An old Friend.--Brief Account of Yucatan.--Early Voyages of
Discovery.--Columbus.--De Solis and Pinzon.--Expedition of
Cordova.--Voyages of Grijalva.--Expedition of Cortez.--Mission of
Montejo, who receives a Grant from Charles V.--Discoveries, Conquests,
and Sufferings of Montejo and his Companions.--Efforts to convert the
Natives.--Contreras.--Farther Particulars relating to the Conquest of
Yucatan.
I trust the reader has not forgotten our old friend Don Simon Peon, to
whom, of course, our first visit was made. We were received by himself
and his mother, the Dona Joaquina, with the same kindness as on the
former occasion, and in a greater degree. They immediately offered all
in their power to further the objects of our visit, and to the last day
of our residence in the country we continued to feel the benefit of
their friendly assistance. For the present, the sala of the Dona
Joaquina was every evening the rendezvous of her large and respectable
family connexion; there we were in the habit of visiting at all times,
and had reason to believe that we were always welcome guests.
Among the first of Don Simon's good offices was a presentation to the
governor of the state. This gentleman, by reason of the peculiar
political position of Yucatan, occupied at that time a prominent and
important position; but, before introducing him to the reader, it may
not be amiss to give a brief account of the country of which he is the
official head.
It may be remembered that Columbus, in his first three voyages, did not
reach the Continent of America. On his fourth, final, and ill-fated
expedition, "after sixty days of tempestuous weather, without seeing
sun or stars," he discovered a small island, called by the Indians
Guanaja, supposed to be that now laid down on some maps as the island
of Bonaca. While on shore at this island, he saw coming from the west a
canoe of large size, filled with Indians, who appeared to be a more
civilized people than any the Spaniards had yet encountered. In return
to the inquiries of the Spaniards for gold, they pointed toward the
west, and endeavoured to persuade them to steer in that direction.
"Well would it have been for Columbus," says Mr. Irving, "had he
followed their advice. Within a day or two he would have arrived at
Yucatan; the discovery of Mexico and the other opulent countries of New
Spain would have necessarily followed. The Southern Ocean would have
been disclosed to him, and a succession of splendid discoveries would
have shed fresh glory on his declining age, instead of its sinking amid
gloom, neglect, and disappointment."
Four years afterward, in the year 1506, Juan Dias de Solis, in company
with Vincent Yanez Pinzon, one of the companions of Columbus on his
last voyage, held the same course to the island of Guanaja, and then,
steering to the west, discovered the east coast of the province now
known by the name of Yucatan, and sailed along it some distance,
without, however, prosecuting the discovery.
On the eighth of February, 1517, Francisco Hernandez de Cordova, a rich
hidalgo of Cuba, with three vessels of good burden and one hundred and
ten soldiers, set sail from the port now known as St. Jago de Cuba, on
a voyage of discovery. Doubling St. Anton, now called Cape St. Antonio,
and sailing at hazard toward the west, at the end of twenty-one days
they saw land which had never been seen before by Europeans.
On the fourth of March, while making arrangements to land, they saw
coming to the ships five large canoes, with oars and sails, some of
them containing fifty Indians; and on signals of invitation being made,
above thirty came on board the captain's vessel. The next day the chief
returned with twelve large canoes and numerous Indians, and invited the
Spaniards to his town, promising them food, and whatever was necessary.
The words he used were _Conex cotoch_, which, in the language of the
Indians of the present day, means, "Come to our town." Not
understanding the meaning, and supposing it was the name of the place,
the Spaniards called it Point or Cape Cotoche, which name it still
bears.
The Spaniards accepted the invitation, but, seeing the shore lined with
Indians, landed in their own boats, and carried with them fifteen
crossbows and ten muskets.
After halting a little while, they set out, the chief leading the way;
and, passing by a thick wood, at a signal from the chief a great body
of Indians in ambush rushed out, poured upon them a shower of arrows,
which at the first discharge wounded fifteen, and then fell upon them
with their lances; but the swords, crossbows, and firearms of the
Spaniards struck them with such terror that they fled precipitately,
leaving seventeen of their number slain.
The Spaniards returned to their ships, and continued toward the west,
always keeping in sight of land. In fifteen days they discovered a
large town, with an inlet which seemed to be a river. They went ashore
for water, and were about returning, when some fifty Indians came
toward them, dressed in good mantas of cotton, and invited them to
their town. After some hesitation, the Spaniards went with them, and
arrived at some large stone houses like those they had seen at Cape
Cotoche, on the walls of which were figures of serpents and other
idols. These were their temples, and about one of the altars were drops
of fresh blood, which they afterward learned was the blood of Indians,
sacrificed for the destruction of the strangers.
Hostile preparations of a formidable character were soon apparent, and
the Spaniards, fearing to encounter such a multitude, retired to the
shore, and embarked with their water-casks. This place was called
Kimpech, and at this day it is known by the name of Campeachy.
