Chapter IX · (continued 2)

"When the hour of noon was passing, on which at the accustomed hour of eating we remembered said pleadings, there passed also our desire for the said meal, considering that, since God did not give it, it was not suitable for us, and thus that his most holy will should be done in everything, and that if it was best for us to suffer more, his holy Majesty sent it. Here the soul ruled, but it could not fail that the body also asked for an offering which would preserve our lives, which it brought forward by continually asking for it, as one who needed it so much. I then, leaning on the faith which I had in my Father, San Diego, on the one side, and on the great need which I suffered on the other, seeing that in reply to my prayers, San Diego had accomplished nothing as it appeared to me, in my mind I directed the said Saint, in holy obedience, now that my prayers were not accepted for my many sins, that he should go, moved by his great charity, to the gates of Heaven to ask alms in the name of his brothers who were lost in these parts and perishing from want,--an extraordinary thing truly. A wonderful event which I relate for the greater confusion of me and my audacity and for the greater glory of the humility and prompt obedience of my Father, San Diego."

They Find Some Miraculous Honey. "Scarcely had we gone twenty steps from where I bade him for obedience sake, when we met with a sapote tree, rotten and fallen on the ground, in which we found a bee-hive, and the occurrence is the more wonderful in that, having no implement for cutting or taking out the said bee-hive, other than the pike or point of my staff, the said trunk happened to be rotten; so that with the said spike, we took the bee-hive out; besides the fact that the tree had laid fallen for many years, the hive was freshly occupied, so that there is no doubt that, while there were so many trees standing strong and sound, they went to swarm in a trunk, rotten and fallen to the ground; so that it is an evident miracle which my Glorious Father, San Diego, prepared for me. So when we came across the bee-hive, with great tenderness and to my greater confusion, I began to weep, confessing my sin to my companions, the Padres, which only my great faith and the want from which we were suffering could excuse. We ate that honey with its embryos and its excrement, without in our great hunger reserving any part of it; and though the honey which fell to our share was not much, since there were seven portions which were made of it, nevertheless it caused great thirst, as we had brought no water with us, and did not find any for a long time afterwards. This happened to us the day of the Purification of Our Lady, as I said before."

Two Padres Go Ahead. "On this day, it appearing to my two Padre companions, either that hunger and want were lasting a long time, since fifteen days of it were already passing or that we now found ourselves near the road which we sought; guided as much by the law of nature which obliged them to save their lives, as by the love with which they loved me, seeing also that I was overcome as well by my needs as by the continual attacks of stomach troubles from which I suffered, and that they, by being younger, could walk more leagues than the three leagues which I walked each day, by which speed, if they reached safety first, not only would they save their lives, but also would aid me with some assistance, so that I should not perish in the woods, they said to me, 'Father our Commissioner, we wish to go forward with the benediction and permission of your Reverence, to see if we can make greater progress each day by some leagues, so as by this means to reach some settlement, from which to send you some assistance, to aid your Reverence; and if we should be delayed in getting out of the woods, and should meet with the soldiers, we would send some of them whenever we met them, so that they may extricate your Reverence and that you may not perish in these forests. We are of no importance, and as such, we shall not be missed. But as for your Reverence, on whose shoulders so much depends, such as giving an account to our Prelate and to our Lord the Governor of everything that has happened, your loss would be of importance. Therefore we beg your Reverence to give us your blessing in carrying out what has been said, giving us one of these Indians to accompany us, and one of the two needles which you have, so as to follow the direction to the west which we are taking.' I, that I might never be held responsible for any loss or harm that might come to them, granted them the Indian they picked out, the needle, blessing and permission, although I knew we were yet very far off from arriving in the four days that they thought.

"We took leave of each other with the mutual love and tenderness, which the loving companionship of those who had followed me faithfully through so great hardships required. We charged each other to remember one another in our poor and humble prayers. With this they went off with the benediction of God and of myself, I remaining with the three Indians, though one was dying (and he died later) and the rest with their strength exhausted as mine was.

