CHAPTER V.

SUBJUGATION OF ZACATEPEC, AND CAPTURE OF SINACAM'S STRONGHOLD.

1527-1528.

PUERTOCARRERO IN CHARGE OF AFFAIRS—REVOLT AT ZACATEPEC—ESCAPE OF THE SPANISH GARRISON—THE PLACE RECAPTURED—EXECUTION OF THE HIGH PRIEST PANAGUALI—SINACAM'S STRONGHOLD—ITS SIEGE AND CAPTURE—JORGE DE ALVARADO APPOINTED GOVERNOR—THE CITY OF SANTIAGO FOUNDED IN THE ALMOLONGA VALLEY—PROSPERITY OF THE NEW SETTLEMENT.

Of the two lieutenant-governors appointed by Alvarado on his departure from Olintepec, Puertocarrero was the one in whom he had most reliance. The ability which he had displayed as a soldier and a magistrate fully justified this confidence. A near relative to Alvarado, he was second only to that great captain in valor and military skill; and the most important posts in the field were usually assigned to him, while the fact that he was elected a regidor of the first cabildo, and filled that office by re-appointment till his promotion to the rank of alcalde and lieutenant-governor, is evidence of his capacity for government. In character he was in one respect too like his commander, being severe and ruthless in his treatment of the natives.[V‑1] His high breeding was displayed by a fine deportment and courteous mien, while as a companion he could be either most charming or exceeding disagreeable; his flashes of wit and humor were as much enjoyed as the lash of his sarcasm was dreaded.

With the assistance of his colleague Hernan Carrillo, he began vigorously to establish order throughout the province. His first care was to carry out the instructions of Alvarado relative to the suppression of a revolt in the town of Zacatepec, news of which had arrived before the captain general's departure. Though a portion of the natives of the Zacatepec province had joined in the general insurrection, the garrison stationed in the town itself had hitherto been able to overawe the inhabitants; but toward the end of August 1526, incited by their high priest, named Panaguali, one inspired by the presiding genius of the nation, they suddenly rose upon the Spaniards. Threats of the displeasure of their god Camanelon outweighed with them even the dread of their conquerors; and the chief priest, taking advantage of a violent earthquake which occurred a short time before, so wrought upon the fears of his countrymen that he prevailed on them to attempt the extermination of the foreigners. The garrison barely escaped a general massacre, being compelled to make their escape from the town by cutting their way through a dense crowd of assailants, who attacked them one evening about sunset. In the struggle one of their number, together with three of the Tlascaltecs, were captured and sacrificed. Next day the fugitives were joined by one hundred friendly Zacatepecs, and by rapid marches reached Olintepec the 31st of August.[V‑2]

[Sidenote: BEFORE THE STRONGHOLD.]

At daybreak on the following morning Puertocarrero marched against the insurgents. His force consisted of sixty horse, eighty arquebusiers, five hundred and fifty Tlascaltecs and Mexicans, and one hundred Zacatepecs. He had also two pieces of artillery. On arriving within sight of the town the army encamped in a small valley two leagues from the village of Ucubil,[V‑3] to rest and reconnoitre. Hernando de Chaves being sent forward with the cavalry captured two natives, who gave information that Ucubil was peaceably deposed and that in Zacatepec a portion of the inhabitants had declared for the Spaniards, and having made their escape, were scattered among the neighboring corn lands. Puertocarrero now moved to Ucubil, and thence sent messages of encouragement to the friendly natives, eight hundred of whom shortly afterward joined him. The Spanish army now mustered fifteen hundred and ninety men, and with this force the commander was quite ready to meet the opposing eight thousand. He advanced, therefore, toward the town, and when about half a league distant sent messengers to offer peace on condition of surrender. They were received with disdain, and when others were despatched on a similar errand, they were on the point of being seized and sacrificed, and only made their escape by trusting to the speed of their horses.

The Spaniards now took up their position on rising ground a quarter of a league from Zacatepec. There they were almost immediately assailed by a body of two thousand natives who, issuing from a neighboring wood, attacked them briskly, but after a brief struggle were forced to retire. Early next morning three thousand warriors, advancing from the direction of the town, came down upon them, taking good aim with poisoned arrows, while the fire of the arquebusiers was for some time rendered almost harmless by a strong breeze, which drove the smoke into their eyes. Later their weapons were used with more effect, and the Indians began to retire with loss, whereupon the Spaniards incautiously advanced, thereby suffering defeat; for when the Spanish forces were in the center of the plain, the detachment from the town, suddenly wheeling round, attacked them in front, while those who remained under cover of the woods assailed their rear. Puertocarrero was compelled to withdraw from the field with all possible haste; but this could only be done by traversing the greater portion of the plain, and was attended with great loss, the troops becoming entangled during the hottest part of the engagement, in canebrakes and creepers. At length the retreating army reached a secure position between two converging eminences, and here the conflict ceased for the night.

