At length Cereceda and his officials, finding that their pusillanimity was bringing them into general disfavor, resolved to strike a decisive blow against their common enemy. Their partisans were secretly assembled, and among them were found eighteen loyal and resolute citizens, who swore to arrest the pretender or die in the attempt. It was resolved that the effort be made at once, before those of the opposite faction could be apprised of it, and on the same night, after a sharp struggle, in which half of the governor's men were wounded[IX‑12] and one of their opponents killed, Diego Mendez was captured, and on the following day sentenced to be beheaded and quartered. Most of the conspirators were then induced by offer of pardon to return to their allegiance, but though their lives were spared, they were punished by loss of office, imprisonment, or confiscation of property. Two of the leading accomplices, who had been present at the assassination of Herrera,[IX‑13] fled from the city, and with the assistance of some of the natives made their escape to a small island near the coast; but returning to Trujillo some two months later, on hearing of Cereceda's clemency, took refuge in the church, whence they were dragged forth to execution by order of the governor.
DISTRESS AT TRUJILLO.
On receiving news of the seditious tumults which had so long vexed the settlers of Honduras, the emperor appointed as ruler of the province Captain Diego de Albitez, a veteran officer who had done good service in many a hard-fought battle with Indians. The new governor arrived off the coast with two vessels on the 29th of October 1532, but his ships were driven on shore by a storm, when six leagues from port, and thirty of those on board were drowned. Albitez escaped by swimming, but with the loss of all his effects. Assistance soon arrived from Trujillo; and on the following day he was received and duly recognized by the authorities amid the rejoicings of the citizens who now hoped that tranquillity would be restored. But the province was yet destined to undergo a period of misrule; for nine days after his arrival, the new governor, advanced in years, died at Trujillo, leaving Cereceda still at the head of affairs.
The feeling of dissatisfaction which had long prevailed was intensified by this new disaster. Exaggerated reports of the great wealth of the neighboring provinces had been noised abroad, and many of the colonists now threatened to abandon the territory, hoping to better their fortunes elsewhere. For several years they had been living in extreme discomfort, often bordering on destitution. They had neither flour, oil, wine, nor any other of the commodities usually imported from Spain. For three years no Spanish vessel had arrived at Trujillo. The men were almost without clothing and the horses without shoes. Many of the settlers had neither shirts nor beds; and so great was the scarcity of all articles required for the common needs of life, that a sheet of paper sold for a peso, and a needle was worth as much.[IX‑14] To add to the distress of the Spaniards epidemic diseases broke out among the Indians, spreading from house to house and from town to town, and swept away at least one half of the native population.[IX‑15] There was neither physician nor medicine; and though the settlers escaped the visitation, so great was their loss in slaves that many were compelled to abandon their usual avocations.
In order to distract the attention of the colonists from their forlorn condition, Cereceda set about establishing a settlement on the road to Nicaragua, with a view of opening communication between the two seas. He despatched into the interior a company of sixty men, with orders to halt, at a certain point, until joined by himself with an additional force. His departure was however delayed by the arrival of two messengers from Alonso de Ávila,[IX‑16] contador of Yucatan, who was on his way to Trujillo, having been obliged to flee with the remnant of his band from a settlement which he had formed in the interior of that province. On the arrival of the party at Trujillo, Cereceda afforded them all the assistance in his power. He then set forth to join the expedition awaiting him on the road to Nicaragua. After proceeding but a short distance he was overtaken by a messenger bringing news of the arrival of two vessels from Cuba, and of the intention of Diego Diaz de Herrera to take this opportunity of making his escape in company with others at Trujillo.[IX‑17]
OVERLAND ROUTE.
