History of Mexico (Bancroft)/Volume 2/Chapter 21

by Hubert Howe Bancroft

 

CHAPTER XXI.

CONQUEST OP YUCATAN.

1527-1549.

Aboriginal Yucatan — Francisco de Montejo Appointed Governor — Battle of Aké — The Spaniards March on Chichen Itza — Alonso de Ávila and his Band in Quest of Gold — His Message to the Lord of Chetumal — The Chieftain's Reply — Avila's Command Besieged — Their Escape and Departure for Honduras — Montejo Defeated — The Canine Bell-ringer — Flight of the Spaniards — The Adelantado's Narrow Escape — Gallantry of Blas Gonzalez — The Governor Departs for Tabasco — The Spaniards Driven into the Sea — Montejo Transfers his Rights to his Son — The Spaniards Again Besieged — Torture of Diego and Juan Cansino — Santillan Takes Montejo's Residencia — Missionary Labors.

Nowhere on the continent of North America are the traces of a by-gone civilization more distinctly marked than in the peninsula of Yucatan. Here are found pyramids resembling in mathematical outline the vast structures in which the Pharaohs lie entombed. Here also the traditions of the early inhabitants carry the mind back to the days when the Israelites fled from their pursuers through the sundered waters of the Red Sea,^[1] and when the great law-giver lifted up the brazen serpent in the wilderness.^[2]

Into the Antillean sea the peninsula juts out a vast and arid promontory, risen from the ocean perhaps when Atlantis sank. Broken by undulating hills and low ranges, it extends in a series of irregular plains, from which comes a heated, perfumed air, springing from the borders of rivers which lightly water a narrow fringe of coast, now of treeless lands and languid vegetation clustering in oases round the senote reservoirs formed at intervals by commiserating nature.

Clinging to half-forgotten names that were once applied to the peninsula,^[3] tradition itself seems to stamp it as risen from the sea, with an influx of settlers from the orient, and a reflux from the occident, consequent upon the overthrow of some pre-Toltec invasion. With the first inwanderers is associated Zamná, the culture-hero and earliest ruler of the country, the founder of its provinces, its institutions, its hieroglyphics, and the builder of Mayapan. After his time Chichen Itza rises into notice, as the seat of a triumvirate, with which is connected Cukulcan, who is identified with the mysterious Quetzalcoatl, and who leads the western immigration of dispersing Nahuas. His followers, the Cocomes, rule supreme at Mayapan, and under their wing the Tutul Xius enter from the south to found a third state, with capital at Uxmal. During the civil wars which ensue, the latter rise to the first rank, and inaugurate the most glorious period of Maya history. The last century of aboriginal rule presents a confused record of strife, pestilence, and disasters, which leave the country at the arrival of the Spaniards divided into enfeebled and hostile factions, to offer an easier prey to invaders. Yet they are still strong enough in number and spirit to repel both Córdoba and Grijalva, while reports of their meagre possessions serve to speed Cortés onward to the richer Tenochtitlan. And so Yucatan lies neglected, while the ocean paths on either side teem with eager fortune-seekers.^[4]

The remnant of a shipwrecked crew are the pioneers of Yucatan. It has already been related that in 1512 Valdivia and twenty of his men were thrown upon the Maya shore, where, being seized by the natives, several of them were offered in sacrifice, and their roasted limbs devoured by the natives.^[5] Mention has also been made of Córdoba's disastrous expedition in 1517, when, landing at Catoche, and afterward near the mouth of the river Champoton, he was defeated with heavy loss and glad to escape to Cuka, where a few days after his arrival he died of his wounds.^[6] More fortunate was Grijalva, who, disembarking in the following year on the island of Cozumel, was astonished to find there a town with paved streets and structures of stone, but passing thence to the mainland, failed to establish any permanent settlement.

It will be remembered that on his way to Mexico Cortés also touched at Cozumel, and skirting the coast of the peninsula, landed at the Rio de Tabasco, where he gave battle to the assembled warriors.^[7]

 

Among those who accompanied the expeditions of Grijalva and Cortés was Francisco de Montejo. whom Bernal Diaz describes^[8] as of medium stature and pleasing aspect, lavish of expense, fond of pleasure, and fitted rather for a business life than for that of a soldier. Soon after the conquest Montejo set out for Spain as the envoy of Cortés, and under a capitulacion with the emperor, dated November 17, 1526, was appointed governor and captain-general of Yucatan and Cozumel, with a salary of two hundred and fifty thousand maravedís a year.

By the terms of this agreement he was required to build two forts at his own expense, wherever in the territory he might deem best. He was allowed to select as his own property ten square leagues of land. He was to be entitled to four per cent of any royal income that might be derived from his discoveries and conquests, the amount to be payable to himself and heirs after deducting the expenses of administration. Lands allotted to settlers were to be deeded to them after they had been occupied and improved for four years. One half of the royal fines was to be devoted, during the first five years, to public works and to the building of hospitals. The enslavement of Indian rebels and their purchase and sale were to be permitted only where peaceful measures had proved ineffectual. Montejo was specially enjoined to prohibit the excesses which had attended previous discoveries and conquests, and especially to forbid cruelty toward the natives, all cases regarding their treatment to be referred to the ecclesiastics, a number of whom were to accompany the expedition; but this latter clause of his contract the adelantado failed to observe.^[9]

A sufficient force was levied, and early in 1527 Montejo's armament left the shores of Spain, the contador Alonso de Avila being second in command. Touching at Española for supplies, the expedition was reënforced by many recruits, and a number of horses were taken on board the vessels. On reaching Cozumel, the Spaniards whose forces mustered about four hundred, apart from the sailors, who manned their flotilla of four ships,^[10] were received with all outward show of friendship. Arriving at the mainland they

Yucatan.

were allowed to disembark without opposition, and unfurling the royal banner of Spain, cried España! España! Viva España! while the natives looked on with seeming indifference, but indifference feigned for the purpose of luring them inland, where they might be cut off from all hope of retreat to their ships.

The country seemed thickly peopled as the Spaniards passed from village to village, and everywhere quiet prevailed.^[11] Before they had penetrated far an incident occurred which betrayed the real temper of the inhabitants. Thrown off their guard by the apparent friendliness of the people, the invaders held free intercourse with them, and this heedlessness wellnigh cost their commander his life. Snatching a hanger from an attendant slave, one of the natives aimed at him a sudden blow, which, but for a deft motion on the part of the adelantado, had been fatal. As it was, the savage paid for his temerity with his life.

