ADMINISTRATION OF AFFAIRS IN NICARAGUA.
1531-1550.
MALEFEASANCE OF CASTAÑEDA—DIEGO ÁLVAREZ OSORIO THE FIRST
BISHOP OF NICARAGUA—A CONVENT FOUNDED AT LEON—LAS CASAS
ARRIVES—CASTAÑEDA'S FLIGHT—ARRIVAL OF CONTRERAS—PROPOSED
EXPEDITION TO EL DESAGUADERO—OPPOSITION OF LAS CASAS—DEPARTURE
WITH ALL THE DOMINICANS—THE VOLCANO OF EL INFIERNO
DE MASAYA—FRAY BLAS BELIEVES THE LAVA TO BE MOLTEN
TREASURE—HIS DESCENT INTO THE BURNING PIT—EXPLORATION OF
THE DESAGUADERO—DOCTOR ROBLES ATTEMPTS TO SEIZE THE NEW
TERRITORY—CONTRERAS LEAVES FOR SPAIN—HIS ARREST, TRIAL, AND
RETURN—HIS SON-IN-LAW MEANWHILE USURPS THE GOVERNMENT—ANTONIO
DE VALDIVIESO APPOINTED BISHOP—FEUD BETWEEN THE ECCLESIASTICS
AND THE GOVERNOR—ALONSO LOPEZ DE CERRATO TAKES THE RESIDENCIA
OF CONTRERAS—MISSIONARY LABORS IN NICARAGUA.
[Sidenote: CASTAÑEDA GOVERNOR.]
The sense of relief which was felt by all the colonists of Nicaragua,
when death at last put an end to the administration of Pedrarias Dávila,
was of brief duration. A new taskmaster soon held them in bondage
almost as grievous as that of the great despot who now lay buried in the
church-vaults at Leon. Francisco de Castañeda, who then held office as
contador, and some months previous had been alcalde mayor,[X‑1] claimed
that he was legally entitled to the vacant governorship.[X‑2] The
cabildo knew of no valid objection, and upon Castañeda's promise to rule
with moderation and fairness he was appointed and duly recognized.[X‑3]
Before a month had elapsed the colonists found themselves still doomed
to oppression and misrule. Without regard to the rights of the settlers,
and with an effrontery equalled only by that of his predecessor, the
new tyrant refused to convene the cabildo except at long intervals, and
then only to discuss matters agreeable to his own wishes. The decision
of pending lawsuits was neglected; loans were demanded, and those who
refused to contribute were harassed so unmercifully that they abandoned
their property and fled the country, leaving their encomiendas to
be confiscated.[X‑4] Slave-hunting, with its attendant horrors, was
common throughout the province. None were forbidden to kidnap, nor was
any limit placed on their capture; the only restriction was that the
governor should receive a share. The king's tithes were fraudulently
rented.[X‑5] Castañeda was even suspected of making fraudulent entries
in the books of the treasurer Tobilla, whose death had recently
occurred; nor had he even given himself the trouble of taking an
inventory of the contents of the treasure-chest.
At length certain of the regidores met in secret council and petitioned
the king to send them a judge of residencia, stating that unless relief
were afforded the province would soon be depopulated. Castañeda was
presently informed of his danger, but gave no heed to the warning.
He had but one aim in life, to gather riches by whatever means,[X‑6]
and this object he pursued with unshaken purpose. The natives did not
regard the Spaniards with greater dread than did the Spaniards their
chief magistrate. Many of them departed for the newly conquered regions
of Peru, and even the friars, who had faced the hardships of the
wilderness, and the peril of torture and death at the hands of savages,
were compelled to abandon their labors.[X‑7]
* * * * *
Until 1531 the vicars of the church of Panamá held ecclesiastical
jurisdiction over the province of Nicaragua.[X‑8] In that year Diego
Álvarez Osorio, a precentor of the cathedral of Panamá, holding the
title of Protector of the Indians, was appointed the first bishop of
Nicaragua. His elevation was due to his eminent services in the church
and probably also to the fact of his being, as Remesal remarks, "a noble
cavalier of the house of Astorga, learned, virtuous, and prudent, with
much experience in wholesome government measures."[X‑9] The prelate
was ordered to found a Dominican convent at Leon, and the treasurer
was commanded to furnish the necessary funds. The royal tithes which
were formerly appropriated by the diocese of Panamá, were now to
be increased,[X‑10] and applied to the support of the churches and
hospitals of Nicaragua.
