Chapter XXVII: Revolt of the Cakchiquels (7)

[XVII-15] Cortés did not overlook the application of the
act to his own escapade with Velazquez. In complaining
to the emperor, he assumes that many will regard it as a
_pena peccati_, but explains that Olid had no share in this
expedition, as he himself had had in the one from Cuba.
With respect to the present fleet, he regretted not so much
the loss of 40,000 pesos de oro as the injury the rebellion
must cause the imperial interest, in delay of exploration
and settlement and in excesses against Indians. Further,
he remarks pointedly, such revolts will deter loyal and
enterprising men from embarking their fortune in the service
of the crown. _Cartas_, 337.

[XVII-16] _Herrera_, dec. iii. lib. v. cap. xiii. Cortés,
_Cartas_, 336, calls him 'primo,' which may bear the same
interpretation. Oviedo, iii. 517, calls him brother-in-law.

[XVII-17] Fitted out with sails and rigging of vessels
seized from traders, and with pressed crews; the fleet was
ordered to intercept any communication and aid for Honduras.
_Testimonio_, in _Pacheco_ and _Cárdenas_, _Col. Doc._, xii.
274-7. They were all the vessels that could be obtained, it
seems. One or both of the small craft deserted and took refuge
in Cuba, there to leave testimony. See also _Relacion de los
Oidores_, in _id._, xiv. 43; _Cortés_, _Cartas_, 336. Bernal
Diaz places the number of vessels at five and the soldiers at
100, naming 3 conquistadores. _Hist. Verdad._, 194. Out of
the 150 the soldiers probably did number 100, and there may
have been five vessels, for Herrera states that Cortés sent
a ship with stores under Pedro Gonzalez to follow Casas. Off
the very coast of Honduras he was overtaken by a storm which
drove him back to Pánuco with the belief that the fleet must
have perished, dec. iii. lib. v. cap. xiii. Gomara, _Hist.
Mex._, 243, mentions only two vessels.

[XVII-18] 'Assi estuuieron todo aquel dia,' says Herrera,
_loc. cit._, who leaves the reader to suppose that at one time
the advantage leant to Olid's side and caused Casas to hoist
a flag of truce which was disregarded; but other authorities
do not take this view.

[XVII-19] Four soldiers. _Bernal Diaz_, _Hist. Verdad._, 194;
without loss, says Herrera.

[XVII-20] 'O esperando con intenciõ de se ir a otra baia a
desembarcar,' is one of the suppositions of _Bernal Diaz_,
_Hist. Verdad._, 194. 'Briones ... en teniendo auiso de
Francisco de las Casas, se apartò de Christoual de Olid,
y tomò la voz de Cortes.' _Herrera_, _ubi sup._ It appears
that Briones had by this time gained an advantage over Gil
Gonzalez, capturing over 50 of his men; but he now released
them under certain conditions. _Cortés_, _Cartas_, 459. Bernal
Diaz assumes that Briones' revolt occurred later and that he
set out for Mexico.

[XVII-21] After convincing him by means of two or three days
of exposure and starvation, as Bernal Diaz and Gomara seem to
intimate. Herrera assumes that he won him by kind treatment.

[XVII-22] After the defeat by Briones, Gil Gonzalez seems to
have become bewildered. Leaving a few followers at Nito under
Diego de Armenta, he embarked in three vessels, touched at San
Gil to hang Francisco Riquelme and a clergyman for having led
a revolt, and thence proceeded to Choloma. Owing to Briones'
defection his capture was intrusted to Juan Ruano. _Herrera_,
dec. iii. lib. v. cap. xiii. The seizure was effected with the
loss of his nephew Gil de Ávila and eight soldiers. _Bernal
Diaz_, _Hist. Verdad._, 194; _Cortés_, _Cartas_, 459. Oviedo
assumes that Gonzalez was entrapped by false promises, iii.
188.

[XVII-23] 'Con un cuchillo de escribanías, que otra arma
no tenia ... diciendo: "Ya no es tiempo de sufrir mas este
tirano."' _Cortés_, _Cartas_, 460.

[XVII-24] 'Aqui del Rey, e de Cortés contra este tirano, que
ya no es tiempo de mas sufrir sus tiranias.' _Bernal Diaz_,
_Hist. Verdad._, 195.

[XVII-25] According to Herrera, the confessor, awed by the
proclamation, revealed the hiding-place, after exacting a
promise that no harm should befall his protégé. The promise
was disregarded on the principle that 'dead man wages no war,'
and although Olid _was dead_ when the hour came for execution,
yet the _corpse_ was publicly beheaded, dec. iii. lib. v. cap.
xii. Other authorities do not state how he was discovered or
arrested. 'Otro dia por la mañana, hecho su proceso contra
él, ambos los capitanes (Casas and Gonzalez) juntamente le
sentenciaron á muerte.' _Cortés_, _Cartas_, 460. 'Assi fenecio
su vida, por tener en poco su contrario.' _Gomara_, _Hist.
Mex._, 244. His brother, Antonio de Olid, sought justice
before the Consejo de Indias against Casas and Gonzalez for
the murder. _Herrera_, dec. iii. lib. x. cap. xi.

[XVII-26] In Estremadura.

[XVII-27] 'Halláronse ciento y diez hombres que dijeron que
querian poblar, y los demás todos dijeron que se querian ir
con Francisco de las Casas.' _Cortés_, _Cartas_, 460. See
also _Informe_, in _Pacheco_ and _Cárdenas_, _Col. Doc._, ii.
131, 141. These did not comprise Gonzalez' followers, but may
have been all of Olid's and Casas' men who cared to remain in
Honduras; yet it seems strange that the latter should have
allowed so large a number to abandon a province which they
had been sent to occupy.

[XVII-28] Oviedo assumes that Casas would brook no rival
after his triumph, and made Gonzalez a prisoner, 'é llevólo
en grillos á la Nueva España.' iii. 188-9, 518. The last
assertion is even less likely. Affairs had meanwhile changed
in Mexico, and like Casas he fell into the hands of Cortés'
enemies, who were at first intent on their execution, but
ultimately sent both to Spain for trial. One of the charges
was the murder of Olid. Gonzalez was wrecked on Fayal Island,
but reached Seville in April, 1526, only to be confined in
the atarazana, or arsenal. Released on parole, as a knight
commander of Santiago, he returned to his home at Ávila, and
there died not long after, says Oviedo, deeply repentant of
his sins. _Dávila_, _Testimonio_, in _Pacheco_ and _Cárdenas_,
_Col. Doc._, xii. 362-7.

[XVII-29] _Gomara_, _Hist. Mex._, 245. A minority soon
after attempted to replace Medina by the alguacil Orbaneja.
_Pacheco_ and _Cárdenas_, _Col. Doc._, ii. 133-5. Testimony
on the foundation of Trujillo, in _id._, xiv. 44-7.

[XVII-30] Herrera states that Ruano, who captured Gonzalez,
had gone to Cuba after Casas' triumph, but the testimony in
_Pacheco_ and _Cárdenas_, _Col. Doc._, ii. 127, etc., shows
that he had been picked up by Moreno at San Gil.

