THE ITZAS AND LACANDONES.
1601-1700.
EARLY EFFORTS AT PACIFICATION—PRIESTS AND SOLDIERS
SACRIFICED—MASSACRE OF MIRONES AND HIS PARTY—EL PROSPERO
EXPEDITION—INDIFFERENCE OF THE ORDERS—BISHOP NAVAS IN THE
FIELD—A TRIPARTITE CAMPAIGN DETERMINED UPON—EXPEDITION
OF PRESIDENT BARRIOS—MEETING WITH MAZARIEGOS—VELASCO'S
OPERATIONS—THE EXPEDITIONS RETURN—FURTHER EXPEDITIONS—FATE OF
VELASCO AND HIS COMMAND—FAILURE—URSUA'S ENTERPRISE—PROGRESS
OF PAREDES—NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE CANEK—OPPOSITION OF
SOBERANIS—URSUA TAKES COMMAND—TREACHEROUS ALLUREMENTS—THE
ITZAS CONQUERED—PETEN GARRISONED—JEALOUSY OF
SOBERANIS—UNSATISFACTORY OPERATIONS—QUESTIONABLE POSSESSION.
The region which lay between Yucatan and the pacified portions of
Guatemala was inhabited by various unsubdued nations, conspicuous among
which were the Lacandones, Itzas, Manches, and Choles. In 1603 certain
members of the Dominican order, led by Juan de Esguerra, succeeded in
penetrating a considerable portion of the Manche territory, and induced
many of the natives to accept Christianity. In 1608 no less than eight
villages[XXXVI‑1] were regulated by Christian custom and teaching, and
the aspect of affairs was encouraging until 1626, when the Lacandones
made a sudden and fierce assault upon the christianized natives and
Spaniards of that district, advancing as far as within six leagues of
Copan. Many native Christians were slain, and a still greater number
carried off prisoners. This onslaught was followed the next year by
an invasion of the Itzas, when more than three hundred of the native
converts were captured, including the principal chief, Martin Cuc.
These disasters had a bad effect on the Manches, who finding that the
Spaniards would not protect them, threw off their allegiance, and with
it their profession of Christianity.
[Sidenote: IMPOLITIC ZEAL.]
Meanwhile efforts to convert the Itzas had been made from Yucatan
by the Franciscans. Of all the nations inhabiting this wild country
the Itzas were the most powerful and aggressive. The difficulties of
penetrating their territory, and their secure position on the islands
of the great lake of Peten,[XXXVI‑2] rendered them apparently secure
and independent. To attempt peaceful intercourse was, indeed, a bold
proceeding; and yet in 1618 friars Bartolomé Fuensalida and Juan de
Orbita, both conversant with the Maya tongue, left Mérida on such a
mission. On their arrival at Tipu, after delays and difficulties, the
cacique Cristóbal Na received them hospitably, and despatched an embassy
to Tayasal, the capital of the Itzas.[XXXVI‑3] This attention obtained
from the canek, or Itza king, an invitation for the missionaries to
visit his city. On reaching the lake by night, they were received with
welcome; a flotilla of canoes was sent to escort them across the water;
the town was illuminated with torches, and a vast crowd assembled to
greet them. Having visited the _canek_, or king, they were conducted
through the city, after which Fuensalida, by the canek's permission,
addressed the people in his presence, and explaining the doctrines
of Christianity touched upon the object of their visit. The friar was
listened to with dignified attention, but the answer, though politely
expressed, was not encouraging. The fathers were welcome, but certain
prophecies were current in the nation which declared that in time the
Itzas would become Christians. That time, however, had not yet arrived,
and the strangers, when their visit was terminated, could go back to
their people and return at a more convenient season.
Hospitable as was the reception of the missionaries, an act of folly on
the part of Orbita changed friendly feeling into indignation, and placed
the visitors' lives in jeopardy. Entering one of the cues, the great
idol, Tzimenchac,[XXXVI‑4] an image of a horse sejant, excited the wrath
of the friar, who, seizing a stone, battered it to pieces, and scattered
the fragments on the temple floor. The outcry was vehement, and it was
only through the intervention of the friendly cacique of Tipu that the
friars were allowed to depart unharmed.[XXXVI‑5]
The persistent friars, nevertheless, again attempted to introduce
the faith among the islanders of Lake Peten, and a few months later,
accompanied by a large escort of Tipus, paid them a second visit. The
canek received them with kindness as before, but the priests of Itza
were on their guard, jealous for their religion. If they could induce
the canek to view the matter as they did, all would be well. To this
end the king's wife was importuned by the Itza priests, and through
her the fears of the king were aroused. It was then arranged that the
mitote[XXXVI‑6] should be celebrated with unusual grandeur; and at this
feast the canek should learn that the gods of Itza did not wish the
missionaries to remain. The preparations for this ceremony excited the
alarm of the Tipus, who warned the friars of danger. Nor were their
fears unfounded. On the morning of the festival an armed multitude
surrounded the dwelling of the missionaries, and having forcibly
entered, hurried off the friars with violence[XXXVI‑7] to the lake,
where they cast them into an old canoe, and left them to make their way
back as best they could. Famished and dispirited they arrived at Tipu,
and thenceforth abandoned all efforts to convert the Itzas.
