[XV-3] The prior of Lora, chaplain of the king in 1522, was proposed to the pope for the office of bishop of the country lying between Nombre de Dios and Higueras. 'Siruenla cinco Dignidades, y dos Canonigos, tres Capellanes: y ocho Colegiales del Colegio. Tiene Sacristan Mayor con carga de Sochantre en el Coro; y tiene vna sola Parroquia en ella, y su comarca.' Gonzalez Dávila, Teatro Ecles., ii. 56. This author, as well as Alcedo in Dic. Univ., iv. 33, gives a list of bishops, but both are incorrect. It was somewhat later, the time of which is written in Purchas, His Pilgrimes, iv. 882. 'The limits of the Counsell of Panama, which was first called Castilla del Oro, and afterwards Terra Firme, are very small; for the Counsell is principally resident there, for the dispatch of the Fleetes and Merchants, which goe and come to Peru: it hath in length East and West about ninetie leagues.' Further reference, Morelli, Fasti Novi Orbis, 96; Oviedo, iii. 57-117; Herrera, dec. iii. lib. i. cap. xvi.; Carta de la Audiencia de Santo Domingo, in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., i. 413; Enciso, Suma de Geografia, 57.
[XV-4] As a discoverer, his talents were unequal to the attempt. As a writer, Andagoya figured with Oviedo, Enciso, and other noted men in the retinue of the unscrupulous Pedrarias. Born in Alava province, he came to the Isthmus in 1514, and took an active part in the various expeditions for its subjugation and settlement. Through the favor of Pedrarias, whose wife's maid he married, he rose to encomendero, to regidor of Panamá, and, in 1522, to inspector-general of the Isthmus Indians. The present expedition, which brought back wonderful reports of the Inca empire, might have gained him the glories of that conquest, or at least he might have shared them with Pizarro, had his health not broken down. As it was, he merely acquired wealth as agent for the Peruvian hero, and although he rose afterward to adelantado and governor of New Castile, his integrity and comparative want of audacity prevented him from reaping the benefits within reach of less scrupulous rivals. The original of his well-written narrative, relating the history of the Isthmus and adjoining region in connection with his career, was found by Navarrete in the Seville Archives, and published in his Col. de Viages, iii. 393-459, from which source Markham made the translation issued in 1865 by the Hakluyt Society. Oviedo's account of Andagoya's career, from a different source, iv. 126-32, confirms the general exactness of his narrative, although Acosta, Comp. Hist. Nueva Granada, 383, declares it colored with a view to advocate his claim to the governorship of New Castile. Helps' Span. Conq., iii. 426, and March y Labores, Marina Española, ii. 121, give Andagoya's voyage.
[XVI-2] Consisting of gold from 12 to 18 carats by actual assay, amounting to 17,000 pesos de oro; of an inferior quality, known as hachas, 15,363 pesos; in rattle-shaped pieces, said to be of no standard value, 6,182 pesos. Gil Gonzalez Dávila, Carta al Rey, MS. There were likewise 145 pesos worth of pearls, of which 80 pesos' worth were obtained from the Pearl Islands. Relacion del viage que hizo Gil Gonzalez Dávila, in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xiv. 20-24. This document gives in detail, beside the quantity of pearls secured, the distance journeyed, the dimensions of the islands, the names of the provinces through which they passed, with their caciques, the gold taken from each, and the souls baptized. There are also here given, 5-20, id., Andrés Niño, Relacion del asiento, or agreement with the king; Relacion de lo que va en la armada, with the cost of outfit, etc.
[XVI-3] The 10th of March, 1524, the royal officers at Española, Miguel de Pasamonte and Alonso Dávila, write the king that Captain Gil Gonzalez Dávila is there about to embark 'to seek the strait from north to south'—'Torna agora á buscar el Estrecho de Norte á Sur.' Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., i. 440.
[XVI-4] 'El mal tiempo echo a la mar algunos de los cavallos que llevava, de donde le quedó el nombre.' Herrera, dec. iii. lib. v. cap. xii. Oviedo mentions the death of a horse which was buried with great secrecy, lest the natives should learn they were mortal. Fernando Colon, in 1527, writes a: de cauallos; Ribero, in 1529, C∴ de cauallos; Vaz Dourado, 1571, p∴ de caualos, with the name triqueste next west; De Laet, 1633, Po de Cavallos; Ogilby, 1671, Pta d. Cavallos; Jefferys, 1776, Pto Cavallos; and to-day as in the text.
[XVI-5] Oviedo, iii. 114, says that two or three days afterward Soto and his companions were released upon parole, and their arms restored them.
[XVI-6] Town, port, and cape. Some English charts still retain the name Cape Triunfo. Ribero writes t'ũfo de la c̃z; Vaz Dourado, triumfo dellai, the next name west being piita de la call, and next to this, rio de pochi, which Ribero calls R∴ d' pechi. Next west of this name Ribero places p∴o de hellados. Ogilby, De Laet, Jefferys, and others give Triumpho or Triumfo de la Cruz.
[XVII-1] See chapter iv., note 6, this volume.
[XVII-2] 'Una que llaman Hueitapalan y en otra lengua Xucutaco ... ocho ó diez jornadas de aquella villa de Trujillo.' Cortés, Cartas, 469. 'Higueras y Hõduras, que tenian fama de mucho oro y buena tierra.' Gomara, Hist. Mex., 233.
[XVII-3] Cartas, 315, letter of 13 Oct., 1524. The letter of the emperor commanding him to search both coasts is dated 6 June, 1523.
[XVII-4] Soldiers, 370, including 100 archers and arquebusiers, and 22 horses, says Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 176. 'Por todos çinco navios gruessos ó caravelas é un bergantin.' Oviedo, iii. 459.