[XVII-31] He himself being the probable captain. Some sixteen
slaves were kidnapped here, and the rest at San Gil. The
account of Moreno's proceedings, by different witnesses, is
to be found in _Informacion hecha por órden de Hernan Cortés
sobre excesos por Moreno_, in _Pacheco_ and _Cárdenas_, _Col.
Doc._, ii. 127-79; and in _Relacion de los Oidores_, in _id._,
xiv. 39, etc. When the emperor learned of the kidnapping,
he angrily ordered the release of the slaves, and their good
treatment pending an investigation. _Herrera_, dec. iii. lib.
x. cap. xi. Cortés intimates that Ruano had used persuasion
with Moreno to obtain the command. _Cartas_, 462-3.

[XVIII-1] Herrera assumes stronger reasons, the arrival of
the supply vessel sent after Casas with the report that the
latter could not have escaped the storm which drove her back
to Mexico, and the rumored victory of Olid over both his
opponents. But it is pretty certain that Cortés heard nothing
of the latter affair, at least while he was in Mexico, dec.
iii. lib. v. cap. xiii.

[XVIII-2] The safety of Mexico was above other considerations;
the road to Honduras was unknown and full of danger; the
emperor would punish Olid. Such were the arguments used.
Cortés replied that unless prompt chastisement was inflicted
others would follow the example, and disorder must follow,
with loss to himself of respect and territory. The crown
officials demanded in the emperor's name that he should
remain. _Gomara_, _Hist. Mex._, 245. Cortés yielded, and
wrote to the emperor that he had intended to march through
Guatemala but would remain, especially since he expected news
from Honduras within two months. _Carta_, Oct. 15, 1524. A
few days later he began his march.

[XVIII-3] _Cartas_, Sept. 3, 1526, 395-6.

[XVIII-4] In the letter from Honduras he says October 12, but
this very generally accepted date must be a misprint, since
in one of the two letters dated at Mexico within the following
three days, he writes to the emperor that he would not leave.
He could hardly dare to reveal that he had gone, while writing
that he was still at Mexico; but he was on the way before
November.

[XVIII-5] 'Sacó de aquí ciento y veinte de caballo y veinte
escopeteros y otros tantos ballesteros y gente de pié,'
besides 4,000 to 5,000 Indians. _Carta de Albornoz_, in
_Icazbalceta_, _Col. Doc._, i. 485. A number of Spaniards
at least were added on the way to Goazacoalco, where review
was held, showing, according to Bernal Diaz, upward of 250
soldiers, beside arrivals from Spain, 130 being horsemen, and
3,000 warriors from different parts of the country, beside
servants of caciques. _Hist. Verdad._, 195-7. This agrees
with Gomara's 150 cavalry, 150 infantry, 3,000 warriors, and
a number of servant-women. _Hist. Mex._, 251. Cortés, at this
same review, mentions only 93 horsemen with 150 horses, and
30 and odd foot-soldiers. _Cartas_, 398.

[XVIII-6] Prescott, whose account of this famous expedition
and its connecting incidents, indicates both a want of
authorities and an imperfect study, mentions only the
sovereigns of Mexico and Tlacopan. Helps follows him. But
Gomara names also the king of Tezcuco, besides a number of
caciques, and gives their tragic fate, as does Ixtlilxochitl
with greater detail. _Horribles Crueldades_, 79.

[XVIII-7] Bernal Diaz names a number of the officers and staff
servants, as Carranza, mayordomo; Iasso, maestresala, or chief
butler; Salazar, chamberlain; Licenciado Pero Lopeza, doctor,
a vintner, a pantler, a butler, etc.; 2 pages with lances, 8
grooms, and 2 falconers; 5 musicians, etc.

[XVIII-8] Bernal Diaz relieves his feelings in a loud grumble,
which softens as he recalls the consolation to his pride in
being given for a time a petty command. _Hist. Verdad._, 197.

[XVIII-9] 'Y aun hasta Nicaragua ... y hasta dõde residia
Pedrarias.' _Gomara_, _Hist. Mex._, 250.

[XVIII-10] See _Cortés_, _Cartas_, 337, 397.

[XVIII-11] The pueblos at the crossing-places are called
respectively Tonalan and Agualulco, written in different forms
even by the same authority.

[XVIII-12] Cortés calls the province Çupilcon, 35 leagues from
Espíritu Santo, a figure which may be correct by the line of
march. It was 20 leagues in length, and its extreme eastern
pueblo was Anaxuxuca.

[XVIII-13] Guezalapa, or Quetzatlapan.

[XVIII-14] Zagoatan, Zagutan, etc.

[XVIII-15] Ocumba was one of the pueblos discovered up the
river.

[XVIII-16] 'Estuvieron muy cerca de se ahogar dos ó tres
españoles,' is the prudent form in which Cortés disguises this
and other unpleasant facts to the emperor. _Cartas_, 404.

[XVIII-17] An anthropophagous Mexican was here burned alive,
as a warning against such indulgences; and a letter was given
to the leading cacique to inform other Spaniards that he
was a friend to the white man. _Gomara_, _Hist. Mex._, 252;
_Herrera_, dec. iii. lib. vii. cap. viii.

[XVIII-18] Ascension is the name applied by Cortés to the
Gulf of Honduras. While on the way to the capital of Acalan,
a messenger came up with letters from Mexico, not of very late
date, however, and he was sent back from Izancanac. _Cortés_,
_Cartas_, 421-2.

[XVIII-19] The fate of the crew and vessels appears to have
been mixed up with the invented narrative of the general
disaster, and it was not till after Cortés' return to Mexico,
two years later, that inquiries were made which revealed their
fate. _Bernal Diaz_, _Hist. Verdad._, 196, 210. Albornoz,
one of the rulers appointed by Cortés over Mexico, relates
in a letter to the emperor, dated 15 December, 1525, that
according to reports from Xicalanco traders to Ordaz, the
party of Cortés had been killed seven to eight moons before,
in an island city, seven suns distant from Xicalanco, called
Cuzamelco. They had been surprised by night and slaughtered
with sword and fire. A number of captives had been reserved
for the table, but the flesh being found bitter of taste it
had been cast into the lake. _Icazbalceta_, _Col. Doc._, i.
485-6.

[XVIII-20] Zaguatapan, Huatipan, etc.

[XVIII-21] 'Y los arboles tan altos que no se podia subir en
ellos, para atalayar la tierra.' _Gomara_, _Hist. Mex._, 253.

[XVIII-22] Cortés names Uzumazintlan, below, and Petenecque,
six leagues above, with three other pueblos beyond. _Cartas_,
412. Cortés gave presents in return, and made so forcible
an appeal in behalf of his creed, that many returned to burn
their idols. _Gomara_, _Hist. Mex._, 254. Bernal Diaz states
that four foragers were killed on this river. _Hist. Verdad._,
198.

[XVIII-23] The natives reported two rivers, one very large,
and bad marshes, on the three days' road to Acalan. _Bernal
Diaz_, _Hist. Verdad._, 198.

[XVIII-24] Apoxpalon, Apaspolon, etc.

[XVIII-25] Bernal Diaz states that he and Mejía led the party.

[XVIII-26] He was one of three Flemish monks who formed the
first special mission of friars to New Spain, arriving a year
before the famous twelve. _Torquemada_, iii. 424-5. His proper
name was De Toit.

[XVIII-27] 'Algunas oy permanezen (1701), y se llaman las
Puentes de Cortés.' _Villagutierre_, _Hist. Conq. Itza_, 40.

[XVIII-28] Bernal Diaz relates at length, with swelling pride,
how the great leader humbled himself to him. _Hist. Verdad._,
199. Sandoval dared not trust his own attendants with a secret
whereon depended his supper, but went in person with Diaz to
convoy it. The friars received liberal contributions from the
men, but the Indians were neglected, says Ixtlilxochitl, the
kings and caciques alone being given as a favor a little of
the maize set aside for the horses. _Horribles Crueldades_,
87.

