finally, when the mask was thrown aside, the treasures disclosed by this artifice should be secured.[1] Invested with the power and rank of alcalde mayor of Colima, and of governor's lieutenant, Francisco Cortés set out with about eighty men, twenty-five having horses,[2]and, after passing through Colima and Autlan, he crossed the Sierra Madre range to Ameca and Etzatlan, after defeating the natives in one or two encounters, and intimidating the rest into submission.[3]
The main object being exploration, Francisco advanced north-westward through Istlan and Ahuacatlan.[4] A little further at Tetitlan a numerous army was met under Hujicar and easily vanquished, though with the loss of one Spaniard. This had a salutary effect on the districts beyond, notably Jalisco, well known for its opulence and beauty, which was ruled at the time ky a queen, during the minority of her son. She hastened to send an invitation to the powerful strangers, and came forth herself in state to welcome them at an arbor embellished with flowers, half a league from the town. Her warriors here formed a circle, and game being driven in from the neighborhood, they exhibited their skill in bringing it down, and tendered the result to the guests. This performance was followed by
- ↑ The instructions are given in full in Pacheco, ubi sup., and Cortés, Escritos Sueltos.
- ↑ Pacheco and Cárdenas, loc. cit. Mota Padilla makes it a round 100, and ellows friars Padilla and Boloña and Br. Villadiego to join. Hist. N. Gal., 70. But they had not yet arrived in New Spain.
- ↑ 'Hobo ciertos recuentros, y apaciguó muchos dellos,'says Cortés briefly. Cartas, 492. One version, followed by Navarrete, Hist. Jal., 24, assumes that Capaya was defeated at Autlan, but Mota Padilla writes that ruggedness of country offered the sole obstacle. Etzatlan, he adds, was given in encomienda to Juan de Escarcena, the second in command, it seems. A report of 1579 ascribes the conquest of Amecan, or more probably the encomiendaship, to Juan de Añesta, who is said to have arrived about 1528, and lived four or five years at Colima, enjoying there his tributes from Amecan. Hernandez, in Soc. Mex. Geog., 2da ép., ii. 465-6. Among those who submitted is named Guaxicar, cacique of Xochitepec, later Magdalena.
- ↑ 'Donde quedé por encomendero Alonso Lopez,' says Mota Padilla; but this leaving of isolated men in semi-hostile countries is doubtful. He also assumes that Cortés committed so hazardous an act as to divide his forces the better to explore the country, and adds Mexpa and Zoatlan to the places visited. Gil assumes a detour back to Amecan before Istlan was reached, but this is scarcely possible.