[Sidenote: RODRIGO DE CONTRERAS.]
Under the rule of Castañeda it was indeed difficult to collect the
tithes, the greater portion of them being stolen by his officials.
But a true friend to humanity and religion was now on his way to
the province. Bartolomé de las Casas,[X‑11] after his earnest though
ineffectual labors in Mexico, returned to Nicaragua in the year 1532,
and was received with open arms by Osorio, who invited him to remain,
and to aid him in establishing the Dominican convent, and also in his
labors on behalf of the natives; but above all to use his authority in
putting an end to the malefeasance of Castañeda. Las Casas cheerfully
consented. A convent was founded; residences were built for the friars;
preparations were made for the erection of a cathedral, and converts
by the thousands were gathered into the fold. But neither threat nor
persuasion had the least influence on Castañeda, who had been trained
in the school of Pedrarias, and now bid fair to better his instruction.
Relief came at last. News arrived at Leon that Rodrigo de Contreras
had been appointed governor of Nicaragua, and was now on his way to the
province. Castañeda thereupon gathered up his stolen gains and fled to
Peru; passed thence to Española; was there arrested and sent to Spain;
but death closed his career before any earthly tribunal awarded to him
the meed of his iniquity.
* * * * *
Contreras was a noble cavalier of Segovia, and the son-in-law of
Pedrarias, whose daughter, María de Peñalosa, formerly betrothed to
Vasco Nuñez de Balboa, now accompanied him to the province, together
with her infant children, Hernando and Pedro. His administration meets
the hearty approval of Oviedo; a refreshing circumstance, as it is the
first instance in which that historian speaks in praise of a governor in
a Spanish province.[X‑12] His conduct is at least in strong relief with
that of his two predecessors, and apart from certain accusations brought
against him by the ecclesiastics, with whom he was ever at variance,
the annals of his time portray him as a just and humane ruler. He at
once began the task of establishing law and order in his territory, thus
gaining the confidence of the settlers, and all traces of evil wrought
by the absconder Castañeda were speedily effaced.
* * * * *
[Sidenote: INTEROCEANIC COMMUNICATION.]
The project for opening up communication with the North Sea by way
of El Desaguadero, as the Rio San Juan was then termed, and of taking
possession of the native towns on its banks, had long been discussed by
the colonists. The new governor though averse to such an enterprise was
anxious to retain the good-will of the people, and despatched to the
court of Spain Juan de Perea to obtain the emperor's consent.[X‑13]
But the subjugation of the natives was too often followed by their
enslavement, and Las Casas was still in the province[X‑14] laboring in
his favorite cause. In the pulpit, in the confessional, and in places
of public resort the padre denounced the expedition. He even threatened
to refuse absolution to the vecinos and soldiers should they dare to
take part in it.[X‑15] The colonists were sorely perplexed. Las Casas
undoubtedly held direct instructions from the emperor which justified
his interference, while the governor had not yet received the sanction
of the crown. Which side should they take? On the one hand was prospect
of gain, on the other the threatened ban of the church.
