CHAPTEK II.

PREPARATION FOR FURTHER CONQUEST.

1521-1522.

CENTRALIZATION- AND ITS EFFECT A FALLEN ATHENS REWARD OF A

TRAITOR CAREER OF A PRECOCIOUS PRINCE IXTLILXOCHITL S DISAP
POINTMENTPOLICY TOWARD NATIVE PRINCES TEZCUCO AND ACOLHUA-
CAN TLASCALA AND HER REWARD NEW CONQUEST PROJECTS SEARCH
FOR AMMUNITION CLIMBING A VOLCANO DESCENDING INTO THE BURN
ING CRATER CASTING CANNON TOCHTEPEC EXPEDITION A BOASTER S
DISCOMFITURE GOLD-HUNTING IN XALTEPEC ESPIRITU SANTO FOUNDED
ZAPOTECAPAN AND MIZTECAPAN THE MYSTIC PROPHET OROZCO IN
VADES OAJACA ANTEQUERA ESTABLISHED COCIYOPU S DILEMMA ALVA-
.
RADO OVERRUNS TUTUTEPEC SEGURA FOUNDED ANEW.

THE exaltation of Mexico tended to eclipse the

other native towns in the valley even more than her
rise under Aztec There was no longer a
supremacy.
series of capitals, to be sustained
by kings and minor
lords, all prepared to rival one another in pomp and
embellishments. The only capital now was Tenoch-
titlan, which the Spaniards felt obliged, for the
safety
and interest of themselves and the crown, to make
the main stronghold and The
point of concentration.
revenues of the native rulers could no be em
longer
ployed according to the dictates of their fancy for
palaces and similar works, since the greater part
^

passed into the hands of the encomenderos and the

treasury officials. New diseases, enslavement, and dif
ferent methods for
employing the natives, all added
to the causes for decline
among their lately flourish
ing towns, only too many of which have entirely
disappeared from the maps or dwindled to petty
hamlets. Mexico also declined, for that matter, in
extent and population,
according to the admission of
(19)
ID PREPARATION FOR FURTHER CONQUEST.
1
the conquerors, and the evidence of ruins. She was
no longer the centre of a vast continental trade, or
the residence of a brilliant court, whose despotic sov
lords to congregate there
ereign obliged provincial*
with vast retinues, and expend their income for the
benefit of Aztec jailers. Trade drifted into other
channels, and the humbled caciques hid from oppres
sionand indignities in remote villages, where they
from equally
might still exact a semblance of respect
oppressed vassals.
Among the suffering towns, though it dwindled
hardly so fast, was Tezcuco, renowned not
alone for
ancient glories, but for the beauty of its buildings,
and for being the chief seat of native learning, the
2
Athens of the continent. Like savagism, aborigi
nal civilization declined when brought into contact
with foreign culture, whose exponents both despised
it and looked upon the embodying records as de

moniacal, fit only to be destroyed. As for the popu

lation, a large proportion was drafted for the rebuild
ing of the queen city, particularly of artisans, there
to perish or remain. The obsequious Ixtlilxochitl
was only too eager to anticipate the wishes of the
patronizing and grasping Spaniards. He who had not
hesitated the sacrifice of his country and religion to
personal ambition, as modern Mexicans not unjustly
term his Spanish alliance, did not scruple to aid in
enslaving his subjects. Resistance on his part would
not have saved them; still the role he had volun
tarily assumed, and been obliged to must sustain,
ever brand his memory in the minds ofpatriots. The
reward for his long devotion was now to come. His
brother, King Fernando, died from wounds received
3
during the siege, it seems, to the deep regret of the
^ee
Hist. Mex., I 276, this series.
2
See description in Hint. Hex., i. 425-7, this series. Within a few
years
the population is said to have dwindled to one third, and 60
years later to
ninth.
<>nc
The Spanish population in 1858 numbered 100 (families) only
Ponce, Rd., in Col Doc. Imd., Ivii. 111.
rsj>m-s que
I
se tomd la ciudad de Tenuxtitan, estando en esta de
Cuyoa-
can faleeio dou Fernando. Cortes, Cartas, 270. This
.,
passage has evidently
 IXTLILXOCHITL. 21

Spaniards,
to whom he had become endeared
by his
gentle manners, his fine, fair presence, resembling that
6f a Castilian rather than of a native American, and
by his devotion to their interests. The Tezcucans
hastened to elect for successor Ahuaxpitzactzin, after
ward baptized as Carlos, a not fully legitimate son of
Xezahualpilli for the scheming and unpatriotic Ixtlil-
;

xochitl does not appear to have been liked in the

Acolhua capital, whatever his influence in the northern
provinces which he had wrested from the rest. This
independent conduct of the electors did not please
Cortes, who might have approved their choice if sub
mitted with due humility, and so he persuaded them
to reconsider the selection in favor of his well-deserv
ing protege Ixtlilxochitl, baptized as Fernando Pi-
mentel, though generally referred to under the former
4
name, now the cognomen of his family.
Although but twenty-one years of age, Ixtlilxochitl
could point to a career almost unparalleled for one
so young, and one that might, under different cir
cumstances, have placed his name among the most
illustrious in Xahua annals. At his birth already
astrologers drew strange portents from the stars. The
child would in the course of time become the friend of
strangers, turn against his own blood, change laws and
institutions, and even rise against the gods. He should
"

be Nay replied the king, have not the gods

" "

killed. !

willed his birth, and this as the time approaches for

escaped both Prescott, 3Iex., iii. 46, and Brasseur de Bourbourg, Hist. Nat.

ir., iv. 465, who, following a confused otatemeiit in Ixtlilxochitl, place this
<

rather prominent event before the beginning of the actual siege.

4
See Hist. Mex., i. 572, this series, wherein is explained the confusion of
the other writers on this point, some misled by the careless wording in Cortes,
Cdrtii.jf, 270, which appears to give him the name of Carlos. The name Fer
nando is, however, too clearly fixed by the family records and archives used
by Ixtlilxochitl. See Hor. Crueldaden, 13, 74, and fielaciones, 390, 410, 414,
433-4, and above note on p. 572. Gomara and Herrera confirm the error by
copying Cortes. Duran, like many another, overlooks the intermediate kings
since Cohuanacoch s time. Hist. Ind., MS., ii. 493. Cavo assumes with much
probablity that the appointee offered the inducement of sending large forces
to aid in rebuilding Mexico. Trc* i. 15, 16. Garcia de Pilar asserts
Si<jlo*,

that the appointment was procured by heavy bribes to Cortes, some 80,000
pesos, besides other presents, Ixtlilxochitl selling his subjects both to slave-
dealers and butcher-stalls to obtain the money. Cortes, Residencia, ii. 218-19.
 _>2 PREPARATION FOR FURTHER CONQUEST.

