CHAPTEB XXV.

NICARAGUA AM) Co-TA l:i

i;oi-i7oo.

LEON An-. ..TIIKI: Sm:

CIT-, I in: SACKII.KCIOUS MOUSE-- Ti .M.I: ;:EE-
VGUA ClI M VTTERS TlIE JE> HiTIIK
.
THKV AKI: Tm: IKICESE Sr.
BOP oi i.i .
OK r
M: M \- LTJ lllCA
I KI.ITI T\I.\M ANCA Vl
111- 1
i

Kg -
M 3.

Tin: city <>f Leon \v,-is fmnli-l, as will 1

l)-rrl. l.\-
C<5rdoba,
in i.vj:;, ,-i i .-w 1 . tin-
slioiv ct tin- South Si 1
;). Flu- mil)

.-ih-cady brdi in
ValdivieSO, \vliirli )ins
:itailftl ;i cur.^- tl.
njmn
ai t ) -iil] rm<r
~~ a sn-i-s of <li
tl in!i:

andoned in I <>
10. l- ir.-t
keepii
inn
t t
hi-y ni,-irrlii <l l>i-th nmlfi- tli- tl:.

Hi:-
municipality,
ami aln.nt ni nlway 1

and L;ikc M;i:i;!--ua in th- pul inn

named
district Sul>tial>, :illi>licd ,

became aoted
>n
eua one >i the ln->t imilt in (

America, Leon/
"

; the i
Ji>h fcravell< rTl
( -
in
apoel niMidv who pa
in 1
1
>.">7, "is
y cniioii-ly lniilt. tr th cfi
tin- I idiahitants con ih in th< ir h-

the ]l-asurc of the (

uiinti-y adjoyning, aiid
in t

8, this scries.

*
^N*V /
440 NICARAGUA AND COSTA RICA.

abundance of things for the life of man, more than

all
in any extraordinary riches, which there are not so
much enjoyed as in other parts of America. They
are contented with fine gardens, with variety of sing
ing birds, and parrets, with plenty of fish and flesh,
which is cheap, and with gay houses, and so lead a
delicious, lasie and idle life; not aspiring much to
trade and traffique, though they have neer unto them
the Lake, which commonly every year sendeth forth
some Frigats to the Havana by the North Sea, and
Realejo on the South Sea, which to them might be
very commodious for any dealing and rich trading in
Peru or to Mixco, if their spirits would carry them
so far. The Gentlemen of this City are almost as
vain and phantastical as are those of Chiapa. And
especially from the pleasure of this City, is all that
province of Nicaragua, called by the Spaniards Ma-
homets Paradise. From hence the way is plain and
level to Granada, whither I got safely and joyfully." 3
What in Granada we observed," continues Gage,
"

3
New Survey W. Indies (3d ed., London, 1G77), 419. The author lived in
the Indies between 1625 and 1C37, and made, as he tells us, 9,000 pesos dur
ing these 12 years. He was an acute observer, and captious in doctrinal
matters, as the following passage will show: Whilest this traffick was (at
Portobello), it happened unto me that which I have formerly testified in my
Recantation Sermon at Pauls Church, which if by that means it have not come
unto the knoM* ledge of many, I desire again to record it in this my History,
that to all England it may be published; which was, that one day saying the
Mass in the chief Church, after the Consecration of the bread, being with my
eyes shut at that prayer, which the Church of Rome calleth the Memento for
their dead, there came from behind the Altar a Mouse, which running about,
came to the very bread or Wafer-god of the Papists, and taking it in his mouth
ran away with it, not being perceived by any of the people who were at Mass,
for that the Altar was high, by reason of the steps going up to it, and the peo
ple far beneath. But as soon as I opened my eyes to go on with my Mass, and
perceived my God stolen away, I looked about the Altar, and saw the mouse
running away with it. .Whereupon, not knowing what the people had seen, I
.

turned myself unto them, and called them unto the Altar, and told them plainly
that whilst I was in my Memento prayers and meditations, a Mouse had car
ried away the Sacrament, and that I knew not what to do unless they would
help me to finde it out again. .After much searching and inquiry for the
.

