When day dawned the scene of desolation was heartrending. The water had passed away, and on all sides the ruins of the city were exposed to view. Most of the houses had been overthrown or swept away, and the few which remained were so filled with mud that they were untenantable. Whole families had perished.[XVIII‑14] The streets were choked up with accumulated debris, trunks of mutilated trees, and huge rocks. Scattered in all this wreck lay disfigured corpses and carcasses of drowned cattle.[XVIII‑15]
GATHERING UP THE DEAD.
And now began the sad, sad search for the dead, followed by mournful burial. Many of the lost were never found. The bodies of Doña Beatriz and those who perished with her were recovered with one exception. Her remains were interred with due solemnity near the high altar of the cathedral,[XVIII‑16] and those of her companions in death were reverently laid side by side in one common grave.[XVIII‑17] While the last rites of the church were duly performed for the behoof of this hapless lady, the stricken community regarded the catastrophe which had befallen them as a manifestation of divine wrath; and though most of the survivors looked upon it as a merited punishment for their own sins, there were not wanting those who attributed the cause of God's anger to the intemperate language made use of by Doña Beatriz in her frenzied grief.[XVIII‑18] So much insane foolishness can be wrapped in words of wisdom! The bishop endeavored to encourage his flock though in such deep dejection. A penitential procession was held and the litany chanted before the high altar. He enjoined them, moreover, to fast and pray on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. Further to cheer them he recommended all mourning to be put aside.
Nevertheless the gloom which had fallen upon the community was not soon dispelled, and at every threatening change of the sky the panic-stricken settlers sought safety on the hills. A unanimous desire to abandon the spot prevailed; many of the inhabitants left it and went to reside on their farms,[XVIII‑19] while those who remained[XVIII‑20] expressed their determination to go elsewhere. To arrest total abandonment and dispersion the cabildo, on the 22d of October, issued a decree prohibiting any citizen from leaving under a penalty of one hundred pesos de oro.[XVIII‑21] And long after the capital had been removed to another site, a penitential procession, attended by the civil and ecclesiastical orders, left the new city at daybreak on each anniversary and visited the former capital in mournful commemoration of this calamity. Bearing crosses in their hands, chanting the litany, and praying for the safety of their city, the people marched in all humility to the former cathedral.[XVIII‑22] There mass was celebrated and the graves of the dead were decorated, after which the procession dispersed.[XVIII‑23]
CUEVA AND MARROQUIN.
The death of Doña Beatriz had left the province without a ruler. Cueva's position at the head of the government was no longer recognized, and in the crisis of affairs the cabildo met on the 16th and 17th of September, and after some discussion elected Cueva and Bishop Marroquin joint governors provisionally.[XVIII‑24]
The bishop in a letter addressed to the king, dated February 20, 1542, informs his Majesty that in accepting the appointment he had not been influenced by any desire of wealth, honor, or power but by the actual state of affairs, and at the same time urgently brings before his notice the necessity of his appointing a governor of great influence and ability. He had previously suggested certain individuals,[XVIII‑25] whom he deemed fully capable and worthy of filling the office. These recommendations he now reiterates, holding himself responsible should the king be pleased to act in accordance with his views. The bishop, moreover, intimates that the municipal government had fallen into unworthy hands, owing to the resignation or death of honorable regidores who had been members of previous cabildos. The necessity of selecting men of good judgment and zealous in the royal service, is pointed out, and of such vital importance is the election of such men to the welfare of the province, that Marroquin implores his Majesty to order that those who had resigned should resume office.[XVIII‑26]
Ancient and Modern Guatemala.
While describing the country as tranquil he pictures the colony as almost in a state of dissolution. The late calamity had involved the settlers in great poverty,[XVIII‑27] and the contrast between their present condition and the state of prosperity to which they had arrived under Alvarado's rule induced them to meditate leaving the province altogether. To obviate this evil Marroquin distributed a portion of the Indians which had belonged to the adelantado among a few of the most deserving who were thus induced to remain.[XVIII‑28]