_How we who were left behind in Guacasualco were constantly occupied
in tranquillising the rebellious provinces; how Luis Marin, by
command of Cortes, marches into Chiapa, to subject that province;
myself and father Juan de las Varillas being particularly desired by
Cortes to join him in this campaign._
A considerable number of us veteran Conquistadores and persons of
quality had settled ourselves in the province of Guacasualco, and the
lands which had been divided among us were of very considerable extent,
lying dispersed among the provinces of Guacasualco, Citla, Tabasco,
Cimatan, and Chontalpa, stretching across the mountains of Cachulazoque
and Guilenes as far as Cinacatan; including also Chamula, the town of
Chiapa, Papanaustla, and Pinula, in the neighbourhood of Mexico;
further, the provinces of Chaltepec, Guazcatepec, Chinanta, and Tepeaca,
besides several townships. But in the beginning most of the provinces we
had subdued in New Spain each time rebelled when the different
proprietors came to demand their tribute, and they were frequently put
to death by the inhabitants; which was also the case in Guacasualco,
where the whole of the townships had from time to time rebelled against
us; so that we were constantly obliged to march in small detachments
from one district to another, in order again to bring the inhabitants to
obedience.
Among others, the inhabitants of Cimatan likewise revolted, and
peremptorily refused to obey our mandates; and our captain Luis Marin,
not wishing to send any strong detachment of his troops thither at
first, despatched myself, Rodrigo de Enao, Francisco Martin, Francisco
Ximenes, with four Indians of Guacasualco, to the rebels, in order to
try if we could not induce them by kind remonstrances to return to their
duty.
In this province the generality of townships lie between marshes and
deep rivers; when, therefore, we had arrived within eight miles of the
place of our destination, we despatched a messenger to the inhabitants
to inform them of our arrival; but instead of returning any answer,
three separate bodies of their warriors, armed with bows and lances,
marched out against us, and attacked us so vigorously, that two of our
companions were instantly killed. I myself was dangerously wounded by an
arrow in the throat, from which the blood flowed so fast that my life
was in the utmost danger. Next Francisco Martin was wounded, who stood
close to me; and we, in our turn, certainly wounded several of the
enemy; but at length we were compelled to seek our safety in flight, and
try if we could not take possession of some canoes which lay near at
hand, in a river called the Macapa. While my comrades were striving to
accomplish this, I was obliged, though heavily wounded, to remain alone
behind; and in order not to be killed outright, I summoned what little
recollection I had, and hid myself between the bushes. Here I was again
enabled to take courage, and I swore to the blessed Virgin that these
dogs should not, at least, get me into their power this time! I then
collected all my strength, leaped forth from among the bushes, fell
vigorously upon the Indians, and I succeeded, by dint of heavy blows and
thrusts, to cut my way through them; so that I was enabled, though
wounded afresh, to reach the spot where Francisco Martin, with four
trustworthy Indians, was waiting with the canoes. Even then we must all
of us have undoubtedly been cut to pieces, if these faithful men had not
defended our baggage to the last, thereby drawing off the enemy's
attention from us; and while they were busily engaged in plundering our
trunks we found time to set the canoes afloat, and to push off from the
shore. Thus, through the great mercy of God, we made our escape by means
of these canoes, and passed across this deep and broad river, which
abounded with alligators; but in order to elude the pursuit of these
Cimatecs, we were obliged to conceal ourselves for the space of eight
days among the mountains. In the meantime the news of our disaster had
reached Guacasualco, and the four Indians, who had also been fortunate
enough to save themselves by flight, confidently asserted, as we were so
long in returning, that we must have been killed. Luis Marin, who
likewise gave us up for lost, had already, as was customary at that
time, divided our Indian commendaries among the other Conquistadores,
and had written to Cortes for fresh indentures to convey the property;
besides that, he had sold off all our moveable goods by public auction.
However, after the space of twenty-three days, we again, to the surprise
of all, made our reappearance in Guacasualco, where our friends were
indeed delighted to see us, but those who had obtained our possessions
drew very long faces.
Luis Marin was at length fully convinced that he should never be able to
put down the rebellion in the provinces, unless he was allowed a
stronger body of troops, for now he was sacrificing the lives of the few
men he had to no purpose. He resolved therefore to repair in person to
Mexico, and beg Cortes for a further reinforcement, and other
necessaries, to carry on a war. He particularly cautioned the Spaniards
to remain quiet during his absence, and ordered that they should not
move to a greater distance than twenty miles from the town, unless to
procure themselves provisions.
When Marin reached Mexico, and had given Cortes an account of the state
of affairs in Guacasualco, he only furnished him with twenty soldiers,
and desired him to return thither without delay. Among these was Alonso
de Grado, whom I have so often mentioned above, and father Juan de las
Varillas, who was a profound scholar, and had come to New Spain with
Zuazo. According to his own account, he had studied in the college of
Santa Cruz, at Salamanca, and he said he was of a very distinguished
family.