sacrilegious beast, they found at last in a hole of the wall the Sacrament half
eaten up, which with great joy they took out, and as if the Ark had been
brought again from the Philistins to the Israelites, so they rejoiced for their
new-found God ... I observed in it the marks and signs of the teeth of the
Mouse, as they are to be seen in a piece of Cheese gnawn and eaten by it ...
And so Transubstantiatioii here in my judgement was confuted by a Mouse.
New Survey, 44G-8.
 LKOX, <

0. :
1

was, two
"

( !
ad I

;1 one <>i
the \nn>, \ n.l .

hmvll, v. liirh v. r tlir

1
tishop <>! Leon did i. iilv reside t

in the ( The In- tin.

1
<eon,
8 Town of more, Jnhal.il
oin B ome few ]U-ivli;
and in:. ionr d.
!

to
tde v, iih Carth; (
ruai mala.
and ( in, ta and I nth !

and 1 ,
n .in;i. . . In one dav ll,

hi.-ii t leafil tlinv Inindri d Mnl->) I .

and Comayagua ,
<nl\-,
.
I ith i

but Indigo, (
lochinil, and I Ii-

oin Guatema]
ladrn ; silvri-, which was lh<- Kii ;ril>ir

ili,-!i (
;
the oihur \vith S d th
withlndi
In I i- ort San CVu los on tin- I

d l>y
i iv( -INK it <T>
ander <

rallardill d tl

<

rl da lay at t h PCJ Ti
<-aj
and the in\ hjM.intrd in tl.

j
]nnd( }-. se1 it >n

fire, jni I ut dnri

tln-ir i .t a for.-,- of t!

into nd th-
tli. ;-,- ,
;.ivdali<ns to B m (

ca|)turc<l ly Martin ( Virl

iiala, and, in <

1 , t :

in-w B
tron^vr w>ils was ni-(l-id by the k:

cd bciU"- in ar the outk-t >! the lai.

,,f tin-
province
dm
ill (vntm ntain lew inci

21.
with four l;i ;i sni
was ily garriK!H-.l l._.

hat tl. \vasnot l.uilt

u Ju fort Caatill *,
..
! ^u tu
fut tcrniin..- .a lt>,
442 NICARAGUA AND COSTA RICA.

record. In 1616 the Jesuits of Guatemala attempted

to establish themselves in Nicaragua, and at the in
stance of the Conde de la Gomera, president of the
audiencia, Pedro de Contrcras was despatched to
Granada in charge of the work. 6 He was welcomed
to the diocese of Nicaragua by the Bishop Don Pedro
Villa Real/ and every assistance was afforded him,
the cathedral being placed at his disposal during the
whole of lent. But when he made known the main
purpose of his mission- -the establishment of a Jesuit
college in Nicaragua the people of Granada, though
they listened to him with delight, refused to respond
to his appeals for aid. Means were supplied, however,
by an ex-captain-general of the province, Vicente
Saldivar y Mendoza, whose deceased wife had left
one fifth of her property for the endowment of a col
lege. The sum thus bequeathed was increased by Sal
divar to twenty-seven thousand pesos and presented to
Contreras. Until 1621 the Jesuits remained in Nic
aragua, Contreras and Padre Bias Hernandez being
the only names recorded in connection with the mis
sion. It was then announced that the superiors of the
order had recalled them, and immediately the wide
spread interest in the labors of the fathers was mani
fested by large public meetings, at which petitions
were adopted against such a measure. 8 But the
orders of the Provincial Nicolas de Armoya were per
emptory, for the location, he alleged, was deemed too
remote to be governed in keeping with the strict rules
9
of the Jesuits.
6
El padre Pedro de Contreras, sugeto de grandes talentos y nacido,
digdmoslo asi, para esta especie de ministerios. Alegre, Hist. Comp. Jesus, ii.
80-1.
7
Real was appointed bishop in 1603, as successor to Gregorio de Montalvo.
He had served as chaplain to Filipe IV. Gonzalez Ddvila, Teatro JSdes., i.
239.
8
At a meeting held Jan. 10, 1621, the procurador, Lopez de Castro, pre
sented a petition which was unanimously adopted, setting forth the services
already rendered by the fathers in uehalf of religion and humanity, and pray
ing earnestly against their removal. Alegre, Hist. Comp. Jesus, 130.
9
In 1618 Padre Florian de Ayerve had been sent to visit the place, and
con-
reported adversely. Padre Rabarjal, rector of the college of Guatemala,
.curred. When the recall was found to be inevitable, a second public meet-
 Meanwhile UP- peopl I ;

