CHAPTER XXVII.

REVOLT OF THE CAKCHIQUELS.

1524-1525.

RETURN OF THE ALLIES TO MEXICO—FOUNDING OF THE CITY OF

SANTIAGO—THE CAKCHIQUELS OPPRESSED BEYOND ENDURANCE—THEY

FLEE FROM THE CITY—DIFFICULTY IN AGAIN REDUCING THEM

TO SUBJECTION—REINFORCEMENTS FROM MEXICO—CAMPAIGN

AGAINST MIXCO—CAPTURE OF THAT STRONGHOLD—FIGHT WITH THE

CHIGNAUTECS—SUPERHUMAN VALOR OF A CAVALRYMAN—CONQUEST OF THE

ZACATEPEC VALLEY—EXPEDITION AGAINST THE MAMES—DEFEAT OF CAN

ILOCAB—ENTRY INTO HUEHUETENANGO—SIEGE OF ZAKULÉU—SURRENDER OF

CAIBIL BALAM.

Pedro de Alvarado with his army arrived at Patinamit from his southern

campaign some days previous to the 28th of July, 1524.[XXVII-1] The

Mexican allies were soon dismissed and returned to their homes, bearing

despatches to Cortés. The general was greatly pleased with the tidings

from his lieutenant, and sent him two hundred more Spanish soldiers, to

aid in the colonization of those parts.

[Sidenote: FOUNDING OF THE CITY OF SANTIAGO.]

Almost immediately after their return to the capital of the Cakchiquels

the Spaniards proceeded to appropriate the territory and make

preparations for its government. A Spanish city was founded at Patinamit

under the name of Ciudad del Señor de Santiago.[XXVII-2]

The ceremonies were conducted with great pomp. According to Remesal, on

the 25th of July, St James' day, the army was drawn up in battle-array

to the sound of fife and drum. The morning was unusually fine, and the

sun flashing its rays upon burnished armor added splendor to the scene.

The cavalry were specially conspicuous for the brilliancy of their

dress and ornaments. After repeated volleys by the arquebusiers mass

was celebrated by Juan Godinez, the chaplain, and all joined devoutly

in the service. With due ceremony the new town was dedicated to their

patron Santiago.

The municipal officers were then appointed by Alvarado. The first

alcaldes were Diego de Rojas and Baltasar de Mendoza. Four regidores

were nominated, whose names were Pedro Puertocarrero, Hernan Carrillo,

Juan Perez Dardon, and Domingo de Zubiarreta,[XXVII-3] while Gonzalo de

Alvarado was elected alguacil mayor.[XXVII-4]

The municipality having thus been formed,[XXVII-5] the Spaniards for the

next three days devoted themselves to festivities and rejoicing. On the

12th of August[XXVII-6] there was an enrolment of colonists, of whom a

list of one hundred has been preserved.[XXVII-7] To the sacred patron

was also built and dedicated a church, of which Juan Godinez was left in

charge, and one Reynosa sacristan with a salary of sixty dollars a year.

The surrounding lands were then distributed in encomiendas. In making

these grants Alvarado must have entertained some misgivings as to their

validity and as to his future position and authority in the conquered

provinces, for in a despatch to Cortés he complains that according

to reports meeting him on his return from the southern campaign the

king had appointed a governor other than himself of the new territory,

and upbraids Cortés for not having duly reported his services to his

Majesty, at the same time begging him to do so.[XXVII-8]

[Sidenote: OUTRAGE UPON OUTRAGE.]

That the Cakchiquel nobles should regard with indignation this arbitrary

disposal of their lands and vassals was but natural. They had already

observed that friend and foe were much the same in the hands of

the voracious Spaniards, whose aggressive and outrageous action now

convinced them that the friendly bearing of their king had gained for

their nation no more, nay less, consideration than that vouchsafed

the conquered Quichés, who had fought manfully for independence. So

it was, in truth, with regard to all the conquerors in America, though

not so expressed in words: those who fought for their rights must die

or suffer enslavement because they offered opposition to the spoilers;

those who did not fight were contemptible things, unworthy a white

man's consideration. Believing in their promises, the Cakchiquels

had received the Spaniards and had accepted their sovereign; but they

were not prepared to go so far as to surrender themselves, their wives

and little ones, their lands and their religion. Death might be the

result of revolt; judging from what they had seen it probably would be;

nevertheless they would revolt and die. How high the high hand of the

taskmasters had been raised we know not; but we know that within a few

short months after Alvarado's return and the founding of his unstable

city[XXVII-9] the Cakchiquels rose to a man against the tyrants. The

crowning grievance also is known. Exaction after exaction had been made.

The temples and palaces of Patinamit had been forced to contribute their

gold and silver ornaments until there was nothing left. Then a large

amount of gold[XXVII-10] was demanded of the king and nobles within a

stated time, which it was out of their power to supply. In their efforts

to obtain the so much desired yellow substance from auriferous streams

they brought in glittering pyrites, mistaking them for gold.[XXVII-11]

Alvarado, furious with rage, summoned the king and his courtiers before

him. "Why," he passionately exclaimed, "have you not brought the gold

and silver that I demanded of you? If I receive not soon all the gold

and all the silver of your towns, you shall have the choice of being

hanged or burned alive!" Then with a brutality that Caligula might have

gloried in he tore with his own hand from the nostrils of Sinacam and

two princes at his side the golden ornaments they wore as badges of

their high rank.[XXVII-12] This indignity cut the unhappy natives to

the heart, and bending their disgraced heads, bitter tears mingled with

the blood which fell at the feet of the Christian. "It is my will,"

added Alvarado, "that the gold and silver be here within five days. Woe

betide you if you bring it not!" and with a coarseness that equalled

his heartlessness he dismissed them from his presence.

[Sidenote: ABANDONMENT OF THE CITY.]

Nobles, priesthood, and people were already of one mind. The priests in

particular, seeing the desecration of their temples and the threatened

suppression of their religion, put forth all their efforts to rouse the

Cakchiquels from the vile thraldom. And while the nobles and people

proceeded as best they were able to collect treasures to meet the

last demand from the neighboring towns, the priesthood succeeded in

completing plans and preparations for revolt. They spread the report

that their deity, offended at the sacrilegious actions of the Spaniards,

had appeared to his ministers, announcing the speedy destruction of the

strangers. A priest of Chamalcan now presented himself before Sinacam

and his court. "I am the lightning!" he cried, with subdued vehemence,

"and I will strike the Castilians. With fire will I destroy them! When

I shall cause the sound of the sacred drum to be heard in the city,

let the king leave it and withdraw to the other side of the river, for

on the seventh day, Ahmak, will I strike the Spaniards!" These bold

and confident words had their effect. In their deep affliction the

Cakchiquels believed their god would help them, else of what value were

gods? and they secretly made all ready for the time the signal should

be given. The Spaniards do not seem to have had any suspicion of the

intentions of the Cakchiquels. On the very evening of the uprising

Alvarado, pacified with the gold that had been brought him, entertained

Sinacam and a large number of princes and nobles at a banquet, a

splendid banquet, whereat the guests feasted on their own of which they

had been despoiled. That night, while the Spaniards were asleep, heavy

after their revelry, the signal drum was sounded. The whole population,

men, women, and children, arose and silently withdrew with their king

and nobles from the city. It is not the only time in the world's history

that a people have abandoned home and fled from persecution, trusting

in religious faith. Now may the god in whom they trust help them, for

all other hope they have left behind! Crossing the ravine they turned

and awaited the expected miracle; all through the remainder of the

night they watched for the lightning and the fire, straining their eyes

afar, to the remotest corners of the heavens, to catch the first faint

gleam of that sacred flame which should bring them deliverance. But

alas! there was no light save that of the morning sun, which came to

dispel all hope. God and priest alike had deceived them; or rather they

themselves were deceived, had not understood aright, or were not worthy

of aid, or their desire would come in some other way—so their teacher

might have said. Now it remained only for them to perish, for they would

return, never![XXVII-13]

Alvarado well knew the meaning of this action when he heard of it. And

as he walked through the city, the empty houses and deserted streets

told him plainly enough that his atrocious system of oppression had

driven to despair a nation that had welcomed him with all kindness and

hospitality. The immediate cause and incentive to revolt, the action of

the priest, being explained to him, he hoped when the Cakchiquels had

discovered how vain was the hope in their god that they would return

to their homes again, and for ten days he remained inactive. But all

attempts at reconciliation were repelled; they would rather die at war

with the Christians than live at peace with them. Ah well! then they

must be slain; and as a religious and patriotic duty Alvarado took the

field against them. It was a long and bloody war that followed. If the

Quichés and Zutugils had confederated with the Cakchiquels, it is safe

to surmise the Spaniards would have been repelled. With a scarcity of

provisions,[XXVII-14] and a reduced number of Mexican auxiliaries,

hemmed in and harassed, it is hardly possible that they could have

fought their way out of the country. But the rejection by Sinacam of the

earlier proposals of the Quichés, and his alliance with the invaders,

still rankled in their breasts, and they now cared little which of

their detested foes ate the other. As it was, the war proved not the

one-sided affair of late so common. The Cakchiquels displayed a skill

and bravery in battle such as the Spaniards had not experienced in

these parts. In front of their lines they dug deep holes in which they

planted pointed stakes, and concealing them with coverings of grass and

light earth, received behind them the charging cavalry. Many a Spaniard

and many a horse found death or frightful wounds, impaled in these

pitfalls.[XXVII-15]

[Sidenote: HATRED OF THE CAKCHIQUELS.]

On the battle-field the natives displayed a desperate courage. With

their deep hatred they would if possible envenom their arrows and darts,

and as they hurled them on the foe they shouted, "Take gold, Tonatiuh,

take gold!" Thus the contest was carried on with great animosity on both

sides, and the Cakchiquels, now more united among themselves, and joined

by many neighboring tribes, long maintained the struggle. Though their

own land suffered from the ravages of the Spaniards, they had their

revenge in devastating the territories of the Quichés and Zutugils; for

these nations had been so weakened in their contests with the Spaniards

that they could no longer meet the Cakchiquels in the field. And,

indeed, under this widely extended process of devastation the Spaniards

began to suffer hunger. Alvarado was obliged to abandon his new city at

Patinamit during the latter part of this year, 1524, and to make his

head-quarters for a time at Xepau,[XXVII-16] round which the country

was less desolate.

The Spaniards were indeed sorely pressed, and many Christians were

killed and wounded. But about the beginning of 1525 he received

reinforcements from Mexico which enabled him to proceed rapidly with

the reduction of the revolted provinces. Returning to Patinamit, he

subjected the several districts one after another to fire and sword,

till the land was one wide scene of desolation.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: CAMPAIGN AGAINST MIXCO.]

It was during, or immediately after, the suppression of this revolt that

the Spaniards accomplished perhaps their greatest achievement during

the whole Guatemalan conquest. This was the storming of the city of

Mixco, deemed impregnable.[XXVII-17] Mixco was one of the most important

strongholds in the Cakchiquel kingdom, being so fortified by nature as

to require little from art. Situated on an eminence surrounded on all

sides by precipices, it was accessible only by a steep path, wide enough

for but a single person, and interrupted here and there by places which

could only with difficulty be climbed.[XXVII-18] On the top of this

eminence was a great plain, capable of supporting a population of eight

or nine thousand.

Learning that the Mixcans had determined to resist Spanish rule,

and were encouraging other tribes to fortify themselves in similar

impregnable positions, Alvarado regarded the reduction of the place

as an absolute necessity. He therefore sent an advance force of two

companies of foot-soldiers and one of cavalry, under the command of

his brother Gonzalo, to invest Mixco until he should be able to assume

command in person. The captains commanding under Gonzalo, Alonso de

Ojeda, Luis de Vivar, and Hernando de Chaves, were men of high courage

and experience; yet they not only accomplished nothing, but suffered

so much from the stones and arrows of the enemy,[XXVII-19] provisions

likewise beginning to fail, that Gonzalo was about to raise the siege

when the lieutenant-general arrived with reinforcements.[XXVII-20]

Although fully recognizing the difficulty and danger of the undertaking

there were two incentives which urged Alvarado forward to its

achievement: he loved what was difficult and dangerous, and he well knew

that there could be no permanent subjugation of the country with this

stronghold in the hands of the enemy. A council of war was held and

the capture of Mixco resolved on. The first attempt was unsuccessful,

as were indeed the second and third, until days and weeks went by

without any seeming progress. Then the Spaniards tried stratagem, and

while feigning an assault by means of scaling-ladders at a place where

the precipice was lower than elsewhere, they suddenly made a rush up

the pathway, which they hoped to find undefended. The Mixcans were

prepared, however, and received the Spaniards with such heavy discharges

of missiles that they were forced to retire in confusion. While the

officers were in consultation shortly after, a strong body of native

warriors was reported near at hand, which proved to be Chignautecs,

allies of the Mixcans.[XXVII-21] Their intentions were evident, and soon

the two armies were engaged in hot contest. Notwithstanding that great

havoc was made by the arquebuses and cross-bows, and still more by the

cavalry, the Chignautecs maintained the fight with such stubbornness

that after the loss of a large number of Tlascaltecs and the wounding

of many Spaniards a retrograde movement was decided on.

[Sidenote: FIGHT WITH THE CHIGNAUTECS.]

Upon an occasion like the present, where the object to be gained, the

taking of a stronghold, partook more of the nature of single combat than

of general battle, here and elsewhere upon a campaign of this kind, it

was not uncommon to see feats of individual prowess cropping out on both

sides. It was the field of glory to the soldier, limited usually to the

field, as the world was the general's field of glory. I will mention one

such exhibition in connection with this fight against the Chignautecs.