Marin's instructions from Cortes were to march with all the Spaniards
who had settled in Guacasualco, and the fresh troops he brought with
him, into Chiapa, to quell the disturbances, and found a new town in
this province. We therefore equipped ourselves in the best possible
manner for this campaign, and commenced operations by clearing the road
along the line of our route, for the country was full of swamps and
dangerous mountains. We had to carry along with us heavy beams, by means
of which our horse were to pass the marshes, but even those were
insufficient in many places. In this way, with the utmost difficulty, we
arrived at Tezpuatlan, which township we could only reach by ferrying
across a broad river in canoes, for which purpose we had first to run up
the river to a considerable distance. From this place we arrived at
Cachula, which lies high among the mountains, in the province of Chiapa,
and must not be confounded with a township of the same name, prettily
situated in the neighbourhood of la Puebla de los Angeles. Leaving
Cachula, we passed through several small townships dependent on it; here
we made ourselves a perfectly new road along the river, which flows from
Chiapa, for there was previously no road whatever in this place. The
inhabitants of the surrounding districts lived in perpetual fear of the
Chiapanecs, who at that time were the most warlike people of New Spain.
I will not even except the Tlascallans, the Mexicans, the Zapotecs, or
the Minges; nor were the monarchs of Mexico ever able to subdue them;
besides which, their population was extensive, and their warlike spirit
universally dreaded. They were continually at war with their neighbours
of Cinacatan, the tribes on the lake Quilenayas, and with the Zoques; in
short, they levied contributions on all the surrounding townships,
dragged the inhabitants forcibly away to sacrifice them to their gods,
and devoured their flesh at their festive orgies. They posted troops in
all the narrow passes of Teguantepec, to lay wait for the trading Indian
merchants, thereby often destroying all intercourse between the
different provinces. They had even carried off into slavery the
population of whole districts, and formed settlements of them in the
neighbourhood of Chiapa, compelling them to cultivate their plantations.
After we had marched to a considerable distance up this river towards
Chiapa, (it was during the lent of the year 1524,) we halted within a
short distance of this place. Here Marin reviewed his troops, which he
had been unable to do up to this moment, as a number of the inhabitants
of the country had been absent, besides many of the soldiers, to collect
the tribute of the townships, which lay dispersed among the Cachula
mountains. Our muster-roll gave twenty-five horse, but of which five
were scarcely fit for service; fifteen crossbow-men, and eight
musketeers. We had one field-piece, and one artilleryman, who had served
in the campaign of Italy; but that was all, for he was the most
determined coward I ever saw. The rest of our Spanish troops consisted
of those who were armed with swords and bucklers, amounting to sixty
men. Further we were joined by eighty Mexicans and the cazique of
Cachula, with several other distinguished personages. But the men of
this latter place stood in such dread of the enemy, that we could only
employ them in clearing the road as we advanced, and to transport our
baggage.
As we approached nearer to the enemy we conducted our march with greater
military precaution, and the nimblest of our men were always in front of
the troops. I myself formed one of the scouts on this occasion and had
left my horse behind, as the nature of the ground here was in every
respect unfavorable for the cavalry. We were continually a couple of
miles in advance of the main body, and as the inhabitants of Chiapa are
very expert huntsmen, we soon came up with some of them, and immediately
they kindled fires in various directions to assemble their warriors. In
the vicinity of their townships the road was uncommonly narrow, but the
country round about was beautifully cultivated with maise and different
kinds of leguminous plants. The first township we came to was Estapa,
which lay about sixteen miles from the chief town, and was totally
deserted by its inhabitants; but we found abundance of provisions,
consisting in fowls, maise, and other eatables, so that we had a right
good supper. As we had carefully posted our watches, and sent out the
patroles and pickets, we could not be taken by surprise, and two of the
horse came suddenly galloping up with the intelligence that a large body
of the enemy was approaching. However, we were always ready for action,
so that we marched out against them before they could enter the town. A
very severe conflict ensued, for the enemy were well provided with
bows, arrows, lances, pikes of uncommon length, and excellent cotton
cuirasses. Besides which they were armed with a species of club, shaped
like a scimitar, and as the ground was strewed with stones they did us
much injury with their slings, and by an artful manoeuvre attempted to
surround us, killing two of our men and four horses in the first
encounter. Besides which, father Juan and thirteen soldiers, with
several of our Indian auxiliaries, were wounded, and Luis Marin himself
in two places. The battle lasted until nightfall, when, to our great joy
the enemy retreated after we had severely punished them with our swords,
muskets, and other weapons. Fifteen of their number lay dead on the
field of battle, and several were so dreadfully wounded that they were
unable to move. Two of these, who appeared to be men of distinction,
assured us that we should be attacked on the following day by the whole
armed force of the country.
This night we spent in burying our dead and in dressing the wounds of
our men. Our captain was himself very unwell, as he had lost much blood;
and by standing so long on the field of battle had chilled his wounds.
