_Expeditions of Gonzalo de Sandoval, Pedro de Alvarado, and others, for
reducing the Mexican Provinces_.
After the settlement with Christoval de Tapia, the Captains Sandoval and
Alvarado resumed the expeditions with which they had been before entrusted,
and on this occasion I went along with Sandoval. On our arrival at
Tustepeque[1], I took my lodgings on the summit of a very high tower of a
temple, for the sake of fresh air, and to avoid the musquitoes, which were
very troublesome below. At this place, seventy-two of the soldiers who
came with Narvaez and six Spanish women were put to death. The whole
province submitted immediately to Sandoval, except the Mexican chief who
had been the principal instrument of the destruction of our soldiers, who
was soon afterwards made prisoner and burnt alive. Many others had been
equally guilty, but this example of severity was deemed sufficient.
Sandoval, in the next place, sent a message to the Tzapotecas, who inhabit
a mountainous district about ten leagues from Tustepeque or Tututepec,
ordering them to submit to his authority; and on their refusal, an
expedition was sent against them under Captain Briones, who according to
his own account had served with reputation in the wars of Italy. His
detachment consisted of 100 Spanish infantry, and about an equal number of
Indian allies; but the enemy were prepared for him, and so completely
surprised him in a difficult pass of the mountains, that they drove him
and his men over the rocks, rolling them down to the bottom, by which
above a third of them were wounded, of whom one afterwards died. The
district inhabited by the Tzapotecas is of very difficult access among
rocky mountains, where the troops can only pass in single file, and the
climate is very moist and rainy. The inhabitants are armed with long
lances, having stone heads about an ell long, which have two edges as
sharp as razors, and they are defended by pliable shields which cover
their whole bodies. They are extremely nimble, and give signals to each
other by loud whistlings, which echo among the rocks with inconceivable
shrillness. Their province is named Tiltepeque[2]; which, after its
submission, was confided to the charge of a soldier named Ojeda. On his
return to quarters, Sandoval ridiculed Briones on the bad success of his
expedition, asking him if he had ever seen the like in Italy; for Briones
was always boasting of his exploits there, as how he had severed men in
two, and the like. Briones was sore displeased with these sarcasms, and
swore he would rather fight against the Turks or Moors than the Tzapotecas.
There was another district of the Tzapotecas called Xaltepec, which was
then at war with a neighbouring tribe, and who immediately, on being
summoned by Sandoval, sent a deputation of their chiefs to wait upon him
with handsome presents; among which was a considerable quantity of gold,
partly made into toys, and partly in ten little tubes. Their chiefs were
dressed in long cotton robes, richly embroidered, and reaching to their
feet, like the upper garments worn by the Moors. They requested to be
assisted by some of our soldiers against their enemies, whom they named
the Minxes. The state of our force at this time did not permit him to
comply with this request, but he promised to transmit their request to our
general at Mexico, with an application for an auxiliary force to be sent
them, and said he could only now send a small number of his men along with
them, to observe the nature of the passes, but his real object was to
examine their mines. With this answer he dismissed them all except three,
sending eight of us along with them to explore the country and its mines.
There was another soldier of the same name with myself in this party, for
indeed there were three of us in the army named Castillo. At that time I
prided myself on my dress, and was called _Castillo the beau_. My namesake
who went on the present expedition was named _Castillo the thoughtful_, as
he was of slow speech, never replying to a question for a long while, and
then answering by some absurdity. The third was called _Castillo the
prompt_, as he was always very ready and smart in all his words. On our
arrival at the district of Xaltepec, the Indians turned over the soil in
three different rivers, in each of which they found gold, and soon filled
three tubes with it as large as a mans middle finger, with which we
returned to Sandoval, who now thought that all our fortunes would be made.
He took a district to himself, from which he very soon procured gold to
the value of 15,000 crowns. He gave the district of Xaltepec, whence we
had obtained the gold, to Captain Luis Marin, but it turned out very
indifferently. He gave me a very profitable district, which I wish to God
I had kept; it consisted of three places, named Matalan, Oztoequipa, and
Oriaca, where the _ingenio_ of the viceroy is now situated; but I thought
it more consistent with my character as a soldier to accompany Sandoval in
his military expeditions. Sandoval called his town Medellin, after the
birth-place of Cortes; and the Rio de las Vanderas, from which he procured
the 15,000 crowns, was for some time the port where the merchandise from
Spain was discharged, until Vera Cruz became the emporium.
