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Rh however, because a false report had gained credence to the effect that Don Jacinto Barrios had reached Lake Peten. The authorities in Guatemala persisted in believing the latter report, and they charged the Padres with trying to discredit the President. The General Assembly then issued a decree in which they ordered Captain Velasco at once to return to the lake and fortify himself there on pain of losing all his property like a traitor.

The Decree of the General Assembly. "This was the substance of the decree which was despatched to us, with many other circumstances in a line with the ends and false bases on which the whole was founded.

"We received this decree in Mopan, with many other letters of the same tenor, so that beside the ordinary troubles (common to all), I had this one in addition to lay before our Lord....Other letters [arrived] from the said President, D. Jacintho, written from a place of the Lacandones, which we called Nuestra Señora de las Dolores, where he had joined the people who had entered the country with the Padres de la Merced. In these letters he replied to those which we had written when we entered Mopan, and he gave orders in these that the men should retire, leaving thirty men as an escort in that place, since the rainy season was beginning, and because he was doing the same thing on his part; by this we knew that the second basis of the decree did not exist, since the President found himself in Lacandon, which is so far away from the Lake of Ahiza...."

Quarrels among the Soldiers and the Officials. The entrada from Guatemala came to a close to the accompaniment of incessant and petty wrangling on the part of the soldiery and of the officials.

The Writers of the Decree Punished. It is good to know, however, that the writers of the decree were punished by a sound reprimand. Cano was reinstated in the respect of all. He tells the plans for future work in these words: "...He [President Barrios] intended going again the following year by the Province of Vera Paz....For this purpose I proposed to the said President that it was necessary that those roads


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102 should be constructed in such a way that the supplies could be carried in mule packs and not on the shoulders of Indians; and that the tools should be provided for building canoes and boats,—also officers and seamen who should know how to manage them, since in no other way was it possible to enter the Island or Peten of Ahiza. All this was ordered to be provided and carried out; but it was not carried out fully on account of the protracted and distressing illness of the said President, which grew worse and worse every day. So that God permitted that from this storm should result one calm death, and that, through antagonistic means, there should be added new delays to this conversion.

"Meanwhile there were not wanting priests of good courage who wished to take part in the conversion of these souls, and Fray Diego Palomino having died in the highlands of Chol from illness which attacked him there, God moved the Reverend Reader, Fray Christobal de Prada, with such powerful inclinations, that while he was giving a course in philosophy in this convent of Guatemala with great credit and esteem, and without being detained by the love of his scholars or the arguments of his friends, he gave up his chair and went to the wilderness, where he devoted himself with so much fervor and zeal to the education of those heathen that in a short time he perfected himself in the language of Chol, of which he had already learned the rudiments; and he went ahead of every one in the Mopan or Ahiza languages, without a master or grammar of the said language, but only with what help he was able to get from the Mopan and Chol Indians, of whom he brought together many who had fled before he went into the wildemess."

The outcome of the events described in this chapter resulted in the subjection of the Itzas, but not, however, through the agency of the people of Guatemala. We shall learn from the account of Fray Andrés de Avendaño y Loyola all that occurred in the year 1695-1696.

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T has been pointed out in the Introduction that Avendaño's Relación is of very great value as a first-hand account of the conquest of the Itzas. But we must not lose sight of the fact that that same Relación is also a wonderful, though unconscious, testimony to the piety, unselfishness, and bravery of him who wrote it. Undoubtedly the priests of the Roman Catholic Church did many unjust things during the period of Spanish domination in the New World, but the number of good and noble deeds done by them (deeds the bulk of which is unrecorded) completely dwarfs the evil. Avendaño was a type of the best sort of priest in the New World. Impelled by no other motive than sheer faith and an ardent desire to do the duty of his office, he went through the events which we will leave him to relate.

Preamble. “I, Fray Andrés de Avendaño y Loyola,...accompanied by my Padres and Preachers Fray Antonio Perez de San Roman, Apostolic notary of the first trip; Fray Joseph de Jesus Maria, Apostolic notary of the second trip, and Fray Diego de Echebarria,...made this first trip [beginning] on the 3rd of June of the past year of 1695, and the second, on which we entered the nation of the Ytzaex, began on the 13th of December of the said year, and we returned to this city of Merida on the 6th of April of this year of 1696....

Preparations for the Journey. “...Here begins the historical account, which, with the divine aid, I am attempting to tell of the casualties and events which happened in this journey for the conversion of souls, while opening a road from this Province to that of Guatemala, taking as my sure loadstar the honor and glory of God and the well-being of souls, which,


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104 at the cost of unextinguishable fervor, Señor Don Martin de Urssua y Arumendi, Provisional Governor and Captain-General of these provinces for his Majesty, is attempting to bring about; with none the less support of the Señor Oidor Don Francisco de Saraza, who at the present time resides in the city of Merida de Yucatan. Today, the 2d of june of this present year 1695....I, then, armed with so strong an armor of faith, say that God, our Lord, having moved the hearts of these two above-mentioned gentlemen, so that, besides their undertaking other enterprises of his Majesty (whom may God guard), the fervent zeal of the said Don Martin de Urssua y Arumendi found an opportunity, the Señor Oidor (as has been said) favoring it, for carrying out a journey, - two messengers these, both as acceptable to God as deserving in the service of the royal crown, since in fulfilling the duty of his office of Provisional Governor, [Ursua] did not waste at all the precious jewel of time, but put into execution, in addition to the difficult work of government, this most difficult and special work which his Majesty granted to him of opening the wild road from this province to that of Guatemala, without satisfying the eagerness of his zeal, in spite of the excessive cost of the undertaking; for he gave all the supplies necessary for one hundred and fifteen Spaniards and one hundred and fifty-six Indian musketeers, for which he, jointly with the Municipality of Campeche and other special friends, paid, joining mutually not only in the payment of wages, but also sharing the expense of provisions.... Among those who joined in this mission were the Padre Preacher, Fray Juan de San Buena Ventura, and the Padre Preacher, Fray Joseph de jesus Maria, both living in the convent of the Santa Recolección of this city of Merida, and Brother Fray Tomás de Alcoser, lay friar, and Brother Lucas, lay Brother of the said convent. All of these composed or established one mission. And the Padre Preacher, Fray Antonio Perez de San Roman, holding the office of apostolic notary, with the lay Brother, Alonso de Vargas, and I, the most unworthy of all, who went as their delegate apostolic missionary....


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Rh “The aforesaid Provisional Governor [Ursua] was not satisfied with this enterprise alone, and, without considering the greatness of the cost, as his fidelity to His Majesty developed, he disposed of his services so that at one and the same time to drive out some Englishmen (as he did with glory enough of his own) who inhabited the lands of Zacatone, adjoining this province, and who lived there on account of their large profits in logwood. He gave the assistance needed for this duty to Captain Bernardo de Lizarraga, and he executed it with double victories; and then, not sparing the ploughing of the foaming waves, he made four captures in his first victory, in order to gain his second. As a skillful man he went with all his men into the wild woods of pathless thickets, where, though with great risk, falling upon the enemy in the rear, he made his second attack, again gaining as spoils of his second victory, other prizes, and driving out from there the said English enemies. I speak no more of this, as it does not belong in this place.

The Start. “Therefore in prosecution of the aforesaid trip, I started with the Padres as my companions on the second day of June of the year '95, with a very broad mandate which the aforesaid Provisional Governor gave me, so that I could take the singers and sacristans, who of their free will wished to follow me; exempting, as a privilege, from taxes, those who followed me, and their wives and children....

Indian Singers. “On my showing the above mandate to the magistrates of the towns through which I passed, there were at once Indians provided to accompany me besides those who went with me, who were the following:-
 * Marcos Canul, Master of the Chapel of the town of Calkini.
 * Lorenzo Yah, servant of Captain Belasco.
 * Nicolas Mas, singer of Mascanu.
 * Diego Mo, sacristan of Mascanu.
 * Diego Cen, collector of alms of San Christobal.
 * Diego Pol, singer of Telchao.
 * Francisco Ku, son of Max Chuz, my servant.


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106 :Nicolas Mai, singer of Bolonchen, and he died there.
 * Manuel Piste, singer of Bolonchen de Cauich.
 * Luis Ci, sacristan of Tepakam.

Arrival at Cauich. “With them I went to the last pueblo of this province through that part called Cauich, where I found Captain Don Juan del Castillo, placed there by the Governor, in charge, not only of the soldiers, but also of their arms, ammunition, and supplies; and he showed himself singularly kind to us. On the second day, having reached the said town, we found an Indian named Juan Ake, a native of the pueblo of Hoppelchen, who made many trips in the forests to trade with the heathen Indians. From him, with some finesse and gentle persuasions, I extracted the information of three pueblos of heathen Indians, which were found fifty leagues from there, with the names and descriptions, which we verified afterwards.