[XVIII-29] Cortés writes Teutiercas, Tentacras; Gomara,
Teuticaccac; Herrera, Titacat.

[XVIII-30] Bernal Diaz's rather confused account states that
Cortés demanded bridges to be built, but was told that the
caciques of the different pueblos had first to be consulted.
Supplies being needed, Mazariegos was sent with 80 men in
canoes to different settlements to obtain supplies, and
found ready response. The next pueblo reached by the army was
deserted and without food. _Hist. Verdad._, 200. The above
seems doubtful.

[XVIII-31] The plan is said to have been imparted to
sympathizers in Mexico, with the recommendation to rise on
a certain day against the colonists. 'Y de aqui creyeron
muchos que naciò la fama de la muerte de Cortes.' _Herrera_,
dec. iii. lib. vii. cap. ix. For this uprising there was
opportunity enough, says Gomara, during the anarchy prevalent
during Cortés' absence; but the Indians were waiting further
orders from Quauhtemotzin. Finally their preparations aroused
the suspicions of the colonists, and they took precautions.
_Hist. Mex._, 250, 258. According to Cortés the Indians,
after killing the Spaniards, were to rouse Honduras and the
intermediate country ere they passed on to Mexico. All vessels
were to be seized, so as to prevent alarm from being given.
_Cartas_, 420.

[XVIII-32] Mexicaltzin, afterward baptized as Cristóbal, to
whom the conspirators, says Cortés, had promised a province
for his share of the spoil. _Cartas_, 420-1. Bernal Diaz
states that the revelation was made by two prominent caciques,
Tapia and Juan Velazquez, the latter captain-general under
Quauhtemotzin when he was ruler. _Hist. Verdad._, 200.
According to Ixtlilxochitl, the Indians were imitating the
Spaniards in the festivities which precede Lent, but in such
a manner as to arouse the suspicion of Cortés. One cause for
the enjoyment was a statement by Cortés that here they would
turn back to Mexico. The general called his spy Costemexi,
of Ixtapalapan or Mexicaltzinco, and bade him ascertain what
was going on. He soon returned to report that the three kings
and six courtiers had been engaged in a humorous dispute
as to which of the trio the now conquered provinces should
belong to. Tlacatecatl, one of the chief lords, thereupon
observed that if discord had brought about the fall of the
native empire, they had gained instead the supreme happiness
of instruction in the true faith. After this came tales and
songs. When tortured some years after by Prince Ixtlilxochitl,
the spy insisted that he had represented the case only as
above stated, but that Cortés chose to interpret it as a
malicious plot. _Horribles Crueldades_, 90-3. This version is
doubtful in its details, and for the reason that the author's
chief effort is to vindicate the natives. The cause for the
rejoicing at a return to Mexico from Acalan savors rather of
a promise from the conspirators than from Cortés.

[XVIII-33] The kings had formed it, and although they had not
been parties to it, yet as subjects they naturally desired
the liberty and weal of their lords. _Gomara_, _Herrera_,
_Cortés_, _Bernal Diaz_. The two former implicate the three
allied kings, the latter only the two of Mexico and Tlacopan.

[XVIII-34] The rest being spared, since they had been guilty
chiefly of listening to the plot, says Cortés; 'pero quedaron
procesos abiertos para que ... puedan ser castigados,' if
required. The execution took place within a few days of the
disclosure. _Cartas_, 421. Bernal Diaz, Herrera, and Gomara
agree. The latter adds that king Cohuanacoch, of Tezcuco, who
had also plotted, died some time before of bad food and water.
_Hist. Mex._, 274. Torquemada adds five caciques to the three
royal victims, according to the native version. i. 576.

[XVIII-35] _Hist. Verdad._, 200.

[XVIII-36] 'Por carnestollendas ... en Izancanac.' _Gomara_,
_Hist. Mex._, 258-9. On February 26, 1525, specifies
Vetancurt; on a Tuesday, three hours before dawn, adds
Ixtlilxochitl, who also declares that the native songs and
versions place it at Teotilac, and it certainly appears to
have been carried out before the capital was reached. The
Mexicans were so oppressed by hardships, says Bernal Diaz,
that they seemed to be quite indifferent; still, the Spaniards
hastened the departure for fear of an uprising. He places
the occurrence at a pueblo beyond Acalan. Ixtlilxochitl tells
another story. The kings were brought out three hours before
dawn for fear of a tumult. The two of Mexico and Tlacopan had
already been hanged, and Cohuanacoch was about to be, when his
brother, Ixtlilxochitl, being advised, rushed forth and called
upon the Indians. Perceiving the danger, Cortés cut the rope
and saved the half-strangled king of Tezcuco. He thereupon
proceeded to explain to Ixtlilxochitl the just reasons
which had brought about the execution. The prince appeared
convinced, and dismissed the auxiliaries, who stood ready
to fall upon the Spaniards. The chief motive, however, for
sparing them, was not the justice of the deed, for he regarded
it ever as a treacherous one, but the fear of wars that might
result from a revolt and carry desolation over his country,
checking the progress of the saving faith. Cohuanacoch, whom
Cortés accused as the chief conspirator, was carried with the
army in a hammock, suffering severely from the wrenching of
the noose. His grief brought about an intestinal hemorrhage,
from which he died within a few days. _Horribles Crueldades_,
98-4.

