THE EARLY HISTORY OF GUATEMALA AND THE
ENTRADA FROM THAT COUNTRY, 1694-1695
Hitherto all our attention has been absorbed by the Maya-speaking
peoples of Yucatan and northern Guatemala and with the entradas made
from Yucatan into the Peten region and to Tayasal. Now, however, we are
to consider, first, the early history of the Maya-speaking peoples of
southern Guatemala and the entradas made from that region into the
northern parts of the country in search of Lake Peten and Tayasal.
The Indian Tribes of Guatemala. The two chief tribes were the highly
cultured Cakchiquel and Quiche. They lived in what may be described as
the central portion of modern Guatemala. To the north of them dwelt the
Choles, Lacandones, Mopanes, and Itzas; to the south, along the Pacific
coast, were the Pipiles. With the exception of the latter, all these
people spoke dialects of Maya. It is well to note, however, that both
Fuentes y Guzman (1882) and Stoll (1884) arrived at the conclusion that
at least two thousand years must have elapsed to permit of the
development of the differences that exist between the Maya of Yucatan
and the Maya of the Cakchiquel and of the Quiche.
Account of the Cakchiquel and of the Quiche. The migration myths of the
Cakchiquel and of the Quiche show that they came originally from the
region of Mexico. Much later the Pipiles, a Nahuatl tribe, formed trade
colonies on the Pacific coast.
The Government and the Cities of the Cakchiquel and of the Quiche. The
ruler was chosen alternately from two families, the Zotzil and the
Xahil. In like manner the early Colombian chiefs of Tunja and of
Muequeta alternately chose from among their relatives the chief of
Suamo. The title of the ruler was Ahpo-Zotzil or Ahpo-Xahil, as the
case might be. The word _ahpo_, like the Quichua word _apu_, which it
resembles, means "Great Chief." There was a marked division into
classes among the Cakchiquel and the Quiche. In addition the sacerdotal
body was strongly intrenched in the social system. The Annals of the
Cakchiquel (Brinton, 1885) throw some light on the history of these
people. These Annals were written by a member of the Xahil family. The
mythical accounts go back to the reign of King Gagavitz, who flourished
about 1380. Sometime early in the fifteenth century the Cakchiquel came
into violent contact with the Quiche, and Quikab, King of the Quiche,
made good, for a time, his rule over the Cakchiquel. Later the latter
regained their freedom and founded Iximche.
Spanish Conquest. What Cortes was to Mexico and Montejo was to Yucatan,
Pedro de Albarado or Alvarado was to Guatemala. He was sent to that
country by Cortes, with whom he had been in Mexico. Leaving Mexico on
November 13, 1523, he went to Guatemala with about eighty adventurous
followers, an abundance of munitions, and some ships. He reduced the
whole region of the Cakchiquel-Quiche peoples to a Spanish province.
(Cortes, apud MacNutt, 1908, vol. ii, p. 178; Fuentes y Guzman, 1882,
vol. i, p. 46.) On July 25, 1524, the official title of this city
became Santiago de los Cavalleros de Goathemala. In 1533 the King
ordered Alvarado, whom he had made Governor of Guatemala, to make to
him a full report concerning the country and its people and their
customs. In 1541 Alvarado died at Guatemala, having in the meantime
been to Peru. From that time down to about 1675 the city and Audiencia
of Guatemala enjoyed a fair measure of prosperity under the usual type
of Spanish rule. In 1675 some Chol Indians arrived there, asking the
Dominican Provincial of Guatemala, Padre Maestro Fray Francisco
Gallegos, for missionaries to teach them the Christian faith.
(Villagutierre, p. 150 ff.)
Gallegos and Delgado. As a result of this Gallegos himself and Padre
Fray Joseph Delgado set off from Guatemala and traveled twenty-three
leagues through very rough country. At length they came upon some
Choles, whom they formed into three small villages called San Lucas,
Nuestra Senora del Rosario, and Santiago. They later made these
villages one and placed in it the thirty or so Indians whom they had
baptized. As the other Indians had withdrawn further to the north, the
Provincial and Delgado determined to go after them. The Indian converts
objected to this, but the missionaries overcame their fears. In due
time they came to a certain hill which the natives worshiped as God of
the Mountains. Some Indian lads they had with them as servants urged
the Padres to place an offering of copal before this god in order to
propitiate him and prevent him from destroying them all. Of course the
two priests refused to give in to the superstitious fears of their
servants. They said Mass instead. As a result all their followers, save
two bearers, left them.