Yet in the propagation of the faith, as is well known, failure
usually excites to greater activity. In 1621 one Franciscan father,
Diego Delgado, labored in the province of Bacalar, establishing a
new town, Zaclun, in the mountains of Pimienta. This success induced
Captain Francisco Mirones to enter into a contract with Governor
Cárdenas for the subjugation of the Itzas. While waiting at Zaclun
for reënforcements, which were slow in coming, the dealings of Mirones
with the natives were so unjust as to excite their resentment. Delgado
remonstrated in vain; Mirones became more and more arbitrary in his
extortions till the town was ripe for an outbreak.
Meanwhile the friar obtained permission of his provincial to depart for
the capital of the Itzas; and in 1623, accompanied by several Spaniards
and about four score friendly Tipus, he proceeded to Lake Peten, where
he was received by the Itzas with their customary kindness. Allured by
false professions the ill-fated party passed over to the island, where
as soon as they landed they were overwhelmed by numbers[XXXVI‑8] and
bound, presently to be immolated on the heathen altar-stone. Delgado
was reserved as the last. The heads of the victims were then placed
on stakes erected on the hillside in full view of the city. Shortly
afterward Mirones sent two Spaniards to inquire how Delgado and
his party had fared, but their heads were soon added to the ghastly
collection. A native guide who accompanied them managed to escape to
tell the tale,[XXXVI‑9] but not believing it Mirones put him to torture.
[Sidenote: REVOLT OF THE ZACLUNES.]
The patience of the Zaclunes was now exhausted, and they determined
to throw off the yoke. On the 2d of February 1624, while Mirones and
his party were attending mass, and unarmed, they were assailed in the
church and taken alive. The vengeance of the Indians was satisfying and
complete. The hearts of Mirones and the officiating priest were torn
from their breasts in the sacred building, and their bodies thrown into
a hole, while the remaining captives, having suffered a similar death,
were placed on stakes fixed in the road, by which Spanish reënforcements
were expected. Then church and town were burned, and the natives betook
themselves to the mountains.[XXXVI‑10]
This uprising was followed by that of the Tipus; and though some of
those who had massacred Mirones and his party were captured and put
to death, the country was no longer under subjection. And it further
pleased the aboriginals to manifest their scorn and insult by erecting
ludicrous figures of Spaniards in the mountain passes, which were
guarded by images of hideous idols.[XXXVI‑11]
Royal cédulas were so frequently issued to the rulers of New Spain,
Guatemala, and Yucatan, enjoining the conquest of the country which lay
between the two latter territories, that from time to time individuals
had proposed to the crown to undertake the enterprise at their own cost.
Such a proposition was made by Diego Ordoñez de Vera y Villaquiran,
a military officer and encomendero of Mita. His offer was accepted by
the council of the Indies in 1639, and the title of adelantado of the
province, which was to be named Reino del Próspero, was bestowed as
a reward for his anticipated services.[XXXVI‑12] In 1645 Villaquiran
arrived in Yucatan to make preparations for his expedition, and being
without the necessary means,[XXXVI‑13] received assistance from the
governor and the religious provincial. He then published the terms of
capitulation with the crown, distributed offices, and made preparations
for taking possession of his province.
[Sidenote: MISSIONARY ZEAL.]
The zeal of missionary friars, however, made them anxious that the
cross should precede the sword in the work of pacification; hence
in February 1646 two Franciscans, Hermenegildo Infante and Simon de
Villasis, proceeded from Campeche to Usumasinta, the most advanced
Christian settlement of Yucatan. They were shortly afterward joined by
Villaquiran, who, finding the friars still resolute in going before,
addressed a letter to the commander of Nohhaa, one Captain Juan
de Vilvao, a mestizo, and the cacique Pedro XIX., instructing them
to render the missionaries every assistance. Attempts were made by
messengers from Nohhaa to dissuade them from visiting the town, but they
were unavailing; and on their arrival at that place Vilvao warned them
of danger, and extended to them a churlish hospitality. It was evident
that they were not welcome, and the treatment which they received soon
gave cause for alarm. To add to the difficulty of their position their
first letters to Villaquiran, who had returned to Campeche, were never
delivered, and it was with difficulty that they at last succeeded in
sending a messenger to him.[XXXVI‑14] The continued absence of tidings
from Villaquiran caused Fray Simon to return to Mérida, but having
suffered from severe illness and hardship on the road, his health no
longer permitted him to take part in the mission. Fray Bartolomé de
Gabaldá was now sent to assist Infante in his dangerous position, but
well nigh perished on the road before he reached his destination.