We observed the utmost vigilance during this night: the horses stood
saddled, and the whole of us were ready for action at a moment's notice,
for we were almost certain that the enemy contemplated some sudden
attack. We considered our position in every respect dangerous, as with
all our firing and courageous fighting we had not been able to drive the
foe from the field of battle, and we soon discovered that we had to deal
with bold and intrepid warriors. Our cavalry were therefore commanded to
charge the enemy's line in small bodies, five abreast, and to poise
their lances at the face. Several of us veteran Conquistadores had
frequently cautioned the new recruits to adopt this mode of attack, but
many of them had neglected this good advice, and imagined they had done
enough by merely wounding their antagonist. Four of the less experienced
ones had paid dearly for this neglect, for the Indians wrested the
lances out of their hands and wounded them and their horses with their
own weapons. In this battle, six or seven of the enemy had boldly set
upon each horse at a time, and laid hold of them with their hands; one
of the men they had already dragged by force from his saddle, and they
would undoubtedly have carried him off and sacrificed him to their idols
if we had not hastened up to his assistance.
During this night we came to the determination of marching early the
next day against the town of Chiapa itself. And, indeed, it might in
every respect be termed a town, so fine an appearance had the houses,
besides being so regularly built. Its population amounted to above 4000
souls, in which that of the many surrounding townships is not included,
though the whole of them were subject to Chiapa. Early next morning,
accordingly, we marched forward for this place and observed the utmost
military precaution; but we had scarcely advanced one mile when we came
up with the united forces of this province. The enemy, with surprising
swiftness and accoutred in their most splendid war costume, fell upon us
from all sides at once under the most hideous yells, and fought with the
ferocity of infuriated lions. Our black artilleryman, (for he was every
way entitled to the appellation of negro,) in the dread of the moment
had quite lost his senses, and forgot to fire the cannon; but when at
last, by hollowing out to him at the top of our voices, he summoned
sufficient courage to fire it with a trembling hand, he wounded three of
our own men, instead of committing any destruction among the enemy's
ranks. Our captain seeing how matters stood, now ordered the cavalry to
form themselves in the small bodies above mentioned, the rest of the
troops to close in a firm body together and in that way to fall
vigorously upon the enemy; but their numbers were too great, and if
there had not been many of us present who were accustomed to Indian
warfare, the rest of the troops would have been in the greatest
consternation. We were indeed astonished to find how firmly these
Indians maintained their ground. Father Juan kept constantly encouraging
us to the attack, by saying, "That our reward would lay with God and the
emperor." Our captain likewise animated us with the cry of: "Forward!
gentlemen, Santiago is with us!" And now we fell upon the enemy with
renewed courage and compelled them to give way. From the very
unfavorable state of the ground, which was covered with loose stones,
our cavalry were unable to pursue the enemy with any success; but we
kept as close at their heels as we possibly could, and marched with less
precaution, as we thought this day's work was at an end, and we offered
up thanks to God for our victory. However, when we had arrived near to
some small hills we found even larger bodies of men drawn up in order of
battle. Besides their usual weapons they had a number of ropes with
loops at the end, which they threw at the horses in order to pull them
to the ground. Strong nets which they use for the purpose of snaring the
wild deer were also fixed at certain distances to catch our horse, and
they had other smaller ropes with loops, which were to be thrown about
our necks to pull us towards them. The whole of these troops in an
instant fell upon us, pouring forth as they came along so vast a number
of stones, darts, and arrows, that almost every man of us received a
fresh wound. In this severe engagement we lost two Spaniards and five
horses, and four of the cavalry soldiers had their lances wrested from
their hands.
During this battle we saw a very fat old Indian female marching up and
down between the enemy's ranks. She was, we were told, venerated as a
goddess by these people. She had divined to her countrymen that we
should be vanquished the moment she appeared among them on the field of
battle. This woman carried in her hands an idol, carved of stone; and an
earthen censer, in which she burnt incense; her body was daubed all over
with various colours, and raw cotton was sticking to the paint. Without
evincing the least fear she walked into the midst of our Indian allies
while they were hotly engaged with the enemy; but this cursed witch met
with very little respect from them, for they tore her limb from limb.
When we saw what terrific bodies of the enemy attacked us from all
sides, and the astonishing bravery with which they fought, we began to
consider ourselves in a very critical position, and we begged of father
Juan to commend us in prayer to the protection of the Almighty. We then
once more fell vigorously upon the enemy and put them to flight. Numbers
concealed themselves in the fissures of the rocks, others threw
themselves into the river and sought to escape by swimming, of which art
these Indians are likewise perfect masters. We now halted for a short
time while father Juan sang a salve, in which those who had a good voice
joined in chorus. This melody was indeed pleasing to the ear, and we
thanked the Almighty the more fervently for this victory, when we
considered our great loss in killed and wounded. We then marched to a
small township at no great distance from the town, near the river side.
