alvarado's
escape from the investigation, but it is probable that
he was compelled to disgorge much of his ill-gotten
gains in making so-called presents to oidores and
influential personages, and that he angrily shook the
dust from his feet when he left Mexico, stripped of
his wealth. Alas Tonatiuh! He was indeed a much
injured highwayman who had fallen among thieves.[VI‑33]




On the 11th of April 1530 the adelantado arrived
at the capital and was heartily welcomed; for to his
absence were attributed all the evils wrought by
Orduña. On the same day he presented to the cabildo
his original appointment under the royal signature.
The document was acknowledged with becoming
gravity. It was passed round, kissed and otherwise
honored, and finally enthroned in turn on the head of
each member, all promising to obey it as a royal
command. Then placing his right hand on the cross
of the order granted to him by the emperor, Alvarado
spoke the customary oath and took his seat as president
of the cabildo.




Orduña's administration was now at an end, and on
his return to Santiago no time was lost in instituting
proceedings against him. He was ordered to give
bonds in the sum of thirty thousand pesos de oro, and
thereafter his name appears no more in the chronicles
118
of his age. But we may conclude that one who had
shown such animosity toward the Alvarado party,
and had been so successful in winning the hatred of a
community, would not escape unharmed from the fire
which he had built around him. Either this, or he
had been doing that which best pleased those in
power, in which case his punishment can scarcely be
severe.




To wring redress from Orduña was, however, an
easier matter than to correct the disorder which he
had produced. The colonists were divided into numerous
cliques, entertaining bitter animosities toward
each other. The unfair distribution of repartimientos
had developed feuds which threatened bloodshed at
any moment; and those who had taken part in the
conquest of the country saw with anger new-comers
preferred before them in election to public office.




The independent spirit of the artisan and operative
placed them in direct antagonism to the more aristocratic
orders, who hated them for the extortions they
practised and the disrespectful indifference they displayed.
Numbers of mechanics, having acquired repartimientos
and wealth, charged what they pleased,
in defiance of law, and worked only when they felt
inclined.[VI‑34] But even this class was divided against
itself, and year by year the religious processions were
attended with disgraceful tumults caused by those
engaged in rival trades being thus brought together.
The community was even threatened with dissolution.
Many had left the province in disgust to settle in
Mexico or Nicaragua, or to engage in mining ventures,
and others were preparing to depart. The sites
allotted for residences were unoccupied by their owners;
the streets were almost impassable, and horses
119
and hogs roamed at large, causing destruction of
crops, while blood-hounds were let loose and permitted
to hunt down the unfortunate natives almost within
sight of Santiago.



SOCIAL CONDITION



Such was the condition of affairs when Alvarado
returned, and there is no doubt that his timely arrival
saved the colony from destruction.[VI‑35] He recognized
at once that the occasion required prompt
and vigorous action, and struck at the root of the
evil by prohibiting, under pain of death and confiscation,
all serious quarrelling, whether by word or
writing. Other measures for the correction of abuses
and the reorganization of the affairs of the province
quickly followed. A new distribution of repartimientos
was ordered, and the conditions of military service
were regulated. Whoever had two thousand
Indians assigned to him must always be provided
with a double set of weapons and two horses, and be
ready to take the field at an hour's notice. He who
had one thousand must possess a single set of arms
and one horse. The encomendero of five hundred
natives must be provided with a cross-bow or arquebuse,
and with sword and dagger, and must furnish a
horse if he could.




The laws existing in Guatemala as to the acquisition,
tenure, and conveyance of land would, under a
proper administration, and in a territory rich as was
that province in natural resources, have assured prosperity
to all but the unthrifty and improvident. Gold-mining
met with fair return, and notwithstanding the
ravages of wild beasts, the industries of stock-raising
and agriculture were successfully conducted.[VI‑36]
120




Though the settlers were few in number,[VI‑37] they
were sufficient, when acting in concert, to hold the
natives in subjection. The citizens were for the most
part required to do duty as soldiers in time of need.
None but citizens could obtain a title to land; nor was
that title confirmed until after a long term of service;
nor could any acquire, even by purchase, more than
his due share of the public domain.[VI‑38] But such was
the mischief wrought by the maleadministration of
Orduña that most of the Spaniards were on the verge
of destitution.




On the 25th of September 1529 we find that the
payment of debts was suspended for four months by
order of the cabildo, on the ground that the horses
and arms of the colonists would else be sold to others
and the services of their owners lost to the province.
Moreover the high price of all imported commodities
added greatly to the distress of the more impoverished
settlers. A dozen horseshoes sold for fifteen pesos, a
common saddle for fifty, and a cloth coat could not be
had for less than seventy pesos. The distance from
the confines of Guatemala to Mexico, whence all such
articles were obtained, was two hundred and seventy
leagues. Two portions of the road, one of forty-five
and the other of sixty leagues, led through a wilderness
121
impassable during the rainy season, except to
Indians, on account of the swollen rivers and marshes.




During the remainder of the year 1530 few incidents
worthy of note occurred in the province. The
natives were frequently in revolt; but to describe each
petty insurrection would be but tiresome repetition.
One Luis Moscoso was despatched with a hundred
and twenty men to the district beyond the Lempa,
and after pacifying the natives founded there a settlement
which Juarros declares to have been the town
of San Miguel.[VI‑39] Diego de Alvarado, at the head of
a hundred and seventy men, conducted an expedition
to Honduras and founded in the northern part of that
territory the town of San Jorge de Olancho,[VI‑40] but
owing to famine and misfortune in April of the following
year he was obliged to return with the shattered
remnant of his command in such sorry plight that he
was forced to ask the cabildo to receive and provide
for them.
122




CHAPTER VII.



ALVARADO'S EXPEDITION TO PERU.

1531-1536.





Ship-building in Guatemala—Alvarado Prepares an Expedition to the
Spice Islands—But Turns his Attention toward Peru—Opposition
of the Treasury Officials—The Pilot Fernandez Brings News of
Atahualpa's Ransom—Strength of Alvarado's Armament—He
Lands at Puerto Viejo—Failure of his Expedition—His Return
to Guatemala—Native Revolts during his Absence—The Visitador
Maldonado Arrives at Santiago—He Finds No Fault in the Adelantado—But
is Afterwards Ordered to Take his Residencia—Alvarado
in Honduras.




One of the first matters which engaged Alvarado's
attention on his return to Santiago was the discovery
of a site adapted to ship-building, for he was now
resolved to carry out his intended voyage in search of
the Spice Islands. In accordance with the emperor's
instructions, he sent parties to explore the seaboard
for that purpose. At a distance of fifteen leagues
from the city, near the modern port of Istapa, a suitable
spot was found, in the vicinity of which was an
abundant supply of excellent timber, and the work
was at once begun.



THE ARMAMENT.



According to the terms of his commission from the
crown, his discoveries and conquests were limited to
the islands and mainland of that portion of the south
sea bordering on New Spain, and thence in a westerly
direction, and he was forbidden to form any settlement
on a territory already assigned to others.[VII‑1] He
123
was appointed governor and alguacil mayor for life,
and until otherwise ordered was to be intrusted with
full civil, military, and judicial powers over all new
lands which he might find. During the royal pleasure
he was also to receive a twelfth of all profits
which might in the future result from his explorations.
Whether the expedition was to be fitted out entirely
or only in part at the adelantado's expense is a matter
not easily determined;[VII‑2] but in a letter to Charles V.
sent in 1532, wherein he states his intention to build
and equip a fleet of twelve vessels and raise a force of
four hundred men, he declares that the cost of his
armament will exceed forty thousand castellanos, and
that this outlay will exhaust his private means. He
claims of course that he is thus expending all his
resources solely with his usual desire of serving the
emperor, and avers that he has information of rich
islands near the coast from the discovery of which
his Majesty must derive great benefit.



FLATTERING PROSPECTS.



While the construction of his fleet was yet in
progress, rumors of Pizarro's conquest and of the fabulous
wealth which had fallen to his lot were noised
throughout the province. Alvarado was not over-scrupulous
as to ways and means, as we well know.
Already he had proved false to him through whose
friendship and favor he had been raised to his high
station; could he not now replenish his depleted purse,
and also win glory in the land of the incas? Was it
124
not better thus to employ his armament than go on a
wild-goose chase for islands no one had ever yet seen?
And surely with a few ship-loads of Peruvian gold,
which it would not take him long to gather, he could
serve his sovereign as well as with never a maravedí
in his treasury. It was fortunate, it was indeed providential,
that now, when the fleet was almost ready,
and the men equipped and prepared to embark, this
princely quarry should have been started to the south
of him.




On the return of a vessel despatched for supplies to
Panamá the reports of the immense treasures discovered
in Peru were confirmed, and the enthusiasm
knew no bounds. "Come," said Alvarado to the colonists,
"come with me and I will make you so rich that
you may walk on bars of gold."




Among Alvarado's numerous enemies the most
powerful and active were the treasury officials of
Guatemala, who, though frequently divided among
themselves, were constant in their opposition to the
governor. Already they had reported him to the
home government, charging him with neglect of duty,
with levying forced contributions, and with disobedience
to the royal ordinances. They now addressed a
letter to the emperor, informing him of Alvarado's
designs, representing the evil consequences that must
ensue from an invasion of Pizarro's territory, the danger
of withdrawing from Guatemala so large a force
of Spaniards, and requesting that there be sent out to
the province some trustworthy person with power to
prevent the departure of all who held repartimientos
and to act as governor during the adelantado's absence.
They also informed the audiencia of Mexico
of his purpose, and of the strength of his armament.
Though fully aware of these proceedings, Alvarado
gave no heed to them. He calmly continued his
preparations, informing the royal officials that Guatemala
was too limited an area for his ambition, and that
125
he must now seek elsewhere a wider field of action.
Meanwhile he would insure the safety of the province
by putting on board his fleet all the principal caciques,
whom he had already secured for that purpose.




At this juncture came a mandate which even Alvarado
did not dare to disregard. It was an order
from the audiencia of Mexico forbidding him to sail
until he had received his final instructions from the
emperor.[VII‑3] Though sorely vexed at this interference,
which he attributed to the machinations of Cortés, he
must nevertheless submit to further delay. He again
addressed a letter to Charles, asking permission to go
to the assistance of Pizarro, assuring him that, from
what he had learned of the difficulties encountered
by that conqueror, he was convinced of his inability
to complete unaided the conquest of Peru. In a previous
despatch, wherein he had asked for his final
instructions, he prayed that they be granted as speedily
as possible. "For," he says, "after exhausting my
private means, I have contracted heavy debts in order
to save your Majesty all expense." The fleet, he informs
him, is well provided with stores and provisions,
the force of men almost complete, and, the better to
insure the success of the expedition, he declares that
he will take command of it in person, leaving a sufficient
number of Spaniards in the province to guard
against any possible uprising of the natives. He considers,
however, that there is little danger of an outbreak,
"for," as he remarks with refreshing assurance,
"I have ever obeyed your Majesty's orders regarding
the kind treatment of the Indians."[VII‑4]




Meanwhile Alvarado had found it necessary to
remove his fleet for shelter to the bay of Fonseca,
whence he despatched García Holguin with two ships
to Peru for the purpose of ascertaining the actual
126
state of affairs and the nature of the country.[VII‑5] The
adelantado soon learned to his cost that the bay of
Fonseca was no secure haven, and after losing two
of his vessels there during a heavy gale, sailed with
the remainder for Puerto de la Posesion in Nicaragua,
the modern Realejo.[VII‑6] While here awaiting the return
of Holguin, he fell in with the pilot Juan Fernandez,
one who had long been engaged in fitting out vessels
for the trade between Nicaragua and Castilla del Oro.
While transacting business in Panamá, Fernandez
had listened to the marvellous stories of Pizarro's
conquest, and journeying thence to Peru had there
conversed with men who had been present at the capture
and ransom of Atahualpa. No wonder that the
tidings which the pilot now brought from the land of
the incas fired the imagination of these gold-loving
adventurers. More than 1,300,000 castellanos! Not
even the treasures of Montezuma had yielded such a
harvest. If Pizarro, with his diminutive force, had
secured such booty, what might not Alvarado now
hope for with his powerful fleet and veteran army?




Neither king nor audiencia should now thwart his
purpose; nevertheless he must have ready some pretext
for entering Pizarro's territory, if indeed he could
not obtain permission. This was soon furnished by
Fernandez, who informed him that the province of
Quito, believed to be the principal depository of the
treasures of the incas, had never yet been visited by
Spaniards. It was no difficult matter for Alvarado
to persuade himself that this region lay without the
domain granted to Pizarro, and the self-interest of
Fernandez, now appointed pilot of the expedition,
prompted him to encourage such a delusion.
127




Soon after the arrival of the fleet in Nicaragua,
Holguin rejoined the adelantado at Puerto de la
Posesion and confirmed the statements of the pilot.
A year had almost elapsed since Alvarado despatched
a letter to the emperor requesting his final orders,
but still no answer came, and his patience was well-nigh
exhausted. He had long since been compelled
to mortgage his private estate in order to meet the
expense of maintaining his large force, and the cost
of his armament had been vastly increased during all
these weary months of waiting, the total outlay reaching
the sum of 130,000 pesos de oro.[VII‑7] Provisions were
becoming scarce; the vessels were threatened with
destruction from the teredo; and his followers, beginning
to lose faith in the enterprise, were on the point
of desertion. At last a messenger arrived bringing
the long looked for despatches. The instructions made
no change in the original capitulation except in regard
to route. He was now authorized to explore the land
lying to the south of Pizarro's territory, between the
thirteenth and twentieth degrees of latitude.[VII‑8]



THE PARTICIPANTS.



The fleet now numbered twelve sail, eight being
vessels of one hundred tons or more.[VII‑9] Three had been
built on the shore of Guatemala; several had been
purchased from the estate of Pedrarias Dávila; and
the remainder were procured from the colonists of
128
Nicaragua.[VII‑10] His troops consisted chiefly of well
tried soldiers. Many of them, weary of an inactive
life, or of the now tame and bootless warfare of the
conquered provinces, were enthusiastic over the prospect
of renewing their deeds of conquest in a new
land of promise.




Among the many distinguished persons who took
part in the expedition were Gomez and Diego de
Alvarado, brothers of the adelantado, and Captain
Garcilaso de la Vega, father of the future historian
of Peru. The total number was little short of three
thousand. Of these two hundred and seventy were
infantry, and two hundred and thirty cavalry, all well
equipped. The ships were manned by one hundred
and forty sailors, and on board the fleet were two
hundred negro slaves,[VII‑11] and two thousand natives,
male and female. Experienced pilots were engaged,
the services of a bachiller were secured, and several
friars were added to the expedition, "in order," says
Alvarado, "that through the influence of these holy
men our consciences may be cleared of guilt." Final
preparations were then made for departure.




During the absence of Alvarado his brother Jorge
was again to be placed in charge of the province of
129
Guatemala, and the cabildo of Santiago was enjoined
to preserve harmony, and to render due respect and
obedience to the lieutenant-governor. In a final letter
to the emperor the adelantado, while repeating his
assurances of devotion to the crown, dwells on the
enormous expense of the expedition; but assures his
Majesty that it has been willingly incurred in view of
the vast importance of the undertaking, the success
of which he promises shall eclipse all previous achievements.
"God willing," he writes, "I set sail this very
day, and my course shall be in accordance with your
Majesty's wishes."



EMBARKATION.



On the 23d of January 1534 the largest and most
powerful armament that had hitherto been equipped
on the shores of the South Sea set sail from Puerto
de la Posesion, and the following month entered the
bay of Caraques, proceeding thence ten leagues farther
south to Puerto Viejo. The adelantado afterward
excused himself to the emperor for thus trespassing on
Pizarro's territory by stating that contrary winds and
currents prevented his sailing further toward the south,
that the safety of his fleet was endangered, that his
supply of water was almost exhausted, and that ninety
of his horses had perished at sea.[VII‑12] His march across
the sierra, during which he lost a large portion of his
men, the transfer of a part of his ships and his entire
force to Almagro and Benalcázar, the associates of
Pizarro, have already been mentioned in these pages.[VII‑13]
He had boasted that he would lead his army through
the province of Peru and drive Pizarro from the city
of Cuzco.[VII‑14] He was now glad to return to Guatemala
after disposing of his armament for a sum that barely
covered the cost of the fleet. To add to his mortification
he found on arriving at Santiago, at the beginning
130
of March 1535, that the silver bars given him in
payment were one half copper.




No sooner had Alvarado sailed for Peru than the
natives in many portions of the province rose once
more in revolt. Bands of Cakchiquels, thirsting for
the blood of their oppressors, roamed over the central
sierra; in the districts of Sacapulas and Uspantan
seven Spaniards and numbers of their slaves and servants
were murdered; the Indians on the southern
seaboard both of Guatemala and Salvador were in
open rebellion; and war and war's turmoil again prevailed
throughout the land. The struggle was brief
but desperate. Crushed though they had often been,
the dreadful sufferings of these unfortunate people
drove them to madness, and they fought with sullen
indifference to life, but with the usual result. In
January 1535 Gonzalo Ronquillo was sent with a
sufficient force to quell the uprising in Salvador; in
Guatemala the insurgents in district after district
were again compelled to taste the bitterness of hopeless
bondage; and by the time of the adelantado's
return resistance was well-nigh ended.




Notwithstanding the ignominious failure of his expedition
to Peru, the adelantado at once began preparations
for further schemes of conquest and discovery.
In a despatch to the India Council, dated November
1535,[VII‑15] he states that he has three vessels ready for
sea and four others on the stocks, and that he has
sufficient men both for his ships and for land service.
"So many Spaniards," he says, "have returned from
Peru in reduced circumstances that, if the expedition
were only intended to furnish them with employment,
it would be doing his Majesty a service."



Meanwhile the representations made to the emperor
by the treasury officials had not been without effect.
On the 20th of February 1534 a royal cédula was
131
issued ordering that a visitador be at once despatched
to Guatemala to examine into the condition of the
royal treasury and the affairs of the government and
church, and to hear complaints and rectify them when
necessary. His authority fell short of that of a judge
of residencia. He could not interfere with the ordinary
jurisdiction of the governor or his lieutenant,
nor was even the audiencia of Mexico allowed to decide
in matters of graver import, but must apply for
instructions to the India Council.



MALDONADO AT SANTIAGO.



Thus it was that about the middle of the year
1535 the oidor, Alonso de Maldonado, arrived at
Santiago, and publicly proclaiming in due form the
object of his visit, assigned fifty days as the limit of
the investigation. No complaints, however, either of
a civil or criminal nature, were preferred against the
adelantado; and the visitador having reported to the
royal council to that effect, returned to Mexico, the
former remarking with much inward satisfaction, not
unseasoned with a little venom, that the oidor had accomplished
nothing by his visit.[VII‑16] But the emperor's
ministers were not satisfied that justice had been
done; and Maldonado, being ordered in the following
132
October to take Alvarado's residencia in strict form,
returned to Santiago, and on the 10th of May 1536
presented his credentials to the cabildo and took
charge of the government.




At the time of the oidor's arrival the adelantado
was absent on an expedition to Honduras. The condition
of affairs in this province had now become so
distressful that, as will hereafter be related, the settlers
were compelled to apply to him for aid. Nor
was the appeal disregarded. He had for some time
been in correspondence, as to an exchange of territory,
with Francisco de Montejo, who, though already
appointed governor of Honduras, was still residing in
Mexico. Could he but gain a foothold there, his
schemes for transcontinental commerce with the Spice
Islands might yet be realized. Nothing definite had
yet been determined; but now that he had an opportunity
of rendering a service which would give him
almost a claim to the king's consent to such an
arrangement, he did not hesitate to go to the relief
of the troubled province. There we shall hear of him
again, founding new settlements and infusing fresh life
into a community that was on the very verge of dissolution.
133




CHAPTER VIII.



THE ECCLESIASTICS IN GUATEMALA.

1529-1541.





Francisco Marroquin Arrives at Santiago—He is Appointed Bishop—Godlessness
of the Colonists—The Prelate Invites Las Casas to
Join Him—Marroquin's Consecration in Mexico—The Church at
Santiago Elevated to Cathedral Rank—Difficulty in Collecting
the Church Tithes—The Merced Order in Guatemala—Miraculous
Image of Our Lady of Merced—Bibliographical.




When Pedro de Alvarado was laying waste the
fair province of Guatemala with fire and sword
during the early years of the conquest, he paid little
heed to the presence of the priestly order. One of
the friars, named Pontaz, of whom mention has before
been made, took up his abode at Quezaltenango,
and there lived in security, instilling faith and hope
into the native heart,[VIII‑1] while another, Juan de Torres,
for a time at least, labored in the vineyard under
less easy circumstances at Patinamit. The spiritual
wants of the Spaniards themselves were ministered
to by the army chaplains and parish priest. But the
clerical staff was not large enough to attend to the religious
welfare even of the colonists. On the 5th of
November 1529, the cabildo of Guatemala represented
to the royal officers that half the colonists, being
usually engaged in war, required the services of the
clergy during their campaigns, while the population
of the city at that time was such that two friars at
least ought to reside there. They requested, therefore,
134
that a suitable number of ecclesiastics and a
sacristan be appointed with fixed salaries, and that the
necessary church furniture and ornaments be supplied.
This demand was made with some urgency, and the
treasurer and auditor were given to understand that,
if it were not complied with, the tithes would be
retained and devoted to that purpose; whereupon his
Majesty's officers declared that they were willing to
grant the tithes for the year then current, but that
future necessities must be provided for in accordance
with the orders of the king.



MARROQUIN.



The spiritual needs of the community were partially
relieved by the arrival, in 1530, of the licentiate
Francisco Marroquin, who accompanied Alvarado on
his return to Guatemala during that year. A few
months later he was appointed to the benefice of
Santiago, and after he had taken the customary oaths
the cabildo assigned to him an annual salary of one
hundred and fifty pesos de oro per annum.




Of patrician birth, and possessing talents of no
common order, the licentiate gave promise during his
early manhood of a useful and honorable career, and
not until in after years he had dwelt long among
communities where lust of power and greed for wealth
permeated all classes of society, did the darker phase
of his character appear. After receiving an education
befitting his rank and ability, he graduated as
professor of theology in the university of Osma, and
was ordained a priest. Meeting with Alvarado at the
court of Spain, he was so impressed with his glowing
descriptions of the marvels of the New World that he
requested permission to accompany him on his return
to Guatemala. On arriving at Santiago he at once
assiduously applied himself to the study of the native
languages, and soon became especially proficient in the
Quiché tongue.[VIII‑2] Marroquin's appointment was confirmed
135
by the bishop of Mexico, by whom he was also
made provisor and vicar general of the province, and
such was the zeal and capacity with which he tended
the spiritual and material needs of his flock that in
1533 he was appointed by the emperor to the see of
Guatemala. In December of the following year his
appointment was confirmed by his holiness Paul III.[VIII‑3]




The chief anxiety of the newly appointed prelate
was to provide a sufficient number of ecclesiastics for
the requirements of his extensive diocese. The secular
priests residing in Guatemala at this period as we
have seen were inadequate to the great work of conversion
which he contemplated, and he felt the necessity
of aid from those of the established orders.
Besides those who first came, a few friars had, indeed,
visited the province, but found there no abiding-place.[VIII‑4]
In 1529, or possibly at an earlier date, a convent was
founded near Santiago by the Dominican friar, Domingo
de Betanzos,[VIII‑5] who travelled on foot from Mexico
136
with a single companion. At the beginning of the following
year however he was recalled, and as there
was no one of his order qualified by rank to take his
place he locked up the building and intrusting the
keys to the padre Juan Godinez retraced his steps.




Thus Marroquin was left to contend almost alone
with the idolatry of the natives and the godlessness
of the colonists. The work was difficult and progress
slow. The settlers were too absorbed in other matters,
in house-building, gambling, and drinking, to give
much heed to religion. The church was unattended,
the church rates were unpaid, and the neglect became
so general that eventually laws were passed to enforce
due observance of religious rites. In May 1530 it
was publicly cried in the streets of Santiago that, by
order of the governor and the cabildo, all the artisans
of the city must, on the day of Corpus Christi, walk
in procession before the holy sacrament, as was customary
in Spain. The penalty for non-compliance was
fixed at thirty pesos, one half of the amount being
assigned to the church and the remainder to the city.
In February 1533 a law was passed making attendance
at divine service compulsory, every citizen being required
to attend mass on Sunday, under penalty of
three days' imprisonment or the payment of three pesos
de oro. This measure of course served but to widen
the breach between the bishop and his flock, and in
June of the same year we learn that the regidor
Antonio de Salazar stated to the cabildo, that there
were no means of paying Marroquin the stipend allotted
to him. Notwithstanding all discouragements,
however, he resolved that the settlers should not lack
for spiritual guidance.



LAS CASAS.



At the beginning of the year 1536 Bartolomé de
Las Casas was residing at Leon, there engaged in a
controversy with Rodrigo de Contreras, the governor
of Nicaragua, the story of which will hereafter be
related. In 1531 he had passed through Santiago on
his way to the South Sea, and Marroquin had then
137
an opportunity of making the acquaintance of the
great apostle of the Indies. In common with the
more enlightened of the colonists he would fain have
had him take up his abode in their midst. But Las
Casas was bound on one of his many missions of
mercy, though his efforts were destined to prove futile.
He was journeying toward Peru, armed with a royal
cédula forbidding the conquerors in that land, and all
their followers, to deprive the natives of their liberty
under any pretext whatever. No entreaties could
induce him to abandon his undertaking, and embarking
at Realejo he reached his destination at the end
of the year. There, what man could do, he did; but
such were the political disturbances then prevailing
that his efforts were lost. Urged by members of his
own order, he reluctantly abandoned the field and
returned to Nicaragua.




To him the prelate now applied for aid, representing
the sore need of a larger force of ecclesiastics, and begging
him to come to Santiago and reopen the deserted
convent. The invitation was accepted, and Las Casas
with his fellow Dominicans established their order
permanently in Guatemala.




But Marroquin was not yet satisfied. At this early
period in his career he was an enthusiast in the missionary
cause, and he now resolved to go to Spain
and beg assistance of the emperor. But first he must
proceed to consecration, and on the 12th of January
1537 he set forth for Mexico, where, about two
months later, the ceremony, the first of the kind that
occurred in the Indies, was conducted with due solemnity
and splendor.[VIII‑6]



ORGANIZATION OF THE DIOCESE.



The bishop's labors were now directed to the elevation
of the parish church of Santiago to cathedral
rank. He therefore proceeded to frame the constitution
and complete the establishment of his diocese in
138
accordance with the commission granted to him by
Paul III. He prescribed that the dignitaries of the
church should include a dean, an archdeacon, a precentor,
a chancellor, and a treasurer. He established
ten canonries and six prebendaries. He defined the
church revenues; ordained that preferment to minor
benefices should be open to those born in the country,
whether of Spanish or native race, and that the
appointments to them should pertain to the bishop.
Divine services were to be celebrated in the manner
observed in the cathedral of Seville. Prebendaries
were to have a vote in the chapters, and these were
to be held on Tuesdays and Fridays. On Tuesdays
general church matters were to be discussed, and on
Fridays internal discipline was to be considered.[VIII‑7]




When on the point of departing for Spain, the
bishop was advised by his friends that the journey
would be attended with great risk; for already the
North Sea was infested with pirates, and a large
number of Spanish vessels had been captured by
French corsairs. Moreover the expenses he had incurred
in Mexico had drawn heavily on his slender
purse, and he did not wish to return to his native
country wholly destitute of means. Resolving therefore
to abandon his voyage, he forwarded his power
of attorney to Juan Galvarro, the procurador of Santiago
at the court of Spain, instructing him to send to
Guatemala a number of ecclesiastics and to pay their
passage and outfit. He also addressed a letter to the
emperor,[VIII‑8] informing him of the great need of missionaries,
and stating that he had asked aid both from
139
Mexico and Santo Domingo, but had received none,
although it had been promised.




During the early part of the year Charles had already
appointed the cathedral prebendaries. Marroquin
remarks that his Majesty was somewhat hasty in
the matter, and not sufficiently considerate toward
those who had so long shared with himself the labor
of supporting the church at Santiago. These, he declares,
it would be unreasonable for him to dismiss,
though he is at a loss to conjecture whence the means
to support his diocese would be derived. He well
knew the perverse temper of the colonists and their
antagonism to the cause of the church. Nevertheless
he forwarded to the cabildo a provision handed to him
by the viceroy Mendoza ordering the church tithes
which were usually paid in kind to be delivered by the
natives direct to the bishop at places where their value
would be real and available.[VIII‑9] His mind was full of
doubt as to the manner in which this regulation would
be received by the encomenderos. The tone of his
letter indicates misgiving, united with a rare spirit of
self-negation, and he appears rather as a pleader than
as a claimant for his rights.[VIII‑10] "You will pay," he
says, "what is due in a proper manner; if not, I command
that no scandal be raised about it."




Nor were his apprehensions unfounded. The settlers
in Guatemala were a stiff-necked people. They
would not go to church, and they did not intend that
the delivery of the tithes should cost them anything
if they could avoid it. They could not spare their
Indians to carry the tithes a distance of many leagues
to the places appointed. The bishop must send for
them. They and not the ecclesiastics had conquered
the province, and they did not see that either God or
140
the emperor had any claim upon it. The cabildo
immediately appealed to the viceroy, and meeting
with no sympathy in that quarter addressed themselves
directly to the emperor.[VIII‑11] Their representations
gained for them some concessions, whereupon
they pressed the matter further and protested against
paying tithes at all. Though the bishop was now at
a loss whither to turn to obtain the means for carrying
out his various plans, he none the less labored
with unceasing perseverance,[VIII‑12] and on his return to
Guatemala, at the end of 1537, brought with him two
friars of the order of Merced, Juan Zambrano and
Marcos Perez Dardon.[VIII‑13]



THE FRIARS OF LA MERCED.



After the conquest of Mexico, certain members of
this order obtained the royal permission to proceed to
the newly discovered countries for certain charitable
purposes. When the subjugation was completed many
of them settled in towns built by the Spaniards, but
no convent of their order existed in New Spain at
a very early date. To Bishop Marroquin they are
indebted for the establishment of their first monastery
in North America. This was founded in 1537[VIII‑14] at
Ciudad Real in Chiapas, and in the following year
frailes Zambrano and Dardon organized a similar
institution in Santiago.




When, as will be hereafter told, the city of Santiago
was almost destroyed by inundation in 1541,
the friars of La Merced, then six in number, were
141
compelled for a time to remain amid the ruins of the
deserted city, for such was the indifference of the settlers
that no land was assigned to them in the site
afterward chosen. Finally, through the efforts of the
bishop, an allotment was granted, and in the erection
of their new convent they were greatly assisted by
the Dominicans, who subsequently transferred to
them several of the Indian towns under their charge.
From this time they increased in number, gradually
extended the field of their labors in Guatemala, and
having districts assigned them by the bishop were
enabled in after years to found convents in various
parts of the country.[VIII‑15]




In the church of their order at Santiago was an
image of Our Lady of La Merced, for which miraculous
properties were claimed. The story as related
in documents in the archives of the convent is as
follows: As a westward-bound vessel was about to sail
from the port of Santa María in Spain, a person
dressed in the garb of a traveller approached the
captain, and placing in his hands a closed box charged
him to deliver it unopened to the superior of the convent
in Guatemala. The aspect and bearing of the
man impressed the seaman, and he faithfully discharged
the commission. On receiving the casket,
the superior carried it to the church, accompanied by
the friars, and having opened it in their presence, the
sacred effigy was disclosed. Great was their rejoicing
at this unexpected boon; but their happiness was
complete when they marked the divine serenity of
the countenance, and perceived that an exquisite fragrance
was exhaled from the holy image. Ere long one
of their number noticed that from a wound in the right
side a strange fluid oozed. Divine manifestation was
recognized, and many of the afflicted were cured of
their diseases by the application of the ichor.[VIII‑16]
142




Domingo Juarros may be considered the leading Guatemalan historian of
modern times. He was born in the old city of Guatemala in 1752, and died
in 1820. He wrote very fully on the subjugation of his country by the conquerors.
Although his work is called the history of Guatemala city, it gives
in reality the history of all Central America, and provides lists of all prominent
officials, civil and ecclesiastical, and biographical notices of leading men,
whether soldiers, priests, or rulers. The first volume treats of geography,
settlements, church matters, and the history of Guatemala city. The second
is devoted to the ancient records of the country, its conquest and settlement.
The author was a secular presbyter and synodal examiner, and quite an
able and intelligent man. His connection with the clergy and his rank gave
him access to both ecclesiastical documents and government records. His
work is full and clear, and displays considerable research, but unfortunately
he follows Fuentes too closely, and this latter author's partiality to the conquerors
renders him too biassed to be faithful as an historian. Yet Juarros
frequently displays compassion for the Indians, is always ready to retract an
error when he detects himself making one, and is ever cautious against dogmatic
assertion. He draws largely from Remesal and Vazquez, and quotes
several other of the earlier authorities; but strangely enough, while mentioning
the manuscripts of Gonzalo de Alvarado and Bernal Diaz, and of writers
in the Quiché, Cakchiquel, and Pipil tongues, he does not allude to Alvarado's
letters to Cortés. This omission, and his numerous direct disagreements with
Alvarado's own statements, lead to the inference that neither Juarros nor
Fuentes consulted these despatches. Juarros' work is remarkably free from
church bias. Though a priest he censures undue zeal or carelessness on the
part of friars. Miracles receive attention, however, and so do stories of
giants and other marvels. His arrangement with regard to the order of
events is bad, and the want of logical sequence gives the work an appearance
of incompleteness. The first edition was published in Guatemala by
Don Ignacio Betela, and the two volumes appeared respectively in 1808 and
1818. A later issue was published in the same city in 1857. J. Baily translated
the first publication into English, in a slightly abridged form, which
was issued in London by John Hearne in 1823. In this edition omissions and
inaccuracies may be noticed.



FRANCISCO VAZQUEZ.



Francisco Vazquez, the author of the Chronica de la Provincia del Santissimo
Nõbre de Jesvs de Gvatemala, was a friar of the Franciscan order, retired
lecturer, calificador del Santo Oficio, and synodal examiner in the diocese of
Guatemala. His work was published in the city of Guatemala in 1714, and
according to the title-page and preface there was, or was to have been, a second
volume, consisting of two books, the existing one containing three. This
work, which is rare, although mainly devoted to chronicling petty details of the
labors of obscure friars, throws much light upon the early history of Guatemala
during the conquest and subsequently down to the end of the sixteenth
century. The author, having had access to the city archives at the early
date at which he wrote, was able to avail himself of documents which have
since disappeared. Fortunately he quotes such evidence frequently, thus
enabling the historian to establish historical facts which otherwise, in the face
of conflicting assertions of chroniclers unsupported by evidence, he would be
143
unable to do. Vazquez has undoubtedly borrowed much material from Remesal,
giving him little or no credit, while he mercilessly exposes his real or
supposed errors. The jealousy which existed between the Franciscan and
Dominican orders was the cause of this unfairness. In his opening declaration
the author protests that, when he applies terms of praise to any who
figure in his history, he is but giving the common and general estimation. This
will hardly apply to his adulation of Alvarado and other conquerors, and
his eager defence of their actions. It is not easy to find in the old chroniclers,
clerical or secular, an uncompromising champion of their conduct, in face of
the reliable and varied evidence of the cruelties practised by them. In defence
of the conquerors he asserts that the vices and cruelties of a few were attributed
to all; and without one symptom of feeling for the natives, maintains
that their refusal to receive the faith was the cause of the incessant warfare.
On this subject he writes: "It causes me much pain, disgust, and affliction to
read some books which attempt, with artificial piety, to persuade us that the
Indians were innocent and inoffensive lambs, and that the Christians were
cruel furies, it being certain that these races while in a condition of paganism
were greater butchers than blood-thirsty wolves, more cruel than lamiæ, harpies,
and infernal furies, and, were it not for subjection and fear, they would
neither have become Christians nor now remain so." 29-32. The matter contained
in his work is badly arranged; the sentences drawn out to a puzzling
length, a fault which, in addition to a lack of proper punctuation, renders the
recital of facts frequently confusing. Information of the neighboring provinces
can, in a less degree, be obtained from this volume.
144




CHAPTER IX.



AFFAIRS IN HONDURAS.

1527-1536.





Diego Mendez de Hinostrosa Appointed Lieutenant-governor—Salcedo
Returns to Trujillo—His Office Usurped by Vasco de Herrera—Death
of Salcedo—Three Rival Claimants for the Governorship—Expeditions
to the Naco and Jutigalpa Valleys—Diego Mendez
Conspires against Herrera—Assassination of the Latter—A Reign
of Terror—Arrest and Execution of the Conspirator—Arrival of
Governor Albitez at Trujillo—His Death—Andrés de Cereceda
at the Head of Affairs—Distress of the Spaniards—Exodus of
Settlers from Trujillo—They Establish a Colony in the Province
of Zula—Cereceda Appeals for Aid to Pedro de Alvarado—He is
Roughly Used by his own Followers—Alvarado Arrives in Honduras—He
Founds New Settlements—His Departure for Spain.



RIVAL CLAIMANTS.



When Salcedo set out for the Freshwater Sea,
hoping to gain possession of the province of Nicaragua—an
expedition which, it will be remembered,
resulted only in his humiliation and imprisonment[IX‑1]—his
lieutenant, Francisco de Cisneros, left in charge of the
government with a force entirely insufficient to uphold
his authority, was overpowered by his enemies, and
for a time anarchy prevailed throughout Honduras.
Captain Diego Mendez de Hinostrosa, despatched by
Salcedo from Leon to quell the rebellion, succeeded in
restoring order, but only for a time. Before many
months had elapsed Diego Mendez was placed under
arrest and the regidor Vasco de Herrera appointed in
his stead. The new ruler, of whom it is related that,
being guilty of sedition, he had fled from Spain to avoid
punishment, soon gave the settlers cause to repent of
145
their choice. His first undertaking was to organize
a raid to the Olancho Valley, where without cause or
pretext he made war on the caciques, kidnapped and
branded their subjects, and returned with three shiploads
of slaves.




In February 1529 Salcedo returned to Trujillo.
Before his departure from Nicaragua he had sent his
nephew to Spain, to justify before the emperor his conduct
in the dispute with Pedrarias, but was answered
only by a severe reprimand for his cruel treatment
of the natives.[IX‑2] Shattered in health and broken in
spirit, he did not venture to depose the usurper from
office, and contented himself with merely ordering the
release of Diego Mendez, who at once lodged a criminal
complaint against Herrera and his accomplices.
Salcedo endeavoring to please both parties pronounced
the arrest of the former illegal, but inflicted no punishment
on the wrong-doers. Herrera thereupon
appealed to the audiencia of Panamá, and Diego Mendez
awaited an opportunity for revenge, declaring
himself meanwhile to be hugely disgusted with the
governor's pusillanimity.




To appease the popular discontent the governor
promised to conduct the settlers to the Naco Valley,
where rich gold-mines were believed to exist. The
expedition was delayed as long as possible, for he had
nothing to gain by such an undertaking; but at length
moved by the clamor of the colonists and the warning
of his spies, who informed him that the people were
again ripe for revolt, he ordered preparations to be
made. One hundred and twenty foot and sixty horse
with a number of natives sufficient for working the
mines were soon in readiness to embark, with instructions
to sail for Puerto de Caballos, and thence proceed
inland a distance of twenty leagues to their destination.
The journey was to be accomplished as far as
possible by sea in order that the natives might be
146
spared the fatigue of a long overland march, and,
to create the impression that they were no longer to
be maltreated, orders were given that the branding-irons
be destroyed. But before Salcedo had time to
give further proof of his humane intentions, his death
occurred at Trujillo on the 3d of January 1530,[IX‑3] and
the proposed expedition was deferred.




There were now three rival claimants for the governorship—the
treasurer Andrés de Cereceda, who
a few months before the governor's decease had been
nominated as his successor, and also appointed guardian
to his infant son; Herrera, who, though he held no
valid claim to the office,[IX‑4] had the support of the regidores;
and finally Diego Mendez, who urged that the
authority conferred on him by Salcedo at Leon had
never yet been legally revoked. Cereceda, knowing
that he had the good wishes of all peaceably disposed
colonists, demanded his recognition from the cabildo,
but was strenuously opposed by Herrera and his
faction. After much wrangling it was finally agreed
to submit the matter to arbitration; and it was decided
that the two should rule conjointly, with the condition
that the latter should hold the keys of the royal
treasury. Arrangements were also made for a partition
of the late governor's property; and each bound
himself by oath not to lay his cause before the authorities
in Spain. Meanwhile Diego Mendez was silenced
with threats of death and confiscation of property.[IX‑5]




Thus for a time a truce was declared between the
rival factions; but Cereceda had neither the firmness
nor the capacity to oppose his colleague, and soon
147
submitted in all things to his will. Even in the distribution
of the slaves which belonged of right to
Salcedo's son,[IX‑6] Herrera demanded for himself the
lion's share, and compelled the child's guardian not
only to consent, but to take oath that he would not
report the matter to the emperor.[IX‑7] Each, however,
feared that the other might secretly despatch letters
to Spain. A ship then happened to be lying at Trujillo
ready for sea, and Cereceda, suspecting that his
rival would send despatches, ordered all her canvas
to be withdrawn. He was outwitted, however, by
his more astute colleague, for a caravel which arrived
in port during the same night was seized by unknown
persons, and her sails transferred to the other vessel,
which immediately set sail for Spain. Cereceda,
openly charged the trick upon Herrera, who of course
indignantly denied it. The event proved that the
ship carried letters from the cabildo, recommending
Herrera's appointment as sole ruler, together with a
missive from Herrera himself, in which he claimed
that he had rendered good service to the crown and
had only admitted a colleague in order to prevent discord
and riot. Moreover he represented the affairs
of the province in a most favorable light, stating that
the mines were exceedingly rich and asking for ships
and supplies with which to complete the exploration
of the territory and more fully develop its resources.



ENCARNACION FOUNDED.



The proposed expedition had meanwhile been despatched
to the Naco Valley, and a settlement founded
there named Nuestra Señora de la Encarnacion. A
party of sixty men, under the command of Captain
148
Alonso Ortiz, had also taken possession of the valley
of Jutigalpa, some twelve leagues distant from Trujillo,
a region of which the governor remarks in his letter
that "there is no river or ravine where gold does not
abound."[IX‑8] The natives of the latter district gathered
their crops, and removing all their provisions fled to
the mountains, there to await the effect of starvation
on the Spaniards. Ortiz, however, sent messengers
assuring them that he came not to make war but
to settle peaceably in their midst, and by kind treatment
induced them to return to their habitations, thus
affording one of those rare instances where the commander
of a military expedition forbore to enslave or
plunder the natives who fell into his power.







Honduras.





BLOODY FACTIONS.



Although Herrera and his partisans now held
almost undisputed control at Trujillo, they were far
from being satisfied with the situation. They well
knew that their old enemy, Diego Mendez, was awaiting
revenge; while Cereceda, though quietly watching
the course of events, was ready for action when the
proper moment should arrive. Their greed for wealth
and lust of power had brought them into disrepute
149
among all the colonists, except those of their own
faction, and even certain members of the cabildo were
numbered among their enemies. Fearing that the
settlers would break out into open revolt, Herrera
proposed to abandon Trujillo and establish elsewhere in
the province a new and independent colony. Cereceda,
knowing that such a measure would be fatal to the
prosperity of the settlement, strove to prevent it by
encouraging intermarriage between the families of the
rival cliques and dividing among them a portion of
the slaves which had fallen to his share at the division
of Salcedo's property.[IX‑9]




A revolt which occurred about a year afterward,
among the tribe of the cacique Peyzacura, afforded
Herrera an opportunity to carry out his intention.
The Indians of this district were employed in working
certain mines not far distant from Trujillo, and had
long endured their bondage without murmur, but the
rigor of their taskmasters, who, "with one foot in the
stirrup," as Oviedo tells us, "ready to abandon the
province," cared only to enrich themselves as speedily
as possible, at length drove them to rebellion. Several
Spaniards were murdered, and as the insurrection
soon spread through the adjoining territory, it
became necessary to despatch a strong armed force to
restore order. An expedition was prepared of which
Herrera insisted on taking charge, inviting his associates,
and all others who were inclined to join him,
to enroll themselves under his command. A feeling
of discontent and unrest pervaded the community,
and many of the leading colonists gathering together
their effects cast in their lot with the governor. But
instead of marching against the hostile natives he led
his followers to the territory of a friendly chieftain,
150
and there for several months they wasted their time
and substance in revelry and ostentatious display,
leaving Trujillo unprotected and the rebels unpunished.




Meanwhile Diego Mendez had not been idle. Soon
after Herrera's departure it chanced that Cereceda
was called away from Trujillo, and taking advantage
of the absence of both governors he presented himself
before the cabildo, and demanded that some means be
devised for protecting the province against the evil
effect of their divided authority. Both rulers were
notified of this measure on their return to the settlement.
Cereceda gave no heed to the matter, knowing
that it was not intended to affect himself, but Herrera
at once accused his old adversary of plotting against
him, and induced the cabildo to forbid him, under pain
of death, to make a second appeal. But Diego Mendez
had already won over many of the most powerful
adherents of his opponent, and resolved on yet more
decisive action. Having regained the certificate as
lieutenant-governor, which had been given to him by
Salcedo, and taken from him upon his arrest at Trujillo,[IX‑10]
he boldly appeared a second time before the
cabildo, and claimed recognition of his office. Herrera
now caused sentence of death to be pronounced
against his rival, who thereupon took refuge in the
church. After some attempt at negotiation, which
terminated only in mutual abuse, the governor threatened
to disregard the right of sanctuary, and eject
him by force.



HERRERA'S DEATH.



But the administration of Vasco de Herrera was
drawing to a close. By promise of reward to those who
should join his cause, Diego Mendez had secured the
alliance of at least forty of the citizens of Trujillo,
while the former could muster but twenty or thirty
men, most of his followers being engaged in quelling
151
an Indian revolt in the Olancho Valley. None felt
secure so long as the governor was alive, and they
resolved to assassinate him. Within the walls of the
church the conspirators met by night to arrange their
plans, and on a Sunday evening, the 8th of October
1531, about two hours after sunset, rushed into the
public square, and began shouting their vivas. Cereceda,
who as yet had no information of the plot, was
at his own dwelling in consultation with certain of the
friars, as to the best means of restoring harmony in
the province and reuniting the several factions. On
hearing the noise they seized their arms and, hastening
to the plaza, were met with cries of "Long live
the king and his chief-justice who comes this way."
Forcing a passage through the crowd they beheld
Herrera lying wounded from a dagger-thrust in his
side, while round his neck the rabble had fastened a
rope, for the purpose of dragging him through the
streets. The governor and his companions bore him
to a place of safety; but he was beyond human aid,
and in a few hours he breathed his last within the
walls of the sanctuary from which he had threatened
to drag forth his rival to execution. The mob was
then ordered to disperse, but refused to obey, shouting
"Long live the king and the community."




Finding himself unable to control the rioters, who
now began to show signs of hostility toward himself,
Cereceda made his escape, though with much difficulty,
and attempted to regain his house; but was intercepted
by Diego Mendez, who, armed with lance
and dagger, demanded his own recognition as lieutenant-governor.
He refused to listen to him, whereupon
the latter, who was on horseback, barred his passage
and insisted on explaining that he had conspired not
against his lawful ruler, but against a tyrant, who had
usurped his office and defied the law. As he still refused
to give any satisfactory answer, Mendez, being
surrounded by a throng of rioters, began to assume
a threatening attitude. Now, for the first time during
152
his administration, Cereceda displayed a little
firmness, and still refused to grant to the assassin the
office which he claimed at the point of the dagger.
Many of the by-standers then urged that Cereceda be
at once put to death in order to avoid all future danger.
Seeing that his life was in peril, he replied to
Diego Mendez, "What I request of you, sir, and I ask
it as a favor, is that you let the matter rest until to-morrow,
that it may be decided what is best to be
done for the interests of his Majesty." He was then
allowed to retire to his dwelling.




The leader of the revolt construed this vague answer
into a full concession of his authority, and arraying
himself in the habiliments of the man whose corpse
lay yet warm in the church of Trujillo, he paraded the
streets at the head of his ruffian gang, and on the following
day, over the grave of his murdered victim,
bid defiance to the governor, telling him to discharge
the members of the cabildo and appoint reliable men
in their place. Fearing to provoke an attack by
gathering an armed force around him, Cereceda returned
to his house, accompanied by a single friend.
During the night he sent a letter to Diego Diaz, a
brother of Vasco de Herrera, then engaged in quelling
the insurrection in the Olancho Valley, informing
him of what had transpired, but in language so carefully
worded that, if his letter were intercepted by
his enemies, they would find nothing on which to base
a charge against him. The usurper meanwhile threatened
to hang all who refused to obey him, and summoning
into his presence the caciques of the tribes which
had been enslaved by Herrera, demanded their submission.




On the following day Cereceda ordered the cabildo
to assemble in secret at his own residence, in order
to devise, if possible, some means of bridging over the
present crisis. None could offer any practicable
suggestion; but it was remarked by one of the
regidores that, since Diego Mendez refused to obey
153
the governor, it would be advisable that Cereceda
should accept the office of lieutenant-governor.[IX‑11]
While yet in session, the chief of the conspirators,
informed by his spies that the cabildo had been convened,
presented himself at the head of an armed
band and demanded admittance. The governor had
not courage to refuse, and the meeting soon afterward
broke up, having accomplished nothing.



CAPTIVITY OF CERECEDA.



Diego Mendez now unfolded the royal standard in
the public square, and compelled the people to swear
allegiance to him as their lawful ruler. He declared
all the edicts issued by Herrera and Cereceda since
the death of Salcedo illegal, and enjoined the latter
from exercising authority. He dissolved the cabildo,
appointed new members from the ranks of his own
partisans, obtained possession of all the books and
papers belonging to the municipality, and took the
oath of office. He then seized the register in which
the appointment of Salcedo and the nomination of
his successor had been recorded, imprisoned the royal
notary, and bid him, under threat of torture, declare
the latter appointment invalid; but to the credit of
that official it is recorded that he persistently refused
compliance. Finally he ordered the arrest of the
governor; but through the intervention of friends
allowed him to remain a prisoner at his own house,
in which, relieved of his shackles, the notary was also
confined. Such was the dread and anxiety of Cereceda
that, during his captivity, which lasted thirty-seven
days, it is related that his hair and beard turned
from a glossy black to silvery white.




Before the arrival of Cereceda's messenger, an
emissary despatched by Diego Mendez arrived at the
154
Olancho Valley and with little difficulty persuaded
the followers of Diego Diaz, who were already disaffected
toward their commander, to join the standard
of the usurper. Finding himself thus deserted by his
men, the latter at once returned to Trujillo, intending
to claim the right of sanctuary; but was arrested
while dismounting at the church door, by six armed
men stationed there for that purpose.




At length Cereceda and his officials, finding that
their pusillanimity was bringing them into general
disfavor, resolved to strike a decisive blow against
their common enemy. Their partisans were secretly
assembled, and among them were found eighteen loyal
and resolute citizens, who swore to arrest the pretender
or die in the attempt. It was resolved that the effort
be made at once, before those of the opposite faction could
be apprised of it, and on the same night, after a sharp
struggle, in which half of the governor's men were
wounded[IX‑12] and one of their opponents killed, Diego
Mendez was captured, and on the following day sentenced
to be beheaded and quartered. Most of the
conspirators were then induced by offer of pardon to
return to their allegiance, but though their lives were
spared, they were punished by loss of office, imprisonment,
or confiscation of property. Two of the leading
accomplices, who had been present at the assassination
of Herrera,[IX‑13] fled from the city, and with the
assistance of some of the natives made their escape to
a small island near the coast; but returning to Trujillo
some two months later, on hearing of Cereceda's
clemency, took refuge in the church, whence they
were dragged forth to execution by order of the governor.



DISTRESS AT TRUJILLO.



On receiving news of the seditious tumults which
155
had so long vexed the settlers of Honduras, the
emperor appointed as ruler of the province Captain
Diego de Albitez, a veteran officer who had done good
service in many a hard-fought battle with Indians.
The new governor arrived off the coast with two vessels
on the 29th of October 1532, but his ships were
driven on shore by a storm, when six leagues from
port, and thirty of those on board were drowned.
Albitez escaped by swimming, but with the loss of all
his effects. Assistance soon arrived from Trujillo;
and on the following day he was received and duly
recognized by the authorities amid the rejoicings of
the citizens who now hoped that tranquillity would be
restored. But the province was yet destined to
undergo a period of misrule; for nine days after his
arrival, the new governor, advanced in years, died
at Trujillo, leaving Cereceda still at the head of
affairs.




The feeling of dissatisfaction which had long prevailed
was intensified by this new disaster. Exaggerated
reports of the great wealth of the neighboring
provinces had been noised abroad, and many of the
colonists now threatened to abandon the territory,
hoping to better their fortunes elsewhere. For several
years they had been living in extreme discomfort,
often bordering on destitution. They had neither
flour, oil, wine, nor any other of the commodities
usually imported from Spain. For three years no
Spanish vessel had arrived at Trujillo. The men
were almost without clothing and the horses without
shoes. Many of the settlers had neither shirts nor
beds; and so great was the scarcity of all articles
required for the common needs of life, that a sheet of
paper sold for a peso, and a needle was worth as
much.[IX‑14] To add to the distress of the Spaniards
epidemic diseases broke out among the Indians, spreading
from house to house and from town to town, and
156
swept away at least one half of the native population.[IX‑15]
There was neither physician nor medicine; and though
the settlers escaped the visitation, so great was their
loss in slaves that many were compelled to abandon
their usual avocations.




In order to distract the attention of the colonists
from their forlorn condition, Cereceda set about establishing
a settlement on the road to Nicaragua, with a
view of opening communication between the two seas.
He despatched into the interior a company of sixty
men, with orders to halt, at a certain point, until joined
by himself with an additional force. His departure
was however delayed by the arrival of two messengers
from Alonso de Ávila,[IX‑16] contador of Yucatan, who was
on his way to Trujillo, having been obliged to flee
with the remnant of his band from a settlement
which he had formed in the interior of that province.
On the arrival of the party at Trujillo, Cereceda
afforded them all the assistance in his power. He
then set forth to join the expedition awaiting him on
the road to Nicaragua. After proceeding but a short
distance he was overtaken by a messenger bringing
news of the arrival of two vessels from Cuba, and of
the intention of Diego Diaz de Herrera to take this
opportunity of making his escape in company with
others at Trujillo.[IX‑17]



OVERLAND ROUTE.



Cereceda returned in time to prevent the depopulation
of the city, but such was the general discontent
that the question of removal was universally discussed
and the governor was at length compelled to give up his
settlement. After much deliberation it was resolved
to depart for the Naco Valley, leaving at Trujillo a
garrison of fifty men. The remainder of the citizens,
157
mustering in all about one hundred and thirty,[IX‑18] leaving
with them a good supply of horses and live-stock,
set forth on their march through the wilderness. On
reaching a spot where a river flows through a narrow
defile, they found their passage obstructed by a barricade
erected by the cacique Cizimba, who thought
thus to prevent the invasion of his territory. The
natives were routed at the first onset, and those who
were taken captive suffered mutilation, their hands
being cut off, and were suspended with cords from their
necks. The Spaniards then pressed forward, suffering
many privations, though always buoyed up with the
hope of finding abundant stores of provisions on reaching
their destination. But in this they were doomed
to disappointment. Arriving at Naco, wayworn and
famished, they found the place abandoned by all except
a few infirm natives unable to escape by reason of
illness. Cereceda then put on the mask, and changing
his policy toward the natives, who throughout all that
country had fled at his approach, he strove to win
them back by kindness, and at length succeeded in
causing the return of a number sufficient to plant a
considerable tract of land.[IX‑19] The harvest however
failed, and, being reduced to the last extremity, the
Spaniards were compelled to move to the foot of the
mountains, where they hoped to obtain food among
the natives who had fled there for refuge. Taking
their departure from Naco, therefore, they proceeded
to the province of Zula, where they founded a settlement
which they named Buena Esperanza.[IX‑20]




Such was the position of affairs when, in the year
1535, Christóbal de la Cueva was sent by Jorge de
Alvarado, to discover a route to the northern coast
by means of which communication might be opened
between the province of Guatemala and Spain. While
158
passing through the province of Zula, Cueva's men
were observed by a party of natives, who informed
Cereceda of the presence of Spaniards in that vicinity.
The latter thereupon despatched Juan Ruano, with a
small band, to demand of the intruders whence they
came, and by what authority they ventured within
his territory. The messenger was first met by the
advanced guard of twenty men under Juan de Arévalo,
who informed him that his commander, with the main
force, was but two leagues behind, and that their object
was to search for the best route for a government road
from Guatemala to Puerto de Caballos.




When Cueva was informed of the condition of the
colonists at Buena Esperanza, he requested an interview
with Cereceda, and proposed that the men of
Honduras should coöperate with him in his explorations,
promising in return to assist them in their mining
enterprises, and to protect them from the natives.
The governor gladly accepted this offer, and took command
of a force composed of a portion of Cueva's troops
together with all his own available men.[IX‑21] It was proposed
first to march against a powerful cacique, who
had for ten years held captive a Spanish woman,[IX‑22] and
after subduing him and demolishing his stockade, to
explore the country in the neighborhood of Golfo
Dulce, and examine the harbors of San Gil de Buenavista
and Puerto de Caballos, in conformity with his
instructions.




But the time had not yet come when harmony was
to prevail in Honduras. Wars with the savages and
contentions among themselves had been the fate of
settlers in that territory from the beginning; and the
quarrelsome followers of Cereceda were little disposed
to join hands in peaceful fellowship with the members
159
of a rival colony. Cueva was not satisfied to settle
at Buena Esperanza, nor on the Golfo Dulce, nor at
Puerto de Caballos; but he wished to plant a colony
in the interior of Honduras, midway between the
two oceans. To this proposition Cereceda of course
raised objections. The other persisted, and being the
stronger, withdrew from the alliance and moved inland.
Thereupon Cereceda complained to the India
Council, and begged the arrest and execution of Cueva
for trespass and violation of contract. He also petitioned
the emperor for men, arms, ships, and flour, and
wine for sacramental purposes. He affirmed that
some of his men had not tasted salt for three months,
and lay ill in consequence. He requested that the
king's fifth of the product of the mines should be
reduced to one tenth. He also asked that a boundary
line between Guatemala and Honduras be established,
and that a road be opened between the two seas, from
Puerto de Caballos to the bay of Fonseca, stating that
it would serve as well for the trade of San Salvador
and Nicaragua, the distance being only fifty leagues,
and the ground favorable, requiring only that the trees
be cut away and the earth levelled in places. To this
petition of Cereceda the emperor and his council
listened with favor, and granted the greater part of
his requests.



GOVERNOR WANTED.



Meanwhile the remnant of the Honduras colonists
who remained at Trujillo also clamored for an increase
of population, and for a governor. They claimed that
the city possessed a good harbor, and a dry and wholesome
situation; that rich mines lay undeveloped in its
vicinity, and that the soil was fruitful and well watered.[IX‑23]
160
They attributed their past misfortunes to bad government,
and charged Cereceda with abandoning the
settlement without sufficient cause. They were now
so few in number, being reduced to thirty capable of
bearing arms, that they were in constant fear of attack
from the natives. Their stock of weapons consisted
of but twenty swords and fifteen pikes, the governor
having taken with him all the cross-bows and arquebuses.
As they were not in communication with
Mexico they requested to be placed under the jurisdiction
of the audiencia of Española. They asked
moreover for two brigantines for the purpose of trading
with the Islands and also for one hundred negroes to
work their mines, for all of which they promised to pay
liberally. They promised that if a capable governor
were sent out to them in command of two hundred
men, they would establish a settlement near the
Desaguadero and open the rich gold-mines which lay
in that vicinity. Finally the municipal council declared
that unless relieved within a year they would
disorganize the government and give the people liberty
to go whithersoever they might desire.




If the colonists of Honduras could barely sustain
themselves when united and living at Trujillo, it was
not to be expected that their condition would be improved
when divided and scattered throughout the
country. One good man, who could have held in
check the spirit of lawlessness, and have ruled the
factious populace with a determined hand; a man with
the principles and temper even of a Pedrarias, would
have given peace and prosperity to Honduras; but
internal dissensions, and finally open disruption, had
brought disaster upon all concerned, and had reduced
the people, both of Trujillo and Buena Esperanza, to
the verge of ruin and starvation.



APPEAL TO ALVARADO.



Humiliating as it must have been, Andrés de Cereceda
was at last compelled to appeal for aid to Pedro
de Alvarado. In the petition which he drew up, he
craved protection from the natives, failing which, he
161
feared the depopulation of the whole province. Dire
indeed were the necessities of the people,[IX‑24] and the
adelantado was besought "for the love of God and
their Majesties," to come to their succor.[IX‑25] The royal
treasurer, Diego García de Célis, was sent in company
with Juan Ruano[IX‑26] to Santiago, where Alvarado
then resided, and representing to him the deplorable
condition of the people of Honduras, received assurance
of relief. As soon as possible an armed force
was assembled, consisting of Spaniards and friendly
Indians, and with the adelantado at their head set
forth to the relief of Cereceda.[IX‑27]




During the delay which occurred before the arrival
of Alvarado in Honduras, the settlers who remained
at Buena Esperanza, being unable or unwilling to bear
their sufferings any longer, were on the point of
abandoning the colony, and on the 5th of May 1536
162
a formal meeting was held before the notary Bernardino
de Cabrenas,[IX‑28] to take the matter under consideration.
Cereceda, addressing the alcalde and regidores,
stated that they were aware of the condition
of affairs in the province, and of the impracticability
of holding it much longer, on account of the small
number of the Spanish colonists and the want of
supplies. He had therefore, he said, despatched Diego
García de Célis, the royal treasurer, to solicit aid from
the governor of Guatemala, and had also asked the
assistance of the emperor and of the audiencia of
Mexico. Seven months had elapsed since the departure
of Célis, and nothing had been heard from him.
He demanded therefore, in the name of the crown,
their opinion as to what should be done. All present
recommended that the country be abandoned, and the
Spaniards allowed by the governor to proceed whithersoever
they pleased. To this Cereceda assented, and
orders were issued accordingly; the alcalde and regidores
ratifying and confirming the governor's acts and
their own, in the presence of the notary.[IX‑29]



CERECEDA'S COMPLAINTS.



The resolution was at once carried into effect; but
within four days after leaving Buena Esperanza the
colonists were met by Célis with a letter from Alvarado
promising speedy relief. Had the envoy returned
but a single day later it is not improbable that Cereceda
163
would have lost his life, for he had become extremely
unpopular among the men of Honduras. They
had indeed gone so far as to drive him from his home,
though through fear of the consequences they afterward
recalled him.




His answer to the adelantado's despatch shows the
detestation in which he was held by those whose duty
it was to obey him. "They expelled me," he says,
"from my house and from the settlement, although I
was not in a condition to rise from my bed, to which
I had been confined for days on account of a boil that
prevented my sitting down, except in a chair which
had been made specially for my use, and then only for
a short time. In spite of all this, they hustled me
out of my abode with the greatest coolness, ordering
me to go, unattended as I was, in the direction of the
coast, where they would provide me with an escort to
Trujillo. This was, however, only a pretext in order
to get rid of me, their object being to carry off as
slaves all the Indians who had served in the district,
which they had attempted to do before proceeding to
expel me from the village. Fearing they might kill
me, I made a virtue of necessity, and abandoning
what few effects I had, proceeded to Naco. From
this place they soon recalled me, and I returned on
horseback, but with great difficulty, suffering so much
from my enforced ride that it will, I fear, be at least
three months before my health is reëstablished."




Cereceda and Célis were far from being on good
terms. The treasurer was suspected by the former of
a desire to supplant him, and perhaps not without
reason, as he had been appointed by the emperor, and
was next in rank to the governor. In his letter to
Alvarado, Cereceda takes the opportunity of venting
his spleen against the treasurer. He accuses him of
endeavoring to produce the impression that he, and
he alone, had it in his power to procure for the adelantado
the governorship of Honduras, and of taking
to himself the credit of being the only one having at
164
heart the welfare of the country, and of being a faithful
servitor of his Majesty. "But," he continues, "in
order that you may see that there are others who
desire the welfare of the province, I resign in your
favor the governorship with which I have been intrusted,
believing that, in so doing, I am performing
a service to his Majesty."



ALVARADO'S RESIDENCIA.



Alvarado, on his arrival, was well received by the settlers,
who were fain to believe that there were better
days in store for them. The astute Cereceda, seeing
himself virtually without authority, again pressed him
to accept the governorship, so that the province might
not go to ruin. By this artifice he hoped not only to
escape punishment, but to confirm the impression in
the adelantado's mind that it was to him and not to
Célis that he was indebted for the offer. Alvarado
accepted the governor's resignation, and assumed the
reins of power, to the great joy of the colonists. He
at once set about pacifying the country, sending out
a strong force, stationing guards at the mines, and
bringing the province into a condition of safety and
prosperity. In the name of the crown, he assumed
the title of captain-general and chief-justice, and without
loss of time proceeded to establish new colonies.




He built at Puerto de Caballos the town of San
Juan, and on the site of the village of Thaloma, seven
leagues from this settlement, founded the city of San
Pedro del Puerto de Caballos. He determined the
limits of its jurisdiction and distributed among the
Spaniards the natives and native villages in its vicinity.[IX‑30]
Captain Juan de Chaves was ordered to explore
the province toward the south and west and to select
a favorable site on the proposed line of intercommunication
between Honduras and Guatemala. After a
165
toilsome journey he arrived at a fertile and well
watered valley, where he established a settlement,
naming it in token of his thankfulness "Gracias á
Dios."[IX‑31]




But while the adelantado was winning fresh laurels
and gaining new adherents in Honduras, he was informed
that his residencia had been taken by the oidor
Maldonado, and soon afterward received an order from
the viceroy instructing him to proceed to Spain and
appear before the throne, as his Majesty's interests
would be thereby advanced. This was unlooked for.
He had already petitioned the king for permission
to return for the purpose of fitting out an expedition
on a large scale for South Sea explorations;[IX‑32] a summons
to appear at court, while his residencia was to
be taken during his absence, made an intricate matter
of it. There was no alternative, however, but to
obey; and once more Alvarado set out for Spain, first
addressing to the cabildo of Santiago a letter wherein
he states the reasons for his departure, and remarks
that although he does not return to his native land
rich in gold, having spent all that he had gained during
his career in Mexico and Guatemala, he has no
doubt that his services will recommend him to the
favor of the court.
166




CHAPTER X.



ADMINISTRATION OF AFFAIRS IN NICARAGUA.

1531-1550.





Malefeasance of Castañeda—Diego Álvarez Osorio the First Bishop of
Nicaragua—A Convent Founded at Leon—Las Casas Arrives—Castañeda's
Flight—Arrival of Contreras—Proposed Expedition
to El Desaguadero—Opposition of Las Casas—Departure with All
the Dominicans—The Volcano of El Infierno de Masaya—Fray
Blas Believes the Lava to be Molten Treasure—His Descent into
the Burning Pit—Exploration of the Desaguadero—Doctor Robles
Attempts to Seize the New Territory—Contreras Leaves
for Spain—His Arrest, Trial, and Return—His Son-in-law Meanwhile
Usurps the Government—Antonio de Valdivieso Appointed
Bishop—Feud between the Ecclesiastics and the Governor—Alonso
Lopez de Cerrato Takes the Residencia of Contreras—Missionary
Labors in Nicaragua.



CASTAÑEDA GOVERNOR.



The sense of relief which was felt by all the colonists
of Nicaragua, when death at last put an end to
the administration of Pedrarias Dávila, was of brief
duration. A new taskmaster soon held them in bondage
almost as grievous as that of the great despot who
now lay buried in the church-vaults at Leon. Francisco
de Castañeda, who then held office as contador,
and some months previous had been alcalde mayor,[X‑1]
claimed that he was legally entitled to the vacant
governorship.[X‑2] The cabildo knew of no valid objection,
and upon Castañeda's promise to rule with moderation
167
and fairness he was appointed and duly recognized.[X‑3]




Before a month had elapsed the colonists found
themselves still doomed to oppression and misrule.
Without regard to the rights of the settlers, and with
an effrontery equalled only by that of his predecessor,
the new tyrant refused to convene the cabildo except
at long intervals, and then only to discuss matters
agreeable to his own wishes. The decision of pending
lawsuits was neglected; loans were demanded, and
those who refused to contribute were harassed so
unmercifully that they abandoned their property and
fled the country, leaving their encomiendas to be confiscated.[X‑4]
Slave-hunting, with its attendant horrors,
was common throughout the province. None were
forbidden to kidnap, nor was any limit placed on
their capture; the only restriction was that the
governor should receive a share. The king's tithes
were fraudulently rented.[X‑5] Castañeda was even suspected
of making fraudulent entries in the books of
the treasurer Tobilla, whose death had recently occurred;
nor had he even given himself the trouble of
taking an inventory of the contents of the treasure-chest.




At length certain of the regidores met in secret
council and petitioned the king to send them a judge
of residencia, stating that unless relief were afforded
the province would soon be depopulated. Castañeda
was presently informed of his danger, but gave no
heed to the warning. He had but one aim in life, to
168
gather riches by whatever means,[X‑6] and this object he
pursued with unshaken purpose. The natives did not
regard the Spaniards with greater dread than did the
Spaniards their chief magistrate. Many of them
departed for the newly conquered regions of Peru,
and even the friars, who had faced the hardships of
the wilderness, and the peril of torture and death at
the hands of savages, were compelled to abandon their
labors.[X‑7]




Until 1531 the vicars of the church of Panamá
held ecclesiastical jurisdiction over the province of
Nicaragua.[X‑8] In that year Diego Álvarez Osorio, a
precentor of the cathedral of Panamá, holding the
title of Protector of the Indians, was appointed the
first bishop of Nicaragua. His elevation was due to
his eminent services in the church and probably also
to the fact of his being, as Remesal remarks, "a
noble cavalier of the house of Astorga, learned, virtuous,
and prudent, with much experience in wholesome
government measures."[X‑9] The prelate was ordered
to found a Dominican convent at Leon, and
the treasurer was commanded to furnish the necessary
funds. The royal tithes which were formerly appropriated
by the diocese of Panamá, were now to be increased,[X‑10]
169
and applied to the support of the churches
and hospitals of Nicaragua.



RODRIGO DE CONTRERAS.



Under the rule of Castañeda it was indeed difficult
to collect the tithes, the greater portion of them being
stolen by his officials. But a true friend to humanity
and religion was now on his way to the province.
Bartolomé de las Casas,[X‑11] after his earnest though ineffectual
labors in Mexico, returned to Nicaragua in the
year 1532, and was received with open arms by Osorio,
who invited him to remain, and to aid him in establishing
the Dominican convent, and also in his labors
on behalf of the natives; but above all to use his authority
in putting an end to the malefeasance of Castañeda.
Las Casas cheerfully consented. A convent
was founded; residences were built for the friars; preparations
were made for the erection of a cathedral,
and converts by the thousands were gathered into the
fold. But neither threat nor persuasion had the least
influence on Castañeda, who had been trained in the
school of Pedrarias, and now bid fair to better his
instruction. Relief came at last. News arrived at
Leon that Rodrigo de Contreras had been appointed
governor of Nicaragua, and was now on his way to
the province. Castañeda thereupon gathered up his
stolen gains and fled to Peru; passed thence to Española;
was there arrested and sent to Spain; but death
closed his career before any earthly tribunal awarded
to him the meed of his iniquity.




Contreras was a noble cavalier of Segovia, and the
son-in-law of Pedrarias, whose daughter, María de
Peñalosa, formerly betrothed to Vasco Nuñez de
Balboa, now accompanied him to the province, together
with her infant children, Hernando and Pedro.
His administration meets the hearty approval of
170
Oviedo; a refreshing circumstance, as it is the first
instance in which that historian speaks in praise of a
governor in a Spanish province.[X‑12] His conduct is at
least in strong relief with that of his two predecessors,
and apart from certain accusations brought
against him by the ecclesiastics, with whom he was
ever at variance, the annals of his time portray him
as a just and humane ruler. He at once began the
task of establishing law and order in his territory, thus
gaining the confidence of the settlers, and all traces
of evil wrought by the absconder Castañeda were
speedily effaced.



INTEROCEANIC COMMUNICATION.



The project for opening up communication with
the North Sea by way of El Desaguadero, as the Rio
San Juan was then termed, and of taking possession
of the native towns on its banks, had long been discussed
by the colonists. The new governor though
averse to such an enterprise was anxious to retain the
good-will of the people, and despatched to the court
of Spain Juan de Perea to obtain the emperor's
consent.[X‑13]




But the subjugation of the natives was too often
followed by their enslavement, and Las Casas was
still in the province[X‑14] laboring in his favorite cause.
In the pulpit, in the confessional, and in places of
public resort the padre denounced the expedition. He
even threatened to refuse absolution to the vecinos
and soldiers should they dare to take part in it.[X‑15] The
171
colonists were sorely perplexed. Las Casas undoubtedly
held direct instructions from the emperor which
justified his interference, while the governor had not
yet received the sanction of the crown. Which side
should they take? On the one hand was prospect of
gain, on the other the threatened ban of the church.




Contreras was resolved that the project should not
be thwarted by the intermeddling of a priest; but, on
setting out at the head of a band of fifty men, he
found that his own officers would not obey him, for
they were forbidden to plunder or maltreat the natives.
He was compelled therefore to return to Leon and
acknowledge himself defeated. Las Casas now used
all the weight of his influence to undermine the governor's
authority,[X‑16] while Contreras caused depositions
to be taken before Bishop Osorio with regard to the
conduct of the padre. At this juncture the death of
the prelate solved the difficulty. After losing his
support Las Casas found himself unable to oppose,
single-handed, the authority of the governor, who still
had the tacit sympathy of most of the colonists. He
therefore determined to abandon a field where his
exertions were of little avail, and accepting an invitation
which it has already been stated was extended
to him by Francisco de Marroquin, bishop of Guatemala,
to take charge of the convent of Santiago,
departed from Leon taking with him all the Dominicans.[X‑17]
172



EL INFIERNO DE MASAYA.



In 1537 certain of the ecclesiastics are again connected
with the history of the province, but in a
manner not altogether consistent with the dignity of
their profession. While travelling through Nicaragua
three years previously, Fray Blas del Castillo
heard strange rumors concerning a volcano situated
near Lake Nicaragua, and known as El Infierno de
Masaya. In the crater at a depth of a hundred
fathoms was a molten lake incrusted with cinders,
through which fountains of fire sometimes rose far
above the surface,[X‑18] lighting up the South Sea by
night, and plainly visible to mariners twenty leagues
from shore. Concerning this spot a legend was related
to Oviedo during his residence in the province by the
aged cacique Lenderi, who had several times visited
the place in company with other chieftains of his
tribe. From the depths of the crater came forth to
commune with them in secret council a hag,[X‑19] nude,
wrinkled, and hideous, with long sharp teeth, and
deep-sunken, flame-colored eyes. She was consulted
on all important matters, determined the question of
war or peace, and predicted the success or failure of
every enterprise. Before and after these consultations,
were hurled into the crater human victims who
submitted to their fate without a murmur.[X‑20] When
173
the Christians made their appearance the genius of
the burning pit denounced the intruders, threatening
not to show herself again till they were driven from
the land, and as the natives were not strong enough
to expel them, she soon abandoned her votaries.




The worthy friar concluded that the molten mass
in the depths of the crater must be gold, or at least
silver, in a state of fusion. He was then travelling
toward Peru by order of his superiors, but kept his
own counsel until two years later, when we hear of
his journeying on foot from Mexico, a distance of
more than four hundred leagues, intent on exploring
the mysterious crater. He now took into his confidence
a Franciscan friar, Juan de Gandabo, and the
two agreed to impart the great secret to a few of the
wealthier Spanish settlers, in order to obtain means
for carrying out their project. Rumor was soon rife
throughout the province. At Granada and Leon men
assembled in the streets and plazas to discuss the matter.
Some few conceded that Fray Blas was probably
in the right. Others asserted with a credulous shrug
that the molten mass consisted of iron or of sulphur,
the latter theory being most in favor, from the fact
that specimens of native sulphur were common in the
vicinity. But while expounding, in the realms of the
Atahualpas and the Montezumas, the doctrines of him
who sent forth his disciples without purse or scrip, the
ecclesiastic could never banish from his mind the conviction
that providence had reserved this treasure for
him and his fellow-laborers,[X‑21] and now after his long
and toilsome journey, he was not to be turned aside
from his purpose. The necessary implements were
secretly prepared. Chains, pulleys, iron kettles, and
other apparatus were made ready in a native village
four leagues distant from the volcano. A huge derrick
174
and a cage were manufactured by the friar's
own hands at a safe distance from the Spanish settlements,[X‑22]
and dragged up by natives to the mouth
of the volcano. Guides were procured, and it was
agreed that Fray Blas himself should first descend
into the pit in order to avoid all dispute as to right
of discovery. Should he return to the surface in
safety, his comrades were to follow. Stipulations
were made as to the division of the treasure, the
friar claiming for himself the largest share, though
contributing nothing to the expense.




On the 13th of April 1538,[X‑23] the ecclesiastic and
his comrades rise betimes, and after confessing their
sins, attending mass, and partaking of a substantial
breakfast they climb the steep mountain side and stand
on the verge of the crater. Grasping in his left hand
a flask of wine, in his right a crucifix, and gathering
up the skirts of his priestly robe, his head protected
by an iron cask, the daring friar takes his seat in the
cage, is suspended in mid-air, and slowly lowered into
the burning pit. The natives who are present flee in
terror, having no faith in his assertion that the evil
genius of the fiery lake will vanish at the sight of
the cross. As he lands on the floor of the crater a
fragment of falling rock strikes his helmet, causing
him to drop on his knees and plant his cross with
trembling fingers in the haunted ground. Turning
his eyes upward, after much groping and stumbling
among shelves of rock, he beholds the cage in which
he had descended swinging far overhead. Nevertheless
his heart fails not. Catching the guide-rope he
drags up his portly person to a spot from which he
can give the appointed signal, and at length is brought
unharmed to the surface.
175







Nicaragua.






A few days later another attempt is made, and after
much difficulty a small quantity of the molten treasure
is brought to the surface in an iron mortar. Reports
of the great discovery spread through the neighboring
settlements. Hundreds of eager spectators gather
round the crater, but the adventurers keep their
counsel. They take formal possession of the ground,
move their machinery that none may share the imaginary
prize, and for a time imagine themselves possessed
of wealth which a thousand ships cannot carry.



EXPLORATION OF THE DESAGUADERO.



Soon after the departure of the Dominicans, Contreras
resolved to carry out the exploration of the
Desaguadero. Captain Diego Machuca,[X‑24] a veteran
176
officer and one whose humane disposition gave assurance
that the inhabitants of the native towns would
not be maltreated, was placed in charge of the expedition.
Two ships were fitted out on Lake Nicaragua
and a force of two hundred men followed by land. The
dangers encountered[X‑25] during the voyage are not recorded
by the chroniclers of the age; but we learn that
the vessels were borne in safety down the stream,
passed thence to the North Sea, and sailed for Nombre
de Dios.




News of their arrival was soon brought to Doctor
Robles, then governor of Tierra Firme, and with his
usual policy this covetous ruler attempted to gather
for himself all the benefits of the enterprise. The
men of Nicaragua were cast into prison, and an expedition
despatched under Francisco Gonzales de Badajoz
to take possession of the territory on the banks
of the Desaguadero. After remaining in the province
for six months, during which time a fort was built and
treasure obtained to the value of 200,000 castellanos,
the invaders were driven out by Contreras, and their
leader sent back a prisoner to Panamá.[X‑26] A second
expedition, despatched by Doctor Robles under command
of Andrés Garavito, also failed of success.[X‑27]




A brief period of comparative quiet now occurs in
the history of Nicaragua, and for the first time the
inhabitants of one province at least are satisfied
177
with their ruler. Nevertheless there exists among a
clique of factious adventurers an undercurrent of ill-feeling,
fostered by the ecclesiastics, who soon begin
once more to interfere in the affairs of the settlements.
After the passage in 1542 of the new code
of laws, of which mention is elsewhere made, Nicaragua
is placed under the jurisdiction of the audiencia
of the Confines, and all who hold office under the
crown are ordered to surrender their encomiendas.
The governor thereupon transfers his slaves to his
wife and children, and before the code goes into operation,
sets forth for Spain, to prevent, if possible, disastrous
results to his interests; for in common with
most of his fellow-rulers his wealth consists mainly
of human chattels. Arriving at the Isthmus he finds
that secret advices from Pedro de Mendavia, the
dean of Leon, have been sent to Panamá recommending
his arrest, and he is compelled to continue his
journey as a prisoner. The charges against him cannot
be of a serious nature; for although his old opponent,
Las Casas, is still in Spain, ready to testify
against him, we learn that he is soon released, and
retaining both office and property he returns in company
with Vasco Nuñez Vela, landing in Tierra Firme
in January 1544.



PEDRO DE LOS RIOS.



Meanwhile Pedro de los Rios, the royal treasurer,[X‑28]
and son-in-law of Contreras, has usurped the reins of
government, and commenced to persecute all whom
he knows to be hostile to his own party. Mendavia,
knowing that he may be the one to suffer most at
the hands of Rios, determines to anticipate his measures,
and proceeding to Granada, where he obtains
178
the support of the cabildo, imprisons Rios in the
convent.[X‑29] But the following morning the cabildo
intimidated by the threats of Doña María, the governor's
wife, repent of their conduct and are prevailed
upon to issue an edict calling upon all the settlers,
under penalty of death and confiscation, to rise in
arms and demand the liberation of Rios, or, in case
of refusal, to tear down the convent. The warlike
dean is not prepared for this sudden change, but
nevertheless determines to resist, assuring his adherents
that all who may suffer death in this most Christian
cause will surely be admitted into heaven. The
people throng the convent, and the friars are soon
engaged in deadly strife, during which two of them,
together with four laymen, are mortally wounded.
Unable to withstand the attack, Mendavia at last relents
and sues for peace. A compromise is effected,
by which Rios binds himself not to injure the dean or
any of his party, either then or at any future time,
whereupon the treasurer is released. No sooner is he
outside the convent walls, however, than he forgets
his promise, and arrests, hangs, quarters, and exiles
indiscriminately. The dean himself is put in irons
and sent to Spain, where for several years he is
kept a prisoner without trial.[X‑30]




When the news of these proceedings reached the
audiencia of Panamá, Diego de Pineda was despatched
to Nicaragua as juez de comision, and with
such tact did he reconcile the disputes between the
two parties that order was quickly restored, and the
quarrel between Rios and Mendavia was soon forgotten.
A few months later Contreras arrived in the
province,[X‑31] but his secret enemies were still at work,
179
and one of the first acts of the newly established
audiencia de los Confines was to commission the oidor
Herrera to take his residencia, and also that of the
treasurer Rios. Although the licentiate was ever an
implacable foe to the governor and a stanch supporter
of the clerical faction, he appears to have discovered
nothing on which to base any serious charges against
either of those officials, and soon abandoned his investigation.[X‑32]



ECCLESIASTICAL AND CIVIL FEUD.



A feud more bitter than that which was terminated
by the death of Bishop Osorio and the departure of
Las Casas now arose between the lay and ecclesiastical
authorities. In 1544 Father Antonio de Valdivieso
was appointed to the vacant see of Nicaragua.[X‑33]
His appointment was duly confirmed by papal
bull, and in November of the following year he was
consecrated at Gracias á Dios by bishops Las Casas
180
of Chiapas, Marroquin of Guatemala, and Pedraza of
Honduras. The prelate, who professed to be an
enthusiastic admirer of the great apostle of the
Indies, insisted that the new code should be enforced,
and spared no effort to rescue the natives from
bondage, incurring by his policy such determined
opposition from the governor and his officials that he
deemed it best for his own personal safety to take up
his residence at Granada rather than at Leon.




From the day of Valdivieso's arrival to the downfall
of the governor some three years later, the history
of the province contains little else than a series of
mutual recriminations and intrigues. The colonists
with a few exceptions favored the cause of the governor,
declaring that "they wanted no prelate except
to say mass, and preach to suit their fancy;" and when
the bishop threatened to establish an inquisition in
Nicaragua he was menaced with assassination.[X‑34]



CONTRERAS CURSED.



The complaints against Contreras appear to have
been due mainly to the jealousy and self-interested
motives of the ecclesiastical faction. His conduct had
borne the scrutiny of the inquisition and of the audiencia.
Notwithstanding the provisions of the new
code he had been allowed to retain his encomiendas.
Even his enemies could not accuse him of maltreating
his slaves. It was not to be expected that he should
surrender to the bishop the power and property which
higher authority had permitted him to retain; and yet
this seems to have been his chief cause of offence.
Though Valdivieso and the Dominican friars were
loud in their denunciations of those who held the
natives in bondage, they were themselves by no
181
means averse to holding property in slaves. They
were the proprietors of at least one Indian village in
Nicaragua, and when the right of ownership was
taken from them by the audiencia of the Confines,
they threatened to leave the province, and ceased not
from their clamor until their property was restored to
them.[X‑35] Even the members of the audiencia, whose
special duty it was to enforce the observance of these
new laws, had caused the cacique of Atitlan, and others
who had rendered assistance to the Spaniards in their
expeditions against Lacandon and Tuzulutlan, to be
restored to their encomenderos, thus violating the
very spirit of the code. The president and oidores
even went so far as to express their opinion that to
place the Indians under control of the priests in
trust for the crown was a most objectionable measure.
Slaves constituted the principal source of wealth
throughout the province, and without slave labor the
colonists would soon be reduced to beggary. Even
now they suffered extreme privation and were sometimes
threatened with actual famine. The tribute
collected from the natives, which belonged by right to
the governor and his officials, was distributed among
the destitute settlers, but was found utterly inadequate
for their maintenance.




The most serious accusation brought against Contreras,
but one that rests on no sufficient evidence, is
that he appropriated the estates of deceased encomenderos,
leaving their wives and children destitute.
It was alleged that he and his family owned more
than one third of the province, and that the slaves
and territory of the entire district of Nicoya, which
were formerly divided among eleven different individuals,
had passed into the hands of his wife. It was
afterward even laid to his charge that he had compelled
182
the settlers to take part in enterprises which
he himself had in fact only been led to sanction by
the clamor of the colonists or the urgency of the
occasion, as was the case in the exploration of the
Desaguadero and the expeditions against the forces
of Doctor Robles.[X‑36]




Meanwhile the oidor, Herrera, was sparing no effort
to insure the governor's downfall, and with that purpose
sent private reports to the emperor and the
council of the Indies. In one of these[X‑37] he recommended
that no one should be allowed to rule who
possessed Indians, either in his own name or that of
his wife, children, or servants, and that the government
be vested in the hands of a person whose duty
it should be to visit, at frequent intervals, every settlement
in the province. He also recommended that
the children of the caciques should be placed in convents,
there to be trained in the Christian faith, and
that the adult Indians should remain in their towns
for the same purpose.[X‑38] In short his object, like that
of Valdivieso, whose cause he never ceased to advocate,
was to place the entire native population under the
absolute control of the ecclesiastics.




In the beginning of the year 1547 the bishop
removed to Leon, and no sooner had he done so than
the cabildo reported to the emperor "the great trouble
they had in defending the royal jurisdiction on account
of the opposition of the bishop, who insulted and
maltreated the officers of justice, and held the laws
in contempt."[X‑39] It was even thought necessary to
send to Spain one Antonio Zárate to advocate their
183
cause, whereupon Valdivieso despatched to the council
of the Indies, some three weeks later, a communication
in which he accused him of being a fugitive
criminal, in order to destroy his influence at court.
He also sent secret advices to Bishop Torres of Panamá,
informing him of Zárate's purpose and recommending
his arrest. The emissary was forewarned of
his danger, and managed to make good his escape, but
it is not recorded that he was successful in accomplishing
the object of his mission.



THE GOVERNOR'S RESIDENCIA.



The struggle which Contreras had so long maintained
against the machinations of his foes was now
drawing to an end. In the beginning of the year
1548, the licentiate Alonso Lopez de Cerrato, formerly
president of the audiencia in Española, and now appointed
to that of the Confines, arrived at Gracias á
Dios. One of his first acts was to take the residencia
of the governor, whereupon finding that the transfer
of his encomiendas had been made after the passage
of the new code, though before its publication in
the province,[X‑40] he declared them confiscated. Contreras
at once repaired to Spain to seek redress, and
for some time after his departure his enemies were in
constant dread lest he should regain his authority and
return to take vengeance on his accusers. The alcaldes
and regidores of Leon, having now made peace with
the bishop, ordered their secretary to prepare a list
of accusations against the departed governor,[X‑41] but
only one of their number had the courage to sign it,
each official fearing that his signature might afterward
cost him his life. It was even requested that the
entire family of the fallen ruler be recalled to Spain,
for of his sons Hernando and Pedro it was stated that
they had committed many excesses, and of his son-in-law,
Arias Gonzalo, the alguacil mayor, that he kept
a public gambling-house. Finally the decision of the
184
oidor was confirmed by the council of the Indies, and
Rodrigo de Contreras returned no more to Nicaragua.[X‑42]
His children, however, still remained in the province,
soon to figure as the leaders of a revolt which threatened,
for a time, the very existence of Spain's dominion
in the western world.




Although the ecclesiastics were held in little respect
by a majority of the Spaniards, there is sufficient
evidence that they labored faithfully in their calling.
When Fray Toribio de Motolinia came from Guatemala,
in the year 1528, to join certain Flemish friars
then resident in Nicaragua, he founded at Granada
the convent of Concepcion,[X‑43] and having a knowledge
of the native language, was successful in his
efforts, giving special care to the baptism and conversion
of children. His stay was of short duration; but
by others the work of christianizing the natives was
continued with vigor. Gil Gonzalez is said to have
baptized thirty-two thousand.[X‑44] Hernandez and Salcedo
also baptized large numbers. Pedrarias, inasmuch
as this great work had been accomplished without
his intervention, affected contempt for such summary
methods of conversion, and ordered an investigation to
be made by Francisco de Bobadilla, a friar provincial
of the order of Mercy, and by the public notary Bartolomé
Perez. Diligent search was made by these
officials, but it was found that the barbarians had either
forgotten or never understood the truths of Christianity,
and Bobadilla was obliged to perform this holy
185
work anew. This friar baptized twenty-nine thousand
and sixty-three persons in the province of Nicaragua,
during a space of nine days,[X‑45] and later, between the
1st of September 1538 and the 5th of March 1539,
fifty-two thousand five hundred and fifty-eight were
baptized, though, as Oviedo says, "by no means could
they be called converted."




On the 29th of August 1540, Hernando de Alvarado
and Fray Juan de Padilla started from Granada
toward the South Sea by way of Coiba,[X‑46] and were
everywhere well received. When crosses were erected
the natives adorned them with roses, and brought
offerings of whatever they valued most. Some years
later Fray Lorenzo de Bienvenida and thirty others
left Yucatan for the province of Costa Rica[X‑47] to
continue the work of conversion in those parts, and
many may have fallen victims to their pious zeal. I
may mention the sad fate of the martyr Fray Juan
Pizarro. While laboring in one of the most remote
districts of Nicaragua, he was seized by drunken savages
during the celebration of one of their feasts,
dragged over the rocks, beaten till he was almost lifeless,
and then hanged; his murderers completing their
work by burning down a church which he had erected
at his own expense.



INDIAN BORDER TROUBLES.



During the internal dissensions which have just
been related, bands of hostile Indians taking advantage
of the opportunity were continually committing
depredations on the borders, robbing and slaughtering
186
those of the natives who were at peace with
the Spaniards, the cacique Lacandon being especially
troublesome and refusing all overtures of peace. No
progress could be made in forming new settlements
or improving the condition of those already established.
After the explorations conducted by Captain
Machuca, we read of no important enterprise until the
year of the governor's departure. In 1548 the contador
Diego de Castañeda organized an expedition for
the conquest of the district of Tegucigalpa.[X‑48] Through
the treachery of the guides, his men were led into
marshy and difficult ground, where they soon found
themselves surrounded by hordes of savages. Repelling
their attacks with much difficulty they made
their way to the Desaguadero, and passing down that
channel in barges landed on the shores of Costa Rica,
where they founded the settlement of Nueva Jaen.[X‑49]
187




CHAPTER XI.



EXPEDITION OF DIEGO GUTIERREZ TO COSTA RICA.

1540-1545.





Diego Gutierrez Appointed Governor—Desertion of his Soldiers—He
Proceeds to Nicaragua—The Advice of Contreras—The Expedition
Sails for the Rio San Juan—Friendly Reception by the
Natives—His Men Desert a Second Time—Reënforcements from
Nicaragua and Nombre de Dios—The Historian Benzoni Joins
the Party—Gutierrez as an Evangelist—He Inveigles Camachire
and Cocori into his Camp—He Demands Gold under Pain of
Death—Noble Conduct of the Cacique Cocori—The Spaniards
March into the Interior—Their Sufferings from Hunger—They
are Attacked and Massacred—Benzoni and Five Other Survivors
Rescued by Alonso de Pisa.




Between the Rio San Juan and the province of
Veragua lay a territory whose rugged and densely
wooded surface had hitherto proved a barrier to
Spanish conquest and colonization. Costa Rica, or
Nueva Cartago, by both of which names this region
was known,[XI‑1] yet remained almost a terra incognita to
Europeans. During his last voyage, in the year 1502,
Columbus had touched at several points on its northern
shore. At the Golfo Dulce, on its southern
coast, it will be remembered that Gil Gonzalez and
his band were glad to find shelter in the trees from
storm and flood.[XI‑2] Vague reports of a settlement
188
named Cartago, founded early in the sixteenth century
by some band of roaming adventurers, are mentioned
in several of the early chroniclers; but when
and by whom it was established, is a question[XI‑3] on
which there is no conclusive evidence.







Costa Rica, 1545.





DIFFICULTIES OF GUTIERREZ.



The exploration of the Rio San Juan, which had
opened up a passage from the North Sea into the very
heart of Nicaragua, awakened a more eager desire to
possess this unknown region; and to the pride of conquest
and discovery was added the all-pervading
passion of the Spaniard, for it was believed that the
armies of the great Montezuma had invaded the territory
from a distance of more than six hundred leagues,
189
and had brought thence many a rich specimen of gold.
In 1540 Diego Gutierrez, a citizen of Madrid and
brother to Felipe Gutierrez, who five years before had
conducted the ill-fated expedition to Veragua, was
appointed governor of this province, and soon afterward
set forth on an enterprise which was destined
to prove even more calamitous than the one conducted
by his kinsman.



MUTINY AND DESERTION.



Gutierrez proceeded first to Española, where he
raised a company of about two hundred men and sailed
thence for Jamaica, the base of supplies for the colonies
of Tierra Firme. Here a mutiny broke out
among his men, causing the loss of all his military
stores. Arriving at Nombre de Dios he fell sick, and
while lying at the point of death his men deserted,
and crossing over to Panamá took ship for Peru.
Recovering from his illness he found himself with
but five men and almost without means. He gathered
courage, however, and fitting out a small barge sailed
for the Rio San Juan, and so made his way to the city
of Granada. Falling in with one Baena, a successful
190
adventurer from Peru, he succeeded in borrowing from
him three thousand castellanos with which he hoped
to retrieve his fortunes.




Gutierrez now endeavored to enlist men in Nicaragua,
but disputes between himself and Rodrigo de
Contreras, the governor of that province, caused a
further delay of two years. Contreras declared that
his province extended to the border of Veragua and
that there was no intervening territory for Gutierrez
to colonize. Gutierrez on the other hand affirmed
that the boundaries of Veragua and Castilla del Oro
had been placed far south of those originally appointed,
and that in consequence there existed a large domain
of which he was appointed governor by a charter
granted to him from the crown. Though the limits[XI‑4]
of Costa Rica as set forth in this document were
somewhat indefinite, Contreras at length admitted
that his opponent was duly authorized to take possession
of the newly created province. He then endeavored
to dissuade him from his purpose, representing
the country as rugged and his scheme as foolhardy
and dangerous. "But if you persist in the occupation
of that territory, take my advice," he said,
"and keep one hundred well armed men upon the
sea-shore, always ready to forage, sometimes in one
direction and sometimes in another, for the people
191
are rich in gold, and in this way only can you obtain
food."[XI‑5]




The advice of Contreras was cruel, unjust, and contrary
to law, but it was such alone as would lead to
success, and the event proved that it was sound and
politic. In a lofty strain that ill consisted with his
future conduct Gutierrez replied: "The government
of this province was conferred upon me by the emperor
that I might people and not pillage it; and if
fortune has been adverse to others, I trust in God
that to me it may be more propitious."[XI‑6] It was fine
doctrine, but doctrine that here would not win. Collecting
a force of sixty men, he soon set sail with two
vessels for the mouth of the Rio Surre.[XI‑7]




After ascending the river for about three leagues
the party came in sight of some deserted huts, and
there encamping, were visited by several caciques, who
brought gold to the value of seven hundred ducats,
and received in return some rosaries of beads, a few
bells and trinkets, and an earnest exhortation to join
the true faith. The native chieftains were well pleased
with their visit, and on returning to their homes sent
presents of fruit, fish, and the dried flesh of wild boars.
A gleam of success thus at first attended Gutierrez'
effort at colonization, but he was not destined to
escape the disasters which seemed almost inseparable
from the attempts of the Spaniards to establish settlements
in the New World. He was a man of great
tenacity of purpose, but irascible, and singularly deficient
in power of control. At Jamaica his soldiers
mutinied; at Nombre de Dios they deserted; at Costa
Rica, suffering from hunger and the privations of
pioneer life, they abandoned the enterprise, and stole
192
away to the sea-shore, where they fell in with two
vessels from Nombre de Dios and so made their way
back to Nicaragua.




Left with only six followers,[XI‑8] his nephew Alonso de
Pisa, one sailor, and four servants, Gutierrez had no
alternative but to follow his recreant band. Digging
a hole in the earth, he buried there several jars of
salt, honey, and other stores not needed for his voyage,
and embarking in a small river-boat descended
to the sea. Soon he descried approaching the mouth
of the river a brigantine, which proved to be in command
of one Captain Bariento, with men, arms, ammunition,
and provisions from Nicaragua. Thereupon
he turned back, conducted the vessel to his settlement,
and handing to his nephew all the gold that
had been collected, amounting to eight hundred castellanos,
bade him return with the ship to Nombre
de Dios and there purchase arms and procure recruits.
Girolomo Benzoni, the Italian chronicler of
the New World, was at Nombre de Dios when Captain
Pisa arrived early in 1545, and being, as he
says, young and strong, filled with high aspirations,
and desirous of enriching himself, he determined to
return with the vessel to Nueva Cartago.[XI‑9] Other
adventurers, lured by the promise of wealth, determined
to join the expedition, and soon twenty-seven
men were pledged for the new colony.




On the return voyage the brigantine encountered
a gale near the entrance of the river and was driven
to the islands of Zorobaro, a short distance from the
coast. There they remained for seventy-two days,
193
exposed to incessant rains, three of their number
being killed by lightning. Such was the blackness of
the storm that during all this time they did not see
four hours of sunshine. The captain of the vessel
went ashore on the mainland to obtain provisions,
but after eight days' search midst forest, swamp, and
mountain, during which time he subsisted on snails
and berries, he returned empty-handed. Finally the
men made their way to the encampment of Gutierrez,
who, being determined at all hazard to people his
territory, immediately sent the ship back to Nombre
de Dios for more recruits, supplying funds to the
amount of fifteen hundred castellanos. The number
of the colonists was thereby increased to eighty men.
Thus reënforced he began the exploration of his province.
With four canoes he ascended the Rio Surre,
and after making a distance of about ten leagues,
landed at an Indian village to which he gave the
name of San Francisco in honor of the saint on whose
natal day the spot was reached. Here the party
was met by certain caciques, who brought presents
of fruit but no gold. The governor received them
kindly, informing them through an interpreter that the
strangers had in their possession a secret which was
of the utmost value; that they had come a great distance,
and some of them for no other purpose than to
reveal it. In return for this the Christians must
have gold.



GUTIERREZ PREACHES CHRIST.



The chiefs were then invited to a feast, the viands
consisting of fowl and salt pork; but they had little
relish for such food, and merely tasting it handed it
to their attendants to be cast to the dogs. After the
meal came an exhortation in which, as Benzoni relates,
Gutierrez thus harangued his guests: "My very dear
friends and brothers, I am come hither to free you
from the chains of idolatry, by which through the
influences of your evil spirits you have until now been
bound. I am come to teach you the way to heaven,
whence Jesus Christ, the son of God, descended to
194
save you. With me I have brought holy men to
teach you this faith, which to accept, and implicitly
to obey our sovereign emperor Charles V., king of
Spain and monarch of the world, and us his representatives,
comprises your whole duty." To these words
the chieftains bowed their heads, but without making
answer, neither assenting to nor rejecting the munificent
and disinterested offer of the Christians, who for
a little yellow earthly metal gave in return the ineffable
joys of heaven.



GUTIERREZ ROBS AND TORTURES.



Nevertheless, the savages were slow to bring in
their gold, and the governor, forgetting the lofty sentiments
with which he had regaled Contreras prior to
his departure from Nicaragua, looked about him for
some means by which to enforce his injunctions.
Being informed that two of the caciques, named Camachire
and Cocori,[XI‑10] who had before presented him
with treasure to the value of seven hundred ducats,
were now encamped on the opposite side of the river,
he summoned them into his presence, at the same
time pledging his word for their safety. Reluctantly
the chieftains came, and no sooner had they placed
themselves in the power of the Spaniards than Gutierrez
ordered a strong iron collar to be fastened round
their necks, and chaining them to a beam in his dwelling,
taxed them with stealing the buried jars of salt
and honey, and demanded restitution, or, as an equivalent,
a large amount of gold. They answered that
they knew nothing of the matter, and had no need to
pilfer articles of which they possessed an abundant
store. Camachire procured gold to the value of two
thousand ducats, which was greedily appropriated by
the governor, but served only to whet his appetite.
In place of thanks, baptism, and restoration to liberty,
the cacique was dragged before a burning fire; a large
basket was placed beside him, and he was told that
195
unless, within four days, he obtained gold enough to
fill it six times he should be burned to death.[XI‑11] The
trembling native promised to comply, and sent out
his slaves to collect the treasure. Perceiving the
Indian to be tractable, and believing him anxious to
comply in good faith with the demand, Gutierrez permitted
him to be led every day to the stream to bathe,
as was his daily habit. Returning on one occasion
from the bath, the soldier having the captive in charge
neglected to secure him properly, and the following
night he made his escape.




Cocori, who yet remained a prisoner, had now to
bear the brunt of the governor's wrath. After being
frequently importuned for gold, which he always declared
himself unable to obtain, he was led daily to a
spot where blood-hounds were chained; bid to observe
well their huge teeth and gleaming eyes; and threatened
that unless gold were soon forthcoming he should
be torn and devoured by these ferocious brutes. At
length the indignation of the chieftain overcame his
fear. "You lie, bad Christians," he exclaimed, "for
often have you made the same threat and yet I live;
besides I would rather die than live in bondage among
such vipers which I greatly wonder how the earth
can bear." The noble native was then reserved for
use as a pack animal. Thus did Diego Gutierrez fulfil
his promise to people the province and not to pillage
it.




It was soon noised abroad that the strangers who
had brought to the shores of Costa Rica the glad
tidings of the gospel were more to be dreaded than
the evil spirits which they had come to exorcise; and
the neighboring caciques, fearing to attack the Spaniards,
laid waste their own lands, destroyed their
196
crops, burned their dwellings and withdrew to the
mountains, until starvation should compel the intruders
to abandon the territory. The governor soon found
himself in evil plight; moreover he possessed a temperament
singularly adapted to inspire distrust, discontent,
and melancholy among his followers. Again
they threatened to desert him and return to Nombre
de Dios or Nicaragua, leaving him in sole possession
of the boundless forests, sole ruler over naked and
hostile natives. He had but one alternative—to push
on boldly into the heart of the province in the hope
of finding gold or at least a store of provisions. After
some persuasion the men agreed to accompany him.
The sick and disabled were sent back to the sea-shore,
where Alonso de Pisa was stationed with twenty-four
men, bearing orders that he should march through the
forest along a track which would be designated by
placing crosses along the route. Dividing a scanty
stock of grain among his soldiers, now mustering but
forty capable of bearing arms, Gutierrez plunged
blindly into the wilderness.



TERRIBLE SUFFERINGS.



On setting out upon this hazardous raid, Benzoni,
who affirms that he realized fully the situation, remarked
to a comrade, "We are going to the shambles."
Whereupon the other, a man of more sanguine temperament,
made answer: "Thou art one of those who,
we intend, shalt have a principality in spite of thyself."[XI‑12]
For six days no human habitation was seen.
Through dense woods they journeyed, climbing the
mountain sides by clinging to the roots of trees, and
making the descent by sliding down their steep declivities.
Leaves were their chief food, and some half-picked
bones, which the wild beasts had abandoned,
furnished them a rich repast.




The temper of the governor was no more happy
197
than his situation. Arriving at a spot where the path
divided, Gutierrez demanded of an Indian belonging
to the train which route to pursue in order to arrive
at some native villages of which they were in search.
He replied that he did not know; whereupon the governor
taking it for granted that the answer was false
ordered his head to be stricken off by a negro slave.
The same question was then put to Cocori, who now
served the Spaniards as a beast of burden;[XI‑13] and the
same reply was made. Again the cruel governor gave
the order to kill. As the executioner approached
him the brave cacique instantly laid down his burden,
bowed his head, and calmly awaited the expected
blow. Struck by the noble bearing of the cacique
and his own infamous conduct, Gutierrez countermanded
the order, and the chieftain's life was spared
to further misery. On the spot where these incidents
occurred three soldiers were obliged from exhaustion
to rest, while the company advanced. They were
soon afterward massacred by the Indians. The dogs
were now killed and their carcasses divided among
the men, the governor refusing to share with them
the more wholesome viands which he had reserved
for his own use.[XI‑14]




But the career of Diego Gutierrez was well-nigh
198
closed. The party was now upon the southern slope
of the cordillera, on the banks of a large stream which
flows into the South Sea[XI‑15] and the time was July 1545.
A small band of disaffected men miserably clad, and
destitute of food, had thus wandered far into the interior
of a wilderness. Whither were they bound, and
what the insane hope that urged them forward? Gutierrez
who had been twice abandoned by his soldiers,
was now resolved that these men whom he had brought
with so much labor and expense from Nicaragua and
Nombre de Dios should not escape him. Alarmed by
their loud murmuring at the place called San Francisco,
he had hastily departed, cutting off, as many
other Spanish leaders had done before him, all hope
of ever returning except as a successful man. Could
he have pilfered from the natives and thereby obtained
food and gold, thus keeping his men in heart until the
arrival of Alonso de Pisa, all would have been well.
But until reaching the southern declivity of the mountains
the country was everywhere deserted. So rugged
had been their path, and so toilsome their march, that
they were now exhausted, and the natives whom before
they had so much longed to meet and make their
prey were now congregating to prey upon them.




A day or two later the Spaniards were approaching
the verge of a forest. An Indian hidden behind
the trees to watch their movements was observed
running off at full speed to give the alarm. Next
morning at daybreak they were attacked by a horde
of natives who "advanced," as Benzoni relates, "with
horrid howls and screams and noises with the buccinus—shells
and drums—all painted red and black,
adorned with feathers, and golden trinkets round
their necks." "In one half of a quarter of an hour,"
continues the chronicler, "during which we killed and
wounded a great many Indians, we made them turn
their shoulders."[XI‑16] They soon returned, however, and
199
renewed the conflict. The Spaniards, worn with toil
and fasting, were quickly overpowered and all but
six were slain. Gutierrez fell[XI‑17] mortally wounded, and
his head, hands, and feet were afterward severed from
his body and borne as trophies through the region
which he had proposed to subjugate.



GIROLAMO BENZONI.



Benzoni stumbled upon the helmet of a dead comrade,
but for which circumstance no history of the
New World would ever have been produced by him.
"For," says he, "the stones from the savages hailed
upon it with such force that it looked as if it had been
hammered by a smith." After some hair-breadth
escapes on which the historian fondly lingers, he was
rescued together with his five comrades by the timely
arrival of Alonso de Pisa's detachment, and marching
night and day the survivors made their way back to
the Rio San Juan, and thence embarked for Nombre
de Dios.[XI‑18]
201





CHAPTER XII.



ALVARADO'S LAST EXPEDITION.

1537-1541.





The Adelantado's Match-making Venture—Its Failure—Alvarado's
Commission from the Crown—He Lands at Puerto de Caballos—And
Thence Proceeds to Iztapa—His Armament—He Sails for
Mexico—His Defeat at Nochistlan—His Penitence, Death, and
Last Will—Character of the Conqueror—Comparison of Traits
with Those of Cortés—While above Pizarro He was far beneath
Sandoval—His Delight in Bloodshed for its own Sake—The Resting-place
and Epitaph—Alvarado's Progeny.




Of the events in Guatemala during the three years
succeeding the arrival of Maldonado the chroniclers
are somewhat silent. In a letter to the emperor,
dated December 10, 1537, the viceroy Mendoza states
that he had received from the oidor a report wherein
the province is represented to be at peace and in a
prosperous condition, and that other accounts had
reached him representing the country to be well governed.
If this were so Maldonado's character soon
changed for the worse, for later we shall find in him
much to his discredit.



THEY WILL NOT MARRY.



Early in 1538 a royal decree was received in the
city of Santiago, ordering that all who held encomiendas
were to marry within three years from the date
of their notification, or to forfeit their Indians in favor
of married persons.[XII‑1] This order met with general disapproval,
202
and the cabildo petitioned the king to reconsider
the matter. Eligible women, they said, could
be found only in the city of Mexico, so remote from
the province of Guatemala that the expense of the
journey was beyond the means of most colonists.
Many declined to marry because they would not link
themselves with persons socially their inferiors,[XII‑2] while
the small number of Indians assigned to some would
prevent their supporting a family.




On his return from Spain in the following year
Alvarado reports to the cabildo that, in company
with his wife, come twenty maidens, well bred, the
daughters of gentlemen of good lineage, and he expresses
confidence that none of this merchandise will
remain on his hands. But the venture does not meet
with the success the adelantado anticipated. At one
of the entertainments given in honor of his arrival,
and at which, relates Vega,[XII‑3] many of the conquistadores
were present, these damsels, who, concealed
behind a screen in an adjoining apartment, were witnessing
the festivities, commented on the appearance
of their prospective husbands in the most disparaging
terms. "They say," remarked one to her companions,
"that these are to be our husbands." "What!
marry those old fellows?" was the reply. "Let those
wed them who choose; I will not; the devil take them!
One would think by the way they are cut up that they
just escaped from the infernal regions; for some are
lame, some with but one hand, others without ears,
others with only one eye, others with half their face
gone, and the best of them have one or two cuts across
the forehead." "We are not to marry them for their
good looks," said a third, "but for the purpose of
inheriting their Indians; for they are so old and worn
out that they will soon die, and then we can choose
in place of these old men young fellows to our tastes,
203
in the same manner that an old broken kettle is exchanged
for one that is new and sound."




Now it chanced that one of the 'old fellows' overheard
what was said and told his companions. "Marry
with them by all means," was his advice, and then he
went and took to himself the daughter of a cacique.




During his residence in Spain Alvarado obtained
under a commission from the crown, dated April 17,
1538, the grant of the twenty-fifth part of all islands
and lands which he might discover, with the title of
count, and the seignory and jurisdiction over them;
he was appointed governor and captain general for
life over all such territories, and was authorized to
erect on them three forts; he was, moreover, made
alguacil mayor in perpetuity, and exempted from all
interference by judges or other officers in everything
pertaining to the fitting-out of his fleets. The expedition
was to be made at his own expense, and he was
to take a westerly direction toward China and the
Spice Islands.[XII‑4] From a letter of the viceroy of Mexico
we also learn that he was authorized to extend
his explorations northward,[XII‑5] and that the emperor
directed all the principal officials of the New World
to aid in the arrest and punishment of any of Alvarado's
subordinates who, when discoveries had been
made, should revolt, fail to fulfil missions intrusted to
them, or disobey him under any pretext. No clemency
would be extended by the crown to such offenders.
These privileges were granted in consideration of his
services in the conquests of Mexico and Guatemala.[XII‑6]




Early in 1539 the adelantado set sail from Spain,
accompanied by his wife Doña Beatriz de la Cueva,[XII‑7]
204
and on the 4th of April landed in state at Puerto de
Caballos, with three large vessels well filled with provisions,
materials of war, and all things needed to
equip a second fleet on the shores of the South Sea.
He was attended by a large retinue of cavaliers.
Among his troops were three hundred arquebusiers
all well armed and accoutred.[XII‑8]



EXTENSIVE PREPARATIONS.



Collecting a large number of natives he at once
began the task of transporting his ponderous freight
toward the coast of Guatemala. Anchors each weighing
three or four hundred pounds, artillery and
munitions, iron, chain cables, heavy ship tackle, and
cases of merchandise were dragged along by Indians
yoked together like draught-animals or carried on
their naked shoulders, to be conveyed a distance of
a hundred and thirty leagues across a mountainous
and difficult country. Forty-three days were consumed
in making the journey to Gracias á Dios.[XII‑9]
Numbers of the unfortunates succumbed and dropped
senseless, only to receive the curses of the commander
as he ordered their burdens to be placed on the backs
of others, who were constantly arriving in fresh relays
205
from Guatemala. In this manner he pushed on toward
the port of Iztapa, where the frames of a number of
ships had already been constructed.[XII‑10] On his arrival
Alvarado spared no expense in completing his armament,
not only using all his own available means, but
borrowing largely and purchasing vessels on credit.[XII‑11]




About August 1539, Friar Marcos de Niza, who
had for some time past been travelling in the unexplored
regions far to the north of Mexico, returned,
with the marvellous tale of the seven cities of Cíbola
and their wonderful wealth.[XII‑12] The news spread and
the excitement became great. Half a dozen rivals
claimed the exclusive right to the exploration of that
country, and among them Alvarado,[XII‑13] who accordingly
hurried forward the preparations for his enterprise.




Before the middle of 1540 his command had been
reënforced by numerous recruits, and a fleet of at least
twelve[XII‑14] vessels had been constructed, and equipped
206
with everything that foresight could suggest. Leaving
Don Francisco de la Cueva as his lieutenant-governor,
the adelantado sailed from Iztapa,[XII‑15] and
landing at Navidad in Jalisco proceeded to Mexico,
where he entered into arrangements with Mendoza
relative to the expedition, and their individual interests
in it.[XII‑16] The agreement was not concluded without
considerable wrangling as to terms, and Alvarado
probably considered himself somewhat overreached
by the viceroy.



DEATH OF ALVARADO.



Having remained five or six months in Mexico he
was now prepared to set forth on his expedition,[XII‑17]
when an insurrection having broken out in Jalisco his
assistance in suppressing it was requested by the acting
governor Oñate. Contrary to advice he entered
the revolted province with his own troops, not waiting
for other forces to join him, and attacking the peñol
207
of Nochistlan met with the defeat which has already
been described.[XII‑18] While covering the retreat at the
head of the rear-guard, his secretary Montoya, in
panic flight, so urged his exhausted steed up a steep
ascent that the animal lost his foothold and rolling
over struck Alvarado, who was toiling upward on foot
leading his horse, and crushed his chest. His followers,
hastening to his assistance, found him insensible,
and as soon as he had somewhat revived carried
him on a litter to Guadalajara. He suffered greatly,
but his chief anxiety was to procure a priest to whom
he could relieve his burdened soul. Borne along on
this his last journey, his sins weighed even more
heavily upon him than bodily torture, and it was with
relief that he greeted the arrival of a friar who had
been summoned from a neighboring town. To him,
under some pine-trees on the roadside, the conqueror
of Guatemala confessed, and lingering for yet a few
days, received such consolation as the rites of religion
could give.[XII‑19] It was the 4th of July 1541 that he
breathed his last, having made a will by which he
appointed Juan de Alvarado of the city of Mexico
and Bishop Marroquin of Santiago his executors.
His exhaustion did not permit full details, but he
gave instructions that the will should be sent to the
prelate with whom he had communicated concerning
the performance of certain matters for the benefit of
his soul. He ordered his body to be deposited in the
church of Guadalajara, thence removed to the convent
at Tiripitío, and finally interred in that of Santo
Domingo, in the city of Mexico.[XII‑20] To meet the expenses
of his funeral enough of his property in Guadalajara
208
or Mexico was to be sold by auction; and he
left strict injunctions that all his debts should be paid,
subject to the discretion of Bishop Marroquin.[XII‑21] All
his remaining property was bequeathed to his wife,
and summoning before him the captains and officers
of his vessels he ordered them to return to Guatemala
and deliver them into her possession; but this injunction
was never executed. After the adelantado's decease,
his men dispersed in different directions, some
remaining in Mexico, others returning to Guatemala
or making their way to Peru, while the fleet which
had been constructed at so great an expense and at
the cost of hundreds of lives, was appropriated by
Mendoza. His estate was so encumbered that the
viceroy did not suppose that any one would accept as
a gift the inheritance with its liabilities,[XII‑22] and in
another letter stated that no one cared to do so.[XII‑23]




Duly authorized by Juan de Alvarado, his co-executor,
to settle Alvarado's estate, Bishop Marroquin
framed a will, bearing date of June 30, 1542, in
accordance with what he represents were the wishes
of Alvarado. It is quite voluminous and is, with the
exception of the preamble, given in full by Remesal.
Much is done for the relief of Alvarado's soul, which
209
we grant was needful, and to be expected under the
circumstances. The document further chiefly concerns
the liberation of Indian slaves, the founding of chaplaincies
and altars, the payment of his numerous
debts, and the bequest of insignificant sums to his
illegitimate sons.[XII‑24]



CHARACTER OF ALVARADO.



In a vault beneath the high altar of the cathedral
of Guatemala the remains of Pedro de Alvarado were
finally laid at rest. Comparing him with other conquerors
of his age he was second as a commander only
to Cortés, though in character and system of action
he was his opposite. Cortés possessed a certain greatness
and nobility of soul: Alvarado was mendacious,
treacherous, and dishonest; his frank demeanor cloaked
deceit, and favors heaped upon him were repaid with
210
ingratitude. In the breast of Cortés beat an affectionate
heart, stern though it was, and he seldom failed
to win the true regard of his followers. The conqueror
of Guatemala was void of affection even for women,
and his choice of wife or mistress was inspired by ambition
or lust. To govern by fear was his delight.
Cortés was cautious and far-sighted; Alvarado impetuous,
never anticipating other than favorable results.
In versatility, as well as in mental and moral
qualities, Cortés was far superior to the adelantado—instance
the mutiny at Patinamit. Cortés would have
suppressed it, had such a thing ever occurred under
his command. Alvarado's career hardly affords the
means of fairly estimating his qualities as a commander,
for he never met his countrymen in the field. Nevertheless,
though his victories were chiefly owing to
superiority in arms and discipline, he displayed on
several occasions genuine military skill, and his quick
perception, coolness, and presence of mind, which no
extremity of danger disturbed, ever enabled him to
act promptly and rightly in the most critical positions.
That he never sustained a reverse in arms, from the
time he left Mexico in 1523 until the disaster which
caused his death, indicates generalship of no mean
order. As a governor he was tyrannical,[XII‑25] and his
capacity for ruling was inferior to his ability in the
field.[XII‑26]




Judged even by the standard of his age it must be
said of him that, while ever proclaiming disinterestedness
and loyalty to the crown,[XII‑27] none of his contemporaries
were inspired by a more restless ambition, and
few actuated by more thoroughly selfish motives.
Success appears to have rendered him callous to any
sense of shame, and in the last effort of his life he was
prompted by boyish egotism and foolish pride, being
211
spurred by jealous opposition to the man through
whose favor he had been raised to his high station.[XII‑28]
A perusal of the despatches written during his later
years would without other evidence lead to the conclusion
that he was the victim of a general attack
directed against him by his countrymen, who denied
his services to the emperor, misrepresented his motives,
and decried his conduct. But his earlier letters addressed
to Cortés during the days of their friendship,
reveal more correctly the true character of the man.
There we see portrayed his audacity, his presence of
mind in danger, his capacity as a leader, his diabolic
delight in bloodshed, blended with the superstition
then strangely prevalent among his countrymen, that,
while thus serving the devil to the uttermost, he was
glorifying God, and winning for himself celestial
favors.[XII‑29]



THE ADELANTADO'S PROGENY.



Alvarado left no legitimate offspring, for though he
212
had two children by his second wife they both died in
early childhood.[XII‑30] Numerous illegitimate children,
however, survived him, among whom may be mentioned
Doña Leonor, Pedro, and Diego de Alvarado,
his offspring by a daughter of Xicotencatl, the lord
of Tlascala.[XII‑31]
213




CHAPTER XIII.



THE CONQUEST OF CHIAPAS.

1520-1529.





Origin of the Chiapanecs—They Submit to the Spaniards after the
Mexican Conquest—But Rise in Arms when Required to Pay
Tribute—Captain Luis Marin Undertakes the Conquest of the
Province—His Battles with the Natives—The Panic-stricken
Artilleryman—Capture of the Stronghold of Chiapas—The Chamulans
Rise in Revolt—Their Fortress Besieged—Repulse of the
Spaniards—Bernal Diaz in Peril—Flight and Surrender of the
Chamulans—Marin Returns to Espíritu Santo—Second Revolt of
the Chiapanecs—Their Subjugation by Diego de Mazariegos—Third
Rebellion—Their Self-destruction—Pedro Puertocarrero in the
Field—His Discomfiture—Founding of Villa Real—Juan Enriquez
de Guzman Takes the Residencia of Mazariegos—His Maladministration.




For many centuries before the beginning of the
Christian era, and probably for two or three hundred
years later, the site where now stand the ruins of Palenque
in Chiapas[XIII‑1] was the centre of one of the most
powerful monarchies in the western world, the great
Maya empire of the Chanes. To Votan, the culture
hero, who, according to Maya tradition, claiming his
descent from Chan, the serpent, first introduced civilization
into America, and after his disappearance was
worshipped as a god, is ascribed the foundation of this
ancient dynasty about three thousand years ago.[XIII‑2]
214




It is related in the oldest records obtained from
the archives of Mexican history, that the Tzendales,
a tribe dwelling in the neighborhood of Palenque,
shared with the Zoques the northern part of Chiapas,
while the southern and central portions were occupied
by the Zotziles and Quelenes and also by the Chiapanecs,
who, though at first confined to a narrow
strip of territory, finally overran the entire region.[XIII‑3]
Whether the Chiapanecs came originally from Nicaragua,
or were a detachment from the great Toltec
swarm that swept southward into Guatemala, or were
descended from the mythic Chan, is a question that
is yet involved in some mystery. We know, however,
that after their arrival they built a stronghold which
proved impregnable until the advent of the Spaniard
with his superior skill and weapons, and that here, for
centuries before the conquest, they maintained their
independence and extended their possessions.[XIII‑4]




It is probable that, as early as 1520, Spaniards penetrated
into this region under the auspices of Montezuma,
while friendly relations were still maintained
between that monarch and Cortés. After the fall of
the Mexican capital, dismay at the achievements of
the great conqueror was so widely spread that many
independent tribes sent in their allegiance, and among
them the Chiapanecs.[XIII‑5] These different territories
were soon portioned out in repartimientos, and Chiapas
was assigned with other districts to the Spanish settlers
in Espíritu Santo. No sooner, however, was
the attempt made to render these repartimientos profitable
by the exaction of tribute, than the natives rose
in arms. Many settlers were killed, some offered in
sacrifice, and all the efforts of the colonists to pacify
the revolted districts were unavailing.[XIII‑6]
215



EXPEDITION OF MARIN.



In 1523 the settlement at Espíritu Santo was in
charge of Captain Luis Marin, an officer who had
fought under Cortés, and whom Bernal Diaz describes
as a man about thirty years of age, bowlegged, but
robust and of good stature, with russet beard and
features marked with the small-pox, one excelling in
horsemanship and conversational powers, of gentle
disposition, and without a trace of ill-nature. Deeming
it imprudent to march against the Chiapanecs with
the slender force at his command, Marin repaired to
Mexico to ask aid from Cortés, and was at once supplied
with an auxiliary band of thirty men, and instructed
to proceed to Chiapas with all the troops he
could muster, and establish there a Spanish town.




Returning to Espíritu Santo, Marin lost no time in
carrying out his orders. After some delay, caused by
opening a road through the intervening forests and
morasses, he arrived at the bank of the river Mazapan[XIII‑7]
and slowly marched up the stream toward the
stronghold of the Chiapanecs, then known to the
Spaniards by the name of Chiapas. Before nearing
this fortress the commander held a muster of his
forces. According to Bernal Diaz, who accompanied
the expedition, they consisted of 15 cross-bowmen, 8
arquebusiers, 60 foot-soldiers armed with swords and
shields, 27 horse, about 80 Mexicans, and the caciques
and other principal men of Cachula with their followers.
Marin had also a field-piece in charge of one
whom he supposed to be a competent artilleryman.[XIII‑8]
216
The escribano Diego de Godoy was his second in
command.



THE ATTACK.



The Spaniards now continued their march with
much caution. As they approached the populated
district, four soldiers, one of whom was Bernal Diaz,
were sent to reconnoitre about half a league in advance
of the main body, but were soon discovered by native
hunters, who immediately spread the alarm by smoke
signals. The army soon afterward reached cultivated
lands with wide and well constructed roads. When
within four leagues of Chiapas they entered the
town of Iztapa, whence the natives had fled, leaving
an abundant supply of provisions. While resting
here the videttes reported the approach of a large
body of warriors,[XIII‑9] but the invaders being on the alert
placed themselves in position before the enemy came
up. The battle which ensued was indecisive. The
Chiapanecs, deploying with much skill, almost surrounded
the small Spanish force, and at their first
discharge killed two soldiers and four horses, and
wounded Luis Marin and sixteen other Spaniards,
besides many of the allies. The contest was maintained
with great fury till nightfall, when the natives
retired, leaving numbers of their men on the field so
severely injured as to be unable to follow their comrades.[XIII‑10]
Two of the captives, who appeared to be
chieftains, gave information that the confederated
217
bands of all the surrounding districts were prepared
to renew the attack on the following day.




All night vigilant watch was kept. The soldiers
slept under arms; and the horses, ready saddled and
bridled, were tethered within reach of their riders.
There was not one of the Spaniards who did not expect
a night attack and dread it. Numbers of them
were sorely wounded; their leader was faint from loss
of blood; and the unflinching firmness of the Chiapanecs
had dulled their self-confidence; but no call to
arms aroused them from their fitful slumbers, and at
sunrise they wearily buckled on their armor and prepared
to renew the fight.




During the engagement of the previous day, the
horsemen, disregarding the instructions of Marin and
the advice of his veterans, had suffered severely from
using their lances too early in the fray, their weapons
being wrested from their grasp and turned against
themselves. Orders were now given for them to
charge in squads of five, to carry their lances poised
out of reach, and not to use them until the enemy
were fairly ridden down and their formation broken.
The field-piece was loaded, and their preparations
being now completed, the Spaniards advanced toward
Chiapas.[XIII‑11]




Long before the invaders arrived in sight of the
stronghold, the enemy appeared, formed in compact
order, and advancing to the attack with deafening
war-cries. They were armed with javelins, which
they hurled from implements fashioned for the purpose;
with bows and arrows, and weapons similar to
toothed swords; with slings, also, and lances longer
than those of the Spaniards; and wore as a protection
aprons of twisted cotton reaching from head to foot,
which, when in retreat, they could roll up and carry
under the arm.[XIII‑12] Marin quickly put his men in array,
218
and ordered the artilleryman to open fire. But the
gunner, who had entertained his comrades during a
long march with stories of his brave deeds in Italy,
blanched before the coming onset. His legs trembled,
and grasping his piece to support himself, he was
unable either to train or fire it. At length the loud
execrations and angry shouts of his comrades, heard
above the clamor of the foe, roused him from his helplessness,
and with shaking hand he discharged his
cannon. But his clumsy work was worse than his
inaction, for the only result was the wounding of three
of his companions.[XIII‑13]




At this mishap Martin at once ordered his cavalry
to charge, while the infantry were rapidly formed in
column. After a long and obstinate contest the
Chiapanecs were finally routed; but on account of the
nature of the ground pursuit was impossible. Advancing
toward the town the Spaniards unexpectedly
discovered after ascending some hills on their line
of march, a still larger host of the enemy awaiting
them. The Indians had provided themselves with long
ropes and deer-nets with which to entrammel and
capture the horses. In the ensuing battle the invaders
sustained unusual casualties. Several of the horsemen
lost their lances; five horses and two cavaliers
were slain; and so continuous and well directed were
the discharges of javelins, arrows, and stones that ere
long nearly all of Marin's command were wounded.
At this juncture a hideous object appeared in the centre
of the Chiapanec ranks. An Indian woman, nude,
wrinkled, and obese, her body painted all over with
ghastly designs rendered more effective by tufts of
cotton, had arrived upon the battle-field. No Empusa
could be more frightful. The creature—so ran the
219
report—was regarded by the Chiapanecs as their divinity,
and her presence she had predicted would
insure them victory.[XIII‑14] But the native auxiliaries
recognized the significance of her arrival, and drawn
up by their leaders in a compact body, dauntlessly
fought their way up to her, "and hacked to pieces the
accursed goddess," as Bernal Diaz affirms.



DISCOMFITURE OF THE EVIL ONE.



Though disconcerted the natives do not yield, relying
on their numbers and their courage; and the
hard-pressed Spaniards, supported by the prayers and
benediction of their priest,[XIII‑15] fight with renewed vigor.
The cavalry again and again ride through the foe,
crushing them down and trampling them under foot
until their ranks are broken and scattered. At length
the Chiapanecs seek safety, some on the neighboring
rocks, and others by swimming the deep and rapid
Mazapan.




After devoutly thanking God for the victory, and
singing the salve regina, the Spaniards advance to a
small village not far from the city itself, and pitch
their camp for the night, great precaution being taken
to prevent surprise. Assistance now comes from an
unexpected quarter. About midnight ten Indians
cross the river in canoes, and allow themselves to be
quietly captured. Brought before Marin they state
that they are natives of Xaltepec, and have been
conquered and enslaved by the Chiapanecs, twelve
years before. They offer to aid the Spaniards by
supplying them with canoes to cross the river, and by
pointing out a ford, and, moreover, inform Marin that
many of the forces of the Chiapanecs, having been
pressed into the ranks, are anxious to throw off the
yoke, and that they will go over to him in the next
engagement.




Marin at once accepts the offer, and it is agreed
that twenty canoes shall be brought early in the
morning. The remainder of the night is passed without
220
further interruption, though the enemy is heard
mustering on the other side of the river with noise
of drums and conchs. At daylight the canoes arrive,
and the army proceed to the ford. The crossing is
effected with great difficulty, the water being breast-high
and the stream rapid. As they approach the
opposite bank, the enemy rains down upon them such
showers of missiles that again hardly a man escapes
unhurt.[XIII‑16] For some time they are unable to effect a
landing, and Marin's position is critical, when fortunately
their new allies cause a diversion by assailing
the Chiapanecs in the rear. The cavalry are thus
enabled to gain a footing on the bank, and the infantry
soon follow; the natives are put to flight in all
directions. This is their final struggle. The summons
to surrender is immediately complied with, and the
Spaniards enter the city without further opposition.[XIII‑17]




All the neighboring towns were now ordered to send
in their allegiance, and such an effect had the subjection
of the hitherto invincible Chiapanecs upon the
different tribes that resistance was not even thought
of, Cinacantlan, Gopanaustla, Pinula, Huehueiztlan,[XIII‑18]
Chamula, and other towns tendering their submission.
The conquest of the country was now considered
complete, and Marin had already apportioned
out certain repartimientos when harmony was interrupted
by the conduct of one of the soldiers.




While at Cinacantlan, whither the army had proceeded,
Francisco de Medina left camp without permission,
and taking with him eight Mexicans went to
221
Chamula, where he demanded gold of the natives in
the name of Marin. A few trinkets were given him,
but not satisfied with these he seized the cacique in
the expectation of extorting a ransom. The Chamulans,
however, rose to a man, and Medina was glad to
get back to Cinacantlan, where he was arrested.[XIII‑19]




No overtures or explanations on the part of Marin
availed to pacify the indignant people of Chamula, who
had, moreover, induced those of Huehueiztlan to join
them in the revolt. His messages of peace were
received with defiance. On the 29th of March Godoy
was sent into the disaffected district with a small
force, but found the attitude of the natives so threatening
that he deemed it best to avoid hostilities and
returned to report. Marin was at this time encamped
in a beautiful vale surrounded by pine groves, at no
great distance from Cinacantlan.[XIII‑20] He now considered
it necessary to reduce Chamula by force of arms,
and demanded of the Chiapanecs a contingent of two
hundred warriors, which was at once supplied. Messages
were also sent to the friendly cacique of Cinacantlan[XIII‑21]
soliciting an equal number.



CHAMULAN STRONGHOLD.



On the 30th of March, about ten o'clock in the
222
morning, the troops arrived at the foot of the eminence
on which Chamula[XIII‑22] was situated. The ascent, at the
only point where attack was possible, was impracticable
for horsemen. Marin therefore ordered the cavalry
to take up a position on the level ground below,
and to protect his rear while the assault was being
made.[XIII‑23] The infantry and allies then scaled the height
and were soon in front of the fortifications, which they
found to be of a formidable character. A palisade of
strong cross-timbers let deep into the ground and
firmly bound together was the first obstacle to their
entrance, and behind it was a bulwark of stone and
mud nearly twelve feet high and four feet in thickness,
into which were inserted strong beams. This
again was surmounted, along its whole length, by a
wall of heavy boards six feet high, supported by
strong crossbars on both sides, all firmly lashed
together, while at intervals loop-holed turrets had
been erected commanding the approach. At the
strongest part of this bulwark was the single entrance,
which was approached by a narrow flight of steps
leading to the top.



HARD FIGHTING.



Though astonished at the strength of these ramparts,
the Spaniards did not hesitate to assault them;
but during the whole of the day all they could effect
was the destruction of the outer stockade. Repeated
attempts were made to mount the steps, but at each
effort the assailants were driven back by the long
heavy spears of the defenders. Incessant volleys of
missiles were directed against them; their ranks
suffered severely; and it soon became evident that
some other plan of attack must be adopted.[XIII‑24] The
223
only practicable one which suggested itself was to break
open the wall with picks and crow-bars under cover of
wooden sheds. Natives were therefore despatched for
implements to the valley where the baggage and
wounded had been sent under the protection of ten
of the cavalry; and the besiegers now constructed
several strong frames, each capable of holding twenty
men.[XIII‑25] These were pushed up to the wall, and under
cover of them the Spaniards began to break through
it. The Indians poured on them burning pitch, scalding
water, firebrands, and hot embers,[XIII‑26] and finally
crushed them with heavy rocks, making it necessary
to withdraw them for repairs. Then in mockery and
contempt they threw golden ornaments[XIII‑27] at the retreating
Spaniards, and with taunting words derided them.
"Is it gold you want? We have abundance of it;
why come ye not in and take it?"




But their success was of short duration. The sheds
were soon strengthened, and again the pick and crow-bar
were plied against the wall, now almost pierced.
About the hour of vespers[XIII‑28] two openings had been
made, and the assailants, rushing through, engaged in
a hand to hand encounter with the Chamulans, who
bore themselves with such unyielding firmness that
the cross-bowmen placed their weapons close to the
breast of the foe and discharged them without taking
aim. The contest was terminated by a furious storm
224
of rain, and so murky became the sky that the combatants
could barely distinguish one another. Marin
withdrew his men under shelter, and, the storm abating
in an hour, again advanced on the stronghold. No
missiles were aimed at them as they approached the
barricade, but a serried line of spears confronted them,
and no orders were given to storm the position. At
length Bernal Diaz with a single comrade crept up
to one of the openings, and peering in found the place
unprotected. Then mounting the ramparts he beheld
the Indians in full retreat by a precipitous path leading
to the valley below. The Chamulans had fled, but
not all. The two Spaniards were soon attacked by a
body of two hundred warriors still left within the
enclosure, and but for the timely arrival of the Cinacantlan
allies, Bernal Diaz had never lived to write
the 'True History of the Conquest of Mexico.'[XIII‑29] The
retreating host was at once pursued, and a number of
captives were made, principally women and children.
No gold or other valuables fell to the lot of the
Spaniards, but they found in the town what was of
more benefit to them—a store of provisions—for, as
Godoy relates, the men had not tasted food for two
days.[XIII‑30]




On the following day, the 1st of April, Marin returned
to his camp, whence he sent six of his prisoners
to the Chamulans summoning them to allegiance,
bidding them to return to their stronghold, and promising
that all the captives should be released if they
submitted. These inducements had their effect, and
the deserted town was soon again repeopled.[XIII‑31]
225




The Spaniards now advanced against Huehueiztlan,
where the inhabitants, discouraged by the fall of
Chamula, made but a feeble resistance, and then took
to flight. Several of the towns in the sierra were
then summoned to surrender, but no answer was returned,
and Marin, not venturing to march against
them with his slender force, returned to his camp
near Cinacantlan. Here a warm discussion was held
respecting the carrying-out of Cortés' instructions to
found a town. Opinion was divided; but the final
decision, supported by Marin, was that it would be
dangerous to do so owing to the smallness of their
numbers and the want of necessaries.[XIII‑32]




Marin now set his face homeward. Marching
along the bank of the Mazapan he passed through a
number of towns, in all of which he met with a friendly
reception, and was greeted with offers of submission.
While traversing a portion of Tabasco he encountered
bands of refractory natives, but reached Espíritu
Santo in safety at the beginning of April 1524.



REVOLT OF THE CHIAPANECS.



Between this date and the close of 1526 little is
known of the events which occurred in Chiapas, and
much confusion exists in the statements of the leading
chroniclers. During the interval there is little
226
reason to doubt that the natives again rose in revolt,
but we have no particulars as to this outbreak, except
that Diego de Mazariegos was sent against them from
Mexico with a well appointed force, and quickly reduced
them to submission.[XIII‑33]



CHIVALROUS SELF-SACRIFICE.



For a time the Chiapanecs yielded to their fate, but
the exactions and cruelties of Juan Enriquez de Guzman,
who had been appointed captain of the province
by Marcos de Aguilar,[XIII‑34] drove them to desperation,
and during the latter part of 1526 they once more
broke out in rebellion. Again Mazariegos marched
against them from Mexico, at the head of a powerful
corps,[XIII‑35] supplied with five pieces of artillery. Retiring
to the stronghold of Chiapas the Indians made good
their defence for several days; but at last the Spaniards
battered down their fortifications and advanced
to the assault. Still the Chiapanecs flinched not, and
fought until they could no longer wield their weapons.[XIII‑36]
Then followed a tragedy as strange and appalling as
227
any recorded on the page of history. The self-destruction
of the Taochi was indeed akin to it; but
this act of the Chiapanecs blanched the cheek even
of these Spaniards, whose business was butchery, and
whose pretensions were something more chivalrous
than lay within the conception of any other people;
here was something done by aboriginal Americans
which in the way of chivalry, of lofty self-sacrifice,
of determined deliverance from abasement, has few
parallels. And what is most significant about it, had
they known all, it was the best they could have done
for themselves, to escape from Christian bondage at
any cost. This is what they did:




Scorning to yield themselves as slaves, the entire
population of the town rushed to the verge of a cliff,
which overhung the Mazapan, and thence husbands
and wives, parents and children, locked in close embrace,
hurled themselves headlong, thousands of them,
upon the rocks below or into the swift-running river.
The Spaniards attempted to interfere, but of all the
multitude only two thousand could be saved.[XIII‑37] These
were removed to a plain a league down the river, and
from this settlement sprung the town of Chiapas de
los Indios, which became in time a populous city.[XIII‑38]




While Mazariegos was thus occupied at the stronghold
of the Chiapanecs, he learned that a competitor
had appeared on the field. Pedro Puertocarrero had
invaded the province from the Guatemalan frontier,[XIII‑39]
228
and Mazariegos regarding him as an encroacher, now
marched against him. He found the interloper stationed
at Comitlan, and his lamb-like followers would
probably, by way of variety, have indulged in a conflict
with their countrymen, had Puertocarrero been
strong enough to meet them. But his forces were too
few to hold out any prospect that it would terminate
pleasantly to himself. Besides, Mazariegos was humane
and prudent. He spoke the intruders smoothly
and in a Christian spirit, represented to them how
glad he would be to receive them as brothers, and
generously offered them repartimientos in Chiapas.
So no blood was shed. But many of Puertocarrero's
men deserted him, and he retraced his steps in angry
mood, having engaged in an expedition worse than
profitless.



ADMINISTRATION OF MAZARIEGOS.



The control over the province was a matter of dispute
on more than one occasion. That it was included
in the governorship of Guatemala is evident
from the provision extended by the king to Alvarado
in 1527, but the fact that he took no part in its conquest
would seem to invalidate his claim. That nevertheless
he acquired a certain amount of control
appears from a cédula issued April 14, 1531, and
quoted by Remesal, in which he grants permission
to the settlers to deal with escaped slaves as if they
were branded. Again in 1532 we find that the cabildo
furnished him with two cannon for his South Sea expedition,
though the members confessed that they did
so only through fear of his causing them fresh trouble.[XIII‑40]
The country, being now subjugated and free from outside
interference, lay ready to be portioned out to the
conquerors in repartimientos. This process occupied
some time, and the rest of the year was passed in reorganizing
229
the province and arranging for its colonization.
It was expedient to found a Spanish settlement,
and on the 1st of March 1528 Mazariegos, with the aid
of Indians, constructed a number of huts on a spot
distant about a league to the east of the depopulated
town of Chiapas. A meeting was then held at which
the lieutenant-governor explained that the site he
had selected was not necessarily intended to be permanent,
and that if a more advantageous spot were
found, the colony should be removed to it. In the
mean time, in the name of his Majesty, he appointed
municipal officers, and a few days afterward an enrolment
of citizens took place, more than fifty names
being recorded. The town was named Villa Real after
Mazariegos' native city, Ciudad Real of La Mancha.
The newly appointed cabildo then went into session
and the appointments of Luis de Luna, as visitador
general, and Gerónimo de Cárceres, as escribano, were
recognized and accepted.[XIII‑41]




But it was soon discovered that the locality was
unfavorable. It was hot, unhealthy on account of
the neighboring swamps, and infested with mosquitoes
and bats. The site was therefore removed to the
plain of Huey Zacatlan,[XIII‑42] twelve leagues distant.
Here were rich, arable, and pasture lands, while a
winding river and numerous streams afforded an abundant
supply of water. A town was formally laid out,
lots were assigned to citizens, buildings begun, repartimientos
granted, and the territory portioned in
caballerias and peonias. It was afterward ordered at
a session of the cabildo held on the 17th of August
1528, that all who desired to obtain land from the
natives should do so by purchase. Protection was
also extended to them by regulations framed to prevent
the appropriation of their produce or its destruction
230
by animals. Any Spaniard who sent his servant
to gather maize from their fields was to forfeit ten
pesos de oro for the first offence, and for the second to
lose his servant, who was to be publicly flogged. Regulations
passed during the early part of the following
year required that all encomenderos should assemble
the sons of the caciques at their residences to be
instructed in the doctrines of the church. Christianized
natives were to receive Christian burial, and
others were to be decently interred outside the city.



RULE OF GUZMAN.



The administration of Mazariegos appears to have
been based on humane principles and to have had in
view the welfare of the settlers. But this condition
of affairs was of brief duration. In 1529 Juan Enriquez
de Guzman was ordered by the audiencia of
Mexico to take his residencia, and appointed captain
general and alcalde mayor of Chiapas. His investigation
was conducted in a spirit of vindictiveness
which can be accounted for only by the fact that the
latter had previously been his juez de residencia. He
stripped him and his friends of their repartimientos,
and gave them to his own creatures; he appropriated
his dwelling and town allotments, and when the man
whom he thus despoiled soon afterward set forth for
Mexico, gave further proof of his enmity by changing
the name of the town to Villa Viciosa. By a royal
cédula of July 7, 1536, its name was again changed
to Ciudad Real.[XIII‑43]




Guzman now exercised his power without restraint,
and laid the foundation of permanent evils. All official
positions were filled by favorites of his own to the
exclusion of those entitled to them; the encomiendas
231
were taken from those to whom they had been assigned,
and distributed among undeserving followers;
and in a few months the whole colony was embroiled
in dissensions. At a later date all offices except those
of the two alcaldes, the procurador syndic, and the
city majordomo became salable.[XIII‑44] The province was
divided into numerous repartimientos, and in every
principal town a lieutenant of the alcalde mayor was
stationed. "Not," says Mazariegos, "for the administration
of justice, but rather to superintend his large
and scandalous repartimientos and to collect tribute
dues." This system of government by encomenderos
was oppressive and exhausting to the country, and to
it the ruin of the towns of Chiapas is to be attributed.
The province was subject to the captain general and
the audiencia of Mexico; but their control was exercised
with little attention to the improvement of the
system. This state of affairs lasted until 1544, when
the audiencia of the Confines was established, and
Chiapas was included in its jurisdiction.[XIII‑45]
232




CHAPTER XIV.



THREATENED DESTRUCTION OF THE INDIES.

1526-1543.





Decrease of Indian Population at the Isthmus—And in Honduras—Treatment
of Spanish Allies in Guatemala—Torture and Butchery
of Hostile Natives—Terror Inspired by Alvarado—Early Legislation—Its
Non-observance—The New Laws—The Audiencia of Panamá
Abolished—The Audiencias of Los Reyes and Los Confines
Established—Disgust Caused by the New Code—The First Viceroy
of Peru Arrives at the Isthmus—He Takes Charge of Treasure
Acquired by Slave Labor—And Liberates a Number of Indians.



THE VEXED INDIAN QUESTION.



The old Milanese chronicler, Girolamo Benzoni,
mentions that during a journey from Acla[XIV‑1] to Nombre
de Dios about the year 1541, his party entered some
Indian huts to obtain a supply of provisions. The
inmates thinking they were about to be enslaved
attacked them savagely with hands and teeth, tearing
their clothes, spitting in their faces, uttering doleful
cries, and exclaiming guacci! guacci! which Benzoni
translates as "the name of a quadruped that prowls
233
by night in search of prey."[XIV‑2] Being at length pacified
by signs they brought forth food, and one of them
consenting to act as guide informed the travellers
that there were no other Indian habitations on their
line of route, for the Spaniards had either killed or
made slaves of the entire population.



SLAVERY AND DEATH.



In Honduras slaves were still kidnapped, and sold
234
by ship-loads among the islands or in Nicaragua, so
that in the vicinity of Trujillo, where formerly were
native towns with from six hundred to three thousand
houses, there were in 1547 not more than a hundred
and eighty Indians left, the remainder having fled to
the mountains to avoid capture. At Naco, which a
few years before contained a population of ten thousand
souls, there were, in 1536, only forty-five remaining.
At a coast town named La Haga, nine leagues
from Trujillo, and containing nine hundred houses,
there was but one inhabitant left, all having been sold
into bondage save the young daughter of the cacique,
who had contrived to elude the slave-hunters.[XIV‑3]




Cruel as was the treatment of the natives in every
part of the Spanish provinces, nowhere was oppression
carried to such an extreme as in Guatemala.
Here little distinction was made between the allies
and the conquered races; even the faithful Tlascaltecs,
who, after the conquest, had settled with the Mexican
and Cholultec auxiliaries at Almolonga, being
enslaved, overworked, and otherwise maltreated, until
in 1547 there were barely a hundred survivors.[XIV‑4] The
natives of Atitlan, who had never swerved in their
allegiance to the Spaniards, were treated with equal
severity. After sharing the hardships of their military
campaigns, they were compelled to supply every
year four or five hundred male and female slaves and
every fifteen days a number of tributary laborers,
235
many of whom perished from excessive toil and privation.
They were required to furnish, besides, a large
quantity of cloth, cacao,[XIV‑5] honey, and poultry; and so
grievous were the burdens laid upon them that even
the caciques were impoverished, and their wives compelled
to serve as beasts of burden and tillers of the
soil.




If such was the treatment to which the most faithful
allies of the Spaniards were subjected, what fell
cruelties may we not expect to find inflicted on those
who, undeterred by defeat, rose again and again upon
their oppressors? No words can depict the miseries
of these hapless races. Wholesale slaughter, hanging,
and burning, torturing, mutilating, and branding,
followed the suppression of a revolt. Starvation, exhaustion,
blows, fainting under intolerable burdens,
groans of despair, and untimely death, were their lot
in time of peace. During Alvarado's time the waste
of life was wanton and most sickening. In the field
starving auxiliaries were fed on human flesh, captives
being butchered for food; children were killed and
roasted; nay, even where there was no want of provisions,
men were slain merely for the feet and
hands, which were esteemed delicacies by the anthropophagous
races. Nor were the marital relations of
the natives any more considered than if they had been
by nature the brutes which the Spaniards made of
them in practice. Households were rendered desolate,
wives being torn from husbands and daughters
from parents, to be distributed among the soldiers
and seamen, while the children were sent to work at
the gold-washings, and there perished by thousands.
Thus the work of depopulation progressed, and it is
asserted by Las Casas that during the first fifteen or
sixteen years of the conquest the destruction of
236
Indians in Guatemala alone amounted to four or five
million souls.[XIV‑6]




None of the conquerors of the New World, not even
Pedrarias Dávila, were held in such dread as Pedro
de Alvarado. When the news of his landing at Puerto
de Caballos was noised abroad the natives abandoned
their dwellings and fled to the forests. In a few days
towns, villages, and farms were deserted, and it seemed
as if the whole province of Guatemala had been depopulated
by enchantment.[XIV‑7] The plantations were
destroyed by cattle; the cattle were torn by wild
beasts; and the sheep and lambs served as food for
the blood-hounds, which had been trained to regard
the Indians as their natural prey, but now found
none to devour.
237



LAWS OF LITTLE AVAIL.



As early as 1525 intelligence of the terrible rapidity
with which depopulation was progressing reached the
emperor, and on the 17th of November he issued a
cédula for the protection of the fast decreasing races.[XIV‑8]
In 1519 he ordered the council of the Indies to draw
up regulations for the government of the provinces,
and that body issued a decree regarding the treatment
of natives, which, although the protection of the interests
of the throne may be a somewhat prominent
consideration, exhibits sympathy and enjoins moderation
toward the oppressed races.[XIV‑9] Other cédulas were
issued at brief intervals,[XIV‑10] but that all were inoperative
238
is shown from many incidents which have already
been related.




Distant legislation was of no avail. The branding-iron
still seared the captive's flesh, the pine-torch was
still applied to the rich victim's feet, and the lash
still fell on the toiler's uncovered back. The encomenderos,
bent only on amassing wealth, worked their
Indians until they were on the verge of death, and
then cast them forth from their houses or left them
where they fell dead in the streets, as food for prowling
dogs and carrion birds, until the odor of corruption
infected the settlements.[XIV‑11] Nor did the homes
of the living escape destruction or their property
violent seizure. Their dwellings were pulled down to
supply building materials, and the produce and wares
which they brought each day to exchange in their
market at Santiago were taken from them by the
servants of the Spaniards, or by soldiers, who repaid
them only with blows or stabs.[XIV‑12]
239




Thus notwithstanding the ordinances enacted by
the emperor for the protection of the natives, and in
the face of a papal bull issued in 1531 by his holiness
Paul III.,[XIV‑13] restoring to the Indians their liberty
throughout the provinces, their numbers rapidly decreased
and the condition of the survivors grew worse
as fresh taskmasters arrived in the New World.
Few even of the poorer and none of the wealthier
class of Spaniards expected to find there an abiding-place.
Spain's boldest and most reckless left her
shores and voyaged westward with the placid satisfaction
of ruffians released from law's control, and now
free from the check of an effectual executive power
regarded themselves as masters of the position.



BARTOLOMÉ DE LAS CASAS.



In 1542 Bartolomé de Las Casas placed in the
hands of the emperor the manuscript of his well known
work on the destruction of the Indies, and through
the exertions mainly of that never-tiring missionary
a royal junta composed of ecclesiastics and jurists was
held during the previous year at Valladolid for the
purpose of drawing up regulations for the better government
of the provinces. The great apostle of the
Indies pleaded his favorite cause with all the fire of
his eloquence, urging that the natives of the New
World were by the law of nature free, and giving
utterance to the now somewhat trite maxim "God
does not allow evil that good may come."




It is somewhat singular, to say the least, to hear
such doctrine from the lips of a Dominican,[XIV‑14] while
240
yet the dark looming cloud of the inquisition cast, as
from the wings of a fallen angel, the dun spectre of
its huge eclipse athwart the hemispheres.



THE NEW LAWS.



The ordinances framed by the junta received the
emperor's approval, and after being somewhat amplified
were published in Madrid in 1543, and thenceforth
known as the New Laws.[XIV‑15] The code contains
a large number of articles, many of them relating
almost exclusively to the enslavement and treatment
of the natives. It was provided that all Indian slaves
should be set free, unless their owners could establish
a legal title to their possession.[XIV‑16] None were thenceforth
to be enslaved under any pretext.




Proprietors to whom the repartimientos had given
an excessive number must surrender a portion of them
to the crown. On the death of encomenderos[XIV‑17] the
slaves were to revert to the crown. All ecclesiastics
and religious societies and all officers under the crown
must deliver up their bondsmen or bondswomen, not
being allowed to retain them even though resigning
office. Inspectors were appointed to watch over the
interests of the natives, and were paid out of the
fines levied on transgressors. Slaves were not to be
employed in the pearl-fisheries against their will under
penalty of death to the party so employing them, nor
when used as pack-animals was such a load to be laid
on their backs as might endanger their lives. Finally
they were to be converted to the Catholic faith, and
it was ordered that two priests should accompany
all exploring parties, to instruct the Americans that
241
his Majesty the emperor regarded them as his free
subjects, and that his holiness the pope desired to
bring them to a true knowledge of him the spread of
whose doctrines had in less than half a century been
attended with the depopulation of the fairest portions
of the New World.




Among the provisions of the new code were others
almost as distasteful to many of the Spaniards as
were those relating to the enfranchisement of the
natives. The audiencia of Panamá was abolished and
two new tribunals were to be established, one at
Los Reyes, which now first began to bear the name
of Lima, and was thenceforth the metropolis of the
South American continent; the other termed the
audiencia de los Confines, at Comayagua, with jurisdiction
over Chiapas, Yucatan, Guatemala, Honduras,
Nicaragua, and the province of Tierra Firme, known
as Castilla del Oro. From the decision of these
tribunals and from those of the audiencias of Mexico
and Santo Domingo, there was to be in criminal cases
no appeal. In civil suits the losing party might
demand a second trial, the benefit of which is not
apparent, as no new evidence was admitted, and the
case was conducted by the oidores who rendered the
first judgment. If the amount exceeded ten thousand
pesos de oro, there lay right of appeal to the council
of the Indies. Moreover, the oidores[XIV‑18] were empowered
to inquire into the administration of the governor
and other civil functionaries, and to suspend
them from office, their report being sent to the council
of the Indies for final action.




Such were the main features of the new code which
sought to strike the fetters from a nation which was
fast disappearing from the family of man. Tidings
of this remarkable piece of legislation soon spread
242
throughout the New World, and from Mexico to Los
Reyes the entire population was in a state of ferment
bordering revolution. To deprive the settlers of their
slaves was to reduce them to beggary. Slaves constituted
the chief source of wealth throughout the
provinces. Without them the mines could not be
worked, towns could not be built, lands could not be
tilled. The soldier urged his right of conquest, and
many a scarred veteran, worn with toil and hardship,
threatened to defend by the sword which had helped
to win an empire for his sovereign the estates now
threatened by these vexatious regulations.



VASCO NUÑEZ VELA.



The colonists were soon to learn that the new laws
were not to remain a dead letter as had been the case
with the royal ordinances. In January 1544 Vasco
Nuñez Vela, the first viceroy of Peru, arrived at
Nombre de Dios, and finding there some Spaniards
returning to their native country with stores of wealth
acquired by the sale of their Peruvian slaves, ordered
them to deliver up their treasure,[XIV‑19] and but for some
doubt as to the legality of such a proceeding would
certainly have confiscated it.




After crossing the Isthmus the viceroy liberated and
sent back from Panamá at the expense of their proprietors,
several hundred Indians who had been brought
from Peru or were unjustly held in bondage. Bitter
were the remonstrances against these high-handed
measures, but Vela merely answered, "I come not to
discuss the laws but to execute them." The condition
of the natives was not improved, however, by their
liberation, for we learn that numbers died on board
ship from starvation and ill-usage, while others, cast
ashore unarmed on a desolate coast, fell a prey to wild
beasts or otherwise perished miserably.




A committee of the most noble and influential of
the Spaniards waited on the new viceroy to gain from
243
him, if possible, some concessions. They urged that,
inasmuch as the Indians had been converted to Christianity,
it would be a great loss to the church to
enfranchise them, and that if enfranchised they would
always be in danger of perishing from starvation.
They dared not return to their own tribes, for the
caciques inflicted the penalty of death on all who had
become Christians. These arguments served but to
rouse the wrath of the viceroy, who dismissed the
deputation saying, "Were you under my jurisdiction
I would hang you every one." Thenceforth none
dared oppose him further. Even the oidores of the
newly established audiencia of Los Reyes who had
accompanied him from Spain made no protest, and
on his departure for Peru remained for some time at
Panamá before they could muster courage to follow.




In Tierra Firme and in the islands of the Spanish
West Indies the new laws were partially obeyed,
although complaints were still frequent of the ill-treatment
of natives, of their being punished with
stripes if they dared to complain, and of the arrival
in Panamá of cargoes of slaves from Nicaragua. The
priests were earnest in their protestations, and their
reports to the emperor abounded in lofty expressions
of concern for the cause of Christ and of humanity.
The ecclesiastical and secular interests were ever at
variance. Should the alcaldes render any decision
that threatened to work adversely against the authority
of the church, they were excommunicated, and
thus rendered incapable, in the eyes of the people, of
discharging the functions of their office. The governor
and the bishop were continually at war, the
latter cloaking under his pretended zeal for the conversion
of the Indians, and the former under the pretext
of upholding the dignity of the crown, the real
244
purpose for which each was too often striving—that
of gathering into his coffers the gold of his Majesty's
vassals.[XIV‑20]
245




CHAPTER XV.



PANAMÁ AND PERU.

1538-1550.





Administration of Doctor Robles—Interoceanic Communication—Proposed
Change of the Site of Panamá—Nombre de Dios and its
Trade—The Isthmus the Highway of Commerce between the
Hemispheres—Vasco Nuñez Vela Lands in Peru—Gonzalo Pizarro
at the Head of a Rebellion—Dissolution of the Audiencia of
Los Reyes and Arrest of the Viceroy—His Release—His Defeat
and Death at Añaquito—Gonzalo's Dreams of Conquest—He Despatches
Bachicao to Panamá—Hinojosa's Expedition—His Bloodless
Conquest of the Province—Melchor Verdugo's Invasion—Pedro
de la Gasca—His Negotiations with the Revolutionists—Gasca
Lands in Peru—Execution of Gonzalo Pizarro.




Of Pedro Vazquez, who succeeded Barrionuevo as
governor of Castilla del Oro, little is known; but of
Doctor Robles, the successor of Vazquez, under whose
administration the government was continued till
1546, it is alleged, and probably with truth, that he
wrought more harm to his fellow-man in a twelvemonth
than the malign genius of a Pedrarias even
could accomplish in a decade. In his greed for wealth
he was rivalled only by the all-grasping Pedro de
Los Rios, and in the astute cunning with which he
cloaked his evil deeds he was without peer even in a
community where the prevailing code of morals taught
neither fear of God nor regard for man. Appointed
oidor of the audiencia of Panamá, in 1538, he held
office for several years, and the abolition of that tribunal
was probably due in a measure to his malefeasance.
There are no explicit details as to the precise charges
which were brought against Robles, but we learn that
246
in every instance he contrived to baffle the scrutiny
of his judges. The licentiate Vaca de Castro was
first ordered to bring the offender to justice, but called
in vain on his fellow-oidores of the audiencia of
Panamá to aid him in so doing. On the establishment
of the audiencia of the Confines, the trial was
yet unfinished, and as the aggrieved parties still
clamored that it be brought to a conclusion, Ramirez,
one of the oidores, and the first alcalde mayor of
Panamá, was ordered to take his residencia. Robles
appears to have escaped punishment, for he soon afterward
figures as senior oidor of the audiencia of Lima.
He returned before long to Panamá, and we learn
that on the capture of that city in 1550, by Hernando
and Pedro de Contreras, some of Gasca's treasure
was captured at the house of Robles, who thenceforth
disappears from the page of history.[XV‑1]



ISTHMUS HIGHWAY.



When Pedro de los Rios set out for Nicaragua he
left orders with Captain Hernando de la Serna and
the pilot Corzo to make a survey of the Rio de los
Lagartos, now known as the river Chagre, for the
purpose of facilitating communication between the
two seas. They were directed also to examine the
river Panamá, flowing in the opposite direction, and
to explore the country between the highest navigable
points on the two streams. This was done with a
view of discovering the best route for a grand thoroughfare
across the Isthmus, over which the tide of
commerce might flow between Spain and the Spice
Islands; and although this object was never realized,
the discovery which reduced land carriage to a distance
of nine leagues proved most useful in the subsequent
intercourse of Spain and Peru.




The project for interoceanic communication by way
of the isthmus of Panamá was first mooted more than
three hundred and fifty years ago, and to Charles V.
247
probably belongs the merit of its suggestion. The
plan first proposed was to unite the Rio Grande with
the Chagre, which except in seasons of drought was
navigable for vessels of light draught as far as the
present town of Cruces, and so make the connection
on the Pacific side near the modern city of Panamá.
Andagoya, who has already been mentioned as the
one who in 1522 conducted an expedition to Birú,
was directed to make a survey and to furnish estimates
of the probable cost. His report was unfavorable; for
in a despatch addressed to the emperor, about 1534,
he expresses his belief that there was no monarch in
all Europe rich enough to furnish the means to carry
out such an enterprise.[XV‑2]




In the same despatch Andagoya also reports adversely
on a question which had been for several years
under discussion—that of moving to another site the
population of Panamá. In a letter addressed to Francisco
Pizarro in 1531, Antonio de la Gama declares
his intention of making such a change; for ever since
the city had been founded by Pedrarias, complaints
had been made of its unhealthy climate.[XV‑3] A royal
cédula was afterward issued ordering that the citizens
should meet and discuss the question, and Andagoya
states that the matter was decided in the negative;
for, he tells us: "There is no other port in all the
South Sea where vessels could anchor alongside the
streets." Moreover he affirms that "God himself
had selected the site."




The chronicler Benzoni, who travelled in Darien
between 1541 and 1556, mentions that the road from
248
Panamá[XV‑4] to Nombre de Dios was about fifty miles in
length, and that during the first day's journey it was
tolerably smooth, but the remainder of the route lay
over rugged and difficult ground, through forest and
through streams sometimes almost impassable during
the rainy season.[XV‑5] Merchants doing business at
Nombre de Dios usually resided at Panamá. At the
time of Benzoni's visit to the former town, about the
year 1541, it contained but fifteen or twenty wholesale
merchants, the remainder of the population being
principally small tradesmen, innkeepers, and sailors.




The trade of Nombre de Dios was extremely fluctuating.
Fourteen or fifteen Spanish vessels of various
sizes, the largest being about three hundred and sixty
tons burden, arrived there annually, with miscellaneous
cargoes, but laden principally with wine, flour,
biscuit, oil, cloth, silk, and household merchandise.
The prices obtained for goods depended altogether
upon the supply. When the market was overstocked,
prices frequently ruled lower than first cost in Spain,
and cargoes were sometimes forfeited by the consignee
as not worth the freight. On the other hand, when
an article was scarce, an enormous price could be obtained
for it, sometimes its weight in gold.




When a ship arrived at Nombre de Dios the cargo
was discharged into flat-bottomed boats, and carried
by way of the Chagre as far as Cruces, about six
leagues from the South Sea. Here the merchandise
249
was delivered to muleteers, who conveyed it to
Panamá, whence it was shipped in various directions,
though the greater part of the trade was with Peru.[XV‑6]



IMPORTANCE OF PANAMÁ.



About the middle of the sixteenth century the
isthmus of Darien had become the gate-way between
the two seas, and Panamá the most important city of
America. Situated upon the world's highway and
in the very centre of the Spanish colonial possessions,
through its portals must flow the treasures of Peru
from the south, the products of Mexico, Nicaragua,
and Guatemala from the north, and the trans-oceanic
traffic of the Spice Islands from the west. Thus
Panamá became not only the metropolis of the two
Americas, but the half-way house and toll-gate between
western Europe and eastern Asia. There the
raw adventurer who at the opening of his career
pressed forward with eager expectation into a dark
uncertain future met the returned fortune-seeker
elated with success or broken-spirited through failure.
Into the lap of this great central city poured untold
wealth. Her merchants were princes; her warerooms
were filled with rich merchandise of every kind and
from every quarter of the globe. There were to be
seen stacks of yellow and white ingots from the mines
of Peru, the cochineal and dye-woods of Mexico, the
richest wines of Spain and Portugal, the silks, velvets,
and laces of France and Italy.




The establishment of this commercial metropolis
on the shores of the southern sea was the means
of winning for Spain many of those provinces whose
wealth was thus exchanged for the luxuries of the
Old World. Without Panamá Francisco Pizarro could
never have conquered Peru,[XV‑7] and after his conquest it
250
is more than probable that but for prompt assistance
from Panamá the brave Manco Capac would have
succeeded in exterminating the Spaniards within his
territory. While a central position and a command
of both the oceans gave to the city her wealth and
importance, the same causes exposed her not infrequently
to social and political convulsions, and to
attack from foreign powers. An insurrection in
Guatemala, a rebellion in Peru, a system of restrictions
on Asiatic trade were immediately felt in Panamá,
and upon that city fell the heaviest blows aimed
by the English, French, or Dutch against the Spanish
possessions in the New World. Between 1545 and
1671, at which later date the old city of Panamá was
burned, it was sacked and partially destroyed no less
than four times. In other chapters I shall bring
together such facts as I have been able to find relating
to the lives and fortunes of the Spaniards of Darien
and Central America during the three centuries which
elapsed between the conquest of that country by the
Spaniards and their renunciation of allegiance to
parental authority. This epoch opened and ended in
attempted revolution. The first was futile, the last
successful. The first was attempted by brave, strong,
and daring men, but Spain and Charles were stronger.
The last was attempted by weak, degenerate Spaniards,
but Spain and Fernando were weaker.




Upon the death of Francisco Pizarro, the Almagrist
faction maintained the ascendency in Peru,[XV‑8]
until dispersed by Vaca de Castro on the plains of
Chupas. Young Almagro then fled to Cuzco, where
he was arrested and beheaded as a traitor.[XV‑9] Vaca de
251
Castro had but just arrived in Peru. He brought with
him a commission from the crown to arbitrate upon
and settle the discords between the rival factions; and
in the event of the decease of Francisco Pizarro, he
was instructed to assume the government. Gonzalo
Pizarro, who had been appointed governor of Quito,
was at the time of his brother's murder absent on an
expedition of discovery to the river Amazon. On his
return, learning of Francisco's tragic fate, he offered
his services to Vaca de Castro, but they were declined
by that official, who was fearful lest the turbulent and
overbearing disposition of the last of the Pizarros
should interfere with his administration of the government.
Gonzalo, angered at the rebuff, retired to
La Plata and engaged in working the rich silver-mines
in that locality.



THE EMPEROR'S INDIFFERENCE.



Up to this time Charles, occupied by the affairs of
his vast empire at home, had paid but little attention
to the welfare of the colonies. In general terms the
Spanish government had set limits to the cruelty and
oppression of the natives by the conquerors. The
intentions of the sovereigns and their councils were
from the beginning humane and praiseworthy as I
have often observed. But as new issues were constantly
growing out of these new conditions, and as
very many of the royal decrees concerning the affairs
of the Indies were impracticable and therefore
inoperative, the conquerors were left in a measure to
lay down their own rules of conduct according to
their immediate necessities; or rather to act independent
of all rule, being governed by the dictates of their
judgment or interest. If success attended these lawless
efforts, the misdeeds of these adventurers were
obliterated by their gold. If unsuccessful, they
usually fell victims to their cruelty or cupidity, and
their bones were left to moulder in the wilderness; so
that in the early history of the Spanish colonies it
was only at rare intervals and in aggravated cases
that any notice was taken of disobedience of the laws.
252
To one crime, however—that of disloyalty—the
Spanish monarchs were never insensible. So long as
the prerogatives of the crown were strictly regarded,
excesses were overlooked. The next most heinous
offence was civil strife. Native Americans, a race
midway between Castilians and brutes, might be
slaughtered by the thousand upon slight cause;[XV‑10] but
the lives of Spanish marauders were far too valuable
to be given up to internecine strife.




In Peru, however, it was different. The passions
of the populace had been roused by contending factions,
and the license hitherto granted to the conquerors
rendered them all the more impatient of
restraint. Although the people were worse prepared
for stringent measures than the more orderly colonists
of Mexico, the person upon whom devolved the
execution of the obnoxious laws lacked the wise and
politic discrimination which governed the actions of
Sandoval and Mendoza.



VASCO NUÑEZ VELA.



On the 4th of March 1544, Vasco Nuñez Vela
landed at Tumbez on the Peruvian coast, and as the
fame of his high-handed measures at Panamá had not
preceded him, was accorded a loyal reception. His
popularity was short-lived, for the viceroy immediately
liberated a number of slaves and on his journey
to Los Reyes would not even allow his baggage
to be carried by Indians, or, if compelled to do so, he
paid them liberally. Such conduct caused huge disgust
throughout the province, but Nuñez was deaf to
all remonstrance and even caused the arrest of some
of the malecontents.




Many now bidding defiance to the vicegerent took
up arms and urged Gonzalo Pizarro, the sole surviving
brother of the conqueror, to place himself at their head.
Nothing loath, Gonzalo proceeded at once to Cuzco,
253
and having good store of wealth accumulated by mining
and pillage soon mustered a numerous band.[XV‑11] The
royal banner of Castile was planted before his quarters,
and he loudly affirmed that he was a true and lawful
subject of the king, that the viceroy had exceeded his
instructions, and that he only aimed to hold in check
his iniquitous purposes until the will of the emperor
could be ascertained. Vasco Nuñez at length drew
upon himself the indignation of his own partisans, who
at the instigation of the bachiller Cepeda, a member
of the audiencia, mutinied and decided to place the
viceroy upon a vessel to be conveyed back to Spain.




Meanwhile the colonists flocked to the standard of
Gonzalo from every direction, until he soon found
himself at the head of twelve hundred brave and disciplined
troops. On the 28th of October 1544,
amidst the acclamations of the populace, he entered
Lima[XV‑12] at the head of his army, and the royal audiencia
was dissolved. Scarcely had the ship which was
to carry Vasco Nuñez to Panamá set sail from Lima,
when Álvarez, the official in charge, not daring to
appear in Spain with a viceroy as a prisoner, threw
himself at his feet, begged forgiveness, and placed the
ship and all on board under his command. Being
thus unexpectedly released, he disembarked at Tumbez,
raised a small force, and marching northward as
far as Quito, called upon all loyal subjects to rally
for the protection of the king's authority. He then
marched at the head of about five hundred men to
San Miguel.[XV‑13]




Gonzalo Pizarro, who had been narrowly watching
the movements of the viceroy, now determined to
254
bring matters to an issue. On the 4th of March
1545, he departed from Lima and marched against
his opponent. Vasco Nuñez, fearful of the result,
abandoned the town and fled to Añaquito, whither
he was followed by the revolutionists, and on the
18th of January 1536 a hotly contested battle was
fought, resulting in the defeat and death of the
viceroy.[XV‑14]




Even before this event Gonzalo Pizarro had assumed
the dictatorship of Peru and resolved to make himself
master of Panamá, his dreams of conquest extending
even to the provinces north of Tierra Firme.[XV‑15] Enlisting
in his service one Hernando Bachicao,[XV‑16] he
placed him in command of six hundred men and a fleet
of twenty-seven ships.[XV‑17] Arriving at Tumbez, Bachicao
landed a hundred troops, whereupon Vasco Nuñez,
though in command of two hundred well trained veterans,
fled to Añaquito, a portion of his forces deserting
him and joining the standard of the revolutionists.
Proceeding thence to Puerto Viejo and elsewhere, he
seized several vessels and enlisted a hundred and fifty
recruits. Calling at the Pearl Islands he was met by
two messengers from Panamá, sent to request that he
would forbear to land an armed force in Tierra Firme.
255
Bachicao replied that he intended but to land his passengers
and revictual his fleet.



DISRUPTION AND DEATH.



The people of Panamá had been repeatedly warned
by Vaca de Castro and others that their city was in
danger of falling into the hands of Gonzalo Pizarro
and had levied a force of seven hundred men, though
ill-equipped and without experience or discipline.
Thrown off their guard however by Bachicao's answer
they allowed him to enter the harbor without opposition.
He landed a portion of his forces and almost
without resistance seized all the arms and ammunition
in the arsenal and delivered up the city to pillage.
The ship-masters in port were ordered to join his fleet,
and those who refused were hanged at the yard-arm.
A captain named Pedro Gallego was also executed for
disobeying his order to shorten sail and cry Viva
Pizarro![XV‑18]




All law and order were for the time at an end. Men
were put to death without the formality of a trial, and
it is even said that Bachicao beheaded some of his
own officers on the merest suspicion of their disaffection
or even for pastime.[XV‑19]




On receiving news of his lieutenant's misconduct
accompanied with letters of remonstrance from the
citizens of Panamá, Gonzalo at once deposed him from
the command.[XV‑20] He was resolved, however, to gain
control of the Isthmus, and despatched for this purpose
Pedro de Hinojosa, at the head of two hundred
and fifty men, with instructions to seize and hold both
Panamá and Nombre de Dios. Hinojosa, who had
256
first landed in Peru in 1534, and had done good service
under Francisco and Hernando Pizarro, was a man of
no mean abilities. Endowed by nature with a clear
intelligence, honest of purpose and faithful to his
trusts, with a judgment sharpened by long intercourse
with the stirring scenes of the New World, he was
eminently fitted for command, and enjoyed in no small
degree the confidence of his soldiers.




The expedition sailed northward as far as Puerto
Viejo, whence a vessel was sent in charge of Rodrigo
de Carbajal with letters from Gonzalo to the principal
residents of Panamá begging their favor and coöperation,
disclaiming all connection with Bachicao's outrages,
and stating that Hinojosa was now on his way
with means sufficient to indemnify all who had suffered
loss. If the force by which he was accompanied appeared
to them somewhat large for the purpose, it
should be remembered that Gonzalo's enemies were on
the alert, and that it would be unsafe to navigate the
ocean with a smaller fleet.