[XVII-5] Also written Oli, Olit, Olite, Dolid, Dolit. A hidalgo of Baeza. Oviedo, iii. 188. See chap. vi. vol. i., Hist. Mexico, this series.
[XVII-6] Bernal Diaz describes him as a well formed, strong-limbed man, with wide shoulders and a somewhat fair complexion. Despite the peculiarity of a groove in the lower lip, which gave it the appearance of being split, the face was most attractive. 'Era un Hector en el esfuerço, para combatir.' He was married to a Portuguese, Felipa de Araujo, by whom he had a daughter. Hist. Verdad., 176, 177, 240. Further references in chap. vi. vol. i., Hist. Mexico, this series.
[XVII-7] The lobes of his ears were shorn by captors, he said, of a fortress which he had aided too obstinately in defending. Bernal Diaz appears to doubt this explanation. Hist. Verdad., 176, 177.
[XVII-8] The agent, Alonso de Contreras, had received 8,000 pesos de oro for the purpose, in order that the expedition should not be hampered for want of means, nor be obliged to prey at once upon the natives. Oviedo, iii. 459. Cortés estimates the total cost of the expedition at over 50,000 ducats. Mem., in Doc. Inéd., iv. 227; Instruc., in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xiii. 5; Gastos, in id., xii. 386, with details of expenses. The purchases were made ere the presence of the fleet should raise prices at Habana, and yet a fanega of maize cost two pesos de oro, a sword eight pesos, a crossbow twenty, and a firelock one hundred; while a shipmaster received eight hundred pesos a month. Gomara, Hist. Mex., 243.
[XVII-9] 'Se habia confederado el tal Cristóbal Dolit con Diego Velazquez, y que iba con voluntad de no me obedecer, antes de le entregar la tierra al dicho Diego Velazquez y juntarse con él contra mi.' Cortés, Cartas, 337. 'Cõcertarõ ... q̃ entre él, y Christoval de Oli, tuviesen aquella tierra de Higueras ... y q̃ el Diego Velazquez le proveeria de lo q̃ huviesse menester.' Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 177; Oviedo, iii. 113; Gomara, Hist. Mex., 243.
[XVII-11] 'Con que començò a entender que se yua apartando de la obediencia de Cortés.' Herrera, dec. iii. lib. v. cap. xii.
[XVII-12] Juarros, Guat., 42-3. It was soon abandoned. See chap. xvi., note 5, this volume.
[XVII-13] This according to Gomara, Hist. Mex., 269, and Cortés, Cartas, 467, who do not, however, clearly indicate that Valenzuela was one of Olid's officers. Informed of the wreck, by Casas probably, Cortés sent a vessel for them, which was also wrecked, on the Cuban coast. Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 208, alludes to this party as twenty-five men sent to kidnap Indians.
[XVII-14] 'Cum narium et venarum gutturis summo tumore præ ira, sæpe dedit de tanta animi perturbatione signa, neque a verbis id significantibus abstinuit.' Peter Martyr, dec. viii. cap. x.
[XVII-15] Cortés did not overlook the application of the act to his own escapade with Velazquez. In complaining to the emperor, he assumes that many will regard it as a pena peccati, but explains that Olid had no share in this expedition, as he himself had had in the one from Cuba. With respect to the present fleet, he regretted not so much the loss of 40,000 pesos de oro as the injury the rebellion must cause the imperial interest, in delay of exploration and settlement and in excesses against Indians. Further, he remarks pointedly, such revolts will deter loyal and enterprising men from embarking their fortune in the service of the crown. Cartas, 337.
[XVII-16] Herrera, dec. iii. lib. v. cap. xiii. Cortés, Cartas, 336, calls him 'primo,' which may bear the same interpretation. Oviedo, iii. 517, calls him brother-in-law.
[XVII-17] Fitted out with sails and rigging of vessels seized from traders, and with pressed crews; the fleet was ordered to intercept any communication and aid for Honduras. Testimonio, in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xii. 274-7. They were all the vessels that could be obtained, it seems. One or both of the small craft deserted and took refuge in Cuba, there to leave testimony. See also Relacion de los Oidores, in id., xiv. 43; Cortés, Cartas, 336. Bernal Diaz places the number of vessels at five and the soldiers at 100, naming 3 conquistadores. Hist. Verdad., 194. Out of the 150 the soldiers probably did number 100, and there may have been five vessels, for Herrera states that Cortés sent a ship with stores under Pedro Gonzalez to follow Casas. Off the very coast of Honduras he was overtaken by a storm which drove him back to Pánuco with the belief that the fleet must have perished, dec. iii. lib. v. cap. xiii. Gomara, Hist. Mex., 243, mentions only two vessels.
[XVII-18] 'Assi estuuieron todo aquel dia,' says Herrera, loc. cit., who leaves the reader to suppose that at one time the advantage leant to Olid's side and caused Casas to hoist a flag of truce which was disregarded; but other authorities do not take this view.
[XVII-19] Four soldiers. Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 194; without loss, says Herrera.
[XVII-20] 'O esperando con intenciõ de se ir a otra baia a desembarcar,' is one of the suppositions of Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 194. 'Briones ... en teniendo auiso de Francisco de las Casas, se apartò de Christoual de Olid, y tomò la voz de Cortes.' Herrera, ubi sup. It appears that Briones had by this time gained an advantage over Gil Gonzalez, capturing over 50 of his men; but he now released them under certain conditions. Cortés, Cartas, 459. Bernal Diaz assumes that Briones' revolt occurred later and that he set out for Mexico.
[XVII-21] After convincing him by means of two or three days of exposure and starvation, as Bernal Diaz and Gomara seem to intimate. Herrera assumes that he won him by kind treatment.
