In 1533[II‑15] the audiencia real y chancillería of the city of Panamá was established, the personnel of which included a president, four oidores, a fiscal, a relator, two secretaries, and for local government two alcaldes and three ministers of justice. The territory under the jurisdiction of the audiencia originally included Peru with the exception of the port of Buenaventura, but was afterward bounded by Costa Rica, Cartagena, and the two oceans, and was divided into the three provinces of Castilla del Oro, Darien, and Veragua, all of which were included under the one name of Tierra Firme. During the administration of Pedrarias, as we have seen, an interdict was passed forbidding lawyers and magistrates to reside in Castilla del Oro, and the minions of the governor decided civil cases always in favor of the party who paid the heaviest bribe. There was no appeal but to the governor himself except in cases where the amount exceeded five hundred pesos. A transcript of proceedings might in such cases be sent to the audiencia of Española, which at that time held jurisdiction over the inferior courts of Castilla del Oro. Some few years after the demise of Pedrarias the prohibition was removed, when there fell upon the fated land an avalanche of lawyers. "A magistrate," writes Oviedo to the emperor, "is worse than a pestilence, for if the latter took your life it at least left your estate intact." After the establishment of the audiencia of Panamá certain changes were made, but they were of little benefit to the community, for in 1537 we find the alcalde mayor holding the threefold office of presiding judge and attorney both for plaintiff and defendant, "passing sentence," as Oviedo says, "on him whom he least favored."[II‑16] The government of the three provinces was in fact little else than a legalized despotism. Complaint was sometimes made to the emperor, but the colonists soon found that the complainant was only made to suffer the more for his presumption. "Only that an ocean lay between Charles and his downtrodden subjects," exclaims Vazquez, "nineteen out of twenty would have thrown themselves at his feet to pray for justice."

The corruption extended to the municipal officers, and the provinces became rapidly impoverished. To make matters worse, multitudes of vagrants, the scum of the Spanish population, had for years been swarming into the New World settlements. At one time the hospitals and churches of Panamá were insufficient to shelter the hordes of poverty-stricken and houseless vagabonds that crowded the city. As they would not work, many were near starving.

Charles knew little of all this, if indeed he cared. As an instance of his ignorance as to the true condition of affairs in Tierra Firme, it may be mentioned that on the appointment of Fray Vicente de Peraza as the second bishop of Castilla del Oro, he was enjoined by the monarch to render aid to the faithful Pedrarias Dávila in securing the conversion and proper treatment of the natives. It is probable that the good bishop worked a little too conscientiously in the cause of the savage to suit the taste of Pedrarias, for as it has already been stated, he died of poison supposed to have been administered by that worthy ruler.

Of Fray Tomás de Berlanga, who filled the episcopal chair a few years after Peraza's decease,[II‑17] it is stated that during his return voyage to Spain, in 1537, being overtaken by a heavy storm, he arrayed himself in his pontifical robes, and kneeling with the rest of the company chanted a litany to the virgin. In response there appeared on the waves what seemed at first a small boat, but proved to be a box containing, as was supposed, merchandise. The gale moderated and the captain readily assented to the bishop's proposition that if the box contained a saint's image or other sacred thing, it should become the property of the prelate, but if it held anything of monetary value it should be claimed by the former. Soon the sea was calm; the box was opened, and there, sure enough, was the image of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception. On his arrival in Spain Berlanga placed the image in the convent of Medina de Rioseco, where he afterward founded a similar institution, chanting his first mass there on the 19th of January 1543.[II‑18]

