uango, by way of Chiantlá, his party penetrated through roads which they made as they advanced, in a northerly direction, sometimes crossing a thickly wooded and mountainous country, and at others striking the banks of a large river, which, as it is said they travelled "with the stream," was most probably the Selegua, known, nearer its junction with the sea, in the Gulf of Campeachy, as the river Grijalva or Tabasco. Occasionally they came upon plantations of maize and other signs of cultivation; remains of ancient edifices of stone and mortar were found; and in one place an interesting building arrested their attention. It stood upon a high hill, and the ascent to it was by a circular flight of steps. On the top of the temple, which from the absence of fire appeared to be deserted, stood an idol a foot and a half high, in the shape of a lion. In the fervour of his religious zeal, Father Ribas ordered the whole to be destroyed, and in a short time not a vcstige of the temple remained. In its place a cross was erected, the site was blessed, and the Provincial gave it the name of Nuestra Señora de Belen. After this the mission travelled westerly for some leagues along some Indian tracks, and, following them up, fell in with a party of Lacandones, who fled precipitately on seeing them. These people the missionaries supposed to be spies, and a consultation was held, when it was resolved that they should not proceed further at that time, but return to Gueguetenango. In relinquishing the expedition, Father Ribas was anxious to show that he had no idea of giving up his first-formed project, and wrote a very full report of what he had done to the President of Guatemala, describing the country as excessively fertile, with plenty of fine water, abounding with 244 THE MISSION RELINQUISHED. [CHAP. CHAP. XVII. honey and tropical fruits, and of a far milder temperature than the mountainous region of Gueguetenango. He added, that a Spanish settlement might very easily be made in any part of the valley adjoining the great river, which would be serviceable not only on account of its productiveness, but because it was situated about half-way between Vera Paz and Ocozingo, and opened the way into Lacandon. This recommendation of Father Ribas, with regard to a settlement, does not appear to have been adopted; but advantage was afterwards taken of the route which he had indicated, when it was determined to pacificate the interior by the aid of a military force. 1 245 CHAPTER XVII. MILITARY EXPEDITIONS AGAINST THE LACAN DONES RESOLVED ON. GUATEMALA.-THREE VANCE OF MAZARIEGOS.-PICTURESQUE SCENERY.-DISCOVERY OF A TOWN, WHICH IS NAMED LOS DOLORES.RETREAT OF DE BARRIOS. FOUNDATION OF SAN JUAN DE DIOS.-JUNCTION OF DE BARRIOS WITH MAZARIEGOS.-NEWS OF VELASCO.-CAPTURE OF FIVE LACANDONES.THE REPORTS MADE BY THEM.-RETURN OF DOLORES.-RETREAT OF DE BARRIOS. THE LACANDONES TO LOS FRESH EXPEDITIONS.-NEW TOWN DISCOVERED.-ALÇAYAGA ENDEAVOURS TO REACH THE LAKE OF ITZA, BUT FAILS IN THE ATTEMPT.-ACCOUNT OF THE PROGRESS OF VELASCO.-HE PASSES THROUGH THE COUNTRY OF THE MOPANES AND APPROACHES THE LAKE OF ITZA.-ENCOUNTER WITH A PARTY OF ITZALANS.-FURTHER AFFRAYS.-VELASCO RETURNS ΤΟ MOPAN. HE AGAIN ADVANCES TO THE CHAXAL. MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE OF HIS PARTY. AMEZQUITA FOLLOWS IN HIS TRACK AND COMES WITHIN SIGHT OF TAYASAL. HE FINDS TRACES OF VELASCO.-INTERCOURSE WITH THE ITZALANS ON THE BORDERS OF THE LAKE.-AMEZQUITA FAILS TO DISCOVER THE FATE OF VELASCO, WITHDRAWS FROM ITZA, AND FINALLY RETURNS TO GUATEMALA. Ir had long been felt by the local authorities that a merely religious mission was insufficient to accomplish the complete pacification of the central provinces of the peninsula; but without an express permission from the Royal Council of the Indies, neither the President of Guatemala nor the Governor of Yucatan durst venture to impart to it a military character. This permission 246 THE PROPOSITION OF URSUA. [CHAP. XVII. was granted in the year 1689 to Captain Juan de Mendoza, who had already been employed in reducing the natives of Honduras; and it was settled that, similarly to the religious missions, the troops employed should enter the province of Lacandon on three sides,—from Chiapa, from Gueguetenango, and from the side of Yucatan. But circumstances delayed the execution of this plan, and it was not till the year 1692 that any effectual measures were adopted, when a memorial, addressed to the King of Spain by Don Martin Ursua, who had been named as the future successor of Don Roque de Soberanis, the then Governor of Yucatan, praying that he might be employed to reduce the Lacandones, was taken into consideration and finally acceded to. Ursua's proposal was, to open, at his own expense, a high road from Yucatan to Guatemala, passing through the provinces of Itza and Lacandon, and peaceably, by means of preaching the Gospel, to subdue the Indians as he advanced; but he dwelt on the paramount importance of first constructing the road, being of opinion that the establishment of a line of traffic would greatly facilitate the work of conversion. It was directed in the Royal Cedulas that the road should be opened simultaneously at both ends; that great care should be taken to select a spot for opening, where water could be obtained from day to day; that towns should be established from four to eight leagues apart, and that, in the event of its being difficult to accomplish this latter object, ventas should be constructed at intervals along the line for the convenience of travellers. It was further enjoined that the original project of entering Lacandon from separate points on the side of Guatemala should be adhered to. The order contained in these Cedulas reached Guatemala and Yucatan in 1693, but the remainder of that year and the whole of the next passed away without anything being done, owing to the unsettled condition of the Government in each of those provinces. The restoration of Don Jacinto de Barrios to the Presidency of Guatemala, afforded the first favourable opportunity of attempting to carry out the scheme of general pacification; and at the commencement of 1695 orders were issued for the simultaneous advance of three different expeditions: the first, from the province of Chiapa, headed by the President himself; the second, from Gueguetenango, under the command of Melchor Rodriguez Mazariegos; and the third, from Cahabon, under that of Diego de Velasco. A communication of this purpose was at the same time made to Don Roque de Soberanis, the Governor of Yucatan, with the request that he would co-operate on that side. It will be advisable that for the present we should treat only of the efforts that were made from the province of Guatemala. The rendezvous of the expeditions commanded by the President and Mazariegos had been fixed for Gueguetenango, and at that place the greater part of the troops, who were divided into companies of Spaniards and Indians, together with the ecclesiastical staff, including the Fathers Diego de Ribas, Pedro de la Concepcion, and Cano, with several more, assembled in the month of January. The President arrived there on the 23rd, and on the 29th Mazariegos was sent with his force to Istatan, being followed ten days afterwards by De Barrios, who had conceived the idea that he should find greater facilities for entering the Lacandon country from |