[XVII-22] After the defeat by Briones, Gil Gonzalez seems to have become bewildered. Leaving a few followers at Nito under Diego de Armenta, he embarked in three vessels, touched at San Gil to hang Francisco Riquelme and a clergyman for having led a revolt, and thence proceeded to Choloma. Owing to Briones' defection his capture was intrusted to Juan Ruano. Herrera, dec. iii. lib. v. cap. xiii. The seizure was effected with the loss of his nephew Gil de Ávila and eight soldiers. Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 194; Cortés, Cartas, 459. Oviedo assumes that Gonzalez was entrapped by false promises, iii. 188.
[XVII-23] 'Con un cuchillo de escribanías, que otra arma no tenia ... diciendo: "Ya no es tiempo de sufrir mas este tirano."' Cortés, Cartas, 460.
[XVII-24] 'Aqui del Rey, e de Cortés contra este tirano, que ya no es tiempo de mas sufrir sus tiranias.' Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 195.
[XVII-25] According to Herrera, the confessor, awed by the proclamation, revealed the hiding-place, after exacting a promise that no harm should befall his protégé. The promise was disregarded on the principle that 'dead man wages no war,' and although Olid was dead when the hour came for execution, yet the corpse was publicly beheaded, dec. iii. lib. v. cap. xii. Other authorities do not state how he was discovered or arrested. 'Otro dia por la mañana, hecho su proceso contra él, ambos los capitanes (Casas and Gonzalez) juntamente le sentenciaron á muerte.' Cortés, Cartas, 460. 'Assi fenecio su vida, por tener en poco su contrario.' Gomara, Hist. Mex., 244. His brother, Antonio de Olid, sought justice before the Consejo de Indias against Casas and Gonzalez for the murder. Herrera, dec. iii. lib. x. cap. xi.
[XVII-26] In Estremadura.
[XVII-27] 'Halláronse ciento y diez hombres que dijeron que querian poblar, y los demás todos dijeron que se querian ir con Francisco de las Casas.' Cortés, Cartas, 460. See also Informe, in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., ii. 131, 141. These did not comprise Gonzalez' followers, but may have been all of Olid's and Casas' men who cared to remain in Honduras; yet it seems strange that the latter should have allowed so large a number to abandon a province which they had been sent to occupy.
[XVII-28] Oviedo assumes that Casas would brook no rival after his triumph, and made Gonzalez a prisoner, 'é llevólo en grillos á la Nueva España.' iii. 188-9, 518. The last assertion is even less likely. Affairs had meanwhile changed in Mexico, and like Casas he fell into the hands of Cortés' enemies, who were at first intent on their execution, but ultimately sent both to Spain for trial. One of the charges was the murder of Olid. Gonzalez was wrecked on Fayal Island, but reached Seville in April, 1526, only to be confined in the atarazana, or arsenal. Released on parole, as a knight commander of Santiago, he returned to his home at Ávila, and there died not long after, says Oviedo, deeply repentant of his sins. Dávila, Testimonio, in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xii. 362-7.
[XVII-29] Gomara, Hist. Mex., 245. A minority soon after attempted to replace Medina by the alguacil Orbaneja. Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., ii. 133-5. Testimony on the foundation of Trujillo, in id., xiv. 44-7.
[XVII-30] Herrera states that Ruano, who captured Gonzalez, had gone to Cuba after Casas' triumph, but the testimony in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., ii. 127, etc., shows that he had been picked up by Moreno at San Gil.
[XVII-31] He himself being the probable captain. Some sixteen slaves were kidnapped here, and the rest at San Gil. The account of Moreno's proceedings, by different witnesses, is to be found in Informacion hecha por órden de Hernan Cortés sobre excesos por Moreno, in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., ii. 127-79; and in Relacion de los Oidores, in id., xiv. 39, etc. When the emperor learned of the kidnapping, he angrily ordered the release of the slaves, and their good treatment pending an investigation. Herrera, dec. iii. lib. x. cap. xi. Cortés intimates that Ruano had used persuasion with Moreno to obtain the command. Cartas, 462-3.
[XVIII-1] Herrera assumes stronger reasons, the arrival of the supply vessel sent after Casas with the report that the latter could not have escaped the storm which drove her back to Mexico, and the rumored victory of Olid over both his opponents. But it is pretty certain that Cortés heard nothing of the latter affair, at least while he was in Mexico, dec. iii. lib. v. cap. xiii.
[XVIII-2] The safety of Mexico was above other considerations; the road to Honduras was unknown and full of danger; the emperor would punish Olid. Such were the arguments used. Cortés replied that unless prompt chastisement was inflicted others would follow the example, and disorder must follow, with loss to himself of respect and territory. The crown officials demanded in the emperor's name that he should remain. Gomara, Hist. Mex., 245. Cortés yielded, and wrote to the emperor that he had intended to march through Guatemala but would remain, especially since he expected news from Honduras within two months. Carta, Oct. 15, 1524. A few days later he began his march.
[XVIII-3] Cartas, Sept. 3, 1526, 395-6.
[XVIII-4] In the letter from Honduras he says October 12, but this very generally accepted date must be a misprint, since in one of the two letters dated at Mexico within the following three days, he writes to the emperor that he would not leave. He could hardly dare to reveal that he had gone, while writing that he was still at Mexico; but he was on the way before November.
[XVIII-5] 'Sacó de aquí ciento y veinte de caballo y veinte escopeteros y otros tantos ballesteros y gente de pié,' besides 4,000 to 5,000 Indians. Carta de Albornoz, in Icazbalceta, Col. Doc., i. 485. A number of Spaniards at least were added on the way to Goazacoalco, where review was held, showing, according to Bernal Diaz, upward of 250 soldiers, beside arrivals from Spain, 130 being horsemen, and 3,000 warriors from different parts of the country, beside servants of caciques. Hist. Verdad., 195-7. This agrees with Gomara's 150 cavalry, 150 infantry, 3,000 warriors, and a number of servant-women. Hist. Mex., 251. Cortés, at this same review, mentions only 93 horsemen with 150 horses, and 30 and odd foot-soldiers. Cartas, 398.