These re
"

the fulfilment of the ancient prophecies !

ferred to the coming of the children of fair Quetzalcoatl

5
from the region of the rising sun. The boy displayed
a remarkable precocity united to a cruel disposition.
Out of pure mischief, or because his nurse happened to
offend him, he pushed her into a deep well as she bent
for water for him, and then attempted to quiet her
drowning shrieks by casting stones upon her. When
called before the king to answer, he pleaded that the
deceased had broken the law which forbade female
attendants at the palace to speak with a man. He
6
had merely punished her for the transgression. This
seemed just, and the wondering judge bade him go.
At the age of seven he organized a company of boy
soldiers, and sent his tutors to collect weapons where
with to spread terror among the citizens, his plea
being that he was training warriors for the common
wealth. Two counsellors objected to these dangerous
pranks, and expressed the conviction that such mis
chievous spirits as the prince and his companions
should be killed ere they created more serious trouble.
Some of his
associates expressing fears for their safety,
young marched to the dwelling of the
Ixtlilxochitl
counsellors and caused them to be strangled. there He
upon presented himself before the king and assumed
the responsiblity of the deed, which was
simply an
anticipation of the fate meditated by the counsellors
against himself, who had never injured them. Neza-
hualpilli wished to be just, even if the life of a son
depended upon but in his admiration for the prom
it,

ising qualities of the boy as a leader

and advocate, he
could find no reasons for
condemning him; nor did
any of the ordinary judges venture to raise their voice
against the imp. When fourteen years of age he
joined in the Tlascala campaign, arid three years later
his gallant behavior had secured for him the
insignia of
great captain/
///*/.
J/rr., vol. i. chap, vii., for a full account of the myths and omens.
He was
then but three years old,
says Ixtlilxochitl. Hist. Chick., 275-6.
<

ertainly a remarkable child.

 TEZCUCO AFFAIRS. 23

Meanwhile Nezahualpilli had died without naming

a successor, and the council, influenced by Monte-
zuma, set aside the claims of an elder brother and
declared Cacama king. Actuated both by personal
ambition and patriotic resentment against Aztec in
terference, Ixtlilxochitl denounced the electors as tools
of the imperial intriguer. Finding his protests un
heeded, he began to interest the interior provinces in
his own behalf, by applying patriotic arguments, and
in 1517 he descended from Meztitlan with a force
estimated at a hundred thousand men. Everything
yielded before him, and one of the foremost Aztec
generals was defeated and captured. More than one
adjoining principality now pronounced in favor of the
great captain, while the Aztec monarch neglected to
sustain Cacama, under the pressure of troubles in his
own provinces, and of ominous incidents supported by
the arrival off the eastern coast of mysterious water-
houses with white-bearded occupants the expeditions
of Cordoba and Grijalva. Thus abandoned, Cacama
hastened to make terms with his brother, who declared
that the campaign was directed wholly against Monte-
zuma, but nevertheless exacted the northern half of
the kingdom for himself. The terms may be regarded
as moderate on the part of an irresistible
general.
Ixtlilxochitl must have had
strong motives for con
tenting himself with a half, for he dreamed no longer
of regal power alone, but of
overthrowing the hated
Aztecs, whose strength seemed already waning, and
thus achieving immortal renown as the savior of his
country, a project which afterward would have ex
panded into the more ambitious one of founding a
new Chichimec empire. The present moderation was
intended to extend his influence to the furtherance
of these schemes, and to assure them
by a more
steady growth, unhampered by jealous intrigue. The
appearance of the Spaniards, while affording him the
much desired assistance, brought him in contact with
schemers equally ambitious, but stronger and more
24 PREPARATION FOR FURTHER CONQUEST.

subtle. In their hands he became a tool, whose devo

tion became stamped as obsequiousness, whose patri
otic efforts assumed a traitorous guise, and whose

^rand plans turned into hateful plottings. Bitter irony

7
of fate !

While investing him with the sovereignty of Acol-

huacan, although without the title of king, Cortes
also conferred the perpetual grant, for himself and
descendants, of three districts, among them Otumba
and Tziauhcohuac, each with about thirty-three vil
8
lages. This concession served only to open the eyes
of Ixtlilxochitl to the intention of Cortes with regard
to Tezcuco, whose prince was evidently to bear the
name only of ruler. His important services to the
Spaniards, which he had estimated as indispensable,
were thus to be rewarded by the shadow of the sub :

stantial power which he could so many times have

acquired for himself, and worse than this, by the

insulting grant of a small portion of what he had all
this time enjoyed as his own. And this grant was
conferred by men to whom he had dispensed so many
favors, in treasures, vassals, and deeds, and whom he
had saved from destruction, as he flattered himself, by
tendering his alliance when inaction alone would have
procured him untold favors from the Aztecs. The
thought was humiliating. Forgetting his usual defer
ence, the prince ventured to observe that what had

7
Ixtlilxochitl, his namesake, rose as biographer to ennoble his efforts and
magnify his deeds with unsparing generosity. Nevertheless, his pages reveal
at intervals a bitter sarcasm
upon his misguided zeal, which can hardly bo
accidental. The writer, indeed, was actuated chiefly by a desire to advocate
the claims of his family on the
gratitude of the crown, from which he demanded
grants and other favors, and his main reliance was on the services of his name
sake, of whose role he must otherwise have been ashamed. He was also
at raid to
express anything but praise of acts connected with the advancement
the Spaniards. In describing the career of his hero he
yields to the com
>!

mon fault of exaggeration, yet the acquisition of a

kingdom by a mere youth,
as it were from the dreaded
Montezuma, gives probability to almost
1

any talr.s about him. See Hi*t. Chick., 275-7, 282-4; Rel, 410; Torquemada,
:. 221 7; VH ncni, Tcntm,
pt. ii. 43-4; Veytia, Hist. Ant. Jlej., iii. 367-75;
Herrera, dec. iii.i. lib.
cap. i.; Clavi</ero, Storia Mess., i. 297-9.
Otumba con treinta y tres pueblos, Itziuhcohuac con otros
tantos, que
la parte de
Panuco, y Cholula con ciertos pueblos. IxtlilxockW, Hor.
.