With the trio of travellers and observers, Benzoni, Acosta, and Thevet, may be classed Juan de Castellanos, whose Elegías de Varones Ilustres de Indias recount not only the glories of the military, ecclesiastic, and civil conquerors who figured in the early annals of the region extending over the Antilles, the Isthmus, and the northern part of South America, but give special histories of the New Granada provinces. Himself one of the horde which came over from Spain for glory and plunder, he had as cavalry soldier taken active part in a number of the expeditions so graphically described. With the acquisition of a fortune came a sense of the injustice exercised in its accumulation, and remorse perhaps for ill-treatment of the Indians, mingled largely with discontent at the poor recognition of his services, caused him to join the church. He received the appointment of canónigo tesorero at Cartagena, but resigned it after a brief tenure for the curacy of Tunja, erroneously assumed by some writers to be his birthplace. Here he found ample time to seek solace by unlocking the gates of a natural eloquence, and letting forth the remembrances of glorious deeds and events. The gown is forgotten, and the old soldier dons again in fancy the rusty armor, though he modestly, too modestly, refrains from intruding himself. It is in prose that he first relates his story, but finding this too quiet for his theme of heroes and battles, he transposes the whole into verse, a work of ten years.

His is not the artificial refinement of the epic writer, whose form he follows from a love of rhythm, but merely versified narrative, with a generally honest adherence to fact, though form and metre suffer:

The ease and variety of the lines indicate the natural poet, however, and even when form departs the sentences retain a certain elegance. The first part was published as Primera Parte de las Elegías, etc., Madrid, 1589, 4^o, used by De Bry in his eighth part on America, and given in the fourth volume of Biblioteca de Autores Españoles, 1850. The second and third parts, provided with maps and plans, and dedicated, like the first, to King Philip, remained in manuscript in the library of the Marqués del Carpio—Pinelo, Epitome, ii. 590—till issued by Ariban, together with the first part, in 1857, as a special volume of the above Biblioteca. A fourth part, perhaps the best and most important, as it must have recorded the latest and freshest recollections of Castellanos, was used by Bishop Piedrahita for his history, and has since disappeared. He found the original with Consejero Prado, and refers to "las otras tres partes impressas." Hist. Conq. Granada, preface.

The three published parts are divided into elegies, eulogies, and histories, according to the theme, though Castellanos evidently stretches a point to obtain so many subjects under the first heading, inscribing them, as a rule, 'to the death' of some noted captain. The subdivision forms octave stanzas of the Italian form, undecasyllabic triple measure, in feminine rhyme, of triple alternating lines, with a finishing couplet. Toward the end a continuous and chiefly blank verse is used. The facility for versification in Spanish can hardly find a better illustration than these sustained triplets of double rhyme, which reflect no small credit on Castellanos' patience and power of expression. The usual faults of writers of his age are, of course, to be found; incredulity, pedantry, and contradiction, chiefly due to the readiness with which he accepted statements from chroniclers and from participants in the events related. His own versions may, Muñoz' slurs notwithstanding, be regarded as faithful recitals, so far, at least, as memory and military ardor permitted, while everywhere are to be found clear, vivid descriptions of battles, scenes, and people.

An ambition with the monks and missionaries who assisted to develop the conquest was to become chroniclers of general history, of expeditions, or of provinces, and as brethren of the hood abounded narratives were numerous enough to form the most perfect record of events that could be desired; but the deplorable fact remains that so few have been preserved, in print or manuscript. New Granada, which includes the southern part of the Isthmus, was long without a public chronicle. The conqueror Quesada had prepared one, and Medrano had left a history just begun, which Aguado completed in two volumes, but neither saw the light, and Castellanos' poetical record was published only in part. They existed in manuscript, however, and with them for guide, Pedro Simon was encouraged to undertake the task anew. Born at La Parilla in 1574 he had early joined the Franciscan order, and came to New Granada 30 years later as teacher and missionary, rising in 1623 to the office of provincial. The same year he began the history for which he had during several years been gathering material and experience. Three stout folio volumes were speedily completed, each divided into seven historiales; but of these only the Primera Parte de las Noticias historiales de las Conquistas de tierra firme, Cuenca, 1627, relating to Venezuela, came to be published; the other two, on Santa Marta, and on the region adjoining Darien, remaining in manuscript at Bogotá, whence Muñoz obtained a copy for the Madrid Academy. The published volume opens with a dissertation on geographic knowledge among the ancients, and on the origin of the Indians, and proceeds with the discovery and naming of America. The Isthmus receives at first considerable attention, as one of the earliest explored portions, but soon the narrative concentrates upon the conquest and settlement of Venezuela, devoting a considerable space to the custom and condition of the natives, but entering very little upon religious affairs. The work is decidedly the most important history of the province for the sixteenth century, and the failure to publish that of the other provinces is highly to be regretted. The simple, verbose style is that common to the convent chroniclers of the period, and the only serious fault is in giving too ready credence to statements.