On the following day the Spanish commander, drawing up his infantry in a hollow square with the artillery in front and the cavalry on the wings, gave the enemy battle on the plain. His lines were too strong to be broken by the Zacatepec warriors who rushed in a dense mass to the attack, but were driven back by a well directed fire of artillery and small arms. Forming into two columns, they next assailed both wings simultaneously, but with no better success. Again massing themselves in a single phalanx, they made a furious attack on the right of the Spanish army. The struggle was long but not doubtful. Volley after volley mowed down their ranks in front, while the horsemen charged repeatedly on either flank. At length they took to flight and were pursued to the entrance of the town, where Panaguali and two other priests with eight of the principal caciques were made prisoners.

[Sidenote: EXECUTION OF PANAGUALI.]

The campaign was now at an end. Puertocarrero, aware that the loss of their priests and their chieftains would assure the submission of the rebels, retired to Ucubil, whence one of the captives was sent to the town with a final summons to allegiance, and with strict injunctions to return as soon as possible. A submissive reply was returned, and on the fourth day after the battle the Spaniards entered the town with all necessary precautions against attack. Having occupied the guard-house and public square, Puertocarrero ordered the caciques and other leading men to appear before him, to witness the closing scene of the revolt. The Spaniards were marshalled in the plaza, and Panaguali was placed on trial in the presence of his deluded people, as being the promoter of the insurrection. All that the poor wretch could urge in his defence was that he had acted in obedience to the orders of his god; but Camanelon had now no power to save. As a matter of course the high priest was condemned to death, and immediately executed in full view of the awe-stricken natives who but now had confidently hoped to capture the Spaniards for sacrifice.[V‑4]

The suppression of the Zacatepec rebellion being completed, Alvarado's lieutenant[V‑5] next turned his attention to the stronghold of Sinacam. This fortress, built of stone and lime, was situated in an almost inaccessible position in the Comalapa mountains.[V‑6] In the fastnesses of this range, seamed with gloomy cañons, numbers of the Cakchiquels had taken refuge. Far down in the sierra is a precipitous ravine through which flows the Rio Nimaya.[V‑7] The stream when it reaches the valley below is of great depth, abounds in fish, and is fringed in places with beautiful glades and stretches of fertile land, which can be approached only by difficult and dangerous paths.[V‑8] Here Sinacam's followers planted and gathered their maize in safety, while river and forest supplied them with additional food. No better place for a stronghold could have been selected than that to which the chief of the Cakchiquels had withdrawn the remnant of his once powerful nation.[V‑9]

[Sidenote: SIEGE OF THE STRONGHOLD.]

At the head of a numerous and well appointed force[V‑10] Puertocarrero took up a suitable position before it,[V‑11] and for two months prosecuted the siege in vain. During this time he made frequent overtures of peace, which were answered only with contempt,[V‑12] while his men, smarting under the taunts of the foe, who felt secure in his position and had no fear of hunger, were repulsed at every attack, rocks and trunks of trees being hurled down on them from the overhanging heights. Meanwhile they were harassed by repeated sorties from the natives, who, whenever they perceived any want of vigilance in the camp of the Spaniards, swept down from the mountains with inconceivable rapidity, fell upon the weakest point of their lines, and as quickly regained the shelter of their stronghold.[V‑13]

But failure only roused the Spaniards to more determined effort. There were among them many who had taken part in the storming of Mexico, and had fought under Alvarado at Patinamit. The mettle of the adelantado's veterans had been tested on many a doubtful field, and they were now about to give fresh evidence of their valor. It may be that a traitor revealed to the besiegers some secret path,[V‑14] or even served as guide; but the storming of the fortress was none the less a desperate undertaking. Its fate was sealed however. Puertocarrero divided his forces into four bodies and stationed them at the most favorable points; but before ordering the assault sent in his last summons to surrender. The messengers who bore the letter to Sinacam narrowly escaped death. On receiving it the chieftain tore the paper to shreds, and throwing the pieces on the ground with many expressions of scorn and contempt ordered the envoys to be put to death. At this moment, however, the attack was made. Puertocarrero who had observed all that was transpiring suddenly advanced his men. The ramparts were scaled, and a foothold won within the fortifications. No hope now for the garrison; the struggle which followed was severe but brief. The discolored ground was soon heaped with the dead and dying, on whose prostrate forms the triumphant Spaniards trampled as they pressed on in pursuit of the panic-stricken natives. Sinacam and Sequechul, together with a larger number of their followers, were captured, and few of those who survived the massacre made good their escape to the mountains.[V‑15]

The storming of the Cakchiquel stronghold occurred on Saint Cecilia's day, the 22d of November 1526, and long afterward the event was yearly celebrated by an imposing procession. On the anniversary of the saint and on the eve preceding, the standard-bearer displayed the royal colors in the presence of the president, the royal audiencia, the municipality, and nobles, while the Mexicans and Tlascaltecs, who had contributed to the victory in no small degree, joined in the procession, decked in bright colors and armed with the weapons of their ancestors.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: JORGE DE ALVARADO.]