Departure from Cauich. “We started from this pueblo of Cauich well content with this good news in the afternoon of the day of Saint John the Baptist, after having celebrated his festival with all the spiritual rejoicings which the starting on such a difficult enterprise demanded, beginning from this afternoon to reap some fruits of our journey, since we took this journey in retribution of our sins. In a little while a heavy rain-storm caught us, which lasted from the evening till the dawn of the next day, with such a tempest of lightnings and thunders that the mechanism of the celestial orbs seemed to dissolve. The place where we slept this night is called Hobonmo, two long leagues distant from the said town of Cauich. Here God worked a manifest miracle with my boy, for a viper of the most poisonous kind which are found in this province, called in this idiom Kancñah, came to repose on the mat on which my boy slept, and stayed there resting by the side of his face, until he moved and gave an opportunity to the frightened boy to rise; and when we lighted a light, we saw it and the Indians killed it without it doing any harm.

Aguada of Hobon Ox; Chunzalam, Vecanxan. “We proceeded in the morning of the next day from the said place, a distance of one league, where we found a haltun, that is, a


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Rh hollowed stone, which usually contains water. It is called Hobon Ox. At the distance of two leagues from this haltun is found another place called Chunzalam, with an aguada called Kalceh. One league from this place is found another aguada on the right hand. It is called Vecanxan. A little after this we found a small plain on the left hand.

Nohhalal, Thā Ayn, Sucte. “At the distance of three-fourths of a league is found another aguada called Nohhalal, and after this is found another aguada called Thā Ayn, and a little further on, something like half a league, are found some columns of round stone, which the natives say have served as an altar for the chaplain of the Spaniards, whose Captain is called Mirones. At the side of the said columns is found a well, narrow and round and somewhat deep, although the mystery of what its purpose is, is never revealed. At a distance of half a league from this place is found another haltun with very good water, and a league from this is found the place called Sucte, worthy of memory on account of the things which it contains. First, this place is a plain or meadow, the largest which I have seen up to this time, and it extends on all sides out of sight. The whole covered with trees with a small fruit called Nanren, and other trees called Guazes, so that all of them make a design, by their standing in such order that they appear to have been planted for the purpose. So that this savana is very beautiful on all sides. In the middle of it is found an aguada, well provided, although in the dry season it is apt to be dried up. To the South of the said savana, at a distance of a quarter of a league, within a thicket is found another aguada with better and more water, from its being spring water. It rises and falls like the sea, although the sea is distant, from it, in its nearest parts, twenty-six leagues. It breeds in it very good fish and very large caimans.

Ix Kata-Kal. “At a distance of a league from this place there is another, Ix Kata-Kal, though it does not always contain water. The said aguada is found on the Eastern side of the road. On the remainder of this road at a distance of three leagues, there are only found some haltuns or hollowed stones, which relieve the necessities of many thirsty people, but not


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108 in the dry season. At we passed by them, all the path was rough and stony, so that from the fatigue of going over it on foot, we had great trouble from the want of water until we reached a place called Nohku, to which from the aforesaid savana is four very long leagues.

Nohku. “In this place we experienced comfort enough, since God had provided us with food and drink enough to aid us in passing the day of the glorious Apostles, Saint Peter and Saint Paul, so that in that place we said mass. And in it we found a house of idols, so that, although the Spaniards who passed first had broken many, we broke more than fifty others, putting in their place a cross, in order to give to God the reverence and worship which the idolaters of the place usurped for themselves. From this report which we heard there grew in us all a Christian curiosity to see the said place in order to exorcise the devil on account of his frauds and to glorify and praise him who is powerful everywhere. We came back from seeing the said place about the hour of vespers, which were celebrated with as much outward and inward rejoicing as was possible in that place. We arranged the altar as decently as we could, through the influence of which and our own Christian character, the Indians, without being forced to, also resolved to confess and to receive the sacraments (for the example of the chiefs is a great thing), so that, without forcing them by words, their subjects silently followed them....

Nohvecan. “We left this place well contented, although with our feet wearied and wounded by the roughness of the road and we walked a distance of four leagues to another place called Nohvecan, which place, for a league before and a league after, consists of great overflowed stretches which in this language are called Akalchees. It can be well understood what pain we endured with our sore legs and feet passing through this two leagues of water and mud, which at the least came up over our knees, leaving us almost crippled; another great hardship being added, as soon as we came to an end of this trip, which is the abundance of mosquitoes, which did not allow us rest by day or night. There is in this place an aguada which is very large and deep and which in the rainy season becomes a river


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Rh him than mine had of a runagate like me. Ten years away from home, and no further on in the world, seems a very poor accost to give of myself, but ten years hence—I have some hopes now.

"With kindest love to all my brothers and sisters, believe me always your affectionate and dutiful son,

""

"You see what you have done, Jessie," said George. "May I apologise to your father for my shabby treatment of him, and beg to be allowed to go to Gundabook?"

"As you please," said Jessie, and she thought for awhile. "I have been wondering what made me so deceived about your heart. That unsettledness, you say, is natural to you, so I had no right to judge by that; but I see it is because you have been amongst gentlefolk like Amy that your ways are different from those of any man we ever had about the place—gentler, kinder, and more polite. I thought it was because you liked me, that you were so mindful, and the way you used to circumvent my father to let Allan have some quiet time for his books was what he'll never forget, nor me either. But it is what you would have done in any house and for any

title: Page:Authors daughter v1.djvu/179


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Rh full of water. There are found in the said place some trees, the bark of which is in smell and taste the same as the cinnamon. It is called in this idiom, Ppelizkuch; also on the paths is found a vine, which, on touching it, smells of garlic. The odor reaches a distance of a quarter of a league.

Hardships Suffered by the Padres. “This torment was followed by another very heavy storm of wind which seemed to tear up the trees by the roots, with a great fall of rain, thunder and lightning, which afflicted our hearts. So that imitating in our weakness the Apostle Saint Peter in another similar storm, which befell him on the sea, we had recourse to God with 'Lord, save us, we perish'; though by imitating him in every thing, we deserved the reproval of our weakness, by the answer which Christ gave to his Apostles, when he calmed the storm by his power; for there he reproved them with these words, 'Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Wherefore do you doubt?', his most holy Majesty showing his pity at once.

Oppol; A Bridge Built across a River. “On the next day early, warned by what had happened in that place, at the first steps which we took in the prosecution of our trip, we passed another league of swamp with the same misery as we had the preceding one, as far as a place called Oppol, which is three leagues from this place. In it to the Northwest, at a distance of a quarter of a league, is found a deep aguada, from which our company provided itself with water needed for consumption. Two leagues from this place, beyond a deserted old town, there is found a running stream (although accidental) so that, to pass over it, we made a bridge. The water is very good, though in the rainy season it will be difficult to pass, like many others which we have found dry, through our not having come in the rainy season; for when the force of the river comes through the said places, the roads would be impassable.

Tanche. “Two leagues beyond this river is found a place called Tanche, which is found on the brow of a lofty hill-top and in sight of another very high ridge in a westerly direction from this rancho. At more than half a league off is found the aguada from which the thirsty satisfy their need. A league and a half from this rancho towards the South (we follow this


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110 direction) is found another permanent river with an artificial bridge, which cannot be passed in any other way. All the roads are very much overflowed on account of the many ridges which surround them. They call this river Yochalek.

Deserted Village of Temchay. “From this place to an old deserted town called Temchay is three leagues. It has its aguada, but it does not contain water except in the rainy season. We suffered great thirst, because we had come with the hope that we should satisfy our needs there, and we did not find anything but hard work enough, in repeating our day's march, and in the fact that the hills were rough with many ups and downs, and with more footprints of mountain Indians, who passed by there, although these footprints were not recent.

Nohpek. “Suffering from the scarcity of water, we continued our way for the space of three leagues farther, to a great haltun, or hollowed stone, which held a great deal of water and which God willed that we should find full. This place is called Nohpek. At the side of this haltun we found a milpa well sown and provided with chiles, which in the midst of our work served our hunger, so that, with a little maize which we cooked, we had that day a cheerful meal; although to the cheer there did not fail to be added a little bitterness; since in one of the ranchos where we lodged we found a tree which in that language is called Pomolche. This produced a fruit of the same form as the hazel nuts of Spain, as well in the shell as in the kernel, color, smell, and taste. Curiosity led us to see if they were really hazel nuts. We ate some of the kernels for some time, without finding any difference. Therefore as quite a time passed in which there was no effect other than what we expected, the Indians ate also, so as to imitate us in everything. Eating the said kernels caused us some thirst, giving us occasion to drink water, and we had scarcely drunk it, when we all burst out with vomitings and violent diarrhoeas. Two leagues on from this place, a part of the army of Spaniards was found, and knowing that I was on the way, there came to receive me two priests who were of those who had preceded me, with two soldiers; and one of them, having had the same thing happen to him with the said fruit, said that their remedy was a


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Rh draught of wine. We took the remedy and after we had purged ourselves thoroughly, we were, of a sudden, well.