Continuing their march across the peninsula, Montejo and his command encountered many hardships. The country was rugged, difficult, and all but unknown to the Spaniards; water was scarce; of rivers there were none; and provisions began to fall short. On reaching the village of Choaco, where it was expected supplies would be obtained, the place was found to be deserted, and no morsel of food had been left behind. Here the men rested for a time, and then worn and spiritless resumed their journey, now advancing without fear of opposition on the town of Aké in the northern part of the peninsula. But as yet they knew little of the character of their foe. There were among Montejo's command veterans who had borne the brunt of the fight during the darkest hours of the Noche Triste, but even they had not seen a more appalling sight than that which greeted them, when, on the early dawn of a winter day, toward the close of 1527,^[12] they approached this town. "Hordes of Indians, hideous in their warpaint, came forth," says Oviedo, "like fiercest devils from their lurking place;" and so vast was their number that it seemed as if all the rulers of Yucatan had massed their forces for the coming struggle. Nor could they have selected a spot more favorable for a battle-field. The ground was narrow, unfavorable for the action of cavalry, and such that the Spaniards being unable to deplore their ranks could make but little use of their fire-arms, and were in danger of being crushed by the mere weight of the enemy's columns.

While Montejo was speaking words of cheer to his men and bidding them stand firm before the shock, his voice was drowned by the uproar of the oncoming masses, as they mingled with their war-cries the shrill blasts of their conch-shell trumpets. Flights of arrows were aimed at the Spaniards at short range, and the next moment their lances pointed with sharpened flint, and wielding double-handed swords of hardest wood, the Indians grappled with their foe. Nevertheless the adelantado held his ground, and beating back the assailants a short distance let loose at them his cavalry and blood-hounds. The horsemen were in turn pushed back by sheer weight of numbers, and again the natives advanced to the attack.

Thus till dark the combat lasted, neither side gaining decisive advantage. The night was spent by the Spaniards in dressing their wounds and obtaining what little rest they could, the natives meanwhile bringing up fresh reënforcements. With the morning the conflict was renewed, and until mid-day the scale of victory hung in the balance, when the natives falling back in some disorder, Montejo ordered a final charge on their wavering ranks. This put them to flight, and the Spaniards, too exhausted for pursuit, flung themselves on the ground amid the corpses of twelve hundred of the foe, having lost one third of their own number during the battle.

No further resistance was made, and the adelantado taking possession of the town of Aké remained there during the winter. Breaking camp early in 1528, he put his troops in motion toward Chichen Itza.^[13] Here he impressed into his service a number of natives, and erecting a fort and dwellings of timber gave to the settlement the name of Salamanca. No outward signs of dissatisfaction were shown, and after this battle the inhabitants submitted patiently to the yoke, which for the time they felt themselves unable to shake off. Montejo then distributed the surrounding territory and its inhabitants among his followers, the natives apparently accepting their lot without a murmur.

Had this expedition been in charge of an able leader it would probably have been successful; but Montejo was unfitted for command. Already he had allowed himself to be surprised, and now, surrounded as he was by bands of Indians whom he imagined to be subdued, he committed the fatal blunder of dividing his forces. A rumor was current throughout his camp — one raised doubtless by the natives for the purpose of hastening the overthrow of the invaders — that in the district of Bacalar^[14] rich gold mines were to be found. Yielding to the clamor of his men, he despatched in that direction Alonso de Ávila with a band of fifty foot and seventeen horse, the choicest troops of his command. Arriving at the town of Chablé, a place distant more than forty leagues from Montejo's headquarters, and one where gold was supposed to exist, the Spaniards commenced their search, but found no trace of the precious metal. Meeting here with an outward show of friendship and even with friendly services, the contador sent to the lord of Chetumal,^[15] a neighboring region and one also supposed to be auriferous, asking for information as to the mines and for a supply of provisions. The reply was stern and severely laconic. "Of gold," said he of Chetumal, 'I scorn to speak; of fowls you shall have all that you can take from the points of our lances, and we will send you maize in the shape of flights of arrows."

Ávila was an officer whose courage none disputed, but one sorely lacking in the quality which is deemed valor's counterpart. Although under strict injunctions from Montejo to use only peaceful measures, he set forth at once with half his force to punish the insolence of this Indian noble, taking with him some of the friendly caciques^[16] to assist in the discovery of the mines. But again the Spaniards were disappointed, and after a long and useless search they marched against the proud chieftain of Chetumal,^[17] who dared thus to hurl scorn on Christian soldiers. Approaching his town^[18] they found their path stopped by far-spreading swamps and lagoons, across which, with much difficulty, they made their way in canoes. Soon they came in sight of ripening fields of maize and fruit and cacao,^[19] and halting here for a brief space to refresh themselves, advanced to give battle. But in their revenge, as in their lust for gold, the Spaniards were doomed once more to disappointment. Chetumal had fled.^[20]

Ávila took up his quarters in the chieftain's town. "A place then containing two thousand houses," says Oviedo, "and distant but two leagues from the sea." Sending to Chablé for the remainder of his force he determined to establish here a Spanish settlement, and give to it the name of Villa Real.^[21] What fairer or safer spot could be found for the site of a new colony? The lord of Chetumal had every chance of making good his boast, when the Spaniards, crossing the lagoons in their frail canoes, could make little use of their weapons, and up to this time he had been skulking a fugitive from his capital without striking a blow for its defence.

But the contador was now to learn that Chetumal was no mere braggart. From certain natives captured during a scouting expedition, he ascertained that the chieftain occupied an entrenched camp a few leagues from the town, and was about to join his men with those of the neighboring caciques. Ávila at once marched against him, and taking him by surprise defeated his forces. Nevertheless he felt somewhat ill at ease, and resolving to open communications with the adelantado, despatched six messengers to his camp, telling them that their return would be expected within sixty days. Meanwhile Chetumal was not idle. Allying himself with the caciques of the surrounding district, he assembled his forces for a purpose which the Spaniards could not fathom, for he ventured on no attack.

Many months elapsed, weary months of waiting, and the contador began to realize that the answer ot the lord of Chetumal was not an idle boast. His little band was surrounded by countless hordes, who began to harass him in ceaseless petty encounter; but yet for many weeks Ávila remained in Villa Real,^[22] daily looking for aid from the adelantado. None came; nor any tidings^[23] from Chichen Itza. Ammunition was nearly exhausted, and the beleaguered Spaniards began to look upon themselves as doomed, for the foe attacked them almost daily, showing no sign of fear. Their only hope was to cut their way out of the place without further delay.