[XVIII-37] 'Y sin auer mas prouãças, Cortes mandò ahorcar
al Guatemuz, y al señor de Tacuba.... Y fue esta muerte que
les dieron muy injustamente dada, y pareciò mal a todos los
que ibamos aquella jornada.' _Bernal Diaz_, _Hist. Verdad._,
200. But his account of all this expedition is questionable,
and his testimony loses force through the evident fact that
he is carried away by sympathy for the kings, who had often
favored him, and for the natives to whom his later condition
in life bound him rather closely. He certainly admits the
strong accusation and the confirmatory admission of the
victims, the king of Tlacopan stating, for instance, that
he and Quauhtemotzin had declared one death preferable to
the daily deaths suffered. Torquemada adopts the version
of a Tezcucan manuscript, which relates that Cohuanacoch on
one occasion remarked to his royal confrères that, if they
chose to be disloyal, the Spaniards might have to regret
past injuries. Quauhtemotzin hastened to silence him by
observing that walls had ears, which might misunderstand
such expressions. A plebeian native reported them, and that
very night those who had been present at the conversation,
three kings and five caciques, were found hanging from a
ceiba-tree. Torquemada will not believe that the Indians
intended to revolt, especially since their country was now
divided, but that Cortés regarded the kings as a burden, i.
575-6. Cavo, _Tres Siglos_, i. 46-8, agrees, and Gomara even
intimates something to this effect in saying that Cortés
ought to have preserved so prominent and brave a captive to
point the triumph of his victories, but that the dangerous
circumstances must have prevented him. _Hist. Mex._, 259.
'Es notorio, que Quauhtemoc y los demás señores murieron
sin culpa, y que les levantaron falso testimonio.' Indeed,
continues Ixtlilxochitl, when the Indians complained to the
kings of maltreatment, they counselled submission. But his
story is so full of glaring misstatements and absurdities,
and so evident is the desire to relieve his kinsmen from
the traitor's brand, that he cannot be relied on. _Horribles
Crueldades_, 82, etc.; _Id._, _Relaciones_, _Kingsborough's
Mex. Antiq._, ix. 440, etc. Brasseur de Bourbourg follows him
implicitly of course, as he does almost any record from native
source. There was no witness except the spy, and the princes
were not allowed to defend themselves. _Hist. Nat. Civ._, iv.
608. He evidently pays no attention whatever to the Spanish
versions. Bustamante accepts even more implicitly the records
of those whom he prefers to regard as his ancestors. See his
edition of Gomara, _Chimalpain_, _Hist. Conq._, ii. 135-6.
Cano, who married the cousin and widow of Quauhtemotzin, calls
the execution of the three kings a murder, as may be expected
from his dislike of Cortés. _Oviedo_, iii. 549. Carried away
by hyperbolic flights of fancy, wherein he surpasses even
Solis himself, Salazar condemns the deed as based on false
testimony, and blames Cortés for irritating the natives by
resorting to so rash a measure. _Conq. Mex._, 240-3. Father
Duran emphasizes this with well-known sympathy for the native
cause. 'Y levantándose contra él algunos testigos falsos le
mandó á horcar.' _Hist. Ind._, MS., ii. 522. On imperfect
evidence and without a trial, says _Robertson_, _Hist. Am._,
ii. 138. Prescott sympathizes with Quauhtemotzin and regards
the testimony as insufficient, while Helps, _Cortés_, 208-9,
doubts the statements of Bernal Diaz, and refers to the act
as cruel practical wisdom. The chief ground for this view is
that Cortés, as an hidalgo, would not lie, and can therefore
be relied upon. It has not been my fortune to acquire such
faith, and I fancy that a closer study of his hero might
have changed Sir Arthur Helps' views. Alaman, a Mexican with
Spanish sympathies, believes in the conspiracy, but regards
the execution as a blot on Cortés. Quauhtemotzin, at least,
should have been sent to Spain after the fall of Mexico.
_Disert._, i. 214. This certainly would have been the best way
to secure and make use of him. Pizarro y Orellana, _Varones
Ilvstres_, 114-16, regards the evidence as clear and the
execution as just; so does Revilla, although his reasons are
not the best. _Solis_, _Conq. Mex._ (ed. 1843), 508.

[XVIII-38] It is not improbable that suspicions as to
the thoughts and acts of the kings may have created a
prejudice against them, but the suspicions existed already
before they left Mexico, as proved by their being taken
not only as hostages for the loyalty of their subjects,
but as a precaution against their own possible disloyalty.
Quauhtemotzin was evidently not the most submissive of men,
for he had always been regarded as requiring a close watch,
and Cortés brought him chiefly because of his 'bullicioso'
character, as he expresses it. It may not be considered
unpardonable for the Indian auxiliaries to relieve their
feelings in mutinous expressions against the taskmasters and
despoilers who were taking them away from home to meet an
unknown fate, to endure toil, hunger, and danger. But such
sentiments could not be overlooked in the kings. They, as
captured leaders, existed only by sufferance, the condition
being good behavior. For them even to listen was to encourage,
and they were consequently guilty. Not that I blame them.
Nay, I would rather blame them for not being more prompt
and determined in the patriotic effort. But in resolving to
listen, and to act, no doubt, they accepted a risk with a
penalty well defined among all peoples. Cortés was not the
man to hesitate at almost any deed when private or public
interests demanded it; and it needed but little to rouse to
blind fury the slumbering suspicions of the soldiers regarding
Mexican loyalty. But here we have evidence—not groundless
even from a native point of view—to justify the Spaniards
in assuming that a conspiracy, or, at least, mutinous talk,
was wide-spread, and this among a horde tenfold superior
in number; a horde known ever to have cherished unfriendly
feelings, and now doubly embittered by suffering. Under
the circumstances even saints would not have disregarded
testimony however doubtful; and the Castilians were but human.
Self-preservation, ay, duty to king, and country, and God,
whose several interests they were defending, demanded the
prompt suppression of so ominous a danger. What were the best
measures? A long campaign in Mexico had impressed Cortés with
the belief that a people so trained to abject subservience
as the Aztecs, and so bloody in their worship, could be
controlled by severity alone, and that the lesson must fall
on the leaders. Situated as they were the soldiers could
not be expected to guard a large number of captives. Hence
no course remained, except capital punishment. According to
Bernal Diaz, _Hist. Verdad._, 201, Cortés' distress of mind
at the sufferings of the expedition was so increased by this
deed that he became sleepless, and, in wandering around one
night in a temple forming the camp, he fell from a platform
a distance of ten feet, hurting his head severely.

[XVIII-39] On a watercourse falling into Términos. _Cortés_,
_Cartas_, 419.

[XVIII-40] 'Pueblos, ò Tierras de Venados.' _Villagutierre_,
_Hist. Conq. Itza_, 43. 'Provincia de Maçatlan, que en su
lengua dellos se llama Quiacho.' _Cortés_, _Cartas_, 422.

[XVIII-41] Called by Cortés Táica, Tahica, and Taiça, the
latter not incorrect perhaps, although Atitza or Tayasal may
be better.

[XVIII-42] This is probably Lake San Pedro, from which all the
fish were caught, over 1,000 in number. _Bernal Diaz_, _Hist.
Verdad._, 201.

[XVIII-43] 'Parescia brazo de mar, y aun así creo que lo es,
aunque es dulce.' _Cartas_, 427.

[XVIII-44] So write Bernal Diaz and Villagutierre. Pinelo,
_Relacion_, 1, 2, has it Taiza or Atitza. Two leagues from
shore, says Cortés, on an island known as Peten Itza, Peten
signifying island. Its present name is Remedios, and on
the ruins of the old pueblo has risen the town of Flores.
The name of Peten lives in that of the province. A romantic
account is given of the rise of this lake people. The Itzas
were a branch of one of the most ancient nations of Yucatan,
whose name had descended on them as followers of the hero-god
Itzamná. Chichen Itza, their capital, was once a centre of
power and wealth in the peninsula, but with the changing
fortunes of war came disunion, and in the beginning of the
15th century the feared Itzas had dwindled into a number of
petty principalities ruled by caneks. 'El Cazique à quien
comunmente llaman Canek.' _Cogolludo_, _Hist. Yucathan_, 54.
It so happened that one of these fell in love, but found an
obstacle in a father, who awarded the object of his affections
to a more powerful chief. The canek was not to be thus easily
balked. He watched his opportunity, and on the wedding-day
broke in upon the festive assembly and carried off the bride.
Gathering his warriors, the disappointed rival prepared to
wreak vengeance and recover the prize. The Ilium of our hero
was not fitted to withstand such hosts, and he had no other
alternative than flight. Nor could his subjects hope to
escape desolation, and taking up the cause of their leader,
they followed him southward in search of a new home, safe
from the avenger. Guided by craggy ranges, the refugees came
to the smiling valley of Tayasal, with its island-studded
lake, bordered by verdure-clad slopes, beyond which rose
the shielding forest. Here indeed was a land of promise,
where, guarded by Itzamná, they might rear new generations to
perpetuate the name and traditions of their race. So runs the
story as related by chroniclers, although with their devout
frame of mind they give preference to another account, which
attributes the migration to the prophecies of their priests,
foretelling the coming of a bearded race, with a new faith,
to rule over the land. _Villagutierre_, _Hist. Conq. Itza_,
29-31; _Cogolludo_, _Hist. Yucathan_, 507. See also _Native
Races_, ii. v., etc. The Itzas will be again spoken of in a
later volume.

