CHAPTER XFI.

ALVAIIADO S LAST KXl KDITIOX.

i:.:;; i.vn.

TlIF. Al KT.ANTMxi s M.VTCH-MAK I N< i

VXMTUBl ITS I.VARADO S
1

..i\VN 111. I. \NIS AT 1

\-Hls A i .8 FOB
MI:\ICO Hi -
I AT NOOHIBTLAN Hn 1

LAM WILL -
C IIAKACTKI; OF TII

vnniTii WHII.I: Ar. ivr. I

>

IIi-:v.

.
I>oV.\L Ills 1 >LI.U:HT IN Kl.oul.~HL]> L..K ITS o\VN SvKL - 1 Hi; KE8T-
I AND J-]ri TAi-ii ALVAIIAIJO S

OF tlie c-vciits in riuairni;il;i

during the thrc( rs
su<-
.iu^ tli arrival of ]\la]<l<

IH c So!!K \vliat silcllt. Jll 8 1* to tl;

dated 1 tnber 10, L 537, the viceroy Mendoz

that IK- Lad received from the oidor a report \vh
the province is i I...- at j>-

condition, and that other accounts 1

ch- (1 him represent!: intry to he well ^

iied. ]f this wc-re so Maldonados cha soon
cl;a!iu d the worse, for later we shall lind in him
i>r

much to his discredit.

i.irlyin 1338 a royal decree w, rived in 1

y of Santiago, ordering that all who held i-ncumi.

to marry within three y. -m the d
of their n i(icatin, or to lori .-it their Indians in
t

married person
! This order met with |

Cot. D law was BOOL

. !_ , ! uiul Novembers,

13 to n in tlii was to be at

fcri i luduui>, ui.

I Ml]
202 ALVARADO S LAST EXPEDITION.

approval, and the cabildo petitioned the king to re

consider the matter. Eligible women, they said, could
be found only in the city of Mexico, so remote from
the province of Guatemala that the expense of the
journey was beyond the means of most colonists.
Many declined to marry because they would not 2
link
themselves with persons socially their inferiors, while
the small number of Indians assigned to some would
prevent their supporting a family.
On his return from Spain in the following year
Alvarado reports to the cabildo that, in company
with his wife, come twenty maidens, well bred, the
daughters of gentlemen of good lineage, and he ex
presses confidence that none of this merchandise will
remain on his hands. But the venture does not meet
with the success the adelantado anticipated. At one
of the entertainments given in honor of his arrival,
and at which, relates Vega, 3 many of the conquista
dor es were present, these damsels, who, concealed
behind a screen in an adjoining apartment, were wit
nessing the festivities, commented on the appearance
of their prospective husbands in the most disparaging
terms. They say," remarked one to her compan
"

ions, "that these are to be our husbands." "What!

marry those old fellows?" was the

reply. Let those
"

wed them who choose; I will not; the devil take them!
One would think by the way they are cut up that they
just escaped from the infernal regions; for some are
lame, some with but one hand, others without ears,
others with only one eye, others with half their face
gone, and the best of them have one or two cuts across
the forehead." "

We
are not to marry them for their
good looks," said a third, "but for the purpose of
inheriting their Indians for they are so old and worn
;

out that they will soon die, and then we can choose
in place of these old men young fellows to our tastes,
2
Y
otros que antique haya mugeres en la tierra, y ellos est^n en edad que
todavia se sufra casarse, no las querran por las enfermedades contagiosas que
de la tierra se han pegado. Arevalo, Col. Doc. Antig., 14.
3
Commentaries lleales t it 58.
 TIILY WILL NOT M.\l:i:v. : ,

in tli manner ihaf im old hrob-n ]

ch. 1 for and sound."

NOW It chanced t lie of t lie nM fell

! \vh;it \v;is s;iid and told 1,

with them by all D

>ok to himself tin- dau

his residence in Spain Al

u comm from t :i il 17,
153 the Lp-ant of the twciit y-litth
. of :dl }>;irf

nnd lands \\liidi IK- ini^lit discov-r, with the ti

count, and tli-

ig&Or 1
j
-

ppointed governor and captain u 1 for

r all such territories, and was au
on tli<Mii ilir- t ri : 1: iiior,

.uacil mayor in and

perpetuity,
ence ly judges or r offi

] rtainin^ to the litting-out of liis il- Tl.

dit ion was to 1 t liis own exj>
ml li

a \. .
dii
i
nds. 4 From a 1

was
also learn that ho .-

1
explorations northward, and ror
dii the principal of/ieial
1 all the \
aid in the anv>t and puni^lii:
rdinates \vl ben disco\-eii
ma hould . ulfil missi ini i >n
-

or di>olcy him undrr any

-,
j
:n-

ly the ei
>uld I

Tl: privi I in c

j in the conqu d Qi
ni
llarly in
his \\ il e 1 ). iz d-
ly
r , l0S-( . // . !