Continuing westwardly, they came opposite a town about a league from
the coast, which was called Potonchan or Champoton. Being again in
distress for water, they went ashore all together, and well armed. They
found some wells; filled their casks, and were about putting them into
the boats, when large bodies of warlike Indians came upon them from the
town, armed with bows and arrows, lances, shields, double-handed
swords, slings, and stones, their faces painted white, black, and red,
and their heads adorned with plumes of feathers. The Spaniards were
unable to embark their water-casks, and, as it was now nearly night,
they determined to remain on shore. At daylight great bodies of
warriors, with colours flying, advanced upon them from all sides. The
fight lasted more than half an hour; fifty Spaniards were killed; and
Cordova, seeing that it was impossible to drive back such a multitude,
formed the rest into a compact body and cut his way to the boats. The
Indians followed close at their heels, even pursuing them into the
water. In the confusion, so many of the Spaniards ran to the boats
together that they came near sinking them; but, hanging to the boats,
half wading and half swimming, they reached the small vessel, which
came up to their assistance. Fifty-seven of their companions were
killed, and five more died of their wounds. There was but one soldier
who escaped unwounded; all the rest had two, three, or four, and the
captain, Hernandez de Cordova, had twelve arrow wounds. In the old
Spanish charts this place is called the Bay "de Mala Pelea," or "of
the bad fight."
This great disaster determined them to return to Cuba. So many sailors
were wounded that they could not man the three vessels, in consequence
of which they burned the smaller one, and, dividing the crew between
the other two, set sail. To add to their calamity, they had been
obliged to leave behind their water-casks, and they came to such
extremities with thirst, that their tongues and lips cracked open. On
the coast of Florida they procured water, and when it was brought
alongside one soldier threw himself from the ship into the boat, and,
seizing an earthen jar, drank till he swelled and died.
After this the vessel of the captain sprung a leak, but by great
exertions at the pumps they kept her from sinking, and brought her into
Puerto Carenas, which is now the port of Havana. Three more soldiers
died of their wounds; the rest dispersed, and the captain, Hernandez de
Cordova, died ten days after his arrival. Such was the disastrous end
of the first expedition to Yucatan.
In the same year, 1517, another expedition was set on foot. Four
vessels were fitted out, two hundred and forty companions enrolled
themselves, and Juan de Grijalva, "a hopeful young man and
well-behaved," was named captain-in-chief.
On the sixth of April, 1518, the armament sailed from the port of
Matanzas for Yucatan. Doubling Cape San Antonio, and forced by the
currents farther down than its predecessor, they discovered the Island
of Cozumel.
Crossing over, and sailing along the coast, they came in sight of
Potonchan, and entered the Bay of Mala Pelea, memorable for the
disastrous repulse of the Spaniards. The Indians, exulting in their
former victory, charged upon them before they landed, and fought them
in the water; but the Spaniards made such slaughter that the Indians
fled and abandoned the town. The victory, however, cost them dear.
Three soldiers were killed, more than seventy wounded, and Juan de
Grijalva was hurt by three arrows, one of which knocked out two of his
teeth.
Embarking again, and continuing toward the west, in three days they saw
the mouth of a very broad river, which, as Yucatan was then supposed to
be an island, they thought to be its boundary, and called the Boca de
Terminos. At Tobasco they first heard the famous name of Mexico; and
after sailing on to Culua, now known as San Juan de Ulloa, the fortress
of Vera Cruz, and some distance beyond along the coast, Grijalva
returned to Cuba to add new fuel to the fire of adventure and
discovery.
Another expedition was got up on a grand scale. Ten ships were fitted
out, and it is creditable to the fame of Juan de Grijalva that all his
old companions wished him for their chief; but, by a concurrence of
circumstances, this office was conferred upon Hernando Cortez, then
alcalde of Santiago de Cuba, a man comparatively unknown, but destined
to be distinguished among the daring soldiers of that day as the Great
Captain, and to build up a name almost overshadowing that of the
discoverer of America.
The full particulars of all these expeditions form part and parcel of
the history of Yucatan; but to present them in detail would occupy too
large a portion of this work; and, besides, they form part of the great
chain of events which led to the conquest of Mexico, the history of
which, by the gifted author of Ferdinand and Isabella, it is hoped,
will soon adorn the annals of literature.
Among the principal captains in the expeditions both of Grijalva and
Cortez was Don Francisco Montejo, a gentleman of Seville. After the
arrival of Cortez in Mexico, and while he was prosecuting his conquests
in the interior, twice it was considered necessary to send
commissioners to Spain, and on both occasions Don Francisco Montejo was
nominated, the first time with one other, and the last time alone. On
his second visit, besides receiving a confirmation of former grants and
privileges, and a new coat of arms, as an acknowledgment of his
distinguished services rendered to the crown in the expeditions of
Grijalva and Cortez, he obtained from the king a grant for the
pacification and conquest of the inlands (as it is expressed) of
Yucatan and Cozumel, which countries, amid the stirring scenes and
golden prospects of the conquest of Mexico, had been entirely
overlooked.