The adelantado again arrived at Usumasinta about the beginning of 1647
at the head of his forces. But he was a man utterly unfit for command.
Instead of proceeding to Nohhaa, the true centre of action, as Infante,
who had joined him, urged him to do, he tarried day after day at
Usumasinta, till his inactivity disgusted his followers, who, seeing no
hope of success under such a leader, gradually abandoned him. At last
with a remnant of his former force[XXXVI‑15] he moved on to Nohhaa,
where he arrived on the last day of July, 1647.[XXXVI‑16] The Indians,
having previously ill-treated the friars, had fled to the mountains, but
their cacique had already made his peace with Villaquiran, and Father
Infante was now despatched to Guatemala to obtain pecuniary assistance,
as the adelantado was destitute of funds. At Palenque, however, he
received letters from Villaquiran informing him of his illness. Infante
hastened to return, but found that in his absence threats of coercion
on the part of the adelantado, for the purpose of obtaining provisions
from the cacique, had so enraged the Indians that they had set fire to
the town, and the adelantado with his followers had barely escaped with
their lives to Petenecte.[XXXVI‑17] In this outlying Indian village,
Diego Ordoñez de Vera y Villaquiran,[XXXVI‑18] broken down in mind and
body, lingered in destitution till April 1648, when death released him
from anxiety and suffering. He was buried in Petenecte, and with him
ended all attempt to establish the province of El Próspero, a name not
specially appropriate to the scene of so ill-conducted and unfortunate
an undertaking.
* * * * *
This expedition was not followed by any others for a number of years.
Some little work was effected by the Dominicans in the country of
the Choles, between 1675 and 1677, and the missionaries succeeded in
establishing several towns. These, however, had no permanency, and
though many natives were baptized the Choles relapsed into idolatry and
the friars abandoned the field.[XXXVI‑19] Complaints were made against
the Dominicans by the alcalde mayor of Vera Paz, and a royal cédula,
dated November 30, 1680, ordered that they resume their work and be
provided with all needful assistance from the treasury. The Dominicans
were not slow to defend themselves; but there is little doubt that their
dissensions with civilians caused some indifference on their part, while
the extortionate oppression of the latter roused among the Choles a
hatred of Christianity which the friars could not control.
[Sidenote: ROYAL IMPATIENCE.]
Cédula followed cédula, issued by the Spanish monarch, impatient over
the delay in the pacification of the Choles, Lacandones, and Itzas;
but no positive measures were taken until 1684 when Bishop Navas of
Guatemala announced his intention of visiting Vera Paz with the object
of insisting that the royal wishes should be carried out. This had some
effect. President Guzman convened a council, and promised to extend all
possible assistance to the undertaking. He also addressed the governor
of Yucatan, asking for his coöperation. The zeal of the ecclesiastics
was again awakened, and both the Dominican and Merced orders offered
their aid. It was finally agreed that in the ensuing spring attempts
should be made simultaneously by way of Vera Paz and Huehuetenango.
Accordingly in the beginning of 1685 the bishop, accompanied by
Agustin Cano the Dominican provincial and other friars, proceeded to
Vera Paz, while Diego de Rivas, the provincial of La Merced, went to
Huehuetenango. Neither attempt met with success. From Cajabon,[XXXVI‑20]
under the instructions of the bishop, the parish priest sent an embassy
of five Indians with a friendly invitation to the Choles. The messengers
were assailed while asleep at night in the house of a cacique, and
only one returned to tell the tale.[XXXVI‑21] This failure so cooled
the zeal of the bishop that he returned to Santiago. Cano was a man of
more mettle, and with his brother friars, penetrating some distance
into the mountains, reached San Lúcas, one of the villages formerly
established in the country of the Choles, and induced a number of them
to settle there. It was but labor in vain. In 1688 the fickle neophytes
apostatized, set fire to the town and church, and again returned to
their nomad life.
