The Works of Hubert Howe Bancroft, Volume 7 - History of Central America, Volume 2, 1530-1800

By Author	[ A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z \| Other Symbols ]
By Title	[ A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z \| Other Symbols ]
By Language

Download this book: [ ASCII ]

Look for this book on Amazon

We have new books nearly every day.
If you would like a news letter once a week or once a month fill out this form and we will give you a summary of the books for that week or month by email.

Title: The Works of Hubert Howe Bancroft, Volume 7 - History of Central America, Volume 2, 1530-1800
Author: Bancroft, Hubert Howe
Language: English
As this book started as an ASCII text book there are no pictures available.

*** Start of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "The Works of Hubert Howe Bancroft, Volume 7 - History of Central America, Volume 2, 1530-1800" ***

produced from images generously made available by The
Internet Archive)

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:

Villagutierre and Villagvtierre
Mondo Nuovo and Mondo Nvovo
Villagutierre and Villagvtierre
Aluarado and Alvarado
Gvat. and Guat.
Cogolludo and Cogollvdo
Vetancurt and Vetancvrt.

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:

Esquemelin and Exquemelin are both used, possibly for the same
person.

Castile and Castille are both used, possibly for the same
place.

Fray Zambano and Zambrano are both used, possibly for the
same person.

On page 16, Mama Ocollo should possibly be Mama Ocllo or Occlo.

On page 237, "In 1519 he ordered the council of the Indies to
draw" (date possibly incorrect).

On page 424, mines of Chuluteca should possibly be mines of
Choluteca.

In footnote I-17, "vamrasen en tieren" is a possible printer's
error.

There is possibly text missing from the quote in footnote I-31.

In footnote X-45, Ariat should possibly be Arias.

In footnote X-45, Malapalte should possibly be Malaparte.

In footnote XI-11, "Ia Gottierez" is a possible printer's error.

In footnote XI-11, "ten zy binnen vier dagen" is a possible
printer's error.

The references in footnote XVII-12 and footnote XVII-20 to
Volume ii. of this series should possibly refer to Volume i.

In footnote XVII-35, "mirá que todo lo bueno que bacare" is a
possible printer's error.

The reference to "this volume" in footnote XVIII-31, is
ambiguous. A map of Guatemala can be found in the current
volume.

In footnote XXVI-24, "en gaossir" should possibly be
"engrossir."

In footnote XXVII-6, Casttell should possibly be Castell.

In footnote XXVII-15, Governor Mercedo should possibly be
Governor Mercado.

The sentence "no hicesters enterar la suma que el cinsutacto,
y corneríco de Lima so obligo a suplir por imaginaria, á lo
epetwo del registro que salió de aquella ciudad" in footnote
XXVII-22 was corrected to "no hicesteis enterar la suma que
el Consulado, y comercio de Lima se obligo a suplir por
ynmaxinaria, a lo efectibo del rexistro que salio de aquella
ciudad."

In footnote XXXVII-46, Moninbo should possibly be Monimbo (Nicaragua).

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

Accents and other diacritics are inconsistently used.

Italic text is denoted by _underscores_.

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 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 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

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

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

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

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

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

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 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 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

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

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 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 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?

* * * * *

[Sidenote: 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 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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]

[Sidenote: 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 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.

[Illustration: PERU.]

[Sidenote: 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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. 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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, 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 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 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.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: 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 of the incas, or lords of Peru, was greatly
extended.

[Sidenote: 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 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 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.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: 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]

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, 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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.

[Sidenote: MEETING WITH ATAHUALPA.]

As the horsemen draw up before the royal quarters 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." 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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, 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. 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]

[Sidenote: 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] 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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. 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]

[Sidenote: 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 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 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.

[Sidenote: GATHERING THE GOLD.]

Time passed wearily with the imprisoned monarch. The influx of gold at
first rapid, soon fell off, and unfortunately 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 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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, 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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, 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 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]

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.

[Sidenote: 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 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 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.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: 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 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 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 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.

[Illustration: CASTILLA DEL ORO.]

[Sidenote: 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 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 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.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: 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 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.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: 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. 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.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: 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 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 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 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 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.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: 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, 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. 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.

[Sidenote: 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, chanting his first mass there on the 19th of
January 1543.[II‑18]

* * * * *

[Sidenote: 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.

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 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.

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, 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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
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.

[Sidenote: 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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.

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.

[Sidenote: 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
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 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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 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]

* * * * *

[Sidenote: 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
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.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: 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 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]

[Illustration: 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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]

[Sidenote: 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 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, 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]

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 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]

[Sidenote: 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. 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 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.

[Illustration: GUATEMALA.]