[XVIII-45] 'Y que veria quemar los ídolos.' _Cortés_,
_Cartas_, 30. Which was done, adds Gomara; but this
Villagutierre will not allow. Idolatry rather increased, he
goes on to show. _Hist. Conq. Itza_, 50. Here three Spaniards,
two Indians, and one negro deserted, tired of the constant
hardship. _Bernal Diaz_, _Hist. Verdad._, 202.

[XVIII-46] When the conquerors entered a century later to
occupy the district, they found more than a score of stone
temples on the island alone, and in one of the principal
ones this idol. _Villagutierre_, _Hist. Conq. Itza_, 100-2;
_Cogolludo_, _Hist. Yucathan_, 55; _Native Races_, iii. 483.

[XVIII-47] Nuestra Señora de Marco. _Herrera_, dec. iii. lib.
viii. cap. i.

[XVIII-48] This was Medrano; 'Chirimia de la yglesia de
Toledo.' The victims are named. _Herrera_, dec. iii. lib.
viii. cap. i. Cortés also admits that great hunger was
suffered, yet the swine were only sparingly used.

[XVIII-49] 'Murieron sesenta y ocho caballos despeñados y
dejarretados,' etc. _Cortés_, _Cartas_, 433. Bernal Diaz is
less clear on this incident. Gomara follows Cortés, although
he says that the passage took only eight days, _Hist. Mex._,
263, and Herrera is the only one who enters into the losses
sustained in men, a number dying also of diarrhœa from
palm-cabbage. _Ubi sup._

[XVIII-50] Cortés describes even these crossings as quite
dangerous. The horses swam below the fall in the still water.
Three days were passed ere all the horses could crawl into
the camp, a league further. _Cartas_, 434.

[XVIII-51] 'Á 15 días del año de 1525.' _Id._; that is, April
15.

[XVIII-52] 'Habia diez dias que no comiamos sino cuescos
de palmas y palmitos.' 'Aun de aquellos palmitos sin sal no
teniamos abasto, porque se cortaban con mucha dificultad de
unas palmas muy gordas y altas, que en todo un dia dos hombres
tenian que hacer cortar uno, y cortado, le comian en media
hora.' _Cortés_, _Cartas_, 434, 439.

[XVIII-53] _Bernal Diaz_, _Hist. Verdad._, 202, 204;
_Juarros_, _Guat._, 326. Most authors confound Nito and San
Gil, and Prescott actually does so with Naco.

[XIX-1] Sixty men and twenty women left by Gonzalez. _Cortés_,
_Cartas_, 440. Forty Spaniards and four women, says Bernal
Diaz, _Hist. Verdad._, 204.

[XIX-2] 'De todos ellos no habia ocho para poder quedar en
la tierra.' _Cortés_, _Cartas_, _loc. cit._ Their captain,
Armenta, having refused to return with them to Cuba, they had
hanged him a few days before, and had elected Nieto, who was
ready to execute their wishes. _Bernal Diaz_, _Hist. Verdad._,
204.

[XIX-3] Montagua probably.

[XIX-4] Captain Marin found eight leagues off, on the
Naco road, a number of well-supplied villages, from which
provisions were forwarded. _Bernal Diaz_, _Hist. Verdad._,
204.

[XIX-5] Bought on credit from the owner, Anton de Carmona
or Camargo, says Bernal Diaz, who reduces the stock to seven
horses and forty hogs.

[XIX-6] A party had already been sent in this direction, but
they returned within ten days disheartened, throwing discredit
on the informants, who on their side accused the men of being
faint-hearted. _Cortés_, _Cartas_, 441-2.

[XIX-7] Eighty Spaniards had attacked a pueblo, but the
Indians returned in greater force and drove them off with some
wounded. _Cortés_, _Cartas_, 444.

[XIX-8] It was sought to allure the natives back to aid in
carrying supplies, but none came. _Cortés_, _Cartas_, 450.
Bernal Diaz relates that the warriors returned to the attack
after the flight, only to lose eight men. They now came to
sue, and Cortés offered to release the captives if they sent
down provisions to the vessel. This they did, but Cortés
nevertheless insisted on retaining three families, whereupon
the Indians attacked and wounded twelve Spaniards, including
the general. _Hist. Verdad._, 205. This writer was not with
the expedition, however, but at Naco, so that his account is
doubly doubtful.

[XIX-9] 'Quimistlan y Zula y Cholome, que el que menos destos
tiene por mas de dos mil casas.' _Cortés_, _Cartas_, 456.
Bernal Diaz also names some places. _Hist. Verdad._, 207.

[XIX-10] He had been buffeted off the coast for nine days,
while the land party arrived long before him, over a good
road.

[XIX-11] 'Murieron ochenta Españoles sin algunos Indios en
este viaje.' _Gomara_, _Hist. Mex._, 269. Licenciado Lopez
escaped to spread the news of Cortés' being alive. _Bernal
Diaz_, _Hist. Verdad._, 208.

[XIX-12] Together with Moreno 'in chains.' 'Although I fear
that he acted by order of the oidores, and that no justice
will be given.' _Cortés_, _Cartas_, 465-6. He praised the
wealth of Honduras, and asked for soldiers. 'Y para dar
credito que auia oro, embiò muchas joyas, y pieças ... de lo
que truxo de Mexico,' says _Bernal Diaz_, _Hist. Verdad._,
208. But he is by no means to be relied on.

[XIX-13] Bernal Diaz assumes, contrary to Cortés' clear
statement, that Zuazo sent a vessel from Habana with the
letter, and that two days before her arrival at Trujillo
came two vessels laden with merchandise from the oidores
and merchants of Santo Domingo, who had learned of Cortés'
whereabouts through a letter from one of the survivors of
Ávalos' wrecked ship. _Hist. Verdad._, 208. Gomara states that
the vessel from the oidores, laden with thirty-two horses,
saddlery, and other useful material, was turned back from Cuba
by the survivors of Ávalos' expedition. She touched at Santo
Domingo on her way to Honduras. _Hist. Mex._, 270. Cortés
shows that the news of Ávalos' shipwreck did not reach him
till some time later. _Cartas_, 468-471.

[XIX-14] The staff did all they could to cheer him, and among
other efforts to dispel his gloom, Mañueco, the maestresala,
made a wager that he would ascend in full armor the steep hill
to the new gubernatorial building. Before he could reach the
top he fell dead. _Bernal Diaz_, _Hist. Verdad._, 211.

[XIX-15] 'Dejé en aquella villa hasta treinta y cinco de
caballo y cincuenta peones.' _Cortés_, _Cartas_, 470.

[XIX-16] He places this just before the arrival of Zuazo's
letter, _Hist. Verdad._, 209, but Cortés now for the first
time complains of feeling very ill, from the tossing at sea.
_Cartas_, 471.

[XIX-17] 'Martin Dorantes su lacayo.' _Gomara_, _Hist. Mex._,
271. On October 23, 1525, it seems from a letter of Cortés.
_Cartas_, 395. Bernal Diaz intimates that a fear of being
seized by his enemies had to do with Cortés' disinclination
to go in person. _Hist. Verdad._, 212.

[XIX-18] In concluding the reply to their expostulations,
Cortés had observed that he could find plenty of soldiers in
Spain and elsewhere to do his bidding. The men commissioned
Sandoval to plead their cause in person; to urge the leader to
depart, and to hint that they could find governors in Mexico
to right them. _Bernal Diaz_, _Hist. Verdad._, 212.