Accompanied by fifteen men, Carbajal landed at
Ancon, a small cove two leagues from Panamá. There
he was informed by some planters residing in the
vicinity that two captains of the viceroy, Juan de
Guzman and Juan de Illanes, were in the city enlisting
troops under a commission from their chief, who
awaited their coming at Quito. They had thus far
succeeded in raising a company of one hundred men
and in collecting a considerable quantity of arms, including
six pieces of field artillery. "But," continued
his informers, "although they have been ready to sail
for many days, they appear to be in no haste to depart,
and it is now believed that it is their intention
to remain and defend the city against the insurgents."
Under the circumstances, Carbajal did not think it
prudent to land. He therefore despatched an emissary
secretly by night with the letters from Pizarro.




The citizens to whom they were addressed were not
to be duped however, and at once placed them before
257
the authorities. The messenger was arrested, and
forced to disclose all he knew respecting Hinojosa
and his visit. The guard of the city was increased,
and two well armed brigantines were sent to capture
the vessel then at Ancon. But Carbajal was too
quick for them; suspecting from the delay of his messenger
the true state of affairs, he slipped away, and
hiding his vessel among the Pearl Islands, there
awaited the approach of his commander.[XV‑21]



HINOJOSA'S ACHIEVEMENTS.



In the mean time Hinojosa continuing his course
northward touched at Buenaventura. There he learned
that Vasco Nuñez Vela was then engaged, with the
assistance of Benalcázar, in recruiting his army in
that neighborhood. Landing a party of soldiers, he
captured eight or ten of the inhabitants, who gave
information that the viceroy was at Popayan, and
that owing to the delay of his captains, Juan de Illanes
and Juan de Guzman, he had determined to send
his brother, Captain Vela Nuñez, accompanied by
efficient officers, to hasten the arrival of troops from
Panamá. Moreover he had ascertained that the
viceroy was building a brigantine, now almost completed,
on board of which he intended to place his
brother, in charge of all his treasure,[XV‑22] and to send to
Panamá, in the hope of obtaining a heavy ransom
from some of Hinojosa's partisans, an illegitimate son
of Gonzalo Pizarro, then a captive in his hands. Vela
Nuñez, together with his officers and a detachment of
men in charge of young Pizarro, were then marching
to the coast by different routes, to embark on board
the vessel. By a clever stroke of strategy Hinojosa
captured both parties, seized the treasure, and placed
Vela Nuñez and his command as prisoners on board
258
the fleet. Then taking with him young Pizarro,
whom he liberated and treated with marked consideration,
he set sail for Panamá, and after being joined by
Carbajal, cast anchor in the bay with eleven ships[XV‑23]
and the two hundred and fifty men already mentioned.
This was in October 1545.




The city was divided as to the policy of admitting
the insurgents. The merchants and all who derived
profit from the Peruvian trade saw everything to gain
by the arrival of a large and richly laden fleet. Many
of them furthermore held property in Peru, and transacted
business through their factors, upon whom
Gonzalo Pizarro would not fail to inflict summary
punishment if he heard of opposition at Panamá.
On the other hand Doctor Robles, the governor, with
his political adherents and all who derived place and
profit from the crown, loudly disclaimed against the
rebels, and called on the people to assist him in the
defence of the city, under penalty of the royal displeasure.[XV‑24]
In the end the governor's party prevailed,
the opposite faction yielding in appearance at least,
and the corregidor Pedro de Casaos receiving the
appointment of captain general[XV‑25] marched forth to
oppose the landing of Hinojosa. The entire forces
of the royalist party now mustered, apart from some
small reënforcements from Nombre de Dios, nearly
eight hundred men, only ninety of whom were disciplined
troops, the remainder being an ill-armed crew
of citizen-soldiers. The army was well supplied with
field artillery.[XV‑26]
259




Dropping down with his fleet to the cove of Ancon,
Hinojosa disembarked two hundred men under cover
of his cannon, landing them on a rocky projection of
the shore, inaccessible to the enemy's cavalry. He
then began his march on Panamá, ordering the fleet
to keep him company at a short distance from the
shore with guns trimmed ready for action.[XV‑27]




At this juncture the ecclesiastics of the city issuing
forth in a body, with mournful chants and sad countenances,
their garments covered with crosses and the
insignia of mourning, began to expostulate with both
armies. "Is it necessary," they cried, "for Christians
to imbue their hands in each other's blood!" At
length an armistice of one day was agreed on. Hostages
were given on either side, and the efforts of the
priests to bring about an agreement between the parties
were redoubled.




Hinojosa declared that he could not see why he
was denied entrance into the city.[XV‑28] He came not to
make war but restitution. Gonzalo Pizarro harbored
no evil design; but he was master of Peru, and he intended
to be master of the only thoroughfare to Peru—that
which traversed the continent from Nombre de
Dios to Panamá. If the people of the Isthmus would
resign themselves to the sway of Pizarro while he
wielded supreme power in Peru, or until matters were
settled by the crown, all would be well; otherwise war
must inevitably follow.



CASAOS LOSES GROUND.



Pedro de Casaos and the men of Panamá were not
satisfied.[XV‑29] They had just experienced a foretaste of
what they might expect should another of Gonzalo's
captains obtain possession of the city, but their only
260
alternative was compromise, or the arbitration of the
sword. It was finally agreed that the loyal colonists
who had come over from Nombre de Dios to render
assistance should return, and that Hinojosa should be
allowed to enter the city with a guard of thirty men,
there to remain for forty-five days.[XV‑30] His ships meanwhile
were to retire to Taboga or to the Pearl Islands,
to be revictualled and repaired. The articles of agreement
were drawn up by a notary and signed by the
respective parties who bound themselves by oath to
adhere faithfully to the terms stipulated.




Although Hinojosa was thus restricted by the
terms of his compact and for the moment could strike
no blow for the conquest of Panamá, he was by no
means idle during the interval. Maintaining a strict
watch against surprise and assassination,[XV‑31] he took up
his quarters in a comfortable well furnished house,
loaded his table with choice viands, and throwing
open his doors entertained all comers with lavish
hospitality. His apartments soon became the resort
of soldiers and adventurers of every clique. Gonzalo
Pizarro and the affairs of Peru were discussed
over brimming goblets. Brilliant stories concerning
the discovery and opening of mines of fabulous richness[XV‑32]
fired the cupidity of the listeners, while a free
passage was offered to all, and liberal pay promised
from the first day of enlistment.



SUCCESS OF HINOJOSA.



By these shrewd measures Hinojosa had the satisfaction
of seeing his forces daily increase, while those
of Pedro de Casaos proportionately diminished. The
soldiers of Juan de Illanes and Juan de Guzman did
261
not prove insensible to the wiles and genial hospitality
of Hinojosa, and those captains, seeing themselves
abandoned by the greater part of their recruits, secretly
stole from the city and seizing a vessel attempted to
make their escape to Peru. They were, however,
captured by one of the watchful captains stationed in
the harbor, and not long after voluntarily joined themselves
to Hinojosa and became his faithful adherents.
Such was the influence which Hinojosa acquired by
his careless and apparently unintentional display of
wealth, and by his skill in throwing tempting baits to
men who never flinched from danger when they saw
prospect of gain, that in a few weeks and by a silent
and bloodless revolution he became master of the city.
At the expiration of the forty-five days he seized the
batteries and made a formal entry into Panamá at the
head of his entire force, amidst the acclamations of
the greater part of the inhabitants.




Hinojosa took no advantage of his easily won victory.
He strove to maintain the strictest discipline
among his followers, treated the citizens with the
utmost liberality, and ordered that the soldiers should
respect their rights and in no wise interfere with their
affairs.[XV‑33] He then despatched his son-in-law, Hernando
Mejía de Guzman, in company with Pedro de
Cabrera, to take possession of Nombre de Dios and
guard the interests of Gonzalo Pizarro in that quarter.



MELCHOR VERDUGO.



While the province of Panamá thus quietly passed
into the hands of Hinojosa the partisans of the viceroy
were not idle. Melchor Verdugo,[XV‑34] to whom as
one of the conquerors of Peru had been assigned the
province of Caxamalca, proffered his services to Vasco
Nuñez Vela, on his first landing in Peru. Becoming
262
afterward implicated in a plot devised by the royalist
party to gain possession of Lima, he was arrested in
that city by order of Gonzalo Pizarro. Escaping
thence he proceeded to Trujillo, where he was fortunate
enough to seize one of Bachicao's vessels, laden
with the spoils of Panamá. With the proceeds of
this capture, and with funds realized from his own
estate, he enlisted a company in the service of the viceroy.
He then sailed for Nicaragua and requested
from the governor, as a loyal servant of the king, men
and means to assist him in quelling the insurrection
on the Isthmus. Failing to draw from him a hearty
response he next applied to the audiencia of the Confines.
With the magistrates of that tribunal he was
more successful. Licentiate Ramirez de Alarcon, one
of the members, took an active part in recruiting men
and collecting arms and horses.




In the mean time tidings of Verdugo's doings in
Peru and Nicaragua and his intended expedition to
the northern coast of Darien reached Panamá. Hinojosa,
fearing that Verdugo might raise a force
sufficient to cause him trouble, sent Juan Alonso
Palomino with two vessels and one hundred and
twenty arquebusiers in pursuit. Arriving at Nicaragua
Palomino captured Verdugo's vessel without
difficulty, but on attempting to land found himself
confronted by all the available men in the province
arrayed under the royalist banner, under the command
of Verdugo and the licentiate. After hovering about
the coast for several days, watching in vain for a
chance to disembark, he seized all the ships on the
coast, and burning those which were unserviceable,
returned with the remainder to Panamá, not knowing
that his design was suspected. Verdugo made ready
on Lake Nicaragua three or four frigates, and with
two hundred choice and well armed troops[XV‑35] sailed
263
through the river San Juan to the North Sea, and
creeping stealthily along the coast, hoped to surprise
the rebels before his presence in that quarter became
known. At the Rio Chagre he captured a vessel
manned by negroes, from whom he obtained valuable
information as to the condition of affairs at Nombre
de Dios, the number of men stationed there, the names
of their commanders, and a minute description of the
building in which the officers were quartered.




Hinojosa was on the alert, but not so his captains.
Though warned of the approach of the loyal party,
they were taken by surprise. Landing at midnight,
Verdugo stole quietly to the house where Hernando
Mejía, Pedro Cabrera, and other officers were peacefully
slumbering, surrounded the premises, and fired
the dwelling. The dilatory captains, maddened at
thus being entrapped in their own beds, sprang up,
and seizing their weapons rushed out of the blazing
edifice, and cutting their way through the enemy
made their escape to the woods and finally to Panamá.[XV‑36]




Had Verdugo thenceforth conducted his affairs with
the skill and discretion which characterized Hinojosa's
movements at Panamá he would have caused that
commander no little trouble, but he had none of the
tact or generalship of Gonzalo's officer. He imprisoned
the alcaldes, levied arbitrary assessments upon
the merchants, demanded heavy ransom for his prisoners,
and soon made himself so obnoxious to the
people that with one accord they petitioned Doctor
Ribera, the mayor, to ask protection from Hinojosa.
The appeal was not in vain. Ribera at once entered
into negotiations with Hinojosa,[XV‑37] and it was agreed
that while the former levied troops at Nombre de
264
Dios, the latter should at once march from Panamá
with a strong force. Verdugo impressed into his service
every available man, and withdrawing from the
town, took up a position on the shore, where he was
to some extent covered by the guns of his vessels.
There he awaited Hinojosa, who with a small but
picked company of veterans[XV‑38] was now crossing the
Isthmus to join battle with the royalist forces.




As soon as the rebel troops debouched from the
woods surrounding Nombre de Dios, Ribera sallied
from the town and opened a lively fire on the forces
of Verdugo, the citizens taking fright at the first noise
of the fray and scampering to a hill near by. Hinojosa's
brigade advanced meanwhile with the steady
measured tramp of trained soldiers, whereupon the
men of Nicaragua, led by Verdugo, took to their heels
also, leaving but one of their number wounded on the
field,[XV‑39] and regained their ships, whence a brisk cannonade
was opened on the town, but without visible
result save loss of ammunition. The royalist captain
then set sail for Cartagena, there to await a more
favorable opportunity to serve his king. Hinojosa
severely reprimanded Mejía and the other fugitive
officers, and leaving them at Nombre de Dios in
charge of a stronger garrison returned with Ribera
to Panamá.




Nothing could have happened that would draw the
attention of the court of Spain to the affairs of the
New World more effectually than rebellion, as I have
before intimated. The discovery and conquest of
America cannot be classed as an achievement of the
nation. It was a magnificent accident, in the busy
reigns of Ferdinand and Isabella, and Charles. Those
sovereigns, absorbed in wars and involved in ambitious
intrigues at home, with a vast continent thrust upon
265
them by a Genoese navigator, could scarcely find time
to do more than grant permits to adventurers to subjugate,
at their own cost, new territories in the western
world, and to receive when remitted to them the
royal fifth of the returns. But rebellion, of whatsoever
magnitude or shape, is always distasteful to a
sovereign. Therefore when tidings reached Spain
that the emperor's representative in Peru had been
maltreated, and that a powerful body of insurgents
held possession of that province, the monarch and his
ministers were aroused. The affairs of Peru occupied
for a time their careful consideration. Lengthy debates
and close councils followed. At first, the king's
counsellors in their deliberations consulted only the
honor of the nation and strongly advocated sending
an armed force against Pizarro; but insurrection at
home and insurrection in Peru were two very different
things. The Spanish government could more
easily make war against a hundred thousand men in
Spain or Germany than against one thousand in the
wilds of that distant province.[XV‑40]



PEDRO DE LA GASCA.



Pedro de la Gasca,[XV‑41] a counsellor of the inquisition,
but a man holding no public office, was the one selected
as the fit instrument for the occasion. He
united a mild and insinuating disposition with remarkable
firmness and tenacity, and a cool and bland
exterior with a strength and sagacity but little suspected
by most of his countrymen. None knew better
how to combine a subtle humility and bold caution
266
with unpretending manners and a pleasant address,
and no man could have been found better qualified to
undertake the task. He obeyed the summons of the
court with reluctance, but once having engaged in
the undertaking, his whole soul was absorbed in
its execution. Before setting out he declined an
offered bishopric; he would accept no salary, nor any
title except that of president of the royal audiencia
of Lima.[XV‑42] He was empowered with the authority
of a sovereign, being allowed to levy troops, declare
war, appoint and remove officers at will, make repartimientos,
condemn to death, condone offences, grant
amnesties, and might send back to Spain if necessary
even the viceroy himself.[XV‑43]



A CLEVER PRIEST.



On the 26th of May 1546, Gasca set sail from San
Lúcar with a small retinue, consisting of two oidores,
and among other cavaliers the mariscal Alonso de
Alvarado and the adelantado Pascual de Andagoya.
Had the emissaries of Charles appeared off the
Isthmus in warlike guise, the captains of Gonzalo
Pizarro would have opposed them to the last, but
what had they to fear from a humble priest with but
a score or two of attendants? Nevertheless, Hernando
Mejía was not without his suspicions of Alvarado.[XV‑44]
He had but recently committed one blunder
in allowing himself to be outwitted by Melchor Verdugo;
but after some hesitation he decided that if the
priest came armed with such a commission from the
king as Alvarado affirmed, it were better to treat him
with the respect due to a royal envoy. On the 17th
267
of July Gasca intimated his intention to land, and
Mejía gave him a loyal reception. Drawing up his
men on the beach, he put out for the president's vessel
with a guard of twenty arquebusiers, brought him
ashore, and amid the roar of cannon and musketry
conducted him to his own quarters within the town.




Mejía was not long in the company of the unpretending
ecclesiastic before he became convinced that
beneath his calm demeanor slumbered a power that
would soon make itself felt in the land. Gasca explained
the object of his errand and the scope of his
authority. His purpose was peace, and his commission,
which was dated after the battle of Añaquito
and the death of the viceroy, authorized him to grant
pardon for all offences, no matter how heinous.[XV‑45] It
now therefore became all loyal subjects to oppose no
longer the emperor's messenger. Mejía hesitated.
At heart he was loyal, though in common with others
he had espoused the cause of the chivalrous conquerors
in opposition to the austere and unpopular rule of
Vaca de Castro and Vasco Nuñez Vela. Not even
Gonzalo Pizarro, much less his subordinates, admitted
themselves to be rebels. Gasca did not press the
matter. He soon read the honest soldier completely
and knew his man. His policy was rather to throw
around those over whom he desired to gain ascendency
the subtle influence which a man of his keen,
incisive penetration, invested with the garb of authority,
and versed in all the wily craft and casuistry of
his order, knew well how to exercise, than to force an
unwilling assent to measures which were distasteful
and might afterward be lightly disclaimed.
268




Mejía being left to draw his own conclusions and
to act for himself, at length thus declared his resolution
to Gasca: "I am a loyal subject of the emperor.
If Gonzalo Pizarro is such he cannot question my
course; if not, I choose not to follow the fortunes of
traitors." He then placed himself and his men at the
priest's disposal, gave him a correct statement of the
military and naval strength under Hinojosa's command,
and even offered to march on Panamá and seize
the fleet.[XV‑46] The envoy congratulated him upon his
decision, and assured him that the king would reward
him for his loyalty, but declined any service from
him, other than keeping his resolve for the present a
secret.




On receiving news of the president's landing and
of his courteous reception, Hinojosa was sorely displeased.
His lieutenant had been placed in command
at Nombre de Dios for the express purpose of guarding
the northern coast against the approach of any
expedition hostile to the interests of Gonzalo Pizarro;
and now, after being surprised by a band of men from
Nicaragua, and compelled to flee to Panamá, he welcomed
with royal honors, and without even consulting
his commander, a man commissioned to assume
authority over all the affairs of Peru. Gasca shrewdly
surmised that Mejía while clearing himself from the
imputation of treachery would plead the cause of the
king more effectually than he himself could do. He
therefore ordered him to accompany Alvarado to
Panamá and lay the whole matter before Hinojosa.
The latter was pacified with no great difficulty. It
was pointed out to him that, if it was the correct
policy to allow the envoy to land, all would have the
benefit of it; whereas, if an error had been committed
269
it was a simple matter to order the priest and his
comrades on board their vessels. Thus reassured he
gave permission to his officer to return and escort the
president across the Isthmus.




Melchor Verdugo, in the mean time, having tired
of inglorious ease at Cartagena, had landed at Nombre
de Dios, and there laid his humble duty at the
feet of his Majesty's envoy. Gasca informed him that
the best service he could render his sovereign would
be to return to Nicaragua and there disband his forces.
The meddlesome captain protested vehemently, but
he was not of the metal with which the priest proposed
to crush the rebellion. A band of blatant, dull-witted
adventurers, whipped into fury by the superior
generalship and soldierly qualities of Hinojosa and his
veterans, could be of no assistance to him. Finding
at length that the president was determined to ignore
him, Verdugo withdrew his troops, and soon afterward
returned to Spain, there to lay his grievances
before the emperor.



GASCA AND THE REBELS.



On the 13th of August 1546 Gasca makes his entrance
into Panamá, and is received with much ceremony
by the commander-in-chief, the governor, and
magistrates of the city. Hinojosa with all his keen
penetrating common-sense, his practical experience,
and his thorough knowledge of the world, is no more
proof against the seeming candor and mild winning
deportment of the unpretending priest than was Mejía.
A downright foe is his delight. He will match his
wit or skill in military or political affairs against those
of any man in the Indies. But when the sovereign
power of Spain appears in robes of sacred humility,
and giving utterance in bland accents to doctrines
worthy of the prince of peace, the sagacity of the soldier
is at fault. The foe has become a phantom, powerful,
nay invincible, but intangible. Opposition to
the subtle influence of the priest is like waging conflict
with the powers of air.




At length Hinojosa calls on the president, and begs
270
him to specify the nature of the authority with which
he is vested. Gasca replies that he is the bearer of
glad tidings to the Spanish settlers; for his Majesty
has been pleased to revoke the more obnoxious measures
contained in the new laws, and to empower
him to grant a full pardon for all that has occurred
in Peru. Hinojosa then asks if Gonzalo Pizarro is
included in this amnesty, and whether he will be confirmed
in his position as governor. Gasca evades the
question; whereupon the commander's suspicions being
roused he at once orders a ship to be made ready, and
sends a despatch to Gonzalo, giving an account of the
priest's arrival, of his reception by Mejía at Nombre
de Dios, and of the nature of the envoy's mission;
assuring his former chieftain that he may rely on
him to execute faithfully any instructions.




By the same vessel Gasca despatches a Dominican
monk, Francisco de San Miguel, to proclaim throughout
Peru the arrival of the royal commissioner, and
his promise to condone the offences of all who return
to their allegiance. He also addresses letters to many
influential persons in whom he had confidence. Finally
he forwards to Gonzalo a despatch from the emperor,
accompanied by an epistle from himself, a perfect
masterpiece of diplomacy, in which he touches but
lightly on the overthrow of the viceroy, avows that
if he be not loyal there is not a soul whom he can
venture to trust, and begs him as a Christian and a
true Spaniard to persist no longer in rebellion. Meanwhile,
the crafty envoy sends a messenger to the
viceroy of New Spain, urging him not to allow arms
or horses to be sent to Peru, and to hold his navy in
readiness for war.[XV‑47]




The arrival of this unwelcome news from Panamá
caused no slight annoyance. A council of officers
was summoned; the principal inhabitants of Lima
were invited to attend; the letters were read in public;
271
and all were invited to express their opinion. Gasca's
despatch provoked much merriment[XV‑48] and many a
threat, but they knew not the man they had to deal
with. Some declared for killing him outright; others
for sending him back to Spain; and only a voice here
and there was heard in favor of admitting him to
Peru. After long discussion it was finally determined
to send an embassy to Spain and lay the matter before
the emperor, and that a resolution, signed by seventy
of the leading cavaliers in the city, should be forwarded
to the envoy, stating that, civil dissensions having
now terminated, the nation was enjoying the blessings
of peace under the rule of Gonzalo Pizarro, and that
the presence of his Majesty's representative would
not only tend to distract the province but might cost
him his life.




Aldana, one of Gonzalo's lieutenants, though secretly
a traitor to the revolutionary cause, was despatched
to Panamá with the missive. Arriving in that city
on the 13th of November, he repaired to Hinojosa's
house before calling on the president. There being
allowed to read the governor's private despatches he
threw them into the flames. Proceeding thence to
the president's quarters he offered him his services,
and it was agreed that Hinojosa should be openly
invited to join the royalist party. Fernando Mejía
also tried his powers of persuasion, arguing that as
the emperor's will had been made known it was their
duty to obey the president without awaiting the
result of the appeal to the throne, that matters were
now in a fair way for settlement, and that if this
opportunity should pass unheeded they might wait
long for another chance of escaping the consequences
of their treason. Hinojosa was unwilling to accept
this view of the case. He believed that the action
of the revolutionary party was so far justifiable. He
therefore replied that he had already informed the
272
envoy of his intentions, that if his Majesty should
not be pleased to grant the petition of Gonzalo Pizarro
he would at once render his obedience to the crown.
But Hinojosa was at length entangled in the net of
the wily priest and in company with his lieutenant
called at the president's house, meekly swore allegiance
to his cause, placed his fleet at his disposal,
and hoisted the royal banner of Spain from the mainmast
of his flag-ship.



GASCA'S SUCCESS.



Gasca now answered the resolution signed by the
seventy cavaliers, inditing his letter to Gonzalo, and
expressing his wonder that such an insignificant clérigo
as he should be refused admittance into Peru. He
begged them to rid their minds of all apprehension
as to any hostile intent on his part. Then binding
his officers by oath[XV‑49] not to reveal his purpose, he impressed
into his service every available man on the
Isthmus, obtained loans of money, wrote to the governors
of all the Spanish provinces for assistance,
despatched powerful squadrons to secure the port of
Lima and capture Gonzalo's vessels on the coast of
Peru, and on the 13th of June 1547 landed at Tumbez
in command of more than one thousand troops.[XV‑50]




"Surely the devil must be in their midst!" exclaimed
old Carbajal,[XV‑51] as Valdivia receiving this compliment
to his generalship put his army in array at
Xaquixaguana, and Gasca withdrew to the rear with
his train of ecclesiastics. The rout of the rebel forces
could hardly have been more complete had his satanic
majesty been present in person, and almost within
sight of the capital of the incas the last of the
273
Pizarros was handed over to the executioner, upbraiding
with his last breath those who, grown rich by his
brother's bounty and his own, had deserted to his
enemies, and were now gathered around his scaffold,[XV‑52]
while he himself was left without the means of purchasing
a mass for the welfare of his abandoned soul.[XV‑53]
274




CHAPTER XVI.



REVOLT OF THE CONTRERAS BROTHERS.

1550.





Cause of the Revolt—Preparations of the Conspirators—Assassination
of Bishop Valdivieso—The Rebels Defeat the Men of Granada—Their
Plan of Operations—The Expedition Sails for
Natá—Gasca Arrives at the Isthmus with the King's Treasure—Capture
of Panamá—Blunders of the Rebel Leaders—Hernando
de Contreras Marches to Capira—He is Followed by his Lieutenant
Bermejo—Gasca's Arrival at Nombre de Dios—Uprising
of the Inhabitants of Panamá—Bermejo's Attack on the City—His
Repulse—His Forces Annihilated—Fate of Hernando and
his Followers.



REBELLION IN NICARAGUA.



After the downfall of Rodrigo de Contreras, his
sons, Hernando and Pedro, the former a licentiate,
and both held in high esteem among the colonists of
Nicaragua, resolved to regain by force of arms the
wealth and station of which they deemed themselves
unjustly deprived. Of noble birth and reared in luxury,
they found themselves in early manhood reduced
to comparative poverty and their ancient name sullied
by their sire's disgrace. They knew well that they
had the sympathy of the greater portion of the settlers,
and in the province were many exiles from Peru,
veterans who having fought under Carbajal and Gonzalo
Pizarro, were always ready for fresh enterprise,
no matter how dangerous or treasonable, provided
only that wealth were in prospect. Chief among them
were Juan Bermejo and Rodrigo Salguero, whom
Gasca had banished for attempting to raise an insurrection
after the execution of Gonzalo. Bermejo was
an old friend of the Contreras family, being a native
275
of the same city in Spain, and it was at his instigation
that the two brothers, who at first were bent
only on recovering their father's rights and property
in Nicaragua, now determined to attempt a feat the
audacity of which has no parallel in the history of
Spanish colonization. This was nothing less than the
conquest of Tierra Firme and Peru. In the event of
success Hernando was to be proclaimed monarch of
the latter province, which was believed to contain
more wealth than all the world besides. Preparations
were made at Granada; men were secretly enlisted;
arms and ammunition were procured; and when the
news arrived that the sentence of the deposed governor
was confirmed by the council of the Indies the
conspirators removed to Leon, the younger brother
remaining at his mother's residence in Granada to convey
the impression that they had departed on some
peaceful errand.




Hernando with his companions took a house in
Leon, and thence messengers were despatched to invite
those who were thought most likely to join them
to a pretended merry-making. When all were assembled
the youthful rebel pointed out how hard was their
present condition in life, and how hopeless their chance
of bettering it. He denounced the conduct of the
audiencia, by whose ordinances those who had conquered
and peopled the province were now well nigh
reduced to beggary. He represented to them that
he was entitled to the government of Peru, which
province, he claimed, belonged to his family by certain
rights inherited from his grandfather Pedrarias
Dávila;[XVI‑1] and he concluded by inviting them to join
him in an expedition by which wealth in abundance
might fall to their lot if they had but the courage to
grasp it. No further persuasion was needed, and all
at once gave their assent, electing Hernando as their
captain.
276




Bishop Valdivieso was the only man who was likely
to offer serious opposition; and as a measure of prudence
as well as to avenge the disgrace of Rodrigo
de Contreras it was resolved that he should be put to
death. The conspirators marched in a body to the
episcopal residence. Some who held religious scruples
tried to excuse themselves under pretence that they
were without arms, but were compelled by their leader
to accompany the rest.[XVI‑2] Hernando in company with
an apostate friar, named Castañeda, entered the house,
while one stood guard at the door, and the remainder
of the band surrounded the building. The bishop's
companion, Fray Alonso, who had noticed their approach,
at once notified the prelate, but his fate was
sealed. He endeavored to conceal himself, suspecting
the intention of the intruders, but was discovered and
instantly stabbed to death in the presence of his aged
mother, the point of Hernando's dagger breaking off
in the victim's breast.[XVI‑3] The dwelling was then plundered;
several boxes containing gold and jewels were
stolen, and the party marched to the plaza, where
Hernando was proclaimed "captain general of liberty."
A messenger was despatched to Pedro de Contreras
to inform him of his brother's success, and the rebels
proceeded to the treasury building at Leon, and breaking
open the royal chest divided among themselves its
contents.




The leaders of the revolt separated their forces into
277
three companies; and it was decided that Salguero
should be despatched with a small band to Nicoya to
seize the ships and enlist all the men he could find
there, while Hernando marched with the main body
to Realejo for a similar purpose, and Bermejo with
about thirty men returned to Granada to gather recruits
and destroy all the vessels on Lake Nicaragua,
thus preventing any tidings of the rebellion from reaching
Tierra Firme by way of Nombre de Dios.



GRANADA TAKEN.



As soon as news of the conspiracy was known in
Granada, a corps of one hundred and twenty men was
hastily organized under Captain Luis Carrillo, and
when Bermejo approached the city he found himself
opposed by a greatly superior force; but so skilfully
had young Pedro won over most of the settlers to his
brother's cause, that many of the loyal party deserted
their ranks and joined the revolutionists. After a
brief contest, in which Carrillo and several of his men
were killed and others wounded, Bermejo took possession
of the city. All the shipping on the lake was
destroyed, and the rebels marched to Realejo accompanied
by Pedro, who, notwithstanding the entreaties
of his mother, had resolved to join the expedition.
Hernando, meanwhile, had captured there two vessels
laden with merchandise for Peru, and impressed their
crews into his service. Salguero had been equally
fortunate at Nicoya, having entered the town without
opposition and enlisted some sixty recruits. The
forces of the revolutionists now mustered more than
three hundred men.




Knowing that success depended on promptness of
action, the rebel leaders determined to embark immediately
for Tierra Firme, and at once arranged
their plan of operations. From certain exiles recently
arrived from Peru it was ascertained that the licentiate
Gasca was then on his way to Spain with a large
amount of treasure. To seize it was to be their first
endeavor. If this were successful Gasca and the
governor of Panamá were to be put to death. An
278
army of at least six hundred men was to be levied
at the Isthmus. Ships were to be fitted out and a
squadron despatched to cruise off the coasts of Nicaragua
and Guatemala and destroy all the vessels they
could capture. The settlers who were unfit for military
service were to be plundered of their goods and
sent, together with all the women and children, to Cartagena.
Panamá, Nombre de Dios, and Natá were
then to be burned to the ground. The cattle were to
be killed and the crops destroyed, so that if an army
should be sent against them from Spain there should
be found neither means of subsistence nor ships for
transport. The expedition was then to sail for Peru,
where Hernando was to be proclaimed king; and
Spain was thus to lose the richest portion of her dominions
in the New World.[XVI‑4]




Soon after the conspirators had taken their departure
from Granada, the alcaldes ordered a bark to be
built with the intention of sending news of the threatened
invasion to Nombre de Dios; but alarmed by
the threats of Doña María, who declared that her
sons had information of their purpose, and were even
now returning to destroy the city, they requested her
to assure them that no tidings of the revolt should be
sent to Castilla del Oro. Meanwhile the revolutionists,
having completed their preparations, set sail
from Nicoya for Punta de Higuera, in the district of
Natá.



ENTRANCE INTO PANAMÁ.



On the 12th of March 1550 Gasca arrived at Panamá,
and at once proceeded to land the royal treasure,
which was valued at eleven million castellanos.
He was bid to use all expedition in shipping it to
Spain, for as he learned from his despatches it was
sorely needed to defray the expenses of the emperor's
European wars. His instructions were that he himself
279
should remain at the Isthmus to await the arrival
of the newly appointed viceroy, Mendoza. Though
somewhat uneasy under his responsibility, vague rumors
of the coming raid having already reached him, he had
no great fear of being attacked, as he had with him a
force of one hundred and fifty veterans, and the seamen
on board the ships mustered about four hundred
and fifty men. No fleet from Spain had yet arrived
at Nombre de Dios, but nineteen trading-vessels, found
at anchor off the town, were seized and provisioned,
and armed with the artillery brought from Peru.[XVI‑5]
Twelve hundred mule-loads of gold and silver were
soon conveyed to the town of Cruces on the Chagre,
there to be shipped in barges, under Gasca's charge,
for transportation to the North Sea, and still a large
amount of treasure awaited means of conveyance at
Panamá.




The rebel expedition had now arrived at Punta de
Higuera, where a caravel was captured, laden with
corn—a welcome prize, as the revolutionists were
already in want of provisions. Continuing their voyage
toward Panamá they captured another vessel
returning thence to Nicaragua, and were informed by
her crew of the licentiate's arrival and of the strength
of his forces. It was now determined to attack the
city at dead of night, surprise the garrison, put the
governor to death, and thus create a panic among the
settlers. As to Gasca, "they swore," says Vega, "to
make powder of him, an article of which they were
much in need."




Some hours after nightfall on the 20th of April
1550 Hernando de Contreras and Bermejo with the
main body of the revolutionists landed at a small
280
inlet about one league from the city, and under cover
of the darkness made their entrance without opposition,
shouting "Death to the traitor!" and "Long live
Prince Contreras, captain general of liberty." The
governor's home was surrounded, but as he had departed
for Nombre de Dios the rebels contented
themselves with plundering his residence. A party
was now ordered to secure the treasurer Amaya and
seize the royal treasury,[XVI‑6] while the remainder dispersing
themselves through the streets, seized all the
arms and ammunition they could discover, being instructed
by Bermejo to tell the people that they had
come not to sack the town but to seize the king's
treasure and to inaugurate a reign of liberty. Some
of them nevertheless broke open the stores and houses,
and helped themselves to whatever they most coveted.
A large stock of rich apparel was found among other
merchandise, and many of the lawless gang now, for
the first time since they had arrived from Spain, attired
themselves in a suit of new garments.[XVI‑7]




A force was stationed in the plaza in front of
the cathedral, where the bishop had taken refuge.
As he refused to show himself, being in fear of assassination,
Bermejo entered the sanctuary and dragged
him into the square. Meanwhile Ruiz de Marchena,
the assistant treasurer, had been arrested, and by
threats and maltreatment forced to deliver up additional
treasure to the amount of four hundred and
fifty thousand pesos.




Bermejo urged that the bishop, the treasurer, the
regidores, and other principal officials be put to death;
but Hernando, not wishing to shed blood unnecessarily,
accepted their promise under oath to join the
281
cause of the revolutionists, whereupon the former
remarked to the rebel leader, "If you are in favor
of your enemies and against yourself you will find
that these very same men whose lives you now spare
will upon the first opportunity turn about and hang
you and all your followers." Hardly had the words
been uttered when Marchena, disregarding his vow,
despatched messengers to apprise Gasca of the invasion.



SEIZURE OF SHIPS.



While the city thus fell into the hands of the conspirators,
Pedro de Contreras with fifty men had
seized all the ships in the harbor of Panamá, and
Salguero with twenty mounted arquebusiers had
been despatched to Cruces with instructions to slay
the licentiate and the governor and to bring back all
the treasure they could secure. The latter arrived
too late to execute his intent; but five hundred
bars of silver were found stored in the village, and
there Salguero's men remained till noon of the following
day, amusing themselves by plundering the
custom-house and making merry over brimming goblets
of choice wine, paying the merchants for their
goods from the stolen treasure.




Thus far all had gone well; and had the rebels had
a skillful leader they might have accomplished their
purpose almost as effectually as did Hinojosa when
by his superior strategy he made the conquest of
the province, a few years previously, without the loss
of a single life. But success had made them overconfident.
Already they had roused the ill-will of
the people by plundering them of their goods, and
now they were about to commit the serious blunder
of dividing their forces into small detachments, thus
rendering themselves liable to be attacked and overpowered
in detail. Hernando with only forty men
set forth from Panamá for Nombre de Dios, thinking
this slender band sufficient to cope with Gasca's command.[XVI‑8]
Arriving at a place called La Venta de
282
Chagre he captured one Gomez de Tapia, who had
in his possession a letter informing the licentiate of
what had transpired. He at once caused him to be
hanged, attaching to his feet a paper on which was
written, "This man was hanged for carrying advices
to Gasca." By some fortunate chance, however, he
was rescued. A mulatto boy who when asked where
his master lay concealed directed his captors to a
spot where they found only his sword, was put to
death in the same manner by order of a captain named
Landa.




At Capira, within a distance of three and a half
leagues from the town, the men were ordered to
encamp until Gasca with the king's treasure should
arrive at Nombre de Dios. Bermejo in the mean
while determined to leave Panamá unguarded and
marched to the support of Hernando, hoping to crush
the foe in a single encounter and thus end all opposition.
Believing that Pedro's slender force was more
than sufficient to prevent any uprising in the city,
he even withdrew some of the men, and enlisting a
few volunteers among the citizens began his journey
across the Isthmus.



GASCA IN ARMS.



On the day after Bermejo's departure Gasca and
the governor arrived at the mouth of the Chagre,
and here were met by a party of armed men from
Nombre de Dios, with news that Panamá was in
possession of a ruffian horde, though who they were
or whence they came none could yet determine.
Thus after crushing the rebellion in Peru, and bringing
these vast stores of wealth in safety to the shore
of the North Sea, the licentiate found himself in
danger, at the last moment, of losing not only the
king's treasure but his own reputation as an able and
trustworthy servant of the emperor. He resolved to
283
proceed at once to Nombre de Dios, and after placing
his gold and silver beyond reach of the invaders, to
collect all the men he could muster and march to the
rescue of the capital. Encountering a heavy gale
after putting out to sea he was compelled to land at
a small inlet some leagues distant from the town, and
thence despatched one of his officers to inform the
settlers of his approach and encourage them to make
preparations for defence. Two days later he arrived
in person, and was received with open arms
by the terror-stricken citizens, most of whom had
closed their stores and dwellings and placed their
effects on board the ships in readiness for flight. It
was now ascertained that Hernando de Contreras was
in command of the rebels, and that their intention
was to declare him king of Peru. Gasca ordered his
treasure-fleet to be brought round from a neighboring
island, where it had been left at anchor, and by thus
showing that he had no fear of the invaders soon
restored confidence. Many of the inhabitants had
fled to the mountains, but now returned, and others
brought their valuables on shore from the vessels,
saying that if the licentiate ventured to store the
king's treasure at Nombre de Dios they need have
no fear for their own property. Finding that no
attack was made on the town Gasca supposed that
Hernando had returned to Panamá, and collecting his
forces, amounting in all to five hundred and sixty men,
prepared to recross the Isthmus; but when on the
point of departure news arrived from the capital that
the rebellion was already extinguished.




After Bermejo had evacuated the city, certain of
the inhabitants, knowing that Gasca was in command
of a strong force and would probably overpower the
invaders, determined to take up arms and attempt to
bar their retreat. A messenger was despatched to
inform the licentiate of their purpose. The church
bells were tolled to call the citizens to arms, and the
284
royal standard was hoisted amid shouts of "Long live
the king!" and "Death to tyrants!" Pedro de Contreras,
who still remained with the fleet, hereupon
sent a boat on shore to ascertain the cause of the uproar.
The crew were instantly made prisoners, and
the men of Panamá now resolved to attempt the capture
of the vessels, and thus cut off the rebels from
all chance of escape. One of the captive seamen was
placed in the boat securely bound, and it was then
rowed back toward the fleet followed by three others
filled with armed men, the sailor being ordered on
pain of death to answer the challenge of the rebels
with the words "Hernando de Contreras, the prince
of liberty." After a sharp struggle the assailants
were repulsed, six of their number being killed and
several wounded. During the conflict the prisoner
managed to shake off his fetters, and plunging into
the sea saved himself by swimming back to his ship.
Preparations were now made for the defence of the
city; intrenchments were thrown up; the main street
was barricaded; and the women and children lodged
in the cathedral where the last stand would be made
in case of defeat.



DEFEAT OF BERMEJO.



On hearing of this emeute in the city, Bermejo,
who had now arrived at the village of Cruces, determined
at once to retrace his steps, vowing that he
would hang and quarter every one of those who had
broken their promise not to take arms against him.
Messages were sent to Hernando and Salguero informing
them of what had transpired, and urging
their instant return; but without waiting for his assistance
the rebel leader marched at once on Panamá,
making the journey of fourteen leagues in a single
day. Again he committed an unpardonable error, and
one that soon caused the destruction of his forces.
In his foolish haste to join Hernando he had left the
strongest city on the Isthmus without a garrison, and
now while his men were worn out by their forced
march he resolved to make the attack that very night.
285
Had he but waited for the arrival of reënforcements,
or even allowed his soldiers time for rest, all might
yet have been well; but anger overcame his judgment,
and in his thirst for vengeance he would hear of no
delay. Entering the main street he found the people
fully prepared for defense, and on arriving at the barricade
rocks were hurled down from the house-tops,
while bowmen and arquebusiers opened a sharp fire,
causing him to retreat and devise other plans of
operation.




After consulting with his officers it was resolved
to set fire to the city at several points during the following
night, and to fall on the inhabitants while they
were engaged in extinguishing the flames. No quarter
was to be shown, and orders were given that every
inhabitant over twelve years of age should be slaughtered
without regard to sex or condition. While the
rebels were in council one of the captives, overhearing
their conversation, secretly despatched his negro servant
to give information of their design. Notwithstanding
the advice of the bishop, who deemed it best
to await the arrival of Gasca from Nombre de Dios,
the men of Panamá determined to attack the enemy
before they had time to execute their plans. Their
forces mustered in all 550 men, of whom 100 were
veterans who had fought in Peru, 200 were raw
recruits, and the remainder negroes, armed with
lances or cross-bows, under command of Spanish officers.
About noon they sallied forth to encounter the
foe. All knew that they were about to engage in a
doubtful and desperate struggle, but the veriest coward
among them felt that it was better thus to risk
his life than be tamely butchered by the rebels; and
as the battle was to be fought in open daylight, none
could shirk duty.




Bermejo was greatly astonished at the audacity of
the citizens, but his discomfiture of the previous night
had made him a little more cautious and he withdrew
his forces to a neighboring hill, where being joined by
286
Salguero's band,[XVI‑9] which at that moment arrived from
Cruces, he awaited the onslaught. After a desperate
struggle the rebels were overpowered. Ninety of
them were stretched dead upon the field,[XVI‑10] among
them Bermejo and Salguero, the latter by a lance-thrust
from the treasurer Amaya, who during the
fight managed to escape from his guards. The remainder
were captured to a man and conducted in
shackles to the jail, where the alguacil mayor, Rodrigo
de Villalba, caused them all to be stabbed to the
heart, plunging his own dagger into many, and not
even allowing them the consolations of religion.




On the very day that Bermejo's command was
defeated, Hernando receiving news of his proposed
attempt to recapture Panamá, sent a message approving
of his intention, and for the purpose of causing a
panic in the city, ordered him to spread the report
that Nombre de Dios had been taken and Gasca and
the governor slain. Leaving twenty-five men under
the command of Landa to guard the passes at Capira,
he set forth with the remainder to support his lieutenant.
Arriving the first night at Venta de Chagre,
he found that one Lozano, a settler in that district,
had gone to warn the citizens of his approach, and
ordered all his property to be destroyed. On the following
day he was informed of the disastrous result
287
of the battle before Panamá, and at once disbanded
his men, bidding them make their way to the coast,
where they might, perchance, be rescued by his
brother's fleet, himself with three companions going
in the direction of Natá. Meanwhile the men left at
Capira, fearing an attack from Gasca's troops, abandoned
their post and marched across the Isthmus.
On approaching Panamá they were attacked by a
strong force, but made their escape during the night
and also directed their course toward the sea-shore.



THE REBELS EXTERMINATED.



When Pedro de Contreras heard of the defeat of
Bermejo, he at once put to sea with his two best ships,
and, abandoning the remainder, sailed for Natá, but
no sooner was his departure known than four vessels
started in pursuit; and Gasca, who arrived from Panamá
a day or two later, despatched a strong force by
land to prevent the embarkation of the survivors.
At Punta de Higuera the rebels' ships were overtaken
and captured, most of their crews escaping in the
boats, a portion of them being captured later, and the
remainder dying as was supposed by starvation or
being killed by the natives. Nothing was afterward
heard of their fate. Landa's men were slain or taken
prisoners, and he himself was hanged and quartered
at the same tree from which he had suspended the
mulatto boy. The man who had attempted to strangle
Tapia met with a similar fate, and the bodies of
these two rebels were displayed piecemeal along the
road between Capira and Venta de Chagre. Twelve
only among all the captives were spared, and these
were sent to Spain to end their days at the galleys.
Hernando and his comrades reached the coast, and
being hotly pursued, put to sea in a canoe hoping to
fall in with Pedro's ships, but were driven back by
stress of weather. After wandering along the shore
for two days, the rebel chief, now enfeebled by hunger
and exposure, was drowned while attempting to ford
a river, and thus probably escaped the hangman.
288
When his body was afterward discovered it was recognized
only by the clothes and by a golden ornament
suspended from the neck. The head which was so
soon to wear a crown, was severed from the body and
placed in an iron cage in the plaza at Panamá. Thus
ended a rebellion which under more able leadership
might have subverted Spain's empire in the western
world several centuries before the term of her dominion
was accomplished.[XVI‑11]
289




CHAPTER XVII.



AFFAIRS IN HONDURAS.

1537-1549.





Francisco de Montejo Appointed Governor—Revolt of the Cacique
Lempira—Dastardly Artifice of the Spaniards—Establishment
of New Colonies—Condition of the Settlements—Mining in Honduras—Return
of Pedro de Alvarado—Montejo Deposed from
Office—Alonso de Maldonado the First President of the Audiencia
of the Confines—Maltreatment of the Natives—Rival
Prelates in Honduras—Their Disputes—Las Casas Presents a
Memorial to the Audiencia—He is Insulted by the Oidores—His
Departure for Chiapas—Maldonado's Greed—He is Superseded
by Alonso Lopez de Cerrato—The Seat of the Audiencia
Moved to Santiago de Guatemala.




In answer to the petition of the settlers at Trujillo,
the emperor appointed as ruler of Honduras and
Higueras Francisco de Montejo, the governor of Yucatan.
It is not recorded that he brought with him
either reënforcements or supplies in aid of the fast
decaying colony. On his arrival he found a small
band of starving men, destitute of all resources. The
Spaniards who were able to make their way out of
the province had already taken their departure. Even
Juan de Chavez, appointed by Alvarado as his successor,
not finding in Honduras any profitable field for his
enterprise, had abandoned the territory and returned
to Guatemala.[XVII‑1] The governor first proceeded to San
Pedro del Puerto de Caballos, where he at once annulled
the repartimientos granted by Alvarado, bestowing
290
them on his friends or appropriating them
to his own use,[XVII‑2] and despatched an expedition to the
neighboring sierra for the purpose of pacifying the
Indians. As no attempt was made to enslave or maltreat
them, many returned voluntarily to the settlement.
Montejo then visited Gracias á Dios, where
he ascertained that certain Spaniards, journeying from
Comayagua toward Guatemala, had been murdered
by the natives in the province of Cerquin. He repaired
to the spot, and arresting the ringleaders caused
them to be punished in the presence of their caciques,
who were then dismissed to their homes, professing
to be satisfied that their penalty was deserved.



LEMPIRA AND HIS STRONGHOLD.



But their satisfaction was only feigned, and the
colonists, who now imagined that they had established
friendly relations with the Indians, were quickly undeceived.
The most warlike and implacable of their
enemies was the chief Lempira, a name signifying the
Lord of the Mountains. He had long been a terror
to the settlers, and a warrior of note among his own
countrymen. With his own hand he was reputed to
have slain in a single conflict with a hostile tribe one
hundred and twenty of his foes. Such was the terror
which his presence inspired that his enemies fled before
him as from one bearing a charmed life, for in all
the innumerable battles which he had fought he had
never received a wound. Occupying a stronghold,
known as the rock of Cerquin, in close proximity to
Gracias á Dios,[XVII‑3] he had bid defiance to Alvarado when
on his way to the relief of Cereceda at the head of a
strong party of Spaniards and two thousand friendly
291
natives. Juan de Chavez before his return to Guatemala
had attacked Lempira's fortress with all the
forces he could muster, but was foiled in his attempt,
and the natives now believed their position to be impregnable.




Fired with the ambition to deliver his country, the
cacique assembled the neighboring chieftains—their
followers mustering in all some thirty thousand warriors—and
invited them to join him in an effort to
exterminate the invaders. He pointed out the disgrace
of allowing themselves to be held in subjection
by a handful of strangers, urged them to take arms
against the Spaniards, and offering to place himself
at their head promised to lead them to victory or
lay down his life in the attempt. It was resolved to
open hostilities at once, and a number of settlers
were killed before any tidings of the revolt reached
Gracias á Dios. Captain Cáceres with a well equipped
force was despatched by Montejo to quell the insurrection,
whereupon Lempira retired to his stronghold
and put to death the messengers sent to require
his surrender, stating that he acknowledged no master
and obeyed no laws other than those of his own people.




Cáceres then laid siege to the place, but although
assistance was summoned from Comayagua and San
Pedro del Puerto de Caballos the Indians made good
their defence. For six months the Spaniards beleaguered
the fortress, their numbers rapidly diminishing
from want, exposure, and ceaseless encounters with
the natives. So untiring were the latter in their
efforts that the besiegers, who were divided into eight
parties, found little time to rest, being harassed day
and night by sorties from the garrison. At length
Cáceres, seeing no prospect of taking the stronghold,
resolved to gain by a base stratagem the success
which he had failed to win by force of arms. A
horseman was ordered to approach within arquebuse-shot
of the rock and summon Lempira to a colloquy
292
under pretence of opening negotiations for peace,
while a foot soldier who accompanied him, screened
from view by the mounted man, was bid to take deliberate
aim at the cacique and fire upon him when
sure of his mark. The artifice succeeded only too
well. The unsuspecting chieftain came forth to meet
the messenger and while held in parley was brought
to the ground by a shot from the arquebusier. His
lifeless body rolled over the rock, and his followers,
panic-stricken, made no further resistance, most of
them taking to flight, and the rest giving themselves
up to the Spaniards.[XVII‑4] It is but just to add that the
captives were well treated and that the governor, who
does not appear to have been responsible for this
outrage, succeeded by his humane policy in pacifying
many of the fugitives and inducing them to return to
their abodes and till the soil.




During the administration of Montejo the settlers
of Honduras again enjoyed an interval of repose,[XVII‑5]
though his conduct was distasteful to many of the
colonists, who still remembered with regret the time
when slave-hunting was permitted throughout the
territory. The arrival at Gracias á Dios, in 1538, of
the licentiate Cristóbal de Pedraza, bearing the title
of protector of the Indians, was of material service
to the governor in settling the many difficulties that
arose with the encomenderos. He was cordially welcomed
and received every assistance in the discharge
of his duties.



INTEROCEANIC HIGHWAY.



Montejo now turned his attention to the construction
of roads and the development of the resources
293
of his province which had already given promise of a
prosperous future. Wheat had been successfully cultivated
and the prospects of a largely increased production
were encouraging, while the same favorable
results had attended the planting of the vine. In
1539 the governor addressed a letter to the emperor,
urging the expediency of constructing a road for
pack-animals between the bay of Fonseca and Puerto
de Caballos, by way of Comayagua. The whole distance
was but fifty-two leagues, and it was pointed
out that the road might afterward be improved, so as
to be available for wheeled vehicles. It was claimed
that this would prove a more favorable route for the
transport of merchandise between Spain and Peru
than that by way of Nombre de Dios and Panamá,
the harbors on either side being safe and easily
accessible. The country through which it was to pass,
moreover, possessed an excellent climate, rich mines,
a fruitful soil, good pasturage, and many fine streams
of water. His Majesty was asked to furnish negroes
for the prosecution of the work, as the natives were
not to be relied on for such labor. A few of the
colonists were soon afterward induced to form a
settlement near the spot abandoned by Gil Gonzales
Dávila and Sandoval's party.[XVII‑6] To this was given the
name of San Juan del Puerto de Caballos. The site was
in many respects favorable for a commercial emporium,
but its sickly climate was already too well known to
the Spaniards.




Soon after the Indian revolt, which terminated with
the death of Lempira, the governor determined to
establish a settlement in the district of Comayagua,
and with that view despatched Cáceres to find a
suitable location midway between the two oceans.
A spot was selected in the centre of a fertile valley,
distant about twenty-six leagues from either sea, and
connected by a good road with an Indian village,
whence a navigable river flowed northward toward
294
Puerto de Caballos. Here was founded, in 1539,
the town of Comayagua,[XVII‑7] and so prosperous were the
affairs of the new colony that a few years later[XVII‑8] it
was raised to the rank of a city.




The settlements founded by the early colonists of
Honduras were slow of growth. In a letter addressed
by Pedraza to the audiencia of the Confines, dated
May 1, 1547, he states that the seven Spanish towns
which the province then contained[XVII‑9] "were always increasing
as were the villages;" and yet we find that
Trujillo, which had then become the largest of them,
contained but fifty settlers, while none of the others
numbered more than thirty. The absence of communication
with the South Sea, and the distance from
the highways of commerce between Spain and the
new world, no doubt retarded greatly the increase of
population; for the agricultural and mineral resources
of the territory were not inferior to those of other
provinces which contained more than ten times the
number of inhabitants. The want of good roads and
of facilities for travel was also a serious drawback;
and it is probable that to make a tour of the different
settlements in Honduras, all lying within a radius of
less than forty leagues, occupied, in the middle of the
sixteenth century, almost as much time as would now
be required to accomplish the circuit of the globe.[XVII‑10]
295



GOLD-MINING.



The mines of Honduras had already begun to yield
a moderate amount of treasure, and but for the wholesale
destruction of the natives and the want of negro
labor could have been made to produce far greater
returns. As far back as the days of Pedrarias Dávila
it was known that those in the Olancho valley were
extremely rich, but for want of the necessary tools
they could not be worked. With only their stirrup
irons the Spaniards in two months scraped up gold to
the value of sixteen thousand pesos de oro, and "with
proper implements," Herrera states, "they might have
taken out two hundred thousand pesos." The early
prosperity of Gracias á Dios was due to the discovery
of rich mines in its vicinity, and it soon became one of
the most prosperous settlements in the province. The
richest one was that of San Andrés de Nueva Zaragoza,
in a mountain west of the town and east of the
Copan valley. Gold could here be scratched out of
the earth with a stick. In another mine, belonging to
one Bartolomé Martin de Sanabria, more than a pound
of gold was daily collected by himself and a single
slave. Later the yield became so large that alcaldes
mayores were appointed to collect the royal fifth, with
power to compel one fourth of the Indians within a
circuit of twelve miles to labor in them. "Near Comayagua,"
says Oviedo, "they took out and smelted ore
which yielded sixty thousand pesos de oro, and forty
thousand more were supposed to have been stolen."[XVII‑11]
296




While Montejo was engaged in various projects for
promoting the welfare of the province, Pedro de Alvarado
arrived at Puerto de Caballos in command of
his powerful and well appointed force,[XVII‑12] and proceeding
thence to San Pedro del Puerto de Caballos, soon
afterward despatched a messenger to Gracias á Dios
to notify the governor of his arrival. Montejo was at a
loss how to conduct himself under this changed aspect
of affairs. As ruler of Yucatan his career had been
unsuccessful, and in Honduras he found himself unpopular.
With his few and scattered followers ill-fed,
ill-clad, and obliged to maintain a constant struggle
with the natives, he was in no position to cope with
a powerful rival. Although holding his authority by
appointment from the crown, he was ignorant as to
what extent the visit of Alvarado to Spain affected
his government. He knew not what representations
had been made to the emperor by his rival and had
every reason to fear that the worst construction had
been placed on his conduct. He had indeed never
felt quite secure in his position. More than a year
before it had been the intention of the crown, in answer
to the petition sent from Trujillo, to place Honduras
under the jurisdiction of the audiencia of Española.
This measure had been abandoned only on account
of the great distance and infrequency of communication;
and now after some previous negotiation for an
exchange of territory[XVII‑13] Alvarado had landed in person
to demand the annexation of his province to Guatemala.
He had long before expressed his opinion that
297
Honduras could not stand alone, but that if joined to
the adjacent province it would contribute to the emperor's
treasury a hundred thousand castellaños yearly,
whereas at that time it yielded almost nothing.[XVII‑14]
Montejo on the other hand had ridiculed the other's
views. "In the hour of trial," he said, "when the
whole country was overrun by hostile natives, he sent
many urgent requests to Guatemala for help, but aid
was refused him, although he asked only for the assistance
of two hundred friendly Indians, and he had
to fight his battles as best he might." He declared
his belief that if Honduras were annexed to Guatemala,
not an Indian would be found in the province
in a few months, and that in less than two years the
territory would be beggared.



ALVARADO AND MONTEJO.



After more than a month had elapsed since the
despatch of his message without any reply being received,
Alvarado determined to set forth toward
Gracias á Dios; and, collecting his forces, marched in
the direction of the capital. Montejo meanwhile was
ill at ease. He knew well that any attempt at intimidation
would but work his own destruction, and yet
was unwilling to throw himself on the generosity of
his rival. Acting on the advice of his friends, however,
he resolved to receive him courteously, and on
his approach to the settlement went forth to meet him.
At a spot distant about fifteen leagues from the city
the rival governors met, and Montejo found that his
worst fears were more than realized. "His Majesty
had been informed," said the conqueror of Guatemala,
"of the manner in which he had entered Honduras
298
and of his subsequent career, and was further advised
that Alvarado had at great cost and labor saved the
province from destruction. It was therefore ordered
that Montejo should immediately deliver up all the
property which he had wrested from the people of
the province and all revenues received by him since
his assumption of office."




Among the ecclesiastics then resident in Honduras
was one already mentioned whom Montejo styles
"The padre Cristóbal de Pedraza, the protector of
the Indians, and calling himself bishop." His official
appointment to the see of Honduras Alvarado brought
with him on his return from Spain. When Pedraza
first arrived in the province, the governor received
him cordially, placing at his disposal his own residence
and a large number of slaves. To him he
now appealed for aid in this his dire distress, and
through the prelate's intercession[XVII‑15] with Doña Beatriz
matters were adjusted without further dispute. The
revenues derived from lands and mines during the
governor's term of office were estimated at twenty-eight
thousand ducats,[XVII‑16] and "of this sum," says
Herrera, "Alvarado without solicitation immediately
remitted a moiety, and two months later was easily
persuaded to forgive the other half." It was agreed
that Montejo should surrender to him all claim to the
299
government of Honduras and Higueras, and that
Alvarado should cede in return the Ciudad Real de
Chiapas and the town of Suchimilco in Mexico, giving
also a money compensation of two thousand castellanos.



ALONSO DE CÁCERES.



In a despatch to the emperor, written soon afterward,
the ex-governor complains bitterly of the wrongs
which he had suffered through the machinations of
his enemies; but, as he himself remarks in his letter,
"a little favor at court is of more avail than the most
faithful service." The agreement was ratified by the
crown, and about the close of 1539 Montejo departed
from the province after a brief and somewhat inglorious
career, while about the same time Alvarado returned
to Guatemala, leaving Alonso de Cáceres as
his representative in Honduras, and Pedraza a year
or two later took ship for Spain where, after some
delay, he received the papal bull of confirmation and
was duly consecrated, occupying his time meanwhile
by making contracts for negro slaves in the name of
the crown, with a view of utilizing their labor in the
development of the mines.[XVII‑17]




On his return to the province in 1545, the bishop[XVII‑18]
undertook a pastoral tour through the province, lasting
eighteen months. He complains bitterly of the
hardships which he endured and of the demoralized
and poverty-stricken condition of the colonists. "The
natives," he says, "have nearly all fled to the mountains,
being in terror of the Spaniards, who have continued
300
to enslave them for so many years. Many
Portuguese, Italians, and other foreigners have propagated
disease and vice among them so that even Indian
maidens of tender age are corrupted to a sad extent,
while bigamy and polygamy are of frequent occurrence."
Valdivieso, who was residing at the time at
Gracias á Dios, awaiting consecration as bishop of
Nicaragua, also relates that the church was held in
contempt, that the Spaniards were as a rule extremely
lax in their observance of all religious duties, and that
they led a more vicious life than had ever been known
among Christians.




Though Pedraza brought with him from Spain a
number of friars, they do not seem to have been very
zealous in the work of reforming the settlers or converting
the natives. At times many days passed
during which no divine service was held, and the
cabildo attributed the omission to the neglect of the
bishop, "who," they said, "was too busy with his
worldly affairs to attend to his duties properly." The
ecclesiastics appear, however, to have been very successful
in selling papal bulls among the Indian villages,
a practice which was continued till 1547, when a royal
cédula put an end to this shameful traffic. Their
charges for saying mass or for funeral services were
exorbitant. To confess a person residing at a distance
of one league cost thirty castellanos, and to watch for
a single night by the bedside of a deceased cacique,
one hundred and thirty xiquipilli of cacao. Desirous
of making at least some show of missionary zeal the
prelate recommended that a cathedral be erected and
schools established in all Indian towns which were in
the neighborhood of Spanish settlements. The former
recommendation was adopted, and notwithstanding
the protestations of the audiencia of the Confines,
the site selected was at Trujillo,[XVII‑19] the bishop's salary
301
being fixed at five hundred thousand maravedís, though
soon afterward he petitioned that his stipend be increased
to two thousand ducats.



AUDIENCIA DE LOS CONFINES.



When the new code of laws abolished the audiencia
of Panamá and appointed the audiencia of the Confines,[XVII‑20]
Alonso de Maldonado was elected its first president[XVII‑21]
through the recommendation of Las Casas,
the remaining oidores being the licentiates Diego de
Herrera, of whom mention has been made in connection
with the province of Nicaragua, Pedro Ramirez de
Quiñones, and Juan Rogel. Maldonado was directed
to establish the seat of government at Comayagua,
which was thenceforth to be known as Nueva Villa
de Valladolid, but finding that location unsuitable he
selected as a more favorable site Gracias á Dios,
where in 1545 the first session of the tribunal was
held.[XVII‑22] The arrival of Maldonado was celebrated with
much rejoicing among the settlers; but their joy was
short-lived, for one of the first measures of the audiencia
was the publication of the new code of laws
which, they declared, was to be strictly and immediately
enforced so far as it related to the manumission
of the Indians.




In Honduras the new code was regarded with no
less disfavor than in the other provinces, and it was
probably due only to the sparse population of this territory
that we read of no such outbreak among the
colonists as that of Gonzalo Pizarro in Peru, and of
the Contreras brothers in Nicaragua. The settlers
were fain to content themselves with making ineffectual
protests, and with sending procurators to advocate
302
their cause at the court of Spain. It does not appear
that the natives were at all benefited by the regulations
enacted in their favor; for a year or two later, on
the arrival at Gracias á Dios of Las Casas and Valdivieso,
the former declares that despite all the royal
ordinances to the contrary, the Indians placed under
the protection of the crown were so grossly maltreated
that they preferred to return to the service of their
former masters rather than enjoy their new and doubtful
liberty.




On the first of June 1549 a royal cédula was issued
ordering that the natives should not be used as pack-carriers,
except in cases of extreme necessity, and that
all employed in whatever capacity should receive payment
for their services. These regulations appear,
however, to have made their lot still more grievous,
for the Spaniards, no longer owning them as human
chattels and caring not for their lives, treated them
even more harshly than before. At Gracias á Dios we
learn that they were offered for hire at public auction,
and after being disposed of to the highest bidder were
sent to the mines or to the sea-shore forty miles distant.
They were driven together, Las Casas tells us,
within a circuit of ten or fifteen leagues, and a guard
being placed over them, were enclosed in a corral like
cattle. They were then divided by an alguacil among
the settlers, and after working hard for a month received
two reales, sometimes being required to serve
an entire year for a single peso. When used as beasts
of burden they were compelled to carry a load of
seventy-five or one hundred pounds through a country
abounding in swamp and forest. Their food consisted
of a few hard cakes of maize, and at night, their blankets
being taken from them to prevent their running
away, they were often left to sleep in the open air
almost naked and without shelter.



CHURCH AND STATE.



In addition to Las Casas and Valdivieso, the latter
of whom was sojourning at the capital awaiting consecration
303
as bishop of Nicaragua, there were now
present at Gracias á Dios the prelates Marroquin of
Guatemala, and Pedraza of Honduras.[XVII‑23] It was not
of course to be expected that all these dignitaries of
the church should work in harmony with each other,
and much less with the members of the audiencia.
While Las Casas and Valdivieso strove to enforce the
unconditional liberation of all Indians, Marroquin and
Pedraza, who themselves possessed several encomiendas,
were exceeding loath to part with them; and
when Las Casas threatened with excommunication all
who should refuse to give up their bondsmen, Marroquin
assured the settlers that he would grant them
quick absolution. The removal of the latter was then
demanded by his opponents, who wrote to the emperor
denouncing him as "one undeserving of royal
favor, having made his fortune at the expense of his
honor and that of the people, in violation of the law
and the emperor's orders." Pedraza, on the other
hand, while discussing the question of establishing
schools in the native villages, exclaims: "Would to
God that to this purpose the efforts of Las Casas
were applied, instead of to the general perdition of the
province, his discourse being like that of one demented
with rage, himself blindly covetous and ambitious of
honor profane. For thirty years was he striving for
a bishopric until at length he obtained one by the
force of a hundred thousand lies."




The colonists of course had no sympathy with Las
Casas, leaving him to complain and sometimes almost
to starve unheeded. Those who were secretly his
friends, through fear of exposing themselves to persecution,
were unwilling to minister to his necessities.
304
The oidores refused to listen to him or to afford him
redress, and on one occasion when a certain colonist
threatened to assassinate the prelate he was allowed
to go unpunished.[XVII‑24] In a letter to the emperor Maldonado
states that "Las Casas has become so proud
since his return from Spain that it is impossible to
deal with him, and the best place for him would be
in some convent in Castile." It was proposed by
Marroquin to settle the long-vexed Indian question
by referring the matter to a commission composed of
the viceroy of Mexico, the audiencias, the bishops,
and other competent persons both lay and clerical, or
to a committee to be chosen by them, and that their
decision be submitted to the crown for approval; but
Las Casas would admit of no such compromise and
insisted that the new laws be immediately enforced.
It was finally agreed that the bishops should present
to the audiencia a memorial embodying their grievances,
asking for redress, and stating explicitly their
demands in reference to the treatment and disposition
of the natives. Soon afterward Las Casas read this
document before the oidores, who, as he now had the
support of all his fellow-bishops, did not venture to
refuse him an audience. They were requested to
render assistance to the ecclesiastical authorities in
the exercise of their jurisdiction, and to aid them in
punishing all who sinned against God and the church,
by committing sacrilege or holding in contempt the
episcopal dignity. It was demanded that the natives
should not be forced to pay excessive tribute, should
not be used as beasts of burden, or required to render
any but voluntary service, and that all who were
illegally enslaved should be liberated and placed
under the protection of the bishops; for it was claimed
that Las Casas and his colleagues were their protectors
and held the right of adjudication in all cases
of alleged maltreatment. It was urged that officials
in charge of Indian villages should be held strictly
305
responsible for their trust and punished in case of
malfeasance as the new laws prescribed.[XVII‑25] The memorial
concluded by threatening the president, oidores,
and other officials with excommunication, should they
neglect to obey these orders within the space of three
months.



ILL-FEELING TOWARD LAS CASAS.



Great was the indignation of the members of the
audiencia toward the prelate who thus dared place
himself above the highest tribunal in the land. They
were accustomed to regard the ecclesiastics as men
whose presence must indeed be tolerated for appearance'
sake, but whose duty it was only to conduct
religious services in which the wives and children of
the colonists might perhaps wish to participate, and
to make such progress as they could in the conversion
of the natives. That they should presume to interfere
with their own schemes for self-aggrandizement
was not to be tolerated. Maldonado and the oidores
gave vent to their ire in such abusive language that
three days later Las Casas and Valdivieso addressed
a letter to the emperor, stating that neither in the
days of Alvarado or Nuño de Guzman, nor during
the rule of any of the former tyrants, were the ministers
of the church so insulted and oppressed, nor
were ever such enormous crimes committed as under
the present audiencia of the Confines. The bishops,
moreover, expressed their belief "that the devil had
filled the oidores with ambition and covetousness when
they came to the country," and declared that unless
the enforcement of the new laws were intrusted to
their own hands the province must go to ruin.[XVII‑26] Meanwhile
Marroquin, who was in secret a bitter foe to
Las Casas, also sent a despatch to the court of Spain,
wherein he speaks of him as one filled with pride,
306
envy, and hypocrisy, and denounces his assumption in
daring to present so offensive a memorial to the audiencia.[XVII‑27]




Las Casas waited in vain for an answer to his demands.
Not discouraged, however, by the studied
inactivity of the oidores he pressed his claims with
untiring zeal, exasperating them by his pertinacity,
and frequently exposing himself to gross insult and
contumely. On one occasion, while entering the hall
of the audiencia, he was greeted with shouts of
"Throw out that lunatic!" At another time he was
coarsely affronted by the president himself;[XVII‑28] and
when, notwithstanding all rebuffs, he made a final
appeal, demanding compliance with the new laws, and
administering to Maldonado a public rebuke, the latter
replied: "You are a knave, a bad man, a bad priest, a
bad bishop, one lost to all shame and worthy of punishment!"
Though stunned, for a moment, by this
answer from one whose appointment was due to his
own recommendation, the prelate meekly bowed his
head, and with the words, "I very well deserve all that
your worship says, Señor Licenciado Alonso Maldonado,"
quietly withdrew from his presence.



EXCOMMUNICATION.



All now expected that the president would be excommunicated.
As the consecration of Valdivieso
was to take place two days later and none could be
present who were under the ban of the church, Maldonado
resolved to make some effort at reconciliation.
To repair to the house of the bishop and there tender
307
an apology was a humiliation which his pride would
not tolerate, while it could not be expected that Las
Casas, after all the indignities he had suffered, would
consent to visit the other's residence. Through the
intervention of friends it was finally arranged that the
two should meet, as though by accident, at the president's
dwelling. Uncovering, and speaking in a
respectful tone, Maldonado began to express his sorrow
for what had occurred, but the prelate at once burst
forth: "Hence! Away! You are excommunicated!"
and took his departure without uttering another word.




While yet engaged in his controversy with the
audiencia, Las Casas received news from Ciudad Real
that disorder was rife in his own diocese, and, wishing
to return to Chiapas as soon as possible, once more
urged the oidores to render a decision. In order to
rid themselves of his ceaseless importunity they at
length compromised the matter by conceding a portion
of his demands, but refused to recognize him or
his colleagues as protectors of the Indians. As this
was the main point in his memorial, and without this
concession the new laws must be inoperative, or at
least difficult of execution, the prelate found that like
other premature reformers, he had gained little, and
had added greatly to his unpopularity.[XVII‑29]




Toward the close of the year 1545 the bishops departed
for their several provinces. Of the oidores,
Rogel accompanied Las Casas to Ciudad Real;[XVII‑30]
Quiñones was soon afterward engaged in levying a
force in aid of Gasca's expedition to Peru; and the
308
president, who, together with Herrera, still remained
at Gracias á Dios, busied himself in accumulating
wealth, fearing that the day was not far distant when
he would be required to render an account. He met
with little opposition, for the remonstrances of the
cabildo were entirely unheeded, and Pedraza the
bishop was a man too much after his own heart to
throw any serious obstacles in his path. Maldonado
with his friends and relatives already owned about one
third of all the encomiendas in the province, and received
besides his share of the tribute obtained by the
oidores from the Indian villages, the ownership of
which was for appearance' sake placed in the name of
certain alcaldes and alguaciles. The latter received
one third of the gross income, and those employed to
collect the tribute also received a portion and were
permitted to wring what else they could from their
hapless victims, whom they hunted like blood-hounds,
day and night, enslaving all who were unable to contribute
their share.



ALONSO LOPEZ DE CERRATO.



The condition of affairs in the province of Honduras
soon became known to the council of the Indies, and
by the recommendation of Las Casas the licentiate
Alonso Lopez de Cerrato was appointed judge of residencia
and president of the audiencia of the Confines.
For several years he had presided over the audiencia
of Santo Domingo, and had there made the acquaintance
of the bishop, who well knew his worth and the
zeal with which he labored in behalf of the Indians.
It was one of his principles always to suppose them
to be in the right until the contrary were proven, and
little cared he for the good or bad opinion of the
Spaniards. Neither threat nor promise nor supplication
could divert him from the execution of his purpose.
Being himself a priest he was of course a good
friend to the ecclesiastics, and assisted them in their
endeavors to alleviate the sufferings of the natives; so
that the settlers exclaimed, after he had been a short
309
time in the province: "Our day has passed and that
of the friars has begun."[XVII‑31]




In 1548 the licentiate arrived at Gracias á Dios,
and at once proceeded to take the residencias of the
president and of the oidores Rogel and Herrera.
After concluding his investigation he reports to the
emperor that since the establishment of the audiencia
no royal decree nor any of the new laws have been
executed or enforced. On the contrary, the president
and oidores have been the first to disregard them
in order to ingratiate themselves with the settlers;
they have never thought of liberating any slaves or of
abolishing the use of the natives as beasts of burden.[XVII‑32]




Cerrato had undoubtedly expected to find matters
in a better condition, for he brought with him none
to supersede the oidores who might be displaced.
Maldonado, however, appears to have escaped all punishment
other than loss of office.[XVII‑33] Herrera, although
Las Casas and Valdivieso had previously declared
that he alone among the oidores was worthy of his
position, was the only one that was fined, and with
the exception of the president, the only one that was
not reinstated.[XVII‑34]




Although Cerrato was accused by the settlers of
310
partiality in the administration of justice, he enjoyed
the full confidence of the emperor,[XVII‑35] who gave orders
that all matters of grave import pertaining to the government
of Honduras, Nicaragua, and Guatemala
should be referred to his decision. Moreover, the
bishops of Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Chiapas showed
their appreciation of his worth by begging him to visit
their dioceses and aid them in their labors on behalf of
the natives, as the oidores sent to those provinces were
unable to enforce the new laws. During the brief
term of Cerrato's residence in Honduras nothing occurred
that is worthy of note, with the exception of a
revolt among the negro slaves at San Pedro del Puerto
de Caballos, which was promptly quelled by a force
despatched against them by the audiencia.




In 1549 the seat of the audiencia of the Confines was
removed from Gracias á Dios to Santiago de Guatemala.
The former town, now containing but eighteen
settlers, was situated in a neighborhood where food
for man and beast was difficult to obtain, and was far
remote from the more important colonies. In other
settlements the condition of affairs was little more
prosperous. In Honduras, as elsewhere in Spain's
western dominions, the apathy of the Spanish monarch
and the disorders caused by the ceaseless struggle
for wealth, or the craving for insignificant authority,
added greatly to the misery and privation which the
early history of colonization throughout the world seldom
fails to present.
311




CHAPTER XVIII.



PROGRESS OF AFFAIRS IN GUATEMALA.

1541-1550.





Mourning for Alvarado—Grief of Doña Beatriz—An Anomalous Government—A
Female Ruler—A Beautiful but Treacherous Mountain—A
Night of Horrors—Death of Doña Beatriz—Destruction
of Santiago—A Ruined City—Burial of the Dead—Gloom of Conscience-stricken
Survivors—Joint Governors—Removal of City
Resolved upon—A New Site Discussed—Another Santiago Founded—Maldonado
Appointed Governor—Action of the Audiencia Relative
to Encomiendas—Controversies and Recriminations—Removal
of the Audiencia to Santiago—President Cerrato Offends the Settlers—His
Mode of Action.




When the news of Alvarado's death arrived in Santiago[XVIII‑1]
during the last days of August 1541, demonstrations
of sorrow were on every side; the cathedral
was draped in black,[XVIII‑2] and the city put on habiliments
of woe; for however bad the man there are few who
do not take pleasure in conventional mourning.




But the effect of the intelligence upon the adelantado's
wife, Doña Beatriz, was so severe as apparently
to affect her reason. She beat her face and tore
her hair, weeping, screaming, and groaning in a very
ecstasy of grief. For days she neither ate nor slept,
312
refusing all consolation. She caused her house to be
stained black, both inside and out, and draped it in
deepest mourning. All efforts to appease her met
with passionate outbursts expressed in language accounted
impious,[XVIII‑3] and she repulsed alike the appeals
of friends and the religious consolation offered by the
priests—all of which was quite pathetic on the part
of the bereaved woman. Meantime funeral obsequies
were celebrated by Bishop Marroquin with all possible
solemnity, prayers being offered each day for the repose
of the late conqueror's soul.




But while due observance of mourning was shown
for the loss which the colonists had sustained in Alvarado's
death, it was necessary to decide upon the
important matter of the government of the province.
Francisco de la Cueva had been left lieutenant-governor,
but although this appointment was approved by
the viceroy[XVIII‑4] and the cabildo was ordered by him to
recognize Cueva until his Majesty's wishes should be
known, the members took the matter into their own
hands and elected Doña Beatriz governor. This anomalous
proceeding was discussed at a special session, and
the reasons assigned for taking such a step were that
it was deemed necessary for the peace, security, and
interest of the country. As soon as the decision was
reached the cabildo went in a body to the house of Doña
Beatriz and tendered her the appointment. Her violent
grief for the loss of her lord did not prevent her
from assuming rulership according to the wish of the
authorities. Thanking the municipality for the honor,
313
she accepted the position and promised to serve his
Majesty with zeal and devote herself to the welfare
of the province in the prescribed form of words. The
ceremony of installation immediately followed in the
presence of the bishop and Francisco de la Cueva,
after which the widow of Alvarado took the oath in
due form, and thereupon appointed her brother, Francisco
de la Cueva,[XVIII‑5] lieutenant-governor, giving him
full power to act for her in all matters pertaining to
the government, except the disposal of repartimientos
of Indians which might become vacant; this prerogative
she reserved to herself. Her brother's appointment
was recognized by the cabildo on the following
day, Saturday the 10th of September.[XVIII‑6]



DESTRUCTION OF SANTIAGO.



But it was not fated that this unfortunate lady
should long enjoy her high position. Her doom with
314
that of many others was sealed. The rains during
this year had been excessive, and from Thursday the
8th of September until noon of the following Sunday
it rained continuously, while an unusually violent
wind prevailed.[XVIII‑7] The reader is aware that the city
of Santiago was situated on the slope of the lofty
volcan de Agua.[XVIII‑8] This mountain is a beautifully
symmetrical cone nearly fifteen thousand feet above
the sea, and in its enormous crater was a small lake,
which, owing to the heavy rainfall, had risen to the
top of the enclosing sides. On the 10th of September,[XVIII‑9]
about two hours after nightfall, a volcanic eruption
dislodged an immense volume of water, or the
imprisoned lake burst its barrier. However that may
have been, at this fearful moment down came the
impetuous flood upon the doomed city, ten thousand
feet below, and not more than a league distant from
the top, bringing great trees and masses of rock[XVIII‑10] and
hurling them upon the inhabitants. The wind and
rain and darkness rendered the disaster all the more
315
appalling. Many were killed, not knowing what had
come upon them. There was no selection of victims;
Spanish colonist and Indian servant were stricken
down, the gambler at his dice and the worshipper
kneeling at the shrine. In that night of horror each,
as he struggled solitary from the seething torrent,
might fancy himself the only survivor. Numbers
perished, and many were cast from its embrace upon
firm ground, with mangled limbs and bodies crushed.[XVIII‑11]



DEATH OF DOÑA BEATRIZ.



Doña Beatriz—truly La Sin Ventura, the hapless
one, as she had signed herself the day before—at the
first alarm, gathering her maids around her, hastened
to the oratory. But of what avail was prayer? The
waters were upon them, and at the second outburst
swept down the chapel and buried beneath its ruins
the lady-governor and her handmaidens.[XVIII‑12] Before
striking Alvarado's house the flood had washed away
two others with their occupants. There were in
the dwelling other members of the household, and
among them Doña Leonor, the eldest natural daughter
of Alvarado. These Doña Beatriz sent for, but
most of them were carried away by the torrent, though
Doña Leonor and some others escaped. A large
number of Indians of both sexes belonging to the
household were also drowned. Two chaplains who
were in the house were swept through a window and
316
carried for some distance to the plaza where they were
rescued. Several attempts were made during the
night to reach Alvarado's house, but only one person,
Francisco Cava, succeeded. Doña Beatriz' apartment
which she had left was the only portion of the building
left standing. Had she remained there, instead of
rushing to the church, she and those with her would
have been saved. Many supernatural horrors were
reported to have occurred during the night, the particulars
of which are related by Bernal Diaz.




While this blow was falling upon Alvarado's house
and household, his kinsman Francisco de la Cueva was
in extreme peril. At the first roar of the descending
flood, heard above the raging tempest, he imagined
that some violent disturbance had occurred in the
town and rushed out lance in hand, only to be driven
back, however, by the avalanche of water. Retiring
with the Spaniards of his house to his study, he escaped
the danger, though that apartment was the
only portion of the building left standing.[XVIII‑13]




When day dawned the scene of desolation was heartrending.
The water had passed away, and on all sides
the ruins of the city were exposed to view. Most of
the houses had been overthrown or swept away, and
the few which remained were so filled with mud that
they were untenantable. Whole families had perished.[XVIII‑14]
The streets were choked up with accumulated
debris, trunks of mutilated trees, and huge rocks.
Scattered in all this wreck lay disfigured corpses and
carcasses of drowned cattle.[XVIII‑15]
317



GATHERING UP THE DEAD.



And now began the sad, sad search for the dead,
followed by mournful burial. Many of the lost were
never found. The bodies of Doña Beatriz and those
who perished with her were recovered with one exception.
Her remains were interred with due solemnity
near the high altar of the cathedral,[XVIII‑16] and those
of her companions in death were reverently laid side
by side in one common grave.[XVIII‑17] While the last rites
of the church were duly performed for the behoof of
this hapless lady, the stricken community regarded
the catastrophe which had befallen them as a manifestation
of divine wrath; and though most of the
survivors looked upon it as a merited punishment for
their own sins, there were not wanting those who
attributed the cause of God's anger to the intemperate
language made use of by Doña Beatriz in her frenzied
grief.[XVIII‑18] So much insane foolishness can be wrapped
in words of wisdom! The bishop endeavored to encourage
his flock though in such deep dejection. A
318
penitential procession was held and the litany chanted
before the high altar. He enjoined them, moreover,
to fast and pray on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.
Further to cheer them he recommended all
mourning to be put aside.




Nevertheless the gloom which had fallen upon the
community was not soon dispelled, and at every
threatening change of the sky the panic-stricken settlers
sought safety on the hills. A unanimous desire
to abandon the spot prevailed; many of the inhabitants
left it and went to reside on their farms,[XVIII‑19] while those
who remained[XVIII‑20] expressed their determination to go
elsewhere. To arrest total abandonment and dispersion
the cabildo, on the 22d of October, issued a
decree prohibiting any citizen from leaving under a
penalty of one hundred pesos de oro.[XVIII‑21] And long after
the capital had been removed to another site, a penitential
procession, attended by the civil and ecclesiastical
orders, left the new city at daybreak on each anniversary
and visited the former capital in mournful
commemoration of this calamity. Bearing crosses in
their hands, chanting the litany, and praying for the
safety of their city, the people marched in all humility
to the former cathedral.[XVIII‑22] There mass was celebrated
and the graves of the dead were decorated, after which
the procession dispersed.[XVIII‑23]



CUEVA AND MARROQUIN.



The death of Doña Beatriz had left the province
without a ruler. Cueva's position at the head of the
government was no longer recognized, and in the crisis
319
of affairs the cabildo met on the 16th and 17th of
September, and after some discussion elected Cueva
and Bishop Marroquin joint governors provisionally.[XVIII‑24]




The bishop in a letter addressed to the king, dated
February 20, 1542, informs his Majesty that in accepting
the appointment he had not been influenced
by any desire of wealth, honor, or power but by the
actual state of affairs, and at the same time urgently
brings before his notice the necessity of his appointing
a governor of great influence and ability. He had
previously suggested certain individuals,[XVIII‑25] whom he
deemed fully capable and worthy of filling the office.
These recommendations he now reiterates, holding
himself responsible should the king be pleased to act
in accordance with his views. The bishop, moreover,
intimates that the municipal government had fallen
into unworthy hands, owing to the resignation or
death of honorable regidores who had been members
of previous cabildos. The necessity of selecting men
of good judgment and zealous in the royal service, is
pointed out, and of such vital importance is the election
of such men to the welfare of the province, that
Marroquin implores his Majesty to order that those
who had resigned should resume office.[XVIII‑26]







Ancient and Modern Guatemala.






While describing the country as tranquil he pictures
the colony as almost in a state of dissolution.
The late calamity had involved the settlers in great
poverty,[XVIII‑27] and the contrast between their present condition
and the state of prosperity to which they had
arrived under Alvarado's rule induced them to meditate
321

leaving the province altogether. To obviate this
evil Marroquin distributed a portion of the Indians
which had belonged to the adelantado among a few
of the most deserving who were thus induced to remain.[XVIII‑28]



THE NEW SANTIAGO CITY.



After the election of the joint governors the important
question of removal was discussed by the authorities
and citizens. That the interests of the country
demanded such a step was the almost unanimous opinion,[XVIII‑29]
and the selection of a new site at once occupied
general attention. On this matter opinions were more
varied and several localities were proposed. The argument
in favor of the valley of Tianguez in the plains
of Chimaltenango was again revived and found supporters,
while by others the valley of Petapa or that
of Mixco were preferred. There were, however, objections
to the removal of the city to any great distance
from its existing site. It was borne in mind that the
valley of Almolonga was already cultivated, and that
in its vicinity were cattle farms which owing to the
prevailing poverty and the necessities of the inhabitants
should not be abandoned;[XVIII‑30] and after a careful
investigation of the advantages offered by different
localities,[XVIII‑31] those of the valley of Panchoy were considered
322
to be so superior that in cabildo held on the
22d of October it was ordered that the future city
should be there erected.[XVIII‑32]




At no greater distance therefore than half a league
from the ruins of Santiago, on the site occupied by
the present Antigua Guatemala, the Spaniards once
more laid out a city. The customary assignment of
lots was made, town commons set apart, and the natives
again made to toil in the erection of buildings
for their oppressors.[XVIII‑33] Nevertheless the work did not
progress with the rapidity which the authorities seem
at first to have expected,[XVIII‑34] and though during 1542
some progress was made, even the house of the cabildo
had not been completed in April 1543. The
exact date of the formal removal of the municipality
to the new city is not known,[XVIII‑35] but on the 10th of
March 1543 a session was held there.[XVIII‑36] On the 12th
of June following the host was transferred from the
church of the ruined town in solemn procession, attended
323
by the civil authorities, and all the people present
in the city.




At a session held on the 21st of May 1543 a decree
was passed by the cabildo that the city should retain
the title of the one destroyed,[XVIII‑37] and the notaries were
ordered to use in all documents the heading Ciudad
de Santiago and no other, under penalty of a fine of
ten pesos de oro. This decree was publicly proclaimed
on the 13th of June following.[XVIII‑38]



ALONSO DE MALDONADO.



Meantime another change had taken place in the
government. On the 2d of March 1542 the viceroy
of New Spain appointed the oidor Alonso de Maldonado
provisional ruler of Guatemala, pending instructions
from the crown, and on the 17th of May
following the new governor presented his commission
to the cabildo and was placed in office the same
day.[XVIII‑39]




During the following year excitement prevailed in
Guatemala owing to information having been received
in October of the new code of laws and the establishment
of the audiencia of the Confines. It was at
once resolved to make an appeal to the throne, and
on the 12th of the same month the cabildo met to
appoint procurators to Spain. The opinion of the
inhabitants having been taken,[XVIII‑40] a committee invested
with power of electing representatives was appointed,[XVIII‑41]
but it was unable to agree, and on the 29th of February
1544 Hernan Mendez presented a petition to
the cabildo proposing that a mass meeting be held in
the principal church in order that the general vote
324
of the people might be taken.[XVIII‑42] Nevertheless considerable
delay occurred, and it was not until the following
August that the appointments were decided
upon, when an examination of the votes showed that
Hernan Mendez and Juan de Chavez were elected.
The latter, however, declined to accept, and a still
further delay was caused by Mendez insisting upon
proceeding to Spain by way of Vera Cruz instead of
through Puerto de Caballos. At length, on March
16, 1545, Mendez received his papers and instructions,
and departed for Spain.[XVIII‑43]



INDIAN POLICY.



The bitter controversy which took place during the
sessions of the audiencia in 1545 has been described
in the preceding chapter, but it remains to be added
that Maldonado and the oidores, although they had
avowed their intention of enforcing the new laws,
practically discountenanced their enforcement so far
as they related to repartimientos. In a letter addressed
to the king dated the 30th of December
1545 they state that if all Indians were liberated
whose owners had no legitimate title none would be
325
left to serve, and many Spaniards would be reduced
to poverty. The same result would occur to those
who were married and had families, if encomiendas as
they became vacant were transferred to the crown.[XVIII‑44]




In 1545 the new laws were repealed, and at a somewhat
later date the concession of perpetual repartimientos
was granted to the colonists of Guatemala.[XVIII‑45]




Meanwhile the controversy relating to the treatment
of the Indians was being vigorously carried on.
The tribute which had been imposed upon them by
Marroquin and Maldonado was a ground of complaint
against those functionaries,[XVIII‑46] and I find that Marroquin
considered himself obliged to explain that it had
been levied without sufficient knowledge of facts, and
that some changes were necessary.[XVIII‑47]




Among other suggestions made by Marroquin for
the amelioration of the condition of the natives was
that the authority of the bishop over them should include
the right to inflict corporal punishment and to
326
settle their difficulties. He moreover strongly recommended
that for the purposes of better instruction
and government Indian towns should be consolidated
and subjected to a system of police.[XVIII‑48]




Meanwhile Alonso Lopez Cerrato had been appointed
president of the audiencia of the Confines.
It was already admitted that Gracias á Dios was not
a suitable place for the seat of that body, and both
Cerrato and bishop Marroquin made representations
to the king advising its removal.[XVIII‑49] Accordingly his
Majesty by royal cédula authorized the president and
oidores to move to the city of Santiago,[XVIII‑50] where they
arrived in 1549, and according to Remesal accepted
Bishop Marroquin's offer of his palace for their use.[XVIII‑51]



ATTITUDE OF THE SETTLERS.



Cerrato's administration as president of the audiencia
caused grievous offence to the settlers of Guatemala,
and in a representation to the king they charge
him with being ungenerous, undignified, wanting in
zeal for the honor of God, and unconscientious.[XVIII‑52] The
grounds of their objection to him naturally originated
in his action regarding the protection of Indians, and
they bitterly complain of his nepotism in assigning
encomiendas to relatives of various degrees. Justice
at his hands they could not obtain; consequently many
of the best colonists had left the province and others
327
were preparing to do so. Bishop Marroquin's remonstrances
with Cerrato only developed hostile feelings
in the latter, which were publicly evinced by his absenting
himself for a long time from the services of
the church,[XVIII‑53] conducted by the prelate.




But the settlers in Guatemala were obstinately
opposed to any measures which clashed with their
own views, and consequently represented matters from
their own point of view. Under the first audiencia
of the Confines, divided as it was against itself, they
had to a great extent maintained their previous position
relative to the natives;[XVIII‑54] but in Cerrato they
perceived one who recognized them as merciless taskmasters,[XVIII‑55]
and possessed both the determination to
arrest the existing destructive system, and the courage
to inflict punishment upon them for any gross infringement
of the law.[XVIII‑56]
328




CHAPTER XIX.



THE ECCLESIASTICS IN CHIAPAS.

1550.





A Convent Founded by the Merced Order—Ciudad Real Appointed
a Cathedral City—Las Casas a Bishop—He Attempts to Enforce
the New Laws—He Refuses Absolution during Holy Week—His
Controversy with the Audiencia of the Confines—He Departs
for Spain—His Dispute with Sepúlveda—His Appeal to the Conscience
of Philip—The Audiencia Transferred from Panamá to
Guatemala—Death of the Apostle of the Indies—His Character—The
Dominicans in Chiapas.



CIUDAD REAL.



The province of Chiapas was at first included in
the see of Tlascala, and paid tithes to that bishopric
till it was transferred to the diocese of Guatemala in
1536. When Ciudad Real was laid out, under the
direction of Mazariegos, an allotment was assigned
for a church building, and its erection was begun
almost immediately.[XIX‑1] The first parish priest of Ciudad
Real was Pedro Gonzalez, who was appointed by the
cabildo in 1528, with a salary of three hundred pesos
de oro. On his death Pedro Castellanos succeeded to
the benefice in 1532.[XIX‑2] In 1537, through the exertions
of Bishop Marroquin, a convent of the order
329
of La Merced was founded by frailes Pedro de Barrientos
and Pedro Benitez de Lugo. On the 18th of
May these friars petitioned the cabildo for an allotment
of land on which to found a monastery, but
though their request was granted they remained but
a short time.[XIX‑3] In 1539 Fray Marcos Perez Dardon,
as superior, in company with Fray Juan Zambano
took possession of the deserted building. Finding
that it was situated too far from the settlement, the
former petitioned for a new site and for contributions
and assistance in erecting a new convent. His request
met with a liberal response, and the friars who
arrived in after years were well supplied with the
means of support.[XIX‑4]




By a papal bull issued on the 19th of March 1538,[XIX‑5]
Ciudad Real was appointed a cathedral city, the diocese
to be subject to the archbishopric of Seville, and
the pope reserving to himself the appointment of the
first prelate. The salary of the bishop was fixed at
two hundred ducats a year, payable from the revenues
of the province, while the privileges and revenues of
the bishopric were to be based on the system prevailing
in Spain. The church patronage and the choice
of dignitaries were conceded to the crown of Spain.
The limits of the see were also left to the decision of
the emperor.[XIX‑6]
330




On the 14th of April 1538, Juan de Arteaga y
Avendaño, a friar of the order of Santiago, was appointed
to the charge of the newly created bishopric,
but it was not until nearly three years later that he
was consecrated at Seville, whence he issued a document
framing the constitution of his diocese.[XIX‑7] The
prelate did not like to take possession, for on his arrival
at Vera Cruz in 1541 he was attacked with a severe
fever, and though he succeeded in reaching Puebla de
los Angeles he died there shortly afterward,[XIX‑8] his diocese
remaining in charge of the bishop of Guatemala
until the arrival, in 1545, of Bartolomé de las Casas.







Arms of the City of Chiapas.









Chiapas.





ARRIVAL OF DOMINICANS.



Lying between the territory under the jurisdiction
of the audiencias of New Spain and the Confines
were the provinces of Chiapas, Soconusco, Yucatan,
and Tezulutlan, so remote, even from the latter court,
that a strong hand was needed to enforce therein the
new laws. In 1543 the apostle of the Indies after
refusing the bishopric of Cuzco, lest his avowed disinterestedness
should be doubted, accepted the prelacy
of this extensive diocese,[XIX‑9] one fourth of the tithes
331
of his bishopric and an additional sum of 500,000
maravedís payable by the crown being assigned him
as salary. He was consecrated at Seville, on passion
Sunday of 1544, and having by virtue of a royal decree
caused the liberation of all the Indian slaves
brought to Spain from the New World he embarked
at San Lúcar on the 11th of July.[XIX‑10] He was accompanied
by his constant companion, Father Rodrigo de
Ladrada, and forty-five Dominican friars, including
Father Tomás Casillas, their vicar, and his successor
332
to the bishopric of Chiapas. After touching at Santo
Domingo where he was detained over three months
awaiting a vessel, he sailed for Campeche, where
he arrived on the 6th of January 1545. Las Casas
soon aroused the opposition of the colonists by insisting
on the enforcement of the new laws, so exasperating
them that they refused to acknowledge him as
their bishop, on the ground that his papers were defective.
They could not, indeed, prevent him from
taking possession of the bishopric, but they could and
did withhold the tithes, thus compelling him to send
to Ciudad Real for money to defray his expenses.
His messenger reached Ciudad Real early in February
and the cabildo's answer is dated the 12th of
the same month. They sent him a few hundred pesos
which had been advanced by the public administrators
on the security of one of the citizens.[XIX‑11]




From Campeche, Las Casas despatched by sea to
Tabasco ten of the friars, but the vessel being
overtaken by a storm foundered off the island of Términos,
and nine of the ecclesiastics together with
twenty-three Spaniards were drowned. Las Casas
and the remainder of the Dominicans soon afterward
departed for Ciudad Real, where his reception was
cordial and enthusiastic. He was escorted into the
city under the pallium; a house had been prepared
for his reception, and thither all classes flocked to pay
him homage.[XIX‑12]




The cathedral chapter consisted, on Las Casas' arrival,
of the dean, Gil Quintana, and the canon, Juan
de Perera, besides which dignitaries there were three
priests in the diocese. The Dominicans, who were
also kindly received, having reported their arrival to
the provincial in New Spain, established a temporary
convent and began their labors.



ARBITRARY MEASURES.



In the enslavement of the natives, the settlers of
333
Chiapas, if we are to believe Las Casas, committed
many excesses,[XIX‑13] and there is abundant evidence that
in their subsequent treatment of them there was
much harshness and cruelty.[XIX‑14] Daily appeals were
made to him by the Indians for protection, but the
futility of any exhortations to the settlers, where the
natives were concerned, he well knew, and therefore
resolved on vigorous measures, firmly believing that
his efforts would be seconded by the audiencia in their
enforcement of the new laws. Las Casas, however,
had misjudged the character of the oidores, as we
shall see hereafter.




Upon the approach of holy week he took the bold
but injudicious step of refusing absolution to all who
should not forthwith liberate their slaves,[XIX‑15] and made
this the chief of certain sins for which he reserved to
himself the right of granting absolution. The publication
of this measure caused great excitement among
the settlers, which was further increased by his refusal
to listen to any compromise. In their despair they
applied to the dean, who, failing to influence the
bishop, took upon himself the responsibility of granting
absolution in certain cases. Las Casas sent for the
dean purposing to place him under arrest, but the
latter suspecting his design refused to obey; whereupon
the former, determined not to be thus thwarted,
sent his bailiff and a few attendants with orders to
334
bring the contumacious dignitary, if necessary, by
force. The dean resisted, and with this object drew
a sword, with which he wounded himself in the hand
and the bailiff in the leg.[XIX‑16]




At this juncture an alcalde, who among others had
been attracted by the disturbance, added to the excitement
by loudly shouting: "Help in the name of
the king!" Thereupon the citizens hurriedly gathered
from all sides with arms in hand and prevented the
arrest of the dean. Las Casas was beside himself
with rage, and the settlers were equally exasperated.
That throughout holy week they should be deprived
of the sacraments for no other reason than that they
held slaves was a measure without precedent in the
New World, and their indignation was increased by
the numerous letters of sympathy and condolence
received from all parts of New Spain. The dean in
the mean time had escaped to Guatemala where he was
absolved by Bishop Marroquin and permitted to say
mass. Las Casas made a requisition for him, but it
was ignored,[XIX‑17] and he was obliged to content himself
with declaring him anathematized and excommunicated.[XIX‑18]




Las Casas was baffled but not defeated. He received
an invitation to assist in the consecration of
Bishop Valdivieso at Gracias á Dios, which it will be
remembered was then the seat of the audiencia of the
Confines, and thither he repaired. The news of the
occurrences at Ciudad Real had, however, preceded
him, and with the exception of Herrera all the
oidores were prejudiced against him.[XIX‑19]




Las Casas found little sympathy from his brother
prelates, Bishop Marroquin, as has already been shown,
entertaining a bitter dislike toward him. Indeed, the
335
apostle of the Indies was in some respects ill-fitted for
the noble work to which he had devoted his life, his
impetuous fearless character and ardent zeal blinding
his judgment and making him impatient of opposition
and heedless of the rights of others. Thus he made
enemies where the interests of his cause demanded
friends and active supporters. Few if any of the
prominent ecclesiastics in the New World viewed the
question of slavery as he regarded it, and they resented
his unqualified condemnation of it as a reflection
on their learning and piety.




Under these circumstances it is not strange that,
as before stated, his appeals to the audiencia were
disregarded and that, meeting only with rebuffs, he
departed in disgust for his diocese. In the mean time
the settlers of Ciudad Real had by their importunities
driven the vicar general of Las Casas from the
city. The bishop was not disposed, however, to renew
the struggle. His faith in the efficacy of the new laws
had received a severe shock, for by this time he had
heard of the determined resistance to them throughout
the provinces. He had expected that they would be
opposed, but not to this extent, and now there was no
mistaking the hostile attitude of the settlers.




Over the turbulent inhabitants of Ciudad Real he
had no further desire to rule, and had already for the
third time asked the emperor to allow him to be
transferred to Vera Paz, and that bishops be appointed
for the provinces of Soconusco, Chiapas, and Yucatan.[XIX‑20]
No further troubles appear to have occurred
between the bishop and the colonists.[XIX‑21]



REVOCATION OF THE NEW LAWS.



In 1547 Las Casas embarked for Spain. The revocation
of the new laws of which he must have heard
336
before his departure, was a death-blow to his hopes
in the new world. During the first two years after
his arrival his efforts in behalf of the natives appear
to have produced nothing more than a few decrees,
comparatively unimportant. Later he resigned his
bishopric, and retired to the college of San Gregorio
de Valladolid, still continuing, however, to take an
active interest in Indian affairs, although he had
already passed his seventy-fifth year. From this retreat
he soon issued to defend the principles which it
had been his life-long labor to maintain.




The conquerors had found a champion in Doctor
Juan Ginés Sepúlveda, who contended that it was
lawful to make war on the natives and enslave them
in order to promote their conversion and prevent
human sacrifices. Las Casas presented thirty propositions
in refutation of this view in which he maintained
that over a nation whose only sin was idolatry
no authority could be justly exercised save by peaceful
conversion. Though this was clearly a condemnation
of the policy of Spain in the New World, the sincerity
of Las Casas and the justice of his cause prevented
the king from taking offence at his boldness, and induced
him to permit the unrestricted publication of
his works while those of his opponent were forbidden
to be printed. Henceforth he continued to be consulted
on all questions of importance concerning the
Indians, his time being devoted mainly to the writing
of his history.




In 1555 Philip, who had lately ascended the
throne, and was then in England, proposed to sell the
right of the crown to the reversion of the encomiendas.
Las Casas, ever on the alert, saw that this
meant perpetual slavery, and determined to exert all
his powers to prevent the measure. Through the
king's confessor, who had written to him on the subject,[XIX‑22]
he made a bold and earnest appeal to the royal
337
conscience. The appeal was not in vain, and he
thus paved the way for the final emancipation of the
natives.



DEATH OF LAS CASAS.



His last service to the New World was his representation
to the council of the Indies of the great
inconvenience and prejudice caused to the settlers and
natives of Guatemala by the removal to Panamá of
the audiencia of the Confines. In 1569, partly owing
to his influence, the audiencia was reëstablished in
Guatemala. He did not live to see this accomplished,
however, for falling ill at Madrid, he died in July
1566, in his ninety-second year. He was buried with
becoming honors in the convent chapel of Our Lady
of Atocha.




Judged by his works Las Casas was the greatest
philanthropist of his age. Like all vigorous reformers,
he was treated as a visionary by most of his contemporaries,
a conclusion which they deemed warranted by the
unflinching courage and tenacity with which he maintained
his opinions. His compassion for the natives,
and his abhorrence for their oppressors, were increased
from year to year by his failure to alleviate their sufferings,
until it had become the all-absorbing idea which
colored his every act and word. In pursuit of this
ambition no obstacle could intimidate him. To resolve
was to act. He hesitated not in the advocacy of his
cause to brave the anger of an emperor, or that of an
excited populace, and for this cause he endured persecution,
insult, loss of friends, the enmity of countrymen.
It must be admitted that he was resentful, and
even bitter against his opponents, and to this reason may
also be attributed his frequent exaggeration, his misrepresentation,
the readiness with which his judgment
was biassed, his unfitness for dealing practically with
the condition of affairs then existing in the New World.
By his contemporaries he is accused of harshness,
arrogance, uncharitableness, but it must not be forgotten
that this was probably due to the intolerant religious
and scholastic spirit of his times. The purity of
338
his motives none can doubt, and while no defence can
vindicate the name of his adversaries from the charge
of injustice and cruelty, the errors of Bartolomé de
Las Casas are forgotten, and his spirit of noble self-devotion
and high-souled philanthropy will make him
known to all posterity as one of the greatest benefactors
of his race.




The establishment of the audiencia of the Confines
and the attempted enforcement of the new laws
produced the same excitement in Chiapas as in other
territories, but the transfer of this province to the
jurisdiction of the new audiencia caused no change in
its local government. The alcalde mayor, however,
still the chief authority, ruled with greater rigor, and
by the appointment of deputies in all of the native
towns greatly increased the burden of their inhabitants.[XIX‑23]




Through the solicitation of Las Casas, Diego Ramirez,
of whom mention has been made in connection
with the history of Mexico,[XIX‑24] was sent to investigate
the alleged oppression of the natives and their opposition
to their Dominican teachers. He appears to
have been an upright judge, and favorable to the
Indians, but even his efforts, supported as they were
by various decrees in their favor, did not accomplish
the desired object.[XIX‑25]




After the departure of Ramirez, matters relapsed
into their former condition. Within less than a year,
however, Cerrato having taken charge of the audiencia
determined to remedy these abuses, declaring
that the natives continued to be destroyed without
pity, the previous official visits having accomplished
nothing.[XIX‑26]
339



ANTONIO DE REMESAL.



Before the arrival of the Dominicans, little seems
to have been done to improve the religious and social
condition of the natives, except to baptize such as
were encountered by the ecclesiastics in the principal
towns, or during their journeyings from point to point.
Indeed, if we are to believe Remesal, and in this instance
we may certainly do so, the Indians were
morally and religiously more degraded under Christian
than under pagan domination. Idolatry was
openly practised, and to their former vices were added
those of the Spaniards, which their chiefs, now deprived
in great part of their authority, were powerless
to restrain. Little cared the encomendero for the
souls or bodies of the Indians if the required tribute
were but promptly paid. The labors of the Dominicans
were of course interrupted by the persecution to
which they were subjected because of their bold support
of Las Casas. Alms were refused them, and
their supplies soon becoming exhausted they abandoned
their temporary convent and proceeded to the native
town of Chiapas whence, having fixed upon this point
as their base of operations, they gradually extended
their labors over the province. The settlers placed
in their way every obstacle that self-interest and ingenuity
could devise, but the energy and devotion of
the friars overcame all opposition, and when in 1549
Cerrato came to their support they had already established
several convents including that of Ciudad
Real, and had visited and carried their teaching to
the remotest parts of the province.[XIX‑27]
341





CHAPTER XX.



MARROQUIN AND LAS CASAS IN GUATEMALA AND VERA PAZ.

1541-1550.





A New Cathedral Wanted—A Poor Prelate and Unwilling Tithe-Payers—Two
Contentious Bishops—Charitable Institutions
Founded—Dominican Convent Organized—Franciscans Arrive—Their
Labors—Motolinia Founds a Custodia—Disputes between
Franciscans and Dominicans—La Tierra de Guerra—Las Casas'
System—His First Efforts in Vera Paz—He Goes to Spain—Decrees
Obtained by Him and an Indignant Cabildo—Las Casas
Returns—Progress in Vera Paz—Peaceful Submission and Heavy
Tributes—Cancer's Expedition to Florida—Ominous Opinions—An
Indifferent Captain—A Dominican Martyr.




After the destruction of Santiago and the removal
of the city to a new site the erection of another
cathedral and episcopal residence was necessary.[XX‑1] The
means, however, for the construction of these edifices
could not be immediately procured. The bishop therefore
caused to be built a hermitage, called Santa
Lucía, which served temporarily as the parish church
in the new city.[XX‑2] The removal of the episcopal seat
was, moreover, a matter which did not depend upon
either the decision of the cabildo or the prelate, and
both his Majesty and the pope had to be consulted on
so momentous a question. The necessity of permission
to make such a change was pointed out to the
342
cabildo by the bishop, who during a visit to Acajutla
was informed by that body that the roof of the old
church had been removed.[XX‑3] With regard to the building
of the new cathedral few particulars are known,
other than that the bishop was compelled for a number
of years to appeal to the king for aid in its completion.[XX‑4]




Marroquin's bishopric, indeed, was not a rich one.
In 1542 he represents to the king the objection of
the settlers to pay tithes, which they regarded as an
unheard of demand, and implores his Majesty to enforce
the payment to the church of one tenth of all
tributes.[XX‑5] He, moreover, assures him that his salary
of five hundred thousand maravedís was not sufficient
to meet the demands of hospitality and charity, and
requests that a portion of the revenues of Honduras
and Soconusco be granted to him.[XX‑6]




But the colonists were not easily compelled to pay
their tithes of cacao,[XX‑7] maize, and feathers, and in 1545
the bishop again brought the matter before the notice
of the throne, declaring that the frequency of disputes
343
between the clergy and the colonists on this account
was prejudicial in the extreme. He represented the
poverty of his church and his own indebtedness, and
asked that some compensation might be made him
for his services, and the expenses which he had incurred
in his visits to Honduras and Chiapas. Nevertheless
the colonists maintained a stubborn opposition,
and in 1548 matters had so little improved that Marroquin
once more asks for aid from the crown.[XX‑8]



QUARRELLINGS OF THE BISHOPS.



The effort of Marroquin to obtain Soconusco as a
district of his diocese widened the breach between him
and Las Casas, the particulars of which have already
been given, and was one of the causes of the abuse
which these prelates heaped upon each other. The
prince regent had issued a cédula assigning Soconusco
to the bishop of Chiapas on the ground of its proximity
to that province. This decision Las Casas
communicated to Marroquin in 1545, and hence arose
mutual vituperation, charges of grasping after territory,
and misrepresentations, if not untruthfulness, on
either side. The bishop of Guatemala writes to the
people of Soconusco urging them to appeal against
the royal cédula, and in a letter to the king dated
June 4, 1545, describes the diocese of Las Casas as
extending from sea to sea, and broad enough to contain
half a dozen bishoprics, while Las Casas reports
that the bishop of Guatemala had appropriated districts
extending almost to Nicaragua, and states that
his see is the asylum of vagabond clergymen.[XX‑9]



FRESH ARRIVALS.



But though Marroquin was thus involved in difficulties
with his flock and disputes with his brother
bishop, he labored hard for the welfare of the former
by founding various charitable institutions. Under
344
his auspices was established between 1546 and 1548,[XX‑10]
the convent of La Concepcion, the first lady superior
being Doña Beatriz de Silva, a nun of the Dominican
convent of Madre de Dios in Toledo.[XX‑11] This institution
was liberally aided by the crown.[XX‑12]




About the same time the hospital of San Alejo was
founded by the Dominicans,[XX‑13] and in 1849 Bishop
Marroquin founded that of Santiago. This latter
establishment was designed for Spanish and native
patients of both sexes. It was a spacious building
containing four wards, so that the races and sexes
could be kept apart. Marroquin, retaining the office
of administrator, ceded the patronage of this institution
to the crown; hence it was known as the
royal hospital of Santiago.[XX‑14] While the bishop thus
studied the temporal welfare of his flock, its spiritual
good was ever in appearance, at least his anxious care,
and I find his requests for more ecclesiastics almost
as frequent as his petitions for more money. From
both Franciscans and Dominicans he received great
assistance. This last named order had with the rest
of the settlers removed to the new city,[XX‑15] having received
345
from the municipality an assignment of four
lots of ground whereon to rebuild their convent.[XX‑16] In
1547 the provincial chapter of the order in Mexico
recognized and accepted the convent of Guatemala as
regularly organized, and appointed Friar Tomás Casillas
as a prior. At this date there were thirteen members
of the community besides the prior. In 1550
Fray Tomás de la Torre succeeded Casillas, by which
time the number had increased to only fifteen.[XX‑17]



THE FRANCISCANS.



Meantime the rival order of the Franciscans had
appeared upon the field of labor. When the first
members arrived it is not possible to decide. According
to Torquemada, Fray Toribio Motolinia was sent
in 1533, by the custodia of the order in Mexico, to
found monasteries in Guatemala,[XX‑18] but the first permanent
establishment of Franciscans in Santiago was
due to the efforts of Marroquin. At the entreaty
of that prelate six friars were sent from Spain in
1539,[XX‑19] and arrived at Mexico in 1540, their expenses
having been paid by him.[XX‑20] After remaining six
months at that city they proceeded by land to Guatemala,
but at Tepeaca, six leagues from Puebla, their
prelate Casaseca fell sick and died.[XX‑21] The rest continued
346
their journey and were received at Santiago with
every demonstration of welcome. By private contributions
and with the assistance of the bishop they
were enabled to erect a humble dwelling,[XX‑22] in which
they discharged the duties of their calling with as
punctual and strict observance as if it had been a convent
of the highest order. After the destruction of
Santiago appropriate ground was allotted to them for
the erection of their convent, church, and other buildings,[XX‑23]
and by June 1542 an unpretending monastery
had been built. When the Franciscans had acquired
some knowledge of the native tongues, they engaged
in missionary labors throughout the country.[XX‑24]




The need of more friars was, however, urgent, and
ere long Fray Valderas, with the approval of the
bishop, went to Spain in order to procure more members
of his order. He soon accomplished his mission
and returned with twelve brothers to Mexico. Unhappily
in their haste to engage in their labors most
of them broke down on the long and toilsome journey
to Santiago, and died.[XX‑25] At a later date, however,
the want was somewhat relieved by the arrival of
Motolinia with a considerable number of his order.[XX‑26]




The Franciscan order was now firmly established
347
in Guatemala. Motolinia erected the convents which
had been founded[XX‑27] into a custodia, despatched friars
to Yucatan,[XX‑28] and visited different parts of the country.
He then returned to Mexico and was succeeded
in his office of custodio by Fray Gonzalo de Mendez.[XX‑29]




The jealousy which existed between the Dominicans
and Franciscans was exhibited in Guatemala as
strongly as elsewhere, and the bickerings which occurred,
and opposition offered by the earlier established
order to the new-comers, were so discouraging
that many of the Franciscans left the province.[XX‑30] But
for the efforts of Bishop Marroquin they would have
abandoned the field.[XX‑31]




In 1547 the comisario general states that there
were only twelve Franciscans in Guatemala, and requests
that young members of the order, capable of
acquiring the native language, be sent out.[XX‑32] He also
impresses upon the emperor the necessity of assigning
separate fields of labor to the two orders, and it is to
be noted that the Franciscans were inimical to the
348
Mercenarios, who are described as being detrimental
rather than beneficial to the cause of the church.[XX‑33]



MEASURES CONCERNING NATIVES.



The disagreement between the two highest regular
orders was not based entirely upon a struggle for
supremacy. Each had its distinct views with regard
to the method of implanting Christianity in America.
The Dominicans, led by their unyielding chief Las
Casas, would not recognize wholesale baptism as practised
by the Franciscans, and they would not admit
that the interests of the conquerors were compatible
with the welfare of the conquered races. The Franciscans,
with Motolinia as their leader, imagined that
a system of ecclesiastical and civil policy could be
adopted which would conduce to the interests of both
the dominant and conquered races. This order did
not object to the sword being called into operation;
the Dominicans denied it as a means of advancing
the gospel. The Dominicans were uncompromisingly
opposed to slavery; the rival order not so, and I am
inclined to think that the Franciscans honestly believed
that under the pressure of the encomenderos
and the impossibility of rapid manumission, more
benefit could be obtained for the natives by a tolerant
system of servitude, supervised by the religious orders,
than by a sudden change. It is unnecessary to relate
the bitter denunciations that each leader uttered
against the other. While it is to be regretted that
Motolinia in his fierce attack on Las Casas appears
to have been guided by a spirit not altogether free
from jealousy,[XX‑34] it cannot be disputed that the indiscreet
zeal of Las Casas gave dissatisfaction to eminent
men even in his own order.[XX‑35]




It was through the exertions of Bartolomé de Las
Casas that the pacification of Vera Paz was achieved
without the aid of an armed force. The native name
349
of this territory was Tuzulutlan. The Spaniards after
their entrance into Guatemala made several unsuccessful
attempts to subdue it, and from this cause and the
fierce character of the natives they called it Tierra de
Guerra.[XX‑36] Its dimensions at the time the Dominicans
entered it nearly corresponded with its present limits.
In 1574 friars of the convent at Coban reported that
Vera Paz, as already bounded by royal decree, extended
sixty leagues from east to west, measured from
the river Nito[XX‑37] to the river Zacapulas, and fifty
leagues from south to north, commencing from the
northern slope of the Canal and Rabinal mountains.[XX‑38]
The surface was rugged and mountainous; roads were
almost unknown, and the inhabitants active and warlike.[XX‑39]
Nevertheless Las Casas proposed to penetrate
it in defiance of danger, exposure, and hardship.



PEACEFUL CONQUESTS.



Previous to 1536 he had published a treatise,[XX‑40] in
which he condemned conquest by force of arms, and
urged that to civilize and convert the Indians was the
true system of subjugation. These precepts he incessantly
upheld in Santiago both from the pulpit and in
conversation, and his teachings only drew upon him
general ridicule and enmity, and eventually the people
of Santiago dared him to put his principles in practice
350
by accomplishing the conquest of Tuzulutlan. The
undaunted padre accepted the challenge, and in conjunction
with Fray Rodrigo de Ladrada and Fray
Pedro de Angulo, agreed to undertake the perilous
enterprise on the condition that the natives should
never be assigned in encomiendas, and that for a
period of five years, dating from the entrance of the
friars into the province, no Spaniards should be permitted
to enter the country.[XX‑41]




Las Casas at once proceeded to put his designs in
execution, and by the employment of converted Indians
and the establishment of frontier posts, opened
friendly relations with the hitherto exclusive inhabitants
of Vera Paz,[XX‑42] and laid the basis of the future
acknowledgment of the sovereignty of Spain.[XX‑43]
351




Nevertheless the work of conversion could not be
straightway accomplished. Though Las Casas was
convinced of the practicability of his scheme, the
small number of friars in the country rendered its
immediate execution impossible. Moreover much opposition
was offered to his broad and uncompromising
views, and although the work was begun under the
best auspices, so far as the action of the native chiefs
was concerned, he felt himself compelled to suspend
operations until he had had a personal interview with
the emperor.[XX‑44] Accordingly he left Guatemala and
proceeded by way of Mexico to Spain.[XX‑45]
352




On his arrival at court he advocated his system of
peaceful conquest with his usual vigor, but his action
gave great offence to the cabildo of Guatemala. Two
indignant letters were addressed to the emperor attributing
to him the existing troubles and turmoils.[XX‑46] The
direct cause of these despatches was the receipt of
two decrees obtained by the representations of Las
Casas, the first of which was addressed to the bishop
and governor of Guatemala and intended to remedy
the prevailing neglect in the religious instruction of
the Indians and negroes. It ordered that at a stated
hour each day, all such as were not already instructed
should be taught their religious duties.[XX‑47] The second
guaranteed to Las Casas and his companions, in their
labors in Tuzulutlan, freedom from interference on
the part of the Spaniards.[XX‑48] At the same time he
obtained other documents authorizing him or his companions
to take such Spaniards as they themselves
might select into the converted regions. Letters of
thanks, also, were sent to such caciques as had aided
in the work begun, and lastly as a precaution against
the interference of Alvarado, the assistance of certain
caciques was secured to the Dominicans, and the
adelantado and his lieutenant commanded not to interfere
with them.[XX‑49]
353




But Las Casas was aware that the promulgation
and execution of a decree in the western world were
two different matters. He had learned by experience
that subterfuge was commonly resorted to in order to
prevent the enforcement of a cédula or delay its operation
until there was no longer necessity for it, and
this without the charge of disloyalty being incurred.
The ceremony of kissing the royal order and placing
it upon the head was duly and submissively performed,
but if it could be alleged that his Majesty
had been misinformed, ground for appeal was at once
established, and its execution postponed until a truthful
statement of the question could be submitted to
the king. This delayed the arrival of the final decision
until it became inoperative, and the evasion
of royal orders was at this time severely felt by the
ecclesiastics. Las Casas consequently represented
these abuses to the council and procured a final cédula
which entrusted the enforcement of the preceding
ones to the audiencia of Mexico, authorizing that
court to punish disobedience to previous decrees.



SUCCESS OF THE FRIARS.



In 1541 Fray Luis Cancer returned to Guatemala,
and continued in Vera Paz the work of conversion
inaugurated by Las Casas. From this time the pacification
proper may be considered to have begun.[XX‑50]




The exertions of Las Casas during the time he remained
in Spain were, as the reader is already aware,
mainly directed to the promulgation of the new code
of laws. In 1545 he again arrived in New Spain to
take charge of his diocese as will be hereafter related,
and in July, being anxious to witness the progress
that had been made in Vera Paz, he visited that
354
province. He found the condition of affairs to be so
satisfactory that he caused the depositions of six
Spaniards to be taken for the purpose of reporting to
the emperor the true nature of the conquest of this
formerly warlike region. From the statements of
these deponents it appears that previous to the entrance
of the Dominicans the inhabitants of these
districts opposed all attempts to subdue them,[XX‑51] but
that by infinite labor and care the friars had overcome
their ferocity and exasperation. In his progress
through the country the bishop everywhere met with
a kind welcome. Escorted by Don Juan, a son of
the lord of Coban, with many of his subjects, he proceeded
from town to town,[XX‑52] receiving offerings and
presents at each place. At Coban he was gratified
to find that a substantial wooden church had been
erected, and that every day many natives eagerly received
religious instruction. Proceeding thence to
the town of Tuzulutlan he there met Bishop Marroquin,
who was making a similar visit[XX‑53] and I apprehend
that the two prelates did not entertain such
friendly feelings to each other as had been displayed
to both of them by the natives.
355




But Las Casas had still to learn that however successful
his own efforts had been he could not ward off
the oppression of his countrymen. The Spaniards
now began to enter the region, impose tributes, and
make slaves as was their wont, and in October following
Fray Luis Cancer wrote to him—the prelate
being then at Gracias á Dios—stating that more than
seven hundred slaves of both sexes had been taken
from the town of Tuzulutlan alone, and that the
tribute which the natives of Vera Paz were called
upon to pay was intolerable.[XX‑54] Moreover he was soon
to find, greatly to his mortification, that his peaceful
system of conversion was not necessarily unattended
by bloodshed, as was shown a few years later by the
martyrdom of Luis Cancer and two brothers of the
Dominican order.



FURTHER EFFORTS.



In 1547 Fray Cancer and Las Casas returned to
Spain, and by their representations induced the emperor
to consent to an expedition to Florida to be
conducted by the former on the system by which
the pacification of Vera Paz was accomplished. His
Majesty extended every facility to the friar, supplying
him with funds and issuing an order which would
enable him to obtain every encouragement and aid
from the authorities in Mexico.[XX‑55] The friar made his
356
preparations with great enthusiasm; yet he met with
considerable delay, caused by the unfavorable light in
which his dangerous enterprise was regarded in Spain.
He had great difficulty in obtaining a pilot, and indeed,
although he had hoped to procure the assistance
of four or six colleagues, two only were found ready
to risk their lives in the cause. "All Seville," he
wrote, "is surprised at this undertaking; those who
most fear God approve of it; others think that we are
going to the slaughter-house."[XX‑56]



MARTYRDOM.



Writing these prophetic and ill-omened words on the
very day of his departure Fray Luis sailed on his last
voyage from Spain. Few particulars of his expedition
are known, except the manner of his death. On
his arrival in Mexico he obtained the assistance which
the king ordered to be extended to him, and about the
middle of 1549 set sail from Vera Cruz, accompanied
by Frailes Gregorio de Beteta, Juan García, Diego
de Tolosa, and a lay brother named Fuentes. Contrary
to his express desire the captain of the vessel
landed him at a part of the Florida coast where
Spaniards had previously committed depredations
and thus exasperated the natives. Unconscious of
this act of carelessness,[XX‑57] Fray Cancer, accompanied
by Tolosa and the lay brother, proceeded on his mission,
but the ill-fated ecclesiastics had not advanced
far from the shore when they were assailed by Indians,
and immediately beaten to death with clubs.[XX‑58]
357




This disastrous termination of an enterprise from
which Las Casas and his advocates had expected so
much was a bitter cup which his opponents did not
fail to hold out to him. Yet this stout combatant for
the system of bloodless pacification yielded not an iota
in his principles, and ably defended himself against
Sepúlveda by maintaining that the previous cruel conduct
of the Spaniards on the coast was the cause of
the tragedy in Florida.[XX‑59] The career of Las Casas in
Chiapas and the appointment of Cerrato as governor
of Guatemala have already been mentioned.
358




CHAPTER XXI.



GUATEMALA AND CHIAPAS.

1551-1600.





Quesada's Administration—The Oidor Zorita Gathers the Natives
into Towns—Expedition against the Lacandones—Its Failure—Landecho
Appointed Quesada's Successor—His Residencia Taken
by the Licentiate Brizeño—Famine, Pestilence, and Earthquake
in Guatemala—The Audiencia of the Confines Removed to Panamá—And
Again Transferred to Guatemala—Gonzalez Appointed
President—He is Succeeded by Villalobos—Changes in Church
Affairs—Death of Bishop Marroquin—Quarrels between the
Dominicans and Franciscans—Bishops Villalpando and Córdoba—Fracas
between Two Ecclesiastics—Administration of Presidents
Valverde, Rueda, Sandé, and Castilla—Industrial Condition
of the Province.



ORGANIZATION OF INDIAN TOWNS.



Cerrato's successor was Doctor Antonio Rodriguez
de Quesada, an oidor of the audiencia of Mexico,
and a man of learning and ability. Though appointed
November 17, 1553, he did not assume office until the
beginning of 1555.[XXI‑1] The residencia of the former president
and oidores was soon begun, and completed some
time in May.[XXI‑2] Quesada was active in establishing
reforms, and it was to the Indian question that his
principal efforts were directed. The president determined
to complete the organization of Indian towns,
hoping thus to compel the natives to adopt a civilized
mode of life and establishing in them a municipal government
similar to that of Spanish settlements, the
359
offices being confided to their hereditary chiefs according
to rank.[XXI‑3]




At the request of the bishop and the Dominican
provincial, the audiencia ordered Oidor Zorita to call
a meeting of friars; and although we have no direct
information as to its object, we may conclude that it
related to the president's policy, for it was condemned
by the settlers,[XXI‑4] and, as we shall see hereafter, the
carrying into effect of Quesada's plans was in great
part due to the efforts of Zorita who was commissioned
for this purpose.




The work of organizing the native towns had
already been begun in Nicaragua as early as February
1555, by the licentiate Cavallon, appointed alcalde
mayor of that province by the audiencia.[XXI‑5]




In the beginning of March, Zorita set forth on his
official tour through the province. From the letters
of the Dominicans we learn that during six months
he visited on foot the most rugged portions of the
province, moderated tributes, and corrected abuses.
In gathering the natives into towns he found much
difficulty, force being necessary in some instances to
accomplish their removal. This, however, was not
the only opposition encountered, for as might be expected
he incurred the bitter hostility of the settlers.
Finding him incorruptible they had recourse as usual
to false reports. Witnesses for any purpose could be
cheaply bought; and since he would not yield the
Spaniards determined to drive him from the province.[XXI‑6]
There is no evidence as to the result of this hostility,
nor have we any further records of events which
occurred during Quesada's administration, save the
360
mention of a fearful epidemic which swept over the
country in 1558,[XXI‑7] and the seizure and pillage of Puerto
de Caballos by four French ships during the same
year.[XXI‑8]




In the letters of the Dominicans already cited, no
special mention is made of Quesada, but in February
1558, the cabildo, in a despatch to the king, urge the
appointment as governor of some person who should be
a gentleman by birth, and have the sole management
of affairs.[XXI‑9] This would seem to indicate that, whatever
the president's subsequent policy, it was satisfactory
neither to the ecclesiastics nor to the settlers.




Quesada died in November 1558, and the oidor
and licentiate Pedro Ramirez de Quiñones took temporary
charge of the presidency. Ramirez' rule was
brief, and the only event of importance of which we
have any record was the expedition in 1559 against
the hostile provinces of Lacandon and Acala. Of
the vast extent of unconquered territory lying beyond
Vera Paz, nothing definite was known at this time
except from the accounts of the march of Cortés to
Honduras, nor had its conquest been attempted.




As early as 1550 attempts at the pacification of the
adjacent province of Acala were begun by the Dominicans
of Vera Paz. For a time their efforts were successful,
but finally, incited by their neighbors and
allies, the majority of the natives refused to receive
the friars, and in 1555 the combined tribes destroyed
the only mission thus far established and murdered
Father Vico, the originator of the attempt, together
with his companion Father Lopez, and a number of
converted Indians from Vera Paz. There is no evidence
that their pacification was again attempted.
361



THE LACANDONES.



Chief among the wild tribes of this region were
the Lacandones, who though few in number were
brave, hardy, daring, and implacable in their hatred
of the white race. Their territory extended from the
northern frontier of Vera Paz along the eastern border
of Chiapas as far as the province of Tabasco. Their
chief town and stronghold was on a rocky island, in
Lake Lacandon, distant a few days' journey from the
provinces of Chiapas and Vera Paz. From this point
they issued in organized bands, and sweeping along the
border of these two provinces fell suddenly on the
defenceless settlements, leaving a track of desolation
and blood. These depredations continued for many
years, nor is there any record of a single instance of
pursuit or punishment previous to 1559. Emboldened
by continued success, they extended their incursions
to the interior. In 1552 they destroyed two towns in
Chiapas, one of them within fifteen leagues of Ciudad
Real. The attack was made at night, and but few of
the terrified inhabitants escaped. While sacrificing
their captives the natives shouted derisively: "Christians,
call upon your God to defend you!"




The bishop of Chiapas made overtures of peace to
the Lacandones, but they were treated with contempt
and his messengers killed. He then appealed to the
audiencia; but the oidores, foreseeing in these disasters
the failure of the much-vaunted peace policy which
had in a measure excluded the civil authority from
the territory ceded to the Dominicans, coldly replied
that the crown had strictly forbidden the making of
war on this province. Reports of the critical condition
of affairs were accordingly made to the crown
both by bishop and friars. In consequence a cédula
dated January 22, 1556, ordered the audiencia de los
Confines to investigate the matter, punish the Lacandones
as far as practicable, and report the result to
the crown. The instructions, however, were unheeded,
for the audiencia well knew that nothing short of
an armed force would suffice, and this decree did not
362
expressly authorize a disregard of the existing interdict.




In the mean time the depredations of the Lacandones
continued unchecked, and threatened to cause
the abandonment of Vera Paz. Aroused at last to a
full sense of their danger the Dominicans were fain
to acknowledge that the coöperation of the sword was
necessary to the planting of the cross, and so far diverged
from the principles laid down by Las Casas as
to declare in the provincial chapter held at Coban, in
1558, that because of the sacrileges and murders they
had committed, it was not only lawful for the king to
make war on the Lacandones, but if need be, in order
to protect his subjects, to exterminate them.[XXI‑10]




In pursuance of this declaration they wrote to the
king and suggested as the only efficient remedy the
removal of the hostile natives to certain unsettled districts
beyond Ciudad Real, thus placing this city between
them and the settlements of Chiapas and Vera
Paz. In order to reduce the expense of their removal
it was further suggested that an expedition be authorized
and the Spaniards induced to join it at their own
expense under promise that the Lacandones should
be granted to them in repartimiento. In accordance
with these suggestions a royal cédula dated March
16, 1558, directed the audiencia de los Confines to take
steps for the immediate removal of the Indians. If
practicable it was to be done peaceably, but if force
were necessary all harshness was to be avoided, though
the prisoners taken were to become the lawful slaves
of their captors.







Lacandon War.





MUSTERING OF FORCES.



This decree was published in Santiago in the beginning
of 1559; and attracted by the prospect of
gain thus held out, and the charm of adventure and
mystery which attaches to the invasion of an unknown
and hostile province, large numbers of settlers
363
in Guatemala and Chiapas offered to accompany the
expedition. President Ramirez was appointed commander-in-chief,
as he had already certain military renown
not altogether merited. Early in the same year
the respective forces arrived at Comitlan, the appointed
rendezvous. The total Spanish force is not
stated but is said to have included many persons of
quality. The troops from Chiapas were commanded
by Gonzalo Dovalle, and besides the colonists, comprised
a native contingent of eight hundred warriors.
A thousand Indians are said to have accompanied the
Spanish from Guatemala. Supplies of all kinds were
collected, and two brigantines were built in sections,
each vessel being capable of holding a hundred men.
A small army of carriers and attendants was required
to transport the baggage and wait on the Spaniards,
and preparations were on a scale better befitting a
conflict with Europeans than with Americans. At
Comitlan a review was held which, according to
364
Remesal, presented one of the most brilliant spectacles
ever seen in those parts, for no expense had been
spared by the Spaniards in their dress, equipments,
and arms. At last, the flags having been blessed and
mass said, the army set out.




Fifteen days of toilsome march, during which a
path had to be cut through the dense vegetation,
brought them to the shores of Lake Lacandon. At
their approach the natives retreated to the island,
after catching and sacrificing a negro boy who was out
after some corn which grew in the gardens on the
borders of the lake.




From their retreat the Lacandones closely watched
the movements of the Spaniards, who in turn eagerly
scanned the high bare rock with its white houses and
dusky inhabitants, lest any signs of hostile preparation
should escape them.




While the work of putting together one of the brigantines
was progressing, a few of the natives approached
the shore in canoes and demanded of the Spaniards
their object in thus invading their country. Returning
they made offers of peace, but as they denied
having more than eleven canoes, the Spaniards suspected
their design. It was believed that they wished
to induce the Spaniards to accompany them to the
island, a few at a time, where they could easily be despatched.
The brigantine was soon afterward launched
and as the Lacandones saw it bearing down upon
them they took to flight.[XXI‑11] Many were captured, including
the principal chief and the high priest. The
houses and other defences of the island having been
destroyed, a force was then despatched to pursue the
savages, and to reduce the stronghold of the Puchutlas,
which was also an island fortress, though its exact
position cannot now be ascertained.[XXI‑12]
365



ILL-ADVISED EFFORTS.



Near the town of Topiltitepeq this force fell into an
ambuscade, and a few of the Spaniards were wounded,
but the savages were finally put to rout, and a large
supply of provisions was found in the deserted town.
Arriving at Puchutla they found the natives in readiness
for defence. Preparations were immediately made
for the attack, and a raft was built as the second brigantine
had been abandoned in the woods, and the one
used against the Lacandones had sunk in the lake.
No sooner had the Spaniards started from shore than
the Indians advanced in their canoes to meet them,
and midway between the island and the bank there
was a sharp encounter which resulted in the defeat and
flight of the Puchutlas. The fortress was found to
be deserted, the savages having taken the precaution
of removing their families and property to a place of
safety.[XXI‑13] No attempt was made to punish the natives
or to occupy any portion of their territory, and the
expedition returned to Guatemala about Christmas,
bringing with them one hundred and fifty prisoners.




In conjunction with the Spaniards, a large force of
christianized Indians under the native governor of
Vera Paz invaded the province of Ácala, administering
a severe punishment, taking many captives, and
hanging the principal accomplices in the murder of
fathers Vico and Lopez.




Thus ended an expedition which had cost the
crown nearly four thousand pesos de oro de minas,
but seems to have been without any fixed plan, and
was productive of no practical result other than to
keep the savages in check for a time.[XXI‑14] Its failure
366
proved most disastrous to the colonists; for, though
some are said to have received a reward for their services,
the majority were left hopelessly involved in
debt for the cost of their outfit, a few miserable
slaves being the only spoils obtained in return for the
expense, hardships, and peril incurred. It was not
long, however, before all the slaves, including their
chief, effected their escape and returned to their
country. Re-occupying their stronghold, it was not
many years before they resumed their depredations,
and, as we shall see, successfully resisted all subsequent
attempts to subdue them.




In 1564 the Puchutlas were induced, through the
efforts of the Dominican Father Laurencio, to submit
to the friars, and settled in Vera Paz. This success
gained for Father Laurencio the title of the Apostle
of Puchutla.[XXI‑15]




In August 1559 the licentiate Juan Martinez de
Landecho, Quesada's successor, arrived in Guatemala,[XXI‑16]
and entered upon office early in September,
Ramirez being appointed an oidor of the audiencia
of Lima, and after undergoing the investigation
of his residencia embarking at the port of Acajutla,
whither he was accompanied by the principal authorities
and citizens, who thus showed their recognition
of his worth.




The petition of the cabildo of Santiago that a gentleman
by birth and education should be sent to
govern them, had at last been answered, and the
members were profuse in their thanks to the crown
367
for this favor. Experience had taught, however, that
in order to protect and further the interests of the colonists,
they must control a majority of the oidores, and
as this was extremely difficult, they had determined
to make an effort to have the political administration
and distribution of the Indians vested exclusively in
the president. As we have seen, the crown had already
been petitioned to make this change, and it was expected
that the new president would come with the additional
title of governor.




This petition was repeated in the latter part of
1560, and was successful; for in May of the following
year we find the cabildo attributing the increasing
prosperity of the country to the granting of their
request.[XXI‑17]



MEJÍA AND THE DOMINICANS.



The colonists were jubilant that the humane measures
of Cerrato and of Zorita, which their constant
efforts had hitherto failed to accomplish, were now
certain of defeat. Doctor Mejía, one of the oidores,
was ordered to make an official tour of the provinces,
as Zorita had been under the former administration.
His measures counteracted the benefits of Zorita's
labors. The regulation of tribute was entrusted to
the encomenderos and caciques, and as these latter
were often but the creatures of the former, the result
may be readily inferred.[XXI‑18]




The Dominicans were the object of Mejía's special
dislike, and he subjected them to such annoyance and
persecution that they were on the point of abandoning
the province of Guatemala. The alcaldes and other
officers interfered with them in their control of the
Indians, secretly charged them with usurping the
368
royal authority and receiving money from the natives,
and, though the audiencia, in answer to the complaints
of the friars, promised to protect them, little appears
to have been done. Even the cabildo sought to make
it appear to the crown that the religious exercised an
arbitrary and prejudicial authority in the municipal
council and elections held by the Indians. The deplorable
condition of the natives and the persecution
of the friars were made the subject of numerous letters
to Las Casas, who represented these abuses to
the crown in strong colors, urging the removal of
Mejía and the adoption of relief measures for the
natives.[XXI‑19]




Some relief was afforded by a royal decree which
declared the natives no longer subject to the Spanish
alcaldes, and which, according to Remesal,[XXI‑20] was issued
about 1563 at the petition of the friars.




Landecho is represented as haughty, capricious,
wedded to his own opinions, and unscrupulous in
money matters.[XXI‑21] Certain it is that though favoring
the interests of the colonists he did not neglect his
own, and they soon found that he was neither pliant
nor considerate. They never ceased to extol his tact
and vigilance, and declared him fit to govern Peru;
yet within a year of this declaration, and while assuring
the king that they had no cause to change their
mind, they observed that it would be well for the
crown to instruct the president-governor to have a
special care for the welfare of the people.[XXI‑22]




The continued complaints against Landecho at
last induced the crown to decide on his removal, and
369
Licentiate Francisco Brizeño,[XXI‑23] oidor of the audiencia
of Santa Fé,[XXI‑24] was commissioned to take his residencia.
He arrived in Santiago on the 2d of August 1564.[XXI‑25]
The residencia of the president was terminated in
December of the same year, and resulted in the suspension
of the president and the oidor Loaisa.[XXI‑26]



FAMINE AND EPIDEMIC.



During Landecho's rule, a drought, which occurred
in 1563, was followed by such great scarcity of corn
as to cause much suffering among the natives,[XXI‑27] and
in the early part of 1565 the country was visited
by pestilence and earthquake. The epidemic appears
to have been confined to the Indian town of Cinacantlan,
in Chiapas, which it nearly depopulated, but
the effects of the earthquake were more extended. In
Santiago and the adjacent country it was destructive
both to life and property.[XXI‑28] To mitigate the
370
wrath of God the terrified inhabitants of the city
chose the martyr Saint Stephen as their advocate,
and erected in his honor a hermitage, to which a yearly
procession was established.[XXI‑29]




A matter of greater moment than the change of
governors now occupied the attention of the colonists
of Guatemala. The transfer of the audiencia de
los Confines to Panamá had been decided on by the
crown, but for what cause is not recorded by the
chroniclers.[XXI‑30] A decree to this effect was issued early
in 1563, and confirmed by a second one dated the 8th
of September in the same year in which its jurisdiction
was defined.[XXI‑31]




A line extending from the gulf of Fonseca to the
mouth of the river Ulúa formed the northern limit
of the territory made subject to the new audiencia of
Panamá. This did not include, however, the cities of
Gracias á Dios and San Gil de Buenavista with their
districts, which together with the provinces of Guatemala,
Chiapas, Soconusco, and Vera Paz were made
subject to the audiencia of New Spain.[XXI‑32]



ADMINISTRATION OF GOVERNMENT.



Doctor Barros de San Millan, oidor of the audiencia
of Panamá, was commissioned by the crown to remove
371
the audiencia de los Confines, and before the end of
December 1564 was on his way to Panamá with the
seal, the visitador Brizeño having brought the order
and published it soon after his arrival.[XXI‑33]




This change, which seriously affected the interests
of Guatemala, was vigorously opposed by its inhabitants.
Though informed early in 1564, as we have
seen, that this measure had been resolved on, the
cabildo refrained from decisive action till the arrival
of Brizeño, when the publication of his orders would
perhaps reveal its origin. In this, however, they
were disappointed, for in their letter of December 20,
1564, they write: "Your Majesty, for certain causes
which have moved you, has been pleased to order that
the audiencia de los Confines be removed to the city
of Panamá."




By making the audiencia of New Spain the court
of appeals for Guatemala and the other provinces,
under the former jurisdiction of the audiencia of the
Confines great inconvenience and injustice resulted
owing to distance. These facts were dwelt upon in the
petitions to the crown, and were supplemented by the
reports of the Dominicans, who represented the ill-treatment
to which the natives would be exposed
without the restraining presence of the audiencia.
Las Casas, as we have seen, also employed his voice
and influence at court to bring about its restoration,
and the result was to induce the crown, by decree of
1568, to order its reëstablishment in Santiago, Doctor
Antonio Gonzalez, oidor of the audiencia of Granada,
being appointed president and arriving in Santiago
with the oidores early in 1570.[XXI‑34]
372




During the absence of the audiencia the country
was governed by the visitador Brizeño, whose administration
appears to have been just, and with the exception
of church affairs, uneventful. There is no
evidence that Gonzalez was given the extraordinary
powers granted to Landecho, perhaps because the experiment
had not proven satisfactory, but according
to Pelaez, a fiscal had been added to the officers of the
audiencia during its absence.[XXI‑35] Brizeño's residencia
was taken sometime in March, and the only charge
brought against him was the granting of certain repartimientos
at the suggestion of the cabildo of Santiago.
The findings in the case were transmitted to
the crown, and the cabildo immediately wrote defending
the measure as necessary, and asking for his acquittal.[XXI‑36]




Gonzalez ruled until February 1572, when he was
relieved by Doctor Pedro de Villalobos, who came as
president and governor. We have no record of any
event of importance during Gonzalez' administration;
but that it was a just one is proven by his honorable
acquittal in the residencia taken by his successor.




About the middle of the sixteenth century the
affairs of the church underwent several important
changes. Soconusco, which as we have seen was assigned
to the bishopric of Chiapas, was subsequently
included in the see of Bishop Marroquin, though
again affiliated with the bishopric of Chiapas in 1596.
Soon after their arrival the Dominicans sent to Soconusco
a mission of several friars; but unable to withstand
373
the excessive heat most of them fell sick, and
the death of one of their number so dispirited the
remainder as to cause the abandonment of the province.




The see of Chiapas remained vacant until 1550,
when Father Tomás Casillas, at the suggestion, no
doubt, of Las Casas, was appointed to fill it. He
visited the greater part of his diocese, including Tabasco;
built an episcopal palace, and attended the
provincial councils in Mexico in 1555 and 1565. After
his decease in 1567, the see again remained vacant
until 1574, when Fray Domingo de Lara was designated
as his successor. The intelligence of the honor
fell strangely upon the recipient; he prayed that he
might die before it was confirmed; and curiously enough
before the pope's bull came to hand, and while in the
midst of preparations for consecration, he expired.[XXI‑37]



AN HONEST BISHOP.



The next occupant of the see, Pedro de Fería, was
called from the convent of Salamanca, and early in
February 1575 was actively engaged in diocesan work.
At his invitation the Franciscans sent some friars into
the province, and a convent and church were soon
erected. Chiapas had the rare fortune to possess in
Fería a bishop who was an honest man, and one not
greedy for gold or power. Finding himself too feeble
for the work he begged the king to name another.
In consequence of an order of the king that secular
priests must not be displaced by Dominicans, or others
who held a temporary dispensation from the pope,
Fería appointed seculars to several vacancies to the
no small chagrin of some of the friars. In 1592[XXI‑38] Don
Fray Andrés de Ubilla was appointed successor to
Fería, and continued in office until 1601, when he was
promoted to the see of Michoacan.




At a Dominican provincial chapter held in 1576, at
374
Ciudad Real, the convent of Santo Domingo de Chiapas
was accepted as that of the province, and Pedro
de Barrientos chosen as first vicar. At chapters held
in Chiapas and Guatemala prior to 1600, it was forbidden
the friars to sign their family name; to write
to the president of the audiencia or to the oidores
without showing the letters first to the superiors, and
so in regard to writing to Spain under penalty of fifteen
days' imprisonment. No moneys were to be sent
to Spain through the hands of the religious.




Ciudad Real, where the last provincial chapter was
held, had in 1580 two hundred Spanish vecinos. There
were about ninety Indian towns in the province, within
a radius of sixty leagues, containing some twenty-six
thousand tributaries. The largest one, Chiapas de
los Indios, had twelve hundred Indian vecinos.




In 1559, through the influence of Las Casas, the
bishopric of Vera Paz was established, and Father
Angulo appointed its first bishop. He accepted the
charge and repaired to his see a year or two later, but
died early in 1562 before proceeding to consecration.[XXI‑39]
The establishment of this see was unwise in the extreme,
and must be attributed solely to the representations
of Las Casas. As already shown the country
was barely capable of sustaining its inhabitants, and
in 1564 the cabildo declared to the crown that it would
be well to suppress the bishopric as it could not support
a prelate; an opinion borne out by subsequent
experience.[XXI‑40]




Angulo was succeeded by Father Tomás de Cárdenas,
375
a Dominican. The date of his appointment
according to Gonzalez Dávila was April 1, 1565, and
according to Remesal he continued in possession until
his death, in 1580.[XXI‑41]



DEATH OF MARROQUIN.



In 1555 Bishop Marroquin, now old and wearied
with over twenty-five years of constant service as
priest and bishop, sought to retire, but though President
Quesada recommended to the crown that his
petition be granted it was refused, and he died at
Santiago on holy Friday of 1563,[XXI‑42] and was buried
with the highest honors in the cathedral of Santiago.[XXI‑43]
His successor was Bernardino de Villalpando, bishop
of Cuba, who arrived in Santiago in 1564.[XXI‑44]




The Franciscans and Dominicans in the mean time
had made but little progress owing to petty rivalries
and dissensions between them, and the interference
of the secular clergy. Though the Dominicans had
always been the principal confessors and preachers in
Santiago, they were less popular than the Franciscans,
who were also favored by Bishop Marroquin. As
early as 1550 a strong rivalry sprung up between the
two orders in regard to the right of possession of
sites for churches and convents. These being then
determined by the simple act of taking possession,
many towns and districts were seized upon by the
376
ecclesiastics which they could not attend to themselves,
and would not permit their rivals to control.
Dissensions and mutual detractions followed, which
the prelates of the respective orders were powerless
to suppress in their subordinates.




This scandalous example estranged both the civil
authorities and the citizens, and Marroquin, finding
his efforts to settle these quarrels fruitless, began to
appoint persons to the vacant and neglected towns,
in some cases depriving the ecclesiastics of those in
their charge. This condition of affairs was duly
reported by the authorities, and as a result the
religious were reproved, and the selection of sites for
convents and the appointment of clergy made subject
to the approval of the audiencia, and the bishop was
instructed to respect the privileges of the friars and
treat them with due consideration.[XXI‑45]




In 1551 the Dominicans of Guatemala, Honduras,
Nicaragua, and Chiapas were organized into an independent
provincia with the title of San Vicente de
Chiapas. Father Tomás de la Torre was appointed
provincial, and the first provincial chapter was held
at Santiago in January.[XXI‑46] Several convents were
founded, mostly in Guatemala, churches built among
the Zoques and Quelenes, and with the arrival from
time to time of additional friars the organization of
new districts was begun. In Chiapas the Dominicans
in their labors continued to suffer occasional molestation
from the colonists. The provinces of San Salvador,
Nicaragua, and Costa Rica were visited, a
convent was founded in the city of San Salvador, and
two attempts were made to establish the order in
Nicaragua.[XXI‑47]




In 1559 a custodia was formed of the Franciscans
377
in Guatemala and Yucatan, by which provinces the
vicar was alternately chosen. This lasted until 1565,
when the religious of Guatemala were authorized to
establish a separate provincia with the title of The
Holy Name of Jesus. Their first provincial was
Father Gonzalo Mendez, and the first provincial chapter
was opened in Santiago on the 12th of October,
1566.[XXI‑48]




Owing to the dissensions with the Dominicans and
among themselves, many friars left the province, so
that in 1566 there were but thirty ecclesiastics and
seven convents. In 1574 the audiencia issued a decree
permitting the Franciscans to found convents in
the provinces of Izalcos, Cuscatlan, and Honduras.
About the same time convents were established in the
villas of San Salvador and San Miguel.[XXI‑49]



VILLALPANDO AND CÓRDOBA.



One of the first acts of Bishop Villalpando was the
publication of the decrees of the late council of Trent.
Among other measures these restricted the privileges
of mendicant friars, and believing or affecting to believe
that this extended to a total deprivation of their
right to administer the sacraments, the prelate began
to secularize the towns in their charge. In vain were
the protests of the Franciscan and Dominican provincials
and the audiencia, and the representations of all
that the secular priests, ignorant of the Indian languages,
regardless of their interest, and in many cases
of disreputable character, were unfit to succeed the
regular orders in the charge of a numerous people, the
majority of whom were yet new in the faith. The
bishop absolutely insisted on obedience. In consequence
recourse was had to the crown, but in the
interim the prelate persistently carried out his measures
notwithstanding the opposition of the friars, the
colonists, and the natives, the religious being prevented
378
from abandoning the province only at the entreaties
of the colonists, and the Indians in some instances
refusing to receive them in their towns.




At the solicitation of the king the pope restored
the privileges of the friars, the extreme measures of
the bishop were condemned, and the archbishop of
New Spain ordered to send a visitador to examine
into certain serious charges made against Villalpando.[XXI‑50]
When notified of these decrees, Villalpando is said to
have replied: "I have received my church not from
the king but from God, to whom I am prepared to
render an account." According to Juarros he left
Santiago soon after and died suddenly at Chalchuapa,
four days' journey from the capital.[XXI‑51] Francisco Cambranes,
dean of the cathedral of Santiago and after
him Father Alonso de Lamilla, a Dominican, appear
to have been appointed to succeed Villalpando. The
former died before his appointment reached him and
the latter declined the mitre. The see remained vacant
until the appointment in 1574 of Bishop Gomez Fernandez
de Córdoba who was transferred from the
bishopric of Nicaragua.[XXI‑52]




Córdoba was a man simple in habit, humble in
spirit, and pure in life. Foppery troubled some of
the clergy, and the prelate, who could be stern when
needful, took occasion to call up one of the would-be
clerical gallants, and severely admonished him upon
the extravagance of his dress. The mortifying lesson
was not without effect, and he, with not a few others,
carefully avoided such display ever after.



FIGHTING FRIARS.



In 1575 Córdoba set out on his official visits, and
everywhere met with complaints from the natives
379
concerning their priests, especially among the Ochitepiques,
who asked to have the Franciscans put in
charge. But those in possession were not always
willing to gracefully yield as was shown by an incident
which occurred in the same year. Father Pedro
Diaz, visiting Guatemala for the purpose of founding
Franciscan convents, arrived in the little town of
Zamayaque, and called to pay his respects to the
priest. His advances were coolly received, and the
padre, seeking to conciliate him, asked his permission
to say mass in the town and confess some of the
Indians. From indifference the latter became fiercely
indignant, and expressed himself in very unclerical
language. His words were violent and his speech so
loud that a number of the Indians were attracted to
the spot. Thereupon Diaz assumed a humble attitude
and deferentially withdrew, after making his
apologies, and repaired to the cabildo, where the people
flocked to him. Improvising an altar beneath a
cotton-tree close by, he then insisted upon performing
service, taking care that the priest should be informed
and begging him not to interfere. At the consecration,
the latter, accompanied by a few armed favorites,
rushed in and gave unbridled license to his tongue,
calling the people dogs and the Franciscan a madman.
It was a strange spectacle—an angry priest wildly
gesticulating in his black robe, surrounded by armed
men, who momentarily threatened assault, and a padre
calmly reciting his orisons, holding the host in uplifted
hands in the midst of the people. The priest, exasperated
beyond control, ordered his men to charge,
which they did, wounding not a few and causing a
general stampede.




At this point the encomendero Leon Cardena interposed
between the contestants, and the Franciscan
tried to assuage the tumult with words of peace.
The priest would not be pacified until the Indians
tried their skill at stone-throwing, when he ignominiously
turned and fled to his house, where he had to
380
undergo a siege until he promised to depart for Guatemala
taking all his paraphernalia with him.[XXI‑53] The
Franciscan remained master of the field, and was
eventually appointed guardian of Zamayaque, but the
consequences of the unseemly quarrel were far-reaching,
and the discussions to which it gave rise went far
to reform the character of priests put in charge of the
natives.




Bishop Córdoba labored in Guatemala for twenty-three
years, Fray Antonio de Hinojosa being appointed
his colleague two years before the decease of
the former, which occurred in 1598. During his administration
the king gave orders that no expense
should be spared in supporting all the religious who
might be needed for the conversion of the natives,
and that money should be placed at the disposal of
the friars for the purpose of administering the sacrament
to the Indians in places remote from the settlements.
The Franciscans especially multiplied in
Guatemala, sixty-six arriving in that province between
1571 and 1573. In 1576 the audiencia was
directed by the crown to make an annual grant of
fifty thousand maravedís for each mission established
by them. In 1578 García de Valverde, who during
that year was appointed president of the audiencia,
undertook the rebuilding or enlargement of several
Franciscan convents[XXI‑54] and the erection of several
churches. Such was his enthusiasm that he was
often seen carrying stone and mortar for the workmen,
and his example spread among the inhabitants
of Santiago, men of noble birth imitating the prelate's
example.
381




In the year 1600 when Juan Ramirez was appointed
bishop there were in Guatemala twenty-two
convents of the Franciscans and fourteen of the
Dominican order.[XXI‑55] In 1578 a nunnery was completed
and occupied, the funds having been provided by a
bequest from the first bishop of Guatemala. In 1592 a
college was opened in Santiago, and we learn that the
cabildo, encouraged by its success, desired to have a
university established there in order that students
might complete their education without proceeding to
Mexico as was then the custom among the wealthier
class of Spaniards.



VALVERDE AND RUEDA.



During Valverde's administration the news of
Drake's expedition to the South Sea, of which mention
will be made in connection with the raids of that
famous adventurer, spread consternation throughout
the provinces. On this occasion the president of
Guatemala showed himself worthy of the trust imposed
in him. Ships and cannon were procured;
small arms and ammunition were obtained from Mexico,
and an expedition was quickly despatched in search
of the enemy. No encounter took place, however,
and the commander of the fleet was placed under
arrest for non-fulfilment of his orders, which were to
proceed in quest of the intruders to the gulf of California
where they were supposed to be stationed. In
1586 when news arrived of Drake's capture of Santo
Domingo a review was held in the plaza of Santiago,
and it was found that the city could put into the field
five hundred foot and one hundred horse.[XXI‑56]




Valverde's decease occurred in September 1589,
and when on his death-bed he received intelligence of
382
his promotion to the presidency of the audiencia of
Nueva Galicia. His successor was Pedro Mayen de
Rueda, a man of strong but narrow views, and one
who by his injudicious measures soon made enemies
both of the oidores and the ecclesiastics, the members
of the municipality, however, remaining firm in their
allegiance to him. "Rueda," writes the cabildo to
the king in 1592, "has given vacant encomiendas to
the deserving, and strictly carried out royal cédulas.
He has embellished the capital with many a fine building
so that it is far other than it was." Nevertheless
his enemies were too strong for him, and in the following
year he was superseded by Doctor Francisco
Sandé, who came to the province vested with the
authority of a visitador, but appears to have found
nothing specially worthy of censure in the former's
administration.[XXI‑57]




The new president incurred the enmity of the
cabildo by abolishing one of its most cherished privileges,[XXI‑58]
and by causing the office of alférez, the
holder of which became ex officio the senior member
of the cabildo, to be disposed of for five thousand
ducados to one Francisco de Mesa, whose chief recommendation
seems to have been that he was a kinsman
of the president's wife. In November 1596 Sandé
departed for New Granada, of which province he had
383
been appointed governor.[XXI‑59] His successor was Doctor
Alonso Criado de Castilla, who assumed office in September
1598, the reins of power being during the
interval in the hands of the senior oidor, Alvaro
Gomez de Abaunza.



MINING AND COMMERCE.



During the closing years of the sixteenth century
it was the policy of the cabildo in their reports to the
king to represent the industrial condition of Guatemala
in as unfavorable a light as possible. Nevertheless
there is sufficient evidence that trade was restricted,
mining almost neglected, and that agriculture received
little attention. Rich mines were discovered in various
places, but Indians could not be procured to work
them, and mine-owners becoming every day poorer,
threatened altogether to abandon the field, thus causing
the cabildo to petition for the importation of slaves
for the purpose of developing them. So great was
the falling-off in receipts at the smelting-works that
the royal officials resolved to exact only one tenth
instead of the fifth of the proceeds which had before
been collected as the king's dues.




The possibility of extending the commerce of the
province by the opening of the port of Iztapa, ten or
twelve leagues from Santiago, and the point where it
will be remembered Alvarado's vessels were built and
equipped for his promised expedition to the Spice
Islands, was the subject of many petitions to the
king. It seemed to present many facilities for an extensive
traffic on the South Sea, and its contiguity to
Guatemala would afford merchants and speculators an
opportunity of dealing in the products of the country.
Ship-building especially might become an important
industry. Woods of finest quality and in limitless
quantity could be had in the district. Large cedars
were abundant; while cordage could be had in inexhaustible
384
quantity. The pita, which furnished excellent
material for ropes and cables, grew profusely all
over the coast. Pitch and tar could also be procured
in the valley of Inmais, only a short distance from the
port. So far, however, little success had attended the
various attempts made to utilize these advantages, but
in after years further efforts were made. In 1591,
measures were also taken for opening another port
named Estero del Salto, seven leagues from Iztapa
and capable of accommodating vessels of a hundred
tons.[XXI‑60]




While thus struggling for new avenues of trade,
the members of the cabildo were tenacious of those
already in their possession. Neither the importation
of slaves nor a reduction of the royal dues would satisfy
them, while cacao, the only product which really
did pay and thus preserved the balance of trade, was
improperly taxed. Writing in 1575, they alleged that
for two years past this once highly profitable trade
had been nearly destroyed by excessive taxation and
that in consequence the prosperity of Santiago had
been greatly diminished.[XXI‑61]



VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS.



But commercial decadence was not the only misfortune
from which the province suffered. In 1575
and the two subsequent years earthquakes occurred
in Guatemala,[XXI‑62] attended with great destruction of
property. In December 1581 a violent eruption occurred
in the volcano west of Santiago. The land for
miles around was covered with scoriæ; the sun was
385
darkened, and the lurid flames darting from the cone
spread terror throughout the neighborhood. The inhabitants,
believing that the day of judgment had
come, marched in penitential procession loudly bewailing
their sins. Presently a sharp north wind dispersed
the gloom and scattered the ashes. On this occasion
no lives were lost. In 1585 and 1586 there were numerous
earthquakes, the most violent one occurring
just before Christmas of the latter year. Hill-tops
were rent, wide chasms appeared in the earth, and the
greater part of the city was destroyed, many of the
inhabitants being buried in the ruins. In 1587 we
hear of another severe earthquake by which fifteen
lives were lost and fifty buildings shaken down, among
them the old Franciscan convent.[XXI‑63]
386




CHAPTER XXII.



AFFAIRS IN PANAMÁ.

1551-1600.





Revolt of the Cimarrones—Pedro de Ursua Sent against Them—A
Second Revolt—Bayano Caught and Sent to Spain—Regulations
concerning Negroes—Commercial Decadence—Restrictions on
Trade—Home Industries—Pearl Fisheries—Mining—Decay of
Settlements—Proposed Change in the Port of Entry—Its Removal
from Nombre de Dios to Portobello—Changes in the Seat of the
Audiencia—Tierra Firme Made Subject to the Viceroy of Peru—Defalcations
in the Royal Treasury—Preparations for Defence
against Corsairs and Foreign Powers.



THE CIMARRONES.



It has already been stated that Las Casas was the
first to urge the substitution of African for Indian
slavery, and as early as 1517 such a measure was
authorized by the crown. The natives lacked the
physical strength needed to meet the demands of their
taskmasters, and negroes from the Portuguese settlements
on the coast of Guinea were largely imported
into the Spanish West Indies. Numbers of them
were driven by ill-usage to take refuge in the forests
and mountain fastnesses, where they led a nomadic
life or made common cause with the natives, and when
attacked by the Spaniards neither gave nor accepted
quarter. About the middle of the sixteenth century
the woods in the vicinity of Nombre de Dios swarmed
with these runaways, who attacked the treasure-trains
on their way across the Isthmus, defeated the parties
sent against them by the governor of the province,
and lurked in wait for passengers, assailing them with
poisoned arrows, and cutting into pieces those who
fell alive into their hands. Organized as marauding
387
companies they became widely known as cimarrones[XXII‑1]
or Maroons as they were called in Jamaica and Dutch
Guiana. At times they would unite their forces and
ravage a wide extent of country, leaving ruin on every
side. Houses were burned, plantations destroyed,
women seized, merchandise stolen, and settlers slain.
Such was the attendant terror that masters dared not
chastise their slaves, nor did merchants venture to
travel the highways except in companies of twenty
or more.[XXII‑2] In the year 1554 many hundreds of them
were thus banded in Tierra Firme alone.




About this time the new viceroy of Peru, Andrés
Hurtado de Mendoza, marqués de Cañete, opportunely
arriving at Nombre de Dios from Spain, en route for
his capital, resolved on the subjugation of these outlaws.
Not long before his arrival, Pedro de Ursua,
a brave and distinguished soldier, had taken refuge
from his enemies in the province of Cartagena, where
he had founded the city of Pamplona and made discoveries.
The viceroy, believing Ursua to be unjustly
persecuted and recognizing his eminent fitness, authorized
him to raise troops and march against the
offenders. Accordingly Ursua equipped upward of
two hundred men, and set out from Nombre de Dios.
The cimarrones had mustered under Bayano,[XXII‑3] a man
of their own race, of singular courage, who had been
elected king by those occupying the mountains between
Plagon and Pacora, and whose number now
exceeded six hundred.
388




Bayano retreated slowly and warily, posting ambuscades
at every favorable point, and engaging the
foe in frequent encounters, the negroes fighting with
desperation and the Spaniards advancing with the
coolness of well disciplined soldiers. For two years
Ursua[XXII‑4] carried on the campaign with unwearied
patience, and at last surrounded the remnant of the
cimarrones and compelled them to sue for peace. Bayano
was sent a prisoner to Spain. In 1570 his followers
founded the town of Santiago del Príncipe. A
cédula of June 21, 1574, declared that on full submission
and on condition of their leading a peaceful life the
negroes should be free men. One of the articles of
a treaty which was concluded at Panamá binds the
emancipated slaves to capture runaways and return
them to their masters.




After a short-lived peace the cimarrones again took
the field, reënforced by maltreated or discontented
negro fugitives from the mines, and committed such
depredations that the king resolved on a war of extermination
against them and their allies. In a cédula
dated 23d of May 1578 he appointed his factor and
veedor Pedro de Ortega Valencia, captain general of
the forces levied for that purpose, with instructions
not to desist until the rebels were vanquished. Funds
were to be drawn freely from the royal treasury.
Panamá and the adjoining provinces of Quito and
Cartago were enjoined to provide all necessary supplies,
and the Casa de la Contratacion de Seville was
to furnish four hundred arquebuses and a supply of
ammunition. The Spaniards were only partially successful,
and in the following year the king found it
necessary to address the president and oidores of the
audiencia, urging them to renewed efforts, but in vain.
389
In 1596 the cimarrones, in concert with buccaneers,
opened a road from their own town to the Chagre
River only a league below the highway to Venta de
las Cruces, their object being to steal and secrete
treasure and merchandise. On the 25th of August
the king peremptorily orders the destruction of the
road and the execution of the ringleaders, but nevertheless
the cimarrones in collusion with English corsairs
for years set the Spaniards at defiance.



SLAVE-DEALING.



The regulations framed during the sixteenth century
concerning negroes, whether bond or free, prescribed
with the utmost minuteness their deportment,
their social relations, and the restrictions under which
they were to live.[XXII‑5] It was provided in the case of
runaways that pardon should only be extended once,
and never to the leaders of a revolt. One fifth of the
cost incurred in their capture was to be met by the
royal treasury and the remainder by the owners; and
all expeditions were to be conducted by experienced
officers, the property value of the negro being so
great that his recovery could not be intrusted to inferior
hands.




To engage in the importation of slaves it was
necessary first to obtain a royal license, a privilege
jealously guarded, and seldom if ever granted to
Spain's ancient rivals, the Portuguese, but freely
bestowed on the English, who gradually monopolized
the trade. So great were the profits that Portuguese
and English alike were found continually violating the
law and setting the king at defiance.[XXII‑6] The regulations
390
embraced also their intercourse with Indians, so as to
discourage as much as possible their association with
lawless bands, dangerous to Spanish security, and
prejudicial to peaceable natives; for, with the presumption
so common among lower races and classes,
the negro failed not to take advantage of any privilege
he might obtain over his red-skinned neighbor.[XXII‑7]
Such checks proved of little use, however, since they
also applied in part at least to Spanish task-masters.
Indeed, in a royal cédula issued in 1593, attention is
called to the fact that no one had been brought to
justice for any of the extortions or cruelties to which
the Indians had been subjected.[XXII‑8] Other stringent laws
were issued, but they came too late, or were neglected
like the rest. Under the yoke of their various oppressors
the native population of the Isthmus gradually
disappeared, and toward the close of the century their
numbers had become insignificant.




In the affairs of Panamá, we enter now an era of
decline. Progress hitherto on the Isthmus has been
on no permanent basis. For a time the gold and
pearls of seaboard and islands kept alive the spirit of
speculation, which was swollen to greater dimensions
by the inflowing treasures from Peru and Chile, and
from scores of other places in South and North
America. When these began to diminish, commerce
fell off, and as it had little else to depend upon there
was necessarily a reaction.




Panamá had comparatively but little indigenous
wealth and was largely dependent for prosperity on
391
Spain's colonial policy. Unfortunately this was characterized
by a short-sightedness which eventually
proved disastrous both to the province and the empire.
The great fleets which arrived from Spain came
in reduced numbers, at longer intervals, and with depleted
stores. In 1589, ninety-four vessels reached
the Isthmus laden with merchandise; sixteen years
later the fleet mustered only seventeen ships.[XXII‑9] To the
depredations of buccaneers which will be hereafter
described this state of affairs may in part be attributed,
but other causes were at work. The king of
Spain had already appeared before his subjects at
Panamá in the character of a royal mendicant;[XXII‑10] and
now he laid restrictions on their trade which could not
fail to prove disastrous to the commercial interests of
the city.



ASIATIC TRADE.



Hitherto there had been a large and lucrative traffic
with the Philippine Islands, yielding often six-fold
increase to the fortunate trader.[XXII‑11] But the cupidity
of the monarch prompted more and more restrictive
measures, until it was altogether forbidden to Panamá,
and indeed to all the West Indies save New Spain,
the king being determined to have what was known
as the Asiatic trade monopolized by Castilian merchants.[XXII‑12]
392
No Chinese goods were to be brought to Panamá
and the other provinces, even from New Spain.
None were to be used there, except such as were in
actual use at date of the royal commands, and any
surplus was to be carried to Spain within four years.




Of course the American provinces were gradually
developing home industries, and bringing into the
market home productions that displaced to a certain
extent goods from which Spain had hitherto made
large profits. Thus Peru supplied wine, leather,
and oil; soap was manufactured in Guayaquil and
Nicaragua; Campeche yielded wax, Guayaquil, Riobamba,
and Puerto Viejo, cordage for ships, and Nicaragua
a good quality of pitch. Quito and other
places manufactured cloths, and New Spain silken and
woolen goods. Had Philip adopted a generous colonial
policy he would have fostered and profited by
these new industries, but all fiscal regulations looked
to the advancement of Spanish commerce without regard
for the development of trade within the colonies.



WINE AND TOBACCO.



Two commodities were watched and guarded with
peculiar jealousy—wine and tobacco. Peru produced
a wine that found favor with many and obtained a
ready sale. In an ordinance of Philip II. dated the
16th of September 1586, no wine but that imported
from Spain was allowed to be sold on the Isthmus;
393
nor was it to be mixed with wine obtained elsewhere.
The penalties attached to infringements of this law
were heavy fines and even perpetual banishment.
The reason assigned for these measures was the injurious
effect of Peruvian wine upon the public health,
but the real motive was the prejudicial effect of its
sale upon the Spanish wine trade.[XXII‑13] Tobacco was a
monopoly of the crown, and one rigidly protected, its
sale, importation, or cultivation being forbidden under
severe penalties.[XXII‑14]




Panamá imported most of her provisions, and the
difficulties in obtaining a regular and cheap supply
were augmented by the monopolies acquired by
wealthy merchants who were enabled to control the
market. New measures to correct this abuse were
continually adopted, and as often evaded or violated.[XXII‑15]
The scarcity of provisions sometimes caused
distress approaching to famine, and at certain seasons
was liable to be aggravated by the crowds of
travellers and adventurers who crossed the Isthmus.[XXII‑16]
394
Peru was the great source of supply and the trade
with that country was the subject of frequent cédulas
addressed to the viceroy.[XXII‑17]



PEARLS AND GOLD.



Pearls and gold were still among the leading productions
of the Isthmus, and the most valuable fisheries
were at the old Pearl Islands of Vasco Nuñez de
Balboa.[XXII‑18] Diving for pearls was performed by negroes
chosen by their masters on account of their dexterity
as swimmers, and their ability to hold their breath
under water. From twelve to twenty under charge
of an overseer usually formed a gang. Anchoring in
twelve to fifteen fathoms of water, they would dive
in succession, bringing up as many shells as they could
gather or carry. It was a laborious calling, and attended
with great danger because of the sharks that
swarmed around the islands and with which they had
many a fierce struggle, often losing limb or life in the
encounter. The divers were required to collect a certain
quantity of pearls, and any surplus they were at
liberty to sell, but only to their own masters and at a
price fixed by them.[XXII‑19]




Ever since their first discovery these fisheries had
maintained their fame, and there was obtained the
largest pearl then known in the world; one that
became the property of Philip II., and was described
by Sir Richard Hawkins[XXII‑20] as being "the size of a
pommel of a ponyard;" its weight being two hundred
and fifty carats, and its value one hundred and fifty
thousand pesos. It was presented by the king to his
daughter Elizabeth, wife of Albertus, duke of Austria.




The number and variety of pearls were such that
this trade became one of the most prolific sources of
wealth to Panamá, Seville alone importing in 1587
395
some six hundred pounds weight, many of them
rivalling the choicest specimens found in Ceylon and
the East Indies. From this time there occurred a
marked falling-off both in quantity and quality, and
in consequence a series of restrictions was put upon
the industry. Notwithstanding these precautionary
measures the pearl-beds became rapidly exhausted;
diving proved a profitless labor,[XXII‑21] and not until several
decades later was this industry revived.




Gold had been found and mined in different parts of
the Isthmus, notably in Darien, the scene of so many
of Balboa's brilliant achievements, where, according to
the report of a later governor, the metal had been so
abundant as to be "weighed by the hundredweight."[XXII‑22]
More definite is the information for this period concerning
the mines of Veragua, a province of irregular
shape, lying between the two oceans, and consisting
largely of rugged and inaccessible sierras, down the
sides of which fall mountain torrents that brought
quantities of the precious metal within easy reach.
The Spaniards were not slow to learn of this wealth,
partly from the trinkets displayed by Indians, and
soon the mines were flooded with laborers. When
the strength of the native proved unequal to the task
the Spaniards enlisted in their service, as we have
seen, the more hardy negro, until in the prosperous
days of mining, which culminated about the year 1570,
there were two thousand of them at work at one time.
Rumor magnified the yield to the ever ready ears
of navigators, and according to Dampier "they were
the richest gold mines ever yet found." "Because of
their inexhaustible riches in gold," says Ogilby, "the
Spaniards there knew not the end of their wealth."[XXII‑23]
396




The yield, if rich, did not prove lasting, however,
and the number of mine-owners dwindled, though
several causes united to this end, such as the attack of
hostile natives or negroes who frequently swooped
down on the Spaniards from their mountain fastnesses
and despoiled their camp. The roads were difficult; the
mining towns were sickly and for the most part abandoned
during the rainy season, their occupants betaking
themselves to Panamá. In 1580 there were but four
of them in the entire province. These were Ciudad
de la Concepcion, the capital, forty leagues west of
Nombre de Dios; Villa de Trinidad, six leagues east
of Concepcion by sea, but inaccessible by land; Ciudad
de Santa Fé, where the smelting-works were established;
and Ciudad de San Cárlos built on the South
Sea, some forty or more leagues west of Santa Fé.
These communities contained altogether about a hundred
and seventy vecinos; all employed in mining or
in matters connected therewith.




Mining towns were not, however, the only ones to
retrograde. The town of Acla, which it will be remembered
was founded by Pedrarias in 1515, and
rebuilt by Vasco Nuñez two years later,[XXII‑24] had in 1580
dropped out of existence. And so it was with several
settlements that at different times had risen with hopeful
prospects. Either the climate killed or drove off the
inhabitants, or rival towns sprang up under the patronage
of some governor, and with real or fancied advantages
lured away the citizens. Nombre de Dios had
maintained its position as the leading town and port
397
on the Atlantic side, in the face of objections which ere
this would have doomed many another place. The
climate was pestilential, so much so that the place
was generally deserted at the close of the business
season, and it contained only sixty wooden houses. It
was subject to floods, and yet destitute during the
greater part of the year of fresh water. Its harbor
was exceedingly bad, exposed to severe northerly and
easterly gales, by which, despite every precaution,
vessels of large size were frequently driven ashore,
and pirates could readily assail it. These and other
disadvantages led many merchants to advocate the
removal of the port of entry to one of the harbors
on the coast of Honduras. Although the distance
from Nombre de Dios to Panamá was only eighteen
leagues, while that from Puerto de Caballos to the
gulf of Fonseca was fully fifty, yet the cost of a single
trip by mule over the former route was thirty pesos,
and over the latter but nine.