Nohthub. “From this place it is two long leagues to an old deserted place called Nohthub; all the way is overflowed or akalchex. In the rainy season the road is very heavy. In this place we found the camp of the Captain Don Joseph de Estenos, with all his people. It is a pleasant place and has many orange and lemon trees. In it we saw a large enclosure which the Indians made to keep off the Spaniards, when the latter went to despoil them fifteen years before. It has two large aguadas, one at the entrance of the said place, which in the dry season is exhausted; with another large and round basin which God made in a living rock. Another aguada lies in an easterly direction, a distance of half a league, and the water here is permanent and deep. It breeds very good fish of large size and tame, so that, although the soldiers went in swimming, the fish did not flee away, so that they gave an opportunity to any one who had a machete in his hand to kill them. They call these fish crocodiles, because they are of the same shape and with the same scales as crocodiles, and they are very good eating, according to the statement of all who eat them.

Bacechac. “From this Nohthub we went five good leagues to a place which they call Bacechac. In its center are three aguadas, but all were dry. There is much overflowed land or akalchex. There are very large forests with many copal and balsam trees, and many hills, on account of which the paths are impassable in the rainy season. This place has its aguada in a westerly direction, and although it too held no water, necessity made us experts, making deep holes in some parts of it, in order that the land should distil its moisture. So it happened, God giving us sufficient water from night to morning in the said wells which we opened to relieve our need.

“We left this place the next day and traveled about two leagues by some places which are very much submerged and not the less dangerous, as much on account of the hills which surround them as from the chance streams which are met there, until at last we reached a summit which forms on the top a great plain, in which is found an aguada called Celmet.


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112 Buete. “In this place the same thing happened to us (as far as water is concerned) as in the preceding aguada. We left this place and traveled some two leagues and a half to a place called Buete. In this place we found twelve or thirteen houses of the heathen Indians, who had just surrendered to the Indian soldiers of Sahcabchen, without any violence, as I shall explain hereafter. This place has a very large aguada with much eel-grass and very many caimans. In this town and two others near by we found ample supplies of maize, beans and the rest of the fruits on which all live in this land; and it came very opportunely, since already the army had no other recourse, after the hunger which they had endured for three days past....

Lack of Supplies. “It happened then that the captains found themselves in want of supplies, and that they wrote several letters to Captain Don Juan del Castillo about the transportation of some supplies which some muleteers of the town of Teabo left in one of the aforementioned places called Tzucte, at a distance of eight leagues from Cauich, which supplies I saw when I passed through it, as well as the letters which were written about the despatch of provisions, and in spite of these letters or other special exertions in sending soldiers with mules from the camp for the supplies, they effected nothing....

Paredes Seizes Some Farms. “Seeing then such a clear and extreme need, Captain Alonso Garcia de Paredes, the head and leader of the other captains, determined to send Captain Pedro de Zubiaur, with some Spanish armed soldiers, following some confused rumors which an Indian named Juan Ake, who had guided them, had spoken of. He it is who mentioned these three ranchos in my presence in the town of Cauich. And although it is true, that there he mentioned these ranchos, here he appeared in doubt in speaking with the captains, showing himself to be totally ignorant of such towns, he being the cause that these Spaniards lost themselves in those forests. But the soldiers, availing themselves of their agility, climbed the trees and the hill-tops, from which they discovered a great smoke, and they went on in that direction; and having come up to it, they saw that there were the soldiers of the town


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Rh of Zahcabchen, who, by order of Captain Alonso Garcia de Paredes, came out from another direction to the abandoned town of Tzucthok, which the said Captain with these soldiers had destroyed fifteen years since. Therefore he knowing beforehand of the said farms, gave orders that they should proceed to take possession of them before the Spaniards whom he had brought with him should come up. The Indians obeyed the orders of their Captain, and entered upon the farms with great imprudence, shooting without any cause, and killing till they had killed five Indians, without more reason than that of the avarice which led them to inspire the owners with fear, so that they should flee, as many did, in order to rob them safely of as much as they possessed; as they did. And to me it is evident that they made a very imprudent entry on to these farms.

Fifty-one Indians of Buete Surrender. “Notwithstanding this imprudence, fifty-one Indians delivered themselves up, with their wives and children. These were from the said town of Buete, besides those who had fled from Kantemo, and from the town of Yames, now today called the town of the dead, from the five aforesaid having died there. Of these Indians who gave themselves up, two were left as guides and the rest, with their wives and children, they took as prisoners to the said abandoned town of Tzucthok. The two guides who remained I treated kindly and with special attention, as the first fruit of our love, I mean, of our labors, and this they surely recognized, for from the love they felt for me, they embraced me and asked me that I should be a petitioner for them to the Captain Alonso Garcia, so that he should tell his soldiers that they should return all the clothing and wax which they had collected; since they themselves had neither resisted nor defended themselves, but had on the other hand surrendered voluntarily, when they might have run away and did not do so; but calling out to the soldiers, they not only surrendered themselves, but acted as guides to the other towns, at the convenient hour of dawn, so that they gathered them all in without any noise;— they call all these Indians who voluntarily surrendered, the Mayas.

Avendaño Argues with Paredes about his Plundering. “In


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114 compliance with the request which the two pagan Indians made me, and having placed it before the Captain, I gained my point by giving him advice; telling him in my remarks that he should consider that in that first public act lay the success of the rest, so that it was of great importance for him to carry into effect the justice which the two pagan Indians asked for; and I asked this for many reasons, the first;—because it was the service of God, law and reason and in conformity with the charity which we ought to show towards our neighbors and with the good example which in the present case we ought to set.... The next reason is, if we show them justice, it would follow, that, even if some of them fled, they would proclaim the good deeds of the Spaniards, and the rest of the people of the towns which we should come to in the future, would not run away; and if they did not flee, they would serve with me as messengers, so that through spreading the report of the good treatment which had been shown them, the other townspeoples would not refuse to surrender.

The Royal Decrees are Mentioned by Avendaño. “The last thing which I placed before him was the large number of decrees which His Majesty (may God guard him) had despatched, and those which his predecessors of eternal memory had despatched, which affirm the same thing which I asked him, as in the case of the first instructions, which were given (by the mandate of our Catholic King) to the Admiral Christopher Colon....

“The same thing was urged afterwards by the same Catholic Kings, in the year 1501, upon the Commander, Nicolas de Ovando, when he went to govern the island of Santo Domingo, and this decree reads as follows:—'that he should arrange with great vigilance and care that all the Indians of Española should be free from slavery, and that they should not be molested by any one, but that they should live as free vassals, governed and guarded in justice and that they should arrange so that they be instructed in the holy Catholic faith; since his intention was that they should be treated with love and kindness, without permitting that any one should do them harm; so that they should not be hindered in receiving our holy faith


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Rh and so that they should not hate the Christians for their deeds, etc.'

“And many other decrees were issued thereafter for the same purpose, the same thing being repeated and urged by an infinite number of decrees and ordinances of the Emperors, Charles V, Philip II and III and up to Philip IV....

Paredes Promises to Return the Plunder. “All these reasons which I gave to the said Captain, Alonso Garcia de Paredes, struck him favorably and he gave me his word to coöperate in my request, causing their clothes and the rest of the things which had been taken from them to be returned to the Indian prisoners, promising at the same time to punish the transgressors, as soon as he reached the said abandoned Tzucthok.

Paredes Fails to Keep his Word. “And when he reached there, I reminded him of the said promise, but as avarice drew him more than charity, he answered me with scorn, saying, 'God be with you, Padre, how can you expect me to know now who was the man who robbed the prisoners?' At this time there came one of the offending soldiers to speak to him. He was wearing loose breeches made of the clothing which they had stolen from the aforesaid Indians; and I, answering his rough suggestion, said to him:- 'See, Señor Captain, that there is standing near you one who knows of or is the doer of the theft, since the breeches of this soldier of yours show it.' He replied:- 'Padre, those are his perquisites, which I cannot take away.' And at the same time, turning his back to me, he said to him:- 'Take notice, man, that I hold you responsible for paying for all the wax which you and the rest of you hold.' So that the special result of this trip can well be understood to be quite contrary to the service of God and of the King, and very useful only to the special ends of the avarice of the soldiers.

“I, seeing this coldness, in the beginning, never supposed that the results would be happy, so that I felt sad enough; since it would have been better not to have started out on such an enterprise, if I was to see such inhumanities....