Here the cherry-trees were hanging full of ripe fruit, for it was then
lent, which is the season when cherries come to perfection in this
country, and they were of a most delicious flavour; we spent the whole
day here in order to bury our dead in places where they would not easily
be discovered by the inhabitants. Several of our men were wounded, and
ten of the horses very severely so; we therefore resolved to pass the
night in this township.
The hour of midnight was already past, when ten distinguished Indians
arrived in our camp from the townships in the neighbourhood of Chiapa.
They had crossed the deep and broad river with five canoes in the utmost
silence, in order to elude the vigilance of the Chiapanec troops, and as
they came creeping along the bank in a very suspicious manner they were
seized by our outposts and brought in prisoners, which was the very
thing they desired. When brought into the presence of our captain they
addressed him as follows: "We are not, sir, Chiapanecs, but natives of
the province of Xaltepec. The base Chiapanecs once commenced a
destructive war with us and put great numbers of our countrymen to
death, and after plundering us of all we possessed they carried off the
greater part of the inhabitants with our wives into slavery, to till
their grounds. It is now twelve years that we have toiled for them in
base servitude. We are compelled to labour in the plantations of our
oppressors, are obliged to fish for them and to do all manner of hard
work; but this is not all, for whenever it suits them they forcibly
carry off our wives and daughters. We now come to offer you a sufficient
number of canoes to pass the river, which we will despatch hither this
very night. We will also point out to you the safest ford, for we assure
you, without our assistance, you will have great difficulty and run
great risk in crossing over. In reward for this good office, we beg of
you when you shall have vanquished these Chiapanecs, to rescue us out of
their power and allow us to return to our homes. And in order that you
may place perfect reliance in what we have stated, we have brought as a
present for you three ornaments of gold in the shape of diadems, which
we have left behind in the canoes, besides some fowls and cherries."
They then begged permission of our captain to return to their canoes, in
order to fetch these presents, telling him what great precaution they
were obliged to use not to fall into the hands of the enemy, who had
posted watches everywhere along the river.
Our captain joyfully accepted of their kind offer, and not only promised
to grant them their wish of returning to their own country, but to give
them a share of the booty we should make in Chiapa. On further
questioning them respecting the last battle, they informed us that the
enemy had above 120 dead and wounded, but they were determined to attack
us the next day again with their united forces; besides that, they would
bring into the field the inhabitants of the townships which they, the
ambassadors, now represented, but assured our captain they had secretly
agreed among themselves to run over to him as soon as the action
commenced. The enemy intended, they further said, to fall upon us while
we were crossing the river, should we make this dangerous attempt.
Two of these Indians remained with us, while the others returned to
their townships, in order to make the necessary arrangements for
despatching twenty canoes to us by break of day, which arrived
punctually at the time mentioned. In the meantime we laid ourselves
down to enjoy a little rest, but took every precaution in posting our
watches, as we could plainly hear the wild music of shell-trumpets and
drums each time a fresh body of the enemy arrived on the banks of the
river.
When day began to dawn we again recognized our new friends as they were
secretly coming up with their canoes; but the Chiapanecs had already
suspected these people would turn their arms against them, and run over
to our side, and had taken several of them prisoners; the rest had fled
to the top of an elevated temple, where they fortified themselves, and
so it happened that the battle should first commence between the enemy
and their former slaves.
Our new allies now led us to the place where we were to ford the river,
and they exerted themselves to the utmost to hasten our passage across,
for they feared the enemy would sacrifice those of their countrymen whom
they had captured in the night, unless we arrived speedily to their
rescue. When we came to the ford our horse and foot united in a close
body together, in order to stand the better against the rapid stream; we
then boldly marched into the water, which reached up to our breasts; but
the canoes kept close up with us at our side, and in this way we
fortunately reached the opposite shore; but here we were suddenly
attacked by the enemy with excessive fury before the half of us could
get on dry ground. The greater part of us were instantly wounded, some
severely so in two places; two of the horses were lost, and one cavalry
soldier, named Guerra or Guerrero, a native of Toledo, had unfortunately
got with his horse into a whirlpool, where he himself was drowned, but
his horse swam on shore.
We were unable for a length of time to gain a firm footing on dry land,
and drive back the enemy; nor could we succeed till our new allies fell
upon their rear, and richly did they repay them for their last twelve
years of oppression. The whole of us now leaped on shore, and attacked
the enemy so vigorously that they fled away in disorder. Our captain
then drew up the troops in order of battle, desired our new allies, who
had assembled in great numbers, to join our ranks, and in this way, with
flying colours, we marched in a direct line for the metropolis itself.