ROUTES BETWEEN OCEANS.



Juan García de Hermosillo was commissioned by
the king in 1554 to inquire into the merits of the respective
routes, and two years later made a voluminous
but partial report,[XXII‑25] showing the practicability
of changing the course of vessels going to Tierra
Firme so as to proceed direct to the port of Trujillo,
and recommending that ships from New Spain, Vera
Cruz, Pánuco, and the Golfo Dulce should touch at
the same port, and thus allow goods to be carried
overland to Realejo or the bay of Fonseca, and thence
shipped to Peru and elsewhere. A cédula was thereupon
addressed, in October 1556, to the audiencias of
Española and the Confines, the governor of Tierra
Firme, and the officers of the India House at Seville,
directing that the opinions of experts should be taken,
and information obtained from all familiar with the
398
coast and its harbors. Testimony concerning the
facts and views advanced in Hermosillo's report was
taken in 1558, and among those who pronounced in
favor of the transfer as recommended were Oviedo
the chronicler, Luis Gutierrez the cosmographer, and
Juan de Barbosa, then governor of Tierra Firme.
The cabildo of Santiago also bestirred themselves in
behalf of the change, as one apt to improve communication
with Peru, and, as they temptingly added,
likely to increase largely the royal revenue.[XXII‑26]




Communications between the home government
and its transatlantic subjects involved vexatious delays;
such negotiations were always slow, and at this
time there was some temporary disorganization of the
council of the Indies to complicate matters. The
subject would seem to have been ignored until quickened
anew by an address of Felipe de Aniñon, who
had lived many years in the Indies, "on the utility
and advantages which would result from changing the
route of transit between the seas from Nombre de
Dios and Panamá to Puerto de Caballos and Fonseca."[XXII‑27]
The memorial, without presenting any new
arguments, recapitulates with considerable force those
which had been previously advanced, urging that immunity
would thus be secured from the raids of corsairs,
and that even though Panamá and Nombre de
Dios were abandoned, a dozen cities would spring up
to take their place in a region whose mines were so
rich and whose soil was so fertile. At Nombre de
Dios even Indian women, elsewhere so prolific, became
barren; fruits refused to grow, children could
not be reared, and men lived not out the usual span
of life. Their gold and silver were as nothing to
the treasures that could be extracted from the mines
of Honduras, for when these latter should be worked
399
by imported negroes with the aid of quicksilver, his
Majesty would have there a kingdom thrice as rich as
Spain. The memorialist concludes by stating that
even though eight hundred thousand pesos were expended
in opening roads the outlay was justifiable, for
it would be offset by the yield of an additional million
to the annual revenue of the king. The question of
establishing elsewhere the port of entry was finally
decided by the report of Jean Baptiste Antonelli, the
royal surveyor, which showed that while a removal
was necessary a desirable site existed close by.



PORTOBELLO.



Five leagues to the west of Nombre de Dios was
the village of Portobello, containing, in 1585, not
more than ten houses but possessing a commodious
harbor, with good anchorage, easy of access, and one
where laborers could unload vessels without the necessity
of wading up to the arm-pits, as was the case at
Nombre de Dios. Timber and pasture were abundant,
the soil was fertile, and fresh water could be had
throughout the year. Moreover it could easily be
fortified against attack from corsairs and privateersmen,
who, under Drake and others, had already committed
depredations on the Isthmus as will be hereafter
related. "If it might please your Majesty," reports
the surveyor, "it were good that the city of Nombre
de Dios be brought and builded in this harbor." On
the 20th of March 1597 the change was made under
charge of the factor Francisco de Valverde y Mercado
and a settlement was founded which soon became one
of the most important cities in Central America.[XXII‑28]




In 1529 Panamá is described by Herrera as "a
town of six hundred householders." In 1581 it was
styled by Philip "muy noble y muy leal." Nevertheless
its progress was greatly retarded by sickness,
caused by the heat of the atmosphere, the humidity
of the soil, and the spread of infectious diseases.
400
Small-pox, quinsy, dysentery, intermittent fevers, and
other ailments were prevalent among the community,
and at times the city was almost depopulated.[XXII‑29]




In 1564 the seat of the audiencia of the Confines
was removed, as we have seen, to Panamá[XXII‑30] under the
presidency of Doctor Barros de Millan. Great though
short-lived were the rejoicings throughout Tierra
Firme at this victory. The people of Guatemala
would not consent to become a mere dependency of
the audiencia of Mexico; and as already stated a
decree was issued in 1568 ordering that the audiencia
should again be removed to Guatemala, the change
being made two years later, though, as we shall find,
an audiencia was before long once more established in
Panamá.



EMBEZZLEMENT AND GAMBLING.



By a cédula dated February 26, 1571, Tierra Firme
was made subject to the viceroy of Peru in all matters
relating to government, war, and exchequer, but not
in civil matters.[XXII‑31] Little direct information of the
working of the new regime in the latter part of the
401
sixteenth century can now be obtained. The cédulas
issued in later years, however, show it to have been a
source of chronic discontent to the royal council in all
its departments. Among them was one dated January
7, 1588, forbidding the president and oidores
residing at Panamá to visit any private citizen or
resident for any purpose whatever, and another dated
December 31, 1590, forbidding officials in the treasury
department to assume the duties of alcaldes ordinarios
at any time. Some of the latter were fined and suspended
for illegal speculation with government funds,
which became so common that in 1594 the defalcations
in the treasury from this cause alone amounted
to about one hundred and fifty thousand pesos.[XXII‑32] In
1579 the corregidor of Panamá, when at the point of
death, confessed that he alone had embezzled the sum
of six thousand two hundred and thirty-six pesos,
which he had collected and unlawfully withheld from
the treasury.[XXII‑33] The granting of passports was a
means by which members of the audiencia contrived
to cheat the king of his revenues, his Majesty declaring
that in a single year two thousand persons passed
through Tierra Firme without procuring the royal
license at the prescribed cost.[XXII‑34] Gambling was also
prevalent, dice being the favorite game, and many
merchants, bringing their goods from Spain, were
fleeced by professional gamesters.[XXII‑35]




While the condition of affairs at the Isthmus was
402
thus in an unsatisfactory condition, the authorities
were constantly in dread of invasion from foreign
powers. Early in the year 1561 two caravels arrived
with intelligence that a large fleet had sailed from
England for America, and with orders that preparations
be made for a stout defence. The treasure on
board the ships lying in harbor was quickly removed
and secreted on shore, and no vessels were allowed to
leave port until the arrival of the convoy fleet from
Spain under the adelantado Pedro Menendez. It is
not recorded that on this occasion the English made
any attempt to land on the shores of Tierra Firme,
but four years later, the monarchs of England and
Spain being then on friendly terms, one Captain Parker
touched at the coast of Darien ostensibly for the
purpose of trading with the natives. An armed
flotilla was despatched against him, but the captain
refused to depart, and when attacked not only repulsed
his assailants, but captured one of the enemy's squadron.[XXII‑36]



FEAR OF PIRATES.



Although, as will be told in the next chapter, the
Isthmus was several times invaded by English adventurers
between 1572 and 1596, it was not until near
the end of the century that any really effectual measures
were completed for its protection. On the 2d of
May 1574 the king wrote to the audiencia of Panamá,
that he had information of many privateering expeditions
then being fitted out with the intention of proceeding
to the Indies. In 1580 three ships of war
were stationed on the coast to guard against corsairs
and it was ordered that criminals be delivered over
to serve as oarsmen on board these vessels. In 1591
a more powerful fleet was sent to the West Indies and
fortifications ordered to be erected at the town of
Cruces and other points on the Isthmus. At this
date Panamá alone could put into the field eight hundred
403
Spanish infantry and fifty horse. Four years
later a site was selected for a fort at the mouth of
the Chagre river. Finally in 1597, when the news
of Drake's last expedition had thoroughly roused the
king to a sense of the danger, mechanics were sent
out from Spain to hasten the completion of the defences,
and it was ordered that the cost be defrayed
from the royal treasury.[XXII‑37]




Panamá was assailable from three different points:
from Nombre de Dios, whence it could only be reached
through the mountain passes of Capira, where a small
band of resolute men could hold an army in check;
from Acla, fourteen leagues east of Nombre de Dios,
where men of war had formerly anchored; and by
way of the Rio Chagre, which was navigable for
large boats as far as Cruces, the road thence to
Panamá presenting no serious obstacle to an invading
force.[XXII‑38]
404




CHAPTER XXIII.



DRAKE AND OXENHAM'S EXPEDITIONS.

1572-1596.





Drake's Attack on Nombre de Dios—Panic among the Inhabitants—Stores
of Treasure—Retreat of the English—They Sail for
Cartagena—And Thence for the Gulf of Urabá—Visit to the
Isle of Pinos—The Ships Moved to the Cabezas Islands—Second
Expedition to Cartagena—March to the Isthmus—Drake's First
Glimpse of the South Sea—Ambuscade Posted near Cruces—The
Bells of Approaching Treasure Trains—The Prize Missed
through the Folly of a Drunken Soldier—Capture of Cruces—Thirty
Tons of Gold and Silver Taken near Nombre de Dios—Voyage
on a Raft—The Expedition Returns to England—Oxenham's
Raid—Drake's Circumnavigation of the Globe—His Second
Voyage to the West Indies—His Final Expedition—His Death
and Burial off Portobello.



 AT NOMBRE DE DIOS.



In the town of Offenburg, in the Grand Duchy of
Baden, is a statue of a man standing on the deck of
a vessel and leaning on an anchor, his right hand
grasping a map of America, his left a cluster of bulbous
roots, the meaning of which might puzzle the observer
until he reads on the pedestal the inscription:
"Sir Francis Drake, the introducer of potatoes into
Europe, in the year of our Lord 1586." Thus, in Offenburg,
is known to fame the great Armada captain
and circumnavigator of the globe. The eldest of the
twelve sons of a Protestant minister in straitened circumstances,
he shipped as an apprentice on board a
small merchant craft, and on the decease of the captain
succeeded to the command of the ship. Tiring
of his trading ventures he sold his vessel, and soon
afterward served under Sir John Hawkins, in an expedition
405
to Mexico, where he lost all his property
and some of his dearest friends. Vowing vengeance
on the Spaniards, he returned to England, and in
1570 received letters of marque from Queen Elizabeth
authorizing him to cruise in the Spanish West Indies.
After two short voyages, made rather for exploration
than profit, he fitted up two privateers and several
pinnaces for an expedition to Nombre de Dios, and on
Whitsunday eve, the 24th of May 1572, set sail from
Plymouth with a force of seventy-three men.




Drake first shaped his course for the Isla de Pinos,
where he left his ships in charge of one Captain
Rawse, and placing most of his men in the pinnaces,
arrived off the Isthmus at the season of year when
the treasures of the mines were stored there in readiness
for shipment to Spain. Entering the port of
Nombre de Dios by night he roused the slumbering
townsfolk by marching through the main street to
the sound of drum and trumpet. A party was despatched
to seize the king's treasure-house, and each
man was ordered to fasten to his pike a lighted brand.
The affrighted inhabitants imagined that the town was
invaded by a force at least twice its real strength.
Nevertheless they were soon under arms, and mustering
near the governor's house, poured in a sharp
volley on the English, pointing their weapons so low
that the bullets often grazed the ground. The privateersmen
discharged their pieces but once, and then
came to close quarters, attacking the Spaniards with
pike and sword and but-end of musket, and driving
them with heavy loss to the market-place. Two or
three prisoners were captured, who gave information
that the silver awaiting convoy to Spain was stored
at the governor's residence, and that in the treasure-house
nearer the water was a large quantity of gold,
jewels, and pearls.[XXIII‑1]




Drake ordered his men to stand to their arms, for
406
companies of Spaniards were observed mustering for
an attack. A report then spread through the ranks
that the pinnaces were in danger of being captured.
A violent storm of rain came on, and before the British
could gain shelter their powder was wet and their
bowstrings rendered unserviceable. The men lost
heart and began to think of saving themselves before
their retreat was cut off, many of them being wounded,
and Drake himself shot in the leg. Their captain
rebuked them, exclaiming: "I have brought you to
the very mouth of the treasure of the world, and if
you go away without it you can blame nobody but
yourselves." He then directed a portion of his command
to break open the treasure-house, while the
remainder stood ready to repel attack; but, as he
stepped forward, he dropped down in a swoon from
loss of blood and was carried back to his pinnace.[XXIII‑2]




At daybreak the entire company embarked, and
after making prize of a vessel of sixty tons laden principally
with wines, landed at the port of Bastimentos.[XXIII‑3]
407
After resting there for two days Drake rejoined his
ships at the Isla de Pinos, whence he despatched his
brother to explore the river Chagre as far as the
town of Cruces, where it will be remembered the
treasure trains passed on their way from Panamá to
the North Sea. He then proceeded to Cartagena
where he captured several Spanish vessels, but finding
the town too strongly defended to venture an attack,
set sail for the gulf of Urabá. The adventurers landed
at a spot remote from the line of travel, and hiding
their vessels in a neighboring creek, remained there
fifteen days, hoping thus to create among the Spaniards
the impression that they had departed from the
coast. An expedition was then undertaken to the
river Atrato for the purpose of intercepting the canoes,
which, after the arrival of the fleet at Cartagena,
were sent up the stream, laden with the merchandise
of Spain, to return with the gold, silver, and other
valuable commodities collected during the year.



THE CIMARRONES HELP THEM.



On the second day of the voyage it was ascertained
that the fleet had not yet reached Cartagena; whereupon
the English again visited the Isla de Pinos,
capturing there vast quantities of provisions, including
cassava bread, meal, wine, dried beef, fish, and a
plentiful supply of live stock, all intended for the use
of the Spanish settlements and for revictualling the
fleet.[XXIII‑4] These were secured for future use in storehouses,
built many leagues apart. Then under the
guidance of cimarrones, who regarded the English as
allies against a mutual foe, Drake moved his vessels
to a secluded bay amid the Cabezas, a group of thickly
wooded islands, near the gulf of San Blas, where the
408
channel was so narrow and difficult that none could
enter by night.[XXIII‑5] Here he was free from all danger of
surprise. The rainy season had now begun, and during
that time the Spaniards did not convey treasure
by land. A delay became necessary before any extensive
raid could be undertaken, and the men were
therefore ordered to erect a fort and buildings suitable
for their accommodation and to land their ordnance
and provisions.




The restless spirit of the leader carried him on, and
within fourteen days of his arrival at the islands he
started on a new expedition to Cartagena, casting
anchor in that harbor on the 18th of October 1572.
A party of horsemen came down to the shore displaying
a flag of truce, and met him with fair promises
of friendship and assistance. Suspecting treachery,
the English put off to sea next morning, but remained
for some days in the neighborhood to the great annoyance
of the Spaniards, who constantly endeavored,
though without success, to induce them to land and
thus draw them into an ambuscade. At length falling
short of provisions, and seeing no prospect of capturing
any valuable prize, they set sail for the gulf
of San Blas. On the return voyage, which occupied
twenty-five days, they suffered severely. Baffled by
contrary gales, their small, leaky craft, in imminent
peril from the heavy chopping sea, their provisions
exhausted, many almost perishing from want and exposure,
they had never lived to rejoin their comrades,
but that, in the last extremity they were fortunate
enough to capture a Spanish vessel, "which," as the
chronicler tells us, "being laden with victuals well
powdered and dried, they received as sent them by
the mercy of heaven."



THEY CROSS THE ISTHMUS.



Drake remained for several weeks in his lurking
place among the islands. At length the welcome
409
news arrived that the Spanish fleet had reached
Nombre de Dios, and the adventurers at once began
their march overland toward Panamá. Sickness and
the bullets of the Spaniards had sorely thinned their
ranks. No treasure had been captured, and twenty-eight
of their number had already found a grave in
this land of promise, among them two brothers of
Drake; one through disease, the other while leading a
rash attack on a Spanish vessel. Several of the party
also lay ill of the 'calenture' fever,[XXIII‑6] caused by the
unhealthy climate and unwholesome water. After a
slender guard had been left over the ships, but eighteen
men could be mustered fit for active service. Thirty
cimarrones who accompanied the expedition carried
the provisions, leaving the English unencumbered except
by their arms.[XXIII‑7]




Many days the party journeyed, forcing their way
through dense underbrush and cane-brake, crossing
swollen streams and toiling up mountain steeps. Yet
they suffered little hardship. High overhead a canopy
of leaves screened them from the rays of an
almost vertical sun. The country abounded in wild
fruits, and as night approached the cimarrones
erected rain-proof sheds thatched with palmetto and
wild plantain leaves, under which they cooked their
meal of wild boar's flesh or other forest game, slain
during the day's march.[XXIII‑8]
410




On the third day of their march they arrived at a
negro town, distant forty-live leagues from Panamá
and thirty-five from Nombre de Dios, containing
about sixty families, and well supplied with maize,
fruit, and live stock. The town was surrounded with
a mud wall and a ditch for defence against the Spaniards,
with whom the cimarrones were still constantly
at war. Only one year before the place had been
attacked by a force of one hundred and fifty men,
whose commander had promised to exterminate the
entire population. The assault was made just before
daybreak, whereupon the males fled to the forest,
leaving their wives and children to be massacred, but
afterward mustering courage fell on their invaders
and drove them in turn to the woods, where, their
guide being slain, all but thirty perished of want.
Here the English were urged to remain and rest for
a few days. Not far distant, they were told, dwelt
the king of the cimarrones, who could bring into the
field seventeen hundred warriors, and would aid them
with reënforcements on learning their errand. The
commander thanked them, but declared that "he
would use no further strength if he might have
twenty times as much," and after a brief halt continued
his journey.




Four days later the expedition arrived at the summit
of a mountain, from which they had been promised
a view of the "North Sea whence they came and of
the South Sea whither they were going."[XXIII‑9] Aided by
one of the cimarrones Drake climbed a tall tree, in
whose trunk steps had been cut almost to the top,
and where, supported by the upper limbs, a bower
had been built large enough to contain a dozen men.
From this eyrie he gazed for the first time on the
great southern ocean over whose waters the English
flag had never yet been unfurled. It is said that he
411
here conceived the project which a few years later
was carried to completion—the circumnavigation of
the globe; and as dreams of fame and vast achievement
were mingled with visions of gold-bearing lands,
and of Spanish galleons deep laden with weight of
treasure, he besought God "to give him life and
leave to sail an English ship in those seas." The aid
of the Almighty was never invoked or given for the
furtherance of more iniquitious measures.




For forty-eight hours more the route lay through
forest land, and beyond this the country was covered
with a species of grass, so tall that at its full growth
the cattle could not reach the upper blade. Thrice a
year it was burnt, and so rich was the soil that a few
days afterward it sprouted like green corn. The English
were now nearing the end of their march, and as
they journeyed frequently came in sight of Panamá
and of the Spanish vessels riding at anchor in the
roadstead.



THE TREASURE TRAINS.



Extreme caution became necessary,[XXIII‑10] and on approaching
Panamá, Drake, withdrawing his men from
the road, led them to a grove within a league of
the city, and near the highway to Nombre de Dios.
His arrival was well timed. A cimarron, sent forward
to Panamá disguised as a slave to ascertain the
exact night and time of night[XXIII‑11] when the precious
train was to pass by, returned with news that sent a
thrill through every breast. That very evening the
treasurer of Lima was to start from Panamá en route
to Spain, and with him eight mules laden with gold,
five with silver, and one with pearls and jewels. Two
other trains each of fifty mules, freighted mainly with
provisions, were to form part of the expedition.




Drake at once put his men in motion toward the
Chagre River, and when within two leagues of the
412
town of Cruces[XXIII‑12] posted them in two parties, one on
either side of the road, and in such a position that
they might fall simultaneously on the van and rear of
the train. The men were ordered to wear white shirts
outside their uniforms in order to distinguish one
another. After the arrival of the fleet at Nombre de
Dios, trains passed frequently along the road from
Cruces to Panamá, and the strictest injunctions were
given that none should stir except at the appointed
signal.




An hour they lay in ambush; the treasurer was
within half a league of the ambuscade, and the bells
of the approaching train were distinctly heard in the
silence of the night. The great prize was close at
hand, and each man as he clutched his firelock and
felt the keen edge of his broadsword held his breath
while he crouched in the grass and listened to the
sounds borne ever clearer on the still air. A train
laden with merchandise was now passing directly in
front of them, but such spoil offered no temptation
when gold and silver by the ton was within reach.
At this moment an untoward incident occurred. "One
Robert Pike," as Burton tells us, "having drunk too
much Aqua-Vitæ without Uater, forgetting himself,
perswaded a Symeron to go into the road, and seize on
the foremost Mules, and a Spanish Horse-man riding by
with his Page running on his side, Pike unadvisedly
started up to see who he was, though the Symeron
discreetly endeavored to pull him down, and lay upon
him to prevent further discovery, yet by this Gentleman
taking notice of one all in white, they having
put their Shirts over their Cloths to prevent mistakes
in the night, he put Spurs to his Horse both to secure
himself, and give notice to others of the danger."
413



RARE RICHES.



Drake still remained in ambush, not knowing what
had happened. The cavalier meanwhile made all
haste to report the circumstance to the treasurer, and
it was thought best that the mules conveying the
treasure be led aside while the remainder be allowed
to pass on, so that in case of attack the enemy's attention
might be engaged until troops could be summoned
from Panamá. The provision trains were
quickly captured and a few hundred pounds of base
bullion[XXIII‑13] were discovered among the packs.




No time was to be lost, for one of the muleteers,
being friendly-minded toward his captors, warned
them that by daybreak they would have the captain
general upon them, at the head of the entire posse of
Panamá. The leader of the cimarrones promised
that if they would at once march boldly on Cruces,
he would conduct them to their ships by a much
shorter route than that by which they had come.
To some this plan seemed hazardous, but the commander,
with his clear judgment, saw that to encounter
the Spaniards at once, while his men were yet in good
condition, was less perilous than to be attacked later
when jaded with travel and dispirited by failure.




After giving them time to make a hearty meal
Drake gave the order to advance. The road was but
twelve feet wide, being cut through the forest and
inclosed by a dense wall of undergrowth. A company
of soldiers, stationed in the town as a defence
against marauding bands of cimarrones,[XXIII‑14] together
with a party of friars, came forth to oppose his passage.
The Spanish captain hailed them, and on
learning that they were English summoned them to
414
surrender, promising kind treatment. Drake answered:
"For the honor of the queen of England, my mistress,
I must have passage this way." He then discharged
his pistol, and was answered by a volley which killed
one and wounded several of his band. The English
then attacked briskly, and aided by the cimarrones
drove the Spaniards into the woods and took possession
of Cruces.




Much consternation was at first caused among the
townsfolk, especially among some Spanish women of
Nombre de Dios still suffering from child-birth;[XXIII‑15] but
Drake manifested little of that fiendish cruelty displayed
by the buccaneers of later years. Giving orders
that none should lay hands on women or do violence
to unarmed men,[XXIII‑16] he called on the sick women and
assured them that they had nothing to fear. Little
booty of value was found at Cruces, and at daybreak
on the morning after making their entry into the town
the party began their march toward the coast, reaching
their ships in safety, though hungry, shoeless, and
empty-handed.




After an unsuccessful cruise on the coast of Veragua,
Drake returned once more to the Cabezas, and
there fell in with a French vessel, the captain of
which proposed to join him in another attempt, now
being planned, to capture some of the treasure trains
still passing across the Isthmus. After consultation
it was agreed that twenty of the French crew should
go in company with fifteen of the English, and that
the former should receive half the proceeds of the
raid. The expedition sailed for the Rio Francisco,
and after ascending the river a short distance in
415
pinnaces marched overland, without mishap, to a spot
near Nombre de Dios, within a short distance of the
high road. The fleet from Cartagena still lay off that
town awaiting the last shipments of treasure, and
Drake had reason to believe that several richly laden
trains were then on the way from Panamá. Nor was
he disappointed. On the morning after his arrival the
bells of the approaching train were distinctly heard,
and soon there appeared in sight three companies, two
with seventy and one with fifty mules, laden with
nearly thirty tons of gold and silver. The escort of
Spanish soldiers, numbering forty-five men, was beaten
off after the exchange of a few shots, one of which
wounded the French captain severely, and the adventurers
were left in possession of the prize. In two
hours they had secured all the gold they could carry
away, and buried the remainder, with about fifteen
tons of silver, under fallen trees. Meanwhile the alarm
had been given at Nombre de Dios, and a strong party
of horse and foot approached them from that direction.
All except the wounded officer and two of his
command retired to the woods and made their way
back to the river.



PERILOUS SITUATION.



But what had become of the pinnaces? They had
been ordered to return within four days and were not
even in sight. Looking seaward, Drake descried seven
Spanish vessels cruising off the coast. Surely the
boats had been captured and their crews forced to
disclose the hiding-place of the ships that were to have
carried them back home, weighed down with plunder.
Of little use was now their gold, with such dismal
prospects before them. The cimarrones advised them
to march overland to the spot where their vessels lay,
a difficult journey of sixteen days at least, through
forest and across streams swollen by winter rains and
with many a tall mountain lying between them and
the seashore. Drake was satisfied that long before
they reached the coast their ships would be taken or
burnt by the Spaniards. Nevertheless he told his
416
men to banish fear, and bid them construct a raft from
the trees brought down by the stream during a recent
storm. A large biscuit-sack served for a sail, and for
rudder an oar rudely shaped with axe and knife.




With three companions, all expert swimmers, the
commander put to sea, assuring his followers "that if
by Gods help he once more put aboard his Foot in
his Frigot, he would certainly get them all into her in
spite of all the Spaniards in the Indies." The raft
was so low in the water that each wave broke over
them,[XXIII‑17] fretting and chafing their lower limbs, while
their bodies from the waist upward were scorched by
the stinging heat of a tropical sun. Six hours passed
by slowly and wearily, and night was now approaching,
while under a freshening gale the waves dashed
higher and higher, threatening each moment forever
to engulf the four cowering figures. Little hope or
life was left in them, for none could endure such hardship
through all the long days that must elapse before
they could expect to reach their ships. At length
when all seemed lost a sail appeared, and then another.
Did they belong to their own missing boats or to the
war vessels of the enemy? Better to brave any danger
than fall alive into the hands of the Spaniards. Drake
at once affirmed them to be the pinnaces expected at
the rio Francisco, and so it proved. Within an hour
he was on board; before daybreak next morning he
had rejoined his command, and by sunrise all had
embarked for the Cabezas, where they found their
vessels lying safely at anchor.[XXIII‑18]
417



PRIZES SECURED.



The gold and silver were now divided by weight in
equal shares between the French and English, and a
final expedition despatched to Nombre de Dios for the
buried silver, and to rescue or bring back word of the
wounded officer and his two companions. Hardly had
they set foot on the shore of the rio Francisco when
one of the missing Frenchmen came forth to meet
them. He declared that within half an hour after
Drake had begun his retreat, the captain and his remaining
comrade, the latter half stupefied with wine,
had been taken by the Spaniards; that he himself
had escaped only by throwing down his plunder, and
that the hidden treasure had probably been recovered,
for the ground had been thoroughly searched. Nevertheless
the men were ordered to push forward, and
succeeded in unearthing some thirteen bars of silver
and a few wedges of gold, wherewith they returned
without adventure to the coast.




The Spanish fleet was now ready to sail, having
taken on board the last load of its rich freight, and
nothing was to be gained by remaining longer on the
coast. Drake parted on good terms with his French
allies, and after capturing a vessel[XXIII‑19] laden with provisions,
fitted out his ships for their homeward voyage.
The cimarrones were dismissed with suitable presents
for themselves, and a profusion of silk and linen for
their wives. Sail was then set; and on a Sabbath
forenoon, the 9th of August 1573, the squadron cast
anchor in Plymouth Sound. It was the hour of
divine service, as the chroniclers tell us, when news
of the arrival spread through the town; and in all the
churches men and women abandoned their devotions
418
and flocked to the shore to welcome their brave countrymen,
who thus returned to their native land with
so much gold and glory.



COSTLY TREASURE.



Among those who accompanied Drake in his expedition
to Tierra Firme in 1572 was one John Oxenham,
who, three years later, planned a daring but, as
the event proved, a disastrous raid on the Spanish
mainland and went in search of the treasure-ships
which frequented its southern coast. Landing on the
Isthmus with only seventy men, he beached his vessel,
covered her with boughs, buried his cannon in the
ground, and guided by friendly cimarrones marched
twelve leagues inland to the banks of a river flowing
toward the south. Here a pinnace was built, large
enough to contain the entire party, and dropping down
unnoticed to the mouth of the stream Oxenham sailed
for the Pearl Islands, which lay in the track of vessels
conveying treasure from Lima to Panamá. Prizes
were made of two vessels containing gold and silver to
the value of nearly three hundred thousand pesos, and
the adventurers now began their homeward journey.
But on the very night of their departure information
of the capture was sent to Panamá, and within two
days a strong force started in pursuit. The treasure
was recovered, the English were defeated, and their
ship being taken, the survivors, some fifty in number,
fled to the mountains, where they lived for a time
among the cimarrones. Finally they were betrayed
to the Spaniards and all put to death, with the exception
of five boys who were sold into slavery. Thus
ended the first piratical cruise attempted by Englishmen
in the South Sea.[XXIII‑20]




The prayer which Drake uttered when first he
gazed on the Pacific did not remain long unanswered;
for the great captain was one of those self-helpful men
which the Almighty seldom fails to assist. On the
419
15th of November 1577 he set out upon the famous
expedition which was to place him in the foremost
rank of navigators. On September 6th, in the following
year, he cleared the strait of Magellan, and
was the first to carry the English flag into the ocean
beyond. After capturing a large amount of treasure
between the coast of Peru and the bay of Panamá,
he sailed as far north as the forty-third parallel, expecting
to find a passage eastward to the Atlantic.[XXIII‑21]
Thence returning he arrived at Plymouth by way of
the Cape of Good Hope, after a voyage of nearly three
years, on the 26th of September 1580.[XXIII‑22] His flag-ship
the Pelican was taken to Deptford, and on board the
bark in which he had compassed the world[XXIII‑23] this
stout-hearted mariner, who had begun life as a prentice
boy on a small trading vessel, feasted his royal
mistress, and bowed the knee while one of the greatest
of England's sovereigns bestowed on him the title of
Sir Francis Drake.




On the breaking-out of hostilities between England
and Spain in 1585 Elizabeth determined to strike a
blow at the Spanish possessions in the New World,
while yet Philip was but contemplating the great
enterprise which three years later terminated in a
disaster that has no parallel in the annals of naval
warfare. On September 12, 1585, a fleet of twenty-five
420
ships with a number of pinnaces set sail from
Plymouth, having on board two thousand three hundred
men, among them Frobisher and other captains
of armada fame, and as commander Sir Francis Drake.




The expedition first shaped its course toward Spain,
and after hovering for a while on that coast, capturing
many prizes, but none of value, landed on the first of
January 1586 in Española, within a few miles of Santo
Domingo. The city was taken after a feeble resistance,
but little treasure was found there, for the mines
were now abandoned, the native population well nigh
exterminated, and copper money was in common use
among the Spaniards. A ransom of twenty-five thousand
ducats was at length paid, and loading their fleet
with a good store of wheat, oil, wine, cloth, and silk,
the English sailed for Cartagena, captured that city
almost without loss, and retired on payment of a sum
equivalent to about one hundred and forty-five thousand
pesos. By this time sickness had so far reduced
their ranks that they were compelled to abandon the
main object of their enterprise, namely, the occupation
of Nombre de Dios and Panamá, and the seizure
of the treasure stored on either side of the Isthmus.
It was resolved, therefore, to return to England.[XXIII‑24]
After touching at Saint Augustine, and securing in
that neighborhood treasure to the amount of ten
thousand pesos, and coasting thence northward to the
Roanoke, where the members of the colony recently
established[XXIII‑25] by Raleigh were taken on board the
421
fleet, Drake landed at Portsmouth on the 28th of
July 1586. The spoil amounted to three hundred
thousand pesos, purchased at the cost of seven hundred
and fifty lives. One third of this amount only
was divided among the survivors, giving as the lowest
share of an individual the sum of thirty dollars.



THE GRAND RESULT.



The motto "Non sufficit orbis," ascribed by some
chroniclers to the crown of Spain, was one worthy of
the pretensions of Philip. What mattered the conquest
of a hemisphere while the ocean was ruled by
another; while the royal banner of Castile could be
degraded by licensed bands of freebooters, and the
commercial marts of the New World be held for ransom?
Such was the sentiment which lured the
Spanish monarchs to attempt ambitious schemes of
conquest like that which ended in the destruction of
the great armada, in which the pirate Drake played
his allotted part.




After sharing with Sir John Morris the command
of an expedition directed against Spain in 1589,
Drake was ordered by his sovereign five years later
to prepare another armament against the Spanish
West Indies. In this enterprise he associated with
himself Sir John Hawkins,[XXIII‑26] an old friend and once
422
his patron, and among other officers Sir Thomas
Baskerville,[XXIII‑27] as commander of the land forces. On
the 28th of August 1595 a squadron of six men-of-war
equipped at the expense of the queen[XXIII‑28] sailed
from Plymouth, accompanied by twenty-one vessels
fitted out by private subscription. The entire force
of the expedition mustered twenty-five hundred men.




Although every precaution was used to mask the
purpose of the armament, it was known to Philip,
long before the departure of the fleet, that Drake
intended to capture Nombre de Dios and to march
thence to Panamá, touching first at Puerto Rico to
plunder a dismasted treasure-ship which lay in that
harbor. The English soon found to their cost that
every preparation had been made for a resolute
defence. Anchoring near the town of San Juan de
Puerto Rico, their vessels were exposed to a well
directed fire from a battery of thirty guns. Drake's
chair was struck from under him by a round-shot as
he sat at supper in his cabin, and after a loss of at
least fifty killed[XXIII‑29] and as many wounded the expedition
sailed for the mainland. The towns of Ranchería,
Rio de la Hacha, and Santa Márta were burnt in
default of ransom. Nombre de Dios was captured
almost without resistance and levelled to the ground;
but Baskerville, despatched with seven hundred and
fifty men to attack Panamá, was defeated by the
Spaniards when half way across the Isthmus, and
his command returned hungry, sore-footed,[XXIII‑30] and in
sorry plight.
423



DEATH OF DRAKE.



"It matters not, man," said Drake to one of his
favorite officers. "God hath many things in store for
us; and I knowe many means to do Her Majestie good
service and to make us riche, for we must have gould
before wee see Englande." The words were hardly
uttered when the speaker grew sick, and on the 28th
of January 1596, less than a week afterward, the
great captain breathed his last as the English fleet
entered the harbor of Portobello. A league from
land he found a sailor's sepulchre; and as the leaden
casket that contained his remains was lowered into the
waves near the spot where first he had won repute,
salvos of artillery proclaimed to the exulting Spaniards
on shore that one more name was added to the
list of those whose memory Spain has never ceased to
hate and England to honor.[XXIII‑31]
424




CHAPTER XXIV.



NICARAGUA AND COSTA RICA.

1551-1600.





Revolt of Juan Gaitan—His Defeat by the Licentiate Juan de Caballon—Expedition
of Caballon and Juan de Estrada Rábago to
Costa Rica—Settlements Founded—Distress of the Spaniards—Juan
Vazquez Coronado Comes to their Relief—Further Expeditions—Flight
of the Natives—Capture of the Stronghold of
Cotu—Administration of Diego de Artiego Cherino—The Franciscans
in Costa Rica—Martyrdom of Juan Pizarro—The Ecclesiastics
in Nicaragua—Fray Juan de Torres—Condition of the
Settlements—Slow Growth of Trade.




The revolt of the Contreras brothers served at
least one good purpose. It rid Nicaragua of swarms
of vagabonds and dissatisfied adventurers, most of
whom found a grave, as we have seen, during their
raid on the Isthmus. Still there remained in the
province a residuum of floating ruffianism, the very
sweepings of all the provinces, and four years after
the events described in a preceding chapter a fresh
disturbance broke out. A band of disaffected soldiers
and runaways from Nicaragua and Honduras, joining
with themselves a number of negroes, rose in rebellion
under the leadership of Juan Gaitan, a criminal banished
from Nicaragua by order of the licentiate Juan
de Caballon, then in charge at Leon.




The rebels began by sacking the village of San
Miguel,[XXIV‑1] and thence proceeding to the mines of Chuluteca
captured them after a stout resistance[XXIV‑2] and
despoiled the adjacent village. They then entered
425
Nicaragua and marched directly on the capital, but
when within five leagues of it, Gaitan, who was a firm
believer in astrology, was drawn into a controversy
with his maestre de campo, Tarragona, a dabbler in
the occult art. The latter predicted that they would
certainly be hanged should they then continue their
march on Leon, and advised that they repair first to
Realejo and seize the vessels lying there. But revenge
got the better of Gaitan's superstition, and he
proceeded on his way to the capital, resolved to take
the life of the licentiate.




Meanwhile news of the outbreak had reached Caballon.
Assistance had been summoned from Realejo
and Granada; the ships at the former port were
ordered to put out to sea to avoid capture;[XXIV‑3] and entering
Leon on the last day of pentecost 1554, Gaitan
found the licentiate's forces drawn up in the public
square well posted for defence. A stubborn conflict
ensued; but, the powder of the rebels having become
damp from the rains, they fought at a disadvantage
and were finally routed. Gaitan took refuge in a
convent belonging to the order of Merced, where his
brother was one of the friars, but this asylum availed
him nothing. The licentiate Sotomayor, an exile from
New Spain, who was also an inmate, seized him and
delivered him to the authorities. Next day the insurgent
leader was beheaded, and that the prophecy of
the maestro de campo might be fulfilled, Tarragona
and others were hanged, the rest being sent into exile.



CABALLON AND RÁBAGO.



While fiscal of Guatemala, Caballon had been
requested by the audiencia to undertake the pacification
of Costa Rica, conjointly with a wealthy ecclesiastic,
named Juan de Estrada Rábago, and it was for
this purpose that he had originally proceeded to Nicaragua.
In 1560 an expedition was organized, Rábago
426
furnishing the necessary funds, for Caballon had none.
Each one was to found his own settlements, but to
render aid and advice to the other. The former with
four vessels sailed up the Desaguadero, while Caballon
journeyed by land and explored the southern coast.
Whether they ever met according to their original
plan is doubtful, and their lack of coöperation may
partly explain the failure of the enterprise.




Rábago with a party of sixty Spaniards founded
the "Villa del Castillo de Austria" on the bay of San
Gerónimo.[XXIV‑4] He also speaks of three other towns
which he founded, and of churches which he built
and furnished, but fails to name or locate them. Caballon
established the Villa de Landecho, on the coast
near the southern border of the province, and three
days' journey thence the settlement of Castillo de
García Muñoz. The reasons that induced him to select
the former site were known only to himself, and are
not recorded by the chroniclers. There were no
Indians in its neighborhood to be enslaved; most of
the land was marshy, and the high ground sterile and
consisting mainly of bare rock. Caballon was soon
afterward appointed fiscal of the audiencia of Mexico,
and Rábago, being now left in sole charge, was ordered
by the emperor not to abandon the undertaking,
though the Spaniards were in sore distress. "It is
now two years and more," write the members of the
cabildo from Cartago, in December 1562, "since we
entered this province in company with the licentiate
Juan de Caballon, and it is with great difficulty that
we have held out against the rebellious natives, who
could not be converted and brought to obedience by
peaceable means."[XXIV‑5]




After the departure of Caballon for Mexico the
audiencia of the Confines perceived that a man of
means and capacity was needed for the occasion, and
427
their choice fell on Juan Vazquez Coronado, who was
appointed alcalde mayor of Nicaragua and Costa Rica.
On him the emperor afterward conferred the title of
adelantado and captain general. Coronado at once
despatched a ship with reënforcements and provisions
for the relief of the needy colonists, and sent by land
a train of cattle laden with material for clothing, and
with blankets, boots, saddles, harness, hardware, and
other stores. At the head of a powerful and well
equipped force he soon afterward proceeded to Nicoya,
an Indian town then claimed both by Nicaragua and
Costa Rica.[XXIV‑6] Here he awaited the arrival of a vessel.
The rainy season had now set in, and it was impossible
to reach by land the Villa de Landecho, whither
he was bound; but a vessel soon afterward arriving,
the alcalde mayor reached that settlement with his
command, and relieving the need of the colonists, sent
the ship back to Panamá, for fresh supplies and proceeded
to Cartago where the royal standard was delivered
to him. Rábago meanwhile had set forth for
Spain and appears no more in connection with the
history of the New World.



THE CACIQUE GARABITO.



Coronado distributed his supplies bountifully, and
when his own means were exhausted[XXIV‑7] contracted
heavy debts in order to relieve the necessities of his
countrymen. He then sent expeditions in various directions
to explore and subdue the territory. The
principal cacique, one named Garabito, was believed
to have large forces at his command, and a company
of forty soldiers under Francisco de Marmolejo was
sent against him to the province of Los Botos,[XXIV‑8] reputed
to be a rich and populous district, and whither
it was supposed that Garabito had retired. The
country was found almost deserted, there being but
428
two houses, and those inhabited by some ninety half-starved
Indians. To Garabito's own province Captain
Juan de Illanes de Castro was despatched, but
the natives had fled; and after a fruitless search he
returned with only a few women and boys, from whom
it was learned that the number of the cacique's followers
had been greatly exaggerated. It was ascertained,
however, that four of Garabito's chiefs were
at the foot of a mountain many leagues distant, and
Dávila, who became the narrator of many of these
expeditions, was ordered to go in search of them and
bring them peaceably to head-quarters. They were
found in company with about twenty men, thirty
women, and a few children, all living in two houses,
and declared that Garabito had gone to Los Botos,[XXIV‑9]
and that it would be difficult to find him, for he never
spent two nights in the same place. His subjects, they
said, might number from five hundred to six hundred.




Coronado sent these chiefs to inform the natives of
his arrival, promising them kind treatment; and in a
few days ten or twelve others came to his head-quarters.
One of them, the cacique of the province
of Anzarri,[XXIV‑10] promised to guide an expedition to the
most thickly populated part of the country; but when
asked for four hundred carriers, he answered that
even Garabito could not furnish so many. The alcalde
mayor then started with seventy soldiers and about a
hundred Indians for Anzarri, taking with him the
cacique. Arrived there, the chieftain collected a few
natives, and said they were all that he had, and that
together with himself they were at the service of the
Spaniards. Coronado, much incensed, placed him
under arrest, telling him he must make up the required
number or forfeit his life. To this the cacique only
429
replied: "Do your pleasure; other people I have not."
A day or two afterward thirty more carriers were
procured. Coronado now resolved to continue his
march, shaping his course for the province of Quepo,
where, as he was assured, was the cacique with an
abundance of Indians.




On entering the territory he obtained the services
of one hundred and thirty additional carriers, and
was informed that if he was in search of gold he would
find all he wanted at the stronghold of Cotu, a few
days' journey thence. The fort was reached after a
toilsome march, and Marmolejo with thirty men was
ordered to surprise it by night and capture all the
caciques there stationed. The Spaniards, expecting
no resistance, incautiously handed their weapons to
the attendant natives, and on entering the place were
themselves surprised, twenty of them being wounded
before they could seize their arms. Assistance soon
arrived from Coronado, whereupon the Indians abandoned
the fort and fled, first setting fire to all the
houses, some sixty-five in number. Messengers were
then sent to the caciques, asking them to tender their
allegiance, and promising kind treatment. One of
them returned, bringing a golden patena as a token of
peace, and was followed next day by the chieftains,
who also brought with them some small offerings of
gold.[XXIV‑11]



HOW THE KING'S COMMANDS WERE KEPT.



Coronado then set his face toward Garci Muñoz,
where he soon afterward organized a second expedition,
during which, journeying far inland, he discovered
a large river which he named the Rio de la Estrella.
In that neighborhood he found a large amount of
gold. Returning thence to the coast he took ship for
Spain,[XXIV‑12] and shortly after his arrival a royal cédula was
issued, ordering that testimony be taken at Santiago
430
as to whether he had actually effected the pacification
of Costa Rica and was entitled to the governorship of
that province. The evidence was extremely favorable,
and in April 1565 he was appointed governor of Costa
Rica for life, with an annual salary of two thousand
pesos,[XXIV‑13] and also governor of Nicaragua for a term of
three years.




Of the subsequent career of Coronado little is
known, but he does not appear to have continued
long in office, for in 1573 Diego de Artieda Cherino[XXIV‑14]
entered into a contract with the crown to pacify and
further colonize the provinces of Costa Rica, Nicaragua,
and Nicoya, and was appointed governor and
captain general of those territories. According to
the terms of his contract the natives were to be
taught the arts of peace, and those who should be
christianized were to be exempt from tribute for ten
years; commerce with the Indians was to be encouraged;
agriculture, mining, and other industries were to
be developed; no hostilities with the natives were to
be permitted until overtures of peace had been thrice
rejected; settlements were not to be founded in districts
reserved for the use of Indians; the principal
towns were to revert to the emperor; four ecclesiastics
must accompany the expedition, two of them at least
to be Jesuits. Finally, full reports of all important
proceedings were to be forwarded from time to time
to the crown.[XXIV‑15]



BUCCANEERS.



Cherino soon levied a force of two hundred men,
but on account of the difficulty in procuring vessels,
his Majesty having secured every available ship for a
naval expedition to Flanders, it was not until the
15th of April 1575 that he took his departure, setting
431
sail from the port of San Lúcar.[XXIV‑16] He was directed
first to cruise off the coast in search of English buccaneers,
who were then infesting those parts; but finding
no sign of their presence he landed on the shore
of Costa Rica near the mouth of a river to which he
gave the name of Rio de Nuestra Señora del Valle
del Guaini. Sailing up the stream for two or three
leagues, he founded on its banks two settlements, to
one of which he gave the name of Ciudad de Artieda
del Nuevo Reyno de Navarra. In the presence of
most of his men he took formal possession of the site;
on a tree standing on the spot selected for the plaza
he marked with a cutlass the sign of the cross "in
the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Ghost;" he then addressed his followers,[XXIV‑17] telling
them that all who desired might select town lots and
secure all the privileges granted to settlers by the
emperor. Captain Francisco Paron was then ordered
by the governor to make further explorations, and
ascending the river for a distance of nine leagues he
discovered a fertile valley, and finding the natives
tractable and well disposed, took possession with the
usual formalities, naming it Valle de los Pufibais y
del Valderroncal. Cherino does not appear to have
been successful in founding any permanent settlements
in Costa Rica; for we learn that in 1586 Cartago and
Esparza were the only towns in the province inhabited
by Spaniards,[XXIV‑18] and that they were constantly at war
with the Indians.




Thus the efforts of the Spaniards to subjugate the
natives of Costa Rica were but partially successful;
but meanwhile great progress had been made in the
432
pacification of the province by the efforts of the Franciscan
friars. About the year 1555 Fray Pedro
Alonso de Betanzos laid there the foundation of the
province of San Jorge de Nicaragua.[XXIV‑19] Betanzos
came to New Spain in 1542, being one of the two
hundred friars who formed the mission of Jacobo de
Testera, and was assigned to Guatemala. He had
labored there with great zeal and success, translating
the catechism into the Indian vernacular, converting
many, and inducing others to quit their nomadic life
and form regular settlements. Four friars, among
whom were Juan Pizarro from Guatemala and Lorenzo
de Bienvenida from Guatemala, the latter
having previously labored in company with Testera
in Yucatan,[XXIV‑20] accompanied Betanzos to Costa Rica.[XXIV‑21]
Bienvenida soon afterward departed for Spain, and
bringing thence thirty ecclesiastics returned to Costa
Rica. The bishop of Nicaragua furnished a like
number, and when all were assembled the province
was founded in 1575, and four years later its establishment
was confirmed by a general chapter of the
order held in Paris in 1579, the number of convents
assigned being twelve.[XXIV‑22]




Betanzos was a man of ability and tireless industry.
In a short time he had made himself master of twelve
Indian dialects, speaking them as fluently as did the
natives themselves.[XXIV‑23] "When first he went to Costa
433
Rica," says Vazquez, "he would not allow soldiers to
enter the territory. He travelled barefoot and accompanied
only by a little boy. In two or three months
he returned with many natives, all baptized and converted,
bringing great store of provisions for the
Spaniards. This he did many times, until by the
word of God alone he pacified great multitudes.
During the sixteen years which he thus labored, there
remained not a palm of territory in the province which
he did not traverse in search of souls." After laboring
for thirty years he was attacked by fever and died
near the town of Chomez in 1570, his remains being
interred in a convent which he himself had founded
at Cartago.[XXIV‑24]



ANOTHER MARTYR.



The year 1586 was made memorable by the martyrdom
of Juan Pizarro, an aged and venerable friar
of the Merced order, friend and associate of Betanzos,
and one who first established the Mercenarios in Costa
Rica. On the day of the immaculate conception he was
preaching in one of the Indian towns, when a band of
natives rushed upon him, disrobed him, bound him
naked to a post, and flogged him unmercifully. Not
satisfied with this, they fastened a rope round his
neck, beat him senseless, hanged the bruised and
bleeding body to a tree, and when life had fled flung
the corpse down a neighboring chasm.




The dissensions which the new code of laws had
occasioned in Nicaragua were not yet at an end.
Cerrato, who was still president of the audiencia, of
the Confines,[XXIV‑25] was harassed on all sides. The ecclesiastics
contended that the natives should be taken
from the encomenderos and placed under the crown,
434
which virtually meant the church, and that their
owners be recompensed directly from the royal treasury.
The conquerors, however, would listen to no
such proposition, but tenaciously held to their possessions.




The number of Indian towns subject to the crown
in Nicaragua about the year 1555 was twenty-seven.[XXIV‑26]
Nicoya, the largest, contained five hundred families;
there was no other with more than one hundred, and
most of them had but ten or twenty families. The
extreme poverty of the natives had rendered necessary
a reduction of their tribute,[XXIV‑27] and hence the
salaries of civil officers and of the clergy were on a
reduced scale. The aggregate tithes of the church
in the province amounted in 1555 but to sixteen hundred
pesos, and were decreasing from year to year.
The bishop's portion was three hundred and eighty
pesos, a sum insufficient for his maintenance, and he
was compelled to petition the king to increase his income.
Priests laboring in native villages received two
hundred pesos, and in one instance the stipend was
only eighty pesos.



ECCLESIASTICAL SUCCESSION.



After the death of Valdivieso, the friar Alonso de
la Vera Cruz, who had for many years filled the chair
of theology in the university of Mexico, and during
a quarter of a century had preached to the natives in
their own tongue, was nominated as his successor, but
declined the preferment.[XXIV‑28] The see was then offered
to the licentiate Carrasco, who took charge of the
diocese, but never proceeded to consecration.[XXIV‑29] As
435
bishop-elect he made himself familiar with the affairs
of the province, instituted numerous inquiries, and as
the result made various suggestions to the civil authorities.
He declared that the decrease in population
and revenue was caused by the conduct of the alcaldes
mayores, most of whom were either fools or knaves.
Within three years five or six had been sent to Nicaragua
by appointment of the audiencia, and the natives
had been compelled each time to erect gala
arches to welcome them, and to fatten fowl and prepare
delicacies for their entertainment. The officers
of the crown gave Carrasco but little satisfaction, and
even went so far as to deny his right to demand an
account of tithes received for ecclesiastical purposes,
although through their peculations the amount had
fallen so low as to be inadequate for the support of
the bishopric. Little wonder that he soon had enough
of so uninviting a field of labor.




To Carrasco succeeded Fray Gomez Fernandez de
Córdoba. This princely ecclesiastic was a native of
the city whose name he bore, and belonged to the
highest nobility of Spain, being grandson of the great
captain.[XXIV‑30] He was consecrated in Spain and took
charge of the bishopric in 1553.[XXIV‑31] During his tenure
of office the cathedral was completed, and a migration
of Dominicans took place.




The building of the cathedral had been long retarded
by misappropriation of the funds set apart for
the purpose, the treasurer having invested large sums
at different times in speculations and in the purchase
of lands in Peru. The audiencia at length took action
and ordered its completion; the means to be raised in
equal proportion from the treasury, the colonists, and
436
the natives. When it was finished there remained a
surplus of more than two thousand pesos, which was
returned to the treasury.




Among the Dominicans discipline was somewhat
lax about this period, and their mode of life such as
to cause scandal throughout the province. In 1554
Fray Juan de Torres, a resident of Guatemala, was
appointed the Dominican vicar provincial of Nicaragua,
with orders to visit the convents in Leon and
Granada and restore the ecclesiastics to becoming
austerity. Failing in this, he was to give them permission
to leave for Spain or elsewhere as they pleased,
and bring back with him all the jewels and ornaments
belonging to the order.[XXIV‑32] Arriving in Nicaragua, the
vicar provincial at once imposed such severe ordinances
that the friars became disgusted and resolved to
return to Spain. Nothing could be more agreeable
to Fray Juan, who thereupon stealthily collected all
the jewels and ornaments according to his instructions
and returned to Guatemala.[XXIV‑33]




This proceeding was censured even by the vicar's
superiors. The general of the order, Estéfano Ususmaris,
disapproved of it, and instead of lauding him
for his zeal, blamed him for his indiscretion.[XXIV‑34] From
Peru came a protest; and the president and oidores
of the audiencia of the Confines felt aggrieved that
such an important measure should be taken without
consulting them. A few years later Padre Torres was
ordered to Spain, that the king, council, and the general
of his order might be informed on matters pertaining
437
to the election of Father Angulo to the see of
Vera Cruz. His ship was captured by French corsairs
when in sight of Cádiz, and all on board were made
prisoners; but so elated was the ecclesiastic by the
glory of thus falling into the hands of heretics, that
his captors, regarding his high and holy zeal as a kind
of insanity, set him ashore without ransom.




After his arrival at court, the subject of his having
dismembered the convents of Nicaragua was revived,
and it was decided that he should reëstablish them in
person. In consideration, however, of the fact that
in this matter he had merely acted according to the
orders of his superiors, he was exonerated from all
blame and appointed vicar general of the province of
Nicaragua, which was at the same time segregated
from that of San Vicente de Chiapas. He was then
ordered to collect a number of friars and return to
Leon, the king bearing the expenses of the expedition
and providing everything necessary to refit the convents.
He was heartily welcomed by the bishop, settlers,
and natives, and together with his colleagues
renewed his labors throughout the province; but toil
and advancing years had sapped his strength, and
about the year 1562 Fray Juan de Torres sickened
and died at an Indian village on the Desaguadero.




After his decease the Dominicans became disconsolate
and all left the province, some for Santo Domingo,
others for Peru, and the rest for Spain. The
ornaments and properties donated by the king to the
convents were left in charge of lay brothers, but subsequently
the Dominicans of San Vicente de Chiapas
appropriated them as belonging to the order. They
were obliged, however, by a judicial decision to return
them, after which they were distributed by royal
order among other churches.



COMMERCIAL RELATIONS.



At the close of the sixteenth century the chief
towns in Nicaragua were Leon the capital, Realejo, and
Granada. In 1586 the former was in a dilapidated
438
condition, the houses that fell into decay being never
rebuilt. Realejo had but thirty settlers and its chief
industry was the building and repairing of ships.
Granada had two hundred vecinos and at a short distance
from it were many tributary Indians. The walls
of the buildings were of mud, buttressed with a few
bricks and stones, the roofs being of tiles. The population
included encomenderos, merchants, traders, and
a few mechanics and stock-raisers. Vessels traded
thence with Nombre de Dios, passing down the Desaguadero
to the North Sea, though with some difficulty
during the dry season.[XXIV‑35]




Notwithstanding the commercial relations thus
opened with the province of Panamá, no trade of importance
had yet been developed in Nicaragua. There
was little money in circulation,[XXIV‑36] and the prices of all
imported articles were extremely high. An arroba
of wine was worth twelve pesos; cloth could not be
bought for less than ten pesos, nor linen for less than
fifteen reales a yard. Other commodities sold in the
same proportion, and were beyond the means of all
but the wealthiest settlers. This condition of affairs
may be attributed in part to a clique of merchants in
Seville, who had already monopolized the commerce
of the New World, who shipped their goods in such
small quantities as always to keep the market bare
of supplies and insure extravagant prices for their
merchandise, and who by their grasping policy gave
rise, as we shall see later, to contraband trading.
439




CHAPTER XXV.



NICARAGUA AND COSTA RICA.

1601-1700.





Leon Abandoned—Another Site Selected—Description of the New
City—The Sacrilegious Mouse—The Trade of Granada—Freebooters
in Nicaragua—Church Matters—The Jesuits Enter the
Province—They are Recalled—The Diocese Subject to the Archbishop
of Lima—Succession of Prelates—Eruption of El Infierno
de Masaya—Massacre of Spaniards in Costa Rica—Maldonado's
Expedition to Talamanca—Verdelete's Mission to Tologalpa—Its
Failure—His Further Attempts to Christianize the Natives—Massacre
of Soldiers and Ecclesiastics.



LEON, GRANADA, AND REALEJO.



The city of Leon was founded, as will be remembered,
by Córdoba, in 1523,[XXV‑1] a few leagues from the
shore of the South Sea. The murder of Bishop
Valdivieso, which has already been mentioned,[XXV‑2] was
believed to have entailed a curse upon the place, and
after suffering a series of disasters the inhabitants
abandoned its site in 1610. First keeping a solemn
fast they marched forth under the flags of Spain and
the municipality, and about midway between the ocean
and Lake Managua in the centre of a populous Indian
district named Subtiaba, established a new city which
soon became noted as one of the best built in Central
America. "Leon," says the English traveller Thomas
Gage, an apostate monk who passed through the city
in 1637, "is very curiously built, for the chief delight
of the Inhabitants consisteth in their houses, and in
the pleasure of the Country adjoyning, and in the
440
abundance of all things for the life of man, more than
in any extraordinary riches, which there are not so
much enjoyed as in other parts of America. They
are contented with fine gardens, with variety of singing
birds, and parrets, with plenty of fish and flesh,
which is cheap, and with gay houses, and so lead a
delicious, lasie and idle life; not aspiring much to
trade and traffique, though they have neer unto them
the Lake, which commonly every year sendeth forth
some Frigats to the Havana by the North Sea, and
Realejo on the South Sea, which to them might be
very commodious for any dealing and rich trading in
Peru or to Mixco, if their spirits would carry them
so far. The Gentlemen of this City are almost as
vain and phantastical as are those of Chiapa. And
especially from the pleasure of this City, is all that
province of Nicaragua, called by the Spaniards Mahomets
Paradise. From hence the way is plain and
level to Granada, whither I got safely and joyfully."[XXV‑3]




"What in Granada we observed," continues Gage,
441
"was, two Cloisters of Mercenarian and Franciscan
Frayers, and one of the Nuns, very rich; and one
Parish Church, which was as a Cathedral, for the
Bishop of Leon did more constantly reside there than
in the City. The houses are fairer than those of
Leon, and the Town of more Inhabitants, amongst
whom are some few Merchants of very great wealth,
and many of inferiour degree very well to pass, who
trade with Carthagena, Guatemala, San Salvador,
and Comayagua and some by the South Sea to Peru
and Panamá.... In one day there entered six Requas
(which were at least three hundred Mules) from St
Salvador and Comayagua only, laden with nothing
else but Indigo, Cochinil, and Hides; and two days
after from Guatemala came in three more, the one
laden with silver, which was the Kings tribute from
that Countrey; the other with Sugar, and the other
with Indigo."[XXV‑4]




In 1665 Fort San Cárlos on the Desaguadero was
captured by freebooters under Gallardillo, and thus
Granada lay at the mercy of corsairs. The city was
captured, and the invaders, disappointed in their
hopes of plunder, set it on fire, putting to rout during
their retreat a force of three thousand Spaniards
gathered to intercept them, and thence extended
their depredations to Realejo. San Cárlos was recaptured
by Martin Cárlos de Mencos, the president
of Guatemala, and, in October 1671, the erection of
new and stronger works was ordered by the king, the
site selected being near the outlet of the lake.[XXV‑5]



ECCLESIASTICAL AFFAIRS.



The ecclesiastical records of the province during the
seventeenth century contain few incidents worthy of
442
record. In 1616 the Jesuits of Guatemala attempted
to establish themselves in Nicaragua, and at the instance
of the Conde de la Gomera, president of the
audiencia, Pedro de Contreras was despatched to
Granada in charge of the work.[XXV‑6] He was welcomed
to the diocese of Nicaragua by the Bishop Don Pedro
Villa Real,[XXV‑7] and every assistance was afforded him,
the cathedral being placed at his disposal during the
whole of lent. But when he made known the main
purpose of his mission—the establishment of a Jesuit
college in Nicaragua—the people of Granada, though
they listened to him with delight, refused to respond
to his appeals for aid. Means were supplied, however,
by an ex-captain-general of the province, Vicente
Saldívar y Mendoza, whose deceased wife had left
one fifth of her property for the endowment of a college.
The sum thus bequeathed was increased by Saldívar
to twenty-seven thousand pesos and presented to
Contreras. Until 1621 the Jesuits remained in Nicaragua,
Contreras and Padre Blas Hernandez being
the only names recorded in connection with the mission.
It was then announced that the superiors of the
order had recalled them, and immediately the widespread
interest in the labors of the fathers was manifested
by large public meetings, at which petitions
were adopted against such a measure.[XXV‑8] But the
orders of the Provincial Nicolás de Armoya were peremptory,
for the location, he alleged, was deemed too
remote to be governed in keeping with the strict rules
of the Jesuits.[XXV‑9]
443




Meanwhile the people of Realejo had sent frequent
petitions to Guatemala, and as a last resort addressed
themselves directly to the king, asking for the establishment
of a Jesuit college in their midst,[XXV‑10] especially
as the cura of the town had made donations which
would yield a revenue of six thousand pesos. The royal
license for the foundation of the college was issued,
accompanied by a grant from the royal treasury of
three thousand ducats, whereupon the provincial relented,
and notwithstanding the opposition of his fellow
padres, authorized its institution. About the
close of 1621 the Jesuits returned for a while to
Granada, but the consent of the provincial to the
establishment of the order in this province had in
truth been given only with the expectation of multiplying
dependencies until Guatemala could claim the
dignity of a vice-provincia. When this failed the
padres were not allowed to remain in Nicaragua, and
henceforth the Jesuits disappear for a time from the
history of the province.




The see of Nicaragua was subject to the archbishop
of Lima, and the remoteness of the archiepiscopal
court was a frequent source of complaint among the
Spaniards, for the expense of the voyage often exceeded
the monetary value of the interests involved.
In 1621 Benito Valtonado was prelate at Granada.[XXV‑11]
He was a man noted for his kindness of heart, and
mainly from his own resources, which were ample,
he founded the hospital of Santa Catalina at Leon.
After his decease in 1627 little worthy of special
note is mentioned in connection with the prelates of
Nicaragua until after the appointment in 1667 of
Andrés de las Navas y Quevada,[XXV‑12] who built an episcopal
444
palace, a church college, and received by royal
order a grant of religious books.




About the middle of the seventeenth century the
income of the diocese amounted to 3,000 pesos, of
which sum the dean received 600 pesos, the archdeacon
400, and two canons each 300 pesos a year.
At this period the convent of La Merced in Leon
contained twenty ecclesiastics.




If Fray Blas del Castillo could have deferred until
1670 the journey which he made through Nicaragua
in 1537, discovering, as we have seen, that providence
had reserved for the ecclesiastics the molten treasures
of El Infierno de Masaya,[XXV‑13] he would have had a better
opportunity to test his belief. "Some assert," relates
Oviedo, who it will be remembered was in that neighborhood
in 1529, when a violent outburst occurred,
and resided for three years in Nicaragua,[XXV‑14] "that the
light caused by the eruption is sufficient to read by
at the distance of three leagues." From the northern
slope of the mountain poured in 1670 a volume of lava
so vast as to extend almost to the lake of Managua,
or as many conjecture, to reach far into the lake.[XXV‑15]
445




Toward the close of the century the raids of buccaneers,
of which a description will be given in its
place, coupled with the restrictions on trade imposed
by the home government, were sore afflictions to Nicaragua
and Costa Rica, both of which territories were
rich in natural resources. The governor of the latter
province, writing to the king at the opening of the
eighteenth century, reports that Costa Rica does not
yield enough for the support of the priests and the
secular officials.



OBSERVATIONS OF THOMAS GAGE.



There are no reliable records of the condition of
affairs in Esparza until, as we shall see later, the settlement
was several times sacked by buccaneers toward
the close of the century, its site being changed in
1688. Of the capital of Costa Rica, Gage, who sojourned
there four days during his journey to England,
writes: "We came at last through thousand
dangers to the City of Carthago, which we found not
to be so poor, as in richer places, as Guatemala and
Nicaragua it was reported to be. For there we had
occasion to inquire after some Merchants for exchange
of gold and silver, and we found that some were very
rich, who traded by land and sea with Panamá and
by sea with Portobello, Cartagena, and Havana, and
from thence with Spain. The City may consist of
four hundred Families, and is governed by a Spanish
Governour. It is a Bishops See, and hath in it three
Cloisters, two of Fryers, and one of Nuns."




Calle, whose work was published in 1646, states
that Cartago had sixty vecinos, and that in the entire
province there were but a hundred and twenty vecinos
and fifteen thousand peaceable Indians. The capital,
he says, had two judges, and among other officials a
high constable, with a salary of a thousand pesos a
year.[XXV‑16]



TALAMANCA AND TOLOGALPA.



The district of Talamanca, which lay on the coast
446
of the North Sea and within the province of Costa
Rica, was not fully explored until 1601, in which
year the city of Concepcion was founded on the Rio
de la Estrella. The establishment of this colony was
quickly followed by an insurrection of the natives
who, incited by the rapacity and cruelty of the Spaniards,
rose en masse on the 10th of August 1610, and
massacred the inhabitants of that settlement and of
Santiago de Talamanca, which had been built on the
left bank of the river, slaughtering indiscriminately
men, women, children, and priests.




Nothing else worthy of record occurred in this district
until the year 1660, when Rodrigo Arias Maldonado,
being governor and captain-general of Costa
Rica,[XXV‑17] resolved upon the subjugation of the natives of
Talamanca, then consisting of some twenty-six tribes.
Maldonado proposed to carry the gospel in one hand
and the sword in the other; but his ambition was
rather to represent the church militant than to follow
the example of previous conquerors.




With a corps of one hundred and ten men he
started forth upon his self-imposed mission, expending
his own private fortune upon the enterprise,[XXV‑18]
enduring great fatigue and hardship, exploring all the
coast as far as Boca del Drago and Boca del Flor,
and visiting the adjacent islands. His success was
remarkable. He gathered the Indians into villages,
had them instructed in the faith, and erected churches;
but with his retirement from the scene the natives
returned to their nomadic life, the villages were deserted,
and the churches fell into decay. The intelligence
of his labors, when communicated to the king,
won for him the title of marqués de Talamanca, but
before the royal decree reached him he had turned his
back upon the honors of this world, and enrolled himself
447
as a humble brother of Bethlehem, to be thenceforward
known as Fray Rodrigo de la Cruz.[XXV‑19]




In 1684 the two Franciscans, Melchor Lopez, and
Antonio Margil, resumed the work of christianization,
and found the paths that had led to the interior overgrown
and hidden as if they had never been opened,
and the people as fierce and untractable as though no
efforts had been made to civilize them. Yet these
two priests, without arms or protection, advanced
into the interior of the country and reported within
five years the baptism of forty thousand Indians and
the establishment of fourteen villages. The work
was continued with varying success by a number of
ecclesiastics, several of whom suffered martyrdom in
their cause,[XXV‑20] but the final result of all efforts was
failure so complete that, to use the words of Pelaez,
"it was as if these mountains were the gates of hell,
from within which there was no redemption."




In connection with the attempted pacification of
Talamanca may be mentioned certain missionary expeditions
to Tologalpa, the name given to a mountainous
country lying between the Desaguadero and the
Nueva Segovia river, and peopled by sambos, by the
Xicaques, the Lencas, and other tribes[XXV‑21] or admixtures
of tribes, differing widely in language, government,
and manners. The Spanish government had repeatedly
directed inquiries to be made concerning them
and the best means of effecting their reconciliation;[XXV‑22]
and in letters addressed to the president of the audiencia
early in the seventeenth century the king
448
urges that efforts be made for the peaceful conquest
of this province.




Among others who were imbued with a passion for
this particular work was a Franciscan named Estévan
Verdelete, who was appointed local superior in Comayagua
and to whom the provincial granted a license
authorizing the adoption of any measures that would
be likely to prove successful. Under the guidance of
some Indians, who avowed sympathy with his projects,
he and his friend Juan de Monteagudo, penetrated this
territory, only to be abandoned, however, by the
natives when in the midst of a vast wilderness, without
food, and apparently cut off from all human aid.
Guided by the stars they succeeded in making their
way through the wilds, and after suffering excessive
hardship arrived in safety at Comayagua, whence
they immediately afterward set forth for Santiago to
assist at the provincial synod held there in 1606.




Not disheartened by this failure, Verdelete asked
permission from the synod to proceed to Spain, for
the purpose of asking the king's assistance in the conversion
and pacification of the natives. His request
was granted and eight assistants were appointed, whose
expenses were to be paid out of the royal treasury.[XXV‑23]




In October 1609 Verdelete left Santiago in company
with his party of ecclesiastics, and in passing
through Comayagua obtained the services of Captain
Daza and three other Spaniards, who were familiar
with the country. After several days' travel they
came in sight of Indian dwellings and were received
with every manifestation of joy. Verdelete in the
enthusiasm of the hour declared that he was prepared
to live and die among them. Converts were numerous,[XXV‑24]
and the mission so promising that Verdelete
wrote to the provincial asking for more missionaries.
449



WAR ON THE MISSIONARIES.



But soon a change came over the scene, caused
mainly by the deep feeling of hostility that sprang up
among the unconverted natives against their christianized
brethren. A frenzy of hatred against the
very semblance of religion seized upon them, and they
resolved to burn down the settlement of the missionaries
and to massacre the inmates. On the evening set
for the execution of their purpose the ecclesiastics received
warning through some children, and while yet
Verdelete was exhorting them to stand steadfast in
the hour of trial, hideous yells roused them to an
immediate sense of peril. Issuing forth they found
the village enveloped in flames, and encompassed by
war-painted Indians brandishing lances and torches.
Verdelete at once rushed into their midst, crucifix in
hand, and with words of indignation upbraided them
for their baseness and treachery, and threatened the
vengeance of offended heaven. His courage inspired
his associates, and at the spectacle of such boldness
the natives shrank abashed, and one by one slunk
away. At daybreak not an Indian was to be seen,
and the missionaries then returned to Guatemala,
where their story only incited a more determined
effort at the reduction of the offending tribes, and
another and larger expedition was organized again
under the leadership of Verdelete.




The missionaries were accompanied by an escort
of twenty-three soldiers under Captain Daza, and
reached the confines of Tologalpa in April 1611.
They found some of their old converts, and by their
agency others were brought into the fold. Thus encouraged,
they wished to penetrate farther into the
interior, but were dissuaded by Daza, who volunteered
to go in advance with some of his men and
test the feeling of the natives. After waiting some
time for their return,[XXV‑25] the ecclesiastics were beguiled
450
into the mountain fastnesses, and found upon turning
the brow of a hill a large hostile band, brandishing
lances and hideous in war-paint. Their first glance
showed them the head of Daza and some of his soldiers
carried on the points of lances, and at once they
saw that their fate was sealed. Nothing daunted,
Verdelete advanced toward them and began to expostulate.
He was answered by a flight of javelins,
and fell pinned to the earth by a lance. Of the entire
party but two escaped,[XXV‑26] and for many years the
inhabitants of Tologalpa saw no more of the Christians.




Toward the close of the century, however, the
rule of the Spaniards had become somewhat milder
throughout the provinces of Central America, and in
1674 two of the Tologalpan tribes sent representatives
to Guatemala and besought Fernando de Espino,
the provincial of the Franciscan order, to send
instructors to their countrymen. Soon afterward the
governor, after consultation with the provincial, resolved
to send another missionary, and out of many
candidates Pedro de Lagares, a young man of culture
and an enthusiast in the cause, was chosen for the
task. At Nueva Segovia Lagares opened a missionary
school, to which all were admitted who were willing
to work. He made numerous journeys into the
interior, and converts multiplied until in 1678 they
were counted by hundreds. His decease occurred
during the following year, and his successors, though
meeting with some encouragement, finally abandoned
the field, though without any obvious cause.
451




CHAPTER XXVI.



BUCCANEERS AND BUCCANEERING RAIDS.

1518-1664.





Buccaneers at Santo Domingo—Tortuga the Head-quarters of the
Pirates—Their Modes of Life—François L'Olonnois the Filibuster—His
Vessel Cast on the Shore of Campeche—He Escapes
to Tortuga—And Reappears in the Bay of Honduras—He Captures
San Pedro—He Plans a Raid on Guatemala—His Comrades Desert
Him—His Vessel Wrecked off Cape Gracias á Dios—His Expedition
to Desaguadero—And to Costa Rica—He is Hacked to Pieces—Mansvelt
Captures the Island of Santa Catarina—And Attacks
Cartago—Santa Catarina Retaken by the Spaniards.




About the year 1518 an English trading ship touching
at Santo Domingo was fired upon by order of the
governor, and thence setting sail for Porto Rico bartered
wrought iron for provisions.[XXVI‑1] A few years later
the passage to the Indies became known among the
nations of western Europe, and foreign vessels were
often seen in the waters of the North Sea. In 1529
guarda costas were procured by the governor of Santo
Domingo, and their captains commissioned to seize
all craft which sailed under any flag but that of Spain,
and to enslave their crews. But in that island are
many excellent harbors, and the Spaniards seemed not
averse to obtain at smaller cost from foreigners goods
such as those on which the merchants of Seville made
enormous profits; and vessels from several countries,
more especially from England, France, and Holland,
continued to make voyages to the New World, their
452
captains combining for mutual protection, and not unfrequently
making raids on the Spanish settlements.




In 1531 French corsairs were seen off the coast of
Tierra Firme; and in 1537 Bishop Marroquin, when
about to depart for Spain, was dissuaded as we have
observed from making the journey by his friends in
Mexico,[XXVI‑2] for even at that date the North Sea was
infested by pirates. Santo Domingo was the favorite
calling-place of foreign marauders; for wild cattle
abounded in every part of the island, and there the
pirates could revictual their ships without expense.




At the close of the sixteenth century the island on
which the great discoverer founded his first settlement
had been thinned of its inhabitants. Moreover the
mines had become exhausted and the vast wealth of
Mexico and Peru had drawn away all the most enterprising
of the Spaniards, and the few that remained
dwelt for the most part in small villages, where they
cured at their boucans, or drying establishments, the
flesh of cattle and hogs, giving to the cured meat the
same name as to the place where it was prepared.[XXVI‑3]
Hence also the origin of the word bucaniers, or buccaneers,
the latter term being used by Dampier,[XXVI‑4]
whose raids will be described later.



THE PHILOSOPHY OF PIRACY.



English, French, and Dutch adventurers found in
Santo Domingo places where they could lead an idle
roving life, the monotony of which was relieved by an
occasional fight with the Spaniards, the French being
termed flibustiers,[XXVI‑5] or as we shall call them filibusters,
453
though this word was not used till the seventeenth
century, and the Dutch styling themselves zee
roovers.




In 1623 James I. of England granted to one
Thomas Warner the island of San Cristóbal, though
by what authority is not recorded by the chroniclers
of the period. Warner associated with him fourteen
others, who were to share the profits of the expedition,
and sailed in charge of a band of adventurers
for the Indies. His vessel arrived off San Cristóbal
in 1625, and during that year a party of Frenchmen
landed on the island, which was then inhabited
by Caribs. The Spaniards had never formed a settlement
there, and the English and French divided the
territory between them. Fearing that the Caribs
might be incited to rise against them by the crews of
Spanish vessels, which frequently called there to obtain
provisions, these licensed marauders attacked the
savages by night, massacred the chiefs, and drove the
rest from the island. Warner soon afterward returned
to England, and for this gallant exploit was
knighted by his learned Majesty, thus justifying the
title which James I. has gained in the page of history
as the greatest fool in christendom. A powerful
armament was despatched to San Cristóbal by order
of the court of Spain, and the intruders were dispersed;
those who escaped the swords of the Spaniards
taking refuge in the adjacent islands, and returning a
year or two later.




Trading companies were now organized, and licenses
granted to establish colonies. The islet of Tortuga,
lying to the north-west of Santo Domingo, was captured
almost without resistance. There storehouses
were built, and there for a time were the head-quarters
of the pirates. Tortuga was recaptured by the
Spaniards in 1638, and the freebooters received no
quarter; a few of them escaped to the woods; others
were away on piratical or other expeditions; and
though some of them fell into the hands of the Spaniards
454
and were massacred, the latter soon abandoned
the island, and in the following year the freebooters
at Tortuga mustered three hundred men. For the
first time the pirates now elected a leader, and their
numbers were soon recruited by French, English, and
Dutch volunteers.




Though they were regarded by the Spaniards as
foes, they were esteemed by other European nations
as allies and champions, and so rapid was the growth
of their settlements that in 1641 we find governors
appointed, and at San Cristóbal a governor-general
named De Poincy, in charge of the French filibusters,
in the Indies. During that year Tortuga was garrisoned
by French troops, and the English were driven
out, both from that islet and from Santo Domingo,
securing harborage elsewhere in the islands. Nevertheless,
corsairs of both nations often made common
cause; and in 1654 a large party of buccaneers and
filibusters, ascending a river a little to the south of
Cape Gracias á Dios, plundered the settlement of
Nueva Segovia. In the same year Tortuga was
again recaptured by the Spaniards, but in 1660 fell
once more into the hands of the French; and in their
conquest of Jamaica in 1655 the British troops were
reënforced by a large party of buccaneers.



CUSTOMS OF CORSAIRS.



The monarchs, both of England and France, but
especially the former, connived at, and even encouraged
the freebooters, whose services could be obtained
in time of war, and whose actions could be disavowed
in time of peace. Thus buccaneer, filibuster, and sea-rover
were for the most part at leisure to hunt wild
cattle, and to pillage and massacre the Spaniards
wherever they found an opportunity. When not on
some marauding expedition they followed the chase,
and one day's employment was like that of another.
Setting forth at daybreak, accompanied by their dogs
and servants, they continued their search until as
many head of bullocks were slain as there were members
in the party. Hides were thus provided sufficient
455
to fill contracts with the captain of a trading
vessel which usually lay stationed in some neighboring
bay, and were carried down to the sea-shore by
bondsmen, who under the name of apprentices had
been inveigled into a contract to serve for a term of
years. For them there was no seventh or other day
of rest. One of these unfortunates ventured on a
certain occasion to expostulate with his master, quoting
the divine injunction with the preamble: "I say
unto thee, etc." And "I say unto thee," returned the
buccaneer, "six days shalt thou kill bullocks, and strip
them of their skins, and on the seventh day thou shalt
carry their hides to the sea-shore."




The dress of the buccaneers consisted of a shirt
dipped in the blood of a slaughtered animal, pantaloons
of leather, if possible filthier than the shirt, shoes of
rawhide, and a hat without rim. All goods, other than
articles of virtu, were held in common; and as life
was precarious, half of them at least being sure to die
in the Indies, each chose a comrade with whom property
of every description was shared. Though without
laws or religion they had few disputes, and those were
readily adjusted. They were governed by a rough
code, established by themselves, and there were not
wanting among them those who displayed, though
usually in a brutal fashion, the possibilities of a better
nature. Of Ravenau de Lussan, who figures in the
history of the buccaneers, and whose operations will
be mentioned in their place, it is related that he joined
them only because he was in debt, and in order to
obtain the means of satisfying his creditors. Of
Montbar, a Frenchman of Languedoc, the chroniclers
relate that on reading the story of the atrocities
committed by the Spaniards on the hapless natives,
he conceived such a hatred against them that he also
joined the corsairs, and by his deeds of vengeance
won the sobriquet of the Exterminator. Of a French
captain of filibusters named Daniel, it is recorded that
he shot one of his own crew in church for some indecorous
456
act committed during the performance of mass.
Until 1665 there were few women among these rapscallions.
In that year a governor sent out to take
charge of the French settlements in Santo Domingo,
brought with him a few females of lax morality, whom
the buccaneers took to wife in this fashion: "Your
past is nothing to me, for then I did not know, and
you did not then belong to me. I acquit you of all
evil; but you must pledge me your word for the
future." The foul troth was thus plighted, when
striking his hand on the barrel of his gun the husband
exclaimed: "This will avenge me should you
prove false."[XXVI‑6]




The deeds of Pierre Le Grande and Bartolomé
Portuguez, who figure in the stories of buccaneering
raids about the time of Montbar's exploits—the middle
of the seventeenth century—require no record in
these pages. The name that stands preëminent among
all the cut-throats, who at this period infested the
North Sea and the shores of the main, is that of a personage
called François L'Olonnois, a native of France,
but one whose natural ferocity almost forbids us to
class him with the human race. Montbar, though
his hate amounted to frenzy, was impelled only by
indignation against the oppressors and sympathy for
the sufferings of the oppressed, and would accept no
share in the proceeds of his raids.[XXVI‑7] But no such half-human
feeling, no shadow of honest intent, ever
prompted the monster L'Olonnois. Montbar was an
undiscerning fiend; L'Olonnois an arch-fiend, with no
faculty impaired. Transported in youth to the West
Indies, ere long he exchanged convict life for the more
genial pursuits of a filibuster, and his first position
457
among those rovers on sea and land was that of a
common mariner. In that capacity he made several
voyages, and so distinguished himself by his brute
strength and fearlessness that the governor of Tortuga[XXVI‑8]
supplied him with a ship and armament wherewith
to reap a harvest of gold.




The success which he achieved was great, and his
operations attracted the attention of congenial cut-throats,
who eagerly manned his decks, and at the
same time stamped his name in crimson letters on the
hearts of the race which he regarded as his prey.
Even the elements attempted to arrest his destroying
hand, and in one of his cruises cast his vessel on the
shore of Campeche, where nearly all his comrades were
killed by the Spaniards.




But the devil did not abandon his high-priest.
L'Olonnois, though severely wounded, and regarding
himself and his party as lost, smeared himself with
blood without being perceived, and fell apparently
lifeless among the slain.[XXVI‑9] Stripping off the dress of
a dead Spaniard when the enemy had departed, he
crawled over the ghastly forms of his late comrades
and hid in the woods; then he boldly entered a neighboring
town, and by promise of freedom induced some
slaves to go with him. Stealing a large canoe, in due
time they reached the isle of Tortuga.



GLORIOUS BUTCHERY.



Terrible as he was before this disaster, the future
deeds of L'Olonnois were still more atrocious. "I
shall never henceforward give quarter to any Spaniard
whatsoever," he writes to the governor of Cuba, after
having beheaded, with his own hand, all save one of
the survivors on board a captured ship which had been
sent against him. And he was as good as his word.
He hacked to pieces captive after captive, quenching
458
his thirst with the blood that dripped from his heated
cutlass. He tore out men's hearts and chewed them,
and watched prisoners slowly die of hunger and thirst.
If under the most agonizing torture the information
wrung from a Spaniard was not satisfactory, the hapless
wretch's tongue was wrenched out by the roots.
Verily the cruelties of the conquerors were visited
upon their descendants.




The reputation of L'Olonnois as a successful leader
became so great that the most reckless and determined
were ever ready to join in any enterprise projected
by him. Between 1660 and 1665 he planned an expedition
against the north coast of Central America
and soon was in command of six ships and seven hundred
men. Directing his course to Cape Gracias á
Dios, he was driven by stress of weather into the bay
of Honduras, where, distressed for want of provisions,
his party ascended the Jagua River[XXVI‑10] in their canoes,
sacking and destroying the Indian villages on the
banks, and murdering the inhabitants. The pirates
then cruised along the coast committing similar depredations.
At Puerto de Caballos, after taking a Spanish
ship of twenty-four guns and sixteen swivels, they
landed and sacked two large store-houses. These
with the town they burned, and having captured a
number of the inhabitants inflicted upon them the
most inhuman cruelties. L'Olonnois at the head of
three hundred men next proceeded to San Pedro,
about twelve leagues distant, and on his march thither
fell in with three strong bodies of Spaniards who lay
in ambush for him. These he successively routed, but
not without the loss of many of his men. His treatment
of prisoners and wounded captives was marked
by his customary atrocities.



A MOST VALIANT SOLDIER.



On arriving at San Pedro he found the town
strongly fortified at the main entrance, the other
parts being surrounded by impenetrable thickets of
459
thorny shrub and cactus, and his only plan was to
assault the barricades. The Spaniards, however, defended
themselves with desperation, and the pirates
were compelled to withdraw from their first attack.
Their second attempt caused such mortality among
the defenders that they hoisted a flag of truce and
agreed to surrender the town on condition that quarter
be given the inhabitants for two hours. These
terms were agreed to, and, strange though it may
appear, were faithfully kept by the pirates. The inhabitants
gathered up their effects and fled, but no
sooner had the two hours expired than L'Olonnois
gave orders for pursuit. The freebooters were disappointed,
for the men of San Pedro had secreted
the greater part of their valuables and merchandise,
and the pirates found only some indigo to recompense
them for their toil and danger.[XXVI‑11]




The star of the great Frenchman was now on the
wane, and with the exception of capturing a Spanish
ship of forty-two[XXVI‑12] guns after a desperate engagement
his operations off the Central American coast were
unimportant. But even this prize, for which the freebooters
had long waited in hope of great booty, they
found discharged of her valuable cargo, and a few
unimportant articles of merchandise was all they
obtained. The companions of L'Olonnois were becoming
discontented with his want of success, and
though he recklessly proposed to make a raid on the
city of Guatemala, to many this seemed too desperate
an enterprise, and the greater portion of his
followers deserted him and turned their vessels homeward.[XXVI‑13]
Misfortune now followed him relentlessly.
460
While working his poorly manned ship along the
coast, she struck a sand-bank near the isle of Pearls
off Cape Gracias á Dios. The crew were already
half famished and there was no hope of saving the
vessel. So they broke the craft in pieces and built a
long-boat, occupying five or six months in this work.
But when finished it would only hold half their number.
Then it was decided that the half to go should
be selected by casting lots. They would embark for
the Desaguadero in Nicaragua,[XXVI‑14] in the expectation
of seizing vessels and returning for their comrades.
L'Olonnois took command of the expedition, but was
unsuccessful in his attempt on the Desaguadero.
Spaniards and Indians assailed him in such overwhelming
numbers that he was compelled to retreat
with heavy loss. But determined not to return for
his companions on the isle of Pearls without a vessel
in which to take them back to Tortuga, he sailed for
Costa Rica, and being obliged to land for provisions
near the gulf of Darien he and all his men, save one
who escaped by flight, were cut to pieces by the Indians
and roasted.[XXVI‑15] Thus with a fitting retribution
ended the career of François L'Olonnois, who might
give lessons in greatness to the leaders of armies and
in savagism to the Indians who slew him.



MANSVELT AND MORGAN.



About the year 1664 a noted buccaneer named
461
Mansvelt formed the design of attacking the town of
Natá, by making a descent upon it overland from the
North Sea. For this purpose he sailed from Jamaica
with a fleet of fifteen vessels and five hundred men.[XXVI‑16]
To obtain guides he assaulted and captured the island
of Santa Catarina, or Old Providence.[XXVI‑17] There he
established a buccaneer settlement, leaving one hundred
men under command of a Frenchman named St
Simon. Then he proceeded against Natá, but found
such preparations had been made by the president of
Panamá that he was forced to abandon the attempt.
A Spanish prisoner, however, offered to lead him to
Cartago, the capital of Costa Rica, which he represented
as a rich and unfortified city. This proposal
met with general approval, and the fleet sailed back
along the coast as far as Port Matina,[XXVI‑18] where they
disembarked.




At first their way was not difficult, and from the
settlements on the road they obtained abundance of
provisions; but in a few days they reached the cordillera,
where provisions could no longer be procured
in sufficient quantity. Mansvelt's crew was composed
of Englishmen and Frenchmen, and whatever amity
might exist under favorable circumstances between
them was now destroyed by hardship and hunger.
No fair distribution was made of such food as could
be obtained. Fierce brawls ensued. Mansvelt and
the afterward famous Morgan, the second in command,
in vain attempted to allay the discord, which
was so violent that the two factions were almost as
ready to fall upon each other as on the Spaniards.
Meantime the governor of Cartago had raised all the
462
forces he could muster,[XXVI‑19] and had taken up a strong
position on a hill commanding the town of Turialba,[XXVI‑20]
which the pirates had entered. At daybreak, before
the invaders were yet under arms, the Spaniards unexpectedly
opened fire upon them from the eminence.
In the absence of mutual confidence the pirates were
thrown into confusion, and their leaders deemed it
best to return to the fleet. The Spaniards followed
for a short distance, and having seized a few stragglers
returned triumphant to Cartago.




But to the victors was not all the glory. The precipitate
flight of so large a band of desperadoes could
only have been accomplished by divine power; and,
indeed, the Spaniards learned from their captives[XXVI‑21]
that when the invaders' quarters were broken up
they saw on the height a host of warriors commanded
by a radiant female form,[XXVI‑22] who were none others than
the holy virgin and an army of saints who had come
to the succor of the chosen of God; so the grateful
people of Cartago chose her as their patron, and instituted
an annual procession to her shrine at Ujarraz,[XXVI‑23]
which ceremony continued to the time of
Juarros.



DEATH OF THE CHIEF.



When Mansvelt arrived at the bay of Matina he
reëmbarked and set sail for Santa Catarina. There
he found his pirate colony thriving. The fortifications
had been put in the best repair, portions of the
island cultivated, and other measures taken for a permanent
residence thereon. He therefore decided to
request aid for carrying out his project from the governor
463
of Jamaica; but that official, though inclined to
connive at the doings of the buccaneers, did not dare
place his position in jeopardy by such an open act
of hostility against Spain, with which nation England
was then at peace. Mansvelt made an equally unsuccessful
appeal to the governor of Tortuga, and dying
ere long, the robbers at Santa Catarina were left to
their own resources. Not long afterward the president
of Panamá, sent a force to recover the island, and
St Simon, finding that the promised reënforcements
did not arrive, and considering it impossible to defend
the place with the company under his command, surrendered
after a slight show of resistance.[XXVI‑24]
464




CHAPTER XXVII.



PANAMÁ, PORTOBELLO, AND PIRACY.

1601-1670.





An Audiencia again Established in Panamá—Its Presidents—Captain
Parker's Raid on Portobello—Growth of Portobello and Decadence
of Panamá—Malefeasance of Officials—Interoceanic Communication—Contraband
Trading—Church Matters in Panamá—Disputes
between the Bishops and the Oidores—The Ecclesiastics
in Evil Repute—Destructive Conflagration—Bazan's Administration—His
Downfall and its Cause—The Annual Fair at Panamá.




During the first half of the seventeenth century
the province of Panamá was under the control of a
governor or president, and an audiencia real, which
was reëstablished toward the close of the previous
century. The archives are meagre of information regarding
the governors, some of them being barely
mentioned, and their succession not always agreed
upon by the authorities. In 1601 Alonso de Sotomayor
was governor; on the 9th of June 1604 the
licentiate Alonso de Coronado, an oidor of the audiencia
of Guatemala, was appointed president; and on
the 18th of September in the same year that office
was filled by Valverde de Mercado, each of the officials
receiving as salary six thousand ducats per annum.[XXVII‑1]




We have also the personnel of the ayuntamiento of
Panamá,[XXVII‑2] and certain ordinances passed by that body,
one of which relates to the sale of a noxious liquor
465
known as vino de Aljarafe,[XXVII‑3] and the other forbids
trafficking in negro slaves.[XXVII‑4]



PARKER'S ATTACK.



It was during the administration of Mercado that
Captain William Parker attacked and captured Portobello.
He sailed from Plymouth in November
1601 with two ships, a pinnace, and two shallops, and
at least two hundred men.[XXVII‑5] After a tempestuous
voyage in which he lost his pinnace and all her crew
save three, he captured the town of San Vicente, on
the Cape Verde Islands, and after despoiling it and
giving it up to the flames sailed for the coast of Tierra
Firme. Arriving at the island of Cubagua, where
was a pearl-fishery, he was confronted by a company
of soldiers, who resisted manfully, but were finally
overcome; several barks and boats were captured, and
several prisoners taken, for whose ransom he received
pearls to the value of twenty-five hundred pesos.
Thence he shaped his course for Cape de la Vela, off
which he met with a fine Portuguese ship of two
hundred and fifty tons, bound for Cartagena, and
laden with negroes for the mines. An easy capture
was made, and another twenty-five hundred pesos
secured as ransom for the slaves. Calling at the
islands of Cabezas and Bastimentos, at the latter of
which he procured several negro guides, he embarked
one hundred and fifty of his men in the shallops and
in two small pinnaces which he had built during the
voyage. He entered the mouth of the river on which
466
Portobello is situated about two o'clock in the morning
of the 7th of February 1602.[XXVII‑6]




The moonlight quickly revealed the boats to the
watch on duty at the fort of San Felipe, commanding
the entrance of the harbor. Being challenged as
to whence they came, they answered from Cartagena,
the reply being given in Spanish by men taken on
board at that town for the purpose. They were then
commanded to anchor, and did so at once, six leagues
from Portobello, "the Place where my Shippes roade,"
says Parker, "beinge the rock where Sir Francis
Drake his Coffin was throwne overboarde."




The captain was well aware that at San Felipe were
always thirty-five great pieces of brass ordnance,
ready mounted, to bid an enemy welcome, and fifty
soldiers to manage them. Nevertheless, as soon as
all was quiet, he proceeded up the river with thirty
men and two cannon in his shallops, ordering the remainder
of his forces to follow him. Directly opposite
the castle was a smaller fort named Santiago,
mounting five pieces of ordnance and manned by
thirty soldiers, some of whom, seeing the boats, cried
out to them to stop, and ran along the shore in pursuit.
Heedless of their noise Parker proceeded to the
suburban town of Triana, landed there with his company,
and in a trice, though the alarm was promptly
given, set it on fire. Then, leaving it burning, he
marched on Portobello, capturing on his way a piece
of ordnance with the loss of only one man. The English
467
made directly for the king's treasure-house, a
large and conspicuous building where the governor of
the town, Pedro Melendez, was stationed, with a
strong force. The flames and smoke of Triana had
given warning of the invaders' approach, and Parker
found before the treasury a squadron of soldiers drawn
up ready to receive him, and also a company of trained
civilians with two field-pieces. The conflict that followed
was sharp and bloody. Soon all of the English
except eight or nine were killed or wounded, and the
governor at the head of sixty soldiers was now advancing
to crush the remnant of their little band.
"But," says the pious pirate, "God did prosper our
Proceedings mightelie, for the first two Shott which
went from us shot Malendus through his Targett, and
went throughe both his Armes, and the other Shott
hurted the Corporall of the Fielde, whereupon they
all retired to their House which they made good untill
it was almost daie."



PORTOBELLO TAKEN.



Meanwhile the remainder of the captain's forces had
come up, and after a fight of four or five hours the
contest was decided in favor of the English. Among
the prisoners taken were the governor, the king's escribano,
and many of the leading citizens, all of whom
were afterward released, Melendez[XXVII‑7] being carried on
board the fleet and liberated without ransom after his
wounds had been dressed.




The booty captured in the treasure-house amounted
to but ten thousand ducats,[XXVII‑8] though had the English
arrived but seven days earlier they would have made
prize of a hundred and twenty thousand ducats which
had just before been carried away by two frigates
bound for Cartagena. Elsewhere in the town a considerable
amount of plunder was found in the shape
of plate, merchandise, and money, all of which was
468
divided among the men, the commander reserving for
himself the sum found in the treasury.




No further injury was done to the town, except
that a few negro huts were burned in order to intimidate
the inhabitants. Seizing two vessels that he
found in the port, and in one of which were three
mounted pieces of cannon, the English, as they
dropped down the river, opened fire on the forts, and
were warmly answered by the Spaniards, who expected
to sink their vessels. "But God so wrought
for us," says the captain, "that we safely gott forthe
againe contrarie to the Expectation of our Enemyes."
Most of the shots fired from shore passed high overhead,
though a few of the English were wounded,
among them the commander, who was hit in the
elbow with a musket ball which passed out at his
wrist. Reaching a neighboring island, Parker was
soon rejoined by his ships, and next day, the 9th of
February, put out to sea.[XXVII‑9]




It has already been said that in 1585 Portobello
contained not more than ten dwellings, and that in
March 1597 the port of entry was removed there
from Nombre de Dios. During the five years that
elapsed between this change and Parker's raid the
town had developed into a thriving settlement, and
now contained two churches, a treasury, an exchange,
a hospital rich and large, a convent and several streets,
where for six weeks in the year, when the galleons
were in port, merchants and artificers congregated.




Upon the arrival of the galleons, the treasurer,
contador, or factor, was ordered by the governor to
proceed there, taking with him the deputies of the
other two officials.[XXVII‑10] When the gold and silver had
469
been put on board the galleons, and other commodities
on board the merchant ships, all were visited by
the royal officers to see that the king was not cheated—except
for valuable consideration. The coming
and going of the annual fleets was a matter of the
utmost solicitude to the crown, to shippers, and to
consignees. Many a treasure-laden craft either foundered
at sea or fell a prey to buccaneers, and the safe
arrival of a convoy was heralded with every manifestation
of joy, even royalty itself not deeming it out of
place to announce such an event. Thus on October
15, 1605, the king in a despatch to the president and
audiencia informs them of the arrival of General Don
Luis de Córdoba in January of that year.




After the departure of the galleons, Portobello was
almost abandoned by the Spaniards, and left mainly to
negroes and mulattoes, the inhabitants living chiefly
by renting their dwellings and stores at exorbitant
rates.[XXVII‑11] The town was built in the shape of a crescent;
its harbor was one of the most secure in the
Indies,[XXVII‑12] and ship-building and the preparation of
470
cedar lumber were its leading industries. The climate
of Portobello, like that of other towns on the
Isthmus, was unhealthy, as I have elsewhere stated,
though less so than that of Nombre de Dios or even
Panamá. The hospital was crowded with invalid
soldiers, laborers, and slaves, and in 1608 an annual
grant of two thousand ducats was assigned by the
crown for its support.




In 1610 the city of Panamá had not more than one
third of the population which it possessed in 1585,[XXVII‑13]
although from the time of its establishment to the
latter date it had grown steadily in wealth and population.
The best indication of its decline as a commercial
centre is the fact that the revenues of the casa
de Cruces,[XXVII‑14] which at one time were farmed out for
ten thousand pesos a year, were rented in 1610 for
only two thousand pesos. There were mines, but they
were not worked;[XXVII‑15] pearl-fisheries, but they lay idle; a
measure of trade, but it was in the hands of monopolists,
who shared their profits with the king.[XXVII‑16]




The expenses of the general government of Panamá
were met by annual appropriations allowed by the
471
council of the Indies, and if we take into consideration
the sparseness of the population and the comparative
cheapness of the necessaries of life, the
officials were exceedingly well paid for their services.[XXVII‑17]
But good pay does not seem to have secured faithful
service, for on the 28th of March 1605 his Majesty
informs the president that he has learned that married
officials, while going their official rounds, were
accustomed to take with them their wives, who were
always provided for at the towns they visited; he
enjoins him to forbid them thus to take advantage of
their position and to insist that the retinue of bailiffs
and servants be reduced to the smallest possible number.
Governor Valverde in his report of June 6th
following, says that many of the interior towns of
Tierra Firme had not been visited by an oidor for
many years, and that the province of Veragua had
never been visited at all. To remedy such neglect
the governor orders the oidores to visit all properly
designated places in rotation.



INTEROCEANIC COMMUNICATION.



The question of interoceanic communication, to
which allusion has already been made, was discussed
at intervals during the latter half of the sixteenth
century, and further surveys were made early in the
seventeenth. "It is true," writes Gomara in 1554,
"that mountains obstruct these passages, but if there
be mountains there be also hands; let but the resolve
be formed to make the passage and it can be made."
On the 31st of December 1616 the king informed
Diego Fernandez de Velasco, who at that date was
appointed governor of Castilla del Oro, that the court
of Spain endorsed the opinion of the commercial
472
world on this project. They believed that communication
might be easily established between the oceans
by constructing a canal connecting the rivers Dacil
and Damaquiel, about thirty leagues from Cartagena,
and that such a work would enable the king to provide
better for the defence of the provinces.[XXVII‑18]




The governor was directed to report on the feasibility
of the project, and to despatch a few small vessels
for the purpose of making a similar investigation
at the gulf of San Miguel and the Rio Darien. The
conclusions arrived at by the officers employed on
these surveys is not recorded in the chronicles of the
age, but we learn that his Majesty was very explicit
in his directions that all such explorations and surveys
should be made at the expense of those who
were interested, and not charged to the royal treasury.[XXVII‑19]




When Felipe IV. ascended the throne of Spain he
assured his subjects in the New World that no forced
loans should be required during his reign. He even
reimbursed, with interest, the money seized by his predecessor,
who a year before his death appropriated to
his own use an eighth of the treasure on board the fleet
from the Isthmus.[XXVII‑20] Nevertheless the fourth Philip
was often in sore need of funds. About this time
Rodrigo de Vivero was governor of Castilla del Oro,
having been appointed the successor of Velasco,[XXVII‑21] and
those in charge of the bullion fleet had made a practice
473
of tarrying long at the port of Perico under pretence of
taking in merchandise from Spain. Claiming to be
under the jurisdiction of the viceroy of Peru they refused
obedience to the audiencia of Panamá. In order
to prevent delay in the arrival of the treasure-ships
it was ordered that all the officers and men of the
fleets calling at Tierra Firme should be placed under
the immediate jurisdiction of the audiencia.



SMUGGLING.



The king was constantly defrauded of his revenues
by contraband trading which prevailed throughout
the provinces, but nowhere to such an extent as in
Panamá. In the year 1624 the amount of merchandise
registered as passing through the casa de Cruces
was 1,446,346 pesos, while goods to the amount of
7,597,559 pesos were reported by the factor Cristóbal
de Balba to have been smuggled through. No punishment
was inflicted for these frauds, though his
Majesty thus suffered a loss of 1,370,656 pesos, and
the matter was compounded by the payment of 200,000
pesos into the treasury, the factor having received a
bribe of 6,000 pesos. Smuggling was practised to such
an extent that it threatened the very existence of legitimate
commerce. For this condition of affairs Spain
had but herself to blame. The merchants of Seville,
who still enjoyed a monopoly of the trade with the
provinces, despatched only a small squadron twice a
year to supply the wants of the colonists. They
regulated no less the supply of European goods in
America than of American goods in Europe, and took
care that both should be shipped in quantities so
small as to ensure enormous profits. All kinds of
devices were resorted to by contraband traders, both
Spaniards and foreigners,[XXVII‑22] to secure a portion of the
474
rich traffic of the Isthmus, and the government finding
its revenues constantly decreasing, finally declared
smuggling to be a mortal sin, and made those who
engaged in it liable to be tried by the inquisition.



ECCLESIASTICAL AFFAIRS.



It is now in place to allude briefly to the progress of
ecclesiastical affairs in Panamá, for here, as elsewhere,
they figure largely in the history of the province.
With regard to moral and spiritual matters, the people
of Panamá, as we have seen, were low enough.
Reforms were needed, but reformers were few. On
the 26th of November 1572 Pedro Castro de Vedeales,
provoked by the flagrant abuses of the time, addressed
the licenciado Juan de Ovando, his Majesty's counsellor
of the holy inquisition and visitador of the
council of the Indies, upon reforms needed in church
matters. The communication is elaborate and reviews
the errors and misdoings of the Spaniards, particularly
in their intercourse with the natives.[XXVII‑23]




When Francisco de Toledo, the new viceroy, arrived
at Panamá on his way to Peru in 1569, he restored
the royal prerogative of church patronage, which in
this diocese, and throughout his viceroyalty, had fallen
by disuse into the hands of the archbishop and bishops.
In the same year, probably, Francisco Ábrego, a secular
priest, had been elevated to the bishopric of Panamá,
and continued to hold that office till his decease
in 1574.[XXVII‑24] During his administration the chapter
475
considered and formally ratified the decrees of the
council of Trent, and in keeping with its behests appointed
adjutos, or inferior ecclesiastical judges.




After an interval of four years Fray Manuel de
Mercado was placed in charge; and at this time Panamá
contained a cathedral, a Franciscan and a Dominican
convent, and one belonging to the Merced order.
Mercado was succeeded, probably in 1583, by Bartolomé
Martinez,[XXVII‑25] who had formerly been archdeacon of
the Santa Iglesia of Lima, and after presiding over
the see of Panamá for about ten years was promoted
to the new prelacy of Granada, but died en route at
Cartagena.[XXVII‑26]




The successor of Martinez was Pedro, duque de Ribera,
a prominent Jesuit, elected in 1594, who died like
his predecessor on reaching Cartagena. The next in
succession was Antonio Calderon who was transferred
from the bishopric of Porto Rico, and in 1603 was
promoted to the see of Santa Cruz de la Sierra.[XXVII‑27]




In 1592 the chapter resolved on the establishment
of a nunnery at Panamá, and an appeal in behalf of
the project met with prompt and generous response,
one citizen alone providing the necessary buildings
and a considerable endowment. Six years later the
convent was dedicated to Our Lady of the Conception,
with an assured revenue of four thousand pesos
a year.[XXVII‑28] Four nuns and twenty-four assistants were
476
sent by the archbishop of Lima, whose coöperation
had been heartily given.




Thus the spiritual welfare of the inhabitants of
Panamá was fully provided for; but the ecclesiastics
were by no means single-minded in their labors on
behalf of the church. Not content with receiving
maintenance, service, and tithes, as provided by law,
they extorted, with the connivance of their bishops,
salaries of three hundred pesos each from the Indians
under their charge,[XXVII‑29] and justly aroused against them
the indignation of the king, who instructed the audiencia
forthwith to banish from the province many
irregular friars of whose disgraceful conduct he had
heard.



WEIGHTY MATTERS OF FORM.



After the promotion of Bishop Calderon the see
of Panamá remained vacant until 1605, when Fray
Agustin de Carabajal was appointed prior, and assistant-general
of the provinces of Spain and America.[XXVII‑30]
Meanwhile the long struggle for supremacy between
the authorities of the state and the church, which
had now subsided into an unseemly question of precedence
in the various religious ceremonials, was
disposed of by a royal decree assigning the place of
lay and clerical dignitaries in all such pageants. In
all processions the bishop led, followed by the officiating
presbyter and the clergy. Behind them came
the president and audiencia. At the sprinkling with
holy water before high mass, the ecclesiastics were
to be first sprinkled, and then the president and the
477
audiencia. With regard to handing their bible to the
president, the king declared it should not be done,
it being an honor to be extended only to viceroys.
The bishop's train was to be raised in ecclesiastical
ceremony, even though the president and audiencia
were present, but only one servant should be allowed
to carry it. When the bishop went to the royal house,
his train was to be carried as far as the door of the
president's room and then dropped. But the main
points in dispute were the momentous questions where
the bishop was to place his chair on the side of the
high altar in the cathedral when the oidores were present,
and whether the prebendaries were to be seated
beside him. The king decided these matters in favor
of the church, and on the 4th of June 1614, after a
consultation with the bishop, issued a decree ordering
that the regulations in force in the cathedral of Quito
should be observed.[XXVII‑31]




In 1611 Carabajal was appointed to the see of Guamango,
having founded during his administration at
Panamá the college of San Agustin and endowed it
with six scholarships, according to the directions of
the council of Trent.[XXVII‑32] His successor was Francisco
de la Cámara y Raya, who entered upon his office in
1614. During his prelacy was convened the first
synod ever held in the diocese of Panamá. During
his administration four monks of the order of San
Juan de Dios[XXVII‑33] arrived in that city, proposing to serve
478
in the hospitals established there or elsewhere on the
Isthmus. Their admission was bitterly opposed by
the audiencia, and by the prelate, who was a Dominican,
and it was not until June 26, 1620, and in obedience
to a provision received, that Captain Ordonó
de Salazar, the alguacil mayor, enabled them to take
possession of the hospital of Panamá.[XXVII‑34] The order
was permanently established in Panamá by Fray
Fabian Diaz, who came from Spain with Fray Francisco
Lopez in 1604, became celebrated as a physician,[XXVII‑35]
and grew rapidly in importance.[XXVII‑36]




In 1625 Fray Cristóbal Martinez, formerly abbot
of Segovia, was appointed to the see of Panamá.[XXVII‑37]
During his administration serious disturbances occurred
among the Augustinian Recollets of the convent
of San José, the prime mover, Fray Francisco
de la Resurreccion, and his disorderly followers being
arrested and sent to Spain by Enrique de Sotomayor,
then governor of the province.[XXVII‑38]




The reputation of the ecclesiastics in Panamá about
this period appears to have been somewhat unsavory.
In 1634 Felipe IV. issued a decree ordering the
members of the audiencia to see that the reputation
of cloistered nuns be protected. On the 14th of July
1636 the monarch writes to the bishop ordering that
he enforce the provisions of a decree addressed to the
hierarchy of the Indies in the previous February, by
which no mestee, illegitimate son, or person of moral or
physical defect was to be ordained. Immoral or scandalous
479
priests were to be expelled from the diocese.[XXVII‑39]
During the same year it was ordered that the religious
processions, which had hitherto been held at
night, should, in the interest of order and decency, be
thenceforth conducted by daylight. Nevertheless the
work of conversion went bravely on, and during four
years the number of baptisms reported in the district
of the audiencia exceeded thirteen thousand souls.



FIRES AND FAIRS.



In 1644, during the prelacy of Fray Hernando
Ramirez, the successor of Martinez, a fire broke out
in Panamá which consumed ninety-seven houses, including
the episcopal residence, and almost destroyed
the cathedral. The latter edifice was restored by the
prelate and dedicated in 1655 by his successor, Bernardo
de Izaguirre, a fiscal of the inquisition of Cartagena.
Its ruins exist at the present day. Great
was the distress caused to the citizens by this calamity.
"Panamá," writes Juan de Vega Bazan, then
governor of the province,[XXVII‑40] in a letter addressed to
Felipe IV., "has now but a small population, and
this decreasing more and more every day, the fields
and roads being filled with vagrants." The king,
entertaining an unjust suspicion that the Portuguese
had fired the city,[XXVII‑41] ordered their removal from Panamá
and Portobello to a distance of twenty leagues
480
into the interior, and instructed Bazan to extort from
them as much money as possible before sending them
into banishment; but to the credit of that official it
is related that he gave no heed to the mandate. For
this neglect, and for the nepotism which he displayed
during his administration, he was severely censured
by his sovereign.[XXVII‑42]




In 1647 Bazan was again censured by the crown
for a proceeding which, after due investigation by the
fiscal of the audiencia, caused his downfall. Acting
under the advice of the licentiate Pedro Chacon, he
had caused to be driven from their homes eighteen
friars of the order of San José, appointing in their
places others of bad repute. The ecclesiastics took
refuge in the San Cristóbal hills, but were soon afterward
reinstated, and at the close of the following
year the governor was superseded by Juan Bitrian
de Biamonte y Navarra.[XXVII‑43] The latter died in 1651
while superintending the despatch of a fleet from
Portobello, and in the parish church of that city a
marble monument was erected to his memory.




Panamá appears to have recovered quickly from
the prostration caused by the fire of 1644. An
annual fair was held there until the year 1671, at
which date the city was destroyed during the raid of
Morgan and his buccaneers, as will be presently related.
In 1655 the value of merchandise that changed
hands during the fair is officially reported at five millions
of pesos, and this sum probably represents but a
small portion of the business actually done, for, as we
481
have seen, the quantity of goods that found their way
into the provinces through contraband trading was
often three or four fold greater than that on which
duty was paid.



BIBLIOGRAPHICAL.



A rare and valuable manuscript and one indispensable to the history of
the district of Darien is the report of its governor, Don Andrés de Ariza, of
April 5, 1774, addressed to the viceroy, Don Manuel Guirior, entitled Comentas
de la Rica y Fertilísima Provincia de el Darien. The original report,
accompanied by a map, exists in the National Library of Bogotá, whence the
present copy was made for the author. Three separate documents compose
the report; a letter describing the generally ruined condition of the province,
causes, and proposed remedies; a detailed description of the towns, military
posts, and inhabitants, and a condensed account of the actual condition of
the province, its inhabitants, resources, and history. These documents review
in brief the history of the province for the previous sixty-two years, describing
more fully the latest Indian revolts. The manuscript forms one volume
in folio of forty closely written pages.
482




CHAPTER XXVIII.



MORGAN'S RAIDS ON THE ISTHMUS.

1664-1671.





Morgan's Early Career—He Resolves to Attack Portobello—The
Castle of Triana Blown into the Air—Capture of the City—Atrocities
Committed by the Buccaneers—The President of Panamá
Marches against Them—He is Driven Back—Morgan Sends
Him a Specimen of his Weapons—Ransom of the City and Return
to Jamaica—The Buccaneers Prepare another Armament, and Resolve
to Attack Panamá—Capture of Fort San Lorenzo—March
across the Isthmus—Morgan Arrives in Sight of Panamá—Cowardice
of the Governor—Battle with the Spaniards—Burning of
the City—Torture of Prisoners—Bravery of a Captive Gentlewoman—The
Buccaneers Recross the Isthmus—Division of the
Booty.




None of the "brethren of the coast," as English buccaneer,
French filibuster, and Dutch sea-rover were
pleased to style each other, are better known to fame
than Henry Morgan, the Welshman, whose deeds
have been heralded in all the principal languages
of Europe. Born of respectable parents in easy circumstances,
he left home still a lad, and shipped for
Barbadoes in the service of a master who, on reaching
port, sold him as a slave. On regaining his liberty
he proceeded to Jamaica, and finding no other employment
joined a piratical expedition which was then
on the point of starting for a cruise in the Spanish
West Indies. After storing up his share in the proceeds
of three or four profitable raids, he was enabled
to purchase a vessel in partnership with a few of his
more thrifty comrades, and being elected captain
made a successful cruise off the coast of Campeche.
483
On his return he was appointed vice-admiral of a fleet,
which, under the command of Mansvelt, was preparing
for an attack on the island of Santa Catarina.




On the death of Mansvelt in 1664, Morgan, whose
gallantry had won the respect of the buccaneers, was
appointed his successor, and soon found himself in
command of a dozen vessels and seven hundred men.
A council was summoned, and it was first proposed to
attempt the capture of the city of Habana; but not
daring to undertake such an enterprise with so slender
a force, the freebooters determined to plunder Puerto
Principe, an island town of Cuba grown rich by
traffic in hides, and one never yet sacked by the sea-robbers.
Warned by a Spanish prisoner who escaped
from the fleet as it neared the shore, the inhabitants
had time to conceal most of their valuables, and the
spoils of this expedition amounted to but fifty thousand
pesos, a sum insufficient to pay the debts of the
marauders on their return to Jamaica. It was at once
determined to undertake some new adventure, and
though a difference of opinion between the French
and English members of his command caused the
former to withdraw from Morgan's service, he soon
afterward set sail for the mainland with a fleet of
nine ships, and a force of four hundred and sixty
fighting men, revealing his design to no one, but promising
his followers booty in abundance.



 ATTACK ON PORTO BELLO.



On the last day of June 1668 the buccaneers arrived
off the shore of Castilla del Oro. On sighting land
their chief disclosed his intention of attacking by night
Portobello, a town often visited by the wealthiest merchants
of Panamá, whose ingots of gold were there
exchanged for slaves or for the merchandise of Spain,
and the point to which it will be remembered were
forwarded, at certain periods of the year, the gold and
silver of the Peruvian and Mexican mines. The
place was then accounted one of the strongest of the
Spanish fortresses in the western world; it was garrisoned
by three hundred troops, contained four hundred
484
citizens capable of bearing arms, and was guarded
by strongly fortified castles, commanding the approaches
by land and sea. Many hesitated to attack
such a stronghold with a mere handful of men, but
their commander spoke words of cheer,[XXVIII‑1] and stimulated
by the promise of vast spoils all at last gave their
consent.




In the dusk of a summer evening the fleet anchored
at Porto Ponto, thirty miles west of the town. Leaving
a few men to guard their ships the buccaneers
ascended a small river in boats or canoes, and landing
about midnight marched at once to the attack. All
the avenues of approach were well known to Morgan,
and among his band was an Englishman, once a prisoner
among the Spaniards, who now acted as guide.
A castle named Triana, situated in the eastern suburb,
was selected as the first point of assault. A sentinel
posted at some distance from the fortress was seized
and bound by a small party sent in advance, before
he had time to fire his musket. Brought into Morgan's
presence he was closely questioned, and frequently
menaced with death if his answers should
prove untrue.




Creeping along under the shroud of night and the
cover of a dense thicket, the silence broken now and
then by the watchword of a drowsy sentinel, the freebooters
surrounded the castle unperceived, and Morgan,
coming close under the walls, bid his captive
summon the garrison to capitulate, threatening sure
death in case of resistance. They replied with a random
volley of musketry and cannon shot. Applying
scaling-ladders to the walls, the buccaneers swarmed
over the parapets, and after a stout resistance the
Spaniards surrendered. Morgan fulfilled his threat.
Securing all his prisoners in a large chamber, near the
powder-magazine, he fired it by means of match and
485
train when at a safe distance, and the citizens of Portobello,
now roused by the sound of the firing, beheld
the castle and all its inmates blown high into the air.
The invaders fell at once on the panic-stricken inhabitants,
rushing through the streets with hideous outcries,
and cutting down whomever they met. Many
had already fled to the neighboring forests, first casting
their money and jewelry into wells and cisterns,
or hiding them underground. The governor of the
town rallied a small party and retired with them into
the strongest of the remaining forts, whence a brisk
fire was opened on the assailants. Approaching within
two hundred yards the buccaneers aimed at the mouths
of the cannon, picking off the Spanish gunners as they
reloaded their pieces; but their ranks were repeatedly
ploughed by well-directed discharges of artillery. After
suffering heavy loss to little purpose, they came close
up to the castle and attempted to burn down the
gates. The Spaniards received them with sharp volleys
of musketry, and dropping hand-grenades and
missiles of every description on the heads of the besiegers,
they drove them back beyond the range of
the guns.




Morgan now began to despair, but rallied after remaining
for a while in hesitation as to his next movement.
To quote the words of Exquemelin, "many
faint and calm meditations came into his mind; neither
could he determine which way to turn himself in that
strait." A part of his forces had been detailed to
attack one of the minor fortresses, and looking in that
direction he saw that his men had already planted
the English colors on the battlements, and were hastening
to his support. Taking heart from this success
the commander at once resolved to renew the attack,
and being a man ready of resource soon hit on a new
expedient. He caused a number of priests and nuns
to be seized and dragged from their cloisters, and
ordering scaling-ladders to be made, wide enough for
several to mount abreast, bid his prisoners fix them
486
against the castle walls, thinking thus to shield his
men from the weapons of the Spaniards.



A VALIANT SPANIARD.



Driven forward at the point of sword and pike the
captives came close up to the guns of the fort, and
falling on their knees besought the governor by all
the saints to surrender, and save his own life and
their own; but orders were given to spare none who
came near the walls. Priest and nun were crushed
beneath falling rocks or shot down without mercy,
and numbers were killed before the ladders could be
adjusted. When at length the task was accomplished,
the buccaneers swarmed up to the assault; and though
many were hurled down by the defenders, others held
their footing on the parapet, and after plying the garrison
with hand-grenades and pots of powder containing
lighted fuses, leaped down with sword and pistol
in their midst. The Spaniards then threw down their
arms and craved for mercy; that is, all but the governor,
who, single-handed, maintained for a while a hopeless
struggle, killing several of his assailants, and running
through the body some of his own recreant soldiers.
In vain the buccaneers offered him quarter, unwilling
to put to the sword so gallant an officer; in vain his
wife and daughter knelt and entreated him with tears
to yield. His reply was: "By no means; I had rather
die as a valiant soldier than be hanged as a coward."[XXVIII‑2]
After several attempts to overpower or capture him,
he was at length despatched.




There still remained several castles in the hands of
the Spaniards, one of which was strongly fortified
and commanded the entrance to the harbor. It was
deemed necessary to capture it without delay in order
to allow the fleet to be brought round to Portobello,
for the losses of the freebooters had been so severe
that time must be allowed for the recovery of the
wounded. Turning against it the cannon of the captured
fort, Morgan compelled his captives to work
487
the guns, and advancing under cover of the fire took
it by escalade after a sharp struggle, in which all the
Spanish officers were slain.



RUTHLESS INVADERS.



Soon after nightfall the invaders held entire possession
of the city. They placed their own wounded
in comfortable quarters under care of female slaves,
and the wounded Spaniards in a separate apartment,
without food, water, or attendance; and after posting
their guards fell at once, as was their custom after
victory, to feasting, drunkenness, and foul debauch.
Matron and virgin, threatened at the point of the
sword, were forced to yield to the embrace of these
cut-throats, whose hands were yet stained with the
blood of their husbands and brothers. Neither age
nor condition was spared. The religious recluse torn
from the shelter of the convent, and girls of tender
age dragged from their mothers' arms, fell victims
alike to the conquerors' lust. At length, stupefied
with wine, and worn out with twenty-four hours of
continuous toil, the marauders sank to rest. Fifty
resolute men could then have delivered the town; but
all night long no sound was heard save the moans of
the wounded and the cries of heart-broken women.




At daylight the buccaneers plundered the place of
all the valuables they could find, sacking the houses
of the citizens, and stripping the churches of their
gold and silver ornaments and their services of massive
plate. Those who were believed to be the
wealthiest of the prisoners were questioned as to the
whereabouts of their concealed treasures; and failing
to disclose them, were stretched on the rack, until
many died under the torture.




For fifteen days Morgan remained at Portobello,
though aware that the president of Panamá was preparing
an expedition against him. His retreat was
open to the ships, and the threatened attack gave
him no uneasiness; but many of his men had died of
wounds, of the effects of drunken excess, and of an atmosphere
poisoned by half-buried corpses. Moreover
488
provisions began to run short. They were compelled
to live almost entirely on the flesh of horses and mules.
Many of the captive and most of the wounded Spaniards
had perished from privation, having been allowed
no sustenance but a morsel of mule meat and a little
muddy unfiltered water. Preparations were therefore
made for departure. Placing the booty on board
the fleet, Morgan demanded of his prisoners a ransom
of 100,000 pesos, threatening otherwise to burn the
town and blow up the castles. Two of the citizens, despatched
to Panamá by his orders to raise the amount,
gave information of the true condition of affairs. The
president had a force of fifteen hundred men at his
disposal, and at once marched to relieve his countrymen,
and, as he hoped, cut off the retreat of the adventurers.




Forewarned of his approach Morgan posted a hundred
picked men in a narrow defile through which
lay the route of the Spaniards. At the first encounter
the main body of the Spanish forces was routed;
many fled at once to Panamá, bearing with them
the news of their defeat; and for a time the expedition
was crippled. While awaiting reënforcements
the president resolved to try the effect of threats,
though aware that he was in no position to enforce
them. Sending a messenger to Morgan, he bid him
depart at once from Portobello or expect no quarter
for himself or his companions. The commander of
the buccaneers answered by doubling the amount of
the required contribution[XXVIII‑3] and stating that he would
hold the place until the ransom was paid, or if it were
not paid, would burn down the houses, demolish the
forts, and put every captive to death.




As further effort appeared to be useless, the president
left the inhabitants of the town to work out
their own salvation; but surprised that a place defended
by strongly fortified castles should fall a
489
prey to so slender a force, he despatched a messenger
to request of the conquerors a specimen of their
weapons. Morgan received him courteously, and
with grim humor handed him a musket and a few
bullets, bidding him tell his master "that he was
much pleased to show him a slender pattern of the
arms wherewith he had taken Portobello, and begged
him to keep them a twelvemonth, after which he
promised to come to Panamá and take them away."
The president soon returned the weapon, together
with a present of an emerald ring and a message
"that he did not want for arms of that sort, but regretted
that men of such courage were not employed
on some just war under a great prince."



THE TOWN RANSOMED.



Meanwhile the freebooters had agreed to deliver up
the town on receiving a ransom of a hundred thousand
pesos. The amount was collected and paid over.
The best guns of the stronghold were then put on
board the vessels; the rest were spiked, and the buccaneers
sailed for Cuba, where they portioned out the
spoils, which consisted of coin, bullion, and jewels, to
the value of two hundred and sixty thousand pesos,
counting the jewels at less than half their real value,
besides large stores of silk, linen, cloth, and other
merchandise. Proceeding thence to Jamaica, they
squandered in riot and gross dissipation the wealth
that others had accumulated by years of patient toil
and self-denial. A few days of swinish debauchery
among the wine-shops and brothels of Port Royal
left the majority of the gang without means or credit,
and clamorous for some new expedition. It was
nothing unusual for some of them to spend or gamble
away in a single night their entire share in the proceeds
of a successful raid, and to render themselves
liable to be sold next morning as slaves to satisfy an
unpaid tavern score. Some would drag out into the
streets a cask of wine, others a barrel of strong ale,
and presenting their pistols at the passers-by, compel
them, whether men or women, to drink in their company,
490
running up and down the streets, when crazed
with liquor, and beating or bespattering whomsoever
they met.




The standard of humanity among the buccaneers
was such as might be expected among men who have
been cut off from honorable intercourse with their kind.
Many of them had been kidnapped in early youth,
and shipped from England to the British West Indies,
and there sold as slaves, and subjected to such treatment
as often reduced those of weakly constitution
to idiocy. They had been starved and racked and
mutilated. They had been beaten till the blood ran
in streams from their backs, and then rubbed with salt,
pepper, and lemon juice. It is not strange that the
temper of men who had passed through such ordeals
should be permanently warped; that their hand should
be against every man, and that they should afterward
inflict on the prisoners who fell into their power tortures
as cruel as they themselves had suffered at the
hands of their masters.




The fame of Morgan's exploits induced numbers of
both French and English to join the standard of the
freebooter. To the veterans who had served under
him during former raids was added a swarm of recruits,
eager to share in the plunder if not in the glory of
his expeditions. He was soon in command of his
squadron of fifteen vessels and a force of nine hundred
and sixty combatants, and appointing as a rendezvous
the islet of Saona gave orders to sail along
the southern coast of Española. Heavy gales were
encountered during the voyage, and a portion of his
ships being driven from their course he found his diminished
forces inadequate for any great enterprise.
Under the advice of a French captain, who had served
under L'Olonnois and Michel Le Basque at the capture
of Maracaibo and Gibraltar in 1666, he determined
to plunder those towns and their surrounding neighborhood.
The proceeds of this foray amounted, according
491
to some authorities, to two hundred and fifty
thousand pesos.[XXVIII‑4] After defeating a strong Spanish
squadron stationed at the entrance of Lake Maracaibo
to bar the escape of his fleet, Morgan returned to
Jamaica, where he found most of his missing vessels.




Learning that a treaty was being negotiated between
Spain and Great Britain, which would soon put an end
to further raids, the buccaneers were eager that some
new expedition should be at once organized on a larger
scale, and with more ambitious intent than any before
undertaken. Morgan readily agreed to take command,
and sending despatches to the veteran freebooters
quartered in Santo Domingo and Tortuga to acquaint
them with his purpose, appointed as a rendezvous
Port Corillon in the island of Vache, where by the
end of October 1670 his followers had assembled in
force.




The first care was to obtain a supply of provisions,
and for this purpose hunting parties were sent forth
daily to scour the woods, while a squadron of four
vessels with four hundred men under the command
of Captain Bradley[XXVIII‑5] was despatched to the mainland,
to obtain supplies of wheat or maize. Entering
the mouth of the Rio Hacha, about fifty leagues to
the north-west of the lake of Maracaibo, Bradley
captured a vessel laden principally with cereals, received
four thousand bushels of maize as ransom from
a village on the bank of the river, and with other booty
and a number of prisoners returned after an absence
of five weeks.[XXVIII‑6]




Morgan next sailed for Cape Tiburon, where reënforcements
from Jamaica joined the expedition, and
492
he now found at his disposal a fleet of thirty-seven
ships and a force of two thousand fighting men.[XXVIII‑7]



PIRACY PAPERS.



His largest vessel carried twenty-four heavy guns
and six small brass cannon;[XXVIII‑8] many of the others were
armed with sixteen to twenty, and none with less
than four pieces of ordnance. Morgan assumed the
title of admiral; the royal banner of England was
hoisted from the main-mast of his flag-ship; and commissions[XXVIII‑9]
were given to the officers, authorizing the
capture of Spanish vessels either at sea or in harbor,
and all manner of hostilities against the Spanish nation,
as against the declared enemies of the king of
Great Britain.




Articles of agreement were signed stipulating that
those who were maimed or had distinguished themselves
in action should receive compensation or reward
from the first proceeds of the raid, and that the remainder
should be distributed according to the rank
or office of the members of the expedition.[XXVIII‑10]




The three most tempting prizes on the Spanish
493
mainland were Panamá, Vera Cruz, and Cartagena.
A council was summoned on board the admiral's ship,
and it was decided that Morgan, fulfilling the promise
he had made at Portobello, should show Don Juan
Perez de Guzman, president of Panamá, the use the
buccaneers made of their weapons.




It happened that the isthmus of Darien was little
known to any of these sea-rovers, and before venturing
on the mainland it was determined to capture the
isle of Santa Catarina, which was then used as the
penal settlement of the Spanish West Indies, and
contained among its garrison men serving out their
sentence under ban from Panamá. Among these outlaws
some would no doubt be found who were well
acquainted with the approaches to that city.




Setting sail from Cape Tiburon on the 16th of
December, the fleet anchored off Santa Catarina the
fifth day, and on the same afternoon the freebooters
landed without opposition. The garrison and inhabitants
had retired to a small adjacent islet defended by
ten castles which, with a resolute defence, would have
been impregnable; but the governor, when summoned
to capitulate, consented on condition that he should
be allowed to depart unmolested after making a show
of resistance. A sham fight was maintained by night
for several hours, and no powder was spared.[XXVIII‑11] The
buccaneers fired with blank cartridge, and the Spaniards
were ordered to train their guns so that the
shot whistled harmless overhead. The place was then
surrendered, the prisoners were mustered and disarmed,
and the freebooters, having fasted for twenty-four
hours, waged war in earnest on the cattle,
poultry, and game which they found in the neighborhood.
Three outlaws from Panamá, two of them
Indians and one a mulatto, all well acquainted with
the most favorable routes, were delivered up as guides.
The Indians, aware that their own countrymen would
494
suffer from the raid in common with the Spaniards,
feigned ignorance, but were betrayed by the mulatto
and put to the torture. One of them died on the
rack, and the survivor then confessed that he knew
the roads, and consented to serve his captors.



CASTLE OF SAN LORENZO.



Before landing the main body of the buccaneers on
the Isthmus, Morgan determined to capture the castle
of San Lorenzo, which guarded the mouth of the
Chagre River. For this purpose he despatched a
squadron of five vessels with four hundred men[XXVIII‑12]
under Captain Bradley, remaining himself at Santa
Catarina with the rest of his forces, in order to mask
his main design. The castle was built on a high rock,
steep enough to render it inaccessible on the southern
side, and was protected on the north by the river,
which widens at that point. Four bastions mounted
with artillery guarded the approaches by land, and
two faced seaward. At the foot of the rock were
three batteries which commanded the mouth of the
Chagre. At the outlet of the river is a sunken reef
and a sand-bar, over which the breakers roll for almost
the entire width. Only in the calmest weather can
one detect a narrow passage close under the precipice,
whose height is still crowned by the ruins of the
castle of San Lorenzo. The fortress was surrounded
with palisades, filled in with earth, and its single
entrance could be approached only by a drawbridge
which spanned a crevasse in the rock thirty feet in
depth. The garrison consisted of three hundred and
fourteen well armed and veteran troops, and a party
of expert Indian bowmen under as gallant an officer as
ever drew sword.



A GALLANT DEFENCE.



Bradley saw that the stronghold could be assailed
only from the land side, and anchored his vessels
in a small bay at a short distance from the outlet
of the river. The freebooters went ashore soon after
midnight, and after cutting their way through woods
495
tangled with undergrowth, and scaling precipitous
rocks, debouched about two in the afternoon on an
open space within gunshot of the fort and advanced to
the attack. The garrison at once opened on them
a hot fire, crying out: "Come on, ye cursed English
dogs, and let your companions that are behind you
come on; you shall not get to Panamá this bout."
The assailants suffered severely and were driven back
to the shelter of the woods; but returning at nightfall
came close up to the edge of the crevasse and
attempted to burn down the palisades which bordered
the opposite verge. Guided by the light of the fireballs
the Spaniards plied them incessantly with musketry
and artillery and the Indians discharged their
arrows with hardly less effect. Men fell fast, and
Bradley had both his legs taken off by a round shot.
The buccaneers were sorely distressed and well nigh
despaired of success, when a lucky stroke turned the
scale in their favor. One of their party, being pierced
with an arrow, plucked it forth and winding it round
with cotton, shot it back from his musket toward the
fortress, where it lighted on a house[XXVIII‑13] thatched with
palm leaves. The cotton, ignited by the flash of the
powder, set fire to the roof. The flames were unnoticed
until beyond control, and spreading rapidly soon
exploded a package of gunpowder. The besieged now
bent all their efforts to stay the conflagration and the
freebooters crowded into the crevasse, and mounting
on each other's shoulders burnt down the stakes of
the palisades.




By daybreak the castle was almost a ruin, and the
earth which supported the palisades had fallen into
the crevasse, filling it in places to a level with the
surface. A murderous fire was poured on the defenders
496
till noon, when the assailants advanced to
storm the breach. Many of the Spaniards hurled
themselves down the steep side of the rock, preferring
death to surrender. The governor, at the head
of a handful of men, still maintained a hopeless struggle,
but a musket-ball through the head soon laid him
low, and all resistance was at an end. Only thirty of
the garrison were found alive; among them not a
single officer, and scarcely a dozen unwounded men.
The prisoners gave information that news of the intended
raid had reached Panamá by way of Cartagena
several weeks previously; that a deserter from
the expedition, when at the Rio Hacha, had also revealed
Morgan's design; that messengers had been
despatched by the governor of the fortress to the
president, with news of the invaders' approach; that
ambuscades were already posted at several points on
the banks of the Chagre, and that the president with
the main body of his forces awaited their approach
on the plains surrounding Panamá.




The Spaniards were ordered to throw down their
dead to the foot of the castle rock, and there to bury
them. A neighboring church served as a hospital for
the wounded, and a prison-house for the captured
women, who were subjected as usual to foul outrage
and defilement, daughters being violated in presence
of their mothers, and wives before their husbands—pantomimes
of hell performed within the walls of a
sanctuary.



UP THE CHAGRE.



On receiving news of the capture of San Lorenzo,
the commander of the buccaneers gave orders that all
the houses on the isle of Santa Catarina should be
burned to the ground, and that the fortifications on the
adjacent islet should be destroyed, with the exception
of one of the strongest castles, which he reserved for
future occupation. Casting the guns of the fortress
into the sea, and placing his prisoners on board the
fleet, he set sail for the mainland, and arrived off the
mouth of the Chagre in January 1671. Overjoyed at
497
seeing the English colors flying from the fort, the
freebooters, through careless navigation, lost four of
their ships on the sunken rock at the entrance of the
river, but prizes were made of several large flat-bottomed
boats, and of a number of canoes built specially
for the navigation of the stream. Five hundred men
were left as a garrison for the castle, and one hundred
and fifty as a guard for the fleet; the captives were
ordered to repair the breaches in the fortress; and
the main body of the adventurers, at least twelve hundred
strong,[XXVIII‑14] started on their expedition against Panamá.
Morgan gave orders that no provisions should
be taken but a slender stock of maize, barely sufficient
for a single day's rations. He told his men that, their
means of conveyance being limited, they must not
encumber themselves with unnecessary baggage, for
they would soon replenish their supplies from the
magazines of the Spaniards, who lay in ambush along
the route. Moreover, the detachment left behind at
San Lorenzo numbered with the prisoners over 1,000
persons, and the entire supply was hardly enough for
their subsistence until his return.




The journey was begun in boats and canoes, and
notwithstanding a rapid current and a want of skill
in managing the overloaded vessels, about six leagues
were made the first day. So little did the freebooters
know of the impediments they were soon to encounter
in their ascent of the stream, that they took with
them five large scows laden with artillery and ammunition.
A few of the party went ashore at night to
search for food, as their scanty allowance of maize
was soon devoured, but nothing eatable was discovered
and most of the buccaneers lay down to rest
supperless with nothing but a pipe of tobacco to appease
their hunger.
498




On the second evening they arrived at a spot where
the river-bed was shoal from drought, and choked
with fallen trees. The guides assured them that a
few miles beyond they would find no difficulty in
continuing their route, either by land or water, and
next morning, leaving a strong guard over their
vessels, they attempted to make their way through
the forests that skirt the banks of the Chagre. The
trees were matted with vines, and the spaces between
them filled with a dense wall of tropical undergrowth,
in places impenetrable to sight. Most of the men
were ordered to return to the river, and leaving there
the scows with the artillery they managed to drag
their canoes over the shallow places, a portion of them
embarking wherever the water was of sufficient depth.
The remainder cut a passage through the woods with
extreme difficulty, and on the following afternoon all
assembled on the bank of the stream, where they
passed the night without food, benumbed with cold,
and unable to sleep.



HUNGER AND HARDSHIPS.



Worn out with toil and gaunt with hunger, their
clothing torn to rags, the buccaneers resumed their
journey on the morning of the fourth day, some of
them already staggering from weakness and halting
now and then to gnaw the roots and leaves, or to soak
in water and chew strips cut from the empty leathern
sacks which had contained their dole of maize. About
noon one of the guides called out that he had discovered
signs of an ambuscade—a cry welcome to the
freebooters, who advanced at once to the attack,
hoping at length to obtain a supply of provisions.
Forewarned by their scouts, who had given timely
notice of the enemy's approach, the Spaniards had
retired to a safe distance, and none were found to
offer resistance, nor any scrap of food save a few
crumbs scattered round the spot where the fugitives
had made a recent meal. All their bright visions of
wealth now faded before the grim spectre of famine,
and their one thought was to obtain the means of
499
relieving the gnawing at their vitals. Ill had it fared
with any captive who might then have fallen into the
hands of these famished desperadoes, for he would
surely have been carved and eaten. In some neighboring
huts were found a few bundles of dry hides,
such as were used by the natives for making bags for
the storage of corn. These were beaten between
rocks, soaked in the river, cut into small pieces, rubbed
by hand, and after the hair had been scraped off,
were cooked and gulped down morsel by morsel with
draughts of water. About sundown a spot was
reached where were traces of another ambuscade, but
no fragments of victuals, for orders had been given to
destroy or remove everything edible beyond reach of
the invaders, in the hope that they would be forced
by starvation to retrace their steps. Fortunate was
he that night who had reserved some scraps of hide
on which to make his evening repast.




At noon on the fifth day of the journey they arrived
at the village of Barbacoas, near which, after a
long search, they discovered in a grotto recently hewn
out of the rock, two sacks of meal, a quantity of plantains,
and two jars of wine. This scanty supply was
portioned out among those who were in the last extremity,
many of them so weak that they had to be
carried on board the canoes. Most of the buccaneers
again lay down supperless to rest, some jesting at
their sorry plight, but the majority threatening to
desert, and uttering curses loud and deep against the
man who with promise of rich spoils had lured them
into a wilderness where they seemed fated soon to
leave their carcasses a prey to the vultures.




Nevertheless all continued their course next morning,
and about midday came in sight of a plantation
which they approached with slow step and staggering
gait, halting every few paces to rest through extreme
weakness. At first no relief was found, and many of
the freebooters were about to carry out their threat
of returning to Chagre, when one of them discovered
500
a barn filled with maize which the Spaniards had
neglected to remove, thinking that the invaders could
not make their way so far across the Isthmus. The
stronger of the party at once beat in the doors with
the but-end of their muskets, and after devouring
their fill of the raw grain made way for their comrades,
and carried a portion down to those who lay in
the canoes so enfeebled with their long fast that they
were unable to crawl further. When all had satisfied
their hunger, enough remained to give each man a
good allowance. Toward nightfall they came in sight
of a body of Indians posted on the opposite side of the
river. Morgan at once ordered a party to give chase,
hoping to capture some; but being more fleet of foot
and in better condition, they easily made their escape,
after discharging a flight of arrows, which laid low
two or three of their pursuers, the natives crying out
as they brandished their weapons: "Ha, perros, á la
savana, á la savana."



AT CRUCES.



At sunrise on the seventh day the freebooters
crossed the river and continued their route on the
other side, arriving in a few hours in sight of the
village of Cruces, about eight leagues from Panamá,
and the head of navigation on the Chagre. Smoke
was soon observed rising from the chimneys, and
the buccaneers ran forward, exclaiming: "They are
making good fires to roast and boil what we are to
eat." One more disappointment was in store for
them: the place was found to be deserted and the
houses in flames. The only provisions discovered were
a single leathern sack of bread and some jars of wine.
A number of dogs and cats left straying around the
neighborhood were instantly killed and devoured.
The wine, acting on stomachs weak with fasting and
disordered by unwholesome diet, caused a violent
sickness, and for a while they believed themselves
poisoned.




At daybreak next morning two hundred of the best
armed and strongest were sent forward to search for
501
ambuscades and to reconnoitre the road, Morgan himself
following a few hours later with the rest of his
forces. After a few hours' march the advanced guard
arrived at a spot then called Quebrada Obscura, a
ravine enclosed between walls of rock, and so narrow
that three men could with difficulty walk abreast.
A flight of arrows, discharged by an unseen foe, fell
upon them as from the clouds. For a moment the
most stout-hearted hesitated. They were not the
men to shrink from peril, but they saw that a handful
of resolute troops could hold the pass against an
army. Before them lay a forest from which artillery
and musketry could sweep the pass. Overhead were
sheer precipices from which rocks hurled on their
heads might easily have destroyed the entire force.
The buccaneers observed some Indians gliding among
the trees in their front, and pushing forward after a
brief delay to a point where the pass widened, fired
a volley into the woods at random. The Indian
chieftain, recognized by his parti-colored plumes, fell
wounded, and, when the freebooters offered him quarter,
raised himself on his elbow and made a pass at
one of them with his javelin. He was instantly shot
through the head, and his followers took to flight.
In this skirmish no prisoners were taken, and the
loss of Morgan's advanced guard was about ten killed
and as many wounded.[XXVIII‑15]




The main body of the buccaneers soon arrived, and
after a brief halt the march was resumed, for toward
dusk a heavy storm of wind and rain set in, and continued
far into the night. It was the custom of the
Spaniards to burn the houses that lay on the line of
502
route, and the men passed the night without shelter,
sitting huddled on the ground. A few shepherds'
huts afforded scant protection for the wounded, and
storage room for the arms and ammunition. The
robbers were on foot at the first gleam of dawn, and
after discharging their fire-locks at once fell into the
ranks. Toward noon on this, the ninth day of the
journey, they ascended a lofty hill which yet bears
the name of El Cerro de los Buccaneros, and from its
summit looked down for the first time on the Pacific.
The storm had broken, and a few white sailing boats
were seen gliding among a group of islands that lay a
few leagues to the south of Panamá; but a far more
interesting sight to these toil-worn and famished
marauders was a neighboring valley, where droves
of oxen and bands of horses were quietly grazing.
No enemy appeared, and some of the cattle were at
once shot down. Hacking them piecemeal they cast
the flesh into hastily kindled fires, and snatching it
from the flames while still half raw, tore it with their
fingers and devoured it with the greed of starving
wolves, the blood streaming down their beards and
dripping from their garments. Before the meal was
over, Morgan ordered a false alarm to be sounded,
fearing that the Spaniards might take them by surprise.
It soon became evident that this was no needless
precaution, for an hour or two later a strong detachment
of Spanish cavalry appeared almost within
musket shot. Finding the enemy prepared to receive
them they quickly withdrew, and the sound of drum
and trumpet soon gave notice to the retreating squadrons
that the buccaneers were in sight of Panamá.



BEFORE PANAMÁ.



Two or three piers of a shattered bridge, a fragment
of wall, a single tower, and a few remnants of public
buildings, half buried under a dense growth of creepers,
still mark the spot where, in 1671, stood a city
with fine streets and beautiful edifices, among which
were stately churches richly adorned with altar-pieces
and rare paintings, with golden censers and goblets,
503
and tall candelabra of native silver. There were the
abodes of the merchant princes of the New World,
some of them the descendants of men who had fought
under Cortés when he added the empire of the Montezumas
to the realms of the Spanish crown. There
were vast warehouses stored with flour, wine, oil,
spices, and the merchandise of Spain; there were villas
of cedar surrounded with beautiful gardens, where
fair women enjoyed the cool evening breeze as they
gazed seaward on the untroubled waters of the Pacific.




But what was Don Juan Perez de Guzman doing
while Morgan was on his way up the Chagre, after
capturing the high-mounted castle of San Lorenzo?
Masses were being said daily for the success of the
Spanish arms. The images of our lady of pure and
immaculate conception were being carried in general
procession, attended by all the religious fraternity of
the cathedral. Always the most holy sacrament was
left uncovered and exposed to public view. Oaths
were being taken with much pious fervor in the presence
of the sacred effigies, and all the president's
relics and jewelry, including a diamond ring worth
forty thousand pesos, were laid on the altars of the
holy virgin and of the saints who held in their special
keeping the welfare of Panamá. Surely if the favor
of celestial powers can be bought with prayers and
money they have here received their price, and should
deliver this city, especially when the pirates neglect
to glorify God with their spoils.[XXVIII‑16] Sleek friars, with
downcast look, gathering up these votive offerings,
and taking in charge the gold and silver ornaments
of the churches, invoked the blessing of God on the
royal banners of Spain, and hurried off beyond reach
of the coming fray with the treasures thus lavished
upon them through the instrumentality of Satan.
The forces of the Spaniards, consisting of 400 horse
and 2,400 foot, with a few pieces of cannon, were then
504
drawn up in the plain without the city. Yet another
mode of warfare, unique in New World adventure,
presents itself, as 2,000 wild oxen, under the guidance
of Indians, were placed on the flanks of the army
ready to break through the enemy's ranks.




The buccaneers pitched their camp near the brow
of a hill in full view of the plain. There were yet two
hours of daylight, and the Spanish artillery at once
opened on them with round shot, but at too long range
to take effect. Morgan posted his sentries without
the least misgiving, and his men, after making their
supper on the remnants of the noonday meal, threw
themselves upon the ground to obtain what rest they
could.




As soon as the first gleam of dawn heralded the
approach of the last day the doomed city was destined
to witness after an existence of one hundred and
fifty years,[XXVIII‑17] the morning gun from the president's
camp gave the signal for both armies to fall into the
ranks, and a few minutes later the freebooters were on
the march toward the city. Warned by their scouts
that ambuscades were posted along the line of the
main road, they cut their way with some difficulty
through a neighboring wood, and debouched on the
summit of a small eminence that still bears the name
of El Cerro de Avance. The Spanish battalions, ill
armed with carbines, fowling-pieces, and arquebuses,
but dressed in parti-colored silk uniforms, the horsemen
prancing on mettlesome steeds as though attending
a bull-fight, lay before them almost within musket
shot. Morgan drew up the main body of his forces
in three columns, and sending in front a strong detachment
of his best marksmen, descended into the plain
to give battle. The enemy's artillery, posted in a
part of the field where it commanded the main avenues
of approach to the city, was far out of range, but
505
the horse, under Francisco de Haro, at once moved
forward with loud shouts of Viva el rey! to hold the
enemy in check. The ground was swampy, yielding to
the foot, and unfavorable for the action of cavalry;
moreover Morgan's veterans were not of the stuff to
be daunted by a battle-cry and the onslaught of a
few squads of troopers. Forming in close order with
front rank kneeling, and reserving their fire until the
Spaniards came up almost to the points of their muskets,
they poured in a volley which told with murderous
effect. Don Francisco led his men repeatedly to
the charge, but no impression could be made, and the
shattered lines at length wheeled off to a safe distance,
leaving their gallant chieftain dead on the field.




Meanwhile the captain-general, after being confessed
by the priest and repeating his Ave Marías
and prayers to the saints, had come forth from his
tent to see how the battle was progressing. The
Spanish foot were then ordered to assail the enemy
in front, while bands of oxen were driven in on their
flank to break through their battalions. The buccaneers
had the wind and sun in their favor, and could
concentrate on a given point as many men as their
opponents could bring against them; for in rear of the
latter lay a large morass which prevented them from
wheeling their main body. The infantry were received
with a hot fire and handled so roughly that
they began to retreat. Morgan's left wing then attacked
them in flank and their retreat was soon turned
into a rout. The wild cattle, maddened by the uproar,
the smell of blood, and by the red flag shaken
in their faces—many of their drivers being shot down
by a party of musketeers detailed for the purpose—were
driven back on the flying columns. The president
made a feeble effort to rally his men, until the
staff which he carried in his hand, the only weapon
apparently which he bore that day, was grazed with
a shot, when, yielding to the entreaties of his chaplain,
he retired from the fight, giving thanks to the blessed
506
virgin, "who had brought him off safe from amidst
so many thousand bullets."[XXVIII‑18]



PANAMÁ TAKEN.



In two hours the battle was won. Six hundred of
the Spaniards lay dead on the plains; the cavalry
were almost annihilated, and the infantry threw away
their arms and scattered into small parties, many of
them hiding among the bushes by the sea-shore where
they were afterward discovered and butchered. A
party of Franciscan friars, who had remained with
the army to offer the last consolations of religion to
the dying, were captured and shot without mercy.
Orders were at first given that no quarter should be
granted, as the buccaneers were too much crippled to
encumber themselves with prisoners. An exception
was made, however, in the case of a wounded Spanish
officer, who was brought into the commander's presence
and gave information that the city contained only
a garrison of one hundred men, but that the streets
were protected by barricades and by twenty-eight
pieces of cannon, and that the president would probably
reoccupy the place if he could reorganize his forces.
Morgan at once assembled his troops, and telling them
they must lose no time in seizing the prize, put his columns
in motion by way of the Portobello road, which
lay beyond reach of the enemy's fire, and within an
hour made his entrance into Panamá without opposition.[XXVIII‑19]
Warning was given to the men to keep out of
range of the cannon that were posted in the plaza
507
mayor, but most of them ran to and fro without heed,
in search of plunder or in pursuit of fugitives, and
the Spaniards, pointing their pieces at several thickly
clustered groups of the enemy, poured in a volley from
guns loaded to the muzzle with musket balls and scraps
of iron. This was the last shot fired in defence of
Panamá; for the cannoniers were cut in pieces before
they had time to reload, and the freebooters rushed
through the streets hewing down all who offered resistance.




Except large stores of silk and cloth little booty
was discovered in the fallen city, for the greater part
of the inhabitants had fled to the neighboring islands,
taking with them their wives and children and all
their portable property. Morgan's first precaution
was to forbid his men to taste wine, under the pretence
that it had all been poisoned. He feared that
after their long fast they would as usual celebrate
their victory with feasting and drunkenness, and thus
afford the Spaniards a chance to rally and overpower
them when stupefied with liquor.



BURNING OF THE CITY.



The buccaneers had barely time to post their guards,
and take up their quarters in the deserted dwellings
when flames were seen breaking forth from some of
the largest houses. The president having received
information that Morgan had among his party a young
Englishman whom he intended to crown king of
Tierra Firme, had given orders for the metropolitan
city to be burned if it should fall into the hands of
the pirates.[XXVIII‑20] The fire spread rapidly, although the
508
freebooters did their utmost to check its progress.
Several houses were torn down, and others blown up
with gunpowder, but all efforts were in vain. A fresh
breeze had set in from the Pacific, and the buildings,
almost entirely of wood, many of them well stored
with costly furniture and adorned with pictures and
tapestry, fell an easy prey to the flames. Within an
hour an entire street was consumed, and by midnight
a single convent, one or two public buildings, and the
cabins of a distant quarter, wretchedly built, and occupied
only by muleteers, were all that remained of the
seven thousand houses of cedar, the two hundred warehouses,
the monasteries and churches of a city which
but a few days before was peopled by thirty thousand
inhabitants, and famed as the abode of one of the
wealthiest communities in the western world.




Morgan sent a detachment of one hundred and fifty
men to Chagre to carry news of his victory and bring
back word as to the welfare of the garrison, and
ordered the remainder of his command to camp in the
plains, thus keeping them in hand and ready for
action in case the president should rally his forces and
renew the fight. Troops of Spaniards and Indians
were seen flitting to and fro along the edge of the
forest which skirted the savanna, but it was evident
that they had no confidence in their captain-general,
for as he himself naively remarked in his intercepted
despatch: "Although he afterward attempted several
times to form an army, yet he could not do any good
of it, because no man would be persuaded to follow
him." The buccaneers soon returned, therefore, to
take up their quarters in the few buildings that had
509
escaped the conflagration. As no spoils of value had
yet been found except a few gold and silver utensils
hidden in wells and cisterns, or buried beneath the
ruins, parties were sent to scour the neighboring
woods and hills in quest of fugitives who might be
subjected to torture.



COVETED TREASURE.



A bark laden with goods for the use of the refugees
who had fled to a neighboring group of islands had
been captured on the evening that Morgan took possession
of Panamá. Orders had been given that all
sea-going vessels should take their departure, but the
captain had lingered for the turn of the tide, not
deeming it possible that so sudden a disaster could
befall the city. The vessel was at once despatched
with a company of twenty-five men to search for the
treasures which, as the buccaneers learned from their
captives, had been conveyed beyond their grasp. The
men landed the next day at one of the smallest islands,
and having managed to smuggle on board a few jars
of wine, were soon half stupefied with liquor. Toward
evening a Spanish ship, which lay off the opposite
side of the islet, put ashore to obtain water, and the
crew were captured by some of the party who had yet
sense enough left to point a musket. A prize was
now within their reach of greater value than all the
booty that the adventurers were destined to obtain
from their raid. A galleon of four hundred tons, ill
manned, poorly armed, and carrying no canvas but
the upper sails of the mainmast, so deeply laden with
ingots of gold and silver, with the plate and treasures
of the wealthiest merchants of Panamá, and with the
golden vessels and decorations of church and monastery
that no other ballast was needed,[XXVIII‑21] lay almost
within cannon-shot. The captain of the bark did not
venture to make the attack at nightfall with his feeble
and drunken band, feeling satisfied, moreover, that he
would have an opportunity of capturing the vessel at
510
daybreak; but alarmed at the non-arrival of the boat,
the commander of the galleon ordered the anchor
slipped long before midnight, and the ship, favored
with a strong breeze, was out of sight when the sun
appeared above the horizon.




The detachment returned from Chagre with news
that all was going well; so Morgan determined to
prolong his stay at Panamá, and wrest from the Spaniards
a portion at least of their concealed riches. Parties
were sent forth to scour the country and bring in
prisoners. The captives were placed in the convent
of Mercedes, San José, and there subjected to such
ingenuity of torture as might satisfy even Great Britain
that her people were not behind the age in brutal
barbarities. One instance only need be related. A
servant, dressed in his master's garments, from one of
which depended a small silver key, was captured by
the buccaneers. Ordered to reveal the hiding-place
of the cabinet to which the key belonged, he replied
that he knew it not, and merely had the key in his
possession because he had ventured to don his master's
attire. No other answer coming, he was stretched on
the rack and his arms disjointed. A cord was then
twisted round his forehead until, to use the words of
Exquemelin, "his eyes protruding from their sockets
appeared as big as eggs."[XXVIII‑22] His ears and nose were
then cut off, and the wounds seared with burning
straw. When beyond power of speech, and insensible
to further suffering, a negro was ordered to end his
life by running him through the body.[XXVIII‑23]



A CAPTIVE GENTLEWOMAN.



Women who had the ill-fortune to fall into the
hands of the freebooters could only escape torture
and starvation at the cost of their chastity or by payment
511
of a heavy ransom. Among the prisoners taken
at the islands of Taboguilla and Taboga was a young
and beautiful gentlewoman, the wife of a wealthy
merchant of Panamá. Like many of her countrywomen
she had learned to regard the buccaneers not
as rational beings, but as monsters in human shape.
The lady was brought into Morgan's presence and at
first treated with respect, lodged in a separate apartment,
waited on by female slaves, and supplied with
food from his own table. Surprised at this usage, and
mistaking the frequent and blasphemous oaths of her
captors for pious ejaculations, she blessed her fate
that the pirates of England were such fine specimens
of Christian gentlemen. But Morgan had his little
game to play. His amorous proposals were met by a
firm refusal, but in such mild language as to avoid
rousing his anger. For a while he sought to gain her
consent by persuasion, and was lavish with his gifts
of rare jewels. All failing she was threatened with
torture. "My life is in your hands," she said, "but
sooner shall my soul be separated from my body than
I submit to your embrace." Exasperated, Morgan
ordered his attendants removed, and then attempted
violence. She tore herself from his arms, and warning
him not to approach her again, cried out: "Imagine
not that, after robbing me of my liberty, you can
as easily deprive me of my honor." As he still persisted
in following her, she drew a dagger and said:
"See that I know how to die if I cannot kill thee."
She then sprang at him and attempted to drive the
blade into his heart. The commander recoiled several
paces, but finally succeeded in gaining possession of
the weapon. He then retired from her presence, and
ordered her to be stripped of most of her apparel,
cast half naked into a dark and fetid cell, and fed only
512
with the coarsest food, in quantities so small as barely
to sustain life.




Morgan had made several prizes of sea-going vessels,
one of which was well adapted to a piratical
cruise. A plot was concocted by some of the men to
embark on an expedition to the islands of the Pacific,
thence after obtaining sufficient booty to sail for Europe
by way of the East Indies. Cannon, muskets, ammunition,
and provisions had been secretly obtained in
sufficient quantity not only to equip the vessel but
to fortify and garrison one of the islands as a base of
operations. Warned of the design by a repentant
conspirator, Morgan ordered all the ships in the harbor
to be burned, and at once made preparations to
return to Chagre. Beasts of burden were collected
to convey the plunder to the point where the canoes
had been left on the river; some of the wealthier
Spaniards were despatched under guard to obtain the
amount of their ransom; and a strong detachment
was sent to reconnoitre the line of march by which
the buccaneers were to return.




On the 24th of February, after holding possession
for four weeks of Panamá, or rather of the site where
Panamá had stood, the marauders took their departure
with six hundred prisoners, men, women, and children,
and a hundred and seventy-five pack-animals
laden with plunder. When fairly out on the plain
the forces were put in order of march, and the captives
placed between the van and rear guard. Many
of them, fresh from the rack, well nigh perishing of
hunger, and scarcely able to drag themselves along,
were goaded and beaten, and with foul oaths made to
quicken their pace until they dropped fainting or
dead. The women, among whom were mothers with
infants at the breast, cast themselves on their knees
and pleaded in vain for leave to return and build for
themselves huts of straw amidst the pile of ashes
which had once been their native city. Dragged
along between two of the buccaneers was the gentlewoman
513
who had been subjected to Morgan's suit, and
whose ransom was fixed at thirty thousand pesos.
Learning that it was his intention to carry her to
Jamaica, she begged for a brief respite, affirming
"that she had given orders to two of the priests, on
whom she had relied, to go to a certain place and
obtain the sum required; that they had promised
faithfully to do so, but having procured the money
had employed it to release some of their friends."
Morgan was conquered at last. He inquired into the
truth of her assertion, and found it confirmed by a
letter delivered to the lady by a slave, and afterward
by the confession of the priests; whereupon he ordered
her and her parents, who were among the prisoners,
to be set at liberty.




Midway on their march across the Isthmus the
freebooters were mustered and all made to swear
that they had concealed none of the spoils, but had
delivered all into the common stock. After this
ceremony the commander ordered each one searched,
himself first submitting. Clothes and baggage were
carefully examined, and even the muskets were taken
to pieces, to see that no precious stones were concealed
between the barrel and stock. This proceeding
excited much indignation, and threats were made
against Morgan's life, but the search-officers were told
to conclude their work as quietly as possible without
divulging the names of the offenders, and an outbreak
was avoided. A day or two afterward the expedition
arrived at the castle at San Lorenzo, where it
was found that most of those who had been wounded
in the assault on that fortress had perished of their
injuries, and that the garrison was almost destitute
of provisions, being reduced to a small allowance of
maize. A vessel having on board the prisoners taken
at the isle of Santa Catarina was then despatched to
Portobello to demand a ransom for the castle at
Chagre, but returned with the answer that none
would be paid.
514



DIVISION OF SPOILS.



A division of the spoils was next in order; and
there were none who expected to receive for their
share less than two or three thousand pesos, for the
entire value of the booty was set down, according to
the highest estimate, at little short of four and a half
millions.[XXVIII‑24] Loud were the complaints and fierce the
threats, therefore, when Morgan declared that, after
paying the extra allowances to the captains and officers
of the fleet, the compensation to the wounded,
and the rewards to those who had distinguished
themselves in action, each man's share amounted
but to two hundred pesos. He was accused, and no
doubt with justice, of setting apart the most valuable
of the jewelry and precious stones for his own
portion, and of estimating the rest at far less than
their real worth, for the purpose of buying them in
as cheaply as possible. He knew that most of his
men cared for money only to squander it among the
taverns of Port Royal, and turning his opportunity to
good use he managed to store away for himself and a
few of his accomplices the lion's share.




Morgan now began to fear for his personal safety
and for the security of his stolen treasures, and determined
to make no longer stay at Chagre. Assuredly
he was the best prize his fellow-pirates could find at
this juncture. He silenced the remonstrances of his
followers, however, as best he could, and set them at
work demolishing the castle of San Lorenzo. The
neighboring edifices were burned; the surrounding
country was laid waste; the guns of the dismantled
fortress were placed on board the fleet, and all were
ordered to hold themselves in readiness to embark.
515
The commander then stole on board his ship by night
and put to sea, accompanied by only three or four of
the English vessels, the captains of which were in his
confidence. The remainder of the band awoke next
morning in time to see the topmost sails of the vanishing
squadron disappear below the horizon, and at once
determined to give chase; but they soon found that
nearly all the ammunition and provisions had been
secretly carried off by the fugitives. Seven or eight
hundred of the buccaneers, including all the Frenchmen
who had joined the expedition, now found themselves
in a strait. They were compelled to separate
into small parties, and after obtaining the means of
subsistence by pillaging the shores of Castilla del Oro,
returned almost empty-handed to Port Royal.



AN ENGLISH KNIGHT.



Morgan landed in Jamaica without mishap, and
soon began to levy forces for an expedition to the isle
of Santa Catarina, intending to make it a common
rendezvous for the brethren of the seas; but the
hideous atrocities committed during these piratical
raids had at length roused the English ministers to
a sense of shame, and awakened compunction even in
the breast of the English monarch. A new governor
was despatched to Jamaica, with orders that the treaty
lately ratified between Spain and Great Britain should
be strictly enforced. A general pardon and indemnity
was proclaimed for past offences, and the ex-admiral
of the buccaneers soon afterward repaired to England,
where, by a judicious use of his wealth, he obtained
from Charles II. the honor of knighthood, as before
mentioned. The gibbet would have been a more fitting
distinction.




Sir Henry Morgan, appointed commissioner of the
court of admiralty and afterward deputy governor of
Jamaica, held office until the accession of James II.
when the court of Spain procured his arrest. He was
sent a prisoner to his native country, and was cast
into prison, where we will leave him. He was a
ruffian, whose hell-born depravity of heart was relieved
516
by no gleam of a better nature, and for whom
one may search in vain for a parallel, even among
those so-called heroes who dragged the banner of
the cross through the blood of myriads of innocent
victims, as they bore westward the glad tidings of
Christ's redemption.
517




CHAPTER XXIX.



CORSAIRS IN THE SOUTH SEA.

1671-1682.





The New City of Panamá—Portobello Sacked by Pirates—A Buccaneer
Fleet Assembles at Boca del Toro—The Corsairs Plan a Raid
on Panamá—They Capture Santa María—And Thence Sail for
Plantain Island—Massacre of their Captives—Desperate Conflict
in Panamá Bay—Some of the Marauders Return across the Isthmus—The
Remainder Proceed to the Island of Taboga—And
there Capture Several Prizes—They are Asked to Show their
Commissions—The Answer—They Sail for the Coast of Veragua—Their
Repulse at Pueblo Nuevo—Their Operations on the
Coast of South America—Some of Them Return to England—They
are Tried and Acquitted.



THE NEW PANAMÁ.



When tidings of the destruction of Panamá reached
Spain, the court ordered that a new city be forthwith
built on a site that could be so strongly fortified as to
render it impregnable. The one finally chosen was a
small peninsula a little more than two leagues from
the old city, at the base of the hill of Ancon. The foundations
were laid in 1671. The town was surrounded
by a wall, from twenty to forty feet high and ten feet
wide, crowned with forts and watch-towers two or
three hundred feet apart. So costly were the works
that the council in Spain when auditing the accounts
wrote to inquire whether the fortifications of Panamá,
were of silver or gold. A deep moat divided the city
from the mainland, the entrances being through three
massive gates. Seaward the city was protected by
coral reefs, extending for more than half a mile into
the bay. Even at high tide vessels of heavy draught
could barely approach within cannon shot and an invading
518
force would be compelled to land from boats
which would be exposed to the fire of the garrison.
Thus the site, when fortified, though ill chosen in view
of the commercial interests of the city, afforded the
inhabitants, as they supposed, sure protection against
the raids of buccaneers.




The new city of Panamá was laid out almost in
the form of a square; having streets regular, but
narrow, and so overhung with projecting balconies
that one might pass through it during a heavy shower
without being drenched. It was especially distinguished
for its church architecture,[XXIX‑1] a large portion of
its area being occupied by the buildings of the ecclesiastics.
The church and convent of Santo Domingo
was one of the finest and most important establishments,
not only in Panamá, the city of churches, but
in the New World. The main building, a hundred
feet in length by fifty in breadth, with massive walls
perforated by numerous arched windows, was separated
from the porch by a strong brick arch about twenty
feet high and with a span of forty feet; the radius
at the key-stone being not more than two feet. The
edifice remains to day apparently as firm as ever, a
monument of the architectural skill of the Spaniards
in the seventeenth century.




The cupola and bells for the new cathedral were
fashioned at Madrid. When the bells were ready for
casting, the queen invited the public to be present,
and at the hour appointed the cupola was surrounded
by an assemblage more brilliant than any that had
ever met for such a purpose in Spain. Her Majesty,
with maids bejewelled and all attired in rich silks, and
dignitaries of court and state, with a vast concourse
of the populace, gathered for the ceremony of blessing
the bells. As it progressed, and one after another
advanced with a piece of coin or of plate, enthusiasm
519
increased. Women tore off their ornaments and flung
them into the heated mass; decorations of office and
mementos of affection were eagerly sacrificed, and the
dedication was concluded amidst an outburst of religious
zeal.



PORTOBELLO AGAIN SACKED.



But the deity would not at the price sell deliverance
from the corsairs, who could be as Christian as
any of them upon occasion. In 1679 Portobello was
plundered by pirates, the spoils amounting to a hundred
and sixty pesos per capita; and during the same
year a buccaneer fleet assembled at the Boca del Toro,
where lay two English privateers.[XXIX‑2] From them intelligence
was received that the Darien Indians had
rendered aid to the French captain, Bournano, in an
attack on the town of Chepo. Repulsed before that
place, they had offered to guide him to a large and
rich city named Tocamora, but as this enterprise
called for a stronger armament than he had at his disposal,
he went in search of reënforcements, promising
to return in three months.




The pirates who had sacked Portobello agreed to
take part in the contemplated foray, and at once set
about careening and refitting their vessels. As soon
as the necessary preparations were completed the fleet
sailed eastward along the coast to the Samballas, or
isles of San Blas, where they were visited by the
natives.[XXIX‑3] The Indians dissuaded the leaders of the
party from making a raid on Tocamora, suggesting
instead a descent on Panamá, to within a few leagues
of which city they could guide them undiscovered.
This proposition, backed by the argument that the
520
march to Tocamora was difficult and provisions almost
unattainable, while at Panamá they could not fail of
immense booty, inclined the majority to follow the
Indians' counsel.[XXIX‑4]




The French contingent considered so long a land
journey too hazardous, and parted company, while
the remainder of the fleet, numbering seven vessels,
with thirty-six guns and three hundred and sixty-six
men, sailed under the guidance of the Cacique Andrés
to the Golden Island, the most easterly of the
Samballas, where this chief had his head-quarters,[XXIX‑5]
arriving there the 3d of April 1680. The Indians
now proposed an attack upon the town of Santa
María, situated on a large river of that name, which
flows into the gulf of San Miguel. Here was maintained
a garrison of four hundred men, for it was the
entrepôt through which passed the gold on its way
from the neighboring mines to the vaults of Panamá.
If Santa María failed in booty, they could sail to
Panamá, where success was certain. This plan was
generally approved, and on April 5th they landed a
strong force, divided into seven companies, each
marching under its distinctive banner and led by its
own captain, the supreme command being intrusted
to Captain Bartholomew Sharp. The native allies
accompanied the column under Andrés who acted as
guide.



OVERLAND MARCH.



However perilous this expedition may appear, there
were those among the rovers whose hopes soared
521
higher than a mere swoop on Panamá, and who meditated
a triumphant return through the straits of Magellan
in a fleet of prizes freighted not with the gold
of Panamá alone, but with the wealth of the South
American coast. Burdened only with their weapons
and a slender stock of provisions the buccaneers began
their march on Panamá. After passing through the
outskirts of a wood, they crossed a marsh[XXIX‑6] about a
league in length, and struck into a well wooded valley
which they ascended by a good path for two leagues
more, reaching the bank of a river for the most
part dry at this time of year. Here they constructed
huts and encamped. They were now visited by a
cacique who recommended them to carry out their
proposed raid on Santa María, and volunteered to
lead them in person, informing them naively that "he
would have joined them at once, but his child was
very ill; however, he was assured it would die by next
day," when he would overtake them. The chieftain
then departed, cautioning them against lying in the
grass, on account of the snakes, which were poisonous
and of great size. Stones found in the bed of the
river when broken showed traces of gold, a harbinger
of the yellow harvest toward which their steps were
bent; but this was not enough to prevent four of the
company from returning to the ships, thus early discouraged
at the prospect of a long and tedious journey.




The following morning they climbed a steep hill, on
the other side of which appeared a river, said by
Andrés to be that on which Santa María was situated.
The line of march then led over another hill,
more precipitous than the former, where at times the
path would admit of but one man in file, until with
evening they reached the foot and encamped upon the
same river, having marched that day six leagues.
522
Next day they followed the course of the stream; the
current was extremely strong, and the depth varied
from knee to waist deep, A short though fatiguing
day's march brought the column to a halt at an Indian
village. This was the abode of Andrés' son, Antonio,
styled Bonete de Oro, or King Golden-cap, by the
same whimsical buccaneer nomenclature which dignified
his father with the title of emperor. Messengers
had been sent forward to announce their approach
and the presence of Andrés with the column. Preparations
were made for the reception of the corsairs.
Golden-cap visited them in state, accompanied by his
queen, his children, and his retinue. The monarch
wore a golden circlet round his head, gold rings in his
ears, and a gold crescent depending from his nose.
He was modestly clad in a long cotton robe, which
reached his ankles, and he carried a long lance. His
three sons, each armed with a lance and wearing a
cotton garment, stood uncovered in his presence, as
did his retinue.




The queen was tastefully attired in a pair of red
blankets, one girt about her waist, the other draped
over her shoulders. She carried a young child, and
was accompanied by two daughters, both of marriageable
age, their faces streaked with red paint and their
arms and necks loaded with variously colored beads.
His Majesty did not disdain to barter his stock of
plantains for knives, pins, and needles. He was
generous enough, however, to present three plantains
and some sugar-cane to each man, gratis.[XXIX‑7] The band
halted at this village all the following day, when a
council of war was held to determine how they might
best reach Santa María undiscovered. It was resolved
to embark in canoes, but to provide a sufficient quantity
taxed the resources of the chief, as the number
was now increased by a hundred and fifty Indians, all
523
armed with bow, arrows, and lance, and under the
immediate command of their caciques. At this council
Captain Sawkins was appointed to lead the forlorn
hope, consisting of eighty picked men. Resuming the
march next day, April 9th, they continued to follow
the course of the river, occasionally passing a solitary
house, at which times the owner would generally come
to his door to watch them pass by, and give each either
a ripe plantain or some cassava-root. That night they
halted at three large Indian huts, where a quantity
of provisions and some canoes had been collected by
Golden-cap's orders. Early next morning, before
breaking camp, a quarrel arose between Coxon and
Harris, when the former levelled his fusil and fired,
but without effect. Harris was about to return the
fire, but was restrained by Captain Sharp, who succeeded
in adjusting the difficulty, and the fifth day's
travel began.




Captains Sharp, Coxon, and Cook, with about
seventy men, were detached from the main body and
embarked in fourteen canoes. Andrés and Antonio
accompanied them, and with two Indians to navigate
each canoe put off down the Santa María River.




Canoeing, however, was found no more comfortable
than trudging afoot, as the crews were continually
obliged to leap out and haul the boats over shoals,
rocks, or fallen trees, and sometimes to make portages
over the land itself. These vexations attended the
voyage for three days, and were varied only by the
visit of a wild animal to one of their camps, at which
they dared not fire lest the report should betray their
presence to the Spaniards.[XXIX‑8] As they did not fall in
with their comrades of the main body on April 12th,
Sharp and Coxon's detachment began to suspect
treachery on the part of the Indians, who might have
designed to divide their forces and betray them into
524
the hands of the Spaniards. Happily these fears
proved groundless, for the next day they reached a
point of land at the confluence of another branch
of the river, a rendezvous of the Indians in their
warfare with the Spaniards, and halting there in
the afternoon were joined by their brethren in arms,
who had been provided with canoes the day before,
and were also in a state of anxiety as to the
fate of their comrades.[XXIX‑9] The entire company, thus
reunited, pitched their camp on this spot to get their
arms in order and prepare for action, which was now
believed imminent. Meanwhile the commissariat department
was not neglected, for several canoes arrived
with a supply of plantains and peccary pork.[XXIX‑10]




Very early the next morning they all embarked, the
flotilla numbering sixty-eight canoes. The "emperor"
and the "king," says Captain Sharp, continued their
voyage, the former "Cloathed with a loose Robe or
Mantle of pure Gold, which was extraordinary Splendid
and Rich. The King was in a White Cotton
Coat fringed round the bottom, about his Neck a
Belt of Tygers Teeth, and a Hat of pure Gold, with
a Ring and a Plate like a Cockle Shell hanging at it
of Gold in his Nose, which is the Fashion in this
Country for the people of Quality."




