EARLY SUFFERINGS REPEATED.
Meanwhile the famishing soldiers under Encinasola, despairing of life if they remained longer in that country, broke their ranks, many of them straggling off to Nombre de Dios. The governor determined to make one more attempt to relieve his people. He accordingly despatched Father Juan de Sosa and the alcalde Sanabria with six soldiers, four negroes, and two natives for Nombre de Dios, to obtain recruits and supplies. In three days this party reached the river Belen, and then, unable to cross, followed its course southward, cutting their way through thickets and struggling through morasses until after eleven days they succeeded in reaching the opposite bank. Continuing their journey they encountered along their pathway the dead bodies of their former companions who had perished while attempting to reach Nombre de Dios. A little stale food which had been washed ashore from some wreck or distressed ship saved them from starvation. At length they came upon the remnant of those who had deserted from Concepcion, now reduced to twenty-five men, and these gaunt, haggard, and naked as the natives. Their progress was barred by hostile bands, and themselves reduced to the last extremity. Unable to proceed farther, they fortified themselves from the attacks of the natives as best they were able, and awaited the development of events.
Meanwhile the sufferings of the Spaniards at Veragua, if possible, increased. "I was informed by Marcos de Sanabria, one of the survivors," says Oviedo, "that the mortality at Veragua was at one time so great that dead bodies lay unburied within and around the huts, and that the stench arising from putrefaction was intolerable." He relates of one Diego de Campo, a native of Toledo, who seized with illness became convinced that death was near and that soon his own corpse would be added to those which lay strewn before him rotting in the sun, that he determined, if possible, to escape that horror. Wrapping himself in a cloak, he resorted to a spot where a grave had been prepared for another of those who were to die, and stretching himself within it soon breathed his last. Not long afterward the owner of the grave, being obliged himself to seek his last resting-place, found there another; but leaving the occupant undisturbed, he directed that his own body should be placed in the same grave, and thus the two found burial.
SOSA GOES TO PERU.
Failing of relief from any quarter, and receiving no tidings from Father de Sosa and his companions, Gutierrez was at last obliged to abandon the coast of Veragua. This of all others appeared the most difficult act for a Spaniard of those days to perform; he could die with less regret than he could give up a favorite enterprise. Taking ship for Nombre de Dios, he there obtained some intimation of the whereabouts and condition of Father de Sosa and the remnant of the Veragua colonists. A vessel was immediately sent to their relief with a supply of food and other necessaries which were contributed by the people of Nombre de Dios. The survivors, twenty-seven in number, were thus rescued, and the government of Felipe Gutierrez in the province of Veragua was at an end.[III‑10] He crossed over to Panamá, and shortly afterward embarked for Peru, where he was made governor by Gonzalo Pizarro, but subsequently quarrelling with that ferocious adventurer, he was beheaded. The worthy Father Juan de Sosa in deep disgust also turned his face towards Peru, vowing that if ever he again fell heir to the spoils of an inca, his wealth should not be squandered in ambitious schemes of colonization.
CHAPTER IV.
THE CAKCHIQUELS AGAIN IN REVOLT.
1525-1526.
Alvarado Sets Forth to Honduras to Join Cortés—Mutiny among his Men—Gonzalo de Alvarado Appointed Lieutenant-governor—His Meeting with Marin and his Party—The Second Revolt of the Cakchiquels—Gonzalo the Cause of the Insurrection—Massacre of the Spaniards—Alvarado Returns to Guatemala—He Captures the Peñol of Xalpatlahua—He Marches on Patinamit—His Return to Mexico—His Meeting with Cortés.
AFFAIRS IN GUATEMALA.
It will be remembered that of all the native tribes of Guatemala the Cakchiquels offered the stoutest resistance to the forces of Pedro de Alvarado. When the Spaniards took possession of Patinamit they preferred to abandon their capital rather than submit to the domination of the conqueror.[IV‑1] Sinacam, their chief, was still uncaptured, having taken refuge in the mountain fastnesses of Comalapa, and it may safely be concluded that he never ceased from his efforts to harass the Spaniards. The unsettled condition of affairs at this period may be inferred from the fact that there is no record of any session of the cabildo from May 6, 1525, to October 4th of the same year.[IV‑2] The numbers of the colonists were, however, being continually reënforced. The trouble which occurred in Mexico during the absence of Cortés, caused many of the settlers in Anáhuac to turn their faces toward Guatemala, while those newly arrived from Spain or the West Indies also joined the followers of Alvarado, who now considering that his hold upon the country was secure, informed the municipality of Santiago that he intended to depart at once for Mexico.
Reports had reached Guatemala of the death of Cortés in Honduras, and if this were true he had lost a powerful patron and friend, and must needs hasten back to protect his own interests. His purpose was to proceed afterward to Spain and report his services to his sovereign from whom he hoped to obtain recognition and reward.[IV‑3]