In the hazardous retreat one of the cavalrymen, García de Aguilar, is

in the extreme rear, subject to the fiercest assaults of the pursuing

warriors. In truth, his body is interposed between the two contending

armies. Obviously, if the enemy cannot put him out of the way they are

unable to harm the others; every effort is therefore made to maim his

horse, or otherwise to capture him; and he is at length cut off from

his comrades and quickly surrounded by over four hundred of the dusky

foe, each eager to inflict the _coup de grace_. But Aguilar is by no

means vanquished yet. Though presently unseated, he maintains for some

time a desperate struggle, striking with deadly effect upon the enemy.

Then he loses his sword, and nothing remains to him but a dagger. It is

not in this instance the bravery of the man that astonishes so much as

his extraordinary muscular power. The horse, by kicking and plunging,

prevents capture, while Aguilar, circumscribed by threatening death,

exhibits almost superhuman strength. No blow dealt to kill or stun, no

attempt to seize him, can stop the quick stroke of that strong right

arm as it drives the keen steel straight into the assailants' vitals.

With wounds and ever increasing exertion, however, he grows weaker;

but capture signifies immolation. To be gazed at, helpless on a heathen

altar, an offering to odious gods—the thought is horrible—and the fatal

dagger is still, by swift movements, driven to the hilt. And now the

battle cry of Santiago to the rescue! rings in his ears and tells of

succor; he hears a leaden sound, as of crushed bone and flesh, and

the whistle of descending blades, and knows that help is at hand. Six

horsemen have plunged into the unequal contest, and they scatter the

swarthy foe like sheep. They gather round their countryman, support

his exhausted frame, and carry him wounded and faint to a place of

safety. The courage, strength, and skill of this single man, and the

valor displayed in his rescue, so impressed the Chignautecs that they

retired disheartened, regarding their efforts of no avail against such

beings,[XXVII-22] and they returned to their homes.

The siege had now lasted a month. On the third day after the retrograde

movement, which resulted in victory, the Spaniards determined to make

another attempt upon the place, and were on the point of assault when

an ambassador arrived from the Chignautecs tendering their submission,

and bringing the customary presents of gold, green plumes, and costly

mantles. It was, however, stipulated on their part that this act of

allegiance should be kept secret until the fall of Mixco; at the same

time the envoy intimated that their caciques would communicate privately

to Alvarado a secret that would be of service to him. Alvarado received

this message favorably, and sent back the emissary with every mark of

consideration, expressing his willingness to hear what the chiefs had

to say.

The distance from Mixco to Chignauta was nine leagues; and in three

days, during which Alvarado had refrained from active operations, the

principal caciques arrived at his camp. They were attended by a large

retinue and a number of natives bearing presents of great aboriginal

value and a large quantity of provisions. The disclosure made by the

caciques was to the effect that there existed a subterranean passage

from the stronghold, having an outlet in the woods near the river bank.

By this the Mixcans could escape, they said, even if the Spaniards

succeeded in storming the height. The outlet they were willing to

disclose, as they owed no allegiance to the Mixcans, who had incited

them to take up arms against the Spaniards. They moreover suggested that

an ambuscade should be placed near the mouth.[XXVII-23]

[Sidenote: THE FALL OF MIXCO.]

A force of forty men, cross-bowmen and cavalry, commanded by Alonso

Lopez de Loarca, was accordingly despatched to the exit of the

passage,[XXVII-24] and thereupon Alvarado determined once more to

attempt to storm the place. The front man of the storming line bore a

shield, and behind him followed a cross-bowman; then succeeded another

shield-bearer, supported by an arquebusier. This alternate order

afforded protection and at the same time admitted of assault.[XXVII-25]

The file thus formed was led by Bernardino de Arteaga, who had asked

for the dangerous post as a favor, and succeeded in covering his name

with honor. Calling on God and Santiago, they began the ascent of the

narrow ridge, which widened as it joined the cliff. While moving as

rapidly as possible, so that the showering stones and arrows might

have less effect, they nevertheless plied cross-bow and arquebuse with

deadly effect. They had almost reached a wider place in the ridge, where

four men might walk abreast, when the gallant Arteaga was felled with a

heavy stone, breaking his leg, but with indomitable will he struggled

on, supported by his comrade Diego Lopez de Villanueva.[XXVII-26]

Despite the terrible resistance they reached the broader space near

the cliff, which was packed with defenders so eager for a blow at the

assailants that many were crowded off the precipice by those behind. But

the stormers were by this time enabled to fall partially into line and

ply their blades. A hand-to-hand contest followed, and the ground soon

became thickly strewn with the bodies of slain Mixcans, among which were

heaps of lopped-off heads and limbs. More Spaniards and auxiliaries came

rapidly forward to aid in the slaughter as ground could be cleared for

them to stand on. The natives fought with desperation, but height after

height was lost to them, until their victorious foe gained at last the

plain above. There the Spaniards found fresh forces to oppose them. But

the Mixcans were by this time overawed by the extraordinary achievement

of the Spaniards; and as they marked these merciless white foemen, the

first who had ever planted foot within the precincts of their famed

and formidable stronghold, as they saw them moving onward and upward,

invincible as fate, it is no wonder that their hearts sank with despair.

Their opposition was wholly spiritless; they broke and fled at the first

charge. What followed was frightful, surpassing even the terrible scenes

to which these man-killers on both sides were accustomed. To escape the

fierce onslaught of the Spaniards some of the Mixcans plunged headlong

down the cliffs, the dull thud of their bodies, as they struck upon

the rocks, sounding ghostly echoes in the ravine below. Some attempted

escape by the now deserted path by which the assailants had come, but

these were captured by the camp guard. Some fled by the subterranean

caverns, but were pursued and many taken prisoners before they reached

the outlet, while those who had previously withdrawn thither with the

women and children, under the care of several caciques, on emerging at

the outlet were assailed by Loarca, and most of them captured.[XXVII-27]

Thus terminated this remarkable exploit of the conquerors. The city

was burned, the stronghold destroyed, and the population removed to the

site of the present town of the same name, situated in the Valle de las

Vacas.[XXVII-28]

* * * * *

[Sidenote: THE ZACATEPEC WAR.]

It was not long after the fall of Mixco that the conquest of the

Zacatepec Valley was accomplished. The towns of this district

were subject to the king of the Cakchiquels, but many of them,

especially Zacatepec, had thrown off their allegiance and declared

themselves independent, indignant at Sinacam's alliance with the

Spaniards.[XXVII-29] They had, moreover, repeatedly shown their

hostility to those towns which had submitted to Spanish rule, by making

incursions into their lands, and carrying off their women and children

to the sacrifice.[XXVII-30]

After the suppression of the revolt and the re-establishment of Spanish

power in the Patinamit district,[XXVII-31] the caciques of Xinaco and

Zumpango remonstrated with the Zacatepecs, saying that they were now

under the protection of the children of the sun, and should appeal to

them if the depredations on their lands did not cease. The unfortunate

men who carried this message were summarily sacrificed on the altar

stone, all save one, whose life was spared that he might carry back

the reply of the Zacatepecs: "Let the children of the sun bring to

life again the dead envoys. As for ourselves, we will not submit to an

unknown people, but will destroy all the villages of the caciques before

their allies can render assistance." Nor were they slow to carry out

their threat.

A large force invaded the territory of Xinaco and Zumpango, and

began to slay and lay waste. The natives sent to Guatemala to implore

assistance. Alvarado was at this time absent on his second campaign

to Salvador,[XXVII-32] carrying out his former intention to return

and bring the stubborn natives to a recognition of Spaniards' rights.

Nevertheless, one thousand Cakchiquels and ten arquebusiers, under

the command of Antonio de Salazar, a most competent captain, were at

once despatched to the scene of action, while Alvarado was advised of

what had occurred. Hostilities had already begun before these troops

arrived. For three days the Zacatepecs maintained the conflict with

great bravery, though with considerable loss. But now the Spaniards

received a reinforcement of ten arquebusiers, twenty horsemen, and two

hundred Tlascaltecs and Mexicans, commanded by Pedro Gonzalez Nájera.

The contest thereafter was not so evenly balanced, and the Zacatepecs

sustained several defeats. On the fifth day, however, they adopted

the plan of attacking in columns one thousand strong, successively

relieving each other, so that fresh men continually kept up the battle,

each column when relieved retiring to the rear.[XXVII-33] These tactics

enabled them to maintain the fight during the whole of that day, and

they inflicted no little loss on the Spanish forces. Early in the

morning the Spaniards took the field, apparently in disorder and much

reduced in numbers. Encouraged by the success of their new manœuvres,

the Zacatepecs attacked with contemptuous confidence. The Spaniards gave

way and retreated toward a thickly wooded ravine. The Zacatepecs now

felt sure of victory, and in their impetuous pursuit allowed themselves

to be drawn into the defile, where a large body of their enemies were

lying in ambush. Suddenly assailed on both sides, their disorderly ranks

were routed with great slaughter. Numbers were also taken prisoners,

among whom were many caciques. This battle terminated the war. The

whole Zacatepec valley submitted to the authority of the Spaniards;

and in order to insure future obedience a garrison of ten Spaniards

and one hundred and forty Tlascaltecs was stationed at Zacatepec,

under the command of Diego de Alvarado, the caciques being detained as

hostages.[XXVII-34]

* * * * *

[Sidenote: CONQUEST OF THE MAMES.]

About the middle of the year 1525 Sequechul, king of Utatlan,

represented to Alvarado that his father Oxib Quieh had not been so

guilty as he had supposed of the treacherous plot to destroy the

Spaniards the year previous, but that Caibil Balam,[XXVII-35] king

of the Mames,[XXVII-36] was more to blame, as the instigator of the

attempt. At the same time he offered to provide the invading forces

with guides if Alvarado would undertake the conquest of that kingdom

and punish Caibil Balam. Whether Sequechul's object was revenge for his

father's cruel death or favor with Alvarado is of little consequence;

the mention he made of the broad lands and great wealth of the province

fell pleasantly on the lieutenant-general's ear, and he willingly

acceded to the king's proposal.

The expedition was placed under the command of Gonzalo de Alvarado, and

consisted of eighty Spanish infantry, the captains being Antonio de

Salazar and Francisco de Arévalo, together with forty cavalrymen and

two thousand native auxiliaries, drawn from various districts, whose

commanders were Jorge de Acuña, Pedro de Aragon, Bernardino de Oviedo,

and Juan de Verastigui. These forces were, moreover, accompanied by

three hundred pioneers, with axes and picks, while a large number of

Indian carriers bore with them an ample supply of provisions besides the

baggage. Early in July the army marched to Totonicapan, a town on the

confines of the Mame territory, which was made the base of operations.

The usual difficulties of such undertakings here began. It took the

invaders no less than eight days to cross the mountain range between

that place and the Rio Hondo. The season rendered their labors the

greater, for the rain, day after day, poured down in torrents. Up steep

ascents, down dangerous gullies, they toiled, now winding in single

file along the edge of a precipice, now plunging over soft treacherous

ground up to the knee in mud. On reaching the Hondo[XXVII-37] they

bivouacked for two days in the dripping sunless woods on the bank of the

river, which, swollen by the ceaseless rains, for a time defied their

passage. At length they succeeded in crossing, and presently emerged

from the forests upon an open plain, and descried on an eminence the

Mame town of Mazatenango. It was a well fortified place, surrounded by

a barricade of heavy timber, behind which, on a terre-plein of mud and

straw, a great multitude of warriors were drawn up. A wide stretch of

swampy ground, not differing in appearance from the rest of the plain,

debarred approach to this side of the town. As the invading army drew

near, the Mames with hisses and shouts of defiance challenged attack,

in the hope of inducing them to charge into the swamp. Gonzalo de

Alvarado was, however, timely advised of the danger by his guides, and

making a detour he assaulted the barricade on the other side, where

the ground was firm. The assailants were received with a blinding storm

of missiles, which for a long time kept them in check. Their repeated

efforts to burst through the defences were baffled, and the auxiliaries

were becoming discouraged, when Gomez de Loarca with the cavalry plunged

through the palisade. The besiegers, pouring in through the breach,

could now fight after their own fashion; and though the Mames offered a

brave resistance, they were routed with great slaughter, and their town

taken possession of by the conquerors, who placed in it a sufficient

garrison as a protection in their rear.

[Sidenote: PRINCE CAN ILOCAB.]

Continuing their march, they encounter at no great distance from

Mazatenango an army of five thousand warriors from Malacatan, whereupon

Gonzalo takes up a favorable position on the plain.[XXVII-38] The

vanguard of the enemy is composed of slingers and archers, and the

main body of spearmen, commanded by the renowned prince Can Ilocab.