Simon's non-success with the printer gave the rank of leading historian of the province to Bishop Lucas Fernandez Piedrahita, who wrote 50 years later. A creole of Bogotá by birth, his whole career as priest and prelate is bound up with his native country. While yet a student he gave evidence of a literary taste by writing comedies, of which no traces remain however. His ability procured rapid advancement in the church. While governor of the archdiocese, till 1661, he incurred the enmity of a visitador and was obliged to appear in Spain for trial, but passed the ordeal, and received in compensation the bishopric of Santa Marta. It was while waiting the slow progress of the trial that he found time to write the Historia General de las Conqvistas del Nvevo Reyno de Granada, 1688. In 1676 he was promoted to the see of Panamá, where he died, 1688, at an age of over 70 years, revered for his extreme benevolence and sanctity. In the preface to the volume, just then passing through the press, Piedrahita admits that it is merely a reproduction of Quesada's Compendio, and of the fourth part of Castellanos' Elegías, both now lost, and the text shows indeed but little of the research, speculation, and variety manifest in Simon, whom he excels however in beauty and clearness of style. He confines himself more to the special history of New Granada than Simon, and instead of learned dissertations on America in general, he devotes the first two of the 12 books to an account of native customs and ancient history. He then takes up the conquest and settlement of the provinces in question and carries the history to 1563. The first title is bordered with cuts of Indian battle scenes, and the portraits of seven leading kings and caciques, while that of the first libro has 12 minor chiefs in medallions. The title-page of the third libro, again, which begins the conquest, bears the likenesses of 12 Spanish captains. At the close of the work is promised a continuation, but this never appeared.

A modern publication covering the same field and period as the preceding is Joaquin Acosta's Compendio Histórico del Descubrimiento y Colonizacion de la Nueva Granada en el siglo decimo sexto. Paris, 1843. Lacking in critique it nevertheless fills the want of a popular chronologic review, and exhibits considerable labor. Acosta was an officer of engineers in the Colombian service who had taken an active part in scientific investigations, and written several archæologic essays.

CHAPTER III.
THIRD ATTEMPTED COLONIZATION OF VERAGUA.
1535-1536.

The Dukes of Veragua—María de Toledo Claims the Territory for her Son Luis Colon—Felipe Gutierrez Appointed to the Command—Landing on the Coast of Veragua—Sickness and Famine—The Cacique Dururua Enslaved—He Promises to Unearth his Buried Treasures—Messengers Sent in Search of It—They Return Empty-handed—But Warn the Chief's Followers—He Guides the Spaniards to the Spot—They are Surrounded by Indians—Rescue of the Cacique—Cannibalism among the Christians—Sufferings of the Few Survivors—The Colony Abandoned.

Thus far in North America we have followed the Spaniards in their pacification and settlement of Castilla del Oro, Nicaragua, and Honduras. Between these territories is situated the province of Veragua, subsequently called Nueva Cartago. Though rich in metals and near to Darien, such was the indomitable fierceness of the natives, and the ruggedness and sterility of the country, that this, the spot on Tierra Firme where the first attempt at settlement was made, was the last province of Central America that became subject to European domination. The New World was informed by the council of the Indies, in 1514, that permission was granted by the crown to Bartolomé Colon to plant a settlement upon the coast of Veragua, if he were so inclined. But this recognition of the eminent services of the adelantado in that quarter came too late, as he was then prostrated by an illness from which he never recovered.