In sorry plight Ávila's band set forth to traverse the sixty leagues that separated them from their comrades. All along their route were evidences of a wide-spread plan to exterminate them. Some towns were abandoned; others were secretly fortified to serve as man-traps; no provisions could be found; and as they advanced hostilities became more active, until at length, being driven back on one of the deserted towns and hemmed in on all sides, they sat down in despair. An Indian whose life the contador had saved attempted to lead them, in the silence of the night, by an unfrequented path through the woods. Still. they were pursued and their progress disputed at every step. All hope of escape by land being abandoned, they fought their way to the coast, all that were left of them, where finding some canoes they proceeded along the shore, living on berries and shell-fish, until they came to Trujillo, in Honduras.^[24]

Meanwhile nothing was known by Montejo of the fate of Ávila's command. Surrounded by hostile hordes he was cut off from his base of supplies. His foraging parties were captured or driven back, and the natives became so fearless that his men were seldom allowed to devour their meal of roots and horse-flesh without having to exchange shots with the enemy. No sleep could be had unless strong picket-guards were posted. In this intermittent warfare occurred many single acts of bravery and skill on both sides. "One of the Spanish archers," says Cogolludo, "inflicted great injuries upon the natives, skilfully directing his aim at the leaders. An Indian equally dexterous in the use of the bow resolved on his death. The Indian simulated carelessness, and the archer shot a dart from his cross-bow which apparently took effect; but as the Indian was prepared, the Spaniard received almost simultaneously an arrow in the arm. The Indian being indeed severely wounded in the breast, rather than it should be said he had died at the hands of the Spaniard, withdrew and hanged himself." Such was the quality of their patriotism; and yet Cogolludo is at a loss to understand why the natives were so relentless in their war upon the Spaniards!

At length a desperate battle was fought, one of the severest known in the annals of Indian warfare. The Spaniards had no alternative but to meet the foe on the open plain, for an immense multitude had assembled to crush them. 'The battle was indecisive; but when the Spaniards returned to camp one hundred and fifty of their number lay dead upon the field, and few of the survivors escaped unwounded.

After this engagement Montejo's only thought was to save himself and the remnant of his force; but how, when so beset, were his wounded men to escape across the many leagues of rugged country that separated them from their ships? Indeed, they had well-nigh given themselves up for lost when a ruse was hit upon which is commonly attributed to the adelantado, but was probably the invention of some more ingenious brain. Tying a hungry dog to the tongue of a large bell suspended from the limb of a tree, they placed food above the animal, but out of reach. Then they made a sally, which was but a feint, in order to reconnoitre the enemy's camp, and draw them off from their pathway of escape. All being ready they crept stealthily forth under cover of the night, leaving the dog to ring deception regarding their watchful presence. Thus some hours were gained, and when the enemy discovered the trick and a number pursued, they dared not openly attack.

Reaching the town of Silan,^[25] in the territory of the Cheles, a friendly people, they remained in that neighborhood for several months, and thence made their way to Salamanca,^[26] where they arrived some time in 1532, and were soon afterward rejoined by Ávila and all that was left of his command.^[27]

Once more Montejo displays his unfitness for command. No sooner had this reënforcement arrived than he despatches the contador with fifty men into the interior, remaining himself in an intrenched camp with the same number. And untaught by previous disasters, no sooner does he thus again divide his terces than hostile natives appear. 'More than twenty thousand of them were soon in the field," says Cogolludo. While attempting to conciliate them the governor narrowly escapes capture and sacrifice to their idols. "On hearing a tumult outside his camp," the chronicler writes, 'the adelantado went out on horseback to see if he could pacify the natives. They were divided into several groups, and approaching one of them which was posted on a small eminence, he asked them whether they were angry, saying that as no harm had been done to them there was no cause for the revolt. The Indians, who had resolved to murder all the Spaniards, approached him as soon as they heard his voice, and having surrounded him, some of them seized his lance, while others held his horse by the reins. They were in the act of dragging him from his saddle, when Blas Gonzalez, seeing his peril, charged at the enemy, and fought with such desperate courage that he prevented his commander from being captured, until others coming to their help they were rescued, though both were wounded, and the horse of Gonzalez was fatally injured."

Warfare, hardship, and desertion^[28] ad now so greatly thinned Montejo's ranks, that he resolved to proceed to New Spain for recruits and supplies, for the emperor had given orders^[29] that he should there receive all needful assistance. He soon levied a sufficient force; but when on the point of departure he heard that the inhabitants of Tabasco, a district that lay within his territory, had risen in revolt, and taking with him sixty men he started thither, directing his son Francisco to proceed with the remainder to Salamanca.

Here again this effeminate commander makes a mistake in applying to his purpose means just too weak for its accomplishment. The Tabascans could not be pacified by so slender a force; so he sent Gonzalez Nieto with two vessels to Salamanca, ordering every Spaniard there to come to his aid. And well was it for his people at Salamanca that their help was needed, for they were besieged and in a pitiable condition, hemmed in, as Cogolludo tells it, on the spot where they had landed; they had been compelled to make constant sorties for food, and obtained so little that their commander himself and five others were all who had strength left to watch over the living skeletons of Francisco's command.

Before the end of 1535 not a single Spaniard was left in Yucatan. Nor was Montejo more successful in Tabasco, until being joined by Diego de Contreras with a small band of veterans, and receiving other reënforcements, he succeeded in subjugating this portion of his territory. He then resolved once more to attempt the conquest of the peninsula. In 1537 men and supplies were obtained in New Spain, whence Montejo sailed for the Rio Champoton, whence he proceeded at the head of one hundred men toward Acalan, a town which Cortés had told him held commercial intercourse with the farthest limits of Central America. Falling sick by the way, he intrusted the command to Ávila, who on approaching the town sent messages of peace by certain of his captives. But the recollection of the visit of Cortés was yet fresh in the minds of the natives,^[30] and on his arrival the contador found the place deserted. The following day many of the natives returned, whereupon their caciques were placed in irons, in the hope of extorting information of gold supposed to be thereabout. Ávila purposed to establish a settlement there, giving to it the former name of Salamanca; but after failure to find gold they returned to Champoton, that is, those of them remaining alive.

Meanwhile the adelantado, leaving his son Francisco again in command, had returned to Tabasco, whence he purposed to send recruits and supplies. The troops had been allowed to disembark without opposition, and for a time were not molested; but at midnight, a few days after their landing, the approaches to their camp were crowded with stealthily gliding figures; and the Spaniards, roused from slumber by the cry of a sentinel as he fell pierced to the heart, had barely time to grasp their weapons when the foe was upon them. For hours the stillness of the night was broken by the yells of the wounded and the groans of the dying, as a desperate hand-to-hand struggle was maintained in which the Indians would not yield and their enemies had no alternative but to fight or die. At length the assailants were repulsed; and for a brief space hostilities were suspended, the natives taking advantage of the opportunity to send fleet messengers over the country summoning the caciques to arms. Soon the Spaniards were again in a state of siege. All provisions being removed they were compelled to live mainly on fish, and two of their number straying from camp were captured by the Indians, who sacrificed and ate them.

