chapter clvii

. He had a suspicion that the passages in later chapters where Olmedo's connection with the expedition is mentioned may be interpolations by the Friar Alonso Remon, who was of the same order as Olmedo, and who first published the _Historia Verdadera_. The two clergymen were Juan Godinez, _Remesal_, _Hist. Chyapa_, 4, and Juan Diaz, _Ramirez_, _Proceso contra Alvarado_, 128.

[XXII-21] _Remesal_, _Hist. Chyapa_, 3. This authority also states that Cortés conferred on Alvarado the title of lieutenant-governor and captain-general. Cortés, in his letter to the king, expresses great confidence in the expedition, and regrets that inopportune circumstances in connection with the fleets had retarded the discovery of many secrets, and the collection of gold and pearls for the royal treasury. _Cartas_, 305.

[XXII-22] In some rocky fastnesses, _peñoles_, called the Peñoles de Guelamo, being in the encomienda of a soldier of that name. _Bernal Diaz_, _Hist. Verdad._, 174; _Fuentes_, _Conq. Guat._, MS., 1.

[XXII-23] Larrainzar finds no difficulty in looking beyond the myths to a time when this people was included in the Chiapanec nation. _Hist. Soconusco_, 7.

[XXII-24] Bernal Diaz assumes that the province contained only 15,000 families, estimated by Fuentes to represent a population of 60,000 inhabitants. _Hist. Verdad._, 174.

[XXII-25] _Pelaez_, _Mem. Guat._, i. 45; _Gomara_, _Hist. Mex._, 229; _Vazquez_, _Chronica de Gvat._, 4; _Herrera_, dec. iii. lib. v. cap. viii. Bernal Diaz, followed by Fuentes, states that in Soconusco Alvarado was peaceably received, and that the natives presented offerings of gold. _Hist. Verdad._, 174. This idea may have arisen from the fact that some towns did submit without active opposition, as recorded or implied by Gomara and Herrera. Remesal says that Alvarado passed on like a thunderbolt, conquering by force of arms and exciting great terror by reason of the carnage at Soconusco. That the destruction was great is evident from the ruins to be seen at the entrance into Guatemala, in the locality called the Sacrificadero. _Hist. Chyapa_, 3. Brasseur de Bourbourg affirms that Alvarado, as he passed through this district, founded a Spanish colony at Huehuetan, which was long the capital of the territory after the destruction of the city of Soconusco. _Hist. Nat. Civ._, iv. 633-4. This could have been only a concentration of the already resident Spaniards, for Alvarado would scarcely have left behind him, at this juncture, many of his own men.

[XXII-26] Fuentes and Guzman, MS., 2, give the later name of Zapotitlan as Suchitepeque, which signifies Hill of Flowers.

[XXII-27] Place of zapotes, a plum-like fruit abounding in the neighborhood. _Niebla_, _Mem. Zapotitlan_, MS., 7-8. Its ancient name was Xetulul. It is now abandoned, and the inhabitants are dispersed among the neighboring villages. _Brasseur de Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, iv. 635.

[XXII-28] The Zamalá, bearing at its source the name Seguilá, and lower that of Olintepec. Near the village of this latter name it is joined by the Tziha, from which junction down to the sea it is called the Zamalá. _Brasseur de Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, iv. 635.

[XXII-29] The loss to the natives was of course severe. Of the Spaniards two only were killed, but many were wounded. The allies were greater sufferers, and a number of the horses were badly injured. See further _Alvarado_, _Relacion_, in _Barcia_, _Hist. Prim._, i. 157-8; _Oviedo_, iii. 475-6; _Bernal Diaz_, _Hist. Verdad._, 174; _Salazar_, _Conq. Mex._, 125-6; _Ixtlilxochitl_, _Horribles Crueldades_, 66; _Fuentes y Guzman_, _Recordacion Florida_, MS. 2; _Juarros_, _Guat._, ii. 250.

[XXIII-1] With whom the king of the Quichés was actually at war, and who with sneers and insults affirmed that without aid he could defend his kingdom against a greater army than that which the strangers were bringing against the Quichés. _Juarros_, _Guat._, ii. 247.

[XXIII-2] That is to say, 'Under the government of Ten.' The city was ruled by ten lords, each having under him a _xiquipil_, or 8000 dwellings. Fuentes estimated that this city contained 300,000 inhabitants. So strongly was it fortified that it had never been taken, though attempts had often been made. _Juarros_, _Guat._, ii. 240.

[XXIII-3] The most powerful of the Quiché monarchs, said to have reigned about the time of Julius Cæsar. For list of Quiché kings see _Native Races_, v. 566.

[XXIII-4] Juarros states that Tecum Umam set out with 72,000 fighting men. At Chemequena, now Totonicapan, the number was increased to 90,000 by the forces of eight fortified places and eighteen towns; on the plains of Xelahuh ten lords joined him with 24,000 men, and 46,000 arrived from other quarters, so that in all his army amounted to 232,000 warriors. _Juarros_, _Guat._, ii. 248. Vazquez affirms that these forces came from more than 100 populous towns, which owed allegiance to the Quiché monarch, and that no aid was given by the Cakchiquels or Zutugils. _Chronica de Gvat._, 5.

[XXIII-5] Vazquez describes both the natural difficulties and the artificial defences of this pass as offering the greatest obstacles to the invaders. The gorge had been protected by palisades and ditches, and only by the most indefatigable exertions, now destroying trenches and stone barricades, now climbing rugged steeps by help of feet and hands, were the Spaniards able to reach the plain above. Moreover, the devil was at hand to help his own, and he wrought against the good Spaniards by means of diabolical transformations in lightning and whirlwinds, and otherwise convulsed elements; and by fearful apparitions and transformations into wild beasts. _Chronica de Gvat._, 5. This, from Fray Francisco's description, will enable the reader to form some opinion of the religio-historical narration representing this achievement.

[XXIII-6] Bernal Diaz states that the Spaniards had three men and two horses wounded in this struggle. Fuentes says six men and two horses were wounded. _Fuentes y Guzman_, _Recordacion Florida_, MS., 3.

[XXIII-7] _Alvarado_, _Relacion_, in _Barcia_, i. 158; _Oviedo_, iii. 476; _Bernal Diaz_, _Hist. Verdad._, 174; _Gomara_, _Hist. Mex._, 229.

[XXIII-8] 'I aqui hicimos otro alcance mui grande, donde hallamos Gente, que esperaba vno de ellos à dos de Caballo.' _Alvarado_, _Relacion_, in _Barcia_, i. 158. See also for a description of this engagement, _Herrera_, dec. iii. lib. v. cap. ix.

[XXIII-9] 'La mucha sangre de Indios que avia corrido en Rios en _Xequikel_ (que por esso se llamó assi).' _Vazquez_, _Chronica de Gvat._, 524. '_Xequiqel_, que quiere decir rio de sangre.' _Juarros_, _Guat._, ii. 250. This last author states that from the river Zamalá to the Olintepec six battles were fought, but that this was the most strongly contested and the most bloody. Compare _Alvarado_, _Relacion_, in _Barcia_, 158; _Bernal Diaz_, _Hist. Verdad._, 174; _Fuentes y Guzman_, _Recordacion Florida_, MS., 3-4; _Gomara_, _Hist. Mex._, 229.

[XXIII-10] 'Murió vn señor de quatro que son en Vtatlan.' _Gomara_, _Hist. Mex._, 229. Besides Prince Ahzumanche, two principal lords of Utatlan were slain in the battles of the pass—the one Ahzol, a great captain, and a relative of the king, and the other Ahpocoh, his shield-bearer, whose office in the army was of the highest. _Juarros_, _Guat._, ii. 250; _Bernal Diaz_, _Hist. Verdad._, 174. The words Ahzol and Ahpocoh are not, however, patronymics, but titles.

[XXIII-11] The district is called El Pinar by Juarros, _Guat._, ii. 248; and El Pinal by Vazquez, _Chronica de Gvat._, 524.

[XXIII-12] 'Corriendo la Tierra, que es tan gran Poblacion como Tascalteque, i en las Labranças, ni mas, ni menos, i friisima en demasia.' _Alvarado_, _Relacion_, in _Barcia_, i. 158.

[XXIII-13] Vazquez visited this hermitage at Zacaha in 1690, and there saw a picture of the virgin, which had been brought by the conquerors, and was known as La Conquistadora, for a description of which the reader can consult _Chronica de Gvat._, 9. In his time the shrine was a place greatly revered. It was a current belief that some member of the priestly order, the object of devotion, was interred there, a strong supposition prevailing that the remains were those of the first bishop of Guatemala; but this is wrong, for Bishop Marroquin died in the Episcopal palace at Guatemala. The remains were probably those of the priest Pontaza. _Chronica de Gvat._, 8-10, 526.

[XXIII-14] The descendants of this conquistador were still living in the same locality in the time of Vazquez, who describes them as raisers of small stock, as poverty-stricken as the descendants of the conquered natives. _Id._, 8-9.

[XXIII-15] Four years later the town was removed to the present site. _Id._, 7-8; _Juarros_, _Guat._, ii. 241. The meaning of the term Quezaltenango is the 'place of the quetzal,' the American bird of paradise, called 'trogon' by the naturalists. The name was of Mexican origin, and was probably applied not only to the district but to the city of Xelahuh.

