Though this account of the entrada made by Cortes into the country of the Itzas seems full enough, it differs, nevertheless, from some of the others.
Comparison of Villagutierre with Other Authorities. In the first place Villagutierre tells us that the motive which led Cortes into sending an expedition to Honduras was that "it was a very good land," and when, because of Olid's treachery, it became necessary for him to go thither himself, Villagutierre says he took four hundred Spaniards and thirty horses. Bernal Diaz (vol. iv, p. 283 ff.) differs widely from this account in several respects. He says that Cortes hoped to find a passage to the Spice Islands, and that it was for that purpose that he sent out Olid, on whom he believed he could rely. Olid, though brave enough, was not a wise or faithful man. He fell a victim to the machinations of Diego Velazquez, Governor of Cuba, who was a mortal enemy of Cortes.
According to Cogolludo (lib. i, cap. 13) it was very much against the advice of his associates in Mexico that Cortes went in person to Honduras. He tells us that the vanguard of the Spaniards, after capturing ten Indian men and two Indian women, who were treated kindly, sent one of their canoes to the island of Tayasal with six Indians and two Spaniards, who were to give Canek some small Castilian presents. As a result of this, when the main body of the army, under Cortes himself, reached the shore of the lake, Canek and several of his chiefs were waiting for them. The rest of the account of Cogolludo is the same as that of Villagutierre.
In his Fifth Letter, Cortes furnishes some interesting details with which we will complete our account of the first entrada into the Itza territory. He tells us (The Letters of Cortes to Charles V, MacNutt's translation, vol. ii, p. 259) that Apospolon. Lord of Izancanac, first pretended to be dead, being in fear of Cortes, but that later he took the Spaniards to Izancanac, which was "quite large, and has many mosques." This Apospolon was a sort of merchant prince and had widespread trading connections. At Nito, where Cortes met Gil Gonzalez de Avila, a whole quarter "was peopled with his agents under command of one of his brothers." The articles of trade were, of course, only such things as cocoa, mantles, red shells, and dyes. As the people of Izancanac were near neighbors of the Itzas, and as the latter lay between them and Nito, it seems as if it must have been almost inevitable that the two tribes, the subjects of Apospolon and those of Canek, should have had much in common.
When Cortes left Izancanac he passed through the fortified village, the name of which no one mentions, and later came to that of Tiac, which was still larger and very well built. From the province of Mazatlan (in which was Tiac) to that of Taiza (Itza) was a matter of four nights. At length he reached the lake, which he thought to be an arm of the sea, and from the shore he saw Tayasal. He found that his scouts had captured an Indian, who gave valuable information. From this point the account of Cortes agrees absolutely with that of Villagutierre, even to the number of the crossbowmen (twelve) whom Cortes took with him.
Now that we have compared all the important accounts of this entrada we must summarize our impressions. In the first place it is clear enough that a possibility may exist of Villagutierre having copied Cogolludo minutely. In the second place it is equally clear that in those instances where Villagutierre puts aside Cogolludo he draws from someone else of even more authority. Therefore we may safely believe that in quoting the accounts of various events given by Villagutierre we shall be availing ourselves of the best possible information.
Canek's Attitude toward Cortes. At the time when Cortes was at Tayasal (1525) a tolerant attitude toward the white men was prevalent. Far from resenting the proposed change in religion, the Canek of that day seems rather to have welcomed the new faith, and one can readily believe that had Cortes been able to do all that he promised, an early Christianization of the Itzas would have taken place. Instead, however, as we shall see, their idolatrous ways were to continue for many decades, and their attitude was to suffer a great change which, we must concede, is largely to be accounted for by Spanish brutality and bad faith.
The foregoing is all in harmony with what Gomara says. He especially emphasizes the friendly attitude of Canek. (Gomara, 1826, vol. ii, p. 136 ff.)[3.7]