The caciques were now ready to attack, and the assault was made in such overwhelming force that after a stubborn resistance the Spaniards were compeed to retreat to their boats, whither the natives pursued them. Arraying themselves in the garments the Spaniards had left, the natives pointed the finger at them with scorn and gibe as the invaders pulled from shore. "Where now is the courage of you Spaniards?" they cried. Maddened by these taunts, Francisco and his men resolved to die rather than suffer such disgrace. Putting back, they gave battle, and after a desperate struggle won the day, forcing the natives back, step by step, till they regained possession of their camp.

The result of it all was cessation from hostilities and a truce; but every effort to penetrate the interior ended in failure, and the Spaniards were compelled to remain in the neighborhood of their camp. Here disease and famine rapidly thinned their ranks, and before long nineteen gaunt and sickly figures were all that survived of Francisco's band.^[31] Still they remained at their post, their wants being occasionally relieved by passing vessels, but neither supplies nor reënforcements reached them from Tabasco, though a few men and a small store of provisions had previously been sent, probably from Honduras, of which province, in answer to his own petition and that of the settlers at Trujillo, Montejo had been appointed governor.^[32] But this relief was insufficient; nor was it an easy matter to enlist recruits, for throughout the New World the fame of Pizarro's conquest was on every tongue, while the poverty of Yucatan was almost as widely known. At length, being no longer able to endure their hardships, the commander set forth to ask aid from the adelantado, leaving his cousin and namesake in charge of the camp.^[33]

But help was long delayed, and matters in the mean time became worse. Some of the Spaniards threatened to desert, whereupon their captain, bringing them in the presence of their comrades, bade them depart at once. The men hung their heads and begged leave to remain. Finally the question of abandoning the settlement was openly discussed, and only through the persuasions of Francisco were they induced to remain till relief might come from Tabasco.

But that relief was long delayed.^[34] During the year 1539 vessels despatched by the adelantado arrived at the settlement, with men bringing provisions, arms, clothing, and a number of recruits, and shortly afterward the adelantado's son returned by way of New Spain in command of twenty horse. About this time Montejo, having resigned in favor of Pedro de Alvarado his claim to Honduras, and received in exchange certain territory in Chiapas, set forth for the latter province about the middle of December. Thence he sent for his son and formally transferred to him, with certain reservations,^[35] his rights and powers over Yucatan. A month later Francisco returned with a good store of supplies, and in accordance with his instructions, at once began the removal of his headquarters at Campeche.

He had proceeded but a short distance when his party was assailed by a large band of natives. The latter were routed, but along the Spaniards' pathway trenches had been dug and embankments thrown up at each favorable point; and they were compelled to fight at every step. So great was the slaughter of the Indians that they often fought behind a wall of their own dead. At length the goal was reached; and in 1540 was founded there a settlement named San Francisco de Campeche.

No sooner had this colony been organized than Francisco despatched his cousin with a party of fifty-seven men to the district of Quepech and the town of Tihoo. During this expedition also great hardships were encountered. Fortifications constantly obstructed their progress; the country was cleared of provisions; crops were destroyed; there were no streams on their line of march, and the wells had been filled with rocks. Their road, a narrow path cut through the forest, was encumbered with putrescent carcasses. One night, while in camp, their tents and baggage were set on fire, and thus they lost nearly all their effects. Nevertheless they continued the march, sending word of their disaster to the commander, and at length reached their destination. Here they were joined by forty others bringing supplies from Campeche. Taking up their quarters at Tihoo, they were visited by a number of natives, who asked, "What do ye here, you Spaniards? Those coming against you are more numerous than the hairs on the deer." The reply was that the Spaniards would go forth to meet them. True to their word they went, and coming up with them a few leagues from the town, put them to rout.

Francisco himself soon arrived at Tihoo with all his force, and receiving the submission of several caciques, resolved to found there a city, his command being united and mustering about two hundred men. But one more battle had yet to be fought. On a certain evening in June 1541, while celebrating the feast of Saint Barnabas, the Spaniards beheld, from the hillock on which their camp was pitched, a hostile host swarming into the surrounding plain. At daybreak they found themselves surrounded, the number of their foes being estimated at from forty to seventy thousand. Without waiting to be attacked, the Spaniards descended to the level ground, and deploying their forces gave battle. After fighting till nearly sunset the natives were driven from the field, and so great was the carnage that the Spaniards were often compelled to climb over heaps of the dead in pursuit of the living. This battle decided the fate of the natives of Yucatan. Although they frequently rose again in rebellion, and their final subjugation was not effected until several years later, they never united their forces for a general engagement.

On January 6, 1542, the Spaniards founded on the site of Tihoo a city to which they gave the name of Mérida.^[36] Thence young Montejo extended his conquest eastward to the districts of Conil and Choaca. On the 28th of May, 1543, he founded, in the latter territory, the city of Valladolid, but afterward changed its site to a more favorable location.^[37]

Zatuta, a region occupied by the Cocomes, and Bacalar were also brought under subjection, the latter by Gaspar Pacheco, who with a sufficient force accomplished his task by inflicting on the hapless natives such diabolic atrocities as can hardly be believed. He used to amuse himself by clubbing men to death or by chopping off their hands, ears, and noses; and cutting off the more tender parts from the bodies of his female captives, ordered them to be thrown into a lake, with calabashes tied to their feet, and there left to drown. In Bacalar was founded, during 1544, the city of Salamanca,^[38] the second of that name in Yucatan.

Two years later the last organized revolt occurred among the natives. Of all nations brought under Spanish domination, the Ah Kupules in eastern Yucatan were the stubbornest. Leaguing with the neighboring caciques, they rose in revolt, attacking the settlement of Valladolid, after putting to death all the colonists at their encomiendas throughout the adjacent districts. It was on the 9th of November, 1546, that the insurrection broke out. I will cite a few incidents. The first victims were two brothers named Diego and Juan Cansino, the sons of one of the conquerors of New Spain. Unconscious of their danger, they were living at the Indian town of Chemax, granted to them in encomienda, and being attacked, while unarmed, by a multitude, were overpowered and captured. Fastening them to crosses, and retirmg to such a distance that their weapons would not prove immediately fatal, they fired arrows at them, uttering all the imprecations contained in their verancular against the religion of their victims. For many hours these young men were forced to endure this torture. At sunset, their bodies riddled with darts, they expired, chanting the salve regina with their dying breath. Their heads were then chopped off and borne as trophies by the leaders of the revolt, and their bodies cut into small pieces and sent all over the districts in token of the uprising.