[XIX-19] 'É dos leguas el uno del otro ... el de Papayeca
tiene diez y ocho pueblos subjectos, y el de Champagua
diez.' _Cortés_, _Cartas_, 465. The names are also given as
Chapaxina, Papaica, etc.

[XIX-20] The two colleagues had been usurping guardians. They
were to be taken to Mexico to be impressed with the extent
of Spanish power, and to learn submission from its natives.
Pizacura died before leaving Honduras. _Cortés_, _Cartas_,
473; _Gomara_, _Hist. Mex._, 272.

[XIX-21] 'Era temido, y acatado, y llamauanle en todas
aquellas Provincias: El Capitan Hue, Hue de Marina, q̃ quiere
dezir el Capitan viejo que trae a doña Marina.' _Bernal Diaz_,
_Hist. Verdad._, 207.

[XIX-22] They asked for a Spaniard to settle on each island,
as a guardian, but this could not be granted. _Gomara_, _Hist.
Mex._, 273. Bernal Diaz says that the vessel escaped, and that
she was commanded by Moreno.

[XIX-23] Huilancho, Huilacho, Huyetlato, etc.

[XIX-24] Cortés claims that the province had submitted to
him some time before, but he probably received the proffer
only now, though pleading a previous allegiance to excuse the
interference.

[XIX-25] To assist him against two officers who opposed
his attempt to become independent of Pedrarias. _Cortés_,
_Cartas_, 476. According to Herrera, Sandoval returned without
achieving anything, pleading that he had not enough men,
dec. iii. lib. viii. cap. vii. Bernal Diaz, who was present,
states, on the other hand, that Sandoval appeared against
Rojas with sixty men, but made friends with him. Just then
came letters from Cortés ordering him to join in returning
to Mexico, and he hastened back, Rojas departing at the same
time. _Hist. Verdad._, 208. Gomara, following Cortés, assumes
that Rojas obeyed a mere message from Trujillo to leave
Olancho. _Hist. Mex._, 272.

[XIX-26] Cereceda writes Gaona. _Carta_, in _Squier's MSS._,
xx. 61.

[XIX-27] 'Escribí al dicho Francisco Hernandez y á toda la
gente que con él estaba en general, y particularmente á
algunos de los capitanes de su compañía que yo conoscia,
reprendiéndolos la fealdad que en aquello hacian,' etc.
_Cortés_, _Cartas_, 474. Bernal Diaz states, on the other
hand, that he promised to do his best for him, _Hist.
Verdad._, 211, and in this was probably a little truth, as
will be seen.

[XIX-28] 'Hernandez ... sent to invite the Marquis to come
and receive the province from him.' _Andagoya's Narrative_,
37; _Herrera_, dec. iii. lib. viii. cap. vii. Cortés became
a marquis a few years later.

[XIX-29] 'Quise luego ir á Nicaragua, creyendo poner en ello
algun remedio.' _Cortés_, _Cartas_, 476.

[XIX-30] Bernal Diaz assumes that when Sandoval was setting
out for Mexico, shortly before this, as stated, he received
orders to pass through Nicaragua, 'para demandalla a su
Magestad en Gouernacion.' _Hist. Verdad._, 212.

[XIX-31] _Id._, 215. 'Para este efeto fletó un navio en la
Villa de Medellin.' _Oviedo_, iii. 523. He came in the vessel
which had carried the messenger. _Cortés_, _Cartas_, 476.

[XIX-32] Lordship, a title which pertained only to the higher
nobility and to the highest offices, and which Cortés, even
as governor and captain-general, had not the slightest right
to assume.

[XIX-33] Seat of honor for princes and prelates and for the
ruling men in a province.

[XIX-34] _Gomara_, _Hist. Mex._, 273; _Herrera_, dec. iii.
lib. viii. cap. vii.

[XIX-35] Messengers were sent to the pueblos en route ordering
them to put the road in order and prepare for his reception.
Some of the Mexican auxiliaries were also appointed for the
work, says Ixtlilxochitl, but their remaining prince stayed
with Cortés. _Horribles Crueldades_, 110.

[XIX-36] 'Recibió el cuerpo de Christo vna mañana porque
como estaua tan malo, temia morirse.' _Bernal Diaz_, _Hist.
Verdad._, 215. Prescott ignores the friar, and assumes that
Sandoval persuaded him to leave. But this is only one of
the many errors into which he has fallen concerning this
expedition, _Mex._, iii. 302.

[XIX-37] The natives were to be punished for persevering in
idolatry; although Indians must not be enslaved, yet slaves
held lawfully by them might be purchased as such by the
colonists. The instructions contain a number of minor rules
for the good government of province and towns. _Cortés_,
_Escritos Sueltos_, 75-95. Saavedra did not perhaps relish
the idea of being left with a comparatively small force,
for Bernal Diaz complains that he purposely withheld for
some time the order permitting the Naco company to leave for
Mexico. _Hist. Verdad._, 215, 219. The leading authorities
for Cortés' different expeditions to Honduras are: _Cortés_,
_Cartas_, 338, 351, 369, et seq.; _Id._, _Escritos Sueltos_,
70-95, 318; _Id._, _Carta al Rey_, in _Icazbalceta_, _Col.
Doc._, i. 481-2; _Albornoz_, _Carta_, in _Id._, i. 484-6;
_Peter Martyr_, dec. viii. cap. x.; _Oviedo_, iii. 188-9, 446,
458-9, 517-18; _Gomara_, _Hist. Mex._, 233-4, 243-6, 250-74;
_Bernal Diaz_, _Hist. Verdad._, 159, 176-7, 193-216; Letters
and Reports by Cortés and other officers to the Emperor
and Council, in _Doc. Inéd._, i. 521-4, iv. 226-7, et seq.,
and in _Pacheco_ and _Cárdenas_, _Col. Doc._, xii. 268-77,
362-7, 386-403; xiii. 46-7, 108-9, 293-4, 397; xiv. 25-43,
et seq.; _Cerezeda_, _Carta_, in _Squier's MSS._, xx. 61;
_Ixtlilxochitl_, _Horribles Crueldades_, 78-110; _Chimalpain_,
_Conq. Mex._, ii. 106-53; _Herrera_, dec. iii. lib. v. cap.
vii.-viii. xii.-xiii.; lib. vi. cap. x. xii.; lib. vii.
cap. viii.; lib. viii. cap. iii.-vi.; lib. x. cap. xi. Less
important books, which add little or nothing to the preceding,
are: _Torquemada_, i. 574-6; _Remesal_, _Hist. Chyapa_,
164; _Cogolludo_, _Hist. Yucathan_, 44-58; _Villagutierre_,
_Hist. Conq. Itza_, 39-50; _Duran_, _Hist. Ind._, MS., ii.
521-2; _Pinelo_, _Relacion_, 2; _Vazquez_, _Chronica de
Gvat._, 18-20; _Cortés_, _Hist. N. España_, 351-2, 367-9;
_Pizarro y Orellana_, _Varones Ilvstres_, 108-16; _Galvano's
Discov._, 160-4; _Twee Onderscheydene Togten_, 52-80, 95-107,
in _Aa_, _Naaukeurige Versameling_, xi.; _Twee Verscheyde
Togten_, 19-76, 94, in _Id._; _Gottfried_, _Reysen_, iv.;
_Ogilby's Am._, 91-2; _Salazar_, _Conq. Mex._, 154-8, 211-311;
_Revilla_, in _Solis_, _Hist. Mex._ (ed. Mad., 1843), 463-9;
_Beaumont_, _Cron. Mich._, iii. 189-92; _Juarros_, _Guat._,
55, 123, 324-7; _Cavo_, _Tres Siglos_, i. 29-30, 46-8;
_Veytia_, _Hist. Ant. Méj._, iii. 420; _Laet_, _Nov. Orb._,
318; _Voyages_, _New Col._, i. 347; _World Displayed_, ii.
251; _Lardner's Hist. Discov._, ii. 62; _Gordon's Hist. Ant.
Mex._, ii. 203, 209-15, 240-1; _Fancourt's Hist. Yuc._, 39;
_Squier's States Cent. Am._, 66; _Rivera_, _Hist. Jalapa_, i.
44; _Bustamante_, _Cuad. Hist._, i. 42; _Alaman_, _Disert._,
i. 196-7, 203-23, 234-5; append., 129-37; ii. 17-18; _Rivera_,
_Gob. Mex._, i. 17; _Zamacois_, _Hist. Méj._, iv. 178-9,
236-326, 349-53, 369, 739-56; _Cortés_, _Aven. y Conq._,
285-9; _Prescott's Mex._, iii. 276-302; _Helps' Cortés_,
ii. 183-228; _Id._, _Span. Conq._, iii. 30-61; _Brasseur
de Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, iv. 573-617; _Bussierre_,
_Mex._, 339-49, 380; _Larenaudière_, _Mex. et Guat._, 136-7;
_Monglave_, _Résumé_, 138; _Armin_, _Alte Mex._, 351-61;
_Mayer's Mex. Aztec._, i. 86; _Abbott's Cortés_, 305-29;
_Wells' Honduras_, 449-57; _Pelaez_, _Mem. Guat._, i. 53-4.