In 1526 the admiral Diego Colon died in Spain, and was succeeded by his son Luis in those hereditary rights which had been granted by Ferdinand and Isabella to the first admiral. In 1538, being then eighteen years of age, Luis Colon brought suit before the tribunal of the Indies to establish his right to his father's titles and dignities unjustly withheld by the emperor. Wearied with the interminable litigation received as an inheritance from his father and grandsire, Luis abandoned, in 1540, all claims to the viceroyalty of the Indies, receiving therefore the title of duke of Veragua and marquis of Jamaica.[III‑1] Not long after Don Luis died, leaving two daughters and an illegitimate son. From this time the lineal descendants of the great admiral were denominated dukes of Veragua, and after passing through several genealogical stages, the honors and emoluments of Columbus fell to the Portuguese house of Braganza, a branch of which was established in Spain. The heirs of this house are entitled De Portugallo, Colon, duke de Veragua, marqués de la Jamaica, y almirante de las Indias.

María de Toledo, vice-queen of the Indies and mother of the young admiral Luis Colon, after the death of her husband, Diego Colon, demanded from the royal audiencia of Española a license to colonize the province of Veragua.[III‑2] The audiencia referred the application to the emperor who ordered that the matter be held in abeyance until after the arbitration of the claim of Luis then pending before the crown. But the high-spirited vice-queen would not brook the delay. The right of her son to govern that land was beyond question; it was his by inheritance from his grandfather, confirmed by royal decree to his father.

But the Lady María lacked funds for the enterprise, and to enlist men and equip an armada without the royal sanction and without money was impossible. The mother, however, was equal to the emergency. Among the ecclesiastics of Santo Domingo who, as they avowed for the glory of God and the promulgation of the true faith had left the cloisters of Spain and embarked in a mission to the New World, was one Juan de Sosa. "I knew him," says Oviedo, "several years ago, when he was a poor man in Tierra Firme." But being more solicitous for gold than for souls, he went to Peru and after serving under Pizarro came in for a share at the distribution of the gold at Caxamalca, receiving as his portion the then enormous sum of ten thousand castellanos. Thence the worthy priest returned to Spain, and settled in Seville, where he resolved to spend the remainder of his life in ease and luxury. But alas for constancy of purpose in cavalier or clérigo when women and cupidity unite to undermine his resolve! The vice-queen soon gained for herself the sympathy of the wealthy ecclesiastic, and for her enterprise his money and coöperation. He advanced the necessary funds, and though prevented by the character of his calling from taking control of the expedition, he sailed with the fleet, which was placed under the command of a wealthy and honorable young man named Felipe Gutierrez,[III‑3] son of the treasurer Alonso Gutierrez. The chief captain of the expedition under Gutierrez was one Pedro de Encinasola who had resided in Tierra Firme for about two years. "And whom," says Oviedo, "I also knew, for he had grown rich by keeping a public house half way between Nombre de Dios and Panamá." With a fine squadron[III‑4] manned by four hundred well armed men, Gutierrez embarked from Santo Domingo in September 1535.[III‑5] The pilot, whose name was Liaño, held a southerly course, and on approaching Tierra Firme turned to the westward and passed by Veragua without recognizing the coast. Continuing their search along Honduras, the vessels sailed around Cape Gracias á Dios and proceeded westward as far as Punta de Caxinas.

At length the pilot became aware that he was out of his course. The ships were put about, but soon encountered a heavy gale, during which they became separated. The fleet, once more united off the island of Escudo, cast anchor near the spot where Diego de Nicuesa suffered shipwreck. Gutierrez sent a boat's crew to reconnoitre. They returned in eight days, bringing hammocks, earthen pots, and other utensils. The exploring party affirmed that according to their belief the land was Veragua, but the pilot Liaño insisted that they had not yet reached that province. Another party went in boats to the Cerebaro Islands, where meeting an Indian they inquired by signs the direction toward Veragua. He pointed toward the west, thus indicating that they had again sailed past the ill-fated coast. The pilot treated the assertion of the Indian with contempt. In good Castilian he swore that the savage was a liar, and insisted on continuing an easterly course. Arriving off Nombre de Dios he confessed his error, and acknowledged that they had left Veragua far behind. Turning again toward the west they at length discovered a large river, which some said was the Belen; others declared it to be a stream west of the Belen.[III‑6] At the mouth of this river was a small island where Gutierrez disembarked his men, built some huts, and landed the greater portion of the cargo. On the mainland adjacent a favorable site for a town was selected and men were sent to clear away the dense forest and build houses. A large and comfortable log cabin was erected for the governor, and this was soon followed by storehouses and dwellings for the men.