Jejo 1

uatemala, and
them-elves direct Iv to the f,r Is

iishtnenf <>f a Jesuit college in their mid llv

dim nf tll- town li.-id made dnnati.
would yield a revenue ofsix thon>and
|"
Tl
licence | .] the foundation of tile CO]
uni|),-uiicd ly a ^i:\\\\ tVmn tin-
royal t r

tlllVr tll)lis;il)(l lr .

wlnTrll|MHl tlic <

].1

lentedj and notwithstanding tin-

<>{ {><
Fel
low jmdrcs, authorized it- institution. Aln-ii! t

<!< I-siiit>
I P )-l
returned tor hile tin-
consent of tilt c \ilieial to the
Itllt til* I
]

ihlishnieiit of the order in this :d in

jirovin-
truth gi\-en only with
l>eeri the ,timi multi- -

<!

jilyin;^ deju-mlriicics until (iuat. inal.-i could claim th

dignity a AVln-n t;
<t

vice-|-.r<>\-in<-ia.

]>adivs
were not allowed main in Xie iinl i

henceforth the Jesuits disappear for a time iv>m t

liistoiy of the ince. ]>i-o\

of Nicaragua was subjecl

Tl; i t il.i-h

of .Lima, and the remoi the archie] s <>f

court was a frequent soiuve of complaint 5

the
Spaniards, for the e\] of the \

d the monetary \ahie nf tlie iir

1 C. J 1 Heiiito A altonado was ]u-.l

<

lie was a man n<td for his kind >f hart. and
mainly from his own \\hich \
>

fmnnlnl the Imsjiital ot Santa Catalina at 1

ter bis dec in little worthy I<;-J7 ial

not -d in connect ion W itli t !:

]

Xi> i
until aftei the ap]>ii:
r in 1 "f

Andn - de las X -

y (hies,
.
huilt ,

ili;it tlu- .

//.. Kin
The ; D t.. t! .

i accon
in-rd in !

hop Vail on.

>

m*r <->

1 s-j. \ ; s successor WM Hernaiulo Nun-

444 NICARAGUA AND COSTA RICA.

copal palace, a church college, and received by royal

order a grant of religious books.
About the middle of the seventeenth century the
income of the diocese amounted to 3,000 pesos, of
which sum the dean received 600 pesos, the arch
deacon 400, and two canons each 300 pesos a year.
At this period the convent of La Merced in Leon
contained twenty ecclesiastics.
If Fray Bias del Castillo could have deferred until
1G70 the journey which he made through Nicaragua
in 1537, discovering, as we have seen, that providence
had reserved for the ecclesiastics the molten treasures
of El Infierno de Masaya, 13 he would have had a better
opportunity to test his belief. "Some assert," relates
Oviedo, who it will be remembered was in that neigh
borhood in 1529, when a violent outburst occurred,
and resided for three years in Nicaragua, 14 "that the
light caused by the eruption is sufficient to read by
at the distance of three leagues." From the northern
slope of the mountain poured in 1G70 a volume of lava
so vast as to extend almost to the lake of Managua,
15
or as many conjecture, to reach far into the lake.

