CHAPTER X

THE CONSUMMATION OF THE CONQUEST OF TAYASAL

BY THE SPANIARDS, 1695-1696

The Expedition from Guatemala Reaches Cahabon. It will be remembered

that Fray Alonso Cano, the Augustine friar who had accompanied the

first, and unsuccessful, entrada from Guatemala, had returned to that

city in the autumn of 1695. He remained there until December of that

same year, when he set out once more for the north, reaching Cahabon in

January, 1696. There Cano and his companions awaited the arrival of

Doctor Don Bartholome de Amezquita, who, in his capacity of Oidor and

Alcalde Ordinario of the Audiencia of Guatemala, was to lead the

expedition. Amezquita arrived early in February, and with him came

Captain Juan Diaz de Velasco. They found Cahabon in a bad condition on

account of the lack of preparations and because of the heavy rains.

Preliminary Movements and Plans. In order to appease the zeal of those

who were urging that the expedition proceed with all speed, it was

decided that Captain Diaz de Velasco should go ahead of the main body

of troops. He took with him seventy soldiers and thirty Indians; Cano

went with him. Guided by the Itza named Cuixam or Cuixan, Diaz de

Velasco set forth from Mopan (whither the force had moved) on March 7.

It was arranged that, from a place called Yxbol, near Tayasal, Cuixam

was to be sent on to ascertain Canek's attitude, and that the Captain,

Diaz de Velasco, and his men were to wait for him. On the tenth of

March, Amezquita and Cano left Mopan. They kept receiving letters and

messages from those ahead until they reached the Chacal River, where

all traces of their vanguard completely vanished.

The Fate of Diaz de Velasco; Amezquita Follows him. The reason for this

cessation of communication was briefly as follows: Captain Diaz de

Velasco sent Cuixam ahead, as had been planned, to Tayasal. Cuixam

reported that two Franciscans were on the island. The Captain would not

believe this. Still, he was so bold as to embark in a canoe rowed by

natives, who, as soon as the vessel was clear of the shore, began a

sharp struggle which resulted in the death of all the Spaniards in

the party. In due course Amezquita followed in the footsteps of the

ill-fated Captain. On arriving at the shores of the lake he learned the

fate that had befallen Diaz de Velasco. Seeing that there was nothing

he could do with so small a force as that which he had at his disposal,

Amezquita withdrew to Chacal, and later on, by the order of Don Gabriel

Sanchez de Berrospe, the new President of the Audiencia of Guatemala,

he withdrew to Guatemala City.

Conclusion of the Subjection of the Itzas Begun. After the series of

events which we have just studied came to an end there was, for a time,

a lull in the war. Our knowledge of the incidents which followed the

break is derived from Villagutierre y Sotomayor. (Lib. v, caps. 7, 8,

etc.) According to this authority, events occurred in the following

order.

Parades is Ordered to March to Los Dolores. Ursua determined to bring

matters to a satisfactory conclusion by means of another expedition

into the Itza country. Accordingly he sent his orders to Alonso Garcia

de Paredes, who, with the soldiers of that unsuccessful expedition on

which Avendano had gone, was still in Tzucthok. In substance Paredes

was ordered to go and place himself and his men under the orders of the

President of Guatemala or his successor. To this end he was to go south

from Tzucthok, and always "trying to incline his route a little toward

the left hand, or towards the east, was to place himself in sight of

the town of Lacandones, which the President had discovered and named

Nuestra Senora de los Dolores."[10.1] Paredes was to fortify himself

there about five leagues from the town of Lacandon, and he was to stay

there without molesting the surrounding settlements. From the time of

receiving these instructions to the time when he built his stockaded

redoubt he was to take especial care to inform himself concerning the

people round about, and especially those along the road which was being

built. On arriving in the neighborhood of Lacandon and after the

founding of the redoubt, Paredes was to go to the President so as to

hand over to him the various letters that he bore and so as to place

himself under his orders. Thereafter, if circumstances permitted, he

was to go as soon as possible to the Itzas, together with a suitable

number of Padres and soldiers. He; was ordered to subject and catechize

the natives.

Paredes appointed as officers Don Joseph de Estenoz, Pedro de Zuviaur,

Joseph Laynez, and Mateo Hidalgo, who had been picked out by Ursua for

their various posts. From this point on we have the account of Avendano

to rely upon until after the Padre's withdrawal to Merida. An uprising

on the part of the Cacique Covoh, as we know, was the immediate cause

of the retirement. It did not have, however, a permanently discouraging

effect.

Canek's Ambassador, Can, Arrives at Merida. In the last third of

December, 1695, while Avendano was still in the wilderness, an

ambassador named Can arrived at Merida from Canek.[10.2] He was

accompanied by three kinsmen of his, together with some Muzules

Indians. Ursua himself came out to meet him with a great following. The

parties met at the convent of the Mejorada; thence the embassy was

taken to the cathedral and to the palace. Can then said that his uncle,

Canek, asked for Padres so that Christianity might be introduced among

the Itzas. A suitable reply was given, and the ambassador was baptized.

(Villagutierre, lib. vi, caps. 3-5.) Can told Ursua that his uncle,

Canek, had four Kings under him who were his vassals. They were Citcan,

Ahamatan, Ahkin, and Ahitcan, as well as Ahatsi. Can was baptized

Martin Francisco Can and his brother Miguel Can. Finally, after many

ceremonies and solemn masses, Ursua sent them home with much good

feeling. An escort headed by Captain Francisco de Hariza or Ariza of

Bacalar set forth for the Itzas. Ursua sent word of all these

developments to Paredes, ordering him, as well as Hariza, to do all

that was necessary for the winning or conquering of Canek and his

vassals.

Meanwhile the new President of Guatemala, Escals, was taking all

possible precautions for the furtherance of the design. His division of

the expedition, of which Fray Agustin Cano was a part, left Guatemala

in January, 1696. There is no need to tell again what happened, as Cano

has already told us all up to a certain point.

Zuviaur Goes to the Lake. The early weeks of 1696, then, were spent by

Avendano and the men of Yucatan in Peten and in the wilderness between

it and Tipu, to which the Padres were enabled to flee by Canek, who

knew well the plots that were being hatched against them by Covoh and

by Canek's wife.

Shortly after Avendano reached Merida and made his report, Ursua

dispatched Captain Don Pedro de Zuviaur with seventy men, enough

Indians, and Padre Juan San Buenaventura to the lake by way of the

route so lately followed by Avendano. The Itzas received them armed for

war. Padre San Buenaventura, however, partly calmed them by smooth

words; fighting did not, however, entirely cease, and before long

Zuviaur returned to the royal camp. At about the same time an Indian

messenger arrived from Hariza, who was in the neighborhood of Tipu,

with the information that the Franciscans who were administering the

villages along the road were meeting with a fair measure of success,

and that the Itzas were the only remaining obstacle to the completion

of the undertaking. Hourly they became more threatening and more

dangerous. Several skirmishes took place between them and the men of

Paredes. Finally, forced by lack of supplies, Paredes withdrew with all

his men into the province.

Ursua Determines to Take Vigorous Measures. Clearly enough, in Ursua's

opinion, things were far from being in a satisfactory condition. He

made up his mind that a stop must be put to the menace of the Itzas at

all costs, and he determined to go in person upon this definitive

expedition. He made especially elaborate and adequate preparations,

doing things which should have been done long before. He assembled a

sufficient number of carpenters to build brigantines and _pyraguas_ on

the shore of the lake, and he got together ample stores. Nothing was

said of all this to the King of Castile, as it was notorious that he

would have frowned upon such military preparations.

Lawsuits between Soberanis and Ursua. At this time the old enmity

between Soberanis and Ursua reawakened. Soberanis was at the viceregal

court, where, during the reign of the Conde de Galve, he opposed

Ursua's interests and plans with some success. Galve was succeeded,

however, by Don Juan de Ortega Montanes, Bishop of Michoacan, who was

appointed Viceroy _ad interim_ of Mexico. Ortega, being a broad-minded

man, could see the good of the wishes of both sides, and he determined

that the whole matter should be laid before the Council of the Indies.

The result was a long lawsuit, during which it became clear that

Soberanis wished for more territory for his King, while Ursua wanted

more vassals. A series of lawsuits, stained by false charges, perjury,

and petty recriminations (mostly on the part of Soberanis and his

party), followed. It is a matter which is very involved and for us

unimportant, as it did not alter the current of events in the region of

Tayasal.

Captain Parades at Tzucthok. While these lawsuits were dragging on,

Captain Alonso Garcia de Paredes arrived at the bank of the large river

(Nohukum?). After building a _pyragua_ he and twenty men embarked on it

and went up the river to its source, where they captured ten canoes.

Soon after they returned to Tzucthok on account of the rainy season.

Captain Hariza at Tipu. Meanwhile Can, with Captain Francisco de Hariza

and an escort of thirty soldiers, had returned to Tipu from Merida. At

the former place they learned how Paredes had sent soldiers to the lake

under Zuviaur, how some had been taken prisoners there and put to

death, and how the Gran Cayo and its islands were devastated because

the Indians had wished to kill their King Canek on account of his

friendly attitude toward the Spaniards. In the trial of one Pablo Gil

of Salamanca, who at this time was accused of conspiracy, it came out

that this revolution at Peten had occurred soon after the departure of

Can for Merida. The _zamaguales_ or common people were incensed with

Canek because he had sent his nephew to Yucatan. When Can returned to

Peten he found that his uncle was still in power but not entirely

secure. Can was unable to return to his own village eight leagues away

because it was subject to Cintanek, who was at war with Canek.

The Cacique Cintanek's Villages. The five villages of Cintanek were

Chaltuna, Sac peten, Maconche, Saca, and Coba. The nine villages

subject, at this time, to Canek were Oraptun, Zacpui, Chee, Chacha,

Sacfinil, Linil, Oboncox, Chulul, and Eckixil. (Cf. Villagutierre, p.

435.) The people in these villages were very numerous; they knew

nothing of the Kingdom of Guatemala beyond the fact that some five

leagues away was a place called Mopan.

Can's Report. The Indians, Can and others, related how fifteen Spanish

men came to the Indians of the Gran Cayo and asked for provisions,

which were brought to them. (These Spaniards were, no doubt, a party

sent out by Paredes just before he withdrew.) Even as they were eating,

musket shots were heard on the shore. At once those who were eating on

the island judged their companions were in danger and hastily armed

themselves. A fight quickly took place, and the Spaniards even attacked

the person of Canek himself. At length, however, the Spaniards fled.

The Commands of King Charles II. At last the letters and reports which,

at the insistence of Ortega Montanes, the Viceroy Bishop, had been sent

to the court of Spain earlier in the year, bore fruit, for the King

sent new dispatches ordering Don Martin thus: acknowledgment was made

of the good work done by Sargento Mayor, Don Martin de Ursua y

Arizmendi, as well as of that done by Captain Alonso Garcia de Paredes,

Captain Joseph Fernandez de Estenoz, and others. Don Roque de Soberanis

y Centeno was ordered to give all possible assistance to Ursua and to

refrain from hindering him in any way. The cedulas were signed at Buen

Retiro on May 29, 1696. These dispatches, together with a commendatory

letter from the Conde de Adanero, President of the Council of the

Indies, arrived in Yucatan late in 1696. Fortunately Ursua had already

made all his preparations for the next campaign. Don Martin sent copies

of the cedulas and letter to the newly arrived Viceroy of Mexico, the

Conde de Moctezuma, to the Audience of Guatemala, and to the

Reverendissimo Don Fray Antonio de Arriaga, Bishop of Yucatan.

