I asked him what was the best track to follow in crossing the sierras, and he made inquiries for me. Several of the inhabitants of the village said, that in the remote parts of the hills I wished to cross, the paths were not well known, and might be found to be impracticable, and there was the danger of meeting scattered bands of rebels. Augustin however informed me, that he had learnt from several of the natives, in whom he could place confidence, that we need not expect to meet with any serious difficulties, and that in the event of being uncertain about the right direction, we might rely upon coming across Indians who would guide us. My large Government map was of no use in the matter, as nothing was marked upon it except ranges of mountains. Meanwhile to guard ourselves against possible trouble, I gave directions that we should take with us a sufficient supply of food for ourselves and the mules, and thus we started upon our road, without feeling any hesitation with regard to our future proceedings.
In the forenoon we came to a halt amongst the mountains, and Augustin, who was proficient in his knowledge of making a fire out of the most scanty materials, prepared breakfast. Whilst we were thus engaged we were passed by numbers of Indians carrying goods and provisions. Young and old were hurrying rapidly forward, urged by some impulse which we were unable to comprehend, towards a destination which was to us unknown. They looked wild and restless, and when addressed were shy and reserved. In the evening before sunset we arrived at some farm buildings, and I slung my hammock to the rafters of a deserted, half-ruined shed. Augustin obtained from an adjoining hut some tortillas, frijoles[69] and eggs, the three chief elements of Indian domestic existence, and with these, together with a good supply of sacate for the mules, we made ourselves at home in the Cordilleras.
In accordance with a custom that I usually adopted whenever it was possible, I established friendly relations with an Indian family in the neighbourhood in order to obtain some knowledge of their language or dialect. I had a list of words in Spanish to which I obtained the local equivalents. In this manner I made a small vocabulary of the dialects spoken by the Indians amongst the Altos near Guatemala, by the Quichés at Santa Cruz and San Tomas, by the Kachiquels near Las Godinas, and by the tribe near Patinamit. This custom was not only useful in helping me to understand the various links or differences in the tribes that we met, but it was also a means of bringing about a small degree of friendliness, and of overcoming that very decided unsociability which forms such an integral part of the Indian nature.
At sunrise we were in our saddles, and soon found ourselves to be riding over a difficult and rugged country. The hills were steep, and the mule tracks, in many places, almost impassable. In the afternoon we crossed a high mountain ridge, and then descended towards the Indian hamlet of San Lorenzo, and pushed on as fast as possible, in order to reach Gueguetenango before the night. On our arrival, we rode up to the convent gate, where I was welcomed by Padre Juan Batista de Terran. He was in a highly disturbed and irritated state of mind. His convent had been battered and almost destroyed by the artillery of the Indian rebels, commanded by Cruz, and his church was filled with soldiers who had been quartered there, and were eating and drinking, gambling, and leading wild and irreverent lives within the shrines.
On the following day I called upon the Corregidor and obtained a passport for Augustin, and then sent him and the baggage mule back to Guatemala. He had faithfully performed his duties as guide and attendant, and had been careful in looking after the wants of the mules, often taking great trouble in finding for them a proper supply of forage wherever we were quartered in the night. But he had not expected to meet with such rough tracks as we had passed over amongst the sierras and down the barrancas, and was glad to be able to return by more secure and better known roads.
The inhabitants of Gueguetenango, at the time of our arrival, were in an excited and disorganised condition. They had not recovered from the alarm caused by the recent events of the rebellion. The Plaza was crowded with wild-looking Indians, and throughout the town there was an unusual movement of armed men. My chief preoccupation was the search of a trustworthy guide, which was a matter for considerable difficulty. Finally I succeeded in securing the services of an Indian belonging to a local tribe of the Mams. He bore the name of Carlos, and spoke Spanish sufficiently well to enable me to keep up a tolerably intelligible conversation with him.
I now thought it advisable to make some changes with regard to the manner of travelling. Hitherto I had managed very well with Augustin and one spare mule. The mule carried in the saddle bags, provisions for several days, together with a change of clothing in case of wet weather, but experience had shown me that it would be better to reduce the weights to what could easily be carried by an Indian in his pack, and who, at the same time, could act as guide. I should thus avoid the risk of being detained by any accident happening to the cargo mule. My own good mule carried nothing but its rider, and a great coat and hammock, rolled up in military fashion, and strapped over the pommel of the saddle.
Everything being satisfactorily arranged, Carlos appeared at the convent steps at daybreak with his pack duly placed over his shoulders, and carried by the head band. Into this were put two days’ provisions, and part of the change of clothing. My mule carried the halter wound round her neck. A small supply of fodder was added to the Indian’s load, and thus we started. Carlos took the lead by breaking into a quick, rapid pace, or steady Indian run. The mule followed at her best speed, and before the sun had risen above the summits of the Cordilleras, we were well forward on our way towards Jacaltenango and the Mexican frontier.