who, says Gonzalez Ddvila, Fve Calificador de la Inquisicion de Cuenca, y

del Consejo Supremo. He fulfilledthe duties of his office como buen pastor
and died in 1639. Previously to Sagredo Agustin de Hinojosa and Fray Juan
Baraona Zapata were appointed; but both died before reaching their diocese.
Next appears tlie name of Alfonso Briceno, a zealous and learned man, who
wrote dos Tomos de Teologia Escolastica. He took charge of the bishopric
in 1646, and died in 1649. Hist. Eclcs., i. 240-244. In 1651 Alonso de Cneras
Diivalos, dean of the cathedral of Mexico, refused the prelacy of Nicaragua,
and according to Figueroa, Vindicias, MS., 75, Alonso Bravo de Laguna re
ceived the mitre, though his name is not mentioned by Alcedo or Gonzalez
Davila. In 1655 Fray Tomds Mansa was appointed bishop. Vctancvrt, Mato-
log., 135 (Mexico, 1697), confirmed in Guijo, Diario, in Doc. Hivl. Mcx.,
stirie i. torn. i. 323, but finding that Davalos was still in office declined to

take charge of the diocese. Id., 387. Soon after his arrival he died from
eating too much fish. Id. The decease of Davalos occurred in 1659. Medina,
Chron. San Diego Mex., 240. Juan de la Torre y Castro was appointed
bishop in 1562, and died suddenly within seven leagues of Granada on the
27th of June, 1663. Fray Alonso Bravo, an eloquent preacher and an accom
plished scholar, was elected prelate in 1665. Vctancvrt, Menolog., 136; and
Itoltles, Diario, in Doc. Hist. Mex., se rie i. torn. ii. 3.
13
This vol. 172etseq.
^Hist. Cent. Am., i. 310.
35
In olden times it was supposed that the lakes Managua and Nicaragua
were one, as the Rio Tipitapa is supposed to be all remaining of the lakes in
their former unity. Stout s Nic., 101.
 445

! tin- close of tl
\vliidi a
description will .
in

;pled with tli on

]>!.-:
i
imp
hy the home government, were dllirt
ua and ( Josta Rica, l
t!i ..{ whir! I

i-irli in natural n The

pmvinee. writing to the kii tli> niii-

eight h century, report- that (

l<iU_.-]i or thr support of

j til.
pli<
,Ild t

ar oilirials.
There are DO ivliahl. la of tho condition
ailairs in I^jai-/a until, as we shall sec later, ;

iin-nt \\ ral tiin I

ly hue- ,r<l

tin- of the century,

close dian-.-d in i

1688. )f the of (
capital
joui-ned bere ur days during h 1 to E l

d, wi ites: AVe came at tl

.T
nd
;
l-i>t

d;n to the City of Carthago, which we

3 i .>und i

be so B8 in rirlx-r pl.-i ( Iu,v

]
ud
Xirai-:: it was rt
v

])oi-t.-d
t I.. ! r id

5n to inrjuii-e al t.T some Merchanl

of gold and silver, and i -und tl, >me i

rirh, who ti-aili-d by land and with Panani;;

with Portohrll-t. (. ar :id Ha\alia. and

hence with Spain.

in 1 The ( ity i

oiir hundred Families, and is

i
governed h_ ^|ani>h

GrOVernour. It i- a j.^
and hath in it ]>ish tln<

C two of Fryers, and one of NUE .

Calle, whose work wa- published in 1-

that o had sixty V(
( , ind that in theenl
here were lut a hundi-ed ami
province t i

and n thousand p.
i ndia: Tl 1

he other offi - a
h.-id two jud d ai.
,

h ronstahle, with a Balai nd ;

The district of Talainanra, which lay on th

16
i:n. c.:-. pn-Lal-
1
teof p n
la<abl(j linlmus settled in ti
446 NICARAGUA AND COSTA RICA.

of the North Sea and within the province of Costa

Rica, was not fully explored until 1601, in which
year the city of Concepcion was founded on the Rio
de la Estrella. The establishment of this colony was
quickly followed by an insurrection of the natives
who, incited by the rapacity and cruelty of the Span
iards, rose en masse on the 10th of August 1610, and
massacred the inhabitants of that settlement and of
Santiago de Talamanca, which had been built on the
left bank of the river, slaughtering
indiscriminately
men, women, children, and priests.
Nothing else worthy of record occurred in this dis
trict until the year 1660, when Rodrigo Arias Mal-
donado, being governor and captain-general of Costa
17
Rica, resolved upon the subjugation of the natives of
Talamanca, then consisting of some twenty-six tribes.
Malclonado proposed to carry the gospel in one hand
and the sword in the other; but his ambition was
rather to represent the church militant than to follow
the example of previous conquerors.
With a corps of one hundred and ten men he
started forth upon his self-imposed mission, expend
ing his own private fortune upon the enterprise,
18