Before setting out there was one more formality to go through. Ursua

therefore sent the orders of the King to Don Roque, asking him at the

same time for certain aid. (Villagutierre, lib. viii, cap. 2.)

Straightway Don Roque sent Don Juan Geronimo de Abad to Campeche to

inform Ursua that Soberanis would give him all necessary aid for the

fulfilment of the royal will. He also ordered Ursua to pick out those

persons whom he thought ought to be captains, and Don Roque promised to

confirm the appointments.

Soberanis and Ursua in Agreement at Last. Abad executed his errand and

Don Martin replied that only the very numerous infidel Indians of the

Laguna del Itza stood between him and the successful completion of the

road, which was already open on the north almost as far as the lake and

on the south as far as Cahabon. The intervening region contained the

Itzas, whom Ursua purposed to conquer. He had already chosen as

captains Alonso Garcia de Paredes, Joseph Fernandez de Estenoz, Pedro

de Zuviaur, and Roque Gutierrez. At the same time Don Martin informed

Abad that he had prepared all sorts of supplies and munitions, and he

begged Don Roque de Soberanis to furnish him with advice as to the

proper payment for various things. Don Roque approved of everything

that Don Martin proposed, and he ordered that Abad, together with a

scrivener and an interpreter, should see to the proper financial

arrangements.

The Part to be Taken by Indian Villages. Ursua then asked that the

mountain villages of Tecax and Oxcuscab should be made to supply

service Indians. These, if granted, were to be under the orders of the

captain of Tecax; but Soberanis pointed out that those villages had

already done their share, and so he ordered that the Caciques of

Zotuta, Yaxcava, Tixcacal, and Peto should furnish the needed labor.

The part each was to take was as follows:

Zotuta 16 mules; 16 arrieros; 16 other Indians

Yaxcava 12 " 12 " 12 " "

Tixcacal 12 " 12 " 12 " "

Peto 20 " 20 " 20 " "

All these Indians were to be in charge of Don Juan del Castillo,

captain of Tecax. Indians from Mani were to carry the supplies.

On January 23, 1697, Don Martin de Ursua set forth from Campeche after

giving thanks for aid received. On arriving at Tzucthok they took the

same road as on previous occasions. They camped at length two leagues

from the lake, having passed through Batcab. On the way south they

learned that the cacique of Tzucthok and some of the Indians of that

village had retired to such places as Apelchen, Bolonchen, Chabuhic,

and Sacauchen. Some of the Chanes, however, remained faithful, for

which Ursua rewarded them with presents. At about this time also,

although Ursua probably did not know of it, Berrospe had ordered the

troops of Guatemala to withdraw definitely from Mopan and other places.

The Road Completed as Far as the Lake. At the end of February and in

early March the two leagues of road between the camp and the lake were

completed. _Pyraguas_ had already been built and were finished by the

time the army encamped on the lake shore. Seeing such a display of

power, the Indians tried to rival it, but when they saw the galley and

_pyraguas_ they retired to their island. There were sundry attempts to

make friends with the Indians, but they showed themselves utterly

undeserving of confidence. On March 10, 1697, Don Martin Can, he who

had gone to Merida as ambassador for his uncle Canek and who was godson

of Ursua, hearing of the latter's arrival, came to him joyfully. As a

result of this the murmurs to the effect that he was a myth entirely

vanished.

Some squads of Indians approached the camp by land with arms. The

general soon saw it was but a pugnacious attempt to force the Spaniards

into a skirmish. At the same moment a large canoe beached on the shore

where the camp was. Can said that those in it were Chamaxculu and other

important Indians from Alain. They were received with all possible

cordiality, and some of the Indians were found to be those who had been

in Merida with Can. Chamaxculu was an old man of seventy years.

Quincanek Feigns Friendliness. Very soon after that Quincanek visited

the camp. He was cordially welcomed and in conversation he promised to

aid the opening of the road. Ursua discreetly decided it would be

superfluous to make any allusion at that time to the idolatry,

treachery, and other foibles of the Itzas. Everything seemed serene and

amicable. The chiefs promised to return for dinner later.

They remained where they were from March 10 to 12, 1697. During those

three days many Indian women came in canoes and unattended from Peten

to the camp. Whether their purpose was to get themselves violated and

thereby furnish an excuse to the lurking squads of Indians to attack

the Spaniards, or whether they were led by mere curiosity, is not

absolutely certain; but it is probable that the former was the case,

for when, through good discipline, Ursua managed to restrain his men,

the women made all sorts of obscene gestures to attract the soldiers,

but to no purpose.

The Hostilities Begin. Finally the day arrived on which, according to

his promise, Quincanek, was to bring Canek to dinner with Ursua. But

instead of a peaceful Canek and Quincanek coming to have dinner with

them, the Spaniards saw a huge fleet of canoes all decked out in

warlike array approaching them. This, however, did not greatly dismay

the Spaniards, as they knew that their own galley and _pyraguas_, which

were all in readiness, would give them an immense advantage.

The Captains Urge Ursua to Fight; the Battle. Ursua called a council of

war in which Paredes, Estenoz, Zuviaur, and all the other captains

urged him to use force and thereby to conquer the Itzas finally. Ursua

was still determined, however, to maintain peace as long as possible,

being mindful of the King's wish.

On the following day, March 13, 1697, Ursua determined to go to the

Peten Grande, which lay two leagues from his camp. Leaving a good

garrison in the camp, he took two hundred men and Don Martin Can in the

boats and sailed for Peten. Before long the Spaniards, who were under

the strictest orders not to fire, were surrounded by a large fleet of

canoes filled with Itzas, who shot arrows at the invaders. As one would

naturally expect, all attempts to reason with the outraged Itzas proved

futile. Finally one Bartolome Duran, maddened by an arrow wound, fired

off his gun. This precipitated a hot skirmish in which everyone took

part. At the end of it the Spaniards got upon the shore, and by means

of the artillery at length put the Itzas to flight. The latter fled

away as fast as they could by swimming, and when in due time Ursua and

his men got to Peten Grande, they found nothing but old women and

little children there. All who could had fled into and across the lake

rather than face the vengeance of the Spaniards.

Tayasal Becomes a Spanish Possession. The battle was over by eight in

the morning. The standard of Jesus Christ was set up; the royal arms

were engraved over the door of what had been the principal temple; and

thanks were given to God for the victory. A church was founded and the

houses of the idols were cleaned out. Oddly enough the temple where

Canek and his idolatrous priests had once torn out human hearts was

chosen as the Christians' place of worship.

Thus ends the history of the long, brave but fruitless struggle of the

Itzas against the Spanish conquerors. After so many romantic interests

it is but natural that any account of subsequent events should be an

anti-climax. The later history of the Itza country can be dismissed in

a word.

Later History of Tayasal. Since the conquest, Tayasal has been a mere

Spanish provincial village with nothing to distinguish it from scores

of others. In the first half of the nineteenth century serious

insurrections took place in the region. At about the same period the

name Tayasal was taken away and Flores was substituted, in honor of one

Cyrilo Flores, a local patriot. It is a pity that the old, unusual, and

euphonious name was not kept. At present Flores (Pl. III) is the

capital of the Department of Peten, Guatemala.

APPENDIX I

THE QUESTION OF ORTHOGRAPHY

Possibly the reader has noted in these pages a tendency toward

inconsistency in the matter of spelling proper names. I do not deny

that I have failed to avoid such inconsistency, but at the outset,

after due thought on the matter, I decided that it is most difficult to

try and lay down any hard and fast rule for the spelling of the proper

names used in this book. In many cases it is utterly impossible to say

"This is the correct spelling of this name." To show just the nature of

the sort of orthographical variations encountered in this work I give

here most of the variants of the name Itza.

Itza usual modern form

Itzae Maler, 1910, p. 168

Itzaob Brasseur de Bourbourg, 1858, vol. ii, p. 13

Itzaex Villagutierre

Ytza Cogolludo and Avendano

Ytzaex Cogolludo and Avendano

Ytzalana Cogolludo and Avendano

Yiza On some church bells at Los Dolores (Morley)

Ahiza Cano

Ahizaes Cano

Taiza Cortes, Lizana, 1893, p. 120

Taitza Brinton, 1882, p. 25

Tayca Gomara, 1826, vol. ii, p. 138 ff.

Ahitzaes Jose Sanches de Leon, p. 146

Ayasal Garcia de Palacio (Gates-Bowditch photographed MS.)

Ayajal Garcia de Palacio, 1860 (Squier), p. 96

Yzues Ottens Atlas, 1740; Sanson d'Abbeville, 1656

Tavasal M. Bonne M. de Mathem, 1771

Tayasal Maler; Bellin, 1764; Charnay, etc.

Iguastal Abbe Mongez, 1779

Laguastal Popples' map, about 1740

Many of the other proper names have variations just as confusing as

these.

APPENDIX II

THE DIALECT OF PETEN

This Appendix it a translation of a MS. written by Dr. Berendt at

Sacluk in 1866-1867. The original is in Spanish, but for the sake of

consistency I have translated it. In some cases Dr. Berendt's clear and

beautiful script has become blurred either through exposure to dampness

or from some other cause. In such a case I have hazarded a guess if it

seemed safe to do so, otherwise I have left a blank.[A2.1]

The MS. is in the Brinton Collection in the Library of the University

Museum, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, and I wish to

acknowledge the kindness of Dr. G. B. Gordon in giving me permission to

publish it here.

The dialect of Peten is spoken in the PARTIDO DE LAS SABANAS at

Villages: Guadalupe Saduk, Tziche, Chilonche

S. Juan de Dios, Oxpayac, Simaron,

Chachachurun, Santa Ana, Juntecholol.

It is spoken in the PARTIDO DE DOLORES at

Dolores, Machaquita, Petenzuc, Poctun,

San Toribio, Yaxche (= Yaxha?), San Luis.

And in the PARTIDO DEL CENTRO at

San Jose. In the other villages of the Partido del

Centro, and in that of San Antonio, the Yucatec dialect

is spoken. In the Partido de la montana or of

Holmul is spoken the dialect of the East.