Hitherto the canoes had either drifted with the
stream, or been propelled with poles; but new oars and
paddles were constructed, and every nerve strained to
525
reach the goal as soon as possible. It was after midnight
when a landing was effected on a piece of
swampy ground in the neighborhood of Santa María,
and the weary adventurers stealthily sought shelter
in the woods, where they proposed to lie until daybreak.



FIGHT AT SANTA MARIA.



At dawn on April 15th the corsairs were aroused
by a discharge of small arms in the town and the
sounding of the reveille. Quickly seizing their weapons
they formed in line and began their advance.
On emerging from the shelter of the woods they were
in full view of the enemy, who had been apprized of
their landing and were fully prepared to receive them,
having already removed the whole treasure to Panamá.
Instantly betaking themselves to the shelter
of the fort, a kind of tambour-work composed of
stockades twelve feet high, the Spaniards opened a
random and ill-judged fire upon their assailants before
the latter had approached near enough for the fusillade
to be effective.




Undismayed at the warmth of their reception, the
advance guard, led by Sawkins and Sharp, charged
with a force impossible to withstand, and tearing
down a few stockades carried the work by storm, with
no further casualty than two men wounded. The
rapidity of the operation may be convinced from the
fact that the freebooters were masters of the situation
before fifty of their men were brought into action.
The Spanish loss was twenty-six killed and sixteen
wounded, out of two hundred and sixty engaged. The
garrison was ordinarily much stronger, numerically,
but at this time two hundred were absent serving as
escort of the treasure on the way to Panamá. The
governor, the priest, and most of the principal inhabitants
had also sought safety in flight.




The causes of this cheaply bought success are not
far to seek. The fort was doubtless an excellent defence
in an Indian fight, but was in no way adapted
for protection against the corsairs, the stockades being
526
neither strengthened by brickwork or masonry
nor protected by a ditch. In all probability there
was no banquette, so that when once the stakes were
forced the defenders would have no advantage over
their assailants, both being on level ground.




The Spaniards emptied their pieces at random,
instead of reserving their fire till the enemy came to
close quarters, when it could have been employed with
deadly precision. Their foemen, on the other hand,
wasted no time on a useless fusillade. Relying implicitly
upon their acknowledged superiority in a hand-to-hand
fight, added to the well founded terror of
their name, they may be said, practically speaking, to
have burnt no powder at all, their brilliant coup-de-main
being effected with the cutlass alone. Panic-stricken
at the ease with which their defences were
forced, the Spaniards opposed but a feeble resistance
to the ruthless assailants of Portobello. Hemmed
within their own stronghold, from which there was
no retreat, they flung down their arms and sued for
quarter, and the town of Santa María was in the
hands of the dreaded buccaneers.




As regards booty, it was a barren victory. The
gold which came in from the mines was shipped to
Panamá two or three times a year, the river at Santa
María being nearly six hundred yards wide, and at high
tide fifteen feet deep. The last shipment—three hundred
pounds' weight—was despatched just three days
before the attack. This was a cruel disappointment
to the pirates. Worse almost than that, they found
provisions enough to feed them for only three or four
days, instead of the abundance they anticipated.




In the town was recovered the eldest daughter of
Antonio Golden-cap, who had been abducted by one
of the garrison, by whom she was at that time
pregnant.[XXIX‑11] This had greatly embittered the chief's
527
hatred of the Spaniards,[XXIX‑12] and now the Indians, who
during the action had avoided stray bullets by taking
advantage of a depression in the ground, seized many
of the prisoners, led them into the neighboring woods,
and butchered in cold blood as many as had previously
fallen in fight.[XXIX‑13] Such deeds by Indians the Europeans
deemed brutal, though falling far short of some of
their own in this quarter; at all events the pirates
put a stop to it as soon as it was discovered, and confined
the Spaniards in the fort, guarding them closely.[XXIX‑14]



AFTER THE GOVERNOR.



As soon as possible after the capture of the town
Captain Sawkins with a party of ten embarked in a
canoe and started down the river to overtake and
capture the governor and others who had escaped, in
order to prevent their carrying news of the capture
to Panamá. Failing to secure their prey, the pirates
determined not to retrace their steps empty-handed,
but to push on to Panamá, where they felt certain of
a prize worth the risk. It is true that some at least
of the company murmured at this project, and wished
to return to the ships, more especially Captain Coxon.
In order therefore to secure unanimity in the adventure
Coxon was elected commander-in-chief.[XXIX‑15] As a
matter of precaution, a few of the prisoners, together
with the small amount of plunder taken, were sent
back to the ships under a guard of twelve men.




The Indians were averse to proceeding farther, and
most of them receiving presents of knives, scissors,
528
and axes, returned home. Nevertheless, Emperor
Andrés and King Antonio Golden-cap determined
to go on to Panamá and see the end of this display
of European savagism and be present at the sack of
the city. Andrés indeed promised, if necessary, to
raise an army fifty thousand strong to assist in the
work. Additional encouragement was afforded by the
Spaniard who had abducted the chief's daughter, and
who volunteered, in consideration of being protected
from the just revenge of the Indians, to conduct them
not only to Panamá, but to the very chamber-door of
the governor, when they might seize him and make
themselves masters of the city before they could be
discovered.




After holding Santa María for two days, the victors
took their departure on April 17th, first burning
the fort, church, and town to gratify the rancor of
the Indian chief. They then embarked on board
thirty-five canoes and a piragua,[XXIX‑16] which last was captured
while lying at anchor in the river, and dropped
down toward the gulf of San Miguel, whence they
could gain Panamá Bay. The Spaniards begged hard
to be allowed to go with them, rather than be left to
the mercy of the Indians.




It was with the greatest difficulty that the freebooters
had secured canoes enough for themselves,
as their Indian allies had taken so many in their retreat;
yet the terrified Spaniards managed to find a
few old boats and construct a few rafts, and so ventured
to accompany them.




In the Santa María River the ebb and flow of the
tide is remarkable, and at night the navigation is
extremely hazardous, many shoals and channels being
encountered at low water. Still, having good native
pilots on board, the flotilla paddled down on the ebb
until midnight, when a native embarcadero was
529
reached, and it was decided to land and fill the water-vessels,
the river water being salt, and none suitable
for drinking likely to be met with for several days.
At the landing-place Captain Sawkins was found
awaiting them. He had failed to overtake the governor,
who had by that time made good his escape to
the open bay. The canoes were then hauled ashore
for the night, as there was too much risk in continuing
the voyage down the estuary at that hour. Next
morning they again got under way and proceeded
down the river, finding two mouths by which they
could reach the sea, one of them being deep and flowing
out with a swift current.




About noon the sea was sighted, and shortly afterward
the pirates landed on a small island, where the
governor in his flight had left two women, in order to
lighten his canoe. On this island the party remained
waiting for the next ebb, when they crossed to another
isle two leagues away, making land just before nightfall.
Here were found two canoes, with some bows
and arrows, which were destroyed; their owners were
also seen, but managed to elude capture. Camp was
then pitched, and Captain Sawkins once more despatched
in chase of the governor, with orders to
await their arrival at Plantain Island, whether successful
or not. The following day, while continuing
the voyage, a severe squall struck them, the wind
freshening from the seaward and meeting the ebb.
One canoe, manned by seven Frenchmen, capsized;
the crew was rescued with difficulty, and after the
loss of all their arms.[XXIX‑17] A heavy rain-storm followed,
and compelled them to run for shelter into a sandy
bay, where the canoes were beached, and the tired
rovers took up their quarters for the night.




Meanwhile, on the evacuation of Santa María, one
530
canoe was left a long way astern, being heavy and
manned by five men only. It was under the command
of Basil Ringrose, the buccaneer historian, who afterward
gave the world so faithful a narrative of the
exploits in which he took part.



ADVENTURE OF RINGROSE.



Ringrose had no Indian in his canoe to pilot him;
so as the tide ran out and many shoals were exposed,
he entered the wrong channel, and ran two miles inside
a shoal before discovering the mistake. There he was
obliged to lie until high tide, when he proceeded in
hopes of overtaking the other boats. That night at
low water he moored the canoe to an oar stuck in the
sand, and the men took turns at sleeping; at dawn
they rowed two leagues farther and came up with
the main body as they were just putting off from the
watering-place. As it was absolutely necessary to
water there they went ashore with their calabashes,
and on regaining the river-side found the flotilla was
once more out of sight. They rowed in chase as hard
as they could, but became bewildered among the
numerous islands near the mouth of the river, and so
again lost their way. At length they hit upon the
Boca Chica, but by that time the tide was running in
with great force, and finding that they could make no
way against it, beached the canoe and made it fast to
a tree, awaiting the turn of the tide which rose there
upward of twenty feet.




As soon as practicable they pulled away to an
island outside the mouth of the river, in the gulf of
San Miguel, narrowly escaping being swamped, and
passed the night in the utmost misery, drenched with
rain, and not daring to light a fire. Next morning at
daybreak, April 19th, they once more launched the
canoe and shaped their course for Point San Lorenzo,
but as the boat neared one of the many islands of
the gulf a heavy sea overturned it and they had to
swim for their lives. Happily all made the shore in
safety, and immediately afterward the canoe was cast
up high and dry. Their cartouch-boxes and powder-horns
531
being made water-tight, and lashed with their
arms to the canoe, were preserved, but all their provisions
and water were spoiled. It soon appeared
that they were not alone in misfortune. A party of
six Spaniards, lately their prisoners, had been washed
ashore from their broken boat, in worse plight than
Ringrose's party. Their common fate united the castaways,
and Spaniard and Englishman ate their meal
in peace over the same camp-fire.



A KIND ACT REWARDED.



While debating whether to go forward or return to
their ships at the Golden Island, an Indian was seen,
and it became manifest that yet another party shared
their isle of refuge. A piragua, manned by eight of
their Darien allies, had for some reason put in there,
and Ringrose learned by signs that if the whole company
embarked in the Indian piragua they could overtake
the Panamá expedition by the following morning.
The natives wished to kill the Spaniards, and were
with great difficulty prevented from doing so, but
Ringrose succeeded in saving their lives by allowing
one to be taken as a slave, and placing his own
canoe at the disposal of the remaining five. He and
his men, together with the Spanish slave, joined the
Indians, and making sail on the piragua soon doubled
Point San Lorenzo. During that night two camp-fires
were sighted on the starboard bow, whereupon
the Indians exhibited great delight, and shouting the
names of their chiefs, Antonio and Andrés, headed
direct for the land. No sooner were they in the
breakers than out rushed some sixty Spaniards from
the thickets adjacent, seized the vessel, and dragged
her up on the strand. The Indians leaped overboard
and made good their escape to the woods, but the
others were seized and made prisoners.




None of these Spaniards could speak French or
English, but Ringrose entered into conversation in
Latin with their leader, and found that they also were
from Santa María, and had been landed at that place
by the buccaneers to preclude any possibility of their
532
carrying tidings to Panamá. While the Spanish
leader was interrogating Ringrose preparatory to
the slaughter of the party, up stepped the Spaniard
whom Ringrose had given the natives as a slave.
He related the whole circumstances of the wreck of
his canoe upon the island, and the preservation of the
lives of his party by Ringrose. This put a new
aspect upon affairs. The Spanish captain embraced
the Englishman, and after giving them supper permitted
both pirates and Indians to depart. After
this Ringrose and his party held their course all
night, in drenching rain, and next morning observed
a canoe rowing rapidly toward them. Closer inspection
revealed one of the buccaneer craft, which was
about to attack the piragua, under the impression that
it was a Spanish vessel. They were mutually delighted
to meet again, Ringrose and his crew having
been given up for lost. Then all joined the flotilla,
which soon continued its way.




After clearing the bay the buccaneers steered for
what appeared a lofty point about seven leagues distant,
and there made Plantain Island. Landing in
the afternoon, they climbed a steep ascent and surprised
the sentinel, an old man who had not seen them
or suspected their approach until they swarmed around
his hut. From him it was ascertained that their approach
was unsuspected at Panamá; so they thought
they would surprise the city. Captain Sawkins, who
joined them here in accordance with his instructions,
reported that the governor of Santa María had sailed
thence for Panamá the previous day. Sawkins was
once more sent in chase, but returned unsuccessful.



SEA-ARTISTS AND PIRATES OF GENIUS.



Shortly before nightfall a thirty-ton bark anchored
off the island, whereupon two canoes were hastily
manned, and the vessel captured. The crew stated
they were eight days out from Panamá,[XXIX‑18] and had
landed a detachment of troops at a point on the mainland
533
not far distant for the purpose of inflicting chastisement
on certain Indians and negroes. Into this
craft were immediately placed a hundred and thirty
men, under command of "that Sea-Artist, and Valiant
Commander, Captain Bartholomew Sharp."[XXIX‑19]




Anchoring off the island that night the pirates continued
their voyage on the following morning, making
for the isle of Chepillo, near the mouth of the river
Chepo.[XXIX‑20] Sharp, however, parted company with the
fleet, and bore up to King, or Pearl islands, in search
of water, and while there captured a new brigantine,
to which he transferred his crew after scuttling his
own vessel. Having obtained water and provisions
he set sail for the rendezvous about four o'clock in
the afternoon, but owing to contrary winds failed to
make it, and anchored at an isle five leagues distant.
On the following day at noon he proceeded, but did
not reach Chepillo before nightfall. Sending a canoe
ashore he ascertained that his men had left the island
a few hours before, as their fires were still burning, and
that a fight had taken place, as was indicated by a
number of dead bodies. Sharp now stood in toward
Panamá.[XXIX‑21]




After the canoes had separated from the bark, Captain
Harris succeeded in capturing another vessel,
which was forthwith manned with thirty buccaneers.
In the pursuit, however, the fleet became so scattered
that it was not until the following day that they rejoined
company at the island of Chepillo. Before
their arrival a bark had been chased by Coxon, but
escaped capture, after inflicting on her pursuers a loss
of one man killed and two wounded.[XXIX‑22] This failure
caused the pirates much annoyance, as the vessel
534
which had eluded their grasp would carry to Panamá
the news of their raid.




At Chepillo they took fourteen prisoners and found
a piragua which they manned, and having procured
some plantains and hogs again got under way about
four o'clock the same afternoon, expecting to reach
Panamá before daybreak, the distance being only
seven leagues. But before they left the island they
perpetrated one of those ruthless acts so common in
their career of crime. As it was not convenient to take
along the prisoners, and to leave them alive would be
unsafe, it was determined to kill them. The captives
were then handed over to the Indians, who were instructed,
after they should have amused themselves
with a little gladiatorial performance, to slay them.
The sea-shore supplied a fitting arena, and under the
eyes of the whole fleet the murderers opened their
attack. But the victims, though unarmed, made a
rush, and despite spear and arrow some of them
escaped to the neighboring woods.[XXIX‑23]




The pirates now departed. They no longer hoped
to surprise Panamá, but in the bay were richly
freighted ships which they would like to seize. On
the 23d of April they came in sight of the city before
sunrise,[XXIX‑24] and presently discovered five large men-of-war
and three good-sized barks at anchor near the
island of Perico. Their approach was no sooner
perceived than three of the men-of-war got under
way and bore down upon them. The flag-ship was
535
manned by eighty-six Biscayans under command of
Jacinto de Barahona, the high admiral of the South
Sea. The second ship with a crew of seventy-seven
negroes was commanded by Francisco de Peralta, an
Andalusian. In the third were sixty-five mulattoes
under the command of Diego de Carabajal.



A NAVAL COMBAT.



The pirate flotilla was much scattered, the two
piraguas being unable to keep up with the canoes, on
which were only thirty-six men. These, however, as
the squadron bore down upon them, succeeded in getting
to windward of it and were presently joined by
the smaller piragua, which raised the force of the buccaneers
to sixty-eight. Sawkins and Ringrose placed
themselves in front and soon were engaged with Carabajal's
ship, which at the first broadside wounded four
of Sawkins' crew and one of Ringrose's. The deck
of the Spanish vessel, as she tacked, was swept by a
deadly volley. The flag-ship then came up, and was
encountered by the five canoes. As soon as she was
within range the steersman was struck, and the vessel,
luffing, was taken aback. This mishap the pirates immediately
took advantage of, and ranging astern
raked her deck fore and aft, killing every one who
attempted to take the helm, and committing havoc
with the ship's tackling. By this time Peralta was
coming to the support of the flag-ship, whereupon
Sawkins, whose canoe was sinking, went on board the
piragua, and leaving the flag-ship to the attentions
of the four canoes engaged Peralta single-handed.
Meantime the first ship, delayed by the lightness of
the wind, had slowly come about, and was again bearing
down to take part in the action. She was, however,
met by two of the canoes under Springers and
Ringrose before she could render any assistance to
the admiral, and so deadly was the fire of the pirates
that Carabajal was glad to sheer off and escape with
the few efficient men he had left. Springers and Ringrose
now hastened to the support of their comrades,
who still maintained the conflict with the flag-ship.
536
Their return was greeted with a wild cheer of exultation,
which was answered by the crew of the piragua.
Drawing so closely under the stern that they "wedged
up the rudder," the pirates, now confident of victory,
again beset the doomed vessel. The admiral and pilot
were shot dead; two-thirds of the crew being killed,
and most of the survivors wounded, the flag was
struck, and the triumphant ruffians boarded their
prize. A shocking spectacle met their eyes. Out of
eighty-six men twenty-five only were alive, and but
eight capable of bearing arms. "Their Blood ran
down the Decks in whole streams, and scarce one
place in the Ship was found that was free from blood."




As soon as they had taken possession of the vessel
the victors despatched two canoes to the assistance of
Sawkins, who meantime had maintained a desperate
fight with Peralta. Three times the buccaneer had
boarded his antagonist, and three times had he been
repulsed by the valiant Andalusian, whose indomitable
bravery had gained for him the outspoken admiration
of his foes. As soon as the canoes came up they
saluted Peralta with a volley, which was followed by
a heavy explosion in the stern of the Spanish vessel.
All the men in that part of the ship were blown into
the air; yet Peralta had no thought of yielding, and
with voice and hand encouraged his men. But fate
was against him. Soon there was another explosion
in the forecastle, and in the smoke and confusion
Sawkins once more boarded, and the ship was taken.
As the light wind slowly carried away the smoke a
scene was revealed on board which defies description.
"There was not a Man, but was either killed, desperately
wounded, or horribly burnt with Powder. Insomuch,
that their Black Skins were turned White in
several places, the Powder having torn it from their
Flesh and Bones."[XXIX‑25]
537




The obstinacy of this battle, and the unflinching
courage with which it was fought, are indicated by the
heavy losses on both sides and the length of time the
engagement lasted. From shortly after sunrise until
noon the fight was carried on, and of the sixty-eight
pirates engaged, only about a score came out unwounded.[XXIX‑26]
The reputation of the Spanish captains
for bravery was of the highest, and elicited the admiration
of their foes. The success of the latter was
undoubtedly owing to the lightness of the wind, which
enabled them to take a position against which the
Spaniards could not direct their cannon; nor does it
appear that, with the exception of the single broadside
fired by Carabajal, the Spanish guns were used
during the engagement.




Having attended to the wounded the pirates steered
for the island of Perico, where they found the five
vessels anchored there abandoned, the largest, the Santísima
Trinidad, of four hundred tons, having been
set on fire. The marauders, however, succeeded in
suppressing the flames and converted the vessel into
a hospital. Of the others, two were burned; one of a
hundred and eighty tons was assigned to Captain Cook,
and the third of fifty tons to Captain Coxon.[XXIX‑27]



BEFORE PANAMÁ.



Two days after this action Captain Sharp joined
company, and a little later the bark captured by Captain
Harris.[XXIX‑28] The pirates remained for about ten
days before Panamá, during which Captain Coxon
withdrew from the gang. He had been charged
with displaying more caution than courage during
the engagement, and resenting the imputation he determined
538
to go back to the North Sea. With his
adherents, to the number of fifty,[XXIX‑29] he accordingly
weighed anchor one night, leaving about twenty of
his own wounded, but taking with him the best surgeon
and nearly all the medicines. With him the
Darien chief also went back and the chiefs Antonio
and Andrés.




This defection did not discourage the remaining
buccaneers, and weighing anchor on the 2d of May,[XXIX‑30]
they stood off to the island of Taboga two leagues
from Perico. This formed an excellent point of observation,
every vessel passing in or out of the port
of Panamá being plainly visible. Several small craft
were captured which supplied the adventurers with
provisions, and on the eighth day they seized a vessel
containing wine, gunpowder, and fifty thousand pesos,
intended for the pay of the Panamá garrison.[XXIX‑31] To
the merchants of Panamá, who had now opened a
trade with them, they sold the wines,[XXIX‑32] and these same
traders on two occasions conveyed a message from the
governor asking them to explain their presence before
the city, and to state from whom they held their commissions.[XXIX‑33]
Captain Sawkins replied to the first message
that they had come "to assist the King of Darien,
who was the true Lord of Panamá," and demanded five
hundred pesos for each man and one thousand for each
commander as the terms under which they would
peaceably depart. His answer to the second communication
539
was "that as yet all his company were not
come together; but that when they were come up"
they would visit him at Panamá and bring their "Commissions
on the Muzzles of their Guns, at which time
he should read them as plain as the Flame of Gunpowder
could make them."



DEATH OF SAWKINS.



On the 15th of May, contrary to the wish of Sawkins,
the fleet sailed to the isle of Otoque,[XXIX‑34] and thence
to that of Quibo, off the coast of Veragua,[XXIX‑35] famous
for its pearl fisheries. While at this island Sawkins,
who had been appointed chief in command, and Sharp,
conceived the project of making a descent on Pueblo
Nuevo, a town situated on the mainland eight leagues
off. Taking with them about sixty men,[XXIX‑36] they ascended
the river on which the place was situated, but
soon found that defensive measures had already been
taken against them, trees having been felled across
the river, and the town protected by three strong
breastworks.[XXIX‑37] Undeterred by obstacles, the pirates
attempted to take the place with a rush, as in the
case of Santa María; but they suffered a serious repulse,
and Sawkins was killed while leading on his
men, the remainder of the marauders retreating to
their canoes.[XXIX‑38]
540




Sawkins was held in high esteem among his comrades,[XXIX‑39]
and his death was much regretted. It caused,
moreover, a serious dissension. His men mutinied,
and were determined to retrace their steps across the
Isthmus. No inducements held out to the malecontents
by Sharp could prevail upon them to remain,
and on the 31st of May more than sixty of them[XXIX‑40]
separated company, taking with them all the Indians
who had remained. After the departure of the mutineers
trouble arose between Cook and his men, which
resulted in his resigning the command and going on
board Sharp's vessel, the Trinidad. His own ship[XXIX‑41]
was placed under the orders of John Cox, who thus
became second in command.[XXIX‑42]




It was now decided to cruise southward, and on the
6th of June the freebooters set sail. After careening
their vessels at the island of Gorgona in latitude 1° N.
they engaged in a series of operations on the South
American coast, plundering towns and capturing many
Spanish vessels. The booty they amassed was immense.
During this cruise another mutiny occurred,[XXIX‑43]
541
which resulted in the deposition of Sharp and the elevation
of one John Watling to the post of commander.
Their project had been to sail homeward through
the straits of Magellan, but they now changed their
intention and again directed their prows northward.
At an unsuccessful descent on Arica Watling lost
his life, and the command was again conferred on
Sharp,[XXIX‑44] but not without much dispute. Nor was the
question easily settled, and it was at last arranged
that the matter should be put to the vote, and that
the minority should take the long-boat and canoes and
go where they wished. Their votes were cast on
April the 17th near the island of La Plata, and resulted
in the defection of forty-seven of the malecontents,
among whom was William Dampier, who sailed
for the Isthmus with the intention of returning overland.[XXIX‑45]



CAPTURE OF ESPARZA.



Sharp, passing by the bay of Panamá, now paid a
visit to the shore of Costa Rica, and entering the
gulf of Nicoya anchored in the bay of Caldera. Here
he was occupied some time in careening and refitting
his ship, to aid him in which work he pressed into his
service some carpenters employed in ship-building on
the bank of a neighboring river. Then, after sacking
and burning the town of Esparza,[XXIX‑46] he again sailed
542
southward, and took, near the line, the treasure-ship
San Pedro with thirty-seven thousand pesos. Still
pursuing a southerly course, these human scourges
made themselves the terror of the coast, plundering,
burning, and destroying on land and sea.[XXIX‑47]




In the latter part of the year 1681 Sharp bore away
for the straits of Magellan, but being unsuccessful in
his endeavor to find the passage rounded Cape Horn
and steering northward, well out of sight of land,
reached the Barbadoes on the 28th of January 1682,
but dared not enter port, as a British frigate lay at
anchor at Bridgetown. He therefore steered for
Antigua, where he arrived on the 1st of February.
There this godless crew dispersed, the ship being
given to those who had gambled away their money,
while the more fortunate took passage for England.




At the instance of the Spanish ambassador in London
Sharp and some of his companions were tried for
piracy. They pleaded in defence that they had acted
under the authority of a commission granted by the
caciques of Darien, who were absolutely independent
princes and in no sense subjects of Spain.[XXIX‑48] The validity
of this plea was fully established,[XXIX‑49] and a verdict
of acquittal obtained.
543




CHAPTER XXX.



FURTHER PIRATICAL RAIDS.

1681-1687.





Dampier and his Comrades on the Santa María River—They Meet with
Spanish War Vessels—Their March to the North Sea—They Fall
in with a French Ship—And Sail round Cape Horn to the South
Sea—They Attack Realejo—They Sail for the Island of La Plata—Here
They are Reënforced—They Proceed to the Coast of South
America—Where they Gain Intelligence of the Treasure Fleet—The
Pirates Sail for the Pearl Islands—Their Defeat in the Bay
of Panamá—Raids on Leon, Realejo, and Granada—Piety of the
Filibusters—Further Operations of the Pirates.




Dampier and his comrades,[XXX‑1] after they had parted
company with Sharp, shaped their course for the Santa
María River flowing into the gulf of San Miguel, and
on the following day captured a small bark anchored
to leeward of Cape Pasado. This was a piece of
great good fortune as their boats were too small for
them. On the 24th of April they touched at the
island of Gorgona where, having taken some prisoners,
they learned that a piragua crossed over from the
mainland every two or three days to reconnoitre, and
that three ships were kept in readiness to intercept
them on their return. With a favorable breeze they
sailed from Gorgona the same evening, and on the
morning of the 28th, on emerging from a rain squall,
espied two large ships to windward about a league
and a half distant. Dampier's men were in a hazardous
position, between the Spanish cruisers and the
shore, which was only two leagues off. Happily the
544
rain again came on and enabled them to pass the
enemy unseen. The next morning they anchored off
Point Garachina, about seven leagues from the gulf
of San Miguel, where they remained all day drying
their ammunition and preparing their weapons in
anticipation of their landing being opposed. Soon
after daybreak on the 30th they entered the gulf and
came to anchor outside a large island four miles distant
from the mouth of the Santa María. Though
the tide was favorable for ascending the river they
took the precaution to send a canoe ashore to reconnoitre,
and a ship was discovered lying at the mouth
and a large tent pitched on the land adjacent. Though
disheartened at this news the freebooters were, nevertheless,
bent upon making their return overland. So
the canoe was again sent to the island and succeeded
in capturing one which had put off from the enemy's
ship for the island. From the captives they learned
that for six months the vessel, which had twelve guns,
had been guarding the mouth of the river, and that
the force amounted to one hundred and fifty soldiers
and sailors, the former being quartered on shore.
Three hundred more were expected to arrive from
the mines on the next day.[XXX‑2] The pirates now determined
to land elsewhere at any risk that night, or
early the following morning.[XXX‑3] With wind and tide
against them they reached Cape San Lorenzo at daybreak
and sailing about a league farther ran into a
creek sheltered by two small islands. Here they
landed and, putting their effects ashore, sunk their
vessel and made all preparations for a march into the
interior.[XXX‑4]



CROSSING THE CONGO.



As some of the company did not appear in condition
545
to undertake so long a journey, the desperate
resolution to shoot all stragglers had been previously
adopted to prevent them falling into the hands of the
Spaniards alive and betraying their companions. Yet
this terrible alternative did not deter a single man,
and in the afternoon the band of freebooters began
their march and advanced a league north-easterly.
On the following morning, striking an Indian trail,
they reached some native houses, where being well
received they purchased provisions, and for a hatchet
obtained a guide to other Indian settlements.[XXX‑5] Next
day they struck the Congo at a point three leagues
from their last night's halting-place,[XXX‑6] and arriving at
the house of an old Indian with great difficulty induced
him to urge their guide to accompany them
two days longer for another hatchet.[XXX‑7]




On the 4th of May they continued their course, continually
wading through rivers and streams, drenched
with the heavy rain which when they halted prevented
them from obtaining fire enough to warm themselves
or cook their food. Weary and hungry their miseries
were such as to banish all thought of the Spaniards,
their only anxiety being to obtain food and guides.
For several days they journeyed on under incredible
hardships, feeding on monkeys and such vegetables
as they could obtain from the native settlements
through which they passed.




By this time they had obtained a fresh guide, and
crossing the Congo had arrived at another river, the
depth of which caused them great trouble, as they
were compelled to ford it several times,[XXX‑8] leaving behind
546
on the last occasion two of the party who were
unable to keep up with the main body. Night fell on
them unprovided with shelter, and to add to their
miseries a thunder-storm with heavy rain broke over
them.




Next morning, the 8th of May, the guide informed
them that the river would have to be crossed again,
but it was now so swollen that fording was impossible.
It was decided, therefore, to send a man over with a
line. One of the band, George Gayny, accordingly
made the attempt, but the line which he had fastened
about his neck became entangled, and the man on
shore who was paying it out suddenly stopped it.
This threw Gayny, who was half way across, on his
back. The man in charge of the rope then threw it
into the river, hoping that Gayny might recover himself,
but being weighted with three hundred pesos,
which he carried on his back, the impetuous current
carried him away and he was drowned.[XXX‑9]




After this failure they felled a lofty tree across the
river, and over it all passed in safety. Their guide
now left them, having obtained a substitute. Crossing
another river their way led through a beautiful
valley adorned with trees. Five miles beyond they
came to a settlement and were somewhat alarmed at
the sight of some wooden crosses on the road-side,
thinking that Spaniards were there. They prepared
for action, but found none but Indians in the town,
where they were kindly received.[XXX‑10]




For the next ten days they struggled on with several
changes of guides, incessantly crossing rivers[XXX‑11]
and forcing their way through the trackless forest,
547
some days not advancing more than two or three miles.
Exhausted and famished,[XXX‑12] with blistered feet, and
limbs chafed and raw with wading, they were indeed
in evil plight.



AT THE RIO CHEPO.



On the 20th of May the way-worn corsairs reached
the Chepo River, which they crossed, and on the 22d
to their great joy sighted the North Sea from a high
mountain-ridge. The weather was fine, and glad at
heart they descended the heights and encamped on
the bank of the river Concepcion, the first which
they found flowing north. The following day they
moved down the stream, and ere long procured canoes
to carry them to its mouth. During their absence
many English and French ships had been there, but
all had departed with the exception of a French privateer
which lay at La Sound Key.[XXX‑13] After lying a
night at the mouth of the river, they crossed over to
the island, and went aboard the vessel which was
commanded by Captain Tristian. Purchasing from
the crew beads, knives, scissors, and looking-glasses
with which to reward their guides they dismissed
them with the additional gift of half a peso to each.
With this the Indians were well satisfied, and the
good feeling for the English was manifested by their
kind treatment of Doctor Wafer and the others who
had remained behind in their settlements.




The journey across the Isthmus had occupied
twenty-three days, during which they travelled for
about thirty-seven leagues over mountains, through
valleys, and among "deep and dangerous Rivers."
They had arrived on the south coast just as the rainy
season began, and the rivers were soon swollen, and
548
yet only one man perished. They had chosen a circuitous
route, going seventeen leagues farther than
if they had ascended the Chepo or the Santa María,
by either of which courses the journey could have
been made from sea to sea in three days, the Indians
frequently accomplishing it in a day and a half.




The hardships which Dampier underwent during
this trip did not deter him from another adventure on
the South Sea. In the latter part of 1683, having
joined a ship commanded by a Captain Cook, he was
again cruising in company with another vessel under
Captain Eaton off the western coast of South America.
Although they had sailed round Cape Horn,
their operations were unimportant during the whole
of their voyage up that coast. Their intention, indeed,
was to try new ground and make a raid upon
Realejo and Leon in Nicaragua. When they arrived
about the beginning of July at Cape Blanco, on the
Costa Rica seaboard, Captain Cook died, and John
Davis was appointed to his place.[XXX‑14]




While engaged in burying their late captain on
the shore of Calderas Bay they captured three half-breeds
from whom they learned that the Spaniards
had been warned by the people of Panamá to beware
of buccaneers. This news did not prevent them,
however, from proceeding on the 20th of July toward
Realejo where they arrived three days later. Their
operations here were unprofitable, as they found the
Spaniards thoroughly prepared for them. They therefore
sailed to the bay of Fonseca for the purpose of
careening their vessels. Here an attempt to establish
friendly relations with the Indians of one of the
islands was interrupted by the rough action of one
549
of the buccaneers, which caused a panic among the
natives, who fled to the woods. Davis, however,
succeeded in inducing the chief and half a dozen of
his tribe to visit the ships, and having won their
good-will by presents, obtained, during the time they
remained in the bay, fresh beef from an island to
which they directed them. After careening and repairing
their vessels, they abandoned their intentions
against Realejo for the time, and on the 3d of September
Davis again sailed southward, having parted
from Eaton with whom he had had trouble.[XXX‑15]



SWAN AND HARRIS.



On the 20th he reached the isle of Plata,[XXX‑16] and
while lying there was joined, October 2d, by Captain
Swan of the Cygnet and Captain Peter Harris, nephew
of the buccaneer of that name who was killed in the
engagement before Panamá in 1680. Swan had been
supplied by London merchants with a cargo of goods
for trade in these seas, but having fallen in with
Harris and his comrades who had come overland, his
men compelled him to join the freebooters.[XXX‑17] The
meeting of the rovers was marked by wicked joy.
Independently or collectively they engaged in a series
of cruises off the coast of South America, the isle
of Plata being the rendezvous. After a failure to
surprise the town of Guayaquil, they took a packet-boat
carrying letters from Panamá to Lima. Though
the Spaniards threw the letters overboard with a line
attached, the ruse was detected, and from the package
which the buccaneers recovered, they learned the joyful
news that the armada from Spain had arrived at
Portobello and that the president of Panamá had sent
550
this boat with instructions to hasten the departure
of the treasure-fleet from Peru. This occurred on
the 1st of January 1685. The wildest excitement
followed as the prows of the vessels were turned
toward the Pearl Islands, the best place from which
to seize the treasure-ships. They arrived there the
25th, having captured on the way a ninety-ton vessel
laden with flour. Then they careened and cleaned
their vessels, and by February 14th all was in readiness.
The marauders then proceeded to Perico and
engaged in correspondence with the president of Panamá
for the release of two of their men who had
fallen into the hands of the Spaniards.[XXX‑18] The result
was an exchange of prisoners, the crew of the vessel
last taken, to the number of about forty, being surrendered
as ransom for the two freebooters.




Meanwhile the Spaniards continued in their puerile
efforts to rid themselves of the vipers. On one occasion
a pretended merchant, under pretext of wishing
to traffic, steered a vessel laden with combustibles
close up to them while at anchor. Having ignited
his fire-ship, he and his crew escaped in canoes, while
the buccaneers were forced to cut their cables in all
haste to avoid destruction.[XXX‑19]




Soon afterward they were joined by no less than
two hundred and eighty French and English buccaneers
who had crossed the Isthmus, and who reported
that one hundred and eighty more English were following
under Captain Townley.[XXX‑20] This accession was
gratifying; the ninety-ton prize was at once surrendered
to the French, who numbered two hundred
under Captain Grogniet, while the English were received
on board the ships of Swan and Davis.[XXX‑21]
551




On the 3d of March they were joined by Townley,
who had captured two barks at the mouth of the
Santa María, and a few days later an Indian brought
word that another band, three hundred strong, were
on their way overland from the North Sea.[XXX‑22]




For the next two months they cruised about the
bay of Panamá, vigilantly watching for the treasure-fleet.
Meanwhile they took the town of Chepo, made
some captures, and intercepted letters from which they
ascertained that the pilots of Lima had been in consultation
as to the best course which could be adopted
in order to elude the pirates, and had given directions
accordingly. They also learned that the fleet was to
be manned with all the available strength of Peru,
but had orders not to engage with the buccaneers if
a battle could possibly be avoided.




On the 28th of May the pirate fleet lay between
Pacheca Island and the mainland, Captain Grogniet
being a mile to the northward. It consisted of ten
sail carrying fifty-two guns and nine hundred and
sixty men.[XXX‑23] About eleven o'clock the weather,
which had been rainy, cleared, and the Spanish fleet
numbering fourteen ships[XXX‑24] beside piraguas, carrying
552
one hundred and seventy-four guns and manned by
more than three thousand sailors and marines, was
seen approaching. Disparity of numbers did not,
however, intimidate the buccaneers, and for the great
prize that now lay in sight they would have engaged
with even half their force.[XXX‑25] Being to windward of
the Spaniards they weighed anchor about three o'clock
in the afternoon, but night fell upon them before they
could effect more than the exchange of a few shots.



SPANISH STRATAGEM.



Although Spanish arms had greatly deteriorated
since the days of the conquerors, there was still something
of the Spanish stratagem left which in this
instance proved a match even for pirate cunning.
When the darkness had set in the admiral of the
treasure-fleet hung out a light as a signal for his vessels
to come to anchor. In half an hour the light was
extinguished, but some time afterward the buccaneers
saw it again, stealing away from Panamá. Being
well to the windward they kept under sail all night
in sight of the signal, but when morning dawned they
discovered that they had been decoyed to the leeward
by a solitary vessel sent in that direction and that
the enemy had now the weather-gage, and was bearing
down upon them with all sail set. Thus were the
tables turned, and their only safety lay in flight.
During the whole day they maintained a running
fight, and having sailed almost round the bay of Panamá
anchored their now battered vessels again off the
isle of Pacheca.[XXX‑26] In the morning three leagues to leeward
553
the Spanish fleet was observed at anchor, and a
light south breeze presently springing up it sailed
away to Panamá, without attempting to press further
the advantage gained.[XXX‑27]



IN NICARAGUA.



Thus after nearly six months of planning and patient
expectation their great prize eluded their grasp, and
the disappointed and exasperated pirates bore away
for the isles of Quibo. There a consultation was held,
which resulted in a determination to attack the city
of Leon in Nicaragua. They at once began preparations
and built a number of canoes in which to effect
their landing.[XXX‑28] These being completed they sailed
for the port of Realejo on the 20th of July,[XXX‑29] and
arrived on the coast about eight leagues distant from
the harbor on the 9th of August. They now manned
their canoes, to the number of thirty-one, with five
hundred and twenty men, and made for the harbor,
the others taking charge of the ships. On the way
there were two heavy squalls which placed them in
extreme peril, but by dint of hard rowing the marauders
entered the port that night. At daylight on
the following morning they rowed up the creek leading
554
to Leon, at the head of which, on the river bank,
they found a breastwork. Their approach was discovered
by the watchmen who fled to Leon and
reported it.[XXX‑30]




The pirates now quickly effected a landing and four
hundred and seventy men were detailed in four detachments
under the command of Townley, Swan,
Davis, and Knight,[XXX‑31] while Dampier with the remainder
was left in charge of the canoes.[XXX‑32]




Townley with his company entered the town about
two miles in advance of the others, and overthrew a
body of nearly two hundred horsemen who charged
him in the main street. The infantry, to the number
of five hundred, were drawn up in the plaza, but perceiving
the discomfiture of the cavalry fled without
offering resistance, and Leon, captured by eighty men,
lay at the mercy of the freebooters.[XXX‑33]




At noon on the following day the governor sent in
a flag of truce with offers to ransom the town,[XXX‑34] but
555
the demands of the marauders were so exorbitant[XXX‑35]
that all he could do was to endeavor to prolong capitulations
until he could assemble a force strong enough
to dislodge the invaders. In a few days, however,
they became aware of his design, and on the 14th of
the month, having collected all available booty, they
set the city on fire and marched back to their canoes.



VISIT TO REALEJO.



The pirates next directed their attention to Realejo,
which they entered without opposition. But here
again they were balked, finding nothing but empty
houses. So, for a week, they ravaged the surrounding
country, killing cattle and sacking sugar-mills.
Then they burned the town, and returning to their
canoes rejoined their ship. The following day, which
was the 25th, Davis and Swan agreed to separate, the
former being anxious to return to the South American
coast, while Swan was desirous of trying his fortune
off the shores of Mexico. Their separation was,
however, amicable, and the two freebooters, when
they parted company on the 27th, fired salutes as
they turned their prows in opposite directions.[XXX‑36]




But the unfortunate cities of Nicaragua were not
fated to be left in peace after the departure of this
band. Grogniet, with three hundred and twenty men
in his ship and five canoes, after separating from Swan
cruised slowly northward. His first operations, however,
were of little importance. During their voyage
along the coast the party landed at Realejo, which
they found abandoned, and thence marched to Leon,
but did not attack the town, finding it too strongly
556
garrisoned.[XXX‑37] They then proceeded against Pueblo
Viejo, and having foraged the surrounding country
again directed their course southward and entered the
bay of Calderas with the intention of taking Esparza,
to execute which design fifty men were sent ashore.
They were deterred, however, from making the attempt
by learning that the Spaniards had gathered in
considerable force to oppose them. Their sufferings
from hunger became excessive, and they were compelled
to kill and eat some horses which they captured,
after four days' starvation.[XXX‑38]




Their ship had been despatched to the island of San
Juan de Pueblo as their general place of rendezvous,[XXX‑39]
and thither the canoes now turned their course. Their
next operations were directed against Chiriquita,
which they succeeded in surprising on the 9th of January
1686 with a force of two hundred and thirty
men. Having secured a number of prisoners, for
whom they afterward obtained a ransom, they burned
the town and retired.[XXX‑40]




On their return to Pueblo a Spanish fleet of seven
ships, twelve piraguas, and three long barks made
its appearance, and was recognized as a squadron
sent against them from Peru. Their ship being no
longer serviceable through want of sails, they ran her
aground, and took up a favorable position on the
banks of a river, where they had already begun building
large-sized piraguas. Here the enemy dared not
attack them, and having burned the stranded vessel
bore away.



TOWNS ABANDONED.



On the 14th of March, having completed the construction
of the piraguas, they left Pueblo in two
557
barks, a forty-oared galley, ten piraguas, and ten
canoes, and having held a muster of their men, found
that their number had been reduced by thirty since
their separation from the English freebooters.[XXX‑41] Their
design was to carry out a previously formed intention
to attack Granada in Nicaragua, but being half dead
with hunger they attempted a descent upon Pueblo
Nuevo, and were somewhat roughly handled by a
detachment of the Spanish fleet left at the mouth of
the river.[XXX‑42] Hereupon the pirates again visited the
bay of Calderas and the town of Esparza, which they
found abandoned. They obtained, however, some provisions
from a plantation on the bay. They now
consulted as to their method of attack on Granada,
and made certain regulations among themselves which
they thought would ensure the success of their enterprise.[XXX‑43]




On the 22d Grogniet fell in with Townley and one
hundred and fifty men in five canoes, and by way of
retaliation for the treatment which his men had received
at the hands of the English buccaneers, made
them prisoners. After keeping them in durance for
several hours the Frenchmen gave them to understand
that no harm would be done them, and restored
their canoes to them. This led to friendship, and
Townley and his men eagerly requested to be admitted
as associates in the meditated operations against
Granada, a proposition which was listened to with
satisfaction.




The combined forces on the 7th of April 1686[XXX‑44]
558
landed three hundred and forty-five men,[XXX‑45] who by
forced marches advanced into the interior; but notwithstanding
all possible precautions they were discovered,
and the alarm conveyed to Granada while
they were still at a considerable distance.[XXX‑46] Perceiving
that a surprise could not be effected, on the 9th they
halted to rest and refresh themselves, enfeebled as
they were with hunger and fatigue. On the following
day they advanced upon the city which they found to
be well fortified and protected by fourteen pieces of
cannon and six swivels, the inhabitants having intrenched
themselves in the great square.[XXX‑47] Nevertheless
they at once charged up the leading street
with a recklessness that astonished their foes;[XXX‑48] and
having put to flight a strong force which they encountered
in the suburbs, were soon actively engaged
with the fort.




The fire of the artillery was heavy and rapid, but
rendered in a great measure ineffective by the pirates
adroitly bending to the ground at every discharge, so
that the balls passed over them; seeing which the
Spaniards ignited false primings, and postponed the
discharge of their guns till the freebooters had assumed
an upright position. Then the latter ranged
themselves beside the houses, and having gained a
small eminence at a convenient distance, so plied the
defenders with bullets and hand-grenades that after
a brave resistance for an hour and a half they abandoned
the inclosure and sought refuge in the principal
church. They were quickly dislodged, however, and
the city of Granada was in possession of the pirates,
559
who had only four killed and eight wounded,[XXX‑49] while
the loss of the Spaniards was severe.



GRANADA TAKEN.



Now French filibusters were no less devoted servants
of God and followers of the gentle Christ than
were the English freebooters.[XXX‑50] Though they were
reckless of their lives and bodies, it was far otherwise
with regard to their souls. They might, it is true,
burn towns and cut off the heads of captives whose
ransom was not promptly forthcoming, but they did
not neglect their devotions. So they reverently
chanted the te deum in the great church of Granada;
then hunted for plunder and women, and getting
neither, opened negotiations by means of a prisoner
for the ransom of the city from fire.[XXX‑51] The Spaniards,
however, were indifferent, fully relying upon
the assertion of a straggler whom they had captured,
that his companions would not set fire to Granada,
as it was their intention to return some months later,
and pass through the country by the lake to the
North Sea,[XXX‑52] and that the destruction of the city
would be inconvenient. But the others thought differently,
and exasperated at their bootless and toilsome
journey, burned the cathedral and principal
buildings.[XXX‑53]




The pirates now deemed it prudent to retire, and
on the 15th began their march to the sea, directing
their course to the town of Masaya, situated on the
560
lake of that name. Their sufferings were great on
their return march. Parched with thirst, scorched
by the vertical sun, and choked with the stifling
dust, they toiled along discontented and miserable,
incessantly exposed to ambushed foes.[XXX‑54] For a day
they rested in Masaya, where the Indians received
them kindly and implored them not to burn their
town. On the 17th, as the freebooters were emerging
from the forest upon an open plain, they were
opposed by a body of five hundred Spaniards, who
had hoisted a red flag in token that no quarter would
be given. But the pirates, never fearing, attacked
and overthrew the enemy, capturing fifty of their
horses.




After this, feeling more secure, they slowly wended
their way to the ocean, halting at convenient places
and resting from the fatigues of their exhausting
march. By the 26th they reached the sea-shore,
where they again embarked. They now once more
made a raid on Realejo, captured a number of the inhabitants,[XXX‑55]
and then proceeded to Chinandega and
burned the town. During these forays they suffered
greatly from hunger, since the Spaniards systematically
destroyed all provisions wherever the freebooters
made their appearance, and had also driven their
cattle from the coast.




It was a profitless enterprise that these rovers had
been engaged in, from first to last. Their booty was
insignificant,[XXX‑56] many of their wounded had died from
privation and the effect of the climate, and difference
of opinion as to future movements finally displayed
itself. At a consultation held on the 9th of May a
separation was decided upon, and a few days later a
division of barks, canoes, and provisions was made.
561
One hundred and forty-eight of the French with
the English under Townley sailed for Panamá, while
Grogniet with the remainder of his countrymen steered
westward up the coast.




Townley's project was to attack Villa de los Santos[XXX‑57]
on the Rio Cubita. He succeeded in surprising
the town and captured merchandise estimated to be
worth a million and a half of pesos, besides fifteen
thousand pesos in money and three hundred prisoners
of both sexes. But disaster was in store for the
marauders on their return, and parties of them were
surprised by ambuscades; many were killed and the
booty retaken by the Spaniards. Then followed
mutual retaliation. The bodies of the slain pirates
were mutilated and their heads fixed on poles, while
their comrades, out of revenge, decapitated a number
of their captives and treated the heads in like manner.
Yet these pastimes did not interrupt negotiations;
the remainder of the prisoners were ransomed,
and the Spaniards purchased a bark of which their
amiable visitors had deprived them.




Townley, having thus arranged matters with the
inhabitants of Los Santos, bore away for Pearl
Islands, and for the next two months cruised about
the bay of Panamá making descents on the land
and capturing prizes. The slaughter of the Spaniards
in some of these engagements was great. On the
21st of August the buccaneers attacked a frigate
and a bark, the former of which vessels had eighty
killed and wounded out of a crew of one hundred
and twenty, and of the crew of the latter only eighteen
out of seventy remained unhurt. But Townley's
career now came to a close. During the next
two days they captured three more vessels, and in one
of the engagements the captain of the pirates was
mortally wounded, and died on the 8th of September.




During the remainder of the year the buccaneers
562
cruised among the islands and in the bays on the coast
of Veragua, frequently landing on the main in order
to procure food, and so dire was their necessity that
on occasions they imperatively demanded provisions
as a ransom for their captives instead of money.[XXX‑58]



COSTA RICA.



At the beginning of 1687 freebooters were again
off the Costa Rica coast and infesting the gulf of
Nicoya, keeping the Spaniards in a state of constant
alarm, wringing from them ransom for captives, and
torturing prisoners to obtain information.[XXX‑59] On the
26th of January they were rejoined by Captain Grogniet,
whose movements had been principally confined
to the bay of Fonseca and the coast of Nicaragua, but
dissension occurring, eighty-five of his men separated
from him, and with the remaining sixty he turned
once more toward Panamá.[XXX‑60]




Again this brood of ocean-banditti directed their
course to the rich coast of South America, where
they and their fraternity had acquired so infamous a
reputation that the women they captured were in
dread of being eaten by them.[XXX‑61] After amassing immense
wealth they sailed northward and coasted along
the Central American and Mexican shores as far as
Acapulco, burning, destroying, and murdering as was
563
their wont. But in spite of their sufferings from toil,
hunger, and thirst, the pirates had amassed much
wealth, and they now wished to return to the North
Sea, where their hardships would end, and they could
squander and enjoy their ill-gotten riches. Having
consulted as to the best course to pursue, they decided
to march overland through the province of
Segovia to Cape Gracias á Dios. So on the 2d of
January 1688, after they "had said their Prayers,"
they started on their perilous journey, two hundred
and eighty in number.[XXX‑62]




Their overland march through the wildest part of
Central America was somewhat extraordinary. The
journeys of the pirates across the Isthmus, like those
of the discoverers and conquerors, were full of danger
and sufferings; but the difficulties overcome by these
dauntless villains in some respects surpassed anything
on record.



NUEVA SEGOVIA.



Their route lay from the bay of Fonseca to Wank
River, down which they proposed to descend on rafts.
Marching first to Nueva Segovia, they found the
inhabitants ready to oppose them. In the woods
their road was impeded by felled trees; in the open
country the grass was set on fire, so that to avoid
suffocation they were often compelled to halt until the
fire should spend itself. The cattle were driven away
and provisions removed or destroyed, while ambushed
Spaniards assailed them everywhere.




There was nothing for them, however, but to trudge
along, which they continued to do until they reached
Nueva Segovia on the 11th. The town was deserted.
Everything that could maintain life had been carefully
564
removed. As they continued famished and footsore
toward the river, now twenty leagues distant,
they were harassed by a force of three hundred Spanish
horse, constantly threatening their annihilation.




The road, which led over a steep mountain, was
found on the second day from Segovia to be intrenched.
Thus beset in front and rear, between two
bodies each largely outnumbering their own, what
were the pirates to do? Blood-besmeared and determined,
they were now to the effeminate Spaniards
what the early Spaniards had been to the Indians.
It was on a bright moonlit night that the filibusters
encamped before the intrenchment. Nevertheless two
hundred of them managed to steal into the forest
unperceived by their enemies.[XXX‑63] With incredible labor
they worked their way round rocks and through quagmires,
till, guided by the voices of the Spaniards at
morning prayer, by daylight they found themselves
in the road above, and in the rear of the intrenched
Spaniards. A dense mist which had arisen just before
dawn concealed them from sight, but while it in some
measure aided them, it rendered their operations more
dangerous from the nature of the ground. It appeared
that there were three intrenchments, one behind the
other, and with the reversed position the defenders of
the rear one were not protected. Upon this exposed
detachment, numbering five hundred men, the freebooters
fell so suddenly that the Spaniards fled
panic-stricken, and the successful assailants were in
possession of the barricade. It was equivalent to
victory. There was no hope for the Spaniards now.
Guided in their aim by the flashes of the enemy's fire,
the pirates, well protected, poured volley after volley
upon the Spaniards, who did not know where to shoot
or what to do. For an hour they held out; but when,
565
still enveloped in the mist, the pirates charged upon
them, unperceived till almost within reach of sword-blow,
they turned and fled. What followed was mere
butchery. The Spaniards, impeded in their flight by
their own defences, were slaughtered till the ferocious
victors, "weary of running after them and killing,"
desisted.[XXX‑64]



INTERNAL DISSENSIONS.



The cutthroats are now master of all before them,
but nature still interposed her forces to the best of
her ability. On the following day, it is true, they
arrived at another intrenchment, but the terror they
had inspired was so great that they passed it unmolested,
and on the 17th reached the banks of the
longed-for river which was to carry them to the sea.[XXX‑65]
The current was swift, and for leagues the waters
rushed down rapids or plunged in cataracts over opposing
rocks, eddying and seething in their course.
Yet the freebooters hailed it with delight, and with
wild enthusiasm constructed for themselves small rafts
each capable of carrying two men.[XXX‑66] Trusting to
these they launched themselves, many of them to
their death. Besides paddles they were provided with
long poles to aid them in avoiding the rocks. It was
a fearful passage; the boldest trembled, and his brain
grew giddy as he was swept past an overhanging precipice
or whirled about in the surging flood. Most of
the rafts were so overweighted that the men stood
566
up to the waist in water. Among those who had
escaped with their lives were many who had lost all
their gains acquired by years of hardship and of
crime.[XXX‑67] Numerous portages and the building of new
rafts long delayed them, and it was not until the 20th
of February that they arrived at the broader and less
impetuous part of the river. In the mean time, in
spite of peril and suffering, the evil passions of human
nature were not dormant. As there were no Spaniards
present to kill they killed each other as occasion
offered.[XXX‑68]




When the river became navigable for boats the
freebooters built canoes, and on the 1st of March one
hundred and twenty of them,[XXX‑69] in four boats, started
down the river, and arrived at the mouth the 9th of
March. On the 14th an English vessel arrived from
the isles of Pearls,[XXX‑70] on board of which about fifty
of them, among whom was Lussan, embarked. This
band of the survivors eventually reached French settlements
in the West Indies. Of the subsequent fate
of those left behind little is known;[XXX‑71] but the gratitude
of the devout ruffians whom Lussan accompanied
for their deliverance is thus chronicled: "When we
were got all ashoar to a People that spoke French,
we could not forbear shedding Tears of Joy, that after
567
we had run so many Hazards, Dangers, and Perils,
it had pleased the Almighty Maker of the Earth and
Seas, to grant a Deliverance, and bring us back to
those of our own Nation."[XXX‑72]



BUCCANEER BIBLIOGRAPHY.



A peculiar feature in the history, particularly of Spanish America, is
presented by the buccaneers, a New World revival of the vikings, whose adventures
were the absorbing theme of the old Norsemen, as preserved in the
sagas, and a counterpart of their successors, the corsairs, who maintained
equal sway in sunnier climes, spreading terror over entire kingdoms and
exacting tribute to support a regal state of their own. The European hordes
who under the name of conquerors were ever alert for plunder under the pretence
of extending the domain of their divine and royal masters scattered
freely the seeds from which sprang the freebooters, to whom the rivalry
between Saxon and Latin races gave a desired opportunity to prey upon
cities and commerce. Next to the early-discovery voyages none are so absorbing
as the expeditions of these wild fellows, culled from all nationalities,
and their narratives include not only daring raids, bloody feuds, and hair-breadth
escapes by sea and land, but cover the usual topics of exploring
voyages. Indeed, their transgressions against society, while covered in most
cases by the mask of patriotism and of just war, or retaliation, were frequently
condoned by discoveries for the benefit of trade and science, by the extension
of geographic knowledge, of natural history, ethnology, and other
branches.




The first special account of the buccaneers appears to be the Zee Roover,
by Klaes Compaen; Amsterdam, 1663; but the great original for the many
subsequent works on them is the book written by A. O. Exquemelin, corrupted
by the English into Esquemeling, and by the French into Oexmelin.
An employé of the French West India Company, he had in 1666 gone out to
the Tortuga Island, but trade failing here, the company sold its effects and
transferred its servants. Exquemelin fell into the hands of the lieutenant-governor,
under whom he suffered great hardship till a new and kinder master
left him at liberty. Finding nothing better to do, he joined the filibusters
and sailed with them till 1672, sharing in many notable exploits. He then
returned home to Holland, and employed his leisure in writing a history of
buccaneer expeditions in the Antilles and adjoining regions, including his
own adventures. This was issued as De Americaensche Zee-Roovers. Behelsende
een Partinent Verhael van alle de Roverye en Onmenselÿcke Vreetheeden
die de Engelsche en France Roovers Tegens de Spanÿaerden in America Gepleeght
Hebben; t'Amsterdam bÿ Jan Ten Hoorn, 1678, sm. 4o, 186 pp. Few
books have been so extensively used, wholly or in part, or as a foundation for
romances and dramas; but the ones used have generally been of the numerous
foreign editions, particularly the Spanish, published with more or less variation,
and often without credit to the author. The original is exceedingly rare,
one copy only besides my own being known to Müller. It is a black-letter
568
specimen, on coarse paper, illustrated with curious maps and plates, depicting
battle scenes, burning towns, and portraits of leading captains, as Morgan
and L'Olonnois. The title-page is bordered by eight scenes of freebooters' warfare
and cruelty. Beginning with his voyage to the West Indies, Exquemelin
proceeds to depict the geography and political and social condition of the
islands, including the rovers' retreat, and then relates their doings in general.
In a second and third part he gives special sketches of the different leaders
and their expeditions; and in an appendix are found some valuable statistics
for the Spanish possessions on wealth, revenue, and officials. The information
is not only varied, but has been found most reliable. The English edition
was first published in London by Th. Newborough in 1699, under the title of
The History of the Buccaneers of America. The second and third editions of
this translation appeared in 1704.




Several of the buccaneers have become known to readers in special treatises
by their own hand, or by biographers, as Raveneau de Lussan, Journal d'un
Voyage, Paris, 1689; Dampier's New Voyage, London, 1697, and others, which
have also proved rich sources for compilers. To the edition of Exquemelin,
issued in 1700, Ten Hoorn added two parts, one being an account of English
buccaneer voyages under Sharp, Sawkins, and others, written by Basil Ringrose,
who had also been a member of the fraternity, and had kept a journal
from which the first edition was prepared and issued in 1684. The second
part gives Lussan's Journal, followed by the Relation de Montauban, captain
of freebooters, on the coast of Guinea in 1695.




Ringrose's account furnishes some particulars not found in other buccaneer
narrators of the same expeditions. Though he disapproved of Sharp as a
leader, his statements may be considered truthful as well as fuller than those
of the other writers, all of whom corroborate Ringrose in the main points.
His narrative is also published in the above mentioned work, The History of
the Buccaneers of America, under the title of The Dangerous Voyage and Bold
Attempts of Capt. Bartholomew Sharp and others in the South Sea. It contains
numerous rude cuts of islands, points, capes, etc., on the western coast
of America. Ringrose was killed with all his company near a small town 21
leagues from Compostela, in Jalisco, owing to the insubordination of his men.
Dampier, Voy., i. 271-2, says: 'We had about 50 Men killed, and among the
rest my Ingenious Friend Mr Ringrose was one.... He was at this time Cape-Merchant,
or Super-Cargo of Capt. Swan's Ship. He had no mind to this
Voyage, but was necessitated to engage in it or starve.' The most important
other authorities for the history of this enterprise are Capt. Sharp's Journal
of his Expedition, Written by Himself, published by William Hacke in A Collection
of Original Voyages (London, 1699). Sharp omits all mention of the
defection of the men whom Dampier accompanied across the Isthmus.




The Voyages and Adventures of Capt. Barth. Sharp. London, 1684. The
author is anonymous, and was a strong partisan of Sharp, omitting much told
against him in other accounts and frequently bestowing upon him fulsome
praise. Many pages of the narrative are taken up by mere log-book entries
of the ship's sailing and contain no other information. Dampier, A New
Voyage round the World. London, 1697-1709, 3 vols. This writer touches in
his introduction very briefly upon Sharp's expedition 'because the World has
569
accounts of it already in the relations that Mr Ringrose and others have
given' of it; but his account of his return across the Isthmus is interesting
and minutely described. Wafer, A New Voyage and Description of the Isthmus
of America, Giving an Account of the Author's Abode there. London, 1699,
also only cursorily alludes to Sharp's voyage, but supplies a valuable description
of the Isthmus at that time. Wafer, who accompanied Dampier on his
return, had been compelled to stay behind on account of a severe wound
caused by an explosion of gunpowder, and remained several months with the
Indians on the Isthmus. His treatise is principally confined to a description
of the physical features of the country, its flora and fauna, and the occupations
and customs of the inhabitants. It contains several copper-plates in
illustration of these latter, as well as a map of the Isthmus and charts of coast-lines.




A Collection of Original Voyages, by Captain Wm. Hacke, London, 1699,
12o, with some rude cuts and map, contains among other narratives Cowley's
Voyage round the Globe, touching Central America, written by himself.
As a sequel to these publications may be named Johnson's General History of
the Robberies and Murders of the most Notorious Pyrates; London, 1724,
which was added as a fourth volume to the French Exquemelin collection of
1744 and later editions. Similar combinations, more or less complete and
changed, exist in different languages, from the early Bucaniers of America,
London, 1684, to the History of the Buccaniers of America, Boston, 1853, and
later editions. The first thorough book on the subject, however, and one
which enters into the causes of the filibuster movement, carrying on the narrative
till its suppression in the beginning of the eighteenth century, is Admiral
Burney's History of the Buccaneers, London, 1816, a special issue of a
part of his Chronological History of Discovery.
570




CHAPTER XXXI.



PANAMÁ.

1672-1800.





The Scots Colony—They Propose to Establish Settlements in Darien—Subscriptions
for the Enterprise—Departure of the Expedition—Its
Arrival at Acla—Sickness and Famine among the Colonists—They
Abandon their Settlement—A Second Expedition
Despatched—Its Failure—Cartagena Sacked by Privateers—Indian
Outbreaks—Conflagrations in Panamá—Pearl Fisheries—Mining—Spanish
Commerce Falling into the Hands of the British—Seizure
of British Vessels and Maletreatment of their Crews—Jenkins'
Ears—Declaration of War—Vernon's Operations on the
Isthmus—Anson's Voyage round the World—Vernon's Second
Expedition—Its Disastrous Result.




Yet another phase of life and restless human endeavor
on the Panamá Isthmus here presents itself.
Great Britain is seized by an idea, born of greed and
nurtured by injustice; and this conception expands
until it covers the earth, and until the good people
of England and Scotland are in imagination masters
of the whole world, which possession is acquired not
through any honest means, but after the too frequent
vile indirections of the day and the nation; in all
which the people of those isles give themselves and
their money over to Satan.



WILLIAM PATERSON.



In June 1695 a number of wealthy Scotchmen
under the leadership of William Paterson[XXXI‑1] obtained
571
from the Scottish parliament a statute, and later
letters patent from William III.,[XXXI‑2] authorizing them
to plant colonies in Asia, Africa, or America, in places
uninhabited, or elsewhere by permission of the natives,
provided the territory were not occupied by any
European prince or state. Paterson had spent several
years in the Indies and had explored the province of
Darien. Near the old settlement of Acla he had
found a port safe for shipping. Three days' journey
thence, on the other side of the Isthmus, were other
suitable harbors. By establishing settlements on
either shore, he purposed to grasp the trade whereby
Europe was supplied with the products of North and
South America, China, Japan, and the Philippine
Islands, with European goods. From the Isthmus
to Japan and parts of China was but a few weeks'
sail, and the products of Asia could thus be landed in
Europe in far less time than that occupied by the vessels
of the India companies. Moreover on the rich
soil of Darien, sugar, indigo, tobacco, and other articles
of value could be raised. "Trade," said the projector
of the bank of England, "will beget trade; money will
beget money; the commercial world shall no longer
want work for their hands, but will rather want
hands for their work. This door to the seas and key
to the universe will enable its possessors to become
the legislators of both worlds, and the arbitrators of
commerce. The settlers of Darien will acquire a
nobler empire than Alexander or Cæsar, without
fatigue, expense, or danger, as well as without incurring
the guilt and bloodshed of conquerors."




Paterson was either knave or fool; having been
both preacher and pirate he may have been both fool
and knave. It was impossible for him to have explored
the Isthmus as he claimed and not know that
the climate was deadly, and that to the wild highlander,
572
fresh from the cold north, the harbors of
Darien could prove nothing but pest-holes, breeding
swift destruction. As for the people who blindly
threw themselves into the adventure, they were as
sheep, and differed little from the human sheep of the
present day.




Spain had at least the right of discovery and conquest
to her possessions in the New World, even
though such conquest had been attended with cruelty
almost as great as that of the English in Hindostan.
The natives of Darien were never indeed entirely
subdued. Yet even according to the European code
of robbery it does not appear that Great Britain had
any more right to plant colonies in Tierra Firme than
she now has to establish them in portions of the
United States that may be infested by hostile Indians.
Nevertheless in the year 1699 when, as we
shall see, the scheme was on the verge of failure, the
English monarch, in answer to a petition from "The
Company of Scotland trading to Africa and the Indies
and their Colony of Darien," as the association
was styled, asking that "His Royal Wisdom be
pleased to take such Measures as might effectually
vindicate the undoubted Rights and Privileges of the
said Company, and support the Credit and Interest
thereof," replied, "Right Trusty and Well-beloved,
We greet you well: Your Petition has been presented
to us by our Secretaries, and we do very much regret
the Loss which that our antient Kingdom and the
Company has lately sustained."[XXXI‑3]



THE SCOTS COLONY.



"To prove," says a writer of the period,[XXXI‑4] "the Falsehood
of the Allegation, That the Province of Darien
is part of the King of Spain's Domains: It is positively
denied by the Scots, who challenge the Spaniards
to prove their Right to the said Province, either
by Inheritance, Marriage, Donation, Purchase, Reversion,
573
Surrender, Possession or Conquest." "And as
to their Claim by the Pope's Donation," writes another
author of the period,[XXXI‑5] "the very mentioning, and much
more the pleading of it, is a ridiculing, as well as bantring
of Mankind; seeing even on the supposal that the
Roman Pontiffs should be acknowledged the successors
of St Peter, which as no Protestants are forward
to believe or confess, so they have never hitherto
found, nor do they think the Pontificans able to prove
it: Yet this would invest them with no right of disposing
the Kingdoms of the World as they please
and unto whom they will. For Peter being cloathed
with no such Power himself, nor having ever pretended
to exert such a Jurisdictive Authority as some
Popes have had the Vanity and Pride to do, how could
he convey it unto, and entail it upon others, under the
quality and character of being his Successors"? These
and similar excuses, however sorry, were all that the
apologists for the Scots' colony had to offer for thus
grasping at this territory. It may be remarked that
the claim of Great Britain to her colonies is in few
instances based on discovery, and that nearly all her
most valuable possessions have been gained at the
point of the sword. Might is right.




Six hundred thousand pounds were required for the
enterprise and the amount was quickly subscribed, in
Scotland, England, Hamburg, and Amsterdam. The
scheme was a bold one, but the promise of returns
was vast, and as will be remembered this was the era
of gigantic and insane speculations. In Scotland alone
the subscriptions summed up three hundred thousand
pounds, an amount which absorbed almost the entire
circulating capital of the country. All who possessed
ready money ventured at least a part of it in the
enterprise. Some threw in all they had; others all
they could borrow. Maidens invested their portions;
widows pledged their dower, expecting to be repaid
574
fifty or a hundred fold. In England half the capital
stock was subscribed for in nine days, one fourth being
paid in specie or bank notes, and the rest in bills payable
on demand. The total of the subscriptions from
all sources was nine hundred thousand pounds, a sum
which at the close of the seventeenth century was
enormous even in the money capital of Great Britain.
Soon the success of the scheme aroused the jealousy
of English merchants, who feared that the commerce
of the world might pass into the hands of the Scotch.
William III. was at heart opposed to the scheme,
although he had granted letters patent to the association;
and partly through his influence the contributions
in England, Hamburg, and Amsterdam were
withdrawn. Nevertheless, another hundred thousand
pounds was raised in Scotland, thus making up a capital
of four hundred thousand pounds sterling.




Permission was given by the crown to Paterson
and his associates to fit out men-of-war, to plant
colonies, build cities and forts, make reprisals for damage
done by land or sea, and to conclude treaties of
peace or commerce with princes and governors. They
were also allowed to claim the minerals, the valuable
timber, and the fisheries in sea or river, and "in the
name of God and in Honour and for the Memory of
that most Antient and Renowned name of our Mother
Kingdom" the country was to be named New Caledonia.
The enterprise was under the control of a
council of seven,[XXXI‑6] to whom was intrusted all power,
civil and military. Paterson was of course one of
the members, but from all deliberations he was excluded,
and in the final arrangements for the fleet he
575
was not even consulted, his reasonable request that
an inventory of supplies be taken before setting sail
being refused.



INSANE EXPECTATIONS.



The expedition had been planned and ordered in
keeping with the first subscriptions[XXXI‑7] and was the
largest and most costly of any that had yet been fitted
out for schemes of colonization in the New World.
On the 26th of July 1698 twelve hundred men,
among them three hundred youths belonging to the
best families of Scotland, and many veterans who had
been discharged from the British army after the peace
of Ryswick, assembled at the port of Leith. A wild
insanity seized the entire population of Edinburgh as
they now came forth to witness the embarkation.
Guards were kept busy holding back the eager aspirants
who, hungry for death, pressed forward in
throngs, stretching out their arms to their departing
countrymen and clamoring to be taken on board.
Stowaways when ordered on shore clung madly to
rope and mast, pleading in vain to be allowed to serve
without pay on board the fleet. Women sobbed and
gasped for breath; men stood uncovered, and with
choked utterance and downcast head invoked the
blessing of the Almighty. The banner of St Andrew
was hoisted at the admiral's mast; and as a light wind
caught the sails, the roar of the vast multitude was
heard far down the waters of the frith. The breeze
freshened, and as the vessels were carried seaward,
cheer after cheer followed the highlanders, who now
bade farewell, most of them, as it proved, forever, to
their native land.
576



SCOTLAND IN DARIEN.



On the 4th of November, having lost fifteen of their
number during the voyage, they landed at Acla;
founded there a settlement to which they gave the
name New St Andrew; cut a canal through the neck
of land which divided one side of the harbor from the
ocean, and on this spot erected a fort whereon they
mounted fifty guns. On a mountain at the opposite
side of the harbor they built a watch-house, from
which the view was so extensive that there was no
danger of surprise. Lands were purchased from the
Indians, and messages of friendship sent to the governors
of several Spanish provinces.




On the week following the departure of the expedition,
the Scottish parliament met and unanimously
adopted an address to the king asking his support and
countenance for the Darien colony, but no time was
lost by the India companies in bringing every means
to bear to ensure its ruin; and notwithstanding the
memorial of the parliament, the British monarch ordered
the governors of Jamaica, Barbadoes, and New
York not to furnish the settlers with supplies.[XXXI‑8] To
such length did rancor go, that the Scotch commanders
who should presume to enter English ports,
even for repairs after a storm, were threatened with
arrest.[XXXI‑9]




A stock of provision had been placed on board
the fleet sufficient as was supposed to last for eight
months, but the supply gave out in as many weeks,
since those who had been placed in charge of the
577
commissariat department had embezzled the funds.
Fishing and the chase were the only resources, and
as these were precarious the colonists were soon on
the verge of famine. As summer drew near the
atmosphere became stifling, and the exhalations from
the steaming soil, united with other causes, wrought
deadly destruction on the settlers. Men were continually
passing to the hospital and thence to the
grave, and the survivors were only kept alive through
the friendly services of the Indians.[XXXI‑10]




Matters daily grew worse with the colonists. A
ship despatched from Scotland laden with provisions
had foundered off Cartagena. The Spaniards on the
Isthmus looked on their distress with complacency.
No relief came nor any tidings from Scotland; and on
the 22d of June 1699, less than eight months after
their arrival, the survivors resolved to abandon the
settlement. Paterson, the first to enter the ship at
Leith, was the last to go on board at Darien. Ill with
fever and broken in spirit, his misfortune weighed so
heavily on him that he became temporarily deranged.[XXXI‑11]
Of the rest, four hundred perished at sea.




Eight weeks after Paterson's departure two ships
arrived from Scotland with ample stores of provisions
and three hundred recruits. Finding the colony at
New Saint Andrew abandoned they set sail for Jamaica,
leaving six of their number, who preferring to
remain on the Isthmus, were kindly treated by the
natives, and after they had lived there long enough
to satisfy themselves were safely brought away.




Not until several months after the departure of the
first expedition did the court of Spain protest against
the invasion of her territory. And no better policy
could have been devised than to have thus let death
do the work; but on the 3d of May 1699 a memorial
578
was presented[XXXI‑12] to William III. by the Spanish ambassador
stating that his Catholic Majesty looked on
the proceeding as a rupture of the alliance between
the two countries and as a hostile invasion, and would
take such measures as he thought best against the
intruders.




Provoked by this interference, and as yet ignorant
of the fate of their colony, the Scotch soon afterward[XXXI‑13]
despatched another expedition of thirteen hundred
men in four vessels. The ships were hastily fitted out,
and during the voyage one was lost and the others
scattered. Many died on the passage, and the rest
arrived at different times broken in health and spirit.
The dwellings of the first settlers had been burned,
the fort dismantled, the tools and agricultural implements
abandoned, and the site of the settlement was
overgrown with weeds. Meanwhile two sloops had
arrived in the harbor with a small stock of provisions;
but the supply was inadequate, and five hundred of
the party were at once ordered to embark for Scotland.




In February 1700 Captain Campbell arrived at
New Saint Andrew with a company of three hundred
men who had served under him during the campaign
in Flanders. Intelligence had now reached the colony
that sixteen hundred Spaniards lay encamped on
the Rio Santa María expecting soon to be joined by
a squadron of nine vessels, when it was proposed to
make a concerted attack on the settlement. Campbell
resolved to anticipate the enemy, and marching
against them at the head of two hundred veterans,
surprised their camp by night, and dispersed them
with great slaughter. Returning, he found that the
Spanish ships were off the harbor, and that troops
had been landed from them, cutting off all chance of
relief. Nevertheless for six weeks the Scotch sustained
579
a siege, and when their ammunition gave out
they melted their pewter dishes and fashioned them
into cannon balls. At length provisions ran short
and the Spaniards cut off their water supply. A surrender
became inevitable. Campbell with a few comrades
escaped on board his vessel and made his way
to New York and thence to Scotland. The rest
capitulated on condition that they be allowed to depart
with their effects,[XXXI‑14] but so weak were the survivors
and so few in number that they were not able to
weigh the anchor of their largest ship until the Spaniards
generously came to their assistance. All but
two of the vessels were lost; only thirty of the men
succeeded in reaching home, and after the loss of more
than two thousand lives and several millions of money,
the Scotch abandoned further attempts at colonization
in Tierra Firme.[XXXI‑15]



CARTAGENA.



While the Spaniards were thus annoyed by foreign
encroachments in Darien, the capital of the neighboring
province was captured by filibusters. This was
in 1697. To Pedro de Heredia had been assigned in
1532, as will be remembered, a province in Nueva
Andalucía; and there had been founded the colony
of Cartagena, which toward the close of the sixteenth
century had become a flourishing settlement. A hundred
years later Cartagena ranked next to Mexico
among the cities of the western world. Situated on
a capacious harbor, esteemed as one of the best in the
Indies, it possessed several large streets, each nearly
one sixth of a league in length, with well built houses
of stone, a cathedral, several churches, and numerous
convents and nunneries. Its population was probably
little short of twenty thousand, of whom about three
thousand were Spaniards and the remainder negroes
and mulattoes. It was strongly fortified by nature
580
and art, and had to some extent superseded the cities
of the Isthmus as an entrepôt of commerce between
the hemispheres. Here the pearl fleet called once a
year, an entire street being occupied with the shops
of the pearl-dressers, and here was brought, by way
of the Desaguadero, the sugar, cochineal, and indigo
sent from Guatemala for shipment to Spain.




Cartagena was therefore a tempting prize for the
banditti who infested the waters of the North Sea.
Drake's operations off that city have already been
related. A few years after the decease of that famous
adventurer it was laid in ashes by French privateers;
and now, in 1697, it was captured by a French fleet
having on board twelve hundred men, of whom seven
hundred were filibusters under command of Le Baron
de Pointis. The spoils of this raid were variously
estimated at from eight to forty millions of livres;
and yet it is said that before the capture of the
city a hundred and ten mule-loads of silver were despatched
to a place of safety.



LUIS GARCÍA.



In 1726 the governor of Panamá gave authority to
the mestizo, Luis García, a man whose exploits had
brought him into prominence, to lead the Indians in
a war of extermination against the French filibusters,
who still continued to devastate the Isthmus.




A brief but sharp campaign resulted in the death
of the French leader, the notorious Petitpied, and
García, on his return to Panamá, was amply rewarded.
The Cana mines proved too great a temptation to García
after his return to his home in Darien, and finding
that some of the caciques whose territory extended
to the Balsas River were in a state of mutiny on
account of grievances inflicted by the curates in the
name of the church and the king, he made a compact
with them to throw off Spanish allegiance, withdraw
their forces to the mountain fastnesses, and form a
government of their own. A rendezvous was established
in the Cordillera, and García, growing more
581
resolute, resolved on an aggressive war upon the
Spaniards and their Indian allies. The campaign
opened in a frontier town on the river Yavisa, where
they killed the cura, the teniente de justicia, a few
Spaniards, and all the Indians who would not join
them; then they plundered the place. Elated by this
victory, García continued his march until he reached
Santa María, where he attempted the same system
of spoliation and slaughter. He was less successful,
for the inhabitants had fled with most of their valuables.
García's men entered the town, burned it, and
killed every Spaniard they could capture in the neighborhood.




Meanwhile news of the revolt had reached the
president, and seventy picked men well officered had
been sent to suppress it. This and other attempts
threw the people of Darien, now numbering twenty
thousand, into consternation, and concerted action was
planned with Panamá. A large reward was offered
for the body of García, dead or alive; he perished at
last by the hands of a negro.[XXXI‑16]




Although the Isthmus was the seat of the first
Spanish settlement in America, as I have said before,
the natives of Darien were never completely subdued.
The Spaniards built strongholds, gathered
the Indians into settlements, introduced missionaries,
guarded the coast with men-of-war, but all in vain.
In 1745 Fort San Rafael de Terable was built by
Governor Dionisio de Alcedo on a small peninsula
bordered by the river and bay. In 1751 the natives
carrying out an oft repeated threat attacked this
stronghold, and of the garrison but two or three
wounded men escaped. In 1756 the population of
Yavisa, composed chiefly of friendly Indians, was
massacred by the Chucunaques. A fort was erected
in 1760 at this point, and a few years later it became
the capital of the province and the seat of the residence
582
of the governor. In 1768 the Chucunaques
slaughtered the garrison at Port Ypelisa, plundered
the place of arms and tools, and in the same year laid
waste the banks of the Congo.




Ten years later another extensive raid occurred;
but in 1774 Andrés de Ariza, being appointed governor,
dealt vigorously and skilfully with the hostile
tribes. He discovered numerous secret passes and
well cut roads from their quarters to various portions
of the province; he deciphered a system of alarm
signals, and found a number of caves where the light
boats of the natives were constructed. By his efforts
the Indians were kept at bay or brought under control.




But outbreaks among the natives and the raids of
corsairs were not the only misfortunes to which the
Isthmus was exposed. During the eighteenth century
the city of Panamá was thrice devastated by fire.
On the 1st and 2d of February 1737 a conflagration
occurred which destroyed two thirds of the buildings;
March 30, 1756, a second fire destroyed one half of
the city; and on the 26th of April 1771 fifty-five
houses were burned.[XXXI‑17]



POLITICAL MATTERS.



While the people of Tierra Firme thus suffered
many disasters at this period of their history, and as
we shall see later were frequently subject to attack
from the armaments of hostile powers, they appear to
have been remarkably free from the internal dissensions
which prevailed at an earlier date. The unseemly
strife between the church and the audiencia
had now entirely ceased, and little worthy of note is
mentioned by the chroniclers. During the latter portion
of the seventeenth century, and for the first few
years of the eighteenth, records as to the succession
of governors in Panamá are meagre. In 1708 the
marqués de Villa Rocha was in power; but incurring
the displeasure of the audiencia, he was deposed in
June of that year, and confined in the castle of Portobello.
583
His successor, Fernando de Haro Monterroso,
the senior oidor, who had been mainly instrumental in
effecting the downfall of the marquis, held the reins
of government for about six months when he was
prosecuted for alleged outrages of so grave a character
that he was sent in custody to Spain for trial.[XXXI‑18]
From Alcedo we learn that Juan Bautista de Orueta
y Irusta, alcalde del crímen of the audiencia of Lima,
succeeded to the gubernatorial office, and ruled until
1710, when a governor of the king's appointment
arrived, and Orueta returned to Lima.




In June 1711 Villa Rocha, having been released
and seeing an opportunity of seizing the reins of
power, hastened to the capital and proclaimed himself
governor. His career was short, for within twenty-four
hours José Hurtado de Amedzaga, mariscal del
campo of the royal forces, compelled him to abdicate,
and he himself took possession of the governor's
chair, occupying it until 1716, by which time he had
rendered himself so obnoxious to the people that he
was removed by the king's order. The government
was then placed in the hands of the bishop of the
diocese, and the authority of the audiencia was suspended.
Following Haya we find that Doctor Fray
José de Llamas y Rivas, bishop of Panamá, administered
the government from the deposition of Villa
Rocha to January 1719. Authorities differ as to the
order of succession of the different governors. I have
selected Haya as probably the most accurate. This
writer informs us that Governor Alderete began his
administration of Panamá on the 25th of April
1725, and that he was deposed and sent to Spain
in 1730.




The successor of Alderete was Juan José de Andia,
marqués de Villa Hermosa, who was promoted
from the governorship of Cartagena to the presidency
of Panamá. In 1735, after five years' service, he was
584
given a generalship in the royal army of Spain, and
returned there with honors.




Dionisio de Alcedo y Herrera was appointed a few
years later with authority over all the fortified cities
which had been the objective point of the English in
the war which they had declared in 1739.




On the day before Christmas 1749 the governorship
of Panamá was conferred on Jaime Muñoz de
Guzman; but on the same day one appointed by the
crown arrived in the person of Manuel de Montiano,
who held the office until the 11th of November
1755. Montiano was promoted to this position from
the governorship of Florida, and was a mariscal de
campo.




While engaged in geodetic surveys at the Isthmus
about this time, Ulloa had an opportunity of witnessing
the manner in which justice was bought and sold.
Matters had come to such a pass that the members
of the audiencia chose the most dexterous of their
number and empowered him to negotiate with rival
parties as to what amount of bonus they were respectively
disposed to pay in consideration of a favorable
verdict.




Panamá, in 1758 had for its governor Antonio Guill,
an officer of unusual merit, and one whose executive
ability was highly prized by the crown. He was promoted
to the captain-generalship of Chile in 1761.
In the following year José Raon succeeded, and was
promoted to the presidency of Manila two years later.
In 1764 José Vasco y Orosco became governor. He
died in 1767, and was succeeded in January 1769 by
Vicente Olaziregui, others acting provisionally during
the interval. Temporary appointments were made till
1779, when Ramon de Carbajal took charge, returning
to Spain in 1786.




Until 1718 the three provinces of the Isthmus
were subject to the viceroy of Peru, but after that
they were incorporated with New Granada, the viceroy
585
of which resided at Santa Fé de Bogotá. The
latter was endowed with the prerogatives of royalty,
the only checks upon his authority being the
residencia and the right of appeal to the audiencia of
Panamá. The audiencia enjoyed the privilege of
direct communication with the sovereign, and with
the council of the Indies. Any beneficial effect which
that institution might have had was counteracted
largely by the vast powers of the viceroy and their
consequent means of influencing any and every subordinate.




In 1774 there was instituted at Panamá a new
audiencia real y chancillería, having for its limits the
province of Castilla del Oro as far as Portobello, the
province of Veragua, and toward Peru as far as the
ports of Buenavista and the river Darien, the territory
under its control being bounded on the east and
south by that under the jurisdiction of the audiencias
of Granada and Quito; on the west by that of Guatemala;
and on the north and south by the two oceans.



PEARLS AND GOLD.



It has already been stated that about the close of
the sixteenth century the fisheries of the Pearl Islands
became exhausted, and that they were abandoned for
several decades thereafter. In 1697 the Italian traveller
Gemelli Careri visited Panamá, and according to
his report the fisheries then yielded pearls equal to
those found near Ceylon. He mentions one belonging
to a Jesuit priest that weighed sixty grains, and
for which the owner refused seventy thousand pesos.[XXXI‑19]




About the same time the industry of gold-mining
was revived on the Isthmus. In Darien and Veragua,
but especially in the former province, mines which
had been abandoned were again worked, and new ones
discovered. The operatives were slaves, free negroes,
sambos, and mulattoes, who received for their wages
586
a certain amount of pay-dirt, and often pilfered gold
dust enough to make them as rich as their masters.
It was the delight of the negroes to give fancy balls
to their inamoratas, at which they would appear with
their hair glistening with golden trinkets, sometimes
sprinkling the ball-room floor with gold dust.




A slave of Antonio de Sosa discovered a pocket of
gold which is said to have yielded sixty thousand castellanos;
and making this known to his master, was
rewarded with his freedom and that of his wife, and
presented with a house and lot in Panamá and a
moderate income wherewith to enjoy his liberty. Of
a vagabond mulatto it is related that he suddenly
reappeared in the church of Santo Domingo, and
attracted the gaze of all by a remarkably brilliant
rosary formed of large nuggets of purest gold. The
place of discovery was subsequently known as the
Rosario mining district. Among other nuggets unearthed
was one found at the mines of Santa María,
weighing, according to Dampier, a hundred and twenty
pounds. Instances like these might be multiplied,
but enough has been said to show the value of the
mines from which at this time more gold was sent to
Panamá than from all the others in the Spanish provinces.
As late as 1720 they yielded a handsome revenue
to the Spanish crown.



MINES AND MERCHANDISE.



The mines of Cana in the mountains of Espíritu
Santo were especially rich, and in the early part of
the eighteenth century were so frequently exposed to
the raids of robbers that for a season they were abandoned.
In 1702 and 1712, at the former of which
dates the town of Cana contained nine hundred houses,
the place was sacked by the English; in 1724 by the
French; and in 1727 by the Indians. During these
and later years other parts of the Isthmus were several
times invaded by corsairs, or by the armaments of
England ostensibly by way of reprisal for injuries inflicted
on British commerce.




In 1713 Great Britain obtained an asiento for supplying
587
the Spanish colonies with negro slaves,[XXXI‑20] and
also the privilege of sending annually to Portobello
a five-hundred-ton vessel laden with European merchandise.
British factories were soon established at
Cartagena and Panamá. And British merchants,
prompt to take advantage of this license, poured in
goods without limitation or restraint. Instead of a
vessel of five hundred tons they usually sent one of
nearly double that capacity, accompanied by two or
three smaller ships, which, mooring in some neighboring
creek, supplied fresh bales of goods when the stock
on board the larger vessel became exhausted. The
inspectors of the fair and the officers of the revenue
were bribed, and gradually the immense commerce of
the merchants of Seville was diverted, and the squadrons
that were wont to be the pride of Spain and the
envy of the nations sank to insignificant proportions,
the galleons having little other freight than that furnished
by the mines and the royal tribute. In 1719
an effort was made to regain this lost ground, foreign
commerce being interdicted and increased facilities
being given for domestic trade by a cédula of December
1st.[XXXI‑21]




After the treaty of Seville was concluded between
Spain and England, complaints were frequently made
of the depredations committed by Spanish guarda
costas on British commerce in the West Indies. The
English of course retaliated. Whereupon the Spaniards,
not satisfied with plundering British merchant-ships,
maltreated their crews. A squadron of four
588
twenty-gun ships and two sloops was despatched to
the Indies, and accounts of the atrocities inflicted or
permitted by the captains of Spanish vessels were
continually brought by vessels arriving from the New
World. In 1738 the house of commons determined
to investigate the matter, and to ascertain the number
of ships that had been seized by the Spaniards, the
value of their cargoes, and the nature of the alleged
cruelties. An instance which was related before a
committee of inquiry appointed by the commons
aroused a feeling of resentment throughout Great
Britain. One Captain Jenkins, master of a brig
trading from Glasgow, stated that his craft had been
boarded by a guarda costa, that his crew had been
ill used, and one of his own ears cut off, the captain
of the vessel placing it in his hand and bidding him
carry it home to the king, whom he declared he
would treat in the same manner if he had him in his
power. Discredit was afterward thrown on this story;
but whether it were true or false it was at the time
believed by the commons and the people of England.
On the 14th of January 1739 a convention was
signed between the two countries, wherein Spain
agreed to indemnify British merchants for their
losses, but the Spaniards afterward refused to pay
the stipulated sum. In consequence of which, and of
the maltreatment of British subjects, letters of marque
and reprisal were issued by the admiralty in July of
that year, but not until October following was war
formally declared.



A GENTLEMANLY ENGLISH COMMANDER.



It was now resolved to despatch a strong squadron
to the West Indies[XXXI‑22] for the protection of British
commerce, and, in retaliation for the injuries inflicted
by the Spaniards, to attack Portobello. So strongly
was this city fortified that during a debate of the
house of commons one of the members stated that it
could not be captured with less than fifty or sixty
589
men-of-war; whereupon Captain Edward Vernon, himself
a member, happening to be present, rose and said:
"I will forfeit my life if I cannot take it with six
ships." The offer was promptly accepted; the captain
was given the command of an expedition, and being
promoted to the rank of vice-admiral set sail on the
20th of July 1739. Touching at Port Royal he obtained
a reënforcement of 240 troops, and after waiting
in vain for more land forces from England, put to
sea with seven vessels, six of them having on board
2,735 men and 370 guns; one was ordered to cruise
off Cartagena, that the commander might make good
his promise to capture the city with six ships only.
On nearing the coast three Spanish war-vessels were
sighted and chased, but made good their escape, and
found safe shelter, as their captains supposed, under
the cannon of the forts.




At daybreak on the 21st of November the British
squadron entered the harbor in line of battle. A
brisk fire was at once opened from the strongest fort
of the Spaniards, known as the Iron Castle, and
against this point Vernon directed his attack. The
Hampton Court, a vessel with 70 guns and 500 men,
led the way, and, anchoring almost within a cable's
length of the fort, bore for some minutes the whole
brunt of the fight. Within half an hour two other
vessels came into action, and soon the upper portion
of the castle wall was battered down, when many of the
Spaniards abandoned their guns and fled. Observing
this the admiral ordered a lieutenant with forty sailors
and a party of marines to land and carry the fort by
assault. He then anchored his own ship, the Burford,
within half a cable's length of the enemy's cannon, in
order to cover the storming party. He met with a
warm reception, for the Spaniards opened a point-blank
fire on the Burford, and every gun took effect.
One shot passed through the fore-top-mast, another
struck within two inches of the main-mast, a third
broke through the bulwarks of the quarter-deck, close
590
to the spot where Vernon stood, killing two men and
wounding five others. The stern of the admiral's
barge was shot away, and a large carronade on the
main-deck was disabled. But soon the flag-ship
brought her starboard broadside to bear on the castle,
and at the first discharge drove the Spaniards from
their lower batteries; then swinging round on her
cable she poured in another volley from her larboard
guns. The fire of her small arms commanded the
lower embrasures; the men meanwhile had made
good their landing from the boats; and soon the
white flag was hoisted from the Iron Castle. Firing
was continued until dark from two other forts, which
then guarded the harbor of Portobello, but on the
following morning the city, the fortifications, and all
the vessels in port were finally surrendered to the
English.[XXXI‑23]




Vernon would not allow his men to pillage the
town[XXXI‑24] or molest the inhabitants; but ten thousand
591
pesos intended for the pay of the garrison were found
concealed, and distributed among the English forces.[XXXI‑25]
The most serviceable pieces of ordnance were placed
on board the fleet; the rest were spiked; the ammunition
was secured, and after blowing up all the
fortifications of the city, Vernon, being now reënforced
by several vessels, returned to Port Royal, whence
after refitting his fleet he sailed on the 25th of February
1740 for the mouth of the Chagre with six
men-of-war, and several fire-ships, bombketches, and
tenders.




The castle of San Lorenzo which, it will be remembered,
was demolished by Morgan in 1671, had been
rebuilt and strongly fortified. Vernon now resolved
to destroy it and thus strike another blow at Spain's
dominions in Tierra Firme; but first to punish the
inhabitants of Cartagena from which city the Spanish
admiral, Don Blas, had sent him while at Portobello
a message which savored of insolence. The don had
accused him of fear, and remarked that "to take Cities
and destroy Royal Fortifications was an unusual and
unexpected Way of making Reprisals." This remark
the British commander deemed sufficient excuse for
shelling the city, during which process the customhouse,
the Jesuit college, a church, and other buildings
were laid in ruins though he did not succeed in
capturing Cartagena. The castle of San Lorenzo was
surrendered with but slight resistance; and after committing
further depredations on the coast Vernon set
sail from the shores of Tierra Firme.
592




About three weeks after the declaration of war
between England and Spain, Captain George Anson
arrived at Spithead from his cruise off the coast of
Africa and in the West Indies. He was placed in
charge of an armament consisting of six vessels with
1,510 men and 236 guns, and was promised a force of
infantry composed of several hundred choice troops,
the purpose of the expedition being to operate on the
coast of Peru, and thence to proceed northward, attack
Panamá, and capture the treasure-fleet.



VERNON'S EXPEDITION.



In 1741 Vernon, who was now at Jamaica, was
placed in charge of the largest fleet and army that
had ever been despatched to the West Indies.
Twenty-nine ships of the line, with a large number
of frigates, bombketches, and fire-ships, manned by
15,000 seamen and having on board about 12,000
troops, were here collected for a descent on the mainland.
Anson was directed to coöperate with Vernon
by way of the Isthmus; and had not these expeditions
suffered a series of reverses, caused in part by the
vacillating policy of the British ministry, Spain's
dominion in the western world might now have come
to an end.



ANSON'S EXPEDITION.



But in place of choice troops a number of raw recruits
were placed on board Anson's ships, the only
veterans being invalids; and the departure of his
squadron was delayed until the 18th of September
1740. After clearing the straits of Magellan they
encountered a furious storm which lasted for fifty-eight
days. The vessels were parted, and on the 9th of
June in the following year the admiral's ship, the
Centurion, arrived at the island of Juan Fernandez
with her crew prostrated by scurvy. Here he was
soon rejoined by two others of the squadron, and after
remaining a hundred and four days at the island set
sail for the coast of South America, sacking and
burning the town of Paita and taking several vessels,
by the men on board one of which he was told that
Vernon had been defeated at Cartagena. It was resolved
593
not to make any attempt on Panamá; and
after some further adventures Anson sailed toward
Manila, and captured in that vicinity a prize which
rewarded him and his followers for all their toil and
suffering. This was a Spanish galleon having on
board nearly a million and a half of pesos. Anson
then set his face homeward and arrived in England
by way of the Cape of Good Hope on the 15th of
June 1744, having occupied three years and nine
months in his circumnavigation.[XXXI‑26]




After his repulse at Cartagena Vernon returned to
Jamaica, where he was soon reënforced by four men-of-war
and three thousand troops despatched from
England. On the 9th of March 1742 he sailed for
Portobello, intending to proceed thence to Panamá
and capture that city. On arriving at the Isthmus
he found that the rainy season had already set in;
his men sickened, and a council of war being held it
was resolved to return once more to Jamaica. Hence
he was soon afterward ordered home, the remnant of
his forces now mustering but a tenth part of the
number that had been intrusted to his command.
Thus in disaster ended an expedition sent to the conquest
of an empire.




Notwithstanding the defeat of Vernon's expedition
the settlements on the North Sea had been so frequently
laid waste that after 1748 there was little intercourse
between Spain and her colonies in Tierra Firme and
South America except by way of Cape Horn. The
despatch of fleets to the Isthmus was discontinued.
Licenses were granted, however, to vessels called
register ships, and in 1764 a monthly line of packets
was established for intercommunication with Portobello
594
and Cartagena. A few years later restrictions
on trade were removed by international treaty; but
long before the close of the eighteenth century the
commerce of the Isthmus declined, and the road from
Panamá to Portobello could no longer be called one
of the chief commercial highways of the world. Agriculture
and manufactures were neglected; the mines
were exhausted; and the trade which had for more
than two hundred years been the life-blood of Panamá
existed no more.
595




CHAPTER XXXII.



MOSQUITIA, NICARAGUA, AND COSTA RICA

1701-1800.





The Sambos of Mosquitia—Their Territory—A Mosquito Chieftain
Crowned King—Treaties between Spain and England—The
British Occupy Mosquitia—Galvez Captures an English Settlement
on the Black River—An Armament Despatched from Jamaica
to Mosquitia—Surrender of the Spaniards—Colonists
Ordered to Leave the Coast—The Governors of Nicaragua—The
British Defeated at Fort San Cárlos—They Capture Fort
San Juan—But are Compelled to Retreat—Church Matters—Missionary
Expeditions to Talamanca—Affairs in Costa Rica.



GENERAL DESCRIPTION.



On the eastern coast of Nicaragua and Honduras
there lived in the seventeenth century a people known
among themselves as Misskitos, and called by the
Spaniard Mosquitos, or more frequently sambos, the
offspring probably of cimarrones and native women.
They were ruled by an hereditary king, whose territory,
when buccaneers first visited his domain, was
of very limited extent, though the Mosquito language,
which was identical with the one spoken by those of
similar origin in the West Indies, spread in after
years from Cape Honduras to the Desaguadero, and
as far inland as Black River. They were a warlike
race, and, as we shall see, could hold their own against
the Spaniards. Their chief weapons were the bow
and arrow, in the use of which it is said that the
women were as expert as the men. The bow was of
ironwood, often six feet in length, and strung with
twisted bark. The arrow was of wood or reed, hardened
in the fire, and tipped with fish-bone, flint, or
596
teeth, poisoned in the juice of the manzanilla tree.
They fought also with lances of cane, nine feet in
length, and with javelins, clubs, and heavy sharp-pointed
swords made of a poisonous wood. Their defensive
armor was of plated reeds covered with tiger-skins
and bedecked with feathers. Toward the close
of the century the Mosquitos could put more than
forty thousand warriors into the field; they selected
as leader on each expedition the bravest and most
experienced of their number.[XXXII‑1]




"The inner parts of the Mosqueto country are very
barren," states an Englishman who was in those parts
near the close of the seventeenth century and wrote
his description about 1699, "but in the woods near
the river sides, and by the great lagunes, are many
sorts of fruits, wild beasts, and fowls, in plenty....
Plantains, and bananas, ... they have plentifully, in
small plantations, in obscure parts of the woods, near
the river sides.... Pine apples too ... they have enough
of, and mammo, which last is a very sweet fruit ...
and grows on middling low trees like apples. Saffadilla
trees, which bear berries as big as sloes, of a
yellowish colour, which are very pleasant to the taste
and wholesome, of extraordinary virtue, ... are very
frequent in their woods; as are likewise a sort of a
pleasing plum tree, which grows very large, and is of
a most delicious odour.... Great Indian wheat, or mais,
they plant a little of to make drink with; and likewise
some cocoa trees, ... but their laziness will not permit
them to plant much of the last, because they can
steal it ready gathered from the Spaniards, who have
large plantations thereof at Carpenters river, not
many leagues from them. Sugar-canes I have seen
growing in old king Jeremy's plantation, much larger
than I ever saw in Jamaica, but the Indians not knowing
how to make sugar or rum, neglect them.... Pappaw
trees which bear a sweet fruit, almost like a
597
musk-melon in shape and taste ... are very plentiful.
Cocoa-nut trees, cocoa-plums, and large grapes, growing
on great trees, with large stones in them ... grow
up and down near the water-sides. Monelo trees,
whose fruit hangs down like french-beans, and are a
very rich perfume when dried, and the best for chocolate,
grow very plentiful on the banks of Black River,
in this country. All the flesh that these people
eat ... they get by hunting.... They have a small sort
of fallow deer, like our English, with shorter horns,
which haunt the inner sides of the woods, close to the
Savanna.... The mountain cow, which the natives call
Tilbu, is of the bigness of an English calf of a year
old, having a snout like an elephant and not horned;
they hide all day in muddy plashes, to escape the
tigers, and in the night swim across the river to get
food.... Warree and pickaree abound in great herds,
and are two sorts of Indian wild hogs, having both
their navels on their backs.[XXXII‑2] ... Some parts of this
country are pretty well stocked with fowls.... A pretty
large sort of fowl haunt their plantain walks, which
the natives call quawmoes and the English corasaoes;
they are a small sort of Indian turkey.... Wood
pigeons ... and a sort of fat doves creeping commonly
on the ground, are plentiful enough.... The
woods are stocked with a variety of other fowls,
most curiously painted, which are good for food....
In the fresh water rivers they have a sort of tortoise,
called cushwaw, ... and on the coast abundance
of large sea-tortoises.... They have great shoals of
mullets, silver-fish, cat-fish, cavallies, sharks, nurses,
snappers, growpers, some seal, stingrays, whiprays,
and sea-devils.... Their best fish is the manatee, or
sea-cow ... they are sometimes found straggling in
the lagunes ... but are not suffered to increase, thro'
the greediness of the Indian, who spares no pains
when he hath a prospect of getting any."[XXXII‑3] Here,
598
then, was a territory rich in natural resources, which,
though discovered by Columbus in 1502, was left undisturbed
by the Spaniards for some two centuries, the
reason being chiefly that no gold was discovered there.
The western or North American division of the coast
of Central America, from Cape Gracias á Dios to the
gulf of Urabá, was granted as we have seen to Diego
de Nicuesa, whose disastrous expedition to Veragua
has already been presented.[XXXII‑4] In 1576 the coast of
Mosquitia was conveyed by royal cédula to the licentiate
Diego García de Palacios, Captain Diego Lopez
being appointed by the licentiate governor and captain-general
of the province, and undertaking to attempt
the conquest of the territory at his own risk.[XXXII‑5] But it
does not appear that the captain took any action in
the matter, and the natives, cimarrones and Mosquitos,
were left undisturbed until the arrival of the
buccaneers, who found in the intricate bays and winding
rivers of Mosquitia, many places well adapted
for the concealment of their light swift-sailing craft.
The head-quarters of the freebooters were at Cape
Gracias á Dios. Here they met to divide their booty
and decide upon new expeditions; and, whenever opportunity
offered, they darted thence like hawks upon
the galleons that were freighted with the riches of
Peru.



GREAT BRITAIN.



English settlements with which it was pretended
that the buccaneers had no connection were established
in this territory before 1670, and by the treaty
of Madrid, signed at that date, the rights of Great
Britain were recognized. The seventh article of this
treaty stipulated that "the King of Great Britain his
heirs and successors shall hold, and possess for ever,
with full right of sovereign dominion, property and
599
possession all lands, countries, islands, colonies and
dominions whatever, situated in the West Indies, or
in any part of America which the said King of Great
Britain and his subjects do at this present hold and
possess." In the same year an alliance, offensive and
defensive, was made between Great Britain and Mosquitia.[XXXII‑6]




In 1687 one of the Mosquito chieftains was sent
to Jamaica in order to place his native land under
British protection. "But," says Sir Hans Sloane,
"he escaped from his keepers, pulled off the clothes
his friends had put on him, and climbed to the top
of a tree." He was presently induced by promise
of kind treatment to descend, whereupon he received
a cocked hat and a piece of writing under the seal of
the governor dubbing him king of Mosquitia.




In truth the action of the British government at
this time admits of little excuse so far as it concerns
the Spanish possessions in the Indies. The governors
of Jamaica connived at the raids of the buccaneers,
and as we have seen, Sir Henry Morgan, the titled
buccaneer, held high office in that island; although
when he became rich by swindling his fellow-cut-throats,
he punished those who did not bribe him with
a share of their spoils. The governors were frequently
changed in order that Great Britain might remain on
friendly terms with Spain, but this measure did not
prevent the outrages which have been described in
previous chapters.




After the conclusion of the peace of Ryswick in
1697 we hear no more of piratical raids, and in that
year the island of San Cristóbal was restored to
Spain. Treaties were signed between Great Britain
and Spain in 1713, 1715, and 1721, in the last of
which it was stipulated that commerce and navigation
should be left free to the Spaniards in the
West Indies, and that the limits of New World possessions
600
should remain as they were in the days of
Cárlos II. of Spain.




In 1720 a treaty was concluded between Sir Nicholas
Lawes, then governor of Jamaica, and Jeremy, then
king of the sambos, whereby the latter agreed to assist
the English planters in capturing runaway slaves,
the Mosquitos being provided with boats, arms, and
ammunition, and receiving pay for their services.[XXXII‑7]
But the natives thus armed and equipped took advantage
of their opportunity to make raids on the neighboring
Spanish settlements.



AN ALCALDE MAYOR'S REPORT.



The archives of Guatemala contain the report of an
alcalde mayor of Tegucigalpa, then resident in that
province, and made by order of the president in obedience
to a royal cédula previously issued. "The
sambos," says the alcalde, "have plenty of vessels,
provisions, arms, and ammunition, for they are supplied
by the English of Jamaica, who egg them on to
hostilities against the Spaniards. Their country is
also a place of refuge for the mulattoes, negroes, and
other evil-doers who flee from justice in the Spanish
settlements, and who give them information of the
Spanish plans, as well as join them in the execution
of their own. They have had the effrontery to call
their chief 'Jeremías, Rey del Mosquito.' This man
gives letters of marque to his so-called vassals, who
ravage the coast from Belize to Portobello, keeping
the subjects of Spain, who traffic in those seas, in
constant alarm—some of whom have lost their lives,
others their liberty, and others their property. These
people inhabit the region from the jurisdiction of
Comayagua to that of Costa Rica, always near the
coast. Between them and the Spanish settlements
is a cordillera, for which reasons they make their incursions
by ascending the rivers. Their country has
a width of some six leagues between the mountains
and the sea, the half nearest the sea being where
601
they have their cultivated lands and their cattle, the
other portion being useless. They live in rancherías,
or in scattered houses—even in the rancherías the
houses never being one near the other—so that if
one house be attacked, the people of the others may
have time for defence or flight. Their principal settlement
is about the centre of this coast line. It is
in a lagoon, and here dwell their so-called king and
his principal men. The settlement is surrounded by
a wall, a moat, broad and deep, and covered in such a
way that the apparently solid earth gives way under
the tread of the unwary stranger seeking to enter the
town. There are but two entrances into the town,
and these are known only to these people, to Spaniards
who have been prisoners, and to the refugees."[XXXII‑8]




In this report further depredations of the natives
are mentioned; and it is recommended that expeditions
be sent against them by land and sea to exterminate
the guilty persons. In 1740, England and Spain
being then at war, the governor of Jamaica, in a letter
to the duke of Newcastle, states that there were then
about a hundred English in the territory and suggests
that they might be used to incite the sambos to
a general uprising against the Spaniards. Colonel
Robert Hodgson was sent to that coast during the
same year on a special mission, and winning over the
sambo king and the leading men obtained from them
a cession of their territory and hoisted the English
flag on the shore of Mosquitia; but the failure of
Anson's and Vernon's expeditions, which have already
been described, and the refractory spirit of most of
the natives prevented any invasion of the Spanish
provinces. In 1744 Hodgson was appointed superintendent
of the Mosquito shore, subject to the governor
of Jamaica, and troops were forwarded, forts
were erected and mounted with ordnance, the British
thus taking possession of the country. The Spaniards
602
never ceased their remonstrances against these
encroachments, and in 1750 threatened to expel the
intruders by force. Hodgson was then instructed to
represent that his presence was merely for the purpose
of restraining the natives from committing depredations
on Spanish settlements. This explanation
was accepted at the time, through motives of policy,
but still the depredations continued, and the disputes
arising in connection with England's policy in this
matter helped to bring about the rupture ended by
the treaty of Paris in 1763, wherein it was stipulated
that Great Britain should destroy all forts that she
had caused to be erected in the Spanish provinces,
including the Mosquito Coast.




When England withdrew from the military occupation
of Mosquitia most of the settlers still remained;
and believing that Great Britain would ere long
establish a provisional government on the coast, some
of them purchased lands from the natives suitable for
the cultivation of sugar-cane, cotton, and cacao. In
1771 eight persons joined in the purchase of a large
tract on the Polloy River, said to contain gold, and
extending thirty miles on either bank. Two years
later a number of miners were set to work, but through
their misconduct, as it is alleged, the venture met with
poor success.







Mosquito Coast.






A new system of administration for the British
settlements in Mosquitia was framed by Lord Dartmouth
in 1775, and put in execution by Sir Basil
Keith, then governor of Jamaica.[XXXII‑9] Hodgson was
ordered home, and in 1776 Colonel Lawrie took his
place. The new superintendent found the natives and
settlers greatly agitated on account of the seizure by
Spaniards of an English vessel on the Black River,[XXXII‑10]
604

and the attitude of the latter toward the sambos and
their allies. The colonists were in a dilemma, for the
Spaniards hated them, and the English government
gave them little encouragement.[XXXII‑11]




In March 1782 Matías de Galvez, the captain-general
of Guatemala, left Trinidad with a flotilla
well manned and equipped, for the avowed purpose of
chastising the men of Mosquitia, and driving the English
from the shore. Galvez had chosen his time well.
After the disaster of 1780, which will be described
later, the English had left Black River in a defenceless
condition, and in the April following a detachment
from Trujillo had scattered the few remaining colonists,
pillaging and destroying their settlements. Soon
afterward Superintendent Lawrie returned to Black
River, with the remnant of the settlers, much reduced
and in precarious health. There were stationed at
that point twenty-one regular soldiers, according to
the English official report, besides settlers, negroes,
and several hundred natives. They were ill prepared
for defence, being short of arms and provisions.




The Spanish forces advanced from the southward,
with 1,350 foot and 100 horse, and from the westward,
with 1,000 men. A line-of-battle ship and a frigate
came to anchor in the river and under a heavy fire
landed 500 men. The day after these vessels arrived
Captain Douglas, who commanded the English militia,
spiked his guns and while in retreat was captured by
the Spaniards. A council of war was held and it was
resolved to retire to Cape Gracias á Dios, which point
the British and their allies reached in safety, though
suffering severely from sickness caused by want of
food and clothing.
605




Galvez soon afterward returned to Guatemala by
way of Trujillo, leaving garrisons at several points on
the river. These soon found themselves in a critical
position on account of the numerous hostile parties
who roamed the neighboring woods to intercept provisions
and cut off foraging parties. By sea the winds
and currents rendered supplies difficult to obtain.
Moreover, heavy rains had made the roads almost impassable.
At a council held July 10th it was resolved
on abandonment unless relief came by the last
of the month. Before that time arrived, however, a
number of veterans, under one Terry, succeeded in
reaching the Black River. The garrison was further
encouraged by the news that an armed merchant
vessel was lying at Trujillo awaiting orders from the
president to operate in their behalf.



ENGLISH NAVAL VICTORY.



The decisive naval victory of the English over the
French in April enabled the governor and admiral at
Jamaica to turn their attention to the Mosquito shore.
A small squadron, with a detachment of troops, furnished
with arms, stores, ammunition, provisions, and
presents for the natives, sailed from Port Royal, and
the 17th of August arrived at Cape Gracias á Dios,
the purpose of the expedition being to assist the settlers
and natives in expelling the Spaniards from the
neighborhood of the Black River.[XXXII‑12] Here they found
the superintendent at the head of eight hundred settlers,
Mosquitos and negroes, intending to start in a
few days for an attack on the Spaniards.




The armament sailed from the cape on the 26th
of August, Colonel Despard in command, and on
the 28th landed at Plantain River, where it was
joined by a number of free men and negroes in that
neighborhood, and by Captain John Campbell, who,
with about 150 volunteer negroes, had attacked and
606
carried Fort Dalling, which was defended by a like
number of Spaniards.




On the 29th the entire body, mustering about a
thousand men, advanced to the bluff at the mouth of
the Black River, and the next day encamped on the
banks of the lagoon opposite the enemy. The Spanish
commander then opened conference with Colonel
Despard, which resulted in a capitulation, and his
men, though numbering more than seven hundred
regular troops, surrendered as prisoners of war.




In 1783 a treaty was concluded between England
and Spain, in which the former agreed to abandon all
settlements on the Spanish continent; but England
would not concede that the Mosquito Coast was included
in this definition.[XXXII‑13] Hence disputes arose; and
three years later a supplementary treaty was negotiated,
on the first article of which it was distinctly
stipulated that "His Britannic Majesty's Subjects, and
the other Colonists who have hitherto enjoyed the
Protection of England, shall evacuate the Country of
the Mosquitos, as well as the Continent in general,
and the Islands adjacent, without exception, situated
beyond the line hereinafter described, as what ought
to be the Frontier of the extent of territory granted
by his Catholic Majesty to the English."




In article II. certain territory in Yucatan is ceded
to the British, of which mention will be made in its
place.[XXXII‑14] Positive orders were soon afterward sent to
the settlers to depart from the coast. Most of them
obeyed,[XXXII‑15] though slowly and reluctantly, a few only
remaining at their own risk, and carrying on a trade
with Jamaica, principally in slaves.




After the treaty of 1786 the British government
held no further relations with the natives of the Mosquito
607
Coast until Spain had lost her possessions in
Central America.[XXXII‑16] Meanwhile there were several
attempts by governors of the Spanish provinces to
make permanent establishments in Mosquitia, but
without success. In 1796 the sambos captured their
last settlement on Black River, and drove the Spaniards
from their shore.



GOVERNORS OF NICARAGUA.



Of affairs in Nicaragua during the eighteenth century
little need be said. The administrations of
Pablo de Loyala, the first governor of whom we have
any record[XXXII‑17] during this period, and of Miguel de
Camargo, were uneventful. To Camargo succeeded
José Calvo de Lara, and in 1721 appears the name of
Sebastian de Aransivia y Sasi, who was superseded
in the following year by Antonio Poveda, the latter
losing his life during an insurrection of the Indians.
In 1728 Tomás Duque de Estrada was appointed to
office, and in 1730 Bartolomé Gonzalez Fitoria. In
1744 José A. Lacayo de Briones[XXXII‑18] was in power, and
in 1757 Melchor Vidal de Lorca y Villena Vivas was
acting governor.[XXXII‑19] In an official report, dated 1759,
appears the name of Colonel Pantaleon Ibañez as
ruler.




Among the governors of Nicaragua in this period
was Alonso Fernandez de Heredia, mariscal de campo
of the royal army. As to the precise year authorities
differ. Juarros mentions 1760 as the date, while
Pelaez states that a report of the guardian of missionaries
608
alludes to him as acting in 1747.[XXXII‑20] Domingo
Cabello was governor in 1766, as appears from the
audiencia's book of sentences of December in the following
year, and Manuel de Quiroga in 1780.




About this time was an eruption of the volcano
Nindiri at no great distance from El Infierno de
Masaya. In 1775, when the outburst occurred, a torrent
of lava rolled into the lake of Masaya, destroying
the fish and heating the lands adjacent so that the
cattle perished. A brigadier of the royal army, named
José Estacheria, was made governor of Nicaragua
in 1783, and ruled until 1789, when he departed for
Spain. He was afterward appointed governor of
Pamplona, and eventually president of Guatemala.
The last governor to whom reference is made in the
eighteenth century was Juan de Ayza, probably he
who defended San Juan[XXXII‑21] during the attack of the
British under Polson and Nelson, which will be mentioned
later.




The Desaguadero had in 1727 twelve military stations
along its winding course of nearly one hundred
and twenty leagues. Among these was the castle of
San Juan and Fort San Cárlos, which had been captured
and restored. Fort San Juan was built at a
bend of the river, and could command it from above
and below. The hill upon which it stood was steep
and rocky, and it could be approached only on one
side by a narrow tortuous path. Through this port
flowed the commerce of Nicaragua with Europe and
the West Indies. It was made a port of entry by
royal order of the king in February 1796, and by a
cédula of the month following regulations were issued
for furthering the settlement of the adjacent country.
In 1769 the English, with an armament of two thousand
609
men and fifty vessels, attempted the capture of
Fort San Cárlos, which they desired as a basis for
future operations. Pedro de Herrera, the governor
of the post, lay in the throes of death, and surrender
seemed inevitable. But his daughter, a maiden of
sixteen, at once issued orders from her father's death-chamber
for the defence, and then placed herself at
the head of the Spanish troops. Inspired by her fearless
mien, the garrison fought with a courage rarely
seen among Spaniards of that day, and repulsed the
assailants with loss, the governor's daughter firing
with her own hand the two last cannon shot at the
discomfited British.




A few years later the English government decided
on an expedition against Nicaragua, intending to
strike a blow at the power of Spain in the heart of
her possessions, and control the communication between
the two oceans. The plan of operations was
finally arranged at Jamaica in January 1780. It
was purposed to capture Fort San Juan, take possession
of the Desaguadero and Lake Nicaragua, occupy
the cities of Granada and Leon, and thus sunder the
Spanish provinces of Central America. Another
object in view was the capture and retention of the
route for an interoceanic canal, a project then dear to
the heart of the English nation.







Nelson's and Polson's Expedition, San Juan.





NELSON IN NICARAGUA.



The British force consisted of at least eighteen
hundred men,[XXXII‑22] including three regiments of the line
and a party of marines, the latter being under command
of Horatio Nelson, then a post captain of about
twenty-three years, but one who had already given
proof of the qualities which afterward raised him to
the foremost rank among naval commanders. The
English proceeded up the Desaguadero in boats,
encountering many difficulties. On a small island
named San Bartolomé,[XXXII‑23] in a portion of the stream
610
where the current was swift and shoal, a small garrison
had been stationed and earthworks erected,
mounted with a few swivel-guns. On approaching
this spot Nelson leaped from his boat, followed by a
few of his men, and though sinking ankle-deep in the
mud and exposed to a hot fire, captured, or, as he expresses
it, 'boarded' the island. Here the English
remained for a brief rest, and the future hero of Trafalgar
narrowly escaped being bitten by a poisonous
snake, and afterward suffered severely from drinking
the water of a spring into which poisonous leaves had
been thrown. The English were now joined by
'George King,' a Mosquito chieftain, and a large
number of his subjects, together with several English
smugglers.[XXXII‑24] The Mosquitos proved invaluable allies
611
indeed, and but for their bravery and fidelity it is
probable the British would have perished to a man.



ILL-SUCCESS OF THE ENGLISH.



Two days after the capture of San Bartolomé the
expedition arrived before Fort San Juan. Nelson
advised an immediate assault, believing it could be
carried, but his senior officer, Major John Polson, decided
otherwise. Next day the English secured a hill
in rear of the fort, threw up batteries, and began the
siege. Nelson was now seized with a violent attack
of dysentery, and was compelled to return to Jamaica,[XXXII‑25]
where he arrived in such weak condition that he was
carried on shore, life being saved only through skilful
nursing.




After a siege of ten days the fort was surrendered,
the garrison being allowed their liberty and permitted
to march out with the honors of war, and vessels
being furnished to convey them to any port of Spanish
America that might be agreed upon. The situation
of the English was now very critical, and they found
it impossible to proceed farther. The rainy season
had begun and brought with it malaria and deadly
fevers. Their force was soon decimated and their
condition was distressing and helpless in the extreme.
There were not strong men enough left to build a
hospital. It became impossible even to bury the dead
with decency, and many were dropped in the river
and devoured by carrion birds. Longer stay became
impossible, and a retreat was ordered of all the men
engaged in this expedition. Exclusive of the Mosquito
contingent, only three hundred and eighty survived;
and of Nelson's crew of two hundred, only ten
lived to return.[XXXII‑26] Thus ended the first attempt of the
612
British to gain a foothold in Nicaragua, and to obtain
possession of the route for an interoceanic canal.[XXXII‑27]




During the eighteenth century fifteen prelates are
recorded as having occupied the bishopric of Nicaragua.
Diego Morcillo was the first; he took possession
in 1704, and in 1709 was promoted to La Paz.[XXXII‑28]
Bishop Benito Garret took charge of the diocese in
1711. He became involved in a turbulent controversy
with the audiencia of Guatemala, and was dismissed
from office on the 4th of July 1716. On his way to
Spain he was ill at Pedro Ursula, and died the 7th
of October. In 1718 Andrés Quiles Galindo, a graduate
and afterward a professor in the university of
Mexico, was on the eve of departure for Europe, as
pro ministro provincial, when he received his nomination
to the bishopric of Nicaragua. He did not live
to reach the diocese.[XXXII‑29] A native of Leon de Nicaragua,
José Giron de Alvarado, was consecrated bishop of
this see and assumed the administration of its duties
in 1721, but died within the same year, his successor
being Dionisio de Villavicencio, whose decease occurred
in 1735. In the following year Domingo
Antonio de Zataram, precentor of Pueblo de los Angeles,
was chosen bishop of Nicaragua, and was consecrated
in Guatemala the 5th of October 1738.
Isidro Marin Ballon y Figueroa, an honorary chaplain
613
of the king and rector of the college of the order of
Alcántara at Salamanca, was elected bishop in 1743
and died in 1749. In the year of his election was
finished the great cathedral of Leon, which had occupied
thirty-seven years in its construction, and cost
five millions of pesos. On the decease of Ballon, Pedro
Agustin Morel de Santa Cruz, dean of Cuba, was
appointed. In 1751 and 1752, he made an inspection
of his diocese, giving seven months to an examination
of every part of its wide domain, preaching, confessing,
and confirming wherever he went. He was soon
after promoted to the bishopric of Cuba.




José Antonio Flores de Rivera, a native of Durango,
New Spain, venerable in years and distinguished
in scholarship, was elected to the episcopacy
of Nicaragua in 1753. He was consecrated with
great pomp May 1, 1754, in the city of Mexico, and
entered on his duties in February 1755, amidst the
rejoicings of the people, for his reputation for kindliness
and charity had preceded him. But their joy
was short-lived; he died in July of the following
year,[XXXII‑30] being succeeded by Mateo de Navia y Bolanos,
a native of Lima, and the latter by Juan de Vilches
y Cabrera, dean of the cathedral of Nicaragua,
who was in charge of the diocese until his death in
1774.




In 1775 Estéban Lorenzo de Tristan was appointed
to the see, and remained in that position until 1783.
He labored zealously in his cause. During his administration
and a few years previously several attempts
were made to pacify the Guatusos, but without
success.



PACIFICATION OF THE GUATUSOS.



In 1750 Father Zepeda left Guatemala for the purpose
of exploring this region. He followed the entire
614
chain of the mountains of Tilaran, "the country of
many watercourses," to say nothing of the many volcanoes,[XXXII‑31]
and braved all manner of hardships until he came
to the great plains beyond, where he spent several
months, and reported the existence of more than five
hundred houses and gardens occupied by the natives.
In 1751 the guardian of the Franciscan convent at
Esparza communicated the information received from
the padre to the government of Costa Rica, and being
instructed to follow up the discoveries, accordingly
set forth with several comrades, but the party lost its
way and came near being starved to death. In 1761
were captured in the mountains several natives, whom
the chroniclers describe as of a mixed breed, and who,
when taken to Esparza, revealed some knowledge of
Christian doctrines. The many conjectures to which
the circumstances gave rise were soon to be explained
by the fact that a native of Tenorio, who had qualified
for orders, came under the displeasure of the bishop
and fled to the country of the Guatusos. There he
lived and died, not being permitted to return.




The cura of Esparza and the friar Zamacois then volunteered
for the work and took the captured natives as
their guides, who led them into the forests and there
deserted them. Father Tomás Lopez in 1778 made
another attempt to penetrate the country. Setting
out by water from the island of Ometepec in Nicaragua,
he proceeded to the Rio Frio, entered it, and
ascended the stream until he reached cultivated gardens
and plantations. But the moment his attendants
caught a glimpse of a raft, evidently manned
by the Guatusos, they turned the boat and fled. In
vain did Lopez threaten and implore; he could not
even prevail on them to allow him to land alone.




In 1782 Lopez, accompanied by Friar Alvarado of
Cartago, entered the country by way of Tenorio; but
615
after seventy-five days of wandering found himself on
the shores of Lake Nicaragua, a long way above the
mouth of the Frio. President Galvez, considering it
necessary to make a survey of this river and the adjacent
country, sent Captain Brizzio for that purpose in
the same year. He ascended its banks until he saw
a number of fishing canoes and many large cultivated
fields; but it does not appear that he had any communication
with the Guatusos themselves.



ON THE RIO FRIO.



Bishop Tristan, when informed of Brizzio's discovery,
applied for and was granted two vessels with
which to follow up the latter's exploration. On the
20th of February 1783 the prelate and his suite entered
the Frio. On the fourteenth day they discovered
in a secluded and shaded bower on the banks of
the river, three fishermen "of good size and white,"
who at the sight of them at once threw away nets,
provisions, and everything except their bows and
arrows, and took to flight. They were followed by
Lopez with cries of peace and good-will in the language
of the island of Solentanami, but he was not
heard, or if so was disregarded.




The bishop, concluding that a town could not be
far distant, and that a few would be less likely to cause
alarm than if the whole party came in sight of it,
sent a small boat forward containing fathers Lopez,
Mejía, Alvarado, and Corral. They soon beheld
evidences of populous life, and saw descending the
river a raft on which was a solitary voyager with
plantains and provisions, a fire being lit on the raft.
The Indian landed in a grove of cacao trees, which
seemed to extend as far as the eye could reach. Lopez
followed him, attended by a servant and three
natives of Solentanami to act as interpreters. No
sooner had these gone ashore than the voyager reappeared
upon the bank of the river, and raised loud
and peculiar outcries, which soon brought to his aid
numbers of the natives, who, without parley, began
to discharge arrows at the padre and his companions.
616
One of the interpreters was wounded, and, overcome
with fear, plunged into the river and swam down the
stream. The missionary lay down in the boat and
made signals of peace, which were unheeded. The
padre then advised his attendants to leap overboard
and escape, which advice, nothing loath, they followed.
Lopez then rose, crucifix in hand, and presented himself
defenceless and alone before the crowd of assailants.
The attack ceased, and in compliance with his
signs of entreaty a number entered his boat and
escorted him to their village. The companions of
Lopez, who had fled for safety, observed these proceedings
from a distance, but as they were soon after
pursued by a party of the natives, they continued
their flight.




The wounded interpreter had in the mean time
reached the boats left by Lopez a little lower on the
river, and reported that the latter and his companions
had been attacked and killed by a multitude of
natives; whereupon the party hastened down the
Frio to inform the bishop of the catastrophe. They
accomplished in three hours a distance which had
taken a day and a half when rowing against the stream,
and the bishop and his associates decided to return
immediately to Granada. The morning after their
retreat, the attendants who had left Father Lopez
and witnessed his movements toward the village, having
seized an abandoned canoe, overtook the bishop,
and somewhat calmed the excited party by their disclosures.
It was decided to continue the retreat, however,
and Fort San Cárlos was soon reached. The
commandant immediately applied to the governor of
the province for aid to attempt the rescue of Lopez;
but it is not known whether the request was granted,
or what became of the padre. No further expeditions
were attempted and the matter remained a mystery.
Who the Guatusos were, and how they lived; what
their religion, language, customs, and whence derived,
none knew, and it seemed as though none were destined
617
to know. They appear to have sworn that no one,
not born of them and among them, should set foot
within their domain. Armed soldiers succeeded no
better than peaceful missionaries, and the see of Rome
saw fit in after years to bar this inscrutable region
from the benefits of clergy.[XXXII‑32]




In 1784 Juan Felix de Villegas, inquisitor of Cartagena,
was appointed bishop of Nicaragua, but was
promoted to the archbishopric of Guatemala in 1794,
when Juan Cruz Ruiz de Cabañas y Crespo was appointed
his successor, but while preparing to set forth
was elected to the see of Guadalajara. The last bishop
of the century in this diocese was José Antonio de la
Huerta Caso, who was consecrated by the archbishop
in Guatemala May 29, 1798.[XXXII‑33]



THE TALAMANCANS.



Resuming the narrative of the pacification of the
Talamancans in connection with the expeditions which
resulted in the subjugation of their territory, we find
the Franciscans the leading spirits in all that was
undertaken, although to the college of Jesus in Guatemala
it had been first assigned. If the Talamancans
had in 1502 a civilization of their own, and in 1602
a civilization imported by the Spaniards, they had by
1702 reverted to a barbarism which lacked the vitality
of the first and the grace of the second, without
any compensating element. The close of the seventeenth
century witnessed the establishment of the
Franciscan missionary college at Guatemala, and
thence in 1694, under the direction of Lopez, had
618
proceeded Francisco de San José and Pablo de Rebullida
to the territory of the Changuenes. Andrade
and Benavides returned to Guatemala from a brief
visit of inspection in 1605, and through the guardian
of the college made the oft-repeated demand for a
military escort. On the 31st of March a council of
war adopted the system put in force half a century
before in Vera Paz when dealing with the Chols and
Manches. Fifty soldiers, with Captain Noguera as
governor, accompanied the fathers to Talamanca.




Francisco Bruno Serrano de Reina, who was governor
of Costa Rica in 1704, does not appear to have
acted with much alacrity in the matter, and the
guardian Arrivillaga reported complainingly to the
audiencia on the 4th of April 1707.[XXXII‑34]




Many of the Talamancans were gathered into settlements;[XXXII‑35]
but none the less insecure was the position
of the missionaries; their danger so increased
that Andrade started for Guatemala to beg more
adequate protection than the remnant of an escort
left with them. It was too late. While the question
was being discussed in Guatemala the Talamancans
rose in revolt, burned their churches, tore down
their dwellings, and killed the friars and the soldiers,
the latter but ten in number. Rebullida's head they
cut off on the 28th of September 1709.




On the 20th of May preceding this catastrophe a
royal cédula ordered the conquest of Talamanca, with
a view to improve the communication between Guatemala
and Costa Rica with Veragua.[XXXII‑36] Lorenzo Antonio
de Granda y Balbin, the governor of Costa
Rica, reported to the audiencia the massacre in Talamanca,
619
and in accordance with their orders took summary
vengeance on the natives. Balbin collected a
large force, and sent one detachment by the pueblo
Tuiz, heading himself a force of two hundred who
made a detour by the province of Boruca. Both detachments
met at San José de Cabecar, in the heart
of the enemy's country, where they intrenched themselves.
They killed many of the Talamancans and
captured others, bringing with them over five hundred
prisoners of all ages and both sexes.[XXXII‑37] The
rebels were utterly routed, and their cacique was
tried, sentenced, and executed as an instigator of revolt.




In 1719, in a report on the condition of the country
to the king of Spain, Governor de la Haya[XXXII‑38] of
Costa Rica says: "In reference to the establishment
and maintenance of missions which had been the
primary object in the conquest of Talamanca, nothing
had been done since the massacre of September 1709;
no precautionary measures had been taken in behalf
of missionaries."




The Recollets did not believe this policy of indifference
and neglect to be according to the royal
pleasure, and petitioned the king for the establishment
of a suitable garrison and the founding of a
Spanish settlement. By whatever motives impelled,
several parties came from the mountains of Talamanca
at sundry times between 1713 and 1716, to
request the presence of missionaries from Cartago.




In response to the petition of the Recollets, the
king, by cédula dated September 1, 1713, directed
the president to convene a junta of state officials and
persons familiar with Talamanca, to devise and adopt
620
by majority vote plans for the occupation of that territory.
The junta, which was not held until the 9th
of September, 1716, consisted of the president of
Guatemala, the oidores, royal officials, two Recollets,
and a representative of the revenue of Cartago. The
Recollets advocated the planting of mission stations
protected by a garrison. The rest of the council
favored the establishment of a military guard of fifty
soldiers, and the removal of fifty families from Cartago
to Boruca; it was a compromise measure, but it
carried the votes.




The fathers were discouraged. The town chosen
was without the missionary field, and the force named
inadequate to effect subjugation, and needlessly strong
for a simple escort. But the arrival of a new president,
Rivas, and the disastrous earthquake of 1717 in
Guatemala, crowded such matters from view.



EARTHQUAKES.



In a report dated the 14th of March 1723 Haya
tells us how, from the 16th of February till the 14th
March, there had been rumblings beneath the city of
Cartago, as if from the rushing of subterranean rivers,
while the volcano of Irazu kept open jaws, and belched
forth billows of smoke. The sulphurous exhalations
well nigh stifled the people alike on the slopes and
in the valleys. Sheets of flame illumined the sky by
night, until miles of the horizon were brighter than
in the glare of day. Red-hot cinders and scoriæ
multiplied in volume until the waters of the neighboring
stream, river, and lake were turned into seething
mud; the city was strewn with burning dust; and
buildings were loosened from the trembling earth.




Costa Rica, if we can believe Haya, was the poorest
province in all America. The only currency was
cacao; silver was never seen, and the name for aught
its people knew might have been adopted in derision.
Officers were incapable and stupid; the people quarrelsome,
chimerical, and unruly. There was not in
all the province a physician or apothecary; nor even
621
a barber. Of foreign trade there was practically
none.




In Cartago the ayuntamiento had come to an end;
at Esparza, the only other city of the province, there
had been none for thirty-nine years past, for no one
had money enough to send to Spain to have an appointment
confirmed.[XXXII‑39]



PIRATES AND THE MILITARY.



The decay of the settlements in Costa Rica might
have been irremediable but for the sharp pruning
judiciously applied by Haya.[XXXII‑40] His successor, Francisco
de Valderrama, made a report to the captain-general
of Guatemala in 1732 containing a curious
revelation of the condition of affairs. The governor
describes himself as fulfilling the functions of a clerk
rather than those of a governor, as there was not a
single person in the province capable of writing.
Offices remained vacant, because the poverty of the
country did not allow of even its chief residents
appearing in the plaza in a coat. If the erection of
Fort Matina, then in progress, was to proceed, an
artificer would have to be sent out, as the only one
familiar with such work was an old Indian whose
proper business it was to repair roofs, and he unfortunately
had just died of the small-pox.[XXXII‑41] Twice
during the year 1740 the province was harassed by
pirates, who carried off, as was their custom, the
crop of cacao, and such slaves as they could lay hands
upon.




The military force stationed in Costa Rica about
the middle of the eighteenth century was little short
of one thousand men, and yet the magistrates throughout
the province were unable to enforce their authority.
The administration of justice had ceased.
622
Judges did not dare to impose, nor governors execute
sentence upon criminals.[XXXII‑42] Even the forms of restraint
disappeared. Yet officials were numerous
enough. The governor appointed on the first day of
the year 1740 five lieutenant-generals, one each for
Cartago, Esparza, and Matina, and two for the valley
country, invested with civil and criminal jurisdiction,
besides four alcaldes, an attorney-general, and an administrator.




After 1746 we have no reliable records as to the
succession of governors in Costa Rica until 1773.
In the former year Francisco Fernandez de la Pastora
was in power;[XXXII‑43] in the latter Joaquin de Nava. To
him succeeded in 1779 José Perie, and then occur in
the order of their succession the names of Juan Fernandez
Bobadilla in 1780, Juan Flores in 1782, and
José Terci in 1785.
623




CHAPTER XXXIII.



BELIZE.

1650-1800.





Buccaneer Settlements in Yucatan—The Pirates Engage in Wood-cutting—Governor
Figueroa Ordered to Expel Them—Raid of
the Wood-cutters on Ascension Bay—They are Driven Back by
the Governor—Their Settlement in Belize Destroyed by Figueroa-They
Return in Stronger Force—Further Expeditions against
Them—The Wood-cutters under British Protection—They are
Attacked by Governor Rivas—The Boundaries of Belize Defined
by the Treaty of Versailles—Stipulations of a Later Treaty—Further
Encroachments of the English.




Not the least valuable among the spoils obtained
by the buccaneers during their depredations on the
Spanish main were the quantities of dye-wood which
they found deposited at certain points on the coast of
Yucatan and Honduras awaiting shipment. With the
decline of their lawless pursuits, the more industrious,
especially the English, turned their attention to the
cutting and shipment of dye-woods and mahogany,
and with this object established settlements on the
coasts of these two provinces. The most extensive of
their settlements were those in the bay of Términos.
Here they remained for many years, varying their
industrial pursuits with occasional incursions into the
surrounding country, or attacks on the Spanish vessels
which plied between Campeche and Vera Cruz.




Neighbors so dangerous could not long be tolerated,
and, as soon as circumstances permitted, the authorities
of New Spain took measures to expel them. The
wood-cutters successfully resisted the many expeditions
sent against them, not unfrequently retaliating
624
by laying waste the Spanish settlements, until about
1717, when they were finally driven from that part
of the coast and their establishments destroyed.




In the latter half of the seventeenth century that
portion of Yucatan bordering on the bay of Honduras
was abandoned by Spaniards, owing to the destruction
by pirates and Indians of the town of Bacalar.[XXXIII‑1]
Its henceforth isolated position, together with the
ruggedness of the surrounding country and the numberless
reefs and shoals on its sea-coast, made it peculiarly
fitted for the haunts of the buccaneers. One
of these, Peter Wallace, a Scotchman, landed with
some eighty companions at the mouth of the Belize
river, and erected on its banks a few houses, which
he enclosed with a rude palisade. His name was
given both to the river and settlement, and subsequently
to the whole region occupied by the English.
By the Spaniards this territory was variously termed
Walis, Balis, and Walix, and the word became finally
corrupted into the present name of Belice or Belize.[XXXIII‑2]




The district was rich in dye-woods and mahogany,
and wood-cutting soon became the chief occupation
of the freebooters, whose numbers had gradually increased.
With the same object, many Mosquito
Indians had also settled in the country. The buccaneers
who were driven from the bay of Términos also
harbored in Belize, and after attempting in vain to
retake their settlements finally settled there.




The existence of the piratical establishment of
Wallace and his companions was not discovered by
the Spaniards until the beginning of the eighteenth
century. In 1725 Antonio de Figueroa y Silva was
ordered to expel the English from Yucatan, and for
625
this purpose was appointed governor of that province.[XXXIII‑3]
Soon afterward, in obedience to instructions
from the crown, he visited the ruined town of Bacalar,
or Salamanca, as it was also called, and erected a
fort which he garrisoned with forty-five men. This
fortress, situated on a lake of the same name and connected
with the bay of Espíritu Santo by a navigable
river, was to serve as the base of future operations.
To insure its permanency it was decided to rebuild
the town. The want of settlers in Yucatan, however,
compelled the transportation of a colony from the
Canary Islands, the first portion of which did not
arrive until several years later.[XXXIII‑4]



FIGUEROA'S EXPEDITION.



Meanwhile governor Figueroa began the preparations
for a combined sea and land expedition against
the English settlements, which, it was hoped, would
result in their complete destruction. Apprised of
this design, the wood-cutters of Belize not only prepared
for a determined resistance, but with their usual
intrepidity resolved to anticipate the Spaniards by
invading their territory. A large force of Indians
was obtained from Mosquitia, and an expedition despatched
by sea to Ascension Bay marched on the
important town of Tihosuco. The first settlement
encountered, named Chuhuhú, was taken and sacked,
but ere long Figueroa arrived with a large force and
drove them back to their vessels with considerable
loss.[XXXIII‑5]




This event induced Figueroa to hasten his preparations,
626
but it was not until about the end of 1732,
or the beginning of the following year,[XXXIII‑6] that the expedition
set out for Bacalar. The land force it would
appear numbered considerably over seven hundred
men,[XXXIII‑7] but of those who went by sea no mention is
made. Arrived at Bacalar the troops embarked, and
the fleet sailed in the direction of Belize.




The wood-cutters in the mean time had strengthened
their fortifications at the mouth of the Belize
river, mustered all their available force, and were
said to have received aid from the governor of Jamaica.
Their number at this time it is difficult to
ascertain. According to the report of a Spanish missionary
in 1724, there were at that date about three
hundred English, besides Mosquito Indians and negro
slaves, these latter having been introduced but a short
time before from Jamaica and Bermuda. It is equally
difficult to ascertain the extent of territory occupied
by the wood-cutters at this period, for although previous
to 1718 their settlements extended between the
rivers Hondo and Belize,[XXXIII‑8] in 1733 they were apparently
confined to the course of the latter river.[XXXIII‑9]







Belize.





DEFEAT OF THE WOOD-CUTTERS.



Figueroa's plan was to land his troops on the coast
at some distance from the mouth of the Belize, and
while the fleet engaged the attention of the enemy
by a feigned attack in front, to make a detour with a
land force and fall on the rear of the town. This
627
proved successful, for while the English were eagerly
awaiting the approach of the fleet, Figueroa suddenly
appeared in their rear, and attacked them with such
impetuosity that despite their efforts their town with
nearly all its defenders was within three hours in the
hands of the Spaniards. Having destroyed the town
and fortifications, and all other settlements on the
628
river, and seized or destroyed the vessels and other
property, the expedition returned.[XXXIII‑10]




The Spaniards were greatly rejoiced at this success,
but their joy was short-lived. The wood-cutters soon
returned with reënforcements and a strong fleet, reoccupied
their former settlements, successfully resisted
all subsequent attempts to expel them, and, as we shall
see, the English government afterward extended over
them its protection. In 1736, after various unsuccessful
efforts to dispossess them, the governor of
Yucatan proposed to the Spanish crown that a strong
fort be erected at the mouth of the Belize River to
prevent the passage of vessels, but this suggestion
does not appear to have been acted on.[XXXIII‑11]




In 1739 war again broke out between Spain and
England, and, compelled to defend their coasts from
a powerful English fleet, the Spaniards desisted for a
time from further operations against Belize, although
the determination to regain their territory thus usurped
had not been abandoned. Peace was declared in 1748;
but it was not until two years later, in a subsequent
treaty, that the commercial relations between the
two countries were settled. The damage caused by
Figueroa had in the mean time been made the subject
of diplomatic negotiations, and though no definite
understanding was reached, the efforts of England
appear to have been limited to the protection of her
subjects from molestation in the bay of Honduras,
while the Spanish government continued secretly to
adopt measures for their expulsion.[XXXIII‑12]




In April 1754, a formidable attempt was made to
629
expel the wood-cutters. An expedition of fifteen hundred
men was organized for this purpose at Peten,
Guatemala, but upon reaching the coast after a long
and difficult march, they were met by two hundred
and fifty of the English and completely defeated. This
appears to have been the last expedition sent against
Belize for several years.[XXXIII‑13]




During the seven years' war in Europe, which began
in 1756, England, in her endeavors to induce Spain to
join her against France, offered among other things
to evacuate the establishments made by her subjects
in the bay of Honduras since October 1748, including
Mosquitia, all of which had been made the
subject of complaint. This does not necessarily imply,
as certain Spanish writers would have us believe, that
England thereby acknowledged the illegality of the
wood-cutter's right to occupy that territory.[XXXIII‑14]



THE WOOD-CUTTERS REËNFORCED.



Indeed, it is clearly evident that England considered,
or pretended to consider, that her subjects in
Belize had acquired the right to cut and ship dye-woods
and mahogany in this and other districts,
without molestation, for in the subsequent treaty with
Spain, in 1763, although agreeing to demolish "all
fortifications which her subjects may have constructed
in the bay of Honduras, and other places of the territory
of Spain in that part of the world," England
insisted upon the insertion of a clause in the treaty
whereby the cutters of log-wood were guaranteed the
right to continue unmolested the cutting and shipping
of the same, and the erection of the necessary
buildings for this purpose, within those districts.[XXXIII‑15]




This weakness on the part of Spain, attributed to
the incapacity of her commissioner, the marqués de
630
Grimaldi, though apparently a simple relaxation in
favor of the English of the law which excluded all
foreigners from the Spanish colonies, was virtually a
recognition of the right of the English to occupy indefinitely
a portion of her territory; and though not
explicitly surrendering her sovereignty, no limits
were fixed to the encroachments of the wood-cutters,
nor were they in any way made subject to the Spanish
authorities. Thus the way to future complications
was opened.[XXXIII‑16]




Soon after the ratification of this treaty, the English
government commissioned Sir William Burnaby to
proceed to Belize, establish the limits within which
wood-cutting was to be confined, and draw up a code
of laws for the regulation of the colony. This he
did; and though we have no information as to the
limits fixed, for many years the Burnaby Code, as it
was called, formed the only laws by which Belize
was governed. The establishment of limits, however,
availed but little; for, emboldened by their previous
success in resisting the Spaniards, and encouraged by
the protection of the English government, they gradually
extended their wood-cutting operations beyond
these boundaries, and carried on smuggling to the
great prejudice of Spanish commerce. In consequence,
the governor of Yucatan forbade all communication
between Belize and the Spanish settlements; required
that all persons settling in Belize should present a
permit to that effect from either the English or Spanish
government; expelled the wood-cutters from the
coast district of the Hondo River, and ordered that
all wood-cutting should be confined to the region lying
between the Belize and New rivers, and not farther
than twenty leagues from the coast.




As a result of these measures the business of the
wood-cutters was injured, as they claimed, to the extent
of one hundred and eighty thousand pesos. In
the latter part of 1764 a demand for the satisfaction
631
of these losses was presented by the English minister
at the court of Spain, who also insisted that the governor
of Yucatan be reproved for his conduct, and
that the wood-cutters be permitted to return to the
Hondo River district. The English minister intimated
that war would be the result if these demands
were not granted; but after a protracted correspondence
he succeeded only in obtaining permission for the
return of the wood-cutters to the districts from which
they had been expelled; and the claims were added,
for future settlement, to the long list of those already
pending between the two governments.[XXXIII‑17]



RIVAS ATTACKS THE ENGLISH.



During the next five years there is no evidence
that the wood-cutters were disturbed; but in 1779,
war having broken out afresh between Spain and
England, the former determined to profit by the opportunity
to give the final blow to the existence of
the English settlements in her territory. In that
year Don Roberto Rivas Vetancur, the recently appointed
governor of Yucatan, in accordance with his
instructions began to organize an expedition against
Belize, Bacalar as before becoming the base of operations.
The wood-cutters were soon informed of the
declaration of war, and made all haste to fortify the
mouth of the Belize River and St George Key,
which lies directly opposite. Not content with this,
they determined again to anticipate the Spaniards by
capturing Bacalar, which ever since its reëstablishment
they had regarded as a standing menace to their
safety. In this, however, they were disappointed;
for Governor Rivas, informed of their design, hastily
organized a force of some eight hundred men, and
procuring canoes and piraguas hastened on to Bacalar.
Thence, though his men were ill equipped, he proceeded
against the English; and having driven them
from the Hondo River district, and captured and
632
armed three small vessels, he sent a strong force
against St George Key, and captured the fort with
its garrison.




Further operations were prevented by the sudden
appearance of three English vessels of war sent by
the governor of Jamaica. The Spaniards had barely
time to escape with their prisoners and prizes, the
latter including many small craft. Proceeding up
New River they drove the English from this region,
destroying over forty establishments, and inflicting a
loss on the wood-cutters of more than five hundred
thousand pesos. At this juncture reënforcements arrived
for the wood-cutters, and Rivas was compelled
to abandon their territory; but in consideration of the
important results accomplished with so small a force,
his conduct was approved by the Spanish crown.[XXXIII‑18]



TREATY BETWEEN SPAIN AND GREAT BRITAIN.



The sixth article of the treaty of Versailles, signed
September 3, 1783, defined the limits of Belize and
the rights of the wood-cutters. The boundaries now
fixed as unalterable were the Belize and Hondo rivers,
the north-western boundary being almost a straight
line between the two rivers so as to pass through the
source of New River, the south-eastern boundary
being the coast. The navigation of these two rivers
was to be open to both nations; certain places, to be
agreed upon by the respective commissioners, were to
be marked out where the wood-cutters might erect
all necessary buildings; and it was provided that the
foregoing stipulations should not be "considered as
derogating in any wise" to the rights of Spanish sovereignty.
All English subjects in the Spanish colonies,
in whatever part, were to retire within this
district before the expiration of eighteen months,
dating from the ratification of the treaty; and the
right of fishery on the coast and among the adjacent
633
islands was granted, but no establishments could be
made on such islands.[XXXIII‑19]




Although this treaty so clearly defined the boundaries
subject to British colonization, there were certain
points which had been omitted, and accordingly
another and final treaty was celebrated between Spain
and England "to prevent even the shadow of misunderstanding
which might be occasioned by doubts."




This treaty was signed at London July 14, 1786.
While confirming the former one of 1783, and expressly
stating that "all the lands in question" were
"indisputably acknowledged to belong of right to the
crown of Spain," it contained the following additional
privileges and restrictions. The Sibun, or Jubon
river, was made the western boundary of Belize,
which included all the territory between it and the
Belize as far inland as the source of the Sibun.
Within six months, all possible facilities being provided
by the Spanish government, English subjects
in any part whatsoever of the Spanish colonies were
to retire within the boundaries of Belize; in addition
to the existing privilege of cutting dye-woods, that
of cutting all other woods, mahogany included, was
granted; all the natural or cultivated products of the
soil could be used and carried away, but no "plantations
of sugar, coffee, cacao, or other like articles, or
any fabric or manufacture by means of mills or other
machines," saw-mills excepted, could be established
under any pretext. On account of the insalubrity of
the adjacent coast St George Key was granted for the
purpose of settlement, but it could not be fortified, nor
could any armed force be stationed there. Certain
small islands off the coast about midway between the
mouths of the Sibun and Belize rivers were granted,
together with the intervening waters, for the purpose
purely of refitting ships; no government, either
634
military or civil, could be established except such as
could be agreed upon by the two powers for the
maintenance of peace and order. To preserve entire
the right of Spanish sovereignty over the territory
granted, such settlements only would be permitted as
should be necessary for the trade in wood and fruits.
Finally, two commissioners, one from each government,
were to visit the country twice a year to see
that these stipulations were observed.[XXXIII‑20]




By these treaties the respective rights of the two
countries in the territory of Belize were clearly defined.
Spain held undisputed sovereignty; England's
right was limited to an indefinite occupation for purposes
of trade. But it is not always sufficient to
declare rights; the powers of Europe keep their
agreements when compelled by force of arms, and
this, Spain, with her declining strength, was eventually
unable to do.




Colonel Enrique de Grimarest, the Spanish commissioner,
arrived in Belize early in 1787 and was
soon joined by the English commissioner and superintendent
of the colony, Colonel Edward M. Despard.
Article thirteen of the treaty of 1786 required that
all other portions of the Spanish colonies should be
evacuated by the English before the new grants could
take effect. The Mosquito kingdom appears to have
been the only territory then occupied by the English
besides Belize, and nearly all of its inhabitants having
arrived at this latter colony by the middle of 1787,
the commissioners proceeded to mark the boundaries;
but the formal transfer of the territory between the
Sibun and Belize rivers was not made until the 11th
of August. In the course of the survey of the Belize
River it was found that the wood-cutters had anticipated
this new grant of territory by extending their
operations beyond the former boundaries, the country
635
for some distance on the western side of the river not
only being stripped of mahogany, but several establishments
were found in active operation outside the
boundaries newly assigned. These the owners were
compelled to abandon and retire within the limits of
the colony, but it was hardly to be expected that men
who claimed independence, and denied even the right
of England to make their laws, would respect the
boundaries after the departure of the Spanish commissioner.
Indeed they openly declared their intention
of establishing a government and framing laws of
their own. The Spanish commissioner complained
of this condition of affairs, but without any apparent
result.[XXXIII‑21]



FINAL EFFORTS OF THE SPANIARDS.



In October 1796 England declared war against
Spain, and upon the receipt of this news in Yucatan,
Arturo O'Neill, the governor of that province, began
immediate preparations for an attack on Belize. It
was not until May 20, 1798, however, that the expedition,
consisting of between two and three thousand
men and a large fleet of small vessels, departed
for Belize, escorted by two Spanish frigates. The
frigates accompanied them only part of the way,
returning, it is said, on account of lack of provisions,
and the shallowness of the water on the coast. The
remainder of the expedition continued the voyage.
Nothing was accomplished, however, as the settlers
were fully prepared; and being reënforced by many
of the planters who had been ordered to abandon
Mosquitia, and aided by the English sloop-of-war
Merlin, they prevented the Spaniards from effecting
a landing. After hovering off the coast for a few
days the expedition returned to Yucatan.[XXXIII‑22] This was
the last attempt made by the Spaniards to expel
the men of Belize. Thenceforth the stipulations of
636
treaties were disregarded, and the territory as far
south as the Sarstun was gradually taken possession
of and held by right of conquest, the subsequent revolution
throughout the colonies rendering the Spaniards
powerless to prevent these encroachments.[XXXIII‑23]
637




CHAPTER XXXIV.



HONDURAS.

1550-1800.





Piratical Raids on Trujillo and Puerto de Caballos—Condition of
the Settlements—Church Matters—Missionary Expedition to
Tegucigalpa—Martyrdom of the Missionaries—Labors of the
Franciscans in Honduras—Interference of the Bishop—Trujillo
Destroyed by the Dutch—Fort San Fernando de Omoa Erected—Its
Capture by the English—And Recovery by President Galvez—Roatan
Several Times Occupied by Buccaneers—Their Final
Expulsion.




In Honduras, and Higueras as the northern portion
of this territory was termed, there were, it will be remembered,
but seven Spanish colonies about the middle
of the sixteenth century;[XXXIV‑1] and of these, Trujillo,
the largest, contained only fifty settlers. It is probable
that the entire number of Spaniards in the province
at this time did not exceed two hundred; and so
slightly had the resources of the country been developed
that the few who lived there were by no means
wealthy.




But poor as the colonists were, their condition did
not shield them from the depredations of freebooters,
who during the latter portion of the century made
several raids on the coast of Honduras. In 1576
Andrew Barker, a so-called merchant of Bristol, resolved
to reimburse himself for loss of property confiscated
by the Spaniards during a trading venture
to the Canary Islands, and set forth on a piratical
expedition. Fitting out two vessels, he sailed from
Plymouth in June. After touching at various points
638
and capturing a small amount of treasure, he arrived
at the mouth of the Chagre, where men were sent
in search of friendly cimarrones who might act as
guides. As none could be found, the expedition sailed
for Honduras, captured on the way a ship containing
a little gold and a small quantity of arms, and
anchored off the island of San Francisco. Here, on
account of a quarrel with his chief officer, Barker was
forcibly sent on shore, where, with thirty of his men,
he was surprised by a party of Spaniards, and nine of
the English were slain, himself among the number.
A detachment from the ships was then sent in a pinnace
to capture the town of Trujillo, where but slight
resistance was encountered, and a good store of wine
and oil was secured, but not an ounce of treasure. A
squadron of Spanish men-of-war now appeared in sight,
and the robbers were glad to regain their pinnace,
leaving on shore eight of their number, of whom no
tidings were afterward heard. On the homeward voyage
one of the vessels was capsized in a squall, and
fourteen of the men lost with most of the treasure.
The survivors arrived in England without further
adventure, and the proceeds of the expedition yielded
but thirty pesos as the share of a common soldier.
This was vengeance indeed!




In 1592, when Puerto de Caballos and Trujillo
were attacked by pirates, affairs seem to have been
more prosperous, for considerable booty was found
at the former place. "Wee remained in the towne
all night," says one who took part in the expedition,[XXXIV‑2]
"and the next day till towards night: where
we found 5 or 6 tuns of quick silver, 16 tuns of old
sacke, sheepe, young kids, great store of poultrie, some
store of money, & good linnen, silkes, cotton-cloth,
and such like; we also tooke three belles out of their
church, and destroyed their images. The towne is of
200 houses, and wealthy; and that yere there were
639
foure rich ships laden from thence: but we spared it,
because wee found other contentment."




In 1595 a raid was attempted on Puerto de Caballos
by the French, but on this occasion the corsairs
were defeated, many of them being killed or captured,
and the remainder compelled to put to sea "blaspheming
and averring that neither they nor the English
had met with similar disaster in any part of the
Indies."[XXXIV‑3] During the next year Trujillo and Puerto
de Caballos were again assailed by the English under
Sherley and Parker, and the latter town was once
more sacked; but, says the chronicler who described
the expedition: "It was the most poore and miserable
place of all India."[XXXIV‑4]




Notwithstanding the depredations of freebooters,
the colonies of Honduras appear to have been fairly
prosperous at the close of the sixteenth century. The
lands around Trujillo were then under cultivation,
producing large crops of maize and fruit; grapes,
oranges, and lemons being raised in abundance. On
two sides of the town were rivers abounding in fish.
Pasture was abundant, and the cattle introduced from
Spain multiplied so rapidly that they were of little
value except for their hides. The walls of the houses
were of bushes interlaced, plastered within and without,
and covered with palmetto-leaves. The cathedral
and the convent of San Francisco, the latter being
founded in 1589, were the most prominent buildings.



REMARKS OF THOMAS GAGE.



"This is a woody and mountainous Country," writes
Thomas Gage, who journeyed through the western
part of Honduras, on his way from Trujillo to Santiago
in 1636; "very bad and inconvenient for Travellers,
and besides very poor; there the commodities
are hides, Canna fistula, and Zarzaparilla, and such
want of bread, that about Truxillo they make use of
640
what they call Cassave, which is a dry root, that being
eaten dry doth choak, and therefore is soaked in broth,
water, wine, or Chocolatte, that so it may go down.
Within the country, and especially about the city of
Comayagua (which is a Bishop's seat, though a small
place of some five hundred inhabitants at the most),
there is more store of Maiz by reason of some Indians,
which are gathered to Towns, few and small. I found
this Country one of the poorest in all America. The
chief place in it for health and good living is the
valley which is called Gracias á Dios, there are some
rich farms of Cattle and Wheat; but because it lieth
as near to the Country of Guatemala as to Comayagua,
and on this side the ways are better than on that,
therefore more of that Wheat is transported to Guatemala
and to the Towns about it, than to Comayagua
or Truxillo. From Truxillo to Guatemala (Santiago)
there are between four score and a hundred leagues,
which we travelled by land, not wanting in a barren
Country neither guides nor provision, for the poor
Indians thought neither their personal attendance,
nor any thing that they enjoyed too good for us."




Small as may have been Comayagua—or as it was
now termed by the Spaniards Nueva Valladolid—in
comparison with other cities which Gage visited during
his travels in the New World, it was the most
flourishing settlement in the province, and continued
to prosper until 1774, when it was destroyed by earthquake.
In 1557 it was declared a city, and in 1561
its church was raised to cathedral rank. The seat of
the bishop's diocese was soon afterward transferred
there from Trujillo, the chapter including a dean,
archdeacon, rector, and doctor of common law.[XXXIV‑5] In
1602 there were in Nueva Valladolid convents of the
orders of La Merced, San Francisco, and Juan de
641
Dios, and an endowed college under the patronage of
the king.



ECCLESIASTICAL AFFAIRS.



The unseemly disputes which occurred among the
ecclesiastics at an earlier period in the history of
Honduras[XXXIV‑6] were now at an end. On the death of
Bishop Pedraza, whose high-handed measures had
rendered him unpopular with the colonists, and driven
nearly all the religious from the province, Gerónimo
de Corella, a Jeronimite, was appointed to the see.
To Corella succeeded Alonso de la Cerda in 1572,[XXXIV‑7]
and in January 1588 the mitre was bestowed on Gaspar
de Andrade, a Franciscan, who held office until
his decease in 1612.[XXXIV‑8]




The income of the bishopric at this date was three
thousand pesos a year; there were five prebends; and
within the diocese a hundred and forty-five Indian
towns, with nearly four thousand heads of families.[XXXIV‑9]
In 1610 the metropolitan of the diocese, the archbishop
of Santo Domingo, empowered the dean of the
chapter in Honduras, to hear and determine appeals
in order that the expense and delay incident to the
journey to Santo Domingo might be avoided. In
October 1613 Alonso Galdo was consecrated bishop,
and during this and the following year visited all
parts of the province, confirming more than seven
thousand persons, some of whom were over ninety
years of age. During his administration two synods
were held, the last one in April 1631. Three years
before that date Luis de Cañizares was appointed
coadjutor in the diocese at the request of the prelate,
642
who was now aged and enfeebled by incessant toil.
After the death of Galdo in 1645[XXXIV‑10] the see remained
vacant until 1647, when Juan Merlo de la Fuente
accepted the bishopric of Honduras, after having refused
that of Nueva Segovia.




Between Honduras and Nicaragua lay the district
of Tegucigalpa, of which mention has before been
made in connection with missionary labors.[XXXIV‑11] In the
principal Indian town, which was known by the same
name, was founded in 1589 a convent of the Franciscans,
and later one of the Merced order. Nevertheless
the greater portion of this territory had never yet
been visited by the ecclesiastics. In 1622 the missionaries
Cristóbal Martinez de la Puerta and Juan
Vaena, accompanied by five native interpreters, sailed
from Trujillo, and landing at Cape Gracias á Dios
journeyed toward this region. On their way they
several times came in sight of bands of natives, but all
fled at their approach. The interpreters could not
obtain a hearing, and in vain the missionaries held
forth the cross and beckoned peaceful overtures to
the timid savages. Puerta and his colleague were
becoming discouraged, when one day they beheld a
vast multitude of Indians approaching them, and in
their midst a venerable chieftain with long white
hair, who advanced to welcome the missionaries. He
told them that their coming had been eagerly anticipated,
as it had been foretold in a vision by the
most beautiful child he had ever seen, with melting
tenderness of glance and speech, that he should not
end his days before being a Christian, and that men
would come for the purpose of teaching him. The
natives at once erected a dwelling and church for the
missionaries, and the baptism of the aged leader and
all his family speedily followed.
643




Vaena then proceeded to Guatemala, where his
tidings caused great excitement. Many volunteered
their services, and from them Benito Lopez was chosen,
accompanying the former on his return in January
1623. Meanwhile seven hundred adults had been
baptized, and seven villages founded by the different
tribes of the country. The chief difficulty of the
missionaries was to overcome the nomadic instinct of
the natives, who would depart for the woods or the
mountains when least expected and without apparent
cause.




During the year the three ecclesiastics visited the
country of the Guabas, where they met with remarkable
success, baptizing some five thousand persons.
While the missionaries were thus gathering a rich
harvest of souls, they and their converts were attacked
and overpowered by a hostile tribe named the Albatumas,
and the former were put to death with cruel
tortures. A large force was sent to punish the natives,
and the remains of the missionaries were recovered
but their murderers had fled to the mountain fastnesses.
The bodies of the martyred men were conveyed
to Trujillo, where they remained until the city
was captured by pirates, when the guardian of the
convent had them removed to Santiago, and they were
there interred with great ceremony in the church of
San Francisco.



THE XICAQUES.



About the year 1661 the Xicaques, whose territory
bordered Tegucigalpa on the north, made frequent
raids on the Olancho Valley. One of the principal
sufferers by these forays, Captain Bartolomé de Escota,
resolved on their suppression, and capturing a
large number gathered them into settlements in Honduras.
Accompanied by three Lencas he then proceeded
to Guatemala in search of a priest to instruct
them. The president urged the Franciscans to undertake
the task, as they had been the pioneers in
the work, and now an abundant harvest seemed to
644
await the gathering. Fernando de Espino, at the
time a member of the convent of Almolonga, was a
native of Nueva Segovia, a town bordering on the
lands of the Xicaques, and was familiar with the
Lenca language and people. He undertook the work
and associated with himself Pedro de Ovalle. They
started from Guatemala in May 1667, and met with
moderate success. In 1668 Espino was recalled, and
Ovalle, with additional assistants, carried on the work
despite multiplying difficulties, through many years.
In 1679 seven small villages contained upward of a
thousand christianized natives and the number was
continually increasing. Lopez paid a visit to this
district in 1695, and became so enthusiastic in the
work that he spent the remainder of his life there,
dying in 1698 in the midst of work accomplished or
projected for the good of the people.




The Franciscans were greatly impeded in their
labors by the opposition of the bishop of Honduras,[XXXIV‑12]
who caused a portion of their buildings to be destroyed,
and placed them and their converts under
the ban of excommunication. According to Vasquez
these proceedings caused him to be suspended from
office.[XXXIV‑13] The prelate lived to repent of his error, and
during his last sickness was waited upon by members
of the order which he had sought to injure.
645




The few remaining records that have come down
to us concerning the history of Honduras until the
close of the eighteenth century, apart from the social,
political, and industrial condition of the province,
which will be mentioned in a future volume, relate
chiefly to the raids of freebooters and hostilities with
foreign powers.[XXXIV‑14]




In 1643 Trujillo was once more captured and pillaged,
the town being almost destroyed by the Dutch,
although protected by a fort mounting seventeen
heavy guns and a number of smaller pieces. So disheartened
were the Spaniards by this disaster that
the place was abandoned and remained in ruins until
1789, when it was rebuilt and fortified by order of
the king. In 1797 it was again attacked by an English
squadron; but after a sharp fight the assailants
were repulsed with loss.



DEFEAT OF THE ENGLISH.



In obedience to a royal cédula dated August 30,
1740, a fort named San Fernando de Omoa was built
on a harbor of the same name, near Puerto de Caballos,
as a further protection for the coast of Honduras, and
to serve as a calling-place for the guardas costas employed
in those parts. The works were begun in 1752
by Vazquez de Sotomayor, president of Guatemala,
and completed three years later. Although the site
was very unhealthy, a town was established there
which soon contained a considerable population, and
became the outlet for the commerce of eastern Guatemala.
On the 25th of September 1779, Spain and
Great Britain being then at war, the fort was attacked
by four English men-of-war. It was gallantly defended
by its commandant, Desnaux, with five hundred men,
and the British, not being in sufficient force, were
compelled to retire.[XXXIV‑15]
646




On the 16th of October, the English returned with
twelve line-of-battle ships, a large body of troops, and
a horde of Mosquito Indians. As on the previous
occasion they at once opened fire; but the guns of
the fort replied so vigorously that one of the vessels
was disabled; and another having run aground, the
attack was suspended. By this time, or soon after,
a body of auxiliaries from Puerto de Caballos had
gained the heights opposite the town, after setting fire
to all rancherías which interfered with siege operations.
The besieged, being surrounded, and attacked on all
sides, were soon forced to surrender. A better fate
might have attended them had not some of the negro
artillerymen and a company of regulars, dismayed by
the odds against them, turned recreant and broken
down with their axes the gates of the fortress.[XXXIV‑16] Four
hundred prisoners and an immense booty, said to have
exceeded three millions of pesos, were captured, besides
several vessels ready freighted for Europe.[XXXIV‑17] The
conquerors destroyed the town; but no sooner had
they secured their plunder than a violent storm came
on, and the ship on which the treasure was placed
foundered, the rest of the fleet having a narrow
escape.




At this time Don Matías de Galvez ruled in
Guatemala, and no sooner did he hear of the disaster
than he despatched messengers to the governors
of Cuba and Yucatan, and to Viceroy Mayorga, of
Mexico, calling for contributions of men and material.
647
The viceroy responded at once, sending reënforcements
by way of Oajaca.[XXXIV‑18]




Galvez soon organized the militia of the settlements,
and collecting all the regulars he could muster
advanced on San Fernando de Omoa. By the 26th
of November he had constructed six lines of intrenchments
before the castle. Fruitless negotiations were
held, and on the last day of the month a midnight
attack was made on the English, who being partially
surprised slowly retreated from the fort after spiking
the guns, and succeeded in gaining their ships, carrying
off the leading men among their prisoners,
together with considerable booty.



RENDEZVOUS OF THE PIRATES.



Of the numerous islands that studded the bay of
Honduras, more or less thickly peopled when discovered
by Columbus at the beginning of the sixteenth
century, but three were to any extent inhabited a
hundred years later. These, Roatan, Guanaja, and
Utila, remained quietly subject to the Spanish rule
until 1642, when they were taken without resistance
from the natives, and garrisoned by English pirates.
The situation became critical for Spanish interests, as
the robbers could dart out from the islands like hawks
and pounce upon the commerce of the seas, or make
unexpected descents upon the main.




A few years later the governors of Guatemala,
Habana, and Santo Domingo united in an expedition
for the recovery of these islands. Four ships of war
under the command of Francisco de Villava y Toledo
sought to surprise the English, and arrived at Roatan
before daybreak. They were discovered by the
sentinels, and the assault successfully resisted. The
Spaniards, after expending all their ammunition, re-embarked
and sailed for Santo Tomás de Castilla to
obtain a fresh supply and await reënforcements.
648




In 1650 a second expedition consisting of 450 men
was despatched for the same purpose, and after a
sharp resistance the English were compelled to betake
themselves to their ships. From that date Roatan
was left undisturbed by the British until 1742, when
they again took possession of the place and fortified it
with materials obtained at Trujillo. There they remained
until 1780, when they were again driven out
by the governor of Guatemala. In 1796 the English
once more gained possession of the island and stationed
there a guard of two thousand negroes; but
in the following year José Rossi y Rubia, being ordered
by the governor of Honduras to attempt its
reconquest, induced the garrison to capitulate without
resistance.
649




CHAPTER XXXV.



GUATEMALA AND CHIAPAS.

1601-1700.





President Castilla—Port Santo Tomás Founded—Factions—A Gambling
President—Condition of the Colonists—Grievances—Patronage
of the Crown, the Audiencia, and the Cabildo—Disputes—Defensive
Measures—Rule of President Caldas—Reorganization
of the Audiencia—President Barrios and Bishop Navas—Political
Dissensions—A Troublesome Visitador—The Berropistas and
Tequelies—A Line of Bishops—Wealth of the Regular Orders—A
Prelate Bewitched—The Bethlehemites—Royal Order Concerning
Curacies—The New Cathedral and Festivities—Succession—The
Progress of Chiapas.




Although the Guatemalan historian Juarros passes
an encomium upon President Castilla, who it will be
remembered was appointed governor of Guatemala in
1598,[XXXV‑1] it is much to be doubted whether the citizens of
Santiago, over whom he ruled, gave unqualified assent
to his praise. In the records of the cabildo appear
frequent complaints charging him with encroachment
upon the prerogatives of the municipal authorities,
with neglect of his magisterial duties, and with interference
with the privileges of citizens,[XXXV‑2] and rights of
650
precedence on public occasions. But more than this,
the gradually increasing poverty of the nobles was
laid at his door by these jealous petitioners, who were
strongly opposed to an equal division of property, as
is evidenced by their representing to the king that
the subdivision of the encomiendas had rendered such
property almost valueless. In view, also, of exposure
to attack on their frontiers, they besought the king
not to appoint a civilian as their president, but a man
of military training.




It was during the administration of Castilla that
the bay of Amatique was discovered, and the port of
Santo Tomás founded. The immediate cause of the
establishment of this port was a piratical raid in 1603
on Puerto de Caballos, which town had for some time
been exposed to attacks from corsairs. In that year
a squadron of eight vessels, under command of Pié de
Palo and a mulatto named Diego, with a force of
more than twelve hundred men entered the harbor,
and notwithstanding the brave resistance of Captain
Juan de Monasterio, who had only two ships, they
defeated him and captured his vessels.[XXXV‑3]




This disaster induced the president to order an exploration
to be made with the object of discovering a
more secure site; and in March of the following year
Estévan de Alvarado, assisted by Francisco Navarro,
an experienced pilot, surveyed the coast. Their favorable
report of the bay of Amatique[XXXV‑4] induced the audiencia
to give orders for the founding of a town which
was called Santo Tomás de Castilla in compliment
to the president.[XXXV‑5] The removal of the population of
Puerto de Caballos was effected as quickly as possible,
and by the beginning of 1605 the commerce of Guatemala
651
on the Atlantic was carried on through the new
port.[XXXV‑6] Although the advantages of San Tomás were
evident and the king approved of the change, no fortifications
had been constructed there for several years
at least. In 1607 eight Dutch pirate vessels appeared
in the bay just as Monasterio was ready to sail for
Spain, but on this occasion the pirates were driven off
with the loss of one ship sunk, the rest of the squadron
having sustained much damage.[XXXV‑7] So inactive was
the Spanish government in taking measures for the
protection of the town that Monasterio determined
to fortify it himself, and in 1609 mounted seven pieces
of artillery on a large rock near the shore.




Though situated on a spacious harbor, easy of access,
and well sheltered from the winds, the new settlement
did not prosper; for the surrounding country
was so sterile as not to yield provender enough, even
for the mules employed in transporting merchandise.
It was consequently gradually abandoned for Puerto
Dulce, lying to the west.



GOMERA SUCCEEDS CASTILLA.



In August 1609 Antonio Peraza Ayala Castilla y
Rojas, conde de la Gomera, was appointed by royal
cédula to succeed President Castilla, and entered upon
his duties in 1611, during which year his predecessor
died while undergoing his residencia.[XXXV‑8] The new president
gave but little satisfaction to the people of Santiago.
He extorted money from the settlers by
unlawful means,[XXXV‑9] and three years after his installation
652
violent disturbances broke out. The political condition
of the country attracted the attention of the
viceroy of Mexico, and the visitador Juan de Ibarra
was sent, in 1614, to investigate the affairs of the
audiencia. Matters became more complicated. Gomera
was suspended, and retired to the town of Patulul.
The whole province was divided into factions
and the people so incensed that a riot was imminent.
This state of affairs continued until 1617, when
Gomera was reinstated in the presidency, which office
he held until 1626, when he retired to his birthplace
in the Canary Islands.[XXXV‑10] He was succeeded by a man
of very different character, one Juan de Guzman,[XXXV‑11]
who, having lost his wife on the voyage to Guatemala,
lost with her all interest in life. After governing for
a term of five years with a mildness and beneficence
which ill suited the grasping disposition of his associates,
he was, as it were, driven from the presidency
by their persistent disagreement with his views.




Alvaro de Quiñones y Osorio, marqués de Lorenzana,
was the next to fill the presidential chair,[XXXV‑12]
being transferred from Panamá. His spirit of covetousness
was in strong contrast with the unselfish
disposition of his predecessor, and he soon became
extremely unpopular. Gambling was a favorite pastime
in the capital of Guatemala, and while the president
strictly prohibited all gaming in private houses,
his own palace was converted at night into a regular
653
gambling establishment, of which he reaped the profits,
frowning upon the moneyed men who cared not to
frequent his tables.[XXXV‑13] In 1642 he was succeeded by
Diego de Avendaño, and on his voyage to Spain the
vessel on which he had taken passage foundered, and
he was lost. Avendaño's rule was marked by integrity
and disinterestedness. He died in August 1649,
and the presidency was given to the licentiate Antonio
de Lara y Mogrobejo, who held office till 1654.