Tzucthok, once before Reduced, had Rebelled. “By our lengthened stay in this aforesaid abandoned town of Tzucthok,


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116 we had an opportunity of gaining a better understanding of its ruins. This is a town,—one of those which our Padre, Fray Christoval Sanchez, brought into obedience, though afterwards the people became rebellious. Today the forked poles which his holiness placed in the church he built are still standing. It is a very pleasant place, although unhealthful on account of the lightness of the winds. The water is pure, but also of a hardness which makes it excessively harmful. There are many cocoa-nut palm trees, many fruit trees, particularly lemons. Before reaching this place there is a large spring or river beneath the ground, so that for the distance of a league, the path goes following its banks and the bed of the said river. It is to be understood that in the rainy season it is full of water. There is good hunting in the woods, especially peacocks and pheasants. The most common animal in these woods is a leopard or false lion, with a red skin and with spots of various colors. The natives call it Chacekel. Among the birds are some which are very different from those of the Province. I heard a little bird warble, which I knew at once was a linnet like those of Spain; it imitated it much in its song as in its size, though not in its plumage. There is another bird with a body of a hen of Castile, called Pan. Its beak is very long and thick; up to the middle it is yellow and the other half green; its feathers correspond, being very yellow from below the beak to its belly. The rest of the body is black, except under the tail, which has a red plumage; the legs are green and in spite of so much beauty, it utters only shrieks....

The Padres Endeavor to Instruct the Indians. “In these affairs, besides educating those who had been lately gathered together, although they might never be freed from slavery, we passed our time till the 24th of July, when we heard news that the road openers would shortly come to a certain town of the nation of the Cehaches; and in order not to fail as in the previous case, we priests planned to speak plainly with the captains and to find out what their plan was to be on entering it; for if it was not more decent and Christian than in the past, we had determined to avoid the occasion of disturbance, by returning to the Province, rather than see cruel deeds performed....


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Rh The Captains Promise to Give Warning before Fighting. "The captains... promised their assent to the advice which we might give them hereafter, adding that, when an opportunity offered to enter any town, a proclamation should be issued, with a penalty of death on any one who should dare to go against it....

A Skirmish. "At this time the Indian road openers went on with their work, bringing as their guard the Indian musketeers from Sahcabchen, who never did anything well, owing to the said Captain Alonso, who, on account of his interest in their spoils, sends them out by themselves, without any Spanish people of intelligence to oversee that their duties are performed in a proper way. While engaged in this, they discovered a town of the Cehaches, Chunpich, already abandoned, as they had heard the rumor of the Spaniards, on account of which they found in one house only twenty-five loads of maize. Seeing many traces of people, they entered in fear, and notifying the said captain of their having discovered the said town, they all asked him for reinforcements, since they feared a hard fight. He gave them the reinforcements they asked for, together with their arms, though they did not arrive in time, since before they arrived there came as many as twenty-five Indians with their baskets for that maize which they had left. The soldiers, well prepared, carried their arms for whatever might turn up, since going prepared with arms was always the cause of many victories as opposed to many defeats. On the other hand they do less harm, the better provided they are. So it happened to these men; since having posted six Indian musketeers as sentinels in the direction they supposed the ruined town lay, so as to defend themselves and the workmen on the road, until their reinforcements arrived, it happened that the sentinels, seeing the said twenty-five Indians coming, they seemed to them to be thousands, and with the fear which never accomplished a good thing and with their evil disposition, which always has done much harm, without letting them enter so as to direct their fire well, our men broke ranks, which not only gave our opponents a better chance to get ready for a battle, but also frightening more the rest of our men who became aware of


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118 the retreat, made them hastily and heedlessly attribute the victory to our enemies. At that time, the reinforcement of our men coming up, the timid sentinels, deserting their posts, came back to make part of the reinforcement which was coming to them. When all were together they rushed to battle, which our opponents, like brave men, won finely, wounding three of our men without any of them being wounded. The remainder of our men fled and our opponents, laughing, left them and took their way with cries to those forests by the path on which they all lived. Our men returned to follow that path about four leagues; in that district they found two towns without inhabitants, though they were well provided with farms with all their products. These they ate and carried off as a token of their valor, giving as an excuse of their unfortunate fight, that their opponents were not men but demons, not endowed with reason, but brutes, since, without fear of death, they flung themselves savagely on the guns.

The Avarice of Paredes. "All this happened to the Captain [Paredes] through avarice, for, on account of avarice, he did not wish to send respectable and honorable Spaniards, who might obtain with good judgment victories in these engagements, but only his Indians from Cahcabchen, so that by frightening the other Indians, they should enter safely into the houses in order to steal as much as the poor Indians have in their houses, as happened in the preceding case that I refer to above. We all inferred that all this was with the permission of the said Captain, since, seeing the feelings, which we showed at his not having kept his promise to us, given at the conference which we had had, not only did he not punish the transgressors, but neither did he make amends for the casualties which might necessarily have happened, it being the fact that we suggested the remedy in both cases, and he appeased us with kind words....

Chunpich is Reached. "After this unfortunate engagement the whole camp went along to the said town of Chunpich, distant eight long leagues from this town of Tzucthok, and the Captains, addressing me, asked me to stay with my companions to look after those Indians and children, besides some sick Indians,


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Rh educating them and instructing them as I ought; and if by chance they should find a town, they would notify me, so that I could come to catechize them. I accepted this proposal for the future, carrying out his orders at the present time, and having known that the said captains had passed forwards from the said village of Chunpich, I got ready to go alone with four Indian singers to the said town, and by inspecting or cutting down all their thickets, to see if I could meet with the Cehaches Indians who made war on the Spaniards, in order to draw them to the bosom of our Holy Mother Church. I went through the said forests to a great distance, and in all directions and I did not meet any one. At this time I received information (although it was confused) that, after the said town of Chunpich was passed, on the road to the South which we were following in a Southeast direction, an indistinct foot path had been discovered. As I knew that on the said route lay the nation of the Ytzaes, for meeting whom I have been preparing for some years, by having learned their language, it was necessary to set about following the path which the Spaniards were taking, in order to verify my suspicions; but it verified nothing but constant misfortunes; since on the path I met four Indian musketeers of the town of Sahcabchen, whom their captain was sending as slaves to the quiet of his house. They brought me a letter from the Captain, Don Joseph de Estenos, in which he told me that he had found three other towns without inhabitants, though with some little rotten corn; and that the third leader, Don Pedro de Suviaur by name, had gone with his men to another town which they supposed belonged to the Ytzaes. This letter reached me a league and a half from Chunpich, at a very large aguada which there is there, and at three long leagues from there is another large abandoned town called Ixbam.

Zuviaur Goes to the Itzas; the Padres Return. “I returned unhappy when I thought of the little result which had come in the said town of Chunpich, and I took pleasure in its suburbs to divert my sorrow, since this place is very pleasant. A lake lies towards the West, so large that it stretches out of sight. The water is very good, the two other towns of which I spoke above being around the said lake. The Spaniards found these


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120 at the time of the fight, all very full of fruits and abundant corn-fields, which the captain wished to have trampled down and destroyed so that their owners might come and give themselves up. But we did not consent to this; I was taking great pleasure in looking at the said lake, when an Indian came whom I had sent to camp, with letters from the Governor, and besides confirming the news which the said Captain, Don Joseph, had written me, he stated to me that he had known how the third leader Don Pedro de Zuviaur had gone to one of the towns of the Ytzaes. I regretted this last more than the rest, since I was holding the said towns reserved for the purpose of going to them without their hearing any rumors of soldiers.... I returned more sad than I had been at first. I went to the town of Tzucthok, where my companion Padres were, looking after the management of those Indians who had been allotted to me.... As I considered our work useless, since they had depopulated eight towns of the Cehaches, without any results, to see also that they had reached the Ytzaes, whom also they were going to spoil was the cause of the greatest sorrow.

Further Troubles. “I discussed with my companion Padres the troubles which followed, — now on account of the Indians, who were fleeing every day, now of the need which they had of supplies, now of the continual rains which caused these places to be overflowed, by which speedy ruin was threatened, now of the injustice which the said captains showed us.... “Without giving me anything to do, nor allotting me Indians to catechize and manage in the future, the said captain took away from me those of whom I had charge, and whom I not only catechized but also baptized and married, without paying attention to the despatch of his Majesty, which prohibits the changing of the residence of the Indians who had recently been converted, on account of the risk of their lives which would follow; as Solorzano cites them and quotes them, — one of which says 'that too hard work should not be given them and they should not be taken to distant places, and that above all their health and preservation should be looked after, without taking them to a sky, climate or temperature which are different or contrary to those to which they are accustomed.'...


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Rh The Padres Determine to Get to the Itzas Some Other Way. “We then, seeing all these troubles and injustices, in order to avoid the contest and disturbances which could not be remedied, together with all the inconveniences, risks and dangers which in the time of so great rains, each day brought to us, determined to return to the Province, with the intention to send word about everything to our Very Reverend Padre Provincial from the first town of the Province and to take from there the road in a different direction, which I knew of, so as to go without any noise of arms to the nation of the heathen Ytzaes, passing through the nation of the Indians of Tipu. This is a direction opposite to that which the Spaniards took; so that we could obtain in this way something of our objects and end, which we always had before us, of going alone without soldiers or armed men, for the conversion of the said heathen, to which from the beginning we had dedicated ourselves....

