408 THE COKONADO EXPEDITION, 1540-1542 [eth.ann.h 



until late in the summer, when it became so much weakened by dissen- 

 sions and desertions that the Indians had little difficulty in destroying: 

 it. The defenders, with the exception of a few who were able to make 

 their way back to Culiacan, were massacred. 



THE INDIAN UPRISING IN NEW SPAIN, 1540-1542 



Of the arguments advanced by those who wished to hinder the ex- 

 pedition which Mendoza sent off under Coiouado, none was urged 

 more persistently than the claim that this undertaking would require 

 all the men available for the protection of New Spain. It was sug- 

 gested by all the parties to the litigation in Spain, was repeated by 

 Cortes again and again, reappeared more than once during the visita 

 of 1517, and was the cause of the depositions taken at Coinpostela on 

 February L'0, 1540. These last show the real state of affairs. The men 

 who were withdrawn constituted a great resource in case of danger, 

 but they were worse than useless to the community when things were 

 peaceful. The Indians of New Spain had been quiet since the death 

 of De la Torre, a few years before, but signs of danger, an increasing 

 restlessness, unwilling obedience to the masters and encomenderos, 

 and frequent gatherings, had been noticed by many besides Cortes. 

 There were reasons enough to justify an Indian outbreak, some of them 

 abuses which dated from the time of Nuiio de Guzman, but there is 

 every reason to suppose that the withdrawal of Coronado's force, 

 following the irritation which was inevitably caused by the necessity 

 of collecting a large food supply and many servants, probably brought 

 matters to a crisis. Ofiate, to whom the administration of New Galicia 

 had again been intrusted during the absence of his superior, began to 

 prepare for the trouble which he foresaw almost as soon as Coronado 

 was gone from the province. In April he learned that two tribes had 

 rebelled and murdered one of their encomenderos. A force was sent 

 to put down the revolt. The rebels requested a conference, and then, 

 early next morning, surprised the camp, which was wholly unprepared 

 for defense. Ten Spaniards, including the unwary commander, and 

 nearly two hundred native allies were killed. Thus began the last and 

 the fiercest struggle of the Indians of New Spain against their Euro- 

 pean conquerors — the Mixtou war. 



Ofiate prepared to march against the victorious rebels, as soou as the 

 news of the disaster reached him, but when this was followed by addi- 

 tional information from the agents among the Indians, showing how 

 widespread were the alliances of those who had begun the revolt, and 

 that the Indians throughout the province of New Galicia were already 

 in arms, he retired to Guadalajara. The defenses of this towu were 

 strengthened as much as possible, and messengers were dispatched to 

 Mexico for reenlorcements. The viceroy sent some soldiers and sup- 

 plies, but this force was not sufficient to prevent the Indians — who were 

 animated by their recent successes, by their numbers, by the knowledge 

 of the weak points as well as of the strong ones in their oppressors, aud 