[XXIII-16] During a stay of two to three days. _Fuentes y Guzman_, _Recordacion Florida_, MS.

[XXIII-17] Four years later the inhabitants were removed to the new town of Quezaltenango, which the Indian population still call Xelahuh.

[XXIII-18] On the authority of a manuscript of sixteen leaves found at San Andrés Xecul, a town not far from Quezaltenango, Juarros states that on the second day four caciques humbly surrendered themselves, and owing to their influence the inhabitants peaceably returned and tendered allegiance. _Guat._, ii. 240-1. No mention of such an event is made by Alvarado, Bernal Diaz, or Herrera; and Vazquez distinctly states that these four chiefs were won over, with some difficulty, after the final battle and the death of Tecum. Though Brasseur de Bourbourg follows Juarros, I incline to the opinion that the pacification of Xelahuh was subsequent to the battle which is yet to follow.

[XXIII-19] Twelve thousand of whom were from the city of Utatlan. _Relacion_, i. 158. Juarros says the first contingent contained 16,000 men. _Guat._, ii. 251. Bernal Diaz gives the whole number as more than 16,000. _Hist. Verdad._, 174. Herrera uses the indefinite but safe expression 'vn gran exercito de Quazaltenalco.' dec. iii. lib. v. cap. ix.

[XXIII-20] The numbers are differently given. Alvarado says there were 90 horsemen; Juarros, 135 horse; Herrera, that the whole force consisted of 80 horse, 200 infantry, and a strong body of Mexicans. Bernal Diaz uses the general expression, 'with his army.'

[XXIII-21] Such is the legend long retained among the Quichés. _Guatemala_, _Chronica de la Prov._, i. 13; _Brasseur de Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, iv. 641.

[XXIII-22] 'I nuestros Amigos, i los Peones hacian vna destruccion, la maior del Mundo, en vn Arroio.' _Alvarado_, _Relacion_, i. 158.

[XXIII-23] Vazquez asserts that this engagement took place on the 14th of May, 1524, while the despatch by Alvarado reporting the event to Cortés is dated more than a month earlier, April 11th.

[XXIII-24] It is difficult to arrive at any approximation to the number of slain during the series of engagements on the Pinar. Vazquez is the only authority who ventures to put down figures. 'Viniendo sobre el Exercito Christiano ... de trece mil, en trece mil, cada dia, aquellos.... Barbaros tan imperterritos â la muerte, y al estrago que las Catholicas armas hacian en su numeroso Exercito, quedando muertos mas de diez, y doze mil infieles, encendiendo en los que quedauan viuos ... que acoradas con la vertida sangre de sus compañeros avivaban mas su rabia, para embestir con irracional despecho â las Españoles.' _Chronica de Gvat._, 5. See also _Bernal Diaz_, _Hist. Verdad._, 159.

[XXIII-25] The names of these caciques, given by Juarros, were Calel Ralak, Ahpopqueham, Calelahau, and Calelaboy, as supplied by the manuscript previously mentioned in note 17, this chapter.

[XXIII-26] So they called the Spaniards, as the soldiers of Alvarado, generally known by the name of Tonatiuh, the initial 'T' being changed by the Quichés into 'D.' _Vazquez_, _Chronica de Gvat._, 524.

[XXIV-1] Also called Gumarcaah. It is represented to-day by the town of Santa Cruz del Quiché, which is situated so near the ruins of the ancient city that it might be considered an outlying suburb. About the middle of the sixteenth century Utatlan was entirely abandoned and the inhabitants removed to Santa Cruz. _Juarros_, _Guat._, i. 66; _Brasseur de Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, iv. 647.

[XXIV-2] _Juarros_, _Guat._, i. 66-7; _Alvarado_, _Relacion_, i. 159; _Ramirez_, _Proceso contra Alvarado_, 32. See also _Native Races_, ii. 744, 788-9. Atalaya and Resguardo are Spanish terms, the first signifying 'Watch-tower' and the other 'Guard.'

[XXIV-3] _Torquemada_, i. 311. The frontage of the palace was 376 paces, while its depth reached 728 paces. The chronicler Fuentes visited Santa Cruz del Quiché for the purpose of investigating the ruins, from which, as well as from manuscripts, he gathered much information.

[XXIV-4] Juarros calls him Chignauivcelut.

[XXIV-5] Francisco Flores claims that he and Juan de Oriza made the discovery. _Ramirez_, _Proceso contra Alvarado_, 32, 34.

[XXIV-6] Bernal Diaz states that some Indians of Quezaltenango warned Alvarado that they intended to kill them all that night if they remained there, and that they had posted in the ravines many bands of warriors, who, when they saw the houses in flames, were to unite with those of Utatlan and fall on the invaders at different points.

[XXIV-7] It is possible that Oxib Quieh was hanged, and not burned, though Alvarado makes no mention of such weakness on his part, but states distinctly 'Yo los quemé.' _Relacion_, i. 159. Bernal Diaz, however, asserts that through the intercession of Fray Bartolomé Olmedo a respite of two days was granted the unfortunate king, during which time he was converted and baptized, and that his sentence was commuted to hanging. _Hist. Verdad._, 175. This view is taken by Salazar y Olarte, _Conq. Mex._, 125-6, and Juarros, _Guat._, ii. 253, but not by Ixtlilxochitl, _Horribles Crueldades_, 67. At the trial of Alvarado this act of barbarity constitutes one of the charges, and the testimony tends to prove that no exception was made in favor of any one of the victims. The witness Francisco Flores, mentioned in note 5, this chapter, states that one of the nobles was spared, because he had disclosed the plot. His testimony may, however, be founded on a respite granted to Oxib Quieh, incorrectly understood by Flores. _Ramirez_, _Proceso contra Alvarado_, 32. Alvarado informed Cortés that the victims made full confession of the plot before they were put to death, and his use of the expression 'Como parecera por sus confesiones' would seem to indicate that the confessions were taken down in writing and forwarded to Cortés. _Relacion_, i. 159. In conclusion, Brasseur de Bourbourg says that only the monarch and the heir presumptive were burned, which is at variance with Juarros' expression, 'Ni las muertes de sus primeros capitanes, ni las de sus dos Reyes, executadas por los Castellanos,' _Guat._, ii. 253, and also with the testimony of Flores, who says, 'E los prendio a todos ... e despues los quemo.' _Ramirez_, _Proceso contra Alvarado_, 32. Las Casas affirms they were burned alive without any form of trial. _Regio. Ind. Devastat._, 35.

[XXIV-8] _Juarros_, _Guat._, ii. 253. Alvarado never alludes to his artillery in this or any future campaign of the year, though he repeatedly speaks of the arquebusiers. Juarros, so far as I can discover, is the only author except Brasseur de Bourbourg who mentions artillery.

[XXIV-9] 'I es la Tierra tan fuerte de quebradas, que ai quebradas que entran docientos estados de hondo, i por estas quebradas no pudimos hacerles la Guerra.' _Alvarado_, _Relacion_, i. 159.

[XXIV-10] His object in making this demand was twofold: he wished to test the Cakchiquel king's feelings toward him, and at the same time to increase his native forces, who would be useful in this work. _Alvarado_, _Relacion_, i. 159. According to Brasseur de Bourbourg the princes of the Cakchiquel nation met with much opposition from their subjects in supporting the Spaniards, and the nobles refused to supply the troops demanded by Alvarado. In this embarrassment the Ahpozotzil raised 4000 warriors in his capital. _Hist. Nat. Civ._, 648. Bernal Diaz, followed by Juarros, gives a different account from that of Alvarado, which is followed in the text. It is to the effect that the people of Guatemala, hearing of Alvarado's repeated victories, and learning that he was stationed at Utatlan, sent an embassy with presents of gold, offering their services against the Quichés, with whom they were at enmity. These were accepted by Alvarado, who, to test their sincerity, and also because he was ignorant of the road, asked and received assistance across the many gullies and through the difficult passes. _Hist. Verdad._, 175.

[XXIV-11] 'Mandè quemar la Ciudad, i poner por los cimientos.' _Alvarado_, _Relacion_, i. 159.

[XXIV-12] Derived from _cé_, 'one,' and '_quechutl_,' a bird similar to the flamingo, for a description of which see _Native Races_, iii. 374. His native name was Tepepul, _Id._, v. 566, but I have preferred to use his Mexican name in order to avoid confusion, as another Tepepul, king of the Zutugils, will appear later in the narrative. The date of this submission of the Quichés must have been a day or two before the 11th of April, on which day Alvarado wrote his despatch to Cortés, stating that he would leave for the city of Guatemala on the same day, which was a Monday. Juarros states that Alvarado remained eight days, Bernal Diaz seven or eight, in Utatlan, occupied in the pacification of the surrounding tribes. _Guat._, ii. 254. Herrera states that the war terminated on the 25th of April, which can only be explained by supposing that Alvarado did not leave Utatlan on the 11th, as he intended. _Herrera_, dec. iii. lib. v. cap. x.

[XXIV-13] 'Estamos metidos en la mas recia Tierra de Gente que se ha visto.' _Relacion_, i. 160.

[XXIV-14] _Relacion_, i. 159; _Bernal Diaz_, _Hist. Verdad._, 175.