CONDITION OF THE COLONISTS.



The condition of the colonists during the first half
of the seventeenth century was prosperous. The city
put on an appearance of wealth and even grandeur.
Magnificent private residences, and large mercantile
houses filled with valuable goods, surrounded the public
squares and stood upon the principal streets; while
stately churches, with richly furnished interiors, convents
and nunneries of different orders, and public
institutions were scattered throughout the capital.
Daily markets in which all kinds of provisions in great
abundance were disposed of at low prices proclaimed
the absence of poverty,[XXXV‑14] while the wealth of the merchants
was such as to make them the peers of any in
the New World. Nor was the prosperity of the
country behind that of the city. Agriculture thrived
and immense tracts of lands were under cultivation.
But the most prominent industrial feature were the
numerous and extensive cattle and sheep farms which
had been established in the province, and which furnished
meat for the surrounding towns at a price
within reach of the poorest inhabitant.[XXXV‑15] Commerce
was no less prosperous, and an extensive trade was
carried on by mule trains with Mexico, Chiapas, Nicaragua,
654
and Costa Rica, and on the oceans with Peru
and Spain.




"This city," says Thomas Gage, who lived for three
years in Santiago, "may consist of about five thousand
families, besides a Suburb of Indians called el Barrio
de Sto Domingo, where may be two hundred families
more. The best part of the City is that which joyneth
to the Suburb of Indians, and is called also el Barrio
de Santo Domingo, by reason of the Cloister of Saint
Dominick, which standeth in it. Here are the richest
and best shops of the City, with the best buildings,
most of the houses being new and stately. Here is
also a daily Tianguez (as they call it) or petty Market,
where some Indians all the day sit selling Fruits,
Herbs and Cacao, but at four in the afternoon, this
Market is filled for a matter of an hour, where the
Indian women meet to sell their Country slap (which
is dainties to the Crioltans), as Atolle, Pinole, scalde
Plantains, butter of the Cacao, puddings made of
Indian Maiz, with a bit of Fowl, or fresh Pork in
them, seasoned with much red biting Chille, which
they call Anatamales."




"The climate is very temperate, far exceeding
either Mexico or Guaxaca. Neither are the two
forenamed Cities better stored with fruits, herbs for
sallets, provision of flesh, Beef, Mutton, Veal, Kid,
Fowls, Turkies, Rabbets, Quails, Patridges, Pheasants,
and of Indian and Spanish Wheat, than is this
City: from the South Sea (which lyeth in some places
not above twelve leagues from it), and from the rivers
of the South Sea Coast, and from the fresh Lake of
Amatitlan and Petapa, and from another Lake lying
three or four leagues from Chimaltenango, it is well
and plentifully provided for of fish. But for Beef
there is such plenty, that it exceeds all parts of
America, without exception, as may be known by the
Aids which are sent yearly to Spain from the Country
of Guatemala, where they commonly kill their
Cattel, more for the gain of their Hydes in Spain,
655
than for the goodness or fatness of the flesh, which
though it be not to compare to our English Beef,
yet it is good mans meat, and so cheap, that in my
time it was commonly sold at thirteen pound and a
half for half a Rial, the least coyn there, and as much
as three pence here."[XXXV‑16]



SALABLE OFFICES.



Taxation was a ground of grievance, and the complaints
raised by the citizens of Santiago eventually
caused a reduction of an impost, which during the
years 1614 to 1626 more than doubled itself,[XXXV‑17] and
was doubtless offensive. Another cause for dissatisfaction
was the patronage which appertained respectively
to the crown, the audiencia, and the cabildo.
To the crown belonged the appointment of the president
and five oidores,[XXXV‑18] ninety-two judicial and military
officers, one fiscal with the same salary as that
of an oidor, a contador and treasurer,[XXXV‑19] and various
other minor officials. At the disposal of the president
were nearly one hundred salaried appointments:
namely, those of the corregidores, to the number of
about fifteen, including the corregidores of Nicaragua
and Honduras;[XXXV‑20] that of the alcalde mayor of San
Tomás de Castilla, and other patronage.




The audiencia disposed of the offices of the alguacil
mayor, the receiver and treasurer of fines and court
fees, two escribanos and chief secretaries of the audiencia,
656
the assessor of taxes and six receivers, the
secretary of the court of estate pertaining to interstates,
and several other positions. All these offices
were salable.[XXXV‑21] The positions of all officers of the
municipality were also open to purchase.[XXXV‑22] With regard
to the patronage of the cabildo, it was much
more limited, and naturally confined to appointments
within the city limits.[XXXV‑23] Under such a system of
patronage and sale of public offices, it was but natural
that important positions were frequently held by incompetent
favorites or by exacting officials. Hence
arose repeatedly disputes and discord between the
cabildo and people on the one side, and the audiencia
and royal officers on the other.




Nor were the colonists exempt from calamities
caused by pestilence and natural phenomena. In 1601
an epidemic carried off great numbers with startling
rapidity, and the years 1607, 1621, 1640, and 1651
were signalized by fearful earthquakes which caused
great loss of life.[XXXV‑24] In 1686 a pestilence decimated
the population. The peculiarity of this epidemic was
that the robust and healthy fell victims to it more
readily than the weak and sickly. This calamity was
followed in 1687 by a violent earthquake which caused
great destruction to churches and houses, and a loss
of over three hundred lives. A similar disaster equally
destructive occurred in 1689.[XXXV‑25]
657



DIVERS ADMINISTRATIONS.



In May 1654 Fernando Altamirano, Conde Santiago
de Calimaya, took possession[XXXV‑26] of the presidency
of Guatemala. His rule was made notorious by the
sanguinary quarrels of the Medenillas and Carrazas,
in which implacable family feuds most of the nobles
of Guatemala became involved, and the president unfortunately
took part.[XXXV‑27] He died in 1657; and during
the administration of his successor, Martin Cárlos de
Mencos, formerly commander of the galleons, the
audiencia was engaged in frequent disputes relative
to privileges and jurisdiction.[XXXV‑28]




The ayuntamiento was at this time a much more
powerful corporation than formerly, owing to the
greatly increased number of its members, and the
marked favors bestowed upon it by various sovereigns
of Spain during this century. In the valley of
Guatemala it had civil and criminal jurisdiction over
no less than seventy-seven villages, a prerogative repeatedly
confirmed by royal cédulas.[XXXV‑29] Questions of
precedence, however, had for the time to give place
to that of self-defence owing to the presence of freebooters
on the northern coast. The fortifications of
San Felipe on the Golfo Dulce had been begun in
March 1651, and although in the following year the
oidor Lopez de Solis objected to further expenditure
without direct permission of the crown, the oidor
Lara Mogrobejo, the fiscal Esquivel, and the royal
658
officers Santiago and Sotomayor proved their right
to use certain sums originally assigned for the defence
of Trujillo and Santo Tomás, and the fortifications of
San Felipe were completed in 1663.




In 1667, Mencos' term of office having expired, he
returned to Spain, and in the same year the new president,
Sebastian Álvarez Alfonso Rosica de Caldas,
arrived.[XXXV‑30] Caldas advocated with enthusiasm the already
projected conquest of the Lacandon country,
which will be described later, and in a letter to the
king offered to effect its subjugation at his own expense,
on condition that it be called after his own
name.[XXXV‑31] This proposal led to no result so far as the
president was concerned, but its publication[XXXV‑32] stimulated
inquiry and ultimately caused the opening of a
road between Yucatan and Guatemala.




The administration of Caldas was warmly approved
by the cabildo, and in an important question regarding
authority the members espoused his cause. The
fiscal, Pedro de Miranda Santillan, being accused of
barratry, the president not only suspended him, but
caused him to be imprisoned in San Felipe.[XXXV‑33] The
king disapproved of this high-handed measure touching
one of the officers of the crown, and to make matters
worse the fiscal died in prison on the 9th of October
1669. Before hearing of the decease of Santillan his
659
Majesty had, by cédula dated May 6, 1670, appointed
him an oidor of the audiencia, and by another cédula
of the same date Bishop Juan de Santa María Saenz
Mañosca was appointed visitador and president. A
tedious investigation followed, but before it was concluded
Caldas died.[XXXV‑34]




The new president was noted for extreme punctiliousness
in questions of etiquette. On one occasion
being on foot an oidor drove by without stopping
his carriage as a mark of respect, for which dereliction
the president fined him two hundred pesos. At
another time an oidor gave offence by making great
display with his carriage and four horses, attended
by two outriders. A decree was forthwith published,
prohibiting a repetition of such ostentation by any
one except the bishop.




By a royal cédula issued on the 18th of May 1680,
the constitution of the audiencia was reformed. The
position of president and captain-general was made
similar to that of the viceroy of Mexico, his rule being
independent of the oidores, while their department of
justice could in no way be interfered with by him, his
official signature only being required to authenticate
their despatches and affirm their sentences.[XXXV‑35]



PRESIDENT BARRIOS.



On January 26, 1688, President Barrios y Leal took
the office.[XXXV‑36] His arrival was unattended by the usual
660
display. He had experienced on his way from Golfo
Dulce such hardships that he requested the cabildo to
omit the ceremony of welcome and devote the funds
appropriated for the purpose to improving the defences
at Golfo Dulce.[XXXV‑37] His rule was no less troublesome
to him than his journey had been. Differences had
again arisen between the regular and the secular
clergy.[XXXV‑38] Bishop Navas, then in charge of the diocese,
was greatly excited, and addressed a memorial to
the cabildo, soon after the arrival of Barrios, upon
what he considered flagrant abuses, stating that in
view of the many disasters which the country had
experienced during the last six years from various
causes, taxation was taking the life-blood of an already
impoverished people. The bishop was one quick to
discern evils which he was powerless to remove; apt at
the formation of plans he lacked the perseverance to
execute; and assumed the attitude of a partisan, where
it especially behooved a prelate to be unbiassed. Thus
he was incessantly interfering in political matters, and
personal relations between him and the president
were soon exceedingly unpleasant,[XXXV‑39] finally becoming
a matter of inquiry at the Spanish court. On the 13th
of March 1690 a royal cédula was issued severely reprimanding
the bishop[XXXV‑40] for his conduct toward the
president.




On January 25, 1691, Fernando Ursino y Orbaneja,
661
an oidor of Mexico, was appointed visitador to Guatemala,
and he provisionally removed President Barrios.
In 1694 Barrios was reinstated in office. The principal
occupation in which he had previously been
engaged was the conquest of the Lacandon country,
into which he had personally led an expedition as will
be narrated hereafter. He now began preparations
for a second campaign. While thus employed his
health failed, and he died on the 12th of November
1695.



POLITICAL FEUDS.



The death of Barrios was followed by dissension in
the audiencia relative to his provisional successor.
By law the right of succession fell on the senior oidor,
Francisco Valenzuela Venegas, but the licentiate José
de Scals was by some means installed in the presidency.
Hence arose a violent party feud,[XXXV‑41] and when
Gabriel Sanchez de Berrospe arrived in March 1696,
as the appointed president, the government was in a
state of confusion which no efforts of his could rectify.
In fact a political storm closed the history of Guatemala
for the century. The opposition, led by Scals
and his ally, the oidor Amézqueta, baffled Berrospe's
attempts at legislation, by every artifice that could
cause delay.[XXXV‑42]




On the 17th of June, 1699, Diego Antonio de
Oviedo y Baños, an oidor of Santo Domingo, Gregorio
Carrillo y Escudero, and two others were appointed
oidores of Guatemala pending an investigation
concerning the audiencia, with right of succession at
the close of the former oidor's term. Oviedo was
named as senior oidor, but being detained in Santiago
de Cuba, Carrillo usurped the position and refused to
662
give place to the former on his arrival.[XXXV‑43] Controversies
continued until the coming of the licentiate
Madriz as visitador in 1699, when affairs became still
more serious, and acts of violence were resorted to by
the two bitter factions which were immediately formed
under the denominations of Berropistas and Tequelies.




The first act of Madriz was to depose Berrospe and
appoint Amézqueta as provisional president. The
oidores Carrillo and Duardo were then deprived of
office, but they promptly affirmed that their removal
was illegal, and resuming their seats ordered the
arrest of the visitador, which they endeavored to effect
on Palm Sunday, 1700. Madriz took refuge in the
college of the Jesuits, which on the following day
was surrounded by the friends of Carrillo and Duardo.
The bishop came to his relief, and he made good his
retreat to Soconusco where he incited the people to
rise in arms against the Berropistas. Berrospe sent
the oidor Pedro de Ezguaras with an armed force to
suppress the tumult, and if possible effect the capture
of Madriz. Ezguaras was at first repulsed, but in a
subsequent encounter Madriz and his followers were
put to flight and peace was restored. Berrospe had
no easy time. Madriz had a powerful ally in the
bishop, who issued manifestoes exhorting all persons
to obey the visitador and not the pseudo audiencia.
Against those who attempted to lay violent hands
on Madriz he threatened excommunication. In February
1701 the visitador returned with an armed force
from Oajaca whither he had fled, and in an encounter
between the rival parties lost sixty of his men, while
the loss of the audiencia was only ten.[XXXV‑44]




Berrospe now retires from the scene, having either
returned to Spain or died while the political struggle
663
was still undecided.[XXXV‑45] The other chief actors continued
the contest somewhat longer. In 1702 José
Osorio, oidor of Mexico, was appointed to supersede
Madriz as visitador, and in September of the same
year the latter was arrested in Campeche, and sent
prisoner to Mexico, as the originator of the disturbances
in Guatemala. Bishop Navas had constantly
identified himself with the Tequelies, and when ordered
by his metropolitan, the archbishop of Mexico, to
withdraw his ban of excommunication against certain
Berrospeists he refused to do so. He died in the
midst of these dissensions, not without grave suspicions
of having been poisoned.



ECCLESIASTICAL AFFAIRS.



Concerning the ecclesiastical history of the province,
we learn that after the decease of Bishop Córdoba, in
1598,[XXXV‑46] the mitre was bestowed on Juan Ramirez de
Arellano, a man said to be of royal lineage. The
honor was bestowed in recognition of his zeal in the
conversion of the natives of Miztecapan. He had
previously made a pilgrimage from Spain to Home
on foot, in as humble guise as ever journeyed the
apostles of old, and was received with peculiar honor
by the pope. When he arrived in Guatemala in 1601,
he changed in nothing the austere mode of life for
which he was noted when a simple friar. His fervor
and determination in the cause of the church brought
on him the enmity of the cabildo,[XXXV‑47] whose members
prayed the king that the bishop might be removed to
some other diocese, and their own allowed a period
of tranquillity. His death, which occurred not long
afterward, released the citizens of Santiago from
664
further anxiety. During the administration of Ramirez
it is commonly supposed that the bishopric of
Vera Paz was abolished and its territory annexed to
that of Guatemala.[XXXV‑48] Bishop Juan Cabezas Altamirano
of Cuba was transferred to Guatemala in 1610,
and took possession of the episcopal chair the following
year. In 1613 he consecrated with imposing
ceremonies Alonso Galdo, bishop-elect of Honduras,
this being the first ceremony of the kind performed
in Guatemala. Two years later Altamirano was
seized with apoplexy and died, when the mitre was
offered to Pedro de Valencia, who before his arrival
in Guatemala was promoted to the bishopric of La
Paz. The bishopric remained vacant till 1621, Francisco
de la Vega Sarmiento, dean of Mexico, having
declined to accept it, and Pedro de Villa Real, bishop
of Nicaragua, the next one appointed, dying before
he reached the diocese. It was then bestowed on
Juan Zapata y Sandoval, bishop of Chiapas, who was
born of one of the noblest families in Mexico. He
was noted for his charitable disposition and was the
first bishop who conferred degrees in the college of
Santo Tomás of Guatemala. After occupying the
episcopal chair for nine years he died in January
1630, and was buried in the cathedral of Guatemala.[XXXV‑49]




The next occupant, Bishop Agustin de Ugarte y
Saravia, came also by promotion from Chiapas, and
presided over the diocese for nine years. He made
valuable presents to the monastery of La Concepcion;
laid the foundation stone of the convent of Santa
Catarina Mártyr, and founded the convent of Nuestra
Señora del Cármen. He was promoted to Arequipa
in Peru in 1641, and afterward to Quito, where he
died in 1650.




His successor, Bartolomé Gonzalez Soltero, had
665
held a variety of important trusts, having been thrice
rector of the university in Mexico, visitador of libraries,
fiscal, and afterward member of the inquisition.
How soon after Saravia's transfer to Peru Soltero
entered upon his duties is not quite certain, but probably
not for some time.[XXXV‑50] His rule was peaceful, and
his devotion to the sick, during a time of pestilence,
won the respect of the cabildo.[XXXV‑51] He died on the
25th of January 1650, and was buried in the cathedral
of Santiago.



RELIGIOUS ORDERS.



The income of the diocese in 1648, as officially
reported, was eight thousand pesos per annum, and at
that time there were in the city of Santiago convents
belonging to the Dominicans, Franciscans, Augustinians,
Jesuits, Mercenarios, and the order of San Juan
de Dios. In charge of the Dominicans was the hospital
of San Alejo, and in 1641 that of Santiago was
assigned to the care of the friars of San Juan de Dios.[XXXV‑52]
Under the management of this society was also the
hospital of San Lazaro. There were, moreover, in
the city four nunneries, two in charge of the Dominican
order, one of the order of La Concepcion, and one
of the order of Santa Catarina Mártyr, the latter containing
four hundred inmates besides a large number
of pupils.




In wealth and luxuries these orders had reached a
degree second only to that attained by the regulars in
666
Mexico and Peru. The cloister of the Dominicans,
for instance, had large revenues flowing in from its
Indian dependencies, water-mill privileges, and farms,
sugar plantations, and a silver mine.[XXXV‑53] Within the
ample grounds of their convent were artificial lakes,
fish-ponds, and fruit and flower gardens, and their
church was rich with costly ornaments and jewelry.
The Dominicans may have fared better than the other
orders, but to none was lacking either comfort or
affluence. Hardly less wealthy than the Dominicans
was the cloister of the nuns of La Concepcion, the
inmates of which were very numerous. It is narrated
by Gage that one fair sister of this society, Doña
Juana de Maldonado, daughter of the judge, so bewitched
the bishop with her youth and charms, that
to gratify her he strove to install her as lady superior
and abbess, despite her youth and inexperience.
In fact the prelate's conduct was such as to create
scandal, and many noted citizens, whose relatives were
inmates, entered the convent prepared to effect a
change by compulsion. The intervention of President
Guzman and the young lady's father resulted in a
relinquishment of her ambitious designs.




The Bethlehemites appeared in Guatemala about
the middle of the seventeenth century, the founder of
their order being Fray Pedro de San José Vetancur.
Their first habitation was a small house which was
purchased for forty pesos obtained by contribution.
The order did not, however, long remain in poverty,
and in a few years large gifts of money were annually
presented to the society. In 1667 Vetancur was
succeeded by Fray Rodrigo as the leader of the
brotherhood, and soon afterward a church was erected
by the Bethlehemites in Santiago at an expense of
seventy thousand pesos,[XXXV‑54] as well as other costly edifices.
667
In 1667 they adopted a code; but the Franciscan
provincial objected to its approval, as it provided
the same habit as that worn by his own order.
This difficulty obviated, the rules and regulations were
approved by the bishop on the 6th of February 1668.[XXXV‑55]
The society was reorganized in 1681 on a basis which
was sanctioned by the pope and the king, but not until
Fray Rodrigo had spent fifteen years in advocating
its cause in Madrid and Rome.



CHURCH GOVERNMENT.



After Bishop Soltero's death the episcopal palace
was not occupied by a prelate until 1659. Juan Garcilaso
de la Vega was first appointed to succeed him,
but died at Tehuantepec on the 5th of May, 1654,
while on his way to Santiago. His remains were
conveyed thither and interred in the cathedral. Fray
Payo Enriques de Ribera was next appointed to the
vacant see, and took possession in February 1659.




In 1660 a royal order arrived rendering more
obligatory former instructions as to the extent and
stipends of curacies. Curates had been employing
secular assistants, to whose charge they either partly
or entirely committed their spiritual duties. They
nevertheless collected all fees and dues. It was not
permitted for a curate to have charge of more than
four hundred natives, and when the renewed mandate
arrived Bishop Ribera undertook to enforce its observance.
The fiscal, Pedro Frasso, however, claimed
that right and also all surplus moneys received by
curates who had more than the legal number under
their charge. The controversy waxed warm and extended
to great length.[XXXV‑56]
668




Ribera traversed the length and breadth of his
diocese in his zeal for the church, and the establishment
of the hospital of San Pedro in Santiago was
due to his labors. He was transferred to the bishopric
of Michoacan and left Guatemala in February 1668.




His successor, Juan de Santo Matías Saenz Mañosca
y Murillo, arrived in the following June, having
previously occupied the see of Habana. The most
important ecclesiastical event during his rule was the
founding of a new cathedral, the corner-stone of which
he laid with imposing ceremonies on the 30th of October
1669. The edifice was completed in 1680, and its
dedication marked by brilliant ceremonies and festivities
which lasted for eight days. The mornings were
devoted to religious services and the evenings to banquets
and balls. Two bands of dancers had been
trained with great care and performed on alternate
days; the one, composed of twelve young men, chosen
from the noblest families, and arrayed in splendid
costumes, exhibited the ancient dances of the New
World; the other, formed of the same number of
young women of great accomplishments, richly dressed
in Spanish style, represented sibyls. Midnight was
made radiant by spectacular fireworks provided by
the different orders and congregations. When the
programme of the clergy had been exhausted, three
additional days were given to unreserved enjoyment.
Theatrical performances, bull-fights, horse-races, and
other amusements were provided, and attended by
throngs of people.




After the close of his duties as president of the
audiencia, Mañosca remained in office until his decease
in the year 1675, having just before received notification
of his appointment as bishop of La Puebla de los
Angeles.[XXXV‑57]
669




In February 1676 the new bishop Juan de Ortega
y Montañez arrived, and held office until 1682, when
he was promoted to Michoacan, being succeeded by
Andrés de las Navas y Quevedo, whose politico-ecclesiastical
views and mode of administration have won
for him an unenviable prominence among the Guatemalan
prelates of the seventeenth century.



GAGE ON CHIAPAS.



During this period the province of Chiapas reached
its highest degree of prosperity. From the time of
its subjugation by Mazariegos the natives had made
no attempt to recover their political freedom, and uninterrupted
tranquillity had reigned in the land. The
natives submitted quietly to their lot, and the Spaniards
enjoyed the fruit of their labors. It is true that
the territory possessed no mines, but the productiveness
of the soil was such that abundance prevailed.
Cacao, cochineal, and cotton were produced in large
quantity and were of great commercial value, while
agriculture and cattle-raising prospered in all parts of
the country. Populous towns[XXXV‑58] were situated in the
fertile valleys,[XXXV‑59] the rivers of which supplied the inhabitants
with abundance of fish, and the forests
abounded with game. But during this period a great
change was gradually taking place in the character
and constitution of the two races. The Spaniards
became enervated and effeminate from indolence and
inactivity, while the Indians were acquiring a knowledge
of manly exercises and sports which their too
slothful conquerors no longer practised with energy
or performed with skill.[XXXV‑60] With regard to the capital
of the province Gage calls it "one of the meanest
670
Cities in all America,"[XXXV‑61] nor is he more complimentary
to the Spaniards inhabiting it. These he describes
as being grossly ignorant, pompous, arrogant, and
cowardly, while the female portion of the community,
with no high reputation for virtue, had gained a terrible
notoriety as poisoners when their jealousy was
aroused or their anger excited by slight or indifference;
but we must not forget that Gage was a foreigner
and a fanatic.[XXXV‑62]



GOVERNMENT.



The government of the province was as heretofore
vested in an alcalde mayor,[XXXV‑63] whose power was almost
despotic, though subject to a certain extent to the
president and audiencia of Guatemala.[XXXV‑64] With occasional
exceptions the political and ecclesiastical authorities
seem to have worked more in harmony than
those of other provinces, and the episcopal seat was
successively occupied by prelates who yearly made
the circuit of their diocese to administer confirmation.[XXXV‑65]
Churches were built and convents founded, and the
Christian faith so successfully inculcated that it was
professed throughout the length and breadth of the
land. But as will be seen later, this tranquillity was
pregnant with the elements of revolt. The contributions
collected by the ecclesiastics for the performance
671
of the religious ceremonies were burdensome to
the natives, and the taxation and exactions of the governors
even more oppressive; nor can it be asserted
that the harsh treatment to which the Indians were
subjected by the earlier rulers was, to any extent,
mitigated by their successors.
672




CHAPTER XXXVI.



THE ITZAS AND LACANDONES.

1601-1700.





Early Efforts at Pacification—Priests and Soldiers Sacrificed—Massacre
of Mirones and his Party—El Prospero Expedition—Indifference
of the Orders—Bishop Navas in the Field—A Tripartite
Campaign Determined upon—Expedition of President Barrios—Meeting
with Mazariegos—Velasco's Operations—The Expeditions
Return—Further Expeditions—Fate of Velasco and his Command—Failure—Ursua's
Enterprise—Progress of Paredes—Negotiations
with the Canek—Opposition of Soberanis—Ursua Takes
Command—Treacherous Allurements—The Itzas Conquered—Peten
Garrisoned—Jealousy of Soberanis—Unsatisfactory Operations—Questionable
Possession.




The region which lay between Yucatan and the
pacified portions of Guatemala was inhabited by various
unsubdued nations, conspicuous among which
were the Lacandones, Itzas, Manches, and Choles.
In 1603 certain members of the Dominican order, led
by Juan de Esguerra, succeeded in penetrating a considerable
portion of the Manche territory, and induced
many of the natives to accept Christianity. In 1608
no less than eight villages[XXXVI‑1] were regulated by Christian
custom and teaching, and the aspect of affairs was
encouraging until 1626, when the Lacandones made
a sudden and fierce assault upon the christianized natives
and Spaniards of that district, advancing as
far as within six leagues of Copan. Many native
Christians were slain, and a still greater number carried
off prisoners. This onslaught was followed the
673
next year by an invasion of the Itzas, when more
than three hundred of the native converts were
captured, including the principal chief, Martin Cuc.
These disasters had a bad effect on the Manches, who
finding that the Spaniards would not protect them,
threw off their allegiance, and with it their profession
of Christianity.



IMPOLITIC ZEAL.



Meanwhile efforts to convert the Itzas had been
made from Yucatan by the Franciscans. Of all the
nations inhabiting this wild country the Itzas were
the most powerful and aggressive. The difficulties of
penetrating their territory, and their secure position
on the islands of the great lake of Peten,[XXXVI‑2] rendered
them apparently secure and independent. To attempt
peaceful intercourse was, indeed, a bold proceeding;
and yet in 1618 friars Bartolomé Fuensalida and Juan
de Orbita, both conversant with the Maya tongue, left
Mérida on such a mission. On their arrival at Tipu,
after delays and difficulties, the cacique Cristóbal Na
received them hospitably, and despatched an embassy
to Tayasal, the capital of the Itzas.[XXXVI‑3] This attention
obtained from the canek, or Itza king, an invitation
for the missionaries to visit his city. On reaching the
lake by night, they were received with welcome; a
flotilla of canoes was sent to escort them across the
water; the town was illuminated with torches, and a
vast crowd assembled to greet them. Having visited
the canek, or king, they were conducted through the
city, after which Fuensalida, by the canek's permission,
addressed the people in his presence, and explaining
the doctrines of Christianity touched upon the object
of their visit. The friar was listened to with dignified
attention, but the answer, though politely expressed,
was not encouraging. The fathers were welcome, but
certain prophecies were current in the nation which
674
declared that in time the Itzas would become Christians.
That time, however, had not yet arrived, and
the strangers, when their visit was terminated, could
go back to their people and return at a more convenient
season.




Hospitable as was the reception of the missionaries,
an act of folly on the part of Orbita changed friendly
feeling into indignation, and placed the visitors' lives
in jeopardy. Entering one of the cues, the great
idol, Tzimenchac,[XXXVI‑4] an image of a horse sejant, excited
the wrath of the friar, who, seizing a stone, battered it
to pieces, and scattered the fragments on the temple
floor. The outcry was vehement, and it was only
through the intervention of the friendly cacique of
Tipu that the friars were allowed to depart unharmed.[XXXVI‑5]




The persistent friars, nevertheless, again attempted
to introduce the faith among the islanders of Lake
Peten, and a few months later, accompanied by a
large escort of Tipus, paid them a second visit. The
canek received them with kindness as before, but the
priests of Itza were on their guard, jealous for their
religion. If they could induce the canek to view the
matter as they did, all would be well. To this end
the king's wife was importuned by the Itza priests,
and through her the fears of the king were aroused.
It was then arranged that the mitote[XXXVI‑6] should be celebrated
with unusual grandeur; and at this feast the
canek should learn that the gods of Itza did not
wish the missionaries to remain. The preparations
for this ceremony excited the alarm of the Tipus, who
675
warned the friars of danger. Nor were their fears
unfounded. On the morning of the festival an armed
multitude surrounded the dwelling of the missionaries,
and having forcibly entered, hurried off the friars with
violence[XXXVI‑7] to the lake, where they cast them into an old
canoe, and left them to make their way back as best
they could. Famished and dispirited they arrived at
Tipu, and thenceforth abandoned all efforts to convert
the Itzas.




Yet in the propagation of the faith, as is well known,
failure usually excites to greater activity. In 1621
one Franciscan father, Diego Delgado, labored in the
province of Bacalar, establishing a new town, Zaclun,
in the mountains of Pimienta. This success induced
Captain Francisco Mirones to enter into a contract
with Governor Cárdenas for the subjugation of the
Itzas. While waiting at Zaclun for reënforcements,
which were slow in coming, the dealings of Mirones
with the natives were so unjust as to excite their
resentment. Delgado remonstrated in vain; Mirones
became more and more arbitrary in his extortions till
the town was ripe for an outbreak.




Meanwhile the friar obtained permission of his provincial
to depart for the capital of the Itzas; and in
1623, accompanied by several Spaniards and about
four score friendly Tipus, he proceeded to Lake
Peten, where he was received by the Itzas with their
customary kindness. Allured by false professions the
ill-fated party passed over to the island, where as soon
as they landed they were overwhelmed by numbers[XXXVI‑8]
and bound, presently to be immolated on the heathen
altar-stone. Delgado was reserved as the last. The
heads of the victims were then placed on stakes erected
on the hillside in full view of the city. Shortly afterward
676
Mirones sent two Spaniards to inquire how
Delgado and his party had fared, but their heads
were soon added to the ghastly collection. A native
guide who accompanied them managed to escape to
tell the tale,[XXXVI‑9] but not believing it Mirones put him to
torture.



REVOLT OF THE ZACLUNES.



The patience of the Zaclunes was now exhausted,
and they determined to throw off the yoke. On the
2d of February 1624, while Mirones and his party
were attending mass, and unarmed, they were assailed
in the church and taken alive. The vengeance of the
Indians was satisfying and complete. The hearts of
Mirones and the officiating priest were torn from
their breasts in the sacred building, and their bodies
thrown into a hole, while the remaining captives,
having suffered a similar death, were placed on stakes
fixed in the road, by which Spanish reënforcements
were expected. Then church and town were burned,
and the natives betook themselves to the mountains.[XXXVI‑10]




This uprising was followed by that of the Tipus;
and though some of those who had massacred Mirones
and his party were captured and put to death, the
country was no longer under subjection. And it further
pleased the aboriginals to manifest their scorn
and insult by erecting ludicrous figures of Spaniards in
the mountain passes, which were guarded by images
of hideous idols.[XXXVI‑11]




Royal cédulas were so frequently issued to the rulers
of New Spain, Guatemala, and Yucatan, enjoining the
conquest of the country which lay between the two
latter territories, that from time to time individuals
677
had proposed to the crown to undertake the enterprise
at their own cost. Such a proposition was made
by Diego Ordoñez de Vera y Villaquiran, a military
officer and encomendero of Mita. His offer was
accepted by the council of the Indies in 1639, and
the title of adelantado of the province, which was to
be named Reino del Próspero, was bestowed as a
reward for his anticipated services.[XXXVI‑12] In 1645 Villaquiran
arrived in Yucatan to make preparations for his
expedition, and being without the necessary means,[XXXVI‑13]
received assistance from the governor and the religious
provincial. He then published the terms of capitulation
with the crown, distributed offices, and made
preparations for taking possession of his province.



MISSIONARY ZEAL.



The zeal of missionary friars, however, made them
anxious that the cross should precede the sword in
the work of pacification; hence in February 1646 two
Franciscans, Hermenegildo Infante and Simon de
Villasis, proceeded from Campeche to Usumasinta,
the most advanced Christian settlement of Yucatan.
They were shortly afterward joined by Villaquiran,
who, finding the friars still resolute in going before,
addressed a letter to the commander of Nohhaa, one
Captain Juan de Vilvao, a mestizo, and the cacique
Pedro XIX., instructing them to render the missionaries
every assistance. Attempts were made by messengers
from Nohhaa to dissuade them from visiting the
town, but they were unavailing; and on their arrival
at that place Vilvao warned them of danger, and
extended to them a churlish hospitality. It was evident
that they were not welcome, and the treatment
which they received soon gave cause for alarm. To
add to the difficulty of their position their first letters
to Villaquiran, who had returned to Campeche, were
never delivered, and it was with difficulty that they
678
at last succeeded in sending a messenger to him.[XXXVI‑14]
The continued absence of tidings from Villaquiran
caused Fray Simon to return to Mérida, but having
suffered from severe illness and hardship on the road,
his health no longer permitted him to take part in
the mission. Fray Bartolomé de Gabaldá was now
sent to assist Infante in his dangerous position, but
well nigh perished on the road before he reached his
destination.




The adelantado again arrived at Usumasinta about
the beginning of 1647 at the head of his forces. But
he was a man utterly unfit for command. Instead of
proceeding to Nohhaa, the true centre of action, as
Infante, who had joined him, urged him to do, he tarried
day after day at Usumasinta, till his inactivity
disgusted his followers, who, seeing no hope of success
under such a leader, gradually abandoned him. At
last with a remnant of his former force[XXXVI‑15] he moved on
to Nohhaa, where he arrived on the last day of July,
1647.[XXXVI‑16] The Indians, having previously ill-treated
the friars, had fled to the mountains, but their cacique
had already made his peace with Villaquiran, and
Father Infante was now despatched to Guatemala to
obtain pecuniary assistance, as the adelantado was
destitute of funds. At Palenque, however, he received
letters from Villaquiran informing him of his illness.
Infante hastened to return, but found that in his
absence threats of coercion on the part of the adelantado,
for the purpose of obtaining provisions from the
cacique, had so enraged the Indians that they had set
fire to the town, and the adelantado with his followers
679
had barely escaped with their lives to Petenecte.[XXXVI‑17]
In this outlying Indian village, Diego Ordoñez de
Vera y Villaquiran,[XXXVI‑18] broken down in mind and body,
lingered in destitution till April 1648, when death
released him from anxiety and suffering. He was
buried in Petenecte, and with him ended all attempt
to establish the province of El Próspero, a name not
specially appropriate to the scene of so ill-conducted
and unfortunate an undertaking.




This expedition was not followed by any others for
a number of years. Some little work was effected by
the Dominicans in the country of the Choles, between
1675 and 1677, and the missionaries succeeded in
establishing several towns. These, however, had no
permanency, and though many natives were baptized
the Choles relapsed into idolatry and the friars abandoned
the field.[XXXVI‑19] Complaints were made against the
Dominicans by the alcalde mayor of Vera Paz, and a
royal cédula, dated November 30, 1680, ordered that
they resume their work and be provided with all needful
assistance from the treasury. The Dominicans
were not slow to defend themselves; but there is little
doubt that their dissensions with civilians caused some
indifference on their part, while the extortionate
oppression of the latter roused among the Choles a
hatred of Christianity which the friars could not control.



ROYAL IMPATIENCE.



Cédula followed cédula, issued by the Spanish monarch,
impatient over the delay in the pacification of
the Choles, Lacandones, and Itzas; but no positive
680
measures were taken until 1684 when Bishop Navas
of Guatemala announced his intention of visiting Vera
Paz with the object of insisting that the royal wishes
should be carried out. This had some effect. President
Guzman convened a council, and promised to
extend all possible assistance to the undertaking. He
also addressed the governor of Yucatan, asking for
his coöperation. The zeal of the ecclesiastics was
again awakened, and both the Dominican and Merced
orders offered their aid. It was finally agreed that
in the ensuing spring attempts should be made simultaneously
by way of Vera Paz and Huehuetenango.
Accordingly in the beginning of 1685 the bishop,
accompanied by Agustin Cano the Dominican provincial
and other friars, proceeded to Vera Paz, while
Diego de Rivas, the provincial of La Merced, went to
Huehuetenango. Neither attempt met with success.
From Cajabon,[XXXVI‑20] under the instructions of the bishop,
the parish priest sent an embassy of five Indians with
a friendly invitation to the Choles. The messengers
were assailed while asleep at night in the house of a
cacique, and only one returned to tell the tale.[XXXVI‑21] This
failure so cooled the zeal of the bishop that he returned
to Santiago. Cano was a man of more mettle,
and with his brother friars, penetrating some distance
into the mountains, reached San Lúcas, one of the
villages formerly established in the country of the
Choles, and induced a number of them to settle there.
It was but labor in vain. In 1688 the fickle neophytes
apostatized, set fire to the town and church,
and again returned to their nomad life.




Nor was the undertaking conducted by the Provincial
Rivas, at the head of the Merced friars, attended
with better result. He fearlessly pushed his
way into the Lacandon country accompanied by Melchor
681
de Mencos, corregidor of Huehuetenango, with
ten soldiers, and reached one of the head-waters of
the Tabasco River.[XXXVI‑22] Abandoned corn patches and
deserted dwellings were discovered, and at the summit
of a hill was found an ancient temple, also abandoned,
built of stone and lime, in which was an idol
in the form of a lion sejant. This they destroyed and
trod underfoot, erecting in its place a large cross. A
blessing was then pronounced upon the place, which
was dignified with the name of Nuestra Señora de
Belen. But the few Lacandones, who occasionally
appeared in sight, always fled at their approach.
Considering it dangerous to advance farther along a
route which was now becoming almost impassable
they retraced their steps.




Once more on the 24th of November 1692 the
council of the Indies transmitted a peremptory order
of the king that the conquest of the Choles and Lacandones
be undertaken simultaneously from Vera Paz,
Chiapas, and Huehuetenango; but as President Barrios
had been temporarily suspended, operations could
not be opened immediately. Upon his restoration in
1694 the matter was pressed upon his attention by
two Franciscans, Melchor Lopez and Antonio Margil,
who had already a varied experience among those
natives, having, at the request of the alcalde mayor
of Copan, twice penetrated into the Lacandon country
at the risk of their lives. In June 1694 they went to
Guatemala, and in forming the plan of the future campaign
their views were carefully considered.



URSUA'S PROPOSAL.



Meantime Martin Ursua, the prospective governor
of Yucatan, had in 1692 proposed to the crown to
undertake the reduction of the Itzas and the Lacandones,
and suggested that the opening of a highway
through their country between Yucatan and Guatemala
would contribute greatly to the success of the
682
undertaking. This road he offered to construct at his
own cost. His proposal was accepted; various cédulas
were issued containing instructions relative to the
method of conducting the campaign,[XXXVI‑23] and directing
Ursua to act in unison with three expeditions which
had been already ordered to advance into the country.




Early in 1695 preparations were completed, and a
general enthusiasm prevailed, for predatory inroads
had been made in different parts by the Itzas during
the previous year. President Barrios himself took
the command,[XXXVI‑24] and arranged that with his division
he should enter the hostile territory from Chiapas,
while Melchor Rodriguez Mazariegos and Juan Diaz
de Velasco, at the head of the two other divisions,
should march from Cajabon and Huehuetenango respectively.[XXXVI‑25]
Several ecclesiastics accompanied each
command, among whom may be mentioned fathers
Rivas, Cano, Margil, and Pedro de la Concepcion.



BARRIOS IN THE FIELD.



Proceeding to Huehuetenango, the president sent
Guzman in advance, with a detachment of his troops,
to Comitán, in Chiapas, and followed in person a few
days afterward. Here he decided to make the invasion
by way of Ococingo, and having appointed the
28th of February for a concerted movement, arrived
on the following day at what was supposed to be the
intended site of the city of El Próspero, selected by
the unfortunate Villaquiran. The ruined dwellings
were repaired, a hermitage erected, and the place
named Santa Cruz del Próspero.[XXXVI‑26] From this point
Barrios advanced into the interior, encountering innumerable
difficulties and dangers in the wild trackless
683
region. Despite dense forests, precipitous gulches,
and mephitic swamps, the country was scoured day
after day in many directions; but no Indian town or
village was discovered. On the 12th of March the
different detachments reunited in a spacious dell named
San Juan de Dios, situated in one of the mountain
fastnesses. Here the exhausted troops rested for eight
days, waiting for provisions to be forwarded from
Ococingo. Barrios then pushed forward under the
same difficulties in an easterly direction until the end
of March,[XXXVI‑27] when he again encamped during easter
week at the foot of a mountain to which the name
of Monte Santo was given. For the next fourteen
days the expedition slowly and laboriously advanced
till further progress was barred by a wide lake. On
its margin, while searching for a route, a troop of
soldiers captured an Indian, who was pressed into
service as a guide. Under his direction they reached
on the 19th of April a rapid stream over which was
stretched a solitary beam of wood,[XXXVI‑28] and while making
preparations to cross it Mazariegos and his troops
arrived upon the spot. The joy at this meeting was
great on both sides. Mazariegos in fact had been
somewhat more successful than his superior. On the
appointed day he had left San Mateo de Istatan,
where he had been stationed, and after discovering
vestiges of ancient buildings reached the village of
Labconop.[XXXVI‑29]




Proceeding thence under difficulties similar to those
encountered by Barrios, he arrived on the 10th of
March at the river called San Ramon, along the
banks of which he held his course, though frequently
compelled to ford the stream. It was not, however,
684
until the 6th of April that any success rewarded the
toils of the invaders. On that day footprints were
discovered by Fray Pedro de la Concepcion, who with
four Indians was in advance of the army. These
eventually led them into a path which brought them
in sight of an Indian town. Sending back the natives
the friar entered it alone; but though he plainly perceived
that he was no welcome visitor, he was not
molested. Meanwhile Mazariegos rapidly advanced on
the town; and meeting Fray Pedro on the way, was
informed by him that the inhabitants were preparing
to depart, and when the Spaniards entered not a person
was to be seen. The Spanish leader tried to
persuade the people to return; he also instituted a
search for the president, his meeting with whom has
already been narrated.




Meanwhile Velasco and Father Cano had induced
five hundred families of the Choles to settle in villages,
and explored the country as far as the River
Mopan. Meeting everywhere with a friendly reception,
Velasco recommended that in this neighborhood
a Spanish settlement be established as a base, having
to the south the Choles, to the east and north the
Itzas, and on the west the Lacandones, which was
done. A wooden fort was erected, and to the settlement
here founded was given the name of Los Dolores.
A fence of palisades was built, and thirty Spanish
soldiers with a force of natives were left to garrison
the fort under Captain Solis, Father Rivas with his
companions remaining with them. Meanwhile the
rainy season had set in, and Mazariegos and Barrios
with the main body returned to Guatemala. Velasco
continued his progress toward Lake Peten, and on
the 1st of April was within a few leagues of the
place, when the expedition was met by a hunting
party of Itzas, who rushed upon them with loud outcries.
The Mopanes attempted to parley, but the
answer was a flight of arrows. Exasperated, though
unhurt, the Spaniards discharged their arquebuses at
685
the natives, who thereupon took to flight. The reconnoitring
party now fell back, and to escape pursuit
set fire to the grass and retreated to an encampment
which had been formed on the bank of the Chajal,
about ten leagues from Lake Peten. Several chance
encounters proved the Itzas no contemptible foe;
and as nothing was heard from the president or Mazariegos,
Velasco led his command back to the Mopan.
On his return, while Barrios was making preparations
for another expedition, he fell sick and died. Scals,
upon whom the government devolved, entered heartily
into his predecessor's designs. A council of war
approved the outline of the campaign already formed,
the general features of which were the same as those
of the one preceding. Jacobo de Alzayaga, regidor
of Guatemala, was to lead the party from Huehuetenango
to Los Dolores, and deal chiefly with the
Lacandones; while the oidor, Bartolomé de Amézqueta,[XXXVI‑30]
was to conduct a force through Vera Paz, and
march against the Itzas by way of Mopan.



THE TWO EXPEDITIONS.



About the middle of January 1696 the troops left
Guatemala; Alzayaga, on arriving with his division at
Los Dolores, found the village thriving, more than
five hundred native converts being settled there. He
then proceeded in search of the Lacandon towns and
eventually discovered two, Peta and Mop, each containing
more than a hundred families. The people
readily received the faith. And Alzayaga, concluding
that he had found all the Lacandon villages, went in
quest of the Itzas by way of the Lacandon River.




After descending some thirty-two leagues the expedition
came to another and larger river, which they
ascended for many leagues,[XXXVI‑31] making inquiries whenever
possible for a road to the Itza capital; but all
in vain; and finally, after fifty-seven days of search
686
they returned to Los Dolores,[XXXVI‑32] where they arrived
the 29th of April 1696. A report was sent to the
president, Berrospe, and from him orders were received
to leave a company of soldiers with some priests at
Los Dolores and return to Guatemala, as no further
expeditions would be undertaken in that direction,
unless so ordered by the king.




The expedition under Amézqueta encountered a
more tragic fate. Reaching Mopan about the last
day of February, and taking Velasco into his confidence,
Amézqueta intrusted him with the command
of a company of twenty-five Spanish soldiers, which
was increased at San Pedro by a similar number sent
in advance, together with thirty-six Zalamá archers.
Velasco was to proceed to his former camping-ground
on the Chajal, and there, or in that neighborhood, to
open communication with the Itzas by means of the
cacique Quijan, who had been detained as a prisoner
since the occupation of Los Dolores. Disregarding
these instructions Velasco, without waiting for the
main body, pushed on. The subsequent fate of his
command and of the priests was never ascertained with
certainty, as none of them were ever seen afterward.




The general made every effort to discover the lost
detachment, and following their footprints arrived with
a small escort at Lake Peten. Although he entered
into communication with the Itzas he could obtain no
information of Velasco. The Itzas made every effort
to induce him and his company to pass over to their
city. This he was too cautious to do; and ordering a
final blast of bugles, retreated. The hostility of the
natives now became evident, and a swarm of canoes,
with warlike demonstrations, put off from the island.
Amézqueta, however, successfully effected his retreat,
and rejoined the main body, which was encamped at the
Chajal, where he awaited orders from the president.[XXXVI‑33]
687




The Itzas frequently attacked the Spaniards by
night, and in such increasing numbers that retreat
became necessary. Amézqueta therefore withdrew
to the savanna of San Pedro Mártyr, where he fortified
himself. At this juncture despatches arrived
from Alzayaga announcing the failure of his expedition,
whereupon the president ordered the withdrawal
of the troops, not only from San Pedro but from
Mopan.



DEFEAT OF THE QUEHACHES.



Meanwhile the expeditions despatched from the
north were progressing more favorably. When Ursua
heard that Barrios had started for the Indian country,
he hastened to participate in the work, and sent an
advance corps to coöperate under the president's
instructions. Alonso García de Paredes was placed
in command of the company, which consisted of fifty
Spanish soldiers and a larger number of natives.
Leaving Campeche he advanced to the frontier of
Yucatan, but while reconnoitring he was assailed by
a large force of Quehaches, and a fierce encounter
ensued. The Quehaches were defeated, whereupon
they fled, and from some captives taken during the
encounter Paredes ascertained that the mountain
people were assembled in force. Not daring to press
on with his slender band he returned to Campeche.
Ursua now applied for fresh troops and supplies.
Volunteers were numerous, and by June Paredes had
a much larger force under his command. "This expedition,"
says Villagutierre, "reached the boundary
and frontier of Christianity in that direction" on the
11th of June 1695.




By the middle of July Paredes arrived at Zucthock,
and here for the first time natives visited the camp, and
688
the friars entered vigorously upon their missionary
work. Here also reënforcements arrived from Ursua,
and despatches ordering Paredes to march on Los
Dolores and there establish a fort.




The expedition left Zucthock on the 10th of August,
and passing through several abandoned villages,
crossed the Ucun or Concepcion River, and arrived
at the plains of Chuntuqui, where they found another
deserted village.[XXXVI‑34] Eighty-six leagues of road had
now been cut through the forest, and the path lay
open almost to Lake Peten; but in the beginning of
September the rains set in and further progress was
impossible. Paredes, therefore, withdrew to the north
of Zucthock, and there awaited the return of the dry
season.




Thus far all was well; but the work was now
threatened with interruption from political causes.
Ursua was only acting governor. A suit had for
some time been pending with regard to the respective
claims of Ursua and Roque de Soberanis to the
governorship of Yucatan. This was decided in favor
of the latter, Ursua being appointed his successor.
The law required that in future one holding the title
of governor could not reside in the province; but
Ursua contended that the new road had been advanced
so far beyond the settled limits of Yucatan as to exempt
him from the rule, and considered that the future
control of it belonged to him. As Soberanis was
still detained in Mexico, he continued his preparations
for the campaign of the ensuing year.




At this time news was brought by the Tipus, who
had returned to their allegiance, that the Itzas were
anxious to be reconciled with the Spaniards, and a
Tipu messenger, Mateo Bichab, was sent with presents
to the canek.



SUBMISSION OF CAN.



Although Bichab found the Itzas mustering for
war, the canek expressed his wish to enter into peace
689
with the governor of Yucatan, as the time for the fulfilment
of the prophecies had now arrived. Ursua
consequently sent presents,[XXXVI‑35] and a suitable reply in
the Maya language, by the hand of the father comisario,
Andrés de Avendaño, who was accompanied by
two brother friars. No sooner had Avendaño departed
than news came that an embassy was already
approaching from the Itzas, headed by Can, a nephew
of the canek. Its reception was made as impressive
as possible, and the governor and his chief officers met
Can outside the city and conducted him and his colleagues
with a military escort to the cathedral of
Mérida, where mass was performed. At the official
interview which followed, Can presented to Ursua, in
behalf of the canek, a crown of feathers of divers
colors, in token of submission, and requested that he
and his companions might be baptized. His request
was granted, and the name of Martin Francisco Can
was given to the ambassador, Martin de Ursua acting
as godfather. The embassy was dismissed with
presents for the canek, and an escort of thirty men
at arms, under Captain Hariza, with seven priests,
was assigned to accompany them home.




Paredes was now directed to take possession of the
Itza country in the name of the king of Spain, and
the like instructions were given to Hariza, should he
arrive first at the capital of the great lake. Meanwhile
Avendaño and his companions had met with an
unfriendly reception from the Itzas, who on their arrival
at the island conducted them into a hall where
were exposed the sacrificial table and the seats of the
twelve officiating priests. The sight was not encouraging,
but the calm bearing of the father comisario
secured him a hearing, and he was permitted to read
Ursua's address to the excited multitude which
thronged around the building. The conciliatory tone
690
of the message made a favorable impression, and the
friars now received better treatment. There was,
however, a faction, headed by the cacique Coboxh,
averse to any dealings with the Spaniards, and several
days were consumed in considering the answer to
be sent to Yucatan, during which time the lives of
the priests were more than once in peril. They were
finally suffered to depart with a peaceful reply in
which the canek promised to surrender the islands of
the lake to the Spaniards.[XXXVI‑36] No allusion was made to
Martin Can's mission, nor did the friars know anything
of the matter until their arrival in Yucatan.
On their return homeward the fathers lost their way,
and for several weeks strayed amidst the mountains.
When almost at the point of death from starvation,
two natives of Yucatan who had accompanied them
discovered the road which was being opened by Ursua.
Help was obtained from a passing mule-train, and
the exhausted friars were conveyed to the camp of
Paredes, whence they proceeded to Mérida.




Soon after the departure of Avendaño from Mérida,
Paredes was ordered to proceed to Lake Peten, but
falling ill transferred his command to Pedro de Zubiaur,
who with sixty troops, and accompanied by
father Juan de San Buenaventura, started forth about
the time Avendaño was lost in the mountains. On
arriving at the lake the hostile intent of the Itzas
was speedily disclosed. Buenaventura, accompanied
by Agustin de Sosa and a lay brother, endeavored
to pacify them. All were seized and carried off to
the canoes so swiftly that recapture was impossible.
The Spaniards charged and killed about forty of the
Itzas; but numbers were against Zubiaur,[XXXVI‑37] who after
maintaining the fight for some time retreated in good
order. Francisco de Hariza heard at Tipu of this
change of affairs at Peten, and Martin Can and his
691
comrades, who were under charge of Hariza, also
hearing the news, took an early opportunity of making
their escape. It was proved later, however, that
they had acted in good faith.



REDUCTION OF THE ITZAS.



There were now but eight leagues of unexplored
country between the terminus of the road under
construction from Yucatan and Los Dolores; but this
portion presented the greatest difficulty, and could
not be finished until the Itzas were reduced. An
active contest was now going on between Ursua and
Soberanis for the honor of completing it. Eventually
the viceroy Ortega Montañez, bishop of Michoacan,
decided that to Ursua properly belonged the
completion of the work, and Soberanis was enjoined
to render all possible aid. Letters soon afterward
arrived from the king commending Ursua's labors
and assuring him of protection. A cédula was also
addressed to Governor Soberanis ordering him[XXXVI‑38] to
render all possible assistance. The president of Guatemala
was instructed to aid the enterprise by directing
a body of soldiers against Peten from the south,
while the viceroy of New Spain was to furnish at
cost the provisions and ammunition necessary for the
undertaking.




Sending his infantry and artillery in advance, Ursua
on the 24th of January 1697 left Campeche with the
cavalry. The forces reached Lake Peten without
encountering any serious obstacle, and the construction
of a galliot was at once begun. The Spaniards
were harassed by the Indians, who plied them with
missiles, but Ursua would not allow his men to retaliate,
and treated kindly the Itzas whom he captured,
so that in time their countrymen began to visit
the encampment. Among the first to enter the camp
was Martin Can, who explained that the reason of
his previous flight was fear of unjust punishment for
692
his countrymen's assault on Zubiaur's command. He,
moreover, informed Ursua that the Itzas were preparing
for war. Not long afterward a flotilla of canoes
approached, the largest of which bore a white flag
which betokened the presence of the high priest,
Quincanek, cousin-german and next in authority to
the canek. A guard of honor was drawn up for his
reception, and the chieftains were escorted to the
general's tent with due formality. Mutual assurances
of friendship were exchanged, and Quincanek declared
that the Itzas were willing to open a road from the
lake to that which led to Guatemala.




A day was named on which the canek himself
would visit the encampment, but the promise was not
kept. In his place a tempting bevy of attractive
women was sent, evidently meant to captivate and
beguile; but their deportment betrayed the purpose
for which they were sent, and strict discipline was
maintained. An almost unanimous feeling prevailed
that kindness would not pacify the Itzas. This was
evident from the opinions of the captains expressed
at a council of war; but the general was firmly determined
to abide by the spirit of the king's cédulas,
to employ only peaceful measures until all resources
in that direction were exhausted; and being ready to
sail to the island of Peten, he proclaimed that the
penalty of death would be inflicted upon any one
who should enter upon hostilities under any provocation
without his express order.[XXXVI‑39]




On the 13th of March 1697, after confessing their
sins and celebrating the solemn rites of the church,[XXXVI‑40]
one hundred and eight men set out for the island on
board the galliot, every soul on board being stirred
by religious enthusiasm. On their approach to Peten
693
they were surrounded by countless canoes, whose
occupants ceaselessly plied the Spaniards with arrows,
until a soldier, named Bartolomé Duran, being painfully
wounded, discharged his arquebuse. This was
followed by a general volley. Ursua, who had hitherto
endeavored to convince the Itzas of his peaceful
intentions and had restrained his men by voice and
example, could no longer control them. The galliot
was nearing the island, and the Spaniards in their
impatience to get at close quarters leaped into the
water and fought their way to land. Then forming
in close order they charged the Itzas with such fury
that they, already panic-stricken, broke and plunged
by thousands into the lake.[XXXVI‑41] Great numbers were
drowned, or shot from the pursuing galliot, on which
had remained twenty men besides the rowers. So
great was the terror inspired that those in the canoes
lost their presence of mind, and casting away weapons
and paddles jumped overboard, the surface of the lake,
from the island to the shore, being thickly covered
with the heads of the swimmers.[XXXVI‑42]




Ursua now planted the standard of Castile upon the
summit of the temple, which after due thanksgiving
was converted into a church, and consecrated by the
vicar-general in full canonicals. The chief island received
the name of Nuestra Señora de los Remedios
y San Pablo. The natives were gradually induced to
return to their habitations. On the last of March
Chamajcuca, chief of the Alain nation, came in, bringing
the fugitive canek with all his family, and an era
of good-will was inaugurated. The unfinished road to
Guatemala was meantime pushed forward, and Captain
Paredes was sent with despatches to the audiencia.
The tidings were received by the oidores with
rejoicing, and appropriations were made for the maintenance
694
of a garrison of fifty soldiers at Los Remedios,
as Ursua's means were nearly exhausted.




On hearing of this friendly assistance, Ursua caused
a redoubt to be erected and mounted with artillery.
Then leaving on the island a garrison of seventy-five
men under Captain Estenoz, he returned with the
remainder of his force to Campeche. The enthusiasm
caused by his success was shared by all save his
rival Soberanis, who, straining his prerogatives as governor,
subjected Ursua to vexatious insults, and even
temporary arrest. While in Campeche Ursua received
letters from Peten, showing the necessity of
finishing the work of subjugation. The larger isle
was being deserted, and the smaller ones were under
no control, while the tribes beyond the lake were hostile.
Ursua was in a strait. He felt the necessity of
immediate action, but the unfriendly feelings of Soberanis
and his own reduced means delayed him until
1698, when cédulas were again addressed to the viceroy
of Mexico and the governor of Guatemala and
Yucatan,[XXXVI‑43] ordering them not to throw impediments
in the way of Ursua; while a complimentary despatch
was addressed to the latter,[XXXVI‑44] appointing him governor
and captain-general of the whole country through
which he had opened a highway, and making him
answerable only to the viceroy of Mexico.




Ursua was now enabled once more to take the field,
and having obtained assistance from the military commander
of Campeche, began his march for Peten in
January 1699. A simultaneous movement was also
made from Guatemala by Melchor Mencos, with a
force of two hundred men.



URSUA IN CAMPECHE.



On Ursua's arrival at Los Remedios on the 11th of
February following, he found the garrison almost out
of ammunition, and in want of provisions. Accordingly
he despatched messengers to hasten forward the
695
forces from Guatemala, which were well provided with
stores of all kinds. Meanwhile the latter had begun
the campaign in two divisions, one of which, under
the command of Melchor Mencos, was to unite with
Ursua at Peten, by way of Vera Paz, and the other,
commanded by Estévan Medrano y Solórzano, was to
proceed through Los Dolores to the same destination.[XXXVI‑45]
Mencos arrived at Peten on the 14th of March,
but Medrano did not appear until the 1st of April.




The result of these combined expeditions was most
unsatisfactory. The commissariat, which followed in
the rear of the Guatemalan divisions, did not come up,
and Ursua could not undertake the campaign with any
hope of success. The foraging parties effected little,
and sickness came. Ursua called a council of war, at
which the general opinion was that a garrison should
be left at Los Remedios, and that the rest of the
troops should return. This resolution was carried out
on the 11th of May, when Ursua and Mencos began
their march for Yucatan and Guatemala respectively,
each equally disappointed. Francisco Cortés was left
in command of the fort with seventy men and officers,
and with him remained the vicar-general Rivas, with
other missionaries and some private families. Almost
immediately after Ursua's return Soberanis died, and
the former assumed the government of the province.[XXXVI‑46]




Of the future operations against Peten but little is
known;[XXXVI‑47] of the Lacandones it may be remarked that
to this day they have maintained their independence.
696




CHAPTER XXXVII.



GUATEMALA AND CHIAPAS.

1701-1800.





The Tzendal Rebellion—A New Miracle—Atrocities—A Novel
Hierarchy—The Tzendales Repulsed—Segovia's Operations—President
Cosío Assumes Command—Fall of Cancuc—Spread of
the Rebellion—Its Suppression—Decadence of Chiapas—Earthquakes—Riots—Venality
of the Clergy—Establishment of the
Archbishopric—Heresy—Boundaries of Provinces—Abolition of
Corregimientos—Another Great Earthquake—Quarrels Over
Removal—Expulsion of the Jesuits.




When the storm raised by the Berropistas and Tequelies
had subsided, a political calm appears to have
prevailed for a period in Guatemala. Unfortunately, in
other respects the colonists were far from enjoying
repose, and the eighteenth century was the most calamitous
epoch in the history of the country. Nor
was the freedom from strife between church and state
permanent, since humiliating contests for authority in
time sprang up afresh.




The first important event which disturbed the quiet
order of affairs, was the rising of the Tzendales[XXXVII‑1] in
Chiapas during the presidency of Toribio José de
Cosío y Campa.[XXXVII‑2] In 1712 the Tzendales formed an
alliance with numerous kindred nations, and grafting
some Christian rites upon their paganism, followed the
lead of an Indian girl, who claimed inspiration from
the virgin Mary.
697



THE INSPIRED INDIAN GIRL.



The first outbreak occurred at Diasolo, where Fray
Pedro Villena was beaten almost to death in the
church while attempting to remove certain ornaments
which were to be conveyed to a neighboring
town by the bishop. This outrage was followed by
the seizure of the Spaniards who resided there. They
were, however, released two days afterward. Somewhat
later the bishop visited the disaffected town, and
was openly informed by the Indians that it was their
intention to rise in arms.[XXXVII‑3]




About the middle of the year Simon de Lara, priest
of Cancuc, was informed of the miraculous interposition,
which was on the wrong side of his orthodoxy,
a miracle of Satan's; and that the natives had
erected a chapel near that town in consequence of the
event. He immediately convened the inhabitants,
who promptly assembled, bringing with them the
Indian girl to whom the divine revelation had been
made. Standing in their midst she calmly told how
the virgin had appeared to her, and commanded that
a chapel to her glorification should be built on the
spot where she had made her presence visible. Had
this divine display been free from the taint of aboriginal
faith, much capital might have been made of
it by the fathers. Padre Lara addressed the Indians
on the matter and wished to destroy the chapel, but
the Tzendales induced him to allow it to remain, that
it might serve as a place in which to make bricks.
In spite of the bishop's prohibition, religious rites
continued to be celebrated there, and owing to the
inertness of the authorities at Ciudad Real the hydra
of rebellion grew apace. The neighboring towns entered
into a compact with the people of Cancuc, and
the league spread far and wide in the neighboring
districts.




Thus passed the month of July. In the beginning
of August the Cancucs sent messengers to all the
Tzendales, in the name of the virgin, and with letters
698
signed in her name, commanding them to bring to
her chapel at Cancuc all the silver and ornaments of
the churches, and all the money and books, for there
was now neither God nor king of the Spaniards.
On receiving this summons the leaders of the rebellion
in each town artfully evoked the fanaticism of the
low orders by calling upon them to hasten to the
assistance of the virgin, who they asserted was going
to be put to death.[XXXVII‑4] A multitude was gathered, and
on the 10th a great feast was celebrated at the chapel
of Cancuc, where a council of war was held in order
to complete their plans for the extermination of the
Spaniards. The towns of Tenango and Chilun were
soon afterward attacked by a body of Tzendales, two
thousand strong, who were called the "soldiers of the
virgin." Tenango fell an easy prey; the fiscal Nicolás
Perez was flogged till he died, and many others
were put to death with every ingenuity of torture.[XXXVII‑5] At
Chilun the feeble garrison defended itself for some
time; but when their ammunition was exhausted and
they had no hope of escape or further defence, they
gave up their arms under assurances that their lives
would be spared. Most of them were immediately
clubbed or stoned to death, and the remainder died
under the scourge.



GROWTH OF THE NEW FAITH.



In obedience to the commands of their prophetess
the Tzendales then proceeded against Ococingo, but
the Spaniards retreated in time to Comitán. Aware
that neither woman nor child had been harmed at
Chilun, they unfortunately left their families behind.
699
When the Tzendales entered the town they were
deceived by the women as to the direction their husbands
had taken. On discovering the deceit the
Indians were enraged, and returning to Ococingo they
tore the children from the mother's arms and murdered
them before their eyes; then after beating the
women they sent them to Cancuc.




A high festival was held to celebrate their success,
and over it presided their prophetess, whose word was
law. In the chapel at Cancuc she issued her mandates.
Before the spurious altar of the virgin hung
a screen of Indian matting, behind which the priestess
would retire; thence issuing forth she pronounced the
commands of holy Mary.




The inventor of this imposture was a Tzendale, who
henceforth assumed the name of Sebastian Gomez de
la Gloria. He asserted that Saint Peter had taken
him up to heaven and appointed him his vicar on
earth, with power to elect bishops and priests. And
he went on to the full completion of his holy mission.
All the fiscals of the towns were summoned to Cancuc
and the elect ordained. The only qualifications required
were ability to read, and to perform the feat
of kneeling for twenty-four consecutive hours, candle
in hand, reciting the rosary; after which La Gloria
sprinkled the priest-elect with holy water, and the
ordination ended.




The hybrid faith spread apace. Sebastian celebrated
mass; and on the first performance a great
feast was held, bull-fights and games being celebrated
in honor of the event, while the church was converted
into a dancing-hall. The priestess also celebrated
mass, and daily preached to the natives, dressed in
sacerdotal robes; in the surrounding towns, too, the
newly consecrated priests zealously plied their calling
by discoursing from the pulpit and administering the
sacraments.




But ere long murmurings began to prevail. The
natives had been led to believe that the virgin had
700
oracularly announced that there should be no more
tribute and no more priests.




By dint of flogging the new hierarchy maintained
order for a time, but as the discontent increased
Nicolás Vasquez, styling himself captain-general, in
the name of Gomez de la Gloria, envoy of Saint Peter,
fulminated a proclamation against the malecontents.[XXXVII‑6]




The next action of the Cancuc ecclesiastics was the
appointment of a bishop, and the individual selected
was offered the pleasant alternative of accepting the
bishopric or being hanged. The test of his ability to
fill the office is curious. For three days and nights
he was kept fasting in the chapel at Cancuc under
threat of instant death at the first display of weakness.
Having passed this ordeal he was consecrated
by Gomez de la Gloria with appropriate solemnity and
mummery.[XXXVII‑7]




A government was also formed, the head of which
was Doña María Angel the priestess. She was assisted
by twelve of the principal Tzendales, styled
majordomos.[XXXVII‑8] Sessions were held in the chapel where
contributions were received with which to defray the
expenses of government, and to propitiate the virgin.
Thither also were conveyed the gold and silver taken
from the different churches.[XXXVII‑9]
701




The new régime did not long give satisfaction.
Discontent soon showed itself among the multitude,
and dissension among the members of the government.
The Tzendal angel took offence at one of her
chief supporters, and caused him to be flayed alive;
other offending officials were publicly scourged, and
an Indian named Juan Lopez was hanged for having
in the division of plunder taken at the sacking of a
town appropriated the virgin's share. Disputes arose,
and it was only by dividing among the confederated
towns the money in the chapel treasury that the
inhabitants of Cancuc avoided war with their neighbors.



COMPETITION IN MIRACLES.



At this juncture an opposition miracle was announced
at Yajalon by Magdalena Diaz, an aunt of
Doña María Angel. Magdalena considered that she
had not received the attention to which she was entitled,
and denouncing the Cancuc miracle as false proclaimed
herself a divinely inspired agent of heaven.
This apostasy and counterfeit imitation of the original
miracle was too criminal to go unpunished. The
Cancuc priestess therefore sent a strong force of the
soldiers of the virgin to Yajalon to bring the false
prophetess to her. With some bloodshed this was
accomplished. Magdalena Diaz was hanged, and with
her an Indian of Tila who proclaimed that he was
Christ. So perish all who oppose the true faith!




Meanwhile the Spaniards were making preparations
to suppress the rebellion. When it first broke out
there were not more than thirteen hundred armed
men in the province, and these were scattered in the
different garrisons. It chanced at this time that there
was no one at the head of the government as chief
executive, and the alcalde's ordinaries of Ciudad Real
did not consider that they had the power to act in
such an emergency. One of them, however, despatched
a message to Pedro Gutierrez, the commanding
officer in Tabasco, informing him of the state of
affairs and soliciting aid. Gutierrez at once hastened
702
to Ciudad Real, and having presently received from
the president and audiencia of Guatemala his appointment
as lieutenant-general and chief-justice of Chiapas,
called the panic-stricken inhabitants to arms.




While Gutierrez was on his way to Ciudad Real
the alcalde Fernando del Monje had marched with
one hundred and fifty raw recruits to Huistlan—the
nearest town in the direction of the revolted districts.
Here he had fortified himself, but was besieged by the
Tzendales in great force,[XXXVII‑10] under the leadership of
Nicolás Vazquez,[XXXVII‑11] who made several fierce assaults
upon the place but was repulsed with severe loss.




Gutierrez hastened to the relief of Huistlan with
one hundred and forty Chiapanecs and two hundred
men of Ciudad Real. Forcing his way through the
Tzendales he united his troops with the besieged Spaniards,
and a sortie being made the besiegers were
thrown into confusion and many slain. The Tzendales
abandoned the siege,[XXXVII‑12] and Gutierrez at once prepared
to pursue them, but the timidity of the people of
Ciudad Real fettered his movements. News had
reached the capital that Sinacantlan had revolted and
that an immediate attack upon Ciudad Real was determined
upon by the Tzendales. This intelligence
struck terror into the pusillanimous inhabitants and
Gutierrez was implored to return.




Meanwhile the parish priest of Sinacantlan, Padre
José Monroy, who was at Ciudad Real when these
events occurred, went to his disaffected flock and urged
their return to allegiance. The news of the disaster
before Huistlan had so discouraged the Sinacantlans
703
that the padre had little difficulty in effecting
his object.[XXXVII‑13]



ASSAULT ON OCCHUC.



Thus matters remained for some weeks, Gutierrez
being unable to organize any expedition against the
insurgents, through want of means and the lack of
spirit in the people he had come to support. The
magnitude of the revolt was now realized by President
Cosío, and in October he appointed Nicolás de
Segovia, an officer experienced in Indian warfare, commander-in-chief
of the operations against the Tzendales,
and despatched him with troops to Ciudad
Real. This able officer was soon prepared for an
active campaign, and about the 20th of the month
took the field at the head of four hundred Spaniards,
fifty-four negroes, and one hundred and fifty
Chiapanec warriors, accompanied by a number of
Dominicans, whose order had rendered great assistance
in supplying men, horses, and money. Segovia
marched to Occhuc, while Gutierrez in command of
a strong force[XXXVII‑14] proceeded to San Pedro Chimalco.




A series of engagements followed. Segovia, who
had divided his forces by sending two detachments of
one hundred men each to occupy towns in the vicinity
of Cancuc, was besieged in Occhuc by six thousand
of the enemy; but every assault upon his position
was repulsed with heavy loss to the Tzendales, who
at last took to flight and were pursued with great
slaughter. This was on the 22d of October; and
shortly afterward a reënforcement of these men arrived
under command of the maestre de campo, Juan
de Lozada.[XXXVII‑15] On the 26th the Tzendales, hoping to
effect a surprise,[XXXVII‑16] again assaulted Occhuc, but were
704
beaten off with heavy loss. They then sought for a
parley, and endeavored to induce the Spaniards to
surrender their arms by the same specious promises
that had been so fatally alluring at Chilun. But the
two positions were not similar, and it was only through
the efforts of the fathers that the indignant Segovia
was restrained from firing upon the treacherous truce-seekers.
The Tzendales were summoned to return to
their allegiance, and one hour's cessation of hostilities
was granted. The time of the armistice was occupied
in burying their dead. They then retreated in the
direction of Cancuc.




President Cosío, deeming it necessary to march
against the rebels in person, on the 10th of November
left Ciudad Real,[XXXVII‑17] in company with the auditor-general,
Diego de Oviedo, in charge of a strong detachment
destined for Occhuc. Though formidable intrenchments
had been thrown up by the enemy on the line
of march, the Spaniards by a skilful movement compelled
the Tzendales to abandon them, and a juncture
was effected with Segovia. The combined forces then
advanced against Cancuc and encamped in front of
the town. The enemy was strongly intrenched and
several assaults directed against the fortifications were
repulsed by the Tzendales, the officers being ill supported
by their men. In one of these Segovia was
wounded; many of the soldiers were also severely
injured by the stones hurled against them with remarkable
skill and force.[XXXVII‑18] Success eventually crowned
the Spanish arms, and Cancuc fell into their hands.




Owing to the hiatus in García's manuscript, it is
impossible to say what were the military movements
705
on both sides during the remainder of the year; but
it is certain that the rebellion spread widely, and that
even the native population of Ciudad Real rose in
revolt. With the exception of Chamolla, in fact, the
whole province appears to have risen in arms.[XXXVII‑19]



END OF THE TZENDAL REBELLION.



At the beginning of 1713 the Spanish army was
stationed at Chamolla, and the insurgents after a series
of defeats had become dispirited. Sebastian Gomez
de la Gloria had fled; dissension was rife in the ranks
of the Indians; and the end of the struggle was drawing
near. Marching from Chamolla at night, the
president with his forces advanced against Ciudad
Real. His approach was conducted with the greatest
precaution and in silence, for strong fortifications had
been erected by the enemy about three quarters of a
league from the capital. These he passed unnoticed,
and about an hour after midnight Ciudad Real was
surrounded. The alcalde, who resided in the outskirts
of the city, was surprised and seized, and forthwith
despatched to warn the people to make no attempt at
resistance. Bugles were sounded on all sides to
intimate to the inhabitants how closely the city was
invested, and the army moved silently on to San
Pablo, where the Guatinpan female leader was captured.
Henceforth the Spaniards were everywhere
triumphant; the Indians returned to their allegiance;
and about the month of March the Tzendal rebellion
was at an end. All attempts to capture Gomez de la
Gloria and Doña María Angel proved unsuccessful;
they escaped into the woods and nothing more is
known of them.[XXXVII‑20]
706




The effect of the Tzendal rebellion was disastrous
in the extreme; and later in the century other causes
tended to hasten the decline of the Spanish settlements
in Chiapas. In August 1785 Ciudad Real
with the surrounding country was flooded; numbers
perished; houses were swept away; the churches and
convents were injured, and the growing crops destroyed.
The report of Intendente Sayas in 1800
represents a lamentable condition of affairs. Roads
were almost impassable, bridges dilapidated, and
churches falling in ruins; the country towns possessed
no decent municipal buildings, and even the jails were
so dilapidated that prisoners could not be securely
confined. Sayas in fact describes the province as in a
state of decay.[XXXVII‑21]



A SEVERE EARTHQUAKE.



By a royal cédula of November 6, 1714, the term
of Cosío's presidency was extended for a period of
two years in acknowledgment of his able management
during the Tzendal insurrection. He then meditated
an expedition against the Mosquito Indians, but while
engaged in preparations for the campaign was promoted
to the presidency of the Philippine Islands, and
was succeeded by Francisco Rodriguez de Rivas in
1716. This president continued in office until 1724.
707
During his term occurred a destructive earthquake.
There were also violent eruptions in 1702, 1705, and
1710 which occasioned much alarm and considerable
damage to buildings, and in 1717 the city of Santiago
was almost totally destroyed by shocks which continued
for many days. Particulars of some of the
events of this year are preserved in the official report
of the licentiate Tomás Ignacio de Arana, oidor of
the audiencia, and an eye-witness of many of the
scenes described. From August 18th to September
27th, the Volcan de Fuego vomited fire and ashes,
while intermittent shocks of earthquake kept the people
in constant alarm. On the night of the last named
date a shock more violent than any that had ever
shaken the city occurred, and not a building of any
importance was left uninjured. A scene of terrible
confusion ensued. Men, women, and children rushed
from the doors, or threw themselves from windows into
the street in the wildest consternation. Even the ties
of relationship were forgotten in the awful belief that
divine judgment was at hand. The lamentations continued,
as the people, carrying crucifixes and images of
the virgin, thronged the churches and public squares.
The bishop, holding aloft the host, solemnly exorcised
the evil spirits of the human race.




The following day was the feast of San Agustin,
and both civil and ecclesiastical authorities exhorted
the people to prayer and confession; but while thus
engaged, about sunset an eruption took place, and
from the sides of the mountains sprung rivulets of
fire. Again the people resorted to the sanctuaries,
and an image of the Christ was borne in a procession
to the church of Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes,
which was thronged with an awe-stricken crowd,
anxious to be near the sacred shrine. The bishop in
sacerdotal robes implored the divine mercy, and when
the flames died out there was the usual miracle attributed
to the bishop and the sacred image.




Next day, before sunrise, subterranean noises and
708
fresh flames, vomited from the mountain's crater,
again struck terror to the inhabitants;[XXXVII‑22] and on the
30th a tremendous convulsion shook the earth,[XXXVII‑23] the
sky being hidden by a dense black cloud, which hung
over the city like a funeral pall. The instinct of preservation
prompted flight, and the roads were covered
with fugitives, even modest nuns mingling with the
frightened throng and hurrying away on foot from the
crumbling city.[XXXVII‑24]




The loss of life had been great; and when the convulsions
had ceased the appearance which Santiago
presented was that of a city crushed by the hand of
omnipotence. The cathedral was in ruins, and the
churches and convents more or less shattered. The
wrecks of demolished houses were seen in every direction,
and the few persons who remained were painfully
impressed by the silence which had now succeeded to
the busy hum of a populous community. Throughout
all these distressing circumstances the president
and the bishop displayed unflinching courage, and
strove to alleviate distress and assuage alarm.[XXXVII‑25]




Many meetings of the audiencia were held to
discuss the question of again locating the city. It
was finally left to the decision of the king; but when
709
a license for the removal at length arrived, the inhabitants
had recovered from their panic, returned to
their dilapidated dwellings, and repaired the greater
part of the city.




On the 12th of April 1718 the cabildo of Santiago
addressed a memorial to the king,[XXXVII‑26] setting forth the
pitiable condition to which the city had been reduced,
and the impoverishment of its citizens. His Majesty
was petitioned to take liberal measures for their relief,
and that the church edifices and public buildings
might be restored or built anew.[XXXVII‑27] Pedro Antonio de
Echevers y Suvisa succeeded Rivas in the presidency.[XXXVII‑28]




During his administration serious riots occurred,
caused by the assassination of the presbyter Lorenzo
de Orozco, and the barbarous murder of all his household
for purposes of robbery. The evidence of a
widespread conspiracy was brought to light, and
though no arrests were made, many persons were implicated
during the progress of the inquiry. Grave
disputes also arose between the president and two
members of the audiencia; and when the former attempted
to banish them, they were rescued by a mob
and took refuge in the cathedral.[XXXVII‑29]



RIGHT OF SANCTUARY.



A more serious matter, involving the right of
sanctuary and leading to a civil and ecclesiastical conflict,
arose from the conduct of one Juan Manuel
Ballesteros, who had fatally stabbed a man. The
murderer sought refuge in a convent church, whence
he was dogged by a force sent by the alcalde, García
710
de Hijas. He sought refuge behind the grand altar;
but the sanctity of the place was not regarded, and
despite his struggles he was arrested. The prisoner
was immediately put to the torture, and died under
its effect. The alcalde was promptly excommunicated,
and the ecclesiastics appealed to the king, petitioning
for a royal declaration of their rights in such cases.
The monarch, by a decree of the 18th of June 1720,
decided that in this case the prelate was justified in
proceeding against the alcalde, but that all doubtful
cases, as a rule, must be decided by the king himself
in council.[XXXVII‑30]



CHURCH MATTERS.



During the next twenty years no political event
occurred that is worthy of record. Several able prelates
occupied the episcopal chair,[XXXVII‑31] but their administration
was greatly interfered with by the improper
action of the secular and regular clergy. So flagrant
were the abuses committed by the priests in the exercise
of their duties, that the bishops were embarrassed
in their visits, and the natives oppressed by the venal
conduct of their pastors. The abuse of this mock
religion was carried to such an extreme that the sale
of the sacraments, the failure to visit the dying sick,
and the charges for the performance of funeral ceremonies[XXXVII‑32]
brought on the ecclesiastics the censure of
the crown.




In 1729 Juan Gomez de Parada succeeded to the
bishopric, and the reforms which he effected were so
711
beneficial that the cabildo ordered his portrait to be
painted and preserved, with an appropriate inscription—an
honor which had been paid to no prelate
except Marroquin. In 1736 Parada was promoted
to the see of Guadalajara, and the next bishop of Guatemala,
Pedro Pardo de Figueroa, took possession of
the episcopal chair.[XXXVII‑33]




The occasion of Figueroa's consecration was made
memorable through the action taken by the cabildo,
the members of which deemed that their right of municipal
claim to seats of honor was not duly acknowledged.
The audiencia, the religious orders, and all
the principal personages of the city had convened in
the cathedral at nine o'clock in the morning, and for
some time awaited the arrival of the municipal authorities.
These, however, after an ungracious delay,
sent a message to the effect that the day was not one
on which they could be called upon for the transaction
of business. The audiencia attempted to negotiate,
and after a fruitless loss of time, without
proceeding to their hall of sessions, appointed in the
cathedral other alcaldes and regidores, and notified
the contumacious cabildo that its members were to
consider themselves under arrest. Owing to this
jealous claim for precedence on the part of the municipality
the enthronement of the bishop did not take
place till two o'clock in the afternoon.[XXXVII‑34]




712




Figueroa decorated the cathedral with sumptuous
altars, rare paintings, and exquisite works of art; restored
the convent of the Carmelite friars; enlarged
the episcopal palace, and rebuilt the church of Esquipulas,
in which a so-called miraculous image of the
crucifixion was preserved.




During the seventeenth century the elevation of
the see of Guatemala to an archbishopric had been
frequently brought before the notice of the kings
of Spain; and not without reason; the bishopric of
Honduras was a suffragan of Santo Domingo, while
the far distant archbishopric of Peru was the metropolitan
of Nicaragua. In 1742 Pope Benedict XIV.
at the request of Felipe V. issued a bull conferring
the pallium upon the bishop[XXXVII‑35] of Guatemala.




The suffragan bishoprics were those of Chiapas, Nicaragua,
and Comayagua. The pallium was brought
to Vera Cruz by Isidro Marin, bishop of Nicaragua,
and thence to Guatemala by Francisco Molina,
bishop of Comayagua, who arrived at the capital
October 28, 1745. On the 14th of November the archbishop
was installed and formally invested with the
insignia of office by José Cabero, bishop of Chiapas.
The event was celebrated with great rejoicings. The
archbishop died on the 2d of February 1751, at Esquipulas,
and was interred at the foot of the grand altar of
the cathedral, beside the remains of Alvarado and other
celebrities distinguished in the history of the country.



PROVINCES.



The suffragan sees of Honduras and Chiapas present
little additional material for history during this half
century, the proceedings of the church and regular
orders being one uninterrupted continuance of labors
which year by year became less arduous and were less
carefully attended to.[XXXVII‑36] In the latter province the
713
regular orders had become much impoverished by the
devastations caused by the Tzendal insurrection, and
the Dominicans in particular were so much reduced
by the ravages committed upon their sugar and cacao
plantations that the proceeds of those estates, together
with the yield of their grist-mill, did not supply the
means wherewith to repair their church.[XXXVII‑37]




Whether owing to the increasing carelessness and
indolence of the ecclesiastics, or to the pertinacious
adherence on the part of the natives to the creed of
their forefathers, heresy became so prevalent during
this epoch that the inquisition of Mexico in 1745
fulminated a terrible anathema against offenders in
Central America. In this edict every curse, plague,
or misfortune that could fall upon the greatest sinners
of mankind was invoked upon the head of apostates.[XXXVII‑38]




In the middle of the eighteenth century the captain-generalcy
of Guatemala included the territory lying
between 7° 54' and 17° 49' north latitude,[XXXVII‑39] being about
714
six hundred leagues in length from north-west to
south-east, and varying in width from sixty to one
hundred and fifty leagues, making an approximate
area of sixty-four thousand square leagues.[XXXVII‑40]




At this time the ruler of Guatemala held control
over the provinces of Costa Rica, Honduras, Nicaragua,
Soconusco, San Antonio, San Salvador, Chiapas,
Sonsonate, and Vera Paz; and the districts of Huehuetenango,
Atitlan, and Tecpanatitlan, Quesaltenango,
Chiquimula de la Sierra, Escuintla and Guazacapan,
Tegucigalpa, Sutiaba, Realejo, Sebaco, and
Nicoya.[XXXVII‑41] In 1787 the territory subject to the captain-general
included thirteen provinces—those of
Soconusco, Chiapas, Suchitepec, Vera Paz, Honduras,
Izalcos, San Salvador, San Miguel, Nicaragua, Jerez
de la Choluteca, Tegucigalpa, Costa Rica, and Guatemala.[XXXVII‑42]




By royal cédulas of the 11th of March and 20th of
June 1776, the office of regent of the audiencias was
715
created.[XXXVII‑43] Although little is said about their doings
in Guatemala, they were invested with great powers,
and their authority was greater than that of the president.
In January 1778 Vicente de Herrera was appointed
regent, and between that date and 1800 the
office was held by six of his successors.[XXXVII‑44]




In no other respect does any change appear to
have been made in the officers composing the government.[XXXVII‑45]
Important changes, however, had been
introduced in the system of government. Since its
organization the political divisions had been subject
to many variations. During the seventeenth century
there were as many as thirty-two, of which four were
governments, nine alcaldías mayores, and nineteen
corregimientos.[XXXVII‑46]



CORREGIMIENTOS ABOLISHED.



About 1660 eight of the corregimientos were abolished
and united to the governments,[XXXVII‑47] and from the
716
beginning of the eighteenth century until about 1790
the corregimientos were further reduced, new alcaldías
mayores being formed and others abolished.[XXXVII‑48]




At about this latter date the intendencias[XXXVII‑49] were
established, reducing the number of provinces to fifteen,
which embraced four intendencias, thirty-nine
subdelegaciones, four politico-military districts, three
corregimientos, and seven alcaldías mayores.[XXXVII‑50]




Between 1752 and 1773 eight governors ruled in
Guatemala; but their administrations were marked
by no event worthy of special notice. With the accession
717
of Martin de Mayorga at the latter date,[XXXVII‑51]
however, began one of the most eventful periods in
the history of the country.



MAGNIFICENCE OF THE CITY.



Notwithstanding the disasters which the city of
Guatemala had experienced, it had continued to increase
in wealth and importance, until at this time it
was noted for the number and elegance of its private
and public buildings and the magnificence of its
numerous churches and convents. It still maintained
its rank as the second city in North America, being
inferior only to Mexico in its advantages of location,
scenery, climate, and varied resources. On every
side of its well watered and fertile valley extended
villages and farms, where cultivated fields and green
pastures afforded a pleasing prospect; while high above
the hills and mountains, which flanked it on either
side, towered in majestic grandeur the three dreaded
volcanoes.
718




In the centre of this beautiful valley, and nearly
opposite the Volcan de Agua, stood the city. Over a
mile in width at its narrowest part, its numerous
streets were broad, well paved, and, excepting in the
suburbs, laid out at right angles. Every portion of
the city was abundantly supplied with water, and in the
principal square there was a large and handsome stone
reservoir, fed by two streams. Facing on this square
were the governor's and archbishop's palaces, the city
hall, mint, and cathedral. The government buildings
were remarkable for their solidity; and within their
spacious corridors, formed of columns and arches, was
displayed every variety of merchandise. The churches
of Guatemala, of which there were nineteen, were
famed for their architectural beauty, their size, and
the richness of their ornaments. Besides the cathedral
and the churches, there were eighteen convents
and eleven chapels. The cathedral was over three
hundred feet in length, one hundred and twenty in
width, and sixty-six feet high. It had three naves with
eight chapels on each side. Its interior was richly
carved and gilded, and decorated with rare and costly
statues, paintings, and tablets, while it possessed many
precious relics, and numerous utensils of gold and silver.
The high-altar was of exquisite design.[XXXVII‑52]




The private dwellings were many of them of great
beauty, solidly and commodiously built, richly furnished,
and with spacious gardens and courts. The
number of inhabitants at this time was little short of
twenty-five thousand,[XXXVII‑53] and from the neighboring
pueblos, the chief occupation of whose inhabitants
was agriculture and various industrial arts, Guatemala
was supplied with all the necessaries and many
of the luxuries of life.[XXXVII‑54]




Such, in June 1773, was the fair city of Guatemala,
destined for a second time soon to be laid low by envious
powers. During the past twenty-three years the
metropolis had experienced frequent disturbances, some
of a political nature, others in the appearance of that
familiar and dreaded visitant—earthquake. Two severe
shocks, occurring March 4, 1751, did considerable
damage, chiefly to the churches;[XXXVII‑55] in 1757 a shock was
felt to which the natives gave the name of San Francisco.
Two more were felt in 1765; the first, called the
holy trinity, was disastrous to the province of Chiquimula,
and the second, called San Rafael, desolated the
province of Suchiltepeque, but neither did any damage
in the city of Guatemala.[XXXVII‑56]




About 1756 a riot occurred in the city on account
of the prohibition of the sale of certain liquors, but
was soon suppressed by the personal courage and
prompt measures of President Arcos.[XXXVII‑57] In 1766 a
serious outbreak was threatened because of the establishment
of the tobacco monopoly, and was only prevented
by reducing the price of that article. The
alarm and excitement caused by this danger was increased
by the atrocious murder of two friars.[XXXVII‑58]




The minds of the people were for a time diverted
from their local troubles by the funeral obsequies of
the queen of Spain. The official notification of her
720
death was received in Guatemala March 25, 1759, and
on the 29th of the following June pompous funeral
ceremonies were celebrated.[XXXVII‑59]



ANOTHER GREAT EARTHQUAKE.



Two years later the oath of allegiance to Cárlos
III. was taken.[XXXVII‑60] In October 1762 the valley was
flooded, and the town of Petapa, and the portion of
the city known as the Barrio de los Remedios was
inundated.[XXXVII‑61] But the crowning disaster was yet to
come. A few slight shocks of earthquake in the latter
part of May 1773 gave no cause for apprehension
and were almost forgotten, when on the 11th of June
they returned with such violence as to damage several
houses and churches, notably the Carmelite and
Dominican convents, and the hospital of San Juan de
Dios. The shocks continued for several days with
diminishing force and frequency until they had nearly
ceased. On the 25th of July they were again renewed,
but although frequent and violent there was no serious
damage until the 29th, when the people had partially
recovered from their alarm. Then they were startled
by a sudden shock, coming on about four o'clock in
the afternoon, which, though comparatively slight,
seemed portentous of evil. So great was the apprehension
felt by the inhabitants that many instantly
abandoned the city, and those who remained were
ready at the first indication of its return to flee from
their dwellings. Scarcely ten minutes had elapsed
since the first shock when there was a second, and
of such violence that with the first vibration the work
of destruction began. The motions were as varied as
they were sudden and destructive; now horizontal,
now vertical, the latter uplifting the earth with explosions,
and compelling man and beast to remain
prostrate. On every side were heard the crash of
falling walls, the doleful clangor of the church bells as
their towers rocked under the impulse of unseen powers,
721
and above all the loud wailings of the terror-stricken
people, who, collected in the squares and
streets, vainly implored divine protection.



DESTRUCTION AND DEATH.



Throughout the night the shocks continued at brief
intervals, and the horrors of darkness were increased
by a severe rain-storm, accompanied by thunder and
lightning, to which the thinly clad inhabitants were
fully exposed, none daring to seek shelter from its
fury lest a worse fate should overtake them. When
day broke they were enabled to realize the full extent
of the calamity. Of the magnificent cathedral nothing
was left but a heap of ruins. Not a house in the city
had escaped either destruction or serious damage. In
many cases where the houses remained standing their
foundations had settled or their walls were shattered
or twisted. The greatest ruin, however, was caused
in that portion called the Barrio del Candelaria. Here
every house, including the church and the Dominican
convent, was levelled to the ground. In many parts
of the city even the pavements of the streets and
the tiled floors of private dwellings were uplifted and
shattered. The deaths, strange to say, were comparatively
few, not exceeding one hundred and thirty
within the city, and probably a smaller number in the
surrounding country.[XXXVII‑62]




722




On the following day the duty of interment was
begun under the direction of the civil and ecclesiastical
authorities. Fearful of pestilence the dead were
buried wherever found, the grounds having first been
consecrated. Hunger and thirst next stalked about
the ruins. Most of the supplies within the city had
been destroyed or buried beneath the fallen houses,
and none dared venture in those yet standing, as the
shocks still continued. The aqueducts had been
destroyed, and but a scanty supply of muddy water
could be obtained. This distress, however, was soon
relieved by the prompt measures of the president,
who caused to be distributed a quantity of stores destined
for the fortress of Omoa. Vigorous measures
were also taken to suppress the pillage of the ruined
houses, already begun. Thefts to the value of ten
pesos or more were made punishable by death, and
for lesser amounts, the breaking-open of any trunk,
or the approach after evening prayers to the temporary
quarters of the nuns, two hundred lashes
and ten years' penal servitude was the penalty fixed.
As proof of their determination to carry out these
measures the authorities caused a gallows to be at
once erected in the principal square. The presence of
the militia, who had been summoned from the neighboring
town, also helped to keep the criminal classes
in check.[XXXVII‑63]
723



THE QUESTION OF REMOVAL.



Many had left the city for the adjacent villages, or
had erected temporary shelters in the outskirts, but
more lingered near their homes suffering from lack of
food, clothing, and shelter. Within a few days when
the shocks had gradually diminished, and it was a
question whether the city should be rebuilt or removed
to a new site, the president convoked a meeting
of the civil and church authorities and prominent
citizens, and it was finally decided to remove to the
valley de la Ermita, the portion known as the Rodeo
being chosen, and the choice approved by a decree of
May 24, 1774. But finally, at the instance of the
new fiscal of the audiencia, the site was changed to
the plain of the virgin adjoining La Hermita, where
were greater advantages.




Although a removal was favored by a majority of
the prominent persons, subsequent events showed that
it was not the free expression of the popular will.
Many of the citizens were not in a condition to reason
calmly. The apprehension of fresh calamities was
kept alive by the continued shocks, which on the 7th
of September and 13th of December were unusually
severe. Those of the latter date were said by some
to have equalled in violence that of the 29th of July,
and caused further damage to the remaining buildings.
As time went on, however, the fears of the
724
people disappeared, and the opposition to a removal
grew stronger among all classes; but still the audiencia
objected. This body, together with the royal
officials and the troops, had been established in the
Hermita since September; but few if any of the
citizens appear to have joined them, and not even a
petechial fever, which appeared and raged until May
1774 could induce them to abandon the ruined city.[XXXVII‑64]




The president would fain have compelled the removal,
but the royal decree which arrived in the
latter part of 1774, made the selection of the site
subject to the approval of the viceroy of Mexico, and
ordered that until such approval was obtained the
erection of permanent buildings should not be made.
The viceroy was duly informed of the choice of site,
but instead of approving it he reported the matter to
the crown.




The removal of the city to the plain of the virgin
was confirmed by royal decree of November 1775,
and immediately following its receipt President Mayorga
issued decrees inviting the citizens to select
their lots in the new locality. But few responded to
this invitation, and none began the construction of
houses, believing that this site would be ultimately
abandoned.




Toward the end of December a second royal decree
arrived with instructions as to the manner of removal,
but forbidding the total abandonment of the old city.
Suppressing such portions of these instructions as
suited his design, the president continued his measures
of coercion, but apparently with little success,
for on the 29th of July, 1777, he found it necessary
to decree that within a year the old city must be
abandoned and all buildings pulled down. The ayuntamiento
had been ordered to take up their permanent
residence in La Hermita at the end of 1775, and their
protests, first to the president and subsequently to
725
the crown, appear to have availed nothing.[XXXVII‑65] The
archbishop, however, and the ecclesiastics still remained
in the ruined city.



MORE QUARRELS.



The archbishop had opposed the removal from the
beginning, and in his numerous representations to the
crown had occasion to complain of the minister Galvez.
One of these letters fell into the hands of Galvez, who
determined on revenge. Through his influence secret
and stringent orders were issued for the total abandonment
of the ruined city, and a former resignation
of the archbishop, made in 1769, and rejected by the
crown, was reconsidered and accepted. The orders
issued by the president became more and more stringent,
but as he refused to show the royal decrees to
the archbishop the latter paid no heed to them.




Thus affairs continued until August 1778, when
Don Matías Galvez, a brother of minister Galvez,
arrived in Guatemala with the rank of inspector-general
and acting president of the audiencia in the
absence or sickness of Mayorga. In the beginning
of 1779 the entry to the ruined city of all kinds of
merchandise was forbidden; repairs on houses, grounds,
or streets were prohibited; music, bull-fighting, and
all other public diversions were interdicted; the temporary
huts in the streets and squares were ordered
removed, and all artisans, militia, and others of this
class were ordered to transfer their residence to the
new site within a limited period.




On the 5th of April Galvez took temporary possession
of the presidency, Mayorga being promoted to
the viceroyalty of New Spain, for which place he set
out toward the end of the month. The appointment
of Galvez arrived the 14th of May when he took
formal possession of the office. Through his subordinates
he at once issued peremptory orders to all seculars
for the immediate abandonment of the old city
under severe penalties. This tyrannical measure could
not be fully carried out, and such was the suffering it
726
caused among the poorer classes that many were
allowed to remain among the ruins. The principal
cause of all these troubles, however, was the archbishop.
The civil authorities could not compel him
to leave the old city, and it was hoped that a systematic
course of annoyance would induce him to repair
to Spain, and that during his absence the new archbishop
who had already been appointed would quietly
take possession. Having set out on a pastoral visit,
August 21, 1778, it was supposed that he had departed
for Spain; but in September 1779 he was again in
Guatemala City, whence he issued an edict disputing
the validity of his successor's claims, this latter, Cayetano
Francos y Monroy, having arrived in Guatemala
during the preceding month. From the 9th to
the 30th the struggle between the archbishop and
the audiencia continued. To the former's threats of
excommunication the latter replied with demands
for the recognition of the new archbishop, and this
proving ineffectual he was ordered to depart for Spain,
and the recognition of Monroy by the people enjoined
under heavy penalties. It is uncertain to what extremes
the president might have proceeded had not
Archbishop Cortés secretly left for Spain at the end
of the month. Monroy at once took possession, and
thus ended this scandalous affair.[XXXVII‑66]




Notwithstanding its want of resources the new
city, aided by the cession of the revenues for ten years
made by the royal decree of 1774, was soon rebuilt,
and in 1800 had its paved streets, fine squares, public
buildings, and churches. The cathedral, of smaller
proportions than that of the old city, and the Jesuit
college, were still unfinished.




Alarms and disaster still followed the people of
Guatemala. On the 11th of July 1775 a violent
though harmless eruption of the volcano of Pacaya
occurred; in 1776 the eruption of the volcano De
727
Tormentos, near Amatitlan, destroyed the village of
Tres Rios, three leagues distant, and filled with lava
the rivers from which it took its name.[XXXVII‑67]




In 1780 the new city was visited by small-pox,
which extended over the whole country and carried
off many victims. The use of vaccine was now for
the first time tried in Guatemala, and proved a success,
as few if any of those inoculated died.[XXXVII‑68]



SALAZAR AND GALVEZ.



Before these events had fairly passed, the declaration
of war between England and Spain in 1779, and
the almost immediate invasion of Honduras and Nicaragua,
compelled the reorganization of the military
force of the kingdom. We have no information of
the condition of either the regular army or militia at
this date, but it is hardly probable that any material
change in their condition had taken place since the
report of President Salazar in 1778-9. As therein
shown the country was not in a condition for war.
The whole number of regular troops in the kingdom
consisted of two companies of dragoons numbering
sixty men, and who were stationed at the capital.
The militia force included all the able-bodied men in
the kingdom, the majority of whom were mulattoes;
but in the rare event of their being called out for
service a certain proportion only was taken from each
town, the remainder being indispensable to the cultivation
of the soil. Both infantry and cavalry were
poorly disciplined, and their arms, usually deposited
in the principal towns, would not suffice for one half
of the troops, besides being for the most part out of
repair for want of an armorer. A few of the mulattoes
had rude side arms of home manufacture, but it
was rare to find one who had acquired any skill in the
use of fire-arms. The regular force was subsequently
increased to two hundred, a detachment of one hundred
Spanish troops arriving in August 1777.[XXXVII‑69] At
728
this same time infantry and cavalry officers, artillerymen
and engineers were asked for by President
Salazar to reorganize and instruct the militia and
take charge of the artillery and fortifications. The
various fortresses and principal cities were well provided
with artillery and small arms, but many of
them in an apparently unserviceable condition.[XXXVII‑70] At
the first note of alarm President Galvez applied himself
to the organization of an army, and such was the
energy and ability displayed in his conduct of the
subsequent campaign, that he earned merited fame
and promotion for himself, and, as we have seen, led
his troops to victory.[XXXVII‑71]




The rule of President Galvez ended on March 10,
1783, when he was transferred to the viceroyalty of
New Spain. His administration was an exceedingly
prosperous one for Guatemala, and his departure was
greatly regretted by all classes.[XXXVII‑72] His successor was
José Estachería, who assumed office the 3d of April
the same year. He was brigadier-general and ex-governor
of Nicaragua. His term of office expired
December 29, 1789. To him succeeded Bernardo
Troncoso Martinez del Rincon, lieutenant-general,
formerly king's lieutenant of Habana and ex-governor
of Vera Cruz, who was in power until 1794,
and José Domas y Valle, a knight of Santiago, gefe
de escuadra, who held office from the latter date until
the 28th of July 1801.[XXXVII‑73]




From May 13, 1753, until June 24, 1765, the archiepiscopal
chair of Guatemala was filled by Doctor
Francisco José de Figueredo y Victoria, who had been
promoted from the see of Popayan.[XXXVII‑74]
729



MISSIONARY WORK.



The only event of importance during his rule was
the partial secularization of missions. The order was
received from Mexico by the audiencia sometime
after the death of President Vazquez, but was not
made public until 1754, when the secularization of
the missions in the valley of Guatemala at once
began.[XXXVII‑75]




On the arrival of President Arcos, a little over a
month later, the Dominicans, who had appealed to
the crown against this measure, prevailed on him to
delay, under some pretext, the transfer of their missions.
This, however, proved only a temporary relief;
for though the provinces of Vera Paz and Quiché
were left to these friars, Archbishop Figueredo reported
the conduct of the president to the crown,
whereupon the secularization was ordered continued,
and Arcos was reproved. The Dominicans redoubled
their exertions, but succeeded only in obtaining a
cédula ordering that the transfer of the remaining
missions should be made only on the death of the
friars in charge. Later, even this concession was revoked
by the archbishop of Guatemala.[XXXVII‑76]




At the time the missionary field in the province
of Guatemala proper seems, with the exception of
the Lacandon territory, to have been exhausted; for
we find that the Franciscan college of Cristo Señor
Nuestro Crucificado, founded April 27, 1756, had missions
in Veragua, Costa Rica, Honduras, and Mosquitia,
but there is no mention of any in Guatemala.[XXXVII‑77]
In 1790 the parish priest of Palenque made a feeble
attempt to reduce the Lacandones. Having obtained
pecuniary aid from the intendente of Chiapas, he
730
founded a town, baptized several natives, and won
their good-will by numerous presents; but the advantage
thus gained does not appear to have been
improved.[XXXVII‑78]




Some excitement was caused in Guatemala City
in July 1772 by a disturbance in the convent of the
Recollets. Owing to violent dissension among the
inmates, the audiencia, at the request of the friar,
caused the arrest and remittance to Spain of two of
the ringleaders. The populace, ignorant of the cause
of this interference, were with difficulty quieted. This
action of the audiencia was approved by the crown, and
the remainder of the turbulent friars were suspended.



EXPULSION OF THE JESUITS.



Having become blind from old age, being now in his
eightieth year, Archbishop Figueredo petitioned the
crown to appoint a coadjutor. Accordingly, Doctor
Miguel de Cilieza y Velasco, a native of Guatemala
and chancellor of the cathedral, was selected; but the
archbishop died before he was consecrated, and he
was nominated for the see of Chiapas, whence he
departed in October 1767. The archbishop's death
occurred June 24, 1765. In accordance with his request
his remains were deposited in the church of the
Jesuit college, to whose members he had been warmly
attached.[XXXVII‑79] The archiepiscopal chair remained vacant
after Figueredo's death until 1768, when it was occupied
by Doctor Don Pedro Cortés y Larraz.[XXXVII‑80] Preceding
his arrival in 1767 the famous decree of
expulsion against the Jesuits was carried into effect
in Guatemala, but was unattended with any of the
serious disturbances which marked its enforcement
in New Spain.[XXXVII‑81] The utmost secrecy and despatch
731
were observed. At 6 o'clock on the morning of the
26th of June, troops having been stationed at certain
points, the president and audiencia with an escort
of dragoons proceeded to the Jesuit convent. It was
the feast of the sacred heart, and service had already
begun. Awaiting a favorable opportunity the president
requested the celebrants to cease, and the sacrament
having been covered and the doors closed,
in tears he notified the friars of the fatal decree.
Silently and with bowed heads they signified their
submission. The convent was surrounded by a guard
of militia, and all communication with friends forbidden.
On July 1st they were conducted to Golfo
Dulce and embarked on a Spanish frigate, and a
month later the members of their order from Chiapas
joined them. The decree was published on the 30th
of July. The total number of exiles was eleven. The
rector and two lay brothers remained, the former to
deliver the church property, and the latter because
they were unable to travel.[XXXVII‑82]




Archbishop Cortés took possession of his office in
February 1768. The chief event during his rule was
his difficulty with the audiencia, owing to his opposition
to the removal of the city, and which has been
related in connection with that event. These differences,
however, were evidently of an earlier date.
Cortés, who had been appointed by the king in opposition
to his council, did not find matters to his liking
in Guatemala, and accordingly in August 1769 he
tendered his resignation. This was rejected by the
king, who expressed himself as satisfied with his conduct,
and this rejection was considered final. In opposing
the removal of the city, however, he did not
count on the influence of President Mayorga, who
was protected by the chief minister of the royal council;
732
and however justifiable in the beginning this
opposition may have been it was unwisely prolonged.
Minister Galvez succeeded in having the resignation
of Cortés reconsidered, notwithstanding the protests
of that prelate. He caused his brother to be appointed
Mayorga's successor, had Cortés transferred
to the bishopric of Tortosa, and, as we have seen, a
new archbishop nominated to Guatemala. The refusal
of Cortés to surrender his chair, it is claimed, was
because he had not received his bulls confirming his
appointment to the bishopric of Tortosa. After leaving
Guatemala, as previously narrated, he proceeded
to his new bishopric, where he continued until his
death, which occurred in 1786. His interest in the
welfare of Guatemala did not end with his departure,
for he subsequently donated sixty thousand dollars
with which to found a college for the education of
the young.[XXXVII‑83]




Doctor Cayetano Francos y Monroy, his successor,
was installed and duly recognized after Cortés' departure;[XXXVII‑84]
but not satisfied with the manner in which
he had been appointed he procured a confirmatory
733
bull from Pope Pius VII. in 1779. This irregularity
was also recognized by the council of the Indies, as is
shown by the fact that they declared that the revenues
of the archbishopric of Guatemala until December
1779 belonged to Cortés, whose appointment to
Tortosa was not confirmed until this date.



HISTORICAL REVIEW.



Thus we have traced the history of Spanish conquest
and colonization in Central America from the
time when Rodrigo de Bastidas first touched Tierra
Firme to the close of the eighteenth century. We
have seen the sword and the cross side by side, without
a shadow of right or recompense, enter in and
take possession of the broad area from Darien to New
Spain; then sitting down to wrangle and to rest.
During the process of gradual extinction the natives
broke out in occasional rebellions; but for the most
part they were docile, and submitted with philosophic
or Christian resignation to the inevitable, which was
too often infamous on the part of civilization and
Christianity.




It was a period of repose, the two and a half centuries
of Central America's existence under Spain's
audiencias and governors, a period of apathy and
stagnation as far as intellectual and moral progress
are concerned. Nor is there much to be said in the
way of material improvement. Neither God nor
mammon could truthfully claim much higher or
nobler results from the country under European
domination than under American. The province and
policy of rulers, civil and ecclesiastical, were fixed, and
734
the duties of subjects was determined. Although the
people did not know it, the grasp of the mother government
upon the country, however nervous and
jealous it might be, was in reality weak, for the parent
herself was rapidly declining.




There was nothing to fight for, and nothing to
work for. If we except an occasional attempted subjugation
of unpacified peoples, and the descent of
pirates, the greatest issues of the time were those
affecting precedence and place. It was easier to evade
obnoxious laws than to quarrel with them. The natives
found it less burdensome to perform the little
labor necessary to the support of themselves and
their masters than to endure the penalties of opposition.
Between the poor kings of Spain and the
pirates of England, France, and Holland, the wealth
of the people was far from secure; there was no
great incentive to enterprise in any direction, and
had there been it is not certain that men would
have exerted themselves. Simple existence satisfied
them; high development and limitless wealth could
do no more.




The appearance on their shores of legalized robbery
and murder, in the form of freebooters, was not generally
regarded as retribution, though their infamies
were scarcely greater than those which had been perpetrated
by the Spaniards in this quarter a century
or two before. The buccaneers and Scotch settlers
were right enough in looking upon the Spaniards as
intruders, having no more ownership in the country
than they, except such as priority in wrongs committed
gave them; which wrongs by no means made
right the cruelties and injustice of the English and
French inflicted upon the Spaniards.



APPROACHING REVOLUTION.



In the third and concluding volume of the History
of Central America will be more fully presented the
social, industrial, and political condition of the country
in the nineteenth century, particularly at the
transitional epoch following the achieving of independence
735
from Spain, and immediately afterward.
Twice during the sixteenth century did Spain narrowly
escape the loss of her richest territories by rebellion.
Twice during the eighteenth did British
armaments threaten to overthrow her dominion in the
New World. And now, at the close of the latter
century, the Spaniards of Central America, goaded
by heavy and unjust taxation, and by the vexatious
restrictions imposed on the trade of the colonies,
stimulated, moreover, by the success with which the
republic of the west had thrown off the yoke of England,
and by the brilliant career which the great republic
of Europe had achieved under the dazzling
leadership of the first Napoleon, were already ripe for
revolution. Spain meanwhile is about to reap the
reward of nearly three centuries of misrule. Through
her indifference the commerce of the western hemisphere
had long since fallen into the hands of foreigners;
and her colonies no longer desired to maintain
their connection with the mother country, from which
they had nothing to gain, and with whose interests
they had little in common.




For the history of the colonial period of the Central American provinces,
especially that portion immediately following the conquest, when, a secure
foothold having been gained by the Spaniards, gradual exploration and settlement
completed their subjugation, the data supplied by the earlier Spanish
chroniclers and official reports are abundant; but the evidence from these
sources is, in some respects, so incomplete and contradictory, that it is only
after an examination of the numerous valuable collections of original documents
brought to light in modern times, that the student is able to fix with precision
the true character and sequence of events. The standard general historians
of the sixteenth century, such as Bernal Diaz, Gomara, Oviedo, and Las Casas,
give us but little information concerning Central America after 1530; and
in consequence the special accounts of individuals like Gage, Benzoni, and
Andagoya, not to mention the writings of the buccaneers, with occasional special
efforts of a time or place like those of Reynolds, and of Fuentes y Guzman,
followed by Juarros, and all supplemented by documents, assume paramount
importance, and become the chief sources of historic material for this epoch.




The founding and subsequent progress of the church in this territory are
traced in a general way by its representative chroniclers, Motolinia, Mendieta,
Torquemada, and Fernandez, until Remesal and Vazquez, chroniclers respectively
736
of the Dominican and Franciscan orders in Central America, profiting
by the labors of the former, and adding some original research, bring the
history of the church down to the end of the seventeenth century. Some
attempt is also made by the last two writers to follow the political history,
but only in a desultory way.




The first special history to be written was that of Fuentes y Guzman,
containing much original matter, but not generally reliable. The manuscript
was never published, but was used by Juarros. Later appeared the pamphlet
of Cadena, devoted entirely to a description of the destruction of
Guatemala City, and about the same time Escamilla compiled from official
sources a list of governors and bishops and of the more important historical
events, and gave a special account of the destruction of Guatemala City.




Without the valuable collections of Squier, Pacheco and Cárdenas, Cartas
de Indias, Ternaux-Compans, Arévalo, Icazbalceta, and Coleccion de Documentos
Inéditos, the result of modern research, the history of this territory
from 1531 to 1800 would be meagre indeed. These collections, special
notices of nearly all of which I have already given, contain almost numberless
official letters and reports, which were either unknown or inaccessible to
early writers. Prominent among them all is what has been called the Squier
collection, consisting mostly of manuscripts, and which fell to my collection
by purchase after the death of Mr Squier. It consists of extracts and copies
of letters and reports of audiencias, governors, bishops, and various government
officials, taken from the Spanish archives at Madrid and from the
library of the Spanish Royal Academy of History, mostly under the direction
of the indefatigable collector Mr Buckingham Smith. Many rare and valuable
documents relating to Central America, including numerous letters and reports
of Las Casas, are also to be found in the voluminous collection of Pacheco
and Cárdenas, and, though fewer in number, in that of Ternaux-Compans.




In the absence of any early local chronicler, and by reason of the neglect
of those who came later, many of the records have been lost. The only portions
of those published are to be found in the collections of Arévalo, which
are indispensable to the local history of Guatemala, though evidently not
complete, and containing some omissions owing to the apparent illegibility of
the originals. The second of these collections, Coleccion de Documentos Antiguos
de Guatemala, published in Guatemala in 1857, contains, besides the
grants of the coat of arms and privileges to the city of Guatemala, and memorials
and reports of the city council from 1537 to 1782, a few letters of
Alvarado and Bishop Marroquin, some without date, not found elsewhere.



REMESAL, VAZQUEZ, JUARROS.



The work of Remesal, though published in Madrid, was the first one written
in Guatemala. In connection with the special history of the Dominican order
and a general account of the church, considerable political history is given,
though in a desultory manner. This author was the first to make use of the
archives of Guatemala, but in the presentation of this original matter much
carelessness is shown. Las Casas, the Dominican order, and the natives are
his favorite topics, and events are colored accordingly. A century later,
deeming his order neglected by Remesal, the Franciscan chronicler Vazquez
issued his work. Borrowing much from Remesal and other writers for
the earlier epoch, he continued the history of the church down to the end of
737
the seventeenth century, giving also, as that author had done, the political
history in a disconnected form. With the same facilities as regards original
sources Vazquez makes better use of them than Remesal, but while exposing
the errors of his rival he falls into others equally great, displaying a narrow-minded
prejudice against the natives, while fanatically defending their oppressors.
Remesal and Vazquez are at variance on many points of church
history, but on none more than the missionary labors of their respective
orders. Each claims for his order the honor of first entering the missionary
field in this quarter, but neither makes good his pretensions.




The next work to appear was that of Juarros, which, having absorbed that
of Fuentes y Guzman, was the first published of what might be called a history
of Guatemala. Notwithstanding his access to original documents,
Fuentes y Guzman committed many errors which were unwittingly copied by
Juarros. With the aid of subsequent research, however, these errors are
readily detected, Juarros still remaining the leading historian of Central
America, though owing to the greater importance of Guatemala as the seat of
government, the greater portion of the work is taken up with the history of
this province. In fact this is the only comprehensive history extant of Guatemala
and its adjoining provinces, while the other portions of Central America
make scarcely any pretext to the possession of a history. From no other
source can the writer obtain connected accounts of their conquest and settlement,
description of towns, early resources, and lists of officials and biographies
of prominent men. Of the Spanish writers he is also one of the most
impartial, even in matters pertaining to the church, though he was one of its
ministers. Nevertheless, Juarros is in many respects incomplete. He has
failed in a lamentable degree to present anything like the true political, social,
and moral condition of the people, or the development of the country during
this period; and for the conquest and early colonial epochs there is a manifest
lack of study and research. Noting these defects, Pelaez in his Memorias
attempted to supply them, and has succeeded in a measure. Arranged in a
clear concise form, under their appropriate headings, and with corresponding
references, the student will find collected all the evidence presented on the
different subjects by nearly all of the earlier and modern authors of note; to
which is added the testimony from a large number of original documents
overlooked or neglected by his predecessors. But while the history of Guatemala
for the latter colonial period is comparatively complete, that of the
remaining provinces of Central America, as I have intimated, is but a meagre
outline, dependent for the most part on occasional documents. Among the
modern authorities composed chiefly of English, French, and German, but
a brief historical review is given of this period, a mere compilation from
well known works, which serve as an introduction to narratives of travel, or
books describing the different provinces and their resources.




A peculiar feature of Central American bibliography is the buccaneer
literature, here being the principal scene of the piratical operations of the
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The total absence of any Spanish work
on this subject has left the field open to the English, French, and Dutch,
whose accounts of the exploits of their countrymen on the Spanish main are
not always impartial.
738




Preceding this class of literature and closely allied to it, owing to the
spirit of adventure and the geographical knowledge which it diffused, are the
numerous accounts of voyages made for the purposes of trade, exploration, or
discovery in this part of the world. Some of these I will here notice; though
in truth many of them relate as much to other sections of my work as to
Central America, or even more.



GALVANO AND HAKLUYT.



Complete as is the Raccolta of Ramusio and like collections, in reproducing
the leading voyages up to its time, a large number of minor narratives
remained unnoticed, while others stood briefly recorded upon mere hearsay
in the writing of others. This deficiency had been observed by Antonio
Galvano in earlier collections, and his effort to repair it gave rise to the first
comprehensive history of voyages. Born at Lisbon in 1503, Galvano left at
the age of twenty-four for the Indies, where he was intrusted with the conquest
and government of the Moluccas. Of this he remained in charge for
six or seven years, distinguishing himself both as a just and benevolent ruler,
and as a zealous proselytizer. His unselfish conduct served only to attract
calumny and to reduce him to poverty, so much so that he had to seek refuge
in the royal hospital at Lisbon, where he died in 1557. His undoubted talent
had been fostered by extensive reading, particularly of narratives of voyages.
While so employed he kept notes with a view to form an outline of
the progress of navigation and discovery, which should serve as introductory
to a collection. During the latter part of his life, while suffering under the
ban of royal displeasure, he found ample time to perfect these researches,
and at his death a friend, Francisco de Sousa Tavares, was intrusted with the
papers. Among these appears to have been a history of the discovery and
resources of the Moluccas, a manuscript in ten books, according to Faria, of
which Pinelo says: "Por no haverle visto, duda, si permanece." Epitome,
ii. 636. De Sousa caused the treatise under consideration to be published
at Lisbon in 1563, under the title of Tratado que compōs o nobre e notauel
capitão Antonio Galuão de todos os descobrimentos antigos e modernos que são
feitos á era de mil e quinhentos e cincoenta, with a dedication to the duke of
Aveiro, wherein he records Galvano's many services, and comments on their
poor recognition. Mention has been made of a duodecimo edition of 1555,
but this must be a mistake, to judge by Sousa's preface to the edition of 1563.
Of this only three copies are known to exist, one owned by Mr John Carter
Brown, of Providence, from whom the Hakluyt Society obtained a copy,
printed as a running foot-note to their reissue of Hakluyt's version, under
the editorship of Admiral Bethune. The latter is called The Discoveries of
the World from their first originall vnto the yeere 1555, by Antonie Galvano,
Londini, 1601, to be found also in the reprint of Hakluyt's Voyages, and in
Churchill's Collection, while Purchas gives it in reduced form. The Portuguese
copy was reprinted at Lisbon in 1731. Hakluyt explains in the dedication
to Sir Robert Cecil that his publication thereof was intended as an
introductory to his own work, and was made from an old manuscript translated
by an English merchant. In order to modify the "manifold errours"
therein, Hakluyt took pains to consult Spanish works for the corrections and
additions which are to be noticed in this version. The treatise goes back to
739
the discovery voyages related by Chinese, Greek, and Latin writers, and
brings the concise record for every region of the globe, in chronologic order,
down to 1550. The East India voyages are partly from his own notes, while
other contemporary expeditions are derived from the chroniclers. The pre-Columbian
period occupies only a little over one fourth of the text, and shows
the want of access to material revealed by subsequent investigations in different
countries. The later period is pretty complete for Spanish and Portuguese
voyages, considering the tardiness with which occurrences were published.
Hakluyt, while regretting that English voyages are "scarce fower times
mentioned," admits that at the time "there was little extant of our men's
trauailes." Muñoz speaks slightingly of Galvano, saying "compendia infelizmente"
what others have done more fully. Whatever its defects, the treatise
was certainly a most valuable contribution to the subject, and is still
highly important as one of the first essays toward a history of voyages.




Among those who followed Ramusio's example of collecting and publishing
narratives of voyages and travels stands pre-eminent Richard Hakluyt,
whose work was remarkable not only as the first but as the most valuable in
English for the originality and rarity of its narratives, particularly those
relating to America. When Hakluyt began his studies Eden's Historie of
Travayle, containing translations from Martyr and Oviedo, was the only
English book extant on maritime discovery. Nor was much known abroad
of English voyages, partly because the traders preferred to keep their own
counsel. Hakluyt's perusal of foreign collections, and his private researches,
showed him, however, that the English had performed deeds worthy of being
recorded, and he was fired with ambition to make them public.




Hakluyt belonged to a good Herefordshire family, settled at Yatton,
which had for centuries held a leading position in the county. After passing
through Westminster school as a queen's scholar, he was in 1570, at the age
of 17, elected to Christ Church college, Oxford, and took the degree of B. A.
four years later; that of M. A. being obtained after three years' further
study. While yet a boy he had been directed by a cousin to the study of
geography and navigation, which henceforth became his favorite pursuit. So
well did he use his opportunity at Oxford, where he also mastered several
languages for his studies, that he appears to have been appointed lecturer on
cosmography. In the dedication to Walsingham of the first edition of his
collection he says: "I in my publike lectures was the first that produced and
shewed both the olde and imperfectly composed and the new lately reformed
mappes, globes," etc. Between 1584 and 1589 he held the post of chaplain to
the embassy at Paris, and while there pursued actively his researches,
besides publishing narratives of voyages in French and English. In 1590 he
obtained a rectory in Suffolk County, on the strength of which he married
four years later, and in 1605 he succeeded Dr Webster as prebendary of
Westminster abbey. Dying November 23, 1616, he was buried in St Peter's
of this abbey, leaving to his son a fair estate which was soon squandered.
Although interested in Raleigh's patent for making discoveries, and forming
one of the chief adventurers in the company for the colonization of Virginia,
he took no other share in maritime projects than to promote them by his
writings. His devotion to researches was so great that he once rode two
740
hundred miles to meet the only survivor of Hare's disastrous voyage. He
corresponded with Ortelius and Mercator, and received the friendly encouragement
of Walsingham, Cecil, Admiral Howard, Drake, and others. His
first publication was Divers Voyages touching the Discoverie of America and
the Islands adiacent, London, 1582, dedicated to Philip Sydney. Of the
original only five copies are supposed to exist, from one of which the Hakluyt
Society issued a reprint in 1850, under the editorship of John Winter Jones,
of the British Museum, who prefaces it with a valuable review of Hakluyt's
life and writings. The several narratives refer to the north-east and north-west
passages, the East Indies, and the east coast of North America. A
curious map herein of conic projection shows the North American continent
extending to about latitude 46°, where the California peninsula connects with
a range called Sierra Neuada, running latitudinally. Above 46° all is open
ocean, bordered on the east, however, by a strip of land connected with
Florida by a narrow isthmus, and extending to Cape Labrador. The northern
part of California bears the name Quiviri, the southern (Cape) California,
and the central part S. Croce (Santa Cruz). On the mappemonde the Tierra
del Fuego forms part of a great antarctic continent. While at Paris, Hakluyt
caused to be published in French an account of Florida, from a manuscript
found by him, and this was issued the following year, 1587, in English, as
A notable historie containing foure voyages unto Florida, both versions dedicated
to Raleigh, with an exhortation to prosecute the colonization of Virginia.
The same year he published at Paris an improved edition of Martyr's De
orbe novo which some years later was translated into English by M. Lock.
In 1589 appeared the first instalment of the great work The principall
navigations, voiages and discoveries of the English nation made by sea or
over land, a folio, dedicated to Sir Francis Walsingham. It is divided
into three parts, relating respectively to Asia and Africa, to the north and
north-east of Europe and Asia, and to America, including Drake's voyage.
Nine years later he published the first volume of a new edition of his collection,
followed in 1599 and 1600 by two more volumes, in none of which reference
is made to the first issue. They are fine specimens of black-letter type,
with marginals and headpieces, but with the prefaced Latin text, headings,
and names in roman type and italics. The first volume is dedicated to Lord
Howard as a tribute to the patriotic services of the family, and in recognition
of the favors received by Hakluyt and his brother; the others to Sir
Robert Cecil, secretary of state. They are properly a rearranged enlargement
of the first issue, volume i. containing voyages toward the north and
north-east of England; volume ii. to the Mediterranean and Africa; and
volume iii. to America, including several voyages by foreigners to parts not
visited by the English. The narratives are generally in the language of the
narrator, and in the first two volumes their order is chronologic; but in the
American section they are grouped under different geographic headings. This
opens with the dubious voyage of Madoc in 1170, and continues with expeditions
to the extreme northern parts of the continent, chiefly with reference to
the north-west passage. The region between Canada and Florida comes
next, followed by explorations toward New Mexico and California, and in
Mexico; then the Antilles and Central America, succeeded by a series of groups
741
for South America, the whole concluding with circumnavigations and voyages
directed to the South Sea. In the dedication to the third volume Hakluyt
says: "Now because long since I did foresee, that my profession of diuinitie,
the care of my family, and other occasions might call and diuert me from
these kinde of endeauors, I have for these 3 yeeres last past encouraged and
furthered in these studies of Cosmographic and forren histories, my very
honest, industrious, and learned friend Mr Iohn Pory." Profiting by this
training, Pory in 1600 issued a translation of Leo's History of Africa. Others
were similarly directed to geographical research, among them Parke who
issued a translation of a history of China, and Erondelle who published a part
of Lescarbot's Histoire de la Nouvelle France. Hakluyt himself continued to
devote to his favorite subject the little leisure remaining, and left enough
manuscript to have added a fourth volume to his collection; but coming into
Purchas' hands they were abridged for his Pilgrimes. Some of them were evidently
prepared for the guidance of the East India Company, which had not
failed to consult the renowned cosmographer, without whose advice few maritime
enterprises were then undertaken. In 1601 he issued a translation of
Galvano's Discoveries of the World, and in 1609 his last book, a translation
of Soto's Discoveries in Florida, with the main object of encouraging the
Virginia colony. Virginia is greatly indebted to Hakluyt, and the maritime
enterprise of England in general was much promoted by his personal application
and writings. Robertson adds that to him "England is more indebted
for its American possessions than to any man of that age." A reprint of all
Hakluyt's works was issued in five volumes quarto in 1809-12, by R. Evans,
only 325 copies being printed. The fifth volume, issued in a larger edition,
is entitled A Selection of Curious, Rare, and Early Voyages, and Histories of
Interesting Discoveries, Chiefly Published by Hakluyt, but not included in his
Compilation; London, 1812, 807 pp., and is really a supplement to Hakluyt
and Purchas, offering reprints of documents touching different parts of the
globe, as Galvano's Discoveries, The Historie of the West Indies by Martyr,
from Lock's translation of Hakluyt's version, and several others, chiefly relating
to Asia. Hakluyt's works stand an enduring monument to well earned
fame, and his spirit, after influencing contemporary enterprise, continued to
animate the nation, and to assume embodiment in the Hakluyt Society,
which has for its aim to continue the labors that have done so much for literature
and science.



DE BRY, ENS, GOTTFRIEDT, PURCHAS.



Among foreign writers influenced by Hakluyt's exhortation and example
may be mentioned Theodore De Bry, the engraver of Frankfort. The opportunity
afforded him in his profession to become acquainted with and to collect
works relating to voyages and conquests, had not failed to awaken an interest
for the subject. But a visit to Hakluyt, then engaged upon his collection,
gave a decided impulse to his ideas, and being a man of enterprise he forthwith
engaged editors, and in 1590 began publishing, simultaneously in Latin,
German, and French, the famous Collection des Grands et Petits Voyages, referring
respectively to the new and old worlds, the larger size of the volumes
for America giving rise to the title. Under the supervision of his sons and
other members of the family, the collection was continued after his death, in
1598, till completed in its fortieth year. The numerous reprints of volumes
742
and sets during this interval, with more or less changes, have given no little
trouble to collectors in search of the complete issue. Formed without critique,
it is remarkable rather as a convenient set and as a bibliographic curiosity,
wherein the engravings constitute the main attraction, then for geographic
value, since most of the narratives had already been published in better form,
and have been reproduced in later works.




De Bry's set proved a fertile source in text and engravings for compilers,
and among them Gaspar L. Ens, the author of several individual European
travels, and one of the editors employed by De Bry, who issued the Indiæ
Occidentalis Historia, Coloniæ, 1612. On the same plan as Ens', but on a
larger scale, and partly based upon it, is the Newe Welt Vnd Americanische
Historien, Franckfurt, 1631, reprinted 1655, folio. The author, Johann Ludwig
Gottfriedt, whose proper name appears to be Jean Philippe Abelin, was
also an editor of De Bry, and wrote several works, one of them being the
"Archontologia Cosmica, que es Farrago de diversos Autores, sin distinguir lo
cierto de lo dudoso." Pinelo, Epitome, tom. iii. pp. 1288. It is also called a
translation of D'Avity's Les etats. Gottfriedt naturally sets up a claim for his
Newe Welt to be compiled from leading writers, without referring to De Bry,
who no doubt supplied the material for the text as well as the plates.
De Bry, says Brunet, Manuel, tom. ii. p. 1674, "a abrégé des douze premières
parties de la collection." The plates, which are perhaps the most interesting
part of the volume, have been selected chiefly from the nude and the
curious, such as Indians driving whales, playing with mermaids, or hunting
semi-human beasts. The arrangement of the text shows no improvement
upon Ens, but the third section differs in being more of a supplement to both
the preceding parts.




Hakluyt's unpublished papers, failing to attain their destined object,
accomplished a wider result by giving rise to the larger collection of Samuel
Purchas; for it was their possession that gave impulse to a work so much
needed, both to fill the gaps of the former and to narrate the numerous expeditions
which had taken place since its date. The precursor of the work was
Pvrchas his Pilgrimage, or Relations of the World and the Religions observed
in all Ages and Places, London, 1613, dedicated to the archbishop of Canterbury.
It was reprinted in 1614, and soon reached several editions, the fourth,
1626, being dedicated to King Charles, who had deigned to inquire for it,
and whose royal father had read it seven times, as the author proudly announces.
This object of kingly delight claims to be a compilation from over
thirteen hundred authors, which are decidedly well represented in the numerous
marginals, and gives a review in nine books of the social condition and
the institutions of the nations in Asia, Africa, and America, particularly the
religious feature, with some reference to political history. Beginning with the
Mosaic creation it takes up the nations of south-east Asia, of the East Indies
and China, and reaches Africa in the sixth book. The last two are devoted
to the New World, whose physical and natural features receive two chapters,
followed by the general description of the region above Florida in five chapters,
while the eighth is given to the country west of this, and the next six to New
Spain. The fifteen chapters of book nine cover South America and the Antilles,
the last being an attack on Spanish cruelty and maleconversion. Three
743
parts similar to this volume were promised, the second to relate to Europe,
and the others to continue the subject for the four divisions of the world; but
the necessary aid was withheld, as Purchas hints in an address to the Pilgrimes,
and wherein he attempts a pun upon his name by intimating that Europe cannot
now be purchased. The project had evidently to yield to others, as Microcosmus,
or the History of Man, 1619, and to the great collection which soon
engrossed his whole attention. Purchas was like Hakluyt a preacher, but of
the rival university of Cambridge, trained at St John College, as he states
in the dedicatory to volume iii. He attained the degree of bachelor of divinity,
conferred also by Oxford in 1615. In 1604 he assumed charge of a vicarage
in his native county of Essex, but was soon called by his literary
researches to London, where he fell into difficulties, and had recourse to lecturing
and to friends. Finally Bishop King came to his aid with means to
prosecute the publication of his work, and by conferring upon him the rectory
of St Martins. Purchas expresses his gratitude for these favors in the opening
address to volume i., wherein he speaks of "my decessed Patron Doctor King,
... to whose bountie vnder God, I willingly ascribe my life, deliuered from a
sickly Habitation, and consequently (as also by opportunities of a London
Benefice) whatsoeuer additions in my later Editions of my Pilgrimage; these
present Pilgrimes also." In the dedication of the Pilgrimage to the archbishop,
he signs himself his chaplain, which may be a figurative expression.
He is generally supposed to have died in poverty, and even in prison; but
the title-page portrait of 1625, at the age of forty-eight, presents him as a
sleek, contented-looking preacher, with a full though not large beard; and
the several editions of the Pilgrimage would indicate that he had prospered
up to that time at least. According to Wood he died in his own house about
1628. In 1625 appeared Haklvytvs Posthumus or Pvrchas his Pilgrimes. Contayning
a History of the World, in Sea voyages & lande-Trauells. Imprinted
at London for Henry Fetherston. In four parts or volumes, folio, each
dedicated to a different personage. The first title-page is filled with emblematic
designs, and portraits of princes and great men, among them
Purchas, at the foot, between two hemispheres, with his anagram of "Pars
sva Celvm." The other title-pages are all headed Pvrchas his Pilgrimes,
and this quaint name the author sustains to some extent by opening the
dedication to Prince Charles with: "May a poore Pilgrime salute Your
Highnesse in the words of a better Samvel." Directly afterward, however,
he assumes another higher role in "hauing out of a Chaos of confused intelligences
framed this Historicall World, by a New way of Eye-evidence;" and
then he begins to lose himself in an attempt at magniloquent phraseology,
with no great promise for his power to bring order out of chaos. Later he
declares himself a mere laborer "howsoeuer here a Masterbuilder also," doing
everything with his own hands, except where aided by his son. The manuscripts
left by Hakluyt, although forming a very small proportion of the book,
"encouraged me to vse my endeuours in and for the rest," he gratefully
observes. The printing of the work began in 1621, although not with volume
i. The first of the twenty books into which the set is divided, treats of
ancient navigation, progress of discovery, and religious phases. The second
begins with Portuguese and Columbian voyages, and continues with circumnavigations,
744
after which come the regular narratives of voyages, chiefly by
Englishmen, interspersed with extracts from notable journals and histories,
with a view to cover subjects and periods not otherwise disposed of. Volumes
i. and ii. relate almost wholly to Asia, Africa, and the Levant, and also
the next two books, while books iii. and iv., following, deal partly with
north-west voyages, beginning with Zeno. Book v. gives extracts from
Herrera, Oviedo, Acosta, and Cortés, which chiefly concerns Mexico, and a
part of vi. touches the Isthmus, but the main portion of this and the next
book are occupied with South America. Book viii. is divided between Mexico
and the country northward to Virginia, which latter takes up the whole
of ix. The last book is shared among New England, Newfoundland, and
the English expeditions against Spain. Altogether the arrangement is as
confusing as the text, and in both respects far inferior to Hakluyt's; nor is the
work as complete as might have been expected. In the attempt to introduce
foreign narratives the limits of space were overstepped, to the prejudice of
other accounts, which were often injudiciously condensed. Pinkerton remarks,
somewhat too severely, I think, that Purchas directed his utmost
attention to "selecting the most useless parts of the unhappy authors." Col.
Voy., vol. i. p. iv.



THÉVENOT AND HARRIS.



Purchas' labors found recognition abroad in the well known Relation de
divers voyages, Paris, 1663-96, 5 parts, by Melchisedech Thévenot, formed
mainly with a view to reproduce the best portions of Hakluyt and his successor,
while adding some unpublished narratives. Thévenot appears to have
been particularly well fitted for such undertakings. A savant, and somewhat
of a diplomatist, he was for eight years in charge of the Royal Library at
Paris, dying at his post in 1692, at the age of 71. The selection of his material
gives evidence of good judgment; yet the arrangement and other points
may be questioned.




Another reproduction, and a continuation of the two great English collections,
was offered some years later by John Harris, Navigantium atque Itinerantium
Bibliotheca: or, a Compleat Collection of Voyages and Travels; London,
1705, 2 vols, folio, with copper-plates and maps. One of its chief aims being
to repair the many omissions that had become apparent in the original works,
the first volume is devoted to the same period as Purchas' collection, while
introducing a number of additional voyages. Its five books refer respectively
to circumnavigation, to Asia, to Africa, to the north and north-east
parts of the globe, and to America, the latter embracing one third more narratives
than Purchas. The mappemonde places the strait of Anian above
the island of California, but on the American map this is not marked. The
second volume, relating to voyages and travels after this time, chiefly by
Englishmen, is less distinct and careful in its arrangement. Books i. and ii.
cover Russia, Asia, and the Levant; book iii., Europe; and book iv., America.
The latter includes only the buccaneer expeditions, Dampier's voyage, and explorations
in the Mississippi and Canada regions. A varied appendix concludes
the volume. According to Green, of the Astley collection, John
Harris, who is styled an A. M., and Fellow of the Royal Society, had little
or nothing to do with the work besides writing the introductory on the
origin and emigration of races, and on the progress of navigation. Four
745
hundred authors are claimed to have been included in the text, in abridged
or compiled form. Rich, Bib. Amer., vol. i. 9, remarks that "it appears to
have been got up in competition with Churchill's Collection;" but it is much
more general in its scope. Of undoubted value it was reissued in 1743-4, with
numerous corrections and additions, and reprinted in 1764.



VAN DER BOS, VANDER AA, CHURCHILL.



A book typical of its nationality is Leeven en Daaden Der Doorluchtigste
Zee-Helden, Amsterdam, 1676, by Lambert van der Bos or Bosch, wherein
are given the biographies of naval heroes from Zeno down, but of course with
particular prominence to those of Holland, and foremost among them Admiral
Ruyter, to whose son the dedication is addressed. While entering into the
biography and political events connected with their lives the object is mainly
to describe naval expeditions and encounters in various zones, and to this end
tend also the plates. Columbus, Vespucci, Drake, Cavendish, and some of
the searchers for the north-west passage are those touching my field who have
been accorded a comparatively small space. Despite the laudable object of
the book, to place before the people their chief glories, the author feels it
necessary to bring forward the now well worn excuse that to the solicitation
of persons interested in the subject was due the publishing of what his own
inclination had led him to prepare. The German translation of Nürnberg,
1681, is an abnormally stout little volume, with an appendix by Erasmus.




Naaukeurige versameling der gedenkwaardigste Reysen naar Oost en West-Indien,
Leyden, 1706-7, is a black-letter book of 30 volumes 12mo, issued by
Pieter vander Aa, and embracing voyages to all parts of the globe from
1246 to 1693. Interspersed are compilations of minor expeditions, and of
political affairs, apparently with a view to cover some of the many chronologic
and geographic gaps in the regular series of narratives, and to form a
complete historic review; but this effort is merely spasmodic and serves rather
to expose the haste of the editor in not consulting more authorities, or in
doing so carelessly. In addition to the incompleteness must be noted the
lack of order in chapters as well as divisions, distinct and disconnected narratives
being not unfrequently jumbled under inappropriate headings. The
matter relating to America is, in accordance with the original though neglected
plan, scattered throughout the set, in fair proportion for the earlier
periods at least. This applies particularly to the northern Spanish colonies,
for which the period from Columbus to Cortés is pretty fully told, chiefly
from Herrera. Acosta and Marquette are given in abbreviated form. After
1526 this region receives little notice beyond the relation of a few voyages
from Purchas, such as Ulloa, Chilton, Drake, and Cavendish, the latest date
being 1595. The numerous copper-plates and maps are an attractive feature
as may be judged from the fact that De Bry had been largely borrowed from.
His text has also been used to some extent, Meusel, Bib. Hist., tom. ii. pt. i.
336, going so far as to say that all belongs to De Bry; but this is an exaggeration,
for most of the text can readily be traced to Herrera, Hakluyt, De
Barros, and others. A revised edition of this work was published in 1727 as
De Aanmerkenswaardigste en Alomberoemde Zee- and Landreizen, folio, 8 volumes
bound in 4. The same black-letter type and plates are preserved, but
the arrangement differs, each set being in chronological order, and each
narrative in a separately paged section. The first two volumes relate to
746
Portuguese voyages toward the East India region; the next two to Spanish
voyages up to 1540, to both hemispheres though chiefly to America;
the two following to similar English voyages, till 1696; and the last two
volumes to those of other nations, and to narratives supplementary to the
preceding. The Portuguese division is chiefly made up from De Barros
and De Couto, and the following Spanish from Herrera. Volume iii., bearing
on the title-page the portraits of Columbus, Vespucci, Magellan, and
Ponce de Leon, opens with the voyages of the great admiral, and continues
with expeditions and events in Tierra Firme, the Antilles, Nicaragua,
and Florida, concluding with Grijalva's discovery of New Spain.
The next volume is almost wholly devoted to Cortés, and events in connection
with his conquest and rule, alternating with sections on contemporary
expeditions under Magellan, Narvaez, Godoy, Loaisa, and Cabot. In
the following set, obtained chiefly from Hakluyt, Frobisher's voyages are the
first to touch America, followed by Drake's and other circumnavigations and
the settlement of the English American colonies. In volumes vii. and viii. we
find Verrazano, Pizarro, and Soto, Dutch and French expeditions to South
and North America, including P. Marquette, and extracts from Benzoni and
Acosta. On the title-page Vander Aa chooses to announce that the collection
is based on the German works of I. L. Gottfried, but largely augmented with
material from his originals and from later authorities. This affectation can
be regarded only as an advertisement.




A Collection of Voyages and Travels, Some now First Printed from Original
Manuscripts, others Now First Published in English, is generally known by
the name of Churchill, the publisher, who, in connection with Awnsham,
issued the first edition in 1704, in four volumes. In 1733 it was increased by
two volumes, and the reprint of 1744-7 by two more of the so-called Harleian
Collection, culled from the Oxford Library, and printed by Thomas Osborne.
The whole eight were reissued in 1752, and also used by foreign publishers,
the introductory discourse by Caleb Locke, on the progress of navigation,
being translated into French to form, with additions, two duodecimo volumes
known as Histoire de la Navigation, Paris, 1722. Although neither so universal
in its scope as Hakluyt's or Harris', nor so well translated and arranged,
yet it stands as one of the most valuable of collections from its many
rare narratives, such as the life of Columbus by his son, in vol. ii.; Gemelli
Carreri's much questioned yet interesting voyage, vol. iv.; an account of the
Mosquito kingdom, vol. vi., and Castell's description of America, in the Harleian
Collection. A number of other pieces refer to America, as Monson's
tracts, and Ovalle's history of Chile, but they do not touch my field.



PRÉVOST, GREEN, DIDOT, ROZET.



The most famous collection of voyages published in the eighteenth century
is the Histoire Générale des Voyages, Paris, 1746, etc., 20 vols, 4to, edited by
Abbé Antoine François Prévost d'Exiles. Provost was one of those bright
bubbling geniuses whose life and writings have assisted in making the capital
of La Belle France also the capital of the literary and fashionable world.
In the role of a dashing young officer, he had at an early age sipped of all
frivolities in that gay city, till a misdirected Cupidian barb caused him in
1719, at the age of twenty-two, to exchange the glittering uniform for the
simple garb of a Benedictine. His success as a preacher again drew him into
747
the whirl of society, and, tiring of the vows that held him bound, he cast
aside the robe and retired to Holland in 1729. Already famous as a writer,
he entered with ardor upon the career for which he saw himself destined,
producing a number of romances, histories, biographies, and periodical works.
The protection of Prince de Conti, whose almoner he became, enabled him to
return to France and to obtain the robe of a secular ecclesiastic. In November
1763, while in the height of his fame, he was seized with an apoplectic
fit, and, regarded as dead, the scalpel of an unskilful hand cut off the life that
was just returning. The most important of his many works is the Histoire
des Voyages, which might indeed be pronounced of English origin. In 1745
Astley, the London publisher, began issuing with great flourish the weekly
numbers of A New General Collection of Voyages and Travels, edited by
I. Green. Planned on a large scale, it was intended to supersede all other
collections as a standard work. Every country was to be represented, and
every first and leading voyage to any region was to be narrated in extenso.
To avoid useless and uninteresting repetition, later and minor expeditions
were to be used merely for extracts and notes, as a complement to those preceding.
It was also proposed to form a compiled description of the several
countries. Hakluyt and his successors were to be overhauled, and their
mutilations and omissions repaired, while later narratives would be supplemented
with a proportion of foreign voyages. The government was besought
to grant aid to so valuable a work, but failed to comply; and the cost proving
too great, the collection stopped in 1747 with the fourth volume, after covering
nearly half of the proposed field by its Asiatic and African narratives.
The only voyages relating to America are those by Captain Roberts, and
I. Atkins, in 1721, extending from Bermuda to Brazil.




No sooner had Green's first volume appeared than the French publisher,
Didot, resolved to be the means of giving France the benefit of so great a
project, and Abbé Prévost's skill as an English translator being well known
it was arranged that he should be the editor. Prévost did not follow the
English edition implicitly, but made several alterations in text as well as
arrangement, some of which were severely condemned, and corrected in a
supplementary volume. He also gave perhaps too much play to the style of
writing so much admired in his romances. With his seventh volume the
English set was exhausted, and Prévost now continued the collection independently,
introducing, with the aid of French libraries and foreign ministers,
more foreign narratives than had been done by the English editor. He also improved
the order by allowing several travellers to the same region to succeed
one another, so as to form a continuous account. The conclusion of the set,
so far as he and Didot are concerned, came with the sixteenth volume, containing
the index. Soon after a seventeenth volume was added, with further
matter and corrections, chiefly from the Dutch edition. Among the medley
of narratives in volume xi., forming the sequel to Old World voyages, is
Gemelli Carreri's journey round the world, which touches also New Spain.
The New World division, covering volumes xii. to xv., begins with Columbus'
voyages, and contemporary and immediately succeeding events in and round
the Isthmus region, followed by the conquest of Mexico, together with a compiled
description of its social and political condition under native and
748
Spanish rule. After this comes Charlevoix' history of New France at disproportionate
length, succeeded by narratives on the conquest and condition of
the South American countries. The region from Florida northward is treated
in a similar series, followed by north-west voyages, including those made by
Spaniards on the Pacific side, particularly under Aguilar and Fonte. A description
of the Antilles concludes the division, though several additional
pieces are given in the supplementary volume on Vespucci, Pizarro, and
Spanish South Sea voyages. This partial review shows that faults have been
committed both in the arrangement and in the selection of material, due
partly to haste, with a consequent confusion and repetition, and a carelessness
of facts, which greatly impair the value of the work. The uniformity of
style for the varying subjects and the dissertations on trifles are also to be
objected to. After Didot's death the collection passed into the hands of
Rozet, who caused three volumes to be added by Querlon and de Leyre.
They are the best edited part of the set, according to La Harpe, and form a
continuation of the voyages to the north begun in vol. xv., with a full description
of the northern regions in the three parts of the world. The fine engravings,
after Cochin, have aided greatly to make the first edition in quarto
esteemed above others, and to make the fortune of the publishers. Two reprints,
one of eighty volumes duodecimo, were issued while the publication
was still progressing. The Dutch version of Hague, 1747-80, in 25 vols, 4to,
begun from the English, but continued from Prévost, contains the portions
omitted by Prévost in his early volumes, and several additional narratives,
chiefly on the Dutch Asiatic possessions. A German translation in 21 vols
4to was issued at Leipzig in 1747-74 by Arkstee and Merkus. The editors,
Kästner and Schwaben, begin with a round of abuse on Prévost's faulty production,
and announce that they will follow the English original, while copying
the superior French engravings. With the stoppage of Green's labors,
they suddenly discover Prévost's superiority, but in adopting him as their
guide for the remainder, they maintain their former division of chapters and
sub-headings. The last three volumes cover Rozet's additions.




The plan of a general history of voyages outlined by Green had been projected
already by the academician Du Perier de Montfraisier in his Histoire
Universelle des Voyages faits par Mer & par Terre dans l'ancien & dans le
nouveau Monde, Paris, 1707, wrongly ascribed to Abbé Bellegarde. Although
dedicated to the duke of Burgundy, the king's father, the patronage failed
to give it popularity, and the first duodecimo volume proved also the last.
Beginning with an introductory on the development of navigation, he opens
the narrative with Columbus and closes it with Cortés, giving in addition to
the intermediate voyages, a general description of resources and nations of
tropic America. The whole is brief and superficial, with particular attention
to the marvellous, as indicated also by the engravings. The English hastened
to give their approval by issuing a translation, but only to be superseded like
Prévost's collection. If this work had anything to do with promoting Green's
plan, it may be said not altogether to have failed in its aim.



DU PERIER, LA HARPE, WALCKENAER, BERNARD.



The size and cost of Prévost's popular work induced the well known litterateur
and academician La Harpe to issue an Abrégé de l'Histoire Générale des
Voyages, Paris, 1780-1801, 32 vols, 8vo, the last eleven by Comeyras. La Harpe
749
was moved to this also by the numerous faults of the original, in prolixity,
dryness, and confusion, as he takes pains to explain. His plan, while taking
Prévost as a base, was to give a clear, attractive review of voyages in all that
is of interest to the majority of readers, eliminating matter not to the point,
as navigation notes, accounts covered by preceding narratives, and superfluous
details on physical and other features. This plan is carried out by dividing
the set into four parts, on Africa, Asia, America, and circumnavigations,
arranged chronologically, and interspersed or prefaced with reviews of natural
geography, and by giving prominence to adventures, social features, and
whatsoever may prove attractive to the ordinary reader, even at the risk of
tampering with credulity. It is to be regretted that La Harpe should have confined
himself so much to a collection declared incomplete and inexact, instead
of expending a little more time and trouble to provide a work of greater value.
As it is he achieved his declared object, a series of sprightly narratives, full
of striking incidents and graphic details, traits to which Irving among others
have paid the tribute of a borrower. The part by Comeyras exhibits far less
skill. To this edition has been added twelve volumes of a Histoire des Voyages
en Europe poorly prepared. La Harpe's set passed through several
editions, one of 1816 being in 24 vols, 8vo. The similar set of 1820 was revised
by Eyriès, and subsequently enlarged to 30 volumes. Eyriès in 1822-24
issued a continuation under the title of Abrégé des Voyages Modernes depuis
1780, 14 volumes, 8vo.




About this time C. A. Walckenaer, the well known writer on Africa, arranged
with publisher Lefèvre to prepare the Histoire Générale des Voyages,
ou Nouvelle Collection de Relations des Voyages, Paris, 1826-31, which according
to the prospectus was to excel Prévost's in completeness and reliability,
and to comprise not over sixty volumes. But so badly did Walckenaer
manage his material that twenty-one octavo volumes had been printed long
before the first division of African voyages had been exhausted, and the publisher
thereupon abandoned the work.




Among less noted collections is Recueil de divers Voyages faits en Afrique
et en l'Amérique, Paris, 1674, 4to, which presents a few select pieces, such as
the history of Barbadoes Islands; de la Borde's account of Carib customs and
mission work; and a description of the Antilles, besides African narratives.




Recueil de Voiages au Nord, Amsterdam, 1715-27, 9 vols, 12mo, is a collection
of entire and abridged narratives of voyages to northern countries, including
searches for the north-east and north-west passages, and with the
main object of displaying the resources of those regions, with the routes of
approach, so as to promote trade. This laudable purpose is indicated by the
dedication in which Bernard, the bookseller, places the work under the
patronage of the emperor of Russia. The earlier volumes contain a number
of valuable pieces on America, extending as far south as Louisiana and the
gulf of California, among them the memoirs of De Lisle and Piccolo on
Lower California. The later volumes are confined to Asia and Europe, embracing
respectively Corea and the Scandinavian peninsula. The arrangement
is not quite satisfactory; but this was improved somewhat in a later edition,
increased to ten volumes. In one of the division prefaces the editor enters a
protest against the predilection shown by travellers for describing the marvellous,
750
and against the prevalent bigotry and prejudice. Some able observations
are also made on the character of the narrative to follow, which are
quite refreshing in face of the inane remarks to be found in the introductions
of this period.




Within the brief compass of three duodecimo volumes entitled A New
Universal Collection of Voyages and Travels, London, 1755, an effort is made
to present a synopsis of all celebrated voyages to different parts of the world;
but the result is a rather unequal medley of individual narratives and compiled
reviews, chiefly relating to Englishmen. America is more or less referred
to in the series of circumnavigations covered by the first volume. In
the second is given the history of trade with the East India region, followed
by the discovery and settlement of American countries, New Spain being
described in chapter vii. The last volume relates almost wholly to Europe.
The mappemonde outlines California as an island.




Of wider scope is The World Displayed; or, A Curious Collection of Voyages
and Travels, London, 1760-1, 20 vols, 16mo, which devotes the first seven
volumes to America and to circumnavigation, leaving the remainder to the
other three continents. The material has been selected apparently from one
of the larger collections, with no attempt at critical investigation or completeness,
but mainly for its interesting features. In the first volume are
given the voyages of Columbus and contemporary events, and in the second,
the expeditions of Cortés. In the appended map of North America "the
supposed Str. of Annian" is still retained in about 42° lat. Volume iii. opens
with the conquest of Panamá and passes into South America, while iv. and v.
relate to English and French discoveries, including Drake's voyage. Dampier
and Rogers share volume vi., leaving the whole of volume vii. to Anson's
circumnavigation.




A Curious Collection of Travels, London, 1761, 8 vols, 16mo, maps and
illustrations, treats of the different parts of the world, partly in the form of
voyages, partly in historical reviews of countries, including discovery, explorations,
and settlement. Of the three volumes devoted to America, iv.
and v. relate to English, Dutch, and French colonies, and vi. to the Spanish
and Portuguese.




Disgusted with bulky collections and their profuse 'rubbish' on winds,
currents, and log-book records, the editor of A Compendium of Authentic and
Entertaining Voyages, London, 1766, 7 vols. 12mo, resolves to present only the
useful and attractive, and further to carry on the narratives, beginning with
Columbus, in a chronologic order, so as to give his readers the annals of navigation.
The authorities consulted are probably one of the larger collections,
from which are culled the interesting voyages. Thus volume i., the only one
referring to my field, presents simply those of Columbus, Cortés, Gama, and
Cabral.




Another refuge from verbose and credulous collections is thrust before the
public in A New Collection of Voyages, Discoveries, and Travels, London, 1767,
7 vols, 8vo, with maps and engravings, wherein the editor promises to show
none of the bad judgment and neglect to be found in other compilations destined
only for the vulgar. Whatever improvements may have been introduced
they are more than counterbalanced by incompleteness, and want of
751
proportion. Of the three volumes on America for instance, vol. i. refers
chiefly to Columbus and Cortés, with minor accounts of Pizarro and Ulloa,
and the regions touched by them. Volume ii. contains extracts from Wafer,
and descriptions of British and Portuguese colonies, while iii. covers the
circumnavigations of Drake, Dampier, Rogers, and, chiefly, Anson; iv. v. and
vii. concern Europe, the last treating of England's navy and constitution,
and in vi. are collected odd travels in Asia, Egypt, and the Levant.



DRAKE, PELHAM, HENRY, BERENGER.



A New Universal Collection of Authentic and Entertaining Voyages and
Travels, by Edward Cavendish Drake, London, 1771, folio, with cuts, consists
of a number of abridged narratives, each forming a division by itself,
with special chapters, but without a defined arrangement. The aim, while
seeking to embrace all regions of the globe, is to please the ordinary reader
by exciting and curious accounts, including stories of semi-human beasts, as
shown by the illustrations, engraved by Grignon. America, which covers
fully one third of the text, is on the mappemonde projected into two branches,
the northward one connected with Greenland, and the other with a land
made to extend over all the pole. Beginning with Columbus the editor takes
up the circumnavigators to Anson, and then returns to the conquest of the
Isthmus, Mexico, and Peru. After this come the Portuguese conquest, the
English settlements, Wafer's adventures in Darien, and the north-west and
north-east searches. The rest concerns the three old continents.




New Voyages and Travels; Consisting of Originals, Translations, and
Abridgments, 9 vols, 8vo, explain their appearance very correctly, and the
need of a periodical publication of recent voyages, to which they are confined.
Each original, or set of compiled narratives, forms a separately paged part,
but follows no order, the object being to give in each volume pieces relating
to several parts of the world, and America is accordingly represented in every
one. Kotzebue and Roquefeuil's voyages, in vi. and ix. respectively, are the
only ones relating to my field.




The World; or the Present State of the Universe. Being a General and Complete
Collection of Modern Voyages and Travels, by Cavendish Pelham, London,
1808-10, 2 vols, 4to, has in view not only to present the most recent narratives,
in abridged form, but to give a modern account of every country, in a
geographic, politic, and social aspect. Beginning with a lengthy relation of
La Pérouse's voyage and the search for him, the editor continues with a tour
in Kamchatka, and with Portlock and Dixon's voyage, followed by a medley
of narratives on Africa, Asia, and particularly Europe. Toward the end is
given an outline of physical and political geography, whereof America receives
seven pages; and last comes a sketch of the leading voyages not already
given.




An appropriate subdivision of voyages is presented in An Historical Account
of all the Voyages round the World, performed by English Navigators.
London, 1773-4, 4 vols, 8vo, maps and engravings. Volume i. contains
Drake, Cavendish, and Dampier, with briefer references to Cowley and Roggewein,
while Cook's voyages occupy not only the greater part of iii., but
part of iv., and the whole of a fifth and sixth volume added in 1775 and 1781
by David Henry, the editor of the first two.




Berenger, Collection de tous les Voyages faits autour du Monde, Paris, 1788-9,
752
9 vols, embraces circumnavigations by all nations, but shows itself even more
disproportionate in its arrangement than Henry's. Magellan's all-important
voyage is so hastily disposed of as to create a belief that the work was never
based upon a plan; nor have any prefatory remarks been given to assist the
wondering reader. Drake and Cavendish are not shown much more favor,
while the doubtful voyage of Carreri occupies the whole of ii., and Cook's three
voyages fill the last three volumes.




An Historical Account of the Circumnavigation of the Globe, and of the
Progress of Discovery in the Pacific Ocean, from Magellan to Cook, Edinburgh,
1837, 12mo, has for its chief aim the relation of Cook's voyages, to which half
the volume is devoted. It is claimed that several original papers and points
were obtained from the family of the great navigator for the perfection of the
narrative. The book opens with a brief review of the progress of navigation
till the discovery of the South Sea by Balboa, and then begins the narrative
proper with Magellan's voyage, and with voyages that have assisted in opening
the Pacific Ocean. The freely sprinkled foot-notes indicate that, although
the work is small, considerable care has been bestowed upon it. A continuation
was issued under the title of Voyages round the World from the Death of
Captain Cook to the Present Time, Edinburgh, 1843, which gives even greater
attention to scientific features and to generalizations, than to details of voyages;
yet a sufficient number of curious and exciting incidents are introduced
to attract the ordinary reader.



FORSTER, BURNEY, DALRYMPLE, DELAPORTE.



The preceding work on circumnavigations shows the value of a subdivision
of the collections and histories of voyages, wherein the attempt to embrace
too much naturally leads to superficiality, to a neglect of important points, and
wherein the arrangement forbids a comprehensive view of particular sections.
A subdivision affords better opportunity for the proper study of special subjects
and regions in connection with history and sciences. Such works as
Recueil de Voiages an Nord are convenient for this purpose, to be used by
scholars for the preparation of more complete and critical works, as Forster,
Geschichte der Entdeckungen und Schiffahrten im Norden, Francfurt, 1785,
translated into English in 1786, and into French in 1789. The latter opens
with a review in books i. and ii. of the beginning of discovery voyages
among the ancients, and their progress during the middle ages, particularly
under the Italians, among them the brothers Zeno. In book iii. follows at
greater length the history of voyages to northern regions in modern times,
each nation engaged receiving a chronologically arranged chapter. Most of
the voyages are of course directed to the search for a north-east or north-west
passage, but they also include those that have merely been directed
northward, as Ulloa's and Alarcon's in 1539 and 1540, which did not pass beyond
Lower California. The latter occur in the Spanish chapter, embracing
the several American voyages from Gomez in 1524 to Bodega in 1775, and including
Fuca's and Fuente's. The voyages close with the Russian entry into
Alaska. Like most German works of research it has received careful study,
and forms an authority for its field. John Reinhold Forster was one whose
talents and investigations had met with the recognition of membership in
several learned societies. He had made the geography of the north his particular
study, and had accompanied Cook round the world, in 1772-75, as
753
a naturalist, and with a view to prepare a philosophic history of the voyage.
He also wrote Observations Made during a Voyage round the World, London,
1778, 4to, dedicated to the Royal Society of London, and relating to geography,
ethnology, and ethics. The journal kept by him during this voyage,
together with the reports to the government and to societies, was elaborated
by his son and voyage companion into the Reise um die Welt, a work to
which Humboldt gratefully ascribes the first impulse to his love for nature.
Besides several books on Egypt and Africa, Forster issued the Magazin von
Reisebeschreibungen, Berlin, 1790-1802, 24 vols, which is not prepared with the
care due to his fame.




A Chronological History of the Discoveries in the South Sea, by James Burney,
London, 1803-17, 5 vols, 4to, owes its existence, like several of Forster's
works, to companionship with Cook. The later Admiral Burney sailed as
lieutenant with the great navigator during the last two voyages, and having
made geographic discoveries a particular study, his attention was naturally
directed to the Pacific. Stimulated by Forster's example, he determined to
write a history of voyages to cover this field, a project which received the
encouragement of Sir Joseph Banks, who opened his library and lent his influence,
receiving in return the grateful dedication of the work. After some
preliminary remarks on attempts between 1492 and 1517 to find a passage to
the South Sea, the chronologic account of voyages therein is begun with Magellan's.
Amongst the earliest cruises are those in search of a route to the
Philippines, and of a passage to the Atlantic, north of Mexico, both bearing
good fruit in the extension of geographic knowledge. With Drake is resumed
the lengthy series of circumnavigations to which the second volume is chiefly
devoted, interspersed with minor expeditions, and with cautious reviews of
the doubtful narratives of Maldonado and Fuca. Volume iii. gives considerable
attention to the Asiatic coast, and to the unfolding of the Australian
group, and the following is swelled with a full history of the buccaneers,
which concerns chiefly the Antilles; but after this Pacific voyages are resumed
with Dampier, Shelvocke, Roggewein, Anson, and minor local expeditions
until about 1766, when their increasing number called for a different treatment,
and they were therefore left for another pen. The whole forms an able
digest, not only of maritime expeditions, but of the progress and condition
of settlements along the coast. The author is not perhaps so consistent with
his plan of thoroughness and comprehensiveness as the very sensible preface
leads us to expect, nor is the lengthy account of the Antilles quite relevant
to the subject when so much matter to the point might have been included.
These objections are more than balanced, however, by an evident research,
and a study of the material, manifest also in the sound comments and conclusions.
As supplementary works may be regarded A Chronological History of
North-Eastern Voyages of Discovery; London, 1819; A Memoir on the Geography
of the North-eastern Part of Asia, London, 1818; A Memoir of the
Voyage of d'Entrecasteaux, London, 1820. The continuation of the work is
supplied by Hawkesworth's collection, Bougainville's voyage, and later publications.




It will be seen that a portion of the Chronologic History had already been
covered by Forster's volume, for the north, while the southern region had
754
found an exponent in De Brosses, Histoire des Navigations aux Terres Australes,
translated into English with additions. This work was rather a
hasty preparation, having for its object chiefly to demonstrate the advantages
of the South Pacific for colonies; so that there was ample room for An Historical
Collection of the several Voyages and Discoveries in the South Pacific
Ocean, by Alexander Dalrymple, London, 1770-1, 2 vols, 4to, which treats
of Spanish and Dutch voyages between South America and Papua. A French
translation appeared at Paris in 1774 by Fréville, who the same year issued
in his Hydrographique what may be regarded as a continuation.




Le Voyageur François, ou la Connoissance de l'Ancien et du Nouveau Monde,
Mis au jour par M. l'Abbé Delaporte, Paris, 1767-72, 42 vols, 12mo, presents an
historical and descriptive account of the world by a fictitious French traveller
who addresses himself to a lady in the form of letters, dated at leading towns
in different countries. While describing the actual condition of the country
in a politic, economic, and social sense, he also gives lengthy reviews of the
past history and of the ancient customs of the people, as if related by a native
or culled from memory. The narrative is by this means rendered most
interesting, and assumes a freshness and a sprightliness of style which condone
greatly for its superficiality, incompleteness, and want of critical discernment
in adopting statements. The epistolary form, while intended to
court the public, doubtless adds to the flippancy, in which respect La Harpe,
among others, expresses himself rather like a jealous rival. Beginning his
tour in the Mediterranean, the author passes through Asia Minor to India and
China, and in volume ix. turns up in the British American colonies. In the
three volumes following he enters the Pacific States, devoting to Mexico the
greater part of x., describing chiefly the conquest and the ancient customs of
the Aztecs, and leaving almost untouched the later history and condition;
but then the object is to interest the ordinary reader. Only the first 28 vols.
are from the pen of the abbé; the rest show the inferior style of De Tontenai
and Domairon. The success was such as to warrant a new edition in 1792-95.
A German duodecimo edition was issued at Leipzig immediately upon the
completion of the original, under the title of Reisen eines Franzosen. A
Spanish translation was begun as El Viagero Universal ó Noticia del Mundo,
Madrid, 1795-1801, 43 vols, including four supplementary. By D. P. E. P.
The editor soon tired of the faults of the original, and with the 6th vol. began
an independent work, in which much new information is given, so that the
book greatly surpasses the French in the value of its material, while it falls
behind in style and treatment. Volumes xii. xxvi. and xxvii. relate to
Mexico, Central America, and California, and several adjoining volumes treat
of other parts of America, including searches for the north-west passage. So
conscientious is the editor that he devotes the supplementary volumes to
complete and correct the first five wherein he had followed Delaporte.



D'URVILLE, DE LURCY, PINKERTON.



Voyage Pittoresque autour du Monde, Paris, 1834-5, 2 vols, 4to, under the
direction of Dumont d'Urville, is also a voyage round the world by an imaginary
person, who starting from Toulon proceeds by way of Rio de Janeiro
to South Africa, coasts along the East Indies to China, visits the Pacific
groups and Australia, whence he returns to France with barely a reference to
America. The object is to fasten the attention with a pleasing narrative,
755
while imparting as much information as possible on geography, political and
social history, and curious facts, illustrated by a profusion of neat cuts.




A work covering much of the same ground, and somewhat similar in character,
though written by the navigator himself, is Voyages autour du monde
et Naufrages Célèbres, Paris, 1844, 8 vols in 4, by Gabriel Lafond de Lurcy,
part of which had already appeared in 1840 as Quinze ans de Voyages, 2 vols.
The narrative begins with a voyage performed during the Spanish American
revolution from Manila to Mexico, to which latter country and the adjoining
dependencies the whole volume is devoted, reviewing the political and social
condition, the conquest, the Spanish rule, and the insurrectionary war. In
ii. to v. the author relates several voyages along the South American coast
to China, the East Indies, and the Pacific groups, which are made the vehicle
for similar reviews, including Columbus' voyages and the conquest of Panamá
and the region to the south. The last three volumes relate to notable voyages
by others, and to adventures of shipwrecked crews in Africa and in the Pacific
groups. The easy narrative inclines to the romantic style, and little attention
is given to exactness or completeness. Still, the account of revolutionary
events deserves attention from the fact that Lafond was an actual participant.
He also wrote Études sur l'Amérique Espagnol, 1848, and some other treatises.




Curious and Entertaining Voyages, London, 1790, 4to, consists of a Portuguese
and Spanish collection from Prince Henry's time to 1520, given in
chronologic order, and without repetition in later narratives of matter already
related; but there is little merit in the treatment, and negligence is
shown even on the title-page, where particular attention is called to Columbus'
conquest of Mexico! Of the four books forming the division, i. and iii.
relate to Portuguese, and the others to Spanish voyages and expeditions, from
Columbus to Cortés and Magellan.




A General Collection of the best and most interesting Voyages and Travels in
all parts of the World, by John Pinkerton, London, 1808-14, 17 vols, 4to, is
announced as "the most voluminous of the kind ever published," next to the
Histoire of Prévost. After pointing out the numerous defects of this collection,
and of its prototype by Green, with even more details than La Harpe,
the accomplished Pinkerton, friend of Gibbon, proposes not only to avoid
their dryness, inaccuracy, and repetition, but to embrace all the material of
former collections, together with many additional narratives. Dividing his
subject into five parts, corresponding to the five continents, he devotes volume
i. to the north and north-east, besides two or three southern voyages; the
two following to travels in Great Britain, and iv. to vi. to other parts of
Europe; while vii. to x. relate to Asia; xi. to Australasia; xii. and xiii. to
North America, beginning with Columbus; xiv. to South America; and the
two following to Africa. Volume xvii. contains a retrospect of the progress
of discovery, a catalogue of books on each region, and a detailed index. In
these groups he collects, with little attempt at order, a mass of narratives
which, however excellent in themselves, often cover but a portion of the field
already better described in other works by several or more thorough narratives.
Of the conspicuous and absorbing conquest of Mexico and adjoining regions
not a word appears, and the only description of that country is from the later
incomplete and comparatively unimportant travels of de Menonville. The
756
north-west coast, with California, is only slightly referred to under Drake's
visits. In other instances, several voyages to the same region are given with
valueless repetitions, as Frobisher's three searches for a north-west passage
and the five voyages to Persia. A mass of uninteresting extracts from log-books
are also presented, besides other verbose trivialities. Altogether the
collection fails to realize its promises, and is decidedly inferior in selection,
arrangement, treatment, and above all in completeness, to many less pretentious
sets.



KERR, LARDNER, DUMÉNIL, GOODRICH.



A much more thorough, though less known work, is A General History
and Collection of Voyages and Travels, from the earliest ages, by Robert Kerr,
Edinburgh, 1811-24, 18 vols, 8vo. It is the first work of the kind issued in
Scotland, and claims to be the first systematically arranged history of voyages
in English. Purchas is admitted to possess system, but is incomplete and
merges the traveller's individuality too often, faults which Kerr promises to
avoid. He divides the work into five parts; first, voyages and travels from
King Alfred's time to the fifteenth century, nearly all directed to Asia, yet
including in volume i. Zeno's voyages, and in ii. the discoveries of Galvano:
second, voyages between 1492 and 1760, constituting volumes iii. to xi.
These open with two accounts of Columbus' discovery and contemporary
events, by his son and by Herrera. The same volume has the beginning of
Cortés' conquest, which is continued in iv. together with Pizarro's. From
the conquest of South America, concluded in v., the chronologic order takes
the reader to the north-east coast of America, from Florida northward; and
in vi. the voyages change to the East Indies, to return in x. and xi. to America,
with the circumnavigators, who occupy both volumes. The third part
relates to particular voyages in each of the five parts of the globe, arranged
under each country and section, and begins in xii. with Byron, Wallis, Carteret,
and Cook. The several voyages of the latter occupy the remainder of
the work, xiii. to xvii., with the exception of a brief space to Bougainville,
and to circumnavigations. This by no means completes the part, as promised,
nor the fourth part on general voyages during the reign of George III.
Whether this is owing to the early abandonment of the plan announced, or to
Kerr's death, is not clear, but the work certainly leaves gaps by concluding,
in volume xviii. with the fifth part, a historical deduction of the progress of
navigation, discovery, and commerce, which was written several years after
volume xvii. by W. Stevenson. This well prepared treatise is followed by a
list of books on voyages and geographic descriptions. The method, so far as
carried out, has been to give in chronologic order, at considerable length, and
chiefly in the original form, the most valuable voyages and travels, particularly
such as have extended geographic knowledge; and further, to review at
the beginning or end of such narratives all minor accounts, so as to furnish a
history of voyages. Objections may be raised in many instances, such as
giving Columbus two versions where one might have sufficed if notes had been
added from the other or from others. Cook's voyages, so well known by this
time, are out of proportion to the rest, particularly when narratives were so
greatly needed to cover the progress of discovery and settlement in different
regions, as the Northwest Coast, Mexico, and other Spanish colonies.




A method similar to Kerr's is more consistently adhered to, on a smaller
757
scale, in The History of Maritime and Inland Discovery, London, 1830-1, 3
vols, 12mo, which forms volumes ii. xi. and xvi. of The Cabinet Cyclopædia,
conducted by Rev. Dionysius Lardner. It certainly is a most thorough history
for its size, and valuable as a guide to larger incomplete sets. Volume
i. ends with Columbus' first voyage, while ii. carries along with Magellan and
Cortés the circumnavigators and buccaneers, and closes with the discovery of
Alaska by the Russians. Vol. iii. opens with Byron and Wallis, and closes
in 1822.




In Nouvelle Bibliothèque des Voyages anciens et modernes, Paris, 12 vols, 8vo,
with maps and engravings, P. Duménil, editor, presents a selection of the
most noted and interesting voyages in full and abridged form, the latter rendered
in attractive style. After an introductory essay on the progress of exploration
by Duponchel, the series begins with circumnavigations; Anson,
Byron, and Bougainville occupying the first volume, while Cook takes ii. to v.
In vi. are given the narratives of La Pérouse and five other French voyagers
between 1800 and 1840. The three following volumes embrace African travel,
while Asia and Egypt combined find a place in x. and xi. Vol. xii. treats of
Columbus, Cortés, and Pizarro, followed by minor and abridged narratives on
north and north-east America and the Levant.




Historia de la Marina Real Española, Madrid, 1849 and 1854, 2 vols, 4to,
profusely illustrated, forms a useful subdivision of voyages, by giving a history
of all expeditions performed not only by the Spanish royal navy, but in
the interest of the government. Of the two books in volume i. the first is
almost wholly devoted to Columbus, while the second is occupied with Isthmian
expeditions, the conquest of Mexico, and Magellan's circumnavigation.
Volume ii. begins with Garay's expedition to Pánuco, and passes on to Molucca
voyages from Spain and Mexico, to Pizarro's conquest, and Cortés'
expeditions in the Pacific. The last three books, vii. to ix., cover the remainder
of the sixteenth, and the whole of the seventeenth and eighteenth
centuries respectively. The measures connected with Drake's raid on the
Spanish main form a striking feature in the seventh book, and Vizcaino's
voyage opens the next. In the eighteenth century are given the several
Mexican voyages to the north-west Pacific, from the time of Perez to that of
the Sutil y Mexicana; and in the battle of Trafalgar is found the apt finale to
a history intended to record the glories of the Spanish fleets. Although useful
for the field it covers, the work shows little investigation or critique. The
editors were José Terrer de Couto, who prepared the first 600 pages, and José
March y Labores, who finished the work. The dedication to the king, which
is almost republican in its straightforward tenor, bears the names of Vila and
Manini, proprietors.