<

nteldades. 01.
 REWARD FOR SERVICES. 25

been given was his own, since it had never been taken
from him. After the services he had rendered, and
the hardship he and his people had undergone for the
Spaniards, it was but right that he and his successors
should be left in undisturbed possession of the king
dom. 9 Cortes recognized the justice of the claim, but
he remembered Ixtlilxochitl s tardy extension of aid
after the flight from Mexico, and was probably fully
aware of the motives which prompted his alliance. All
this afforded strong reasons for not yielding to the de
mands of this and other allies. To acknowledge every
such claim would materially reduce his own credit
and the value of the conquest. The native rulers had
served his purpose, and being no longer indispensable
they must gradually learn to recognize their .true posi
tion as nothing more than leading personages among
the half -civilized race he had conquered. In the
present instance he gave no definite answer, and Ix-
tlilxochitlwas left nominally in possession of what
he claimed, till circumstances revealed the shadowy
nature of his title and possessions.
On returning to his kingdom, after being released
from further attendance at Mexico, he availed himself
of his position to reward with grants and other hon
ors the most deserving adherents, and others whom
policy commended to his notice. also employed He
the captive slaves 10 that had fallen to his share to aid
in repairing the damage inflicted on Tezcuco during
itsrecent occupation as Spanish head-quarters, notably
the destruction of the royal palace and other edifices
by the Tlascaltecs on first entering the city and on
passing through it after the fall of Mexico. All these
efforts, however, failed to reconcile the inhabitants of
the capital and lake districts, whose treatment by
the Spaniards had made them more than ever averse
the version of Ixtlilxochitl Relation, 429, etc., published by Buste-
"In .s

mante under the title of Horribles Crueldades, 60-1, the editor has misun<k:--
stood the meaning of the text, and ventured to substitute Cortes where ii
should read Ixtlilxochitl, thus changing the sense.
10
Two thousand in number, says Ixtlilxochitl.
20 PREPARATION FOR FURTHER CONQUEST.

to a prince hateful to them from boyhood. The

return from captivity of the deposed Cohuanacoch
had created a sympathy which soon turned the
current of popularity in favor of one who had
suffered so much for the national cause. Aware of
the feeling with respect to himself, Ixtlilxochitl felt

it almost a matter of necessity to leave his brother

at Tezcuco in enjoyment of the regal honors accorded
him before his very face. He even thought it politic
to assign him a certain portion of the revenue, He
withdrew to his former northern domains, establishing
his capital at Otumba, where
a new palace was
11
erected.

Not unlike the rewards of Ixtlilxochitl were those

of the Tlascaltecs, to whom the Spaniards owed a
vast debt their lives, and the moral and physical aid
which sustained them in adversity, and in the initia
tory operations which led to ultimate success. In this
act of forging fetters for adjoining peoples, fetters
which were also to shackle themselves, they had been
impelled not alone by a hatred of the Aztecs, more
intense and exalted than that of the Tezcucan prince,
but by a friendship based on admiration, and cemented
by Cortes politic favors. At the opening of the
Tepeaca campaign they had certainly been led to form
12
great expectations, and promises flowed freely when
11
According to Ixtlilxochitl, Nor. Crueldades, 61, he agreed with Cohua
nacoch, out of brotherly love it seems, to divide the kingdom with him; the
brother to rule as king at Tezcuco, and control Chalco, Quauhnahuac, Itzucun,
Tlahuac, and other provinces as far as the South Sea, while Ixtlilxochitl
retained the northern provinces, and those extending toward the North Sea.
This assumed division is based on the former limits of the Chichimec empire. It
is not likely that a Tezcucan monarch received even nominal honors in half the

provinces named. See Native Races, \. 395-6, for boundaries assigned by the
terms of the tripartite alliance in 1431, which had become practically obso
lete before the Spaniards arrived. Ixtlilxochitl seeks to magnify the power
of his ancestry to promote his claims. He allows his namesake to take pos
session of the northern kingdom on March
19, 1523, and to build palaces also
at Teotihuacan and at
Tecpitpac, a site given him by his father. Hor. Cruel-
dadu, Brasseur de Bourbourg, Hint. Nat. Civ., iv. 563-4, assumes that
f>:i.

while Cuhuaiiacoch received the tribute and nominal

sovereignty of all the
kingdom, the brother controlled the general administration and the armies,
to prevent any revolt.
12
By a craftily woi
orded document issued to them by Cortes, wherein flow-
 TLASCALA S QUESTIONABLE GAIN. 27

they were dismissed to their homes after the fall of

Mexico The first instalment thereof was exemption
from the tribute exacted in all other provinces, and
13
from being given in encomieiidas then came certain
;

titles which sounded so well, but were worth little

more than their cost to the crown. Thus their capi
tal was made the seat of the first diocese, honored by
the name of Carolense, and their alcalde mayor,
elected from among themselves, was permitted to call
14
himself governor. Huexotzinco shared slightly in
these privileges, and the cacique received a coat of
15
arms for assisting the fugitive Spaniards in 1520.
And this was about all. The fault lay greatly with
Cortes, who for the sake of his own credit never
admitted the real extent of his obligation to these
16
faithful allies. Their very devotion and prowess were
to assist in destroying them, since nearly every expedi
tion in early times for opening new regions, or sup
pressing revolts, took away a number, of whom many

ing words fed their hopes without committing himself. The only substantial
promise recorded, aside from the share in booty, appears to have been the con
servation to them of lands and local government. Several modern writers
harp on the contract made with them, but their only authority is Camargo,
who is doubtful. See Hist. Mex., i. 525, this series.
13
Even to the crown. This exemption was confirmed through Cortes
when in Spain, so that grasping officials might not prevent it. By decree of
1535 the province was as a special mark of favor declared an inalienable part
of the crown of Castile. 6rdenes de la Corona, ii. 4. Porque parezca que
tienen alguna mas libertad, is Cortes significant allusion to the nimsiness of
the favors. Cartas, 332.
u
Diego Maxixcatziii was governor in 1534. Motolinia describes fully the
elaborate festivities in 1538, when the new arms of the city were first dis
played. Hist. Ind., 81. The laws in Recop. de Itidias, ii. 199-200, confirm
to them certain customs, exempt them from the obligation to serve beyond
their province, and from monopolies in wines and meats, which must be let
at public auction as in Spain. The viceroy is enjoined to honor them and
their towns in every way, and they are further given the touching privilege
of freely making representations and complaints the royal waste-basket
was capacious enough.
15
The cedula, dated 1534, calls him Aqiiiahuateuliti, baptized as Francisco
de Sandoval y Moreno. Panes, in Monumentos Domin. E*p., MS., 73-5. They
were for a time given in encomienda to Cortesians. Ternavx-C&mpans, Voy.,
serie ii. torn. v. 1G/. Father Juarez obtained their incorporation under the
crown. Herrera, dec. iii. lib. x. cap. vii.
16
This is intimated in the opening cedula concerning them, Id., 199,
wherein their prompt submission to church and king is indicated as their
chief merit. In another cedula, however, they are commended for services
rendered during the pacification of the country.
28 PREPARATION FOR FURTHER CONQUEST.

perished, while others were distributed as settlers to

support the Spaniards in controlling different districts.

Diseases and other adjuncts of the new civilization
made inroads upon them as they did on all the
natives, and so they dwindled to a handful, impotent
even to raise their voice against the abuses to which

unscrupulous officials submitted them. 17 Their only

rc-al friends were the friars, who did what they could
to protect their rights, and confirm them in their
devout and loyal disposition.