Other encomiendas were attacked, and their owners treated with similar atrocity, or offered in sacrifice. Two only escaped. Diego Gonzalez de Ayala, with the aid of a negro slave, forced his way through a band of natives which had surrounded his dwelling, and galloped off toward Valladolid, eight leagues distant, hotly pursued. Their horses were soon exhausted, and they knew that on foot they would soon be overtaken. Thereupon they turned and dismounted, holding their pursuers at bay until their horses were rested; and thus the two reached the settlement in safety. "On the roadside," says Cogolludo, "is a fruittree which is now called the tree of the hook, because here Ayala, riding up sorely fatigued, and feeling that his only refuge was in flight, unbuckled his shield and hung it on one of the branches."

After sixteen Spaniards had thus been slaughtered at the encomiendas in the neighborhood of Valladolid, the Indians united their forces to attack the town. At this time its garrison mustered only twenty men; but sending for assistance to Mérida, they sallied forth to meet the enemy, leaving three or four of their number in the fortifications, with orders to beat drums and make all the uproar possible, and thus impress the foe with the belief that a strong guard was stationed there. Astonished at their boldness, the natives forebore to advance, and by making frequent sorties the besieged held them in check until young Montejo with a considerable force came to their relief. Soon after his arrival the Spaniards marched forth to give battle, and after a stubborn fight put the enemy to rout, though with the loss of twenty of their own number and five hundred of their native allies.

By adopting peaceful measures after the victory, the adelantado's son succeeded in pacifying the disturbed districts, and though in 1547 the territory of the Chetumals was the scene of a slight outbreak, which was suppressed without bloodshed by the politic measures of Juan de Aguilar, it may be said that all concerted resistance was at an end. Thus at length there was peace in Yucatan; but the conquest of this sterile peninsula had cost the lives of more Spaniards than had been expended in wresting from the Incas and the Montezumas the wealthiest empires of the western world.^[39]

 

Although Francisco de Montejo had been allowed to remain nominally at the head of affairs in Yucatan, the circumstances under which its subjugation had been effected precluded him from any real claim to authority. One of the first measures of the audiencia de los confines had been an attempt to enforce a royal decree, by which he was to be deprived of office. In 1545 the oidor Rogel was ordered to take his residencia; but Montejo was son-in-law to the president, and it was arranged that the investigation should be held at Chiapas. Here none came to accuse him, and the proceedings amounted to nothing. Of course the governor was allowed to retain his title. Again in 1548, during which year the province was made subject to the audiencia of Mexico,^[40] the licentiate Diego de Herrera was ordered to proceed to Mérida and take the residencias of the adelantado, his son and nephew. The principal charges brought against Montejo^[41] are those of unlawfully abstracting funds from the royal treasury, and of refusing to liberate his slaves in the face of repeated orders from the government.

In spite of all prohibitions, slave labor was common throughout the province, and in 1549 the India Council, learning from the reports of missionaries. that no heed was given to their injunctions, caused a real provision to be sent to the province, wherein all the settlers were ordered at once to release their bondsmen, and were promised in return a compensation for the loss of their services.^[42] During the year the oidor Santillan arrived at Mérida with full power to corrret abuses; and once more the governor was subjected to residencia.^[43] Before the investigation was completed Francisco de Montejo bid farewell to the scene of his many disasters and his bitter humiliations. Returning to his native land, advanced in years, despoiled of office, and shattered in health and fortune, he sought redress at the court of Spain, but while there pleading his cause was summoned to receive his sentence before the great tribunal where all must one day render an account.^[44]

 

In the agreement which Montejo made with the crown before proceeding to Yucatan, it was expressly stipulated that missionaries should accompany all his expeditions, and to his failure to fulfil this part of his agreement may be attributed many of his disasters. In 1530 a cédula was forwarded to the audiencia of Mexico, ordering that special efforts be made to supply this omission, and soon afterward Father Jacobo de Testera, with four others, arrived at the Spanish encampment on the Champoton.^[45] They met with a friendly reception from the natives, says Cogolludo, "who brought to them their idols to be cast to the flames, and their children to be instructed in the faith." Many of the caciques tendered their allegiance; and but for the misconduct of a band of fugitive criminals, who, passing through the territory laden with idolatrous spoils, attempted to barter them for slaves, thus rousing the anger of the natives, the conquest of Yucatan might have been peaceably effected. Seeing that their lives were in danger, the friars made their escape by night, setting their faces toward Mexico; but after proceeding some fifty leagues they were overtaken by messengers, who prevailed on them to return. The gang of miscreants refused, however, to leave the country; and as they did not cease to oppress the natives and vex the souls of the ecclesiastics, Testera^[46] and his colleagues were compelled, after a few months, to abandon this field of labor.

In 1537 a second mission, consisting of five friars, was despatched to Yucatan, and though they found the natives tractable and willing to receive the faith, they remained but two years.^[47] Not until about 15-45, when an evangelical crusade was undertaken in the New World by one hundred and fifty ecclesiastics from Spain, was any permanent mission established on the peninsula. Of this number several^[48] of those sent out to Guatemala were detailed for duty in Yucatan. Arriving at San Francisco de Campeche in charge of Father Luis de Villapando, they were warmly welcomed by the adelantado, who had now returned to the province, and the principal caciques being summoned into his presence, Montejo explained to them the purpose for which they had come. A convent, dedicated to Saint Francis, was founded at this settlement on a site which it occupies at the present day, and the doctrines of the faith were translated into the native dialect. The first to be baptized was the cacique of Campeche, to whom was given the name of Diego Ná, with the title of Don. This convert soon acquired the Spanish language, and henceforth acted as the interpreter of the ecclesiastics.

During the year 1545, Bartolomé de las Casas arrived at San Francisco de Campeche, and claiming that Yucatan was included in his diocese, exhorted the Spaniards to liberate their slaves. "Providence," exclaimed the apostle of the Indies, "only desires to work on misguided souls through the teachings of the gospel; it has a horror of unjust wars undertaken in its name; it wishes neither captives nor slaves to bow before its altars. Persuasion and gentle treatment are enough to win the hearts of the most obdurate to the shrine of God." The colonists answered this appeal with slights and threats. They subjected the bishop to incessant annoyances; they denied his claim to the diocese; they refused him the means of support; and being left to find his way back to Chiapas as best he could, he was compelled to borrow one hundred castellanos from one of the friars to defray expenses. Before his departure, however, many of the vecinos, ashamed of their conduct, besought his forgiveness, and testified their sincerity by presents.