Man upon the Sea; or, a History of Maritime Adventure, Exploration,
and Discovery from the Earliest Ages, by Frank B. Goodrich, Philadelphia,
1858, 8vo, while presenting a most complete and useful history, lays claim to
no particular research, but depends for popularity on the prominence given
to curious facts, striking incidents, and alluring narratives, pleasingly illustrated
with cuts. Beginning with a review of early notions on geography,
it considers the beginning of navigation, including the development of shipbuilding,
and enters upon the regular history of voyages in the Phœnician
758
era, carrying it to the present time in as chronologic an order as the narrative
will allow. Section iii. covers the period from Columbus to Magellan, and
the next two sections are devoted to the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries,
with the northern voyages and the circumnavigations, while vi. is chiefly
occupied with the Arctic voyages and the laying of the Atlantic cable. An
abridgment of the book appeared as The Sea and her Famous Sailors, London,
1859, 12mo.




Nuevo Viajero Universal, Enciclopedia de Viajes Modernos, Madrid, 1859,
5 vols, 4to, edited by N. Fernandez Cuesta, and forming a part of the Biblioteca
Ilustrada of Gaspar and Roig, is a collection of the latest voyages, profusely
illustrated, and so selected and arranged as to give a description of all parts
of the world, with more or less completeness. The volumes are equally
distributed among the five continents in the order of Africa, Asia, America,
Europe, and Oceania. North America is covered by six narratives referring
respectively to the western United States, Canada, California, Mexico, and
Central America, while five others describe South America. The account of
California is extracted from Bryant; that of Guatemala and adjoining regions
from Morelet; and of Mexico from Basil Hall and Zamacois. Each narrative
has its own division and chapters.




Perhaps no individual navigators have done so much for the extension of
coast geography in America in early times as the buccaneers, who, ever
flitting about in quest of Spanish gold, and ever in need of a refuge from stern
pursuers, left no available harbor or point on the main unnoticed. Nor were
they chary of imparting the information, but published it freely in their narratives
for the benefit alike of friend and foe. Among the special works compiled
from these as well as the more secret Spanish documents was that of Sharp,
which was specially devoted to the Pacific coast. A valuable supplement to
this is An Appendix to Sharp's South Sea Waggoner, translated out of the
original Spanish, a MS. folio of 145 pages, giving sailing directions from Chile
to California, with a minute description of the coast, reefs, and harbors, explained
by the seventy-two rude charts of the appendix. These are particularly
interesting, from the fact that they are relics of a collection of two to
three hundred original charts, collected by the traveller Nic Witsen, and
valued by him at over twenty thousand gulden, partly perhaps because they
indicated the localities where Spanish vessels had sunk with their treasures.
He had sold them to the king of Spain, but they perished in a shipwreck while
on the way to Madrid. So runs the story told in the autographic preface in
Dutch, signed by Witsen at Amsterdam, 1692.




The first important work of this class, issued in the United States, was the
American Coast Pilot of Blunt, which has grown in size and importance with
every succeeding edition since 1796, when it appeared at Newburyport as a
small 8vo of 122 pages, prepared by Captain Furlong. Since 1815 the Blunts,
father and son, have had control of it, improving and adding until the
twenty-first edition came out as a closely printed royal 8vo of 926 pages. This
volume, after an introduction on winds, currents, and other general matter,
begins its description of coast line and harbors at Newfoundland, and carries it
to the north-east coast of South America, giving also a full account of the
Antilles. The part relating to the United States occupies about half the
759
volume. An instance of the interest manifested by the Spanish government
in navigation is furnished by the Derrotero de las islas Antillas de las
Costas de Tierra firme y del seno Mexicano, Madrid, 1810, sm. 4to, prepared
by the Direccion de Hidrografía of Madrid as a hand-book to accompany
their charts. The Antilles are first described, then the mainland northward
to Florida, pages 340-455 being devoted to the section between Portobello
and San Bernando. Several improved editions were published in Spain as
well as America; that of Mexico, 1825, being noticeable, as revised by Guadalupe
Victoria, the first president of Mexico. As a valuable complement to the
preceding coast guides may be regarded A Directory for the Navigation of the
Pacific Ocean, London, 1851, 1 vol. in 2, 8vo, by Alexander G. Findlay. It is
equally thorough and well arranged, with many statistical facts in connection
with harbors. The first part relates to the west coast of America, the
second to Asia and the Australian groups.



TERNAUX-COMPANS, BERCHTOLD, CAMUS.



Voyages, Relations et Mémoires originaux pour servir à l'Histoire de la Découverte
de l'Amérique, by Henri Ternaux-Compans, Paris, 1837-41, 20 vols, 8vo, in
2 series of 10 vols each, is one of the valuable collections of original documents
or reprints which have of late years been discovered by zealous students and
published at their own cost, or with the aid of the rapidly increasing number
of historical societies. Of the first series, only the last two volumes are
original publications, the rest being reprints of rare German, Portuguese, and
Spanish works, chiefly of the sixteenth century. Several of them refer to the
Pacific States, as Relation véridique de la Conquête de Pérou, etc., by Xerez in
vol. iv., which also relates to the discovery of Panamá; Relation de Cabeça de
Vaca, vol. vii., which runs through northern Mexico; Cruautés Horribles des
Conquérants du Mexique, by Ixtlilxochitl, vol. viii.; the valuable Relation du
Voyage de Cibola, vol. ix., giving an account of the first entry into New Mexico;
Recueil de Pièces Relatives à la Conquête du Mexique, vol. x. The second series
is even more valuable and interesting, as all the volumes publish selections
from the manuscripts collected by Muñoz for his Historia del Nuevo Mundo,
and partly issued by Kingsborough in his large work. Those relating to the
Pacific States are, Zurita, Rapport, vol. xi.; Ixtlilxochitl, Histoire des Chichimèques,
vol. xii., xiii.; Oviedo, Histoire de Nicaragua, vol. xiv.; Recueil de
Pièces sur le Mexique, vol. xvi.; Id., sur la Floride, vol. xx., which contains
letters on New Spain. Only a limited number of copies were printed. In
connection with it was formed the Bibliothèque Américaine, Paris, 1837, a
valuable addition, particularly in reference to Spanish and German works.
Ternaux-Compans' Archives des Voyages and Recueil de Documents, both published
in Paris in 1840, 8vo, have also important material on America.




From the preceding review it will be seen that even the largest collections
of voyages failed to keep pace with the extension of maritime progress, and
recorded at the most the leading undertakings of a few nations, complemented
by references to a certain number of minor ones. This gap was partly covered
by booksellers' catalogues; but even their lists were for a long time
incomplete, and surpassed in many instances by those appended to their
works by authors. Berchtold, for instance, in his Essay to Travellers, London,
1789, gives a full list of European travels arranged under countries. A
more extensive list for voyage narratives was that of Reuss, issued during the
760
eighteenth century, and Stuck's, published at Halle, 1784-7. But these
were mere catalogues with few or no notes to indicate contents or character
of books; and this regardless of the admirable example and aid given by
Guill. Fr. de Bure, to whom is due the credit of issuing the first descriptive
bibliography, the Bibliographique Instructive, Paris, 1763-8, 7 vols, 8vo, the
germ of which lies in his imperfect Musæum Typographicam, Paris, 1755. The
work is perhaps needlessly profuse in its notes, but nevertheless of some value,
even now, beside the many modern works of this class to which it may be
said to have given rise. It devotes considerable space to voyages, and among
other collections it treats pretty fully of De Bry's. The interest manifested
in this set, however, and the confusion which its numerous partial editions
had created, warranted the special Mémoire sur la Collection des Grand et
Petits Voyages, et sur la Collection de Thévenot, Paris, 1802, prepared by A. G.
Camus. This gives not only a satisfactory amount of De Bry for the collector,
but a review of its composition for the benefit of students. It does not excel
De Bure's in details of contents, but surpasses it in scientific treatment and in
critique, presenting quite a model analysis. Camus had at first prepared a
briefer memoir which l'Institut National induced him to elaborate and publish
at its expense, with a similar notice of Thévenot's collection. Camus was
the author of a voyage narrative, and a noted work in connection with his
profession of the law.




While Camus was yet occupied with his memoir, a more extensive work of
the same class had been undertaken by G. Boucher de la Richarderie, who
after ten years of research among the various literary deposits in Paris, aided
by translators and others, issued the Bibliothèque Universelle des Voyages,
Paris, 1808, 6 vols, 8vo. Despite the labor bestowed the work is far from
perfect, either in its titles or notes, and the number of omissions becomes more
and more apparent when later catalogues are brought into comparison. The
arrangement, however, displays considerable judgment, beginning with a
review of voyage narratives and travelling guides in general, and proceeding
with accounts of voyages during the classic and middle ages. After this
come collections and general histories of voyages and circumnavigations,
followed by the main subject, an account of individual voyages, arranged
chronologically under the part of the world, the region, or the country to
which they are directed. Works on geography, natural history, antiquities,
and conquests are excluded, but not purely descriptive accounts of a country.
In most cases only the title of the work is given, in French and in the original,
with a sprinkling of notices on various editions, their rarity and character, but
at times a more or less lengthy review of the contents is presented in order to
furnish from the best works a concise account of the different countries. The
book is accordingly a combination of bibliography and historio-geographic
description of the world. The value of descriptive extracts in such a work
is questionable, and a more satisfactory treatment, in consonance with its
mission, would have been to present a larger proportion of bibliographic notes,
thus increasing its value.



ULLOA, VILLAGUTIERRE, PINELO.



The field covered by De Natura found a modern and more profound exponent
in Antonio de Ulloa, one of the most enlightened Spaniards of the last
century. His Noticias Americanas, Madrid, 1772, presents a philosophic
761
treatise on climate, natural products, and customs of the natives. At first
glance the obscure style and conceit gleaming throughout the preface might
lead one to suspect the pedant; but the merit of the work soon becomes apparent,
and appears worthy of the attention it has received in several editions
and translations. In the French Mémoires Philosophiques it numbered in 1787
the third edition. It must not be confounded with the curious Noticias Secretas
de America, by Juan and Ulloa, which forms a report on the political
administration of the Spanish colonies in South America, though applicable
also to the northern provinces, and aiding not a little to explain the causes
which led to the war of independence. As a secret report it was kept from
the public, and did not see the light till David Barry came across the MS. and
published it in London, 1826, in 4to form. To Ulloa's revision are greatly
due the merits of the Relacion Histórica del Viage, by Juan and Ulloa, Madrid,
1748-9, so widely translated. He also prepared some valuable reports on the
revival of trade and manufactures in Spain.




Villagutierre Soto-Mayor, Historia de la Conquista de la Provincia de el Itza,
Redvccion, y Progressos de la de el Lacandon. Madrid, 1701, folio, 1 vol. 660
pp. To this author we are indebted for a very complete history of the operations
conducted against the Itzas and Lacandones during the seventeenth
century. The work contains an excellent résumé of the partial and transitory
occupation by the Spaniards of the country inhabited by those tribes, and of
the efforts of ecclesiastics to effect a peaceful entry into it during the first
three quarters of the century. Then follow full details of the campaigns
organized by President Barrios and of the final conquest of the Itzas by Ursua.
The authorities from whom Villagutierre obtained the material for this portion
of his work were such as to render it thoroughly authentic, being Captain
Nicolás de Valenzuela, who took part in the expedition of Barrios, and President
Ursua. According to Pelaez, Mem. Guat., ii. 267, Valenzuela, with
official documents at his service, wrote a minute account of the campaign in
which he took part. His narrative, contained in 402 pages of manuscript
divided into 26 chapters, was never published, but Ursua supplied Villagutierre
with material to continue the history. Cogolludo, Hist. Yuc., Madrid,
1688, also furnished Villagutierre with some material, else both authors had
access to certain original documents, since passages almost word for word alike
occur in their respective works. Villagutierre dedicated his book to the council
of the Indies. The volume contains a frontispiece on which are depicted the
arms of Spain suspended between the pillars of Hercules, the whole framed in
a border composed of nude female busts and clusters of fruit, with a cherub
on the upper border and an idol's head on the lower. It was the chronicler's
intention to publish a second part to his history "si el Material de lo que
se obrare lo diere de sì," p. 660, but this has never appeared. The bibliographer
Brunet states that the volume contains "2 part, en 1 vol." Cáldas,
Sebastian Alvarez Alfonso Rosica, Copia de Carta Escrita a Sv Magestad, Impressa
en Goatemala, Por Ioseph de Pineda Ybarra, Año de 1667, is a copy
of the proposal made by President Cáldas to the king, by which he
undertook to accomplish the subjugation of the Lacandon country at
his own expense, and open a road between Guatemala and Campeche, if
assisted by the governor of the latter province. He calls his Majesty's attention
762
to the great commercial advantage which both provinces would gain by
such a consummation, and among other stipulations requests that the king
will be pleased to give to the territory in the event of its conquest the name
of "Provincia de Caldas, para que aya memoria de quien la reduxo, pacificó,
convirtió, y pobló"! p. 5. Though the president was in no way benefited by
this address to the crown, being shortly deposed from office, his having
caused it to be printed in Guatemala excited interest in such an undertaking
and stimulated future enterprise. The printed copies of this letter are rare,
since nearly every one of them was lost in the earthquake which destroyed
the city in 1773. Pinelo, Antonio de Leon, Relacion qve en el Conseio de Indias
hizo, Sobre la Pacificacion, y poblacion del Manché i Lacandon, que pretende
hazer Don Diego de Vera Ordoñez de Villaquiran, Cavallero de la Orden de
Calatrava, &c., año 1638, folio 11, is a report of Antonio de Leon Pinelo,
the celebrated historical secretary of the council of the Indies, on the district
occupied by the Lacandones, Manchés, and other unconquered native
nations. The book is extremely rare, and probably not more than two or
three copies are in existence, since only a limited number were printed
for the individual use of the members of the council. The one in my possession
was the property of the late E. G. Squier. It contains a brief description
of the Manché and Lacandon country, which is followed by a concise
sketch of the various attempts to pacify and people those districts, from
the time of the conquest down to the date of the report. The greater
part of the treatise consists of a careful consideration of the proposition made
by Diego de Vera Ordoñez de Villaquiran for the pacification of the Lacandon
territory. Attached to the document is a copy of the royal patent extended
to Villaquiran approving his proposition and appointing him governor and
captain-general of the "Provincia de el Prospero (alias el Lacandon)," drawn
up in 1638, and issued by the king on the 29th of March 1639. Mention has
already been made of Pinelo's labors in vol. i. p. 287, Hist. Cent. Am. Informe
del Rev. P. Prior del Convento de Coban al Ilimo y Rimo Sr D. Fray
Andrés de Navas y Quevedo, Arzobispo de Guatemala, sobre las Misiones de
Verapaz y Ahitzaes, escrita en Coban á 8 de Febrero de 1685, MS., 27, is an
interesting report, formerly belonging to the Abbé Brasseur de Bourbourg,
and containing an account of the Dominican missions in the Chol country
from 1673 to the date of the document. It constitutes a spirited refutation
of the charge of abandonment thereof brought against the order by Sebastian
de Olivera y Angulo, the alcalde mayor of Vera Paz. The letter is ably and
courteously written, and, as the production of a Spanish friar, not very verbose.



FURTHER REFERENCES.



Herewith I give further references to some authorities consulted for the
preceding chapters: Vazquez, Chron. de Gvat., 1-771; Escamilla, Not. Cur.,
1-78; Oviedo, i. 115, 157-8, 599-602; iii. 123, 131-2, 189-208, 211-20, 222-3,
255, 488-94, 540; iv. 8-10, 19-32, 239-42; Concilios Prov., MS., i. 160, passim;
Id., 1555 y 1565, pp. vi.-vii., 283-89, 293-8; Herrera, dec. i. lib. vii. cap.
xii.; lib. x. cap. xi.; dec. iii. lib. v. cap. xiv.; lib. ix. cap. vii. x.; lib. x.
cap. ix. xi.; dec. iv. lib. i. cap. vi. vii. xi.; lib. ii. cap. i. iii. vi.; lib. iii. cap.
ii.; lib. iv. cap. vii.; lib. vi. cap. iii.; lib. vii. cap. v.; lib. x. cap. v. xv.;
dec. v. lib. i. cap. ix.; lib. iii. cap. v.; lib. vi. cap. i.; lib. ix. cap. viii. ix.;
763
dec. vi. lib. i. cap. viii. ix.; lib. iii. cap. xix.; lib. vii. cap. iv. vi.; dec. vii.
lib. ii. cap. x. xi. xii.; lib. vi. cap. v. vi.; dec. viii. lib. vi. cap. i. ii. iii. v.
vii.; dec. viii. lib. x. cap. xx.; Torquemada, i. 322-31, 333-4; iii. 338-40,
384, 468-70, 535-6; Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 177-83, 205, 219-21, 235-7,
245-6; Gonzalez Dávila, Teatro Ecles., 45-308, passim; Cartas de Indias,
23-5, 414, 451-55, 662, 673-8, 708-10, 735, 745-6, 757-8, 776, 797, 834, 841,
857; Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 1-771; America, Descrip., MS., 2-4, 130-5, 155,
166, 182-9; Gomara, Hist. Mex., 233; Id., Hist. Ind., 64, 243-4, 268-70;
Chiapas, Doc. Orig., MS., 6-8, 55 et seq.; Dávila Padilla, Hist. Fvnd. Mex.,
50-1, 89-93, 109-15, 179-89, 303-29, 343, 478; Alegre, Hist. Comp. Jesus, i.
183, 254-5, 429-48; ii. 16, passim; iii. 3-6, 18-30, 48-80, 172, 179-80, 295-6;
Centro América, Extractos Sueltos, MS., 1-149; Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col.
Doc., i. 511, passim; ii. 209 et seq.; iii. 351-62, 386-8, 507-8; iv. 131-5; v.
522-9; vi. 6-17, 304, 342-3; vii. 6, passim; viii. 19-46, 89, 224; ix. 81-115;
x. 32 et seq.; xi. 91-153; xiii. 136, passim; xiv. 47 et seq.; xv. 9, passim;
xvi. 324-7; xvii. 489-95; xix. 329-40; xxii. 515-24; xxiii. 171-89; Dávila,
Continuacion de la Cronica, MS., 127-30, 290; Icazbalceta, Col. Doc., i. pp.
lvi.-cxv.; ii. pp. xxxvi.-xl. 509-14, 595-600; Robles, Prov. de Chiapa, 5-71;
Barcia, i. 166-79; ii. 29-33, 173; iii. 172-5; Calle, Mem. y Not., 72, passim;
Chimalpain, Hist. Conq., ii. 181; Beaumont, Crón. Mich., i. 540-1; ii. 12
et seq.; iv. 104-6, 252, 489-93; v. 475; Id., MS., 322-4, 435, 638-42, 1083;
Cáldas, Carta sobre Lacandon, 1-13; Alcedo, Dic., iii. 325-6; Ixtlilxochitl,
Horribles Crueldades, 71; Florida, Col. Doc., 138; Papeles Franciscanos, MS.,
i. 53-221, 308-13; ii. 321-6; Burgoa, Geog. Descrip. Oaj., i. 83-7, 387-8; ii.
233-8, 385, 410-11; Id., Palestra, 174; Reales Cédulas, MS., 12, 192; ii. 159,
194-7; Codex, Tell. Rem.; Benzoni, Mondo Nuovo, 99, 106-7, 159-60; Ordenes
de la Corona, MS., i. 96, 158-60; ii. 58; iii. 45-73; iv. 130-1, 150-7; Vetancvrt,
Chron. San Evang., 24, 77; Id., Teat. Mex., 24-6, 37, 53; Id., Menolog.,
24-8, 44-5, 135-6, 259; Garcilaso de la Vega, Comment. Reales, ii. 57-81, 369-75,
466-7; Medina, Chron. S. Diego, 11-12, 239-41; Puga, Cedulario, 24-7,
75-93, 115, 161-3, 188-201; Las Casas, Carta Amonest. 1545, p. iv.; Id.,
Carta al Gattinara, 1520, 1-5; Id., Carta a los PP. de Guat., 1554, 1-10; Id.,
Hist. Apolog., MS., 28-9, 222; Id., Hist. Ind., i. 406, p. vii.; Id., Regionvm,
35-40; Providencias Reales, MS., 10-15, 49-77, 158-60, 178-208, 221-54, 270-309;
Espinosa, Chron. Apost., 308-407, 490-9, 534-90; Estrada Rávago,
Descripcion, MS., 2-11; Arévalo, Actas Ayunt. Guat., 15-172; Id., Col. Doc.
Antig., 1-198; Arricivita, Crón. Seráfica, 1-157, 227-35, 588-9, 603-5; Col.
Doc. Inéd., 1. 122-4, 140-1; lvii. 318, 344, 384-412, 478; Mendieta, Hist.
Ecles., 382-94, 545-8, 619-21, 667-74; Gavarrete, Copias de Doc., MS., 1-55;
Guat., Col. de Cédulas, MS., 1-130; Id., Sto Domingo, en 1724, MS., 1-74;
Haya, Informe al Rey, MS., 1-23; Prov. Sant. Evang., MS., 1-7, 160-6,
206-10; Doc. Hist. Mex., série i. tom. i. 103, passim; tom. ii. 3-520; tom. iii.
238-495; tom. iv. 116-237; tom. v. 109, 142; série ii. tom. iv. 21-2, 212-88,
349-72, 463; tom. vi. 41-8; tom. vii. 75-6; Recop. de Indias, i. 11, passim;
ii. 17, passim; iii. 311, passim; Juarros, Guat., 1, passim; Id. (ed. London,
1823), 1-520; Cogollvdo, Hist. Yuc., 93, 234-42, 326, 637, 745-51; Reales
Ordenes, ii. 305-31; iii. 94-245, 308-12; viii. 188-9, 422-39; Fernandez, Hist.
Ecl., 29-32, 115-185; Pelaez, Mem. Guat., i. 1-310, passim; ii. 1-311, passim;
iii. 1-291; Gracias, Estadistica, 22-31; Squier's MSS., i.-xxxii.; Criado de
Castilla, Descub., MS., 1-64; Maltratamiento de Yndios, MS., 1-4; Cortés,
Residencia, i. 51-60, 96-7, 155-6, 232-4, 424; Purchas, His Pilgrimes, iv. 877,
1146-7, 1569-1603; v. 886-8; Cerezeda, Carta, MS., 1-62; Derrotero para
Naveg., MS., 17-133, passim; Cabrera Bueno, Naveg. Especvl., 313; Lobo,
Relacion, MS., 1-217, passim; Gallego y Cadena, Relacion, MS., 1-18; Lazcano,
Vida del Oviedo, 17; Papeles de Jesuitas, MS., 3; Apiano, Cosmog.,
18-19, 75; Garcia, Sublev. Zendales, MS., 1-154, passim; Avila y Lugo, Descrip.,
MS., 1-8; Ramusio, iii. 300-4; Cedulario, MS., i. 34-46, 246-8; iii.0
81-91; Garcia de Hermosilla, Memorial, MS., 1-65; Simon, Conq. Tierra
Firme, 401-32; Fvndacion y Prog. de Prov. Santiago, MS., 2-5; Duarte,
Relacion, MS., 1-5; Carriedo, Estudios Hist., 1-117, passim; Villagvtierre,
764
Hist. Conq. Itza, 4-17, 76-314, 341-401, 504-11, 542-659; Figueroa, Vindicias,
MS., 70-104; Ramon, El Informe, MS., 20-89; Zurita, Relacion, MS., 65;
Aniñon, Discurso, MS., 1-3; Niebla, Memorial, MS., 1-20; Alvarado, Cartas,
MS., 1-42; Morelli, Fasti Novi Orbis, 107-15, 140, 181-3, 206, 348, 361-5,
480-9; Pinelo, Relacion, 2-11; Velasco, Carta, MS., 1 et seq.; Miranda, Memoria,
MS., 1-20; Piedrahita, Hist. Gen., 529-30; Morel, Sta Cruz Visita, MS.,
1-104; Izaguirre, Relacion, MS., 1 et seq.; Costa Rica, Cabildo de Relacion,
MS., 1-18; Haklvyt, Voy., iii. 567-9, 590-7; Ariza, Darien, MS., 2-38; Panamá,
Col. Doc., passim; Guat., Const. del. Colegio, MS., 1 et seq.; Verapaz y
Ahitzaes, Misiones, MS., 1-27; Andagoya, Carta al Rey, MS., 9-10; Acosta,
Comp. Hist. N. Granada, 324; San Salv., Tratado de la Fundacion, MS.,
1-27; Darien, Defence of Scots Settlement, 1 et seq.; Id., Enquiry, 1 et seq.;
Id., Humble Address; Id., Letter Relating; Id., Original Papers, 1 et seq.;
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74-124, 307-48; vii. 69-163, 233-48, 269-78; Santos, Chron. Hisp., ii. 479-85;
García, Hist. Beth., i. 25-7; ii. 3-12, 28-203; iii. 1-173; iv. 1-39; Id., Reseña
Geog., 7; Coreal, Voy., i. 94-5, 101-12; Id. (ed. Amsterdam), 73-112, 125-47;
Id. (ed. Paris), 65-100, 251-2; Pineda, Descrip. Geog., 11-14, 45, 85-8, 129-33;
Cadena, Breve Descrip., 5-56; Rivera, Hist. Jalapa, i. 60-3; Ordenanças para
remedio de Navíos, 1-24; Lynch, Rel. Puntual, MS., 1-19; Gottfried, Newe
Welt, 82-3, 282-6; Oexmelin, Hist. de Flib., i. 162-5, 197-228; ii. 3-11, 31-193,
207-46; iii. 30-202, 301-47; Ramirez, Proceso, pp. xi.-xxiii., 6-82, 102-3,
124-30, 277-90; Feuillée, Journal, 65-86, 146-60, 311-23; Larrainzar, Soconusco,
1-3, 17-25; Squier's Notes, 121 et seq.; Id., States, 44, passim; Id.,
Travels, 82 et seq.; Laet, Novi Orbis, 325, 333-46; Exquemelin, Am. Zee-Roovers,
59 et seq.; Id., Buccaneers of Am., 29 et seq.; Id. (ed. Boston,
1857), 76 et seq.; Id., Hist. de Boecaniers (ed. Amst. 1700), 12 set seq.; Heylyn,
Cosmog., 1080-9; Dampier, Voy., i. 3 et seq.; Ulloa, Noticias, 345;
Cleveland, Nic. Transit, MS., 52-66; Larenaudière, Mex. et Guat., 268, 287-90;
Prescott's Mex., i. 377-86; Id. (ed. Madrid), iv. 228; Id., Hist. Peru, ii.
561-72; Montanus, Nieuwe Weereld, 268-81; Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin, iii. 87,
passim; v. 326-32; Id., 2da ép., i. 222-50, 293, 456, 565-73; iii. 77-80; iv.
699-712; Id., 3da ép. ii. 304-26; Archenholtz' Hist. Pirates, 93, passim; South
Sea Co., View of, 1 et seq.; Sharp, Voy. and Adv., 2, passim; Lussan, Journal
de Voy., 30-110, 129-43, 152-274, 384-436; Fancourt's Hist. Yuc., 147, passim;
Calvo, Traités, ii. 205-9, 359-81; iii. 249-55; xi. 190-203; Ayon, Consid.
Limites, 9-19; Luyts, Introduc. Geog., 727-9; Aa, Naaukeurige Versameling,
x. 19-25; Humboldt, Essai Pol., ii. 467-73; Bustamante, Medidas, MS., ii.
11-12; Zamacois, Hist. Méj., i. 715-18; ii. 375; iii. 144; iv. 485-6, 632-84;
v. 187, 422-8, 617-34; x. 1123-5; Montemayor, Svmarios, 11, 163-6, 189,
203-4; Pap. Var., xliv. pt. i.-x.; cxlix. pt. x. 403-14; Id., clxvii. pt. i. 1
et seq.; Id., ccxv. pt. xvii. passim; Reichardt, Nic., 31-2, 71-80, 110-13,
136-8, 140-4, 205-7; Davity, Descrip. Gen., 91-4; Brasseur de Bourbourg,
Bib. Mex. Guat., 36; Id., Hist. Nat. Civ., iv. 574-633, 781-98; Morelet, Voy.,
ii. 291, 303; Helps' Cortés, ii. 162-3; Id., Life of Las Casas, 182, passim; Id.,
Span. Conq., iii. 275, passim; iv. 9-14; Quintana, Vida, 129 et seq.; Rivera,
Gob. de Mex., i. 31, 248, 254, 258-9; Burney's Discov. South Sea, iv. 59,
passim; Nouvelles An. de Voy., xxi. 244, 261-2; xxvi. 405-6; xxxv. 127-8;
lxxx. 129-69; xcii. 58; xciii. 25-6; xcix. 192; c. 51-4; cli. 1-15; clviii. 200;
Guat., Apunt. Agric., 42, passim; West Indies, Descrip. of Span. Settl., 1-106;
Lerdo de Tejada, Apunt. Hist., 261-2, 299; Antunez, Mem. Hist., pp. lviii.-lxiii.
lxxxiii.-xciii.; Buccaneers of Am., ii. 1 et seq.; La Harpe, Abrégé, x.
116-20, 257-314; xi. 237, passim; Russell's Hist. Am., i. 388-93, 416-19, 517-43;
Jesuits, Col. Gen., i. 1 et seq.; ii. 1 et seq.; Clement, Tablas Chron., 170-97,
205; Kerr's Col. Voy., v. 175-80; x. 214, passim; Id., Travels, 229; Costa
Rica, Boundaries, 10-50; Palacio, S. Salv., 1-70; Iglesias y Conventos de Mex.,
277-81; Cortes, Diario, v. 220; xix. 390-1; West Indies, Geog. and Hist., 60,
passim; Molina, Bosquejo Cost. R., 67 et seq.; Id., Coup d'Oeil, 6 et seq.; Seemann's
Isth. of Panamá, 7-53; Id., in Panamá Star and Herald, March-May,
1868; Gage's New Survey, 180-265, 308-9; Id., Voy. (ed. Paris, 1676), ii. pt.
765
iii. 1-66, 179-297; Id. (ed. Amst. 1720), i. 303-76; Douglas' Hist. and Pol.,
i. 44-6, 88-9; Drake's Voy., 56-65, 303-15; Ternaux-Compans, Voy., série i.
tom. x. 151-91, 269-85, 415-28; série ii. tom. v. 142-3, 179-81, 202-3, 275-83;
Fricius, Indianischer Relig., 180-4; Carbajal, Hist. Mex., ii. 654-6; Drake,
Cavendish and Dampier, Lives, 179, 182-5, 188-99, 233-40, 263-70; Julian,
Trasformazione dell, 1-286; Cooke's Geog., ii. 166-8; Fernando, vii.; Decretos,
86-90; Arosemena, Examen, 20-2; Archivo Mex., i. 113; Linschoten, Voy.,
229; Original Letters to an Honest Sailor, 6-19; Album Mex., i. 417-18;
March y Labores, Marina Esp., ii. 583-7, 648, 662-7; Kewen's Nic. and
Walker, MS., 61-4; Macpherson's Annals, i. 744-7; ii. 379, 451, 664-9; iii.
354, 548, 589; iv. 4, 159, 179, 460; Diorama, 146-75; Alaman, Disert., i.
29-37, 172; iii. 338; Ogilby's Am., 96 passim; Mazariegos, Chiapa, 5 et seq.;
Ribera Payo, El Maestro, 1-42; Lopez, Mercurio Ind., MS., 42-5; Wafer's
Voy., 4-188; Viagero Univ., xii. 72, passim; xxiii. 63-78; xxvii. 159 et seq.;
Navarro, Extract. Guat., 1-32; Lettres Edificantes, iv. 359; Sammlung aller
Reisebesch., ix. 69-106, 617; xii. 373-7; xiii. 513, passim; xv. 252-62; Nueva
España, Breve Res., MS., 349, passim; Batres, Rel. de las Fiestas, 1-9; Larrainzar,
Biog., 1-15; Id., Discurso, 12-17; Spanish Empire in Am., 134,
passim; Nicaragua, Defensa de Derechos del Pais, 15-21; Ocios, Espan. Emigrad.,
222-3; Ancona, Hist. Yuc., 202, passim; America Cent., Reclam. de
Intervencion, 7-10; Berenger, Col. Voy., ii. 411; iii. 284, 291; Variedades
Jurisp., v. 39-43; Astaburuaga, Cent. Am., 54, 108-9; Haefkens, Cent. Am.,
23, 27; Uring's Hist. Voy., 164-6, 354-7; Gastizabal, Por el Maestro, 2; Voyages,
A New Col., i. 422-36, 488-504; ii. 43 et seq.; iii. 42, passim; Crowe's
Gospel in Cent. Am., 18 et seq.; Eastern Coast of Cent. Am., 4-8; Cockburn's
Journey, 20-264; Poinsett's Notes on Mex., 15-21; Salmon's Modern Hist., iii.
63-5, 219-22; Beccatini, Vida Carlos, iii. 211-12; Bidwell's Panamá, 38,
passim; American Rev., July 1851, 3 et seq.; Churchill's Col. Voy., vi. 298-312;
viii. 734, 761-769; Page, Nouveau Voy., ii. 403-10; Creassy's Plan MS.,
1-47; Nicaragua, Nueva Discusion, 4-5; Macgregor's Progress of Am., i. 311,
728, 741-2, 749; Stout's Nic., 101, passim; Amérique Cent., Comp. Belge, pt.
ii. 35-6, 92-3; Nicaragua, De Orden del Director, 1-16; United Service Jour.,
pt. ii. 208, 315-18, 433-40, pt. iii. 4-9, 289-95; Pim's Gate to Pacific, 26
et seq.; Niles' Register, xliv. 358; Bussière, L'Empire Mex., 371-5; Conde,
Golfe de Hond., 5-6; Carranza, Descrip., 66-70, 118; Griswold's Panamá,
8 et seq.; Pinkerton's Col. Voy., xiv. 361-87; Larrañaga, Prospecto Eneida,
1-28; Harleian Col. Voy., ii. 761-5; Dunn's Guat., 64, passim; Delaporte,
Reise, x. 343, 397-416; Quarterly Rev., xxxv. 326-9; Morden's Geog., 582-4;
Polynesian, vii. 5, 181; World Displayed, vi. 9-17, 44-9; Democratic Rev.,
xxx. 546; Bastide, Mem. sur Nouveau Passage, 21-4, 30-2; Betagh's Voy., 132-3;
Harper's Mag., xvii. 28-9; xviii. 18-23, 31; xix. 20-37, 434-7, 449-50; Seaward's
Nar., ii. 271-99; Dunlop's Cent. Am., 68-70, 77, 93; Thompson's
Guat., 236-7; San Miguel, Mex., ii. 24; North Am. Rev., xxiv. 278-80;
Young's Mosq. Shore, 12-15; Florencia, Zodiaco Mariano, 234-55; Gordon's
Anc. Mex., ii. 247; British Quart. Rev., xcix. 238-9; Mex. and Guat., ii. 155;
Burke's Europ. Settlement, i. 291-2; Mission Scientifique de Mex., 509; Pim
and Seeman's Dottings, 85 et seq.; London Geog. Soc., Jour., i. 85; xi. 81;
xxiii. 180-1; xxxviii. 108-9; Codman's Round Trip, 14-15; St Francis of
Assisi, 563; Annals Brit. Legis., ii. 397; Marshall's Christian Missions, ii.
224-6; Shepard's Papers on Span. Am., 35-7; Rogers' Voy., app. 13-54;
Thesaurus Geog., ii. 267-71; Holmes' Annals of Am., i. 72; Pinkerton's Modern
Geog., iii. 216; Bury's Exodus, ii. 58-99, 171-2; Mosquito Terr., Correspondence
Respecting, 7 et seq.; Indicador, iii. 156-73; Campbell's Span.
Amer., 64, passim; Espinosa, Peregrino Sept., 1-456; Id., Nuevas Empresas,
1-46; Martin's Hist. W. Indies, i. 137-9; Warburton's Darien, 169-396;
Diezmos de Indios, 1, passim; Voyages, New Univ. Col., i. 188-9; ii. 373-8;
Boddam-Whetham, Across Cent. Am., 109-12; Thompson's Recol., 119; Mayer's
Mex. Aztec, i. 253; Weatherhead's Account of Exped., 36; Overland
Monthly, iv. 497; Strains' Inter. Comm., 15-18; Prior's All the Voy., 57-70;
Greenhow's Mem., 35-8; Thiers' Mississippi Bubble, 229-57; Fanshaw's World in Min.,
766
ii. 23; Imray's Sailing Direct., 12; Holinski, La Cal., 66-8; Crosby's
Statement, MS., 116-18; Findlay's Direct., i. 213, 242, 258; Arana, Relacion,
380-98; Guerra, Hist. Revol., ii. 616-17; Mexico, Notes on in 1822, 239-44;
Frost's Pict. Hist. Mex., 129; Shelvocke's Voy., 292-3; Noticia Individual de
los Derechos, 1-143; Ponton's Earthquakes, 36, 46; Nicaragua y Hond. Doc.,
1-56; Paredes' Coast of Mosq., 1-62; Linage, Spanish Rule of Trade, 207-8,
227; Conder's Mex. and Guat., ii. 153, passim; Hassel, Mex. und Guat., 406;
Wilson's Mex., 257; Lardner's Hist. Marit., ii. 302-4; Panamá,  The Isthmus,
8-9; Anderson's Commerce, iii. 165; iv. 47, 449; Roberts' Nar. Voy., 37-42;
Harris' Col. Voy., i. 748, 754; Wells' Honduras, 415, 457-9, 530-1; Goodrich's
Man on Sea, 34, 337-8; Correo Merc. Esp., iv. 270; Tomes, Panamá, 162-3,
208-12; Oviedo y Baños, Por el Licenciado, 1-9; Guat., Instruc. Arreglo, 1-24;
Otis' Isthmus of Panamá, 127; Payne's Univ. Geog., iv. 461-3; Silicio, Mem.
Foment. Col. Ind., 74-8; Suarez, Informe, 33; Voyages, Hist. Voy. round the
World, i. 302-9, 325-9, 443-4; Cullen's Darien, 147-93; Winterbotham's Hist.
of U. S., iv. 120-8; Puydt et Binckum, Colonisation, 72; Flint's Geog., ii.
145; Alzate, Gacetas, iii. 326, 442; Castellon, Doc. Nic. y Hond., 51-6; Mosquitolandes,
23, passim; Moro, Informe, 1-127; Cavo, Tres Siglos, i. 104; ii.
67-8, 147; iii. 35-43; Bvla, Confirmationis, 1-16; Nicaragua, Nueva Discusion,
6-7, 20-5; Dic. Univ. Hist., i., passim; Arancel, Derechos, 2-6; Lacunza,
Discursos Hist., 461; Mosquito-Küste und Ter., 14-18; Fonseca y Urrutia,
Real Hacienda, i. 519-20; Guat., Aranceles, 1-100; Belly, Nic., i. 28-30,
192, 226, 349-50; ii. 38, 261; Raynal, Hist. Phil., iv. 74-5, 200, 205, 221-50;
Leon's Travels, 15-19, 35-40; Pinelo, Relacion, 1-11; Mosquito, Correspondence,
27, passim; Relacion Historica de Iance, 1-8; Muro, Utilidades, 1-73;
Fabrica y Estampa de Naypes, 1-16; Llorente, Œuvres, 1-409; Fernando, vii.;
Doc., 314-27; Margil de Jesus, Noticie della Vita, 1-216; Id., Nuevas Empresas,
1-46; Cancelada, Tel. Mex., 109; Moreno, Reglas Cientas, 1-136;
Nicaragua, Mem., 8-28; Cent. Amer. Pamphlets, passim; Mosquito Doc.,
passim; Museo Mex., i. 193-5, 229, 261; Iturriaga, El Dolor Rey, 1-27; Ilust.
Mex., iv. 414-16; Iglesia de Guat., El Dean, 1-4; Linage, Norte de la Contratacion,
1-264; Navarrete, Col. Viages Descub., iii. 452-3; Guatemala,
Autos de Parte, MS., 1-41.






FOOTNOTES




[I‑1]  Herrera, dec. iii. lib. viii. cap. xiii.-xiv., says 80 men. Francisco de
Jerez, Pizarro's secretary, Conq. del Peru, in Barcia, iii. 179, places the
number at 112 Spaniards, besides Indians; Zárate, Hist. del Peru, in Id., at
114 men. For minor statements and discrepancies compare Gomara, Hist.
Ind., 141; Garcilaso de la Vega, Com. Real, pt. ii. lib. i. cap. vii.; Benzoni,
Hist. Mondo Nvovo, 118; Oviedo, iii. 382-90; Quintana, Vidas, Pizarro, 50.




[I‑2]  This letter picturing the horrors of the situation, and begging from the
governor relief, was signed by the writer and his comrades; after which
was a doggerel, current for years thereafter in the Indies, which ran as
follows:







Pues señor gobernador,


Mirelo bien por entero


Que allá va el recogedor,


Y acá queda el carnicero.





And may be rendered thus:







To this we hope your honor,


Will lend a kindly ear;


You have the herder with you,


We have the butcher here.





In Balboa, Histoire du Pérou, Ternaux-Compans gives a French rendering
by Beaudoin:







Monsieur le gouverneur, on s'en va vous chercher,


Pour emmener des gens de la ville où vous estes.


Envoyez-nous-en donc, car voícy le boucher


Qui les esgorgera comme de pauvres bestes.





[I‑3]  Garcilaso de la Vega, Com. Real, pt. ii. lib. i. cap. xi., tells the most
extravagant stories concerning Tumbez. 'Avia gran numero de Plateros, que
hacian Cantaros de Oro, y Plata, con otras muchas maneras de Joias, asi para
el servicio, y ornamento del Templo, que ellos tenian por Sacrosanto, como
para servicio del mismo Inga, y para chapar las planchas deste Metal, por las
paredes de los Templos, y Palacios.' See also, Xerez, Conq. del Peru, Barcia,
iii. 169-81; Zárate, Hist. del Peru, Barcia, iii. 2, 3; Gomara, Hist. Ind., 143;
Pizarro y Orellana, Varones Ilvstres, 138; Benzoni, Hist. Mundo Nvovo, 120;
Herrera, dec. iii. lib. viii. cap. xii.; Oviedo, iii.




[I‑4]  Some affirm that, while in Spain, Cortés and Pizarro became great
friends; that much fatherly advice was given by the former to the latter.
Cortés, they say, although the younger, could teach his brother-conqueror
many things, and warned Pizarro against admitting another to a share in
the supreme authority, which advice, indeed, was hardly necessary.




[I‑5]  Historians of the Peruvian conquest point with emphasis to political disruption
as the agency which gave the country to the Spaniards. Of course
we cannot tell what would have been the accidents or incidents of this invasion
under other conditions. As it happened, I fail to perceive how the civil
war of necessity was the cause of success, or that without Peruvian disruption
the Spaniards could not have accomplished their purpose. Atahualpa
at the head of a powerful army in the full flush of victory could have crushed
this handful of Spaniards as easily as might have done a Peruvian host tenfold
greater. Pizarro could have performed his imperial cozenage as easily
when peace reigned as at another time. Compare Naharro, Relacion, in
Col. Doc. Inéd., xxvi. 232-7; Real Cédula, in Id., 256; Castañeda, Informacion,
in Id., 256-9; Jaren, Informacion en Panamá, in Id., 259-60; Candía,
Informacion, in Id., 261-5; Pedro Pizarro, in Id., 201-10; Almagro, Informacion,
in Id., 265-74; Sámano, Relacion, in Id., v. 193-201; Col. Doc. Inéd.,
in Id., l. 206-20; Ovalle, Hist. Chile, in Pinkerton's Voy., xiv. 154-6, and in
Churchill's Col. Voy., xiv. 154-6; Leon's Travels, Hakluyt Soc.; Garcilaso de
la Vega, Com. Reales, ii. 13-20; Pizarro y Orellana, Varones Ilvstres, 127-9;
Xerez, Conq. del Peru, 179-81; Gomara, Hist. Ind., 141-7; Oviedo, iv. 147 et
seq.; Zárate, Hist. Peru, 17-23. The last-mentioned document is by one
of the conquerors. According to some reports the inca was undetermined
what course to pursue. Immediately after the capture of Huascar some of
his counsellors were for sending an army and destroying the invaders at once.
Others wished to take them alive and by making slaves of them ingraft their
superiority into their own incipient civilization. Others more timid represented
the strangers as exceedingly fierce and powerful, to conquer whom
would be difficult and dangerous. 'Vnos querian, que fuesse vn capitan a
ello con exercito, otros dezian, que aunque los estrangeros no eran muchos,
eran valientes, y que la ferocidad de sus rostros, y personas, la terribilidad de
sus armas, la ligereza, y brabura de aquellos sus cauallos pedian mayor
fuerça.' Herrera, dec. v. lib. ii. cap. ix. According to Balboa the arrival of
the Spaniards caused some anxiety among the Peruvians at Cuzco. 'Cette
nouvelle inquiéta tout le monde. Atahualpa essaya de tranquilliser ses sujets
en leur disant que ces étrangers étaient probablement des envoyés de Viracocha,
et depuis cette époque ce nom est resté aux Espagnols.' Hist. du
Pérou, Ternaux-Compans, Voy., série ii. tom. iv. 309. Benzoni affirms that
Atahualpa who was at Caxamalca, sent messengers to Pizarro threatening to
make him repent if he did not leave his vassals unmolested and return to
his own country. 'In questo tempo Attabaliba Re del Peru si trouaua in
Cassiamalca, e inteso com' era entrato nel suo paese gente con la barba, con
certi animali terribili e scorreuano i luoghi, ammazzando, e depredando il
tutto, mandò vn' ambasciatore à Francesco Pizzarro, minacciandolo, che se
non lasciaua i suoi vassalli, e se ne fosse ito al suo paese, che lo farebbe mal
contento.' Hist. Mondo Nvovo, 121.




[I‑6]  Herrera says 24; others 20. In the narratives of these early adventurers
rarely two are exactly alike concerning any occurrence. Among them all,
however, we can usually arrive near the truth.




[I‑7]  There were in reality, according to the 'Spanish Captain,' 80,000 warriors
in the encampment of the inca, but the cavaliers reported to their
comrades only 40,000 in order not to dishearten them! 'Li Capitani ritornorno
al signor gourenator, e gli disseno quel che era seguito del cacique, e
che li parea che la gente ch'egli haueua portriano esser da quaranta mila
huomini da guerra. Et questo dissono per dar animo alla gente, perche
erano piu di ottanta mila, e dissono ancora quello che li haueua detto il
cacique.' Relatione d'vn Capitano Spagnvolo, in Ramusio, iii. 373.




[I‑8]  The story is told in as many ways as there are historians. Some say that
the inca entered Caxamalca as a conqueror, others as falling into the trap of
the Spaniards. All are partially correct. Undoubtedly he would capture
the Spaniards if he could, while they would prevent it by securing him if they
were able. According to Zárate, seeing but a few men in the plaza when he
entered he asked, 'Have these men surrendered?' and his people answered,
'They have!' 'Y como viò tan pocos Españoles, i esos à pie (porque los de
à Caballo, estaban escondidos) pensò, que no osarian parecer delante de èl, ni
le esperarian; i levantandose sobre las andas, dixo à su Gente. Estos rendidos
estàn. Y todos respondieron que si.' Zárate, Hist. del Peru, Barcia, iii. 21.




[I‑9]  Some say a cross and a breviary, others a cross and a bible. 'Llego
entonces a el Fray Vincente de Valuerde, dominico, que lleuaua una Cruz en
la mano, y su breuiario, o la biblia, como algunos dizen.' Gomara, Hist. Ind.,
149.




[I‑10]  'Lui exposa longuement les mystères de notre sainte religion, en citant
son discours plusieurs passages des évangiles, comme si Atahualpa avait su ce
que c'était que les évangiles, ou eût été obligé de le savoir.' Balboa, Hist. du
Pérou, in Ternaux-Compans, Voy., série ii. tom. iv. 315.




[I‑11]  'Respondio Atabaliba muy enojado, que no queria tributar siẽdo libre.'
Gomara, Hist. Ind., 149. 'Ma che non gli pareua come Re libero di dar tributo
à chi non haueua mai ve duto.' Benzoni, Hist. Mondo Nuovo, 123. 'Soi
libre, no debo tributo à nadie, ni pienso pagarlo, que no reconozco por superior
à ningun Rei.' Garcilaso de la Vega, Com. Reales, pt. ii. lib. i. cap. xxv.




[I‑12]  'Y que Christo murio, y el sol, y la luna nunca morian.' Gomara, Hist.
Ind., 150.




[I‑13]  'Et che il Pontefice doueua essere vn qualche gran pazzo, poi che daua
cosi liberamente quello d'altri.' Benzoni, Hist. Mondo Nuovo, 123. 'Que no
obedeceria al Papa porque daua lo ageno, y por no dexar aquien nunca vio el
reyno, que fue de su padre.' Gomara, Hist. Ind., 149-50.




[I‑14]  'Poi gli dimandò, come sapeua, che'l Dio de Cristiani di niente haueua
fatto il mondo, e che fosse morto in Croce. Il frate rispose, che quel libro lo
diceua, e lo porse ad Attabaliba, ilquale lo prese, e guardatoui sopra, ridendo
disse; à me non dice niente questo libro; e gettatolo per terra, il frate lo
ripigliò.' Benzoni, Hist. Mondo Nuovo, 123. 'Le moine en fut si irrité qu'il
réclama à grands cris vengeance pour l'offense faite à Dieu et à sa sainte loi.'
Balboa, Hist. du Pérou, 315.




[I‑15]  Pizarro y Orellana mildly affirms that the inca threw the book from him
in such scorn, that the monk was obliged to call upon the Christians to fight
for their law. 'Y poniendole la biblia en las manos, la arrojò el Inga con tã
gran vituperio, que obligò al Religioso à dar vozes à los Cristianos, diziendoles,
que bolviessen por su ley, que la ultrajava aquel barbaro gentil, de quien
no avia ya que esperar.' Varones Ilvstres, 155.




[I‑16]  'Et subito ad alta voce cominciò à gridare; vendetta, vendetta Cristiani,
che gli Euangelij sono disprezzati, e gettati per terra. Vccidete questi
cani, che dispreggiano la legge di Dio.' Benzoni, Hist. Mondo Nuovo, 123.
Gomara says: 'Los Euãgelios en tierra, Vẽgãça Christianos, a ellos, a ellos que
no quiere nuestra amistad, ni nuestra ley.' Hist. Ind., 150. While Garcilaso
de la Vega renders it thus: 'Ea, ea, destruidlos, que menos precian nuestra
lei, y no quieren nuestra amistad.' Com. Reales, ii. lib. i. cap. xxv.




[I‑17]  'De Monick selfs hielt oock niet op den gantschen tydt dat sy doende
waren met dit Dolck te vermoorden, vamrasen en tieren, vermanende de
spaenjaerden dat sy niet houwen maer steken souden, om de Lemmets te
bewaren, dat sy niet braecken, mits sy de Degens in nacomende moorderyen
souden van noode hebben.' West-Indische Spieghel, 362.




[I‑18]  'Cargauã todos sobre Atabaliba, que todauia estaua en su litera, por
prenderle, desseando cada vno el prez y gloria de su prision.' Gomara, 150.
'Ses gardes prirent la fuite de tous les côtés, et les Espagnols, ayant entraîné
l'Inga dans leur camp, lvi mirent les fers aux pieds.' Balboa, Hist. du Pérou,
316.




[I‑19]  The 'Spanish Captain' places the number at over seven thousand besides
many who had their limbs cut off and were in other ways mutilated.
'Rima sero in quel giorno morti da sei ouer sette mila Indiani, oltra molti che
haueano tagliate le braccia, e molte altre ferite.' Relatione d'vn Capitano
Spagnvolo; Ramusio, iii. 374. 'Decimos, que pasaron de cinco mil Indios
los que murieron aquel dia. Los tres mil y quinientos fueron à hierro, y
los demas fueron viejos invtiles, mugeres, muchachos, y niños, porque de
ambos sexos, y de todas edades avia venido innumerable gente à oir, y solenniçar
la embajada de los que tenian por dioses.' Garcilaso de la Vega; Com. Reales,
pt. ii. lib. i. cap. 25. This brutal massacre is dignified by Pizarro y Orellana,
as one of the most important battles of history, remarkable for the loss
of so little Christian blood! 'Se vencio una de las mas importantes batallas,
y con menos gente de quantas en las historias divinas, y humanas se han visto;
no sacandose mas sangre de los Cristianos, que la de una pequeña herida que
le dieron en la mano à nuestro valeroso capitan salia.' Varones Ilvstres, 156.




[I‑20]  'Cosi bauuta la sanguinolente e terribil vittoria di quella misera gente
infelice; stettero tutti la notte in balli e feste, lussuriando.' Benzoni, Hist.
Mondo Nvovo, 124. 'Als de Spaenjaerden desen bloedighen neerlaghe aengerecht
hadden van dit ongheluckighe Volck, hebben sy den naestvolgenden
nacht met dansen en springhen, en bancketeren overghebrocht.' West-Indische
Spieghel, 362.




[I‑21]  No greater monument of blind adulation is found in Spanish-American
history than the Varones Ilvstres del Nvevo Mvndo, Madrid, 1639, of Pizarro
y Orellana, a descendant of one of the great Pizarros. Not only the brutal
Francisco Pizarro is made a saint, but the accounts of the eight heroes of
the conquest, which occupy the greater part of a folio volume, are little else
than a covering of defects by so-called glorious deeds, which serve besides the
purposes of fame as a special plea for the confirmation of grants conferred
upon the conqueror. This plea is embodied in the author's later Discurso
Legal, and is in some degree made weightier by his position as member of the
royal council.




[I‑22]  'Y se fue enterando de ellos del discurso de su venida, y de la Fè
Catolica, que oìa muy buen: como hombre que tenia muy bien entendimiento.'
Pizarro y Orellana, Varones Ilvstres, 156.




[I‑23]  'Hallaron en el baño, y Real, de Atabaliba cinco mil mugeres, que aunque
tristes, y desamparadas, holgaron con los Christianos, muchas y buenas tiendas,
infinita ropa de vestir.' Garcilaso de la Vega, Com. Reales, pt. ii. lib. i. cap.
xxvii.




[I‑24]  'Valiò en fin la bajilla sola de Atabaliba, cien mil ducados.' Garcilaso
de la Vega, Com. Real, pt. ii. lib. i. cap. xxvii. 'Los Soldados no se descuidaron
en visitar los quarteles del exercito del Inga, donde hallaron grandissimas
riqueza de oro, y plata.' Pizarro y Orellana, Varones Ilvstres, 156.




[I‑25]  'Tratò Ataulpa de su rescate, y ofrecio tan gran cantidad de oro, que
parecia impossible cumplirlo.' Pizarro y Orellana, Varones Ilvstres, 156.
'Prometiò, porque le soltasen, cubrir de vasijas de plata y oro, el suelo de
vna gran sala donde estava preso.' Garcilaso de la Vega, Com. Reales, pt. ii.
lib. i. cap. xxviii.




[I‑26]  'J'attends avec impatience l'arrivée de votre frère, pour savoir quels sont
ses droits, rendre justice à chacun et tâcher de vous mettre d'accord.' Balboa,
Hist. du Pérou, 317.




[I‑27]  Benzoni was told that Pizarro intended from the first to take the life of
Atahualpa, as by this means he expected to be able better to subdue and
govern the country. 'Però io ho inteso, da poi che Pizzarro l'hebbe fatto prigione,
l'intento suo fu sempre di leuarselo dinanzi à gli occhi, per meglio potere
soggiogare, e dominare il paese.' Hist. Mondo Nuovo, lib. iii. fol. 125.




[I‑28]  'Il était, dit-on, épris d'une des femmes d'Atahualpa, que la crainte
qu'inspirait l'Inga empêchait de se rendre à ses désirs.' Balboa, Hist. du Pérou,
322. 'Sobre estas causas se examinaron à algunos Indios, à tiempo q̃ el Interprete
Filipillo, zeloso de que una muger de Ataulpa le huviesse desdeñado,
interpretò los dichos de los testigos, escriviendolos demanera, que el Padre
Fray Vicente de Valverde dixo, que el firmaria la sentencia de muerte.'
Pizarro y Orellana, Varones Ilvstres, 166.




[I‑29]  'En la suma deste rescate, andan diversos, Agustin Çarate, y Francisco
Lopez de Gomara, historiadores de aquellos tiempos, creo, que son erratas del
molde: pondrè aqui algunas dellas, para que se vean mejor.' Garcilaso de la
Vega, Com. Reales, pt. ii. lib. i. cap. xxxviii. I have taken the lowest estimate
of this treasure as being in all probability as near the truth as any. Many
different amounts are given, some of them as high as four millions. 'Hallaron
cinquẽta y dos mil marcos de buena plata, y vn millon, y trezientos, y veynte
y seys mil y quiniẽtos pesos de oro, suma, y riq̃za, nunca vista en vno.'
Gomara, Hist. Ind., 154-5.




[I‑30]  The 'Spanish Captain' says that every foot-soldier received 4,800 ducats,
equal to 7,208 castellanos, while horsemen received double. Those who were
left at San Miguel received 200 pesos each. 'Il signor gouernatore fece le
parti, e toccò a ciascuno fante a pie, quattro mila e ottocento pesi d'oro, che
sono ducati. 7208, e a gli huomini a cauallo il doppio, senza altri vantaggi che
gli furon fatti.... A quelli Christiani che erano restati in quel luogo doue haueua
fondato il ridotto de San Michele, dette due mila pesi d'oro, acciocche lo
partissero, che ne toccò dugento pesi a ciascuno.' Relatione d'vn Capitano
Spagnvolo, Ramusio, iii. 377. 'Chaque cavalier reçut neuf cents pesos d'or
et trois cent soixante marcs d'argent. Chaque fantassin eut la moitié de cette
somme.' Hist. du Pérou, 327-8.




[I‑31]  Pizarro well knew that the inca's death was certain if the matter were
left to the soldiers, while by so doing he might be able to throw off some of
the odium which otherwise would be fastened upon him. As he had anticipated,
the majority was in favor of killing the prisoner. Others would have
him sent to Spain, while a few were in favor of granting him his liberty.
'Dit also volbracht zÿnde, door Pizarro, en Almagro vergaderen de Krÿchsraedt,
en beraetslaghen met malcanderen, wat men met Attabaliba soude
uytrechten: Eenighe sloeghen voor, datmen hem soude om den hals brenghen,
eenige vonden goet datmen hem los laten soude: Veele waren van
meeninghe, dat het goet was datmen hem nae den Keyser soude senden. Ten
laetsten, de stemmen vergadert synde, prevaleerde die, datmen hem soude
ombrenghen.' West-Indische Spieghel, 365.




[I‑32]  The philosophy as well as the religion of the early writers is ever found
equal to the emergency. 'Y aunque parecio sin causa, y como tal lo pagaron
los que intervinieron en ella, no sin culpa; pues tan sin ella avia sido fratricida
del Guaxcar, como queda dicho.' Pizarro y Orellana, Varones Ilvstres, 166-7.




[I‑33]  'Començaron vnos à desentablar las paredes del templo, que de oro, y
plata eran: otros à desenterrar las joias, y Vasos de oro, que con los Muertos
estavan: otros à tomar idolos que de lo mesmo eran.' Garcilaso de la Vega,
Com. Reales, pt. ii. lib. ii. cap. vii.




[I‑34]  'Acerca de los quinientos hombres, que estos autores dicen, que llevò
consigo D. Pedro de Alvarado, se me ofrece decir, que à muchos de los que
fueron con el, les oì, que fueron ochocientos Españoles.' Garcilaso de la Vega,
Com. Reales, pt. ii. lib. ii. cap. ii.




[I‑35]  His relative, Pizarro y Orellana, says he was at this time nearly 80
years of age, and that he killed five persons and wounded others before he
was stricken down. 'Como eran tãtos los que les ayudavan, aunque avia
muerto a cinco, y otros muchos heridos, y como la edad llegava acerca de
ochenta años, no pudo defenderse tanto, que no le diessen una estocada en la garganta,
con que se desalẽtò, y desangrò, y vino à arrodillar.' Varones Ilvstres,
185-6.




[I‑36]  It is scarcely necessary to say that the best history of the Peruvian
conquest, indeed the only one that can lay claims to fairness and completeness,
is Mr Prescott's. The chief original authorities have already been
given. Pizarro forms a leading figure in Quintana, Vidas de Españoles Célebres,
published at Madrid in 1807, 1830, 1833, in three volumes, reprinted
at Paris in 1845. Celebrated as a poet and dramatist since 1801, Quintana
intended to produce a lengthy series of biographies of the national heroes who
had already entered into his song; but the demands of other studies and of
his public duties as censor, director de estudios, and as senator, interfered
with his work, and nine lives are all that have been recorded. While declaring
his intention to be impartial and instructive he is often led by his innate
predilection for hero and word painting, to mingle poetic fancy with biographic
facts. The list may be greatly swollen by such works as Acosta, Hist. Ind.;
Velasco, Hist. Quito; Ercilla, La Araucana; Levinius Apollonius, Peruuiæ
Regionis; Burney's Dis. South Sea, i. 120; Galvano's Discov., 34-9; Robertson's
Hist. Am., ii. 151; La Harpe, Voy., x. 259-458, xi. 5 et seq.; Voys., Nouv. Bib.
des Voys., xii. 131-67; Kerr's Col. Voy., iv. 328-464; Harris, Col. Voy., i. 788-97,
iv. 464-512, v. 1-217; Molina, Hist. Chile, Madrid, 1788, i.-ii.; March y
Labores, Hist. Marina, ii. 123-5; Russell's Hist. Am., i. 264-301; Francisco
Pizarro, in Quintana, Vidas, 71-171; Andagoya, Carta al Rey, Oct. 22, 1536;
Voy. Cur. and Rare, 34; Campbell's Span. Am., 44-9; S. Am. and Mex., i.
45-9; Descrip. de Am., 38-40; Helps' Span. Conq., iii. 419-58; Snowden's
Am., 141-7; Sammlung aller Reisebesch., xv. 36-46; Voys., A New Col., i. 365-7;
Guzman's Life, 84-134; Hakluyt's Voy., iii. 798-9; Piedrahita, Hist. Gen.,
438-40; Harper's Mag., xix. 434; Domingo de Eraso, in Doc. Hist. Esp., l.
220-31; Barrionuevo, Inform., in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., x. 144-52;
Torquemada, i. 611; and the many royal cédulas and letters of the Pizarros
and others.




[II‑1] Herrera, dec. iv. lib. iv. cap. ix. Although the charges against Pedrarias
were pressed by Oviedo in person, there is no doubt that they were brought at
the instigation of Rios.




[II‑2]  He died at Córdoba. Oviedo, iii. 123-4.




[II‑3]  Of his subsequent career it is known that he served under Pizarro in Peru
and afterward retired to his estates in Cuzco. Cartas de Indias, 761-2.




[II‑4]  On account of its resemblance to the harbor of Cartagena in Spain.
Herrera, dec. v. lib. ii. cap. iii.




[II‑5] Herrera, dec. v. lib. ii. cap. iii. This is the Spanish translation for the
phrase applied to it by the natives. The word 'bohío' belongs to the dialect
of the country.




[II‑6]  In Herrera, dec. v. lib. ii. cap. iv., it is stated that the city was then very
populous, had a considerable commerce, and contained two castles heavily
mounted with artillery, a cathedral, a custom-house, a government-house, and
other public buildings.




[II‑7]  This incident occurred in the year 1545. Acosta, Hist. Nat. Ind., 206-10.




[II‑8]  According to Herrera, dec. v. lib. ii. cap. iv., the new town was named
San Sebastian de Buena Vista.




[II‑9]  In Herrera, dec. v. lib. ii. cap. iv., we have the somewhat remarkable
statement that the nuts were of such size that two of them were often a
sufficient burden for a man. He probably adheres to fact, however, when
he states that on such food the Spaniards subsisted many days, at the first
discovery of the country, alluding perhaps to Pizarro's fifty days' sojourn in
that neighborhood when waiting for the return of Ojeda.




[II‑10]  And paved the way for large bands of adventurers who afterward
carried on a lucrative traffic with the natives. Acosta, Compend. Hist. Nueva
Granada, 133.




[II‑11]







'Es tierra del Guaca que se derrama


Por rico mineral a cada lado.'



Castellanos, Varones Illustres Ind., 394.




[II‑12]  In Acosta, Compend. Hist. Nueva Granada, 142, it is stated that during
this expedition César reached the town of the cacique Dabaiba, but no mention
is made of his finding any gold there.




[II‑13]  So named on account of the swarms of troublesome insects in its neighborhood.
Id., 252.




[II‑14]  Spelled also Nore. Id., 254.




[II‑15]  In 1535, Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., viii. 25, confirmed by Clemente,
Tablas Chronológicas, 204.




[II‑16] Carta al Emperador, in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., iii. 64-82.




[II‑17]  In Herrera, dec. iv. lib. x. cap. v., it is stated that Berlanga succeeded
Peraza on the death of the latter in 1531, or earlier, but this is probably a
mistake. There is much conflict of authorities as to the succession of bishops
about this date. In Alcedo, iv. 33, Gonzalez Dávila, Teatro Ecles., and Fernandez,
Hist. Ecles., it is stated that Vicente de Valverde was elected in 1533,
and after holding office for a few months was promoted to the see of Cuzco,
Berlanga taking his place at Panamá in 1534 as stated by Fernandez, who is
probably the most accurate authority in church matters, and according to
Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., x. 237, officiating in August of the following
year, as 'juez comisario por su Majestad,' at an investigation into the
conduct of Francisco Pizarro and other officers.




[II‑18]  So says Gonzalez Dávila, Berlanga died August 8, 1551. Teatro Ecles.,
ii. 57-8.




[III‑1]  'Chripstóbal Colom, declaró á este almirante, su nieto, por duque de
Veragua y marqués de la isla de Sanctiago, alias Jamáyca, é almirante perpétuo
destas Indias, é le hizo merçed de lo uno y de lo otro por título de
mayorazgo, é con ello le conçedió otras merçedes.' Oviedo, ii. 498-9. See
also Charlevoix, Hist. San Domingo, i. 447.




[III‑2]  In Herrera, dec. iv. lib. ii. cap. vi., it is stated that the vireina asked
permission of the Consejo de Indias to arm vessels for the purpose of subjugating
the natives, but that her request was refused because the fisco had
not as yet decided the question of privilege.




[III‑3]  'Felipe Gutierrez obtuvo concesion en 1535, para conquistar la provincia
de Veragua.' Carta, in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., iii. 204. In Notas
Biográficas, in Cartas de Indias, 771, it is stated that after being in the service
of Charles V. he was granted the right to make the conquest of a tract
of territory extending from Castilla del Oro to Cape Gracias á Dios.




[III‑4]  Consisting of four navíos and one galleon.




[III‑5]  Felipe Gutierrez set out in 1535, though some authorities make it 1553.
The former date is probably correct, for in a letter addressed to the emperor
in 1534 Andagoya states that he has been advised of his Majesty's orders to
the governor of Veragua to recruit men in Panamá, and begs him to reconsider
his command. Andagoya, Carta al Rey, Oct. 22, 1534.




[III‑6]  This stream was the river Concepcion, about two leagues west of the
river Veragua and four leagues west of the Belen.




[III‑7]  'Á aquella poblacion mandó llamar el gobernador Felipe Gutierrez la
cibdad de la Concepcion, y tambien la pudiera llamar de la aflicion, porque
él y todos tenian trabaxo extremado.' Oviedo, ii. 483-4.




[III‑8]  An expedition must be fitted out. The governor being sick delegated the
command to his lieutenant Alonso de Pisa, who was to be accompanied by
the priest Juan de Sosa. This latter knew that Pisa was not a favorite with
the men, and the clérigo was ambitious to represent the church militant as
general of the expedition; but Governor Gutierrez reproved him severely,
stating that it was unseemly for a priest to carry arms. Many profane words
were interchanged, the Spanish language being remarkably rich in such
vocabulary. Sosa gained his point, and received the appointment, Diego de
Pisa, brother of Alonso, acting as his lieutenant. Oviedo, ii. 484-9.




[III‑9]  'Huuo algunos que mataron vn Christano enfermo, y se le comieron.' Herrera,
dec. v. lib. ix. cap. xi.




[III‑10]  In Herrera, dec. v. lib. ix. cap. xi., there is a severe and somewhat unjust
stricture on the conduct of Gutierrez. He says that when the sufferings of
the party became intolerable, their leader, being too cowardly to risk a final
and desperate effort, deserted his men, thus forfeiting his former good name,
and embarked secretly with a few friends for Nombre de Dios; but it does not
appear what he would have gained by attempting any further enterprise with
the remnant of his starving band.




[IV‑1] Hist. Cent. Am., i. 683 et seq., this series.




[IV‑2]  At the former of the above-named sessions, a fresh enrolment of citizens
took place, and it is worthy of note that Alvarado first became one himself on
that date, as 'el Sr Capitan General' heads the list which contains more
than forty names. Remesal erroneously gives August 23, 1526, as the date of
the enrolment. Hist. Chyapa, 8.




[IV‑3]  Remesal makes a sly allusion to his vanity. 'Le parecio al Capitan
Pedro de Aluarado boluer a la ciudad de Mexico, a ver, y que le viessen,' and
adds that at this time, though not so quick and active as formerly, he had a
fine appearance and a handsome countenance. Hist. Chyapa, 7.




[IV‑4] Hist. Cent. Am., i. 581-2, this series.




[IV‑5]  In the charges subsequently brought against Alvarado it was alleged that
he had deposed the officers of the cabildo on account of their opposition. To
this he replied that he had merely appointed a new cabildo at the beginning
of the year, according to the usual custom. Ramirez, Proceso contra Alvarado,
12, 60, 83.




[IV‑6] Ramirez, Proceso contra Alvarado, 12.




[IV‑7] Arévalo, Actas Ayunt. Guat., 16, 17. Remesal is of opinion that Alvarado
himself petitioned for a body-guard to go with him to Mexico; but a more
probable explanation of the matter is that the political disturbances in Mexico
had extended to Guatemala, and that seditious movements were on foot.
Consult Ramirez, Proceso contra Alvarado, 83; and Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 7.




[IV‑8]  Alvarado calls this city the 'city of Santiago,' and also the 'city of
Guatemala,' Arévalo, Actas Ayunt. Guatemala, 102, by which expressions it
must be understood to have been Patinamit. Brasseur de Bourbourg, on the
authority of the Cakchiquel manuscript, states that Alvarado mustered his
forces at Xapan, and that at the moment of commencing his march one half
of his men mutinied and fled to Patinamit; whereupon Alvarado pursued them,
and the two parties nearly came to blows at the latter place. He found
means, however, to pacify them, but in the night the mutineers set fire to the
city and escaped, the date being May 9, 1526. Hist. Nat. Civ., iv. 686.




[IV‑9]  No two authorities agree as to the time of his departure. Vazquez states
that he left in the month of January 1526, Chronica de Gvat., 69, and Juarros
in February, Guat. (ed. London, 1823), 433; while Brasseur de Bourbourg
gives the 10th of May as the date. Remesal altogether ignores Alvarado's
expedition to Honduras, and states that he remained in Santiago until he received
news of the arrival of Cortés at Vera Cruz, whereupon he again brought
forward the question of his own departure for Mexico. Hist. Chyapa, 8.




[IV‑10] Hist. Verdad., 220. The position of this town may have been in the
neighborhood of the present Tegucigalpa. There is an affluent of the Choluteca
River which bears the name of Malalaja, and the similarity of names leads
to the conjecture that Alvarado reached the neighborhood of Tegucigalpa as
the Malalaja flows into the main stream just above that town. Brasseur de
Bourbourg calls the town Malacatan.




[IV‑11] Hist. Cent. Am., i. 571, this series.




[IV‑12]  Both Sandoval and Cortés had written to Marin, but neither letter
reached its destination. Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 219.




[IV‑13]  'Y acuerdome que tiramos piedras a la tierra que dexauamos atras, y
con el ayuda de Dios iremos a Mexico.' Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 219.




[IV‑14]  'E era de tal gordor, q̃ del se hizo vna canoa, que en estas partes otra
mayor no la auia visto.' Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 220. The ceiba is the
wild cotton-tree and grows to an enormous size.




[IV‑15]  Bernal Diaz' memory has here failed him. He states that after crossing
the Lempa they entered the Chaparristic—called by him Chapanastiques—province,
and that here the Indians killed a Spaniard named Nicuesa, and
wounded three others of his party who were foraging for provisions. The
Spaniards had passed through the Chaparristic province when they had
reached the Lempa, and therefore it was either in Cuzcatlan that Nicuesa was
killed, or the river which Alvarado's men crossed must have been the Goascoran.




[IV‑16] Fuentes y Guzman, Recordacion Florida, MS., 22; Juarros, Guat., ii.
96-7, Id. i. 23, 253. The official gazette of Salvador erroneously gives Aug.
6, 1525, as the date of submission, and states that the conquest is yearly commemorated.
Salvador, Gac. Offic., 4 Dic. 1877, p. 1123. It will be remembered
that Alvarado in his first campaign in Salvador did not succeed in reducing
the province of Cuzcatlan to allegiance. He, however, formed the determination
of returning to complete its subjugation. There is evidence that this
was accomplished previously to May 1525. Consult Arévalo, Actas Ayunt.
Guat., 12, 13, and Ramirez, Proceso contra Alvarado, 105-6.




[IV‑17]  About ten miles from the river Paz in Guatemala territory.




[IV‑18] Fuentes y Guzman, Recordacion Florida, MS., 22. 'Los Españoles, que
estaban en Olintepeque de Quetzaltenango no havîan tenîdo modo de dar aviso
á los de Honduras.' Vazquez, Chronica de Gvat., 71.




[IV‑19]  Fuentes states that it was either Pedro de Alvarado or the ordinary
alcaldes to whom the disturbance was to be attributed. Recordacion Florida,
MS., 20. Escamilla is of opinion that the lieutenant, Jorge de Alvarado,
was the one to blame, Sucesion Chronologica., 12, while the former author
remarks that Jorge was in Mexico at the time, and was confounded with Gonzalo.
He also states that the latter was ordinary alcalde, but this was not
the case, for as may be seen in Arévalo, Actas Ayunt. Guat., 16, 17, the
alcaldes were Diego Becerra and Baltasar de Mendoza.




[IV‑20]  Vazquez says 400 girls and as many boys. Chronica de Gvat., 69. Fuentes
y Guzman, 200 boys. Recordacion Florida, MS., 21. The gold-washings
were those of Chahbal and Punakil, the former word meaning, according to
Vazquez, 'the washing-place,' and the latter, 'plateado ô dorado.'




[IV‑21]  One castellano of tequio according to Fuentes. 'Vn cañutillo de oro
lavado del tamaño del dedo menîque,' according to Vazquez, Id.




[IV‑22]  In the native dialect 'Caxtok.'




[IV‑23] Juarros, Guat., ii. 289. The whole land from Cuzcatlan to Olintepec—a
distance of over 90 leagues—revolted. Fuentes y Guzman, Recordacion Florida,
MS., 21. Brasseur de Bourbourg states that the confederated Indians comprised
the Pokomams, Pocomchis, Quichés, Cakchiquels, Pipiles, and Xincas,
but entertains some doubt as to the Quichés taking part in the league, as such
action is at variance with the Cakchiquel manuscript and with Vazquez.
Hist. Nat. Civ., iv. 690. At a council summoned by the chiefs of the revolting
tribes there were present among others the caciques of Tecpan Atitlan
(the modern Solola), of Ruyaalxot, Sinacam, and the Appoxahil, of Xilotepec,
Zacatepec, Chimaltenango, and Zumpango. Fuentes supposes that Sinacam
was at this time at Patinamit, whereas he had escaped to the mountains of
Comalapa, occupying there the stronghold of Ruyaalxot. This author evidently
knew nothing of the Cakchiquel insurrection in 1524, for he states
that after concealing for two years his intention to revolt the cacique now
took advantage of Alvarado's absence.




[IV‑24]  Juarros disagrees with the account given by Vazquez because it leads to
the conclusion that Santiago was abandoned, and argues that this could not
have been the case, because sessions of the cabildo were held on the 23d and
26th of August. Guat., i. 351-2, note and ii. 306. Juarros was not aware that
the so-called city had no permanent site till 1527. The books of the cabildo
were but the record of the acts of a municipality that was continually
changing its position. Besides, Alvarado had before the dates above mentioned
rejoined Gonzalo at Olintepec, and the above sessions were held at
that town. The account given by Fuentes and followed by Juarros differs
materially from that of Vazquez which has been followed in the text.
Fuentes states that at this unexpected crisis all attempts at civil government
were abandoned, and energetic measures adopted for a vigorous
defence; that Gonzalo with 60 Spanish horse and foot and 400 Mexican and
Tlascalan allies took up a position at Olintepec, while Baltasar de Mendoza
with the rest of the army remained for the protection of the city of Santiago,
Gonzalo de Ovalle, with his companions, being stationed in the valley of Panchoy
and Hernando de Chaves in that of Alotenango; that the troops were
quartered in the open plains during the months of June, July, and August,
and suffered much from the heavy rains; and that the detachment under
Chaves sustained four attacks from the forces of Sinacam, while Ovalle
engaged twice with Sequechul who had fortified his camp with earthworks
and ditches. Recordacion Florida, MS., 22; Juarros, Guat., ii. 291. I cannot
accept this version of Fuentes. Bernal Diaz makes no mention of Alvarado's
being joined by any Spaniards in the series of engagements that took place
during his march through to Olintepec. On the contrary he says 'fuimos por
nuestras jornadas largas, sin parar hasta donde Pedro de Alvarado auia dexado
su exercito, porque estaua todo de guerra, y estaua en él por Capitan vn
hermano que se dezia Gonzalo de Alvarado; llamauase aquella poblacion donde
los hallamos, Olintepeque.' Hist. Verdad., 220. From this it is evident that
Vazquez' account is correct and that the Spaniards had been completely driven
out of the Cakchiquel district.




[IV‑25]  Meanwhile the other column had suffered severely. There is a list of
those killed in Arévalo, Actas Ayunt. Guat., 54. It is refreshing to know that
their spiritual welfare was cared for, the cabildo on the 16th of Sept. 1528
securing to them their lots and lands and ordering the same to be sold for the
good of their souls. Bernal Diaz was among the wounded: 'allí me hirieron
de vn flechazo, mas no fue nada la herida.' Hist. Verdad., 220.




[IV‑26] Fuentes y Guzman, Recordacion Florida, MS., 23-4; Juarros, Guat., ii.
294-5.




[IV‑27]  The name of the chief is spelled by Fuentes Cazualan and Casualan. Juarros
states that the word means 'The faithful will come,' and adds, 'nombre
que parece profetico, pues en tiempo de este Cacique vinieron los fieles Christianos
á predicar el Santo Evangelio.' Guat., ii. 292. Cazhualan had been one
of the first to give in his allegiance, an act which offended the greater part of
his subjects, who revolted against him, whereupon he resorted to arms. A
fierce conflict ensued, which ended in the defeat of the insurgents, who fled
to the woods. The rebels refusing to return to their allegiance, Cazhualan
visited Alvarado, who promised him assistance. Thenceforward he remained
a faithful ally of the Spaniards. Fuentes y Guzman, Recordacion Florida, MS.,
19, 20. According to Fuentes and Juarros Alvarado shortly afterward sent a
force to his aid, and Petapa was soon reduced to obedience and made submissive
to its cacique. Fuentes states that the Guzmans of Petapa are
descended from Cazhualan. Recordacion Florida, MS., 24-5; Juarros, Guat.,
ii. 296.




[IV‑28]  This great battle is simply but graphically made mention of by Bernal
Diaz in the few words, 'Y les hizimos yr con la mala ventura.' Fuentes, followed
by Juarros, locates the scene of this battle elsewhere. He states that
on reaching the valley where Guatemala stands Alvarado attacked and carried
the intrenched camp of Sequechul, and that on the same night the army
arrived in Guatemala. Recordacion Florida, 24. Vazquez correctly writes:
'En la vltima de las quales (batallas) entraron la Ciudad de Patinamit, los
Españoles, que ... fué hazaña muy memorable esta victoria.' Chronica de Gvat.,
73. This view corresponds with the account of Bernal Diaz.




[IV‑29]  This capital had already been repaired, and the buildings elicit an expression
of admiration from Bernal Diaz, who says: 'Y estauan los aposentos
y las casas con tan buenos edificios, y ricos, en fin como de Caciques que mandauan
todas las Provincias comarcanas.' Hist. Verdad., 220.




[IV‑30]  Brasseur de Bourbourg suggests that the erection of these dwellings
gave rise to the present city of Tecpan-Guatémala, which is to-day inhabited
by the descendants of the citizens of Patinamit. Hist. Nat. Civ., iv. 693.




[IV‑31]  Pelaez considers that this time was occupied in removing the inhabitants
and destroying the city. Mem. Guat., i. 49. But Bernal Diaz makes no mention
of so striking an event.




[IV‑32]  Two of the brothers of Pedro de Alvarado now pass from the scene as
prominent actors in Guatemala. Gonzalo came over to Mexico with Cortés,
and took part in the conquest. On his return to the capital of that country
it appears from the books of the cabildo that he was regidor in 1527 and 1528,
and in the latter year received a grant of land for a fruit-orchard, on which
occasion the cabildo graciously mentions that he had remitted the payment
of 100 pesos previously loaned to the city. Bernal Diaz makes mention of
him as having written an account of the conquest of Guatemala. At a later
date he settled in Honduras and became alcalde of one of the towns founded
there by his brother. He also resettled the city of Gracias á Dios. The
second brother alluded to—Don Gomez—also came to Mexico with Cortés.
What time he left Guatemala is not evident; his name, however, appears on
the books of the cabildo on January 8, 1525. He was in Mexico in 1527.
When Alvarado went on his expedition to Peru, this brother accompanied
him, joined the Almagro faction, was made prisoner at the battle of Salinas,
but was released by Pizarro. Later he was so disgusted at the assassination
of that leader that he joined the standard of the viceroy Vaca de Castro and
was present at the battle of Chupas. He died of sickness a few days afterward
in 1542. Libro de Cabildo, MS., 215-16, 224; Arévalo, Actas Ayunt.
Guat., 12; Bernal Diaz, Hist., 176, 240; Dicc. Univ. Hist. Geog. Ap., i. 167.




[IV‑33]  'Cortés nos lleuò a sus Palacios, adonde nos tenia aparejada vna muy
solene comida.' Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 220.




[IV‑34]  The Recordacion Florida de la Historia de Guatemala by Don Francisco
Antonio de Fuentes y Guzman is a manuscript work in three volumes, two of
which exist in the archives of the municipality of Guatemala city. They
comprise seventeen books, the first of which relates to the history of the indigenous
races, the substance of which is taken almost entirely from Torquemada.
The six following books treat consecutively of the conquest down to
the time of the Spaniards entering Guatemala; of its independence with respect
to Mexico; of the destruction of old Santiago and Alvarado's life and career; of
the founding of the second city of Santiago; of miraculous images existing in
Guatemala; and of the privileges and ordinances of its capital city. The next
nine contain descriptions of as many principal valleys of the province, among
which may be mentioned those of Las Vacas, Mixco, Zacatepec, and Xilotepec.
In these descriptions the author deals with all matters of interest connected
with the valleys, including Indian games. The seventeenth book is devoted
to the historiography of the spiritual administration of these valleys in the
writer's time. According to Beristain the first volume was sent to Spain to
be printed, but nothing more is known of it. Fuentes y Guzman was born in
Antigua Guatemala, his family being descended from Bernal Diaz. Juarros
states that he wrote in 1695. Guat. (ed. London, 1823), 309. He had at his
command a large number of rare documents, but did not make such use of
them as an unbiassed chronicler would have done. His admiration of the
conquerors was too great to admit of his making mention of the cruelties
which such documents must have exposed. The same feeling urged him to
indulge in invective against Las Casas. Such were his prejudices in this respect,
that as regards the conquest, he could not be considered a reliable historian
were there no other evidence of his inaccuracies; but when I find that in
many instances his narrative is at variance with that given in Alvarado's own
letters, the necessity of receiving his statements with additional caution is
apparent. Brasseur de Bourbourg is, perhaps, extreme in saying: 'Le mensonge
qui règne continuellement dans les récits de Fuentes,' Hist. Nat. Civ.,
iv. 690; but this latter author was as ready to accept Indian versions of
events, as the other was disposed to ignore them. The style of Fuentes,
though not wanting in elegance and descriptive power, often becomes flowery
and sometimes inflated.




[V‑1]  In a memorial of Mexicans and Tlascaltecs petitioning the king of Spain
for redress of grievances, they said, 'Venimos a conquistar esta prova. bajo
el yugo pesado del Ado. Alvarado, i Dn. Po. Puertocarrero;' and again:
'i malos tratos. de los Esps. qe. ahorcaron i mataron ms. de noss.' Memorial,
15 Marzo 1547; Squier's MSS., xxii. 41.




[V‑2]  Fuentes says they reached Santiago on this day. He also states that
Diego de Alvarado was captain of the garrison; but I think that some other
officer was then in command, as a Diego de Alvarado was regidor of Santiago
this same year. See Arévalo, Actas Ayunt. Guat., 16-18.




[V‑3]  'Que hoy no se encuentra el menor vestigio de èl.' Juarros, Guat., ii. 297.




[V‑4] Fuentes y Guzman, Recordacion Florida, MS., 4-12; Juarros, Guat., ii.
297-300. Many families are descended from Spaniards who distinguished
themselves in this campaign. Bartolomé Becerra, one of the captains, left
numerous descendants besides those bearing his family name. His daughter
who later took a prominent part in the conquest of Copan, is represented in
the female line by the family of the Villacreces Cueba y Guzman. From
Sancho de Baraona, who filled the offices of procurator, syndic, and ordinary
alcalde, are descended the Baraona de Loaisa. The cavalry officer Hernando
de Chaves was ever placed in command when dangerous enterprises were to
be undertaken. His daughter Doña Catarina de Chaves y Vargas married
Rodrigo de Fuentes y Guzman, and a second one was wedded to Pedro de
Aguilar. Juarros, Guat., i. 349-51.




[V‑5]  Vazquez commits a twofold error in stating that Alvarado not only
conducted the campaign about to be narrated, but on his arrival at Olintepec
united his forces with those stationed there, and marched against
Patinamit, which he took after a series of engagements, and then went in pursuit
of the caciques who had escaped. Chronica de Gvat., 72-3. This is utterly
at variance with the account given by Bernal Diaz, who took part in the campaign.
Nor did Alvarado after his arrival at Olintepec undertake any further
operations before his departure for Mexico, according to this latter authority,
who says: 'y estuvimos descansando ciertos dias' (that is at Olintepec), 'y
luego fuimos a Soconusco.' Hist. Verdad., 220.




[V‑6]  Called by Vazquez the Nimanche, a word meaning 'great tree,' and
derived from the enormous cedars which grew in the ravines. The range is
situated about eight leagues from Comalapa and ten to the east of Tecpan
Guatemala, near the site of Ruyaalxot. Chronica de Gvat., 70-71.




[V‑7]  'Passa el rio grande, q̃ se dize Nimaya, por sus muchas aguas.' Id.




[V‑8]  For an account of a priest's descent into this ravine see Vazquez. Id.




[V‑9]  Brasseur de Bourbourg states that this fortification had been previously
built, 'dans la prévision d'une guerre avec les Quichés,' and adds that according
to public rumor subterranean passages connected it with Patinamit. Hist.
Nat. Civ., iv. 693-4. Vazquez, on the contrary, says that the Quichés aided
in its erection in order to provide a safe retreat in case of being defeated by
the Spaniards. Its ruins were still to be seen in the time of Juarros. Guat.,
i. 253.




[V‑10]  According to Fuentes it consisted of 215 Spanish arquebusiers and cross-bowmen,
108 horsemen, 120 Tlascaltecs, and 230 Mexicans, with four pieces of
artillery, under Diego de Usagre. Recordacion Florida, ii. 586. Brasseur de
Bourbourg says the army was composed of 200 Spanish veterans and numerous
Mexican, Tlascaltec, Zutugil, and Quiché auxiliaries. Vazquez followed
by Escamilla asserts that the number of Spaniards scarcely amounted to 200
men. Chronica de Gvat., 72.




[V‑11]  At a place called Chixot according to the Cakchiquel manuscript. Brasseur
de Bourbourg has a note to the effect that this must be the same as the
Ruyaalxot of Vazquez, as the etymology of this latter name corresponds
with that of the Mexican word Comalapa, which he believes to have been
afterward founded on the spot. Vazquez says the Spaniards took up their
quarters so close to the mountain that they were hardly safe from the rocks
rolled down upon them. Chronica de Gvat., 73.




[V‑12]  Juarros states that the emissaries were put to death. Guat., i. 253.




[V‑13]  'Ellos como monos se descolgaban hasta donde querian, subian, como por
vna escalera bien ordenada por aquellos riscos ... y dando bastantes cuydados
al exercito Español.' Vazquez, Chronica de Gvat., 73.




[V‑14]  Brasseur de Bourbourg is of this opinion.




[V‑15]  Brasseur de Bourbourg states that Sinacam escaped by one of the subterranean
passages before mentioned, and after living a wretched life for several
years, wandering about the mountains, surrendered to Alvarado in 1530.
Hist. Nat. Civ., 695-702. Vazquez has copied an act of the cabildo dated
May 19, 1540, in which Alvarado is requested either to take Sinacam and
Sequechul with him on his proposed voyage to the Spice Islands on account
of their rebellious proclivities, or to execute them. Alvarado replied that
he would do what was most convenient. As a matter of fact Sinacam died
in Jalisco before the sailing of the fleet. Vazquez is of opinion that as they
were not put to death in the heat of the moment, Alvarado would not be
likely to execute them at the instigation of the cabildo. Chronica de Gvat.,
30-2. The author of the Isagoge states that they lingered in prison for 14
years, that they were put on board the fleet, and probably perished during
the voyage, as nothing more is known of them. Pelaez, Mem. Guat., i. 77.
Brasseur de Bourbourg's account of the fate of these princes is that Sinacam
died in 1533, while Sequechul was put on board the fleet and perished miserably
off the coast of Jalisco. Hist. Nat. Civ., iv. 790, 800-1. Fuentes gives
so different an account to that of Vazquez relative to the capture of the stronghold,
that, as Juarros remarks, every one would suppose it to be the narration
of an entirely distinct event. Guat., ii. 302-5. The capture of Sinacam
was yearly celebrated by 'the festival of the volcano,' at which a mimic
representation of the event was performed. In the great plaza of Guatemala
an artificial mound was thrown up and covered with branches of trees and
rocks in imitation of a mountain, and on the top a miniature castle was built.
Here the governor of Jocotenango stationed himself with the principal men
of his village. He represented Sinacam, and in so high esteem was this
privilege held, that in 1680 the ruler of Itzapa offered 500 pesos for the
right of personating the character, but was refused. When the governor
had placed himself at his post, two companies of Tlascaltecs commenced the
mimic siege, and after a long display of prowess on both sides, the assailants
stormed the height and captured Sinacam, who was secured with a chain and
delivered prisoner to the president. Id., 301-3, note.




[V‑16]  Remesal infers that he was in Guatemala on the 26th of August 1526,
Hist. Chyapa, 8; though we know that he was at that date a regidor of the
city of Mexico. Consult Libro de Cabildo, MS., 152; and Icazbalceta, Col.
Doc., ii. 547.




[V‑17]  The session was held in the valley of Almolonga, and it is significant
that this is the first meeting mentioned in the books of the cabildo as being
held there. Of the instability of this so-called city there is sufficient proof.
Sancho de Barahona, in arguing against the payment of tithes, says: 'Lo otro
digo, que para se pagar los dichos diezmos ... habia de haber pueblo fundado,
donde los españoles tuviesen poblacion sentada.' Arévalo, Actas Ayunt. Guat.,
27. The valley of Tianguecillo or Tianguez was the same as the present Chimaltenango.
Juarros, Guat., ii. 304.




[V‑18]  Remesal states that in July 1530 the cabildo ordered one bull to be
bought for 25 pesos de oro, a price which indicates the scarcity of cattle at
that date. In 1543 six were purchased. Hist. Chyapa, 27. This author is of
opinion that Santiago was chosen as the patron saint only because of the
devotion of the Spaniards to that apostle. Id., 4. Fuentes gives as the reason
that the Spanish army entered the Cakchiquel capital on his anniversary day,
and states that he personally took their city under his protection, by appearing
on horseback with sword in hand at the head of the army, while marching
along the valley of Panchoy. Juarros, Guat., ii. 273. For further
opinions and information on this subject consult Vazquez, Chronica de Gvat.,
74-5; Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 20-1; Juarros, Guat., ii. 275-7; Escamilla,
Noticias Curiosas de Guat., 12; and Pelaez, Mem. Guat., ii. 223-7.




[V‑19]  The former received the name of the 'hospital de misericordia,' and
the chapel and shrine were to be dedicated to Nuestra Señora de los
Remedios.




[V‑20]  In April 1528 Santiago was made the capital of the province, Puga,
Cedulario, 27; and in 1532 was granted armorial bearings, which are thus
described by Juarros: 'A shield charged with three mountains on a field
Gules, the centre one vomiting fire, and surmounted by the Apostle St James
on horseback, armed, and brandishing a sword; an Orle with eight shells;
Or, on a field, Azure; crest a crown.' Guat. (ed. London, 1823), 105. For
other descriptions see Vazquez, Chronica de Gvat., 37; and Arévalo, Col. Doc.
Antig., 5-6. A lithograph of the shield faces page five of this last authority,
and a wood-cut of it, somewhat different, is to be seen in Gonzalez Dávila,
Teat. Ecles., i. between pp. 138 and 139.




[V‑21]  It has already been observed that the names of the same persons often
appear in more than one list of enrolled citizens. This was done in order to
obtain new grants without prejudice to previous ones. Citizens were enrolled
in 1527, 'sin perjuicio de las otras vecindades antes recibidas en esta dicha
cibdad.' Actas Ayunt. Guat., 39. And again in 1528, 'sin perjuicio de las
vecindades que se han hecho en esta cibdad, despues de la que se fundó en
esta provincia en tiempo de Pedro de Alvarado.' Id. 42. Remesal says:
'Muchos estan escritos dos vezes, porque no tuuieron por suficiente para
adquirir dererecho a esta segunda vezindad, estar alistados en la primera.' Hist.
Chyapa, 33.




[V‑22]  The caballería was the amount of land granted to a cavalryman, and the
peonía that bestowed on a foot-soldier, who was termed 'peon.' The former
received 600 by 1,400 pasos, or about 174 acres, and the latter half that
quantity. Arévalo, Actas Ayunt. Guat., 48. Remesal states that the caballería
was 600 by 300 feet, and otherwise gives an account that is not in accordance
with the book of the cabildo. Hist. Chyapa, 39. Even the more accurate
Juarros is in error in stating that the grant to a cavalryman was 1,000 by
600 pasos. Guat., ii. 341.




[V‑23]  As these grants were considered as rewards for services rendered to the
king for a period of five years, the deeds were confirmed at a later date upon
the holder proving that he had served for that length of time.




[VI‑1]  Garcilaso de la Vega asserts that Charles in his royal gardens at Aranjuez
chanced to see Alvarado pass by, and struck with his appearance asked
who he was. On being told that it was Alvarado he said, 'No tiene este
hombre talle de aver hecho lo que de él me han dicho,' and ordered the
charges against him to be dismissed. Hist. Peru, ii. 58.




[VI‑2]  Alvarado petitioned the king for the government of Guatemala and other
provinces, which he represented to have been conquered and pacified at his
own cost. The adelantado Montejo declared before the king on the 13th of
April 1529, that in no portion of his statement did Alvarado speak the truth,
which assertion he said would be corroborated in the report of the president
and oidores. Montejo, Carta, in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xiii. 89. A
similar statement was made at a session of the cabildo of Mexico held Jan.
29, 1529, and Vazquez de Tapia and the chief procurator were empowered
to take steps in the matter to counteract Alvarado's false statements. Libro
de Cabildo, MS., 248.




[VI‑3]  'Y que por el poco camino que auia hasta la mar del Norte, seria facil el
comercio.' Herrera, dec. iv. lib. ii. cap. iii.




[VI‑4]  Remesal says that he had before been ironically dubbed comendador by
the soldiers, because he had been in the habit of wearing at feast days the
cloak of an uncle who held that title. Hist. Chyapa, 16. See also Hist. Mex.,
i. 74, this series.




[VI‑5]  Cortés was much displeased with this agreement, as he considered the
search for the Spice Islands and the navigation of the South Sea to be his
exclusive right. Ramirez, Proceso contra Alvarado, p. xvi.




[VI‑6]  'Cortés le embiaba siempre Españoles, Caballos, Hierro, y Ropa, y cosas
de Rescate, y le favorecia mucho, porque le avia prometido de Casarse con
vna su Prima-Hermana, y asi le hiço su Teniente, en aquella Provincia.' Torquemada,
i. 322.




[VI‑7]  Doña Francisca lived but a short time after the marriage. Remesal says
that her death occurred a few days after marriage; Zamacois, Hist. Méj., iv.
485, and Ramirez that she died on her arrival at Vera Cruz. Herrera only
mentions that Alvarado became her suitor. He afterward married her sister
Beatriz, and the first named author, pages 42, 49, imagines that this second
marriage took place shortly after the first, whereas it was at least ten years
later. Consult Arévalo, Doc. Antig., 179, and Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col.
Doc., ii. 245, 252. Brasseur de Bourbourg makes the same mistake. Hist.
Nat. Civ., iv. 701.




[VI‑8]  Remesal correctly points out a mistake in the books of the cabildo, the
year 1527 being carelessly copied for 1528. Hist. Chyapa, 39; Arévalo, Actas
Ayunt. Guat., 83.




[VI‑9] Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 42.




[VI‑10]  Only two of these remain to our knowledge. For the discovery and
preservation of the Proceso de Residencia contra Pedro de Alvarado, we are
indebted to the licentiate Ignacio Rayon, 'oficial mayor' in the Mexican
archives. The confusion of the immense pile of documents in that office had
become so great that in 1846 the government decided to reduce them to
some order, and entrusted the work of so doing to the director Miguel María
Arrioja, whose co-laborer was Rayon. In a bundle of old papers, marked
'useless,' was the Proceso contra Alvarado, the historical value of which was
at once recognized. The first intention of the finder was merely to copy and
add it to his collection of manuscripts. His friends, however, advised him
otherwise; and through their assistance—Ignacio Trigueros generously offering
to pay expenses, and José Fernando Ramirez having obtained permission
from the government—he published it in Mexico in 1847. The Proceso is the
official investigation into Alvarado's conduct in Mexico and Guatemala, and
consists of the several charges, mainly bearing on his cruel treatment of the
natives, his extortions, and embezzlement of royal dues, and the testimony of
the witnesses on both sides. Though there is much conflicting evidence, it is
of great value in establishing numerous historical points narrated by the early
chroniclers. This volume contains, besides the Proceso, a biographical
sketch of Alvarado's career by Ramirez; fragments of the Proceso contra
Nuño de Guzman, preceded by an account of his life by the same author; and
notes explanatory of four copies of Aztec paintings, one of which represents
the death of Alvarado. The account given by Ramirez of Alvarado's expedition
to Peru is the same as that of Herrera and incorrect, as are also the reasons
he assigns for the Honduras campaign. It is well known that Ramirez
was minister of state during the empire under Maximilian.




[VI‑11]  There is a copy of this document in the Actas Ayunt. Guat., 80-4.
Alvarado, his officers and lieutenants were to be subject to the audiencia and
chancillería real of the city of Mexico, appeal in civil and criminal causes to
lie from Alvarado and his officers to the president and oidores of Mexico,
with some exceptions in civil cases. He had power to appoint and remove
officers of administration at will, and to try and decide all causes, civil and
criminal, to make general laws, and particular ones for each pueblo; to establish
penalties, and enforce them; to order persons whom he might wish to
send away from his province to appear before their Majesties, and in case of
their refusal, to visit them with penalties which their Majesties in anticipation
confirmed. His annual salary was to be 562,500 maravedís.




[VI‑12]  And somewhat contemptuously added: 'é que no quiere usar dellos, si
de derecho lo puede é debe hacer.' Id., 84.




[VI‑13]  Francisco de Orduña was Cortés' secretary in 1523, and was sent by him
to negotiate with Garay. Herrera, dec. iii. lib. v. cap. vi. In 1524 he was
elected secretary of the cabildo of Mexico, and shortly afterward returned to
Spain. We next find him procurador of Mexico in 1526. Ocaña, Carta, in
Icazbalceta, i. 530, 532, and the governor Alonso de Estrada made him regidor
in 1528. From this time his friendly relations with Cortés seem to have been
interrupted, as his evidence taken in February 1529, in the residencia instituted
against that conqueror, is far from favorable. In the same testimony he
also displays antipathy to Alvarado.




[VI‑14]  In the minutes of the cabildo dated 15th September, it is stated 'al presente
estàn los mas de los españoles de guerra sobre el pueblo del Tuerto, é
sobre el pueblo de Xumaytepeque à donde han muerto ciertos españoles, y
estamos al presente de camino para la provincia de Uxpantlan, é Tesulutlan,
é Tequepanpo y Umatlan, que estàn todas é otras muchas de guerra.' Arévalo,
Actas Ayunt. Guat., 128. The Libro de Actas de Ayuntamiento de la Ciudad de
Santiago de Guatemala comprises the minutes of the cabildo of Santiago during
the first six years of its existence, copied literally, by Rafael de Arévalo, secretary
of the municipality, from the original records in the archives of the
city. The work was published in Guatemala in 1856. There can be no doubt
that the records of many of the sessions are wanting in this work, owing to
their loss or illegibility. It is to be regretted that the transcriber did not
indicate in his publication where he considered the originals were defective,
or remark upon the obliteration of different portions, the only instance of
his doing so being on page 7. Remesal states that until the year 1530 the
cabildo had no bound book of records, but simply loose sheets, many of which
must have been lost, Hist. Chyapa, 33; and Juarros refers to minutes which
do not appear in Arévalo's edition. I cannot, therefore, agree with Brasseur
de Bourbourg, who asserts that it 'comprend tous les actes du conseil communal
... durant les six premières années.' Bib. Mex. Guat., 15. Though
many of the ordinances are of minor interest, the work is of value, inasmuch
as a portion of them reflect to a great extent the condition and social state of
the colonists, while from others an idea is derived of the continual state of
warfare in which the Spaniards lived. A considerable number afford information
relative to the holding of and succession to property, to restriction
regarding the sale of it, and the amount of land to be possessed by a single
owner. These and other regulations for the internal government of the community
afford much information with regard to its system. The book is
additionally valuable as conclusive in assigning correct dates in many important
instances. It also throws much light on many historical events, and is
particularly serviceable in supplying a vivid conception of the arbitrary proceedings
and violent character of Francisco de Orduña.




[VI‑15]  The natives of Xumay, Xalpatlahua, Cinacantan, and Petapa. Brasseur
de Bourbourg states that the two former were identical with the Chortis.
Hist. Nat. Civ., iv. 698.




[VI‑16]  Dardon had accompanied Alvarado from Mexico, and was appointed by
him a regidor of the city of Santiago, founded in 1524. This office or that
of alcalde he held for many years. He served with distinction as a subaltern
in many campaigns. Juarros, Guat., i. 348-9.




[VI‑17]  The present town of Cuajiniquilapa is situated a few miles from the
right bank of this river.




[VI‑18]  Brasseur de Bourbourg assumes that it was surmounted by a fortress.




[VI‑19]  Tonaltetl by name.




[VI‑20] Juarros, Guat., ii. 88-90. This author makes the rather doubtful assertion
that the place was called Los Esclavos from the fact that these were the
first rebels whom the Spaniards branded. Brasseur de Bourbourg more
reasonably assigns the origin of the name to the great number branded.




[VI‑21]  Brasseur de Bourbourg says: 'The town of this name situated between
the lofty mountains of Bilabitz and Meawan preserved more than other places
the ancient rites of Hunahpu and Exbalanqué, and the temple of these gods
annually received a certain number of human victims.' Hist. Nat. Civ., iv.
699.




[VI‑22]  Brasseur de Bourbourg gives the number of Indian allies as three thousand.
Hist. Nat. Civ., iv. 700.




[VI‑23]  Called by Juarros, Gaspar Arias Dávila. Guat., i. 363. This officer may
be identical with a certain Gaspar Arias de Avila or Dávila, whom Alvarado
while in Honduras sent to confer with Pedrarias at Panamá. The name of
Gaspar Arias appears in the minutes of the cabildo of Oct. 4, 1525, and not
again till March 18, 1528, when he was nominated for the office of alcalde.
The omission of his name for so long a period may be explained by his absence
in Panamá.




[VI‑24]  According to Bernal Diaz, Gaspar Arias was a firm supporter of Alvarado
and his party. Hence, probably, his dismissal from office.




[VI‑25]  The reception which Arias met with at Santiago is a good illustration of
Orduña's character. On appearing before the cabildo and petitioning that
the wand of office be restored to him, Orduña passionately called him a disturber
of the peace, laid violent hands on him, and, while ordering him to be
carried off to prison, struck him in the face. 'Delante de todo el cabildo, y
en gran menosprecio y desacatamiento de su magestad y de su cabildo.' In
January 1530 Arias again petitioned for redress, but though the voting was
somewhat in his favor, he does not seem to have obtained it, as his name
appears no more as alcalde. Arévalo, Actas Ayunt. Guat., 139-42.




[VI‑26]  'Plusieurs Espagnols et surtout beaucoup d'alliés, ayant été pris vivants,
se virent emmenés dans la place et sacrifiés solennellement à la divinité barbare.'
Brasseur de Bourbourg, Hist. Nat. Civ., iv. 700. The name of the idol
was Exbalanqué.




[VI‑27]  According to Herrera the number of Spaniards consisted of 31 horse and
30 foot. dec. iv. lib. vii. cap. v.




[VI‑28]  In Herrera, dec. i. lib. vii. cap. xiv., is a copy of the requerimiento
ordered by the king to be delivered to the natives when summoned to allegiance
as noticed elsewhere. A similar form existed in the archives of Guatemala
in Remesal's time. This formal summons was frequently omitted, or
evaded. A priest, who at the beginning of the conquest of Guatemala had
taken part in the war while a layman, thus describes the form and mode of
proceeding. At night one of the soldiers with sound of drum, said: 'You
Indians of this town! we inform you that there is one God, and one pope, and
one king of Castile, to whom this pope has given you as slaves; wherefore we
require you to come and tender your obedience to him and to us in his name,
under the penalty that we wage war against you with fire and sword!' The
priest then briefly describes the sequel: 'At the morning watch they fell upon
them, capturing all whom they could, under pretence that they were rebels,
y los demas los quemauan, ô passauan à cuchillo, robauãles la hazienda, y
ponian fuego al lugar.' Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 413-14.




[VI‑29]  Juarros states that Orduña shortly afterward returned to Santiago on
account of sickness; but I find that Castellanos arrived there before him.
Consult Actas Ayunt. Guat., 138, 142-3, from which it appears that the
treasurer was in Santiago on the 19th of January 1530, and Orduña on the
12th of February.




[VI‑30] Juarros, Guat. (ed. London, 1823), 300-7. Hist. Nat. Civ., iv. 703-4.




[VI‑31] Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 48. Cavo makes this remark upon Remesal's
account: 'It seems to me more probable that the disagreement was between
an oidor and that conqueror, since it is certain that three years previously
the emperor ordered the factor to leave Mexico,' Tres Siglos, i. 104-5. A
letter of Bishop Zumárraga to the king dated August 27, 1529, disproves
Cavo's inference that the factor was not in Mexico at the time. The bishop
also gives a different version of the challenge. He states that the president
Guzman, Salazar, Alvarado, and others while out riding discussed the news
lately received that Cortés had been highly favored by the king and was on
his way back to Mexico. Guzman remarked that he believed he would soon
return, whereupon the factor passionately exclaimed, 'El rey que á tal traidor
como á Cortés embia es hereje y no cristiano.' For a few days nothing was
done to call the factor to account for such treasonable language, but on the
18th of the month Alvarado appeared before the audiencia and requested permission
to send him a formal challenge. That body, however, defended Salazar,
and on the following day their president Guzman made reply to this
effect: 'Pedro de Alvarado miente como muy ruin caballero, si lo es, que el
Factor no dijo tal, porque es servidor de Vuestra Majestad y no habia de
decir tal palabra,' and Alvarado was ironed and thrown into prison. The
bishop adds, 'y no sé qué harán dél,' and that he has three witnesses worthy
of all trust and of the order of Santiago, who heard the factor use the language.
Zumárraga, Carta, in Pacheco and Cárdenas, xiii. 176-7. Zamacois
gives almost the same account as the above. Hist. Méj. iv. 485-6.




[VI‑32]  This release must only be considered as conditional, and not as a rejection
of the charges brought against Alvarado. We learn, however, from Remesal
that in 1531 the second audiencia acquitted him. Hist. Chyapa, 42.




[VI‑33]  Bishop Zumárraga states that the president and oidores robbed Alvarado
of all the valuables which he had brought from Spain, 'que fué tanto
aparato y cosas ricas como un conde principal desos reinos pudiera traer;' all
his silverware, tapestry, horses, and mules, 'de todo no le han dejado un pan
qué comer.' He also furnishes a list of articles given as presents by Alvarado
to the president and the oidores. He, moreover, makes the assertion that
'Desta manera han perseguido á quantos han sido de contraria opinion del
Factor ... y lo que peor es, que en apellando ó sabiendo que querian apellar,
los aprisionavan.' Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xiii. 136-40. Herrera
leaves it to be concluded that Alvarado left Mexico at his pleasure: 'Hallaron
al Adelantado don Pedro de Alvarado, que entendidos estos rumores en
Mexico, auia ydo para defender su gouernacion, y lleuaua ochenta soldados
de a pie, y de a cauallo.' dec. iv. lib. vii. cap. v.




[VI‑34]  The cabildo frequently issued regulations with the object of correcting
these abuses. The inconvenience caused by artisans closing their workshops
was so serious that, on June 4, 1529, the cabildo passed an act ordering them
to exercise their callings under penalty of having the service of their Indians
suspended. In 1534 a similar decree was passed, and again in April 1536.
Actas Ayunt. Guat., 88, passim; Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 171.




[VI‑35]  'Fueron los atrassos grandes, los disgustos continuos, y las dissensiones,
de muchas consequẽcias: que á no aplicar efficazes, y oportunos remedios el
Adelantado ... pudiera ser, que se huviera despoblado la tierra.' Vazquez, Chronica
de Gvat., 156.




[VI‑36]  Vazquez states that in 1531 horses had so multiplied that the cabildo
assigned the plains between Escuintla and Mazaqua as lands for brood-mares
and foals. Remesal relates that the increase of the herds was much retarded
by the ravages of wild beasts, which destroyed the young animals, and not
unfrequently cows and mares. In February 1532 great destruction was
caused by an enormous lion, whose haunt was the densely wooded slopes of
the Volcan de Agua. The loss of cattle was so great that the city offered a
bounty of 25 pesos de oro or 100 bushels of corn to any one who killed the
monster. In March a large party headed by Alvarado went forth to hunt
for it, but their efforts were unsuccessful. He was finally killed by the herder
of the mares. Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 173; Album Mex., 417. Notwithstanding
the depredations of wild animals, live-stock increased so rapidly that in
1540 beef sold for three cents a pound and mutton for four and five cents.
Pelaez, Mem. Guat., i. 188. There are two competitors for the distinction of
having first introduced horned cattle into Guatemala. According to Vazquez,
the auditor Francisco de Zorrilla imported stock at his own expense, and
had a feeding-ground for his herds assigned to him in 1530. Juarros ascribes
to Hector de Barreda the honor of being the first importer, and to him was
assigned in the distribution of lands a feeding-ground in the present Valle de
las Vacas, which received its name from the fact that he there established a
stock-farm. Chronica de Gvat., 162; Juarros, Guat., ii. 354.




[VI‑37]  In 1529 the population of Santiago numbered only 150 according to the
records of the cabildo, Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 22; but in the neighborhood
were many settlers who had not been enrolled as citizens.




[VI‑38]  None were allowed to hold more than two caballerías.




[VI‑39]  Juarros entertains no doubt of this: in the first place because its location
exactly corresponds with that where Moscoso built his town; and secondly,
because there is no evidence that any Spanish town existed on the
other side of the Lempa previous to 1530, while the villa de San Miguel is
proved by the books of the cabildo of the city of Guatemala, to have been in
existence in June 1531. Guat., ii. 105. In May 1535 it is mentioned by
Alvarado in a letter to Charles V. Cartas, Squier's MSS., xix. 7.




[VI‑40]  Called by Juarros San Jorge de Olanchito.




[VII‑1]  'Vos damos licencia ... para que por nos ... podais descubrir, conquistar
é poblar, cualesquier Islas qué hay en la mar del Sur de la Nueva
España, questán en su parage; é todas las que halláredes hácia el Poniente
della, no siendo en el parage de las tierras en que hoy hay proveydas gobernadores;
é así mismo ... podais descubrir cualquier parte de tierra firme, que
halláredes, por la dicha costa del Sur, hácia el Poniente, que no se haya
hasta agora descubierto, ni entre en los límites é parage Norte-Sur, de la
tierra questá dada en gobernacion á otras personas.' Capitulacion, in Pacheco
and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xiv. 538-9.




[VII‑2]  Herrera, dec. iv. lib. x. cap. xv., and Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 112, state that
in these preparations Alvarado was provided by the emperor with a considerable
amount of funds; but the adelantado in his official letters to the court,
in Cartas, Squier's MSS., xix. 1-4, 13-27, while dwelling on the labor and
expense these preparations involved, makes no allusion to outside aid. It is
not probable, however, that a man of Alvarado's character would have fitted
out this expedition purely from loyal motives or having in view only the
remote contingency of the compensation to be derived from his twelfth of
the profits.




[VII‑3]  Herrera, dec. iv. lib. x. cap. xv., and Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 113, state
that the audiencia ordered the fitting-out of his expedition to be stopped.




[VII‑4] Herrera, dec. iv. lib. x. cap. xv.; Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 113.




[VII‑5] Alvarado, Cartas, in Squier's MSS., xix. 13-27; Herrera, dec. v. lib. vi.
cap. i. Herrera mentions but one ship.




[VII‑6]  There is no information, or none of value, as to the first settlement of
Realejo by the Spaniards. Herrera, dec. v. lib. vi. cap. i., states that Alvarado
was compelled, through lack of ships, to leave 200 men there. This may
have been the origin of the colony. Purchas, 1625, spells the word Realjo;
Ogilby, 1671, Realejo; Dampier, 1699, Rialeja; Jefferys, 1776, Realejo, as bay
and city. Cartog. Pac. Coast, MS., ii. 204, a.




[VII‑7]  Equal in purchasing power to more than a million and a half of dollars
at the present time.




[VII‑8]  Alvarado, Carta, in Squier's MSS., xix. 1-4, writing to the emperor from
Puerto de la Posesion, January 18, 1534, says: 'Mi derrota será conforme á la
merced de V. M. y desde los 13 hasta los 20 grados de la otra parte de la
linea descubriré todos los secretos de esta Mar y las Yslas, y Tierra firme, y
donde mas convenga conquistaré, y poblaré.' In view of this it is singular
that Zárate, in Barcia, iii., and those who copy him, are the only authorities
who concede that Alvarado had any right to sail in a southerly direction.
Herrera, dec. v. lib. vi. cap. i., Prescott, Conq. Peru, ii. 11, and others affirm
that his capitulation required him to sail toward the west, and it is evident
that they did not see the letter mentioned in Squier's MSS.




[VII‑9]  The number of vessels is variously stated. Herrera mentions 11; Remesal,
10; Juarros, 8, Oviedo, 11, and Prescott, 12. The number and tonnage
given above are taken from the letter in Squier's MSS., mentioned in note
18. This was written from Puerto de la Posesion on the eve of departure.
One galleon was of 300 tons, another of 160, a third of 150, and a fourth,
built by order of Pedrarias Dávila in the gulf of Chira, was of 100 tons.




[VII‑10]  Alvarado is charged with the seizure in Nicaragua of two vessels in
which a force of 200 men was about to be sent to the aid of Pizarro. This,
however, was most likely in the form of an appropriation with the consent of
the owners of the vessels. The adelantado in Carta, in Squier's MSS., xix.
13-27, denies this charge and forwards vouchers to prove, as he says, that
they were bought at the request of the owners and paid for to their entire
satisfaction. He adds however the saving clause, that, 'even had they been
seized, such an act was justified by the importance of the undertaking.' This
letter also appears to have escaped Herrera's notice.




[VII‑11]  In the estimate of the total Spanish force authors mainly agree, but the
number of cavalry is variously stated, and even the official letters of Alvarado
are contradictory on this point. Herrera, dec. v. lib. vi. cap. i., gives 500 as
the total, of whom 227 were cavalry. Oviedo, iv. 240, mentions 600, with
240 cavalry. According to a legal investigation made in Guatemala in 1536
his whole force was 500 and his cavalry 230, Informacion echa en Santiago
Set. 15, 1536; and this is the estimate here adopted. Alvarado, Carta,
Squier's MSS., xix. 1-4, writing to the emperor a few days before his departure
from Puerto de la Posesion, states that he had 450 men including 260
horse, and, a few weeks later, writing from Puerto Viejo to the governor of
Panamá, says that he set sail from Nicaragua with 500 men of whom 220
were cavalry.




[VII‑12]  In Squier's MSS., xix. 7-14, is a full account of Alvarado's report to the
emperor, dated May 12, 1535, after his return from Peru.




[VII‑13] Chap. i., this volume.




[VII‑14] Informacion contra Alvarado, in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., x. 152-236.
Cuzco lies slightly to the south of the thirteenth parallel, and was therefore
in the territory assigned to the adelantado; but it is not probable that he
was aware of this fact.




[VII‑15] Alvarado, Carta, in Squier's MSS., xix. 21.




[VII‑16]  'Y asi él se volvió á la cibdad de Mexico sin hacer cosa ninguna.' Alvarado,
Carta, in Squier's MSS., xix. 17. This investigation was attended
with some circumstances difficult of explanation. Maldonado's official proceedings
were anomalous, and were strictly neither those of a visitador nor
a juez de residencia. The king's decree mentioned in the text enjoined
secrecy as to the motives of his visit; yet he caused the object of his arrival
to be publicly cried. The difference between a visita and residencia is as follows:
The visita could be made at any time by special commission of the
crown, but without suspending, in the exercise of his official duties, the person
whose conduct was to be investigated. The inquiry was strictly secret,
and the visitador had no power to pass sentence. His duty was to remit the
original depositions to the India Council, by which tribunal judgment was
passed. The residencia, on the other hand, was taken at the expiration of a
person's term of office; the examination was public, and afforded every opportunity
for defence. Icazbalceta, Col. Doc., ii. pp. xxviii.-xxx. The secrecy of
witnesses and non-interference with the authority of the person whose conduct
was investigated were not always maintained, however, in the visita. In
that to which Viceroy Mendoza was subjected, in 1547, his authority was at
first disregarded and the names of witnesses disclosed. Solórzano, Política
Indiana, lib. v. cap. x. It may be remarked that the chroniclers seem to
have been quite unaware of this first visit of Maldonado in 1535, and only
record his arrival in Guatemala as juez de residencia in 1536. It is, however,
fully substantiated by Alvarado's letter above quoted. For a full explanation
of the term 'residencia,' see Hist. Cent. Am., i. 250-1, this series.




[VIII‑1]  See Hist. Cent. Am., i. 638, this series.




[VIII‑2]  Marroquin was a good Latin scholar and was the first to apply the system
of studying that language to the Indian dialects. He translated the Catholic
catechism into Quiché. Vazquez, Chronica de Gvat., 150.




[VIII‑3] Gonzalez Dávila, Teatro Ecles., i. 142. Torquemada mentions that
Francisco Jimenez, one of the 12 Franciscans who first arrived in New Spain,
was appointed the first bishop of Guatemala, but declined the position 'por
quedar en el estado humilde ... de Fraile Menor,' iii. 445. Vazquez, quoting
a royal cédula dated May 24, 1531, proves that a bishop had been already
appointed at that date. Chron. Gvat., 36-7. According to Remesal, the
emperor appointed Domingo de Betanzos the first bishop, and as he could not
be induced to accept the honor, the mitre was given to Marroquin at the
request of Alvarado. Hist. Chyapa, 58-9. In Nueva España, Breve Res.,
MS., ii. 351-76, is a copy of the bull confirming the bishop's appointment,
printed in Spanish and Latin.




[VIII‑4]  Vazquez relates that Fray Toribio Motolinia, mentioned by Torquemada
as the sixth of the first 12 Franciscan missionaries, resided in Guatemala during
portions of 1528 and 1529; but this is extremely doubtful. According to
the former chronicler he preached and baptized at Quetzaltenango and Patinamit
in both years. Chron. Gvat., 20-1; but there is conclusive evidence
that he was in Mexico some time during 1528 engaged in violent opposition
to the audiencia. Santa María, Lettre, in Ternaux-Compans, Voy., série ii.
tom. v. 92 et seq., and was also there on the 15th of April 1529 occupied in
the same contention. Procès-verbal, in Id., 104 et seq. It is not very probable
that, during the interval, he should have made a journey to Guatemala and as
Vazquez claims even to Nicaragua. Consult also Ramirez, in Icazbalceta,
Col. Doc., i. pp. xlv.-cliii. According to Torquemada, Toribio was sent to
Guatemala in 1533 to found monasteries. iii. 489.




[VIII‑5]  In 1527, according to Gonzalez Dávila, who states that a hospital was
founded at the same time. Teatro, Ecles., i. 140. Remesal, who is more to
be relied on in this matter, gives 1529 as the date of Betanzos' arrival in
Santiago, and says that he came at the request of Alvarado on his return from
Spain. Hist. Chyapa, 15, 42-5.




[VIII‑6]  'Celebrose su consagracion con ostentissimo aparato, assi por ser la
primera q̃ en Yndias se hazîa, como por la magnificencia del S. Principe, que
le consagrô.' Vazquez, Chron. Gvat., 39.




[VIII‑7]  Remesal gives a copy of this constitution, which was signed, 'Episcopvs
Gvactemalensis.'




[VIII‑8] Arévalo, Col. Doc. Antig., 182-5; Marroquin al Emperador, in Cartas de
Indias, 413-14. The bishop's signature, in his letters addressed to the emperor
from 1537 to 1547, is different in almost every letter. On May 10, 1537,
he signs himself 'Episcopus Sancti Jacobi Huatemalensis;' on August 15,
1539, 'Episcopus Cuahvtemalensis;' on August 10 and November 25, 1541,
'Episcopus Cuacvtemolensis;' and on June 4, 1545, and September 20, 1547,
'Episcopus Cuachutemallensis.' Cartas de Indias, 425, 428, 431, 433, 443,
450.




[VIII‑9]  The tithes, when paid in kind, were of little value unless delivered at
convenient places. The king, therefore, issued a cédula ordering that they
be taken by the natives to the mines, or some other suitable place, within a
radius of 20 leagues around each town. Mendoza, Carta, in Pacheco and
Cárdenas, Col. Doc., ii. 209; Florida, Col. Doc., 138.




[VIII‑10]  Speaking of the provision, he says: 'Recibiré merced la reciban con
todo amor y voluntad.' Arévalo, Col. Doc. Antig., 184.




[VIII‑11] Arévalo, Col. Doc. Antig., 14.




[VIII‑12]  The bishop's humility and pardonable boastfulness are sometimes a little
striking. Speaking of the provision for the delivery of the tithes, he says:
'Sino se pierde por mis deméritos, que creo no pierde, pues trabajo mas que
los demàs perlados, que en estas índias al presente residen.' Id., 184.




[VIII‑13]  During the earlier period of the Spanish conquests in America this order
took no active part. A few individuals, however, found their way to the new
world, among whom was Bartolomé de Olmedo, who accompanied Cortés to
Mexico. Remesal, Hist. Chyapa., 148.




[VIII‑14]  On March 17, 1538, according to Gonzalez, Dávila, Teatro Ecles., i. 144.
Remesal states that the convent was not formally organized until a year or
two later, and quotes an entry in the books of the cabildo dated the 12th of
August 1538, from which it appears that certain citizens wished to assist in
the building and furnishing of a convent and church for the use of the order.
Hist. Chyapa, 148. There is some doubt as to the exact date.




[VIII‑15] Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 147-9; Gonzalez Dávila, Teatro Ecles., i. 144-8;
Escamilla, Noticias Curiosas, MS., 12; Iglesias y Conventos de Mex., 283.




[VIII‑16] Juarros, Guat., i. 380.




[IX‑1]  See Hist. Cent. Am., i. 606, this series.




[IX‑2]  Salcedo brought with him to Trujillo 209 slaves; of these 102 were
branded in the face. Testimonio, Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xiv. 70-7.




[IX‑3]  It is stated that Salcedo's death was caused by a sore on one of his legs,
and by the rough treatment received while imprisoned at Leon; but his friends
suspected that he had been poisoned. Herrera, dec. iv. lib. vii. cap. iii.




[IX‑4]  The only document which Herrera could produce in support of his claim
was a memorandum without date, signature, or witness. The appointment
of Cereceda, on the other hand, was signed by Salcedo and attested by 12
witnesses. Cerezeda, Carta, in Squier's MSS., xx. 3-5. See also Oviedo, iii. 192.




[IX‑5]  Diego Mendez had already been waylaid during the night and severely
wounded at the entrance of his house. He would have been killed had not
some of his friends come to his assistance. Cerezeda, Carta, in Squier's MSS.,
xx. 4, 5; Oviedo, iii. 193.




[IX‑6]  It was claimed that a portion of the repartimientos belonging to the late
governor had been unlawfully appropriated, and was therefore liable to confiscation.
Soon afterward the boy died, and his entire inheritance was divided
among certain of the officials. Oviedo, iii. 193.




[IX‑7]  Cereceda afterward excused himself by saying that he had given his consent
in order to preserve peace in the province. 'Consentí que se les diese lo
que no les diera si fuera solo haciendo lo que era razon; hicelo solo por sosegallos
i que no alterasen ó amotonasen la tierra,' in order to gain time until
the king should definitely determine upon a new governor. Cerezeda, Carta,
in Squier's MSS., xx. 5, 6.




[IX‑8] Herrera, dec. iv. lib. vii. cap. iii.




[IX‑9]  The morality of the colonists appears to have been somewhat more lax
hereabout than usual. In commenting on the conduct of Herrera and other
officials Cereceda says: 'Tenian ocupadas quatro casas de casados deste pueblo
i que con infamia publica i pesar los maridos los comportavan, sin yo ser parte
á lo remediar con palabras i amenazas, porque lo demas por el mayor daño se
escusava.' Carta, in Squier's MSS., xx. 7.




[IX‑10]  The certificate was originally taken from Mendez by the cabildo, and
deposited with the Notary Carrasco, who, being an enemy to Herrera, was
easily induced to return it to its owner. Cerezeda, Carta, in Squier's MSS.,
xx. 15-18. See also Oviedo, iii. 108.




[IX‑11]  'É ovo regidor que dixo, ó temiendo al Diego Mendez, ó porque le paresçia
ser conviniente á la república, que si no se pudiesse concertar en que
fuesse su teniente Diego Mendez, que lo fuesse el Cereceda dél, porque esso
era lo que convenia al serviçio de Dios é de Sus Magestades, é al bien é sosiego
de aquella universidad é de la tierra. É porque algunos se riyeron desto,
replicó assi: "Reysos é parésçeos mal lo que he dicho? Pues asentadlo
assi, escribano, que yo lo digo assi."' Oviedo, iii. 203.




[IX‑12] Cerezeda, Carta, in Squier's MSS., xx. 39. Oviedo, iii. 207, says that
only seven were wounded. Herrera, dec. v. lib. i. cap. x., mentions but four.




[IX‑13]  'Que eran aquel Pedro Vidal, alguacil, que dió la puñalada al Vasco de
Herrera é le echó la soga al cuello, con la que fué despues ahorcado el malfechor;
y el otro Alonso Vazquez, alcalde é capitan de la guarda del tirano.'
Oviedo, iii. 208.




[IX‑14] Dávila, Relacion, in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xiv. 114-17. See
also Oviedo, iii. 213.




[IX‑15]  'Murieron mas de la mitad dellos, assi de los que servian á los chripstianos
en sus haçiendas, como de las naborias de casa.' Oviedo, iii. 213.




[IX‑16] Cerezeda, Carta, in Squier's MSS., xxii. 50; Oviedo, iii. 212. See also
Hist. Mex., ii., this series.




[IX‑17]  Herrera endeavored to persuade Ávila to accompany him, and proceed
in quest of new discoveries. The latter, however, declined, and on the
return of Cereceda was sent on with his men, by sea, to Yucatan. Oviedo, iii.
212-30.




[IX‑18]  Oviedo, iii. 213, gives 180 as the number.




[IX‑19]  The Quimistan (Quinbistan?), Zolûta, Zelimonga, and Zulâ Indians returned,
but not those of Naco. Herrera, dec. v. lib. ix. cap. viii.




[IX‑20]  Distant 23 leagues from Puerto de Caballos, 3 from Quinbistan, 7 from
Naco, and 15 from San Gil de Buenavista. Herrera, dec. v. lib. ix. cap. viii.




[IX‑21]  Cereceda was to be 'captain of all the other captains.' Herrera, dec. v.
lib. ix. cap. ix., estimates the strength of the combined forces at 80 soldiers,
but this is manifestly an error.




[IX‑22]  Herrera speaks of her as a native of Seville, and as having been captured
by Cizimba, 'que auia diez años—tenia por muger,' at the time of the
massacre at Puerto de Caballos. dec. v. lib. ix. cap. ix.




[IX‑23]  'Los que quedaron en la ciudad de Truxillo ... sinificauan al Rey sus
necessidades, suplicauante ... que no la olvidasse, pues no era menos provechosa
que las otras de las Indias, por las muchas minas que en ella auia: y
quanto al sitio de la Ciudad dezian, que era muy sano, enxuto, y ayroso, y
de muy buenas aguas.... Dezian que no auia vezino que no tuuiesse en su casa
vn huerto con todas las frutas de Castilla, que se auian podido auer, las
quales se dauan muy bien, como naranjos, cidras, limones agrios y dulces,
granados y higueras, de las quales a siete meses que se plãtan, se cogia
fruta: de melones y vbas, y otras tenian abundancia.' Herrera, dec. v. lib.
ix. cap. ix.




[IX‑24]  Herrera says that affairs in the province were in a sad plight, for Cereceda,
'cuya crueldad excedia a toda humana prudencia,' had lost all control
over his men. dec. vi. lib. i. cap. viii. Montejo, who afterward became governor
of Honduras, also speaks in very disparaging terms of Cereceda. 'All
the time he was in Zula and Naco he never moved two leagues from his
abode. Of the 27 or 28 towns in existence when he reached the country he
did not leave a single one. He destroyed everything, even the cattle and
mares. The people he brought away in irons, leaving some towns without a
single inhabitant. He and his advisers, a priest named Juan Ávila and a
certain Juan Ruano, had laid waste the best portion of Honduras.' Pacheco
and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., ii. 240-1.




[IX‑25]  'Quisiesse socorrer á los pobladores chripstianos, que estaban en Honduras,
en paçificar la tierra, é dar órden cómo no se acabassen de perder los
españoles que allí estaban.' Oviedo, iii. 214.




[IX‑26]  Oviedo, iii. 214, says that this occurred in 1533. Célis himself states
that Cereceda sent him to Guatemala toward the end of 1535, or early in
1536. Camino de Guat., in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xiv. 540-9;
whereas Herrera states that Célis went of his own accord. 'Estas cosas
llegaron a termino que el Tesorero como buen ministro sossegô la gente, con
prometer de yr a Guatemala á pedir socorro a don Pedro de Aluarado.' dec.
vi. lib. i. cap. viii.




[IX‑27] Cava, Honduras, in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xiv. 280 et seq.,
Célis subsequently put in a claim for 800 castellanos, for the subsistence of
his party, and for horses employed during the exploration of a road to Guatemala.
On the 24th of October 1539 a judicial investigation was held before
the alcalde mayor, at Puerto de Caballos, to ascertain whether the treasurer
had, as he claimed, discovered a road thence to Guatemala. Several witnesses
were examined, and all testified that Alonso Ortiz had discovered and travelled
over the road before Célis; that the latter when he passed on to Guatemala
was under no expense whatever, for his supplies were furnished by
others. Célis, Camino, in Id., xiv. 540-50. In Guatemala he stopped at the
house of the king's treasurer, and was therefore under no expense. Montejo,
in Id., ii. 241.




[IX‑28]  There were present, Andrés de Cereceda, the alcalde Alonso Ortiz, and
the regidores Bernardo de Cabranes, Juan Lopez de Gamboa, and Miguel
García de Liñan. Mendoza, Carta, in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xiv.
301-4.




[IX‑29] Mendoza, Carta, in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xiv. 301-4. The
foregoing is the account given in Cereceda's official report to the viceroy of
Mexico. Herrera, however, gives quite a different version of the matter.
He states that the settlers, seeing that, after an absence of four months, the
treasurer Célis did not return or send any message, agreed to abandon the
place. Loading their Indian servants with what little effects they had left,
they proceeded on their way, after tying Cereceda and two of his friends to
trees, because he forbade them to take away their slaves on the ground that
it was contrary to royal orders to carry them from one province to another,
although he himself had done so and had allowed his friends the same privilege.
But after marching a few leagues they fell in with men coming from
Guatemala, whereupon they returned to the settlement and made friends
with the governor, dec. vi. lib. i. cap. viii. In a letter to Alvarado dated
May 9, 1536, Cereceda says nothing about being tied to a tree, although he
complains of gross ill-treatment at the hands of the colonists.




[IX‑30]  It was intended to establish here a large settlement. The city was
founded on the 26th of June 1536. The various officials were appointed,
sworn, and inducted into office. Sites for dwellings were assigned to the
alcaldes, regidores, and vecinos. The name of the town was not to be
changed except by the emperor's orders; and it was decreed that none should
reside elsewhere until the emperor's pleasure was known. Honduras, Fundacion,
in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xvi. 530-8.




[IX‑31]  This settlement was distant from Comayagua 38 leagues and from Guatemala
106 leagues. Juarros, Guat., i. 41; Herrera, dec. vi. lib. i. cap. viii.




[IX‑32] Alvarado, Carta, in Squier's MSS., xix. 24-5, 29. In this letter he proposes
to the king to conduct a large expedition from Spain through the Straits
of Magellan into the South Sea, in which he believed there were many islands
and even some continents.




[X‑1]  'A quien se auia dado el oficio de contador, y depuestole del de alcalde
mayor, por las diferẽcias que traía con Pedrarias.' Herrera, dec. iv. lib. ix.
cap. xv. Oviedo, iv. 112, still speaks of him as 'alcalde mayor é contador'
when he takes charge of the government.




[X‑2]  'Que era de derecho, que quando dos personas que tenian poderes del
Rey, moria el vno, el que quedaua sucedia al otro.' Herrera, dec. iv. lib. ix.
cap. xv.




[X‑3]  Herrera and Oviedo both state that after the death of Pedrarias 'quedó
en el cargo de la gobernaçion el licenciado Françisco de Castañeda,' whereas
Andagoya, Nar., 39, says that 'the Bishop Diego Alvarez Osorio succeeded
Pedrarias as governor, but died a short time after he had assumed office, leaving
Castañeda as his successor.' This is undoubtedly an error. The editors
of Datos Biog., in Cartas de Indias, 710, give as the date of Osorio's death
the year 1534, which is also erroneous. His decease occurred in 1536. See
Las Casas, Informacion, in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., vii. 127.




[X‑4]  In a few days Castañeda had appropriated eight of them. Herrera, dec.
iv. lib. ix. cap. xv.




[X‑5]  'No podia dexar de auer fraude, pues los auia dado a menosprecio, por
contemplaciones, y por cõseguir sus fines.' Herrera, dec. iv. lib. ix. cap. xv.




[X‑6]  'El qual se dió todo el recabdo quél pudo á enriquesçerse; é púdolo bien
hacer, pues no le quedó quien le fuesse á la mano.' Oviedo, iv. 112.




[X‑7]  Among those who left the province were Sebastian de Benalcázar and
Juan Fernandez, who joined Pizarro on the Isthmus in March 1531. In their
company went Francisco Bobadilla, Juan de las Varillas, and Gerónimo Pontevedra,
friars of the order of Mercy, who figured in the conquest of Guatemala
and Nicaragua. Navarro, Relacion, in Col. Doc. Inéd., xxvi. 238.




[X‑8]  During the brief rule of Salcedo in Nicaragua, one Maestro Rojas, a
patron of the church, imprisoned the ex-treasurer Castillo on a charge of
heresy, but the former held no jurisdiction in the case, and Rojas remained
in confinement until the arrival of Pedrarias, accompanied by Fray Francisco
de Bobadilla, who was vested with the requisite authority by the bishop of
Panamá. His power was transferred to the bachiller Pedro Bravo, and from
him to Pedrarias, who tried the case, acquitted Castillo, and restored him
to office. Squier's MSS., iv.




[X‑9] Hist. Chyapa, 105. It appears that he was not a friar, being spoken of
as 'muy magnífico é muy reverendo señor D. Diego Alvarez Osorio.' Pacheco
and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., vii. 116; see also Alcedo, iii. 322, who adds that he
was a native of America, though of what place is unknown; and Gonzalez
Dávila, Teatro Ecles., i. 235; Juarros, Hist. Guat., i. 49.




[X‑10]  New tithes were to be levied on cocoa, honey, wax, and flax, to provide
for the salary of the bishop, which was 500,000 maravedís, and the limits
of the new diocese were to be determined 'y estavan bien servidas las iglesias.'
Squier's MSS., xxii. 109.




[X‑11]  For previous mention of Las Casas see Hist. Cent. Am., i. 277-9, 284, 309.




[X‑12]  'En tanto, desde que Rodrigo de Contreras fué á aquella tierra estuvo
exerçitando su offiçio, como buen gobernador, é tuvo en paz é buena justiçia
aquellas tierras é provinçias, que por Su Majestad le fueron encomendadas, é
procurando la conversion é buen tractamiento de los indios para que viniessen
á conosçer á Dios.' Oviedo, iv. 113.




[X‑13]  A provision was ratified by the emperor on the 20th of April 1537, and
contained also permission to make the conquest of the islands in lakes Nicaragua
and Managua. Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xxii. 515-34.




[X‑14]  Before the flight of Castañeda Las Casas visited Española whither he was
summoned to negotiate a treaty with the powerful chief Enrique. He returned
once more to Realejo, and soon afterward attempted a second voyage to Peru,
but was driven back to port by stress of weather.




[X‑15]  See the lengthy deposition taken in Leon by request of the governor before
Bishop Osorio, and concluded after the prelate's death, before the lieutenant-governor
and alcalde mayor licenciado Gregorio de Zeballos and the notary
Martin Mimbreño. Many witnesses here testify to the persistent opposition
of Las Casas, who was requested to accompany the expedition, but refused,
though he offered to go in command of 50 soldiers, to explore and make a
peaceful conquest of the territory in question. Las Casas, Informacion, in
Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., vii. 116-46.




[X‑16]  'El Gouernador recibia informaciones, para prouar que el padre escandalizaua
la gente, y alteraua la Prouincia.' Herrera, dec. vi. lib. i. cap. viii.




[X‑17]  Notwithstanding the controversy with Las Casas, the people of Leon,
and even Contreras himself, were unwilling to see their convent deserted. In
the depositions already mentioned witnesses testify on the 23d of August
1536 that 'dos meses, poco mas ó menos tiempo, que fue antes que los dichos
frailes dominicos se fuesen del monasterio de Sant Francisco desta cibdad.'
Las Casas and his companions were asked to remain by the regidores 'e otras
muchas personas desta cibdad,' who made their request on behalf of the governor.
They refused, however, and departed the same day. Las Casas, Informacion,
in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., vii. 116-46. It is evident that
this event occurred about the month of June 1536. Remesal, who is not
generally over-exact in dates, says that Las Casas arrived in Guatemala 'casi
al fin del año de treynta y cinco.' Hist. Chyapa, 111. Why Helps, in his Life
of Las Casas, 185, without venturing to give a correct date himself, should
boldly assert 'Herrera makes him go to Spain, and though he gives a wrong
date (1536) for this, yet the main statement may be true,' I am at a loss to
explain.




[X‑18]  'En medio dessa laguna ó metal saltan ó revientan dos borbollones ó
manaderos muy grandes de aquel metal continuamente, sin ningun punto
cessar, é siempre está el metal ó licor allí colorado é descubierto, sin escorias.'
On one occasion the lava rose to the top, creating such intense heat that
within a league or more of the volcano all vegetation was destroyed. Oviedo,
iv. 81-2.




[X‑19]  Oviedo was of the opinion that she must have been the devil; but
whether the consort of his Satanic Majesty or the devil himself in female
form he does not say. 'É segund en sus pinturas usan pintar al diablo, ques
tan feo é tan lleno de colas é cuernos é bocas é otras visages, como nuestros
pintores lo suelen pintar á los piés del arcángel Sanct Miguel ó del apóstol
Sanct Bartolomé.' Oviedo, iv. 75.




[X‑20]  'É que antes ó despues un dia ó dos que aquesto se hiçiesse, echaban allí
en sacrifiçio un hombre ó dos ó más é algunas mugeres é muchachos é
muchachas; é aquellos que assi sacrificaban, yban de grado á tal suplicio.'
Oviedo, iv. 74.




[X‑21]  'Callad, padre: que por ventura Dios no quiere que lo descubran capitanes
ni personas ricas, sino pobres é humillados.' Oviedo, iv. 77.




[X‑22]  'É porque faltaba un cabrestante é no lo mandaban haçer por no ser
descubiertos, el frayle lo hiço por su mano en el lugar ques dicho que estaban
todos los otros aparejos.' Oviedo, iv. 78.




[X‑23]  Two unsuccessful attempts were made before this date, and some of the
friar's associates, terrified by their first glimpse of the burning lake, abandoned
the enterprise. Oviedo, iv. 78.




[X‑24]  In 1529, during his residence in Nicaragua, Oviedo was the guest of Machuca,
and speaks favorably of his conduct. In company with his host and
the cacique Lenderi the chronicler explored a volcano, near the Masaya, in the
crater of which was a warm-water lake, at about the same level as the lava
which excited the cupidity of Fray Blas. The descent was difficult, but
Indian women managed to pass up and down in obtaining water. With regard
to the depth of the lake Oviedo remarks: 'Este lago, á mi paresçer (é assi lo
juzgan otros) está en el pesso é hondura que está el fuego que dixe en el poço
del monte de Massaya ... no le hallan suelo por su mucha hondura.' Machuca,
assisted by his friends, furnished the funds needed for exploring the Desaguadero.




[X‑25]  The principal rapids in the stream still bear the name of Machuca.
Squier's Nicaragua (ed. 1856), i. 82.




[X‑26]  Mention is made of this expedition by Estrada Rávago, whose narrative
of the affairs of the province, written in 1572, appears in Squier's MSS., xiii. 4.




[X‑27]  According to Oviedo, Garavito must have made friends with Contreras,
for speaking of the former he says that one day, while engaged in a game of
'cañas' in the city of Leon, he suddenly fell dead from his horse. He was
one of those who took part in the enterprise which cost Vasco Nuñez de Balboa
his life, and betrayed him to Pedrarias, for which act of treachery his own
life was spared. Oviedo, iv. 58-9. According to Rávago, Garavito's men, after
the death of their commander, sailed for Peru on their own responsibility.




[X‑28]  He held office for eleven years as treasurer, and during all that time it is
said that he put nothing into the treasury. Squier's MSS., xxii. 144, 149. It
may be remarked, on the other hand, that the affairs of the province were in
such a condition that little or no revenue could be collected. There is no evidence
that Rios was related to his namesake, the former governor of Castilla
del Oro.




[X‑29]  It is somewhat remarkable that the dean of a church could imprison a
royal treasurer, but such is the fact. 'Le vino a prender ... pidió favor a la
Ciudad de Granada donde el estava (Rios), lo prendió i metió en el monasterio
de la Merced por ser casa de piedra.' ... Squier's MSS., xxii. 144.




[X‑30]  On May 20, 1545, he wrote from his prison to the emperor: 'Dos años
que estoi preso, i mis bienes sin cuenta en manos de mis adversarios. Ha
6 meses que me pusieron en esta carcel arzobispal,' and asked to be tried at
once, and punished or acquitted as the case might be. Squier's MSS., xxii. 148.




[X‑31]  It is probable that Rios continued to govern until the return of Contreras.
Soon after the events just described he lost his life, probably during
some expedition into the interior, as nothing is said of him until July 15, 1545,
when bishop Valdivieso in one of his letters to the king, says: 'I asi han
muerto Po. de los Rios, Luis de Guevara, i otros de menos cuenta.' In a
subsequent report this prelate again refers to 'al difto. Teso. Po. de los Rios,'
stating that the tithes collected, and still due by him at his death, had not
been recovered. Squier's MSS., xxii. 109-10.




[X‑32]  One Pedro García, in a communication to the emperor, dated Leon,
January 10, 1545, complains that 'la ra de Contreras, Rios i su teniente Luis
de Guevara hecha por el Lic. Herrera, ha sido sepultada i sin fruto.' Squier's
MSS., xxii. 145; and when certain malecontents afterward demanded that
Herrera be sent back to Leon to finish his investigation, the answer came
from the audiencia 'que no habia lugar quel dicho Licenciado volviese á esta
tierra.' Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., vii. 571.




[X‑33] Dávila, Teatro Ecles., i. 235. Valdivieso was a native of Villahermosa,
and the son of Antonio de Valdivieso and Catalina Álvarez Calvento. He
became a Dominican in the convent of San Pablo, Búrgos, of which he was
an inmate when the emperor called him to the bishopric of Nicaragua. Datos
Biog., in Cartas de Indias, 857, and Col. Doc. Inéd., i. 117; Herrera, dec. vii.
lib. vi. cap. vi., states that he was made bishop 'por muerte del obispo Mendauia,'
referring to dean Mendavia, but Rios would not have dared to send
him a prisoner to Spain had he been a bishop. To whom Valdivieso refers
when, while speaking of himself as being the second bishop concentrated in
Nicaragua, he remarks: 'Fue el lo. antecesor que murió a 40 dias que llegó a
la tierra,' Squier's MSS., xxii. 125, it is impossible to determine. The first
bishop, Osorio, was appointed in 1531, and died in 1536. That another prelate
was chosen before Valdivieso is nowhere recorded. It is probable, however,
that he alludes to Fray Juan de Arteaga, bishop elect for Chiapas, who,
when Las Casas first refused that appointment, left Spain on February 15,
1541, and died at Puebla the same year, soon after his arrival. Remesal, Hist.
Chyapa, 202.




[X‑34]  'Inquisicion no se ha de mentar en esta tierra, i en entrando en ella me
embiaron a decir que si entendia en cosa de Inquisicion o lo pensava, me
darian de puñaladas.' Squier's MSS., xxii. 146. On another occasion, when
President Maldonado and the oidor Ramirez were at Granada preparing an
expedition to Peru, the bishop refused to officiate in church because a person
was present whom he had excommunicated. Hereupon Ramirez used insulting
language, causing him to retire from the church. Valdivieso's conduct
caused such ill-feeling that a mob afterward assembled in the street and threatened
to hang him.




[X‑35]  The following quotation is from a report of the audiencia at Gracias á
Dios, dated December 30, 1545. 'Los Dominicos de Nicaragua tenian un
pueblo que se les mando quitar por las Ordenanzas. Representaronnos que
sin el no podrian estar, i porque no se ausentasen se lo dejamos. Tendrá el
pueblo 20 Indios.' Squier's MSS., xxii. 131.




[X‑36]  'Y el Fiscal auia puesto acusacion contra Rodrigo de Contreras, porque
siendo gouernador de aquella provincia, salio diuersas vezes de su Gouernacion
con gente de pie y de cauallo, y fue a la parte de Costa rica, y al desaguadero,
y otras tierras comarcanas, adonde hizo grandes excessos, assi contra Castellanos,
como contra Indios.' Herrera, dec. vii. lib. vi. cap. vi.




[X‑37]  Dated at Gracias á Dios, December 24, 1545. Squier's MSS., xxii. 126.




[X‑38]  Herrera was actuated merely by selfish motives. He desired for himself
the office of ruler, and it was fortunate for the province that he did not obtain
it; for when in 1548 his residencia was taken by the licentiate Cerrato he was
proved to have been the most rapacious of all his colleagues.




[X‑39]  Report, dated Granada, April 23, 1547. Squier's MSS., xxii. 46.




[X‑40]  The laws were published in Nicaragua in 1545.




[X‑41]  This report was dated Leon, February 10, 1548. The principal
accusations contained therein are mere repetitions of those already mentioned.
See Squier's MSS., xxii. 98-100.




[X‑42]  He probably remained in Spain till 1554, as nothing further is recorded
of him until that year, when we hear of him as serving in Peru. He finally
appears in the act of swearing allegiance to Philip II. in Lima on the 25th of
July 1557. Datos Biog., in Cartas de Indias, 742.




[X‑43]  This convent was subsequently occupied by Dominicans, as the Flemish
friars abandoned it in 1531, travelling in company with Fray Marcos de Niza
to Costa Rica, Peru, Tierra Firme, Española, and Mexico. Vazquez, Chron.
Gvat., 21-2. Juan de Gandabo, a Franciscan friar, and one of the first that
came to Nicaragua, was still in Granada in 1536, where he labored in company
with Fray Francisco de Aragon. The place and date of his death are unknown.
Notas, Datos Biog., in Cartas de Indias, 762.




[X‑44] Gonzalez Dávila, in Teatro Ecles., i. 233.




[X‑45]  In the province of Oxomorio Bobadilla baptized 85; in Diria, 5,018; in
Mombacho, 3,241; in Masaya, 937; in Malapalte, 154; in Marinalte, 409; in
Lenderi, 2,917; in Managua, 1,116; in Matiari, 421; in Mavitiatomo, 75; in
Nagrando, Ariat, Mabitra, and Mahometombo, 585; in Maribio, 6,346; in
Zecoteaga, 2,169. 'É assi paresceme á mí que para esta creencia desta gente
nuevamente allegada á la iglesia, que es más menester de baptiçarlos é dexarlos,
pues que sin creer, como lo dice la mesma verdad evangélica, no se pueden
salvar, sino condenar.' Oviedo, iv. 59-60.




[X‑46]  During their journey they discovered a river which they named Nuestra
Señora. Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., iii. 511-13.




[X‑47]  The time of their arrival is given as 1550. Bienvenida, Lettre, in Ternaux-Compans,
Voy., série i. tom. x. 308.




[X‑48]  Named Tabizgalpa by Arias Gonzalo Dávila, who accompanied the expedition.




[X‑49]  In this chapter there have been consulted various documents in Pacheco
and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., i. 556, 563; iii. 84-8, 511-13; vii. 116-46; Cartas
de Indias, 710, 762, 775; Datos Biog., in Cartas de Indias, 36, 742, 857;
Col. Doc. Inéd., xxvi. 238; xlix. 21-3; l. 116; Squier's MSS., xiii. 3, 4;
xxii. 34-149; Oviedo, iii. 176-9; iv. 76-92, 112-15; Herrera, dec. iv. lib. i.
cap. ix.; lib. ix. cap. xv.; lib. x. cap. v.; dec. v. lib. vii. cap. ii.; dec. vi.
lib. i. cap. viii.; dec. vii. lib. vi. cap. v.; dec. viii. lib. i. cap. ix.; Remesal,
Hist. Chyapa, 105-7, 193-9, 203-6; Andagoya, Nar., 39; Vega, Hist. Descub.
Am., ii. 244-6; Gonzalez Dávila, Teatro Ecles., i. 234-5; Cogollvdo, Hist.
Yucathan, 345; Vazquez, Chron. Gvat., 252; Juarros, Guat., i. 49; Morelli,
Fasti Novi Orbis, 112; Benzoni, Hist. Mondo Nvovo, 105; Pelaez, Mem. Guat.,
i. 135; Pineda, in Soc. Mex. Geog., iii. 347; Kerr's Col. Voy., v. 175; Levy's
Nic., 67-73; Squier's States Cent. Am., i. 82.




[XI‑1]  It is claimed by some chroniclers that, in the time of Columbus, this
portion of the mainland was already known by the name of Costa Rica on
account of the fine specimens of gold discovered, principally in the Talamanca
district, where it abounded in streams and was obtained with little labor.
Molina, Bosquejo Costa R., 79; this author follows Navarrete. See also Bejarano,
Informe, MS. Morel de Sta. Cruz, Visita Apost., MS., 14, on the other
hand attributes the name to the rich pearl-fisheries which were found on the
coast and to the quality of the fruits, woods, and other products of the territory.




[XI‑2] Hist. Cent. Am., i. 484-5, this series.




[XI‑3]  I am inclined to believe that the original founders of Cartago were settlers
from the colony established by Francisco Hernandez de Córdoba at Brusélas,
on the gulf of Nicoya in 1524, and abandoned three years later by order
of Salcedo (see Hist. Cent. Am., i. 512, this series); more particularly as its
first site was known to have been close to the harbor of Caldera, and therefore
not far from the landing-place of Córdoba. It was next removed to a spot
near the Rio Taras, and thence to its present location. It is even claimed by
some that Cartago was the first city established in what was formerly called
the kingdom of Guatemala. Juarros makes this statement, basing his assertion
on a report made in 1744 by José de Mier y Ceballos to the engineer Luis
Diez Navarro. Referring to the same document he continues: 'It appears
by an edict preserved among the records, that the first governor and captain
general of Costa Rica was Diego de Astieda Chirinos.' Hist. Guat. (ed. London,
1823), 75, 341-2. These statements are repeated in Mosquito, Doc., 27, where
the governor is called Ostiega. See also Salv., Diar. Ofic., 30 Mar. 1876,
168. Molina, the modern historian of Costa Rica, follows Juarros and goes
even further when he says: 'Mais il est probable que sa fondation eut lieu
pendant le quatrième voyage de Colomb, en 1502 ... en 1522, Cartago, l'ancienne
capitale espagnole de la province, était une ville d'assez d'importance pour demander
qu'on voulût bien y fixer la résidence d'un gouverneur avec son secrétaire.
Diego de Astieda Chirinos paraît avoir été son premier gouverneur.' ...
Coup d'Oeil de Costa R. (ed. Paris, 1849), 4. That the above authors are in
error is proved by the fact that Diego de Artiega Cherino (as his name should
properly be written) was not appointed governor and captain general of Costa
Rica, Nicaragua, and Nicoya till 51 years later, namely, in 1575. Pacheco and
Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xvii. 559-65. Molina, in a subsequent work, also inclines
to the belief that Cartago was founded by those who abandoned the earlier
settlements, and corrects his former statement in regard to Columbus, merely
saying: 'El immortal Colon mismo en su cuarto viaje en el año de 1502,
tocó en varios puntos de su costa en el Atlántico.' Bosquejo Costa R., 10. It
is singular that Molina, in his treatise on the boundary question between
Costa Rica and Nicaragua, should not have referred to the document mentioned
by Juarros, and that he should have failed to use it in his Mem. Costa
R. and Nic. In Herrera, dec. vii. lib. iv. cap. xvii., the date of the founding
of Cartago is even removed to the time of Gutierrez, which may be correct,
inasmuch as he first gave to the province the name of Nueva Cartago.




[XI‑4]  The first boundaries appointed for the province are those mentioned in
the charter granted to Gutierrez, dated Madrid, November 29, 1540, wherein
they are described as 'extending from sea to sea, and from the frontier of
Veragua, running to the westward to the great river (Rio Grande), provided
that the coast adjoining said river on the side of Honduras should remain
under the government of Honduras, with power to Gutierrez to conquer and
settle any island in said river which should not be previously located by
Spaniards; and the right to the navigation, fisheries, and other advantages of
said river; and provided that he (Gutierrez) should not approach to within 15
leagues of the Lake of Nicaragua, because this territory of 15 leagues being
reserved, as well as said lake, were to remain in the possession of the government
of Nicaragua; but the navigation and fisheries both in that part of the
river granted to Gutierrez and in the 15 leagues reserved, and in the lake,
should be possessed in common, conjointly with the inhabitants of Nicaragua.'
Molina, Costa R. and Nic., 7. The author claims to possess a certified
copy of unpublished documents stored in the archives of Spain, in which he
states the conditions of the charter granted to Gutierrez. See also Oviedo,
iii. 179, and Levy's Nic., 67-73.




[XI‑5]  It is stated by some chroniclers that Contreras promised to furnish men
and provisions on condition that he be allowed a share of the spoils.




[XI‑6]  'A queste parole, rispose Diego Gottieres, che l'Imperatore gli haueua dato
quella Gouernatione perche la populasse, e non perche la rubasse, e se à gli
altri la fortuna era stata contraria, che haueua speranza in Dio che à lui gli
saria propitia, e che in modo alcuno no voleua lasciare la impresa, né manco
voleua compagnia alcuna.' Benzoni, Hist. Mondo Nvovo, 83.




[XI‑7]  Spelled also Suere. Benzoni, Mondo Nvovo, 85.




[XI‑8]  'E despues que allí estuvo un año ó más, porque faltaron los bastimentos,
se le amotinó la gente é se le tornaron á Nicaragua; é este gobernador
se quedó con seys hombres solos.... Pero aunque este gobernador estaba solo é
con tan pocos chripstianos ... no dexaban los indios naturales de les dar de
comer é oro, sin haçer mal ni daño á ninguno de los nuestros.' Oviedo, iii. 180.




[XI‑9]  'E cosi fece vintisette soldati, e trouandomi io in questa Città volsi esser
vno di que gli, ancora ch'io fussi ripreso da vno Spagnuolo antiano, ilquale era
andato nella prouincia di Cartagena, e santa Marta, e altri luoghi, per ispatio
di quindici anni, dicendomi, che in modo alcuno, mi lasciassi vincere di andare
à tale impresa, e che non volesse dar credito alcuno alle parole del Capitano.
Benzoni, Mondo Nvovo, 84-5.




[XI‑10]  Oviedo names the two caciques Cama and Coco: 'E cada dia traian oro
al gobernador, el qual, como hombre de ninguna espiriençia, prendió á uno
de aquellos caçiques, que estaban de paz, que se deçia el Cama (el qual era
muy rico), porque no le daba tanto oro como este gobernador le pedia.' iii. 180.




[XI‑11]  'Ia Gottierez dreigde Camachiren te verbranden; hoewel nu bereeds
verscheiden stukken gouds, met allerlei beesten, tijgers, visschen, vogelen konstig
geboetseert, die de prijs van twee tonnen gouds ophaelden, door de selve
begiftigt was. Sulk een schenkaedje scheen te gering. Hy bragt den gevangene
by een kist: en swoer, hy soude hem langsaem braeden, ten zy binnen
vier dagen ses mael meer goud verschafte als de kist laeden konde.' Montanus,
Nieuwe Weereld, 87.




[XI‑12]  'Et cosi partissimo, e à pena che fussimo saliti dalle case, io indiuinai
quello c'haueua da essere di noi altri, dicendo à vno Spagnuolo, noi andiamo
alla beccheria; e rispondendomi lui queste parole disse. Tu sei vno di quegli,
che gli vogliamo far guadagnare vn Prencipato al suo dispetto.' Benzoni,
Mondo Nvovo, 89.




[XI‑13]  This degradation so affected Cocori that he shed tears and promised, if
he were liberated, to bring the governor a quantity of gold. 'Et essendo poi
tutti noi altri in punto per marciare, e vedendo il Cacique come il Gouernatore
per dispregio lo voleua menare con lui carico, e con altri suoi Indiani,
con parte delle sue bagaglie; si attristò in tal maniera, che si messe à piangere,
come vn putto; e gli disse, che se voleua dargli libertà, che in termine
di quattro giorni, gli darebbe vna buona somma d'oro.' Benzoni, Mondo Nvovo,
89. But his promise availed him nothing.




[XI‑14]  Benzoni relates that being unable to eat his portion of dog-meat which
was full of worms, he went to the governor and demanded food. Diego told
him to go and eat of the roots of trees, whereupon a Spaniard who was standing
near exclaimed, 'Sir governor, since you will not share the good and the
bad with us, go and make war by yourself.' A piece of cheese weighing three
pounds was then divided among the men, who were thus pacified for that
night. The chronicler was on sentry during the early morning-watch, and
hearing the governor give orders to his cook to boil a piece of pork for his
breakfast paced to and fro near the fire till every one was asleep, when, sharpening
a piece of wood to a point, he speared the pork and secured the prize
in his knapsack, 'feeling better pleased,' he tells us, 'than if he had secured
a treasure.' Hist. New World, in Hakluyt, Divers Voy., 132.




[XI‑15]  The Rio Grande.




[XI‑16]  'Et hauendo combattuto dall' vna parte, e dall' altra per ispatio di mezo
quarto d'hora, e hauendo noi altri ammazzato, e ferito molti Indiani, e alla fine
fattogli voltare le spalle.' Benzoni, Hist. Mondo Nuovo, 91. Montanus states
that the entire battle lasted half an hour. 'Na een half uur vechten, deinsden
d'aenvallers; doch, met versche benden gestijft, hervatten den torn:
braeken tuschen de Spaensche slag-orde in: sloegen met palm-houte swaerden
en knodsen harsenen en beenen te pletteren.' Die Nieuwe Weereld, 88.




[XI‑17]  Oviedo says the governor was sick with gout at the time. 'Y el gobernador
en essa saçon mandaba mal su persona, porque andaba tullido de gota é
quatro negros le traian echado en una hamaca, lo qual le debiera bastar para
ser mas paçiente con los indios.' His statements differ materially from those
of Benzoni. He relates that the Spaniards were surprised in their camp and
that Gutierrez and 72 of his men were slain, seven only making their escape,
but it is not probable that he had so large a force under his command. iii. 181.
Rávago, in Squier's MSS., xiii. 3, says that only 44 or 45 days elapsed between
the landing of Gutierrez and his death, but his report concerning the early
history of the province is somewhat vague and unreliable.




[XI‑18]  There is little doubt that Benzoni's narrative of the expedition of Gutierrez
is somewhat colored in consequence of a rupture between himself and the
governor. 'The first day that we entered the port,' he says, 'the governor
graciously placed me at his table, and took pleasure in conversing with me.
The greater part of his conversation was about gold and silver, and the wars,
and the cruelties inflicted on wretched Italy, and especially on Milan. But
when he perceived that such subjects were disagreeable to me, he took a dislike
to me and never would bear the sight of me after.' It is, however, the
only complete record of that event, and I can but give his version of it.
Oviedo's information as to the early history of Costa Rica is taken from Juan
de Espinosa, who accompanied Alonso de Pisa to Cartago in one of his return
voyages. iii. 184. He was well acquainted with Gutierrez, and thus tries to
palliate his faults: 'Desalmados ó pláticos que por acá han andado, que á
los noviçios ó nuevamente venidos á gobernar los enseñen á robar;' and in consequence
thereof 'por enriquesçer, presto vuelven la hoja, é trocado el intento
con que partieron de España, si bueno era, ó afirmado en el cauteloso que en su
pecho estaba callado, en poco tiempo manifiestan las obras el contrario de las
palabras.' iii. 178.




Other authorities quoted in this chapter are Herrera, dec. vii. lib. iv. cap.
xvii.; Benzoni, Mondo Nvovo, lib. ii. 83-92; Bejarano, Informe; Haya, Informe;
Squier's MSS., xiii. 1-3; Juarros, Guat. (ed. London, 1823), 73-6, 341-5;
Molina, Coup d'Oeil de Costa R., 4; Molina, Bosquejo Costa R., 10, 83-92;
Molina, Costa R. and Nic., 6-8, 36-8; Mosquito Doc. 27, in 77-229; Morel de
Sta Cruz, Visita Apost., MS., 14; Reichardt, Cent. Am., 111, 112; Salv., Diar.
Ofic. 30 Mar. 1876, 618.




The time of Diego Gutierrez' fight with the Indians and death, as given
by Oviedo, is contradicted in an official manuscript extant that places it in
December 1544. It is the investigation made in Leon, Nicaragua, on the
25th of June, 1545, and the writer assures us he has an authenticated copy of
it. Peralta's autograph note in Peralta, Rio San Juan, 9.




[XII‑1] Arévalo, Col. Doc. Antig., 13. The law was soon modified by decrees of
Feb. 12, 1538, and of June 29 and November 8, 1539, by which prelates and
governors were directed to induce all eligible unmarried men holding encomiendas
to marry within three years. This, however, was to be accomplished
by persuasive means, or by distinguishing in favor of the married men in the distribution
of Indians, and not by coercive measures, Recop. de Indias, ii. 271-2.




[XII‑2]  'Y otros que aunque haya mugeres en la tierra, y ellos estén en edad que
todavia se sufra casarse, no las querrán por las enfermedades contagiosas que
de la tierra se han pegado.' Arévalo, Col. Doc. Antig., 14.




[XII‑3] Commentarios Reales, ii. 58.




[XII‑4] Vazquez, Chronica de Gvat., 158-9; Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 235;
Herrera, dec. vii. lib. ii. cap. x.




[XII‑5]  'Y que asimismo descubriese, por la costa de esta Nueva España que
llaman de la mar del Sur á la parte del norte, con dos navios.' Pacheco and
Cárdenas, Col. Doc., iii. 507. See also Oviedo, iv. 23.




[XII‑6] Vazquez, Chronica de Gvat., 158-9.




[XII‑7]  No greater proof could exist of the high favor in which Alvarado stood
at court than the arrangement of this second marriage. The lady being the
sister of his former wife, a special dispensation of the pope was required to
legalize the marriage; and through the influence of Cobos and the power of
the emperor a bull was granted. Such an authorization was rarely obtained.
Oviedo, iii. 214-15; Alvarado, Carta, in Arévalo, Col. Doc. Antig., 179; Gavarrete,
Copias de Doc., MS., 43-4; Gomara, Hist. Ind., 269; Torquemada, i.
323. Remesal, who is in error as to the date of this marriage, has this remark
respecting the dispensation. 'Licencia que se dà raras vezes.... Y entonces
parecio mayor liberalidad del Sumo Pontifice, por auer sido el primer matrimonio
consumado.' Hist. Chyapa, 17. See also Benzoni, Hist. Mondo Nuovo,
155.




[XII‑8] Alvarado, Carta, in Arévalo, Col. Doc. Antig., 179; Herrera, dec. vi.
lib. ii. cap. x. Oviedo says Alvarado brought 400 men; that he touched at
Española and took in supplies, staying there 17 days and leaving on March
12th. iii. 214-15. In Datos Biog. the number of men is given as 250, including
hijosdalgo and men-at-arms. The cargo included 300 arquebuses, 400 pikes,
200 ballestas, much artillery, and rich merchandise, valued at over 30,000
ducats. Cartas de Indias, 709. The date of his arrival is obtained from his
own letter to the cabildo of Santiago above quoted. Remesal states that
there existed in the archives of San Salvador a letter of exactly the same
tenor, but dated April 3d, and as he quotes the commencement, which is the
same as that of the letter preserved by Arévalo, it was either a duplicate, or
Remesal commits one of his careless errors. Gavarrete, in Copias de Doc.,
MS., 43-4, gives the date as the 1st of April.




[XII‑9]  Here, as will be hereafter related, Montejo surrendered to Alvarado his
claim to the provinces of Honduras and Higueras.




[XII‑10]  While at Santo Domingo on his return voyage Alvarado told Oviedo
that he had on the coast of the South Sea seven or eight ships built for his
proposed voyage to China and to the Spice and Molucca Islands. Oviedo, iii.
215.




[XII‑11]  His expenses were enormous. Bernal Diaz says, 'fueron tantos los gastos
que hizo que no le bastó la riqueza que traxo del Piru, ni el oro que le
sacavan de las minas ... ni los tributos de sus pueblos, ni lo que le presentaron
sus deudos y amigos, y lo que tomó fiado de mercaderes.' Hist. Verdad., 235.
His will, in which he made Bishop Marroquin his executor, shows that he
had numerous creditors, who had furnished ships, provisions, supplies, and
money. Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 185-6. Vazquez says the cost was over
200,000 pesos de oro.




[XII‑12] Niza, Descub., in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., iii. 325 et seq.




[XII‑13]  The claimants to this presumed right besides Alvarado were Viceroy
Mendoza, Cortés, Nuño de Guzman, Hernando de Soto, and the city of Compostela
in Nueva Galicia. Id., xv. 300 et seq. For further particulars, see
Hist. Mex., vol. ii., this series.




[XII‑14]  Mendoza states that he fitted out as best he could 12 ships. Carta, in
Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., iii. 507; Herrera, 12 deep-sea vessels, including
one of 13 and one of 20 benches of oars. Beaumont, 12 ships. Crón. Mich.,
ii. 252; Tello, Hist. N. Gal., 382, a fleet of ships; Bernal Diaz, 13 good sized
ships, including a galley and a patache. Hist. Verdad., 235; Vazquez, 13
ships. Chronica de Gvat., 159; Remesal, 10 or 12 large ships, a galley, and
fustas with oars. Hist. Chyapa, 161; so also, Gomara, Hist. Ind., 268-9, and
Torquemada, i. 323; Oviedo states that there were 13 ships, including large
and small; 3 galleons over 200 tons each, a fine galley and two fustas; the
other ships being of 100 tons burden and over, iv. 19, 20, 23; Juarros, 12
deep-sea vessels and 2 smaller ones. Gvat., i. 255, and Benzoni, Hist. Mondo
Nvovo, 154, 10 vessels and 4 brigantines. Bernal Diaz asserts that the fleet
was fitted out in Acajutla, and Tello at Realejo. Lastly Oviedo represents
Alvarado as sailing from Iztapa, when 8 ships were built, to Acajutla. There
is even more discrepancy with regard to the number of his men. Viceroy
Mendoza states that the force consisted of 400 men and 60 horses. Carta, in
Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., iii. 507; Oviedo of 1,000 men, some of whom
he brought from Spain, and others had seen service in the Indies; Herrera
that there were more than 800 soldiers and 50 horses; Bernal Diaz, 650 soldiers
besides officers, and many horses; Tello, 300 Spaniards; Beaumont, 800,
and 150 horses, and Benzoni, 700 soldiers.




[XII‑15]  Herrera states that Alvarado despatched his expedition to the coast of
Jalisco, there to wait for him, and went overland to Mexico, and Oviedo,
iv. 26, also entertains this view; but Mendoza and Gomara, Hist. Ind., 268-9,
distinctly states that he sailed with his fleet, and the former's testimony is
conclusive. Oviedo gives the additional information that Alvarado sent a
messenger to the emperor with an account of his expedition and drawings of
his fleet. Oviedo had an interview with the messenger and saw the drawings.
Vazquez wrongly asserts that on his voyage the adelantado discovered
Acajutla. Chronica de Gvat., 159. He had already done so as early as 1524.
See Hist. Cent. Am., i. 670, this series. Bernal Diaz wrongly gives 1538 as
the date of his sailing. Hist. Verdad., 236. The time of his departure was
about the middle of 1540, for on the 19th of May of that year the cabildo
requested him when on the point of departing with his fleets to take with him
the imprisoned princes Sinacam and Sequechul. Vazquez, Chron. Gvat., 30.




[XII‑16]  In Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., iii. 351-62, is a copy of the agreement
between Alvarado and the viceroy. Oviedo gives the copy of a letter
addressed by Mendoza to himself, in which the viceroy states that the king,
in his contract with Alvarado, was pleased to give him a share in the discoveries
without his knowledge or solicitation, iii. 540. Mendoza states that
this share was one half. Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., iii. 507. Article
20 of Alvarado's capitulation with the crown authorized him to give Mendoza
one third interest in his armament. Vazquez, Chronica de Gvat., 159.




[XII‑17]  'Acordamos despachar dos armadas; una para descubrir la costa desta
Nueva España, é otra que fuesse al Poniente en demanda de los Lequios y
Catayo.' Mendoza, Carta, in Oviedo, iii. 540.




[XII‑18] Hist. Mex., ii. 498 et seq., this series.




[XII‑19]  When asked where he suffered, 'echando sangre por la boca decia:
"Aquí y el alma;"' and when the priest arrived to confess him he exclaimed:
'Señor, sea bien llegado para remedio de una alma tan pecadora.' Tello, Hist.
N. Gal., 393.




[XII‑20]  His injunctions with regard to the disposal of his remains were but
tardily carried out. Datos Biograficos, in Cartas de Indias, 709-10, 745; Tello,
Hist. N. Gal., 395; Beaumont, Crón. Mich., iv. 276-7. Bernal Diaz erroneously
states that he was buried at Purificacion. Hist. Verdad., 236. According
to a clause in the will of Bishop Marroquin, made in 1563, Alvarado's
remains were still at Tiripitío, 'donde està enterrado, que es en Tyrepati.'
The former left 200 ducats to the convent where Alvarado was buried. He
also left 1,000 pesos de oro de minas to found a chaplaincy in the church at
Guatemala, that masses might be there said for his soul. Some years after
the death of the bishop the daughter of the adelantado had her father's remains
transferred from Tiripitío to Guatemala, where they were interred with great
solemnity in the cathedral. Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 190. Gonzalez Dávila says,
'En el año 1542 el Obispo comẽçó à executar el testamento del Gouernador
D. Pedro de Aluarado,' and erroneously adds ... 'y el Obispo trasladó su cuerpo
de Mexico à Santiago.' Teatro Ecles., li. 148.




[XII‑21] Tello, Hist. N. Gal., 394-5; Beaumont, Crón. Mich., iv. 274-6; Remesal,
Hist. Chyapa, 161-2; this last author, page 187, states that Marroquin in
carrying out the intentions of Alvarado's will, ordered the payment to be
made for a set of clerical vestments which the friar Betanzos ordered him to
furnish as a penance in 1528. Bernal Diaz remarks, 'Some say a will was
made, but none has appeared.' Hist. Verdad., 236.




[XII‑22]  The viceroy states that Alvarado's debts amounted to 50,000 pesos de
minas, to which must be added 15,000 more expended by himself on his account.
Carta, in Cartas de Indias, 253-4, and fac-simile R. Bishop Marroquin,
August 1541, says that he left at his death debts to the amount of 50,000
pesos. Id., 429, fac-simile V.




[XII‑23] Mendoza, Carta, in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., iii. 507-8.