Contreras was resolved that the project should not be thwarted by the
intermeddling of a priest; but, on setting out at the head of a band of
fifty men, he found that his own officers would not obey him, for they
were forbidden to plunder or maltreat the natives. He was compelled
therefore to return to Leon and acknowledge himself defeated. Las Casas
now used all the weight of his influence to undermine the governor's
authority,[X‑16] while Contreras caused depositions to be taken before
Bishop Osorio with regard to the conduct of the padre. At this juncture
the death of the prelate solved the difficulty. After losing his
support Las Casas found himself unable to oppose, single-handed, the
authority of the governor, who still had the tacit sympathy of most of
the colonists. He therefore determined to abandon a field where his
exertions were of little avail, and accepting an invitation which it
has already been stated was extended to him by Francisco de Marroquin,
bishop of Guatemala, to take charge of the convent of Santiago, departed
from Leon taking with him all the Dominicans.[X‑17]
[Sidenote: EL INFIERNO DE MASAYA.]
In 1537 certain of the ecclesiastics are again connected with the
history of the province, but in a manner not altogether consistent with
the dignity of their profession. While travelling through Nicaragua
three years previously, Fray Blas del Castillo heard strange rumors
concerning a volcano situated near Lake Nicaragua, and known as El
Infierno de Masaya. In the crater at a depth of a hundred fathoms
was a molten lake incrusted with cinders, through which fountains
of fire sometimes rose far above the surface,[X‑18] lighting up the
South Sea by night, and plainly visible to mariners twenty leagues
from shore. Concerning this spot a legend was related to Oviedo during
his residence in the province by the aged cacique Lenderi, who had
several times visited the place in company with other chieftains of his
tribe. From the depths of the crater came forth to commune with them
in secret council a hag,[X‑19] nude, wrinkled, and hideous, with long
sharp teeth, and deep-sunken, flame-colored eyes. She was consulted
on all important matters, determined the question of war or peace, and
predicted the success or failure of every enterprise. Before and after
these consultations, were hurled into the crater human victims who
submitted to their fate without a murmur.[X‑20] When the Christians made
their appearance the genius of the burning pit denounced the intruders,
threatening not to show herself again till they were driven from the
land, and as the natives were not strong enough to expel them, she soon
abandoned her votaries.
The worthy friar concluded that the molten mass in the depths of the
crater must be gold, or at least silver, in a state of fusion. He was
then travelling toward Peru by order of his superiors, but kept his
own counsel until two years later, when we hear of his journeying on
foot from Mexico, a distance of more than four hundred leagues, intent
on exploring the mysterious crater. He now took into his confidence a
Franciscan friar, Juan de Gandabo, and the two agreed to impart the
great secret to a few of the wealthier Spanish settlers, in order
to obtain means for carrying out their project. Rumor was soon rife
throughout the province. At Granada and Leon men assembled in the
streets and plazas to discuss the matter. Some few conceded that Fray
Blas was probably in the right. Others asserted with a credulous shrug
that the molten mass consisted of iron or of sulphur, the latter theory
being most in favor, from the fact that specimens of native sulphur
were common in the vicinity. But while expounding, in the realms of
the Atahualpas and the Montezumas, the doctrines of him who sent forth
his disciples without purse or scrip, the ecclesiastic could never
banish from his mind the conviction that providence had reserved this
treasure for him and his fellow-laborers,[X‑21] and now after his long
and toilsome journey, he was not to be turned aside from his purpose.
The necessary implements were secretly prepared. Chains, pulleys,
iron kettles, and other apparatus were made ready in a native village
four leagues distant from the volcano. A huge derrick and a cage were
manufactured by the friar's own hands at a safe distance from the
Spanish settlements,[X‑22] and dragged up by natives to the mouth of
the volcano. Guides were procured, and it was agreed that Fray Blas
himself should first descend into the pit in order to avoid all dispute
as to right of discovery. Should he return to the surface in safety, his
comrades were to follow. Stipulations were made as to the division of
the treasure, the friar claiming for himself the largest share, though
contributing nothing to the expense.