In perfect order, and with deafening sound of drums and conchs, they

approach the Spanish army. As soon as the vanguard has reached a

suitable point Gonzalo charges upon them with the cavalry. The arrows

strike thick as hail on the mailed breasts of the horsemen, drawing fire

therefrom; but the chargers dash through the ranks of the archers, who

with stubborn courage disdain to fly, while to avoid the fatal lance

thrusts they throw themselves under the horses, only to be crushed

and mangled by the iron-shod hoofs. And now the main body of the Mames

come up, and the Spanish cavalry have more difficult work. The charge

against those solid columns bristling with long spears is only partially

successful. The shock is sustained by the Mames with a firmness the

Spaniards are little accustomed to. The discomfited vanguard has time

to rally, and again the swift stone bruises, and arrows hiss and shiver

on helmet and coat of mail. All the forces on both sides are now in

action, and the slaughter of the Mames is dreadful, yet not one inch

will they yield. Rushing to close quarters, within their opponents'

breastwork of sword-points, and gliding along their lances, they so

hamper the Spaniards that they can hardly wield their arms. Bruised and

stunned, embarrassed in their movements, the blows of the Spaniards

fall more feebly, and they already begin to relax their efforts when

Salazar, one of the captains of infantry, seeing the imminent danger,

strives to rouse his men with spirit-stirring words. "Where is your

valor, Castilians?" he cries. "Does that courage sink which won the

blood-stained fields of Mexico and Utatlan? There you achieved renown;

lose it not here, nor suffer yourselves to be carried off to die on

the altars of these idolaters!" The appeal has its effect. With renewed

efforts the infantry mow their way through and through the Mame columns,

causing frightful carnage, but the warriors recede not one foot in

flight. For still waves in air their prince's banner; his plume nods

high above them all, and his voice still cheers them on. As long as he

remains they will fight, knowing no defeat. The Spanish captain is not

blind to this, for under the great Cortés he has learned that in their

leader lies the strength of the warriors, and he recognizes only too

clearly that Can Ilocab's death is their one chance of victory. For some

time the execution of Gonzalo's purpose has been delayed, but at length

by the surging ranks he is thrown near to the magic banner, and then

with desperate charge he urges his steed through the resisting guard

up to the Mame chieftain, and plunges the lance through his body. This

ends the battle, and the Mames, unconquered by sword and lance, on the

fall of their prince flee from the field and are pursued as far as their

town. The chiefs of the place at once send an embassy to sue for peace,

bringing with them a present of gold ornaments, and offering allegiance,

which is accepted. Leaving a garrison in the town, the Spaniards

continue their march in the direction of Huehuetenango.[XXVII-39]

[Sidenote: ZAKULÉU INVESTED.]

This was an important city of the Mames, where Gonzalo de Alvarado

expected warm work, judging from the late formidable resistance. On

arrival, however, he found the place abandoned, and such of the houses

as had not been destroyed stripped of furniture and utensils, without

a handful of provisions. Cavalry troops were sent out in different

directions, and one under the command of Gaspar Aleman fell in with

three hundred Indian archers, who without hesitation attacked the

horsemen, among others wounding Aleman in the face. But they were

soon routed, and in the pursuit three prisoners were taken, one of

whom was a chief named Sahquiab, a captain in Caibil Balam's army.

When brought into the presence of Gonzalo de Alvarado, he informed

him that his sovereign had retired to the almost impregnable city

of Zakuléu,[XXVII-40] where, provided with provisions and stores, he

deemed himself secure. The captive was thereupon sent by Gonzalo to

Caibil Balam with offers of peace and a charitable proposal to teach him

the doctrines of the Christian religion. But Sahquiab did not return,

nor came any answer to Gonzalo. A second embassy, composed of Indians

from Utatlan, was rudely refused audience with a shower of arrows.

This exhausted the patience of Gonzalo and he marched on Zakuléu. As

soon as his approach was observed by the Mames an army six thousand

strong sallied forth to give him battle. The engagement which followed

was maintained by the Mames with the same stubborn valor exhibited

in previous fights, and marked by similar carnage. A reserve of two

thousand, which sallied during the battle from Zakuléu to the support

of their countrymen, made an ineffectual attempt to turn the tide of

victory, only adding to the victims; and routed in all directions the

Mames fled to their stronghold in the mountains.[XXVII-41]

[Sidenote: PREPARING TO STORM ZAKULÉU.]

Owing to the impossibility of storming so impregnable a place as

Zakuléu, Gonzalo closely invested it by stationing troops at the

few points where egress seemed possible. On the third day of the

siege Diego Lopez de Villanueva, while reconnoitring with a body of

cavalry, observed smoke issuing from the woods on the other side of

the river.[XXVII-42] Having crossed with much difficulty, he fell in

with three hundred Indians in charge of a large supply of provisions,

which they intended to introduce into the beleaguered city, and which

Villanueva promptly appropriated.

The inactive warfare soon wore out the patience of the Spaniards, and

Gonzalo began to cut a road suitable for cavalry up the most practicable

part of the steep. Day by day, from morning to night, the sound of the

pick was heard, and the work continued uninterrupted with but little

loss to the besiegers, though the heights were thronged with Mames, who

used every effort to impede its progress. The cross-bow and arquebuse

were far more deadly than the sling and arm-drawn bow, and the Mames

suffered heavily.

In the midst of these operations an army of eight thousand mountaineers

appeared on the plain, presenting a most unusual spectacle—naked, and

hideous with war-paint, unrelieved by plume or ornament of any kind,

only by the glitter of their weapons. The Spanish captain immediately

made preparation for battle. Leaving a sufficient number to protect the

work and guard the camp,[XXVII-43] he advanced against them with the

remainder of his forces, and was soon engaged in a desperate struggle.

Three several times the ranks of the mountaineers were broken, and

as often did they rally and attack with ever increasing fury. Only

the steel and cotton armor of the Spanish forces saved them from

destruction. As it was, lance and sword, bullet and bolt, reaped the

usual harvest, and on the plain, saturated with blood and bespotted with

mangled bodies, the Spaniards at last stood triumphant.[XXVII-44]

Thenceforth the siege continued uninterrupted. The work of cutting the

road dragged slowly on, and by the middle of October both besiegers and

besieged were undergoing intense suffering. Within the city famine was

daily gathering its victims; every eatable substance, to the leather of

their shields, had been consumed, and the survivors were feeding on the

bodies of the dead. Scarcity of provisions, too, was felt in the Spanish

camp. But this was not the worst. The weather was unusually severe;

icy hailstorms and keen frosts caused much suffering to the invaders,

unaccustomed to the cold of that altitude. Fever and ague also attacked

them. From the rain and hail that fell the plain had become a swamp, and

day by day Gonzalo saw the number of his haggard troops' grow smaller.

A more speedy method of reducing the place must be adopted or the

attempt abandoned. Accordingly he sent off his sick to Huehuetenango,

and stopping work on the road, prepared to make the desperate attempt

to storm the place with scaling ladders.[XXVII-45] He had already

constructed a number of these ladders, huge in size and wide enough to

allow three men to ascend abreast, and was on the point of making the

attack when there appeared an envoy from Caibil Balam suing for peace.

This unfortunate ruler had previously attempted to escape by night with

his family and an escort of the principal chiefs; but having fallen in

with a patrolling party, he was wounded in the arm with a cross-bow bolt

and compelled to return. And now he had taken counsel with his chiefs

on the subject of surrender. He had represented to them that all hope

of relief was gone, while his famished subjects were dying around him.

Submission alone could save the few survivors. The chiefs had eagerly

approved his words, and the tender of submission was made. Gonzalo's

satisfaction at this unexpected termination of the siege was indeed

great. A spot midway between the gate of Zakuléu and the quarters of

the cavalry was appointed as the place of meeting for the settlement of

terms, and Gonzalo, accompanied by Loarca, Salazar, Arévalo, and twelve

others, there met the humbled Caibil Balam. The Spaniard's reception

of the native ruler was friendly in the extreme, and with an embrace,

Gonzalo assured him of his love and friendship. Under such kindly

treatment, so little expected, the stoical self-command of the weakened

warrior gave way, and he wept as he returned the victor's greeting.

[Sidenote: THE COUNTRY PACIFIED.]

The Spaniards then took formal possession of the city in the name

of the king of Spain.[XXVII-46] They destroyed the fortification at

the entrance,[XXVII-47] and made more practicable the road across

the ravine. The surrounding country was afterward explored and the

towns subjected to Spanish rule. In Huehuetenango Gonzalo de Alvarado

stationed a strong garrison, with Gonzalo de Solis as captain, and

having taken all the necessary measures for the permanent tranquillity

of his newly conquered territory, he returned to Guatemala City toward

the end of the year.

Henceforth conquest, oppression, and destruction marched hand-in-hand

over the country, and the result was a national and social eclipse of

the fallen races. Their arts and sciences were soon forgotten; their

architectural skill was lost; and from a state of happy development

their life as a nation was blotted out. To what extent the progress

of the world would have been benefited or retarded, had the aboriginal

inhabitants of the American table-lands survived as integral nations, it

is impossible to say; but we may question how much the occupation of the

country by the Spaniards contributed toward general advancement. It is

thought by some that the great Indian nations had reached the limit of

their present line of progress when the Spaniards arrived. In Guatemala

the individual kings had by long lines of succession arrived at that

stage of monarchy when power begets luxury and decay. Without European

interference there might have been a relapse and a dark age; and a later

view, had discovery been delayed to our own time for instance, might

have found Mexico and Central America overrun by savage hordes from the

north and ruined cities scattered over the land. To this fancy I am not

prepared wholly to subscribe.[XXVII-48]

FOOTNOTES

[III-1] The island known to-day as Hayti was named by Columbus

_Insula Hispaniæ_, Island of Spain. On one of his maps it is

called _Insula Hyspaniæ_, and on another _Hyspana_. By the

early navigators and chroniclers the name was turned into

Spanish and spoken and written _La Isla Española_, the Spanish

Isle, or _La Española_. _Hispaniola_, as it is called at a

later period by English authors, is neither Latin nor Spanish;

it may be a syncope of the words _Insula Hyspaniæ_, or more

likely it is a corruption of _La Española_ by foreigners to

whom the Spanish _ñ_ was not familiar. The choice lies between

the mutilation, _Hispaniola_, of English authors, and the

correct but unfamiliar _Española_, and I adopt the latter.

[III-2] Usually two royal officers went out by each departure;

a treasurer to take charge of the gold, and a notary to

watch the treasurer and write down what was seen and done.

The government was exceedingly strict in its regulations of

discoveries by sea, as well as in all matters relative to

commerce and colonization. Notice was given by Ferdinand and

Isabella September 3, 1501, by Charles V. November 17, 1526,

and by Philip II. in 1563, that no one should go to the Indies

except under express license from the king. In 1526 Charles

V. ordered that the captain of any discovering or trading

vessel should not go ashore within the limits mentioned in

his patent without the permission of the royal officers and

priests on board, under penalty of confiscation of half the

goods. The law of 1556 stipulates that ships must be properly

equipped, provisioned for one year, always sail in pairs, and

carry in each two pilots and two priests. In his _ordenanzas

de poblaciones_ of 1563 Philip II. directs that vessels

making discoveries shall carry scissors, combs, knives,

looking-glasses, rifles, axes, fishhooks, colored caps, glass

beads, and the like, as means of introduction and traffic.

_Recopilacion de Leyes de los Reynos de las Indias_, ii.

6-7. In regard to the share of the crown in the gold gathered

our popular writers seem to have found original authorities

somewhat vague. It is clearly enough stated that settlers

are to pay two thirds; the question is whether in relation to

discoverers gold is included in products of which one tenth

was to go to the crown, or whether the exception to a rule

was unintentionally omitted. Mr Irving glides gracefully over

the difficulty with the same degree of indefiniteness that

he finds in the authorities. Mr Prescott states positively,

_History of Ferdinand and Isabella_, ii. 488, that 'the ships

fitted out under the general license were required to reserve

... two thirds of all the gold' for the crown, quoting Muñoz

and Navarrete as vouchers, the words of neither justifying

the statement. Muñoz, _Hist. Nuevo Mundo_, i. 240, says, 'se

concedió á todos generalmente, sin mas gravamen que pagar

la décima de lo que se rescatase,' while Navarrete, _Col.

de Viages_, ii. 167, printing the _real provision_ itself,

states simply 'es nuestra merced que de lo que las dichas

personas hallaren en las dichas islas é tierra-firme hayan

para sí las nueve partes, é la otra diezma parte sea para

Nos.' The misstatement of the talented author of _Ferdinand

and Isabella_ is rendered all the more conspicuous when on the

very next page quoted by him Muñoz settles the whole matter

exactly contrary to Prescott's account. 'todos se permitió

llevar víveres y mercancías, rescatar oro de los naturales

contribuyendo al rey con la décima.' And after thus stating

distinctly that all might trade with the natives for gold

on paying one tenth to the crown, he gives the reason why

miners must pay two thirds to the crown; or if the recipient

of pecuniary aid from the crown, then four fifths; it was

because of the supposed exceeding richness of the mines, the

ease with which gold could be obtained; and, further, the

dependence of the crown on its mines, more than on anything

else for a colonial revenue. Prior to 1504 the regulation of

the royal share was not fixed, some of the traders paying one

tenth gross, some one fifth gross, and some one fourth net.