[XII‑24]  In the valley near Santiago Alvarado had a large plantation with many
married slaves, collected in the following manner: Soon after the conquest
he summoned the principal lords and demanded from each so many families,
with their head, who without more ado were branded and placed on his
plantation. These the bishop declared should thenceforth be free, and
possess and dwell on the lands they had previously tilled, with the sole
obligation of supporting two chaplaincies, founded by this same instrument,
for the purpose of saying daily mass for the repose of the souls of Alvarado
and his wife. An altar in the cathedral dedicated to St Peter was also
ordered to be founded, before which the aforesaid masses were to be said.
The slaves in the gold-mines are next declared set free, and are to reside on
his plantation; not, however, until the debts of Alvarado shall have been
paid, during which time their needs of soul and body were to receive careful
attention. The will concludes with an enumeration of Alvarado's property,
in which ships, artillery, lands, negroes, houses, live-stock, etc., figure. It
was apparently never executed, for the audiencia of Mexico ordered that the
encomiendas of Alvarado which were the best and most numerous of the
provinces of Guatemala should not be given to any one, but that one or two
competent persons be appointed to take charge of and manage them, and that
the proceeds be devoted to the public works of the city and cathedral and
the opening of roads, building of bridges, and the assisting of poor people to
rebuild their homes. On the 10th of October 1542 a royal decree was issued
declaring that all the Indians and towns belonging to Alvarado were the
property of the crown. This decree was not published, however, until Jan.
8, 1544. A protest was entered against it by the city as being detrimental
to the public interest, but it seems to have had no effect, as the royal factor
was instructed to collect the tribute of the said towns, and take charge of
the Indians. Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 181-90. Bishop Marroquin, in a letter
to the emperor, dated March 15, 1545, recommends that his debts be paid,
as many needy persons will thereby be benefited. Squier's MSS., xxii. 138.
And again in June of the same year, he states that Alvarado having left no
legal heirs, the estate reverted to the crown, and repeats his previous recommendation
that the debts be paid, adding that the creditors were suffering,
many of them being in prison for debt. Cartas de Indias, 441-2. Consult
also Testimonio, in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xiii. 268-70.




[XII‑25] Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 172.




[XII‑26]  'Fue mejor soldado, que Gouernador.' Gomara, Hist. Ind., 269.




[XII‑27]  In a letter to the council of the Indies he says: 'Pues todo lo que yo
estubiere sin ocuparme en algo en que sirba á Su Mag. lo tengo por muy mal
gastado.' Carta, in Squier's MSS., xix. 31.




[XII‑28]  He wrote to the emperor requesting that no change be made in his commission,
as he had learned that Cortés was soliciting permission to undertake
the conquest he meditated. Herrera, dec. vii. lib. ii. cap. x.; Beaumont, Crón.
Mich., iv. 252-3.




[XII‑29]  I give herewith a copy of Alvarado's epitaph:







'El que Augusto le tuvo merecido


En este angosto monumento yace


Y Fenis de sus glorias hoy renace


Burlando su memoria del olvido


Mexico intime en eco repetido


Alabanzas qe. el tiempo las enlace


Qe. si tanto valor se satisface


Lo qe. a Romulo Roma le ha debido


Conquista fundacion y poblasiones


Y haber la idolatria disipado


Deshaciendo las nieblas de opiniones


Obrando bien con ser adelantado


Si hay sujeto capas de estos blazones


Todo cabe en D. Pedro de Alvarado.


Requiescat in pace.'





It is copied literally from Gavarrete, Copias de Doc., MS., 53. Gonzalez
Dávila, in 1649, makes this extraordinary statement: 'Murio en Mexico, y yaze
en el Convento de Santo Domingo.' He also says that Ivan Diaz de la Calle,
'Oficial Mayor de la Secretaria de Nueua-España,' dedicated to Alvarado the
following epitaph, which was to serve until one was written such as the
memory of his feats and actions deserved:




Monument
'Yaze En Este Angosto Monumento, el que merecia mas Augusto, que fue para
la Nobilissima Ciudad de Guatimala, lo que para Roma
Romulo; El famoso por la virtud de su valor, y vitorias,
Don Pedro de Alvarado, del Abito de Santiago, Adelantado, Gouernador,
Capitan General, Conquistador, Fundador, y Poblador desta Ilustrissima
Ciudad de Guatimala. Que la dio Templos, Leyes, Costumbres, y Ritos.
Despues de auer deshecho en muchas batallas el engaño de la Idolotria,
poniendo para siempre cessacion en sus Altares, y Aras. Passó a la inmortalidad
de que ya goza en el Año 1541.' Teatro Ecles., i. 140.




[XII‑30] Juarros, Guat., i. 347.




[XII‑31]  Doña Leonor married Pedro Puertocarrero and afterward Francisco de
la Cueva, brother of Alvarado's wife. Pedro was legitimized by the emperor.
This was, according to Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 237, the natural
son, mentioned also by Saavedra, in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., vii.
247-50, who went to the court of Spain to claim moneys due to his father,
and whom Saavedra recommended urgently to Las Casas the councillor of
state. Diego was slain in 1554 by Indians at the defeat at Chuquinga. Marroquin
informs the emperor that Alvarado left six sons and daughters 'desnudos
syn abrigo alguno.' Cartas de Indias, 429, 432-3, 709-10; Gomara, Hist.
Ind., 269. Another son named Gomez, by an Indian girl in Guatemala, is
mentioned in the will afterward framed by Bishop Marroquin. Remesal, Hist.
Chyapa, 185. For an account of the presentation of Xicotencatl's daughter
to Alvarado, see Hist. Mex., i. 227-30, this series.




[XIII‑1]  Originally written Giapa, as appears from several original cédulas and
other documents bearing dates as late as 1579. Guat., Col. de Cédulas Reales,
passim. The meaning of the word is differently explained, Chiapan signifying
'locality of the chia' (oil-seed), also 'sweet water.' Native Races, ii. 126.
According to Mazariegos it is derived from 'Tepetchia,' 'Battle hill,' the
name of the stronghold where the Chiapanecs fortified themselves against the
Mexicans. Mem. Chiapa, 12.




[XIII‑2]  See Native Races, v. 231, this series.




[XIII‑3] Id., i. 681-2; v. 603-4.




[XIII‑4]  For the aboriginal history of these people I would refer the reader to my
Native Races of the Pacific States, vol. v., passim.




[XIII‑5] Mazariegos, Mem. Chiapa, 5, 6; Cortés, Diario, xix. 390; Juarros, Guat.,
i. 10; Id. (ed. London, 1823), 210; Larrainzar, Soconusco, 16; Remesal, Hist.
Chyapa, 264.




[XIII‑6]  Mazariegos states that harsh treatment drove the Indians to revolt, citing
as instances that youths of 20 years and under were sold as slaves at the rate
of no more than three pesos fuertes; that fugitives were hunted down with
bloodhounds, and that any one found warming himself at a fire after eight
o'clock at night was hanged. Mem. Chiapa, 6, 7. In these statements he is
guilty of anachronism. The law regarding the extinguishing of fires was
passed on the 15th of August 1528, and that arranging the price of slaves in
October of the same year, the former being almost immediately annulled with
regard to the punishment of hanging; but both were enacted after the subjugation
of the Indians. Consult Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 276, 278-9.




[XIII‑7]  Called also Chiapan. This river takes its rise in the Chuchumatan
mountains. Brasseur de Bourbourg, Hist. Nat. Civ., iv. 574. It and its affluents
form the head-waters of the Tabasco or Grijalva. The Spaniards were
moving up the left bank, the town of Chiapas being on the opposite side
somewhat higher.




[XIII‑8]  This force is less than that given by Gomara and others. Bernal Diaz
states that there were five other horsemen, who, however, could not be
counted as fighting men. The artilleryman he describes as 'muy cobarde,'
and informs us that the natives of Cachula, 'Ibã tẽblando de miedo, y por
halagos los llevamos q̃ nos ayudassen á abrir Camino, y llevar el fardaje.'
He also asserts that the levy was held in lent, 1524, adding 'Esto de los años
no me acuerdo bien.' His memory was correct, however, as is proved by
Godoy's despatch to Cortés, which will be frequently quoted later.




[XIII‑9]  The Indians of Chiapas and its district were the terror of surrounding
towns, and were incessantly at war with those of Cinacantlan and of the towns
about Lake Quilenayas, robbing, killing, reducing to slavery, and sacrificing
captives. They even waylaid merchant trains on the roads between Tehuantepec
and other provinces. Bernal Diaz states that without exception they
were the greatest warriors of all New Spain, superior even to the Tlascaltecs
and Mexicans.




[XIII‑10]  The number of natives killed as related by Bernal Diaz is so disproportionately
small that some error must have crept into his text. He says, 'Hallamos
quinze dellos muertos, y otros muchos heridos q̃ no se pudierõ ir.' Hist.
Verdad., 178.




[XIII‑11]  Bernal Diaz remarks that Chiapas could in truth be called a city, for its
streets were well laid out, and its houses strongly built, containing more than
4,000 heads of families.




[XIII‑12] Id., Godoy, Rel., in Barcia, i. 167; Gomara, Hist. Mex., 233. Brasseur
de Bourbourg suggests that these aprons were made of india-rubber. Hist.
Nat. Civ., iv. 574; but Bernal Diaz, 178, says, 'Cõ buenas armas de algodõ,'
and Gomara, 'vnos paneses rodados de algodon hilado.'




[XIII‑13]  Bernal Diaz' contempt of this man is expressed by an epithet particularly
offensive to a Spaniard, 'nuestro negro Artillero que llevavavamos'(sic)
'(q̃ bien negro se podra llamar).' Hist. Verdad., 179.




[XIII‑14]  'Y traian en vn brasero sahumerio, y vnos idolos de piedra.' Id.




[XIII‑15]  'Y diximos al Fraile q̃ nos encomendase á Dios.' Id.




[XIII‑16]  'Nos hirierõ cesique á todos los mas, y a algunos á dos, y á tres heridas.'
Id., 180.




[XIII‑17]  Three prisons of latticed timbers were discovered in the city. These
were filled with captives who had been seized on the roads. Among them
some were from Tehuantepec, others were Zapotecs and Soconuscans. Many
Indians also were found sacrificed, and in the temples were hideous idols, 'y
hallamos muchas cosas malas de sodomias que vsavan.' Id., 180.




[XIII‑18]  Called by Bernal Diaz Gueyhuiztlan, also Guequiztlan, Gueguistitlan,
and Guegustitlan, which are probably misprints. Hist. Verdad., 180-1.
Godoy spells it Huegueyztean. Rel., in Barcia, i. 168. The first author writes
for Cinacantlan, Cinacatan; Godoy, Cenacantean; and Herrera, Canacantean.
dec. iii. lib. v. cap. ix.




[XIII‑19]  Godoy in his despatch to Cortés states that Medina was released on bail,
but that on their return to Espíritu Santo he had imprisoned him, and that
justice would be dealt him. Bernal Diaz, however, states that Marin ordered
him to be sent under guard to Cortés: 'y luego manda que por la posta le
lleuassen a Mexico, para que Cortés le castigasse.' Hist. Verdad., 180. Herrera,
followed by Brasseur de Bourbourg, asserts that Godoy sent him to Cortés.
dec. iii. lib. v. cap. ix. Oviedo makes no mention of the circumstance.
Bernal Diaz informs us that the offender was a soldier of high standing, and
refrains from giving his name for the sake of his honor, but with amusing
inconsistency states that he will mention it later, which he does on page 198.
Medina's fate was tragic, but merited; he was killed by Indians at Xicalanco,
for particulars of which event see Hist. Cent. Am., i. 543-4, this series.
Remesal and Beaumont give a version of his death somewhat different from that
of Bernal Diaz, who is the more reliable authority. They state that Medina had
been sent after Cortés to inform him of the disturbances which had arisen in
Mexico during his absence on the Honduras expedition, and that he was captured
by the Indians of Xicalanco, who, sticking splinters of pitch-pine into his
body and setting fire to them, made him walk round a hole in the ground till
he expired. Hist. Chyapa, 164; Crón. Mich., MS., 322.




[XIII‑20]  It was here that Ciudad Real, or Chiapas de los Españoles, was founded
later. Id., 181; Godoy, Rel., in Barcia, i. 167.




[XIII‑21]  Cinacantlan lay between Chiapas and Chamula about three leagues from
the latter. Hist. Verdad., 180.




[XIII‑22]  Called Chamolla by Herrera, and also by Gomara. Conq. Mex., 233;
Chamolán by Ixtlilxochitl. Horribles Crueldades, 71.




[XIII‑23]  Godoy states that the horsemen were divided into three troops, which
were stationed so as to form a cordon round the hill; Bernal Diaz that the
cavalry attempted the steep, but were found to be useless, and that Marin
therefore ordered them to retire, as he feared an attack from the towns of
Quiahuitlan (Huehueiztlan?).




[XIII‑24]  'Yno les podiamos hazer daño ninguno con los grandes mamparos que
tenian, y ellos à nosotros si, que siempre herian muchos de los nuestros.'
Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 181. Godoy on the contrary says that the
Chamulans sustained heavy loss from the cannon and cross-bows. Rel., in
Barcia, i. 167-8.




[XIII‑25]  Godoy makes no mention of the building of these sheds.




[XIII‑26]  'Y agua y sangre toda rebuelta, y mui caliente,' was also showered down
upon the Spaniards according to Bernal Diaz. Godoy says 'nos echaban
mucha agua caliente, embuelta en ceniça, i cal.'




[XIII‑27]  Bernal Diaz gives a glowing account of the shower of golden ornaments:
'Y nos echaron desde las almenas siete diademas de oro fino, y muchas cuentas
vaziadizas, é otras joyas como caracoles y anades todo de oro.' Hist. Verdad.,
181. Godoy on the contrary says: 'echaron vn poco de Oro desde dentro,
diciendo, que dos Petacas tenian de aquello.' Rel., in Barcia, i. 168. Herrera
and Gomara follow Godoy.




[XIII‑28]  Three o'clock in the afternoon. Bernal Diaz is frequently at variance
with Godoy in minor points, and from his account this would be either the
third day of the siege, or the assault with the sheds was commenced on the
first day; neither of these statements agreeing with Godoy. I consider the
latter more reliable in many matters of detail, as he wrote almost immediately
after the occurrences.




[XIII‑29]  Bernal Diaz was slightly wounded by a spear-thrust in the contest which
occurred before the rain-storm, and was only saved by the thickness of his
cotton corslet. He claims to have discovered the ruse of the Chamulans in
planting their spears in position, but on this point his narrative is doubtful.
Godoy says, 'I hallamonos burlados ... i subiendo el Albarrada, no havia
Hombre dentro.' Rel., in Barcia, i. 168.




[XIII‑30]  'Hallamos harto de comer, que bien lo haviamos menester, à causa que
los dos Dias no haviamos comido, ni teniamos que ni aun los Caballos.' Id.
Ixtlilxochitl, contrary to Bernal Diaz, Godoy, Gomara, and Herrera, states
that they obtained much booty but few provisions. Horribles Crueldades, 71.




[XIII‑31]  Godoy states that 200 Indians had been killed on the first day of the
siege; while on the second so many fell that they were not counted. The
town was assigned by Luis Marin to Bernal Diaz, as a reward for having first
entered it, and Cortés ratified the grant for a period of eight years. When
Ciudad Real was founded the population of Chamula was transferred thither.
Hist. Verdad., 181.




[XIII‑32]  Godoy states that this opinion was unanimous. In this portion of the
narrative he and Bernal Diaz are thoroughly at variance, the latter evidently
having wished to remain. Considerable dissension occurred. Alonso de
Grado, whom Bernal Diaz describes as a turbulent rather than a fighting
man, produced a cédula signed by Cortés assigning to him half the town of
Chiapas as an encomienda. On the strength of it he demanded of Marin half
the gold collected at that city, which was refused him on the ground that it
was needed to pay for the horses that had been killed. An angry dispute
followed, in which Godoy became involved, and it was terminated by the
lieutenant putting both him and Grado in irons and keeping them prisoners
six or seven days. Then Grado was sent under guard to Mexico, where he
was severely reprimanded by Cortés, and Godoy released by the intercession
of friends. Hist. Verdad., 182. Now Godoy mentions nothing of this affair,
but states that Grado went to Chiapas, and other Spaniards to towns 'que
alli el Teniente les havia depositado,' and were well received. Rel., in Barcia,
i. 169.




[XIII‑33]  Both Herrera and Remesal state that this first expedition of Mazariegos
was undertaken in 1524, and in this statement only, and in the number of
the forces, do they agree. Herrera's account of the campaign of 1524 is copied
almost word for word by Remesal in his narration of the one in 1526; and
the former author as lightly mentions Mazariegos' second expedition as Remesal
does his first. The latter may, however, in this instance, be relied upon,
as he quotes from the archives of Mexico. The entrance of Pedro Puertocarrero
into Chiapas from Guatemala is mentioned by both authors, as an incident
of the campaign which each describes, but it is impossible to believe that
Alvarado could have spared that officer with a body of troops during the
eventful year 1524, when fully occupied with the conquest of Guatemala. I
have, therefore, adopted Remesal's chronology. It is strange that he does not
seem to have had any knowledge of Marin's expedition, as related by Herrera.
This somewhat perplexes Juarros, who remarks that Bernal Diaz' narration
is 'circumstantially so different from the relation of Remesal as to induce a
belief that the latter had been misled by false information.' Guat. (ed. London,
1823), 210-11.




[XIII‑34] Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 221-2. Guzman was a near relative of the
Duke of Medina Sidonia. Id.




[XIII‑35]  Mazariegos was cousin to Alonso de Estrada, then governor of Mexico.
Remesal gives the names of more than 80 officers and soldiers who accompanied
the expedition. Noticeable among them is that of Juan Enriquez de Guzman,
who appears to have returned to Mexico after the outbreak. In the same
list appear the names of two priests, Pedro de Castellanos and Pedro Gonzalez.
Hist. Chyapa, 265. From Bernal Diaz we learn that Mazariegos was
instructed to take Guzman's residencia. Hist. Verdad., 222. It was the
performance of this duty, perhaps, which, at a later date, made Guzman so
bitter an enemy of Mazariegos.




[XIII‑36]  'Pelearon, hasta que pudieron leuantar los braços.' Herrera, dec. iii. lib.
v. cap. xiv.




[XIII‑37]  'Se despeñaron mas de quinze mil dellos en dos vezes que fueron conquistados.'
Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 330.




[XIII‑38]  It stands, though in a ruined state, to this day. Mazariegos, Mem. Chiapa,
13. The traveller Thomas Gage, who wrote in 1677, remarks that the
country of Chiapas 'surpasseth all the rest of America in that one and famous
and most populous town of Chiapa of the Indians,' which later he says 'is
held to be one of the biggest Indian towns in all America, containing at
least 4,000 families.' New Survey, 219, 233.




[XIII‑39]  The object of Puertocarrero's presence is considered by Remesal to have
been the extension of territory under the government of Alvarado. Hist. Chyapa,
265-6. Another author states that at the commencement of the revolt
the Spaniards had hurriedly fled to Comitlan, where they sent word to Alvarado
in Guatemala. Mazariegos, Mem. Chiapa, 10. The reader is aware that
Alvarado was in Spain at this period.




[XIII‑40] Hist. Chyapa, 279. The colonists of Espíritu Santo also laid claim to
the territories of Chiapas and Cachula, as is seen in a royal cédula of 1538, in
Puga, Cedulario, 115. Juarros says that Puertocarrero being informed of the
disturbances in Chiapas considered it his duty to repair thither and endeavor
to restore tranquillity. Guat. (ed. London, 1823), 214.




[XIII‑41]  These appointments had been extended by Alonso de Estrada in November
1527. On the 6th of March the municipality drew up a tariff of fines,
ordered a pillory and scaffold to be erected, and transacted other business.
Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 268-9.




[XIII‑42]  Guez Gueizacatlan as spelled by Juarros, Hist. Guat., 61.




[XIII‑43]  A coat of arms was granted to the town in 1535. It was as follows:
A shield with two mountain ranges with a river flowing between them; above
on the right a castle, Or with a lion rampant against it; on the left a palm
Vert in fruit, and another lion rampant, all on a field, Gules. A decree of
the state congress of July 27, 1829, again changed the name of the place to
Ciudad de San Cristóbal. Pineda, in Soc. Mex. Geog., iii. 371-2. Consult
also Gonzalez Dávila, Teatro Ecles., i. 188-9, where will be found a wood-cut
design of the arms; Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 271, 272-3; Mazariegos, Mem.
Chiapa, 18-19; Juarros, Guat., i. 12; Pineda, Descrip. Geog., 48. For meaning
of viciosa see Hist. Mex., i. 145.




[XIII‑44]  The office of alguacil mayor was at last sold for 4,687 pesos; those of the
eight regidors for 400 pesos each; that of the public administrator for 4,200
tostones—the toston being half a peso—that of escribano publico for 627 pesos,
and later for 1,110 pesos. Purida, in Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin, iii. 370.




[XIII‑45]  For the incidents that occurred before the capture of the town of Chiapas
the account of Bernal Diaz has been accepted as the base of this narrative,
but the version of Diego de Godoy, an 'escribano del rey,' who accompanied
the expedition, is also worthy of credit. The latter furnished Cortés
with two reports of the proceedings, though his first one, which was written
from Cinacantlan, has not yet appeared in print, and is perhaps no longer
extant. The second despatch was written from Espíritu Santo, and was first
published at Toledo by Caspa de Ávila on the 20th of October 1525, together
with the fourth letter of Cortés to the king of Spain, and again in Valencia
by George Costilla on the 12th of July 1526. In 1749 Andrés Gonzalez de
Barcia reproduced it in Madrid, in his collection of the works of the chroniclers.
Godoy's account and that of Bernal Diaz, though agreeing in the
main features of the campaign, are strangely contradictory in many particulars.
In weighing the credibility of their statements it should be borne
in mind that the former wrote his despatch immediately after the conclusion
of the campaign, while the latter wrote from memory many years afterward.
It is beyond dispute that Marin commanded this expedition, as appears from
his own despatch and the statements of Bernal Diaz; yet in Gomara, Hist.
Mex., 233; Herrera, dec. iii. lib. v. cap. viii., and Brasseur de Bourbourg,
Hist. Nat. Civ., iv. 573, it is stated that Godoy was in charge, Marin being
second in command.




[XIV‑1]  Benzoni spells the word Achla and states that the town was situated at
a distance of about two bow-shots from the shore. Mondo Nuovo, 77. For a
description of its site see Hist. Cent. Am., i. 418, this series. Girolamo Benzoni,
in 1541, joined the Spaniards in their forays for gold and slaves, and
traversed the Central American provinces. Regarded doubtless as an interloper
he does not appear to have met with the success he expected, and in
1556 returned to Italy determined to vent his spite by an exposé of Spanish
greed and cruelty. In 1565 he published the work entitled La Historia del
Mondo Nuovo, dedicated to Pius IV., and containing 18 wood-cuts, with his
own portrait on the frontispiece. The second edition, somewhat amplified,
appeared in 1572, followed by quite a number of reprints and translations,
particularly in German and Latin. The well known version by Chauveton,
doctor and protestant preacher at Geneva, the Novæ Novi Orbis Historiæ,
Geneva, 1578, was frequently reissued. The dedication praises Benzoni for
exactitude and impartiality, and notes by other writers are added to confirm
and explain the text. De Bry gave further value to this version by means of
maps and fancy plates. Purchas, among others, treated it with less respect
in offering merely 'Briefe extracts translated out of Ierom Benzo.' Amends
were made for this slight in 1857, when the only full English version was issued
by Admiral Smyth, under the auspices of the Hakluyt Society. The
rendering is somewhat faulty, however, and the corrections of Benzoni's uncultured
style and misspelled names not always an improvement.




Benzoni had evidently the intention of writing a more imposing general
history of the New World, though it dwindled into a short narrative. There
is an apparent effort at moderation, particularly with regard to himself, yet
the disposition to exaggerate, or to lie, as Thevet intimates, crops out even in
his sarcasms, and yielding to credulity he allows a great part of the narrative,
on events or phenomena, to become merely the record of jangling and
weird rumors current among gossips. This he partly admits by saying: 'In
molte cose ho trouato che vna parte non conforma con l'altra, à causa che
ogn'uno fauorisce il suo capitano, et più dico, che in questi paesi si trattano
poche verità.' lib. iii. fol. 128. 'Lo mas de su narracion sacó de los autores
precedentes con bastante fidelidad, pero comunmente sin juicio ni examen. En
los principios está lleno de errores.' Muñoz, Hist. Nuevo Mundo, tom. i. xxi.-ii.
Robertson refers to him as a discontented detractor. He does not feel well
affected toward Las Casas, despite their common aim, but calls him a vain
man, incapable of carrying out his reform promises. Whatever may be said
against the work, much of the material is valuable, as it embraces facts
glossed over by the chroniclers, and gives the personal observations of a man
not imbued with Castilian partiality. Indeed, Pinelo calls him an 'Autor
poco afecto à los Españoles,' Epitome, tom. ii. 589, and they very naturally
have returned the compliment by neglecting him.




A contemporary of Benzoni as traveller and author is the Frenchman
André Thevet, who claims to have travelled for 17 years round the world, to
acquire a proper knowledge of men and things, and who is credited with
having mastered 28 languages. The result of his observations was issued at
Paris in 1558 as, Les singularitez de la France Antarctique, autrement nommée
Amerique, containing philosophic dissertations on natural and moral history
in the Levant, Africa, and America, and remarkable chiefly for credulity and
want of critique. It attained several editions which are now sought for their
rarity, among them, Historia dell'India America, di Andrea Tevet. Venice,
1561. He also wrote the Cosmographie universelle, Paris, 1575, 2 vols.
folio, which is even more valueless, and admired only for its wood-cuts; the
Cosmographie du Levant. Lyon, 1556; and the Cosmographie moscovite, published
only in Paris 1858; and he left several other pieces in manuscript.
De Thou refers to him rather severely as follows: 'Fuit patriâ engolimensis,
professione primó Franciscanus, dein, cum vix litteras scìret, abjecto cucullo
ex monacho celeberrimus planus religiosis et aliis peregrinationibus primam
ætatem contrivit, ex quibus famâ contractâ, animum ad libros seribendos
ineptâ ambitione applicavit, quos alieno calamo plerumque exacatos et ex itinerariis
vulgaribus atque hujusmodi de plebe Scripturis consarcinatos miseris
librariis pro suis venditabat: nam alioqui litterarum, antiquitatis atque omnis
temporum rationis supra omnem fidem fuit imperitus, ut fere incerta pro certis,
falsa pro veris et absurda semper sciberet.' Hist., lib. xi.




[XIV‑2]  This epithet they applied to all Christians.




[XIV‑3]  For the condition of the native settlements in Honduras, see Montejo,
Cartas, in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., ii. 223-4, 228, 240-1; and
Squier's MSS., xxii. 24-6.




[XIV‑4]  By cédula, dated July 20, 1532, they were exempted from other than a
nominal tribute of two reals, Juarros, Guat., i. 74; ii. 343; but this order
was unheeded. In 1547 the survivors drew up a memorial to the emperor
representing their past services and sufferings, and petitioning for their rights.
The document was written by a friar and referred to the licentiate Cerrato,
who was instructed to see that justice was done to them. Memorial, 1547,
MS., in Centro América, Extractos Sueltos, 41-2. An attempt was made at a
later date to impose tribute upon their descendants; but the Mexican government
confirmed them in their rights in 1564: 'Fueron amparados en posesion
de su libertad, y se libró en Tenuctitlan á 6 de noviembre de 1564 real provision,
que conservan los naturales de Almolonga en fólios de pergamino
encuadernados en forma de libro, empastado con tablas finas, y forrado en
terciopelo carmesi,' etc. Pelaez, Mem. Guat., i. 167.




[XIV‑5]  In the time of Alvarado the tribute of cacao was 1,400 xiquipiles, and this
was paid until 1542. Requête d'Atitlan, in Ternaux-Compans, Voy., série i.
tom. x. 420-2. A xiquipil was 8,000, and the number of chocolate-beans
contributed was therefore 11,200,000.




[XIV‑6] Regio, Ind. Devastat., 38-40. How populous the country was may be
imagined from the fact that Alvarado represented it as exceeding Mexico in
the number of its inhabitants. 'Et ipsemet tyrannus scripsit majorem esse
in hac provincia populi frequentiam, quám in Regno Mexico, quod & verum
est.' Id. Las Casas also states that, when the Spaniards first entered the
country, the towns and villages were so many and large and so densely populated
that those who marched in advance not infrequently returned to the
captain demanding a reward for having discovered another city equal in size
to Mexico. Hist. Apolog., MS., 28.




[XIV‑7]  It will be remembered, however, that Alvarado procured relays of Indians
from Guatemala to pack his material and supplies from Trujillo to Iztapa.
Enough were left, remarks Remesal, upon whom to wreak his vengeance, and
the Cakchiquel and Quiché princes, who appeared before him to do him homage,
became the first victims. They were reproached with the reforms brought
about in their favor, during his absence, as of crimes worthy of capital punishment;
for daring to complain to the governor they were accused of rebellion.
Nameless adventurers, who had been unable to extort enough gold from them,
or take from them their vassals to work in their fields and houses, pretended
that the ill-will of these chiefs had caused their ruin, and loudly demanded
that the adelantado should grant new repartimientos according to their services.
Alvarado, who was wounded to the quick by the appointment of
Maldonado, listened to all these complaints, and now displayed his usual brutality.
Prince Cook, Ahtzib of the Cakchiquel crown, he ran through with
a sword. Tepepul, king of Gumarcaah, or Utatlan, and the Ahpozotzil Cahi
Imox, together with a large number of lords, were cast into a prison on some
frivolous pretext. When on the point of sailing from Iztapa, Alvarado being
requested by the municipal council to determine their fate, settled the matter
by hanging the latter and putting the former together with a number of the
leading caciques on board his fleet. All of them perished miserably on the
coast of Jalisco. Among his other victims was a lord called Chuwi-Tziquinu
and 17 other Cakchiquel princes, whom he took with him from Santiago under
pretence of conducting them to Mexico. When a short distance from the city
he caused them all to be strangled. Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, lib. iv. cap. iv.
v. xx.; Brasseur de Bourbourg, Hist. Nat. Civ., iv. 797-801; Pelaez, Mem.
Guat., i. 77.




[XIV‑8] Real Cédula de 17 de Novre 1526, in Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin, v. 326-31.
In the preamble to this decree the emperor states that it is notorious that
excessive toil in mines and at other labor and the want of food and proper
clothing had caused the death of such numbers that some parts of the country
had become depopulated, while whole districts were abandoned by the natives,
who had fled to the mountains and forests to escape ill-treatment. This
cédula, designed to apply to the king's dominions in the west from Panamá
to Florida, ordered diligent inquiry to be made relative to the killing, robbery,
and illegal branding of Indians, and that the perpetrators should be delivered
over to the council of the Indies. Other provisos were that slaves
should be restored to their native country, and if this were not possible
they were to be placed in reasonable liberty, nor were they to be
too heavily worked or made to labor in the mines or elsewhere against
their will. In future expeditions of discovery and colonization the leader
was to take with him two ecclesiastics at least, who were to use greatest diligence
in obtaining kindly treatment for the Indians. Natives who were
peaceably inclined were not to be made slaves; at the same time the promotion
of morality and good customs was not left out of sight, and in cases
where it might be deemed beneficial by the priest they might be assigned to
Christian Europeans as free servitors; and lastly no discoverer was to take
with him out of their native land on any of his expeditions more than one or
two Indians to act as interpreters. Ximenez, lib. iii. cap. lii., states that
natives were branded as slaves through having been merely assigned to an
encomendero, and that young boys and tender girls were taken from the towns
by hundreds to wash for gold in the gulches, where they perished from hunger
and hardship. Pelaez, Mem. Guat., i. 67. A notable case of branding Indians
who had peaceably submitted, was that of the natives of Cuzcatlan by Alvarado
in 1524, described by witnesses in Cortés, Residencia, 96, 155.




[XIV‑9]  This order repeated the mandates of the previous cédula, and in addition
abolished the system of encomiendas, as well as the branding of Indians as
slaves. His majesty refused to grant them as vassals to any one. No Spaniard
was to be allowed to use them as pack-animals. The caciques were not
to be deprived entirely of governing power, but allowed certain jurisdiction,
under the advice and instruction of the governors of provinces. Natives
were to be encouraged in gold-mining; but, on payment of the royal dues,
the gold they extracted was to belong to themselves; nor were they to be deprived
of the lands they had acquired by inheritance, if they wished to cultivate
them.




[XIV‑10]  In 1533 it was enacted that an Indian's load should not exceed two arrobas
in weight. In 1536 it was ordered that natives who had been accustomed
to move from place to place were not to be prevented from doing so. Other
laws passed the same year were to the effect that no Spaniard of any rank
could be carried about by Indians in hammock or palanquin. Negroes ill-treating
Indians were to receive 100 lashes, or if blood were shed, a punishment
adequate to the severity of the wound. Native villages and settlements
were not to be inhabited by Spaniards, negroes, or mulattoes. A Spaniard
when travelling could only remain one night, and Spanish traders three days,
in an Indian village. In 1538 laws were made ordering that caciques were not
to sell or barter their subjects. This year also a modification of previous enactments
limited the use of natives as pack-animals to those under 18 years
of age. The Indians were, by all possible means other than coercion, to be
induced to live in communities. In 1541 viceroys, audiencias, and governors
were ordered to ascertain whether encomenderos sold their slaves, and if any
such were discovered they were to be exemplarily punished and the bondsmen
thus sold restored to liberty. Recop. de Indias, ii. 192, 194, 201-2, 212, 277-8,
288-9. These laws were general and applied to all Spanish America. Vazquez
states that, in the year 1714, there existed in the city archives of Guatemala
royal cédulas, issued in 1531, 1533, and 1534, authorizing the branding
of slaves taken in war or obtained by rescate. Chronica de Gvat., 37-8.




[XIV‑11]  In December 1530 the cabildo of Santiago was compelled to pass a law
ordering the burial of the dead. 'Los Indios que mueren en sus casas, no los
entierran, è los dexan comer de perros, y aues, è podrir dentro de la dicha
ciudad, de que suelen venir è recrecer muchas dolencias á los vezinos y habitãtes.'
Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 30. Christianized Indians, whether servant
or slave, were to be buried in consecrated ground at the depth of the waist-belt
of a man of good stature. Others were to be buried an estado deep, out
of reach of dogs, under penalty of 20 pesos de oro. Id.




[XIV‑12]  In 1529 laws were passed prohibiting such acts under a penalty of 25
pesos de oro, the proprietor of the servant to forfeit his ownership. If the
person offending were an hidalgo the fine was 100 pesos de oro; if not he was
to receive 100 lashes. Arévalo, Actas Ayunt. Guat., 90-1, 114-15. The market
called by the Indians tianguez was held daily at sunset. To provide against
the outrages then committed a master of the market was appointed in 1532.
In the following year another decree was found necessary, which was republished
February 9, 1534. Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 32.




[XIV‑13]  Paul III. it will be remembered is noted as the pontiff who excommunicated
Henry VIII. of England, and in the contest of Charles V. with the
Protestant League despatched a large force to the emperor's aid.




[XIV‑14]  It will be remembered that the inquisition, at that time in full blast,
was founded by the Dominican order. In Prescott's Peru, ii. 253, it is stated
that the arguments used by Las Casas before the junta were first published
by a secretary of that institution.




[XIV‑15]  The full text of them is given in Leyes y Ordenanzas, Icazbalceta, Col.
Doc., ii. 204-27. There are extracts from them in Herrera, Remesal, Torquemada,
and other chroniclers. For further mention of the new code and
its workings see Hist. Mex., ii. 516, et seq. this series. Prescott says: 'The
provisions of this celebrated code are to be found, with more or less—generally
less—accuracy, in the various contemporary writers. Herrera gives them in
extenso.' Peru, ii. 255. The historian is himself somewhat inaccurate on this
and other points.




[XIV‑16]  Before the new laws were passed Indians captured in war or guilty of
certain crimes could be legally enslaved.




[XIV‑17]  For a description of the repartimiento and encomienda system, see Hist.
Cent. Am., i. 262-4, and Hist. Mex., ii. 145-52, this series.




[XIV‑18]  For a description of the organization and jurisdiction of audiencias see
Hist. Cent. Am., i. 270-3, this series, and of the supreme council of the
Indies, 280-2 of the same vol.




[XIV‑19]  The version given in Prescott's Peru, ii. 260-1, is that the viceroy found
a ship, laden with silver from the Peruvian mines, ready to sail for Spain, and
that he laid an embargo on the vessel as containing the proceeds of slave
labor. There is, however, no absolute prohibition in the new code against
the employment of Indians in working the mines, although, as mentioned in
Herrera, dec. vi. lib. v. cap. iv., a cédula issued in 1538, forbade that natives
be so engaged, and authorized the substitution of negro slave labor for such
purposes.




[XIV‑20]  The emperor was memorialized by the clergy and by the civil authorities,
each party sending its petition without the other's knowledge, each
slandering its adversary and using such falsehoods as would be most likely
to injure the opposite cause. Abreo, in Cent. Am.; Extr. Sueltos, in Squier's
MSS., xxii. 48.




[XV‑1] Gasca, Carta al Consejo, in Col. Doc. Inéd., l. 107; see also Herrera, dec.
vi. lib. v. cap. iii.




[XV‑2]  In Garella, Isthme de Panama, 4, it is stated that Andagoya made his
survey in obedience to a cédula issued 20th February 1534. Some authorities
state that Philip first suggested the idea of uniting the two oceans by
means of a canal; but when the survey was ordered he was not over seven
years of age. In Hist. Cent. Am., i. 360-1, this series, there is a description
of the difficulties overcome in constructing the first road across the Isthmus
about 1520, and an account of the obstacles encountered by surveying expeditions
even in the middle of the nineteenth century.




[XV‑3] Almagro, Informacion, Col. Doc. Inéd., xxvi. 265, and Herrera, dec. iv.
lib. x. cap. vii.




[XV‑4]  Benzoni goes somewhat out of his way to make Panamá appear in a contemptible
light. He says that it contained about 4,000 inhabitants and had
about 120 houses built of reeds or wood and roofed with shingles, but he
does not explain how such a population contrived to crowd themselves into
that number of dwellings.




[XV‑5]  In his description of a journey from Acla to Panamá by way of Nombre
de Dios, Benzoni mentions that his party was accompanied by 20 negro
slaves, whose business it was to cut away the undergrowth and branches of
trees that barred their path. The same writer also alludes to the danger
incurred by travellers during the rainy season through the frequent crossing
of the Chagres en route across the Isthmus. He relates a story of a Spaniard,
who while fording the last branch of the river, mounted on a mule, and with
gold and jewels in his possession to the value of 4,000 ducats, was carried down
stream, lost everything, and was saved only by tying himself to the branch
of a tree, arriving at Nombre de Dios with only his waistcoat.




[XV‑6]  In commenting on the statements then current as to the commerce of
Panamá, Benzoni remarks: 'Senza dubio dieci Mercatanti Venetiani basteriano
à comprare tutte le mercantie che vi entrano vna volta l'anno, con la
istessa città.' Mondo Nvovo, lib. ii. 79.




[XV‑7]  Pizarro sent 20,000 gold castellanos to Panamá and thus enlisted in his
service a number of recruits which he could not otherwise have obtained.
Naharro, Descubr. y Conq., MS.




[XV‑8]  Among other marauding expeditions planned by Almagro was a raid on
Panamá and Nombre de Dios for the purpose of plundering both places, and
making the former a base for future operations against Nicaragua and Guatemala.
He intended moreover to destroy all ships on the Pacific side that
could not be utilized. Vaca de Castro (Licenciado Cristóbal), Carta al Emperador
Don Cárlos, dándole cuenta de la sublevacion y castigo de Don Diego de
Almagro el mozo y de otros importantes asuntos (Cuzco, Nov. 24, 1542). Cartas
de Indias, 478, 483-4.




[XV‑9]  On the very spot where his father met a like fate. Herrera, dec. vi. lib.
vi. cap. i.




[XV‑10]  'Españoles hai que crian perros carniceros y los avezan á matar Indios,
lo qual procuran á las veces por pasatiempo, i ver si lo hacen bien los perros.'
Morales, Relacion, MS.




[XV‑11]  In Herrera, dec. vii. lib. vii. cap. xxii., it is stated that Gonzalo was
elected captain, procurator general, and chief-justice.




[XV‑12]  It was truly a triumphal entry. Pizarro himself was clad in a full suit
of mail, with a richly embroidered surcoat, and before him was borne the
royal standard of Castille. Zárate, Hist. Peru, lib. v. cap. xii.




[XV‑13]  He gathered great strength by the adhesion of Diego Centeno, a brave
officer, who was exasperated by the cruelty and oppression of Pizarro's lieutenant-governor
in Charcas, and therefore declared for the viceroy. Robertson's
Hist. Am., ii. 240.




[XV‑14]  Vasco Nuñez was decapitated by a negro on the battle-field, and his
head borne on a pike. Some of the soldiers were brutal enough to pluck the
grey hairs from the beard and wear them in their helmets as trophies of the
victory. Herrera, dec. viii. lib. i. cap. iii. See, also, Fernandez, Hist. Peru,
pt. i. lib. i. cap. liv.




[XV‑15]  He ordered galleys to be built at Arequipa, which with the vessels
already in his possession would make him master of the sea from Chile to
Nicaragua. Zárate, Hist. Peru, lib. v. cap. xv.




[XV‑16]  Named by some authors Machicao, and in Benzoni, Mondo Nuovo,
Machicano. When Gonzalo Pizarro made his entry into Lima, Bachicao
caused the artillery, ammunition, and equipments to be carried on the backs
of Indians, thus showing his contempt for the new code of laws. Benzoni,
Mondo Nuovo, 210 (Hak. Soc. ed.) See, also, Gomara, Hist. Ind., 214, and
Datos Biograficos, in Cartas de Indias, 718-20. Gomara says of him: 'Lo
escojeran entre mil para qualquiera afrenta, pero couarde como liebre, y asi solia
el dezir: ladrar, pese á tal, y no morder. Era hombre baxo mal acostumbrado,
rufian, presumptuoso, renegador, q̃ se auia encomenado al Diablo, ... buen
ladron ... asi de amigos como de enemigos.'




[XV‑17]  On board the fleet were Maldonado and Doctor Trejada on their way to
Spain to render to the emperor Gonzalo Pizarro's account of the matter and
await his Majesty's further instructions. Pizarro, Carta al Rey, in Col. Doc.
Inéd., l. 195 passim.




[XV‑18] Gomara, Hist. Ind., ii. 14. Benzoni states that the captain was hanged
at the harbor of Vecchio in Taboga. 'Fece alcuni soldati in porto Vecchio,
e vicino Taboga pigliò una naue, e perche il patrone non abassò le velle cosi
presto, lo mandò à impicecare, e cosi giunto à Panama, e non volendo Giouanni
di Gusman che intrasse nella città, ilquale faceua gente per lo Vicerè.' Hist.
Mondo Nvovo, 143.




[XV‑19]  Benzoni, Hist. Mondo Nvovo, 211. See also Oviedo, iv. 400. In Zárate,
Hist. Peru, lib. v. cap. xvi., it is stated that the order for an execution was
given in the words 'Manda hacer el capitan Hernando Bachicao.'




[XV‑20]  Of Bachicao's subsequent history we learn that he was captured while
attempting to desert to the royalist party, and executed by Francisco Carbajal,
one of Gonzalo's officers. Datos Biograficos, in Cartas de Indias, 718-20.




[XV‑21]  In addition to other precautions, Pedro de Casaos, the corregidor, or
mayor, of Panamá, crossed the Isthmus to Nombre de Dios, and exhorted all
loyal citizens to rally for the defence of Panamá. Gathering all the arquebuses
and other arms which he could find, he returned to the city and called
upon the captains of the viceroy to place themselves under his banner. This
they obstinately refused to do, thereby sowing discord which was to tell
greatly in favor of the insurgents. Zárate, Hist. Peru, lib. v. cap. xxx.




[XV‑22]  Twenty thousand ducats according to Benzoni, Mondo Nvovo, 144.




[XV‑23]  Eight ships and three brigantines. Benzoni, Mondo Nuovo.




[XV‑24]  Juan de Illanes, as soon as he saw the ships, cried out with a loud voice
to the citizens, 'Come out of your houses, ye traitors, come and defend the
king's domain from these tyrants!' When Pedro de Casaos sent word to
Hinojosa to inquire the cause of his coming he answered that 'he came to
pay the debts of Machicano.' Benzoni, Mondo Nvovo, 144-5.




[XV‑25] Herrera, dec. vii. lib. x. cap. ix. Garcilaso de la Vega, in Hist. Peru, ii.
244, styles Hinojosa governor, and Zárate, Hist. Peru, lib. v. cap. xxx., says:
'Y el governador de aquella Provincia llamado Pedro de Casaos, Natural de
Sevilla, fue con gran diligencia à la Ciudad de Nombre de Dios, i mandò apercebir
toda la Gente que en ella estaba, i juntando todas las Armas, i Arcabuces
que pudo haver, los llevò consigo à Panamà.' The corregidor of a town was
often styled 'governador' by courtesy. Hence perhaps the mistake.




[XV‑26] Herrera, dec. vii. lib. x. cap. ix.




[XV‑27]  It is said that a battle now appearing inevitable, the officer in charge of
Vela Nuñez was ordered to hang him and the other prisoners to the yard-arm.
Zárate, Hist. Peru, lib. v. cap. xxxi. This statement is very improbable.




[XV‑28]  He informed the people of Panamá that if they had received a wretch
like Machicao, they certainly ought to admit him. Herrera, dec. vii. lib. x.
cap. ix.




[XV‑29]  They had no faith in Hinojosa's promises. 'Aunque Gonzalo Pizarro
governase juridicamente, como ellos decian; y que no tenian color ninguno
para entremeterse en distrito ageno; y que las mismas promesas avia hecho
Bachicao.' Garcilaso de la Vega, Hist. Peru, ii. 244.




[XV‑30] Herrera, dec. vii. lib. x. cap. x., and Benzoni, Mondo Nvovo, 145. In
Gomara, Hist. Ind., 218, it is stated that 40 men were allowed to land.
Other authorities give 50 as the number of the guard and 30 days as the
period.




[XV‑31]  'Con este concierto Hinojosa mandô recoger la gente a las naos, y los de
Panamá le hablaron y trataron con mucha cortesia, y le aposentaron en la
ciudad y diziendole, que se trataua de prenderle, ô matarle; aunque no lo
creyô, todauia se hizo fuerte en la casa adõde posaua, y poco despues, como
buen Capitan, por quitar ocasiones de tumultos se fue a sus naos, y presto se
entendió q̃ aquel rumor no fue palabras.' Herrera, dec. vii. lib. x. cap. 10.




[XV‑32]  It was during this year that the wealth of Potosí began to be known.




[XV‑33]  In Herrera, dec. viii. lib. i. cap. ix., it is stated that Hinojosa's officers
committed many robberies, taking care to hide them from their commander,
who strictly forbade anything of the kind and gave orders that all such
offenders should be handed over to the civil authorities. Gasca, in Carta al
Consejo, 1. 108-9, says that Hinojosa forced the people of Panamá and
Nombre de Dios to feed and quarter his men.




[XV‑34]  A native of Álava, and a fellow-townsman of the viceroy. Zárate, Hist.
Peru, lib. v. cap. xxxiii. See also Garcilaso de la Vega, Hist. Peru, ii. 244.




[XV‑35]  'Et non molto dopo Melchior Verdugo calato per lo Scolatio di Nicaragua
con duecento soldati con animo di offendere la gente di Pizzarro.' Benzoni,
Mondo Nvovo, 146. In Zárate, Hist. Peru, lib. v. cap. xxxiii., the number
is stated at 100.




[XV‑36]  The darkness of the night favored them, but Verdugo's men might have
effected their capture if they had not been too intent in plundering the house.
Garcilaso de la Vega, Hist. Peru, ii. 245.




[XV‑37]  Herrera says that Hinojosa expecting to be attacked placed the city of
Panamá in a thorough state of defence and told his officers that Verdugo held
but the authority granted him by the audiencia de los Confines and knew
not even whether the viceroy were alive. dec. viii. lib. ii. cap. iv.




[XV‑38]  One hundred and fifty arquebusiers. Benzoni, Hist. Mondo Nvovo, 145-46,
140; Gomara, Hist. Ind., 219.




[XV‑39]  'Verdugo fu il primo à saltare in vn Brigantino, et solo vn soldato resto
ferito, e questo fu el fine delle brauate di Verdugo.' Benzoni, Mondo Nvovo,
146.




[XV‑40]  'La dificultad de tanto aparato, ... Armas, y Cavallos, Municíon y Bastimento,
y la Navegacion tan larga, yaver de pasar dos Mares les forçava á no
tomar este Consejo.' Garcilaso de la Vega, Hist. Peru, ii. 268.




[XV‑41]  Gasca was born in 1494 in the Caballería de Navarregadilla, a small town
near the Barca de Ávila. He received a liberal education, being placed by
his uncle at the famous seminary of Alcalá de Henares, and subsequently
transferred to the university of Salamanca. He was ordained a priest in 1531,
and in 1541 was appointed counsellor of the inquisition. He acquired great
renown by his gallant defence of the city of Valencia, at a time when its
inhabitants were panic-stricken at the approach of a foreign foe. 'Vinieron á
tierra de Avila la familia de Gasca mudándose ... las dos letras consonantes
C y G el nombre de Casca en Gasca.' Hist. de Don Pedro Gasca, MS. Even
when a student he showed the power of his will and decision of character in
quelling political disturbances. Datos Biograficos, in Cartas de Indias, 763-7.




[XV‑42]  'El Titulo que llevó, fue de Presidente de la Audiencia Real del Perú.'
Zárate, Hist. Peru, in Barcia, lib. vi. cap. vi.




[XV‑43]  'Llevó las Cédulas, y Recaudos necesarios, en caso, que convinese hacer
Gente de Guerra, aunque estos fueron secretos, porque no publicaba, ni trataba,
sino de los perdones, i de los otros medios pacificos.' Zárate, Hist. Peru, in
Barcia, lib. vi. cap. vi. Garcilaso de la Vega, Hist. Peru, ii. 269, says: 'Le
diesen absoluto Poder en todo, y por todo, tan cumplido y bastante, como su
Magestad lo tenia en las Indias.' See, also, Prescott's Peru, ii. 344.




[XV‑44]  'Alvarado habló á Hernan Mexia, i le dió noticia de la venida del Presidente,
diciendole quien era, i á lo que venia, i despues de largas platicas se
despidieron, sin haverse declarado el vno al otro sus animos, porque ambos
estaban sospechosos.' Zárate, Hist. Peru, in Barcia, lib. vi. cap. vi.




[XV‑45] Fernandez, Hist. Peru, pt. i. lib. ii. cap. xxi. Gasca did not hear of
the death of the viceroy until after his landing at Nombre de Dios, but
smothered his resentment, and even declared that if Pizarro would not receive
him he would return to the emperor. Garcilaso de la Vega, Hist. Peru, ii.
170. See, also, Gomara, Hist. Ind., 228. Gasca's letter to Verdugo, then
awaiting the emperor's orders at Cartagena, is also characteristic of the subtle
churchman: 'Embió a decir á Melchor Verdugo, que venia con ciertos Compañeros
á servirle, no viniese, sino que estuviese á la mira.' Garcilaso de la
Vega, Hist. Peru, ii. 269. See, also, Herrera, dec. viii. lib. ii. cap. v.




[XV‑46]  'Mexia le repondio, que la vandera que alli estaba, la tenia por el Rey, y
no por Pizarro, y q̃ haria en su seruicio quanto le mãdasse.' Herrera, dec. viii.
lib. ii. cap. v. 'I que si queria, que llanamente se alçase Vandera por su
Magestad, lo haria, i podian ir à Panamà, i tomar la Armada, lo qual seria
facil de hacer.' Zárate, Hist. Peru, lib. iii. 133. See also, Garcilaso de la
Vega, Hist. Peru, ii. 270.




[XV‑47] Fernandez, Hist. Peru, pt. i. lib. ii. cap. xxviii. See also Herrera, dec.
viii. lib. ii. cap. vi., and Gomara, Hist. Ind., 228.




[XV‑48]  When Paniagua, Gasca's emissary, first called on Gonzalo he was discourteously
treated, the governor not even asking him to be seated.




[XV‑49]  The captains so sworn signed their names before the notary Juan de
Barutiu. Panamá,  Pleito Homenage, in Col. Doc. Inéd., xlix.




[XV‑50]  In Carta á Miguel Díez Armendariz, in Cartas de Indias, Gasca states
that since the 1st of December 1546 1,000 soldiers, including several men of
rank, had been assembled for the king's service; that he had at his disposal a
fleet of from 23 to 25 ships, two of which were built at Panamá; and that there
had not yet been time for the arrival of reënforcements from Guatemala, Honduras,
Mexico, Española, or Nicaragua, at which latter province there were
250 horsemen ready to embark.




[XV‑51]  On seeing the masterly disposition of the royalist forces, Carbajal, Gonzalo's
lieutenant, remarked, 'Valdivia rige el campo o el diablo.'




[XV‑52]  Among those present at Gonzalo's funeral was Hinojosa, who, after serving
further the royal cause, was assassinated in 1552.




[XV‑53]  The most partial biographer of the Pizarros is Fernando Pizarro y Orellana,
author of Varones Ilvstres del Nvevo Mvndo, Madrid, 1639, folio. The
book contains the lives of Columbus, Ojeda, Cortés, the four Pizarros, Almagro,
and García de Paredes, but the greater part is devoted to the author's
namesakes and kinsmen, by the side of whom the other heroes appear in comparatively
faint outline. Every incident that can in any way redound to
their credit is made to shine with a lustre unsurpassed even by the pearls and
gold for which they so recklessly staked their lives. The brilliancy indeed
is so strong as to merge into complete obscurity the bloody deeds and shameful
traits which characterize the name. This is intentional on the part of the
writer, who not only suppresses facts most notorious, but in glossing over the
later revolt of Gonzalo, even attempts to justify it. His object is to advocate
for the heirs of Hernando Pizarro, the restoration of his estates and titles of
marquis as more fully set forth in the Discurso Legal, i Politico, published the
same year, immediately after the Varones. The work is, in brief, the pleading
of a learned lawyer, as the author proves himself, supplemented with
quaint and abstruse notes and profuse marginals chiefly from classic writers.




[XVI‑1]  Pedrarias never had the shadow of a right to the province of Peru; but
it was probably an easy matter for Hernando so to persuade his audience.




[XVI‑2]  'Y porque algunos querian yr á armarse, y otras de mala gana le seguian,
los reprehendia, y amenazaua, diciendo, que los haria castigar como a delinquentes,
diziendoles; que no auian menester otras armas, i mandó a Iuan
Barmejo, que matasse al que no le siguiese.' Herrera, dec. viii. lib. vi. cap. v.;
see, also, Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 491.




[XVI‑3]  'Hecho esto embiò a Granada á dar auiso á Pedro de Contreras su hermano,
embiandole la daga con que auia muerto al Obispo, sin punta, que so
le auia despuntado al tiempo que le matô.' Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 492; see
also Herrera, dec. viii. lib. vi. cap. v., and Gasca, Carta in Col. Doc. Inéd.,
1.; but Zárate, Hist. Peru, lib. vii. cap. xii., does not attribute the killing of
the bishop to Hernando himself, saying, 'i vn Dia entraron ciertos Soldados
de su Compañía, adonde estaba el Obispo jugando al Axedrez, i le mataron.'
This, however, is not likely, as Hernando was thirsting for personal revenge
against the prelate, and the apostate friar, probably excommunicated, may
also have had his secret motives for participating in the murder.




[XVI‑4] Gasca, Carta al Rey, in Col. Doc. Inéd., l. 117-23. See, also, Remesal,
Hist. Chyapa, 493; Garcilaso de la Vega, Hist. Peru, ii. 371, and Herrera, dec.
viii. lib. vi. cap. v.




[XVI‑5]  On board these vessels were placed all the vagrants and those who had
come from Spain without license, together with certain married men who had
left their wives in Spain. 'Para boluerlas a Castilla por casados, holgazanes,
y gente que antes auia de causar desasosiego que prouecho.' Herrera, dec.
viii. lib. vi. cap. i. The governor was determined to leave on the Isthmus
none who were not settlers or traders, or known to live on their means or by
their labor. Gasca, Cartas, in Col. Doc. Inéd., l. 111.




[XVI‑6]  So confident were they of success that instead of removing the treasure
to their ships they deposited it with the merchants and others, who bound
themselves before a notary to deliver it when called for either to Bermejo or
the Contreras brothers. 'Proveieron estos disparates, imaginandose, que sin
tener contraste alguno, eran yá Señores de toda el Nuevo Mundo.' Garcilaso
de la Vega, Hist. Peru, ii. 373.




[XVI‑7] Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 493. Vega, Hist. Peru, ii. 372, says they found
so much Spanish merchandise 'que yá les dava hastio, por no poderlas llevar
todas.'




[XVI‑8]  This is the number given in Herrera, dec. viii. lib. vi. cap. v., while in
Gasca, Carta, in Col. Doc. Inéd., l., only 18 or 20 are mentioned. Gasca
must be in error, for Contreras afterward left 25 men at Capira when he
returned to assist Bermejo.




[XVI‑9]  When Salguero received the message from Bermejo some confusion ensued,
and most of the silver bars which he had captured were lost, being
thrown into the river or stolen by negroes, who hid them in the rocks and
swamps. Not only had Salguero captured the king's silver but also a large
quantity of treasure belonging to private individuals. He ordered it to be
packed on mules taken from the settlers at Cruces; but when he came near
the city and saw the troops sallying forth he abandoned his baggage-train and
hurried forward to join Bermejo. Gasca, Carta, in Col. Doc. Inéd., l. 149;
and Herrera, dec. viii. lib. vi. cap. vi. Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 497, states
that when the silver was lost only a portion of Salguero's men marched with
him towards Panamá, the remainder making for the sea-shore, where they
were taken on board the ships of Pedro de Contreras. It is estimated that
the entire amount of treasure captured by the rebels would be worth at the
present day some $12,000,000.




[XVI‑10] Gasca, Carta, in Col. Doc. Inéd., l. 149-50. See, also, Herrera, dec. viii.
lib. vii. cap. vii. Remesal gives 82 as the number slain on the field. Gasca
says in his despatch that only three of the citizens of Panamá were killed,
though many were wounded but none fatally; a rather improbable statement,
considering that the rebels knew they need expect no quarter.




[XVI‑11]  Soon after the suppression of the Contreras revolt, Gasca, having recovered
most of the stolen treasure, embarked for Spain, where he was appointed
to the bishopric of Sigüenza and afterward to that of Palencia. He died on
the 10th of November 1565, leaving a history of Peru, which was published
at Seville two years after his death. His Carta al Consejo, in Doc. Inéd., l.
106-63, is probably the most reliable source of information concerning the
events related in this chapter. Herrera agrees with him in all the principal
incidents, differing only in the order in which they are related, and in some
minor points of detail. Remesal is very explicit in his narrative, and agrees
for the most part with Gasca and Herrera. Gomara and Zárate give only a
condensed statement of the matter, and in the main indorse the preceding
authorities. The account given in Juarros is taken from Remesal, and that
of Benzoni is borrowed from various sources, while Gonzalez Dávila relates
only the assassination of Bishop Valdivieso.




[XVII‑1]  In a letter to the king, dated Ciudad Real, August 10, 1541, Bishop
Marroquin speaks very favorably of Chavez, and states that he was well
adapted to rule. Carta al Emperador, in Cartas de Indias, 430.




[XVII‑2]  'Como su necesidad no era poca, tomô la mejor parte para si, y lo demas
dio a sus amigos.' Herrera, dec. vi. lib. i. cap. ix. See, also, Juarros, Guat.,
i. 42, and Gomara, Hist. Ind., 64. Herrera also implies that he appropriated
what remained of the live-stock and supplies brought by Alvarado from Guatemala
for the relief of the colonists. dec. vi. lib. iii. cap. xix.




[XVII‑3]  In Squier's Honduras, 88, it is stated that this stronghold was situated
in the present department of Gracias, which borders on Guatemala and San
Salvador. Lempira's ancient territory is still known by the name of Corquin,
the word being applied to a district and town of Gracias. The valley of
Sensenti, encircled by the mountains of Selaque, Pecaya, and Merendon,
formed a part of the cacique's dominion. See p. 81 this vol. for map.




[XVII‑4] Herrera, dec. vi. lib. iii. cap. xix. The historian is of opinion that the
Spaniards would have been compelled to abandon the siege had they not resorted
to this or some similar artifice, and in that case it is not improbable
that Lempira would have found himself powerful enough to drive them from
the province or perhaps to exterminate them.




[XVII‑5]  On the 10th of December 1537 the viceroy of New Spain reports to the
king that he has received advices from the adelantado Montejo and the licentiate
Maldonado, stating that the province was at peace and making fair
progress.




[XVII‑6] Hist. Cent. Amer., i. 570, this series.




[XVII‑7]  Montejo, writing from Gracias á Dios on June 1, 1539, reports to the
emperor concerning the settlement at Comayagua and the appointment of
alcaldes and regidores. The town had at that time 35 vecinos, most of them
owning but few Indians. Juarros, Guat., i. 41-2, gives 1540 as the year of
its foundation, as do Conder and Squier, while Remesal says the town was
founded in 1542. It is certain, however, that it was built before Alvarado's
return to Honduras, in 1539. Herrera, dec. vi. lib. vii. cap. iv.; Conder's
Mexico and Guatemala, ii. 296: Squier's Notes, Cent. Amer., 129.




[XVII‑8]  In December 1557.




[XVII‑9]  These were Trujillo, Gracias á Dios, Comayagua, San Pedro del Puerto
de Caballos, San Jorge de Olancho, Buena Esperanza, and San Juan del
Puerto de Caballos. Pedraza, in a dispatch to the audiencia dated December
30, 1545, quoted in Squier's MSS., xxii. 133, states that one of Montejo's captains
sent to examine the territory lying between Trujillo and the Olancho
valley extended his explorations to the mouth of the Desaguadero and founded
in that neighborhood the town of Nueva Salamanca, but the prelate's ideas
of the geographical limits of the province were evidently somewhat vague.
Possibly he may have had in mind a settlement of that name previously
founded in Yucatan.




[XVII‑10]  Pedraza, in describing the difficulties of travel and the condition of the
roads, states that from Trujillo to Puerto de Caballos the distance by sea
was 40 leagues, the journey being a very dangerous one. Thence to San
Pedro it was 14 leagues, over a difficult road—especially bad in the rainy
season—now in the mud (hasta la barriga), now climbing steep rocks; thence
to Gracias á Dios 25 leagues, three or four native settlements intervening;
from Gracias á Dios to Comayagua 25 leagues more, with three settlements
between; thence to San Jorge in the Olancho valley between 20 and 30
leagues, no settlements between; thence to Nueva Salamanca 30 leagues,
without any settlements intervening. Of the plague of mosquitoes on this
portion of the route he remarks: 'Que nos comian vivos de noche i de dia, i
nos sacaban los ojos que no havia tiempo que pudiese dormir.' From Nueva
Salamanca to Trujillo, he says: 'Hai cerca de 40 leguas infernales, que ni á
pie ni á caballo se pueden andar, sino la mas parte rodando con el lodo á los
medios muslos i descalzos, i muchas veces subiendo hasta el cielo, i otras veces
bajando hasta los abismos.' Id., 17.




[XVII‑11]  Oviedo was then writing of what occurred in 1538; but it is probable
that the 100,000 pesos de oro of which he speaks included the amount obtained
in several preceding years. In 1539 Montejo reports that there are
in Comayagua very rich mines, both of gold and silver, but as he would not
allow the natives to be employed in them against their will they were worked
only on a small scale. Montejo, Carta, Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., ii.
221-22, 233, 251. This consideration for the welfare of the Indians no doubt
hastened his downfall.




[XVII‑12]  See Hist. Cent. Amer., ii., and Hist. Mex., ii. passim, this series.




[XVII‑13]  By a royal cédula dated May 25, 1538, the viceroy of Mexico was instructed
to allow Francisco de Montejo and Alvarado of Guatemala to exchange
portions of their respective provinces, Puerto de Caballos and Ciudad
Real de Chiapas being particularly mentioned. Puga, Cedulario, 116. It
would appear that Montejo did not give his consent to this proposition.




[XVII‑14] Montejo, Carta, in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., ii. 231-2, 245;
Alvarado, in Id., 255. In a letter to the king, Montejo says he had heard
that his Majesty had been informed that Alvarado would, on his return to
Honduras, find the amount of the king's fifth to be 100,000 castellaños, but
that the statement was unfounded, the sum being only 12,000 castellaños.
The cause assigned for the deficiency was the stoppage of certain mining
works which had been operated by gangs of Indians from Salvador and Guatemala
on account of the great mortality among them. The order for the
stoppage of the work emanated from Maldonado, acting governor of Guatemala,
and presumably occurred before the assumption of the government by
Montejo.




[XVII‑15]  Montejo was on bad terms with Pedraza, but gained his intercession by
approaching him when he was in an amiable mood. He accuses him of boasting
that his authority was greater than that of the governor and that a letter
from him to the emperor would at once procure his dismissal. He also states
that on one occasion he was compelled to turn back from an expedition on
which he had started, news having reached him that Pedraza was disturbing
the country by his harsh treatment of the Indians, and that he had some difficulty
in restoring quiet. Montejo, in Id., 248-51, 258-9. It is not improbable
that this may have been the case, for in a letter quoted in Squier's MSS.,
xxii. 26, 27, Pedraza states that in 1547 he petitioned for leave to found a
settlement in the Indian village of Jutical, in Comayagua, and to grant repartimientos
to those who should furnish him the means, claiming that he
was specially inspired by the holy spirit to carry out the pacification of the
natives by prayer and persuasion. The ecclesiastic was a young man; vain,
ambitious, covetous, and one who would not hesitate to prostitute his profession
if it would serve his own interests.




[XVII‑16]  The amount was 17,000 pesos according to Oviedo, iv. 23.




[XVII‑17]  In a letter to the emperor, dated Trujillo, May 1, 1547, Pedraza states
that he would gladly have gone in person to aid Gasca in Peru, were it not that
his journey to Portugal five years before and the time he had lost in Spain
awaiting the papal bull, consumed the greater part of his fortune. Pedraza,
Carta, in Squier's MSS., xxii. 18. It is not probable, however, that he was
in any great danger of poverty, for he made large sums of money by his traffic
in slaves.




[XVII‑18]  During this absence of Pedraza, Bishop Marroquin of Guatemala had
charge of the diocese and made various pastoral visits through the province,
on which occasions he was afterward accused by the former of having spent
more than 12,000 pesos of the episcopal revenues. Marroquin in refuting
this charge refers to Alonso Maldonado, president of the audiencia, and affirms
that though he spent over 1,000 castellanos during his journeys going and
coming, he never received one peso de oro in return. Marroquin, Carta al
Principe Don Felipe, in Cartas de Indias, 449.




[XVII‑19]  This cathedral was dedicated to the 'Conception of Our Lady' and had
five dignitaries with salaries ranging from 150 down to 40 pesos a year. Gonzalez
Dávila, Teatro Ecles., i. 304 et seq.




[XVII‑20]  See Hist. Cent. Amer., ii., and Hist. Mex., ii., passim, this series.




[XVII‑21]  Before his appointment he was an oidor of the audiencia of Mexico, and
acting governor of Guatemala.




[XVII‑22]  In Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 206, and Cartas de Indias, 776, the audiencia
is said to have held its opening session May 16, 1544, whereas in a letter to
the emperor dated December 30, 1545, and signed by President Maldonado
and all the oidores, it is distinctly stated: 'En 15 Marzo desembarcaron los
Licc. Herrera i Rogel. En 13 Mayo nos juntamos en Auda i luego se pregonaron
las Nuevas Ordenanzas.' Audiencia, Carta, in Squier's MSS., xxii. 130.




[XVII‑23]  Pedraza had been summoned from San Pedro del Puerto de Caballos,
whence he had only come after repeated solicitations. Had he persisted it
would have been necessary for Las Casas and Valdivieso to proceed to that
town in company with Marroquin, for it was required that three prelates
should assist at the ceremony of consecration. Pedraza was on bad terms
with the two former, who state that they have heard things related of him.
'Que pareçen no buenas, y muchos escandalos.' Las Casas and Valdivieso,
Relacion in Cartas de Indias, 19-23.




[XVII‑24] Id.




[XVII‑25]  The above are the leading points contained in the memorial, which was
a somewhat lengthy document, containing seven different clauses according
to Las Casas, Carta Amonest., and Relacion in Squier's MSS., xxii. 140-42;
and nine according to Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 374-76, and Icazbalceta, Col.
Doc., i., lxxvii.-viii. Remesal states that each bishop presented a memorial,
that of Las Casas giving less offence than the others.




[XVII‑26] Las Casas and Valdivieso, Carta, in Squier's MSS., xxii. 118-20.




[XVII‑27]  Marroquin states that the memorial was 'mucho desacato i mayor desatino:
i él, como mas atrevido i favorido (por haverle dado credito á sus proposiciones
i fundamentos sacados de su pecho lleno de hipocresias, sobervia,
invidia, i avaricia), lo presentó, requirió, i amonestó.' Marroquin, Carta, in
Squier's MSS., xxii. 139-40. He speaks rather favorably of Maldonado, but
complains of his being remiss, wanting in vigilance, and somewhat careless as
to the welfare of the colonists. He declares that there is dissension between
the members of the audiencia, and says: 'Á mi no me satisfazen mucho sus
letras ni su vida, aunque los he conversado poco.' Marroquin, Carta, in Carta
de Indias, 440-1.




[XVII‑28]  Maldonado exclaimed, while Las Casas was protesting against being expelled
from the hall of the audiencia: 'Estos cocinerillos en sacandalos del
conuento no ay quien se pueda aueriguar con ellos.' Remesal, Hist. Chyapa,
376.




[XVII‑29]  When the audiencia refused to recognize the bishops as protectors of
the Indians, Marroquin addressed a letter to the emperor, wherein, after
commenting on the disturbances caused by the new code, he concludes: 'Mas,
no son tan largas los poderes de los Obispos destas partes como el ruido i
sonido. La Audiencia lo manda todo i dá á entender que no hai para que el
Obispo sea Protetor i Visitador: asi han proveido Visitadores a deudos suyos,
quando V. M. solo quiere fiarlo a los Obispos.' Marroquin, Carta, in Squier's
MSS., xxii. 135-6.




[XVII‑30]  By order of the audiencia Rogel visited Chiapas for the ostensible purpose
of assisting Las Casas in liberating the natives and settling the amount
of their tribute.




[XVII‑31] Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 480. Cerrato did not hesitate, however, to
censure the bishops severely when he thought it necessary. He complained
of their maintaining alguaciles like those of the emperor and of the unjust
arrest of persons 'sin haver caso de Inquisicion.' In speaking of the excommunication
by the bishop of Nicaragua of certain royal officers because they
were unable to pay him his salary, he says that he and Pedraza 'were enough
to turn the heads of a thousand judges.' Cerrato, Cartas, in Squier's MSS.,
xxii. 83, 7.




[XVII‑32] Cerrato, Carta de Setiembre 28, 1548, in Squier's MSS., xxii. 80-1.




[XVII‑33]  Even if he had been found blameless he could not have been reinstated,
as Cerrato was appointed by the crown to supersede him. He lost his life at
sea about two years later. Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 179.




[XVII‑34]  He was fined for having appropriated a mine and for having seized certain
negroes belonging to one of the priests. Cerrato, Cartas, in Squier's MSS.
Marroquin remarks in Carta al Principe Don Felipe, in Carta de Indias, 448:
'Very few who have come to the Indies have so well feathered their nests in
so short a time as Herrera and Rogel.' 'Quieren para si un dios y un principe,
y para los demas confusion y perdiçion.' Pedraza endorses Marroquin's statement
with reference to Herrera, and accuses him of trafficking in silks, velvets,
and cloth like a common mercer. Carta, in Squier's MSS., xxii. 123. The
statement of Las Casas and Valdivieso in Id., xxii., is doubtless more deserving
of credit.




[XVII‑35]  Bernal Diaz speaks unfavorably of Cerrato. He says that at first he
promised well, but subsequently acted in every way contrary to his instructions,
as if these had been 'mirá que todo lo bueno que bacare y obiere en estas
provinçias todo lo deys á vuestras parientes.' He accuses him of giving the
best repartimientos to his two brothers, a granddaughter, a son-in-law, and
his followers and friends, and remarks that the people feared the coming of
another boat-load of Cerratos. Carta al Emperador, in Cartas de Indias, 38-42.




[XVIII‑1]  Viceroy Mendoza addressed letters to the bishop of Guatemala, Francisco
de la Cueva, and the cabildo respectively. In that sent to the municipality
he says: 'You will learn that God was pleased to take to his glory
the adelantado Alvarado.' Arévalo, Col. Doc. Antig., 179-80. Tello states
that Governor Oñate also send word of Alvarado's death to Guatemala. Hist.
N. Gal., 390-7. According to Remesal the first reports were generally discredited,
and it was not until the viceroy's letters arrived that any manifestation
of sorrow was shown. Hist. Chyapa, 165 et seq. A cabildo was held
on the 29th of August.




[XVIII‑2] Ibid.; Carta al Emperador, in Cartas de Indias, 432-3; Bernal Diaz,
Hist. Verdad., 236.




[XVIII‑3]  An unknown author writing later during the same year states that Doña
Beatriz 'dixo muchas veces que ya no tenia Dios mas mal que le hacer.' Relacion,
in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., iii. 385. Gomara, Hist. Ind.,
269-70, and Torquemada, i. 324 et seq., make similar statements. Gomara's
assertion is disputed by Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 226-7. See, also, for
accounts of Doña Beatriz' grief, Carta del Obispo in Pacheco and Cárdenas,
Col. Doc., iii. 388; Benzoni, Mondo Nvovo, 156; Bernal Diaz (ed. Paris,
1837), iv. 466-7; Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 166.




[XVIII‑4]  In his letter to the cabildo, above alluded to, and dated July 15, 1541.
Arévalo, Col. Doc. Antig., 179-80. Remesal gives July the 5th as the date,
one day after Alvarado's death, which it was impossible for the viceroy to
know anything about at that time. The friar, however, attempts to account
for the discrepancy which his error produced. Hist. Chyapa, 165-6.




[XVIII‑5]  Bishop Marroquin was of opinion that Cueva was not a fit person to have
been left by Alvarado in charge of the government. In a letter to the king
dated August 10, 1541, he describes him as being too young and inexperienced,
void of zeal in favor of the natives, careless in matters of justice, as not being
partial to the company of good people, and offering a bad example to others.
Carta al Emperador, in Cartas de Indias, 430. I entertain little doubt that
it was through the bishop's influence that the appointment of Doña Beatriz was
made. It certainly was countenanced by him. His control over the lady-governor
would give him great power in the protection of the natives.




[XVIII‑6]  The extraordinary appointment of Doña Beatriz to the government of
Guatemala is thus condemned by Gomara, who infers that she caused herself
to be elected: 'Y se hizo jurar por Gouernadora: desuario, y presuncion de
muger, y cosa nueua entre los Españoles de Indias.' Hist. Ind., 270. Escamilla,
Noticias Curiosas de Guat., i., states that she resigned the same day, referring
doubtless to the appointment of Cueva. Remesal, who gives a detailed account
of these proceedings, also attributes the appointment to her own desire for it,
ungenerously remarking: 'Y con todos estos extremos excedia su ambicion á
las lagrimas, y el desseo de mãdar á la falda del mongil y pliegues de la toca.'
The only dissenting voice to her appointment was that of the alcalde, Gonzalo
Ortiz, who probably objected to it on the grounds of her apparent want of
saneness. Although half a page was left blank for the entry of his opinion it
was never filled up. This blank half page still existed in 1615. The signature
of the hapless lady on this occasion was written thus: La sin ventura
Doña Beatriz. In the original a line is drawn through the words Doña Beatriz
which was probably done by herself at the time of signing with the object
of letting it be known that in future she wished to be called La Sin Ventura.
Hist. Chyapa, 166-8. This same author states on page 367 that Cueva's appointment
by the viceroy was not recognized by the city because it was not
accompanied by his commission as governor. I cannot agree with the above
authorities who attribute to Doña Beatriz such ambitious feelings while in
the state of despair to which she abandoned herself, but regard her appointment
as a purely diplomatic proceeding.




[XVIII‑7]  The base of the following account of the destruction of Santiago City is
taken from Bishop Marroquin's narrative in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc.,
iii. 386-8, and from another and fuller narration without signature in Id.,
378-86. Oviedo, iv. 27-32, gives an almost verbatim copy of it, and states:
'Estas nuevas truxo á la isla ... Cuba, Johan de Alvarado, sobrino del mesmo
adelantado don Pedro, que aportó al puerto de la Habana, desde donde el
capitan Johan de Lobera, su amigo é uno de los mílites que un tiempo anduvieron
con el mesmo adelantado, me escribió todo lo ques dicho por su
carta fecha á quatro de enero de mill é quinientos é quarenta y dos años.' It
must, however, be remarked that the letter in Pacheco and Cárdenas bears
unquestionable evidence of having been written in Guatemala. Juan de Alvarado,
who had been recommended by Marroquin to the emperor for the governorship—Pacheco
and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xiii. 271—was on his way to
Spain. I conjecture that he was the bearer of this anonymous account of the
calamity and allowed Lobera to transcribe it, who merely changed the first
person into the third and forwarded it to Oviedo in Santo Domingo.




[XVIII‑8]  The town unfortunately occupied a site in a natural hollow running down
the mountain side.




[XVIII‑9]  Bernal Diaz (ed. Paris, 1837), iv. 463-4; Herrera, dec. vii. lib. ii. cap.
xiii.; Gomara, Hist. Ind., 270, the records of the cabildo according to Remesal,
Hist. Chyapa, 559, and Vazquez, Chron. de Gvat., 164-5, give September
the 11th as the date. But Marroquin and the anonymous writer both state
that the disaster occurred on Saturday night, the first authority mentioning
that the preceding Thursday was the 8th.




[XVIII‑10]  'Porque las piedras, como diez bueyes juntos, las llevaba como corcha
sobre el agua.' Rel., in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., iii. 383. The immense
stones brought down by this deluge were still to be seen in the city
when Bernal Diaz wrote. (ed. Paris, 1837), iv. 463.




[XVIII‑11]  'Y muchos, quebrados brazos y piernas, de que algunos despues han
muerto.' Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., iii. 383.




[XVIII‑12]  The bishop says that eight 'doncellas' perished with her, 'entrellas doña
Anica, hija natural del Adelantado, de 5 años.' Id., 387. Consult also
Gomara, Hist. Ind., Vazquez, Chron. de Gvat., 91, and Remesal, Hist. Chyapa,
175-80. This last author gives a vivid account of this catastrophe, but appears
to have drawn considerably upon his imagination. He affirms that
repeated violent shocks of earthquake occurred; that the Volcan de Agua was
reduced a league in height—'Parecio el mõte descabeçado cõ vna legua menos
de subida'—and indulges in general exaggeration. With regard to the earthquakes
it may be stated that Remesal, page 559, as also Vazquez, Chron. de Gvat.,
164-6, quotes from the books of the cabildo with date of September 9, 1542,
as follows: 'Que porque à vn año que por nuestros pecados, vino el terremoto,
e tempestad a esta Ciudad;' and again on page 365, from the minutes of the
same with date of September 16, 1541, 'Que por quanto Dios nuestro Señor
fue seruido ... de embiar tempestad é torro molto a esta Ciudad.' But as
neither Bishop Marroquin nor the Anonymous Writer makes mention of any
earthquake, I can but conclude that none took place, notwithstanding an entry
in the books of the cabildo a year after the event to the contrary.




[XVIII‑13]  One Spaniard and 60 Indians who were outside all perished. Such is
the account given by the bishop. That of the anonymous writer differs from
it. He states that Cueva escaped from the house and saved himself by getting
upon a wall which had remained standing.




[XVIII‑14]  The anonymous writer, pp. 381-2, gives the names of eight, and says that
more than 40 Spaniards of both sexes lost their lives. The bishop, page 388,
mentions the names of twelve settlers whose houses were completely overthrown
or washed away, adding: 'Si bien algunos destos se salvaron;' and further
on informs us that 'Murieron, sin los españoles dichos, mas de 600 indios.'
Vazquez states that about 100 Spaniards and over 200 Mexican and Tlascalan
allies escaped unharmed. Chron. de Gvat., 98.




[XVIII‑15] 'É gran suma de ganado, que tomó en el monte y otra que tomó en la
cibdad, que se vinieron á ella huyendo.' Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., iii.
388. The mud in the streets reached almost up to the highest windows. Id.,
383-4.




[XVIII‑16]  No mention is made of the church having received damage. A portion
of the bishop's residence was destroyed, causing the death of 'un bachiller
Contreras.' Id., 388. According to Remesal the remains of Doña Beatriz
were subsequently transferred to the cathedral of the new city. From the
day on which she perished the bishop ordered three masses to be said weekly
for the repose of her soul. Hist. Chyapa, 181. Benzoni describes this lady as
'a woman truly proud, vain, and haughty;' while Alvarado, in a letter to the
cabildo, dated Puerto de Caballos, April 4, 1539, assures that body that
'Doña Beatriz está muy buena.' Arévalo, Col. Doc. Antig., 179.




[XVIII‑17]  Their remains were removed in 1580 to the Franciscan convent at
Almolonga. The inscription, in 1615-17, said that there were buried Juan de
Artiaga and twelve lady companions, all of whom perished with Doña Beatriz
in 1541. Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 181. This inscription is confirmed by Vazquez.
Chron. de Gvat., 96.




[XVIII‑18]  The bishop, however, thought otherwise. In an address to the people
for the purpose of encouraging them, he said: 'Que á los buenos habia llevado
Dios á su gloria y á los que los habia dexado, nos habia avisado para que
fuésemos tales.' Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., iii. 385. Remesal uncompromisingly
attributes the catastrophe to blasphemous language of Doña
Beatriz, and adds that so exasperated were the inhabitants that they wished
to cast her body to the dogs, as that of another Jezebel. Hist. Chyapa, 179-80.
Vazquez treats this charge as an absurdity and intimates that it is an invention
of Remesal, who he says was the first to publish such a story. Chron.
de Gvat., 91. But this last author also errs, since the belief undoubtedly prevailed,
as is proved by the anonymous writer on the above quoted page of
Pacheco and Cárdenas. Mendieta, while inclined to excuse the language
attributed to Doña Beatriz, implies that it was a punishment from God who
was displeased with Alvarado's irregular second marriage. Hist. Ecles., 390.




[XVIII‑19]  Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad. (ed. Paris, 1837), iv. 467.




[XVIII‑20]  None dared to occupy the few houses left, and a large barrack was constructed
on the outskirts of the town as a common dwelling-place. Pacheco
and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., iii. 386.




[XVIII‑21] Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 366.




[XVIII‑22]  Torquemada attended one of these processions. He writes: 'iban cada
Año, en el mismo Dia, que le corresponde al de el anegamiento (y Yo me
hallé én ella vn Año ...) pidiendo á Dios seguridad en la segunda Poblacion,
y perdon de averle ofendido.' i. 327.




[XVIII‑23]  Soon after the death of Bishop Marroquin the custom was discontinued,
although he left a fund to support its observance. Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad.,
(ed. Paris, 1837), iv. 468-9. It was established at a meeting of the cabildo
on September 9, 1542. Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 559. After the old church was
pulled down the procession marched to the Franciscan convent in the old city.
Vazquez, Chron. de Gvat., 164-6.




[XVIII‑24] Id., 366; Escamilla, Noticias Curiosas de Guat., MS., 1.




[XVIII‑25]  These were the oidor Maldonado, Juan de Alvarado, a nephew of the
deceased adelantado, and Juan Chavez, a resident of Santiago. Marroquin,
in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xiii. 271. Juan de Alvarado was a
nephew of the adelantado, and according to Bernal Diaz went to Spain with
Pedro, a natural son of the conqueror, neither being ever heard of afterward.
Hist. Verdad., 237.




[XVIII‑26]  He recommends as honorable gentlemen, Sancho de Baraona, a conquistador,
Hernan Mendez, and Doctor Blas Cota. Id., 376-7. Consult also
Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 58-9, 365.




[XVIII‑27]  'Hizo mucho daño en las tiendas y mercaderias.' Pacheco and Cárdenas,
Col. Doc., iii. 388. The cabildo in a letter to the king, dated September 10,
1543, says, 'perdimos casi todos lo que teníamos.' Arévalo, Col. Doc. Antig., 20.




[XVIII‑28]  It will be remembered that Alvarado appointed Marroquin his executor.
The bishop justifies this proceeding by the necessity of the occasion. Had
the distribution not been made he assures the king that two thirds of the
Spaniards would have left, but he adds that, nevertheless, the greater portion
of Alvarado's Indians had been reserved to his children. Id., xiii. 268-9.




[XVIII‑29]  At a special meeting held on the 27th of September, 43 citizens were
present, making with the authorities 55 persons in all. Of these 43 voted for
removal, five against it, and seven were without choice. Juarros, Guat., ii.
263.




[XVIII‑30] Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 366. Bishop Marroquin was at first in favor of
removing to some high plains two leagues off, but for the reasons above stated
and also in order to lessen the labor of the Indians he changed his opinion.
Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xiii. 370-1.




[XVIII‑31]  At an open meeting held on the 2d of October, at which 78 persons were
sworn in to vote without fear or self-interest, 49 voted for removal to Chimaltenango
and 29 to the valley of Alotenango, and the former place was formally
declared the future site of the city. At this juncture Juan Bautista
Antonelli, a royal engineer, arrived with instructions to superintend the laying
out of towns. He made an examination of various localities and gave in
a full report upon the valleys of Las Vacas, Chimaltenango, Alotenango,
Melpas de Luis de Alvarado, and the valley of Tuerto or Panchoy, and strongly
recommended the selection of the latter. Juarros, Guat., ii. 263-6. Helps
suspects that Antonelli's report had reference to some other occasion and discredits
it. Sp. Conq., iii. 390. For general map of Guatemala see p. 110 this
vol.




[XVIII‑32] Juarros, ubi sup. Bernal Diaz considered that either the valley of
Petapa or Chimaltenango would have been a more favorable situation on
account of the frequent overflowing of the river and the earthquakes experienced
at Panchoy. Hist. Verdad., iv. (ed. Paris, 1837), 467.




[XVIII‑33]  The cabildo considered it their duty more than once to pass laws to prevent
the Indians from being overloaded. Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 367-8.
Every month the Cakchiquels of the dependency of the Ahpozotzil were compelled
to furnish 1,000 laborers of both sexes to aid the prisoners of war in
the building of the city. Cakchiquel, MS., Brasseur de Bourbourg, Hist. Nat.
Civ., iv. 790. The audiencia and viceroy of Mexico ordered the Indians of
Alvarado's estate to be employed in the erection of the new city. The bishop
appealed against this order on the ground of the distribution which he had
made already, the annulling of which would cause great dissatisfaction. Carta,
in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xiii. 276.




[XVIII‑34]  On November 18, 1541, the cabildo issued a decree ordering lots to be
enclosed with adobe walls before St John's day, June 1542, under penalty of
forfeiture. The time given being found to be too short, it was extended on
May 21, 1542, to easter in the following year. Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 365-7.




[XVIII‑35]  Helps, who is given to looseness in his statements, without quoting any
authority in this instance boldly states that 'the 4th of December 1543 was
the day on which the Spaniards took possession of their new quarters.' Sp.
Conq., iii. 390.




[XVIII‑36]  Remesal asserts that the entry in the books of the cabildo on that date
is the first to indicate a session held in the new city; 'es el primero que se
escriue en esta forma. En la ciudad de Santiago de Guatemala, en el asiento
nueuo della,' etc. Hist. Chyapa, 368.




[XVIII‑37]  Called henceforth Ciudad Vieja.




[XVIII‑38] Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 368. This author was presented with a painting
of the city, executed by Captain Miguel de Ortega at the request of the
authorities. He describes it as representing a scene truly beautiful.




[XVIII‑39] Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 200, 367.




[XVIII‑40]  It was the general wish that Governor Maldonado should be chosen,
but this was rendered impossible by his appointment as president of the new
audiencia. Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 393.




[XVIII‑41]  The members were the bishop, Cristóbal de la Cueva, Gabriel de Cabrera,
Sancho Barahona, and Hernan Mendez de Sotomayor.




[XVIII‑42]  In this document the petitioners especially brought forward as an injustice
a regulation previously passed that only married settlers could hold
repartimientos. Id. The cabildo had as early as February 1538 made a representation
to the crown on this matter, in which they explained the difficulty
and expense attending the procuring of wives from Spain. Arévalo, Col.
Doc. Antig., 13-14. It is evident also that in 1543 the cabildo again addressed
his Majesty on the subject of their claims, as the viceroy Mendoza
acknowledges receipt of 'el pliego que venia con ellas para S. M.,' and adds:
'yo escribo à S. M. ... haciéndole relacion, como conviene al servicio de S. M.
alargar las mercedes y no acortallas.' Id., 180.




[XVIII‑43]  Remesal states that Mendez under various pretexts delayed his journey,
and that on the 8th of June the cabildo revoked his appointment. No other
procurador appears to have been appointed up to September 10, 1546, when
receipt of the revocation of the new laws as regarded the repartimientos rendered
such an appointment no longer necessary. On this later date the cabildo
resolved to send a commission to the audiencia to solicit its enforcement. Hist.
Chyapa, 394-5. But I find that on May 7, 1545, the authorities of Guatemala
wrote to the king requesting that their procurador, who had been sent
to protest against the new code, might be given a hearing. Squier's MSS.,
xxii. 138. And Bishop Marroquin, writing on September 20, 1547, mentions
that many letters had been sent with Hernan Mendez to the council of Indies
relative to his action with the audiencia in 1545. Carta al Principe, in Cartas
de Indias, 446. He also states that Mendez was prejudiced against the public
will and partial to Herrera and the bishops of Nicaragua and Chiapas, and
that there was also another procurador named Olivero in Spain at that time.
Squier's MSS., xxii. 44-5.




[XVIII‑44]  They also recommended that Don Juan, the cacique of Atitlan, and
others who had aided in the pacification of the country should be allowed to
retain their Indians. It was, moreover, suggested that alcaldes mayores should
be appointed in Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Chiapas. Id., 132-3.




[XVIII‑45]  The cabildo on March 30, 1548, thank the emperor for this concession
which had been notified by their procurador Al.o de Oliveros. Id., 91-2. This
privilege did not, however, last long. In 1564 the procurator at court sought
to procure the passage of a law establishing encomiendas in perpetuity, but,
owing to the prejudice of the existing council against the colonists, he dared
not even broach the subject. In 1565 there were in Guatemala 72 encomiendas
which produced 80,000 ducados annually. A royal cédula dated November
28, 1568, ordered encomiendas to be granted solely upon merit, the descendants
of discoverers and conquerors being especially considered. But in 1572
the cabildo complained of the incessant arrival of persons provided with royal
cédulas granting them encomiendas as they became vacant, to the detriment
of deserving residents who had been long in the country. The attempt to
obtain encomiendas in perpetuity was abandoned in 1585, and a petition made
for their extension to a third life. This was also defeated in 1595. Pelaez,
Mem. Guat., ii. 2, 3. Bernal Diaz in the latter years of his life represents
himself, in common with four others, the sole survivors of Cortés' soldiers, as
aged, infirm, very poor, with a large family, and small income. Hist. Verdad.,
250.




[XVIII‑46]  Padre Cancer writing to the bishop of Chiapas October 20, 1545, mentions
that the cacique of Tezulutlan and other Indians were going to present
to him a petition against the enormous tributes which had been imposed upon
their people. Carta, in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., vii. 233-5.




[XVIII‑47] Squier's MSS., xxii. 137. In September 1547 Marroquin had heard that
the oidor Rogel 'esta nombrado para hacer la retasacion,' and adds, 'Ojalá no
sea aora como lo pasado.' Id., 45.




[XVIII‑48]  The crown acted upon this suggestion and issued two decrees relating
thereto. Marroquin on February 4, 1548, reports that the consolidation of
native towns was already in progress and that it was a highly necessary
measure. Id., 89, 92.




[XVIII‑49]  President Cerrato describes Gracias á Dios as occupied by only 18
vecinos, with neither physician, surgeon, nor druggist, while a great scarcity
of both meat and fish prevailed. He adds that the majority were in favor of
removal to the city of Santiago. Carta, in Squier's MSS., xxii. 87-8. Marroquin
urgently advocated this city as the future seat of the audiencia. Id., 45,
89, 94.




[XVIII‑50]  The removal doubtless took place in 1549. The letters of Cerrato and
Marroquin above quoted bear dates of October 5, 1548, and September 20,
1547, February 8, 1548, and August 1, 1548, respectively. Remesal gives the
date of the cédula as May 1, 1549. Hist. Chyapa, 503. Vazquez, Chron. de
Gvat., 222, June 16, 1548.




[XVIII‑51]  The king by royal cédula, dated July 7, 1550, approved the purchase of
the episcopal palace for the use of the audiencia. Hist. Chyapa, 503.




[XVIII‑52]  The document, found in Arévalo, Col. Doc. Antig., 21-4, is defective
and without date, but was probably written soon after the establishment of
the audiencia de los Confines in Santiago.




[XVIII‑53]  'Formó gran enemistad, y estuvo muchos dias que no quiso ir à misa à
la Iglesia mayor.' Id., 22. The disagreement between Marroquin and Cerrato
was already brewing in 1548, for on November the 3d of that year the
latter informs the crown that he and the licentiate Ramirez were in San Salvador
engaged in liberating slaves and reforming tributes, 'que eran incomportables
las que havian hecho el Opo i el Lic. Maldonado;' and, he adds, 'i
luego ... nos partiremos a Guatemala i se hara lo mismo.' Al Empr, in Squier's
MSS., xxii. 97.




[XVIII‑54]  President Cerrato reported to the emperor September 28, 1548, that the
first audiencia had observed neither new nor old laws, that the Indians were
treated as previously, and no steps taken to liberate them. Carta, in Squier's
MSS., 80.




[XVIII‑55]  He stated to the king that the tributes levied were intolerable and could
not be satisfied even if the Indians were twice as numerous, remarking, 'ni
los Encomenderos guardan lei ni tasacion i los'—the Indians—'destruyen sin
piedad.' Id., 80, 82.




[XVIII‑56]  The punishment of certain Spaniards of Comayagua by Cerrato for loading
Indians had called forth a general storm of abuse and denunciation by the
settlers. Id., 82. At this time Bishop Marroquin was the only one who had
letters patent, and consequently jurisdiction, as protector of Indians; the
other bishops had to apply to the audiencia to obtain such authority. Id.,
83-4. Marroquin in February 1548 requested the king to allow him to have
an alguacil for the service in connection with his protectorship. Id., 90.




[XIX‑1]  As early as May 28, 1528, fines were appropriated to the building of the
church. Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 277; Juarros, Hist. Guat., 63. It was dedicated
to Nuestra Señora de la Anunciacion, but afterward, when the name of
the city was changed, San Cristóbal was chosen as the patron saint, and
this name was retained after it was erected into a cathedral. Remesal, Hist.
Chyapa, 274; Nueva España, Breve Res., MS., ii. 390; Calle, Mem. y Not., 122.




[XIX‑2]  Both these priests were army chaplains, the latter receiving his appointment
from Pedro de Alvarado in the name of his Majesty. The religious
fervor of the Spaniards at Ciudad Real was to say the least lukewarm. In
1528 Pedro Gonzalez was ordered to say mass daily on pain of forfeiting his
salary. Another ordinance was that citizens were to attend church in proper
time; 'El Español que desde el Euangelio adelante estuuiere fuera de la Yglesia,
tiene pena de tres pessos;' while a third was to the effect that no citizen was
to be absent from the city during christmas, easter, and whitsuntide, under
a heavy penalty, which was inflicted on those absent at christmas in 1535.
Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 275-6; Mazariegos, Mem. Chiapa, 44; Pineda, Descrip.
Geog., 128.




[XIX‑3]  Fray Pedro de Barrientos was appointed superior, and according to
Pineda, 129, by Bishop Marroquin. The cabildo granted the friars their choice
of an allotment, and they selected one near the Cerro de la Cruz on the road
to Chapultepec. An additional piece of land, 130 paces square, was also
given them for their church and convent. Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 436-7;
Juarros, Hist. Guat., 63-4; Pineda, Descrip. Geog., 129.




[XIX‑4]  In 1546 Fray Marcos was succeeded by Friar Hernando de Arbolancha.
The former established a cattle farm near Copanabastla, where he also built
a country-house and a sugar-mill.




[XIX‑5]  According to Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 202; Gonzalez Dávila, Teatro Ecles.,
i. 189, April 14th; Calle, Mem. y Not., 122, May 19th; Larrainzar, Hist.
Soconusco, 20, April 14th; Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., viii. 26, May
15th. All these dates are wrong, as may be seen from a copy of the bull in
Nueva España, Breve Res., MS., ii. 392.




[XIX‑6] Nueva España, Breve Res., MS., ii. 389-92.




[XIX‑7]  In Nueva España, Breve Res., MS., it is
remarked that a copy of this document is nowhere
to be found, but that Remesal makes
mention of it as being identical with that of
the Guatemalan bishopric, except in the exordium.
In the cathedral of Chiapas no account
of it exists. See Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 202.
The personnel of the cathedral was to consist
of a dean, archdean, precentor, chancellor, and
treasurer, besides two canons and other ecclesiastics.
Gonzalez Dávila, Teatro Ecles., i. 189.




[XIX‑8]  Remesal states that the immediate cause
of his death was taking poison during the night
in mistake for water. Mazariegos inclines to
the opinion that the fatal draft was taken while
Arteaga was delirious with fever. Mem. Chiapa,
45. According to Calle, Mem. y Not., 122,
Avendaño was a native of Estepa. Some of
the members of his chapter went to Santiago,
and others remained at Ciudad Real in a destitute condition, but were provided
for by Marroquin. They asked that their allowance be given them from the
revenues of that church, but this was refused by Marroquin until the emperor's
decision should be known. Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xiii. 278-9.




[XIX‑9]  In his memorial to the audiencia Oct. 22, 1545, Squier's MSS., xxii. 176,
Las Casas claims Yucatan and Tezulutlan. June 4, 1545, Bishop Marroquin
acknowledges receipt of the prince's letter assigning Soconusco to Las Casas.
Id., 121.




[XIX‑10]  Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 223, says the 9th; Las Casas, in Quintana, Vidas,
184, the 10th; Helps, Span. Conq., iv. 302, the 4th.




[XIX‑11] Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., vii. 211-14.




[XIX‑12] Las Casas, Relacion de entrada, in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., vii.
157.




[XIX‑13]  'Donde más excesos y desórden ha habido en hacer injusta é inicua y
malvadamente los indios esclavos, ha sido en Guatemala y Chiapa.' Las Casas,
Representacion, in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., vii. 168-9.




[XIX‑14]  Diego Ramirez, juez visitador to Chiapas in 1548, writes Las Casas
under date of April 20, 1549, that so excessive had been the tribute imposed
by the settlers, that many of the natives had nothing left, not even a mantle,
and their condition was that of slavery or even worse. Pacheco and Cárdenas,
Col. Doc., vii. 204. Cerrato, writing to the emperor, Sept. 28, 1548, says
that in Guatemala and Chiapas the encomenderos observed neither the law
nor the prescribed tribute, but destroyed the natives without pity. Squier's
MSS., xxii. 82.




[XIX‑15]  Las Casas' opponents contended that this included all slaves however
acquired. Las Casas, Rel., in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., vii. 158;
Carta, Audiencia, July 20, 1545, in Squier's MSS., xxii. 111-12. Las Casas,
that it only concerned those unlawfully enslaved. Carta, Oct. 25, 1545, in Id.,
122-3. But practically it embraced all slaves, for their legal enslavement was
difficult of proof. Carta, Audiencia, Dec. 30, 1545, in Id., 130-1.




[XIX‑16] Las Casas, Rel., loc. cit.




[XIX‑17] Las Casas y Valdivieso, Carta, Oct. 25, 1545, in Squier's MSS., xxii.
122-3.




[XIX‑18] Las Casas, Rel., loc. cit.




[XIX‑19]  In a letter dated July 20, 1545, the audiencia informed the emperor of
Las Casas' doings at Ciudad Real, and charged him with usurping the jurisdiction
of the crown. Carta, in Squier's MSS., xxii. 111-12.




[XIX‑20] Las Casas, Carta, Oct. 25, 1545, in Squier's MSS., xxii. 121; Id., Nov. 9,
1545, in Cartas de Indias, 36.




[XIX‑21]  Las Casas' hostile reception and his subsequent reconciliation with the
settlers described by Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 379-87, I am inclined to discredit,
owing to the well known tendencies of this writer, and the fact that
the letter of Father Casillas, Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., vii. 181-2,
written when Las Casas was on his return from Gracias á Dios, does not indicate
such hostility.




[XIX‑22]  For a copy of the letter see Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., vii. 290,
338; also Las Casas, Oeuvres, ii. 120-180; this latter version is defective.




[XIX‑23] Robles, Chiapa, 27-8.




[XIX‑24] Hist. Mex., ii. 570 et seq., this series.




[XIX‑25] Ramirez, Cartas, April 26, 1548, April 20, 1549, in Pacheco and Cárdenas,
Col. Doc., vii. 201-4; Fr. Torre, Carta, Aug. 3, 1548, in Squier's MSS.,
xxii. 94-6.




[XIX‑26] Carta, Sept. 28, 1548, in Squier's MSS., xxii. 81-2.




[XIX‑27]  Fray Antonio de Remesal began the history of the Dominican province
of San Vicente de Chiapas y Guatemala about the middle of April 1615, and
finished it in Oajaca, Sept. 29, 1617. The secular history of Guatemala and
the other provinces under the jurisdiction of the audiencia de los Confines
is moreover incidentally given, but not in a detailed manner. The author's
diligence and perseverance in having completed in so short a time a folio
volume of 784 pages, and one displaying great research, are remarkable, and
the more praiseworthy for the reason that it was accomplished under violent
opposition and many difficulties. It is to be regretted that, having bestowed
so much labor on investigation, he did not supply a bibliographical list of his
authorities. These he informs us consisted of archives, books, manuscripts,
memorials, narratives, wills, and statements, which he asserts were documents
worthy of credit and authentic, but omits enumeration of them 'in
order to avoid a very long list.' He was indebted to Conde de la Gomera,
president of the audiencia of Guatemala, for access to the archives and official
papers of different cities. To him he dedicates his book. The advantages
enjoyed by Remesal in this respect render the work an exceedingly valuable
contribution to Central American history. Its value, however, is lessened
by the great number of typographical and other errors which it contains.
These are very important, especially where dates are concerned.
While a large number of them are quite obvious, very many incidents of
great importance must be verified as to time of occurrence, by reference to
other authors. In the portion of his work which relates to the conquest of
Guatemala, many inaccuracies are observed. In fact, Remesal was hurried,
and often biassed. His style is clear and pleasing; free from the redundant
and inflated form so common a century later. He submitted his manuscript
to Torquemada, by whom it was highly approved and its publication advised.
This occurred in the city of Mexico. But meantime a storm was brewing elsewhere.
The work was by no means to the liking of certain parties in Guatemala.
By means of letters addressed to different parts of Mexico, but more
particularly by a special messenger who preached a crusade against the new history,
these enemies raised up a tempest of indignation against Remesal and his
book, especially in Oajaca. Through the influence, however, of sensible and
powerful friends in Mexico and Guatemala all opposition was overcome. See
pages 747-51 of his work. The author was born in the town of Allariz in Galicia,
and on the 9th of October 1613, nearly five months after he left Spain, arrived at
Guatemala, where he was most kindly received by the Dominican order. During
the time he remained in their convent, he failed not to observe the excellent
system of government under which the society worked, and occupied
his time in perusing the acts of the chapters held in the convent. He was so
impressed with the excellence of these laws and regulations that he proceeded
to make a kind of summary of them. While thus employed, a work on the
origin of the province, written by Friar Tomás de la Torre, fell into his hands.
This suggested to him to undertake a history that would embrace both secular
and ecclesiastical matters. With unconquerable diligence and ardor he
prosecuted to the end the work thus projected. On one occasion, when suffering
from a fibrous abscess in the face, he carefully perused in a single day
the whole of the first book of the archives of Guatemala city, after having
submitted to a severe surgical operation on his right cheek. Twice he journeyed
over all New Spain, collecting information and, in particular, studying
the books of the cabildos of different cities and towns. The evidence he thus
obtained was in many instances at variance, he states, with printed books
and histories of his own religion. The authors of these—whose names he does
not mention—he would not condemn, however, but excuse on the ground
that later research will necessarily produce different accounts of events. See
his preface. Remesal was a fearless writer. Perhaps he had some leaning
to the descendants of the conquerors, yet he does not hesitate to denounce
the acts of the first colonists, to deal with Alvarado in a manner severely
condemning him, and to endorse Las Casas with regard to the cruel oppression
of the Indians. But his statements are to be accepted with caution,
especially where Las Casas or the Dominican order is concerned. No effort
is spared to hold them up to the gaze of an admiring posterity, and to expose
the errors and perverseness of their enemies. To this end all sorts of probable
and improbable situations and adventures are described, wherein the
religious eventually triumph. Many important facts are glossed over, or
omitted, the true versions of which it is evident must have come within his
observation. Numerous speeches, sermons, conversations, even the thoughts
and feelings of the leading actors, are described with a minuteness of detail
that is astonishing considering the lapse of time—over 75 years. The account
of the prosecution of the religious by Baltasar Guerra may be looked upon as
a fiction, while the author's inventive faculty has had much to do with that
of the opposition to Las Casas in Ciudad Real. His version of Las Casas'
doings in Gracias á Dios seems also greatly exaggerated.




[XX‑1]  The old church had cost more than 10,000 pesos, and the bishop had not
only expended his own means upon it, but had also borrowed 5,000 or 6,000
more. He requests the king February 20, 1542, that the prompt and full
payment of tithes be enforced, and that he aid him with 3,000 or 4,000 pesos
for the construction of the new church already being built. Carta, in Pacheco
and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xiii. 272-3.




[XX‑2] Vazquez, Chron. de Gvat., 153.




[XX‑3]  Although Marroquin expressed acquiescence in the wishes of the cabildo
he did not approve of the pulling down of the church, and ordered it to be
re-roofed at his own expense. Arévalo, Col. Doc. Antig., 190-1. Vazquez
states that the old cathedral was taken down and the materials used in the
construction of the new one. Chron. de Gvat., 165.




[XX‑4]  In March 1545 Marroquin petitioned the king that the subsidy of the
novenos for the erection of the church be continued. The grant was extended
for four more years. In accordance with a second request made in September
1547 the grant of two novenos was extended for six years. Again in
March 1548 the bishop asked for aid in addition to the novenos already
granted. Squier's MSS., xxii. 45, 91, 138. Vazquez states that the building of
the church lasted only three years. Chron. de Gvat., 153.




[XX‑5]  He also complains of the government officials who maintained that he
had no right to tithes during his absence in Mexico with Alvarado in 1540-1.
Carta, in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xiii. 274-5.




[XX‑6] Id., 273-4. In May 1547 Bishop Pedraza asked the king for an increase
of salary from 500,000 maravedís to 2,000 ducados, the stipend given
to the bishop of Guatemala and others. Squier's MSS., xxii. 29. The royal
officials were ordered in 1540 to investigate the question of salaries and
amount of tithes received yearly in each bishopric. If they fell short of
500,000 maravedís, the deficit was to be supplied out of the royal treasury.
Recop. de Ind., i. 63-4.




[XX‑7]  Cacao formed the chief and most valuable tithe in the diocese. Id., 94.
The payment of tithes on pita—the fibre of the agave manufactured into
articles of clothing etc.—and balsam and the carrying of tithes to the churches
was under consideration by the audiencia, December 20, 1545. Id., 132.




[XX‑8] Squier's MSS., xxii. 92, 4. In December 1551 the viceroy of Mexico addressed
the cabildo on this question and expressed his astonishment at the
outcry against the payment of tithes, 'que de derecho divino y humano son
obligados a pagallos.' Arévalo, Col. Doc. Antig., 181-2.




[XX‑9] Squier's MSS., xxii. 44-5, 120-1, 123, 139; Cartas de Indias, 19-23, 442.




[XX‑10]  In 1546 according to Gonzalez Dávila, Hist. Ecles., i. 149. Vazquez
states that the convent of La Concepcion was not founded until 1577. Chron.
de Gvat., 153.




[XX‑11] Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 441. Vazquez, as previously quoted, however,
states that the name of the first lady superior was Juana de San Francisco,
implying that she was a Franciscan and not a Dominican. This author's
whole account is a contradiction of Remesal's version.




[XX‑12]  The emperor contributed 2,000 ducados toward its founding. Gonzalez
Dávila, Teatro Ecles., i. 152.




[XX‑13] Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 585. Gonzalez Dávila says that Marroquin
'Dio principio al Hospital de S. Alexo, donde se curã Indios y Españoles, que
oy es Hospital Real, en año 1647'—a misprint for 1547—Teatro Ecles., i. 150.
This hospital was founded for the benefit of Indians who were no longer
capable of service, and whom the Spaniards were wont to turn out into the
streets to die like dogs. Guat., Santo Domingo en 1724, 55.




[XX‑14] Vazquez, Chron. de Gvat., 152. Consult also Remesal, Hist. Chyapa,
584-6, where a somewhat different account is given. In claiming merit for
his order this author represents the Indians as unwilling to enter the hospital
of Santiago, preferring that of San Alejo. Both hospitals received liberal
support from the crown.




[XX‑15]  The second opening of the Dominican convent took place about July
1536. Though Remesal, on pages 111, 115, states that Las Casas arrived at
Santiago in 1535, there is positive evidence that 1536 is the right year. In
the deposition, taken in Leon on the 23d of August 1536, relative to the proceeding
of Las Casas in Nicaragua, the witness Martinez de Isagre in his
evidence mentions that the padre left Leon about two months previous to that
date. Informaciones, in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., vii. 141, 143. Gonzalez
Dávila makes the same error as Remesal. Teatro Ecles., i. 143. Juarros
is correct. Guat., 264. Torquemada, iii. 338, states that friars Pedro de Angulo,
Juan de Torres, and Matias de Paz, were sent from Mexico in 1538 to
found the province of the order in Guatemala.




[XX‑16]  A misunderstanding occurred between the cabildo and the friars relative
to the grounds of the latter in the old city. These the Dominicans had sold,
but the cabildo, which had declared the site of the old an egido, deemed the
new grant an equal exchange for the former lots, declared that the friars had
no right to make such a sale, and ordered the inclosures which had been built
to be pulled down. Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 369-70.




[XX‑17]  Remesal gives the names and grades of these members. Id., 457, 525.




[XX‑18] Torquemada, iii. 489. On the 18th of January 1533 I find that Motolinia
was in Tehuantepec with Fray Martin de Valencia and others of the
order, who signed at that place a letter to the emperor. Ternaux-Compans,
Voy., série ii. tom. v. 228.




[XX‑19]  The names of these friars were Alonso de Casaseca, called also de las
Eras, Diego Ordoñez, Gonzalo Mendez, Francisco de Bustillo, Diego de Alva,
and a lay brother Francisco Valderas. Torquemada, iii. 338; Vazquez, Chron.
de Gvat., 42-3, 154, 518-19; Gonzalez Dávila, Teatro Ecles., i. 145.




[XX‑20]  The expense of each friar from Seville to Vera Cruz was 70 ducados.
Id.; Mendieta, Hist. Ecles., 384.




[XX‑21]  Diego Ordoñez was chosen to succeed him. Vazquez, Chron. de Gvat., 51-5.




[XX‑22]  Vazquez states that they occupied a small convent badly out of repair
built by Franciscans formerly in the country. 'Cõventico, que por entõces
àpenas tenîa vn lienzo de horcônes.' Id., 59.




[XX‑23]  Vazquez gives a copy of the order for the allotment signed by the joint
governors Marroquin and Cueva. It is without date, but Vazquez infers that
it was given during October 1541, when lots were being distributed. Id., 167.




[XX‑24]  They were engaged in the difficult task of collecting the Indians into
towns. Fray Ordoñez remained in charge of the monastery; Gonzalo was
sent among the Zutugils; Bustillo and Alva to the Quichés and Cakchiquels
respectively. Id., 60-7, 77-82, 106-11, 129.




[XX‑25] Mendieta, Hist. Ecles., 384-5; Torquemada, iii. 338-9.




[XX‑26]  Both the date and number of friars are matters of dispute. Torquemada
states that Motolinia was sent in 1542 to Guatemala by Jacobo de Testera,
comisario general of the order, with twelve of the 150 friars whom he had
brought to Mexico that year. Torquemada, iii. 337, 339. He follows Mendieta,
Hist. Ecles., 385. Figueroa, in Pap. Franciscanos, MS., i. No. 1, 37 et seq.,
supports Torquemada as to date but maintains that the number of friars was 24.
Vazquez, on the authority of Fund. de la Prov. de S. Franco de Guat., MS.,
1583, Lizana, Hist. Yuc., a letter of Motolinia dated October 21, 1545, and the
minutes of the cabildo, concludes that Motolinia arrived at Guatemala in
1544, with 20 or 24 friars. Chron. de Gvat., 42-3, 102, 105-6, 440.




[XX‑27]  The convent next founded after that at Santiago was the one at Atitlan
by Fray Gonzalo in 1541; then followed others at Tecpanatitlan and Comalapa.
Id., 84-5, 340. There is some doubt as to the date of the founding of
the Franciscan custodia in Guatemala. Torquemada states that it was established
in 1551, following Mendieta. Vazquez is contradictory, giving the
years 1544 and 1549 as the dates. Chron. de Gvat., 102, 123, and furthermore
quotes on pp. 144-6, Fund. Prov. S. Francisco, MS., 1583, as follows: 'Digo,
que lo q̃ ay en el caso es: que esta Provincia fuè veinte años Custodia de la
Provincia del Santo Evangelio de Mexico.' As this refers to the erection of
the order into a province in 1529, it would appear that there was a Franciscan
custodia in Guatemala in 1539. Figueroa, in Pap. Franciscanos, MS. i.
No. 1, 37, gives 1542 as the date.




[XX‑28]  The number of friars sent to Yucatan as variously given by the authorities
already quoted, was four or six. But Marroquin, writing to the emperor
December 1, 1545, states that Fray Villapando was in Yucatan with eight of
the order, whom he had taken from Guatemala. Squier's MSS., xxii. 140.
For mention of Villapando's labors in Yucatan see Hist. Mex., ii. 452 et seq.,
this series.




[XX‑29] Torquemada, iii. 339. The cabildo of Santiago in December 1545 petitioned
that Motolinia should be sent back. The comisario general in Mexico
replied, in February 1545, that more friars would be sent but that Motolinia's
services were more needed in Mexico. Vazquez, Chron. de Gvat., 105-6.




[XX‑30] Ibid.; Audiencia al Emperador, in Squier's MSS., xxii. 132.




[XX‑31] Torquemada, iii. 339, 374-5; Mendieta, Hist. Ecles., 385.




[XX‑32]  Many through inability to master the difficulties of the languages had
left. Squier's MSS., xxii. 39-40.




[XX‑33] Zapata, Carta, 'Destruyen i no edifican.' Id., 40.




[XX‑34]  Las Casas, in Quintana, Vidas, 207-8.




[XX‑35]  According to Motolinia, Hist. Ecles., 259, 268, Fray Betanzos wrote
a letter to Las Casas attributing much evil and scandal to his mode of
proceeding.




[XX‑36]  Meaning land of war; the name Vera Paz signifying true peace was
given it by the Dominicans because they had accomplished by peaceful
measures what force of arms had failed to do. Miranda, in Squier's MSS., xv. 2;
Juarros, Guat., ii. 320-1. This last author, quoting Las Casas, states that
this name was conferred by Charles V. i. 153. Consult also Remesal, Hist.
Chyapa, 118-24. The native name is written by different authors Tuzulutlan
and Tezulutan.




[XX‑37]  Now called Dulce.




[XX‑38] Squier's MSS., xiv. 1-2. Miranda in 1575 reported to the oidor Palacio
of the Guatemala audiencia that the river Zacapulas separated Vera Paz from
the province of Guatemala, and that the distance thence to the gulf of Dulce
was about 48 leagues, its greatest width being 27 leagues. The inhabited
portion was only one third or one fourth of its surface, for the friars had collected
the Indians into towns, and established a system of commerce. Squier's
MSS., xv. 3. At the time of these reports the northern part, a wild and
heavily wooded country, was—and still is—inhabited by wild tribes, being
then a refuge for fugitive Indians from Yucatan.




[XX‑39]  Quintana conjectures that lack of mines and other valuable resources
prevented their being enslaved. Vidas, 2a parte, 173.




[XX‑40]  Entitled De Unico Vocationis Modo, and abounding in copious legal and
theological arguments in favor of his system of peaceable conquest. Remesal,
Hist. Chyapa, 118-21; Las Casas, in Quintana, Vidas, 2a parte, 172-3.




[XX‑41]  Las Casas, in Quintana, Vidas, 238-9. These terms were guaranteed by
Maldonado in May 1537 according to Remesal. Hist. Chyapa, 122-3. They
were approved by the audiencia of Mexico in February 1539, and by the
emperor in November 1540. Real Cédula, in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc.,
vii. 146-56.




[XX‑42] Pelaez, Mem. de Guat., i. 153.




[XX‑43]  Remesal gives an interesting and romantic account of the method first
adopted by Las Casas, but one which, I apprehend, is more an invention
than a true statement of facts. He represents Las Casas and his colleagues
as composing verses in the Quiché tongue, narrating the principal mysteries
of the Catholic faith. These were set to music and taught to four Indian
merchants, who were in the habit of journeying into Tuzulutlan. The lord
of Zacapulas was a formidable and powerful chief called by Remesal Don
Juan. To him the four merchants were instructed to go and sing their canticles,
having been provided with various articles from Spain such as would
excite curiosity. Their reception was favorable, and the interest awakened
by their songs, the novel presents which they brought, and their description
of the peace-loving men induced a wish in the haughty chieftain to be visited
by the friars themselves. Accordingly a second expedition was planned and
Fray Luis Cancer was selected to accompany the Indian traders. His mission
was successful. The cacique was persuaded to embrace Christianity,
destroy his idols, and be baptized. On the return of Fray Luis, Las Casas
determined still further to extend the work in person, and in December
1537 visited Don Juan accompanied by Fray Angulo. They then extended
their journey into the more remote districts of Tuzulutlan and Coban, being
provided with an escort by the cacique, who vainly endeavored to dissuade
them from their hazardous undertaking. The treatment they met with was,
however, generally favorable, and though they experienced some opposition
among the subjects of both Don Juan and the lord of Coban, they completed
their journey and returned early in 1538. Hist. Chyapa, 122-4, 135-40.
Consult also Fernandez, Hist. Ecles., passim; Las Casas, in Quintana, Vidas,
174-6; and Brasseur de Bourbourg, Hist. Nat. Civ., iv. 793-6. Now this
account savors at least of inaccuracy. The efforts of Las Casas and his companions,
previous to his departure to Spain in 1539-40, were confined to the
frontiers which were to a certain extent under subjugation. In February
1542 Bishop Marroquin, writing to the emperor, after mentioning the arrival
of some Dominicans who brought with them 'dos señores de la raya de tierra
de guerra, que les salieron al camino,' and describing the excitement caused
by the reading of a royal provision 'eshivida á contemplacion de fray Bartolomé
de las Casas y por su relacion,' uses these words: 'Esto confiado,
que este pedazo de tierra que está á la mar del Norte, cuya cabecera es
Teculutlan, ha de venir en conocimiento de nuestra santa fée, sin riesgo ni
sangre ni muertes, y cuando no, antes ganará que perderá.' Pacheco and
Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xiii. 278-9. This clearly proves that but little progress
had been made in the spiritual conquest of Vera Paz up to the date of Marroquin's
letter. The mention of the two lords of the Tierra de Guerra and
Fray Domingo de Vico's custom of composing verses on the life of Christ and
scriptural subjects, to be sung by converted Indians at feasts, as mentioned
by Remesal on pages 611-12, may have suggested to that writer his story of
the merchants and Don Juan and the lord of Coban. Moreover, in December
1545 the audiencia informed the emperor that two Dominicans had, previous
to May preceding, left Guatemala for the provinces of Tuzulutlan and
Lacandon, and that their lives being reported in danger Fray Angulo had
gone to their aid. The oidores also expressed their disapproval of the proposition
to exempt Don Juan, the cacique of Atitlan, and others from the
encomienda system as a reward for the assistance rendered by them in the
pacification of those districts. Squier's MSS., xxii. 131.




[XX‑44]  In addressing the emperor from Madrid, December 15, 1540, Las Casas
reports the commencement of the work, and that the lords of the provinces
had already treated with the Dominicans secretly. He expresses the conviction
that the country would be brought to acknowledge the sovereignty of
Spain 'por via de paz, amor y buenas obras.' Col. Doc. Inéd., viii. 555-6.




[XX‑45]  The date of his departure from New Spain and of his arrival at the peninsula
are alike uncertain. Remesal states that he attended a provincial chapter
of his order held in Mexico on the 24th of August 1538 at which the
question of his mission to Spain was discussed and permission given to him,
Ladrada, and Cancer to go thither. At the same meeting the title of vicar of
the Dominican convent in Guatemala was conferred upon Fray Angulo. Hist.
Chyapa, 147, 150. Las Casas, in Quintana, Vidas, 178, concludes that he arrived
in Spain in 1539. Helps, Span. Conq., iii. 304-7, and Life of Las Casas, 178,
avers that he returned from Tuzulutlan to Santiago in May 1539 and proceeded
to Mexico to attend the chapter held on August 24, 1539. According to
Icazbalceta, Col. Doc., i. pp. lv. lxii. 258, Las Casas was in Tlascala in the early
part of 1539. For particulars regarding the sailing of the fleets to and from
Spain see Id., pp. cxiv-v. February 15th was the day of leaving Vera Cruz as
regulated by decree of 1564. Remesal states that previous to his departure Las
Casas founded Rabinal after mature deliberation as to the choice of a site favorable
to his design. The undertaking was extremely difficult, but through
the curiosity of roaming natives and the friendly invitations of the original
settlers, the number of inhabitants increased before long to 500, including neophytes
and other Indians. Las Casas was assisted in this work by Fray Luis
Cancer, who availed himself of the opportunity of visiting the interior as far
as the towns of Coban. Hist. Chyapa, 143-4.




[XX‑46]  These were respectively dated November 17, 1539, and April 20, 1540.
In the first of these he is charged with insisting upon the liberation of certain
slaves under penalty of their owners being refused the sacraments. Gavarrete,
Cop. Doc., 41-2. In the second one it is asserted that he was travelling about
rather than looking after the Indians 'que estàn de guerra' and 'nunca los
vió. Ni creemos que tuvo inteligencia ninguna con ellos.' Arévalo, Col. Doc.
Antig., 15-16.




[XX‑47]  Copy of this decree which was dated January 9, 1540, can be found in
Gonzalez Dávila, Teatro Ecles., i. 146-7; and Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 152.




[XX‑48]  This decree was issued on October 17, 1540. It also provided that in
the event of the collection of tribute being decided upon by Las Casas the
governor or bishop should appoint a proper person. Id., 153, et seq; Real
Cédula, in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., vii. 146-9.




[XX‑49]  This decree, however, was not issued until January 28, 1541. Remesal,
Hist. Chyapa, 155-6.




[XX‑50]  My authority for giving this date is a passage from a letter addressed
by Cancer from Seville to Las Casas at the court of Spain. It is as follows:
'Contéles luego el fundamento, que fue todo el suceso de las provincias de la
Verapaz, y como S. M., á instancia de vuestra Señoría, me envió allá agora
siete años y lo que se hizo con solo dos religiosos.' Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col.
Doc., vii. 185. This letter was doubtless written in 1548, shortly before Cancer's
departure on his ill-fated expedition to Florida, which will presently be
narrated. See copy of royal order dated December 28, 1547, extending permission,
also assistance to the expedition. Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 114-15.




[XX‑51]  Bishop Marroquin states that nearly the whole of this region to the
northern sea was conquered by Diego de Alvarado, and that a hundred Spaniards
settled therein. They afterward abandoned it to go to Peru, and in the
more important affairs which occupied the colonists this rugged province was
forgotten. Las Casas, in Quintana, Vidas, 238.




[XX‑52]  Among the places visited may be mentioned Zacapula, 'uno de los
pueblos de paz que sirven á los españoles en la ciudad de Guatemala,' at which
place four caciques of Tezulutlan met the bishop. Then he proceeded to
Patal and Jatic, Coban, and Tezulutlan. Informacion, in Pacheco and Cárdenas,
Col. Doc., vii. 216. From the same document it may be gathered that at
the time of the visit the friars in the country were: Pedro de Angulo, Luis
Cancer, Juan de Sant Lúcas, Fray Gabriel, Domingo de Vico, Domingo de
Azcona, and two others whose names are not mentioned.




[XX‑53]  Marroquin reporting this visit indulges in unfriendly and ungenerous remarks
against Las Casas: 'yo sé que él ha de escribir invenciones é imaginaciones,
que ni él las entiende ni entenderá en mi conciencia: porque todo su
edificio y fundamento va fabricado sobre hipocresía y avaria, y asi lo mostró
luego que le fue dada la mitra.' But I do not find that the bishop of Guatemala
differs in any material point from the bishop of Chiapas in his account.
He says, 'y media legua ántes que llegase salió todo el pueblo hombres y
mugeres á me recibir con muchas danzas y bailes ... y alabé mucho á Dios en
ver tan buena voluntad y tan buen principio,' and admits further on that the
friendly reception was due to the method adopted by the friars. He describes
the land as 'la mas fragosa que hay acá, no es para que pueblen españoles en
ella por ser tan fragosa y pobre.' Las Casas, in Quintana, Vidas, 238-9. See
also Marroquin, Carta, in Squier's MSS., xxii. 139-40. Motolinia also states
that Las Casas represented Vera Paz as of great extent and densely populated,
but that it was not one tenth as large as represented by him. Las Casas, in
Quintana, Vidas, 243.




[XX‑54]  'El tributo que tienen agora es intolerable, cada ochenta dias doscientas
y cincuenta mantas, cuarenta y dos ziquipiles de cacao, y lo de la sementera,
y creo que se la comen en las minas los oficiales.' He states, too, that with
warriors taken from Tuzulutlan a town double its size had been founded near
Guatemala. With regard to the tribute he hoped that it would at any rate
be reduced to two payments a year, one on St John's day and the other at
christmas. Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., vii. 231-6. Nevertheless immoderate
tribute was complained of for many years afterward. In 1551 a
royal decree was issued for the purpose of lessening the burden. In 1568 the
audiencia of Guatemala was ordered to moderate the tribute paid by the
Indians of Vera Paz, the caciques having forwarded a petition to the crown;
and in 1577 the audiencia is again ordered to reduce the tribute. Remesal,
Hist. Chyapa, 702-3.




[XX‑55]  The crown furnished Cancer with 800 ducados, with which ten tons of
goods were purchased for the purpose of trading with the Indians. The friar
addressed three letters to Las Casas previous to his departure, the first being
dated February 9th, and the second February 14th. None of them give the
year, but there is little doubt that they were written in 1548. Copies of these
letters are to be found in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., vii. 184-201.




[XX‑56] Ibid. Remesal states that Cancer took no companions with him from
Spain, but that he selected from the Dominican convent in Mexico three
friars and a lay brother. Hist. Chyapa, 515. There can be no doubt, however,
that two of these accompanied him from Spain. See Pacheco and Cárdenas,
Col. Doc., vii. 199.




[XX‑57]  Both Fernandez, Hist. Ecles., 150-1, and Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 515-16,
attribute the catastrophe which followed to the action of the captain, who,
they assert, was well aware that he was not carrying out the wishes of
Cancer. Las Casas also states that the captain knew of the danger, but refused
to land farther off under the pretext that four Spanish armies had disembarked
at that point without meeting with resistance. Oeuvres, i. 405.




[XX‑58]  Remesal enlarges on the tragedy. He states that the cacique of the
neighboring village was grieved that the murdered friars had not been taken
alive, in order that he might have conversed with them, and that he caused
the skins of the victims to be stripped off and stretched upon the walls of his
house, while their heads were stuffed with cotton and suspended from a tree.
He then adds 'y comieronse la carne en vn gran combite, despues de muchos
bayles y fiestas.' Hist. Chyapa, 516. According to the same author, between
1566 and 1600 four unsuccessful attempts were made by Jesuits, Dominicans,
and Franciscans to christianize Florida. In these efforts nearly all the missionaries
lost their lives. In a second attempt made by the Franciscans they
gained a foothold in the country, and in 1612 a province called Santa Élena
was founded by the chapter general at Rome. Id., 518-19. Dávila Padilla,
179-89, states that Fray Louis Cancer was a native of Saragossa in Spain.
He was of noble family, and proficient in various branches of learning. He
first went to Española, thence to Puerto Rico, where he founded a convent,
and a few years later proceeded to Guatemala. Both this author and Fernandez,
Hist. Ecles., 150, assert that on a voyage from Mexico to Spain he
was captured by Turkish pirates, but ransomed. To judge from his letters
Cancer was a single-minded and devout missionary, filled with religious ardor,
and sanguine of success.




[XX‑59] Las Casas, Oeuvres, i. 405-6. His vehement opponent Motolinia, in his
letter to the king, dated January 2, 1555, while urging the necessity of carrying
the gospel into Florida, remarks, 'but not after the manner of Las Casas.'
Icazbalceta, Col. Doc., i. 255.




[XXI‑1]  Jan. 14th, according to Vazquez, Chron. Gvat., 222; evidently before the
beginning of March. See Quesada, Carta, May 25, 1855, in Squier's MSS.,
xxii. 1-3.




[XXI‑2]  Quesada, in his letter cited above, reports it finished.




[XXI‑3]  The salaries of the different offices were to be fixed; each town was to have
a casa de communidad, a strong box to contain their surplus earnings, a jail,
tariff, records, and accounts of the estates of minors and the deceased; lands
were to be assigned them; the mode of paying tributes was to be regulated;
and, above all, they were to be instructed. Quesada, Carta, loc. cit.




[XXI‑4] Torres, Carta, Nov. 17, 1555, in Squier's MSS., xxii. 6.




[XXI‑5] Cavallon, Carta, Feb. 27, 1555, in Squier's MSS., xxii. 7.




[XXI‑6] Torres, Carta, Nov. 8, 1555; Torres, Carta, Nov. 17, 1555; Cárdenas,
Carta, Dec. 6, 1555, in Squier's MSS., xxii., 5-7.




[XXI‑7]  Its chief feature was bleeding at the nose, for which no remedy could be
found. The country was almost depopulated. Vazquez, Chron. Gvat., 157.
Juarros, Guat. (ed. Lond. 1823), 148.




[XXI‑8]  They killed four men, besides a priest who attempted to prevent the
seizure of the host, remained nearly two weeks, and made many prisoners.
The viceroy of New Spain was at once notified. Velasco, Carta, Sept. 30, 1558,
in Squier's MSS., x. 1, 2.




[XXI‑9] Carta, Feb. 18, 1555, in Arévalo, Col. Doc. Antig., 25.




[XXI‑10]  'Que no solo le era licito al Rey hazerles guerra, sino q̃ en conciencia
estaua a ello obligado, y para a defender a sus subditos totalmente destruyra
los de Lacandon.' Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 616.




[XXI‑11]  Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 621, says many escaped in the direction of Yucatan
through a large river connected with the lake which Pelaez, Mem.
Guat., i. 161-2, supposes to have been the Zacapulas.




[XXI‑12]  In 1638, Pinelo says that it was not known whether Puchutlas was in
Lake Lacandon or in another lake. Relacion, i. Fancourt in his map accompanying
Hist. Yuc., places the town north of L. Lacandon. Other maps of
this region do not attempt to give its locality. In making my map of this
region I have drawn from this and other sources. Dávila says the expedition
started forth to visit the provinces of La Candon, Pochultra, Catanu, and
Tofilte pequena. Relacion, in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xvi. 327.




[XXI‑13]  This according to Juarros, though he does not give us his authority for
the statement. Guat., i. 259.




[XXI‑14] Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 622, piously observes that the expedition was
ordained by God for the salvation of a single soul, that of an infant, 'Entiendese
que solo la ordenò nuestro Señor para saluar vn alma predestinada
de vn niño de solos quinze dias que hallãdole vn Español atrauessado con vna
saeta le bautizò antes que espirase.' Pelaez, Mem. Hist. Guat., i. 159-64,
takes the more practical view adopted in the text.




[XXI‑15]  Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 523-645, forms the chief and original authority
for the foregoing events, and it is much to be regretted that we have no other
account with which to compare his statements. In all subsequent descriptions
of this expedition their authors have directly or indirectly followed
Remesal. Villagutierre, Hist. Conq. Itza., 51-80, copies him literally. Pinelo,
Relacion, 2-4; Juarros, Guat., 258-9; Pelaez, Mem. Hist. Guat., i. 159-64,
all follow him. Squier, Cent. Amer., 554-61, follows both Villagutierre
and Pinelo.




[XXI‑16] Arévalo, Col. Doc. Antig., 26. Vazquez, Chronica Gvat., 222, says that
he was appointed Nov. 28, 1558.




[XXI‑17]  Dowerless maidens had been provided for, provisions had become abundant
and cheap, and both Spaniards and Indians were contented. Cartas, in
Arévalo, Col. Doc. Antig., 28, 30.




[XXI‑18]  'Mandó que diesen los indios cierta cantidad de pescado cada semana,
no habiendo rios ni mar dentro de diez y doce leguas. Mandó con pena ...
que no vendiesen las gallinas por más de un real, valiendo á dos reales, y sino
quisiesen venderla á real, dió licencia que los españoles se la tomasen por
fuerza.' Las Casas, Representacion in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., vii.
163.




[XXI‑19] Las Casas, Representacion, loc. cit.; Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 624-6; Cabildo,
Carta, Feb. 12, 1563, in Arévalo, Col. Doc. Antig., 36.




[XXI‑20] Hist. Chyapa, 639.




[XXI‑21] Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 646.




[XXI‑22]  'Que se le envie à mandar tenga especial cuidado del bien é aumento de
los que en esta cibdad é provincias viven.' Carta, Jan. 26, 1562, in Arévalo,
Col. Doc. Antig., 32. In another letter they petitioned the king that in the
appointment of governors preference be given those having experience in the
Indies, as with a new governor there always came a number of servants, dependants,
and relatives who had to be provided for, to the prejudice of the
more meritorious conquerors and settlers. Carta, Feb. 12, 1563, in Id., 36.




[XXI‑23]  Spelled Briceño by Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 646; Briceño de Coca, also
Briseño, by Juarros, Guat., i. 354; ii. 49; the orthography here adopted is
from the letters of the cabildo, in Arévalo, Col. Doc. Antig., 39, 45.




[XXI‑24]  Presbyter ... and visitador of the provinces of Popayan and Guatemala.
Escamilla, Not. Cur., MS., 2.




[XXI‑25]  At the end of July, according to Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 646; Feb. 12,
1565, according to Juarros, Guat., ii. 49. In January of 1564 the cabildo
were awaiting his arrival. In the following December they say that he
arrived August 2d of the previous year, 'del año pasado,' which is evidently
an error, the same year being meant.




[XXI‑26] Cabildo, Carta, Dec. 20, 1564, in Arévalo, Col. Doc., 39. Remesal, Hist.
Chyapa, represents Landecho's rule as very corrupt; that he was placed
under arrest in his own house by Brizeño, and that to escape a fine of 30,000
pesos he secretly fled to the coast, embarked, and perished at sea. Remesal
also states that all the oidores were suspended excepting one, whose name
he does not give, and all fined in sums varying from 3,000 to 9,000 pesos.
Juarros follows, in brief, Remesal's account of the corrupt rule, arrest, fine,
escape, and death of Landecho, and the fining of the other oidores, including
Loaisa, who he says was retained. In the account of Brizeño's arrival, however,
he gives the popular tradition that the visitador came first in disguise
and made himself known only to the prior of the convent of Mercy, with
whom he lodged. Having learned from personal observation and conversations
the true state of affairs, he proceeded to the town of Petapa, whence he
announced his arrival to the audiencia and cabildo. The letter of the cabildo
cited above does not favor either of these versions. It says: 'De la visita
resultó quedar suspendido el Presidente y Gobernador que en ella estaba,
juntamente con el Lic. Jufre de Loaisa Oidor.'




[XXI‑27]  Corn sold at the exorbitant price of four tostones a fanega, and bands
of men and women went about the country seeking work sufficient to enable
them to obtain food. Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 641, 645.




[XXI‑28]  Private residences, and churches, and convents, were greatly damaged;
many Indians were buried under the ruins of their houses, and the inhabitants
were compelled to live in temporary shelters or in the open air, while
constant prayers were offered to appease the divine wrath. Remesal, Hist.
Chyapa, 647; Juarros, Guat., i. 88; ii. 353.




[XXI‑29]  Minutes of Cabildo, Jan. 29, 1580, quoted by Remesal, Hist. Chyapa,
559-60.




[XXI‑30]  At this time Francisco del Valle Marroquin was acting as procurator at
court for the city of Guatemala. In a letter dated Feb. 20, 1564, he informed
the cabildo that the transfer of the audiencia had already been determined
upon, and about a month later wrote that in consequence of the dissatisfaction
with which the procurator from Peru had left the court, the council deemed
it a favorable opportunity to transfer the audiencia. Marroquin, Cartas, cited
in Pelaez, Mem. Hist. Guat., i. 164-6. In 1563 the audiencia of Quito was
established. Décadas, in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., viii. 35. The foregoing
facts would appear to imply that the transfer of the audiencia had some
connection with political changes in Peru. Whatever were the motives of
the crown for this measure, they were too urgent to be effected by the powerful
influence brought to bear against this change, which is indicated by the
letters of Marroquin.




[XXI‑31]  Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 646, gives May 17, 1564, as the date of the first
decree, and Juarros, Guat., ii. 49, Sept. 17, 1563. The dates here adopted
are those given in Panamá,  Reales Cédulas, in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col.
Doc., xvii. 531-2.




[XXI‑32] Marroquin, Carta, Feb. 20, loc. cit., and Panamá,  Reales Cédulas, loc.
cit.




[XXI‑33] Cabildo, Cartas, in Arévalo, Col. Doc. Antig., 37-40; Panamá, Cédulas
Reales. loc. cit.; Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 646-7. Juarros, Guat., i. 259-60, says
Oidor Loaisa conveyed the seal.




[XXI‑34] Cabildo, Carta, March 12, 1570, in Arévalo, Col. Doc. Antig., 43-4, mentions
the audiencia as already in Santiago. Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 657-8
bis, says that Gonzalez was appointed June 28, 1568, but that he found
decrees of September 27, 1567, and March 3, 1568, addressed to the audiencia
of Guatemala. According to this same author the audiencia arrived on the 5th
of January 1570. Juarros, Guat., i. 260; ii. 50, gives June 28, 1568, and Jan.
25, 1569, as the dates of the decrees ordering the removal of the audiencia,
and in the dates of the appointment of Gonzalez and the arrival of the audiencia
at Santiago follows Remesal.




[XXI‑35] Mem. Hist. Guat., i. 169. See also Juarros, Guat., ii. 50; Remesal, Hist.
Chyapa, 658 bis. The oidores composing the audiencia were the licentiates,
Jufre de Loaisa, Valdés de Carcamo, and Cristóbal Asqueta. See last two
authorities cited.




[XXI‑36] Carta, in Arévalo, Col. Doc. Antig., 44-5. Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 659,
says that he was honorably acquitted and returned to Spain, in which he is
followed by Juarros, Guat., i. 260. Escamilla, Not. Cur., MS., says Brizeño
went to Santa Fe de Bogotá as president of that audiencia.




[XXI‑37]  By Remesal he is sometimes called Domingo de Ara. Dávila says he
constructed a vocabulary of the language of Chiapas.




[XXI‑38]  1590, says Fernandez, Hist. Ecles., 114, but the above date is confirmed
by Dávila, Teatro Ecles., 197; Concilios Prov., i. 325, and Remesal, Hist.
Chyapa, 653.




[XXI‑39]  According to Calle, Mem. y Not., 125, the bishopric was established in
1556. Gonzalez Dávila, Teatro Ecles., i. 171-2, says Angulo was appointed
April 21, 1560, and died at Zalamá, Vera Paz, while on his way to Guatemala
to be consecrated. Remesal says that he received his appointment in Guatemala
at the beginning of 1560; accepted it April 21st; went thence to Mexico;
the following year was ordered to his diocese to await the arrival of the bulls
for his consecration; and that in March or April 1562 died at Zalamá, Vera
Paz, while on the way to Guatemala. By royal decree of September 1560,
the audiencia was ordered to pay him the usual 500,000 maravedís, until he
had sufficient tithes for his support. I deem this author more reliable than
the others as he wrote earlier, was a Dominican, and had greater facilities for
obtaining information.




[XXI‑40] Cabildo, Carta, Jan. 26, 1564, in Arévalo, Col. Doc. Antig., 38-9.




[XXI‑41]  Fernandez, Hist. Ecles., 116, says Father Pedro de la Peña followed
Angulo, then Cárdenas, and that Father Antonio de Ervias, Dominican, was
bishop in 1570. Calle, Mem. y Not., 125, places Peña second, and says that
he was removed to Peru in 1580; that Ervias ruled from 1583-90, and that
Cárdenas was appointed in 1595. Remesal, Hist. Chyapa., 702-4, names
Hervias as the successor of Cárdenas, in 1583 or 1584, Castro next, and finally
Rosillo. This was the last bishop named, according to Remesal, who adds
that while in Guatemala, in 1614, he was told by Bishop Cabezas, that the
incorporation of the bishopric of Vera Paz with that of Guatemala was then
being discussed. The order of succession as given by Remesal as far as Ervias,
is confirmed by Mendieta, Hist. Ecles., 548, a most reliable author, and a
resident of New Spain, where he wrote between the years 1575-96.




[XXI‑42]  April 18, according to Juarros, Guat., i. 276, and after a long illness
according to Vazquez, Chron. Gvat., 149-50. See also Quesada, Carta, Mayo
25, 1555, in Squier's MSS., xxii. 5.




[XXI‑43] Vazquez, Chron. Gvat., 149-50; Gonzales Dávila, Teatro Ecles., i. 150;
Concilios Prov., 1555, 1565, 285.




[XXI‑44] Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 654; Juarros, Guat., i. 276; Vazquez, Chron.
Gvat., 190.




[XXI‑45] Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 587-600; Vazquez, Chron. Gvat., 133-7; Quesada,
Carta, Mayo 25, 1555, in Squier's MSS., xxii. 3-4.




[XXI‑46] Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 532-7, 560-3; Fernandez, Hist. Ecles., 142;
Dávila Padilla, Hist. Fvnd. Mex., 110-11.




[XXI‑47] Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 500, 520-3, 578-84, 596-601, 613-14, 626-7, 636-9,
642-7; Juarros, Guat., ii. 98-9.




[XXI‑48] Mendieta, Hist. Ecles., 382-5; Vazquez, Chron. Gvat., 144-9, 179, 223;
Cogollvdo, Hist. Yucathan, 326.




[XXI‑49] Mendieta, Hist. Ecles., 386; Relacion, in Prov. del Sto Evangelio, MS.,
1; Vazquez, Chron. Gvat., 129-37, 147, 182-4, 224-6; Juarros, Guat., ii. 99-100,
106.




[XXI‑50]  The neglect to punish the notorious abuses of the clergy, 'having in his
household certain women who were neither his sisters nor his cousins; and receiving
bribes through his nephew and one of the women, who was young and
of doubtful reputation,' appear to have been the principal charges. Remesal,
Hist. Chyapa, 656.




[XXI‑51]  In Aug. 1569, according to Juarros, Guat., i. 277; in Santa Ana, San
Salvador, according to Gonzalez Dávila, Teatro Ecles., i. 153. See also Cabildo,
Carta, July 9, 1567, in Arévalo, Col. Doc. Antig., 41-2; Remesal, Hist. Chyapa,
654-65; Vazquez, Chron. Gvat., 194-200; Juarros, Guat., i. 276-8.




[XXI‑52] Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 706; Juarros, Guat., i. 277-8.




[XXI‑53]  At Guatemala he presented himself before the audiencia and demanded
redress. A judge was sent to investigate, and he reported abuses witnessed
by Bishop Gomez himself; an utter ignorance of the native speech, so that
they gladly confessed to any visiting priest, and the absolute refusal of the
natives to have el señor cura for their guardian. Vasquez, Chron. de Gvat.,
243.




[XXI‑54]  Those of San Juan de Comalapa, San Francisco de Tecpan Guatemala,
La Assumpcion de Tecpanatitlan, San Miguel de Totonicapan, and Espíritu
Santo de Quezaltenango. Vasquez, Chron. de Gvat., 261.




[XXI‑55]  There were also six doctrinas belonging to the Merced order, and 22 to
the padres clérigos. Mendieta, Hist. Ecles., 386.




[XXI‑56]  The cabildo prayed the king for 200 strong breast-plates, (petos); 500
helmets, (celedas ó morriones); 400 coats of mail, (cotas); 400 arquebuses, etc.
Many would be bought by citizens, and the rest remain in keeping of the
audiencia. Gunpowder could not be manufactured in Guatemala for lack of
saltpetre, etc., and they asked an annual grant of twelve centals from Mexico.
Arévalo, Col. Doc. Antig., 69-70.




[XXI‑57]  'The licenciado Rueda, late president of the audiencia, is about to leave
for Spain. He has exercised his office with care and ensured good Christian
government as will be seen by the papers connected with the vista on his
conduct now sent by Doctor Sandé.' Santiago Cabildo (Feb. 16, 1595), in
Arévalo, Col. Doc. Antig., 80. Contrast this with Juarros, Guat., 261.
'President de la Rueda was punished for having so badly treated the religious
during his government. He fell into a state of idiocy, rushing from the
house without clothes into the country, where he ate grass like oxen, and remained
in that state till he died.' During Rueda's administration a bridge
was built across the Los Esclavos. It was 128 yards long, 18 in breadth, and
had eleven arches. At the point where it was constructed the river was of
great depth and communication was frequently cut off between the capital
and the eastern provinces by inundation. Juarros, Guat., 239-41 (ed. Lond.,
1823). Conder's Mex. and Guat., 201.




[XXI‑58]  That by which the appointment of 'fiel ejecutor' was vested in the
cabildo. The office was one of great profit and its duties were discharged by
each member in rotation. The cabildo had enjoyed this privilege by royal
license for many years, its concession being granted by cédula of July 9, 1564,
and confirmed by one of April 21, 1587. Juarros, Guat., 129. (London ed. 1823.)




[XXI‑59]  Sandé came to Mexico as alcalde of the audiencia. In 1575 he was
appointed governor of the Philippine Islands and held that position until
1580, after which he became an oidor of Mexico. Datos, Biog., in Cartas de
Indias, 840-1.




[XXI‑60]  The king's grant of one half of the first year's tribute from the encomiendas
becoming vacant during ten years, was of great assistance in opening
these ports. The president sends a map of the port and of the country for
more than 15 leagues about it. Santiago Cabildo, Carta al Rey (April 20,
1591), in Arévalo, Col. Doc. Antig., 77-8.




[XXI‑61]  As an instance of the dimensions to which this cacao trade could grow
it may be mentioned that 50,000 loads, worth 500,000 pesos, were raised
within an area of two leagues square in Salvador. Palacio, Relacion in Pacheco
and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., vi. 15.




[XXI‑62]  Palacio mentions a heavy shock that occurred in 1576 by which houses
were destroyed and several lives lost. In a letter to the king he relates that
he saw a large fragment of a church façade which had been hurled to a considerable
distance. Relacion in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., vi. 23-4, 59.




[XXI‑63] Ponce, Rel. de Las Casas in Col. Doc. Inéd., lviii. 140.




[XXII‑1]  Cimarron, a Spanish word, primarily signifies 'wild' as applied to
plants, and 'untamed' as applied to animals; hence the appropriateness of the
epithet. The cimarrones played a somewhat conspicuous part in the subsequent
troubles of the country, and are not to be confounded with a tribe of
Indians of similar name, the Simerones referred to in Native Races, iii. 794
this series. The mistake is made, however, by the author of Drake, Cavendish,
and Dampier, 60, and also by Bidwell, Panamá, 53. Garcilaso de
Vega, Hist. Peru, ii. 466, says the epithet had its origin in the Windward
Islands—'vocablo del language de las isles de Barlovento.'




[XXII‑2]  García de Hermosillo was himself an eye-witness of one of the many
cimarron atrocities in 1554, when eight men were killed including a son of
one of the judges of the India House at Seville. Hermosillo, Memorial al Rey,
Squier's MSS., xxi. 15.




[XXII‑3]  Garcilaso de la Vega, Hist. Peru, ii. 466, calls him Ballano.




[XXII‑4]  Ursua was a native of a town of the same name in Navarre. He went to
New Granada with his uncle, the licenciado, Michael Diaz de Armendariz.
Piedrahita, Hist. Gen., 530. Of his career subsequent to this war we learn
that he went to Lima whence, after various services, he was sent in 1561 to
explore some rich Brazilian forests in the neighborhood of the rio Marañon,
where he met his death at the hands of his own countrymen.




[XXII‑5]  As an illustration, a law of 1540, dealing with offences and their punishment,
states: 'Mandamuos, que en ningun caso se ejecute en los negros cimarrones
la pena de cortarles las partes, que honestamente no se pueden
nombrar.' In towns and cities negroes were not allowed to be out after dark;
arms were not to be carried, and any one lifting a weapon against a Spaniard,
even though no wound were inflicted, was liable to receive one hundred
lashes and to have a nail driven through the hand. For a second offence the
hand of the offender was cut off. Negresses were not allowed to wear jewelry,
pearls, or silk unless married to a Spaniard. Free negroes were required
to pay tribute according to property. Zamora, Bib. Leg. Ult., iv. 461-7.




[XXII‑6]  Under date July 31, 1561, the king wrote to the audiencia on this subject,
stating that his ambassador in London had informed him that a Portuguese
named Bartolomé Bayon was fitting out a vessel for carrying African slaves
to the West Indies, and ordering his arrest. Reales Cédulas, in Pacheco and
Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xvii. 540-1.




[XXII‑7]  Negroes and mulattoes were forbidden to go among the Indians in 1578.
Reales Cédulas, in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xvii. 501-2. In 1589
it was ordered that no negro should employ an Indian or ill-use him in any
way. Infraction of this law was punishable with 100 lashes. If the offence
was repeated the culprit's ears were to be cut off. In case of a free negro, the
punishment was 100 lashes and perpetual banishment. A reward of 10 pesos
was paid to informers, and masters neglecting to observe the law were liable
to a fine of 100 pesos. Zamora, Bib. Leg. Ult., iv. 462.




[XXII‑8] Reales Cédulas, in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xvii. 4-7.




[XXII‑9]  In 1585 the number of ships was 71; in 1587, 85; in 1589, 94; in 1592, 72;
in 1594, 56; in 1596, 69; in 1599, 56; in 1601, 32; in 1603, 34; in 1605, 17.
Panamá,  Des., in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., ix. 103.




[XXII‑10]  On Aug. 4, 1574, the king writes the president and oidores of the
audiencia at Panamá, that he wants the people of the province to make him
a gift or loan, to meet his urgent necessities. The audiencia, however, are
to broach the subject as though it emanated from themselves, not even hinting
that the king had solicited it. 'Tratareis dello como de vuestro oficio,
sin dar á entender que lo aceis por órden y mandado Nuestro.' The influence
of the bishop is to be called into requisition if the people appear unwilling to
do anything before further communication from the king. Reales Cédulas, in
Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xvii. 510.




[XXII‑11]  A Spanish trader in a letter dated August 28, 1590, says: 'Here I haue
remained these 20 dayes, till the shippes goe for the Philippinas. My meaning
is to carie my commodities thither: for it is constantly reported, that for every
hundred ducats a man shall get 600 ducats cleerely. Wee must stay here in
Panama from August till it be Christmasse. For in August, September, October,
and Nouember it is winter here, and extreme foule weather upon this
coast of Peru, and not nauigable to goe to the Philippinas, nor any place else
in the South sea. So that at Christmasse the shipes begin to set on their
voyage for those places.' Hakluyt's Voy., iii. 564.




[XXII‑12]  A royal cédula of November 11, 1578, forbade the carrying of Manila
dry goods. This is confirmed by cédulas of January 12, 1593, July 5, 1595,
and February 13th and June 13, 1599. The object was to stop entirely all
trade between the Philippines and Tierra Firme. Memorial sobre Manila, in
Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., vi. 444. The cédula of 1593 is full and
explicit: 'Toleration and abuse have caused an undue increase in the trade
between the West Indies and China, and a consequent decrease in that of the
Castilian kingdom. To remedy this it is again ordered that neither from
Tierra Firme, Peru, nor elsewhere, except New Spain, shall any vessel go to
China or the Philippine Islands to trade.' Reales Cédulas, in Pacheco and
Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xvii. 420. See also Decadas, Id., viii. 114. Another
cédula to the same effect was issued July 25, 1609; the license being still continued
to New Spain at the instance of the merchants of Seville whose interests
were jeopardized. The Portuguese had established factories in China,
and though selling their goods at higher rates than the Chinese, could undersell
the Spanish merchants who desired the landing of Chinese products
themselves, and to sell them in the colonies at their own figures. Gran.
Manila, in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., vi. 405-6.




[XXII‑13]  At a meeting held by the treasury officials and the city council of Panamá
on January 29, 1600, it was resolved that, as the importation and sale of
Peruvian wine had been forbidden in years past, an edict should be issued
enforcing this regulation, and appointing fines and penalties for those who
infringed it, or mixed such wine with that imported from Spain. The reason
alleged is the injurious quality of the wine. This edict was also to be published
at Lima, Trujillo, Quito, and Guayaquil. Reales Cédulas, in Pacheco
and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xvii. 216-18. At a subsequent meeting, held April
12, 1600, the trade in Peruvian wine is denounced on account of its being
a source of loss to the royal treasury. Id., xvii. 221.




[XXII‑14]  The punishments for infraction of this law were heavy fines and banishment;
and in the case of negro delinquents, bond or free, the fines were to be
doubled, and 200 lashes in addition to be inflicted in public on the offender,
whether male or female. Apothecaries were allowed to keep on hand two
pounds of this article and no more. Recop. Ind., ii. 66.




[XXII‑15]  The city council passed an ordinance that in future merchants should
not purchase certain articles in larger quantities at a time than therein provided.
Wine, oil, ham, sugar, pease, beans, lard, Nicaragua molasses, cheese,
raisins, figs, and crockery, are among the commodities specified. Purchasers
were required to produce their wares before a justice. The ordinance was referred
to the audiencia and was fully approved and ordered into execution
Dec. 11, 1592. Reales Cédulas, in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xvii.
233-7.




[XXII‑16]  'Here is a great want ... of provision for here is almost none to be had
for any money, by reason that from Lima there is no shipping come with
maiz.... But I can certifie your worshippe, that all things are very deeire here,
and that we stand in great extremitie for want of victuals.' Letter from
Panamá, August 12, 1590. Hakluyt's Voy., iii. 563.




[XXII‑17]  On Feb. 18, 1595, the viceroy is ordered not to interfere with the taking
of provisions from the valleys of Trujillo, and Saña to Panamá City, and to
see that Panamá was well provisioned. Recop. de Indias, ii. 64. A similar
order was issued Feb. 18, 1597. Reales Cédulas, in Pacheco and Cárdenas,
Col. Doc., xvii. 339-60.




[XXII‑18]  See Hist. Cent. Amer., i. 377, 409-11, this series.




[XXII‑19]  'Il peut le vendre à qui bon lui semble; mais pour l'ordinaire il le cède à
son maître pour un prix modique.' Raynal, Hist. Phil., iv. 200.




[XXII‑20]  He visited the islands in 1594, and found them inhabited by Spaniards
and negro slaves 'kept only to fish for pearls.' Harris' Col. Voy., i. 746.




[XXII‑21]  The expense actually exceeded the proceeds—'y la pesqueria de las porlas,
por ser más las costa que el provecho.' Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc.,
iv. 81. In prosperous days some 30 brigs were in engaged in the traffic. Id.,
ix. 81.




[XXII‑22] Ariza, Darien, MS., 33.




[XXII‑23] Dampier, Voy., i. 158; Ogilby's Am., 235; Harris, Col. Voy., i. 748.
'The city of Panamá received annually some thousand pounds of gold....
There is greater Plenty (gold) in the mines of Santa María—not far off—than
within the same Space in any other Part of New Spain, or perhaps in the whole
World. Span. Emp. in Amer., 210-13. We have a glimpse of the working of
the mines in a report of the expenses in connection with some fifteen of them
worked for the king's benefit. At these were employed, in addition to the
overseer, the blacksmith and his assistant, one hundred negroes, of whom
seventy were freshly imported Africans, and one third of the number were
women.' The total expenditure for the year was a little less than $20,000. The
several items of expense are given in Veragua, Relac. de las Minas, in Col. Doc.
Inéd., xxxi. 365-72.




[XXII‑24] Hist. Cent. Am., i. 418, 441, this series.




[XXII‑25]  A single extract will show the partiality of this report. 'Que del dicho
Nombre de Dios al dicho de Panamá van 18 leguas por tierra por un camino
muy trabajoso de muy grandes lodos y calores, y pasan un rio, y la primera
jornada 112 veces ó mas en un dia.' García Hermosillo, Mem. in Extr.
Sueltos, xxi. 28-9.




[XXII‑26]  Memorials were presented by the cabildo on Dec. 22, 1559, on May 17,
1561, and again on 26th of January 1562, when they denounced Nombre de
Dios as 'la Sepultura de Españoles.' Arévalo, Col. Doc. Antig., 27-33.




[XXII‑27]  This memorial is not dated, but Squier says it was written in 1565.
Aniñon, Discurso, in Squier's MSS., v.




[XXII‑28] Pan. Descrip., in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., iv. 108-9. Its original
name was San Felipe de Puertovelo. Purchas, Pilgrimes, v. 889, errs in
giving 1584 as the date of removal.




[XXII‑29]  Some physicians ascribed these diseases to the use of Peruvian wine, notwithstanding
the prohibitions already mentioned. To a statement made by
the councillor of the corporation to the city council of Panamá a medical report
is appended which reads thus: 'Muchas calenturas ardientes y podridas,
muchos dolores de costado, cámaras de sangre, romadizo y otras indisposiciones
de calor y humedad, por ser esta tierra mui caliente y húmeda por cuya razon
hierve dentro de las venas, y humedeciendo el cerebro causa vahidos, y las
dichas enfermedades arriba referidas, y granos, y virùelas, y sarampion y ronchas.
Fecho en Panamá en onze de Abril de mil y seiscientos.' Reales Cédulas,
in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xvii. 219-22.




[XXII‑30] Reales Cédulas, in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xvii. 531-2; confirmed
by Vazquez, Chron. de Gvat., 222-3, and Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., ix.
89-90. Juarros, Guat., states that it did not receive the royal approbation
until July 7, 1565. In the beginning of 1560 a royal cédula was issued, vesting
the government of Tierra Firme in the president of the audiencia residing
in Panamá. The people of Guatemala resisted the change as long as they
could, and other mandates were necessary to give full force to this measure.
See Reales Ced., in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xviii. 531-2, and Decadas,
in Id., xiii. 36-38.




[XXII‑31]  A special cédula, dated July 30, 1588, on the appointment of García de
Mendoza as viceroy, authorizes him to take part in and preside over the sessions
of the audiencia, but not to interfere with matters relating to the administration
of justice. Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xvii. 467. Other
cédulas issued in 1614, 1620, and 1628 confirmed the one issued in 1571. The
first of these three orders also made the provinces of Charcas and Quito subject
to the viceroy of Peru. Recop. de Ind., ii. 109-10; Zamora, Bib. Leg. Ult.,
iii. 357; Montesclaros, Relacion, in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., vi. 191.




[XXII‑32]  The king mentions this fact, and instructs the president of the audiencia
to have a periodical examination of the accounts of the treasury officers made
by one of the oidores. Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xvii. 410.




[XXII‑33]  The president of the audiencia stated to the king that the family were
destitute, and that the money could not be recovered from them, whereupon
his Majesty ordered its collection from the sureties. This document is dated
July 8, 1580. Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xvii. 487-8.




[XXII‑34]  In 1595 travellers without passports visited the Isthmus in such numbers
as to cause scarcity of provisions, and often included men whose services
were needed in the army. The oidores were threatened with penalties unless
there was a reform in this matter. Reales Cédulas, in Pacheco and Cárdenas,
Col. Doc., xvii. 410.




[XXII‑35] Herrera, dec. iii. lib. x. cap. ix. As early as 1526 this matter received
special notice from the emperor, and many regulations were made in subsequent
years, but apparently to little purpose.




[XXII‑36]  The Spanish minister in London remonstrated in strong terms against
Parker's conduct, but to no purpose. Queen Elizabeth not only justified his
action but warmly commended him. Darien, Scots Colony, 56 (1699).




[XXII‑37] Reales Cédulas, in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xvii. 395-7, 432-3,
490, 522-3.




[XXII‑38]  See p. 49 this vol. for map of territory.




[XXIII‑1]  In Clark's Life of Drake, 7, and Burton's English Heroe, 11, it is stated
that in an apartment of the governor's house was a stack of silver bars 70 feet
long, 10 in breadth, and 12 feet high, and that the captives gave information
that the treasure-house contained more gold, jewels, and pearls than their pinnaces
could carry; but one must make due allowance for the vivid imagination
of those chroniclers.




[XXIII‑2]  The account given in Hakluyt's Voy., iii. 778-9, differs materially from
that of other authorities. The story is told by a Portuguese, one Lopez Vaz,
whose narrative the chronicles tells us 'was intercepted with the author thereof
at the river of Plate, by Captaine Withrington and Captaine Christopher
Lister, in the fleete set foorth by the right Honorable the Erle of Cumberland
for the South sea in the yeere 1586.' He states that Drake landed with 150
men, and stationing 70 of them in the fort near Nombre de Dios, marched
with the remainder into the town; that the inhabitants fled to the mountains,
but that a party of 14 or 15 Spanish arquebusiers fired a volley upon the
English, killing their trumpeter and wounding Drake in the leg. Hereupon,
he says, the English retreated to the fort but found it abandoned; sounding
the trumpet after the firing had ceased and the signal being unanswered,
the men left in charge retreated to their boats, thinking that their comrades
were either slain or captured. Drake and his followers then threw away
their arms, and by swimming and wading made their way to the pinnaces.
It is highly improbable that 80 English privateersmen, under the command
of such a captain as Drake, would thus tamely beat a retreat before a handful
of Spaniards.




[XXIII‑3]  Islas y Porto de Bastimentos according to Juan Lopez, son of Tomás
Lopez de Vargas, the celebrated Spanish cosmographer, in a map prepared by
the former in 1789, for the use of the Spanish ambassador in Great Britain. In
the map following the introduction to Dampier's Voy., published in 1699, the
word is similarly spelled and applied to a group of islands off Nombre de
dios. Bellin, Karte von der Erdenge, Panamá, 1754, agrees with Drake, but
like Lopez places the group about half way between Nombre de Dios and
Portobello. The author of Life and Dangerous Voy. of Drake, 16, speaks of
'the Isle of Bastimiensis or the Isle of Victuals.' See Cartography Pacific
States, MS., and Hist. Cent. Am., i. passim, this series.




[XXIII‑4]  This visit to the Isla de Pinos is not mentioned in Clark's Life of Drake,
but is described circumstantially in Burton's English Heroe, 26. In the latter
work it is stated that the supplies captured were sufficient to victual a force
of 3,000 men, and it is not improbable that this was the case, for the galleons
were now off the coast and the Isla de Pinos was the usual storing place for
provisions.




[XXIII‑5]  In the map prepared by Juan Lopez, these islands are placed a few miles
east of point San Blas and named the 'Islas Cabezas ó Cautivas.' By Burton
they are also called the Cabezas, but by Clark the Cativaas.




[XXIII‑6]  In Burton's English Heroe, 41, it is stated that a post-mortem examination
was made of the body of Joseph Drake, who died of this calenture, and
that the 'liver was swoln, and the heart as if boyled.'




[XXIII‑7]  In the account of Lopez Vaz, in Hakluyt's Voy., iii. 179, it is stated that
Drake had with him 100 English besides the negroes. This is clearly a mistake,
for the evidence is conclusive that he left Plymouth with only 73 men,
and he could have had little chance to recruit his force except from the
cimarrones; though, as remarked by the author of Drake, Cavendish, and
Dampier, 59, he may have been reënforced from the vessels which he met
with off the coast.




[XXIII‑8]  The cimarrones carried two different kinds of weapons, one being an
arrow pointed with iron, fish-bone, or hard wood for use against the Spaniards,
the other a javelin with an iron head varying from a pound and a half
to one ounce in weight, to serve in the pursuit of game, the metal being
highly tempered and sharp enough to pierce deep into the flesh of a stag or
wild boar. Burton's English Heroe, 43-4. See also Life and Voy. of Drake,
37-8.




[XXIII‑9]  The author of Selection of Curious Voy., iv. 15, states that Drake arrived
at the summit of this mountain ten days after leaving the town of the cimarrones.
According to other authorities the time was seven days.




[XXIII‑10]  'The ladies of Panama used to imploy hunters and fowlers to take the
curious fowls in that countrey, by whom they might be discovered.' Burton's
English Heroe, 49.




[XXIII‑11]  The treasure was forwarded from Panamá to Cruces at night to avoid
the heat encountered by day in the open country lying between.




[XXIII‑12]  Venta Cruz according to Burton's Life of Drake, 18, Burton's English
Heroe, and Life and Voy. of Drake, 42, and Venta de Cruzes in the map
confronting p. 1 in Dampier's Voy. Probably both are identical with Cruces,
or Cruzes as it is spelled in the map on p. 137 of Esquemelin, Hist. Bucaniers,
in which no such place as Venta Cruz is mentioned. Juan Lopez in the map
before mentioned calls the place San Francisco de Cruces.




[XXIII‑13]  Two horse-loads of silver, according to Clark and Burton; but it was
more probably base metal containing about enough silver to make it worth
the freight.




[XXIII‑14]  The trains were frequently attacked by cimarrones. 'From Venta
Cruz to Nombre de Dios they go always with their Treasure by day through
the cool fresh Woods, unless the Symerons happily make them sweat for fear,
as oft happens, and therefore their Recoes (a name applied to mules and muleteers
travelling in company) are guarded with Souldiers.' Burton's English
Heroe, 49. See also Life and Voy. of Drake, 42.




[XXIII‑15]  In Burton's English Heroe, 56, 57, it is stated that at Nombre de Dios
parturition was usually followed in a few days by the death of the infant, but
that children born at Cruces, reared there till six years of age, and then
brought to Nombre de Dios, usually enjoyed good health. See also Life and
Voy. of Drake, 47.




[XXIII‑16]  Lopez Vaz, in Hakluyt, Voy., iii. 770, states that five or seven merchants
were slain, and that the town was set on fire, property being destroyed to the
value of more than 200,000 ducats. If this did occur it was doubtless the
work of the cimarrones, but there is no mention of it in other authorities.




[XXIII‑17]  In Burton's English Heroe, 70, and in Life and Voy. of Drake, 57, it is
stated that they sat up to the waist in water and that each wave drenched
them up to the arm-pits. To steer and sail a raft under such circumstances,
even if they escaped being washed overboard, was certainly a remarkable feat
of navigation.




[XXIII‑18]  There is some confusion in the narrative of the old chroniclers at this
point. In Clark's Life of Drake, 20, it is related that a 'frigot' which sailed
with the expedition to the rio Francisco, was ordered to lie off the mouth of
the river, while on account of shoal water the men ascended the stream in
pinnaces; but for what purpose the voyage on the raft, if this were the case,
and why leave the vessel in so exposed a position? In Burton's English Heroe,
66, it is stated that the ship was left at (sent back to) the Cabezas, and, page
71, that when Drake fell in with his pinnaces his men 'sayled back to their
Frigot and from thence directly to their Ships;' but according to this authority
both ships and 'frigot' were already at the Cabezas, where they lay secure
from the Spanish cruisers.




[XXIII‑19]  Drake made many other captures, the recital of which would be wearisome
to the reader. According to Burton more than 200 vessels of from 10 to 120
tons traded at that time between Cartagena and Nombre de Dios. Most of
these, he tells us, the English captured, and some of them twice or thrice.
Clark makes no mention of this; but the author of Voy. Hist. round World,
i. 44, states that the English took more than 100 vessels of all sizes.




[XXIII‑20] Hakluyt's Voy., iii. 526-28.




[XXIII‑21]  During the voyage Drake touched at the bay which still bears his name
under the Punta de los Reyes on the coast of California. Here he spent five
weeks, smoked native tobacco with the Indians, and took possession of the
country, calling it New Albion.




[XXIII‑22]  'Which was Monday in the iust and ordinary reckoning of those that
had stayed at home in one place or countrie, but in our computation was the
Lords day or Sonday.' Drake's World Encompassed, 162.




[XXIII‑23]  The vessel was afterward broken up, and a chair, made from some of the
timber, was presented to the university library of Oxford by Charles II. Here
the poet Cowley sat enthroned and drank a cup of wine, taking occasion to
deliver himself thereupon of some vile verse, concluding with the lines
(addressed to the chair):







'The Streights of Time too narrow are for thee,


Launch forth into an undiscovered Sea,


And steer the endless course of vast Eternity,


Take for thy Sail this Verse, and for thy Pilot me.'





One can almost wish that the chair had taken him at his word, for the good
ship deserved a better fate.




[XXIII‑24]  Although Drake had lost nearly one third of his forces, there was probably
some further reason for his abandoning the expedition after such feeble
effort. His conduct contrasts strangely with the untiring persistence which
he displayed in other enterprises. Possibly he had received orders to return
to England, for it will be remembered that, in 1587, the Spanish armada was
ready to sail, and that its departure was delayed till the following year by
Drake's bold dash at the harbor of Cádiz, during which he destroyed about
one hundred vessels.




[XXIII‑25]  In 1585, a few days after Robert Lane, who was left in charge of the
colony, had caused it to be abandoned through faint-heartedness, a vessel despatched
by Raleigh, laden with stores, arrived at the deserted settlement.
Bancroft's United States, i. 102, 103. 'These men who were thus brought
back,' says William Camden, 'were the first that I know of that brought
into England that Indian plant which they call tabacca and nicotia, or tobacco,
which they used against crudities, being taught it by the Indians. Certainly
from that time forward, it began to grow into great request, and to be sold at
an high rate, which, in a short time, many men everywhere, some for wantonness,
some for health sake, with insatiable desire and greediness, sucked in
the stinking smoke thereof through an earthen pipe, which presently they
blew out again at their nostrils; insomuch that tobacco-shops are now as ordinary
in most towns, as tap-houses and taverns.' Barrow's Life of Drake, 207,
208.




[XXIII‑26]  Hawkins, now between 75 and 80 years of age, was a wealthy merchant
and ship-owner, had seen 48 years of hard service, mainly at sea, and held
the title of vice-admiral. It does not appear, therefore, what he had to gain
by taking part in such an expedition. His promotion seems rather due to
influence obtained through inherited wealth than to any remarkable qualities
as a commander. Appointed by the queen to cruise off the coast of Spain in
company with Frobisher, at the head of a strong and well-appointed squadron,
he returned without taking a single prize. Thereupon he wrote a letter of
apology to his sovereign in which he excused himself by using the quotation,
'Paul planteth and Apollos watereth, but God giveth the increase.' On
reading it Elizabeth exclaimed, 'God's death! This fool went out a soldier
and is come home a divine.'




[XXIII‑27]  Named Baskerfield in Burton's English Heroe, 199.




[XXIII‑28]  Elizabeth of England it will be remembered levied taxes without much
heed to the voice of her parliament.




[XXIII‑29]  The shot which carried away Drake's chair wounded three of his officers,
who were seated at his table. Hawkins died of sickness while the fleet lay
off Puerto Rico.




[XXIII‑30]  'On the seconde of January we returned to Nombre de Dios; our men
so wearied with the ilnes of the waye, surbaited for want of shoes, and weake
with theyr diet, that it would have bin a poor dayes service that we should
have done upon an enimie had they been there to resist us.' Drake's Voy., in
Hakluyt, Soc. Col., 16. 'In this march a pair of shoos were sold for thirty
Shillings, and a Bisket Cake for ten Shillings, so great was their want both of
Clothing and Victuals.' Burton's English Heroe, 205.




[XXIII‑31]  In a poem by Lope de Vega styled 'Dragontea' occur these lines:







'Mirad la disventura y la ruina


 De aquel hombre atrevido y indomable:


Mirad que triste genero de muerte


Del cuerpo el alma a los infiernos vierte.'





Vega declares that Drake was poisoned by his own men. The soul of the
great navigator was perhaps less sorely vexed by such slander than by the
silly verses written in his praise by his own countrymen. The following
occurs in Fuller's Worthies:







'Religio quamvis Romana resurgeret olim,


Effoderet tumulum non pute, Drace, tuum,


Non est quod metuas nec te combusserit ulla


Posteritas, in aquâ tutus ab igne manes.'





But the sorriest doggerel of all is found in Clark's Life of Drake, 71:







'Great God of Prowess, Thunderbolt of War:


Bellona's darling: Mars of Chivalry:


Bloody Enyo's Champion, Foemens fear:


Fame's stately Pharos, Mapp of Dignity:


Joves Pearl, Pearls pride, Prides foe, Foes enemy:


Spains Shaking Fever, Regent of Wars Thunder:


Undaunted Drake, a name Importing Wonder:'





The works published by the Hakluyt Society, and the Annales rerum
Anglicarum et Hibernicarum, regnante Elizabetha, by William Camden, London,
1589, probably afford the most reliable information concerning Drake's several
expeditions to the West Indies, though neither are free from error. Clark's
Life and Death of Sir Francis Drake, London, 1671, and Burton's English
Heroe, London, 1687, are chiefly compilations, though of considerable value,
inasmuch as both authors had access to sources of information not now available
to the public. The latter work passed through no less than 23 editions,
and yet we find the opening lines of the preface copied unblushingly from
Drake's World Encompassed, in Hakluyt Soc., 5 (published originally in
1628). The Life and Dangerous Voyages of Drake is borrowed mainly from
Burton. Barrow's Life of Drake, London, 1843, though a recent publication,
contains several copies of letters written by Drake, and was compiled in part
from MSS. in the British museum, the state paper office, and the archives of
Madrid.




[XXIV‑1]  Six miles from the province of Nicaragua.




[XXIV‑2]  These mines, which belonged to Juan de Ávila, were at the village of
Jerez, or Chuluteca. Caballon, Carta, in Squier's MSS., xxii. 7-8.




[XXIV‑3]  It was the intention of the rebels to seize the ships at Realejo, and proceed
thence to Panamá and Peru, following the programme laid out by the
Contreras brothers. Herrera, dec. viii. lib. x. cap. xx.




[XXIV‑4] Molina, Costa Rica, 39-43. He takes his information from three royal
cédulas dated August 1561.




[XXIV‑5] Costa Rica, Carta del Cabildo, in Squier's MSS., vi.




[XXIV‑6]  Nicoya was annexed to Costa Rica in 1573, though the right to its possession
was not finally decided until the present century.