The Indians are Friendly to them. Once the mountains had been safely
crossed, the Padres found that the Indians on the other side came to
see them readily enough. When the natives found that their white
visitors meant them no harm, they welcomed them and made a comfortable
pathway, over which they conducted the Padres.
The Route Taken by the Two Padres. After some time they reached the
shore of a large, fine river called Yaxha. There they encamped for a
while, going on afterward to the house of a cacique named Matzin, who
was later christened Martin. He treated them very well and they founded
the village of San Jacinto Matzin and preached the Christian faith
there. Four leagues away lived another cacique, called Ilixil, to whom,
in spite of the risk of hunger, they went. First founding a village
called San Pedro y San Pablo Ilixil, the Padres baptized many children.
In that same village of Ilixil they met some Indians who had come
thither from Cahabon and who offered to act as guides. With them the
Padres went to a place called May. After several interesting
adventures, told by Villagutierre (p. 157), they renamed the village
San Joseph May.
The rainy season shortly afterward began, and the missionaries retired
toward Cahabon, setting up crosses as landmarks at suitable places
along the way. When they regained their first village, San Lucas
Tzalac, they found matters much as they had left them. From San Lucas
they went to Cahabon, and from there to Cohan, in search of some
Indians called Axoyes, of whom they had heard. In response to a call
issued from Coban by Gallegos, one hundred and eighty persons came to
him. They had already been baptized and wanted only to confess.
Several Villages Founded. On this trip Padres Gallegos and Delgado
baptized twenty-three hundred and forty-six persons and founded many
villages: San Lucas Tzalac, Nuestra Senora del Rosario, San Jacinto
Matzin, San Pedro and San Pablo Ilixil, Assumpcion, San Joseph May, San
Miguel Manche, San Francisco Sacomo (= Secouamo on Hendges 1902?), and
San Fernando Axoy. Villagutierre (p. 161) gives a long list of the
places to which the Padres did not go.
The Dominicans and the Franciscans. We have already seen that most of
the curacies in Yucatan were in the hands of friars of the Franciscan
Order. In Guatemala, on the other hand, there was for a long time a
dispute between the Dominicans and the Franciscans as to which should
have the privilege of proselytizing in Guatemala. This quarrel, which
Remesal (p. 587 ff.) plainly thought disgraceful, was at its height
from 1551 to 1560. On January 22, 1556, cedulas were dispatched from
Valladolid bidding both the orders to live at peace with each other.
Both orders had fine churches in Guatemala.
Struggles between the Dominicans and the Indians. We have already
noticed how, as early as 1533, the King had expressed a wish to know
everything possible about the dwellers in Guatemala. In 1555 the
Lacandones and Puchutla put to death the good Dominican missionary.
Fray Domingo de Vico. From that time there was a constantly growing
wish on the part of the Spaniards to conquer those people, not only
because they were not Christians and ate human flesh, but because they
were a constant menace. On January 22, 1556, a cedula was dispatched
ordering that the trouble-makers be reduced to obedience. (Remesal,
lib. x, cap. 11.) For a long time after that bitter struggles between
the Dominicans and the Indians lasted, struggles which caused the
Spaniards to give the name of Tierra de Guerra to the region. One of
the missionaries in this region. Fray Diego de Ribas, had some success
in the region north of Huehuetenango in 1685. (Villagutierre, p. 176
ff.) He and his men opened up a road that led from Huehuetenango into
the regions north and east of there. They got on very well until they
came into contact with some Lacandones, who proved to be spies. From
that time on their troubles increased.
From all this it is easy to deduce that the peoples to the south of the
Lacandones and Maya (such people as the Choles) were of a comparatively
docile temperament and were easily won over, temporarily, to the
Christian faith. As soon, however, as the fiercer and more stubborn
Lacandones brought their influence to bear upon the converts, the
latter found that their attachment to the new religion was but
superficial. (Remesal, lib. x, cap. 10.) Moreover, the lack of
authority to use armed force wherever necessary was another
disadvantage under which the missionaries labored. There can be but
little doubt that they also were too hasty in their attempts to
exchange the somewhat abstruse spiritual worship of the Catholic Church
for the veneration of tangible gods of stone or wood. They were quick
to destroy the old and long-venerated gods, but they were unable to
replace them with something the Indians were able to understand.