[XXV-1] Alvarado's line of march on this occasion seems to have been confounded by different authors with routes followed by him at later dates. Juarros says that he did not pass through the towns of the coast, but along the Itzapa road; for in a land title possessed by the Indians of Parramos, extended in the year 1577, on the 10th of November, in a reference to a plain on said road, this expression occurs: 'Where they say the camp of the Spaniards was pitched when the Adelantado D. Pedro de Alvarado came to conquer this land.' _Guat._, ii. 255. By these remarks Juarros supports Fuentes' opinion that the capital of the Cakchiquel nation was situated on the slopes of the Volcan de Agua. I am, however, persuaded that the encampment mentioned in the land title took place later, on the occasion of Alvarado's campaign southward.

[XXV-2] Vazquez calls this ruler King Ahpotzotzil, _Chronica de Gvat._, 68, which was only his title. His proper name was Sinacam, by which he was called in the books of the cabildos of Guatemala. _Juarros_, _Guat._, ii. 256. Brasseur de Bourbourg gives his name as Belehé Qat.

[XXV-3] _Juarros_, _Guat._, ii. 254-5. The account given by the Cakchiquel manuscript of this conversation differs somewhat from the above, stating that it took place in the palace; that the martial aspect of the population, and the number of warriors, excited the suspicions of Alvarado; and that on the night after his arrival, agitated by his apprehensions, he suddenly entered the royal apartments, followed by his officers. His unexpected presence caused great confusion, and the nobles in waiting rallied round their sovereign. The conversation then followed, when Sinacam spoke thus: 'Would I have sent my warriors and braves to die for you and find a tomb at Gumarcaah if I had such treacherous intentions?' In his explanation, also, the king states that the armed troops were intended to be directed against the provinces of Itzcuintlan and Atitlan, with which nations the Cakchiquels were at war. _Brasseur de Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, 650-1.

[XXV-4] Bernal Diaz, or his editor, here introduces Friar Bartolomé de Olmedo. His story is this: When the Spaniards arrived at Guatemala, Alvarado told the friar that he had never been so hard pressed as when fighting with the Indians of Utatlan, describing them as most brave and excellent warriors, and at the same time claimed to himself the merit of having done a good work. The friar chided him, and said it was God who had wrought the deed; and in order that he might regard it as good, and aid them in future, it would be well to give thanks to him, appoint a holiday, celebrate mass, and preach to the Indians. This injunction was carried out, and resulted in the baptism of more than 30 natives in two days. Others also were anxious to be baptized when they perceived that the Spaniards held intercourse more freely with the converts than with others. _Hist. Verdad._, 175.

[XXV-5] Patinamit, or Iximché, called by Alvarado the city of Guatemala. Juarros is in doubt as to the site of the ancient Cakchiquel capital. Remesal makes no mention of it, though he speaks of the founding of the Villa de Guatemala. Fuentes argues that it was not Patinamit, but a city on the slope of the Volcan de Agua, occupying the same position that San Miguel Tzacualpa occupied when he wrote. His reasons are, first, the preservation of the Indian name Guatemala, indicating that the Spaniards did not found a new town, but occupied the existing city; the custom of the Spaniards being to give Spanish names to cities founded by them, as Trujillo, Granada, Cartago, and others, while those cities which were already founded retained their native names, as Mexico, Cuzco, Tlascala, and the like. Again, as observed elsewhere, the word Guatemala is derived from _Coctecmalan_, which means _Palo de leche_, milk-tree, commonly called _Yerba mala_. This is found only at Antigua Guatemala, and within a league around, in which space, therefore, the capital must have stood. But it was not situated where Antigua Guatemala stands, because that place was always called _Panchoy_, or Great Lagoon; nor where the Pueblo of Ciudad Vieja stands, which locality was called _Atmulunca_, meaning Gushing Water. Therefore it must have been on the spot where stood the city of the Spaniards, which was destroyed in 1541, and where now exists the little village of Tzacualpa, which name in itself is an additional argument in favor of this supposition, inasmuch as its meaning is Old Town. The third argument of Fuentes is based on the improbability that the Spaniards would found a city in an unpopulated district when the court and capital of the Cakchiquels were at their command. Consequently the court of King Sinacam was situated where the Spaniards first established themselves, that is where Tzacualpa stands. See also _Juarros_, _Guat._, ii. 255-9. Vazquez maintains that this capital was the city Patinamit, antonomastically so called, meaning the 'metropolis' or 'the city' par excellence. The locality on which it was built was called 'Iximché,' and in his own time Ohertinamit, which means Old Town. The Mexicans who came with the Spaniards called it Quauhtemali, meaning rotten tree, from an old worm-eaten Iximché tree. To distinguish it from the Ciudad de Santiago founded by the Spaniards, it was afterward named Tecpan Guatemala, that is, Palace or Royal House of Guatemala, a meaning different from that given by Fuentes, who says that Tecpan means 'above,' _encima_, as Tecpan Atitlan, a town situated on a more elevated site than Atitlan. The city Tecpan Guatemala still exists about half a league distant from the old site. Vazquez, moreover, supports his opinion on the extent and magnificence of the palace and public buildings indicated by the ruins, which he visited in person; and also on the fortified position of the place. _Chronica de Gvat._, 7, 10, 68, 73; _Juarros_, _Guat._, ii. 243, 256-7. That the arguments of Fuentes are fallacious, and that Vazquez is right, Alvarado's own despatches prove almost to a certainty. In his report to Cortés, dated 11th April, at Utatlan, he says, 'Embiè à la Ciudad de Guatemala, que està diez Leguas de esta,' and afterward informs Cortés that on that day he will leave for the city of Guatemala, 'Yo me parto para la Ciudad de Guatemala Lunes once de Abril.' At the commencement of the next despatch he writes, 'Yo, Señor, partì de la Ciudad de Uclatan, í vine en dos Dias à esta Ciudad de Guatemala.' Now this 'city of Guatemala' was the capital of the king of the Cakchiquels, and where Alvarado was entertained by him, as will be told in the text, and it was ten leagues from Utatlan, a distance which would occupy the army two days, as stated by Alvarado; for it was difficult ground to march over, being intersected by numerous ravines. _Vazquez_, _Chronica de Gvat._, 7. The site proposed by Fuentes is nearly twice the distance from Utatlan, and could not have been reached by the Spaniards in the short period of two days, except by very exhausting and forced marches, to which it is most improbable that Alvarado subjected his men when on a visit to a friendly power. Again, Alvarado reports that when on his expedition against Atitlan he left the city of Guatemala and by a forced march entered that territory the same day—'I anduve tanto, que aquel Dia lleguè a su Tierra'—a distance that could be accomplished from the existing ruins of Patinamit, but apparently not from the Volcan de Agua.

[XXV-6] Juarros calls it 'chay.'

[XXV-7] _Juarros_, _Guat._, ii. 243-4. This author adds that Bishop Marroquin, having heard of this stone, caused it to be cut into a square and consecrated as part of the high altar in the church of Tecpan Guatemala. Stephens saw it and says that it is a piece of common slate. _Incid. of Travel in Cent. Am._, ii. 150.

[XXV-8] 'Donde fui mui bien recibido de los Señores de ella, que no pudiera ser mas en Casa de nuestros Padres; i fuimos tan proveidos de todo lo necesario, que ninguna cosa hovo falta.' _Alvarado_, _Relacion_, i. 161.

[XXV-9] On this occasion Friar Juan de Torres converted and baptized many. _Vazquez_, _Chronica de Gvat._, 7.

[XXV-10] Atitlan, in the Pipil language 'Correo de Agua,' or 'Water Courier.' This is according to Juarros, who states that the place was also called Atziquinixal, which in the Quiché language signifies 'House of the Eagle,' from the device of the kings, who wore as their royal emblem an eagle fashioned from the plumes of the quetzal. _Guat._, 245. Ternaux-Compans wrongly interprets it 'watercourse,' 'cours d'eau.' _Voy._, série i. tom. x. 416.

[XXV-11] Its real meaning, however, is 'heroes' or 'demigods.'

[XXV-12] An insurrection of the principal cities of the monarchy had been promoted by this cacique. These cities, according to Vazquez, were Tecpan Atitlan and others of that province, while Fuentes believes them to have been Tecpan Guatemala and its dependencies. _Juarros_, _Guat._, ii. 277.

[XXV-13] _Alvarado_, _Relacion_, i. 160.

[XXV-14] 'Le dieron muchos presentes de oro y plata y joyas en gran cantidad.' _Ramirez_, _Proceso contra Alvarado_, 7, 25, 28 et seq.

[XXV-15] 'À los quales mataron sin temor ninguno.' _Alvarado_, _Relacion_, i. 161. Bernal Diaz states that Alvarado sent messengers on three several occasions. _Hist. Verdad._, 175.

[XXV-16] Bernal Diaz affirms that Alvarado took with him more than 140 soldiers, of whom twenty were cross-bowmen and arquebusiers, and 40 horsemen, with 2000 Guatemalans. It must, however, be concluded that the statements of the 'true historian' with regard to the conquest of Guatemala cannot be relied on as exact, since he admits that he was not present: 'Y esto digo, porque no me halle en estas Conquistas.' _Hist. Verdad._, 175-6. Brasseur de Bourbourg also states that 2000 Cakchiquels, commanded by the Ahpotzotzil and the Ahpoxahil, accompanied the Spaniards. _Hist. Nat. Civ._, iv. 652. Juarros gives the forces as consisting of 40 horse, 100 foot, and 2000 Guatemalans. It is quite evident that this author never consulted Alvarado's despatches, judging from the many instances of chronological, numerical, and other differences. Alvarado says he marched so rapidly that he reached the territory of the Zutugils the same day on which he left the city of Guatemala. Juarros writes, 'Caminaba á convenientes jornadas.' _Guat._, 278. Salazar follows Bernal Diaz. _Conq. Mex._, 131.

