316 They teach some Indian Merchants.

remained to us, but I am not aware of there being any traces of its existence.

The good fathers then began to study how they should introduce their poem to the notice of the Indians of Tuzulutlan; and, availing themselves of a happy thought for this purpose, they called to their aid four Indian merchants, who were in the habit of going with merchandise several times a year into this province, called "the Land of War." The monks, with great care, taught these four men to repeat the couplets which they had composed. The pupils entered entirely into the views of their instructors. Indeed, they took such pains in learning their lessons, and (with the fine sense for musical intonation which the Indians generally possessed) repeated these verses so well, that there was nothing left to desire. The composition and the teaching occupied three months, and was not completed until the middle of August, 1537. Las Casas communicated his intended undertaking to Domingo de Betanzos, now the head of the Dominican order in New Spain, who was delighted to give his sanction and his blessing to the good work. The monks and the merchants, however, were not satisfied until they had brought their labors to much greater perfection-until, indeed, they had set these verses to music, so that they might be accompanied by the Indian instruments; taking care, however, to give the voice parts a higher place in the scale than that of the deep-toned instruments of the natives.*

"Es de saber que no solo se contentaron con esto, sino que se las pusieron en tono y armonía música al son de los instrumentos que los Indios usan, acompañándolos con un tono vivo y atiplado para deleytar mas el oydo, por ser muy baxos y roncos los instrumentos músicos de que usan los Indios."—REMESAL, Hist. de Chiapa y Guatemala, lib. iii., cap. 15.

The Merchants start for "the Land of War." 317 No doubt this music was a great improvement upon any thing the Indians had ever heard in the way of sweet sounds.

The enterprise was now ready to be carried into action-to be transplanted from the schools into the world. It was resolved that the merchants should commence their journey into "the Land of War," carrying with them not only their own merchandise, but being furnished by Las Casas with the usual small wares to please aborigines, such as scissors, knives, looking-glasses, and bells. The pupils and the teachers parted, the merchants making their accustomed journey into the territories of Quiché and Zacapula, their destination being a certain pueblo of a great cacique of those parts, a wise and warlike chief, who had many powerful alliances.*

* This must, I think, have been the Chief of Atitlan; for though, in Remesal's narrative, he is never named directly, yet, as he was baptized as Juan, and as the only cacique who is addressed as Don Juan in a formal letter from the Emperor, thanking the caciques of those parts for the aid they had given to the Dominicans, is Don Juan de Atitlan, it is highly probable that Atitlan was the province visited by the merchants.

CHAPTER VII.

LAS CASAS SUCCEEDS IN CONVERTING BY PEACEABLE MEANS

66

THE LAND OF WAR.' -HE IS SENT TO SPAIN, AND DETAINED THERE.

B

EHIND all ostensible efforts of much novelty and magnitude, what silent longings and unutterable expectations lie unnoticed or concealed! In the crowded theatre, or the cold, impatient senate, the voice that is raised for the first time-perhaps forever afterward to command an absolute attention-trembles with all the sensibility of genius, while great thoughts and vast aspirations, hurrying together in the agitated mind, obstruct and confuse the utterance. We pity, with an intense sympathy, the struggles of one who is about to be famous. Meanwhile, perhaps, in some dark corner or obscure passage, is the agonized and heart-sick mother, who can hardly think, or hope, or pray, convinced, as far as she is conscious of any thing, that her child ought to succeed, and must succeed, but suffering all the timid anxiety that mature years will ever bring, and with the keenest appreciation of every difficulty and drawback that can prevent success.

It is a bold figure to illustrate the feelings of a monk by those of a mother, but it may be doubted whether many mothers have suffered a keener agony of apprehensive expectation than Las Casas and his brethren endured at this and other similar points of their caThey had the fullest faith in God and the utmost reliance upon Him; but they knew that He acts

reer.

Reception of the Merchants.

319

through secondary means, and how easily, they doubtless thought, might some failure in their own preparation-some unworthiness in themselves-some unfortunate conjunction of political affairs in the Indies— some dreadful wile of the Evil One, frustrate all their long-enduring hopes. In an age when private and individual success is made too much of, and success for others too little, it may be difficult for many persons to imagine the intense interest with which these childless men looked forward to the realization of their great religious enterprise-the bringing of the Indians by peaceful means into the fold of Christ.

The merchants were received, as was the custom in a country without inns, into the palace of the cacique, where they met with a better reception than usual, being enabled to make him presents of these new things from Castile. They then set up their tent, and began to sell their goods as they were wont to do, their customers thronging about them to see the Spanish novelties. When the sale was over for that day, the chief men among the Indians remained with the cacique to do him honor. In the evening the merchants asked for a "teplanastle," an instrument of music which we may suppose to have been the same as the Mexican teponaztli,* or drum. They then produced

"The teponaztli, which is used to this day among the Indians, is cylindrical and hollow, but all of wood, having no skin about it, nor any opening but two slits lengthways in the middle, parallel to, and at a little distance from each other. It is sounded by beating the space between those two slits with two little sticks, similar to those which are made use of for modern drums, only that their points are covered with ule or elastic gum to soften the sound. The size of this instrument is various: some are so small as to be hung about the neck; some of a middling size; and others so large as to be upward of five feet long. The sound which they yield is melancholy, and that of the

320

They commence their Chant.

some timbrels and bells, which they had brought with them, and began to sing the verses which they had learned by heart, accompanying themselves on the musical instruments. The effect produced was very great. The sudden change of character, not often made, from a merchant to a priest, at once arrested the attention of the assemblage. Then, if the music was beyond any thing that these Indians had heard, the words were still more extraordinary; for the good fathers had not hesitated to put into their verses the questionable assertion that idols were demons, and the certain fact that human sacrifices were abominable. The main body of the audience was delighted, and pronounced these merchants to be embassadors from new gods.

The cacique, with the caution of a man in authority, suspended his judgment until he had heard more of the matter. The next day, and for seven succeeding days, this sermon in song was repeated. In public and in private, the person who insisted most on this repetition was the cacique; and he expressed a wish to fathom the matter, and to know the origin and meaning of these things. The prudent merchants replied that they only sang what they had heard; that it was not their business to explain these verses, for that office belonged to certain padres who instructed the people. "And who are padres?" asked the chief. In answer to this question, the merchants painted pictures

largest so loud that it may be heard at the distance of two or three miles. To the accompaniment of these instruments....the Mexicans sung their hymns and sacred music. Their singing was harsh and offensive to European ears; but they took so much pleasure in it themselves, that on festivals they continued singing the whole day. This was unquestionably the art in which the Mexicans were least successful."-CLAVIGERO, Hist. of Mexico, vol. i., p. 398-9, English transla