We now marched into the province of Coatzacualco, through the district of
Citla[3], which is about twelve leagues in length and breadth, and is very
populous, having a fine climate and abounding in provisions. The chiefs
immediately submitted. On our arrival at the river of Coatzacualco, which
is the governing district of all the neighbouring tribes, the chiefs did
not make their appearance on being summoned, which we considered as an
indication of hostility, which was in fact their first intention; but
after five days, they came in and made their submissions, presenting some
trinkets of fine gold to Sandoval. By his orders, they collected a hundred
canoes, in which we crossed the river, sending four soldiers in advance to
examine and report the state of the country. A town was founded in this
place, which we named Villa del Espiritu Santo, because on that day we
defeated Narvaez, using that expression as our watchword, and because we
crossed this river on the same day. In this place the flower of our army
was established, which at this time mustered eighty cavalry, a greater
number in proportion than five hundred is now, horses being then very
scarce and dear. Having examined the surrounding districts, Sandoval
divided them among the different settlements. To the settlement of
Coatzacualco, he allotted Cuetzpaltepec, Tepeca, Chinantla, the Tzapotecas,
Copilco, Cimatan, Tabasco, Cachula, the Zoques, Techeapa, Cinacatan, the
Quilenes, and Papanahausta. We had a long litigation afterwards with the
district of Vera Cruz about three of these, Cuetzpaltepec, Chinantla, and
Tepeca; with Tabasco about Cimatan and Copilco; with Chiapa or Guatimala,
concerning the Quilenes and Zoques; and likewise with the town of St
Ildefonso about the Tzapotecas. I regretted having fixed myself in this
place, as the lands were very poor, and every thing turned out to my
disadvantage. We might indeed have done well enough if we had been left in
our original situation; but as new settlements were successively formed,
ours were curtailed to accommodate them, so that our colony fell into
decay; and from being the best, and containing the greatest number of the
true conquerors of Mexico, it has now very few inhabitants.
About this time Sandoval received intelligence of the arrival of Donna
Catalina, the lady of our general, in the river of Aguayalco[4],
accompanied by her brother. La Zembrana also with her family came along
with her, and Donna Elvira Lopez _the tall_, who married Juan de Palma,
who was afterwards hanged. We all went to pay our respects to the ladies,
the roads being almost impassable owing to constant heavy rain. Having
escorted Donna Catalina and the rest to our town of Coatzacualco, or
Espiritu Santo, intelligence was sent to Cortes of their arrival, and they
set out soon afterwards for Mexico. Cortes was sorry for their coming, but
he received them with great pomp, and we heard about three months
afterwards that Donna Catalina had died of an asthma.
Villafuerte had been sent to Zacatula, and Juan Alvarez Chico to Colima,
two provinces on the south sea to the west of Mexico, but were
unsuccessful; on which Cortes sent Christoval de Oli to reduce these
provinces to submission. The natives attacked him on his march, killing
two of his soldiers; yet he reached the station of Villafuerte, who was
afraid to stir out, and had four even of his soldiers killed by the enemy
in the town where he resided. I do not know what became of Captain Juan
Alvarez, but I believe he lost his life about this time in some action
with the natives. De Oli reduced both provinces to submission and returned
to Mexico, where he was hardly arrived when intelligence was brought that
they had again rebelled; on which Cortes sent Sandoval with a small party
of veterans to take the charge of them. He punished the ringleaders of the
rebellion, and regulated them in so effectual a manner, that they
continued ever afterwards submissive.
On the departure of Sandoval with the ladies, several of the districts
subjected to Coatzacualco rebelled, killing the soldiers who were
appointed to collect the tribute; among which were the Tzapotecas of
Xaltepec, Cimatan and Copilco, the first being difficult of access on
account of its rugged mountains, and the two others because of lakes and
marshes, so that they were not reduced to subjection without great
difficulty. While Captain Luis Marin was engaged in reducing these
districts, Juan Buono arrived at our settlement in a small vessel. He
immediately called us all together, and endeavoured to persuade us to
submit to Christoval de Tapia as governor of New Spain, being ignorant of
the return of that person to Hispaniola. Buono had a number of unaddressed
letters from the bishop of Burgos, making large offers to such as would
further his views of superseding Cortes, and which Buono had a
discretionary power of directing to any persons that he supposed might
support the cause in which he was engaged, and which he accordingly
transmitted to those who held offices in the settlement. Among the rest, I
was offered the appointment of regidor. When Buono learnt that Tapia had
left the country, he seemed much disappointed. We referred him to Cortes
at Mexico, to which place he went. I know not what passed between him and
Cortes, but I believe the general sent him back to Spain with some money
in his pocket.