[XXV-17] Juarros states that these forces were stationed upon the peñol, or insular rock, but were so harassed by the cross-bowmen that they sallied and gave fight to the Spaniards on the plain. _Guat._, ii. 278.

[XXV-18] 'I por la mucha agrura de la Tierra, como digo, no se mato mas Gente.' _Alvarado_, _Relacion_, i. 162.

[XXV-19] About the middle of May, according to the Cakchiquel manuscript. Bernal Diaz states that Olmedo preached the gospel to the Indians, and celebrated mass on an altar which they erected. The friar also put up an image of the virgin, which Garay had brought and given him when he died. _Hist. Verdad._, 176.

[XXV-20] _Alvarado_, _Relacion_, in _Barcia_, i. 161-2; _Bernal Diaz_, _Hist. Verdad._, 175; _Gomara_, _Hist. Mex._, 230-1; _Herrera_, dec. iii. lib. v. cap. x.; _Oviedo_, iii. 480-1; _Juarros_, _Guat._, ii. 277-80; _Brasseur de Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, iv. 652-5. In a memorial addressed by the chiefs of Atitlan to Philip II., and dated February 1, 1571, it is stated that when Alvarado came into the country he was received in a friendly spirit at Atitlan; that no one took up arms against him, but that valuable presents were made, while each town and village paid tribute according to its means. Numbers of their principal men accompanied him on his future campaigns, and lost their lives in his service. _Ternaux-Compans_, _Voy._, série i., tom. x., 419-20. Though the Atitlan campaign was less sanguinary than the previous ones, this contradiction of all accounts, in stating that the Spaniards were peaceably received, must have proceeded from anxiety on the part of the natives to gain some favor or obtain some redress.

[XXV-21] One witness at the trial of Alvarado in 1528-9 states that he heard this person was a sister of the king, but from the statement contained in the charge, and supported by many witnesses, it can only be inferred that she was one of the wives of the monarch. _Ramirez_, _Proceso contra Alvarado_, 7, 22, passim. Brasseur de Bourbourg's version is that Suchil was the wife of one of the highest dignitaries of the crown. _Hist. Nat. Civ._, iv. 656.

[XXV-22] The defence set up by Alvarado when charged with this outrage is exceedingly weak. He had been deceived by the Cakchiquel nobles, he said, who, not wishing him to march farther south, made false representations regarding the difficulties he would meet with. A Spanish soldier named Falcon reported that a slave girl described the country as fair and rich; upon which Alvarado commanded her to be brought forward. This was persistently refused by the chiefs, until he seized one; then an Indian girl of noble birth was produced, but not the right one. 'He, however, importuned them much,' and finally Suchil was delivered up to him. The reader will appreciate the probability of this story when he considers how likely it was that the Cakchiquel nobles would seek to deter Alvarado from proceeding against their national enemies. _Ramirez_, _Proceso contra Alvarado_. See question and charge, xvii. and xix., pp. 7 and 57, Alvarado's reply, p. 77-8, and testimony.

[XXVI-1] The native name of the chief town, Panatacat, was known in the time of Vazquez as _Isquintepeque_. Alvarado calls it _Iscuyntepeque_, _Relacion_, i. 162; Herrera, _Yzquintepec_, dec. iii. lib. v. cap. x.; Gomara, _Izcuintepec_, _Hist. Mex._, 231. Its modern appellation is Escuintla. See also _Native Races_, v. 607.

[XXVI-2] 'Diciendoles, què adonde iban, i que eran locos, sino que me dejasen à mi ir allà, i que todos me darian Guerra.' _Alvarado_, _Relacion_, i. 162; _Herrera_, dec. iii. lib. v. cap. x.; _Gomara_, _Hist. Mex._, 231.

[XXVI-3] Juarros, followed by Brasseur de Bourbourg, states that the army, when in Itzcuintlan, consisted of 250 Spanish infantry, 100 cavalry, and 6000 Guatemalan and other Indians. _Guat._ (ed. London, 1823), 229. Now, Alvarado a little later in this campaign states that he had 150 infantry, 100 horse, and 5000 or 6000 Indian auxiliaries. This number of infantry is more probably correct than that given by Juarros. Alvarado had only 300 infantry when he left Mexico, and, though few had been killed, numbers were wounded, and he had left garrisons at various places. _Relacion_, i. 163. That he should leave Itzcuintlan with 250 Spanish foot-soldiers and lose 100 of them in a few weeks is a supposition that cannot be entertained. Juarros appears to have followed Gomara, _Hist. Mex._, 232, who gives the above figures.

[XXVI-4] No summons of surrender was sent, which omission was brought forward as a charge against the commander at a later date. _Ramirez_, _Proceso contra Alvarado_, 7, 57 et seq.

[XXVI-5] Juarros states that this was a night attack, and that the inhabitants were asleep when the Spaniards entered; Bernal Diaz says that it occurred in the morning.

[XXVI-6] 'Tambien me han dicho, que cinco Jornadas adelante de vna Ciudad mui grande, que està veinte Jornadas de aqui, se acaba esta Tierra ... si asi es, certisimo tengo que es el Estrecho.' _Alvarado_, _Relacion_, i. 160. Pelaez erroneously makes this campaign follow the reduction of Mixco, Sacatepeque, Mazatenango, etc. _Mem. Guat._, i. 45-46. Vazquez thus describes it: 'Sin dejar las armas de las manos, ni dia alguno de batallar en los Pueblos de la Costa, corrió como un rayo, el y su Exercito.' _Chronica de Gvat._, 7.

[XXVI-7] Laet, Ogilby, and Kiepert write _R. Michatoya_.

[XXVI-8] Called _Atiepar_ by Alvarado; _Caetipar_ by Gomara; _Atiquipaque_ by Juarros; _Aticpac_ by Brasseur de Bourbourg; and by Ixtlilxochitl, in _Horribles Crueldades_, 69, _Cala_. Alvarado states that both the language and race of people were here different.

[XXVI-9] _Ramirez_, _Proceso contra Alvarado_, 7-8 et seq. The account given by Juarros differs so much from Alvarado's that I can give the former but little consideration in the text. It is to this effect: After crossing the river the Spaniards were attacked by a large body of Indians, and an obstinate battle ensued, in which Alvarado was dismounted by a chief, who wounded his horse with a lance. Alvarado then attacked the Indian on foot and killed him. The victory was for some time doubtful, but passed finally to the Spaniards. On the following day they entered the deserted town, where before long they were again attacked by a fresh body of the enemy. Cooped in the narrow streets, the Spaniards could not act, and retreated to open ground, where they soon threw the Indians into disorder.

Alvarado's despatches to Cortés, _Relacion de Alvarado_, form the base of that portion of the conquest of Guatemala which begins with the departure of the Spaniards from Soconusco and terminates with the founding of the Ciudad de Santiago at Patinamit. Two only of these reports are extant; that there was at least one more is certain from the opening line of the first, wherein Alvarado states that he had written from Soconusco; 'de Soncomisco escrivì à Vuestra Magestad.' It might be supposed, from the expression 'Vuestra Magestad,' that the letter was addressed to the king of Spain; the conclusion, however, proves that such was not the case, as Alvarado requests Cortés to report his services to his Majesty. 'Magestad' is probably a misprint for 'Merced,' or an incorrect reading of the manuscript. These despatches were first published at Toledo, October 20, 1525, with the fourth report of Cortés to the king of Spain. They were afterward translated into Italian by Ramusio and published at Venice in 1565. In 1749 Barcia, a member of the royal council, reproduced them, in Madrid, in his collection of the works of the chroniclers, and it may be remarked that Ramusio's translation does not always agree with this Spanish edition. Ternaux-Compans translated Ramusio's version into French and published the letters at Paris, in 1838, in his Collection of Voyages. Alvarado's style is clear and simple, terse and vigorous, and his descriptions are vivid. That he did not report all his proceedings to Cortés is evident from the _Proceso contra Alvarado_, already frequently quoted, in which numerous acts of cruelty, outrage, and embezzlement are charged against him. Yet there is no just reason to doubt the truthfulness of his narrations so far as they go, since they are supported by good authorities. It is suppression and not misrepresentation of facts that can be charged against him. In these two despatches the writer has portrayed his own character most clearly. His energy, recklessness, and indomitable will, his bravery, religious superstition, and ambition, are all distinctly displayed; but in bold relief, prominent above all other traits, is recognized his cruelty: whenever the carnage on the battle-field has been unusually dreadful he delights to report it to Cortés, sometimes even mentioning the matter twice; and when the natives have managed to escape him with comparatively small loss, he regretfully enters into explanations and gives the reasons why so few lives were taken. These despatches are particularly interesting for their evidence relative to the site of the first city founded by the Spaniards in Guatemala. They moreover correct many errors committed by Remesal, Fuentes, and Juarros, who, strange to say, could never have seen these reports, or even Oviedo's almost verbatim copy of them. Another narrative of the conquest was written by Gonzalo de Alvarado, which work Pelaez, _Mem. Guat._, i. 47, considers that Herrera must have seen. It was never published; Juarros thus describes it: 'MS. de Gonzalo de Alvarado, que paraba en poder de D. Nicolas de Vides y Alvarado, su descendiente.'