Nor was the undertaking conducted by the Provincial Rivas, at the head
of the Merced friars, attended with better result. He fearlessly pushed
his way into the Lacandon country accompanied by Melchor de Mencos,
corregidor of Huehuetenango, with ten soldiers, and reached one of the
head-waters of the Tabasco River.[XXXVI‑22] Abandoned corn patches and
deserted dwellings were discovered, and at the summit of a hill was
found an ancient temple, also abandoned, built of stone and lime, in
which was an idol in the form of a lion sejant. This they destroyed and
trod underfoot, erecting in its place a large cross. A blessing was then
pronounced upon the place, which was dignified with the name of Nuestra
Señora de Belen. But the few Lacandones, who occasionally appeared
in sight, always fled at their approach. Considering it dangerous to
advance farther along a route which was now becoming almost impassable
they retraced their steps.
Once more on the 24th of November 1692 the council of the Indies
transmitted a peremptory order of the king that the conquest of
the Choles and Lacandones be undertaken simultaneously from Vera
Paz, Chiapas, and Huehuetenango; but as President Barrios had been
temporarily suspended, operations could not be opened immediately. Upon
his restoration in 1694 the matter was pressed upon his attention by two
Franciscans, Melchor Lopez and Antonio Margil, who had already a varied
experience among those natives, having, at the request of the alcalde
mayor of Copan, twice penetrated into the Lacandon country at the risk
of their lives. In June 1694 they went to Guatemala, and in forming the
plan of the future campaign their views were carefully considered.
[Sidenote: URSUA'S PROPOSAL.]
Meantime Martin Ursua, the prospective governor of Yucatan, had in
1692 proposed to the crown to undertake the reduction of the Itzas and
the Lacandones, and suggested that the opening of a highway through
their country between Yucatan and Guatemala would contribute greatly to
the success of the undertaking. This road he offered to construct at
his own cost. His proposal was accepted; various cédulas were issued
containing instructions relative to the method of conducting the
campaign,[XXXVI‑23] and directing Ursua to act in unison with three
expeditions which had been already ordered to advance into the country.
Early in 1695 preparations were completed, and a general enthusiasm
prevailed, for predatory inroads had been made in different parts by
the Itzas during the previous year. President Barrios himself took the
command,[XXXVI‑24] and arranged that with his division he should enter
the hostile territory from Chiapas, while Melchor Rodriguez Mazariegos
and Juan Diaz de Velasco, at the head of the two other divisions, should
march from Cajabon and Huehuetenango respectively.[XXXVI‑25] Several
ecclesiastics accompanied each command, among whom may be mentioned
fathers Rivas, Cano, Margil, and Pedro de la Concepcion.
[Sidenote: BARRIOS IN THE FIELD.]
Proceeding to Huehuetenango, the president sent Guzman in advance,
with a detachment of his troops, to Comitán, in Chiapas, and followed
in person a few days afterward. Here he decided to make the invasion
by way of Ococingo, and having appointed the 28th of February for a
concerted movement, arrived on the following day at what was supposed
to be the intended site of the city of El Próspero, selected by the
unfortunate Villaquiran. The ruined dwellings were repaired, a hermitage
erected, and the place named Santa Cruz del Próspero.[XXXVI‑26] From
this point Barrios advanced into the interior, encountering innumerable
difficulties and dangers in the wild trackless region. Despite dense
forests, precipitous gulches, and mephitic swamps, the country was
scoured day after day in many directions; but no Indian town or village
was discovered. On the 12th of March the different detachments reunited
in a spacious dell named San Juan de Dios, situated in one of the
mountain fastnesses. Here the exhausted troops rested for eight days,
waiting for provisions to be forwarded from Ococingo. Barrios then
pushed forward under the same difficulties in an easterly direction
until the end of March,[XXXVI‑27] when he again encamped during easter
week at the foot of a mountain to which the name of Monte Santo was
given. For the next fourteen days the expedition slowly and laboriously
advanced till further progress was barred by a wide lake. On its margin,
while searching for a route, a troop of soldiers captured an Indian,
who was pressed into service as a guide. Under his direction they
reached on the 19th of April a rapid stream over which was stretched a
solitary beam of wood,[XXXVI‑28] and while making preparations to cross
it Mazariegos and his troops arrived upon the spot. The joy at this
meeting was great on both sides. Mazariegos in fact had been somewhat
more successful than his superior. On the appointed day he had left San
Mateo de Istatan, where he had been stationed, and after discovering
vestiges of ancient buildings reached the village of Labconop.[XXXVI‑29]
Proceeding thence under difficulties similar to those encountered by
Barrios, he arrived on the 10th of March at the river called San Ramon,
along the banks of which he held his course, though frequently compelled
to ford the stream. It was not, however, until the 6th of April that any
success rewarded the toils of the invaders. On that day footprints were
discovered by Fray Pedro de la Concepcion, who with four Indians was in
advance of the army. These eventually led them into a path which brought
them in sight of an Indian town. Sending back the natives the friar
entered it alone; but though he plainly perceived that he was no welcome
visitor, he was not molested. Meanwhile Mazariegos rapidly advanced on
the town; and meeting Fray Pedro on the way, was informed by him that
the inhabitants were preparing to depart, and when the Spaniards entered
not a person was to be seen. The Spanish leader tried to persuade the
people to return; he also instituted a search for the president, his
meeting with whom has already been narrated.