[Sidenote: 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 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]

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]

[Sidenote: SIEGE OF THE STRONGHOLD.]

At the head of a numerous and well appointed 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 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]

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.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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.

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.

[Sidenote: 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.

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 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: 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, 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
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.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: 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 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 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]

* * * * *

[Sidenote: 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 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 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.

[Sidenote: WAR AT CHICHICASTENANGO.]

Orduña, recognizing that his indiscretion had been the cause of this
disaster, hastened to repair his mistake. 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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. 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 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 to scale the rampart, they were repelled by lance-thrusts, or
crushed under falling rocks.

[Sidenote: 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]

[Sidenote: 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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]

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 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.

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.

[Sidenote: 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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 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
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.

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]

[Sidenote: 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 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 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."

[Sidenote: 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
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 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.

[Sidenote: 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
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.

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, 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.

[Sidenote: 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
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 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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]

[Sidenote: 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
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 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 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]

[Sidenote: 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 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]

* * * * *

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.

[Sidenote: 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 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.

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.

[Sidenote: 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 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 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 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.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: 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 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.

[Illustration: HONDURAS.]

[Sidenote: 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 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, 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: DISTRESS AT TRUJILLO.]

On receiving news of the seditious tumults which 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 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]

[Sidenote: 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, 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 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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] 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.

[Sidenote: 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
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 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]

[Sidenote: 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 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
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."

[Sidenote: 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 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.

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.

[Sidenote: 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 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 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] and applied to the support of the churches and
hospitals of Nicaragua.

[Sidenote: 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 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.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: 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 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]

[Sidenote: 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 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 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.

[Illustration: 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.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: 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 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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, 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]

* * * * *

[Sidenote: 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 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]

[Sidenote: 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 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 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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 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.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: 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
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]

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 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.

[Illustration: COSTA RICA, 1545.]

[Sidenote: 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, 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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 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 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, 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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]

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.

[Sidenote: 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, 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, 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] 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]

[Sidenote: 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 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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 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 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]

[Sidenote: 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 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 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]

[Sidenote: THE ADELANTADO'S PROGENY.]

Alvarado left no legitimate offspring, for though he 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]

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]

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]

[Sidenote: 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] The escribano Diego de Godoy was his second in
command.

[Sidenote: 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 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, 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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 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.

[Sidenote: CHAMULAN STRONGHOLD.]

On the 30th of March, about ten o'clock in the 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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 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]

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.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: 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
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]

[Sidenote: 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 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] 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.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: 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 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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]

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.

[Sidenote: 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 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.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: SLAVERY AND DEATH.]

In Honduras slaves were still kidnapped, and sold 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, 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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]

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.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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
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
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.

[Sidenote: 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 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
purpose for which each was too often striving—that of gathering into
his coffers the gold of his Majesty's vassals.[XIV‑20]

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 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]

* * * * *

[Sidenote: 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. 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 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 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]

* * * * *

[Sidenote: 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 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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. 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.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: 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, 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 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. Bachicao replied that he intended but to land his passengers and
revictual his fleet.

[Sidenote: 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
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 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]

[Sidenote: 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 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]

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.

[Sidenote: 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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
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.

[Sidenote: 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 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 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 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 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]

[Sidenote: 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 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]

[Sidenote: 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 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.

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 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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; 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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]

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.

[Sidenote: 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 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.

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 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: 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 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 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
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.

[Sidenote: 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 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.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: 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 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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. 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 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 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.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: 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. 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]

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 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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
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.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: INTEROCEANIC HIGHWAY.]

Montejo now turned his attention to the construction of roads and the
development of the resources 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 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]

[Sidenote: 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]

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 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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 being fixed at five hundred thousand maravedís, though soon
afterward he petitioned that his stipend be increased to two thousand
ducats.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: 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 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.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: CHURCH AND STATE.]

In addition to Las Casas and Valdivieso, the latter of whom was
sojourning at the capital awaiting consecration 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. 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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,
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.

[Sidenote: 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 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 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.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: 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 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 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.

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, 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, 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]

* * * * *

[Sidenote: DESTRUCTION OF SANTIAGO.]

But it was not fated that this unfortunate lady should long enjoy her
high position. Her doom with 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 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]

[Sidenote: 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 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]

[Sidenote: 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 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]

[Sidenote: 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 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]

[Illustration: 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 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]

[Sidenote: 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 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 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]

* * * * *

[Sidenote: 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
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]

[Sidenote: 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 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
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]

[Sidenote: 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 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]

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.

[Sidenote: 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 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]

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.

[Illustration: ARMS OF THE CITY OF CHIAPAS.]

[Illustration: CHIAPAS.]

[Sidenote: 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 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
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.

[Sidenote: ARBITRARY MEASURES.]