Among the tribes that courted our alliance after the conquest of Mexico,
was a people of the Tzapotecan nation, named the Tutepecs, who earnestly
requested our assistance against a hostile tribe, who bore the same name
with themselves, and whom they represented as possessing a very rich
country. Accordingly, in the year 1522, Alvarado marched from Mexico with
a detachment of 180 soldiers, cavalry and infantry, with orders to take
twenty more on his march through the district of Oaxaco, and also to visit
and reduce during his march certain mountainous districts which were said
to be in rebellion. Alvarado was forty days on his march between Mexico
and Tutepec, and was very hospitably received on his arrival, being lodged
in the most populous part of the city, where the houses stood close
together, and were thatched with straw, it not being the custom of that
part of the country to have terraced roofs, on account of their climate
being very sultry. By the advice of Father Olmedo, Alvarado removed his
quarters to a more open part of the town; as in case of any treachery
being intended, the natives might easily have set fire to the first
quarters. In this place, Alvarado was plentifully supplied with provisions,
and the principal chief made him every day some rich present of gold; and
among other things gave him a pair of golden stirrups, made according to a
pattern. Yet, only a few days after, the cacique was made a prisoner, on
the information, as was said, of the Indians of Tecuantepec, that he meant
to burn the Spaniards in the quarters which had been assigned them in the
temples. Some of the Spaniards alleged that Alvarado made him a prisoner
in order to extort gold for his ransom. However this may have been, he
died in prison of vexation, after Alvarado had got from him to the value
of 30,000 crowns. His son was permitted to succeed him in the government,
from whom Alvarado obtained more gold than he had done from the father.
Alvarado now established a colony, which was called _Segura_, because most
of the colonists came from Tepeaca, named by us Segura de la Frontera.
Alvarado set out soon afterwards on his return to Mexico with all his
wealth, as Cortes had written to him to bring all the treasure he possibly
could, which he intended to send into Spain. The soldiers were much
dissatisfied at being thus excluded from any share, and several of them
entered into a conspiracy to assassinate Alvarado and his brothers. One of
the conspirators, named Tribejo, gave information of the plot to Father
Olmedo, only a few hours before it was intended to have been executed; and
the reverend Father informed Alvarado, just as he was riding out along
with some of the conspirators. He continued his intended excursion for a
short way; then turning suddenly, he complained of a pain in his side,
saying he must go back for a surgeon to bleed him. On his arrival at
quarters, he immediately sent for his two brothers, together with the
alcaldes and alguazils of the settlement, whom he ordered to arrest the
conspirators, two of whom were hanged. Alvarado returned to Mexico with
his gold; but the colonists finding all the gold taken away, and that the
place was hot and unhealthy, infested with musqutioes, bugs, and other
vermin, and themselve and slaves fast dying, they abandoned the settlement,
some going to Mexico, and others to different places. Cortes was much
displeased at this abandonment, and finding on inquiry that it had been
done by a resolution of the alcaldes and regidors in full cabildo, he
condemned them to suffer death; but their punishment, at the intercession
of Olmedo, was mitigated to banishment. Thus the settlement of Segura fell
to the ground, which had been established in a very fertile country, but
exceedingly unhealthy. By the cruelty and extortion of Alvarado, the minds
of the natives were alienated, and they threw off their allegiance; but he
reduced them again to submission, and they continued afterwards to behave
themselves peaceably.
[1] This expedition appears to have been for the reduction of certain
provinces to the south-east of the vale of Mexico, now forming the
intendency of Oaxaca, inhabited by the Mixtecas and Tzapotecas. The
Tustepeque of the text, was probably a town on the Boca de Chacahua on
the South Sea, now called Tututepec, in lat. 15º 50' N. and long. 100º
15' E. On the very imperfect map of Clavigero, it is named Tototepec,
and is placed in the country of the Mixtecas.--E.
[2] Named, more appropriately, in the map of Clavigero, Tzapoteca-pan.--E.
[3] I suspect this ought to be named Chinantla.--E.
[4] This way probably be some corruption of the native name of the Rio
Coatzacualco, or Huaxacualco; by giving it the ordinary Spanish prefix
_agua_; which signifies water, or a river, with the native termination
_cualco_.--E.