In 1686 the King (Charles II), calling the Viceroy's attention to the
great number of unconverted tribes in Guatemala, Yucatan, and
elsewhere, ordered further reductions to be made, at once, but as
gently as possible.
The Inception of the Plan to Subdue the Itzas, 1689. In 1689 Captain
Juan de Mendoza wrote to the court to tell how the reductions had been
begun, and to ask that he might be placed at the head of fifty
soldiers. On the advice of Guzman, who had now returned from Guatemala
to the Spanish court, his wish was granted. The following plan for
the reduction of the Choles and the Lacandones was decided upon.
(Villagutierre, p. 190.)
Three entradas were to be made at the same time. One from the province
of Guatemala, which was in the hands of the Dominicans; a second from
Huehuetenango, which was Mercedarian; and the third from Chiapas, which
was Dominican. Fray Augustin Cano, of the Order of Predicadores, and
Fray Diego de Ribas, of the Order of la Merced, were to go first and
try, by peaceful means, to accomplish their purpose. Mendoza was to try
more vigorous measures. Juan de Mendoza and his men were to be nothing
more than an escort to the Padres, and the conquest was to be
accomplished only by the evangelical word.
Soberanis Ordered to Cooperate. On November 24, 1692, like orders were
given to Don Roque de Soberanis y Centeno, Governor of Yucatan, and he
was told to cooperate with President Barrios Leal of Guatemala.
Unfortunately the enterprise was interrupted by the fact that unjust
accusations caused a suspension of Leal's powers from 1691 to 1694.
Ursua to Succeed Soberanis in Office. At about this time an arrangement
was made by the King whereby the Sargento Mayor Don Martin de Ursua y
Arizmendi[7.1] was to succeed Don Roque de Soberanis y Centeno in the
government of Yucatan. At the time Ursua was in Mexico, at the court of
the Viceroy. Ursua, who is to occupy much of our attention for some
time to come, wrote a letter to King Charles, which is given by
Villagutierre (lib. iii, cap. 8) and which I here translate in part.
A Letter from Ursua y Arizmendi to the King of the Spains. "SIRE,--Your
Majesty having had the graciousness to confer upon me the future
possession of the Governorship of the Provinces of Yucatan, in which
post I am to succeed Don Roque de Soberanis y Centeno, ... my
employment, during the time of my Governorship, is to be the Conversion
and Reduction of the innumerable Indians, as well Infidel as Apostate,
who are between the said Provinces of Yucatan and those of Guatimala.
(And I shall urge) the opening of a road from the one to the other, not
only to facilitate Commerce, which would be for the Public Convenience
and the service of your Majesty, but would also make for the Reduction
of the so many Indians.... So I propose to Your Majesty: That at my own
expense, and with no cost to the Royal Exchequer, when I shall have
entered upon the Governorship and shall have made my Preparations, I
shall put into execution the opening of a Highway from the Provinces of
Yucatan to those of Guatimala, at the same time reducing, by the
peaceful means of the Evangelical Preaching, all the Indians who shall
be found in those regions. But the Conversion is not to interrupt the
opening of the Road which is more important as it will facilitate the
later reduction of all those who live in those parts by the continuous
Passing and Commerce of the Spaniards of both Provinces...."
The King Grants all that Ursua Asks. In the memorial just mentioned
Ursua asked that orders be given so that the prelates of the Order of
San Francisco, the President of the Audience of Guatemala, and the
Viceroy of New Spain should be obliged to give him every sort of aid
needed.
In 1693 the King replied, saying that he had given the desired orders
to the Viceroy of New Spain, the President of Guatemala, the Bishop of
Yucatan, and the Provincial of San Francisco. He then commanded that
care should be taken to choose the best places for bridges, that inns
should be established every four or eight leagues for the shelter of
travelers, and that every effort should be made to form settlements
that would insure the safety of travelers. As the work was not to begin
until Ursua had entered upon his duties as Governor, the Viceroy, Conde
de Galve, the Bishop, and others were unable, till well into 1694, to
aid the work they all wished to see brought to a successful conclusion.
Meanwhile Barrios Leal was still under the stigma of a Visita or
Inspection. When his character was cleared of all blame, in the middle
of 1694, he was told how the Itzas of Tayasal and other infidel nations
were infesting the country and committing various atrocities. Once
Barrios Leal was restored, the reduction began in earnest.