This grant bears date the eighth day of December, 1526, and, among
other things, stipulated,
That the said Don Francisco de Montejo should have license and power to
conquer and people the said islands of Yucatan and Cozumel:
That he should set out within one year from the date of the instrument:
That he should be governor and captain-general for life:
That he should be adelantado for life, and on his death the office
should descend to his heirs and successors forever.
Ten square leagues of land and four per cent of all the profit or
advantage to be derived from all the lands discovered and peopled were
given to himself, his heirs and successors forever.
Those who should join the expedition under him were for the first three
years to pay only the one tenth part of the gold of the mines, the
fourth year a ninth part, and the per centage should go on increasing
till it reached a fifth part.
They should be exempted from export duty upon the articles they carried
with them, provided they were not taken for barter or sale.
They were allowed portions of land, and, after living on them four
years complete, were to be at liberty to sell them and use them as
their own.
Also to take rebellious Indians for slaves, and to take and buy Indians
held by the caciques as slaves, under the regulations of the council of
the Indies. The tithes or tenth parts were granted to be expended in
churches and ornaments, and things necessary for divine worship.
The last provision, which may seem rather illiberal, if not libellous,
was, that no lawyers or attorneys should go into those lands from the
kingdom of Spain, nor from any other part, on account of the litigation
and controversies that would follow them.
Don Francisco Montejo, now adelantado, is described as "of the middle
stature, of a cheerful countenance, and gay disposition. At the time of
his arrival here (in Mexico) he was about thirty-five years of age. He
was fitter for business than war, and of a liberal turn, expending more
than he received;" in which latter qualification for a great enterprise
he could perhaps find his match at the present day.
The adelantado incurred great expenses in the purchase of arms,
ammunition, horses, and provisions; and, selling an estate, which
yielded him two thousand ducats of rent, he fitted out four vessels at
his own expense, and embarked in them four hundred Spaniards, under an
agreement for a certain share of the advantages of the expedition.
In the year 1527 (the month is not known) the armament sailed from
Seville, and, touching at the islands for supplies, it was remarked, as
a circumstance of bad omen, that the adelantado had not on board two
priests, which, under a general provision, every captain, officer, or
subject who had license to discover and people islands or terra firma
within the limits of the King of Spain, was bound to carry with him.
The fleet stopped at the island of Cozumel, where the adelantado had
great difficulty in communicating with the Indians from want of an
interpreter. Taking on board one of them as a guide, the fleet crossed
over to the continent, and came to anchor off the coast. All the
Spaniards went on shore, and, as the first act, with the solemnities
usual in the new conquests, took formal possession of the country in
the name of the king. Gonzalo Nieto planted the royal standard, and
cried out, in a loud voice, "Espana! Espana! viva Espana!"
Leaving the sailors on board to take care of the vessel, the Spaniards
landed their arms, ammunition, horses, and provisions, and, remaining
here a few days to rest, from the excessive heat some became sick. The
Indians knew that the Spaniards had established themselves in New
Spain, and were determined to resist this invasion with all their
strength; but, for the moment, they avoided any hostile demonstrations.
As yet the adelantado had only touched along the coast, and knew
nothing of the interior. Experiencing great difficulty from the want of
an interpreter, he commenced his march along the coast under the
guidance of the Indian from Cozumel. The country was well peopled, and,
without committing any violence upon the inhabitants, or suffering any
injury from them, the Spaniards proceeded from town to town until they
arrived at Conil. At this place, the Indians being apparently friendly,
the Spaniards were thrown off their guard; and on one occasion, an
Indian, who came to pay a visit, snatched a hanger from a little negro
slave, and attempted to kill the adelantado. The latter drew his sword
to defend himself, but the soldiers rushed forward and killed the
Indian on the spot.
The adelantado now determined to march from Conil to the province of
Choaca, and from this time they began to experience the dreadful
hardships they were doomed to suffer in subduing Yucatan. There were no
roads; the country was stony, and overgrown with thick woods. Fatigued
with the difficulties of their march, the heat, and want of water, they
arrived at Choaca, and found it deserted: the inhabitants had gone to
join other Indians who were gathering for war. No one appeared to whom
they could give notice of their pacific intentions, and the tidings
that an Indian had been killed had gone before them.
Setting out again, still under the guidance of the Cozumel Indian, they
reached a town named Ake. Here they found themselves confronted by a
great multitude of Indians, who had lain in ambush, concealed in the
woods.
These Indians were armed with quivers of arrows, sticks burned at the
ends, lances pointed with sharp flints, and two-handed swords of very
hard wood. They had flutes, and large sea-shells for trumpets, and
turtle-shells which they struck with deers' horns. Their bodies were
naked, except around the loins, and stained all over with earth of
different colours, and they wore stone rings in their ears and noses.