[XX-1] The reader will remember how, in the last chapter,
Cortés treated the messengers bearing this petition.

[XX-2] 'No los osó acometer porque tenia por cierto que habian
de matar á él ántes que á nadie.' _Andagoya_, _Rel._, in
_Navarrete_, _Col. de Viages_, iii. 417.

[XX-3] Within the bay formed by Punta de Burica, into which
flows, among other small streams, the river known at present
as Fonseca. _Cartography Pac. Coast_, MS., ii. 79.

[XX-4] It certainly appears strange that Córdoba, knowing
so well the character of his master, should so tamely have
delivered himself into his hands. The chroniclers sympathize
with any victim of the abhorred governor. 'Estaba muy bien
quisto comunmente,' says Oviedo, 'de todos los españoles ...
culpaban ... á Pedrarias de inconstante é acelerado é mal
juez.' iii. 165-6. His rebellion 'parecio siempre incierto,'
is the unstudied qualification of Remesal, _Hist. Chyapa_,
164.

[XX-5] Juan Carrasco and Christóbal de la Torre. _Herrera_,
dec. iii. lib. ix. cap. vii.

[XX-6] News coming of the approach of a royal governor,
Saavedra would send nothing but advice.

[XX-7] 'Estando de acuerdo ciento y cincuenta Caziques.'
_Herrera_, dec. iii. lib. ix. cap. x.

[XX-8] His achievements are related in vol. i. chaps. ii. and
iii. of the _History of Mexico_, this series.

[XX-9] Herrera, who is somewhat contradictory on this point,
names Gabriel de Rojas, Garabito, and Diego Álvarez among the
ruling men. dec. iv. lib. i. cap. vi. Salcedo, in _Pacheco_
and _Cárdenas_, _Col. Doc._, xiv. 47 et seq., gives also a
list of the Leon city officials.

[XX-10] The two months' voyage had proved pleasant, being
marred only by the death of two men during an attack by the
natives of Dominica Island, where they had entered to repair
a leaky vessel. _Oviedo_, iii. 116.

[XX-11] 'Por manera que estas mudanças de gobernadores es
saltar de la sarten en las brasas.' _Oviedo_, iii. 123.

[XX-12] 'É como era hombre ydiota é sin letras, el se movió
por consejo de aquel bachiller Corral, para me haçer matar á
trayçion.' _Oviedo_, iii. 122.

[XX-13] See, for instance, _Castilla_, _Carta_, in _Pacheco_
and _Cárdenas_, _Col. Doc._, xii. 85.

[XX-14] Sandoval, indeed, speaks of the governor as a
meritorious servant of the king, traduced by envious persons.
_Hist. Carlos V._, i. 218.

[XXI-1] The bitter complaints of Cortés against his rebellious
lieutenant evoked from the king merely instructions for Olid
to maintain friendly relations with Cortés, and to report to
the crown regarding the progress of his conquest. 'El Rey ...
no hizo mas demostracion que escriuir á Christoual de Olid,
que con Cortes tuuiese toda buena correspondencia, y fuesse
dando cuenta a su Magestad, de lo que passaua en aquella
tierra, pareciendo que no era mal consejo, la diuision de tan
gran gouierno como tenia.' _Herrera_, dec. iii. lib. v. cap.
xiii.

[XXI-2] His commission is dated November 20th. _Pacheco_ and
_Cárdenas_, _Col. Doc._, xiv. 52.

[XXI-3] Cortés' complaints were numerous and bitter, as may
be imagined. In a letter of 1532, for instance, he represents
to the king the many valuable services rendered, and the
hardship and danger suffered. He had discovered the province
of Honduras at his own expense, amounting to over 30,000
castellanos, and the expedition to suppress the revolt of Olid
had cost him over 50,000 castellanos, a like amount being also
expended by his followers. He had conquered, pacified, and
settled over 200 leagues of territory, founding three towns
on the best parts of the coast; he had expended over 25,000
castellanos for horses, arms, and provisions, imported from
Española and Cuba, and before leaving the country had left
a competent captain in charge of the new colonies. _Pacheco_
and _Cárdenas_, _Col. Doc._, xiii. 6-7.

[XXI-4] For this they were afterward censured. _Herrera_, dec.
iii. lib. x. cap. xi.

[XXI-5] The royal commission, with the ceremonies attending
its reception, is given in _Traslado de una Cédula_, in
_Pacheco_ and _Cárdenas_, _Col. Doc._, xiv. 47 et seq.

[XXI-6] Orders came for investigation and punishment,
_Herrera_, dec. iv. lib. ii. cap. vi., but the distant Indies
possessed as yet too many loop-holes and corners for blind
justice.

[XXI-7] Oviedo, iii. 189, states that Diego Mendez de
Hinestrosa was left in charge at Trujillo, that Salcedo had
already marched out of Trujillo for Nicaragua when the envoys
of Pedrarias came up, and that he sent them at once to the
audiencia. But he is not well informed.

[XXI-8] Herrera would have us believe that starvation was over
the whole country, in all its ghastly horrors, making it a
question of life and death between Spaniard and Indian, who
devoured each other. dec. iv. lib. i. cap. vii. But this is
clearly exaggeration.

[XXI-9] According to Herrera, dec. iv. lib. iii. cap. ii.,
Gabriel de Rojas was offered the government, but declined to
hold the province except for the king direct; whereupon he was
arrested and Garabito given the command. He seems confused,
however, while Cereceda's account is most clear on all these
points. _Carta_, MS., 3-6. Oviedo is quite brief. iii. 190.