Gueguetenango, the chief city of the Department, was a place of importance before the conquest. It was the capital of the Mams, a warlike tribe, whose caciques and principal families were of the same race as the Quichés. They were conquered and reduced to submission by the Spaniards in 1525. There are certain circumstances respecting that campaign and the methods of defence adopted by the Mams, which should receive particular attention in connection with the theories and Indian traditions, respecting the migrations of the mysterious tribe who have been named the Toltecs, and who appear to have been the predecessors of the Aztecs. There are, in the accounts of the campaign several details which are valuable, as leading to the conclusion that the Mams, Quichés and Kachiquels, whose leaders were all of the same race, pursued systems of defensive warfare, which had analogies with the habits of the tribes who raised the fortified hill works in Ohio.
When it was decided by Alvarado to attack the Mams, a force suitable for the purpose was organized. It consisted of a main body of Mexican Indian allies who were supported by a small force of Spanish cavalry and infantry; there were three hundred Indians carrying spades and hatchets acting as pioneers, and many others who were employed in the work of transport. After an engagement with the Mams, who were defeated, the attacking forces advanced to [70]Gueguetenango. Upon their arrival at that place the Spanish General was informed that the Mams had retreated to their fortress of Socoleo. The position of this entrenched camp was so strong, that it was not possible to capture it by direct assault, and the Spaniards in the end reduced the Indians to surrender by famine.
The historian Fuentes who is stated to have personally examined this fortress about the year 1695, reported (according to Juarros) that the approach “was by only one entrance and that was so narrow as scarcely to permit a horseman to pass it; from the entrance, there ran on the right hand a parapet, raised on the berm of the fosse, extending along nearly the whole of that side; several vestiges of the counter-scarp and curtain of the walls still remain, besides parts of other works, the use of which cannot now be easily discovered; in a courtyard there stood some large columns, upon the capitals of which were placed quantities of pine wood, that being set on fire, gave light at night to the surrounding neighbourhood. The citadel or lofty cavalier of this great fortification was in the form of a square, graduated pyramid, rising twelve or fourteen yards from the base to the platform on the top, which was sufficient to admit of ten soldiers standing on each side; the next step would accommodate a greater number, and the dimensions proportionably increased to the last or twenty-eighth step. The steps were intersected in unequal portions by parapets and curtains, rendering the ascent to the top so extremely difficult, that Fuentes says, he attempted several times to reach the platform, but was unable to perform the task, until his Indian interpreter acted as his guide and conducted him to the summit. The ruins of several buildings were then in existence; they appeared to have been intended as quarters for the soldiers; were extremely well arranged, and distributed with due regard to proportion. Between each three or four of these buildings there was a square courtyard paved with slabs made of stiff clay, lime, and sand; every part of the fortress was constructed of hewn stone, in pieces of great size, as one which had been displaced, measured three yards in length, by one in breadth.” ... “As the place was circumvallated by a deep ravine, there was no way by which the walls could be approached.”
From the above description of Socoleo it is made clear that its construction and position were in accordance with the principles and objects which governed the selection of the strongholds at Patinamit and Utatlan. The pyramidal structure called the citadel must have closely resembled the Resguardo which guarded the entrance into the Quiché fortress.
It is of importance to note that the account given by Fuentes of Socoleo, establishes to a great extent, the accuracy of certain portions of the manuscripts composed by the young Quiché caciques which relate to the traditions of the migrations of the Quichés from Mexico, and the manner in which they divided into separate governments the countries which they had conquered, under the names of Quiché, Kachiquel, Mam and Zutugil. With regard to the three first-named divisions the methods adopted to secure their domination, were so identical, that there can be no doubt that the statements recorded in the manuscripts, so far as they relate to the historical accounts of the Quichés after their arrival in Central America, may be assumed to be trustworthy records of the Indian traditions.
According to the dispatches of the Spanish conqueror Alvarado, he found that the Quichés inhabited the town of Quezaltenango, and it was after the decisive battle fought near that place, that they retreated to their entrenchments at Utatlan; thus adopting the same tactics as were afterwards followed by the Mams, who fought their chief battle near Gueguetenango and then after their defeat fled to Socoleo. This custom of the Quichés appears to be similar to that of the Mound Builders in Ohio, who established their fortified camps in positions which were naturally nearly impregnable or most difficult to approach, and it is such as would be considered advisable by the chiefs of tribes who hold their territories by conquest, and would therefore endeavour to maintain their power by having large entrenched encampments, within which they would be secured from danger in the event of being unable to meet their enemies on the plains.