"The departure of the Padres, my companions, and my beginning to undergo new calamities, was all at the same time; for on those first three days it was all passing through akalchees, or overflowed lands, although they were dry but very much obstructed and closed up with low and thorny trees which grew there, and with those cutting grasses which I spoke of above, so that we were in constant trouble in passing through them, reopening once more all the wounds which we had on our legs. And at that time we found ourselves with bare feet and legs, and with our clothes in pieces, without getting any more comfort from them than to cover myself with them at night; also a steel for striking fire, which by a miracle we saved among the heathen Ytzaes, belonged to my companions, so that they took it with them, and I remained without any human comfort, nor did they take anything except the said steel."

A Desperate Situation. "In this final and extreme need we remained so absolutely destitute of everything, that only by some angel bringing us food and placing it in our mouths, could we nourish this living body; because, even if we should find anything, either animals or birds of the forest, we had nothing to kill them with, and, even if they put themselves into our hands for killing, we had no knife nor machete to skin them with, if they were animals, nor anything to cook them with for want of a steel for striking fire. From this it can be inferred that, being wet every day, at least with the dew, besides the showers which caught us, and having to sleep on the bare earth, wherever night came upon us, whether it was wet or dry, we were unable to get any comfort, besides not having any means of making fire."

They Find Some Edible Thistles. "Notwithstanding, the said akalchees were not what exhausted us most, nor were they so unkind to us that amongst them we did not find something to eat and drink; since on some trees there were Chuis, which are like large edible thistles, the leaves of which preserve the water from the dew and rains for a long time, and by tapping them in the stem, the water which they have preserved comes out, although it is dirty and bad smelling; but the thirst we felt was more so. These same plants served us for food, by eating the stems of each leaf, something like two fingers of white that they have, since that part is the most tender, and the rest is very bitter and hard. In the same way we used to find in the said akalchees some roots of trees to gnaw, so that, as the proverb says, 'Afflictions with bread are of less account,' we did not feel the sores which those cutting grasses had caused us, as I have said, in exchange for what we found there of food and drink."

Some Hills are Reached. "These three days of akalchees having passed, there followed three other days of hills and very high ridges, so that we inevitably had to pass them, since they lay in all four directions. These followed one after the other in such a way that, having finished climbing one, we went down it again, without finding an eighth of a mile level below. Upon which we again ascended the next one, for all of these were so high that their heights cannot be told except to say that in their deep valleys the rays of the sun do not penetrate. So weak did we become from ascending these hills on account of the fatigue, as well as by going down, because of the stony ground, or for both reasons, it was necessary to make use of the trees, which cover the hills, the most of which are the said palms called Cumes, full of penetrating thorns, which injured our feet, hands and bodies, since falling from weariness, we were wont to strike against them.

"On the top, then, of one of these hills, we found a broad aguada,--a thing which surprised us much, since there were not any other high places around it, from which the water could come. There were there very many flint stones which caused injury enough to our feet on account of our going barefoot. I do not know to what to attribute that water on that high hill top, since in the preceding ravines, which, for the most part, were rivers, although now dry, water was not found, except to a miracle, by which God gave us to understand that he had not forgotten our needs, since with so much climbing up and down as we had been through, we were thirsty enough, so that God furnished this aguada, from which we had a very good drink. In about an eighth of a mile we came to the descent from this height, after which we passed two days of woods, some that were somewhat level, without so many or so high hills, but it is wonderful that though these forests in which we traveled for two days and the three preceding ones, consist of an infinite number of sapote and ramon trees, we did not find in them all a bit to eat,--a thing which happens in these woods as in the rest that I saw. Seeing their sterility, I said, 'They appeared in every respect like those of Gilboa.'"

Deserted Buildings. "With so few comforts and so great affliction, our strength went on diminishing very quickly, knowing for truth the proverb which the Biscayans, my fellow countrymen, say: 'It is the guts which carry and support the legs and not the legs, the guts.' Among these high hills which we passed over, there is a variety of old buildings, excepting some in which I recognized apartments, and though they were very high and my strength was little, I climbed up them (though with trouble). They were in the form of a convent, with the small cloisters and many living rooms all roofed over, and arched like a wagon and whitened inside with plaster, which is very abundant through that region, since all the ridges are composed of it. So that these buildings do not resemble those which are here in this Province, for the latter are of pure worked stone, laid without mortar, particularly the part which relates to arches; but the former are of rough stone and mortar, covered with plaster."