Cereceda returned in time to prevent the depopulation of the city, but such was the general discontent that the question of removal was universally discussed and the governor was at length compelled to give up his settlement. After much deliberation it was resolved to depart for the Naco Valley, leaving at Trujillo a garrison of fifty men. The remainder of the citizens, mustering in all about one hundred and thirty,[IX‑18] leaving with them a good supply of horses and live-stock, set forth on their march through the wilderness. On reaching a spot where a river flows through a narrow defile, they found their passage obstructed by a barricade erected by the cacique Cizimba, who thought thus to prevent the invasion of his territory. The natives were routed at the first onset, and those who were taken captive suffered mutilation, their hands being cut off, and were suspended with cords from their necks. The Spaniards then pressed forward, suffering many privations, though always buoyed up with the hope of finding abundant stores of provisions on reaching their destination. But in this they were doomed to disappointment. Arriving at Naco, wayworn and famished, they found the place abandoned by all except a few infirm natives unable to escape by reason of illness. Cereceda then put on the mask, and changing his policy toward the natives, who throughout all that country had fled at his approach, he strove to win them back by kindness, and at length succeeded in causing the return of a number sufficient to plant a considerable tract of land.[IX‑19] The harvest however failed, and, being reduced to the last extremity, the Spaniards were compelled to move to the foot of the mountains, where they hoped to obtain food among the natives who had fled there for refuge. Taking their departure from Naco, therefore, they proceeded to the province of Zula, where they founded a settlement which they named Buena Esperanza.[IX‑20]
Such was the position of affairs when, in the year 1535, Christóbal de la Cueva was sent by Jorge de Alvarado, to discover a route to the northern coast by means of which communication might be opened between the province of Guatemala and Spain. While passing through the province of Zula, Cueva's men were observed by a party of natives, who informed Cereceda of the presence of Spaniards in that vicinity. The latter thereupon despatched Juan Ruano, with a small band, to demand of the intruders whence they came, and by what authority they ventured within his territory. The messenger was first met by the advanced guard of twenty men under Juan de Arévalo, who informed him that his commander, with the main force, was but two leagues behind, and that their object was to search for the best route for a government road from Guatemala to Puerto de Caballos.
When Cueva was informed of the condition of the colonists at Buena Esperanza, he requested an interview with Cereceda, and proposed that the men of Honduras should coöperate with him in his explorations, promising in return to assist them in their mining enterprises, and to protect them from the natives. The governor gladly accepted this offer, and took command of a force composed of a portion of Cueva's troops together with all his own available men.[IX‑21] It was proposed first to march against a powerful cacique, who had for ten years held captive a Spanish woman,[IX‑22] and after subduing him and demolishing his stockade, to explore the country in the neighborhood of Golfo Dulce, and examine the harbors of San Gil de Buenavista and Puerto de Caballos, in conformity with his instructions.
But the time had not yet come when harmony was to prevail in Honduras. Wars with the savages and contentions among themselves had been the fate of settlers in that territory from the beginning; and the quarrelsome followers of Cereceda were little disposed to join hands in peaceful fellowship with the members of a rival colony. Cueva was not satisfied to settle at Buena Esperanza, nor on the Golfo Dulce, nor at Puerto de Caballos; but he wished to plant a colony in the interior of Honduras, midway between the two oceans. To this proposition Cereceda of course raised objections. The other persisted, and being the stronger, withdrew from the alliance and moved inland. Thereupon Cereceda complained to the India Council, and begged the arrest and execution of Cueva for trespass and violation of contract. He also petitioned the emperor for men, arms, ships, and flour, and wine for sacramental purposes. He affirmed that some of his men had not tasted salt for three months, and lay ill in consequence. He requested that the king's fifth of the product of the mines should be reduced to one tenth. He also asked that a boundary line between Guatemala and Honduras be established, and that a road be opened between the two seas, from Puerto de Caballos to the bay of Fonseca, stating that it would serve as well for the trade of San Salvador and Nicaragua, the distance being only fifty leagues, and the ground favorable, requiring only that the trees be cut away and the earth levelled in places. To this petition of Cereceda the emperor and his council listened with favor, and granted the greater part of his requests.