While the rebuilding of Mexico served to occupy

the more contented spirits who had decided to settle
there, supported by the encomiendas granted them in
the valley, Cortes found the better remedy for the
rest to be expeditions, which would not
only advance
the common interest, but enable them to achieve their
own rewards and at the same time remove turbulent
characters to a safe distance. Actual campaigns were
little called for, since the mere
report of the fall of
Mexico sufficed to summon neutral or even hostile
caciques to render homage to the victors. Neverthe
less it was to the
necessary actually occupy surrounding
provinces, ascertain their condition and wealth, and,
above all, to extort tribute and
presents on the strength
of the ridiculous
requirement issued by the sovereign
in the name of the and to be used in demanding
pope,
submission from the natives. 18 To this end the tribute-
rolls of Montezuma
proved of value, by indicating the
kind and amount of taxes exacted
by the rapacious
Aztec collectors. An exhibition of the rolls with
1

Tho king found it necessary, at the instance of the

friars, to repeat more
once the order against their service
compulsory beyond the limits of their
Tambienlos hizo esclavos; digna
recornpensa por cierto de unos
Qbres vik s, verdugos de su misma
patria, is the patriotic outburst against
Hem l,y Hustamairte.
Abispa de CMlpandnyo, 59. See also his Neceaidad,
an, xlvi. MS., 8, and his Tracts, 41-2. He overlooks that they
tli a motive which to
them was pure. They were made tools by a
superior mind. By a viceregal decree issued at their request in December
*7,no slaves were allowed within their
territory. Pacheco and Cardenas,

Hist. (jni t. Am., i.

397-9, this series.
 SULPHUR FROM POPOCATEPETL. 29

the alluring facts was enough to bring forward the

needed volunteers for any of the proposed expeditions.
A primary measure, however, was to replenish the
ammunition, for hardly any powder remained. In this
dilemma Cortes bethought himself of the smoking
Popocatepetl, where Ordaz had discovered sulphur in
1519. Encouraged by the fame of his ascent, Fran
19
cisco Montano offered himself for the venture. Four
Spaniards and a number of natives accompanied them,
and as they approached the volcano their train had
swelled to thousands of sight-seers, aglow with excite
ment at this second storming of the infernal regions,
which promised to be far more daring than the first.
Many built huts near the foot, there to await the
result of the battle. The ascent began about noon,
several attendants following with the necessary ropes,
bags, and blankets When night came on they dug a
cavity in which to shelter themselves from the pierc
ing cold, but the sulphurous exhalations became so
unendurable as to drive them forth. While groping
about in the dark, half benumbed, one of the Span
iards fell into a crevice, and but for a friendly icicle
he would have been dashed into an abyss several
thousand feet below. Finding the locality unsafe they
halted until dawn, despite the chilling blast, and then
hastened forward. Half an hour later an eruption
shook the mountains, and sent them scampering for
the friendly shelter of some crags. The shock proved
not wholly unwelcome, however, for a heated stone
rolled toward them, by which they were enabled to
warm their stiffened limbs. Soon afterward one of
the men became so exhausted that he had to be left
behind to await their return. They were already
approaching the goal, when a fresh eruption took place

19
Francisco Mesa, an artillerist, is named as one of the companions, and
Juan de Larios appears to have been another. In the petition of Montano s
heirs the event is placed during the
siege, and Solis, Hist. Mex., ii. 251-2,
dates it while Cortes Was at Segura; but both are too early. In his relation
of May 1522, Cortes states that he sent the men from
Coyuhuacan, so that
it must have been after the siege, while preparing new
shortly expeditions.
30 PREPARATION FOR FURTHER CONQUEST.

with a shower of stones and ashes that caused them

20
to drop their burdens and rush for shelter.
After a while they ventured forward again, and
reached the summit, arid as they gazed apprehensively
into the crater, nearly half a league in width, the

clearing smoke occasionally disclosed seething masses

hundreds of feet below, 21 while the oppressive fumes
sent a shiver almost of horror through their frames,
mingled with unspoken regrets for having undertaken
the evil adventure. Their reputation was at stake,
however, and among the four who had persevered so
far, none wished to show cowardice. The difficulty
was to descend into the crater to collect the sulphur
which was lying there in abundance. At last a spot
was found, and lots being drawn, it fell to Montano to
take the initiatory step. With a rope around his waist
he descended into the abyss for a distance of several
hundred feet, 22 according to his own statement, with
s\Vimming brain, oppressed by deadly fumes, and in
danger from eruptive substances. It seemed indeed a
slender support and one which at any moment
might
part and abandon him to the glowing fire beneath.
After delivering a bagful of brimstone seven times,
he was relieved by one of his companions, who made
23
six trips,
increasing the output to three hundred
pounds. This was deemed sufficient; and eager to
escape from their threatening position, they began the
return journey, which proved not a little difficult,
burdened as they were. At times
they were threading
a deep crevice, at times
sliding down a snow-covered
surface, stumbling against some sharp projection, or
sinking into a treacherous aperture. The abandoned
ue
Cortes, Cartas, 270. Herrera ignores this allusion to a flight and reascent,
bates that the party reached the summit at 10 A. M. dec. iii. lib. iii.
cap. ii.
1 Q estaua ardiendo a maiiera de
fuego natural, cosa bie espantosa de
ver. 1<1. Tan gran hondura, que no pudieron ver el cabo.
Cortes, Cartas,
2
Setenta 6 ochenta brazas. Id., 312. Herrera makes it
only 14
80 runs the statement in Herrera; and Cortes also writes that the men
lowered 70 fathoms into the crater; but it is more
lured story reduces itself to a mere probable that their
descent along the incline of a crevice,
lan de lanos is said to have made the last
descents.
 MANUFACTURE OF CANNON. 31

comrade was picked up, though he could render no

aid in conveying the burden. As they approached
the camp at the foot the natives came forth with
enthusiastic cheers to bear the doughty adventurers
on their shoulders. Their journey to Coyuhuacan
was a triumphal inarch, and Cortes himself came to
welcome them with an embrace, wreathed in abun
dant promises. Montano was too humble an individ
ual, however, to receive the same attention as Ordaz,
who used his less valuable performance, magnified by
influence and position, to obtain a coat of arms and
grants. An encomienda, scanty even for his ordinary
services as participant in the conquest, and a brief
term of office as corregidor, was all that his repeated
24
appeals could secure. The sulphur proved most
acceptable, but no attempts were made to obtain
25
more from the volcano, because of the danger.
7O