Bobadilla, in 1500, granted twenty years' licenses to settlers

in Española to work gold mines by paying only one eleventh to

the crown. Summarizing the subsequent laws upon the subject,

we find ordered by Ferdinand and Isabella, February 5, 1504,

reiterated by Philip, 1572, that all dwellers in the Indies

must pay to the crown one fifth of all gold, silver, lead,

tin, quicksilver, iron, or other metal obtained by them;

likewise traders were to pay one fifth of all gold, silver,

or other metals, pearls, precious stones, or amber obtained by

them. September 14, 1519, Charles V. declared that of all gold

received in trade from the natives one fifth must be paid to

him; and March 8, 1530, he said that where a reward has been

promised to a prospector of mines the royal treasury would pay

two thirds of that reward, and the private persons interested

one third. It was ordered September 4, 1536, and reiterated

June 19, 1540, that all persons must pay the king's fifth on

the before-mentioned articles, whether obtained in battle or

by plundering-expeditions, or by trade. Of all gold, silver,

pearls, and precious stones received as ransom of a cacique

or other principal personage the king was to have one third;

the remainder, after deducting the king's fifth, was to be

divided among the members of the expedition. Of the spoils

secured from a cacique slain in battle, or executed, one half

was the crown's, and one half, except the king's fifth, the

property of the conquerors. June 5, 1551, it was ordered,

and reiterated August 24, 1619, that beside the king's share,

there be levied a duty of 1½ per cent. to pay for smelting,

assaying, and stamping. By the _ordenanzas de poblaciones_ of

Philip II., 1563, the adelantado of a discovery by land, and

his successor, and the settlers were to pay the crown but one

tenth on metals and precious stones for the term of ten years.

_Recop. de Indias_, ii. 10, 68, 75-7, 79, and 480-1.

[III-3] The document may be seen to-day in the archives of

the Indies. Beginning: 'EL REY É LA REINA. El asiento que se

tomó por nuestro mandado con vos Rodrigo de Bastidas, vecino

de la cibdad de Sevilla, para ir á descobrir por el mar

Océano, con dos navios, es lo siguiente:'—it goes on to state,

'First, that we give license to you, the said Rodrigo de

Bastidas, that with two vessels of your own, and at your own

cost and risk, you may go by the said Ocean Sea to discover,

and you may discover islands and firm land; in the parts of

the Indies and in any other parts, provided it be not the

islands and firm land already discovered by the Admiral Don

Cristóbal Colon, our admiral of the Ocean Sea, or by Cristóbal

Guerra; nor those which have been or may be discovered by

other person or persons by our order and with our license

before you; nor the islands and firm land which belong to the

most serene prince, the king of Portugal, our very dear and

beloved son; for from them nor from any of them you shall not

take anything, save only such things as for your maintenance,

and for the provision of your ships and crew you may need.

Furthermore, that all the gold, and silver, and copper, and

lead, and tin, and quicksilver, and any other metal whatever;

and _aljofar_, and pearls, and precious stones and jewels,

and slaves and negroes, and mixed breeds, which in these our

kingdoms may be held and reputed as slaves; and monsters and

serpents, and whatever other animals and fishes and birds,

and spices and drugs, and every other thing of whatsoever

name or quality or value it may be; deducting therefrom the

freight expenses, and cost of vessels, which in said voyage

and fleet may be made; of the remainder to us will belong the

fourth part of the whole, and the other three fourths may be

freely for you the said Rodrigo de Bastidas, that you may do

therewith as you choose and may be pleased to do, as a thing

of your own, free and unincumbered. _Item_, that we will

place in each one of the said ships one or two persons, who in

our name or by our order shall be witnesses to all which may

be obtained and trafficked in said vessels of the aforesaid

things; and that they may put the same in writing and keep a

book and account thereof, so that no fraud or mistake happen.'

After stating further under whose direction the ships should

be fitted out, and what should be done on the return of the

expedition, the document is dated at Seville, June 5, 1500,

and the signatures follow: 'YO EL REY. YO LA REINA. Por

mandado del Rey é de la Reina, GASPAR DE GRIZIO.' All this

under penalty of the forfeiture of the property and life of

the captain of the expedition, Rodrigo de Bastidas. _Archivo

de Indias_, printed in _Pacheco_ and _Cárdenas_, _Col. Doc._,

ii. 362-6.

[III-4]

[Illustration: CARAVEL.]

[Illustration: GALLEY.]

[Illustration: GALEAZA.]

[Illustration: GALLEON.]

[Illustration: NAVIO.]

[Illustration: BRIGANTINE.]

It is often remarked with wonder in what small and

apparently insecure vessels the early navigators traversed

perilous seas and explored unknown coasts. That shipwreck

so often attended their ventures is less surprising than

that so many escaped destruction. Two of the three vessels

employed by Columbus were open boats, according to _March y

Labores_, _Historia de la Marina Real Española_, i. 98, of

forty tons each, and the decked _Santa María_, only sixty

tons. The term caravel was originally given to ships navigated

wholly by sails as distinguished from the galley propelled

by oars. It has been applied to a great variety of vessels

of different size and construction. The caravels of the New

World discoverers may be generally described as long, narrow

boats of from twenty to one hundred tons burden, with three

or four masts of about equal height carrying sometimes square

and sometimes lateen sails, the fourth mast set at the heel

of the bowsprit carrying square sails. They were usually

half-decked, and adorned with the lofty forecastle and loftier

poop of the day. The latter constituted over that part of

the vessel a double or treble deck, which was pierced for

cannon. A class of vessels like the _Santa María_, beside a

double stern deck, had a forward deck armed with small pieces

for throwing stones and grape. In the archives of Mallorca

is a picture of a caravel drawn in 1397, and a very fair

representation of those in use a century later may be found

on Juan de la Cosa's map. The large decked ships of from 100

to 1200 tons had two, three, or four masts, and square sails,

with high poop and sometimes high prow. In naval engagements

and in discovery the smaller vessels seemed to be preferred,

being more easily handled. Columbus, at Paria, complained of

his vessel of 100 tons as being too large. In his _ordenanzas

de poblaciones_ of 1563 Philip II. required every discoverer

to take at least two vessels of not over sixty tons each, in

order to enter inlets, cross the bars of rivers, and pass over

shoals. The larger ships, if any were of the expedition, must

remain in a safe port until another safe port was found by

the small craft. Thirty men and no more were to go in every

ship, and the pilots must write down what they encountered

for the benefit of other pilots. _Recop. de Indias_, ii. 5-6.

The _galera_ was a vessel of low bulwarks, navigated by sails

and oars, usually twenty or thirty oars on either side, four

or five oarsmen to a bench. It frequently carried a large

cannon, called _cruxia_, two of medium size, and two small

guns. The _galeaza_ was the largest class of galera, or craft

propelled wholly or in part by oars. It had three masts; it

commonly carried twenty cannon, and the poop accommodated a

small army of fusileers and sharpshooters. A _galeota_ was

a small galera, having only sixteen or twenty oarsmen on a

side, and two masts. The _galeon_ was a large armed merchant

vessel with high bulwarks, three or four decks, with two or

three masts, square-rigged spreading courses and top-sails,

and sometimes top-gallant sails. One fleet of twelve galleons,

from 1000 to 1200 tons burden, was named after the twelve

apostles. Those which plied between Acapulco and Manila were

from 1200 to 2000 tons burden. A _galeoncillo_ was a small

galeon. The _carac_ was a large carrying vessel, the one

intended for Columbus' second voyage being 1250 _toneles_,

or 1500 tons. A _nao_, or _navío_, was a large ship with high

bulwarks and three masts. A _nave_ was a vessel with deck and

sails; the former distinguishing it from the _barca_, and the

absence of oars from a galera. The _bergantin_, or brig, had

low bulwarks; the _bergantin-goleta_ was a hermaphrodite brig,

or brigantine, built for fast sailing. The name brigantine was

applied in America also to an open flat-bottomed boat which

usually carried one sail and from eight to sixteen men, with

a capacity for about 100 persons.

[III-5] The Spanish league varies with time and place. It was

not until 1801 that the diverse measurements of the several

original kingdoms were by royal order made uniform, the legal

league then becoming throughout all Spain 20,000 Spanish feet.

Of these leagues there are twenty to the degree, making each

three geographical miles, being, as specified by the law, the

distance travelled on foot at a steady gait in one hour. The

land league was, by law of Alfonso the Wise, 3000 paces, as

specified by the _Siete Partidas_. The discoverers roughly

estimated a league at from two and a half to three and a

half English miles. A marine or geographical league at that

time was about 7500 varas, or little less than four English

miles, there being nearly 17½ to a degree of latitude. In

different parts of Spanish America the league is different,

being sometimes quite short. In Cuba a league consists of 5078

varas, and in Mexico of 5000 varas. The vara is the Spanish

yard, comprising three Spanish feet of eleven English inches

each. Since the decline of Roman influence, the Spaniards have

had no equivalent for the English mile.

[III-6] See next chapter, note 18.

[III-7] Called by the Venetians _bissas_, and by the Spaniards

_broma_; a terrible pest to tropical navigators before the

days of copper-bottoming. This, and another tropical marine

worm, the _Simnoria terebrans_, brought hither by ships,

play havoc with the wharf-piling of San Francisco and other

west-coast harbors.

[III-8] The early chroniclers make their reckonings of

values under different names at different times. Thus during

the discoveries of Columbus we hear of little else but

_maravedís_; then the _peso de oro_ takes the lead, together

with the _castellano_; all along _marco_ and _ducado_ being

occasionally used. At the beginning of the sixteenth century,

and before and after, Spanish values were reckoned from a

mark of silver, which was the standard. A mark was half a

pound either of gold or silver. The gold mark was divided into

fifty castellanos; the silver mark into eight ounces. In the

reign of Ferdinand and Isabella the mark was divided by law

into 65 _reales de vellon_ of 34 maravedís each, making 2210

maravedís in a mark. To show how changeable were the values

of subsidiary Spanish coins, and how utterly impossible it

is accurately and at all times to determine by their names

the amount of metal they represent, it is only necessary to

state that in the reign of Alfonso XI., 1312-1350, there were

125 maravedís to the mark, while in the reign of Ferdinand

VII., 1808-1833, a mark was divided into 5440 maravedís.

In Spanish America a _real_ is one eighth of a _peso_, and

equal to 2½ reales de vellon. The peso contains one ounce

of silver; it was formerly called _peso de ocho reales de

plata_, whence came the term _pieces of eight_, a vulgarism

at one time in vogue among the merchants and buccaneers in

the West Indies. This coin is designated more particularly

as _peso fuerte_, or _peso duro_, to distinguish it from

_peso sencillo_, equivalent in value to four fifths of the

former. The mutilator of Herrera translates _pesos de oro_

as pieces of eight, in which as in other things he is about

as far as possible wrong. The castellano, the one fiftieth

of the golden mark, in the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella,

was equivalent to 490 maravedís of that day. The _peso de

oro_, according to Oviedo, was exactly equivalent to the

castellano, and either was one third greater than the ducado,

or ducat. The _doblon_, the popular name for the _excelente_,

was first struck by Ferdinand and Isabella as a gold coin

of the weight of two castellanos. The modern doubloon is an

ounce of coined gold, and is worth 16 pesos fuertes. Reduced

to United States currency the peso fuerte, as slightly alloyed

bullion, is in weight nearly enough equivalent to one dollar.

Therefore a mark of silver is equal to eight dollars; a

piece of eight, equal to one peso, which equals one dollar;

a real de vellon, five cents; a Spanish-American real, 12½

cents; a maravedí, 100/276 of a cent; a castellano, or peso

de oro, $2.56; a doubloon, $5.14; a ducat, $1.92; a mark of

gold, $128, assuming the United States alloy. The fact that

a castellano was equivalent to only 490 maravedís shows the

exceedingly high value of silver as compared with gold at

the period in question. The modern ounce, or doubloon, is

valued at about $16. As to the relative purchasing power

of the precious metals at different times during the past

four centuries economists differ. The returns brought by the

first discoverers began the depreciation, which was rapidly

accelerated by the successive conquests, notably of Mexico

and Peru. Any one may estimate; no one can determine with

exactness. Robertson, Prescott, and other writers make but

guess-work of it (see _Hist. America_, and _Conq. Mexico_,

passim) when they attempt to measure the uncertain and widely

diversified denominations of centuries ago by the current coin

of to-day.

[III-9] Las Casas, who was at Santo Domingo when the

shipwrecked mariners arrived, saw Bastidas, and part of his

gold, and the natives of Darien whom he had brought, and who

in place of the Adamic fig-leaf wore a funnel-shaped covering

of gold. There were great riches, it was said; three chests

full of gold and pearls, which on reaching Spain were ordered

to be publicly displayed in all the towns through which the

notary passed on his way to court. This, as an advertisement

of the Indies, was done to kindle the fires of avarice and

discontent in sluggish breasts, that therefrom others might

be induced to go and gather gold and pay the king his fifth.

Afterward Bastidas returned with his wife and children to

Santo Domingo, and became rich in horned cattle, having at one

time 8000 head; and that when a cow in Española was worth 50

pesos de oro. In 1504 he again visited Urabá, in two ships,

and brought thence 600 natives, whom he enslaved in Española.

In 1520 the emperor gave him the pacification of Trinidad

with the title of adelantado; which grant being opposed by

Diego Colon, on the ground that the island was of his father's

discovering, Bastidas waived his claim, and accepted the

governorship of Santa Marta, where he went with 450 men, and

was assassinated by his lieutenant, Villafuerte, who thought

to succeed him, and to silence the governor's interposed

objections to the maltreatment of the natives. Thus if the

humane Bastidas, in accordance with the custom of the day, did

inhumanly enslave his fellow-creatures, he gave his life at

last to save them from other cruelties; which act, standing

as it does luminous and alone in a century of continuous

outrage, entitles him to the honorable distinction of Spain's

best and noblest _conquistador_. As the eloquent Quintana

says: 'Bastidas no se hizo célebre ni como descubridor ni

como conquistador; pero su memoria debe ser grata á todos

los amantes de la justicia y de la humanidad, por haber sido

uno de los pocos que trataron á los indios con equidad y

mansedumbre, considerando aquel pais mas bien como un objeto

de especulaciones mercantiles con iguales, que como campo de

gloria y de conquistas.'