False Hopes; Further Hardships. "It seemed to us that these buildings stood near a settlement, from the information which the soldiers had given us, when we were going on the new road to Guatemala, but it turned out to be the dream of a blind man, since we found ourselves, as we saw afterwards, very far from a settlement. We traveled through these woods when we came upon a dry river, which we followed a long while to see if we found water, which we came across, though late, which is better than never. Before that, God willed that we should meet a Kamas, or a great mound of earth, which the ants build, in which we found a little honey to eat, and, as every sweet thing at once calls for water, and we were late in finding it, it did not fail to give us trouble. By following the abovementioned river, we came to the said aguada, which was quite large, similar to those which they call Petens. This made us go around through plenty of woods and affliction, so as to get past it."

They Face Starvation. "We passed the said aguada and afterwards some hills, with other rivers, although they were dry, though the hollows in them were a proof of their being very full in the rainy season. The signs were not deceptive, for at a little distance we fell in with a great cibal or pond full of those grasses with broad and cutting leaves, of which I spoke before. This was, according to its distance which was lost to sight, more than two leagues long and half a league broad. Into this discharged the currents of the rivers of which I spoke, and it cost us much trouble to go around it, so as to pass it, changing our course in this, as in the other cases, which I have spoken of, always to the North. In all this time we had nothing to eat, except the little honey that I spoke of, so that the animated mass of bones, owing to the continued troubles of traveling every day and not eating, now kept growing weaker and weaker. In such a great extremity of a man's dying without sickness or infirmity, being in his perfect senses, one can well understand what cries he would utter to God and to his most holy mother, and to all the saints of his prayers, not only intended for his bodily comfort, but in order that he should not die among beasts without the sacraments and in order that God should bring him to die among brothers as a Catholic, and receive the holy sacraments."

A Sign from our Lady of the Apparition. "The affliction which my dying without them among those wild trees caused me, God, on whom my heart called, alone knows. In like manner, there was not a saint of my prayers to whom I did not pray, and even lovingly complained that they should leave me in this way to die in these woods; yet my thinking that, if this should happen, it would probably be the will of God, was what mitigated all my sufferings. Nevertheless among all the Saints I called upon to bring me out to die in a settlement, was our Lady who appeared at Campeche, and scarcely did I call upon her in my mind (for thus were all my pleas) to come to my aid, when at once we saw bent branches of trees, a proof that people had come through those places. From then on I put away the needle in the sleeve of my habit, without taking it out, following the said track wherever it went. I kept on following it for four days through paths as clear as they were different from those we had found. The Indians were troubled when they saw that I was going in a contrary direction and advised me to leave such trails and to go in a westerly direction. I, who alone knew how the said Batche signs appeared on my invoking our Lady of the Apparition, replied to them that they should come along since whoever had showed me that Batche or broken branches (which is a road for Indians) would bring us out to a settlement.

"This is certain that at this time I was going on, falling and getting up again, on account of my needs, but my faith was always strong and firm that our Lady of the Apparition was going to bring us out safely. At the end of the said four days of following the Batche or broken branches, in such different directions, for sometimes they went to the East, at other times to the North, and at others to the South, we finally came across a path, broad and good, on which it was evident that a little while before Indians had passed and that there was frequent passing. The Indians wished to follow it towards the East, in case there were (as there were, from what I knew afterwards) any farms there, in which they might find something to sustain ourselves. But I did not let them go, since the sure thing was to follow it to the West, where either a settlement or the road from Guatemala, which we were searching for, could not fail us. At this time we were going on with a strong desire to reach it, but with little courage; wherefore we stopped to sleep on the road."