When we arrived in the principal quarter of the town, where the temples
stood, we found the houses so crowded together, that we durst not risk
to quarter ourselves there, from fear of fire, but encamped in an open
space, where we were out of all danger. Our general then despatched
three of our new allies, and six Chiapanec chiefs, whom we had taken
prisoners, with a message to the enemy, desiring them to submit
peaceably to our emperor. These messengers were also commissioned to
inform the enemy that if they sued for peace without delay, their
recent hostilities would be pardoned; but in case they refused to do so,
we were determined to punish them severely, and would commence by
setting fire to the town. These threats soon brought the enemy to their
senses, and they immediately despatched ambassadors to us with a present
in gold, offered various excuses for having commenced hostilities with
us, and declared themselves vassals of our emperor. At the same time
they begged of our captain to forbid our allies setting fire to any more
of their dwellings; for they had burnt down several houses in a small
township near Chiapa. Luis Marin willingly complied with this request,
and strictly commanded both our allies and the inhabitants of Cachula
not to commit any further destruction of property.
In this town we found three large wooden cages filled with prisoners,
all of whom were merchants, who had been purposely waylaid on the high
road by the Chiapanecs, and thrown into these dens to fatten for their
sacrifices, and they were all fastened by means of collars to strong
beams. Some of these unfortunate beings belonged to the country of the
Tzapotecs, others to that of the Quilenes, and several of them were
inhabitants of Guautepec and of the province of Soconusco.
We instantly liberated the whole of these prisoners, and sent them to
their respective homes. We also found in the temples diabolical looking
idols, all of which father Juan ordered to be burnt on the spot, with
the remains of several old and young Indians who had been sacrificed in
these buildings. In the temples we also discovered traces of other
abominations of a most horrible nature.
Our captain now sent to every township in the neighbourhood, desiring
the inhabitants to come and sue for peace, and to declare themselves
vassals of our emperor. The first who came over were the people of
Cinacatan, Capanaustla, Pinola, Quehuiztlan, Chamula, and those of other
townships, whose names I have forgotten; after these came the Quilenes,
and other tribes who speak the Zoque language. All these tribes
expressed their utter astonishment that we should have been able to
vanquish the Chiapanecs with so small a body of men, but were
excessively rejoiced, for the whole of them were at enmity with this
people.
We remained altogether five days in Chiapa, during which time father
Juan celebrated the holy mass, confessed many of our men, and preached
several sermons to the Indians in their own language, of which he
possessed considerable knowledge. The inhabitants listened to him with
great delight, knelt down before the cross, and promised they would
allow themselves to be baptized. They became indeed excessively fond of
father Juan, and said we appeared to be a very good kind of people.
While we were thus living on the most friendly terms with the
inhabitants, one of our men, without asking our captain's leave, quitted
the camp with eight Mexicans, and marched to the township of Chamula,
which had already submitted to our arms without offering any resistance.
This man demanded, in the name of his captain, gold ornaments from the
inhabitants, of which they gave him a small quantity; but finding at
length he could exact no more from them, he took the principal cazique
prisoner, which presumptuous behaviour so exasperated the inhabitants,
that at first they were going to kill the Spaniard, but for the moment
contented themselves by rising up in arms, and persuaded their
neighbours of Quehuiztlan to do the same. When Luis Marin received
intelligence of this, he ordered the guilty Spaniard to be brought into
his presence, and immediately sent him off to Mexico, there to appear
before the tribunal of Cortes, being unwilling to punish him himself, as
he was a person in high authority; nor will I, for the sake of his
honour, mention his name at present, as I shall again have occasion to
speak about him, for he afterwards committed an offence of a more
criminal nature, and was, upon the whole, very cruel to the Indians.
Luis Marin then sent a messenger to the Chamulans, desiring them to
return to their former obedience, as he had sent the Spaniard who had
offended them to Mexico, where he would meet with severe punishment; but
they returned a most impudent answer to this message, which we were the
more determined to resent, as they had incited their neighbours of the
surrounding townships to join them in the revolt. We therefore resolved
to march against Chamula, and not to desist until we had thoroughly
subdued the inhabitants.
Before our departure, father Juan and our captain said many edifying
things to the inhabitants of Chiapa respecting our holy religion, and
admonished them to abolish their idol-worship, the sacrificing of human
beings, and other abominations which they practised. Father Juan then
placed a cross and the image of the blessed Virgin on the altar which
had been erected, and Luis Marin explained to them, among other things,
how we were all vassals of our great emperor, and then took possession
of above half their town, in which we intended to form a settlement. Our
new allies, who were so serviceable to us in assisting us across the
river, marched, with their wives, children, and all their property from
the land of the Chiapanecs, and settled themselves forty miles further
down the river, at a spot where at present Xaltepec stands, the
neighbouring township of Istatlan being also comprehended in their
territory.
Before we entered on our expedition against Chamula, we sent to the
inhabitants of Cinacatan, who are a people of sound understanding, and,
for the greater part, merchants, desiring them to provide us with 200
porters, as we should pass over their town on our way to Chamula. In the
same way we requested the Chiapanecs to furnish us with 200 of their
warriors to join us in this campaign; these they supplied without any
hesitation.