[XXVI-10] _Ramirez_, _Proceso contra Alvarado_, 7-8 et seq.

[XXVI-11] 'Me recibieron de paz, i se alçaron dende à vna hora.' _Alvarado_, _Relacion_, i. 163.

[XXVI-12] Juarros states that the army halted near the city, and was almost immediately attacked by three strong bands of natives, one descending from the heights of Nextiquipac, another from Taxisco, and the third from Guazacapan. It required all the skill and strength of the Spaniards to resist the combined onset. But the division from Guazacapan abandoned the field, while that which came down from the mountains was broken and put to flight; whereupon the Taxisco party submitted, and the town remained in the possession of the Spaniards. _Juarros_, _Guat._ (ed. London, 1823), 231.

[XXVI-13] Called by Alvarado _Nacendelan_, and _Necendelan_ by Gomara; in Mercator's Atlas, 1574, _Nacendelen_, and in the _West-Indische Spieghel_, 64, _Nacedelan_. Its modern name is Nancintla.

[XXVI-14] These consisted of cloth, cross-bow strings, horseshoes, nails, and other iron articles. Alvarado states at a later date that the nails and horseshoes were cast with copper by the Indians, who believed that the iron would melt with it. _Ramirez_, _Proceso contra Alvarado_, 79-80. The clothing, he says, could not be recovered, as it had been torn up for breech-clouts. _Relacion_, i. 163; _Oviedo_, iii. 483.

[XXVI-15] Herrera affirms that they were from Nancintlan, and had the custom of fighting with little bells, 'sendas campanillas,' in their hands. Juarros states that all inquiries to discover the reason of this practice have been useless. _Herrera_, dec. iii. lib. v. cap. x.; _Juarros_, _Guat._ (ed. London, 1823), 232; also _Gomara_, _Hist. Mex._, 232.

[XXVI-16] Referred to as Don Pedro, one of Cortés' most trusted officers. See _Hist. Mex._, chap. vi., this series. He is mentioned more than once by Alvarado, and important commands were intrusted to him. _Relacion_, i. 163-4.

[XXVI-17] Juarros says this stay was made at Guazacapan, a town passed on the way to Nancintlan. The army would have been, thus far, about 25 days on the campaign of discovery: Four days from Patinamit to Itzcuintlan, eight days at this latter place, four days in passing through the towns of Atiquipac, Tacuylula, and Taxisco, to Nancintlan, and eight at this latter place.

[XXVI-18] _Ramirez_, _Proceso contra Alvarado_, 8, 58, 79 et seq. Brasseur de Bourbourg is of opinion that only certain of the chiefs were captured after having fled, and that they were hanged. _Hist. Nat. Civ._, iv. 660. I give the narrative as derived from the evidence in Alvarado's trial.

[XXVI-19] The present town of Pasaco, called _Pacoco_ by Oviedo, iii. 483, and _Pazùco_ by Herrera, dec. iii. lib. v. cap. x., and Gomara, _Hist. Mex._, 232.

[XXVI-20] These were placed slantwise, and projected two or three fingers' width above the surface. They were smeared with so noxious a poison that if but a drop of blood were drawn the wounded man died insane, on the second, third, or seventh day, suffering intense thirst. _Herrera_, dec. iii. lib. v. cap. x.; _Native Races_, ii. 744.

[XXVI-21] _Herrera_, dec. iii. lib. v. cap. x. On a previous occasion they had met with this indication of hostility, but in this instance they seem to have had an opportunity of witnessing the ceremony. _Alvarado_, _Relacion_, i. 163.

[XXVI-22] 'I seguimos el alcance todo lo que se pudo seguir.' _Alvarado_, _Relacion_, i. 163. Juarros states that this victory did not decide the conquest of the district; some towns submitted, but others retained their liberty. Among those which sought for peace was the large town of Tejutla, four leagues from Guazacapan, which was taken possession of as an arsenal. After the conquest it gradually lost its ancient importance, and was abandoned about the middle of the seventeenth century.

[XXVI-23] Near Bay of Sonsonate. See maps of Colon, 1527, and Ribero, 1529, having at or near this point _r. Ciego_; also Kiepert's _Map of Central America_, 1858. _R. Paza_ forms the boundary between Salvador and Guatemala. Paza is evidently an abbreviation of the native name Pazaco, and Paz a Spanish corruption of Paza.

[XXVI-24] Alvarado calls it _Mopicalco_; Herrera and Gomara, _Mopicalãco_. Brasseur de Bourbourg remarks that it seems to correspond with the present village of Nahuizalco, not far from Sonsonate, in Salvador. _Hist. Nat. Civ._, iv. 661.

[XXVI-25] Mentioned by the conqueror as Acaxual, 'donde bate la Mar del Sur en èl.' _Relacion_, i. 163. Gomara calls it _Acaiucatl_; Herrera, _Cayacatl_; and Oviedo _Acarval_, while Ixtlilxochitl gives it the name of _Acayncatl_. Its modern appellation is Acajutla. Juarros incorrectly states that Alvarado did not discover it before 1534. _Guat._, i. 254. Fernando Colon, 1527, and Diego de Ribero, 1529, write _las matas_. Mercator's atlas, 1574, town and bay _Acaxutla_; Ogilby, 1671, _Pto d' Acaxutla_; Laet, 1633, _Po de Acaxutla_; _West-Indische Spieghel_, 1624, _Caxulta_; Jefferys, 1776, _Sonsonate_ or _Trinidad City_, _Rio St. Jago_, and the southern point _Izalcos_, southern cape _Pt. de los Remedios_, northern cape _Pt. Dacaxutla_, on the coast near the latter point _Guacapa_, and in the interior _Chiquimula_. A little north river and city _las Esclavos_; Kiepert, 1858, _B. de Sonsonate_, also a like named city on the _R. St. Jago_. On the coast, _Acajutla_ city, and eastward, _P. de los Remedios_, _Puerto Libertad_, and _Pt. de la Concordia_. The coast is called _Cuesta del Balsamo_.

[XXVI-26] 'Parecian bien con los sacos como eran blancos, y de colores, con muy buenos penachos q̃ lleuauan en las cabeças.' _Gomara_, _Hist. Mex._, 232.

[XXVI-27] It is on this occasion that Alvarado gives the number of his forces. Ixtlilxochitl says there were not more than 7000 Mexicans and Tezcucans ... and Alvarado had not more than 250 Spanish foot and 100 horse, and some few thousand Quauhtemaltecs. _Horribles Crueldades_, 69.

[XXVI-28] Gomara states that Alvarado dared not attack them, because they were so strong and well drawn up, but that the Indians charged the Spanish army as it was moving by. _Hist. Mex._, 232. Ixtlilxochitl's account is similar to that of Gomara: 'Pasaron por un lado del ejército de los enemigos; y como los vieron á la otra parte, envistieron con ellos.' _Horribles Crueldades_, 69-70.

[XXVI-29] Brasseur de Bourbourg, misled by Ternaux's translation from Ramusio of Alvarado's letter, says: 'Sans que l'inégalité du terrain permît aux Espagnols de leur opposer beaucoup de résistance.' _Hist. Nat. Civ._, iv. 662. See also _Alvarado_, _Relacion_, i. 164, and _Alvarado_, _Lettres_, in _Ternaux-Compans_, série i. tom. x.

[XXVI-30] For armor they wore a sack, with sleeves reaching down to the feet, of hard twisted cotton, three fingers in thickness. _Gomara_, _Hist. Mex._, 232; _Alvarado_, _Relacion_, i. 164; _Native Races_, ii. 742.

[XXVI-31] He had been pierced through the thigh with an arrow, which was shot with such force as to penetrate the saddle. His leg was shortened in consequence to the extent of four fingers' width, and he remained lame for life. _Alvarado_, _Relacion_, i. 164. Remesal erroneously states that Alvarado received this wound in Soconusco. _Hist. Chyapa_, 7.

[XXVI-32] This is Alvarado's own statement: 'I fue tan grande el destroço, que en ellos hicimos, que en poco tiempo no havia ninguno de todos los que salieron vivos;' and lower, 'I en caiendo la Gente de pie, los mataba todos.' _Relacion_, i. 164. Gomara says, 'Y casi no dexaron ninguno dellos viuo.' _Hist. Mex._, 232.

[XXVI-33] Tacusocalco. _Oviedo_, iii. 484.

[XXVI-34] The three brothers who accompanied Alvarado from Mexico are now brought more into notice. There are three other Alvarados mentioned by Fuentes in his list of conquerors, but their names do not correspond to those of the other brothers of the lieutenant-general. _Fuentes y Guzman_, _Recordacion Florida_, MS., 25-7; _Bernal Diaz_, _Hist. Verdad._, 14.

[XXVI-35] 'Que verla de lejos era para espantar, porque tenian todos los mas lanças de treinta palmos, todas en Arboledas.' _Alvarado_, _Relacion_, i. 164. Herrera adds that the spears were poisoned: 'Las lanças eran mayores, con yerua.' dec. iii. lib. v. cap. x.

