CHAPTER X.

Mixco. — La Antigua Guatemala. — Volcanoes of Fire and Water. — Comolapa. — Ancient Indian Ruins of Patinamit. — Kachiquel Indians. — A Dominican Priest. — Barrancas. — Las Godinas. — Panajachel. — Human Sacrifices to the Lakes and Volcanoes. — Lake Atitlan. — Sololá. — Orchids. — San Tomas. — Quiché Indians.

At daybreak on the thirtieth day of January, my Indian guide Anastasio, reported that the mules were ready. He had filled the saddle bags with a good supply of provisions, together with a store of native chocolate, and had otherwise made due arrangements for the mules in the event of any mischance happening to them. We then proceeded on our way to the town of La Antigua Guatemala. Baron Herbert came with us for several miles, and Mr. Hague proposed to accompany me for a day’s journey and see me safely started on my road.

When we came near the Indian mounds, I halted for a short time to take a sketch of them from some rising ground whence a good view could be obtained. On the left rose the Volcan de Agua. In the distance could be seen the village of Mixco, and on the right were the Sierras, stretching far away towards the North, looking well defined in the clear atmosphere of a bright and sunny morning.

At Mixco we stopped for breakfast, and were joined by the cura of the parish, who was an agreeable and well-informed man. Mixco is especially interesting to Englishmen on account of its having been the curacy of our fellow countryman, Thomas Gage.[56] He was appointed there in December, 1629, and had the charge of this and some adjacent parishes for about seven years. He then left Guatemala and returned to England. Beyond the village we obtained a view of the Lake Amatitlan. We then passed San Lucas, and reached La Antigua Guatemala in the afternoon.

Upon our arrival we called upon Padre Martinez, and asked him to show us the ancient cathedral. It was in a ruined condition, and at the time of our visit the nave and aisles were occupied by cattle. In the centre of the roof we observed the emblem of the imperial arms of Austria, the double-headed eagle, which fixed the date of the erection of the building as being in the reign of the Emperor Charles V. There still remained within the shrines many fine wood carvings, and it could be seen that the ornamentation of the interior must have been in accordance with the artistic abilities of the Spanish architects of that period. After leaving this fine example of one of the earliest churches in Central America, we looked at the ruins of the palace and government buildings. It was evident that the ancient Guatemala, before it was destroyed by earthquakes, must have well deserved its reputation of being, next to Mexico, the most flourishing city in the New World.

Close at hand and dominating the ruins, are the lofty twin volcanoes of Agua and Fuego (Water and Fire). The former in 1541, caused the destruction of the first town established by the Spaniards, which is now called La Vieja Guatemala. The manner in which that capital was overwhelmed and destroyed, was so exceptional, that it is desirable that the events which then occurred should be brought into consideration.

It was stated by a Spanish resident who was present on that occasion, that although the rainfall had been abundant during the year, there was nothing in the other atmospheric conditions to give any reason for anxiety. But on the 10th of Sept., 1541, two hours after sunset, a mass of water suddenly issued from the crater of the nearest volcano, and rushing down the slope of the mountain with great velocity, immediately swept away the greater part of the town. This inundation was accompanied by the shock of an earthquake. During the night the disasters caused by the rapid waters are described as having been terrible. The torrents, with which were mingled masses of detached rocks and the trunks of uprooted trees, carried away everything before them. Amongst those who perished was Doña Beatriz de la Cueva, the widow of Alvarado, the conqueror of these southern provinces.[57]

The Spanish inhabitants formed the belief that this unusual disaster must have been caused by movements of a miraculous nature, and that the eruption of a volcano throwing out floods of water was a punishment inflicted upon them on account of their sins. They thought that evil spirits had been permitted to cast loose upon them the penalties of fire, water and earthquake. Bernal Diaz who a few years afterwards resided at La Antigua Guatemala, gives in his History of the Conquest a vivid but imaginative description of the horrors of that night, based upon statements made by the bishop of the diocese. He reports that during the tempest great stones were rolled down the mountain and into the city by numbers of demons (muchos demonios,) and that many people heard shouts, yells, and voices, and saw two monstrous black men moving in the rolling waters, calling out, “Forsake everything, for the end of all things is at hand.”[58]