In the enslavement of the natives, the settlers of 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 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 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]

[Sidenote: REVOCATION OF THE NEW LAWS.]

In 1547 Las Casas embarked for Spain. The revocation of the new laws of
which he must have heard 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
conscience. The appeal was not in vain, and he thus paved the way for
the final emancipation of the natives.

[Sidenote: 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 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]

[Sidenote: 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]

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 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 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]

[Sidenote: 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]

* * * * *

[Sidenote: 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 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 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]

[Sidenote: 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 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 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 Mercenarios, who are described as being detrimental
rather than beneficial to the cause of the church.[XX‑33]

[Sidenote: 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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]

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]

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]

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.

[Sidenote: 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 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.

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.

[Sidenote: 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 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]

[Sidenote: 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]

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.

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.

[Sidenote: 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 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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.

[Illustration: LACANDON WAR.]

[Sidenote: 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 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 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]

[Sidenote: 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 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 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]

[Sidenote: 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 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 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]

* * * * *

[Sidenote: 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 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]

[Sidenote: ADMINISTRATION OF GOVERNMENT.]

Doctor Barros de San Millan, oidor of the audiencia of Panamá, was
commissioned by the crown to remove 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]

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 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]

[Sidenote: 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 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, 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]

* * * * *

[Sidenote: 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 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 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]

[Sidenote: 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 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.

[Sidenote: FIGHTING FRIARS.]

In 1575 Córdoba set out on his official visits, and everywhere met with
complaints from the natives 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 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.

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.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: 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 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 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.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: 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 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]

* * * * *

[Sidenote: 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 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]

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.

[Sidenote: 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 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.

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. 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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] 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.

[Sidenote: 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; 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] 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]

[Sidenote: 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 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]

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 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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. 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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 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]

[Sidenote: 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 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]

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.

[Sidenote: 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 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 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] 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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."

[Sidenote: THEY CROSS THE ISTHMUS.]

Drake remained for several weeks in his lurking place among the islands.
At length the welcome 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]

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 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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."

[Sidenote: 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 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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]

[Sidenote: 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 and flocked to the shore to welcome their
brave countrymen, who thus returned to their native land with so much
gold and glory.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: 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 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 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
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.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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]

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
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.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: 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 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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
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 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]

[Sidenote: 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 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]

[Sidenote: 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 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 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 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]

* * * * *

[Sidenote: 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, 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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 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 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.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: 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 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.

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.

[Sidenote: 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 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, "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]

* * * * *

[Sidenote: ECCLESIASTICAL AFFAIRS.]

The ecclesiastical records of the province during the seventeenth
century contain few incidents worthy of 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]

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 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]

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.

[Sidenote: 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]

* * * * *

[Sidenote: TALAMANCA AND TOLOGALPA.]

The district of Talamanca, which lay on the coast 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 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
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.

[Sidenote: 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 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.

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 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.

[Sidenote: 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,
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 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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
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.

[Sidenote: 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 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. 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.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: MANSVELT AND MORGAN.]

About the year 1664 a noted buccaneer named 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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]

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 known as vino de Aljarafe,[XXVII‑3] and the other
forbids trafficking in negro slaves.[XXVII‑4]

* * * * *

[Sidenote: 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
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 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."

[Sidenote: 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 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 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 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 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.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: 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
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 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: 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 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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 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 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.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: 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 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 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.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: 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.

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. 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.

[Sidenote: 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
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 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
against the castle walls, thinking thus to shield his men from the
weapons of the Spaniards.

[Sidenote: 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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 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."

[Sidenote: 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, 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
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 he now found at his disposal a fleet of
thirty-seven ships and a force of two thousand fighting men.[XXVIII‑7]

[Sidenote: 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 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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
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.

[Sidenote: 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 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.

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.

[Sidenote: 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 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 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."

[Sidenote: 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 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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, 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 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 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 virgin, "who had brought him off safe from amidst so many
thousand bullets."[XXVIII‑18]

[Sidenote: 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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]

[Sidenote: 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 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 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
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.

[Sidenote: 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. 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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.

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.

[Sidenote: 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 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 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.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: 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 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.

[Sidenote: OVERLAND MARCH.]

However perilous this expedition may appear, there were those among
the rovers whose hopes soared 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. 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
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 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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
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 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]

[Sidenote: 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, 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 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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. 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]

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]

[Sidenote: 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 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 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."

[Sidenote: 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]

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] 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]

[Sidenote: 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 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.

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 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]

[Sidenote: CROSSING THE CONGO.]

As some of the company did not appear in condition 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
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, 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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 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]

[Sidenote: 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 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]

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 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.

[Sidenote: 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
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]

[Sidenote: 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 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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.