[XXVI-36] 'Peleò despues con otro exercito mayor, y mas peligroso.' _Herrera_, dec. iii. lib. v. cap. x.

[XXVI-37] Called by Alvarado, _Miaguaclan_; by Herrera, _Mautlan_; by Ixtlilxochitl and Gomara, _Mahuatlan_.

[XXVI-38] Atehuan, _Alvarado_, _Relacion_, i. 164; Lechuan, _Herrera_, dec. iii. lib. v. cap. x.; Atlechuan, _Gomara_, _Hist. Mex._, 232; Athehuan, _Oviedo_, iii. 484.

[XXVI-39] 'Yo los recibí pensando que no me mentirian como los otros.' _Alvarado_, _Relacion_, i. 164. Oviedo, on the contrary, says, 'Pensando que mentirian, como los otros.' i. 485.

[XXVI-40] 'Los mas de los pueblos fueron quemados e destruidos.' _Ramirez_, _Proceso contra Alvarado_, 26 et seq.

[XXVI-41] Written _Cuitlachan_ by Gomara and Ixtlilxochitl. Cuzcatlan, meaning Land of Jewels, _Juarros_, _Guat._, i. 23, was the ancient name of the province, as well as the city represented by the modern San Salvador. _Native Races_, v. xii. In _Ogilby's America_, 1671, is written town _S. Salvador_, and south of it a town _La Trinidad_; Laet, 1633, _S. Saluador_, and on the opposite side of the river _La Trinidad_, and in the interior to the north a city _Gratias a Dios_; Jeffreys, 1776, _San Salvador_ or _Cuzcatlan_, west _Nexapa Guaymoco_, east _Chontales_, north _Istepec_; Kiepert, 1858, _San Salvador_, state, town and volcano.

[XXVI-42] The Spaniards entertained some suspicions of treachery. Brasseur de Bourbourg states that the prince and all his suite were seized and kept prisoners. _Hist. Nat. Civ._, iv. 664. The testimony of Alvarado's letter tends on the contrary to prove that they escaped from the town with the rest of the population: 'I mientras nos aposentamos, no quedò Hombre de ellos en el Pueblo, que todos se fueron à las Sierras. E como vi esto, Yo embiè mis Mensageros à los Señores de alli à decirles, que no fuesen malos.' _Relacion_, i. 164. Compare, however, _Ramirez_, _Proceso contra Alvarado_, 9 et seq.

[XXVI-43] _Alvarado_, _Relacion_, i. 164-5; _Ramirez_, _Proceso contra Alvarado_, 58-9 et seq. Brasseur de Bourbourg, regardless of all Spanish evidence, boldly assumes that the king 'ainsi que tous les seigneurs de sa cour' were in fact put to death, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, iv. 666-7, when in reality they were fugitives in the mountains and merely condemned. It is absurd to suppose that in the Cuzcatlan charge, No. xxvi., referred to above, Alvarado's accusers would have failed to bring against him the deaths of the king and chiefs.

[XXVI-44] The branding of slaves at Cuzcatlan was one of the charges brought against Alvarado at his trial. The Spaniards appear to have seized upon a number of the natives when they first entered the town. _Ramirez_, _Proceso contra Alvarado_, 9-59, passim. Las Casas uses these words: 'Stigma enim Regium, iis, qui non evaserunt, inustum est. Ego etiam præcipuo totius civitatis viri filio vidi imprimi.' _Regio. Ind. Devastat._, 38.

[XXVI-45] 'Huuo poco despojo.' _Herrera_, dec. iii. lib. v. cap. x. 'Poco oro y riquezas hallaron en este viage.' _Ixtlilxochitl_, _Horribles Crueldades_, 70.

[XXVI-46] 'I supe de los Naturales como esta Tierra no tiene cabo.' _Alvarado_, _Relacion_, i. 165.

[XXVI-47] 'Padecieron hartos trabajos, hambre y calamidades los nuestros, y los españoles.' _Ixtlilxochitl_, _Horribles Crueldades_, 70; also _Gomara_, _Hist. Mex._, 232.

[XXVII-1] Alvarado's report of the campaign bears this date, and as he mentions in it that on his return he founded the 'Ciudad del Señor Santiago,' he must have arrived at least several days previous to the above date. Brasseur de Bourbourg, after pointing out a misconception of Fuentes, exhibits some confusion in his own mind as to dates and time. _Hist. Nat. Civ._, 667.

[XXVII-2] Vazquez observes, 'Llegó â _Vulvusya_ que oy llaman Almolonga; y auiendo en la falda de su bolcan assentado el Real a los 25 de Jullio de 1524, diò su primer ser a la Ciudad de Guatemala, con Nõbre de Villa que le duró muy pocos dias.' _Chronica de Gvat._, 7. Remesal also states that the city was founded on the slopes of the Volcan de Agua, at a place called Panchoy, which signifies Great Lagoon, the valley there being surrounded by mountains. The material of which the first houses were built consisted, he says, of forked posts for the corner pillars, of canes and mud for the walls, while the roofs were thatched with dry grass. By the aid of the Mexicans they were rapidly thrown up. A sufficient number for the accommodation of all the army being completed, they waited for the day of the Apostle Santiago, in order to found the city on that day and dedicate it to their patron saint. It fell on Monday, the 25th of July, when the founding was consummated. _Remesal_, _Hist. Chyapa_, 4. I have elsewhere shown that Patinamit was the city which Alvarado called Guatemala. Now there is positive evidence from his own despatch that he founded the city of Santiago at or upon that same city of Guatemala. 'Antes acorde me bolver à esta Ciudad de Guatemala, ... asi que Yo soi venido à esta Ciudad ... hice, i edifiquè, en nombre de su Magestad, vna Ciudad de Españoles, que se dice la Ciudad del Señor Santiago,' he writes. The use of the expression 'esta Ciudad de Guatemala' in other portions of the despatch proves that it was written at the capital of the Cakchiquel king, while at the conclusion it is dated thus: 'De esta ciudad de Santiago, à veinte i ocho de Julio de mil i quinientos i veinte i quatro Años.' Thus it is clear that the city of Guatemala and the city of Santiago were one, and that Alvarado appropriated to himself Sinacam's capital. _Alvarado_, _Relacion_, i. 161-2, 165-6. It may be here stated that in direct opposition to Alvarado's application of the term ciudad to the new settlement, both Vazquez and Remesal assert that it was a villa, the latter adding that it retained this title eighteen days, and was erected into a city on the 12th of August. _Remesal_, _Hist. Chyapa_, 4, 6. Pelaez says the city was called 'Ciudad de Santiago de los caballeros,' but not till November 22, 1527. Vazquez affirms, _Chronica de Gvat._, 11, that it was so called on the 29th of July, 1524, while Remesal gives August 12th of the same year. Pelaez, in his introduction to vol. i., states that Guatemala took its name from the expression of Guhatezmalhá, that is to say 'the hill which throws out water.' From the acts of the cabildo we know that it was called a city on the 29th of July, 1524. _Arévalo_, _Actas Ayunt. Guat._, 8.

[XXVII-3] _Fuentes y Guzman_, _Recordacion Florida_, MS., 25; _Arévalo_, _Actas Ayunt. Guat._, 7; Zabarrieta, according to Remesal.

[XXVII-4] This right to appoint alcaldes and regidores was maintained and exercised by Alvarado whenever he was present, as is proved by the cabildos of 1525 and 1526. _Remesal_, _Hist. Chyapa_, 4. _Arévalo_, _Actas Ayunt. Guat._, 11-18.

[XXVII-5] The cabildo, as an assumption of its official prerogatives, entered into session the same day, and arranged legal prices for provisions. _Remesal_, _Hist. Chyapa_, 4. On July 27th we find that an act was passed regulating the blacksmith's rates. Two dollars was to be his charge for making 100 nails, the iron being furnished to him. The charge for shoeing a horse one gold dollar, and the same for bleeding. It is curious to observe that the price of horseshoes in Alvarado's army in April, 1524, was $190 a dozen, at which rate they were bought and sold in his camp. _Alvarado_, _Relacion_, i. 160. Remesal says that operatives, knowing the necessity of their services, charged what they liked. The tailor charged a real a stitch, and shoemakers worked only at such high wages that while soling other people's shoes with leather they might have used silver for their own; and the blacksmith could have made his tools of gold had he wished. On the 12th of December, 1524, the cabildo deemed it necessary to establish fixed rates for labor of all kinds. The measures adopted were punctually carried out by those in power. The regulations were modified as time required, and every two years, at most, new rates were adapted to the condition of affairs, with which even the lords of estates were compelled to comply. The artisans, however, still contrived to cause the other colonists much inconvenience by refusing all payment for work except in gold coin, the tailor otherwise retaining his customer's clothes, even on a feast-day, and the shoemaker his shoes. This state of things lasted till 1529, when the corporation on the 19th of February made the aboriginal currency of the country, cacao, feathers, and clothing, legal tender. _Hist. Chyapa_, 6; _Arévalo_, _Actas Ayunt. Guat._, 8-67, passim. Another of the first acts of this new corporation was the appointment of a town-crier, his salary being fixed at $100 a year. _Id._, 7-8. With regard to this office of crier, Remesal states that it had to be accepted by the person selected to fill it under pain of death. _Hist. Chyapa_, 4. On the present occasion the person chosen was Diego Diaz, who strongly objected to the calling, but was compelled to accept. Remesal, with his death penalty, goes beyond the act of the corporation, which says 'so pena de cient azotes.' _Arévalo_, _Actas Ayunt. Guat._, 8. As an instance of the dearness of provisions, we find an act passed on the 6th of May, 1525, limiting the price of eggs to one gold real apiece. _Id._, 12, 14.