[XXI-10] The present treasurer, Rodrigo del Castillo, was
under indictment by the inquisition at Panamá. With Pedrarias
came a friar empowered to try his case, by whom he was
acquitted, and he thereupon resumed office till Tobilla
arrived. _Cerezeda_, _Carta_, MS., 10-11.

[XXI-11] Herrera's lucid definition of the limits reads:
'Desde Leon al puerto de Natiuidad, cien leguas Nortesur,
y desde Chorotega, por otro nombre Fõseca, hasta puerto de
Cauallos, Nortesur, que auia setenta leguas, y cien leguas
de costa por el mar del Norte, y otras tantas por el Sur con
mas lo q̃ se le renunciaua, y lo que para adelante pudisse
ensancharse descubriendo,' including Nequepia province, or
Salvador, dec. iv. lib. iii. cap. ii.

[XXI-12] Besides the usual humane injunctions it was ordered
that towns should be founded near the Indians, so that they
might be brought by example and gentle means to a knowledge of
the true faith, and be led to adopt the manners and customs of
Christians. To promote this desirable end the royal officers
were enjoined to watch strictly over the moral and economic
features of the Spanish settlements. The revolted Chorotegas
were to be pacified by kindness, and the native slaves brought
from Panamá were to be returned. _Herrera_, dec. iv. lib. i.
cap. viii. See chap, v., note 5, this volume.

[XXI-13] 'Lleuando los Indios cargados, y encadenados, cõ
argollas, porq̃ no se boluiessen: y porq̃ vno se canso, por
no quitarle el argolla le quitaron la cabeça, y lo dissimulo.'
_Herrera_, dec. iv. lib. iii. cap. ii.

[XXI-14] Ponce de Leon and Hernando de Soto, for instance,
took two cargoes at one time, according to Pizarro,
_Relacion_, in _Col. Doc. Inéd._, v. 209.

[XXI-15] 'Ellos matarõ a los Castellanos q̃ acertaron a hallar
fuera del lugar, y los comieron.' _Herrera_, dec. iv. lib.
iii. cap. ii.

[XXI-16] 'Los quales eran del valle de Olocoton é de su
comarca.' _Oviedo_, iv. 100.

[XXI-17] Despite his want of success, says Oviedo, iv. 61,
Estete received from Pedrarias another important command,
to the prejudice of another officer. The details of the
expedition will be given in connection with Salvador.

[XXI-18] Soto alone brought about 100 men to Peru. _Pizarro_,
_Rel._, in _Col. Doc. Inéd._, v. 211-15; _Herrera_, dec. iv.
lib. vi. cap. iii.; _Oviedo_, iii. 119-20. This conquest will
be spoken of in a later volume of this history.

[XXI-19] In 1527, as has been intimated, there was an outcry
for his removal, but with the aid of influential friends
he managed to retain his seat. Castillo states that one
expedition alone, under Córdoba, had brought over 100,000
pesos de oro into Leon, none of which reached the crown. After
beheading Córdoba he had conjured up a partner for him, named
Tellez, into whose hands was placed the confiscated estate, so
that it might with better pretence be appropriated. _Carta_,
in _Pacheco_ and _Cárdenas_, _Col. Doc._, xii. 84-6.

[XXI-20] 'En fin de Iulio.' _Herrera_, dec. iv. lib. ix. cap.
xv.

[XXI-21] Oviedo, iii. 172, attributes to Pedrarias the release
of two millions of souls from dusky bodies during a period of
sixteen years. 'Ni han tenido más largas jornadas que caminar
dos millones de indios que desde el año de mill é quinientos
y catorçe que llegó Pedrarias á la Tierra-Firme hasta quél
murió.' Two million murders!

[XXI-22] Additional authorities for the preceding two
chapters are: Various documents in _Col. Doc. Inéd._, v.
209, 211-12, 215; also in _Pacheco_ and _Cárdenas_, _Col.
Doc._, vii. 556-7; xii. 84-6; xiv. 54; xvi. 324; _Squier's
MSS._, iv. xx. 2-5, 11-43; _Remesal_, _Hist. Chyapa_, 164;
_Andagoya_, _Narr._, 32-9; _Chimalpain_, _Hist. Conq._,
ii. 181; _Navarrete_, _Col. de Viages_, iii. 416-17; _Las
Casas_, _Hist. Apolog._, MS., 29; _Pelaez_, _Mem. Guat._,
i. 54-9; _Beaumont_, _Crón. Mech._, MS., 322-3; _Brasseur de
Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, iv. 616; _Belly_, _Nicaragua_,
i. 171-2.

[XXII-1] _Cartas_, 259.

[XXII-2] See p. 493, this volume.

[XXII-3] _Cortés_, _Cartas_, 289-90. But this state of things
did not last long. Ixtlilxochitl includes Soconusco in a
list of provinces which were in revolt in 1523. _Horribles
Crueldades_, 65.

[XXII-4] According to Fuentes y Guzman, derived from
_Coctecmalan_—that is to say, _Palo de leche_, milk-tree,
commonly called _Yerba mala_, found in the neighborhood of
Antigua Guatemala. See also _Juarros_, _Guat._, ii. 257-8.
In the Mexican tongue, if we may believe Vazquez, it was
called _Quauhtimali_, 'rotten tree.' _Chronica de Guat._,
68. Others derive it from _Uhatezmalha_, signifying 'the
hill which discharges water;' and Juarros suggests that it
may be from _Juitemal_, the first king of Guatemala, by a
corruption, as _Almolonga_ from _Atmulunga_, and _Zonzonate_
from _Zezontlatl_. The meaning of the word would then be 'the
kingdom of Guatemala.' _Guat._, i. 4; ii. 259-60.

[XXII-5] See _Native Races_, v., passim.

[XXII-6] There were two royal families among the Cakchiquels.
The succession alternated between them. The king's title
was Ahpozotzil, while that of the heir of the other branch
was Ahpoxahil. The eldest sons of these had respectively the
titles of Ahpop Qamahay and Galel Xahil. _Native Races_, ii.
640.

[XXII-7] This Mexican name of Cortés was already known to the
natives from sea to sea, and from the far north to the far
south; in fact, to them it was almost his only name.

[XXII-8] Gomara surmises that the ships of Andrés Niño were
referred to, _Hist. Ind._, 266, while Peter Martyr believes
them to have been those of Gil Gonzalez, seen off the coast
of Yucatan.

[XXII-9] 'El qual pregunto, si eran de Malinxe, ... Dios caydo
del cielo.' _Gomara_, _Hist. Ind._, 266.

[XXII-10] A carver in wood, and no ordinary pilot, Peter
Martyr says, dec. viii. cap. v., while Gomara's words are,
'Treuiño, y era carpintero de naos.' _Hist. Ind._, 266.

[XXII-11] One of the messengers sought to appropriate
to himself a quantity of the gold, while his comrade,
disapproving, first admonished him, then held his peace,
dissembling, and accused him to Cortés of theft. The culprit
was convicted, publicly flogged, and banished from New Spain.
_Peter Martyr_, dec. viii. cap. v. 'Esta fue la primera
entrada, y noticia de Quauhtemallan.' _Gomara_, _Hist. Ind._,
267.

[XXII-12] _Cortés_, _Cartas_, 289; _Gomara_, _Hist. Ind._,
267; _Vazquez_, _Chronica de Gvat._, 4; _Remesal_, _Hist.
Chyapa_, 2-3. Gomara erroneously gives 1523 as the year of
this embassy, as well as Alvarado's expedition to Tututepec.