Meanwhile Velasco and Father Cano had induced five hundred families
of the Choles to settle in villages, and explored the country as far
as the River Mopan. Meeting everywhere with a friendly reception,
Velasco recommended that in this neighborhood a Spanish settlement
be established as a base, having to the south the Choles, to the east
and north the Itzas, and on the west the Lacandones, which was done. A
wooden fort was erected, and to the settlement here founded was given
the name of Los Dolores. A fence of palisades was built, and thirty
Spanish soldiers with a force of natives were left to garrison the fort
under Captain Solis, Father Rivas with his companions remaining with
them. Meanwhile the rainy season had set in, and Mazariegos and Barrios
with the main body returned to Guatemala. Velasco continued his progress
toward Lake Peten, and on the 1st of April was within a few leagues of
the place, when the expedition was met by a hunting party of Itzas, who
rushed upon them with loud outcries. The Mopanes attempted to parley,
but the answer was a flight of arrows. Exasperated, though unhurt, the
Spaniards discharged their arquebuses at the natives, who thereupon
took to flight. The reconnoitring party now fell back, and to escape
pursuit set fire to the grass and retreated to an encampment which
had been formed on the bank of the Chajal, about ten leagues from Lake
Peten. Several chance encounters proved the Itzas no contemptible foe;
and as nothing was heard from the president or Mazariegos, Velasco led
his command back to the Mopan. On his return, while Barrios was making
preparations for another expedition, he fell sick and died. Scals, upon
whom the government devolved, entered heartily into his predecessor's
designs. A council of war approved the outline of the campaign already
formed, the general features of which were the same as those of the
one preceding. Jacobo de Alzayaga, regidor of Guatemala, was to lead
the party from Huehuetenango to Los Dolores, and deal chiefly with the
Lacandones; while the oidor, Bartolomé de Amézqueta,[XXXVI‑30] was to
conduct a force through Vera Paz, and march against the Itzas by way of
Mopan.
[Sidenote: THE TWO EXPEDITIONS.]
About the middle of January 1696 the troops left Guatemala; Alzayaga, on
arriving with his division at Los Dolores, found the village thriving,
more than five hundred native converts being settled there. He then
proceeded in search of the Lacandon towns and eventually discovered two,
Peta and Mop, each containing more than a hundred families. The people
readily received the faith. And Alzayaga, concluding that he had found
all the Lacandon villages, went in quest of the Itzas by way of the
Lacandon River.
After descending some thirty-two leagues the expedition came to another
and larger river, which they ascended for many leagues,[XXXVI‑31] making
inquiries whenever possible for a road to the Itza capital; but all in
vain; and finally, after fifty-seven days of search they returned to Los
Dolores,[XXXVI‑32] where they arrived the 29th of April 1696. A report
was sent to the president, Berrospe, and from him orders were received
to leave a company of soldiers with some priests at Los Dolores and
return to Guatemala, as no further expeditions would be undertaken in
that direction, unless so ordered by the king.
The expedition under Amézqueta encountered a more tragic fate. Reaching
Mopan about the last day of February, and taking Velasco into his
confidence, Amézqueta intrusted him with the command of a company of
twenty-five Spanish soldiers, which was increased at San Pedro by a
similar number sent in advance, together with thirty-six Zalamá archers.
Velasco was to proceed to his former camping-ground on the Chajal, and
there, or in that neighborhood, to open communication with the Itzas by
means of the cacique Quijan, who had been detained as a prisoner since
the occupation of Los Dolores. Disregarding these instructions Velasco,
without waiting for the main body, pushed on. The subsequent fate of
his command and of the priests was never ascertained with certainty, as
none of them were ever seen afterward.
The general made every effort to discover the lost detachment, and
following their footprints arrived with a small escort at Lake Peten.