PETEN YUCATAN

juyu, a small basin for pounding corn. [Yucatan: huyub]

majaz, fiber....?

xemech, an earthenware pan for cooking maize. [Yucatan: xamach]

ma yaan, there is none. [Yucatan: minan]

uneec, a seed. [Yucatan: hinah]

chulul, the bow for shooting and the material of which it is made.

h[vo][vo]k, a large fish-hook.

coxti h[vo][vo]k, we are going to fish (?)

litz, a small fish-hook. [Yucatan: lutz, fish-hook]

cox ti man litz, we are going to buy a fish-hook

lutz, lazy (said of an animal)

hole, yesterday. [Yucatan: holhe]

meyah, to work. [Yucatan: manyah]

ten in [Ts]ah hunpel tomin ti a Juan, I give John a real. [Yucatan:

ten in [Ts]aic hunpel tomin ti Juan]

ten cin hanal, I eat. [Yucatan: hanal in cah]

chumac, wild-cat. [Yucatan: chamac]

[Ts]uet, a long sack of palm leaves or of broom-plant fiber. [Yucatan:

naza]

[Ts]it, very small tamales.

yaax apat, royal palm.

ichcil or ichnil, to bathe.

in th[va], my forehead. [Yucatan: in lec]

pichi, guava (?). [Yucatan: pachi]

chuh, calabash of water (this line is crossed out in the text)

nah, house; holnah, door; bah, mole (?). [Yucatan: na-holna-ba]

pah, chicken louse; leh, snare. [Yucatan: pa- te-]

tuh, stinking, obscene. [Yucatan: tu]

uh, the moon. [Yucatan: u]

coh, a tooth. [Yucatan: co]

cih, henequen. [Yucatan: qi]

beh, a road, a path. [Yucatan: be]

ya in tzem, I am in doubt (?). [Yucatan: ya in tzem]

tacte, a pine tree. [Yucatan: tahte]

(Several illegible words occur here)

nak xaan ....

[Ts]u or chichan [Ts]u, small unweaned child. [Yucatan: chuchul paal]

in nochil, my child (used by the Lacandones)

tanche, a beam. [Yucatan: tanche]

puluoc, a small dove.

(xamoch) pok, a wall. [Yucatan: pak]

ahmenche, a carpenter. [Yucatan: ahmentahche]

taman, a sheep, they also say tomo. [Yucatan: tanam]

top, any flower. [Yucatan: nicte, lol]

taz la top e, he is bringing a flower. [Yucatan: talez nicte]

cox ti meyaj, we are going to work. [Yucatan: cox ti menyah]

bax le lo? or bax la je lo? who is that?

max cutal? who is coming?

xen a thone a Juan, go and call John.

u tat ix Maria, the father of Mary.

baai, a bag made of netting; also called champa.

yampaj, (illegible).

ma t'in patal, I cannot.

ma in uojel, I do not know.

uai, arm (almost illegible).

bax u caa or bax u cuci, why or because.

bax tal? why?

cox ti pakach or cox ti pekech, we are going to make tortillas

(_tortillar_).

tux yankin? where is the sun? [Yucatan: tabx yax kin]

tux ca bin? where are you going? [Yucatan: tab a benel (t)]

jamach a katic? how much do you want? what do you ask?

jamach nah yan tech? how many tortillas have you?

jamach uinic tan ilah ti be? how many men have you seen on the road?

[Yucatan: bahun uinicol t an ilab ti be?]

(One illegible phrase here)

bix le lo? how is that?

bix yanil ech? how are you? [Yucatan: bicx a cah?]

bax a kati? what do you want?

bax akaba? what is your name?

max u thinic en? who is calling me?

max [ts]in [Ts]ic tue? to whom am I to give it?

mayan ja, there is no water. [Yucatan: manaan ja, minan ja]

xturuhui, yellow (or jaundice; text says _amarillo_).

nicte, white.

chacnicte, red.

qu[vi]j, henequen. [Yucatan: yaxci]

kaim, milk. [Yucatan: kabim]

y[va], a small sapote (?). [Yucatan: zaya]

ten cin bin ich cah, I am going into the village.

kayem, gruel made of corn flour. [Yucatan: keyem]

iz [ts]it, a small tamale made with new corn.

culen, sit down (imperative). [Yucatan: culen, sit down!

cultal, to sit down]

liken, get up (imperative). [Yucatan: likil, to get up]

(Several illegible words follow)

thuth, I weep (perhaps it means dark brown--_loro_)

(Several more illegible words)

sac, fear. [Yucatan: zahaal, fear]

sac en, I am afraid, I fear. [Yucatan: zahal, to fear]

saccep, timorous. [Yucatan: ahzahet, timorous]

mac, people. [Yucatan: uinic]

bizit, that part of an animal... (illegible) ... which is composed of

the lower part of the spine.

c[vo][vo]b, (meaning illegible). [Yucatan: coc]

paklam, prickly pear (?) (Text has _stapal y tuna_). [Yucatan: pakam]

kuchune, the whorl (_jicarita_) which they use for spinning.

cucut, a mountain fruit ... (illegible) ... like a small plaintain.

kat or kot, flat earthen bowl set before an idol. [Yucatan: cat]

(An illegible word)

chim, a knapsack (_mochila_).

zuzich, to cut off the grains from a cooked ear of corn; and also the

grains thus cut off. [Yucatan: zuz, to plane]

chaac, let it go! (_sueltalo_).

chaac la tzimine, set the horse free! (_suelta el caballo_).

bot, hail. [Yucatan: bat]

punab, mahogany (_caobana_).

hach nohoch punab, how big the mahogany tree is!

chulul, the bow for shooting.

tzaan, the cord of the bow.

teztan, the bow used in the reverse (with the cord on the convex

side) (?).

cec che, an arrow with a tooth or jog.

pocte, an arrow with a point of clay.

yaxapat, the royal palm (from the Lacandones?)

thahaan, the muscular part of the thumb.

[Ts]unum, a bird.

[Ts]ununte, laurel, a mountain bush.

hubuche, a mountain bush; the leaves ... (illegible).

tanai, a species of cane or bamboo ... very large.

tu[ts], (meaning illegible)

j[=o][vo]le, yesterday. [Yucatan: holhe]

zamal, tomorrow.

cui, (meaning illegible).

chepetz, bread of new maize.

uokekuch, a stick used in weaving.

(Several illegible and obscurely translated words)

Phrases. (Only those with meanings given in the text appear here)

Bax a kati? What do you want?

mix baal in kati I want nothing

Bax yan tech? What have you? What is the matter?

Yab ten ya ti paczikal I have a stomach-ache

Bax cu tazic ah Pedro? What is Peter bringing?

Talez ha He is bringing water

Bax caualic? What are you saying?

In some cases two forms for the same thing appear, as:

yaax apat and yaxapat royal palm

cih and qu[vi] henequen

hole and j[=o][vo]le yesterday

beh and be road

APPENDIX III

THE MAPS OF YUCATAN, 1501-1800

While I was at work on the main body of this book my attention was

drawn to the question of cartography by Dr. Edward Luther Stevenson of

New York. I decided that it would be worth while to try and compile a

list of all the early maps of Yucatan. It would be folly for me to

claim that the list I give here is complete; it is, however, at least

as complete as any such list now existing. No attempt has been made to

list all the modern maps of the area; neither has there been any

attempt to include maps of limited portions of the peninsula. A

selection from the immense amount of material given by Pedro Torres

Lanzas has, however, been made, and the notes made by Dr. Tozzer in

Seville are appended.

THE MAPS OF YUCATAN ARRANGED IN CHRONOLOGICAL

ORDER

1502 ? PORTUGUESE.

Valentini (1898, 1902) refers to this map as being dated either

in 1493 or 1502. There is little doubt that this map is misdated

for the following reasons:

1. The information contained in the map is so full that it

cannot have been earlier than 1520.

2. The nomenclature is mainly "sailor names" and therefore

inconclusive.

3. The alleged Yucatan runs from its nearest point to Cuba

northwardly, not southwardly. It is my belief that the peninsula

in question is meant for Florida, and that it is too far west.

4. The whole style of the map is comparable to that of the

following well-known ones: Turin-Spanish, 1523-25;

Wolfenbuettel-Spanish, 1525-30; Maggiolo, 1527; Verrazano, 1529;

Weimar-Spanish, 1527. It is for more full and accurate than

Maggiolo, 1519. Therefore it cannot date from before 1520, and

probably not from before 1525.

ca. 1501-02 RICHARD KING PORTOLAN (Hamy Coll.).

Has Cuba and other West Indies, also eastern portions of South

America, neither Mexico nor Yucatan.

1502-04 CANTINO (Stevenson, 1903).

Has Cuba, etc. No Mexico and Yucatan.

1507 WALDSEEMUeLLER.

America first so called. Its presence is indicated, but its

shape is not defined. Florida, Cuba, and Brazil appear; Mexico

and Yucatan do not.

1508 PTOLEMY, ED. RUYSCH, ROME (Nord. XXXII).[A3.1]

America shown as a vague archipelago in the Pacific. It is not

named.

1512 PTOLEMY, ED. JOANNES DE STOBINICZA, Cracow (Nord.).

America indicated but not named.

1514 LODOVICUS BOULENGER (Nord.).

America shown by name and called "Nova reperta."

1515 GREGORIUS REISCH, STRASSBURG (Nord.).

No Yucatan.

1516 WALDSEEMUeLLER.

See 1507.

1516-20 MUNICH-PORTUGUESE.

Has no Yucatan.

1519 MAGGIOLO.

See 1527.

1520 PETRUS APIANUS (Nord.).

Has no Yucatan.

1523-25 TURIN-SPANISH (E. L. S.).[A3.2]

The general outline of Yucatan is recognizable. There is a gap

on the south of Yucatan where the isthmus should be. All the

names save Cozumel are wrong.

1527 MAGGIOLO (E. L. S.).

The shape of Yucatan is all wrong, and Yucatan is shown as a

rather small island far from the mainland. No names.

1527 WEIMAR-SPANISH (E. L. S.).

Yucatan a peninsula. Isthmus is roughly drawn and too narrow,

"gotoche" (Catoche), "y. demuJeres" (Isla de Mujeres), and

"cocumel" (Cozumel), etc. At the isthmus is a name which possibly

may be Ytza; it is very indistinct.

1528 ? BENEDETTO BORDONE, VINEGIA (Nord.).

Has no Yucatan.

1529 RIBERO (E. L. S.).

Has Yucatan as a large island near to the mainland, with

Hihueras (Higueras = Honduras) correctly located.

1529 VERRAZANO (E. L. S.).

Has the general outlines of Yucatan approximately correct, but

there is a large gap at the southern part.

1525-30 WOLFENBUeTTEL-SPANISH (E. L. S.).

Yucatan a large island very close to the mainland. Cf. Ribero,

1529.

1530 VERRAZANO'S GLOBE.

Shows Yucatan as an island.

1530 ? ANONYMOUS CARTA DE LAS ANTILLAS, SENO MEJICANO Y COSTAS DE

TIERRA FIRMA. CARTAS DE INDIAS 1877.

Yucatan is shown as a peninsula. Merida does not appear.

Campeche is written "Campeci," and Mexico "Mesico." It seems to

be a map of the same period as the Weimar-Spanish, 1527.

1531 ORONTIUS FINAEBUS (Nord.).

Yucatan (called Iucatanus) shown as an island.

1532 SIM. GRYNAEUS NOVUS ORBIS, BASILEAE (Nord.).

Cuba and America confused. Yucatan not named, but indicated as

a part of Cuba, which lies where Mexico should. There is a break

in the isthmus.

1534 ? MALARTIC PORTOLAN.

Has Yucatan as an island far from mainland with a dense

archipelago instead of an isthmus.

1534 PETRUS MARTYR, VINEGIA (Nord.).

Yucatan an island with dense archipelago in lieu of isthmus.

1536 MERCATOR.

Yucatan a peninsula.