Among the standard authorities mention is made of Bastidas

and his voyage by Las Casas, _Hist. Ind._, iii. 10-12,

who refutes certain of Oviedo's unimportant statements in

_Historia General y Natural de las Indias_, i. 76-7; ii.

334-5; by Herrera, i. 148-9; Gomara, _Hist. Ind._, fol. 67;

and in _Galvano's Discov._, 99-100, and 102-3. But before

these I should place original documents found in _Navarrete_,

_Col. de Viages_, iii. 25-28, 545-6, and 591-3, and in the

_Coleccion_ of Pacheco and Cárdenas, of both of which works

I shall presently speak more fully. In tom. ii. pp. 362-6 of

this latter collection is given the _Asiento que hizo con sus

Majestades Católicas Rodrigo de Bastidas_, before mentioned;

and on pp. 366-467, same volume, is _Informacion de los

servicios del adelantado Rodrigo de Bastidas, conquistador

y pacificador de Santa Marta_. Next in importance to the

chroniclers are, _Historia de la Marina Real Española_, i.

284; _Morelli_, _Fasti Novi Orbis_, 11; _Robertson's Hist.

Am._, i. 159; _Help's Spanish Conquest_, i. 294; _Acosta_,

_Compend. Hist. Nueva Granada_, 21; _Irving's Columbus_, iii.

53-6, and _Quintana_, _Vidas de Españoles Célebres_, 'Vasco

Nuñez de Balboa,' 1. _Robinson's Acct. Discov. in West_,

105; _Lardner's Maritime Discovery_, ii. 32; _Holmes' Annals

of America_, i. 20; _Lerdo de Tejada_, _Apuntes Hist._, 89;

_Harris' Voy._, i. 270; _Major's Prince Henry_, 369, and like

allusions are worthless. In _Kerr's Col. Voy._, ii. 58-63,

is given a translation of Galvano. In Aa's collection the

narrative is substantially the same as in Gottfried's.

[IV-1] His nephew, Fernando, in his _Hist. Almirante_, in

_Barcia_, passim, and those who follow this author closely,

as Napione and De Conti, call him El Prefecto; Herrera, Diego

Mendez, Diego de Porras, Robertson, Navarrete, and others,

employ the title adelantado. Herrera says he was captain of

one of the ships.

[IV-2] Ferdinand Columbus, or as he is more commonly called

Fernando Colon, was an illegitimate son of Christopher

Columbus, by a lady of respectable family. He was born at

Córdova, and in 1494, after his father became famous, was

brought with his elder brother to court, where he was placed

as page to Prince Juan. Upon the death of the heir apparent

young Fernando served Queen Isabella in the same capacity,

thereby securing an excellent education. During this perilous

voyage he was an object no less of comfort than of anxiety

to his father, now infirm and troubled in spirit, and his

conduct throughout merited and received paternal commendation.

'El ha salido y sale de muy buen saber,' writes the fond

father, 'bien que él sea niño en dias, no es assi en el

entendimiento.' _Cartas de Colon_, in _Navarrete_, _Col.

de Viages_, i. 341 and 344. See also _Zúñiga_, _Anales de

Sevilla_. His manhood fulfilled the promise of his youth.

He cultivated literature with considerable success, and

became, as Muñoz, _Hist. Nuevo Mundo_, i. viii., expresses

it, 'doctísimo para su siglo, y de grandes pensamientos

en materias literarias, segun demostraré á su tiempo.' He

travelled extensively in Europe, in the train of Charles V.,

probably visited Africa and Asia, and is said to have made

two voyages to America after his father's death. He formed

a collection of over 20,000 printed books and manuscripts,

which went to the cathedral of Seville. He neither married,

nor left any recognized progeny. He was the author of several

works which have not been preserved, the inscription on

his tomb mentioning one in four divisions relating partly

to the New World and his father's voyages. Antonio de Leon

Pinelo, _Epitome_, 565, 633 and 711, speaks of a work,

_Apuntamientos sobre la Demarcacion del Maluco_, preserved

in manuscript at Simancas. The only printed book of Fernando

Colon is a history of the admiral, his father. The original

title is not known, the manuscript disappearing before its

publication in Spanish. Luis Colon, duke of Veraguas, and

grandson of the admiral, brought the manuscript to Genoa

about 1568, and delivered it to one Fornari, an old man who,

according to Barcia, began to print it in Spanish, Italian,

and Latin. Others assert that it passed into the hands of

Marini, who caused it to be translated into Italian by Alfonso

de Ulloa. _Spotorno_, _Codice Diplomatico_, 1823, lxiii.

Ulloa's translation, badly made from a bad copy—'sans doute

d'après un texte assez fautif,' _Humboldt_, _Exam. Crit._,

i. 13,—was printed in Venice, in 1571, under the title,

_Historie del Fernando Colombo; Nelle quali s'ha particolare,

& vera relatione della vita, & de' fatti dell' Ammiraglio

D. Christoforo Colombo, suo padre_, etc. It was reprinted

in Italian some six or eight times. A French translation was

published in 1680-1, and an English translation has gone the

rounds, appearing in _Churchill's Col. Voy._, ii. 480-604;

_Kerr's Col. Voy._, iii. 1-242; and _Pinkerton's Col. Voy._,

xii. 1-155. It was carelessly retranslated from the Italian

into Spanish by Andrés Gonzalez de Barcia, and printed in

his _Historiadores Primitivos de las Indias Occidentales_, 3

vols., Madrid, 1749, comprising pp. 1-128, tom. i., of that

series, and entitled, _La Historia de D. Fernando Colon, en

la qual se da Particular, y verdadera relacion de la vida, y

hechos de el Almirante D. Christoval Colon, su Padre_, etc.

This is the edition most commonly used, and to this I refer,

although I have before me an Italian copy of the edition of

1709. Fernando Colon had peculiar advantages for writing his

father's history. Himself an actor in the events described,

he was moreover personally acquainted with his father's

friends, and held possession of his father's papers. All

agree that he made good use of his opportunity, and that he

has given a clear statement of events which even in his own

time began to be distorted. If he was silent touching his

father's family, country, and birth, we must remember that

poverty and obscurity were a disgrace in those days, and that

the son Fernando was a Spaniard. Those who should best know

the merits of this author pay him the highest tribute. Of

his work says Muñoz, _Hist. Nuevo Mundo_, i. viii., 'Confieso

deberle mucho;' and the author Navarrete, _Col. de Viages_, i.

lxx., remarks, 'habló siempre con verdad y exactitud, salvo

alguna equivocacion fácil de discernir en buena crítica ...

y por tanto pueden aun estas leves faltas ser efecto de la

incuria ó poca inteligencia de ambos traductores.' Attempts

have been made to deny to Fernando the authorship, but this,

if correct, does not materially affect its value, since it

is allowed to have been written from his documents and under

his supervision. The vicissitudes to which the work has been

subjected and the mutilation it has suffered afford grounds

for caution not to be disregarded by the historian. Still, the

general tenor and details of the narrative, and the literary

bent of the reputed author, present in themselves sufficient

evidence of its authenticity.

With regard to the use of certain proper names encountered

thus far in this history I would say a word. The question

presents difficulties in whatsoever aspect viewed. There

are Spanish names of places and persons which custom has

so anglicized as to give to their use in the original the

appearance of affectation—instance Castilla, for Castile;

Sevilla, Seville; Fernando and Isabel, Ferdinand and Isabella;

Cárlos V., Charles V.; Felipe II., Philip II. On the other

hand, in writing in English of Spanish affairs, the attempt to

continue indefinitely the anglicizing of Spanish names would

be as impossible as absurd. The two chief objects with me have

been to adopt the best forms, and to preserve consistency; I

do not claim eminent success in either attempt. The result,

however, has been the adoption of the following method, if it

may be called a method: The prominent places and persons of

Spain, whose names are invariably given in their anglicized

form in current English literature, I write in the same way;

but those same names, as well as all others, appearing in

the New World, where no prominent English writers have made

them familiar in an English form, I present in the original

as written by the best Spanish scholars. Thus the name of the

great Genoese I give in its common latinized form, Christopher

Columbus, while in the use of those of his less eminent

brothers and sons, who soon became almost or altogether

Spaniards, I adopt the forms employed by Spaniards.

[IV-3] Instance the title-page of the first work published

on the New World, in 1493:—_Epistola Christofori Colom: cui

etas nostra multũ a debet: de Insulis Indie supra Gangem nuper

inuentis. Ad quas perquirendas octauo antea mense auspiciis

et ere inuictissimi Fernandi Hispaniarum Regis missus fuerat:

ad Magnificum dum Raphaelem Sanxis: eiusdem serenissimi Regis

Tesaurariũ missa: quam nobilis ac litteratus vir Aliander

de Cosco ab Hispano ideomate in latinum conuertit: tertio

kal's Maij. M.cccc.xciij. Pontificatus Alexandri Sexti Anno

Primo._ Letter of Christopher Colom, to whom our age is

greatly indebted, respecting the Islands of India beyond the

Ganges, lately discovered. In search of which he was sent

eight months since, under the auspices and at the expense of

the most invincible Ferdinand, king of the Spains. Sent to the

magnificent lord Raphael Sanxis, treasurer of the same most

serene king, and which the noble and learned man, Aliander de

Cosco, translated from the Spanish idiom into Latin. The third

day of the Calends of May, 1493. Pontificate of Alexander VI.,

Year One.

[IV-4] Guanaja is the most easterly of a group called the Bay

Islands. To the west of Guanaja, in the order here named, lie

Barbaretta, Helena, Morat, Ruatan, the largest, and Utila. On

Peter Martyr's map, _India beyond the Ganges_, 1510, Guanaja

is written _guanasa_. On map iv., _Munich Atlas_, supposed

to have been drawn by Salvat Pilestrina in 1515, Guanaja is

called _sam fir.co_, San Francisco; Ruatan, _todo samto_;

and Utila, _I:lhana_. Fernando Colon locates on his map,

1527, _y:llana_, _s:francisco_, and _todos sanctos_, and

between the last two, _sancta ffe._ On the map of Diego de

Ribera, 1529, are _s:franco_, _to stõs_, _la llana_, and

_s∴ fe._ Vaz Dourado, 1571, map x., _Munich Atlas_, calls

Guanaja, _lla ganaxa_; Ruatan, _aguba_; and Utila, _dotila_.

_Mercator's Atlas_, 1574, gives _Guanaxos_; _Ogilby's Map_,

1671, _Guanaja_, _Guajama_, _Roatan_, and _Vtila_; _Laet_,

_Novvs Orbis_, 1633, the same; _Jefferys' Voyages_, 1776,

_Guanaja_ or _Bonaka_, _Guajama_ or _Rattan_, and _Utila_.

Of Guanaja, Diego de Porras in _Navarrete_, _Col. de Viages_,

i. 283, remarks:—'es pequeña, bojará veinte leguas, no tiene

cosa de provecho.' Utila is low and level; hence the name,

La Llana. In his remarks on the two oldest maps of America,

Kohl says of Guanaja:—'Das Columbus sie schon gesehen hat,

ist zu bezweifeln, da er wohl nicht so weit westwärts segelte

oder blickte. Vielleicht sahen sie jedoch Pinzon und Solis

1508. Gewiss ist es, dass sie schon 1516 von einer spanischen

Expedition, die zum Menschenraub von Cuba nach Süden

ausgelaufen war, besucht wurde.' Fernando Colon complains that

Solis and Pinzon, visiting these regions in 1508, re-named

many localities, claiming to be the first discoverers, and

thus causing much confusion in the charts of the times.

And here as well as elsewhere I may speak of a work from

which I have derived no inconsiderable advantage in tracing

the metamorphoses of names from those originally given

to those finally established. Believing that much curious

and valuable historical information might be obtained by

instituting a close comparison of the nomenclature employed

by the earlier makers of charts at their respective dates,

in 1873 I directed Mr Goldschmidt to bring out and arrange

for convenient reference all such relevant maps as my library

contained. Beginning then with the earliest, we entered on

paper prepared for the purpose the names of all the principal

places contained within our territory. And so with the next,

and the next, through the successive periods of discovery,

following the coast on one side from Darien to Texas, and

on the other from Panamá to Alaska, and along the Arctic

seaboard to the Mackenzie River. Inland names were included,

but their number was small as compared with those along the

ocean. Some 200 maps, each original authority for its time

and place, were thus examined, and the names which had been

applied at various times and by various persons to the several

important geographical points along this vast shore line,

and throughout the inland area, were brought together so that

comparisons might be made, and the nomenclatural history of

the several places be quickly and correctly traced. All of the

authorities I cannot mention here, but they will severally be

referred to in their proper places during the course of this

history. The result of this labor at the end of six months, Mr

Goldschmidt working alone after the first fortnight, was three

folio manuscript volumes, entitled _Cartography of the Pacific

Coast of North America, and of the Eastern Coasts of Mexico

and Central America_. The maps more particularly examined in

writing this volume are as follows. Passing the sea charts

of Nicolo and Antonio Zeno, made about 1390, and used by

Frobisher; the ocean and islands between western Europe and

eastern Asia from the globe of Martin Behaim, 1492; the chart

of Juan de la Cosa, 1500, showing the West India Islands, but

omitting the coast of Central America; and the map of Johann

Ruysch, 1508,—we have, in part most important, the following:

Map of _India beyond the Ganges_, drawn by Peter Martyr in

1511, and showing a coast line from Brazil to the middle of

Yucatan. Along this line, in the order here given, from east

to west, are _vraba_, _tariene_, _el mamol_, _beragua_, _c

gra de dios_, _guanasa_, _b de lagartos_. North of Cuba is

a section of the continental shore line lettered _isla de

beimini, parte_. In Ptolemy's Cosmography, 1513, the coast

between Brazil and Florida is given, but without names. The

Atlantic is called _Oceanus Occidentalis_; and South America,

_Terra Incognita_. By Reisch, in _Margaritha Philosophica_,

1515, the map is called _Typvs Vniversalis Terre Ivxta_. Two

only of the islands are given and both called _Isabella_.