[Sidenote: TOWNS ABANDONED.]

On the 14th of March, having completed the construction of the piraguas,
they left Pueblo in two 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] 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, who had only four killed and eight
wounded,[XXX‑49] while the loss of the Spaniards was severe.

[Sidenote: 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 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. 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 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]

* * * * *

[Sidenote: 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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
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,
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]

[Sidenote: 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
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 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]

* * * * *

[Sidenote: 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 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 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_.

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.

[Sidenote: WILLIAM PATERSON.]

In June 1695 a number of wealthy Scotchmen under the leadership of
William Paterson[XXXI‑1] obtained 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, 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]

[Sidenote: 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, 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 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 was not even consulted, his reasonable request that an
inventory of supplies be taken before setting sail being refused.

[Sidenote: 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.

[Sidenote: 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
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 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
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]

* * * * *

[Sidenote: 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 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.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: 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 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 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]

[Sidenote: 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. 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 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 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.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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 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 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.

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.

[Sidenote: 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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 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.

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.

[Sidenote: 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 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 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, 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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 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.

[Illustration: 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] 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.

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.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: 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 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 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.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: 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 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 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.

[Illustration: NELSON'S AND POLSON'S EXPEDITION, SAN JUAN.]

[Sidenote: 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 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 indeed, and but for their bravery and fidelity it is
probable the British would have perished to a man.

[Sidenote: 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
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 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.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: PACIFICATION OF THE GUATUSOS.]

In 1750 Father Zepeda left Guatemala for the purpose of exploring this
region. He followed the entire 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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. 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 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]

* * * * *

[Sidenote: 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 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, 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 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.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: 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 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]

[Sidenote: 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. 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.

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 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 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]

[Sidenote: 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, 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]

[Illustration: BELIZE.]

[Sidenote: 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 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 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 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]

[Sidenote: 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 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
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]

[Sidenote: 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 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]

[Sidenote: 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 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 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 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]

[Sidenote: 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 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]

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 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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 Dios, and an endowed college under
the patronage of the king.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: 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, 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.

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.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: 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
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.

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.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: 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]

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. 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.

[Sidenote: 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.

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.

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 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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 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.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: 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, 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, 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]

[Sidenote: 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, 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]

[Sidenote: 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 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 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]

[Sidenote: PRESIDENT BARRIOS.]

On January 26, 1688, President Barrios y Leal took the office.[XXXV‑36]
His arrival was unattended by the usual 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, 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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 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.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: 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 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 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.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: 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 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. 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.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: 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]

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]

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.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: 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 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]

[Sidenote: 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 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.

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 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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
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.

[Sidenote: 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 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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, 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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]

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.

[Sidenote: 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 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.

[Sidenote: SUBMISSION OF CAN.]

Although Bichab found the Itzas mustering for war, the canek expressed
his wish to enter into peace 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 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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.

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.

[Sidenote: 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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. 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 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]

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.

[Sidenote: 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
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 that the padre had little
difficulty in effecting his object.[XXXVII‑13]

[Sidenote: 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 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 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]

[Sidenote: 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]

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]

* * * * *

[Sidenote: 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. 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 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 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]

[Sidenote: 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 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]

[Sidenote: 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 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]

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.

[Sidenote: 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 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 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 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]

[Sidenote: CORREGIMIENTOS ABOLISHED.]

About 1660 eight of the corregimientos were abolished and united to the
governments,[XXXVII‑47] and from the 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 of Martin de Mayorga at the latter date,[XXXVII‑51]
however, began one of the most eventful periods in the history of the
country.

[Sidenote: 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.

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 death was received in Guatemala March 25, 1759,
and on the 29th of the following June pompous funeral ceremonies were
celebrated.[XXXVII‑59]

[Sidenote: 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, and above all the loud
wailings of the terror-stricken people, who, collected in the squares
and streets, vainly implored divine protection.

[Sidenote: 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]

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]

[Sidenote: 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 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 the crown, appear to have availed nothing.[XXXVII‑65]
The archbishop, however, and the ecclesiastics still remained in the
ruined city.

[Sidenote: 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 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 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]

[Sidenote: 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 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]

[Sidenote: 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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; 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
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.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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.

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.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: 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 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 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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 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, 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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, 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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, 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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, 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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
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 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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.

[Sidenote: 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 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 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.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: 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.; 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_, _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.; _Id._,
_Vindication_, 1 et seq.; _Touron_, _Hist. Gen. Am._, v. 193-214,
249-97; vi. 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. 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._,
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:

[Illustration: '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.

[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.

*** End of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "The Works of Hubert Howe Bancroft, Volume 7 - History of Central America, Volume 2, 1530-1800" ***

Home