On the 13th of April 1538,[X‑23] the ecclesiastic and his comrades rise
betimes, and after confessing their sins, attending mass, and partaking
of a substantial breakfast they climb the steep mountain side and stand
on the verge of the crater. Grasping in his left hand a flask of wine,
in his right a crucifix, and gathering up the skirts of his priestly
robe, his head protected by an iron cask, the daring friar takes his
seat in the cage, is suspended in mid-air, and slowly lowered into the
burning pit. The natives who are present flee in terror, having no faith
in his assertion that the evil genius of the fiery lake will vanish
at the sight of the cross. As he lands on the floor of the crater a
fragment of falling rock strikes his helmet, causing him to drop on his
knees and plant his cross with trembling fingers in the haunted ground.
Turning his eyes upward, after much groping and stumbling among shelves
of rock, he beholds the cage in which he had descended swinging far
overhead. Nevertheless his heart fails not. Catching the guide-rope
he drags up his portly person to a spot from which he can give the
appointed signal, and at length is brought unharmed to the surface.
[Illustration: NICARAGUA.]
A few days later another attempt is made, and after much difficulty
a small quantity of the molten treasure is brought to the surface in
an iron mortar. Reports of the great discovery spread through the
neighboring settlements. Hundreds of eager spectators gather round
the crater, but the adventurers keep their counsel. They take formal
possession of the ground, move their machinery that none may share the
imaginary prize, and for a time imagine themselves possessed of wealth
which a thousand ships cannot carry.
* * * * *
[Sidenote: EXPLORATION OF THE DESAGUADERO.]
Soon after the departure of the Dominicans, Contreras resolved to carry
out the exploration of the Desaguadero. Captain Diego Machuca,[X‑24]
a veteran officer and one whose humane disposition gave assurance
that the inhabitants of the native towns would not be maltreated, was
placed in charge of the expedition. Two ships were fitted out on Lake
Nicaragua and a force of two hundred men followed by land. The dangers
encountered[X‑25] during the voyage are not recorded by the chroniclers
of the age; but we learn that the vessels were borne in safety down the
stream, passed thence to the North Sea, and sailed for Nombre de Dios.
News of their arrival was soon brought to Doctor Robles, then governor
of Tierra Firme, and with his usual policy this covetous ruler attempted
to gather for himself all the benefits of the enterprise. The men of
Nicaragua were cast into prison, and an expedition despatched under
Francisco Gonzales de Badajoz to take possession of the territory
on the banks of the Desaguadero. After remaining in the province for
six months, during which time a fort was built and treasure obtained
to the value of 200,000 castellanos, the invaders were driven out by
Contreras, and their leader sent back a prisoner to Panamá.[X‑26] A
second expedition, despatched by Doctor Robles under command of Andrés
Garavito, also failed of success.[X‑27]
* * * * *
A brief period of comparative quiet now occurs in the history of
Nicaragua, and for the first time the inhabitants of one province at
least are satisfied with their ruler. Nevertheless there exists among a
clique of factious adventurers an undercurrent of ill-feeling, fostered
by the ecclesiastics, who soon begin once more to interfere in the
affairs of the settlements. After the passage in 1542 of the new code of
laws, of which mention is elsewhere made, Nicaragua is placed under the
jurisdiction of the audiencia of the Confines, and all who hold office
under the crown are ordered to surrender their encomiendas. The governor
thereupon transfers his slaves to his wife and children, and before the
code goes into operation, sets forth for Spain, to prevent, if possible,
disastrous results to his interests; for in common with most of his
fellow-rulers his wealth consists mainly of human chattels. Arriving
at the Isthmus he finds that secret advices from Pedro de Mendavia, the
dean of Leon, have been sent to Panamá recommending his arrest, and he
is compelled to continue his journey as a prisoner. The charges against
him cannot be of a serious nature; for although his old opponent, Las
Casas, is still in Spain, ready to testify against him, we learn that he
is soon released, and retaining both office and property he returns in
company with Vasco Nuñez Vela, landing in Tierra Firme in January 1544.
[Sidenote: PEDRO DE LOS RIOS.]