// vii. HI), ii. -

rit-so, por I:i eost.a ! os

6
>
ttood
204 ALVARADO S LAST EXPEDITION.

and on the 4th of April landed Puerto de

in state at
Caballos, with three large vessels well with pro filled

visions, materials of war, and all things needed to

equip a second fleet on the shores of the South Sea.
He was attended by a large retinue of cavaliers.
Among his troops were three hundred arquebusiers
8
all well armed and accoutred.

Collecting a large number of natives he at once

began the task of transporting his ponderous freight
toward the coast of Guatemala. Anchors each weigh
ing three or four hundred pounds, artillery and
munitions, iron, chain cables, heavy ship tackle, and
cases of merchandise were dragged along by Indians
yoked together like draught-animals or carried on
their naked shoulders, to be conveyed a distance of
a hundred and thirty leagues across a mountainous
and difficult country. Forty-three days were con
9
sumed making the journey to Gracias d, Dios.
in
Numbers of the unfortunates succumbed and dropped
senseless, only to receive the curses of the commander
as he ordered their burdens to be placed on the backs
of others, who were constantly arriving in fresh relays

sister of hisformer wife, a special dispensation of the pope was required to

legalize the marriage; and through the influence of Cobos and the power
of
the emperor a bull was granted. Such an authorization was rarely obtained.
Oviedo, iii. 214-15; Alvarado, Carta, in Arevalo, Col. Doc. Antiy., 179; Ga-
varrele, CopiasdeDoc., MS., 43-4; Gomara, Hint. Ind., 269; Torquemada, i.
323. Ilemesal, who is in error as to the date of this marriage, has this remark
respecting the dispensation. Licencia que se da raras vezes. .Y entoiices
.

parecio mayor liberalidad del Sumo Pontifice, por auer sido el primer matri-
monio coiisumado. Hist. Chyapa, 17. See also Benzoni, Hist. Mondo Nuovo,
155.
8
Alvarado, Carta, in Artvalo, Col. Doc., Antig., 179; Herrera, dec. vi.
cap. x. Oviedo says Alvarado brought 400 men; that he touched
lib. ii. at
Espanola and took in supplies, staying there 17 days and leaving on March
12th. iii. 214-15. In Datos Bioy. the number of men is given as 250, including
hijosdalgo and men-at-arms. The cargo included 300 arquebuses, 400 pikes,
200 ballcstas, much artillery, and rich merchandise, valued at over 30,000
ducats. Cartas de Indlas, 709. The date of his arrival is obtained from his
own letter to the cabildo of Santiago above quoted. Remesal states -that
there existed in the archives of San Salvador a letter of exactly the same
tenor, but dated April 3d, and as he quotes the commencement, which is
the
same as that of the letter preserved by ArtSvalo, it was either a duplicate, or
Ilemesal commits one of his careless errors. Gavarrete, in Copias de Doc. ,
MS., 43-4, gives the date as the 1st of April.
Here, as will be hereafter related, Montejo surrendered to Alvarado his
9

claim to the provinces of Honduras and Higueras.

 lair; Tn ilr In-
]

port of
ships li;id a!
Alvarado -pared \\ >

in <

m-
iif not only using ,
nil his o< !, n t,
Trowing la;

Ahoid-, Au;_ni>t
I
T M
had lor SOUK- time past IM-CU i
:
in :

])loivd regions lar to t >rth

with UK- marvel] of th .

citi
nnd their \vondci-l\il wraith. T
1h<- Itciiiciit beoai JIali
(lain: :clnsive ri-!it that
intry, and anioiiM- th.-m A!
liurri i-\vard the .r hi
JM-.-J).-;

1 lef >re the middle of l.Viu h

nioi-rcMl l>y
iiuincrous rccrui id a ;

had been c d, and equi

"While nt Santo DominffO OH tnni v

215.
11
cns.-.s \vcre enormous. i

oslosgastos
quc liizo (JUG in ].- 1.;.

. . .ni lo.s trili.

v, ill, in v.

iro.

. v .1. ii., this so:

11
hips.