President Barrios Aids in the Undertaking. As soon as Barrios Leal was
restored to office as President of the Audience of Guatemala and
as soon as circumstances permitted, active preparations for the
long-discussed conquest of the Itzas were begun.
Villagutierre (lib. iv, cap. i) speaks thus of the preparations that
were made: "We have already seen how intently President Don Jacinto de
Barrios considered the hints which the Missionary Padres Fray Melchor
Lopez and Fray Antonio Margil[7.2] and other persons had made to him,
urging the importance of setting about with all possible efficiency the
reduction of Barbarism in those Woodlands. So he promptly began to take
the steps which seemed suitable in the matter.... It was resolved by
all the leaders and ministers: That the Entrada for the reduction of
the Woodlands should be made at the beginning of the next year, 1695
(which is the beginning of summer in those lands)...."
Arrangements for the Entrada; Supplies, etc. Provisions were made
whereby men who voluntarily gave aid in money or in extra services to
those who were directing the entrada were to be advanced in rank over
their fellows. Besides it was arranged that as soon as possible the
religious authorities were to give their necessary aid.
Juan de Mendoza had already been named leader of the army, and as he
was absent from the province at the time, it was decided that the
President should appoint as leaders those whom he thought best.
Villagutierre (p. 219) continues: "And the President was to call to the
Junta de Guerra the Padres Maestros Fray Diego de Ribas, Fray Augustin
Cano, Fray Joseph Delgado, Fray Tomas Guerrero, and Fray Pedro Monzon,
as well as other persons well versed in the frontiers, Entradas and
Woodlands of the Infidels, because of the great value of their opinions
in determining the methods of operation and the manner of penetrating
the forest region....
"Likewise, it was determined that the expenses they were planning to
incur and which were found necessary, should be met from the Royal
Funds and that the Royal Officers should issue orders for quantities of
maize, beans, chili, and fowl, which were to be collected with all
speed as part of the Royal Tribute from the Provinces of Vera Paz,
Chiapa, and Gueguetanango.
"And it was ordered that Spanish men-at-arms should be recruited at
once, and that notice of this determination should be given to the
Alcaldes Mayores and to Don Roque de Soberanis y Centeno, Governor of
the Province of Yucatan.
"At this time the President had all the chief citizens of the City of
Guatemala called together.... He urged each one to aid with his person
or with whatever aid of his he could...." The result of this appeal was
a quickened activity in the recruiting and in the collecting of
supplies and munitions of war. At the same time Don Joseph de Escals
was applied to for aid in the collecting of donations or voluntary
gifts.
The Voluntary Contributions. Toward the end of 1694 the donations began
to come pouring in. A list of them will give some idea of the scale on
which operations were carried out.
Don Joseph de Escals sent from Sonsonate 350 pesos, which he got by
selling 56 horses given by the citizens.
Don Juan Jeronimo de Mexia, Corregidor of Huehuetenango, 100 pesos from
the citizens and 100 of his own as well as 14 horses.
Quasaltenango, 14 horses but no money.
Acasaguastlan, through Captain Don Miguel de Azanon, its Corregidor, 34
horses but no money.
Chiquimula, 70 horses and 50 pesos.
Soconusco, 30 horses and 6 mules.
Esquintepeque and Guazacapan, 13 horses, 2 mules, and 23 pesos.
San Salvador, 60 horses, 11 mules, and 200 pesos.
Teconicapa and Huehuetenango, 33 horses, 800 fowl, and 400 bushels of
maize.
Guatemala, 1176 pesos, 49 horses, and 7 mules.
Don Jacobo Barba of Zuchitepeque, 100 pesos.
Don Francisco Lopez de Albizuri, two soldiers and paid for the entire
time of the campaign.
Don Juan de Galvez, 20 horses.
Don Estevan de Medrano, four soldiers for six months.
The totals of the donations were 2399 pesos, 354 horses, 22 mules, 420
bushels of maize, 800 fowl, etc.
Quarrels between Soberanis and the Bishop of Yucatan. While matters
were going forward in a fairly satisfactory manner in Guatemala,
affairs were quite unsatisfactory in Yucatan, where the quarrels
between Don Roque de Soberanis and the Bishop of Yucatan retarded all
preparations.
At length the Viceroy of Mexico despatched Don Francisco Sarasa as
Oidor to look into the situation and to report on it. As a result of
his investigations Soberanis was deprived of his office. Believing that
he could best defend himself by going in person to Mexico, Soberanis
left Yucatan for the viceregal court. The natural step for the Viceroy,
Conde de Galve, was to appoint Martin de Ursua y Arizmendi as Governor
_ad interim_ and this was done.