South of _Oceanus Occidentalis_ is a large continent called

_Paria sev Prisilia_, Paria or Brazil. There are no names on

the line of Central America, and the only lettering on the

small portion of the northern continent are the mysterious

words _Zoana Mela_, which have given rise to much discussion.

In 1859 was published at Munich, by the Royal Bavarian Academy

of Sciences, from manuscripts in the university library and

army archives, under the auspices of Friedrich Kunstmann, Karl

von Spruner, and Georg M. Thomas, and as supplementary to the

text of Kunstmann's _Die Entdeckung Amerikas_, a collection of

fac-similes of thirteen early maps of America, entitled _Atlas

zur Entdeckungsgeschichte Amerikas_. This work I shall cite

briefly as the _Munich Atlas_. Parts of the Pacific States

are shown on maps numbers iv. v. vi. vii. viii. ix. x. xii.

and xiii., which will be further mentioned in their several

places. Map iv. was drawn by Salvat de Pilestrina probably in

1515. It shows none of the main-land above Yucatan, which is

a peninsula. The northern coast of Central America is given,

and the southern seaboard only of the Isthmus. No names are

written on the southern coast. The South Sea is called _Mar

Visto pelos castelhanos_, Sea seen by the Spaniards. Map

v. is supposed to be by Visconte de Maiollo, 1519. It shows

the northern coast of the continent only from Cape Camaron

to about 30° south latitude. In a book entitled _Apiano,

Cosmographia_, 1575, a copy of a map supposed to have been

drawn by Peter Apianus in 1520, and the first upon which I

have seen the name 'America.' The northern part is long and

narrow, of a horseshoe shape, and lettered _Baccalearum_.

A large continent is placed north of a strait running round

the northern end of North America. Evidently Master Apianus

was determined no one during his time should out-north him

in map-delineation of a region of which absolutely nothing

was known, either then or for a long time after. On a map

of North America from the globe of Johann Schöner, 1520, the

name 'America' likewise appears, the lettering on the globe

being placed in Brazil, and being in these words:—_America

Vel Brasilia Sive Papagalli Terra_. The northern and southern

continents are separated by a strait at the Isthmus. It is

to be regretted that Master Schöner had not the making of

the world, so that it should agree with his map, and save

canal-cutting. The western line of the northern continent runs

north and south; the western line of the southern continent

north-west and south-east. The extreme northern end of the

northern continent is called _Terra de Cuba_. Along the

western shore are the words _Ultra mondv lustratum_. West of

the northern continent lie the large island of _Zipangri_ and

a multitude of islets. The north Pacific is called _Orientalis

Oceanus_. Cortés' chart of the Gulf of Mexico, 1520, is a

rough draft of oval shape with several names along the coast,

many of which are obsolete. Yucatan is represented as an

island. In 1860 J. G. Kohl published at Weimar a dissertation

on two of the oldest general maps of America, with the origin

of the names on each. The maps were those of Fernando Colon,

1527, and Diego Ribero, 1529, then in the grand-ducal library

at Weimar. The text accompanying these fac-similes is entitled

_Die Beiden Ältesten General-Karten von Amerika_. _Ausgeführt

in den Jahren 1527 und 1529, auf Befehl Kaiser Karl's V._ The

maps being full of names, concerning many of which there has

been much discussion, 185 royal folio pages are devoted to

their explanation. Beside a critical review of nomenclature

is given much information, both geographical and historical.

Colon's map shows the eastern coasts of North and South

America, and the southern shores of the Isthmus and Central

America to about Nicaragua. Ribero's map contains more names

than Colon's, and a section of the Peruvian coast; otherwise

they are not unlike. Continuing the present list we have all

of South America, and part of North America, given in 1527

by Robert Thorne; and the western side of the New World in

1528 by Bordone. Ptolemy, in _Munster_, _Cosmography_, 1530,

gives the two Americas entirely surrounded by water, with

Yucatan an island; in the interior of Mexico _Chamaho_, and

_Temistitan_; and near Zipangu _Archipelagus 7448 insularum_,

counted in all probability specially for this map. Orontius

Fine's globe, 1531, unites the southern continent, which it

calls America, by the isthmus _dariena_ to the northern,

which extends toward the north-west across the ocean and

forms part of Asia, with a continuous coast line to Japan.

The Atlantic is _Alanticum_, and the Pacific _Mar del Sur_.

Yucatan is an island. It is difficult to tell where Mexico

ends and Asia begins. _Temistitan_ is just south of _Catay_,

and Mexican and Asiatic names promiscuously occur. Grynæus,

in 1532, gives America in two parts, divided by a strait at

the Isthmus; the western end of the northern continent is

called _Terra de Cuba_. Map vi., _Munich Atlas_, 1532-40,

shows the Pacific coast from Peru to California, which is

represented as a peninsula. The gulf of California is called

the Red Sea. Yucatan is an island. Baptista Agnese, 1536,

gives North America in the shape of a horseshoe, with Yucatan

an island. Map vii., _Munich Atlas_, is supposed to be by

Baptista Agnese, 1540-50. It shows the whole of the Atlantic

coast, and the Pacific coast from Peru to Mexico. Ramusio,

_Viaggi_, iii. fol. 455-56, 1565, lays down about half the

Pacific coast. Maps ix. x. and xii., _Munich Atlas_, are

supposed to have been drawn by Vaz Dourado in 1571. The first

delineates South America, and a small part of the Isthmus;

the second both shores of Central America, and the Gulf

of Mexico; the third the Pacific coast only from Mexico to

Anian Strait. On map x. is a large lake north of Mexico, in

latitude 40° to 43°, and under it in large letters, _Bimenii

Regio_. Gerard Mercator, _Atlas sive cosmographicæ_, 1569, and

another edition 1574, represents the world on two globes, and

surrounds the two Americas with water, beside capping either

pole with a huge continent. In the north-eastern corner of

Asia, map iv., is _Americæ pars_. There are also _Anian reg_,

_Quiuira reg_, _Tuchano_, a city, and _El freto de Anian_.

On map v. the strait of Magellan separates the southern

continent from another large continent to the south of it,

on which is placed _Terra del fuego_. Luckily this antarctic

polar continent is labeled _Terra Avstralis nondvm cognita_,

lest the author be embarrassed by questions about it. After

well passing the strait of Magellan, _El Mar Pacifico_ is

entered, though as the tropics are reached it becomes _Mar

del Zur_. The northern part of this map v., the two Americas,

is quite interesting, and will be explained elsewhere. This

cartographical monstrosity Michael Lock, _Hakluyt's Divers

Voy._, 1582, endeavored, and with very fair success, to

exceed. Map xiii., _Munich Atlas_, by Thomas Hood, 1592, gives

the Gulf of Mexico, the Islands, and the eastern coast of

North America. In _Drake's World Encompassed_, 1595, another

source of information not remarkable for reliability, Hondius

traces the western coast to Bering Strait. Hondius' map, 1625,

in _Purchas_, _His Pilgrimes_, iv. 857, gives North America to

the mythical strait of Anian. Ioanne de Laet, _Novvs Orbis_,

1633, has at p. 220 a map of _Nveva España_, _Nveva Galicia_,

and _Gvatimala_, and at p. 346 a map of _Tierra Firma_. A

map of the world in the atlas of Jacob Colom, 1663, will

require mention hereafter. _Ogilby's America_, 1671, gives

the northern continent to Anian Strait with _Nova Albion_ in

the northern part, and California as an island; and a map at

p. 222 shows parts of Mexico and Central America. There is

a map of the middle part of America in _Dampier's Voyages_,

i. 44, 1699. Beside these, I shall have occasion to mention

others, such as the maps in the _Buccaniers of America_, 1704;

_Funnell's Voyage_, 1707; the Dutch collection of voyages

by Pieter Van der Aa; the German collection of Gottfried;

_Voyages de François Coreal_, 1722; _Anson's Voyage_, 1756;

_Morden's Geography Rectified_, 1693; Harris, Harleian,

Oxford, Rogers, Shelvocke, Jefferys, and other collections

of voyages. I may also mention incidentally in this volume

maps and charts relating more especially to another part of

the Pacific States and described more fully in a succeeding

volume.

[IV-5] Cacique, lord of vassals, was the name by which the

natives of Cuba designated their chiefs. Learning this, the

conquerors applied the name generally to the rulers of wild

tribes, although in none of the dialects of the continent is

the word found. Peter Martyr says that 'in some places they

call a king Cacicus, in other places they call him Quebi, and

somewhere Tiba.'

[IV-6] 'Porque,' says Herrera, 'auia muchos arboles, cuya

fruta es vnas mançanillas buenas de comer.' Navarrete calls

the place _Punta Castilla y Puerto de Trujillo_, and the coast

_La Costa de Trujillo_. The name Honduras was applied first to

the cape and afterward to a long stretch of shore. Fernando

Colon, _Hist. Almirante_, 103, _Barcia_, i., gives 'Cabo de

Onduras.' In _Oviedo_, lib. iii. cap. ix., is written 'el cabo

de Higueras;' this chronicler also employs the word Honduras;

_Galvano's Discov._, 100, 'the Cape of Higueras, and vnto the

Islands Gamares, and to the Cape of Honduras, that is to say,

the Cape of the Depthes;' _Benzoni_, _Hist. Mondo Nvovo_, 28,

'Prouincia grande, che da' paesani è nominata Iguera, è da'

Spagnuoli Capo di Fonduri;' _Gomara_, _Hist. Ind._, 31, 'cabo

de Higueras.'

[IV-7] Named by Columbus Rio de la Posesion, now known as Rio

Tinto.

[IV-8] For full descriptions of the several peoples inhabiting

this region at the coming of the Europeans, their physique,

character, customs, myths, and languages, I must refer the

reader to my _Native Races of the Pacific States_, 5 vols.,

passim.

[IV-9] This name has never changed. On Peter Martyr's _India

beyond the Ganges_, 1510, it is put down as _c. gr̃a de dios_;

Maiollo, 1519, writes _C de gratia dios_; Fernando Colon,

1527, _C. de gracias, á dios_; Ribero, 1529, _C∴ de grãc a

dios_; Maps vi. and vii., _Munich Atlas_, 1532-50, _C. de

gracia dios_; Vaz Dourado, _C∴ de grasias adios_; Mercator,

_C. de Gracias á Dios_; Dampier, _C. Gratia Dios_, etc.

[IV-10] Rio Escondido, or Bluefields, sometimes spelt

Blewfields, but erroneously. The name originated from the

Dutch pirate Bleeveldt. On map iv., _Munich Atlas_, in this

vicinity are found the words _R∴ del su._

[IV-11] Mercator places half-way between Cape Gracias á Dios

and Laguna de Chiriqui, _Quicuri_, designating a town. Peter

Martyr, dec. iii. cap. iv., says: 'He came to a region which

the inhabitants call Quicuris, in which is the hauen called

Cariari, named Mirobalanus by the Admirall, because the

Mirobalane trees are natiue in the regions thereabout.'

[IV-12] The name of the province also. Diego de Porras calls

it _Cariay_; Herrera and those who follow him write _Cariari_.

On the maps of Colon and Ribero, and also in Mercator's

atlas, the word is _Cariay_. On the map of Vaz Dourado in

this locality is written _masnoro_. 'Einige Geographen haben

geglaubt, dass unsere heutige "Blewfields-Lagune" dieser

Ankerplatz des Columbus sei. Andere haben dafür die Mündung

des grossen Flusses von Nicaragua den Rio San Juan genommen.'

_Kohl_, _Beiden ältesten Karten_, 114-15.

[IV-13] 'En _Cariay_, y en esas tierras de su comarca,

son grandes fechiceros y muy medrosos.' _Carta de

Colon_, _Navarrete_, _Col. de Viages_, i. 307. 'Nos parecian

à nosotros grandes hechiceros, i no sin alguna raçon, pues

quando se acercaban à los Christianos, esparcian, por el

aire cierto polvo à su buelta, i con perfumes, que hechaban

del polvo, hacian, que el humo fuese acía los Christianos.'

_Colon_, _Hist. Almirante_, 107, in _Barcia_, i.

[IV-14] Says Fernando Colon, _Hist. Almirante_, 108, in

_Barcia_, i., of this place:—'arribò al Canal de Zerabora, que

son 6 leguas de largo, i mas de tres de ancho, en el qual, ai

muchas Isletas, i tres, ò quatro Bocas mui à proposito para

entrar.' And Mr Kohl remarks, _Beiden ältesten Karten_, 115,

'Diese Schilderung passt auf kein anderes Gewässer südlich vom

San Juan 'Cariay,' als auf unsere 'Laguna de Chiriqui,' die

auch wohl noch heutiges Tages besonders in ihrer westlichen

Abtheilung 'Baia del Almirante' ... genannt wird.' Ribero

places _ysa de cerebaro_ in the laguna. Vaz Dourado writes

_Carabare_; Maiollo puts here somewhere _la casera bruxada_,

and near by _oro boro_. Mercator makes _Cerebaro_ a town.