In this way we marched out one morning very early from Chiapa, and
arrived on the first day near some salt pits, where the people of
Cinacatan had erected huts for us made of green boughs; and about noon
on the following day, which happened to be Easter Sunday, we reached the
latter township itself. From this place we once more sent a message to
the Chamulans, desiring them to return to obedience; but as they still
obstinately refused, we were obliged to continue our march thither. The
distance from Cinacatan to Chamula may have been about twelve miles; the
town itself, from its natural position, was a perfect fortress, and on
the side we contemplated our attack was a deep ravine, which was even
more formidable and less easy of approach at other points. When we had
arrived near to the town, we were greeted by so vast a number of arrows,
darts, and stones from the heights above, that the ground was literally
covered with them, and five Spaniards, with four horses, were wounded;
the enemy, at the same time, yelling most hideously, accompanied by the
wild music of shell-trumpets, pipes, and drums, all of which must indeed
have terrified those who had never heard the like before. Our captain
soon discovered that the cavalry would not be able to act at all among
these rugged mountains, and therefore ordered them to move back again
into the plain beneath, and watch the movements of the Quiahuitlans, who
had likewise revolted, and might fall upon our rear while we were thus
hotly engaged with the Chamulans.
We now commenced an incessant fire upon the enemy with our muskets and
crossbows, but were unable to do them any injury, so securely were they
posted behind the breastworks, their position being in every respect
advantageous, and they continually wounded our men. In this way the
battle lasted until nightfall, and we were no further advanced than when
we commenced our attack in the morning. At one time we attempted to
force a passage which led between the ramparts; but here no less than
2000 Indians stretched out against us a forest of long lances; and if we
had entered this passage we should have run great danger of being pushed
headlong down the deep hollow, and so have been dashed to atoms. Finding
we should never be able to make any impression on the fortress in this
way, we determined to send to a small township in the neighbourhood for
some wood and other materials, and to construct a species of penthouse
sufficiently large to cover twenty men, who were to undermine the
fortress with mattocks and pick-axes. Accordingly, when the penthouse
was finished, our men set hard to work, and at length succeeded in
cutting an opening sufficiently large to admit one person at a time; and
by this means only was it possible to get into the town, for we had
carefully inspected the spot on all sides, full four miles in
circumference, and we found but one other entrance to this rocky height,
which would have been even more difficult to force, and a person might
as well have thrown himself at once down an abyss as to have attempted
an attack upon it, so very steep was the descent. While we were busily
at work under our penthouse in widening the breach, the enemy cast down
upon us a quantity of burning pitch and resin, boiling water and blood,
hot ashes and firebrands; but when they found we were not to be daunted
by this, they rolled down huge pieces of rock upon the penthouse, by
which it was shattered, and we were obliged to retire in order to
construct stronger ones.
When these were finished, and we were again moving on with them towards
the breaches we had made, four priests, with several distinguished
personages, all well covered with shields, appeared on the battlements,
and cried out to us, "As your only object is to obtain gold, come in
here, we have it in abundance!" With these words they threw towards us
seven diadems of very fine gold, besides various other trinkets, all of
which they accompanied by a cloud of stones, arrows, and darts. As we
had by this time made two considerable breaches, and it was growing dark
and beginning to rain, we retreated to our camp for the remaining part
of the day: our captain also sent orders to the cavalry not to quit
their position on the level plain, but narrowly to watch the enemy's
movements, and to keep their horses ready saddled and bridled.
The enemy continued their fearful yells during the whole of the night,
with the discordant sound of shell-trumpets, drums, and screeching
pipes. The next day, they said, we were all to be killed, for this had
been promised them by their gods. The following morning early, when we
again moved forward with our penthouses to widen the breaches, the enemy
defended themselves right valiantly, and wounded five of our men. I
myself received a heavy thrust from a lance, which completely pierced my
armour, and I should certainly have lost my life on the spot if my
cuirass had not been strongly quilted with cotton. Thus I fortunately
escaped with only a slight wound, and with my jacket considerably torn.
By this time it was mid-day, and rain fell in torrents, which was
followed by so dense a fog that we could scarcely see each other; for as
this township lay very high among the mountains, it either rained there,
or the place was enveloped in a mist. Owing to the great darkness, our
captain had ordered the men to desist from the attack; but, for myself,
as I was well acquainted with the Mexican mode of warfare, I soon
concluded, from the circumstance of the enemy's war music gradually
dying away, and their yells becoming less frequent, that they were
likewise desirous of retiring, on account of the fog. After a short time
I could not count above 200 of the enemy's lances; so that I, with one
of my companions, boldly entered one of the breaches, and we certainly
did not encounter a greater number of the enemy than I had counted
lances. In an instant they fell upon us, and we should undoubtedly have
been killed if some Indians of Cinacatan had not hastened to our
assistance and alarmed the rest of our troops, who now likewise forced
their way in between the breaches into the fortress. As soon as the
enemy espied our troops rushing in, they fled precipitately; the women
and children ran off to the other declivity, which was the most
difficult to reach; we, however, followed them closely, and took a
number of them prisoners, besides thirty men. The township was now
entirely in our possession, but we found nothing in it, with the
exception of a few provisions, and we quitted the place almost
immediately again. We then returned along the road leading to Cinacatan,
and formed our camp on the banks of the river where at present Ciudad
Real stands, which is also termed Chiapa de los Espanoles. When we had
arrived here, our captain liberated six of the women and a like number
of the men, and despatched them to their countrymen with offers of
peace, and also to assure them they had nothing further to fear from
us,--on the contrary, we would liberate all the prisoners we had taken.