 

Soon after the pacification of Yucatan, Villapando is invited by the adelantado to settle at Mérida, then the capital of the province. Here he founds a convent, and so successful are his efforts that his proselytes soon number more than one thousand, among them being many of the leading caciques. In company with Father Melchor de Benavente he then sets out for the region south of Mérida, travelling barefooted and staff in hand toward Mani in the fastnesses of the sierra. Here the missionaries meet with marked success, and soon two thousand of their converts are engaged in building for them a church and a dwelling.

For a time they are not molested in their labors; but when they endeavor to procure the release of the natives from the bondage in which they are held by their caciques, the latter resolve to burn them alive, while celebrating worship in the sanctuary. On the 28th of September, 1548, the eve of Saint Michael's day, Villapando is visited by a boy who, as Cogolludo relates, came to him to be catechised. "Father," said the child, "may I ask you a question?" "Ask it, my son," answered the padre. "Tell me, then, whether it is better to live or to die?" "To live," responded the priest; "for life is our natural state, while death is inherited by sin." "Then, if you want to live, father," said the boy, "you had better go hence, for this very night our caciques have determined to burn you in the church if you remain there." "Our lives are in God's hands," calmly rejoins the padre, and dismissing him with his blessing, bids him return the following day. Villapando then informs his colleague of the danger. There is no escape for them, and they can only resolve to stand firm in the hour of trial. In this mood they repair to the shrine, and there spend the evening in prayer.

Toward midnight the distant roar of an approaching multitude is heard. Looking from one of the windows the padres see the Indians coming with lighted torches. They cling to the foot of the cross and pray for strength. Soon the church is surrounded, and yells and foul 1mprecations are heard, with threats to burn the building. Their flaming brands light up the structure, and they behold the two figures bowed before the cross in supplication. An hour passes by; and as though held back by some unseen influence, the natives forbear to harm the missionaries. At length they withdraw, purposing to return the following day and fulfil their menace. The priests remain all night at their devotions, and when at dawn a streak of pale light glances athwart the sacred effigy on the cross, they are still kneeling in prayer to Saint Michael.

But what noise is that which breaks on the still morning air, as the two fathers are repeating their matins, expecting every moment the call of martyrdom? Now their time has come, and clinging yet closer to the crucifix, they offer up one last supplication to the virgin, and exhort each other to bear the dread ordeal with Christian fortitude. The sound grows clearer; but surely it is not like that of the night before. Presently the trampling of hoofs is heard, and now the clang of swords. The padres are rescued! A band of their countrymen despatched by the adelantado to a point some leagues distant,^[49] chanced to pass that way, and Villapando and his colleague, inviting them into the sanctuary, chant a te deum of praise and thankfulness for their deliverance. The church-bell was rung at the usual hour, but there were none to answer save the child who had given the warning. The natives had fled to the mountains. Twenty-seven of the leading conspirators were afterward captured and taken to Mérida. After confessing their intended crime they were condemned to be burned alive. Bound to the stake, the fire was already kindled when Villapando threw himself on his knees before the governor, and by his entreaties persuaded him to spare their lives and allow them to be committed to the care of the ecclesiastics.

During the years 1548-9 an additional band of missionaries arrived from Spain and Mexico^[50] and in September 1549 the first custodial chapter was held at Mérida, under charge of the comisario general of Mexico, Father Juan de la Puerta. On Villapando was bestowed the office of custodian of the province, and mainly through the efforts of this zealous evangelist a convent was erected near the scene of his adventure at Mani.^[51]

 

 