Various theories have been suggested in explanation of this outburst of water from the volcano. It is supposed that the crater may have contained a large volume of water, which after the excessive rainfall of the year exerted such pressure as to burst open the inclosing sides and that the contents were suddenly set free. If this theory is accepted as being correct, it must be granted that the interior of the crater was sufficiently compact to enable it to be water-tight, and consequently capable of becoming a small reservoir or lake. It is possible that the Volcan de Agua may have been for a long time extinct, and that consequently the sides of the interior of the crater gradually became impermeable. Under ordinary circumstances the materials of which volcanic cones are formed, would not be capable of retaining great quantities of water.[59]

I believe that the destruction of La Vieja Guatemala by the action of a vast torrent of water issuing from a volcano is the only instance that is known of such an extraordinary event, and it can be well understood how it happened that the superstitious residents in that capital felt assured that such a catastrophe must have been the work of demons and the powers of darkness. The second city was placed in a position where there was less liability to injury from any eruption, but it suffered so constantly from the shocks of numerous and successive earthquakes, that it was abandoned after having been occupied for more than two centuries. The present capital was established in 1775.

The Volcan de Fuego is still occasionally active, and not many years before I passed near it, flames and dense volumes of smoke were reported to have come out of the crater, but no serious eruptions have taken place in this century. In the last century several occurred, and upon one occasion the city was enveloped in complete darkness during the greater part of the day. At the present time the volcanoes look down upon the ruined cities with grandeur and repose.

On the morning of our departure from La Antigua Guatemala, we rode through the Plaza and passed near to the ancient palace of the Spanish governors, the public buildings, and the cathedral. All these ruins looked beautiful in the clear light of dawn.

As the sun rose we began to ascend the hills. When we reached the summit I stopped for a few minutes for the purpose of observing, towards the south, the lofty cones of Agua and Fuego whose graceful outlines were clear and distinct in the atmosphere of a deep blue tropical sky. In the forenoon we reached Chimaltenango, which was once a place of importance but is now becoming deserted. Beyond this town we followed a track leading to the village of Comolapa, and had to descend an abrupt and deep ravine, which crossed that part of the country. We then rode up a long hill and passed near several groups of oak trees, whose leafless branches were made gay by clusters of brilliantly coloured orchids.

Upon arriving at Comolapa, I obtained a room in a little inn, where we arranged to remain for the night, having already accomplished a distance of nine leagues. The parish priest, Padre Rodriguez, proposed that I should join him at supper, at which meal there also appeared a Mexican, travelling on his way to Guatemala from the frontier, and who was able to give me some useful intelligence about the roads and the political state of the country in the province of Chiapas. The Padre spoke with earnestness about the difficulties he had to overcome with regard to the teaching of the Catholic doctrines. He said that there were more than two thousand Indians under his charge. They attended church as a custom, and seemed to take part in the services, yet, he was certain that in their hearts they retained a faith in their ancient worship, and that they had shrines concealed amongst the mountains where they kept their idols. He had also found, by experience, that there was the greatest repugnance amongst them to all attempts at education, and no children would attend school after they were seven or eight years old.

We looked at the interior of the church. Some of the wood carvings at the altars were well designed and executed. Over the western porch there was a large coat-of-arms, with lions as supporters. In this district a great number of the Mexican allies, who accompanied Alvarado in the conquest of Guatemala, were given lands, and many of them, during the early periods of the Spanish occupation, were men of considerable wealth; but their descendants and their families have now disappeared or have become merged into the aboriginal population.

On the following morning we proceeded on our journey to Patinamit. We passed a high mound, situated near the path, which in shape was like that of Grave Creek, in Virginia; but it was not so large. Its height was about fifty-five feet. Augustin proposed that we should take a short cut, in consequence of which we lost our way, lengthened the ride by over two leagues, and had to descend and ascend a profound and precipitous barranca. On the sides of the track we saw many ferns, and passed clumps of mountain firs and other trees belonging naturally to high altitudes. We were riding over a country at an average height of seven thousand feet, and following steep and rough tracks, which tried the prudence of our sure-footed mules to the utmost. At noon we reached Tepan Guatemala, and were received at the convent by Padre Viatoro. The remainder of the day was passed in examining the ruins of ancient Patinamit, the chief city of the Kachiquels, a tribe of the same race as the Quichés.

