204 



REVOLT OF THE TARAHUMARES. 



the Spaniards. The troops, hardy as they were on these distant 

 frontiers, were not calculated for the rough warfare of woodsmen, 

 and after some insignificant and unsuccessful skirmishes with the 

 marauders, the new levies retired hastily to their homes. 



Fajardo, governor of Nueva Biscaya, soon heard of the rebellion 

 and of the ineffectual efforts to suppress it. He was satisfied 

 that no time was to be lost in crushing the rebellion, and, accord- 

 ingly marched with Juan Barraza, to the seat of war with an ade- 

 quate force. The Indians had meanwhile left their villages and 

 betaken themselves to the mountains, woods and fastnesses. Fa- 

 jardo immediately burned their abandoned habitations and deso- 

 lated their cultivated fields ; and when the Indians, who were now 

 satisfied of their impotence, demanded peace, he granted it on 

 condition that the four insurgent chiefs of the rebellion should be 

 surrendered for punishment. The natives, in reply, brought him 

 the head of one of their leaders, together with his wife and child ; 

 soon after another head was delivered to him, and, in a few days, 

 the other two leaders surrendered. 



This, for a while, calmed the country ; but in order to confirm 

 the peace and friendship which seemed to be now tolerably well 

 established, a mission was founded in the valley of Papigochi, in 

 which the chief population of the Tarahumares resided. The 

 reverend Jesuit, Father Bendin, was charged with the duty of 

 establishing this benignant government of the church, and in a 

 short time it appeared that he had succeeded in civilizing the 

 Indians and in converting them to the christian faith. There 

 were, nevertheless, discontented men among the tribes, whose 

 incautious acts occasionally gave warning of the animosity which 

 still lingered in the breasts of the Indians. The most prudent of 

 the Spaniards warned the governor of Nueva Biscaya to beware a 

 sudden or personal attack. But this personage treated the advice 

 with contempt, and felt certain that the country was substantially 

 pacified. Nevertheless, whilst things wore this aspect of seeming 

 calm, three chiefs or caciques, who had embraced the Catholic 

 faith, prepared the elements for a new rebellion, and, on the 5th 

 of June, 1649, at daybreak, they attacked the dwelling of the 

 missionaries, set fire to its combustible materials, and surrounding 

 the blazing house in numbers, awaited the moment when the 

 unsuspecting inmates attempted to escape. The venerable Bendin 

 and his companions were quickly aroused, but no sooner did they 

 rush from the flames than they were cruelly slain by the Indians. 

 The church was then sacked. The valuables were secured and 