Another want was cannon, both for expeditions

and for the different strongholds to be established in
their wake. Iron was unknown to the natives, but
copper could be obtained in abundance, and an alloy
was alone needed to produce a serviceable metal. The
rich possessed a little tin in the shape of dishes, esti
mated indeed equal to silver, 26 and small pieces circu
lated as money. By following this clew it was found
that at Taxco, some distance south-west of Quauhna-
huac, mines of this metal existed. Use was at once
24
The encomienda comprised half the village of Zapotitlan, altogether
insufficient for themaintenance of his large family of 10 sons and 7 daughters.
His appeals produced an order to the viceroy, years later, to reward him,
and he received the office of corregidor of Tonala in Miztecapan, with a salary
of 200 pesos. His term expired after 2 years, and, although his residencia
proved good, no other office was given. He now fell into want, and had to
mortgage his house. His appeals appear to have received little attention, for
his descendants continued to clamor as late as 1593. A son-in-law then
obtained an allowance of 200 pesos, which was exchanged for better rewards.
Montano, Petition, in Pacheco and Cardenas, Col. Doc., xiii. 480-3; Alaman,
Disert. ,app. 148-54.
i.
ao
proveaii de Espana, y V. M. ha sido servido que no haya ya
Que nos
obispo que nos lo impida. Cortes, Cartels, 312. Good saltpetre had already
been found. For later ascents, see vol. i. 257, this series.
26
Compro los platos dello a pesos de plata. Gomara, Hist. Mex., 237. See
Native Races, ii. 382, 473.
32 PREPARATION FOR FURTHER CONQUEST.

made of the discovery, which led also to finding rich

silver and iron deposits. Casting at once began under
the direction of an experienced gunner, and with the
artillery already
on hand, they had soon a hundred
27
cannon.
the ex
During the general uprising that followed
pulsion of Spaniards
from Mexico in the previous
year, some fourscore adventurers had been surprised
28
and slaughtered in Tochtepec, a mountainous region
on the upper waters of Rio Papaloapan. No meas
ures being taken to chastise the perpetrators of the
deed, the inhabitants grew confident in their strong
holds. After the fall of Mexico a number of Aztec
to keep alive the spirit
fugitives sought refuge there
of freedom. With no lack of men at his command,
Cortes now resolved to uproot this hot-bed of sedi
tion, located as it was in a country reputed rich in
gold. A
force of thirty-five horse, two hundred foot,
and some thirty thousand allies, was accordingly de
spatched at the end of October 1521, under Sandoval,
attended by Captain Luis Marin and others, with
orders to reduce the whole region, and secure posses
29
sionby founding the necessary colonies. The first
demand for submission by so formidable an army,
flushed with recent victories, brought forth the na
tives in humble supplication. All that remained to
be done was to pursue the hostile refugees and chief

27
Thirty of these were brass, the rest iron, and they had been obtained
chiefly from Narvaez, Ponce de Leon, and others. De falconete arriba, treinta
y cinco piezas, y de hierro, entre lombaras y pasavolaiites y versos y otras
maneras de tiros de hierro colado, hasta setenta piezas. The casting began
early in the autumn of 1524. In his letter of October loth, he writes that five
guns had so far been cast. Cartas, 312. Oviedo, iii. 465, differs in the num
ber. The casting of guns was produced by his many jealous accusers as a
of rebellious projects, several of the pieces being declared suspiciously
ifferent from those needed for Indian fighting. Cortes, Residencia, i. 64,
Sroof
236-7. He was driven to the measure by Fonseca s prohibition against allow
ing war material to reach New Spain. Cortes, Cartas, 311.
28
Also called Totepec, preserved in the present Tuxtepec. Mercator, 1569,
has Tochtepec town; on map of 1574, Costota lies north of it; West-Ind. Spie-
yM, 1624, TocJitepec; Kiepert, Tustepec; Cartog. Pac. Coast, MS., i. 510. The
massacre has been described in Hint. Mex., i. 511.
29
Cortes names the provinces Tatactetelco,
Tuxtepeque, Guatuxco, Auli-
caba. Guatuxco was the first entered. Cartas, 260.
 BRIONES AND THE TILTEPECS.

who had led in the slaughter of the Spaniards, and

who had fled on finding the people intimidated. They
were soon brought in, and the leading cacique was
summarily burned in the main square of Tochtepec as
a warning to his assembled vassals. The rest were
pardoned after a salutary suspense.
While examining the mineral resources of the new
conquest, Sandoval despatched Captain Briones with
a hundred infantry and some allies to subdue Tiltepec
and other towns in the adjoining Zapotec territory,
Briones was a voluble fellow, as we have seen, lately

MlTZTECAPAN AND GrOAZ ACO ALCO.

commander of one of the lake brigantines, who had

made a good impression on the officers by a boastful
exhibition of scars from the wars in Italy. 30 The Za-
potecs were made of sterner stuff than the Tochte-
pecans, inured as they were to danger among their
30
La jactancia suele vivir muy cerca de la cobardfa, hints Salazar, some
what unjustly. Hist. Conq. , 83. He figures even more prominently in Hon
duras. See Hist. Cent. Am., i. 525 et seq.
HIST. HEX., VOL. II. 3
 34 PREPARATION FOR FURTHER CONQUEST.

rugged and reliant on their formidable pikes and

cliffs,
stout cotton armor; and when Briones approached
with easy confidence, they fell upon him in a narrow
pass with a fury that compelled him to retreat, with
31
one third of his force wounded, including himself.
Sandoval was not a little disgusted on learning the
miserable failure of the boaster, and asked him iron
32
ically how he used to fight in Italy. Briones swore
that he would sooner meet large armies of Moors
than the Zapotecs, who seemed to spring from the
very ground in ever-increasing numbers. It would
not answer to let the repulse go unavenged, and San
doval hurried with nearly all the force to restore the
Spanish prestige. The previous struggle had been
sufficiently obstinate to cause the enemy to hesitate,
and the cacique of Tiltepec threw open his gates,
which example was followed by the Xaltepecs.
The latter district bordered on that of the warlike
Mijes, who were constantly making raids on their ter
ritory, and it was chiefly with a view to obtain pro
tection that envoys came with humble mien,
though
attired in beautiful embroidered robes, to tender sub
mission, and to soften the hearts of the conquerors
with presents. Among the
gifts were ten tubes filled
with gold-dust, which at once aroused an interest
in their affairs. While unwilling to give them the
soldiers with whom
they hoped to terrify their foe,
a small party was sent to exanfine the mines under
the pretence of
reconnoitring for a speedy descent on
the Mijes. So good were the reports that Sandoval
immediately secured for himself a town near the mines,
from which he obtained a
large sum in gold. The
other towns and tracts of the were distrib
conquest
uted among the members of the 33
expedition, and to
31
One died of wounds, and several were carried off soon after
by disease.
BernalDiaz, Hist. Verdad., 165.
2
Parece le senor Capitan,
que son estas tierras otras que las donde an-
duuo militando ? Id.
3
Sandoval took
Guazpaltepec, which yielded 15,000 pesos de oro from
mines; Mann received Xaltepec, quite a dukedom; Ojedas received
 ESPIRITU SANTO. 35