[XXVII-6] _Arévalo_, _Actas Ayunt. Guat._, 8. But Remesal, who is continually at variance with the best authorities, says on the 29th of July.

[XXVII-7] Vazquez says there were enrolled as settlers at the founding less than 200 Spaniards, for, though very few had fallen in battle, detachments had been left at Quezaltenango and Patinamit. With regard to this latter place it must be borne in mind that Vazquez believed the city to have been founded on the Volcan de Agua. _Chronica de Gvat._, 10-11; see also _Arévalo_, _Actas Ayunt. Guat._, 8-19.

[XXVII-8] 'Cortes ... confirmo los repartimientos, y ayudo a pedir aquella gouernacion.' _Gomara_, _Hist. Mex._, 233; see also _Herrera_, dec. iii. lib. v. cap. x.

[XXVII-9] It will be seen in the narrative that the Spaniards were soon obliged to abandon Patinamit and locate elsewhere, and that the city of Santiago had no permanent site until its establishment in Panchoy in 1527.

[XXVII-10] 'Pedro de Alvarado les mando que dentro de cierto termino le diesen mill hojas de oro de a quinze pesos cada hoja.' _Ramirez_, _Proceso contra Alvarado_, 59. Brasseur de Bourbourg states that the king and royal family were commanded to bring vases filled with the precious metals, and to deliver up even their crowns and personal ornaments. _Hist. Nat. Civ._, iv. 673.

[XXVII-11] The Indians appear to have brought in pyrites not unfrequently. Las Casas, speaking of the Cuzcatecs, says: 'Indiani igitur magnum hastarum ex orichalcho inaurato, numerum, quæ aureæ esse videbantur ... congregarunt. Capitaneus eas Lydio lapide probari jussit, cumque orichalcum esse cerneret,' etc. _Regio. Ind. Devastat._, 38. 'Alvarado no tomava syno oro fino e lo rescebia por el toque.' _Ramirez_, _Proceso contra Alvarado_, 59.

[XXVII-12] See _Bancroft's Native Races_, ii. 732.

[XXVII-13] Brasseur de Bourbourg gives August 27, 1524, as the date of this abandonment of Patinamit by the Cakchiquels. _Hist. Nat. Civ._, iv. 676. This date would be about two months earlier than that assigned to the event in Alvarado's evidence for defence, where it is shown to have occurred six or seven months after his seizure of Queen Suchil. _Ramirez_, _Proceso contra Alvarado_, 100, 146-7, passim.

[XXVII-14] The high price of food during this war is evident from an act of the cabildo, passed May 6, 1525, limiting the charge for a hog weighing 120 pounds to twenty pesos de oro, equivalent to nearly $300 of our day; while eggs were one real de oro each, that is over $1.50. _Arévalo_, _Actas Ayunt. Guat._, 13-14.

[XXVII-15] Las Casas tells a frightful story of reprisal, wherein the Spaniards drove all their captives, man, woman, or child, into these staked pits. _Regio. Ind. Devastat._, 36.

[XXVII-16] Brasseur de Bourbourg imagines this place to have been situated in the Zutugil territory. _Hist. Nat. Civ._, iv. 678.

[XXVII-17] Brasseur de Bourbourg takes the view that both the later Zacatepec war and the capture of Mixco occurred during the suppression of the Cakchiquel revolt. But he seems to me somewhat inconsistent. He makes the subjugation of the Cakchiquels last 'pendant plusieurs mois' after Alvarado's return to Patinamit, and yet a little later he points out that during the first months of the year 1525 Salvador was reconquered and a Spanish town founded there. _Hist. Nat. Civ._, iv. 680-1. It is scarcely to be supposed that a second campaign into Salvador could have been undertaken while the Cakchiquel war was going on. Moreover, according to his interpretation of the Cakchiquel manuscript, the town of Zumpango was one of many which submitted to the Spaniards after the destruction of Mixco; and, as will be seen later, the reduction of Zacatepec was owing to the hostile incursions from that district against Zumpango while Alvarado was absent on a campaign. The Cakchiquel manuscript is the production of Francisco Ernandez Arana Xahila, and contains a brief history of the Cakchiquel nation from the earliest times. The author was the grandson of King Hunyg of the Ahpotzotzil line, and it is written in his hand down to the year 1562, from which time it is continued somewhat further by Francisco Gebuta Queh, of the same family. Brasseur de Bourbourg, _Bib. Mex. Guat._, 13, says that it was translated into French in 1856 at Rabinal in Guatemala.

[XXVII-18] This city had been founded by the Pocoman Indians, during their early wars with the Quichés and the Cakchiquels, the site selected being on account of its natural strength. _Native Races_, i. 787; _Juarros_, _Guat._, ii. 245. It was situated in the valley of Xilotepec, on a ridge between the Pixcayatl and the Rio Grande de Motagua, the former river being a tributary of the latter, and meaning 'guardian stream.' _Juarros_, _Guat._, ii. 350; _Brasseur de Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, iv. 680.

[XXVII-19] Juarros states that two defenders, by rolling stones down the steep path from the heights above, could prevent an army from entering. _Guat._, ii. 284.

[XXVII-20] Fuentes says 30 cavalry, serving on foot, and 200 Tlascaltecs. _Recordacion Florida_, MS., 14-5.

[XXVII-21] _Macario_, _Xecul MS._, 7; _Juarros_, _Guat._, ii. 285.

[XXVII-22] In this engagement, for the Indians were pursued after Aguilar's rescue, more than 200 Chignautecs fell, says Juarros. On the side of the Spaniards many Tlascaltecs were slain, among whom were two illustrious chiefs, Juan Xuchiatl and Gerónimo Carrillo—the Spanish name of this Indian chief—while of the Spaniards themselves a considerable proportion received severe wounds. _Guat._, ii. 285. Besides Aguilar and the three captains, whose names are given in the text, Fuentes mentions also Gutierre de Robles and Pedro de Olmos as having greatly signalized themselves in this action. _Recordacion Florida_, MS., 16.

[XXVII-23] Fuentes, who wrote between 1690 and 1700, gives a partial description of a cavern, the entrance to which was on a small ridge by the side of the ruins of Mixco. The door-way was of clay, three feet wide and three high. Thirty-six stone steps led down to a spacious chamber, having at its end another flight of stairs, down which no one had passed far, for the reason that the ground began to tremble as the explorer proceeded. Eighteen steps had, however, been descended, and an arched opening on the right side discovered, leading by six steps into a long cavern. No further explorations had been made. Ubi sup., cap. ii.; _Juarros_, _Guat._, ii. 350-1 _Native Races_, iv. 119-20.

[XXVII-24] The distance of the outlet from the camp must have been considerable, as Fuentes states that a day was allowed for the arrival of Loarca's force at the cave. _Fuentes y Guzman_, _Recordacion Florida_, MS., 17.

[XXVII-25] The account given by Fuentes is somewhat confused. From his version on page 17 the reader is led to suppose that Loarca's party were to ascend by the cavernous passage, and in the order given in the text, while on page 19 he states that those who fled by the cave were attacked by the party 'stationed in ambush.'

[XXVII-26] Fuentes says that Lopez de Villanueva and two others quickly took his place.

[XXVII-27] _Tezump_, _Quiché MS._, 7; _Juarros_, _Guat._, ii. 284-8; _Fuentes y Guzman_, _Recordacion Florida_, MS., 14-9.

[XXVII-28] The Mixco of to-day is distant from the present city of Guatemala about two leagues, and nine or ten leagues from the ruins of the Mixco destroyed by Alvarado. Its destruction was followed by the submission of various towns, among which, according to the Cakchiquel MS., were Xilotepec, Yampuk, Papuluka, and Zumpango.

[XXVII-29] _Cakchiquel MS._, 5; _Juarros_, _Guat._, ii. 281; _Fuentes y Guzman_, _Recordacion Florida_, MS., 12. Jimenez makes a marginal note in the manuscript of Fuentes, stating that 'this is false, because they had rebelled previous to the arrival of the Spaniards and made their capital at Yampuk.' _Fuentes y Guzman_, _Recordacion Florida_, MS., 12-3.

[XXVII-30] Fuentes asserts that they were wont to celebrate their feasts, during which these victims were immolated, on hills in full view of the Indians who were friendly to the Spaniards, in order to provoke them.

[XXVII-31] Juarros assigns too early a date, January 1525, for the events which follow, but he appears to be quite unconscious of this first Cakchiquel revolt. _Guat._, ii. 281. Jimenez has made a marginal note in the manuscript of Fuentes as follows: 'This town,' meaning Xinaco, 'was founded some time afterward—therefore this is false.'