Hondius, in _Purchas_, _His Pilgrimes_, places in this

vicinity the town, _Quicari_. _West-Indische Spieghel_, 1624,

gives _Carabaro_, and a little to the north a town, _Quicura_.

[IV-15] Aboriginally the name of a town, province, and

river famous for gold. Later the name became historically

celebrated, being applied by the Spaniards to that whole

region, and given as a title to the descendants of Columbus,

who were called dukes of Veraguas. Peter Martyr, Colon, and

Ribero, all write _beragua_; Vaz Dourado, _baraga_; Ptolemy,

_Beragua_, as a province; Laet and Jefferys, _Veragua_. Porras

calls the province Cobraba.

[IV-16] Off Nombre de Dios on Vaz Dourado's map, is a group

called _I∴ de bastimẽtos_; in the _Novvs Orbis_ of Laet

they are _Yas de Bastimentos_; Jefferys calls them _los

Bastimentos_; Navarrete, _Col. de Viages_, i. 285, gives

_Puerto del Retrete_ in the text, and _Puerto Escribanos_ in

a note.

[IV-17] The locality of this little harbor was soon lost.

Herrera affirms that in his time its situation was uncertain,

some believing Nombre de Dios to be the place mentioned.

Peschel locates it near the town of Colon; Humboldt at Puerto

de Escribanos. Ribero places fifteen leagues west of Nombre de

Dios, _po retre_. Kohl says, _Beiden ältesten Karten_, 116:

'Er findet sich nicht auf N. Vallard (1547), nicht auf Dourado

(1580) und nicht auf den Karten vom Isthmus von Darien in

Herrera.' But it would seem from the description of Fernando

Colon, _Hist. Almirante_, 110, in _Barcia_, i., that the

place should be easily enough found. He says:—'entramos en vn

Puertecillo, que se llamò el _Retrete_, porque no cabian en èl

mas de 5 ò 6 Navios; su entrada era por vna boca de quince, ò

veinte pasos de ancho, i ambos lados eran Rocas, que salian del

Agua, como punta de Diamante, i era tan profundo de Canal,

por enmedio, que acercandose à la orilla, vn poco, se podia

saltar desde el Navio en Tierra.'

[IV-18] Although the authorities are somewhat vague and

conflicting as to the terminal point of the main-land

coastings of Bastidas, there is no doubt that the two

discoveries here united. Oviedo, ii. 334-36, and those copying

his errors, take Bastidas direct from Urabá to Jamaica; but

Las Casas, _Hist. Ind._, iii. 11, states:—'Salieron del golfo

de Urabá, y fueron la costa del Poniente abajo, y llegaron

al puerto que llamaron del Retrete, donde agora está la

ciudad y puerto que nombramos del Nombre de Dios.' Later,

in chapter xxiii. 123, he corrects himself in regard to El

Retrete and Nombre de Dios being the same place:—'Por esto

parece que el puerto del Retrete no es el que agora llamamos

del Nombre de Dios, como arriba dijimos por relacion de

otros, sino más adelante, hácia el Oriente.' Speaking of El

Retrete, Diego de Porras, _Navarrete_, _Col. de Viages_, i.

285, remarks:—'En algunas cartas de navegar de algunos de los

marineros juntaba esta tierra con la que habian descubierto

Hojeda y Bastidas.' Navarrete himself, _Col. de Viages_, iii.

26, says of Bastidas, 'terminó su descubrimiento por los diez

grados de altura en el puerto del Retrete ó de Escribanos y

del nombre de Dios;' and again in a note concerning Nombre

de Dios:—'En este puerto entró posteriormente el Almirante

Colon el dia 26 de Noviembre de 1502 con noticia que ya tenia

de los descubrimientos de Bastidas.' Gomara, _Hist. Ind._,

67, accredits Bastidas with the new discovery of 170 leagues

of coast, 'que ay del cabo de la Vela al golfo de Vraua, y

Farallones del Darien,' resting with Oviedo at that point.

From the evidence Humboldt, _Exam. Crit._, i. 360, infers

that Bastidas continued 'vers l'ouest jusqu'au Puerto de

Retrete.' Loose statements are quite the habit now as of old;

instance that of Lerdo de Tejada, who says, _Apuntes Hist._,

89, referring to Bastidas, 'Y siguió hasta el puerto llamado

despues el _Retiro_, donde se fundó posteriormente el del

_Nombre de Dios_.'

[IV-19] That is to say, Bethlehem. Porras enters it _Y. n.

ebra_; Herrera, _Yebra_; and Fernando Colon, _Kiebra_. On

Ribero's map the name _bele_ is given to a lagoon; Vaz Dourado

writes _belen_; and Jacob Colom, _Belem_.

[IV-20] Although used by most Spanish and English writers

as a proper name, the word _quibian_ is an appellative, and

signifies the chief of a nation, or the ruler of a dynasty, as

the _cacique_ of the Cubans, the _inca_ of the Peruvians, the

_ahau_ of the Quichés, etc. Columbus, writing from Jamaica,

employs the term _el Quibian de Veragua_; and again, _Carta

de Colon_, in _Navarrete_, _Col. de Viages_, i. 302, 'Asenté

pueblo, y dí muchas dádivas al _Quibian_, que así llaman al

Señor de la tierra.' Napione and De Conti write _il Quibio o

cacico di Beragua_. See their _Biog. di Colombo_, 388:—"Il

Prefetto andò colle barche al mare per entrare nel fiume e

portarsi alla popolazione del Quibio, cosi chiamato da quei

popoli il loro Re.'

[IV-21] Rio de la Concepcion.

[IV-22] Irving, _Columbus_, ii. 402, carelessly calls him 'the

chief notary,' confounding him with Diego de Porras, who was

notary of the expedition. The notary was not a fighting man,

but rather must withhold himself from action that he might

write down what was done by others.

[IV-23] 'Y como luego mandó prender al Cacique do se le fizo

mucho daño que le quemaron su poblacion, que era la mejor que

habia en la costa é de mejores casas, de muy buena madera,

todas cubiertas de fojas de palmas, é prendieron á sus fijos,

é aquí traen algunos dellos de que quedó toda aquella tierra

escandalizada, desto no sé dar cuenta sino que lo mandó

facer é aun apregonar escala franca.' _Diego de Porras_, in

_Navarrete_, _Col. de Viages_, i. 286-7.

[IV-24] There are two accounts of this affair; one by Fernando

Colon, and one by Diego Mendez. Both are biased; the former

in favor of Bartolomé, the latter in favor of the writer.

Fernando tells how, when the settlement was taken by surprise,

his uncle seized a lance, and supported by seven men fought

with desperate valor until the main body of the Spaniards came

to his relief, when the enemy was routed. The other states,

_Relacion hecha por Diego Mendez_, in _Navarrete_, _Col. de

Viages_, i. 317, that the admiral had just left the harbor,

accompanied by the larger part of the Spaniards, who had gone

to say farewell. Mendez, newly appointed contador, held the

town of Belen with twenty men. Suddenly four hundred Indians

appeared on the hill above, and sent upon the Spaniards a

shower of darts and arrows. Fortunately the yells were in

advance of the weapons, and thus time was given Mendez to

arm. The fight was desperate, and lasted three hours. Ten

natives who ventured to close with their war clubs were slain

by the sword. Seven of the twenty Christians were killed;

but a miracle at last gave victory to the remainder. During

the next four days, by the ingenuity of Mendez, and under his

direction, the effects of the colony were placed on shipboard,

and in return for his invaluable services he was made captain

of Tristan's ship.

[IV-25] The final burial-place, not only of Columbus, but of

his son Diego, and of his grandson Luis, was the cathedral

of Santo Domingo. For seven years after his death the

remains of Columbus lay in the convent of San Francisco at

Valladolid. Then they were removed to Seville and placed in

the monastery of Las Cuevas; and in 1536 were transferred to

Santo Domingo. When Española was ceded to France in 1795,

the Spanish naval commander asked permission to remove the

remains to Cuba, which was granted; and what were supposed

to be the remains were so removed midst pomp and ceremony in

December-January following. But later investigations, the

result of long-standing suspicions, satisfied many that a

blunder had been committed; and that the bones of Columbus

still rest at Santo Domingo. This has been proved beyond a

doubt by the recent researches of the distinguished French

savant and Americaniste A. Pinart.

[IV-26] I have remarked at some length on Fernando Colon's

life of his father, and on the letters of the admiral, and

other documents in Navarrete, Salvá and Baranda, Pacheco and

Cárdenas, and Mendoza, and elsewhere. The standard historians,

Las Casas, Oviedo, Peter Martyr, Gomara, and Herrera, I

will pass for the present, only remarking that each in his

own way tells the story of the admiral, and all must be

carefully considered in a study of his life and achievements.

Other early or important authorities are _Zorzi_, _Paesi

Nouamente retrouati_, Vicentia, 1507; _Ruchamer_, _Newe

unbekanthe landte_, Nuremberg, 1508; _Stamler_, _Dyalogvs_,

Augsburg, 1508; _Marineo_, _Obra Compuesta de las Cosas

Memorables e Claros Varones de España_, Alcala, 1530;

_Geraldini_, _Itinerarivm ad Regiones svb Æqvinoctiali_,

Rome, 1631; _Grynævs_, _Novvs Orbis Regionvm ac Insularvm

veteribvs incognitarvm_, Basle, 1532; _Maffei_, _Historiarum

indicarum_, Florence, 1588; _Gambaræ_, _De navigatione

Christophori Columbi_, Rome, 1585; _Charlevoix_, _Histoire de

l'Isle-Espagnole_, Paris, 1730; _Cladera_, _Investigaciones

historicas_, Madrid, 1794; _Bossi_, _Vita di Colombo_, Milan,

1818. _Die vierdte Reise so vollenbracht hat Christoffel

Columb_, at page 6 of _Löw_, _Meer oder Seehanen Buch_,

Cologne, 1598, should be read in reference with the maps,

to be appreciated. See also _Ramusio_, _Viaggi_, iii. 16-18

and 98-9; _Benzoni_, _Hist. Mondo Nvovo_, 27-30; _Galvano's

Discov._, 100-1; _Humboldt_, _Exam. Crit._, passim; _Major's

Select Letters of Columbus_, _Hakluyt Soc._, London, 1847;

_Castellanos_, _Elegías de Varones ilustres de Indias_, 42-3;

_Acosta_, _Compend. Hist Nueva Granada_, 1-17; _Repertorio

Americano_, iii. 186-225; _Vetancvrt_, _Teatro Mex._, 3-6 and

101-6; _Lerdo de Tejada_, _Apuntes Hist._, 77-80; _Remesal_,

_Hist. Chyapa_, 162-3; _Gordon's Hist. Am._, i. 247-64;

_Lardner's Hist. Discov._, ii. 16; _Payno_, _Cronología

Mex._, in _Soc. Mex. Geog._; _Robertson's Hist. Am._, i.

59-175; _Corradi_, _Descub. de la Am._, i. 6-312; _Simon_,

_Conq. tierra firme_, 44-50; _Mesa y Leompart_, _Hist. Am._,

i. 1-64; _Torquemada_, i. 20-1, and iii. 283-94; _Vega_,

_Comentarios Reales_, ii. 7; _Acosta_, _Hist. Ind._, passim;

_Villagvtierre_, _Hist. Conq. Itza_, 5-19; _Mendieta_, _Hist.

Ecles._, 13-39; _Cavanilles_, _Hist. España_, v. 27-55

and 104-9; _Nueva España, Breve Resumen_, MS., i. 1-14;

_Maglianos_, _St Francis and Franciscans_, 521-32; _Aa_,

_Naaukeurige Versameling_, ii. and iii. passim; _Holmes'

Annals Am._, i. 1-16; _Puga_, _Cedulario_, 4-5; _Gonzalez

Dávila_, _Teatro Ecles._, i. 255-6; _Burke's Europ. Set._, i.

1-45; _Major's Prince Henry_, 347-67; _Help's Span. Conq._,

passim; _Heylyn's Cosmog._, 1083; _Ogilby's Am._, 55-6; _Ens_,

_West- und Ost-Indischer Lustgart_, 178-84 and 408-9; _Campe_,

_Hist. Descub. Am._, 1-133; _Poussin_, _De la Puissance

Américaine_, passim; _Hist. Mag._, Aug. and Sept. 1864, and

Feb. 1868; _Mariana_, _Hist. España_, vi. 307 etc. and vii.

80; _Muñoz_, _Hist. Nuevo Mundo_, i. 27-312; _Morelli_, _Fasti

Novi Orbis_, 11-12; _Purchas_, _His Pilgrimes_, v. 801-4;

_Pizarro y Orellana_, _Varones Ilvstres del Nvevo Mvndo_,

1-53; _Montanus_, _De Nieuwe en Onbekende Weereld_, 1-43; and

_Laet_, _Nov. Orb._, 345-6. The first work to throw a clear

light on the question of birthplace was the _Della patria di

Cristoforo Colombo_, by Conte Napione di Coconato, Florence,

1808, a dissertation published by the Academy of Sciences,

of Turin. In this and supplementary works the ability and

zeal of the author are manifest. In 1853, at Rome, was issued

a new edition of Napione and de Conti, entitled _Patria e

Biografia Del Grande Ammíraglio D. Cristóforo Colombo ...

rischiarita e comprovata dai celebri scrittori Gio. Francesco

Conte Napione di Coconato e Vincenzo de Conti_, the latter

author of _Storia del Monferrato_, in which appears a wealth

of new information second only to the original narratives

and documents themselves. The _Dissertazioni epistolari

bibliografiche_, Rome, 1809, of Francesco Cancellieri,

which Leclerc calls 'savante et fort curieuse,' should not

be overlooked. John S. C. Abbott throws together a _Life of

Christopher Columbus_, New York, 1875, in popular form, in

which extracts are conspicuous, the author having made quite

free with the writings of his predecessors.