A series of disasters followed this third attempt to plant a settlement upon the coast of Veragua, similar to those which had attended Columbus and Nicuesa. The goods of the colonists were damaged by heavy storms; the sudden swelling of the streams carried away their houses, drowning some of the men; and the cultivation of the soil was prevented by frequent inundations. Their supply of provisions grew daily less; the men, unaccustomed to the climate, sickened and died, and soon the four hundred were reduced to two hundred and eighty. To add to their distresses the Spaniards drank copiously from a poisonous spring, before becoming aware of the deadly nature of its waters; in consequence of which their lips became swollen, their gums diseased, and the effect proved fatal in many instances.

The colonists felt greatly the necessity of an interpreter, and the clérigo Juan de Sosa with one of the vessels coasted as far as Nombre de Dios in search of one, but returned unsuccessful. Felipe Gutierrez named the town which he had built Concepcion, "but from the sufferings of the people," says Oviedo, "better to have called it Aflicion."[III‑7] It soon became evident that to remain in that locality was death to all concerned, and Gutierrez determined to remove to some more favorable spot farther from the marshy lowlands of the coast. Foraging expeditions were sent out in several directions for the double purpose of securing food and examining the country.

In one of these excursions the Spaniards encountered a cacique named Dururua who received them courteously, and entertained them, after his rude fashion, with bounteous hospitality. But the followers of Felipe Gutierrez proved no exception to the rule in their treatment of the natives. One of two evils was open to the heathen, either to submit and suffer wrong and robbery, or to resist and be slain or enslaved. Dururua placed at the disposal of the Spaniards his entire wealth, but even this was insufficient to satisfy their cupidity. After his resources were exhausted their demands did not cease, but heaping up the measure of their iniquity they invaded the homes of the natives, compelled them to search for gold, and after infamously burning their cornfields returned to the settlement. Open hostilities having broken out, the governor sent against Dururua a force of one hundred and fifty men under Alonso de Pisa,[III‑8] who captured the chief with many of his followers. The Spaniards demanded gold. Dururua answered that if they would give him liberty he would bring them four baskets of gold each containing 2,000 pesos. The cacique however was held a prisoner, while an Indian was sent under his direction to bring in the treasure. At the expiration of four days the messenger returned empty-handed. Others were despatched on the same errand, but all returned unsuccessful. The wily Dururua affected great indignation against his followers. He called them traitors, and requested that he might be allowed to go himself upon the mission, bound and attended, when he would not only make good his word respecting the gold, but secure to the Spaniards the friendship and service of all his people.

In chains and guarded by a band of thirty men Dururua set forth to reveal the hiding-place of the treasure, and after a five days' march arrived at an abandoned village, where he directed the Spaniards to dig in a certain spot. The directions of the chief were followed, but only about half an ounce of gold was found. Encinasola, who had the matter in charge, then struck the cacique in the face, calling him dog, impostor, and other vile epithets. Dururua solemnly affirmed that he had left there a large store and that his people must have removed it on their departure from the village. He begged for one more trial, and Encinasola, blinded by cupidity, gave his assent.

All this while the shrewd cacique had not been idle. Each messenger had been despatched upon a mission to a certain quarter of his dominion to rally forces for his rescue, and an attack, which had been planned for the very night when the last attempt to find the gold was to be made, was carried into execution. The Spaniards were surrounded by a force of six hundred hostile Indians, their camp burned, eight of their number killed, and in the confusion which followed the chief was rescued. The natives then disappeared from the vicinity, removing all provisions and leaving behind a wasted country.