1538 GERARDUS MERCATOR (Nord.).

Yucatan named and an island.

1539? PORTULAN OF CHARLES V, IN WIENER, 1875.

Has Yucatan a round island a good way from mainland on three

different maps.

1540 PTOLEMY, BASEL (Nord.).

Yucatan shown as an island.

1542 ALONSO DE SANTA CRUZ, IN DAHLGREN, 1892.

Shows Yucatan as a peninsula, but makes east coast run nearly

east and west.

1543 CASPAR VOPEL (Nord.).

Yucatan shown as an island.

1548 PTOLEMY, VENICE (Nord.).

Yucatan shown as an island, not named.

1551 APPIANUS.

Has Yucatan as a peninsula.

1554 GASTALDI, MAPPAMUNDI, VENICE (Mueller Coll.).

Has Yucatan a peninsula, but has no names save Cozumel and

Catoche.

1556 HIERONIMO GIRAVA, MILAN (Nord.).

Yucatan is a peninsula, but much too small.

1560 FERRANDO BERTELI (Mueller Coll.).

Yucatan (called Luc[=a]tan) is an island close to the mainland.

1562 MARTINES, JOAN, MAP OF THE WORLD (in Stevenson, 1911).

Yucatan is shown as a peninsula. The isthmus is too narrow.

1566? LANDA (see Plate IV).

This map, notwithstanding its inaccuracies, is interesting and

valuable. It appears in the original MS. of Bishop Landa's famous

work. The remarks as to distances, in the southwest corner, are,

of course, entirely erroneous. Also it should be noted that

Cozumel (i.e., Cuzmil) and Las Mujeres are placed on the wrong

side of the peninsula. One of the most interesting points about

the map is that it gives Mani as "The city of the King." This is

undoubtedly a reference to the Tutul Xius whom we have mentioned

in the body of this book.

1566? LANDA (see Plate V).

This smaller map is much like the foregoing one. But it fails

to include such place names as Ychpa, Chicheniza, Mani, and so

on. At the same time a slight improvement is to be noted in the

location of Cozumel, though one is at a loss to account for the

placing of Cape Catoch.[A3.3]

1570 ORTELIUS, THEATRUM ORBIS TERRARUM.

Shows Yucatan as a peninsula; calls Merida Atalaria, Cozumel

Acasumal, etc.

1572 THOMASO PORCACCHI DA CASTIGLIONE, VENICE.

Has Yucatan as a peninsula.

1576 ANOTHER EDITION OF PORCCACHI DA CASTIGLIONE.

1581 PLANO DEL PUEBLO DE MUTUL, EN LA PROVINCIA DE YUCATAN, TERMINOS

DE LA CIUDAD DE MERIDA. POR MARTIN DE PALOMAR? TORRES

LANZAS, i, 33.

This map accompanies the _Relaciones de la Provincia de

Yucatan_. Published by the Real Academia de Historia in 1898.

1584 ANOTHER EDITION OF ORTELIUS.

1587 MERCATOR (Nord.).

Yucatan a peninsula named either Atalanta or Atalania (print

indistinct).

1590 JOANNES MYRITIUS, OPUSCULUM GEOGRAPHICUM RARUM, INGOLDSTADT

(Nord.).

Yucatan not named. There is a projecting territory which,

because of a large bay running in from the north, looks not

unlike a U. Possibly the bay is the Laguna de Terminos shown too

large.

1603 GULIELMUS NICOLAI BELGA, GLOBE, Lyons (Mueller Coll.).

Yucatan an island far from the mainland. Cozumel much too large

and close to western end of Cuba.

1605 WILLEM JANSZOON BLAEU, WORLD MAP (original in Hispanic Museum,

New York City).

Yucatan shown as a peninsula. Tabasco appears in the middle of

the isthmus.

1608 MATTHIAS QUADUS, FASCICULUS GEOGRAPHICUS, KOeLN (Nord.).

Hispania Nova. Yucatan a peninsula, but not named.

1611 HONDIUS WORLD-MAP (E. S. L.).

General shape of Yucatan approximately correct. Tabasco is

shown in the middle of the isthmus. Atalana in northeast corner

of Yucatan.

1613 MERCATOR, ED. IUDOCI HONDIJ, AMSTERDAM.

Yucatan a peninsula.

1620 ANOTHER EDITION OF PORCACCHI DA CASTIGLIONE.

1631 JOHN SPEED (London ?).

Yucatan shown as a peninsula.

1635 WILLEM JANSZOON BLAEU, AMSTERDAM (E. L. S.).

Yucatan shown as a peninsula.

1638 Another edition of MERCATOR.

1656 MEXIQUE OU NOUVELLE ESPAGNE, PAR M. SANSON D'ABBEVILLE, PARIS.

Shows Merida and Valladolid with the YZUES between them, and

with the COCOMES between Valladolid and L. Bacalar. Southern

portions of Yucatan very poorly shown.

1667 BLAAUW, AMSTERDAM, YUCATAN AND GUATIMALA.

A very good map for the time. It shows accurately what were

then thought to be the facts. Merida, Conil, Chuaca, Valladolid,

Campeche, Bacalar, and Chetumal all nearly correctly placed. Just

south of Merida are the YZAES and just south of them the COCOMES.

The isthmus is too elongated and runs too much east and west. The

Zoques given.

1671 ARNOLDUS MONTANUS, AMSTERDAM.

A shameless "steal" from the preceding. (Montanus may, however,

make acknowledgment in his text.) Practically identical with

Blaauw, 1667.

1689 EDWARD WELLES, LONDON.

Has Merida, Valladolid, Campeachy, and Vera Pax. Abo Guatimala.

1694 JAILLOT'S MAP IN ALLARD'S ATLAS MINOR.

Has Merida, Valladolid, Campeche, Chetumal, Salamanca, Vera

Pax, etc.

ca. 1697 AVENDANO'S MAP. (See Plates Ia and Ib.)

Shows Lake Peten.

1702 ATLAS MARITIMUS NOVUS, LONDON.

Has coasts only. Fairly correct.

1714 or just before POPPLE, LONDON.

Has Merida and LAKE PETEN rightly placed.

1720 MATTEO SEUTTER, ATLAS NOVUS, AUGSBURG.

Very poor. Gives few names. Southern portion of Yucatan much

too narrow. No lake.

1722 PLANO DE PARTE DE LA COSTA DR YUCATHAN ... LA QUE VISITO SU

GOBERNADOR Y CAPITAN GENERAL D. ANTONIO CORTAYRE, ANO

1721. TORRES LANZAS, i. 88.

Coast with Merida in south, Cacalchen Tilam in east. Sisal in

west; shows possible defense of the roads. Drawn with care as to

the details; colored; trees near coast.

1728 ATLAS MARITIMUS ET COMMERCIALIS, LONDON.

Has "Jucatan" and Campeche, but not much else.

1739 PIERRE VANDER AA, LEYDEN.

Copied exactly from Blaauw, 1667, and Montanus, 1671. The

Choles appear in addition to the Zoques (who are on the other two

maps). Latitude and longitude have also been added.[A3.4]

1740 MIGUEL DE GUZMAN, PICTURE MAP OF PETEN, IN TORRES LANZAS.

(See Plate II.)

1740 ATLAS NOUVEAU, BY JEAN COVENS ET CORNEILLE MORTIER (Boston

Athenaeum).

Map of Yucatan by Popple, in colors. Has, among other places,

Sisal, Quyo, Merida, Valladolid, Lago de Bacalal, Thub,

Salamanca, Chuckabul, PETEN LAKE, with LAGU-ASTAL on the southern

bank, Verapax, etc. Lake too far east. Cf. Popple, 1714.

1740 OTTENS, ATLAS NOUVEAU, AMSTERDAM (vol. iv.).

Has the Yzues between Merida and Valladolid, and the Cocomes

south of them. Cf. 1656, 1667, 1671.

1746 HAZIUS AND LOWITZ, ATLAS (Harvard College Library).

Has a very good map of Yucatan which shows in full the results

to geography of the conquest of the Itza-Peten-Quehache region in

1697. The map shows, among other places, the following: Merida,

Linchanchi, Sisal, Cujo, Bocas de Conil, Valladolid, Bacalar,

Campeche, CHAVICH, QUEHACHES, TIPU, BATCAB, CHANES, ITZA, PETEN o

LOS REMEDIOS, CHAXAL RIVER, MOPAN, Chol, Coban, etc. LACANDON and

LOS DOLORES are located northwest of the lake.

1746 PLANO Y DEMARCACON DEL CAMINO Y DISTANCIA DESDE LA CIUDAD DE

MERIDA DE YUCATAN HASTA LA LAGUNA DE BACALAR ... DESDE EL

PUEBLO DE CHUNHUHUB A LA LAGUNA AY 35 LEGUAS DE DESPOBLADO

... ANO 1746. TORRES LANZAS, i, 114.

Shows all the towns on the road from Merida to Bacalar.

1746 PLANO DEL RIO HONDO QUE SE COMUNICA CON LA LAGUNA DE BACALAR....

TORRES LANZAS, i. 115.

Little detail.

1751? PLANO DE LOS TRES RIOS DE BALIZ NUEVO Y HONDO CITUADOS ENTRE

EL GOLFO DULCE O PROVINCIA DE GOATEMALA, Y LA DE YUCATAN....

LA CITUACION DEL REAL PRESIDIO DE SAN PHELIPE DE BACALAR, EL

CAMINO QUE DE EL VA A LA CAPITAL DE MERIDA, LA LAGUNA DEL

PETEN ITZA.... TORRES LANZAS, i, 143.

Drawn with great detail, especially as regards coast line and

islands. Northern portion of coast of Guatemala west to Peten,

north to Bacalar. This is the road treated of by Villagutierre,

Cogolludo, and Avendano.

1764 JAQUES NICOLAS BELLIN, PARIS? (Cong. Lib.).

The northern portions of Yucatan need no comment. In the south

we find: Quehaches, Chenes, Batcab, Nohukum R., Tipu, Coboxes,

Lac de Puc, Chaltuna, Alain, ITZA, Mopanes, Choles, etc. The lake

is too far east.

1771 CARTE DU MEXIQUE, MR. BONNE M. DE MATHEM, PARIS (Harvard College

Library).

Gives Merida, Valladolid, Campeche, Sacahuchen (= Sahcabchen?),

Tikax, Bacalar, Tzuthok, Salamanca, Sumasinta, TAVASAL, etc.

1773 ATLAS PORTATIF, BELLIN, AMSTERDAM (Harvard College Library).

Much like Bellin, 1764.

1779 ABBE MONGEZ, ATLAS, PARIS (vol. ii).

Map of Yucatan has Merida, Valladolid (wrongly placed),

Salamanca de Bacalar (wrongly placed), Quehaches, L. DE PUC with

IGUASTAL in it.

1783 BRION DE LA TOUR, L'AMERIQUE SEPTENTRIONALE, PARIS (Cong. Lib.).

Much like Bellin, 1764.

1785 GUTHRIE, LONDON.

Lake is too far east and is not named.

1801[A3.5] TOMAS LOPEZ, MADRID, MAP OF YUCATAN IN 4 SHEETS (Cong.