[XVIII-6] Prescott, whose account of this famous expedition and its connecting incidents, indicates both a want of authorities and an imperfect study, mentions only the sovereigns of Mexico and Tlacopan. Helps follows him. But Gomara names also the king of Tezcuco, besides a number of caciques, and gives their tragic fate, as does Ixtlilxochitl with greater detail. Horribles Crueldades, 79.
[XVIII-7] Bernal Diaz names a number of the officers and staff servants, as Carranza, mayordomo; Iasso, maestresala, or chief butler; Salazar, chamberlain; Licenciado Pero Lopeza, doctor, a vintner, a pantler, a butler, etc.; 2 pages with lances, 8 grooms, and 2 falconers; 5 musicians, etc.
[XVIII-8] Bernal Diaz relieves his feelings in a loud grumble, which softens as he recalls the consolation to his pride in being given for a time a petty command. Hist. Verdad., 197.
[XVIII-9] 'Y aun hasta Nicaragua ... y hasta dõde residia Pedrarias.' Gomara, Hist. Mex., 250.
[XVIII-10] See Cortés, Cartas, 337, 397.
[XVIII-11] The pueblos at the crossing-places are called respectively Tonalan and Agualulco, written in different forms even by the same authority.
[XVIII-12] Cortés calls the province Çupilcon, 35 leagues from Espíritu Santo, a figure which may be correct by the line of march. It was 20 leagues in length, and its extreme eastern pueblo was Anaxuxuca.
[XVIII-13] Guezalapa, or Quetzatlapan.
[XVIII-14] Zagoatan, Zagutan, etc.
[XVIII-15] Ocumba was one of the pueblos discovered up the river.
[XVIII-16] 'Estuvieron muy cerca de se ahogar dos ó tres españoles,' is the prudent form in which Cortés disguises this and other unpleasant facts to the emperor. Cartas, 404.
[XVIII-17] An anthropophagous Mexican was here burned alive, as a warning against such indulgences; and a letter was given to the leading cacique to inform other Spaniards that he was a friend to the white man. Gomara, Hist. Mex., 252; Herrera, dec. iii. lib. vii. cap. viii.
[XVIII-18] Ascension is the name applied by Cortés to the Gulf of Honduras. While on the way to the capital of Acalan, a messenger came up with letters from Mexico, not of very late date, however, and he was sent back from Izancanac. Cortés, Cartas, 421-2.
[XVIII-19] The fate of the crew and vessels appears to have been mixed up with the invented narrative of the general disaster, and it was not till after Cortés' return to Mexico, two years later, that inquiries were made which revealed their fate. Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 196, 210. Albornoz, one of the rulers appointed by Cortés over Mexico, relates in a letter to the emperor, dated 15 December, 1525, that according to reports from Xicalanco traders to Ordaz, the party of Cortés had been killed seven to eight moons before, in an island city, seven suns distant from Xicalanco, called Cuzamelco. They had been surprised by night and slaughtered with sword and fire. A number of captives had been reserved for the table, but the flesh being found bitter of taste it had been cast into the lake. Icazbalceta, Col. Doc., i. 485-6.
[XVIII-20] Zaguatapan, Huatipan, etc.
[XVIII-21] 'Y los arboles tan altos que no se podia subir en ellos, para atalayar la tierra.' Gomara, Hist. Mex., 253.
[XVIII-22] Cortés names Uzumazintlan, below, and Petenecque, six leagues above, with three other pueblos beyond. Cartas, 412. Cortés gave presents in return, and made so forcible an appeal in behalf of his creed, that many returned to burn their idols. Gomara, Hist. Mex., 254. Bernal Diaz states that four foragers were killed on this river. Hist. Verdad., 198.
[XVIII-23] The natives reported two rivers, one very large, and bad marshes, on the three days' road to Acalan. Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 198.
[XVIII-24] Apoxpalon, Apaspolon, etc.
[XVIII-25] Bernal Diaz states that he and Mejía led the party.
[XVIII-26] He was one of three Flemish monks who formed the first special mission of friars to New Spain, arriving a year before the famous twelve. Torquemada, iii. 424-5. His proper name was De Toit.
[XVIII-27] 'Algunas oy permanezen (1701), y se llaman las Puentes de Cortés.' Villagutierre, Hist. Conq. Itza, 40.
[XVIII-28] Bernal Diaz relates at length, with swelling pride, how the great leader humbled himself to him. Hist. Verdad., 199. Sandoval dared not trust his own attendants with a secret whereon depended his supper, but went in person with Diaz to convoy it. The friars received liberal contributions from the men, but the Indians were neglected, says Ixtlilxochitl, the kings and caciques alone being given as a favor a little of the maize set aside for the horses. Horribles Crueldades, 87.
[XVIII-29] Cortés writes Teutiercas, Tentacras; Gomara, Teuticaccac; Herrera, Titacat.
[XVIII-30] Bernal Diaz's rather confused account states that Cortés demanded bridges to be built, but was told that the caciques of the different pueblos had first to be consulted. Supplies being needed, Mazariegos was sent with 80 men in canoes to different settlements to obtain supplies, and found ready response. The next pueblo reached by the army was deserted and without food. Hist. Verdad., 200. The above seems doubtful.
[XVIII-31] The plan is said to have been imparted to sympathizers in Mexico, with the recommendation to rise on a certain day against the colonists. 'Y de aqui creyeron muchos que naciò la fama de la muerte de Cortes.' Herrera, dec. iii. lib. vii. cap. ix. For this uprising there was opportunity enough, says Gomara, during the anarchy prevalent during Cortés' absence; but the Indians were waiting further orders from Quauhtemotzin. Finally their preparations aroused the suspicions of the colonists, and they took precautions. Hist. Mex., 250, 258. According to Cortés the Indians, after killing the Spaniards, were to rouse Honduras and the intermediate country ere they passed on to Mexico. All vessels were to be seized, so as to prevent alarm from being given. Cartas, 420.