The Spaniards were astonished at seeing such strange figures, and the
noise that they made with the turtle-shells and horns, accompanied by a
shout of voices, seemed to make the hills quake. The adelantado
encouraged the Spaniards by relating his experience of war with the
Indians, and a fearful battle commenced, which lasted all that day.
Night came to put an end to the slaughter, but the Indians remained on
the ground. The Spaniards had time to rest and bind up their wounds,
but kept watch all night, with the dismal prospect of being destroyed
on the next day.
At daylight the battle began again, and continued fiercely till midday,
when the Indians began to give way. The Spaniards, encouraged by hope
of victory, pressed them till they turned and fled, hiding themselves
in the woods; but, ignorant of the ground, and worn out with constant
fighting, the victors could only make themselves masters of the field.
In this battle more than twelve hundred Indians were killed.
In the beginning of the year 1528, the adelantado determined again, by
slow marches, to reconnoiter the country; and, having discovered the
warlike character of the inhabitants, to avoid as much as possible all
conflict with them. With this resolution, they set out from Ake in the
direction of Chichen Itza, where, by kindness and conciliation, they
got together some Indians, and built houses of wood and poles covered
with palm leaves.
Here the adelantado made one unfortunate and fatal movement.
Disheartened by not seeing any signs of gold, and learning from the
Indians that the glittering metal was to be found in the province of Ba
Khalal, the adelantado determined to send the Captain Davila to found
in that province a town of Spaniards. Davila set out with fifty
foot-soldiers and sixteen horsemen, and from the time of this
separation difficulties and dangers accumulated upon both. All efforts
to communicate with each other proved abortive. After many battles,
perils, and sufferings, those in Chichen Itza saw themselves reduced to
the wretched alternative of dying by hunger or by the hands of the
Indians. An immense multitude of the latter having assembled for their
destruction, the Spaniards left their fortifications, and went out on
the plain to meet them. The most severe battle ever known in wars with
the Indians took place. Great slaughter was made among them, but a
hundred and fifty Spaniards were killed; nearly all the rest were
wounded, and, worn down with fatigue, the survivors retreated to the
fortifications. The Indians did not follow them, or, worn out as they
were, they would have perished miserably to a man. At night the
Spaniards escaped. From the meager and unsatisfactory notices of these
events that have come down to us, it is not known with accuracy by what
route they reached the coast; but the next that we hear of them is at
Campeachy.
The fortunes of Davila were no better. Arrived at the province of Ba
Khalal, he sent a message to the Lord of Chemecal to inquire about
gold, and requesting a supply of provisions; the fierce answer of the
cacique was, that he would send fowls on spears, and Indian corn on
arrows. With forty men and five horses left, Davila struggled back to
the coast, and, two years after their unfortunate separation, he joined
the adelantado in Campeachy.
Their courage was still unbroken. Roused by the arrival of Davila, the
adelantado determined to make another attempt to penetrate the country.
For this purpose he again sent off Davila with fifty men, himself
remaining in Campeachy with but forty soldiers and ten horsemen. As
soon as the Indians discovered his small force, an immense multitude
gathered round the camp. Hearing a tumult, the adelantado went out on
horseback, and, riding toward a group assembled on a little hill, cried
out, endeavouring to pacify them; but the Indians, turning in the
direction of the voice, and recognising the adelantado, surrounded him,
laid hands upon the reins of his horse, and tried to wrest from him his
lance. The adelantado spurred his horse, and extricated himself for a
moment, but so many Indians came up that they held his horse fast by
the feet, took away his lance, and endeavoured to carry him off alive,
intending, as they afterward said, to sacrifice him to their gods. Blas
Gonzales was the only soldier near him, who, seeing his danger, threw
himself on horseback, cleared a way through the Indians with his lance,
and, with others who came up at the moment, rescued the adelantado.
Both himself and the brave Gonzales were severely wounded, and the
horse of the latter died of his wounds.
About this time the fame of the discovery of Peru reached these unlucky
conquerors, and, taking advantage of the opportunity afforded by their
proximity to the coast, many of the soldiers deserted. To follow up the
conquest of Yucatan, it was indispensable to recruit his forces, and
for this purpose the adelantado determined on going to New Spain.
He had previously sent information to the king of his misfortunes, and
the king had despatched a royal parchment to the audiencia of Mexico,
setting forth the services of the adelantado, the labours and losses he
had sustained, and charging them to give him assistance in all that
related to the conquest of Yucatan. With this favour and his rents in
New Spain, he got together some soldiers, and bought vessels, arms, and
other munitions of war, to prosecute his conquest. Unluckily, as
Tobasco belonged to his government, and the Indians of that province,
who had been subdued by Cortez, had revolted, he considered it
advisable first to reduce them. The vessels sailed from Vera Cruz, and,
stopping at Tobasco with a portion of his recruits, he sent on the
vessels with the rest, under the command of his son, to prosecute the
conquest in Yucatan.