Patinamit is placed upon the summit of a height separated from the rest of the world by a steep ravine, which, except at one narrow point, so completely encircles it as to make it practically a kind of detached island. The site resembles that of Fort Ancient, and the earthworks are nearly as large as those upon that great fortified hill. It is supposed that the palaces and temples of the Kachiquels were built upon this plateau, but nothing of them can now be traced. There are a few mounds from ten to thirty feet high, and there are several heaps of large loose stones, evidently taken from the ravine. The position must have been exclusively chosen for the purposes of defence, for it is almost impregnable to assault. The surrounding barranca is, in several places, perpendicular for a depth of over two hundred feet. The slopes are composed of a firm volcanic substance, consisting chiefly of pumice, pozzolana, ashes and stones.

It has been stated[60] that, in Patinamit there was, during the rule of the Kachiquels, a small building, in which was kept a kind of stand formed of a substance resembling glass. The judges sat round this building and heard the causes brought before them. In the ravine below there was a black transparent stone, in looking into which, could be seen the representation of the punishment to be awarded. It was also consulted in time of war. Upon my return to the convent, I asked the padre if he knew anything about this stone, which might have been an unusually large fragment of obsidian, such as would have been found in this region, formed of matter thrown out from the craters of volcanoes. He said that he had never seen it, and did not know whether it still existed. He wished me to understand that he did not take any interest in the past history of the parish, but devoted his attention to his work amongst the numerous Indians placed under his care.

Upon the morning of our departure, whilst the guide was saddling the mules, I went out to the platform in front of the convent walls, to look at the wide and distant views which it commanded. This outer court was placed well above the ground. On the top of the steps which led up to the platform, stood Padre Viatoro, dressed in his robes, and receiving the homage of his Indian parishioners as they passed beneath him on their way to their daily work. I had already become aware that the influence of priests of the Dominican Order was exceptionally great amongst the Indian tribes in the Cordilleras, but I had not hitherto observed the actual evidence of their personal power over the minds of the aboriginal race. The events that were taking place before me, were extremely strange and characteristic. Each of the Indians, as he went by, bowed down towards the earth, and waited to receive a blessing. Several women who had requests to make, knelt and remained in that posture. All of these meek, simple and ignorant natives seemed to look upon their priest as a being of a far superior nature to themselves, and Padre Viatoro by his imperious manner, did not permit them to suppose that he could be approached otherwise than with the greatest respect and deference.

As we proceeded on our journey, I stopped my mule in order to take a final glance at the convent, and saw the tall erect figure of the Dominican sharply defined against the sky, whilst men, women and children were still passing before him. In the far distance were the ranges of the Cordilleras, and close at hand was the great stronghold of the Kachiquel conquerors, who, many centuries earlier, held the ancestors of this submissive race under their subjection and cruel tyranny. It was a scene in all respects so remarkable, that it remains fixed upon the memory.

Our path to the hamlet of Las Godinas led over hills and plains, until we arrived at the edge of a barranca which we had some difficulty in crossing. This great chasm was about one mile wide at the top, and was more than a thousand feet deep; it crossed the level country for several miles. The sides were almost perpendicular for the first three hundred feet of descent, and then sloped sharply downwards. Our path was narrow and, in the places where it curved round the projecting precipitous banks, looked dangerous, but the mules went forward without hesitation. As it seemed to be unadvisable to attempt to guide my mule, I adopted the plan which I thought to be the most safe, and dropped the bridle over her neck, and she was thus left free to choose the road. I soon found by experience, that complete confidence could be placed in her wise and cautious judgment.