[XVIII-32] Mexicaltzin, afterward baptized as Cristóbal, to whom the conspirators, says Cortés, had promised a province for his share of the spoil. Cartas, 420-1. Bernal Diaz states that the revelation was made by two prominent caciques, Tapia and Juan Velazquez, the latter captain-general under Quauhtemotzin when he was ruler. Hist. Verdad., 200. According to Ixtlilxochitl, the Indians were imitating the Spaniards in the festivities which precede Lent, but in such a manner as to arouse the suspicion of Cortés. One cause for the enjoyment was a statement by Cortés that here they would turn back to Mexico. The general called his spy Costemexi, of Ixtapalapan or Mexicaltzinco, and bade him ascertain what was going on. He soon returned to report that the three kings and six courtiers had been engaged in a humorous dispute as to which of the trio the now conquered provinces should belong to. Tlacatecatl, one of the chief lords, thereupon observed that if discord had brought about the fall of the native empire, they had gained instead the supreme happiness of instruction in the true faith. After this came tales and songs. When tortured some years after by Prince Ixtlilxochitl, the spy insisted that he had represented the case only as above stated, but that Cortés chose to interpret it as a malicious plot. Horribles Crueldades, 90-3. This version is doubtful in its details, and for the reason that the author's chief effort is to vindicate the natives. The cause for the rejoicing at a return to Mexico from Acalan savors rather of a promise from the conspirators than from Cortés.
[XVIII-33] The kings had formed it, and although they had not been parties to it, yet as subjects they naturally desired the liberty and weal of their lords. Gomara, Herrera, Cortés, Bernal Diaz. The two former implicate the three allied kings, the latter only the two of Mexico and Tlacopan.
[XVIII-34] The rest being spared, since they had been guilty chiefly of listening to the plot, says Cortés; 'pero quedaron procesos abiertos para que ... puedan ser castigados,' if required. The execution took place within a few days of the disclosure. Cartas, 421. Bernal Diaz, Herrera, and Gomara agree. The latter adds that king Cohuanacoch, of Tezcuco, who had also plotted, died some time before of bad food and water. Hist. Mex., 274. Torquemada adds five caciques to the three royal victims, according to the native version. i. 576.
[XVIII-35] Hist. Verdad., 200.
[XVIII-36] 'Por carnestollendas ... en Izancanac.' Gomara, Hist. Mex., 258-9. On February 26, 1525, specifies Vetancurt; on a Tuesday, three hours before dawn, adds Ixtlilxochitl, who also declares that the native songs and versions place it at Teotilac, and it certainly appears to have been carried out before the capital was reached. The Mexicans were so oppressed by hardships, says Bernal Diaz, that they seemed to be quite indifferent; still, the Spaniards hastened the departure for fear of an uprising. He places the occurrence at a pueblo beyond Acalan. Ixtlilxochitl tells another story. The kings were brought out three hours before dawn for fear of a tumult. The two of Mexico and Tlacopan had already been hanged, and Cohuanacoch was about to be, when his brother, Ixtlilxochitl, being advised, rushed forth and called upon the Indians. Perceiving the danger, Cortés cut the rope and saved the half-strangled king of Tezcuco. He thereupon proceeded to explain to Ixtlilxochitl the just reasons which had brought about the execution. The prince appeared convinced, and dismissed the auxiliaries, who stood ready to fall upon the Spaniards. The chief motive, however, for sparing them, was not the justice of the deed, for he regarded it ever as a treacherous one, but the fear of wars that might result from a revolt and carry desolation over his country, checking the progress of the saving faith. Cohuanacoch, whom Cortés accused as the chief conspirator, was carried with the army in a hammock, suffering severely from the wrenching of the noose. His grief brought about an intestinal hemorrhage, from which he died within a few days. Horribles Crueldades, 98-4.