Finding himself in possession (albeit only temporarily) of the
government of Yucatan, and in view of the fact that he already held the
necessary orders and cedulas for the opening of the road to Guatemala
and for the conversion of the Indians along the route, as well as the
advices from the President of Guatemala speaking of the matter, Ursua
decided it was best to put them into immediate execution.
The year 1695 was already started and it was necessary to set to work
at once, not only on the actual work of the entrada, but also on the
task of getting the good will of the Cabildo of the city of Merida, of
the Bishop, of the province of San Francisco, and of the Count of
Galve, Viceroy of New Spain.
President Barrios Decides to Join the Entrada in Person. Villagutierre
(lib. iv, cap. 4) goes on to inform us that after enough arms,
munitions, food supplies, and small gifts for the Indians were got
together, and just as the troops and the monks were on the point of
setting off on their march to the woodlands. President Barrios Leal
made up his mind to go with them in person. Villagutierre (p. 228) thus
graphically describes the effect of his proposal: "In spite of the fact
that the Ecclesiastical and Secular Cabildos of that City of Guatemala
tried to dissuade him from his plan, urging him to notice that although
that undertaking was so glorious and so much to the service of God and
the King, and so greatly favored by all, by the public welfare and by
the good of Christendom, he ought not to risk his life so wantonly upon
it; and although they also warned him of the terribleness of the
attacks which were always suffered in the stomach because of the
hardships of the painful journey and country ride, bad resting-places,
worse roads and lack of assistance, rest and tranquillity, which would
put his health in evident danger, so that all felt he ought to give up,
or at least postpone his journey until he was more hale and hearty in
health; in spite of all these and other objections nothing arose from
all these representations, and fears which sufficed to change the
fervent zeal of the bold President who, in replying, first thanked them
all for the great attention and affection with which they looked to his
convenience, and then said that the greatest safety lay only in his
being the first in all dangers in the service of Both Majesties."
The gallant old President (who appears to have been subject to
apoplectic seizures) wished to be in command of the army, but in case
he were forced to fall back at any time to a place of safety, he
appointed an assistant, who was Don Bartolome de Amezquita, Fiscal of
that Audience of Guatemala.
Amezquita, then, was Captain General of the entrada, taking the Chiapas
division. Captain Juan Diaz de Velasco was made leader of the Vera Paz
division. Don Tomas de Mendoza y Guzman was made leader of the
Huehuetenango division.
When the pay, supplies, and baggage had been distributed among the
soldiers, the President gave out his final orders as to the length of a
day's journey. He had already sent ahead to the Alcalde Mayor of
Ocozingo in Chiapas ordering that suitable _ranchos_ be put up in
certain places to shelter the royal army when it should arrive. While
the Indians of Ocozingo were working on these they had been attacked by
some Lacandon Indians when scarcely a house had been completed. All
these unmistakable evidences of the proximity of the notorious
Lacandones made Barrios choose the Chiapas division for himself, as it
was the most likely to come across them.
At the same time the President ordered Don Tomas (de Mendoza?) de
Guzman to go ahead with one hundred men and act as escort for the
Indians while they were putting up the houses near Ocozingo or any more
convenient place. Barrios had already informed Ursua that he intended
to set out in January, 1695, and the latter was to enter the unsubdued
area from the north at the same time. Surveyors were to go ahead of the
main body of men, and by means of smudges were to afford the greatest
possible facility for the road openers, who thus would be prevented
from going astray.
The Expedition Sets out from Guatemala City. At length the expedition
really did start. (Villagutierre, pp. 234 ff.) Besides the soldiers and
Indian bearers there were many friars, among whom were Padre Fray Diego
de Ribas, Padre Fray Antonio Margil, Missionary Padre Fray Pedro de la
Concepcion, Master Cano, and others. As the army set off, all the
citizens and nobility of Guatemala flocked to see them. The first day's
journey led to Ixtapa, where they spent the night; the next day they
went to Pazon, then to Huehuetenango, which they entered on January 23,
1695, having journeyed forty-six leagues from Guatemala.