K!UJ -S
incluiling a ;:
1

I
: soak"

QM l
.small; . { :
I8ta;
!

ies. ! ,-<crts ;

nt in
lo as sailing : :
206 ALVARADO S LAST EXPEDITION.

with everything that foresight could suggest. Leav

ing Don Francisco de la Cueva as his lieutenant-
15
governor, the adelantado sailed from Iztapa, and
landing at Navidad in Jalisco proceeded to Mexico,
where he entered into arrangements with Mendoza
relative to the expedition, and their individual in
16
terests in it. The agreement was not concluded with
out considerable wrangling as to terms, and Alvarado
probably considered himself somewhat overreached
by the viceroy.
Having remained five or six months in Mexico he
was now prepared to set forth on his expedition, 17
when an insurrection having broken out in Jalisco his
assistance in suppressing it was requested by the act
ing governor Onate. Contrary to advice he entered
the revolted province with his own troops, not waiting
for other forces to join him, and attacking the peiiol

is even more discrepancy with regard to the number of his men. Viceroy
Mendoza states that the force consisted of 400 men and GO horses. Carta, in
Pacheco and Cardenas, Col. Doc., iii. 507; Oviedo of 1,000 men, some of whom
he brought from Spain, and others had seen service in the Indies Herrera
;

that there were more than 800 soldiers and 50 horses Bernal Diaz, C50 sol
;

diers besides officers, and many horses ; Tello, 300 Spaniards ; Beaumont, 800,
and 150 horses, and Benzoni, 700 soldiers.
15
Herrera states that Alvarado despatched his expedition to the coast of
Jalisco, there to wait for him, and went overland to Mexico, and Oviedo,
iv. 20, also entertains this view ; but Mendoza and Gomara, Hist. Ind. , 2G8--9,
distinctly states that he sailed with his fleet, and the former s testimony is
conclusive. Oviedo gives the additional information that Alvarado sent a
messenger to the emperor with an account of his expedition and drawings of
his fleet. Oviedo had an interview with the messenger and saw the draw
ings. Vazquez wrongly asserts that on his voyage the adelantado discovered
Acajutla. Chronica de Gvat., 159. He had already done so as early as 1524.
See Ifist. Cent. Am.,, i. 070, this series. Bernal Diaz wrongly gives 1538 as
the date of his sailing. Hist. Verdad., 23G. The time of his departure was
about the middle of 1540, for on the 19th of May of that year the cabildo
requested him when on the point of departing with his fleets to take with him
the imprisoned princes Sinacam and Sequechul. Vazquez, Chron. Gvat., 30.
16
In Pacheco and Cardenas, Col. Doc., iii. 351-G2, is a copy of the agree
ment between Alvarado and the viceroy. Oviedo gives the copy of a letter
addressed by Mendoza to himself, in which the viceroy states that the king,
in his contract with Alvarado, was pleased to give him a share in the dis
coveries without his knowledge or solicitation, iii. 540. Mendoza states that
this share was one half. Pacheco and Cardenas, Col. Doc., iii. 507. Article
20 of Alvarado s capitulation with the crown authorized him to give Men
doza one third interest in his armament. Vazquez, Chronica- de Gvat., 159.
17
Acordamos dcspachar dos armadas; una para descubrir la costa desta
Nueva Kspaiia, 6 otra que fuesse al Poniente en demanda de los Lequios y
Catayo. Mendoza, Carta, in Oviedo, iii. 540.
 ATI! 01 ADO.

in met with the <1<

which
]

1\-
ls
i. \Vhile coverin-j; the ;

.<! .i tli i;ird, his i

ry M .

in
Hi;/ 1 u j.
1 tin- animal
that, hold a roll: l>t i ii<l

Alvarado. who W&S toil!

: ilck

ing liis horse, and crushed his ]j -1- <]

ening to found him ]

;

hie, and as BOOD Bfl he had somewhat r

liiin on a litter to Guadalajara, suffered !v, !!<

: his f
anxiety wa jn-ocin-r a \\\-l
-
wli
lie could n-licvc his hunlriH-d M>U!. Borne al
this lii t. his -ins een m-
joiii ih-y, weigh*
.ivily upon him than hodily fort un\ ;m<l it \\ ith
ivli-f that he greeted tin- arrival of a i riar who had
n sinninoncd iVoin a ti. him,
neighboring
und.-r BOme ])iiu- 9 tin- ra <n . the COIKJ
of iemala coin 1. and lin^eri:
"

days ivrriv. :ch consolation as \

ild /\\ It was t f

July l .">
1 1 thai
d hi 1, having ma h he
a}>]
Juan do Alvarado of i <i M,
and MaiTo(jnin of San
.
his .