[XVIII-37] 'Y sin auer mas prouãças, Cortes mandò ahorcar al Guatemuz, y al señor de Tacuba.... Y fue esta muerte que les dieron muy injustamente dada, y pareciò mal a todos los que ibamos aquella jornada.' Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 200. But his account of all this expedition is questionable, and his testimony loses force through the evident fact that he is carried away by sympathy for the kings, who had often favored him, and for the natives to whom his later condition in life bound him rather closely. He certainly admits the strong accusation and the confirmatory admission of the victims, the king of Tlacopan stating, for instance, that he and Quauhtemotzin had declared one death preferable to the daily deaths suffered. Torquemada adopts the version of a Tezcucan manuscript, which relates that Cohuanacoch on one occasion remarked to his royal confrères that, if they chose to be disloyal, the Spaniards might have to regret past injuries. Quauhtemotzin hastened to silence him by observing that walls had ears, which might misunderstand such expressions. A plebeian native reported them, and that very night those who had been present at the conversation, three kings and five caciques, were found hanging from a ceiba-tree. Torquemada will not believe that the Indians intended to revolt, especially since their country was now divided, but that Cortés regarded the kings as a burden, i. 575-6. Cavo, Tres Siglos, i. 46-8, agrees, and Gomara even intimates something to this effect in saying that Cortés ought to have preserved so prominent and brave a captive to point the triumph of his victories, but that the dangerous circumstances must have prevented him. Hist. Mex., 259. 'Es notorio, que Quauhtemoc y los demás señores murieron sin culpa, y que les levantaron falso testimonio.' Indeed, continues Ixtlilxochitl, when the Indians complained to the kings of maltreatment, they counselled submission. But his story is so full of glaring misstatements and absurdities, and so evident is the desire to relieve his kinsmen from the traitor's brand, that he cannot be relied on. Horribles Crueldades, 82, etc.; Id., Relaciones, Kingsborough's Mex. Antiq., ix. 440, etc. Brasseur de Bourbourg follows him implicitly of course, as he does almost any record from native source. There was no witness except the spy, and the princes were not allowed to defend themselves. Hist. Nat. Civ., iv. 608. He evidently pays no attention whatever to the Spanish versions. Bustamante accepts even more implicitly the records of those whom he prefers to regard as his ancestors. See his edition of Gomara, Chimalpain, Hist. Conq., ii. 135-6. Cano, who married the cousin and widow of Quauhtemotzin, calls the execution of the three kings a murder, as may be expected from his dislike of Cortés. Oviedo, iii. 549. Carried away by hyperbolic flights of fancy, wherein he surpasses even Solis himself, Salazar condemns the deed as based on false testimony, and blames Cortés for irritating the natives by resorting to so rash a measure. Conq. Mex., 240-3. Father Duran emphasizes this with well-known sympathy for the native cause. 'Y levantándose contra él algunos testigos falsos le mandó á horcar.' Hist. Ind., MS., ii. 522. On imperfect evidence and without a trial, says Robertson, Hist. Am., ii. 138. Prescott sympathizes with Quauhtemotzin and regards the testimony as insufficient, while Helps, Cortés, 208-9, doubts the statements of Bernal Diaz, and refers to the act as cruel practical wisdom. The chief ground for this view is that Cortés, as an hidalgo, would not lie, and can therefore be relied upon. It has not been my fortune to acquire such faith, and I fancy that a closer study of his hero might have changed Sir Arthur Helps' views. Alaman, a Mexican with Spanish sympathies, believes in the conspiracy, but regards the execution as a blot on Cortés. Quauhtemotzin, at least, should have been sent to Spain after the fall of Mexico. Disert., i. 214. This certainly would have been the best way to secure and make use of him. Pizarro y Orellana, Varones Ilvstres, 114-16, regards the evidence as clear and the execution as just; so does Revilla, although his reasons are not the best. Solis, Conq. Mex. (ed. 1843), 508.
[XVIII-38] It is not improbable that suspicions as to the thoughts and acts of the kings may have created a prejudice against them, but the suspicions existed already before they left Mexico, as proved by their being taken not only as hostages for the loyalty of their subjects, but as a precaution against their own possible disloyalty. Quauhtemotzin was evidently not the most submissive of men, for he had always been regarded as requiring a close watch, and Cortés brought him chiefly because of his 'bullicioso' character, as he expresses it. It may not be considered unpardonable for the Indian auxiliaries to relieve their feelings in mutinous expressions against the taskmasters and despoilers who were taking them away from home to meet an unknown fate, to endure toil, hunger, and danger. But such sentiments could not be overlooked in the kings. They, as captured leaders, existed only by sufferance, the condition being good behavior. For them even to listen was to encourage, and they were consequently guilty. Not that I blame them. Nay, I would rather blame them for not being more prompt and determined in the patriotic effort. But in resolving to listen, and to act, no doubt, they accepted a risk with a penalty well defined among all peoples. Cortés was not the man to hesitate at almost any deed when private or public interests demanded it; and it needed but little to rouse to blind fury the slumbering suspicions of the soldiers regarding Mexican loyalty. But here we have evidence—not groundless even from a native point of view—to justify the Spaniards in assuming that a conspiracy, or, at least, mutinous talk, was wide-spread, and this among a horde tenfold superior in number; a horde known ever to have cherished unfriendly feelings, and now doubly embittered by suffering. Under the circumstances even saints would not have disregarded testimony however doubtful; and the Castilians were but human. Self-preservation, ay, duty to king, and country, and God, whose several interests they were defending, demanded the prompt suppression of so ominous a danger. What were the best measures? A long campaign in Mexico had impressed Cortés with the belief that a people so trained to abject subservience as the Aztecs, and so bloody in their worship, could be controlled by severity alone, and that the lesson must fall on the leaders. Situated as they were the soldiers could not be expected to guard a large number of captives. Hence no course remained, except capital punishment. According to Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 201, Cortés' distress of mind at the sufferings of the expedition was so increased by this deed that he became sleepless, and, in wandering around one night in a temple forming the camp, he fell from a platform a distance of ten feet, hurting his head severely.
[XVIII-39] On a watercourse falling into Términos. Cortés, Cartas, 419.
[XVIII-40] 'Pueblos, ò Tierras de Venados.' Villagutierre, Hist. Conq. Itza, 43. 'Provincia de Maçatlan, que en su lengua dellos se llama Quiacho.' Cortés, Cartas, 422.
[XVIII-41] Called by Cortés Táica, Tahica, and Taiça, the latter not incorrect perhaps, although Atitza or Tayasal may be better.
[XVIII-42] This is probably Lake San Pedro, from which all the fish were caught, over 1,000 in number. Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 201.
[XVIII-43] 'Parescia brazo de mar, y aun así creo que lo es, aunque es dulce.' Cartas, 427.