Letter to the Captains. “Agreeing then with my companions, the Padres, in this good suggestion, I wrote a letter to the captains, taking leave of them, without giving the reason why I returned, but stating that it was on account of a slight accident that had happened to me; they, whom their consciences must have accused, supposing that I should set forth there in this Province before the Governor, who had sent me, their improper methods of acting, determined maliciously, for their greater satisfaction, to justify themselves by forestalling me, with charges against me, as if I should pay any attention to them....

Governor Ursua Vexed by the Captains' Letter. “The Governor was vexed with this letter which the Captain Alonso Garcia wrote to him, seeing that he had chosen me to carry out his purpose, and then seeing that I gave him a slap in the face by returning without any reason, as they wrote him; for which reason he suspended judgment till he had news of my coming to the Province, to inform himself of the truth. At this time we arrived on our return, with hard work enough on account of so many wild thickets, as I spoke of in the beginning, and of all the overflowed lands, deep in water, since our return was made in the season of heaviest rains, at the first town of


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122 the Province called Hopelchen, whence I wrote to my Prelate of the resolution which we had taken of returning to the Ytzaes by another route, since on the one we had started on, our work was stopped. I received a reply from my Prelate by which he said he expected me in the City, without informing us that we should go back by the way we suggested.

Return to Merida. “We came to his presence and entered the City on Saturday the 16th of September of the said year 1695....”


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HE first entrada being spoiled on account of trouble with the soldiers, Avendaño remained in the province until October 4, 1695. On that day news reached him from a Spanish resident of Bacalar, called Francisco de Ariza, that the nation of the Itzas, who numbered eighty thousand fighting men, had expressed their willingness to receive Christianity. This news pleased the Governor (Ursua) because the Itzas were now the only obstacle that lay between him and the completion of the Guatemala-Yucatan highway. Accordingly arrangements were concluded according to the terms of which Avendaño was once more to attempt to bring the Itzas to the Church. At his own wish he and his priests were to do this alone without the retarding influences arising from the presence of soldiers. Avendaño asked for and received various letters and documents in which the policies he was to follow and the authority with which he was invested were very fully set forth.

The Orders of the Governor. One thing is particularly striking in connection with all the conquests of the Spaniards in America, and that is the very divergent attitudes toward the natives assumed by the Church and State on the one hand and by the soldiery and colonists on the other. Nowhere does this difference come out more clearly than in the matter of the entradas of Avendaño. As that writer's report of the papers given to him by Governor Ursua just before he set out on his second trip is rather long, I will give an extract of it in order that the reader may see just what was desired by the Padres and by the Governor.

In the first place the Governor ordered that Avendaño and his companions be given all necessary horses, Indians, and other equipment. He also ordered Paredes, who had caused so much trouble before, to observe carefully the wishes of His


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176 master, for it was a pleasure to you, and you had the wit as well as the will to do it."

"I have been brought up as differently from Miss Staunton as you have been," said George. "Father is only a tenant-farmer of old Mr. Derrick, a jolly, beer-drinking farmer, who rides a good horse, keeps a good table, pays his rent, growls at the game laws, and laughs at the doctor. He has had more schooling than your worthy father, but is not so long-headed or so prudent. I never 'saw such natural business talents as your father has 'except perhaps Allan's. No; I would not have done as much for any other master, though I confess I might have done as much for any other woman as for you, because I was blind and did not see how much better you were than any I had seen in my wandering life. I am not really far ahead of you in my bringing up, though desperately behind you in purse. But, Jessie, for all that I am going to try to deserve you, and when you have made a man of me I'll see how my better self feels towards you and then how your good father feels towards me."

"He takes your leaving him very much to heart," said Jessie. "I never saw him so much put out with anything."

"Well, if he'll forgive me I'll work at

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124 Majesty as expressed in the famous cedula of 1526. In that cedula it was urged that the Indians be turned from their evil ways; that any necessary houses, fortresses, and other buildings be erected; that Christianity be introduced among the Indians; that colonization from Spain should be encouraged in a number of ways; and a number of other wise provisions were recommended.

Departure of Avendaño. We will allow Avendaño (pp. 22v-29v, 49v-66r) to tell of the trip in his own words. “With all these papers and the benediction of my Prelate, I took my departure in the name of God from this City of Merida on the 13th day of December of this year 1695, in the company of my companion priests, who were the Padre Preacher, Fray Antonio Peres de San Roman, who also accompanied me in the first trip; the Padre Preacher Fray Joseph de Jesus Maria, who from the other mission of the Reverend Padre Commissioner Fray Juan de Chaves (being his Apostolic Notary) passed to my mission with the blessing and consent of the Prelate Superior; and the Padre Preacher, Fray Diego de Echavarria, with a lay brother of the holy convent, all of whom united in the love of God and in charity burning to rescue the souls of those infidel and heathen Ytzaes from the power of Satan in which, through their idolatry, they were plunged for so many centuries.

The Same Route Followed as Before; Batcab is Reached. “We went through the same ways and places as the first time, till we came to a town of the nation of the Cehaches, called Batcab, in which we met General Alonso Garcia de Paredes, with a captain called Don Pedro Zuviaur, an engineer or guide who was going in the direction in which they were opening the road from this province to that of Guatemala.

Chuntucí. “The next day, which was that of the Holy Kings, on January 6th of this year of '96, I said mass, which the army listened to; after which we started from the town for Chuntucí of the said nation of the Cehaches, which is four leagues of very bad roads during the rainy season, on account of the many overflowed and dangerous places that there are in


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Rh them in some parts which they call in this language akalchees or hulbalex, and in Castilian pantanos. On the said road likewise are found two rivers in the first league, — a small one which is not permanent except in the rainy season; as is the case with an aguada which is found in the middle of the road on the slope of a ridge which is ascended in times of rain with some difficulty, although the other river, which is found about three leagues off, is permanent, the water of which, though it is somewhat sluggish, for they say it is a river of copper, nevertheless is very cool and raises very good fish, though not very large ones. A league and a half from this river is the said town of Chuntucí, which consists of not more than eight houses close together, though there are many others in the corn fields a little more or less distant, in a circuit of about half a league.

“We journeyed from this town of Chuntucí in a southerly direction a distance of a good league, where there is a great overflowed space or aguada, which in this tongue is called nohcib, in the midst of which is discovered a great aguada, which without doubt is the origin or cause of some great river of those which flow to the Laguna de Terminos. At half a league beyond this we came across a little crystal stream, which left us in the belief that it had its origin from a great swamp near there towards the East, which is dimly seen on the other side of this little stream. About six quarters of a league from here, we discovered an indistinct little path in the direction of the South-east, following which without suspicion, though we were armed, we rushed forward with eager confidence, following the path through the thickets without fearing any shipwreck, saying the prayer  'in exitu Israel de Egiptu'  that we may imitate in their victory the Israelites, who succeeded in passing through the waves of the Red Sea. We followed the said path for some distance, during which we fell in with the Batchee or signs which assured us that we were on the path to the nation of the heathen Ytzaes. So indistinct was the path in itself, that to tell whether or not it was a path, required that Batchee, which was what we followed. After half a league of this road, we came across a little stream. It is called Chinchinucum, in the language of the Cehaches. Two leagues from there we found


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126 another larger stream, called Nohucum; at half a league farther on, a great aguada called Akalcay. Two leagues and a half on the right is found a great pond, called Yavilain; another two leagues and a half from there is an aguada called Chuncopo. This is an accidental aguada in the middle of the road, which has abundance of water in the rainy season, from its being in the midst of low hills and akalchees. Beyond this place is a great ravine, which in this language is called nohem. It is about a league and a half [long]. This ravine they call the 'Hell of the Ytzaes' from the danger of its descent, on account of its being necessary that the road should go through it, though we passed many others which are more dangerous and worse than this ravine. On account of the impossibility of the passage which they had described to us, it being necessary to pass through it, so as to carry out our special undertaking and in order to accomplish it the better and to facilitate the passage, we chose as its patron Saint our Padre San Antonio of Padua, by whose intercession, without doubt, the passage of the said ravine became much easier for us than they had described to us up to this time; we did not fail to pass over some hard hills and rough roads, but from here they were the worst of all I had seen up to this time.