Although he entered into communication with the Itzas he could obtain
no information of Velasco. The Itzas made every effort to induce
him and his company to pass over to their city. This he was too
cautious to do; and ordering a final blast of bugles, retreated. The
hostility of the natives now became evident, and a swarm of canoes,
with warlike demonstrations, put off from the island. Amézqueta,
however, successfully effected his retreat, and rejoined the main body,
which was encamped at the Chajal, where he awaited orders from the
president.[XXXVI‑33]
The Itzas frequently attacked the Spaniards by night, and in such
increasing numbers that retreat became necessary. Amézqueta therefore
withdrew to the savanna of San Pedro Mártyr, where he fortified himself.
At this juncture despatches arrived from Alzayaga announcing the failure
of his expedition, whereupon the president ordered the withdrawal of
the troops, not only from San Pedro but from Mopan.
[Sidenote: DEFEAT OF THE QUEHACHES.]
Meanwhile the expeditions despatched from the north were progressing
more favorably. When Ursua heard that Barrios had started for the Indian
country, he hastened to participate in the work, and sent an advance
corps to coöperate under the president's instructions. Alonso García de
Paredes was placed in command of the company, which consisted of fifty
Spanish soldiers and a larger number of natives. Leaving Campeche he
advanced to the frontier of Yucatan, but while reconnoitring he was
assailed by a large force of Quehaches, and a fierce encounter ensued.
The Quehaches were defeated, whereupon they fled, and from some captives
taken during the encounter Paredes ascertained that the mountain people
were assembled in force. Not daring to press on with his slender band he
returned to Campeche. Ursua now applied for fresh troops and supplies.
Volunteers were numerous, and by June Paredes had a much larger force
under his command. "This expedition," says Villagutierre, "reached the
boundary and frontier of Christianity in that direction" on the 11th of
June 1695.
By the middle of July Paredes arrived at Zucthock, and here for the
first time natives visited the camp, and the friars entered vigorously
upon their missionary work. Here also reënforcements arrived from
Ursua, and despatches ordering Paredes to march on Los Dolores and there
establish a fort.
The expedition left Zucthock on the 10th of August, and passing through
several abandoned villages, crossed the Ucun or Concepcion River, and
arrived at the plains of Chuntuqui, where they found another deserted
village.[XXXVI‑34] Eighty-six leagues of road had now been cut through
the forest, and the path lay open almost to Lake Peten; but in the
beginning of September the rains set in and further progress was
impossible. Paredes, therefore, withdrew to the north of Zucthock, and
there awaited the return of the dry season.
Thus far all was well; but the work was now threatened with interruption
from political causes. Ursua was only acting governor. A suit had for
some time been pending with regard to the respective claims of Ursua
and Roque de Soberanis to the governorship of Yucatan. This was decided
in favor of the latter, Ursua being appointed his successor. The law
required that in future one holding the title of governor could not
reside in the province; but Ursua contended that the new road had been
advanced so far beyond the settled limits of Yucatan as to exempt him
from the rule, and considered that the future control of it belonged
to him. As Soberanis was still detained in Mexico, he continued his
preparations for the campaign of the ensuing year.
At this time news was brought by the Tipus, who had returned to their
allegiance, that the Itzas were anxious to be reconciled with the
Spaniards, and a Tipu messenger, Mateo Bichab, was sent with presents
to the canek.
[Sidenote: SUBMISSION OF CAN.]
Although Bichab found the Itzas mustering for war, the canek expressed
his wish to enter into peace with the governor of Yucatan, as the time
for the fulfilment of the prophecies had now arrived. Ursua consequently
sent presents,[XXXVI‑35] and a suitable reply in the Maya language,
by the hand of the father comisario, Andrés de Avendaño, who was
accompanied by two brother friars. No sooner had Avendaño departed than
news came that an embassy was already approaching from the Itzas, headed
by Can, a nephew of the canek. Its reception was made as impressive as
possible, and the governor and his chief officers met Can outside the
city and conducted him and his colleagues with a military escort to the
cathedral of Mérida, where mass was performed. At the official interview
which followed, Can presented to Ursua, in behalf of the canek, a crown
of feathers of divers colors, in token of submission, and requested that
he and his companions might be baptized. His request was granted, and
the name of Martin Francisco Can was given to the ambassador, Martin de
Ursua acting as godfather. The embassy was dismissed with presents for
the canek, and an escort of thirty men at arms, under Captain Hariza,
with seven priests, was assigned to accompany them home.
Paredes was now directed to take possession of the Itza country in
the name of the king of Spain, and the like instructions were given
to Hariza, should he arrive first at the capital of the great lake.
Meanwhile Avendaño and his companions had met with an unfriendly
reception from the Itzas, who on their arrival at the island conducted
them into a hall where were exposed the sacrificial table and the seats
of the twelve officiating priests. The sight was not encouraging, but
the calm bearing of the father comisario secured him a hearing, and he
was permitted to read Ursua's address to the excited multitude which
thronged around the building. The conciliatory tone of the message made
a favorable impression, and the friars now received better treatment.