Lib.).

A large and valuable map which contains many names, routes,

lakes, rivers, etc. The distances and outlines of the land masses

are inaccurate. There is a list of the Curatos and Visitas of

Yucatan.

1854 DUDLEY COSTELLO, MAP OF YUCATAN, IN FANCOURT, 1854, and MACNUTT,

1908.

A clear and useful map with a few minor mistakes.

1864 V. A. MALTE-BRUN, CARTE DU YUCATAN, PARIS.

A reliable and invaluable modern map with many place names,

routes, etc.

1878 MAPA ... DE YUCATAN, FOR JOAQUIN HUeBBE, ANDRES AZNAR PEREZ Y

... C. HERMANN BERENDT.

The best and largest and fullest map of Yucatan.

1902 GUATEMALA, BY M. HENDGES, BUREAU OF AMERICAN REPUBLICS, 1902.

The best map of Guatemala. It has proved very valuable.

1915 MAP OF THE REPUBLIC OF MEXICO. PAN AMERICAN UNION, 1915.

Also a very trustworthy map.

From the foregoing list of maps the following interesting points are to

be gleaned:

1. Yucatan does not appear on any map prior to 1523-1525. From the time

of its first discovery Yucatan was believed to be an island. Maps vary

greatly as to what sort of an island it was.

2. In 1527 the Weimar-Spanish map shows Yucatan for the first time as a

peninsula. Probably the maker of this map derived his information from

someone who had been with Cortes in 1524-1525. The name Ytza appears on

the isthmus; it is so faint as to be almost illegible, but I think I

have deciphered it correctly.

3. From 1529 (Ribero) to 1548 (Venice "Ptolemy") geographical knowledge

of Yucatan falls off badly. With only two exceptions (Mercator, 1536,

and Santa Cruz, 1542) the maps of this period show Yucatan as an island

more or less remote from the mainland. I think that the comparative

accuracy of Alonso de Santa Cruz is accounted for by the fact that he

was official cartographer to the crown of Castile and that he had

official information of Montejo's explorations, 1526-1541.

4. From 1551 onward Yucatan is usually shown as a peninsula; but even

so late as this there are exceptions such as Ferrando Berteli, 1560,

and Gulielmus Nicolai, 1603, whose inaccuracies are many.

5. In Sanson d'Abbeville, 1656, the Itzas appear again, this time under

the name of Yzues. They and the Cocomes are misplaced, being too far

north. It is barely possible that the entradas of Fuensalida and Orbita

and Delgado, 1618-1624, may have had some influence on this map.

6. In Blaauw, 1667, we have the first step toward a really accurate map

of Yucatan. This map bears many place names, among them the Yzaes and

the Cocomes.

7. About 1714 Henry Popple, the great London map maker, made an

excellent map of the region. On it Lake Peten is rightly located. There

can be but little doubt that Popple derived his information from the

English in British Honduras. Through them he probably learned of the

conquest of the Itzas. It is not impossible, of course, that he was

also acquainted with the writings of Cogolludo and Villagutierre, but

that does not seem very likely. From that time onward the Itzas have

appeared regularly on the maps of that region.

APPENDIX IV

ITINERARY OF AVENDANO, TOGETHER WITH

GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

(See Plate VI)

First Trip June to September, 1695

June 3, 1695 Left MERIDA.

June 11 CANICH, CAUICH, BOLENCHEN, BOLONCHEN CAUICH, OR

BOLONCHENTICUL, CAVICH.

This name has several variations. It may be that each

one means a slightly different locality; but in one form

or another it is found on Bianconi-Mexico, Costello,

Malte-Brun, Lopez, and Charnay's maps.

HOBONMO, HOBON-OX.

Two towns, respectively two and three leagues from

Cauich.

CHUNZALAM.

Two leagues from Hobon-ox.

VECANXAN.

One league from Chunzalam.

NOHHALAL.

Three-fourths of a league from Vecanxan.

June 12-13 SUCTE, SAN SALVADOR DE.

Six to eight leagues from Cauich. On Lopez' map.

NOKHU OR NOHCU.

Four very long leagues from Sucte. On Lopez' map.

June 14-18 NOHBECAN OR NOHVECAN.

Four (?) leagues from Nohku. On Malte-Brun, Lopez,

Costello, Charnay, and Avendano's maps.

OPPOL OR TOPOL.

Four leagues from Nohbecan. On Lopez, Aven, and

Bianconi-Mexico maps.

July 8-24 TZUCTHOK, SUCTOK, TZUCTHOK, ETC., OR SAN FELIPE.

On Costello, Malte-Brun, Lopez, Bellin, Brion de la

Tour, and Bianconi-Mexico maps.

CHUNPICH OR PAYBONO (?) AMONG CEHACHES.

Possibly at or near the Paybono or Botab of Lopez.

Sept. 5 HOPPELCHEN.

Sept. 16 MERIDA.

Second Trip Mid-December to Mid-February, 1695-1696

Sept 16-Dec 10 MERIDA.

Dec 13 MERIDA.

Leave Merida as result of Hariza's information.

BATCAB.

Is on Lopez' map as Botab (?); is on Costello, Bailly,

Malte-Brun, and Bellin's maps.

Jan. 6, 1696 CHUNTUCI OR CHUNTUQUI.

Is on Bianconi-Mexico, Costello, Lopez, and

Malte-Brun's maps.

CHINCHINUCUM = S. MARTIN.

San Martin is on Lopez and Malte-Brun's maps.

COHUCUM = SANTA RITA.

Santa Rita is on Lopez and Malte-Brun's maps.

TanXulucMul = SAN MIGUEL.

San Miguel on Lopez and Malte-Brun's maps.

Jan. 13 CHAKAN ITZA.

PETEN ITZA.

Found on Bianconi-Mexico, Bianconi-Guatemala,

Costello, Bailly, Lopez, Malte-Brun, Bellin, Brion de la

Tour, Hendges, Charnay, Army Maps, etc.

CHANCHANHA.

Possibly the Chichanja of Lopez, Malte-Brun, and

Bianconi-Mexico maps. It is, however, too far from

Chuntuqui.

Feb. 17 CHUNTUCI.

TANCHE OR NOHTANCHE.

Four leagues from Oppol. On Lopez, Avendano, and

Bianconi-Mexico maps.

YOHCHALEK RIVER.

Two leagues from Tanche.

TEMCHAY.

Three leagues from Yohchalek. Is on Lopez as very near

San Antonio. San Antonio is on Bianconi-Mexico and

Malte=Brun's maps.

NOHPEK.

Three leagues from Temchay. There is a logical space

for it between the San Antonio and the Concepcion of

Bianconi-Mexico. It is probably the same, or nearly so,

as the Ecouna of Lopez and the Exrana of Malte-Brun.

NOHTHUB.

Two leagues from Nohpek.

BACECHAC OR CONCEPCION.

Concepcion is on Malte-Brun and Lopez' maps.

BUETE OR CHUMERU (?).

Four and one-half leagues from Bacechac. Chumeru on

Lopez' map.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

ACOSTA, Padre Joseph de

1792 Historia natural y moral de las Indias. Madrid. 2 vols.

ANCONA, Eligio

1878 Historia de Yucatan. Merida. 4 vols.

AVENDANO Y LOYOLA, Fray Andres de

Relation of Two Trips to Peten. MS. translated into English by Charles

P. Bowditch and Senor Rivera. (See Chaps. VIII-X.)

BANDELIER, Ad. F.

1878 On the Distribution and Tenure of Lands ... among the Ancient

Mexicans, 11th Annual Report of the Peabody Museum, Cambridge, Mass.

BERENDT, C. Hermann

Itza Dialect. MS. in the Brinton Collection of the University of

Pennsylvania. (See Appendix I.)

BERNAL DIAZ DEL CASTILLO

1908-16 The True History of the Conquest of New Spain. Translated by A.

P. Maudslay. _Hakluyt Society_. London. 5 vols.

BOWDITCH, Charles P.

1901 Memoranda on the Maya Calendars used in the Books of Chilan Balam.

_Am. Anth._ (n. 8.), vol. iii, pp. 129-138.

1910 The Numeration, Calendar Systems and Astronomical Knowledge of the

Mayas. Cambridge, Mass.

BRASSEUR DE BOURBOURG, C. E.

1858 Histoire des nations civilizees du Mexique et de l'Amerique

centrale durant les siecles anterieurs a Christophe Colomb. Paris. 4

vols.

BRASSEUR DE BOURBOURG, C. E., Editor

1864 Relation des choses de Yucatan de Fray Diego de Landa. Paris.

BRINTON, Daniel Garrison

1882 The Maya Chronicles. Library of American Aboriginal Literature,

vol. i. Philadelphia.

1885 The Annals of the Cakchiquels. Philadelphia.

1885b Did Cortes Visit Palenque? _Science_, vol. v, p. 248.

CANO, Fray Alonso

Manche and Peten. MS. translated into English by Charles P. Bowditch,

Esq. and Senor Rivera. (See Chap. VII.)

CARRILLO Y ANCONA, Crescencio

1883 Historia antigua de Yucatan. Merida.

1895 El comercio en Yucatan antes del descubrimiento. 11_th Sess.

Inter. Cong. of Americanists_, pp. 203-208. Mexico.

CARTAS DE INDIAS

Madrid, 1877.

CERVANTES DE SALAZAR, Francisco

1914 Chronica de la Nueva Espana. Hispanic Society of America. New York

and Madrid.

CHARNAY, Desire

1887 The Ancient Cities of the New World. Translated by J. Gonino and

Helen S. Conant. New York.

COGOLLUDO, Diego L.

1688 Historia de Yucathan. Madrid.

CORTES, Fernando

1908 Five Letters of Relation from Fernando Cortes to the Emperor

Charles V. Translated and edited by Francis Augustus MacNutt. New York.

2 vols.

DAHLGREN, E. W.

1892 Alonso de Santa Cruz, A Spanish Geographer. Stockholm.

FALIES, Louis

1915 Etudes sur les civilizations americaines. Paris. 2 vols.

FANCOURT, Charles St. John

1854 The History of Yucatan from its Discovery to the Close of the

Seventeenth Century. London.

FUENTES Y GUZMAN

1882 Historia de Guatemala (1695). Madrid.

GARCIA DE PALACIO, Diego

1860 Letter to Philip II (1576). Translated by E. G. Squier. New York.

GOMARA, Francisco Lopez de

1826 Historia General de las Indias. Mexico. 2 vols.

GOODMAN, J. T.

1897 The Archaic Maya Inscriptions. London. Biologia Central-Americana.

GORDON, George Byron

1899 The Ruined City of Copan. _Bull. Am. Geog. Soc._, vol. xxxi, p. 39

ff. New York.

HAMY, E. T.

1897 Galerie americaine du Musee d'ethnographie au Trocadero. Paris.

HERRERA TORDESILLAS, Antonio de

1601-15 Historia general de Indias. Madrid. 5 vols.

HOLMES, W. H.

1916 The Oldest Dated American Monument. _Art and Archaeology_, pp.

275-278, May.

JOYCE, Thomas A.

1914 Mexican Archaeology. 2d ed. London and New York.

LA CONDAMINE, Charles-Marie de

1748 Quelques anciens monuments du Perou du temps des Incas. Berlin,

Academie des Sciences.

