Royal cédulas were so frequently issued to the rulers of New Spain, Guatemala, and Yucatan, enjoining the conquest of the country which lay between the two latter territories, that from time to time individuals had proposed to the crown to undertake the enterprise at their own cost. Such a proposition was made by Diego Ordoñez de Vera y Villaquiran, a military officer and encomendero of Mita. His offer was accepted by the council of the Indies in 1639, and the title of adelantado of the province, which was to be named Reino del Próspero, was bestowed as a reward for his anticipated services.[XXXVI‑12] In 1645 Villaquiran arrived in Yucatan to make preparations for his expedition, and being without the necessary means,[XXXVI‑13] received assistance from the governor and the religious provincial. He then published the terms of capitulation with the crown, distributed offices, and made preparations for taking possession of his province.
MISSIONARY ZEAL.
The zeal of missionary friars, however, made them anxious that the cross should precede the sword in the work of pacification; hence in February 1646 two Franciscans, Hermenegildo Infante and Simon de Villasis, proceeded from Campeche to Usumasinta, the most advanced Christian settlement of Yucatan. They were shortly afterward joined by Villaquiran, who, finding the friars still resolute in going before, addressed a letter to the commander of Nohhaa, one Captain Juan de Vilvao, a mestizo, and the cacique Pedro XIX., instructing them to render the missionaries every assistance. Attempts were made by messengers from Nohhaa to dissuade them from visiting the town, but they were unavailing; and on their arrival at that place Vilvao warned them of danger, and extended to them a churlish hospitality. It was evident that they were not welcome, and the treatment which they received soon gave cause for alarm. To add to the difficulty of their position their first letters to Villaquiran, who had returned to Campeche, were never delivered, and it was with difficulty that they at last succeeded in sending a messenger to him.[XXXVI‑14] The continued absence of tidings from Villaquiran caused Fray Simon to return to Mérida, but having suffered from severe illness and hardship on the road, his health no longer permitted him to take part in the mission. Fray Bartolomé de Gabaldá was now sent to assist Infante in his dangerous position, but well nigh perished on the road before he reached his destination.
The adelantado again arrived at Usumasinta about the beginning of 1647 at the head of his forces. But he was a man utterly unfit for command. Instead of proceeding to Nohhaa, the true centre of action, as Infante, who had joined him, urged him to do, he tarried day after day at Usumasinta, till his inactivity disgusted his followers, who, seeing no hope of success under such a leader, gradually abandoned him. At last with a remnant of his former force[XXXVI‑15] he moved on to Nohhaa, where he arrived on the last day of July, 1647.[XXXVI‑16] The Indians, having previously ill-treated the friars, had fled to the mountains, but their cacique had already made his peace with Villaquiran, and Father Infante was now despatched to Guatemala to obtain pecuniary assistance, as the adelantado was destitute of funds. At Palenque, however, he received letters from Villaquiran informing him of his illness. Infante hastened to return, but found that in his absence threats of coercion on the part of the adelantado, for the purpose of obtaining provisions from the cacique, had so enraged the Indians that they had set fire to the town, and the adelantado with his followers had barely escaped with their lives to Petenecte.[XXXVI‑17] In this outlying Indian village, Diego Ordoñez de Vera y Villaquiran,[XXXVI‑18] broken down in mind and body, lingered in destitution till April 1648, when death released him from anxiety and suffering. He was buried in Petenecte, and with him ended all attempt to establish the province of El Próspero, a name not specially appropriate to the scene of so ill-conducted and unfortunate an undertaking.
This expedition was not followed by any others for a number of years. Some little work was effected by the Dominicans in the country of the Choles, between 1675 and 1677, and the missionaries succeeded in establishing several towns. These, however, had no permanency, and though many natives were baptized the Choles relapsed into idolatry and the friars abandoned the field.[XXXVI‑19] Complaints were made against the Dominicans by the alcalde mayor of Vera Paz, and a royal cédula, dated November 30, 1680, ordered that they resume their work and be provided with all needful assistance from the treasury. The Dominicans were not slow to defend themselves; but there is little doubt that their dissensions with civilians caused some indifference on their part, while the extortionate oppression of the latter roused among the Choles a hatred of Christianity which the friars could not control.
ROYAL IMPATIENCE.
Cédula followed cédula, issued by the Spanish monarch, impatient over the delay in the pacification of the Choles, Lacandones, and Itzas; but no positive measures were taken until 1684 when Bishop Navas of Guatemala announced his intention of visiting Vera Paz with the object of insisting that the royal wishes should be carried out. This had some effect. President Guzman convened a council, and promised to extend all possible assistance to the undertaking. He also addressed the governor of Yucatan, asking for his coöperation. The zeal of the ecclesiastics was again awakened, and both the Dominican and Merced orders offered their aid. It was finally agreed that in the ensuing spring attempts should be made simultaneously by way of Vera Paz and Huehuetenango. Accordingly in the beginning of 1685 the bishop, accompanied by Agustin Cano the Dominican provincial and other friars, proceeded to Vera Paz, while Diego de Rivas, the provincial of La Merced, went to Huehuetenango. Neither attempt met with success. From Cajabon,[XXXVI‑20] under the instructions of the bishop, the parish priest sent an embassy of five Indians with a friendly invitation to the Choles. The messengers were assailed while asleep at night in the house of a cacique, and only one returned to tell the tale.[XXXVI‑21] This failure so cooled the zeal of the bishop that he returned to Santiago. Cano was a man of more mettle, and with his brother friars, penetrating some distance into the mountains, reached San Lúcas, one of the villages formerly established in the country of the Choles, and induced a number of them to settle there. It was but labor in vain. In 1688 the fickle neophytes apostatized, set fire to the town and church, and again returned to their nomad life.
Nor was the undertaking conducted by the Provincial Rivas, at the head of the Merced friars, attended with better result. He fearlessly pushed his way into the Lacandon country accompanied by Melchor de Mencos, corregidor of Huehuetenango, with ten soldiers, and reached one of the head-waters of the Tabasco River.[XXXVI‑22] Abandoned corn patches and deserted dwellings were discovered, and at the summit of a hill was found an ancient temple, also abandoned, built of stone and lime, in which was an idol in the form of a lion sejant. This they destroyed and trod underfoot, erecting in its place a large cross. A blessing was then pronounced upon the place, which was dignified with the name of Nuestra Señora de Belen. But the few Lacandones, who occasionally appeared in sight, always fled at their approach. Considering it dangerous to advance farther along a route which was now becoming almost impassable they retraced their steps.
Once more on the 24th of November 1692 the council of the Indies transmitted a peremptory order of the king that the conquest of the Choles and Lacandones be undertaken simultaneously from Vera Paz, Chiapas, and Huehuetenango; but as President Barrios had been temporarily suspended, operations could not be opened immediately. Upon his restoration in 1694 the matter was pressed upon his attention by two Franciscans, Melchor Lopez and Antonio Margil, who had already a varied experience among those natives, having, at the request of the alcalde mayor of Copan, twice penetrated into the Lacandon country at the risk of their lives. In June 1694 they went to Guatemala, and in forming the plan of the future campaign their views were carefully considered.
URSUA'S PROPOSAL.