[V-1] Chief judge, or highest judicial officer in the colony,

to take the place of Roldan, who was to be returned to Spain.

Irving, _Columbus_, ii. 331, writes erroneously _alguazil

mayor_, evidently confounding the two offices. For Las Casas,

_Hist. Ind._, iii. 18, says plainly enough:—'Trujo consigo por

Alcalde mayor un caballero de Salamanca y licenciado, llamado

Alonso Maldonado.' An alguacil mayor was a chief constable,

or high sheriff, a very different person from a chief judge.

These terms, and the offices represented by them, will be

fully explained in another place.

[V-2] As this word will often occur in these pages, and as

neither the term nor the institution it symbolizes has any

equivalent in English, I will enter here a full explanation.

_Residencia_ was the examination or account taken of the

official acts of an executive or judicial officer during

the term of his _residence_ within the province of his

jurisdiction, and while in the exercise of the functions of

his office. This was done at the expiration of the term of

office, or at stated periods, or in case of malefeasance at

any time. The person making the examination was appointed by

the king, or in New World affairs by the _Consejo de Indias_,

or by a viceroy, and was called a _juez de residencia_.

Before this judge, within a given time, any one might appear

and make complaint, and offer evidence against the retiring

or suspended official, who might refute and rebut as in an

ordinary tribunal. The residencia of any officer appointed by

the crown must be taken by a judge appointed by the crown; the

residencia of officers appointed in the Indies by viceroys,

audiencias, or president-governors, was taken by a judge

appointed by the same authority. Following are some of the

changes rung upon the subject by royal decrees, the better

to make it fit the government of the Indies. The 10th of

June, 1523, and again the 17th of November, 1526, Charles V.

decreed that appeal might be made from the judge of residencia

to the Council of the Indies, except in private demands not

exceeding 600 pesos de oro, when appeal was to the audiencia.

In 1530 viceroys and president-governors were directed to take

the residencia of _visitadores de Indios_ that wrong-doing

to the natives might not escape punishment; and by a later

law proclamations of residencias must be made in such manner

that the Indians might know thereof. The _Ordenanzas de

Audiencias_ of Philip II. of 1563 and 1567, state that in

some cities of the Indies it was customary to appoint at

certain seasons two regidores, who, with an alcalde, acted

as _fieles ejecutores_. At the beginning of every year the

viceroy, or the president, in a city which was the residence

of an audiencia, had to appoint an _oidor_ to take the

residencia of the fieles ejecutores of the previous year.

The same was to be done if those offices had been sold to

the city, _villa_, or _lugar_; but in such cases it was left

to the discretion of the viceroy or president to cause them

to be taken when necessary, not allowing them to become too

commonplace. Philip II. in 1573, and his successors as late

as 1680, directed that in residencias of governors and their

subordinates, when the fine did not exceed 20,000 maravedís,

execution should issue immediately; in damages granted from

private demands to the amount of 200 ducats, the condemned

was to give bonds to respond. While an official was undergoing

his residencia it was equivalent to his being under arrest, as

he could neither exercise office nor, except in certain cases

specified, leave the place. Thus the law of 1530, reiterated

in 1581, stated that from the time of the proclamation of a

residencia till its conclusion _alguaciles mayores_ and their

_tenientes_ should be suspended from carrying the _varas_,

or from exercising any of the functions of office. In 1583,

in 1620, and in 1680, it was ordered that such judges of

residencia as were appointed in the Indies should be selected

by a viceroy and audiencia, or by a president and audiencia,

acting in accord. Salaries of jueces de residencia were

ordered by Felipe III. in 1618 to be paid by the official

tried if found guilty, if not by the audiencia appointing.

Before this, in 1610, the same sovereign had ordered notaries

employed in residencias taken by _corregidores_ to be paid in

like manner. The next monarch directed that ships' officers

should be subject to residencia in the form of a _visita_;

and in visitas to _galeones_ and _flotas_ none but common

sailors, artillerymen, and soldiers should be exempt. Cárlos

II. in 1667 decreed that the residencia of a viceroy must

be terminated within six months from the publication of the

notice of the judge taking it. Felipe III. in 1619, and Cárlos

II. in 1680, ordered that viceroys and presidents should send

annually to the crown lists of persons suitable for conducting

residencias, so that no one might be chosen to act upon the

official under whose jurisdiction he resided. See _Recop.

de Indias_, ii. 176-89. Of the report of the residencia the

original was sent to the Council of the Indies, and a copy

deposited in the archives of the audiencia. So burdensome

were these trials, so corrupt became the judges, that later,

in America, the residencia seemed rather to defeat than to

promote justice, and in 1799 it was abolished so far as the

subordinate officers were concerned.

[V-3] Originally written _fijodalgo_, son of something.

Later applied to gentlemen, country gentlemen perhaps more

particularly. Oviedo, ii. 466, calls Diego de Nicuesa 'hombre

de limpia sangre de hijosdalgo,' a man of pure gentle blood.

Concerning the origin of the word _hidalgo_, Juan de la Puente

states that during the Moorish wars, whenever a large town was

captured the king kept it; the villages he gave to captains

who had distinguished themselves, and who were called at first

_ricos homes_, and afterward _grandes_. To minor meritorious

persons something less was given, a portion of the spoils or

a grant of land, but always something; hence their descendants

were called _fijosdalgos_, _hijosdalgos_, or _hidalgos_, sons

of something. In the _Dic. Univ._ authorities are quoted

showing that the word _hidalgo_ originated with the Roman

colonists of Spain, called _Itálicos_, who were exempt from

imposts. Hence those enjoying similar benefits were called

_Itálicos_, which word in lapse of time became _hidalgo_.

[V-4] 'Por justas causas, y consideraciones conviene, que

en todas las capitulaciones que se hicieron para nuevos

descubrimientos, se excuse esta palabra conquista, y en

su lugar se use de las de pacificacion y poblacion, pues

habiéndose de hacer con toda paz y caridad, es nuestra

voluntad, que aun este nombre interpretado contra nuestra

intencion, no ocasione, ni dé color á lo capitulado, para que

se pueda hacer fuerza ni agravio á los Indios.' _Recop. de

Indias_, ii. 2.

[V-5] The best proof of the policy of Spain in regard to

the natives of the New World is found in her laws upon the

subject. Writers may possibly color their assertions, but

by following the royal decrees through successive reigns

we have what cannot be controverted. The subject of the

treatment of the Indians occupies no inconsiderable space in

the _Recopilacion de Leyes de las Indias_. At the beginning

of tit. x. lib. vi. is placed a clause of Isabella's will,

solemnly enjoining her successors to see that the Indians were

always equitably and kindly treated; and this was the text

for future legislation. And now let us glance at the laws; I

cannot give them all; but I can assure the reader they are of

one tenor. First of all the natives were to be protected by

the ecclesiastical and civil authorities. They might marry

freely, but always in accordance with Christian usage; must

not be taken to Spain; must be civilized, Christianized,

taught to speak Spanish, and to love labor, if possible; they

might sow seed, breed stock, keep their ancient market-days,

buy and sell at pleasure, and even dispose of their lands,

only the Spaniards were not allowed to sell them arms or

alcoholic liquors. The Inquisition could not touch them,

for in religious matters they were subject to the bishop's

jurisdiction, and in cases of witchcraft to the civil power.

They might have their municipal organizations in imitation of

the Spanish town government, with their alcaldes, fiscales,

and regidores, elected from among themselves to serve for one

year, elections to be held in the presence of the priest. It

was made the duty of priests, prelates, all officers of the

government, and in fact every Spanish subject, to watch over

and protect the Indians. Governors and judges were charged

under the severest penalties to see justice done them. Two

officers were created at an early day for this purpose, those

of _protector_ and _defensor_, the former having general

oversight of the natives and their interests, and the latter

appearing in their behalf in court. After a time, when it was

thought the aborigines could stand alone, the offices were

abolished. But the action was premature, and in 1589 Philip

II. ordered them revived. These officers were appointed by

the viceroys and president-governors. Indians might appear

in courts of law and have counsel assigned them free of any

cost; and even in suits between the natives themselves there

was to be no expense, the fiscal appearing on one side, and

the protector on the other. Philip also gave notice in 1593

that Spaniards who maltreated Indians were to be punished

with greater rigor than for badly treating a Spaniard. This

was a remarkable law; it is a pity the Puritans and their

descendants lacked such a one. Indians might be hired, but

they must be paid promptly. They might work in the mines, or

carry burdens if they chose, but it must be done voluntarily.

Enforced personal service, or any approach to it, was

jealously and repeatedly prohibited. Indians under eighteen

must not be employed to carry burdens. Let those who sneer

at Philip and Spain remember that two centuries after this

England could calmly look on and see her own little children,

six years of age, working with their mothers in coal-pits.

There were many ways the Spaniards had of evading the just and

humane laws of their monarchs—instance the trick of employers

of getting miners or other laborers in debt to them, and

keeping them so, and if they attempted to run away interpose

the law for their restraint. It was equivalent to slavery.

A native might even sell his labor for an indefinite time,

until Felipe III. in 1618 decreed that no Indian could bind

himself to work for more than one year. The law endeavored

to throw all severe labor upon the negro, who was supposed

to be better able to endure it. The black man was likewise

placed far below the red in the social scale. It was criminal

for a negro or mixed-breed to have an Indian work for him,

although voluntarily and for pay; nor might an African even

go to the house of an American. The law endeavored to guard

the Indian in his privacy, as well as in his rights. It

studied to make the lot of the aboriginal as peaceful and

comfortable under Christian civilization as under heathen

barbarism. More it could not do; it could not do this much;

after the pacifying raid through the primeval garden, all

Europe could not restore it. But Spain's monarchs did their

best to mitigate the sufferings caused by Spain's unruly

sons. The cacique might hold his place among his people,

and follow ancient usage in regard to his succession, but he

must not enslave them, or inflict upon them the ancient cruel

customs, such as giving Indian girls in lieu of tribute, or

burying servants with their dead masters. And these petty

rulers must stay at home and attend to their affairs; Indians

could not leave one pueblo to take up their residence in

another, and caciques could not go to Spain without special

license from the king. The natives were ordered to live in

communities, and have a fixed residence, and their lands were

not in consequence to be taken from them. They must not ride

on horseback, for that would make them too nearly equal to

the cavalier in battle; they must not hold dances without

permission, for then they might plot conspiracies, or give

themselves up to serve heathen gods as of old; they must not

work in gold or silver, an illiberal restriction which lost to

the world the finest of America's arts. Spaniards could not

place a cattle rancho within 1½ leagues of a native pueblo;

or swine, sheep, or goats within half a league; the Indians

might lawfully kill cattle trespassing on their lands. In a

pueblo of Indians neither Spaniard, nor mulatto, nor negro

should live. No traveller might spend the night at the house

of a native if an inn was at hand. No Spanish or mestizo

merchant might remain in an Indian pueblo more than three

days, nor another white man more than two days. Beside the

property of individuals each Indian pueblo had some common

property, and a strong-box in which the community money and

title-deeds were kept. Caciques must not call themselves lords

of pueblos, as that detracted from royal preëminence; they

must be called caciques simply. The cacique must not attempt

feudal fashions; he must not oppress his people, or take

more than the stipulated tribute; and he who worked for the

cacique must be paid by the cacique. In criminal matters the

jurisdiction of caciques over their people could not extend to

death or mutilation. On the other hand a cacique could not be

tried by the ordinary Spanish justice of the peace, but only

by the judge of a district. The last four laws were made by

Charles V. in 1538. And beside these were many other edicts

promulgated by the Spanish monarchs during two and a half

centuries, notable for their wisdom, energy, and humanity. By

the continued outrages and excesses of their subjects in the

New World the temper of the crown was often severely tried.

Thus was found written by Felipe IV. with his own hand, on a

decree of the council ordering the immediate suppression of

all those infamous evils practised in spite of laws against

them, a sentiment which was fully reiterated by his son Cárlos

II. in 1680:—'I will that you give satisfaction to me and to

the world concerning the manner of treating those my vassals,'

so reads the writing; 'and if this be not done, so that as in

response to this letter I may see exemplary punishment meted

offenders, I shall hold myself disobeyed; and be assured that

if you do not remedy it, I will. The least omissions I shall

consider grave crimes against God and against me; the evil

conduct tending as it does to the total ruin and destruction

of those realms whose natives I hold in estimation; and I will

that they be treated as is merited by vassals who serve the

monarchy so well, and have so contributed to its grandeur and

enlightenment.' See further, _Tapia_, _Hist. Civ. Española_,

passim; _Cogolludo_, _Hist. Yucathan_, 71-3; _Ramirez_, _Vida

Motolinia_, in _Icazbalceta_, _Col. Doc._, i. lxvi.; _Las

Casas_, _Carta_, in _Pacheco_ and _Cárdenas_, _Col. Doc._,

vii. 290-338.

[V-6] Twenty-five pounds. The Spanish pound is a little more

than the English pound. There are four arrobas in a quintal.