LANDA, Diego de

1864 See BRASSEUR DE BOURBOURG, Editor.

LARRABURE Y UNANUE, Hipolito

1893 Monografias Historico-Americanas. Lima.

LIZANA, Bernardo de

1633 Historia de Yucatan. Valladolid, 1633. (Reprint by Museo Nacional,

1893, Mexico.)

LOPEZ DE GOMARA, Francisco

See GOMARA, Francisco Lopez de.

LOPEZ, Tomas

1801 Mapa ... de Yucatan. Madrid.

MALER, Teobert

1908 Exploration in the Department of Peten, Guatemala.... _Peabody

Museum Memoirs_. vol. iv, no. 2.

1910 Explorations in the Department of Peten, Guatemala.... _Peabody

Museum Memoirs_, vol. iv, no. 3.

MARJIL DE JESUS, Fray Antonio

See TOZZER, 1912.

MARROQUIN, Bishop of Guatemala

1865 Letter to the Curas of the Province of Soconusco. _Documentos

Ineditos_, vol. iv, p. 130 ff.

MARTINEZ ALOMIA, Gustavo

1906 Historiadores de Yucatan. Campeche.

MARTYR, Peter

1912 De Orbe Novo. Translated and edited by Francis Augustus MacNutt.

New York. 2 vols.

MAUDSLAY, Alfred Percival

1889-1902 Biologia Centrali-Americana. Archaeology. 4 vols. London.

MEANS, Philip Ainsworth.

1917 Rise of the Inca Empire, 19_th Sess. Inter. Cong. of

Americanists_, pp. 236-252. Washington.

MERRIMAN, Roger Bigelow

1912 Annals of Charles V. By Francisco Lopez de Gomara. Oxford.

MOLINA SOLIS, J. F.

1897 Historia del descubrimiento y conquista de Yucatan. Merida.

MONTESINOS, Fernando

1906 Los Anales del Peru. Edited by Victor M. Maurtua. Madrid. 2 vols.

MORLEY, Sylvanus Griswold

1910 Correlation of Maya and Christian Chronology. _Am. Jour. Arch.,

Sec. Ser._, vol. xiv, pp. 193-204.

1915 Introduction to the Study of Maya Hieroglyphics. _Bulletin_ 57,

_Bureau of American Ethnology_. Washington.

OROZCO Y BERRA, Manuel

1680 Historia antigua y de la conquistada de Mexico.

OVIEDO Y VALDES, Gonzalo Fernandez de

1851 Edition for the Academia Real by D. Jose Amador de los Rios.

Madrid.

PERIGNY, Comte Maurice de

1908 Yucatan inconnu. _Jour. Soc. des Americanistes de Paris_, vol. v.

PI Y MARGALL, Francisco

1892 America en la epoca del descubrimiento. Ateneo de Madrid. Madrid.

REMESAL, Antonio de

1620 Historia general ... de Chiapa y Guatemala. Madrid.

SANCHES DE LEON, Pedro

Apuntamientos de la historia de Guatemala. No date. Pamphlet in

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SAPPER, Karl

1891 Ein Besuch bei den oestlichen Lacandonen. _Das Ausland_, no. 45.

1891b Die Verapaz und ihre Bewohner. _Das Ausland_, nos. 51-52.

1904 Independent Indian States of Yucatan. Bulletin 28, _Bureau of

American Ethnology_. Washington.

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Washington.

SELER, Eduard

1889 Die Chronologie der Cakchiquel-Annalen. _Zeit. fuer Ethnol._, vol.

xxi, Verhand, pp. 475-476.

1908 Die Ruinen von Chichen-Itza. _Rept. 16th Sess. Inter. Cong. of

Americanists, Vienna_.

SOLORZANO PEREIRA, Juan de

1647 Politica Indiana. Madrid.

SPINDEN, Herbert J.

1913 A Study of Maya Art. _Peabody Museum Memoirs_, vol. vi. Cambridge,

Mass.

SQUIER, E. George

1860 A Letter from Garcia de Palacio to Philip II. New York.

1877 Incidents of Travel and Exploration in the Land of the Incas. New

York.

STEPHENS, John L.

1841 Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chiapas and Yucatan. New

York. 2 vols.

1843 Incidents of Travel in Yucatan. New York. 2 vols.

STEVENSON, Edward Luther

1903 Early Maps of America.

1907 Map of the World by Jodocus Hondius. New York. Text and

reproductions.

1911 Portolan Charts. New York.

1914 Willem Janszoon Blaeu. New York. Text and reproductions.

STOLL, Otto

1884 Zur Ethnographic der Republik Guatemala. Zurich.

THOMAS, Cyrus

1885 Was Palenque Visited by Cortes? _Science_, vol. v, pp. 171-172.

1904 Maya Calendar systems, 22_nd Rept. Bureau of American Ethnology_,

pp. 197-305. Washington.

THOMPSON, Edward H.

1904 Archaeological Researches in Yucatan. _Peabody Museum Memoirs_,

vol. iii, no. i. Cambridge, Mass.

TORRES LANZAS, Pedro

1903 Relacion descriptiva de los Mapas ... de Guatemala. Madrid.

TORQUEMADA, Juan de

1723 Monarquia Indiana. Madrid. 3 vols.

TOZZER, Alfred Marston

1907 Comparative Study of the Mayas and Lacandones. New York.

1911 Preliminary Study of the Ruins of Tikal, Guatemala. _Peabody

Museum Memoirs_, vol. v, no. 2. Cambridge, Mass.

1912 A Spanish Manuscript Letter on the Lacandones. _Rept. 18th Sess.

Int. Cong. Am._

1917 The Books of Chilam Balam. _Rept. 19th Sess. Inter. Cong. of

Americanists_.

ULLOA Y SANTACILLA, Jorge Juan de and Antonio de

1748 Relacion historica del viage a la America Meridional. Madrid. 4

vols.

VALENTINI, Philip J. J.

1880 The Katunes of Maya History. Translated by Stephen Salisbury, Jr.

_Proc. Am. Antiq. Society_, pp. 59-61, October. Worcester.

1898 Pinzon-Solis, 1508. _Gesell. fuer Erdkunde, Zeitschrift_ xxxiii,

pp. 254-282.

1902 The Discovery of Yucatan by the Portuguese in 1493. An Ancient

Chart. _Records of the Past_, vol. i, pp. 45-59.

VILLAGUTIERRE Y SOTOMAYOR, Juan de

1701 Historia de la conquista de la provincia de el Itza. Madrid.

WIENER, Charles

1875 Malartic Portolan. Paris.

Plate IA. Avendano's Map of Lake Peten, circa 1697

Plate IB. Avendano's Map with English Translation

Plate II. Peten Itza in the Middle of the Eighteenth Century

Plate III. Lake Peten and Flores

Plate IV. Sketch (with English Translation) of a Map of Yucatan, circa

1566, found with the Landa Ms.

Plate V. Sketch (with English Translation) of Another Map of Yucatan,

circa 1566, found with the Landa Ms.

Plate VI. Map showing Entradas to Lake Peten

[Transcriber's Note: This map in drastically incomplete because of the

folds. The map is intended to show the Entradas of Cortez (1524-1525),

Fuensalida and Orbita (1618), Gallegos and Delgado (1675), President

Barrios (1694-1695), Padre Cano (1695), and Padre Andres de Avendano

y Loyola (1695, 1696).]

FOOTNOTES:

Chapter I.

[Footnote 1: Mr. Bowditch (1901, p. 137) says that the earliest date at

Quirigua is that on Stela C: 9.1.0.0.0. and that the latest is that on

Stela K: 9.18.15.0.0. According to his reckoning these dates correspond

approximately to 75 B.C. and 275 A.D. respectively. Mr. Bowditch

informs us that other cities in the south show similar dates, and at

the same time he points out that it is possible that these cities were

occupied beyond the latest dates shown on the stelae. We see, then,

that the difference between Mr. Bowditch's computation and that of Mr.

Morley rests solely in this: according to Mr. Bowditch the Golden Age

or Old Empire had its beginnings as far back as 75 B.C.; Mr. Morley, on

the other hand, believes that up to 200 A.D. there was a wholly

indefinite Migratory period which led up to the Golden Age and to the

Colonization period (that is, to 700 A.D.). From 700 onward the two

systems are the same. Whatever divergence exists between Mr. Bowditch

and Mr. Morley on the subject of chronology concerns only the Golden

Age or Old Empire cities.]

[Footnote 2: Nakum was first studied scientifically by Count Maurice de

Perigny (1908). Its importance is exceeded, however, by that of Tikal,

which, in addition to being very near Lake Peten, is now well known.

Descriptions of this elaborate group of ruins are to be found in

Charnay (1887), Maudslay (1883), and in other earlier writers. The most

satisfactory work on Tikal is that of Maler and Tozzer (1911). In both

Nakum and Tikal the buildings are excellent examples of Old Empire

construction, having massive substructures, towering superstructures,

and a mass of intricate ornamentation. The dates at Tikal range from

9.2.13.0.0. to 9.15.13.0.0. (about 210-480 A.D.).]

[Footnote 3: This documentary history is based on the Books of Chilan

Balam. Daniel G. Brinton's translations as given in his Maya Chronicles

have been used. For bibliographical purposes the reader is referred to

Tozzer, 1917.]

[Footnote 4: Although the terms Maya and Itza are used more or less

interchangeably, it is to be noted that there is authority for

believing them to mean two separate races. Ancona (1878, vol. i, p. 31

ff.) says that the Itzas were the earlier inhabitants of Yucatan. He

adds that they worshiped Itzamna and founded Itzamal, Tihoo, and

Chichen Itza. The Maya, on the other hand, worshiped Kukulkan, were

enemies of the Itzas, and were the founders of Mayapan, Uxmal, and

other cities. This distinction, though a fine one and hard to prove

correct, deserves to be noted.]

[Footnote 5: This name, Cocom, will be brought to our attention later

on, and it will be advisable for us to compare now the exceedingly

confusing accounts of what the Cocom family was.

Brinton (1882, p. 165), in his introduction to the Book of Chilan Balam

of Chumayel, says: "We have no longer to do with the reckoning of the

subjects of the Xiu family who ruled at Mani, but with one which

emanates from the priests of the Cocomes, who were hereditary masters

of Chichen Itza."

According to the Chronicle of Chac Xulub Chac, by Nahau Pech, there was

a king named Ixcuat Cocom of Ake, who led the people of Chichen Itza

from that place very late in their history, about eight years before

the Spaniards touched at Campeche in 1516. (Brinton, 1882, p. 218.)

The Katunes of Maya History (Valentini, 1880, pp. 54, 86) say that "In

the 8th Ahau the Governor of Chichen Itza was deposed because he

murmured disrespectfully of Hunac-eel." The 8th Ahau would be about

1422-1444.