[XXIV‑7]  He had expended 10,000 pesos, as was afterward proved before the juez
visitador at Santiago in 1565. Coronado Probanza, in Pacheco and Cárdenas,
Col. Doc., xiv. 485-503.




[XXIV‑8]  West of the present Cartago, and north of Alajuela.




[XXIV‑9]  Now written Votos. There is a volcano of that name north of Alajuela
and west of the volcano de Barba. See map in Molina, Bosquejo de Costa
Rica.




[XXIV‑10]  Now probably Aserri. There are two villages of that name; one south
of San José and the other about the same distance south-west of Cartago.
See map in Molina.




[XXIV‑11]  The entire quantity obtained thus far did not exceed 300 pesos in value.
Dávila, Relacion, in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xvi. 328-41.




[XXIV‑12]  Before taking his departure he estimated the native population at 30,000
or more. Dávila places the number at only 5,000.




[XXIV‑13] Gaztela, Real Titulo, in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xi. 124.




[XXIV‑14]  Molina, Bosquejo de Costa Rica, does not even mention Coronado, but
passes on from the administration of Caballon in 1560 to that of Cherino.
Yet Coronado's appointment is substantiated by numerous official documents
of the period, and by the narrative of Dávila.




[XXIV‑15]  A detailed account of these instructions is given in Costa Rica, Real Instruccion,
in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xvii. 559-65.




[XXIV‑16]  The personnel of this expedition is described in Artieda, Costa Rica, in
Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xv. 261-300.




[XXIV‑17]  Among those present were Fray Diego de Molina, vicar; Francisco
Pavon, captain; Juan Gonzalez Delgada, 'Escribano de la Gobernacion dicha
Ciudad, é publico del Cabildo de ella' (meaning of the city of Artieda); Pedro
de Avendano, sargento mayor; Tomás de Barahona, maestre de campo; and
Diego de Zárate, alcalde ordinario. Costa Rica, Acontecimiento, in Pacheco
and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xvii. 570.




[XXIV‑18] Ponce, Relacion de Las Casas, in Col. Doc. Inéd., lvii. 350.




[XXIV‑19] Juarros, Guat., i. 326. Mendieta, Hist. Ecles., 393-4, confirms Juarros
except as to date, which he places in 1550, while Vazquez, Chron. de Gvat.,
252, gives 1560. 'Segun ... el Informe manuscripto de la fundacion de esta
Provincia.'




[XXIV‑20]  See Hist. Mex., ii. 451, this series.




[XXIV‑21] Mendieta, Hist. Ecles., 393-4. Vazquez, Chron. de Gvat., 254, makes the
number six.




[XXIV‑22] Mendieta, Hist. Ecles., 393-4. Torquemada gives 17 as the number of
convents, and 1565 as the date of the foundation of the provincia, iii. 130.
Vazquez states that several convents were founded before the departure of
Bienvenida for Spain, including those of San Francisco at Cartago and San
Lorenzo at Esparza. Chron. de Gvat., 254.




[XXIV‑23]  His motive for coming to Costa Rica and Nicaragua was, as given in the
words of the Ill. bishop of Mantua: 'Primus huius Provintiæ (Sancti Georgii
de Nicaragua) Fundator extitit Religiosissimus Pater Frater Alphonsus (Petrus)
Betanzos plurium linguarum, præsertim vero Indiarum gnarus, qui molestias
sibi, atque vexationes iniusté illatas ad tempus declinaturus, Goactemalicia
ex Custodia cuius Alumnus erat, ad has partes, traiecit:' Vazquez,
Chron. de Gvat., 545.




[XXIV‑24]  Ogilby, 1671, Cartago; Læt, Novvs Orbis, 1633, Cartago; Jeffreys, 1776,
Carthago; Kiepert, 1858, Cartago. Cartography Pacific Coast, MS., i. 142.




[XXIV‑25]  Alonso Lopez de Cerrato, who, it will be remembered, took the residencia
of Rodrigo de Contreras. See p. 183, this vol.




[XXIV‑26]  Nicaragua at this time included Costa Rica, the partition not having
yet taken place.




[XXIV‑27]  The tribute of the natives consists of maize, wax, honey, poultry, etc.,
of the annual value of about 3,000 pesos. Squier's MSS., xxii. 9.




[XXIV‑28]  Authorities conflict as to the order of succession. In Alcedo the name of
Vera Cruz does not occur. Calle refers to the fact without giving any date
whatever. Mendieta, Hist. Ecles., 548, states that the appointment was made
in 1551.




[XXIV‑29]  Alcedo, Dávila, Juarros, and other writers of the period fail to mention
Carrasco in their enumeration of the bishops of Nicaragua. We find him
named only in Calle, Mem. y Not., 129, and Mendieta, Hist. Ecles., 548. Icazbalceta
in a note in the Hist. Ecles. gives Valdivieso as the first bishop of the
diocese instead of Osorio.




[XXIV‑30]  Gonzalo Fernandez de Córdoba, 'el Gran Capitan,' was born in Montilla
in 1453. El Gran Capitan, Quintana, Vidas, 102-3.




[XXIV‑31]  Juarros, Hist. Guat., i. 278, gives 1551 as the date of appointment,
and 1553 as the year when he entered on his duties. Gonzalez Dávila, Teatro
Ecles., i. 154, endorses Juarros, but assigns no date save that he was transferred
in 1574. Calle, Mem. y Not., 129, simply mentions Córdoba as the
one who followed Valdivieso, ignoring Vera Cruz and Carrasco. Córdoba's
appointment is mentioned, but without date, by Mendieta, Hist. Ecles., 548.




[XXIV‑32]  The convent of San Pablo, at Leon, founded by Osorio, Las Casas, and
their associates in 1532 (see p. 169, this vol.), belonged to the provincia of
Peru, and had now become very wealthy. Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 598.




[XXIV‑33]  'Los vezinos de la ciudad de Leon, hizieron grandes extremos por la
ausencia de los Religiosos. Y para sacar el Padre fray Iuan de Torres la
hazienda y alhajas del Conuento, tuuo necessidad de mucha maña y secreto.'
Id., 599.




[XXIV‑34] Id., 599. Remesal enlarges on the injurious effects of this second desertion
of the province by the Dominicans, and states (p. 620) that a cédula
under date of August 1, 1558, forbade any secular priest being assigned to a
place where friars of either the Franciscan or Dominican orders were stationed
in the dioceses of Guatemala, Chiapas, Honduras, and Nicaragua.




[XXIV‑35]  Mention is also made of Nueva Segovia, where much gold is said to have
been taken out, and of Nueva Jaen, at the mouth of Lake Nicaragua, whence
merchandise from Nombre de Dios was shipped to Granada in canoes. Guatemala,
Informe, in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xv. 470-2.




[XXIV‑36]  Trade had been greatly injured by the misuse of the mark of the leoncillo
(little lion) which was introduced into Nicaragua with royal consent. In
1551 it was ordered that the mark be affixed only to 15 or 17 carat gold.
About the same time the king was asked to extend an expiring license to melt
metal, that 'la fundicion del oro é de la plata, sea al diezimo.' Carrasco, Carta,
in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., v. 526-8.




[XXV‑1] Hist. Cent. Am., i. 513, this series.




[XXV‑2] Page 276, this volume.




[XXV‑3] New Survey W. Indies (3d ed., London, 1677), 419. The author lived in
the Indies between 1625 and 1637, and made, as he tells us, 9,000 pesos during
these 12 years. He was an acute observer, and captious in doctrinal
matters, as the following passage will show: 'Whilest this traffick was (at
Portobello), it happened unto me that which I have formerly testified in my
Recantation Sermon at Pauls Church, which if by that means it have not come
unto the knowledge of many, I desire again to record it in this my History,
that to all England it may be published; which was, that one day saying the
Mass in the chief Church, after the Consecration of the bread, being with my
eyes shut at that prayer, which the Church of Rome calleth the Memento for
their dead, there came from behind the Altar a Mouse, which running about,
came to the very bread or Wafer-god of the Papists, and taking it in his mouth
ran away with it, not being perceived by any of the people who were at Mass,
for that the Altar was high, by reason of the steps going up to it, and the people
far beneath. But as soon as I opened my eyes to go on with my Mass, and
perceived my God stolen away, I looked about the Altar, and saw the mouse
running away with it.... Whereupon, not knowing what the people had seen, I
turned myself unto them, and called them unto the Altar, and told them plainly
that whilst I was in my Memento prayers and meditations, a Mouse had carried
away the Sacrament, and that I knew not what to do unless they would
help me to finde it out again.... After much searching and inquiry for the
sacrilegious beast, they found at last in a hole of the wall the Sacrament half
eaten up, which with great joy they took out, and as if the Ark had been
brought again from the Philistins to the Israelites, so they rejoiced for their
new-found God.... I observed in it the marks and signs of the teeth of the
Mouse, as they are to be seen in a piece of Cheese gnawn and eaten by it....
And so Transubstantiation here in my judgement was confuted by a Mouse.'
New Survey, 446-8.




[XXV‑4] Id., 420-21.




[XXV‑5]  A castle with four bastions was erected, on a small rocky eminence. It
was protected by a fosse and usually garrisoned by 100 men. Juarros, Guat.,
i. 52. Pelaez, Hist. Guat., ii. 176, says it was commenced in 1667, and Belly,
Nicaragua, ii. 261, that the first castle was not built until 1666, and (in footnote)
'La construction du fort ne l'empêcha pas de reparaître une seconde
fois en 1670 et d'obtenir les mêmes succès. C'est alors qu'un ordre royal
décida la construction du fort Castillo, à douze lieues en aval du fleuve, qui
fut terminé en 1675.'




[XXV‑6]  'El padre Pedro de Contreras, sugeto de grandes talentos y nacido,
digámoslo así, para esta especie de ministerios.' Alegre, Hist. Comp. Jesus, ii.
80-1.




[XXV‑7]  Real was appointed bishop in 1603, as successor to Gregorio de Montalvo.
He had served as chaplain to Filipe IV. Gonzalez Dávila, Teatro Ecles., i.
239.




[XXV‑8]  At a meeting held Jan. 10, 1621, the procurador, Lopez de Castro, presented
a petition which was unanimously adopted, setting forth the services
already rendered by the fathers in behalf of religion and humanity, and praying
earnestly against their removal. Alegre, Hist. Comp. Jesus, 130.




[XXV‑9]  In 1618 Padre Florian de Ayerve had been sent to visit the place, and
reported adversely. Padre Rabarjal, rector of the college of Guatemala, concurred.
When the recall was found to be inevitable, a second public meeting
prayed that the ornaments and utensils of the church remain for a season,
and this petition was granted. Id., 130-32.




[XXV‑10]  The petition to the king is dated Feb. 13, 1621. A letter signed by all
the members of the administration accompanied it. Id., 134.




[XXV‑11]  Real's death occurred in 1619. Gonzalez Dávila, Teatro Ecles., i. 239.




[XXV‑12]  On the death of Bishop Valtonado the hospital was abandoned until
1650, when a company of priests came from Mexico and took charge of it.
Santos, Chron., 481-82. Valtonado's successor was Hernando Nuñez Sagredo,
who, says Gonzalez Dávila, 'Fve Calificador de la Inquisicion de Cuenca, y
del Consejo Supremo.' He fulfilled the duties of his office 'como buen pastor'
and died in 1639. Previously to Sagredo Agustin de Hinojosa and Fray Juan
Baraona Zapata were appointed; but both died before reaching their diocese.
Next appears the name of Alfonso Briceño, a zealous and learned man, who
wrote 'dos Tomos de Teologia Escolastica.' He took charge of the bishopric
in 1646, and died in 1649. Hist. Ecles., i. 240-244. In 1651 Alonso de Cuevas
Dávalos, dean of the cathedral of Mexico, refused the prelacy of Nicaragua,
and according to Figueroa, Vindicias, MS., 75, Alonso Bravo de Laguna received
the mitre, though his name is not mentioned by Alcedo or Gonzalez
Dávila. In 1655 Fray Tomás Mansa was appointed bishop. Vetancvrt, Menolog.,
135 (Mexico, 1697), confirmed in Guijo, Diario, in Doc. Hist. Mex.,
série i. tom. i. 323, but finding that Dávalos was still in office declined to
take charge of the diocese. Id., 387. Soon after his arrival he died from
eating too much fish. Id. The decease of Dávalos occurred in 1659. Medina,
Chron. San Diego Mex., 240. Juan de la Torre y Castro was appointed
bishop in 1562, and died suddenly within seven leagues of Granada on the
27th of June, 1663. Fray Alonso Bravo, an eloquent preacher and an accomplished
scholar, was elected prelate in 1665. Vetancvrt, Menolog., 136; and
Robles, Diario, in Doc. Hist. Mex., série i. tom. ii. 3.




[XXV‑13]  This vol. 172 et seq.




[XXV‑14] Hist. Cent. Am., i. 310.




[XXV‑15]  'In olden times it was supposed that the lakes Managua and Nicaragua
were one, as the Rio Tipitapa is supposed to be all remaining of the lakes in
their former unity.' Stout's Nic., 101.




[XXV‑16] Mem. y Not., 131. Gage probably includes in his estimate of population
the peaceable Indians settled in the neighborhood.




[XXV‑17]  The first governor of Costa Rica in the seventeenth century was Captain
Alonso Lara de Cordoba, who was appointed in 1603. Others are given in
the order of their succession in Pelaez, Mem. Hist. Guat., ii. 170-4.




[XXV‑18]  He expended upward of 60,000 pesos of his own private means. Juarros,
Guat., i. 374. Molina, Costa Rica, 11, makes the same statement.




[XXV‑19]  He became superior of the order; founded many hospitals and made extensive
journeys in the cause of the church. In 1687 he was named by the
pope, first superior-general, and after being identified for 50 years with the
order died Sept. 23, 1769, aged 79. Juarros, Guat., i. 330-2.




[XXV‑20]  Sept. 28, 1709, the Indians of Talamanca rose and killed fathers Pablo de
Rebullidas and Antonio de Zamora. Haya, Informe al Reg., 14.




[XXV‑21]  Fantasmas, Molucas, Moscas, Payas, Jaras, and many others, partly of
Guatemala and Honduras as well. See Native Races, passim.




[XXV‑22]  Among other cédulas are three bearing date Oct. 30, 1547; Aug. 31, 1560;
and July 2, 1594. Juarros, Guat., i. 346.




[XXV‑23]  He might establish six convents subject to the provincial of Guatemala.
Juarros, Guat., 349.




[XXV‑24]  They began their labors in the latter part of January 1610. On ash
Wednesday, following, a number were baptized and 130 converts were received
during lent. Juarros, Guat., 351.




[XXV‑25]  Pelaez, Mem. Guat., i. 291, mentions a circumstance which may partly
explain what follows. A soldier who had previously killed two of the Indians
was struck by one of the natives, whereupon he seized him, and with the
assistance of a comrade bound his left hand to his body and nailed his right
hand to a tree with a horseshoe and eight nails, leaving him in that position.
The corpse was found by his tribe, and of course retaliation followed.




[XXV‑26]  This incident occurred in January 1612. The narratives of the expedition
by Pelaez and Juarros substantially agree.




[XXVI‑1] Hakluyt's Principal Navigation ... and Discoveries of the English Nation,
iii. 499 (London, 1598-1600).




[XXVI‑2]  See p. 138, this volume.




[XXVI‑3]  The Caribbees are said to have prepared the flesh of their human captives
in the same way. 'Ils les mangent après les avoir bien boucannée, c'est
à dire, rotis bien sec.' Du Tertre, Hist. des Antilles, i. 415.




[XXVI‑4] Voy. round the World, passim. Neither word was used at the time Drake
was making raids on the Isthmus.




[XXVI‑5]  'The word flibustier is merely the French mariner's mode of pronouncing
the English word freebooter, a name which long preceded that of buccaneer.'
Burney's Hist. Bucc., 43. Some authorities derive the term from the
Dutch word fluyts, that is to say fly-boats; but, as Burney remarks, it would
not readily occur to any one to purchase such craft for corsairs. It is curious
to note that the French translator of Esquemelin still adhered to the mispronunciation
of the word, '& prirent le nom de Flibustiers, du mot Anglois
Flibuster.' Exquemelin, Hist. Flib., i. 20.




[XXVI‑6] Russell's Hist. Amer., i. 528. This author gives a sketch of the origin of
the buccaneers and their customs, showing considerable research, and is endorsed
in most material points by Burney's Hist. Bucc., 38 et seq. Both
authors draw largely from Du Tertre, Hist. des Antilles, and the former from
Raynal, Histoire Philosophique.




[XXVI‑7]  While his comrades divided the booty, he gloated over the mangled
bodies of the objects of his hate. Drake, Cavendish, and Dampier's Lives,
179-80; Burney's Hist. Bucc., 55.




[XXVI‑8]  In the English translation of Exquemelin is the following interpolation:
'Tortuga, the common Refuge of all sort of Wickedness, and the Seminary,
as it were, of Pirats and Thieves.' Bucaniers of Amer., i. 53.




[XXVI‑9]  'Siende dat 'er oock geen quartier voor hem over was, alsoo hy 't niet
ontloopen konde, door dien hy alreede gequetst was, bemorste hy hem met
bloedt, en kroop onder de dooden die daer lagen.' Exquemelin, Americaensche
Zee-Roovers, 48.




[XXVI‑10]  Or Sars River. Rio de Jagua, a river emptying into the gulf of Honduras.
I. de Laet, 1633, R. Xagua; West-Ind. Spieghel places on the north
coast of Yucatan, Xagua. Cartog. Pac. Coast, MS., i. 308.




[XXVI‑11]  'L'Olonois y perdit environ trente hommes, et en eut bien vingt de
blessés.' Exquemelin (or Oexmelin, as in the French version the author is
styled), Hist. des Flib., i. 207. The pirates would not encumber themselves
with the indigo: 'L'Olonois ... en auroit en pour plus de 40,000 écus; mais il
ne cherchoit que de l'argent.' Id., 208.




[XXVI‑12]  The French translator says: 'Leur canon étoit en batterie au nombre de
cinquante-six pieces.' Id., 219. The original work of Esquemelin gives the
same number as that in the text. De Americaensche Zee-Roovers, 70.




[XXVI‑13]  This band proceeded along the coast to the town of Veragua which
they captured and pillaged. Exquemelin, Hist. Flib., i. 223.




[XXVI‑14]  The French version, contrary to Exquemelin's narrative, says that all
the men left, the greater number in the long-boat and the remainder in canoes.
Id., i. 228.




[XXVI‑15]  Exquemelin, Americaensche Zee-Roovers, 1678, 73, thus describes the
death of L'Olonnois: 'Maer het scheen dat Godt niet langer de godtloosheden
van desen mensch konde toelaten, maer hem door een wreede doodt straffen
wilde voor alle de wreedtheden, die hy aen soo veel onnoosele menschen
hadde gepleeght; want in de Golfe van Darien Komende, is hy met sijn
volck vervallen in de handen der Wilden, by de Spanjaerden Indios Bravos
genaemt. Sy hebben hem aen stucken gekapt en gebraeden, naer het verhael
van een sijner meedemackers, die het selve soude geleeden hebben, hadde hy
sijn leven niet met de vlucht gesalveert.' His English translator says: 'The
Indians ... tore him in pieces alive, throwing his Body limb by limb into the
Fire, and his Ashes into the Air, that no trace or memory might remain of
such an infamous inhuman Creature.' Bucaniers of America, i. 77. The
French edition adds that L'Olonnois was eaten by the Indians. Exquemelin,
Hist. des Flib., i. 230.




[XXVI‑16] Exquemelin, Bucaniers of Amer., i. 79. According to French translator
of Exquemelin, Mansvelt had 600 men. Hist. des Flib., ii. 3.




[XXVI‑17]  This island was used as a penal settlement by the Spaniards who employed
the convicts on the works of the fortifications. Here Mansvelt
expected to find some one familiar with the road to Natá. Id., 4-5.




[XXVI‑18]  Or Moin, where they landed 1,200 men in the year 1666. Juarros, Guat.
(London, ed. 1823), 344. According to Exquemelin they sailed along the
coast as far as the river Zuere. Hist. des Flib., ii. 7. According to Haya,
Informe, 11, the corsair Manflas landed 800 men. Consult Cartog. Pac. Coast,
MS., i. 142.




[XXVI‑19]  In Haya, Informe, MS., 11, is found the following strange statement:
The maestro de campo, Juan Lopez de la Flor, the governor, sent Major
Alonso de Bonilla with eight men, for there were neither arms nor provisions
for a greater number, who caused the corsairs to retire from the province.




[XXVI‑20]  About ten leagues distant from Cartago.




[XXVI‑21] Juarros, Guat. (London, ed. 1823), 344-5. Bonilla took two men who
were foot-sore. When asked the reason of their precipitate flight from so
small a number, they stated that they had seen a numerous army marching
against them. Haya, Informe, MS., 11-12.




[XXVI‑22]  According to Juarros the prisoners made this confession under torture.
Haya does not mention this.




[XXVI‑23]  'Ujarraz, pueblo en otro tiempo considerable, pero en el dia mui desdichado.'
Juarros, Guat., i. 58-9. It is two leagues distant from Cartago. Id.




[XXVI‑24]  According to an account of this recapture of Santa Catarina by a Spanish
engineer, it occurred in August 1665. A translation of the Spanish version of
the affair is to be found in Exquemelin, De Americaensche Zee-Roovers, 76-80,
and in the English translation of the latter work in Bucaniers of America, i.
82-5. In the French edition of Exquemelin the Spanish narrative is thus dismissed:
'J'aurois pu la traduire, & en gaossir ce Volume, mais comme elle
n'est remplie que de bagatelles & de rodomontades Espagnoles, je ne m'en fuis
pas donné la peine, ne voulant rien raconter ici que de véritable.' Hist. des
Flib., ii. 10.




[XXVII‑1] Panamá,  Reales Cédulas, in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xvii. 349-50.




[XXVII‑2]  In 1604 Andrés Cortés was alcalde ordinario, Francisco Terii alguacil
mayor, and Capt. Damian Mendez and others regidores. The names of the
members for 1605 are also mentioned. Id., 228-32.




[XXVII‑3]  'A peculiar kind of wine very much in use at Seville,'says Salva, in
Dic. Leng Cast., 54, 784; Panamá,  Reales Cédulas, in Pacheco and Cárdenas,
Col. Doc., xvii. 228-30.




[XXVII‑4]  The penalties were 50 pesos for the first offence; 100 for a second offence,
and for the third perpetual banishment. The law was passed Sept. 23, 1605,
and was approved by the audiencia. Id., 230-3. The evil increased, and in
Dec. 1614 an act declared offenders punishable by fine of 50 pesos for the first
offence, and 100 pesos and banishment for the second. Recop. de Indias, ii. 362.




[XXVII‑5]  In West Indies, Geog. and Hist. Descr., the number of men aboard is
stated at 300. In an appendix to Carranza, Descr. Coast W. Indias, 118, containing
Parker's own account of the taking of Portobello, the latter mentions
that he landed with 150 men, and it may be presumed that he left at least 50
in charge of his ships.




[XXVII‑6]  In the appendix to Carranza just quoted Parker gives 'A Table made in
the manner of an Alphabett. for the easier findinge of the Streates, and chiefest
Places portraited in the Drafte of Portabell, beinge in the West-Indies,
standing in tenne Degrees, which was taken by Captaine William Parker, of
Plymouth, Gentleman, the seaventh Daye of Februarie 1601,' etc. In Panamá,
Descrip., Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc. x., the year 1602 is given on p.
105, and 1601 on p. 108. The year 1601 is also given in Casttell's Am., in Churchill's
Col. Voy., viii. 762. The town 'was pillaged by the English under Captain
Parker, in the year 1601,' says Heylyn, Cosmog., 1086. The date of sailing
from Plymouth, November 1601, is given in Harris' Col. Voy., i. 747; in
West Indies, Geog. and Hist., 79; in Purchas' Pil., iv. 1243, and in Holmes'
Annals Am., i. 117. The landing at Portobello is placed on the 7th of Feb.
1602. The author of West Indies, Geog. and Hist., 79-80, gives both dates,
but in speaking generally of the expedition styles it of 1601, as on pp. 67, 78,
and elsewhere.




[XXVII‑7]  He was great-nephew of the Pedro Melendez who barbarously murdered
Ribault, Landouiere, and others of the French who fell into his hands in
Florida. West Indies, Geog. and Hist., 82-3.




[XXVII‑8] West Indies, Geog. and Hist., 82; Harris' Col. Voy., i. 747; Casttell's Am.
in Churchill's Col. Voy., viii. 762.




[XXVII‑9]  On hearing of the capture of Portobello, the governor of Cartagena is
said to have sworn to give 'a Mules lading of Silver to have a fight of Captain
Parker and his Company,' and as Harris remarks: 'Had they been sure
he would have parted with what he had upon so easie terms as they at
Porto Belo did, 'tis very likely they might have sold him that favour, but his
strength being uncertain as well as his pay, they did not think fit to attempt
him.' Col. Voy., i. 747.




[XXVII‑10]  Deputies were to receive 400 ducats yearly. In 1608, the bonds of
treasury officials were reduced from 20,000 ducats to one half that amount.
In a decree of Sept. 11, 1610, the fiscal is directed to go to Portobello on the
arrival of the galleons and tarry during the season; all other officials to perform
their usual duties and make the requisite reports. Among other duties
the fiscal was authorized to prevent improper persons landing. 'Estorbando
que los cassados y pasajeros que fueron con licencia, y mulatas moriscas y
estrangeras y otras personas prohibidas á pasar á estas partes, no lo hagan,
executando en ellos y en los que los lleban, las penas que estan impuestas.'
Panamá,  Reales Cédulas, in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xvii. 311-12.




[XXVII‑11]  'When I came into the Haven,' says Thomas Gage who was at Portobello
in 1537, 'I was sorry to see that as yet the Galeons were not come from
Spain, knowing that the longer I stayed in that place, greater would be my
charges.... A kind Gentleman, who was the King's Treasurer, falling in discourse
with me, promised to help me, that I might be cheaply lodged even
when the ships came, and lodgings were at the highest rate. He, interposing
his authority, went with me to seek one, which at the time of the Fleets
being there, might continue to be mine. It was no bigger than would contain
a Bed, a Table, and a Stool or two, with room enough besides to open and shut
the door, and they demanded of me for it, during the foresaid time of the
Fleet, six-score Crowns, which commonly is a fortnight.... I knew a Merchant
who gave a thousand Crowns for a shop of reasonable bigness, to sell his
wares and commodities that year that I was there, for fifteen days only, which
the Fleet continued to be in that Haven. I thought it much for me to give
the six-score Crowns which were demanded of me for a room, which was but a
Mouse-hole.' New Survey, 444-5.




[XXVII‑12]  The length of anchorage ground is about 3,000 geometrical paces; the
width from 1,500 to 1,800 paces, and the average depth 17 fathoms. Large
ships ride at anchor opposite Castle Santiago, while frigates can move nearer
the mole. There is room for 300 galleons and 1,000 smaller vessels within,
while 2,000 ships may anchor with tolerable safety without the forts. Panamá,
Descrip., in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., ix. 118-19.




[XXVII‑13]  Panamá contained in 1610, eleven streets, three squares, a cathedral,
five convents, a hospital, seven royal houses, a casa de cabildo, two hermitages,
court-house with jail, 332 houses covered with tiles, 40 small houses,
112 Indian huts, a meat market and slaughter-house. All but eight of the
houses were made of stone. Panamá,  Descrip., in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col.
Doc., ix. 86. The statement that all but eight were of stone seems improbable.
It is certain that they were nearly all of wood about the middle of the
16th century, and that most of them were of cedar when Panamá vieja was
destroyed during Morgan's raid in 1671.




[XXVII‑14]  It will be remembered that Cruces was the town at which treasure from
Panamá was shipped in barges for the mouth of the Chagre. The casa de
Cruces was established in 1536.




[XXVII‑15]  In response to frequent addresses, the king, on the 14th of August 1610,
directed Governor Mercedo by all means in his power to develop mining
operations in Panamá and Veragua. 'Para que los que tienen quadrillas do
negros las refuerzen y acrecienten, y los que no las tienen las procuran.' Panamá,
Reales Cédulas, in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xvii. 211-12.




[XXVII‑16]  The office of corredor de lonja was farmed out for 1,000 pesos, those of corredor
devinos and auctioneer for 75 pesos each per annum. Panamá,  Descrip.,
in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., ix. 90. In fact the king prohibited
monopolies in which he did not participate. On the 29th of March 1621,
Felipe III. decreed that as flour must be brought from Peru, and the corregidores
had a monopoly of the trade, the viceroys must abolish that system so
that dealers might purchase without restriction for the Panamá market.
Recop. de Ind., ii. 64.




[XXVII‑17]  In 1605, appropriations include 6,000 ducats for the governor, 2,000
pesos each for four oidores and a fiscal, and 400,000 maravedís each for the
tesorero, contador, and factor. Others were in proportion. See Panamá,
Descrip., in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., ix. 105-7.




[XXVII‑18]  'Por este camino se podrá poner freno á la entrada de los enemigos.'
Panamá,  Reales Cédulas, in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xvii. 214.




[XXVII‑19]  'Advirtiendo que todo este se a de hacer sin que dello se siga ninguna
costa a mi hacienda.' Id., xvii. 213-14.




[XXVII‑20]  Forced loans were frequently extorted by Felipe III., and merchants
resorted to all sorts of devices to conceal their specie. Commerce suffered
great depression, and on April 10, 1643, Felipe IV., in a letter to the governor,
says that under no circumstances would any further exaction be made,
but that he would be satisfied with the stipulated dues. Panamá,  Reales
Cédulas, in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xvii. 249-52.




[XXVII‑21] Id., xvii. 249-52. Alcedo, who is by no means reliable either as to
names or dates, says that Don Rodrigo de Vivero y Velasco, a native of Lima,
succeeded Don Diego de Orozco. He adds that during Velasco's administration
the subjugation and spiritual conquest of the Guaimi Indians in Veragua
was effected, and that his rule ended in 1624. Dic., iv. 41. Diego de Haya
in his Datos para la Historia del Istmo makes no mention of either of the
Velascos.




[XXVII‑22]  In 1651 it was common to ship bullion from Peru as though destined for
Panamá, and thence have it smuggled into Spain. This gave rise to several
decrees. Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xvii. 194-5. Another device was
to ship silver in bale goods. Dampier's Voy., i. 185. A common method of
collusion between Spanish and English contrabandists was for an English
vessel to coast off Portobello until visited from the shore by those prepared
to trade. Having marked selections of goods the latter returned with their
money when ready to purchase, often under the disguise of peasants. Univ.
Col. Voy., ii. 373-4. The king on Sept. 23, 1652, says that frauds were committed
in 1651, in deducting from the schedule of Callao, lots and parcels,
under pretence that they were for residents of Panamá and Portobello; and
that there was a dispensation to the merchants in 'el mero que hauian de
hazer, supliendos por imaginaria en el registro los 600,000 pesos que se obligaron
á mi Virrey del Peru.' He also demands a report of the reasons why
'no hicesteis enterar la suma que el Consulado, y comercio de Lima se obligo
a suplir por ynmaxinaria, a lo efectibo del rexistro que salió de aquella ciudad.'
Panamá,  Real Cédula, in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xvii. 194-5.




[XXVII‑23] Provincia del Sto Evangelio MS., No. 16. See also Torquemada, iii. 280;
and Mendieta, Hist. Ecles., iv. 32.




[XXVII‑24]  Gonzalez Dávila, Teatro Ecles., ii. 58, states that he held office for 15
years, and Alcedo, Dic., iv. 34, repeats the statement; and yet both are
evidently mistaken. Chroniclers of the seventeenth century leave the order
of succession to the see of Panamá in doubt, though they are agreed as to
the date of Ábrego's death. Dávila mentions the elevation of Fray Pablo de
Torres as the seventh bishop probably in 1559, and that he certainly entered
upon the duties in the following year. In this Alcedo concurs. Both speak
of his successor Fray Juan Vaca, but without giving the date of the decease
of the former or of the appointment of the later. Vaca died on the voyage
out, and the vacant see was not filled until Ábrego's appointment.




[XXVII‑25]  Alcedo says that his full name was Bartolomé Martinez Menacho.
Previous to his appointment the bishopric had been offered to and declined by
Fray Pedro de Pravia, a distinguished theologian. Dávila Padilla, Fvnd. Santiago
de Mex., 595.




[XXVII‑26]  According to Alcedo this occurred in 1593. Id.




[XXVII‑27]  This see was created in 1602. Bishop Calderon died at Salinas when
upwards of 100 years old and was buried in the convent of San Agustin of
which he had been a great benefactor. Dávila, Teatro Ecles., ii. 58, 118.




[XXVII‑28]  The sum of 3,770 pesos having been subscribed, the licentiate Terrin of
Panamá offered to erect the buildings if a suitable site were provided, and
expended for that purpose some 24,000 pesos. He further added an annual
endowment of 2,000 pesos, reserving founder's rights (patronazgo) for himself.
Panamá,  Descrip., Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., ix. 107; Figueroa, Vindicias,
MS., 74.




[XXVII‑29]  A cédula of July 1, 1580, stigmatizes this conduct as 'an abuse that must
be stopped.' Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xvii. 488.




[XXVII‑30]  While still a friar, Carabajal went to Spain and became prior of the royal
convent of Valladolid, and during his attendance at court he was chosen assistant-general
of all the provinces of Spain and the Indies, and reformador of the
provinces of Bolonia and Romania by authority of Pope Clement VIII. Dicc.
Univ., Hist. Geog., viii. 522. According to this authority he was a native of
the city of Mexico, but Dávila, in Teatro Ecles., ii. 59, says he was a native
of Cáceres in Estremadura.




[XXVII‑31] Panamá,  Reales Cédulas, in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xvii.
237-9.




[XXVII‑32]  At this time Panamá had convents belonging to the Dominicans, the
Franciscans, the Mercenarios, and the Jesuits, a flourishing nunnery, and a
number of secular ecclesiastics. Its cathedral tithes amounted to 7,632
pesos, of which the prelate received 2,331. In the first named convent there
were 10, in the second 11 religious; while the Mercenarios had 13 and the
Jesuits 11. The nunnery had 24 nuns and 32 negroes of both sexes. The
cathedral had two chapels, Santa Anna and San Cristóbal. Panamá,  Descrip.,
in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., ix. 108. Some years later, from 1625-27,
Gage says there were 8 convents and monasteries for friars and nuns.
Voyage, ii. 78-91.




[XXVII‑33]  Instituted in Granada in 1538 for special service in hospital work. They
followed the rules of San Agustin. In 1572 Pope Clement V. approved the
order and thenceforward the fraternity labored in their specialty.




[XXVII‑34]  Cámara founded scholarships in the college of San Agustin and left an
annuity of three hundred pesos to the Jesuit college, a sum for the maintenance
of two chaplains in the choir, and 4,000 pesos for the church building
fund. Gonzalez Dávila, Teatro Ecles., ii. 59, and Alcedo, Dic., iv. 35.




[XXVII‑35]  The former lived to an advanced age, dying in 1649. He was a great
ascetic, and refused a bishopric. His funeral was attended by the audiencia
and all the noble families of the province. Santos, Chron. Hist., i. 303.




[XXVII‑36]  In 1636 they refused to deliver up the bodies of some persons who had
died in the hospital, and prevented their interment in the chapel of La Concepcion.
Reales Cédulas, in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xvii. 243.




[XXVII‑37]  On the 17th of January 1626 he was consecrated at Valladolid in the
Dominican convent of San Pablo. Gonzalez Dávila, Teatro Ecles., ii. 59-60;
Alcedo, Dic., iv. 35-6.




[XXVII‑38]  In a letter dated March 26, 1638, Felipe IV. approves of this measure.
Panamá,  Reales Cédulas, in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xvii. 241.




[XXVII‑39]  'Mandamos á los Presidentes y Oidores, y á todos los demas Ministros
de nuestras Reales Audiencias, que ninguno de los susodichos, ni sus mujeres
entren en la clausura de los Monasterios de Monjas á ninguna hora del dia, ni
la noche: y asimismo, que no vayan á hablar por los locutorios, y puertas Reglares
á horas extraordinarias, y esto se guarde con la precision necesaria y conveniente
á la decencia de los Monasterios.' Recop. de Indias, i. 393.




[XXVII‑40]  In 1624 Alvaro de Quiñones Osorio, marqués de Lorenzana and knight
of the order of Santiago, was appointed governor, and in 1632 was promoted
to the governorship of Guatemala. His successor was Sebastian Hurtado
de Corcuera, who held office only two years, Alcedo, Dicc., iv. 41, and was
succeeded by Sotomayor, who died in 1639, Inigo de la Mota Sarmiento, a
knight of the order of Santiago and a member of the supreme council, being
the next in succession. Sarmiento died in 1642. There are no incidents
worthy of note connected with any of them except Sotomayor, and it is by
no means certain that Alcedo is right as to date or order of succession, but
there are no other authorities on this point. Bazan succeeded Sarmiento.




[XXVII‑41]  The date of the fire was the 21st of February 1644. Two days later
another one broke out but was speedily controlled. Both were looked upon
as the work of incendiaries, but if so they escaped detection. Panamá,  Reales
Cédulas (published 14th of May 1645), in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc.,
xvii. 273.




[XXVII‑42]  On May 13, 1645, the king says that in the face of royal orders Bazan
had appointed Estévan Gallejos, his wife's nephew, warden of the castle of
San Felipe, Portobello; and on the 5th of August 1647 that other relatives
and dependents had been appointed to lucrative places. One nephew was
alcalde mayor of Nasa; another, warden of the castle of Chagre; one servant
was captain of the companies of the garrison, and another was factor. He
was censured, and again commanded to obey, 'porque demas que bos se ara
la demonstracion que conbenga, sereis castigado con toda seberidad.' Panamá,
Reales Cédulas, in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xvii. 275-81.




[XXVII‑43] Id., 269-71. Alcedo styles him Don Juan de Bitribeante y Navarra,
knight of the order of Calatrava. Dic., iv. 42.




[XXVIII‑1]  Captain Morgan said: 'If our number is small, our hearts are great; and
the fewer Persons we are, the more Union and better shares we shall have in
the Spoil.' Exquemelin, Hist. Bucaniers, 93.




[XXVIII‑2] Exquemelin, Hist. Bucaniers, 96.




[XXVIII‑3] Exquemelin, Hist. Flib., ii. 44, and Hist. Bucaniers, 98.




[XXVIII‑4] Burney's Buccaneers of America, 62, and Archenholtz' Hist. Pirates, 116,
give the plunder at 250,000 pesos, besides slaves and merchandise, but Exquemelin,
Hist. Bucaniers, 119, probably through a typographical error, at
25,000 pesos, apart from slaves and merchandise.




[XXVIII‑5]  Six vessels with 350 men under the command of Vice-Admiral Collier,
according to Sharp's Voyages, 124.




[XXVIII‑6]  In Sharp's Voyages, 125-126, it is stated that the expedition was absent
52 days, and made prizes of two Spanish vessels, and that Morgan ascertained
from the prisoners that the president of Panamá had granted commissions
against the English to a number of Spanish privateers.




[XXVIII‑7]  Two thousand two hundred. Exquemelin, Hist. Flib., ii. 105. An intercepted
despatch from the president of Panamá, translated in Sharp's Voyages,
145, gives the number of men at 3,000.




[XXVIII‑8]  Twenty-four heavy guns and eight brass pieces. Exquemelin, Hist. Flib.,
ii. 105.




[XXVIII‑9]  Indorsed by the governor of Jamaica. Exquemelin, Hist. Flib., ii. 110. But
this statement is not confirmed in other places. The Hist. Bucaniers, 126, implies
that Morgan had no right to grant such commissions. See also Sharp's
Voyages, preface. The governor must have been aware of the treaty pending
between England and Spain.




[XXVIII‑10]  It was agreed that one hundredth part of all the booty should be set
aside for the commander's portion; that each captain should draw, besides
his own, the shares of 8, 10, or 12 men, according to the size of his vessel,
and that the surgeon should receive 200 pesos, and each carpenter 100 pesos,
in addition to their regular pay. For those who should be maimed in action
compensation was thus provided: for the loss of both eyes, 2,000 pesos; of one
eye, 100; of both arms, 1,800; of both legs, 1,500; of a single arm or leg, 500;
and of a finger, 100 pesos; or an equivalent in slaves—on the basis of one
slave for each one hundred pesos. He who should be the first to force his way
into a Spanish castle, or to haul down the Spanish colors and plant the English
standard on the walls, was to receive 50 pesos; he who should take a prisoner
from whom serviceable news could be obtained, 100 pesos; he who should
throw hand-grenades among the enemy, 5 pesos for each one thrown; and he
who in action should capture an officer of rank, risking his life thereby, was
to be rewarded according to the degree of his valor. All rewards and extra
allowances were to be paid over before a general division should be made of
the booty. I find nothing set aside for Christ or the church. Exquemelin,
Hist. Flib., ii. 108-110; Hist. Bucaniers, 126.




[XXVIII‑11] Exquemelin, Hist. Flibustiers, ii. 117, and Hist. Bucaniers, 129, 130.




[XXVIII‑12]  Three ships and 470 men, according to Sharp's Voyages, 130.




[XXVIII‑13]  The account given in Sharp's Voyages, 130, is that the buccaneers, in
plying their hand-grenades, set fire to a guard-house that stood on the wall
of the castle. This seems improbable, for they were separated from the fort
by the crevasse, by the palisades beyond, and by the space between the palisades
and the castle walls, which must have been beyond reach of such missiles.




[XXVIII‑14]  In Sharp's Voyages, 133, it is stated that Morgan left only 300 men to
guard the castle, and started for Panamá with 1,400 buccaneers, 7 small ships,
and 36 boats. The intercepted despatch from the president of Panamá, translated
in the same work, states (page 153) that Morgan reached Panamá with
2,300 men. In Exquemelin, Hist. Flib., i. 137, the number is given at 1,300.




[XXVIII‑15]  Authorities differ materially in their accounts of this skirmish. Exquemelin,
Hist. Bucaniers, 141, and Archenholtz, Hist. Pirates, 135, speaks of
a flight of 3,000 or 4,000 arrows; but there is no evidence that a body of
several thousand Indians was ever assembled at a given point, and if this
were so it does not appear how they managed to shoot such a flight of arrows
down a narrow ravine. The Hist. Flibustiers, i. 153, says the pass was cut
through the rock, in order to shorten and render less difficult the route between
Panamá and Chagre; in that case it could not have been of any
great length. In Sharp's Voyages, 134, it is stated that none of the buccaneers
were killed, and only three slightly wounded.




[XXVIII‑16]  See intercepted letter from the president of Panamá translated in Sharp's
Voyages, 151-52.




[XXVIII‑17]  The old town of Panamá was destroyed by Morgan in January 1671.
Exquemelin's Hist. Bucaniers, 148. In Sharp's Voyages, 142, January 1670
is given as the date.




[XXVIII‑18]  Translation of the president's letter in Sharp's Voyages, 155. There is
considerable discrepancy in the various accounts of the action before Panamá;
but there is no evidence that Guzman acquitted himself in the least like a
soldier. Exquemelin, Hist. Flib., ii. 160, and Hist. Buccaniers, 140, Sharp,
Voyagers, 138 (in the author's own account of the battle), and Archenholtz,
Hist. Pirates, 140, all agree that the cavalry bore the brunt of the fight, and
not one of these authorities has a word to say in favor of the pusillanimous
captain-general.




[XXVIII‑19]  Here again authors differ essentially in their narrative. Exquemelin,
Hist. Bucaniers, 147, states that the freebooters suffered severely from the
Spanish artillery as they approached the city. Archenholtz, Hist. Pirates,
141, makes the same statement; but the Hist. Flib., ii. 164, says that they
encountered no opposition; and this version is probably correct, for as remarked
in Burney's Buccaneers of America, 67, Panamá had no regular fortifications,
and in parts lay open, and was to be won or defended by plain lighting.
Sharp, Voyages, 141, indorses the Hist. Flib.




[XXVIII‑20]  It is difficult to decide, amidst a conflict of authorities, whether the burning
of Panamá was due to the Spaniards or to Morgan's orders. In Exquemelin,
Hist. Bucaniers, 148, it is implied that Morgan gave such an order
secretly, and for private reasons. In Hist. Flib., ii. 169, it is positively stated
that Morgan, fearing the Spaniards might surprise him by night, caused
the city to be fired. In Archenholtz' Hist. Pirates, 143, the blame is also laid
to Morgan's charge. On the other hand, in the president's despatch, translated
in Sharp's Voyages, 156, it is admitted that the city was fired by
slaves and by some of the inhabitants. It is acknowledged by all these
writers that the freebooters attempted to stay the conflagration. There seems
no good reason why Morgan, who had now at his disposal 28 pieces of artillery,
should have feared an attack from the Spaniards, or why he should commit
an act which destroyed his chance of receiving a ransom. In Robles, Documentos
para la Historia de Méjico, série i. tom. ii. 117, it is mentioned that a
letter from the president of Panamá, dated April 3, 1671, nearly six weeks
after Morgan's departure, was received in Mexico in December of that year.
The letter confirms the intercepted despatch in many particulars, and adds
that when the city was burned the buccaneers 'found themselves without
provisions and supplies, and on that account did not carry out their main
intention, which was to pass to Portobello by land, besiege it with vessels
by sea, and capture it by blockade, and that they brought with them in
anticipation a boy whom they styled the prince, and intended to crown king
of Tierra Firme.'




[XXVIII‑21] Exquemelin, Hist. Flib., ii. 171. The ingots of gold and silver were of
course in transit for Spain, and had been placed on board the galleon for safe
keeping.




[XXVIII‑22]  In Hist. Bucaniers, 152, it is stated that he was then hung up by the
private parts, and flogged in that position.




[XXVIII‑23]  All the leading authorities agree that the prisoners were subjected to
excruciating torture. The author of Sharp's Voyages makes an attempt to
clear Morgan's character, and to throw ridicule on the story of these atrocities.
The work was published in London in 1684, a few years after Morgan
was knighted by Charles II. The writer collected his materials in part from
inquiry among the buccaneers themselves, and may therefore be worthy of
credence in some matters of detail; but the fact that 16 out of 20 pages of
preface are taken up with a sorry effort 'to rescue the Honour of that incomparable
Souldier and Seaman,' while the narrative of the raid on Panamá
occupies but 20 out of 170 pages, seems to show the purpose for which it was
written.




[XXVIII‑24]  'Quatre cent quarante-trois mille deux cens livres, comptant l'argent
rompu à dix piastres la livre.' Exquemelin, in Hist. Flib., ii. 191. In pages
197-8 of the same volume there is an explanation of the manner in which
Morgan contrived to secrete a large quantity of precious stones. The buccaneers
may have believed that such an amount of plunder had been obtained,
though its real value was probably less than one third of what they supposed
it to be. In Sharp's Voyages, 143, the worth of the spoils is stated at £30,000,
a sum almost insufficient to defray the expenses that Morgan must have
incurred in obtaining his title from Charles II. There are no reliable data on
this point.




[XXIX‑1]  'It is beautified with a great many fair Churches and Religious Houses.'
Dampier's Voy., i. 178-9. So in Drake's Univ. Col. Voy., 63, and Coreal,
Voy., i. 92.




[XXIX‑2]  Under command of captains Harris and Sawkins. Ringrose's Voyage, 2.




[XXIX‑3]  The foundation of the friendship between the natives of Darien and the
buccaneers was laid by Captain Wright while cruising off the Samballas about
1665. In that year Wright made captive a lad who, in 1679, when the captain
was again in those parts, convinced his people that Englishmen hated
Spaniards, and would therefore prove useful allies. In proof of their friendly
disposition toward the Indians, he instanced the kind treatment he had
received. The natives then boarded the privateer; and being judiciously
treated, an agreement was made permitting the English to cross this territory
to the South Sea. Dampier's Voyage, i. 181-3.




[XXIX‑4]  The buccaneers had just captured a packet conveying letters to Portobello,
some of which were addressed to Panamá merchants from their correspondents
in Spain. These letters alluded to a prophecy at that time current:
'That there would be English Privateers that Year in the West Indies, who
would make such great Discoveries, as to open a Door into the South Seas.'
This was interpreted by the captors to mean a passage overland through the
territory of the Indians, and this interpretation coinciding with the invitation
of the natives prompted them to undertake a march on Panamá. Dampier's
Voyage, i. 180-1.




[XXIX‑5]  Andrés was styled the 'emperor of Darien,' the magnate to whose service
the freebooters now claimed to belong. These chieftains at one time
ruled a large tract about the gulf of Darien; but had been straitened in their
boundaries by the Spaniards, with whom they waged continual war. Sharp's
Voyage, 2.




[XXIX‑6]  'Over a Bay.' Ringrose's Voy., 4. 'By the side of a bay.' Burney's Discov.
South Sea, iv. 91. 'En doen over een Inham van byna een Mijl in de
lengte.' Exquemelin, Hist. Boecaniers, 148.




[XXIX‑7]  Ringrose speaks of this monarch with intense gravity, marred by no trace
of irony. Probably this was the first crowned head with whom he had been
on intimate terms.




[XXIX‑8]  Ringrose calls the beast a 'Tygre,' Voy., 8; but it was more probably a
jaguar, or a tiger-cat. It is true there may have been risk in using fire-arms,
but why could not the Indians have killed it with their arrows?




[XXIX‑9]  An anonymous authority states that the smaller party reached the rendezvous
on April 12th, and seeing their friends had not arrived, held a whispered
consultation among themselves. Andrés, on observing this, despatched
a canoe up the smaller branch of the river, which soon returned with two
canoes of the larger body, who all arrived next day. Sharp's Voy., 7-8.




[XXIX‑10]  Sharp speaks of the peccary as the 'Warre,' and describes it as a wild
animal somewhat resembling the hog in appearance and flavor, but 'the
Navels of these kind of animals grew on their backs.' Sharp's Voy., 4, in
Hacke, Coll. There is, however, no doubt that it was the peccary. Pascual
de Andagoya mentions it, falling into the error common to old writers as
regards the 'navel' on the back. Andagoya, Narr., 17. It is also noticed
by Acosta, Hist. Ind., lib. iv. cap. xxxviii., and Herrera, dec. ii. lib. ii. cap.
iv. De Rochfort speaks of it under the name of 'Javaris.' Hist. Nat. des
Isles Antilles, 138 (ed. 1665). In Costa Rica the animal is still vulgarly known
as the 'warré,' though the name is not found in print, and I have therefore
adopted phonetic English spelling, which agrees with that of Captain Sharp.




[XXIX‑11]  Exquemelin thus relates the incident referred to: 'Hier vonden en verlosten
we d'oudste Dogter van de Konink van Darien (van wien hier boven
is gewag gemaakt), die zo 't scheen door een van de Soldaten van 't Guarnizoen
met geweld uyt haar Vaders Huys was weg genomen; en zwanger by hem
was.' Hist. Boecaniers, 153.




[XXIX‑12]  The affair is not noticed by Sharp. It seems probable that desire for
vengeance might induce the father and grandfather, Antonio and Andrés, to
exaggerate the wealth of Santa María.




[XXIX‑13]  This massacre is not mentioned by Sharp, but he places the Spanish loss
at about 70 in killed and wounded, which would perhaps include those murdered
by the Indians. Journal, 6; in Hacke's Coll.




[XXIX‑14]  It is stated that disappointment of their booty rendered the rovers more
blood-thirsty than usual, 'for though they were faintly opposed, and lost not
a man, 26 Spaniards were killed, and 16 wounded in the assault, and many
others were deliberately butchered in the woods, subsequent to the surrender
by the Indians.' United Service Journal, 1837, pt. ii. 316.




[XXIX‑15] Ringrose's Voy., 11; Sharp, Journal, 7, in Hacke's Coll.; Burney's Discov.
South Sea, iv. 96.




[XXIX‑16]  The term piragua is here applied to a large canoe frequently carrying
a mast and sails, and quite different from a common 'dug-out.' The buccaneers
frequently called this boat a bark.




[XXIX‑17]  'It pleased God, that with extream danger even to those that rescued
them, they were all saved. It being a certain truth that those who are born
to be hang'd shall never be drown'd, it proving so with us, one of our Company
being hang'd at Jamaica on Port Royal; And we were very near it here
in London.' Sharp's Voyage, 11.




[XXIX‑18]  Sharp says 14 days. Journal, 10, in Hacke's Coll.




[XXIX‑19] Bucaniers of Amer., ii.; Ringrose's Voy., 20-1. The last-named author
gives the number of the crew as 137. Hacke, Col. Voy., ii. 10, and Sharp,
Voyage, 12, say 130 men.




[XXIX‑20]  See Burney's Discov. South Sea, iv. 98.




[XXIX‑21] Hacke's Col. Voy. Sharp reached Chepillo Island April 23d, but one
authority states that the fleet and the bark parted company at this date.




[XXIX‑22] Bucaniers of Amer., ii.; Ringrose's Voy., 21-2. One man killed and five
wounded according to Hacke's Col. Voy., ii. 10.




[XXIX‑23]  According to Bucaniers of Amer., ii.; Ringrose's Voy., 22, all the prisoners
escaped except one. But Sharp's statement that his men reported to
him 'that there were dead People lying on the Ground, which made them
conjecture our Men had had a Fight with the Spaniards,' Hacke's Col. Voy.,
ii. 12; Sharp's Voy., 12, disproves Ringrose's version, which glosses over this
atrocity.




[XXIX‑24]  The city of Panamá was usually garrisoned by 300 regular troops and
1,100 militia, but when the buccaneers arrived in the bay most of their
soldiers were absent from the city, and the people were in the utmost consternation,
having only some twelve hours' notice of the impending attack.
The best of the soldiers remaining were placed on board the squadron, so it
seems highly probable that if the pirates had landed instead of engaging the
war-ships they might have gained possession of the place. Bucaniers of
Amer., ii.; Ringrose's Voy., 28-9.




[XXIX‑25] Id., 25-6. Another account of this battle differs somewhat from the
above: 'We boarded one of them, and carried her; so with her we took the
second; and the third had certainly run the same fate, had not she scoured
away in time.' Sharp's Voyage, 13-14.




[XXIX‑26]  'We had eleven Men Killed right out, and thirty-four more Wounded
dangerously.' Id., 14. Sharp also gives the same numbers, Hacke's Col. Voy.,
ii. 12. Ringrose says their loss was 18 killed and 22 wounded, two of the
latter dying afterward, one of whom was 'Captain Peter Harris, a brave
and stout soldier ... born in the County of Kent.' Bucaniers of Amer., ii. 27.
Burney says '18 were killed, and above 30 wounded,' Hist. Bucc., 99; as also
United Service Jour., 1837, pt. ii. 316.




[XXIX‑27]  The ships captured in the action were also burned later.




[XXIX‑28]  The crew of this vessel had captured another bark, and dismantling the
old one and putting their prisoners on board of her without masts or sails
turned them adrift. Bucaniers of Amer., ii.: Ringrose's Voy., 30.




[XXIX‑29]  According to Sharp in Id., 14, and the anonymous narrator in Sharp's
Voy., 15. Ringrose says: 'He drew off with him, to the number of Three-score
and Ten of our Men.' Bucaniers of Amer., ii. 30.




[XXIX‑30]  Sharp fixes this date at April 29th. Hacke's Col. Voy., 16.




[XXIX‑31]  She contained 2,000 jars of wine, 50 jars of gunpowder, and 51,000 pesos
according to Ringrose. Bucaniers of Amer., ii. 31. Sharp, who made the
capture, says the ship was taken on the 26th of April, having 1,400 jars of
wine and brandy, some ammunition, and 50,000 pesos, Hacke's Col. Voy.,
ii. 15.




[XXIX‑32]  For 3,000 pesos. Id., 16.




[XXIX‑33]  So close was the blockade of the city, and so great the terror inspired by
the buccaneers, that the first news received at the city of Mexico affirmed
that Panamá was captured, many Spaniards slain, and that the nuns and
many other people had fled to the mountains. This intelligence was transmitted
by the president of Guatemala, and did not reach Mexico until August
8, 1680. Robles, Diario, ii. 310.




[XXIX‑34]  While there Ringrose completed a chart of the bay of Panamá and a
portion of the coast, which was more correct than any in the possession of the
Spaniards. Bucaniers of Amer., ii. 32-3. The authorities again differ with
regard to the date.




[XXIX‑35]  'The Island Quibo or Cabaya, is in lat. 7 d. 14 m. North of the Equator.'
Dampier's Voy., i. 212. It is called by Ringrose Cayboa. Bucaniers of Amer.,
ii. 33. Its modern name is Coquimbo. In crossing thither a storm was encountered
and two barks foundered, one containing 15 men and the other
seven. This storm and wreck are not mentioned by the anonymous writer of
Sharp's Voy., though Sharp himself alludes to it in Hacke's Col. Voy., ii. 34.




[XXIX‑36]  'They entered the river with 50 Men ... and on their way up found two
vessels, which they abandoned.' South Sea Company: A View of the Coast, 162.




[XXIX‑37]  Before quitting Taboga, where they stayed about 14 days, one of the
buccaneers, a Frenchman, fled to the enemy and betrayed all his comrades'
plans. The stockades were built by the Spaniards on the advice of the runaway
Frenchman, Hacke's Col. Voy., ii. 33-4.




[XXIX‑38]  Besides Sawkins two other men were killed and three more wounded,
according to Ringrose. The anonymous writer in Sharp's Voy., 16-17, says that
the failure of the enterprise was owing to the 'Rashness and Want of conduct'
of Sawkins, who rushed to the assault before one fourth of the men had
landed, being a man that nothing upon Earth could terrifie.'




[XXIX‑39]  As 'a Man who was as Valiant and Couragious as any could be, and likewise
next to Capt. Sharp, the best beloved of all our Company, or the most
Part thereof.' Bucaniers of Amer., ii. 33-4. Sharp was not a general favorite
among the buccaneers. Burney says that 'Ringrose was not in England when
his narrative was published; and advantage was taken of his absence to interpolate
in it some impudent passages in commendation of Sharp's valor.' He
goes on to say that in the MS. of Ringrose's Journal, preserved in the Sloane
Collection, British Museum, the passage quoted concerning Sawkins' character
runs: 'Captain Sawkins was a valiant and generous spirited man, and beloved
above any other we ever had among us, which he well deserved.' Burney's
Discov. South Sea, iv. 104-5. The inference suggested by Burney, therefore,
is that Sharp, or somebody in his interest, foisted in the passages characterized
as 'impudent.'




[XXIX‑40]  According to Ringrose, page 35, who would have joined them but for the
dangers of the journey, 63 men left. loc. cit. Those who departed numbered
about 70, while 146 remained with Capt. Sharp. Hacke's Col. Voy., ii. 35. 'In
this mutiny 75 more of our Men left us, and returned over Land as they came,
delivering up their commissions to our Emperour.' Sharp's Voy., 17.




[XXIX‑41]  One John Cox took command of Cook's ship, the Mayflower, with a company
of 40 men. Sharp's Voy., 17-18. Sharp does not mention Cox at this
time.




[XXIX‑42]  Ringrose's ship had been burned for her iron.




[XXIX‑43]  The reason of the mutiny was that Captain Sharp had now some 3,000
pesos, and wished to return home immediately. Two-thirds of the crew, however,
had no money left, having gambled it all away, and they were in no mind
to return; so they supported the claims of Watling against Sharp. Sharp's
Voy., 49. 'While we lay at the isle of John Fernando, Captain Sharp was
by general consent, displaced from being Commander; the Company being not
satisfied either with his Courage or Behavior.' Dampier's Voyage, introd.,
p.v. The story of the mutiny, without any detail, is found in Drake's Univ.
Col. Voy., 56. Sharp says the conspiracy against him was mainly the doing
of John Cox, whom he had appointed to a separate command under him for
old acquaintance's sake. Hacke's Col. Voy., ii. 45-46.




[XXIX‑44]  After Watling's death, 'a great number of the meaner sort' wished
Sharp once more elected commander, but the more experienced and able men
were not satisfied and would not consent. The difference of opinion became
so great that it was determined to put the matter to the vote; the majority
keeping the ship, and the minority taking the long-boat and canoes, and
going where they wished. Captain Sharp's party being in the majority,
Dampier joined the smaller body, and taking their share of provisions, etc.,
they sailed for the Isthmus. Dampier's Voyage, introd., pp. v.-vi.




[XXIX‑45]  Sharp asserts that he was unanimously restored to his command after
the death of Watling, and does not mention the mutiny. Hacke's Col. Voy., 48.




[XXIX‑46]  He carried off also several persons of both sexes, who were afterward
ransomed for 1,000 pesos. Haya, Inform. al Rey, MS., 12; Nueva Esp.,
Breve Resum., MS., ii. 385. Juarros, Guat., i. 58, mentions that Esparza
had been previously sacked by a French corsair in 1670. It was again attacked
by pirates in 1686 or 1688, when it was abandoned by its inhabitants,
who retired to the valleys of Bagaces and Landecho. Haya and Nueva Esp.,
ut supra.




[XXIX‑47]  Their name inspired such dread that the new viceroy of Peru dared not
sail from Panamá to his government in a ship of 25 guns, but waited for the
arrival of the armada from the south. Bucaniers of Amer., ii. 136.




[XXIX‑48]  Las Casas, in his Relation of the Spanish Voyages and Cruelties in the
West Indies, 217, distinctly lays down the principle that 'the Spaniards had
no Title to the Americans, as their Subjects, by right of Inheritance, Purchase,
or Conquest.' Darien, Defence of the Scots Settlement, 5.




[XXIX‑49]  Ringrose expressly stated that they acted throughout without any commission.
Bucaniers of Amer., ii.; Ringrose's Voy., 178, and Burney's Discov.
South Sea, iv. 123. Burney says: 'From the defectiveness of the evidence
produced, they escaped conviction.' Id., iv. 123. Three of Sharp's men were
tried at Jamaica, and one was hanged. The narrator said this man was
'wheedled into an open confession: the other two stood it out, and escaped
for want of witnesses to prove the fact against them.' Id., iv. 124. See also,
for the execution of this man, Sharp's Voy., ii. One of the principal charges
was the capture of the Rosario, and killing her captain and another man:
'but it was proved,' says the author of the anonymous narrative, who was
one of the men brought to trial, 'that the Spaniards fired at us first, and it
was judged that we ought to defend ourselves.' Id., iv. 123-124.




[XXX‑1]  They numbered 44 Europeans, one Spanish Indian, and two Mosquito
Indians.




[XXX‑2]  There were, moreover, two ships, one carrying 20 guns and 200 men, and
the other ten guns and 150 men, cruising in the bay between the gulf and
Gorgona. Dampier's Voy., i. 6.




[XXX‑3]  Dampier strongly urged his comrades to run for the river Congo, three
leagues distant, and ascend it to the limit of tide-water, but could not persuade
them of the existence of a large river so near, 'but they would land
somewhere, they did not know how, where, nor when.' Id., 7.




[XXX‑4]  This landing was effected May 1, 1681. Id.




[XXX‑5]  They here learned that they were not more than three miles from the
Congo. Id., 12.




[XXX‑6]  'One of our men being tired gave us the slip.' Id.




[XXX‑7]  It was only by bringing female influence to bear that they gained the
Indian's assistance. His wife was presented with a 'Sky-coloured Petticoat,'
and soon overcame his obduracy. Id., 13.




[XXX‑8]  When they forded it the last time the tallest men stood in the deepest
part and helped over the sick and those of smaller stature, so that all got
over with the exception of two who had lagged behind. Dampier carried his
journal and other writings in a large joint of bamboo, the ends being closed
with wax. Id., 15-16.




[XXX‑9]  The two men left behind, afterward, when they rejoined their comrades,
stated that they found him lying dead in a creek with the money still on his
back, but they did not take it, being intent on finding their way out of the
country. Id., 17.




[XXX‑10]  Here Doctor Wafer and four others, including the two stragglers, stayed
behind. They rejoined their comrades, however, some months later. Id., 19,
24; Wafer's Voy., 4-43.




[XXX‑11]  One day they crossed the same stream 22 times in a march of nine miles.
Dampier's Voy., i. 19.




[XXX‑12]  For two days they were entirely without food. On the third 'we got
Macaw-berries ... wherewith we satisfied ourselves this day though coursly.'
Id., 20. These berries were probably the fruit of the great Macaw-tree, acrocomia
sclerocarpa.




[XXX‑13]  One of the Samballas group which extends about 20 leagues from Point
Samballas to Golden Island. These islands had, since 1679, been a favorite
place for careening, and so had become a rendezvous for privateers, many of
them being named after captains of vessels, as in the case of La Sound Key.
Id., 22-3.




[XXX‑14]  Davis, according to Exquemelin, was born in Jamaica. Bucaniers of
Amer., 49. Lussan, in Id., 26, states that he was a Fleming. The first
author gives a brief narrative, without date, of a bold raid made by this buccaneer
into Nicaragua from the Atlantic side. In this enterprise he must
have passed up the San Juan River, on the banks of which the pirates,
80 in number, concealed themselves by day, and rowed during the night.
What city it was they attacked is not clear, but the booty obtained was more
than 50,000 pesos.




[XXX‑15]  Davis left to the cacique a bark half full of flour as a reward for his services.
Eaton departed on the 2d of September, having taken on board 400
sacks of flour. Id., 129; Drake's Col. Voy., 59.




[XXX‑16]  So named according to report by the Spaniards, from the fact that
Drake there divided among his men the silver with which one of his prizes
was laden. Dampier's Voy., 132. It was also called Drake Island.




[XXX‑17]  Lussan gives an account different from that of Dampier. He states that
an engineer on board Swan's ship told him that she belonged to the duke of
York and had been sent out to take a plan of those parts, and that Swan
falling in with Davis was compelled to join him because 'il aima mieux ceder
au Forban que d'en être pris.' Journal du Voy., 64-5.




[XXX‑18]  One was captured while hunting, and the other was one of Captain
Harris' men who had been left on the Santa María River the year before.
Dampier's Voy., 177-8, 186-7.




[XXX‑19]  Dampier states that a Captain Bond planned this stratagem. Bond had
been abandoned by Eaton and his own pilot, Morton, and persuaded his men
to go over to the Spaniards. Id., 189-90.




[XXX‑20]  For an account of their journey see Lussan, Journal du Voy., 37 et seq.




[XXX‑21]  The French captain, called by Dampier Gronet, offered Davis and Swan
each a new commission, extended by the governor of Petit Guavres, who was
accustomed to supply his captains with blank forms. Captain Harris accepted
one. Dampier says: 'I never read any of these French Commissions
while I was in these Seas, nor did I then know the import of them; but I
have learnt since, that the Tenour of them is, to give a Liberty to Fish, Fowl,
and Hunt.' Dampier's Voy., 192.




[XXX‑22]  These men did not appear, though Harris was sent to the Santa María
in search of them. On the 15th of March they fell in with a bark with five
or six Englishmen on board commanded by Henry More. This vessel belonged
to Captain Knight, who was cruising off the coast of Mexico, and, as
the men said, had parted company with his ship one night. Swan, in order
to promote Harris, professed to believe that the men had deserted, and deposing
More, gave the command to Harris. Id., 197.




[XXX‑23]  Divided as follows: Captain Davis' ship, 36 guns and 156 men; Captain
Swan with 16 guns and 140 men; these were the only vessels that had artillery.
Townley with 110 men; Harris with 100 men. These were nearly all
English. Captain Grogniet with 308 men; Captain Branly with 36 men;
Townley's bark with 80 men; and two tenders with a crew of eight men each.
They had also a 30-ton bark converted into a fire-ship. Id., 208. Lussan,
Journal du Voy., 60-1, gives the same number of vessels; with regard to the
men he says: 'Ils se trouverent monter à environ onze cens hommes.'




[XXX‑24]  'First the Admiral, 48 Guns, 450 Men; the Vice-Admiral, 40 Guns, 400
Men; the Rear-Admiral, 36 Guns, 360 Men; a Ship of 24 Guns, 300 Men; one
of 18 Guns, 250 Men; and one of 8 Guns, 200 Men; 2 great Fire-ships, 6
Ships only with small Arms, having 800 Men on board them all; besides 2
or 3 hundred Men in Periagoes.' This account was obtained afterward from
Captain Knight, who, when off the coast of Peru, gathered the information from
some captives. Dampier's Voy., 207-8.




[XXX‑25]  Grogniet sailed away when the Spaniards came in sight. He afterward
urged as an excuse that his men would not let him join in the fight. He was
cashiered, but was eventually allowed to depart with his ship and men. Id.,
208-9. Such is the English account. Lussan, however, states that because
Grogniet's ship had no guns and was intercepted by a vessel carrying 28 cannon
he was unable to join in the engagement. Journal du Voy., 85-6.




[XXX‑26]  The loss of Spaniards in this engagement is not known, but Dampier
makes the doubtful statement that the pirates lost only one man. Voy., 209.
The account given by Lussan, who was on Harris' ship, differs materially
from that of Dampier. He asserts that the treasure-fleet succeeded in getting
to Panamá unnoticed by the buccaneers, and that seven vessels then sailed
out and engaged with them, with nearly the same results as those described
by Dampier. Harris' ship received above 120 common shot, and those of
Davis and Swan suffered severely. Journal du Voy., 79-88. The difference
in dates between Dampier and Lussan is explained by the fact that the
French had three years before made a change of ten days in their calendar
which the English government had not done. Burney's Discov. South Sea, iv.
177.




[XXX‑27]  'We were glad to escape them; and owed that too, in a great measure,
to their want of Courage to pursue their Advantage.' Dampier's Voy., 209.




[XXX‑28]  While thus occupied they sent a detachment against Pueblo Nuevo
where Sawkins was killed in 1580. The town was easily taken, but little
booty was obtained. On the 5th of July they were joined by Captain Knight,
whose cruise had not been profitable. Id., 213-4. The descent upon Pueblo
Nuevo was the cause of the defection of the Frenchmen, who still remained
to the number of 130. The French thought the English took advantage of
their small numbers and refused to put up with their domineering, 'quand
nous vîmes qu'ils continuoient à prendre sur nous les mêmes hauteurs, nous
debarquâmes cent trente François.' Lussan, Journal du Voy., 93-4.




[XXX‑29]  Their force now consisted of 640 men and eight ships, under captains
Davis, Swan, Townley, and Knight. Captain Harris had lost his vessel,
which 'being old and rotten fell in pieces' while he was careening her. Dampier's
Voy., 215.




[XXX‑30]  According to one authority only two men were on the lookout. One of
these perceived the buccaneers and hastened to the city to give warning. His
story was not believed; he was arrested and it was the intention to have him
publicly flogged. This occurred August 21, 1685. Morel, Visita, MS., 47-8.




[XXX‑31]  'Townley, with 80 of the briskest Men, marched before, Captain Swan
with 100 Men marched next, and Captain Davis with 170 Men marched next,
and Captain Knight brought up the Rear.' Dampier's Voy., 219.




[XXX‑32]  There is a discrepancy in the account of Dampier, who states that 59
men were left with him, which would raise the number of those who left the
fleet to 530, without counting the four captains.




[XXX‑33]  Townley took the town at 3 p. m., Swan arrived at 4 p. m., and Davis at
5 p. m. Knight did not come up till an hour later, leaving many tired out,
who afterward came straggling in. The Spaniards killed 'a stout old Grey-headed
Man aged about 84, who had served under Oliver in the time of the
Irish Rebellion.' He had refused to remain with the canoes, and when surrounded
by the Spaniards would not accept quarter, but discharged his gun
at them, 'so they shot him dead at a distance. His name was Swan; he was
a very merry hearty old Man, and always used to declare he would never take
Quarter.' Id., 219-20. According to Morel de Sta Cruz, Visita, MS., 48, the
buccaneers entered the town at 11 a. m., opposed by only 50 men, 49 of
whom fled, the remaining one fighting until disabled by many wounds.




[XXX‑34]  One Smith who had dropped behind and was captured so exaggerated
the numbers of the freebooters that the governor was afraid to attack them,
though Smith estimated his forces at over 1,000 men. Smith was afterward
exchanged for a lady of high position. Dampier's Voy., 220. Lussan states
that the French, having arrived at the port of Realejo some months later,
learned that succor had been sent from towns in Nicaragua and Salvador, and
that the English freebooters 'avoient envoyé plusieurs fois offrir à ces gens
de secours, le combat en raze savana, ce qu'ils avoient toujours refusé, disant
qu'ils n'étoient pas encore tous ramassez.' Journal du Voy., 112-3.




[XXX‑35]  'Our Captains demanded 300,000 Pieces of Eight for its Ransom, and as
much Provision as would victual 1,000 Men 4 months.' Dampier's Voy. According
to Voy., A New Col., iii. 78, 30,000 pieces of eight.




[XXX‑36]  Swan was accompanied by Townley with his two barks. Knight and
Harris followed Davis. Dampier cast his lot with Swan 'to get some knowledge
of the Northern Parts of this Continent of Mexico.' Dampier's Voy.,
223-4. Swan after an eventful cruise on the Mexican coast steered across
the Pacific homeward bound, having parted company with Townley. After
enduring great privation he reached the Ladrone Islands, and thence proceeded
to the Philippines, where his men mutinied, and left him with more
than 40 others on the island of Mindanao. He was afterward murdered by
the natives. Id., 375, 445-6.




[XXX‑37]  'À cause de l'excommunication qu'ils avoient eux-mêmes fulminée contre
elle.' Lussan, Journal du Voy., 119.




[XXX‑38]  'Après quatre jour d'une abstinence fort étroite.' Id., 126.




[XXX‑39]  About 20 leagues distant from Chiriquita, and about 24 leagues west of
Panamá. Id., 88, 131.




[XXX‑40]  Lussan nearly lost his life by falling with four others into an ambuscade.
But he escaped unwounded, though two of the party were killed and a third
lay hors de combat. The faith of this freebooter in the protection of providence
is refreshing: 'je ne fus garanti du massacre,' he says, 'sans être seulement
blessé, que par une protection du Ciel toute manifeste.' Id., 135.




[XXX‑41]  During the month of February 14 died. Id., 143.




[XXX‑42]  The pirates lost in this encounter 4 killed and 33 wounded. Id., 146.




[XXX‑43]  'Nous fîmes en suite des Ordonnances par lesquelles nous condamnions
à perdre leur part de ce qui se prendroit en ce lieu, ceux d'entre nous qui seroient
convaincus de lâcheté, de viol, d'yvroynerie, de desobeïssance, de larcin
& d'être sortis du gros sans être commandez.' Id., 151.




[XXX‑44]  According to Morel, Visita, MS., 32, and Robles, Doc. Hist. Mex., ii.
435, the sacking of Granada occurred in 1685. But Lussan's date is supported
by his mention of the fact that Leon and Realejo had been sacked
by the English pirates before the arrival of the French on the coast, Journal
du Voy., 112; and Dampier states that those cities were captured in August
1685. Voy., 216-21.




[XXX‑45] Lussan, Journal du Voy., 154. Robles says 900 men entered Leon and
Granada. Diario, ii. 435.




[XXX‑46]  Lussan states that the people of Granada had been warned three weeks
previously by the authorities of Esparza. Journal du Voy., 154-5.




[XXX‑47]  Burney states that Granada was not regularly fortified, but had a place
of arms surrounded by a wall. Discov. South Sea, iv. 267. Lussan says this
was capable of holding 6,000 men. Journal du Voy., 160.




[XXX‑48]  'Ils foncerent dans la ville les yeux fermez, chantans dançans comme
des gens qui vont à un festin.' Lettre du Gouv., in Lussan, Journal du Voy.,
256.




[XXX‑49]  Morel, Visita, etc., MS., 33, says without more loss than 13 men.




[XXX‑50]  The absurdity of practical religion is reached when we find it stated on
good authority that one of the principal causes of the rupture between the
French and English pirates was the impiety of the latter, 'ne faisant point
de scrupule, lorsqu'ils entroient dans les Eglises de couper à coups de sabre
les bras des Crucifixs, & de leur tirer de coups de fusil & de pistolet, brisant
& mutillant avec les mêmes armes, les image des Saints en derision du culte
que nous autres François leur rendions.' Lussan, Journal du Voy., 94.




[XXX‑51]  All the wealth of the city had been placed on board two ships and conveyed
to an island in the lake, but the pirates having no canoes could not
seize it. Id., 163-4.




[XXX‑52] Id., 162. The Spaniards believed the pirates' message a mere threat,
and did not try to redeem the city. Morel, Visita, MS., 33.




[XXX‑53]  Vetancurt states that this year, 1686, the English entered Granada and
rifled the tomb of Bishop Alonso Bravo de Laguna, and that having stripped
the ornaments from the body, which they found perfectly preserved, set fire to
the cathedral, with which the prelate's remains were burned. Menolog., 136.




[XXX‑54]  They had carried off from Granada a cannon, but were obliged to abandon
it the first day owing to the oxen dying of thirst. Lussan, Journal du
Voy.




[XXX‑55]  'They came upon Ria Lexa unexpectedly, and made 100 of the inhabitants
prisoners.' Burney's Discov. South Sea, iv. 269.




[XXX‑56]  In all only 7,600 pesos, and this sum was divided among the crippled
and wounded. Lussan, Journal du Voy., 177.




[XXX‑57]  'Qui est à trente lieües sous le vent de Panama.' Id., 179-80.




[XXX‑58]  At San Lorenzo, near Pueblo Nuevo, 'le Commandant du lieu vint nous
offrir une somme d'argent pour la rançon des prisonniers; ce que nous refusâmes,
parce que nous avions beaucoup plus besoin de vivres: Nous luy dîmes
que s'il ne nous en apportoit, ... qu'il n'avoit qu'à envoyer sur l'Isle y chercher
leurs têtes.' Id., 244-5.




[XXX‑59]  On one occasion a mounted Spaniard displayed his hatred for the pirates
by reviling them and making grimaces at them from a safe distance. The
intruders placed five men in ambush and continued their march. The unfortunate
Spaniard fell into the hands of the concealed party. Lussan, with his
usual flippancy when treating of barbarities, thus describes what followed:
'& luy fimes faire la grimace tout de bon. On l'interrogea avec les ceremonies
ordinaires, c'est à dire en luy donnant la gêne, pour sçavoir où nous
étions.' Id., 264-5.




[XXX‑60]  Grogniet died on the 2d of May following from the effect of a wound
which he received at Guayaquil, where the pirates captured a large quantity
of booty in merchandise, pearls, precious stones, and silver-plate. Id., 302,
308.




[XXX‑61]  The padres persuaded them that the freebooters were not even of human
form, and that they would eat them and their children. On one occasion a
Spanish lady fell into the hands of Lussan, and with tears in her eyes exclaimed:
'Segnor, por l'amor de Dios no mi como' (sic). Id., 304-5.




[XXX‑62]  They carried with them plunder in gold, silver, and jewelry, valued at
£200,000. The silver was held in little esteem on account of its weight, and
for an ounce of gold 80 and 100 piastres in silver were given. Many of the
men had lost their share of the booty by gambling and a plot was formed by
these to murder their rich companions. Lussan, however, who had accumulated
in gold and precious stones about £7,000, divided his wealth among the
most needy, on the condition of their returning a certain proportion to him
when they arrived at their destination. Archenholtz, Hist. Pir., 218-21; Lussan,
Journal du Voy., 385-6.




[XXX‑63]  The sick and wounded with the baggage and horses were left with a
guard in camp, with orders to fire their muskets frequently during the night
that the enemy might think them all there. Lussan says there were 80 thus
left in camp, but as there were only 280 in the first place, and some had died,
there must have been a mistake. Exquemelin, Hist. Flib., iii. 312-4.




[XXX‑64] Lussan, Journal du Voyage, 411. Nevertheless this author rather inconsistently
adds: 'Cependant touchez de compassion par la quantité de sang
que nous voyons couler avec l'eau de la ravine, nous épargnâmes le reste.'
This same authority, who was one of the assailants, states that the pirates
had only one killed and two wounded, which statement Archenholtz, Hist.
Pir., 226, seriously questions.




[XXX‑65]  This stream is or was known by a variety of names. On different maps
I find it called Rio Grande del Coco, Rio de Oro, Rio Herbias, Rio Segovia,
Wank River, Yare River, and Cape River. Archenholtz remarks: 'This
river, whose name does not occur in any of the historical materials we have
consulted, but which appears to be the river Magdalen, derives its source
from the mountains of New Segovia.' Hist. Pir., 230. Burney, Discov. South
Sea, iv. 292, says: 'according to D'Anville's map ... it is called Rio de Yare.
Dampier ... names it Cape River.'




[XXX‑66]  Lussan calls them piperies. They were constructed of four or five pieces
of light timber lashed together with lines of the bejuco plant. Journal du
Voy., 422.




[XXX‑67]  Lussan says there were at least a hundred waterfalls, the larger ones with
tremendous whirlpools. These cataracts could be passed only by portage.
'In short, the whole is so formidable, that there are none but those who have
some Experience, can have right conceptions of it. But for me ... who, as
long as I live, shall have my Mind filled with those Risques I have run, it's
impossible I should give such an Idea hereof but what will come far short of
what I have really known of them.' Bucaniers of America, i. 171.




[XXX‑68]  Six Frenchmen concealed themselves behind the rocks and fell upon five
Englishmen who were known to be well supplied with booty and massacred
them. 'Nous trouvâmes mon compagnon & moy, leurs corps étendus sur le
rivage.' Lussan, Journal du Voy., 430-1. The murderers escaped and their
companions never saw them again.




[XXX‑69]  Lussan states that they left 140 behind finishing their canoes.




[XXX‑70]  Twelve leagues distant, to the east of Cape Gracias á Dios.




[XXX‑71]  The English buccaneers remained for a time with the Mosquito Indians
near Cape Gracias á Dios. The greater part of the Frenchmen reached the
settlements, but 75 of them who went to Jamaica were imprisoned by the
duke of Albemarle, the governor. On his death the following year they were
released; but neither their arms nor plunder were returned to them. Burney's
Discov. South Sea, iv. 293-4.




[XXX‑72] Lussan, in Bucaniers of Amer., iii. 180; and Journal du Voy., 448.




[XXXI‑1]  Paterson, the son of a Dumfriesshire farmer, was born in 1658. There
are no authentic records as to his early career. In Francis' Hist. Bank of
England, and Strain's Inter. Com., 15, it is stated that he went out as a missionary
to the West Indies and afterward joined the buccaneers. The statement
is not so improbable as it may seem, for the freebooters while robbing
and murdering the Catholic Spaniard imagined they were serving God, as
did the Spaniard when he plundered and slaughtered the natives. Wilkes,
Hist. Oregon, 48, says he was supposed to have been originally a South American
buccaneer.




[XXXI‑2]  See Orig. Papers and Letters relating to the Scots Company, 50.




[XXXI‑3] Id., 53. It will be observed that his Majesty's ministers then as to-day
were not always very proficient in English grammar.




[XXXI‑4]  The anonymous author of 'A Defence of the Scots Settlement at Darien,'
Edinburgh, 1699, 3. His nom de plume is Philo Caledon.




[XXXI‑5]  The writer of 'A Just and Modest Vindication of the Scots Design, For
the having Established a Colony at Darien,' 1699, anon.




[XXXI‑6]  In December 1698 the company granted to a council constituted from its
members certain rights conferred on them by the Scotch parliament and confirmed
by William IV. In An Enquiry into the Causes of the Miscarriage of
the Scots Colony, Glasgow, 1700, anon., 67, the full text of the declaration of
the council is given. This work was published in answer to a charge that the
failure of the company was wholly due to the Scots themselves, and especially
to the officers of the company. The English commons declared it 'false, traitorous,
and scandalous,' and ordered it to be burned by the common hangman,
and the author imprisoned. The Scots were no less incensed and equally
clamorous for the punishment of the offender.




[XXXI‑7]  English opposition and high prices compelled them to go to Amsterdam and
Hamburg, where they ordered six ships with 50 guns each. Darien, Enquiry,
82. Four ships only, one of which was sold before the first expedition started.
Burney's Discov. South Sea, iv. 362. The 17th of July 1698 the first expedition,
consisting of the three ships, the Caledonia, the St Andrew, and the
Unicorn, and two tenders, carrying about 1,200 men, left the frith of Edinburgh.
Id., 363. July 26, 1698, and same number of vessels. The expedition
sailed from Leith. Winterbotham's Hist. U. S., iv. 124; Strain's Inter-Com., 16.
In beginning of Sept. 1699, Seemann's Hist. Isth. 46. The last named is evidently
wrong and contradicts himself in later quotations. Winterbotham is probably
correct as to date and point of departure.




[XXXI‑8]  Sir William Beeston, governor of Jamaica, issued a proclamation in keeping
with these instructions on the 8th of April 1699, and similar orders were
issued by the governors of Barbadoes and New York. Darien, Orig. Papers,
42-6.




[XXXI‑9]  Up to this time the king had partly concealed his policy. June 28, 1697,
the council of the company complain to the king of the action of his resident
in Hamburg. Aug. 2d, the secretary of state replies that the resident has
been directed not to obstruct the company's negotiations. On the 28th of
September 1697 the company's directors complain that the resident has received
no such order. July 22, 1698, parliament was besought to assist in
procuring from the king such action as would deter his resident at Hamburg.
An inquiry by the council, Jan. 13, 1699, is answered by the secretary of state
Feb. 7, 1699, requesting information about the settlement. Darien, Orig.
Papers, 10, 20, 34; confirmed in Darien, Enquiry, 26-33; and in part in Macpherson's
Annals, ii. 666.




[XXXI‑10]  For full description of these people see Native Races, vol. i., this series.




[XXXI‑11]  His reason was restored after he returned home, and he lived until 1719.
Four years before his death he was awarded the sum of £18,241 as indemnity
for his losses in the Darien expedition.




[XXXI‑12]  Winterbotham, Hist. U. S., 125, gives 1698 as the date of this memorial.
There is a copy of the original in Defence, Scots Settlement, 2, where the date
is given as in the text.




[XXXI‑13]  In August 1699.




[XXXI‑14]  The capitulation was signed March 31, 1700.




[XXXI‑15]  When news arrived in Mexico of the capitulation of the Scotch, the
church bells were rung and a solemn thanksgiving observed. Robles, Diario,
iii. 254.




[XXXI‑16] Ariza, Darien, MS., 18-21. In this work the career and fate of García
are told.




[XXXI‑17]  This information was furnished by the dean of the cathedral of Panamá.




[XXXI‑18]  He died in prison at Madrid. Alcedo, Dic., iv. 45; and Haya, in Datas
para la Historia del Istmoa.




[XXXI‑19] Giro del Mondo, 240. Captain Seeman mentions that the largest and most
beautiful pearl ever found on the coast of Panamá measured three quarters of
an inch in diameter, and was perfectly round. It was obtained at the Puerdes
Islands. Voy., i. 268.




[XXXI‑20]  The asiento was to last 30 years, to May 1, 1743. The contractors were
to export 4,800 negroes annually and to pay to the crown of Spain 33⅓ escudos
for each one; and also to advance his Catholic Majesty 200,000 escudos payable
in 20 years. Should more negroes be required, 4,800 extra might be
exported, for each of whom 16⅓ pesos were to be paid. Negroes carried to
the windward coast were not to be sold for more than 300 pesos each, but
there was no limit to price in Tierra Firme or New Spain. No other company
was to be allowed to engage in this traffic, and no merchandise could be carried
under penalty of confiscation. The ships of the contractors could sail
from either British or Spanish Ports. Salmon's Mod. Hist., iii. 219-22.




[XXXI‑21] Reales Cédulas, MS., i. 192; Haya, Informe al Rey, 4; Robertson's Hist.
Amer., ii. 394-9.




[XXXI‑22]  Letters of marque were issued on July 21st, and Vernon's squadron
sailed on the 20th, touching, perhaps, at Portsmouth for orders.




[XXXI‑23]  The governor of the city, Francisco Martinez de Retzez, underwent
bitter humiliation if we may believe Sir Edward Seaward, who was at the
time a prisoner in Portobello. Seaward and his friend Captain Knight had
been arrested on account of an altercation with the governor and for refusing
to apologize to the king of Spain for having in the previous year released
certain captives imprisoned in Portobello. Both were ill treated, and when
they reported the matter to Vernon the admiral ordered the governor and
themselves to appear before him. 'I have no quarrel with Don Francisco
Martinez de Retzez on my own account,' said Seaward, 'but I have, and ever
shall have, a quarrel with him on account of the king my master, whom he
most grossly insulted by disrespectful words, in the presence of Captain
Knight and myself.' 'What did he say?' asked Vernon. 'He first insulted Sir
Edward Seaward, by the most insolent and contemptuous behavior,' replied
the captain, 'and when I remonstrated, telling him, that he should recollect
that Sir Edward Seaward was equal in rank to himself, holding honourable
commissions under the king of England, he replied, "I do not consider the
king of England himself equal in rank to me; for he is little better than a
Dutchman." 'You damned poltroon!' roared the admiral, 'with all your
long yarn of hard names, what shall I call you? Down on your marrow-bones,
you scoundrel, and beg pardon of the king our master, or I'll kick
you from hell to Hackney!' The don asked pardon of his late captives, but
would do no more. This would not satisfy Vernon, and throwing down a
guinea he grasped him by the neck and forced him into a stooping position,
shouting, 'There is the king's picture! down on your knees, you blackguard,
and ask forgiveness.' The governor took up the coin and exclaiming
in a low tone, 'Yo he ofendido,' laid it down again. This was considered a
sufficient apology. Seaward's Narr., edited by Jane Porter, 3d ed., London,
1841, ii. 280-1, 290-2. The work, no doubt largely fiction, purports to have
been compiled from the MSS. of Seaward's diary.




[XXXI‑24]  The crews of the guardas costas and other Spanish vessels in the harbor
fell to plundering Portobello on the night of its capture and the inhabitants
begged the admiral's protection. Geog. and Hist. Descrip. W. Ind., 109,
London, 1741. This work gives a brief sketch of the history of Cartagena,
Portobello, Vera Cruz, Habana, and San Agustin up to the beginning of
1740, with a description of each of these cities. It is claimed that the book
was compiled from authentic memoirs, and as it was published less than two
years after the capture of Portobello it is probably worthy of some credence,
especially in matters of detail, although biassed in the main.




[XXXI‑25] Id., 108. In Douglas' Summary Hist. and Pol. (London, 1755), 46, it
is stated that Vernon seized the Spanish factory and carried off goods to the
value of £70,000. March y Labores, in Hist. Marina Española, ii. 662, says;
'No encontró allí el vencedor la riqueza que se prometia.'




[XXXI‑26]  Soon after Anson left England the Spanish government despatched
under Admiral Pizarro a squadron of six vessels to defeat Anson's purpose.
The two armaments sighted each other near the straits of Magellan, but during
the storm mentioned in the text three of the Spanish vessels were wrecked,
two of the others reaching the mouth of La Plata with a loss of half their
crew, and the remaining ship arriving there with a loss of 300 out of 450 men.




[XXXII‑1]  For physical, social, and moral description of the Mosquitos, see Native
Races, i. 711, this series; and of their language, Id., iii. 571-2, 782-90.




[XXXII‑2]  Using the word navel somewhat in the sense it is applied to a portion of
a shield, that is a projecting part.




[XXXII‑3] The Mosqueto Kingdom, written about 1699, by M. W. in Churchill's
Coll. Voy., vi. 309 et seq., London, 1757. It is not improbable that M. W. was
a buccaneer, one of those who crossed through Honduras.




[XXXII‑4] Hist. Cent. Am., i. 294 et seq., this series.




[XXXII‑5]  There is a copy of this cédula and of another one dated the same year
authorizing the audiencia of Guatemala to allow such a contract. Calvo,
Traités, xi. 196-203.




[XXXII‑6] Mosquitolandes, 25. 'Since 1670 the Mosquitos have solicited the protection
and sovereignty of Great Britain.' Museo Mexicano, 2da ép. 194.




[XXXII‑7] Mosq. Terr., Offic. Corr., in Mosq. Doc., 60-3. This treaty was ratified
by the legislative assembly of Jamaica.




[XXXII‑8] Aranz, Informe sobre los Mosquitos, MS. The report is copied from the
archives of the captain-general of Guatemala.




[XXXII‑9]  A council was appointed of which the superintendent was president, a
court of common pleas, and justices of the peace. Mosq. Terr., Off. Corr.,
app. iv.




[XXXII‑10]  In January 1775, an embassy consisting of Young George, son of the
Mosquito king, Isaac his brother, and two Mosquito chiefs, arrived in England.
Their main object was to obtain redress for wrongs inflicted upon
natives in the interior, whence free men were being continually carried off to
the slave markets. On their return voyage they narrowly escaped capture
by Spanish cruisers. After landing the passengers at Cape Gracias á Dios
the vessel proceeded to her destination at Black River, and was seized while
at anchor in the roadstead. Id.




[XXXII‑11]  In 1777 some of the principal settlers sent to England two assorted cargoes
of sugar, rum, indigo, bark, sarsaparilla, tortoise-shell, and other
articles. The sugar on board each vessel was refused admission at the customs.
Id.




[XXXII‑12]  The English fleet was composed of two line-of-battle ships, six war
frigates, a schooner, and two brigs. Pelaez, Mem. Guat., iii. 127.




[XXXII‑13]  While the treaty was under discussion it was a vexed question whether
the term Spanish or American continent should be used. It will be remembered
that the surrender of Cornwallis occurred during the preceding year.




[XXXII‑14]  The full text of this treaty is given in Castellon, Mosq. Question, 52-6.




[XXXII‑15]  The number of English settlers, with their slaves, who left the Mosquito
Coast, was 3,550. Soc. Mex. Geog., Bol., 2da ép., i. 393-400.




[XXXII‑16]  Soon after the departure of the English, the king of the sambos and
some of his chieftains proceeded to Cartagena and signified their desire to be
baptized. Their request was granted, and the ceremony was performed in
the cathedral by the archbishop of New Granada July 8, 1788. Missionaries
were also sent to Mosquitia at their instance, but their labors were fruitless.
Pelaez, Mem. Guat., iii. 151.




[XXXII‑17]  After his term of office expired, Loyala went to Mexico and became a
Jesuit. Dicc. Univ. Hist. Geog., iv. 800.




[XXXII‑18] Nic., Nueva Discusion, 6-7. He is also in Pelaez, Mem. Guat., ii. 177.




[XXXII‑19] Relacion Punctual, MS., 18. Pelaez says that the same name appears
in the book of sentences of the audiencia, June 18, 1765, but his own allusions
to the two next named make his date inadmissible, unless there was a
reappointment, or Lynch was mistaken.




[XXXII‑20]  He had previously governed in Comayagua, Florida, and Yucatan, and
was promoted from the governorship of Nicaragua to the presidency of Guatemala.
Juarros, Comp., 269.




[XXXII‑21]  His name occurs as the officer in command in Barroeta, Relacion sobre
Mosquitos, 5, no. 34.




[XXXII‑22]  The number given in a diary of 1780, reprinted in Nic., Bol. Ofic.,
April 27, 1857, p. 7, is 2,500.




[XXXII‑23]  Now Bartola.




[XXXII‑24]  Four hundred Mosquitos, and the smugglers brought several pieces of
cannon with them. Nic., Bol. Ofic., 29th April, 1857, p. 7.




[XXXII‑25]  Nelson in his autobiography thus modestly states his share in the expedition:
'In January 1780 an expedition was resolved on against San Juan.
I was chosen to command the sea part of it. Major Polson, who commanded,
will tell you of my exertions; how I quitted my ship, carried troops in boats
100 miles up a river, which none but Spaniards, since the time of the Buccaneers,
have ever ascended. It will then be told how I boarded (if I may be
allowed the expression) an outpost of the enemy situated on an island in the
river; that I made batteries and afterwards fought them, and that I was a
principal cause of our success.'




[XXXII‑26]  In 1803 Nelson writes: 'The fever which destroyed the army and navy
attached to that expedition was invariably from thirty to forty days before it
attacked the new comers, and I cannot give a stronger instance than that in
the Hinchinbrook [Nelson's ship], with a complement of 200 men, 87 took to
their beds in one night.'




[XXXII‑27]  Statements differ as to the losses of the British. 'This expedition cost
the English 5,000 lives and £1,000,000.' Arévalo, Col. Doc. Antig., 174.
Three million dollars and 4,000 men. Nic. Gac. Sup. Gob., 92, 'Les Anglais
furent obligés de se retirer honteusement après avoir perdu 4,000 hommes et
dépensé plus de trois millions de piastres, selon le témoignage du colonel
Hodgson.' Belly, Nic., i. 30.




[XXXII‑28] Nic., Cor. Ist., in Cent. Am. Pap., iii. 322. News of his appointment,
was received in Mexico Nov. 2, 1701. Robles, Diario, iii. 332, 495. It is added
that he resigned the office and no allusion is made to any promotion.




[XXXII‑29] Alcedo, Dic., iii. 325. It is simply said: 'He did not go to his diocese,'
in N. Esp., Breve Resúmen, ii. 387; but in Nic., 'He was elected in 1727, and
died in the city of Seville while preparing to embark.' Correo del Istmo, in
Cent. Am. Papers, iii. 322.




[XXXII‑30] Castro, Diario, in Doc. Hist. Mex., série i. tom. iv. 235-7, 239-41, 253;
v. 6-7, 12-13, 39-40, 109; vi. 27. Alcedo, Dic., iii. 326, with his usual carelessness,
says he died in 1757. In Flores y Rivera, Elegios, in Pap. Var., 75,
it is said: 'Very warm eulogies were pronounced upon the deceased at the
university of Mexico on the 29th of October 1756.'




[XXXII‑31]  Not mentioning the lesser ones, 10 large volcanoes came in the following
order: Tortuga, Rincon de la Vieja, Heridenda, Miravalles, Cuecualapa,
Thenorio, Pelado, Buenavista, Chomes, and Aguacate. Nouv. Annales de
Voy., cli. 9.




[XXXII‑32]  Mr Squier inclines to the belief that the Guatusos are of the Aztec stock,
but little more is known to-day of their origin than was the case a century
ago, as they have been left almost undisturbed. In the Cronica de Costa Rica,
Dec. 9, 1857, appears the following by an officer in the Costa Rica service:
'It is pretended that the Guatusos are descended from the colonists who fled
from Esparza when that city was taken by early filibusters. Such as have
chanced to see them affirm that they are white, bearded, and practise a
system of military discipline.... Twice we accompanied the general of the Rio
Frio with the intention of exploring the territory, but without finding a
landing-place.'




[XXXII‑33]  He attended a meeting of the Royal Patriotic Society of Guatemala,
held on the 15th of June, 1798, and was made an honorary member. Soc.
Catálogo, in Pap. Var., no. 45, p. 1.




[XXXII‑34]  He was accused Feb. 4, 1704, of carrying on commerce with foreigners.
He was afterward lieutenant of royal officers of the province, and then
maestre de campo by decree of Aug. 31, 1716. Pelaez, Mem. Hist. Guat., ii.
172-3.




[XXXII‑35]  Father Andrade, in a letter of Nov. 16, 1706, says that they gathered
from Urinama 41, from Cavecar upwards of 700, from San José 336, and 150
others. Pelaez, Mem. Hist. Guat., iii. 30-1.




[XXXII‑36]  Similar cédulas were issued Sept. 1, 1713; June 16, 1714; Aug. 6, 1717;
Dec. 20, 1737; May 21, 1738, and afterward, showing the importance attached
to the matter. Bejarano, Informe sobre la Talamanca.




[XXXII‑37]  Many of them fled, others died, and the rest remained in the service of
the Spaniards at and near Cartago. Haya, Informe al Rey, 15.




[XXXII‑38]  Diego de la Haya Fernandez is mentioned as governor of Costa Rica on
Nov. 10, 1718, and again on July 7, 1722, when his predecessors are named.
There is a discrepancy even in the report of Haya himself—in the beginning
it is written out in full that he took possession of the government at Cartago
in 1718: 'El año pasado de mil setecientos diez y ocho tomé posesion.'




[XXXII‑39]  So the governor appoints lieutenant-generals for the two cities, four
judges for the neighboring valleys, and a teniente in Matina, Boruca, and
Barba. There is not an escribano in all the province. Haya, Informe al
Rey, 9.




[XXXII‑40]  This governor's reports, and his encouragement of trade and agriculture,
went far to avert the worst consequences. Astaburuaga, Cent. Am., 54.




[XXXII‑41]  Even this poverty-stricken country was not poor enough to escape despoiling
by sambos and corsairs.




[XXXII‑42]  'During my sojourn, 1752, two notorious prisoners, after sending threats
of punishment to their captors, freed themselves and disappeared. No steps
were taken for their recapture, even the governor expressing relief when no
more mischief was done.' Morel de Sta. Cruz. See also Nic. and Costa Rica,
MS., 3-4.




[XXXII‑43]  He is referred to in the Cuaderno Historial de Misiones. Pelaez, Mem.
Hist. Guat., ii. 173. According to the same authority Navarro was governor
in 1748, but according to Lynch, Relacion Punctual (1757), MS., 3, Pastora
was governor until he lost his life in 1756, being slain by Mosquito Indians at
the mouth of the river Maya. In the reports on missions in Talamanca,
brigadier Luis Diez Navarro is mentioned as the governor of Costa Rica in
1748 and Manuel Soler in 1759.




[XXXIII‑1]  An account of the abandonment of this town has been given in Hist. Mex.,
this series.




[XXXIII‑2] Peniche, Belice, in Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin, 2da ép., i. 217-9; Pelaez,
Mem. Hist. Guat., iii. 136, 140; Stout's Nic., 258. Squier, Stat. Cent. Am.,
575-6, states that the name was also said to be derived 'from the French
balise, a beacon.' This he is disposed to accept as correct, 'since no doubt
some signal or beacon was raised here to guide the freebooters to the common
rendezvous.'




[XXXIII‑3] Peniche, Belice, in Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin, 2da ép., i. 220-2. According
to Martin, Hist. West Indies, i. 138, and Pelaez, Mem. Hist. Guat., ii. 140, a
large force from Peten attempted to dispossess the wood-cutters of the Belize
River, but intimidated by the bold front of the English, they contented themselves
with building a fort on its north-west branch, which, however, was
abandoned after four years' possession.




[XXXIII‑4]  A portion of the colony had already arrived in 1736. Salcedo, Carta, in
Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin, 2da ép., i. 225.




[XXXIII‑5]  The date of this expedition is uncertain. Sierra, Ojeada sobre Belice,
places it in 1727, but cites no document in support of his assertion. Ancona,
Hist. Yuc., ii. 416, who follows him closely, is doubtful as to its correctness,
although this latter's opinion that it occurred before the visit of Figueroa to
Bacalar and caused the occupation of this place is apparently founded on
conjecture.




[XXXIII‑6]  Sierra, Efemérides, says Belize was attacked February 22, 1733, and in
his Ojeada sobre Belice the same author states that the expedition was formed
and carried out between 1726 and 1730. Lara, Apuntes Históricos, gives no
date. Peniche, in Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin, 2da ép., i. 223-5, follows Sierra,
but gives a copy of a letter from Governor Salcedo to the king of August 7,
1736, in which 1733 is given as the date of Figueroa's expedition. Ancona,
Hist. Yuc., has accepted the date given by this letter.




[XXXIII‑7]  Sierra, Ojeada Sobre Belice; Lara, Apuntes Históricos, and Peniche, cited
above, say that on his way to Bacalar Figueroa was joined by the colonists
from the Canary Islands; in which statement they are followed by Ancona,
Hist. Yuc., ii. 415-17. This is evidently a mistake, as the letter of Salcedo
already cited shows that even in 1736 but a portion of them had arrived.




[XXXIII‑8] Pelaez, Mem. Hist. Guat., ii. 140-1.




[XXXIII‑9] Salcedo, Carta, in Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin, 2da ép., i. 225-6. I reproduce
here 'A Map of a part of Yucatan, or of that part of the Eastern shore
within the Bay of Honduras allotted to Great Britain for the Cutting of Log-wood,
in consequence of the Convention. Signed with Spain on the 14th July
1786. By a Bay-Man.'




[XXXIII‑10]  On his way to Mérida from Bacalar Figueroa was seized with illness and
died. On the 10th of August 1733 Lara, Apunt. Hist., affirms that at the
demands of the English government Figueroa was reprehended by the crown
for this attack, which so mortified him as to cause his death. This version is
accepted by Sierra in his Ojeada sobre Belice, and also by Peniche, in Soc.
Mex. Geog., Boletin, 2da ép., i. 226-7, but as these statements are mentioned
by no other authority and are discredited by Ancona, Hist. Yuc., ii. 419-21,
I am disposed to reject them.




[XXXIII‑11] Peniche, in Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin, 2da ép., i. 222-7; Salcedo, Carta,
in Id., 225-6; Ancona, Hist. Yuc., ii. 413-22.




[XXXIII‑12] Peniche in Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin, 2da ép., i. 228-31.




[XXXIII‑13] Squier's States Cent. Am., 576-7.




[XXXIII‑14] Peniche in Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin, 2da ép., i. 231-4.




[XXXIII‑15]  'Y Su Magestad Católica no permitirá que los vasallos de Su Magestad
Británica ó sus trabajadores sean inquietados ó molestados con cualquiera pretexto
que sea en dichos parajes, en su occupacion de cortar, cargar y trasportar
el palo de tinte ó de campeche; y para este efecto podrán fabricar sin
impedimento y occupar sin interrupcion las casas y almacenes que necesitaren
para sí y para sus familias y efectos.' Calvo, Recueil Traités, ii. 371.




[XXXIII‑16] Peniche, in Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin, 2da ép., i. 235-6.




[XXXIII‑17]  Anderson, Hist. Commerce, iv. 47, quotes the London Gazette of this
date, in which it is stated that the English government had received a duplicate
of an order censuring the government of Yucatan.




[XXXIII‑18] Peniche, in Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin, 2da ép., i. 240-3; Ancona, Hist.
Yuc., ii. 269-73. Squier, States Cent. Am., 577-8, erroneously attributes this
attack to the prevalence of 'smuggling and other illicit practices' among the
wood-cutters, making no mention of the fact that England and Spain were
then at war.




[XXXIII‑19] Castellon, Doc. Nic. Hond., 51-2; Peniche, in Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin,
2da ép., i. 243-50; Squier's States Cent. Am., 578-80; Ancona, Hist. Yuc., ii.
472-77.




[XXXIII‑20]  Full text of treaty may be found in Castellon, Doc. Nic. Hond., 52-6.
See also Peniche, in Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin, 2da ép., i. 251-6; Ancona,
Hist. Yuc., 477-82.




[XXXIII‑21] Grimarest, Informe, in Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin, 2da ép., i. 394-402.




[XXXIII‑22] Henderson's Hond., 9; Ancona, Hist. Yuc., ii. 503-8; Peniche, in Soc.
Mex. Geog., Boletin, 2da ép., i. 380; Squier's States Cent. Am., 581; London
Soc. Geog., xi. 81.




[XXXIII‑23] Squier's States Cent. Am., 581; London Soc. Geog., xi. 81.




[XXXIV‑1] Page 294, this vol.




[XXXIV‑2]  John Twitt, in Hakluyt's Voy., iii. 568-9.




[XXXIV‑3] Arévalo, Col. Doc. Antig., 194-6.




[XXXIV‑4] Hakluyt's Voy., iii. 601. In Ogilby's Amer., 231, the year 1576 is given
as the date of this expedition; and it is there stated that soon afterward
Trujillo was captured by Van Horn, a Hollander, and two thirds of the town
destroyed by an accidental fire, the spoils of the raid being insignificant.




[XXXIV‑5]  The date of this transfer is variously given as 1558, in Pacheco and Cárdenas,
Col. Doc., xv. 468; 1561, Juarros, Hist. Guat., 333, and Calle, Mem.
y Not., 127; 1562, in Gonzalez Dávila, Teatro Ecles., i. 306; and 1588 in Ogilby's
Amer., 230.




[XXXIV‑6]  See p. 303 et seq. this vol.




[XXXIV‑7]  Cerda was promoted to Las Charcas in 1577. Gonzalez Dávila, Teatro
Ecles., i. 306.




[XXXIV‑8]  His administration was one of great benefit to the diocese. Soon after
his arrival he wrote the king concerning its urgent necessities, and his Majesty
sent him 50 pictures and 50 missals, and instructed him to found a
professorship, which was done Sept. 29, 1602. The bishop made many gifts
to the principal chapel of the Merced convent, and was buried there. Gonzalez
Dávila, Teatro Ecles., i. 307.




[XXXIV‑9] Id., 305. The total number of these Indians is stated at 8,000 in Calle,
Mem. y Not., 126.




[XXXIV‑10]  In 1629 Galdo solicited the padre-general of the Jesuits to send a few of
his order to Honduras; but the experience of the Jesuits in Granada and
Realejo a few years before led to a refusal. Alegre, Hist. Comp. Jesus, ii. 176.




[XXXIV‑11]  See p. 446 et seq., this vol.




[XXXIV‑12]  The name of the prelate who was in charge at the time is a matter of
doubt. In 1651 Doctor Juan de Merlo was consecrated bishop of Honduras
in Mexico, but did not proceed to his diocese until December of the following
year. Guijo, Diario, in Doc. Hist. Mex., série i. tom. i. 190, 228. How long he
held office is not known. In 1671 the see was offered to Pedro de Angulo,
who declined the mitre. Robles, Diario, in Id., série i. tom. ii. 114. The next
appointment mentioned is that of Martin de Espinosa, who died suddenly in
1675, while in the act of dispensing alms after mass. He was a centenarian,
but apparently in good health. Id., 210. According to Vasquez, he foretold
his death eight days before; its approach being revealed to him in a vision.
Chron. de Gvat., 215-16. No other reference is made to the episcopate of
Honduras until the close of the century, when it is stated that Angel Maldonado,
who had received the mitre, was transferred to Oajaca. Robles, Diario,
in Doc. Hist. Mex., série i. tom. iii. 256-7.




[XXXIV‑13]  'Y aũque se libraron despachos, para que remitiesse lo actuado el Señor
Obispo, ... no los remitio, porque quizas podian reconocerse falidos ... y post
tot discrimina rerum, fuè declarado el Señor Obispo por estraño.' Chron. de
Gvat., 215.




[XXXIV‑14]  The names of the governors of Honduras in the order of their succession
from 1561 to 1781 are given in Pelaez, Mem. Hist. Guat., ii. 177-80.




[XXXIV‑15]  Neither Pelaez nor Zamacois makes any mention of this first attack, but
D. Galvez in Soc. Mex. Geog., Bol., ii. ép. 243-5, is so clear and specific in his
narrative that we must consider it an omission on their part.




[XXXIV‑16] Carta de Galvez, in Soc. Mex. Geog., Bol., 2da ép. Very different accounts
of this affair are given by Pelaez and Cavo. The first in Mem. Hist. Guat.,
iii. 107, says that the commander and the rest of his officers made no resistance,
but left as hostages the second in command and two chaplains; the soldiers
and many of the inhabitants were banished. Cavo, Tres Siglos, iii. 35-6, says
that on the last day of the defence, when the drums were about to beat to
quarters in the castle, the British scaled the walls, and before the guards had
recovered from their surprise over 100 Englishmen had already mounted the
battlements; at the sight the negroes fled, leaving the English masters of the
fortress. He adds that the castellan forseeing such a disaster had carried off
40,000 pesos and other valuables by a road unknown to the enemy, and would
have saved all else had he been permitted to do so.




[XXXIV‑17]  The three merchant ships taken had on board 3,000,000 pesos, belonging
to merchants of Guatemala. Zamacois, Hist. Méjico, v. 628.




[XXXIV‑18]  In Zamacois, Hist. Méj., v. 631-4, it is stated that 500,000 pesos were
sent from Mexico for war purposes. Cavo, in Tres Siglos, iii. 37, says that the
viceroy sent 200,000 pesos, though 1,000,000 were asked for, but that he had
quite recently expended 600,000 pesos on the other provinces.




[XXXV‑1] Page 383 this vol. Juarros says, 'Gobernó con toda equidad.' Guat., i. 262.




[XXXV‑2]  They claimed the right of direct address and petition to the king, which
was restricted in every way by the audiencia; and on April 19, 1601, petitioned
his Majesty to issue a cédula to the effect that they might send a procurador
to the court without the necessity of the audiencia's approval. They,
moreover, complained that the alcaldes ordinarios were constantly opposed
in matters of jurisdiction by the corregidor del Valle, who was always a
relative or friend of the president. Arévalo, Col. Doc. Antig., 90, 100-3.
This office of corregidor del Valle de Guatemala had been previously suppressed.
By royal order of July 7, 1607, his duties were assigned to the
alcaldes ordinarios of Guatemala in rotation. Calle, Mem. y Not., 118. The
leading citizens had always been in the habit of taking cushions to kneel
upon in church, whether oidores were present or not. This the audiencia had
forbidden. Arévalo, Col. Doc. Antig., 93. The president was also accused of
having appropriated the principal apartments of the cárcel de corte and entertaining
there the oidores by night and day. Id., 95.




[XXXV‑3] Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 728; Juarros, Guat., 316.




[XXXV‑4]  So called from an Indian village of that name. The inhabitants were of
the Toquepa nation. Id., 314.




[XXXV‑5] Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 728; Squier's MSS., xvii. 1-11; Calle, Mem. y
Not., 119.




[XXXV‑6] Arévalo, Col. Doc. Antig., 100-1.




[XXXV‑7]  Remesal, ubi sup., gives the number of vessels as 12, and states that hostilities
lasted 11 days. Juarros says 9 days. But a more reliable version of
the affair is to be seen in a letter of the cabildo to the king: 'This year at the
new port of Santo Tomás two or three small fragatas manned by 35 or 40 men
with very little artillery defended themselves against eight Dutch ships of
the Conde Mauricio, most of them vessels of from 400 to 500 tons, well supplied
with artillery, and having over 1,000 men. Our people did the enemy
much damage, sinking one of his ships and driving him off, themselves receiving
but little hurt, for they were sheltered by a great rock near the shore,
on which rock part of the artillery was placed.' Arévalo, Col. Doc. Antig.,
106-7.




[XXXV‑8]  'Fué sepultado en la Iglesia Catedral.' Juarros, Guat., i. 262.




[XXXV‑9]  Thomas Gage states that when he retired from office he was 'worth Millions
of Duckats.' New Survey, 282.




[XXXV‑10]  He enlarged and beautified the plaza de la Candelaria so extensively
that it acquired the name of plaza del Conde. This president was the first
to whom was given the title of 'Muy Ilustre Señor' instead of 'Magnífico
Señor.' Juarros, Guat., i. 262-3. According to Escamilla, Not. de Guat., 3,
he held office till 1627, when he returned to Spain.




[XXXV‑11]  Gage, who was in Guatemala at the time, in New Survey, 267-8, 282-4,
is specific in his statement concerning Guzman as the immediate successor of
Gomera and is minute in other references to his conduct. By Juarros the
name of Guzman is not mentioned, but 'Diego de Acuña, formerly president
of San Domingo,' is named as succeeding Gomara, Guat., 263; and as also in
Escamilla, Not. Guat., 3, without any additional particulars however. These
authors evidently refer to the same person.




[XXXV‑12]  Called by Gage, ubi sup., 'Gonzalo de Paz y Lorençana.' According to
Juarros, he entered office in 1634, the year after the retirement of Guzman,
who, Juarros states, was president for seven years. loc. cit.




[XXXV‑13] Gage, New Survey, 282. An incident of his administration was the
founding of San Vicente de Austria. Juarros, Guat., i. 263.




[XXXV‑14]  Gage remarks that 'the city of Guatemala was so well supplied with
provisions and they were so cheap that a mendicant was not easily found.'




[XXXV‑15]  Gage states that there was in his time 'a Grazier that reckoned up going
in his own Estancia and ground, forty thousand heads of Beasts.' New Survey,
278-9.




[XXXV‑16] New Survey, 278, 280-81.




[XXXV‑17]  In 1604 the city contained 890 principal families, comprising encomenderos,
merchants, traders, machinists, agriculturists, and others. The tax-list
aggregated 4,500 tostones. The amount fell less than 2,000 tostones during
1607 to 1612, inclusive; and increased to 5,195 in 1613. In 1614 the amount
was 7,180 tostones, and in 1626 it reached 15,980 tostones. The mode of
assessing the people was so offensive that in 1625 dissensions became rife and
the complaints against the assessors were so bitter that one of them, Márcos
Estopiñan, alcalde ordinario, was thrown into prison. The excessive taxation
ceased soon after; for in a cédula dated August 3, 1629, the alcabalas
were rented for eight years to the cabildo for 10,000 tostones annually. Pelaez,
Mem. Guat., i. 226-9.




[XXXV‑18]  The president's salary was 5,000 ducats yearly; that of each of the
oidores 2,000 ducats. Calle, Mem. y Not., 117. Gage says 12,000 ducats was
the president's salary. New Survey, 282.




[XXXV‑19]  The salary of each of these officers was 300,000 maravedís. Calle, Mem.
y Not., 118.




[XXXV‑20]  Each corregidor received 200 pesos de mina a year. Id.




[XXXV‑21]  In 1617 the office of alguacil mayor was sold for 18,000 tostones, and in
1643 for 49,000 reales. In 1645 the receivership of fines and court fees was
sold for 6,000 pesos, while the offices of the escribanos de camara were regularly
sold for 20,000 pesos each. Other offices commanded corresponding
prices. Id., 119.




[XXXV‑22]  Selecting a few instances to illustrate these sales, I find that in 1636 the
office of alférez real sold for 3,998 ducats; that of escribano publico was sold
in the same year for 11,000 pesos; of the receiver-general of fines and fees in
1616 for 28,500 tostones, and in 1642 for 6,000 pesos. Id.




[XXXV‑23]  They were the following: 'Procurador Sindico ... Mayordomo, Fiel Executor,
Correduria, Portero, con 30,000 marauedis de salario. Mojoneria,
Pregoneria.' Id.




[XXXV‑24] Alegre, Hist. Comp. Jesus, 136, 448; Juarros, Guat., 150.




[XXXV‑25]  The provincial of the Dominicans, writing in 1724, says that to repair
the damage to their convent and church at Guatemala by the late earthquake
cost the order more than 25,000 pesos; that the loss of yearly income has
been at least 9,000 pesos; and that it took a considerable sum to repair the
mills and put in order the estate belonging to the order. Guat., Sto Domingo,
en 1724, 10




[XXXV‑26] Escamilla, Noticias Curiosas de Guat., 4. His appointment was made
in 1653 for eight years; he arrived at Vera Cruz Sept. 30th; and on Jan. 15,
1654, left for Guatemala. Guijo, Diario, in Doc. Hist. Mex., série i. tom. i.
261, 274.




[XXXV‑27]  'He espoused the party of the "Mazariegos,"' says Juarros, Guat., i.
264, meaning probably one of the active participants.




[XXXV‑28]  The right to bear the city flag on public occasions belonged to the officers
of the cabildo, but the audiencia usurped the momentous prerogative and
gave it to the alguacil mayor. The king was requested to interfere. Arévalo,
Col. Doc. Antig., 126-7.




[XXXV‑29]  These cédulas bear date Nov. 6, 1604; Nov. 6, 1606; July 7, 1607; May
23, 1673; and Dec. 10, 1687. Philip II. had named the city 'most noble and
most loyal,' and styled the corporation 'Muy Noble Ayuntamiento,' and
Felipe III. gave the city the privilege of having mace-bearers on all occasions
of public ceremony. Juarros, Guat. (London, 1823), 129-30.




[XXXV‑30]  In a letter dated Jan. 30, 1667, from Guatemala, it is said that Caldas
arrived and took possession of the office Jan. 18th in that year. Caldas, Carta
sobre el Lacandon, 1. In Escamilla, Noticias Curiosas de Guat., 4, 1668 is
given as the year in which he became president.




[XXXV‑31]  Caldas in his letter to the king suggests that his Majesty should order the
viceroy of Mexico and the governor of Campeche to gather together all vagabonds
and evil-doers, and send them to Caldas, as also the lesser criminals, that
they might serve in the conquest; moreover, negro slaves and mulattoes, whose
owners desired it, would be enrolled. He also states that Guatemala and
Campeche are the most directly interested, as their commerce could be conducted
by a direct road of 80 leagues instead of 600, the length of the existing
route. Caldas, Carta sobre el Lacandon, 5-6. Briefly confirmed by Pelaez,
Mem. Guat., i. 297; Ximenes, lib. v. cap. xx.




[XXXV‑32]  It was the first official document printed in Guatemala. Pelaez, Mem.
Guat., ii. 261.




[XXXV‑33]  The cabildo in a letter to the king dated April 1, 1669, speak of Caldas
as 'gobernador tan atento y cristiano.' About Santillan they remark, 'semejante
Ministro como el suspenso, nunca serà conveniencia, Señor, lo sea en
esta Ciudad.' Arévalo, Col. Doc. Antig., 128.




[XXXV‑34]  He died in 1673 and was buried in the cathedral. Escamilla, Not. Cur.
de Guat., 4.




[XXXV‑35]  The government was now composed of the following officers: The president,
governor, captain-general, and five oidores, to be at the same time criminal
judges, a treasurer, alguacil mayor, and other necessary ministers and officers.
To the jurisdiction of the audiencia belonged Guatemala, Nicaragua, Chiapa,
Higueras, Cape Honduras, Vera Paz, Soconusco, and the islands on the coast.
The limits in the east were Tierra Firme; on the west, Nueva Galicia; on the
north and south, the oceans. Recop. de Ind., i. 325-6.




[XXXV‑36]  During the interval between the death of Caldas and the installation of
Barrios, the presidency had been held by the bishop of Guatemala, Fray Fernando
Francisco de Escobedo, and Enrique de Guzman. Escobedo's administration
gave great dissatisfaction, and he underwent a residencia; but before
it was completed he was called to Spain as grand prior of Castille. Later
Escobedo became a member of the council of the Indies, and as such, favored
the petition of Guatemala for free trade with Peru and like measures. Pelaez,
Mem. Guat., ii. 209. In Robles, Diario, in Doc. Hist. Mex., série i. tom. ii.
416, it is said that Escobedo was made grand prior de San Juan, and was
mulcted in the sum of 32,000 pesos as the result of his residencia.




[XXXV‑37] Gavarette, Cop. Doc., MS., 46; Pelaez, Mem. Guat., ii. 259.




[XXXV‑38]  Especially as to the performance of rites in the new districts of Ocotenango
and Chimaltenango. Several parishes were taken from the Mercenarios
and Dominicans, it being alleged that there were none among them acquainted
with the native speech. Ayetta, Informe, in Prov. del Sto Evang., MS.




[XXXV‑39]  May 28, 1688, a shot was fired at the oidor Pedro de Selva, and while
the audiencia was in session discussing the matter, the bishop called on the
president and informed him that under the seal of confession it had been
revealed to him that the carabine had been loaded with blank cartridge only.
The shot was meant as a warning to the oidor to amend his views regarding
a case then pending, wherein many innocent persons were interested. When
the president endeavored to show that the oidor had acted throughout with
fairness, the bishop gave way to anger and left the palace, exclaiming with a
loud voice: 'The country is being ruined by the iniquity of its rulers!' Gavarette,
Cop. Doc., 55.




[XXXV‑40]  In Gavarette, loc. cit., it is said that the bishop was removed, but all
other authorities describe his proceedings as bishop of Guatemala until his
death in 1701, or 1702.




[XXXV‑41]  Scals requested that an order be issued to the effect that Venegas 'en
sus peticiones y escritos trate con decencia al señor presidente,' and states
that Venegas repeatedly asserted that he, Scals, had usurped the presidency.
Pelaez, Mem. Guat., ii. 209-10.




[XXXV‑42]  One expedient was to plead ignorance concerning matters discussed, and
refusing therefore to vote. This the president met by ordering that the
oidores be notified of motions about to be made. Another was the pretence
of illness, and consequent inability to attend; to obviate this he directed that
votes should be accepted in writing. Pelaez, Mem. Guat., ii. 269-70.




[XXXV‑43]  Oviedo brought his claims before the council, but notwithstanding his
appointment was dated first in order of time, they decided against him.
Diego Oviedo y Baños, sobre Presidencia. This pamphlet, the date of which
is not given, was probably published in or about 1705, and seems to be part
of a larger work containing the full case of Oviedo, edited by the licentiate
Baltasar de Aseredo.




[XXXV‑44] Robles, Diario, iii. 252.




[XXXV‑45]  According to Escamilla, Not. Cur. de Guat., MS., 5, he was restored
to office in 1700 and returned to Spain in 1701. Juarros, Guat., i. 268, says
'el Señor Berrospe murió, antes que se serenase la borrasca.'




[XXXV‑46]  See p. 380, this vol.




[XXXV‑47]  In a session of the cabildo during 1607, his Majesty is informed that
Bishop Ramirez has for some time past kept the chapter in great excitement
by his conversation and sermons in which he uses harsh and terrible language.
Arévalo, Col. Doc. Antig., 112. Compare Juarros, Guat., i. 279-80; Calle,
Mem. y Not., 116.




[XXXV‑48]  The date given by Pelaez is 1607. Mem., i. 295; Morelli, Fast. Nov.
Orb., 348; and Calle, Mem. y Not., 116. In Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc.,
viii. 46, the year 1608 is named; and Squier in Cent. Am., 561, states 1609.
Remesal suggests a later date.




[XXXV‑49] Gonzalez Dávila, Hist. Ecles., 164.




[XXXV‑50]  Gonzalez Dávila, Teatro Ecles., 168, says he was appointed July 5, 1645,
and arrived in Guatemala September 16th of the same year. In Juarros,
Guat., i. 283, the date given for the king's appointment is 1641, which is the
year Dávila gives for the transfer of Saravia. According to Escamilla, Noticias
Curiosas de Guat., 9, Bishop Soltero entered Guatemala at the end of the
year 1644 or the beginning of 1645. He agrees with Dávila in stating that
he took possession of the office Sept. 16, 1645. We may conclude that there
was an interval between the administrations of Saravia and Soltero of some
three or four years.




[XXXV‑51]  On the 31st of May 1647 the Santiago cabildo in a letter to the king stated
that during the recent pestilence he rose from a sick-bed to visit all parts of the
province and care for the people, dispensing alms, and by his example inciting
others to good works. Arévalo, Col. Doc. Antig., 119-120.




[XXXV‑52]  In 1608 the king released this hospital from an indebtedness of 17,411
tostones which had been loaned to it by the crown. Gonzalez Dávila, Teatro
Ecles., i. 152.




[XXXV‑53]  A mine of silver was made over to it in 1633; its income was at that time
at least 30,000 ducats a year. Gage, New Survey, 283.




[XXXV‑54]  Obtained entirely from contribution. President Escobedo was especially
liberal and donated more than 55,000 pesos toward the expense of the new
buildings. He also secured to the order a revenue of 300 dollars: 'pues dexò
situados de renta segura mas de trecientos pesos.' García, Hist. Beth., ii.
28-31; also Medina, Chron. San Diego Mex., 37.




[XXXV‑55]  The bishop Saenz Mañosca having endeavored to soften 'the severe rules
of the order against the wishes of Fray Rodrigo, the latter resolved to prevent
any alteration by obtaining the pope's ratification of the rules. One of
the Bethlehemite brothers, at that time in Spain, was ordered to proceed
with that object to Rome, where he succeeded, according to the bull signed
by Pope Clement X. on May 2, 1672.' García, Hist. Beth., ii. 60-70.




[XXXV‑56]  The bishop's rejoinder is very voluminous and controverts most of the
statements made by his adversary. Ribera, El Maestro, no. i. 1-42; no. ii. 28;
no. iii. 1-56.




[XXXV‑57]  In Medina, Chron. S. Diego Mex., 241, it is said he died in Guatemala
on the date given in the text, and Juarros, Guat., i. 285, adds that he was
buried in the cathedral there. Escamilla, Not. Cur. de Guat., 4, states that
he had left for La Puebla before his decease. The author last cited gives his
name as Mallorca y Murillo, and Juarros as Mañosca y Murillo.




[XXXV‑58]  'I may say it,' Chiapas, 'exceedeth most Provinces in the greatness and
beauty of fair Towns, and yieldeth to none except it be to Guatemala.' Gage's
New Survey, 219.




[XXXV‑59]  According to an official census taken in 1611 the population of Chiapas
amounted to a little over 100,000. Pineda, in Soc. Mex. Geog., Bol., iii. 400-35.




[XXXV‑60]  Speaking of the inhabitants of the town of Chiapas, Gage says 'they are
as dexterous at baiting of Bulls, at juego de Cannas, at Horse-races, at arming
a Camp, at all manner of Spanish dances, instruments, and musick, as the best
Spaniards.' New Survey, 234.




[XXXV‑61]  Consisting of not more than 400 Spanish householders and about 100
Indian houses. Id., 221.




[XXXV‑62]  The poison was administered in a cup of chocolate or some sweetmeat;
hence arose the proverb, 'Beware of Chocolatte of Chiapa.' While Gage was
in Ciudad Real—called by him Chiapa Real—the bishop Bernardino de Salazar
died with every symptom of having been poisoned. The ladies of the
capital were accustomed to have chocolate served to them in the cathedral
during mass. This habit the bishop attempted to suppress, and even proceeded
to excommunication, but without effect. Then a disgraceful tumult
occurred in the cathedral, and shortly afterward the bishop was taken ill,
and the physicians agreed that he had been poisoned, which opinion he
fully believed in at his death. Gage calls Ciudad Real 'that poisoning and
wicked city.' Id., 229-33.




[XXXV‑63]  For a list of the governors of Chiapas who ruled from 1590 to 1713, see
Pelaez, Mem. Guat., ii. 183.




[XXXV‑64]  'He,' the governor, 'tradeth much in Cacao and Cochinil, and domineers
over both Spaniards and Indians at his will and pleasure.' Gage's New Survey,
228.




[XXXV‑65]  Gage estimated the bishop's stipend, derived chiefly from offerings received
from the great Indian towns, at 8,000 ducats a year. The account of
one month's offerings was kept by Gage; they amounted to 1,000 ducats,
besides fees due from sodalities and confraternities. Id., 229.




[XXXVI‑1]  San Miguel Manche contained about 100 houses; Asuncion Chocahaoc
the same number; the other villages less. Juarros, Guat., 270.




[XXXVI‑2]  The meaning of Peten is island. 'La palabra Petenes, que es lo mismo
que Islas.' There were five petenes in the lake, one large and four smaller
ones. When finally subdued the population of these islands was estimated
at 24,000 or 25,000 persons. Villagvtierre, Hist. Conq. Itza, 279, 401-2.




[XXXVI‑3]  Situated on the large island.




[XXXVI‑4]  'Tziminchac, q̃ quiere dezir, Cavallo del Trueno, ò Rayo.' Villagvtierre,
Hist. Conq. Itza, 100. For an account of the origin of this idol see Hist. Cent.
Am., i. 561, this series.




[XXXVI‑5]  The canek does not seem to have regarded the action of Orbita with
anger, having merely told them that the time for their work had not yet come,
permitting them meanwhile to depart in peace. An Itza chieftain, however,
pursued them, and they would have been slain but for the intercession of the
Tipu cacique, to whom the Itza leader replied 'con grande enojo: Pues no
traygas mas acá otra vez à estos Xolopes, que assi llaman à los Españoles, à
desde que vieron à los primeros comer Anonas.' Villagvtierre, Hist. Conq.
Itza, 107.




[XXXVI‑6]  'Mitotes, ò bailes, y borracheras.' Id., 121. Consult also my Native
Races, ii. 289.




[XXXVI‑7] Cogollvdo, Hist. Yuc., 505-6, 'Llevaronlos ... como arrastrando ... al Embarcadero:
Embarcaron el primero al Padre Orbita tirandole en la Canoa
por muerto.' Villagvtierre, Hist. Conq. Itza, 123.




[XXXVI‑8]  Villagutierre says: 'Esto dizen las Historias que seria, porque debian de
estar sin Armas;' but he does not believe it credible that Spanish soldiers
would go unarmed. Id., 136. Compare Cogollvdo, Hist. Yuc., 544.




[XXXVI‑9]  Squier's account of this expedition is quite at variance with that of Villagutierre.
He says that the priests, who accompanied it, alone crossed over
to the island. Mirones then retreated; and being pursued, the whole Spanish
force was destroyed. He, moreover, gives the date as 1662. Cent. Am., 548.
Consult Cogollvdo, Hist. Yuc., 544.




[XXXVI‑10] Cogollvdo, Hist. Yuc., 547.




[XXXVI‑11]  'Cerrando los Caminos, poniendo en ellos Estatuas, à traza de Españoles
ridiculos, y delante de ellas otras de Idolos formidables, diziendo, eran los
Dioses de los Caminos, y que se los estorvavan à los Españoles, para que no
passassen à sus Tierras.' Villagvtierre, Hist. Conq. Itza, 144-5. Pinelo, Rel.,
4-5, gives a brief though incorrect account of Mirones' expedition.




[XXXVI‑12]  'Otras mercedes para despues de conseguida la pacificacion de aquellos
naturales.' Cogollvdo, Hist. Yuc., 684.




[XXXVI‑13]  The proceeds of his encomienda were deposited in the royal treasury of
Guatemala, 'como en deposito, para el gasto que se auia de hazer en ella,'
that is the expedition. Id., 685.




[XXXVI‑14]  This messenger was a Spaniard, whom Vilvao almost succeeded in
poisoning: 'teniendo modo como echar veneno en el pinole, que auia de beber
por el camino, con que despues estuuo muy cercano à morir.' Id., 689.




[XXXVI‑15]  'Y viẽdo los Soldados que tenia, quan remiso estaba, se le huyeron en
aquel tiempo, que solos cinco quedaron en su compañia.' Id., 696.




[XXXVI‑16]  Infante and Gabaldá had some time previously been submitted to much
ill-treatment by the Indians of Nohhaa, who after an idolatrous debauch
compelled them to leave the town and betake themselves to the woods,
whither the natives presently brought them their robes and the church ornaments.
Id. Fancourt, Hist. Yuc., 232, erroneously states that the father
was despoiled of his effects.




[XXXVI‑17]  'Que es tambien del Beneficio de Vçumaçintla, y distante de èl veinte y
dos leguas.' Cogollvdo, Hist. Yuc., 698.




[XXXVI‑18]  'Natural de la Imperial Ciudad de Toledo, y Cauallero de la Orden de
Calatraua.' Id., 684.




[XXXVI‑19]  Villagutierre states that one of the chief difficulties the missionaries had
to contend with was the opposition of native pseudo-christians who monopolized
a profitable trade with the more remote nations, whom they prejudiced
against the Spaniards, that their gains might not be impaired. Hist. Conq.
Itza, 161-2. Chico states that in consequence of the extortions practised on
the christianized natives, they abandoned their settlements and relapsed into
idolatry. Restitucion de los Chamelcos, in Doc. Orig. Chiap., 7.




[XXXVI‑20]  The most outlying town of Vera Paz.




[XXXVI‑21]  'Y estando dormidos, bolvieron los Choles, y les dieron de palos, y aun
debieron de matar al Indio Christoval, su Amigo, que nunca mas pareciò; y
entonçes, solo vno bolvió.' Id., 171. Juarros states that the messengers were
severely beaten with clubs and dismissed without reply. Guat., 278.




[XXXVI‑22]  Fancourt conjectures that it 'was most probably the Selegua, known
nearer its junction with the sea ... as the river Grijalva or Tabasco.' Hist.
Yuc., 243. For map of the Lacandon territory see p. 362, this vol.




[XXXVI‑23]  For copies of these orders and particulars, see Id., 192-9. Consult also
Elorza y Rada, Nobil., 216.




[XXXVI‑24]  The entire force was divided into 9 companies—5 Spanish and 4 Indian;
3 Spanish and 2 Indian companies made up the command of the president,
and one of each, those of the other divisions. Juarros, Guat., 280.




[XXXVI‑25]  According to Villagutierre the command of the Huehuetenango division
was first given to Captain Tomás de Mendoza y Guzman, but later Guzman
was put in command of one of the president's companies, and Mazariegos,
who had volunteered to serve without pay, was placed in charge of the above
named force. Hist. Conq. Itza, 229, 234, 245.




[XXXVI‑26] Id., 268. Fancourt states that 'there was nothing to fix its identity,
not even a hut.' Hist. Yuc., 253.




[XXXVI‑27]  'Dexando doze Soldados, con algunos Indios de Guerra, en el Sitio de San
Juan de Dios.' Villagvtierre, Hist. Conq. Itza, 270.




[XXXVI‑28]  'Con solo vna grande Viga, ù Madero por Puente.' Id., 272. Fancourt
thus regards this sentence: 'where had formerly been a wooden bridge, in all
probability one of those constructed by Cortés, but of which only a single
beam or plank remained.' Hist. Yuc., 254.




[XXXVI‑29]  This village had been named by Fray Diego de Rivas, San Pedro Nolasco.




[XXXVI‑30]  The appointment of Amézqueta was strongly opposed by the fiscal, but
ratified by the council on full deliberation. Pelaez, Mem. Guat., i. 301, apparently
from Ximenez, série v. tom. lxxvi.




[XXXVI‑31]  Villagutierre, Hist. Conq. Itza, 361, says 140 leagues.




[XXXVI‑32]  The men began to sicken and provisions to fall short, and the rainy
weather having begun they returned. Pelaez, Mem. Guat., ii. 301.




[XXXVI‑33]  Velasco and his company are supposed to have been induced by proffers of
friendship to cross over to the island in small canoes. They were then either
drowned in the lake or massacred as they landed. Villagvtierre, Hist. Conq.
Itza, 370-1. Another account states that hearing signal shots fired by some
of their party, 15 Spaniards rushed to arms, believing that an engagement had
opened. They were assailed and slain. Id., 433. Fancourt accepts this
story as probable. Still another statement is that the Itzas, 'avian muerto,
... à los de Guatemala, cogidos durmiendo en la Sabana, y que se los comieron,
y las Cavalgaduras.' Id., 456. Their bones were afterward found and buried.
Id., 485-6.




[XXXVI‑34]  'Y à aquel Parage de Chuntùqui, se le puso por Nombre, y por Patrona
à Santa Clara.' Id., 319.




[XXXVI‑35]  'Y aora te remito vn Machete, muy lindo, con su Bayna, y su Cuchillo,
y su Cinta ancha, y tres varas de Tafetàn encarnado, para que te põgas en mi
Nombre.' Id., 336.




[XXXVI‑36]  'En cuya señal diò el Rey Canek dos Coronas, y vn Abanico.' Id., 394.




[XXXVI‑37]  'Se hallaron con mas diez mil Indios Infieles, que salian flechandolos;
de las Canoas que estavan escondidas en los Manglares de la Laguna.' Id.;
405.




[XXXVI‑38]  A private letter of Count Adanero, then president of the council, to
Ursua, is exceedingly courteous and complimentary. Elorza y Rada, Nob.,
243-7. Copies of the cédulas are given in Villagvtierre, Hist. Conq. Itza,
438-9.




[XXXVI‑39]  'Que ningun Cabo ... ni otra Persona alguna, de qualquiera Calidad que
fuesse, pena de la Vida, ... fuesse ossado à romper la Guerra contra Indio
alguno, aunque le diesse motivo para ello, hasta tener nueva orden de su General.'
Id., 473.




[XXXVI‑40]  A picture of Saint Paul also miraculously floated on the waves down
upon the galliot. 'Y por este Prodigio, se le puso à la Galeota el Nombre de
San Pablo.' Id., 474.




[XXXVI‑41]  'Desde el Rey, hasta la mas pequeña Criatura, que era capàz de executarlo,
para ir à ganar la Tierra firme.' Id., 479.




[XXXVI‑42]  'Y se echavan al Agua; de tal suerte, que no se veìa otra cosa por la
Laguna, desde la Isla, à Tierra firme, que no fuesse cabeças de Indios, Varones,
Mugeres, y Muchachos, que iban nadando, como à porfia.' Id.




[XXXVI‑43]  Copies can be found in Villagvtierre, Hist. Conq. Itza, 532-63.




[XXXVI‑44]  The king says: 'Hè resuelto daros muy particulares gracias, por el
desvelo, aplicacion, y cuidado con que vuestro valor, y constancia se dedica à
conseguir Obra tan del servicio de Dios.' Villagvtierre, 556.




[XXXVI‑45]  Eight missionaries and 25 Indian families, to be settled in the islands,
with more than 1,200 head of cattle and horses, accompanied the expedition.
A great quantity of tools, seed, and grain, as well as pay for the soldiers, was
also sent. Id., 592.




[XXXVI‑46] Id., 591-658. Martin de Ursua y Arizmendi, conde de Lizarraga-Vengoa,
was a member of one of the most noble houses of Navarre, and a native of
Olariz in the district of the Valle de la Valdorba. He was knight of the order
of Santiago, conquistador of Itza, and perpetual governor and captain-general
of its provinces. Elorza y Roda, Nobiliario de el Valle de la Valdorba, 210-11.




[XXXVI‑47]  After the conquest of the Itzas in 1697, the Spanish settlement in Peten
was for half a century only a military outpost, with a small garrison from
Guatemala. Afterward it became a criminal colony. Berendt in Smithsonian
Report, 1867, 424. The conquest seems to have been completed, however,
for in 1759 there were in the Peten district 7 villages, besides the
principal settlement. Juarros, Guat. (Lond. ed.), 299.




[XXXVII‑1]  See Native Races, i. 645; v. 603-4.




[XXXVII‑2]  Cosío entered upon the presidency in 1706, having been preceded by
Alonso de Ceballos y Villagutierre, who was president after Berrospe from
1702 to 1703, and by José Osorio Espinosa de los Monteros. Juarros, Guat.,
i. 268.




[XXXVII‑3] Garcia, Sublevac. Zend., 47-8.




[XXXVII‑4]  'Que fueron al pueblo de Cancuc á remover á la Virgen Sma en la cruz
en que habia muerto su hijo Jesus porque ya los Indios salian de Ciudad Real
á matarla, y que fuesen á defenderla, y que supiesen que ya no habia tributo
ni ley, ni Padres ni Obispo que alla los tomara á cargo para defenderlos.' Id.,
61-3.




[XXXVII‑5]  At Cancuc they had erected 34 whipping-posts, and the Spaniards were
given 50 blows at each post, provided they held out so long against death.
Some of the captives with their hands tied behind them were suspended with
the neck in the fork of a whipping-post and scourged to death. Others again
were simply hanged. Such as had been friendly to Spaniards were suspended
over a slow fire until their feet were roasted. The fiscal of Oxchuc and
friars Jorge and Marcos, together with other Spaniards, were thrown by the
Indians into pits and stoned to death. Id., 65-7.




[XXXVII‑6]  The proclamation said: God was angry with the world because he was
not venerated and feared as he ought to be, old customs being abandoned and
new ones introduced. As murmurs had been heard because tribute, the order
of Sto Domingo, the king, and the dominion of the Jews had not been done
away with, San Pedro had ordered priests to be ordained for all the pueblos
who should be responsible to God for their parishes. But for the masses celebrated
by these priests the world would come to an end, and through them
only would God's anger be removed. Children must be sent to the church
to be instructed in God's law. The vicar-general would presently visit each
pueblo in order to see if this order were obeyed. He who refused obedience
should be brought to Cancuc and given 200 blows, after which he should be
hanged. García, Sub. Zend., 74-5.




[XXXVII‑7]  Secular distinctions were also conferred. Titles of 'Don' were given, the
patents being signed by the priestess thus: 'Doña María Angel, Procuradora
de la Vírgen Santisima.' Id., 77.




[XXXVII‑8]  At a later date the rebel Tzendales considered that it was necessary to
form their government on the plan of that of the Spaniards. They determined
to found an audiencia with president and oidores at a place called
Hueiteupan, to which they gave the name of Guatemala. Id., 82-3.




[XXXVII‑9]  The Tzendales buried the silver belonging to the churches, and it has never
been found. Pineda, in Soc. Mex. Geog., Bol., iii. 350.




[XXXVII‑10]  'The Tzendales, 15,000 strong, encamped at Huistlan with the further
intention of marching on Ciudad Real.' Pineda, in Soc. Mex. Geog., Bol., iii. 349.
This estimate probably includes the other force which was to have started
simultaneously against Ciudad Real, as mentioned later.




[XXXVII‑11]  They had about 30 escopetas taken at Chilun. Their other weapons
were long spears, the heads of which were made of tools taken at Ococingo,
and other arms of ancient usage. Each Tzendale, moreover, carried a basket
of stones. García, Sublevac. Zend., MS., 85-6.




[XXXVII‑12]  The Spaniards lost nine killed and about the same number wounded.
Id., 91-3.




[XXXVII‑13]  Four of the Sinacantlan ringleaders were afterward hanged by Gutierrez.
Id., 95-6.




[XXXVII‑14]  When his force reached San Pedro Chimalco it consisted of 400 men; 150
of whom were arquebusiers, and the rest Chiapanec and Mexican Indian
lancers, residents of Guatemala City. Id., 100-3.




[XXXVII‑15]  These forces were sent by Gutierrez, who, after a small body of his
troops had been repulsed by the enemy, had called a council of war, at which
it was decided to return to Ciudad Real and send aid to Segovia.




[XXXVII‑16]  The Dominican prior of Tecpatlan, Fray Franco Montoya, happened to be
at Ciudad Real during Segovia's preparations for the campaign. He had never
seen artillery other than that which was on the ship that brought him from
Spain, but he offered to construct either a mortar or a cannon. He made a
mortar which was of much service, chiefly because of the horror it caused
among the Indians, who called it the madre de escopetas. Id., 99.




[XXXVII‑17]  The president, who with the auditor de guerra, Diego de Oviedo, had
arrived at Ciudad Real, sent to thank Segovia and his force at Occhuc and
the Dominican padres with him for their success there. He also requested
that Segovia and the padres would come to Ciudad Real as he wished to consult
them.




[XXXVII‑18]  This portion of García's manuscript here ends abruptly.




[XXXVII‑19]  During the Tzendales' revolt the town of Chamolla was the most loyal
of all in the province, although it had been the most injured by the city. At
first some of the Chamolltecs had been inclined to rise, but this partial defection
soon died out, and the people gave many proofs of loyalty. Id., 111.
During this period a female leader had arisen at Guatinpan and greatly aided
the priestess of Cancuc in infusing religious fanaticism into the insurgents.
Id., 109.




[XXXVII‑20]  The work from which I have chiefly gathered material for this sketch,
quoted as 'Garcia, Sublevacion de los Zendales,' has for its full title Informe
sobre la Sublevacion de los Zendales, escrito par el Padre W. Pedro Marselino
García de la orden de Predicadores, Predor. General, Calificador del Santo
Oficio y Vicario Provincial de San Vicente de Chiapa, dirigida al Ilmo. Señor
Obispo desta diocesis y fecho en 5 de Junio de 1716, MS., 1 vol. in imperial 8vo,
pp. 154. It contains a copy of testimony taken by PP. Frs Maxelina, García,
and Diego de Cuenca, by direction of the bishop, concerning the death of the
several Dominican friars at the hands of the revolted Tzendales; the details of
these murders are given. The manuscript also contains copies of letters and
journals of Padre García written at the time, which contain a very full account
of the origin of the Tzendal rebellion, the singular religious schism which
they sought to establish, and the various proceedings, civil, military, and
ecclesiastical, which led to the final suppression of the rebellion. The continuity
of the events related is not easily followed, since the manuscript was
carelessly arranged for binding. In places, moreover, it is wanting, and is
somewhat worm-eaten. It is therefore difficult at all times to decipher the
facts, which are moreover hidden in the verbosity common to an ecclesiastical
writer of that time.




[XXXVII‑21] Chiapas, Informe del Intendente, in Soc. Mex. Geog., Bol., 3d ép., ii. 326-7.
In 1800 the office of alcalde mayor at Ciudad Real was sold for 4,687 pesos,
those of eight regidores for 400 pesos each. The position of notary public
and secretary of the cabildo sold for 627 pesos and at a later date for 1,110
pesos. Pineda, Descrip. Geog., 45.




[XXXVII‑22]  'No se descubria otra cosa que pesadas Cruzes, agudas espinas, abroxos,
crueles imbenziones de diziplinas, arrastrados por los suelos los Hombres,
lagrimas, y humilidad.' Arana, Relacion Estragos Guat., 383.




[XXXVII‑23]  The missions were now closed with a 'prosesion de sangre.' Most of
the shocks lasted for the space of an Ave María. Arana, Rel. Estragos Guat.,
380-98. The volcano threw up stones, ashes, and other matter. Letters
could be read distinctly in the dead of the night, although the volcano was at
least two leagues distant from the city. Alegre, Hist. Comp. Jesus, iii. 179.




[XXXVII‑24]  Out of the 40,000 inhabitants who resided in the city before these earthquakes,
scarcely 1,500 could be counted when they had ceased. On the plaza
mayor on the 5th of Oct. were the president and five or six families. On the
plazuela de San Pedro were Diego de Oviedo and Tomás de Arana, the oidores,
the nuns of Santa Clara, and two other families. In the Jesuit square remained
the members of that order and some other persons. Under the porch
of Santo Domingo were some monks and a few seculars. In the potrero of
the apostolic missionaries were six religious and a few others. There were a
few more at Jocotenango. Arana, Relacion Estragos Guat., 380-98.




[XXXVII‑25]  The bishop, on one occasion of unusual alarm, being sick in bed, was
brought to the centre of the plaza mayor by the hands of the president himself,
who remained steadfastly in the city, and, with others, rendered whatever
assistance was in his power. Id., 398.




[XXXVII‑26] Arévalo, Col. Doc. Antig., 146-8, contains the lengthy document in
extenso, in addition to its recital of the dire consequences of the visitations.
Arana's report of the matter is briefly referred to in Alegre, Hist. Comp.
Jesus, iii. 179. See also Juarros, Guat., i. 208-9; and ii. 208; Alzate, Gaceta
Literatura, iii. 442; Album Mexicano, i. 418.




[XXXVII‑27]  It was especially prayed that Indians might be allowed to work on the
indigo plantations, this being the chief reliance of the provinces of Guatemala.
Arévalo, Col. Doc. Antig., 148, 151-2.




[XXXVII‑28]  In Escamilla, Not. Cur. de Guat., 6, he is styled D. Echevers y Subija.
He had been chamberlain to his Majesty and was a knight of Calatrava.




[XXXVII‑29]  Alluding to these disturbances, we find in Gac. Mex., Jan. 1728, and in
Arévalo, Compend., 5-6, that these riots were suppressed by the prudent determination
and dignified but firm measures of the marques de Casa Fuerte,
viceroy of New Spain.




[XXXVII‑30]  In this instance the alcaldes were deprived of their offices by the king,
and made to pay a fine of a thousand reales de ocho. Providencias Reales,
MS., 300-9.




[XXXVII‑31]  In 1723 Bishop Juan Bautista Álvarez de Toledo was succeeded by Nicolás
Cárlos Gomez de Cervantes. During the administration of the former
the king had found it necessary to issue a cédula, dated November 15, 1717,
ordering that no new churches, convents, or hospitals should be founded without
his permission, since they were already so numerous as to interfere with
each other's usefulness. Providencias Reales, MS., 207-8.




[XXXVII‑32]  Among other charges made against the clergy of this period may be
mentioned the following: sick persons were compelled to go to the church to
receive extreme unction, many dying on the road thither; Indians were compelled
to marry at a tender age in order to increase their contributions; fraternities
were organized, to the members of which great pecuniary loss was
occasioned; curates absented themselves without permission, and the priestly
office was sold to the highest bidder. Ordenes de la Corona, MS., iv. 155-7.




[XXXVII‑33]  Up to 1730 the tithes collected in the bishopric had never exceeded 3,000
pesos; but from that time they increased, until in 1750 they amounted to 30,000,
and ten years after they were estimated at 60,000 pesos. Escamilla, Not. Cur. de
Guat., 78. Pedro Pardo de Figueroa, seventeenth bishop and first archbishop
of Guatemala, was born in Lima of noble parentage. He assumed the religious
habit of the Franciscans at the age of sixteen. Having filled the chairs
of philosophy and theology, he was sent by his order to the courts of Madrid
and Rome, occupying the position of secretary-general of his order. He was
elected bishop of Guatemala in 1735, and on the 13th of September of the
same year was consecrated by the archiepiscopal viceroy of New Spain, Juan
Antonio de Vizarron y Eguiarreta. In these dates the Concil. Prov., 1-2,
297, is followed according to Juarros, Guat., i. 291. Figueroa was consecrated
on September 8, 1736, and on Nov. 18th Manuel Falla, precentor of
the cathedral, took possession of it in his name. On the 22d of September
1737 the bishop made his public entry into the cathedral. Escamilla, Not. Cur.
de Guat., 16, confirms Juarros.




[XXXVII‑34]  Dec. 17, 1740, the king decided that at all receptions of bishops the two
alcaldes should occupy the chairs of the dean and archdeacon in the choir.
Arévalo, Col. Doc. Antig., 9-13.




[XXXVII‑35] Concil. Prov., 1-2, 297-8. Juarros, Guat., i. 292, states that the bull
was issued in December 1743. A copy of it is given in Nueva España, Breve
Resúmen, 370-5.




[XXXVII‑36]  Two prominent bishops of Honduras maybe mentioned: Antonio Guadalupe
Lopez Portillo, a native of Guadalajara and delegate to the general council
held at Rome in 1723, Figueroa, Vindicias, MS., 75, and Francisco Molina
who was elected in 1743; but of the events of their administrations no records
exist.




[XXXVII‑37] Guat., Sto Domingo en 1724, 22-4.




[XXXVII‑38]  The following is a copy of this curious edict: 'Vengan sobre ellos, y á
cada vna de ellos, la ira, y maldicion de Dios todo poderoso, y de la Gloriosa
Vírgen Santa María su Madre, y de los Bienaventurados Apostoles San Pedro,
y San Pablo, y de todos los Santos del Cielo. Y vengan sobre ellos todas las
plagas de Egypto, y las maldiciones que vinieron sobre el Rey Pharaon, y sus
gentes por que no obedecieron, y cumplieron las Mandamientos divinales; y
sobre aquellas cinco Ciudades de Sodoma, y Gomarra, y sobre Datàn, y Abiròn,
que vivos los tragó la tierra, por el pecado de la inobediencia, que contra
Dios Nuestro Señor cometieron; y sean malditos en su comer, y beber, y en
su velar, y dormir, en su levantar, y andar; en su vivir y morir, y siempre
estèn endurecidos en su pecado; el diablo esté á su mano derecha; quando
fueren en juizio siempre sean condenados; sus dias sean pocos, y malos; sus
bienes, y hazienda sean traspassados en los estraños; sus hijos sean huerfanos,
y siempre estèn en necesidad.' Ordenes de la Corona, MS., vi. 143-4.




[XXXVII‑39]  The northern limit of the government of Guatemala was established
as early as 1549. At this date the licentiate Gasca, commissioned by the
viceroy of New Spain, and aided by president Cerrato, of Guatemala, fixed
as the boundary between New Spain the provinces subject to the audiencia
of the Confines, 'a line beginning at the bar of Tonala, in 16° north latitude,
and running thence in the direction of the gulf of Mexico, between the towns
of Tapana and Maquilapa, leaving the former on the left and the latter on
the right, to a point opposite San Miguel Chimalapa; thence turning and
running as far as the Mijes Mountain, situated in 17° 21' of the same latitude;
thence to the town of Sumazintla (modern spelling Usumasinta), situated
on the river of the same name; thence following up this river to a point
opposite Huehuetlan, in 15° 30' of the same latitude, and thence to Cape
Three Points in the Gulf of Honduras.' In 1599 the line was again changed,
leaving to Guatemala the territory lying between 8° and 18°, more or less,
north latitude. In 1678 another change was made by the viceroy of New
Spain, which took from the captain-generalcy of Guatemala many towns on
the coast, as far as the river Huehuetlan, and also extended the boundary of
Yucatan. Finally, upon the establishment of the intendencias in 1787, the
boundary line was again fixed, and the captain-generalcy of Guatemala made
to include the territory within 7° 54' and 17° 49' north latitude. These limits
were confirmed by subsequent commissions in 1792, 1794, and 1797, and
adopted by the Spanish government in its map of 1802. Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin,
3da ép., iii. 78-9. Although these boundaries were approved by the crown,
the exact location of the dividing line between Chiapas and New Spain appears
to be a matter of dispute among many authorities. Pineda, Descripcion
Geog., 17; Larrainzar, Hist. Soconusco, 1-2.




[XXXVII‑40] Guat., Apunt., 8. The Nueva España, Breve Resúmen, MS., ii. 349, says,
'it extends for more than 300 leagues along the coast of the South Sea,
but in a straight line from east to west it is but 240, its greatest width
being 180;' and again, 'from the limits of Tehuantepec, the last of the provinces
of New Spain, to the Escudo de Veraguas, the limits of the kingdom of
Tierra Firme (via the cities of Santiago, Leon, Nicoya, Cartago, Boruca), it
is 650 leagues.'




[XXXVII‑41] Nueva España, Breve Resúmen, MS., ii. 349.




[XXXVII‑42] Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin, 3da ép., iii. 78-9. In the enumeration of
provinces but twelve are mentioned, that of Guatemala being omitted also.
Eco de España, Aug. 27, 1853; García, Reseña Geog., 7.




[XXXVII‑43]  A junta of ministers was appointed by the king, whose duty it was to
oversee the actions of the various viceroys, presidents, etc. This junta gave
instructions to the regents. Cedulario, MS., i. 34-6; iii. 81-91. The functions
of the regents are described in Reales Cédulas, MS., ii. 159. Previous
to arriving at their place of duty the regent was to notify the ruling authority,
president, viceroy, etc., and they were required to meet him one league
from the capital. The archbishop and clergy were required to call upon him.
The enumeration of their duties fills 78 articles.




[XXXVII‑44]  After Herrera came Juan Antonio de Uruñuela, a knight of the order of
Cárlos III.; Juan José de Villalengua y Marfil, minister of the supreme council
of the Indies; Ambrosio Cerdán, knight of the royal order of the Immaculate
Concepcion; Manuel Castillo Negrete, and José Bernardo Asteguieta y
Sarralde. Juarros, Compendio, 356. According to Gomez, Diario, 151, the
second regent was Orihuela, actual oidor of the audiencia of Mexico when
appointed to this office.




[XXXVII‑45]  In 1767 the salaries of the various officials were: governor, captain-general,
and president of the audiencia, 5,000 ducats; the four oidores, and
the fiscal of the audiencia, each 750,000 maravedís; the royal accountant
and treasurer, each 300,000 maravedís.




[XXXVII‑46]  'De èstas, quatro tenian titulo de Gobíerno, que eran: Comayagua,
Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Soconusco; Alcaldías Mayores, San Salvador,
Ciudad Real, Tegucigalpa, Zonzonate, Verapaz, Suchiltepeques, Nicoya,
Amatique, y las Minas de San Andrés de Zaragoza; Corregimientos, Totonicapán,
Quezaltenango, Atitán, Tecpanatitán ó Sololá, Escuintla, Guazacapán,
Chiquimula, Acasaguastlan, el Realejo, Matagalpa, Moninbo, Chontales,
Quesalguaque, Tencoa, Quepo, Chirripo, Pacaca y Ujarraz, y el Valle de
Guatemala.' The governors, and the alcaldes of the first six alcaldías
mayores named, were appointed by the crown; the president of the audiencia
making the appointments for two years, to the remaining districts, except
that of the Valley of Guatemala, which was conferred by the Ayuntamiento
of Santiago on their common alcaldes, who with the title of corregidores
exercised the office alternately for six months each. Juarros, Guat., ii. 37-8.




[XXXVII‑47]  The corregimientos of Quepo, Chirripo, Ujarráz, and Pacaca, owing to
the decreasing population of Costa Rica, were incorporated into that government;
the corregimiento of Tencoa was absorbed by the government of
Comayagua; and to the government of Nicaragua were united the corregimientos
of Moninbo, Chontales, and Quesalguaque. Juarros, Guat., ii. 38.




[XXXVII‑48]  In the beginning of the century the alcaldías mayores of Amatique and
San Andrés de la Nueva Zaragoza were suppressed; a few years later the
corregimientos of Escuintla and Guazacapan were consolidated to form the
alcaldía mayor of Escuintla; and that of Sololá was formed of the corregimientos
of Atitlan and Tecpanatitlan; in 1753 the alcaldías mayores of Chimaltenango
and Sacatepeques were formed of the corregimiento of the valley of
Mexico; in 1760 the corregimiento of Acasaguastlan was annexed to that of
Chiquimula; and in 1764 the provinces of Chiapa and Zoques was separated
from the alcaldía mayor of Ciudad Real and formed into that of Tuxtla.
Juarros, Guat., ii. 38. About the middle of the century, according to Nueva
España, Breve Resúmen, MS., ii. 349, there were nineteen governments in
nine provinces and ten districts; and Cadena, Breve Descrip., 9, writing in
1774, says there were twenty-four governments and alcaldías mayores.




[XXXVII‑49]  As intendencias were first established in Mexico their functions are described
in the history of that country.




[XXXVII‑50] Guat., Apunt., 106. According to Juarros, Guat., ii. 38-9, the districts
of Realejo, Matagalpa, and Nicoya were united to the government of Nicaragua
to form the intendencia of that name; the alcaldía mayor of Tegucigalpa
was united to the government of Comayagua to form the intendencia of Honduras;
and to the government of Soconusco were united the alcaldías mayores
of Ciudad Real and Tuxtla to form the intendencia of Chiapas. The fourth
intendencia was San Salvador. Forty subdelegaciones are by this author assigned
to the four intendencias, as follows: To the intendencia of Nicaragua
six: Granada, Realejo, Subtiava, Segovia, Matagalpa, Nicaragua; to the intendencia
of Chiapas eleven: Ocozingo, Simojovel, Palenque, Tonalá, Soconusco,
Tila, Istacomitán, Tuxtla, Guista, Comitán, and San Andrés; to the intendencia
of Honduras nine: Gracias á Dios, Olancho, Olanchito, San Pedro
Sula, Yoro, Santa Bárbara, Trujillo, Tegucigalpa, Choluteca; and to the
intendencia of San Salvador fourteen: San Miguel, San Vicente, Santa Ana
Grande, Chalatenango, Olocuilta, Cojutepeque, Texutla, Opico, Metapas,
Usulutan, Gotera, San Alexo, Sacatecoluca, Sensuntepeque. Under this former
system in later times all appointments were made by the crown, the
president of the audiencia having the power to make temporary appointments
only. Usually, however, the presidents were authorized to fill all the offices
under the government and in the city, some ad interim, others permanently.
After the establishment of the intendencias the president had the privilege
of appointing as subdelegado, one of three persons proposed to him by the
intendente, whenever a subdelegacion became vacant.




[XXXVII‑51]  José Vazquez Prego Montados y Sotomayor, of the order of Santiago,
lieutenant-general of the royal armies, and commander-general of the forces
before Gibraltar, assumed office January 17, 1752. He died at Guatemala
June 24, 1753, from the effects of a cold contracted during an official visit to
Omoa, whose fortress he had ordered built. From the date of his death the
senior oidor, Juan de Velarde y Cienfuegos, governed until October 17th of
the following year, when his successor, Alonso de Arcos y Moreno, arrived.
He was a knight of the order of Santiago, mariscal de campo, and subsequently
lieutenant-general of the royal armies. This latter appointment,
however, did not arrive until after his death, which occurred October 27, 1760.
The oidor Velarde again assumed charge of the presidency, and when relieved
in the following year was transferred to the audiencia of Mexico, subsequently
to that of Granada, and eventually became a member of the council of the
Indies. On the 14th of June 1761 Alonso Fernandez de Heredia, mariscal
de campo, took possession of the presidency. He had already served as governor
in the provinces of Nicaragua, Honduras, Florida, and Yucatan. Joaquin
de Aguirre y Oquendo was appointed to succeed him, but the latter
dying at Guatemala April 9, 1764, when about to take possession of office,
Heredia continued in charge till Dec. 3, 1765, when he was relieved by Pedro
de Salazar y Herrera, Natera y Mendoza. He remained in Guatemala, where
he died March 19, 1772, while undergoing his residencia. President Salazar
was a knight of the order of Monteza, commander of Vinaroz and Benicarlo,
captain of grenadiers of the royal Spanish guards, and mariscal de campo
of the royal armies. Like President Sotomayor, he, too, experienced the fatal
effects of the climate of Omoa, for he died May 10, 1771, from a disease contracted
while on a visit to that port. His successor, President Mayorga, did
not arrive till June 1773, the government in the interim being administered
by the senior oidor, Juan Gonzales Bustillo y Villaseñor. This officer was
subsequently transferred to the audiencia of Mexico, thence to the India
House at Cádiz, and finally to the supreme council of the Indies. Juarros,
Guat., i. 270-1; Arévalo, Col. Doc. Antig., 157-9; Escamilla, Not. Cur., 7;
Cadena, Breve Descrip., 26.




[XXXVII‑52]  'It stood under a cupola, supported by 16 columns, faced with tortoise-shell,
and adorned with medallions in bronze of exquisite workmanship; on
the cornices were statues of the virgin and the 12 apostles.' Juarros, Guat.,
i. 86.




[XXXVII‑53]  In 1795 it was 23,434. Juarros, Guat. (ed. Lond., 1823), 497.




[XXXVII‑54] Cadena, Breve Descrip., 4-9; Juarros, Guat., i. 85-7.
719




[XXXVII‑55]  The Jesuit church suffered most. Alegre, Hist. Comp. Jesus, iii. 295-6.
See also Juarros, Guat. (ed. Lond., 1823), 154; Escamilla, Not. Cur., 17; Cadena,
Breve Descrip., 7, 11.




[XXXVII‑56] Juarros, Guat. (ed. Lond., 1823), 154. According to Cadena, Breve Descrip.,
11, the two shocks in 1765 occurred on June 21st and October 24th,
respectively.




[XXXVII‑57] Arévalo, Col. Doc. Antig., 157-9.




[XXXVII‑58]  During the alarm caused by the threatened outbreak the authorities of
Santiago armed a force, and the royal officials had their valuables removed to
one of the churches for safety. Before this excitement had subsided a Jesuit
priest was cruelly murdered in the jail by three negro criminals whom he was
confessing. The jailer gave the alarm by ringing the bell of the jail, and
thereupon the people, in the belief that a riot had broken out, seized their
arms and hastened to the principal square, even the women flocking thither
with stones. The three negroes were captured after a determined resistance,
and one of them having been killed in the scuffle the other two were hanged
the same afternoon. A few days later a Dominican was found murdered in
his cell. Escamilla, Not. Cur. Guat., MS., 18-19.




[XXXVII‑59] Iturriaga, El Dolor del Rey.




[XXXVII‑60] Batres, Relacion de las Fiestas.




[XXXVII‑61] Juarros, Guat. (ed. Lond., 1823), 153-4.




[XXXVII‑62]  From the incidents narrated by old residents, eye-witnesses of the
event, and the appearance of the city in his time, Juarros, Guat., ii. 266-8, concludes
that even the official reports of the effect of this earthquake were
grossly exaggerated, probably owing to the interested reports of engineers,
architects, and notaries. He quotes from two pamphlets published at Mexico
in 1574, to show instances of exaggeration in the details of this calamity. In
one that appears in Cadena, Breve Descrip., 40, the statement is made that
trustworthy persons affirmed that during the earthquake they saw the
mighty Volcan de Agua opened from cone to base by the first shocks, and
again united by those that succeeded. This and other vagaries equally absurd,
the effects only of a terrified imagination, form part of every description
of this disaster, but do not necessarily impair the truthfulness of the
account as a whole. The work of Cadena here quoted has been used as the
base of the present account, and from the fact that its author was a prominent
churchman, an eye-witness of the events related, and that his book,
which received the sanction of superior authority, was published within a
year of the occurrence, its trustworthiness can hardly be doubted. The
work, a reprint of the original made in Guatemala in 1858, is a small 12mo
of 56 pages, and describes the events of the period extending from June 11,
1773, to March 10, 1774, including a detailed description of the city of Guatemala,
its destruction, and the measures for its removal up to the last date.
It is written in the usual inflated religious style. The author, Fray Felipe
Cadena, was a Dominican, professor of theology in the university of San
Cárlos, synodal examiner of the archbishopric, and secretary of his order in
Guatemala. There are other accounts, however, whose exaggerations are
gross, and whose narrative could not have been obtained from any reliable
source. According to Russell's Hist. Amer., i. 390, the city of Guatemala,
with 40,000 to 50,000 inhabitants, and nearly 15,000,000 pesos in treasure and
merchandise, was so completely swallowed up in April 1773 that not even a
trace was left of it. Flint's Hist. and Geog. gives the date of the earthquake
as 1779, and says that it was accompanied by terrific and destructive phenomena;
the sea rose from its bed; one volcano poured out boiling water,
another waves of blazing lava; and 8,000 families were swallowed up in a
moment.




[XXXVII‑63]  According to Escamilla, Not. Cur., MS., 25-7, the soldiery were guilty
of pillaging the convents. Succecion chronologica de los Presidentes que han
governado este Reyno de Goatha. Obispos de Goathemala y Noticias Curiosas
Cronologicas destas Indias is the title of a manuscript volume in folio of 78
pages, usually attributed to José María Escamilla. It was begun in 1777.
It opens with a list of the governors up to that date, taken from the cabildo
records of the city of Guatemala. This is followed by a list of bishops and
archbishops, though from what source is not stated. Beginning with the dates
of the discoveries of America and the South Sea and with the conquests of
Mexico, Guatemala, and Peru, a brief chronological list is given of the more important
events in Guatemala and its dependent provinces from 1525 to 1762.
From the latter date until 1779 the events are described with more fulness, especially
the account of the destructive earthquake in 1773, the consequent removal
of the city, and the bitter controversy to which it gave rise. It is
uncertain whether the author was in Guatemala previous to 1777, as the
minuteness with which he describes the events of the preceding four years
may have been the result of information obtained from the residents of the
city. Nor is there anything to indicate the name of the compiler. The
manuscript was presented to the Abbé Brasseur de Bourbourg in 1856 by
Escamilla, according to notes in the handwriting of the abbé on the title-page,
and at the end of the volume, and in his Bibliothèque Mexico-Guatemalienne,
p. 60. Its chief value is the account of the destruction and rebuilding
of Guatemala City.




[XXXVII‑64] Juarros, Guat. (ed. Lond., 1823), 157.




[XXXVII‑65] Arévalo, Col. Doc. Antig., 160-71.




[XXXVII‑66] Escamilla, Not. Cur., MS., 24-65; Juarros, Guat., i. 85-9; ii. 266-72;
Cadena, Breve Descrip., 10-53.




[XXXVII‑67] Juarros, Guat., ii. 353-4; Squier's States Cent. Am., 493-4.




[XXXVII‑68] Juarros, Guat. (ed. Lond., 1823), 157-8.




[XXXVII‑69] Escamilla, Not. Cur., MS., 4.




[XXXVII‑70] Pelaez, Mem. Hist. Guat., iii. 86-94.




[XXXVII‑71] Pelaez, Mem. Hist. Guat., iii. 106-29.




[XXXVII‑72] Arévalo, Col. Doc. Antig., 171-6.




[XXXVII‑73] Juarros, Guat., i. 272-3.




[XXXVII‑74]  He was a native of Granada, precentor, and bishop of Popayan, to
which he was raised in 1740. His appointment to the archbishopric of Guatemala
was dated 1751; his bulls issued January 23, 1752. On the 10th of
May 1753 Doctor Agustin de la Caxiga, chancellor of the cathedral, took
possession in his name, and on the 13th following inducted him into office.
Juarros, Guat., i. 292-3.




[XXXVII‑75]  The manner of proceeding was somewhat summary. The clergyman
who was assigned to the curacy without previous notice suddenly appeared,
accompanied by the alcalde mayor of the district, who gave him possession,
and the friar in charge was compelled to transfer everything to his successors
under inventory. Escamilla, Not. Cur., MS., 20.




[XXXVII‑76] Escamilla, Not. Cur., MS., 20; Juarros, Guat., i. 293.




[XXXVII‑77] Guat., Constit. Coleg. Xpto, i. 292.




[XXXVII‑78] Pineda, in Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin, iii. 348-9.




[XXXVII‑79] Juarros, Guat., i. 292-3; 1776 is given as the date of his death by Concilios
Prov., 1555, 1565, 298; and Alcedo, Dic., ii. 315.




[XXXVII‑80]  A native of Belchite in the kingdom of Aragon, professor of sciences in
the university, and subsequently canon in the cathedral of the city of Saragossa.
He was appointed to the archbishopric of Guatemala in 1767. Juarros,
Guat., i. 294.




[XXXVII‑81]  The motives and nature of this measure are fully treated in my History
of Mexico, this series.




[XXXVII‑82] Escamilla, Not. Cur., MS., 19-20; Jesuits, Colec. Gen., 24, and Pelaez,
Mem. Guat., iii. 66-8, give a somewhat different version. According to
these authorities the decree was given to the alcalde mayor, who notified
the friars at two o'clock in the morning. The statements of Escamilla, who
was present in Guatemala at this time, are to be preferred.




[XXXVII‑83] Escamilla, Not. Cur., MS., 65-74; Juarros, Guat., i. 294-5; Id., Compend.,
292-4.




[XXXVII‑84]  Francos was a native of the Villa of Villavicencio de los Caballeros, and
was canon of the cathedral of Plasencia when appointed to the archbishopric
of Guatemala. He died on the 17th of July 1792. His successors were Don
Juan Felix de Villegas, who ruled from May 8, 1794, to February 3, 1800;
and Don Luis Peñalver y Cárdenas who entered office on June 3, 1802. Juarros,
Guat., i. 295-7. Although Juarros is justly regarded as the chief historian of
the Central American provinces for the conquest and colonial period, he has
failed to describe in a connected form the political, social, and moral development
of those countries during that period. This omission has, in part, been
filled by the assiduous labors of the presbyter Francisco de Paula García
Pelaez. Residing for many years, as parish priest, at the old city of Guatemala,
known as the Antigua, he devoted his leisure time, from 1833 to 1841,
in examining as opportunity permitted the public and private archives of the
province, and in studying the principal ancient and modern writers on that
territory. The result of this research was a work of three volumes in small
quarto, entitled Memorias para la Historia del Antiguo Reyno de Guatemala,
which was published in Guatemala in 1851. It is divided into the aboriginal
and the colonial epochs. The former treats of the origin of the natives and
the degree of civilization they had attained at the time of the conquest, and
consists of a brief and systematically arranged compilation of facts, with the
corresponding references to the authorities from which they were obtained,
each chapter being devoted to a separate topic. This occupies but 32 pages
of the first volume, the remainder of the work being taken up with the
political history of the country to the beginning of the nineteenth century,
and with the general condition and progress of the people and their institutions
from the conquest to 1821. The manner of treatment, though more
connected, is similar to that of the first epoch. The style is terse and clear,
though somewhat dry, as few comments are made, and those of an impartial
nature. It contains a multitude of valuable facts not found elsewhere; yet
Pelaez deplores the incompleteness of his work; for, though he examined
many of the original documents in the public archives of Guatemala, the
want of an assistant to aid him in extracting notes compelled him to leave
the bulk of them untouched. The author subsequently became archbishop
of Guatemala.