But the adelantado found it much more difficult than he expected to
reduce the Indians of Tobasco; and while he was engaged in it, the
Spaniards in Campeachy, instead of being able to penetrate into the
country, were undergoing great sufferings. The Indians cut off their
supplies of provisions, and, being short of sustenance, nearly all
became ill. They were obliged to make constant sorties to procure food,
and it was necessary to let the horses go loose, though at the risk of
their being killed. They were reduced so low that but five soldiers
remained to watch over and provide for the rest. Finding it impossible
to hold out any longer, they determined to abandon the place. Gonzales
Nieto, who first planted the royal standard on the shores of Yucatan,
was the last to leave it, and in the year 1535 not a single Spaniard
remained in the country.
It was now notorious that the adelantado had not fulfilled the order to
carry with him priests, and, by many of the daring but devout spirits
of that day, his want of success in Yucatan was ascribed to this cause.
The viceroy of Mexico, in the exercise of the discretion allowed under
a rescript from the queen, determined forthwith to send priests, who
should conquer the country by converting the Indians to Christianity.
The venerable Franciscan friar, Jacobo de Festera, although superior
and prelate of the rich province of Mexico, zealous, says the
historian, for the conversion of souls, and desirous to reduce the
whole world to the knowledge of the true God, offered himself for this
spiritual conquest, expecting many hardships, and doubtful of the
result. Four persons of the same order were assigned as his companions;
and, attended by some friendly Mexicans who had been converted to
Christianity, on the eighth of March they arrived at Champoton, famed
for the "mala pelea," or bad fight, of the Spaniards.
The Mexicans went before them to give notice of their coming, and to
say that they came in the spirit of peace, few in number, and without
arms, caring only for the salvation of souls, and to make known to the
people the true God, whom they ought to worship. The lords of Champoton
received the Mexican messengers amicably, and, satisfied that they
could run but little risk, allowed the missionaries to enter their
country. Regardless of the concerns of this world, says the historian,
and irreproachable in their lives, they prevailed upon the Indians to
listen to their preaching, and in a few days enjoyed the fruit of their
labours. This fruit, he adds, "was not so great as if they had had
interpreters familiar with the idiom; but the divine grace and the
earnestness of these ministers were so powerful that, after forty days'
communication, the lords brought voluntarily all their idols, and
delivered them to the priests to be burned;" and, as the best proof of
their sincerity, they brought their children, whom, says the Bishop Las
Casas, they cherished more than the light of their eyes, to be
indoctrinated and taught. Every day they became more attached to the
padres, built them houses to live in, and a temple for worship; and one
thing occurred which had never happened before. Twelve or fifteen
lords, with great territories and many vassals, with the consent of
their people, voluntarily acknowledged the dominion of the King of
Castile. This agreement, under their signs and attested by the monks,
the bishop says he had in his possession.
At this time, when, from such great beginnings, the conversion of the
whole kingdom of Yucatan seemed almost certain, there happened (to use,
as near as possible, the language of the historian) the greatest
disaster that the devil, greedy of souls, could desire. Eighteen
horsemen and twelve foot-soldiers, fugitives from New Spain, entered
the country from some quarter, bringing with them loads of idols, which
they had carried off from other provinces. The captain called to him a
lord of that part of the country by which he entered, and told him to
take the idols and distribute them throughout the country, selling each
one for an Indian man or woman to serve as a slave, and adding, that if
the lord refused to do so, he would immediately make war upon them. The
lord commanded his vassals to take these idols and worship them, and in
return to give him Indian men and women to be delivered to the
Spaniards. The Indians, from fear and respect to the command of their
lord, obeyed. Whoever had two children gave one, and whoever had three
gave two.
In the mean time, seeing that, after they had given up their gods to be
burned, these Spaniards brought others to sell, the whole country broke
out in indignation against the monks, whom they accused of deceiving
them. The monks endeavoured to appease them, and, seeking out the
thirty Spaniards, represented to them the great evil they were doing,
and required them to leave the country; but the Spaniards refused, and
consummated their wickedness by telling the Indians that the priests
themselves had induced them to come into the country. The Indians were
now roused beyond all forbearance, and determined to murder the
priests, who, having notice of this intention, escaped at night. Very
soon, however, the Indians repented, and, remembering the purity of
their lives, and satisfied of their innocence, they sent after the
monks fifty leagues, and begged them to return. The monks, zealous only
for their souls, forgave them and returned; but, finding that the
Spaniards would not leave the country, and that they were constantly
aggrieving the Indians, and especially that they could not preach in
peace, nor without continual dread, they determined to leave the
country and return to Mexico. Thus Yucatan remained without the light
and help of the doctrine, and the miserable Indians, in the darkness of
ignorance.