Brasseur de Bourbourg (1858, vol. ii, p. 35) says that the Cocomes were

the kings of Mayapan and that as they became more and more tyrannical

so did the Tutul Xiu of Uxmal become more and more the champions of the

people. He suggests that Hunac-eel was a Cocom, and he also speaks of

the Lord of Chichen as being quite distinct from the Cocomes. Brasseur

(cf. Lizana, 1893, p. 3) continues his account by saying that Chac Xib

Chac, who was then reigning in Chichen, likewise became indignant at

the cruelty of Hunac-eel (or Cocom). As a result of this seven Nahua

chiefs were sent by Hunac-eel against Chac Xib Chac, whom they

vanquished. With his power thus seemingly assured, Hunac-eel set about

oppressing his Mexican allies, who appealed for help to the Tutul Xiu

of Uxmal, with the result that the dynasty of Cocom was ruined (about

1440). One child of the last King of Mayapan, however, was absent at

Xicalanco, and he lived to set up a new Cocom kingdom at Tibulon or

Sotuta.

Molina Solis says (1896, p. li): "After the time of Hunac-eel, the

Cocomes, descendants of an ancient and rich house of the Itzaes, one of

whose members had made himself known as a man of valor in the last war,

began to rule as lords of Mayapan. The Cocomes continued the policy of

their predecessor...." According to this writer it was the Cocomes who

called in the people from Mexico, in spite of whom they were

overthrown. The only survivors of the massacre of the family were a

young son of the last king (as has been said) and a distant relative

named Cocom Cat, who escaped to the town of Tiab. Molina's authority

for this statement is the Relacion of Juan Bote, which he quotes (p.

liii). After these events the Mexican mercenaries seized the province

of Canul or Ahcanul. (Landa, 1864, p. 55.) The Cheles founded a

religious state at Izamal; the Cocomes withdrew to Sotuta and the Xius

to Mani. All this is accepted in the main by modern writers. (Tozzer,

1907, p. 9; Falies, 1915, vol. i, p. 247 ff.)

To summarize, we may say that the Cocomes were the lords of either

Mayapan or Chichen Itza, though it is more likely they were identified

with the former. They became too ambitious and powerful to please the

Tutul Xiu of Uxmal and the ruler of Chichen; they called in Mexican

mercenaries about 1200, and from then until about 1440 they became

increasingly more arrogant until, in the latter year, the Xiu and other

people who had been wronged completely destroyed the city of Mayapan,

so that only two or three members of the ruling family escaped

destruction. We have now reached the crux of this whole discussion. The

three possible surviving Cocomes were; (1) the son of the last lord of

Mayapan; (2) the Cocom Cat, who, according to Molina (quoting an old

Relacion), fled southward to Tiab at about that period; and (3) King

Ixcuat Cocom of Ake, who, according to Nahau Pech, also went southward,

about 1508 more or less.

There is a distinct possibility that Cocom Cat may eventually have got

to Tayasal. It is likewise entirely possible to believe that from him

descended that Cocom who, with Ahchatappol and Ahauppuc, came out from

Tayasal to meet Padres Fuensalida and Orbita in 1618. (Villagutierre,

p. 116.) Sapper (1904, p. 625) tells that a Juan Pablo Cocom became the

leader of an insurrection at Bacalar in May, 1848.]

[Footnote 6: Seler (1908, p. 157 ff.) says that the Casa de las Monjas,

the Akat tz'ib, and the Casa Colorada all belong to this period and

that they are to be associated with the various buildings at Uxmal,

Kabah, Labna, and elsewhere. Rain-god masks are a striking

characteristic of the architecture of this period.]

Chapter II

[Footnote 2.1: The question of nomenclature is a puzzling one. In

Appendix I will be found a number of the almost innumerable variations

of the name of Itza. The Spanish writers use both Peten and Tayasal

when they mean the Itza stronghold. As Peten really means island, I

shall use Tayasal in the future.]

[Footnote 2.2: This is an error. The greatest length of Lake Peten runs

east and west. The dimensions, like many of Avendano's distances, are

most inaccurate.]

[Footnote 2.3: A gloss reads "adoratorios."]

[Footnote 2.4: A gloss reads "mesa de piedra en cassa del rei."]

[Footnote 2.5: This is difficult to understand, as the early Maya

peoples had recorded numbers running into the millions.]

Chapter III

[Footnote 3.1: The claim of the Portuguese to have visited and mapped

Yucatan is not founded on historical fact. Dr. Roger Merriman of

Harvard was so kind as to put at my disposal his historical information

on the subject of early voyages to Yucatan. It is his unqualified

opinion that the map reported on by Valentini, and discussed in the

list of maps in Appendix III, is greatly misdated, being placed about

twenty to thirty years too early.]

[Footnote 3.2: Yucatan, at this time, was thought to be an island.

Grijalva named it Nuestra Senora de los Remedios. (Oviedo, 1851, vol.

i, p. 508.) Soon after leaving Cozumel, Grijalva reached a small place

called Lazaro, which figures on the map known as the Turin-Spanish of

1523-1525. See Dr. Stevenson's edition, 1903.]

[Footnote 3.3: Bernal Diaz (vol. iv, p. 284) says 100 crossbowmen and

musketeers and 22 horses. Gomara (1826, vol. ii, p. 126) says 150

horses, 160 foot-soldiers, and 3000 Indians. Cogolludo (p. 44 ff.) says

130 cavalrymen, 120 musketeers, and 3000 Indians.]

[Footnote 3.4: Cyrus Thomas (1885, pp. 171-172) once tried to prove

that Cortes visited Palenque. Apparently he thought that either

Izancanac or the large town reached after that was Palenque. This

belief was proved to be erroneous by Brinton, who said (1885 a) that

Cortes never reached Palenque, but passed to the north of it. Maler

(1901, pp. 105-106) also discusses this point.]

[Footnote 3.5: For a description of the modern Lacandones, see Tozzer,

1907.]

[Footnote 3.6: This refers to the horse of Cortes, Morzillo, which was

wounded in the foot either during the deer hunt described above or

while crossing the Mountain of Alabaster. Morzillo's injuries were so

severe that he became a burden to the expedition, and Cortes left him

behind with Canek, charging the latter to take good care of him. When

Morzillo died, probably from lack of proper food, the Itzas made an

image of him which they treated as an idol. In 1618 Padre Orbita,

infuriated by this idol and the worship accorded it, shattered the

image.]

[Footnote 3.7: I am at a loss to explain why Gomara heads his chapter

"De como Canec quemo los Idolos." Canek, according to most accounts,

did not actually burn the idols; he merely promised to do so.]

Chapter IV

[Footnote 4.1: These names are a puzzle; it may be that these men later

in life became identified with the two cities whose names they adopted.

There is neither a Lima nor a Quito in Spain, as both those names are

of American origin. Lima, however, is a common enough name in Portugal,

and it is one of the great names of Brazil.]

[Footnote 4.2: When the town of Valladolid was first founded it was

either on or very near the east coast of Yucatan. The original

foundation took place about 1542; many years later the town was moved

to its present location some twenty-five miles to the southwest of Lake

Suchen. In some of the old maps Valladolid is indicated in such a way

that one is perfectly justified in assuming that the city was still at

no great distance from the sea. Such maps as that of Blaauw (1667), as

that of Montanus (1671), as that of Vander Aa (1729), and that of

Bellin (1764) fall into this category. On the other hand the maps of

Brion de la Tour (1783) and of Lopez (1801) show Valladolid in

approximately its present situation. We may safely believe, then, that

the move took place between 1764 and 1783, long after Cogolludo wrote,

and that therefore he had the first location in mind.]

[Footnote 4.3: The province of Choaca or Cochva is in the northeast

corner of Yucatan.]

[Footnote 4.4: Champoton = Potonchan = Chakanputun = Chanputun.]

[Footnote 4.5: Antonio de Mendoza, Conde de Tendilla, born about 1480,

died 1552, was Viceroy of Mexico (New Spain) from 1535 to 1551. He

established the Bishopric of Michoacan in 1537 and from 1551 to 1552

was Viceroy of Peru. He was a statesman of excellent qualities.]

Chapter V

[Footnote 5.1: Villagutierre's spelling of proper names and

capitalization are given in most cases.]

[Footnote 5.2: Cogolludo adds some details concerning the mock embassy

of the Itzas to Merida which the account of Villagutierre lacks.

Cogolludo says (p. 472 ff.) that, in the time of Don Antonio de

Figueroa, who was Governor of Yucatan from August, 1612, to September,

1617, Yucatan enjoyed a goodly measure of prosperity, which was

interrupted in the following manner: "... there came in the time of

this Governor [Figueroa] to the city of Merida some Itzaex Indians,

saying that their purpose was to give their obedience to the King and

to the Governor in his name, and he gave them staffs as Alcaldes, and

appointed them a government, and they returned, leaving him in the

belief that they were voluntarily his subjects, but soon it was all

seen to be a trick. Now that it was known that the coming of those

Indians had no better end than this, in the reign of this Governor a

great reduction of this province was carried on, for many of the people

of this Province were fugitives in the Woodlands of Zahcabchen. By

these, says the Bachiller Valencia in his relation, were founded the

Villages of San Antonio de Zahcabchen, San Lorenzo de Vlumal, Tzuctok,

Cauich, by a commission headed by Captain Francisco de Villalobos, his

[Valencia's] grandfather, who intended the reduction of these

people...."]

[Footnote 5.3: This was the Juan de Coronel who was the author of an

"Arte en lengua de Maya" published by Diego Garrido, Mexico, 1620. See

Wilkinson Sale Catalog, 1914, number 193.]

[Footnote 5.4: A curious misuse of this word. The Caribs of the West

Indies were so ferocious that their name became proverbial as a synonym

for savagery; our own word "cannibal" is derived from it. Ancona says

that the Caribs actually made invasions into Yucatan (1878, vol. i, p.

29). The present Lacandones are usually called Caribes by the Spanish

population.]

[Footnote 5.5: _Vecino_ = citizen, i.e., freeholder. The

non-freeholders were not citizens in Spanish America.]

[Footnote 5.6: The prophecies spoken of by Avendano (pp. 22, 23)

are interesting. They are those of Patzin Yaxun, of Nahau Pec, of

Ahkukil-Chel, of Ahnupuc-Tun, and of Chilan-Balam, High-priest of

Tixcacayoc Cabich in Mani. The text of all of them is given by

Villagutierre and by Cogolludo; translations appear in Fancourt and

many other places.

We may believe that no matter when the events took place which gave

rise to the present versions of the prophecies, the versions themselves

probably grew up among the Itzas between 1524 and 1618, for, as we have

seen, the Canek of Cortes's day displayed no aversion to the proposed

introduction of Christianity among his subjects.

It is not denied that a foundation in fact may have existed for the

belief that the seers of northern Yucatan foretold some calamity; the

present contention is merely that the prophecies which the Itzas had in

mind when they told Padre Fuensalida that the time for their conversion

had not yet come were of comparatively recent origin among them. The

Catholic character of the phraseology is too obvious to dwell upon.

Cf. Villagutierre, p. 35 ff.; Cogolludo, p. 96 ff.; Fancourt, 1854, p.

57 ff.; Lizana, 1633, pt. ii, chap. i; Brasseur de Bourbourg, 1858,

vol. ii, p. 603; Orozco y Berra, 1880, pp. 73-74; Carrillo y Ancona,

1883, pp. 523-606.

It is impossible to pass over without remark the fact that Mr.