In Huehuetenango the President, the monks, the officers, and the men
all met with a warm welcome from the inhabitants. It is but natural
that, on the eve of an undertaking which must have appeared very
formidable to them, a large part of the time should be given up to
religious exercises. Captain Melchor Rodriguez Mazariegos joined the
party at the head of fifty men. Mazariegos himself, together with the
standard-bearer Juan Salvador de Mata and Sergeant Pedro de Chaves
Galindo, were all serving without pay, and many other people from the
region, as well as some from Tabasco, joined the army voluntarily.
Events at Huehuetenango. On January 29, Amezquita arrived from
Guatemala, where he had been making some final arrangements. Barrios
spent his time at Huehuetenango in paying the new troops, distributing
horses and supplies, and making all the final arrangements.
It was not long before the news of the departure of the President
reached Ursua in Yucatan. (Villagutierre, pp. 235 ff.) The whole
enterprise was so important for the service of God, the King, the
public weal, and the souls of the Indians that Ursua immediately set
about his preparations for the share his government was to take in it.
Ursua's Activities. Ursua did not follow the example of the President
by going in person at the head of his troops; instead he ordered
Captain Alonso Garcia de Paredes, Perpetual Regidor of San Francisco de
Campeche and Captain for War of the District of Sacabchen, to assemble
what troops he could and to go with them to meet the President, under
whose orders he should place himself, reporting to Ursua all
occurrences of importance. For all this Ursua gave Paredes the title of
Aide or the Captain General of las Montanas. Francisco Gonzalez
Richardo was appointed subchief, second in command only to Ursua.
An Army Sets out from Yucatan for the Montana. When all the usual and
needful preparations had been made, the army set out from Yucatan. As
soon as they left the settled part of the province they entered the
territory of the Quehaches, whom they put to flight after a sharp
skirmish. Paredes' soldiers, however, refused to go on without
reenforcements, so the expedition had to turn back.
Padres Cano and Avendano y Loyola. We have already reviewed the events
up to 1695, in which year the two great divisions of the Spanish forces
set out to subdue the dangerous Itzas and Lacandones. Hereafter we
will, in the main, trust to two religious writers, whose accounts of
the succeeding events are very vivid. Maestro Fray Agustin Cano
accompanied that division of the army which was led by President
Barrios; Padre Fray Andres de Avendano y Loyola, a Franciscan,
accompanied Ursua's division.
Cano's Account of the Entrada from Guatemala. For the sake of
continuity we will begin by quoting Cano's account of the entrada from
Guatemala: "My Lord, Your Majesty having been pleased to appoint me in
the Royal decree of Nov. 24, 1692, to enter into the territories of the
heathen, to try to bring about their conquest, in the due obedience and
execution of which, I personally took part in the expeditions into
those lands which they have made during these years through the
Province of Vera Paz, wishing to correspond to the Royal favor by which
Your Majesty has been pleased to appoint me for this purpose; I
understand that it is my duty to inform Your Majesty of what has
happened in these expeditions, making up for the delay of this report
by the simple truth and clearness of the information which up to the
present time could not be given without a great deal of confusion on
account of the strange character of the events."
The Route Followed by Cano. "The President [Barrios] ... finally
determined to enter by way of Chiapas, and that I should go by way of
Vera Paz with Captain Juan Diaz de Velasco and seventy men as an escort
to the priests. Accordingly, in the month of March, of the said year
'95, we started from the town of Cahabon, which is the last town of
Vera Paz; seven priests of my order, and we entered by very rough paths
into the highlands of the Chol, where we found many Indians, some
baptized, others heathen, and the more we penetrated those highlands,
the more numerous did we find the families in their hamlets, without
the form of towns. We told all these people that the object of our
journey was to search for them so that they should come together in
towns in such a way that we should be able to come and live with them
in order to teach them the law of God and to administer the holy
Sacraments to them, and that we also wished that all the people of
their tribe and of all the other tribes in those highlands should know
God, and should come together in towns. Thus we went, passing from some
farms to others in prosecution of our journey to the Lake, and we left
all the Indians peaceful and satisfied with the promise which they made
us to gather together in towns. In this we were obtaining plenty of
good results, since we taught them the Christian doctrine of which most
of the baptized Indians were totally ignorant. The children whom their
fathers brought to us were baptized, and the grown people confessed
themselves, many who had relapsed were consecrated anew, and the Holy
Sacraments were administered to some Christian Indians who were found
dying in their houses.