Such is the account of the mission of these monks given by the old
Spanish historians, but the cautious reader of the present day will
hardly credit that these good priests, "ignorant of the language, and
without interpreters who understood the idiom," could in forty days
bring the Indians to throw their idols at their feet; and still less,
that this warlike people, who had made such fierce resistance to
Cordova, Grijalva, Cortez, and the adelantado, would all at once turn
cravens before thirty vagabond Spaniards; but, says the historian,
these are secrets of Divine justice; perhaps for their many sins they
did not deserve that at that time the word should be preached to them.
We return now to the adelantado, whom we left at Tobasco. Severe wars
with the Indians, want of arms and provisions, and, above all,
desertions instigated by the fame of Peruvian riches, had left him at a
low ebb. In this situation he was joined by Captain Gonzalo Nieto and
the small band which had been compelled to evacuate Yucatan, and by the
presence of these old companions his spirits were again roused.
But the pacification of Tobasco was much more difficult than was
supposed. By communication with the Spaniards, the Indians had lost
their fears of them. The country was bad for carrying on war,
particularly with cavalry, on account of the marshes and pools; their
provisions were again cut off; many of the soldiers went away
disgusted, and others, from the great humidity and heat, sickened and
died.
While they were in this extremity, the Captain Diego de Contreras, with
no fixed destination, and ready to embark in any of the great
enterprises which at that time attracted the adventurous soldier,
arrived at the port. He had with him a vessel of his own, with
provisions and other necessaries, his son, and twenty Spaniards. The
adelantado represented to him the great service he might render the
king, and by promises of reward induced him to remain. With this
assistance he was enabled to sustain himself in Tobasco until, having
received additional re-enforcements, he effected the pacification of
the whole of that country.
The adelantado now made preparations to return to Yucatan. Champoton
was selected as the place of disembarcation. According to some of the
historians, he did not himself embark on this expedition, but sent his
son. It seems more certain, however, that he went in person as
commander-in-chief of the armada, and leaving his son, Don Francisco de
Montejo, in command of the soldiers, returned to Tobasco, as being
nearer to Mexico, from which country he expected to receive and send on
more recruits and necessaries. The Spaniards landed some time in the
year 1537, and again planted the royal standard in Yucatan. The Indians
allowed them to land without noise or opposition, but they were only
lying in wait for an opportunity to destroy them. In a few days a great
multitude assembled, and at midnight they crept silently up the paths
and roads which led to the camp of the Spaniards, seized one of the
sentinels, and killed him; but the noise awoke the Spaniards, who,
wondering less at the attack than at its being made by night, rushed to
their arms. Ignorant as they were of the ground, in the darkness all
was confusion. On the east, west, and south they heard the clamour and
outcries of the Indians. Nevertheless, they made great efforts, and the
Indians, finding their men falling, and hearing the groans of the
wounded and dying, relaxed in the fury of their attack, and at length
retreated. The Spaniards did not pursue them, but remained in the camp,
keeping watch till daylight, when they collected and buried the bodies
of their own dead.
For some days the Indians did not make any hostile demonstrations, but
they kept away or concealed as much as possible all supplies of
provisions. The Spaniards were much straitened, and obliged to sustain
themselves by catching fish along the shores. On one occasion two
Spaniards, who had straggled to some distance from the camp, fell into
the hands of the Indians, who carried them away alive, sacrificed them
to their idols, and feasted upon their bodies.
During this time the Indians were forming a great league of all the
caciques in the country, and gathered in immense numbers at Champoton.
As soon as all the confederates were assembled, they attacked with a
horrible noise the camp of the Spaniards, who could not successfully
contend against such a multitude. Many Indians fell, but they counted
as well lost a thousand of their own number for the life of one
Spaniard. There was no hope but in flight, and the Spaniards retreated
to the shore. The Indians pursued them, heaping insults upon them,
entered their camp, loaded themselves with the clothing and other
things, which in the hurry of retreat they had been obliged to leave
behind, put on their dresses, and from the shore mocked and scoffed at
them, pointing with their fingers, taunting them with cowardice, and
crying out, "Where is the courage of the Spaniards?" The latter,
hearing from their boats these insults, resolved that death and fame
were better than life and ignominy, and, wounded and worn out as they
were, took up their arms and returned to the shore. Another fierce
battle ensued; and the Indians, dismayed by the resolution with which
these vanquished men again made front against them, retired slowly,
leaving the Spaniards masters of the field. The Spaniards cared for no
more, content to recover the ground they had lost.
From this time the Indians determined not to give battle again, and the
great multitude, brought together from different places, dispersed, and
returned to their houses. The Spaniards remained more at their ease.
The Indians, seeing that they could not be driven out of the country,
and did not intend to leave it, contracted a sort of friendship with
them, but they were not able to make any advances into the interior. On
every attempt they were so badly received that they were compelled to
return to their camp in Champoton, which was, in fact, their only
refuge.
