In 1684 the two Franciscans, Melchor Lopez, and Antonio Margil, resumed the work of christianization, and found the paths that had led to the interior overgrown and hidden as if they had never been opened, and the people as fierce and untractable as though no efforts had been made to civilize them. Yet these two priests, without arms or protection, advanced into the interior of the country and reported within five years the baptism of forty thousand Indians and the establishment of fourteen villages. The work was continued with varying success by a number of ecclesiastics, several of whom suffered martyrdom in their cause,[XXV‑20] but the final result of all efforts was failure so complete that, to use the words of Pelaez, "it was as if these mountains were the gates of hell, from within which there was no redemption."
In connection with the attempted pacification of Talamanca may be mentioned certain missionary expeditions to Tologalpa, the name given to a mountainous country lying between the Desaguadero and the Nueva Segovia river, and peopled by sambos, by the Xicaques, the Lencas, and other tribes[XXV‑21] or admixtures of tribes, differing widely in language, government, and manners. The Spanish government had repeatedly directed inquiries to be made concerning them and the best means of effecting their reconciliation;[XXV‑22] and in letters addressed to the president of the audiencia early in the seventeenth century the king urges that efforts be made for the peaceful conquest of this province.
Among others who were imbued with a passion for this particular work was a Franciscan named Estévan Verdelete, who was appointed local superior in Comayagua and to whom the provincial granted a license authorizing the adoption of any measures that would be likely to prove successful. Under the guidance of some Indians, who avowed sympathy with his projects, he and his friend Juan de Monteagudo, penetrated this territory, only to be abandoned, however, by the natives when in the midst of a vast wilderness, without food, and apparently cut off from all human aid. Guided by the stars they succeeded in making their way through the wilds, and after suffering excessive hardship arrived in safety at Comayagua, whence they immediately afterward set forth for Santiago to assist at the provincial synod held there in 1606.
Not disheartened by this failure, Verdelete asked permission from the synod to proceed to Spain, for the purpose of asking the king's assistance in the conversion and pacification of the natives. His request was granted and eight assistants were appointed, whose expenses were to be paid out of the royal treasury.[XXV‑23]
In October 1609 Verdelete left Santiago in company with his party of ecclesiastics, and in passing through Comayagua obtained the services of Captain Daza and three other Spaniards, who were familiar with the country. After several days' travel they came in sight of Indian dwellings and were received with every manifestation of joy. Verdelete in the enthusiasm of the hour declared that he was prepared to live and die among them. Converts were numerous,[XXV‑24] and the mission so promising that Verdelete wrote to the provincial asking for more missionaries.
WAR ON THE MISSIONARIES.
But soon a change came over the scene, caused mainly by the deep feeling of hostility that sprang up among the unconverted natives against their christianized brethren. A frenzy of hatred against the very semblance of religion seized upon them, and they resolved to burn down the settlement of the missionaries and to massacre the inmates. On the evening set for the execution of their purpose the ecclesiastics received warning through some children, and while yet Verdelete was exhorting them to stand steadfast in the hour of trial, hideous yells roused them to an immediate sense of peril. Issuing forth they found the village enveloped in flames, and encompassed by war-painted Indians brandishing lances and torches. Verdelete at once rushed into their midst, crucifix in hand, and with words of indignation upbraided them for their baseness and treachery, and threatened the vengeance of offended heaven. His courage inspired his associates, and at the spectacle of such boldness the natives shrank abashed, and one by one slunk away. At daybreak not an Indian was to be seen, and the missionaries then returned to Guatemala, where their story only incited a more determined effort at the reduction of the offending tribes, and another and larger expedition was organized again under the leadership of Verdelete.
The missionaries were accompanied by an escort of twenty-three soldiers under Captain Daza, and reached the confines of Tologalpa in April 1611. They found some of their old converts, and by their agency others were brought into the fold. Thus encouraged, they wished to penetrate farther into the interior, but were dissuaded by Daza, who volunteered to go in advance with some of his men and test the feeling of the natives. After waiting some time for their return,[XXV‑25] the ecclesiastics were beguiled into the mountain fastnesses, and found upon turning the brow of a hill a large hostile band, brandishing lances and hideous in war-paint. Their first glance showed them the head of Daza and some of his soldiers carried on the points of lances, and at once they saw that their fate was sealed. Nothing daunted, Verdelete advanced toward them and began to expostulate. He was answered by a flight of javelins, and fell pinned to the earth by a lance. Of the entire party but two escaped,[XXV‑26] and for many years the inhabitants of Tologalpa saw no more of the Christians.
Toward the close of the century, however, the rule of the Spaniards had become somewhat milder throughout the provinces of Central America, and in 1674 two of the Tologalpan tribes sent representatives to Guatemala and besought Fernando de Espino, the provincial of the Franciscan order, to send instructors to their countrymen. Soon afterward the governor, after consultation with the provincial, resolved to send another missionary, and out of many candidates Pedro de Lagares, a young man of culture and an enthusiast in the cause, was chosen for the task. At Nueva Segovia Lagares opened a missionary school, to which all were admitted who were willing to work. He made numerous journeys into the interior, and converts multiplied until in 1678 they were counted by hundreds. His decease occurred during the following year, and his successors, though meeting with some encouragement, finally abandoned the field, though without any obvious cause.