This message met with a favorable reception, and ambassadors were sent
to us next morning by the inhabitants, who now, for the second time,
declared themselves vassals of our emperor, and, as we had promised, all
the prisoners were instantly restored to their families.
After we had satisfactorily arranged all matters here, Luis Marin
presented the township of Chamula to me as a commendary, for Cortes had
expressly desired him to give me some valuable possession in the
conquered countries. I always stood upon very good terms with Luis
Marin, and he had not forgotten that I was the first man who forced his
way into the town. This place, according to the deeds I received from
Cortes, was given to me in perpetuity, but I only enjoyed the rents
which it produced for little more than eight years, at the end of which
time Ciudad Real was founded, and my commendary became the property of
the inhabitants. When I entered into possession of it, I desired father
Juan to preach to the inhabitants, and to explain our holy religion to
them, with which he willingly complied, and ordered an altar to be
constructed in the town, on which he placed a cross and the image of the
blessed Virgin. Fifteen of the inhabitants allowed themselves to be
baptized, and the father said he hoped to God they might all become good
Catholic Christians. I felt highly delighted with all this; for, as
these people were my own property, I naturally took a more particular
interest in their welfare.
Though Chamula had again submitted to our arms, the townships of
Guegustitlan still obstinately held out, notwithstanding all our kind
messages to the caziques; we had, therefore, no other resource left than
to march against them, and subdue them by force of arms. Each of these
townships (for there were three) was strongly situated, and we therefore
left our allies, with the baggage, in the camp, our captain only taking
the most nimble and active of the Spanish troops with him, besides 300
warriors of Cinacatan. The distance to Guegustitlan was sixteen miles;
but the enemy had everywhere cut down trees and constructed barricades
along the line of our march to obstruct the cavalry; however, with the
assistance of our Indian friends, we soon cleared these obstacles out of
our way, and it was not long before we attacked one of the three
townships. The place was well fortified and filled with warriors fully
equipped for war; we, nevertheless, stormed the town, although it was
even more difficult of access than Chamula. The enemy had not waited to
offer any resistance to our arms, and we found the town quite deserted
by its inhabitants, who had also carried off all their store of
provisions; but it was not long before our Indian friends brought in two
of the inhabitants prisoners, whom our captain immediately liberated,
desiring them to go and call their countrymen. We staid one whole day in
this place, during which time the inhabitants of all three townships
submitted themselves as vassals to our emperor, and presented us with a
small quantity of gold and some quetzal feathers, which are of great
value in this country.
After we had returned to our camp we deliberated whether or not we
should follow up Cortes' instructions, and lay the foundations of a town
in this neighbourhood. Many of us were in favour of doing so, but
others, who had lucrative possessions in Guacasualco, were quite
opposed to it, and said we should have no shoes for the horses; that the
most of us were wounded, and we were altogether too small in numbers to
think of settling in a country so thickly populated: besides that, all
the townships were strongly situated among steep mountains, inaccessible
to our cavalry. But those who objected most to our founding a colony
here were Luis Marin himself and Diego de Godoy, a very blustering sort
of a man, both of whom felt more inclination to return to Guacasualco.
I have above spoken of a certain Alonso de Grado, who was a very
turbulent fellow, though but a poor soldier. This man had managed to
procure privately from Cortes a certain grant by which he was to have
half the gold we should find in Chiapa when we had subjected this
township. Grado now produced this document and claimed half of the gold
found in the temples of this place, and of that which we had obtained
from the inhabitants, altogether valued at about 15,000 pesos; but our
captain maintained that, out of this gold, the value of the horses was
to be deducted which had been killed in our recent campaign. This, added
to other circumstances, gave rise to high words between the two, and
Grado frequently made use of unbecoming expressions during the dispute;
and the secretary Godoy, to make matters worse, now also put in his
word, and things at length came to such a pass that Luis Marin lost all
patience, and threw both these gentlemen into chains. After they had
been in prison for about eight days, our captain sent Grado on his
parole to Mexico, and also released Godoy, who had shown full contrition
for his past behaviour. This was very impolitic on the part of Luis
Marin as far as regarded himself, for Grado and Godoy now concocted
measures together, and the latter wrote a letter to Cortes, in which he
scandalized our captain in every possible manner. Alonso de Grado also
requested me to draw up a letter to Cortes, in which he wished me to
exculpate him in this affair, for he had been assured by Godoy that
Cortes would believe me. I willingly complied with his request, and drew
up a faithful account of the whole matter, but stated that no blame
could be attached to Luis Marin. With these letters Grado set out for
Mexico, after our captain had made him promise on oath to appear before
Cortes within the space of eight days; for the distance from this place
to Mexico by the road we had marched was 760 miles.