[XXVII-32] Fuentes states that the Spaniards at this time were engaged in the Atitlan war. _Recordacion Florida_, MS., 13. This is a mistake. Atitlan was subdued in 1524, and Alvarado, who gives a detailed account of the affair, would have mentioned this war with the Zacatepecs had it occurred at that time. Juarros says Alvarado was engaged in the Atitlan war or that of the Pipiles. _Guat._, ii. 282. This latter conjecture is doubtless right. There is evidence that Alvarado undertook his second campaign along the coast against Salvador during the early part of 1525, conquered the country, and founded the city of San Salvador. No records of the events remain, but from an act of the cabildo of Guatemala, dated the 6th of May, 1525, we learn that one Diego Holguin had previously left the city to 'reside in the villa de San Salvador, of which he was alcalde.' _Arévalo_, _Actas Ayunt. Guat._, 13.

[XXVII-33] Fuentes, followed by Juarros, states that this was done by the advice of an aged Indian named Choboloc. He had observed that the Spaniards did not engage with all their forces at once, but always kept a body of men in reserve, and suggested to the chiefs of his nation the adoption of similar tactics.

[XXVII-34] _Fuentes y Guzman_, _Recordacion Florida_, MS., 12-14; _Juarros_, _Guat._, ii. 281-3.

[XXVII-35] This ruler, says Gonzalo de Alvarado, displayed in his person the nobility of his blood and was about 40 years of age. _Alvarado, Gonzalo de_, _Memoria_, MS.; _Juarros_, _Guat._, ii. 319.

[XXVII-36] The Cakchiquels are said to have applied the word Mem to the Maya-speaking tribes. This word, meaning 'stutterers,' was corrupted by the Spaniards into Mames. They occupied that portion of the country which lay between the Quiché territory and Chiapas, now the province of Totonicapan. See _Native Races_, ii. 128, v., passim.

[XXVII-37] The Hondo, during the dry season, is but a small shallow stream. In the wet season, however, it becomes a deep and dangerous river, hence its name, El Rio Hondo, 'the deep river.'

[XXVII-38] _Macario_, _Xecul MS._, 16; _Juarros_, _Guat._, ii. 311. The town still exists.

[XXVII-39] _Quiché MS._, 10; _Juarros_, _Guat._, ii. 311-13. A city which remains to the present day under the same name.

[XXVII-40] Like Utatlan and Mixco, this city was situated on a plateau surrounded by ravines. The plateau was twelve miles in circumference, and on it are still to be seen the ruins of Zakuléu, known by the name of Las Cuevas, the caves, about half a league from Huehuetenango. They are only a confused heap of rubbish, overgrown with brushwood. Two pyramidal structures of stone and mortar can, however, be made out. Juarros calls the place Socoleo, which is the present name of a village and stream in the locality. _Guat._, ii. 313-14; _Native Races_, iv. 128-30.

[XXVII-41] The Spaniards lost in this engagement 40 Indians and three horses, while eight soldiers were severely wounded, among them Gonzalo de Alvarado. They collected from the bodies of the slain a great quantity of gold medals. _Alvarado, Gonzalo de_, _Memoria_, MS.; _Juarros_, _Guat._ ii. 315-16.

[XXVII-42] The present Socoleo, a tributary of the river Selegua.

[XXVII-43] This guard consisted of 400 Indians and ten picked Spaniards, under command of Antonio de Salazar. _Juarros_, _Guat._, ii. 317.

[XXVII-44] During the battle, which was fought in full view of Zakuléu, the Mames attempted a sally in support of the mountaineers but were repelled by Salazar. _Juarros_, _Guat._, ii. 317.

[XXVII-45] Juarros adds that Gonzalo did not adopt this plan at first for the reason that he wanted to avail himself of his cavalry in the assault. _Guat._, ii. 318.

[XXVII-46] _Alvarado, Gonzalo de_, _Memoria_, MS.; _Juarros_, _Guat._, ii. 319. Gonzalo de Alvarado affirms that 1800 Mames perished in the defence of Zakuléu. _Id._

[XXVII-47] Juarros states that a stone slab formed the door of the fort, and that this was broken up.

[XXVII-48] The authorities that have been consulted for the history of the conquest of Guatemala are the following: _Cortés_, _Cartas_ [ed. Paris, 1866], 289-90, 304-5, containing information down to the departure of Alvarado for Guatemala; _Alvarado_, _Relacion_, in _Barcia_, _Hist. Prim._, 157-66, and in _Ternaux-Compans_, _Voy._, série i., tom. x., 107-50, taken as bases of that portion of the history which includes the entrance into Guatemala territory and succeeding events down to the founding of the city of Santiago; _Oviedo_, iii. 448, 459-60, 475-87, wherein Cortés and Alvarado are closely followed; _Peter Martyr_, dec. viii. cap. v., relating mainly to the narrative of the messengers sent to Guatemala, merely mentioning Alvarado's departure; _Gomara_, _Hist. Mex._, 229-33; _Id._, _Hist. Ind._, 266-8, which affords but little additional information to that supplied by Oviedo; _Chimalpain_, _Hist. Conq._, ii. 100-5, 181-2; _Bernal Diaz_, _Hist. Verdad._, 77, 174-6; _Las Casas_, _Regio. Ind. Devastat._, 35-40, and _Ixtlilxochitl_, _Horribles Crueldades_, 66-71. The former of these two last authorities is exceptionally severe against Alvarado, and enumerates numbers of atrocities committed by him and his followers, while the latter prominently brings forward the services of the Mexican auxiliaries, and mentions the excessive hardships and cruelties they suffered. _Id._, _Relaciones_, 431-3. Herrera, dec. iii. lib. v. cap. viii.-xi., occasionally differs from Alvarado's statements, but is generally reliable. See also _Lorenzana_, _Viage_, in _Cortés_, _Hist. N. España_, 335-6, 369-70; _Pacheco_ and _Cárdenas_, _Col. Doc._, viii. 17; _Arévalo_, _Actas Ayunt. Guat._, 7-15; _Ramirez_, _Proceso contra Alvarado_, passim—which work throws much light upon the doings of the conqueror, though contradictory evidence renders it ofttimes difficult to decide on the merits of a charge; _Ramusio_, _Viaggi_, iii. 296-8; _Atitlan_, _Requête de plusieurs chefs_, in _Ternaux-Compans_, série i., tom. x., 415-25; _Suchimilco_, _Carta de sus caciques_, in _Pacheco_ and _Cárdenas_, _Col. Doc._, xii., 293-4; _Remesal_, _Hist. Chyapa_, 2-7, an author unreliable so far as the conquest of Guatemala goes when not supported by other authorities; _Galvano's Discov._, 156-7; _Voyages, Selection of Curious, Rare, and Early_, 31; _Fuentes y Guzman_, _Recordacion Florida_, MS., 1-4, 12-19, 25-7, has many errors and is far from reliable; _Vazquez_, _Chronica de Gvat._, 1-17, 68, 522-6; _Gonzalez Dávila_, _Teatro Ecles._, i. 139; _Juarros_, _Guat._, i. 60, 64, 66-7, 79, 253; ii. 240-60, 277-88, 309-20; _Id._ [ed. London, 1823], 10, 29-30, 124-6, 234-6, 378-404, 419-32, 456-69; _Pelaez_, _Mem. Guat._, i. 44-7, 64-5, compiled from various authors, and is inaccurate. _Brasseur de Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, iv. 612-719; _Prescott's Mex._, iii. 273-4; _Help's Span. Conq._, iii. 242-74; _Calle_, _Mem. y Not._, 113-5; _Salazar y Olarte_, _Conq. Mex._, 124-33; _Niebla_, _Mem. de Zapotitlan_, MS., 7-8; _Larrainzar_, _Hist. Soconusco_, 1-14, 17-8; _Zamacois_, _Hist. Méj._, iv. 167-74, 182; _Squier's MSS._, xvi.; _Squier's States Cent. Am._, 323-30; _Ogilby's Am._, 236; _Dunn's Guat._, 261-4; _Laet_, _Nov. Orb._, 317-46; _Astaburuaga_, _Cent. Am._, 9; _Larenaudière_, _Mex. and Guat._ [ed. Paris, 1843], 135, 277-85. Minor authorities also consulted are _Russell's Hist. Am._, i. 389-91; _Robert's Narr. Voy._, xxi.; _Montanus_, _De Nieuwe Weereld_, 273; _Crowe's Cent. Am._, 28-114; _Conder's Mex. and Guat._, ii. 178, 183-9, 199, 297; _Drie Verscheyde Togten_, 18-19, 25-34; _Haefkens_, _Cent. Am._, 5-19; _Holmes' Annals Am._, i. 54; _North Am. Rev._, xxvi. 132-4; _Wagner_, _Costa Rica_, 518-22; _Lardner's Hist. Discov._, ii. 61; _Salvador_, _Diar. Ofic._, April, 1876; _Santos_, _Chronologia Hospitalaria_, ii. 478; _Findlay's Directory_, i. 222; _Modern Traveller_, _Mex. and Guat._, ii. 178-90; _Gac. Nic._, June, 1865, 217; _Garcia_, _Reseña Geog._, 6-7; _Bussière_, _L'Empire Hex._, 336-7; _Montúfar_, _Mem. Hist. Rev._, pp. viii.-x.; _Pineda_, _Descripcion Geog._, 10; _Gordon's Anc. Mex._, ii. 244; _Kerr's Col. Voy._, 221-34; _Vocabulario Geog._, in _Cartas de Indias_, 674.