[XVIII-44] So write Bernal Diaz and Villagutierre. Pinelo, Relacion, 1, 2, has it Taiza or Atitza. Two leagues from shore, says Cortés, on an island known as Peten Itza, Peten signifying island. Its present name is Remedios, and on the ruins of the old pueblo has risen the town of Flores. The name of Peten lives in that of the province. A romantic account is given of the rise of this lake people. The Itzas were a branch of one of the most ancient nations of Yucatan, whose name had descended on them as followers of the hero-god Itzamná. Chichen Itza, their capital, was once a centre of power and wealth in the peninsula, but with the changing fortunes of war came disunion, and in the beginning of the 15th century the feared Itzas had dwindled into a number of petty principalities ruled by caneks. 'El Cazique à quien comunmente llaman Canek.' Cogolludo, Hist. Yucathan, 54. It so happened that one of these fell in love, but found an obstacle in a father, who awarded the object of his affections to a more powerful chief. The canek was not to be thus easily balked. He watched his opportunity, and on the wedding-day broke in upon the festive assembly and carried off the bride. Gathering his warriors, the disappointed rival prepared to wreak vengeance and recover the prize. The Ilium of our hero was not fitted to withstand such hosts, and he had no other alternative than flight. Nor could his subjects hope to escape desolation, and taking up the cause of their leader, they followed him southward in search of a new home, safe from the avenger. Guided by craggy ranges, the refugees came to the smiling valley of Tayasal, with its island-studded lake, bordered by verdure-clad slopes, beyond which rose the shielding forest. Here indeed was a land of promise, where, guarded by Itzamná, they might rear new generations to perpetuate the name and traditions of their race. So runs the story as related by chroniclers, although with their devout frame of mind they give preference to another account, which attributes the migration to the prophecies of their priests, foretelling the coming of a bearded race, with a new faith, to rule over the land. Villagutierre, Hist. Conq. Itza, 29-31; Cogolludo, Hist. Yucathan, 507. See also Native Races, ii. v., etc. The Itzas will be again spoken of in a later volume.
[XVIII-45] 'Y que veria quemar los ídolos.' Cortés, Cartas, 30. Which was done, adds Gomara; but this Villagutierre will not allow. Idolatry rather increased, he goes on to show. Hist. Conq. Itza, 50. Here three Spaniards, two Indians, and one negro deserted, tired of the constant hardship. Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 202.
[XVIII-46] When the conquerors entered a century later to occupy the district, they found more than a score of stone temples on the island alone, and in one of the principal ones this idol. Villagutierre, Hist. Conq. Itza, 100-2; Cogolludo, Hist. Yucathan, 55; Native Races, iii. 483.
[XVIII-47] Nuestra Señora de Marco. Herrera, dec. iii. lib. viii. cap. i.
[XVIII-48] This was Medrano; 'Chirimia de la yglesia de Toledo.' The victims are named. Herrera, dec. iii. lib. viii. cap. i. Cortés also admits that great hunger was suffered, yet the swine were only sparingly used.
[XVIII-49] 'Murieron sesenta y ocho caballos despeñados y dejarretados,' etc. Cortés, Cartas, 433. Bernal Diaz is less clear on this incident. Gomara follows Cortés, although he says that the passage took only eight days, Hist. Mex., 263, and Herrera is the only one who enters into the losses sustained in men, a number dying also of diarrhœa from palm-cabbage. Ubi sup.
[XVIII-50] Cortés describes even these crossings as quite dangerous. The horses swam below the fall in the still water. Three days were passed ere all the horses could crawl into the camp, a league further. Cartas, 434.
[XVIII-51] 'Á 15 días del año de 1525.' Id.; that is, April 15.
[XVIII-52] 'Habia diez dias que no comiamos sino cuescos de palmas y palmitos.' 'Aun de aquellos palmitos sin sal no teniamos abasto, porque se cortaban con mucha dificultad de unas palmas muy gordas y altas, que en todo un dia dos hombres tenian que hacer cortar uno, y cortado, le comian en media hora.' Cortés, Cartas, 434, 439.
[XVIII-53] Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 202, 204; Juarros, Guat., 326. Most authors confound Nito and San Gil, and Prescott actually does so with Naco.
[XIX-1] Sixty men and twenty women left by Gonzalez. Cortés, Cartas, 440. Forty Spaniards and four women, says Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 204.
[XIX-2] 'De todos ellos no habia ocho para poder quedar en la tierra.' Cortés, Cartas, loc. cit. Their captain, Armenta, having refused to return with them to Cuba, they had hanged him a few days before, and had elected Nieto, who was ready to execute their wishes. Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 204.
[XIX-3] Montagua probably.
[XIX-4] Captain Marin found eight leagues off, on the Naco road, a number of well-supplied villages, from which provisions were forwarded. Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 204.
[XIX-5] Bought on credit from the owner, Anton de Carmona or Camargo, says Bernal Diaz, who reduces the stock to seven horses and forty hogs.
[XIX-6] A party had already been sent in this direction, but they returned within ten days disheartened, throwing discredit on the informants, who on their side accused the men of being faint-hearted. Cortés, Cartas, 441-2.
[XIX-7] Eighty Spaniards had attacked a pueblo, but the Indians returned in greater force and drove them off with some wounded. Cortés, Cartas, 444.
[XIX-8] It was sought to allure the natives back to aid in carrying supplies, but none came. Cortés, Cartas, 450. Bernal Diaz relates that the warriors returned to the attack after the flight, only to lose eight men. They now came to sue, and Cortés offered to release the captives if they sent down provisions to the vessel. This they did, but Cortés nevertheless insisted on retaining three families, whereupon the Indians attacked and wounded twelve Spaniards, including the general. Hist. Verdad., 205. This writer was not with the expedition, however, but at Naco, so that his account is doubly doubtful.
[XIX-9] 'Quimistlan y Zula y Cholome, que el que menos destos tiene por mas de dos mil casas.' Cortés, Cartas, 456. Bernal Diaz also names some places. Hist. Verdad., 207.
[XIX-10] He had been buffeted off the coast for nine days, while the land party arrived long before him, over a good road.
[XIX-11] 'Murieron ochenta Españoles sin algunos Indios en este viaje.' Gomara, Hist. Mex., 269. Licenciado Lopez escaped to spread the news of Cortés' being alive. Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 208.