They Climb Some High Hills. "On the next day we went on over some high hills, difficult to climb; then, on passing over one which is ascended on the bank of a stream with but little water in it, one of the two Indians who accompanied me carried me, so that I could pass over it or climb it. There was no need for the hill to be very high (and it was not) for me not to be able to climb it, since now there was left to me in all my body only the bones and the skin and the spirit which animated them. In a little while I gave up at once, without being able to take a step forward, although my wish was to go on and the Indians encouraged me. This was a thing which gave them great trouble, for they also now were reeling from weakness. I, seeing that they would be missed more, if they died than if I did, since they had families of wife, children, mother and brother, and that I had only God, to whom I had delivered my soul and life, I made an agreement with them, that they should leave me there under a tree, and that they should try to save their lives, with the understanding that, if they got out in a short time to a settlement, they should come back to see me in a few days and to bring me some aid, for if I did not follow them, it was not from want of wish or spirit to do so, but from want of strength. They grieved much over this resolution of mine, on account of the love which they had come to have for me, and so they replied to me that they were not going to leave me, but that where I should die, they were going to die also. I (perhaps by divine inspiration) insisted that they should go on and leave me, to the point of commanding them with firmness to do so, provided that they should come to see me, whenever they found supplies, for I trusted in God that they would find me alive. With this determination of mine, they obeyed me, cutting off as they could leaves or branches of palms, and they made me a little hut in which to remain at rest."

Avendaño Left Alone. "At the same time they left me a fire lighted, and it was a prodigy for them to have lighted it, since on other occasions they had not been able to make a fire, because they lacked strength in their hands to prepare or bore the said sticks with which fire is made. They also left me half a gourd of water to cool my throat, so that it might not be closed up. Having done all this with great tenderness and with tears, they took leave of me, and I, giving them my benediction, and showing them a like tenderness, embraced them also and sent them away, asking my most holy Mother of the Apparition to take them shortly and safely.

"I then as one who remained to die, without knowing whether the Indians would come back or not, endeavored to prepare myself with a santo christo which I had with me, consoling myself with it, as one who had no other company and needed the santo christo so much in that time of trial. With it I conversed and I accused myself of all my faults before it, as one who could pardon them. Having finished reciting the divine service, I got ready to bless a little roll of paper which I had, so as, on seeing that I was failing, to burn it; in the fire, which was at my side. At once I read the prayers for the dying with the litanies, etc., after which I returned to my conversations with the santo christo, which finished, I recited a vigil, celebrating my burial."

The Miracle of the Sapote. "I was engaged in these exercises, when suddenly, though there were no sapote trees where I was, there came a squirrel down a low tree, with a sapote in his little paws, and giving two jumps in my presence, it showed its little teeth and went away. I was not able to stir, but with a little stick which was at my side, I drew this sapote to me and ate it, for it was as ripe and sweet as honey. The wonder is that in thousands of sapotes which we found in these forests, we did not come across a single good piece of one; and here without there being a tree, that little animal brought a ripe one. I knew then that God sent me that aid, like another Saint Paul, although I was very far from imitating him in his virtues, but rather that God might show his greater mercy to such a great sinner as I. I gave him thanks with some tenderness for such a kindness, hoping with more confidence now that I should not die of hunger. In doing this and saying my prayers, I passed the whole day and night, awaiting every moment the hour of dawn."

Rescued. "Much neglected by human aid (and even forgotten) was I, when it dawned the next day, since in six or eight days at the least, I did not expect any result from the two Indians whom I had sent off. I rested in this supposition as soon as it dawned and I gave thanks to God for having brought me safely through that night, etc. I set about reciting the divine service, which I never failed to recite in these forests, nor was it ever absent from my mind, when suddenly I heard a noise of people, and on turning my eyes, I saw some ten Indians of the town of Mani and its suburbs, who came to get me. I did not take them for men, but for angels, and as such they acted in my case in everything. Scarcely had they come to where I was, when with great affection they ran to embrace me, shedding plenty of tears, and at the same time, saying a thousand tender words to me. I could not restrain myself at this kindness, when I thought also of such an unexpected blessing as God had shown me. On the other hand it caused me to feel more kindly, when I saw that a people as impious as the Indians naturally are, should be so merciful to me, as never have I seen such a thing in them.