enduring great fatigue and hardship, exploring all the

coast as far as Boca del Drago and Boca del Flor,
and visiting the adjacent islands. His success was
remarkable. He
gathered the Indians into villages,
had them instructed in the faith, and erected churches;
but with his retirement from the scene the natives
returned to their nomadic life, the villages were de
serted, and the churches fell into decay. The intelli
gence of his labors, when communicated to the king,
won for him the title of marques de Talamanca, but
before the royal decree reached him he had turned his
back upon the honors of this world, and enrolled him-
17
The first governor of Costa Rica in the seventeenth century was Captain
Alonso Lara de C6rdoba, who was appointed in 1603. Others are given in
the order of their succession in Pelaez, Mem. Hist. Guat., ii. 170-4.
18
He expended upward of GO.OOO pesos of his own private means. Juarros,
Guat., i. 374. Molina, Costa Rica, 11, makes the same statement.
 I l A. 447

self as M humhle hrofher Bethlehem, to be ..( th

;nl known aa Yay Etodrigo d- ;i/.I
w
In H ,s UK- wo Franciscan
t Melchnr Loj
t
\
t

tonio Marv.il. resumed tin- wori of cl

and found tin- paths that had led be ii;

n and hidden as if
they liad )

and the peo] - fierce and in

Hoiis liad been made to ri\ili/<- them. 5Te1 tli-

>

pr . without arms or j ion,

into the interior of tlio count within
liv- the l.ajiti>m of forty thousand Indi;
irs :id
tin- establishmeni of innrtcrn villa work "Jin-

- continued with varying B ly a ninuh

s-v(, r.-d of whom snll ered mart yi dom
.

hut the iinal result of all

.

failure so complete that, to use the o v,.>nl>

"ii mountains -
if t he>e
11,

from within which there was no ivdemj

Tn connection with Hie attempted pa<-if

amanca may be mentioned ain miioi

litions to ToloM-aljK), the nai n to a mountain-
s
country lyin^ between the 1 iid >
t

Xneva Segovia river, and ju-Mjil.

d by sambos, bj

Xicaques, the Lem nd other ti- , lmi.\

tril>es, diifei-in^ widely in lan-^ua

d nianne] Tlie Spanish ^overnnient had i

etlly directed iinjuiri-

and the best means of effecting heir t t -ilia:

and in letters add d to the p; f the aii-

dieneia early in the nth <vir

19
He 1)ocniiir sii[

jmni-ys in
:

i
7!. ./

ll .n.lurasu v. 1!.

l. 1560;
nn.l.lu:
448 NICARAGUA AND COSTA RICA.

urges that efforts be made for the peaceful conquest

of this province.
Among who were imbued with a passion for
others
work was a Franciscan named Estevan
this particular
Verdelete, who was appointed local superior in Comay-
agua and to whom the provincial granted a license
authorizing the adoption of any measures that would
be likely to prove successful. Under the guidance of
some Indians, who avowed sympathy with his projects,
he and his friend Juan de Monteagudo, penetrated this
territory, only to be abandoned, however, by the
natives when in the midst of a vast wilderness, with
out food, and apparently cut off from all human aid.
Guided by the stars they succeeded in making their
way through the wilds, and after suffering excessive
hardship arrived in safety at Comayagua, whence
they immediately afterward set forth for Santiago to
assist at the provincial synod held there in 1606.
Not disheartened by this failure, Verdelete asked
permission from the synod to proceed to Spain, for
the purpose of asking the king s assistance in the con
version and pacification of the natives. His request
was granted and eight assistants were appointed, whose
expenses were to be paid out of the royal treasury.*
In October 1609 Verdelete left Santiago in com
pany with his party of ecclesiastics, and in passing
through Comayagua obtained the services of Captain
Daza and three other Spaniards, who were familiar
with, the country. After several days travel they
came in siffht
O of Indian dwellings
^3
and were received
with every manifestation of joy. Verdelete in the
enthusiasm of the hour declared that he was prepared
to live and die among them. Converts were numer
24
ous, and the mission so promising that Verdelete
wrote to the provincial asking for more missionaries.
23
He might establish six convents subject to the provincial of Guatemala.
Juarros, Guat., 349.
They began their labors in the latter part of January 1610. On ash
21