The Hardships of the Journey. “Two leagues from this ravine we began to hesitate about the road, because we met with a large river, although it was then dry; but in the rainy season, it is plainly seen, it carries a great mass of water. On account of this we found a variety of passages and Batchees, but, thanks to God and good fortune, in the courses of this dry river, which is called Cohucum, we recognized some mud or signs of earth among its pebbles, so that by following this sign for a long distance, we not only came across, in a bend of the river, a spring of water, to satisfy our need of drinking which we already felt, but also we recognized on its banks the Batchee and the lost path, so that at one time we had two consolations. We slept there, though it was very early when we reached there, for fear of the scarcity of water, which we had already experienced. But in the morning we had occasion in a short time to be vexed at so much water, since at a short


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Rh we fell in with a stream more annoying than if it had been filled with water, though the water which it carried was sufficient to drench us, since we were not able to pass over it in all cases without going through it. One has to cross this river in the space of a league very nearly fifty times, so that it not only annoyed us by wetting us so much more, but because at each turn we lost the track or footprints which we were following; so that we were delayed enough in passing the said turns of the river.

“After a great storm they say fair weather follows, but the contrary happened to us, since, trusting in the abundance of water, we neither drank, since it was in the morning, nor did we carry it with us, supposing that we should find it at each step, but what happened to us was to meet with a great multitude of very rough ascents and descents, — all hills and very high mountains of limestone, which extended over a space of four leagues, so that, besides the path in itself being so rough, thirst was troublesome enough. We found ourselves in the midst of this anguish when of a sudden we came on a descent as rough and steep as it was long and dangerous; for, though we had no load to carry, we had to make use of the trees so as not to slip, since if we slipped, there was no place to stop till we reached the bottom, where we saw a horrible lime cavern which we supposed would hold water. But it was not so.

Approaching the Itzas. “From the top then of this hill, which I speak of, there was discovered a great range of low hills, of such a kind that it not only appeared another country, since even from the top of the trees we did not discover the land beyond or the part on the other side of this height. We thought that we doubtless were in another new territory and near the Ytza nation, to which we were going. At a distance of half a league from this descent, we came across a great spring of water, which was able with its force to turn many mills, and howsoever great the pleasure was which we felt at seeing it, just as much disgust did the taste of it cause us, since it sprang from the brow of a very high hill or steep rock, but it was all mixed with lime, and was of a lead and sulphur color,


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128 and like this also was its weight and taste. But we did not refrain from drinking it on this account, since thirst appeared to us of worse taste and weight, although of little advantage was it to us, since in a short time after we experienced that weight and bad taste, and the fatigue of the road which we traveled, we came in about a league upon a great pond, where we camped for sleeping that night, since we had found there such good accommodation.

Tan Xuluc Mul; Temples on a Great Height. “Having come then to this pond of Tan xuluc mul an hour before sunset, we had to observe and wonder with pleasure and delight, since the water which we found was very fine and good. We found the hut already made, since undoubtedly the Ytzaes kept up that place either for occupation from time to time or as a permanent dwelling, for there are very many of them in those places. We had to observe and wonder on some rocks or buildings on some high places, — so high that they were almost lost to sight. And when we caught sight of them clearly, the sun shining on them in full, we took pleasure in seeing them; and we wondered at their height, since without any exaggeration it seemed impossible that that work could have been done by hand, unless it was with the aid of the devil, whom they say they adore there in the form of a noted idol. We, with great zeal which aided us, determined to go up and break it; and, as for me, most of those who know me know that the lightness of my feet corresponds to the passion of my zeal to destroy it. But I did not find a trail by which the idolaters go up, and, even if I had found it, the ascent was always difficult for me on account of the great height on all sides.

“This ridge continued along the way we traveled for a distance of five leagues, with very dangerous ascents and descents.... With these difficulties we came across, at the end of five leagues, a large peten of water, by which we unexpectedly found ourselves surrounded; and though we were pleased with the water, our pleasure was drowned in the inconvenience of the place for sleeping....

Chakan Itza. “This aguada or peten is called Ychmuxan, from which to the Chakan Ytza, there are three leagues, most


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Rh of them consisting of very low woods or underbrush, since the whole is mixed up, so that neither are they Akalchees nor do they cease being so. These are great overflowed tracts, impossible to be walked on in the rainy season and even in dry times. He alone may walk there, who should wish to expiate thoroughly his sins, but for any other purpose only a desperate man would do so, since such woods as those are of the kind which they call tocolchees, — that is a labyrinth or confusion or hodge-podge of all weeds or thorny plants, so that I do not know how we brought our clothes and legs out from amongst them. All these sorrows and sufferings were signs of the pleasure which we were to receive on that day. In all the said three leagues there is found at each step a stream of moderate volume, though there is no passage, except, when following its banks, one can meet with the Chakan Ytzaes, as we did, about three o'clock in the afternoon of the evening before the day of the name of Jesus, which my holy religion celebrates on the 13th of January....

The Chakan Itzas. “To cross to the other side of the river, which is called Caclemacal, and to reach the first settlement of the Chacan Ytzaes was one and the same thing; at which, putting behind us and forgetting all our preceding difficulties, our hearts considered themselves satisfied and well repaid with the delight and spiritual consolation which we received at seeing ourselves at the entrance of the mine where we were to meet with the precious or polished stone, which was to be either the glorious ornament of our crown, if we were worthy of dying for the faith which, with the help of God, we were going to plant, or the fruitful result of those laborious steps which, with the said aid of heaven, we intended to bring about....

Treatment of the Natives. “We entered then this first settlement situated on the opposite side of the river of Caclemacal about four quarters of a league away. In the middle of which we met an Indian woman, wife of the brother of the cacique Ahcan, a near relative of the petty King of Peten Ytza, who, with two of her small children, was coming to the said river for water; but when they saw us at a distance, — three priests clothed with our priestly garments, which had never


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Rh book as I never worked before; and if all Mr. Lindsay says is true, it is likely to be a first-rate speculation."

"My father's speculations are almost always successful, but I have gone against this one, for there is such a thing as having one's head too full of business! but if you are willing to take the charge it will be a relief to us all, for Allan would be sorely missed at Branxholm."

"And will you not miss me?" said George, who felt desirous to awaken again the tenderness she had acknowledged to.

"I think you have said all that is necessary, so I will wish you good-night," said Jessie. "You'll put out the lamp before you go."

"Good-night, Miss Lindsay," said George, not even venturing to take the hand, far less to touch the cheek of the girl whom he determined should be his wife. While she wondered over the events of the day with thoughts rather bitter than sweet, for the recollection of George's blank face and hesitating disavowal of any reciprocal affection overpowered all the kindlier speeches and more hopeful suggestions of the second interview, he resolved to try as much as he could to attach himself to her. His vague wishes took the form of a definite plan; he was going to offer to manage the station at Gundabook on shares, if

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130 been seen by them, and the four Indian singers who were traveling with us, with the garb of the cloaks or ayates which they wore, very different from their own garments and from those of the three Cehaches Indians, whom we took along as guides, they ran away excitedly, — mother and children, — as if we might kill them, so that it was no little work that we had to pacify them with gentle words and loving caresses, though we had more trouble in quieting the minds of the brother-in-law, the cacique and the other Indian authorities, who in a moment ran together at their cries, all with the intention of making war on us, for they all came with bows and arrows in their hands.

“But as we wished to sow in their hardened hearts the pure grain of evangelical seed which should have a more fruitful growth than that which fell among the thistles and thorns, we began as genuine workmen of Christ to till the soil of their hearts with the loving hoe of caresses, embracing them joyfully, as one who had fallen in with the ewe which had been lost for so many centuries, (the influence of our soft words and the moderation of our prudent acts, resisting all the weight of their immoderate acts) at which most people were frightened; and we gave them at the same time some of the Spanish things which we carried, as necessary and required for attracting their unruly spirits, for this calmed and quieted them more than the caresses which we had given them. This entry into the said settlement or village was on the 13th of January, on which my seraphic religion celebrates the vespers of the holy name of Jesus, and at the very hour of vespers....

“With their spirits now peaceful and happy, they entertained us on that afternoon and night, with such a confusion of shouts and outcries in their songs, that, had we not considered that those extravagant signs of joy were the wild ways of those rural hills and the fashion with them, our hearts would have suffered some anxiety and sadness, the more so when we saw before us, those carved, striped and painted faces, made in the very likeness of the devil.

The Padres Please Other Indians by Means of Little Gifts. “I gave them, as they came up to the novel sight, some


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Rh necklaces and other trinkets and trifles for their wives and daughters, and for the men some knives, for the desire to possess which all came again, thus obliging me to give them presents a second time, all which I did with pleasure, one reason being the abundance of what our benefactors in their kind zeal had given me, and the other in order to draw them to our Catholic faith, which comes to them more through the eye than through the hearing, since they are covetous in the extreme. They approached me to get what I had remaining in some hampers, in which I carried for the petty King an entire suit of clothes, in the fashion of the Indians of this Province, which the Governor gave me, and other things which I was carrying for the chiefs of Peten Ytza, in order the better to gain their good will, besides other things necessary for our ministry and support. And they made a request of me to let them see these things, carried away by their gross inquisitiveness as much as by their excessive covetousness. And scarcely did I yield and show them what I had in the said hampers, when, with an insatiable desire they began to covet all, the act of touching and the desire to take everything becoming uppermost with them, rather than the modest civility of asking for it....