Hi did not perinit lull details, hnt

>n

uctioiis that the will should 1

with whom he had communic

the ]
tnance <r c<
-
f -r tl

hi !e oi dei-ed hi- to iii

;1. 1
body 1 t

adalajara, tlienee i

;)iti o,
and !ly interred I

J
Domingo, in th
y of M
of his funeral enough of hi- j

"V. .1 \\li. sangre por la 1>oca dccia:

t-> T

.
 208 ALVARADO S LAST EXPEDITION.

dalajara or Mexico wasto be sold by auction; and he

left strict injunctionsthat all his debts should be paid,
21
subject to the discretion of Bishop Marroquin. All
his remaining property was bequeathed to his wife,
and summoning before him the captains and officers
of his vessels he ordered them to return to Guatemala
and deliver them into her possession; but this injunc
tion was never executed. After the adelantado s de
cease, his men
dispersed in different directions, some
remaining in Mexico, others returning to Guatemala
or making their way to Peru, while the fleet which
had been constructed at so great an expense and at
the cost of hundreds of lives, was appropriated by
Mendoza. His estate was so encumbered that the
viceroy did not suppose that any one would accept as
a gift the inheritance with its liabilities, 22 and in
another letter stated that no one cared to do so. 23
Duly authorized by tFuan de Alvarado, his co-
executor, to settle Alvarado s estate, Bishop Marro
quin framed a will, bearing date of June 30, 1542, in
accordance with what he represents were the wishes
of Alvarado. It is quite voluminous and is, with the
exception of the preamble, given in full by Remsal.
Much is done for the relief of Alvarado s soul, which
remains were still at Tiripitio, * dode esta- en ten-ado, que es en Tyrepati.
The former left 200 ducats to the convent where Alvarado was buried. He
also left 1,000 pesos de oro de minas to found a chaplaincy in the church at
Guatemala, that masses might be there said for his soul. Some years after
the death of the bishop the daughter of the adelantado had her father s remains
transferred from Tiripitio to Guatemala, where they were interred with great
solemnity in the cathedral, Rcmesal, Hist. Chyapa, 100. Gonzalez Davila says,
1
En el ano 1542 el Obispo comeco h executar el testamento del Gouernador
D. Pedro de Aluarado, and erroneously adds . .
y el Obispo traslad6 su cuerpo
.

de Mexico & Santiago. Teatro Edes., li. 148.

* Tello, Hist. N. Gal, 394-5; Beaumont, Cr6n. Midi., iv. 274-6; Remcsal,
, Hist. Chyapa, 161-2; this last author, page 187, states that Marroquin in
carrying out the intentions of Alvarado s will, ordered the payment to be
made for a set of clerical vestments which the friar Betanzos ordered him to
furnish as a penance in 1528. Bernal Diaz remarks, Some say a will was
made, but none has appeared. Hist. Verdad., 236.
22
The viceroy states that Alvarado s debts amounted to 50,000 pesos de
minas, to which must be added 15,000 more expended by himself on his ac
count. Carta, in Carias de Indias, 253-4, and fac-simile R. Bishop Marroquin,
August 1541, gays that he left at his death debts to the amount of 50,000
pesos. Id., 429, fac-simile V.
23
Mendoza, Carta, in Pacheco and Cardenas, Col. Doc., iii. 507-8.
 Cl OF A

at \\

rin-mn Tl;
I ixl

itid altar-. th ! his in;

<!<
I ih- bequ -f
insigni
ill-
o
I ii ,-i vault beneath tin-
high altar
<

ilKlf clliala til lit* (I- Al

iinally laid : him v.

<>{ 1:

. t lidii-h iii charac

h -
his <>|>jnit
( lorte s \>

and nohilif y <! soul : Al\ara<

herous, and dish* iVank<!

r, and la\ .r.s liL

a[)fd upon him \

31
In the v;il r S.-nr .l\-;inulo liad a !.: s \\irli
n-icil sl;i\-c<, c .llccti-il in tho fl!
"

i*-.l tin: ju iiu;i]>:d

l>.nl> ;ui<;

without i:

on. ] -lit-
lii.-!i..p
i

1 (lui ll on tin- l;iinls tlii-y 1

.ii!y in tin; .-

and Iii- .11 altar in the

mil I. which
.
tl <

3aid masses I

i-l-inim s-t fi

liis pla: . lio\\i-\.T. until I

., <lurin;_:
\vhii-h tiint- tin ir ;

i Alvani
hidi .
,
Ian. DCS, h It
Was aj par. nt!
\\ Inch -t ami in

,
l.uilt nil tin- as.-

,H that all t;
rown.
tl
l.y
-

thr .-.