There was, however, a faction, headed by the cacique Coboxh, averse
to any dealings with the Spaniards, and several days were consumed in
considering the answer to be sent to Yucatan, during which time the
lives of the priests were more than once in peril. They were finally
suffered to depart with a peaceful reply in which the canek promised
to surrender the islands of the lake to the Spaniards.[XXXVI‑36] No
allusion was made to Martin Can's mission, nor did the friars know
anything of the matter until their arrival in Yucatan. On their return
homeward the fathers lost their way, and for several weeks strayed
amidst the mountains. When almost at the point of death from starvation,
two natives of Yucatan who had accompanied them discovered the road
which was being opened by Ursua. Help was obtained from a passing
mule-train, and the exhausted friars were conveyed to the camp of
Paredes, whence they proceeded to Mérida.
Soon after the departure of Avendaño from Mérida, Paredes was ordered
to proceed to Lake Peten, but falling ill transferred his command to
Pedro de Zubiaur, who with sixty troops, and accompanied by father Juan
de San Buenaventura, started forth about the time Avendaño was lost
in the mountains. On arriving at the lake the hostile intent of the
Itzas was speedily disclosed. Buenaventura, accompanied by Agustin de
Sosa and a lay brother, endeavored to pacify them. All were seized and
carried off to the canoes so swiftly that recapture was impossible. The
Spaniards charged and killed about forty of the Itzas; but numbers were
against Zubiaur,[XXXVI‑37] who after maintaining the fight for some
time retreated in good order. Francisco de Hariza heard at Tipu of this
change of affairs at Peten, and Martin Can and his comrades, who were
under charge of Hariza, also hearing the news, took an early opportunity
of making their escape. It was proved later, however, that they had
acted in good faith.
[Sidenote: REDUCTION OF THE ITZAS.]
There were now but eight leagues of unexplored country between the
terminus of the road under construction from Yucatan and Los Dolores;
but this portion presented the greatest difficulty, and could not
be finished until the Itzas were reduced. An active contest was now
going on between Ursua and Soberanis for the honor of completing
it. Eventually the viceroy Ortega Montañez, bishop of Michoacan,
decided that to Ursua properly belonged the completion of the work,
and Soberanis was enjoined to render all possible aid. Letters soon
afterward arrived from the king commending Ursua's labors and assuring
him of protection. A cédula was also addressed to Governor Soberanis
ordering him[XXXVI‑38] to render all possible assistance. The president
of Guatemala was instructed to aid the enterprise by directing a body of
soldiers against Peten from the south, while the viceroy of New Spain
was to furnish at cost the provisions and ammunition necessary for the
undertaking.
Sending his infantry and artillery in advance, Ursua on the 24th of
January 1697 left Campeche with the cavalry. The forces reached Lake
Peten without encountering any serious obstacle, and the construction
of a galliot was at once begun. The Spaniards were harassed by the
Indians, who plied them with missiles, but Ursua would not allow his
men to retaliate, and treated kindly the Itzas whom he captured, so
that in time their countrymen began to visit the encampment. Among
the first to enter the camp was Martin Can, who explained that the
reason of his previous flight was fear of unjust punishment for his
countrymen's assault on Zubiaur's command. He, moreover, informed Ursua
that the Itzas were preparing for war. Not long afterward a flotilla
of canoes approached, the largest of which bore a white flag which
betokened the presence of the high priest, Quincanek, cousin-german
and next in authority to the canek. A guard of honor was drawn up for
his reception, and the chieftains were escorted to the general's tent
with due formality. Mutual assurances of friendship were exchanged, and
Quincanek declared that the Itzas were willing to open a road from the
lake to that which led to Guatemala.