assure control he founded a villa which was named

Medellin, in honor of the birthplace of himself and
34
Cortes.
From this point the army proceeded southward to
the Goazacoalco country, whose advantages with its
port and its fertility had been demonstrated by special
expeditions during the time of Montezuma. On reach
ing the Goazacoalco, Sandoval summoned to him the
leading caciques. Several days passed without an
answer, and preparations were made for warlike meas
ures. Guided by certain natives, he one night fell upon
a town and captured a female chief of great influence.
This stroke proved effective, and the rest of the country
35
submitted, with offers of rich presents. In accordance
with the instructions received, a town was now founded
on the southern bank of the river, four leagues from
the mouth, and named Espiritu Santo, from the day
on which they had crossed the stream and received
36
the allegiance of the people. The prospects of the
town as the future entrepot for trade between New
Spain and the Islands and home country, as well as
the resources of the district, gave it a strong attrac-
tion, and a number of both leaders and soldiers offered
to settle, notably Luis .Marin, Francisco de Medina,
who afterward met so terrible a fate, Diego de Godoy,
to whom, instead of Marin, historians have wrongly
given the credit of conquering Chiapas, and Francisco
Tiltepec, while Bernal Diaz writes that he refused to his later regret Matla-
tlan and Orizaba, Hixt. Vcrdad., 165-6.
34
Veiute leguas la tierra adentro, en la provincia de Tatalptetelco.
Cortes, Cartas, 313. The founding and the installation of the municipality
were hastened by the arrival of Cristobal de Tapia, who intended to supersede
Cortes as governor, as will be told elsewhere. It was soon after moved near
to Vera Cruz.
Hcrrcro, dec. iii. lib. iii. cap. xi. The people came with a large num
*>

ber of canoes to ferry the army across, Cacique Tochel remaining as hostage.
Bernal Diaz, llixt. Vet-dad., 166. They paid two years arrears of taxes, says
Ixtlilxochitl. Hor. Crueldwh*, 57. Cortes writes 1520, Rio de Totuqualquo;
Orontius, 1531, R. de qunltf; Colon, 1527, R. de yaxacalcos; Ribero, 1529,
ft. de (juasacalco; Munich Atlas, x. 1571,R de guaqcuja; Hood, 1592, R. de
Guaca; Ogilby, 1671, R. de Guazacoako; Dampier, 1699, R. Guazacoako or
Qvtuhigwalp; Laet, 1633, R. Guazacoalco; Jefferys, 1776, R. Guazacalco, with
the town of Cayhoca. Goldschmidt s Cartoy. Pac. Coaxt, MS., i. 359.
36
And because on the former anniversary Narvaez had been defeated, adds
Bernal Diaz.
30 PREPARATION FOR FURTHER CONQUEST.

de Lugo. Sandoval, Grado, Briones, Bernal Diaz,

and others, also took up either residence or grants
here, the latter extending from the Zapotec country
to the sea, and from the southern limits of Medellin
37
district into Tabasco.
Hardly had the repartition been made before San
doval was called away, and when the settlers began
to levy tribute nearly all the districts revolted, sev
,

eral of them being killed. They were pacified after

considerable trouble, only to rise again at intervals in
38
different quarters. More settlers came, however;
and with and populous grants they prospered
fertile
so well that the towns to the north grew jealous and
obtained a curtailment of the district; later settle
ments in Tabasco, Chiapas, and Oajaca, laid claim to
other portions, and Espiritu Santo soon dwindled. 39

At the time that Sandoval set forth on the Groaza-

coalco campaign, another expedition was
despatched
against Zapotecapan and Miztecapan, a region alter
nating in fertile valleys and rugged mountains, and
covering the modern state of Oajaca; the former lying
to the east, round the sources of Goazacoalco, and
stretching to Tehuantepec; the latter divided into
upper and lower Miztecapan, covering respectively
the lofty Cohuaixtlahuacan and the sea-bathed Tutu-
tepee. Although distinct in language from the inhab
itants of Analiuac, the
people possessed the culture
of the Nahuas, and have been
hastily classed as an
37
Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 165-7, names a number of the
settlers, sev
eral of whom did not remain as residents; he also the native names of
gives
provinces, as Copilco, Cimatan, Tauasco, Cachula, Zoqueschas,
Tacheapac,
Cinacantan, Quilenes, Papanachasta, Citla, Chontalpa, Pinula, Chinanta,
Aaltepec, lepeca. Cortes names Chimaclan, Quizaltepec, Cimaclan, and
others. Cartas, 261.
8
Bernal Diaz relates his narrow from death during a parley with
els. Two of his companions wereescape
killed in a sudden attack, and he was
wounded in the throat. After hiding a while he was aided
by his sole sur
viving comrade to escape. Hist. Verdad. 177 ,
the present day the district has
"At
revived, the population centring in
inatitlan on the northern bank of the
river, and about 20 miles from the
nouth. Alvarado in 1535 to have the port annexed to Guatemala, as a
sought
base for supplies, Cartas,
MS., xix. 35-6; Herrera, dec. iii. lib. iii. cap. xi.
 ZAPOTECAPAN AND MIZTECAPAN. 37

oftshoot of this great race, descended according to

one tradition from the mighty Quetzalcoatl, since in
Miztecapan, the region of clouds/ lay Tlalocan, the
terrestrial paradise. Another account traces to the
Apoala Mountains the source of Toltec culture. The
more favored province of the mystic prophet was
Zapotecapan, where he left tokens of his presence
on Mount Cempoaltepec, and on the enchanted island
of Monapostiac, and where his disciples founded the
sacred city of Mitla, revered even now in its grand
ruins. Miztecapan claimed a founder hardly less illus
trious in the person of a dryad-sprung youth, who,
challenging the sun, compelled him, after a day s hard
combat, to retreat in confusion beneath the western
waters, while he remained triumphant on the field
of clouds. The earlier glimpses reveal two hierarchic
powers in the provinces, seated respectively at Achi-
uhtla and Mitla, out of which emerge in the clearer
history of the fourteenth century three kingdoms,
one centred at Teotzapotlan, and equalling in power
and extent the two Mistec monarchies of Tilantongo
and Tututepec. Attracted by the wealth of the
latter, which stretched for sixty leagues along the
shores of the southern sea, and encouraged by jeal
ousies between the three powers, the Aztecs absorbed
in the following century the more accessible districts,
and entered soon after into sacred Mitla itself, while
in 1506 Montezuma s armies added the last free state
40
of Tilantongo to his domains.
Attracted by the golden sands of the rivers, Span
ish explorers had early entered the province, and met
with a friendly reception, Cohuaixtlahuacan among
others sending submissive embassies to the chief of