Meanwhile Pedro de los Rios, the royal treasurer,[X‑28] and son-in-law
of Contreras, has usurped the reins of government, and commenced to
persecute all whom he knows to be hostile to his own party. Mendavia,
knowing that he may be the one to suffer most at the hands of Rios,
determines to anticipate his measures, and proceeding to Granada,
where he obtains the support of the cabildo, imprisons Rios in the
convent.[X‑29] But the following morning the cabildo intimidated
by the threats of Doña María, the governor's wife, repent of their
conduct and are prevailed upon to issue an edict calling upon all the
settlers, under penalty of death and confiscation, to rise in arms and
demand the liberation of Rios, or, in case of refusal, to tear down the
convent. The warlike dean is not prepared for this sudden change, but
nevertheless determines to resist, assuring his adherents that all who
may suffer death in this most Christian cause will surely be admitted
into heaven. The people throng the convent, and the friars are soon
engaged in deadly strife, during which two of them, together with four
laymen, are mortally wounded. Unable to withstand the attack, Mendavia
at last relents and sues for peace. A compromise is effected, by which
Rios binds himself not to injure the dean or any of his party, either
then or at any future time, whereupon the treasurer is released. No
sooner is he outside the convent walls, however, than he forgets his
promise, and arrests, hangs, quarters, and exiles indiscriminately. The
dean himself is put in irons and sent to Spain, where for several years
he is kept a prisoner without trial.[X‑30]
When the news of these proceedings reached the audiencia of Panamá,
Diego de Pineda was despatched to Nicaragua as juez de comision, and
with such tact did he reconcile the disputes between the two parties
that order was quickly restored, and the quarrel between Rios and
Mendavia was soon forgotten. A few months later Contreras arrived in the
province,[X‑31] but his secret enemies were still at work, and one of
the first acts of the newly established audiencia de los Confines was
to commission the oidor Herrera to take his residencia, and also that
of the treasurer Rios. Although the licentiate was ever an implacable
foe to the governor and a stanch supporter of the clerical faction,
he appears to have discovered nothing on which to base any serious
charges against either of those officials, and soon abandoned his
investigation.[X‑32]
* * * * *
[Sidenote: ECCLESIASTICAL AND CIVIL FEUD.]
A feud more bitter than that which was terminated by the death of Bishop
Osorio and the departure of Las Casas now arose between the lay and
ecclesiastical authorities. In 1544 Father Antonio de Valdivieso was
appointed to the vacant see of Nicaragua.[X‑33] His appointment was duly
confirmed by papal bull, and in November of the following year he was
consecrated at Gracias á Dios by bishops Las Casas of Chiapas, Marroquin
of Guatemala, and Pedraza of Honduras. The prelate, who professed to
be an enthusiastic admirer of the great apostle of the Indies, insisted
that the new code should be enforced, and spared no effort to rescue the
natives from bondage, incurring by his policy such determined opposition
from the governor and his officials that he deemed it best for his own
personal safety to take up his residence at Granada rather than at Leon.
From the day of Valdivieso's arrival to the downfall of the governor
some three years later, the history of the province contains little else
than a series of mutual recriminations and intrigues. The colonists with
a few exceptions favored the cause of the governor, declaring that "they
wanted no prelate except to say mass, and preach to suit their fancy;"
and when the bishop threatened to establish an inquisition in Nicaragua
he was menaced with assassination.[X‑34]
[Sidenote: CONTRERAS CURSED.]
The complaints against Contreras appear to have been due mainly to the
jealousy and self-interested motives of the ecclesiastical faction.