A day was named on which the canek himself would visit the encampment,
but the promise was not kept. In his place a tempting bevy of attractive
women was sent, evidently meant to captivate and beguile; but their
deportment betrayed the purpose for which they were sent, and strict
discipline was maintained. An almost unanimous feeling prevailed that
kindness would not pacify the Itzas. This was evident from the opinions
of the captains expressed at a council of war; but the general was
firmly determined to abide by the spirit of the king's cédulas, to
employ only peaceful measures until all resources in that direction
were exhausted; and being ready to sail to the island of Peten, he
proclaimed that the penalty of death would be inflicted upon any one who
should enter upon hostilities under any provocation without his express
order.[XXXVI‑39]
On the 13th of March 1697, after confessing their sins and celebrating
the solemn rites of the church,[XXXVI‑40] one hundred and eight men
set out for the island on board the galliot, every soul on board being
stirred by religious enthusiasm. On their approach to Peten they were
surrounded by countless canoes, whose occupants ceaselessly plied the
Spaniards with arrows, until a soldier, named Bartolomé Duran, being
painfully wounded, discharged his arquebuse. This was followed by a
general volley. Ursua, who had hitherto endeavored to convince the
Itzas of his peaceful intentions and had restrained his men by voice
and example, could no longer control them. The galliot was nearing the
island, and the Spaniards in their impatience to get at close quarters
leaped into the water and fought their way to land. Then forming in
close order they charged the Itzas with such fury that they, already
panic-stricken, broke and plunged by thousands into the lake.[XXXVI‑41]
Great numbers were drowned, or shot from the pursuing galliot, on which
had remained twenty men besides the rowers. So great was the terror
inspired that those in the canoes lost their presence of mind, and
casting away weapons and paddles jumped overboard, the surface of the
lake, from the island to the shore, being thickly covered with the heads
of the swimmers.[XXXVI‑42]
Ursua now planted the standard of Castile upon the summit of the
temple, which after due thanksgiving was converted into a church, and
consecrated by the vicar-general in full canonicals. The chief island
received the name of Nuestra Señora de los Remedios y San Pablo.
The natives were gradually induced to return to their habitations.
On the last of March Chamajcuca, chief of the Alain nation, came
in, bringing the fugitive canek with all his family, and an era of
good-will was inaugurated. The unfinished road to Guatemala was meantime
pushed forward, and Captain Paredes was sent with despatches to the
audiencia. The tidings were received by the oidores with rejoicing,
and appropriations were made for the maintenance of a garrison of fifty
soldiers at Los Remedios, as Ursua's means were nearly exhausted.
On hearing of this friendly assistance, Ursua caused a redoubt to
be erected and mounted with artillery. Then leaving on the island a
garrison of seventy-five men under Captain Estenoz, he returned with
the remainder of his force to Campeche. The enthusiasm caused by his
success was shared by all save his rival Soberanis, who, straining his
prerogatives as governor, subjected Ursua to vexatious insults, and even
temporary arrest. While in Campeche Ursua received letters from Peten,
showing the necessity of finishing the work of subjugation. The larger
isle was being deserted, and the smaller ones were under no control,
while the tribes beyond the lake were hostile. Ursua was in a strait. He
felt the necessity of immediate action, but the unfriendly feelings of
Soberanis and his own reduced means delayed him until 1698, when cédulas
were again addressed to the viceroy of Mexico and the governor of
Guatemala and Yucatan,[XXXVI‑43] ordering them not to throw impediments
in the way of Ursua; while a complimentary despatch was addressed to
the latter,[XXXVI‑44] appointing him governor and captain-general of
the whole country through which he had opened a highway, and making him
answerable only to the viceroy of Mexico.
Ursua was now enabled once more to take the field, and having obtained
assistance from the military commander of Campeche, began his march
for Peten in January 1699. A simultaneous movement was also made from
Guatemala by Melchor Mencos, with a force of two hundred men.
[Sidenote: URSUA IN CAMPECHE.]
On Ursua's arrival at Los Remedios on the 11th of February following, he
found the garrison almost out of ammunition, and in want of provisions.
Accordingly he despatched messengers to hasten forward the forces from
Guatemala, which were well provided with stores of all kinds. Meanwhile
the latter had begun the campaign in two divisions, one of which, under
the command of Melchor Mencos, was to unite with Ursua at Peten, by way
of Vera Paz, and the other, commanded by Estévan Medrano y Solórzano,
was to proceed through Los Dolores to the same destination.[XXXVI‑45]
Mencos arrived at Peten on the 14th of March, but Medrano did not appear
until the 1st of April.
The result of these combined expeditions was most unsatisfactory. The
commissariat, which followed in the rear of the Guatemalan divisions,
did not come up, and Ursua could not undertake the campaign with any
hope of success. The foraging parties effected little, and sickness
came. Ursua called a council of war, at which the general opinion was
that a garrison should be left at Los Remedios, and that the rest of
the troops should return. This resolution was carried out on the 11th of
May, when Ursua and Mencos began their march for Yucatan and Guatemala
respectively, each equally disappointed. Francisco Cortés was left in
command of the fort with seventy men and officers, and with him remained
the vicar-general Rivas, with other missionaries and some private
families. Almost immediately after Ursua's return Soberanis died, and
the former assumed the government of the province.[XXXVI‑46]
Of the future operations against Peten but little is known;[XXXVI‑47] of
the Lacandones it may be remarked that to this day they have maintained
their independence.