On their march homeward many of the survivors died of starvation. Some dropped by the way-side and were left to perish; others, notwithstanding the horror with which the act was regarded by their countrymen, fed upon the bodies of the Indians. One Diego Lopez Dávalos in a fit of choler drew his sword and slew a native servant. Two Spaniards who were following at some distance behind, on coming up to the body, cut off some portions which they cooked for their supper, their companions also partaking of the loathsome repast. On the day following another native was killed for food, and it is related that even one of their own countrymen was slaughtered and devoured.[III‑9]

When the survivors arrived at Concepcion and presented themselves before the governor, but nine emaciated and haggard wretches could be counted, and these must ever be regarded as infamous from having so preserved their lives. The governor on being informed of their conduct placed every man of them except the informer under arrest, and tried and condemned them all. Two who were considered most culpable were burned. The others were branded with a hot iron in the face with the letter C, this being the initial of his Cæsarean majesty's name, and the mark used in branding criminals doomed to perpetual slavery in his service.

Thus we see in every attempt made by the Spaniards upon the coast of Veragua only a series of horrors, each fresh trial proving more calamitous if possible than the one preceding. Yet further the company of Felipe Gutierrez diminished. Oppressed by famine, forty at length revolted and set out for Nombre de Dios, the greater part of them perishing by the way. The governor finding it necessary to give employment to those who remained or else to abandon the settlement, sent Pedro de Encinasola with a few men eastward in search of food. Fortunately they found several fields of maize which had not yet been destroyed, and hearing of a great quantity of gold in that vicinity, started in quest of it. As soon as their hunger was appeased they sent a messenger to notify the governor of the proposed excursion. As life was more endurable while pillaging the natives, the governor and the remainder of the men also sallied in quest of adventure. They passed through several villages, but the inhabitants fled at their approach. Following an Indian guide, they arrived on the fourth day at a certain high hill where they had been told were situated mines of surpassing richness. On reaching the spot they were informed that by digging in a certain place an abundance of gold could be gathered. The Spaniards did as directed, but found only a few nuggets, and turning fiercely upon the guide, accused him of trifling with them or of treachery. The poor savage totally at a loss whither to turn for relief, at length sprang upon a rock which overhung the brow of a precipice, threw himself headlong into the chasm, and thus terminated his miserable existence.

Meanwhile the famishing soldiers under Encinasola, despairing of life if they remained longer in that country, broke their ranks, many of them straggling off to Nombre de Dios. The governor determined to make one more attempt to relieve his people. He accordingly despatched Father Juan de Sosa and the alcalde Sanabria with six soldiers, four negroes, and two natives for Nombre de Dios, to obtain recruits and supplies. In three days this party reached the river Belen, and then, unable to cross, followed its course southward, cutting their way through thickets and struggling through morasses until after eleven days they succeeded in reaching the opposite bank. Continuing their journey they encountered along their pathway the dead bodies of their former companions who had perished while attempting to reach Nombre de Dios. A little stale food which had been washed ashore from some wreck or distressed ship saved them from starvation. At length they came upon the remnant of those who had deserted from Concepcion, now reduced to twenty-five men, and these gaunt, haggard, and naked as the natives. Their progress was barred by hostile bands, and themselves reduced to the last extremity. Unable to proceed farther, they fortified themselves from the attacks of the natives as best they were able, and awaited the development of events.

Meanwhile the sufferings of the Spaniards at Veragua, if possible, increased. "I was informed by Marcos de Sanabria, one of the survivors," says Oviedo, "that the mortality at Veragua was at one time so great that dead bodies lay unburied within and around the huts, and that the stench arising from putrefaction was intolerable." He relates of one Diego de Campo, a native of Toledo, who seized with illness became convinced that death was near and that soon his own corpse would be added to those which lay strewn before him rotting in the sun, that he determined, if possible, to escape that horror. Wrapping himself in a cloak, he resorted to a spot where a grave had been prepared for another of those who were to die, and stretching himself within it soon breathed his last. Not long afterward the owner of the grave, being obliged himself to seek his last resting-place, found there another; but leaving the occupant undisturbed, he directed that his own body should be placed in the same grave, and thus the two found burial.