His conduct had borne the scrutiny of the inquisition and of the
audiencia. Notwithstanding the provisions of the new code he had been
allowed to retain his encomiendas. Even his enemies could not accuse
him of maltreating his slaves. It was not to be expected that he should
surrender to the bishop the power and property which higher authority
had permitted him to retain; and yet this seems to have been his chief
cause of offence. Though Valdivieso and the Dominican friars were loud
in their denunciations of those who held the natives in bondage, they
were themselves by no means averse to holding property in slaves. They
were the proprietors of at least one Indian village in Nicaragua, and
when the right of ownership was taken from them by the audiencia of
the Confines, they threatened to leave the province, and ceased not
from their clamor until their property was restored to them.[X‑35] Even
the members of the audiencia, whose special duty it was to enforce the
observance of these new laws, had caused the cacique of Atitlan, and
others who had rendered assistance to the Spaniards in their expeditions
against Lacandon and Tuzulutlan, to be restored to their encomenderos,
thus violating the very spirit of the code. The president and oidores
even went so far as to express their opinion that to place the
Indians under control of the priests in trust for the crown was a most
objectionable measure. Slaves constituted the principal source of wealth
throughout the province, and without slave labor the colonists would
soon be reduced to beggary. Even now they suffered extreme privation and
were sometimes threatened with actual famine. The tribute collected from
the natives, which belonged by right to the governor and his officials,
was distributed among the destitute settlers, but was found utterly
inadequate for their maintenance.
The most serious accusation brought against Contreras, but one that
rests on no sufficient evidence, is that he appropriated the estates
of deceased encomenderos, leaving their wives and children destitute.
It was alleged that he and his family owned more than one third of the
province, and that the slaves and territory of the entire district of
Nicoya, which were formerly divided among eleven different individuals,
had passed into the hands of his wife. It was afterward even laid to his
charge that he had compelled the settlers to take part in enterprises
which he himself had in fact only been led to sanction by the clamor of
the colonists or the urgency of the occasion, as was the case in the
exploration of the Desaguadero and the expeditions against the forces
of Doctor Robles.[X‑36]
Meanwhile the oidor, Herrera, was sparing no effort to insure the
governor's downfall, and with that purpose sent private reports to
the emperor and the council of the Indies. In one of these[X‑37] he
recommended that no one should be allowed to rule who possessed Indians,
either in his own name or that of his wife, children, or servants,
and that the government be vested in the hands of a person whose duty
it should be to visit, at frequent intervals, every settlement in the
province. He also recommended that the children of the caciques should
be placed in convents, there to be trained in the Christian faith,
and that the adult Indians should remain in their towns for the same
purpose.[X‑38] In short his object, like that of Valdivieso, whose cause
he never ceased to advocate, was to place the entire native population
under the absolute control of the ecclesiastics.
In the beginning of the year 1547 the bishop removed to Leon, and no
sooner had he done so than the cabildo reported to the emperor "the
great trouble they had in defending the royal jurisdiction on account of
the opposition of the bishop, who insulted and maltreated the officers
of justice, and held the laws in contempt."[X‑39] It was even thought
necessary to send to Spain one Antonio Zárate to advocate their cause,
whereupon Valdivieso despatched to the council of the Indies, some three
weeks later, a communication in which he accused him of being a fugitive
criminal, in order to destroy his influence at court. He also sent
secret advices to Bishop Torres of Panamá, informing him of Zárate's
purpose and recommending his arrest. The emissary was forewarned of his
danger, and managed to make good his escape, but it is not recorded that
he was successful in accomplishing the object of his mission.
[Sidenote: THE GOVERNOR'S RESIDENCIA.]