\\ i 1 1 1

dimotii". in /

Hl> . AM V ,
i . II. 14
210 ALVARADO S LAST EXPEDITION.

ingratitude. In the breast of Cortes beat an affection

ate heart, stern though it was, and he seldom failed
to win the true regard of his followers. The conqueror
of Guatemala was void of affection even for women,
and his choice of wife or mistress was inspired by am
bition or lust. To govern by fear was his delight.
Cortes was cautious and far-sighted; Alvarado im
petuous, never anticipating other than favorable re
sults. In versatility, as well as in mental and moral
qualities, Cortes was far superior to the adelantado
instance the mutiny at Patinamit. Cortes would have
suppressed it, had such a thing ever occurred under
his command. Alvarado s career hardly affords the
means of fairly estimating his qualities as a commander,
for he never met his countrymen in the field. Never
theless, though his victories were chiefly owing to
superiority in arms and discipline, he displayed on
several occasions genuine military skill, and his quick
perception, coolness, and presence of mind, which no
extremity of danger disturbed, ever enabled him to
act promptly and rightly in the most critical positions.
That he never sustained a reverse in arms, from the
time he left Mexico in 1523 until the disaster which
caused his death, indicates generalship of no mean
order. As a governor he was tyrannical, 25 and his
capacity for ruling was inferior to his ability in the
26
field.

Judged even by the standard of his age it must be

said of him that, while ever proclaiming disinterested
7
ness and loyalty to the crown," none of his contem
poraries were inspired by a more restless ambition, and
lew actuated by more thoroughly selfish motives.
Success appears to have rendered him callous to any
sense of shame, and in the last effort of his life he was
prompted by boyish egotism and foolish pride, being
l, Hist.
Chyapa, 172.
2G
Fue mejorsoldado, que Gouernador. Gomara, Hut. Tnd., 269.
27
In a letter to the council of the Indies he says: Pues todo lo que yo
estubicre sin ocuparme en algo en que sirba a Su Mag. lo tengo por muy mal
gastado. Carta, in Squier^s MS., xix. 31.
 Till! \\TAT.n V. on

sji jeal o|)]>u>iii.,n

to tl i throi;
\\-\: :
he had been i to his hi
A perusal <>f the despatcl (luring- liis ],,

:1<1 \\illiout other evid< >n-

clil tllilt lie was he victim of 1 Q

dir him hy countrymen, who
his d<

bo the
emperor, misrepn
and decried hia conduct. lint hi iier I

to Cortes during
dr< !
tlie days of their iri-nd
reveal more e u
Tuctly the true character of the
Th \\ G see portrayed his and;
mind in d . his eapaeil lie
lit in bloodshed, hlendrd v.ith th
his countrymeD, tb
r
tli-
j-an^-ely }>revalent ;mi>ML,
.

Avh -viiiLj: O th<- devil to the nitern he v. .

glorifying God, and winning lor himself ial

favoi
Alvarado loft no legitimate oflspring, for though 1

28
lie wrote to the emperor requesting that ii t-lian n-
had 1 tliat (

a-ditiitt il. ll i. lib. :

29
1 give .
ith a copy of Alvarado s . i:

\*
\ 1 :

Al

i Roma 1 ido

.
vunulu.
ice."

", CoplaA de D<

Xiu-ti.
li was to serve uuiil no waa \

d:

Yai
^ ;
gusto, qti ara
:ig08tO
as,

i
do.-,!a

uplos, Lfyrs.

. -- 1

talidad (.;
212 ALVARADO S LAST EXPEDITION.

had two children by his second wife they both died in

30
early childhood. Numerous illegitimate children,
however, survived him, among whom may be men
tioned Dona Leon or, Pedro, and Diego de Alvarado,
his offspring by a daughter of Xicotencatl, the lord
of Tlascala. 31
30
Juarros, Guat., i. 347.
31
Dona Leonor married Pedro Puertocarrero and afterward Francisco de
la Cueva, brother of Alvarado s wife. Pedro was legitimized by the em
peror. This was, according to Bernal Diaz, Hist. Veraad. , 237, the natural
son, mentioned also by Saavedra, in Pacheco and Cardenas, Col. Doc., vii.
247-50, who went to the court of Spain to claim moneys due to his father,
and whom Saavedra recommended urgently to Las Casas the councillor of
state. Diego was slain in 1554 by Indians at the defeat at Chuquinga. Mar-
roquin informs the emperor that Alvarado left six sons and daughters desnu-
clos syn abrigo alguno. Cartas de Indicts, 429, 432-3, 709-10; Cromara, Hist.
Ind. 269. Another son named Gomez, by an Indian girl in Guatemala, is
,

mentioned in the will afterward framed by Bishop Marroquin. Remesal, Hist.

Chyapa, 185. For an account of the presentation of Xicotencatl s daughter
to Alvarado, see Hist. Hex., i. 227-30, this series.