Our next step was to march to Cimatan, in order to punish its
inhabitants, who, it will be remembered, killed two Spaniards on the
occasion when Francisco Martin and myself so narrowly escaped. When we
were on our march thither, and had arrived at no great distance from
Tapelola, we came to some large mountains, containing several dangerous
passes, through which our march lay to this township; Luis Marin,
therefore, sent to the caziques of this place, desiring them to clear
the roads for us that our horses might pass along in greater safety.
This they readily undertook to do; but even then it was with great
difficulty our cavalry could pass through the defiles. From Tapelola we
marched peaceably over the townships Silo, Suchiapa, and Coyumelapa, to
Panguaxaya, and it was not until we approached the townships of
Tecomayacatl and Ateapan, which then formed but one town, that matters
began to assume a different aspect. These were the most populous
townships in the province, and formed part of my commendary. As the
inhabitants of themselves were very numerous, and had besides called in
the assistance of their neighbours, they mustered a very considerable
body of troops, and attacked us as we were crossing the deep river which
flows through the midst of their town. Six Spaniards were wounded and
three of our horses killed, the battle continuing very sharply for a
length of time before we could reach the opposite shore and drive the
enemy back, who set fire to the houses in their flight, and then escaped
to the mountains. Here we rested for five days to cure our wounds, and
we sent out frequent foraging parties who captured many a fine Indian
female. We then forwarded a message to the inhabitants, inviting them to
return to obedience, with which they instantly complied, and their wives
and children were again restored to them. The secretary Godoy had indeed
advised Luis Marin not to return the prisoners, but to mark them with
the iron and retain them as slaves, a punishment to which all those were
subject who had once acknowledged themselves vassals of our emperor, and
afterwards revolted without any apparent reason. These people, Godoy
maintained, had commenced hostilities with us from sheer obstinacy, and
we ought at least to demand a sufficient number of slaves as a
compensation for the loss of our three horses. For myself, I loudly
protested against this, and said it would be unjust to punish these
people who had freely submitted again to our arms. At length Godoy and
myself got to high words about this matter, which ended in our drawing
swords and wounding each other, when our friends interfered and brought
about a reconciliation between us. Luis Marin, who was, upon the whole,
a very kind-hearted man, was convinced of the justness of my
observation, and ordered all the prisoners to be returned to the
caziques, and so we departed from them in perfect peace.
From this place we marched towards Cimatlan and Talatupan. At the
entrance of this township the Indians had constructed, on the top of a
hill, a species of rampart, with loop-holes, beyond which lay a marsh of
considerable extent. When we had arrived up to this outwork, the enemy
suddenly showered their arrows upon us, wounding above twenty of our men
and killing two horses; and if we had not made a hasty retreat our loss
might have been very serious.
The Indians of this province excel as archers, and fly their arrows with
so much strength that they will pierce a jacket doubly quilted with
cotton.
After this momentary attack upon us, the Indians drew back to the
marshes, and we remained two whole days in this place, during which time
we despatched several messages to them; but as they obstinately refused
to submit, and were securely posted between the swamps, where our horse
could not manoeuvre, nor would it have been an easy matter for the foot
to have got at them, and as we ourselves were quite tired of roving
about, we unanimously determined to march back to Guacasualco. We took
our route through the townships of Guimango, Nacaxu, Xuica,
Teotitan-Copilco, and several others, all belonging to the province of
Chontalpa. We then crossed the rivers Ayagualulco, and Tonala, and we
arrived safely in Guacasualco, when the owners of those horses which had
been killed in this campaign were reimbursed for their loss from the
gold collected in Chiapa and Chamula.
In the meantime Alonso de Grado reached Mexico, and presented himself to
Cortes; who, when he learnt the real state of the case, grew excessively
angry with this officer, and said to him, "It appears thus, Senor
Alonso, that you cannot live in peace with any one! I must earnestly
advise you to alter your bad disposition; if not, I will give you 3000
pesos, and send you off to Cuba. I cannot suffer you to go on in this
manner any longer!" Alonso de Grado then humbly begged his pardon, and
expressed his sorrow for what had happened, so that our general, and
even Luis Marin, became reconciled to him shortly after.
I must now conclude this chapter, in order to acquaint the reader with
what was going on at the imperial court in Spain respecting the bishop
of Burgos.