40
The main authorities for these myths and events, fully given in Native
Races, ii. iii. v., are Biiryoa, Geof/. Descrlp., (hijaat, pts. i. ii. ; Motolhiia, lli*t.
Ind.; Sahayun, Jlixt. Gen., iii. lib. x. etseq.; G<nria, Oriyen delos Ind., 327-
8; Vcijtta, Hi*t. Ant. Mtj., i.-iii.; ToryHciimdn, and others. Laet, 1633,
writes Zapotecas; OgilLy, 1071, has Zapotithm and Zapotecas, on page and
map respectively; Mercator has Zepotecas east of Michoacan; Jefferys, Zapo-
*m, S. Ildffoitxo de los Zavotecos; Kiepert, Lapotlan. Carton. Pac. Coasty
MS., ii. 4G4.
38 PREPARATION FOR FURTHER CONQUEST.

the strangers. Subsequent reverses at Mexico, how

ever, changed their minds: the old love for liberty
41
revived, and after killing isolated parties,
the hardy
mountaineers began to harass even the provinces re
conquered by Spaniards. The
sufferers appealed to

Orozco, the lieutenant at Segura, and with a score or

two of soldiers he sought to repel the invaders. His
force was wholly inadequate, and the mountaineers
grew The fall of Mexico accomplished, Cor
bolder.
tes was able to give attention to the subject,
and since
the conquest of the region was a needful preliminary
to an advance southward, he reenforced Orozco with a
dozen cavalry, fourscore infantry, and a large number
42
of experienced allies.
Observing the strength of the army, the Miztecs,
against whom the campaign
was directed, retired from
their several rocky strongholds, and concentrated at
of them all, some six
Itzquintepec, the strongest
leagues from the present Oajaca.
Protected by heavy
stone walls, fully two miles in circumference, they
held forth defiantly for several days, repelling every
attack. Water began to fail, however, and under
43
promise of good treatment they surrendered. This,
together with the successful operations of a detach
ment under Juan Nunez de Mercado, 44 completed the
subjugation of the province. The lieutenant sent so
glowing a report of the fertility and the products, in-
41
A number were driven into a yard and prodded to death with long
poles. Herrera, dec. iii. lib.
iii. cap. xi.
42
Cortes, Cartas, 261. Herrera increases the cavalry to 30, and assumes
that Alvarado took command, as does Beaumont, Cr6n. Mich., iii. 150-1.
The force left in October 1521, in company with Sandoval, who turned south
eastward at Tepeaca, or Segura.
43
After 8 days it seems. Herrera assumes that Mexican garrisons were
the main cause of the resistance, and that they yielded only after receiving
an answer from Cortes to their demands. Duran confounds the operations
witli those of Cortes during his march to Quauhnahuac in the previous spring.
Hist. Ind., MS., ii. 518-19. Ixtlilxochitl alludes to three hard battles.
Hor. Crueldades, 57; Chlmalpain, Hist. Conq., ii. 84.
Involving the capture of Tecomovaca, says Herrera. So much promi
*4

nence has been given to Mercado s operations as to lead several writers to

attribute to him the subjugation of Oajaca. Medina, Chr6n. S. Diego, 245;
Villa -Seiior, Theatro, ii. 112; Alcedo, Dice.; and Ternaux - Compans, Voy. t
eer. i. torn, x., 287.
 COCIYOPU OF OAJACA. 39

eluding gold, that Cortes was induced to reserve for

himself quite a large tract, while a number of con
45
querors sought minor encomiendas, and took up their
residence in Antequera, a town founded not long
46
after, close to Oajaca.

To Oajaca, as part of the Zapotec possessions, be

longed the coast city of Tehuantepec, for a period the
seat of its kings, and at this time the capital of a
branch kingdom, recently bestowed upon Cociyopu,
the son of the valiant Cociyoeza and the Aztec prin
47
cess Pelaxilla. Singular omens attended his birth,
wherein soothsayers could see naught but disaster.
On the coming of the Spaniards, these omens were
connected with the ancient prophecies of conquest by
a white race, and when the fall of Mexico brought
confirmation of the wide-spread fear, Cociyopu be
sought the oracles for guidance, and was directed to
45
Tetellan and Hueyupan being given to a woman who accompanied the
expedition, and fought bravely, says Duran, Hist. Ind., MS., ii. 519-20.
Orozco remained in charge till the spring of 1522, when he was recalled to
Segura, his command being surrendered to Alvarado. Cortes, Carlos, 267;
Oviedo, iii. 426-7, 433-4.
46
Mercator, 1574, has Guaxaca, too far north-west; Ogilby, 1671, has
Guaxaca near Antequera city, also Nixapa; Laet, 1633, is similar, Nixapa
being south-west of the former; Jefferys, Guaxaca or Antiquera. Gold-
Schmidt s Cartog. Pac. Coast, MS., ii. 360. De la lengua Mexicana, y puesto
por vn Arbol crecido de vna f ruta de mal olor, llamado Guaxe. Biirrjoa, Geog.
Descrip., i. 5. The fruit grows freely on the Chapultepec range above the
town. Founded by Nunez del Mercedo, Sedeno, Badajoz, and others. Alcedo,
i. 116; Medina, Chron. S. Diego, 245; In Carta del Ayunt. de
Antequera, 1531;
in Pacheco and Cardenas, Col. Doc., xiii. 182, Sedeiio signs as if he were
alcalde. The founding appears to have been a measure effected in 1528 by
the hostile oidores, to encroach on Cortes estates. Id., xii. 545. Salmeron
recommended its removal in 1531. Id., xiii. 203. During the conquest of
Tututepec in 1521-2, the town of Segura there founded by Alvarado was
removed to Oajaca by Badajoz and other tumultuous settlers, thus reorganizing
a settlement already formed at Oajaca, though not approved by Corte"s, be
cause he desired this district for himself. This second settlement appears
also to have been disallowed by Cort6s. See Cortes, Residencia, ii. 157, 256;
Gomara, Hist. Mex., 219.
47
For a history of the kingdom, its inhabitants, and its vicissitudes, see
Native Races, v. 425, 430-7, 534-5. In the Munich Atlas, vi., 1532-40, is
written la comisco and Te.quante paque; Ramusio, 1565, Tecoantepech ; Mer
cator, 1574, Tecoantepec, as province, town, and gulf; Ogilby, 1671, has R.
Quizatlan and R. Cotalte, in this locality; Dampier, 1699; Tecoantepec; ]>,et,

