In The First Place, We Had To Make Roads Through The
Woods, And The Country Being Very Marshy, We Were Under The Necessity Of
Constructing Causeways In Many Places To Enable The Horses To Pass.
The
first place we came to was Tezputzlan, and thence to Cachula, beyond which
there had been no passage
Before our expedition, all the other natives
being in great fear of the inhabitants of Chiapa, who were then the
bravest warriors in all America, and had never been subdued by the
Mexicans; but they were extremely barbarous, being in use to rob all
passengers, and to carry away the natives of other districts to till their
ground. The present expedition was during Lent, and as well as I can now
remember, in the year 1524, our little army consisting of 27 cavalry, 23
musqueteers, 72 foot soldiers armed with sword and target, and one
field-piece under the direction of a cowardly fellow of a gunner, who
pretended to have served in Italy. Besides these, we had 50 Mexican
warriors, and the cacique of Cachula with some of his principal people,
who were all terribly afraid. On approaching Chiapa, an advanced guard of
four of our most active soldiers, of whom I was one, always preceded the
army to reconnoitre, and as the ground was not fit for a horse, I left
mine behind. We were usually about half a league in front of the army, but
on our approach to Estapa, their first settlement, some of the hunters of
Chiapa perceived us at a distance, and gave the alarm by means of smoke.
The road was now wide and convenient, between well cultivated fields of
corn and other vegetables; and on coming to Estapa we found it abandoned
by the inhabitants, on which we posted our guards and patroles, and took
up our quarters for the night.
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