Upon reaching the bottom we rode for some distance up the valley, and then ascended to the level of the plain. After a short ride across the open country we came to another equally steep barranca which had to be crossed. This chasm I estimated to be nearly twelve hundred feet deep. The sides were composed of volcanic ash, pozzolana and blocks of lava. The nature of the violent influences that must have been at work in the production of the ravines, which have thus separated these plateaux has yet to be fully investigated. With regard to the theory that they were caused by earthquakes, it may be observed that those around Tepan Guatemala must be approximately twenty miles from the nearest volcano.

At noon we reached Las Godinas and halted at a rancho to get breakfast, and to give our mules a feed of sacate, which is an excellent and nutritious fodder composed of the stalks of maize. At this hamlet were assembled a large number of Indians who had come there from the adjoining highlands. The men were in many respects like the North American Indians. They were of a deep copper colour, and had black hair, and large, well shaped noses, broad faces and peculiarly long upper lips. Their eyes were round, black, furtive and restless. They belonged to the Kachiquel tribe, and spoke a dialect of the Quiché language.

After a few hours’ rest we proceeded. Suddenly we opened upon a magnificent view. Two thousand feet below us was the great Lake of Atitlan, five thousand feet above the sea. It was a bright, calm, sunny afternoon, and the still waters, reflecting the colour of the sky, were as blue as a sapphire. On the opposite shore, overlooking the lake, was the Volcano of Atitlan, eleven thousand, eight hundred feet high, and beyond was a continuous chain of volcanoes stretching westwards towards Quezaltenango. As we descended the hills the points of view kept changing. It would be difficult to surpass these marvellously beautiful combinations of lake and volcanic mountain scenery.

In the afternoon we reached Panajachel, and after having found a place of shelter for the mules, I asked the way to the house of a lady to whom I had a letter of introduction. The envelope bore the address of Doña Aña Gertrudio Leon de Montalban. I was told that I should find her at home, and that I was to make inquiries at the small grocer’s shop in the main street. Accordingly I went to the shop and asked the old woman behind the counter, who was at the time employed in selling tallow candles, if she could kindly tell me where Doña Aña de Montalban was to be found. She said “Señor, permit me to look at the letter,” and putting on her spectacles, she gazed at the envelope, opened it and slowly read what was inside. After having grasped the meaning of the writing, she smiled and said—“I am Doña Aña and this letter is written by a very good friend of mine, and Señor, my house is very much at your service; if you will wait for a few minutes until I have closed the shop, I will give you a room, the cook shall prepare a supper this evening, and I hope you will make yourself as comfortable as the poor means at my disposal will permit.”

Panajachel was crowded with Indians. It was the day of the festival of the Patron Saint of an adjacent church, and they had all been to there present offerings and light their candles at the shrines. In the evening numerous Indian women dressed in white passed through the village, carrying candles home to place before the altar of their own house idol.

The cura of the district, Padre Pedro, asked me to join him, after his duties were concluded, and talk about the events of the day. The Padre was evidently a capable and zealous priest. He had the reputation of having studied the character and language of his Indian congregations, and of being acquainted with their habits and traditions. I was therefore glad to have an opportunity of obtaining from such a good authority some well-founded information respecting the reports of sacrifices to the lake and volcano.

Father Pedro said that the ancient custom of sacrificing maidens at Atitlan, was also followed at the mountain near Quezaltenango. Whenever the rumbling noises were heard, threatening an eruption, a maiden was offered as a sacrifice to the angry god by throwing her into the crater. There used also to be performed some sacrificial ceremonies connected with the worship of the goddess of the lake, but he did not know what were the customs upon those occasions. The Abbé Brasseur de Bourbourg relates, in his notes of a journey through S. Salvador, that the lake of Xilopango was originally consecrated to the goddess of water, and that in each year, when the maize was about to ripen, four young girls were sacrificed.

It was reported that, in some remote districts, sacrifices were still offered, but this is very doubtful. The Padre observed that the Indians at Panajachel, and in the villages bordering on the lake were excessively superstitious. In their houses or huts they usually had a room or space set apart for the abode of their saint’s image. This image would sometimes be carried to the parish church and be left there for a time, and then would be taken back to the house again with ceremonies and lighted candles. I mentioned to the Padre how I had noticed that the Indian women here had a habit of talking together in a low tone. He said this was chiefly owing to the dialect of the Quiché language which was spoken in this district, in which many of the sounds were expressed like a whisper.