Wednesday, following, a number were baptized and 130 converts were received
during lent. Juarros, Gruat., 351.
 WAR OX THE MISSIOXARI;

on a change cainc over t

1

mainly by tin-
deep feeling of hostility that Bpl up
among the unconverted nati\ dust their cni
tiani/ed brethren. .V iYni/.y of hatred
againsi tl
ry setriblance of religion s.-i/ed upon them, and the\-
olvrd to l)iirn down the inmt of the mission I

aries and to massacre the inmates. On tin- evenin

for the execution of their purpose the ecclesiastii
reived warning through some children, and whil>
Yerdelute was exhorting them to stand in
the hour of trial, hideous yells roused them to an
immediate sense of peril. Issuing forth they found
the village enveloped in flames, and enromp;i>--d b\-
war-painted Indians brandishing lances and torch
Yerdelete at once rushed into their midst, rrurilix in
id, and with words of indignation upbraided tli
for their baseness and treachery, and threatened the

vengeance of offended heaven. His courage insjui-.-d

his associates, and at the spectacle of such b<ldn-
the natives shrank abashed, and OIK; by one slunk
away. At daybreak not an Indian was to b- n,
and the missionaries then returned to Guatemala,
where their story only incited a more detcrmin-d
effort at the reduction of the offending tribes, and
another and larger expedition was a-ain <>rgani/t-d

under the leadership of VenK-lete.

The missionaries were accompanied by an esc
of twenty-three soldiers under Captain J)a. nd
the confines of Tologalpa in April P .ll.
I

They ibund some of their old coir. nd by th

a-vncy others were brought into the fold. Thus -n-
COUi aged, they wished t farther into the
penetrate
interior, but were dissuaded by ])a/.a. who volun-
d to LTO in advance with some of his men and
ling of the nati After waiting I
time- lor their return," the ecclesiastics were beguil-
1

lVlat 7. Mr,n. Hunt., \. 201, nu-ntions a cirri

.ain what f>l] (
.ws. A s.ilditT \\ ho ha-1 previously killf.l two
va^ struck by one of the nativi-s. whcrt-uiKjii he seized Uiiii, ami with the
HIST. CMST. Ax., VOL. II.
450 NICARAGUA AND COSTA RICA.

into the mountain fastnesses, and found upon turning

the brow of a hill a large hostile band, brandishing
lances and hideous in war-paint. Their first glance
showed them the head of Daza and some of his sol
diers carried on the points of lances, and at once they
saw that their fate was sealed. Nothing daunted,
Verdelete advanced toward them and began to ex
postulate. He was answered by a flight of javelins,
and fell pinned to the earth by a lance. Of the en
26
tire party but two escaped, and for many years the
inhabitants of Tologalpa saw no more of the Chris
tians.
Toward the close of the century, however, the
rule of the Spaniards had become somewhat milder
throughout the provinces of Central America, and in
1674 two of the Tologalpan tribes sent representa
tives to Guatemala and besought Fernando de Es-
pino, the provincial of the Franciscan order, to send
instructors to their countrymen. Soon afterward the
governor, after consultation with the provincial, re
solved to send another missionary, and out of many
candidates Pedro de Lagares, a young man of culture
and an enthusiast in the cause, was chosen
for the
task. At Nueva Segovia Lagares opened a mission-
arv school, to which all were admitted who were will-
/

ing to work. He made numerous journeys into the

interior, and converts multiplied until in 1678 they
were counted by hundreds. His decease occurred
during the following year, and his successors, though
meeting with some encouragement, finally abandoned
the field, though without any obvious cause.
assistance of a comrade bound his left hand to his body and nailed his right
hand to a tree with a horseshoe and eight nails, leaving him in that position.
The corpse was found by his tribe, and of course retaliation followed.
26
This incident occurred in January 1612. The narratives of the expedi
tion by Pelaez and Juarros substantially agree.