560 ANNUAL, REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 19 3 5 



casas y al maiz." ^ Word came of ^reat disaster in the valley of 

 Comayagua. The Indians had risen. One Spaniard had been Idlled 

 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. 



Monte jo 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 leader- 

 ship 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 " se 

 f ortaleciesen en peholes." ^ Cattle which they could not take with 

 them had been killed and eaten, so that the valley was now in a state 

 of starvation. 



Monte jo advanced into one part of the valley, Caceres into an- 

 other, attacking and capturing a mountain fortress " que era el mas 

 f uerte de aquella comarca." ^ 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: 



y visto el peuol, que era la eosa mas fuei'te que se ba visto, que si tuvieran 

 tiempo de cortar un cuchillo de sierra que estavan cortando era imposible 

 tomarse, porque tenlan dentro agua y lena e sementeras y muchos bastimentos, 

 tenlan doscientos e veinte casas grandes, y ciertos tempos e adoratorios.® 



It took the combined forces of Montejo and Caceres 4 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 Tenampua among the strongholds de- 

 scribed 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 lieu- 

 tenant, Alonzo de Caceres. It may have been the formidable 

 Guaxerequi described in Montejo's letter. 



* Translation : " Four houses built very large, and four more larger ones full of corn, 

 and he set fire to the houses and to the corn." 



* Translation : " would fortify themselves on big rocks." 



* Translation : " which was the strongest in that region." 



"Translation: "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 in it water and wood and culti- 

 vated fields and many provisions, tkey had 220 large houses, and certain temples and 

 places of worship." 