Failing of relief from any quarter, and receiving no tidings from Father de Sosa and his companions, Gutierrez was at last obliged to abandon the coast of Veragua. This of all others appeared the most difficult act for a Spaniard of those days to perform; he could die with less regret than he could give up a favorite enterprise. Taking ship for Nombre de Dios, he there obtained some intimation of the whereabouts and condition of Father de Sosa and the remnant of the Veragua colonists. A vessel was immediately sent to their relief with a supply of food and other necessaries which were contributed by the people of Nombre de Dios. The survivors, twenty-seven in number, were thus rescued, and the government of Felipe Gutierrez in the province of Veragua was at an end.[III‑10] He crossed over to Panamá, and shortly afterward embarked for Peru, where he was made governor by Gonzalo Pizarro, but subsequently quarrelling with that ferocious adventurer, he was beheaded. The worthy Father Juan de Sosa in deep disgust also turned his face towards Peru, vowing that if ever he again fell heir to the spoils of an inca, his wealth should not be squandered in ambitious schemes of colonization.

CHAPTER IV.
THE CAKCHIQUELS AGAIN IN REVOLT.
1525-1526.

Alvarado Sets Forth to Honduras to Join Cortés—Mutiny among his Men—Gonzalo de Alvarado Appointed Lieutenant-governor—His Meeting with Marin and his Party—The Second Revolt of the Cakchiquels—Gonzalo the Cause of the Insurrection—Massacre of the Spaniards—Alvarado Returns to Guatemala—He Captures the Peñol of Xalpatlahua—He Marches on Patinamit—His Return to Mexico—His Meeting with Cortés.

It will be remembered that of all the native tribes of Guatemala the Cakchiquels offered the stoutest resistance to the forces of Pedro de Alvarado. When the Spaniards took possession of Patinamit they preferred to abandon their capital rather than submit to the domination of the conqueror.[IV‑1] Sinacam, their chief, was still uncaptured, having taken refuge in the mountain fastnesses of Comalapa, and it may safely be concluded that he never ceased from his efforts to harass the Spaniards. The unsettled condition of affairs at this period may be inferred from the fact that there is no record of any session of the cabildo from May 6, 1525, to October 4th of the same year.[IV‑2] The numbers of the colonists were, however, being continually reënforced. The trouble which occurred in Mexico during the absence of Cortés, caused many of the settlers in Anáhuac to turn their faces toward Guatemala, while those newly arrived from Spain or the West Indies also joined the followers of Alvarado, who now considering that his hold upon the country was secure, informed the municipality of Santiago that he intended to depart at once for Mexico.

Reports had reached Guatemala of the death of Cortés in Honduras, and if this were true he had lost a powerful patron and friend, and must needs hasten back to protect his own interests. His purpose was to proceed afterward to Spain and report his services to his sovereign from whom he hoped to obtain recognition and reward.[IV‑3]

Moreover, his brother Jorge and many other Spaniards of the Cortés party had secretly informed him of the usurpation by the factor Salazar of the governorship of Mexico, urging him not to absent himself longer, and promising to establish him as governor in place of the former, until positive information should be received whether Cortés were alive or dead. The chance that the mantle of his great master might perhaps fall upon his own shoulders, made him anxious not to miss this opportunity, and he lost no time in beginning the journey. But it was already reported in Mexico that he would arrive there before long, and he had proceeded but a short distance when he received an intimation from the factor that he had better approach no further. If, however, he preferred to revisit the capital, Salazar informed him that he would gladly meet him on the way, and have the satisfaction of putting him to death. He soon afterward learned that this was no idle threat, for a force of fifty horse and seventy foot had already been despatched against him, and he could not for a moment expect that the small band of soldiers which the colonists had been able to spare him as an escort should be able to compete with these troops. Venturesome as he was, Alvarado was not the one to encounter almost certain death, and though sorely mortified he was compelled to retrace his steps.