In the month of March 1527, a new governor arrived in Guatemala in the person of Jorge de Alvarado,[V‑16] brother of the great conqueror, and a man gifted with abilities of no common order. He had already won repute in the conquest of Mexico, and had taken a prominent part in the political dissensions which occurred in the capital during the absence of Cortés in Honduras. During the military operations in Guatemala, more especially in the first campaign in Salvador, he had proved himself possessed of true soldierly qualities. The preferment was bestowed on him by the governor of Mexico, and that he should have been permitted to supersede Puertocarrero was probably due to his brother's favor and to the friendship of Cortés. Nevertheless he was a man eminently fitted to rule. His appointment was at once recognized by the cabildo, and he was requested immediately to take the oath of office.

[Sidenote: SANTIAGO FOUNDED.]

Soon after his arrival the cabildo met to discuss a matter of general interest, which had long engaged the attention of the colonists. This was the selection of a permanent site for their hitherto unstable city. The choice lay between the valleys of Almolonga and Tianguecillo,[V‑17] and after a long and wordy discussion the question was decided in favor of the former locality. A spot was chosen which had the advantages of a cool and healthful climate, a plentiful supply of wood, water, and pasture, and where the slope of the ground would allow the streets to be cleansed by the periodical rains. The governor then presented to the municipality a document, signed by his own hand, conveying his instructions as to the laying-out of the future city. The streets were to intersect at right angles, their direction corresponding with the cardinal points of the compass; space was to be reserved for a plaza; and ground adjoining the public square was set apart for the erection of a church to be dedicated to Santiago, who was chosen as the patron saint of the city which was henceforth to bear his name, and whose heart was to be gladdened in after years, when the day of his anniversary recurred, by religious ceremonies and festivities, by tilting, and by bull-fights whenever a supply of bulls could be procured.[V‑18] Locations were to be assigned for a hospital, a chapel and shrine,[V‑19] and a fortress; appropriations adjoining the plaza were to be marked out for the municipal and civic buildings and for a prison; and the remainder of the site was then to be divided among present or future citizens according to the customs prevailing in New Spain.

After this document had been publicly read and entered by the notary in the books of the cabildo, all formalities were completed except that of taking possession of the future city as though it already existed. According to the usual formality a post was erected, and the governor, placing his hand upon it, proclaimed with great solemnity, "I take and hold possession, in the name of his Majesty, of the city and province, and of all other adjacent territory."[V‑20]

Four days after the completion of this ceremony twenty-four persons enrolled themselves as citizens; and so prosperous, at first, were the affairs of the new settlement that within six months one hundred and fifty additional householders joined the community.[V‑21] During the remainder of the year 1527 and for many months afterward the Spaniards were occupied with municipal affairs, or busied themselves with the erection of dwellings and with dividing and putting under cultivation the rich lands of the adjoining valley.

In March 1528 Jorge de Alvarado, in virtue of the authority granted to him by the governor of Mexico, claimed the right to appoint new members of the municipality. As no valid objection could be offered by the cabildo, the nominations were immediately made, and eight regidores were elected in place of four. The most important measure adopted by the new corporation during the year was the redivision of lands and the adjustment of questions that would necessarily arise from such a change. The grants were so unfairly distributed that, while many citizens had far more than their share, others had none at all. The discontent of the latter made it imperative for the municipality to take action. On the 18th of April all previous regulations were revoked and all divisions of land cancelled. An order was then issued for the redivision of the valley into caballerías and peonías,[V‑22] and a committee appointed to redistribute the grants.

[Sidenote: ALMOLONGA VALLEY.]

A measure of this kind could not fail to meet with much opposition, and as will be seen later the division of lands and the system of repartimientos caused much dissension among the colonists; yet in the present instance the cabildo acted with all possible discretion and fairness in the matter. Those grants of land which were less fertile, were of greater extent than the more barren portions; men distinguished for their services received larger shares to correspond with the degree of their merit; growing crops were the property of those in possession at the time of the redistribution; and if any occupant had made improvements and was removed to another grant, his successor was required to make others of equal value on the new land assigned to him. Complete title-deeds were promised by the cabildo in the name of his Majesty;[V‑23] the citizens were ordered to enclose and keep in good condition the portion of the street corresponding with their allotments; the exorbitant charges of artisans were regulated; and such was the thrift of the inhabitants that within little more than a year after its foundation the town was surrounded with cornfields and orchards, and the valley of Almolonga soon became one of the most flourishing colonies throughout the breadth of Central America.