The Padres Renew their March. "With great demonstrations of love they loaded themselves with all our goods and supplies (except the sacred robes, since we did not bring them till we knew that the outcome was safe) without giving an opportunity to any of the singers whom we had brought with us to carry anything. With this accompanying we set out on the road which leads in the direction of the East, for Peten Ytza, which is about five leagues off, all the Indians who lived round Cha Kan Ytza accompanying us with their wives and children, giving shouts of joy in order to excite the rest to accompany us.

Nich. "We went on in this manner to the landing place of the lake where one enters the said Peten Ytza, on the shore of which is found a little town called Nich, which consists of about ten houses. In one of them I saw an Indian, the oldest one I had seen up to that time in the nation of the Cehaches,


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132 nor up to the present time in that of the Ytzaes, since they have the custom of beheading them when they pass fifty years, so that they shall not learn to be wizards and to kill; except the priests of their idols, for whom they have great respect. And this man must have been one without doubt.

"In the region of the said road, there are many hills and great density of woods on the hills, many cedar and mahogany trees, which in this tongue are called punabes, besides many others which I do not mention so as to avoid annoyance. There are many overflowed places called Akalchees; there are also three rivers, one of moderate size, which from its falling from a high rock, makes noise enough; the other two, although they too fall from a rather high place, are not so full of water, though they wet us all because their streams are wide and because there is no bridge to cross them. We came then to the said town, Nich, whose cacique is called Ahtul, and this little town is the chief town of Cha Kan Ytza, which consists of other very small towns, but of many settlements, and each of these possesses a cacique or captain, although all the Cha Kan Ytzaes, with their wives and children, as far as I saw, will be about six hundred souls, more or less.

Indians Arrive from Tayasal. "We ate very heartily in the said town, for the sake of giving them pleasure, so that they showed that they were pleased and they entertained us with their instruments from twelve o'clock of the day that we arrived till two o'clock in the afternoon, when, in answer to the previous messenger which I sent to the petty King of my coming to his territory, there came up some eighty canoes, full of Indians, painted and dressed for war, with very large quivers of arrows, though all were left in the canoes,-all the canoes escorting and accompanying the petty King, who with about five hundred Indians came forward to receive us. They hurried us on board with great speed and with very rude actions, without taking notice of the music of the clarions with which we awaited him, nor of the peace, which as its messengers I brought him in the name of the King, our Lord. Nor on our part, could we fulfill our embassy, since, without giving us an opportunity to do so, they began suddenly to take


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Rh us across the lake (which in that part probably is three leagues in distance across). In a small bay on its shore, a nephew of the King, whom I had rewarded with some Spanish trinkets, coveting the image of a Santo Christo, which I wore on my neck, and which I had refused to give him on two occasions when he had asked me for it, on my giving a cutlass with its blade to the petty King, his uncle, seized the hand of his uncle with excessive insolence, and snatching the blade from its sheath, turned it to my breast, and passing the blade across my throat, cut the string with one blow and took the image of Christ from me. I reproached him for his improper act and what he said to me was, 'Well, if you have not wished to give it to me, what am I to do?', by which it is plainly seen that if one does not give them what they see and ask for, the life of him who should refuse it is at risk from moment to moment. On seeing this the King, his uncle, laughed at it, instead of reproving him, and he began with more vanity and pride than a Lucifer, to say to me many things very foreign to that first meeting. By this insulting and hasty reception, they did not give us an opportunity to look after our baggage, although the Chakan Ytzaes had the opportunity to put our things under such good guard that up to now we had not seen it, we being left from that time without more comfort than the clothes on our backs, nor more sustenance than that which their savage generosity might choose to give us.

Bravery of Avendaño. "In the long time that we were on the lake, a temptation was offered to the King, such as belonged to the devil who inspired it and natural to his inhuman and cruel heart, so as to inspire me with fear, so that my heart might suffer some sadness or disturbance; but his purpose found itself frustrated, first, because when I started from Merida for this nation, I went prepared to die; and second, knowing that they were such savages in their ways, my courage stood prepared to suffer whatever insults they might say to me, as for instance to bear for God, who gives us courage, any unreasonable acts, whatsoever. Suddenly the said King placed


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134 his hand over my heart to see if it was at all agitated, and at the same time he asked me if I was so. I who was before very glad to see that my wishes and the work of my journey were being obtained, replied to him, 'Why should my heart be disturbed? Rather it is very contented, seeing that I am the fortunate man, who is fulfilling your own prophecies, by which you are to become Christians; and this benefit will come to you by means of some bearded men from the East; who by signs of their prophets, were we ourselves, because we came many leagues from the direction of the east, ploughing the seas, with no other purpose than, borne by our love of their souls, to bring them, (at the cost of much work) to that favor which the true God shows them' I at this time, with some freedom on my part, also placed my hand on his breast and heart, and asking him also if his was disturbed, he said, 'No.' To which I replied, 'If you are not disturbed, at seeing me, who am the minister of the true God, different in everything from you, in dress, customs and color, so that I inspire fear in the devil, and if your heart is not troubled, why should you expect me to be afraid of you, mere men like myself, whom I come to seek purposely, with great pleasure, merely for the love which I have for their souls, and having found them, in order to announce to them the law of the true God, as you shall hear when we came to Peten.' At this, changing the conversation, the devil tried to use him as his instrument for putting me in another greater temptation.

"It is a custom among them, that, on the day before killing any one or sacrificing him, especially if he is a stranger to their town, to give them something to eat, either the hot drink of barley and beans, which they use, or another of cacao, which is what they offer them. I was not ignorant of all these rites, through what history relates that they had done on the two occasions on which priests of my holy religion had gone there; although in one case did they kill the Padre Fray Diego Delgado, through the fault of some Spaniards who followed him. When


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Rh in the same way the said King asked me if I was hungry, I, though I had just eaten, realizing the situation, said 'Yes,' so that his wickedness should not see any cowardice in me; and I asked him if they had anything to eat, that they should give me some. At once he ordered that all the canoes should halt, and made them give red peppers and herbs, or tamales, which they brought on purpose to give us in the middle of that lake. I ate it eagerly and asked him very pleasantly if there was any more; to which he replied, 'Then it has tasted good to you ?' 'Finely,' I told him, 'and I would eat more if there were any.' I said this to him with some wit, at which they all laughed, but in a serious way, and they gave another which I ate with the same pleasure, at which they were all surprised,- at the sight of my coolness....

The Landing at Tayasal; the Idol. “With this we continued our way to Peten Ytza, which is situated in the middle of the said lake, as well as in the midst also of other islands or Petens. On the shore of the landing place is situated the house of the said petty King at the distance of half a quarter of a league, in the middle of which, open to the street, stands the fragment of a column, of round stone, the circumference of each part of which is about three quarters of a yard across and one quarter high. It is made of stones placed on top of each other with mortar of lime and cah cab, which is usually used for that purpose; and the middle is filled in with bitumen, so that it is like a table, with a round pedestal, upon which and set in the foundation of the said stone column, there stands out toward the West a stone mask, very ill-formed, which, together with the stone column, the petty King and the rest of his family and followers worship. The said column is called, in the name by which they worship it, Yax cheel cab, which means in their language, 'the first tree in the world,' and, as is understood in their old songs (which few people understand) they wish to have it known they worship it because it was the tree of whose fruit our first father Adam ate, who in their language is called Ixanom. In the small part which is fortunately preserved, and the mask, which stands in the said foundation of the said column, they worship him with the title of the


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136 son of the very wise God. In their language they call him Ahcocabmut....

At the Temple. "We came to the said temple which had more space than the hall of the petty King, although it is the same in its structure. Here we dimly saw a box suspended, in which we saw indistinctly (although hastily) a bone of the leg or thigh, very large in size, which appeared to be that of a horse; and I confess that though we had much to do that afternoon, which was the time that we stayed in that temple, we acted a little unwisely, since we neither asked what that bone was, nor did we remember in the rest of the days to go and look at it more deliberately. This thought occurred to us when we had left Peten, when our error was irremediable (which was a cause of greater grief) because we remembered then that that bone was by chance from the horse which Cortes left in their care, which they had kept as a relic or to hold him in memory, since they rendered worship (as I said before) to his statue.