About the close of 1525 he was informed of the safety of Cortés, and received from him despatches with instructions to join him in Honduras with all his available forces. At that time, it will be remembered, the latter proposed to return to Mexico by way of Guatemala, but afterward resolved to make the journey by sea, landing at Vera Cruz in May 1526.[IV‑4] Alvarado at once prepared to obey his orders, but his purpose was resolutely opposed by the colonists. Municipal and military officers, citizens and common soldiers all alike objected to his entering upon a campaign which would strip the province of most of its defenders. Even his own brothers endeavored to dissuade him. But remonstrance was of no avail. The alcaldes and regidores he addressed in intemperate and abusive language,[IV‑5] while to his brothers he hotly exclaimed: "Offer me no advice; all I possess was given me by Hernan Cortés, and with him will I die."[IV‑6] Discontent was, however, widely spread, and Alvarado's personal safety appears to have been in danger, for the cabildo requested him to enroll a body-guard for his own protection, as the stability of the colonies would be endangered should any harm happen to him.[IV‑7]

With great difficulty the adelantado levied troops for his expedition. His men were discontented, and utterly averse to engage in an enterprise which offered no prospect of gain, but was certain to be attended with hardship and risk of life. When he was on the point of setting forth, fifty or sixty of them mutinied, and setting fire to the city by night[IV‑8] made their escape while the remainder of the soldiers were engaged in preventing the conflagration from spreading. It was a godless and ruffian band, that which issued forth from Patinamit under the veil of night and shrouded by the smoke of the burning city. Before their departure they stripped the chapel of all its ornaments and jewelry, and forcibly compelled the priest to accompany them. Taking the road to Soconusco they sacked the villages which lay on their route, and on their arrival in that province, considering themselves safe from pursuit, displayed their hatred of Alvarado by holding a mock trial and hanging in effigy their commander and those who had remained faithful to him. Then they passed on to Mexico plundering and destroying on their way.

Notwithstanding this defection, the adelantado soon afterward set forth to join Cortés,[IV‑9] leaving his brother Gonzalo to take command during his absence. Of his journey, which was probably an uneventful one, few incidents are narrated. He passed through the provinces of Cuzcatlan and Chaparristic, and entered Choluteca in Honduras, where, at a place called Choluteca Malalaca, as narrated by Bernal Diaz,[IV‑10] he heard for the first time of the return of Cortés to Mexico.

It has already been mentioned that in 1525 the settlement of Natividad de Nuestra Señora was abandoned on account of the unhealthiness of its site and the refusal of the natives to furnish provisions, and that Cortés granted permission to the Spaniards to remove to Naco.[IV‑11] Captain Luis Marin, left in charge of the latter colony, after remaining for some time in doubt as to the fate of his commander, despatched thence a small band of horsemen to Trujillo to ascertain whether he yet survived, and, if that were so, to gather information as to his intended movements.[IV‑12] Bernal Diaz, who was one of the troop, relates that on reaching the Olancho Valley they learned that Cortés had already embarked from Trujillo, leaving Saavedra in command. Marin's brief sojourn in Honduras had already made him impatient to return to Mexico,[IV‑13] and he at once decided to return to that province by way of Guatemala. Thus it chanced that at Choluteca Malalaca, his party met with Alvarado, who expressed unbounded delight on hearing of the safety of his old comrade in arms, and felt much inward satisfaction that now his superior could not interfere with his own schemes of conquest and aggrandizement.

The lieutenant-general then commenced his homeward march, accompanied by Marin and about eighty of the colonists of Naco. Returning through the territory at present known as the province of San Miguel, they arrived at the Rio Lempa at a season of the year when the current was so greatly swollen by the rains that to ford it was impossible. In this emergency they felled a huge ceiba-tree, out of which, with infinite labor, they fashioned an immense canoe,[IV‑14] and after toiling for five days, drenched with rain and ravenous with hunger, thus made good their crossing. They had now entered the province of Cuzcatlan,[IV‑15] where Alvarado found that during his delay in Choluteca the whole country had risen in rebellion. Several battles were fought, all resulting favorably to the Spaniards, and on the 6th of August 1526, after a final and desperate conflict, the Indians were routed with terrible carnage and soon afterward tendered their submission.[IV‑16] The Spaniards then continued their journey by forced marches and reached Guatemala without further adventure. As they drew near to Jalpatagua[IV‑17] they were met with the unwelcome tidings of the revolt of the Cakchiquels and other native nations.[IV‑18]