"After passing through the Province of Chol, which stretches from
Cahabon forty-five or fifty leagues, we came upon another tribe which
is called the Mopanes, among whom Spaniards or ministers of the holy
gospel had never entered, and, although the difference in language was
of some embarrassment, God willed that we should find some Mopan
Indians who understood the Chol language and by means of these we
declared to them the purpose of our journey. This had good results at
that time in the case of some adults, who, being dangerously ill, asked
for holy baptism, and in the case of some sick children whom their
fathers brought and who went to Heaven as the first-fruits among this
tribe. Their principal cacique, Taximchan, fled from us, and although
we made various endeavors to draw him to us, he always deceived us with
false promises. But we made friends with four other caciques of this
tribe of the Mopanes Indians, called, in their paganism, the Cacique
Zac, the Cacique Tuzben, the Cacique Yahcab, and the Cacique Tezecum.
They came to see us with a part of their families, and every day there
came many Mopanes Indians to buy knives and many other little trifles
which the soldiers sold in exchange for blankets. We presented them
with salt, and for this they came to see us and to sell us their fruit,
and apparently they were becoming friendly."
The Chols and the Mopanes. "On account of the many Indians who came
every day to see us, and of the many farms and farm-buildings which we
saw in those highlands, we knew that that tribe of Mopanes was very
numerous. They all go naked like the Chols, and differ from them only
in their hair, in that they do not wear it of the same length like the
Chols, but cut the hair on the front part of the head and only wear it
long behind. It is a race more robust and barbarous than the Chols;
they have idols of diabolical forms, some of which we found, and they
have many other superstitions, about which it would take long to tell.
We found very little frankness in their nature and we found that they
have relations with the Ahizaes Indians of the Lake; and we even
learned that they all were of one Ytza nation, calling themselves Mopan
Ytza; Peten Ytza and these Mopanes were subject to the petty King of
the Lake, about which and about its Island of Peten and about its
caciques they gave us much information, although they always refused to
show us the way thither. Nevertheless, we prevailed upon the Cacique
Zac to show us the way from Mopan as far as the first plain, and from
there forward our guide was the Cacique Yahcab, who knew the Chol
language, by means of which he served as an interpreter, though a very
unskilled one.
"In this way we had some means of prosecuting our journey to the Lake,
and having written to the President by way of Vera Paz what had been
done, and leaving in Mopan two priests to take care of those Indians,
with twenty men for their protection, we priests, five in number,
passed onward with Captain Juan Diaz de Velasco and fifty men."
From Mopan to the Lake. "We traveled from Mopan toward the Lake a
matter of thirty-two leagues, in which the confusion of our guide and
interpreter, the Cacique Yahcab, delayed us much more than our
ignorance of the way; for he, whether from his want of knowledge, or
from malice, said at each stream or small river that there was no more
water till we reached the Lake. Having then come to a small river
called Chacal, we made a halt while some of our men crossed with the
guide and proceeded to reconnoiter the path, and they went forward in
such a way that they reached the Lake and discovered the great _Peten_
or island which stands in the middle of it, and which, according to the
story of those who went there, must be distant from Chacal a matter of
fourteen or sixteen leagues. Our people met many Ahizaes Indians, who
came from the Lake to the shore armed with bows and arrows, and they,
at the first sight of our people, got their bows ready; but the Indian
Yahcab, who had been told what to do, calmed them by telling them that
we were traders, which the Ahizaes heard with much pleasure. But when
the said interpreter of ours went on to tell them that with these
merchants were some Padres to teach them the law of God, the Ahizaes
raised a great whispering among themselves; and as our people were
unable to give the Ahizaes more reasons than those which that rude
interpreter had studied and offered, there was no way to pacify them,
and it was not known what they said, but all was confusion and
disturbance, which resulted in fighting and general encounters, in
which our men received no damage, but of the Ahizaes some were killed
and wounded and two of them were captured; one of these was called
Quixan and the other Chan. These two Indians uniformly said that the
Ahizaes had taken up arms because they had had notice that we had come
to Mopan, and that they had not perceived any other people in their
lands either in the direction of Yucatan or in any other direction;
which agreed with our not having any sign either from the people who
went with the said President Don Jacinto, nor of those whom he had sent
with the Padres de la Merced, although we made every effort to find
them. I wished that the said two Indians, or one of them, should go
with a message for his companions, but the affair was so stained with
blood, and the time was so advanced that it did not permit of these
delays, and the Captain gave sufficient reason for a contrary decision;
and the Ahiza Indian called Chan quickly removed any doubt by fleeing
by night, as a result of which we took more care of the remaining
Indian called Quixan. Seeing, then, that at that time we were not able
to get any result in that Ahiza nation, as they had taken up arms and
we, not understanding their language, were not able to persuade them
nor to come to an agreement with them; so that, if we went on, it would
only be to continue a war against the will of our Majesty, as expressed
in the Royal decree, and without any hope of good results, since we
were not able to enter into the Island for want of canoemen and of
instruments to make canoes, and for the same reason we could not go
across the Lake in search of the people of the said President."