1. As related in their traditions, a path through the sea was opened for the first inhabitants of Yucatan, as they fled from their enemies. Herrera, dec. iv. lib. X. cap. ii.; Landa, Relacion, 28.
2. The worship of the god Cukulcan, seemingly identical with Quetzalcoatl, a name signifying feathered serpent, was common among the Itzas Cocomes.
3. For which see Native Races, v. 614-15, this series.
4. For a full account of their history and institutions see Id., ii. iii. v. passim.
5. Hist. Cent. Am., i. 350, this series.
6. 6 Hist. Mex., i. 8-11, this series. For the origin of the name Yucatan see Id.
7. 7 Id., i. 78 et seq. During his expedition to Honduras in 1525, Cortés, while at Trujillo, despatched a vessel to Mexico, with instructions to call at Cozumel and take on board a party of Spaniards left there by Valenzuela. Hist. Cent. Am., i. 571-2, this series. It was the intention of the Spaniards to establish at this island a calling-place for vessels en route between Mexico and Honduras.
8. 8Hist. Verdad., 245,
9. The full text of Montejo's capitulacion with the crown is given in Cogollvdo, Hist. Yucathan, 62-73, and includes a cédula, dated November 17, 1526, bearing upon the general organization of expeditions of discovery and and conquest.
10. Cogollvdo, Hist. Yucathan, 74. This author states that only the sailors received pay. Notwithstanding the terms of the capitulation no friars accompanied the expedition, nor could Cogolludo discover the name of any ecclesiastic connected with it, except that of Francisco Hernandez. Herrera asserts that Montejo equipped three vessels in which over 500 men embarked, dec. iv. lib. ii. cap. iii, In Cartas de Indias, 806, the same statement 1s made, Oviedo, iii. 225, affirms that he had two large vessels and 380 men.
11. Oviedo's account, iii. 225 et seq., differs materially from that of Cogolludo and other authorities. He states that Montejo, after remaining three days at Cozumel, crossed to Yucatan, where he landed half a league from the village of Xala, and there encamping, built a town which he named Salamanca. Want of provisions, says the chronicler, bad water, and an unwholesome climate rapidly thinned the ranks, and caused desertion; to prevent which he stranded his vessels and landed the cargoes. The discrepancies between Oviedo's version and that of other historians are elsewhere so essential that he appears to be describing entirely different expeditions. Several native villages which, according to the former, the adelantado visited, are not even mentioned in Cogolludo.
12. The exact date of this battle cannot be ascertained, but it was certainly near the close of this year. Cogolludo, Hist. Yucathan, 77-8.
13. An Indian phrase meaning mouths of the wells (bocas de pozos), the words referring to two large water-tanks built there. Castillo, Dic. Hist. Yuc., 1 247.
14. Called Bakhahal by some old chroniclers. At the mouth of the Bacalar River. On the east coast is a town called by Jefferys, 1776, and Kiepert, 1858, Bacalar, Ogilby, 1671, Dampier, 1679, Laet, 1633, Salamanca. Cartog. Pac. Coast, MS., i. 332.
15. Situated a little to the east of Amatique Bay, on a large river which rises in a lake in Guatemala, or perhaps in Lake Nicaragua, and flows into the Golfo Dulce. Mercator, 1569, Chetemal; West-Ind. Spieghel, 1624, Chetemal. Cartog. Pac. Coast, MS., i. 266.
16. Cogollvdo, Hist. Yucathan, 80.
17. Among others the chiefs of the province of Guamil. Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xiv. 100.
18. Their line of march is described in Oviedo, iii. 245, but as already stated, Oviedo differs from other chroniclers in his narrative of the conquest of Yucatan.
19. Here was also abundance of honey as good as any found in Spain; but the wax was as black as jet. Oviedo, iii. 245-6.
20. Gold was secured to the value of 600 pesos, according to Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xiv. 101-2; 1,000, according to Oviedo.
21. The place was 40 leagues distant from Salamanca. Cerezeda, Carta, in Squier's MSS., xx. 50, and was named after Ávila's birthplace. Oviedo, iii. 244-6. From Chablé to Chetumal was a journey of seven leagues, Dávila, Rel., in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xiv. 103.
22. Oviedo says that he occupied the place for more than a year. iii. 246.
23. Cogolludo says the messengers were killed 13 leagues from Villa Real. Hist. Yucathan, 81. Oviedo affirms that they were massacred while at supper in fancied security. iii. 246.
24. According toa statement made by Ávila and his officers to Cerezeda, then governor of Honduras, and narrated in Pacheco and Cardenas, Col. Doc., xiv. 98-113, the survivors were in Trujillo on the 18th of March, 1533. In Oviedo, iii. 254, it is stated that the journey from Villa Real to Trujillo occupied seven months, and in Herrera, that they saved their horses by rafting together their canoes. As the coast was low, and in parts overflowed, they could not find a suitable spot for landing. dec. v. lib. 1. cap. ix.
25. A harbor and town on the north coast, some 21 leagues east by north from Merida. In Ogilby, 1671, is given Morras de Silaa; Dampier, 1699, Sélam; Kiepert, Vijia de Silan. Cartog. Pac. Coast, MS., i. 374.
26. In Herrera's narrative are many perplexities and contradictions as to Montejo's expedition. In dec. iv. lib. x. cap. i, he says: 'The adelantado abandoned Chichen Itza in 1531, went to Campeche for a few months, and then proceeded with his men to New Spain, where he lived some years importuning assistance to renew his attempt.' In dec. v. lib. 1 cap. ix., he affirms 'that in 1532 Montejo was settled in Salamanca, where Ávila on his return from Villa Real and Trujillo found him.' Again, in dec. v. lib. ix. cap. viii., he states 'that in 1535 the adelantado, the contador, and their men were at Salamanca, and that at this time Montejo left Yucatan and went to Mexico to ask aid from the newly arrived viceroy.' Speaking of the natives, he stigmatizes them as 'mendacious and perfidious creatures, who never killed a Spaniard except by treachery;' utterly oblivious of the numerous encounters in which, by reason of native courage and endurance, it often went hard with their hated destroyers. Herrera may be used, but cannot be wholly trusted when writing on Yucatan.
27. When Ávila and his men arrived at Trujillo, he was supplied with arms and horses by the colonists, and with such articles of clothing as they could spare, although, no vessel from Spain having reached there for three years, they were themselves in need of raiment. See Hist. Cent. Am., ii., this series. Soon afterward two ships arriving from Cuba, the contador put his men on board, and thus rejoined Montejo. From Ávila's own narrative to the king, dated from Salamanca, June 23, 1533, we learn that he had been 25 days at Trujillo, and was forced to leave 16 of his men behind. He refers to another report by Valencia, an officer of Montejo, also addressed to the king. Dávila, Relacion, in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xiv. 97-128. 'Avila, after two years' absence, returned to Montejo's camp, by way of Trujillo.' Montejo, Carta, in Squier's MSS., xxii. 129.
28. In a letter to the king, dated Gracias á Dios, Dec. 26, 1545, Montejo says that his people deserted him in Yucatan because there was neither gold nor silver there, and made for Peru, and that after occupying the territory for nine years he was compelled to abandon it. Carta, Squier's MSS., xxii. 128, It is somewhat singular that in a letter to the king, mentioned in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., i. 463, Guzman should have petitioned that the gold and silver might be coined at Española, where they had silver from Yucatan.
29. In a cédula issued from Ocaña, April 4, 1531.
30. See Hist. Cent. Am., i. 546-7, this series.
31. The names of six of them are given in Cogollvdo, Hist. Yucathan, 117.
32. Montejo's appointment as governor of Honduras was dated 1535, but he did not receive it till the following year. Oviedo, iil. 314.