The Padres Read the Letters. "At last I brought out the letters of the message and it cost no little trouble to make them sit down and keep quiet, so that they might hear it. I called before us all the priests, who are the Masters of the law, and all the caciques, captains and chiefs of all the districts of that island or Peten.... I began to read to them the message which the Governor sent in writing in the name of the King our Lord; and in the few moments that I had read to them, seeing their manner and the little attention which they showed, I perceived that they did not understand what I was reading to them, and having asked them about this, they replied in the words, ' manucan a can twot kanil caxicin,' which means, 'we do not understand what you say.' Then, leaving off reading the letter,... I explained the said message to them in the ancient idiom, and inserting a spiritual sermon... and all this was explained to them with some eagerness, mixing in some words of their prophecies, which were at that time to the point. They heard it gladly, because they understood it all.... They answered in these words, ' cato vale,' which is


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Rh as if they said 'We will think of it first, for there is time for answering. Wait.'

The Curiosity of the Itzas. "With this, as it was already almost night-fall, we set out with the same crowd for another temple, which stands about three-eighths of a league from the house of the petty King, where was our abode. Although we stopped there, the continuation of their wonderment did not stop on their part, since, with this as an excuse, they did not leave us a moment alone by day or night, since if any, satisfied with having seen us by day, went away to their houses at night, double the number of them came by night to see us and to sleep there, besides those who came first, and even those who had gone away satisfied with seeing us, did not fail to come back. In this way we lived with the annoyance which can be imagined, since we were not able to attend to our needs, without their following us; and neither the prohibition of the King nor our own scolding were sufficient to hinder their excessive curiosity, the only attention which they paid to either being that they all laughed at it. Their tediousness was such, that if we sat down, they all sat down next to us, surrounding us; and then some on one side and others on the other would touch us from top to toe, not excepting (if we gave them the chance) the most hidden parts of a man; if we stopped or walked on, it was all the same, so that, in order to be able to carry on the divine service without that annoyance, we contrived the plan that they should seat themselves in a row around the said temple on the benches of stone and lime which were there, and we, walking up and down in the middle, carried on the divine service, it all being a matter of amusement for them,- not only the movement of our lips speaking things they did not understand, but also the gestures and crosses which we made over ourselves as we prayed; and, although we got through with our prayers, we kept walking all the while so as to enjoy the relief for so much longer time.

"The King was present at all this, since he never left us by day or night.... I asked them what it was that they had decided to reply to my message. At which the King, taking the lead, answered, for all, in the same words as above, ' Cato


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138 cato vale.' 'We will answer soon.' And the King, speaking aside with me, asked what it was I wished to hear; to which I replied, 'to know if you wish to receive the law of God and the friendship of the Spaniards which I offered you yesterday, and if you wish to undertake to be Christians, as has been prophesied to you by your prophets, since you are not ignorant of them. The time has come.' To which the King, together with the two other priests who were with him, replied to me that they were willing to become Christians, but that they did not know how that kind of baptism which I had explained to them was to be carried out. Then I, taking as a text that verse of Ezekiel, 'I will sprinkle clean water upon you and ye shall be clean; from all your iniquities and your idols will I cleanse you,' explained the said text to them, item by item.... They replied to this in these words,- ' ba valac a toca vale,' which means 'so it will be when tomorrow dawns and we shall see it.' With this we all went to the temple, where we stopped and where they were present all night. Before God brought the dawn, they had already caused to be brought some cups of warm posole, which they are accustomed to drink, so that with this and the rest of the supplies which they use, such as..., beans, cooked squashes, flesh of wild pigs, prawns and other kinds of fish, with whatever each man found in his house, and all this with many tortillas of maize bread, and they did not stop bringing these till night; there being an excess of everything, so that when we saw that these same people did not depart from here, we gave it back again to them to eat, which they did, the King beginning first.

A Baptism Performed. "Having breakfasted this first day on warm posole, we began for the third time to speak about the spiritual lecture of the day before,... and having heard for the third time this lecture, anxious to receive the said baptism, although suspicious of what it was, since they thought that there was some shedding of blood or circumcision or cutting of some part of their body, they said that they wished to see in one case how that was done, and at this time the King, taking hold of one child of the many of his family which he had concealed behind the temple for the said purpose, said to me, -


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Rh 'Do that which you speak of to this child and I will see whether it is good or not.' To which I replied,-'And if it should seem to be good, will you permit me to do just the same with the rest of your children?' To which the King replied, before all the people who stood around listening, that he would. Then taking the child which the King offered me, and one of the Indian singers who went with us holding him, I sprinkled on him the baptismal water. Then, seeing that this was such an easy thing and without the harm which they had expected, they asked me to do the same with the children which the King had concealed there. These he immediately brought forth, and he bade all those present (especially those of his family and district) to bring their little children to receive their names (for this is what they called baptism). And he told the priests who were present there, about three or four in number,-'It is proper that all your children should come to receive their names and to be washed.' With this example of the King in being the first to bring his children to be baptized, the other Indians imitated him in bringing theirs in great haste, so that in the three days and a half during which they delayed in giving their answer to my message, I performed very nearly three hundred baptisms, without my having an opportunity to stir from that temple, on account of my seeing the assemblage of Indian men and women, who brought their children of their own accord to be baptized. I gladly administered the said holy rite, since the King, (who in everything showed himself very friendly towards me) and three other priests who were his relatives had told me that they were only waiting for two caciques with their captains, in order to give the final answer, which would be favorable in all respects (as they did give it) and this will be seen below....

"I stopped baptizing until I could catechize them in the mysteries of our holy faith, which is required for such a purpose; and afterwards all agreed with me to receive baptism when I should come back there at the appointed time of four months hence, as I will speak of in the proper place.

Other Caciques Arrive. "I found myself occupied in this work, when, on the said day, there began to come, sailing over


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140 the lake, some of the governors, captains and head men of the four other Petens or islands, with their officers of war, and their paraphernalia, such as javelins and their flint daggers, a little less than a quarter of a yard long,—the said javelins adorned with feathers of various colors instead of with ribbons, very beautiful to see, and all hanging down. I went forth to receive them, out of the courtesy which is due from me, but the Indians of that Peten went out stirred merely with curiosity to see them come, painted red and covered with feathers, with their war trappings and their faces painted black. I embraced them and spoke to them in kind words, and if I found that I had anything left to eat, of what they gave me there, I shared it with them, as they had just come, making them sit down next to me and the King, who always remained at my side. As the result of my action, if they had any misgiving, they cast it aside, or if they felt any anger or dissatisfaction on seeing me there, they became calm, and at once I set forth my proposal, which they accepted and received well, which proposal was that they should be friends of the Spaniards and should receive their laws, in proof of which acceptance they bowed their heads, saying that they wish the trade in hatchets and machetes which they should receive from them.

The Caciques in War Paint. "Among these caciques or governors of the said four islands, there came an old man with a moderate sized machete with two edges, forming the blade of his javelin; and another, not so old, with his flint dagger; and these, besides coming painted and in warlike array, had their faces as foul as the purpose which they had in their hearts was wicked (as they promptly showed). Looking at them naturally inspired horror. I did my best to treat them more kindly, speaking to them more frequently and pleasantly, discoursing with them in their ancient idiom, as if the time had already come (just as their prophets had foretold) for our eating together from one plate and drinking from one cup, we, the Spaniards, making ourselves one with them. To this the older one replied, with an affected laugh, that he was very happy at this, so as to go from these thickets in which he lived and to come with me to the Province and obtain titles to lands


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Rh which his ancestors held and to live on these in happiness among his elder brothers, the Spaniards; promising me at the same time to accompany me with all his people into the presence of the Governor as a proof of a true surrender. His showing without necessity such submission was a sure sign of his real treachery. It was now about four o'clock in the afternoon without their having had speech with the King, at which they went at once to the house of a friend of theirs, and I saw that the King took little account of them, and it was because, as I knew afterwards from the mouth of the King, they were his enemies....

Avendaño Makes Inquiries as to their Manner of Reckoning Time. "I told them that I wished to speak to them of the old manner of reckoning which they use, both of days, months and years and of the ages, and to find out what age the present one might be (since for them one age consists only of twenty years) and what prophecy there was about the said year and age; for it is all recorded in certain books of a quarter of a yard high and about five fingers broad, made of the bark of trees, folded from one side to the other like screens; each leaf of the thickness of a Mexican Real of eight, These are painted on both sides with a variety of figures and characters (of the same kind as the Mexican Indians also used in their old times), which show not only the count of the said days, months and years, but also the ages and prophecies which their idols and images announced to them, or, to speak more accurately, the devil by means of the worship which they pay to him in the form of some stones. These ages are thirteen in number; each age has its separate idol and its priest, with a separate prophecy of its events. These thirteen ages are divided into thirteen parts, which divide this kingdom of Yucatan and each age, with its idol, priest and prophecy, rules in one of these thirteen parts of this land, according as they have divided it; I do not give the names of the idols, priests or parts of the land, so as not to cause trouble, although I have made a treatise on these old counts with all their differences and explanations, so that they may be evident to all, and the curious may learn them,


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142 for, if we do not understand them, I affirm that the Indians can betray us face to face.

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 Yucatan 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:

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 Gaspar 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 Relation, treating of the ancient