1633, Tecoantepeque ; Jefferys, Bay of Tecoantepec, Bar of Tecoat^pec, Tc~

coautepec province. GoldschmidCs Cartog. Pac. Coast. MS., ii. 340-1.
40 PREPARATION FOR FURTHER CONQUEST:

conciliate the mighty strangers with voluntary sub

48
mission and rich presents.
The ready submission of Tehuantepec was not a
little aggravating to Tututepec, a rich province which
extended beyond it, northward for some sixty leagues
49
along the Pacific. The two had frequently been at
variance, and the least pretext sufficed to kindle anew
the strife. The lord of Tututepec had no desire to
surrender his wealth to rapacious invaders, and since
spoliation was the order, he resolved to seek at least
a share of his neighbor sbelongings before
choice
Spaniards came to seize The adjoining
them all.

mountaineers of the Oajaca ranges were readily in

duced to join in so tempting an adventure, and to
gether they pounced upon their neighbor, who slowly
fell back to protect his capital until an appeal to
Cortes should bring him aid. The appeal came most
opportunely, and early in 1522 50 Alvarado hastened
to the coast with two hundred infantry, two score cav
51
alry, and a large force of auxiliaries.
The intermediate districts were quickly overawed,
and within a few weeks he stood before Tututepec, 52
after having subdued some towns on his way. This
prompt and irresistible progress disconcerted every
plan of the pugnacious lord, and with great humility
lie led his nobles forth to welcome the Spaniards,

conducting them amid protestations of friendship to

48
Casi al fin deste mismo aiio. Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, 2, meaning 1522,
which should read 1521. Cortes, Cartas, 262; Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad.,
159, 167. One version assumes that the king s father, who ruled Zapote-
capan, advised the submission. Cociyopu afterwards accepted baptism as Juaii
Cortes de Montezuma and proved a generous patron.
9
,* Bur<joa, Ge.og. Descrip., ii. pt. i. 181. On Munich Atlas, vi., 1532-40,
Tutnfyrg; Ogilby, 1671, Tututepec; Laet, 1633, Tututepeque; Jefferys, Tute-
pec; Kiepert, Tututepec, near A\ Atoyac.
50
Gomara, Hutt. Mex., 219, followed by Galvano and others, says 1523;
but he is confused. Cortes states that he left Mexico in January.
51
From Mexico he took 120 foot and 30 horse, which were reenforced by a
part of the Oajaca expedition. Cortes, Cartas, 267. Bernal Diaz places the
force at 200, including 35 horse; Gomara increases it to 200 foot and 40 horse,
with 2 guns.
6-2
It has been said that the ruler of Tehuantepec was on this occasion bap
tized, but this seems to rest on the mere statement of Bernal Diaz., Hist. Ver
dad., 167, that Olmedo accompanied the expedition. Both circumstances
belong to the later movement against Guatemala.
 TEHUANTEPEC AND TUTUTEPEC. 41

the fine buildings round the central square. The space

here afforded for movements was rather narrow, and
the roofs were heavily covered with inflammable leaves,
altogether dangerous in case of a concerted attack
from the densely inhabited houses around. It was
also hinted that the lord had formed a plot to surprise
them with torch and sword. 53 On the plea that the
horses required different accommodation, the army
thereupon moved to the outskirts of the town, accom
panied by the lord and his son, who were detained
as prisoners to answer the charge of plotting the
destruction of his visitors. After vainly protesting
against the accusation as invented by enemies, they
sought to appease their captor with rich presents.
The sight of gold only inflamed the appetite of Alva-
rado, and he began to press his prisoners for more,
demanding among other things a pair of stirrups to
be made of pure gold. This extortion, together with
the terrors of his unjust imprisonment, so preyed upon
54
the lord that he died soon after.
Much of the gold was in dust and grains, giving
evidence of rich mines; and informed of this, Cortes
ordered a settlement to be formed, or rather the re
moval there, with a part of its settlers, of Segura de
la Frontera, established during the opening campaign

against Mexico to secure the Tepeaca frontier, but no

longer needed, since Mexico was henceforth to form the
55
dominating stronghold of the country. The apparent
wealth of the country caused a ready enlistment of ad
ditional settlers, among whom the country was divided
in repartimientos as usual, Alvarado being appointed
56
chief encomendero and lieutenant for his chief. The
53
Bernal Diaz states that Olmedo prevailed on Alvarado to leave so dan
gerous a quarter. Afterward the natives of Tehuantepec revealed the plot.
6*
Dixeron que por sacalle mucho oro, e sin justicia, murio en las prioioiies.
Alvarado obtained 30,000 pesos from him. Bc.rnal Diaz, Hiit. Verdad., 1G8.
Cortes admits the gift of 25,000 castellanos. Cartaa, 208.
65
Cortes intimates that all settlers of Segura were removed with it. Id.,
276-7. Remesal applies the name anew with the reasons given for the origi
nal settlement. Hwt. Chyapa, 2.
56
By a grant dated August 24, 1522, Alvarado received in repartimieiito*
42 PREPARATION FOR FURTHER CONQUEST.

his own request, under the al

appointment, issued at
luring influence of the mines, was obtained at Mexico,
whither he hastened with all the treasures so far
extorted, leaving to the clamoring soldiers the flimsy
excuse that Cortes had written for the gold to send
as a present to the emperor. This was the more ex
asperating since the repartimientos proved far from
equal to the expectations formed, while the climate was
hot and most unhealthy. So strong became the feel
that even before Alvarado s departure to Mexico
ing
a conspiracy was formed to kill him. Olmedo learned
the particulars, and the plotters were arrested, two of
them being hanged. After Alvarado had gone, the
settlers elected alcaldes arid other officers of their own,
and thereupon removed the town to Oajaca, regardless
of the protestations of the captain in charge. Informed
of the proceeding, Cortes sent Alcalde Mayor Diego
de Ocampo to arraign the offenders, who thereupon
took to flight. The principal men were arrested, how
ever, notably Badajoz and Juan Nunez de Sedeno, and
sentenced to death, a penalty commuted by Cortes to
5
banishment.
In addition to this trouble, the natives took advan
tage of the removal of the town to revolt against their
extortionate masters, and Alvarado had to lead another
expedition against them.
58
They were readily subdued,
however, and severely chastised for the murders com
mitted, whereupon the son of the deceased lord was
installed as ruler. Although the repartimientos were
confirmed, Segura was not reestablished; nor did it
prove necessary, for the natives never attempted
another uprising.
Tututepec, with six towns subject to it, besides Jalapa. See document in
Ramirez, Proceao, 177.
7
Even this appears to have been set aside by the See testimony
emperor.
of Ocampo and others in Cortes,
Residencia, ii. 250, etc. Gomara, Hist. Mex.,
,
.
,
.
.,
219; J/i rrcrn, dec. iii. lib. iii. cap. xvii. Ocampo was the first to open the
sea route to Peru. Lorenzana, in Cortes, Hist. N.
MA number Esp.
being blown from the mouth of cannon. Ramirez, Proceso, 15.