The struggle which Contreras had so long maintained against the
machinations of his foes was now drawing to an end. In the beginning
of the year 1548, the licentiate Alonso Lopez de Cerrato, formerly
president of the audiencia in Española, and now appointed to that of
the Confines, arrived at Gracias á Dios. One of his first acts was to
take the residencia of the governor, whereupon finding that the transfer
of his encomiendas had been made after the passage of the new code,
though before its publication in the province,[X‑40] he declared them
confiscated. Contreras at once repaired to Spain to seek redress, and
for some time after his departure his enemies were in constant dread
lest he should regain his authority and return to take vengeance on his
accusers. The alcaldes and regidores of Leon, having now made peace with
the bishop, ordered their secretary to prepare a list of accusations
against the departed governor,[X‑41] but only one of their number had
the courage to sign it, each official fearing that his signature might
afterward cost him his life. It was even requested that the entire
family of the fallen ruler be recalled to Spain, for of his sons
Hernando and Pedro it was stated that they had committed many excesses,
and of his son-in-law, Arias Gonzalo, the alguacil mayor, that he kept a
public gambling-house. Finally the decision of the oidor was confirmed
by the council of the Indies, and Rodrigo de Contreras returned no
more to Nicaragua.[X‑42] His children, however, still remained in the
province, soon to figure as the leaders of a revolt which threatened,
for a time, the very existence of Spain's dominion in the western world.
* * * * *
Although the ecclesiastics were held in little respect by a majority of
the Spaniards, there is sufficient evidence that they labored faithfully
in their calling. When Fray Toribio de Motolinia came from Guatemala,
in the year 1528, to join certain Flemish friars then resident in
Nicaragua, he founded at Granada the convent of Concepcion,[X‑43]
and having a knowledge of the native language, was successful in
his efforts, giving special care to the baptism and conversion of
children. His stay was of short duration; but by others the work of
christianizing the natives was continued with vigor. Gil Gonzalez is
said to have baptized thirty-two thousand.[X‑44] Hernandez and Salcedo
also baptized large numbers. Pedrarias, inasmuch as this great work had
been accomplished without his intervention, affected contempt for such
summary methods of conversion, and ordered an investigation to be made
by Francisco de Bobadilla, a friar provincial of the order of Mercy, and
by the public notary Bartolomé Perez. Diligent search was made by these
officials, but it was found that the barbarians had either forgotten or
never understood the truths of Christianity, and Bobadilla was obliged
to perform this holy work anew. This friar baptized twenty-nine thousand
and sixty-three persons in the province of Nicaragua, during a space
of nine days,[X‑45] and later, between the 1st of September 1538 and
the 5th of March 1539, fifty-two thousand five hundred and fifty-eight
were baptized, though, as Oviedo says, "by no means could they be called
converted."
On the 29th of August 1540, Hernando de Alvarado and Fray Juan de
Padilla started from Granada toward the South Sea by way of Coiba,[X‑46]
and were everywhere well received. When crosses were erected the natives
adorned them with roses, and brought offerings of whatever they valued
most. Some years later Fray Lorenzo de Bienvenida and thirty others
left Yucatan for the province of Costa Rica[X‑47] to continue the work
of conversion in those parts, and many may have fallen victims to their
pious zeal. I may mention the sad fate of the martyr Fray Juan Pizarro.
While laboring in one of the most remote districts of Nicaragua, he was
seized by drunken savages during the celebration of one of their feasts,
dragged over the rocks, beaten till he was almost lifeless, and then
hanged; his murderers completing their work by burning down a church
which he had erected at his own expense.
* * * * *
[Sidenote: INDIAN BORDER TROUBLES.]
During the internal dissensions which have just been related, bands of
hostile Indians taking advantage of the opportunity were continually
committing depredations on the borders, robbing and slaughtering
those of the natives who were at peace with the Spaniards, the cacique
Lacandon being especially troublesome and refusing all overtures of
peace. No progress could be made in forming new settlements or improving
the condition of those already established. After the explorations
conducted by Captain Machuca, we read of no important enterprise until
the year of the governor's departure. In 1548 the contador Diego de
Castañeda organized an expedition for the conquest of the district of
Tegucigalpa.[X‑48] Through the treachery of the guides, his men were
led into marshy and difficult ground, where they soon found themselves
surrounded by hordes of savages. Repelling their attacks with much
difficulty they made their way to the Desaguadero, and passing down that
channel in barges landed on the shores of Costa Rica, where they founded
the settlement of Nueva Jaen.[X‑49]