Maudslay, in a note at pages 34 and 35 of the last volume of his

edition of Bernal Diaz, creates a false impression of the reason why

Padres Fuensalida and Orbita left Tayasal. As the two last paragraphs

of Maudslay's note stand they imply that the Padres left Tayasal

because of the hostility of the Indians caused by the breaking of the

idol of the horse. As a matter of fact this was not the reason. Rather,

their leaving was due to the fact that the Itzas refused to be baptized

before the time which they believed to be appointed for their

conversion.]

Chapter VI

[Footnote 6.1: The description given by Cogolludo (lib. x, caps. 2, 3)

of the events during and resulting from the entrada of Delgado is much

the same as that of Villagutierre y Sotomayor. He calls Zaclun

"Zacalum." This entrada is mentioned by Fray Andres de Avendano y

Loyola (p. 28 verso), who attributes the blame for the slaying of

Delgado to the Spanish soldiers who followed him.]

Chapter VII

[Footnote 7.1: Avendano (p. 1 recto) calls him Don Martin de Urssua y

Arismendi.]

[Footnote 7.2: See Tozzer, 1912.]

Chapter VIII

[Footnote 8.1: Others write this name Ursua y Arizmendi.]

[Footnote 8.2: A digest of the itinerary of the two trips of Avendano is

given in Appendix IV.]

Chapter IX

[Footnote 9.1: The text of the cedula in question may be found at pp.

18v-22r in Avendano's MS.]

[Footnote 9.2: The reader's attention is called here to Plates Ia and

Ib, and also to Maler, 1908, p. 56 for a reproduction and translation

of the map by Avendano.]

[Footnote 9.3: This refers to the myth, shared alike by the Toltecs and

Mayas, of the culture hero, Quetzalcoatl-Kulkulcan, who was to return

to the land from across the ocean.]

[Footnote 9.4: A gloss reads "Cajon con el huesso."]

[Footnote 9.5: This work has never been found.]

[Footnote 9.6: Cogolludo (lib. iv, cap. 5) gives the following

description of the calendar and the method of reckoning time. "In the

time of their heathendom the Indians of Yucathan had books made of the

bark of trees; over this was a white cement which was perpetual, and

these books were from ten to twelve varas long, being doubled over and

folded.... On these the Indians painted the accounts of their years,

wars, inundations, famines, hurricanes, and other events. From one of

them, which Dr. Aguilar took away from some Idolaters, it was learned

that in ancient times there was a plague called _Mayacimil_ and also

another called _Ocna Kuchil_, which is to say Sudden Deaths, and

Times-in-which-ravens-entered-the-houses-to-eat-the-corpses. Inundation

and hurricane they called _Hunyecil_, Overflowing-of-trees....

"They counted the year as having 365 days, divided into months of

twenty days each, corresponding to ours in this order:

Jan. 12-Feb. 1 was Yaax July 11-July 17 was Vayeab

Feb. 1-Feb. 21 " Zac July 17-Aug. 6 " Poop

Feb. 21-Mch. 13 " Ceh Aug. 6-Aug. 26 " Voo

Mch. 13-Apr. 2 " Mac Aug. 26-Sept. 15 " Cijp

Apr. 2-Apr. 22 " Kan Kin Sept. 15-Oct. " Zeec

Apr. 22-May 12 " Muan Oct. -Nov. " Zul

May 12-Jun. 1 " Paax Nov. -Dec. " Yax Kin

Jun. 1-Jun. 21 " Kayab Dec. -Dec. " Mool

Jun. 21-July 11 " Cum Ku Dec. -Jan. 11 " Cheen

By this count the year was divided into eighteen months, but their year

began on the seventeenth of our July. The five days which were lacking

to complete the 365 were called Nameless Days. They held them to be

melancholy, and they said that on them happened disastrous deaths and

unforeseen events, such as stings and bites from poisonous snakes and

wild or venomous animals as well as quarrels and dissensions; and they

especially feared the first of these days. During this period they

tried not to go out of their houses, and so they always provided

themselves with what was necessary beforehand so as not to have to go

to the fields or elsewhere. At this time they attended especially to

their Heathen Rites, begging their Idols to keep them free from harm in

those dangerous days and to grant that the following year might be

fertile and abundant. And these days so greatly feared were the 11, 12,

13, 14, 15 and 16 (sic) of our July. All the days of the month had each

its name, which I leave untold for fear of prolixity.

"By means of this count they know the time in which to clear the

woodlands and to burn the underbrush, to expect rains, to sow the Maize

and other vegetables, for all which actions they have their Proverbs.

The first Religious (says Aguilar), holy men, and true Keepers of the

Vineyard of Jesus Christ, tried to abolish this count, holding it to be

superstitious, but they did not progress far because most [of the

Indians] know it. This matter was laid before a great and Apostolic Man

named Padre Solana, and before another scarcely less great called Fray

Caspar de Naxara, who were great Ministers and Preachers and who felt

that it was not prejudicial to the Christianizing of the Indians; but

Padre Fuensalida says in his Relacion, treating of the ancient counts:

'It would be far better in every way if the Indians did not learn and

know of the ancient peoples, because they have been found still at

their idolatries, and those who were converted to our Holy Catholic

Faith still perform the rites, adoring the Demon through thousands of

Idols which have been found in this Province.' ...

"They counted their eras and ages which they put in their books by

groups of twenty years and by lustra of four years. The first year they

fixed in the East, calling it _Cuchhaab_; the second in the West,

calling it _Hijx_; the third in the South, _Cavac_; the fourth in the

North, called _Muluc_." These refer to the four dominical days, which

he has given incorrectly. They should be Kan, Muluc, Ix (Hijx), and

Cauac. (See Bowditch, 1910, p. 278.) "When these lustra reached five,

which is exactly twenty years, they called it a _Katun_ and placed a

carved stone upon another, fixing them with lime and sand in the

walls of their Temples and the houses of their Priests, as is

to be seen today in the edifices which have been spoken of and

in certain ancient walls of our Convent in Merida, over which

there are cells. In a village called Tixualahtun, which signifies

Place-where-a-carved-stone-is-placed-upon-another, it is said that

there were Archives where were preserved all the events, as is done in

Spain at the Archivo de Simancas.

"The common way of counting their age was by these periods or Katuns,

as, for instance, to say 'I have sixty years' _Oxppelvabil_--'I have

three eras of age,' that is, three stones; for seventy it is three and

a half. Wherever it was known that there were not too many barbarians,

they continued to live by this count, and it was said to be very

accurate, so much so that not only did they know with certainty of an

event, but also of the day and month on which it took place."]

[Footnote 9.7: A gloss reads "the devil excites their minds."]

[Footnote 9.8: A gloss reads "varias cosas que tratamos."]

Chapter X

[Footnote 10.1: This passage (Villagutierre, p. 315) is very important.

The question of the location of Dolores and of Lacandon, as well as

that of their identity, has long been a moot point. (Tozzer's

introduction to Marjil, 1912.) The main body of the Lacandones, as well

Chol-speaking as Maya-speaking, lies southwest of Lake Peten. (Cf.

Tozzer, 1907.) That fact accounts for Costello's location of Los

Dolores southwest of the lake. (Fancourt, 1854, map.) On the map of our

region in Hazius and Lowitz' Atlas of 1746 Lacandon and Los Dolores are

located northwest of the lake, whereas maps such as those of Bellin

(1764) and Brion de la Tour (1783) do not mention either, nor do they

leave any territory southeast of the lake where they might possibly be.

In spite of these contradictions we need be in little doubt as to the

true location of Los Dolores del Lacandon, for as the expedition under

Paredes was marching southward, their left was to the east, and

consequently they were to march southeast from Tzucthok in order to

reach Los Dolores. The Lacandones have been shown to have existed in

that region as well as in Chiapas. (Thomas, 1911, p. 70 and map.)

Therefore we may safely believe that Hendges (Map of Guatemala, 1902)

is right in locating Los Dolores southeast of the lake. Further

confirmation of this belief lies in the fact that Mr. Morley found in

the village of Dolores three church bells dated 1718, which bear

inscriptions that show they were intended for the Church of Nuestra

Senora de los Dolores en la Provincia del Yiza, i.e., the Dolores of

which we speak.]

[Footnote 10.2: This is, of course, the same ambassador in whose

authenticity Avendano, as we know, felt so much distrust. Something is

known in regard to this messenger. His full name was Don Martin Can,

and he was a native of Peten Grande, whose King was Canek. His father

was Can, a native of Tipu; his mother was Cante, sister of Canek. His

father, stung by a serpent, had long been dead; his mother, of whom he

had heard it said that she came from Chichen Itza, had also been dead a

long time. He was baptized Martin a year before in Merida, and, though

he did not know exactly, he thought he was about thirty years old. He

was married to an Indian girl named Coboh, who lived in Alain. Canek

had sent him and three other Indians of Alain to Merida with an embassy

and with a crown of plumes as homage, to ask for Padres to come and

enlighten the Indians as to the True God. Having passed from Alain he

had arrived at Tipu, where the Muzules Indians had wished to join him,

and although he knew them to be mere savages, he took them with him.

All sorts of food and drink, as well as a house, had been made ready

for the Padres who should go to Alain. He had then gone to Merida and

had been most cordially received by Ursua. His baptism had taken place

and he had delivered his message, receiving in return many presents for

Canek and for himself. After taking leave of Don Martin de Ursua, Can

and his companions, together with Hariza and the Padres, had returned

to Tipu, where they stayed two weeks until, on account of the

opposition of the Cacique Zima, Can fled to Alain, leaving the present

for Canek in the hands of Hariza. Arrived in Alain, Can was told by

Chamaxculu, the Cacique, that many of the Indians had rebelled against

Canek, killing many of the Spaniards. He himself was the object of the

Indians' hatred on account of his conversion. He took refuge in the

small Peten of Motzkal until he was sent for by Canek, his uncle. He

told how trenches and walls of stones had been built at Peten Grande.

Both the King Canek and the chief priest Kincanek were now in Peten

ready to defend it against the Spaniards who had injured them. The

Cacique of Alain, Chamaxculu, wished, with his people, to be

Christianized.]

Appendix II

[Footnote A2.1: To judge by the haphazard way in which the words and

phrases contained in the MS. are set down, and taking into

consideration the informal nature of the MS. itself, this vocabulary

was intended by Dr. Berendt merely to act as a field glossary and

phrase book. Despite its incompleteness and formlessness, however, it

is of value for us because it is the only known glossary of the Itza

dialect.]

Appendix III

[Footnote A3.1: Nord. = Baron Nordenskiold's reproductions, Stockholm,

1889.]

[Footnote A3.2: E. L. S. = Dr. Edward Luther Stevenson's reproductions

of maps.]

[Footnote A3.3: The tracings from the originals of these two maps were

made by Dr. Tozzer in Madrid. The translation was done by the author.]

[Footnote A3.4: Dr. Stevenson has pointed out (1914, p. 26) that the

habit of appropriating the work of others was very common among

cartographers. A good case of the sort is found in Montanus, 1671, and

Aa, 1729.]

[Footnote 3.5: The maps from 1801 onward given here are merely some of

those that I have used; the list, after 1800, is very far from being an

attempt at completeness.]