33. Before his departure Francisco Gil, one of Pedro de Alvarado's captains, arrived at the mouth of a river then known as the Tanochil, or Tenozic, some distance to the north of the Champoton. Here he founded a settlement which he named San Pedro, but his men suffered greatly from privation. Being visited by the adelantado's son he abandoned his claim, Cogollvdo, Hist. Yucathan, 117-18.
34. So long that one of their party, Juan da Contreras, was sent to apprise the adelantado of their desperate strait. Whether Montejo himself returned to Yucatan at this time is doubtful. Id., 121-2.
35. In a document dated Ciudad Real, 1540, the adelantado reserves to himself the district of Tutul Xiu and the towns of Techaque, Campeche, and Ciudad Real, the Spaniards being ordered to remove to Campeche. Cogollvdo, Hist. Yucathan, 123-5.
36. The names of the original vecinos are given in Cogollvdo, Hist. Yucathan, 137-8, 165-7.
37. To Zaqui, a site six leagues distant from the ocean, and one affording easy access to the port known by the Spaniards as 'El Cuyo.' It was again changed to a spot farther inland. Cogollvdo, Hist. Yucathan, 159-63. See also Notas Voc. Geograf., in Cartas de Indias, 696.
38. For an account of Pacheco's expedition and of the founding of Salamanca, see Bienvenida's letter in Cartas de Indias, 72-7; Yucatan, Simancas, Squier's MSS., xxii. 53-7; Bienvenida, Lettre, in Ternaux-Compans, Voy., série i. tom. x. 307-43.
39. Cogolludo estimates the loss of the Spaniards in Yucatan up to 1547 at 500.
40. In 1547 the cabildo of Mérida petitioned for this change, because Gracias á Dios, then the seat of the audiencia de los confines, was far distant from Yucatan, and the journey was attended with great danger, whereas one could reach Vera Cruz by sea within eight days. Squier's MISS., xxii. 14, 15, 103.
41. They are given in full in Bienvenida, Lettre, in Ternaux-Compans, Voy.,série 1, tom. x. 320-33.
42. It does not appear that either Montejo or his heirs received any immediate benefit from the promised compensation; for in Cogollvdo, Hist. Yucathan, 277-85, we learn that the matter was in litigation between 1561 and 1618. In the latter year a decision was rendered in favor of Doña Catalina, Montejo's daughter.
43. Santillan's instructions were not to investigate matters which had previously been sifted by Herrera. Puga, Cedulario, 166. Cogolludo mentions that this third residencia was generally regretted by the settlers, and in Montejo, Carta, Squier's MSS., xxii. 104-5, 127-30, is related the adelantado's plea for quick justice.
44. Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 245, affirms that Montejo died in Spain. The author of Datos, Biog., in Cartas de Indias, 807, alludes to a mistake made by Gil Gonzalez Dávila, who states that his death occurred at Mérida. The latter authority probably confuses the governor's decease with that of his son. In Ancona, Hist. Yuc., ii. 59-60, a work showing great research, it is stated that the former died in Spain. The adelantado married Doña Beatriz de Herrera, a lady of gentle birth. Their daughter Doña Catalina, who was his heiress, married the licentiate Alonso de Maldonado, the first president of the audiencia de los confines. His lieutenant Francisco was a natural son; but the stain on his birth was removed by an imperial rescript, dated April 6, 1627. By a royal order dated October 26, 1617, a yearly pension of 3,000 ducados, equal then to about $4,125, was granted to his heir Don Cristóbal Suarez Maldonado y Montejo, payable from the royal treasury of Mérida to himself and to those to whom he might bequeath it in perpetuity. In 1758 the duke of Montellano was the successor and to him was paid the pension in Mexico. Certificacion de las Mercedes, MS., 179-80.
45. Fray Lorenzo de Bienvenida was one of the party. The names of the others are not known. The date of their arrival is uncertain. Cogolludo states that they came in 1531, Hist. Yucathan, 102-3; Torquemada in 1534, iii. 335.
46. Testera, a native of Bayonne in France, was a man of princely fortune, and though advanced in years was young in enthusiasm. He came to New Spain in 1529 or 1530, and was appointed prelate of the province of the Santo Evangelio. This position he resigned in order to engage in missionary labors in Yucatan. Returning thence in 1533 he was appointed custodian by the chapter-general of Mantua held in 1541, and afterward comisario general of all the Indies. Mendieta, Hist. Ecles., 665-6.
47. The little that is known about this mission is related in Torquemada, iii. 337-8.
48. According to Torquemada, iii. 337, where their names are given. In an extract from a letter addressed by bishop Marroquin to the emperor from Gracias á Dios, Dec. 1, 1545, mention is made of 'Fray Luis de Villapando and eight religious, who went from Guatemala and are now in Yucatan.' Squier's MSS., xxi. 140.
49. They were bound for a place called Petu and appear to have missed their way, for they were now some 14 leagues to the westward of their goal.
50. In August 1549 six came from Spain in charge of Fray Juan de Abalate. Cogollvdo, Hist. Yucathan, 267-8.
51. The principal authorities consulted on the conquest of Yucatan are Cogollvdo, Hist. Yucathan; Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad.; Oviedo; Herrera; and Landa, Rel. Yuc. Cogolludo takes the lead both as the special chronicler of the peninsula and as one who has consulted most of the material extant in his time concerning it, both in print and manuscript; but he hardly exercises sufficient judgment in sifting and presenting his verbose narrations. The account of Bernal Diaz is doubtless worthy of credit in many matters of detail, as it is derived from eye-witnesses of the incidents which he describes. Oviedo's version has already been mentioned, and on his authority alone rests the story of the expedition to Acalan under command of Ávila, from whose statement this chronicler compiles his narrative. While less satisfactory, Landa presents several points of value. Herrera's chapters on Yucatan are brief, and in relating the usages and modes of life prevalent among the Mayas during the period preceding the conquest, he furnishes some very interesting material. The most complete of modern accounts is Ancona's, Hist. Yuc., i., but it lacks in critique. More interesting, if less exhaustive, is that of Fancourt, Hist. Yuc., who accuses Stephens, Travels in Yuc., i., of following too closely the text of Cogolludo, while he himself reveals several shortcomings. The additional authorities which have been consulted in this chapter are the following: Galle, Mem. y Not., 84, 88; Mendieta, Hist. Ecles., 379-82, 398, 665-6; Squier's MSS., xx. 50-1, xxii, passim; Motolinia, Hist. Ind., 171; Puga, Cedulario, 48-166; Figueroa, Becerro, 36, 37, 41, in Pap. Francisc., MS., i. ser. i. No. i.; Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 151, 206, 244-56; Gomara, Hist. Ind., 62 et seq.; Gonzalez Dávila, Teat. Ecles., i. 206-7, 245; Benzoni, Mondo Nuovo, 98-9; Alegre, Hist. Comp. Jesus, ii. 111-12; Pacheco and Cárdenas. Col. Doc., i. 463; ii. 195-6; xiii. 85; xiv. 97-128; xxii. 201-23; Gomara, Hist. Mex., 269; Archivo Mex., Doc., ii. 178-83; Cartas de Indias, 696, 806-7; Torquemada, iii. 335-6, 488-90; Ternaux-Compans, Voy., série i. tom. X. 306-18; serie ii. tom. v. 193-4, 202, 253-4; Beaumont, Crón. Mich., iii. 233-4; Id., MS., 118-19; Florida, Col. Doc., 129; Castilla, Dic. Hist. Yuc., i. 247; Concilios, Prov., 1555-65, 235-6; Registro Yuc., ii. 34-9, 52-9; S. Miguel, Mex., ii. 16; Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin, lii. 347; Id., 2da ép. iv. 14-50; Robertson's Mex., i. 144; Gordon's An. Mex., ii. 250-1; March y Labores, Hist. Marina, Esp., ii. 169-74; Malte-Brun, Yuc., 25-30; Morelet, Voy. Am. Cent., i. 183-9; Dic. Univ., passim; Descrip. Am., 121; Blazquez, Cazador, 363; Baqueiro, Ensayo Yuc., ii. 438 — 43; Welina, Hist, de Yuc., passim; Barbachano, Mejoras, i. 9-10, 37-40.