Cano Advises Return. "Seeing also that the rains were beginning with
great fury, and that our people were becoming sick because of the
change of weather, to which was added our finding ourselves in such
want of supplies that we scarcely had what was needed to return to
Mopan; for these reasons I advised the Captain that we should return to
Mopan, and that there we should await news of the said President, and
that when we had received this news we should see what ought to be
done. This plan we carried out, taking in our company the Ahiza Indian
called Quixan, treating him kindly and carefully."
Explanations of their Withdrawal Sent to Guatemala. At this juncture an
unfortunate controversy sprang up. Cano says that he and his companions
wrote to Guatemala, explaining why they had withdrawn. Their
explanations were not accepted, however, because a false report had
gained credence to the effect that Don Jacinto Barrios had reached Lake
Peten. The authorities in Guatemala persisted in believing the latter
report, and they charged the Padres with trying to discredit the
President. The General Assembly then issued a decree in which they
ordered Captain Velasco at once to return to the lake and fortify
himself there on pain of losing all his property like a traitor.
The Decree of the General Assembly. "This was the substance of the
decree which was despatched to us, with many other circumstances in a
line with the ends and false bases on which the whole was founded.
"We received this decree in Mopan, with many other letters of the same
tenor, so that beside the ordinary troubles (common to all), I had this
one in addition to lay before our Lord.... Other letters [arrived] from
the said President, D. Jacintho, written from a place of the
Lacandones, which we called Nuestra Senora de las Dolores, where he had
joined the people who had entered the country with the Padres de la
Merced. In these letters he replied to those which we had written when
we entered Mopan, and he gave orders in these that the men should
retire, leaving thirty men as an escort in that place, since the rainy
season was beginning, and because he was doing the same thing on his
part; by this we knew that the second basis of the decree did not
exist, since the President found himself in Lacandon, which is so far
away from the Lake of Ahiza...."
Quarrels among the Soldiers and the Officials. The entrada from
Guatemala came to a close to the accompaniment of incessant and petty
wrangling on the part of the soldiery and of the officials.
The Writers of the Decree Punished. It is good to know, however, that
the writers of the decree were punished by a sound reprimand. Cano was
reinstated in the respect of all. He tells the plans for future work in
these words: "... He [President Barrios] intended going again the
following year by the Province of Vera Paz.... For this purpose I
proposed to the said President that it was necessary that those roads
should be constructed in such a way that the supplies could be carried
in mule packs and not on the shoulders of Indians; and that the tools
should be provided for building canoes and boats,--also officers and
seamen who should know how to manage them, since in no other way was it
possible to enter the Island or _Peten_ of Ahiza. All this was ordered
to be provided and carried out; but it was not carried out fully on
account of the protracted and distressing illness of the said
President, which grew worse and worse every day. So that God permitted
that from this storm should result one calm death, and that, through
antagonistic means, there should be added new delays to this
conversion.
"Meanwhile there were not wanting priests of good courage who wished to
take part in the conversion of these souls, and Fray Diego Palomino
having died in the highlands of Chol from illness which attacked him
there, God moved the Reverend Reader, Fray Christobal de Prada, with
such powerful inclinations, that while he was giving a course in
philosophy in this convent of Guatemala with great credit and esteem,
and without being detained by the love of his scholars or the arguments
of his friends, he gave up his chair and went to the wilderness, where
he devoted himself with so much fervor and zeal to the education of
those heathen that in a short time he perfected himself in the language
of Chol, of which he had already learned the rudiments; and he went
ahead of every one in the Mopan or Ahiza languages, without a master or
grammar of the said language, but only with what help he was able to
get from the Mopan and Chol Indians, of whom he brought together many
who had fled before he went into the wilderness."
The outcome of the events described in this chapter resulted in the
subjection of the Itzas, but not, however, through the agency of the
people of Guatemala. We shall learn from the account of Fray Andres de
Avendano y Loyola all that occurred in the year 1695-1696.