"They brought me a little meal that they eat, and in a moment they warmed it so that I could drink it, they supporting me, one on one side and one on the other, so that I might keep seated. They revived the fire which was there, and warming up six cloaks very nicely, they wrapped me up in them, and warmed my extremities, that is, my feet and hands, since they were numb from weakness and cold air; I recovered by means of that warmth and food which I drank, and in order to raise me, they held aloft my whole body, stiff as if it was a sculptured statue. They brought a hammock in which they took me to the town of Chuntucí, from which I set out when I went among the said Ytzaes, and to which the said Indians who carried me were loading up to go."

What had Happened to the Indians whom Avendaño Sent off. "Portentous surely was the present event, if all the circumstances are considered. The two Indians left my presence, whom I sent off against their will, so as to save their lives, forcing them to leave me alone. Everything happened through a higher direction,--first since the said Indians went on falling and getting up again, from their want of strength, and in spite of all this, they followed the path which led from where they left me up to the town of Chuntucí, which they reached in an hour and a half, for they only stopped long enough to take some refreshment with the said carriers, and to tell them how I was left to die in the forest. Scarcely had they heard this, when without any delay, they started out to come and get me, and the distance which it took my two Indians to go in an hour and a half, the said carriers had to take a day and a half in finding me, without their losing their road, by which the miracle can easily be understood. Secondly, that my Indians, coming to Chuntucí, and meeting these carriers loading, was all one (i.e., simultaneous), so that if they had stopped even a little, they would not have met them, and consequently would not have found supplies to bring to me, and even less should I have been able to start out for a settlement. Therefore the hurry which I showed in sending them away was by divine direction. They took me in the said hammock, and though it was a convenience on account of the rest that it gave, it was also some affliction to me, since, although they wrapped me up very well in their cloaks, every little while it gave me cramps in all my body, I being stiff and cold from head to foot. At which they warmed the cloaks again, and rubbing my hands and feet with them all warm, the muscles again were stretched, although it lasted but a short time. At last I reached the town of Chuntucí, on the Sunday of Septuagesima, which was on the 19th of February, in this year of sixteen hundred and ninety-six, about three o'clock in the afternoon,--a result surely very different from what I thought,--that I should ever be in the said town again, after the extremity to which I had come. All that afternoon I stayed looking at this town, and I did not believe yet that I was really there. Blessed be the mercy of God, who showed it thus in my case. For his divine Majesty alone, of his own accord, could show such compassion on this miserable sinner. Infinite thanks be given for so great blessings as he gave me, and may his divine Majesty so will, that it redound to his honor and glory through infinite centuries of centuries. Amen. The Indian carriers continued in their pious work of conveying me and of caring for my Indian singers, so that both in them and in me, a great change of condition resulted from the fresh food, which put us on the road to life."

Avendaño set out shortly afterwards for Merida.

The Messenger from Tayasal. When he and his companions reached Merida they were told of the arrival of a messenger from Canek of Tayasal. This messenger had reached Merida considerably before the time at which the Padres left Tayasal. He had been received by the Governor and society of Merida with great rejoicings because of the fact that he announced that his errand was to proffer the allegiance of Canek and all his subjects, some eighty thousand Indians in all.

Reasons for Avendaño's Distrust. Avendaño found it difficult to credit this news for several reasons, the chief of which were:

First. The obvious fact that, at the time he (Avendaño) was last at Tayasal, Canek was unable to force his subjects to adopt Christianity on account of the hostility of Covoh and others.

Second. That, in spite of the intimacy that had existed between Canek and Avendaño, the latter had never received the slightest hint of Canek's intention of sending any such messenger.

Third. That Canek, had such a messenger really been sent while the Padres were with him, would most certainly have detained them as hostages until the safe return of the messenger.

Avendaño (p. 66 recto) closes his narrative thus:

"I omit, so as not to cause annoyance, many other effective reasons, which I could give, but I leave it to the consideration of any one who should reflect on this matter, better than I. As for me, who saw and was in touch with it all, I am satisfied with what I have said. And, in reference to the common opinion of all the Province, I say that the large part of it is of the opinion that the said message was false...."