As Champoton was on the coast, which now began to be somewhat known,
vessels occasionally touched there, from which the poor Spaniards
relieved some of their necessities. Occasionally a new companion
remained, but their numbers still diminished, many, seeing the delay
and the little fruit derived from their labours, abandoning the
expedition. The time came when there were only nineteen Spaniards in
Champoton, the names of some of whom are still preserved, and they
affirm in their judicial declaration, that in this critical situation
they owed their preservation to the prudence and good management of Don
Francisco Montejo, the son of the adelantado.
Again they were relieved, and again their force dwindled away. The fame
of the riches of Peru was in every mouth. The poverty of Yucatan was
notorious. There were no mines; there was but little encouragement for
others to join the expedition, and those in Champoton were discouraged.
Struggling with continual hardships and dangers, they made no advance
toward the conquest of the country; all who could, endeavoured to get
away, some going in canoes, others by land, as occasion offered. In
order to confer upon some means of bettering the condition of things,
it was necessary for the son of the adelantado to visit his father at
Tobasco, and he set out, leaving the soldiers at Champoton under the
command of his cousin, a third Don Francisco.
During his absence matters became worse. The people continued going
away, and Don Francisco knew that if they lost Champoton, which had
cost them so much, all was lost. Consulting with a few who were most
desirous of persevering in the enterprise, he brought together those
who were suspected of meditating desertion, and told them to go at
once, and leave the rest to their fate. The poor soldiers, embarrassed,
and ashamed at being confronted with companions whom they intended to
desert, determined to remain.
But the succour so earnestly hoped for was delayed. All the expedition
which the son of the adelantado could make was not sufficient for those
who remained in Champoton. They had been nearly three years without
making any advances or any impression upon the country. Despairing of
its conquest, and unable to exist in the straits in which they found
themselves, they talked openly of disbanding, and going where fortune
might lead them. The captain did all that he could to encourage them,
but in vain. All had their luggage and ship-stores ready to embark, and
nothing was talked of but leaving the country.
The exertions of the captain induced them to take better counsel, and
they agreed not to execute their resolution hastily, but, to save
themselves from injurious imputations, first to send notice of their
intention to the adelantado. Juan de Contreras was sent with the
despatches, who gave the adelantado, besides, a full account of the
desperate condition in which they remained at Champoton.
His intelligence gave the adelantado much anxiety. All his resources
were exhausted; he had been unable to procure the succour necessary,
and he knew that if the Spaniards abandoned Champoton, it would be
impossible to prosecute the conquest of Yucatan. Aware of their
necessities, when the news arrived, he had some Spaniards collected to
go to their assistance, and now, by gifts and promises, he made some
additions; and while waiting until these could be got ready, despatched
Alonzo Rosado, one of the new recruits, to give notice of the succour
at hand.
It does not appear whether the adelantado went to Champoton in person,
but vessels arrived carrying soldiers, provisions, clothing, and arms,
and toward the end of the year 1539 his son returned, with twenty
horsemen, from New Spain. The drooping spirits of the Spaniards were
revived, and again they conceived hopes of achieving the conquest of
the country.
About this time, too, the adelantado, grieving over the common
misfortune of himself and those who had been constant and enduring, but
doubting his own fortune, and confiding in the valour of his son Don
Francisco, determined to put into the hands of the latter the
pacification of Yucatan. He was at that time settled in the government
of Chiapas, to which place he summoned his son, and by a formal act
substituted him in all the powers given to himself by the king. The act
of substitution is creditable alike to the head and heart of the
adelantado. It begins with an injunction "that he should strive that
the people under his charge should live and be as true Christians,
separating themselves from vices and public sins, not permitting them
to speak ill of God, nor his blessed mother, nor the saints;" and it
concludes with the words, "because I know that you are a person who
will know how to do it well, putting first God our Lord, and the
service of his majesty, and the good of the country, and the execution
of justice."
Within a month from the time when he was called away by his father, Don
Francisco returned to Champoton with all the provisions necessary for
prosecuting, on his own account, the conquest of Yucatan. From this
time the door of better fortune seemed opened to the Spaniards.
Don Francisco determined forthwith to undertake the march to Campeachy.
At a short distance from Champoton they encountered a large body of
Indians, routed them, and, determined not to make any retrograde
movement, encamped upon the spot.
From this place the Indians, mortified and incensed at their defeat,
erected fortifications along the whole line of march. The Spaniards
could not advance without encountering walls, trenches, and
embankments, vigorously defended. All these they gained in succession;
and so great was the slaughter of the Indians, that at times their dead
bodies obstructed the battle, and the Spaniards were obliged to pass
over the dead to fight with the living. In one day they had three
battles, in which the Spaniards were almost worn out with fighting.
Here, again, the history fails, and it does not appear how they were
received in Campeachy; but it is manifest from other authorities that
in the year 1540 they founded a city under the name of San Francisco de
Campeche.
Remaining in this place till things were settled, Don Francisco, in
pursuance of his father's instructions, determined on descending to the
province of Quepech, and founding a city in the Indian town of Tihoo.