At daybreak Augustin was at the door with the mules, and my kind hostess prepared for me a cup of chocolate which she said would fortify me for the journey. We then left for Sololá, and soon were watching a glorious sunrise. The lake of Atitlan is irregular in its shape. According to my travelling map it has a circumference exceeding thirty miles. The most remarkable features are its great depth, and the almost perpendicular cliffs on the northern side which seem to be of volcanic formation. The deep blue of its waters is possibly owing to their depth, and the rarefied state of the atmosphere at this altitude. Our road led us through several villages containing chiefly Indian populations, and then we ascended a long and abrupt hill. As the day advanced we were joined by bands of Indians with cargo mules, travelling to the market.

Sololá is the chief town of the Department, and the Corregidor was good enough to add some recommendations to my government letter. We stopped there long enough to rest the mules, and then proceeded on our way to San Tomas, eight leagues distant. Upon reaching the upper slopes of the hill I dismounted, in order to visit some Indian farm buildings that occupied several acres of rising ground near our path. Although there were evidences of what may be called comparative wealth, these Indians—like all others that I had seen—only possessed a single hut with one large room in it. Men, women and lads were all busy; the boys cleaning and spinning wool for their black ponchos or cloaks, and the women, as usual, engaged in grinding maize and making tortillas.

We followed a steep ascent. The path was cut into broad steps, up which my excellent mule clambered with the utmost ease and rapidity, and in a manner which brought back to the memory many rides amongst the Druse villages in the mountains of the Lebanon. Upon reaching the summit of the sierra, I turned the mule’s head round to enable me to look at the lake and the group of volcanoes beyond it. It was then a scene of great beauty, but at some remote period in the world’s history, it must have been a centre of great volcanic violence and devastation.

Our track led, in an almost straight direction, over hills and across valleys, maintaining an average altitude of about seven thousand feet. In this region orchids were numerous. On the edge of one of the lofty plateaux overlooking a narrow valley, I stopped to look at and sketch a tall wide-spreading pine, upon whose branches these plants were growing with the utmost luxuriance. The orchids in this part of Guatemala are constant to a certain altitude which, as nearly as can be estimated, is about six thousand five hundred feet. They exclusively prefer to dwell upon the branches of oaks and pines, and always cling to such as are strong and full-grown.

The manner of their habits in selecting the trees upon which they desired to settle, was eccentric. Thus, with respect to the pines, they chose those that had broad, spreading branches, and avoided those whose branches grew upwards. They adopted the same rule with the oaks. In no instance did I see orchids growing upon any trees except oaks and pines; all others were left bare. But even when the groups seemed to be all well suited for their purpose, they would select certain favourites, and upon the branches of these they would abound, giving life and colour to them, and leaving the neglected trees dark and gloomy by contrast. The majority of the orchids were green, but sometimes they were of a bright rose colour, and these when seen, as we then saw them, clearly defined against a deep blue sky, gave a brilliant colouring to the foreground. They added much to the pleasure of our day’s ride. They were gay, capricious and beautiful.

San Tomas stands high and commands wide and extensive views of the sierras. Upon reaching the plateau we rode through the village, and finally stopped at the gate of the convent within whose walls we were received by Padre Hernandez. He afterwards proposed that I should look at his church and the altars.

There was much in the interior that had a special interest, in relation to the obscure subject of the ancient faith of the Quichés, the great tribe that possessed the dominant power in this part of Central America at the time of the Spanish Conquest, and whose descendants are believed to dwell in this secluded part of the country. There was no religious service taking place or about to be held, and there was nobody present within or without; but the nave and chapels were illuminated with numbers of candles. The church was large and there were several side altars. In front of each of them rows of lights had been placed. Down the length of the nave there was a long thick block of wood in which were fitted sockets for holding candles. There were also quantities of offerings placed before each image, or whatever emblem the Indians chose to worship.