[XIX-12] Together with Moreno 'in chains.' 'Although I fear that he acted by order of the oidores, and that no justice will be given.' Cortés, Cartas, 465-6. He praised the wealth of Honduras, and asked for soldiers. 'Y para dar credito que auia oro, embiò muchas joyas, y pieças ... de lo que truxo de Mexico,' says Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 208. But he is by no means to be relied on.
[XIX-13] Bernal Diaz assumes, contrary to Cortés' clear statement, that Zuazo sent a vessel from Habana with the letter, and that two days before her arrival at Trujillo came two vessels laden with merchandise from the oidores and merchants of Santo Domingo, who had learned of Cortés' whereabouts through a letter from one of the survivors of Ávalos' wrecked ship. Hist. Verdad., 208. Gomara states that the vessel from the oidores, laden with thirty-two horses, saddlery, and other useful material, was turned back from Cuba by the survivors of Ávalos' expedition. She touched at Santo Domingo on her way to Honduras. Hist. Mex., 270. Cortés shows that the news of Ávalos' shipwreck did not reach him till some time later. Cartas, 468-471.
[XIX-14] The staff did all they could to cheer him, and among other efforts to dispel his gloom, Mañueco, the maestresala, made a wager that he would ascend in full armor the steep hill to the new gubernatorial building. Before he could reach the top he fell dead. Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 211.
[XIX-15] 'Dejé en aquella villa hasta treinta y cinco de caballo y cincuenta peones.' Cortés, Cartas, 470.
[XIX-16] He places this just before the arrival of Zuazo's letter, Hist. Verdad., 209, but Cortés now for the first time complains of feeling very ill, from the tossing at sea. Cartas, 471.
[XIX-17] 'Martin Dorantes su lacayo.' Gomara, Hist. Mex., 271. On October 23, 1525, it seems from a letter of Cortés. Cartas, 395. Bernal Diaz intimates that a fear of being seized by his enemies had to do with Cortés' disinclination to go in person. Hist. Verdad., 212.
[XIX-18] In concluding the reply to their expostulations, Cortés had observed that he could find plenty of soldiers in Spain and elsewhere to do his bidding. The men commissioned Sandoval to plead their cause in person; to urge the leader to depart, and to hint that they could find governors in Mexico to right them. Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 212.
[XIX-19] 'É dos leguas el uno del otro ... el de Papayeca tiene diez y ocho pueblos subjectos, y el de Champagua diez.' Cortés, Cartas, 465. The names are also given as Chapaxina, Papaica, etc.
[XIX-20] The two colleagues had been usurping guardians. They were to be taken to Mexico to be impressed with the extent of Spanish power, and to learn submission from its natives. Pizacura died before leaving Honduras. Cortés, Cartas, 473; Gomara, Hist. Mex., 272.
[XIX-21] 'Era temido, y acatado, y llamauanle en todas aquellas Provincias: El Capitan Hue, Hue de Marina, q̃ quiere dezir el Capitan viejo que trae a doña Marina.' Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 207.
[XIX-22] They asked for a Spaniard to settle on each island, as a guardian, but this could not be granted. Gomara, Hist. Mex., 273. Bernal Diaz says that the vessel escaped, and that she was commanded by Moreno.
[XIX-23] Huilancho, Huilacho, Huyetlato, etc.
[XIX-24] Cortés claims that the province had submitted to him some time before, but he probably received the proffer only now, though pleading a previous allegiance to excuse the interference.
[XIX-25] To assist him against two officers who opposed his attempt to become independent of Pedrarias. Cortés, Cartas, 476. According to Herrera, Sandoval returned without achieving anything, pleading that he had not enough men, dec. iii. lib. viii. cap. vii. Bernal Diaz, who was present, states, on the other hand, that Sandoval appeared against Rojas with sixty men, but made friends with him. Just then came letters from Cortés ordering him to join in returning to Mexico, and he hastened back, Rojas departing at the same time. Hist. Verdad., 208. Gomara, following Cortés, assumes that Rojas obeyed a mere message from Trujillo to leave Olancho. Hist. Mex., 272.
[XIX-26] Cereceda writes Gaona. Carta, in Squier's MSS., xx. 61.
[XIX-27] 'Escribí al dicho Francisco Hernandez y á toda la gente que con él estaba en general, y particularmente á algunos de los capitanes de su compañía que yo conoscia, reprendiéndolos la fealdad que en aquello hacian,' etc. Cortés, Cartas, 474. Bernal Diaz states, on the other hand, that he promised to do his best for him, Hist. Verdad., 211, and in this was probably a little truth, as will be seen.
[XIX-28] 'Hernandez ... sent to invite the Marquis to come and receive the province from him.' Andagoya's Narrative, 37; Herrera, dec. iii. lib. viii. cap. vii. Cortés became a marquis a few years later.
[XIX-29] 'Quise luego ir á Nicaragua, creyendo poner en ello algun remedio.' Cortés, Cartas, 476.
[XIX-30] Bernal Diaz assumes that when Sandoval was setting out for Mexico, shortly before this, as stated, he received orders to pass through Nicaragua, 'para demandalla a su Magestad en Gouernacion.' Hist. Verdad., 212.
[XIX-31] Id., 215. 'Para este efeto fletó un navio en la Villa de Medellin.' Oviedo, iii. 523. He came in the vessel which had carried the messenger. Cortés, Cartas, 476.
[XIX-32] Lordship, a title which pertained only to the higher nobility and to the highest offices, and which Cortés, even as governor and captain-general, had not the slightest right to assume.
[XIX-33] Seat of honor for princes and prelates and for the ruling men in a province.
[XIX-34] Gomara, Hist. Mex., 273; Herrera, dec. iii. lib. viii. cap. vii.
[XIX-35] Messengers were sent to the pueblos en route ordering them to put the road in order and prepare for his reception. Some of the Mexican auxiliaries were also appointed for the work, says Ixtlilxochitl, but their remaining prince stayed with Cortés. Horribles Crueldades, 110.