Knowing that delay was dangerous, he sent forward the Captain Francisco
de Montejo, his cousin, with fifty-seven men. He himself remained in
Campeachy to receive and organize the soldiers, who, stimulated by the
tidings of his improving fortunes, were every day coming in from his
father.
Don Francisco set out for Tihoo, and in all the accounts there is a
uniform correspondence in regard to the many dangers they encountered
on that journey from the smallness of their numbers, the great
multitudes of warlike Indians, and the strong walls and other defences
which they found at every step to obstruct their progress. The Indians
concealed the wells and ponds, and as there were no streams or
fountains, they were perishing with thirst. Provisions were cut off,
and they had war, thirst, and hunger on their path. The roads were mere
narrow passes, with thick woods on both sides, encumbered with the dead
bodies of men and animals, and their sufferings from want of water and
provisions were almost beyond endurance.
Arriving at a town called Pokboc, they pitched and fortified their
camp, with the intention of making a halt, but at night they were
roused by finding the camp on fire. All ran to arms, thinking less of
the fire than of the Indians, and in darkness and silence waited to
discover the quarter whence the attack would come; but hearing no
noise, and relieved from the apprehension of enemies, they attempted to
extinguish the flames. By this time, however, the whole camp, and
almost everything that they had, were burned up. But they were not
dismayed. The captain gave notice of this misfortune to his cousin in
Campeachy, and resumed his march. In the year 1540 he arrived at Tihoo.
In a few days he was joined by forty other Spaniards, who were sent on
by Don Francisco Montejo, and at this time some Indians came to them
and said, "What are you doing here, Spaniards? more Indians are coming
against you, more than there are hairs on the skin of a deer." The
Spaniards answered that they would go out to seek them; and, leaving
the guard in the camp, the Captain Don Francisco Montejo immediately
set out, came upon them at a place five leagues distant, and attacked
them with such vigour, that, though they at first defended themselves
bravely, the Spaniards gained upon them, and killing many, the rest
became disheartened and took to flight.
In the mean time the son of the adelantado arrived from Campeachy; and
being now all united, and the Indians at first withholding all
supplies, they very soon began to suffer from want of provisions. While
in this condition, unexpectedly a great cacique from the interior came
to them voluntarily (the circumstances will appear hereafter) and made
submission. Some neighbouring caciques of Tihoo, either moved by this
example, or finding that, after so many years of war, they could not
prevail against the Spaniards, also submitted. Encouraged by the
friendship of these caciques, and believing that they might count upon
their succour until they had finished the subjection of the country,
the Spaniards determined to found a city on the site occupied by Tihoo;
but in the mean time a terrific storm was gathering over their heads.
All the Indians from the east of Tihoo were drawing together; and in
the month of June, toward the evening of the feast of Barnaby the
apostle, an immense body, varying, according to manuscript accounts,
from forty to seventy thousand, came down upon the small band of a
little more than two hundred then in Tihoo. The following day they
attacked the Spanish camp on all sides. The most terrible battle the
Spaniards had ever encountered ensued. "Divine power," says the pious
historian, "works more than human valour. What were so few Catholics
against so many infidels!" The battle lasted the greater part of the
day. Many Indians were killed, but immediately others took their
places, for they were so many that they were like the leaves on the
trees. The arquebuses and crossbows made great havoc, and the horsemen
carried destruction wherever they moved, cutting down the fugitives,
trampling under foot the wounded and dying. Piles of dead bodies
stopped the Spaniards in their pursuit. The Indians were completely
routed, and for a great distance the ground was covered with their
dead.
The fame of the Spaniards rose higher than before, and the Indians
never rallied again for a general battle. All this year the invaders
were occupied in drawing to them and conciliating the neighbouring
caciques, and on the sixth of January, 1542, they founded, with all
legal formalities, on the site of the Indian town of Tihoo, the "very
loyal and noble" city of Merida.
Here I shall leave them; and I make no apology for presenting this
history. It was forty years since a straggling canoe at the island of
Guanaja first gave intelligence of the existence of such a country as
Yucatan, and sixteen since Don Francisco Montejo received the royal
authority to conquer and people it. During that time Cortez had driven
Montezuma from the throne of Mexico, and Pizarro had seized the sceptre
of the Peruvian Incas. In the glory of these conquests Yucatan was
unnoticed, and has been to this day. The ancient historians refer to it
briefly and but seldom. The only separate account of it is that of
Cogolludo, a native historian.
The work of this author was published in the year 1658. It is
voluminous, confused, and ill-digested, and might almost be called a
history of the Franciscan Friars, to which order he belonged. It is
from this work principally that, with no small labour, I have gathered
the events subsequent to the grant made by the king to Don Francisco
Montejo; it is the only work that purports to give an account of those
events, and as it has never been translated, and is scarcely known out
of Yucatan, and even in that country is almost out of print, it must at
least be new to the reader.