26 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 97 



strong rock which they have, and providing them with provisions. The Spanish 

 chieftain sent a Negro spy, who knew the language of the Indians, to enter the 

 stronghold and bring back a report. The frightened Negro found there four 

 houses built very large, and four more larger ones full of corn, and he set fire 

 to the houses and to the corn. Word came of a great disaster in the valley of 

 Comayagua. The Indians had risen. One Spaniard had been killed and several 

 others wounded. Four horses had been lost. Unable longer to withstand the 

 siege, the Spaniards had fled at night to a neighboring province where the 

 inhabitants were friendly. 



Montejo realized that the time had come for desperate action. Supplies were 

 brought together, and soldiers were called in from regions where the danger of 

 rebellion was not imminent. Others who had been wounded but now had 

 recovered sufficiently to join the colors, augmented the small band which was 

 placed under the leadership of Alonzo de Caceres, recently returned from the final 

 campaign against Lempira. 



When they arrived at Comayagua they found that the Indians, doubtless 

 apprised of their approach, with all available supplies would fortify themselves on 

 big rocks. Cattle which they could not take with them had been killed and 

 eaten, so that the valley was now in a state of starvation. 



Montejo advanced into one part of the valley, Caceres into another, attacking 

 and capturing a mountain fortress " which was the strongest in that region." 

 The last named leader then proceeded to a village, by name Guaxerequi, where 

 six Christians had recently been killed. There he found another fortress. At 

 this point he was rejoined by Montejo, who describes the place in his letter. 

 He says: "and (has) seen (or visited) a great rock, which was the strongest 

 thing that has been seen, which, if they had time to cut a ridge of mountain, 

 which they were cutting, would be impossible to capture, for they had on it 

 water and wood and cultivated fields and many provisions ; they had 220 large 

 houses, and certain temples and places of worship." 



It took the combined forces of Montejo and Caceres four months to conquer 

 the valley of Comayagua, after which they carried the campaign into Olancho. 



Such stories as the above throw much light on the importance of fortified 

 mountain tops at the time of the Conquest. Although it has been impossible to 

 place Tenanipua (the famous archeological site near Comayagua, first described 

 by Squier, 1858 and 1869, see map, fig. i), among the strongholds described in 

 the early accounts at my disposal, it seems probable that it may have been one 

 of those captured during the campaign carried out in the Comayagua region by 

 Francisco de Montejo and his lieutenant, Alonzo de Caceres. It may have been 

 the formidable Guaxerequi described in Montejo's letter. 



In the light of the partially cut " cuchillo " or narrow^ neck con- 

 necting Tenampua with the main promontory to the northeast (D. H. 

 Popenoe, 1936, pp. 562, 563 and map), I am inclined to believe that 

 this identification of Guaxerequi and Tenampua is indeed very 

 probable. 



It is certain that a complete combing of the sources, combined with 

 first-hand examination of the available archives in Honduras and 

 neighboring countries, would yield a considerable mass of informa- 

 tion on the Lenca and their neighbors, but this is not possible at 