“For in these matters,” said the Father, “I do not interfere, and in fact, I have no power or authority whatever within my own church. The Indians come and go as they please, light their candles, hold their own services before the altar, and frequently take one of the saints out of the church, and carry it away to some hut where, for several days, they will perform musical ceremonies before it, and then the saint will be brought back to its proper altar.”

Padre Hernandez, although he had lived many years with these Indians, had not been able to obtain the slightest positive knowledge of what they really believed. All that he knew about the subject was, that they were very superstitious and devotional. He said that in many cases in the sierras, they had their places of worship where they kept idols, and at certain seasons of the year went to make offerings, and also to sacrifice animals to them.

After a stroll through the village, I went to the Plaza, in the centre of which were assembled the Alcaldes and other parish dignitaries. They were sitting round a wood fire, discussing some urgent matters of local interest. As I had not hitherto stopped in a populous district or village entirely peopled by Indians, and controlled by native Alcaldes, I decided to join the group. I received an Indian welcome from these Quichés, by not being noticed and was given a place in the circle in silence. I soon became interested in listening to their extremely harsh and guttural language, and in observing the types of the men, all of whom were Indians of leading families.

It was a fine night. The new moon was low in the horizon. The planet Venus was just beneath it, and immediately above was Jupiter, a rare and beautiful conjunction, looking bright and sharply defined in the clear atmosphere of this elevated table land.

When the discussion came to an end I left the Alcaldes engaged in toasting tortillas over the embers of the fire, and returned to my host at the convent. It had been the fate of Padre Hernandez to have passed the best years of his life in the vain endeavour to get these Indians to understand the tenets of his faith, but he had latterly given up, as useless, all these attempts and left them to follow their own wills. One great and unexpected difficulty he had found impossible to overcome, in consequence of the imperfection of the Quiché language, was his inability to convey in equivalent terms the ideas he wished to explain. He also experienced another serious hindrance in the execution of his duties. His parish was extensive and contained several villages which lie amongst the sierras, remote from each other; and as the Quiché is an unwritten language, and there are consequently no grammars or dictionaries to create a fixed standard, words are forgotten, sometimes their meaning becomes changed or they are differently accented or applied; and thus, in the course of time, the dialect of one village differs from another.

I observed to the Padre, that, on the way from Sololá, I had noticed that the Indians contrived to live in an isolated manner. He said this was always the case with them. They were naturally inclined to keep much apart. Those who lived amongst the mountains had their huts at considerable distances from each other, and the villages maintained but little communication; as a natural consequence the language was always changing. “All these Quichés,” he said, “are becoming extremely ignorant. They keep no record of time or events, and do not seem to take interest in anything except the dull procedure of their daily lives.”

The Padre had found it impossible to feel in any degree assured, that he understood the private feelings or political views of these Indians. He considered them to be apparently indifferent to what was passing around them, and yet capable of being aroused in a very sudden manner, and of acting together for some common purpose. Their enthusiasm for anything relating to their superstitious devotion to the images was however very evident. One of the things which he thought to be inexplicable, was their extraordinary veneration for the rite of baptism. They seemed to attach some peculiar importance to this ceremony, although the Padre did not think that what was in their minds had any reference to the Church tenets. In all matters connected with religion, the Indians had become quite independent. They came from afar to make offerings of blossoms and leaves, lighted candles before the altars of those saints they wished to honour, and then silently returned to their huts.

In the morning, before leaving San Tomas, I was interested in observing in the crowded Plaza, some of the characteristics of this once powerful Indian race. The men were of middle size, strongly built and of a swarthy copper colour. Their noses were large and remarkably broad at the base. Their eyes were dark and wild. In features many of them resembled the Sioux. Their voices were loud and the language disagreeably rough. The women had soft voices and were very gentle in their manners. They reminded me of the Coptic women of Lower Egypt, in their method of carrying their pitchers of water. There was the same graceful attitude, and slow and steady walk. What perhaps, added to some extent to the resemblance was the long blue dress, and the little turban-shaped mat placed on the head to receive the pressure of the weight.